ANNUAL ADDRESS, MDCCCLXX. 9 



which religion and science are certainly not in antagonism, 

 though we may not be able to say that any light is cast 

 upon them by science. The immortality of the soul, the 

 existence of a future state, rewards and punishments to 

 come, and the prevalence of evil in the world, can neither 

 be proved, nor disproved, nor accounted for by science ; they 

 are only known to. us by revelation. In fact, revelation is 

 the making known to us of things which we are incapable 

 of ascertaining by other means ; therefore it borrows little 

 light from the knowledge of nature. All that we may 

 expect is that the two shall not clash. Whilst we cannot 

 but agree with the geologist as to the vast antiquity of 

 the earth, we may more reasonably demur in respect to 

 the high antiquity attributed to man* How is it that he 

 could exist for so many ages and yet have produced nothing 

 more than a few rude flint weapons, whilst, on the contrary, 

 in the last few millennia he has achieved so much ? This 

 is somewhat incredible. 



Take a liberal and spiritual view of the first part of 

 Genesis, and I think geologists and theologians need not 

 quarrel. We have there a sublime production, written by 

 the man who was chosen by God to be the leader, law- 

 giver, and religious instructor of the chosen race ; the 

 oldest of writings probably, commencing the holy and 

 approved archives of religion, yet apparently partly compiled 

 from earlier sources, written or traditional, primarily at 

 least intended for the instruction of a nascent and still 

 rude race. Sublime, and holy, and venerable as it is, I 

 should not be disposed to regard it in the same light as 

 the first chapter of St. John, for instance, the writer of 

 which, who wrote especially for us, had evidently the first 

 of Genesis in his mind. Of this I believe every word as it 

 stands ; indeed, this gospel has always been admitted by 



