New-York tribune., 1872-02-27

natural history The former relos the now soohuuo
conception Of the unity OF force The inference
from phenomena, Of which Mr.. Martincau gives MUM"
ant examples is no ess than this that each nd oil iorce
into any other and undergoes neither gam
nor oss pon the way so that sum total remains iOr
ever the same and is only differently representeu IN
the proportions change among the ulnereh' i"l'"' " ~
and between the organic ana inc inoE"n'o i
Hence arises the argument that in having any ioo you
have vrtually ALL and that assuming only matera
atoms IA depositares Of mechanical reslshhce ana o
mentum Won can supply universe with an exhauS
five cosmogony and dispense with the presence OF n
except as one of ts phenomena. In repV' MI Nl"''
takes grayitatiOn as the first type OF l0rce anu co
try as the second and says that IL Is not true ,N
conditions which give the first suffice to promote i.
second Put the primordia world under the ia" VI 60
taton It propogatos and distributes impulses, ~ "D
70 acceleration and retardation, and eNlpi.s 1t"
the nbenomena with which any treatise on mechaos Cdn
propery deal; but start the world on its ehenoa ca
reer Won must enlarge it's capital ana present IL VIZ" "
ote, - Heterogeneous constituents But with all your
enlarcemen OF data turn them as you WILL at the GU"
Of every massage which they explore, the door OF e Is
closed against them still 1t u not true therefore, that
from the two earlier stages Of force tho ascent can DC
made 10 the vital level And, If once more we make
you present OF third place of power and place AT
your disposal all that is contained beneath anu "lt
the fora OF this world still your problem no easier t
before. You cannot take sSle sIeP toWu % INC I there
ductiOn Of sensation and Thought Is hot nu, f ,ba
of any is the possession OF the whole we give
You all the forms but one, and that one LOOKS chy
IL then t6e trausnigraOn of forces altogether an a
sion BY means hut before one can e1eh.nso m,. Will
their eouiyaence into % universal formula; all
must there. Hence it is Impossible to WORK tne Iheo
of evolution upward from the bottom III all torce is 10
be conceived as one its type must be looked or IN no
highest and @ iUi t u some specalty
at each step Of descent 10 lower stratum OF iaW' VI
Tenresened at the base under the gse Of simple dy
amfps 4
germ whatever it has to turn out iulgown throws uo
The second and principal support of the doctrine IL
found in the realm natural history and that province
here epitomizes tie Darwnian hypothesis of natural
selection the struggle for existence lie does NOT con
slider its logical proof as solid or te eViuehce I9r ~ as
sufficient but assumes its truth for the sake OF aTg
ment, Competition he remarks Is nor lho "a u ni1
function of our nature. an indepencnt ana oIlglnnl &
power which OF itself do anything; the term only
describes certain ntensyng OF pS%fP @eSGy SGSydop fe
making the difference under ,certnh ConuloH,s
between function latent ana Junction D sad II "a
may turn 70 'hG attribute T % to it an increment
to known and secured effects; but not new ana IN
gives but partial and superficial account OF the phe-
noInena with which IL has concern. 1t does not supply
nrcsence of some possibility of better worse. 1t ac
counts for the triumph and survvorship OF the better
even for the prevalence Of the better e. or litter to live
IL would not account except on the assumption that
which this rule holds already indicates its divine cons
tuition and pervaded by an ideal power % Sn
field OF directing viii intent upon the goSd esnn B%t tS Ge
fore fore can nd.rST desFe or instinct to
hold Of It's opportunities Here II that we toGGn %
| bring to somewhat higher pitch Here, ere, ~ ~, mus
be admitted, is at WORK general et TIinc'pe t az u
| Under its operation, no doubt, increasing dlI-
| ton may be expected to emerge; nor Is tneIe
any reason except such the facts of natural history
may WY tS process in Nc o present
fcatOn Below the level Of life there s no room for the
SGcd Sr another pTnepe for which no such wonders
OF Constructive adaptation can be claimed, the dynamic
working Of which is quite in the opposite direction
Within the limits OF her physics and chemistry alone
H%f SSTSf Sr aE and ont t @ eaa without
further resources she could never Fise OLy on i tie
/ of progression; and till reach them development
wants its dynanics and though there may be evolution
These considerations appear break the back Of this
formidable argument in the middle and TO show the hn-
possibility of dispensing with the presence OF Mind in
any scene ascending where the little is becoming
aud the sentient moral aud the moral spiritual Is
mot in truth ali qRse fnsss as sOSs thee esan e Of
Purpose pre-dlsposng what is to come For what does
10 unfold from within. and II is taken from the history
of fhe ,eed or embryo living natures And what the
seed but caskot Of pre-arranged futurites with it,
whole contents prospective settled to be what they arc
by reference to sti in the distance surely moth
ing can he evolved II first involved. Evolution and
prospcctiOn are iDseparabe conceptions, To aEe away
the ideal basis of nature yet conslrue II by analysis O
organic growth will be forever felt contradiction
1t put out the OF the past IN order to snow
with what precision, amid dsracting paths ana
over bridged by hair II selects its way INTO the
future If the Divine Idea viii not retire at the hlddf
OF our speculative science but retains its place It is nat
ural 10 AJAX what Is its relation 10 lhe series ol
socalled forces in the world But the quess
tion is too large and deep TO he answered here Lei
sfce 10 say that there need not he any overriding o
these forces by the Will OF God 80 that the suIernatuIa
should destroy the natural; or any supplenentine
OF them so that He should ill up their deficiencies
Rather Is His thought related TO all below 1t, turning
them all to account for ideal ends and sustaining the
higher equilibrium which else would lapse into lower
forms More truly yet oquivaently might we say
these supposed fOrOes which only our intellectual
Interpretation Of classes Of perceived PHENOMENA are
but varieties Of His WILL the rules and methods OF Hl
determnate and Iegsated agency, in which, to keel
faith with tue universe OF beings He abnegates al
change; but beyond which, in His transcendent relations
with dependent and responsible minds, He has LETT
glorious margin for the free spiritual life open TO the
sacredness OF Personal Communion and the hopo 0
growing similitude. -
Mr. Martheau's essay, OF which the foregoing Is ar
abstract TO be published in full by the American Un
tartan Association. II will be bound up with the lectures
of Dr. Bellows, Athenase COquerel, Drs Hedge Stcas
Clarke Everett aud Others delivered In the same c0u6t
| under the auspices OF the Association.
|
GENER4L NOTES.