329 
that out of the “ infinitely infinite ” methods of original dis- 
position one might have been chosen that by the mutual 
action of its parts according to uniform and fixed law 
should produce the universe and all its developments in time, 
exactly and in all respects such as it has been, as it is and 
ever shall be. An infinite mind must of necessity foresee all 
the infinite results and outcomes, and foresee them as the 
results of the original constitution, and therefore all the sub- 
sequent effects are really determined by that mind. The objec- 
tion which is sometimes urged against this mechanical view, 
that it throws the Divine action into an infinitely distant 
past, and excludes Him from the present, argues an imperfect 
conception of the Divine mind, which is equally present 
throughout all time ; and every effect of a perfect machine is 
as truly the effect of will, when it is comprehended in the 
original design of the machine, as when it is produced by the 
will of the workman acting through the machine. So that 
even on this strictly mechanical view it must be admitted that 
the whole outcome of the universe is the result of will 
acting by law. Much has been said of the “ molecules” 
having the characteristics of “manufactured articles,” and 
different reasons, which may justify their being so called, 
have been discussed ; but it is sufficient explanation that 
they have the character of those articles which are produced 
by human will acting by law, that is, either by machinery or 
by the aid of some chemical or other physical agencies. And 
is there not exactly the same reason to pronounce the various 
products of nature to be manufactured ? What, for example, 
could more completely answer to the character of a “ manu- 
factured article ” than the water which nature manufactures, 
according to physical laws, in quantities sufficient for organic 
life, yet not so largely as to destroy it ? and how could mere 
law have determined that out of all the “ infinitely infinite ” 
combinations of atoms that were possible, this one combina- 
tion should hold the particular position which it does hold in 
the economy of nature ? 
31. However, this does not exhaust the question by any 
means. So far as proving that the operation of will cannot 
possibly be excluded, it is sufficient. But having once allowed 
the action of will in the Universe, is it possible to limit it, or 
to exclude it from any part of space and time ? It may not be 
possible for us to prove that the present Universe could not be 
the mere outcome of mechanical action; in fact, we cannot 
argue on a problem in which the factors are not only infinite 
in number but infinitely different in magnitude and in kind. 
When we attempt to reason on such a problem, we are merely 
