1884.] 
Hylo-Idealism ? 
385 
the material phenomena with all its vital energies, or is it to 
be extended to the Universe with all its cosmic realities, 
with its galaxies of suns, and probably their attendant 
worlds,— all so accordant in adtion that the combination is 
unity ? If this be so, plus intelligence, ratiocination, and 
wisdom, then Nature is that which the religious mind 
recognises as God— the ordinator, creator, and maintainer 
of^matter, its formator, and law-giver. Contemplate the 
supjedt as we may we are compelled to admit an originator, 
or accept the most astounding of miracles, chance, with 
its billions of millions of accidents, resulting in homogeneity. 
Does it follow that Monistic nature has uniform adtion 
throughout the stellar universe ? Although the same ma- 
terials, as manifested by spedtrum analysis, appear to be 
the components of all : even granting that the inorganic 
substances are the same, still their chemical amalgamations 
may be wholly different, as we see even in earth mixtures, — 
e.g., isomeric compounds —the same substances in different 
amalgamations producing opposite results, delicious odour 
or rank disgusting substance, refreshing beverage or deadly 
poison. It is more than probable that other orbs than Earth 
are inhabited, and present a flora and fauna, and probably 
present different constitutions to those we know : there may 
be also climatic differences which would increase the diver- 
sity, for position and magnitude must be taken into account. 
If this be so, it follows that Nature is discriminating, i.e., 
intelligent, and adapts her powers to the uses to be applied! 
Is it to be said that all this can result from chance ? If, 
then, chance be excluded from the problem, in what then 
does Nature differ from that grand reality of power, omni- 
science, and omnipresence we term God ? In Nature we 
have direction, creation, and maintenance ; the adaptation 
of mechanics and chemistry to direft differing conditions of 
substances, all intelligibly marshalled. There is no law of 
chance which by any possibility can arrive at the same con- 
clusions : add direction to chance, and the chaotic idea, 
chance, must be abandoned. 
In Natural Science the true man of Science appre- 
ciates the display of natural harmony — the unity, the 
multifold variety, and the delicate balance of “ physical 
and vital activities.” The greater his knowledge the more 
fully his mind embraces the complex inter-relations of the 
animal and vegetable world. The hills, the plains, and the 
waters tell the history of the world when there was no sen- 
tient inhabitant to record it. In their harmonious relations 
it may well be said that there is not only beauty, but 
