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scientific sons,* render her homage to the one primary, alone, 
and universal cause of all things, God himself! 
“ Can such things be, 
And overcome us like a summer cloud 
Without our special wonder ? ” 
PART II. 
1 3 . The Chemical Argument. 
Remarkable as was the Address itself, the feeble amount of 
criticism with which its statements were received by the British 
Association is almost as remarkable. Amongst the multitude 
assembled — including, I presume, many clerical as well as lay 
members conversant more or less with chemical as well as with 
theological knowledge — there surely must have been those com- 
petent to trace out the plausible fallacies with which it abounds. 
It now rests with me to affirm that modern chemistry has no 
imaginable connection with atheism. It is “ the bold ecclesiastic” 
Gassendi, whom Tyndall seems to delight to follow. It is he who 
“ applied the known laws of mechanics to the atoms, deducing 
thence all vital phenomena,'" and consequently showed that “the 
principle of every change resides in matter.’ 1 
r I here can be no doubt that the atomic theory in its present 
form is one of the most extraordinary achievements of human 
intellect, whatever may be said against it metaphysically. Nor 
is it susceptible of doubt that the present chemical views of 
* Extract from the “ Discours d’lnauguration de la Troisieme Session de 
1' Association Frangaise pour l’Avancement des Sciences” (Lille, 20 Septembre, 
1874), par M. A. Wurtz, Membre de l’lnstitut : La Th4orie des Atonies dans 
la Conception generale du Monde : — 
“ Tel est l’ordre de la nature, et a mesure que la science y penctre davan- 
tage, elle met a jour, en meme temps que la simplicity des moyens mis en 
oeuvre, la diversity infinie des resultats. Ainsi, a travers ce coin du voile 
qu’elle nous permet de soulever, elle nous laisse entrevoir tout ensemble 
Fharmonie et la profondeur du plan de l’univers. Quant aux causes pre- 
mieres, elles demeurent inaccessibles. La commence un autre domaine que 
l’esprit humain sera toujours empresse d’aborder et de parcourir. II est 
ainsi fait et vous ne le changerez pas. C’est en vain que la science lui aura 
revelo la structure du monde et l’ordre de tous les phenomenes : il veut 
remonter plus^ hnut, et dans la conviction instinctive que les choses n’ont 
pas en elles-memes leur raison d’etre, leur support et leur origine, il est con- 
duit a les subordonner a line cause premiere, unique, universelle, Dieu.” 
TOL. X. K 
