Wilmington daily commercial., 1874-12-02
FIRST EDITION.
Tyndail's Theory OF Matter.

EXTRACT FROM DIscoURsE DELIVERED BY JOHN
o. JACKSON AT LoNawooD.
We make the following extract from the dis-
course delivered by John g. Jackson, OF Hoe
kessin, at Longwood, on Sunday last. Mr.. J
has been invited to repeat his address before
the Kennett Lyceum
Mr.. Tyndall, in recent discourse before the
British Association at Belfast, has announced
as genersl result of his Investigations into nat
ural science, that he discerns in matter s'The
promise ard potency of every form and quality
OF life II he means by this postuate 70 reject
the idea of spirituality and the inherent capaci-
~ of matter to be refined into or to develop
spirit or what amounts TO the same thing, to be-
come 30 conditioned az to answer all our concep-
tions OF spirits If he means to deny the individ-
ualized life Of man after the death of the body
II he means to discredit the existence of all life
in that realm hitherto deemed the miraculous,
and which exists beyond the ken OF our phys
steal senses, as many philosophers of his school
seem inclined to do then | say OF him he is
but another example, such az we have often
had before wherein the giant intellects and
gifted seers of the earth, after claiming our
reverence for the discovery and elucidation Of
mighty truths, have, in most notable points,
made astounding failures it would seem almost
for the purpose OF preventing us from exalting
them as Gods in intellect and to confirm the
lesson that Ufallibiiity is no attribute of h,aad,a-
Hy.
If what we have just named are the deductions
of Darwin, Tyndall, Huxley, and the school
which they represent then we repeat;
"Are these the pompous tidings ye proclaim,
Lights of the world and demigods of Fame?
Is this your trumpet this your proud applause,
Children OF truth and champions OF her cause y
Oh, star-eyed Science, hast thou wandered there
To wait Us home this message OF despair?
Then bind the palm thY sageB' brow to suit
OF blasted leaves and death-dlstllling fruit -
We go not forward to repeat the text of the
poet and only say
We smile on Death II heayenward pc remain
but add this declaration 1--WE smile on SEEM
ing death, when we know it Is but birth into
endless, progressive life"
Let us not do those able minds injustice. The
announcement quoted from Mr. Tyndal bears
very broad construction. Properly defined and
understood, We may have no controversy with
it, 1t is neither rational nor possible for all
tllis magnificent world Of beauty, order, and in
telligence to be developed from dead matter.
II, on the contrary, we conceive creation to be
dual, each ultimate atom of matter to be en-
lowed with its corresponding ultimate OF life,
welded III il were to spark of the infinite
spirit Of God, containing IN embryo an equiya-
lent portion of infinite Intelligence we will then
have n conception of matter that may well en-
able us to say we see in il the promise AMI po-
tency of every form aud quality OF lfe."
Judge Mr.. Tyndal however, from what
see and hear of his filings at modern spiritual
philosophy and from common report, that most
OF his school discard, as false, continued con-
scious existence in the future. | marvel much
that it be 30. Men whose Investigations have
| led them to the very threshold-the very ontei
| courts of the Temple of Spiritual Trath-why
10 they not enter when the door stands ajar be-
fore them? They have but to follow where law
leads Well does Emerson say "Onr eyes
- are holden that we cannot see things that stare
utriaa
" nind s ripened then we behold them and the
~ time we saw them not is like dream F"