The theology of inventions : or, Manifestations of deity in the works of art

Front matter

The Publishers take pleasure in presenting the following note from the Rev. Dr. Knox, of the Collegiate Dutch Church, of this city :

" Having been favored by a respected friend with a copy of 'The Theology of Inventions,' by the Rev. John Blakely, immediately on its issue from the Glasgow press, I have read the larger portion of it with great interest and delight. It ia the work of a master-mind. The subject is original in its conception, and is treated with consummate ability. The Divine superintendence in works of invention is demonstrated, and the illustration which they afford, in their nature, order, and respective dates, of the power, wisdom, and goodness of God, is presented in a form the most compact, lucid, and impressive ; exhibiting the Author's large, accurate, and diversified knowledge, in a style terse, vigorous, and graceful.

" The work only requires to be known, to obtain the widest circulation. The Messrs. Carter confer a favor on the reading community by its re-publication.

Preface

The present age is characterized by the unprecedented development of science and art. Discoveryeclipses discovery as evolved in rapid succession. Mechanical inventions are struggling for precedence, but the strife is short lived. The transitory interest of each vanishes like a passing meteor before the rising of a brighter luminary. The appearance of nature is changing under the transforming power of art. The modern triumphs of genius are harbingers of an approaching physical Millennium. Were it possible that such could be attained by human effort, the age in which we live bids fair to solve physical problems of ancient prophecy. But the record of those bright visions regarding the state of the world, discloses the fact that an Ecclesiastical and Political Millennium must precede, or at least accompany that which shall be Physical. The fallen race nust be spiritually prepared, in order to the enjoyment of a full disclosure of temporal blessings.

The human family may be divided into two classes — those who live for time only, and those who live in prospect of a coming eternity. The former class contem-

IV PREFACE.

plates every object, natural and artificial, irrespective of their relations to God. Among the latter class there are many who seem interested in the work of personal redemption, but who have little regard to the manifestations of the Divine attributes in creation, and in the providential arrangements of this fallen world. There are others who devoutly recognize God in the works of nature, and in the plan of redemption, but few, if any, are to be found among the majority of professors, who see or acknowledge the attributes of Deity displayed in the works of art.

Scientific students frequently interrogate nature without a sense of its relations to the Creator, and overwhelmed by its wonders, insensibly render to nature that homage which is due to God. Theological students are not wanting, who open the pages of inspiration for inquiry regarding the hope of individual salvation, but who overlook the first and pervading principle of operation in the universe— the glory of God. There are mechanical students who investigate the material world in the spirit of selfishness, in order to ascertain how much may be extracted from its vast resources, for their personal aggrandisement. With this class the exposition of the Arts tend to excite the spirit of covetousness, and the homage of their hearts is divided between the worship of Mammon and the adoration of Genius. But opposed to all these views and objects, stands that system of divine religion revealed in the Bible — a system em-

PREFACE. V

bracing man in every aspect and in eveiy relation. It exhibits the relation of every creature to God, and claims the recognition of the attributes of Deity, as these are manifested in the material, mental, and moral spheres of existence.

Impressed with this fact, the writer has sought in vain for any thing approaching to a general acknowledgment of God in the works of Art, even among those professing belief in Divine Revelation. Occasional hints are found escaping from the pen of distinguished writers, but these usually pass unheeded by the mass of readers; and the references seem so incidental, that the mind is constrained to feel that the subject was not esteemed of much importance by the author. Recognizing the supremacy of God in every department of His works, and believing that dishonor has been done to His name by the non-recognition of His attributes, in the artificial phenomena of the world, the author of the following Treatise has felt constrained, by a solemn sense of duty, to submit to the public the views and feelings which, to his own soul, have invested mechanical inventions with a halo of light — even with the beams of reflected Divinity.

