M. Thiers, who is at Lausanne, has been discoursing to
a correspondent of the Delmts on the work by which he is going to convince Frenchmen that the higher philosephy is religious, though he rejects "the supernaturalism of M. Guizot." "It was strange, to say the least, to imagine a juggling God who performed tricks to draw the crowd." "Miracles," said M. Thiers, "are out of place in the nature of God, who had no need of petty artifices to make himself believed-in by his creatures." We do not know about the need. Whether the "petty artifices" were used or not, there seems to be enough need of means of one kind or another to make God believed-in, for He is not very much believed-in just at present, in France at all events. One hardly knows, indeed, whether M. Thiers's grudge against M. Guizot's supernaturalism is prejudice against supernaturalism itself, or prejudice against M. Guizot. Anyway, we cannot say we expect much from M. Thiers's work. A writer who treats miracles as synonymous with juggles has evidently not studied deeply either theology or nature. The startling change in the combinations and effects of natural laws which are caused by purely spiritual causes, would be a better key to the true phenomena of miracles than such words as "petty artifices" and "juggles." It was natural perhaps that M. Thiers should write on theology to show that there was no department of thought for which be holds himself unfitted ; but in the result he will probably rather betray his weakness than assert his strength.
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