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+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 4598 ***
+
+THE STORY OF CREATION AS TOLD BY THEOLOGY AND BY SCIENCE.
+
+BY T. S. ACKLAND, M.A.,
+
+FORMERLY FELLOW OF CLARE COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE; VICAR OF WOLD NEWTON,
+YORKSHIRE.
+
+"SIRS, YE ARE BRETHREN: WHY DO YE WRONG ONE TO ANOTHER?"
+
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+CHAPTER I.   THE CASE STATED
+CHAPTER II.  DIFFICULTIES IN GEOLOGY
+CHAPTER III. DIFFICULTIES IN ASTRONOMY
+CHAPTER IV.  DIFFICULTIES IN PHYSIOLOGY
+CHAPTER V.   SCIENCE A HELP TO INTERPRETATION
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+THE CASE STATED.
+
+
+The History of the Creation with which the Bible commences, is not
+a mere incidental appendage to God's Revelation, but constitutes
+the foundation on which the whole of that Revelation is based.
+Setting forth as it does the relation in which man stands to God
+as his Maker, and to the world which God formed for his abode, it
+forms a necessary introduction to all that God has seen fit to
+reveal to us with reference to His dispensations of Providence and
+of Grace.
+
+It is, however, not uncommonly asserted that this history cannot
+be reconciled with a vast number of facts which modern science has
+revealed to us, and with theories based on observed facts, and
+recommended by the unquestioned ability of the men by whom they
+have been brought forward. At first sight there does seem to be
+some ground for this assertion. Geology, for instance, makes us
+acquainted with strata of rock of various kinds, arranged in exact
+order, and of an aggregate thickness of many miles, which are
+filled with the remains of a wonderful series of plants and
+animals, these remains not being promiscuously collected, but
+arranged in an unvarying order. It seems impossible that all these
+plants and animals could have lived and died, and been imbedded in
+the rocks in this exact succession, in six of our ordinary days.
+Astronomy directs our attention to changes now going on in the
+starry heavens which occupy ages in their development, and points
+to traces in the constitution of our own world which seem to
+indicate that it was formed by analogous means. Physiology reveals
+to us the fact that the different varieties of plants and animals
+now in existence are not separated from each other by well defined
+lines of demarcation, but shade into each other by almost
+imperceptible gradations; and geological researches show that
+while the existing species of animals are the representatives of
+those which lived and died at a period in which we can find no
+traces of man, they are not identical with them, but that either
+the old species must have died out, and been replaced by a fresh
+creation, or a considerable change must have taken place in the
+course of ages. These facts are held to be incompatible with the
+account of creation given by Moses, and hence it is inferred that
+a record, which appears to be so widely at variance with admitted
+facts, cannot be entitled to the authority which is claimed for
+it, as a fundamental portion of a Revelation made by the Creator
+Himself.
+
+This difficulty is sometimes met by the assertion that the Bible
+was not given to us to teach us Science, but to convey to us
+certain information which was essential to our moral welfare, and
+which we could not obtain by any other means; that these
+discrepancies do not in any way interfere with that portion of
+those truths which is involved in the History of Creation, but
+that, however the narrative may be viewed as far as regards its
+details, the facts that God is the Creator of all things visible
+and invisible, that He is a Being of infinite Wisdom, Power, and
+Love, and that He has placed man in a peculiar relation to
+Himself, remain unaffected. On this ground it is often urged that
+we may pass over scientific inaccuracies as matters of no great
+importance.
+
+Theologians are by no means agreed as to the nature and limits of
+that inspiration by which Holy Scripture was written. There are
+many who think that in matters purely incidental to its main
+object, and lying within the reach of human faculties, the sacred
+writers were left to the ordinary sources of information, and that
+many alleged difficulties may be removed by this view.
+
+But whatever may be thought of the application of this hypothesis
+to some parts of the Bible, there are others to which it is
+plainly inapplicable, and of these the narrative of the Creation
+is evidently one. No theory of limited inspiration can be admitted
+to explain any supposed inaccuracies in that narrative. It cannot
+be liable to those imperfections which are inevitable when men
+have to obtain knowledge by the ordinary means, because there were
+no ordinary means by which such information could be obtained. The
+most carefully preserved records, the oldest traditions could not
+extend backwards beyond the moment when the first man awoke to
+conscious existence. For every thing beyond that point the only
+source of knowledge available was information derived from the
+Creator Himself. It may be that a revelation of this character was
+made to Adam in the days of his innocence, that it was carefully
+handed down to his descendants, and that Moses, under the divine
+direction, incorporated it into his history; or it may have been
+directly communicated to Moses by special inspiration--that
+matters not--but a divine revelation it must have been, or it is
+nothing; the dream of a poet, or the theory of a philosopher, if
+we can believe that such a philosopher existed at such a time. But
+if it be indeed a revelation from the Creator Himself, we cannot
+imagine that He could fall into any error, or sanction any
+misrepresentation with reference even to the smallest detail of
+His own work.
+
+If then there are really any errors in this record--any assertions
+which the discoveries of science have proved to be untrue, we
+cannot account for them on any theory of limited inspiration. A
+single proved error would be fatal to the authority of the whole
+narrative. But, on the other hand, we are not justified in
+expecting such an account of the Creation as would commend itself
+to the scientific intellect of the present day. When we attempt to
+form a judgment upon it. We must look not only to its alleged
+author, but also to the purposes for which, the circumstances
+under which, and the persons to whom it was given. In these we may
+expect to meet with many limitations. It was not designed for the
+communication of scientific knowledge, it was necessarily conveyed
+in human language, and addressed to human intelligence, that
+language and that intelligence being, not as they are now, but as
+they were, taking the latest possible date that can be assigned to
+it, considerably more than three thousand years ago.
+
+This last consideration affects not only the record itself, but
+also our facilities for understanding and forming a judgment upon
+it. We have to contend with difficulties of interpretation arising
+from our inability fully to realize the circumstances under which
+it was given, and to place ourselves in the mental position of its
+original recipients. Owing to our want of this power it may well
+happen, that though we are in possession of vastly increased
+knowledge, we may be far more liable to fall into error in some
+directions, in the interpretation of it, than those to whom it was
+originally addressed.
+
+An additional difficulty arises from the circumstance that our
+knowledge, wonderfully as it has been increased of late, is yet
+very far from complete, and is probably in many cases still mixed
+with error. Hence it may very well happen that where there is
+complete harmony between the history and the facts, we may suspect
+discord owing to our misunderstanding of the record, or our
+misconception of the facts. In order that the harmony may be
+recognized in its fulness, there must be a perfect understanding
+of the record, and a perfect knowledge of the facts. But from both
+of these we are probably at present very far removed.
+
+If a person who was a thorough master of some science undertook to
+write a treatise for the purpose of teaching children the
+rudiments of that science, we should expect, and the more strongly
+if the author were a master of language as well as of science,
+that his work should contain indications of a master's hand. We
+should expect that while the book conveyed clearly and simply to
+the minds of those for whom it was written, the truths which it
+was intended to teach, it should also convey to the more educated
+reader some intimations of a deeper knowledge on the part of its
+author. The choice of a word, the turn of a phrase, the order in
+which facts were arranged, the occurrence here and there of a
+sentence which an ordinary reader would pass over as unimportant,
+would to such a person be indications of trains of thought far
+more profound than those which appeared on the surface. And this
+recognition would be proportional to two things--the amount of
+scientific knowledge possessed by the reader, and his mastery of
+the language in which the book was written.
+
+Such, then, are the characteristics which we may expect to find in
+the Record of Creation, if it be indeed, as we believe, a
+revelation from God, made to men in a very low stage of
+intellectual development. In order that we may be able to form a
+satisfactory judgment of it, it will be well for us to consider a
+little in detail two classes of difficulties. 1. Those which
+belong to the Revelation itself, arising from the limitations to
+which it was necessarily subject in its delivery. 2. Those which
+arise from our imperfect knowledge of the language in which it is
+written, and from our inability to place ourselves in the
+intellectual position of those to whom it was originally given.
+
+1. When this record was committed to writing, language was in a
+very different condition from that in which it is now. We have an
+account of the first recorded exercise of the faculty of speech in
+Gen. ii. 19. Adam first used it to give names to all the living
+creatures as they passed in review before him. In accordance with
+this statement it appears, from the researches of philologists,
+that language in its earliest state was entirely, or almost
+entirely limited to words denoting sensible objects and actions.
+It seems probable that these names were derived from radicals
+expressing general ideas [Footnote: Max Muller's Lectures on the
+Science of Language, First Series Lect. viii. ix.]; but there is
+reason to doubt whether these radicals ever had a formal existence
+as words--they seem rather to have been the mental stock out of
+which words were produced. But the human mind had from the first
+powers for the exercise of which this limited vocabulary was
+insufficient. Even in the outer world there was much which was the
+object of reason and inference rather than of sense, while the
+whole world of consciousness was entirely unprovided with the
+means of expression. To meet this difficulty words, which
+originally denoted objects of sense, were used figuratively to
+express ideas which bore some resemblance or analogy, real or
+fancied, to their original significance. As time passed on this
+difficulty was gradually diminished: synonyms crept into all
+languages from various sources, and when once adopted, they were
+in many cases gradually differentiated, the various senses which
+the original word had borne were portioned off among them, and
+increased precision was thus obtained.
+
+But in the infancy of mankind the figurative system was in full
+operation. Hence, all early documents have a strong tinge of the
+poetic element. Poetry, strictly so called, probably had not as
+yet a separate existence; but the whole spoken and written
+language was permeated by that poetic spirit which delights in
+tracing subtle analogies, and in expressing the invisible by means
+of the visible. The translation of the Sanscrit Hymns, which has
+recently appeared [Footnote: Hymns of the Big Veda Sanhita,
+translated by Max Muller, vol. i.], furnishes a most valuable
+illustration of this state of thought and of language. These hymns
+are probably nearly coeval with the Pentateuch. They were the
+production of a different branch of the human family, and indicate
+a different tone of thought, but they bring out very clearly the
+figurative character of primitive language, abounding in fanciful
+descriptions of natural phenomena, which, when their metaphorical,
+character was forgotten, passed by an easy transition into the
+graceful myths and legends of early Greece.
+
+Then there was a poverty in these primitive vocabularies even in
+reference to sensible objects, which in many cases rendered it
+necessary to employ the same word in more or less extensive
+significations, and in the Semitic languages the power of
+inflexion was in some directions very limited. This limitation is
+most remarkable in the forms used for the expression of time. One
+form alone was available to express those modifications which are
+indicated by the imperfect, perfect, pluperfect, and aorist tenses
+of the classical languages.
+
+Instances of all these sources of uncertainty meet us very early
+in Genesis. In the very first verse we have a word, [Hebrew
+script], which has great latitude of meaning. It is either the
+earth as a whole (ver. 1), or the land as distinguished from the
+water (ver. 10), or a particular country (ii. 11). In many cases,
+as in all these, the context at once determines the sense to be
+chosen; but there are other cases in which considerable difficulty
+arises. The whole question of the universality of the deluge
+turns, in a great degree, upon the signification which is assigned
+to this same word in the sixth and following chapters. In the
+second verse we have another word, [Hebrew script], which is
+capable of various interpretations. It is used throughout the
+Bible in the three distinct meanings of "wind," "breath," and
+"spirit." Where we read, "And the Spirit of God moved upon the
+face of the waters," the Jewish paraphrase is, "And a wind of God
+(i.e. a great wind) moved," &c. Here there is nothing in the
+context to assist us in determining the sense to be chosen; but,
+as will be seen in the sequel, modern science indicates that the
+Jewish interpretation is untenable, and that our translation is,
+consequently, the correct one. As an instance of confusion of
+time, we may refer to ii. 19. In our translation this verse seems
+to place the creation of animals after that of man; but in xii. 1,
+the very same form is translated by the pluperfect, "Now the Lord
+had said unto Abram." It ought evidently to be translated in the
+same way here: "And out of the ground the Lord God had formed,"
+&c. In ii. 5, on the other hand, the pluperfect might with
+advantage have given place to another form: "For the Lord God did
+not cause it to rain." The phenomenon referred to appears to have
+been local and temporary. Had the pluperfect been omitted in one
+case and supplied in the other two sources of apparent difficulty
+would have been removed.
+
+It is very clear, then, that there could be no approach to
+scientific accuracy in a narrative written in such a language as
+this. Such accuracy is, in fact, attainable only in proportion, as
+science has moulded language for its own purposes. But language is
+at all times an index of the general mental condition of the
+people who use it, and so the knowledge and the ideas of the men
+of these primitive times must have been extremely limited in all
+those directions with which we have to do. Accordingly, we find no
+trace of any doubt whether the information with reference to
+external objects which was received through the senses was in all
+cases to be depended on. There can be little doubt that to those
+early observers the sky was a solid vault, on the face of which
+the sun, moon, and planets moved in their appointed courses; the
+stars were points of light, golden studs in the azure canopy; the
+sun and moon were just as large as they appeared to be, and the
+earth was a solid immovable plane of comparatively small extent.
+At the time of the Exodus, it seems clear that, even among a
+people so far advanced as the Egyptians, all that lay beyond the
+mountains which bounded their land on the west was believed to
+belong not to living men, but to disembodied spirits. It was the
+terrible country through which the souls of the departed made
+their arduous way to the Hall of Judgment [Footnote: "The Nations
+Around," pp. 49, 50.] Accordingly, we find that the Egyptians made
+no attempt to extend the limits of their empire in this direction,
+while the monarchs of the Mesopotamian region seem to have been
+equally unambitious of conquest beyond the mountain ranges which
+bounded the valley of the Tigris on the east. Mesopotamia, then,
+on the east, Egypt on the west, Armenia and Asia Minor on the
+north, and Arabia on the south, seem, in the view of the
+contemporaries of Moses, to have been the utmost regions of the
+world. Ignorant as they were of any countries beyond these, they
+were, of course, equally ignorant of the numberless varieties of
+plants and animals that were to be found in them, and with which
+we are familiar. Mining was not unknown, but the mines were few
+and superficial; they could not reveal much of the structure of
+the earth, and what little they did reveal passed unnoticed.
+Nothing was known of the successive beds of rock which form the
+crust of the earth, of the fossils with which they abound, or of
+the gradual changes to Which they are still subject. If any one
+had told the men of that generation that the solid earth on which
+they stood, or the everlasting hills which surrounded them, were
+undergoing slow but steady modifications, he would have been
+looked upon as a madman.
+
+A revelation, then, addressed to men whose language, whose
+intellectual powers, and whose stock of ideas were thus limited,
+must of itself also necessarily have been both limited and
+destitute of precision. It could only deal with things with which
+they had some acquaintance, or of which they could form some idea,
+while, from the character of the language, and the extreme brevity
+of the record, the treatment of even these few subjects must have
+been of a vague and indefinite character. Traces of a deeper
+knowledge there might be, but they would not lie upon the surface.
+They must be carefully sought for, and then they would be
+discernible only by those who were in possession of the key which
+would unlock their hidden secrets.
+
+Such are the limitations under which the revelation was
+necessarily given. We have now to consider our own especial
+difficulties, the obstacles which stand in our way when we would
+discover for ourselves all the information which the record is
+capable of conveying. For if this record be, as we believe, the
+work of the Great Architect of the Universe, then it is probable
+that its every detail is significant; that wherever it was
+possible words were chosen which, when scrutinized, would convey
+much more information than appeared on the surface. The great
+problem for us to solve is, What are the difficulties which stand
+in our way when we would seek this knowledge, and what are the
+means by which those difficulties may be surmounted, and the
+hidden treasure displayed?
+
+Our first difficulty arises from a matter which, viewed in another
+light, is one of our greatest blessings. We are familiar with the
+Record through the medium of our own noble version. Probably it is
+impossible for any translation more exactly to represent the
+original as it presented itself in the first instance to the minds
+of those to whom it was addressed. Accordingly we learn it in our
+earliest childhood; its majestic phrases imprint themselves on our
+memory; our undeveloped minds seem capable of taking in all that
+it was intended to convey, and so the impressions formed of it in
+our infancy abide with us all our days. We are contented with
+them, and do not trouble ourselves to inquire whether there is not
+something beyond, which we have not realized.
+
+All this time we forget that, excellent as it is, it is after all
+only a translation, and that the very best translation cannot
+represent in their fulness the ideas embodied in the original.
+Etymological relations between words often give a force and
+meaning to a sentence which it is impossible to transfuse into
+another language, because the same relations do not exist between
+the words which we are constrained to employ. Then there is an
+intimate relation between men's thoughts and the language which
+they habitually use, so that those thoughts cannot be perfectly
+expressed in a language whose character is different. Again in
+every language there are many words which bear several cognate
+senses, which may be represented by as many different words in the
+language of the translation; so that if the best word is chosen,
+much of the fulness of the original must be lost; while it may so
+happen that the selected word has also a variety of
+significations, which do not correspond with the varying meanings
+of the original word, and thus senses may be ascribed to the
+original which it will not bear, because the reader annexes to the
+word in the translation a sense different from that in which it
+corresponds to the original word. To all these sources of
+imperfection must be added the fact that our translation was made
+at a time when science was not yet sufficiently developed to
+exercise any influence upon it. There was nothing to induce the
+translators to attempt, where it was possible, to preserve any
+indications of a deeper meaning, because they had no reason to
+suspect that any such deeper meaning existed, or that any
+indications of such a meaning were to be found.
+
+To the difficulties of translation must be added the difficulties
+of accumulated tradition. The characteristics which mark our own
+childish intellect are apparent also in the collective intellect
+of the human race in its earlier and ruder development. There are
+two characteristics of the human mind in this condition, which
+have had a very great effect on the interpretation of this portion
+of the Bible.
+
+The first of these is the impatience of doubt and uncertainty. The
+power of recognizing the imperfection of our knowledge, and the
+consequent necessity of suspending our judgment, is a power which
+is only gradually acquired with the accumulation of experience.
+The young untrained mind finds it difficult to realize the truth
+that any information communicated to it is not altogether within
+the grasp of its faculties. It must attach some definite meaning
+to the words; it must image to itself some way in which great
+events were brought about, great works were accomplished. It finds
+it difficult to realize a fact as accomplished, unless it can also
+picture to itself some way in which it might have been effected.
+For this purpose such knowledge as it has at its command is
+employed, and where that fails recourse is had to the imagination
+to supply the deficiency. Thus it has been with ourselves in our
+childhood, and thus it was in the childhood of the world.
+Knowledge was indeed sought, but it was not sought in the right
+way, and so the search often resulted in error, and this error
+produced its effect in the interpretation of the passage in
+question. The old school of inquirers started from certain
+abstract principles, and endeavoared to reduce the results of
+observation to conformity with those principles. This was the case
+with astronomy. The old astronomers taking as axioms the two
+assumptions that everything connected with the heavenly bodies
+must be perfect, and that the circle is the only perfect figure,
+easily satisfied themselves that the orbits of all the heavenly
+bodies must be circles. Hence came the
+
+    "Cycle on epicycle, orb on orb,"
+
+by which they sought to account for the phenomena which they
+observed. When once the method was changed, when once it had
+occurred to Kepler that, as it seemed to be impossible to account
+for the apparent motion of Mars by any theory of circular orbits,
+it might be worth while to try to ascertain by observation what
+its orbit really was, a few years of patient labour sufficed to
+solve the problem.
+
+It was science such as this, then, that our forefathers brought to
+the interpretation of the Mosaic Record, and the consequence was
+that when, from time to time, facts were casually brought to light
+which might have led the way to vast discoveries, their true
+significance was never discerned; all that was sought from them
+was some additional support to the old views. Thus sometimes
+gigantic bones were exhumed: without investigation, it was at once
+assumed that they were human bones, and they were brought forward
+to prove the truth of the statement, "There were also giants in
+the earth in those days." Sea-shells were found on mountain sides,
+far from and high above the sea--they were evidences of the
+Deluge.
+
+The second characteristic of that state of mind is its admiration
+of the startling and the vast. In these alone it recognizes the
+tokens of unlimited power. It is unable to appreciate those more
+majestic manifestations of power which are discerned by the
+enlightened eye, when a stupendous scheme is developed, gradually
+and imperceptibly, but without pause or hesitation through a long
+succession of ages; when a multitude of seemingly discordant
+elements are at last brought together in a perfect work; when a
+power, unseen and unnoticed, slowly but surely overrules the
+working of ten thousand apparently independent agents, through a
+thousand generations, and moulds their separate works into one
+harmonious whole. Such a manifestation of power as this was beyond
+the grasp of the untrained mind; but to such intellects there was
+something irresistibly fascinating in the idea of a world rising
+into perfect existence in a moment, of innumerable hosts of living
+creatures called into being at a word. Such was the meaning of the
+account of creation which naturally suggested itself to the
+untrained mind, and there was nothing in science in those early
+days to throw any doubt upon it, and so this belief was
+unhesitatingly and almost universally adopted. Here and there,
+indeed, some man of deeper thought than his brethren, such as St.
+Augustine [Footnote: See St. Augustine, "De Genesi ad Literam,"
+Liber Imperfectus, and Libri Duodecim, and also "Confessionum"
+Liber xiii.], suspected that there might be more in that seemingly
+simple record than was generally acknowledged; but such men had no
+means of verifying their conjectures, and their number was very
+small. For three thousand years the old view was practically
+unquestioned, it received the tacit sanction of the Church, it
+gradually became identified in the minds of all with the record
+itself, and was as much an article of faith as the very Creed.
+
+This was the state of things, when at last science awoke from its
+long slumber, and began for the first time to employ its energies
+in the right direction. Very soon discoveries were made which
+startled the minds of all believers in the Bible. The first shock
+which the old belief sustained was from the establishment of the
+Copernican view of the Solar System. That the world was the
+immovable centre of the universe, around which sun, moon, and
+planets moved in their appointed courses, was universally held to
+be the express teaching of the Bible; and when Galileo ventured to
+maintain the new views in Italy, the Roman Curia took up the
+question, and by the agency of the Inquisition wrung from him a
+reluctant retractation of his so-called heresy. But it was of no
+avail. The new doctrine was true, and it could not be crushed.
+Fresh evidence of its truth was continually coming forward, till
+at last it was universally received. Then the defenders of the
+Bible had recourse to the suggestion that as the Bible was not
+intended to teach us science, such errors were of no consequence,
+But this argument, though perfectly sound with reference to such
+passages as Joshua x. 12-14, where an event is described as it
+appeared to those who witnessed it, is not admissible in such a
+passage as Psalm xcvi. 10, where the supposed immobility of the
+earth is alleged as a proof of God's sovereignty, and is made the
+foundation of the duty of proclaiming that sovereignty among the
+heathen. When the supposed proof was found to be a fallacy, the
+statement in support of which it was alleged would be more or less
+shaken. In such a passage, then, the theory of limited inspiration
+is evidently untenable. At last the only sensible course was
+adopted. Recourse was had to the original, and it was at once
+apparent that the supposed difficulty had no real existence, but
+that there was a very trifling inaccuracy in the translation; for
+that the word translated "shall not be moved" really signified
+"shall not be shaken or totter." The same word is used in Psalm
+xvii. 5, "Hold up my goings in Thy paths, that my footsteps SLIP
+NOT." Instead, then, of an error, we have an exact description of
+the earth's motion--a motion so steady and equable, that for
+thousands of years no single individual out of the myriads who
+were continually carried along by it had ever suspected its
+existence.
+
+Well had it been for all if the lesson thus taught had been deeply
+laid to heart. But unhappily it was entirely unnoticed. Science
+pursued its way with increasing energy, and more facts were year
+by year brought to light which seemed entirely to contradict the
+teaching of the Bible, and again alarm and distrust sprung up in
+the minds of what, for want of a better name, we may perhaps be
+allowed to designate as the "Theological Party." The power of the
+Church of Rome was by this time so far curtailed that the old
+means of repression were no longer available; but the old spirit
+survived, and not in Rome only. There was the same blind distrust,
+the same mistaken zeal for supposed truth, the same indignation
+which naturally arises when things which we hold precious are
+attacked, and, as it seems to us, without any sufficient reason.
+
+There was indeed much to account for and even to justify the
+feelings of anger and alarm which were excited, for the time when
+these discoveries began to be brought prominently forward was the
+latter half of the last century. At that time the famous French
+Academy was doing its deadly work, and the new discoveries were
+gladly hailed by the infidel philosophers of France, as weapons
+against the Bible. But the reception given to these discoveries by
+the theological party, though partially justified by the
+circumstances of the times, was nevertheless very mischievous in
+its results. For though the new discoveries were hailed
+enthusiastically by the infidel school, a very large portion of
+the men by whom they were made, and of those who were convinced of
+their truth, were men of a very different character. They were
+simple earnest seekers after truth as it is displayed in God's
+works. Their belief in the Bible rested in most cases on the
+authority of others. They had not investigated for themselves its
+external evidences; in many cases they had neither the ability nor
+the opportunity to do so; nor had many of them as yet become
+practically familiar with that internal evidence which the
+faithful Christian carries within him, though in time they might
+have become so, had they not been driven into infidelity by the
+reception which was given to their discoveries. When men of this
+character were informed by those to whom they were accustomed to
+look up as teachers in religious matters, that the discoveries, of
+the truth of which they were so firmly convinced, and in which
+they took such justifiable pride, were contradictory to the
+teaching of the Bible, they were placed in a position of extreme
+difficulty. For this statement was, in fact, a demand made upon
+them that they should give up these discoveries as erroneous, or
+else renounce their belief in the Bible. But their belief in the
+Bible rested in the main on the authority of others; they felt
+themselves incompetent judges of the evidence on which it rested,
+while they were fully acquainted with, and competent judges of,
+the grounds on which their own discoveries were based. The
+evidence on which they acted was, to their minds, quite as
+convincing as the Biblical evidence was to the minds of their
+antagonists. Two things, then, were pronounced incompatible by
+what seemed to be a competent authority; they could not adhere to
+both, and the natural consequence was that their assent was given
+to those statements which rested on evidence which they thoroughly
+understood, and the Bible was rejected. Thus it has come to pass
+that many of our scientific men, if not professed unbelievers,
+have yet learnt to look upon the Bible with suspicion and
+distrust. To some of them, as is evident from their writings,
+their position is a matter of profound sorrow.
+
+There have, indeed, been many noble exceptions to this state of
+things. Many men whose pre-eminence in scientific knowledge and
+research is admitted by all, have yet clung in childlike trust to
+the Bible. They have recognized its authority, they have been
+satisfied that God's Word could not be in opposition to His Work,
+and they have been content to wait in unquestioning faith for the
+day when all that now seems dark and perplexing shall be made
+clear. But there have also been very many with whom this has not
+been the case, and their unbelief has not affected themselves
+alone. The knowledge of it has had a deadly effect upon thousands
+who were utterly incompetent to form any judgment on either
+theological or scientific subjects, but who gladly welcomed
+anything which would help to justify them to their own consciences
+in their refusal to submit themselves to a law which, in their
+ignorance, they deemed to be harsh and intolerable. There has also
+been another class of sufferers. Many persons who loved the Bible,
+but whose education, and, consequently, whose powers of judgment
+in the matter were very limited, have received very great injury
+from the doubt which has been thrown on its authority. Unable of
+themselves to form a judgment on the subject, they could not be
+unmoved by the opinion expressed by those whom they regarded as
+better informed than themselves. Hence their faith has received a
+shock always painful and dangerous, often perhaps fatal.
+
+Many attempts have been made to overcome the difficulty which has
+thus arisen. When geologists first began to study the lessons
+which are to be learnt from fossils, a suggestion was made which,
+though it was soon shown to be untenable, has still perhaps a few
+supporters. It was said that these fossils were not what they
+seemed to be, the remains of creatures which once lived, but
+simple stones, fashioned from the first in their present form by
+the will of the Creator. But such an idea is at variance with all
+that either Nature or Revelation teaches us concerning God. All
+those who have any familiarity with the subject cannot but feel
+that the suggestion of such a solution of the difficulty is little
+short of a suggestion that the Almighty has stamped a lie upon the
+face of His own Work.
+
+Another proposed solution, which for a time seemed satisfactory,
+assumed several successive creations and destructions of the world
+to have taken place in the interval between the first and second
+verses of Genesis. To these all the fossil remains were ascribed,
+while the present state of things was supposed to be the result of
+the operations recorded in the remainder of the chapter. But as
+geological knowledge advanced, it soon became clear that there
+were no breaks in the chain of life; no points at which one set of
+creatures had died out, while another had not yet arisen to fill
+up the void, but that all change had been gradual and progressive,
+and that species still living on the earth are identical with some
+which were in existence when the lowest tertiary strata were in
+process of formation--a time which must have been many thousand
+years prior to the appearance of man.
+
+Other attempts have been made upon literary grounds. Hugh Miller
+[Footnote: Testimony of the Rocks.] carefully worked out a
+suggestion derived from a German source, that the history of
+Creation was presented to Moses in a series of six visions, which
+appeared to him as so many days with intervening nights. More
+recently Dr. Rorison [Footnote: In Answers to "Essays and
+Reviews."] has maintained that the first chapter of Genesis is not
+a history at all, but a poem--"the Hymn of Creation." There is,
+however, nothing in the chapter itself to confirm either of these
+views. When visions are recorded elsewhere we are told that they
+are visions, but no such hint is given us here. Nor do we find in
+the passage any of the characteristics of Hebrew poetry. It is
+inserted in an Historical document, and in the absence of any
+proof to the contrary, it is plainly itself also to be regarded as
+History.
+
+But there remains yet one method to be attempted. If there is
+reason to believe that the Bible is the Word of God, just as the
+universe is His Work, then we may well expect that each of them
+will throw light upon and help us to a right understanding of the
+other. And if there be one part beyond all others in which this
+may be confidently looked for, it is that part in which the Divine
+Architect describes His own work. We know how difficult it is to
+understand a complicated process, or a complex piece of machinery,
+from a mere written description; and how our difficulty is
+lessened if we have the opportunity of inspecting the machinery or
+the process. Just in the same way we may expect to encounter
+difficulties, and to form erroneous conclusions when we study by
+itself such a document as the history of Creation, and we may well
+expect that those difficulties will be diminished, and those
+errors corrected by an examination of that material universe, the
+production of which it describes. And, on the other hand, if
+science--the study of the universe--is found to throw light upon
+and to receive light from the Bible, this is a fresh proof that
+the Bible and the universe are from the same source; the authority
+of the Bible is more firmly established, and the conclusions
+arrived at by men of science are confirmed.
+
+But before this can be done to any good purpose, something is
+required from both the contending parties. The theological party
+must be prepared to sacrifice many an old opinion, many a
+cherished belief. Great care must be taken to discriminate between
+the genuine statements of the Mosaic Record, and the old
+interpretations which have been incorporated into and identified
+with those statements. Some, perhaps, may fear lest, in rejecting
+those interpretations, they may be setting at nought an authority
+to which they ought to submit, since these interpretations seem to
+have the sanction of the Church. But it can hardly be maintained
+that those promises of Divine guidance and protection from error
+which were given to the Church extended to such matters as this.
+No question of faith or duty is involved in the interpretation
+which we may give to the details of Creation. If there are some
+parts of the Bible in which the earliest interpretation is
+unquestionably the true one, there are also other parts, such as
+many of the prophecies, which became intelligible only when light
+was thrown upon them by subsequent events. And so it seems to be
+with the Record of Creation: it can only be rightly understood in
+proportion as we become acquainted with the details of the matters
+to which it refers. Any interpretation which was put upon it
+before those details were brought to light must of necessity be
+liable to error.
+
+But something is also required of the opposite party. At the very
+threshold of the investigation they must be asked to lay aside, so
+far as is possible, those prejudices against the Bible which have
+naturally arisen in their minds from the obstinacy with which
+views, which they knew to be untenable, have been forced upon
+their acceptance as the undoubted teaching of God, so that they
+may enter upon the investigation with unbiassed minds. Then they
+must be careful to distinguish between established facts, and
+theories however probable. There is something very fascinating in
+a well constructed theory. Theories have again and again done such
+good service in opening the way, first, to the discovery, and then
+to the arrangement of facts, that we are very apt to assign to
+them an authority far beyond that to which they are really
+entitled. When, for instance, we have ascertained that a certain
+number of facts are explained by some particular theory, we are
+apt to assume prematurely, that the same theory must account for
+and be in harmony with all similar and related facts; or, if we
+have satisfied ourselves that certain results MAY have been
+produced in a particular way, we are in great danger of being led
+to conclude that they MUST have happened in that way. No mere
+theory can have any weight against a statement resting on solid
+evidence, but where the evidence is weak, or, what is practically
+the same thing, where the knowledge of that evidence is defective,
+a probable theory must carry great weight in influencing our
+judgment. Care must therefore be taken to keep theories in their
+proper place. Where we have to deal with well-established facts,
+any interpretations to which those facts may lead us may be taken
+as also established, but interpretations which are suggested by
+theories only must be regarded as provisional, and liable to
+future modification or rejection, as our knowledge increases.
+
+The Mosaic Record itself, when carefully examined, seems to be
+peculiarly open to the process suggested. No doubt there is yet
+much work for Philology to do in its interpretation [Footnote:
+Such words, for instance, as [Hebrew script:],[Hebrew script:],
+[Hebrew script], used of different creative acts, may imply some
+difference of which we are ignorant. So again the uses of the
+words [Hebrew script], [Hebrew script:], and [Hebrew script:] for
+"man," may have a bearing on some of those questions which now
+seem most perplexing.], but one thing seems certain--there is in
+it an absence of all detail. The facts to which it has reference
+are stated in the briefest and most simple manner, without the
+slightest reference to the means by which they were effected, or,
+apart from the question of the days, the time which was occupied
+in their accomplishment. When stripped of all that is traditional,
+and examined strictly by itself, the narrative seems greatly to
+resemble one of those outline maps which are supplied to children
+who are learning geography, on which only a few prominent features
+of the country are laid down, and the learner is left to fill in
+the details as his knowledge advances. Only in this case the
+details have already been filled in by the light of very imperfect
+knowledge, aided by a fertile imagination. These we must
+obliterate if we would restore the possibility of a faithful
+delineation, and we must be careful, in future, to avoid a similar
+error. We must put down nothing as certain which has not been
+conclusively shown to be so.
+
+This last caution is specially needed at the present time, for,
+proud as we are of our advance in science, the amount of what is
+certainly known is probably very much less than we imagine. A
+great deal that was received as certain a few years ago, is now
+considered to be doubtful, or even recognized as a mistake and
+abandoned. This is especially the case with Astronomy, which seems
+to be almost in a state of revolution. Dependent, as it is almost
+entirely, upon mechanical and optical aid, every improvement and
+discovery in these departments changes its position, bringing to
+light new facts, and modifying the aspect of those which were
+previously known. The very basis of all astronomical calculations,
+the standard of time, is now no longer relied upon as invariable.
+It is suspected of a change resulting from a gradual retardation
+in the rate of the earth's rotation on its axis, produced by tidal
+friction. When the binary stars were discovered, the discovery was
+hailed as a proof of the universal prevalence of the law of
+gravitation. Later observations have thrown doubt upon that
+conclusion, as many pairs are known to exist, which, though they
+have what is termed a "common proper motion," or are journeying
+through space together, have no relative motion, which they must
+show, if they were moving under the influence of their mutual
+attractions. The supposed simplicity of the solar system has given
+place to extreme complexity. A century ago, six planets, ten
+satellites, and a few comets, were supposed to constitute the
+whole retinue of the sun: now, instead of this, we have two groups
+of four planets each, the individual members of each group closely
+resembling each other in all points within our knowledge, while in
+all these points the groups differ greatly. Between these two
+groups lies a belt of very small planets, of which the 1st was
+discovered on the first day of the present century, and the 124th
+this year, and the number of known satellites has increased from
+10 to 17. Add to this the meteoric groups, and their suspected
+connexion with certain comets, and the perplexing questions
+suggested by the Solar Corona and the Zodiacal light, and it will
+be seen that our knowledge is in a transitional state; that with
+so many problems unsolved, any apparent contradiction to the
+sacred record will require a careful scrutiny to ascertain that
+the grounds on which it is brought forward are well established.
+
+Geology, so far as our present subject is concerned, stands upon a
+somewhat different footing. Though a much younger science than
+astronomy, it has one great advantage over it; the facts with
+which it has to do are for the most part discernible by the
+unaided senses, and it is therefore independent of instrumental
+help. Many changes have occurred in the views of Geologists, but
+in the main they have reference to processes [Footnote: Such, for
+instance, is the modification of the views of geologists as to the
+relative effects of "disruption" and "denudation" in determining
+the features of the earth's surface.] rather than to results, and
+it is the results with which we are chiefly concerned.
+
+Physiologists have entered on the contest with the Bible on two
+different, and seemingly contradictory grounds. Some of them have
+maintained that the varieties of mankind are so distinct, that it
+is impossible they can all be descended from a single human pair,
+while others assert that not only all the varieties of mankind,
+but all the varieties of living beings are descended from a single
+progenitor. Between the advocates of these two systems there must
+be such an enormous difference as to the extent to which variation
+is possible, as to justify us in assuming that the fundamental
+principles of physiological science are not yet satisfactorily
+ascertained.
+
+These are the three branches of science which come especially into
+collision with the Mosaic Record of the Creation. Of these Geology
+is the most important, because it is able to bring forward
+unquestionable facts which are in direct opposition to the
+traditionary interpretation Astronomy and physiology have little
+to object except theoretical views; the hypotheses of Laplace and
+Darwin. These, however, will have to be carefully considered. It
+will be necessary for us first to ascertain whether there really
+exists any such fundamental discrepancy between the record and
+ascertained facts, or theories so far as they are supported by
+facts, and stand on a probable footing, as should render all
+attempts at harmonizing them vain. If this is found not to be the
+case, we shall then be in a position to inquire whether modern
+discoveries afford us any really valuable light, and can assist us
+to form a somewhat more extended and accurate idea of the
+processes described by the sacred historian.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+DIFFICULTIES IN GEOLOGY.
+
+
+The principal points on which there is a supposed discrepancy
+between the Mosaic Record and the discoveries of geologists are as
+follows:--
+
+THE MOSAIC RECORD APPEARS TO ASSERT--
+
+I. That the world in all its completeness, as it now exists, was
+moulded out of material in a chaotic state in six ordinary days.
+Geologists have ascertained, beyond the possibility of a doubt,
+that the process must have occupied countless ages.
+
+II. That the first appearance of animal life was on the fifth of
+those six days. Geologists have discovered that animal life was in
+existence at the very earliest period to which they have as yet
+been able to extend their investigations.
+
+III. That all living creatures are divided into two classes, and
+that the first of these classes was created on the fifth, the
+second on the sixth day; and that each class, in all its
+divisions, with the exception of man, came into existence
+simultaneously. Geologists trace the rise and increase of each
+class through a long course of ages.
+
+IV. That death entered into the world through the sin of man. The
+very existence of fossils implies that it was the law of all
+animal life from the first.
+
+V. That till the fall all creatures lived exclusively on vegetable
+food. Geologists have ascertained the existence of carnivorous
+creatures from a very remote period.
+
+Besides these, there are some other supposed difficulties and
+inaccuracies of a less important character, which may be noticed,
+in passing, when the true meaning of the record is under
+discussion.
+
+SECTION 1. THE DAYS.
+
+The question of the days is beyond all doubt the most important of
+those which have to be discussed. On the one hand, the impression
+naturally left upon the reader of the first chapter of Genesis is
+that natural days are meant, and this impression is not removed by
+a cursory inspection of the original. On the other hand, if there
+is any one scientific belief which rests on peculiarly solid
+ground, it is the belief that the formation of the world occupied
+a period which is beyond the grasp of the most powerful
+imagination.
+
+There is, indeed, some reason to think that the time claimed by
+geologists is somewhat exaggerated. Their views are in many cases
+based on the assumption that change is now going on, on the
+surface of the earth, as it did in all past time--that it is the
+same in character, in intensity, and in rate. But there are good
+reasons for supposing that almost all the causes which lead to
+change are gradually decreasing in intensity. The chief causes by
+which changes are brought about are the upheaval and subsidence of
+the earth's surface; the destructive agencies of wind, storms at
+sea, rain and frost; and the action of the tides. Of these, all
+but the last are directly dependent on the action of heat, and
+there is every reason to believe that the heat of the earth is in
+process of gradual dissipation. If this be the case, all those
+agencies which are dependent on it must
+
+[Footnote: It is thought probable that this process is complete,
+or nearly so, in the moon. If this be the case, it is in all
+probability in progress in the case of the earth, though, owing to
+the much greater bulk of the latter, it occupies a longer period.
+--Lockyer, Lessons in Astronomy, p. 93.] be declining in intensity;
+but the rate of that decrease is unknown; it may be in
+arithmetical, or it may be in geometrical progression. It is,
+then, by no means impossible that changes, which now only become
+discernible with the lapse of centuries, might, at some past
+period of our globe's history, have been the work of years only.
+Nor is it at all probable that the present rate of change, which
+is assumed as the basis of the calculation, is known with any
+approach to accuracy. Exact observations are of very recent date;
+both the inclination and the means for making them are the growth
+of the last two centuries, and the changes which have to be
+ascertained are of a class peculiarly liable to modification from
+a variety of local and temporary causes, so that a very much
+longer period must elapse before we can arrive at average values
+which may be relied on as even approximately accurate.
+
+Another circumstance, which seems to merit more attention than it
+has received, is the very frequent recurrence in Greek mythology
+of allusions to creatures which have been usually regarded as the
+creations of a poetic fancy, but which bear a strong resemblance
+to the Saurian and other monsters of the Oolite and Cretaceous
+formations. Of course, it is not impossible that these things may
+have been purely poetic imaginings; but, if so, it is very
+remarkable that such realizations of those imaginings should be
+afterwards discovered. It would seem much more probable that these
+legends were exaggerated traditions of creatures which actually
+existed when the first colonists reached their new homes, in
+numbers comparatively small, but still sufficient to occasion much
+danger and alarm to the early settlers, and to cause their
+destroyers to be regarded as among the greatest heroes of the time
+and the greatest benefactors of mankind. The Hindoo tradition of
+the tortoise on whose back stands the elephant which upholds the
+world, and the account of Leviathan in the Book of Job, seem to
+point in the same direction. [Footnote: For additional instances
+see Tylor's Early History of Mankind, p. 303.]
+
+But, after all, the question is not one of a few thousands of
+years more or less, but of six common days, or many thousands of
+years. It may help us to arrive at a right conclusion on the
+subject if we endeavour to ascertain, in the first instance,
+whether there are any strongly-marked indications that the writer
+of the first chapter of Genesis did possess some accurate
+information on some points in the history of Creation which he was
+not likely to obtain by his own researches. For this purpose we
+will place in parallel columns the leading facts recorded by
+Moses, and a table of the successive formations of the rocks,
+abridged from the last edition (1871) of Sir C. Lyell's Student's
+Geology. This process will bring to light certain coincidences
+which may serve as landmarks for our investigation.
+
+       The Days.                                THE ROCKS.
+
+    1. Creation of light.
+
+    2. Creation of the Atmosphere.
+
+
+        |The earth covered with water          |Laurentian.
+    3.--|     [implied].                       |Cambrian.
+        |Upheaval of land.                ----|Silurian.
+        |Creation of terrestrial Flora.        |Devonian.
+                                               |Carboniferous.
+
+    4. The sun and moon made "Luminaries."----|Permian.
+                                               |Triassic.
+
+                                               |Triassic.
+    5. Creation of birds and reptiles     ----|Jurassic.
+                                               |Cretaceous,
+                                               |Eocene.
+
+    6.--|Creation of land animals.        ----|Eocene.
+        |Creation of man.                      |Miocene.
+                                               |Pleiocene.
+                                               |Post Tertiary.
+
+CONCURRENT EVENTS.
+
+Laurentian: Upper Laurentian unconformably placed on Lower
+Laurentian, which contains Eozoon Canadense.
+
+Cambrian: Traces of volcanic action. Ripple marks indicating land.
+
+Silurian: Earliest fish.
+
+Devonian: Earliest land plants.
+
+Carboniferous: The coal measures. Peculiarly abundant vegetation.
+Earliest known reptile.
+
+Permian: Foot-prints of birds and reptiles--with a few remains of
+the latter.
+
+Jurassic: The first bird, and the first mammal. The age of
+reptiles.
+
+Cretaceous: Reptiles passing away, mammalia abundant and of large
+size.
+
+Post Tertiary: Human remains found only in the most recent
+deposits. In this table we see certain points of strongly-marked
+coincidence:--
+
+1. The oldest rocks with which we are acquainted--the Lower
+Laurentian [Footnote: The age of granite is uncertain.--Lyell'a
+Student's Geology, p. 548.]--were formed under water, but had
+begun to be elevated before the next series, the Upper Laurentian,
+were deposited. Ripple marks are found in the Cambrian group
+[Footnote: Ibid. p. 470], indicating that the parts where they
+occur formed a sea-beach, and, consequently, that dry land was in
+existence at that time.
+
+2. The earliest fossil land plants as yet discovered are found in
+the Devonian series, and they gradually increase till, in the
+Carboniferous strata, they attain the extreme abundance which gave
+rise to the coal measures.
+
+3. The age of reptiles. The earliest known reptile is found in the
+Carboniferous strata. In the Permian and Triassic groups the
+numbers gradually increase, till in the Lias, Oolite, and
+Cretaceous systems, this class attains a very great development
+both numerically and in the magnitude of individual specimens.
+During the same period the first traces of birds are found. The
+first actual fossil bird was found in the upper Oolite.
+
+4. The age of mammalia. The first remains--two teeth of a small
+marsupial--were discovered in the Rhaetic beds of the Upper Trias,
+and a somewhat similar discovery has been made in beds of
+corresponding periods in Devonshire and North America. During the
+subsequent periods the numbers slowly increase, till in the
+Tertiary strata the mammalian becomes the predominant type.
+
+5. The earliest traces of man--flint implements--are found in the
+Post Tertiary strata.
+
+We have then in the Mosaic narrative five points which correspond
+in order and character to five points in the Geological record;
+and with reference to two, at least, of these points, we cannot
+imagine any cause for the coincidence in the shape of a fortunate
+conjecture, because, so far as we can tell, there was nothing
+apparent on the face of the earth to suggest to the mind of the
+writer the long past existence of such a state of things as has
+been revealed to us by the discovery of the Carboniferous and
+Reptilian remains. It seems then that Moses must have been in
+possession of information which could not be obtained from any
+ordinary source. But if he was thus acquainted with the order in
+which the development took place, there is nothing improbable in
+the supposition that he was not altogether ignorant of the length
+of time which that development required.
+
+Let us suppose then that his knowledge did extend a little
+farther; let us suppose him to have been aware that each of the
+Creations which he describes was a process occupying many
+thousands of years--how could he have imparted this knowledge to
+his readers? What modification could he have introduced into his
+narrative, which without changing its general character, or
+detracting from its extreme simplicity, should have embodied this
+fact?
+
+This amounts to the question: What words significant of definite
+periods of time were in use, and consequently at the writer's
+command, at this time? No language is very rich in such words; but
+in the early Hebrew they seem to have been very scanty. The day,
+week, month, year, and generation (this last usually implying the
+time from the birth of a man to that of his son, but possibly in
+Gen. xv. 16, a century) are all that we find. These in their
+literal sense were evidently inadequate. Nor could the deficiency
+be supplied by numerals, even if the general style of the
+narrative would have admitted their use, for we find in Genesis no
+numeral beyond the thousand. There was no word at all in early
+Hebrew equivalent to our words "period" and "season." When such an
+idea was to be expressed, it was done by the use of the word
+"day," either in the singular, or more commonly in the plural.
+Thus, "the time of harvest;" "the season of the first ripe fruit,"
+are literally "the days of harvest," "the days of the first ripe
+fruit." In Isaiah xxxiv. 8, the singular is used, and followed by
+the word year in the same indefinite sense. "It is the day of the
+Lord's vengeance, and the year of recompenses for the controversy
+of Zion."
+
+The only method then which was open to the writer was to make use
+of one of the words above mentioned in an extended sense, just as
+he used the word [Hebrew script] (earth) in several senses. But if
+one of them was to be employed, the one which he has chosen seems
+the best; not only because its use in that way was common, but
+because the brevity of the time covered by its natural
+significance would in itself be a hint of the way in which it was
+used. That which was impossible in a day might be possible in a
+year or a generation. The extended significance of the word would
+become apparent just in proportion as the time covered by its
+natural significance was inadequate for the processes ascribed to
+it.
+
+An additional reason may, perhaps, be found for the choice of the
+word "day," in the accordance of its phenomena with some, at
+least, of the processes which Moses describes--the dawn, the light
+slowly increasing to the perfect day, and then fading away
+gradually into night--these do seem aptly to represent the first
+scanty appearance, the gradual increase, and the vast development
+of plants, of the reptiles and of the mammalia, and in the case of
+the first two classes, their gradual passing away.
+
+But if the word was thus employed in a figurative, and not in its
+natural sense, we may expect to find some indications in the
+context that this was the case. Such indications we do find. The
+fact that the work of Creation was distributed into days, is, in
+itself, significant. There is no reason to believe that in the
+opinion of the writer each day's work tasked to the utmost the
+power of the Creator. Moses was evidently as well aware as we are,
+that to Him it would have been equally easy, had He so willed, to
+call everything into instant and perfect being at a single word.
+Nor was the detailed description necessary to establish the
+foundation of all religion--the right of the Creator to the entire
+obedience of His creature For this the short recapitulation which
+(ch. ii. 4) prefaces the more detailed account of man's peculiar
+relation to his Maker would have been sufficient. Some purpose,
+however, there must have been for this more particular account
+which precedes the summary. We may trace two probable reasons. It
+brings before us the method of the Divine Working in the light of
+an orderly progress. But beside this, it is of infinite service to
+us, in enabling us more thoroughly to realize the Fatherly
+character and ever watchful care of our Creator. As far as that
+care itself was concerned, it was unimportant whether the work was
+instantaneous or progressive; but it was very important to us, in
+so far as it affected our conceptions of God, and of our relations
+to Him. For all our conceptions of God must rest ultimately on our
+self-consciousness; we can form no idea of Him except in so far as
+that idea is analogous to something which comes within the range
+of our own experience. Now to us and to our feelings there is a
+very wide difference between an act performed in a moment, and a
+work over which we have lovingly dwelt, and to which we have
+devoted our time, our labour, and our thought, for months or
+years. The one may pass from our mind and be forgotten as quickly
+as it was performed, but in the other we commonly feel an abiding
+interest. When therefore the great Creator is represented to us as
+thus dwelling upon His work, carrying it on step by step, through
+the long ages, to its completion, we find it far less difficult to
+realize that other truth, so precious to us, that His care and His
+tender mercies are over all His works, that the loving
+watchfulness which still upholds all, and provides for all, is but
+the continuance of that care which was displayed in the creation
+of all. Creation, Providence and Grace are blended together in one
+continuous manifestation of the Divine Wisdom, Power, and Love.
+
+But for this purpose it is of little importance to us whether
+Creation is described as taking place in a moment, or in six
+ordinary days. If the division into six days indicates orderly
+progress and watchful care, we naturally expect to find the same
+indications in each of the subordinate parts. To our imperfect
+conceptions each single day's work would bear that same character
+of vast instantaneous action which seemed so undesirable. It would
+not help us to realize what it is so important that we should
+thoroughly feel. The very fact then that the history of Creation
+is divided into days carries with it a strong presumption that
+those days are not ordinary days.
+
+In the 14th and following verses, when Moses is describing the
+formation of the heavenly luminaries, he is particular in
+mentioning that one part of their office was to "rule over the day
+and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness."
+Hence it is sometimes inferred that he was under a mistake in
+speaking of day and night at an earlier period. But such a mistake
+seems incredible. To suppose that Moses did not perceive that what
+he wrote in the 14th and following verses was incompatible with
+what he had written in the 4th and 5th verses, if such an
+incompatibility really existed, is to impute to him an amount of
+ignorance or carelessness which is at variance with the whole
+character of his writings from beginning to end. Instead of this
+it will be shown hereafter that, in all probability, his
+statements rested on a wide knowledge of facts. If then, under
+such circumstances, he uses the word "day" long before he comes to
+the formation of the sun, the natural inference is that he did so
+designedly--that it was his intention that his readers should
+understand that he was speaking of something very different from
+that natural day which is regulated by sunrise and sunset.
+
+The way too in which he introduces the mention of the first and
+following days is apparently significant, though its full meaning
+is probably more than we can at present understand. In ver. 5 he
+carefully defines light and darkness as the equivalents of day and
+night; but in the next verse he passes over these words, and
+introduces two new ones, which he has not defined; these two words
+being as much out of place before the creation of the atmosphere
+as light and darkness are supposed to have been before the
+Creation of the Sun. And not only does he introduce two new words,
+but he introduces them in a very remarkable and, with our present
+knowledge, unaccountable manner. Had he said "And there was
+morning and there was evening, one day," we should have found no
+difficulty in harmonizing; his words with what he had previously
+said concerning the evolution of light. But he first of all
+reverses the order, and then does not supply the natural
+termination to his sentence--"And there was evening and there was
+morning,"--"one night" would seem to be the natural conclusion;
+but instead of that we read, "there was evening and there was
+morning, one day." Whatever farther significance then may be
+hereafter discovered in this remarkable statement, one thing at
+all events seems clear, that it was designed to call attention to
+the fact that the day spoken of was not a natural day. Probably
+certain stages in the progress of the work were indicated, which
+farther investigations may disclose to us. A few years ago such
+stages seemed to be discernible, but the continued progress of
+discovery has partly obliterated the supposed lines of
+demarcation. Still further discoveries may bring to light other
+divisions.
+
+In the opening of the second chapter we are told that God rested
+on the seventh day from all His work, and His rest is spoken of in
+such a way as to carry our thoughts at once to the Fourth
+Commandment. In that commandment the duty of hallowing a seventh
+portion of our time is based on the fact that "in six days the
+Lord made heaven and earth, the sea and all that in them is, and
+rested the seventh day." But the analogy entirely fails unless the
+days of the Creator's work bore the same proportion to the day of
+His rest which man's six days of labour bear to his Sabbath. Now
+we are expressly told in other parts of Scripture that the Divine
+Sabbath is not yet ended (Heb. iii. iv.), and we are led to infer
+that it will not end till He that sitteth upon the throne shall
+say, "Behold I make all things new." If then the Sabbath of the
+Creator is measured by thousands of years--the whole duration of
+man upon the earth--it follows that the days of His work must have
+been of corresponding length.
+
+One more indication, so strong that in itself it seems sufficient
+to decide the question, is to be found in the 4th verse of the
+second chapter. [Footnote: It is not unusual with critics of the
+German school to assert that this is an independent account of the
+Creation. But the assertion does not appear to have any valid
+foundation. The supposed grounds for it are well discussed in the
+"Speaker's Commentary," vol. i. p. 23, and in "Aids to Faith,"
+Essay v., Sections 2, 4, 5. It has already been pointed out that
+the supposed variations in order rest entirely on the
+translation.] In that verse all that is ascribed to the six days
+in the preceding chapter is summed up as the work of a single day.
+If then the word is used in a natural sense in the first chapter,
+it is clearly used in an extended sense in the second chapter. But
+if it had been used in a natural sense in the first chapter, there
+would have been no need whatever for its use here. Its place would
+have been taken--and most appropriately--by the word [Hebrew
+script], a week, with which Moses was familiar (ch. xxix. 28;
+Deut. xvi. 10). Its use here would have connected the weekly
+division of time with the Creation, and as its presence would have
+been thus strongly significant, its absence is a no less
+significant indication that the six days spoken of in the
+preceding chapter are something very different from six natural
+days.
+
+Three points, therefore, seem to be clear:--
+
+1. However the chapter may be interpreted, there are in it
+coincidences with ascertained facts so marked that they cannot
+possibly be fortuitous. They prove therefore that Moses was in
+possession of some accurate information on the subject on which he
+was writing.
+
+As we proceed with our subject we shall come upon many more
+indications of this, some of them exceedingly remarkable. It is
+therefore by no means improbable that he was acquainted with the
+fact, that the work which he was describing was one which had
+occupied a long series of ages.