The elementary thoughts hereafter illustrated were suggested within the luminous walls of the Crystal Palace. Every object seemed to re-echo the announcement of the ancient prophet — u This also cometh from the Lord of hosts, which is wonderful in counsel, and

VI PREFACE.

excellent in working." Every hour devoted to reflection upon this subject has convinced the author more deeply of its vast importance and lasting interest. Nothing has diminished the mental pleasure first realized, save a growing consciousness of inability to grasp the magnitude of the theme. The sources of illustration are wide as the world, and embrace every period of human history. Many imperfections will doubtless appear to the mere critic, but it is comparatively of little moment what opinion literary circles may form of these feeble efforts to awaken a new train of thought, provided that general readers may be led to recognize the manifestations of Deity in artificial phenomena, and consequently, respond to the angelic anthem — " Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men."

Kirkintilloch, November, 1855.

Contents

PAGB

Ihtbodtjchon , 6

Chapter I. The Introduction Of Mechanical Inventions A Proof That

THEY ARE EMANATIONS OF THE WISDOM, POWER,

AND GOODNESS OF GOD.

Elements of Machinery — Mechanical Powers and Forces — The Inventor— Objection Answered — The Arts in Relation to the Fall — The Industrial Instincts in Man an Element in the Construction of Machinery 15

Chapter II

THE GRADUAL DEVELOPMENT OF MECHANICAL INVENTIONS AK EVIDENCE THAT THEY ARE COMMUNICATED IN AC- CORDANCE WITH THE PURPOSES OF GOD.

The Mariner's Compass — The Art of Printing — The Steam Engine — The Spinning Mill — The Power Loom — The Railway and Electric Telegraph — Objection — Commerce and Railways — Relation of Capital to Railway Development — Mineral Relations to the Construction and working of Railways, 25

CHAPTER ni.

TENDENCY OF INVENTIONS A PROOF THAT THEY ARE OF GOD.

To mitigate Human Toil — Objection — Alleviate Suffering — Increase the Sources of Comfort — Prolong Rational Life — Promote Universal Peace — Produce those Physical Changes upon Earth which Revelation gives Reason to hope shall yet be accomplished 101

Vlll CONTENTS

Chapter IV. Scriptural Evidence That Mechanical Inventions Are Of God

PAOB

The Providence of God in Relation to Mechanical Inventions— The Bible Record of their Rise and Progress-Gardening— Clothing — Tilling— Building— Tent-Making— Musical Instruments — Founding — Special Monuments — The Ark— The Tower of Babel— Inventions ascribed to Divine Wisdom 151

Chapter V

THE INSPIRATION OF GENIUS AN EVIDENCE THAT MECHAN- ICAL INVENTIONS ARE OF GOD.

Inspiration of Genius— Legislation and Government— War— Mechanical— Scientific— Exposition of the Aits in Constructing the Tabernacle— The Sacred Vestments— The Temple — Final Consecration of Genius to God 196

Chapter VI

SCRIPTURE RECORD OF INSPIRED GENIUS DEVOTED TO THE ORDINARY PURPOSES OF SOCIAL LIFE.

Inspired Wisdom evolved in Agriculture— In Architecture— In Works of Taste and Ornament — In Ship-Building — In National Commerce — In Philosophy — In Literature— In the Common Implements of Industry, !

Chapter VII. Inquiry Regarding The Source Of That Difference Of

CONCEPTION WITH WHICH THE MIND IS WONT TO VIEW

THE WORKS OF NATURE AS COMPARED WITH

MECHANICAL INVENTIONS.

Misconceptions regarding their respective Authors— Innate Tendency to exclude God and to recognize Man — Association of Ideas with Moral Characteristics — Sense stronger than Faith— Human Pride— Neglect in cultivating the Habit of Spiritual Observation — Conclusion 263

THE THEOLOGY OF INVENTIONS

Introduction

Theology is that science which treats of the being and attributes of God — His relations to us, the dispensations of His providence, His will with respect to our actions, and His purposes with regard to our end. One branch of this comprehensive science is termed Natural Theology, or that science which treats of the being, attributes, and will of God, as evincible from the various phenomena of created objects. The first revelation of God to intelligent beings was contained in the book of nature, at the opening of which " the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy." This comprehensive volume embraces the universe, and reveals to man, in physical development, the eternal decrees of the all-wise Creator. It is, in fact,

10 INTRODUCTION.

the elder manuscript of infinite wisdom, replete in every page with internal and external evidence of its Divine Author. " The heavens declare the glory of God ; and the firmament sheweth His handy-works." Creation is the counterpart of the eternal purposes — the embodiment of the Divine thoughts, in specific physical acts, for the manifestation of the attributes of Deity, " Because that which may be known to God is manifest in them ; .... for the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead."

