The Three Secretaries 155 



of the existence of one Spiritual Being — infinite in wisdom, 

 in power, and all divine perfections, which exists always and 

 everywhere — which has created us with intellectual faculties 

 sufficient, in some degree, to comprehend His operations as 

 they are developed in Nature by what is called ' Science.' 



"This Being is unchangeable, and, therefore, His operations 

 are always in accordance with the same laws, the conditions 

 being the same. Events that happened a thousand years 

 ago will happen again a thousand years to come, provided 

 the condition of existence is the same. Indeed, a universe 

 not governed by law would be a universe without the evidence 

 of an intellectual director. 



" In the scientific explanation of physical phenomena, we 

 assume the existence of a principle having properties suffi- 

 cient to produce the effects which we observe ; and when the 

 principle so assumed explains, by logical deductions from it, 

 all the phenomena, we call it a theory. Thus, we have the 

 theory of light, the theory of electricity, etc. There is no 

 proof, however, of the truth of these theories, except the 

 explanation of the phenomena which they are invented to 

 account for. 



" This proof, however, is sufficient in any case in which 

 every fact is fully explained, and can be predicted when the 

 conditions are known. In accordance with this scientific 

 view, on what evidence does the existence of a Creator rest ? 



'' Fn'st. It is one of the truths best established by experi- 

 ence in my own mind, that I have a thinking, willing /'r/;^- 

 ciple within me, capable of intellectual activity and of moral 

 feeling. 



" Second. It is equally clear to me that you have a similar 

 spiritual principle within yourself, since when I ask you an 

 intelligent question you give me an intellectual answer. 



" Third. When I examine the operations of Nature, I 

 find everywhere through them evidences of intellectual ar- 

 rangement, of contrivances to reach definite ends, precisely 

 as I find in the operations of man ; and hence I infer that 

 these two classes of operations are results of similar intelli- 

 gence. 



