\ 1% l jyn>»tW^I^«^|^■l>»^ ^ »^W^^» •.v.>:ssils*; '^^^w:^^^.^m»^' tmmsmmmer'--'^:«a^en' .- ^ *! fytmll Urnvmitg ^ilrmg THE GIFT OF .Q^>^uMl ttJi^ /\.i2.2.^nr i^i^lii'1% Cornell University Library arW38523 Reasons why we should believe In God, lo 3 1924 031 774 593 olln.anx Cornell University Library ^ The original of tiiis bool< is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924031774593 Cornell Catholic Union Library. EEASONS Cornell Catholic Union Library. WHY WE SHOULD BKLIKVK IN GOD LOVK GOD AND OBKY GOD BY /iJ' J "' PETER H. BUENETT Author of " The Path which Led a Protestant Lawyer to the Catholio Church," and " MecoUections and Opi/nkmsofan Old Piomer " ' Why should it be thought a thing incredible to you, that God should raise the dead f " —Acts xxvi. New York THE CATHOLIC PUBLICATIOIf SOCIETY CO. No. 9 Barclay Street LONDON: BUKNS & OATES • 38 Orchard Street 1884 (J 4. i^^fS^6 Copyright, 1883, By PETER ff. BURNETT. ALL BIOHIS EESEETED. CONTENTS. PAGE Part I. The Existence op God, ....,,.. 1 " II. Evolution, 77 " III. The Old Dispensation, 161 " IV. The New Dispensation, 335 CHAPTER I. The Basis of Discussion, 3 That order and system are the legitimate and immediate products of in- tellect and instinct, but were the original products of intellect alone, 3 The form and constituent elements of the earth evidences of purpose, . . 6 The existence of plants and animals evidence of purpose, .... 13 The law of compensation 15 Further evidence of purpose, 18 CHAPTER II. Proofs of Purpose continued, 33 The camel 24 The cony — ^the gecko — the fly-catchers, 37 The woodpecker, 39 The giraffe 30 The feline family, 88 The sea-lion— the opossum, 34 The apterix 36 The maleo— the hornbill, 38 The theory of flight, 41 Conclusion, 44 CHAPTER III. Preliminary remarks, 50 Several specific objections, 58 Objections based upon anatomy, 63 Several other objections, 71 CHAPTER IV. Statement of the theory of Evolution 79 Variation under domestication, 83 Limits to variation, 89 Natural. Selection 98 Sexual Selection 104 VI CONTENTS. CHAPTER V. PAGJ! Intermediate forms, , , 118 Serial Homologies, 119 Striped horses, 121 Distribution of animals, 135 Specific objections against the theory of Brolution, 131 Man, 143 Instinct and intellect 147 CHAPTER VI. Preliminary remarks, 163 It is reasonable that God should govern His own Creation, .... 167 It is reasonable to expect a revelation from God, 168 The nature of law, strictly so called, 170 The Jews, . . . , ' 174 Rules of construction, 178 Our copy of the Old Testament, 183 CHAPTER VII. The Mosaic Record of Creation, 190 The Pentateuch 206 CHAPTER VIII. The Pentateuch continued— Exteenal Evidence, 219 CHAPTER IX. The Pentateuch — Internal Evidence, 342 CHAPTER X.. The Pentateuch— The Law of Moses, 369 CHAPTER XI. The Pentateuch — Objections, 395 Slavery .'.'!.' 295 Polygamy, gOg The Ten Commandments, 390 A Future State, 399 Conduct of the Patriarchs gjg The subsequent books of the Old Testament , .'331 CHAPTER XII. Prophecy gg:^ The Fulness of Time, 33^ CHAPTER XIII. Persecution, ^ g^g CONTENT'S. Til CHAPTER XIV. PAGE -External Evidence, 386 CHAPTER XV. Internal Evidence, 416 CHAPTER XVI. Internal Evidence continued 433 CHAPTER XVII. Internal Evidence further continued, 452 The pure character and consistent conduct of Christ, 453 The early progress of Christianity as recorded in the book of Acts, . . 463 Undesigned and mutually supporting coincidences 473 CHAPTER XVIII. Objections, 484 The mode of prescribing the Law of Christ, the character of the evidences of its divine origin, and its progress in the world, 484 Faith 500 CHAPTER XIX. Objections continued, 503 Redemption 503 Original Sin, 506 The Transmission of Original Sin, 508 Everlasting Punishment, 515 CHAPTER XX. Miscellaneous Considerations, 535 Infidelity as a standard of morals, 525 The Chi-istian Theory, 586 PEEFAOE. THE theory of Christianity not only inculcates the purest morality, but it plainly teaches the strictly just and clearly reasonable doctrine that all men will be ultimately most certainly and adequately rewarded or punished according to their merits or de- merits. There is, therefore, something so utterly inconsistent be- tween the belief in Christianity and the deliberate and habitual practice of immorality that the two can hardly be found together. There may possibly be some rare exceptions to this rule ; but they are so few, if any, as to be unworthy of consideration. The faith of such persons must be exceedingly weak. It would seem plain that, with the rarest possible exceptions, all the deliberately and habitually bad and immoral men in Christendom are, at heart, infidels. The natural and logical impulses of their con- duct lead them there, because vice follows an infallible instinct in choosing a theory to suit its own practice — a theory that offers no adequate motiyes for the practice of virtue, and provides no efficient checks to vice. It is true that many men who do not believe in Christianity are yet good men as citizens and neighbors ; but, so far as I am advised, they never attain the highest state of virtue. They do not possess the virtue of humility or the patient and resolute spirit of the martyr. But it is a great and gratifying fact, and a most unanswerable evidence of the truth of Christianity, that the bad and wicked men are on one side and at heart opposed to it, whatever may be their professions ; for it must be clear that the theory of infidelity, which draws to itself the worst elements of society, cannot be true. " The law of Christ has to contend against all the vices— all the is X PREFACE. changes and novelties of each and every age — and all the vicissitudes of every condition in life. . The duties to be performed and the traths to be believed are 'hard to flesh and blood.' The Kingdom takes a wide sweep. It is only bounded by the limits of the habitable earth, and includes the entire race, and extends through all time. And the perfect sphere of its duties includes all the virtues our race can pos- sess, and the elevated circle of its faith, the highest and sublimest truths they can beheve. Everything morally good must be believed and practised, and everything evil must be hated and avoided. The Christian is to live for the bright future more than for the tempting present. He must leave to God the revenge of his wroogs and the revirard of his merits. The man that injures him, he must pray for — that hates him, >e must love. And not only must all these things be believed and done, but the consequences are as enduring as the system is-boundless and as eternity is endless. A few short years of pleasure constitute not. its rewards, and the temporary terrors of the scafEold, not- its punishments" {The Path, p. 141). While truth must always be one, the forms of error are multitudi- nous — almost infinite. Their name is emphatically legion. All the various and changing forms of error are opposed to Christianity. It encounters at one point vague, misty, and inconsistent deism ; from another quarter wild, fanciful, and specious pantheism ; and from a third point consistent yet dismal atheism — that dark and dreary desert in which no beast of earth ever made a track and " no bird of heaven ever built a nest." But that which is the most difiBcult to overcome, the worst mental disease of this age, is the leprosy of in- difference. There is more hope of convincing an eai-nest, manly, and bold opponent. At all events, he can be found and understood. There is something admirable in the conduct of an earnest, sincere man, even when he is in the wrong. St. Paul, while a bitter persecutor, exhibited the noble traits of sincerity and earnestness. Such men as the polished and sarcastic G-ibbon, the profound and philosophical Hume, and even the coarse and bitter Paine, are ..worthy of respectful consideration. These men speak out boldly what they think, and give their reasons for their opinions. Whatever may he the nature aiid number of opposing theories, I am well assured that Christianity will be amply able to meet them all. In such a contest, from the very nature of. the system itself, the Chris- tian religion has no apologies to make — no compromises to offer, none to accept. I believe that the Catholic Church can neither die nor PEEPACB. XI change, but that she will alv/ays flrmly maintain the unchangeable faith once delivered to the saints. Having commenced the present work at an advanced period of life, when my capacity to labor was so much abridged and my remaining time so limited, I have very freely availed myself of the labors of others. But while this work will be largely composed of extracts from other writers, I think it will be found that the line of argument pursued is new in some important respects. PART