CHAPTER XI.MOSES AND MODERN SCIENCE.

CHAPTER XI.MOSES AND MODERN SCIENCE.SCIENCE AGREES WITH RELIGION—NEBULAR THEORY—SUN A DARK BODY—SUN SPOTS—VARIOUS SOURCES OF LIGHT—PRIMEVAL OCEAN—DENSITY OF EARLY ATMOSPHERE—VEGETATION OF COAL PERIOD EVERYWHERE IDENTICAL—UNIFORMITY OF CLIMATE.

There is a class of aspirants to gentility who refuse to recognize any person not dressed in the style which they suppose fashionable among the higher classes. A story is told of a wealthy Glasgow brewer's wife, who, attired in all the magnificence of her satins, laces and jewelry, was driving out in her carriage one day in the vicinity of Balmoral. A quiet lady, clad in a plain, gingham dress and gray shawl, was gathering a bouquet of wild flowers in the hedge, and as the carriage passed by, wished the occupant a pleasant "good morning," to which the brewer's wife answered by a contemptuous nod, but afterwards learned to her great mortification, that she had thus lost an opportunity of forming an acquaintance with Queen Victoria. So a large class of pretenders to science refuse to become acquainted with Bibletruth, because it is not shrouded in the technicalities of science, but displays itself in the plain speech of the common people to whom it was given.

Of late years the first chapter of Genesis has been assailed by scientists in such a manner that even some professing Christians and other devout believers in the Old Testament have come to doubt the authenticity of that chapter; while the efforts of some modern divines to interpret its sayings so as to conform to the declarations of so-called science, have in some cases been pitiful to behold. We do not claim that what is called science is infallible. True science is indisputable. But much that is called science is only theory. In the writings of learned men, concerning the formation of the world, and geologic processes and periods, there is a large mixture of theory and guess-work along with some demonstrated facts and principles. We believe, however, that there is no real conflict between the Mosaic account of the creation and the nebular theory, which is the most widely accepted among the most prominent scientists.

The Bible declares, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." Science admits that there was a "Great First Cause." The world-famous scientist, Herbert Spencer, says, "The universe had its origin in the unknown source of things." The Bible declares, "The earth was without form, and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep." Science teaches us that matter primarily existed without any form, in a highlyattenuated and invisible condition, but containing all the elements which now compose the solid and fluid portions of the earth, and while it was in this condition it was non-luminous. Before motion there was no light. The Bible says the "Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters." (The original wordmayhimmeans literally a flowing, non-solid, fluid substance.) Scientists admit that motion as well as matter demands a cause, and that the earth was then a flowing or movable substance or fluid. Thus we see that the description given by Moses of that far, far off period is not only correct but likewise has a depth of meaning that is perfectly sublime.

Let us now turn to another chapter in nature's volume and compare it with the second event mentioned by Moses. "And God said. Let there be light: and there was light." Scientists admit that the first visible effect of motion in the fluid mass was the giving out of light. And here it may not be out of place to give a concise description of the nebular theory:

"La Place conceived the sun to be at one period the nucleus of a vast nebula or star-cloud, the matter of which extended beyond what is now the orbit of the remotest planet of the solar system. This mass of matter in process of condensation, and probably by the agency of electricity, was endued with a circulating motion around its center of gravity. The tendency which all revolving bodies possess to fly off from the center, caused portions of this nebula in process of condensation,to detach themselves from the parent mass, and form themselves into concentric rings, which afterwards, by condensation and electrical action, separated themselves into distinct bodies. These masses, which hence constituted the various planets, in their turn condensing after the manner of the parent mass and abandoning their outlying matter, became surrounded by similar concentric rings, which in turn formed satellites or moons surrounding the various planetary masses. In proof of this, the case of the planet Saturn has been cited to show that the work of creation is still in progress. As is well known, this planet is surrounded by a revolving belt, consisting of several distinct rings still unbroken."

While infidels are scoffing at the idea of light without the sun, modern science has discovered the astonishing fact, that even at this moment the globe of the sun is not a source of light to itself much less to us; that, in fact light is no more connected with the sun than with a candlestick. The sun consists mainly of a dark nucleus, like the body of the earth and other planetary globes, surrounded by two atmospheres of enormous depths, the one nearest to him being cloudy and dense like our atmosphere, while the loftier stratum consists of dazzling electric and phosphorescent zephyrs that, bestow light on so many surrounding spheres. This phosphorescent atmosphere, orphotosphere, as it is called, is by no means inseparably attached to the surface of the nucleus or dark body beneath. Nor is it in any degree stable, but is subject toextensive fluctuations and the most violent commotions, being frequently swayed and whirled aside, laying bare the surface of the dark globe beneath for thousands of miles to the observation of astronomers, and even to the naked eye.

The Sun

[THE SUN AS SEEN BY MR. PROCTOR SEPTEMBER 25TH, 1870.]

