New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1883-10-29
NEW PUBLICATIONS.
NATURAL LAW IL TIE sPIRTrAL WORLD. BY
HENRY DRUMmoND, FIR f., l.GS l@mo' PIP
Al POft.

SATt,RAI LAW IL THE sPtBTTrAL WORLD. BY
HENRY DRUmMoHD Rs.E.' 10 >. I-uio' PIP
xiv, Ala James fOtt
The nur,ose Of This volume is to show that the
laws which govern the natural world are ia many
cases Identical with laws which may be dlsoenod
in the spiritual world the two spheres are 50 init
mately connected that precisely the same orderly
,sonence of phenomena runs through both, ana
both are thereby brought within the domain OF cx-
act science The idea of analOgies and correspond
ences between earthly and heavenly things mas
always had an attraction for dev0ut and philo-
sophical minds but Mr. Drummond goes much Iur-
tber than his predecessors. He recognizes the
weakness of the argument from analogy and defines
his position with clearess and emphasis to be not
that the Sn;ritual Laws are analogous to the Nat
nral Laws but that then are the Lars II Is not
a ouestion of analogy but of Identity. The Natural
Laws are not the shadows or images of the spiritual
i'm the same autumn Is embiemallch VI
Decay. or the falling leaf of Death The Natural
Laws as the Law of Continuity might well warn
us. do not stop with the visible and then give place
TO new set of Laws bearing strong Sinnlltndc 10
them The Laws of the invisible are the same
Laws projections of the natural not supernatural,
Analogous Phenomena are not the fruit OF pal0lel
Laws Int Of the same Laws-Laws which at one
end as it were may be dealing with matter, 81 inc
other end with Spirit" To establish this theory
ton. growth death. etc, and traces the operation
of each first in the natural and afteTwaId IN 'he
superuatnral sphelc As "A sample of his mcth""' we
may refer TO the chapter on Biogene,'s. lIr 0"'-
tIine of spontaneous generation alleI uu'" va,
cusson and experiment. is generaily "'"n''''r,'
and il is now recognized OH every hand that lie
can only come from the touch of life ms Is tiie
appcation of the law in the natural world. ITO
iected into the spiritual domain, the same laW Is
D., HTt HE
spirtnal life is the gift of the Living Spirit, and ii
cannot be developed from the mere natural man.
By adopting this view of the continuity of the law,
MIR IDrulmnond believes that the Christian plants
himself on a firm basis and meets one of the gIayeSt
difficulties of the advocates of Natural Religion. We
might offer still more striking illustration OF his
argument If we could spare the room to examine ms
views on the continuity of animal parasites with
EyangelicalS and of hermit crabs with Roman
Catholics but perhaps one specimen is enoneh.
The flllacy of the book is obvions Ii i, the fall
lacy which Lord Bacon describes under the term
"idols of the market wherein words expressing
only a common aud often erroneous conception IN
pose upon the understanding as if they were ahSo-
lutte truths. Mr.. Drnmond useS the"i"Slcai eA-
oressions in that way. To borrow his own figure
nj one end of his continuous law lac Is dealing with
the certain and observed facts of physical science,
while at the other he is dealing with words, cK-
pressing. not facts coguizable by the senses, but
dogmas and metaphysical conclusions. As a par
alel his exercise may be more or less ingenious but
il is Of no avail as defence of Christianity because
when the sceptic attempts TO follow up the alleged
continuation Of the natural law he finds that from
the admitted phenomena of the origin of physical
life il proceeds to the region of faith where there
are no phenomena whatever upon which to base
law and no standing-ground unless one assumes the
whole matter in dispute. This in effect is hat Mr.
Drummond does. lie proves Regeneration by
assuming the spiritual law. and proves the spiritual
law by assuming Regeneration