The Washington herald., 1909-03-28
NATURE AND EVOLUTION.
Observations Of the Veteran Sage Of
the SierraS.
FF70ca sIT7Iher. n World's Work.

the Sierras.
French stro,her in Worlds Work.
Reverence-that is the most noteworthy
characteristic that observed IN thrss
days continuous conversation with Mr.
Muir. The Sage OF the Sierra. as CALI
fornians call him. has turned his seven
tieth year. and now. with heaps OF note
books about him. accumulated through
years of observation in the forests. oa
glaciers. and among the mountains. he
has begun 10 write the story OF his Hfs.
and 70 leave some permanent record o.
the beauty n nature, 70 which he Is
supremely sensitive.
Hardly any civilized nan has lived so
completely at home with nature in her
untouched Wilderness Perhaps no man
OF our generation has so combined. As
he has, the gift OF poetic pros. with The
exact knowledge Of the scientist 70 tran
scribe the beauty OF the Wild places.
There are no accidents in nature he
said Every motion OF the constantly
shifting bodies in the world IS timed %
the occasion for some definite. forsor-
dered end. The flowers blossom in otsdi-
ence 20 the same law that marks the
course OF consultations. and the song OF 4.
bird IS the echo OF a universal symphony.
Nature IS one. and 10 me the greatest de-
. light OF observation and study Is "a dis
cover new Unities in This sI-embraeing
and eternal harmony.
Little men. with only z book knozf-
edge OF science. have seized upon evoiu-
ton as an escape from the idea Of a
God. 'Evolution'-a wonderful. mouth
filing word. isn't it, Il covers A world
o. ignorance. Just say evolution and
you have explained every phenomenon
Of nature and explained away God. L
sounds big and wise Evolution rbev
say. brought the earth through its glacial
periods caused the snow blanket 70 "a
cede and the flower carpet 10 follow II.
raised the forests OF the world developed
animal life from the Jelly hsh 10 The
thinking man
But what caused evolution2 There
they stick. To my mind IL is inconceiv-
able that a plan that has worked cut.
through unthinkabls millions OF years.
without one hitch or one mistake. tbe
/ development OF beauty that has made
every microscopic particle OF matter Per
form its function in harmony with every
other in the uniVerse-that such a plan
Z IS the blind product OF an Unthinking
abstraction No, somewhere. before evo-
I luton was was an Intelligence that laid
/ OUt the plan. and evolution IS the process.
not the organ. OF the harmony. You NAV
call that Intelligence what you please.
1 cannot see Why so many people object
20 can il God"
Another day he said:
People talk about creation as remote
( fact OF history. as IL Il were something
I that vas attended 70 a long tine ago
and finished at the tine. But creation
was not an act. II is process, and Il Is
going on to-day as much as IL ever was.
But nature IS not in a hurry. WIKI God
T a thousand years IS as a day Suppose
you could have been a spirit in one OF
I the past periods OF the creation Of the
world. and that the Archangel Gabriel
/ had taken you 20 place where you could
see the earth as Il was then. covered
miles deep with snow and ice. the AIR
stu fuIl OF swirling snowflakes that
seemed 10 be burying the world forever
/ suppose he showed yOJ this silent.
i frozen. charaCteTiess waste (as il would
( seem TO YOU. and told you that God was
creating here a world OF beauty. OF seas
and mountains. OF flowers and forests. OF
song birds and men.
Suppose you few away and were gone
( for thousand years. and then looked
again You would not see that the scene
had altered a particle. Another thousand
years; stiI no change that you could see.
Creation? you cry out I see moth
ing being done here
Patience. is the angels answer.
Down beneath these miles OF snow the
Ice Is shifting. grinding. slicing. Ieveling.
building, making a Sierra here. a broad
valley there. scoOping out a Yosemite.
leveling OF q plain. polishing bOwIders.
marking rock lodges with the Handwriting
Of God, making ready warm glaies for
grass and flowers. mountain slopes for
majestic forests. homes for birds-break-
( ing ground for beauty
AT the end OF a million years vour
visits are rewarded. The ice cap has re-
ceded from parts OF the earth. Seas are
/ exposed. land has come 10 view. flowers
have followed the retreasing ice. trees
nestle in the canyons and climb mountain
shoulders. birds are caroIing. fish darr
along the singing streams. man is abroad
10 enjoy the beauties OF the earth.
This Is creation. All this is going on
to-day. only men are blind 10 see il.
They think only OF food
g.