Page:On Science, its Divine Origin, Operation, Use and End.pdf/42

38 which God inspires continually, and every moment, into the mind of man. And as the beginning of science is thus eternal and divine, so likewise is its end, because whatsoever comes from God must needs come for the accomplishment of His purpose or intention, and the purpose or intention of God must needs be divine and eternal. But the purpose or intention of God, in all cases, is manifestly this, to communicate blessedness to all His creatures, according to the degree in which they are capable of receiving it, consequently to conduct them to conjunction with Himself, since no creature can be blessed but according to the degree of that conjunction. The end of science, then, is evidently to lead man to conjunction with his God, and in so doing to make him an angel, capable of enjoying everlasting happiness in the kingdom of heaven.

No subject of contemplation can be grander or more sublime than this of science, when viewed with respect to its divine end or intention. No subject also can be more curious or more edifying than to trace it through all the various processes and operations by which its divine end or intention is accomplished. life have already taken occasion to notice the growth, the ascent, the purification, and the glorification of science. From the observations made on each of those subjects, it plainly appears that the reformation and regeneration of man are effected by the instrumentality of science, and that without science it is impossible to stir a single step towards renovation of life, thus towards heaven and