al or matter.

[47] "Contributions to the Theory of Natural Selection," p. 368. I am,
of course, aware of Mr. Mill's remarks upon this view in his "Three
Essays on Religion" (pp. 146-150). The subject is too great to be
discussed in a footnote. But I may observe that he rests, at bottom,
upon the assumption--surely an enormous assumption--that causation is
order. Cardinal Newman's argument upon this matter in the "Grammar of
Assent" (pp. 66-72, 5th ed.) seems to me to be unanswerable; certainly,
it is unanswered. I have no wish to dogmatize--the dogmatism, indeed,
appears to be on the other side--but if we go by experience, as it is
now the fashion to do, our initial elementary experience would certainly
lead us to consider will the great or only cause. To guard against a
possible misconception let me here say that I must not be supposed to
adopt Mr. Wallace's view in its entirety or precisely as stated by him.
Of course, the analogy between the human will and the Divine Will is
imperfect, and Mr. Mill appears to me to be well founded in denying that
_our_ volition originates. My contention is that Matter is inert until
Force has been brought to bear upon it: that all Force must be due to a
Primary Force of which it is the manifestation or the effect: that the
Primary Force cannot exert itself unless it be self-determined: that to
be self-determined is to be living: that to be primarily and utterly
self-determined is to be an infinitely self-conscious volition: _ergo_,
the primary cause of Force is the Will of God. This is the logical
development of the famous argument of St. Thomas Aquinas. He contends
that whatever things are moved must be moved by that which is not moved:
_a movente non moto_. But Suarez and later writers complete the argument
by analyzing the term _movens non motum_, which they consider equivalent
to _Ens a se, in se, et per se_, or _Actus Purissimus_.

[48] "Contra Faustum," 22.

[49] Summa, 1, 2, qu. 83, art. 1. But on this and the preceding
quotation, see the note on page 118.

[50] "Quotidiana Dei miracula ex assiduitate vilescunt."--_Hom. xxvi. in
Evan_.

[51] "Stated, fixed, or settled" is a predicate common to natural and
supernatural, not the _differentia_ of either. And here let me remark
that the expression, "Laws of Nature," is a modern technical expression
which the Catholic philosopher would require, probably, to have defined
before employing it. "Natura," in St. Thomas Aquinas, is