The Portland daily press., 1874-10-30
Mr.. TyndalI'S Address.

Mr.. Tyndall has delivered notable adj
dress before the British Association-notabl
for its brilliant panoramic presentation OF the
various PHILOSOPHERS and speculations con-
cerning God and Nature, and for his own per-
sonal confession. Democritus, Epicurus, Lu-
cretius, Plato, Aristotle, Copernicus, Gioda-
no, Bruno, Pere Gassendi, Bishop Butler,
Darwin, Herbert Spencer, and John Stuart
Mill are all passed in review, their respective
discoveries, speculations and opinions pre-
sented and commented upon, and, at last, we
get at Mr.. Tyndall himself. 1t would be hard
to find, in equal compass, so valuable mass
of information on the subject discussed, and
for this the intelligent reading public will be
grateful; but, after all, the great English
scientist teaches US absolutely nothing about
the origin of matter, molten and life. We
rise from the perusal of his address with no
new light on the great problems he presents.
The existence of matter is mystery, the ori-
gin and perpetuation of life are mysteries. God
is mystery. The sources of the force that
builds, and holds, and wheels the worlds, en-
dows every particle of matter with might
which it never for moment relinquishes in
its myriad combinations, s,-vital and chemical,
-adapts organisms to conditions and condi-
tions to organisms, and weaves all into cosmi-
cal harmony, are brooded over by clouds
which science can never pierce. There are
limits to thought, and none ''by searching
can find God. Because Mr.. Tyndall cannot
find God. is there, therefore, no God? He
says: "Either let us open our doors freely to
the conception of creative acts, or, abandon
ing them, let us radically change onr notions
of matter" In other words, he would say to
us that there is God who created all things,
and endowed them with the principle of life,
or matter has an innate power to evolve life
in organic forms. The alternative is as in
evitable as it is simple, and our scientific
teacher does not hesitate to say that he finds
in matter ssthe promise and potency of every
form and quantity of life" This declaration
he endeavors to soften by intimations that
matter itself may possibly have no existence,
save in our consciousness, and that all we
know of it is that our senses have been acted
upon by powers and qualities which we attri-
butte to it. The existence of matter, there
ence. The logic of his doctrine leads, of
course, to what, in common language, is
called Humiliation" If life is evolved by
the potency of matter. it depends for its con-
tinual existence on the potency of matter.
When any vital organism dissolves, that is
the end Of it. Its matter passes into new
forms, and evolves new life. Thought is a
product of matter. Love, joy, sorrow, hero
ism, worship are products of matter. All
this Mr.. Tyndall sees and accepts.
Well, who knows but God is a product OF
matter? ,Mr. Tyndall himself is pretty
brilliant and powerful product of matter: who
knows but that, by the infinite evolutions Of
this eternal matter, being has been pro-
duced so powerful that he has been able to
take the reins OF the Universe, and to have
everything his own way? 1t has evolved
men, and thus produced form of life that
lords it over seas and storms, that controls
animal life, that builds enormous cities, that
threads the world with telegraphs, railroads
and cables, writes books, measures the
heavens, mounts from power to power. Is it
any more remarkable that it should evolve or
create God, who, going from might to
ages, should have something to say about
Mr.. Tyndall and the rest of us? Matter was
just as likely to possess the power to evolve a
'moral and intelligent Governor of the Uni
verse; as to evolve man. So perhaps we
have God after all I!
We sympathize with Mr.. Tyndall-hearti-
ly-in his enmity to bigotry and ecclesiastical
domination, but the tolerance with which
science has been treated in various ages oi
the world deserves much of charitable con-
sideration. Men in their ignorance have seen
that certain doctrines which they thought
they found in what they in all honesty be-
lieved to be the revealed word of God were
controverted by scientific men. They have
clung to their Bible because they supposed
that, with their views of the Bible, their re-
ligion and their own personal salvation were
identified. Let US be charitable to SUCH
Not much can be expected of men who are
evolved from matter. There must be great
choice in matter when the production of mer
is concerned and really matter is doing bet
ter than it did. When Mr.. Tyndall can say
what he says, and do what he does, without
hindrance and without any danger of dun
geon or fagot, it seems as ii matter had dont
| Alter all, intolerance and bigotry were il
matter to begin with. They have simpl,
been evolved. The promise of them and th'
| potency to produce them were in them at tn,
start. In view of the materialism of Mr.
Tyndall, what he says concerning the relig