+
+2. Supposing that Moses was acquainted with all which has now been
+discovered by geologists, and that he was desirous of imparting
+that knowledge to his readers, the language which he has employed
+is the most appropriate that, under the circumstances, he could
+have chosen for the purpose. 3. The phenomena exhibited by the
+context indicate not only that he had this intention, but that he
+also intended that such of his readers as were competent to
+entertain the idea, should have sufficient indications to guide
+them to his meaning.
+
+Whatever then may be the real significance of the "days"--a point
+which the knowledge at present in our possession seems
+insufficient to explain--it seems very clear that something very
+different from natural days is intended. And this is a sufficient
+answer to the objection which is founded on that interpretation.
+That there would be very many points which as yet we are unable
+fully to understand, has been already shown to be not only
+possible but probable; and among them it appears this question of
+the true meaning of the days must be left for the present. When we
+come to consider subsequently the great number of points in which
+harmony between the narrative and discovered facts is brought out
+on investigation, [Footnote: Chap. v.] we may well be content to
+leave many points unexplained till our knowledge is greatly
+increased.
+
+SECTION 2. FIRST TRACES OF LIFE.
+
+The second objection has reference to the relative antiquity of
+the various forms of life, of which we find traces in the
+successive strata of the rocks. If it be assumed that the apparent
+coincidences which have been pointed out between the Mosaic
+narrative and the geological records are real, and that the
+traditional interpretation is the true one, then we ought to find--
+
+1. No traces at all of animal life below the Trias.
+
+2. No traces of mammalia below the Cretaceous formation.
+
+But the examination of the rocks leads to a very different result.
+Traces of life have been found, probably in the Laurentian,
+certainly in the Cambrian rocks. The earliest known fish is the
+Pteraspis, which has been discovered in the upper Silurian
+formation at Leintwardine, in Shropshire. The first member of the
+reptilian order, Archegesaurus, occurs in the coal measures; and
+the first traces of a mammalian--two teeth--occur at the junction
+of the Lias and Trias. In every case, then, we meet with traces of
+life at a period long anterior to that at which we should
+naturally expect them.
+
+In order to ascertain the real weight of this objection we hare to
+investigate two points:--
+
+1. What are the animals to which the Mosaic Record refers?
+
+2. What does it really tell us about the creation of those
+animals?
+
+1. It is commonly assumed that all living creatures are
+comprehended under the terms used in describing the work of the
+fifth and sixth days. But a more careful examination shows that
+there is no real ground for this assumption. The first point which
+presents itself is the omission of the Hebrew word for fish,
+[Hebrew script], in the account of the fifth day--an omission the
+more marked, because the word does occur in vv. 26, 28, in which
+dominion over all living creatures is granted to man. The two
+words which are used in ver. 21 are [Hebrew script] from [Hebrew
+script], to stretch out, to extend, and [Hebrew script], from
+[Hebrew script], identical with [Hebrew script], to trample with
+the feet. The description then points us to animals of great size,
+especially length, which trample with the feet. "Great sea-
+monsters," Gesenius calls them. These words clearly indicate the
+Saurian and allied tribes of reptiles; and when we turn to the
+rocks we find the remains of these creatures occurring in great
+numbers, precisely at the point which Moses assigns to them.
+
+Again, in the account of the sixth day, three classes of animals
+are mentioned; but we have no means whatever of ascertaining what
+kinds of animals were comprehended in these three classes, or
+whether they included all the mammalia then known to the Jews;
+much less then are we justified in inferring that they comprehend
+all mammalia that were then, or ever had been in existence.
+
+But it may perhaps appear strange, that the account of the
+Creation of living beings should be of such limited extent,
+embracing only reptiles, birds, and mammals. A little
+consideration, however, will remove this apparent strangeness. We
+should, perhaps, naturally expect to have some notice of the first
+appearance of animal life; but from the circumstances under which
+Moses wrote such a notice was simply impossible. The lowest and
+simplest form of life with which we are now acquainted is the
+Amoeba Princeps, a minute particle of jelly-like substance, called
+sarcode--scarcely larger than a small grain of sand--and with no
+distinction of organs or limbs. [Footnote: Carpenter, The
+Microscope and its Revelations, p. 428.] The oldest known fossil,
+Eozoon Canadense, is of a class but little above this--the
+foraminifera; we may therefore deem it probable that life began
+with some form not very unlike the Amoeba. How could the formation
+of such a creature have been described to the contemporaries of
+Moses? They could have had no idea of its existence. To describe
+the first beginnings of life then, was, under the circumstances,
+an absolute impossibility. But if a part only of the long series
+of animal life could possibly be noticed, the determination of the
+point at which he should first speak of it would be left to the
+writer, guided as he would be by considerations of the object for
+which, and the persons for whom, he wrote, which we must
+necessarily in our position be unable duly to estimate. All that
+we are entitled to expect is that the account, so far as it
+extends, should be in accordance with facts.
+
+The next point to be ascertained is, "Does the Mosaic Record
+intimate that the creations of reptiles on the fifth, and of
+mammals on the sixth days were entirely new creations, i.e. that
+no creatures of these classes had existed before?" There is no
+direct assertion to this effect; it is only an inference, though a
+natural one, when we consider the circumstances under which it was
+drawn. When, however, we turn to the original we find the 20th
+verse worded in a way which seems designed to avoid the suggestion
+of such an inference. Literally translated it is, "Let the waters
+swarm swarms, the soul of life." Such creatures then may have
+existed before, but not in swarms. And in the account of the sixth
+day, as has been already noticed, three forms of mammalia are
+specified, and we have no knowledge as to the varieties included
+in these three forms. Nor is there here any intimation that it was
+the first creation of such animals. The greater part of the
+earlier fossils belong to the Marsupialia and Mouotremata, and we
+have no reason to believe that these classes have existed in
+historic times in Europe, Asia, or Africa. They are now confined
+(with the exception of the opossums, which are American) to
+Australia. They were therefore entirely unknown to the Jews, and
+in consequence necessarily omitted in a document intended for
+their use.
+
+What has been said with reference to reptiles is also applicable
+to birds. The first traces of them are found in the ornithichnites
+of the new red sandstone, and the first fossil--Archaeopteryx, in
+the Solenhofen strata, belonging to the Oolite. From the nature of
+the case the remains are necessarily scanty, since birds would be
+less exposed than other animals to those casualties which would
+lead to their preservation as fossils, but enough traces have been
+found to show that in the period corresponding to the fifth day
+they were very numerous, and attained in many instances to a
+gigantic stature. A height of from ten to twelve feet was not
+uncommon.
+
+When, therefore, we notice that the fifth and sixth days
+correspond to two periods, in the first of which reptiles and
+birds, and in the second mammalia, were the prominent types, the
+words of the sacred historian seem to have an adequate
+interpretation in that fact. There is no contradiction between the
+two records. Moses describes but a very few of the facts which
+geology has brought to light, but those few facts are in exact
+accordance with the results of independent observation. The acts
+of Creation of which Moses speaks correspond to remarkable
+developments of the orders of animals to which he refers. To have
+noticed the time of the appearance of the first individual member
+of each class, as distinguished from the time when that class
+occupied the foremost place in the ranks of creation, would have
+been inconsistent with the simplicity and brevity of the
+narrative, while it would have been unintelligible to those for
+whom the narrative was intended, since these primeval types had
+passed out of existence ages before the creation of man. It is,
+however, noteworthy, that the first appearances of the several
+orders follow precisely the same arrangement as the times of their
+greatest development.
+
+SECTION 3. SIMULTANEOUS CREATION.
+
+This objection may be very briefly disposed of, though it appears
+to be one which has made a very deep impression on Mr. Darwin.
+[Footnote: Origin of Species, p 1, &c.] It is entirely an
+inference drawn from the old interpretation of the six days. While
+that interpretation was received it followed, as a necessary
+consequence, that the creation of all kinds of plants on the third
+day, and of reptiles, birds, and mammalia on the fifth and sixth
+days respectively, must have been simultaneous. But if that
+interpretation is proved to be untenable, the inference drawn from
+it falls to the ground. The language of the narrative seems to
+point in an opposite direction. There is one instance in the
+chapter in which the words used seem to point to an instantaneous
+result. "And God said 'Let light be' and Light was," though in
+this case the words probably have a further significance, which
+has been brought out by the discovery of the nature of light. But
+in these three cases the command is first recorded, with (in two
+cases) the addition "and it was so," and then the narrative goes
+on to speak of the fulfilment of the command, as if the command
+and its fulfilment were distinct things.
+
+SECTION 4. DEATH. CARNIVOROUS ANIMALS.
+
+These two objections may advantageously be considered together,
+since the fifth is in a great measure, though not entirely,
+dependent upon the fourth. For if death, in the common sense of
+the word, was unknown till the fall of Adam, it follows as a
+necessary consequence that no carnivorous creatures could have
+existed before that time. On the other hand, it may be considered
+as the natural death of large classes of animals to be devoured by
+the carnivora; so that if there were no carnivorous animals prior
+to the Fall, one of the avenues to death, at all events, had not
+been opened.
+
+There is really no ground at all for the first of these objections
+in the actual history of Creation. It is only when the threat held
+out to Adam (ii. 17) is viewed in the light of St. Paul's comment
+upon it (Rom. v. 12; viii. 20) that the supposition can be
+entertained. This, then, is the real foundation of the difficulty.
+
+But, first of all, there is no reason to suppose that St. Paul's
+words refer to any death but that of man. Now, it may well have
+been, that although man, having a body exactly analogous to those
+of the animals, would naturally have been subject, like them, to
+the ordinary laws of decay and death, yet in the case of a
+creature who possessed so much which raised him above the level of
+the lower animals, there may have been some provision made which
+should exempt him from this necessity. That this was the case
+appears probable from the mention made in the narrative of the
+Tree of Life. We have no intimation whether the action of the
+fruit of this tree was physical or sacramental, but that, in one
+way or other, it had the power to preserve man from physical death
+seems almost certain from the way in which it is spoken of after
+the Fall (iii. 22-24). But the mention of the Tree of Life leads
+to the inference that the case of Adam was entirely exceptional.
+
+In the next place, it does not seem probable that that dissolution
+of the body which was the natural lot of all other animals was the
+whole, or even the chief part, of the evil consequence of Adam's
+fall. That it was included in the penalty seems probable, but it
+only constituted a comparatively unimportant part of that penalty.
+The threat was, "In THE DAY that thou eatest thereof thou shalt
+surely die," and we cannot doubt that the Divine words were
+exactly fulfilled, though Adam's natural death did not take place
+for many hundred years. But the guilty creatures, covering their
+nakedness with fig-leaves, crouching among the trees of the garden
+in the vain hope of hiding themselves from the face of their
+Maker, who were to transmit an inheritance of sin and shame and
+misery to their yet unborn posterity, were surely very different
+beings from those whom the Creator but a short time before had
+pronounced "very good." The true life of the soul was gone; the
+image of God defaced. This was the real, the terrible death. If
+death in its full sense means nothing more than the dissolution of
+the body, our Lord's words, "He that liveth and believeth in Me
+shall never die," have failed of their fulfilment. That promise
+has been in force for more than eighteen centuries, and yet no
+case has occurred of a Christian, however holy he may have been,
+or however strong his faith, who has escaped the universal doom.
+The Church of the Patriarchs could point to an Enoch, the Jewish
+Church to an Elijah, who were exempted from the universal penalty;
+but Christianity can point to no such exemption, nor does she need
+it. To her members, to die is to sleep in Jesus; to be absent from
+the body is to be present with the Lord, for the penalty of death
+is cancelled.
+
+Though, then, it seems by no means improbable that Adam, if he had
+not fallen, would have been exempt from the dissolution of the
+body, yet this is not absolutely certain, and even if it were
+certain, his case would be an exceptional one: no inference as to
+the immortality of the animal creation could have been drawn from
+it.
+
+The supposition that all animals prior to the fall lived entirely
+on vegetable food rests partly on this groundless inference, and
+partly on the Divine Words recorded in verse 30: "And to every
+beast of the field, and to every fowl of the air, have I given
+every green herb for meat." But it is important to notice that
+these words are not recorded as addressed to the animals, like the
+command to be fruitful and multiply. Had this been the case, any
+omission to mention the flesh of other animals, might have been
+looked upon as significant. Instead of this they are addressed to
+Adam, and they follow other words in which the same things are
+assigned to Adam for his food. They come then in the form of a
+limitation to the rights granted to Adam, rather than of a
+definition of the rights of the lower animals. Adam was to have
+the free use of every green herb, but he was not to account
+himself the exclusive owner of it. The beast of the field and the
+fowl of the air were to be co-proprietors with him; they were to
+have the use of it as freely as himself; but that they were to be
+restricted to the use of vegetable food nowhere appears.
+Accordingly we know that carnivorous creatures have existed from
+the first, and that though to a superficial observer this may
+appear a cruel arrangement, yet in reality it is a most merciful
+provision, by which aged, weak, or maimed animals are preserved
+from the agonies of death by starvation.
+
+We may conclude then that there is no real contradiction between
+the conclusions at which Geologists have arrived, and the words
+actually made use of by Moses, but that all such supposed
+contradictions have arisen from meanings being attached to those
+words, which, though possible or even probable, were not the only
+possible meanings. When the difficulty has been suggested, and the
+words have in consequence been more closely examined, it appears
+that they are capable of an interpretation in strict harmony with
+every fact which Geologists have as yet discovered, and that in
+many cases there are not wanting indications that the writer
+intended them to be thus understood.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+DIFFICULTIES IN ASTRONOMY.
+
+
+These objections, so far as they are based or supposed to be based
+on ascertained facts, are very few and insignificant. The chief of
+them are as follows:--
+
+1. Moses describes light, and the division of night and day as
+existing before the Creation of the Sun.
+
+2. Moses describes the firmament as a solid vault.
+
+3. Moses speaks of the stars as created on the fourth day, only
+two days before Adam, whereas astronomers have asserted that many
+of them are so distant that the light by which we see them must
+have been on its way ages before Adam was created.
+
+That part of the first objection which refers to the existence of
+light prior to the creation of the Sun, appears so extremely
+childish that it might have been thought unnecessary to notice it,
+had it not been solemnly propounded in such a work as "Essays and
+Reviews." [Footnote: Page 219] Anyone who is in possession of a
+telescope of but moderate power may satisfy himself of its
+futility on any starlight night. He has only to turn his telescope
+to one or two of the more conspicuous nebulae; the Great Nebula in
+Orion, for instance, or the Ring Nebula in Lyra, and his eye will
+receive light which has not come from any Sun, for it is a well-
+ascertained fact that these nebulae are nothing but vast masses of
+incandescent gas. And this objection is singularly inappropriate
+in the mouth of the opponents of the Mosaic Record, inasmuch as
+the Nebular hypothesis is with them the favourite method of
+accounting for the present state of things. The view which they
+bring forward as an alternative to the Mosaic account assumes the
+very state of things which, when, alleged by Moses, they denounce
+as impossible. The other part of this objection, which refers to
+the division of day and night, will be more advantageously
+discussed when we come to consider the actual accounts of the
+first and fourth days' work. It will then appear probable that the
+statements which Moses has made on this subject, instead of being
+indications of ignorance, are the result of a profound knowledge
+of the subject on which he was writing.
+
+Next, it is alleged that Moses describes the firmament as a solid
+vault.[Footnote: Essays and Reviews, p. 220.] "The work of the
+second day of creation is to erect the vault of heaven, which is
+represented as supporting an ocean of water above it." That the
+Greek and Latin translations in this place do seem to imply the
+idea of solidity seems indisputable; and from the Latin the word
+"firmament" has passed into our own language. But there is no
+reason to think that the Hebrew word has any such meaning. It is
+derived from a root signifying "to beat out--to extend."
+[Footnote: May not this root, [Hebrew script], have some connexion
+with [Hebrew script], "to be light," from which is derived the
+Aramaic "Raca" of Matt. v. 22?] The verb is often applied to the
+beating out of metals, but not always. It is a new doctrine in
+etymology, that the meaning of a verbal noun is to be deduced from
+the nouns which often supply objects to its root, instead of from
+the meaning of the root itself. But even if it can be shown that
+the word did originally involve such a meaning, that would be
+nothing to the purpose. It would only be in the same case with a
+vast number of other words, which, though etymologically untrue,
+are habitually used without inconvenience, because they do convey
+to the minds of others the idea which we intend to convey, their
+etymology being lost sight of. Probably, the very persons who
+bring forward the objection do sometimes use the word "firmament,"
+though they know the error which is involved in it. Nor would they
+be any more accurate if they substituted for it the Saxon word
+"heaven," since that also involves a scientific inaccuracy. The
+word used by Moses was the commonly recognized name for the object
+of which he was writing; and no objection to his use of it can be
+maintained, unless it can be shown that in using it he rejected
+some other word equally intelligible to all, and which was at the
+same time etymologically correct. But there is no ground for the
+assumption that any such word existed in the time of Moses or at
+any subsequent period.
+
+The third objection, of course, ceases to have any force if the
+days of creation are no longer regarded as natural days. But the
+objection is in itself, apart from this condition, of no
+consequence whatever. For, in the first place, it is by no means
+certain, or even probable, that the stars referred to in the
+fourth day's work are the fixed stars. The Hebrew has no word for
+planets as distinguished from the fixed stars, although, as we
+know for certain, the difference between the planets and the fixed
+stars was recognized from a very early period. In every case,
+then, the context must determine the sense to be given to the
+word. In this case, the fact that these stars are mentioned in
+connexion with the sun and moon, combined with our knowledge that
+the planets, like the moon, are dependent upon the sun for their
+light, would lead us to infer that they are meant.
+
+But even if the fixed stars were meant, the objection would be no
+longer tenable. It rests on certain estimates as to the supposed
+distances of the fixed stars and star clusters, which were formed
+by the late Sir W. Herschel from what he designated the "space-
+penetrating power" of his telescopes. Starting with the assumption
+that the stars were of tolerably uniform size and brilliancy, and
+that the difference in apparent brightness was the result, and
+therefore a measure of their distances, he proceeded to apply the
+same process to the star clusters, which, even in a fair
+telescope, present only the appearance of faint nebulous spots of
+light, but are resolved into clusters of stars by more powerful
+instruments. In many cases, he found that a certain proportion
+existed between the telescopic power by which a cluster was first
+rendered visible, and that required for its resolution, and by
+this means he formed what he considered a probable estimate of its
+distance. Other clusters there were which only became visible in
+his most powerful telescopes, and which, therefore, he could never
+succeed in resolving. These he placed at a still greater distance,
+and from this estimate he deduced the conclusion that their light
+must have been in some cases as much as 60,000 years in reaching
+the earth.
+
+But the whole foundation on which this long chain of inference
+rested has now been shown to be evanescent. In the first place
+many of his irresolvable nebulae have been proved by the
+spectroscope to be true nebulae--masses of luminous gas, and not
+star clusters at all; and, in the next place, the actual distances
+of a few of the fixed stars have been approximately ascertained,
+and it is proved beyond all doubt that the different degree of
+brightness exhibited by different stars is no test at all of their
+distance. Of all the stars in our hemisphere whose distance has
+thus been measured, the nearest to us is one which can only just
+be discerned by a practised eye on a favourable night, 61 Cygni,
+whilst the most brilliant star visible in England, Sirius, is at a
+considerably greater distance. The most competent judges estimate
+the magnitude of Sirius as about one thousand times that of the
+sun [Footnote: Mr. Proctor in Good Words, February, 1872.]. In
+addition to this, many stars of very different magnitudes are
+found to be related to each other in such a way as to show that
+they are in actual, and not merely in optical proximity. The
+clusters which were formerly supposed to consist of large stars at
+enormous distances from us, are now, upon very solid grounds,
+believed to be formed of much smaller stars, at much more moderate
+distances, so that it is very improbable that there is any object
+visible in the heavens whose light has taken so much as 6000
+years, instead of 60,000 years to reach us.
+
+THE NEBULAR THEORY.
+
+We come now to the consideration of the Nebular Theory of Laplace,
+in so far as it is opposed to the Mosaic account. It must be
+remembered that, after all, this is only a theory. Even if it
+could be satisfactorily established, it would only point out a way
+in which this world MIGHT have been formed. That it could not have
+been formed in any other way is an independent proposition, in
+support of which no single argument has ever yet been brought
+forward. There may be a greater or less probability that the earth
+was formed in this particular way, that probability depending on
+the extent to which the theory accounts for observed facts. This
+it does in many cases, and it has in consequence been accepted AS
+A WHOLE by many scientific men, as a substitute for the Scriptural
+account. As will be seen hereafter, there are strong reasons for
+admitting it as a supplement to the brief account given by Moses;
+but our business now is to ascertain, whether it has any just
+claim to be received instead of that account.
+
+The theory seems to have been suggested by certain speculations of
+Sir W. Herschel. In his telescopic examination of the Nebulae and
+star clusters, he found that in a great number of cases, when a
+nebula was rendered visible by a certain amount of telescopic
+power, it would be resolved into separate stars by a telescope of
+a little higher power. But there were some nebulae, visible in
+very small telescopes, or even discernible with the naked eye,
+such as those in Orion and Andromeda, which could not be resolved
+even by his great four-foot reflector, the largest telescope that
+had then been constructed. And these nebulae exhibited a great
+variety of forms. Some of them were vast shapeless masses of faint
+light; others, which he designated "planetary" nebulae, exhibited
+a regular form--a circular disc more or less clearly defined,
+often brightest in the centre. Others seemed to be intermediate
+between these two classes. Hence he was led to the idea that these
+were worlds in the process of formation, and that their varying
+forms indicated varying stages of that process.
+
+This suggestion was eagerly adopted by the members of the French
+Academy, who were at that time on the look-out for anything which
+they thought would help them to account for the existence of the
+world, while they refused to acknowledge a Creator. It was taken
+up by one of their number--Laplace--a man who stood in the very
+foremost rank as a mathematician and physical astronomer, and
+moulded into shape by him.[Footnote: There is a very full account
+of Laplace's hypothesis, extracted from the works of Pontecoulant,
+in Professor Nichol's System of the World, pp. 69--86.]
+
+He assumed, that the Solar System existed at the very earliest
+period as a shapeless nebula, a vast undefined mass of "fire-
+mist;" that at some time or other the separate particles of this
+fire-mist began to move towards their centre of gravity, under the
+influence of their mutual attractions, and thus assumed a
+spherical shape; that by some means or other a motion of rotation
+was originated in this spherical mass, which increased in rapidity
+as the process of condensation advanced. The effect of this
+rotation would be a flattening of the sphere; the equatorial
+diameter would increase while the polar diameter, or axis of
+rotation, diminished; and when the centrifugal force thus produced
+had reached a certain point, a ring would detach itself from the
+equator, but would continue to revolve about the common centre. He
+supposed that a succession of rings were thus thrown off, which
+finally broke up and accumulated into one or more spherical
+masses, forming the planets and their satellites, while the
+remainder of the original sphere was condensed into the sun. The
+planets and their satellites would continue to revolve about the
+centre as the ring from which they were formed had done, while the
+different original velocities of the particles of which they were
+formed, some having been in the outer, some in the inner part of
+the ring, would cause them also to rotate on their axis. As the
+condensation advanced, the heat which had originally existed in
+the "fire-mist" would be condensed also, so that all the masses
+when formed would be in an incandescent state, but the planets and
+their satellites being comparatively small would soon cool down,
+while the sun, owing to its greatly superior bulk, still retains
+its heat.
+
+There is no doubt much to be said in favour of this theory, which
+may be more advantageously considered hereafter, when we shall
+have to consider it as supplementary to the Mosaic account. At
+present we are only concerned with it as it claims to stand alone,
+and to be accepted as a substitute for that account. Viewed in
+this light, as a substitute for a Creator, as showing us how the
+universe might have come into existence spontaneously, it utterly
+breaks down in three points.
+
+1. It gives us no account whatever of the origin of matter, but
+assumes that it was already in existence at the time from which
+the theory takes its point of departure. But some account of it
+must be given. Either it was created by some higher power, or it
+was eternal; for the idea of its being self-originated is
+manifestly untenable. If it was created, there is an end of the
+theory--the act of creation assumes the existence of a Creator;
+and the only question left is, whether that Creator did more or
+less. But the very object of the theory was to dispense with the
+existence of a Creator. This alternative, then, it must reject,
+and there is nothing left but to fall back upon the other, and to
+assume that it existed from all eternity. But it is certainly not
+less difficult to us to conceive the possibility of inert matter
+being self-existent and eternal, than it is to recognize the
+existence of an eternal and all-powerful Spirit. Our own
+consciousness helps us to realize the possibility of the existence
+of an Eternal Mind, and of the exercise of power by that mind; but
+we have nothing to help us to a conception of self-existent
+matter.
+
+In addition to this, the idea of eternity precludes from its very
+nature the idea of possible change. If there is change there must
+be the distinction of before and after, and so of the succession
+of existence, which involves the idea of time. That which is
+subject to change, and this theory assumes a change in the
+condition of matter, cannot be eternal.
+
+2. The next failing point is, that this theory assumes a change,
+of the origin of which it can give no account. The assumption is,
+that matter which had existed from all eternity, or for an
+indefinite time, in a state of perfect rest, suddenly began to
+move towards its centre of gravity. A body, or a system of
+particles, can remain at rest only under one of two conditions.
+Either it must be acted on by no force at all, or all the forces
+by which it is acted on must be in perfect equilibrium. If matter
+existed under the first of these conditions, whence did the force
+suddenly emanate? Force cannot be self-originated any more than
+matter. But if the other alternative be adopted, how was the
+equilibrium disturbed? It is a fundamental axiom of mechanics that
+"a body (or system of bodies) at rest will continue at rest till
+it be acted upon by some external force." But the theory supplies
+no such external force, for it could only originate in that which
+the theory ignores--the will and power of some intelligent Being.
+
+3. The third defect is, that the theory does not give any
+satisfactory account of the origin of the motions of rotation and
+revolution. Laplace does not attempt this. He simply assumes that
+a motion of rotation was set up somehow; but many of his
+followers, perceiving that the theory broke down here--though they
+passed the other two defects unnoticed--have attempted to supply
+the deficiency in this point. Some have attempted to account for
+this motion by analogy. It has been suggested that it was of the
+same nature, and produced by the same causes, as the vortex which
+is formed when a vessel full of fluid is emptied through an
+orifice in its bottom. Pontecoulant, in his account of the theory,
+enters more into detail. He assumes that in the process of
+agglomeration large bodies of matter impinged obliquely on the
+already formed mass, and so imparted to it a motion of rotation.
+
+A consideration of the mechanical conditions of the problem will
+show the unsoundness of Pontecoulant's views. It is of course
+assumed that the forces by which this rotation is said to have
+been produced are identical in their character with those with
+which we are familiar, for the introduction of any force peculiar
+to that time would be equivalent to an admission of a directing
+power. The following propositions then seem unquestionable:--
+
+1. The nebula must be considered as a system of particles acted on
+by their mutual attractions, and by no other force.
+
+2. When two particles of matter, a and b, attract each other, it
+is a fundamental principle of mechanics, (commonly known as the
+"Third Law of Motion") that whatever amount of momentum is
+produced in a, an equal and opposite momentum must be produced in
+b. Hence if the mutual action remain undisturbed, the two
+particles will approach each other and finally meet. On their
+union, the two momenta being equal and opposite will neutralize
+each other, and there will be no tendency to produce motion of any
+kind. 3. The same law will hold good with reference to any number
+of particles, and therefore with reference to the supposed nebula.
+Every single particle will produce a certain momentum in each of
+the other particles, and at the same time will have impressed upon
+it by each of the other particles an equal and opposite momentum.
+Hence when all the particles are collected into a single mass,
+each individual momentum will be balanced by an equal and opposite
+one, and there can be no resultant motion.
+
+The analogy from fluids flowing through an orifice fails, because--
+
+1. The particles of the fluid are acted on by forces other than
+their mutual attractions, and in many cases affecting them
+unequally, e. g., friction against the sides of the containing
+vessel and the orifice.
+
+2. Because the orifice is not a point, but a finite area, and
+consequently the particles of the fluid are acted on by forces
+which do not pass through the same point.
+
+Considered then as a substitute for the action of an intelligent
+Creator, Laplace's theory utterly breaks down in three points,
+which, as they will have to be referred to hereafter, it is well
+to recapitulate.
+
+1. It does not account for the origin of matter.
+
+2. It does not account for the emergence of the force of
+attraction.
+
+3. It does not give a satisfactory account for the motion of
+rotation.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+DIFFICULTIES IN PHYSIOLOGY.
+
+
+The third science which is supposed to come into collision with
+the Mosaic Record is Physiology. Here, however, we meet with no
+objections which rest upon ascertained facts, as in the case of
+geology. We have only to do with theories. All that can be brought
+forward is merely matter of opinion or theory--such theory
+resting indeed on a foundation of ascertained facts--but being in
+itself a mere inference more or less probable from those facts.
+Even if it were proved to be a true account of the causation of
+those facts, it would be by no means certain that other facts,
+however similar, might not have had a totally different origin.
+
+At one time it was very confidently asserted, by many eminent
+physiologists, that the differences between various branches of
+the human race were so great, that it was impossible that all
+should have descended from the same original stock. Probably this
+opinion is still maintained in some quarters, but of late years
+views of a diametrically opposite character have been brought
+forward, and very ably advocated. In proportion as these views are
+admitted to have in them an element of truth, the importance of
+the older objection is diminished. It will therefore be
+unnecessary to dwell upon it. This new view is, that not only all
+branches of the human race, but all living beings now existing, or
+that have ever existed on the face of the earth, are descended by
+the process of "evolution," carried on under what are designated
+as "natural laws" from some one variety, or small number of
+varieties of living creatures of the lowest type.
+
+This theory, like that of Laplace, had its origin among the French
+Academicians, at the close of the last century. Its author was La
+Marck. According to his view the simplest form of animal life, the
+"monad," was spontaneously developed by some unknown process. From
+this monad higher forms of animal life were produced, and the
+course of development was continued till it finally culminated in
+man. But it does not appear that La Marck suggested any means by
+which the various stages of development were brought about, and
+the view attracted little attention. Some thirty years ago it was
+revived by an anonymous writer, in a work called "Vestiges of
+Creation." In this work the idea of spontaneous generation was
+repudiated. The original monad was supposed to have derived its
+existence from an act of Creative Power, and to have been then
+left to work out its own development, by virtue of powers
+originally implanted in it. All its variations and advances were
+supposed to be the result of the will and efforts of the creature
+acting through many generations. Thus the desire and attempt to
+walk ended in the development of legs, while wings were the final
+result of its efforts to fly. It was felt, however, that this was
+by no means a satisfactory account of the state of things, and so
+the work, though it produced a great sensation at the time, has
+now been almost entirely forgotten.
+
+Latterly, however, the theory has found a far more able advocate
+in the person of Mr. Darwin, with whose name it has been popularly
+identified. By his indefatigable labours a vast variety of facts
+have been collected and skilfully arranged, to show that all the
+varieties of life may be satisfactorily accounted for by the
+continued action, through a long course of ages, of certain
+natural causes, with the results of which we are familiar, and of
+which intentional use is continually made by man. Mr. Darwin does
+not deny the existence of a Creator, but the tendency of his
+arguments is to prove that His interference was limited to the
+single act of original Creation; and that from the moment of its
+creation the world has been a sort of automatic machine, producing
+its results without any interference from any higher power.
+
+The theory taken as a whole comes into contact with the Mosaic
+Record in three points:--
+
+1. As it assumes the possibility that life may be self-originated.
+
+2. As it indicates a mode of procedure different from that given
+by Moses.
+
+3. As it requires unlimited time.
+
+Of these the last is already disposed of, when the narrative is
+shown to be capable of an interpretation in accordance with it.
+The first requires only a brief notice; but the second must be
+carefully investigated, to separate ascertained truth from
+inferences which have no sufficient foundation.
+
+The theory of spontaneous generation rests almost entirely upon
+assumptions. Its only semblance of support from facts is derived
+from certain experiments of a very unsatisfactory character, which
+are said to have resulted in the production of some of the lowest
+forms of animal life. These experiments have been by no means
+uniformly successful. One or two experimenters have thought that
+they have succeeded, but not uniformly, while the same process,
+repeated by men whose scientific and manipulative powers are
+universally recognized, has never once resulted in any seeming
+development of life. Even if, however, they had been uniformly
+successful, there would have been great reason to doubt whether
+the apparent success was not really a failure--a failure in the
+precautions necessary to exclude all germs of life from the matter
+experimented upon. For the lower forms of life are excessively
+minute; and their germs--eggs, seeds, or spores--must be far
+smaller. It is known that these are constantly floating in the
+atmosphere, though, owing to their extreme minuteness, the fact
+can only be ascertained by the most skilful investigation. And the
+lower forms of animalcules have a singular tenacity of life; they
+can pass unharmed through processes which would be fatal to
+creatures of higher organization. One variety is known to survive
+entire desiccation; another lives upon strychnine; others bear
+without injury great extremes of heat and cold; and if this is the
+case with the mature creatures, it is probable that the germ
+possesses still stronger powers of vitality. If one acarus can
+live upon strychnine, then it is not impossible that mineral acids
+should be harmless to others; the germs might be carried through
+sulphuric acid in air without coming into contact with the acid,
+as air would pass through in bubbles, in the centre of which they
+might be suspended; or if like the diatomaceae, they were coated
+with silex, they might come into contact with it and resist its
+action. Thus one of the precautions commonly taken is not certain
+in its action, and the same might be shown to be true of the
+others. The theory of spontaneous generation is, in fact,
+generally repudiated by Evolutionists, and cannot therefore be
+taken as a starting-point.
+
+We come then to the theory of Evolution with which Mr. Darwin's
+name is associated. This theory asserts that all the varieties of
+animal life now existing on the earth, however widely they may
+differ from each other, are in reality derived from one, or a very
+few original types; and that in this general statement the human
+race is to be included. This theory rests upon the following
+admitted facts.
+
+1. There are not, as was at one time commonly supposed, broad and
+distinct lines of demarcation between the different varieties of
+animals and plants. Our increasing knowledge of zoology has
+brought to light the fact that one species shades off into another
+by almost imperceptible gradations. As we go back in the fossil
+records of animal life in the past, we find that the species now
+existing, while they are closely allied to correspondent species
+of an earlier period, are scarcely ever identical with them, and
+that the few cases of identity which do occur, are limited to the
+most recent rocks. Either then the old species must have perished,
+and new ones, similar but not identical, must have been created to
+take their places, or there must have been a process of gradual
+change, by which the present species have been derived from their
+predecessors. In one or two cases fossils have been found which
+combine, to some extent, forms which are now found in distinct
+species, as if the process of variation had proceeded in distinct
+lines from a common source.
+
+2. No two animals of any class are exactly alike in all points.
+Each has its individual peculiarities, and in some cases these
+peculiarities are strongly marked.
+
+3. Man has been enabled, to a certain extent, to make use of these
+individual peculiarities, and by means of them to produce great
+varieties in the breeds of domesticated animals. This has been
+sometimes done unconsciously through a selection influenced by
+other motives, and then the process has been very slow; but
+latterly intentionally, with a view to the production of improved
+breeds, and whenever this has been the case, changes of
+considerable extent have been rapidly produced. By carefully
+selecting the animals to be paired, any desired modification can
+generally be produced in the course of a few generations. This is
+exemplified in the numerous and increasing varieties of the breeds
+of almost all domestic animals and birds.
+
+The theory of Evolution then suggests that the same processes
+which are employed by the cattle-breeder have been in operation
+through untold ages. For the intention and care of the human
+agent, Mr. Darwin substitutes two principles; one designated as
+"Natural Selection," the other as "Sexual Selection." For their
+full development he claims unlimited time. The ground on which the
+Process of Natural Selection is maintained is as follows:--
+
+It has been already noticed that no two individuals of the same
+kind are exactly alike in all respects; each individual has some
+peculiarities, generally very trifling, but sufficient to
+distinguish it from all other individuals. Some of these
+peculiarities will probably be such as to be of some service to
+the individual in the struggle of life; they will assist it in
+procuring food, or in resisting or escaping from its natural
+enemies, while on the other hand the peculiarities of other
+individuals will be prejudicial to them in these ways. The
+consequence will be that a larger proportion of those having
+favourable peculiarities will survive and propagate their kind;
+their offspring will inherit the peculiarities of their parents,
+and reproduce them in various degrees. The same process will then
+be repeated, and thus from generation to generation the
+peculiarity will be increased, till at last it is sufficient to
+mark out, first a new variety, then a new species, and so on. This
+process then, continued through a long course of ages, was at one
+time considered by Mr. Darwin sufficient to account for all the
+varieties of living creatures now existing, or that have existed
+in past ages. But he has more recently satisfied himself
+[Footnote: Descent of Man, vol. i p. 152.] that there are many
+phenomena which are not satisfactorily accounted for by this
+principle, since many of the specific differences of animals are
+found to exist in matters which, cannot directly promote their
+success in the struggle of life. Such, for instance, are the
+brilliant colours which are found, especially among the males, in
+many species of birds. These he proposes to explain by the
+supplementary theory of "Sexual Selection." His suggestion is that
+these peculiarities are in some way attractive to animals of the
+opposite sex, so that the individuals in which they are most
+strongly developed are more successful than others in obtaining
+mates, and that in this way the peculiarity is gradually fixed and
+increased.
+
+By these two processes, then, Mr. Darwin supposes that all the
+differences now existing among animals have been produced and
+perpetuated; and not only that, but that man also is the result of
+similar processes, acting through a very long period; that the
+progeny of certain "anthropomorphous apes" have, by slow degrees,
+risen in the scale of being above their progenitors; that all our
+faculties, intellectual and moral as well as physical, differ from
+those possessed by lower animals in DEGREE only, and not in KIND,
+[Footnote: Descent of Man, chaps, ii.-v.] so that man has arrived
+at his present state by what may be termed purely natural
+processes, without the intervention of any external power.
+
+In considering these theories, our attention must first be
+directed to some defects which appear to weaken the whole course
+of the argument; and then we may consider the peculiar
+difficulties in the way of the processes of natural and sexual
+selection; and the grounds for the belief that man is in
+possession of something entirely different in KIND from any
+faculty or power possessed by any lower animals, which could not
+therefore be derived by inheritance and improvement.
+
+The first thing which strikes us in Mr. Darwin's works is that,
+from time to time, he betrays a sort of latent consciousness that
+his theory is insufficient; that the processes to which he
+ascribes such vast results are not quite adequate to the purpose,
+but that they need in some way to be supplemented. Every now and
+then recourse is had to some law--some unknown cause--which must
+co-operate in the production of the results he is considering. In
+spite of the apparent care which he has taken to guard against it,
+he is continually betrayed into a confusion between the two senses
+in which the word "law" is employed. In its proper significance,
+law is an expression of the will of an intelligent superior,
+enforced by adequate power. In this sense the law may be
+considered as an efficient cause. The combination of will and
+power is an adequate cause for any result whatever. But Mr. Darwin
+expressly excludes this sense of the word, in a sentence which
+seems to involve a self-contradiction. "I mean by nature only the
+aggregate action and product of many natural laws, and by law only
+the ascertained sequence of events." [Footnote: Plants and Animals
+under Domestication, vol. i. p. 6.] Law, in this sense, then, is
+simply the statement of observed facts, and as such can have no
+action at all. It asserts that certain phenomena do uniformly
+follow each other in an ascertained order; but it gives us no
+information whatever as to the cause of those events, or the
+reason why they do thus succeed each other. But, taking law in
+this last sense, by his own definition, Mr. Darwin does,
+nevertheless, continually bring forward certain "laws" as
+accounting for certain results. Thus, we have the laws of
+"Correlation of Growth," [Footnote: Origin of Species, ed. 1872,
+p. 114.] "Inheritance limited to Males," [Footnote: Descent of
+Man, vol. i. pp. 256, 257.] and a "Principle of Compensation."
+[Footnote: Origin of Species, p. 117.] When Mr. Darwin, therefore,
+brings forward these laws as efficient causes, he not only tacitly
+admits the inadequacy of his theory to account for the phenomena
+in question, but he also endeavours to supply the defect by
+another cause, which, by his own definition, is no cause at all.
+And further, Mr. Darwin calls in the action of "unknown agencies."
+[Footnote: Descent of Man, vol. i. p. 154.]
+
+But it may be said, "Is not this the case with all sciences, at
+least in their earlier stages? Are there not frequently, or
+always, many phenomena which at first seem inexplicable, but which
+are gradually accounted for as knowledge increases? If, then, this
+is no objection in scientific pursuits generally, why should it be
+so here?" This reasoning would be perfectly valid if Darwinism
+were regarded simply as a scientific investigation. But it is
+under consideration now on very different rounds. Whatever Mr.
+Darwin's own views may be, the theory is brought forward by
+others, not as a mere interesting speculation, but as antagonistic
+to a record whose authority is attested by evidence of the very
+highest class. It claims to discredit that record, and to be
+received as a substitute for it. But that record, however it may
+be interpreted, does give us adequate causes for all that it
+professes to account for, in the will and operation of an Almighty
+Creator. The theory, therefore, which professes to supplant it,
+must at least stand upon an equal ground--it must give an
+adequate account of everything. There must be no unverified laws.
+To fall back upon such laws is in reality to fall back on the
+working of that very power whose operation is formally denied.
+[Footnote: See Foster's Essays, Essay i. Letter 5.]
+
+The next point to be noticed is a great confusion between
+assumptions and proved facts. This is especially prominent in that
+part of his last work which is devoted to sexual selection. Thus,
+in one case it is taken for granted, that various characteristics
+of the males "serve only to allure or excite the female."
+[Footnote: Descent of Man, vol. i. p. 258.] "Hence" (because
+brilliant colours of insects have probably not been acquired FOR
+THE PURPOSE of protection), "I am led to suppose that the females
+generally prefer, or are most excited by the more brilliant
+males." [Footnote: Ibid. p. 399.] "Nevertheless, when we see many
+males pursuing the same female, we can hardly believe that the
+pairing is left to blind chance; that the female exerts no choice,
+and is not influenced by the gorgeous colours, or other ornaments
+with which the male alone is decorated" [Footnote: Descent of Man,
+vol. i p. 421.] Such sentences are of continual occurrence, and do
+duty in the argument as if they expressed ascertained facts. And
+not only this, but in the very part of the work which is devoted
+to establishing the adequacy of sexual selection to produce
+certain effects, that adequacy is assumed from the very beginning.
+Thus, we read, "That these characters are the result of sexual
+selection is clear," [Footnote: Ibid. p. 258.] before we have got
+six pages into an argument which occupies a volume and a half.
+This is surely a strong instance of what is commonly called
+"begging the question." Another instance of confusion of ideas is
+to be found in the assumption of design which occasionally occurs.
+Thus, we read, "In some other remarkable cases beauty has been
+gained for the sake of protection, through the imitation of other
+beautiful species." [Footnote: Ibid. p. 393.] "From these
+considerations Mr. Bates inferred, that the butterflies which
+imitate the protected species, had acquired their present
+marvellously deceptive appearance through variation and natural
+selection, in order to be mistaken for the protected kinds."
+[Footnote: Descent of Man, vol. i. p. 411.] In these cases there
+is an assumption of purpose and design, which, necessarily implies
+a designer, just as law, treated as an efficient cause, implies a
+law-giver. It may indeed be that this is only an inaccurate way of
+expressing something else; but then, such modes of expression are
+usually the result of a want of clear perception of the ideas to
+be expressed; and, in this case, such expressions must diminish
+the weight to be assigned to Mr. Darwin's judgment.
+
+We come now to the consideration of the first of Mr. Darwin's
+supposed agencies--"Natural Selection," or, "Survival of the
+fittest." The results produced by this process must be ascribed to
+one of two causes: either they are the work of a Superintending
+Providence, watching over and directing every separate detail; or
+they are the result of pure chance and accident. There is nothing
+intermediate between these two causes. Natural law--apart from
+design and a designer--is, as we have seen, a nonentity--a mere
+expression of observed facts, for which it can give no account
+whatever. Mr. Darwin's argument is expressly directed to exclude
+the interference of a superintending Providence. Chance is the
+only cause which he can bring forward. The very first question,
+then, which arises is, What is there upon which chance may
+operate? What are the conditions from which the probabilities may
+be calculated? Mr. Darwin assumes, and no doubt correctly, that
+minute variations are continually taking place. But as these
+variations are the result of accident [Footnote: If they are not
+the result of accident, we again see design and need a designer.]
+they will take place in various directions; some of them will have
+a beneficial, some of them a noxious tendency. As, moreover, they
+are supposed to be very small at each step, the difference of
+advantage in the case of different individuals must be also very
+small, and will not be likely to produce any considerable
+difference in the chances of pairing. But in order that any
+variation may be perpetuated and increased, the pairing of
+similarly affected individuals is necessary. Parents, in which the
+variations took opposite directions, would probably have offspring
+of the normal type, the opposite variations neutralizing each
+other. And this must be repeated again and again; and with every
+repetition of the process required, the probabilities against it
+would rapidly increase. Thus, supposing that in the first
+generation the proportion of favourable conditions were such, that
+of those animals that paired there were four of each sex that had
+them to three that wanted them, the chances that any given pair
+were alike in possessing them would be represented by the product
+4/7 x 4/7, or 16/49. Hence, the chances would be rather more than
+two to one against it. In the next generation it would be
+256/2401, or more than eight to one, and so on. [Footnote: This is
+given merely as an illustration of the nature of the calculation.
+In any actual case the conditions would be infinitely more
+complex, but the calculation, if it could be made at all, must be
+made on this principle.]
+
+But next, we have not to do with one series of changes only, but
+with a vast number of different series going on in different
+directions, if we are to have a large variety of animals produced
+from a common stock. All the probabilities against the separate
+variations must be combined, not by addition, but by
+multiplication, so that the probabilities against the production
+of all these separate forms become enormous.
+
+Against all this improbability Mr. Darwin brings forward the
+supposed advantages which these variations give to their
+possessors. But here again a new element is introduced into the
+calculation. It is assumed, in the very statement of the question,
+that the process of adaptation has already taken place; the
+original stock must have been adapted to the circumstances under
+which they existed, or in their case the whole theory fails. If,
+then, a fresh adaptation is wanted, it must be because a change in
+external circumstances must have taken place. In order that a new
+variety may be established there must be a concurrence between the
+change of external circumstances and the change in the animals.
+Here we get a new, and a large factor for our multiplication.
+
+This argument may be, perhaps, made clearer by an illustration.
+Mr. Darwin has written a very interesting book on the
+fertilization of orchids by means of insects. According to his
+view all insects are descended from one common type, and all
+orchids are also descended from one parent; but we meet with
+insects and orchids in pairs, each perfectly adapted to the other.
+We will suppose that a change takes place in a particular orchid,
+that the nectary recedes to a greater distance from the point to
+which the insect can penetrate, and so an advantage is given to
+those insects in which the haustellum is of a length above the
+average. This may have a slight tendency to increase the number of
+such insects; but then it will have an opposite tendency in the
+case of the orchid. It cannot, of course, be supposed that the
+variation, which is only partial in the insect, is universal in
+the plant. The unchanged insects will therefore be confined to the
+unchanged flowers, while the changed insects will be indifferent
+on the subject, as they will be able to reach the nectary in any
+case. Hence, an advantage will be given to the unchanged flower,
+which will be more likely to be fertilized, and the two lines of
+variation will move in opposite directions.
+
+But next, the variation in the insects and the flowers must take
+place at the same time and the same place, or no result will
+follow to the insect, while the new variety of orchid must perish
+for want of an insect to fertilize it. It is this which makes the
+supposition of unlimited time almost useless, because just in
+proportion as the time is increased the probability of two
+independent events happening simultaneously is diminished.
+
+But even supposing this difficulty out of the way, we meet with an
+immediate repetition of it. The insect derives an advantage from
+its increased haustellum, but what advantage does the plant derive
+from its retiring nectary? How does that help it in the "struggle
+of life?" But if it produces no beneficial result, the variation
+according to the theory must drop. Hence we should arrive at an
+insect suited for a new form of the flower, but no flower suited
+to the new form of the insect.
+
+If, then, we reject the idea of superintendence and design, we
+have on the one hand an enormous antecedent improbability, while
+on the other hand we have only a very small power by which a
+direction may be given to the course of events, since by the
+hypothesis in any one generation the change, and consequently the
+superior advantage, is exceedingly small, and there is a strong
+tendency in related changes, as in the case of the orchid and
+insect, to move in opposite directions.
+
+But next, in the varieties of animals with which we are
+acquainted, there is a certain connexion between the differences
+of independent organs, for which this theory does not help us to
+account. Thus, for instance, according to this theory the canine
+and the feline races are descended from a common ancestor. But
+there are several points of difference between a cat and a dog.
+There are the differences in the form of jaws, in the dentition;
+in the muscles by which the jaws are moved, and in the feet and
+claws. All animals of the cat tribe agree in all these respects,
+so do all animals of the dog tribe. We never find a cat's head
+combined with the feet of a dog. Why is this? Mr. Darwin attempts
+to account for it by his supposed law of "correlation of growth,"
+but, as has been already shown, any such law, being by Mr.
+Darwin's definition the observed sequence of events and nothing
+more, is utterly useless, when it is brought forward as a cause
+for those events. On this point the theory completely breaks down.
+
+3. The theory does not account for any changes which are not
+immediately beneficial. [Footnote: In the "Origin of Species" (Ed.
+1872) Mr. Darwin makes an admission which is virtually a giving-up
+of his whole theory. He says, "In many other cases modifications
+are probably the direct result of the laws of variation or of
+growth, independently of any good having been thus gained; but
+even such structures have often, as we may feel assured, been
+subsequently taken advantage of," pp. 165, 166. Here, then, we
+have a preparation for future circumstances, which surely implies
+design.] If any rudimentary advance is made in the organism, if,
+for instance, the rudiments of a new bone, or joint, or organ of
+sense are developed, the nascent organ must, according to the
+hypothesis of minute changes, be useless in the first instance.
+Hence it would confer no advantage in the struggle of life; there
+would be no tendency towards its preservation and growth. This
+becomes a very important consideration, when certain important
+differences in animal structure and habits are to be accounted
+for. How, for instance, could the mammary glands be developed in
+oviparous creatures? Mr. Darwin regards them as originating in
+cutaneous glands, developed in the pouch of the marsupials. But
+his grounds for this statement are very meagre. To a great extent
+they rest on what an American Naturalist "believes he has seen;"
+and besides, the ornithorhyncus, which has no pouch, and which is
+lower in the scale of life than the marsupials, by Mr. Darwin's
+own admission (O. S., p. 190), possesses the glands. Mr. Mivart's
+question (Darwin, O. S., p. 189) is a very pertinent one.
+
+Another point which this view fails to explain, is the
+determination of the line of development in particular directions
+at different periods. At one time it is most marked in fishes, at
+another in reptiles, at another in mammals. How is this to be
+accounted for?
+
+4. The experience of cattle-breeders does not warrant the
+assumption that the principle of natural selection has more than a
+limited operation. No case has as yet been brought forward in
+which varieties have been produced which were not capable of
+interbreeding. Apart from their experience there is not a particle
+of evidence in favour of the assertion that races which cannot be
+made to breed together can be descended from a common stock. The
+unlimited application of this principle is therefore a pure
+assumption.
+
+5. To this must be added the circumstance that no authenticated
+instance of variation by natural selection can be brought forward.
+It is true that this is not a very important argument, because our
+knowledge of those classes of animals in which natural selection
+could act is even now very incomplete; and our knowledge of their
+past history is still more limited, so that we are not in a
+condition to prove a negative. But in such a case as this the onus
+of proof should surely lie on the other side. It is for those who
+would assert the theory to bring forward positive proof of it.
+There is, however, one point in Mr. Darwin's view of domesticated
+animals which tells against his theory. The cat remains unchanged,
+because from its vagrant habits man has no control over its
+pairing [Footnote: Darwin's "Animals and Plants," vol. ii. p.
+236.]. Now considering the variety of conditions under which cats
+exist, here is surely a great opening for natural selection. But
+it has produced no results.
+
+We come now to the theory of Sexual Selection, which is to account
+for those peculiarities and distinctions which can have no
+beneficial effect in the struggle of life, and which are accounted
+for on the supposition that they render their possessors more
+agreeable to the opposite sex, and so facilitate pairing, so that
+those animals which possess them in a remarkable degree would have
+the greatest chance of continuing their race. The case on which
+Mr. Darwin mainly rests his argument is that of birds, in which
+the males are frequently distinguished by exquisite colours and
+very graceful markings, and in which also the proceedings of the
+sexes can, in many cases, be more easily watched.
+
+It is in maintaining this theory that Mr. Darwin has such frequent
+recourse to what may be called the "argumentum ad ignorantiam."
+"If such and such organs or ornaments were not designed for this
+or that particular object, then we do not know of what use they
+are." [Footnote: For instance, Descent of Man, vol. ii. pp. 284.
+399.] This maybe very true, but it proves nothing, unless we
+assume that we are or ought to be acquainted with, the use and
+object of everything in nature. And it involves another and a very
+wide question. There are certain tastes which seem to be inherent
+in our nature, and there are certain external objects which afford
+gratification to those tastes. Must we view this coincidence as
+merely accidental? or is it a part of the design of the world that
+it should minister not only to our needs, but also to our
+enjoyments? Mr. Darwin does not reject the idea of an Author and
+Designer of Nature, is he then prepared to assert that beauty did
+not form a part of the design as well as utility? [Footnote: In
+the "Origin of Species," p 159, Mr. Darwin does seem to assert
+this; but he says in conclusion, "How the sense of beauty in its
+simplest form--that is, the reception of a peculiar kind of
+pleasure from certain colours, forms, and sounds--was first
+developed in the mind of man and of the lower animals is a very
+obscure subject," p. 162. To Mr. Darwin, with his present views,
+it may well be obscure; but it presents no obscurity at all to
+those who believe that the universe in all its details was
+designed, and its formation superintended, by a loving Father,
+whose will was that it should not only supply the needs, but also
+minister to the enjoyment of all His creatures, nor to those who
+in every form of beauty, physical, intellectual, or moral, behold
+a far-off reflexion of the glory of the Invisible Creator.] If he
+is not prepared to assert this, he must admit the possibility that
+many things exist whose sole object is to minister to that sense
+of beauty which is probably possessed by other beings besides
+ourselves.
+
+Mr. Darwin admits that many other causes, beside the supposed
+preference on the part of one sex for certain material adornments
+possessed by the other, influence the pairing of animals. In a
+very large number of cases the female is quite passive in the
+matter. The question is decided by a battle between the males, and
+the female seems, as a matter of course, to become the mate of the
+conqueror. In many other cases pairing seems to be the result of
+accident; the two sexes pair as they happen to meet each other.
+The great points on which Mr. Darwin rests his argument are that
+in some cases, on the approach of breeding-time, certain
+ornamental appendages become more highly developed or more
+brilliantly coloured, [Footnote: Descent of Man, vol. ii. p. 80.]
+and that in many cases the males, when courting the females, are
+observed to display their ornaments before them. [Footnote: Ibid.
+vol. ii. p. 86, et seq.] but then there are other facts, which Mr.
+Darwin. also notices, which detract more than he seems willing to
+allow, from the relevancy of these facts. The development of
+ornaments at breeding-time sometimes takes place in both sexes,
+indicating some latent connexion with the reproductive organs;
+thus the comb of the domestic hen becomes a bright red, as well as
+that of the cock. It would appear then that the object of the
+change is not to render the cock more attractive to the hens, for
+how could it serve the hens (if the choice lies with them) to be
+made more attractive to the cocks? Then again an old hen who is
+past laying, often assumes, to a considerable extent, the plumage
+of the cock. When these ornaments are the exclusive possession of
+the male, they are often displayed for other purposes than the
+gratification of the female. The possessors seem to be conscious
+of their beauty, and to take a pleasure in displaying it to any
+spectators.
