,,on ,,compromise      ',it makes all   
the difference in the world whether we  
put    ,truth in the first place or in  
the second place4'                      
,,whatley          ,,on ,,compromise    
,,by    ,,john ,,morley    ,,macmillan  
,,and ,,co41 ,,limited    ,,st4         
,,martin',s ,,street1 ,,london    #aijh 
,this ,edition first printed #ahhf      
,,note4    ,the writer has availed      
himself of the opportunity of a new     
edition to  add three or four additional
 illustrations in the footnotes4 ,the   
criticisms on the first edition call for
 no remark1 excepting this1  perhaps1   
that the present little volume has no   
pretensions to be  anything more than an
 ,essay4 ,to judge such it performance  
as if it  professed to be an exhaustive 
,treatise in casuistry1 is to subject it
 to  tests which it was never designed  
to bear4 ,merely to open questions1 to  
indicate points1 to suggest cases1 to   
sketch outlines1--as an ,essay does  all
 these things1--may often be a process  

not without its own modest  usefulness  
and interest4    ,may #d1 #ahgg4        
,,contents4        ,,chapter ,i4        
,,introductory4      ,design of this    
,essay    ,the question stated          
,suggested by some existing tendencies  
in ,england    ,comparison with other   
countries    ,test of this comparison   
,the absent quality specifically defined
    ,history and decay of some recent   
aspirations    ,illustrations           
,characteristics of one present mood    
,analysis of its causes      7#a7       
,influence of ,french examples      7#b7
 ,influence of the ,historic ,method    
7#c7 ,influence of the ,newspaper ,press
      7#d7 ,increase of material        
prosperity      7#e7 ,transformation of 
the spiritual basis of thought      7#f7
 ,influence of a ,state ,church         
,,chapter ,,ii4 ,,of ,,the ,,possible   
,,utility ,,of ,,error      ,questions  
of a dual doctrine lies at the outset of
 our inquiry    ,this doctrine          
formulated    ,marks the triumph of     

status quo    ,psychological vindication
 of such a doctrine    ,answered by     
assertion of the dogmatic character of  
popular belief    ,and the pernicious   
social influence of its priests    ,the 
root idea of the defenders of a dual    
doctrine    ,thesis of the present      
chapter1 against that idea              
,examination of some of the pleas for   
error        ,i4 ,that a false opinion  
may be clothed with good associations   
,,ii4 ,that all minds are not open to   
reason      ,,iii4 ,that a false        
opinion1 considered in relation to the  
general           mental attitude1 may  
be less hurtful than its premature      
demolition       ,,iv4 ,that mere       
negative truth is not a guide        ,v4
 ,that error has been a stepping-stone  
to truth    ,we cannot tell how much    
truth has been missed    ,inevitableness
 is not utility        ,,chapter ,,iii4 
,,intellectual ,,responsibility ,,and   
,,the ,,political ,,spirit4      ,the   
modern disciplina arcani    ,hume's     

immoral advice    ,evil intellectual    
effects of immoral compromise           
,depravation that follows its grosser   
forms    ,the three provinces of        
compromise    ,radical importance of    
their separation    ,effects of their   
confusion in practical politics         
,economy or management in the ,formation
 of opinion    ,its lawfulness turns on 
the claims of majority and minority over
 one      another    ,thesis of the     
present chapter    ,its importance1     
owing to the supremacy of the political 
spirit in      ,england    ,effects of  
the predominance of this spirit         
,contrasted with epochs of intellectual 
responsibility    ,a modern movement    
against the political spirit    ,an     
objection considered    ,importance to  
character of rationalised conviction1   
and of ideals    ,the absence of them   
attenuates conduct    ,illustrations in 
modern politics    ,modern              
latitudinarianism    ,illustration in   
two supreme issues    ,pascal's remarks 

upon a state of ,doubt    ,dr4 ,newman  
on the same    ,three ways of dealing   
with the issues    ,another illustration
 of intellectual improbity    ,the      
,savoyard ,vicar    ,mischievousness of 
substituting spiritual self-indulgence  
for reason        ,,chapter ,,iv4       
,,religious ,,conformity4               
,compromise in ,expression    ,touches  
religion rather than politics    ,hume  
on non-resistance    ,reason why rights 
of free speech do not exactly coincide  
with rights of      free thought        
,digression into the matter of free     
speech    ,dissent no longer railing and
 vituperative    ,tendency of modern    
free thought to assimilate some elements
 from the      old faith    ,a wide     
breach still remains    ,heresy1        
however1 no longer traced to depravity  
,tolerance not necessarily acquiescence 
in scepticism    ,object of the         
foregoing digression    ,the rarity of  
plain-speaking a reason why it is       
painful    ,conformity in the           

relationship between child and parent   
,between husband and wife    ,in the    
education of children    ,the case of an
 unbelieving priest    ,the case of one 
who fears to lose his influence         
,conformity not harmless nor unimportant
        ,,chapter ,v4 ,,the             
,,realisation ,,of ,,opinion4      ,the 
application of opinion to conduct       
,tempering considerations    ,not to be 
pressed too far    ,our action in       
realising our opinions depends on our   
social theory    ,legitimate and        
illegitimate compromise in view of that 
,the distinction equally sound on the   
evolutional theory    ,condition of     
progressive change    ,a plea for       
compromise examined    ,a second plea   
,the allegation of provisional          
usefulness examined    ,illustrated in  
religious institutions    ,in political 
institutions    ,burke's commendation of
 political compromise    ,the saying    
that small reforms may be the worst     
enemies of great ones    ,in what sense 

true    ,illustration in the ,elementary
 ,education ,act    ,wisdom of social   
patience    ,the considerations which   
apply to political practice do not apply
 to      our own lives    ,nor to the   
publication of social opinions    ,the  
amount of conscience in a community     
,evil of attenuating this element       
,historic illustration    ,new side of  
the discussion    ,is earnestness of    
conviction fatal to concession of       
liberty to others8    ,two propositions 
at the base of an affirmative answer    
,earnestness of conviction consistent   
with sense of liability to error        
,belief in one's own infallibility does 
not necessarily lead to      intolerance
    ,the contrary notion due to juristic
 analogies in social discussion         
,connection between the doctrine of     
liberty and social evolution    ,the    
timid compromisers superfluous          
apprehension    ,material limits to the 
effect of moral speculation             
,illustration from the history of       

,slavery    ,illustration from ,french  
history    ,practical influence of a    
faith in the self-protecting quality of 
a      society    ,conclusion           
,,note ,,to ,,page #bdb4      ,the      
,doctrine of ,liberty          ,,on     
,,compromise4          ,,chapter ,i4    
,,introductory4    ,the design of the   
following essay is to consider1 in a    
short and direct  way1 some of the      
limits that are set by sound reason to  
the practice of  the various arts of    
accommodation1 economy1 management1     
conformity1 or  compromise4 ,the right  
of thinking freely and acting           
independently1 of  using our minds      
without excessive awe of authority1 and 
shaping our  lives without unquestioning
 obedience to custom1 is now a finally  
accepted principle in some sense or     
other with every school of thought  that
 has the smallest chance of commanding  
the future4 ,under what  circumstances  
does the exercise and vindication of the
 right1 thus  conceded in theory1 become

 a positive duty in practice8 ,if the   
majority  are bound to tolerate dissent 
from the ruling opinions and beliefs1   
under what conditions and within what   
limitations is the dissentient          
imperatively bound to avail himself of  
this toleration8 ,how far1 and in  what 
way1 ought respect either for immediate 
practical convenience1 or  for current  
prejudices1 to weigh against respect for
 truth8 ,for how much  is it well that  
the individual should allow the feelings
 and convictions  of the many to count1 
when he comes to shape1 to express1 and 
to act  upon his own feelings and       
convictions8 ,are we only to be         
permitted to  defend general principles1
 on condition that we draw no practical 
inferences from them8 ,is every other   
idea to yield precedence and empire  to 
existing circumstances1 and is the      
immediate and universal  workableness of
 a policy to be the main test of its    
intrinsic fitness8    ,to attempt to    
answer all these questions fully would  

be nothing less  than to attempt a      
compendium of life and duty in all their
 details1 a  ,summa of cases of         
conscience1 a guide to doubters at every
 point of the  compass4 ,the aim of the 
present writer is a comparatively modest
 one2  namely1 to seek one or two of the
 most general principles which ought  to
 regulate the practice of compliance1   
and to suggest some of the  bearings    
which they may have in their application
 to certain  difficulties in modern     
matters of conduct4    ,it is pretty    
plain that an inquiry of this kind needs
 to be fixed by  reference to a given   
set of social circumstances tolerably   
well  understood4 ,there are some common
 rules as to the expediency of          
compromise and conformity1 but their    
application is a matter of endless      
variety and the widest elasticity4 ,the 
interesting and useful thing is  to find
 the relation of these too vague rules  
to actual conditions2 to  transform them
 into practical guides and real         

interpreters of what is  right and best 
in thought and conduct1 in a special and
 definite kind of  emergency4 ,according
 to the current assumptions of the      
writer and the  preacher1 the one       
commanding law is that men should cling 
to truth and  right1 if the very heavens
 fall4 ,in principle this is universally
  accepted4 ,to the partisans of        
authority and tradition it is as much a 
commonplace as to the partisans of the  
most absolute and unflinching           
rationalism4 ,yet in practice all       
schools alike are forced to admit the   
necessity of a measure of accommodation 
in the very interests of truth  itself4 
,fanatic is a name of such ill repute1  
exactly because one who  deserves to be 
called by it injures good causes by     
refusing timely and  harmless           
concession2 by irritating prejudices    
that a wiser way of urging  his own     
opinion might have turned aside2 by     
making no allowances1  respecting no    
motives1 and recognising none of those  

qualifying  principles1 which are       
nothing less than necessary to make his 
own  principle true and fitting in a    
given society4 ,the interesting question
  in connection with compromise         
obviously turns upon the placing of the 
boundary that divides wise suspense in  
forming opinions1 wise reserve in       
expressing them1 and wise tardiness in  
trying to realise them1 from  unavowed  
disingenuousness and self-illusion1 from
 voluntary  dissimulation1 and from     
indolence and pusillanimity4 ,these are 
the three  departments or provinces of  
compromise4 ,our subject is a question  
of  boundaries4#a ,and this question1   
being mainly one of time and            
circumstance1 may be most satisfactorily
 discussed in relation to the  time and 
the circumstances which we know best1 or
 at least whose  deficiencies and       
requirements are most pressingly visible
 to us4    ,though ,england counts her  
full share of fearless truth-seekers in 
most  departments of inquiry1 yet there 

is on the whole no weakening1 but a     
rather marked confirmation1 of what has 
become an inveterate national           
characteristic1 and has long been       
recognised as such2 a profound          
distrust1 namely1 of all general        
principles2 a profound dislike both of  
much reference to them1 and of any      
disposition to invest them with         
practical authority2 and a silent but   
most pertinacious measurement of        
philosophic truths by political tests4  
',it is not at all easy1 humanly        
speaking1' says one who has tried the   
experiment1 'to wind an ,englishman  up 
to the level of dogma4' ,the difficulty 
has extended further than the  dogma of 
theology4 ,the supposed antagonism      
between expediency and  principle has   
been pressed further and further away   
from the little  piece of true meaning  
that it ever could be rightly allowed to
 have1  until it has now come to signify
 the paramount wisdom of counting the   
narrow1 immediate1 and personal         

expediency for everything1 and the      
whole1 general1 ultimate1 and completed 
expediency for nothing4  ,principle is  
only another name for a proposition     
stating the terms of  one of these      
larger expediencies4 ,when principle is 
held in contempt1 or  banished to the   
far dreamland of the philosopher and the
 student1 with  an affectation of       
reverence that in a materialist         
generation is in truth  the most        
overweening kind of contempt1 this only 
means that men are  thinking much of the
 interests of to-day1 and little of the 
more ample  interests of the many days  
to come4 ,it means that the conditions  
of the  time are unfriendly to the      
penetration and the breadth of vision   
which  disclose to us the whole range of
 consequences that follow on certain    
kinds of action or opinion1 and         
unfriendly to the intrepidity and       
disinterestedness which make us willing 
to sacrifice our own present  ease or   
near convenience1 in the hope of        

securing higher advantages for  others  
or for ourselves in the future4    ,let 
us take politics1 for example4 ,what is 
the state of the case with  us1 if we   
look at national life in its broadest   
aspect8 ,a ,german has his  dream of a  
great fatherland which shall not only be
 one and  consolidated1 but shall in due
 season win freedom for itself1 and be  
as  a sacred hearth whence others may   
borrow the warmth of freedom and order  
for themselves4 ,a ,spaniard has his    
vision either of militant loyalty to    
,god and the saints and the exiled line 
of his kings1 or else of devotion  to   
the newly won liberty and to the raising
 up of his fallen nation4 ,an           
,american1 in the midst of the political
 corruption which for the moment        
obscures the great democratic           
experiment1 yet has his imagination     
kindled by the size and resources of his
 land1 and his enthusiasm fired  by the 
high destinies which he believes to     
await its people in the  centuries to   

come4 ,a ,frenchman1 republican or      
royalist1 with all his  frenzies and    
'fool-fury' of red or white1 still has  
his hope and dream  and aspiration1 with
 which to enlarge his life and lift him 
on an ample  pinion out from the circle 
of a poor egoism4 ,what stirs the hope  
and  moves the aspiration of our        
,englishman8 ,surely nothing either in  
the  heavens above or on the earth      
beneath4 ,the ,english are as a people  
little susceptible in the region of the 
imagination4 ,but they have done  good  
work in the world1 acquired a splendid  
historic tradition of stout  combat for 
good causes1 founded a mighty and       
beneficent empire2 and  they have done  
all this notwithstanding their          
deficiencies of  imagination4 ,their    
lands have been the home of great and   
forlorn causes1  though they could not  
always follow the transcendental flights
 of their  foreign allies and champions4
 ,if ,englishmen were not strong in     
imagination1 they were what is better   

and surer1 strong in their hold of  the 
great emancipating principles4 ,what    
great political cause1 her own  or      
another's1 is ,england befriending      
to-day8 ,to say that no great cause  is 
left1 is to tell us that we have reached
 the final stage of human  progress1 and
 turned over the last leaf in the volume
 of human  improvements4 ,the day when  
this is said and believed marks the end 
of a  nation's life4 ,is it possible    
that1 after all1 our old protestant     
spirit1 with its rationality1 its       
austerity1 its steady political  energy1
 has been struck with something of the  
mortal fatigue that seizes  catholic    
societies after their fits of           
revolution8    ,we need not forget      
either the atrocities or the            
imbecilities which mark  the course of  
modern politics on the ,continent4 ,i am
 as keenly alive as  any one to the     
levity of ,france1 and the ,greek3      
hubris of ,germany4 ,it  may be true    
that the ordinary ,frenchman is in some 

respects the victim  of as poor an      
egoism as that of the ordinary          
,englishman2 and that the  ,american has
 no advantage over us in certain kinds  
of magnanimous  sentiment4 ,what is     
important is the mind and attitude1 not 
of the  ordinary man1 but of those who  
should be extraordinary4 ,the decisive  
sign of the elevation of a nation's life
 is to be sought among those who  lead  
or ought to lead4 ,the test of the      
health of a people is to be found  in   
the utterances of those who are its     
spokesmen1 and in the action of  those  
whom it accepts or chooses to be its    
chiefs4 ,we have to look to  the        
magnitude of the issues and the height  
of the interests which engage  its      
foremost spirits4 ,what are the best men
 in a country striving for8  ,and is the
 struggle pursued intrepidly and with a 
sense of its size and  amplitude1 or    
with creeping foot and blinking eye8    
,the answer to these  questions is the  
answer to the other question1 whether   

the best men in  the country are small  
or great4 ,it is a commonplace that the 
manner of  doing things is often as     
important as the things done4 ,and it   
has been  pointed out more than once    
that ,england's most creditable national
  action constantly shows itself so poor
 and mean in expression that the  rest  
of ,europe can discern nothing in it but
 craft and sinister  interest4 ,our     
public opinion is often rich in wisdom1 
but we lack the  courage of our wisdom4 
,we execute noble achievements1 and then
 are best  pleased to find shabby       
reasons for them4    ,there is a certain
 quality attaching alike to thought and 
expression and  action1 for which we may
 borrow the name of grandeur4 ,it has   
been  noticed1 for instance1 that ,bacon
 strikes and impresses us1 not merely   
by the substantial merit of what he     
achieved1 but still more by a  certain  
greatness of scheme and conception4     
,this quality is not a mere  idle       
decoration4 ,it is not a theatrical     

artifice of mask or buskin1 to  impose  
upon us unreal impressions of height and
 dignity4 ,the added  greatness is real4
 ,height of aim and nobility of         
expression are true  forces4 ,they grow 
to be an obligation upon us4 ,a lofty   
sense of personal  worth is one of the  
surest elements of greatness4 ,that the 
lion should  love to masquerade in the  
ass's skin is not modesty and reserve1  
but  imbecility and degradation4 ,and   
that ,england should wrap herself in the
  robe of small causes and mean reasons 
is the more deplorable1 because  there  
is no nation in the world the           
substantial elements of whose power  are
 so majestic and imperial as our own4   
,our language is the most widely  spoken
 of all tongues1 its literature is      
second to none in variety and  power4   
,our people1 whether ,english or        
,american1 have long ago superseded  the
 barbarous device of dictator and       
,caesar by the manly arts of            
self-government4 ,we understand that    

peace and industry are the two most     
indispensable conditions of modern      
civilisation1 and we draw the lines  of 
our policy in accordance with such a    
conviction4 ,we have had imposed  upon  
us by the unlucky prowess of our        
ancestors the task of ruling a  vast    
number of millions of alien dependents4 
,we undertake it with a                 
disinterestedness1 and execute it with a
 skill of administration1 to  which     
history supplies no parallel1 and which1
 even if time should show  that the     
conditions of the problem were          
insoluble1 will still remain  for ever  
admirable4 ,all these are elements of   
true pre-eminence4 ,they  are calculated
 to inspire us with the loftiest        
consciousness of national  life4 ,they  
ought to clothe our voice with          
authority1 to nerve our action  by      
generous resolution1 and to fill our    
counsels with weightiness and  power4   
,within the last forty years ,england   
has lost one by one each of those       

enthusiasms which may have been         
illusions1--some of them undoubtedly    
were so1--but which at least testified  
to the existence among us1 in a  very   
considerable degree1 of a vivid belief  
in the possibility of  certain broad    
general theories being true and right1  
as well as in the  obligation of making 
them lights to practical conduct and    
desire4 ,people  a generation ago had   
eager sympathy with ,hungary1 with      
,italy1 with  ,poland1 because they were
 deeply impressed by the doctrine of    
nationalities4 ,they had again a        
generous and energetic hatred of such an
  institution as the negro slavery of   
,america1 because justice and  humanity 
and religion were too real and potent   
forces within their  breasts to allow   
them to listen to those political       
considerations by  which ,american      
statesmen used to justify temporising   
and compromise4  ,they had strong       
feelings about ,parliamentary ,reform1  
because they were  penetrated by the    

principle that the possession of        
political power by  the bulk of a       
society is the only effective security  
against sinister  government2 or else by
 the principle that participation in    
public  activity1 even in the modest    
form of an exercise of the elective     
franchise1 is an elevating and          
instructing agency2 or perhaps by the   
principle that justice demands that     
those who are compelled to obey laws    
and pay national taxes should have a    
voice in making the one and  imposing   
the other4    ,it may be said that the  
very fate of these aspirations has had a
  blighting effect on public enthusiasm 
and the capacity of feeling it4  ,not   
only have most of them now been         
fulfilled1 and so passed from           
aspiration to actuality1 but the results
 of their fulfilment have been  so      
disappointing as to make us wonder      
whether it is really worth while  to    
pray1 when to have our prayers granted  
carries the world so very  slight a way 

forward4 ,the ,austrian is no longer in 
,italy2 the ,pope has  ceased to be     
master in ,rome2 the patriots of        
,hungary are now in  possession of their
 rights1 and have become friends of     
their old  oppressors2 the negro slave  
has been transformed into an ,american  
citizen4 ,at home1 again1 the gods have 
listened to our vows4 ,parliament  has  
been reformed1 and the long-desired     
mechanical security provided for  the   
voter's freedom4 ,we no longer aspire   
after all these things1 you may  say1   
because our hopes have been realised and
 our dreams have come true4  ,it is     
possible that the comparatively prosaic 
results before our eyes at  the end of  
all have thrown a chill over our        
political imagination4 ,what  seemed so 
glorious when it was far off1 seems     
perhaps a little poor now  that it is   
near2 and this has damped the wing of   
political fancy4 ,the  old aspirations  
have vanished1 and no new ones have     
arisen in their  place4 ,be the cause   

what it may1 ,i should express the      
change in this  way1 that the existing  
order of facts1 whatever it may be1 now 
takes a  hardly disputed precedence with
 us over ideas1 and that the coarsest   
political standard is undoubtingly and  
finally applied over the whole  realm of
 human thought4    ,the line taken up by
 the press and the governing classes of 
,england  during the ,american ,civil   
,war may serve to illustrate the kind of
 mood  which we conceive to be gaining  
firmer hold than ever of the national   
mind4 ,those who sympathised with the   
,southern ,states listened only to      
political arguments1 and very narrow and
 inefficient political  arguments1 as it
 happened1 when they ought to have seen 
that here was an  issue which involved  
not only political ideas1 but moral and 
religious  ideas as well4 ,that is to   
say1 the ordinary political tests were  
not  enough to reveal the entire        
significance of the crisis1 nor were the
  political standards proper for        

measuring the whole of the expediencies 
hanging in the balance4 ,the conflict   
could not be adequately gauged by  such 
questions as whether the ,slave ,states 
had or had not a  constitutional right  
to establish an independent government2 
whether the  ,free ,states were animated
 by philanthropy or by love of empire2  
whether  it was to the political        
advantage of ,england that the ,american
 ,union  should be divided and          
consequently weakened4 ,such questions  
were not  necessarily improper in       
themselves1 and we can imagine          
circumstances in  which they might be   
not only proper but decisive4 ,but1 the 
circumstances being what they were1 the 
narrower expediencies of  ordinary      
politics were outweighed by one of those
 supreme and  indefeasible expediencies 
which are classified as moral4 ,these   
are1 in  other words1 the higher1 wider1
 more binding1 and transcendent part of 
the master art of social wellbeing4     
,here was only one illustration of the  

growing tendency to substitute the      
narrowest political point of view for   
all the other ways of regarding  the    
course of human affairs1 and to raise   
the limitations which  practical        
exigencies may happen to set to the     
application of general  principles1 into
 the very place of the principles       
themselves4 ,nor is the  process of     
deteriorating conviction confined to the
 greater or noisier  transactions of    
nations4 ,it is impossible that it      
should be so4 ,that  process is due to  
causes which affect the mental temper an
 a whole1 and  pour round us an         
atmosphere that enervates our judgment  
from end to end1  not more in politics  
than in morality1 and not more in       
morality than in  philosophy1 in art1   
and in religion4 ,perhaps this tendency 
never showed  itself more offensively   
than when the most important newspaper  
in the  country criticised our great    
naturalist's scientific speculations as 
to  the descent of man1 from the point  

of view of property1 intelligence1  and 
a stake in the country1 and severely    
censured him for revealing his          
particular zoological conclusions to the
 general public1 at a moment  when the  
sky of ,paris was red with the          
incendiary flames of the ,commune4  ,it 
would be hard to reduce the             
transformation of all truth into a      
subordinate department of daily         
politics1 to a more gross and unseemly  
absurdity4    ,the consequences of such 
a transformation1 of putting immediate  
social  convenience in the first place1 
and respect for truth in the second1 are
  seen1 as we have said1 in a distinct  
and unmistakable lowering of the  level 
of national life2 a slack and lethargic 
quality about public  opinion2 a growing
 predominance of material1 temporary1   
and selfish  aims1 over those which are 
generous1 far-reaching1 and spiritual2 a
  deadly weakening of intellectual      
conclusiveness1 and clear-shining moral 
illumination1 and1 lastly1 of a certain 

stoutness of self-respect for  which    
,england was once especially famous4 ,a 
plain categorical  proposition is       
becoming less and less credible to      
average minds4 ,or at  least the        
slovenly willingness to hold two        
directly contradictory  propositions at 
one and the same time is becoming more  
and more common4  ,in religion1 morals1 
and politics1 the suppression of your   
true opinion1  if not the positive      
profession of what you hold to be a     
false opinion1  is hardly ever counted a
 vice1 and not seldom even goes for     
virtue and  solid wisdom4 ,one is       
conjured to respect the beliefs of      
others1 but  forbidden to claim the same
 respect for one's own4    ,this dread  
of the categorical proposition might be 
creditable1 if it  sprang from          
attachment to a very high standard of   
evidence1 or from a  deep sense of the  
relative and provisional quality of     
truth4 ,there might  even be a plausible
 defence set up for it1 if it sprang    

from that  formulated distrust of the   
energetic rational judgment in          
comparison  with the emotional1         
affective1 contemplative parts of man1  
which  underlies the various forms of   
religious mysticism4 ,if you look       
closely  into our present mood1 it is   
seen to be the product mainly and above 
all  of a shrinking deference to the    
status quo1 not merely as having a      
claim not to be lightly dealt with1     
which every serious man concedes1  but  
as being the last word and final test of
 truth and justice4 ,physical  science  
is allowed to be the sphere of accurate 
reasoning and distinct  conclusions1 but
 in morals and politics1 instead of     
admitting that these  subjects have     
equally a logic of their own1 we        
silently suspect all  first principles1 
and practically deny the strict         
inferences from  demonstrated premisses4
 ,faith in the soundness of given       
general theories  of right and wrong    
melts away before the first momentary   

triumph of  wrong1 or the first passing 
discouragement in enforcing right4      
,our robust political sense1 which has  
discovered so many of the secrets  of   
good government1 which has given us     
freedom with order1 and popular         
administration without corruption1 and  
unalterable respect for law along  with 
indelible respect for individual right1 
this1 which has so long  been our strong
 point1 is fast becoming our weakness   
and undoing4 ,for  the extension of the 
ways of thinking which are proper in    
politics1 to  other than political      
matter1 means at the same time the      
depravation of  the political sense     
itself4 ,not only is social expediency  
effacing the  many other points of view 
that men ought to take of the various   
facts of  life and thought3 the idea of 
social expediency itself is becoming a  
dwarfed and pinched idea4 ,ours is the  
country where love of constant          
improvement ought to be greater than    
anywhere else1 because fear of          

revolution is less4 ,yet the art of     
politics is growing to be as meanly     
conceived as all the rest ,at elections 
the national candidate has not  often a 
chance against the local candidate1 nor 
the man of a principle  against the man 
of a class4 ,in parliament we are       
admonished on high  authority that 'the 
policy of a party is not the carrying   
out of the  opinion of any section of   
it1 but the general consensus of the    
whole1'  which seems to be a            
hierophantic manner of saying that the  
policy of a  party is one thing1 and the
 principle which makes it a party is    
another  thing1 and that men who care   
very strongly about anything are to     
surrender that and the hope of it1 for  
the sake of succeeding in  something    
about which they care very little or not
 at all4 ,this is our  modern way of    
giving politicians heart for their      
voyage1 of inspiring  them with         
resoluteness and self-respect1 with     
confidence in the worth of  their cause 

