IOO THE REIGN OF LAW. 



of all phenomena being governed by invariable 

 laws, they use language which is ambiguous, and 

 in most cases they use it in a sense which covers 

 an erroneous idea of the facts. There are no 

 phenomena visible to Man of which it is true to 

 say that they are governed by any invariable Force. 

 That which does govern them is always some 

 variable combinations of invariable forces. But 

 this makes all the difference in reasoning on the 

 relation of Will to Law, — this is the one essential 

 distinction to be admitted and observed. There 

 is no observed Order of facts which is not due 

 to a combination of Forces ; and there is no com- 

 bination of Forces which is invariable — none 

 which are not capable of change in infinite de- 

 grees. In these senses — and these are the com- 

 mon senses in which Law is used to express the 

 phenomena of Nature — Law is not rigid, it is 

 not immutable, it is not invariable, but it is, on 

 the contrary, pliable, subtle, various. In the 

 only sense in which laws are immutable, this 

 immutability is the very characteristic which 

 makes them subject to guidance through endless 

 cycles of design. We know this in our own case. 



