122 THE CREATION OF MATTER 



not lying about as if they had existed in the same con- 

 dition from eternity. They come into being. They 

 cease to be. They are perpetually appearing, disappear- 

 ing, and reappearing. The earth is a vast factory cease- 

 lessly producing triumphs of art. There is the same 

 activity of present operation as in the case of light and 

 heat. They must therefore have a cause in harmony 

 with their nature, operating in some way, at some point. 

 What nature then can yield such phenomena, can so 

 brilliantly measure and adjust, build up and organise? 

 It is as necessary to postulate a nature that can do these 

 things as one that can carry light and heat. It does not 

 belong to blind matter and its forces to work of them- 

 selves in this fashion. They are not of the nature to do 

 so. The nature acting must be determined by, must of 

 necessity correspond with, the phenomena. It must be 

 mental. The phenomena are, we say, the phenomena of 

 mind, the signs are of its presence and action. 



The activities of ovules and protoplasmic cells are 

 endlessly rich and varied. They carry on their operations 

 with transcendent skill, as if possessed of intelligence of 

 inconceivable power. There is no work like unto their 

 work, no masonry, no weaving and fashioning like theirs. 

 Their every step is as if they were guided by the per- 

 fection of wisdom. In their action there are many 

 physical forces playing a part, showing their respective 

 characteristics. We can perceive them. We can deter- 

 mine their nature. When we see signs of their presence 

 we do not hesitate to affirm that they are there. For 

 physical phenomena evidently manifested, a suitable and 

 sufficient cause must be found. And are we not as much 

 bound to seek a suitable and sufficient cause for pheno- 

 mena as real and far surpassing them in brilliancy ? The 

 phenomena with which we are dealing are not few and 