and enthusiasm for its success4         
,thoroughness is a mistake1  and nailing
 your flag to the mast a bit of delusive
 heroics4 ,think  wholly of to-day1 and 
not at all of to-morrow4 ,beware of the 
high and  hold fast to the safe4        
,dismiss conviction1 and study general  
consensus4  ,no zeal1 no faith1 no      
intellectual trenchancy1 but as much    
low-minded  geniality and trivial       
complaisance as you please4    ,of      
course1 all these characteristics of our
 own society mark tendencies  that are  
common enough in all societies4 ,they   
often spring from an  indolence and     
enervation that besets a certain number 
of people1 however  invigorating the    
general mental climate may be4 ,what we 
are now saying  is that the general     
mental climate itself has1 outside of   
the domain of  physical science1 ceased 
to be invigorating2 that1 on the        
contrary1 it  fosters the more          
inglorious predispositions of men1 and  
encourages a  native willingness1       

already so strong1 to acquiesce in a    
lazy  accommodation with error1 an      
ignoble economy of truth1 and a vicious 
compromise of the permanent gains of    
adhering to a sound general  principle1 
for the sake of the temporary gains of  
departing from it4      ,without        
attempting an elaborate analysis of the 
causes that have brought  about this    
debilitation of mental tone1 we may     
shortly remind ourselves  of one or two 
facts in the political history1 in the  
intellectual  history1 and in the       
religious history of this generation1   
which perhaps  help us to understand a  
phenomenon that we have all so keen an  
interest  both in understanding and in  
modifying4    ,to begin with what lies  
nearest to the surface4 ,the most       
obvious agency  at work in the present  
exaggeration of the political standard  
as the  universal test of truth1 is to  
be found in some contemporary incidents4
  ,the influence of ,france upon        
,england since the revolution of #ahdh  

has  tended wholly to the discredit of  
abstract theory and general reasoning   
among us1 in all that relates to        
politics1 morals1 and religion4 ,in     
#ahdh1 not in #aghi1 questions affecting
 the fundamental structure and  organic 
condition of the social union came for  
the first time into  formidable         
prominence4 ,for the first time those   
questions and the  answers to them were 
stated in articulate formulas and       
distinct  theories4 ,they were not      
merely written in books2 they so        
fascinated the  imagination and inflamed
 the hopes of the time1 that thousands  
of men  were willing actually to go down
 into the streets and to shed their     
blood for the realisation of their      
generous dream of a renovated  society4 
,the same sight has been seen since1 and
 even when we do not see  it1 we are    
perfectly aware that the same temper is 
smouldering4 ,those  were premature     
attempts to convert a crude aspiration  
into a political  reality1 and to found 

a new social order on a number of       
umcompromising  deductions from abstract
 principles of the common weal4 ,they   
have had  the natural effect of         
deepening the ,english dislike of a     
general theory1  even when such a theory
 did no more than profess to announce a 
remote  object of desire1 and not the   
present goal of immediate effort4    ,it
 is not only the ,socialists who are    
responsible for the low esteem  into    
which a spirit of political             
generalisation has fallen in other      
countries1 in consequence of ,french    
experience4 ,mr4 ,mill has described  in
 a well-known passage the characteristic
 vice of the leaders of all  ,french    
parties1 and not of the democratic party
 more than any other4  ',the            
commonplaces of politics in ,france1' he
 says1 'are large and  sweeping         
practical maxims1 from which1 as        
ultimate premisses1 men reason          
downwards to particular applications1   
and this they call being logical  and   

consistent4 ,for instance1 they are     
perpetually arguing that such and  such 
a measure ought to be adopted1 because  
it is a consequence of the  principle on
 which the form of government is        
founded2 of the principle  of           
legitimacy1 or the principle of the     
sovereignty of the people4 ,to  which it
 may be answered that if these be really
 practical principles1  they must rest  
on speculative grounds2 the sovereignty 
of the people  7for example7 must be a  
right foundation for government1 because
 a  government thus constituted tends to
 produce certain beneficial effects4    
,inasmuch1 however1 as no government    
produces all possible beneficial        
effects1 but all are attended with more 
or fewer inconveniences2 and  since     
these cannot be combated by means drawn 
from the very causes which  produce     
them1 it would often be a much stronger 
recommendation of some  practical       
arrangement that it does not follow from
 what is called the  general principle  

of the government1 than that it does1'#b
    ,the ,english feeling for compromise
 is on its better side the result of a  
shrewd and practical1 though informal1  
recognition of a truth which the  writer
 has here expressed in terms of ,method4
 ,the disregard which the  political    
action of ,france has repeatedly        
betrayed of a principle really  so      
important has hitherto strengthened our 
own regard for it1 until it  has not    
only made us look on its importance as  
exclusive and final1 but  has extended  
our respect for the right kind of       
compromise to wrong and  injurious      
kinds4    ,a minor event1 which now     
looks much less important than it did   
not many  years ago1 but which still had
 real influence in deteriorating moral  
judgment1 was the career of a late      
sovereign of ,france4 ,some apparent    
advantages followed for a season from a 
rule which had its origin in a  violent 
and perfidious usurpation1 and which was
 upheld by all the arts  of moral       

corruption1 political enervation1 and   
military repression4 ,the  advantages   
lasted long enough to create in this    
country a steady and  powerful opinion  
that ,napoleon the ,third's early crime 
was redeemed by  the seeming prosperity 
which followed4 ,the shocking           
prematureness of  this shallow          
condonation is now too glaringly visible
 for any one to  deny it4 ,not often in 
history has the great truth that        
'morality is the  nature of things'     
received corroboration so prompt and    
timely4 ,we need  not commit ourselves  
to the optimistic or sentimental        
hypothesis that  wickedness always fares
 ill in the world1 or on the other hand 
that  whoso hearkens diligently to the  
divine voice1 and observes all the      
commandments to do them1 shall be       
blessed in his basket and his store  and
 all the work of his hand4 ,the claims  
of morality to our allegiance1  so far  
as its precepts are solidly established1
 rest on the same  positive base as our 

faith in the truth of physical laws4    
,moral  principles1 when they are true1 
are at bottom only registered           
generalisations from experience4 ,they  
record certain uniformities of          
antecedence and consequence in the      
region of human conduct ,want of faith  
in the persistency of these uniformities
 is only a little less fatuous  in the  
moral order than a corresponding want of
 faith would instantly  disclose itself 
to be in the purely physical order4 ,in 
both orders alike  there is only too    
much of this kind of fatuousness1 this  
readiness to  believe that for once in  
our favour the stream shall flow up     
hill1 that  we may live in miasmatic air
 unpoisoned1 that a government may      
depress  the energy1 the self-reliance1 
the public spirit of its citizens1 and  
yet be able to count on these qualities 
whenever the government itself  may have
 broken down1 and left the country to   
make the best of such  resources as are 
left after so severe and prolonged a    

drain4 ,this is the  sense in which     
morality is the nature of things4 ,the  
system of the  ,second ,empire was in   
the same sense an immoral system4       
,unless all the  lessons of human       
experience were futile1 and all the     
principles of  political morality mere  
articles of pedantry1 such a system must
  inevitably bring disaster1 as we might
 have seen that it was sowing the  seeds
 of disaster4 ,yet because the          
catastrophe lingered1 opinion in        
,england began to admit the possibility 
of evil being for this once good1  and  
to treat any reference to the moral and 
political principles which  condemned   
the imperial system1 and all systems    
like it1 beyond hope or  appeal1 as     
simply the pretext of a mutinous or     
,utopian impatience4    ,this1 however1 
is only one of the more superficial     
influences which have  helped and fallen
 in with the working of profounder      
causes of weakened  aspiration and      
impoverished moral energy1 and of the   

substitution of  latitudinarian         
acquiescence and faltering conviction   
for the  whole-hearted assurance of     
better times4 ,of these deeper causes1  
the  most important in the intellectual 
development of the prevailing forms  of 
thought and sentiment is the growth of  
the ,historic ,method4 ,let us  consider
 very shortly how the abuse of this     
method1 and an unauthorised  extension  
and interpretation of its conclusions1  
are likely to have had  something to do 
with the enervation of opinion4    ,the 
,historic ,method may be described as   
the comparison of the forms of  an idea1
 or a usage1 or a belief1 at any given  
time1 with the earlier  forms from which
 they were evolved1 or the later forms  
into which they  were developed1 and the
 establishment1 from such a comparison1 
of an  ascending and descending order   
among the facts4 ,it consists in the    
explanation of existing parts in the    
frame of society by connecting them     
with corresponding parts in some earlier

 frame2 in the identification of        
present forms in the past1 and past     
forms in the present4 ,its main  process
 is the detection of corresponding      
customs1 opinions1 laws1  beliefs1 among
 different communities1 and a grouping  
of them into  general classes with      
reference to some one common feature4   
,it is a  certain way of seeking answers
 to various questions of origin1 resting
  on the same general doctrine of       
evolution1 applied to moral and social  
forms1 as that which is being applied   
with so much ingenuity to the  series of
 organic matter4 ,the historic          
conception is a reference of  every     
state of society to a particular stage  
in the evolution of its  general        
conditions4 ,ideas of law1 of virtue1 of
 religion1 of the  physical universe1 of
 history1 of the social union itself1   
all march in  a harmonious and          
inter-dependent order4    ,curiosity    
with reference to origins is for various
 reasons the most  marked element among 

modern scientific tendencies4 ,it covers
 the whole  field1 moral1 intellectual1 
and physical1 from the smile or the     
frown on  a man's face1 up to the most  
complex of the ideas in his mind2 from  
the  expression of his emotions1 to     
their root and relations with one       
another  in his inmost organisation4 ,as
 an ingenious writer1 too soon lost to  
our  political literature1 has put      
it3--',if we wanted to describe one of  
the  most marked results1 perhaps the   
most marked result1 of late thought1 we 
should say that by it everything is made
 an antiquity4 ,when in former  times   
our ancestors thought of an antiquarian1
 they described him as  occupied with   
coins and medals and ,druids' stones4   
,but now there are  other relics2 indeed
 all matter is become such4 ,man himself
 has to the  eye of science become an   
antiquity4 ,she tries to read1 is       
beginning to  read1 knows she ought to  
read1 in the frame of each man the      
result of a  whole history of all his   

life1 and what he is and what makes him 
so4'#c  ,character is considered less   
with reference to its absolute qualities
  than as an interesting scene strewn   
with scattered rudiments1 survivals1    
inherited predispositions4 ,opinions are
 counted rather as phenomena to  be     
explained than as matters of truth and  
falsehood4 ,of usages1 we are  beginning
 first of all to think where they came  
from1 and secondarily  whether they are 
the most fitting and convenient that men
 could be got  to accept4 ,in the last  
century men asked of a belief or a      
story1 ,is it  true8 ,we now ask1 ,how  
did men come to take it for true8 ,in   
short the  relations among social       
phenomena which now engage most         
attention1 are  relations of original   
source1 rather than those of actual     
consistency in  theory and actual       
fitness in practice4 ,the devotees of   
the current  method are more concerned  
with the pedigree and genealogical      
connections  of a custom or an idea than

 with its own proper goodness or        
badness1 its  strength or its weakness4 
,though there is no necessary or truly  
logical association between  systematic 
use of this method rightly limited1 and 
a slack and slipshod  preference of     
vague general forms over definite ideas1
 yet every one can  see its tendency1 if
 uncorrected1 to make men shrink from   
importing  anything like absolute       
quality into their propositions4 ,we can
 see also1  what is still worse1 its    
tendency to place individual robustness 
and  initiative in the light of         
superfluities1 with which a world that  
goes  by evolution can very well        
dispense4 ,men easily come to consider  
clearness and positiveness in their     
opinions1 staunchness in holding and    
defending them1 and fervour in carrying 
them into action1 as equivocal  virtues 
of very doubtful perfection1 in a state 
of things where every  abuse has after  
all had a defensible origin2 where every
 error has1 we  must confess1 once been 

true relatively to other parts of belief
 in  those who held the error2 and where
 all parts of life are so bound up  with
 one another1 that it is of no avail to 
attack one evil1 unless you  attack many
 more at the same time4 ,this is a      
caricature of the real  teaching of the 
,historic ,method1 of which we shall    
have to speak  presently2 but it is one 
of those caricatures which the natural  
sloth in  such matters1 and the         
indigenous intellectual haziness of the 
majority  of men1 make them very willing
 to take for the true philosophy of     
things4      ,then there is the         
newspaper press1 that huge engine for   
keeping  discussion on a low level1 and 
making the political test final4 ,to    
take  off the taxes on knowledge was to 
place a heavy tax on broad and          
independent opinion4 ,the multiplication
 of journals 'delivering brawling       
judgments unashamed on all things all   
day long1' has done much to deaden  the 
small stock of individuality in public  

verdicts4 ,it has done much to  make    
vulgar ways of looking at things and    
vulgar ways of speaking of  them        
stronger and stronger1 by formulating   
and repeating and  stereotyping them    
incessantly from morning until          
afternoon1 and from  year's end to      
year's end4 ,for a newspaper must live1 
and to live it must  please1 and its    
conductors suppose1 perhaps not         
altogether rightly1 that  it can only   
please by being very cheerful towards   
prejudices1 very  chilly to general     
theories1 loftily disdainful to the men 
of a  principle4 ,their one cry to an   
advocate of improvement is some         
sagacious  silliness about recognising  
the limits of the practicable in        
politics1  and seeing the necessity of  
adapting theories to facts4 ,as if the  
fact  of taking a broader and wiser view
 than the common crowd disqualifies a   
man from knowing what the view of the   
common crowd happens to be1 and  from   
estimating it at the proper value for   

practical purposes4 ,why are  the men   
who despair of improvement to be the    
only persons endowed with  the gift of  
discerning the practicable8 ,it is1     
however1 only too easy to  understand   
how a journal1 existing for a day1      
should limit its view to  the           
possibilities of the day1 and how1 being
 most closely affected by  the          
particular1 it should coldly turn its   
back upon all that is general4  ,and it 
is easy1 too1 to understand the reaction
 of this intellectual  timorousness upon
 the minds of ordinary readers1 who have
 too little  natural force and too      
little cultivation to be able to resist 
the  narrowing and deadly effect of the 
daily iteration of short-sighted        
commonplaces4      ,far the most        
penetrating of all the influences that  
are impairing the  moral and            
intellectual nerve of our generation1   
remain still to be  mentioned4 ,the     
first of these is the immense increase  
of material  prosperity1 and the second 

is the immense decline in sincerity of  
spiritual interest4 ,the evil wrought by
 the one fills up the measure of  the   
evil wrought by the other4 ,we have     
been1 in spite of momentary             
declensions1 on a flood tide of high    
profits and a roaring trade1 and  there 
is nothing like a roaring trade for     
engendering latitudinarians4  ,the      
effect of many possessions1 especially  
if they be newly acquired1 in           
slackening moral vigour1 is a proverb4  
,our new wealth is hardly leavened  by  
any tradition of public duty such as    
lingers among the ,english  nobles1 nor 
as yet by any common custom of devotion 
to public causes1  such as seems to live
 and grow in the ,united ,states4 ,under
 such  conditions1 with new wealth come 
luxury and love of ease and that fatal  
readiness to believe that ,god has      
placed us in the best of possible       
worlds1 which so lowers men's aims and  
unstrings their firmness of  purpose4   
,pleasure saps high interests1 and the  

weakening of high  interests leaves more
 undisputed room for pleasure4          
,management and  compromise appear among
 the permitted arts1 because they tend  
to  comfort1 and comfort is the end of  
ends1 comprehending all ends4 ,not      
truth is the standard1 but the politic  
and the reputable4 ,are we to  suppose  
that it is firm persuasion of the       
greater scripturalness of  episcopacy   
that turns the second generation of     
dissenting manufacturers  in our busy   
,lancashire into churchmen8 ,certainly  
such conversions do no  violence to the 
conscience of the proselyte1 for he is  
intellectually  indifferent1 a spiritual
 neuter4    ,that brings us to the root 
of the matter1 the serious side of a    
revolution that in this social          
consequence is so unspeakably ignoble4  
,this root of the matter is the slow    
transformation now at work of the  whole
 spiritual basis of thought4 ,every age 
is in some sort an age of  transition1  
but our own is characteristically and   

cardinally an epoch of  transition in   
the very foundations of belief and      
conduct4 ,the old hopes  have grown     
pale1 the old fears dim2 strong         
sanctions are become weak1  and once    
vivid faiths very numb4 ,religion1      
whatever destinies may be in  store for 
it1 is at least for the present hardly  
any longer an organic  power4 ,it is not
 that supreme1 penetrating1 controlling1
 decisive part  of a man's life1 which  
it has been1 and will be again4 ,the    
work of  destruction is all the more    
perturbing to timorous spirits1 and more
  harassing even to doughtier spirits1  
for being done impalpably1  indirectly1 
almost silently and as if by unseen     
hands4 ,those who dwell  in the tower of
 ancient faiths look about them in      
constant  apprehension1 misgiving1 and  
wonder1 with the hurried uneasy mien of 
people living amid earthquakes4 ,the air
 seems to their alarms to be full  of   
missiles1 and all is doubt1 hesitation1 
and shivering expectancy4  ,hence a     

decisive reluctance to commit one's     
self4 ,conscience has lost  its strong  
and on-pressing energy1 and the sense of
 personal  responsibility lacks         
sharpness of edge4 ,the native hue of   
spiritual  resolution is sicklied o'er  
with the pale cast of distracted1       
wavering1  confused thought4 ,the souls 
of men have become void4 ,into the void 
have  entered in triumph the seven      
devils of ,secularity4    ,and all this 
hesitancy1 this tampering with          
conviction for fear of its              
consequences1 this want of faithful     
dealing in the highest matters1 is      
being intensified1 aggravated1 driven   
inwards like a fatal disorder  toward   
the vital parts1 by the existence of a  
,state ,church4 ,while  thought stirs   
and knowledge extends1 she remains fast 
moored by ancient  formularies4 ,while  
the spirit of man expands in search     
after new light1  and feels             
energetically for new truth1 the spirit 
of the ,church is  eternally entombed   

within the four corners of acts of      
parliament4 ,her  ministers vow almost  
before they have crossed the threshold  
of manhood  that they will search no    
more4 ,they virtually swear that they   
will to  the end of their days believe  
what they believe then1 before they have
  had time either to think or to know   
the thoughts of others4 ,they take      
oath1 in other words1 to lead mutilated 
lives4 ,if they cannot keep this  solemn
 promise1 they have at least every      
inducement that ordinary human  motives 
can supply1 to conceal their breach of  
it4 ,the same system which  begins by   
making mental indolence a virtue and    
intellectual narrowness a  part of      
sanctity1 ends by putting a premium on  
something too like  hypocrisy4 ,consider
 the seriousness of fastening up in     
these bonds some  thousands of the most 
instructed and intelligent classes in   
the country1  the very men who would    
otherwise be best fitted from position  
and  opportunities for aiding a little  

in the long1 difficult1 and plainly     
inevitable work of transforming opinion4
 ,consider the waste of  intelligence1  
and what is assuredly not less grave1   
the positive  dead-weight and thick     
obstruction1 by which an official       
hierarchy so  organised must paralyse   
mental independence in a community4     
,we know the kind of man whom this      
system delights to honour4 ,he was      
described for us five and thirty years  
ago by a master hand4 ',mistiness  is   
the mother of wisdom4 ,a man who can set
 down half a dozen general  propositions
 which escape from destroying one       
another only by being  diluted into     
truisms2 who can hold the balance       
between opposites so  skilfully as to do
 without fulcrum or beam2 who never     
enunciates a truth  without guarding    
himself against being supposed to       
exclude the  contradictory1--who holds  
that scripture is the only authority1   
yet that  the ,church is to be deferred 
to1 that faith only justifies1 yet that 

it  does not justify without works1 that
 grace does not depend upon the         
sacraments1 yet is not given without    
them1 that bishops are a divine         
ordinance1 yet that those who have them 
not are in the same religious  condition
 as those who have1--this is your safe  
man and the hope of the  ,church2 this  
is what the ,church is said to want1 not
 party men1 but  sensible1 temperate1   
sober1 well-judging persons1 to guide it
 through  the channel of no meaning1    
between the ,scylla and ,charybdis of   
,aye and  ,no4'#d ,the writer then      
thought that such a type could not      
endure1 and  that the ,church must      
become more real4 ,on the contrary1 her 
reality is  more phantom-like now than  
it was then4 ,she is the sovereign      
pattern and  exemplar of management1 of 
the triumph of the political method in  
spiritual things1 and of the            
subordination of ideas to the status    
quo4    ,it is true that all other      
organised priesthoods are also bodies   

which  move within formularies even more
 inelastic than those of the            
,establishment4 ,but then they have not 
the same immense social power1 nor  the 
same temptations to make all sacrifices 
to preserve it4 ,they affect  the       
intellectual temper of large numbers of 
people1 but the people whom  they affect
 are not so strongly identified with the
 greater organs of  the national life4  
,the ,state ,church is bound up in the  
minds of the most  powerful classes with
 a given ordering of social             
arrangements1 and the  consequence of   
this is that the teachers of the ,church
 have reflected  back upon thorn a sense
 of responsibility for these            
arrangements1 which  obscures their     
spirituality1 clogs their intellectual  
energy and mental  openness1 and turns  
them into a political army of           
obstruction to new  ideas4 ,they feel   
themselves to a certain extent          
discharged from the  necessity of       
recognising the tremendous conflict in  

the region of belief  that goes on      
around them1 just as if they were purely
 civil  administrators1 concerned only  
with the maintenance of the present     
order4 ,none of this is true of the     
private ,churches4 ,their teachers and  
members regard belief as something      
wholly independent of the civil         
ordering of things4 ,however little     
enlightened in some respects1 however   
hostile to certain of the ideas by which
 it is sought to replace their  own1    
they are at least representatives of the
 momentous principle of our  individual 
responsibility for the truth of our     
opinions4 ,they may bring  their        
judgments to conclusions that are less  
in accord with modern  tendencies than  
those of one or two schools that still  
see their way to  subscribing ,anglican 
articles and administering ,anglican    
rites4 ,at any  rate1 they admit that   
the use of his judgment is a duty       
incumbent on the  individual1 and a duty
 to be discharged without reference to  

any  external considerations whatever1  
political or otherwise4 ,this is an     
elevating1 an exhilarating principle1   
however deficiencies of culture  may    
have narrowed the sphere of its         
operations4 ,it is because a ,state     
,church is by its very conception       
hostile to such a principle1 that we    
are justified in counting it apart from 
the private ,churches with all  their   
faults1 and placing it among the        
agencies that weaken the vigour  of a   
national conscience and check the free  
play and access of  intellectual light4 
,here we may leave the conditions that  
have made an inquiry as to some of  the 
limits of compromise1 which must always 
be an interesting and  important        
subject1 one of especial interest and   
importance to ourselves  at present4 ,is
 any renovation of the sacredness of    
principle a possible  remedy for some of
 these elements of national             
deterioration8 ,they will  not disappear
 until the world has grown into         

possession of a new  doctrine4 ,when    
that comes1 all other good things will  
follow4 ,what we  have to remember is   
that the new doctrine itself will never 
come1 except  to spirits predisposed to 
their own liberation4 ,our day of small 
calculations and petty utilities must   
first pass away2 our vision of the  true
 expediencies must reach further and    
deeper2 our resolution to  search for   
the highest verities1 to give up all and
 follow them1 must  first become the    
supreme part of ourselves4              
,,footnotes3    ,footnote #a3 ,see      
below1 ch4 iii4    ,footnote #b3 ,system
 of ,logic1 bk4 vi4 ch4 xi4    ,footnote
 #c3 ,bagehot4    ,footnote #d3 ,dr4    
,j4,h4 ,newman's ,essays ,critical and  
,historical1 vol4 i4  p4 #cja4          
,,chapter ,,ii4      ,,of ,,the         
,,possible ,,utility ,,of ,,error4      
,das ,wahre frdert2 aus dem ,irrthum    
entwickelt          sich nichts1 er     
verwickeltuns nur4--          ,,goethe4 
,at the outset of an inquiry how far    

existing facts ought to be allowed  to  
overrule ideas and principles that are  
at variance with them1 a  preliminary   
question lies in our way1 about which it
 may be well to say  something4 ,this is
 the question of a dual doctrine4 ,in   
plainer words1  the question whether it 
is expedient that the more enlightened  
classes  in a community should upon     
system not only possess their light in  
silence1 but whether they should openly 
encourage a doctrine for the  less      
enlightened classes which they do not   
believe to be true for  themselves1     
while they regard it as indispensably   
useful in the case of  less fortunate   
people4 ,an eminent teacher tells us how
 after he had  once succeeded in        
presenting the principle of ,necessity  
to his own mind  in a shape which seemed
 to bring with it all the advantages of 
the  principle of ,free ,will1 he 'no   
longer suffered under the burden so     
heavy  to one who aims at being a       
reformer in opinions1 of thinking one   

doctrine true1 and the contrary doctrine
 morally beneficial4'#e ,the            
discrepancy which this writer thought a 
heavy burden has struck others  as the  
basis of a satisfactory solution4       
,nil dulcius est bene quam munita tenere
    ,edita doctrina sapientum templa    
serena1    ,despicere unde queas alios  
passimque videre    ,errare atque viam  
palantes quaerere vitae4    ,the learned
 are to hold the true doctrine2 the     
unlearned are to be  taught its morally 
beneficial contrary4 ',let the ,church1'
 it has been  said1 'admit two          
descriptions of believers1 those who are
 for the  letter1 and those who hold by 
the spirit4 ,at a certain point in      
rational  culture1 belief in the        
supernatural becomes for many an        
impossibility2  do not force such       
persons to wear a cowl of lead4 ,do not 
you meddle with  what we teach or write1
 and then we will not dispute the common
 people  with you2 do not contest our   
place in the school and the academy1 and

  then we will surrender to your hands  
the country school4'#f ,this is  only a 
very courageous and definite way of     
saying what a great many less           
accomplished persons than ,m4 ,renan    
have silently in their hearts1 and in   
,england quite as extensively as in     
,france4 ,they do not believe in hell1  
for instance1 but they think hell a     
useful fiction for the lower  classes4  
,they would deeply regret any change in 
the spirit or the  machinery of public  
instruction which would release the     
lower classes  from so wholesome an     
error4 ,and as with hell1 so with other 
articles of  the supernatural system2   
the existence of a ,being who will      
distribute  rewards and penalties in a  
future state1 the permanent sentience of
 each  human personality1 the vigilant  
supervision of our conduct1 as well as  
our inmost thoughts and desires1 by the 
heavenly powers2 and so forth4    ,let  
us discuss this matter impersonally1    
without reference to our own  opinions  

and without reference to the evidence   
for or against their  truth4 ,i am not  
speaking now of those who hold all these
 ideas to be  certainly true1 or highly 
probable1 and who at the same time      
incidentally insist on the great        
usefulness of such ideas in confirming  
morality and producing virtuous types of
 character4 ,with such persons1  of     
course1 there is no question of a dual  
doctrine4 ,they entertain  certain      
convictions themselves1 and naturally   
desire to have their  influence extended
 over others4 ,the proposition which we 
have to  consider is of another kind4   
,it expresses the notions of those      
who--to  take the most important kind of
 illustration--think untrue the popular 
ideas of supernatural interference in   
our obscure human affairs2 who  think   
untrue the notion of the prolongation of
 our existence after death  to fulfil   
the purpose of the supernatural powers2 
or at least who think  them so extremely
 improbable that no reasonable man or   

woman1 once  awakened to a conviction of
 this improbability1 would thenceforth  
be  capable of receiving effective check
 or guidance from beliefs1 that  would  
have sunk slowly down to the level of   
doubtful guesses4 ,we have  now to deal 
with those who while taking this view of
 certain doctrines1  still declare them 
to be indispensable for restraining from
 anti-social  conduct all who are not   
acute or instructed enough to see       
through them4  ,in other words1 they    
think error useful1 and that it may be  
the best  thing for society that masses 
of men should cheat and deceive         
themselves  in their most fervent       
aspirations and their deepest           
assurances4 ,this is  the furthest      
extreme to which the empire of existing 
facts over  principles can well be      
imagined to go4 ,it lies at the root of 
every  discussion upon the limits which 
separate lawful compromise or           
accommodation from palpable hypocrisy4  
,it will probably be said that according

