Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: boundary-line of the possible? "The laws of nature cannot be violated." Granted; but who claims that miracle is a violation of the laws of nature ? And what are the so-called " laws of nature " but our own generalizations of observed facts ? And what is the so-called " constancy of nature" but the statement, in objective terms, of the limitation of our experience? And who, moreover, has had such private advices from the Author of nature as to warrant the conclusion, that all the laws of nature have been discovered, and all the laws of spirit? and that, perchance, some unknown law may not subsidize, and so seemingly contradict, some known one, as the law of projectiles seemingly contradicts the law of gravitation? "A miracle cannot be proved." Granted. Does it therefore follow thence that a miracle cannot be ? I receive no truth and no prophet on the ground of miracles; but I can believe in a wonderworking Power. I can believe that the man of God, in closer alliance with, and so partaking more largely of, the one sole Power that moves and makes this world of shows, may effect results impossible to men of ordinary vision, and unprecedented in human experience. To believe the contrary, seems to me not very rational and not very cheering. I can conceive, that the prophet, through the might of the Spirit, shall work miracles; and, to many, the miracles will be a confirmation of his mission. But they will not be performed for that sole purpose: they will be the natural working of a spirit in league with God, intent on beneficent ends, and overcoming natural obstacles by the willing of that faith to which nothing is impossible. I cannot conceive, that the prophet should parade his wondersfor the mere purpose of drawing attention to himself, that he should say in effect, " Behold! I do th...