, 1872-11-17

his own reflections on this fairest fruit, which
seemea 80 easy to pluck his rising transports
his wild declaration Of his passion her un-
/ needing look, and then the falling shadow on all
things. The principal characteristics are an easv
1escl1pslon or this golden season q musical
Aow ot words whose measure and somewhat ir-
1egu1ar rhyme seem alike unstudied, aud style
Tisn appears m general free from the cramping
limitations Of verse.
/ REVELATION AND SCIENCE.
| Ane chasm Between Theology and
Physical Studics.
u Tue present number Of the Conke1apor
taeuee1 thaSe are no less than four articles
touching the very centre Of the philosonhv of
religion The first paper is brilliant a,sd ~ ~
| found essay BY Father Dalgairns-on the e,rea4-
est Ct al questions. .'Is God Unknowshle -,
Then there is most pel1ucid and most consist
eent-ne 70 not say most neutrality-suspicious. Of
pure 1deailsm against all materialistic or semi.
| mater1ailstlc conceptions, by Mr.. " T. Thorn
ton. There is an essay BY DR.. Carpenter, the
eminent physiologist, on the manifestation
ct Mind and and VIII in Naturee;" and lastly,
sbt are taree esssys @ On the
| scientific and one from the moral and philo-
aophical point Of view, respectively written by
| Professor Tyndall, bis anonymous friend Of the
| ton College, United States. Every one Of these
essays is the production Of thoughtful and
| able man, and shows signs Of the most genuine
and earnest effort to get at the core OF the cues
tlon he discusses; and every one Of them is
| more or less devoted to the great problem Of the
true relation Of man to that mysterious aud
awful system of universal order, which
always seems to be in danger Of crushing
him BY its stupendous weight and its op-
pressive air OF Indifference to human interests
and which, nevertheless, is ever stim-
ulating him to assert his spiritual pre-emi-
nence in structure Of which it is he himself
Tho has discovered the key, q key all contained
within his own nature-together with the key
to many other and higher problems, which
to be found, problems and keys alike, in himself
alone. In the present number there are no
specimens OF the freedom OF discussion on social
problems Of which we have had, in the pages of
the Contemporary, such valuable specimens
from writer's Of the highest rank to the hum
blest; but in such essays, equally, when they
do appear, there is the same evidence that our
Zine is one Of perfect intellectual freedom and
equality, and, on the whole, of mutual re-
spect between the thinkers at either end of
the social scale; and Of equal candor of
admission as to the central facts to be
studied, though, Of course, with equally wide
differences as to the true Interpretation Of them,
and the true differences to ba drawn. On both
future age, writing with few numbers of the
Contemporary before him, would infer that the
period in which this review appeared must have
been one Of curious intellectual fraukness,
earnestness, and chaos, in which the representa-
I've I've - an GAtfemes OF opinion compared notes
Wllderment at their rwonderfu1 concurrences as to
the facts to be interpreted, and their yast differ
ences aa to the proper Interpretation to be cs-
signed And yet,:ls there no sigp of resi- ap-
pro1lmatlon OF convictions, not very Eeer, Ear-
haps, but, SO far as it goes, hopeful? One thing
We may certainly observe in relation to the great
fundamental spiritual problems under discus
slon: not only that the theologians and meta
ALL
a ~ ~ 1ealnlng 20 taiA language which
ac;erc ~ ~ a Ian ne men q
neaeneS W taih lsnsuage "nlcn tneoloS.an5 and
can 4naerslana' but fnat the
nlenel nclentluc 11hQ, N spite or It's many ap-
palent supstan1iu vlceones, Is 6econlng COLI
seaous d ] ol se!taln Heakness, and narFoWness,
anu u4t est ~ tts pos1tion ana 1s attempting to
GroPe ITS Way to"aTas = sort OF concordat with |
spiritual talth. The theologlans, 30 long en-
IIe9cnea n natIo" ana blgoted posltlons, have
81 lAst, tnrough long course Of wholesome
q thsis daages of narsoe ses!s
ness, and are doing all in their
power to master and use the most successful Of
the se methods & Of the physcists; and the conse-
enough little tete ezauee, is beginning to listen
20 1eason, even WheIe reason says that true self
diog"1ese Tases you Deyo5d the tracks OF physi-
ca law: thus, not only does Dr. Carpenter, who
mas aHays been IS much Of psychologist as Of
{R9Saloa9glgi} openly declares hs belief that
~ lno ano WI are the hue sources OF the PhyB-
1cat E, olugs ana 1otce IN natures; not only does
rasnet Dalga1rns TEST part, ana not the Least
suotle anu ingenious par, OF nus relig1ous thesis
NJ r e Harhart In ssss[tons ana adssions OF
Iynda4 and ll5 anonymous ally !
make sornsslons which seem to
US 70 ano" tnat, az all events, II they could bor-
iom 1'2nbr ene aasampuon ana oniy one from their
proof at al against the powerful argument oi t
SUCH tn1nheIs as OF. alartlneau and Father Dali