this power may be greater in proportion to the weakness of the spirit acted upon or to its readiness to submit to special guidance. Supposing this to be so, a dæmon may in some cases fail to dominate or even to injuriously affect a rational life; or may obtain only occasional leadership. In other cases it may cooperate with a willing personality and strengthen the sinner in a course of wickedness; and in other cases, where the possession has become complete, the subject spirit may entirely lose free agency and even consciousness of separate existence. This last appears to have been the condition of the dæmoniacs mentioned in the Scriptures.

MODERN SPIRITUALISM

The foregoing conjectures have been suggested to the writer by psychological studies, and also by some observation of the phenomena of Spiritualism. While far from conceding the claims of this modern faith he is convinced that certain trance mediums come under the control of intelligent, invisible beings and speak for them. He has seen phenomena produced without any apparatus which he believes must have been of superhuman origin. He has conversed with serious persons-spiritualists and spiritualistic mediums -in cases where, so far as he can judge, their

statements were made in sincerity and honesty. He does not question certain facts alleged by such persons and admits that the explanation of them calls for some sort of supramundane psychology.

But while making these concessions he has been unable to accept the main belief of Spiritualism. He seriously doubts whether the parties who speak through the mediums are ever the persons whom they represent themselves to be. And while listening to strange utterances, all quite alien and some directly opposed to the doctrines of the Gospel of Christ, he has been unable to repress the idea that Spiritualism, tho containing some truth, is a system of delusion. He even thinks that the Apostle Paul may have had mediumistic developments in mind when he wrote: "Now the Spirit speaketh expressly that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith giving heed to seducing spirits and the teachings of dæmons."

The Greek word here translated "giving heed" might be better rendered "giving adherence"; for the teachings of Spiritualism are worthy of attention tho they do not seem worthy of acceptance.

XVIII

THE MOSAIC COSMOGONY

THE account of the creation in the first chapter of Genesis is probably the record of a vision given to Adam that he might have a proper conception of the God who made him. It may be taken as setting forth the faith of the antediluvian patriarchs and as being transmitted by them orally or in writing to Noah, to Abraham, to the children of Israel, and to Moses. Whatever be its origin, it is the most reasonable and believable statement respecting the production of the Universe which has come to us from early times.

THE CREATION DAYS

Few now believe that the six days which passed while our world was being brought into its present condition, were six short periods of twenty-four hours each. The creation days were not determined as our ordinary days are by that appearance and disappearance of the sun caused by the revolution of the earth on its axis; for

no sun was seen till the fourth day of creation. They were simply portions of time during each of which a new development of the divine plan was begun and fully realized. The use of the word day to designate the length of time occupied by some natural process appears when we say of some great man that he was the ablest thinker of his day, meaning by that the ablest of his generation. With this application of the term our Savior said, "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day, and he saw it and was glad." Indeed, the word is employed in the second chapter of Genesis to denote the whole time during which the Lord God was engaged in making the world. For we read "These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth in the day in which the Lord God made the earth and the heavens."

It is noticeable also that in the fourth commandment of the decalog the days of creation are compared with those of the ordinary week without being identified with them. God said, "Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work, but the seventh is the sabbath of the Lord thy God, in it thou shalt not do any work,

.. for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day; wherefore the Lord blessed the sab

bath day and hallowed it." As the Almighty worked six periods and rested the seventh, so man is to work six periods and to observe the seventh as a sabbath of rest.

AN INSTRUCTIVE VISION

Assuming that moving pictures of the creation were given to Adam in a vision, or that knowledge was imparted to him in any other way, it is not likely that he formed any definite conception of the length of time occupied by the operations of each period. Nor was that essential to a true knowledge of God. Indeed, in all likelihood vast geologic eras would have been as incomprehensible to our first parent as they now are to most of his descendants. It is not unlikely that scientific men of the twentieth century can read more from the record of the rocks concerning the chronology of the world than either Adam or Moses knew. And yet the tradition brought down to us in the Hebrew Scriptures, tho but a rude outline, appeals remarkably to our reason. It not only is free from the fantastic absurdities of all other ancient cosmogonies, but it also harmonizes wonderfully with the advanced knowledge of our day. It may conflict with certain unproved and unprovable hypothe