In the month of June, 1843, a spot was visible which, according to the measurements of Schwabe, the astronomer, had a length of no less than 74,816 miles. On March 15th, 1858, observers of the great solar eclipse had an opportunity of seeing a spot which had a breadth of 107,520 miles. Butthe most remarkable view of the sun was that exhibited September 25th, 1870. One of the openings was so vast that it was calculated that eighteen of our worlds, placed side by side, would have scarcely filled the chasm.

The latest discoveries in science tend rather to demonstrate that the sun's light is but very faintly visible on his globe; and that there is no such thing as solar heat. What is popularly called so is only the heat caused by the friction of the waves of light passing through the atmosphere, or striking against the earth. "We approach the question of the sun's inhabitability," says Sir David Brewster, "with the certain knowledge that the sun is not a red hot globe, but that its nucleus is a solid, opaque mass, receiving very little light from its luminous atmosphere." "For ought we know the dark, solid nucleus of the sun may have existed for millions of years and given out no light whatever. It is quite possible that variations of the sun's light may have been caused through electrical action. The telescope has shown us that the fixed stars are also luminous bodies similar to our sun, only very far distant from us. Some of these have suddenly flashed into existence, where none were previously visible. The appearance of twenty-one such stars is on record. Others have greatly increased in brightness; and, still further, many familiar suns have ceased to shine. On a careful re-examination of the heavens, many stars are found to be missing." (Herschel's Outlines, Sec. 832.)

The variation of our supply of light from the sun is the only explanation we have of the great alternations of heat and cold which have been so extensive as, at one period, to have clothed high northern latitudes, such as Greenland and Siberia, with a more than tropical luxuriance of vegetation, and, at another time, to have buried vast tracts of Europe and America, now enjoying a genial climate, under vast glaciers and mountains of ice.

Again, light, so far from being solely derived from the sun, exists in, and can be educed from almost any known substance. The metallic bases of most earths and alkalies are capable of emitting light in suitable electrical conditions, and a brilliant flame can be produced by the combustion even of water. All the metals can be made to flash forth lightnings under suitable electric and magnetic excitements; and the crystals of several rocks give out light during the process of crystallization. Thousands of miles of the earth's surface must once have presented the lurid glow of a vast furnace of melted granite. Even at a far later period of its history, it may have shone with a luster little inferior to that of the sun; for lime, of which unknown thousands of miles of its strata consist, when subject to a heat much less than that produced by contact with melted granite or lava, emits a brilliant, white light of such intensity that the eye cannot support its luster. (See Turner's Chemistry, Sec. 160.)

As is well known, the moon is a dark, opaque body, therefore the copper color of the moon,during a total eclipse, when the dark side of the earth is turned towards the moon, shows us that the earth, even now, is a source of light. That God could command the light to shine out of darkness, and convert the very ocean into a magnificent illumination, the following fact clearly proves:

"Captain Bonnycastle coming up the gulf of St. Lawrence, on the 7th of September, 1826, was roused by the mate of the vessel in great alarm from an unusual appearance. It was a starlight night, when suddenly the sky became overcast in the direction of the highland of Cornwallis County, and an instantaneous and intensely vivid light, resembling the aurora, or northern lights, shot out from the hitherto dark and gloomy sea, on the lee bow, which was so brilliant that it lighted every thing distinctly, even to the mast-head. The light spread over the sea between the two shores, and the waves, which before had been tranquil, now began to be agitated. Captain Bonnycastle describes the scene as that of a blazing sheet of awful and most brilliant light. A long and vivid line of light, superior in brightness to the parts of the sea not immediately near the vessel, showed the base of the high, frowning and dark land abreast; the sky became lowering and more intensely obscure. Long, tortuous lines of light showed immense numbers of large fish darting about as if in consternation. The top-sail yard and mizen boom were lighted by the glare, as if gas-lights had been burning directly below them; and until just before daybreak, at four o'clock, themost minute objects were distinctly visible." (Connection of Physical Sciences, p. 288.)

In the fourth and fifth verses of the first chapter of Genesis we are told, "And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And the evening and morning were the first day."

In spite of all the sneers of infidels, the candid reader finds the divine record sublime in its simplicity. The good effect of light upon our planet was immediately apparent. The earth having now become sufficiently condensed to cast a shadow, there was, of course, one side enjoying the light of the sun while the other was in shadow. Thus the dark body of the earth was the means by which God divided the light from the darkness, as at the present; and the first rotation of the earth upon its axis causing the shadow and the light to be alternately on every part of the earth, produced the evening and the morning of the first day. How long the first day was, we know not. From observations of phenomena going on in the Spiral Nebula at the present time, it is reasonable to suppose that the first revolution of the earth upon its axis occupied a vast epoch of time.

The next process in the organization of the earth was the forming of an atmosphere: "And God said, let there be a firmament" (literally,expanse) "in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the firmament,and divided the waters, which are under the firmament: and it was so." (Gen. i, 6-7).

Now let us turn to the book of nature and see how science corroborates these facts. Geologists tell us that the motion of the particles of matter which form the earth, in course of condensation became very hot; for heat and motion are only different names for the same thing. Heat is easily convertible into motion, as every one knows who has a steam engine, and motion can easily be changed into heat, as everybody knows, by friction, that is by rubbing two substances together.

