INTRODUCTION 



In the year 1865 Professor Samuel Finley Breese 

 Morse, to whom the world is indebted for the applica- 

 tion of the principles of electro-magnetism to teleg- 

 raphy, gave the sum of ten thousand dollars to Union 

 Theological Seminary to found a lectureship in mem- 

 ory of his father, the Eev. Jedediah Morse, D.D., theo- 

 logian, geographer, and gazetteer. The subject of the 

 lectures was to have to do with " The relations of the 

 Bible to any of the sciences." The ten chapters, of 

 this book correspond to ten lectures, eight of which 

 were delivered as Morse Lectures at Union Theological 

 Seminary during the early spring of 1895. The first 

 nine chapters appear in form and substance as they 

 were given in the lectures, except that Chapters VI. 

 and VII. were condensed in one lecture. Chapter X. 

 is new, and I have not hesitated to add a few para- 

 graphs wherever the argument seemed especially to 

 demand further evidence or illustration. 



One of my friends, reading the title of these lectures, 

 said : " Of man's origin you know nothing, of his future 

 you know less." I fear that many share his opinion, 

 although they might not express it so emphatically. 



It would seem, therefore, to be in order to show that 

 science is now competent to deal with this question ; 

 not that she can give a final and conclusive answer, 

 but that we can reach results which are probably in 



