In the magnitude of the heavenly bodies, and the precision of their movements, we behold the most glorious and convincing evidences of the omnipotence of God’s power, and the perfection of His wisdom and skill.  In the splendor of the starry dome of night—­in the thousand attractions of our earthly abode—­the loveliness of its summer landscapes—­the beauty of its flowers, and the balmy fragrance they distil upon the air—­in the warmth of the precious sunlight, which floods hill, valley, field, forest, and ocean—­in the refreshing influences of the evening dew, and “the early and latter rains”—­in the grateful breeze which bears life and health to our nostrils—­in the rich productions of the ever-bountiful soil—­in these, in all nature’s wide departments, we read, with rejoicing eyes, the witnesses of the impartial goodness and boundless beneficence of the Father of spirits!

    “My heart is awed within me, when I think
     Of the great miracle that still goes on,
     In silence, round me—­the perpetual work
     Of thy creation, finished, yet renewed
     Forever.  Written on thy works I read
     The lesson of thy Eternity.”

Nature furnishes a thousand evidences of man’s immortality—­that greatest of all truths asserted by revelation, and sustained by religion.  We see a corroboration of this momentous fact, in the transformation of the loathsome caterpillar into the beautiful butterfly, by the process of an actual death—­in the dying and reviving of the vegetable kingdom—­in the luxuriant plant and golden harvest, springing from the dead body of the seed—­in the numerous forms and processes in which life springs from death all around us.

                             “Oh, listen, man,
    A voice within us speaks the startling word,
    ‘Man, thou shalt never die!’ Celestial voices
    Hymn it round our souls; according harps,
    By angel lingers touched when the mild stars
    Of morning sang together, sounds forth still
    The song of our great immortality;
    Thick-clustering orbs, and this our fair domain,
    The tall, dark mountains, and the deep-toned seas,
    Join in the solemn, universal song. 
    O, listen, ye, our spirits; drink it in
    From all the air!  ’Tis in the gentle moonlight: 
    Is floating in day’s setting glories; Night,
    Wrapped in her sable robe, with silent step
    Comes to our bed and breathes it in our ears. 
    Night and the dawn, bright day and thoughtful eve,
    All times, all bounds, the limitless expanse,
    As one great mystic instrument, are touched
    By an unseen, living Hand, and conscious chords
    Quiver with joy in this great jubilee. 
    The dying hear it; and as sounds of earth
    Grow dull and distant, wake their passing souls
    To mingle in this passing melody."[8]

[Footnote 8:  Dana.]