+
+Very great beauty and brilliancy of colour is often found in cases
+in which it can have nothing whatever to do with the relation
+between the sexes. Thus, a vast number of caterpillars are
+remarkable for their beauty; but in their immature state it can
+have no relation to sexual selection; and if it may, or rather
+must, have a different object in one case, what ground have we for
+assuming that it may not have a different object in the other?
+
+Again, we are not in a position to form any opinion as to the
+causes which really influence the pairing of animals when choice
+is exercised. We have no certain knowledge upon the important
+question whether the ideal of beauty, if possessed by the lower
+animals at all, is in all, or even in many cases, in accordance
+with our own. We, for instance, admire a male humming-bird; what
+certainty have we that he is equally beautiful in the eyes of his
+mate? In cases where we have reason to believe that deliberate
+selection has taken place, we do not know that that selection was
+influenced by only one condition--that of beauty. There may have
+been a thousand causes at work of which we know nothing. Mr.
+Darwin brings forward an instance in which the owner of a number
+of peahens wished them to breed with a peacock of a particular
+variety, while they showed a deliberate preference for another
+bird; and he supposes that their preference was decided by the
+plumage. But there might have been another cause--at least the
+circumstances as related by him seem to suggest it--which would
+give a very different turn to the affair. The favoured peacock,
+spoken of as "old," [Footnote: Descent of Man, vol. ii. p. 119.]
+was probably an old friend of the hens, while his unsuccessful
+rival seems to have been a new introduction. The preference shown
+by the hens would in this case be fully accounted for, without
+supposing them to have exhibited any choice in the matter of
+plumage.
+
+Then there are a vast number of peculiarities which are certainly
+not ornamental in our eyes, but which are confined to the male
+sex. They are, so far as we can tell, of no service whatever in
+the struggle of life. With reference to these Mr. Darwin's
+argument seems to be this,--"They can serve no other purpose with
+which we are acquainted, therefore they must be attractive to the
+female--therefore they must be acquired by sexual selection." Such
+arguments as these cannot carry much weight. [Footnote: Descent of
+Man, vol ii p 284.]
+
+On the whole, we can hardly come to any other conclusion than that
+the theory of sexual selection is not proved. In many cases it is
+known that such selection is not the result of choice; in other
+cases, where choice seems probable, we have no ground for
+believing that external appearance is the sole ground of that
+choice. It may exercise some influence, but that is all. Even if
+admitted, there are many things which cannot be accounted for by
+it without very extravagant assumptions. It cannot then be
+admitted as covering the large classes of phenomena left
+unaccounted for by the theory of natural selection.
+
+So far as the lower animals are concerned, the results to which an
+examination of Mr. Darwin's views has led us may be summed up in
+the following propositions:--
+
+1. That the two causes, natural and sexual selection, have
+probably exercised some influence in the modification of animal
+forms; but that the laws of probability preclude our entertaining
+the belief that these causes can have had, by themselves, and
+apart from a superintending power, anything beyond a very limited
+operation.
+
+2. That in cases where there have been related changes in
+different parts of the same organism, or in different organisms,
+the inadequacy of these two causes is virtually admitted by the
+introduction of certain supposed laws; and that these laws, being
+defined by Mr. Darwin to be no more than "the ascertained sequence
+of events," cannot be regarded as efficient causes, and so cannot
+supply the defect.
+
+3. That there are particular points in the chain of life, in which
+the transition from one form to another is so great, and so
+incapable of graduation, that it is impossible to suppose that
+these two causes can have been adequate to produce it. Of this a
+notable instance is to be found in the transition from oviparous
+animals to the mammalia.
+
+We come now to the consideration of the origin of man, which Mr.
+Darwin, in his last work, ascribes also to natural and sexual
+selection. His view is, that man is descended from some family of
+anthropomorphous apes, and that all those enormous differences
+which, as he admits, exist between the highest ape and the most
+degraded member of the human race, are differences of degree only,
+and not of kind; that all our intellectual wealth, and all our
+moral laws, are simply the development of faculties and ideas
+which were possessed in a ruder form by the creatures from whom
+man is descended.
+
+So far as man's physical constitution is concerned, there is
+undoubtedly something to be said in favour of this view. For man's
+bodily frame is composed of the same elements, and moulded upon
+the same general plan as that of the higher apes, and, what is
+still more remarkable, it retains, in a rudimentary form, certain
+muscles and organs which are fully developed and answer important
+purposes in many of the quadrumana. Of these the tail is a
+remarkable instance. But when the differences between the physical
+peculiarities of man, and those of his supposed progenitors are
+examined, the theory of natural selection collapses entirely, for
+the development has taken the form which would be most
+disadvantageous in the struggle of life. This is very clearly put
+by the Duke of Argyll.[Footnote: "Recent Speculations on Primeval
+Man," in Good Words, April, 1868.]
+
+"The unclothed and unprotected condition of the human body, its
+comparative slowness of foot; the absence of teeth adapted for
+prehension or for defence; the same want of power for similar
+purposes in the hands and fingers; the bluntness of the sense of
+smell, so as to render it useless for the detection of prey which
+is concealed;--all these are features which stand in fixed and
+harmonious relation to the mental powers of man. But, apart from
+these, they would place him at an immense disadvantage in the
+struggle for existence. This, therefore, is not the direction in
+which the blind forces of selection could ever work .... Man must
+have had human proportions of mind before he could afford to lose
+bestial proportions of body."
+
+But it is in the intellectual and spiritual part of man's nature
+that the greatest difficulty in the way of the application of
+these theories arises. The strongest argument of all against them
+is one which is incapable of proof, since it arises not from facts
+around us, but from our own self-consciousness--our realization of
+our own powers--and so, to each individual man it must vary in
+apparent strength, in proportion as he realizes what he is, and
+what it is in his power to become. The very outcry that has been
+raised against Mr. Darwin's proposition is a proof of this. The
+theory of the descent of man, as he propounds it, was felt to be
+an outrage upon the universal instincts of humanity. But, because
+this objection rests upon such a foundation, it is incapable of
+being duly weighed and investigated as an argument, and we proceed
+therefore to such considerations as are within our reach.
+
+First of all it is desirable to dispose of one of the stock
+arguments in favour of the theory. That argument is, that the
+difference between the lowest type of savage and the highest type
+of civilized man--between a Fuegian or an Australian on the one
+hand, and a Newton, a Shakspeare, or a Humboldt, on the other,--is
+quite as great as that between the higher forms of ape and the
+lowest forms of humanity. But in this argument there is a fatal
+confusion of ideas. The capacity for acquisition is confounded
+with the opportunity for acquisition. That the savage is in
+possession of but very few ideas does not prove that he is
+incapable of more; it may equally well arise from the fact that he
+had had no opportunity of acquiring more. The only way to test the
+question is by putting a savagoe from his earliest infancy, under
+the same favourable circumstances as the child of civilisation.
+Whenever this experiment has been tried, and our missionaries have
+had many opportunities of trying it, the difference has either not
+appeared at all, or has proved to be very trifling. Mr. Darwin
+himself seems to have been very much surprised at what he saw in
+some natives of Terra del Fuego, who were for a time his
+companions on board the "Beagle." "The Fuegians rank amongst the
+lowest barbarians, but I was continually struck with surprise how
+closely the three natives on board H.M.S. 'Beagle,' who had lived
+some years in England, and could talk a little English, resembled
+us in disposition, and in most of our mental faculties."
+[Footnote: Descent of Man, vol. i. p 34] And these Fuegians had
+not been educated from their infancy, they had only come to
+England later in life, and were thus under an incalculable
+disadvantage. Had they been heirs to such an intellectual
+inheritance as fell to the lot of Mr. Darwin, there is nothing
+extravagant in the supposition that they might have proved
+themselves equal to him in the ability to make use of it. The
+comparison then proves to be quite illusory; but it draws our
+attention to a fact which is of very high importance in our
+investigation of the difference between man and all other animals.
+Man alone seems to be capable of laying up what may be termed an
+external store of intellectual wealth. Other animals in the state
+of nature make, so far as we know, no intellectual advances. The
+bee constructs its cell, the bird builds its nest precisely as its
+progenitors did in the earliest dawn of history. There is a
+possibility that some advance, though a very small one, may be
+made by animals brought under the control of man. It is said, for
+instance, that a young pointer dog will sometimes point at game
+without any training. But in this case the acquired knowledge is
+congenital, and is therefore to be regarded as a development
+brought about by superintended selection. But with man none of the
+acquired knowledge is innate. It is a treasure entirely external
+to himself until he has appropriated it by study of some kind or
+other. There is no reason to believe that any advance in
+intellectual power has been made by man, in his collective
+capacity, since his first appearance on earth. Various individuals
+have varying powers, but these differences are no result of
+development, since they may often be found among members of the
+same family, who have been subjected to the same discipline, and
+enjoyed the same educational advantages. It follows that the gulf
+between the ape and the lowest type of humanity is almost if not
+quite as great as between the ape and the highest type. The savage
+does not in any way help to bridge over that gulf.
+
+But it is said that the moral and intellectual faculties which man
+possesses, and which he looks upon as the great badge of his
+superiority, are in truth only different in degree and not in kind
+from those possessed by the lower animals. But the grounds on
+which this assertion is based are wonderful in their tenuity. Dogs
+are possessed of self-consciousness because they sometimes emit
+sounds in their sleep from which it is concluded that they dream.
+[Footnote: Descent of Man, vol. i. p. 62.] "Can we feel sure that
+an old dog, with an excellent memory, and some power of
+imagination, as shown by his dreams, never reflects on his past
+pleasures in the chace? And this would be a form of self-
+consciousness." Our duty to our neighbour is entirely the result
+of "social instinct," [Footnote: Descent of Man, vol. i. pp. 70-
+106.] and our duty to our God the development of a belief which
+has its origin in dreams. [Footnote: Ibid, p. 66.]
+
+It is impossible for us satisfactorily to meet these assertions
+with a direct negative, [Footnote: There are some who think that
+this statement may be directly refuted. Their views will be found
+in the QUARTERLY REVEIW, July, 1871.] for this simple reason, that
+we have no means whatever of knowing what ideas are present in the
+minds of the lower animals, or even what communications pass
+between them. For anything we can tell to the contrary, the bark
+of a dog may be as articulate to his fellow-dogs as our speech is
+to our fellow-men, while on the other hand to the dog our speech
+may be as inarticulate as his bark is to us. But our total
+ignorance of the mental state of animals which have been the
+companions of man from the very earliest ages, our utter inability
+to hold any conversation with them, is in itself a proof of the
+wide gulf that separates them from us. Put two men of the most
+widely separated races on a desert isle together, and a very
+little time will elapse before they are able to hold some
+communication with each other. If then the difference between man
+and the lower animals were a difference of the same kind as that
+between the civilized man and the savage, though greater in
+degree, surely in so many thousand years something might have been
+done to open a way for intellectual communication; some
+development of the faculties of the lower creatures would have
+been perceived, some means of interchanging ideas would have been
+discovered. If Mr. Darwin had had for his companions on board the
+"Beagle," instead of three Fuegians, as many Gorillas or
+Chimpanzees, would he, at the end of the voyage, have been able to
+report any approximation, at all to European mental
+characteristics, or even to those of the lowest savage? But if the
+difference be only one of degree, some approximation ought to have
+taken place.
+
+As then we can have no direct knowledge of the moral and
+intellectual powers of animals, we can only judge of them from
+their actions, and other external signs. One great mark of
+difference has already been noticed. Man has, other animals have
+not, the power of laying up an external treasure of intellectual
+acquirements. Then there are certain arts which seem to be
+indispensable to man in his lowest state--no savage is so low that
+he is utterly destitute of them--no animal makes any pretence to
+them. Such are the designing, construction, and use of tools. Mr.
+Darwin asserts that in certain cases--very rare ones--apes have
+been known to use stones to break open nuts; but the mere use of a
+stone is a very different thing from the conception and deliberate
+formation of a tool, however rude. Then there is the kindling of
+fire, and the use of it for the purpose of cooking; and lastly,
+the preparation and the wearing of clothes. The tools or the
+clothes may be of the rudest kind, the tools may be formed from a
+flint, and the clothes from bark or skin, but in the preparation
+of each there are signs of intellectual power, of which we find no
+indications whatever in the lower animals.
+
+Another important difference between man and all other animals
+lies in the fact, that whatever an animal does it does perfectly
+from the first, but it makes no improvements. A bird's first nest
+is perfect. With man the case is the reverse, it is only by many
+trials, many failures, that he attains to skill in any operation,
+but then he goes forward. Arts improve from generation to
+generation. This seems to show that the faculties of man differ
+from those of animals in kind, and not in degree only.
+
+The question also arises, if man has been produced from an
+anthropomorphous ape by a process of natural development, how is
+it that the same process has not gone on in other lines? The dog,
+the horse, and the elephant are at least equal in intelligence and
+sagacity to the highest known apes. Such a development from them
+cannot have proceeded through the line of the apes. If these
+different orders are at all connected it must be through some
+remote common ancestor. Why then has this development come to an
+abrupt termination in some cases and not in all? It may indeed be
+said that the dog and the horse are indebted for their
+intelligence to the inherited results of long intercourse with
+man, but this cannot be the case with the elephant, which is never
+known to breed in captivity. Nor is there any reason to believe
+that the present intelligence of the elephant is recently
+developed. Why then has it been arrested in its course?
+
+Whether or not we assume the theory of development to be wholly or
+partially correct in reference to the lower animals, we must admit
+that it is true of man, but in a sense totally different from that
+which Mr. Darwin suggests. The development of which he is the
+advocate is a development of race, in which the advance made by
+each individual generation is exceedingly small, while the
+difference in remote generations, the accumulated advance of
+successive generations, is great. In man, on the contrary, there
+is no reason whatever to believe that there has been any advance
+at all in the race from the very earliest periods--that either in
+physical power or intellectual ability the present generation of
+men, taken as a whole, are in any way superior to their most
+remote ancestors. The development of which man is especially
+capable is the development of the individual, that development
+being not physical, but intellectual and moral, and being in a
+great degree dependent on the will and perseverance of the
+individual, and very little on external circumstances. The result
+of these individual developments has been the accumulation of a
+vast fund of wealth, useful arts, sciences, literature, which form
+the common possession of the whole race, but do not necessarily
+imply the slightest advance in any particular individual--that
+advance being dependent, not on the possession of those treasures,
+but on the use made of them. In the case of man then development
+does certainly exist, but it takes a line totally distinct from
+that which Mr. Darwin advocates, and thus forms another broad line
+of demarcation between man and the most advanced of the lower
+animals.
+
+It appears then that the faculties of man differ generically from
+those of the animals. A new order of things seems to have
+commenced with the appearance of man on the earth--an order in
+which the highest place was to be maintained by intellectual
+instead of physical power. No mere process of evolution then will
+account for man's origin. His physical nature may have been formed
+in that way; but we cannot believe that his intellectual and moral
+nature were developed from any lower creatures. Only some special
+Creative interference can account for his existence.
+
+So far then as it tends to negative the continued operation of the
+Creator, the theory of evolution is untenable. Like that of
+Laplace, it fails to give an adequate cause for existing
+phenomena. But it seems probable, as will be seen in the next
+chapter, that both theories have in them much of truth. They
+cannot point out the cause of the universe, but they may give us a
+more or less accurate view of the manner in which that cause
+operated. The facts brought forward by geologists have been shown
+not to be incompatible with interpretations which the Mosaic
+Record readily admits, though they conflict with existing notions
+upon certain points. In no one then of the three sciences which
+have been supposed to be specially antagonistic to that record, is
+there anything to be found which can be maintained as a reasonable
+ground for doubting that that record is, what it has always been
+held to be by the Church, a direct Revelation from the Creator.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+SCIENCE A HELP TO INTERPRETATION.
+
+
+It is now clear that there is nothing in the Mosaic Record itself,
+which is contradicted by any scientific discovery, and that all
+the alleged difficulties arise either from interpretations
+prematurely adopted, or from theories which, when carefully
+examined, are found to be defective, but which may nevertheless
+contain in them a large element of truth. But if scientific
+discoveries are available for the refutation of erroneous
+interpretations, the probability is that when rightly understood
+they will help us to arrive at the true meaning, since the Works
+of God are, beyond all other things, likely to throw light on that
+portion of His Word in which those Works are described. Nor are
+the theories to be passed over--the greater the amount of truth
+which they embody the greater will be the likelihood that they
+will receive help from, as well as throw light upon, such a
+record; and thus we shall have additional evidence that the Word,
+the Work, and the Intellect, which has scrutinized and interpreted
+the Work, are all derived from the same source. We proceed,
+therefore, to inquire whether these facts and theories do in any
+way elucidate the concise statements of Scripture, so that we may
+be enabled to arrive at a somewhat clearer idea of the meaning of
+this most ancient document, and be enabled to entertain somewhat
+more distinct views of the manner in which the Divine Architect
+saw fit to accomplish His Work.
+
+In pursuing this investigation two points must be carefully kept
+in mind; the first is the distinction between theory and
+conjecture on the one hand, and well ascertained facts on the
+other. We shall have much to do with theory, and with conjectural
+interpretations of observed facts. These can never stand on the
+same footing as the facts themselves, but can only be regarded as
+invested with greater or less probability. If it is found that
+these theories do explain many observed facts, that they harmonize
+with, and as it were dovetail into any proposed interpretation of
+which the words of Moses are capable; and still more if that
+interpretation actually completes the defective points of the
+theories, and supplies an adequate cause for facts hitherto
+inexplicable--then the presumption is a very strong one that the
+interpretation thus supported is at all events an approximation to
+the true one.
+
+The second point to be carefully kept in mind is the very
+imperfect state of scientific knowledge even at the present time.
+As far as the matter in hand is concerned, the facts which are
+ascertained beyond all possibility of doubt, are very few. New
+means of investigation have very recently been discovered, and as
+a consequence new sources of information have been pointed out,
+new fields of research have been laid open. Twenty years ago the
+spectroscope was a thing undreamt of--now astronomers reckon it as
+of equal value with the telescope, while chemists find it
+indispensable to their researches. Who shall say that the next
+twenty years may not witness some invention of equal importance,
+which shall throw upon us a fresh flood of light from some
+unexpected quarter? If then the principle which has hitherto been
+maintained is correct, that all our difficulties arise from
+interpretations based upon insufficient knowledge, but maintained
+as if of equal authority with the record itself, there is a great
+danger lest after a time the same difficulty should recur--that
+the discovery of fresh facts may discredit interpretations based
+upon our present knowledge. Any interpretation therefore to which
+we may be led by the scientific views at present entertained, must
+be regarded as only provisional and tentative, liable at any time
+to be either confirmed, amended, or rejected, as fresh discoveries
+may be made.
+
+Before we enter upon a detailed examination of the records of the
+several days, there are two preliminary points to which attention
+must be directed. We shall have to make frequent reference to
+"law." It will be well that the sense in which the term is used
+should be made clear. The account of the First Day's Work will
+lead to the recent theory of the Correlation of Forces. As this is
+probably a new subject to many, some previous explanation of it
+will be necessary.
+
+SECTION 1. OF LAW. [Footnote: This subject is fully treated in the
+Duke of Argyll's "Reign of Law."]
+
+Law, in its original and proper sense, is the expression to an
+inferior of the will of a superior, which the inferior has it in
+his power to obey or to resist, but resistance to which entails a
+penalty more or less severe, in proportion to the moral turpitude,
+or the injurious consequences of the act of disobedience. In this
+its strict sense the law can only exist in connection with beings
+possessed of reason to understand it, of power to obey it, and of
+free will to determine whether they will obey it or not. When
+these three conditions are absent law can have no existence. But
+the result of perfect law, perfectly obeyed, would be perfect
+order. Hence the observation of perfect order leads, by a reversed
+process, to the supposition of some law of which that order is the
+result. Hence arose in the first instance the term "natural laws,"
+or "laws of nature." Events were found to follow each other in a
+uniform way, and this uniformity was thus sought to be accounted
+for. Probably in the minds of those by whom the word was thus
+applied in the first instance Nature was not the mere abstraction
+it is now, but an unseen power--Deity or subordinate to Deity--
+working consciously and with design.
+
+[Footnote: Mr. Darwin, especially in the "Origin of Species,"
+seems continually to betray the existence of this feeling in his
+own mind. Though he from time to time reminds us that by Nature he
+means nothing but the aggregate of sequences of events, or laws,
+he yet frequently speaks of Nature in a way which is applicable
+only to an intelligent worker.]
+
+But this feeling has disappeared, and now we are told that natural
+law is "the observed sequence of events." In this case, then, the
+true meaning of the word is entirely lost--it is no longer
+possible to speak of law as the cause of any event.
+
+But the old sense in which the word was applied to natural
+phenomena had in it far more of truth than the modern one. It was
+the imperfect expression of the great truth that God is a God of
+order--that there is a uniform procedure in His works, because in
+Him there is no change, no caprice. And it is of great importance
+to us that we should realize this truth, because we are dependent
+upon the laws of nature every moment of our lives. Every conscious
+act is performed under the conviction that the natural forces
+which that act calls forth will operate in a certain prescribed
+manner. But this conviction, though it restricts us to the limits
+of the possible, does not further impede the freedom of our will.
+To a certain extent we can choose what action we will perform,
+what forces we will call forth for that purpose, and what
+direction we will give them. Sometimes we can arrange our forces
+so that they will continue to act for a considerable time without
+any intervention from us; in other cases continued interference is
+necessary. But in all these cases there is no interruption of the
+law by which the working of these forces is regulated. We have
+then a limited control over these forces, and yet they are
+unchangeable in themselves, and in their mode of action.
+
+When, however, we strive to ascend from our own works to those of
+God, we can no longer regard these forces as absolutely
+unchangeable. If they are practically so, it is because it is His
+Will that they should be so. It is this Will then which has its
+expression in the so-called laws of nature. The term now assumes a
+sense akin to, though not identical with, its original ethical
+sense. It is no longer a rule imposed by a superior on an
+inferior, but the rule by which the Supreme Being sees fit to
+order His own Work. While however we admit the possibility of law
+of this kind being changed, we have no reason to believe that in
+the universe with which we have to do any such change has ever
+taken place. But this does not preclude the possibility of Divine
+interference in the processes either of Creation or of Providence.
+New forces may from time to time be supplied, new directions may
+be given to existing forces, without any variation in the laws by
+which the action of those forces is regulated.
+
+And if we believe that Creation was a progressive act, it is
+rather probable than otherwise that such interferences should take
+place. For a long period perhaps the uniformity of the work might
+lead us to forget the Being who was working; but times would
+arrive when definite stages of the work were accomplished, when
+higher developments of being were rendered possible, and in the
+introduction of those higher developments a something would be
+seen which could not be the result of the processes with which we
+had already become acquainted. Such interference would not in any
+way justify the supposition that the designs of the Author of
+Nature were changed, or that His original plan had proved
+defective. The more natural inference would be that they were a
+part of the plan from the first, but that the time for them was
+not then come.
+
+It will be seen in the sequel that in all probability many of the
+special acts of Creation, mentioned in the Mosaic Record, are
+interferences of this kind; that for long periods of time matters
+advanced in a uniform manner; that the sequence of events was such
+as our own experience would lead us to anticipate; but that these
+periods were separated from one another by the introduction of new
+forces and new results. Of the former we may speak then as carried
+on under the operation of natural laws; the other may be described
+as special interferences not antagonistic, but supplementary, to
+natural laws, and forming part of the original design.
+
+SECTION 2. THE CORRELATION OF FORCES.
+
+[Footnote: For fuller information on this subject, Grove's
+"Correlation of the Physical Forces," or Tyndall's "Lectures on
+Heat considered as a Mode of Motion," may be consulted.]
+
+It has long been known that heat and light are closely connected
+together. The accumulation of a certain amount of heat is always
+accompanied by the appearance of light. But when it was found that
+the light could be separated from the heat by various means, it
+seemed possible that the two phenomena were simply associated. It
+is now, however, ascertained that light and heat are identical in
+their nature, and that a vast number of other phenomena--
+electricity, galvanism, magnetism, chemical action, and
+gravitation, as well as light and heat, are different
+manifestations of one and the same thing, which is called force or
+energy. In a great number of cases it is possible for us, by the
+use of appropriate means and apparatus, to transform these
+manifestations, so as to make the same force assume a variety of
+forms. Thus motion suddenly arrested becomes heat. A rifle-ball
+when it strikes the target becomes very hot. The heat produced by
+the concussion against an iron shield is found sufficient to
+ignite the powder in some of the newly invented projectiles. The
+best illustration, however, is to be obtained from galvanism. By
+means of the Voltaic battery we set free a certain amount of
+force, and we can employ it at pleasure to produce an intense
+light in the electric lamp, or to melt metals which resist the
+greatest heat of our furnaces; it will convert a bar of iron into
+a magnet, or decompose water into its constituents, oxygen and
+hydrogen, or separate a metal from its combination with oxygen.
+But in all these processes no new force is produced--the force
+set free is unchangeable in itself, and we cannot increase its
+amount. Owing to the imperfection of our instruments and our skill
+a part of it will always escape from our control, and be lost to
+us, but not destroyed. When, however, due allowance is made for
+this loss, the results produced are always in exact proportion to
+the amount of force originally set free. Thus, if we employ it to
+decompose water, the amount of water decomposed always bears an
+exact proportion to the amount of metal which has been oxidized in
+the cells of the battery.
+
+This force pervades everything which comes within the cognizance
+of our senses. It exists in what are termed the elementary
+substances of which the crust of the earth is composed. A certain
+amount of it seems to be required to maintain them in the forms in
+which we know them; for in many cases, when two of them are made
+to combine, a certain amount of force is set free, which commonly
+makes its appearance as heat. This seems to indicate that a less
+amount of force suffices to maintain the compound body than was
+requisite for its separate elements. Thus, when oxygen and
+hydrogen are combined to form water intense heat is produced. If
+we wish to dissolve the union, and restore the oxygen and hydrogen
+to a gaseous state, we must restore the force which has been lost.
+This, however, must be done by means of electricity, as heat
+produces a different change--converting the water into vapour, but
+not dissolving the union between its elements.
+
+Force, in the shape of heat, determines the condition in which all
+inorganic bodies exist. In most cases we can make any given
+element assume the form of a solid, a fluid, or a vapour, by the
+addition or subtraction of heat. Thus if a pound of ice at 32
+degrees be exposed to heat, it will gradually melt--but the water
+produced will remain unchanged in temperature till the last
+particle of ice is melted--then it will begin to rise in
+temperature; and, if the supply of heat be uniform, it will reach
+a temperature of 172 degrees in exactly the same time as was
+occupied in melting the ice. Thus then the force which was applied
+to the ice as heat passes into some other form so long as the ice
+is being melted--it is no longer perceptible by the senses--we
+only see its effect in the change from the solid to the fluid
+form. And this result is brought about by a definite quantity of
+force. Each of the inorganic materials of which the crust of the
+earth is composed seems thus to require in its composition a
+definite amount of force.
+
+The life of vegetables is developed in the formation of fresh
+compounds of inorganic matter and force. No vegetable can thrive
+without sunlight, either direct or diffused. This supplies the
+force which the plant combines with carbon, hydrogen, and other
+elements to form woody fibre, starch, oils, and other vegetable
+products. When we kindle a fire, we dissolve the union which has
+thus been formed--the carbon and hydrogen enter into simpler
+combinations which require less force to maintain them, and the
+superfluous force supplies us with light and heat.
+
+The life of animals is developed by a process exactly the reverse
+of vegetable life. It is maintained by the destruction of the
+compounds which the vegetable had formed. These compounds are
+taken into the body as food, and after undergoing certain
+modifications and arrangements are finally decomposed. Of the
+force thus set free a part makes its appearance as heat,
+maintaining an even temperature in the body, and another part
+supplies the power by virtue of which the muscles, &c., act. No
+manifestation of animal life is possible except by force thus set
+free. It seems all but certain that we cannot think a single
+thought without the decomposition of an equivalent amount of the
+brain. It must not, however, be concluded that force and life are
+identical. Force seems to be only the instrument of which the
+higher principle of life makes use in its manifestations.
+
+Force then pervades the whole universe so far as it is cognizable
+by our senses. But we cannot conceive of force as acting, without
+at the same time conceiving of something on which that force acts.
+That something, whatever it may be, we designate "matter." We have
+not the slightest idea of what matter really is--no man has ever
+yet succeeded in separating it from its combination with force.
+Even if success were possible, which seems very improbable, it is
+not likely that matter by itself would be discernible by any of
+our senses. We know that two of them, sight and hearing, enable us
+to perceive certain kinds of motion, i. e. manifestations of
+force, and this is in all probability the case with the rest of
+them. The existence of matter then is not known by scientific
+proof but by inference. Our belief in it arises from something in
+the constitution of our minds which makes it a necessary
+inference.
+
+There is one more point in reference to force which must be
+noticed. It is indestructible, but it is capable of what is termed
+"degradation." It may exist in various intensities and quantities,
+and a small quantity of force of a higher intensity may be changed
+into a larger quantity of force at a lower intensity. In the
+instance above given of the union of oxygen and hydrogen, heat is
+given out, but heat does not suffice to dissolve that union. The
+force must be supplied in the more intense form of Voltaic
+Electricity. But to reverse this process seems impossible for us.
+As, however, this is clearly explained in a previous volume of
+this series, [Footnote: Can we Believe in Miracles? p. 152.] it is
+not necessary to dwell upon it at length.
+
+We may conclude then that the whole material universe is built up
+of matter and force in various combinations, but we can form no
+conception of what these two things are in themselves; they are
+only known to us by the effects produced by their union in various
+proportions.
+
+SECTION 3. THE BEGINNING.
+
+"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
+
+"And the earth was desolate and void, and darkness upon the face
+of the deep."
+
+These words carry us back to a time indefinitely remote. Eternity
+and Infinity are ideas which we cannot grasp, and yet we cannot
+avoid them. If we stretch our imagination to conceive of the most
+distant possible period of time--the farthest point of space--
+still we feel that there must have been something before the one,
+that there must be something beyond the other; and yet we cannot
+conceive of that which has no beginning, or no boundaries. The
+first verse marks out for us as it were a definite portion of this
+limitless ocean. "In the beginning," is the point from which time
+begins to run--"the heavens and the earth," the visible universe
+beyond which our investigations cannot extend. Whether other
+manifestations of God have taken place in Eternity, or other
+systems of worlds now exist in infinity, we are not told.
+
+The heavens and the earth then are to be considered as comprising
+the visible universe, sun, moon, and stars, and their
+concomitants, which the eye surveys, or which scientific research
+brings to our knowledge. All are comprehended in this one group by
+Moses, and recent spectroscopic investigations teach us that one
+general character pervades the whole. Every star whose light is
+powerful enough to be analyzed, is now known to comprehend in its
+materials a greater or less number of those elementary substances
+of which the earth and the sun are composed. Whether any of these
+worlds were called into perfect existence at once, or whether they
+all passed through various stages of development, we are not told,
+that in some of them the process of development is only
+commencing, while in others various stages of it are in progress,
+is, as will be seen presently, highly probable. But the narrative
+takes no farther notice of anything beyond our own group of
+worlds, and proceeds to describe the condition of the earth
+(probably including the whole solar system) at the time at which
+it commences. Its words imply such a state of things as
+corresponds to what has been said in the preceding section of
+matter, apart from force. No better words could probably have been
+chosen for the purpose. The only word which seems to convey any
+definite idea is in the following clause, where water is
+mentioned. Until force was in operation water could not exist.
+Probably St. Augustine's interpretation is the correct one--the
+confused mass is called alternately earth and water, because
+though it was as yet neither one thing nor the other, it contained
+the elements of both. And the word "water" expressed its plastic
+character. ("De Genesi ad Literam" Liber Imperfectus, Section 13,
+14.)
+
+One other important point in these words is, that they negative
+the eternal existence of matter. The second verse describes it as
+existing, because it had been called into existence at the bidding
+of an Almighty Creator, as described in the first verse.
+
+SECTION 4. THE FIRST DAY.
+
+"And the Spirit of God (was) brooding upon the face of the water.
+
+"And God said, 'Let light be' and light was.
+
+"And God saw the light that it was good, and God divided the light
+from the darkness.
+
+"And God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night.
+
+"And there was evening and there was morning, one day."
+
+The first clause seems to belong rather to the period of action
+than to the precedent indefinite period of chaos, and may
+therefore be taken as marking the transition from the "beginning"
+to the first day, better than as belonging to that beginning
+itself. The Jewish interpretation of the clause is untenable in
+the light of the doctrine of the Correlation of the Physical
+Forces. Till force was evolved there could be neither air nor
+motion, and so no wind. The words of course bear on their face an
+assertion of the action of the eternal Spirit in the work of
+Creation; but when we examine the position which they occupy, it
+seems highly probable that they have beyond this a much more
+definite signification. In them a sort of localized action is
+ascribed to the Spirit--a something very different from the idea
+conveyed by the often-repeated phrase, "And God said." What that
+something may be it is hard for us to conceive, harder still to
+express, but the following considerations may perhaps throw some
+glimmering of light upon the matter:--
+
+1. There must be some point in which the Creator comes into
+contact, as it were, with His creature--a point at which His Will
+first clothes itself in the form of a physical fact--the point to
+which all second causes lead up, and at which they lose themselves
+in the one first cause, the Will of God. Now this is what all
+systems of philosophy require as their starting-point, but it is
+entirely out of their unaided reach. But these words supply that
+indispensable desideratum.
+
+2. These words come in immediate connexion with the evolution of
+light. Light is throughout the Bible intimately connected with the
+Deity. It is His chosen emblem. "God is light." It is His abode.
+"He dwelleth in the light inaccessible." It is the symbol of His
+presence, and the means by which Creation is quickened. "In Him
+was life; and the life was the light of men."
+
+3. Light, as we now know, is only one form of the force by which
+the universe is upheld. But the phenomena of light lead us to
+infer the existence of what we call Ether, which is supposed to be
+a perfectly elastic fluid, imponderable, and in fact exempt from
+almost all the conditions to which matter, as we know it, is
+subject, except that POSSIBLY it offers resistance to bodies
+moving in it. [Footnote: Encke's comet shows signs of retardation,
+as if moving in a resisting medium; but it is possible that that
+resistance may not arise from the ether, but from the nebulous
+envelope of the sun.] This fluid must pervade the whole universe,
+since it brings to us the light of the most distant star or
+nebula. As it is the medium through which light is conveyed, and
+as light is now known to be identified with force of all kinds, it
+seems by no means improbable that it is the medium through which
+all force acts.
+
+These words, then, seem to suggest the idea that the brooding of
+the Spirit may have some connexion with the formation of that
+ether which is indispensable to the manifestation of light, and
+probably to the operations of all force; and that, if so, the
+ether may also be the point at which, and the medium through
+which, Spirit acts upon Matter. On the one hand, the facts that
+force, as used, is constantly in process of degradation, and that
+it is also constantly poured forth into space from the Sun and
+Planets in the shape of heat, and so lost to our system, seem to
+indicate that fresh supplies of it are continually needed; while,
+on the other hand, the supply of that need seems to be implied in
+the words, "By Him all things consist." "Upholding all things by
+the word of His Power."
+
+If this be so, we have a point up to which natural laws may
+possibly be traced, but at which they merge in the action of the
+Will of God, which is beyond our investigation. Here, then, is a
+solution of that great difficulty, which those who are most
+familiar with the laws of nature have felt in reconciling the
+existence of those laws with a particular Providence and with the
+efficacy of Prayer, since we have here the point at which all
+forces and all laws begin to act, and at which, therefore, the
+amount of the force, and the direction of its action, are capable
+of unlimited modification, without any alteration of, or
+interference with, the laws by which that action is regulated, and
+consequently without the danger of introducing confusion into the
+Universe.
+
+"And God said, 'Let light be' and light was." It has already been
+pointed out that these words differ from those used in describing
+any other creative act. They are the only ones which seem to imply
+an instantaneous fulfilment of the command. Another matter which
+has long since been observed, is their exact harmony with what
+science teaches us respecting the nature of light. Light is not a
+material substance, but a "mode of motion." It consists of very
+small undulations propagated with inconceivable velocity. Hence of
+it, and of it alone, it could not be correctly said that it was
+created. To say that God made light would be inexact. The words
+which are used exactly suit the circumstances of the case. But the
+discovery of the correlation of forces has given to these words a
+much more extended significance, while at the same time it
+furnishes a satisfactory reason for their occurrence at this
+particular point. So long as they were supposed to refer to light
+simply, they seemed out of place. Light was not apparently needed
+till there were organisms to whose existence it was essential. But
+we now know that to call forth light, was to call force in all its
+modifications into action. It has been seen that matter and force
+are the two elements out of which everything that is discernible
+by our senses is built up. The formation of matter has already
+been described in the original act of creation. But till force
+also was evolved, matter must of necessity remain in that chaotic
+state to which verse 2 refers. To matter is now added that which
+was required to enable the progressive work of Creation to be
+carried on. The first result of this would probably be that the
+force of gravitation would begin to act, while, from what the
+telescope reveals to us, we may conjecture, that at the same time
+the whole incoherent mass would be permeated with light and heat,
+and some, at all events, of those elementary substances with which
+chemistry makes us acquainted would be developed, and the whole
+mass, acted upon by the mutual attraction of its several
+particles, would begin to move towards, and accumulate about its
+centre of gravity.
+
+It has been shown that Laplace's Nebular Hypothesis, when
+substituted for the action of a Creator, broke down in three
+important points. Of these the first two were, that it failed to
+give any account of the origin of matter, and of the first
+commencement of the action of Gravitation. These two defects are
+completely supplied by the first three verses of Genesis. We may
+probably see in the "Great Nebula" in Orion an illustration of the
+condition of the solar system when light first made its
+appearance. It is very probable that that nebula has only very
+recently become visible. Galileo examined Orion very carefully
+with his newly invented telescope, but makes no mention of it.
+[Footnote: Webb's Celestial Objects, p. 255, note.] At present it
+is visible to the unaided eye even in England, where the
+atmospheric conditions and its low altitude are alike
+unfavourable. In Italy, where the atmosphere is remarkably pure,
+and the meridian altitude is greater by 7 1/2 degrees, it must be
+a conspicuous object, and had it been so at the time when Galileo
+was observing the constellation, it could hardly have failed to
+attract his attention. It was, however, noticed in 1618. It is a
+vast, shapeless mass, having its boundaries in some parts
+tolerably well defined, while in other directions it fades away
+imperceptibly; its light is very faint, and when examined by the
+spectroscope is found to proceed from a gaseous source. Professor
+Secchi has traced it through an extent of 5 degrees. When it is
+remembered that at such a distance the semi-diameter of the
+earth's orbit subtends an angle less than 1 inch, some idea of the
+enormous extent of this mass of gas may be formed. Drawings of it
+have been made from time to time by our most distinguished
+astronomers, which are found to differ considerably. Great
+allowance must, of course, be made for differences in the
+telescopic power employed, and in the visual powers of the several
+observers, but the differences in the drawings seem too great to
+be explained by those sources of inaccuracy alone, and actual
+change in the nebula is therefore strongly suspected. Another
+nebula of similar character, in which changes are suspected, is
+that which surrounds the star A in the constellation Argo. This is
+being very carefully watched through the great telescope recently
+erected at Melbourne, and from the observations made there, it is
+probable that fresh light may soon be thrown on the subject.
+
+The next act recorded is, that "God divided the light from the
+darkness." This is one of those passages which we are very apt to
+pass over as unimportant, without giving ourselves any trouble to
+ascertain what they mean, or asking if they may not give valuable
+information, or supply some important hints. It is evident,
+however, that in these words some act of the Creator is implied,
+but when we inquire what that act was, the answer does not lie
+immediately on the surface. Darkness is simply the absence of
+light. It cannot therefore be said that God divided the light from
+the darkness in the same sense in which it is said that "a
+shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats". Between light and
+darkness that division exists in the very nature of things, and it
+could not therefore be said to be made by a definite act. Nor
+again, is there any sharp well-defined boundary set between light
+and darkness, so that we can say, "Here light begins, here
+darkness ends." The very opposite is the case, the one blends
+imperceptibly into the other. This then cannot be the meaning of
+the words. But the next verse guides us to the real meaning. "And
+God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night." The
+division of light from darkness then is the alternation of night
+and day. When God divided the light from the darkness He made
+provision for that alternation. But we know that that alternation
+is the result of the earth's rotation upon its axis, so that the
+dividing the light from the darkness evidently implies the
+communication to the accumulated mass of the motion of rotation.
+
+It does not clearly appear in the account of the first day,
+whether this alternation of day and night took effect immediately.
+Certainly the introduction of it here does not prove that it did
+so follow. For there was no way in which the fact of the earth's
+rotation could be directly communicated to those for whom the
+narrative was primarily intended. They were ignorant of the
+spherical form of the earth, and so could not have attached any
+idea whatever to a statement that it revolved about its axis.
+
+The only way then in which Moses could speak of that rotation was
+in connexion with some phenomenon resulting from it. The only such
+phenomenon with which the Jews were acquainted was the alternation
+of day and night. There was therefore no way in which Moses could
+record the fact except with reference to this ultimate effect. It
+does not follow that that effect was immediate. Beside the
+rotation of the earth, another condition is required. The light
+must come from a single source, and so when the act is recorded by
+which that condition is effected, the division of light and
+darkness is again noticed. The sun and the moon are set in the
+firmament of heaven to divide the light from the darkness. But
+that division was potentially effected when the motion of rotation
+was given.
+
+The third defect noticed in the Nebular Hypothesis was, that it
+did not account for this motion of rotation. This defect, then,
+like the two preceding ones, is supplied by the Mosaic Record, and
+the hypothesis thus supplemented becomes complete. It is capable
+of giving a satisfactory account of the phenomena to which it
+applies. But as it is only a theory, and only points out a way in
+which the universe might have been constructed, it does not in
+itself exclude the possibility that some other plan might in fact
+have been adopted, and we have now to examine into the reasons for
+supposing that it was the method which was actually employed.
+These divide themselves into two classes:--those which render it
+probable that similar processes are now in progress; and those
+which render it probable that the solar system has passed through
+such a process.
+
+It has already been pointed out that the great nebulae in Orion
+and Argo seem to represent the condition of our system on the
+first appearance of light, and that changes are strongly suspected
+to be taking place in both; but we cannot expect to trace any
+single nebula through the stages of its development, since that
+development must occupy untold ages. All we can do is to inquire
+if there are other nebulas which seem to be in more advanced
+stages. It must at once be recognized, that if this be one of the
+processes now going on, it is not the only one. There are many
+nebulas "which have assumed forms for which the law of
+gravitation, as we know it, will not enable us to account--such as
+the Ring Nebula in Lyra, the Dumb-bell Nebula in Vulpecula, or the
+double Horseshoe in Scutum Sobieski. But some nebulas can be found
+which arrange themselves so as to illustrate the stages through
+which we may suppose our world to have passed. These are chiefly
+to be found among the planetary nebulse, which in a small
+telescope exhibit a faint circular disc, but in larger instruments
+frequently show considerable varieties of structure. Some of them
+present the appearance of a condensation of light in the centre,
+which gradually fades off; in others there is a bright ring
+surrounding the central spot, but separated from it by a darker
+space. The Nebula Andromeda 49647, [Footnote: The numbers are
+those given by Sir J. Hersohel.] as seen in Mr. Lassel's four-foot
+reflector appears as a luminous spot, surrounded by two luminous
+rings, which, in the more powerful instrument of Lord Bosse,
+combine into a spiral. Its spectrum is gaseous, with one line
+indicating some element unknown to us. In another nebula, Draco
+4373, there is a double spectrum, the one gaseous, indicating the
+presence of hydrogen, nitrogen, and barium; the other, apparently
+from the nucleus, continuous, and so representing a solid or fluid
+mass, but so faint that the lines belonging to particular elements
+cannot be distinguished. [Footnote: Hugging, Philosophical
+Transactions, 1864.] Bridanus 846, and Andromeda 116, are probably
+similar nebulee occupying different positions with reference to
+us. They both give a continuous spectrum. The one in Bridanus is
+described as "an eleventh magnitude star, standing in the centre
+of a circular nebula, itself placed centrally on a larger and
+fainter circle of hazy light." [Footnote: Lassell, quoted in
+Webb's "Celestial Objects," p. 227.] The nebula in Andromeda
+assumes a lenticular form; that in Bridanus would probably present
+the same appearance if we saw it edge-ways. The former has
+probably increased in brilliancy in the course of centuries. Mr.
+Webb remarks of it, "It is so plain to the naked eye that it is
+strange the ancients scarcely mention it." [Footnote: Webb's
+"Celestial Objects," p. 180.] In these two nebulas we may perhaps
+see the mass ready to break up into separate worlds, the
+lenticular form being a natural result of extremely rapid
+rotation. Prom the fact that Andromeda 116 gives a continuous
+spectrum, Dr. Huggins inclines to the belief that it is an
+unresolved star cluster. But the reasons which led Sir W. Herschel
+to conclude that the nebula in Orion was gaseous, (a conclusion
+which, though for a time discredited by the supposed resolution of
+the nebula in Lord Kosse's telescope, was ultimately found to be
+correct), are equally applicable here. In general a certain
+proportion exists between the telescopic power requisite to render
+a star cluster visible as a nebulous spot, and that which will
+resolve it into stars; but this nebula, like that in Orion, though
+visible to the naked eye, cannot be resolved by the most powerful
+instruments yet made. And the nebula in Draco 4373, seems to
+present an intermediate stage between the purely gaseous nebula
+and this one. The faint continuous spectrum is probably the result
+of incipient central condensation. This nebula, if recent
+observations by Mr. Gill, of Aberdeen, are confirmed [Footnote:
+Popular Science Review, 1871, p. 426.], is much nearer to us than
+any of the fixed stars.
+
+"We come now to the reasons derived from the Solar System itself,
+and of these there are several, some of them of considerable
+weight. The first is to be found in the uniform direction of
+almost all the motions of the system. They are from west to east.
+The sun rotates upon his axis, the planets revolve about the sun
+and rotate upon their axes, and the satellites, with one
+exception, revolve about their primaries, and, so far as is known,
+rotate upon their axes in the same direction, from west to east,
+and the motions take place very nearly in the same plane--the
+ecliptic. This seems to point to the conclusion that these motions
+have a common origin, as would be the case if all these bodies at
+one time existed as a single mass which revolved in the same
+direction. The one exception is to be found in the satellites of
+Uranus, whose motion is retrograde. But there are certain
+phenomena, which lead to the conclusion, that, on the outskirts of
+our system, there has at some time or other been an action of a
+disturbing force, of which, except from these results, we know
+nothing."
+
+[Footnote: Bode's "Law of Planetary Distances," What holds good as
+far as Uranus, breaks down in the case of Neptune. Both Leverrier
+and Adams were to some extent misled by this law. The new planet
+should according to their calculations, based on this law, have
+been of greater magnitude and at a greater distance than Neptune.
+
+The polar axis of Uranus, instead of being nearly perpendicular to
+the ecliptic, as in the case of all the other planets (except
+Venus), is nearly coincident with it. Venus occupies an
+intermediate position, the inclination of its equator to its orbit
+being 49 degrees 58'.]
+
+ There is also strong reason for believing that the sun is still a
+nebulous star, that the whole of the original nebula is not yet
+gathered up in the vast globe which at ordinary times is all that
+we can see. This aspect of the case, however, will come more fully
+under our notice when we come to the work of the fourth day. The
+figure of the earth, which is that naturally assumed by a plastic
+mass revolving about its axis, and the traces which it retains of
+a former state of intense heat, are both in accordance with this
+theory.
+
+When these facts are duly weighed, there seems to be a reasonable
+probability that this process is the one which was actually
+employed in the formation of the solar system. The remarkable
+manner in which the theory adapts itself to the Mosaic account,
+and the fact that that account records special interferences of
+the Creator exactly at the points where the theory shows that such
+interferences would be necessary, give rise to a very strong
+presumption in its favour. We have in it also a clear illustration
+of the combination of general laws of nature with special
+interferences of Creative Power--the law of gravitation was called
+into action, and the work would proceed steadily under that law
+for a considerable period, till matters were ripe for a farther
+stage in the progress, and then the special interference would
+take place, in this instance the imparting the motion of rotation,
+and the work would again proceed under the natural law. All this
+while, however, the work would be one, and performed by one power,
+the only difference being in the direct or indirect action of that
+power.
+
+The only point an reference to the first day which remains to be
+inquired into is the extent to which the work had proceeded at its
+close. As the commencement of the second day's work implies that
+at that time the earth had an independent existence, we may
+conclude that the first day's work comprehended the casting off of
+the several successive rings, and the condensation of those rings,
+or some of them, into the corresponding planets and satellites.
+These would probably still retain their intense heat, in virtue of
+which they would be luminous.
+
+Many of the multiple stars may not improbably present to us much
+the same appearance as the solar system then presented. In many
+cases we have one large star, with one or more very minute
+attendants. Such a star is Orionis, a tolerably conspicuous star,
+which has two companions invisible to the naked eye, but visible
+with moderate telescopic power. (A telescope of 2.1 inches
+aperture, by Cooke, shows them well.) Five more companions are
+visible in a 4-inch telescope. In the large telescope at Harvard
+no less than 35 minute stars have been seen in apparent connexion
+with the brilliant star Vega. In all these cases it is true that
+the distances and periods of the companion stars are very much
+greater than in the case of the earth; but then our telescopes
+will only enable us to discern the more distant companions. Any
+small companion stars holding positions corresponding to those of
+the four interior planets, would be lost in the light of the
+primary star; and if, as is suspected, all the heavenly bodies are
+subject to some resistance, however small, from the medium in
+which they move, this resistance would in the course of ages
+diminish the mean distance, and with it the periodic time of the
+companion stars.
+
+The latter part of the 5th verse has already been considered, and
+there is no need to recur to it at this point. At the close of the
+history we shall be in a better position to ascertain if any light
+has been thrown on that mysterious subject.
+
+SECTION 5. THE SECOND DAY.
+
+"And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the
+waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.
+
+"And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were
+under the firmament from the waters which were above the
+firmament, and it was so.
+
+"And God called the firmament Heaven, and there was evening and
+there was morning, a second day"
+
+The work of the second and third days evidently has its scene on
+the earth alone. At its commencement the earth appears to have
+become distinctly separated from the gradually condensing mass of
+the solar system, and to have assumed its spherical form. It had,
+in fact, acquired an independent existence; but it was still in a
+chaotic state. Its elements, which were hereafter to assume the
+three forms of solid, fluid, and gas, seem to have been still
+blended together. Of the three states, fluidity seems to have been
+that to which the mass most nearly approached. This seems to be
+indicated by the application of the term, waters, to the two parts
+into which it is now divided; for the Hebrew has no general word
+for "fluid," so that the only method of expressing it was by the
+use of this word "water" in an extended signification; and all
+scientific investigations point to the same conclusion. The heat,
+as yet, must have been so intense that no rocks or metals with
+which we are acquainted could have remained in a solid form. The
+sorting out and first arrangement of the materials of the earth,
+with probably the farther development of a large portion of them
+by the introduction of a new element, seems to have been the work
+of the second day.
+
+When we proceed to examine the narrative more closely, two
+important questions suggest themselves:--l. What special
+interference of Creative Power does it indicate? 2. What is the
+meaning of the division between the waters which were above the
+firmament and the waters which were under the firmament?
+
+1. What special interference of Creative Power took place on the
+second day? Till within the last ten years, it would have been
+difficult to give a satisfactory answer to this question; for if
+all the elements were already in existence at the commencement of
+the second day, their arrangement would, as it seems, have been
+brought about by the ordinary operation of natural laws which were
+already established. The cooling and condensation of a portion of
+the elements would have been effected by the radiation of their
+heat, and the portions thus condensed would, under the influence
+of gravitation, have arranged themselves in immediate proximity to
+the centre of gravity, forming a solid or fluid nucleus, round
+which those portions which still remained in a gaseous state would
+have formed an atmospheric envelope. But here again the
+spectroscope comes to our aid. In many of the nebulae which give
+in it the bright lines indicative of gas, hydrogen and nitrogen
+are the chief gases discovered. These must be in an incandescent
+state, or they would not be visible at all. But hydrogen cannot,
+in the present state of things, remain in this condition in
+contact with oxygen; it must instantly combine with it, that
+combination being attended with intense heat, and resulting in the
+production of water. The introduction of oxygen, then, must
+involve a very important crisis in the process of development; but
+that introduction must have preceded the formation of atmospheric
+air and water. Prior to the second day oxygen must either have
+been non-existent, or it must have existed in a form and under
+conditions very different from those under which it exists now.
+Free oxygen cannot be in existence in the sun or in any celestial
+object in which the spectroscope indicates the existence of
+incandescent hydrogen. The special act of the second day would
+appear to have consisted in the development of oxygen, or the
+calling it from a quiescent state into active operation.
+
+But the effects of the new element thus called into operation
+would not be limited to the production of air and water. It is
+estimated that oxygen constitutes, by weight, nearly half of the
+solid crust of the earth. It forms a part of every rock and of
+every metallic ore. The second day, then, must have been a period
+of intense chemical action, resulting from the introduction of
+this powerful agent.
+
+But (2) what is the meaning of the division of the waters which
+are above the firmament from the waters which were under the
+firmament? At present all the water contained in the atmosphere,
+in the shape of vapour and clouds, is so insignificant in
+comparison with that vast volume of water which not only fills the
+ocean, but also permeates the solid earth, that such a notice of
+it seems unaccountable. Mr. Goodwin, indeed, maintains that there
+was an ancient belief, not only that the firmament was a solid
+vault, but that on it there rested another ocean, at least as
+copious as that with which we are acquainted. [Footnote: Essays
+and Reviews, p. 220] In support of this assertion he brings
+forward the phrase, "The windows of heaven were opened" (Gen, VII.
+11) and other similar expressions. But such phrases as this
+evidently belong to the same class as the fanciful names so often
+given to the clouds in the hymns of the Rig Veda. Both expressions
+evidently point to a time when figurative language, if no longer a
+necessity, was at all events a common and favourite form of
+speech, and was understood by all. Dr. Whewell [Footnote:
+Plurality of Worlds, chap. x. Section 5.] has put forward the
+curious notion that when the creation of the interior planets was
+completed, there remained a superfluity of water, which was
+gathered up into the four exterior planets. But the only fact in
+favour of such an hypothesis is the close correspondence between
+the apparent density of these planets and that of water. Now, as
+will be seen immediately, there is strong reason to believe that
+the true density of these planets is much greater than their
+apparent diameters would seem to indicate; so that the one
+solitary ground on which the suggestion rests vanishes when it is
+examined. Apart from this, however, the suggestion that there
+would be any superfluous material when the work of creation was
+finished, is a very strange one. Neither of these views, then, can
+be accepted as giving a satisfactory meaning to the text.
+
+Astronomical investigations however, which have been carried on
+with great diligence during the last four winters, and which are
+still being continued with unremitting interest, have brought to
+light phenomena which seem to be in remarkable correspondence with
+the state of things spoken of in the text. It has already been
+noticed that the eight greater planets at present known to us are
+divided into two groups of four by the intervening belt of minor
+planets. These two groups have totally distinct characteristics.
+In density, magnitude, and length, of day the members of each
+group differ little from each other, while the two groups differ
+very widely. The moon is the only satellite as yet known in the
+inner group. The planets of the outer group are attended by at
+least seventeen satellites.
+
+Of these outer planets Jupiter, from his great brilliancy,
+specially attracts observation, while from his comparative
+proximity to the earth we are enabled to examine him much more
+satisfactorily than we can Saturn, Uranus, or Neptune. Two facts
+with reference to him have long been well known, the one, that the
+polar compression in his case is much greater than it is in any of
+the interior planets, so that when seen through a telescope of
+very moderate power his disc is evidently elliptical, while the
+compression of the interior planets can only be detected by the
+most delicate micrometrical measurements--the other, that his
+apparent surface is always crossed by several alternating belts of
+light and shade, which though subject to constant changes of
+detail, always preserve the same general character. Until recently
+the generally received theory was that these belts consisted of
+clouds, raised by the heat of the sun, and arranged in zones under
+the influence of winds similar in character to, and produced by
+the same causes as, the trade-winds which blow over our own
+oceans. This view, however, has been shown by Mr. Proctor to be
+untenable. [Footnote: See a paper by Mr. Proctor in the Monthly
+Packet for October, 1870.]
