308 PROF. WILLIAMSON’S ADDRESS TO THE 
and took refuge amongst the less perfectly understood 
creatures, such as the Entozoa and infusorial Monads; but 
even here we have seen the error dispelled by the increas- 
ing light of science. Siebold has exploded it in the case 
of the Tape-worms, and other writers have done the same 
for the Infusoria; so that the fallacy is now left without a 
refuge. Greatly is the world indebted to science for this 
work, remembering what is the question involved. Let it 
be admitted that one of these lowest living creatures comes 
into existence independently of a Creator, and wherefore 
should a Creator be needful to man himself! 
Though scarcely credible, there still exists a class of 
men who doubt the interpretations of the microscrope and 
distrust its revelations. In his Socratic dialogues, Plato 
makes Meno compare Socrates, who was constantly in- 
fusing doubts into others, to a torpedo, which benumbs 
whoever touches it. We occasionally meet with anti- 
microscopic torpedos. I fear some of these find an avowal 
of doubt the readiest means of excusing their ignorance ; 
but where such doubts have been honestly entertained, I 
have never found them capable of withstanding the proof 
afforded by ruled-glass micrometers when placed under 
the microscope. Here, we know beforehand the angles at 
which the ruled lines intersect one another, and the geo- 
metric forms of the spaces they enclose; we can at once 
ascertain whether the microscope disturbs such angles, or 
whether it faithfully transmits them to the eye. If the 
latter, it is equally to be trusted in all its other demon- 
strations; and such we know to be the case. Other de- 
murrers occasionally ask the question, Has not all been 
done in the way of discovery that can be done? is not the 
field exhausted? The absurdity of this objection to fur- 
ther inquiry is best shown by the fact that, as yet, we do 
not know the entire correct history of one single object! 
Many magnificent monographs have been written, and 
