"When philosophy a ffphilosophy and science by their combined efforts have ejected gods and goddesses from all the subordinate posts of nature, it might perhaps be expected that they would have no further occasion for the services of a deity, and that having relieved him of all his particular functions they would have arranged for the creation and general maintenance of the universe without ffffhim by handing over these important offices to an efficient ffstaff of those ethers, atoms, corpuscles ...