第2章

Furtheron,Mr。Sullyremarksthat\"Heraclitusdeservesaprominentplaceinthehistoryoftheideaofevolution,\"andhestates,withperfectjustice,thatHeraclitushasforeshadowedsomeofthespecialpeculiaritiesofMr。Darwin’sviews。ItisindeedaverystrangecircumstancethatthephilosophyofthegreatEphesianmorethanadumbratesthetwodoctrineswhichhaveplayedleadingparts,theoneinthedevelopmentofChristiandogma,theotherinthatofnaturalscience。TheformeristheconceptionoftheWord[logos]whichtookitsJewishshapeinAlexandria,anditsChristianform<4>inthatGospelwhichisusuallyreferredtoanEphesiansourceofsomefivecenturieslaterdate;andthelatteristhatofthestruggleforexistence。Thesayingthat\"strifeisfatherandkingofall\"

[……],ascribedtoHeraclitus,wouldbeanotinappropriatemottoforthe\"OriginofSpecies。\"

IhavereferredonlytoMr。Sully’sarticle,becausehisauthorityisquitesufficientformypurpose。ButtheconsultationofanyofthemoreelaboratehistoriesofGreekphilosophy,suchasthegreatworkofZeller,forexample,willonlybringoutthesamefactintostillmorestrikingprominence。Ihaveprofessedno\"minuteacquaintance\"witheitherIndianorGreekphilosophy,butIhavetakenagreatdealofpainstosecurethatsuchknowledgeasIdopossessshallbeaccurateandtrustworthy。

Inthethirdplace,Mr。GladstoneappearstowishthatIshoulddiscusswithhimthequestionwhetherthenebularhypothesisis,orisnot,confirmatoryofthepentateuchalaccountoftheoriginofthings。Mr。Gladstoneappearstobepreparedtoenteruponthiscampaignwithalightheart。IconfessIamnot,andmyreasonforthisbackwardnesswilldoubtlesssurpriseMr。

Gladstone。Itisthat,rathermorethanaquarterofacenturyago(namely,inFebruary1859),whenitwasmyduty,asPresidentoftheGeologicalSociety,todelivertheAnniversaryAddress,<5>Ichoseatopicwhichinvolvedaverycarefulstudyoftheremarkablecosmogonicalspeculation,originallypromulgatedbyImmanuelKantand,subsequently,byLaplace,whichisnowknownasthenebularhypothesis。WiththehelpofsuchlittleacquaintancewiththeprinciplesofphysicsandastronomyasIhadgained,Iendeavouredtoobtainaclearunderstandingofthisspeculationinallitsbearings。IamnotsurethatIsucceeded;butofthisIamcertain,thattheproblemsinvolvedareverydifficult,evenforthosewhopossesstheintellectualdisciplinerequisitefordealingwiththem。

AnditwasthisconvictionthatledmetoexpressmydesiretoleavethediscussionofthequestionoftheassertedharmonybetweenGenesisandthenebularhypothesistoexpertsintheappropriatebranchesofknowledge。AndIthinkmycoursewasawiseone;butasMr。Gladstoneevidentlydoesnotunderstandhowtherecanbeanyhesitationonmypart,unlessitarisesfromaconvictionthatheisintheright,Imaygosofarastosetoutmydifficulties。

Theyareoftwokinds——exegeticalandscientific。ItappearstomethatitisvaintodiscussasupposedcoincidencebetweenGenesisandscienceunlesswehavefirstsettled,ontheonehand,whatGenesissays,and,ontheotherhand,whatsciencesays。

Inthefirstplace,IcannotfindanyconsensusamongBiblicalscholarsastothemeaningofthewords,\"InthebeginningGodcreatedtheheavenandtheearth。\"SomesaythattheHebrewwordbara,whichistranslated\"create,\"means\"madeoutofnothing。\"Iventuretoobjecttothatrendering,notonthegroundofscholarship,butofcommonsense。Omnipotenceitselfcansurelynomoremakesomething\"outof\"nothingthanitcanmakeatriangularcircle。Whatisintendedby\"madeoutofnothing\"appearstobe\"causedtocomeintoexistence,\"withtheimplicationthatnothingofthesamekindpreviouslyexisted。