+
+About forty years ago, a very remarkable phenomenon was observed
+simultaneously, but independently, by three astronomers, Admiral
+Smyth, Mr. Maclean, and Mr. Pearson, who were watching a transit
+of Jupiter's second satellite from stations several miles apart.
+Admiral Smyth's account of it is as follows:--"On Thursday, the
+26th of June, 1828, the moon being nearly full, and the evening
+extremely fine, I was watching the second satellite of Jupiter as
+it gradually approached to transit the disc of the planet. My
+instrument was an excellent refractor of 3 3/4 inches aperture,
+and five feet focal length, with a power of one hundred. The
+satellite appeared in contact at about half-past ten, and for some
+minutes remained on the edge of the limb, presenting an appearance
+not unlike that of the lunar mountains which come into view during
+the first quarter of the moon, until it finally disappeared on the
+body of the planet. At least twelve or thirteen minutes must have
+elapsed when, accidentally turning to Jupiter again, I perceived
+the same satellite outside the disc. It was in the same position
+as to being above a line with the lower belt, where it remained
+distinctly visible for at least four minutes, and then suddenly
+vanished." A somewhat similar phenomenon, but of shorter duration,
+was witnessed by Messrs. Gorton and Wray, during an occultation of
+the same satellite, April 26, 1863. In this case the satellite
+reappeared after passing behind the apparent disc of the planet.
+So lately as 1868 this phenomenon was regarded as inexplicable.
+[Footnote: Webb's Celestial Objects, p. 141.]
+
+In the winter of 1868-9 the attention of astronomers was called to
+the fact that rapid and extensive changes were taking place in the
+appearance of Jupiter's belts, and they have consequently been
+watched from that time with unremitting attention by astronomers
+furnished with telescopes of the best quality. The results of
+these observations are given in two very interesting papers,
+communicated to the Popular Science Review, by Mr. Webb.
+[Footnote: Popular Science Review for April, 1870, and July,
+1871.] Very curious markings and variations in the depth of shade
+have been seen, accompanied by equally curious changes of colour.
+Mr. Browning compares these changes to those which are seen when a
+cloud of steam of varying depth and density is illuminated from
+behind by a strong light, as when we look through the steam
+escaping from the safety-valve of a locomotive at a gas-lamp
+immediately behind it. This appears to be the true explanation of
+the phenomenon. [Footnote: Popular Science Review, 1871, p. 307.]
+These belts are probably due to vast masses of steam, poured forth
+with great force from the body of the planet. As the atmosphere of
+Jupiter is probably of enormous depth, the rotatory velocity of
+its upper portions would be much greater than that of the surface
+of the planet, hence the steam would arrange itself in belts
+parallel to the equator of the planet. But this view leads us to
+wonderful conclusions with reference to the condition of the
+planet.
+
+"Processes of the most amazing character are taking place beneath
+that cloudy envelope, which forms the visible surface of the
+planet as seen by the terrestrial observer. The real globe of the
+planet would seem to be intensely heated, perhaps molten, through
+the fierceness of the heat which pervades it. Masses of vapour
+streaming continually upward from the surface of this fiery globe
+would be gathered at once into zones because of their rapid change
+of distance from the centre. That which is wholly unintelligible
+when we regard the surface of Jupiter as swept like our earth by
+polar and equatorial winds, is readily interpreted when we
+recognize the existence of rapidly uprushing streams of vapour."
+[Footnote: Mr. Proctor in Monthly Packet, October, 1870.]
+
+Supposing then that the atmosphere of Jupiter is of very great
+depth, and thus laden with masses of watery vapour, the effect of
+a sudden current of heated, but comparatively dry, air or gas
+would be the immediate absorption of the whole or a large portion
+of the vapour, and the consequent transparency of the portion of
+the atmosphere affected by it. We see this result continually on a
+small scale in our own atmosphere, when a heavy cloud comes in
+contact with a warm air current, and rapidly melts away, Many of
+the rapid changes which have been witnessed in Jupiter's
+appearance are readily explained if this view is admitted.
+Supposing such a thing to have happened near the edge of the disc,
+the phenomenon recorded by Admiral Smyth is at once satisfactorily
+explained. When the satellite appeared to pass on to the disc, and
+to be lost in the light of the planet, it would for some time,
+proportional to the depth of Jupiter's atmosphere, have behind it
+a background of clouds only, it would not have entered upon the
+actual disc of the planet. If then these clouds were suddenly
+absorbed, the atmosphere behind the satellite would become
+transparent and invisible, the background would be gone, and the
+satellite would reappear. In the case of the occultation witnessed
+by Messrs. Gorton and Wray, the satellite would at first be hidden
+by cloud only, and would reappear if the cloud were removed. Such
+seems to be the true explanation of these hitherto mysterious
+phenomena. That they could not have resulted from any alteration
+in the motions of the planet or the satellite is evident. Such an
+alteration would have been instantly detected, since the places of
+both the planet and the satellites are computed years in advance,
+and any such change would at once have thrown out all these
+computations.
+
+Assuming that this is the true solution of the mystery, we are
+enabled to form an approximate estimate of the extent of the
+atmosphere of Jupiter. The time between the first and second
+disappearances does not seem to have been accurately noted.
+Admiral Smyth's account makes it 16 or 17 minutes; but if we
+estimate it at 15 minutes only, and if we further assume that the
+second disappearance was upon the actual disc of Jupiter, and not
+upon a lower stratum of clouds, we shall be safe from any risk of
+exaggeration. The probability seems to be that the second
+disappearance was caused not by the disc, but by the formation of
+a fresh body of cloud, as it was not gradual, as in the first
+instance, but sudden. We shall then only have an estimate which
+cannot be greater, but may be much less, than the true value.
+
+The mean distance of the second satellite from the centre of
+Jupiter is in round numbers 425,000 miles, and consequently the
+circumference of its orbit is 2,671,000 miles. The satellite
+travels through this orbit in about 86 hours, which gives a horary
+velocity of 31,400 miles, or 7850 miles in 15 minutes. This then
+is the least possible depth of the atmosphere of Jupiter.
+[Footnote: For the direction of the motion of the satellite would
+be at right angles to the line of sight.] The whole diameter of
+Jupiter, atmosphere and all, is 85,390 miles. Deduct from this
+15,700 miles for the atmosphere, and we have for the diameter of
+the solid nucleus rather less than 70,000 miles. The height of the
+atmosphere is therefore not less than three-fourteenths of the
+radius of the planet, and may be much greater. The extent of the
+atmosphere, combined with the rapidity of rotation, accounts
+satisfactorily for the great apparent polar compression of the
+planet. Another inference is that the density of the planet must
+exceed the ordinary estimate in the proportion of two to one.
+
+But next, the atmosphere of Jupiter is probably of very great
+density. Dr. Huggins states that he has observed in the spectrum
+of Jupiter "three or four strong lines, one of them coincident
+with a strong line in the earth's atmosphere." [Footnote: Lecture
+at Manchester, November 16, 1870.] Strong lines mark increased
+density in the absorbent medium, and lines hitherto unobserved
+indicate new elements. It is therefore probable that the
+atmosphere of Jupiter is not only much more dense than that of the
+earth, but also contains some elements--which are absent from the
+latter. When with this fact we connect the very great extent of
+the atmosphere, it will be evident that the pressure at the
+surface of the planet will be enormous, and from this we can form
+an estimate of the intensity of the forces which must be at work
+in the interior of the planet, to project jets of vapour through
+such an atmosphere to so great a height.
+
+The link which connects Jupiter with the earth, in the second
+stage of its existence, is the mention by Moses of the "waters
+which were above the firmament." Viewed in the light of the
+present condition of the earth such a notice seems unaccountable.
+But if the earth at that time were in a condition similar to that
+in which Jupiter appears to be now, the water in the atmosphere or
+above the firmament would be a very important element in any
+description that might be given of it. It is in fact most probable
+that all the water (in the strict sense of the word) then in
+existence would be in a state of vapour, and that the waters which
+were under the firmament were the molten materials which
+afterwards formed rocks and ores, since, as has been already
+noticed, the word is the only one which could be employed to
+describe fluids in general.
+
+We may now try to form some idea of the probable state of the
+earth at this period. Its centre would be occupied by a fused
+mass, in which were blended all the more intractable solid
+constituents of the present world. This would be surrounded by an
+atmosphere of very great height and density, containing not only
+all the present constituents of air, but also all, or nearly all,
+the water, and all the more volatile of the metals and other
+elements. Carbonic acid, to a very large extent, would probably be
+present, and a very considerable proportion of the oxygen which
+now exists in combination with various bases, and forms by weight
+so large a proportion of the solid crust of the world.
+
+Owing to the intense heat, chemical combinations would readily be
+formed between the ingredients of the fused mass and the other
+elements which existed in the form of vapour, and thus the
+earliest of the vast variety of existing minerals would be
+elaborated. The volumes of steam which floated in the upper
+regions of the atmosphere would rapidly part with their heat by
+radiation into space, and would descend towards the surface of the
+earth in the form of rain. At first probably, and for a long time,
+they would not reach the surface, but as they approached it would
+be again converted into vapour, and re-ascend to pass again and
+again through the same process. But by this means the intense heat
+of the nucleus would be gradually conveyed away, till the cooling
+reached a point at which some of the superficial materials would
+assume a solid form. It is by no means certain what is the true
+primary rock--for a long time it was almost universally assumed to
+be granite, since granite is uniformly found underlying the oldest
+sedimentary rocks that are known. But as these rocks have been
+forced from their original position and tilted up, the underlying
+stratum may probably be of later date than the upper ones, since
+it was the elevating agent. So that we can have no certain
+knowledge on this point, since the earliest sedimentary strata,
+wherever they retain their original position, must be at a depth
+far below the reach of man. If, however, Sir C. Kyell's view of
+the conditions requisite for the formation of granite are correct,
+these conditions [Footnote: Student's Geology, chap. xxxi.]--heat,
+moisture, and enormous pressure--would all be present at the
+surface of the nucleus. Some kind of solid floor must have been
+formed before the next stage could be reached, at which it would
+be possible for water to exist in a fluid state. This, however,
+would be possible at a much higher temperature than at present,
+owing to the enormous atmospheric pressure. It is possible now, by
+artificial means, to raise water, nearly if not quite, to a red
+heat, without the formation of steam, and the pressure of the
+atmosphere in the case supposed would, in all probability, be much
+greater than any which we can now apply under the conditions
+necessary for heating the water.
+
+It is probable that at this point the close of the second day must
+be placed: but the indications of the narrative do not enable us
+to fix it with any degree of certainty. As, however, from this
+point a new series of processes would commence, and those
+processes are in intimate connexion with the first of the two
+developments ascribed to the third day, the period when water
+could first maintain a fluid form on the earth's surface, seems to
+present the most probable line of demarcation.
+
+SECTION 6. THE THIRD DAY.
+
+"And God said, Let the waters under the Heaven be gathered
+together in one place, and let the dry land appear; and it was so.
+
+"And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of
+the waters called He Seas, and God saw that it was good.
+
+"And God said, Let the earth sprout sprouts, the herb seeding
+seed, and the fruit-tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose
+seed is in it, [Footnote: "It" seems preferable to "itself" here.
+The same Hebrew word stands for both, but if the "fruit-tree" be
+taken as the antecedent, which it must be if we translate
+"itself," there seems no meaning in the statement. If we read
+"it," the pronoun will refer to the fruit--"the tree whose seed is
+in its fruit"--which gives an intelligible sense.] upon the earth,
+and it was so.
+
+"And the earth caused to go forth sprouts, the herb seeding seed,
+and the fruit-tree yielding fruit whose seed is in it, after his
+kind, and God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and
+there was morning, a third day."
+
+The record of the third day is a very important one, because it is
+the first point at which the Mosaic Record comes in contact with
+that other record which is written in the rocks. Up to this time
+we have only been able to compare the statements of Moses with
+conjectural views of the earliest condition of the earth, which,
+though they may be highly probable, are at best only conjectures.
+But from this point we have to deal with a number of ascertained
+facts--certain landmarks stand out which enable us to fix the
+correspondent parts of the two narratives, and guide us to the
+identification and interpretation of their minor details.
+
+The first of these landmarks is the appearance of the dry land,
+or, in geological language, the commencement of the process of
+upheaval. At the close of the second day the earth was, in all
+probability, as we have seen, a globe internally molten, but
+having a solid crust which was uniformly covered with a layer of
+water, and surrounded by an atmosphere which, though it had parted
+with some of its ingredients, was still very much more complex,
+more dense, and more extensive than it is at present. The newly
+condensed waters would rest on the surface of the primeval rock,
+whatever that rock might be. The internal heat conducted through
+it would keep the waters in a state of intense ebullition, and at
+the same time their surface would be agitated by violent
+atmospheric currents as the heated air ascended, and was replaced
+by cooler air from the outer regions of the atmosphere. Under
+these circumstances the water would dissolve or wear down portions
+of the newly-formed rock on which it rested. At the same time the
+steam, which would be continually rising from the boiling ocean,
+would descend from the upper regions of the atmosphere in the form
+of rain, and bring with it in solution considerable quantities of
+those elements which still existed in the form of vapour, just as
+rain now brings down ammonia and carbonic acid which it has
+absorbed in its passage through the atmosphere. New combinations
+would thus be formed between the materials dissolved or abraded by
+the ocean and those brought down by the rain. When these
+combinations had reached a certain amount they would be deposited
+in the form of mud upon the bed of the ocean, and thus the
+earliest sedimentary rocks would be formed. As the temperature
+gradually decreased, the character of these combinations would
+probably be changed, and at the same time the atmosphere would be
+diminished in volume and density, and become more pure by the
+absorption of a large portion of its original constituents, which
+would have been incorporated into various minerals.
+
+The earliest sedimentary rock with which we are acquainted at
+present is what is known as the Laurentian formation. [Footnote:
+The whole of the geological details in this section are taken from
+Sir C. Lyell's Geology for Students.] It occupies an area of
+200,000 square miles north of the St. Lawrence; and is also traced
+into the United States and the western highlands of Scotland and
+some of the adjacent isles. It is divided into two sections--the
+Upper and Lower Laurentian. It is not certain that it is really
+the oldest rock; for as every sedimentary rock is formed of the
+debris of preceding rocks, it is very possible that all the
+exposed portions of some older rocks may have been decomposed and
+worn away; but it is the oldest yet known. The thickness of the
+lower portion is estimated at 20,000 feet, or nearly four miles,
+while the Upper Laurentian beds are 10,000 feet thick. At this
+point we meet with the first traces of that process of upheaval
+and subsidence which has ever since been going on in the earth.
+The Lower Laurentian rocks had been displaced from their original
+horizontal position before the Upper Laurentian were deposited
+upon them.
+
+This process of upheaval of some parts of the earth, accompanied
+with subsidence in other parts, is one which cannot be accounted
+for by any natural laws with which we are acquainted. It is in all
+probability the result of a series of changes which are taking
+place in the interior of the earth, but of which we know nothing
+at all. It is in the commencement of this series of changes that
+we trace that direct interference of the Creator--which is
+indicated by the command, "Let the waters under the firmament be
+gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear." We
+have not, however, any means of ascertaining how long a period
+elapsed before the process of upheaval reached the point at which
+the land would rise above the surface of the ocean.
+
+The Lower Laurentian rocks are remarkable in another way. There is
+little doubt that traces of life, the earliest yet known, occur in
+them. They include a bed of limestone varying in thickness from
+700 to 1500 feet. In all probability limestone, wherever it
+occurs, is an animal product, though in many cases all traces of
+its organization have been lost by exposure to heat. This
+particular bed appears to have been formed by a very lowly
+creature, which in organization was akin to the foraminifera, of
+which large quantities are now known to exist at the bottom of the
+Atlantic. It differed from them, however, in one respect--the
+individuals were connected together, as is the case now with many
+varieties of the coral animal. No notice of this first appearance
+of life is found in the Mosaic Record, nor, for reasons already
+given, was it possible that any mention of it should be made.
+
+The rocks which come next to the Laurentian in the order of time
+are those known as the Cambrian. They are so called because they
+constitute a large portion of the mountains of North Wales, and it
+was there that their characteristics were first carefully studied
+by Professor Sedgwick. In one of the strata of this formation--the
+Harlech Grit--what are known as "ripple-marks" are found, proving
+that parts of these rocks at the time of their deposition formed a
+sea-beach, and that consequently at this time, at the latest, the
+dry land had emerged from the ocean. In these rocks there are also
+decided traces of Volcanic Action, which seem to indicate the
+existence of a Volcano similar to the recent "Graham's Island." At
+this point a considerable advance in animal life is found. The
+fossils comprise several corals, varieties of mollusca, and a
+class of crustaceans peculiar to the very early rocks--the
+trilobites.
+
+On the Cambrian rocks rest the formations known as Silurian, from
+the fact that they were first thoroughly examined in South Wales
+(Siluria) by Sir E. Murchison. In these rocks many fresh varieties
+of invertebrate fossils are found, and the vertebrata make their
+first appearance, numerous remains of fishes having been
+discovered. The earliest specimen was found in the Lower Ludlow
+beds at Leintwardine, while the Upper Ludlow formation contains an
+extensive bed composed almost entirely of fish-bones. Immediately
+above this bed are found what seem to be traces of land-plants, in
+the shape of the spores of a cryptogamous plant.
+
+The Silurian rocks are succeeded by rocks which present two
+distinct characters, but are probably contemporaneous, the
+Devonian and the old Red Sandstone. The former seem to have been
+deposited in the bed of the sea, while the latter is a fresh-water
+formation. In these decided remains of land plants are found, of
+which about 200 species have at present been discovered. The old
+Red Sandstone is also peculiarly rich in fossil fish. The first
+signs of coal appear in this series of rocks, but on a very small
+scale.
+
+We now come to what are known as the Carboniferous rocks, of which
+the lower series is known as the mountain limestone, and above it
+come the "coal measures," containing numerous beds of coal,
+sometimes of great thickness. These beds have resulted entirely
+from the decomposition, under peculiar circumstances, of an
+enormous development of terrestrial vegetation. They seem to have
+originated in vast swamps, subject to occasional flooding, and to
+alternate movements of upheaval and subsidence. On these swamps
+there must have existed for ages a vegetation of whose luxuriance
+the richest tropical jungles of the present time can give us no
+idea. They tell the tale of a time when the temperature of the
+earth, was uniformly high (since coal fields are found in high
+northern latitudes), when the atmosphere was charged with
+moisture, and probably contained a large proportion of carbonic
+acid. In the coal measures we come upon the first traces of land
+animals. Several remains of reptiles have been found, as well as
+footprints left on the soft mud or sand of a riverbank or sea-
+beach. There seems to be no doubt that they were left by lung-
+breathing animals.
+
+The carboniferous strata form the second of our landmarks. They
+seem to point to the fulfilment of the command that the earth,
+should bring forth vegetation. There is, however, one point which
+requires some notice. The Mosaic account, as we read it in our
+English Bibles, seems to be limited to phanerogamous plants--
+grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit-tree yielding fruit.
+Now, it is a well-known fact that the great mass of the
+vegetation, the remains of which constitute coal, consisted of
+cryptogamic plants, which do not produce seed, properly so called,
+but only spores; the distinction being that the spore contains the
+germ and nothing more, while in the seed the germ is provided with
+a store of nutriment to assist in the earlier stages of the
+development of the plant. What appears to be a farther
+discrepancy, the absence of any traces of the grasses, leads in
+reality to the solution of the difficulty.
+
+The word which is translated "grass" [Hebrew script] means in
+reality, any fresh sprout. Now it is remarkable that Moses
+specifies three kinds of vegetation, with regard to two of which
+it is noted that they produce seed, while nothing is said of the
+seed of the remaining class. Grass too, is really a herb bearing
+seed, and, as such would be included in the second class, and
+there would have been no occasion, to mention it separately. It
+would appear then that the first class consisted of seedless
+plants, i. e. of the cryptogamia. This conclusion is strengthened
+when we turn to verses 29 and 30. If the word [Hebrew script] were
+correctly translated "grass," we should certainly expect to find
+it in those verses, since the grasses contribute more to the food
+of both man and beast, than all the other herbaceous plants put
+together. This omission then, is an indication that the word, as
+used in this chapter, denotes a class of plants which are not
+commonly employed for food, and this condition also is fulfilled
+in the cryptogamia.
+
+There are then four special points in this period, of which two
+seem to correspond with the Mosaic record, while the other two are
+unnoticed in it. The two points of correspondence are the upheaval
+of the dry land, and the prevalence of a very abundant and
+luxuriant Flora. As in the case of the fifth and sixth days, the
+words used with reference to land plants seem to denote a period
+of remarkable development, rather than the first appearance. The
+two points unnoticed are the beginnings of animal and vegetable
+life. In the case of animal life the omission has already been
+accounted for. The beginning of vegetable life was probably
+contemporaneous with that of animal life, for each is necessary to
+the other, since the food of the animal must be prepared by the
+vegetable, and after being used by the former returns to a state
+in which it is fitted for the nourishment of the latter. As animal
+life commenced in the ocean, so in all probability did vegetable
+life, though no certain traces of it are found in the earliest
+rocks; but this is easily accounted for by the very perishable
+character of the simpler forms of algae. Like the earliest
+animals, the first algae were probably microscopic plants, and the
+omission of any mention of them was therefore inevitable.
+
+One characteristic of cryptogamic vegetation is important for its
+bearing on the work of the fourth day. Almost all the phanerogamic
+plants are dependent for their development upon the direct light
+and heat of the sun. Deprived of these they either perish
+entirely, or make an unhealthy growth, and produce little or no
+fruit. But the cryptogamia, in general, thrive best when they are
+protected from the direct rays of the sun. They nourish in a
+diffused light, and with abundant atmospheric moisture. And so we
+find them at this time doing what seems a very important work in
+the progress of the world. By taking up and decomposing the excess
+of carbonic acid which at this time probably existed in the
+atmosphere, they at once purified that atmosphere, and rendered it
+fit for the respiration of more highly organized creatures, and
+laid up in the earth an invaluable store of fuel for the future
+use of man. The other orders of vegetation seem to have existed in
+very small proportions at this time, and only in their lower
+forms. As the conditions of the earth changed, the cryptogamia
+seemed to have dwindled away, while higher forms of vegetation
+asserted their supremacy. It is not, however, improbable that a
+special development at a much later period is indicated by the
+mention in the second chapter of the formation of the garden of
+Eden.
+
+SECTION 7. THE FOURTH DAY.
+
+"And God said, Let there be luminaries in the firmament of heaven
+to divide between the day and the night, and let them be for signs
+and for seasons, and for days and for years.
+
+"And let them be for luminaries in the firmament of heaven to give
+light upon the earth; and it was so.
+
+"And God made the two luminaries, the great ones; the luminary,
+the great one, to rule over the day, and the luminary, the small
+one, to rule over the night, and also the stars.
+
+"And God gave them in the firmament of heaven to give light upon
+the earth.
+
+"And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide
+between the light and between the darkness; and God saw that it
+was good.
+
+"And there was evening, and there was morning, a fourth day."
+
+This day's work differs from that of the preceding and succeeding
+days, in the fact that its sphere was without the earth, which was
+only indirectly influenced by it, and consequently the geological
+records give us no direct information upon the subject, though in
+two points they tally with the Mosaical account. In the first
+place, the deposits of coal, which preceded this period, indicate
+a time when a nearly uniform temperature, and that a high one,
+prevailed throughout the world. The coal beds are found not only
+in tropical regions, but in very high latitudes. Not only is the
+vegetation of which these coalfields are the result, analogous to
+that which is now found in warm climates only--(this might be the
+case, and yet we should not be justified in drawing the inference
+that the actual species of plants were tropical, for it often
+happens that different species of the same genus, having
+considerable external resemblance, are very different in their
+habits, some requiring tropical heat, while others flourish only
+in temperate climates)--but the marked feature is the astonishing
+luxuriance of this vegetation, which could only have been
+developed under the most favourable circumstances of warmth and
+moisture. Now the heat which any particular portion of the earth's
+surface receives from the sun depends entirely upon the latitude.
+hence it is impossible that a uniform high temperature could exist
+in a world which derived its heat wholly or chiefly from that
+source. Whether the high temperature which prevailed on the earth
+during the deposition of the coal measures was derived from
+internal heat it is impossible to say; it is evident that the
+temperature of the earth's surface has been in past times, and
+perhaps is now, modified by causes which no scientific research
+has been enabled to detect [Footnote: Since the sun's secular
+motion has been known, astronomers have suggested that the solar
+system has been carried through portions of space having variable
+temperatures. Geologists, however, do not seem inclined to accept
+this as a sufficient reason for the phenomena observed.]. But we
+may safely conclude that during the third day the earth did not
+derive its heat from the sun. The second point, the barrenness of
+the geological records of this period, will be noticed hereafter.
+
+The record of the fourth day's work admits of two interpretations,
+it may describe things merely as they appeared, or as they
+actually occurred.
+
+1. It is possible that the events of the fourth day may be
+described phenomenally--that up to this period the state of things
+on the earth had been to a great extent similar to that which we
+have reason to believe is still existing in the planet Jupiter-
+that the atmosphere was so charged with vapour that no direct rays
+from the heavenly bodies could penetrate it; but that at this
+time, owing to the declining heat, a great part of the aqueous
+constituents of this vapour had been precipitated in the form of
+rain, while other vapours had entered into chemical combinations
+with other elements to form the various minerals of the earth's
+surface, and the atmosphere had become first translucent, and then
+transparent. While this process was going on, no direct light from
+the sun, supposing it to be already in existence, could penetrate
+the veil. Diffused light only could reach the earth's surface, but
+when the atmosphere became clear the sun, moon, and stars would
+become visible.
+
+Against this view several objections may be brought. In the first
+place, as has been already noticed, we cannot treat the account of
+the Creation as derived from ordinary human sources. Either it is
+a revelation from the Creator or it is nothing. Now we can readily
+admit that a man, speaking of an event which lie had witnessed,
+but did not understand, would describe it as it appeared to him,
+but we cannot admit this supposition when the work is described by
+the Great Artificer Himself. In the next place, the temperature of
+the earth's surface must in this case have been affected by the
+sun, and must therefore have been more or less dependent upon
+latitude--and in the third place the distinction between day and
+night must have come into operation, whereas the narrative implies
+that it was yet incomplete.
+
+2. The other possible interpretation is, that at this period the
+concentration of light and heat in the sun was so far completed
+that he became the luminary of the system, which had hitherto
+derived its light and heat from other sources. Probably, for a
+long time, the internal heat of the planets may have been so great
+that they were a light to themselves. This state of things,
+however, must have come to an end before animal or vegetable life
+could have existed on their surface, but other ways exist, and are
+in operation in other parts of the universe, by which light and
+heat might have been supplied independently of the sun. That light
+which is now gathered up in the sun might for a long time have
+existed as a nebulous ring, similar to the well-known Ring Nebula
+in Lyra. Any planets existing within such a ring would probably
+derive from it sufficient light and heat. Or the nebulous matter,
+in a luminous state, while slowly advancing to concentration,
+might as yet have been so diffused as to fill a space in which the
+earth's orbit was included. In either case the earth would have
+received a uniform diffused light, without any alternations of
+night and day. It is of course impossible that we should be able
+to say whether there are any worlds in which such a state of
+things prevails at present. Up to this time, with one possible
+exception, [Footnote: "Sirius is accompanied by a 10 mag. star,
+whose existence was suspected (like that of Neptune), long before
+its discovery by Alvan Clark in 1861, from the irregular movements
+of its primary. But though it appears so small, its disturbing
+effects can only be accounted for on the supposition that its mass
+is at least half that of Sirius, in which case its light must be
+very faint, possibly wholly reflected." (Webb's Celestial Objects,
+p. 202.)] the only worlds which the telescope has revealed to us,
+beyond the limits of our own system, are self-luminous. No
+reflected light is strong enough to make its existence perceptible
+at such enormous distances in the most powerful telescope which
+has yet been constructed.
+
+There are some facts connected with our own system which make it
+appear not improbable that up to the time of which we are speaking
+the light which is now gathered up in the sun was diffused over a
+space in which at all events the earth's orbit was included. It is
+now a recognized fact that all the light of the system is not as
+yet wholly concentrated in the sun, as we generally recognize it,
+but that to some extent the sun is still a nebulous star. Under
+ordinary circumstances we see only that circular disc, which we
+usually recognize as the sun. Its surpassing brightness overpowers
+every thing else, whether we view it with the unaided eye or
+through the telescope. But when the actual disc is hidden from us
+by the moon in a total eclipse, other regions of light surrounding
+the disc, make their appearance, and in them the most wonderful
+processes are continually going on. The simultaneous discoveries
+of Messrs. Lockyer and Janssen, in 1868, have enabled some of
+these processes to be continuously watched when the sun is not
+eclipsed, but others can as yet only be seen during the few
+minutes (never amounting to seven) which a total eclipse lasts, so
+that as yet we know very little of them.
+
+Immediately surrounding the disc of the sun, which is visible to
+the naked eye, is a brilliant ring of light, known now as the
+chromosphere or sierra. This is the region which till 1868 could
+be seen only during total eclipses, but can now be watched at all
+times by means of the spectroscope. In it symptoms of intense
+action are from time to time witnessed. For many years past,
+whenever a total eclipse occurred, there were observed on the edge
+of this ring certain red prominences. The spectroscope has
+revealed their nature. They consist chiefly of enormous volumes of
+hydrogen, ejected from the surface of the sun with a velocity
+almost inconceivable, and at the same time revolving about their
+axis after the fashion of a cyclone. [Footnote: Popular Science
+Review, January, 1872, p. 150; Look. Byer's Lecture on the Sun, at
+Manchester, 1871.] A very remarkable instance of this was observed
+in America in September 1871, by Professor Young. A mass of
+incandescent hydrogen was propelled to a height of 200,000 miles
+above the visible disc; of these the last 100,000 miles were
+passed through in 10 minutes. Such events, though not commonly on
+so vast a scale, are continually occurring on the surface of the
+sun, and they seem to be in close connexion with the magnetic
+phenomena occurring on the earth.
+
+Beyond the chromosphere lies the corona. The spectroscope has not
+yet rendered this visible at all times, and consequently we are
+dependent upon the information to be obtained during the few
+minutes of total eclipses, when alone it is visible. Consequently
+during recent solar eclipses this has been the point to which the
+attention of astronomers has been especially devoted. The eclipse
+of December, 1870, decided one point, that the corona was a truly
+solar phenomenon, and not, as some astronomers imagined, an
+optical phenomenon, produced by our own atmosphere. The corona
+presents the appearance of nebulous light, fading as it becomes
+more remote from the sun, of very irregular outline, at some
+points not extending more than 15', at others as much as 60' or
+70' from the sun's disc, or, in other words, reaching to distances
+from the sun's surface varying from 400,000 to 1,800,000 miles.
+More important information has been obtained from the eclipse of
+December 12,1871. It is now ascertained that the corona comprises
+not only gaseous elements, especially hydrogen, but also solid or
+fluid particles, capable of giving a continuous though very faint
+spectrum with dark lines, indicating the existence of matter
+capable of reflecting light. The character of the coronal spectrum
+very much resembles that of the Nebula in Draco, No. 4373. The
+ascertained extent of the corona exceeds a million of miles above
+the surface of the sun, and it seems probable that the Zodiacal
+light is only a fainter extension of it. [Footnote: Popular
+Science Review, April, 1872, pp. 136-146.]
+
+On a clear evening in the early spring months, as soon as twilight
+is completely ended, a conical streak of light may be sometimes
+seen, arising' from the western horizon, and extending through an
+arc of 60 or 70 degrees, nearly in the direction of the Ecliptic,
+and finally terminating in a point. This is the Zodiacal light. In
+tropical climates it is seen much more frequently, [Footnote:
+Humboldt, Kosmos, vol. i. p. 126 (Bohu's edition).] and is much
+more brilliant than in England. This then is probably an envelope
+of still fainter light than the corona. It must extend beyond the
+orbit of Venus, as the maximum elongation of Venus is 47 degrees,
+while the Zodiacal light has been traced for 70 degrees, and
+probably farther. It is very possible that the earth is
+occasionally involved in it, and that from it we derive that
+diffused light which, though faint, is very serviceable to us on a
+starless evening, and of which no other account has as yet been
+given. The light we receive in this way is often as powerful as
+that which we should receive from the stars if they were not
+hidden by clouds.
+
+These phenomena seem to point to the conclusion that the
+condensation of light in the sun has been a very gradual process,
+which is even yet incomplete. If we suppose that at the time of
+the formation of the coal measures it was not far advanced, but
+that a diffused light extended beyond the orbit of the earth,
+similar in some respects to the present Zodiacal light, but equal
+in intensity to the light which we now see in the corona, the
+phenomena of the third day will be satisfactorily accounted for.
+There is, however, still an enormous amount of mystery connected
+with the sun. It is the centre from which an inconceivable amount
+of force in the shape of light, heat, actinism, and probably other
+manifestations, is hourly poured forth. If the whole of that force
+were divided into two thousand million parts, the portion received
+by the earth would be represented by one of those parts, and the
+whole amount received by all the planets would fall short of
+twelve of them. All the rest is radiated away into space, and so
+far as we know at present lost to the system. The question then
+arises, "How is this enormous expenditure supplied?" Various
+sources of heat have been suggested, but none of them seem
+satisfactory. One conceivable source there is, but that lies out
+of the domain of science. Then again, metals, which only our most
+powerful furnaces will even melt, exist in the sun's atmosphere in
+the state of vapour. What must be the intensity of the heat which
+underlies that metallic atmosphere? and what can be the solid or
+fluid substances which, from the continuity of the spectrum, we
+know must exist there?
+
+We turn now to the Mosaic Record to see what light it throws upon
+and receives from this investigation. The first thing to be
+noticed is that the word used by Moses for the sun and moon is not
+the same as that employed to denote light. It properly signifies a
+light-holder, such as a candlestick, and harmonizes with the view
+that the sun in his original state was not luminous, but was made
+a luminary by the condensation of light previously existent under
+other conditions. In the next place, though the apparent
+dimensions of the sun and moon are the same, Moses correctly
+describes the one as "the great light," the other as "the little
+light," thus indicating a knowledge to which the astronomers of
+his day had probably not attained.
+
+The relation between the accounts of the first and fourth day's
+work becomes clear if we assume that the sun was not made a
+luminary till the fourth day. The division of night and day
+depends upon two things, the rotation of the earth upon its axis,
+and the concentration of light in the sun. Hence when the rotation
+of the earth commenced that division was potentially provided for,
+but the provision would not take effect until the second condition
+was fulfilled by the concentration of light in the sun. The
+indications given by the coal measures point, as we have seen, to
+the same conclusion.
+
+The only remaining question is "What was going on in the earth at
+the same time?" Our materials for answering this question are but
+scanty. So great an alteration in the sources of light and heat
+must have involved great physical changes on the earth's surface,
+and there is reason to believe that great mechanical forces were
+at work producing vast changes in the relations of land and water.
+"It has long been the opinion of the most eminent geologists that
+the coalfields of Lancashire and Yorkshire were once united, the
+upper coal measures and the overlying Millstone Grit and Toredale
+Bocks having been subsequently removed by denudation; but what is
+remarkable is the ancient date now assigned to this denudation,
+for it seems that a thickness of no less than 10,000 feet of the
+coal measures had been carried away before the deposition of even
+the lower Permian Rocks, which were thrown down upon the already
+disturbed truncated edges of the coal strata." [Footnote: Lyell,
+Geology for Students, p. 377.] And this is but a single instance.
+
+During the interval between the deposition of the coal measures,
+which seem to belong to the third, and the Saurian remains which
+mark the fifth day, we have the Permian and Triassic Rocks, of
+which the Magnesian. Limestone and the new Red Sandstone are the
+most important representatives in England. Till a very recent
+period it was thought that these rocks belonged to a period
+remarkably destitute of animal life, very few fossils having been
+found in them. Recently, however, some very rich deposits have
+been found in the Tyrol, belonging to this period, but they are
+only local.
+
+Of the Permian formation Sir C. Lyell says, "Not one of the
+species (of fossils) is common to rocks newer than the
+Palaeozoic." [Footnote: Geology for Students, p. 369.] This was
+not then a time for the origination of new forms of life. In the
+Trias, however, the new development of life, which was to attain
+its full dimensions on the fifth day, begins to open upon us. The
+earliest Saurian fossils are found, and the rocks still present us
+with impressions of the feet of reptiles and birds, which walked
+over the soft seashore, and left footprints, which were first
+dried and hardened by the sun and wind, and then filled up with
+fresh sand by the returning tide, but never entirely coalesced
+with the new material.
+
+At the close of this period the first traces of mammalian life
+occur, in the shape of teeth, which are supposed to have belonged
+to some small Marsupial quadrupeds, and in America the whole lower
+jaws of three such animals have been discovered; but no other
+remains have as yet been traced.
+
+The Trias then seems to mark the boundary between the fourth and
+fifth days. The fourth day seems to have been on the earth a
+period of great change, not only in physical conditions, but also
+in the forms of life. In the latter point of view, however, it
+seems to have been marked by the passing-away of old forms much
+more than by the origination of new ones, and hence the barrenness
+of the Geological Records is in exact accordance with the silence
+of the Mosaic Record as to any new developments.
+
+SECTION 8. THE FIFTH DAY
+
+"And God said. Let the waters swarm swarms, the soul of life, and
+let fowl fly above the earth in the face of the firmament of
+heaven.
+
+"And God created the monsters, the great ones, and every soul of
+life that creepeth, with which the waters swarmed, after their
+kind, and every winged fowl after his kind; and God saw that it
+was good.
+
+"And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful and multiply, and fill
+the waters in the sea, and let fowl multiply on the earth.
+
+"And there was evening, and there was morning, a fifth day."
+
+The fifth and sixth days of Creation are those to which the theory
+of development chiefly refers. It will, therefore, be better to
+defer the consideration of its bearing on the narrative till the
+relation of that narrative to Geological facts has been
+considered, since it can only be thoroughly weighed when taken in
+connexion with the facts which belong to the two days.
+
+The beginning of the fifth day may be assigned to a point near
+where the Trias is succeeded by the Lias. As the Trias is drawing
+to its close, the class of reptiles, whose first known appearance
+belongs to the carboniferous epoch of the third day, begins to
+show signs of advance. The first true Saurians are found in the
+Trias: the great development takes place in the Lias and Oolite,
+while in the chalk large quantities of kindred remains are found,
+which, however, are not identical with the species found in the
+earlier groups. Of these some were probably almost entirely
+aquatic, as their limbs take the form of paddles; others were
+purely terrestrial, a large proportion were amphibious, and some,
+as the pterodactylus, bore the same relation to the rest of their
+class as the bats bear to the other mammalia, being furnished with
+membranous wings, supported upon a special development of the
+anterior limbs. One important characteristic of the race at this
+time was the great size of many of its members: thirty feet is by
+no means an uncommon length. This marks the fitness of the name
+given to the class by Moses.
+
+Very few actual remains of birds have been found; but this is not
+surprising, since birds would rarely be exposed to the conditions
+which were essential to the fossilization of their remains. The
+earliest known fossil bird is the Archaeopteryx, the remains of
+which were found in 1862 in the Solenhofen Slates, which belong to
+the Oolite formation. Though the actual remains of birds are very
+few, traces of their footprints have been found in many places,
+from the New Red Sandstone upwards, and these traces prove not
+only that they were very numerous, but also that they attained to
+a gigantic size, as their feet were sometimes from twelve to
+fifteen inches in length, and their stride extended from six to
+eight feet. During this period, then, these two classes must have
+been the dominant races of the earth. As the precursors of these
+classes made their appearance at a much earlier period, so the
+epoch of birds and reptiles witnessed the beginning and gradual
+advance of the class which was to succeed them in the foremost
+place--the mammalia. Generally, however, the mammalian remains of
+this period belong to what are considered the lower classes--the
+monotremata and marsupialia. The close of this period must have
+been a time of great disturbance in the Northern Hemisphere, since
+the chalk which runs through a great part of Northern Europe, and
+frequently attains a thickness of 1000 feet, must have been
+deposited at the bottom of a deep sea, and subsequently elevated.
+
+SECTION 9. THE SIXTH DAY.
+
+1. The Mammalia.
+
+"And God said, Let the earth cause to go forth the soul of life,
+cattle, and creeping thing, and the beast of the earth (wild
+animals) after his kind; and it was so.
+
+"And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle
+after their kind, and every creeping thing of the ground after his
+kind; and God saw that it was good."
+
+In these two verses there are one or two points which call for
+notice. In the first place, the creatures mentioned are divided
+into three classes, of which two, cattle and the beast of the
+earth, are tolerably clear in their general significance, though
+their extent is not determined. The third is denoted by a word
+which had already been employed to describe the work of the fifth
+day, and is translated in our version "creeping thing." The
+probability seems to be that it has reference to such classes of
+animals as the smaller rodentia, and the mustelidas, whose motions
+may be appropriately described by the word "creeping." That it
+denotes four-footed creatures has already been pointed out. The
+next point is, that in each case the singular is used; in the case
+of the domestic animals this fact is lost to the English reader by
+the use of the collective noun "cattle." Of course it is a common
+usage, to denote a class of animals by a singular noun used
+generically, but the statements of the passage would also be
+justified if one pair only of each of the three types specified
+were called into existence at first. It is also to be noticed that
+while the word [Hebrew script], the earth is used to define the
+wild beast; another word, [Hebrew script] the ground, is applied
+to the "creeping thing." There is probably a reason for this,
+though it may not at present be apparent.
+
+When we turn to the Geological record, we find that the period of
+the chalk was followed by the deposition of the tertiary strata.
+During the upheaval of the chalk these strata seem to have been
+gradually laid down in its hollows, and around its edges. They
+extend from the London clay upward to the crag formations which
+appear on the Eastern coast of England at intervals from
+Bridlington to Suffolk. In these strata we see signs of an
+approach to the existing state of things. As we ascend through
+them, a gradually increasing number of the fossil shells are found
+to be specifically identical with those which at present inhabit
+the ocean.
+
+Another characteristic of this period is the abundance of fossil
+remains of mammalia; but in this case, although the remains are
+evidently, in many cases, those of creatures nearly allied to
+those now existing, they are not identical, very great
+modifications both of bulk and of minor structural details having
+taken place. One very important point of difference is the vastly
+superior bulk of these ancient animals: a good illustration of
+which may be seen in the skeletons of the mammoth and of the
+modern elephant, which are placed near each other in the British
+Museum. Many of these animals appear not to have become extinct
+till long after the appearance of man.
+
+The first appearance of mammalia, as has been already noticed,
+must have been long before this, as the earliest fossils yet found
+are at the lower limit of the Lias. They belong, however, to the
+genus Marsupialia, of which, as far as we know, no representatives
+were in existence in any part of the world known to Moses, so that
+even on the supposition that he intended to give an account of the
+first appearance of the classes of animals which he mentions, the
+omission of these would have been inevitable. His words, however,
+appear to point to a time when the mammalia occupied the leading
+place, just as the reptiles had occupied the leading place at a
+previous epoch. And his words are fully borne out by the records
+of the rocks.
+
+At the close of the tertiary period great changes once more took
+place in the Northern hemisphere. There was a great and extensive
+subsidence, in consequence of which a large portion of Northern
+and Middle Europe must have been under water, the mountain summits
+only appearing as detached islands. At the same time, from causes
+utterly unknown to us, there was a great depression of
+temperature, the result of which was, that all, or nearly all the
+land, in those regions which were not submerged, was covered with
+glaciers, much as Greenland is now, and from these glaciers vast
+icebergs must from time to time have been detached by the sea and
+floated off, carrying with them fragments of rock, some freshly
+broken, some rounded by long attrition, which were deposited on
+the then submerged lands as the ice melted, and are now found as
+boulders, sometimes lying on the surface, at others dispersed
+through beds of clay and sand formed under water from the debris
+worn down by the glaciers. A subsequent movement of elevation
+ushered in the state of things which exists on the earth at the
+present time.
+
+2. Man.
+
+"And God said, Let Us make man (Adam) in Our image after Our
+likeness; and he shall have dominion over the fish of the sea, and
+over the fowl of the heaven, and over the cattle, and over all the
+earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
+
+"And God created man (the Adam) in His image, in the image of God
+created He him; male and female He created them.
+
+"And God blessed them, and God said to them, Be fruitful and
+multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and rule over the fish
+of the sea, and the fowl of the heaven, and over every animal that
+creepeth upon the earth.
+
+"And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb seeding seed,
+which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree which has
+in it the fruit of a tree seeding seed; to you it shall be for
+food.
+
+"And to every animal of the earth, and to every fowl of the
+heaven, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, in which
+is the soul of life, every green herb is for meat; and it was so.
+
+"And God saw every thing--which He had made, and behold it was
+good exceedingly.
+
+"And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day."
+
+The terms in which the Creation of man is spoken of are such as to
+challenge particular attention and to induce us to expect
+something very different from what occurred on any previous
+occasion. In the first place, more agents than one are introduced
+by the use of the plural form of the verb, and thus at the very
+commencement of man's career there is an intimation of that
+mysterious fact of the Trinity in Unity which was to have so
+important an influence upon his future destiny. Then we are told
+that man was to be formed in the Image of God, a statement which
+probably is of very wide import. It has been variously interpreted
+as having reference to the spiritual, moral, and intellectual
+nature of man; to the fact that the nature of man was afterwards
+to be assumed by the Second Person of the Trinity; to the
+delegated empire of this world which man was to hold. There are
+two expressions of St. Paul: that "man is the image and glory of
+God" (1 Cor. xi. 7), and that "the invisible things of Him from
+the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by
+the things that are made, even His eternal Power and Godhead"
+(Rom. i. 20), which seem to indicate that this record has a
+significance which as yet we can only partially understand. Then
+the story of man's creation is repeated in the second chapter, and
+while the other events recorded in the first chapter are very
+briefly summarized, that of man is very much amplified. This does
+riot necessarily indicate an independent account, as is sometimes
+asserted; at the fourth verse of the second chapter a distinct
+portion of revelation commences--the special dealing of God with
+man, and this could not be intelligible without an amount of
+detail with reference to man's origin, which would have been out
+of place in the short account of the origin of the world by which
+it is preceded. In this account the creation of Adam and Eve is
+recorded as two separate events, the latter of which is described
+in terms of deep mystery, of which all that we can say is that
+they point to that still deeper mystery--the birth of the Bride--
+the Lamb's Wife from the pierced side of the Lamb. But in the case
+of Adam there is a remarkable difference from anything that has
+gone before. Two distinct acts of creation are recorded; one of
+which places man before us in his physical relation to the lower
+animals, while the other treats of him in his spiritual relation
+to his Maker. "The Lord God formed man (the Adam) dust from the
+ground (adamah), and breathed into his nostrils the breath of
+lives; and man became a soul of life." The inspiration of the
+"breath of lives" distinguishes the creation of man from that of
+all other creatures.
+
+The Geological records harmonize exactly with the Bible as to the
+date of man's appearance on the earth. It is towards the close of
+the age of gigantic mammalia, that the earliest remains of man's
+workmanship make their appearance in the shape of tools and
+weapons rudely fashioned from stone. Parts of human skeletons have
+also been occasionally found, but they are exceedingly rare.
+Weapons and bones are alike confined to superficial, and
+comparatively very recent formations. From such traces as have
+been found there is no reason to believe that any physical changes
+of importance have taken place in man's body since his first
+appearance on the earth. The differences which do exist are of the
+same kind as, and not greater than, the differences which exist
+between individuals at present.
+
+The gift of dominion over the lower animals seems to indicate
+something different from that which gives one animal superiority
+over another, and accordingly we find that it is not by physical
+power that that dominion is exercised; but that in most of his
+physical faculties man is inferior to the very animals which he
+holds in subjection. It is partly in virtue of his intellectual
+superiority, and partly perhaps by means of an instinctive
+recognition on the part of the animals of man's higher nature
+(Gen. ix. 2) that that supremacy is maintained.
+
+SECTION 10. DEVELOPMENT.
+
+We have now to consider the question of development, in reference
+to the Mosaic Record of the last two days, and to the known facts
+to which that record has relation. The account of the third day's
+work has also a bearing on the subject, but as the same
+considerations will to a great extent apply to animals and to
+plants, it will not be necessary to make any special reference to
+it.
+
+The facts in favour of the theory of development are these:--1.
+The different classes of plants and animals are not separated by
+broad lines of demarcation, but shade insensibly into each other.
+2. The characteristics of the same species are not constant; the
+lion, for instance, the horse, the elephant, and the hyena of the
+present day differ in many minor points from the corresponding
+animals of the Tertiary period, so that unless there was a
+possibility of spontaneous change, we must assume successive
+creations of animals, with only trivial differences. 3. In all
+animals there are minute individual differences, and if under any
+circumstances these differences had a tendency to accumulate, they
+might in the course of time result in great structural
+modifications. 4. Man has been able to take advantage of this fact
+and by careful selection to mould the breeds of domestic animals
+to a certain extent in accordance with his own wishes.
+
+The theory of development assumes that for the care of man other
+forces might be substituted, which in a long course of ages might
+result in changes of far greater extent than those produced by
+human agency. The forces assigned are natural selection and sexual
+selection. The difficulties in the way of this hypothesis have
+been already considered, and only require to be briefly re-stated.
+
+1. As regards modifications of organs already existing, the two
+alleged causes are insufficient to account for the results which
+we witness, since in each individual case the concurrence of many
+contingent causes, continued through a long series of ages, is
+required to produce the result. But the probabilities against
+such, a concurrence in any one case are enormous, and against
+their concurrence in a large number of cases the chances are
+practically infinite.
+
+2. That such causes do not at all account for cases in which an
+entirely new organ is developed, such as mammary glands--or for
+the case of man, in which intellectual superiority is accompanied
+by a loss of physical power.
+
+3. That from the nature of the case it is impossible for us to
+ascertain that natural or sexual selection has ever acted to
+produce a single modification, however small, and that the results
+of man's superintendence have not as yet passed beyond certain
+narrow limits, so that there is no justification for the
+assumption that such modifications are capable of being carried to
+an unlimited extent.
+
+We see that in the only case in which change is known to have been
+brought about, it has been the result of choice and design. If
+then there is a probability that choice and design may have been
+exercised by a power higher than man, there is no longer any
+reason to doubt but that results much greater than any to which
+man can attain may have been brought about by the same means. And
+in fact the advocates of the theory of development do virtually
+admit the existence and action of such a power, whenever they have
+recourse to assumed "laws" to account for phenomena for which
+their naked theory can give no reason. For, as has been shown,
+law, if it is to be assigned as an efficient cause, and not merely
+as the statement of observed facts, can only be regarded as the
+expressed and enforced will of a higher power. And there was no
+reason why those minute variations themselves, which are the basis
+of Mr. Darwin's hypothesis, should be considered casual. Instead
+then of natural selection, or sexual selection, let us suppose
+that the selection took place under the superintending care of the
+Creator, and was directed towards the carrying out of His designs,
+and then we shall have no reason to doubt but that all results
+which consisted only in the modification of existing organs may
+have been obtained by the operation of those laws which we term
+natural, because they express modes of operation with which we are
+so familiar that we look upon them as automatic.
+
+But there are other results for which no natural laws with which
+we are acquainted will thus account. Just as no mechanical laws
+within our knowledge will account for the rotation of the earth,
+so no physiological laws yet discovered will account for the
+changes when totally new orders of being came on the stage--when
+the course of life took, as it were, a new point of departure. But
+it is precisely at these points that the Mosaic Record points to a
+special interference on the part of the Creator. How that
+interference took place we are not informed. Very possibly it may
+have been the result of other laws which lie wholly out of the
+reach of our powers of observation. But whatever may have been its
+character, it does not in any way imply change or defect in the
+original plan, unless we know, (what we do not know, and cannot
+ascertain) that such interference formed no part of the original
+design. Everything bears the marks of progressive development, and
+there is nothing improbable, but rather the reverse, in the
+supposition that such a plan should include special steps of
+advance to be made when the preparation for them was completed.
+
+The Mosaic Record tells us nothing about the method by which God
+created the different varieties of plants and animals. All that we
+read there is just as applicable to a process of evolution, as to
+any other method which we may be able to imagine. But it is
+remarkable that what Moses does say is just what is required to
+make Mr. Darwin's theory possible. So far then as the lower orders
+of creation are concerned, the hypothesis of development, modified
+by the admission of uniform superintendence and occasional special
+interferences on the part of the Creator, may be accepted as being
+the most satisfactory explanation that can be given, in the
+present state of physiological science, of the Scriptural
+Narrative.
+
+But we have yet to consider this hypothesis as applied to man in
+Mr. Darwin's latest work. We naturally recoil from the thought
+that we have sprung from some lower race of animals--that we are
+only the descendants of some race of anthropoid apes. So long as
+it is asserted that we are no more than this, we may well be
+reluctant to admit the suggestion. But if it be admitted that to a
+physical nature formed like the bodies of the lower animals, a
+special spiritual gift may have been superadded, the difficulty
+vanishes. All Mr. Darwin's arguments with reference to physical
+resemblances may then be admitted, and we may allow that he has
+given a probable explanation of the method by which "the Lord God
+formed the Adam, dust from the ground" while we maintain that the
+intellectual and moral faculties of man are derived from a source
+which lies beyond the investigations of science.
+
+The conclusions to be drawn from this investigation may be briefly
+summed up as follows:--
+
+1. There is every reason to conclude that the process of Creation
+was carried on, in great part, under the operation of the system
+of natural laws which we still see acting in the world around us:
+such laws being so far as we are concerned only an expression of
+an observed uniformity in the action of that Being by whom the
+Universe was created and is upheld.
+
+2. That inasmuch as the development of a new state of things
+differs from the maintenance of a condition already existing, the
+working of these laws was necessarily from time to time
+supplemented by special interferences of the Creator, but that
+such interferences formed parts of the original design, and are
+not indications of anything in the shape of change or failure.
+
+3. That many of the events recorded in the Mosaic Record are of
+the nature of such special interferences, while others point to
+remarkable developments of particular forms of organic life.
+
+4. That these interferences thus recorded occur at the exact
+points at which natural laws, so far as science has yet been able
+to ascertain them, are inadequate to produce the phenomena which
+then took place, and that the developments are proved by geology
+to have taken place at the points indicated.
+
+5. That the six days into which the work is divided by Moses do
+correspond to the probable order of development--that in three of
+them, the third, fifth, and sixth, this correspondence is marked
+by facts ascertained by Geology--that the fourth, in which no
+terrestrial phenomenon is recorded, corresponds to a very long
+period in the Geological record in which no indications of any new
+development are found--while the first and second indicate a state
+of things which the nebular hypothesis renders highly probable,
+but of which no positive information is within the reach of
+science.
+
+Admitting then that there is something in the way in which the
+days are spoken of which we are at present unable to understand,
+we may yet confidently assert that such a record could not have
+been the product of man's thought at the period at which it was
+written. It is utterly impossible that it should have been the
+result of a series of fortunate conjectures without any foundation
+to rest upon, and scientific foundation there was none, for there
+is every reason to believe that the sciences which might perchance
+now supply some foundation are entirely the growth of the last
+three centuries. There is then only one conclusion that we can
+draw, that it is a revelation from the Creator Himself, and that
+if there is anything in it which seems inexplicable or erroneous,
+that appearance arises from our own ignorance of facts, and not
+from any error on the part of the Author.
+
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 4598 ***
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+The Project Gutenberg Etext of The Story of Creation as told by Theology and by Science
+by T. S. Ackland
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+Title: The Story of Creation as told by Theology and by Science
+
+Author: T. S. Ackland
+
+Release Date: October, 2003  [Etext #4598]
+[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule]
+[This file was first posted on February 13, 2002]
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+The Project Gutenberg Etext of The Story of Creation as told by Theology and by Science
+by T. S. Ackland
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+Robert Rowe, Charles Franks and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team.
