WHAT IS NATURE? 3 



discoveries, but there is no one who cannot compel himself to learn to 

 enjoy the pleasure that can be derived from the observation of Nature. 



It must not be imagined that in order to cultivate science it is abso- 

 lutely necessary to have laboratories and scientific work-rooms. The book 

 of which Palissy spoke is ever present ; its pages are always open, wherever 

 we turn our eyes or direct our steps. So we may hope to introduce all our 

 friends to a pleasant and lasting acquaintance with Dame Nature. 



"But what is Nature?" We are fond of admiring Nature, and the 

 effects of certain causes in the world, and we want to know why things are 

 so. Very well so you shall ; and as to the question " What is Nature ? " 

 we will endeavour to answer you at once. 



Nature is the united totality of all that the various Senses can perceive. 

 In fact, all that cannot be made by man is termed "Nature"; i.e. t God's 

 creation. 



From the earliest ages man has sought to read the open leaves of the 

 Book of Nature, and even now, with all our attainments, we cannot grasp 

 all, or nearly all. One discovery only leads up to another. Cause and 

 Effect are followed up step by step till we lose ourselves in the search. 

 Every effect must have a cause. One thing depends upon another in the 

 world, and it does not need Divine revelation to tell us that. Nothing 

 happens . by " mere chance." " Chance ! " said a Professor to us at the 

 University, " Chance ! Remember, there is no such thing in the world as 

 chance." 



Between our minds or consciousness and Nature are our Senses. We 

 feel, we see, we hear, we taste, we smell, so it is only through the Senses 

 that we can come to any knowledge of the outer world. These attributes, 

 or Senses, act directly upon a certain " primary faculty " called Consciousness, 

 and thus we are enabled to understand what is going on around us. The 

 more this great existing faculty is educated and trained, the more useful it 

 will become. So if we accustom our minds' to observation of Nature, we 

 shall find out certain causes and effects, and discover Objects. Now an 

 Object is a thing perceptible both to feeling and sight, and an Object 

 occupies space. Therefore there are objects Artificial as well as Natural. 

 The former are created by man from one or more Natural products. 

 Natural Objects are those such as trees, rocks, plants, and animals. We may 

 also class the heavenly bodies, etc., as Objects, though we cannot touch 

 them, but we can feel their effects, and see them. The PHENOMENA of 

 Nature include those results which are perceptible by only one sense, as 

 thunder ; light and sound may also be classed as Phenomena. 



Take a familiar instance. A stone is a Natural Object. We take it 

 up, open our fingers, and it falls. The motion of that object is a Phenomenon. 

 We know it falls because we see it fall, and it possesses what we term 

 weight ; but we cannot tell why it possesses weight. 



[Professor Huxley says : " Stones do not fall to the ground in conse- 

 quence of a law ot mature," for a law is not a cause. " A law of nature 



