Darwinism and Deity. 41 



than for mere meteorological investigation. The theo- 

 ries and processes of chemistry interest few compared 

 with the number who prize the practical appliances re- 

 sulting from the studies of chemists. The whole mat- 

 ter of spectrum analysis was ignored by the bulk of 

 mankind as a scientific whim, till it was found to be of 

 service in business. 



So it is with any proposition of science which bears 

 upon religious dogma or theological opinion. As these 

 are matters of intense concern, any scientific theory 

 which bears upon such matters is apt in the first place 

 to meet with approval or rejection according to that 

 bearing. Now, the belief is deeply seated in men that 

 God made the world ; that all we see, is His handiwork. 

 And when it is proposed to prove that man, and the 

 beasts of the field, and all trees, were called into being 

 by some law of nature, there is an instinctive feeling, 

 that here is an attempt to withdraw the world from his 

 supervision, and substitute a laboratory in his place. 

 Whether this feeling is well-grounded or not, depends 

 somewhat upon the true meaning of the phrase "laws 

 of nature." 



What are the laws of nature? In a general way it 

 may be said they are formulas, expressing the order of 

 succession, and the mode of operation of natural phe- 

 nomena. The law of light explains the phenomena of 

 light. It says the phenomena of light are produced by 

 the undulations of a subtle ether. The ether is made 

 to undulate by the appearance of a luminous body. A 

 luminous body is one which causes the ether to undu- 

 late. It causes the ether to undulate by virtue of some 

 innate force of nature. What is that force of nature? 



