ATOMAQNETI8M AND RKLIOION. 197 



tho unintrlliT.tual animal but in man, and that those wonder- 

 ful instinctive powers which seem to baffle the wisdom of man, 

 in the bee and tho beaver, are only manifestations of the same 

 power inherent in the atoms of matter ; might not the infidel 

 exclaim, what more do we wantl Furthermore, if the power 

 of matter controls and governs the universe, guides the planets 

 in their course, steers the comets in their erratic wanderings 

 through space, and shields those bodies which come in their 

 path ; if the mysterious meteoric shower, the awe inspiring 

 thunder, the earthquake, and every movement in earth, sea and 

 atmosphere, from the tiniest individual atom to the bright orb 

 above us, are all controlled by the same inanimate force, so that 

 each is powerless to work except as that law impels it, and each 

 moves but as a wheel in the great machinery of the universe ! 

 might not the materialist exclaim ; what need of a God at all? 

 But, here insignificant man fancies himself monarch of all he 

 surveys. His lofty mind looking down on the brute creation, 

 and seeing nothing which could be deemed his superior, makes a 

 God of himself. He forgets that this earth is infinitely less 

 than millions of others in space. He sees those brilliant worlds 

 above him, but fancies they are only jewels studded in the 

 skies, to add to the glories of his earthly home. He forgeta 

 that they are peopled with beings perhaps many times more 

 able than himself, and with intellect as much above his, as hia 

 own is above that of his dog ! He forgets that he is merely a 

 parasite of the earth, chained to its surface without hope of 

 escape, while those other beings may be gifted with angels wings 

 to soar from star to star. He forgets that tho dog he spurns 

 from his feet is made of dust like to himself, and yet he would 

 place himself on a level with Hinx who created the heavens 



