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there not sublimer truths than those taught directly by physics ? Is there 
nothing which transcends the science of the chemist and the naturalist 1 
Granting that material man belongs to physics, is there no such person as 
an intellectual man ? no such evidence as the human soul ? If there is, 
surely the problems connected therewith, which form part of the province of 
metaphysics, are of greater importance than the classification of vegetables 
and animals. But that there is such an existence the wise of all ages and 
of all countries, the common-sense of those around us, all admit. But the 
human soul is neither earth, air, fire, nor water, nor any element which the 
chemist has discovered. These elements are not susceptible of memory 
intelligence, or thought ; they retain no knowledge of past events, they 
reason not on the present, nor foresee the future. These faculties may act 
through the brain, but they are distinct therefrom in their essence. Finite 
in their origin, limited in their capacity, yet uniform in their characteristics, 
they must have emanated from a greater, from a free and pure mind, free 
from mortal conviction, yet possessing an eternal principle of action. I 
intend not with Bishop Butler to discuss what gratitude is, or to show that 
veneration is a native quality of the soul ; nor with other philosophers to 
expound its state when it is truly happy. But, as a mere matter of fact, I 
can but think it possible to apply Lord Bacon’s system of induction to 
spiritual and moral phenomena around us, which are the material of meta- 
physics, as well as to the other works of creation. I agree with Prebendary 
Bow in saying that we cannot fully understand the ontology of the 
Supreme Being, for the finite qualities and faculties of man are inferior 
to the infinite ; but, while we cannot fully understand the nature, we 
may know the existence of that Supreme Being, without being able to 
comprehend the Infinity, the Wisdom, the Power, and the Majesty of 
God. Mr. Spencer tells us that the “inscrutable power which is mani- 
fested to us through all phenomena transcends intuition and is beyond 
imagination.” In this sentence he makes another admission, which will 
be of great advantage to us in this controversy. He admits that there 
is a Power which manifests itself through all phenomena — inscrutable, it 
may be, but still a Power, the existence of which is acknowledged. It 
is true also that it may transcend intuition, and be beyond imagination, 
but yet the existence of this Power may still remain. I think the Kev. 
Prebendary Bow hardly did justice to the works of Aristotle. It may be 
that Aristotle thought the people at large would not comprehend his 
notions of a Deity ; but it is an undoubted fact that Aristotle himself, 
and the people of the great and learned world in which he lived, did 
adopt the notions he put forth. It may be true that Aristotle did not think 
the people at large would accept these views ; but that arose from the 
feeling with which he regarded the populace and from his dislike to the 
vulgar mob, — 
Odi profanum vulgus et arceo : 
Favete linguis : carmina non prius 
Audita, Musarum sacerdos 
Virginibus puerisque canto. — Horace, Odes , iii. 1. 
