THE SUPERNATURAL. 31 



able. Indeed, in proportion as it seems to ap- 

 proach nearer to processes of which we have some 

 knowledge, it is, in a degree, more conceivable 

 than Creation without any process, — of which we 

 have no knowledge and can have no conception. 



But whatever may have been the method or 

 process of Creation, it is Creation still. If it were 

 proved to-morrow that the first man was " born " 

 from some pre-existing Form of Life, it would 

 still be true that such a birth must have been, 

 in every sense of the word, a new Creation. It 

 would still be as true that God formed him " out 

 of the dust of the earth," as it is true that He 

 has so formed every child who is now called to 

 answer the first question of all theologies. And 

 we must remember that the language of Scrip- 

 ture nowhere draws, or seems even conscious of, 

 the distinction which modern philosophy draws 

 so sharply between the Natural and the 

 Supernatural. All the operations of Nature 

 are spoken of as operations of the Divine Mind. 

 Creation is the outward embodiment of a Divine 

 Idea. It is in this sense, apparently, that the 

 narrative of Genesis speaks of every plant being 



