Some may still say, that, in order to render manifest the existence of the Supreme Being, it would be necessary that men were punctually answered, when they address their prayers; but the influence of our wishes upon events, if this influence was habitual and general, would it be sufficient to change the opinion of those who see, with indifference, that innumerable multitude of actions which are so miraculously subject to our will? Would they not still find some reason for considering such an increase of power, as the necessary result of the eternal system of the universe? Thus, whatever might be the measure of intelligence, added to that we now enjoy, in short, though a number of new wonders were accumulated, men could still oppose to that union of miracles the same objections, and the same doubts they do not now fear to raise against the wonders we are daily witnesses of. It is difficult, it is impossible, to make a constant or profound impression on men who are only susceptible of astonishment in the short transition from the known to the unknown; they have but a moment to feel this emotion, and it is from the slowness of their comprehension, or the continual succession of the phœnomena submitted to their inspection, that the duration of their admiration depends. And, perhaps, our faculties and powers would excite more surprise, if, in order to subject our movements to our will, it were necessary to give our orders, and to pronounce them with a loud voice, as a captain does to his soldiers; however, such a constitution would be a degree less wonderful than that we possess. I will anticipate another objection; we advance gradually, some will say, in discovering the secrets of nature; the power of attraction, that grand physical faculty, has only been known about a century, and observations on the effects of electricity are still more recent; every age, every year, adds to the treasure of our knowledge, and the time will arrive, perhaps, when, without having recourse to any mysterious opinions, we shall have explained all the phœnomena which still astonish us.