THE NATURAL THEOLOGY OF NATURAL BEAUTY. BY THE REV. R. ST. JOHN TYRWHITT, M.A. FORMERLY SENIOR STUDENT OF CHRIST CHURCH, OXFORD; BODLEIAN LIBRARY 9JAN 83 OXFORD LONDON: THE CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE COMMITTEE OF THE 43 QUEEN VICTORIA STREET; 48 PICCADILLY; AND 135 NORTH STREET, BRIGHTON. THE NATURAL THEOLOGY OF NATURAL BEAUTY. INTRODUCTION. By the title of this book the author wishes to assert that there is an argument derivable from the appearances of external Nature, parallel with that from internal structure or mechanism set forth by Paley. Both point to a benevolent Creator: the latter showing that His purposes are favourable to our natural life; the former indicating His further purpose of exalting our thoughts or spiritual life. We find the world adapted to our life and comfort, and have a right to infer that a Living Creator1 made it, and means us well in it. Then we find that, while providing for our physical life, Nature or the external world appeals through our senses to our thoughts and emotions. Our inference is, that that also is a portion of His contrivance for us, by which He means to affect our thoughts concerning Him, or, in other words, to appeal to us. The relation between the arguments from 1 Sir E. Beckett, Origin of Laws of Creation,' p. 125. |