WCP6563

[1]

Old Orchard,

Broadstone,

Dorset.

May 10th. 1913

Dear Mr. Marchant

I return D^r Forsyth's statement. The first 2—3 sentences express my views to some extent, but the rest is purely theological and I see no real meaning in it.

As to the possibility of a living organism being some day produced by the chemist from inorganic matter — to me it is not thinkable and therefore not possible. But on the supposition that it were to happen, it would not in any way explain "life" with all its inherent forces powers and laws, which necessitate a constantly acting mind-power of of [sic] almost unimaginable grandeur [2] and prescence [sic], in the coordinated motions and actions and forces of the myriad millions of cells, each cell consisting of myriads of atoms or ions which cannot be supposed to be all acting in harmonious coordination without some superior coordinating power.

Recent discoveries demonstrate the need of coordinating power even in the very nature & origin of matter,— and something far more than this in the origin & development of mind.

The whole cumulative argument of my "World of Life" is, that, in its every detail it calls for the agency of a mind or minds so enormously above and beyond any human minds, as to oblige compel us to [3] look upon it, or them, as "God" or "Gods" — and so-called "laws of nature" as the action by will-power or otherwise of each super-human or infinite beings. or beings.

"Laws of nature", apart from the existence and agency of some such Being or Beings, are mere words, that explain nothing,— are in fact unthinkable. That is my position.

Whether this "Unknown Reality" is a single Being & acts every where in the Universe as direct creator, organiser, of and director of every minutest motion, force, and guide in the whole of our Universe & of all possible Universes — or whether it acts "through variously continued[?] modes" as H. Spencer suggested — or through "infinite grades" of beings, as I suggest, comes to much the same thing. Mine seems a more clear an intelligible supposition, [4] as stated in the last part of my "World of Life".

Yet it is the teaching of the Bible, of Swedenborg, & of Milton!¹

But in the very last part I put it as a "speculative suggestion" — not as a definite scientific conclusion — though it does seem to me to be one. It has been seized upon by some of my critics, as self evidently absurd — by others as unscientific, by others again as irreligious, — but always without reasons given.

I write all this to show, that — to me — if the chemist can someday show that living developing "life" was and is now produced from inorganic elements, by & through "natural laws", that would not alter my argument one iota. "Natural Laws" of such range and power are unthinkable except as the manifestation of Universal Mind.

Yours very truly | Alfred R. Wallace [signature] [5]

P.S. May 10th — 1913

I have found the letter from Kingsley of which I spoke or wrote to you, and find that its he says in it that he is convinced that God has formed every grain of sand for a special purpose.

That I thought at the time little less than madness, but I am now coming to very nearly the same belief myself. I think this letter was not printed in his "Life & Letters", though Mr. Kingsley had it.

A.R.W. [7] [8]