INTRODUCTION 



THE subject of the formation of the 

 Material Universe has engaged the at- 

 tention of mankind, and been the theme 

 of conjecture and doubt, of assertion 

 and contradiction, from the commence- 

 ment of the first historical record to 

 the present time. It has been a topic 

 on which the ingenuity and learning 

 of philosophers of profound knowledge 

 have been exhausted, without arriving 

 at any definite result. Even the In- 

 spired Writings furnish us with no 



