192 



Louis Agassiz. 



could hardly have been posted as to his methods and 

 belief, as the works of no naturalist of his time so 

 ring with religious fervour and enthusiasm. In one 

 of his lectures he says : In presenting the order of 

 succession of animals in past ages, my object was 

 chiefly to show that there exists such a connection 

 between them as bespeaks thought, plan, and delib- 

 eration, and that in their combination at different 

 periods is clearly seen the intervention of an intelli- 

 gent Creator." And again : Even though we can 

 make ourselves conscious that they (animals) are 

 built by mind, and that it has pleased the Maker of 

 all things to give us a spark of that life which makes 

 us to be His children, formed in His image, that evi- 

 dence is nowhere stronger than in the fact that our 

 mind is capable of studying those works to a limit 

 which approaches to a comprehension of their won- 

 derful relation to one another." 



Thus it will be seen, that Agassiz stands out 

 strongly among the scientists and naturalists of his 

 time as a defender of the faith, as one who never 

 allowed the doubt of infidelity to creep into his 

 mind. To him all nature spoke of the glory of 

 God, and every living thing was an evidence of the 

 creative mind in nature, the wisdom of a Divine 

 Architect. 



In referring to his religious nature Dr. Stebbins 

 says : He was eminently a religious and devout 

 man. He was ever looking for the indications of 

 thought and purpose in nature from monad to mas- 

 todon. He studied nature as the work of an intelli- 

 gent mind, not of blind forces. The more he dis- 