I. THE EXISTENCE OP GOD. REASONS WHY WE SHOULD BELIEVE IN GOD, LOYE GOD, AND OBEY GOD. T CHAPTEK I. PROOFS OF PTJEPOSB — THE BASIS OP DISCU'SSIOS'. trace the unknown from the known, the complex from the sim- ple, is the peculiar province and delight of reason— the very purpose of its existence. How can we reason but from what we know ? ' As every superstructure must of necessity have a basis upon which to rest, so all discussion must begin from one or more posi- tions assumed as true. Were all possible positions disputable there virould be no point from which discussion could begin. Humau intel- lect, from tlie very nature of its being, must have certain limits be- yond which it cannot go. It cannot possibly descend below the posi- tively and plainly certain, nor rise above the infinite. By the very act of composing and publishing a work an author absolutely assumes his own existence and that of the external world. I shall, therefore, waste no time in the attempt to prove facts that I think require no proof. I begin by assuming my own existence and that of the exter- nal world around me. Should any one dispute these positions I must remain silent. I can make no reply. THAT ORDER AKD SYSTEM ARE THE LEGITIMATE AND IMMEDIATE PRODUCTS OP INTELLECT AND INSTINCT, BUT WERE THE ORIGI- NAL PRODUCTS OF INTELLECT ALONE. We are certain that the works of man are the results of intellectual forecast and design. Prom the rudest stone hammer and flint arrow- head, up through all the various grades of human production to the grandest triumphs of man's genius, there is the most certain proof of the existence of an intellect that designed its work and foresaw from the beginning the probable result of its labors. But the fact that man cannot infuse life into any of his works, but can only use materi- als already existing, and in the creation of which he has had no agency whatever, is a clear proof that his mind is limited. Man's works are 3 4 THE EXISTENCE OF GOD. clearly distinguishable from those of all inferior beings. He may, in a few cases, make similar structures to theirs ; but they have never in any case, so far as I am advised, successfully imitated his. If, in passing over a plain covered with cobble-stones, we should find one lately broken and the fresh mark of the broken stone upon another .beside it, showing clearly that one was violently dashed against the other, we should know, with unerring certainty, that it is the work of man, and not that of any beast. Of the various works of man I shall mention only two. Take, for example, a magnificent stone temple. All its several apartments bear to each other a relation so harmonious as to show the existence of intelligent design in the mind of the architect who pro- jected its plan. Tlien see the number and different forms and sizes of the stones, columns, and other ornaments composing its grand ex- terior, and observe the proportion of each to all the others ; and then reflect that every one of these stones, columns, and ornaments was separately cut with such minute and exact accuracy upon the ground,* according to a working model made by the architect, that, when each was lifted tip and placed in its position, it fitted its proper place pre- cisely in this grand and harmonious whole, and we can then form some idea of the intellect of that being who can produce such grand results. But, in my judgment, no structure of man can give us a more just conception of the grandeur of his intellect than a majestic steam- ship making its straight and triumphant way, for thousands of miles, across the pathless ocean, "Where the stormy ■winds do blow And the scattered waters raye." There is in no work of man a greater combination of different in- ventions, made by so many different men, in ages so remote from each other, than in the steamship. From the sturdy woodcutter and delv- ing miner, up through ^11 the various grades of artisans and artists to the commander of the vessel himself, there are found the greatest number and variety of men, of different trades and professions. By one delicate and beautiful instrument the pilot knows the exact course he must steer from the port of departure to the port of destina- tion ; and by the aid of another superb invention he is able to as- certain, with substantial accuracy, the position of his ship upon the surface of a vast globe some twenty-five thousand miles in circumfer- ence. The engineer, with his hand upon the valve, turns on or shuts off at will that giant power which drives the vast and complex, * In speaking of tlie temple bnilt by Solomon it is stated in the sixth chapter of Third Kings: "And the house, when it was in building, was built of stones hewed and made ready: so that there was neither lianuner nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house when it was in building." PROOFS OP PUEPOSE. 5 but perfectly harmonious and aceurately-ad justed, macliinery which propels this queen of marine architecture through the waTes. If a being were suddenly created, not in the form of man, but with a mind equal to the matured intellect of a "Watt, and were placed on board, with no knowledge of the origin of the vessel and no knowledge of the language spoken, and were permitted, without any instruction, to fully inspect the ship, her machinery and appointments, I think he would never commit the gross mistake of supposing that all this per- fect order and system were accidental. When we see the works of the ant, the bee, the spider, the silk- worm, and of many other beings inferior to man, and find in these productions so much order and system, we cannot conclude that such results are accidental, but we are sure that they are the products of instinct. We have clear and tmdoubted knowledge of the origin of the works of map, and of those of inferior beings ; and we have evidence sufficient to convince us, beyond all reasonable doubt, that they are the products of intellect in the first case, and of instinct in the second. We can only measure the capacity of man or th^t of an inferior being by his works ; as capacity is something intangible and invisible, that cannot be seen by tJie eye, or measured by a rule, or weighed in a balance. While we cannot fix any exact limits to what man may ac- complish in the future, we know what he has doUe in the past, and to that extent we can estimate his capacity. Now, as we find in all man's works the clear and unmistakable evidences of design, and hence draw the logical conclusion that he is an intellectual being, then, if we shall find in other works than his a greater display of capacity and purpose, the plain and obvious con- clusion would seem inevitable that these works are the products of a greater mind. And this conclusion is not in any material degree weakened by the fact that we have no positive personal knowledge of the origin of these greater works, since we can only measure the capacity of the architect by his performance, there being no other possible way by whicli we can judge. As we know by our own positive and affirmative, not negative, experience that order and system are the legitimate and immediate products of intellect in the works of man, and of instinct in those of inferior beings, can we logically infer that results of a like character can be produced by some other power in the universe which possesses neither intellect nor instinct ? Especially should we find other exist- ing works vastly superior to the highest achievements of man's splen- did intellect, could we justly conclude that some inferior power has produced these greater results ? To say that superior productions can be the legitimate results of inferior capacity would be reversing all the logical rules of right reason. We must refer greater results 6 THE EXISTENCE OF GOD. to greater powers, and intellectual results to intellectual powers. I think that order and system are the legitimate products, either im- mediate or original, of intellect alone ; that in their very nature they could be produced by no other than intellectual capacity, which sees the end from the beginning. Every effect must have its adequate cause, and no cause but intellect can produce intellectual results. THE FORM AND CONSTITUENT ELEMENTS OF THE EARTH EVIDENCES OF PURPOSE. If the earth were, say, thirty thousand miles long, twenty-five thousand miles wide, and two thousand miles thick, with one of the larger surfaces always squarely facing the sun, there would be no day on one side and no night on the other, and but two main climates — one so hot and the other so cold as to render most of it uninhabitable. Again, if our earth were of its present bulk, but in the form of a cylinder a little rounded at the ends, the length of the cylinder, say, ten times as great as that of its short diameter, one of which ends was the north and the other the soutli pole, and the earth rotated around its long axis once in twenty -four hours from west to east, as at present, and made its annual revolution around the sun with its short diameter always perpendicular to that great central luminary, so that the earth would make one rotation around its short axis in making its yearly, as the moon does in making its monthly, revolution, then there would be no distinction of climate, except in the small spaces at the ends; and the climate, with these exceptions, would be tropical. But the earth is, in fact, substantially a sphere, and this form gives rise to a great variety of climates, with all the benefits naturally flow- ing therefrom. These advantages are too numerous to be correctly estimated or fully appreciated. I can only mention a few of the more ; apparent. If the earth had no variety in climate and productions it would ■become dull and oppressively monotonous, and its beauty and value would be far inferior to what they are now ; and, therefore, variety is 'One of its most predominant features. If variety be truly the "spice of life," it is equally the soul of beauty.