3OO Natural Theology. 



unlearned and ignorant. But in not a single book 

 of the Bible can be found any expression that can 

 be reasonably tortured into antagonism to that high 

 and pure Monotheism which the highest philosophy 

 must accept, nor against the revelations of science 

 in the physical world. References to science are 

 never introduced in the Bible for their own sake ; 

 but whenever introduced, if fairly tested by the laws 

 of language, they meet the requirements of every 

 science as fully as any book written at the present 

 time for the same purpose would meet the require- 

 ments of any science. 



If we take the books not strictly scientific, written 

 by the most learned men within the last ten years, 

 by men conversant with the sciences, their illustra- 

 tions and references to nature are no more in accord- 

 ance with science than the Hebrew Scriptures. 

 The grand and clear conceptions of the universe 

 which they present, have been acknowledged even 

 by Humboldt, who was certainly as competent as 

 any man that ever lived to appreciate the accuracy 

 and significance of the language in describing the 

 physical creation. Nor can he be charged with any 

 undue desire to magnify the Bible, or to substantiate 

 its claims. " It is," says he, " a characteristic of 

 the poetry of the Hebrews, that as a reflex of Mo- 

 notheism, it always embraces the universe in its 

 unity, comprising both terrestrial life and the lumi- 

 nous realms of space ; it dwells but rarely on the 

 individuality of phenomena, preferring the contem- 

 plation of great masses. The Hebrew poet does 