The Planet inhabited by man is only one circumscribed page of Nature's illimitable register, but yet, in itself, replete with evidence of the being and attributes of God. Nor is that evidence patent to the reflective mind of the philosopher alone, it stands out in bold relief for the perusal of sentient humanity. The unlettered peasant receives from the external world the same sensations as the learned philosopher. Both possess similar rational faculties, however variously exercised, and consequently both enjoy access to Nature's volume, the language of which is none other than the re-echo of the voice of Deity. Unlike the monopolised stores of human literature, the illuminated pages of this book are ever open to all, so that he who runs may read

INTRODUCTION. 11

the stereotyped impressions of the wisdom, power, and beneficence of God.

In the contemplation of terrestrial objects, there are two classes of phenomena which incessantly claim attention — those which are the immediate work of God in creation, and such as are the mechanical productions of man in the progressive development of science and art. The former class may be termed natural ; the latter, artificial. From the natural the artificial phenomena are all constructed. In the natural every thing is created ; in the artificial every object is transformed. God is the immediate operator in the one department ; man is the intelligent agent in the other. While, as regards the whole, the Author of universal nature is the primary source and rightful proprietor of the material, the intermediate agent, and the work of art constructed. In the natural phenomena are to be found all the elements of the artificial. They have changed their place in creation, and their elementary forms of existence, but thenessential qualities remain the same under every new arrangement, consequently no circumstantial changes of proportion, locality, or figure, can transfer them beyond the limits of His kingdom— " who is Lord over all." " The silver and the gold are His," when in the mint of the Royal Treasury, or in the coffers of the miser, as

12 INTRODUCTION.

really as when deposited by the Divine hand in the rocky bed of an Australian river, or the hidden caverns of a Californian mountain. The iron and the brass are his as really, when revolving in the wheels and shafts of a modern machine as when in their elemental ore, buried fifty fathoms beneath the surface of the globe. And yet this region of art, this world-wide creation of machinery, is one from which in the mental conceptions of men, the Universal Proprietor is almost entirely excluded. Few indeed, are to be found among mechanics or philosophers, among even divines, or public journalists, who seem to realize the fact that God is there, when investigating the wonders of art, or who feel constrained to render to Deity the glory due to His name, from this, as from every other regioD of His works.

In proof of these assertions, it is only necessary to refer to the fact that though the press teems with the records of ancient and modern discoveries in art and science, not a solitary paragraph can be found in the vast majority of treatises recognising the hand of God at all ; and in vain is search made for even one systematic volume, presenting a lucid and comprehensive illustration of the wisdom, power, and goodness of God, as these attributes are displayed in mechanical inventions. Or, to make tho

INTRODUCTION. 13

matter still more plain, where are to be found emotions of gratitude to the Giver, or feelings of adoring wonder excited in the breasts of men, by the contemplation of a plow, a loom, a ship, a steam-engine, a printing-press, or an electrictelegraph ? The invention may be recorded, its mechanism admired, its utility discussed, and the name of the inventor praised and honored* but how rare the acknowledgment of God as the author ! How few are to be found exclaiming with the Psalmist, " Oh that men would praise the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men V

In discussing the theology of inventions, it is necessary to keep in view the designs proposed, and to indicate the line of argument to be adopted. Both these objects may be attained by the following proposition, which we design to prove and illustrate in the subsequent pages.

That mechanical inventions, in the discovery of their elements and principles, and in the construction of their parts, are, and ought to be viewed as emanations of the wisdom, power, and beneficence of God.

This proposition may be proved philosophically from reason, and theologically from revelation. Both these lines of argument shall be pursued in the elucidation of the subject.