* If all visible objects in the * " It wonld be to donbt the evidence of our senses and of our reason, or else to assume hypothe- ses of which there is no proof whatever, if we were to doubt that mere ornament, mere variety, are as much an end and aim iu the worltshop of Nature as they are known to be in the workshop of the goldsmith and the jeweller. Why should they not f The love and desire of these is universal in themind of Man. It is seen not more in the highest forms of civilized art than in the habits of the rudest savage, who covers with elaborate carving the handle of his war-club, or the prow of his canoe. Is it likely that this universal aim and purpose of the mijid of Man should be wholly without relation to the aims and purposes of his Creator f He that formed the eye to see beauty, shall He not see it ? ,He that gave the human hand its cunning to work for beauty, shall His hand never work for it ? How then shall we account for the beauty of the world— for the provision made for it when it is only the secondary object, not the first ? Even in those cases, for example, where concealment is the main object in view, ornament is never forgotten, but lies as it wore under- neath, carried into effect under the conditions and limitations imposed by the higher law and the more special purpose. Thus the feathers of the Ptarmigan, though confined by the law of assiml- PROOFS OF PUEPOSE. 7 world were of one color only, the want of variety would be appalling. If the rainbow, for example, had but a single color, how inferior would be its beauty ! There would be none of that exquisitely soft and deli- cate blending of colors which now gives the bow its loveliest aspect. Without different climates and soils we could not at the same time have the rich verdure, luscious fruits, gorgeous birds, and majestic and beautiful animals of the tropics ; the stately forests, natritions grasses, superior flowers,* feathered songsters, and useful animals of the tem- perate zones ; and the huge polar bears and fur-bearing animals of the north. But this great variety in the climates and soils, and consequent pro- ductions of the earth, has had and still has the most beaeficial influ- ence upon the welfare of the human race in other respects. It has given rise to commerce, one of the great agents in the civilization of mankind. Mr. Alfred Eussel Wallace, in his work, The Malay Archi- pelago, in speaking of Dobbo, a trading village in the Aru Islands, where there were about "five hundred people of various races, all met in that remote corner of the East, as they express it, 'to look after their fortunes,' " makes these remarks upon the subject of commerce : Here we may behold in its simplest form the genius ol Commerce at the work of civilization. Trade is the magic that keeps all at peace, and unites these dis- lative colonring to a mixture of black and white or grey, have those simple colonra disposed in cres- cent bars and mottlings of beautiful form, even as the lichens which they imitate spread in radi- ating lines and semi-circular ripples over the weather-beaten stones. It is the same with all other bhds whose colour is the colour of their homes. For the purpose of concealment, their colonring would be equally effective it it wore laid on without order or regularity of form. But this is never done. The required tints are always disposed in patterns, each varying with the genns and species; varying for the sake of variation, and for the beauty which belongs to ornament. And where this purpose is not under the restraint of any other purpose controlling it and keeping it down as it were within comparatively narrow limits, how gorgeous are the results attained ! What shall we say of flowers— those banners of the vegetable world, which march in such varied and splendid triumph before the coming of Its fruits f What shall we say of the Hnmrning-Birfls-whoae feathers are made to return the light which falls upon them, as if rekindled from interior flres, and coloured with more than all the colours of all the gems ?" (Duke of Argyll, Tlie Seign of Law, p. 191). "But although the laws which determine both form and colouring are here seen to be subser- vient to use, we shall never understand the phenomena of Nature unless we admit that mere orna- ment or beauty is in itself a purpose, an object and an end " (id. p. 18S). 'Mr. Alfred Eussel Wallace, in his -work. The Malay Archipelago, on page 245, has these '^" ""^I have done so frequently, and the result of these examinations has convinced me that the bright colors of flowers have a much greater influence on the general aspect of nature m temperate than in tropical climates. During twelve years spent amidst the grandest tropical vegetation I have seen nothing comparable to the effect produced on our landscapes by gorse, broom, heather, wild hya- cinths, hawthorn, purple orchises, and buttercups." The birds of the tropical regions are the most beautiful in the world, but they generally have very harsh notes, while those of the temperate zones are plainer in plumage but superior m song. " Every tree was full of birds, variegatKid with an infinity of colours, l^"* '^f ^°'« J* ^^ ' ' thers. of a more homely and European appearance, diverted us with a varie^ of wild "otes^n a style of music still distinct and peculiar to Africa; as different m the composition from »" l-""/* and goldfinch as our English language is to that of Abyssinia. Yet, from very attentive and fr^ quent observation, I find that the skylark at Masuah sang the same note as m England. It was obsevTable that the greatest part of the beautiful painted birds were of the jay and 3^^'°°; Nature seemed by the fineness of their dress, to have marked them or "^, °™.'^1^ pertinence, but never to have intended them for pleasure or meditation" (Head's Ufe of Bruce, p. 158^ 8 THE EXISTENCE OE GOD. cordant elements in a well-behaved community. AU are traders, and all know that peace and order are essential to successful trade, and thus a public opinion is created that puts down all lawlessness * (p. 444). The good effects of commerce are not confined to individuals, but extend to nations. It is a great agent for the diffusion of informa- tion, thus conveying the knowledge of one people to another; and this leads to emulation and imitation. It is a great check upon war, and creates a friendly intercourse between different races of men. As the same touch of nature makes us all men, so commerce brings us together and induces us to admit our kinship. Commerce is con- tinually extending its influence further and further into barbarous nations, and h&,s suppressed oaanibalisni in many places. It, in a certain sense, makes all commercial nations financially and com- mercially one people. Each country has some comimodity peculiar to its climate and soil, or some common product in much greater abundance than is found in other localities ; and in times of local famines commerce comes to the aid of famishing millions. Produc- tions once local have, by the aid of commerce, become general, Wheat was only found in a wild state in Chaldea,f Indian corn in North America, Irish potatoes in South America, and apricots in Armenia. This great variety in the climates and productions of our earth Would be much less beneficial to man were it not for the easy com- bustibility of all vegetation. While it draws its support from the earth and its atmosphere— neither of which is combustible — vegeta- tion itself is readily subjected to combustion. Possessing this quality, it enables man the niore easily to open fields in the forest by consum- ing with fire the surplus timber iu his way, supplies him with fuel to cook his food, warm and light his habitation, smelt the ores, work the metals, and use the giant power of steam and the terrible force of fire- arms. Man has e^olUBi've control over the element of fire, and enjoys alone all the many benefits of the great number of purposes to which it is applied. Without fire the greater portion of the dry land would be practically uninhabitable by man. In regard to the constituent elements of the earth, I must refer to the late edition of the able lectures of Josiah Parsons Cooke, Ewing professor of chemistry and mineralogy in Harvard University, enti- * Stanley says, in the second volume of Thwugh the Dark Continent, p-. 