Genre:

Essay

Subjects:

Piety, Philosophical Psychology, Empiricism, Natural Theology, Horticulture, Gas Chemistry, Infidelity

    Observes: 'It is a matter of wonder, as a powerful writer of the present day has observed, that every idea that rises in our minds should not excite, as its secondary impression, a recollection of the presence of God. [...] The ennobling, the awful, and yet delightful idea of the Great Cause of our being and felicity would doubtless be suggested to our minds by every thing around us, and within us, were man now in the perfection in which he was first created'. Describes the devotional frame of mind as a plant which, with 'all the disadvantages of climate' can be 'raised by the grace of God to considerable maturity'. Declares: 'The spirit of devotion, like a flame that receives unseen supplies, may burn with unusual brightness even in a damp atmosphere'. (436) Argues that true devotion consists in breathing 'back again those heavenly and holy purposes which the Divine Spirit has inspired'. Contrasts it with the 'sentimental adoration of Deism, or even of philosophical Christianity'. (437)