 to the theory of the school of  which  
,m4 ,renan is the most eloquent         
representative1 the common people  are  
not really cheating themselves or being 
cheated4 ,indeed ,m4 ,renan  himself has
 expatiated on the charm of seeing      
figures of the ideal in  the cottages of
 the poor1 images representing no       
reality1 and so forth4  ',what a        
delight1' he cries1 'for the man who is 
borne down by six days  of toil to come 
on the seventh to rest upon his knees1  
to contemplate  the tall columns1 a     
vault1 arches1 an altar2 to listen to   
the chanting1  to hear moral and        
consoling words6'#g ,the dogmas which   
criticism  attacks are not for these    
poor people 'the object of an explicit  
affirmation1' and therefore there is no 
harm in them2 'it is the  privilege of  
pure sentiment to be invulnerable1 and  
to play with poison  without being hurt 
by it4' ,in other words1 the dogmas are 
false1 but the  liturgy1 as a           
performance stirring the senses of awe1 

reverence1  susceptibility to beauty of 
various kinds1 appeals to and satisfies 
a  sentiment that is both true and      
indispensable in the human mind4 ,more  
than this1 in the two or three supreme  
moments of life to which men look       
forward and on which they look back1--at
 birth1 at the passing of the  threshold
 into fulness of life1 at marriage1 at  
death1--the ,church is  present to      
invest the hour with a certain solemn   
and dignified charm4  ,that is the way  
in which the instructed are to look at  
the services of a  ,church1 after they  
have themselves ceased to believe its   
faith1 us a  true account of various    
matters which it professes to account   
for  truly4    ,it will be perceived    
that this is not exactly the ground of  
those who  think a number of what they  
confess to be untruths1 wholesome for   
the  common people for reasons of       
police1 and who would maintain churches 
on  the same principle on which they    
maintain the county constabulary4 ,it is

  a psychological1 not a political      
ground4 ,it is on the whole a more true1
  as well as a far more exalted         
position4 ,the human soul1 they say1 has
  these lovely and elevating            
aspirations2 not to satisfy them is to  
leave  man a dwarfed creature4 ,why     
quarrel with a system that leaves you to
  satisfy them in the true way1 and does
 much to satisfy thorn in a false  but  
not very harmful way among those who    
unfortunately have to sit in  the       
darkness of the outer court8    ,this is
 not a proper occasion for saying       
anything about the adequateness  of the 
catholic1 or any other special manner of
 fostering and solacing  the religious  
impulses of men4 ,we have to assume that
 the instructed  class believe the      
catholic dogmas to be untrue1 and yet   
wishes the  uninstructed to be handed   
over to a system that reposes on the    
theory  that these dogmas are           
superlatively true4 ,what then is to be 
said of the  tenableness of such a      

position8 ,to the plain man it looks    
like a  deliberate connivance at a plan 
for the propagation of error--assuming1 
as ,i say1 for the moment1 that these   
articles of belief are erroneous  and   
contrary to fact and evidence4 ,ah1 but1
 we are told1 the people make  no       
explicit affirmation of dogma2 that does
 nothing for them2 they are  indifferent
 to it4 ,a great variety of things might
 be said to this  statement4 ,we might  
ask1 for instance1 whether the people   
ever made an  explicit affirmation of   
dogma in the past1 or whether it was    
always the  hazy indifferent matter     
which it is supposed to be now4 ,if so1 
whether  we shall not have to re-cast   
our most fundamental notions of the way 
in  which ,christian civilisation has   
been evolved4 ,if not1 and if people did
  once explicitly affirm dogma1 when    
exactly was it that they ceased to do   
so8    ,the answers to these questions  
would all go to show that at the time   
when religion was the great controlling 

and organising force in conduct1  the   
prime elemental dogmas were accepted    
with the most vivid conviction  of      
reality4 ,i do not pretend that the     
common people followed all the          
inferences which the intellectual       
subtlety of the master-spirits of       
theology drew so industriously from the 
simple premisses of scripture  and      
tradition4 ,but assuredly dogma was at  
the foundation of the whole  structure4 
,when did it cease to be so8 ,how was   
the structure supported1  after you had 
altered this condition of things8       
,apart from this historic issue1 the    
main question one would like to put  to 
the upholder of duality of religion on  
this plea1 is the simple one1  whether  
the power of the ceremonial which charms
 him so much is not  actually at this   
moment drawn wholly from dogma and the  
tradition of  dogma2 whether its truth  
is not explicitly affirmed to the       
unlettered  man1 and whether the        
inseparable connection between the dogma

 and the  ceremonial is not constantly  
impressed upon him by the spiritual     
teachers to whom the dual system hands  
him and his order over for all  time8   
,if any one of those philosophic critics
 will take the trouble to  listen to a  
few courses of sermons at the present   
day1 and the remark  applies not less to
 protestant than to catholic churches1  
he will find  that instead of that      
'parole morale et consolante' which is  
so  soothing to think of1 the pulpit is 
now the home of fervid controversy  and 
often exacerbated declamation in favour 
of ancient dogma against  modern        
science4 ,we do not say whether this is 
or is not the wisest line  for the      
clergy to follow4 ,we only press the    
fact against those who wish  us to      
believe that dogma counts for nothing in
 the popular faith1 and  that therefore 
we need not be uneasy as to its effects4
    ,next1 one would say to those who   
think that all will go well if you      
divide the community into two classes1  

one privileged to use its own  mind1 the
 other privileged to have its mind used 
by a priesthood1 that  they overlook the
 momentous circumstance of these        
professional upholders  of dogmatic     
systems being also possessed of a vast  
social influence in  questions that     
naturally belong to another sphere4     
,there is hardly a  single great        
controversy in modern politics1 where   
the statesman does  not find himself in 
immediate contact with the real or      
supposed  interests1 and with the active
 or passive sentiment1 of one of these  
religious systems4 ,therefore if the    
instructed or intellectually  privileged
 class cheerfully leave the field open  
to men who1 ex  hypothesi1 are presumed 
to be less instructed1 narrower1 more   
impenetrable by reason1 and the         
partisans of the letter against the     
spirit1 then this result follows4 ,they 
are deliberately strengthening  the     
hands of the persons least fitted by    
judgment1 experience1 and  temper1 for  

using such power rightly4 ,and they are 
strengthening them  not merely in       
dealing with religious matters1 but1    
what is of more  importance1 in dealing 
with an endless variety of the gravest  
social and  political matters4 ,it is   
impossible to map out the exact         
dimensions of  the field in which a man 
shall exercise his influence1 and to    
which he  is to be rigorously confined4 
,give men influence in one matter1      
especially if that be such a matter as  
religious belief and ceremonial1  and it
 is simply impossible that this         
influence shall not extend with  more or
 less effect over as much of the whole  
sphere of conduct as they  may choose   
surrendering the common people without  
dispute or effort to  organised         
priesthoods for religious purposes1 you 
would be inevitably  including a vast   
number of other purposes in the         
self-same destination4  ,this does not  
in the least prejudice practical ways of
 dealing with  certain existing         

circumstances1 such as the propriety or 
justice of  allowing a catholic people  
to have a catholic university4 ,it is   
only an  argument against erecting into 
a complete and definite formula the     
division of a society into two great    
castes1 the one with a religion of  the 
spirit1 the other with a creed of the   
letter4    ,again1 supposing that the   
enlightened caste were to consent to    
abandon  the common people to what are  
assumed to be lower and narrower forms  
of  truth1--which is after all little   
more than a fine phrase for forms of    
falsehood1--what can be more futile than
 to suppose that such a  compromise will
 be listened to for a single moment by a
 caste whose  first principle is that   
they are the possessors and ministers1  
not of an  inferior or superior form of 
truth1 but of the very truth itself1    
absolute1 final1 complete1 divinely     
sent1 infallibly interpreted8 ,the      
disciples of the relative may afford to 
compromise4 ,the disciples of the       

absolute1 never4    ,we shall see other 
objections as we go on to this state of 
things1 in  which a minority holds true 
opinions and abandons the majority to   
false  ones4 ,at the bottom of the      
advocacy of a dual doctrine slumbers the
 idea  that there is no harm in men     
being mistaken1 or at least only so     
little  harm as is more than compensated
 for by the marked tranquillity in which
  their mistake may wrap them4 ,this is 
not an idea merely that  intellectual   
error is a pathological necessity of the
 mind1 no more to  be escaped than the  
pathological necessities which afflict  
and finally  dissolve the body4 ,that is
 historically true4 ,it is an idea that 
error  somehow in certain stages1 where 
there is enough of it1 actually does    
good1 like vaccination4 ,well1 the      
thesis of the present chapter is that   
erroneous opinion or belief1 in itself  
and as such1 can never be useful4  ,this
 may seem a truism which everybody is   
willing to accept without  demur4 ,but  

it is one of those truisms which persons
 habitually forget  and repudiate in    
practice1 just because they have never  
made it real to  themselves by          
considering and answering the objections
 that may be  brought against it4 ,we   
see this repudiation before our eyes    
every day4  ,thus for instance1 parents 
theoretically take it for granted that  
error  cannot be useful1 while they are 
teaching or allowing others to teach    
their children what they1 the parents1  
believe to be untrue4 ,thus  husbands   
who think the common theology baseless  
and unmeaning1 are found  to prefer that
 their wives shall not question this    
theology nor neglect  its rites4 ,these 
are only two out of a hundred examples  
of the daily  admission that error may  
be very useful to other people4 ,i need 
hardly  say that to deny this1 as the   
commonplace to which this chapter is    
devoted denies it1 is a different thing 
from denying the expediency of  letting 
errors alone at a given time4 ,that is  

another question1 to be  discussed      
afterwards4 ,you may have a thoroughly  
vicious and dangerous  enemy1 and yet it
 may be expedient to choose your own    
hour and occasion  for attacking him4   
',the passage from error to truth1' in  
the words of  ,condorcet1 'may be       
accompanied by certain evils4 ,every    
great change  necessarily brings some of
 these in its train2 and though they may
 be  always far below the evil you are  
for destroying1 yet it ought to do  what
 is possible to diminish them4 ,it is   
not enough to do good2 one must  do it  
in a good way4 ,no doubt we should      
destroy all errors1 but as it is        
impossible to destroy them all in an    
instant1 we should imitate a  prudent   
architect who1 when obliged to destroy a
 building1 and knowing  how its parts   
are united together1 sets about its     
demolition in such a  way as to prevent 
its fall from being dangerous4'#h       
,those1 let us note by the way1 who are 
accustomed to think the moral  tone of  

the eighteenth century low and gross    
compared with that of the  nineteenth1  
may usefully contrast these just and    
prudent word8 of  caution in extirpating
 error1 with ,m4 ,renan's invitation to 
men whom he  considers wrong in their   
interpretation of religion1 to plant    
their  error as widely and deeply as    
they can2 and who are moreover          
themselves  supposed to be demoralised1 
or else they would not be likely to     
acquiesce in a previous surrender of the
 universities to men whom they  think in
 mortal error4 ,apart however from ,m4  
,renan1 ,condorcet's words  merely      
assert the duty of setting to work to   
help on the change from  false to true  
opinions with prudence1 and this every  
sensible man  admits4 ,our position is  
that in estimating the situation1 in    
counting up  and balancing the          
expediencies of an attack upon error at 
this or that  point1 nothing is to be   
set to the credit of error as such1 nor 
is there  anything in its own operations

 or effects to entitle it to a moment's 
respite4 ,every one would admit this at 
once in the case of physical  truths1   
though there are those who say that some
 of the time spent in  the investigation
 of physical truths might be more       
advantageously  devoted to social       
problems4 ,but in the case of moral and 
religious  truths or errors1 people1 if 
they admit that nothing is to be set to 
the  credit of error as such1 still     
constantly have a subtle and practically
  mischievous confusion in their minds  
between the possible usefulness of      
error1 and the possible expediency of   
leaving it temporarily  undisturbed4    
,what happens in consequence of such a  
confusion is this4  ,men leave error    
undisturbed1 because they accept in a   
loose way the  proposition that a belief
 may be 'morally useful without being   
intellectually sustainable1' ,they      
disguise their own dissent from  popular
 opinions1 because they regard such     
opinions as useful to other  people4 ,we

 are not now discussing the case of     
those who embrace a creed  for          
themselves1 on the ground that1 though  
they cannot demonstrate its  truth to   
the understanding1 yet they find it     
pregnant with moralising  and elevating 
characteristics4 ,we are thinking of a  
very different  attitude--that1 namely1 
of persons who believe a creed to be not
 more  morally useful than it is        
intellectually sustainable1 so far as   
they  themselves are concerned4 ,to them
 it is pure and uncompensated error4    
,yet from a vague and general idea that 
what is useless error to them may  be   
useful to others1 they insist on doing  
their best to perpetuate the  system    
which spreads and consecrates the error4
 ,and how do they settle  the question8 
,they reckon up the advantages1 and     
forget the drawbacks4  ,they detect and 
dwell on one or two elements of utility 
in the false  belief or the worn-out    
institution1 and leave out of all       
account the  elements that make in the  

other direction4    ,considering how    
much influence this vague persuasion has
 in encouraging  a well-meaning         
hypocrisy in individuals1 and a profound
 stagnation in  societies1 it may be    
well to examine the matter somewhat     
generally4 ,let  us try to measure the  
force of some of the most usual pleas   
for error4    ,i4 ,a false opinion1 it  
may be said1 is frequently found to have
  clustering around it a multitude of   
excellent associations1 which do far    
more good than the false opinion that   
supports them1 does harm4 ,in the       
middle ages1 for instance1 there was a  
belief that a holy man had the  gift of 
routing demons1 of healing the sick1 and
 of working divers other  miracles4     
,supposing that this belief was untrue1 
supposing that it was  an error to      
attribute the sudden death of an        
incredible multitude of  troublesome    
flies in a church to the fact of ,saint 
,bernard having  excommunicated them1   
what then8 ,the mistaken opinion was    

still  associated with a deep reverence 
for virtue and sanctity1 and this was   
more valuable1 than the error of the    
explanation of the death of the  flies  
was noxious or degrading4    ,the answer
 to this seems to be as follows4 ,first1
 in making false  notions the proofs or 
close associates of true ones1 you are  
exposing  the latter to the ruin which  
awaits the former4 ,for example1 if you 
have  in the minds of children or       
servants associated honesty1 industry1  
truthfulness1 with the fear of          
hell-fire1 then supposing this fear to  
become extinct in their minds1--which1  
being unfounded in truth1 it is  in     
constant risk of doing--the virtues     
associated with it are likely to  be    
weakened exactly in proportion as that  
association was strong4    ,second1 for 
all good habits in thought or conduct   
there are good and  real reasons in the 
nature of things4 ,to leave such habits 
attached to  false opinions is to lessen
 the weight of these natural or         

spontaneous  reasons1 and so to do more 
harm in the long run than effacement of 
them  seems for a time to do good4 ,most
 excellences in human character have a  
spontaneous root in our nature4         
,moreover if they had not1 and where    
they  have not1 there is always a valid 
and real external defence for them4     
,the unreal defence must be weaker than 
the real one1 and the  substitution of a
 weak for a strong defence1 where both  
are to be had1  is not useful but the   
very opposite4    ,,ii4 ,it is true1 the
 objector would probably continue1 that 
there is a  rational defence for all    
excellences of conduct1 as there is for 
all  that is worthy and fitting in      
institutions4 ,but the force of a       
rational  defence lies in the           
rationality of the man to whom it is    
proffered4 ,the  arguments which        
persuade one trained in scientific      
habits of thought1  only touch persons  
of the same kind4 ,character is not all 
pure reason4  ,that fitness of things   

which you pronounce to be the foundation
 of good  habits1 may be borne in upon  
men1 and may speak to them1 through     
other  channels than the syllogism4 ,you
 assume a community of highly-trained   
wranglers and proficient sophisters4    
,the plain fact is that1 for the  mass  
of men1 use and wont1 rude or gracious  
symbols1 blind custom1  prejudices1     
superstitions1--however erroneous in    
themselves1 however  inadequate to the  
conveyance of the best truth1--are the  
only safe  guardians of the common      
virtues4 ,in this sense1 then1 error may
 have its  usefulness4    ,a hundred    
years ago this apology for error was met
 by those high-minded  and interesting  
men1 the ,french believers in human     
perfectibility1 with  their             
characteristic dogma1--of which         
,rousseau was the ardent                
expounder1--that man is born with a     
clear and unsophisticated spirit1       
perfectly able to discern all the simple
 truths necessary for common  conduct by

 its own unaided light4 ,his motives are
 all pure and unselfish  and his        
intelligence is unclouded1 until priests
 and tyrants mutilate  the one and      
corrupt the other4 ,we who have the     
benefit of the historic  method1 and    
have to take into account the medium    
that surrounds a human  creature the    
moment it comes into the world1 to say  
nothing of all the  inheritance from the
 past which it brings within it into the
 world at  the same moment1 cannot take 
up this ground4 ,we cannot maintain that
  everybody is born with light enough to
 see the rational defences of  things   
for himself1 without the education of   
institutions4 ,what we do  maintain     
is--and this is the answer to the plea  
for error at present  under             
consideration--that whatever impairs the
 brightness of such light  as a man has1
 is not useful but hurtful4 ,our reply  
to those who contend  for the usefulness
 of error on the ground of the          
comparative impotence  of rationality   

over ordinary minds1 is something of    
this kind4  ,superstition1 blind        
obedience to custom1 and the other      
substitutes for a  right and independent
 use of the mind1 may accidentally and  
in some few  respects impress good ideas
 upon persons who are too darkened to   
accept  those ideas on their real       
merits4 ,but then superstition itself is
 the  main cause of this very darkness4 
,to hold error is in so far to foster   
erroneous ways of thinking on all       
subjects2 is to make the intelligence   
less and less ready to receive truth in 
all matters whatever4 ,men are  made    
incapable of perceiving the rational    
defences1 and of feeling  rational      
motives1 for good habits1--so far as    
they are thus  incapable1--by the very  
errors which we are asked silently to   
countenance as useful substitutes for   
right reason4 ',erroneous motives1'  as 
,condorcet has expressed this matter1   
'have an additional drawback  attached  
to them1 the habit which they strengthen

 of reasoning ill4 ,the  more important 
the subject on which you reason ill1 and
 the more you  busy yourself about it1  
by so much the more dangerous do the    
influences  of such a habit become4 ,it 
is especially on subjects analogous to  
that  on which you reason wrongly1 or   
which you connect with it by habit1 that
  such a defect extends most powerfully 
and most rapidly4 ,hence it is          
extremely hard for the man who believes 
himself obliged to conform in  his      
conduct to what he considers truths     
useful to men1 but who  attributes the  
obligation to erroneous motives1 to     
reason very correctly  on the truths    
themselves2 the more attention he pays  
to such motives1  and the more          
importance he comes to attach to them1  
the more likely he  will be to go       
wrong4'#i ,so1 in short1 superstition   
does an immense harm  by enfeebling     
rational ways of thinking2 it does a    
little good by  accidentally endorsing  
rational conclusions in one or two      

matters4 ,and  yet1 though the evil     
which it is said to repair is a trifle  
beside the  evil which it is admitted to
 inflict1 the balance of expediencies is
  after all declared to be such as to   
warrant us in calling errors useful6    
,,iii4 ,a third objection now presents  
itself to me1 which ,i wish to state  as
 strongly as possible4 ',even if a false
 opinion cannot in itself be  more      
useful than a true one1 whatever good   
habits may seem to be  connected with   
it1 yet1' it may be contended1          
'relatively to the general  mental      
attitude of a set of men1 to their other
 notions and maxims1 the  false opinion 
may entail less harm than would be      
wrought by its mere  demolition4 ,there 
are false opinions so intimately bound  
up with the  whole way of thinking and  
feeling1 that to introduce one or two   
detached  true opinions in their stead1 
would1 even if it were possible1 only   
serve to break up that coherency of     
character and conduct which it is  one  

of the chief objects of moralists and   
the great art of living to  produce4    
,for a true opinion does not necessarily
 bring in its train all  the other true 
opinions that are logically connected   
with it4 ,on the  contrary1 it is only  
too notorious a fact in the history of  
belief1 that  not merely individuals but
 whole societies are capable of holding 
at one  and the same time contradictory 
opinions and mutually destructive       
principles4 ,on the other hand1 neither 
does a false opinion involve            
practically all the evil consequences   
deducible from it4 ,for the results  of 
human inconsistency are not all unhappy1
 and if we do not always act  up to     
virtuous principle1 no more do we always
 work out to its remotest  inference    
every vicious principle4 ,not           
insincerity1 but inconsistency1  has    
constantly turned the adherents of      
persecuting precepts into friends  of   
tolerant practice4'    ',it is a        
comparatively small thing to persuade a 

superstitious person to  abandon this or
 that article of his superstition4 ,you 
have no security  that the rejection of 
the one article which you have displaced
 will lead  to the rejection of any     
other1 and it is quite possible that it 
may lead  to all the more fervid an     
adhesion to what remains behind4 ,error1
  therefore1 in view of such            
considerations may surely be allowed to 
have  at least a provisional utility4'  
,now undoubtedly the repudiation of     
error is not at all the same thing  as  
embracing truth4 ,people are often able 
to see the force of arguments  that     
destroy a given opinion1 without being  
able to see the force of  arguments for 
the positive opinion that ought to      
replace it4 ,they can  only be quite    
sure of seeing both1 when they have     
acquired not merely a  conviction that  
one notion is false and another true1   
but have  furthermore exchanged a       
generally erroneous way of thinking for 
a  generally correct way4 ,hence the    

truly important object with every one   
who holds opinions which he deems it of 
the highest moment that others  should  
accept1 must obviously be to reach      
people's general ways of  thinking2 to  
stir their love of truth2 to penetrate  
them with a sense of  the difference in 
the quality of evidence2 to make them   
willing to  listen to criticism and new 
opinion2 and perhaps above all to teach 
them  to take ungrudging and daily      
trouble to clear up in their minds the  
exact sense of the terms they use4      
,if this be so1 a false opinion1 like an
 erroneous motive1 can hardly  have even
 a provisional usefulness4 ,for how can 
you attack an erroneous  way of thinking
 except in detail1 that is to say       
through the sides of  this or that      
single wrong opinion8 ,each of these    
wrong opinions is an  illustration and  
type1 as it is a standing support and   
abettor1 of some  kind of wrong         
reasoning1 though they are not all on   
the same scale nor  all of them equally 

instructive4 ,it is precisely by this   
method of  gradual displacement of error
 step by step1 that the few stages of   
progress which the race has yet         
traversed1 have been actually achieved4 
,even if the place of the erroneous idea
 is not immediately taken by the        
corresponding true one1 or by the idea  
which is at least one or two  degrees   
nearer to the true one1 still the       
removal of error in this  purely        
negative way amounts to a positive gain4
 ,why8 ,for the excellent  reason that  
it is the removal of a bad element which
 otherwise tends to  propagate itself1  
or even if it fails to do that1 tends at
 the best to  make the surrounding mass 
of error more inveterate4 ,all error is 
what  physiologists term fissiparous1   
and in exterminating one false opinion  
you may be hindering the growth of an   
uncounted brood of false opinions4      
,then as to the maintenance of that     
coherency1 interdependence1 and         
systematisation of opinions and motives1

 which is said to make character        
organic1 and is therefore so highly     
prized by some schools of thought4  ,no 
doubt the loosening of this or that part
 of the fabric of  heterogeneous origin1
 which constitutes the character of a   
man or woman1  tends to loosen the      
whole4 ,but do not let us feed ourselves
 upon  phrases4 ,this organic coherency1
 what does it come to8 ,it signifies in 
a  general way1 to describe it briefly1 
a harmony between the intellectual1  the
 moral1 and the practical parts of human
 nature2 an undisturbed  cooperation    
between reason1 affection1 and will2 the
 reason prescribing  nothing against    
which the affections revolt1 and        
proscribing nothing  which they crave2  
and the will obeying the joint impulses 
of these two  directing forces1 without 
liability to capricious or extravagant  
disturbance of their direction4 ,well1  
if the reason were perfect in           
information and method1 and the         
affections faultless in their impulse1  

then organic unity of character would be
 the final consummation of all  human   
improvement1 and it would be criminal1  
even if it were possible1  to undermine 
a structure of such priceless value4    
,but short of this  there can be no     
value in coherency and harmonious       
consistency as such4  ,so long as error 
is an element in it1 then for so long   
the whole product  is vitiated4         
,undeniably and most fortunately1 social
 virtues are found  side by side with   
speculative mistakes and the gravest    
intellectual  imperfections4 ,we may    
apply to humanity the idea which1 as    
,hebrew  students tell us1 is imputed in
 the ,talmud to the ,supreme ,being4    
,god  prays1 the ,talmud says2 and his  
prayer is this1--',be it my will that my
  mercy overpower my justice4' ,and so  
with men1 with or without their  will1  
their mercifulness overpowers their     
logic4 ,and not their  mercifulness     
only1 but all their good impulses       
overpower their logic4 ,to  repeat the  

words which ,i have put into the        
objector's mouth1 we do not  always work
 out every vicious principle to its     
remotest inference4 ,what1  however1 is 
this but to say that in such cases      
character is saved1 not  by its         
coherency1 but by the opposite2 to say  
not that error is useful1  but what is a
 very different thing1 that its         
mischievousness is  sometimes capable of
 being averted or minimised8    ,the    
apologist may retort that he did not    
mean answer to the argument  from       
coherency of conduct4 ,in measuring     
utility you have to take into  account  
not merely the service rendered to the  
objects of the present  hour1 but the   
contribution to growth1 progress1 and   
the future4 ,from  this point of view   
most of the talk about unity of         
character is not much  more than a      
glorifying of stagnation4 ,it leaves out
 of sight the  conditions necessary for 
the continuance of the unending task of 
human  improvement4 ,now whatever ease  

may be given to an individual or a      
generation by social or religious error1
 such error at any rate can  conduce    
nothing to further advancement ,that1 at
 least1 is not one of its  possible     
utilities4    ,this is also one of the  
answers to the following plea4 ',though 
the  knowledge of every positive truth  
is an useful acquisition1 this  doctrine
 cannot without reservation he applied  
to negative truth4 ,when  the only truth
 ascertainable is that nothing can be   
known1 we do not1 by  this knowledge1   
gain any new fact by which to guide     
ourselves4'#aj ,but  logical coherency1 
but a kind of practical everyday        
coherency1 which  may be open to a      
thousand abstract objections1 yet which 
still secures  both to the individual   
and to society a number of advantages   
that might  be endangered by any        
disturbance of opinion or motive4 ,no   
doubt1 and the  method and season of    
chasing erroneous opinions and motives  
out of the  mind must always be a matter

 of much careful and far-seeing         
consideration4 ,only in the course of   
such consideration1 let us not  admit   
the notion in any form that error can   
have even provisional  utility4 ,for it 
is not the error which confers the      
advantages that we  desire to preserve1 
but some true opinion or just motive or 
high or  honest sentiment1 which exists 
and thrives and operates in spite of the
  error and in face of it1 springing    
from man's spontaneous and  unformulated
 recognition of the real relations of   
things4 ,this  recognition is very faint
 in the beginnings of society4 ,it grows
 clearer  and firmer with each step     
forward4 ,and in a tolerably civilised  
age it  has become a force on which you 
can fairly lean with a considerable     
degree of assurance4    ,and this leads 
to the central point of the the negative
 truth that  nothing can be known is in 
fact a truth that guides us4            
,transcriber's  note3 sic4 ,it leads us 
away from sterile and irreclaimable     