334 : " The people no longer resist oar advance. Trade has tamed their natural ferocity, nntil they no longer resent oar approach with the fury of beasts of prey." t "According to native tradition, wheat was indigenous in Ohaldea ; and the first comers thus found themselves provided by the bountiful hand of nature with the chief necessary of life " (Hawlinson, i. p. 33). "No such fertility is known anywhere in modem times ; and, unless the accounts are exagge- rated, we must ascribe it, in part, to the extraordinary vigor of a virgin soil, and a deep and rich alln- vinm ; in part, perhaps to a peculiar adaptation of the soil to the wheat plant, which the providence of God made to grow spontaneously in this region, and ao where else, so far as we know on the whole face of the earth " {id. ii. p. 484). ' PEOOl'S OF PTJEPOSE. 9 tied lieligion and Chemistry. The tone and temper of this work are admirable, and the language accurate, clear, concise, and strong. While I must differ from the learned author as to a few of his posi- tions, I can heartily approve the main portions of his work. I have only room for a few extracts : Moreover, we must carefully avoid the error of considering air as a distinct sub- stance, like water or coal. On the contrary, it is merely a mechanical mixture of its constituent gases, and in no sense a definite chemical compound. Indeed, we may regard the globe as surrounded by at least three separate atmospheres,— one of oxygen, one of nitrogen, and one of aqueous vapor,— all existing simultaneously in the same space, yet each entirely distinct from the other two, and only very slightly influenced by their presence. To each of these atmospheres, the Author of nature has assigned separate and different functions. They are like so many servants in a household, each with a distinct set of duties, which are discharged with a fidelity and diligence unknown to any earthly service (p. 71). In regard to the wonderful properties and uses of water I will make several extracts from this most valuable work : From the whole surface of the globe water is constantly evaporating into the ae[ueous atmosphere which surrounds it. The heated air from the tropics, heavUy charged with moisture, is continually moving towards the colder regions, both of the North and of the South ; and as the current thus becomes chilled, the vapor is slowly condensed, and the water showered down in fertilizing rains. Thus it is that those beautiful provisions which we see in the rain all depend on the presence of the air, and result from a careful adjustment of the properties of aqueous vapor to the exact density of our atmosphere (p. 125). The rills from numerous adjacent springs unite to form a brook, which in- creases as it flows, until it finally becomes the majestic river, rolling silently on its course. Every drop of water has been an incessant wanderer since the dawn of creation, and it will soon be merged again in the vast ocean, only to begin anew its familiar jouniey (p. 136). Water has been the great agent of geolo^cal changes : here washing away con- tinents, and there building them up; here gullying out valleys, and there smooth- ing away inequalities of surface; here dissolving out the particles of metals from the solid rocks, and there collecting them together in beds of useful ores. It has cov- ered the earth with verdure and animal life, by conveying nourishment to the plant and food to the animal. It sustains our own bodies, for it is a portion of this very circulation which ebbs and flows in our veins, and whose pulsations beat out the moments of our lives ; and could I bring together in one picture the infinite number of beneficial ends which it has been made by Providence to subserve, I am sure that you would agree with me that there is not in nature stronger evidence of design than in the adaptations of this simple and familiar liquid (p. 137). The physical man has been described by one writer as consisting of merely a few pounds of solid matter distributed through six pailfuls of water, and it is a fact that no less than four-fifths of these bodies of ours are made up of water (p. 139). It is a remarkable fact of physical geography that the distribution of water by the aqueous circulation is rendered more effective by the peculiar structure of the continents, and the position of the great mountain chains. "The mountain chains," writes Professor Guyot in his excellent work Earth and Man, "are great condensers, placed here and there along the continents to 10 THE EXISTElSrCE OE GOD, rob the winds of their treasures, and to serve as reservoirs for the rain-waters, and to distribute them afterwards as they are needed over the surrounding pJains. Their wet and cloudy summits are untiringly occupied with this important work, and from their sides flow numberless torrents and rivers, carrying in all directions wealth and life " * (p. 130). The earth, as I stated in the second lecture, is moving with immense rapidity through a space whose temperature is at least two hundred and seventy degrees below the zero of Fahrenheit's thermometer, and, like a heated cannon-baU hung in the middle of a cold room, it is continually losing heat by radiation. The dense atmosphere with which it is enveloped, like a blanket, protects the earth from the intense cold of space, to a certain extent ; but still the constant loss of heat is so great, that, were the sun's rays withheld for a few days, the temperature of the sur- face-land, even in the tropics, would fall as low as it is now at the poles during the long night of the arctic winter. In the daytime the earth receives from the sun more heat than it loses ; but when this great thermal source is temporarily with- drawn, the loss of heat continuing as rapidly as before, the surface becomes quioldy cooled, and the deposition of dew follows, as just explained; or, if the temperature falls below the freezing-point, the dew is changed to frost (p. 133). Man combines numerous means in order to produce a single end ; but in nature the most varied and apparently incompatible results flow from a single design. In God's works the means are employed, not as we use them in the poverty of our re- sources, but from the exuberance of riches. To use the language of another: "All the means are ends, and all the ends are means"; and the grand result is an har- monious system, in which every part is a whole, and where the whole that is known is felt to be only a very insignificant part (p. 138). It would be foreign to my plan to consider these evidences here; but, assuming the succession of the seasons as a part of the order of creation, and as a means of adapting a larger portion of the earth's surface to the habitation of organized beings, it is evident that the higher forms of organic life could be sustained in these northern regions only by furnishing to the plants and animals an adequate protec- tion against the intense cold of winter, and thus presei'ving the growth of one sum- mer until the returning sun awakened new life in the succeeding spring. The reqxiired protection has been provided by making a most marked excep- tion to the general laws of expansion in the caseof water. It is the general law of nature that all substances are expanded by heat and contracted by cold ; and water forms no exception to the general rule, except within certain very narrow limits of temperature, shortly to be noticed. Indeed, were it not for the expansion, we could not readily either heat or cool a large mass of liquid matter. All liquids are very poor conductors of heat, and can be heated only by bringing their particles succes- sively in contact with the source of heat. When you set a tea-kettle over a fire, the first effect of the heat is to expand the particles of water on the bottom of the *As the atmosphere becomes thinner and colder as we ascend above the level of the sea, the snow, which falls in greater quantities in high elevations than in lower levels, will remain numelted much longer, and thus supply the streams by its gradual thawing during the spring and summer months, when the rains in tlie valleys mainly cease. Another effect of the increasing thinness and coolness of the air in proportion to height is the beneflt it confers upon birds of long voyages. The wild goose and the vulture, for example, fly at great heights, far above all danger, where the air is so cool that they need no water and do not become too warm by exertion, and where the thin atmosphere permits a more rapid flight to the wild goose and crane. In his most beautiful address to a wild fowl Bryant alludes to this fact: " AH day thy wings have fanned, At that far height, the cold, thin atmosphere, Tet stoop not, weary, to the welcome land, Though the dark night is near." PROOFS OF PURPOSE. 