CONSTITUENTS OF THE UNIVERSE. 



So-Called Laws of Nature. 



N addition to these assumptions concerning 

 design and first cause, there is another 

 near relative labelled ''The Laws of 

 Nature;" and this, like the others, is still 

 another bar and not an aid to discovery. 



This indefinite and unmeaning phrase ap- 

 pears to be susceptible of indicating almost 

 anything but the real facts in the case. It is 

 frequently made use of to express not what is 

 actually known, but rather something merely 

 guessed at. The expression is inappropriate 

 and misleading, for there is no such tiling as 

 the laws of nature in point of fact, whatever 

 else there may be. Of course there are truths 

 regarding the universe, and a simple state- 

 ment of them is far better, as it conveys no 

 false impression. 



Those who have been freely referring to 

 these imaginary laws have made a series of 

 almost ludicrous mistakes, with scarcely a 

 single truth in their assumptions about the 

 actual operations of the universe. 



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