8 THE HISTORY OF CREATION. 



sense, and it must be borne in mind that, strictly speaking, 

 the expression "non-miraculous history of creation" contains 

 a " contradictio in adjecto." 



In order to understand this, let us for a moment examine 

 somewhat more closely what we understand by creation. 

 If we understand the creation to mean the coming into 

 existence of a body by a creative power or force, we may 

 then either think of the coming into existence of its sub- 

 stance (corporeal matter), or of the coming into existence of 

 its form (the corporeal form). 



Creation in the former sense, as the coming into existence 

 of matter, does not concern us here at all. This process, if 

 indeed it ever took place, is completely beyond human com- 

 prehension, and can therefore never become a subject of 

 scientific inquiry. Natural science teaches that matter is 

 eternal and imperishable, for experience has never shown us 

 that even the smallest particle of matter has come into 

 existence or passed away. Where a natural body seems to 

 disappear, as for example by burning, decaying, evaporation, 

 etc., it merely changes its form, its physical composition or 

 chemical combination. In like manner the coming into 

 existence of a natural body, for example, of a crystal, a 

 fungus, an infusorium, depends merely upon the different 

 particles, which had before existed in a certain form or com- 

 bination, assuming a new form or combination in conse- 

 quence of changed conditions of existence. But never yet 

 has an instance been observed of even the smallest particle 

 of matter having vanished, or even of an atom being added 

 to the already existing mass. Hence a naturalist can no 

 more imagine the coming into existence of matter, than he 

 can imagine its disappearance, and he therefore looks upon 



