62 



THE GUIDE TO NATURE 



of truth in Thoreau's exclamation to the 

 pine tree on the summit of a hill. "You 

 tower above me in this life. Perhaps you 

 will still tower above me in some other 



life." . , 



That, however, is not the meanmg of 

 the term. Immortality. If Immortality 

 means anything in the hope of the human 

 race, it means a distinctive continuance 

 of individual Hfe in some form after 

 death. According to the fallacious argu- 

 ment of the "Journal" editorial, the only 

 people living are those on earth, and if 

 our earth should gradually cool in eons 

 to come until there is a last final survival 

 of the human race, then the entire human 

 race, with all its principles and methods, 

 has been annihilated. In a homily upon 

 what Immortality should be, this should 

 he included. It is impious to refer to any 

 other Immortality it is only an acceptance 

 of the annihilation of the individual. 



When one tries to prove the compara- 

 tive merits of two localities, or of two 

 forms of life, and must add a third 

 factor, it is an argument that does not 

 argue except for the other side of the 

 question. Anybody who sees in nature 

 an argument for God and a future life, 

 cannot permit such rank nonsense to pass 

 without comment. 



There is no form of attack so insidious 

 as that which lulls one to sleep by some 

 quieting brook, and no pernicious argu- 

 ment so subtle as that which is carried 

 on with mellifluous, melodious, but de- 

 ceptive words. 



There's A Path. 



There's a path that leads to pure delight, 

 And it starts at your very door. 



It may take you into a garden sweet, 

 Or around by the breezy shore. 



It may go far into wooded depths. 

 Where shade and coolness reign, 



Or out into the sunshine bright. 

 Along a flowery lane. 



It may follow the shining river down. 

 As it flows its way to the sea. 



Or meander by the singing brook. 

 As it wanders through the lea. 



It may climb the hills and mountain heig'hts. 



Or end in the nearer fields. 

 Whichever way it may chance to take, 



It untold pleasure yields. 



For it guides you into Nature's haunts, 



Her fairyland, her own, 

 Where wonders, inspirations, joys. 



Are lavishly bestrown. 



— Emma Peirce. 



Limitations of Omnipotence. 



A letter from the Rector of an Episco- 

 pal Church calls attention to the problem 

 of nature's "care for the type, and its 

 carelessness for the individual ; its 'red- 

 ness in tooth and claw-' " In company 

 with this is another from a religious 

 microscopist, who says that he is more 

 and more puzzled by the. problem of pain 

 and evil, and that while looking at nature 

 and at humanity, he is becoming still more 

 puzzled to know where God is, and why 

 He permits certain things to be. 



Many similar questions appear in our 

 correspondence and in various public 

 prints. It is my belief that all these 

 things, that so pain enquiring and trou- 

 bled souls, arise from a fallacy in the 

 accepted notion of omnipotence as ap- 

 plied to God. But, and I say it with 

 reverence, God cannot do everything. He 

 has not unlimited omnipotence. His 

 power is universal only within the bounds 

 of consistency. He must be pained be- 

 cause humanity is expecting so much of 

 Him and is calling on Him to do the im- 

 possible, to be inconsistent and to break 

 His own laws. Let us consider the 

 matter. There are almost innumerable 

 things that God cannot do. To ascribe 

 to any being the power to undo the things 

 of yesterday is unthinkable. Thus far I 

 have dictated this article- Omnipotence 

 Himself cannot undo that act of dicta- 

 tion, as thus far done. He cannot change 

 the fundamental principles that He has 

 established- Twice two can never be 

 fifteen. Omnipotence is not applicable 

 to such an attempt. After He has creat- 

 ed the law of gravitation that universally 

 attracts, He cannot then prevent two 

 freely movable bodies from colliding, if 

 other and similar bodies should cease to 

 act upon them. He will roll this world 

 together as a scroll when His power of 

 gravitation has worked itself out in the 

 fullness of time, and when his unerring 

 laws bring this planet into collision with 

 soinething else. The result will be a 

 nebula. On the gigantic scale on which 

 the universe is created, these laws may 

 take millions of vears to accomplish such 