tracts  of thought and emotion1 and so  
inevitably compels the energies which   
would otherwise have been wasted1 to    
feel after a more profitable  direction4
 ,by leaving the old guide-marks        
undisturbed1 you may give  ease to an   
existing generation1 but the present    
ease is purchased at  the cost of future
 growth4 ,to have been deprived of the  
faith of the  old dispensation1 is the  
first condition of strenuous endeavour  
after  the new4    ,no doubt history    
abounds with cases in which a false     
opinion on moral or  religious subjects1
 or an erroneous motive in conduct1 has 
seemed to be  a stepping-stone to truth4
 ,but this is in no sense a             
demonstration of  the utility of error4 
,for in all such cases the erroneous    
opinion or  motive was far from being   
wholly erroneous1 or wholly without     
elements  of truth and reality4 ,if it  
helped to quicken the speed or mend the 
direction of progress1 that must have   
been by virtue of some such  elements   

within it4 ,all that was error in it was
 pure waste1 or worse  than waste4 ,it  
is true that the religious sentiment has
 clothed itself  in a great number of   
unworthy1 inadequate1 depressing1 and   
otherwise  misleading shapes1 dogmatic  
and liturgic4 ,yet on the whole the     
religious  sentiment has conferred      
enormous benefits on civilisation4 ,this
 is no  proof of the utility of the     
mistaken direction which these dogmatic 
or  liturgic shapes imposed upon it4 ,on
 the contrary1 the effect of the  false 
dogmas and enervating liturgies is so   
much that has to be deducted  from the  
advantages conferred by a sentiment in  
itself valuable and of  priceless       
capability4#aa    ,yes1 it will be      
urged1 but from the historic conditions 
of the time1  truth could only be       
conveyed in erroneous forms1 and motives
 of  permanent price for humanity could 
only be secured in these mistaken       
expressions4 ,here ,i would again press 
the point of this necessity for         

erroneous forms and mistaken expressions
 being1 in a great many of the  most    
important instances1 itself derivative1 
one among other ill  consequences of    
previous moral and religious error4 ',it
 was gravely  said1' ,bacon tells us1   
'by some of the prelates in the ,council
 of ,trent1  where the doctrines of the 
,schoolmen have great sway2 that the    
schoolmen  were like ,astronomers1 which
 did faigne ,eccentricks and ,epicycles 
and  ,engines of ,orbs to save the      
,phenomena2 though they know there were 
no  such ,things2 and in like manner    
that the ,schoolmen had framed a number 
of subtile and intricate ,axioms and    
,theorems1 to save the practice of  the 
,church4' ,this is true of much else    
besides scholastic axioms and  theorems4
 ,subordinate error was made necessary  
and invented1 by reason  of some        
pro-existent main stock of error1 and to
 save the practice of  the ,church4     
,thus we are often referred to the      
consolation which this or  that doctrine

 has brought to the human spirit4 ,but  
what if the same  system had produced   
the terror which made absence of        
consolation  intolerable8 ,how much of  
the necessity for expressing the        
enlarged  humanity of the ,church in the
 doctrine of purgatory1 arose from the  
existence of the older unsoftened       
doctrine of eternal hell8    ,again1 how
 much of this alleged necessity of      
error1 as alloy for the too  pure metal 
of sterling truth1 is to be explained by
 the interest which  powerful castes or 
corporations have had in preserving the 
erroneous  forms1 even when they could  
not resist1 or did not wish to resist1  
their  impregnation by newer and better 
doctrine8 ,this interest was not        
deliberately sinister or malignant4 ,it 
may be more correctly as well as  more  
charitably explained by that infirmity  
of human nature1 which makes  us very   
ready to believe what it is on other    
grounds convenient to us to  believe4   
,nobody attributes to pure malevolence  

the heartiness with which  the great    
corporation of lawyers1 for example1    
resist the removal of  superfluous and  
obstructive forms in their practice2    
they have come to  look on such forms as
 indispensable safeguards4 ,hence       
powerful teachers  and preachers of all 
kinds have been spontaneously inclined  
to suppose  a necessity1 which had no   
real existence1 of preserving as much as
 was  possible of what we know to be    
error1 even while introducing wholesome 
modification of it4 ,this is the honest1
 though mischievous1 conservatism  of   
the human mind4 ,we have no right to    
condemn our foregoers2 far less  to     
lavish on them the evil names of        
impostor1 charlatan1 and brigand1  which
 the zealous unhistoric school of the   
last century used so  profusely4 ,but we
 have a right to say of them1 as we say 
of those who  imitate their policy now1 
that their conservatism is no additional
 proof  of the utility of error4 ,least 
of all is it any justification for those

  who wish to have impressed upon the   
people a complete system of  religious  
opinion which men of culture have       
avowedly put away4 ,and1  moreover1 the 
very priests must1 ,i should think1 be  
supposed to have put  it away also4     
,else they would hardly be invited      
deliberately to abdicate  their teaching
 functions in the very seats where      
teaching is of the  weightiest and most 
far-spreading influence4    ,meanwhile  
our point is that the reforms in opinion
 which have been  effected on the plan  
of pouring the new wine of truth into   
the old  bottles of superstition--though
 not dishonourable to the sincerity of  
the reformers--are no testimony to even 
the temporary usefulness of  error4     
,those who think otherwise do not look  
far enough in front of the  event4 ,they
 forget the evil wrought by the         
prolonged duration of the  error1 to    
which the added particle of truth may   
have given new vitality4  ,they overlook
 the ultimate enervation that is so     

often the price paid  for the temporary 
exaltation4    ,nor1 finally1 can they  
know the truths which the error thus    
prolonged  has hindered from coming to  
the birth4 ,a strenuous disputant has   
recently asserted against me that 'the  
region of the might have been  lies     
beyond the limits of sane               
speculation4'#ab ,it in surely extending
  optimism too far to insist on carrying
 it back right through the ages4  ,to me
 at any rate the history of mankind is a
 huge pis-aller1 just as  our present   
society is2 a prodigious wasteful       
experiment1 from which a  certain number
 of precious results have been          
extracted1 but which is  not now1 nor   
ever has been at any other time1 a final
 measure of all the  possibilities of   
the time4 ,this is not inconsistent with
 the scientific  conception of history2 
it is not to deny the great law that    
society has  a certain order of         
progress2 but only to urge that within  
that1 the only  possible order1 there is

 always room for all kinds and degrees  
of  invention1 improvement1 and happy or
 unhappy accident4 ,there is no         
discoverable law fixing precisely the   
more or the less of these2 nor how  much
 of each of them a community shall meet 
with1 nor exactly when it  shall meet   
with them4 ,we have to distinguish      
between possibility and  necessity4     
,only certain steps in advance are      
possible at a given time2  but it is not
 inevitable that those potential        
advances should all be  realised4 ,does 
anybody suppose that humanity has had   
the profit of all  the inventive and    
improving capacity born into the world8 
,that ,turgot1  for example1 was the    
only man that ever lived who might have 
done more  for society than he was      
allowed to do1 and spared society a     
cataclysm8  ,no1--history is a          
pis-aller4 ,it has assuredly not moved  
without the  relation of cause and      
effect2 it is a record of social growth 
and its  conditions2 but it is also a   

record of interruption and misadventure 
and  perturbation4 ,you trace the long  
chain which has made us what we are in  
this aspect and that4 ,but where are the
 dropped links that might have  made all
 the difference8 ,ubi sunt eorum tabulae
 qui post vota nuncupate  perierunt8    
,where is the fruit of those            
multitudinous gifts which came  into the
 world in untimely seasons8 ,we accept  
the past for the same  reason that we   
accept the laws of the solar system1    
though1 as ,comte  says1 'we can easily 
conceive them improved in certain       
respects4' ,the  past1 like the solar   
system1 is beyond reach of modification 
at our  hands1 and we cannot help it4   
,but it is surely the mere midsummer    
madness of philosophic complacency to   
think that we have come by the  shortest
 and easiest of all imaginable routes to
 our present point in  the march2 to    
suppose that we have wasted nothing1    
lost nothing1 cruelly  destroyed        
nothing1 on the road4 ,what we have lost

 is all in the region  of the 'might    
have been1' and we are justified in     
taking this into  account1 and thinking 
much of it1 and in trying to find causes
 for the  loss4 ,one of them has been   
want of liberty for the human           
intelligence2  and another1 to return to
 our proper subject1 has been the       
prolonged  existence of superstition1 of
 false opinions1 and of attachment to   
gross  symbols1 beyond the time when    
they might have been successfully       
attacked1 and would have fallen into    
decay but for the mistaken  political   
notion of their utility4 ,in making a   
just estimate of this  utility1 if we   
see reason to believe that these false  
opinions1 narrow  superstitions1 gross  
symbols1 have been an impediment to the 
free  exercise of the intelligence and a
 worthier culture of the emotions1  then
 we are justified in placing the unknown
 loss as a real and most  weighty item  
in the account against them4    ,in     
short1 then1 the utmost that can be said

 on behalf of errors in  opinion and    
motive1 is that they are inevitable     
elements in human  growth4 ,but the     
inevitable does not coincide with the   
useful4 ,pain can  be avoided by none of
 the sons of men1 yet the horrible and  
uncompensated subtraction which it makes
 from the value and usefulness  of human
 life1 is one of the most formidable    
obstacles to the smoother  progress of  
the world4 ,and as with pain1 so with   
error4 ,the moral of our  contention has
 reference to the temper in which       
practically we ought to  regard false   
doctrine and ill-directed motive4 ,it   
goes to show that if  we have satisfied 
ourselves on good grounds that the      
doctrine is false1  or the motive ill   
directed1 then the only question that we
 need ask  ourselves turns solely upon  
the possibility of breaking it up and   
dispersing it1 by methods compatible    
with the doctrine of liberty4 ,any      
embarrassment in dealing with it1 due to
 a semi-latent notion that it  may be   

useful to some one else is a weakness   
that hinders social  progress4          
,,footnotes3    ,footnote #e3 ,mill's   
,autobiography p4 #agj4    ,footnote #f3
 ,m4 ,renan's ,rforme ,intellectuelle et
 ,morale de la ,france1  p4 #ih4        
,footnote #g3 ,etudes d',histoire       
,religieuse1 ,preface1 p4 xvi4          
,footnote #h3 ,in #aggi the ,academy of 
,prussia announced this as the  question
 for their annual prize essay3--',s'il  
est utile au peuple  d'tre tromp4' ,they
 received thirty-three essays2 twenty   
showing that  it is not useful1 thirteen
 showing that it is4 ,the ,academy1 with
 an  impartiality that caused much      
amusement in ,paris and ,berlin1 awarded
 two  prizes1 one to the best proof of  
the negative answer1 another to the     
best proof of the affirmative4 ,see     
,bartholmess1 ,hist4 ,philosophique de  
l',acadmie de ,prusse1 i4 #bha1 and ii4 
#bgh4 ,condorcet did not actually       
compete for the prize1 but he wrote a   
very acute piece1 suggested by the      

theme1 which was printed in #agij4      
,oeuv4 v4 #cdc4    ,to illustrate the   
common fact of certain currents of      
thought being in  the air at given      
times1 we may mention that in #aggj was 
published the  posthumous work of       
another ,frenchman1 ,chesneau du        
,marsais 7#afgf-agef7                   
entitled3--',essai sur les ,prjugs2 ou  
de l'influence des ,opinions sur  les   
,moeurs et sur le ,bonheur des ,hommes4'
 ,the principal prejudices to  which he 
refers are classed under                
,antiquity--,ancestry--,native          
,country--,religion--,respect for       
,wealth4 ,some of the reasoning is      
almost  verbally identical with         
,condorcet's4 ,for an account of ,du    
,marsais1 see  ,d',alembert1 ,oeuv4 iii 
#dha4    ,footnote #i3 ,oeuv4 v4 #ced4  
,footnote #aj3 ,mill's ,three ,essays on
 ,religion1 p4#gc4 ,i have offered  some
 criticisms on the whole passage in     
,critical ,miscellanies1 ,second        
,series1 pp4 #cjj-cjd4    ,footnote #aa3

 ',enfin1 supposons pour un instant que 
le dogme de l'autre  vie soit de        
quelqu'utilit1 et qu'il retienne        
vraiment un petit nombre  d'individus1  
qu'est-ce que ces foibles avantages     
compars  la foule de  maux que l'on en  
voir dcouler8 ,contre un homme timide   
que cette ide  contient1 il en est des  
millions qu'elle ne peut contenir2 il en
 des  millions qu'elle rend insenss1    
farouches1 fanatiques1 inutiles et      
mchants2 il en est des millions qu'elle 
dtourne de leurs devoirs  envers la     
socit2 il en est une infinit qu'elle    
afflige et qu'elle  trouble1 sans aucun 
bien rel pour leurs associs4--,systme de
 la  ,nature1 i4 xiii4    ,footnote #ab3
 ,sir ,j4,f4 ,stephen's ,liberty1       
,equality1 and ,fraternity1  #b;d4 ed41 
p4 #ai1 note4          ,,chapter ,,iii4 
,,intellectual ,,responsibility ,,and   
,,the ,,political ,,spirit4    ,we have 
been considering the position of those  
who would fain divide the  community    
into two great castes2 the one of       

thoughtful and instructed  persons using
 their minds freely1 but guarding their 
conclusions in  strict reserve2 the     
other of the illiterate or unreflecting1
 who should  have certain opinions and  
practices taught them1 not because they 
are  true or are really what their      
votaries are made to believe them to be1
  but because the intellectual superiors
 of the community think the  inculcation
 of such a belief useful in all cases   
save their own4 ,nor is  this a mere    
theory4 ,on the contrary1 it is a fair  
description of an  existing state of    
things4 ,we have the old disciplina     
arcani among us  in as full force as in 
the primitive church1 but with an       
all-important  difference4 ,the         
,christian fathers practised reserve for
 the sake of  leading the acolyte the   
more surely to the fulness of truth4    
,the modern  economiser keeps back his  
opinions1 or dissembles the grounds of  
them1  for the sake of leaving his      
neighbours the more at their ease in the

  peaceful sloughs of prejudice and     
superstition and low ideals4 ,we quote  
,saint ,paul when he talked of making   
himself all things to all men1 and  of  
becoming to the ,jews a ,jew1 and as    
without the ,law to the heathen4  ,but  
then we do so with a view to justifying 
ourselves for leaving the  ,jew to      
remain a ,jew1 and the heathen to remain
 heathen4 ,we imitate the  same apostle 
in accepting old time-worn altars       
dedicated to the ,unknown  ,god4 ,we    
forget that he made the ancient symbol  
the starting-point of a  revolutionised 
doctrine4 ,there is1 as anybody can see1
 a whole world of  difference between   
the reserve of sagacious apostleship1 on
 the one  hand1 dealing tenderly with   
scruple and tearfulness and fine        
sensibility  of conscience1 and the     
reserve of intellectual cowardice on the
 other  hand1 dealing hypocritically    
with narrow minds in the supposed       
interests  of social peace and          
quietness4 ,the old disciplina arcani   

signified  the disclosure of a little   
light with a view to the disclosure of  
more4  ,the new means the dissimulation 
of truth with a view to the perpetuation
  of error4 ,consider the difference    
between these two fashions of           
compromise1 in their effects upon the   
mind and character of the person        
compromising4 ,the one is fully         
compatible with fervour and hopefulness 
and devotion to great causes4 ,the other
 stamps a man with artifice1 and        
hinders the free eagerness of his       
vision1 and wraps him about with        
mediocrity1--not always of              
understanding1 but that still worse     
thing1  mediocrity of aspiration and    
purpose4    ,the coarsest and most      
revolting shape which the doctrine of   
conformity  can assume1 and its         
degrading consequences to the character 
of the  conformer1 may be conveniently  
illustrated by a passage in the life of 
,hume4 ,he looked at things in a more   
practical manner than would find  favour

 with the sentimental champions of      
compromise in nearer times4  ,there is a
 well-known letter of ,hume's1 in which 
he recommends a young  man to become a  
clergyman1 on the ground that it was    
very hard to got  any tolerable civil   
employment1 and that as ,lord ,bute was 
then all  powerful1 his friend would be 
certain of preferment4 ,in answer to the
  young man's scruples as to the        
,articles and the rest1 ,hume says3--   
',it is putting too great a respect on  
the vulgar and their superstitions  to  
pique one's self on sincerity with      
regard to them4 ,if the thing were      
worthy of being treated gravely1 ,i     
should tell him the young man that  the 
,pythian oracle with the approbation of 
,xenophon advised every one to  worship 
the gods--,greek3 nhom pholes4 ,i wish  
it were still in my  power to be a      
hypocrite in this particular4 ,the      
common duties of society  usually       
require it2 and the ecclesiastical      
profession only adds a little  more to  

an innocent dissimulation1 or rather    
simulation1 without which  it is        
impossible to pass through the          
world4'#ac    ,this is a singularly     
straightforward way of stating a view   
which  silently influences a much       
greater number of men than it is        
pleasant to  think of4 ,they would      
shrink from throwing their conduct into 
so gross a  formula4 ,they will lift up 
their hands at this quotation1 so       
strangely  blind are we to the          
hiding-places of our own hearts1 even   
when others  flash upon them the        
terrible illumination that comes of     
calling conduct  and motives by plain   
names4 ,now it is not merely the moral  
improbity of  these cases which revolts 
us--the improbity of making in solemn   
form a  number of false statements for  
the sake of earning a livelihood2 of    
saying in order to get money or social  
position that you accept a number  of   
propositions which in fact you utterly  
reject2 of declaring expressly  that you

 trust you are inwardly moved to take   
upon you this office and  ministration  
by the ,holy ,ghost1 when the real      
motive is a desire not to  miss the     
chance of making something out of the   
,earl of ,bute4 ,this side  of such     
dissimulation is shocking enough4 ,and  
it is not any more  shocking to the most
 devout believer than it is to people   
who doubt  whether there be any ,holy   
,ghost or not4 ,those who no longer     
place their  highest faith in powers    
above and beyond men1 are for that very 
reason  more deeply interested than     
others in cherishing the integrity and  
worthiness of man himself4 ,apart1      
however1 from the immorality of such    
reasoned hypocrisy1 which no man with a 
particle of honesty will  attempt to    
blink1 there is the intellectual        
improbity which it brings in  its train1
 the infidelity to truth1 the disloyalty
 to one's own  intelligence4 ,gifts of  
understanding are numbed and enfeebled  
in a man1  who has once played such a   

trick with his own conscience as to     
persuade  himself that1 because the     
vulgar are superstitious1 it is right   
for the  learned to earn money by       
turning themselves into the ministers   
and  accomplices of superstition4 ,if he
 is clever enough to see through the    
vulgar and their beliefs1 he is         
tolerably sure to be clever enough from 
time to time and in his better moments  
to see through himself4 ,he begins  to  
suspect himself of being an impostor4   
,that suspicion gradually unmans  him   
when he comes to use his mind in the    
sphere of his own  enlightenment4 ,one  
of really superior power cannot escape  
these better  moments and the remorse   
that they bring4 ,as he advances in     
life1 as his  powers ought to be coming 
to fuller maturity and his intellectual 
productiveness to its prime1 just in the
 same degree the increasing  seriousness
 of life multiplies such moments and    
deepens their remorse1  and so the light
 of intellectual promise slowly goes out

 in impotent  endeavour1 or else in     
taking comfort that much goods are laid 
up1 or1  what is deadliest of all1 in a 
soulless cynicism4    ,we do not find   
out until it is too late that the       
intellect too1 at least  where it is    
capable of being exercised on the higher
 objects1 has its  sensitiveness4 ,it   
loses its colour and potency and finer  
fragrance in an  atmosphere of mean     
purpose and low conception of the       
sacredness of fact  and reality4 ,who   
has not observed inferior original power
 achieving  greater results even in the 
intellectual field itself1 where the    
superior understanding happens to have  
been unequally yoked with a             
self-seeking character1 over scenting   
the expedient8 ,if ,hume had been in    
the early productive part of his life   
the hypocrite which he wished it  were  
in his power to show himself in its     
latter part1 we may be  tolerably sure  
that ,european philosophy would have    
missed one of its  foremost figures4 ,it

 has been often said that he who begins 
life by  stifling his convictions is in 
a fair way for ending it without any    
convictions to stifle4 ,we may1 perhaps1
 add that he who sets out with  the     
notion that the difference between truth
 and falsehood is a thing of  no concern
 to the vulgar1 is very likely sooner or
 later to come to the  kindred notion   
that it is not a thing of any supreme   
concern to himself4    ,let thus much   
have been said as to those who          
deliberately and knowingly  sell their  
intellectual birthright for a mess of   
pottage1 making a  brazen compromise    
with what they hold despicable1 lest    
they should have  to win their bread    
honourably4 ,men need to expend no      
declamatory  indignation upon them4     
,they have a hell of their own2 words   
can add no  bitterness to it4 ,it is no 
light thing to have secured a livelihood
 on  condition of going through life    
masked and gagged4 ,to be compelled1    
week  after week1 and year after year1  

to recite the symbols of ancient faith  
and lift up his voice in the echoes of  
old hopes1 with the blighting  thought  
in his soul that the faith is a lie1 and
 the hope no more than  the folly of the
 crowd2 to read hundreds of times in a  
twelvemonth with  solemn unction as the 
inspired word of the ,supreme what to   
him are  meaningless as the             
,abracadabras of the conjuror in a      
booth2 to go on to  the end of his days 
administering to simple folk holy rites 
of  commemoration and solace1 when he   
has in his mind at each phrase what     
dupes are those simple folk and how     
wearisomely counterfeit their rites3    
and to know through all that this is    
really to be the one business of  his   
prostituted life1 that so dreary and    
hateful a piece of play-acting  will    
make the desperate retrospect of his    
last hours--of a truth here is  the very
 ,greek3 bdhelygma ts ermhses1 the      
abomination of  desolation of the human 
spirit indeed4    ,no one will suppose  

that this is designed for the normal    
type of priest4  ,but it is well to     
study tendencies in their extreme       
catastrophe4 ,this is  only the         
catastrophe1 in one of its many shapes1 
of the fatal doctrine  that money1      
position1 power1 philanthropy1 or any of
 the thousand  seductive masks of the   
pseudo-expedient1 may carry a man away  
from love  of truth and yet leave him   
internally unharmed4 ,the depravation   
that  follows the trucking for money of 
intellectual freedom and self-respect1  
attends in its degree each other        
departure from disinterested following  
of truth1 and each other substitution of
 convenience1 whether public or         
private1 in its place4 ,and both parties
 to such a compromise are losers4  ,the 
world which offers gifts and tacitly    
undertakes to ask no questions  as to   
the real state of the timeserver's inner
 mind1 loses no less than  the          
timeserver himself who receives the     
gifts and promises to hold his  peace4  

,it is as though a society placed       
penalties on mechanical  inventions and 
the exploration of new material         
resources1 and offered  bounties for the
 steadiest adherence to all ancient     
processes in culture  and production4   
,the injury to wealth in the one case   
would not be any  deeper than the injury
 to morality is in the other4      ,to  
pass on to less sinister forms of this  
abnegation of intellectual              
responsibility4 ,in the opening         
sentences of the first chapter we spoke 
of a wise suspense in forming opinions1 
a wise reserve in expressing  them1 and 
a wise tardiness in trying to realise   
them4 ,thus we meant to  mark out the   
three independent provinces of          
compromise1 each of them  being the     
subject of considerations that either do
 not apply at all to  the other two1 or 
else apply in a different degree4       
,disingenuousness or  self-illusion1    
arising from a depressing deference to  
the existing state  of things1 or to    

what is immediately practicable1 or to  
what other  people would think of us if 
they knew our thoughts1 is the result of
  compromising truth in the matter of   
forming and holding opinions4           
,secondly1 positive simulation is what  
comes of an unlawful willingness  to    
compromise in the matter of avowing and 
publishing them4 ,finally1              
pusillanimity or want of faith is the   
vice that belongs to unlawful           
compromise in the department of action  
and realisation4 ,this is not  merely a 
division arranged for convenience of    
discussion4 ,it goes to the  root of    
conduct and character1 and is the key to
 the present mood of our  society4 ,it  
is always a hardy thing to attempt to   
throw a complex matter  into very simple
 form1 but we should say that the want  
of energy and  definiteness in          
contemporary opinions1 of which we first
 complained1 is  due mainly to the      
following notion2 that if a subject is  
not ripe for  practical treatment1 you  

and ,i are therefore entirely relieved  
from the  duty of having clear ideas    
about it4 ,if the majority cling to an  
opinion1 why should we ask whether that 
is the sound and right opinion  or the  
reverse8 ,now this notion1 which springs
 from a confusion of the  three fields  
of compromise with one another1 quietly 
reigns almost  without dispute4 ,the    
devotion to the practical aspect of     
truth is in  such excess1 as to make    
people habitually deny that it can be   
worth  while to form an opinion1 when it
 happens at the moment to be incapable  
of realisation1 for the reason that     
there is no direct prospect of  inducing
 a sufficient number of persons to share
 it4 ',we are quite  willing to think   
that your view is the right one1 and    
would produce all  the improvements for 
which you hope2 but then there is not   
the smallest  chance of persuading the  
only persons able to carry out such a   
view2 why  therefore discuss it8' ,no   
talk is more familiar to us than this4  

