MISCELLANEOUS ESSAYS. 917 



machine, the more likeJy is this ob- 

 scurity to arise. Then, as to the 

 second thing supposed, namely, 

 that there were parts which might 

 he spared without prejudice to the 

 movement of the watch, and that we 

 had proved, by this experiment, 

 these superfluous parts, even if we 

 were completely assured that they 

 were such, would not vacate the 

 reasoning, which we had instituted 

 concerning other parts. The indi- 

 cation of contrivance remained, with 

 respect to them, nearly as it was 

 before. 



4. Nor, fourthly, would any 

 «an in his senses think the existence 

 of the watch, with its various machi- 

 nery, accounted for, by being told 

 that it was one out of possible com- 

 binations of material forms ; that 

 whatever he had found in the place 

 where he found the watch, must 

 have contained some internal con- 

 figuration or other; and that this 

 configuration might be the struc- 

 ture now cxiiibited, viz. of the 

 works of a watch, as well as a dif- 

 fsrcnt structure. 



5. Nor, fifthly, would it yield his 

 enquiry more satisfaction to be aii- 

 iwcred, that there existed in things a 

 principle of order, which had dis- 

 posed the parts of the watch into 

 their present form and situation. 

 He never knew a watch made by the 

 principle of order, nor can he form 

 to himself an idea of ^v hat is meant 

 by a principle of order, distinct 

 from the intelligence of the watch- 

 Baker. 



6. Sixthly, he would be surprised 

 to hear that the mechanism of the 

 watch was no proof of contrivance, 

 only a motive to iudwcc the mind to 

 4biDk so. 



7. And not less surprised to be 

 informed, that tJic watch in his 

 hand was nothing more than the 

 result of the laws of metallicnature. 

 It is a perversion of language to 

 assign any law as the efficient ope- 

 rative cause of any thing. A law 

 presupposes an agent ; for it is only 

 the mode, according to which aa 

 agent proceeds, it implies a power ; 

 for it is the order, according to 

 which that power acts. Without 

 this agent, without this power, 

 which are both distinct from itself, 

 the law does nothing ; is nothing. 

 1 he expression, " the law of metallic 

 nature," may sound strange and 

 harsh to a philosophic ear, but it 

 seems quite as justifiable as some 

 others which are more familiar to 

 him, such as, " the law of vegetable 

 " nature," — " the law of anima.1 

 " nature,'' or indeed, as, " the law 

 " of nature," in general, wheu 

 assigned as the cause of phsenoinena, 

 in exclusion of agency and power ; 

 or when it is substituted into the 

 place of these. 



8. Neither, lastly, would our ob- 

 server be driven out of his conclu- 

 sion, or from his confidence in its 

 truth, by being told, that he knew 

 nothing at all about the raatief. He 

 l|nows enough for his argument. 

 He knows the utility of the end : he 

 knows the subserviency and adapta- 

 tion of the means to ihc end. These 

 ])oints being known, his ignorance 

 of other points, his doubts concern- 

 ing other points, affect not the cer- 

 tainty of his reasoning. The con- 

 sciousness of knowing little, need 

 not beget a distrust of that which 

 he does know. 



3 N 3 



ESSAY. 