Itisfurtherusuallyassumedthat\"theheavenandtheearth\"

meansthematerialsubstanceoftheuniverse。Hencethe\"Mosaicwriter\"istakentoimplythatwherenothingofamaterialnaturepreviouslyexisted,thissubstanceappeared。Thatisperfectlyconceivable,andthereforenoonecandenythatitmayhavehappened。ButthereareotherveryauthoritativecriticswhosaythattheancientIsraelite<6>whowrotethepassagewasnotlikelytohavebeencapableofsuchabstractthinking;andthat,asamatterofphilology,baraiscommonlyusedtosignifythe\"fashioning,\"or\"forming,\"ofthatwhichalreadyexists。Nowitappearstomethatthescientificinvestigatoriswhollyincompetenttosayanythingatallaboutthefirstoriginofthematerialuniverse。Thewholepowerofhisorganonvanisheswhenhehastostepbeyondthechainofnaturalcausesandeffects。Noformofthenebularhypothesis,thatIknowof,isnecessarilyconnectedwithanyviewoftheoriginationofthenebularsubstance。Kant’sformofitexpresslysupposesthatthenebularmaterialfromwhichonestellarsystemstartsmaybenothingbutthedisintegratedsubstanceofastellarandplanetarysystemwhichhasjustcometoanend。Therefore,sofarasIcansee,onewhobelievesthatmatterhasexistedfromalleternityhasjustasmuchrighttoholdthenebularhypothesisasonewhobelievesthatmattercameintoexistenceataspecifiedepoch。Inotherwords,thenebularhypothesisandthecreationhypothesis,uptothispoint,neitherconfirmnoropposeoneanother。

Next,wereadintherevisers’version,inwhichIsupposetheultimateresultsofcriticalscholarshiptobeembodied:\"Andtheearthwaswaste[’withoutform,’intheAuthorisedVersion]

andvoid。\"Mostpeopleseemtothinkthatthisphraseologyintendstoimplythatthematteroutofwhichtheworldwastobeformedwasaveritable\"chaos,\"devoidoflawandorder。

Ifthisinterpretationiscorrect,thenebularhypothesiscanhavenothingtosaytoit。Thescientificthinkercannotadmittheabsenceoflawandorder;anywhereoranywhen,innature。

Sometimeslawandorderarepatentandvisibletoourlimitedvision;sometimestheyarehidden。Buteveryparticleofthematterofthemostfantastic—lookingnebulaintheheavensisarealmoflawandorderinitself;and,thatitisso,istheessentialconditionofthepossibilityofsolarandplanetaryevolutionfromtheapparentchaos。<7>

\"Waste\"istoovagueatermtobeworthconsideration。\"Withoutform,\"intelligibleenoughasametaphor,iftakenliterallyisabsurd;foramaterialthingexistinginspacemusthaveasuperficies,andifithasasuperficiesithasaform。

Thewildeststreaksofmarestailcloudsinthesky,orthemostirregularheavenlynebulae,havesurelyjustasmuchformasageometricaltetrahedron;andasfor\"void,\"howcanthatbevoidwhichisfullofmatter?Aspoetry,theselinesarevividandadmirable;asascientificstatement,whichtheymustbetakentobeifanyoneisjustifiedincomparingthemwithanotherscientificstatement,theyfailtoconveyanyintelligibleconceptiontomymind。

Theaccountproceeds:\"Anddarknesswasuponthefaceofthedeep。\"Sobeit;butwhere,then,isthelikenesstothecelestialnebulae,oftheexistenceofwhichweshouldknownothingunlesstheyshonewithalightoftheirown?\"AndthespiritofGodmoveduponthefaceofthewaters。\"Ihavemetwithnoformofthenebularhypothesiswhichinvolvesanythinganalogoustothisprocess。