,as if  the mere possibility of the view
 being a right one did not obviously    
entitle it to discussion2 discussion    
being the only process by which  people 
are likely to be induced to accept it1  
or else to find good  grounds for       
finally dismissing it4    ,it is        
precisely because we believe that       
opinion1 and nothing but  opinion1 can  
effect great permanent changes1 that we 
ought to be  careful to keep this most  
potent force honest1 wholesome1         
fearless1 and  independent4 ,take the   
political field4 ,politicians and       
newspapers almost  systematically refuse
 to talk about a new idea1 which is not 
capable of  being at once embodied in a 
bill1 and receiving the royal assent    
before  the following ,august4 ,there is
 something rather contemptible1 seen    
from  the ordinary standards of         
intellectual integrity1 in the position 
of a  minister who waits to make up his 
mind whether a given measure1 say the   
disestablishment of the ,irish ,church1 

is in itself and on the merits          
desirable1 until the official who runs  
diligently up and down the  backstairs  
of the party1 tells him that the measure
 is practicable and  required in the    
interests of the band4 ,on the one hand1
 a leader is  lavishly panegyrised for  
his highmindedness1 in suffering himself
 to be  driven into his convictions by  
his party4 ,on the other1 a party is    
extolled for its political tact1 in     
suffering itself to be forced out of    
its convictions by its leader4 ,it is   
hard to decide which is the more        
discreditable and demoralising sight4   
,the education of chiefs by  followers1 
and of followers by chiefs1 into the    
abandonment in a month  of the          
traditions of centuries or the          
principles of a lifetime may  conduce to
 the rapid and easy working of the      
machine4 ,it certainly marks  a triumph 
of the political spirit which the author
 of ,the ,prince might  have admired4   
,it is assuredly mortal to habits of    

intellectual  self-respect in the       
society which allows itself to be amused
 by the  cajolery and legerdemain and   
self-sophistication of its rulers4      
,of course there are excellent reasons  
why a statesman immersed in the  actual 
conduct of affairs1 should confine his  
attention to the work  which his hands  
find to do4 ,but the fact that leading  
statesmen are of  necessity so absorbed 
in the tasks of the hour furnishes all  
the better  reason why as many other    
people as possible should busy          
themselves in  helping to prepare       
opinion for the practical application of
 unfamiliar  but weighty and promising  
suggestions1 by constant and ready      
discussion  of them upon their merits4  
,as a matter of fact it is not the men  
most  occupied who are usually most deaf
 to new ideas4 ,it is the loungers of   
politics1 the quidnuncs1 gossips1       
bustling idlers1 who are most           
industrious in stifling discussion by   
protests against the waste of  time and 

the loss of force involved in talking   
about proposals which are  not exactly  
ready to be voted on4 ,as it is1        
everybody knows that  questions are     
inadequately discussed1 or often not    
discussed at all1 on  the ground that   
the time is not yet come for their      
solution4 ,then when  some unforeseen   
perturbation1 or the natural course of  
things1 forces on  the time for their   
resolution1 they are settled in a       
slovenly1  imperfect1 and often         
downright vicious manner1 from the fact 
that  opinion has not been prepared for 
solving them in an efficient and        
perfect manner4 ,the so-called          
settlement of the question of national  
education is the most recent and most   
deplorable illustration of what  comes  
of refusing to examine ideas alleged to 
be impracticable4 ,perhaps  we may      
venture to prophesy that the            
disendowment of the national church     
will supply the next illustration on an 
imposing scale4 ,gratuitous  primary    

instruction1 and the redistribution of  
electoral power1 are  other matters of  
signal importance1 which comparatively  
few men will  consent to discuss        
seriously and patiently1 and for our    
indifference to  which we shall one day 
surely smart4 ,a judicious and cool     
writer has  said that 'an opinion       
gravely professed by a man of sense and 
education  demands always respectful    
consideration--demands and actually     
receives  it from those whose own sense 
and education give them a correlative   
right2 and whoever offends against this 
sort of courtesy may fairly be  deemed  
to have forfeited the privileges it     
secures4'#ad ,that is the  least part of
 the matter4 ,the serious mischief is   
the eventual  miscarriage and loss and  
prodigal waste of good ideas4    ,the   
evil of which we have been speaking     
comes of not seeing the great  truth1   
that it is worth while to take pains to 
find out the best way of  doing a given 
task1 even if you have strong grounds   

for suspecting that  it will ultimately 
be done in a worse way4 ,and so also in 
spheres of  thought away from the       
political sphere1 it is worth while 'to 
scorn  delights and live laborious days'
 in order to make as sure as we can of  
having the best opinion1 even if we know
 that this opinion has an  infinitely   
small chance of being speedily or ever  
accepted by the  majority1 or by anybody
 but ourselves4 ,truth and wisdom have  
to bide  their time1 and then take their
 chance after all4 ,the most that the   
individual can do is to seek them for   
himself1 even if he seek alone4  ,and if
 it is the most1 it is also the least4  
,yet in our present mood we  seem not to
 feel this4 ,we misunderstand the       
considerations which should  rightly    
lead us in practice to surrender some of
 what we desire1 in  order to secure the
 rest2 and rightly make us acquiesce in 
a second-best  course of action1 in     
order to avoid stagnation or            
retrogression4 ,we  misunderstand all   

this1 and go on to suppose that there   
are the same  grounds why we should in  
our own minds acquiesce in second-best  
opinions2 why we should mix a little    
alloy of conventional expression  with  
the too fine ore of conviction2 why we  
should adopt beliefs that we  suspect in
 our hearts to be of more than equivocal
 authenticity1 but  into whose          
antecedents we do not greatly care to   
inquire1 because they  stand so well    
with the general public4 ,this is       
compromise or economy or  management of 
the first of the three kinds of which we
 are talking4 ,it  is economy applied to
 the formation of opinion2 compromise or
 management  in making up one's mind4   
,the lawfulness or expediency of it     
turns mainly1 as with the other two     
kinds of compromise1 upon the relative  
rights of the majority and the          
minority1 and upon the respect which is 
owing from the latter to the  former4   
,it is a very easy thing for people     
endowed with the fanatical  temperament1

 or demoralised by the habit of looking 
at society  exclusively from the        
juridical point of view1 to insist that 
no respect  at all1 except the respect  
that arises from being too weak to have 
your  own way1 is due from either to the
 other4 ,this shallow and mischievous   
notion rests either on a                
misinterpretation of the experience of  
civilised societies1 or else on nothing 
more creditable than an  arbitrary and  
unreflecting temper4 ,those who have    
thought most carefully  and             
disinterestedly about the matter1 are   
agreed that in advanced  societies the  
expedient course is that no portion of  
the community  should insist on imposing
 its own will upon any other portion1   
except in  matters which are vitally    
connected with the maintenance of the   
social  union4 ,the question where this 
vital connection begins is open to much 
discussion4 ,the line defining the      
sphere of legitimate interference may   
be drawn variously1 whether at          

self-regarding acts1 or in some other   
condition and element of conduct4       
,wherever this line may be best taken1  
not only abstract speculation1 but the  
practical and spontaneous tact of  the  
world1 has decided that there are       
limits1 alike in the interest of        
majority and minority1 to the rights of 
either to disturb the other4 ,in  other 
words1 it is expedient in certain       
affairs that the will of the  majority  
should be absolutely binding1 while in  
affairs of a different  order it should 
count for nothing1 or as nearly nothing1
 as the sociable  dependence of a man on
 his fellows will permit4    ,our thesis
 is this4 ,in the positive endeavour to 
realise an opinion1 to  convert a theory
 into practice1 it may be1 and very     
often is1 highly  expedient to defer to 
the prejudices of the majority1 to move 
very  slowly1 to bow to the conditions  
of the status quo1 to practise the  very
 utmost sobriety1 self-restraint1 and   
conciliatoriness4 ,the mere  expression 

of opinion1 in the next place1 the      
avowal of dissent from  received        
notions1 the refusal to conform to      
language which implies the  acceptance  
of such notions1--this rests on a       
different footing4 ,here  the reasons   
for respecting the wishes and sentiments
 of the majority are  far less strong1  
though1 as we shall presently see1 such 
reasons  certainly exist1 and will weigh
 with all well-considering men4         
,finally1  in the formation of an       
opinion as to the abstract              
preferableness of one  course of action 
over another1 or as to the truth or     
falsehood or right  significance of a   
proposition1 the fact that the majority 
of one's  contemporaries lean in the    
other direction is naught1 and no more  
than  dust in the balance4 ,in making up
 our minds as to what would be the      
wisest line of policy if it were        
practicable1 we have nothing to do with 
the circumstance that it is not         
practicable4 ,and in settling with      

ourselves whether propositions          
purporting to state matters of fact are 
trim or not1 we have to consider how far
 they are conformable to the  evidence4 
,we have nothing to do with the comfort 
and solace which they  would be likely  
to bring to others or ourselves1 if they
 were taken as  true4    ,a nominal     
assent to this truth will be instantly  
given even by those who  in practice    
systematically disregard it4 ,the       
difficulty of transforming  that nominal
 assent into a reality is enormous in   
such a community as  ours4 ,of all      
societies since the ,roman ,republic1   
and not even excepting  the ,roman      
,republic1 ,england has been the most   
emphatically and  essentially political4
 ,she has passed through military phases
 and  through religious phases1 but they
 have been transitory1 and the great    
central stream of national life has     
flowed in political channels4 ,the      
political life has been stronger than   
any other1 deeper1 wider1 more          

persistent1 more successful4 ,the wars  
which built up our far-spreading  empire
 were not waged with designs of military
 conquest2 they were  mostly wars for a 
market4 ,the great spiritual            
emancipation of the  sixteenth and      
seventeenth centuries figures in our    
history partly as an  accident1 partly  
as an intrigue1 partly as a raid of     
nobles in search of  spoil4 ,it was     
hardly until the reformed doctrine      
became associated with  analogous ideas 
and corresponding precepts in           
government1 that people  felt at home   
with it1 and became really interested in
 it4    ,one great tap-root of our      
national increase has been the growth of
  self-government1 or government by     
deliberative bodies1 representing       
opposed principles and conflicting      
interests4 ,with the system of          
self-government has grown the habit--not
 of tolerance precisely1 for            
,englishmen when in earnest are as      
little in love with tolerance as        

,frenchmen or any other people1 but--of 
giving way to the will of the  majority1
 so long as they remain a majority4     
,this has come to pass for  the simple  
reason that1 on any other terms1 the    
participation of large  numbers of      
people in the control and arrangement of
 public affairs  immediately becomes    
unworkable4 ,the gradual concentration  
of power in  the hands of a supreme     
deliberative body1 the active share of  
so many  thousands of persons in        
choosing and controlling its members1   
the close  attention with which the     
proceedings of parliament are followed  
and  watched1 the kind of dignity that  
has been lent to parliamentary methods  
by the great importance of the          
transactions1 have all tended in the    
same  direction4 ,they have all helped  
both to fix our strongest and most      
constant interests upon politics1 and to
 ingrain the mental habits  proper to   
politics1 far more deeply than any      
other1 into our general  constitution   

and inmost character4    ,thus the      
political spirit has grown to be the    
strongest element in our  national life2
 the dominant force1 extending its      
influence over all our  ways of thinking
 in matters that have least to do with  
politics1 or even  nothing at all to do 
with them4 ,there has thus been         
engendered among us  the real sense of  
political responsibility4 ,in a         
corresponding degree  has been          
discouraged1 what it is the object of   
the present chapter to  urge1 the sense 
of intellectual responsibility4 ,if it  
were inevitable  that one of these two  
should always enfeeble or exclude the   
other1 if  the price of the mental      
alacrity and open-mindedness of the age 
of  ,pericles must always be paid in the
 political incompetence of the age of   
,demosthenes1 it would be hard to settle
 which quality ought to be most  eagerly
 encouraged by those who have most to do
 with the spiritual  direction of a     
community4 ,no doubt the tone of a      

long-enduring and  imperial society1    
such as ,rome was1 must be conservative1
 drastic1  positive1 hostile to the     
death to every speculative novelty4 ,but
 then1  after all1 the permanence of    
,roman power was only valuable to       
mankind  because it ensured the spread  
of certain civilising ideas4 ,and these 
ideas had originated among people so    
characteristically devoid of the        
sovereign faculty of political coherency
 as were the ,greeks and the  ,jews4 ,in
 the ,greeks1 it is true1 we find not   
only ideas of the highest  speculative  
fertility1 but actual political         
institutions4 ,still we  should hardly  
point to ,greek history for the most    
favourable examples of  their stable    
working4 ,practically and as a matter of
 history1 a society  is seldom at the   
same time successfully energetic both in
 temporals and  spirituals2 seldom      
prosperous alike in seeking abstract    
truth and  nursing the political spirit4
 ,there is a decisive preponderance in  

one  direction or the other1 and the    
equal balance between free and active   
thinking1 and coherent practical energy 
in a community1 seems too hard  to      
sustain4 ,the vast military and         
political strength of ,germany1 for     
instance1 did not exist1 and was        
scarcely anticipated in men's minds1    
during the time of her most strenuous   
passion for abstract truth and  deeper  
learning and new criticism4 ,in ,france 
never was political and  national       
interest so debilitated1 so extinct1 as 
it was during the reign  of ,lewis the  
,fifteenth3 her intellectual interest   
was never so vivid1  so fruitful1 or so 
widely felt4    ,yet it is at least     
well1 and more than that1 it is an      
indispensable  condition of social      
wellbeing1 that the divorce between     
political  responsibility and           
intellectual responsibility1 between    
respect for what  is instantly          
practicable and search after what is    
only important in  thought1 should not  

be too complete and universal4 ,even if 
there were no  other objection1 the     
undisputed predominance of the political
 spirit has  a plain tendency to limit  
the subjects in which the men animated  
by it  can take a real interest4 ,all   
matters fall out of sight1 or at least  
fall into a secondary place1 which do   
not bear more or less directly and      
patently upon the material and          
structural welfare of the community4 ,in
  this way the members of the community 
miss the most bracing1 widening1  and   
elevated of the whole range of          
influences that create great            
characters4 ,first1 they lose sincere   
concern about the larger questions      
which the human mind has raised up for  
itself4 ,second1 they lose a  fearless  
desire to reach the true answers to     
them1 or if no certain  answers should  
prove to be within reach1 then at any   
rate to be  satisfied on good grounds   
that this is so4 ,such questions are not
  immediately discerned by commonplace  

minds to be of social import4           
,consequently they1 and all else that is
 not obviously connected with the       
machinery of society1 give way in the   
public consideration to what is so      
connected with it1 in a manner that     
cannot be mistaken4    ,again1 even     
minds that are not commonplace are      
affected for the worse by  the same     
spirit4 ,they are aware of the existence
 of the great  speculative subjects and 
of their importance1 but the pressure of
 the  political spirit on such men makes
 them afraid of the conclusions to      
which free inquiry might bring them4    
,accordingly they abstain from  inquiry1
 and dread nothing so much as making up 
their minds4 ,they see  reasons for     
thinking that1 if they applied          
themselves seriously to the  formation  
of true opinions in this or that        
department1 they would come  to         
conclusions which1 though likely to make
 their way in the course of  some       
centuries1 are wholly unpopular now1 and

 which might ruin the  influence of     
anybody suspected of accepting1 or even 
of so much as  leaning towards1 them4   
,life1 they reflect1 is short2          
missionaries do  not pass for a very    
agreeable class1 nor martyrs for a very 
sensible  class2 one can only do a      
trifling amount of good in the world1 at
 best2  it is moral suicide to throw    
away any chance of achieving even that  
trifle2 and therefore it is best not    
only not to express1 but not to  take   
the trouble to acquire1 right views in  
this quarter or that1 and to  draw clear
 away from such or such a region of     
thought1 for the sake of  keeping peace 
on earth and superficial good will among
 men4    ,it would be too harsh to      
stigmatise such a train of thought as   
self-seeking and hypocritical4 ,it is   
the natural product of the  political   
spirit1 which is incessantly thinking of
 present consequences  and the          
immediately feasible4 ,there is nothing 
in the mere dread of  losing it1 to     

hinder influence from being well        
employed1 so far as it  goes4 ,but one  
can hardly overrate the ill consequences
 of this  particular kind of management1
 this unspoken bargaining with the      
little  circle of his fellows which     
constitutes the world of a man4 ,if he  
may  retain his place among them as     
preacher or teacher1 he is willing to   
forego his birthright of free           
explanation2 he consents to be blind to 
the duty which attaches to every        
intelligent man of having some clear    
ideas1 even though only provisional     
ones1 upon the greatest subjects of     
human interest1 and of deliberately     
preferring these1 whatever they may  be1
 to their opposites4 ,either an         
individual or a community is fatally    
dwarfed by any such limitation of the   
field in which one is free to use  his  
mind4 ,for it is a limitation1 not      
prescribed by absorption in one  set of 
subjects rather than another1 nor by    
insufficient preparation for  the       

discussion of certain subjects1 nor by  
indolence nor incuriousness1  but solely
 by apprehension of the conclusions to  
which such use of the  mind might bring 
the too courageous seeker4 ,if there    
were no other ill  effect1 this kind of 
limitation would at least have the      
radical  disadvantage of dulling the    
edge of responsibility1 of deadening the
  sharp sense of personal answerableness
 either to a ,god1 or to society1  or to
 a man's own conscience and intellectual
 self-respect4    ,how momentous a      
disadvantage this is1 we can best know  
by contemplating  the characters which  
have sometimes lighted up the old times4
 ,men were  then devoutly persuaded that
 their eternal salvation depended on    
their  having true beliefs4 ,any        
slackness in finding out which beliefs  
are the  true ones would have to be     
answered for before the throne of       
,almighty  ,god1 at the sure risk and   
peril of everlasting damnation4 ,to what
  quarter in the large historic         

firmament can we turn our eyes with such
  certainty of being stirred and        
elevated1 of thinking better of human   
life and the worth of those who have    
been most deeply penetrated by its      
seriousness1 as to the annals of the    
intrepid spirits whom the  protestant   
doctrine of indefeasible personal       
responsibility brought to  the front in 
,germany in the sixteenth century1 and  
in ,england and  ,scotland in the       
seventeenth8 ,it is not their           
fanaticism1 still less is  it their     
theology1 which makes the great ,puritan
 chiefs of ,england and  the stern      
,covenanters of ,scotland so heroic in  
our sight4 ,it is the fact  that they   
sought truth and ensued it1 not thinking
 of the practicable  nor cautiously     
counting majorities and minorities1 but 
each man  pondering and searching so 'as
 ever in the great ,taskmaster's eye4'  
,it is no adequate answer to urge that  
this awful consciousness of a  divine   
presence and supervision has ceased to  

be the living fact it once  was4 ,that  
partly explains1 but it certainly does  
not justify1 our  present lassitude4    
,for the ever-wakeful eye of celestial  
power is not  the only conceivable      
stimulus to responsibility4 ,to pass    
from those grim  heroes of protestantism
 to the ,french philosophers of the last
 century  is a wide leap in a hundred   
respects1 yet they too were pricked by  
the  oestrus of intellectual            
responsibility4 ,their doctrine was     
dismally  insufficient1 and sometimes1  
as the present writer has often pointed 
out1 it was directly vicious4 ,their    
daily lives were surrounded by much     
shabbiness and many meannesses4 ,but1   
after all1 no temptation and no  menace1
 no pains or penalties for thinking     
about certain subjects1 and  no rewards 
for turning to think about something    
else1 could divert such  men as         
,voltaire and ,diderot from their alert 
and strenuous search after  such truth  
as could be vouchsafed to their         

imperfect lights4 ,a  catastrophe       
followed1 it is true1 but the           
misfortunes which attended it  were due 
more to the champions of tradition and  
authority than to the  soldiers of      
emancipation4 ,even in the case of the  
latter1 they were due  to an inadequate 
doctrine1 and not at all either to their
 sense of the  necessity of free        
speculation and inquiry1 or to the      
intrepidity with  which they obeyed the 
promptings of that ennobling sense4     
,perhaps the latest attempt of a        
considerable kind to suppress the       
political spirit in non-political       
concerns was the famous movement which  
had its birth a generation ago among the
 gray quadrangles and ancient  gardens  
of ,oxford1 'the sweet city with her    
dreaming spires1' where  there has ever 
been so much detachment from the world1 
alongside of the  coarsest and fiercest 
hunt after the grosser prizes of the    
world4 ,no one  has much less sympathy  
with the direction of the tractarian    

revival than  the present writer1 in    
whose ,oxford days the star of ,newman  
had set1 and  the sun of ,mill had risen
 in its stead4 ,and it is needful to    
distinguish  the fervid and strong      
spirits with whom the revival began from
 the  mimics of our later day4 ,no doubt
 the mere occasion of tractarianism was 
political4 ,its leaders were alarmed at 
the designs imputed to the newly        
reformed parliament of disestablishing  
the ,anglican ,church4 ,they asked      
themselves the question1 which ,i will  
put in their own words 7,tract          
i47--',should the government of the     
country so far forget their ,god as to  
cut off the ,church1 to deprive it of   
its temporal honours and substance1  on 
what will you rest the claims to respect
 and attention which you make  upon your
 flock8 ,in answering this question they
 speedily found  themselves1 as might   
have been expected1 at the opposite pole
 of thought  from things political4 ,the
 whole strength of their appeal to      

members of  the ,church lay in men's    
weariness of the high and dry optimism1 
which  presents the existing order of   
things as the noblest possible1 and the 
undisturbed way of the majority as the  
way of salvation4 ,apostolical          
succession and ,sacramentalism may not  
have been in themselves  progressive    
ideas4 ,the spirit which welcomed them  
had at least the  virtue of taking away 
from ,caesar the things that are not    
,caesar's4    ,glaring as were the      
intellectual faults of the ,oxford      
movement1 it was  at any rate a         
recognition in a very forcible way of   
the doctrine that  spiritual matters are
 not to be settled by the dicta of a    
political  council4 ,it acknowledged    
that a man is answerable at his own     
peril for  having found or lost the     
truth4 ,it was a warning that he must   
reckon  with a judge who will not       
account the status quo1 nor the         
convenience  of a cabinet1 a good plea  
for indolent acquiescence in theological

  error4 ,it ended1 in the case of its  
most vigorous champions1 in a final  and
 deliberate putting out of the eyes of  
the understanding4 ,the last  act of    
assertion of personal responsibility was
 a headlong acceptance of  the          
responsibility of tradition and the     
,church4 ,this was deplorable  enough4  
,but apart from other advantages        
incidental to the tractarian  movement1 
such as the attention which it was the  
means of drawing to  history and the    
organic connection between present and  
past1 it had1 we  repeat1 the merit of  
being an effective protest against what 
may be  called the ,house of ,commons'  
view of human life--a view excellent in 
its  place1 but most blighting and      
dwarfing out of it4 ,it was1 what every 
sincere uprising of the better spirit in
 men and women must always be1  an      
effective protest against the leaden    
tyranny of the man of the world  and the
 so-called practical person4 ,the man of
 the world despises  catholics for      

taking their religious opinions on trust
 and being the  slaves of tradition4 ,as
 if he had himself formed his own most  
important  opinions either in religion  
or anything else4 ,he laughs at them for
  their superstitious awe of the        
,church4 ,as if his own inward awe of   
the  ,greater ,number were one whit less
 of a superstition4 ,he mocks their     
deference for the past4 ,as if his own  
absorbing deference to the present  were
 one tittle better bottomed or a jot    
more respectable4 ,the modern           
emancipation will profit us very little 
if the status quo is to be  fastened    
round our necks with the despotic       
authority of a heavenly  dispensation1  
and if in the stead of ancient          
,scriptures we are to accept  the       
plenary inspiration of ,majorities4     
,it may be urged that if1 as it is the  
object of the present chapter to  state1
 there are opinions which a man should  
form for himself1 and which  it may yet 
be expedient that he should not only be 

slow to attempt to  realise in practical
 life1 but sometimes even slow to       
express1--then we  are demanding from   
him the performance of a troublesome    
duty1 while we  are taking from him the 
only motives which could really induce  
him to  perform it4 ,if1 it may be      
asked1 ,i am not to carry my notions    
into  practice1 nor try to induce others
 to accept them1 nor even boldly        
publish them1 why in the name of all    
economy of force should ,i take so  much
 pains in forming opinions which are1   
after all1 on these conditions  so very 
likely to come to naught8 ,the answer to
 this is that opinions do  not come to  
naught1 even if the man who holds them  
should never think  fit to publish them4
 ,for one thing1 as we shall see in our 
next  division1 the conditions which    
make against frank declaration of our   
convictions are of rare occurrence4     
,and1 apart from this1 convictions  may 
well exert a most decisive influence    
over our conduct1 even if  reasons      

exist1 or seem to exist1 for not        
pressing them on others4 ,though        
themselves invisible to the outer world1
 they may yet operate with  magnetic    
force both upon other parts of our      
belief which the outer world  does see1 
and upon the whole of our dealings with 
it4 ,whether we are  good or bad1 it is 
only a broken and incoherent fragment of
 our whole  personality that even those 
who are intimate with us1 much less the 
common world1 can ever come into contact
 with4 ,the important thing is  that the
 personality itself should be as little 
as possible broken1  incoherent1 and    
fragmentary2 that reasoned and          
consistent opinions  should back a firm 
will1 and independent convictions       
inspire the  intellectual self-respect  
and strenuous self-possession which the 
clamour of majorities and the silent yet
 ever-pressing force of the  status quo 
are equally powerless to shake4         
,character is doubtless of far more     
importance than mere intellectual       

opinion4 ,we only too often see highly  
rationalised convictions in  persons of 
weak purpose or low motives4 ,but while 
fully recognising  this1 and the sort of
 possible reality which lies at the root
 of such a  phrase as 'godless          
intellect' or 'intellectual             
devils'--though the  phrase has no      
reality when it is used by self-seeking 
politicians or  prelates--yet it is well
 to remember the very obvious truth that
  opinions are at least an extremely    
important part of character4 ,as it is  
sometimes put1 what we think has a      
prodigiously close connection with  what
 we are4 ,the consciousness of having   
reflected seriously and  conclusively on
 important questions1 whether social or 
spiritual1  augments dignity while it   
does not lessen humility4 ,in this      
sense1  taking thought can and does add 
a cubit to our stature4 ,opinions which 
we may not feel bound or even permitted 
to press on other people1 are  not the  
less forces for being latent4 ,they     

shape ideals1 and it is  ideals that    
inspire conduct4 ,they do this1 though  
from afar1 and though  he who possesses 
them may not presume to take the world  
into his  confidence4 ,finally1 unless a
 man follows out ideas to their full    
conclusion without fear what the        
conclusion may be1 whether he thinks it 
expedient to make his thought and its   
goal fully known or not1 it is          
impossible that he should acquire a     
commanding grasp of principles4 ,and  a 
commanding grasp of principles1 whether 
they are public or not1 is at  the very 
root of coherency of character4 ,it     
raises mediocrity near to a  level with 
the highest talents1 if those talents   
are in company with a  disposition that 
allows the little prudences of the hour 
incessantly to  obscure the persistent  
laws of things4 ,these persistencies1 if
 a man  has once satisfied himself of   
their direction and mastered their      
bearings and application1 are just as   
cogent and valuable a guide to  conduct1

 whether he publishes them ad urbem et  
orbem1 or esteems them  too strong meat 
for people who have1 through indurated  
use and wont1  lost the courage of      
facing unexpected truths4    ,one       
conspicuous result of the failure to see
 that our opinions have  roots to them1 
independently of the feelings which     
either majorities or  other portions of 
the people around us may entertain about
 them1 is that  neither political       
matters nor any other serious branches  
of opinion1  engage us in their loftiest
 or most deep-reaching forms4 ,the      
advocate of  a given theory of          
government or society is so misled by a 
wrong  understanding of the practice of 
just and wise compromise in applying    
it1 as to forget the noblest and most   
inspiring shape which his theory  can be
 made to assume4 ,it is the worst of    
political blunders to insist  on        
carrying an ideal set of principles into
 execution1 where others have  rights of
 dissent1 and those others persons whose

 assent is as  indispensable to success1
 as it is impossible to attain4 ,but to 
be  afraid or ashamed of holding such an
 ideal set of principles in one's  mind 
in their highest and most abstract      
expression1 does more than any  one     
other cause to stunt or petrify those   
elements in character to which  life    
should owe most of its savour4    ,if a 
man happens to be a ,conservative1 for  
instance1 it is pitiful that  he should 
think so much more of what other people 
on his side or the  other think1 than of
 the widest and highest of the ideas on 
which a  conservative philosophy of life
 and human society reposes4 ,such ideas 
are these1--that the social union is the
 express creation and ordering  of the  
,deity3 that its movements follow his   
mysterious and fixed  dispensation3 that
 the church and the state are           
convertible terms1 and  each citizen of 
the latter is an incorporated member of 
the former3 that  conscience1 if        
perversely and misguidedly              

self-asserting1 has no rights  against  
the decrees of the conscience of the    
nation3 that it is the most  detestable 
of crimes to perturb the pacific order  
of society either by  active agitation  
or speculative restlessness2 that       
descent from a long  line of ancestors  
in great station adds an element of     
dignity to life1  and imposes many high 
obligations4 ,we do not say that these  
and the  rest of the propositions which 
make up the true theoretic basis of a   
conservative creed1 are proper for the  
hustings1 or expedient in an  election  
address or a speech in parliament4 ,we  
do say that if these high  and not      
unintelligible principles1 which alone  
can give to reactionary  professions any
 worth or significance1 were present in 
the minds of men  who speak reactionary 
language1 the country would be spared   
the ignominy  of seeing certain real    
truths of society degraded at the hands 
of  aristocratic adventurers and        
plutocratic parasites into some         

miserable  process of 'dishing ,whigs4' 
,this impoverishment of aims and        
depravation of principles by the triumph
  of the political spirit outside of its
 proper sphere1 cannot  unfortunately be
 restricted to any one set of people in 
the state4 ,it is  something in the very
 atmosphere1 which no sanitary cordon   
can limit4  ,liberalism1 too1 would be  
something more generous1 more           
attractive--yes1  and more practically  
effective1 if its professors and        
champions could  allow their sense of   
what is feasible to be refreshed and    
widened by a  more free recognition1    
however private and undemonstrative1 of 
the  theoretic ideas which give their   
social creed whatever life and          
consistency it may have4 ,such ideas are
 these3 ,that the conditions of  the    
social union are not a mystery1 only to 
be touched by miracle1 but  the results 
of explicable causes1 and susceptible of
 constant  modification3 that the       
thoughts of wise and patriotic men      

should be  perpetually turned towards   
the improvement of these conditions in  
every  direction3 that contented        
acquiescence in the ordering that has   
come  down to us from the past is       
selfish and anti-social1 because amid   
the  ceaseless change that is inevitable
 in a growing organism1 the             
institutions of the past demand         
progressive re-adaptations3 that such   
improvements are most likely to be      
secured in the greatest abundance by    
limiting the sphere of authority1       
extending that of free individuality1   
and steadily striving after the         
bestowal1 so far as the nature of things
  will ever permit it1 of equality of   
opportunity3 that while there is        
dignity in ancestry1 a modern society is
 only safe in proportion as it  summons 
capacity to its public counsels and     
enterprises2 that such a  society to    
endure must progress3 that progress on  
its political side  means more than     
anything else the substitution of       

