216 



LETTERS ON TREES. 



philosophy of our constitutional forms, and of our 

 national traditions and social usages. 



5. And this notion of law is distinct from that of 

 power. Power, indeed, is itself regulated by law — 

 i. e. by design or purpose, and is therefore expressive 

 of mind — into whichj in fact, all power as well as all 

 law is resolvable. But still law is not power. The 

 two are as distinct in the economy of Nature as they 

 are in the economy of human affairs — as distinct in 

 Nature as a law of this realm is distinct from the exe- 

 cutive power of the realm by which it is enforced. 

 The time-tables of a railway company set forth the 

 law — ^. e. the purpose of the company, in the person 

 of the directors, in regard to the departure and arrival 

 of the several trains at the different stations along the 

 line. And the trains do in fact arrive and depart in 

 obedience to that law. But the law in question is not 

 the power by which the movement of the trains is 

 effected ; nor does it give us any insight into the 

 nature of that power. So, also, the phenomena of 

 Nature take place in accordance with (or in obedience 

 to) the laws of Nature, and these laws are expressive 

 of ideas in the Creator's mind — embodiments of His 

 thoughts and purposes. But they are not the powers 

 employed by Nature in the production of the pheno- 

 mena, nor do they lead us one step towards the know- 

 ledge of them. The Creator has let us into many of 

 the secrets of His counsel ; but He has carefully hid 



