CHAPTER IV, 
ADAPTATION FOR THE INDIVIDUAL 
Amonc the standard books of the classical curricu- 
lum in the denominational college of thirty years ago 
was a volume which I suppose has practically disap- 
peared from such courses. It delighted many of its 
students for a reason entirely different from that 
which the author meant should be its taking feature. 
It was Paley’s “Natural Theology.” The author 
started with a story of a watch found by a savage. 
This child of nature was supposed to examine its 
mechanism and to infer that the watch was made for 
a definite purpose. As I remember, he was even sup- 
posed to discover that its purpose was to mark time. 
It was at least to become clear to his savage mind that 
this was no chance object, but was the definite product 
of a designing mind. Having brought this hypotheti- 
cal savage to these conclusions, the author turned him- 
self to savages nearer home who fail to see design in 
nature. The book takes up a great many cases of in- 
teresting facts in animals and plants as clearly show- 
ing evidences of design as did the watch our savage 
picked up. But the inference we were expected to 
87 
