The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1878-06-16

entitled Studies in the Creative Week Mpple-
tons) 1t IL plain. from the preface that he nc
quilted himself to his own satisfaction. and left
an impression Of wide learning and profound
philosophy upon tho acute intcllcc,s Of his con-
grcgation. 1t is owing. indeed. to the request
OF many "cminont citizens. representing va
rious branches of tho church and various pro-
iessions' in tho enlightened city OF philadcl-
phia, that the Rev Mr.. Boardmans opinions
tou, hing the doctrine Of evolution. the theory Of
the origin Of species. and the ncbulnr hypothe-
sis. which originally appeared in the fugitive
shape OF weekly lectures are nov presented in
compact form TO the public mt largo We havc
no doubt that this atnst attempt to reconcile the
Mosaic account Of the creation with the teach
ings Of modern science Will cdify good many
people although we fancy moro decisive evil
dcncc of acquaintance with the German Ian
guagc and q quotation or two from Hermann
Lotto would he nccdful to adapt them ~ the
meridian Of Boston.
In these lectures tho clerical scientist discusses
in the Mosaic order the genesis u plants Of
luminaries. Of animals. and Of man. Passing
over M unworthy OF notice the hypothesis " the
bloplast as the common primal germ Of vcgo-
table and animal life Mr.. Boardman informs
his hearers that all at once there sprung up in
cal clements In tho living form OF blade Of
grass" On this po-tulate, which. Il seems. his
audience Of eminent citizens were not pre-
pared TO question. the lecturer builds an clo-
queut apostrophc. What now. he asks. was tho
now subtle force which turned the dead carbon
into the living thing which we call a plant
The answer to this question, which. of course
stated in proper terms rs to tho origin Of life
in its simplest form Of coll or nucleus-is one
OF the problems now rivetng the attention Of
physicists, marks. lac tells lie. the boundary limo
between theism and atheism. By what miracle
Of precedence can Mr.. Doarlman forecast the
bearing upon theology Of an answer which
science has not yet made To his hearers. how
ever. II was doubtless unpleasant o. wavcr on
the dividing limo between thrsm and atheism,
aud accordingly they sicnincd n feryent as
sent 20 the lecturers next question" l. there
any better answer, any answer moro profound
Is philosophical or gloriousy satisfying than
the childlike answer OF the far-on. hoGry wit
ness OF the Creation Panorama God said. let
the earth bring forth grass" Thcrcupon Mr..
Doardman proceeds TO dcducc tho doctrine Of
tie inyariahiiity Of species from the s'rptural
phrase" yielding fruit aftcr It's kind whose
seed is in itself" 1t Is true thatth- doctrine
has occasionally been contested in those latter
days but our clerical eNpounder disposes Of the
whole discussion touching the origin Of species
by reminding his audience first that. Clear
ness OF conception is absolutely essential here. ~
and. secondly. that " u species i n purely sub
jcctlvc concept" q" To talk 90 therefore. " OF tho
origin or differentiation Of species is 70 talk D.
an ideal thing which never has had. and never
can have. any actual objective existence in the
world Of matter" Tho obvious inference Is
that classification Is vain and nugatory. and
that Mr. Darwin Is a frivolous person, quito
wanting IN that clearnes- u conception pos
sesscl by the lecturer and his audience. Itel-
lectGal ieeb.ness indeed. seems 10 be- the char
acteristic trs.t u modern scientists. In Mr..
BOardmGns opinion. Thus we are told u the
word evolution. which IL occasionally en-
ployed by Prof Huxley. that it 10 another
lamentalla instance - the loose use II terms.
To evolve l. - unroll. unfold. develop. Bat YOU
cannot unrpil what was not inrolcd. And yet
these cxact Gentlemen % the Balance and the
Micrometcr confound unrollment With transit
ton. development with transmutation." Il
must have been a soul-cXpanding spectacle
10 tho Philadelphia audience TO behold the
whole corps 81 scientific Investigators dis IL
rliued in the right methods Of rigorous inlui-
~ and the proper Use of the English tongue by
the Rev. James Boardman.
We can dwell 40 longer on volume whose
existence j. curiou-ly significant Of the mental
equipment and attitude II certain classes in our
community. bat We cannot flrlrar quoting ono
typical utteranco which the rnaIer. according
g. his insight. may accept ns n piece of stupen-
dous diocy or inscru8be lr0iuudity. Sup
pose says the author in an pp,nliX wa
were endowed with creative power. and We're
Iurp0sinS To- make world with lis many
different animal. In II H. thrro actually are IN
tai-. Two methods continues Mr.. Boarlman
would lie before Us. Either W. might make
each animal Independently Of every other. So
that there would Dee nothing common To- any
two animals except 10y accident or within. on ",
might HAY. one. two three. Of more plans. after
one II VIII. IA w. would make one class Of ami
mails. after another second class. and 50 on
This latter, reyerenty | say it. has been the
Creators method Hence the Protozogte-. lia-
dates, Molluskates. &c.. OF comparative annto-
my" Now. II may be thnt some Of the lecturer
eminent citizens were una 'gllalutcdNith the
last named words-with protozoate. for instane,
and FOR them. perhaps. the interlectlon Of that
mysterious substantive may have wrapped the
whole sentence in oracular majesty. But whul
does the reader think OF itY