the service which it renders to the plan of redemption. Whether
afterwards these extraordinary and new features can or cannot be perceived
in their natural connection, or explained out of it, does not at all change
anything in the miraculous character of the event, as soon as it has _once_
had the before-mentioned effect. The only task and the only difficulty
which meets us in the question of miracles, is to show that such
extraordinary and new things really happen, and to bring the reality and
possibility of such new things into our perception of the {369} causal
connection of the course of the world, conformable to law. But it ceases to
be a difficulty, so soon as we acknowledge a teleology in the course of the
world and a teleology in the history of mankind, and especially as soon as
we acknowledge that teleology in the history of mankind which, by the way
of the divine means of redemption, leads man back to God. Where there are
no ends, nothing can happen which calls the attention of men to these ends;
nor, indeed, can anything new happen; for nothing prevails in more absolute
sovereignty to all eternity than the maxims _causa aequat effectum_ and
_effectus aequat causam_. But where ends are appointed and reached,
something new also happens; and every new thing refers to its end. For each
step leading nearer such an end is something new, and refers, as soon as we
compare it with preceding steps, to the end towards which it strives. All
ends to which the course of things refers us, are to the religious view of
the world ends which are appointed by God; all means which serve to reach
the ends, are means which God created and chose; and every phenomenon and
every event which manifests this teleological government of God to our
mind, is a miracle to us. Now this whole course of the world is interwoven
with such new things, in events which manifest to us, now more clearly, now
more dimly, the striving of the course of the world towards an end, because
the latter is really striving towards an end. Even prehistoric times show
us new things which, from a scientific and historical point of view, we
have to place in the line of the course of the world; and from a religious
point of view, in the line of miracles. The first appearance of organic
life on earth was new, and indicated new ends; the first {370} appearance
of each single species of animals and plants was new; new, also, and
indicating the highest end of creative life,