M. Mangin, in his "Mysteries of the Ocean," thus graphically describes the first formation of the universal ocean: "As the earth continued to cool, a time arrived when its temperature became insufficient to maintain in a state of vapor the vast masses of water which floated in the atmosphere. These vapors would pass into a liquid state, and then the first rain fell upon the earth. This water would in turn be quickly evaporated and again ascend into the colder regions of space, where it would again condense and fall upon the earth. This might take place many times; but each time much heat would be withdrawn from the surface of the globe, and at last the waters would settle down and form a universal ocean. And the evening and the morning were the second day."

Further we are told: "And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together untoone place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. And God called the dry land earth; and the gathering together of the waters called He seas." (Gen. i, 9,10).

Mark the phrase,unto one place. The oceans and seas are all connected; they are only names for parts of one place or basin. In the 104th Psalm we are told that God covered the earth "With the deep as with a garment; the waters stood above the mountains." Concerning the early condition of the earth, science declares, that the waters encased the whole globe, and were above the early mountains, which were afterwards formed by the contortions caused by the shrinking of the crust of the earth as it cooled.

Helmholtz has calculated that the shrinking of the earth one ten-thousandth of its diameter would generate an amount of heat equal to that which the earth receives from the sun during two thousand years. From this fact we may easily perceive the causes of that internal heat which, after the lapse of unknown ages, still manifests itself in geysers, earthquakes and volcanoes. Here, also, we may perceive that mighty force by which the Divine chemist prepared the materials for the earth's ultimate condition.

When God created light. He pronounced it good; when He divided the dry land from the waters. He pronounced it good; but when He created the firmament, or expanse. He did not declare it good. Why? Possibly because, until vegetation began, it was loaded with carbonic acid andother poisonous gases, and totally unfit to support animal life. Science teaches us that this was the period when those strata known as theprimary rockswere formed. No remains of animal life can be found in them. It is a well-known fact that most substances shrink as they cool. This is the principle that holds the tires upon wagon wheels. In the same manner the earth also shrank, in proportion, as it cooled. As the various parts might give out heat in an unequal manner, so irregularities would appear on its surface, forming the earliest mountain chains, valleys, rents and ravines. Gradually as these early mountains and table-lands rose above the surface of the primeval ocean, the waves would dash against them and the rains fall, slowly wearing away the rocks and thus forming the earliest soil on the new-made world.

Continuing our investigations, let us turn to another chapter of the book of nature and see how closely the teachings of science agree with the record given by Moses: "And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass" (literally, sproutage), "the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth; and it was so." (Gen. i, 11.)

Mark the order: First, the sproutage; second, seed-bearing herbs; and thirdly, fruit-bearing trees. Now what does science say on this subject? It tells us that the exact geological period, when plants first appeared upon the earth, cannot be told; for their delicate structure was such that their earliest forms have been entirely destroyed, unlessthey are those which are still preserved in the strata of the coal measures. The earliest forms of which we have any knowledge were flowerless plants, which produced minute spores instead of seeds. Among these may be classed fungi, mosses and ferns. Thus we see how correctly Moses has described the first form of vegetable life by simply speaking of it assproutage, without mentioning any seed.

Plants

bark

[SPECIMEN OF BARK FROM A NOVA SCOTIA COAL MINE.]

With regard to this vegetation, it would imply the existence of sunlight, though some of the lower orders would require but little. The atmosphere was still dense and loaded with vapor. The lower orders of flowerless plants were succeeded by tree-like ferns, some of which grew to the enormous hight of forty or fifty feet. The careful observer will frequently find traces of this early vegetation in the lumps of common coal. Sometimes the galleries of coal mines are overhung with beautiful proportions of extinct vegetable forms. Thus a wise Providence has preserved the remains of primeval vegetation for perhaps millions of years, to tell us the story of those ancient forests, and reveal to us the various steps of creation. "The vegetation of the coal period presents a remarkable character, being composed almost entirely ofthe highest class of flowerless plants, along with a few of the lowest class of those that flower." (Dawson's Chain of Life, p. 96.)

Concerning the climatic condition of the earth during the coal-forming, (carboniferous) period, as it is called, the description given by Hugh Miller, the eminent geologist, may not be out of place: "From the circumstance that no dew is deposited in our Summer evenings, save under a clear sky, it is now ascertained that even a thin covering of cloud—serving as a robe to keep the earth warm—prevents the surface heat of the planet from radiating into the space beyond. And such a cloud, thick and continuous, as must have wrapped round the earth, as with a mantle, during the earlier geologic periods, would have served to retard, for many ages, the radiation, and consequently the reduction, of that internal heat of which it was itself a consequence. Nor would a planet, covered over for ages with a thick screen of vapor, be a novelty yet in the universe. It is doubtful whether astronomers have ever yet looked on the face of Mercury. It is, at least, very generally held that, hitherto, only his clouds have been seen. Even Jupiter, though it is thought his mountains have been occasionally detected raising their peaks through openings in his cloudy atmosphere, is known chiefly by the dark, shifting bands that, flecking his surface in the line of his trade-winds, belong not to his body, but to his thick, dark covering. Nor, yet further, would a warm, steaming atmosphere, muffled in clouds, have beenunfavorable to a rank, flowerless vegetation like that of the coal measures.

