52 ORGANIC EVOLUTION CONSIDERED 



change in the method by which the agencies work. 



When we speak of secondary causes, we imply the 

 existence of a Primary Cause from which they have 

 sprung. If matter and the forces of nature are sec- 

 ondary causes, then their existence is due to the 

 Primary Cause, and tbeir creation required special 

 acts of that cause. Darwin speaks of "the laws im- 

 pressed on matter by the Creator." The impression 

 of these laws on matter must have required special 

 fiats of the Creator. Spencer attributes all known 

 phenomena to the Unknown and Unknowable Power, 



It seems to me that at least several fiats were neces- 

 sary in creation, namely, the creation of matter, the 

 creation of the forces of nature, the creation of the 

 first living being, the creation of the senses, the crea- 

 tion of instincts, and the creation of the mind oi 

 man. These are exceptional kinds of work, which 

 demanded, I think, the exercise of exceptional kinds 

 of power, or they demanded exceptional methods oi 

 the action of secondary agencies, which could be 

 brought about only by the acts of the Primary Cause. 



It is conceivable that the Creator's method may be 

 similar to that of man in dealing with nature. Man 

 accomplishes an endless number of purposes by mak- 

 ing use of existing matter and forces. 



A special act of the Creator does not involve the 

 abandonment of the use of secondary agencies, but 

 it may be a special use of these agencies, so that thej> 

 accomplish work which they would not otherwise per- 

 form. The mind of man is a controlling agency ic 

 the affairs of the earth. Mind perpetually interferes 

 with the workings of nature, directing her forces intc 

 new channels, and thus producing results which are 

 as wonderful as miracles. It is the prerogative oi 

 mind to rule over all else — to subdue, combine, direct 

 and fulfill the endless purposes of intelligence. 