Ihavesaidenoughtoexplainsomeofthedifficultieswhichariseinmymind,whenItrytoascertainwhetherthereisanyfoundationforthecontentionthatthestatementscontainedinthefirsttwoversesofGenesisaresupportedbythenebularhypothesis。Theresultdoesnotappeartometobeexactlyfavourabletothatcontention。Thenebularhypothesisassumestheexistenceofmatter,havingdefiniteproperties,asitsfoundation。Whethersuchmatterwascreatedafewthousandyearsago,orwhetherithasexistedthroughaneternalseriesofmetamorphosesofwhichourpresentuniverseisonlythelaststage,arealternatives,neitherofwhichisscientificallyuntenable,andneitherscientificallydemonstrable。Butscienceknowsnothingofanystageinwhichtheuniversecouldbesaid,inotherthanametaphoricalandpopularsense,tobeformlessorempty;orinanyrespectlesstheseatoflawandorderthanitisnow。Onemightaswelltalkofafresh—laidhen’seggbeing\"withoutformandvoid,\"becausethechickthereinispotentialandnotactual,asapplysuchtermstothenebulousmasswhichcontainsapotentialsolarsystem。

Untilsomefurtherenlightenmentcomestome,then,Iconfessmyselfwhollyunabletounderstandthewayinwhichthenebularhypothesisistobeconvertedintoanallyofthe\"Mosaicwriter。\"<8>

ButMr。GladstoneinformsusthatProfessorDanaandProfessorGuyotarepreparedtoprovethatthe\"firstorcosmogonicalportionoftheProemnotonlyaccordswith,butteaches,thenebularhypothesis。\"ThereisnoonetowhoseauthorityongeologicalquestionsIammorereadilydisposedtobowthanthatofmyeminentfriendProfessorDana。ButIamfamiliarwithwhathehaspreviouslysaidonthistopicinhiswell—knownandstandardwork,intowhich,strangelyenough,itdoesnotseemtohaveoccurredtoMr。Gladstonetolookbeforehesetoutuponhispresentundertaking;andunlessProfessorDana’slatestcontribution(whichIhavenotyetmetwith)takesupaltogethernewground,IamafraidIshallnotbeabletoextricatemyself,byitshelp,frommypresentdifficulties。

ItisaverylongtimesinceIbegantothinkabouttherelationsbetweenmodernscientificallyascertainedtruthsandthecosmogonicalspeculationsofthewriterofGenesis;and,asIthinkthatMr。Gladstonemighthavebeenabletoputhiscasewithagooddealmoreforce,ifhehadthoughtitworthwhiletoconsultthelastchapterofProfessorDana’sadmirable\"ManualofGeology,\"soIthinkhemighthavebeenmadeawarethathewasundertakinganenterpriseofwhichhehadnotcountedthecost,ifhehadchanceduponadiscussionofthesubjectwhichI

publishedin1877。<9>

Finally,IshouldliketodrawtheattentionofthosewhotakeinterestinthesetopicstotheweightywordsofoneofthemostlearnedandmoderateofBiblicalcritics:——



\"AproposdecettepremierepagedelaBible,onacoutumedenosjoursdedisserter,apertedevue,surl’accorddurecitmosaiqueaveclessciencesnaturelles;etcommecelles—citouteloigneesqu’ellessontencoredelaperfectionabsolue,ontrendupopulairesetenquelquesorteirrefragablesuncertainnombredefaitsgenerauxoudethesesfondamentalesdelacosmologieetdelageologie,c’estletextesacrequ’ons’evertueatorturerpourlefaireconcorderaveccesdonnees。\"<10>



Inmypaperonthe\"InterpretersofNatureandtheInterpretersofGenesis,\"whilefreelyavailingmyselfoftherightsofascientificcritic,Iendeavouredtokeeptheexpressionofmyviewswellwithinthoseboundsofcourtesywhicharesetbyself—respectandconsiderationforothers。IamthereforegladtobefavouredwithMr。Gladstone’sacknowledgmentofthesuccessofmyefforts。IonlywishthatIcouldacceptalltheproductsofMr。Gladstone’sgraciousappreciation,butthereisoneaboutwhich,asamatterofhonesty,Ihesitate。Infact,ifIhadexpressedmymeaningbetterthanIseemtohavedone,I

doubtiftheparticularprofferofMr。Gladstone’sthankswouldhavebeenmade。

Tomymind,whateverdoctrineprofessestobetheresultoftheapplicationoftheacceptedrulesofinductiveanddeductivelogictoitssubject—matter;andwhichaccepts,withinthelimitswhichitsetstoitself,thesupremacyofreason,isScience。Whetherthesubject—matterconsistsofrealitiesorunrealities,truthsorfalsehoods,isquiteanotherquestion。I

