202 WISCOXSIN" ACADEMY SOIENCES, ARTS, AND LETTERS. 



because ib was 7iot thus symbolfzed we are bound to believe that no 

 conception of man existed in the Divine mind until the time of his 

 physical advent. 



But we cannot assent to this conclusion; we prefer to believe 

 that before the nebulous mist arose, there existed in the Divine 

 Consciousness a perfect conception of creation — the end to be com- 

 passed, and the means to accomplish it. That when the fiat went 

 forth, matter became endowed with certain principles which, act- 

 ing constantly and uniformly, have evolved the countless forms 

 that people the universe; and that tlie}^ will continue to be evolved 

 until the divine conception is wrought out. We recognize the ge- 

 netic force as one of those principle; vv^e recognize the tendency of 

 organisms occasionally to depart slightly from their parent forms 

 as the natural result of this principle; we can believe a departure 

 from this departure as natural; and if we recognize two variations, 

 we can recognize a third — a fourth — and any number. We can 

 conceive it possible that a departure, and a continual redeparture 

 from the parent form might give rise to varieties so different as to 

 be classed as species; we can conceive of species varying to such a 

 degree as to constitute genera; and we can conceive of this "func- 

 tional impulse" working through countless ages with ever varying 

 effects, as redoundiug more to the wisdom and glory of God than 

 any number of successive creations, be they of tlie nature of dis- 

 tinct fiats, or the symbols of evolution in the Divine Conscious- 

 ness. 



