No quality nor circumstance contributes more to grandeur than force, especially as exerted by sensible beings. I cannot make this more evident than by the following citations. ---- Him the almighty power Hurl’d headlong flaming from th’ ethereal sky, With hideous ruin and combustion, down To bottomless perdition, there to dwell In adamantine chains and penal fire, Who durst defy th’ Omnipotent to arms. _Paradise Lost, book 1._ ---- Now storming fury rose, And clamour such as heard in heaven till now Was never; arms on armour clashing bray’d Horrible discord, and the madding wheels Of brazen chariots rag’d; dire was the noise Of conflict; over head the dismal hiss Of fiery darts in flaming vollies flew, And flying vaulted either host with fire. So under fiery cope together rush’d Both battles main, with ruinous assault And inextinguishable rage: all heav’n Resounded; and had earth been then, all earth Had to her centre shook. _Ibid, book 6._ They ended parle, and both address’d for fight Unspeakable; for who, though with the tongue Of angels, can relate, or to what things Liken on earth conspicuous, that may lift Human imagination to such height Of godlike pow’r? for likest gods they seem’d, Stood they or mov’d, in stature, motion, arms, Fit to decide the empire of great Heav’n. Now wav’d their fiery swords, and in the air Made horrid circles: two broad suns their shields Blaz’d opposite, while Expectation stood In horror: from each hand with speed retir’d, Where erst was thickest fight, th’ angelic throng, And left large field, unsafe within the wind Of such commotion; such as, to set forth Great things by small, if Nature’s concord broke, Among the constellations war were sprung, Two planets, rushing from aspéct malign Of fiercest opposition, in mid sky, Should combat, and their jarring spheres confound. _Ibid, book 6._ We shall now consider the effect of motion and force in conjunction. In contemplating the planetary system, what strikes us the most, is the spherical figures of the planets and their regular motions. The conception we have of their activity and enormous bulk is more obscure. The beauty accordingly of this system, raises a more lively emotion than its grandeur. But if we could imagine ourselves spectators comprehending the whole system at one view, the activity and irresistible force of these immense bodies would fill us with amazement. Nature cannot furnish another scene so grand.