conceivethatordinarygeometryisscience,byreasonofitsmethod,andIalsobelievethatitsaxioms,definitions,andconclusionsarealltrue。However,thereisageometryoffourdimensions,whichIalsobelievetobescience,becauseitsmethodprofessestobestrictlyscientific。ItistruethatI

cannotconceivefourdimensionsinspace,andtherefore,forme,thewholeaffairisunreal。ButIhaveknownmenofgreatintellectualpowerswhoseemedtohavenodifficultyeitherinconceivingthem,or,atanyrate,inimagininghowtheycouldconceivethem;and,therefore,four—dimensionedgeometrycomesundermynotionofscience。SoIthinkastrologyisascience,insofarasitprofessestoreasonlogicallyfromprinciplesestablishedbyjustinductivemethods。Topreventmisunderstanding,perhapsIhadbetteraddthatIdonotbelieveonewhitinastrology;butnomoredoIbelieveinPtolemaicastronomy,orinthecatastrophicgeologyofmyyouth,althoughthese,intheirday,claimed——and,tomymind,rightlyclaimed——

thenameofscience。Ifnothingistobecalledsciencebutthatwhichisexactlytruefrombeginningtoend,Iamafraidthereisverylittlescienceintheworldoutsidemathematics。

Amongthephysicalsciences,Idonotknowthatanycouldclaimmorethanthatitistruewithincertainlimits,sonarrowthat,forthepresentatanyrate,theymaybeneglected。Ifsuchisthecase,Idonotseewherethelineistobedrawnbetweenexactlytrue,partiallytrue,andmainlyuntrueformsofscience。AndwhatIhavesaidaboutthecurrenttheologyattheendofmypaper[suprapp。160—163]leaves,Ithink,nodoubtastothecategoryinwhichIrankit。Forallthat,I

thinkitwouldbenotonlyunjust,butalmostimpertinent,torefusethenameofsciencetothe\"Summa\"ofSt。Thomasortothe\"Institutes\"ofCalvin。

Inconclusion,Iconfessthatmysupposed\"unjadedappetite\"forthesortofcontroversyinwhichitneedednotMr。Gladstone’sexpressdeclarationtotellusheisfarbetterpractisedthanI

am(thoughprobably,withoutanotherexpressdeclaration,noonewouldhavesuspectedthathiscontroversialfiresareburninglow)isalreadysatiated。

In\"Elysium\"weconductscientificdiscussionsinadifferentmedium,andweareliabletothreateningsofasphyxiainthat\"atmosphereofcontention\"inwhichMr。Gladstonehasbeenabletolive,alertandvigorousbeyondthecommonraceofmen,asifitwerepurestmountainair。Itrustthathemaylongcontinuetoseektruth,underthedifficultconditionshehaschosenforthesearch,withunabatedenergy——Ihadalmostsaidfire——



Mayagenotwitherhim,norcustomstaleHisinfinitevariety。



ButElysiumsuitsmylessrobustconstitutionbetter,andIbegleavetoretirethither,notsorryformyexperienceoftheotherregion——nooneshouldregretexperience——butdeterminednottorepeatit,atanyrateinreferencetothe\"pleaforrevelation。\"



NOTEONTHEPROPERSENSEOFTHE\"MOSAIC\"NARRATIVE

OFTHECREATION。

IthasbeenobjectedtomyargumentfromLeviticus(suprà

p。170)thattheHebrewwordstranslatedby\"creepingthings\"inGenesisi。24andLeviticusxi。29,aredifferent;namely,\"reh—mes\"intheformer,\"sheh—retz\"inthelatter。Theobviousreplytothisobjectionisthatthequestionisnotoneofwordsbutofthemeaningofwords。Toborrowanillustrationfromourownlanguage,if\"crawlingthings\"hadbeenusedbythetranslatorsinGenesisand\"creepingthings\"inLeviticus,itwouldnothavebeennecessarilyimpliedthattheyintendedtodenotedifferentgroupsofanimals。\"Sheh—retz\"isemployedinawidersensethan\"reh—mes。\"Thereare\"sheh—retz\"ofthewatersoftheearth,oftheair,andoftheland。Leviticusspeaksoflandreptiles,amongotheranimals,as\"sheh—retz\";