"There are moist, mild, cloudy days of Spring and early Summer, that rejoice the heart of the farmer, for he knows how conducive they are to the young growth on his fields. The coal measure climate would have consisted of an unbroken series of these, with, mayhap, a little more of cloud and moisture and a great deal more of heat. The earth would have been a vast greenhouse covered with smoked glass, and a vigorous, though, perhaps, a loosely-knit and faintly-colored, vegetation would have luxuriated under its shade. That the vegetable growth must have been great we can easily imagine when we consider the immense quantities of coal throughout the world. It is a remarkable circumstance that, from the equatorial regions up to Melville Island in the Arctic Ocean, where continual frost now prevails; and from Spitzbergen to the center of Africa, the remains of the plants of the coal measures are identically the same. There seems to have been then only one climate over the whole globe, caused, no doubt, by the internal heat of the earth. We should not forget that Moses puts the elevating of the land and the production of vegetation in the same geological period, viz., between the second and third day."

"And the evening and the morning were the third day." (Gen. i, 13.) Before this time there seems to have been no seasons; but, after that, God appointed the sun, moon and stars "to give light upon the earth, and to be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and for years." That the sun and stars had been created long before this, we have no reason to doubt. We may, therefore, correctly infer that they were then, for the first time, visible from the surface of the earth.

Coal Forest

CHAPTER XII.HARMONY OF GENESIS AND GEOLOGY.DEVELOPMENT OF SPECIES—SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST—LAWS OF VARIATION—GRADUAL EXTINCTION OF ANIMALS—AQUATIC CHARACTER OF EARLIEST BIRDS—INDICATIONS OF LIFE IN CHALK—PRIMEVAL MONSTERS—HUGE LAND ANIMALS—CHANGE IN THE CLIMATE OF THE EARTH—CREATION OF MAN—NO INTERMEDIATE LINK.

Philosophers lay it down as a rule, that the materials for all revolutions, whether political, moral or social are prepared before-hand. A revolution in ideas and modes of thought is by no means an exception to this rule. The unthinking throng may gaze in wonder at the spectacle afforded by the sudden outburst; but the thoughtful student will trace the order of events, and the forces that have been long at work preparing the minds of men for the new order of things.

When in the latter part of the eighteenth century, Voltaire marshaled his arguments as a legion, and hurled his burning invectives against the corruptions of false Christianity, humanity stood aghast at the result, for they did not perceive that the forces which impelled it had long been preparing. When the works of Voltaire and Thomas Paine appeared, society was in such a condition that many accepted their teachings as a relief from existing evils. Much more, many persons were ready to follow them into all the wild sophistries of infidelity.

The history of that time, has been to some extent repeated in the great scientific revolution so vigorously at work in the nineteenth century. When Hugh Miller wrote his "Testimony of the Rocks" there were those who confidently expected that this work would overturn the Mosaic account of the creation; and a wonderful outcry was raised about the opposition between the records of the rocks and the Bible. After a time it was found that geology demonstrates the existence, wisdom and goodness of an Almighty Creator with irresistible evidence. So when Darwin, Huxley, Hooker, Spencer and others revealed to the world, a vast amount of knowledge concerning the origin of species and the development of plants and animals, there were those who would have gladly found an antagonism between the facts of science and the records of revelation. But now it is admitted that it would be equally wonderful, and would as much require the infinite powers ofDeity, "to develop all the varied and marvelous forms of organic life from a single germ as to call them into existence by special acts of creation." In reality we owe these philosophers a debt of gratitude for having studied nature so carefully and given us so many deeply interesting and important facts.

It is evidently part of the divine plan that species should develop from a lower to a higher condition. We see this in the improvements in the breeds of our domestic animals, as well as in the wild animals that now live, as compared with the remains of the ancient Saurians that once roamed over the earth. The doctrine of "Natural Selection" or "Survival of the Fittest," as Huxley terms it, is also a law of nature. We see this illustrated at the present time in the history of races of men and species of animals. The weaker races of men are gradually disappearing while those nations who possess the highest physical, mental and moral characteristics are extending their dominion over the earth. In the history of animals this is likewise apparent. The gigantic, unwieldy ox, the Urus of Caesar, has been extinct since Roman times. The Auroch, another ox whose bones are frequently found in the same strata with extinct animals, would have been now entirely extinct but for the imperial edict which preserves a few in the forest of Lithuania. The gigantic birds Dinornis and Aptornis have but recently passed away. Perfect skeletons of them are still preserved in the museum of Christchurch, New Zealand. Fromthe measurement of these skeletons they are estimated to have been nearly or quite twelve feet high. The Dodo, a heavy, clumsy bird, of fifty pounds' weight, with loose, downy feathers, and imperfect wings like a new-born chicken, became extinct only about 150 or 200 years ago. The Apteryx of Australia, which of all living birds most resembles some of the extinct species, still survives, ready to disappear. The lion, tiger, bison (or buffalo), elephant, rhinoceros, and, in fact, all the fiercer and larger animals, are even now disappearing before the advance of civilized man.