11 kettle, which, being thus rendered specifically lighter, rise, and are succeeded by colder particles, which are heated and rise in their turn ; and thus the circulation is established by which all the particles are successively brought in contact with the heated bottom of the kettle, and in course of time the temperature of the whole mass is raised to the boiling-point. The case is similar when you- add ice to a pitcher of water to cool it. The water at the top of the pitcher, in contact with the ice, is, of course, cooled, and, being thus rendered specifically heavier than the water below, sinks and gives place to the warmer water, which is cooled and sinks in its turn, and thus, as before, a circulation is established, which continues until the temperature of the whole water is reduced to 40°. But at this point the circu- lation is entirely arrested ; for, in consequence of its singular constitution, water at 39° is lighter than water at 40°, and consequently remains at the top. And so it is as the temperature sinks toward the freezing-point. The colder the water, the lighter it becomes, and the more persistently it remains at the surface. Hence, although the upper layers of water may be readily cooled to the freezing-point, yet, in consequence of its poor conducting power, the great body of the liquid below wUl remain at the temperature of 40°. The cold atmosphere of winter acts upon the ponds and lakes exactly as the ice on the water in the pitcher. They also are cooled from the surface, and a circula- tion is established by the constant sinking of the chilled water until the tempera- ture falls to 40°. But at this point, still eight degrees above the freezing-point, the circulation stops. The surface-water, as it cools below this temperature, remains at the top, and in the end freezes; but then comes into play still another provi- sion in the property of water. Most substances are heavier in their solid than in their liquid state; but ice, on the contrary, is lighter than water, and therefore floats on the surface. Moreover, as ice is a very poor conductor of heat, it serves as a protection to the lake, so that at the depth of a few feet, at most, the tem- perature of the water during winter is never under 40°, although the atmosphere may continue for weeks below zero. If water resembled other liquids, and continued to contract with cold to its freezing-point, — if this exception had not been made, the whole order of nature would have been reversed. The circulation just described would continue until the whole mass of water in the lake had fallen to the freezing-point. The ice would then first form at the bottom, and the congelation would continue until the whole lake had been changed to one mass of solid ice.* Upon such a mass the hottest summer would have but little effect ; for the poor conducting power would then prevent its melting, and instead of ponds and lakes we should have large masses of ice, which during the summer months would melt to the depth of only a'few feet. It is unnecessary to state that this condition of things would be utterly inconsis- tent with the existence of aquatic plants or animals, and would be almost as fatal to organic life everywhere; for not only are all parts of the creation so indissolubly bound together that if one member suffers, all the other members suffer with it, but moreover the soil itself would, to a certain extent, share in the fate of the ponds. The soil is always more or less saturated with water, and, under existing conditions, in our temperate zone the frost does not penetrate to a sufficient depth to kill the * I have seen small rivulets flowing from springs frozen to tlie bottom. The water from the spring would then overflow the first layer of ice and freeze, then overflow and freeze again, until by the time a general thaw occurred there would he a large accumulation of ice. Without the existence of the apparentlyexceptional quality of water mentioned, what would be the effect of winter upon the streams, large and small, in our temperate and cold climates f If ice were heavier than water it would sink to the bottom of the stream, and either rest there or float down the current in ever-incroasing quantities, until the whole volume of the stream would become a mass of aolid ice. What would be the effect of such a condition cannot he precisely defined, but every one can see that it would be disastrous. 12 THE EXISTENCE OP GOD. roots and seeds of plants which are buried under it. But were water constituted like other liquids, the soil would remain frozen to the depth of many feet, and the only effect of the summer's heat would be'to melt a few inches at the surface. It would be, perhaps, possible to cultivate some hardy annuals in such a climate, but this would be all. Trees and shrubs could not bear the severity of the winter. Thus, then, it appears that the very existence of life in these temperate regions of the earth depends on an apparent exception to a general law of nature, so slight and limited in its extent that it can only be detected by the most refined scientific observation. Moreover, this exceptional property is united with another quality, which greatly aids in preserving vegetable life durmg the winter months. We shudder at the thought of snow, but nevertheless it affords a most effectual protection to the soil, forming as warm a covering as would the softest wool. Water in all its conditions has been made a very bad conductor of heat, and snow is ranked with wool among the poorest of conductors. Heat, therefore, cannot readily escape from a snow-covered soil, and thus its temperature is prevented from falling materially below the freezing-point, however great the severity of the season. Notice now, that, when winter sets in and the cold increases in such a degree as to endanger the tender plants, Nature promptly spreads her great frost-blanket over forest, prairie, meadow, and garden alike, so that aU may slumber on in safety untU the sun returns and melts away the downy covering, when the buds break forth again and the trees put on a new mantle of living green (p. 147). It is a very common mistake to suppose that the grand in nature is to be seen only in its great waterfalls and its lofty mountains; for, to the intellectual eye, there is more real gr8,ndeur, more evidence of omnipotence, in a single raindrop than in the rush of Niagara or the magnitude of Mont Blanc. The more I study the evi- dence of design in this simple liquid, the more I find ther.6 is to learn, and I feel the utter inadequacy of any language to convey the full and complete idea. Ee- view, for a moment, the examples of adaptation which have been so briefly noticed. Eemember that water is the liquid of our globe, and the only liquid which exists in abundance on its surface. The total amount of all other liquids is in comparison but as "a drop of a bucket." Consider, next, that its specific gravity has been so adjusted that our ships float, and the oceans are made great highways for the nations ; that it is easily converted into vapor, and easUy condensed to fertilizing rains and refreshing dew, which nourish the growing plants, fill the springs, and keep the rivers — ^the great arteries of the globe — ^in circulation ; that at a compara- tively low temperature it is changed into highly elastic steam, which, imprisoned by man in his iron boilers, has become the great civUizer of the world; that it has been so exceptionally constituted that the great mass cannot be cooled below forty degrees, and again has been made such a poor conductor of heat that, when the surface is frozen, the very ice becomes a protection against the cold ; that to this same liquid there has been given a very great capacity for heat, and that thus it has been made the means of tempering materially the climates of the globe. Add to this that water has been made an almost universal solvent; that from the substances in solution the Crustacea form their shells and the coral polyps build their reefs; that it fills the cavities of the rocks with gems, and their fissures with useful ores. In connection with this host of wonderful mechanical adaptations, remember that water has been made a chemical agent of great energy and power; that there have been united in it the apparently incompatible qualities of blandness and great chemical force ; that, although in the laboratory of nature it corrodes the most resisting rocks, it also circulates through the leaflets of the rose and still more delicate hu- man lungs; that it forms the greater part of all organized beings, from the lichen PKOOFS OF PURPOSE. 