The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1877-12-27
"THE WISDOM oFTHIs WORLD"


which is being delivered By the Rev. J.
6 Armstrong, was given last night, in
the lecture room OF the Episcopal Church
before good sized audience. The text
was portion OF the goth verse oiEhspter
lst of St. Paul, to the Corlnthisns-"Th
wisdom of this world" The lecturer be-
gan by saying: In many Of the epistles
the word wisdom" should be
trsnslsted "pbilosophy" for philosophy,
is the sky upon which the clouds and
planets of the morality of century can
be seen. People are very apt 10 con-
found science and philosophy with each
other, but there is vast difference.
Science is geuerslized knowledge, and
has for its object and end, phenomena
facts and occurrences, whether mental
or physical. 1t discovers the sources of
these facts and occurrences and the laws
that govern them. 1t involves obserys.
wolves also hypothesis, or what we
would call in ordinary terms guess"
but which, in the case of
science, rises above the level
of the ordinary "guess." The chief in
Quiry OF science is "whAt| What are
these facts and occurrences2 What are
the laws that govern them2 Whist
caused them2 and thus 1t goes on with
innumerable "whats2 Let US take Tor
instance the science of astronomy and
thus get an idea OF what science Is.
First came the careful watching Of the
heavenly hcdies, then it was found that
some OF them were planets. Observa-
tien came first and classification came
next and then Kepler discovered his
three great rules, as to the laws OF the
movement OF these bodies. We
have metaphysics also, the science
OF the mind, but We rise above
that to theology the science of God.
Theology is he gathering together OF all
that has been revealed by God in refer
ence to Himself, His Son and HIS sttrl-
butes. Science has simply to do with
facts ana the laws which control them,
and not with that which is beyond them.
Philosophy inquiries not only into tine
Gwhst2" but also into the "whyW 1t
looks not only into phenomena them
selves, but into the grounds and reasons
for their production. 1t Is thus deeper
and wider than science. and takes up It's
investi ations whore science leaves
off, and pursues It's inquiry
backward or forword, as the case may be.
1t goes backward to being and Is then
called speculative or trsnCendentsl phi.
losophy. There can be no conflict be-
tween science and religion. 1t cannot
ask the question, is there GCdp for
when she leaves her allotted area she Is
no longer science, but Is within the
sphere OF philosophy and religion, When
she resches Adam, OF when the world is
to her but an atom, she has no
right to 90 any further. Science
has her rights, and SO have phi
losophy and religion, and neither
of them should be encroaChed upon by
the other. Ii religion should enter the
sphere of science and seek TO Interfere
with her, it would be tyrannicsl and un-
Just. Let scientists go on; they are but
opening for US wider volume of natures
God. Give philosophy an atom and she
will asK tor cause, give her = world and
soc will seek to know upon what it is
builded. Philosophy must account
for the world as totslity,
and there is one philosophy
which does do this and contains an ex-
plalaton of all things, mental, moral
and social 1t is the philosophy of evo-
luton, whose great champion is Herbert
Spencer, whom must admit TO be one
OF the most powerful thinkers of the
day. | hear frequent mention OF hInl
and of his works, bat | doubt whether
many of those lave his name inter
spersed in their Conversst on have ever
read his books. His definition of tho
philosophy OF evolution is hard TO under
stand, but l give 1t in his own
words in order to do him justice.
"Evoution is an integration OF matter
and concOmitant dissipation Of motion,
during which the after passes from an
indef mite, incoherent homogenity to q
definite, cohersnt heterogeneity and
during which the retained motion under
goes psrsleled transformation. The
word "evolution" is taken from two
Latin words meaning "roll out Of
spinning may be taken as an illustrs-
lon, the thread being evolved from the
cotton. This philosophy accounts tor
all things by saying that they
were evolved by differentiation from
primal elements, or when matter
was in atomic particles OF case
Gus nature floating about in the atmos-
pnere. All the various types were thus
produced up to, and including man.
What effect has this philosophy Does
it exclude God, or leave him room? 1t
strikes deep, my dear brethren, at what
we hold dear, and l hope you will keep
Yourselves Tree from all connection with
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