+
+THE STORY OF CREATION AS TOLD BY THEOLOGY AND BY SCIENCE.
+
+BY T. S. ACKLAND, M.A.,
+
+FORMERLY FELLOW OF CLARE COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE; VICAR OF WOLD NEWTON,
+YORKSHIRE.
+
+"SIRS, YE ARE BRETHREN: WHY DO YE WRONG ONE TO ANOTHER?"
+
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+CHAPTER I.   THE CASE STATED
+CHAPTER II.  DIFFICULTIES IN GEOLOGY
+CHAPTER III. DIFFICULTIES IN ASTRONOMY
+CHAPTER IV.  DIFFICULTIES IN PHYSIOLOGY
+CHAPTER V.   SCIENCE A HELP TO INTERPRETATION
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+THE CASE STATED.
+
+
+The History of the Creation with which the Bible commences, is not
+a mere incidental appendage to God's Revelation, but constitutes
+the foundation on which the whole of that Revelation is based.
+Setting forth as it does the relation in which man stands to God
+as his Maker, and to the world which God formed for his abode, it
+forms a necessary introduction to all that God has seen fit to
+reveal to us with reference to His dispensations of Providence and
+of Grace.
+
+It is, however, not uncommonly asserted that this history cannot
+be reconciled with a vast number of facts which modern science has
+revealed to us, and with theories based on observed facts, and
+recommended by the unquestioned ability of the men by whom they
+have been brought forward. At first sight there does seem to be
+some ground for this assertion. Geology, for instance, makes us
+acquainted with strata of rock of various kinds, arranged in exact
+order, and of an aggregate thickness of many miles, which are
+filled with the remains of a wonderful series of plants and
+animals, these remains not being promiscuously collected, but
+arranged in an unvarying order. It seems impossible that all these
+plants and animals could have lived and died, and been imbedded in
+the rocks in this exact succession, in six of our ordinary days.
+Astronomy directs our attention to changes now going on in the
+starry heavens which occupy ages in their development, and points
+to traces in the constitution of our own world which seem to
+indicate that it was formed by analogous means. Physiology reveals
+to us the fact that the different varieties of plants and animals
+now in existence are not separated from each other by well defined
+lines of demarcation, but shade into each other by almost
+imperceptible gradations; and geological researches show that
+while the existing species of animals are the representatives of
+those which lived and died at a period in which we can find no
+traces of man, they are not identical with them, but that either
+the old species must have died out, and been replaced by a fresh
+creation, or a considerable change must have taken place in the
+course of ages. These facts are held to be incompatible with the
+account of creation given by Moses, and hence it is inferred that
+a record, which appears to be so widely at variance with admitted
+facts, cannot be entitled to the authority which is claimed for
+it, as a fundamental portion of a Revelation made by the Creator
+Himself.
+
+This difficulty is sometimes met by the assertion that the Bible
+was not given to us to teach us Science, but to convey to us
+certain information which was essential to our moral welfare, and
+which we could not obtain by any other means; that these
+discrepancies do not in any way interfere with that portion of
+those truths which is involved in the History of Creation, but
+that, however the narrative may be viewed as far as regards its
+details, the facts that God is the Creator of all things visible
+and invisible, that He is a Being of infinite Wisdom, Power, and
+Love, and that He has placed man in a peculiar relation to
+Himself, remain unaffected. On this ground it is often urged that
+we may pass over scientific inaccuracies as matters of no great
+importance.
+
+Theologians are by no means agreed as to the nature and limits of
+that inspiration by which Holy Scripture was written. There are
+many who think that in matters purely incidental to its main
+object, and lying within the reach of human faculties, the sacred
+writers were left to the ordinary sources of information, and that
+many alleged difficulties may be removed by this view.
+
+But whatever may be thought of the application of this hypothesis
+to some parts of the Bible, there are others to which it is
+plainly inapplicable, and of these the narrative of the Creation
+is evidently one. No theory of limited inspiration can be admitted
+to explain any supposed inaccuracies in that narrative. It cannot
+be liable to those imperfections which are inevitable when men
+have to obtain knowledge by the ordinary means, because there were
+no ordinary means by which such information could be obtained. The
+most carefully preserved records, the oldest traditions could not
+extend backwards beyond the moment when the first man awoke to
+conscious existence. For every thing beyond that point the only
+source of knowledge available was information derived from the
+Creator Himself. It may be that a revelation of this character was
+made to Adam in the days of his innocence, that it was carefully
+handed down to his descendants, and that Moses, under the divine
+direction, incorporated it into his history; or it may have been
+directly communicated to Moses by special inspiration--that
+matters not--but a divine revelation it must have been, or it is
+nothing; the dream of a poet, or the theory of a philosopher, if
+we can believe that such a philosopher existed at such a time. But
+if it be indeed a revelation from the Creator Himself, we cannot
+imagine that He could fall into any error, or sanction any
+misrepresentation with reference even to the smallest detail of
+His own work.
+
+If then there are really any errors in this record--any assertions
+which the discoveries of science have proved to be untrue, we
+cannot account for them on any theory of limited inspiration. A
+single proved error would be fatal to the authority of the whole
+narrative. But, on the other hand, we are not justified in
+expecting such an account of the Creation as would commend itself
+to the scientific intellect of the present day. When we attempt to
+form a judgment upon it. We must look not only to its alleged
+author, but also to the purposes for which, the circumstances
+under which, and the persons to whom it was given. In these we may
+expect to meet with many limitations. It was not designed for the
+communication of scientific knowledge, it was necessarily conveyed
+in human language, and addressed to human intelligence, that
+language and that intelligence being, not as they are now, but as
+they were, taking the latest possible date that can be assigned to
+it, considerably more than three thousand years ago.
+
+This last consideration affects not only the record itself, but
+also our facilities for understanding and forming a judgment upon
+it. We have to contend with difficulties of interpretation arising
+from our inability fully to realize the circumstances under which
+it was given, and to place ourselves in the mental position of its
+original recipients. Owing to our want of this power it may well
+happen, that though we are in possession of vastly increased
+knowledge, we may be far more liable to fall into error in some
+directions, in the interpretation of it, than those to whom it was
+originally addressed.
+
+An additional difficulty arises from the circumstance that our
+knowledge, wonderfully as it has been increased of late, is yet
+very far from complete, and is probably in many cases still mixed
+with error. Hence it may very well happen that where there is
+complete harmony between the history and the facts, we may suspect
+discord owing to our misunderstanding of the record, or our
+misconception of the facts. In order that the harmony may be
+recognized in its fulness, there must be a perfect understanding
+of the record, and a perfect knowledge of the facts. But from both
+of these we are probably at present very far removed.
+
+If a person who was a thorough master of some science undertook to
+write a treatise for the purpose of teaching children the
+rudiments of that science, we should expect, and the more strongly
+if the author were a master of language as well as of science,
+that his work should contain indications of a master's hand. We
+should expect that while the book conveyed clearly and simply to
+the minds of those for whom it was written, the truths which it
+was intended to teach, it should also convey to the more educated
+reader some intimations of a deeper knowledge on the part of its
+author. The choice of a word, the turn of a phrase, the order in
+which facts were arranged, the occurrence here and there of a
+sentence which an ordinary reader would pass over as unimportant,
+would to such a person be indications of trains of thought far
+more profound than those which appeared on the surface. And this
+recognition would be proportional to two things--the amount of
+scientific knowledge possessed by the reader, and his mastery of
+the language in which the book was written.
+
+Such, then, are the characteristics which we may expect to find in
+the Record of Creation, if it be indeed, as we believe, a
+revelation from God, made to men in a very low stage of
+intellectual development. In order that we may be able to form a
+satisfactory judgment of it, it will be well for us to consider a
+little in detail two classes of difficulties. 1. Those which
+belong to the Revelation itself, arising from the limitations to
+which it was necessarily subject in its delivery. 2. Those which
+arise from our imperfect knowledge of the language in which it is
+written, and from our inability to place ourselves in the
+intellectual position of those to whom it was originally given.
+
+1. When this record was committed to writing, language was in a
+very different condition from that in which it is now. We have an
+account of the first recorded exercise of the faculty of speech in
+Gen. ii. 19. Adam first used it to give names to all the living
+creatures as they passed in review before him. In accordance with
+this statement it appears, from the researches of philologists,
+that language in its earliest state was entirely, or almost
+entirely limited to words denoting sensible objects and actions.
+It seems probable that these names were derived from radicals
+expressing general ideas [Footnote: Max Muller's Lectures on the
+Science of Language, First Series Lect. viii. ix.]; but there is
+reason to doubt whether these radicals ever had a formal existence
+as words--they seem rather to have been the mental stock out of
+which words were produced. But the human mind had from the first
+powers for the exercise of which this limited vocabulary was
+insufficient. Even in the outer world there was much which was the
+object of reason and inference rather than of sense, while the
+whole world of consciousness was entirely unprovided with the
+means of expression. To meet this difficulty words, which
+originally denoted objects of sense, were used figuratively to
+express ideas which bore some resemblance or analogy, real or
+fancied, to their original significance. As time passed on this
+difficulty was gradually diminished: synonyms crept into all
+languages from various sources, and when once adopted, they were
+in many cases gradually differentiated, the various senses which
+the original word had borne were portioned off among them, and
+increased precision was thus obtained.
+
+But in the infancy of mankind the figurative system was in full
+operation. Hence, all early documents have a strong tinge of the
+poetic element. Poetry, strictly so called, probably had not as
+yet a separate existence; but the whole spoken and written
+language was permeated by that poetic spirit which delights in
+tracing subtle analogies, and in expressing the invisible by means
+of the visible. The translation of the Sanscrit Hymns, which has
+recently appeared [Footnote: Hymns of the Big Veda Sanhita,
+translated by Max Muller, vol. i.], furnishes a most valuable
+illustration of this state of thought and of language. These hymns
+are probably nearly coeval with the Pentateuch. They were the
+production of a different branch of the human family, and indicate
+a different tone of thought, but they bring out very clearly the
+figurative character of primitive language, abounding in fanciful
+descriptions of natural phenomena, which, when their metaphorical,
+character was forgotten, passed by an easy transition into the
+graceful myths and legends of early Greece.
+
+Then there was a poverty in these primitive vocabularies even in
+reference to sensible objects, which in many cases rendered it
+necessary to employ the same word in more or less extensive
+significations, and in the Semitic languages the power of
+inflexion was in some directions very limited. This limitation is
+most remarkable in the forms used for the expression of time. One
+form alone was available to express those modifications which are
+indicated by the imperfect, perfect, pluperfect, and aorist tenses
+of the classical languages.
+
+Instances of all these sources of uncertainty meet us very early
+in Genesis. In the very first verse we have a word, [Hebrew
+script], which has great latitude of meaning. It is either the
+earth as a whole (ver. 1), or the land as distinguished from the
+water (ver. 10), or a particular country (ii. 11). In many cases,
+as in all these, the context at once determines the sense to be
+chosen; but there are other cases in which considerable difficulty
+arises. The whole question of the universality of the deluge
+turns, in a great degree, upon the signification which is assigned
+to this same word in the sixth and following chapters. In the
+second verse we have another word, [Hebrew script], which is
+capable of various interpretations. It is used throughout the
+Bible in the three distinct meanings of "wind," "breath," and
+"spirit." Where we read, "And the Spirit of God moved upon the
+face of the waters," the Jewish paraphrase is, "And a wind of God
+(i.e. a great wind) moved," &c. Here there is nothing in the
+context to assist us in determining the sense to be chosen; but,
+as will be seen in the sequel, modern science indicates that the
+Jewish interpretation is untenable, and that our translation is,
+consequently, the correct one. As an instance of confusion of
+time, we may refer to ii. 19. In our translation this verse seems
+to place the creation of animals after that of man; but in xii. 1,
+the very same form is translated by the pluperfect, "Now the Lord
+had said unto Abram." It ought evidently to be translated in the
+same way here: "And out of the ground the Lord God had formed,"
+&c. In ii. 5, on the other hand, the pluperfect might with
+advantage have given place to another form: "For the Lord God did
+not cause it to rain." The phenomenon referred to appears to have
+been local and temporary. Had the pluperfect been omitted in one
+case and supplied in the other two sources of apparent difficulty
+would have been removed.
+
+It is very clear, then, that there could be no approach to
+scientific accuracy in a narrative written in such a language as
+this. Such accuracy is, in fact, attainable only in proportion, as
+science has moulded language for its own purposes. But language is
+at all times an index of the general mental condition of the
+people who use it, and so the knowledge and the ideas of the men
+of these primitive times must have been extremely limited in all
+those directions with which we have to do. Accordingly, we find no
+trace of any doubt whether the information with reference to
+external objects which was received through the senses was in all
+cases to be depended on. There can be little doubt that to those
+early observers the sky was a solid vault, on the face of which
+the sun, moon, and planets moved in their appointed courses; the
+stars were points of light, golden studs in the azure canopy; the
+sun and moon were just as large as they appeared to be, and the
+earth was a solid immovable plane of comparatively small extent.
+At the time of the Exodus, it seems clear that, even among a
+people so far advanced as the Egyptians, all that lay beyond the
+mountains which bounded their land on the west was believed to
+belong not to living men, but to disembodied spirits. It was the
+terrible country through which the souls of the departed made
+their arduous way to the Hall of Judgment [Footnote: "The Nations
+Around," pp. 49, 50.] Accordingly, we find that the Egyptians made
+no attempt to extend the limits of their empire in this direction,
+while the monarchs of the Mesopotamian region seem to have been
+equally unambitious of conquest beyond the mountain ranges which
+bounded the valley of the Tigris on the east. Mesopotamia, then,
+on the east, Egypt on the west, Armenia and Asia Minor on the
+north, and Arabia on the south, seem, in the view of the
+contemporaries of Moses, to have been the utmost regions of the
+world. Ignorant as they were of any countries beyond these, they
+were, of course, equally ignorant of the numberless varieties of
+plants and animals that were to be found in them, and with which
+we are familiar. Mining was not unknown, but the mines were few
+and superficial; they could not reveal much of the structure of
+the earth, and what little they did reveal passed unnoticed.
+Nothing was known of the successive beds of rock which form the
+crust of the earth, of the fossils with which they abound, or of
+the gradual changes to Which they are still subject. If any one
+had told the men of that generation that the solid earth on which
+they stood, or the everlasting hills which surrounded them, were
+undergoing slow but steady modifications, he would have been
+looked upon as a madman.
+
+A revelation, then, addressed to men whose language, whose
+intellectual powers, and whose stock of ideas were thus limited,
+must of itself also necessarily have been both limited and
+destitute of precision. It could only deal with things with which
+they had some acquaintance, or of which they could form some idea,
+while, from the character of the language, and the extreme brevity
+of the record, the treatment of even these few subjects must have
+been of a vague and indefinite character. Traces of a deeper
+knowledge there might be, but they would not lie upon the surface.
+They must be carefully sought for, and then they would be
+discernible only by those who were in possession of the key which
+would unlock their hidden secrets.
+
+Such are the limitations under which the revelation was
+necessarily given. We have now to consider our own especial
+difficulties, the obstacles which stand in our way when we would
+discover for ourselves all the information which the record is
+capable of conveying. For if this record be, as we believe, the
+work of the Great Architect of the Universe, then it is probable
+that its every detail is significant; that wherever it was
+possible words were chosen which, when scrutinized, would convey
+much more information than appeared on the surface. The great
+problem for us to solve is, What are the difficulties which stand
+in our way when we would seek this knowledge, and what are the
+means by which those difficulties may be surmounted, and the
+hidden treasure displayed?
+
+Our first difficulty arises from a matter which, viewed in another
+light, is one of our greatest blessings. We are familiar with the
+Record through the medium of our own noble version. Probably it is
+impossible for any translation more exactly to represent the
+original as it presented itself in the first instance to the minds
+of those to whom it was addressed. Accordingly we learn it in our
+earliest childhood; its majestic phrases imprint themselves on our
+memory; our undeveloped minds seem capable of taking in all that
+it was intended to convey, and so the impressions formed of it in
+our infancy abide with us all our days. We are contented with
+them, and do not trouble ourselves to inquire whether there is not
+something beyond, which we have not realized.
+
+All this time we forget that, excellent as it is, it is after all
+only a translation, and that the very best translation cannot
+represent in their fulness the ideas embodied in the original.
+Etymological relations between words often give a force and
+meaning to a sentence which it is impossible to transfuse into
+another language, because the same relations do not exist between
+the words which we are constrained to employ. Then there is an
+intimate relation between men's thoughts and the language which
+they habitually use, so that those thoughts cannot be perfectly
+expressed in a language whose character is different. Again in
+every language there are many words which bear several cognate
+senses, which may be represented by as many different words in the
+language of the translation; so that if the best word is chosen,
+much of the fulness of the original must be lost; while it may so
+happen that the selected word has also a variety of
+significations, which do not correspond with the varying meanings
+of the original word, and thus senses may be ascribed to the
+original which it will not bear, because the reader annexes to the
+word in the translation a sense different from that in which it
+corresponds to the original word. To all these sources of
+imperfection must be added the fact that our translation was made
+at a time when science was not yet sufficiently developed to
+exercise any influence upon it. There was nothing to induce the
+translators to attempt, where it was possible, to preserve any
+indications of a deeper meaning, because they had no reason to
+suspect that any such deeper meaning existed, or that any
+indications of such a meaning were to be found.
+
+To the difficulties of translation must be added the difficulties
+of accumulated tradition. The characteristics which mark our own
+childish intellect are apparent also in the collective intellect
+of the human race in its earlier and ruder development. There are
+two characteristics of the human mind in this condition, which
+have had a very great effect on the interpretation of this portion
+of the Bible.
+
+The first of these is the impatience of doubt and uncertainty. The
+power of recognizing the imperfection of our knowledge, and the
+consequent necessity of suspending our judgment, is a power which
+is only gradually acquired with the accumulation of experience.
+The young untrained mind finds it difficult to realize the truth
+that any information communicated to it is not altogether within
+the grasp of its faculties. It must attach some definite meaning
+to the words; it must image to itself some way in which great
+events were brought about, great works were accomplished. It finds
+it difficult to realize a fact as accomplished, unless it can also
+picture to itself some way in which it might have been effected.
+For this purpose such knowledge as it has at its command is
+employed, and where that fails recourse is had to the imagination
+to supply the deficiency. Thus it has been with ourselves in our
+childhood, and thus it was in the childhood of the world.
+Knowledge was indeed sought, but it was not sought in the right
+way, and so the search often resulted in error, and this error
+produced its effect in the interpretation of the passage in
+question. The old school of inquirers started from certain
+abstract principles, and endeavoared to reduce the results of
+observation to conformity with those principles. This was the case
+with astronomy. The old astronomers taking as axioms the two
+assumptions that everything connected with the heavenly bodies
+must be perfect, and that the circle is the only perfect figure,
+easily satisfied themselves that the orbits of all the heavenly
+bodies must be circles. Hence came the
+
+    "Cycle on epicycle, orb on orb,"
+
+by which they sought to account for the phenomena which they
+observed. When once the method was changed, when once it had
+occurred to Kepler that, as it seemed to be impossible to account
+for the apparent motion of Mars by any theory of circular orbits,
+it might be worth while to try to ascertain by observation what
+its orbit really was, a few years of patient labour sufficed to
+solve the problem.
+
+It was science such as this, then, that our forefathers brought to
+the interpretation of the Mosaic Record, and the consequence was
+that when, from time to time, facts were casually brought to light
+which might have led the way to vast discoveries, their true
+significance was never discerned; all that was sought from them
+was some additional support to the old views. Thus sometimes
+gigantic bones were exhumed: without investigation, it was at once
+assumed that they were human bones, and they were brought forward
+to prove the truth of the statement, "There were also giants in
+the earth in those days." Sea-shells were found on mountain sides,
+far from and high above the sea--they were evidences of the
+Deluge.
+
+The second characteristic of that state of mind is its admiration
+of the startling and the vast. In these alone it recognizes the
+tokens of unlimited power. It is unable to appreciate those more
+majestic manifestations of power which are discerned by the
+enlightened eye, when a stupendous scheme is developed, gradually
+and imperceptibly, but without pause or hesitation through a long
+succession of ages; when a multitude of seemingly discordant
+elements are at last brought together in a perfect work; when a
+power, unseen and unnoticed, slowly but surely overrules the
+working of ten thousand apparently independent agents, through a
+thousand generations, and moulds their separate works into one
+harmonious whole. Such a manifestation of power as this was beyond
+the grasp of the untrained mind; but to such intellects there was
+something irresistibly fascinating in the idea of a world rising
+into perfect existence in a moment, of innumerable hosts of living
+creatures called into being at a word. Such was the meaning of the
+account of creation which naturally suggested itself to the
+untrained mind, and there was nothing in science in those early
+days to throw any doubt upon it, and so this belief was
+unhesitatingly and almost universally adopted. Here and there,
+indeed, some man of deeper thought than his brethren, such as St.
+Augustine [Footnote: See St. Augustine, "De Genesi ad Literam,"
+Liber Imperfectus, and Libri Duodecim, and also "Confessionum"
+Liber xiii.], suspected that there might be more in that seemingly
+simple record than was generally acknowledged; but such men had no
+means of verifying their conjectures, and their number was very
+small. For three thousand years the old view was practically
+unquestioned, it received the tacit sanction of the Church, it
+gradually became identified in the minds of all with the record
+itself, and was as much an article of faith as the very Creed.
+
+This was the state of things, when at last science awoke from its
+long slumber, and began for the first time to employ its energies
+in the right direction. Very soon discoveries were made which
+startled the minds of all believers in the Bible. The first shock
+which the old belief sustained was from the establishment of the
+Copernican view of the Solar System. That the world was the
+immovable centre of the universe, around which sun, moon, and
+planets moved in their appointed courses, was universally held to
+be the express teaching of the Bible; and when Galileo ventured to
+maintain the new views in Italy, the Roman Curia took up the
+question, and by the agency of the Inquisition wrung from him a
+reluctant retractation of his so-called heresy. But it was of no
+avail. The new doctrine was true, and it could not be crushed.
+Fresh evidence of its truth was continually coming forward, till
+at last it was universally received. Then the defenders of the
+Bible had recourse to the suggestion that as the Bible was not
+intended to teach us science, such errors were of no consequence,
+But this argument, though perfectly sound with reference to such
+passages as Joshua x. 12-14, where an event is described as it
+appeared to those who witnessed it, is not admissible in such a
+passage as Psalm xcvi. 10, where the supposed immobility of the
+earth is alleged as a proof of God's sovereignty, and is made the
+foundation of the duty of proclaiming that sovereignty among the
+heathen. When the supposed proof was found to be a fallacy, the
+statement in support of which it was alleged would be more or less
+shaken. In such a passage, then, the theory of limited inspiration
+is evidently untenable. At last the only sensible course was
+adopted. Recourse was had to the original, and it was at once
+apparent that the supposed difficulty had no real existence, but
+that there was a very trifling inaccuracy in the translation; for
+that the word translated "shall not be moved" really signified
+"shall not be shaken or totter." The same word is used in Psalm
+xvii. 5, "Hold up my goings in Thy paths, that my footsteps SLIP
+NOT." Instead, then, of an error, we have an exact description of
+the earth's motion--a motion so steady and equable, that for
+thousands of years no single individual out of the myriads who
+were continually carried along by it had ever suspected its
+existence.
+
+Well had it been for all if the lesson thus taught had been deeply
+laid to heart. But unhappily it was entirely unnoticed. Science
+pursued its way with increasing energy, and more facts were year
+by year brought to light which seemed entirely to contradict the
+teaching of the Bible, and again alarm and distrust sprung up in
+the minds of what, for want of a better name, we may perhaps be
+allowed to designate as the "Theological Party." The power of the
+Church of Rome was by this time so far curtailed that the old
+means of repression were no longer available; but the old spirit
+survived, and not in Rome only. There was the same blind distrust,
+the same mistaken zeal for supposed truth, the same indignation
+which naturally arises when things which we hold precious are
+attacked, and, as it seems to us, without any sufficient reason.
+
+There was indeed much to account for and even to justify the
+feelings of anger and alarm which were excited, for the time when
+these discoveries began to be brought prominently forward was the
+latter half of the last century. At that time the famous French
+Academy was doing its deadly work, and the new discoveries were
+gladly hailed by the infidel philosophers of France, as weapons
+against the Bible. But the reception given to these discoveries by
+the theological party, though partially justified by the
+circumstances of the times, was nevertheless very mischievous in
+its results. For though the new discoveries were hailed
+enthusiastically by the infidel school, a very large portion of
+the men by whom they were made, and of those who were convinced of
+their truth, were men of a very different character. They were
+simple earnest seekers after truth as it is displayed in God's
+works. Their belief in the Bible rested in most cases on the
+authority of others. They had not investigated for themselves its
+external evidences; in many cases they had neither the ability nor
+the opportunity to do so; nor had many of them as yet become
+practically familiar with that internal evidence which the
+faithful Christian carries within him, though in time they might
+have become so, had they not been driven into infidelity by the
+reception which was given to their discoveries. When men of this
+character were informed by those to whom they were accustomed to
+look up as teachers in religious matters, that the discoveries, of
+the truth of which they were so firmly convinced, and in which
+they took such justifiable pride, were contradictory to the
+teaching of the Bible, they were placed in a position of extreme
+difficulty. For this statement was, in fact, a demand made upon
+them that they should give up these discoveries as erroneous, or
+else renounce their belief in the Bible. But their belief in the
+Bible rested in the main on the authority of others; they felt
+themselves incompetent judges of the evidence on which it rested,
+while they were fully acquainted with, and competent judges of,
+the grounds on which their own discoveries were based. The
+evidence on which they acted was, to their minds, quite as
+convincing as the Biblical evidence was to the minds of their
+antagonists. Two things, then, were pronounced incompatible by
+what seemed to be a competent authority; they could not adhere to
+both, and the natural consequence was that their assent was given
+to those statements which rested on evidence which they thoroughly
+understood, and the Bible was rejected. Thus it has come to pass
+that many of our scientific men, if not professed unbelievers,
+have yet learnt to look upon the Bible with suspicion and
+distrust. To some of them, as is evident from their writings,
+their position is a matter of profound sorrow.
+
+There have, indeed, been many noble exceptions to this state of
+things. Many men whose pre-eminence in scientific knowledge and
+research is admitted by all, have yet clung in childlike trust to
+the Bible. They have recognized its authority, they have been
+satisfied that God's Word could not be in opposition to His Work,
+and they have been content to wait in unquestioning faith for the
+day when all that now seems dark and perplexing shall be made
+clear. But there have also been very many with whom this has not
+been the case, and their unbelief has not affected themselves
+alone. The knowledge of it has had a deadly effect upon thousands
+who were utterly incompetent to form any judgment on either
+theological or scientific subjects, but who gladly welcomed
+anything which would help to justify them to their own consciences
+in their refusal to submit themselves to a law which, in their
+ignorance, they deemed to be harsh and intolerable. There has also
+been another class of sufferers. Many persons who loved the Bible,
+but whose education, and, consequently, whose powers of judgment
+in the matter were very limited, have received very great injury
+from the doubt which has been thrown on its authority. Unable of
+themselves to form a judgment on the subject, they could not be
+unmoved by the opinion expressed by those whom they regarded as
+better informed than themselves. Hence their faith has received a
+shock always painful and dangerous, often perhaps fatal.
+
+Many attempts have been made to overcome the difficulty which has
+thus arisen. When geologists first began to study the lessons
+which are to be learnt from fossils, a suggestion was made which,
+though it was soon shown to be untenable, has still perhaps a few
+supporters. It was said that these fossils were not what they
+seemed to be, the remains of creatures which once lived, but
+simple stones, fashioned from the first in their present form by
+the will of the Creator. But such an idea is at variance with all
+that either Nature or Revelation teaches us concerning God. All
+those who have any familiarity with the subject cannot but feel
+that the suggestion of such a solution of the difficulty is little
+short of a suggestion that the Almighty has stamped a lie upon the
+face of His own Work.
+
+Another proposed solution, which for a time seemed satisfactory,
+assumed several successive creations and destructions of the world
+to have taken place in the interval between the first and second
+verses of Genesis. To these all the fossil remains were ascribed,
+while the present state of things was supposed to be the result of
+the operations recorded in the remainder of the chapter. But as
+geological knowledge advanced, it soon became clear that there
+were no breaks in the chain of life; no points at which one set of
+creatures had died out, while another had not yet arisen to fill
+up the void, but that all change had been gradual and progressive,
+and that species still living on the earth are identical with some
+which were in existence when the lowest tertiary strata were in
+process of formation--a time which must have been many thousand
+years prior to the appearance of man.
+
+Other attempts have been made upon literary grounds. Hugh Miller
+[Footnote: Testimony of the Rocks.] carefully worked out a
+suggestion derived from a German source, that the history of
+Creation was presented to Moses in a series of six visions, which
+appeared to him as so many days with intervening nights. More
+recently Dr. Rorison [Footnote: In Answers to "Essays and
+Reviews."] has maintained that the first chapter of Genesis is not
+a history at all, but a poem--"the Hymn of Creation." There is,
+however, nothing in the chapter itself to confirm either of these
+views. When visions are recorded elsewhere we are told that they
+are visions, but no such hint is given us here. Nor do we find in
+the passage any of the characteristics of Hebrew poetry. It is
+inserted in an Historical document, and in the absence of any
+proof to the contrary, it is plainly itself also to be regarded as
+History.
+
+But there remains yet one method to be attempted. If there is
+reason to believe that the Bible is the Word of God, just as the
+universe is His Work, then we may well expect that each of them
+will throw light upon and help us to a right understanding of the
+other. And if there be one part beyond all others in which this
+may be confidently looked for, it is that part in which the Divine
+Architect describes His own work. We know how difficult it is to
+understand a complicated process, or a complex piece of machinery,
+from a mere written description; and how our difficulty is
+lessened if we have the opportunity of inspecting the machinery or
+the process. Just in the same way we may expect to encounter
+difficulties, and to form erroneous conclusions when we study by
+itself such a document as the history of Creation, and we may well
+expect that those difficulties will be diminished, and those
+errors corrected by an examination of that material universe, the
+production of which it describes. And, on the other hand, if
+science--the study of the universe--is found to throw light upon
+and to receive light from the Bible, this is a fresh proof that
+the Bible and the universe are from the same source; the authority
+of the Bible is more firmly established, and the conclusions
+arrived at by men of science are confirmed.
+
+But before this can be done to any good purpose, something is
+required from both the contending parties. The theological party
+must be prepared to sacrifice many an old opinion, many a
+cherished belief. Great care must be taken to discriminate between
+the genuine statements of the Mosaic Record, and the old
+interpretations which have been incorporated into and identified
+with those statements. Some, perhaps, may fear lest, in rejecting
+those interpretations, they may be setting at nought an authority
+to which they ought to submit, since these interpretations seem to
+have the sanction of the Church. But it can hardly be maintained
+that those promises of Divine guidance and protection from error
+which were given to the Church extended to such matters as this.
+No question of faith or duty is involved in the interpretation
+which we may give to the details of Creation. If there are some
+parts of the Bible in which the earliest interpretation is
+unquestionably the true one, there are also other parts, such as
+many of the prophecies, which became intelligible only when light
+was thrown upon them by subsequent events. And so it seems to be
+with the Record of Creation: it can only be rightly understood in
+proportion as we become acquainted with the details of the matters
+to which it refers. Any interpretation which was put upon it
+before those details were brought to light must of necessity be
+liable to error.
+
+But something is also required of the opposite party. At the very
+threshold of the investigation they must be asked to lay aside, so
+far as is possible, those prejudices against the Bible which have
+naturally arisen in their minds from the obstinacy with which
+views, which they knew to be untenable, have been forced upon
+their acceptance as the undoubted teaching of God, so that they
+may enter upon the investigation with unbiassed minds. Then they
+must be careful to distinguish between established facts, and
+theories however probable. There is something very fascinating in
+a well constructed theory. Theories have again and again done such
+good service in opening the way, first, to the discovery, and then
+to the arrangement of facts, that we are very apt to assign to
+them an authority far beyond that to which they are really
+entitled. When, for instance, we have ascertained that a certain
+number of facts are explained by some particular theory, we are
+apt to assume prematurely, that the same theory must account for
+and be in harmony with all similar and related facts; or, if we
+have satisfied ourselves that certain results MAY have been
+produced in a particular way, we are in great danger of being led
+to conclude that they MUST have happened in that way. No mere
+theory can have any weight against a statement resting on solid
+evidence, but where the evidence is weak, or, what is practically
+the same thing, where the knowledge of that evidence is defective,
+a probable theory must carry great weight in influencing our
+judgment. Care must therefore be taken to keep theories in their
+proper place. Where we have to deal with well-established facts,
+any interpretations to which those facts may lead us may be taken
+as also established, but interpretations which are suggested by
+theories only must be regarded as provisional, and liable to
+future modification or rejection, as our knowledge increases.
+
+The Mosaic Record itself, when carefully examined, seems to be
+peculiarly open to the process suggested. No doubt there is yet
+much work for Philology to do in its interpretation [Footnote:
+Such words, for instance, as [Hebrew script:],[Hebrew script:],
+[Hebrew script], used of different creative acts, may imply some
+difference of which we are ignorant. So again the uses of the
+words [Hebrew script], [Hebrew script:], and [Hebrew script:] for
+"man," may have a bearing on some of those questions which now
+seem most perplexing.], but one thing seems certain--there is in
+it an absence of all detail. The facts to which it has reference
+are stated in the briefest and most simple manner, without the
+slightest reference to the means by which they were effected, or,
+apart from the question of the days, the time which was occupied
+in their accomplishment. When stripped of all that is traditional,
+and examined strictly by itself, the narrative seems greatly to
+resemble one of those outline maps which are supplied to children
+who are learning geography, on which only a few prominent features
+of the country are laid down, and the learner is left to fill in
+the details as his knowledge advances. Only in this case the
+details have already been filled in by the light of very imperfect
+knowledge, aided by a fertile imagination. These we must
+obliterate if we would restore the possibility of a faithful
+delineation, and we must be careful, in future, to avoid a similar
+error. We must put down nothing as certain which has not been
+conclusively shown to be so.
+
+This last caution is specially needed at the present time, for,
+proud as we are of our advance in science, the amount of what is
+certainly known is probably very much less than we imagine. A
+great deal that was received as certain a few years ago, is now
+considered to be doubtful, or even recognized as a mistake and
+abandoned. This is especially the case with Astronomy, which seems
+to be almost in a state of revolution. Dependent, as it is almost
+entirely, upon mechanical and optical aid, every improvement and
+discovery in these departments changes its position, bringing to
+light new facts, and modifying the aspect of those which were
+previously known. The very basis of all astronomical calculations,
+the standard of time, is now no longer relied upon as invariable.
+It is suspected of a change resulting from a gradual retardation
+in the rate of the earth's rotation on its axis, produced by tidal
+friction. When the binary stars were discovered, the discovery was
+hailed as a proof of the universal prevalence of the law of
+gravitation. Later observations have thrown doubt upon that
+conclusion, as many pairs are known to exist, which, though they
+have what is termed a "common proper motion," or are journeying
+through space together, have no relative motion, which they must
+show, if they were moving under the influence of their mutual
+attractions. The supposed simplicity of the solar system has given
+place to extreme complexity. A century ago, six planets, ten
+satellites, and a few comets, were supposed to constitute the
+whole retinue of the sun: now, instead of this, we have two groups
+of four planets each, the individual members of each group closely
+resembling each other in all points within our knowledge, while in
+all these points the groups differ greatly. Between these two
+groups lies a belt of very small planets, of which the 1st was
+discovered on the first day of the present century, and the 124th
+this year, and the number of known satellites has increased from
+10 to 17. Add to this the meteoric groups, and their suspected
+connexion with certain comets, and the perplexing questions
+suggested by the Solar Corona and the Zodiacal light, and it will
+be seen that our knowledge is in a transitional state; that with
+so many problems unsolved, any apparent contradiction to the
+sacred record will require a careful scrutiny to ascertain that
+the grounds on which it is brought forward are well established.
+
+Geology, so far as our present subject is concerned, stands upon a
+somewhat different footing. Though a much younger science than
+astronomy, it has one great advantage over it; the facts with
+which it has to do are for the most part discernible by the
+unaided senses, and it is therefore independent of instrumental
+help. Many changes have occurred in the views of Geologists, but
+in the main they have reference to processes [Footnote: Such, for
+instance, is the modification of the views of geologists as to the
+relative effects of "disruption" and "denudation" in determining
+the features of the earth's surface.] rather than to results, and
+it is the results with which we are chiefly concerned.
+
+Physiologists have entered on the contest with the Bible on two
+different, and seemingly contradictory grounds. Some of them have
+maintained that the varieties of mankind are so distinct, that it
+is impossible they can all be descended from a single human pair,
+while others assert that not only all the varieties of mankind,
+but all the varieties of living beings are descended from a single
+progenitor. Between the advocates of these two systems there must
+be such an enormous difference as to the extent to which variation
+is possible, as to justify us in assuming that the fundamental
+principles of physiological science are not yet satisfactorily
+ascertained.
+
+These are the three branches of science which come especially into
+collision with the Mosaic Record of the Creation. Of these Geology
+is the most important, because it is able to bring forward
+unquestionable facts which are in direct opposition to the
+traditionary interpretation Astronomy and physiology have little
+to object except theoretical views; the hypotheses of Laplace and
+Darwin. These, however, will have to be carefully considered. It
+will be necessary for us first to ascertain whether there really
+exists any such fundamental discrepancy between the record and
+ascertained facts, or theories so far as they are supported by
+facts, and stand on a probable footing, as should render all
+attempts at harmonizing them vain. If this is found not to be the
+case, we shall then be in a position to inquire whether modern
+discoveries afford us any really valuable light, and can assist us
+to form a somewhat more extended and accurate idea of the
+processes described by the sacred historian.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+DIFFICULTIES IN GEOLOGY.
+
+
+The principal points on which there is a supposed discrepancy
+between the Mosaic Record and the discoveries of geologists are as
+follows:--
+
+THE MOSAIC RECORD APPEARS TO ASSERT--
+
+I. That the world in all its completeness, as it now exists, was
+moulded out of material in a chaotic state in six ordinary days.
+Geologists have ascertained, beyond the possibility of a doubt,
+that the process must have occupied countless ages.
+
+II. That the first appearance of animal life was on the fifth of
+those six days. Geologists have discovered that animal life was in
+existence at the very earliest period to which they have as yet
+been able to extend their investigations.
+
+III. That all living creatures are divided into two classes, and
+that the first of these classes was created on the fifth, the
+second on the sixth day; and that each class, in all its
+divisions, with the exception of man, came into existence
+simultaneously. Geologists trace the rise and increase of each
+class through a long course of ages.
+
+IV. That death entered into the world through the sin of man. The
+very existence of fossils implies that it was the law of all
+animal life from the first.
+
+V. That till the fall all creatures lived exclusively on vegetable
+food. Geologists have ascertained the existence of carnivorous
+creatures from a very remote period.
+
+Besides these, there are some other supposed difficulties and
+inaccuracies of a less important character, which may be noticed,
+in passing, when the true meaning of the record is under
+discussion.
+
+SECTION 1. THE DAYS.
+
+The question of the days is beyond all doubt the most important of
+those which have to be discussed. On the one hand, the impression
+naturally left upon the reader of the first chapter of Genesis is
+that natural days are meant, and this impression is not removed by
+a cursory inspection of the original. On the other hand, if there
+is any one scientific belief which rests on peculiarly solid
+ground, it is the belief that the formation of the world occupied
+a period which is beyond the grasp of the most powerful
+imagination.
+
+There is, indeed, some reason to think that the time claimed by
+geologists is somewhat exaggerated. Their views are in many cases
+based on the assumption that change is now going on, on the
+surface of the earth, as it did in all past time--that it is the
+same in character, in intensity, and in rate. But there are good
+reasons for supposing that almost all the causes which lead to
+change are gradually decreasing in intensity. The chief causes by
+which changes are brought about are the upheaval and subsidence of
+the earth's surface; the destructive agencies of wind, storms at
+sea, rain and frost; and the action of the tides. Of these, all
+but the last are directly dependent on the action of heat, and
+there is every reason to believe that the heat of the earth is in
+process of gradual dissipation. If this be the case, all those
+agencies which are dependent on it must
+
+[Footnote: It is thought probable that this process is complete,
+or nearly so, in the moon. If this be the case, it is in all
+probability in progress in the case of the earth, though, owing to
+the much greater bulk of the latter, it occupies a longer period.
+--Lockyer, Lessons in Astronomy, p. 93.] be declining in intensity;
+but the rate of that decrease is unknown; it may be in
+arithmetical, or it may be in geometrical progression. It is,
+then, by no means impossible that changes, which now only become
+discernible with the lapse of centuries, might, at some past
+period of our globe's history, have been the work of years only.
+Nor is it at all probable that the present rate of change, which
+is assumed as the basis of the calculation, is known with any
+approach to accuracy. Exact observations are of very recent date;
+both the inclination and the means for making them are the growth
+of the last two centuries, and the changes which have to be
+ascertained are of a class peculiarly liable to modification from
+a variety of local and temporary causes, so that a very much
+longer period must elapse before we can arrive at average values
+which may be relied on as even approximately accurate.
+
+Another circumstance, which seems to merit more attention than it
+has received, is the very frequent recurrence in Greek mythology
+of allusions to creatures which have been usually regarded as the
+creations of a poetic fancy, but which bear a strong resemblance
+to the Saurian and other monsters of the Oolite and Cretaceous
+formations. Of course, it is not impossible that these things may
+have been purely poetic imaginings; but, if so, it is very
+remarkable that such realizations of those imaginings should be
+afterwards discovered. It would seem much more probable that these
+legends were exaggerated traditions of creatures which actually
+existed when the first colonists reached their new homes, in
+numbers comparatively small, but still sufficient to occasion much
+danger and alarm to the early settlers, and to cause their
+destroyers to be regarded as among the greatest heroes of the time
+and the greatest benefactors of mankind. The Hindoo tradition of
+the tortoise on whose back stands the elephant which upholds the
+world, and the account of Leviathan in the Book of Job, seem to
+point in the same direction. [Footnote: For additional instances
+see Tylor's Early History of Mankind, p. 303.]
+
+But, after all, the question is not one of a few thousands of
+years more or less, but of six common days, or many thousands of
+years. It may help us to arrive at a right conclusion on the
+subject if we endeavour to ascertain, in the first instance,
+whether there are any strongly-marked indications that the writer
+of the first chapter of Genesis did possess some accurate
+information on some points in the history of Creation which he was
+not likely to obtain by his own researches. For this purpose we
+will place in parallel columns the leading facts recorded by
+Moses, and a table of the successive formations of the rocks,
+abridged from the last edition (1871) of Sir C. Lyell's Student's
+Geology. This process will bring to light certain coincidences
+which may serve as landmarks for our investigation.
+
+       The Days.                                THE ROCKS.
+
+    1. Creation of light.
+
+    2. Creation of the Atmosphere.
+
+
+        |The earth covered with water          |Laurentian.
+    3.--|     [implied].                       |Cambrian.
+        |Upheaval of land.                ----|Silurian.
+        |Creation of terrestrial Flora.        |Devonian.
+                                               |Carboniferous.
+
+    4. The sun and moon made "Luminaries."----|Permian.
+                                               |Triassic.
+
+                                               |Triassic.
+    5. Creation of birds and reptiles     ----|Jurassic.
+                                               |Cretaceous,
+                                               |Eocene.
+
+    6.--|Creation of land animals.        ----|Eocene.
+        |Creation of man.                      |Miocene.
+                                               |Pleiocene.
+                                               |Post Tertiary.
+
+CONCURRENT EVENTS.
+
+Laurentian: Upper Laurentian unconformably placed on Lower
+Laurentian, which contains Eozoon Canadense.
+
+Cambrian: Traces of volcanic action. Ripple marks indicating land.
+
+Silurian: Earliest fish.
+
+Devonian: Earliest land plants.
+
+Carboniferous: The coal measures. Peculiarly abundant vegetation.
+Earliest known reptile.
+
+Permian: Foot-prints of birds and reptiles--with a few remains of
+the latter.
+
+Jurassic: The first bird, and the first mammal. The age of
+reptiles.
+
+Cretaceous: Reptiles passing away, mammalia abundant and of large
+size.
+
+Post Tertiary: Human remains found only in the most recent
+deposits. In this table we see certain points of strongly-marked
+coincidence:--
+
+1. The oldest rocks with which we are acquainted--the Lower
+Laurentian [Footnote: The age of granite is uncertain.--Lyell'a
+Student's Geology, p. 548.]--were formed under water, but had
+begun to be elevated before the next series, the Upper Laurentian,
+were deposited. Ripple marks are found in the Cambrian group
+[Footnote: Ibid. p. 470], indicating that the parts where they
+occur formed a sea-beach, and, consequently, that dry land was in
+existence at that time.
+
+2. The earliest fossil land plants as yet discovered are found in
+the Devonian series, and they gradually increase till, in the
+Carboniferous strata, they attain the extreme abundance which gave
+rise to the coal measures.
+
+3. The age of reptiles. The earliest known reptile is found in the
+Carboniferous strata. In the Permian and Triassic groups the
+numbers gradually increase, till in the Lias, Oolite, and
+Cretaceous systems, this class attains a very great development
+both numerically and in the magnitude of individual specimens.
+During the same period the first traces of birds are found. The
+first actual fossil bird was found in the upper Oolite.
+
+4. The age of mammalia. The first remains--two teeth of a small
+marsupial--were discovered in the Rhaetic beds of the Upper Trias,
+and a somewhat similar discovery has been made in beds of
+corresponding periods in Devonshire and North America. During the
+subsequent periods the numbers slowly increase, till in the
+Tertiary strata the mammalian becomes the predominant type.
+
+5. The earliest traces of man--flint implements--are found in the
+Post Tertiary strata.
+
+We have then in the Mosaic narrative five points which correspond
+in order and character to five points in the Geological record;
+and with reference to two, at least, of these points, we cannot
+imagine any cause for the coincidence in the shape of a fortunate
+conjecture, because, so far as we can tell, there was nothing
+apparent on the face of the earth to suggest to the mind of the
+writer the long past existence of such a state of things as has
+been revealed to us by the discovery of the Carboniferous and
+Reptilian remains. It seems then that Moses must have been in
+possession of information which could not be obtained from any
+ordinary source. But if he was thus acquainted with the order in
+which the development took place, there is nothing improbable in
+the supposition that he was not altogether ignorant of the length
+of time which that development required.
+
+Let us suppose then that his knowledge did extend a little
+farther; let us suppose him to have been aware that each of the
+Creations which he describes was a process occupying many
+thousands of years--how could he have imparted this knowledge to
+his readers? What modification could he have introduced into his
+narrative, which without changing its general character, or
+detracting from its extreme simplicity, should have embodied this
+fact?
+
+This amounts to the question: What words significant of definite
+periods of time were in use, and consequently at the writer's
+command, at this time? No language is very rich in such words; but
+in the early Hebrew they seem to have been very scanty. The day,
+week, month, year, and generation (this last usually implying the
+time from the birth of a man to that of his son, but possibly in
+Gen. xv. 16, a century) are all that we find. These in their
+literal sense were evidently inadequate. Nor could the deficiency
+be supplied by numerals, even if the general style of the
+narrative would have admitted their use, for we find in Genesis no
+numeral beyond the thousand. There was no word at all in early
+Hebrew equivalent to our words "period" and "season." When such an
+idea was to be expressed, it was done by the use of the word
+"day," either in the singular, or more commonly in the plural.
+Thus, "the time of harvest;" "the season of the first ripe fruit,"
+are literally "the days of harvest," "the days of the first ripe
+fruit." In Isaiah xxxiv. 8, the singular is used, and followed by
+the word year in the same indefinite sense. "It is the day of the
+Lord's vengeance, and the year of recompenses for the controversy
+of Zion."
+
+The only method then which was open to the writer was to make use
+of one of the words above mentioned in an extended sense, just as
+he used the word [Hebrew script] (earth) in several senses. But if
+one of them was to be employed, the one which he has chosen seems
+the best; not only because its use in that way was common, but
+because the brevity of the time covered by its natural
+significance would in itself be a hint of the way in which it was
+used. That which was impossible in a day might be possible in a
+year or a generation. The extended significance of the word would
+become apparent just in proportion as the time covered by its
+natural significance was inadequate for the processes ascribed to
+it.
+
+An additional reason may, perhaps, be found for the choice of the
+word "day," in the accordance of its phenomena with some, at
+least, of the processes which Moses describes--the dawn, the light
+slowly increasing to the perfect day, and then fading away
+gradually into night--these do seem aptly to represent the first
+scanty appearance, the gradual increase, and the vast development
+of plants, of the reptiles and of the mammalia, and in the case of
+the first two classes, their gradual passing away.
+
+But if the word was thus employed in a figurative, and not in its
+natural sense, we may expect to find some indications in the
+context that this was the case. Such indications we do find. The
+fact that the work of Creation was distributed into days, is, in
+itself, significant. There is no reason to believe that in the
+opinion of the writer each day's work tasked to the utmost the
+power of the Creator. Moses was evidently as well aware as we are,
+that to Him it would have been equally easy, had He so willed, to
+call everything into instant and perfect being at a single word.
+Nor was the detailed description necessary to establish the
+foundation of all religion--the right of the Creator to the entire
+obedience of His creature For this the short recapitulation which
+(ch. ii. 4) prefaces the more detailed account of man's peculiar
+relation to his Maker would have been sufficient. Some purpose,
+however, there must have been for this more particular account
+which precedes the summary. We may trace two probable reasons. It
+brings before us the method of the Divine Working in the light of
+an orderly progress. But beside this, it is of infinite service to
+us, in enabling us more thoroughly to realize the Fatherly
+character and ever watchful care of our Creator. As far as that
+care itself was concerned, it was unimportant whether the work was
+instantaneous or progressive; but it was very important to us, in
+so far as it affected our conceptions of God, and of our relations
+to Him. For all our conceptions of God must rest ultimately on our
+self-consciousness; we can form no idea of Him except in so far as
+that idea is analogous to something which comes within the range
+of our own experience. Now to us and to our feelings there is a
+very wide difference between an act performed in a moment, and a
+work over which we have lovingly dwelt, and to which we have
+devoted our time, our labour, and our thought, for months or
+years. The one may pass from our mind and be forgotten as quickly
+as it was performed, but in the other we commonly feel an abiding
+interest. When therefore the great Creator is represented to us as
+thus dwelling upon His work, carrying it on step by step, through
+the long ages, to its completion, we find it far less difficult to
+realize that other truth, so precious to us, that His care and His
+tender mercies are over all His works, that the loving
+watchfulness which still upholds all, and provides for all, is but
+the continuance of that care which was displayed in the creation
+of all. Creation, Providence and Grace are blended together in one
+continuous manifestation of the Divine Wisdom, Power, and Love.
+
+But for this purpose it is of little importance to us whether
+Creation is described as taking place in a moment, or in six
+ordinary days. If the division into six days indicates orderly
+progress and watchful care, we naturally expect to find the same
+indications in each of the subordinate parts. To our imperfect
+conceptions each single day's work would bear that same character
+of vast instantaneous action which seemed so undesirable. It would
+not help us to realize what it is so important that we should
+thoroughly feel. The very fact then that the history of Creation
+is divided into days carries with it a strong presumption that
+those days are not ordinary days.
+
+In the 14th and following verses, when Moses is describing the
+formation of the heavenly luminaries, he is particular in
+mentioning that one part of their office was to "rule over the day
+and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness."
+Hence it is sometimes inferred that he was under a mistake in
+speaking of day and night at an earlier period. But such a mistake
+seems incredible. To suppose that Moses did not perceive that what
+he wrote in the 14th and following verses was incompatible with
+what he had written in the 4th and 5th verses, if such an
+incompatibility really existed, is to impute to him an amount of
+ignorance or carelessness which is at variance with the whole
+character of his writings from beginning to end. Instead of this
+it will be shown hereafter that, in all probability, his
+statements rested on a wide knowledge of facts. If then, under
+such circumstances, he uses the word "day" long before he comes to
+the formation of the sun, the natural inference is that he did so
+designedly--that it was his intention that his readers should
+understand that he was speaking of something very different from
+that natural day which is regulated by sunrise and sunset.
+
+The way too in which he introduces the mention of the first and
+following days is apparently significant, though its full meaning
+is probably more than we can at present understand. In ver. 5 he
+carefully defines light and darkness as the equivalents of day and
+night; but in the next verse he passes over these words, and
+introduces two new ones, which he has not defined; these two words
+being as much out of place before the creation of the atmosphere
+as light and darkness are supposed to have been before the
+Creation of the Sun. And not only does he introduce two new words,
+but he introduces them in a very remarkable and, with our present
+knowledge, unaccountable manner. Had he said "And there was
+morning and there was evening, one day," we should have found no
+difficulty in harmonizing; his words with what he had previously
+said concerning the evolution of light. But he first of all
+reverses the order, and then does not supply the natural
+termination to his sentence--"And there was evening and there was
+morning,"--"one night" would seem to be the natural conclusion;
+but instead of that we read, "there was evening and there was
+morning, one day." Whatever farther significance then may be
+hereafter discovered in this remarkable statement, one thing at
+all events seems clear, that it was designed to call attention to
+the fact that the day spoken of was not a natural day. Probably
+certain stages in the progress of the work were indicated, which
+farther investigations may disclose to us. A few years ago such
+stages seemed to be discernible, but the continued progress of
+discovery has partly obliterated the supposed lines of
+demarcation. Still further discoveries may bring to light other
+divisions.
+
+In the opening of the second chapter we are told that God rested
+on the seventh day from all His work, and His rest is spoken of in
+such a way as to carry our thoughts at once to the Fourth
+Commandment. In that commandment the duty of hallowing a seventh
+portion of our time is based on the fact that "in six days the
+Lord made heaven and earth, the sea and all that in them is, and
+rested the seventh day." But the analogy entirely fails unless the
+days of the Creator's work bore the same proportion to the day of
+His rest which man's six days of labour bear to his Sabbath. Now
+we are expressly told in other parts of Scripture that the Divine
+Sabbath is not yet ended (Heb. iii. iv.), and we are led to infer
+that it will not end till He that sitteth upon the throne shall
+say, "Behold I make all things new." If then the Sabbath of the
+Creator is measured by thousands of years--the whole duration of
+man upon the earth--it follows that the days of His work must have
+been of corresponding length.
+
+One more indication, so strong that in itself it seems sufficient
+to decide the question, is to be found in the 4th verse of the
+second chapter. [Footnote: It is not unusual with critics of the
+German school to assert that this is an independent account of the
+Creation. But the assertion does not appear to have any valid
+foundation. The supposed grounds for it are well discussed in the
+"Speaker's Commentary," vol. i. p. 23, and in "Aids to Faith,"
+Essay v., Sections 2, 4, 5. It has already been pointed out that
+the supposed variations in order rest entirely on the
+translation.] In that verse all that is ascribed to the six days
+in the preceding chapter is summed up as the work of a single day.
+If then the word is used in a natural sense in the first chapter,
+it is clearly used in an extended sense in the second chapter. But
+if it had been used in a natural sense in the first chapter, there
+would have been no need whatever for its use here. Its place would
+have been taken--and most appropriately--by the word [Hebrew
+script], a week, with which Moses was familiar (ch. xxix. 28;
+Deut. xvi. 10). Its use here would have connected the weekly
+division of time with the Creation, and as its presence would have
+been thus strongly significant, its absence is a no less
+significant indication that the six days spoken of in the
+preceding chapter are something very different from six natural
+days.
+
+Three points, therefore, seem to be clear:--
+
+1. However the chapter may be interpreted, there are in it
+coincidences with ascertained facts so marked that they cannot
+possibly be fortuitous. They prove therefore that Moses was in
+possession of some accurate information on the subject on which he
+was writing.
