The vault of heaven, too, would wear a uniform aspect. Neither planets nor comets would be visible to any eye, nor those millions of stars which now shine forth with so much brilliancy, and diversify the nocturnal sky. For, it is by the contrast produced by the deep azure of the heavens and the white radiance of the stars, that those bodies are rendered visible. Were they depicted on a pure white ground, they would not be distinguished from that ground, and would consequently be invisible, unless any of them occasionally assumed a different colour. Of course, all that beautiful variety of aspect which now appears on the face of sublunary nature—the rich verdure of the fields, the stately port of the forest, the rivers meandering through the valleys, the splendid hues that diversify and adorn our gardens and meadows, the gay colouring of the morning and evening clouds, and all that variety which distinguishes the different seasons, would entirely disappear. As every landscape would exhibit nearly the same aspect, there would be no inducement to the poet and the philosopher to visit distant countries to investigate the scenes of nature, and journeyings from one region to another would scarcely be productive of enjoyment. Were any other single colour to prevail, nearly the same results would ensue. Were a deep ruddy hue to be uniformly spread over the scene of creation, it would not only be offensive to the eye, but would likewise prevent all distinction of objects. Were a dark blue or a deep violet to prevail, it would produce a similar effect, and at the same time, present the scene of nature as covered with a dismal gloom. Even if creation were arrayed in a robe of green, which is a more pleasant colour to the eye—were it not diversified with the different shades it now exhibits, every object would be equally undistinguishable.
Such would have been the aspect of creation, and the inconveniences to which we should have been subjected, had the Creator afforded us light without that intermixture of colours which now appears over all nature, and which serves to discriminate one object from another. Even our very apartments would have been tame and insipid, incapable of the least degree of ornament, and the articles with which they are furnished, almost undistinguishable, so that in discriminating one object from another, we should have been as much indebted to the sense of touch as to the sense of vision. Our friends and fellow men would have presented no objects of interest in our daily associations. The sparkling eye, the benignant smile, the modest blush, the blended hues of white and vermillion in the human face, and the beauty of the female countenance, would all have vanished, and we should have appeared to one another as so many moving marble statues cast nearly in the same mould. But, what would have been worst of all, the numerous delays, uncertainties and perplexities to which we should have been subjected, had we been under the necessity, every moment, of distinguishing objects by trains of reasoning, and by circumstances of time, place, and relative position? An artist, when commencing his work in the morning, with a hundred tools of nearly the same size and shape around him, would have spent a considerable portion of his time before he could have selected those proper for his purpose, or the objects to which they were to be applied; and in every department of society, and in all our excursions from one place to another, similar difficulties and perplexities would have occurred. The one half of our time must thus have been employed in uncertain guesses, and perplexing reasonings, respecting the real nature and individuality of objects, rather than in a regular train of thinking and of employment; and after all our perplexities and conjectures, we must have remained in the utmost uncertainty, as to the thousands of scenes and objects, which are now obvious to us, through the instrumentality of colours, as soon as we open our eyes.
In short, without colour, we could have had no books nor writings: we could neither have corresponded with our friends by letters, nor have known any thing with certainty, of the events which happened in former ages. No written revelation of the will of God, and of his character, such as we now enjoy, could have been handed down to us from remote periods and generations. The discoveries of science, and the improvements of art, would have remained unrecorded. Universal ignorance would have prevailed throughout the world, and the human mind have remained in a state of demoralization and debasement. All these, and many other inconveniences and evils would have inevitably followed, had not God painted the rays of light with a diversity of colours, And hence we may learn, that the most important scenes and events in the universe, may depend upon the existence of a single principle in nature, and even upon the most minute circumstances, which we may be apt to overlook, in the arrangements of the material world.
In the existing state of things in the visible creation, we cannot but admire the Wisdom and Beneficence of the Deity, in thus enabling us to distinguish objects by so easy and expeditious a mode as that of colour, which in a moment, discriminates every object and its several relations. We rise in the morning to our respective employments, and our food, our drink, our tools, our books, and whatever is requisite for our comfort, are at once discriminated. Without the least hesitation or uncertainty, and without any perplexing process of reasoning, we can lay our hands on whatever articles we require. Colour clothes every object with its peculiar livery, and infallibly directs the hand in its movements, and the eye in its surveys and contemplations. But, this is not the only end which the Divine Being had in view, in impressing on the rays of light a diversity of colours. It is evident, that he likewise intended to minister to our pleasures, as well as to our wants. To every man of taste, and almost to every human being, the combination of colours in flowers, the delicate tints with which they are painted, the diversified shades of green with which the hills and dales, the mountains and the vales are arrayed; and that beautiful variety which appears in a bright summer day, on all the objects of this lower creation—are sources of the purest enjoyment and delight. It is colour, too, as well as magnitude, that adds to the sublimity of objects. Were the canopy of heaven of one uniform hue, it would fail in producing those lofty conceptions, and those delightful and transporting emotions, which a contemplation of its august scenery is calculated to inspire. Colours are likewise of considerable utility in the intercourse of general society. They serve both for ornaments, and for distinguishing the different ranks and conditions of the community: they add to the beauty and gracefulness of our furniture and clothing. At a glance, they enable us at once to distinguish the noble from the ignoble, the prince from his subjects, the master from his servant, and the widow clothed with sable weeds from the bride adorned with her nuptial ornaments.
