varied vegetable life, similar to that which now exists, made
its appearance; that the fourth day was signalised by the
apparition of the sun, the stars, the moon, and the planets;
that, on the fifth day, aquatic animals originated within the
waters; that, on the sixth day, the earth gave rise to our four-
footed terrestrial creatures, and to all varieties of
terrestrial animals except birds, which had appeared on the
preceding day; and, finally, that man appeared upon the earth,
and the emergence of the universe from chaos was finished.
Milton tells us, without the least ambiguity, what a spectator
of these marvellous occurrences would have witnessed. I doubt
not that his poem is familiar to all of you, but I should like
to recall one passage to your minds, in order that I may be
justified in what I have said regarding the perfectly concrete,
definite, picture of the origin of the animal world which Milton
draws. He says:--

"The sixth, and of creation last, arose
With evening harp and matin, when God said,
'Let the earth bring forth soul living in her kind,
Cattle and creeping things, and beast of the earth.
Each in their kind!' The earth obeyed, and, straight
Opening her fertile womb, teemed at a birth
Innumerous living creatures, perfect forms,
Limbed and full-grown. Out of the ground uprose,
As from his lair, the wild beast, where he wons
In forest wild, in thicket, brake, or den;
Among the trees in pairs they rose, they walked;
The cattle in the fields and meadows green;
Those rare and solitary; these in flocks