+
+As we proceed with our subject we shall come upon many more
+indications of this, some of them exceedingly remarkable. It is
+therefore by no means improbable that he was acquainted with the
+fact, that the work which he was describing was one which had
+occupied a long series of ages.
+
+2. Supposing that Moses was acquainted with all which has now been
+discovered by geologists, and that he was desirous of imparting
+that knowledge to his readers, the language which he has employed
+is the most appropriate that, under the circumstances, he could
+have chosen for the purpose. 3. The phenomena exhibited by the
+context indicate not only that he had this intention, but that he
+also intended that such of his readers as were competent to
+entertain the idea, should have sufficient indications to guide
+them to his meaning.
+
+Whatever then may be the real significance of the "days"--a point
+which the knowledge at present in our possession seems
+insufficient to explain--it seems very clear that something very
+different from natural days is intended. And this is a sufficient
+answer to the objection which is founded on that interpretation.
+That there would be very many points which as yet we are unable
+fully to understand, has been already shown to be not only
+possible but probable; and among them it appears this question of
+the true meaning of the days must be left for the present. When we
+come to consider subsequently the great number of points in which
+harmony between the narrative and discovered facts is brought out
+on investigation, [Footnote: Chap. v.] we may well be content to
+leave many points unexplained till our knowledge is greatly
+increased.
+
+SECTION 2. FIRST TRACES OF LIFE.
+
+The second objection has reference to the relative antiquity of
+the various forms of life, of which we find traces in the
+successive strata of the rocks. If it be assumed that the apparent
+coincidences which have been pointed out between the Mosaic
+narrative and the geological records are real, and that the
+traditional interpretation is the true one, then we ought to find--
+
+1. No traces at all of animal life below the Trias.
+
+2. No traces of mammalia below the Cretaceous formation.
+
+But the examination of the rocks leads to a very different result.
+Traces of life have been found, probably in the Laurentian,
+certainly in the Cambrian rocks. The earliest known fish is the
+Pteraspis, which has been discovered in the upper Silurian
+formation at Leintwardine, in Shropshire. The first member of the
+reptilian order, Archegesaurus, occurs in the coal measures; and
+the first traces of a mammalian--two teeth--occur at the junction
+of the Lias and Trias. In every case, then, we meet with traces of
+life at a period long anterior to that at which we should
+naturally expect them.
+
+In order to ascertain the real weight of this objection we hare to
+investigate two points:--
+
+1. What are the animals to which the Mosaic Record refers?
+
+2. What does it really tell us about the creation of those
+animals?
+
+1. It is commonly assumed that all living creatures are
+comprehended under the terms used in describing the work of the
+fifth and sixth days. But a more careful examination shows that
+there is no real ground for this assumption. The first point which
+presents itself is the omission of the Hebrew word for fish,
+[Hebrew script], in the account of the fifth day--an omission the
+more marked, because the word does occur in vv. 26, 28, in which
+dominion over all living creatures is granted to man. The two
+words which are used in ver. 21 are [Hebrew script] from [Hebrew
+script], to stretch out, to extend, and [Hebrew script], from
+[Hebrew script], identical with [Hebrew script], to trample with
+the feet. The description then points us to animals of great size,
+especially length, which trample with the feet. "Great sea-
+monsters," Gesenius calls them. These words clearly indicate the
+Saurian and allied tribes of reptiles; and when we turn to the
+rocks we find the remains of these creatures occurring in great
+numbers, precisely at the point which Moses assigns to them.
+
+Again, in the account of the sixth day, three classes of animals
+are mentioned; but we have no means whatever of ascertaining what
+kinds of animals were comprehended in these three classes, or
+whether they included all the mammalia then known to the Jews;
+much less then are we justified in inferring that they comprehend
+all mammalia that were then, or ever had been in existence.
+
+But it may perhaps appear strange, that the account of the
+Creation of living beings should be of such limited extent,
+embracing only reptiles, birds, and mammals. A little
+consideration, however, will remove this apparent strangeness. We
+should, perhaps, naturally expect to have some notice of the first
+appearance of animal life; but from the circumstances under which
+Moses wrote such a notice was simply impossible. The lowest and
+simplest form of life with which we are now acquainted is the
+Amoeba Princeps, a minute particle of jelly-like substance, called
+sarcode--scarcely larger than a small grain of sand--and with no
+distinction of organs or limbs. [Footnote: Carpenter, The
+Microscope and its Revelations, p. 428.] The oldest known fossil,
+Eozoon Canadense, is of a class but little above this--the
+foraminifera; we may therefore deem it probable that life began
+with some form not very unlike the Amoeba. How could the formation
+of such a creature have been described to the contemporaries of
+Moses? They could have had no idea of its existence. To describe
+the first beginnings of life then, was, under the circumstances,
+an absolute impossibility. But if a part only of the long series
+of animal life could possibly be noticed, the determination of the
+point at which he should first speak of it would be left to the
+writer, guided as he would be by considerations of the object for
+which, and the persons for whom, he wrote, which we must
+necessarily in our position be unable duly to estimate. All that
+we are entitled to expect is that the account, so far as it
+extends, should be in accordance with facts.
+
+The next point to be ascertained is, "Does the Mosaic Record
+intimate that the creations of reptiles on the fifth, and of
+mammals on the sixth days were entirely new creations, i.e. that
+no creatures of these classes had existed before?" There is no
+direct assertion to this effect; it is only an inference, though a
+natural one, when we consider the circumstances under which it was
+drawn. When, however, we turn to the original we find the 20th
+verse worded in a way which seems designed to avoid the suggestion
+of such an inference. Literally translated it is, "Let the waters
+swarm swarms, the soul of life." Such creatures then may have
+existed before, but not in swarms. And in the account of the sixth
+day, as has been already noticed, three forms of mammalia are
+specified, and we have no knowledge as to the varieties included
+in these three forms. Nor is there here any intimation that it was
+the first creation of such animals. The greater part of the
+earlier fossils belong to the Marsupialia and Mouotremata, and we
+have no reason to believe that these classes have existed in
+historic times in Europe, Asia, or Africa. They are now confined
+(with the exception of the opossums, which are American) to
+Australia. They were therefore entirely unknown to the Jews, and
+in consequence necessarily omitted in a document intended for
+their use.
+
+What has been said with reference to reptiles is also applicable
+to birds. The first traces of them are found in the ornithichnites
+of the new red sandstone, and the first fossil--Archaeopteryx, in
+the Solenhofen strata, belonging to the Oolite. From the nature of
+the case the remains are necessarily scanty, since birds would be
+less exposed than other animals to those casualties which would
+lead to their preservation as fossils, but enough traces have been
+found to show that in the period corresponding to the fifth day
+they were very numerous, and attained in many instances to a
+gigantic stature. A height of from ten to twelve feet was not
+uncommon.
+
+When, therefore, we notice that the fifth and sixth days
+correspond to two periods, in the first of which reptiles and
+birds, and in the second mammalia, were the prominent types, the
+words of the sacred historian seem to have an adequate
+interpretation in that fact. There is no contradiction between the
+two records. Moses describes but a very few of the facts which
+geology has brought to light, but those few facts are in exact
+accordance with the results of independent observation. The acts
+of Creation of which Moses speaks correspond to remarkable
+developments of the orders of animals to which he refers. To have
+noticed the time of the appearance of the first individual member
+of each class, as distinguished from the time when that class
+occupied the foremost place in the ranks of creation, would have
+been inconsistent with the simplicity and brevity of the
+narrative, while it would have been unintelligible to those for
+whom the narrative was intended, since these primeval types had
+passed out of existence ages before the creation of man. It is,
+however, noteworthy, that the first appearances of the several
+orders follow precisely the same arrangement as the times of their
+greatest development.
+
+SECTION 3. SIMULTANEOUS CREATION.
+
+This objection may be very briefly disposed of, though it appears
+to be one which has made a very deep impression on Mr. Darwin.
+[Footnote: Origin of Species, p 1, &c.] It is entirely an
+inference drawn from the old interpretation of the six days. While
+that interpretation was received it followed, as a necessary
+consequence, that the creation of all kinds of plants on the third
+day, and of reptiles, birds, and mammalia on the fifth and sixth
+days respectively, must have been simultaneous. But if that
+interpretation is proved to be untenable, the inference drawn from
+it falls to the ground. The language of the narrative seems to
+point in an opposite direction. There is one instance in the
+chapter in which the words used seem to point to an instantaneous
+result. "And God said 'Let light be' and Light was," though in
+this case the words probably have a further significance, which
+has been brought out by the discovery of the nature of light. But
+in these three cases the command is first recorded, with (in two
+cases) the addition "and it was so," and then the narrative goes
+on to speak of the fulfilment of the command, as if the command
+and its fulfilment were distinct things.
+
+SECTION 4. DEATH. CARNIVOROUS ANIMALS.
+
+These two objections may advantageously be considered together,
+since the fifth is in a great measure, though not entirely,
+dependent upon the fourth. For if death, in the common sense of
+the word, was unknown till the fall of Adam, it follows as a
+necessary consequence that no carnivorous creatures could have
+existed before that time. On the other hand, it may be considered
+as the natural death of large classes of animals to be devoured by
+the carnivora; so that if there were no carnivorous animals prior
+to the Fall, one of the avenues to death, at all events, had not
+been opened.
+
+There is really no ground at all for the first of these objections
+in the actual history of Creation. It is only when the threat held
+out to Adam (ii. 17) is viewed in the light of St. Paul's comment
+upon it (Rom. v. 12; viii. 20) that the supposition can be
+entertained. This, then, is the real foundation of the difficulty.
+
+But, first of all, there is no reason to suppose that St. Paul's
+words refer to any death but that of man. Now, it may well have
+been, that although man, having a body exactly analogous to those
+of the animals, would naturally have been subject, like them, to
+the ordinary laws of decay and death, yet in the case of a
+creature who possessed so much which raised him above the level of
+the lower animals, there may have been some provision made which
+should exempt him from this necessity. That this was the case
+appears probable from the mention made in the narrative of the
+Tree of Life. We have no intimation whether the action of the
+fruit of this tree was physical or sacramental, but that, in one
+way or other, it had the power to preserve man from physical death
+seems almost certain from the way in which it is spoken of after
+the Fall (iii. 22-24). But the mention of the Tree of Life leads
+to the inference that the case of Adam was entirely exceptional.
+
+In the next place, it does not seem probable that that dissolution
+of the body which was the natural lot of all other animals was the
+whole, or even the chief part, of the evil consequence of Adam's
+fall. That it was included in the penalty seems probable, but it
+only constituted a comparatively unimportant part of that penalty.
+The threat was, "In THE DAY that thou eatest thereof thou shalt
+surely die," and we cannot doubt that the Divine words were
+exactly fulfilled, though Adam's natural death did not take place
+for many hundred years. But the guilty creatures, covering their
+nakedness with fig-leaves, crouching among the trees of the garden
+in the vain hope of hiding themselves from the face of their
+Maker, who were to transmit an inheritance of sin and shame and
+misery to their yet unborn posterity, were surely very different
+beings from those whom the Creator but a short time before had
+pronounced "very good." The true life of the soul was gone; the
+image of God defaced. This was the real, the terrible death. If
+death in its full sense means nothing more than the dissolution of
+the body, our Lord's words, "He that liveth and believeth in Me
+shall never die," have failed of their fulfilment. That promise
+has been in force for more than eighteen centuries, and yet no
+case has occurred of a Christian, however holy he may have been,
+or however strong his faith, who has escaped the universal doom.
+The Church of the Patriarchs could point to an Enoch, the Jewish
+Church to an Elijah, who were exempted from the universal penalty;
+but Christianity can point to no such exemption, nor does she need
+it. To her members, to die is to sleep in Jesus; to be absent from
+the body is to be present with the Lord, for the penalty of death
+is cancelled.
+
+Though, then, it seems by no means improbable that Adam, if he had
+not fallen, would have been exempt from the dissolution of the
+body, yet this is not absolutely certain, and even if it were
+certain, his case would be an exceptional one: no inference as to
+the immortality of the animal creation could have been drawn from
+it.
+
+The supposition that all animals prior to the fall lived entirely
+on vegetable food rests partly on this groundless inference, and
+partly on the Divine Words recorded in verse 30: "And to every
+beast of the field, and to every fowl of the air, have I given
+every green herb for meat." But it is important to notice that
+these words are not recorded as addressed to the animals, like the
+command to be fruitful and multiply. Had this been the case, any
+omission to mention the flesh of other animals, might have been
+looked upon as significant. Instead of this they are addressed to
+Adam, and they follow other words in which the same things are
+assigned to Adam for his food. They come then in the form of a
+limitation to the rights granted to Adam, rather than of a
+definition of the rights of the lower animals. Adam was to have
+the free use of every green herb, but he was not to account
+himself the exclusive owner of it. The beast of the field and the
+fowl of the air were to be co-proprietors with him; they were to
+have the use of it as freely as himself; but that they were to be
+restricted to the use of vegetable food nowhere appears.
+Accordingly we know that carnivorous creatures have existed from
+the first, and that though to a superficial observer this may
+appear a cruel arrangement, yet in reality it is a most merciful
+provision, by which aged, weak, or maimed animals are preserved
+from the agonies of death by starvation.
+
+We may conclude then that there is no real contradiction between
+the conclusions at which Geologists have arrived, and the words
+actually made use of by Moses, but that all such supposed
+contradictions have arisen from meanings being attached to those
+words, which, though possible or even probable, were not the only
+possible meanings. When the difficulty has been suggested, and the
+words have in consequence been more closely examined, it appears
+that they are capable of an interpretation in strict harmony with
+every fact which Geologists have as yet discovered, and that in
+many cases there are not wanting indications that the writer
+intended them to be thus understood.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+DIFFICULTIES IN ASTRONOMY.
+
+
+These objections, so far as they are based or supposed to be based
+on ascertained facts, are very few and insignificant. The chief of
+them are as follows:--
+
+1. Moses describes light, and the division of night and day as
+existing before the Creation of the Sun.
+
+2. Moses describes the firmament as a solid vault.
+
+3. Moses speaks of the stars as created on the fourth day, only
+two days before Adam, whereas astronomers have asserted that many
+of them are so distant that the light by which we see them must
+have been on its way ages before Adam was created.
+
+That part of the first objection which refers to the existence of
+light prior to the creation of the Sun, appears so extremely
+childish that it might have been thought unnecessary to notice it,
+had it not been solemnly propounded in such a work as "Essays and
+Reviews." [Footnote: Page 219] Anyone who is in possession of a
+telescope of but moderate power may satisfy himself of its
+futility on any starlight night. He has only to turn his telescope
+to one or two of the more conspicuous nebulae; the Great Nebula in
+Orion, for instance, or the Ring Nebula in Lyra, and his eye will
+receive light which has not come from any Sun, for it is a well-
+ascertained fact that these nebulae are nothing but vast masses of
+incandescent gas. And this objection is singularly inappropriate
+in the mouth of the opponents of the Mosaic Record, inasmuch as
+the Nebular hypothesis is with them the favourite method of
+accounting for the present state of things. The view which they
+bring forward as an alternative to the Mosaic account assumes the
+very state of things which, when, alleged by Moses, they denounce
+as impossible. The other part of this objection, which refers to
+the division of day and night, will be more advantageously
+discussed when we come to consider the actual accounts of the
+first and fourth days' work. It will then appear probable that the
+statements which Moses has made on this subject, instead of being
+indications of ignorance, are the result of a profound knowledge
+of the subject on which he was writing.
+
+Next, it is alleged that Moses describes the firmament as a solid
+vault.[Footnote: Essays and Reviews, p. 220.] "The work of the
+second day of creation is to erect the vault of heaven, which is
+represented as supporting an ocean of water above it." That the
+Greek and Latin translations in this place do seem to imply the
+idea of solidity seems indisputable; and from the Latin the word
+"firmament" has passed into our own language. But there is no
+reason to think that the Hebrew word has any such meaning. It is
+derived from a root signifying "to beat out--to extend."
+[Footnote: May not this root, [Hebrew script], have some connexion
+with [Hebrew script], "to be light," from which is derived the
+Aramaic "Raca" of Matt. v. 22?] The verb is often applied to the
+beating out of metals, but not always. It is a new doctrine in
+etymology, that the meaning of a verbal noun is to be deduced from
+the nouns which often supply objects to its root, instead of from
+the meaning of the root itself. But even if it can be shown that
+the word did originally involve such a meaning, that would be
+nothing to the purpose. It would only be in the same case with a
+vast number of other words, which, though etymologically untrue,
+are habitually used without inconvenience, because they do convey
+to the minds of others the idea which we intend to convey, their
+etymology being lost sight of. Probably, the very persons who
+bring forward the objection do sometimes use the word "firmament,"
+though they know the error which is involved in it. Nor would they
+be any more accurate if they substituted for it the Saxon word
+"heaven," since that also involves a scientific inaccuracy. The
+word used by Moses was the commonly recognized name for the object
+of which he was writing; and no objection to his use of it can be
+maintained, unless it can be shown that in using it he rejected
+some other word equally intelligible to all, and which was at the
+same time etymologically correct. But there is no ground for the
+assumption that any such word existed in the time of Moses or at
+any subsequent period.
+
+The third objection, of course, ceases to have any force if the
+days of creation are no longer regarded as natural days. But the
+objection is in itself, apart from this condition, of no
+consequence whatever. For, in the first place, it is by no means
+certain, or even probable, that the stars referred to in the
+fourth day's work are the fixed stars. The Hebrew has no word for
+planets as distinguished from the fixed stars, although, as we
+know for certain, the difference between the planets and the fixed
+stars was recognized from a very early period. In every case,
+then, the context must determine the sense to be given to the
+word. In this case, the fact that these stars are mentioned in
+connexion with the sun and moon, combined with our knowledge that
+the planets, like the moon, are dependent upon the sun for their
+light, would lead us to infer that they are meant.
+
+But even if the fixed stars were meant, the objection would be no
+longer tenable. It rests on certain estimates as to the supposed
+distances of the fixed stars and star clusters, which were formed
+by the late Sir W. Herschel from what he designated the "space-
+penetrating power" of his telescopes. Starting with the assumption
+that the stars were of tolerably uniform size and brilliancy, and
+that the difference in apparent brightness was the result, and
+therefore a measure of their distances, he proceeded to apply the
+same process to the star clusters, which, even in a fair
+telescope, present only the appearance of faint nebulous spots of
+light, but are resolved into clusters of stars by more powerful
+instruments. In many cases, he found that a certain proportion
+existed between the telescopic power by which a cluster was first
+rendered visible, and that required for its resolution, and by
+this means he formed what he considered a probable estimate of its
+distance. Other clusters there were which only became visible in
+his most powerful telescopes, and which, therefore, he could never
+succeed in resolving. These he placed at a still greater distance,
+and from this estimate he deduced the conclusion that their light
+must have been in some cases as much as 60,000 years in reaching
+the earth.
+
+But the whole foundation on which this long chain of inference
+rested has now been shown to be evanescent. In the first place
+many of his irresolvable nebulae have been proved by the
+spectroscope to be true nebulae--masses of luminous gas, and not
+star clusters at all; and, in the next place, the actual distances
+of a few of the fixed stars have been approximately ascertained,
+and it is proved beyond all doubt that the different degree of
+brightness exhibited by different stars is no test at all of their
+distance. Of all the stars in our hemisphere whose distance has
+thus been measured, the nearest to us is one which can only just
+be discerned by a practised eye on a favourable night, 61 Cygni,
+whilst the most brilliant star visible in England, Sirius, is at a
+considerably greater distance. The most competent judges estimate
+the magnitude of Sirius as about one thousand times that of the
+sun [Footnote: Mr. Proctor in Good Words, February, 1872.]. In
+addition to this, many stars of very different magnitudes are
+found to be related to each other in such a way as to show that
+they are in actual, and not merely in optical proximity. The
+clusters which were formerly supposed to consist of large stars at
+enormous distances from us, are now, upon very solid grounds,
+believed to be formed of much smaller stars, at much more moderate
+distances, so that it is very improbable that there is any object
+visible in the heavens whose light has taken so much as 6000
+years, instead of 60,000 years to reach us.
+
+THE NEBULAR THEORY.
+
+We come now to the consideration of the Nebular Theory of Laplace,
+in so far as it is opposed to the Mosaic account. It must be
+remembered that, after all, this is only a theory. Even if it
+could be satisfactorily established, it would only point out a way
+in which this world MIGHT have been formed. That it could not have
+been formed in any other way is an independent proposition, in
+support of which no single argument has ever yet been brought
+forward. There may be a greater or less probability that the earth
+was formed in this particular way, that probability depending on
+the extent to which the theory accounts for observed facts. This
+it does in many cases, and it has in consequence been accepted AS
+A WHOLE by many scientific men, as a substitute for the Scriptural
+account. As will be seen hereafter, there are strong reasons for
+admitting it as a supplement to the brief account given by Moses;
+but our business now is to ascertain, whether it has any just
+claim to be received instead of that account.
+
+The theory seems to have been suggested by certain speculations of
+Sir W. Herschel. In his telescopic examination of the Nebulae and
+star clusters, he found that in a great number of cases, when a
+nebula was rendered visible by a certain amount of telescopic
+power, it would be resolved into separate stars by a telescope of
+a little higher power. But there were some nebulae, visible in
+very small telescopes, or even discernible with the naked eye,
+such as those in Orion and Andromeda, which could not be resolved
+even by his great four-foot reflector, the largest telescope that
+had then been constructed. And these nebulae exhibited a great
+variety of forms. Some of them were vast shapeless masses of faint
+light; others, which he designated "planetary" nebulae, exhibited
+a regular form--a circular disc more or less clearly defined,
+often brightest in the centre. Others seemed to be intermediate
+between these two classes. Hence he was led to the idea that these
+were worlds in the process of formation, and that their varying
+forms indicated varying stages of that process.
+
+This suggestion was eagerly adopted by the members of the French
+Academy, who were at that time on the look-out for anything which
+they thought would help them to account for the existence of the
+world, while they refused to acknowledge a Creator. It was taken
+up by one of their number--Laplace--a man who stood in the very
+foremost rank as a mathematician and physical astronomer, and
+moulded into shape by him.[Footnote: There is a very full account
+of Laplace's hypothesis, extracted from the works of Pontecoulant,
+in Professor Nichol's System of the World, pp. 69--86.]
+
+He assumed, that the Solar System existed at the very earliest
+period as a shapeless nebula, a vast undefined mass of "fire-
+mist;" that at some time or other the separate particles of this
+fire-mist began to move towards their centre of gravity, under the
+influence of their mutual attractions, and thus assumed a
+spherical shape; that by some means or other a motion of rotation
+was originated in this spherical mass, which increased in rapidity
+as the process of condensation advanced. The effect of this
+rotation would be a flattening of the sphere; the equatorial
+diameter would increase while the polar diameter, or axis of
+rotation, diminished; and when the centrifugal force thus produced
+had reached a certain point, a ring would detach itself from the
+equator, but would continue to revolve about the common centre. He
+supposed that a succession of rings were thus thrown off, which
+finally broke up and accumulated into one or more spherical
+masses, forming the planets and their satellites, while the
+remainder of the original sphere was condensed into the sun. The
+planets and their satellites would continue to revolve about the
+centre as the ring from which they were formed had done, while the
+different original velocities of the particles of which they were
+formed, some having been in the outer, some in the inner part of
+the ring, would cause them also to rotate on their axis. As the
+condensation advanced, the heat which had originally existed in
+the "fire-mist" would be condensed also, so that all the masses
+when formed would be in an incandescent state, but the planets and
+their satellites being comparatively small would soon cool down,
+while the sun, owing to its greatly superior bulk, still retains
+its heat.
+
+There is no doubt much to be said in favour of this theory, which
+may be more advantageously considered hereafter, when we shall
+have to consider it as supplementary to the Mosaic account. At
+present we are only concerned with it as it claims to stand alone,
+and to be accepted as a substitute for that account. Viewed in
+this light, as a substitute for a Creator, as showing us how the
+universe might have come into existence spontaneously, it utterly
+breaks down in three points.
+
+1. It gives us no account whatever of the origin of matter, but
+assumes that it was already in existence at the time from which
+the theory takes its point of departure. But some account of it
+must be given. Either it was created by some higher power, or it
+was eternal; for the idea of its being self-originated is
+manifestly untenable. If it was created, there is an end of the
+theory--the act of creation assumes the existence of a Creator;
+and the only question left is, whether that Creator did more or
+less. But the very object of the theory was to dispense with the
+existence of a Creator. This alternative, then, it must reject,
+and there is nothing left but to fall back upon the other, and to
+assume that it existed from all eternity. But it is certainly not
+less difficult to us to conceive the possibility of inert matter
+being self-existent and eternal, than it is to recognize the
+existence of an eternal and all-powerful Spirit. Our own
+consciousness helps us to realize the possibility of the existence
+of an Eternal Mind, and of the exercise of power by that mind; but
+we have nothing to help us to a conception of self-existent
+matter.
+
+In addition to this, the idea of eternity precludes from its very
+nature the idea of possible change. If there is change there must
+be the distinction of before and after, and so of the succession
+of existence, which involves the idea of time. That which is
+subject to change, and this theory assumes a change in the
+condition of matter, cannot be eternal.
+
+2. The next failing point is, that this theory assumes a change,
+of the origin of which it can give no account. The assumption is,
+that matter which had existed from all eternity, or for an
+indefinite time, in a state of perfect rest, suddenly began to
+move towards its centre of gravity. A body, or a system of
+particles, can remain at rest only under one of two conditions.
+Either it must be acted on by no force at all, or all the forces
+by which it is acted on must be in perfect equilibrium. If matter
+existed under the first of these conditions, whence did the force
+suddenly emanate? Force cannot be self-originated any more than
+matter. But if the other alternative be adopted, how was the
+equilibrium disturbed? It is a fundamental axiom of mechanics that
+"a body (or system of bodies) at rest will continue at rest till
+it be acted upon by some external force." But the theory supplies
+no such external force, for it could only originate in that which
+the theory ignores--the will and power of some intelligent Being.
+
+3. The third defect is, that the theory does not give any
+satisfactory account of the origin of the motions of rotation and
+revolution. Laplace does not attempt this. He simply assumes that
+a motion of rotation was set up somehow; but many of his
+followers, perceiving that the theory broke down here--though they
+passed the other two defects unnoticed--have attempted to supply
+the deficiency in this point. Some have attempted to account for
+this motion by analogy. It has been suggested that it was of the
+same nature, and produced by the same causes, as the vortex which
+is formed when a vessel full of fluid is emptied through an
+orifice in its bottom. Pontecoulant, in his account of the theory,
+enters more into detail. He assumes that in the process of
+agglomeration large bodies of matter impinged obliquely on the
+already formed mass, and so imparted to it a motion of rotation.
+
+A consideration of the mechanical conditions of the problem will
+show the unsoundness of Pontecoulant's views. It is of course
+assumed that the forces by which this rotation is said to have
+been produced are identical in their character with those with
+which we are familiar, for the introduction of any force peculiar
+to that time would be equivalent to an admission of a directing
+power. The following propositions then seem unquestionable:--
+
+1. The nebula must be considered as a system of particles acted on
+by their mutual attractions, and by no other force.
+
+2. When two particles of matter, a and b, attract each other, it
+is a fundamental principle of mechanics, (commonly known as the
+"Third Law of Motion") that whatever amount of momentum is
+produced in a, an equal and opposite momentum must be produced in
+b. Hence if the mutual action remain undisturbed, the two
+particles will approach each other and finally meet. On their
+union, the two momenta being equal and opposite will neutralize
+each other, and there will be no tendency to produce motion of any
+kind. 3. The same law will hold good with reference to any number
+of particles, and therefore with reference to the supposed nebula.
+Every single particle will produce a certain momentum in each of
+the other particles, and at the same time will have impressed upon
+it by each of the other particles an equal and opposite momentum.
+Hence when all the particles are collected into a single mass,
+each individual momentum will be balanced by an equal and opposite
+one, and there can be no resultant motion.
+
+The analogy from fluids flowing through an orifice fails, because--
+
+1. The particles of the fluid are acted on by forces other than
+their mutual attractions, and in many cases affecting them
+unequally, e. g., friction against the sides of the containing
+vessel and the orifice.
+
+2. Because the orifice is not a point, but a finite area, and
+consequently the particles of the fluid are acted on by forces
+which do not pass through the same point.
+
+Considered then as a substitute for the action of an intelligent
+Creator, Laplace's theory utterly breaks down in three points,
+which, as they will have to be referred to hereafter, it is well
+to recapitulate.
+
+1. It does not account for the origin of matter.
+
+2. It does not account for the emergence of the force of
+attraction.
+
+3. It does not give a satisfactory account for the motion of
+rotation.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+DIFFICULTIES IN PHYSIOLOGY.
+
+
+The third science which is supposed to come into collision with
+the Mosaic Record is Physiology. Here, however, we meet with no
+objections which rest upon ascertained facts, as in the case of
+geology. We have only to do with theories. All that can be brought
+forward is merely matter of opinion or theory--such theory
+resting indeed on a foundation of ascertained facts--but being in
+itself a mere inference more or less probable from those facts.
+Even if it were proved to be a true account of the causation of
+those facts, it would be by no means certain that other facts,
+however similar, might not have had a totally different origin.
+
+At one time it was very confidently asserted, by many eminent
+physiologists, that the differences between various branches of
+the human race were so great, that it was impossible that all
+should have descended from the same original stock. Probably this
+opinion is still maintained in some quarters, but of late years
+views of a diametrically opposite character have been brought
+forward, and very ably advocated. In proportion as these views are
+admitted to have in them an element of truth, the importance of
+the older objection is diminished. It will therefore be
+unnecessary to dwell upon it. This new view is, that not only all
+branches of the human race, but all living beings now existing, or
+that have ever existed on the face of the earth, are descended by
+the process of "evolution," carried on under what are designated
+as "natural laws" from some one variety, or small number of
+varieties of living creatures of the lowest type.
+
+This theory, like that of Laplace, had its origin among the French
+Academicians, at the close of the last century. Its author was La
+Marck. According to his view the simplest form of animal life, the
+"monad," was spontaneously developed by some unknown process. From
+this monad higher forms of animal life were produced, and the
+course of development was continued till it finally culminated in
+man. But it does not appear that La Marck suggested any means by
+which the various stages of development were brought about, and
+the view attracted little attention. Some thirty years ago it was
+revived by an anonymous writer, in a work called "Vestiges of
+Creation." In this work the idea of spontaneous generation was
+repudiated. The original monad was supposed to have derived its
+existence from an act of Creative Power, and to have been then
+left to work out its own development, by virtue of powers
+originally implanted in it. All its variations and advances were
+supposed to be the result of the will and efforts of the creature
+acting through many generations. Thus the desire and attempt to
+walk ended in the development of legs, while wings were the final
+result of its efforts to fly. It was felt, however, that this was
+by no means a satisfactory account of the state of things, and so
+the work, though it produced a great sensation at the time, has
+now been almost entirely forgotten.
+
+Latterly, however, the theory has found a far more able advocate
+in the person of Mr. Darwin, with whose name it has been popularly
+identified. By his indefatigable labours a vast variety of facts
+have been collected and skilfully arranged, to show that all the
+varieties of life may be satisfactorily accounted for by the
+continued action, through a long course of ages, of certain
+natural causes, with the results of which we are familiar, and of
+which intentional use is continually made by man. Mr. Darwin does
+not deny the existence of a Creator, but the tendency of his
+arguments is to prove that His interference was limited to the
+single act of original Creation; and that from the moment of its
+creation the world has been a sort of automatic machine, producing
+its results without any interference from any higher power.
+
+The theory taken as a whole comes into contact with the Mosaic
+Record in three points:--
+
+1. As it assumes the possibility that life may be self-originated.
+
+2. As it indicates a mode of procedure different from that given
+by Moses.
+
+3. As it requires unlimited time.
+
+Of these the last is already disposed of, when the narrative is
+shown to be capable of an interpretation in accordance with it.
+The first requires only a brief notice; but the second must be
+carefully investigated, to separate ascertained truth from
+inferences which have no sufficient foundation.
+
+The theory of spontaneous generation rests almost entirely upon
+assumptions. Its only semblance of support from facts is derived
+from certain experiments of a very unsatisfactory character, which
+are said to have resulted in the production of some of the lowest
+forms of animal life. These experiments have been by no means
+uniformly successful. One or two experimenters have thought that
+they have succeeded, but not uniformly, while the same process,
+repeated by men whose scientific and manipulative powers are
+universally recognized, has never once resulted in any seeming
+development of life. Even if, however, they had been uniformly
+successful, there would have been great reason to doubt whether
+the apparent success was not really a failure--a failure in the
+precautions necessary to exclude all germs of life from the matter
+experimented upon. For the lower forms of life are excessively
+minute; and their germs--eggs, seeds, or spores--must be far
+smaller. It is known that these are constantly floating in the
+atmosphere, though, owing to their extreme minuteness, the fact
+can only be ascertained by the most skilful investigation. And the
+lower forms of animalcules have a singular tenacity of life; they
+can pass unharmed through processes which would be fatal to
+creatures of higher organization. One variety is known to survive
+entire desiccation; another lives upon strychnine; others bear
+without injury great extremes of heat and cold; and if this is the
+case with the mature creatures, it is probable that the germ
+possesses still stronger powers of vitality. If one acarus can
+live upon strychnine, then it is not impossible that mineral acids
+should be harmless to others; the germs might be carried through
+sulphuric acid in air without coming into contact with the acid,
+as air would pass through in bubbles, in the centre of which they
+might be suspended; or if like the diatomaceae, they were coated
+with silex, they might come into contact with it and resist its
+action. Thus one of the precautions commonly taken is not certain
+in its action, and the same might be shown to be true of the
+others. The theory of spontaneous generation is, in fact,
+generally repudiated by Evolutionists, and cannot therefore be
+taken as a starting-point.
+
+We come then to the theory of Evolution with which Mr. Darwin's
+name is associated. This theory asserts that all the varieties of
+animal life now existing on the earth, however widely they may
+differ from each other, are in reality derived from one, or a very
+few original types; and that in this general statement the human
+race is to be included. This theory rests upon the following
+admitted facts.
+
+1. There are not, as was at one time commonly supposed, broad and
+distinct lines of demarcation between the different varieties of
+animals and plants. Our increasing knowledge of zoology has
+brought to light the fact that one species shades off into another
+by almost imperceptible gradations. As we go back in the fossil
+records of animal life in the past, we find that the species now
+existing, while they are closely allied to correspondent species
+of an earlier period, are scarcely ever identical with them, and
+that the few cases of identity which do occur, are limited to the
+most recent rocks. Either then the old species must have perished,
+and new ones, similar but not identical, must have been created to
+take their places, or there must have been a process of gradual
+change, by which the present species have been derived from their
+predecessors. In one or two cases fossils have been found which
+combine, to some extent, forms which are now found in distinct
+species, as if the process of variation had proceeded in distinct
+lines from a common source.
+
+2. No two animals of any class are exactly alike in all points.
+Each has its individual peculiarities, and in some cases these
+peculiarities are strongly marked.
+
+3. Man has been enabled, to a certain extent, to make use of these
+individual peculiarities, and by means of them to produce great
+varieties in the breeds of domesticated animals. This has been
+sometimes done unconsciously through a selection influenced by
+other motives, and then the process has been very slow; but
+latterly intentionally, with a view to the production of improved
+breeds, and whenever this has been the case, changes of
+considerable extent have been rapidly produced. By carefully
+selecting the animals to be paired, any desired modification can
+generally be produced in the course of a few generations. This is
+exemplified in the numerous and increasing varieties of the breeds
+of almost all domestic animals and birds.
+
+The theory of Evolution then suggests that the same processes
+which are employed by the cattle-breeder have been in operation
+through untold ages. For the intention and care of the human
+agent, Mr. Darwin substitutes two principles; one designated as
+"Natural Selection," the other as "Sexual Selection." For their
+full development he claims unlimited time. The ground on which the
+Process of Natural Selection is maintained is as follows:--
+
+It has been already noticed that no two individuals of the same
+kind are exactly alike in all respects; each individual has some
+peculiarities, generally very trifling, but sufficient to
+distinguish it from all other individuals. Some of these
+peculiarities will probably be such as to be of some service to
+the individual in the struggle of life; they will assist it in
+procuring food, or in resisting or escaping from its natural
+enemies, while on the other hand the peculiarities of other
+individuals will be prejudicial to them in these ways. The
+consequence will be that a larger proportion of those having
+favourable peculiarities will survive and propagate their kind;
+their offspring will inherit the peculiarities of their parents,
+and reproduce them in various degrees. The same process will then
+be repeated, and thus from generation to generation the
+peculiarity will be increased, till at last it is sufficient to
+mark out, first a new variety, then a new species, and so on. This
+process then, continued through a long course of ages, was at one
+time considered by Mr. Darwin sufficient to account for all the
+varieties of living creatures now existing, or that have existed
+in past ages. But he has more recently satisfied himself
+[Footnote: Descent of Man, vol. i p. 152.] that there are many
+phenomena which are not satisfactorily accounted for by this
+principle, since many of the specific differences of animals are
+found to exist in matters which, cannot directly promote their
+success in the struggle of life. Such, for instance, are the
+brilliant colours which are found, especially among the males, in
+many species of birds. These he proposes to explain by the
+supplementary theory of "Sexual Selection." His suggestion is that
+these peculiarities are in some way attractive to animals of the
+opposite sex, so that the individuals in which they are most
+strongly developed are more successful than others in obtaining
+mates, and that in this way the peculiarity is gradually fixed and
+increased.
+
+By these two processes, then, Mr. Darwin supposes that all the
+differences now existing among animals have been produced and
+perpetuated; and not only that, but that man also is the result of
+similar processes, acting through a very long period; that the
+progeny of certain "anthropomorphous apes" have, by slow degrees,
+risen in the scale of being above their progenitors; that all our
+faculties, intellectual and moral as well as physical, differ from
+those possessed by lower animals in DEGREE only, and not in KIND,
+[Footnote: Descent of Man, chaps, ii.-v.] so that man has arrived
+at his present state by what may be termed purely natural
+processes, without the intervention of any external power.
+
+In considering these theories, our attention must first be
+directed to some defects which appear to weaken the whole course
+of the argument; and then we may consider the peculiar
+difficulties in the way of the processes of natural and sexual
+selection; and the grounds for the belief that man is in
+possession of something entirely different in KIND from any
+faculty or power possessed by any lower animals, which could not
+therefore be derived by inheritance and improvement.
+
+The first thing which strikes us in Mr. Darwin's works is that,
+from time to time, he betrays a sort of latent consciousness that
+his theory is insufficient; that the processes to which he
+ascribes such vast results are not quite adequate to the purpose,
+but that they need in some way to be supplemented. Every now and
+then recourse is had to some law--some unknown cause--which must
+co-operate in the production of the results he is considering. In
+spite of the apparent care which he has taken to guard against it,
+he is continually betrayed into a confusion between the two senses
+in which the word "law" is employed. In its proper significance,
+law is an expression of the will of an intelligent superior,
+enforced by adequate power. In this sense the law may be
+considered as an efficient cause. The combination of will and
+power is an adequate cause for any result whatever. But Mr. Darwin
+expressly excludes this sense of the word, in a sentence which
+seems to involve a self-contradiction. "I mean by nature only the
+aggregate action and product of many natural laws, and by law only
+the ascertained sequence of events." [Footnote: Plants and Animals
+under Domestication, vol. i. p. 6.] Law, in this sense, then, is
+simply the statement of observed facts, and as such can have no
+action at all. It asserts that certain phenomena do uniformly
+follow each other in an ascertained order; but it gives us no
+information whatever as to the cause of those events, or the
+reason why they do thus succeed each other. But, taking law in
+this last sense, by his own definition, Mr. Darwin does,
+nevertheless, continually bring forward certain "laws" as
+accounting for certain results. Thus, we have the laws of
+"Correlation of Growth," [Footnote: Origin of Species, ed. 1872,
+p. 114.] "Inheritance limited to Males," [Footnote: Descent of
+Man, vol. i. pp. 256, 257.] and a "Principle of Compensation."
+[Footnote: Origin of Species, p. 117.] When Mr. Darwin, therefore,
+brings forward these laws as efficient causes, he not only tacitly
+admits the inadequacy of his theory to account for the phenomena
+in question, but he also endeavours to supply the defect by
+another cause, which, by his own definition, is no cause at all.
+And further, Mr. Darwin calls in the action of "unknown agencies."
+[Footnote: Descent of Man, vol. i. p. 154.]
+
+But it may be said, "Is not this the case with all sciences, at
+least in their earlier stages? Are there not frequently, or
+always, many phenomena which at first seem inexplicable, but which
+are gradually accounted for as knowledge increases? If, then, this
+is no objection in scientific pursuits generally, why should it be
+so here?" This reasoning would be perfectly valid if Darwinism
+were regarded simply as a scientific investigation. But it is
+under consideration now on very different rounds. Whatever Mr.
+Darwin's own views may be, the theory is brought forward by
+others, not as a mere interesting speculation, but as antagonistic
+to a record whose authority is attested by evidence of the very
+highest class. It claims to discredit that record, and to be
+received as a substitute for it. But that record, however it may
+be interpreted, does give us adequate causes for all that it
+professes to account for, in the will and operation of an Almighty
+Creator. The theory, therefore, which professes to supplant it,
+must at least stand upon an equal ground--it must give an
+adequate account of everything. There must be no unverified laws.
+To fall back upon such laws is in reality to fall back on the
+working of that very power whose operation is formally denied.
+[Footnote: See Foster's Essays, Essay i. Letter 5.]
+
+The next point to be noticed is a great confusion between
+assumptions and proved facts. This is especially prominent in that
+part of his last work which is devoted to sexual selection. Thus,
+in one case it is taken for granted, that various characteristics
+of the males "serve only to allure or excite the female."
+[Footnote: Descent of Man, vol. i. p. 258.] "Hence" (because
+brilliant colours of insects have probably not been acquired FOR
+THE PURPOSE of protection), "I am led to suppose that the females
+generally prefer, or are most excited by the more brilliant
+males." [Footnote: Ibid. p. 399.] "Nevertheless, when we see many
+males pursuing the same female, we can hardly believe that the
+pairing is left to blind chance; that the female exerts no choice,
+and is not influenced by the gorgeous colours, or other ornaments
+with which the male alone is decorated" [Footnote: Descent of Man,
+vol. i p. 421.] Such sentences are of continual occurrence, and do
+duty in the argument as if they expressed ascertained facts. And
+not only this, but in the very part of the work which is devoted
+to establishing the adequacy of sexual selection to produce
+certain effects, that adequacy is assumed from the very beginning.
+Thus, we read, "That these characters are the result of sexual
+selection is clear," [Footnote: Ibid. p. 258.] before we have got
+six pages into an argument which occupies a volume and a half.
+This is surely a strong instance of what is commonly called
+"begging the question." Another instance of confusion of ideas is
+to be found in the assumption of design which occasionally occurs.
+Thus, we read, "In some other remarkable cases beauty has been
+gained for the sake of protection, through the imitation of other
+beautiful species." [Footnote: Ibid. p. 393.] "From these
+considerations Mr. Bates inferred, that the butterflies which
+imitate the protected species, had acquired their present
+marvellously deceptive appearance through variation and natural
+selection, in order to be mistaken for the protected kinds."
+[Footnote: Descent of Man, vol. i. p. 411.] In these cases there
+is an assumption of purpose and design, which, necessarily implies
+a designer, just as law, treated as an efficient cause, implies a
+law-giver. It may indeed be that this is only an inaccurate way of
+expressing something else; but then, such modes of expression are
+usually the result of a want of clear perception of the ideas to
+be expressed; and, in this case, such expressions must diminish
+the weight to be assigned to Mr. Darwin's judgment.
+
+We come now to the consideration of the first of Mr. Darwin's
+supposed agencies--"Natural Selection," or, "Survival of the
+fittest." The results produced by this process must be ascribed to
+one of two causes: either they are the work of a Superintending
+Providence, watching over and directing every separate detail; or
+they are the result of pure chance and accident. There is nothing
+intermediate between these two causes. Natural law--apart from
+design and a designer--is, as we have seen, a nonentity--a mere
+expression of observed facts, for which it can give no account
+whatever. Mr. Darwin's argument is expressly directed to exclude
+the interference of a superintending Providence. Chance is the
+only cause which he can bring forward. The very first question,
+then, which arises is, What is there upon which chance may
+operate? What are the conditions from which the probabilities may
+be calculated? Mr. Darwin assumes, and no doubt correctly, that
+minute variations are continually taking place. But as these
+variations are the result of accident [Footnote: If they are not
+the result of accident, we again see design and need a designer.]
+they will take place in various directions; some of them will have
+a beneficial, some of them a noxious tendency. As, moreover, they
+are supposed to be very small at each step, the difference of
+advantage in the case of different individuals must be also very
+small, and will not be likely to produce any considerable
+difference in the chances of pairing. But in order that any
+variation may be perpetuated and increased, the pairing of
+similarly affected individuals is necessary. Parents, in which the
+variations took opposite directions, would probably have offspring
+of the normal type, the opposite variations neutralizing each
+other. And this must be repeated again and again; and with every
+repetition of the process required, the probabilities against it
+would rapidly increase. Thus, supposing that in the first
+generation the proportion of favourable conditions were such, that
+of those animals that paired there were four of each sex that had
+them to three that wanted them, the chances that any given pair
+were alike in possessing them would be represented by the product
+4/7 x 4/7, or 16/49. Hence, the chances would be rather more than
+two to one against it. In the next generation it would be
+256/2401, or more than eight to one, and so on. [Footnote: This is
+given merely as an illustration of the nature of the calculation.
+In any actual case the conditions would be infinitely more
+complex, but the calculation, if it could be made at all, must be
+made on this principle.]
+
+But next, we have not to do with one series of changes only, but
+with a vast number of different series going on in different
+directions, if we are to have a large variety of animals produced
+from a common stock. All the probabilities against the separate
+variations must be combined, not by addition, but by
+multiplication, so that the probabilities against the production
+of all these separate forms become enormous.
+
+Against all this improbability Mr. Darwin brings forward the
+supposed advantages which these variations give to their
+possessors. But here again a new element is introduced into the
+calculation. It is assumed, in the very statement of the question,
+that the process of adaptation has already taken place; the
+original stock must have been adapted to the circumstances under
+which they existed, or in their case the whole theory fails. If,
+then, a fresh adaptation is wanted, it must be because a change in
+external circumstances must have taken place. In order that a new
+variety may be established there must be a concurrence between the
+change of external circumstances and the change in the animals.
+Here we get a new, and a large factor for our multiplication.
+
+This argument may be, perhaps, made clearer by an illustration.
+Mr. Darwin has written a very interesting book on the
+fertilization of orchids by means of insects. According to his
+view all insects are descended from one common type, and all
+orchids are also descended from one parent; but we meet with
+insects and orchids in pairs, each perfectly adapted to the other.
+We will suppose that a change takes place in a particular orchid,
+that the nectary recedes to a greater distance from the point to
+which the insect can penetrate, and so an advantage is given to
+those insects in which the haustellum is of a length above the
+average. This may have a slight tendency to increase the number of
+such insects; but then it will have an opposite tendency in the
+case of the orchid. It cannot, of course, be supposed that the
+variation, which is only partial in the insect, is universal in
+the plant. The unchanged insects will therefore be confined to the
+unchanged flowers, while the changed insects will be indifferent
+on the subject, as they will be able to reach the nectary in any
+case. Hence, an advantage will be given to the unchanged flower,
+which will be more likely to be fertilized, and the two lines of
+variation will move in opposite directions.
+
+But next, the variation in the insects and the flowers must take
+place at the same time and the same place, or no result will
+follow to the insect, while the new variety of orchid must perish
+for want of an insect to fertilize it. It is this which makes the
+supposition of unlimited time almost useless, because just in
+proportion as the time is increased the probability of two
+independent events happening simultaneously is diminished.
+
+But even supposing this difficulty out of the way, we meet with an
+immediate repetition of it. The insect derives an advantage from
+its increased haustellum, but what advantage does the plant derive
+from its retiring nectary? How does that help it in the "struggle
+of life?" But if it produces no beneficial result, the variation
+according to the theory must drop. Hence we should arrive at an
+insect suited for a new form of the flower, but no flower suited
+to the new form of the insect.
+
+If, then, we reject the idea of superintendence and design, we
+have on the one hand an enormous antecedent improbability, while
+on the other hand we have only a very small power by which a
+direction may be given to the course of events, since by the
+hypothesis in any one generation the change, and consequently the
+superior advantage, is exceedingly small, and there is a strong
+tendency in related changes, as in the case of the orchid and
+insect, to move in opposite directions.
+
+But next, in the varieties of animals with which we are
+acquainted, there is a certain connexion between the differences
+of independent organs, for which this theory does not help us to
+account. Thus, for instance, according to this theory the canine
+and the feline races are descended from a common ancestor. But
+there are several points of difference between a cat and a dog.
+There are the differences in the form of jaws, in the dentition;
+in the muscles by which the jaws are moved, and in the feet and
+claws. All animals of the cat tribe agree in all these respects,
+so do all animals of the dog tribe. We never find a cat's head
+combined with the feet of a dog. Why is this? Mr. Darwin attempts
+to account for it by his supposed law of "correlation of growth,"
+but, as has been already shown, any such law, being by Mr.
+Darwin's definition the observed sequence of events and nothing
+more, is utterly useless, when it is brought forward as a cause
+for those events. On this point the theory completely breaks down.
+
+3. The theory does not account for any changes which are not
+immediately beneficial. [Footnote: In the "Origin of Species" (Ed.
+1872) Mr. Darwin makes an admission which is virtually a giving-up
+of his whole theory. He says, "In many other cases modifications
+are probably the direct result of the laws of variation or of
+growth, independently of any good having been thus gained; but
+even such structures have often, as we may feel assured, been
+subsequently taken advantage of," pp. 165, 166. Here, then, we
+have a preparation for future circumstances, which surely implies
+design.] If any rudimentary advance is made in the organism, if,
+for instance, the rudiments of a new bone, or joint, or organ of
+sense are developed, the nascent organ must, according to the
+hypothesis of minute changes, be useless in the first instance.
+Hence it would confer no advantage in the struggle of life; there
+would be no tendency towards its preservation and growth. This
+becomes a very important consideration, when certain important
+differences in animal structure and habits are to be accounted
+for. How, for instance, could the mammary glands be developed in
+oviparous creatures? Mr. Darwin regards them as originating in
+cutaneous glands, developed in the pouch of the marsupials. But
+his grounds for this statement are very meagre. To a great extent
+they rest on what an American Naturalist "believes he has seen;"
+and besides, the ornithorhyncus, which has no pouch, and which is
+lower in the scale of life than the marsupials, by Mr. Darwin's
+own admission (O. S., p. 190), possesses the glands. Mr. Mivart's
+question (Darwin, O. S., p. 189) is a very pertinent one.
+
+Another point which this view fails to explain, is the
+determination of the line of development in particular directions
+at different periods. At one time it is most marked in fishes, at
+another in reptiles, at another in mammals. How is this to be
+accounted for?
+
+4. The experience of cattle-breeders does not warrant the
+assumption that the principle of natural selection has more than a
+limited operation. No case has as yet been brought forward in
+which varieties have been produced which were not capable of
+interbreeding. Apart from their experience there is not a particle
+of evidence in favour of the assertion that races which cannot be
+made to breed together can be descended from a common stock. The
+unlimited application of this principle is therefore a pure
+assumption.
+
+5. To this must be added the circumstance that no authenticated
+instance of variation by natural selection can be brought forward.
+It is true that this is not a very important argument, because our
+knowledge of those classes of animals in which natural selection
+could act is even now very incomplete; and our knowledge of their
+past history is still more limited, so that we are not in a
+condition to prove a negative. But in such a case as this the onus
+of proof should surely lie on the other side. It is for those who
+would assert the theory to bring forward positive proof of it.
+There is, however, one point in Mr. Darwin's view of domesticated
+animals which tells against his theory. The cat remains unchanged,
+because from its vagrant habits man has no control over its
+pairing [Footnote: Darwin's "Animals and Plants," vol. ii. p.
+236.]. Now considering the variety of conditions under which cats
+exist, here is surely a great opening for natural selection. But
+it has produced no results.
+
+We come now to the theory of Sexual Selection, which is to account
+for those peculiarities and distinctions which can have no
+beneficial effect in the struggle of life, and which are accounted
+for on the supposition that they render their possessors more
+agreeable to the opposite sex, and so facilitate pairing, so that
+those animals which possess them in a remarkable degree would have
+the greatest chance of continuing their race. The case on which
+Mr. Darwin mainly rests his argument is that of birds, in which
+the males are frequently distinguished by exquisite colours and
+very graceful markings, and in which also the proceedings of the
+sexes can, in many cases, be more easily watched.
+
+It is in maintaining this theory that Mr. Darwin has such frequent
+recourse to what may be called the "argumentum ad ignorantiam."
+"If such and such organs or ornaments were not designed for this
+or that particular object, then we do not know of what use they
+are." [Footnote: For instance, Descent of Man, vol. ii. pp. 284.
+399.] This maybe very true, but it proves nothing, unless we
+assume that we are or ought to be acquainted with, the use and
+object of everything in nature. And it involves another and a very
+wide question. There are certain tastes which seem to be inherent
+in our nature, and there are certain external objects which afford
+gratification to those tastes. Must we view this coincidence as
+merely accidental? or is it a part of the design of the world that
+it should minister not only to our needs, but also to our
+enjoyments? Mr. Darwin does not reject the idea of an Author and
+Designer of Nature, is he then prepared to assert that beauty did
+not form a part of the design as well as utility? [Footnote: In
+the "Origin of Species," p 159, Mr. Darwin does seem to assert
+this; but he says in conclusion, "How the sense of beauty in its
+simplest form--that is, the reception of a peculiar kind of
+pleasure from certain colours, forms, and sounds--was first
+developed in the mind of man and of the lower animals is a very
+obscure subject," p. 162. To Mr. Darwin, with his present views,
+it may well be obscure; but it presents no obscurity at all to
+those who believe that the universe in all its details was
+designed, and its formation superintended, by a loving Father,
+whose will was that it should not only supply the needs, but also
+minister to the enjoyment of all His creatures, nor to those who
+in every form of beauty, physical, intellectual, or moral, behold
+a far-off reflexion of the glory of the Invisible Creator.] If he
+is not prepared to assert this, he must admit the possibility that
+many things exist whose sole object is to minister to that sense
+of beauty which is probably possessed by other beings besides
+ourselves.
+
+Mr. Darwin admits that many other causes, beside the supposed
+preference on the part of one sex for certain material adornments
+possessed by the other, influence the pairing of animals. In a
+very large number of cases the female is quite passive in the
+matter. The question is decided by a battle between the males, and
+the female seems, as a matter of course, to become the mate of the
+conqueror. In many other cases pairing seems to be the result of
+accident; the two sexes pair as they happen to meet each other.
+The great points on which Mr. Darwin rests his argument are that
+in some cases, on the approach of breeding-time, certain
+ornamental appendages become more highly developed or more
+brilliantly coloured, [Footnote: Descent of Man, vol. ii. p. 80.]
+and that in many cases the males, when courting the females, are
+observed to display their ornaments before them. [Footnote: Ibid.
+vol. ii. p. 86, et seq.] but then there are other facts, which Mr.
+Darwin. also notices, which detract more than he seems willing to
+allow, from the relevancy of these facts. The development of
+ornaments at breeding-time sometimes takes place in both sexes,
+indicating some latent connexion with the reproductive organs;
+thus the comb of the domestic hen becomes a bright red, as well as
+that of the cock. It would appear then that the object of the
+change is not to render the cock more attractive to the hens, for
+how could it serve the hens (if the choice lies with them) to be
+made more attractive to the cocks? Then again an old hen who is
+past laying, often assumes, to a considerable extent, the plumage
+of the cock. When these ornaments are the exclusive possession of
+the male, they are often displayed for other purposes than the
+gratification of the female. The possessors seem to be conscious
+of their beauty, and to take a pleasure in displaying it to any
+spectators.