Dinornis

[SKELETON OF A MAN AND THAT OF A DINORNIS SHOWING COMPARATIVE SIZE.]

The law of variation, as expressed by Darwin, is true with certain limitations. For example, every person must admit a vast change in the condition of the best breeds of our domestic swine, from their ancestors, the wild boars of medieval Europe. Yet nowhere can be found a single instance oftransmutation of species. For example, if we should trace the pedigree of a horse backwards through a thousand generations we should find that the original animal was also a horse, though probably a very inferior animal. Of all the living animals and fossil remains of extinct ones, though thousands of specimens have been discovered, yet of land animals and the higher orders of creation not a single instance of transmutation can be found. In all this we see a beautiful agreement with the divine record, "And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so" (Gen. i, 24).

True, we are told by Huxley that the embryos of different animals closely resemble each other, so that at an early stage of their existence they cannot be distinguished. But what of this? It only shows the unity of design in the works of the Creator which is one of the grand characteristicsof the world. Further, it teaches us a lesson of man's ignorance and imbecility. With all the aid of science we are unable to perceive those minute arrangements of atoms which will on development produce a tortoise or a fowl, a dog or a man. Who will presume to say that a castle was developed or "evolved" from a cottage because they were built of similar materials or because some of the rooms were after the same pattern? Why then should the Divine Architect's work be doubted because He gives to the germs of different beings the power of self-development according to a specified pattern, which is to end in the ultimate perfection of vastly different organisms?

Bird-like Reptile

[BIRD-LIKE REPTILE DISCOVERED BY DARWIN.]

But we are asked, is it not true that the most accurate and reliable geologists, have discovered in the rocky records of former ages the most undeniable evidence that the earliest birds were of astrangely reptilian character, and that many of the reptiles of that age were of an extraordinary bird-like character? That in some cases it is difficult to determine which predominated to the greatest extent, the characteristics of the reptile, the bat or the bird? These animals were evidently amphibious, living either on land or in the sea. Some specimens still extant which were found in Mexico and South America and which are identical with, or closely resemble the extinct species, possess the double character of an aquatic and terrestrial animal. Some of them advance beyond the development common to the class, and from gill-breathers, fitted, only to inhabit the water, become lung-breathers adapted to live on land.

Reptilian Bird

[REPTILIAN BIRD BY HUXLEY.]

Is it not also true that the remains of the earliest birds indicate them to have been of an aquatic character similar to the cranes, gulls and pelicans of the present time? Some of these were destitute of horn bills which birds of the present age possess. On the other hand their heads resembled those of reptiles. Neither were their wings alwayscovered with feathers, but in some cases their wings resembled those of the bat, and their feet closely resembled those of reptiles. Now, says the skeptic, is it not possible that reptiles and birds lived upon the earth previous to the creation of beasts? And, further, is it not possible that birds and reptiles may have been developed from the same original type, whereas Moses declares that God made the beast of the earth after his kind?

Not so fast, my friend. It is well known that these declarations of science are mere speculations, plausible indeed, but nowhere proven to be true. Granting all that the infidel asks, let us carefully read the sacred record and see if there really is any contradiction: "And God said. Let the waters bring forth abundantly the living creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven." (Gen. i, 20). Had Moses written, "And God now created every living thing that moveth in the waters," there might have been some reason for infidel objections. We should therefore especially notice that Moses does not say that this was the first dawn of animal life upon our globe, but simply that the waters were now to "bring forth abundantlythe moving creature that hath life, and fowl," etc. In all this there is no inconsistency between the geological and Biblical statements. On the other hand the wording of the text is such as to lead the student to believe that birds were of aquatic origin, that is, lived on the water.

In the twenty-first verse we are told that God created great whales (literally sea-monsters) "and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind and every winged fowl after his kind." And here we also perceive that the waters are again represented to be as it were the nursing mother of both birds and the lower orders of animal life. Mark also that the term "created" is used only three times in the whole of this record; first in reference to the creation of the earth, second in reference to sea-monsters, and third in reference to the creation of man.

Magnified Chalk

[PIECE OF CHALK HIGHLY MAGNIFIED.]

While revelation teaches us that the period when the waters were to bring forth abundantly, was in a succeeding epoch to that in which vegetation commenced; geology bears testimony that there are few remains of animal life till we come up to more recently formed strata, than the vegetable deposits of the coal measures. It is only when we arrive at the chalk measures that we find an "abundance" of animal life. Recent investigations have shown, that chalk is mostly composed of shells in every stage of change, some perfect, some broken, and still others decayed into an impalpable dust. Some of these shells are so minute that it would require 1,800 placed side by side to measure a single inch. Perhaps no human intellect is able to form a conception of this profuseness of animal life. Well might Moses say the sea brought forth abundantly.

Shellfish

[REMAINS OF SHELL FISH.]

