242 RAMBLES AND REVERIES. 



the Lord the irradiation of His wisdom and love. 

 Such as these 



" Find tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, 

 Sermons in stones, and good in every thing." 



What we wish to do, then, in this chapter, is to 

 claim for Science that its highest function is to dis- 

 play the presence and operations of God in the 

 natural world : " The works of the Lord are great, 

 sought out of all them that have pleasure therein." 



I. And what a pleasure this is which Nature 

 offers to the devout and spiritual ! It is the rapture 

 which was experienced in Eden, and it is among 

 the purest of our gratifications ; it is given to the 

 poor and the rich. This starry sky, this flower- 

 bedecked earth, this grove ringing with the songs 

 of birds, are all ours without purchase and without 

 rent. How vain are sensual delights, ending in 

 weariness and disgust, compared with the lofty 

 pleasures of the reason and the soul which the 

 contemplation of God's great works inspires ! Mr. 

 Frederic Harrison, the apostle of Positivism, has 

 declared that raptures are out of place where religion 

 is concerned, for they disturb the intellectual vision ; 

 yet the soul that never mounts up " with wings as 

 eagles " is not likely to run without weariness or 

 walk without fainting on the difficult path of duty. 



The pleasure we derive from devout contemplation 

 of God's works is not such as to pamper conceit or 

 pride, but it tends to deepen our reverence for all 

 that is Divine, and cultivates humility ; as Lord 

 Bacon said : " The kingdom of men found in science 



