it by virtue of that analogy of Religion, natural and revealed, 
to the constitution and course of Nature, which is the subject 
of Bishop Butler’s great work. Butler, following Origen, has 
met by anticipation any argument against supernatural reve- 
lation derived from the necessary unity and harmony — for 
“ uniformity ” is a very questionable word — of all divine 
operations. If, indeed, the word Nature be restricted to 
jDhysical Nature, the harmony of miracles with its constitution 
and course is easily contested. But such a limitation simply 
begs the question, which is whether the moral and spiritual 
forces of human nature do not necessitate, under certain cir- 
cumstances, a supersession of mere physical consequences. 
It is a matter of evidence whether instances of such super- 
session have occurred, and in considering the value of this 
evidence we ai’o brought back to the question from which we 
started on this short digression. 
14. That question is whether we can accept the testimony of 
persons whose competence as witnesses transcends our means 
of judgment on the sole assurance of their word. If the pre- 
vious arguments of this paper have been valid, they will at 
least have advanced us one important step in considering this 
question. They will have shown that we must approach it 
irom the moral rather than from the scientific point of view, 
and that we must consider it in relation to action, and not to 
speculation. The primary question is not, what are we to think ? 
but what are we to do ? These men — St. Paul, St. John, St. 
Peter — for reverential reasons I abstain from directly intro- 
ducing into this discussion the Name which should be the 
most decisive of all — invite us to accept their guidance in life 
and their comfort in death, and to trust ourselves, body and 
soul, to the belief of their assurances. The function of the 
Christian Church and of its ministry is to bring that invitation 
home to every man’s conscience, and as long as the Church 
performs its duty the appeal cannot be evaded. Shall we 
accept it, or shall we go elsewhere, to some modern 
guide, who will pronounce upon our duties and our destinies 
by the light of scientific forecast and legal evidence ? The 
answer to that question can only be given individually, and 
its nature will depend, in the first instance, partly on the 
degree in which we retain that childlike habit of faith, of 
mutual trust between person and person, which I have endea- 
voured to vindicate as our normal and healthy disposition ; 
and partly on the force with which the moral and spi- 
ritual power of such Saints lays hold of our souls. There 
are those to whom that force is overwhelming, and to 
