THE SOUL OF A TREE 19 



superior to the highest outcome of its working. 

 Darwin, in the instance already referred to, 

 put into the mouth of the imaginary theologian 

 the objection, "you have no right to say that 

 all natural laws necessarily follow from gravity, 

 the persistence of force, and existence of matter. 

 If you say that nebulous matter existed aborigin- 

 ally and from eternity with all its present com- 

 plex powers in a potential state ; you seem to 

 me to beg the whole question." And his 

 significant comment on this objection was, 

 '* Please observe it is not I, but a theologian 

 who has thus addressed you, but I could not 

 answer him ". 



This may seem heavy material to bring 

 into a book about trees in nature, myth and 

 art. But probably the reader will readily 

 see the purpose of it, which is to aid him in 

 realising the wonder of tree-life. Does any 

 one say, impatiently, that the wonder is ob- 

 vious? I am only too glad if this be so. 

 Only let us be sure that, being obvious, it is 

 not taken for granted, and not felt. Or it 

 may be said that animal life is still more 

 wonderful. Agreed. And what questions 

 would come up for probing if it were animal 



