242 The Bible of Nature 



the author of the "Foundations of Belief," when 

 he says: 



"I do not believe that any escape from these perplexities 

 is possible, unless we are prepared to bring to the study 

 of the world the presupposition that it was the work of a 

 rational Being, who made it intelligible, and at the same 

 time made us, in however feeble a fashion, able to under- 

 stand it." (Page 301.) 



Anima Animans. We have tried to indicate what 

 we believe to be the modern scientific position in 

 regard to the genesis of the Earth, Living Creat- 

 ures, and Man. How, it may be asked, is the 

 idealistic outlook 1 affected ? As far as we can un- 

 derstand, not in the slightest. 



(1) It is open to the idealist to give a name to 

 the scientific x which lies behind energy, matter, 

 and ether, and to call it Spirit, the Logos, the 

 Absolute, God. 



(2) It is legitimate to use the familiar epistemo- 

 logical argument which points out that the scien- 

 tific categories are mental concepts of our own 

 making. If we interpret nature in terms of our 

 own thoughts, we cannot use scientific formulae 

 to explain away our thoughts, as by-products of 

 nervous matter. Those who are fond of talking 

 of the bankruptcy of science we do not know 



1 The philosophical doctrine of idealism "finds the ulti- 

 mate reality of the universe in mind or spirit, and its end 

 in the perfecting of spiritual life." 



