The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1893-04-06

| (lnlcnt OF ISDuSolnt hpNtio nom
| relatives or fair admirers.
Or. WelfCid then announced that Or.
J. n Barney. Jr., had won the prize Tor
! standing the best examination during inc
| year. The pijze was handsome bolu
| medal given by the Alumni Society. DR.
| Daniel Coleman delivered the medal IN
| brief. but appropriate speech.
| The faculty prize was captured by Ut
! J. y. Hope Of Elizabeth city county, Va
| and the Bosher medal for the highest
| standing in anatomy by Or. J. n Bar
| new Jr. OF Fredericksburg. pr. Il. Is.
| Stone. Of Roanoke, was the successful
competitor for the Garcin medal the
second highest in anatomy. The Drewry
i prize for the best examination IN mehtai
and crvous diseases was won by Dr. }.
| n. Barney, Jr., and the Dr. Shields prize
by Or. \. T. Hope. of Hampton. DR..
c. 4. Easley. OF Mercer county, W. Va.
| took the Garcin prize for the second best
| class standing on practice. Drs Upshur
| and Wexford delivered the medals.
TIE following appointments were made;
DR. f. h Stone. to Boston Marine
Hospital: Dr. c. a. Easley. to ShelteTing
| Arms Hospital. W. Va; DIR. w. l.. Harris
10 Vincents Hospital. Norfolk; city ann
| balance, DrS. II. 5. Atkins. a. y. thurman
and George G. Eggleston.
The chairman then introduced the Rev.
| Or. !. c. Hiden as the orator OF the oc-
/ casion
DR.. Hiden commenced his address by
saying that nearly all the commence
| ment addresses he ever heard were too
| long and as he was an advocate Of re-
| form in a variety of directions, ne
| promised that. however mean thing he
| might do he would not do n long thing.
His subject was God in Nature" and
was highly instructive and interspersed
here and there with humorous illustra-
lions. which caught the ear Of the entire
audience He spoke I'm part as follows:
| The desire TO pry into the secrets OF
nature is by no means modern. Arts
totles work on Natural Philosophy is not
much studied nowadays. 1t is regarded
as out of date Nobody regards the old
| Greek as an authority on physics Ana
vet. in his "Physicae Associations" Oib.
| .. cap. s, S. D. after saying that rain does
not fall TO make the grain grow. any
more than IT falls TO spoil the farmer
| crop when threshed out Of doors ne addS.
so what hinders the different parts (of
the body) from having this merely acct
dental relation in nature? AS teeth, for
! example. grow by necessity; the front
ones sharp. adapted for dividing. and the
grinders fiat and serviceable for mas
| ticating the food. since they are not made
! for the sake Of this, but 1t was the re-
| suit Of accident. And in like manner as
| to other parts in which there appears 10
exist an adaptation TO an end. Whereso-
ever. therefore, all things Uhat IS All
| the PARTS of one whole happened IKE as
| if they were made for the sake OF some
thing these we're preserved, having been
appropriately constituted by an internal
spontaneity, and whatsoever things were
NOT thus constituted persisted and still
! perish" ID
| The art Of defining either words or
| things &c extremely difficult, and until we
do define our terms, philOsophlzlng Is
! futile. Garrick was not altogether via
when he called man fool lot looKilS
! into 4 dictionary TO settle the meaning
! of q word. | once consulted very
| famous English dictionary to learn the
meaning of the word violin; and ! learned
! that II was "a stringed instrument OF
music. see fiddle" | turned TO fiddle but
WAS not much enlightened. nor much
| edited 10 learn that a nddle was
| strinCed instrument of music; see VIOLIN
! The lexicographer's definition dld not
define 1t was just as true or the guitar
| the banjo, the mandolin, the piano anu
! of a variety Of other instruments as IL
| was Of the violin.
] Few words are so widely and so sadly
| abused. as are the words mature anu
natural" Time and again we hear ana
! read Of what mature does and OF what
natural law accomplishes.' "rhis re-
/ suit is produced by natural law; The
laws of nature cause the planets to keep
their orbits. and their relative distances
| from the sun, the centre Of the system
The law of gravitation causes a bail
thrown into the air TO descend 10 the
earth" In all such statements there Is
a sad confusion Of terms; for in every
one Of them mature" and law are
| assumed 10 be forces. The law Of graVita-
|
| ment Of the conditions under which the
! force of gravitation uniformly operates.
| In other words the conditions under
which forces act constitute the laws OF the
| universe.
The nature Of a thing Is the fixed or
settled character Of that thing, and the
| laws of its nature are the fixed or settled
conditions under which it exists or acts.
The law of motion Of falling body Is
| strictly mathematical. SO are the laws
! Of "crystaliZation" in mineralOgy. The
| shane in which the honey-bee constructs
| its cell is a solution OF very intricate
| and difficult problem in 'maNima ana
! minima" which was for long time a
puzzle 10 the abest mathematcans. Tn
less the bees that made honey before
Rome was founded knew more mathe-
MATES than any man ever knew before
| Lelbniz and Newton invented the "cal-
culus" then il follows with memorable
| logic that an intelligent agent, who knew
mathematics. formed the bee, and en-
| lowed it with the wonderful instinct for
shaping its cell.
4 man who believes in witches. or in
"spiritualsm." need not trouble himself
TO make such a distinction, and indeed
| he seldom does But man who has two
| seeing eyes and some brains behind them
| NAV find himself grievOusly misled II he
/ turns his thoughts upon nature ana
| fails to distinguish a law from
| force"
The plain man who believes his Bible
has short and easy answer to such
! questions: and unless he spends good
| deal of time in studying evolution he
will naturally wonder how they can puzzle
| any human being. But let him attempt
! 70 construct n creation without Creator;
| 10 "evolve" laws without Law-gver; to
| discover adaptations" that nobody de-
! signed: 10 explain lends" that nobody
| had in view-in a word, 10 leSislate God
| out Of his own universe-and the difficult
ties will crowd thick and fast upon him.
| Even 10 clear and sound thinking. 10 say
nothing Of conduct, God is necessary.
Helmholz said that If an optician should
make an Instrument as defective as the
eve. he would lose all his custom. ! reply.
| let him make an instrument which will
see as we'll as the eye, and he will get his
custom all back.
The Psalmist says that THE heavens
declare the glory Of God" but he does
not tell MS that they teach anything as
! TO Gods care for us. Indeed, TO the most
! important questions we can ask in this
/ direction nature is almost dumb and
| when she speaks at all. her language is
hard 10 be understood"
r.. Oh nd Qph a n OH