ORGANIC GEOLOGICAL DYNAMICS. 571 



ruled the affairs of mankind, will also believe that a Providence has 

 governed the material world. But any language in which the narrative 

 of this government of the material world can be conveyed, must neces 

 sarily be very imperfect and inappropriate ; being expressed in terms 

 of those ideas which have been selected by men, in order to describe 

 appearances and relations of created things as they affect one another. 

 In all cases, therefore, where we have to attempt to interpret such a 

 narrative, we must feel that we are extremely liable to err ; and most 

 of all, when our interpretation refers to those material objects and 

 operations which are most foreign to the main purpose of a history of 

 providence. If we have to consider a communication containing a 

 view of such a government of the world, imparted to us, as we may 

 suppose, in order to point out the right direction for our feelings of 

 trust, and reverence, and hope, towards the Governor of the world, we 

 may expect that we shall be in no danger of collecting from our 

 authority erroneous notions with regard to the power, and wisdom, 

 and goodness of His government ; or with respect to our own place, 

 duties, and prospects, and the history of our race so far as our duties 

 and prospects are concerned. But that we shall rightly understand 

 the detail of all events in the history of man, or of the skies, or of 

 the earth, which are narrated for the purpose of thus giving a right 

 direction to our minds, is by no means equally certain ; and I do not 

 think it would be too much to say, that an immunity from perplexity 

 and error, in such matters, is, on general grounds, very improbable. 

 It cannot then surprise us to find, that parts of such narrations which 

 seem to refer to occurrences like those of which astronomers and 

 geologists have attempted to determine the laws, have given rise to 

 many interpretations, all inconsistent with one another, and most of 

 them at variance with the best established principles of astronomy and 

 geology. 



It may be urged, that all truths must be consistent with all other 

 truths, and that therefore the results of true geology or astronomy can- 

 not be irreconcileable with the statements of true theology. And this 

 universal consistency of truth with itself must be assented to ; but it 

 by no means follows that we must be able to obtain a full insight into 

 the nature and manner of such a consistency. Such an insight would 

 only be possible if we could obtain a clear view of that central body of 

 truth, the source of the principles which appear in the separate lines 

 of speculation. To expect that we should see clearly how the provi- 

 dential government of the world is consistent with the unvarying law* 



