The Wilmingtonian., 1885-01-24
SATURDAY, JANUARY "a, 1855.
The Evolution of History-Continuati
of Mr.. Mills Lecture at Unitarian
Church.

The same ignorance was exemplitied in re-
gard to chemistry. For untold ages men
had witnessed the flame of the lamp, had
seen the respiration of air-breathing ami
mails, had felt it in themselves, but among
them all there was not one that had read the
fact. DIR. Piiestley appeared in the latter
part of the past century, discovered oxygen,
and chemistry was born The burning OF
the candle was seen to be a combustion in
the air, respiration GRANVILLE found to be
combustion in the air-cells the heat of the
animal being maintained as the warmth OF
house, by perpetual fire ON the CRATE.
As to geology, not even Aristotle, NJ t
even Xenophanes saw, not till the 10Th cen
tury was it possible for this science to be
born. "The riddle of the rocks" says Tyn
dali, is read IRON the sub Cambrian depos
its, to the mud slowly forming on the sea-
bottom to-day.
In astronomy, what new birth with Her.
schel and Lapiace, what woLdrous strides
with the spectroscope and the telescope,
largely within our own days. Think OF the
delicacy of that calculation by which it is
determined that 60y, 900, ,0O0 600 of certain
waves of light strike upon the eye in sin.
gle second of time, and are translated into
vision and the use made of that knowledge
to read the motion of the fixed star, finding
that Sirius, for example, is receding IRON
us at the rate Of 20 miles second of tn,
fine discovery of Helmholz of the amount o.
emission by the sun of light and heat pei
hour and day, the fraction intercepted BY
the earth, 1890, 900 O0O, 900, if rightly re
membered, and the time, some II, 900, ,00
years in which the sun will be burnt to
cinder. 1t is now ascertained, says Sir Johi
Herschel, that our earth is fraction of bu
one in at least 10, 0O0, ,OJO worlds. Astrono
my verlhes in our time, the divine provision
of Newton "the universe was all made a
one cast;" it ful6ls to the eye the beautilu
dream and prophecy of Socrates that 9Th
laws above are sisters to the laws below -
Biology is, in most part new. There wer
10000 animals described in 1891, now ther
are 800, 900. Huxley says that in the las
century the microscope that magmlied 40
diameters was master piece, now they ar
made to magnify thousands of diameters.
Science tells the step from t :e monad t.
the man; the unfolding of the fauna, an
the flora. Man, says Chinese philosophe
is the womb of the elements, and contain
their being. The disposition is nowaday
t9 study Ai@ IS RRSsiagtL 9SGsaRlsr o,,
covery of paradise. Napoleon lost a battl
through paying too much attention to
haunch OF motion with its garlic, at the dir
ner table. He was indisposed aud could nc
rise in time for the mornings battle. You
mans, speaking of the blood, says all til
delicacy OF feeling and nieity and poll.
Of thought depend upon its purity.
Pasteur revealed the germs of phylloxer
and Koch those of splenic fever, and Kleb
In Italy, those OF malaria. Tyndall declare
we have been stung with unseen thorns
we have an en'm my emcamped in the air, anC
his name is legion. DIR. Koch who has dis
covered the bacillus of consumption is nov
investigating those of cholera as Pasteur il
of hydruphobia.
Science promises the elimination of disease
Form rly smallpox had for its victims on,
in eight persons now that fell disease i,
one in 500. DIR. Draper says that as many
live TO the age of 70 now that lived to 81
years 300 years ago In regard to paren
tage. DIR. Bartul says, something has hap
pened to us on our way here worse than be
ing thrown from carriage-has been i'm
parted to the brain cells of us through here
dity. With the true condition of health
and royal birth man will have all his DOW
ers at call. Tyndall declares that z of the
rays of light fall on inseusate nerves moi
dead nerves, but developable and awaiting
our use-a like proportion of waves of sound
fall on deaf ears, and we are not able to
translate theEr meaning
The destiny of man is a growth The
middle age was the cropping. We are in the
midst of the survival His feet penet ate
to the Azoic rock, he is in that line that per-
petually approaches but can never touch
the centre. Huxley says there is nothing
more wanted to-day than to teach people
how to live.
We stand with our faces toward the dawn
we are in the apostolic succession Of the
ages.