+
+Very great beauty and brilliancy of colour is often found in cases
+in which it can have nothing whatever to do with the relation
+between the sexes. Thus, a vast number of caterpillars are
+remarkable for their beauty; but in their immature state it can
+have no relation to sexual selection; and if it may, or rather
+must, have a different object in one case, what ground have we for
+assuming that it may not have a different object in the other?
+
+Again, we are not in a position to form any opinion as to the
+causes which really influence the pairing of animals when choice
+is exercised. We have no certain knowledge upon the important
+question whether the ideal of beauty, if possessed by the lower
+animals at all, is in all, or even in many cases, in accordance
+with our own. We, for instance, admire a male humming-bird; what
+certainty have we that he is equally beautiful in the eyes of his
+mate? In cases where we have reason to believe that deliberate
+selection has taken place, we do not know that that selection was
+influenced by only one condition--that of beauty. There may have
+been a thousand causes at work of which we know nothing. Mr.
+Darwin brings forward an instance in which the owner of a number
+of peahens wished them to breed with a peacock of a particular
+variety, while they showed a deliberate preference for another
+bird; and he supposes that their preference was decided by the
+plumage. But there might have been another cause--at least the
+circumstances as related by him seem to suggest it--which would
+give a very different turn to the affair. The favoured peacock,
+spoken of as "old," [Footnote: Descent of Man, vol. ii. p. 119.]
+was probably an old friend of the hens, while his unsuccessful
+rival seems to have been a new introduction. The preference shown
+by the hens would in this case be fully accounted for, without
+supposing them to have exhibited any choice in the matter of
+plumage.
+
+Then there are a vast number of peculiarities which are certainly
+not ornamental in our eyes, but which are confined to the male
+sex. They are, so far as we can tell, of no service whatever in
+the struggle of life. With reference to these Mr. Darwin's
+argument seems to be this,--"They can serve no other purpose with
+which we are acquainted, therefore they must be attractive to the
+female--therefore they must be acquired by sexual selection." Such
+arguments as these cannot carry much weight. [Footnote: Descent of
+Man, vol ii p 284.]
+
+On the whole, we can hardly come to any other conclusion than that
+the theory of sexual selection is not proved. In many cases it is
+known that such selection is not the result of choice; in other
+cases, where choice seems probable, we have no ground for
+believing that external appearance is the sole ground of that
+choice. It may exercise some influence, but that is all. Even if
+admitted, there are many things which cannot be accounted for by
+it without very extravagant assumptions. It cannot then be
+admitted as covering the large classes of phenomena left
+unaccounted for by the theory of natural selection.
+
+So far as the lower animals are concerned, the results to which an
+examination of Mr. Darwin's views has led us may be summed up in
+the following propositions:--
+
+1. That the two causes, natural and sexual selection, have
+probably exercised some influence in the modification of animal
+forms; but that the laws of probability preclude our entertaining
+the belief that these causes can have had, by themselves, and
+apart from a superintending power, anything beyond a very limited
+operation.
+
+2. That in cases where there have been related changes in
+different parts of the same organism, or in different organisms,
+the inadequacy of these two causes is virtually admitted by the
+introduction of certain supposed laws; and that these laws, being
+defined by Mr. Darwin to be no more than "the ascertained sequence
+of events," cannot be regarded as efficient causes, and so cannot
+supply the defect.
+
+3. That there are particular points in the chain of life, in which
+the transition from one form to another is so great, and so
+incapable of graduation, that it is impossible to suppose that
+these two causes can have been adequate to produce it. Of this a
+notable instance is to be found in the transition from oviparous
+animals to the mammalia.
+
+We come now to the consideration of the origin of man, which Mr.
+Darwin, in his last work, ascribes also to natural and sexual
+selection. His view is, that man is descended from some family of
+anthropomorphous apes, and that all those enormous differences
+which, as he admits, exist between the highest ape and the most
+degraded member of the human race, are differences of degree only,
+and not of kind; that all our intellectual wealth, and all our
+moral laws, are simply the development of faculties and ideas
+which were possessed in a ruder form by the creatures from whom
+man is descended.
+
+So far as man's physical constitution is concerned, there is
+undoubtedly something to be said in favour of this view. For man's
+bodily frame is composed of the same elements, and moulded upon
+the same general plan as that of the higher apes, and, what is
+still more remarkable, it retains, in a rudimentary form, certain
+muscles and organs which are fully developed and answer important
+purposes in many of the quadrumana. Of these the tail is a
+remarkable instance. But when the differences between the physical
+peculiarities of man, and those of his supposed progenitors are
+examined, the theory of natural selection collapses entirely, for
+the development has taken the form which would be most
+disadvantageous in the struggle of life. This is very clearly put
+by the Duke of Argyll.[Footnote: "Recent Speculations on Primeval
+Man," in Good Words, April, 1868.]
+
+"The unclothed and unprotected condition of the human body, its
+comparative slowness of foot; the absence of teeth adapted for
+prehension or for defence; the same want of power for similar
+purposes in the hands and fingers; the bluntness of the sense of
+smell, so as to render it useless for the detection of prey which
+is concealed;--all these are features which stand in fixed and
+harmonious relation to the mental powers of man. But, apart from
+these, they would place him at an immense disadvantage in the
+struggle for existence. This, therefore, is not the direction in
+which the blind forces of selection could ever work .... Man must
+have had human proportions of mind before he could afford to lose
+bestial proportions of body."
+
+But it is in the intellectual and spiritual part of man's nature
+that the greatest difficulty in the way of the application of
+these theories arises. The strongest argument of all against them
+is one which is incapable of proof, since it arises not from facts
+around us, but from our own self-consciousness--our realization of
+our own powers--and so, to each individual man it must vary in
+apparent strength, in proportion as he realizes what he is, and
+what it is in his power to become. The very outcry that has been
+raised against Mr. Darwin's proposition is a proof of this. The
+theory of the descent of man, as he propounds it, was felt to be
+an outrage upon the universal instincts of humanity. But, because
+this objection rests upon such a foundation, it is incapable of
+being duly weighed and investigated as an argument, and we proceed
+therefore to such considerations as are within our reach.
+
+First of all it is desirable to dispose of one of the stock
+arguments in favour of the theory. That argument is, that the
+difference between the lowest type of savage and the highest type
+of civilized man--between a Fuegian or an Australian on the one
+hand, and a Newton, a Shakspeare, or a Humboldt, on the other,--is
+quite as great as that between the higher forms of ape and the
+lowest forms of humanity. But in this argument there is a fatal
+confusion of ideas. The capacity for acquisition is confounded
+with the opportunity for acquisition. That the savage is in
+possession of but very few ideas does not prove that he is
+incapable of more; it may equally well arise from the fact that he
+had had no opportunity of acquiring more. The only way to test the
+question is by putting a savagoe from his earliest infancy, under
+the same favourable circumstances as the child of civilisation.
+Whenever this experiment has been tried, and our missionaries have
+had many opportunities of trying it, the difference has either not
+appeared at all, or has proved to be very trifling. Mr. Darwin
+himself seems to have been very much surprised at what he saw in
+some natives of Terra del Fuego, who were for a time his
+companions on board the "Beagle." "The Fuegians rank amongst the
+lowest barbarians, but I was continually struck with surprise how
+closely the three natives on board H.M.S. 'Beagle,' who had lived
+some years in England, and could talk a little English, resembled
+us in disposition, and in most of our mental faculties."
+[Footnote: Descent of Man, vol. i. p 34] And these Fuegians had
+not been educated from their infancy, they had only come to
+England later in life, and were thus under an incalculable
+disadvantage. Had they been heirs to such an intellectual
+inheritance as fell to the lot of Mr. Darwin, there is nothing
+extravagant in the supposition that they might have proved
+themselves equal to him in the ability to make use of it. The
+comparison then proves to be quite illusory; but it draws our
+attention to a fact which is of very high importance in our
+investigation of the difference between man and all other animals.
+Man alone seems to be capable of laying up what may be termed an
+external store of intellectual wealth. Other animals in the state
+of nature make, so far as we know, no intellectual advances. The
+bee constructs its cell, the bird builds its nest precisely as its
+progenitors did in the earliest dawn of history. There is a
+possibility that some advance, though a very small one, may be
+made by animals brought under the control of man. It is said, for
+instance, that a young pointer dog will sometimes point at game
+without any training. But in this case the acquired knowledge is
+congenital, and is therefore to be regarded as a development
+brought about by superintended selection. But with man none of the
+acquired knowledge is innate. It is a treasure entirely external
+to himself until he has appropriated it by study of some kind or
+other. There is no reason to believe that any advance in
+intellectual power has been made by man, in his collective
+capacity, since his first appearance on earth. Various individuals
+have varying powers, but these differences are no result of
+development, since they may often be found among members of the
+same family, who have been subjected to the same discipline, and
+enjoyed the same educational advantages. It follows that the gulf
+between the ape and the lowest type of humanity is almost if not
+quite as great as between the ape and the highest type. The savage
+does not in any way help to bridge over that gulf.
+
+But it is said that the moral and intellectual faculties which man
+possesses, and which he looks upon as the great badge of his
+superiority, are in truth only different in degree and not in kind
+from those possessed by the lower animals. But the grounds on
+which this assertion is based are wonderful in their tenuity. Dogs
+are possessed of self-consciousness because they sometimes emit
+sounds in their sleep from which it is concluded that they dream.
+[Footnote: Descent of Man, vol. i. p. 62.] "Can we feel sure that
+an old dog, with an excellent memory, and some power of
+imagination, as shown by his dreams, never reflects on his past
+pleasures in the chace? And this would be a form of self-
+consciousness." Our duty to our neighbour is entirely the result
+of "social instinct," [Footnote: Descent of Man, vol. i. pp. 70-
+106.] and our duty to our God the development of a belief which
+has its origin in dreams. [Footnote: Ibid, p. 66.]
+
+It is impossible for us satisfactorily to meet these assertions
+with a direct negative, [Footnote: There are some who think that
+this statement may be directly refuted. Their views will be found
+in the QUARTERLY REVEIW, July, 1871.] for this simple reason, that
+we have no means whatever of knowing what ideas are present in the
+minds of the lower animals, or even what communications pass
+between them. For anything we can tell to the contrary, the bark
+of a dog may be as articulate to his fellow-dogs as our speech is
+to our fellow-men, while on the other hand to the dog our speech
+may be as inarticulate as his bark is to us. But our total
+ignorance of the mental state of animals which have been the
+companions of man from the very earliest ages, our utter inability
+to hold any conversation with them, is in itself a proof of the
+wide gulf that separates them from us. Put two men of the most
+widely separated races on a desert isle together, and a very
+little time will elapse before they are able to hold some
+communication with each other. If then the difference between man
+and the lower animals were a difference of the same kind as that
+between the civilized man and the savage, though greater in
+degree, surely in so many thousand years something might have been
+done to open a way for intellectual communication; some
+development of the faculties of the lower creatures would have
+been perceived, some means of interchanging ideas would have been
+discovered. If Mr. Darwin had had for his companions on board the
+"Beagle," instead of three Fuegians, as many Gorillas or
+Chimpanzees, would he, at the end of the voyage, have been able to
+report any approximation, at all to European mental
+characteristics, or even to those of the lowest savage? But if the
+difference be only one of degree, some approximation ought to have
+taken place.
+
+As then we can have no direct knowledge of the moral and
+intellectual powers of animals, we can only judge of them from
+their actions, and other external signs. One great mark of
+difference has already been noticed. Man has, other animals have
+not, the power of laying up an external treasure of intellectual
+acquirements. Then there are certain arts which seem to be
+indispensable to man in his lowest state--no savage is so low that
+he is utterly destitute of them--no animal makes any pretence to
+them. Such are the designing, construction, and use of tools. Mr.
+Darwin asserts that in certain cases--very rare ones--apes have
+been known to use stones to break open nuts; but the mere use of a
+stone is a very different thing from the conception and deliberate
+formation of a tool, however rude. Then there is the kindling of
+fire, and the use of it for the purpose of cooking; and lastly,
+the preparation and the wearing of clothes. The tools or the
+clothes may be of the rudest kind, the tools may be formed from a
+flint, and the clothes from bark or skin, but in the preparation
+of each there are signs of intellectual power, of which we find no
+indications whatever in the lower animals.
+
+Another important difference between man and all other animals
+lies in the fact, that whatever an animal does it does perfectly
+from the first, but it makes no improvements. A bird's first nest
+is perfect. With man the case is the reverse, it is only by many
+trials, many failures, that he attains to skill in any operation,
+but then he goes forward. Arts improve from generation to
+generation. This seems to show that the faculties of man differ
+from those of animals in kind, and not in degree only.
+
+The question also arises, if man has been produced from an
+anthropomorphous ape by a process of natural development, how is
+it that the same process has not gone on in other lines? The dog,
+the horse, and the elephant are at least equal in intelligence and
+sagacity to the highest known apes. Such a development from them
+cannot have proceeded through the line of the apes. If these
+different orders are at all connected it must be through some
+remote common ancestor. Why then has this development come to an
+abrupt termination in some cases and not in all? It may indeed be
+said that the dog and the horse are indebted for their
+intelligence to the inherited results of long intercourse with
+man, but this cannot be the case with the elephant, which is never
+known to breed in captivity. Nor is there any reason to believe
+that the present intelligence of the elephant is recently
+developed. Why then has it been arrested in its course?
+
+Whether or not we assume the theory of development to be wholly or
+partially correct in reference to the lower animals, we must admit
+that it is true of man, but in a sense totally different from that
+which Mr. Darwin suggests. The development of which he is the
+advocate is a development of race, in which the advance made by
+each individual generation is exceedingly small, while the
+difference in remote generations, the accumulated advance of
+successive generations, is great. In man, on the contrary, there
+is no reason whatever to believe that there has been any advance
+at all in the race from the very earliest periods--that either in
+physical power or intellectual ability the present generation of
+men, taken as a whole, are in any way superior to their most
+remote ancestors. The development of which man is especially
+capable is the development of the individual, that development
+being not physical, but intellectual and moral, and being in a
+great degree dependent on the will and perseverance of the
+individual, and very little on external circumstances. The result
+of these individual developments has been the accumulation of a
+vast fund of wealth, useful arts, sciences, literature, which form
+the common possession of the whole race, but do not necessarily
+imply the slightest advance in any particular individual--that
+advance being dependent, not on the possession of those treasures,
+but on the use made of them. In the case of man then development
+does certainly exist, but it takes a line totally distinct from
+that which Mr. Darwin advocates, and thus forms another broad line
+of demarcation between man and the most advanced of the lower
+animals.
+
+It appears then that the faculties of man differ generically from
+those of the animals. A new order of things seems to have
+commenced with the appearance of man on the earth--an order in
+which the highest place was to be maintained by intellectual
+instead of physical power. No mere process of evolution then will
+account for man's origin. His physical nature may have been formed
+in that way; but we cannot believe that his intellectual and moral
+nature were developed from any lower creatures. Only some special
+Creative interference can account for his existence.
+
+So far then as it tends to negative the continued operation of the
+Creator, the theory of evolution is untenable. Like that of
+Laplace, it fails to give an adequate cause for existing
+phenomena. But it seems probable, as will be seen in the next
+chapter, that both theories have in them much of truth. They
+cannot point out the cause of the universe, but they may give us a
+more or less accurate view of the manner in which that cause
+operated. The facts brought forward by geologists have been shown
+not to be incompatible with interpretations which the Mosaic
+Record readily admits, though they conflict with existing notions
+upon certain points. In no one then of the three sciences which
+have been supposed to be specially antagonistic to that record, is
+there anything to be found which can be maintained as a reasonable
+ground for doubting that that record is, what it has always been
+held to be by the Church, a direct Revelation from the Creator.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+SCIENCE A HELP TO INTERPRETATION.
+
+
+It is now clear that there is nothing in the Mosaic Record itself,
+which is contradicted by any scientific discovery, and that all
+the alleged difficulties arise either from interpretations
+prematurely adopted, or from theories which, when carefully
+examined, are found to be defective, but which may nevertheless
+contain in them a large element of truth. But if scientific
+discoveries are available for the refutation of erroneous
+interpretations, the probability is that when rightly understood
+they will help us to arrive at the true meaning, since the Works
+of God are, beyond all other things, likely to throw light on that
+portion of His Word in which those Works are described. Nor are
+the theories to be passed over--the greater the amount of truth
+which they embody the greater will be the likelihood that they
+will receive help from, as well as throw light upon, such a
+record; and thus we shall have additional evidence that the Word,
+the Work, and the Intellect, which has scrutinized and interpreted
+the Work, are all derived from the same source. We proceed,
+therefore, to inquire whether these facts and theories do in any
+way elucidate the concise statements of Scripture, so that we may
+be enabled to arrive at a somewhat clearer idea of the meaning of
+this most ancient document, and be enabled to entertain somewhat
+more distinct views of the manner in which the Divine Architect
+saw fit to accomplish His Work.
+
+In pursuing this investigation two points must be carefully kept
+in mind; the first is the distinction between theory and
+conjecture on the one hand, and well ascertained facts on the
+other. We shall have much to do with theory, and with conjectural
+interpretations of observed facts. These can never stand on the
+same footing as the facts themselves, but can only be regarded as
+invested with greater or less probability. If it is found that
+these theories do explain many observed facts, that they harmonize
+with, and as it were dovetail into any proposed interpretation of
+which the words of Moses are capable; and still more if that
+interpretation actually completes the defective points of the
+theories, and supplies an adequate cause for facts hitherto
+inexplicable--then the presumption is a very strong one that the
+interpretation thus supported is at all events an approximation to
+the true one.
+
+The second point to be carefully kept in mind is the very
+imperfect state of scientific knowledge even at the present time.
+As far as the matter in hand is concerned, the facts which are
+ascertained beyond all possibility of doubt, are very few. New
+means of investigation have very recently been discovered, and as
+a consequence new sources of information have been pointed out,
+new fields of research have been laid open. Twenty years ago the
+spectroscope was a thing undreamt of--now astronomers reckon it as
+of equal value with the telescope, while chemists find it
+indispensable to their researches. Who shall say that the next
+twenty years may not witness some invention of equal importance,
+which shall throw upon us a fresh flood of light from some
+unexpected quarter? If then the principle which has hitherto been
+maintained is correct, that all our difficulties arise from
+interpretations based upon insufficient knowledge, but maintained
+as if of equal authority with the record itself, there is a great
+danger lest after a time the same difficulty should recur--that
+the discovery of fresh facts may discredit interpretations based
+upon our present knowledge. Any interpretation therefore to which
+we may be led by the scientific views at present entertained, must
+be regarded as only provisional and tentative, liable at any time
+to be either confirmed, amended, or rejected, as fresh discoveries
+may be made.
+
+Before we enter upon a detailed examination of the records of the
+several days, there are two preliminary points to which attention
+must be directed. We shall have to make frequent reference to
+"law." It will be well that the sense in which the term is used
+should be made clear. The account of the First Day's Work will
+lead to the recent theory of the Correlation of Forces. As this is
+probably a new subject to many, some previous explanation of it
+will be necessary.
+
+SECTION 1. OF LAW. [Footnote: This subject is fully treated in the
+Duke of Argyll's "Reign of Law."]
+
+Law, in its original and proper sense, is the expression to an
+inferior of the will of a superior, which the inferior has it in
+his power to obey or to resist, but resistance to which entails a
+penalty more or less severe, in proportion to the moral turpitude,
+or the injurious consequences of the act of disobedience. In this
+its strict sense the law can only exist in connection with beings
+possessed of reason to understand it, of power to obey it, and of
+free will to determine whether they will obey it or not. When
+these three conditions are absent law can have no existence. But
+the result of perfect law, perfectly obeyed, would be perfect
+order. Hence the observation of perfect order leads, by a reversed
+process, to the supposition of some law of which that order is the
+result. Hence arose in the first instance the term "natural laws,"
+or "laws of nature." Events were found to follow each other in a
+uniform way, and this uniformity was thus sought to be accounted
+for. Probably in the minds of those by whom the word was thus
+applied in the first instance Nature was not the mere abstraction
+it is now, but an unseen power--Deity or subordinate to Deity--
+working consciously and with design.
+
+[Footnote: Mr. Darwin, especially in the "Origin of Species,"
+seems continually to betray the existence of this feeling in his
+own mind. Though he from time to time reminds us that by Nature he
+means nothing but the aggregate of sequences of events, or laws,
+he yet frequently speaks of Nature in a way which is applicable
+only to an intelligent worker.]
+
+But this feeling has disappeared, and now we are told that natural
+law is "the observed sequence of events." In this case, then, the
+true meaning of the word is entirely lost--it is no longer
+possible to speak of law as the cause of any event.
+
+But the old sense in which the word was applied to natural
+phenomena had in it far more of truth than the modern one. It was
+the imperfect expression of the great truth that God is a God of
+order--that there is a uniform procedure in His works, because in
+Him there is no change, no caprice. And it is of great importance
+to us that we should realize this truth, because we are dependent
+upon the laws of nature every moment of our lives. Every conscious
+act is performed under the conviction that the natural forces
+which that act calls forth will operate in a certain prescribed
+manner. But this conviction, though it restricts us to the limits
+of the possible, does not further impede the freedom of our will.
+To a certain extent we can choose what action we will perform,
+what forces we will call forth for that purpose, and what
+direction we will give them. Sometimes we can arrange our forces
+so that they will continue to act for a considerable time without
+any intervention from us; in other cases continued interference is
+necessary. But in all these cases there is no interruption of the
+law by which the working of these forces is regulated. We have
+then a limited control over these forces, and yet they are
+unchangeable in themselves, and in their mode of action.
+
+When, however, we strive to ascend from our own works to those of
+God, we can no longer regard these forces as absolutely
+unchangeable. If they are practically so, it is because it is His
+Will that they should be so. It is this Will then which has its
+expression in the so-called laws of nature. The term now assumes a
+sense akin to, though not identical with, its original ethical
+sense. It is no longer a rule imposed by a superior on an
+inferior, but the rule by which the Supreme Being sees fit to
+order His own Work. While however we admit the possibility of law
+of this kind being changed, we have no reason to believe that in
+the universe with which we have to do any such change has ever
+taken place. But this does not preclude the possibility of Divine
+interference in the processes either of Creation or of Providence.
+New forces may from time to time be supplied, new directions may
+be given to existing forces, without any variation in the laws by
+which the action of those forces is regulated.
+
+And if we believe that Creation was a progressive act, it is
+rather probable than otherwise that such interferences should take
+place. For a long period perhaps the uniformity of the work might
+lead us to forget the Being who was working; but times would
+arrive when definite stages of the work were accomplished, when
+higher developments of being were rendered possible, and in the
+introduction of those higher developments a something would be
+seen which could not be the result of the processes with which we
+had already become acquainted. Such interference would not in any
+way justify the supposition that the designs of the Author of
+Nature were changed, or that His original plan had proved
+defective. The more natural inference would be that they were a
+part of the plan from the first, but that the time for them was
+not then come.
+
+It will be seen in the sequel that in all probability many of the
+special acts of Creation, mentioned in the Mosaic Record, are
+interferences of this kind; that for long periods of time matters
+advanced in a uniform manner; that the sequence of events was such
+as our own experience would lead us to anticipate; but that these
+periods were separated from one another by the introduction of new
+forces and new results. Of the former we may speak then as carried
+on under the operation of natural laws; the other may be described
+as special interferences not antagonistic, but supplementary, to
+natural laws, and forming part of the original design.
+
+SECTION 2. THE CORRELATION OF FORCES.
+
+[Footnote: For fuller information on this subject, Grove's
+"Correlation of the Physical Forces," or Tyndall's "Lectures on
+Heat considered as a Mode of Motion," may be consulted.]
+
+It has long been known that heat and light are closely connected
+together. The accumulation of a certain amount of heat is always
+accompanied by the appearance of light. But when it was found that
+the light could be separated from the heat by various means, it
+seemed possible that the two phenomena were simply associated. It
+is now, however, ascertained that light and heat are identical in
+their nature, and that a vast number of other phenomena--
+electricity, galvanism, magnetism, chemical action, and
+gravitation, as well as light and heat, are different
+manifestations of one and the same thing, which is called force or
+energy. In a great number of cases it is possible for us, by the
+use of appropriate means and apparatus, to transform these
+manifestations, so as to make the same force assume a variety of
+forms. Thus motion suddenly arrested becomes heat. A rifle-ball
+when it strikes the target becomes very hot. The heat produced by
+the concussion against an iron shield is found sufficient to
+ignite the powder in some of the newly invented projectiles. The
+best illustration, however, is to be obtained from galvanism. By
+means of the Voltaic battery we set free a certain amount of
+force, and we can employ it at pleasure to produce an intense
+light in the electric lamp, or to melt metals which resist the
+greatest heat of our furnaces; it will convert a bar of iron into
+a magnet, or decompose water into its constituents, oxygen and
+hydrogen, or separate a metal from its combination with oxygen.
+But in all these processes no new force is produced--the force
+set free is unchangeable in itself, and we cannot increase its
+amount. Owing to the imperfection of our instruments and our skill
+a part of it will always escape from our control, and be lost to
+us, but not destroyed. When, however, due allowance is made for
+this loss, the results produced are always in exact proportion to
+the amount of force originally set free. Thus, if we employ it to
+decompose water, the amount of water decomposed always bears an
+exact proportion to the amount of metal which has been oxidized in
+the cells of the battery.
+
+This force pervades everything which comes within the cognizance
+of our senses. It exists in what are termed the elementary
+substances of which the crust of the earth is composed. A certain
+amount of it seems to be required to maintain them in the forms in
+which we know them; for in many cases, when two of them are made
+to combine, a certain amount of force is set free, which commonly
+makes its appearance as heat. This seems to indicate that a less
+amount of force suffices to maintain the compound body than was
+requisite for its separate elements. Thus, when oxygen and
+hydrogen are combined to form water intense heat is produced. If
+we wish to dissolve the union, and restore the oxygen and hydrogen
+to a gaseous state, we must restore the force which has been lost.
+This, however, must be done by means of electricity, as heat
+produces a different change--converting the water into vapour, but
+not dissolving the union between its elements.
+
+Force, in the shape of heat, determines the condition in which all
+inorganic bodies exist. In most cases we can make any given
+element assume the form of a solid, a fluid, or a vapour, by the
+addition or subtraction of heat. Thus if a pound of ice at 32
+degrees be exposed to heat, it will gradually melt--but the water
+produced will remain unchanged in temperature till the last
+particle of ice is melted--then it will begin to rise in
+temperature; and, if the supply of heat be uniform, it will reach
+a temperature of 172 degrees in exactly the same time as was
+occupied in melting the ice. Thus then the force which was applied
+to the ice as heat passes into some other form so long as the ice
+is being melted--it is no longer perceptible by the senses--we
+only see its effect in the change from the solid to the fluid
+form. And this result is brought about by a definite quantity of
+force. Each of the inorganic materials of which the crust of the
+earth is composed seems thus to require in its composition a
+definite amount of force.
+
+The life of vegetables is developed in the formation of fresh
+compounds of inorganic matter and force. No vegetable can thrive
+without sunlight, either direct or diffused. This supplies the
+force which the plant combines with carbon, hydrogen, and other
+elements to form woody fibre, starch, oils, and other vegetable
+products. When we kindle a fire, we dissolve the union which has
+thus been formed--the carbon and hydrogen enter into simpler
+combinations which require less force to maintain them, and the
+superfluous force supplies us with light and heat.
+
+The life of animals is developed by a process exactly the reverse
+of vegetable life. It is maintained by the destruction of the
+compounds which the vegetable had formed. These compounds are
+taken into the body as food, and after undergoing certain
+modifications and arrangements are finally decomposed. Of the
+force thus set free a part makes its appearance as heat,
+maintaining an even temperature in the body, and another part
+supplies the power by virtue of which the muscles, &c., act. No
+manifestation of animal life is possible except by force thus set
+free. It seems all but certain that we cannot think a single
+thought without the decomposition of an equivalent amount of the
+brain. It must not, however, be concluded that force and life are
+identical. Force seems to be only the instrument of which the
+higher principle of life makes use in its manifestations.
+
+Force then pervades the whole universe so far as it is cognizable
+by our senses. But we cannot conceive of force as acting, without
+at the same time conceiving of something on which that force acts.
+That something, whatever it may be, we designate "matter." We have
+not the slightest idea of what matter really is--no man has ever
+yet succeeded in separating it from its combination with force.
+Even if success were possible, which seems very improbable, it is
+not likely that matter by itself would be discernible by any of
+our senses. We know that two of them, sight and hearing, enable us
+to perceive certain kinds of motion, i. e. manifestations of
+force, and this is in all probability the case with the rest of
+them. The existence of matter then is not known by scientific
+proof but by inference. Our belief in it arises from something in
+the constitution of our minds which makes it a necessary
+inference.
+
+There is one more point in reference to force which must be
+noticed. It is indestructible, but it is capable of what is termed
+"degradation." It may exist in various intensities and quantities,
+and a small quantity of force of a higher intensity may be changed
+into a larger quantity of force at a lower intensity. In the
+instance above given of the union of oxygen and hydrogen, heat is
+given out, but heat does not suffice to dissolve that union. The
+force must be supplied in the more intense form of Voltaic
+Electricity. But to reverse this process seems impossible for us.
+As, however, this is clearly explained in a previous volume of
+this series, [Footnote: Can we Believe in Miracles? p. 152.] it is
+not necessary to dwell upon it at length.
+
+We may conclude then that the whole material universe is built up
+of matter and force in various combinations, but we can form no
+conception of what these two things are in themselves; they are
+only known to us by the effects produced by their union in various
+proportions.
+
+SECTION 3. THE BEGINNING.
+
+"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
+
+"And the earth was desolate and void, and darkness upon the face
+of the deep."
+
+These words carry us back to a time indefinitely remote. Eternity
+and Infinity are ideas which we cannot grasp, and yet we cannot
+avoid them. If we stretch our imagination to conceive of the most
+distant possible period of time--the farthest point of space--
+still we feel that there must have been something before the one,
+that there must be something beyond the other; and yet we cannot
+conceive of that which has no beginning, or no boundaries. The
+first verse marks out for us as it were a definite portion of this
+limitless ocean. "In the beginning," is the point from which time
+begins to run--"the heavens and the earth," the visible universe
+beyond which our investigations cannot extend. Whether other
+manifestations of God have taken place in Eternity, or other
+systems of worlds now exist in infinity, we are not told.
+
+The heavens and the earth then are to be considered as comprising
+the visible universe, sun, moon, and stars, and their
+concomitants, which the eye surveys, or which scientific research
+brings to our knowledge. All are comprehended in this one group by
+Moses, and recent spectroscopic investigations teach us that one
+general character pervades the whole. Every star whose light is
+powerful enough to be analyzed, is now known to comprehend in its
+materials a greater or less number of those elementary substances
+of which the earth and the sun are composed. Whether any of these
+worlds were called into perfect existence at once, or whether they
+all passed through various stages of development, we are not told,
+that in some of them the process of development is only
+commencing, while in others various stages of it are in progress,
+is, as will be seen presently, highly probable. But the narrative
+takes no farther notice of anything beyond our own group of
+worlds, and proceeds to describe the condition of the earth
+(probably including the whole solar system) at the time at which
+it commences. Its words imply such a state of things as
+corresponds to what has been said in the preceding section of
+matter, apart from force. No better words could probably have been
+chosen for the purpose. The only word which seems to convey any
+definite idea is in the following clause, where water is
+mentioned. Until force was in operation water could not exist.
+Probably St. Augustine's interpretation is the correct one--the
+confused mass is called alternately earth and water, because
+though it was as yet neither one thing nor the other, it contained
+the elements of both. And the word "water" expressed its plastic
+character. ("De Genesi ad Literam" Liber Imperfectus, Section 13,
+14.)
+
+One other important point in these words is, that they negative
+the eternal existence of matter. The second verse describes it as
+existing, because it had been called into existence at the bidding
+of an Almighty Creator, as described in the first verse.
+
+SECTION 4. THE FIRST DAY.
+
+"And the Spirit of God (was) brooding upon the face of the water.
+
+"And God said, 'Let light be' and light was.
+
+"And God saw the light that it was good, and God divided the light
+from the darkness.
+
+"And God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night.
+
+"And there was evening and there was morning, one day."
+
+The first clause seems to belong rather to the period of action
+than to the precedent indefinite period of chaos, and may
+therefore be taken as marking the transition from the "beginning"
+to the first day, better than as belonging to that beginning
+itself. The Jewish interpretation of the clause is untenable in
+the light of the doctrine of the Correlation of the Physical
+Forces. Till force was evolved there could be neither air nor
+motion, and so no wind. The words of course bear on their face an
+assertion of the action of the eternal Spirit in the work of
+Creation; but when we examine the position which they occupy, it
+seems highly probable that they have beyond this a much more
+definite signification. In them a sort of localized action is
+ascribed to the Spirit--a something very different from the idea
+conveyed by the often-repeated phrase, "And God said." What that
+something may be it is hard for us to conceive, harder still to
+express, but the following considerations may perhaps throw some
+glimmering of light upon the matter:--
+
+1. There must be some point in which the Creator comes into
+contact, as it were, with His creature--a point at which His Will
+first clothes itself in the form of a physical fact--the point to
+which all second causes lead up, and at which they lose themselves
+in the one first cause, the Will of God. Now this is what all
+systems of philosophy require as their starting-point, but it is
+entirely out of their unaided reach. But these words supply that
+indispensable desideratum.
+
+2. These words come in immediate connexion with the evolution of
+light. Light is throughout the Bible intimately connected with the
+Deity. It is His chosen emblem. "God is light." It is His abode.
+"He dwelleth in the light inaccessible." It is the symbol of His
+presence, and the means by which Creation is quickened. "In Him
+was life; and the life was the light of men."
+
+3. Light, as we now know, is only one form of the force by which
+the universe is upheld. But the phenomena of light lead us to
+infer the existence of what we call Ether, which is supposed to be
+a perfectly elastic fluid, imponderable, and in fact exempt from
+almost all the conditions to which matter, as we know it, is
+subject, except that POSSIBLY it offers resistance to bodies
+moving in it. [Footnote: Encke's comet shows signs of retardation,
+as if moving in a resisting medium; but it is possible that that
+resistance may not arise from the ether, but from the nebulous
+envelope of the sun.] This fluid must pervade the whole universe,
+since it brings to us the light of the most distant star or
+nebula. As it is the medium through which light is conveyed, and
+as light is now known to be identified with force of all kinds, it
+seems by no means improbable that it is the medium through which
+all force acts.
+
+These words, then, seem to suggest the idea that the brooding of
+the Spirit may have some connexion with the formation of that
+ether which is indispensable to the manifestation of light, and
+probably to the operations of all force; and that, if so, the
+ether may also be the point at which, and the medium through
+which, Spirit acts upon Matter. On the one hand, the facts that
+force, as used, is constantly in process of degradation, and that
+it is also constantly poured forth into space from the Sun and
+Planets in the shape of heat, and so lost to our system, seem to
+indicate that fresh supplies of it are continually needed; while,
+on the other hand, the supply of that need seems to be implied in
+the words, "By Him all things consist." "Upholding all things by
+the word of His Power."
+
+If this be so, we have a point up to which natural laws may
+possibly be traced, but at which they merge in the action of the
+Will of God, which is beyond our investigation. Here, then, is a
+solution of that great difficulty, which those who are most
+familiar with the laws of nature have felt in reconciling the
+existence of those laws with a particular Providence and with the
+efficacy of Prayer, since we have here the point at which all
+forces and all laws begin to act, and at which, therefore, the
+amount of the force, and the direction of its action, are capable
+of unlimited modification, without any alteration of, or
+interference with, the laws by which that action is regulated, and
+consequently without the danger of introducing confusion into the
+Universe.
+
+"And God said, 'Let light be' and light was." It has already been
+pointed out that these words differ from those used in describing
+any other creative act. They are the only ones which seem to imply
+an instantaneous fulfilment of the command. Another matter which
+has long since been observed, is their exact harmony with what
+science teaches us respecting the nature of light. Light is not a
+material substance, but a "mode of motion." It consists of very
+small undulations propagated with inconceivable velocity. Hence of
+it, and of it alone, it could not be correctly said that it was
+created. To say that God made light would be inexact. The words
+which are used exactly suit the circumstances of the case. But the
+discovery of the correlation of forces has given to these words a
+much more extended significance, while at the same time it
+furnishes a satisfactory reason for their occurrence at this
+particular point. So long as they were supposed to refer to light
+simply, they seemed out of place. Light was not apparently needed
+till there were organisms to whose existence it was essential. But
+we now know that to call forth light, was to call force in all its
+modifications into action. It has been seen that matter and force
+are the two elements out of which everything that is discernible
+by our senses is built up. The formation of matter has already
+been described in the original act of creation. But till force
+also was evolved, matter must of necessity remain in that chaotic
+state to which verse 2 refers. To matter is now added that which
+was required to enable the progressive work of Creation to be
+carried on. The first result of this would probably be that the
+force of gravitation would begin to act, while, from what the
+telescope reveals to us, we may conjecture, that at the same time
+the whole incoherent mass would be permeated with light and heat,
+and some, at all events, of those elementary substances with which
+chemistry makes us acquainted would be developed, and the whole
+mass, acted upon by the mutual attraction of its several
+particles, would begin to move towards, and accumulate about its
+centre of gravity.
+
+It has been shown that Laplace's Nebular Hypothesis, when
+substituted for the action of a Creator, broke down in three
+important points. Of these the first two were, that it failed to
+give any account of the origin of matter, and of the first
+commencement of the action of Gravitation. These two defects are
+completely supplied by the first three verses of Genesis. We may
+probably see in the "Great Nebula" in Orion an illustration of the
+condition of the solar system when light first made its
+appearance. It is very probable that that nebula has only very
+recently become visible. Galileo examined Orion very carefully
+with his newly invented telescope, but makes no mention of it.
+[Footnote: Webb's Celestial Objects, p. 255, note.] At present it
+is visible to the unaided eye even in England, where the
+atmospheric conditions and its low altitude are alike
+unfavourable. In Italy, where the atmosphere is remarkably pure,
+and the meridian altitude is greater by 7 1/2 degrees, it must be
+a conspicuous object, and had it been so at the time when Galileo
+was observing the constellation, it could hardly have failed to
+attract his attention. It was, however, noticed in 1618. It is a
+vast, shapeless mass, having its boundaries in some parts
+tolerably well defined, while in other directions it fades away
+imperceptibly; its light is very faint, and when examined by the
+spectroscope is found to proceed from a gaseous source. Professor
+Secchi has traced it through an extent of 5 degrees. When it is
+remembered that at such a distance the semi-diameter of the
+earth's orbit subtends an angle less than 1 inch, some idea of the
+enormous extent of this mass of gas may be formed. Drawings of it
+have been made from time to time by our most distinguished
+astronomers, which are found to differ considerably. Great
+allowance must, of course, be made for differences in the
+telescopic power employed, and in the visual powers of the several
+observers, but the differences in the drawings seem too great to
+be explained by those sources of inaccuracy alone, and actual
+change in the nebula is therefore strongly suspected. Another
+nebula of similar character, in which changes are suspected, is
+that which surrounds the star A in the constellation Argo. This is
+being very carefully watched through the great telescope recently
+erected at Melbourne, and from the observations made there, it is
+probable that fresh light may soon be thrown on the subject.
+
+The next act recorded is, that "God divided the light from the
+darkness." This is one of those passages which we are very apt to
+pass over as unimportant, without giving ourselves any trouble to
+ascertain what they mean, or asking if they may not give valuable
+information, or supply some important hints. It is evident,
+however, that in these words some act of the Creator is implied,
+but when we inquire what that act was, the answer does not lie
+immediately on the surface. Darkness is simply the absence of
+light. It cannot therefore be said that God divided the light from
+the darkness in the same sense in which it is said that "a
+shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats". Between light and
+darkness that division exists in the very nature of things, and it
+could not therefore be said to be made by a definite act. Nor
+again, is there any sharp well-defined boundary set between light
+and darkness, so that we can say, "Here light begins, here
+darkness ends." The very opposite is the case, the one blends
+imperceptibly into the other. This then cannot be the meaning of
+the words. But the next verse guides us to the real meaning. "And
+God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night." The
+division of light from darkness then is the alternation of night
+and day. When God divided the light from the darkness He made
+provision for that alternation. But we know that that alternation
+is the result of the earth's rotation upon its axis, so that the
+dividing the light from the darkness evidently implies the
+communication to the accumulated mass of the motion of rotation.
+
+It does not clearly appear in the account of the first day,
+whether this alternation of day and night took effect immediately.
+Certainly the introduction of it here does not prove that it did
+so follow. For there was no way in which the fact of the earth's
+rotation could be directly communicated to those for whom the
+narrative was primarily intended. They were ignorant of the
+spherical form of the earth, and so could not have attached any
+idea whatever to a statement that it revolved about its axis.
+
+The only way then in which Moses could speak of that rotation was
+in connexion with some phenomenon resulting from it. The only such
+phenomenon with which the Jews were acquainted was the alternation
+of day and night. There was therefore no way in which Moses could
+record the fact except with reference to this ultimate effect. It
+does not follow that that effect was immediate. Beside the
+rotation of the earth, another condition is required. The light
+must come from a single source, and so when the act is recorded by
+which that condition is effected, the division of light and
+darkness is again noticed. The sun and the moon are set in the
+firmament of heaven to divide the light from the darkness. But
+that division was potentially effected when the motion of rotation
+was given.
+
+The third defect noticed in the Nebular Hypothesis was, that it
+did not account for this motion of rotation. This defect, then,
+like the two preceding ones, is supplied by the Mosaic Record, and
+the hypothesis thus supplemented becomes complete. It is capable
+of giving a satisfactory account of the phenomena to which it
+applies. But as it is only a theory, and only points out a way in
+which the universe might have been constructed, it does not in
+itself exclude the possibility that some other plan might in fact
+have been adopted, and we have now to examine into the reasons for
+supposing that it was the method which was actually employed.
+These divide themselves into two classes:--those which render it
+probable that similar processes are now in progress; and those
+which render it probable that the solar system has passed through
+such a process.
+
+It has already been pointed out that the great nebulae in Orion
+and Argo seem to represent the condition of our system on the
+first appearance of light, and that changes are strongly suspected
+to be taking place in both; but we cannot expect to trace any
+single nebula through the stages of its development, since that
+development must occupy untold ages. All we can do is to inquire
+if there are other nebulas which seem to be in more advanced
+stages. It must at once be recognized, that if this be one of the
+processes now going on, it is not the only one. There are many
+nebulas "which have assumed forms for which the law of
+gravitation, as we know it, will not enable us to account--such as
+the Ring Nebula in Lyra, the Dumb-bell Nebula in Vulpecula, or the
+double Horseshoe in Scutum Sobieski. But some nebulas can be found
+which arrange themselves so as to illustrate the stages through
+which we may suppose our world to have passed. These are chiefly
+to be found among the planetary nebulse, which in a small
+telescope exhibit a faint circular disc, but in larger instruments
+frequently show considerable varieties of structure. Some of them
+present the appearance of a condensation of light in the centre,
+which gradually fades off; in others there is a bright ring
+surrounding the central spot, but separated from it by a darker
+space. The Nebula Andromeda 49647, [Footnote: The numbers are
+those given by Sir J. Hersohel.] as seen in Mr. Lassel's four-foot
+reflector appears as a luminous spot, surrounded by two luminous
+rings, which, in the more powerful instrument of Lord Bosse,
+combine into a spiral. Its spectrum is gaseous, with one line
+indicating some element unknown to us. In another nebula, Draco
+4373, there is a double spectrum, the one gaseous, indicating the
+presence of hydrogen, nitrogen, and barium; the other, apparently
+from the nucleus, continuous, and so representing a solid or fluid
+mass, but so faint that the lines belonging to particular elements
+cannot be distinguished. [Footnote: Hugging, Philosophical
+Transactions, 1864.] Bridanus 846, and Andromeda 116, are probably
+similar nebulee occupying different positions with reference to
+us. They both give a continuous spectrum. The one in Bridanus is
+described as "an eleventh magnitude star, standing in the centre
+of a circular nebula, itself placed centrally on a larger and
+fainter circle of hazy light." [Footnote: Lassell, quoted in
+Webb's "Celestial Objects," p. 227.] The nebula in Andromeda
+assumes a lenticular form; that in Bridanus would probably present
+the same appearance if we saw it edge-ways. The former has
+probably increased in brilliancy in the course of centuries. Mr.
+Webb remarks of it, "It is so plain to the naked eye that it is
+strange the ancients scarcely mention it." [Footnote: Webb's
+"Celestial Objects," p. 180.] In these two nebulas we may perhaps
+see the mass ready to break up into separate worlds, the
+lenticular form being a natural result of extremely rapid
+rotation. Prom the fact that Andromeda 116 gives a continuous
+spectrum, Dr. Huggins inclines to the belief that it is an
+unresolved star cluster. But the reasons which led Sir W. Herschel
+to conclude that the nebula in Orion was gaseous, (a conclusion
+which, though for a time discredited by the supposed resolution of
+the nebula in Lord Kosse's telescope, was ultimately found to be
+correct), are equally applicable here. In general a certain
+proportion exists between the telescopic power requisite to render
+a star cluster visible as a nebulous spot, and that which will
+resolve it into stars; but this nebula, like that in Orion, though
+visible to the naked eye, cannot be resolved by the most powerful
+instruments yet made. And the nebula in Draco 4373, seems to
+present an intermediate stage between the purely gaseous nebula
+and this one. The faint continuous spectrum is probably the result
+of incipient central condensation. This nebula, if recent
+observations by Mr. Gill, of Aberdeen, are confirmed [Footnote:
+Popular Science Review, 1871, p. 426.], is much nearer to us than
+any of the fixed stars.
+
+"We come now to the reasons derived from the Solar System itself,
+and of these there are several, some of them of considerable
+weight. The first is to be found in the uniform direction of
+almost all the motions of the system. They are from west to east.
+The sun rotates upon his axis, the planets revolve about the sun
+and rotate upon their axes, and the satellites, with one
+exception, revolve about their primaries, and, so far as is known,
+rotate upon their axes in the same direction, from west to east,
+and the motions take place very nearly in the same plane--the
+ecliptic. This seems to point to the conclusion that these motions
+have a common origin, as would be the case if all these bodies at
+one time existed as a single mass which revolved in the same
+direction. The one exception is to be found in the satellites of
+Uranus, whose motion is retrograde. But there are certain
+phenomena, which lead to the conclusion, that, on the outskirts of
+our system, there has at some time or other been an action of a
+disturbing force, of which, except from these results, we know
+nothing."
+
+[Footnote: Bode's "Law of Planetary Distances," What holds good as
+far as Uranus, breaks down in the case of Neptune. Both Leverrier
+and Adams were to some extent misled by this law. The new planet
+should according to their calculations, based on this law, have
+been of greater magnitude and at a greater distance than Neptune.
+
+The polar axis of Uranus, instead of being nearly perpendicular to
+the ecliptic, as in the case of all the other planets (except
+Venus), is nearly coincident with it. Venus occupies an
+intermediate position, the inclination of its equator to its orbit
+being 49 degrees 58'.]
+
+ There is also strong reason for believing that the sun is still a
+nebulous star, that the whole of the original nebula is not yet
+gathered up in the vast globe which at ordinary times is all that
+we can see. This aspect of the case, however, will come more fully
+under our notice when we come to the work of the fourth day. The
+figure of the earth, which is that naturally assumed by a plastic
+mass revolving about its axis, and the traces which it retains of
+a former state of intense heat, are both in accordance with this
+theory.
+
+When these facts are duly weighed, there seems to be a reasonable
+probability that this process is the one which was actually
+employed in the formation of the solar system. The remarkable
+manner in which the theory adapts itself to the Mosaic account,
+and the fact that that account records special interferences of
+the Creator exactly at the points where the theory shows that such
+interferences would be necessary, give rise to a very strong
+presumption in its favour. We have in it also a clear illustration
+of the combination of general laws of nature with special
+interferences of Creative Power--the law of gravitation was called
+into action, and the work would proceed steadily under that law
+for a considerable period, till matters were ripe for a farther
+stage in the progress, and then the special interference would
+take place, in this instance the imparting the motion of rotation,
+and the work would again proceed under the natural law. All this
+while, however, the work would be one, and performed by one power,
+the only difference being in the direct or indirect action of that
+power.
+
+The only point an reference to the first day which remains to be
+inquired into is the extent to which the work had proceeded at its
+close. As the commencement of the second day's work implies that
+at that time the earth had an independent existence, we may
+conclude that the first day's work comprehended the casting off of
+the several successive rings, and the condensation of those rings,
+or some of them, into the corresponding planets and satellites.
+These would probably still retain their intense heat, in virtue of
+which they would be luminous.
+
+Many of the multiple stars may not improbably present to us much
+the same appearance as the solar system then presented. In many
+cases we have one large star, with one or more very minute
+attendants. Such a star is Orionis, a tolerably conspicuous star,
+which has two companions invisible to the naked eye, but visible
+with moderate telescopic power. (A telescope of 2.1 inches
+aperture, by Cooke, shows them well.) Five more companions are
+visible in a 4-inch telescope. In the large telescope at Harvard
+no less than 35 minute stars have been seen in apparent connexion
+with the brilliant star Vega. In all these cases it is true that
+the distances and periods of the companion stars are very much
+greater than in the case of the earth; but then our telescopes
+will only enable us to discern the more distant companions. Any
+small companion stars holding positions corresponding to those of
+the four interior planets, would be lost in the light of the
+primary star; and if, as is suspected, all the heavenly bodies are
+subject to some resistance, however small, from the medium in
+which they move, this resistance would in the course of ages
+diminish the mean distance, and with it the periodic time of the
+companion stars.
+
+The latter part of the 5th verse has already been considered, and
+there is no need to recur to it at this point. At the close of the
+history we shall be in a better position to ascertain if any light
+has been thrown on that mysterious subject.
+
+SECTION 5. THE SECOND DAY.
+
+"And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the
+waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.
+
+"And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were
+under the firmament from the waters which were above the
+firmament, and it was so.
+
+"And God called the firmament Heaven, and there was evening and
+there was morning, a second day"
+
+The work of the second and third days evidently has its scene on
+the earth alone. At its commencement the earth appears to have
+become distinctly separated from the gradually condensing mass of
+the solar system, and to have assumed its spherical form. It had,
+in fact, acquired an independent existence; but it was still in a
+chaotic state. Its elements, which were hereafter to assume the
+three forms of solid, fluid, and gas, seem to have been still
+blended together. Of the three states, fluidity seems to have been
+that to which the mass most nearly approached. This seems to be
+indicated by the application of the term, waters, to the two parts
+into which it is now divided; for the Hebrew has no general word
+for "fluid," so that the only method of expressing it was by the
+use of this word "water" in an extended signification; and all
+scientific investigations point to the same conclusion. The heat,
+as yet, must have been so intense that no rocks or metals with
+which we are acquainted could have remained in a solid form. The
+sorting out and first arrangement of the materials of the earth,
+with probably the farther development of a large portion of them
+by the introduction of a new element, seems to have been the work
+of the second day.
+
+When we proceed to examine the narrative more closely, two
+important questions suggest themselves:--l. What special
+interference of Creative Power does it indicate? 2. What is the
+meaning of the division between the waters which were above the
+firmament and the waters which were under the firmament?
+
+1. What special interference of Creative Power took place on the
+second day? Till within the last ten years, it would have been
+difficult to give a satisfactory answer to this question; for if
+all the elements were already in existence at the commencement of
+the second day, their arrangement would, as it seems, have been
+brought about by the ordinary operation of natural laws which were
+already established. The cooling and condensation of a portion of
+the elements would have been effected by the radiation of their
+heat, and the portions thus condensed would, under the influence
+of gravitation, have arranged themselves in immediate proximity to
+the centre of gravity, forming a solid or fluid nucleus, round
+which those portions which still remained in a gaseous state would
+have formed an atmospheric envelope. But here again the
+spectroscope comes to our aid. In many of the nebulae which give
+in it the bright lines indicative of gas, hydrogen and nitrogen
+are the chief gases discovered. These must be in an incandescent
+state, or they would not be visible at all. But hydrogen cannot,
+in the present state of things, remain in this condition in
+contact with oxygen; it must instantly combine with it, that
+combination being attended with intense heat, and resulting in the
+production of water. The introduction of oxygen, then, must
+involve a very important crisis in the process of development; but
+that introduction must have preceded the formation of atmospheric
+air and water. Prior to the second day oxygen must either have
+been non-existent, or it must have existed in a form and under
+conditions very different from those under which it exists now.
+Free oxygen cannot be in existence in the sun or in any celestial
+object in which the spectroscope indicates the existence of
+incandescent hydrogen. The special act of the second day would
+appear to have consisted in the development of oxygen, or the
+calling it from a quiescent state into active operation.
+
+But the effects of the new element thus called into operation
+would not be limited to the production of air and water. It is
+estimated that oxygen constitutes, by weight, nearly half of the
+solid crust of the earth. It forms a part of every rock and of
+every metallic ore. The second day, then, must have been a period
+of intense chemical action, resulting from the introduction of
+this powerful agent.
+
+But (2) what is the meaning of the division of the waters which
+are above the firmament from the waters which were under the
+firmament? At present all the water contained in the atmosphere,
+in the shape of vapour and clouds, is so insignificant in
+comparison with that vast volume of water which not only fills the
+ocean, but also permeates the solid earth, that such a notice of
+it seems unaccountable. Mr. Goodwin, indeed, maintains that there
+was an ancient belief, not only that the firmament was a solid
+vault, but that on it there rested another ocean, at least as
+copious as that with which we are acquainted. [Footnote: Essays
+and Reviews, p. 220] In support of this assertion he brings
+forward the phrase, "The windows of heaven were opened" (Gen, VII.
+11) and other similar expressions. But such phrases as this
+evidently belong to the same class as the fanciful names so often
+given to the clouds in the hymns of the Rig Veda. Both expressions
+evidently point to a time when figurative language, if no longer a
+necessity, was at all events a common and favourite form of
+speech, and was understood by all. Dr. Whewell [Footnote:
+Plurality of Worlds, chap. x. Section 5.] has put forward the
+curious notion that when the creation of the interior planets was
+completed, there remained a superfluity of water, which was
+gathered up into the four exterior planets. But the only fact in
+favour of such an hypothesis is the close correspondence between
+the apparent density of these planets and that of water. Now, as
+will be seen immediately, there is strong reason to believe that
+the true density of these planets is much greater than their
+apparent diameters would seem to indicate; so that the one
+solitary ground on which the suggestion rests vanishes when it is
+examined. Apart from this, however, the suggestion that there
+would be any superfluous material when the work of creation was
+finished, is a very strange one. Neither of these views, then, can
+be accepted as giving a satisfactory meaning to the text.
+
+Astronomical investigations however, which have been carried on
+with great diligence during the last four winters, and which are
+still being continued with unremitting interest, have brought to
+light phenomena which seem to be in remarkable correspondence with
+the state of things spoken of in the text. It has already been
+noticed that the eight greater planets at present known to us are
+divided into two groups of four by the intervening belt of minor
+planets. These two groups have totally distinct characteristics.
+In density, magnitude, and length, of day the members of each
+group differ little from each other, while the two groups differ
+very widely. The moon is the only satellite as yet known in the
+inner group. The planets of the outer group are attended by at
+least seventeen satellites.
+
+Of these outer planets Jupiter, from his great brilliancy,
+specially attracts observation, while from his comparative
+proximity to the earth we are enabled to examine him much more
+satisfactorily than we can Saturn, Uranus, or Neptune. Two facts
+with reference to him have long been well known, the one, that the
+polar compression in his case is much greater than it is in any of
+the interior planets, so that when seen through a telescope of
+very moderate power his disc is evidently elliptical, while the
+compression of the interior planets can only be detected by the
+most delicate micrometrical measurements--the other, that his
+apparent surface is always crossed by several alternating belts of
+light and shade, which though subject to constant changes of
+detail, always preserve the same general character. Until recently
+the generally received theory was that these belts consisted of
+clouds, raised by the heat of the sun, and arranged in zones under
+the influence of winds similar in character to, and produced by
+the same causes as, the trade-winds which blow over our own
+oceans. This view, however, has been shown by Mr. Proctor to be
+untenable. [Footnote: See a paper by Mr. Proctor in the Monthly
+Packet for October, 1870.]
