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and, if science have enlarged its boundaries since the days of the royal poet, its discoveries tend only to confirm the argument, to enlarge the field of contemplation, and to magnify the character of God. We all allow that prophecy, that portion of it especially which terminated in the coming and death of Christ, is more fully understood by us upon whom the ends of the world have come, than it was by the holy men themselves "who spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost."

We do not object to details drawn from prophecy, which go far beyond what these holy men themselves imagined their predictions to contain. And we cannot be blamed, if, availing ourselves of whatever science has established, we go into details upon this subject, and attempt, with all humility, to magnify our God, by dwelling on the discoveries of later ages, which establish and illustrate the sentiments of the psalmist.

In the following essay I attempt to describe, in familiar and popular language, the anatomy and physiology of the organs of vision and hearing, and then to draw out those views of the character of God which the subject suggests.

Though Paley has already pursued the same line of remark, with a richness of phrase and a perspicuity of style almost unequalled, still the writer thinks that something may be added to his descriptions, which that great man, either from want of practical knowledge in anatomy, or from regarding more copious illustration as unimportant to his argument, did not adduce. My argument is one of a somewhat different structure and bearing. The argument of Paley, as every one knows, is to prove the existence of God, and to infer the charac

ter of the Divine Being from the appearance of design observable in all his works; but without reference to revelation as sustaining his proofs. The remarks I am to offer have no such lofty aim; but, assuming the unquestionable certainty of revealed truth, assuming, especially, the existence, the supremacy, and other perfections of the Godhead, I am to take the structure of the organs of sight and hearing as two admirable illustrations of what the great Creator is, in so far as his character may be inferred from his works, mutilated and reft of original excellence, as by the fall they acknowledgedly are.

THE ANATOMY OF THE EYE.

The most interesting facts are, the position, the means of protection and conservation, the instruments of motion, and the formation of this exquisite organ; an organ which we would almost venture, though with feelings of reverence and humility, to call the chief of all the material works of God.

The position of the eye. To render it subservient to its uses, it must be defended with care, and yet be in a conspicuous situation; it must be prominent, and yet be protected; to have the sensibility required, it must be of a delicate construction; and to command the range of visible objects, it must be elevated as much as may be above the ground; and, if thus delicate and thus exposed, much provision must be made for its defence. Accordingly we find this to be the case. It is placed immediately below the forehead, (the roof of the skull stretching to the upper margin of its window,) and as nearly as possible to the brain; possibly, that not a moment may be lost in the communication between

the organ and the intellect, the agent and the principal, the part which receives the impression of visible objects and the soul, which, in some mysterious way, is informed by such impressions of what is going on without. The rapidity with which the communication is made baffles all calculation. In reading, for instance, perhaps every letter of every word is separately conveyed in the form of its image to the eye; at all events every word is thus distinctly communicated; for it is manifest, our whole attention is consecutively turned to every word. In reading privately, what a multitude of words are received by the mind in the course of a single minute! Such despatch in bringing and carrying is far beyond what could have been anticipated, if we had first been promised an organ of sight with a general understanding of what such an organ could do for us, and then had received the boon.

Fancy never could imagine, with satisfaction to itself, another position for the eye; and it is blasphemy to suppose it could find a better. Even in this matter, we perceive the divine wisdom; and it is exhibited in characters so large and so legible that he who runneth may read.

Look next at the provisions made for the defence of the eye. It is lodged in a funnel-shaped cavern of bone, called the orbit. The funnel is composed of portions of seven different bones; three of them belong to the skull, and four belong to the face. The bones of the skull are those of the forehead, constituting the upper margin of the orbit; another bone which is found within the skull, and stretches across, like a shelf, from one temple to the other,--and whose shape has been compared, with some propriety, to a bat with expanded wings, this bone in its course constitutes a segment of

the orbit: then there is a contribution to the orbit from a square-shaped bone lying at the root of the nose. The upper jaw-bone yields a tributary portion, the cheekbone on its upper surface constitutes a part, the palatebone furnishes a contingent, and what is wanting to the completion of the orbit is supplied by a small bone which separates the nostril from the orbit, but which has not yet received a popular name. The orbit derives great advantage from this its peculiar construction. It is more firm and more dense than otherwise it could be. Every bone is another stone in the arch, supporting and being supported; and an injury done to one part less easily extends to another. The bones, besides effecting the protection of this exquisitely sensible organ, give, as we shall see, a fixed attachment to the muscles.

But if so delicate an organ were allowed to rub on its unyielding shell, it must be irritated and injured. To guard against this there is a cushion of fat, which, in the living subject, is fluid, and confined in cellular membranes, and this lies at the bottom, and for some distance sheathes the sides of the orbit. During their inactivity the muscles themselves contribute to the ease of the eye-ball. We come next to inquire how the eye is protected from without. There are the eaves of hair called the eye-brows, growing in an almost semicircular ridge at the verge of the forehead. Perhaps the figure of the ridge is only the segment of a semicircle, and we observe that it inclines downward as it approaches toward the temple. By means of the eaves the drops of perspiration, as they trickle down, are thrown off before they reach the eye, and for this purpose each separate hair bends outward and downward. The perspiration is thus conducted to the top of the cheek, and away from the spot where it might occasion pain

or inconvenience. The eye-brows serve also to moderate the light, as we perceive by our involuntary contraction of them on a hot summer's day; and their corrugation, in which the arch of the brow is broken and thrown into disorder, is expressive of displeasure, and the unbroken and uniform contraction of the ridge is a mark of deep and labouring thought. The eye-brows moderate the light, but the ball needs a covering by which to shut out at pleasure the impression of visible objects altogether, otherwise it were unsafe, if not impossible, to go to sleep: To furnish a means of excluding the light the eye-lids were granted. These are windowshutters of an admirable construction. They are not formed of bone or of horn; for however proper these might be for defence, they would be incapable of the rapid motion that is required, and the friction of their motion would have been distressful to the organ. They are not mere expansions of the skin; for these would be too lax, and would be blinds or curtains without the ready means of being drawn up; and before the eye could be adjusted for contemplating any object, the object might pass away; the most manifest danger and inconvenience would be the inevitable consequence of such a construction. They are formed of a substance neither so hard as bone, nor so lax as skin: it may be called semi-cartilaginous. It consists of semi-circular rings, extending from one angle of the eye to the other, having an integument or skin without, like a window-curtain drawn over Venetian blinds; and it is covered with a smooth impalpable skin on the inside, which immediately slides over the surface of the eye.

To prevent the eye-lids from sticking either to each other or to the ball, they are furnished with minute glands that exude a fine oil which answers this purpose.

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