In proving from reason that artificial pheno-

INTRODUCTION.

mena, or mechanical inventions are of God, a multitude of arguments might be adduced, but only three are selected— the Fact ; the Time ; and the Tendency of their Discovery.

Chapter I

THE INTRODUCTION OP MECHANICAL INVENTIONS A PROOF THAT THEY ARE EMANATIONS OP THE WISDOM, POWER, AND GOOD- NESS OP GOD.

In the early history of the human family mechanical inventions had no existence, save in the purpose of God, and in their original elements, as parts of creation-work. Surveying the world, even from Paradise, what finite being could have predicted their future development ? The first man, notwithstanding his knowledge of nature, knew not the necessities of a fallen race, and consequently he could form no conception of that provision which infinite wisdom had made for the mitigation of physical evil, and the future elevation of his descendants. Implements of industry he might require, and, perhaps, be provided with for the cultivation of that garden which he was commanded to dress and keep ; but of rooting out the thorn and the thistle — productions of the curse ; of manufacturing clothing — the permanent want of a fallen state ; of building or furnishing habitations, in accordance with circumstances and climate, in a world whose elements and seasons were affected by the introduction of moral evil ; or of the implements necessary for the construction of these, he could have no idea in a state of innocence. The world was destitute of machinery on that fatal day when offended Deity " drove out the man." Natural phenomena might retain much of its pristine freshness and beauty, but then artificial phenomena had no visible existence. The whole world did not exhibit one artificial human dwelling, while the entire wardrobe of our first parents, when thrust forth from the garden, was comprised in the fig-leaf aprons wherewith they were covered. Contrast with this the magnificent cities of ancient or modern times — the wide-spread cultivation of the earth — the trackless ocean navigated— the subterranean mines of wealth disclosed— the human family clothed, and fed, and domiciled in comfort — knowledge circulated for the million, and human thoughts wafted on the wings of the lightning. Contrast again the natural phenomena of that world into which Adam was thrust out with the artificial phenomena which it now exhibits, under the industrial arts of his descendants, and will any reflecting mind be prepared to say that man, and man 07ily, is to be recognized as the author of every successive development of the mechanical inventions ?

ELEMENTS OF MACHINERY.

While investigating mechanical inventions, the question naturally arises, What are their constituent elements ? What their mechanical powers ? Whence their origin ? By whom have their materials been discovered, and their various parts constructed ? As regards their native elements, the most complicated, as well as the simplest, may be traced to three sources — the mineral, vegetable, and animal kingdoms. Take a hand-loom, or a spinning-mill ; analyze their entire machinery, and it will be found that the bowels of the earth have contributed their portion of iron or brass, or other elements. The surface of the globe has produced the wood, the hemp, the flax, the cotton, the oil, and other vegetable products. The animal kingdom has furnished the leather, the bone, the hair, the grease, and all the different substances brought into requisition. These materials have no natural relation — no chemical affinities, no selfapproximating influences, no self-adjusting properties. Drawn from three distinct kingdoms in nature, they are, by a mechanical combination, made to assume an entirely new form — to occupy a new place, and to accomplish a new purpose. The mineral elements have been extracted from the regions of darkness. They have been smelted, moulded, or beaten into a thousand forms. The wood has been hewn by the axe, divided by the saw, smoothed by the plane, and fitted by mechanical tools, before it assumed its place in conjunction with the brass and the iron. The flax and the hemp have been watered, dried, the fibre separated from the stem, drawn out and twisted by machinery, before it could be used in blading the lighter parts of the wood and the iron. And in the products of the animal kingdom there are similar transformations. The outer covering which protected and beautified the body of the horse, the ox, or the sheep, has been stripped off by the hand of violence — divest ed of its hair or wool, impregnated by the art of the tanner with lime from the mineral kingdom, with the juice of astringent barks from the vegetable kingdom, and oils from the animal kingdom, before it could take a place in the revolving bands of the spinning-mill, or furnish an element in forming the more simple drivingpin of the hand-loom. The same analysis, applied to any other specimen of machinery will reduce its constituent elements to one or other, or all of these kingdoms. Let the mind reflect upon this threefold source of material substances, from which all the mechanical inventions in the world have been, or are being, or shall be constructed, and let it be remembered that these are only elements, and cannot of themselves assume the form, or exert the power of the simplest machine. But they are elements provided by the God of infinite wisdom for the very purposes to which man has been taught to apply them.

