The Ruins; Or, Meditation on the Revolutions of Empires and the Law of Nature

s the law

hich his wisdom presents to the senses and reason of men, as an equal and common rule for their

r definition o

e lectures, preferably to all others, made to the people, in order that they might observe them, and not in

h the express clause of a penalty attached to the infraction,

word lex, lectio.

nd is only a litera

d l

orders exis

Y

the word na

bears three diffe

e we say the beauties of nature, the riches of nature, that is to sa

it as a distinct being, such as the soul is to the body; in this second sens

or on each class of beings; and in this third sense we say, "The n

and general rules, which cannot be infringed without interrupting and troubling the general or

examples of

sence causes both light and heat;-that heat acting upon water, produces vapors;-that those vapors rising in clouds

e ascends towards the heavens;-that it disorganizes vegetables and animals; that air is essential to the life of certain animals; that, in certain circumstances, wate

of the elements; if he pretends to remain under water without being drowned, to touch fire without burning himself, to deprive himself of air without being suffocated, to swallow poison without destroying himself, he receives from each of those infractions of the laws of nature a corporeal punishment proportionate to his fault; but if on the contrary, he observes and practises ea