,justice as a governing  idea1 instead  
of ,privilege1 and that the best        
guarantee for justice in  public        
dealings is the participation in their  
own government of the  people most      
likely to suffer from injustice4 ,this  
is not an exhaustive  account of the    
progressive doctrine1 and we have here  
nothing to say as  to its soundness4 ,we
 only submit that if those who use the  
watchwords of  ,liberalism were to      
return upon its principles1 instead of  
dwelling  exclusively on practical      
compromises1 the tone of public life    
would be  immeasurably raised4 ,the     
cause of social improvement would be    
less  systematically balked of the      
victories that are best worth gaining4  
,progress would mean something more than
 mere entrances and exits on the        
theatre of office4 ,we should not see in
 the mass of parliamentary              
candidates--and they are important      
people1 because nearly every            
,englishman with any ambition is a      

parliamentary candidate1 actual or      
potential--that grave anxiety1 that     
sober rigour1 that immense caution1     
which are all so really laughable1      
because so many of those men are only   
anxious lest they should make a mistake 
in finding out what the  majority of    
their constituents would like them to   
think2 only rigorous  against those who 
are indiscreet enough to press a        
principle against the  beck of a whip or
 a wire-puller2 and only very cautious  
not so much lest  their opinion should  
be wrong1 as lest it should not pay4    
,indolence and timidity have united to  
popularise among us a flaccid           
latitudinarianism1 which thinks itself a
 benign tolerance for the  opinions of  
others4 ,it is in truth only a          
pretentious form of being  without      
settled opinions of our own1 and without
 any desire to settle  them4 ,no one can
 complain of the want of speculative    
activity at the  present time in a      
certain way4 ,the air1 at a certain     

social elevation1  is as full as it has 
ever been of ideas1 theories1 problems1 
possible  solutions1 suggested          
questions1 and proffered answers4 ,but  
then they are  at large1 without        
cohesion1 and very apt to be the objects
 even in the  more instructed minds of  
not much more than dilettante interest4 
,we see  in solution an immense number  
of notions1 which people think it quite 
unnecessary to precipitate in the form  
of convictions4 ,we constantly  hear the
 age lauded for its tolerance1 for its  
candour1 for its openness  of mind1 for 
the readiness with which a hearing is   
given to ideas that  forty years ago1 or
 even less than that1 would have        
excluded persons  suspected of holding  
them from decent society1 and in fact   
did so  exclude them4 ,before1 however1 
we congratulate ourselves too warmly on 
this1 let us be quite sure that we are  
not mistaking for tolerance what  is    
really nothing more creditable than     
indifference4 ,these two attitudes  of  

mind1 which are so vitally unlike in    
their real quality1 are so hard  to     
distinguish in their outer seeming4     
,one is led to suspect that carelessness
 is the right name for what looks  like 
reasoned toleration1 by such a line of  
consideration as the  following4 ,it is 
justly said that at the bottom of all   
the great  discussions of modern society
 lie the two momentous questions1 first 
whether there is a ,god1 and second     
whether the soul is immortal4 ,in  other
 words1 whether our fellow-creatures are
 the highest beings who  take an        
interest in us1 or in whom we need take 
an interest2 and1 then1  whether life in
 this world is the only life of which we
 shall ever be  conscious4 ,it is true  
of most people that when they are       
talking of  evolution1 and the origin of
 species1 and the experiential or       
intuitional source of ideas1 and the    
utilitarian or transcendental basis  of 
moral obligation1 these are the         
questions which they really have in     

their minds4 ,now1 in spite of the      
scientific activity of the day1 nobody  
is likely to contend that men are       
pressed keenly in their souls by any    
poignant stress of spiritual tribulation
 in the face of the two supreme         
enigmas4 ,nobody will say that there is 
much of that striving and  wrestling and
 bitter agonising1 which whole societies
 of men have felt  before now on        
questions of far less tremendous import4
 ,ours1 as has been  truly said1 is 'a  
time of loud disputes and weak          
convictions1' ,in a  generation deeply  
impressed by a sense of intellectual    
responsibility  this could not be4 ,as  
it is1 even superior men are better     
pleased to  play about the height of    
these great arguments1 to fly in busy   
intellectual sport from side to side1   
from aspect to aspect1 than they  are   
intent on resolving what it is1 after   
all1 that the discussion comes  to and  
to which solution1 when everything has  
been said and heard1 the  balance of    

truth really to incline4 ,there are too 
many giggling  epigrams2 people are too 
willing to look on collections of       
mutually  hostile opinions with the same
 kind of curiosity which they bestow on 
a  collection of mutually hostile beasts
 in a menagerie4 ,they have very  faint 
predilections for one rather than       
another4 ,if they were truly  alive to  
the duty of conclusiveness1 or to the   
inexpressible magnitude  of the subjects
 which nominally occupy their minds1 but
 really only  exercise their tongues1   
this elegant ,pyrrhonism would be       
impossible1 and  this light-hearted     
neutrality most unendurable4    ,well   
has the illustrious ,pascal said with   
reference to one of the two  great      
issues of the modern controversy3--',the
 immortality of the soul is  a thing    
that concerns us so closely and touches 
us so profoundly1 that  one must have   
lost all feeling to be indifferent as to
 knowing how the  matter is4 ,all our   
actions and all our thoughts must follow

 such  different paths1 according as    
there are eternal goods to hope for or  
are  not1 that it is impossible to take 
a step with sense and judgment1  without
 regulating it in view of this point1   
which ought to be our first  object4444 
,i can have nothing but compassion for  
those who groan and  travail in this    
doubt with all sincerity1 who look on it
 as the worst of  misfortunes1 and who1 
sparing no pains to escape from it1 make
 of this  search their chief and most   
serious employment4444 ,but he who      
doubts and  searches not is at the same 
time a grievous wrongdoer1 and a        
grievously  unfortunate man4 ,if along  
with this he is tranquil and            
self-satisfied1  if he publishes his    
contentment to the world and plumes     
himself upon it1  and if it is this very
 state of doubt which he makes the      
subject of his  joy and vanity--,i have 
no terms in which to describe so        
extravagant a  creature4'#ae ,who1      
except a member of the school of        

extravagant  creatures themselves1 would
 deny that ,pascal's irritation is most 
wholesome and righteous8    ,perhaps in 
reply to this1 we may be confronted by  
our own doctrine of  intellectual       
responsibility interpreted in a directly
 opposite sense4 ,we  may be reminded of
 the long array of difficulties that    
interfere between  us and knowledge in  
that tremendous matter1 and of          
objections that rise  in such perplexing
 force to an answer either one way or   
the other4 ,and  finally we may be      
despatched with a eulogy of caution and 
a censure of  too great heat after      
certainty4 ,the answer is that there is 
a kind of  ,doubt not without search1   
but after and at the end of search1     
which is  not open to ,pascal's just    
reproaches against the more ignoble and 
frivolous kind4 ,and this too has been  
described for us by a subtle  doctor of 
,pascal's communion4 ',are there        
pleasures of ,doubt1 as well as  of     
,inference and ,assent8 ,in one sense   

there are4 ,not indeed if doubt  means  
ignorance1 uncertainty1 or hopeless     
suspense2 but there is a  certain grave 
acquiescence in ignorance1 a recognition
 of our impotence  to solve momentous   
and urgent questions1 which has a       
satisfaction of its  own4 ,after high   
aspirations1 after renewed endeavours1  
after bootless  toil1 after long        
wanderings1 after hope1 effort1         
weariness1 failure1  painfully          
alternating and recurring1 it is an     
immense relief to the  exhausted mind to
 be able to say1 ,at length ,i know that
 ,i can know  nothing about anything4   
444 ,ignorance remains the evil which it
 ever  was1 but something of the peace  
of certitude is gained in knowing the   
worst1 and in having reconciled the mind
 to the endurance of it4'#af            
,precisely1 and what one would say of   
our own age is that it will not         
deliberately face this knowledge of the 
worst4 ,so it misses the peace of       
certitude1 and not only its peace1 but  

the strength and coherency that  follow 
strict acceptance of the worst1 when the
 worst is after all the  best within    
reach4    ,those who are in earnest when
 they blame too great haste after       
certainty1 do in reality mean us to     
embrace certainty1 but in favour of  the
 vulgar opinions4 ,they only see the    
prodigious difficulties of the          
controversy when you do not incline to  
their own side in it4 ,they only        
panegyrise caution and the strictly     
provisional when they suspect that      
intrepidity and love of the conclusive  
would lead them to unwelcome  shores4   
,these persons1 however1 whether        
fortunately or unfortunately1  have no  
longer much influence over the most     
active part of the national             
intelligence4 ,whether permanently or   
not1 resolute orthodoxy1 however        
prosperous it may seem among many of the
 uncultivated rich1 has lost its  hold  
upon thought4 ,for thought has become   
dispersive1 and the  centrifugal forces 

of the human mind1 among those who think
 seriously1  have for the time become   
dominant and supreme4 ,no one1 ,i       
suppose1  imagines that the singular    
ecclesiastical revival which is now     
going on1  is accompanied by any revival
 of real and reasoned belief2 or that   
the  opulent manufacturers who subscribe
 so generously for restored cathedral   
fabrics and the like1 have been moved by
 the apologetics of ,aids to  ,faith and
 the ,christian ,evidence ,society4     
,obviously only three ways of dealing   
with the great problems of which we     
have spoken are compatible with a strong
 and well-bottomed character4 ,we  may  
affirm that there is a deity with       
definable attributes2 and that  there is
 a conscious state and continued        
personality after the  dissolution of   
the body4 ,or we may deny4 ,or we may   
assure ourselves that  we have no       
faculties enabling us on good evidence  
either to deny or  affirm4 ,intellectual
 self-respect and all the qualities that

 are derived  from that1 may well go    
with any one of these three courses1    
decisively  followed and consistently   
applied in framing a rule of life and a 
settled scheme of its aims and motives4 
,why do we say that intellectual        
self-respect is not vigorous1 nor the   
sense of intellectual  responsibility   
and truthfulness and coherency quick and
 wakeful among  us8 ,because so many    
people1 even among those who might be   
expected to  know better1 insist on the 
futile attempt to reconcile all those   
courses1 instead of fixing on one and   
steadily abiding in it4 ,they speak  as 
if they affirmed1 and they act as if    
they denied1 and in their hearts  they  
cherish a slovenly sort of suspicion    
that we can neither deny nor  affirm4   
,it may be said that this comes to much 
the same thing as if they  had formally 
decided in the last or neutral sense4   
,it is not so4 ,this  illegitimate union
 of three contradictories fritters      
character away1  breaks it up into      

discordant parts1 and dissolves into    
mercurial  fluidity that leavening      
sincerity and free and cheerful         
boldness1 which  come of harmonious     
principles of faith and action1 and     
without which men  can never walk as    
confident lovers of justice and truth4  
,ambrose's famous saying1 that 'it hath 
not pleased the ,lord to give his       
people salvation in dialectic1' has a   
profound meaning far beyond its         
application to theology4 ,it is deeply  
true that our ruling convictions  are   
less the product of ratiocination than  
of sympathy1 imagination1  usage1       
tradition4 ,but from this it does not   
follow that the reasoning  faculties are
 to be further discouraged4 ,on the     
contrary1 just because  the other       
elements are so strong that they can be 
trusted to take care  of themselves1 it 
is expedient to give special countenance
 to the  intellectual habits1 which     
alone can check and rectify the         
constantly  aberrating tendencies of    

sentiment on the one side1 and custom on
 the  other4 ,this remark brings us to  
another type1 of whom it is not         
irrelevant to speak shortly in this     
place4 ,the consequences of the         
strength of the political spirit are not
 all direct1 nor does its  strength by  
any means spring solely from its        
indulgence to the less  respectable     
elements of character1 such as languor1 
extreme pliableness1  superficiality4   
,on the contrary1 it has an indirect    
influence in  removing the only         
effective restraint on the excesses of  
some qualities  which1 when duly        
directed and limited1 are among the most
 precious parts  of our mental          
constitution4 ,the political spirit is  
the great force in  throwing love of    
truth and accurate reasoning into a     
secondary place4  ,the evil does not    
stop here4 ,this achievement has        
indirectly  countenanced the            
postponement of intellectual methods1   
and the  diminution of the sense of     

intellectual responsibility1 by a school
 that  is anything rather than          
political4    ,theology has borrowed1   
and coloured for her own use1 the       
principles  which were first brought    
into vogue in politics4 ,if in the one  
field it  is the fashion to consider    
convenience first and truth second1 in  
the  other there is a corresponding     
fashion of placing truth second and     
emotional comfort first4 ,if there are  
some who compromise their real          
opinions1 or the chance of reaching     
truth1 for the sake of gain1 there  are 
far more who shrink from giving their   
intelligence free play1 for  the sake of
 keeping undisturbed certain luxurious  
spiritual  sensibilities4 ,this choice  
of emotional gratification before truth 
and  upright dealing with one's own     
understanding1 creates a character that 
is certainly far less unlovely than     
those who sacrifice their  intellectual 
integrity to more material convenience4 
,the moral flaw is  less palpable and   

less gross4 ,yet here too there is the  
stain of  intellectual improbity1 and it
 is perhaps all the more mischievous for
  being partly hidden under the mien of 
spiritual exaltation4    ,there is in   
literature no more seductive            
illustration of this seductive  type    
than ,rousseau's renowned character of  
the ,savoyard  ,vicar--penetrated with  
scepticism as to the attributes of the  
deity1 the  meaning of the holy rites1  
the authenticity of the sacred          
documents2 yet  full of reverence1 and  
ever respecting in silence what he could
 neither  reject nor understand4 ',the  
essential worship1' he says1 'is the    
worship  of the heart4 ,god never       
rejects this homage1 under whatever form
 it be  offered to him4 ,in old days ,i 
used to say mass with the levity which  
in  time infects even the gravest things
 when we do them too often4 ,since      
acquiring my new principles of          
reverential scepticism ,i celebrate it  
with more veneration3 ,i am overcome by 

the majesty of the ,supreme ,being1  by 
his presence1 by the insufficiency of   
the human mind1 which conceives  so ill 
what pertains to its author4 ,when ,i   
approach the moment of  consecration1 ,i
 collect myself for performing the act  
with all the  feelings required by the  
church and the majesty of the sacrament4
 ,i  strive to annihilate my reason     
before the ,supreme ,intelligence1      
saying1  ,who art thou that thou        
shouldst measure infinite power8'#ag    
,the ,savoyard ,vicar is not imaginary4 
,the acquiescence in indefinite  ideas  
for the sake of comforted emotions1 and 
the abnegation of strong  convictions in
 order to make room for free and        
plenteous effusion1 have  for us all the
 marks of a too familiar reality4 ,such 
a doctrine is an  everyday plea for     
self-deception1 and a current           
justification for  illusion even among  
some of the finer spirits4 ,they have   
persuaded  themselves not only that the 
life of the religious emotions is the   

highest life1 but that it is independent
 of the intellectual forms with  which  
history happens to have associated it4  
,and so they refine and  sophisticate   
and make havoc with plain and honest    
interpretation1 in  order to preserve a 
soft serenity of soul unperturbed4      
,now1 we are not at all concerned to    
dispute such positions as that  ,feeling
 is the right starting-point of moral   
education2 that in forming  character   
appeal should be to the heart rather    
than to the  understanding2 that the    
only basis on which our faculties can be
  harmoniously ordered is the           
preponderance of affection over reason4 
,these propositions open much grave and 
complex discussion1 and they are  not to
 our present purpose4 ,we only desire to
 state the evil of the  notion that a   
man is warranted in comforting himself  
with dogmas and  formularies1 which he  
has first to empty of all definite1     
precise1 and  clearly determinable      
significance1 before he can get them out

 of the way  of his religious           
sensibilities4 ,whether ,reason or      
,affection is to have  the empire in the
 society of the future1 when ,reason may
 possibly have  no more to discover for 
us in the region of morals and religion1
 and so  will have become emeritus and  
taken a lower place1 as of a tutor whose
  services the human family1 being now  
grown up1 no longer  requires1--however 
this may be1 it is at least certain that
 in the  meantime the spiritual life of 
man needs direction quite as much as it 
needs impulse1 and light quite as much  
as force4 ,this direction and  light can
 only be safely procured by the free and
 vigorous use of the  intelligence4 ,but
 the intelligence is not free in the    
presence of a  mortal fear lest its     
conclusions should trouble soft         
tranquillity of  spirit4 ,there is      
always hope of a man so long as he      
dwells in the region  of the direct     
categorical proposition and the         
unambiguous term2 so long  as he does   

not deny the rightly drawn conclusion   
after accepting the  major and minor    
premisses4 ,this may seem a scanty      
virtue and very easy  grace4 ,yet       
experience shows it to be too hard of   
attainment for those  who tamper with   
disinterestedness of conviction1 for the
 sake of  luxuriating in the softness of
 spiritual transport without            
interruption  from a syllogism4 ,it is  
true that there are now and then in life
 as in  history noble and fair natures1 
that by the silent teaching and         
unconscious example of their inborn     
purity1 star-like constancy1 and  great 
devotion1 do carry the world about them 
to further heights of  living than can  
be attained by ratiocination4 ,but      
these1 the blameless  and loved saints  
of the earth1 rise too rarely on our    
dull horizons to  make a rule for the   
world4 ,the law of things is that they  
who tamper  with veracity1 from whatever
 motive1 are tampering with the vital   
force  of human progress4 ,our comfort  

and the delight of the religious        
imagination are no better than forms of 
self-indulgence1 when they are  secured 
at the cost of that love of truth on    
which1 more than on  anything else1 the 
increase of light and happiness among   
men must  depend4 ,we have to fight and 
do lifelong battle against the forces of
  darkness1 and anything that turns the 
edge of reason blunts the surest  and   
most potent of our weapons4             
,,footnotes3    ,footnote #ac3 ,burton's
 ,lift of ,hume1 ii4 #ahf-ahh           
,footnote #ad3 ,isaac ,taylor's ,natural
 ,history of ,enthusiasm1 p4 #bbf4      
,footnote #ae3 ,penses1 ,,ii4 ,art ii4  
,footnote #af3 ,dr4 ,newman's ,grammar  
of ,assent1 p4 #bja4    ,footnote #ag3  
,emile1 bk4 iv4          ,,chapter ,,iv4
      ,,religious ,,conformity4    ,the 
main field of discussion touching       
,compromise in expression and  avowal   
lies in the region of religious belief4 
,in politics no one  seriously contends 
that respect for the feelings and       

prejudices of other  people requires us 
to be silent about our opinions4 ,a     
republican1 for  instance1 is at perfect
 liberty to declare himself so4 ,nobody 
will say  that he is not within his     
rights if he should think it worth while
 to  practise this liberty1 though of   
course he will have to face the obloquy 
which attends all opinion that is not   
shared by the more demonstrative  and   
vocal portions of the public4 ,it is    
true that in every stable  society a    
general conviction prevails of the      
extreme undesirableness of  constantly  
laying bare the foundations of          
government4 ,incessant  discussion of   
the theoretical bases of the social     
union is naturally  considered worse    
than idle4 ,it is felt by many wise men 
that the chief  business of the         
political thinker is to interest himself
 in  generalisations of such a sort as  
leads with tolerable straightness to    
practical improvements of a far-reaching
 and durable kind4 ,even among  those1  

however1 who thus feel it not to be     
worth while to be for ever  handling the
 abstract principles which are1 after   
all1 only clumsy  expressions of the    
real conditions that bring and keep men 
together in  society1 yet nobody of any 
consideration pretends to silence or    
limit  the free discussion of these     
principles4 ,although a man is not      
likely to  be thanked who calls         
attention to the vast discrepancies     
between the  theory and practice of the 
constitution1 yet nobody now would      
countenance the notion of an inner      
doctrine in politics4 ,we smile at the  
line that ,hume took in speaking of the 
doctrine of non-resistance4 ,he  did not
 deny that the right of resistance to a 
tyrannical sovereign does  actually     
belong to a nation4 ,but1 he said1 'if  
ever on any occasion it  were laudable  
to conceal truth from the populace1 it  
must be confessed  that the doctrine of 
resistance affords such an example2 and 
that all  speculative reasoners ought to

 observe with regard to this principle  
the same cautious silence which the     
laws1 in every species of  government1  
have ever prescribed to themselves4' ,as
 if the cautious  silence of the        
political writer could prevent a        
populace from feeling  the heaviness of 
an oppressor's hand1 and striving to    
find relief from  unjust burdens4 ,as if
 any nation endowed with enough of the  
spirit of  independence to assent to the
 right of resistance when offered to    
them  as a speculative theorem1 would   
not infallibly be led by the same spirit
  to assert the right without the       
speculative theorem4 ,that so acute a   
head as ,hume's should have failed to   
perceive these very plain               
considerations1 and that he should      
moreover have perpetrated the  absurdity
 of declaring the right of resistance1  
in the same breath in  which he declares
 the laudableness of keeping it a       
secret1 only allows  how carefully a man
 need steer after he has once involved  

himself in the  labyrinths of           
,economy4#ah    ,in religion the        
unreasonableness of imposing a similar  
cautious silence  is not yet fully      
established1 nor the vicious effects of 
practising it  clearly recognised4 ,in  
these high matters an amount of economy 
and  management is held praiseworthy1   
which in any other subject would be     
universally condemned as cowardly and   
ignoble4 ,indeed the preliminary  stage 
has scarcely been reached--the stage in 
which public opinion  grants to every   
one the unrestricted right of shaping   
his own beliefs1  independently of those
 of the people who surround him4 ,any   
woman1 for  instance1 suspected of      
having cast behind her the ,bible and   
all  practices of devotion and the      
elementary articles of the common creed1
  would be distrustfully regarded even  
by those who wink at the same kind  of  
mental boldness in men4 ,nay1 she would 
be so regarded even by some of  the very
 men who have themselves discarded as   

superstition what they  still wish women
 to retain for law and gospel4 ,so long 
as any class of  adults are effectually 
discouraged in the free use of their    
minds upon  the most important subjects1
 we are warranted in saying that the era
 of  free thought1 which naturally      
precedes the era of free speech1 is     
still  imperfectly developed4    ,the   
duties and rights of free speech are by 
no means identical with  those of       
independent thought4 ,one general reason
 for this is tolerably  plain4 ,the     
expression of opinion directly affects  
other people1 while  its mere formation 
directly affects no one but ourselves4  
,therefore the  limits of compromise in 
expression are less widely and freely   
placed1  because the rights and         
interests of all who may be made        
listeners to our  spoken or written     
words are immediately concerned4 ,in    
forming opinions1  a man or woman owes  
no consideration to any person or       
persons whatever4  ,truth is the single 

object4 ,it is truth that in the forum  
of conscience  claims an undivided      
allegiance4 ,the publication of opinion 
stands on  another footing4 ,that is an 
external act1 with possible             
consequences1  like all other external  
acts1 both to the doer and to every one 
within  the sphere of his influence4    
,and1 besides these1 it has possible    
consequences to the prosperity of the   
opinion itself4#ai    ,a hundred        
questions of fitness1 of seasonableness1
 of conflicting  expediencies1 present  
themselves in this connection1 and      
nothing gives  more anxiety to a        
sensible man who holds notions opposed  
to the current  prejudices1 than to hit 
the right mark where intellectual       
integrity and  prudence1 firmness and   
wise reserve1 are in exact accord4 ,when
 we come  to declaring opinions that    
are1 however foolishly and unreasonably1
  associated with pain and even a kind  
of turpitude in the minds of those  who 
strongly object to them1 then some of   

our most powerful sympathies  are       
naturally engaged4 ,we wonder whether   
duty to truth can possibly  require us  
to inflict keen distress on those to    
whom we are bound by the  tenderest and 
most consecrated ties4 ,this is so      
wholly honourable a  sentiment1 that no 
one who has not made himself drunk with 
the thin sour  wine of a crude and      
absolute logic will refuse to consider  
it4 ,before1  however1 attempting to    
illustrate cases of conscience in this  
order1 we  venture to make a short      
digression into the region of the       
matter1 as  distinct from the manner of 
free speech4 ,one or two changes of     
great  importance in the way in which   
men think about religion1 bear directly 
upon the conditions on which they may   
permit themselves and others to  speak  
about it4      ,the peculiar character  
of all the best kinds of dissent from   
the nominal  creed of the time1 makes it
 rather less difficult for us to try to 
reconcile unflinching honesty with a    

just and becoming regard for the        
feelings of those who have claims upon  
our forbearance1 than would have  been  
the case a hundred years ago4 ',it is   
not now with a polite sneer1'  as a high
 ecclesiastical authority lately        
admitted1 'still less with a  rude      
buffet or coarse words1 that            
,christianity is assailed4' ,before     
churchmen congratulate themselves too   
warmly on this improvement in the       
nature of the attack1 perhaps they ought
 to ask themselves how far it is  due to
 the change in the position of the      
defending party4 ,the truth is  that the
 coarse and realistic criticism of which
 ,voltaire was the  consummate master1  
has done its work4 ,it has driven the   
defenders of the  old faith into the    
milder and more genial climate of       
non-natural  interpretations1 and the   
historic sense1 and a certain elastic   
relativity of dogma4 ,the old criticism 
was victorious1 but after victory  it   
vanished4 ,one reason of this was that  

the coarse and realistic forms  of      
belief had either vanished before it1 or
 else they forsook their  ancient       
pretensions and clothed themselves in   
more modest robes4 ,the  consequence of 
this1 and of other causes which might be
 named1 is that  the modern attack1     
while fully as serious and much more    
radical1 has a  certain gravity1        
decorum1 and worthiness of form4 ,no one
 of any sense or  knowledge now thinks  
the ,christian religion had its origin  
in  deliberate imposture4 ,the modern   
freethinker does not attack it2 he      
explains it4 ,and what is more1 he      
explains it by referring its growth to  
the better1 and not to the worse part of
 human nature4 ,he traces it to  men's  
cravings for a higher morality4 ,he     
finds its source in their  aspirations  
after nobler expression of that feeling 
for the  incommensurable things1 which  
is in truth under so many varieties of  
inwoven pattern the common universal web
 of religious faith4    ,the result of  

this way of looking at a creed which a  
man no longer  accepts1 is that he is   
able to speak of it with patience and   
historic  respect4 ,he can openly mark  
his dissent from it1 without            
exacerbating  the orthodox sentiment by 
galling pleasantries or bitter          
animadversion  upon details4 ,we are now
 awake to the all-important truth that  
belief in  this or that detail of       
superstition is the result of an        
irrational state  of mind1 and flows    
logically from superstitious premisses4 
,we see that  it is to begin at the     
wrong end1 to assail the deductions as  
impossible1  instead of sedulously      
building up a state of mind in which    
their  impossibility would become       
spontaneously visible4    ,besides the  
great change which such a point of view 
makes in men's way  of speaking of a    
religion1 whose dogmas and documents    
they reject1 there  is this further     
consideration leaning in the same       
direction4 ,the  tendency of modern free

 thought is more and more visibly       
towards the  extraction of the first and
 more permanent elements of the old     
faith1 to  make the purified material of
 the new4 ,when ,dr4 ,congreve met the  
famous  epigram about ,comte's system   
being ,catholicism minus ,christianity1 
by  the reply that it is ,catholicism   
plus ,science1 he gave an ingenious     
expression to the direction which is    
almost necessarily taken by all who     
attempt1 in however informal a manner1  
to construct for themselves some        
working system of faith1 in place of the
 faith which science and  criticism have
 sapped4 ,in what ultimate form1        
acceptable to great  multitudes of men1 
these attempts will at last issue1 no   
one can now  tell4 ,for we1 like the    
,hebrews of old1 shall all have to live 
and die in  faith1 'not having received 
the promises1 but having seen them afar 
off1  and being persuaded of them1 and  
embracing them1 and confessing that we  
are strangers and pilgrims on the       

earth4' ,meanwhile1 after the first     
great glow and passion of the just and  
necessary revolt of reason  against     
superstition have slowly lost the       
exciting splendour of the  dawn1 and    
become diffused in the colourless space 
of a rather bleak  noonday1 the mind    
gradually collects again some of the    
ideas of the old  religion of the ,west1
 and willingly1 or even joyfully1       
suffers itself to  be once more breathed
 upon by something of its spirit4       
,christianity was  the last great       
religious synthesis4 ,it is the one     
nearest to us4 ,nothing  is more natural
 than that those who cannot rest content
 with  intellectual analysis1 while     
awaiting the advent of the ,saint ,paul 
of  the humanitarian faith of the       
future1 should gather up provisionally  
such fragmentary illustrations of this  
new faith as are to be found in  the    
records of the old4 ,whatever form may  
be ultimately imposed on our  vague     
religious aspirations by some prophet to

 come1 who shall unite  sublime depth of
 feeling and lofty purity of life with  
strong  intellectual grasp and the gift 
of a noble eloquence1 we may at least be
  sure of this1 that it will stand as   
closely related to ,christianity as     
,christianity stood closely related to  
the old ,judaic dispensation4 ,it is    
commonly assumed that the rejecters of  
the popular religion stand in  face of  
it1 as the ,christians stood in face of 
the pagan belief and  pagan rites in the
 ,empire4 ,the analogy is inexact4 ,the 
modern denier1 if  he is anything better
 than that1 or entertains hopes of a    
creed to come1  is nearer to the        
position of the ,christianising ,jew4#bj
 ,science1 when  she has accomplished   
all her triumphs in her own order1 will 
still have  to go back1 when the time   
comes1 to assist in the building up of a
 new  creed by which men can live4 ,the 
builders will have to seek material in  
the purified and sublimated ideas1 of   
which the confessions and rites of  the 

