NOMOS. 159 



the so-called agency of heat is a very important 

 agent in the operations of nature. In other words, 

 we are able to deduce from the metamorphoses of 

 comets and from the history of the tides some very 

 conclusive evidence in favour of the belief that the 

 true law of nature is one and the same with that 

 law of which we have spoken so much, and of which 

 heat is one of the aspects. 



But what of that permanent expansion of the 

 earth which was spoken of as resulting from the 

 lenticular action of the earth? Is there The pagt hig- 

 any evidence of such expansion? We earthfur e 

 think that there is, and that it is to be nishes other 



and very re- 



found in the past history of the earth, markabieii- 



m, . , , , . lustrations of 



think, moreover, that the examination the idea that 



of this evidence will serve to clear away 



much that is doubtful and hypothetical in 



this history, and to show, at the same described - 



time, the absolute truth and wisdom of all that is 



revealed in Holy Scripture upon the subject. 



What then, let us ask, was the pristine condition 

 of the earth, and what are the changes which have 

 passed over the earth since its creation ? Now there 

 are several answers to these questions, but there is 

 one which is at the same time most familiar and 

 most disregarded, and with this we will begin. It is 

 written : 



" In the beginning God created the heaven and 

 the earth. And the earth was without form and 



