MIRACLES, SCIENCE, AND PEATEE. 265 



are based upon tlie supposed uniformity of natural forces^ 

 But it is by no means difficult to show that however uniform 

 natural /o?'(!e5 may be, the results of such forces are not only 

 not uniform, but infinitely various: and that it is to the- 

 interaction of forces themselves invariable in their mode of 

 operation that the infinite complexity which we observe in 

 natural phenomena is to be ascribed. 



This assertion will hardly be disputed. The motions of 

 the heavenly bodies are regulated in the simplest possible 

 manner. The interaction of two forces only directs those 

 motions — the so-called " law '' or observed characteristic of 

 nature which impels eveiy body to move straight on in the 

 same direction in which it is moving at any given moment, 

 and the force of gravitation, which vaiies directly as the mass, 

 and inversely as the square of the distance, of the bodies 

 which exert it. Yet how infinite are the results of the combina- 

 tion of these two opposing forces ! It has been observed that, 

 regular as is the revolution of the moon round the earth, it 

 never returns a second time to the precise place in the 

 heavens it occupied on previous occasions. But this is not 

 all. The place of the moon in the heavens, as viewed from 

 the earth, is merely relative. But astronomers now tell us that 

 the Avhole solar system is in motion round some unknown 

 centre of force. Therefore it is certain that the moon not 

 only never returns to the place she occupied before, but is 

 each month, at the end of her revolution round the earth, at 

 a distance at present immeasurable from her position at the 

 end of the previous one. Add to this the fact that all the 

 countless orbs we see in the skies are continually modifying 

 each other's motion in an infinity of ways, and we find that 

 the mutual action of two simple laAvs in the universe is 

 capable of producing variations infinite in number. If we- turn 

 to the more complex forces at work upon the earth — those 

 that influence the weather, for instance, we shall find the same 

 infinite variety in a far less extended sphere. One reason is, 

 that new forces are here brought into play. Not only are the 

 two laws of force of which we have spoken in action here also, 

 but other forces beside, such as heat, light, electricity, 

 cliemical affinity, and the like. So that although the course 

 of the seasons is uniform, and their general character well 

 ascertained, there is, nev^ertheless, room for endless variety of 

 detail. No one season is exactly like another. Heat and 

 cold vary year by year in intensity and duration. It is impos- 

 sible to predict accurately beforehand the rainfall or amount 



