LAW; — ITS DEFINITIONS. 6l 



that belief is this — that the Divine Mind is acces- 

 sible to supplication, and that the Divine Will is 

 capable of being moved thereby. No question is, 

 or indeed can be, raised as to the powerful effect 

 exerted by this belief on Man's nature. That effect 

 is recognised as a fact. Its value is admitted ; and 

 in order that it may not be lost, the compromise 

 now offered by some philosophers is this — that al- 

 though the course of external nature is unalterable, 

 yet possibly the phenomena of Mind and character 

 may be changed by the Divine Agency. But will 

 this reasoning bear analysis ? Can the distinction 

 it assumes be maintained ? Whatever difficulties 

 there may be in reconciling the ideas of Law and 

 of Volition, are difficulties which apply equally to 

 the Worlds of Matter and of Mind. The Mind is 

 as much subject to Law as the Body is. The 

 Reign of Law is over all ; and if its dominion be 

 really incompatible with the agency of Volition, 

 Human or Divine, then the Mind is as inaccessible 

 to that agency as material things. It would in- 

 deed be absurd to affirm that all Prayers are 

 equally rational or equally legitimate. Most true 

 it is that " we know not what we should pray 