,christian churches have been the       
grosser expression4 ,just as what  was  
once the new dispensation was preached a
 ,judaeos ad ,judaeos apud  ,judaeos1 so
 must the new1 that is to be1 find a    
,christian teacher and  ,christian      
hearers4 ,it can hardly be other than an
 expansion1 a  development1 a           
readaptation1 of all the moral and      
spiritual truth that  lay hidden under  
the worn-out forms4 ,it must be such a  
harmonising of  the truth with our      
intellectual conceptions as shall fit it
 to be an  active guide to conduct4 ,in 
a world 'where men sit and hear each    
other  groan1 where but to think is to  
be full of sorrow1' it is hard to       
imagine a time when we shall be         
indifferent to that sovereign legend of 
,pity4 ,we have to incorporate it in    
some wider gospel of ,justice and       
,progress4    ,i shall not1 ,i hope1 be 
suspected of any desire to prophesy too 
smooth  things4 ,it is no object of ours
 to bridge over the gulf between belief 

in the vulgar theology and disbelief4   
,nor for a single moment do we  pretend 
that1 when all the points of contact    
between virtuous belief and  virtuous   
disbelief are made the most of that good
 faith will allow1  there will not still
 and after all remain a terrible        
controversy between  those who cling    
passionately to all the consolations1   
mysteries1  personalities1 of the       
orthodox faith1 and us who have made up 
our minds  to face the worst1 and to    
shape1 as best we can1 a life in which  
the  cardinal verities of the common    
creed shall have no place4 ,the future  
faith1 like the faith of the past1      
brings not peace but a sword4 ,it is a  
tale not of concord1 but of households  
divided against themselves4 ,those  who 
are incessantly striving to make the old
 bottles hold the new wine1  to         
reconcile the irreconcilable1 to bring  
the ,bible and the dogmas of  the       
churches to be good friends with history
 and criticism1 are prompted  by the    

humanest intention4#ba ,one sympathises 
with this amiable anxiety  to soften    
shocks1 and break the rudeness of a     
vital transition4 ,in this  essay1 at   
any rate1 there is no such attempt4 ,we 
know that it is the son  against the    
father1 and the mother-in-law against   
the daughter-in-law4  ,no softness of   
speech will disguise the portentous     
differences between  those who admit a  
supernatural revelation and those who   
deny it4 ,no  charity nor goodwill can  
narrow the intellectual breach between  
those  who declare that a world without 
an ever-present ,creator with           
intelligible attributes would be to them
 empty and void1 and those who  insist  
that none of the attributes of a        
,creator can ever be grasped by  the    
finite intelligence of men4#bb ,our     
object in urging the historic1          
semi-conservative1 and almost           
sympathetic quality1 which distinguishes
  the unbelief of to-day from the       
unbelief of a hundred years ago1 is only

  to show that the most strenuous and   
upright of plain-speakers is less       
likely to shock and wound the lawful    
sensibilities of devout persons  than he
 would have been so long as unbelief    
went no further than bitter  attack on  
small details4 ,in short1 all save the  
purely negative and  purely destructive 
school of freethinkers1 are now able to 
deal with  the beliefs from which they  
dissent1 in a way which makes patient   
and  disinterested controversy not      
wholly impossible4    ,one more point of
 much importance ought to be mentioned4 
,the belief that  heresy is the result  
of wilful depravity is fast dying out4  
,people no  longer seriously think that 
speculative error is bound up with moral
  iniquity1 or that mistaken thinking is
 either the result or the cause of      
wicked living4 ,even the official       
mouthpieces of established beliefs now  
usually represent a bad heart as only   
one among other possible causes of      
unbelief4 ,it divides the curse with    

ignorance1 intellectual shallowness1    
the unfortunate influence of plausible  
heresiarchs1 and other  alternative     
roots of evil4 ,they thus leave a way of
 escape1 by which the  person who does  
not share their own convictions may     
still be credited  with a good moral    
character4 ,some persons1 it is true1   
'cannot see how a  man who deliberately 
rejects the ,roman ,catholic religion   
can1 in the  eyes of those who earnestly
 believe it1 be other than a rebel      
against  ,god4' ,they assure us that1   
'as opinions become better marked and   
more  distinctly connected with action1 
the truth that decided dissent from     
them implies more or less of a reproach 
upon those who hold them  decidedly1    
becomes so obvious that every one       
perceives it4' ,no doubt a  protestant  
or a sceptic regards the beliefs of a   
catholic as a reproach  upon the        
believer's understanding4 ,so the man   
whose whole faith rests on  the         
miraculous and on acts of special       

intervention1 regards the strictly      
positive and scientific thinker as the  
dupe of a crude and narrow logic4  ,but 
this now carries with it no implication 
of moral obliquity4 ,de  ,maistre's     
rather grotesque conviction that        
infidels always die of  horrible        
diseases with special names1 could now  
only be held among the  very dregs of   
the ecclesiastical world4    ,nor is it 
correct to say that 'when religious     
differences come to be1  and are        
regarded as1 mere differences of        
opinion1 it is because the  controversy 
is really decided in the sceptical      
sense4' ,those who agree  with the      
present writer1 for example1 are not    
sceptics4 ,they positively1  absolutely1
 and without reserve1 reject as false   
the whole system of  objective          
propositions which make up the popular  
belief of the day1 in  one and all of   
its theological expressions4 ,they look 
upon that system  as mischievous in its 
consequences to society1 for many       

reasons1--among  others because it tends
 to divert and misdirect the most       
energetic  faculties of human nature4   
,this1 however1 does not make them      
suspect the  motives or the habitual    
morality of those who remain in the     
creed in  which they were nurtured4 ,the
 difference is a difference of opinion1 
as  purely as if we refused to accept   
the undulatory theory of light2 and we  
treat it as such4 ,then reverse this4   
,why is it any more impossible for      
those who remain in the theological     
stage1 who are not in the smallest      
degree sceptical1 who in their heart of 
hearts embrace without a shadow  of     
misgiving all the mysteries of the      
faith1 why is it any more  impossible   
for them than for us1 whose convictions 
are as strong as  theirs1 to treat the  
most radical dissidence as that and     
nothing other  or worse8 ,logically1 it 
perhaps might not be hard to convict    
them of  inconsistency1 but then1 as has
 been so often said1 inconsistency is a 

totally different thing from            
insincerity1 or doubting adherence1 or  
silent scepticism4 ,the beliefs of an   
ordinary man are a complex  structure of
 very subtle materials1 all compacted   
into a whole1 not by  logic1 but by lack
 of logic2 not by syllogism or sorites1 
but by the  vague4    ,as a plain matter
 of fact and observation1 we may all    
perceive that  dissent from religious   
opinion less and less implies reproach  
in any  serious sense4 ,we all of us    
know in the flesh liberal catholics and 
latitudinarian protestants1 who hold the
 very considerable number of  beliefs   
that remain to them1 quite as firmly and
 undoubtingly as  believers who are     
neither liberal nor latitudinarian4 ,the
 compatibility  of error in faith with  
virtue in conduct is to them only a     
mystery the  more1 a branch of the      
insoluble problem of ,evil1 permitted by
 a ,being at  once all-powerful and     
all-benevolent4 ,stringent logic may    
make short  work of either fact1--a     

benevolent author of evil1 or a virtuous
  despiser of divine truth4 ,but in an  
atmosphere of mystery1 logical          
contradictions melt away4 ,faith gives a
 sanction to that tolerant and          
charitable judgment of the character of 
heretics1 which has its real  springs   
partly in common human sympathy whereby 
we are all bound to one  another1 and   
partly in experience1 which teaches us  
that practical  righteousness and       
speculative orthodoxy do not always have
 their roots  in the same soil4 ,the    
world is every day growing larger4 ,the 
range of  the facts of the human race is
 being enormously extended by           
naturalists1  by historians1 by         
philologists1 by travellers1 by critics4
 ,the manifold  past experiences of     
humanity are daily opening out to us in 
vaster and  at the same time more       
ordered proportions4 ,and so even those 
who hold  fast to ,christianity as the  
noblest1 strongest1 and only final      
conclusion of these experiences1 are yet

 constrained to admit that it is  no    
more than a single term in a very long  
and intricate series4      ,the object  
of the foregoing digression is to show  
some cause for  thinking that dissent   
from the current beliefs is less and    
less likely  to inflict upon those who  
retain them any very intolerable kind or
  degree of mental pain4 ,therefore it  
is in so far all the plainer1 as  well  
as easier1 a duty not to conceal such   
dissent4 ,what we have been  saying     
comes to this4 ,if a believer finds that
 his son1 for instance1  has ceased to  
believe1 he no longer has this disbelief
 thrust upon him  in gross and          
irreverent forms4 ,nor does he any      
longer suppose that the  unbelieving son
 must necessarily be a profligate4 ,and 
moreover1 in  ninety-nine cases out of a
 hundred1 he no longer supposes that    
infidels1  of his own family or         
acquaintance at any rate1 will consume  
for eternal  ages in lakes of burning   
marl4    ,let us add another            

consideration4 ,one reason why so many  
persons are  really shocked and pained  
by the avowal of heretical opinions is  
the  very fact that such avowal is      
uncommon4 ,if unbelievers and doubters  
were  more courageous1 believers would  
be less timorous4 ,it is because they   
live in an enervating fool's paradise of
 seeming assent and conformity1  that   
the breath of an honest and outspoken   
word strikes so eager and  nipping on   
their sensibilities4 ,if they were not  
encouraged to suppose  that all the     
world is of their own mind1 if they were
 forced out of that  atmosphere of      
self-indulgent silences and hypocritical
 reserves1 which  is systematically     
poured round them1 they would acquire a 
robuster  mental habit4 ,they would     
learn to take dissents for what they are
 worth4  ,they would be led either to   
strengthen or to discard their own      
opinions1 if the dissents happened to be
 weighty or instructive2 either  to     
refute or neglect such dissents as      

should be ill-founded or  insignificant4
 ,they will remain valetudinarians1 so  
long as a curtain of  compromise        
shelters them from the real belief of   
those of their  neighbours who have     
ventured to use their minds with some   
measure of  independence4 ,a very brief 
contact with people who1 when the       
occasion  comes1 do not shrink from     
saying what they think1 is enough to    
modify  that excessive liability to be  
shocked at truth-speaking1 which is only
  so common because truth-speaking      
itself is so unfamiliar4    ,now1       
however great the pain inflicted by the 
avowal of unbelief1 it  seems to the    
present writer that one relationship in 
life1 and one only1  justifies us in    
being silent where otherwise it would be
 right to speak4  ,this relationship is 
that between child and parents4 ,those  
parents are  wisest who train their sons
 and daughters in the utmost liberty    
both of  thought and speech2 who do not 
instill dogmas into them1 but inculcate 

upon them the sovereign importance of   
correct ways of forming opinions2  who1 
while never dissembling the great fact  
that if one opinion is  true1 its       
contradictory cannot be true also1 but  
must be a lie and must  partake of all  
the evil qualities of a lie1 yet always 
set them the  example of listening to   
unwelcome opinions with patience and    
candour4  ,still all parents are not    
wise4 ,they cannot all endure to hear of
 any  religious opinions except their   
own4 ,where it would give them sincere  
and deep pain to hear a son or daughter 
avow disbelief in the  inspiration of   
the ,bible and so forth1 then it seems  
that the younger  person is warranted in
 refraining from saying that he or she  
does not  accept such and such          
doctrines4 ,this1 of course1 only where 
the son or  daughter feels a tender and 
genuine attachment to the parent4 ,where
 the  parent has not earned this        
attachment1 has been selfish1           
indifferent1 or  cruel1 the title to the

 special kind of forbearance of which we
 are  speaking can hardly exist4 ,in an 
ordinary way1 however1 a parent has a   
claim on us which no other person in the
 world can have1 and a man's            
self-respect ought scarcely to be       
injured if he finds himself shrinking   
from playing the apostle to his own     
father and mother4    ,one can indeed   
imagine circumstances where this would  
not be true4 ,if  you are persuaded that
 you have had revealed to you a glorious
 gospel of  light and blessedness1 it is
 impossible not to thirst to impart such
  tidings most eagerly to those who are 
closest about your heart4 ,we are  not  
in that position4 ,we have as yet no    
magnificent vision1 so definite1  so    
touching1 so 'clothed with the beauty of
 a thousand stars1' as to  make us      
eager1 for the sake of it1 to murder all
 the sweetnesses of  filial piety in an 
aggressive eristic4 ,this much one      
concedes4 ,yet let  us ever remember    
that those elders are of nobler type who

 have kept  their minds in a generous   
freedom1 and have made themselves strong
 with  that magnanimous confidence in   
truth1 which the ,hebrew expressed in   
old  phrase1 that if counsel or work be 
of men it will come to nought1 but if   
it be of ,god ye cannot overthrow it4   
,even in the case of parents1 and even  
though our new creed is but             
rudimentary1 there can be no good reason
 why we should go further in the  way of
 economy than mere silence4 ,neither    
they nor any other human being  can     
possibly have a right to expect us1 not 
merely to abstain from the  open        
expression of dissents1 but positively  
to profess unreal and  feigned assents4 
,no fear of giving pain1 no wish to     
soothe the alarms of  those to whom we  
owe much1 no respect for the natural    
clinging of the  old to the faith which 
has accompanied them through honourable 
lives1  can warrant us in saying that we
 believe to be true what we are         
convinced is false4 ,the most lax       

moralist counts a lie wrong1 even when  
the motive is unselfish1 and springs    
from the desire to give pleasure to     
those whom it is our duty to please4 ,a 
deliberate lie avowedly does not  cease 
to be one because it concerns spiritual 
things4 ,nor is it the less  wrong      
because it is uttered by one to whom all
 spiritual things have  become          
indifferent4 ,filial affection is a     
motive which would1 if any  motive      
could1 remove some of the taint of      
meanness with which pious  lying1 like  
every other kind of lying1 tends to     
infect character4 ,the  motive may no   
doubt ennoble the act1 though the act   
remains in the  category of forbidden   
things4 ,but the motive of these        
complaisant  assents and false          
affirmations1 taken at their very best1 
is still  comparatively a poor motive4  
,no real elevation of spirit is possible
 for  a man who is willing to           
subordinate his convictions to his      
domestic  affections1 and to bring      

himself to a habit of viewing falsehood 
lightly1 lest the truth should shock the
 illegitimate and over-exacting         
sensibilities either of his parents or  
any one else4 ,we may understand  what  
is meant by the logic of the feelings1  
and accept it as the proper  corrective 
for a too intense egoism4 ,but when the 
logic of the feelings  is invoked to    
substitute the egoism of the family for 
the slightly  narrower egoism of the    
individual1 it can hardly be more than a
 fine  name for self-indulgence and a   
callous indifference to all the largest 
human interests4      ,this brings us to
 consider the case of another no less   
momentous  relationship1 and the kind of
 compromise in the matter of religious  
conformity which it justifies or        
imposes4 ,it constantly happens that the
  husband has wholly ceased to believe  
the religion to which his wife  clings  
with unshaken faith4 ,we need not enter 
into the causes why women  remain in    
bondage to opinions which so many       

cultivated men either reject  or else   
hold in a transcendental and non-natural
 sense4 ,the only  question with which  
we are concerned is the amount of free  
assertion of  his own convictions which 
a man should claim and practise1 when he
 knows  that such convictions are       
distasteful to his wife4 ,is it lawful1 
as it  seems to be in dealing with      
parents1 to hold his conviction         
silently8 ,is  it lawful either         
positively or by implication to lead his
 wife to  suppose that he shares her    
opinions1 when in truth he rejects them8
    ,if it were not for the maxims and  
practice in daily use among men         
otherwise honourable1 one would not     
suppose it possible that two answers    
could be given to these questions by any
 one with the smallest pretence  of     
principle or self-respect4 ,as it is1 we
 all of us know men who  deliberately   
reject the entire ,christian system1 and
 still think it  compatible with        
uprightness to summon their whole       

establishments round  them at morning   
and evening1 and on their knees to offer
 up elaborately  formulated prayers1    
which have just as much meaning to them 
as the  entrails of the sacrificial     
victim had to an infidel haruspex4 ,we  
see  the same men diligently attending  
religious services2 uttering assents  to
 confessions of which they really reject
 every syllable2 kneeling1  rising1     
bowing1 with deceptive solemnity2 even  
partaking of the  sacrament with a      
consummate devoutness that is very      
edifying to all who  are not in the     
secret1 and who do not know that they   
are acting a part1  and making a mock   
both of their own reason and their own  
probity1 merely  to please persons whose
 delusions they pity and despise from   
the bottom  of their hearts4    ,on the 
surface there is certainly nothing to   
distinguish this kind of  conduct from  
the grossest hypocrisy4 ,is there       
anything under the surface  to relieve  
it from this complexion8 ,is there any  

weight in the sort of  answer which such
 men make to the accusation that their  
conformity is a  very degrading form of 
deceit1 and a singularly mischievous    
kind of  treachery8 ,is the plea of a   
wish to spare mental discomfort to      
others an  admissible and valid plea8   
,it seems to us to be none of these     
things1  and for the following among    
other reasons4    ,if a man drew his    
wife by lot1 or by any other method over
 which neither  he nor she has any      
control1 as in the case of parents1     
perhaps he might  with some             
plausibleness contend that he owed her  
certain limited  deferences and         
reserves1 just as we admit that he may  
owe them to his  parents4 ,but this is  
not the case4 ,marriage1 in this country
 at least1  is the result of mutual     
choice4 ,if men and women do as a matter
 of fact  usually make this choice      
hastily and on wofully imperfect        
information of  one another's           
characters1 that is no warrant for a    

resort to unlawful  expedients to remedy
 the blunder4 ,if a woman cares ardently
 enough about  religion to feel keen    
distress at the idea of dissent from it 
on the  part of those closely connected 
with her1 she surely may be expected to 
take reasonable pains to ascertain      
beforehand the religious attitude of    
one with whom she is about to unite     
herself for life4 ,on the other hand1   
if a man sets any value on his own      
opinions1 if they are in any real  sense
 a part of himself1 he must be guilty of
 something like deliberate  and         
systematic duplicity during the         
acquaintance preceding marriage1 if  his
 dissent has remained unsuspected4      
,certainly if men go through  society   
before marriage under false colours1 and
 feign beliefs which  they do not hold1 
they have only themselves to thank for  
the degradation  of having to keep up   
the imposture afterwards4 ,suppose a    
protestant  were to pass himself off for
 a catholic because he happened to meet 

a  catholic lady whom he desired to     
marry4 ,everybody would agree in calling
  such a man by a very harsh name4 ,it  
is hard to see why a freethinker1  who  
by reticence and conformity passes      
himself off for a believer1  should be  
more leniently judged4 ,the differences 
between a catholic and  a protestant are
 assuredly not any greater than those   
between a believer  and an unbeliever4  
,we all admit the baseness of           
dissimulation in the  former case4 ,why 
is it any less base in the latter8      
,marriages1 however1 are often made in  
haste1 or heedlessly1 or early in  life1
 before either man or woman has come to 
feel very deeply about  religion either 
one way or another4 ,the woman does not 
know how much she  will need religion1  
nor what comfort it may bring to her4   
,the man does  not know all the         
objections to it which may disclose     
themselves to his  understanding as the 
years ripen4 ,there is always at work   
that most  unfortunate maxim1 tacitly   

held and acted upon in ninety-nine      
marriages  out of a hundred1 that money 
is of importance1 and social position is
 of  importance1 and good connections   
are of importance1 and health and       
manners and comely looks1 and that the  
only thing which is of no  importance   
whatever is opinion and intellectual    
quality and temper4 ,now  granting that 
both man and woman are indifferent at   
the time of their  union1 is that any   
reason why upon either of them acquiring
 serious  convictions1 the other should 
be expected1 out of mere complaisance1  
to  make a false and hypocritical       
pretence of sharing them8 ,to see how   
flimsy is this plea of fearing to give  
pain to the religious  sensitiveness of 
women1 we have only to imagine one or   
two cases which  go beyond the common   
experience1 yet which ought not to      
strain the plea1  if it be valid4       
,thus1 if my wife turns catholic1 am ,i 
to pretend to turn catholic too1  to    
save her the horrible distress of       

thinking that ,i am doomed to  eternal  
perdition8 ,or if she chooses to embrace
 the doctrine of direct  illumination   
from heaven1 and to hear voices bidding 
her to go or come1  to do or abstain    
from doing1 am ,i too to shape my       
conduct after these  fancied monitions8 
,or if it comes into her mind to serve  
tables1 and to  listen in all faith to  
the miracles of spiritualism1 am ,i1    
lest ,i  should pain her1 to feign a    
surrender of all my notions of evidence1
 to  pretend a transformation of all my 
ideas of worthiness in life and  beyond 
life1 and to go to sances with the same 
regularity and  seriousness with which  
you go to church8 ,of course in each of 
these  cases everybody who does not     
happen to share the given peculiarity of
  belief1 will agree that however       
severely a husband's dissent might pain 
the wife1 whatever distress and         
discomfort it might inflict upon her1   
yet he would be bound to let her suffer1
 rather than sacrifice his  veracity and

 self-respect4 ,why then is it any less 
discreditable to  practise an insincere 
conformity in more ordinary             
circumstances8 ,if the  principle of    
such conformity is good for anything at 
all1 it ought to  cover these less usual
 cases as completely as the others which
 are more  usual4 ,indeed there would be
 more to be said on behalf of conformity
 for  politeness' sake1 where the woman 
had gone through some great process of  
change1 for then one might suppose that 
her heart was deeply set on the  matter4
 ,even then the plea would be worthless1
 but it is more  indisputably worthless 
still where the sentiment which we are  
bidden to  respect at the cost of our   
own freedom of speech is nothing more   
laudable than a fear of moving out of   
the common groove of religious  opinion1
 or an intolerant and unreasoned        
bigotry1 or mere stupidity and          
silliness of the vulgarest type4#bc     
,ah1 it is said1 you forget that women  
cannot live without religion4 ,the      

present writer is equally of this       
opinion that women cannot be happy      
without a religion1 nor men either4     
,that is not the question4 ,it does  not
 follow because a woman cannot be happy 
without a religion1 that  therefore she 
cannot be happy unless her husband is of
 the same  religion4 ,still less1 that  
she would be made happy by his          
insincerely  pretending to be of the    
same religion4 ,and least of all is it  
true1 if  both these propositions were  
credible1 that even then for the sake of
  her happiness he is bound not merely  
to live a life of imposture1 but in  so 
doing to augment the general forces of  
imposture in the world1 and to  make the
 chances of truth1 light1 and human     
improvement more and more  unfavourable4
 ,women are at present far less likely  
than men to possess a  sound            
intelligence and a habit of correct     
judgment4 ,they will remain so1  while  
they have less ready access than men to 
the best kinds of literary  and         

scientific training1 and--what is far   
more important--while social            
arrangements exclude them from all those
 kinds of public activity1 which  are   
such powerful agents both in fitting men
 to judge soundly1 and in  forming in   
them the sense of responsibility for    
their judgments being  sound4    ,it may
 be contended that this alleged stronger
 religiosity of women1  however coarse  
and poor in its formulae1 is yet of     
constant value as a  protest in favour  
of the maintenance of the religious     
element in human  character and life1   
and that this is a far more important   
thing for us  all than the greater or   
less truth of the dogmas with which such
  religiosity happens to be associated4 
,in reply to this1 without  tediously   
labouring the argument1 ,i venture to   
make the following  observations4 ,in   
the first place1 it is an untenable idea
 that  religiosity or devoutness of     
spirit is valuable in itself1 without   
reference to the goodness or badness of 

the dogmatic forms and the  practices in
 which it clothes itself4 ,a fakir would
 hardly be an  estimable figure in our  
society1 merely because his way of      
living  happens to be a manifestation of
 the religious spirit4 ,if the religious
  spirit leads to a worthy and beautiful
 life1 if it shows itself in            
cheerfulness1 in pity1 in charity and   
tolerance1 in forgiveness1 in a  sense  
of the largeness and the mystery of     
things1 in a lifting up of the  soul in 
gratitude and awe to some supreme power 
and sovereign force1  then whatever     
drawback there may be in the way of     
superstitious dogma1  still such a      
spirit is on the whole a good thing4 ,if
 not1 not4 ,it would  be better without 
the superstition3 even with the         
superstition it is  good4 ,but if the   
religious spirit is only a fine name for
 narrowness of  understanding1 for      
stubborn intolerance1 for mere social   
formality1 for  a dread of losing that  
poor respectability which means thinking