13 to the oak, and from the polyp to man. Reflect, now, that these are only a tew of the grosser qualities and functions of this remarkable compound, gleaned here and there from many others no less wonderful, and you wiU form still but a very imper- fect conception of the amount of design which has been crowded into it. Attempt to find a liquid, which, if in sufflcient quantity, might supply its place, and you will be stiU further impressed by this evidence of intelligence and forethought. Of Bill the materials of our globe, water bears most conspicuously the stamp of the Great Designer, and as in the Book of Nature it teaches the most impressive lesson of His wisdom and power, so in the Book of Grace it has been made a token of God's eternal covenant with man, and still reflects His never-fading promise from the painted bow (p. 160). These extracts will give some general idea of the force and beauty of the author's arguments. In my judgment the work con- tains as much interesting matter, in some three hundred pages, as can be found within the same space in any scientific work in our language. THE EXISTENCE OF PLANTS AND ANIMALS EVIDENCE OF PUEPOSB. Organisms are divided into two great classes, animals and plants ; and animals are divided into four great orders — articulates, mollusks, radiates, and vertebrates. Animals are also divided into two classes, carnivorous and herbivorous. All animals, either diiectly or indi- rectly, receive their support from the vegetable productions of the earth. Were the world only filled witli plants, and contained no animals, its utility would be far inferior to what it is in its present condition. If all animals lived only upon vegetable food, then the variety and beauty of the earth's inhabitants would be lessened to a great extent, and there would be a painful break in the vast chain of existence. We would then not see the royal lion, the magnificent tiger, the beau- tiful leopard, the faithful dog, the golden eagle, the swift hawk, and other carnivorous animals that please us so much by their wonderful forms and movements. Though it may seem, at first view, a harsh and cruel law of nature that animals of one class should prey upon those of another, thus sub- jecting the weak to the strong, yet, in point of fact, it is a most wise and beneficent provision. In virtue of this law the eartli supports a greater number and variety of animals than it would were they all herbivorous. It adds, upon the whole, to the happiness of the herbi- vorous class itself. This may seem a strange position to some ; but is it not true ? n j.- •+ In order to fill the earth with animals within a reasonable time it was necessary to give them a fecundity that causes their rapid in- crease But this rapid increase would ultimately lead to such a great multiplication of their number that myriads would die of starvation. 14 THE EXISTEJSTCE OF GOD. and the remainder would be much deteriorated, were it not that the increase beyond the proper limit is prevented by the carnivorous class. The undue increase of the carnivorous class itself is checked by want of food. Suppose we had found an uninhabited island, one thousand miles long and five hundred miles wide, possessing a semi-tropical climate, and a soil as fertile as that of the queen tropical island of the world — Java — our supposed island being well watered with genial rains and covered with the richest grasses ; and suppose we had placed upon it a few horses, cattle, and rabbits of both sexes, and then had revisited it in ten years thereafter to see how our new colony was progressing. We should have fouud the island teeming with life, and have seen droves of cattle, bands of horses, and millions of rabbits. Suppose we then had returned ten years later, what a terrible change we should have found ! There would have been increased millions and billions of famishing rabbits, and possibly a few poor horses and cat- tle which had been able to eke out a miserable existence by browsing upon the tops of shrubs which the rabbits could not reach. But it is a matter of doubt whether any horses or cattle would have been found, as tlie starving rabbits would have eaten the bark off the slirubs, and thus caused their destruction. The rabbits, being able to graze much closer than horses or cattle, could live where they must perish. Should we at this visit have placed upon the island a few wildcats of both sexes, and then have returned twenty years there- after, we should have found the island full of beauty and verdure, and have seen fewer rabbits, and those much improved in size, action, and condition; and should any of the horses and cattle have survived, we should liave found them greatly increased in number and improved in aj)pearance. This supposed case shows substantially what would be the con- dition of the world in a state of nature and without carnivorous animals. The small herbivorous mammals, especially the little ro- dents, which can live upon the bark of shrubs and the blades and roots of most nutrifiious plants, and which can graze much closer than larger animals can do, would, by their numbers, destroy the larger and nobler forms ; and in the end it is most probable that the mouse would be the sole survivor. It may be thought that the monkey and other arboreal animals might escape, as they would have access to the leaves and fruits of trees too high to be reached by the little mouse. But we must remember that while the mouse has now so many carni- vorous enemies to fear, and is not so numerous as to require extra ex- ertions and risks to procure food, it would then be free to seek supplies anywhere without fear of molestation, and would be impelled by ex- treme hunger to do so ; and it would certainly, under the new cir- cumstances, be easier for this active little rodent, with all its feet fur- PROOFS OF PUKPOSE. 15 nislied with sharp claws, to climb trees than for the tree-kangaroo * to do so, with only tivo of its feet supplied with claws. As the mice would have no limit to their multiplication but the want of food, and as these little creatures can not only graze closer than any of the larger animals, but also subsist upon the roots of vege- tation, it is quite probable that tliey would in time destroy the nutri- tious and accessible plants, and the earth thus become comparatively a desert. We know that alfalfa, a species of clover indigenous to Chili, is a nutritious grass that grows most luxuriantly in California ; but unless it is flooded at short intervals, so as to drown out the go- phers, which are vei-y fond of both its blades and roots, it will all die — hot for want of moisture, as the grass sends its roots deep into the soil, but because the gopher will destroy the roots themselves. In a few centuries, under the existing order of things aud the or- dinary rate of increase of population, the earth will be full of people, and very few wild land mammals will be left, as man can, as a general rule, live where they can find a home and support. With all the car- nivorous animals domesticated by man for his own protection, I think the mouse aud rat will be among the last survivors of wild mammals. It seems plain, after all that has been or can be said, that in a wild state the presence of carnivorous animals in the world is only a partial, while their total absence would be a general, evil to the her- bivorous class itself. THE LAW OF COMPENSATION". And here I think it is proper to speak of the law of compensation. There must, in my judgment, be such a law whore a great variety of inferior and mortal beings exist. Its existence is consistent with the nature and reason of the case.. It is true that it is very difficult to find a law of nature without one or more exceptions ; but these excep- tions, like those of law, establish the general rule. They always exist for special reasons which require a departure from the general rule. I can only remember two laws of nature without any exceptions : among mammals and birds the largest of the class are not the most beautiful ; aud among birds the sex that has the most beautiful plumage is the most pugnacious. There are no doubt others Among mammals inferior to man those forms which are largest in size and greatest in strength are generally deficient in beauty of form and color, as the elephant, the hippopotamus, the rhinoceros, the . " A mnch more extraordinary creature is tHe tree-kangaroo, two species of which are known not seem to have a very secure footing on a l.mh of a tree The «^Pmg P ^^^ is lost and powerful claws have been acctuired to assist in climbing, dm mo animal seems better adapted to walk on Urra firma^",. of there beino no carnivora in New Guinea, Archipelago, by Alfred Kueeel Wallace, p. 57T). 