NATURAL HISTORY OF CREATION. 121 



fully peruse it with awakened minds, we lind that all 

 the procedure is represented primarily and pre-eminently 

 as flowing from commands and expressions of ivill, not 

 from direct acts. Let there be light — let there be a 

 firmament — let the dry land appear — let the earth bring 

 forth grass, the herlj, the tree— let the waters bring forth 

 the moving creature that hath life — let the earth bring 

 forth the living creature after his kind — these are the 

 terms in which the principal acts are described. The 

 additional expressions — Uod made the firmament — God 

 made the beast of the earth, &c., occur subordinately, 

 and only in a few instances ; they do not necessarily 

 convey a different idea of the mode of creation, and, 

 indeed, only appear as alternative phrases, in the usual 

 duplicative manner of Eastern narrative. Keeping thi^ 

 in view, the words used in a subsequent place, ''God 

 formed man in his own image," cannot well be under- 

 stood as implying any more than what was implied 

 before— namely, that man was produced in consequence 

 of an expression of the Divine will to that etiect. Thus, 

 the scriptural objection quickly vanishes, and the pre- 

 valent ideas about the organic creation appear only as a 

 mistaken inference from the text, formed at a time when 

 man's ignorance prevented him from drawing therefrom 

 a just conclusion. At the same time, I freely own that 

 1 do not think it right to adduce the Mosaic record, 

 either in objection to, or support of, any natural hypo- 

 thesis, and this for many reasons, but particularly for 

 this, that there is not the least appearance of an inten- 

 tion in that book to give philosophically exact views 

 of nature. 



To a reasonable mind the Divine attributes must 

 appear, not diminished, or reduced in any way, by 

 supposing a creation by law, but intiuitely exalted. It 