Since colours, then, are of so much value and importance, they may be reckoned as holding a rank among the noblest natural gifts of the Creator. As they are of such essential service to the inhabitants of our globe, there can be no doubt that they serve similar or analogous purposes throughout all the worlds in the universe. The colours displayed in the solar beams are common to all the globes which compose the planetary system, and must necessarily be reflected, in all their diversified hues, from objects on their surfaces. The light which radiates from the fixed stars displays a similar diversity of colours. Some of the double stars are found to emit light of different hues;—the larger star exhibiting light of a ruddy or orange hue, and the smaller one a radiance which approaches to blue or green. There is therefore reason to conclude, that the objects connected with the planets which revolve round such stars—being occasionally enlightened by suns of different hues—will display a more variegated and splendid scenery of colouring than is ever beheld in the world on which we dwell; and that one of the distinguishing characteristics of different worlds, in regard to their embellishments, may consist in the splendour and variety of colours with which the objects on their surfaces are adorned. In the metaphorical description of the glories of the New Jerusalem, recorded in the Book of Revelation, one of the chief characteristics of that city is said to consist in the splendour and diversity of hues with which it is adorned. It is represented as “coming down from heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband,” and as reflecting all the beautiful and variegated colours which the finest gems on earth can exhibit; evidently indicating, that splendour and variety of colouring are some of the grandest features of celestial scenery.
On the whole, the subject of colours, when seriously considered, is calculated to excite us to the adoration of the goodness and intelligence of that Almighty Being whose wisdom planned all the arrangements of the universe, and to inspire us with gratitude for the numerous conveniences and pleasures we derive from those properties and laws he has impressed on the material system. He might have afforded us light, and even splendid illumination, without the pleasures and advantages which diversified colours now produce, and man and other animated beings might have existed in such a state. But, what a very different scene would the world have presented from what it now exhibits! Of how many thousands of pleasures should we have been deprived! and to what numerous inconveniences and perplexities should we have been subjected! The sublimity and glories of the firmament, and the endless beauties and varieties which now embellish our terrestrial system, would have been for ever unknown, and man could have had little or no incitement to study and investigate the works of his Creator. In this, as well as in many other arrangements in nature, we have a sensible proof of the presence and agency of that Almighty Intelligence “in whom we live, and move, and have our being.” None but an infinitely Wise and Beneficent Being, intimately present in all places, could thus so regularly create in us by means of colour, those exquisite sensations which afford so much delight, and which unite us, as it were, with every thing around us. In the diversity of hues spread over the face of creation, we have as real a display of the Divine presence as Moses enjoyed at the burning bush. The only difference is, that the one was out of the common order of Divine procedure, and the other in accordance with those permanent laws which regulate the economy of the universe. In every colour, then, which we contemplate, we have a sensible memorial of the presence of that Being “whose Spirit garnished the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth,” and whose “merciful visitation” sustains us every moment in existence. But the revelation of God to our senses, through the various objects of the material world, has become so familiar, that we are apt to forget the Author of all our enjoyments, even at the moment when we are investigating his works and participating of his benefits. “O that men would praise Jehovah for his goodness, and for his wonderful works towards the children of men.”
PART II.
ON TELESCOPES.
CHAPTER I.
HISTORY OF THE INVENTION OF TELESCOPES.
The telescope is an optical instrument for viewing objects at a distance. Its name is compounded of two Greek words,—τηλε, which signifies, at a distance, or far off, and σχοπειν, to view, or to contemplate. By means of telescopes, remote objects are represented as if they were near, small apparent magnitudes are enlarged, confused objects are rendered distinct, and the invisible and obscure parts of very distant scenes are rendered perceptible and clear to the organ of vision. The telescope is justly considered as a grand and noble instrument. It is not a little surprising that it should be in the power of man to invent and construct an instrument by which objects, too remote for the unassisted eye to distinguish, should be brought within the range of distinct vision, as if they were only a few yards from our eye, and that thousands of august objects in the heavens, which had been concealed from mortals for numerous ages, should be brought within the limits of our contemplation, and be as distinctly perceived, as if we had been transported many millions of miles from the space we occupy, through the celestial regions. The celebrated Huygens remarks, in reference to this instrument, that, in his opinion, ‘the wit and industry of man has not produced any thing so noble and so worthy of his faculties as this sort of knowledge; (namely of the telescope) insomuch that if any particular person had been so diligent and sagacious as to invent this instrument from the principles of nature and geometry,—for my part, I should have thought his abilities were more than human; but the case is so far from this, that the most learned men have not yet been able sufficiently to explain the reason of the effects of this casual invention.’