The world itself, in its geological construction, as well as in its vegetable and animal adaptations, is none other than a divine depository of exhaustless resources, from which man may draw forth and appropriate whatever tends to his physical comfort and mental progress. But here, as in every other department, the forethought is more than human, while the power and beneficence are evidently divine. The adjustment in every region is such as to confound the most reckless sceptics. The minerals have been stowed away in the subterranean caverns of the earth so that they might not destroy its vegetable productions by their deleterious gases, deform its beauty by theit unsightly appearance, or impede the operations of the animal kingdom by abridging the extent, or rendering unfruitful the surface of the globe. They are neither so near the circumference of the earth as to induce indolence, nor so deeply deposited as to elude the search of human ingenuity. The outer stratum seems as if designed to meet the wants and stimulate the ardor of a barbarous age, while the inner stores of mineral wealth are so deposited as to test the highest achievements of mechanical skill — to draw out the accumulating stores of knowledge — and to excite the latent principles of art and industry. Can all this provision be laid up since creation, or formed in successive geologic periods by unknown influences in the mineral kingdom, without a definite design ? Keflect again upon the vegetable and animal kingdoms, as stored by creative power, and preserved by Divine Providence. The former was furnished with trees, and plants, and herbs, each bearing seed and propagating its species after its kind. The latter was stocked with all the varied forms of animal life, having the earth, the air, the sea, as their appointed regions, and under the pristine law of life to multiply and replenish the world from age to age. Could all this provision be made for the construction of machinery without that wisdom which is infinite, that power whiofe is almighty, and that goodness which is boundless ?

MECHANICAL POWERS AND FORCES.

These elements, however bountifully provided in the kingdoms of nature, would be entirely useless for the construction of the simplest machine, unless accompanied by mechanical principles or laws, which are universal in ex-

THEOLOUY OF INVENTIONS. 21

tension, and immutable in operation. The entire range of mechanical inventions may be reduced to a few primary machines, which, in natural philosophy, are termed mechanical powers. These have been usually treated of as six — the lever, the wheel, the axle, the inclined plane, the wedge, the screw, and the funicular machine. It is evident that these six may be reduced to three — the lever, the funicular machine, and the inclined plane ; and from two of them — the lever and the inclined plane, the other three are formed. From the varied combinations of these all machinery is constructed.

But these mechanical powers, as well as the material substances, would of themselves be unavailing for general purposes in machinery without moving forces to originate and sustain their varied motions and revolutions. These again are liberally supplied in the wide domain of nature for the use of man, in the development and application of the arts of industry. The moving powers have usually been treated of as follows : The muscular strength of men and animals, the pressure of the atmosphere, the expansive force of steam, and the action of wind or water. These may also be referred indirectly to three independent sources — gravity, heat, and animal strength. The earlier development of machinery exhibited only the application of animal strength; the present state displays the general use of wind, water, steam, and explosive substances ; but, doubtless, in the onward march of discovery, electricity will soon come to occupy a common place among the moving powers, and the world will be as much astonished when a " feed of zinc and water" shall supersede a "feed of coke/' as it was when a " feed of coke" superseded a " feed of corn," and the iron wheels of the engine completely distanced the fleetest and best directed steed. Now, let it be remembered that all these latent principles, mechanical powers, and moving forces are furnished in nature, and have been existing since creation, as provided for the use of man in his present condition. Does not each, in the region of natural phenomena, and do not all, in their mechanical combinations, proclaim the presence and power of Deity ?

THE INVENTOR.

