SCIENTIFIC USE OF THE IMAGINATION. 129 



me to speak plainly, honestly, and undisputatiously, I 

 am willing to do so. On the present occasion 

 You are ordained to call, and I to come. 



Well, your answer is given, and I obey your call. 



Two or three years ago, in an ancient London 

 College, I listened to a discussion at the end of a lec- 

 ture by a very remarkable man. Three or four hun- 

 dred clergymen were present at the lecture. The 

 orator began with the civilisation of Egypt in the time 

 of Joseph; pointing out the very perfect organisation 

 of the kingdom, and the possession of chariots, in one 

 of which Joseph rode, as proving a long antecedent 

 period of civilisation. He then passed on to the mud of 

 the Nile, its rate of augmentation, its present thickness, 

 and the remains of human handiwork found therein; 

 thence to the rocks which bound the Nile valley, and 

 which teem with organic remains. Thus in his own 

 clear way he caused the idea of the world's age to ex- 

 pand itself indefinitely before the minds of his audi- 

 ence, and he contrasted this with the age usually as- 

 signed to the world. During his discourse he seemed 

 to be swimming against a stream, he manifestly 

 thought that he was opposing a general conviction. 

 He expected resistance in the subsequent discussion; so 

 did I. But it was all a mistake; there was no adverse 

 current, no opposing conviction, no resistance; merely 

 here and there a half-humorous, but unsuccessful at- 

 tempt to entangle him in his talk. The meeting 

 agreed with all that had been said regarding the an- 

 tiquity of the earth and of its life. They had, indeed, 

 known it all long ago, and they rallied the lecturer for 

 coming amongst them with so stale a story. It was 

 quite plain that this large body of clergymen, who 

 were, I should say, to be ranked amongst the finest 

 pamples of their class, had entirely given up the an- 