+
+About forty years ago, a very remarkable phenomenon was observed
+simultaneously, but independently, by three astronomers, Admiral
+Smyth, Mr. Maclean, and Mr. Pearson, who were watching a transit
+of Jupiter's second satellite from stations several miles apart.
+Admiral Smyth's account of it is as follows:--"On Thursday, the
+26th of June, 1828, the moon being nearly full, and the evening
+extremely fine, I was watching the second satellite of Jupiter as
+it gradually approached to transit the disc of the planet. My
+instrument was an excellent refractor of 3 3/4 inches aperture,
+and five feet focal length, with a power of one hundred. The
+satellite appeared in contact at about half-past ten, and for some
+minutes remained on the edge of the limb, presenting an appearance
+not unlike that of the lunar mountains which come into view during
+the first quarter of the moon, until it finally disappeared on the
+body of the planet. At least twelve or thirteen minutes must have
+elapsed when, accidentally turning to Jupiter again, I perceived
+the same satellite outside the disc. It was in the same position
+as to being above a line with the lower belt, where it remained
+distinctly visible for at least four minutes, and then suddenly
+vanished." A somewhat similar phenomenon, but of shorter duration,
+was witnessed by Messrs. Gorton and Wray, during an occultation of
+the same satellite, April 26, 1863. In this case the satellite
+reappeared after passing behind the apparent disc of the planet.
+So lately as 1868 this phenomenon was regarded as inexplicable.
+[Footnote: Webb's Celestial Objects, p. 141.]
+
+In the winter of 1868-9 the attention of astronomers was called to
+the fact that rapid and extensive changes were taking place in the
+appearance of Jupiter's belts, and they have consequently been
+watched from that time with unremitting attention by astronomers
+furnished with telescopes of the best quality. The results of
+these observations are given in two very interesting papers,
+communicated to the Popular Science Review, by Mr. Webb.
+[Footnote: Popular Science Review for April, 1870, and July,
+1871.] Very curious markings and variations in the depth of shade
+have been seen, accompanied by equally curious changes of colour.
+Mr. Browning compares these changes to those which are seen when a
+cloud of steam of varying depth and density is illuminated from
+behind by a strong light, as when we look through the steam
+escaping from the safety-valve of a locomotive at a gas-lamp
+immediately behind it. This appears to be the true explanation of
+the phenomenon. [Footnote: Popular Science Review, 1871, p. 307.]
+These belts are probably due to vast masses of steam, poured forth
+with great force from the body of the planet. As the atmosphere of
+Jupiter is probably of enormous depth, the rotatory velocity of
+its upper portions would be much greater than that of the surface
+of the planet, hence the steam would arrange itself in belts
+parallel to the equator of the planet. But this view leads us to
+wonderful conclusions with reference to the condition of the
+planet.
+
+"Processes of the most amazing character are taking place beneath
+that cloudy envelope, which forms the visible surface of the
+planet as seen by the terrestrial observer. The real globe of the
+planet would seem to be intensely heated, perhaps molten, through
+the fierceness of the heat which pervades it. Masses of vapour
+streaming continually upward from the surface of this fiery globe
+would be gathered at once into zones because of their rapid change
+of distance from the centre. That which is wholly unintelligible
+when we regard the surface of Jupiter as swept like our earth by
+polar and equatorial winds, is readily interpreted when we
+recognize the existence of rapidly uprushing streams of vapour."
+[Footnote: Mr. Proctor in Monthly Packet, October, 1870.]
+
+Supposing then that the atmosphere of Jupiter is of very great
+depth, and thus laden with masses of watery vapour, the effect of
+a sudden current of heated, but comparatively dry, air or gas
+would be the immediate absorption of the whole or a large portion
+of the vapour, and the consequent transparency of the portion of
+the atmosphere affected by it. We see this result continually on a
+small scale in our own atmosphere, when a heavy cloud comes in
+contact with a warm air current, and rapidly melts away, Many of
+the rapid changes which have been witnessed in Jupiter's
+appearance are readily explained if this view is admitted.
+Supposing such a thing to have happened near the edge of the disc,
+the phenomenon recorded by Admiral Smyth is at once satisfactorily
+explained. When the satellite appeared to pass on to the disc, and
+to be lost in the light of the planet, it would for some time,
+proportional to the depth of Jupiter's atmosphere, have behind it
+a background of clouds only, it would not have entered upon the
+actual disc of the planet. If then these clouds were suddenly
+absorbed, the atmosphere behind the satellite would become
+transparent and invisible, the background would be gone, and the
+satellite would reappear. In the case of the occultation witnessed
+by Messrs. Gorton and Wray, the satellite would at first be hidden
+by cloud only, and would reappear if the cloud were removed. Such
+seems to be the true explanation of these hitherto mysterious
+phenomena. That they could not have resulted from any alteration
+in the motions of the planet or the satellite is evident. Such an
+alteration would have been instantly detected, since the places of
+both the planet and the satellites are computed years in advance,
+and any such change would at once have thrown out all these
+computations.
+
+Assuming that this is the true solution of the mystery, we are
+enabled to form an approximate estimate of the extent of the
+atmosphere of Jupiter. The time between the first and second
+disappearances does not seem to have been accurately noted.
+Admiral Smyth's account makes it 16 or 17 minutes; but if we
+estimate it at 15 minutes only, and if we further assume that the
+second disappearance was upon the actual disc of Jupiter, and not
+upon a lower stratum of clouds, we shall be safe from any risk of
+exaggeration. The probability seems to be that the second
+disappearance was caused not by the disc, but by the formation of
+a fresh body of cloud, as it was not gradual, as in the first
+instance, but sudden. We shall then only have an estimate which
+cannot be greater, but may be much less, than the true value.
+
+The mean distance of the second satellite from the centre of
+Jupiter is in round numbers 425,000 miles, and consequently the
+circumference of its orbit is 2,671,000 miles. The satellite
+travels through this orbit in about 86 hours, which gives a horary
+velocity of 31,400 miles, or 7850 miles in 15 minutes. This then
+is the least possible depth of the atmosphere of Jupiter.
+[Footnote: For the direction of the motion of the satellite would
+be at right angles to the line of sight.] The whole diameter of
+Jupiter, atmosphere and all, is 85,390 miles. Deduct from this
+15,700 miles for the atmosphere, and we have for the diameter of
+the solid nucleus rather less than 70,000 miles. The height of the
+atmosphere is therefore not less than three-fourteenths of the
+radius of the planet, and may be much greater. The extent of the
+atmosphere, combined with the rapidity of rotation, accounts
+satisfactorily for the great apparent polar compression of the
+planet. Another inference is that the density of the planet must
+exceed the ordinary estimate in the proportion of two to one.
+
+But next, the atmosphere of Jupiter is probably of very great
+density. Dr. Huggins states that he has observed in the spectrum
+of Jupiter "three or four strong lines, one of them coincident
+with a strong line in the earth's atmosphere." [Footnote: Lecture
+at Manchester, November 16, 1870.] Strong lines mark increased
+density in the absorbent medium, and lines hitherto unobserved
+indicate new elements. It is therefore probable that the
+atmosphere of Jupiter is not only much more dense than that of the
+earth, but also contains some elements--which are absent from the
+latter. When with this fact we connect the very great extent of
+the atmosphere, it will be evident that the pressure at the
+surface of the planet will be enormous, and from this we can form
+an estimate of the intensity of the forces which must be at work
+in the interior of the planet, to project jets of vapour through
+such an atmosphere to so great a height.
+
+The link which connects Jupiter with the earth, in the second
+stage of its existence, is the mention by Moses of the "waters
+which were above the firmament." Viewed in the light of the
+present condition of the earth such a notice seems unaccountable.
+But if the earth at that time were in a condition similar to that
+in which Jupiter appears to be now, the water in the atmosphere or
+above the firmament would be a very important element in any
+description that might be given of it. It is in fact most probable
+that all the water (in the strict sense of the word) then in
+existence would be in a state of vapour, and that the waters which
+were under the firmament were the molten materials which
+afterwards formed rocks and ores, since, as has been already
+noticed, the word is the only one which could be employed to
+describe fluids in general.
+
+We may now try to form some idea of the probable state of the
+earth at this period. Its centre would be occupied by a fused
+mass, in which were blended all the more intractable solid
+constituents of the present world. This would be surrounded by an
+atmosphere of very great height and density, containing not only
+all the present constituents of air, but also all, or nearly all,
+the water, and all the more volatile of the metals and other
+elements. Carbonic acid, to a very large extent, would probably be
+present, and a very considerable proportion of the oxygen which
+now exists in combination with various bases, and forms by weight
+so large a proportion of the solid crust of the world.
+
+Owing to the intense heat, chemical combinations would readily be
+formed between the ingredients of the fused mass and the other
+elements which existed in the form of vapour, and thus the
+earliest of the vast variety of existing minerals would be
+elaborated. The volumes of steam which floated in the upper
+regions of the atmosphere would rapidly part with their heat by
+radiation into space, and would descend towards the surface of the
+earth in the form of rain. At first probably, and for a long time,
+they would not reach the surface, but as they approached it would
+be again converted into vapour, and re-ascend to pass again and
+again through the same process. But by this means the intense heat
+of the nucleus would be gradually conveyed away, till the cooling
+reached a point at which some of the superficial materials would
+assume a solid form. It is by no means certain what is the true
+primary rock--for a long time it was almost universally assumed to
+be granite, since granite is uniformly found underlying the oldest
+sedimentary rocks that are known. But as these rocks have been
+forced from their original position and tilted up, the underlying
+stratum may probably be of later date than the upper ones, since
+it was the elevating agent. So that we can have no certain
+knowledge on this point, since the earliest sedimentary strata,
+wherever they retain their original position, must be at a depth
+far below the reach of man. If, however, Sir C. Kyell's view of
+the conditions requisite for the formation of granite are correct,
+these conditions [Footnote: Student's Geology, chap. xxxi.]--heat,
+moisture, and enormous pressure--would all be present at the
+surface of the nucleus. Some kind of solid floor must have been
+formed before the next stage could be reached, at which it would
+be possible for water to exist in a fluid state. This, however,
+would be possible at a much higher temperature than at present,
+owing to the enormous atmospheric pressure. It is possible now, by
+artificial means, to raise water, nearly if not quite, to a red
+heat, without the formation of steam, and the pressure of the
+atmosphere in the case supposed would, in all probability, be much
+greater than any which we can now apply under the conditions
+necessary for heating the water.
+
+It is probable that at this point the close of the second day must
+be placed: but the indications of the narrative do not enable us
+to fix it with any degree of certainty. As, however, from this
+point a new series of processes would commence, and those
+processes are in intimate connexion with the first of the two
+developments ascribed to the third day, the period when water
+could first maintain a fluid form on the earth's surface, seems to
+present the most probable line of demarcation.
+
+SECTION 6. THE THIRD DAY.
+
+"And God said, Let the waters under the Heaven be gathered
+together in one place, and let the dry land appear; and it was so.
+
+"And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of
+the waters called He Seas, and God saw that it was good.
+
+"And God said, Let the earth sprout sprouts, the herb seeding
+seed, and the fruit-tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose
+seed is in it, [Footnote: "It" seems preferable to "itself" here.
+The same Hebrew word stands for both, but if the "fruit-tree" be
+taken as the antecedent, which it must be if we translate
+"itself," there seems no meaning in the statement. If we read
+"it," the pronoun will refer to the fruit--"the tree whose seed is
+in its fruit"--which gives an intelligible sense.] upon the earth,
+and it was so.
+
+"And the earth caused to go forth sprouts, the herb seeding seed,
+and the fruit-tree yielding fruit whose seed is in it, after his
+kind, and God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and
+there was morning, a third day."
+
+The record of the third day is a very important one, because it is
+the first point at which the Mosaic Record comes in contact with
+that other record which is written in the rocks. Up to this time
+we have only been able to compare the statements of Moses with
+conjectural views of the earliest condition of the earth, which,
+though they may be highly probable, are at best only conjectures.
+But from this point we have to deal with a number of ascertained
+facts--certain landmarks stand out which enable us to fix the
+correspondent parts of the two narratives, and guide us to the
+identification and interpretation of their minor details.
+
+The first of these landmarks is the appearance of the dry land,
+or, in geological language, the commencement of the process of
+upheaval. At the close of the second day the earth was, in all
+probability, as we have seen, a globe internally molten, but
+having a solid crust which was uniformly covered with a layer of
+water, and surrounded by an atmosphere which, though it had parted
+with some of its ingredients, was still very much more complex,
+more dense, and more extensive than it is at present. The newly
+condensed waters would rest on the surface of the primeval rock,
+whatever that rock might be. The internal heat conducted through
+it would keep the waters in a state of intense ebullition, and at
+the same time their surface would be agitated by violent
+atmospheric currents as the heated air ascended, and was replaced
+by cooler air from the outer regions of the atmosphere. Under
+these circumstances the water would dissolve or wear down portions
+of the newly-formed rock on which it rested. At the same time the
+steam, which would be continually rising from the boiling ocean,
+would descend from the upper regions of the atmosphere in the form
+of rain, and bring with it in solution considerable quantities of
+those elements which still existed in the form of vapour, just as
+rain now brings down ammonia and carbonic acid which it has
+absorbed in its passage through the atmosphere. New combinations
+would thus be formed between the materials dissolved or abraded by
+the ocean and those brought down by the rain. When these
+combinations had reached a certain amount they would be deposited
+in the form of mud upon the bed of the ocean, and thus the
+earliest sedimentary rocks would be formed. As the temperature
+gradually decreased, the character of these combinations would
+probably be changed, and at the same time the atmosphere would be
+diminished in volume and density, and become more pure by the
+absorption of a large portion of its original constituents, which
+would have been incorporated into various minerals.
+
+The earliest sedimentary rock with which we are acquainted at
+present is what is known as the Laurentian formation. [Footnote:
+The whole of the geological details in this section are taken from
+Sir C. Lyell's Geology for Students.] It occupies an area of
+200,000 square miles north of the St. Lawrence; and is also traced
+into the United States and the western highlands of Scotland and
+some of the adjacent isles. It is divided into two sections--the
+Upper and Lower Laurentian. It is not certain that it is really
+the oldest rock; for as every sedimentary rock is formed of the
+debris of preceding rocks, it is very possible that all the
+exposed portions of some older rocks may have been decomposed and
+worn away; but it is the oldest yet known. The thickness of the
+lower portion is estimated at 20,000 feet, or nearly four miles,
+while the Upper Laurentian beds are 10,000 feet thick. At this
+point we meet with the first traces of that process of upheaval
+and subsidence which has ever since been going on in the earth.
+The Lower Laurentian rocks had been displaced from their original
+horizontal position before the Upper Laurentian were deposited
+upon them.
+
+This process of upheaval of some parts of the earth, accompanied
+with subsidence in other parts, is one which cannot be accounted
+for by any natural laws with which we are acquainted. It is in all
+probability the result of a series of changes which are taking
+place in the interior of the earth, but of which we know nothing
+at all. It is in the commencement of this series of changes that
+we trace that direct interference of the Creator--which is
+indicated by the command, "Let the waters under the firmament be
+gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear." We
+have not, however, any means of ascertaining how long a period
+elapsed before the process of upheaval reached the point at which
+the land would rise above the surface of the ocean.
+
+The Lower Laurentian rocks are remarkable in another way. There is
+little doubt that traces of life, the earliest yet known, occur in
+them. They include a bed of limestone varying in thickness from
+700 to 1500 feet. In all probability limestone, wherever it
+occurs, is an animal product, though in many cases all traces of
+its organization have been lost by exposure to heat. This
+particular bed appears to have been formed by a very lowly
+creature, which in organization was akin to the foraminifera, of
+which large quantities are now known to exist at the bottom of the
+Atlantic. It differed from them, however, in one respect--the
+individuals were connected together, as is the case now with many
+varieties of the coral animal. No notice of this first appearance
+of life is found in the Mosaic Record, nor, for reasons already
+given, was it possible that any mention of it should be made.
+
+The rocks which come next to the Laurentian in the order of time
+are those known as the Cambrian. They are so called because they
+constitute a large portion of the mountains of North Wales, and it
+was there that their characteristics were first carefully studied
+by Professor Sedgwick. In one of the strata of this formation--the
+Harlech Grit--what are known as "ripple-marks" are found, proving
+that parts of these rocks at the time of their deposition formed a
+sea-beach, and that consequently at this time, at the latest, the
+dry land had emerged from the ocean. In these rocks there are also
+decided traces of Volcanic Action, which seem to indicate the
+existence of a Volcano similar to the recent "Graham's Island." At
+this point a considerable advance in animal life is found. The
+fossils comprise several corals, varieties of mollusca, and a
+class of crustaceans peculiar to the very early rocks--the
+trilobites.
+
+On the Cambrian rocks rest the formations known as Silurian, from
+the fact that they were first thoroughly examined in South Wales
+(Siluria) by Sir E. Murchison. In these rocks many fresh varieties
+of invertebrate fossils are found, and the vertebrata make their
+first appearance, numerous remains of fishes having been
+discovered. The earliest specimen was found in the Lower Ludlow
+beds at Leintwardine, while the Upper Ludlow formation contains an
+extensive bed composed almost entirely of fish-bones. Immediately
+above this bed are found what seem to be traces of land-plants, in
+the shape of the spores of a cryptogamous plant.
+
+The Silurian rocks are succeeded by rocks which present two
+distinct characters, but are probably contemporaneous, the
+Devonian and the old Red Sandstone. The former seem to have been
+deposited in the bed of the sea, while the latter is a fresh-water
+formation. In these decided remains of land plants are found, of
+which about 200 species have at present been discovered. The old
+Red Sandstone is also peculiarly rich in fossil fish. The first
+signs of coal appear in this series of rocks, but on a very small
+scale.
+
+We now come to what are known as the Carboniferous rocks, of which
+the lower series is known as the mountain limestone, and above it
+come the "coal measures," containing numerous beds of coal,
+sometimes of great thickness. These beds have resulted entirely
+from the decomposition, under peculiar circumstances, of an
+enormous development of terrestrial vegetation. They seem to have
+originated in vast swamps, subject to occasional flooding, and to
+alternate movements of upheaval and subsidence. On these swamps
+there must have existed for ages a vegetation of whose luxuriance
+the richest tropical jungles of the present time can give us no
+idea. They tell the tale of a time when the temperature of the
+earth, was uniformly high (since coal fields are found in high
+northern latitudes), when the atmosphere was charged with
+moisture, and probably contained a large proportion of carbonic
+acid. In the coal measures we come upon the first traces of land
+animals. Several remains of reptiles have been found, as well as
+footprints left on the soft mud or sand of a riverbank or sea-
+beach. There seems to be no doubt that they were left by lung-
+breathing animals.
+
+The carboniferous strata form the second of our landmarks. They
+seem to point to the fulfilment of the command that the earth,
+should bring forth vegetation. There is, however, one point which
+requires some notice. The Mosaic account, as we read it in our
+English Bibles, seems to be limited to phanerogamous plants--
+grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit-tree yielding fruit.
+Now, it is a well-known fact that the great mass of the
+vegetation, the remains of which constitute coal, consisted of
+cryptogamic plants, which do not produce seed, properly so called,
+but only spores; the distinction being that the spore contains the
+germ and nothing more, while in the seed the germ is provided with
+a store of nutriment to assist in the earlier stages of the
+development of the plant. What appears to be a farther
+discrepancy, the absence of any traces of the grasses, leads in
+reality to the solution of the difficulty.
+
+The word which is translated "grass" [Hebrew script] means in
+reality, any fresh sprout. Now it is remarkable that Moses
+specifies three kinds of vegetation, with regard to two of which
+it is noted that they produce seed, while nothing is said of the
+seed of the remaining class. Grass too, is really a herb bearing
+seed, and, as such would be included in the second class, and
+there would have been no occasion, to mention it separately. It
+would appear then that the first class consisted of seedless
+plants, i. e. of the cryptogamia. This conclusion is strengthened
+when we turn to verses 29 and 30. If the word [Hebrew script] were
+correctly translated "grass," we should certainly expect to find
+it in those verses, since the grasses contribute more to the food
+of both man and beast, than all the other herbaceous plants put
+together. This omission then, is an indication that the word, as
+used in this chapter, denotes a class of plants which are not
+commonly employed for food, and this condition also is fulfilled
+in the cryptogamia.
+
+There are then four special points in this period, of which two
+seem to correspond with the Mosaic record, while the other two are
+unnoticed in it. The two points of correspondence are the upheaval
+of the dry land, and the prevalence of a very abundant and
+luxuriant Flora. As in the case of the fifth and sixth days, the
+words used with reference to land plants seem to denote a period
+of remarkable development, rather than the first appearance. The
+two points unnoticed are the beginnings of animal and vegetable
+life. In the case of animal life the omission has already been
+accounted for. The beginning of vegetable life was probably
+contemporaneous with that of animal life, for each is necessary to
+the other, since the food of the animal must be prepared by the
+vegetable, and after being used by the former returns to a state
+in which it is fitted for the nourishment of the latter. As animal
+life commenced in the ocean, so in all probability did vegetable
+life, though no certain traces of it are found in the earliest
+rocks; but this is easily accounted for by the very perishable
+character of the simpler forms of algae. Like the earliest
+animals, the first algae were probably microscopic plants, and the
+omission of any mention of them was therefore inevitable.
+
+One characteristic of cryptogamic vegetation is important for its
+bearing on the work of the fourth day. Almost all the phanerogamic
+plants are dependent for their development upon the direct light
+and heat of the sun. Deprived of these they either perish
+entirely, or make an unhealthy growth, and produce little or no
+fruit. But the cryptogamia, in general, thrive best when they are
+protected from the direct rays of the sun. They nourish in a
+diffused light, and with abundant atmospheric moisture. And so we
+find them at this time doing what seems a very important work in
+the progress of the world. By taking up and decomposing the excess
+of carbonic acid which at this time probably existed in the
+atmosphere, they at once purified that atmosphere, and rendered it
+fit for the respiration of more highly organized creatures, and
+laid up in the earth an invaluable store of fuel for the future
+use of man. The other orders of vegetation seem to have existed in
+very small proportions at this time, and only in their lower
+forms. As the conditions of the earth changed, the cryptogamia
+seemed to have dwindled away, while higher forms of vegetation
+asserted their supremacy. It is not, however, improbable that a
+special development at a much later period is indicated by the
+mention in the second chapter of the formation of the garden of
+Eden.
+
+SECTION 7. THE FOURTH DAY.
+
+"And God said, Let there be luminaries in the firmament of heaven
+to divide between the day and the night, and let them be for signs
+and for seasons, and for days and for years.
+
+"And let them be for luminaries in the firmament of heaven to give
+light upon the earth; and it was so.
+
+"And God made the two luminaries, the great ones; the luminary,
+the great one, to rule over the day, and the luminary, the small
+one, to rule over the night, and also the stars.
+
+"And God gave them in the firmament of heaven to give light upon
+the earth.
+
+"And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide
+between the light and between the darkness; and God saw that it
+was good.
+
+"And there was evening, and there was morning, a fourth day."
+
+This day's work differs from that of the preceding and succeeding
+days, in the fact that its sphere was without the earth, which was
+only indirectly influenced by it, and consequently the geological
+records give us no direct information upon the subject, though in
+two points they tally with the Mosaical account. In the first
+place, the deposits of coal, which preceded this period, indicate
+a time when a nearly uniform temperature, and that a high one,
+prevailed throughout the world. The coal beds are found not only
+in tropical regions, but in very high latitudes. Not only is the
+vegetation of which these coalfields are the result, analogous to
+that which is now found in warm climates only--(this might be the
+case, and yet we should not be justified in drawing the inference
+that the actual species of plants were tropical, for it often
+happens that different species of the same genus, having
+considerable external resemblance, are very different in their
+habits, some requiring tropical heat, while others flourish only
+in temperate climates)--but the marked feature is the astonishing
+luxuriance of this vegetation, which could only have been
+developed under the most favourable circumstances of warmth and
+moisture. Now the heat which any particular portion of the earth's
+surface receives from the sun depends entirely upon the latitude.
+hence it is impossible that a uniform high temperature could exist
+in a world which derived its heat wholly or chiefly from that
+source. Whether the high temperature which prevailed on the earth
+during the deposition of the coal measures was derived from
+internal heat it is impossible to say; it is evident that the
+temperature of the earth's surface has been in past times, and
+perhaps is now, modified by causes which no scientific research
+has been enabled to detect [Footnote: Since the sun's secular
+motion has been known, astronomers have suggested that the solar
+system has been carried through portions of space having variable
+temperatures. Geologists, however, do not seem inclined to accept
+this as a sufficient reason for the phenomena observed.]. But we
+may safely conclude that during the third day the earth did not
+derive its heat from the sun. The second point, the barrenness of
+the geological records of this period, will be noticed hereafter.
+
+The record of the fourth day's work admits of two interpretations,
+it may describe things merely as they appeared, or as they
+actually occurred.
+
+1. It is possible that the events of the fourth day may be
+described phenomenally--that up to this period the state of things
+on the earth had been to a great extent similar to that which we
+have reason to believe is still existing in the planet Jupiter-
+that the atmosphere was so charged with vapour that no direct rays
+from the heavenly bodies could penetrate it; but that at this
+time, owing to the declining heat, a great part of the aqueous
+constituents of this vapour had been precipitated in the form of
+rain, while other vapours had entered into chemical combinations
+with other elements to form the various minerals of the earth's
+surface, and the atmosphere had become first translucent, and then
+transparent. While this process was going on, no direct light from
+the sun, supposing it to be already in existence, could penetrate
+the veil. Diffused light only could reach the earth's surface, but
+when the atmosphere became clear the sun, moon, and stars would
+become visible.
+
+Against this view several objections may be brought. In the first
+place, as has been already noticed, we cannot treat the account of
+the Creation as derived from ordinary human sources. Either it is
+a revelation from the Creator or it is nothing. Now we can readily
+admit that a man, speaking of an event which lie had witnessed,
+but did not understand, would describe it as it appeared to him,
+but we cannot admit this supposition when the work is described by
+the Great Artificer Himself. In the next place, the temperature of
+the earth's surface must in this case have been affected by the
+sun, and must therefore have been more or less dependent upon
+latitude--and in the third place the distinction between day and
+night must have come into operation, whereas the narrative implies
+that it was yet incomplete.
+
+2. The other possible interpretation is, that at this period the
+concentration of light and heat in the sun was so far completed
+that he became the luminary of the system, which had hitherto
+derived its light and heat from other sources. Probably, for a
+long time, the internal heat of the planets may have been so great
+that they were a light to themselves. This state of things,
+however, must have come to an end before animal or vegetable life
+could have existed on their surface, but other ways exist, and are
+in operation in other parts of the universe, by which light and
+heat might have been supplied independently of the sun. That light
+which is now gathered up in the sun might for a long time have
+existed as a nebulous ring, similar to the well-known Ring Nebula
+in Lyra. Any planets existing within such a ring would probably
+derive from it sufficient light and heat. Or the nebulous matter,
+in a luminous state, while slowly advancing to concentration,
+might as yet have been so diffused as to fill a space in which the
+earth's orbit was included. In either case the earth would have
+received a uniform diffused light, without any alternations of
+night and day. It is of course impossible that we should be able
+to say whether there are any worlds in which such a state of
+things prevails at present. Up to this time, with one possible
+exception, [Footnote: "Sirius is accompanied by a 10 mag. star,
+whose existence was suspected (like that of Neptune), long before
+its discovery by Alvan Clark in 1861, from the irregular movements
+of its primary. But though it appears so small, its disturbing
+effects can only be accounted for on the supposition that its mass
+is at least half that of Sirius, in which case its light must be
+very faint, possibly wholly reflected." (Webb's Celestial Objects,
+p. 202.)] the only worlds which the telescope has revealed to us,
+beyond the limits of our own system, are self-luminous. No
+reflected light is strong enough to make its existence perceptible
+at such enormous distances in the most powerful telescope which
+has yet been constructed.
+
+There are some facts connected with our own system which make it
+appear not improbable that up to the time of which we are speaking
+the light which is now gathered up in the sun was diffused over a
+space in which at all events the earth's orbit was included. It is
+now a recognized fact that all the light of the system is not as
+yet wholly concentrated in the sun, as we generally recognize it,
+but that to some extent the sun is still a nebulous star. Under
+ordinary circumstances we see only that circular disc, which we
+usually recognize as the sun. Its surpassing brightness overpowers
+every thing else, whether we view it with the unaided eye or
+through the telescope. But when the actual disc is hidden from us
+by the moon in a total eclipse, other regions of light surrounding
+the disc, make their appearance, and in them the most wonderful
+processes are continually going on. The simultaneous discoveries
+of Messrs. Lockyer and Janssen, in 1868, have enabled some of
+these processes to be continuously watched when the sun is not
+eclipsed, but others can as yet only be seen during the few
+minutes (never amounting to seven) which a total eclipse lasts, so
+that as yet we know very little of them.
+
+Immediately surrounding the disc of the sun, which is visible to
+the naked eye, is a brilliant ring of light, known now as the
+chromosphere or sierra. This is the region which till 1868 could
+be seen only during total eclipses, but can now be watched at all
+times by means of the spectroscope. In it symptoms of intense
+action are from time to time witnessed. For many years past,
+whenever a total eclipse occurred, there were observed on the edge
+of this ring certain red prominences. The spectroscope has
+revealed their nature. They consist chiefly of enormous volumes of
+hydrogen, ejected from the surface of the sun with a velocity
+almost inconceivable, and at the same time revolving about their
+axis after the fashion of a cyclone. [Footnote: Popular Science
+Review, January, 1872, p. 150; Look. Byer's Lecture on the Sun, at
+Manchester, 1871.] A very remarkable instance of this was observed
+in America in September 1871, by Professor Young. A mass of
+incandescent hydrogen was propelled to a height of 200,000 miles
+above the visible disc; of these the last 100,000 miles were
+passed through in 10 minutes. Such events, though not commonly on
+so vast a scale, are continually occurring on the surface of the
+sun, and they seem to be in close connexion with the magnetic
+phenomena occurring on the earth.
+
+Beyond the chromosphere lies the corona. The spectroscope has not
+yet rendered this visible at all times, and consequently we are
+dependent upon the information to be obtained during the few
+minutes of total eclipses, when alone it is visible. Consequently
+during recent solar eclipses this has been the point to which the
+attention of astronomers has been especially devoted. The eclipse
+of December, 1870, decided one point, that the corona was a truly
+solar phenomenon, and not, as some astronomers imagined, an
+optical phenomenon, produced by our own atmosphere. The corona
+presents the appearance of nebulous light, fading as it becomes
+more remote from the sun, of very irregular outline, at some
+points not extending more than 15', at others as much as 60' or
+70' from the sun's disc, or, in other words, reaching to distances
+from the sun's surface varying from 400,000 to 1,800,000 miles.
+More important information has been obtained from the eclipse of
+December 12,1871. It is now ascertained that the corona comprises
+not only gaseous elements, especially hydrogen, but also solid or
+fluid particles, capable of giving a continuous though very faint
+spectrum with dark lines, indicating the existence of matter
+capable of reflecting light. The character of the coronal spectrum
+very much resembles that of the Nebula in Draco, No. 4373. The
+ascertained extent of the corona exceeds a million of miles above
+the surface of the sun, and it seems probable that the Zodiacal
+light is only a fainter extension of it. [Footnote: Popular
+Science Review, April, 1872, pp. 136-146.]
+
+On a clear evening in the early spring months, as soon as twilight
+is completely ended, a conical streak of light may be sometimes
+seen, arising' from the western horizon, and extending through an
+arc of 60 or 70 degrees, nearly in the direction of the Ecliptic,
+and finally terminating in a point. This is the Zodiacal light. In
+tropical climates it is seen much more frequently, [Footnote:
+Humboldt, Kosmos, vol. i. p. 126 (Bohu's edition).] and is much
+more brilliant than in England. This then is probably an envelope
+of still fainter light than the corona. It must extend beyond the
+orbit of Venus, as the maximum elongation of Venus is 47 degrees,
+while the Zodiacal light has been traced for 70 degrees, and
+probably farther. It is very possible that the earth is
+occasionally involved in it, and that from it we derive that
+diffused light which, though faint, is very serviceable to us on a
+starless evening, and of which no other account has as yet been
+given. The light we receive in this way is often as powerful as
+that which we should receive from the stars if they were not
+hidden by clouds.
+
+These phenomena seem to point to the conclusion that the
+condensation of light in the sun has been a very gradual process,
+which is even yet incomplete. If we suppose that at the time of
+the formation of the coal measures it was not far advanced, but
+that a diffused light extended beyond the orbit of the earth,
+similar in some respects to the present Zodiacal light, but equal
+in intensity to the light which we now see in the corona, the
+phenomena of the third day will be satisfactorily accounted for.
+There is, however, still an enormous amount of mystery connected
+with the sun. It is the centre from which an inconceivable amount
+of force in the shape of light, heat, actinism, and probably other
+manifestations, is hourly poured forth. If the whole of that force
+were divided into two thousand million parts, the portion received
+by the earth would be represented by one of those parts, and the
+whole amount received by all the planets would fall short of
+twelve of them. All the rest is radiated away into space, and so
+far as we know at present lost to the system. The question then
+arises, "How is this enormous expenditure supplied?" Various
+sources of heat have been suggested, but none of them seem
+satisfactory. One conceivable source there is, but that lies out
+of the domain of science. Then again, metals, which only our most
+powerful furnaces will even melt, exist in the sun's atmosphere in
+the state of vapour. What must be the intensity of the heat which
+underlies that metallic atmosphere? and what can be the solid or
+fluid substances which, from the continuity of the spectrum, we
+know must exist there?
+
+We turn now to the Mosaic Record to see what light it throws upon
+and receives from this investigation. The first thing to be
+noticed is that the word used by Moses for the sun and moon is not
+the same as that employed to denote light. It properly signifies a
+light-holder, such as a candlestick, and harmonizes with the view
+that the sun in his original state was not luminous, but was made
+a luminary by the condensation of light previously existent under
+other conditions. In the next place, though the apparent
+dimensions of the sun and moon are the same, Moses correctly
+describes the one as "the great light," the other as "the little
+light," thus indicating a knowledge to which the astronomers of
+his day had probably not attained.
+
+The relation between the accounts of the first and fourth day's
+work becomes clear if we assume that the sun was not made a
+luminary till the fourth day. The division of night and day
+depends upon two things, the rotation of the earth upon its axis,
+and the concentration of light in the sun. Hence when the rotation
+of the earth commenced that division was potentially provided for,
+but the provision would not take effect until the second condition
+was fulfilled by the concentration of light in the sun. The
+indications given by the coal measures point, as we have seen, to
+the same conclusion.
+
+The only remaining question is "What was going on in the earth at
+the same time?" Our materials for answering this question are but
+scanty. So great an alteration in the sources of light and heat
+must have involved great physical changes on the earth's surface,
+and there is reason to believe that great mechanical forces were
+at work producing vast changes in the relations of land and water.
+"It has long been the opinion of the most eminent geologists that
+the coalfields of Lancashire and Yorkshire were once united, the
+upper coal measures and the overlying Millstone Grit and Toredale
+Bocks having been subsequently removed by denudation; but what is
+remarkable is the ancient date now assigned to this denudation,
+for it seems that a thickness of no less than 10,000 feet of the
+coal measures had been carried away before the deposition of even
+the lower Permian Rocks, which were thrown down upon the already
+disturbed truncated edges of the coal strata." [Footnote: Lyell,
+Geology for Students, p. 377.] And this is but a single instance.
+
+During the interval between the deposition of the coal measures,
+which seem to belong to the third, and the Saurian remains which
+mark the fifth day, we have the Permian and Triassic Rocks, of
+which the Magnesian. Limestone and the new Red Sandstone are the
+most important representatives in England. Till a very recent
+period it was thought that these rocks belonged to a period
+remarkably destitute of animal life, very few fossils having been
+found in them. Recently, however, some very rich deposits have
+been found in the Tyrol, belonging to this period, but they are
+only local.
+
+Of the Permian formation Sir C. Lyell says, "Not one of the
+species (of fossils) is common to rocks newer than the
+Palaeozoic." [Footnote: Geology for Students, p. 369.] This was
+not then a time for the origination of new forms of life. In the
+Trias, however, the new development of life, which was to attain
+its full dimensions on the fifth day, begins to open upon us. The
+earliest Saurian fossils are found, and the rocks still present us
+with impressions of the feet of reptiles and birds, which walked
+over the soft seashore, and left footprints, which were first
+dried and hardened by the sun and wind, and then filled up with
+fresh sand by the returning tide, but never entirely coalesced
+with the new material.
+
+At the close of this period the first traces of mammalian life
+occur, in the shape of teeth, which are supposed to have belonged
+to some small Marsupial quadrupeds, and in America the whole lower
+jaws of three such animals have been discovered; but no other
+remains have as yet been traced.
+
+The Trias then seems to mark the boundary between the fourth and
+fifth days. The fourth day seems to have been on the earth a
+period of great change, not only in physical conditions, but also
+in the forms of life. In the latter point of view, however, it
+seems to have been marked by the passing-away of old forms much
+more than by the origination of new ones, and hence the barrenness
+of the Geological Records is in exact accordance with the silence
+of the Mosaic Record as to any new developments.
+
+SECTION 8. THE FIFTH DAY
+
+"And God said. Let the waters swarm swarms, the soul of life, and
+let fowl fly above the earth in the face of the firmament of
+heaven.
+
+"And God created the monsters, the great ones, and every soul of
+life that creepeth, with which the waters swarmed, after their
+kind, and every winged fowl after his kind; and God saw that it
+was good.
+
+"And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful and multiply, and fill
+the waters in the sea, and let fowl multiply on the earth.
+
+"And there was evening, and there was morning, a fifth day."
+
+The fifth and sixth days of Creation are those to which the theory
+of development chiefly refers. It will, therefore, be better to
+defer the consideration of its bearing on the narrative till the
+relation of that narrative to Geological facts has been
+considered, since it can only be thoroughly weighed when taken in
+connexion with the facts which belong to the two days.
+
+The beginning of the fifth day may be assigned to a point near
+where the Trias is succeeded by the Lias. As the Trias is drawing
+to its close, the class of reptiles, whose first known appearance
+belongs to the carboniferous epoch of the third day, begins to
+show signs of advance. The first true Saurians are found in the
+Trias: the great development takes place in the Lias and Oolite,
+while in the chalk large quantities of kindred remains are found,
+which, however, are not identical with the species found in the
+earlier groups. Of these some were probably almost entirely
+aquatic, as their limbs take the form of paddles; others were
+purely terrestrial, a large proportion were amphibious, and some,
+as the pterodactylus, bore the same relation to the rest of their
+class as the bats bear to the other mammalia, being furnished with
+membranous wings, supported upon a special development of the
+anterior limbs. One important characteristic of the race at this
+time was the great size of many of its members: thirty feet is by
+no means an uncommon length. This marks the fitness of the name
+given to the class by Moses.
+
+Very few actual remains of birds have been found; but this is not
+surprising, since birds would rarely be exposed to the conditions
+which were essential to the fossilization of their remains. The
+earliest known fossil bird is the Archaeopteryx, the remains of
+which were found in 1862 in the Solenhofen Slates, which belong to
+the Oolite formation. Though the actual remains of birds are very
+few, traces of their footprints have been found in many places,
+from the New Red Sandstone upwards, and these traces prove not
+only that they were very numerous, but also that they attained to
+a gigantic size, as their feet were sometimes from twelve to
+fifteen inches in length, and their stride extended from six to
+eight feet. During this period, then, these two classes must have
+been the dominant races of the earth. As the precursors of these
+classes made their appearance at a much earlier period, so the
+epoch of birds and reptiles witnessed the beginning and gradual
+advance of the class which was to succeed them in the foremost
+place--the mammalia. Generally, however, the mammalian remains of
+this period belong to what are considered the lower classes--the
+monotremata and marsupialia. The close of this period must have
+been a time of great disturbance in the Northern Hemisphere, since
+the chalk which runs through a great part of Northern Europe, and
+frequently attains a thickness of 1000 feet, must have been
+deposited at the bottom of a deep sea, and subsequently elevated.
+
+SECTION 9. THE SIXTH DAY.
+
+1. The Mammalia.
+
+"And God said, Let the earth cause to go forth the soul of life,
+cattle, and creeping thing, and the beast of the earth (wild
+animals) after his kind; and it was so.
+
+"And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle
+after their kind, and every creeping thing of the ground after his
+kind; and God saw that it was good."
+
+In these two verses there are one or two points which call for
+notice. In the first place, the creatures mentioned are divided
+into three classes, of which two, cattle and the beast of the
+earth, are tolerably clear in their general significance, though
+their extent is not determined. The third is denoted by a word
+which had already been employed to describe the work of the fifth
+day, and is translated in our version "creeping thing." The
+probability seems to be that it has reference to such classes of
+animals as the smaller rodentia, and the mustelidas, whose motions
+may be appropriately described by the word "creeping." That it
+denotes four-footed creatures has already been pointed out. The
+next point is, that in each case the singular is used; in the case
+of the domestic animals this fact is lost to the English reader by
+the use of the collective noun "cattle." Of course it is a common
+usage, to denote a class of animals by a singular noun used
+generically, but the statements of the passage would also be
+justified if one pair only of each of the three types specified
+were called into existence at first. It is also to be noticed that
+while the word [Hebrew script], the earth is used to define the
+wild beast; another word, [Hebrew script] the ground, is applied
+to the "creeping thing." There is probably a reason for this,
+though it may not at present be apparent.
+
+When we turn to the Geological record, we find that the period of
+the chalk was followed by the deposition of the tertiary strata.
+During the upheaval of the chalk these strata seem to have been
+gradually laid down in its hollows, and around its edges. They
+extend from the London clay upward to the crag formations which
+appear on the Eastern coast of England at intervals from
+Bridlington to Suffolk. In these strata we see signs of an
+approach to the existing state of things. As we ascend through
+them, a gradually increasing number of the fossil shells are found
+to be specifically identical with those which at present inhabit
+the ocean.
+
+Another characteristic of this period is the abundance of fossil
+remains of mammalia; but in this case, although the remains are
+evidently, in many cases, those of creatures nearly allied to
+those now existing, they are not identical, very great
+modifications both of bulk and of minor structural details having
+taken place. One very important point of difference is the vastly
+superior bulk of these ancient animals: a good illustration of
+which may be seen in the skeletons of the mammoth and of the
+modern elephant, which are placed near each other in the British
+Museum. Many of these animals appear not to have become extinct
+till long after the appearance of man.
+
+The first appearance of mammalia, as has been already noticed,
+must have been long before this, as the earliest fossils yet found
+are at the lower limit of the Lias. They belong, however, to the
+genus Marsupialia, of which, as far as we know, no representatives
+were in existence in any part of the world known to Moses, so that
+even on the supposition that he intended to give an account of the
+first appearance of the classes of animals which he mentions, the
+omission of these would have been inevitable. His words, however,
+appear to point to a time when the mammalia occupied the leading
+place, just as the reptiles had occupied the leading place at a
+previous epoch. And his words are fully borne out by the records
+of the rocks.
+
+At the close of the tertiary period great changes once more took
+place in the Northern hemisphere. There was a great and extensive
+subsidence, in consequence of which a large portion of Northern
+and Middle Europe must have been under water, the mountain summits
+only appearing as detached islands. At the same time, from causes
+utterly unknown to us, there was a great depression of
+temperature, the result of which was, that all, or nearly all the
+land, in those regions which were not submerged, was covered with
+glaciers, much as Greenland is now, and from these glaciers vast
+icebergs must from time to time have been detached by the sea and
+floated off, carrying with them fragments of rock, some freshly
+broken, some rounded by long attrition, which were deposited on
+the then submerged lands as the ice melted, and are now found as
+boulders, sometimes lying on the surface, at others dispersed
+through beds of clay and sand formed under water from the debris
+worn down by the glaciers. A subsequent movement of elevation
+ushered in the state of things which exists on the earth at the
+present time.
+
+2. Man.
+
+"And God said, Let Us make man (Adam) in Our image after Our
+likeness; and he shall have dominion over the fish of the sea, and
+over the fowl of the heaven, and over the cattle, and over all the
+earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
+
+"And God created man (the Adam) in His image, in the image of God
+created He him; male and female He created them.
+
+"And God blessed them, and God said to them, Be fruitful and
+multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and rule over the fish
+of the sea, and the fowl of the heaven, and over every animal that
+creepeth upon the earth.
+
+"And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb seeding seed,
+which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree which has
+in it the fruit of a tree seeding seed; to you it shall be for
+food.
+
+"And to every animal of the earth, and to every fowl of the
+heaven, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, in which
+is the soul of life, every green herb is for meat; and it was so.
+
+"And God saw every thing--which He had made, and behold it was
+good exceedingly.
+
+"And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day."
+
+The terms in which the Creation of man is spoken of are such as to
+challenge particular attention and to induce us to expect
+something very different from what occurred on any previous
+occasion. In the first place, more agents than one are introduced
+by the use of the plural form of the verb, and thus at the very
+commencement of man's career there is an intimation of that
+mysterious fact of the Trinity in Unity which was to have so
+important an influence upon his future destiny. Then we are told
+that man was to be formed in the Image of God, a statement which
+probably is of very wide import. It has been variously interpreted
+as having reference to the spiritual, moral, and intellectual
+nature of man; to the fact that the nature of man was afterwards
+to be assumed by the Second Person of the Trinity; to the
+delegated empire of this world which man was to hold. There are
+two expressions of St. Paul: that "man is the image and glory of
+God" (1 Cor. xi. 7), and that "the invisible things of Him from
+the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by
+the things that are made, even His eternal Power and Godhead"
+(Rom. i. 20), which seem to indicate that this record has a
+significance which as yet we can only partially understand. Then
+the story of man's creation is repeated in the second chapter, and
+while the other events recorded in the first chapter are very
+briefly summarized, that of man is very much amplified. This does
+riot necessarily indicate an independent account, as is sometimes
+asserted; at the fourth verse of the second chapter a distinct
+portion of revelation commences--the special dealing of God with
+man, and this could not be intelligible without an amount of
+detail with reference to man's origin, which would have been out
+of place in the short account of the origin of the world by which
+it is preceded. In this account the creation of Adam and Eve is
+recorded as two separate events, the latter of which is described
+in terms of deep mystery, of which all that we can say is that
+they point to that still deeper mystery--the birth of the Bride--
+the Lamb's Wife from the pierced side of the Lamb. But in the case
+of Adam there is a remarkable difference from anything that has
+gone before. Two distinct acts of creation are recorded; one of
+which places man before us in his physical relation to the lower
+animals, while the other treats of him in his spiritual relation
+to his Maker. "The Lord God formed man (the Adam) dust from the
+ground (adamah), and breathed into his nostrils the breath of
+lives; and man became a soul of life." The inspiration of the
+"breath of lives" distinguishes the creation of man from that of
+all other creatures.
+
+The Geological records harmonize exactly with the Bible as to the
+date of man's appearance on the earth. It is towards the close of
+the age of gigantic mammalia, that the earliest remains of man's
+workmanship make their appearance in the shape of tools and
+weapons rudely fashioned from stone. Parts of human skeletons have
+also been occasionally found, but they are exceedingly rare.
+Weapons and bones are alike confined to superficial, and
+comparatively very recent formations. From such traces as have
+been found there is no reason to believe that any physical changes
+of importance have taken place in man's body since his first
+appearance on the earth. The differences which do exist are of the
+same kind as, and not greater than, the differences which exist
+between individuals at present.
+
+The gift of dominion over the lower animals seems to indicate
+something different from that which gives one animal superiority
+over another, and accordingly we find that it is not by physical
+power that that dominion is exercised; but that in most of his
+physical faculties man is inferior to the very animals which he
+holds in subjection. It is partly in virtue of his intellectual
+superiority, and partly perhaps by means of an instinctive
+recognition on the part of the animals of man's higher nature
+(Gen. ix. 2) that that supremacy is maintained.
+
+SECTION 10. DEVELOPMENT.
+
+We have now to consider the question of development, in reference
+to the Mosaic Record of the last two days, and to the known facts
+to which that record has relation. The account of the third day's
+work has also a bearing on the subject, but as the same
+considerations will to a great extent apply to animals and to
+plants, it will not be necessary to make any special reference to
+it.
+
+The facts in favour of the theory of development are these:--1.
+The different classes of plants and animals are not separated by
+broad lines of demarcation, but shade insensibly into each other.
+2. The characteristics of the same species are not constant; the
+lion, for instance, the horse, the elephant, and the hyena of the
+present day differ in many minor points from the corresponding
+animals of the Tertiary period, so that unless there was a
+possibility of spontaneous change, we must assume successive
+creations of animals, with only trivial differences. 3. In all
+animals there are minute individual differences, and if under any
+circumstances these differences had a tendency to accumulate, they
+might in the course of time result in great structural
+modifications. 4. Man has been able to take advantage of this fact
+and by careful selection to mould the breeds of domestic animals
+to a certain extent in accordance with his own wishes.
+
+The theory of development assumes that for the care of man other
+forces might be substituted, which in a long course of ages might
+result in changes of far greater extent than those produced by
+human agency. The forces assigned are natural selection and sexual
+selection. The difficulties in the way of this hypothesis have
+been already considered, and only require to be briefly re-stated.
+
+1. As regards modifications of organs already existing, the two
+alleged causes are insufficient to account for the results which
+we witness, since in each individual case the concurrence of many
+contingent causes, continued through a long series of ages, is
+required to produce the result. But the probabilities against
+such, a concurrence in any one case are enormous, and against
+their concurrence in a large number of cases the chances are
+practically infinite.
+
+2. That such causes do not at all account for cases in which an
+entirely new organ is developed, such as mammary glands--or for
+the case of man, in which intellectual superiority is accompanied
+by a loss of physical power.
+
+3. That from the nature of the case it is impossible for us to
+ascertain that natural or sexual selection has ever acted to
+produce a single modification, however small, and that the results
+of man's superintendence have not as yet passed beyond certain
+narrow limits, so that there is no justification for the
+assumption that such modifications are capable of being carried to
+an unlimited extent.
+
+We see that in the only case in which change is known to have been
+brought about, it has been the result of choice and design. If
+then there is a probability that choice and design may have been
+exercised by a power higher than man, there is no longer any
+reason to doubt but that results much greater than any to which
+man can attain may have been brought about by the same means. And
+in fact the advocates of the theory of development do virtually
+admit the existence and action of such a power, whenever they have
+recourse to assumed "laws" to account for phenomena for which
+their naked theory can give no reason. For, as has been shown,
+law, if it is to be assigned as an efficient cause, and not merely
+as the statement of observed facts, can only be regarded as the
+expressed and enforced will of a higher power. And there was no
+reason why those minute variations themselves, which are the basis
+of Mr. Darwin's hypothesis, should be considered casual. Instead
+then of natural selection, or sexual selection, let us suppose
+that the selection took place under the superintending care of the
+Creator, and was directed towards the carrying out of His designs,
+and then we shall have no reason to doubt but that all results
+which consisted only in the modification of existing organs may
+have been obtained by the operation of those laws which we term
+natural, because they express modes of operation with which we are
+so familiar that we look upon them as automatic.
+
+But there are other results for which no natural laws with which
+we are acquainted will thus account. Just as no mechanical laws
+within our knowledge will account for the rotation of the earth,
+so no physiological laws yet discovered will account for the
+changes when totally new orders of being came on the stage--when
+the course of life took, as it were, a new point of departure. But
+it is precisely at these points that the Mosaic Record points to a
+special interference on the part of the Creator. How that
+interference took place we are not informed. Very possibly it may
+have been the result of other laws which lie wholly out of the
+reach of our powers of observation. But whatever may have been its
+character, it does not in any way imply change or defect in the
+original plan, unless we know, (what we do not know, and cannot
+ascertain) that such interference formed no part of the original
+design. Everything bears the marks of progressive development, and
+there is nothing improbable, but rather the reverse, in the
+supposition that such a plan should include special steps of
+advance to be made when the preparation for them was completed.
+
+The Mosaic Record tells us nothing about the method by which God
+created the different varieties of plants and animals. All that we
+read there is just as applicable to a process of evolution, as to
+any other method which we may be able to imagine. But it is
+remarkable that what Moses does say is just what is required to
+make Mr. Darwin's theory possible. So far then as the lower orders
+of creation are concerned, the hypothesis of development, modified
+by the admission of uniform superintendence and occasional special
+interferences on the part of the Creator, may be accepted as being
+the most satisfactory explanation that can be given, in the
+present state of physiological science, of the Scriptural
+Narrative.
+
+But we have yet to consider this hypothesis as applied to man in
+Mr. Darwin's latest work. We naturally recoil from the thought
+that we have sprung from some lower race of animals--that we are
+only the descendants of some race of anthropoid apes. So long as
+it is asserted that we are no more than this, we may well be
+reluctant to admit the suggestion. But if it be admitted that to a
+physical nature formed like the bodies of the lower animals, a
+special spiritual gift may have been superadded, the difficulty
+vanishes. All Mr. Darwin's arguments with reference to physical
+resemblances may then be admitted, and we may allow that he has
+given a probable explanation of the method by which "the Lord God
+formed the Adam, dust from the ground" while we maintain that the
+intellectual and moral faculties of man are derived from a source
+which lies beyond the investigations of science.
+
+The conclusions to be drawn from this investigation may be briefly
+summed up as follows:--
+
+1. There is every reason to conclude that the process of Creation
+was carried on, in great part, under the operation of the system
+of natural laws which we still see acting in the world around us:
+such laws being so far as we are concerned only an expression of
+an observed uniformity in the action of that Being by whom the
+Universe was created and is upheld.
+
+2. That inasmuch as the development of a new state of things
+differs from the maintenance of a condition already existing, the
+working of these laws was necessarily from time to time
+supplemented by special interferences of the Creator, but that
+such interferences formed parts of the original design, and are
+not indications of anything in the shape of change or failure.
+
+3. That many of the events recorded in the Mosaic Record are of
+the nature of such special interferences, while others point to
+remarkable developments of particular forms of organic life.
+
+4. That these interferences thus recorded occur at the exact
+points at which natural laws, so far as science has yet been able
+to ascertain them, are inadequate to produce the phenomena which
+then took place, and that the developments are proved by geology
+to have taken place at the points indicated.
+
+5. That the six days into which the work is divided by Moses do
+correspond to the probable order of development--that in three of
+them, the third, fifth, and sixth, this correspondence is marked
+by facts ascertained by Geology--that the fourth, in which no
+terrestrial phenomenon is recorded, corresponds to a very long
+period in the Geological record in which no indications of any new
+development are found--while the first and second indicate a state
+of things which the nebular hypothesis renders highly probable,
+but of which no positive information is within the reach of
+science.
+
+Admitting then that there is something in the way in which the
+days are spoken of which we are at present unable to understand,
+we may yet confidently assert that such a record could not have
+been the product of man's thought at the period at which it was
+written. It is utterly impossible that it should have been the
+result of a series of fortunate conjectures without any foundation
+to rest upon, and scientific foundation there was none, for there
+is every reason to believe that the sciences which might perchance
+now supply some foundation are entirely the growth of the last
+three centuries. There is then only one conclusion that we can
+draw, that it is a revelation from the Creator Himself, and that
+if there is anything in it which seems inexplicable or erroneous,
+that appearance arises from our own ignorance of facts, and not
+from any error on the part of the Author.
+The Project Gutenberg Etext of The Story of Creation as told by Theology and by Science
+by T. S. Ackland
+******This file should be named tscts10.txt or tscts10.zip******
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+Corrected EDITIONS of our etexts get a new NUMBER, tscts11.txt
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+End of The Project Gutenberg Etext of The Story of Creation as told by Theology and by Science
+by T. S. Ackland
+
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