The divine commandment which produced light, says an intelligent writer, must be considered as operating on the properties of matter already created; and as light is found to proceed from the motion of luminous particles, we must conceive some central force, or attracting power, to be the instrument of producing this phenomenon of light, by its attractive or propelling properties. There seem to be moving principles in all nature, which, when put in action by the first Cause, produce natural effects according to established laws, which cannot be altered unless by the first Mover. As the Hebrew word תהומ _tehom, abyss_, translated _deep_, signifies also to move with a sort of confused motion; we may justly conclude that the chaotic mass had some gravitating powers in it, before the forming of the system; and that attracting and repelling force was naturally and originally in the universe; and that the first Mover gave them in a regular course, the specifical direction, and systematical attractions. What our distinguished philosopher, Sir Isaac Newton, has suggested concerning attraction and gravitation, even in point of philosophy, appears to agree with the Principia of Moses. Another author writes, Whether Moses intended a philosophical account of light in this place, I will not pretend to say; but one thing is certain, that he makes use of a word which points out some of the principal properties of light. The original word אור _aur_ signifies that body which renders objects visible, which we call _light_; it also signifies _fire_, and perhaps Moses intended to point out in one word, what in our language requires two, _light_ and _fire_. When we consider the words of Moses, it appears evident that what is in our version called _light_, is in the Hebrew rather something that sends forth light. The original word אור _aur_ may signify any thing that makes things visible by emitting particles of light. When the Almighty said, “Let there be אור _aur, light_,” it is not certain that he meant elementary fire, or original unpropagated light. It is more probable that he intended by that word, a body that sent forth light by means of the motion of similar particles of luminous and igneous matter. Whatever may be the philosophic differences between these two, _light_ and _fire_, continues the same author, we are certain that they are seldom separated. The origin of that light which now renders bodies visible to us, seems chiefly to be _fire_, though light and fire are not inseparably connected; for light may be propagated where there is no fire, as from putrid bodies, &c, and fire may be where there is no light, as in iron, sulphur, &c.