648 VIS MEDICATRIX NATURAE 



Sir J. J. Thomson, writes : " As we conquer peak after peak 

 we see in front of us regions full of interest and beauty, 

 but we do not see our goal, we do not see the horizon ; in the 

 distance tower still higher peaks, which will yield to those 

 who ascend them still wider prospects, and deepen the feel- 

 ing, the truth of which is emphasised by every advance in 

 science, that ' Great are the Works of the Lord/ 



These are the three voices of Nature. She joins hands 

 with us; and says Struggle, Endeavour. She comes close 

 to us, we hear her heart beating; she says Wonder, Enjoy , 

 Revere. She whispers secrets to us, we cannot always catch 

 her words; she says Search, Enquire. These three voices 

 appeal to Hand and Heart and Head, to the trinity of our 

 being. In listening to them we may be disciplined to hear 

 even more august voices. Man's struggles for food and foot- 

 hold have often helped him to much higher reaches of en- 

 deavour; to be thrilled with beauty may be a step to loving 

 goodness ; to try to find out scientifically what is true in 

 Nature may be the beginning of waiting patiently upon 

 the Lord. But our point is that to listen to the three voices 

 of Nature is in itself worth while. It is a necessary and 

 natural discipline of the developing human spirit. 



We are familiar with the story of a rugged and very hu- 

 man Hebrew prophet, who after severe discipline climbed 

 a mountain and heard the three voices of Nature. First, 

 there was a great and strong wind, a symbol of the practical 

 voice, surely, which commands man to build his house upon 

 a rock and to struggle against the storm, which teaches the 

 sailor to trim his sails and the husbandman to prepare for 

 the rain. Second, there was an earthquake, a symbol of 

 the emotional voice, surely, for is there anything so awful 

 that stirs man and beast more deeply, that moves us down 





