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by imperfect observation, or by a hasty generalization from the refractive 
powers of certain salts of lead. But what led to the discovery and the forma- 
tion of the achromatic telescope was the observation of a man, who said 
“ the instrument which God had made for man to see with must be the 
perfect instrument.” He knew that when he used an unachromatic telescope 
everything he saw was confused and tinged with various colours, while there 
was none of that confusion or colouring in the images which were depicted 
on his own retina. He went directly to God’s works, and asked them how it 
was that the marvellous thing was produced. He found that in the eye 
there were three different lenses, and that those lenses possessed not only 
different refractive, but different dispersive powers ; and he calculated how, 
by lenses of different substances, he could imitate imperfectly in the telescope 
what was perfectly done in the eye. Then the astronomical refracting telescope 
not only became a possibility, it became an actuality in science. But in all its 
perfection it is a very long way from the eye, which Darwin supposes to be 
made without any skill in optics. The eye contains wonders in its construc- 
tion which the physiologist and physicist have not yet fathomed. With all 
their skill and power they cannot combine the telescope and microscope in 
one instrument, and no physiologist has yet been able to tell us what is that 
marvellous power of the eye by means of which wc can see distinctly an 
object within six or seven inches, and also the furthest star that manifests 
itself to the vision. Men have had a suspicion that there is a marvellous 
mechanism doing all this, but they have not been able to read that 
mechanism yet. Will they read it best by the materialistic formulae, or by 
the spiritualistic formulae, which teaches them that it was made by Him who 
not only made that optical instrument, but who also made all the laws of 
optics, and made the two in perfect conformity with each other ? You may 
depend upon it that the highest spiritual philosophy will most advance 
science, and also be most in accordance with common sense. (Loud cheers.) 