Genesisspeaksofallcreepinglandanimals,amongwhichlandreptilesarenecessarilyincluded,as\"reh—mes。\"

Ourtranslators,therefore,havegiventhetruesensewhentheyrenderboth\"sheh—retz\"and\"reh—mes\"by\"creepingthings。\"

HavingtakenagooddealoftroubletoshowwhatGenesisi。—ii。

4doesnotmean,intheprecedingpages,perhapsitmaybewellthatIshouldbrieflygivemyopinionastowhatitdoesmean。

IconceivethattheunknownauthorofthispartoftheHexateuchalcompilationbelieved,andmeanthisreaderstobelieve,thathiswords,astheyunderstoodthem——thatistosay,intheirordinarynaturalsense——conveyedthe\"actualhistoricaltruth。\"Whenhesaysthatsuchandsuchthingshappened,Ibelievehimtomeanthattheyactuallyoccurredandnotthatheimaginedordreamedthem;whenhesays\"day,\"I

believeheusesthewordinthepopularsense;whenhesays\"made\"or\"created,\"Ibelievehemeansthattheycameintobeingbyaprocessanalogoustothatwhichthepeoplewhomheaddressedcalled\"making\"or\"creating\";andIthinkthat,unlessweforgetourpresentknowledgeofnature,and,puttingourselvesbackintothepositionofaPhoenicianoraChaldaeanphilosopher,startfromhisconceptionoftheworld,weshallfailtograspthemeaningoftheHebrewwriter。Wemustconceivetheearthtobeanimmovable,moreorlessflattened,body,withthevaultofheavenabove,thewateryabyssbelowandaround。

Wemustimaginesun,moon,andstarstobe\"set\"ina\"firmament\"with,orin,whichtheymove;andabovewhichisyetanotherwaterymass。Wemustconsider\"light\"and\"darkness\"tobethings,thealternationofwhichconstitutesdayandnight,independentlyoftheexistenceofsun,moon,andstars。Wemustfurthersupposethat,asinthecaseofthestoryofthedeluge,theHebrewwriterwasacquaintedwithaGentile(probablyChaldaeanorAccadian)accountoftheoriginofthings,inwhichhesubstantiallybelieved,butwhichhestrippedofallitsidolatrousassociationsbysubstituting\"Elohim\"forEa,Anu,Bel,andthelike。

Fromthispointofviewthefirstversestrikesthekeynoteofthewhole。Inthebeginning\"Elohim<11>createdtheheavenandtheearth。\"Heavenandearthwerenotprimitiveexistencesfromwhichthegodsproceeded,astheGentilestaught;onthecontrary,the\"Powers\"precededandcreatedheavenandearth。

Whetherby\"creation\"ismeant\"causingtobewherenothingwasbefore\"or\"shapingofsomethingwhichpre—existed,\"seemstometobeaninsolublequestion。

AsIhavepointedout,thesecondversehasaninterestingparallelinJeremiahiv。23:\"Ibeheldtheearth,and,lo,itwaswasteandvoid;andtheheavens,andtheyhadnolight。\"

Iconceivethatthereisnomoreallusiontochaosintheonethanintheother。Theearth—disklayinitswateryenvelope,liketheyolkofaneggintheglaire,andthespirit,orbreath,ofElohimstirredthemass。Lightwascreatedasathingbyitself;anditsantithesis\"darkness\"asanotherthing。

Itwassupposedtobethenatureofthesetwotoalternate,andapairofalternationsconstituteda\"day\"inthesenseofanunitoftime。

Thenextstepwas,necessarily,theformationofthat\"firmament,\"ordomeovertheearth—disk,whichwassupposedtosupportthecelestialwaters;andinwhichsun,moon,andstarswereconceivedtobeset,asinasortoforrery。Theearthwasstillsurroundedandcoveredbythelowerwaters,buttheupperwereseparatedfromitbythe\"firmament,\"beneathwhichwhatwecalltheairlay。Asecondalternationofdarknessandlightmarksthelapseoftime。

