Dr. Rutherforth fays must be the cafe, on account of the fmall extent of this fea. 500 by 400 miles of fea, does not require that fuch a fea fhould prefs equally, or that the gravity of its water fhould be equally diminished in every part of it, and fo out of the powers, addititious and ablatitious, of the luminary; that is, the force, with which the moon encreases the waters gravity, and the force, with which the moon diminishes the waters gravity. If the moon in zenith or nadir did the work, the equilibrium of the Cafpian might be deftroyed as well as any other equilibrium of water, by force, addititious or ablatitious, or by the fum of thefe forces: therefore, there might, by this theory, be tides in the Cafpian fea, though not great ones. There are small as well as great tides. The tides of the Atlantic ocean are inferior in every respect to thofe of the larger Pacific ocean. A quarter of a great circle of the earth, that is, an extent of ocean from east to weft 90°, is only required that the tides may have their full motion. A tide of lefs motion may be in fuch an extent of fea as the Cafpian. In the last place, how does the theory of tides account for the regular peculiarity of the flux and reflux of the Atlantic, different different from all other tides; while at Bathfha in the kingdom of Tunquin, there never is more than one tide in 24 hours ; and some days, no tide?-For my part, I refolve the whole into the immediate power of the Deity. This power is gravity, attraction, repulfe. The inactivity of matter requires the conftancy and univerfality of divine power to fupport the material univerfe, and move it as occafion requires; that is, as infinite wisdom fees moft conducive to the benefit of his creation. Earthquakes the effect of immaterial causes. Men of fine imagination may make a wonderful difplay of mathematical learning in accounts of gravity, etc. combined with the principles of mechanifm; and electricity, which is called the immediate officer of God Almighty; but the truth is, a conftant repetition of divine acts in regular and irregular motions of the earth and the feas. The finger of God moves the land and the waters. In the cafe of earthquakes, as electricity or aerial power, is infufficient to produce them, in my opinion, for two reafons before given; to wit, that the electrical ftroke is ever fingle and momentary, but the vibra tions of the earth, in a quake, are often 3 and 4 minutes, and have held to 7 mi-› nutes--and that, befides the swelling and trembling of the earth, it has so opened at thofe times, as to fwallow not only houses and people, but even mountains, and to fend forth great rivers and vaft waters. And, as fubterranean fire and vapor, I think, can never do fuch work, for many reasons that may be offered, we muft, I think, afcribe the earthquakes to the immediate impreffion of divine power; by which a city is tumbled into ruins in three or four minutes, in the fad manner Lisbon was deftroyed the first of November, 1755: or, the water of the great abyfs is with fuch violence moved, that it fhakes the arches of the earth, and where infinite wifdom directs, is enabled by Almighty Power to open the globe. with tremendous noifes, and pour forth vaft torrents of water, to cover a land where once a flourishing city has stood. The electric ftroke cannot be more dreadful than fuch exertion of omnipotence. The immediate action of the Deity, to destroy, must be as efficacious furely as any fubordinate agent or caufe: and it must be more terrible to the mind, as there can be no fuppofition of accident in ruin this Way but we fee as it were the almighty arm, exerting an irrefiftible force, that could could in the fame few moments that a large town and its inhabitants are destroyed, thake the whole world into one dreadful ruin, or separate it into nothing. To my apprehenfion, the aerial power of electricity is not fo fearfully ftriking, as the Creator's appearing, on the fpot, to shake terribly the earth: and if we confider, that it is on account of fin, that God resigns his omnipotence to his wrath, and commands his whole displeasure to arise, must not this account of an earthquake have the greateft tendency to reform the manners of the furviving people? mufcular mo tion; and that it is As to mufcular motion, if An account of it be rightly confidered, it appears very plainly to proceed from a living force, impreffed ab extra; that mechanifm does not act as caufe in this affair; but the divine power acts in the cafe, as it does in many different places of the human body at once, and with inexpreffible variety. -caused by a continued aft of the Deity. Various are the accounts that learned men have given of mufcular motion, and ingenious are their reasonings on the subject: but they are not fatisfactory, nor do they at all explain the thing, and account for it. What is a mufcle? It It is to be fure a bundle of small blood veffels, confifting of arteries and their returning veins, laid one upon another in their parallel plates, running through the whole length of the mufcle; and at small intervals, thefe blood veffels, or longitudi nal, red, and fleshy fibres, are contorted and bound about with fmall, tranfverfe, and fpi ral ramifications and twinings of the nerves." This is a mufcle: it has two ends, or tendons, faftened to two bones, one of which is fixed, and the other moveable; and by the contraction of the mufcle, the moveable bone is drawn upon its fulcrum towards a fixed point. This is indifputable; and it is likewife certain, that the mufcles are to be distinguished into those of voluntary, and those of natural or neceffary motion: that the voluntary mufcles have antagonists, which act alternately in a contrary direc tion, that is, are contracted by the command of the will, while the others are ftretched, and again are extended, while the others are contracted: but the neceffary muscles have contracting and extending powers within themfelves, and need no antagonists. T This being the true ftate of the mufcles, the question is, what causes that elasticity,' spring, or power of contraction and refto VOL. I. K ration, |