It is at this epoch that we find the first remains of shell fish which are so common in the rocks of every land; also the remains of innumerable tiny fish, so prevalent in certain sections of our own land. Again, geology teaches us that "birds made their first appearance during this epoch." No fragments of the skeletons of birds have yet been discovered in formations older than the chalk.

Macroura

[REMAINS OF MACROURA—EARLIEST BIRD YET FOUND.]

Further it is only in strata formed subsequently to the chalk that we find the remains of those monsters that made the earth to tremble beneath their tread and lashed to foam the billows of the primeval ocean. To those who are unaccustomed to view fossil remains the dimensions of some of these seem almost incredible. Just think of monsters 120 feet in length with teeth eleven inches in diameter and eyes whose sockets were more than eighteen inches across; and we can easily perceive that the statement of Moses is verified, "And God created great whales" (literally sea monsters). Of this epoch, Le Conte says, "It was preeminently an age of reptiles." There are now on the whole face of the earth only six large reptiles over fifteen feet long—two in India, one in Africa, three in America—and none over twenty-five feet long. Yet in the strata that correspond to this period in Great Britain alone are found the skeletons of at leastfive great Dinosaurs from twenty to sixty feet long, and in the United States the fullness of reptilian life was even greater; for, one hundred and forty-seven species of reptiles have been found, most of them of gigantic size. Among these are fifty species of Mosasaurs, seventy or eighty feet long, also species of crocodiles fifty feet long, besides great numbers of gigantic turtles." These are some of the remains that are still preserved. But the fossil animals of any period are only a remnant of the animals of that period. That the climate of the earth was then warm and uniform is sufficiently attested. All great reptiles are now found only in tropical or subtropical regions; but the remains of these monsters are scattered in all latitudes from New Zealand to Spitzbergen. In all this we see a wonderful agreement between the account given by Moses and the records of geology.

Plesiosaurus

Of the land animals which then inhabited the earth, might be mentioned theDinotherium. From the remains of it which still exist it must have measured not less than sixteen feet high and twenty-four feet long with a head at least three feet in breadth and hence capable of containing a brain large enough for the most exacting phrenologist. Then again there was another huge animal called theMastodon. We may get some idea of the enormous size of the animal from the fact that the remains of some of its grinding teeth, recently found in Pennsylvania, weighed no less than seventeen pounds. There existed at that time still another huge animal whose remains are found in Siberia, Sweden, Italy and North and South America. It is commonly called a Mammoth,though on account of its resemblance to existing elephants, naturalists have named itElephas Primigenius. It was covered with three kinds of hair: first strong bristles, secondly, soft hair, and thirdly with reddish wool growing among the hair.

Geologists agree that during the latter part of this period the earth began to assume conditions similar to those which prevail at the present time. This is indicated by the abundance of deciduous plants (that is plants that drop their leaves each autumn), which are to be found in North America. It is thus evident that the climate was becoming cooler, the dense atmosphere which so long had wrapped the earth as with a mantle had dissipated; the carbonic acid and other poisonous gases, which were totally unfit to support animal life had been absorbed by the rank vegetation of the coal period. Geologists tell us that this was the period when the Wasatch and Uintah mountains were formed and the center of the western continent upheaved, by which the great interior sea which previously divided America into two continents was abolished. The change of physical geography was enormous and the change of climate was doubtless correspondingly great. It was natural, therefore, to expect, with the opening of the next era, a very great change both in plant and animal life. So ended the fifth epoch of creation, for "The evening and the morning were the fifth day."

Moses opens the record of the sixth epoch by the words, "And God said, Let the earth bringforth the living creature, after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind; and it was so." Geology confirms this by declaring, as it were, that then her modern history commenced. Then began the present aspect of field and forest; and modern types of animals were introduced and became predominant. Many of the species of both plants and animals were identical with those still living. Further, one of the most noteworthy facts connected with the first mammals (or milk-giving animals), is the suddenness of their appearance in great numbers, and of all, or nearly all orders, even the highest, except man.

Lastly, we are told, "And God said. Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth." (Gen. i, 26). Thus from scripture we learn that the closing and completing work of the creation was man.

Geology triumphantly confirms the revealed fact that submarine animals, land vegetation, reptiles, birds and quadrupeds, were all of them in existence, successively and collectively, before the first of the human race. Further, that the earliest remains of men, yet discovered, indicate that they were distinctly and perfectly human, as much so as any race now living, and were not in any sense an intermediate link between man and the ape. When his habitation was prepared, andthe materials of the forest and of the mine were all ready for his use, then, and not till then, did man appear. Thus the record of Moses, and the record of nature bear each other witness. The same narrative told by the ruler of Israel four thousand years ago, is also told in its own expressive language by the very earth on which we tread, as if it were "graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock forever."

* * * * *CHAPTER XIII.SCIENTIFIC PROOFS OF SPIRITUAL LIFE.TESTIMONY OF THE SCRIPTURES—DOCTRINE OF THE SADDUCEES—REMARK OF NAPOLEON—SPIRIT CONTROLS MATTER—MICROSCOPIC ATOMS— PROTOPLASM—ESSENTIAL CONDITIONS OF LIFE—INFIDEL THEORIES—WISDOM OF SOCRATES—HERBERT SPENCER'S PHILOSOPHY—FACULTIES OF THE MIND—CONSCIOUSNESS—PERCEPTION— MEMORY—IMAGINATION—JUDGMENT—CONSCIENCE—VOLITION—ABERCROMBIE'S RECORD—TALLEYRAND—MILK POISONING.