Afterthis,thewaterswhichcoveredtheearth—disk,underthefirmament,weredrawnawayintocertainregions,whichbecameseas,whilethepartlaidbarebecamedryland。Inaccordancewiththenotion,universallyacceptedinantiquity,thatmoistearthpossessesthepotentialityofgivingrisetolivingbeings,theland,atthecommandofElohim,\"putforth\"allsortsofplants。Theyaremadetoappearthusearly,not,I

apprehend,fromanynotionthatplantsarelowerinthescaleofbeingthananimals(whichwouldseemtobeinconsistentwiththeprevalenceoftreeworshipamongancientpeople),butratherbecauseanimalsobviouslydependonplants;andbecause,withoutcropsandharvests,thereseemedtobenoparticularneedofheavenlysignsfortheseasons。

Thesewereprovidedbythefourthday’swork。Lightexistedalready;butnowvehiclesforthedistributionoflight,inaspecialmannerandwithvaryingdegreesofintensity,wereprovided。Iconceivethatthepreviousalternationsoflightanddarknessweresupposedtogoon;butthatthe\"light\"wasstrengthenedduringthedaytimebythesun,which,asasourceofheataswellasoflight,glidedupthefirmamentfromtheeast,andsliddowninthewest,eachday。Veryprobablyeachday’ssunwassupposedtobeanewone。Andasthelightofthedaywasstrengthenedbythesun,sothedarknessofthenightwasweakenedbythemoon,whichregularlywaxedandwanedeverymonth。Thestarsare,asitwere,thrownin。Andnothingcanmoresharplymarkthedoctrinalpurposeoftheauthor,thanthemannerinwhichhedealswiththeheavenlybodies,whichtheGentilesidentifiedsocloselywiththeirgods,asiftheyweremereaccessoriestothealmanac。

Animalscomenextinorderofcreation,andthegeneralnotionofthewriterseemstobethattheywereproducedbythemediuminwhichtheylive;thatistosay,theaquaticanimalsbythewaters,andtheterrestrialanimalsbytheland。Buttherewasadifficultyaboutflyingthings,suchasbats,birds,andinsects。Thecosmogonistseemstohavehadnoconceptionof\"air\"asanelementalbody。His\"elements\"areearthandwater,andheignoresairasmuchashedoesfire。Birds\"flyabovetheearthintheopenfirmament\"or\"onthefaceoftheexpanse\"ofheaven。Theyarenotsaidtoflythroughtheair。Thechoiceofagenerativemediumforflyingthings,therefore,seemedtoliebetweenwaterandearth;and,ifwetakeintoaccounttheconspicuousnessofthegreatflocksofwater—birdsandtheswarmsofwingedinsects,whichappeartoarisefromwater,I

thinkthepreferenceofwaterbecomesintelligible。However,I

donotputthisforwardasmorethanaprobablehypothesis。

Astothecreationofaquaticanimalsonthefifth,thatoflandanimalsonthesixthday,andthatofmanlastofall,Ipresumetheorderwasdeterminedbythefactthatmancouldhardlyreceivedominionoverthelivingworldbeforeitexisted;

andthatthe\"cattle\"werenotwanteduntilhewasabouttomakehisappearance。Theotherterrestrialanimalswouldnaturallybeassociatedwiththecattle。

Theabsurdityofimaginingthatanyconception,analogoustothatofazoologicalclassification,wasinthemindofthewriterwillbeapparent,whenweconsiderthatthefifthday’sworkmustincludethezoologist’sCetacea,Sirenia,andseals,<12>allofwhichareMammalia;allbirds,turtles,sea—snakesand,presumably,thefreshwaterReptiliaandAmphibia;withthegreatmajorityofInvertebrata。

Thecreationofmanisannouncedasaseparateact,resultingfromaparticularresolutionofElohimto\"makemaninourimage,afterourlikeness。\"TolearnwhatthisremarkablephrasemeanswemustturntothefifthchapterofGenesis,theworkofthesamewriter。\"InthedaythatElohimcreatedman,inthelikenessofElohimmadehehim;maleandfemalecreatedhethem;

andblessedthemandcalledtheirnameAdaminthedaywhentheywerecreated。AndAdamlivedanhundredandthirtyyearsandbegatasoninhisownlikeness,afterhisimage;

andcalledhisnameSeth。\"Ifinditimpossibletoreadthispassagewithoutbeingconvincedthat,whenthewritersaysAdamwasmadeinthelikenessofElohim,hemeansthesamesortoflikenessaswhenhesaysthatSethwasbegotteninthelikenessofAdam。WhenceitfollowsthathisconceptionofElohimwascompletelyanthropomorphic。

