98 THE REIGN OF LAW. 



things, be ever broken. And this idea grows 

 upon the mind, until in some confused manner it 

 is held as casting out the idea of Purpose in crea- 

 tion, and inconsistent w r ith the element of Will. 

 If it be so, the difficulty cannot be evaded by 

 denying the uniformity, any more than the uni- 

 versality, of Law. It is perfectly true that every 

 law is, in its own nature, invariable, producing 

 always precisely and necessarily the same effects, 

 — that is, provided it is worked under the same 

 conditions. But then, if the conditions are not 

 the same, the invariableness of effect gives place 

 to capacities of change which are almost infinite. 

 It is by altering the conditions under which 

 any given law is brought to bear, and by 

 bringing other laws to operate upon the same 

 subject, that our own Wills exercise a large 

 and increasing power over the material world. 

 And be it observed — to this end the unifor- 

 mity of laws is no impediment, but, on the 

 contrary, it is an indispensable condition. Laws 

 are in themselves unchangeable, and if they were 

 not unchangeable, they could not be used as the 

 instruments of Will. If they were less rigorous 



