Theism; being the Baird Lecture of 1876Flint, Robert
Religion
Theism; being the Baird Lecture of 1876
Flint, Robert
Theism
The mere existence of originated minds necessarily implies the
existence of an unoriginated mind. "What can be more absurd," asks
Montesquieu, "than to imagine that a blind fatalistic force has
produced intelligent beings?" The complicated and refined adjustments
of the body to the mind, and of the mind to the body, are so numerous
and interesting that their study has now become the task of a special
class of scientific men. A very little disorder in the organisation
of the brain--such as even microscopic _post-mortem_ examination may
fail to detect--suffices to cause hallucinations of the senses, to
shake intellect from its throne, to paralyse the will, and to corrupt
the sentiments and affections. How precise and skilful must the
adjustment be between the sound brain and sane mind! Who sufficiently
realises the mystery of wisdom which lies in the familiar fact that
the mind, by merely willing to use the members of the body, sets in
motion instantaneously and unconsciously, without effort and without
failure, cords and pulleys and levers, joints and muscles, of which
it only vaguely, if at all, surmises the existence? The laws of our
various appetencies, affections, and emotions, and their relations to
their special ends or objects, the nature of the several intellectual
faculties and their subservience to mental culture, and still more the
general constitution of the mind as a system consisting of a multitude
of powers under the government of reason and conscience, present to us
vast fields filled with the evidences of Divine Wisdom.[27]
[27] See Appendix XIX.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account