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deep ; that amphibious reptiles and birds succeeded, and were 
followed by the mammal races, and lastly by the human races, 
represented in Scripture by their highest type. The book of 
Genesis and the book of nature, correctly expounded, reveal 
the same orders of creation ; so that to question the doctrine 
of the progression of life is to deprive the believers of the 
most tangible and intelligible evidence that time has ever 
produced of the divine origin of the Mosaic record of the 
creation. In dealing thus with primeval history, and bringing 
it into conformity with ascertained primeval facts, we utilize 
the first page of the Bible to establish the most important of 
all truths — the authenticity and inspiration of the Scriptures. 
But there are other questions connected with the primeval 
history of our race, of less importance than Scripture inspira- 
tion, but which have proved most attractive to the philosophic 
instinct that leads men to pry into the secret recesses of 
nature. It is a common maxim that the Scriptures were not 
written to teach mankind the physical sciences, God having 
supplied him with capacity and intellect to work out such 
knowledge for himself. This is a true and sound principle ; 
and in all matters of physical science, within the sphere of 
human knowledge, the Scriptures teach us nothing. No aid 
is required of them, and none is afforded. But the truths to 
which we refer are truths which lie beyond the range of 
human discovery, and which must ever remain matter of 
conjecture and speculation, so far as unaided human reason 
and argument are concerned ; and yet, strange to say, in such 
inquiries and discussions, the only authentic written record of 
primeval events in the possession of man is ignored, even by 
many who profess to believe in it as of divine origin. Yet there 
may be found evidences of the truth or falsehood of disputed 
theories which are not to be found elsewhere, and by which 
we may arrive at conclasions to which the mere philosopher, 
with all his scientific acquirements and intellectual powers, 
can never attain. 
The Darwinian theory of the origin of species is one of those 
speculations that can never be proved or disproved by unaided 
human intellect. The nature of the question, and the discus- 
sions it has undergone, prove that man may refine and pro- 
pound plausible theories on the subject, but that, without a 
divine revelation, his inductions will not transcend the sphere 
of conjecture. In this respect, the inquiry is like the Berk- 
leyan theory of ideas, which occupied attention, and w T as for 
many years the theme of controversy among metaphysicians, 
until it was recognized to be a question incapable of solution, 
and thenceforth faded out of the field of discussion. The 