* * * * *

The inspired records uniformly teach that man has a spiritual nature distinct from the body, the union of which with the body produces that which, for want of a better term, we call our present life. The union of some of these celestial spirits withbodies of earthly matter forms the visible world of mankind. They teach us, also, that the existence and conscious faculties of the soul continue after the death of the body. Death is referred to in the scriptures as giving up the ghost, or spirit; and very many passages refer to the condition of disembodied spirits after death. In the account of the creation of Adam, we read that "The Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul," thus making an evident distinction between the body and the soul. In various parts of the Old Testament we find references to disembodied spirits, and various enactments in the Mosaic law against consulting them by means of divination and necromancy.

The Sadducees denied the separate existence of spirits; but, in our Savior's famous argument with them. He showed that the Old Testament clearly taught this doctrine when it represented God as saying, "I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob," adding, "He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living." (Mark xii, 26.) Thereby teaching that these persons, although their bodies had been long dead, were still living. So, likewise, St. Paul speaks of being absent from the body, yet present with the Lord. St. John declares that he saw the souls of those who had been slain for their testimony of Jesus. (Rev. vi, 9.)

In examining the scientific evidence of these scriptural views concerning a spiritual existence, it will be necessary to inquire into the origin oflife as exhibited in physiology. This is confessedly a difficult question, yet one of great importance, since, driven from the sciences of astronomy and geology, infidelity has sought to entrench itself in natural history as in a citadel. Yet, even here, the ground crumbles beneath its feet; and the time is not far distant when a man, having a scientific education, will be ashamed to avow himself an infidel.

We have seen that astronomy and geology bear testimony to the truths revealed in the scriptures; so, likewise, does the science which treats of the functions of living beings.

Napoleon is said to have remarked to Dr. Antomarchi, at St. Helena, "You physicians are unbelievers because you cannot find the soul with your dissecting knife." However applicable this might have been to physicians of that day, it would fail of application now, since, by means of the microscope, man has been able to penetrate still more deeply into the recesses of nature's mysteries. With this instrument, science has been able to detect the beginnings of living structure, and to trace the fundamental laws of the process of development.

Chemistry has also done its part in investigating this phenomena. From these sources we learn the mutual relation, as well as individuality of all organic things. From the inorganic world, directly or indirectly, the bodies of all living things originate, and to it, naturally, they all return. By some power, unseen to mortal eyes, matter is arranged in new forms; and these forms, after usingthe matter thus arranged, restore it again to the physical world. In this manner is kept up the wonderful circle of organic life. Scientists, though skeptically inclined, agree that there must have first existed an animated germ, the product of a previously-existing organism, which draws in and appropriates the inorganic elements, combines these elements into organisms, builds up an organized fabric, and discards, finally, the atoms and implements which it can no longer use. What this organism is we cannot fully explain, since it is evident that it is of such a refined or sublimated nature as to elude the grasp of science in its present stage of development. By no means, at our disposal, are we capable of rigidly examining it by our bodily senses.

To illustrate this subject, and at the same time to show the superiority and independence of the "vital principle," as it is called, or organizing spirit, to the cruder matter it uses, let us consider the history of a single microscopic atom, as it is used in the service of life. By some means—understood only by the Creator—it has become mysteriously endowed with life. Let us suppose its first connection with vitality to be in the simplest form of animated matter—that of the protoplasm. We find, on examination, that this protoplasm possesses what scientists call the "essential conditions of life," namely sensibility, contractibility and assimilation. We find that this atom of living jelly—for such it really is—is endowed with the power of selecting nutrimentfrom the inorganic matter around it for the support of its own existence. After a time it forms itself into a simple cell, a bladder-like form inclosing a fluid substance, and containing a few moving granules. After a time, this cell multiplies itself, that is, gives birth to a number of cells like itself. These are inclosed in the original cell, which at last bursts and sets them free. All scientists agree that "protoplasm is the physical basis of life." Now whence comes this wonderful principle which endows the protoplasm with the "essential conditions of life," and presses into its service the atoms and the laws of the material universe? Its effects are too palpable to allow a denial of its existence, while its power over earthly matter proves that it is distinct from it. Although too subtle to be analyzed by the philosopher, its existence is suggestive of the highest truths. It speaks to us of a spiritual world—a world to which the visible world is subservient, and which is itself unaffected by the many changes which take place around us.

