220 REV. A. IRVING, D.SC., B.A.. ON 
think, be taken as the counterpart of “living soul” in the other. 
I find it difficult to attach any clear meaning to the phrase, “the 
long geological period.” On this point he will, I hope, pardon me 
for again referring to my previous paper, to which the present one 
is professedly supplementary. It is important not to overlook the 
fact, that the second of the two accounts of creation is but the first 
“ Act” of the drama, which runs on from chapter ii, 4, to chapter 
iv, 24.* There is internal evidence of this. In all our studies of 
these old Scriptures we must learn to “think orientally,’+ if we 
are to get away from the bondage of what the late Sir Gabriel 
Stokes, F.R.S. (a former President of the Victoria Institute), used 
to call “a slavish literalism.” (See further on this point correspon- 
dence in the Guardian in the autumn of 1907, on “Genesis and 
Science.”) 
Colonel Turton refers to his book, The Truth of Christianity, 
which I procured and read with much pleasure on its appearance. 
Though the science of it is weak in places, the book as a whole 
is a valuable addition to the literature of Christian Apolo- 
getics. Unfortunately he, like some others, has not been at the 
pains to make a real study of my paper before criticizing it; and so 
he has misunderstood that part with which he deals in his quasi- 
criticism, consisting of little more than quotations from his own 
book. If the Colonel would do me the favour of making a careful 
logical analysis of Section II (B) of my paper, he will see that the 
notion of the atmosphere constituting the “expanse” is one which 
is entirely ruled out by the argument adopted. That argument is 
based upon what the inspired writer actually says, and not in any 
way upon what others have read into it. The word “expanse” 
means an indefinite portion of extended space, and cannot possibly 
mean a material substance, such as the atmosphere of this planet 
undoubtedly is. If the gallant Colonel doubts that, it must be 
because he has forgotten the laboratory-teaching of his Woolwich 
days, which must have familiarized him with the air-pump and its 
applications. My conception of the “expanse” is that of inter- 
planetary space, on the assumption of the nucleate inception of the 
planets, as separate centres of condensation in the nebula; and it 
* See further Driver, Op. ecit., page 35 ff. 
+t Mackinlay in his book, Zhe Magi, ete. 
