76 THE REIGN OF LAW. 



of rigorous demonstration, was the homage ren- 

 dered by the great faculties of his nature to a 

 harmony which was as new as it was immense 

 and wonderful. The same pleasure in its own de- 

 gree is felt by every man of science who, in any 

 branch of physical inquiry, traces and detects 

 any lesser law. And it is perfectly true that 

 such laws are being detected everywhere. Forces 

 which are in their essence and their source utter- 

 ly mysterious, are always being found to operate 

 under rules which have strict reference to mea- 

 sures of number, — to relations of Space and Time. 

 The Forces which determine chemical combina- 

 tion all work under rules as sharp and definite as 

 the Force of Gravitation. So do the Forces which 

 operate in Light, and Heat, and Sound. So do 

 those who exert their energies in Magnetism and 

 Electricity. All the operations of Nature — the 

 smallest and the greatest — are performed under 

 similar measures and restraints. Not even a 

 drop of water can be formed except under rules 

 which determine its weight, its volume, and its 

 shape, with exact reference to the density of the 

 fluid, to the structure of the surface on which it 