16 THE EXISTENCE OF GOD. camel, the bear, and the whale. These are compensated for their lack of beauty by the possession of great size and strength, and by great powers of endurance, as in the case of the camel. So mammals of inferior size are compensated by fleetness of foot and beauty of form, or by some other advantage, as the giraffe, the gazelle, the leopard, the fox, the deer, and the squirrel. The horse and the tiger are medium in size, but superior in beauty. The horse is among the fleetest of mammals, and the tiger moderate in this respect. These two creatures seem to be the favorites of nature. Taken as a whole, they are the most magnificent specimens of the carnivorous and her- bivorous mammals inferior to man. It is also a compensatory law of nature that birds of largest size, those of the most gorgeous plumage, and birds of prey have no mu- sical notes, such as the ostrich, the jay, the parrot, the pigeon, the eagle, the hawk, and that queen of beauty, the bird-of-paradise.* The little canary, with its neat plumage and modest song, seems to occupy a middle station and to be one of Nature's favorites, like the horse and tiger. Tlie young of birds which build elevated nests, and feed their offspring in the nests until they are able to fly, are genei-ally blind when they are hatched, and remain so until they are nearly grown. Another feature in this class is the fact that they are not able to fly until they are fully grown. This blindness is intended to jirevent their escape from the nest before the proper time. There appears to be one exception — and there may be others — to this rule. This ex- ception is found in the case of the beautiful American wood-duck, so named because it builds its nest and hatches its eggs in a tree, and, as soon as the ducklings appear, bears them off to a lake or stream of water. This is the only duck in the world that builds its nest in a tree, so far as I know. But in the case of birds which build their nests upon the ground, and whose young follow their mothers in search of food, the young are able to see when tliey leave the shell ; and in the case of land birds they are able to fly for short distances at a veiy early age, and are most wonderfully skilful in hiding before that time. As. examples I will mention the wild turkey, the quail, the grouse, and the prairie- chicken. The young hide so well, and so much resemble in color the dead leaves, that they cannot be seen, and can only be traced, if at all, • " It is remarkable that only small birds properly sing. The Australian genus Menura, how- ever, must be excepted; for the Menura Albertl, which is about the size of a half-grown turkey, not only modes other birds, but ' Its own whistle is exceedingly beautiful and varied.' The males con- gregate and form ' oorroborying places,' where they sing, raising and spreading their tails like pea- cocks and drooping their wings. It is also remarkable that birds which sing well are rarely deco- rated with brilliant colours or other ornaments. Of our British birds, excepting the bullfinch and goldfinch, the best songsters are plain-coloured. The kingfisher, bee-eater, roller, hoopoe, wood- peckers, etc., utter harsh cries; and the brilliant birds of the tropics are hardly ever songsters Hence bright colours and the power of song seem to replace each other " {Descent of Man, p. 371). PROOFS OF PXJEPOSE. 17 by some keen-scented animal. About the time their size is likely to betray them their wings are fully fledged and they escape by flight. As to wild aquatic birds, whose young follow their mothers in search of food and cannot fly until they are fully grown, Nature has given them ample protection in their web-feet and long legs. As examples I may mention the wild goose, duck, swan, and crane. In this case we see a remarkable instance where Nature sets aside or overcomes inferior rules to accomplish her main purpose. In the spring these birds take their flight to some northern region, far away from the ordinary haunts of men, and where the gi-owing season is short, but where their enemies are not so many or so formid' able, and there hatch their broods near the edge of some lake or pond, into which the young birds can readily escape, and among the reeds and along the margins of which they can find a most abundant supply of their proper food. No carnivorous animal can suGcessfnlly pursue them into their liquid fortress. But as the warm season is short, and the young birds must attain their full growth in time to go south, so as to escape the early approaching severe winter. Nature has given them the most voracious appetites and the most efficient and rapid digestive powers, so that their growth is quick beyond example. It is surprising how large birds like the ,swan, wild goose, and large crane can attain their growth so early and at the same time possess muscles like iron, which enable these wanderers to sustain, at the first attempt, so long and continuous flights. It is a general rule in nature that the life of an animal bears a certain relation to the period of its growth. In man this period is twenty-ono years, and his life is sev- enty ; while in the elephant the infancy is thirty and the whole life ninety. But in the cases of these wild fowl the period of infancy is from four to five months, and the time of their whole lives much greater in proportion, especially in the case of the goose, which lives- to a great age. It is almost an universal law of nature that the leg-bones of ani- mals are hoUow cylinders, the cavities being filled with marrow. It is conceded that the hollow cylinder is the strongest possible form in pro- portion to the amount of material employed. Nature is generally the best of economists, and does not often waste her material or efforts. But it is a most reniarkable fact that the leg-bones of the ele- phant, giraffe, and hippopotamus are solid.* Among the many thousands of different species of animals, these are the only excep- tions to the genei'al rule, so far as I am advised. * My main authority for tliia fact is Sir Samuel W. Balser, in Ms En^loration of the Sflle TrOn- tariea of Abyssinia : "It would be natural to suppose that the long legs of this animal wonld furnish the perfection of marrow-bones ; but these are a disappointment, as the bones of the giraffe are solid, like those of the elephant and hippopotamus " (p. 817). As to the leg-bones of the elephant and hippopotamus, he is my only authority; but as to the gisaffe, he is confirmed by the Sneyctapaeclia BHtantiiea, ninth and last edition, article " Giraffe." 18 THE EXISTENCE OF GOD. This departure from a rule so general is doubtless based upon special reasons, though we may not be able to understand them all. I think the main reason was to obtain the greatest strength of bone in proportion to diameter. The elephant* is a huge creature, weighing some seven thousand pounds, and, in a wild state, generally sleeps standing, leaning against a tree, and therefore requires immense strength of leg to supj)ort his great bulk. Were his leg-bones hollow cylinders, possessing their present strength, his legs would be much larger than they are now. So of the hippopotamus. As the legs of this enormous;animal are remarkably small and short in proportion to the size of his body, and as he is required to make extreme exertions in stemming the rapids of rivers and in ascending high and steep banks, it was necessary to make the bones of his legs solid. We ,can readily see that his blunt, broad form would require great force to enable him to ascend the rapids of a stream. In the case of the giraffe — the tallest creature in the world, with the longest and, in proportion to the size of his body, most probably the slenderest legs of all animals — the purpose seems obvious. To secure the necessary strength of the legs, and at the same time pre- serve their due symmetry ag compared with other portions of the body, it was necessary to make the leg-bones solid. The great length of the leg-bones required more strength, in proportion to diameter, than would have been necessary had they been shorter. According to well-known mechanical principles, it requires a much lighter blow to break a long than a short cylinder of the same diameter. Thus a force that would readily break a cylinder two feet long would not break one of half the same length. The existence and practical application of the great law of com- pensation I consider one of the clearest and most invincible proofs of purpose. To know when and what amount of compensation may be required can only be the act of mind and not of unthinking matter. To see in advance the defect requiring compensation, and to know the proper kind and quantity, is alone within the capacity of intellect. Such a law, I must think, cannot exist without intelligence. FTJKTHEE EVIDENCE OF PUKPOSB. The substantial equality of the numbers of the sexes, and the propagation of individuals by the union of the males with the females of animals, is one of the clearest evidences of purpose. The plan of perpetuating the races by generation having been adopted, it was proper that the numbers of the sexes of animals should be substan- tially equal. Among most large mammals inferior to man the love- season occurs in tlie fall in temperate and cold climates, and the young are dropped in the ensuing spring, when the supply of food is PROOFS OF PURPOSE. 