ON THE CREATION AND GOD. 5 



worlds and launched them fully finished on their paths 

 in space, other than a poetic significance of no scientific 

 or philosophical value. 



The negative doctrine of Nescience, or the necessary 

 insolubility of the problem from the limitation of our 

 faculties, is one only to be fallen back upon finally, after 

 the complete and demonstrated failure of Science to solve 

 the mystery of the origin of things by a positive and 

 probable hypothesis. At least, Nescience will only be 

 listened to without impatience after Science has made 

 her utmost attempt at explanation and signally failed. 

 But Science is now in possession of the ear of the court ; 

 she professes to have a satisfactory hypothesis to offer 

 explanatory of the origin of the material universe, as well 

 as of the world of life. It remains, therefore, to let her 

 unfold her hypothesis, and apply it to the explanation 

 of the facts, that we may see how far we can accept it. 



2. According to Science, the earth, the sun, the 

 moon, the planets, and all the host of heaven are the 

 results of the condensation, millions of years ago, of a 

 nebulous vapour or extremely attenuated matter diffused 

 throughout the expanse of space. 



This dispersed matter, with a stock of potential 

 energy, existed from eternity; but into their previous 

 possible states or transformations, Science does not in- 

 quire. She commences her story at the beginning of the 

 evolution of the present existing universe, without rais- 

 ing the question whether the necessary materials might 

 not have entered into the composition of a previously 

 existing one which had become dissolved ; and for pur- 

 poses of explanation she postulates at this beginning our 

 present quantity of matter and energy, subject to the 

 law of gravitation, and the law of the transformation 

 of energy. 