Having discovered the materials from which machines are constructed, and the mechanical principles, powers, and forces upon which their operations depend, the question which now demands solution is, by what agency were these created materials, superinduced principles, and external forces all combined, and rendered capable of transforming other mineral, vegetable, and animal substances into forms, and fabrics suitable for nourishing, clothing, protecting, and enlightening men. Here we not only reach but cross the boundary line between the material and the spiritual. The agent is man, and in his constitution there is a combination of the mental and physical, but both are brought into active operation in the construction of machinery. His body is formed of the dust by a Divine hand, and his breath is breathed into his nostrils by an Almighty Spirit. That body in itself presents some of the most wonderful and perfect specimens of mechanical phenomena. " The anatomy of man," says Galen, " discovers above six hundred muscles, and whoever only considers these, will find that in each of them nature must have, at least, adjusted ten different circumstances, in order to attain the end proposed — proper figure, just magnitude, right disposition of the several ends, upper and lower position of the whole, and the due insertion of the several nerves and arteries ; so that, in the muscles alone, above six thousand several views and intentions must have been formed and executed." He calculated the bones to be two hundred and eightyfour, and the distinct purposes aimed at in the structure of each above forty. This makes eleven thousand three hundred and sixty ! What a prodigious display of artifice even in these simple and homogeneous parts ! But if we consider the skin, ligaments, vessels, glands, humors, and the several limbs and members of the body, how must our astonishment rise in proportion to the number and intricacy of the parts so artificially adjusted ! Who can survey this wonderful structure without admiring the wisdom and power of the Architect ? How appropriate the language of the Psalmist, " I am fearfully and wonderfully made." Now this body of man is the primary instrument — the living machine, by which the God of providence discloses the wonders of the entire region of artificial phenomena. In nature God employs intermediate causes to produce the designed physical effects, so in like manner, when the Divine purposes of goodness and wisdom are to be embodied in the production of mechanical phenomena, man is the intermediate agent commissioned to construct them — the mental causation of their new existence. But for his wants, machinery would be unnecessary, and but for his mental and physical endowments for labor, the minerals, vegetables, and animals might run to waste without any new form of mechanical beauty or utility being added to the phenomena of the world.

Without the human hand how would discoveries be made in science, or the arts developed ? A few operations might be performed, such as are common to some of the irrational creatures, but progress would be utterly impossible. The hand is the organ of prehension, which readily seizes and secures bodies of every form, and of such dimensions and weight as are capable of being moved by the arms of man. It has been well remarked that had the hand been undivided it could only have held such a portion of any mass as was equal to itself ; but, as it is, by separating the fingers, it can encompass one larger than itself; and, by compressing two of them together, it can safely hold a minute object. Besides, as some bodies are too large to be held by one hand alone, we are endowed with two inclining towards, and precisely adapted to each other. The sensibilities of the hand, in respect of touch, are not less remarkable, as at once determining the nature of substances, as regards hardness and softness, roughness and smoothness, fineness and coarseness, heaviness and lightness, hotness and coldness. While the eye scans material elements, the hand grasps them, completes the scrutiny which the organ of vision had begun, and then applies them to practical purposes. By the hand they are arrested and shaped anew and combined in curious mechanism to form this, or that machine.

But while we speak of the human hand, or the 2 human body, as the constructor of every form of mechanical phenomena, we necessarily indicate mental operations. There must be a motive power, propelling, directing, and controlling this material organism. The moving power is the mind — the spiritual part of man's nature. It has been already shewn that the material sabstances and mechanical powers could not be of general utility without moving forces, so here, even the human body could be of no utility in the construction of machinery without the reasoning powers of the mind. In this case the physical organization is inhabited by a living, thinking agency — a spiritual motive power within, whose volitions are the moving springs — the originating cause of the external movements of every joint, and muscle, and limb. The mind thinks regarding an end in view, and the volitions of the wTili propel the feet towards a chosen object, and move the hands by which it is appropriated for a given purpose. The mind reflects and reasons regarding the end to be attained, and the moans provided, adjudging the proportions, and planning the various parts of the machine ; which ultimately takes its form from the arranging mechanical hand of the artist. Nor is the mind the contriver only ; its volitions direct every part of the execution. It is, in fact, the moving power, without which the hand becomes paralysed, the eye ceases to observe, and the whole machinery of the human system ceases to operate, and the elements of nature retain forever their original form of existence.