and also more philosophy."[9]
In a similar strain the patient botanist of the marine algae thus
pleads for the joint claims of the Bible and nature: "Unfortunately it
happens that in the educational course prescribed to our divines
natural history has no place, for which reason many are ignorant of
the important bearings which the book of nature has on the book of
revelation. They do not consider, apparently, that both are from
God--both are his faithful witnesses to mankind. And if this be so, is
it reasonable to suppose that either, without the other, can be fully
understood? It is only necessary to glance at the absurd commentaries
in reference to natural objects which are to be found in too many
annotations of the Holy Scriptures to be convinced of the benefit
which the clergy would themselves derive from a more extended study of
the works of creation. And to missionaries especially, a minute
familiarity with natural objects must be a powerful assistance in
awakening the attention of the savage, who, after his manner, is a
close observer, and likely to detect a fallacy in his teacher, should
the latter attempt a practical illustration of his discourse without
sufficient knowledge. These are not days in which persons who ought to
be our guides in matters of doctrine can afford to be behind the rest
of the world in knowledge; nor can they safely sneer at the knowledge
which puffeth up, until, like the apostle, they have sounded its
depths and proved its shallowness."[10] It is truly much to be desired
that divines and commentators, instead of trying to distort the
representations of nature in the Bible into the supposed requirements
of a barbarous age, or of setting aside modern discoveries as if they
could have no connection with Scripture truth, would study natural
objects and laws sufficiently to bring themselves in this respect to
the level of the Hebrew writers. Such knowledge would be cheaply
purchased even by the sacrifice of a part of their verbal and literary
training. It is well that this point is now attracting the attention
of the Christian world, and it is but just to admit that some of our
more eminent religious writers have produced noble examples of
accurate illustrations of Scripture derived from nature. In any case,
the Bible itself can not be charged with any neglect of the claims of
nature or with any narrow tendency to place material and spiritual
things in antagonism to one another.

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