ind, through the Latin
_mens_, the faculty which compares things and estimates them
accordingly; Moon, the heavenly body whose phases afford the most
obvious standard for the periodical measurement of time; Month, the
period thus measured; "Man," the largest of the Indian weights; and so
on. Man therefore means "The Measurer," and this very aptly describes
our place in the order of evolution, for it indicates the relation
between Personal Volition and Immutable Law.

If we grant the truth of the maxim "Nature unaided fails" the whole
thing becomes clear, and the entire progress of applied science proves
the truth of this maxim. To recur to an illustration I have employed in
my previous books, the old ship-builders thought that ships were bound
to be built of wood and not of iron, because wood floats in water and
iron sinks; but now nearly all ships are made of iron. Yet the specific
gravities of wood and iron have not altered, and a log of wood floats
while a lump of iron sinks, just the same as they did in the days of
Drake and Frobisher. The only difference is, that people thought out the
_underlying principle_ of the law of flotation, and reduced it to the
generalized statement that anything will float, the weight of which is
less than that of the mass displaced by it, whether it be an iron ship
floating in water, or a balloon floating in air. So long as we restrict
ourselves to the mere recollection of observed facts, we shall make no
progress; but by carefully considering _why_ any force acted in the way
it did, under the particular conditions observed, we arrive at a
generalization of principle, showing that the force in question is
capable of hitherto unexpected applications if we provide the necessary
conditions. This is the way in which all advances have been made on the
material side, and on the principle of Continuity we may reasonably
infer that the same applies to the spiritual side also.

We may generalize the whole position thus. When we first observe the
working of the Law under the conditions spontaneously provided by
Nature, it appears to limit us; but by seeking the _reason_ of the
action exhibited under these limited conditions, we discover the
principle, and true nature, of the Law in question, and we then learn
from the Law itself, what conditions to supply in order to give it more
extended scope, and direct its energy to the accomplishment of definite
purposes. The maxim we have to learn is that