Among the many theories which infidels have profounded, one of the most common is that which declares that life is the result of organization. This argument, like many others, is only an old one with a modern dress. We find in Plato's "Phaedo," that when Simmias argued against the immortality of the soul, the wise and good Socrates opposed him, proving that the soul existed before the body, as shown by the fact of pre-existent ideas. For example, the idea of goodness must necessarily exist, before we are able to form an opinionconcerning goodness. Infidels tell us that the idea of virtue is merely the harmony of the soul; but if the soul itself is only the "harmonious result of organization," then virtue is simply the harmony of a harmony, which is absurd. Socrates further showed that parts of the soul may be opposed to each other, as desire and reason, for example; and this fact overthrows the idea of harmony. Thus even a pagan philosopher could deal fatal blows against the positivism of his age as well as against the pretended wisdom of the nineteenth century.

Some tell that "no idea or feeling can arise, save as the result of some physical force expended in producing it." That because light, heat, electricity and motion are closely related, therefore they are the cause of life. As well might we say that the art and skill observed in a beautiful building were the offspring of the house itself, or that the architect was the result of a beautiful suite of rooms. In other words, the relation of cause and effect are completely reversed.

Yet we are told that heat, motion, electricity and chemical affinity are the causes of mental and moral action. This principle is even applied to the progress of civilization, and the statistics of crime; and Mr Herbert Spencer has made it the foundation of his new system of philosophy. Stripped of its parade and tinsel, however, this theory is nothing but the old pantheism revived. It is the desperate effort of infidelity to press into its service the researches of modern physiology and anatomy, as has formerly been tried withastronomy and geology; but each of these sciences refuses an alliance with skepticism, and incontrovertibly points to a Creator and a spiritual world.

Let the honest skeptic inquire, "How do these theories explain the cause of life? Do they show us a single reason why some parts of matter become organized and others do not? Do they make plain why one cell develops a vegetable and another an animal, no perceptible difference existing between them, and the circumstances of each being the same except originating from different parentage? Can these philosophers tell us what they mean by physical force? Is it matter; or is it a creative power, or energy added to matter?"

An answer to these questions would cut the Gordian knot. Whilesciencestands on the very confines of a spiritual world, and points across the boundary, why should we fear to look in that direction, or spurn the guidance of thatfaithwhich would lead us to higher truths.

It may not be out of place to mention a few of the leading faculties of the mind, to show its independence.

Consciousness, that is, the knowledge which the mind has of its own operations.Perception, or the evidence we have of external objects by our senses.Memory, which implies a former conscious experience, its retention, revival and recognition.Imaginationis a term used to represent the power which the mind has of combining ideas previously received. In its highest degree, imagination rises to the sphere of creative fancy, or poetic power.

Judgmentis the decision of the mind, the result of comparing two or more ideas.Conscience, sometimes called the moral sense, is that faculty by which we have ideas of right and wrong respecting actions, and corresponding feelings of approbation or disapprobation. It might, also, be claimed the faith faculty. It brings us into relation with the spiritual world and the claims of God and duty.Volition, or choice, is the dominion exercised by the mind over itself, employing or withholding its faculties in any particular action. These are a few of the faculties which link the mind to the body and likewise show its independence.

Thus far we have only considered the origin of life, as confirmatory of man's spiritual nature. There are, however, other themes which point as clearly to the same truth. The functions of the nervous system—sensation and voluntary motion—cannot be explained by any other theory. The nerve-structure only implies a capability of reception and transmission. In other words, it is the telegraph system that conveys intelligence to, and transmits the wishes of the immortal soul. It is true that the active exertions of the power of the soul require a corresponding health in the bodily organs, since the most accomplished artisan cannot exhibit his full powers with imperfect tools and materials; yet, as the injury or destruction of the implement is no proof of the death of the artisan, so the injury or destruction of the body destroys not the soul.

There is no constant relation between theintegrity of mind and body. The mind is sometimes an agonizing sufferer, while the body is in perfect health; and only slowly, and by degrees, the mind brings the bodily organs into a sympathetic state. Though the body cannot long resist the influence of mental disease; yet the mind can effectually resist the depressing influence of bodily disease or bodily pain, even to the period of their separation. Paralysis has unnerved and unstrung the whole system and yet the mind has remained uninjured. Such was the case with the great French statesman, Talleyrand, who, with a body like a living tomb, retained his faculties unimpaired. Nor need we more than allude to the rejoicing moment of the dying saint, or the triumphs of the martyr at the stake, to show that the mind can continue in calm serenity, while the body is enduring the most excruciating torments, or losing at once its vitality and power. Joy causes a brilliancy of the eyes. Melancholy produces a directly opposite effect from joy. The emotion of anger urges the circulation of the blood to the utmost vehemence, sometimes producing tremors or spasmodic action of the muscles. It acts also upon the secretions—the saliva, milk and bile— which often become actually poisoned. The sickness and death of many children are caused by taking the milk of an enraged mother.

The independent action of the mind is also manifest in the phenomenon of sleep. That personality is not suspended, is proved by voluntary waking at a predetermined hour.

Dreaming is another proof of mental activity and independence. Then the mind is withdrawn from the ordinary influences of the world around, and lives, as it were, in a world of its own. Hence the adaptability of the dream state to spiritual communication and inspiration, as referred to so often in the scriptures. In examining, thus, a few particulars in which the bodily organization is acted upon by its spiritual inhabitant, we find abundant proof of the independent nature of the soul, as taught in holy writ.

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