FIRST PRINCIPLES 19 



difficulty of those who endeavor to be true to science and 

 at the same time to hold fast in their allegiance to the Truth 

 which is beyond the reach of science. It is only on this 

 ground that we have ventured to point out a line of thought 

 which, as we think, justifies us in keeping the two spheres 

 distinct, and because we can imagine no process so likely to 

 undermine the Spiritual World as the attempt to prove that 

 it is governed by Natural Law. It is not within the prov- 

 ince of this book to deal with spiritual ideas or to suggest 

 methods which may prove constructive in theology ; but 

 looking upon the question from the standpoint of scientific 

 philosophy, we have ventured to point out the harm which 

 may result from a misconception of the meaning of the 

 term by which similarity amongst phenomena is expressed. 

 " Law " is a term which is applied to a sequence or a group- 

 ing of phenomena only in a metaphorical sense. It is a 

 convenient term which men of science use in classifying 

 their observations, often as a synonym for hypothesis. They 

 never intend to imply that Nature is bound by rules in the 

 sense in which Man is. The misapprehension of the meta- 

 phor by persons who have not been trained in science, and 

 by some who have been, has led to confusion, but it is 

 difficult to think of any term which might replace it. 



The German equivalent "gesetz," which really means a 

 statute, is still more open to objection. During the last forty 

 years a steady outflow of books has been produced by 

 champions who, accepting the challenge of Comte and Hux- 

 ley, have striven to justify their faith in the unseen by an 

 appeal to the seen ; and since the word Law is used by all 

 these writers in a wholly unjustifiable sense, and since this 

 question of the relation of religion to science has occupied 

 many earnest minds, we have thus severely criticised the 

 most mistaken and therefore the most harmful of all this 

 series of apologetics. The worship of Law has done sorre 

 harm in science. The introduction of the word into 

 theology is fraught with graver dangers. It can but lead to 



