25 



human [? sic] iiihabitauts attest the dreadful consequences of 

 a confined atmosphere/^ Now what are we to infer from this ? 

 And I might add much more to it ; such as the atmosphere 

 being the vehicle of epidemics, &c. ; but that the physical ad- 

 justment of man to the atmosphere is anything but absolutely 

 satisfactory. But we must remember this, — that an atheist or 

 infidel might easily appeal to Dr. Kidd's descriptions,, and 

 tauntingly ask, " Is this the work of your Beneficent God 

 Moreover, if we consider man^s adjustment to external condi- 

 tions, or external conditions to him, everything else besides the 

 atmosphere furnishes similar evils.^^ In other words, there are 

 the same relatively perfect or imperfect conditions, than which 

 he can conceive far better, wishes for far better, and which he 

 — if he does hope at all — hopes for far better hereafter. 



We thus, then, find that man is not exempt from this inva- 

 riable law of imperfect adaptations. 



The Law of Inideality» 



But, apart from infidels, many will feel disposed to ask, 

 Is not all this very derogatory to the Deity, who is a God of 

 love and mercy I at once, and unhesitatingly^ say "No!" 

 I again say that it is not for man to pronounce what may or 

 may not be derogatory to God. The finite mind cannot esti- 

 mate the wisdom of the Infinite. It is this unphilosophical 

 way of weighing God's actions in our own mental balance which 

 has brought so much contempt upon the methods and assertions 

 of the teleologist. 



I maintain that natural theology, as a science, must be studied 

 objectively (and not as hitherto, subjectively), like all other 

 sciences. Theological deductions will only be sound as long as 

 they are based upon a full and thoroughly impartial observation 

 of the phenomena of the world. We can only discover His 

 laws by a close examination of His works, their inter-actions, 

 and their actions upon ourselves ; and the universal principle or 

 law — applicable, as we have seen, to all cases of design, including 

 the adaptation of man and animals to their sphere of existence 

 I propose to call the Law of Inideality ; by which I would signify 

 that nothing in nature ever reaches that ideal std^^e of perfection 

 which is conceivable by man. It expresses what I have hitherto 

 called relative perfection or imperfection. I call it a law, because 

 law is expressive of an order of facts, and this law admits of 

 universal application, applies to every class of " design,''^ and is, 

 therefore, a universal witness to the will of God. 



Under this same head of adaptation I would allude to a 

 statement of Mr. Herbert Spencer, who, in his usually powerful 

 reasoning in support of evolution, has made one slip (as it seems 



