Natural theology; or, evidences of the existence and attributes of the Deity. Collected from the appearances of nature / [William Paley].

  • William Paley
Date:
1818
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Natural theology; or, evidences of the existence and attributes of the Deity. Collected from the appearances of nature / [William Paley]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    ence. And in either case it will rise up from its occupation, possessed by the subject, in a very dif¬ ferent manner, and with a very different degree of influence, from what a mere assent to any verbal proposition which can be formed concerning the existence of the Deity, at least that merely comply¬ ing assent with which those about us are satisfied, and with which we are too apt to satisfy ourselves, will or can produce upon the thoughts. More especially may this differenee be perceived^ in the degree of admiration and of awe, with vdiich the Divinity is regarded, when represented to the un¬ derstanding by its own remarks, its own reflections, and its own reasonings, compared wdth what is ex¬ cited by any language that can be used by others. The works of nature want only to be contemplated. When contemplated, they have every thing in them whicii can astonish by their greatness: for, of the vast scale of operation, through which our discov¬ eries carry us, at one end we see an intelligent Fovv er arranging planetary systems, fixing, for in¬ stance, the trajectory of Saturn, or constructing a thm of two hundred thousand miles diameter, to O siiiTOiind his body, and be suspended like a magni¬ ficent arch over the heads of his inhabitants; and, at the other, bending a hooked tooth, concerting and providing an appropriate mechanism, for the clasping and reclasping of the filaments of the feather of the humming-bird. We have proof*, not only of both these works proceeding from an in¬ telligent agent, but of their proceeding from the same agent; for, in the first place, we can trace :an identity of plan, a connexion of system, from
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