InallthisnarrativeIcandiscovernothingwhichdifferentiatesit,inprinciple,fromotherancientcosmogonies,excepttherejectionofallgods,savethevague,yetanthropomorphic,Elohim,andtheassigningtothemanteriorityandsuperioritytotheworld。Itisasutterlyirreconcilablewiththeassuredtruthsofmodernscience,asitiswiththeaccountoftheoriginofman,plants,andanimalsgivenbythewriterofthesecondchiefconstituentoftheHexateuchinthesecondchapterofGenesis。Thisextraordinarystorystartswiththeassumptionoftheexistenceofarainlessearth,devoidofplantsandherbsofthefield。Thecreationoflivingbeingsbeginswiththatofasolitaryman;thenextthingthathappensisthelayingoutoftheGardenofEden,andthecausingthegrowthfromitssoilofeverytree\"thatispleasanttothesightandgoodforfood\";thethirdactistheformationoutofthegroundof\"everybeastofthefield,andeveryfowloftheair\";thefourthandlast,themanufactureofthefirstwomanfromarib,extractedfromAdam,whileinastateofanaesthesia。

Yettherearepeoplewhonotonlyprofesstotakethismonstrouslegendseriously,butwhodeclareittobereconcilablewiththeElohisticaccountofthecreation!



FOOTNOTES

(1)TheNineteenthCentury,1886。

(2)BothdolphinsanddugongsoccurintheRedSea,porpoisesanddolphinsintheMediterranean;sothatthe\"Mosaicwriter\"

mayhavebeenacquaintedwiththem。

(3)Isaidnothingabout\"thegreaternumberofschoolsofGreekphilosophy,\"asMr。GladstoneimpliesthatIdid,butexpresslyspokeofthe\"foundersofGreekphilosophy。\"

(4)SeeHeinze,DieLehrevomLogos,p。9etseq。

(5)ReprintedinLaySermons,Addresses,andReviews,

1870。

(6)\"Ancient,\"doubtless,buthisantiquitymustnotbeexaggerated。Forexample,thereisnoproofthatthe\"Mosaic\"

cosmogonywasknowntotheIsraelitesofSolomon’stime。

(7)WhenJeremiah(iv。23)says,\"Ibeheldtheearth,and,lo,itwaswasteandvoid,\"hecertainlydoesnotmeantoimplythattheformoftheearthwaslessdefinite,oritssubstancelesssolid,thanbefore。

(8)InlookingthroughthedelightfulvolumerecentlypublishedbytheAstronomer—RoyalforIreland,adayortwoago,Ifindthefollowingremarksonthenebularhypothesis,whichIshouldhavebeengladtoquoteinmytextifIhadknownthemsooner:——

\"Norcanitbeevermorethanaspeculation;itcannotbeestablishedbyobservation,norcanitbeprovedbycalculation。

Itismerelyaconjecture,moreorlessplausible,butperhapsinsomedegree,necessarilytrue,ifourpresentlawsofheat,asweunderstandthem,admitoftheextremeapplicationhererequired,andifthepresentorderofthingshasreignedforsufficienttimewithouttheinterventionofanyinfluenceatpresentknowntous\"(TheStoryoftheHeavens,p。506)。

Wouldanyprudentadvocatebaseaplea,eitherfororagainstrevelation,uponthecoincidence,orwantofcoincidence,ofthedeclarationsofthelatterwiththerequirementsofanhypothesisthusguardedlydealtwithbyanastronomicalexpert?

(9)LecturesonEvolutiondeliveredinNewYork(AmericanAddresses)。

(10)Reuss,L’HistoireSainteetlaLoi,vol。i,p。275。

(11)Forthesenseoftheterm\"Elohim,\"seetheessayentitled\"TheEvolutionofTheology\"attheendofthisvolume。

(12)Perhapsevenhippopotamusesandotters!