power and demonstration, a philosophy that will place the belief in God upon unassailable ground, not only will he encounter no opposition from evolutionists, but he will, we undertake to say, receive their hearty thanks for removing out of the way a question which, though not properly belonging to their field of thought and labor, has too often been made use of, maliciously or ignorantly, for their annoyance. It is needless, we hope, to say that the demonstration would in no way affect the practical work of scientific investigation. The constancy of natural law is the one essential condition of scientific progress; and, that datum remaining, men would still seek to know what is in the present and what has been in the past; and would still regard the world as Wolff regarded it, as "a series of changing objects which exist conjointly and successively, but which are so connected together that one ever contains the ground of the other."[1] Dr. Porter does not himself seem to be of a very different opinion, for (page 31) he sees no objection to "connecting the scientist with the original star-dust," so long as we consent to do so through "the progressive complications of a slowly developed thought of the living and loving God." If Dr. Porter really understands how the progressive complications of a thought could facilitate the conversion of star-dust into a scientist, he stands on a proud intellectual eminence; and it is no wonder if he feels that he could school the whole evolutionist tribe, from Darwin and Spencer down. It is, however, going a long way with the evolutionist to believe that, by the aid of a few thought complications, the star-dust could be brought to take so improved a form; and the evolutionist will not quarrel with him for his proviso. The evolutionist does object, however, when he is told that certain "artificial lines of progressive evolution may become luminous with thought when projected against the bright background of the living God." He says: "No; things do not become luminous when placed against a bright background; they become dark."[2]
Had we space we might notice some, no doubt unintentional, misrepresentations of Mr. Spencer's philosophical position, particularly in regard to his alleged demand for "faith." We must leave this undone, however, in order to make a few concluding remarks. Dr. Porter, we are sure, can not but feel that the present time is a critical one. The numerous attacks that have lately been made upon the theory of evolution, and generally upon the rationalism of the age, show that the defenders of ancient opinions feel that something must be
- ↑ Schwegler, translated by Seelye.
- ↑ The evolutionist is also driven to wonder what can be the state of English composition at Yale when the ex-president, in what was meant to be the most impressive part of his lecture, writes as follows: "Why, then, may he [man] not be worthy of the constant care and fatherly love of Him who has had him in His thoughts from the beginning till now, and toward whom His plans and movements have ever been tending?"—(Lecture, p. 32.)
