544 Transactions. — Miscellaneous. 



two, as many agencies tend to send matter out of the coalesc- 

 ing mass. 



Thus, in contradistinction to the theory of dissipation of 

 energy, there appears to be no evidence to show that the cos- 

 mos as a whole is other than immortal. The great Creator, 

 when He launched the infinite, did not do His work blunder- 

 ingly, but gave us a system equally perfect, whether it be in 

 the marvellous forces within the minutest atom, the complex 

 structure of organic molecular groupings, the infinity of cosmic 

 dimensions, or the eternity of cosmic duration. There is no 

 flaw in the perfection of the vast design. Atoms clash, com- 

 bine, and form molecules ; and these break up again. Organ- 

 isms are born and die. Worlds, systems, and universes are 

 evolved, play their part, disintegrate, and disperse, only to be 

 born again in new and complex systems. But the mighty cos- 

 mos remains ever rhythmic in its giant energies. Man's mind 

 reels on the brink of the unfathomable as he tries to grasp 

 the mystery even of his own being. Everything around him 

 forces on his mind a feeling of profound humility at his 

 insignificance. At the same time also his surroundings force 

 upon him the most absolute faith in the perfection of the 

 whole creation of which he is so minute a part. In the con- 

 templation of this perfection does not one feel certain that the 

 present disorder and misery of the world is merely that short 

 paroxysm of apparent chaos from which order will evolve? 

 Is it credible that the evolution of mental power, that has 

 enabled man to pierce so far the superb grandeur of the in- 

 finite, — has enabled him to harness the forces of nature to serve 

 his needs,- — shall suddenly cease ? Is it to be conceived that 

 man will remain content to see supine indifference and self- 

 ishness destroy all that is lovely in life ? It is incredible. 

 We have but a glimpse of the eternal, but in that glimpse we 

 see such marvellous perfection of action that we cannot fail 

 to feel that if the same profound thought, the same unbiassed 

 judgment, be brought to bear on the tangled affairs of human 

 life they may be as fully unravelled as is the complex 

 mechanism of the cosmos. May it not be that, just as the 

 burnt child dreads the fire, so the awful effect of the selfish- 

 ness that has produced the present misery amongst humanity 

 may burn its lesson so deeply into the mind as to be inefface 

 able in human history? It appears clear that, as Nordau has 

 pointed out, pleasurable emotion alone can be persistent, and 

 pain and misery are indications of those that are decadent. 

 If this be so, what a marvellous gospel of hope is contained in 

 the religion of science ! If the so-called unpractical theory of 

 cosmogony should only so awaken human intelligence that 

 mankind sees clearly the perfection of the method of evolution, 

 and acts upon the lesson, such unpractical theories will prove 



