152 PROFESSOR EDWARD HULL, LL.D., E.R.S. 
ment of spiritual Christians an instance of true evolution, not by 
uatural selection, but by a Divine addition to prencehy existing 
characteristics ? 
REPLY BY THE AUTHOR. 
I agree with Mr. Blackett, that if we admit the agency of a 
Creator for the origin of man, it is of little importance as regards 
his dignity whether he were formed directly “from the dust of 
the ground,” or by evolution from a tertiary ape. And in reference 
to his remark that I have dwelt rather on the negative side of the 
subject than the positive, I may reply that the latter (the positive 
evidence of design) is far too wide a subject to be dealt with, 
except by reference, in a communication of the present kind; his 
note, however, is a valuable supplement to my paper. 
Perhaps I may be allowed to take this opportunity of mentioning 
in connection with what has above been said, that as I regard the 
Biblical account of Creation as a Divinely inspired word-picture of 
the origin of the world and its inhabitants, embodying the great 
laws of creation, the term “dust of the ground” appears to me to 
mean that the corporeal part of man is essentially that of the 
material elements of which terrestrial matter consists. 
