Historical Relations 147 



had been recognised since the days of Galen, and earlier ; it was 

 the constant theme of Cuvier, Owen, and others. The introduc- 

 tion of a general law to correlate these conclusions in a mere incident 

 in the extension of the Reign of Law. The problem remained as 

 before. After Darwin it was neither easier nor harder to explain 

 how man could escape from the tyranny of natural law. Darwin 

 doubtless brought the problem home to the ordinary man ; he did 

 not create it for the thinker. 



It is said, and rightly said, that natural law is not absolute, that 

 it exists in our minds and not in things, and that even in our minds 

 it is subject to change. Philosophically this point is of very great 

 importance, but it is irrelevant in connection with our conceptions 

 of natural law over against revealed religion. The external habili- 

 ments of religion, revelation and all that proceeds therefrom, are as 

 much phenomena as are chemical reactions, or the migrations of 

 birds. These things, as being detectable by the senses, are subject 

 to examination by the senses and analysis by scientific method. 

 They, like natural laws, exist in our minds and even in our minds 

 are subject to change. 



The rapid introduction of new general laws covering an ever 

 wider field have induced a feeling of insecurity as regards scientific 

 conclusions. This feeling has been specially fostered by certain 

 recent developments, which are sometimes presented as though un- 

 dermining the Reign of Law. Thisdoubtor hope is unfounded. It 

 has always been recognised that Science is but a conceptual scheme 

 which bears an uncertain relation to the percepts that it correlates. 

 The relation of percepts to each other is, however, fixed and un- 

 altering. When, for example, the substance with all the perceptual 

 qualities summed up by the phrase Hydrochloric Acid is poured on 

 the substance with the perceptual qualities of a Carbonate there 

 follow perceptual qualities conveniently classed together under the 

 term Carbonic Acid Gas. This is the sequence whatever our con- 

 ceptual view of the event. It is unaltered by any atomic, ionic, 

 electronic, or other concept. The sequence is a Natural Law and 

 so far as the perpetual Universe is concerned such sequences appear 

 to cover the whole field investigated. There is no area that has 

 been exactly investigated that does not seem fully occupied by such 

 sequences. But do there remain fields in which there is a reason- 

 able presumption that such sequences are not universal .? What in 

 fact are the exact frontiers of the Kingdom of Law ? If we could 



