jLET. VII, AND DISCOVERIES. 105

great and illustrious genius to enlighten and in-struct us. In religion, our most momentousconcern, he has condescended to give us a divineguide; and in every art and science, we have hadpreceptors of eminence proportionate to the im-portance of the subject.—Every thing bears themarks of omniscience: wherever we turn oureyes, we perceive a presiding intelligence, thatinforms and regulates the whole.

To enumerate the most shining characters ofancient and modern times, and to strew the dis-criminating excellence and utility of the severalpursuits in which they were engaged, would bea matter of much difficulty, and foreign to ourpurpose. The subject upon which we are, atpresent, to employ our attention, is physicalastronomy; and we are now to consider the ge-nius and doctrines of a man, who, in his philo-sophical character, appears to have been endowedwith superior faculties, in order to dissipate themists of ignorance and error, and to lead us toa knowledge of those truths, which the wisdomof ages had been unable to discover.

The person to whom we owe these obliga-tions, is Sir Isaac Newton, who was born atWolstropin Lincolnshire, on Christmas-day 1642.His father was the reduced descendant of anoble family j but the genius of his son eclipsed' ffil the splendor of hereditary titles and honours.

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