19 most abundant and the chances of concealment of the offspring are greatest. Even in tropical climates the union of the sexes in some, if not in most, cases takes place at a certain period of the year.* The difficulty of ascertaining the habits of wild animals renders it uncertain how far this rule applies to mammals in climates of per- petual summer. In regard to birds and the smaller mammals, the period of incubation and gestation being so much shorter, the love- season is the early spring, and the young appear late in spring or early in summer. For the reason that the love-season of the females of most races inferior to man occurs at the same time in most climates, if not in all, and lasts for only a short period, it was proper that the males should about equal the females in numbers, so as to furnish mates for all. In regard to the case of polygamous animals there may be fewer males than females ; but assuming the equality of the sexes in this case, then N"ature has refused to depart from her general rule, because the necessity for so doing was not so great as to require it. As to domestic animals, this substantial equality of the sexes is very beneficial to man, because a few of the best males can be reserved for breeding purposes, and the remainder slaughtered early for the table or kept for the same or other uses when full grown. In respect to our own race we find great inequality in the relative numbers of the sexes in different families. Thus in one family we find ten girls and one boy, and in another nine sons and two daugh- ters. And. yet it is a remarkable fact that the aggregate result is the substantial equality of the sexes in a tribe or nation, and in the whole family of mankind, f Partial exceptions may exist, owing to local causes, but the main result is a fulfilment of the main purpose. And this is substantially so in regard to animals inferior to man. One mother may rear nearly all males, while another may rear nearly all females. But after all this inequality in families, the grand result * " The river has still risen ; the weatheris cooler, and the withered trees and bashes are giving signs of bursting into leaf. This season may be termed the spring of the country. The frightful simoom of April, May, and June burns everything as though parched by fire, and not a withered leaf hangs to a bough, but the trees wear a wintry appearance in the midst of intense heat. The wild geese have paired, the birds are building their nests, and, although not a drop of dewhasfallen, all Nature seems to be aware of the approaching change, as the south wind blowing cool from the wet quarter is the harbinger of rain. Already some of the mimosa begin to afford a shade, under which the gazelles may be surely found at midday ; the does are now in fawn, and the young will be dropped when this now withered land shall be green with herbage " (Sir S. W. Baker, Explara- tions, p. 76). As this dry season affects all vegetation in Abyssinia, it is quite probable that the love-season of other animals besides those mentioned is equally influenced by the climate. t "In England during ten years (from 1857 to 1866) the average number of children bom alive yearly was 707,133, in the proportion of 104.5 males to 100 females." " In France during forty-four years the male to the female births have been 106.8 to 100. " " In Russia the average proportion is as high as 108.9 to 100." "The average for Europe, deduced by Bickes from about seventy million births, is 106 males to 100 females " (Descent of Man, p. 242). Now, it seems plain to me that as males of our race are more exposed to losses, especially in cold climates like that of Eussia, Nature, to compensate this loss, has given us more male than female births. 20 THE EXISTENCE OF GOD. is substantial equality in the sexes. How deservedly purpose will telll The general propagation of animals by the union of the sexes gives a greater number of individuals, increased variety and beauty, and more happiness and mutual dependence* The young are playful aud affectionate, the full-grown admirable, and the old cautious. Among animals inferior to man the males do not forcibly attack the females, although perfectly able, in most races, to vanquish them with comparative ease. To this rale there may be a few exceptions where the males are impelled by extreme hunger or by excitement. On one occasion I saw two gobblers engaged in combat, and a hen, which for some time had been a spectator, determined to take part in the strife ; but, having unsexed herself, the males ceased to respect her, and after an earnest combat of about twenty minutes tlie vanquished hen quit the field quite convinced of her incompetency for war with the superior sex. The highest division of the animal kingdom, the vertebrates,* are all formed upon one broad, comprehensive plan, easily modified to a slight extent to meet special wants and conditions.f We find the same substantial model in man with his four limbs, in the horse with its four legs, in the seal with its four flippers, in the fish with its fins, and in the bird and bat with their two feet and two wings. All the individuals of this great division I'equire the power of locomotion to enable them to readily pass from place to place in search of food, shel- ter, and pleasure. To secure this ability to move with the necessary ease and quickness the vertebrate system was adopted ; and it is the best possible method to secui'e the ends intended, as it combines strength withfiexihility. Were the backbone one long cylinder without joints it would necessarily be much heavier than the vertebrate form, in order to ob- * " Verteteata, or vertebrate animals. Thft highest division of th* animal kingdom, so called from the presence in most cases of a backbone composed of numerous joints, or vertebras, which constitutes the centre of the skeleton, and at the same time supports and protects the central parts of the nervous system " (Glossary to Darwin's Origin qf Spedas). t " Among the many wonders of Nature there is nothing more wonderful than this— the adapta- bility of the one Vertebrate Type to the infinite variety of Life to which it serves as an organ and a home. Its basement has been so laid tliat every possible change or addition of superstructure could be built upon it. Creatures destined to live on the earth, on the sea or in the sea, under every variety of condition of existence, have all been made after that one pattern, and each of them with as close an adaptation to special function as if the pattern had been designed for itself alone. It is true that there are particular parts of it which are of no use to particular animals. But there is no part of it which is not of indispensable use to some member of the group ; and there is one Supreme Form in which all its elements receive their highest interpretation and fulfilment. It is indeed wondcrfnl to think that the feeble and sprawling iKtddles of the Newt, the ungainly flippers of the Senl, the long, leathery wings of the Bat, have all the same elements, bone for bone, with that human hand which is the supple instrument of Man's contrivance, and is alive, even to the flnger-tips, with the power of expressing his Intellect and Will. Here again the Laws of Nature are seen to be no- thing but combinations of Force with a view to Purpose— combinations which indicate complete knowledge not only of what is but of what is to be, and which foresees tl;^ End from the Be