 and  doing exactly as the people around
 us think and do1 then the religious    
spirit is not a good thing1 but a       
thoroughly bad and hateful thing4 ,to   
that we owe no management of any kind4  
,any one who suppresses his real        
opinions1 and feigns others1 out of     
deference to such a spirit as this  in  
his household1 ought to say plainly both
 to himself and to us that he  cares    
more for his own ease and undisturbed   
comfort than he cares for  truth and    
uprightness4 ,for it is that1 and not   
any tenderness for holy  things1 which  
is the real ground of his hypocrisy4    
,now with reference to the religious    
spirit in its nobler form1 it is        
difficult to believe that any one       
genuinely animated by it would be       
soothed by the knowledge that her       
dearest companion is going through  life
 with a mask on1 quietly playing a part1
 uttering untrue  professions1 doing his
 best to cheat her and the rest of the  
world by a  monstrous spiritual         

make-believe4 ,one would suppose that   
instead of  having her religious feeling
 gratified by conformity on these terms1
  nothing could wound it so bitterly nor
 outrage it so unpardonably4 ,to  know  
that her sensibility is destroying the  
entireness of the man's  nature1 its    
loyalty alike to herself and to truth1  
its freedom and  singleness and         
courage--surely this can hardly be less 
distressing to a  fine spirit than the  
suspicion that his heresies may bring   
him to the  pit1 or than the void of    
going through life without even the     
semblance  of religious sympathy between
 them4 ,if it be urged that the woman   
would  never discover the piety of the  
man to be a counterfeit1 we reply that  
unless her own piety were of the merely 
formal kind1 she would be sure  to make 
the discovery4 ,the congregation in the 
old story were untouched  by the        
disguised devil's eloquence on behalf of
 religion3 it lacked  unction4 ,the     
verbal conformity of the unbeliever     

lacks unction1 and its  hollowness is   
speedily revealed to the quick          
apprehension of true  faith4#bd    ,let 
us not be supposed to be arguing in     
favour of incessant battle of  high     
dialectic in the household4 ,nothing    
could be more destructive of  the       
gracious composure and mental harmony1  
of which household life ought  to be1   
but perhaps seldom is1 the great organ  
and instrument4 ,still less  are we     
pleading for the freethinker's right at 
every hour of day or  night to mock1    
sneer1 and gibe at the sincere beliefs  
and  conscientiously performed rites of 
those1 whether men or women1 whether    
strangers or kinsfolk1 from whose       
religion he disagrees4 ',it is not      
ancient impressions only1' said ,pascal1
 'which are capable of abusing  us4 ,the
 charm of novelty has the same power4'  
,the prate of new-born  scepticism may  
be as tiresome and as odious as the cant
 of gray  orthodoxy4 ,religious         
discussion is not to be foisted upon us 

at every  turn either by defenders or   
assailants4 ,all we plead for is that   
when  the opportunity meets the         
freethinker full in front1 he is called 
upon  to speak as freely as he thinks4  
,not more than this4 ,a plain man has no
  trouble in acquiring this tact of     
reasonableness4 ,we may all write what  
we please1 because it is in the         
discretion of the rest of the world     
whether they will hearken or not4 ,but  
in the family this is not so4 ,if a  man
 systematically intrudes disrespectful  
and unwelcome criticism upon a  woman   
who retains the ancient belief1 he is   
only showing that  freethinker may be no
 more than bigot differently writ4 ,it  
ought to be  essential to no one's      
self-respect that he cannot consent to  
live with  people who do not think as he
 thinks4 ,we may be sure that there is  
something shallow and convulsive about  
the beliefs of a man who cannot  allow  
his house-mates to possess their own    
beliefs in peace4    ,on the other hand1

 it is essential to the self-respect of 
every one  with the least love of truth 
that he should be free to express his   
opinions on every occasion1 where       
silence would be taken for an assent    
which he does not really give4 ,still   
more unquestionably1 he should be  free 
from any obligation to forswear himself 
either directly1 as by  false           
professions1 or by implication1 as when 
he attend services1 public  or private1 
which are to him the symbol of          
superstition and mere  spiritual        
phantasmagoria4 ,the vindication of this
 simple right of living  one's life     
honestly can hardly demand any heroic   
virtue4 ,a little of the                
straightforwardness which men are       
accustomed to call manly1 is the only   
quality that is needed2 a little of that
 frank courage and determination  in    
spiritual things1 which men are usually 
so ready to practise towards  their     
wives in temporal things4 ,it must be a 
keen delight to a cynic to  see a man   

who owns that he cannot bear to pain his
 wife by not going to  church and saying
 prayers1 yet insisting on having his   
own way1  fearlessly thwarting her      
wishes1 and contradicting her opinions1 
in  every other detail1 small and great1
 of the domestic economy4    ,the truth 
of the matter is that the painful       
element in companionship is  not        
difference of opinion1 but discord of   
temperament4 ,the important  thing is   
not that two people should be inspired  
by the same convictions1  but rather    
that each of them should hold his and   
her own convictions in  a high and      
worthy spirit4 ,harmony of aim1 not     
identity of conclusion1 is  the secret  
of the sympathetic life2 to stand on the
 same moral plane1  and that1 if        
possible1 a high one2 to find           
satisfaction in different  explanations 
of the purpose and significance of life 
and the universe1  and yet the same     
satisfaction4 ,it is certainly not less 
possible to  disbelieve religiously than

 to believe religiously4 ,this accord of
 mind1  this emulation in freedom and   
loftiness of soul1 this kindred sense of
  the awful depth of the enigma which   
the one believes to be answered1 and    
the other suspects to be for ever       
unanswerable--here1 and not in a        
degrading and hypocritical conformity1  
is the true gratification of  those     
spiritual sensibilities which are       
alleged to be so much higher in  women  
than in men4 ,where such an accord      
exists1 there may still be  solicitude  
left in the mind of either at the       
superstition or the  incredulity of the 
other1 but it will be solicitude of that
 magnanimous  sort which is in some     
shape or other the inevitable and not   
unfruitful  portion of every better     
nature4    ,if there are women who      
petulantly or sourly insist on more than
 this  kind of harmony1 it is probable  
that their system of divinity is little 
better than a special manifestation of  
shrewishness4 ,the man is as much  bound

 to resist that1 as he is bound to      
resist extravagance in spending  money1 
or any other vice of character4 ,if he  
does not resist it1 if he  suppresses   
his opinions1 and practices a           
hypocritical conformity1 it  must be    
from weakness of will and principle4    
,against this we have  nothing to say4  
,a considerable proportion of people1   
men no less than  women1 are born       
invertebrate1 and they must got on as   
they best can4 ,but  let us at least    
bargain that they shall not erect the   
maxims of their  own feebleness into a  
rule for those who are braver and of    
stronger  principle than themselves4    
,and do not let the accidental          
exigencies of a  personal mistake be    
made the foundation of a general        
doctrine4 ,it is a  poor saying1 that   
the world is to become void of spiritual
 sincerity1  because ,xanthippe has a   
turn for respectable theology4      ,one
 or two words should perhaps be said in 
this place as to conformity  to common  

religious belief in the education of    
children4 ,where the  parents differ1   
the one being an unbeliever1 the other a
 believer1 it is  almost impossible for 
anybody to lay down a general rule4 ,the
 present  writer certainly has no       
ambition to attempt the thorny task of  
compiling  a manual for mixed marriages4
 ,it is perhaps enough to say that all  
would  depend upon the nature of the    
beliefs which the religious person      
wished  to inculcate4 ,considering that 
the woman has an absolutely equal moral 
right with the man to decide in what    
faith the child shall be brought  up1   
and considering how important it is that
 the mother should take an  active part 
in the development of the child's       
affections and impulses1  the most      
resolute of deniers may perhaps think   
that the advantages of  leaving the     
matter to her1 outweigh the             
disadvantages of having a  superstitious
 bias given to the young mind4 ,in these
 complex cases an  honest and           

fair-minded man's own instincts are more
 likely to lead him  right than any hard
 and fast rule4 ,two reserves in        
assenting to the  wife's control of     
early teaching will probably suggest    
themselves to  everybody who is in      
earnest about religion4 ,first1 if the  
theology which  the woman desires to    
instill contains any of those wicked and
 depraving  doctrines which neither     
,catholicism nor ,calvinism is without1 
in the  hands of some professors1 the   
husband is as much justified in pressing
  his legal rights over the child to the
 uttermost1 as he would be if the       
proposed religion demanded physical     
mutilation4 ,secondly1 he will not      
himself take part in baptismal or other 
ceremonies which are to him no  better  
than mere mummeries1 nor will he ever do
 anything to lead his  children at any  
age to suppose that he believes what he 
does not  believe4 ,such limitations as 
these are commanded by all              
considerations  alike of morality and   

good sense4    ,to turn to the more     
normal case where either the man has had
 the wise  forethought not to yoke      
himself unequally with a person of      
ardent belief  which he does not share1 
or where both parents dissent from the  
popular  creed4 ,here1 whatever         
difficulties may attend its application1
 the  principle is surely as clear as   
the sun at noonday4 ,there can be no    
good  plea for the deliberate and formal
 inculcation upon the young of a  number
 of propositions which you believe to be
 false4 ,to do this is to  sow tares not
 in your enemy's field1 but in the very 
ground which is  most precious of all   
others to you and most full of hope for 
the future4  ,to allow it to be done    
merely that children may grow up in the 
stereotyped mould1 is simply to         
perpetuate in new generations the       
present thick-sighted and dead-heavy    
state of our spirits4 ,it is to do      
one's best to keep society for an       
indefinite time sapped by hollow and    

void professions1 instead of being      
nourished by sincerity and              
whole-heartedness4#be    ,nor here1 more
 than elsewhere in this chapter1 are we 
trying to turn  the family into a field 
of ceaseless polemic4 ,no one who knows 
the stuff  of which life is made1 the   
pressure of material cares1 the play of 
passion1 the busy energising of the     
affections1 the anxieties of health1    
and all the other solicitudes1 generous 
or ignoble1 which naturally  absorb the 
days of the common multitude of men--is 
likely to think such  an ideal either   
desirable or attainable4 ,least of all  
is it desirable  to give character a    
strong set in this polemical direction  
in its most  plastic days4 ,the         
controversial and denying humour is a   
different thing  from the habit of being
 careful to know what we mean by the    
words we  use1 and what evidence there  
is for the beliefs we hold4 ,it is      
possible  to foster the latter habit    
without creating the former4 ,and it is 

possible to bring up the young in       
dissent from the common beliefs around  
them1 or in indifference to them1       
without engendering any of that pride   
in eccentricity for its own sake1 which 
is so little likeable a quality  in     
either young or old4 ,there is1 however1
 little risk of an excess in  this      
direction4 ,the young tremble even more 
than the old at the  penalties of       
nonconformity4 ,there is more excuse for
 them in this4 ,such  penalties in their
 case usually come closer and in more   
stringent forms4  ,neither have they had
 time to find out1 as their elders have 
or ought to  have found out1 what a very
 moderate degree of fortitude enables us
 to  bear up against social disapproval1
 when we know that it is nothing more   
than the common form of convention4     
,the great object is to keep the minds  
of the young as open as possible  in the
 matter of religion2 to breed in them a 
certain simplicity and  freedom from    
self-consciousness1 in finding          

themselves without the  religious       
beliefs and customs of those around     
them2 to make them regard  differences  
in these respects as very natural and   
ordinary matters1  susceptible of an    
easy explanation4 ,it is of course      
inevitable1 unless  they are brought up 
in cloistered seclusion1 that they      
should hear much  of the various        
articles of belief which we are anxious 
that they should  not share4 ,they will 
ask you whether the story of the        
creation of the  universe is true2      
whether such and such miracles really   
happened2  whether this person or that  
actually lived1 and actually did all    
that he  is said to have done4 ,plainly 
the right course is to tell them1       
without  any agitation or excess or     
vehemence or too much elaboration1 the  
simple  truth in such matters exactly as
 it appears to one's own mind4 ,there is
  no reason why they should not know the
 best parts of the ,bible as well  as   
they know the ,iliad or ,herodotus4     

,there are many reasons why they  should
 know them better4 ,but one most        
important condition of this is          
constantly overlooked by people1 who    
like to satisfy their intellectual      
vanity by scepticism1 and at the same   
time to make their comfort safe by      
external conformity4 ,if the ,bible is  
to be taught only because it is a  noble
 and most majestic monument of          
literature1 it should be taught as  that
 and no more4 ,that a man who regards it
 solely us supreme  literature1 should  
impress it upon the young as the        
supernaturally  inspired word of ,god   
and the accurate record of objective    
occurrences1  is a piece of the plainest
 and most shocking dishonesty4 ,let a   
youth be  trained in simple and         
straightforward recognition of the truth
 that we  can know1 and can conjecture1 
nothing with any assurance as to the    
ultimate mysteries of things4 ,let his  
imagination and his sense of awe  be fed
 from those springs1 which are none the 

less bounteous because  they flow in    
natural rather than supernatural        
channels4 ,let him be  taught the       
historic place and source of the        
religions which he is not  bound to     
accept1 unless the evidence for their   
authority by and by  brings him to      
another mind4 ,a boy or girl trained in 
this way has an  infinitely better      
chance of growing up with the true      
spirit and  leanings of religion        
implanted in the character1 than if they
 had been  educated in formulae which   
they could not understand1 by people who
 do  not believe them4    ,the most     
common illustration of a personal       
mistake being made the base  of a       
general doctrine1 is found in the case  
of those who1 after  committing         
themselves for life to the profession of
 a given creed1 awake  to the shocking  
discovery that the creed has ceased to  
be true for them4  ,the action of a     
popular modern story1 ,mrs4 ,gaskell's  
,north and ,south1  turns upon the case 

of a clergyman whoso faith is           
overthrown1 and who in  consequence     
abandons his calling1 to his own serious
 material detriment  and under          
circumstances of severe suffering to his
 family4 ,i am afraid  that current     
opinion1 especially among the cultivated
 class1 would  condemn such a sacrifice 
as a piece of misplaced scrupulosity4   
,no man1  it would be said1 is called   
upon to proclaim his opinions1 when to  
do so  will cost him the means of       
subsistence4 ,this will depend upon the 
value  which he sets upon the opinions  
that be has to proclaim4 ,if such a     
proposition is true1 the world must     
efface its habit of admiration for  the 
martyrs and heroes of the past1 who     
embraced violent death rather  than     
defile themselves by a lying confession4
 ,or is present heroism  ridiculous1 and
 only past heroism admirable8 ,however1 
nobody has a right  to demand the heroic
 from all the world2 and if to publish  
his dissent  from the opinions which he 

nominally holds would reduce a man to   
beggary1 human charity bids us say as   
little as may be4 ,we may leave  such   
men to their unfortunate destiny1 hoping
 that they will make what  good use of  
it may be possible4 ,non ragioniam di   
lor4 ,these cases only  show the        
essential and profound immorality of the
 priestly  profession--in all its forms1
 and no matter in connection with what  
church or what dogma--which makes a     
man's living depend on his  abstaining  
from using his mind1 or concealing the  
conclusions to which  use of his mind   
has brought him4 ,the time will come    
when society will  look back on the     
doctrine1 that they who serve the altar 
should live by  the altar1 as a doctrine
 of barbarism and degradation4    ,but  
if one1 by refusing to offer a pinch of 
incense to the elder gods1  should thus 
strip himself of a marked opportunity of
 exerting an  undoubtedly useful        
influence over public opinion1 or over a
 certain  section of society1 is he not 

justified in compromising to the extent 
necessary to preserve this influence8   
,instead of answering this  directly1 we
 would make the following remarks4      
,first1 it can seldom be  clear in times
 like our own that religious heterodoxy 
must involve the  loss of influence in  
other than religious spheres4 ,the      
apprehension that  it will do so is due 
rather to timorousness and a desire to  
find a fair  reason for the comforts of 
silence and reserve4 ,if a teacher has  
anything to tell the world in science1  
philosophy1 history1 the world  will not
 be deterred from listening to him by   
knowing that he does not  walk in the   
paths of conventional theology4 ,second1
 what influence can a  man exert1 that  
should seem to him more useful than that
 of a protester  against what he counts 
false opinions1 in the most decisive and
  important of all regions of thought8  
,surely if any one is persuaded1        
whether rightly or wrongly1 that his    
fellows are expending the best part  of 

their imaginations and feelings on a    
dream and a delusion1 and that  by so   
doing moreover they are retarding to an 
indefinite degree the  wider spread of  
light and happiness1 then nothing that  
he can tell them  about chemistry or    
psychology or history can in his eyes be
 comparable  in importance to the duty  
of telling them this4 ,there is no      
advantage  nor honest delight in        
influence1 if it is only to be exerted  
in the  sphere of secondary objects1 and
 at the cost of the objects which ought 
to be foremost in the eyes of serious   
people4 ,in truth the men who have  done
 most for the world have taken very     
little heed of influence4 ,they  have   
sought light1 and left their influence  
to fare as it might list4  ,can we not  
imagine the mingled mystification and   
disdain with which a  ,spinosa or a     
,descartes1 a ,luther or a ,pascal1     
would have listened to an  exhortation  
in our persuasive modern manner on the  
niceties of the  politic and the social 

obligation of pious fraud8 ,it is not   
given to  many to perform the           
achievements of such giants as these1   
but every one  may help to keep the     
standard of intellectual honesty at a   
lofty pitch1  and what better service   
can a man render than to furnish the    
world with  an example of faithful      
dealing with his own conscience and with
 his  fellows8 ,this at least is the one
 talent that is placed in the hands of  
the obscurest of us all4#bf    ,and what
 is this smile of the world1 to win     
which we are bidden to  sacrifice our   
moral manhood2 this frown of the world1 
whose terrors are  more awful than the  
withering up of truth and the slow going
 out of  light within the souls of us8  
,consider the triviality of life and    
conversation and purpose1 in the bulk of
 those whose approval is held  out for  
our prize and the mark of our high      
calling4 ,measure1 if you can1  the     
empire over them of prejudice           
unadulterated by a single element of    

rationality1 and weigh1 if you can1 the 
huge burden of custom1  unrelieved by a 
single leavening particle of fresh      
thought4 ,ponder the  share which       
selfishness and love of ease have in the
 vitality and the  maintenance of the   
opinions that we are forbidden to       
dispute4 ,then how  pitiful a thing     
seems the approval or disapproval of    
these creatures of  the conventions of  
the hour1 as one figures the merciless  
vastness of  the universe of matter     
sweeping us headlong through viewless   
space2 as  one hears the wail of misery 
that is for ever ascending to the deaf  
gods2 as one counts the little tale of  
the years that separate us from  eternal
 silence4 ,in the light of these things1
 a man should surely dare  to live his  
small span of life with little heed of  
the common speech  upon him or his life1
 only caring that his days may be full  
of reality1  and his conversation of    
truth-speaking and wholeness4    ,those 
who think conformity in the matters of  

which we have been  speaking harmless   
and unimportant1 must do so either from 
indifference  or else from despair4 ,it 
is difficult to convince any one who is 
possessed by either one or other of     
these two evil spirits4 ,men who have   
once accepted them1 do not easily       
relinquish philosophies that relieve    
their professors from disagreeable      
obligations of courage and endeavour4   
,to the indifferent person one can say  
nothing4 ,we can only acquiesce in  that
 deep and terrible scripture1 ',he that 
is filthy1 let him be filthy  still4'   
,to those who despair of human          
improvement or the spread of light  in  
the face of the huge mass of brute      
prejudice1 we can only urge that  the   
enormous weight and the firm hold of    
baseless prejudice and false            
commonplace are the very reasons which  
make it so important that those  who are
 not of the night nor of the darkness   
should the more strenuously  insist on  
living their own lives in the daylight4 

,to those1 finally1 who  do not despair1
 but think that the new faith will come 
so slowly that it  is not worth while   
for the poor mortal of a day to make    
himself a  martyr1 we may suggest that  
the new faith when it comes will be of  
little worth1 unless it has been shaped 
by generations of honest and  fearless  
men1 and unless it finds in those who   
are to receive it an  honest and        
fearless temper4 ,our plea is not for a 
life of perverse  disputings or busy    
proselytising1 but only that we should  
learn to look  at one another with a    
clear and steadfast eye1 and march      
forward along  the paths we choose with 
firm step and erect front4 ,the first   
advance  towards either the renovation  
of one faith or the growth of another1  
must be the abandonment of those habits 
of hypocritical conformity and          
compliance which have filled the air of 
the ,england of to-day with gross  and  
obscuring mists4    ,,footnotes3        
,footnote #ah3 ,it may be said that     

,hume meant no more than this3 that of  
two equally oppressed nations1 the one  
which had been taught to assent  to the 
doctrine of resistance would be more    
likely to practise 'the  sacred duty of 
insurrection' than the other1 from whom 
the doctrine had  been concealed4 ,or1  
in other words1 that the first would    
rise against  oppression1 when the      
oppression had reached a pitch which to 
the second  would still seem bearable4  
,the answer to ,hume's proposition1     
interpreted  in this way1 would be that 
if the doctrine of resistance be        
presented to  the populace in its true  
shape1--if it be 'truth1' as he         
admits1--then  the application of it in 
practice should be as little likely to  
prove  mischievous as that of any other 
truth4 ,if the gist of the remark be    
that this is a truth which the populace 
is especially likely to apply  wrongly1 
in consequence of its ignorance1        
passion1 and heedlessness1 we  may      
answer by appealing to history1 which is

 rather a record of  excessive patience 
in the various nations of the earth than
 of excessive  petulance4    ,footnote  
#ai3 ,there is another ground for the   
distinction between the  conditions of  
holding and those of expressing opinion4
 ,this depends upon  the psychological  
proposition that belief is independent  
of the will4  ,though this or any other 
state of the understanding may be       
involuntary1  the manifestation of such 
a state is not so1 but is a voluntary   
act1  and1 'being neutral in itself1 may
 be commendable or reprehensible        
according to the circumstances in which 
it takes place4' 7,bailey's  ,essay on  
,formation of ,opinion1  #g74           
,footnote #bj3 ,the following words1    
illustrating the continuity between  the
 ,christian and ,jewish churches1 are   
not without instruction to those  who   
meditate on the possible continuity     
between the ,christian church and  that 
which is one day to grow into the place 
of it3--',not only do forms  and        

ordinances remain under the ,gospel     
equally as before2 but1 what was  in use
 before is not so much superseded by the
 ,gospel ordinances as  changed into    
them4 ,what took place under the ,law is
 a pattern1 what was  commanded is a    
rule1 under the ,gospel4 ,the substance 
remains1 the use1  the meaning1 the     
circumstances1 the benefit is changed2  
grace is added1  life is infused3 the   
body is of ,christ2 but it is in great  
measure  that same body which was in    
being before ,he came4 ,the ,gospel has 
not put  aside1 it has incorporated into
 itself the revelation which went before
  it4 ,it avails itself of the ,old     
,testament1 as a great gift to          
,christian  as well as to ,jew4 ,it does
 not dispense with it1 but it dispenses 
it4  ,persons sometimes urge that there 
is no code of duty in the ,new          
,testament1 no ceremonial1 no rules for 
,church polity4 ,certainly not2  they   
are unnecessary2 they are already given 
in the ,old4 ,why should the  ,old      

,testament remain in the ,christian     
church but to be used8 ,there we  are to
 look for our forms1 our rites1 our     
polity2 only illustrated1  tempered1    
spiritualised by the ,gospel4 ,the      
preempts remain1 the  observance of them
 is changed1'--,dr4 ,j4,h4 ,newman2     
,sermon on ,subjects of  the ,day1 p4   
#bje4    ,footnote #ba3 ,there is a set 
of most acute and searching criticisms  
on  this matter in ,mr4 ,leslie         
,stephen's ,essays on ,free-,thinking   
and  ,plain-,speaking 7,longmans1       
#ahgc74 ,the last essay in the volume1  
,an  ,apology for ,plain-,speaking1 is a
 decisive and remarkable exposition of  
the treacherous playing with words1     
which underlies even the most  vigorous 
efforts to make the phrases and formula 
of the old creed hold  the reality of   
new faith4    ,footnote #bb3 ,upon this 
sentence the following criticism has    
been  made3--',surely both of these     
so-called contradictions are            
deliberately  affirmed by the vast      

majority of all thinkers upon the       
subject4 ,what  orthodox asserter of the
 omnipresence of a ,creator with        
intelligible  attributes ever maintained
 that these attributes could be grasped 
by  men8'--,the orthodox asserter1 no   
doubt1 says that he does not  maintain  
that the divine attributes can be       
grasped by men2 but his  habitual       
treatment of them as intelligible1 and  
as the subjects of  propositions made in
 languages that is designed to be       
intelligible1  shows that his first     
reservation is merely nominal1 as it is 
certainly  inconsistent with his general
 position4 ,religious people who warn   
you  most solemnly that man who is a    
worm and the son of a worm cannot       
possibly compass in his puny            
understanding the attributes of the     
,divine  ,being1 will yet--as an eminent
 divine not in holy orders has truly    
said--tell you all about him1 as if he  
were the man who lives in the  next     
street4    ,footnote #bc3 ,that able    

man1 the late ,j4,e4 ,cairnes1 suggested
 the  following objection to this       
paragraph4 ,when two persons marry1     
there is  a reasonable expectation1     
almost amounting to an understanding1   
that  they will both of them adhere to  
their religion1 just as both of them    
tacitly agree to follow the ways of the 
world in the host of minor  social      
matters4 ,if1 therefore1 either of them 
turns to some other creed1  the person  
so turning has1 so to speak1 broken the 
contract4 ,the utmost  he or she can    
contend for is forbearance4 ,if a woman 
embraces  catholicism1 she may seek     
tolerance1 but she has no right to exact
  conformity4 ,if the man becomes an    
unbeliever1 he in like manner breaks    
the bargain1 and may be justly asked not
 to flaunt his misdemeanour4    ,my     
answer to this would turn upon the      
absolute inexpediency of such  silent   
bargains being assumed by public        
opinion4 ,in the present state of       
opinion1 where the whole air is alive   

with the spirit of change1 nobody  who  
takes his life or her life seriously1   
could allow an assumption  which means  
reduction of one of the most important  
parts of character1  the love of truth1 
to a nullity4    ,footnote #bd3 ,the    
reader remembers how ,wolmar1 the       
atheistic husband of  ,julie in         
,rousseau's ,new ,helosa1 is distressed 
by the chagrin which  his unbelief      
inflicts on the piety of his wife4 ',he 
told me that he had  been frequently    
tempted to make a feint of yielding to  
her arguments1  and to pretend1 for the 
sake of calming her sentiments that he  
did not  really hold4 ,but such baseness
 of soul is too far from him4 ,without  
for  a moment imposing on ,julie1 such  
dissimulation would only have been a    
new torment to her4 ,the good faith1 the
 frankness1 the union of heart1  that   
console for so many troubles1 would have
 been eclipsed between  them4 ,was it by
 lessening his wife's esteem for him    
that he could  reassure her8 ,instead of

 using any disguise1 he tells her       
sincerely what  he thinks1 but he says  
it in so simple a tone1 etc4--,v4 v4    
#abf4    ,footnote #be3 ,the common     
reason alleged by freethinkers for      
having their  children brought up in the
 orthodox ways is that1 if they were not
 so  brought up1 they would be looked on
 as contaminating agents whom other     
parents would take care to keep away    
from the companionship of their         
children4 ,this excuse may have had some
 force at another time4 ,at the  present
 day1 when belief is so weak1 we doubt  
whether the young would be  excluded    
from the companionship of their equals  
in age1 merely because  they had not    
been trained in some of the conventional
 shibboleths4 ,even  if it were so1     
there are certainly some ways of        
compensating for the  disadvantages of  
exclusion from orthodox circles4    ,i  
have heard of a more interesting reason2
 namely1 that the historic  position of 
the young1 relatively to the time in    

which they are placed1  is in some sort 
falsified1 unless they have gone through
 a training in  the current beliefs of  
their age3 unless they have undergone   
that1 they  miss1 as it were1 some of   
the normal antecedents4 ,i do not think 
this  plea will hold good4 ,however     
desirable it may be that the young      
should  know all sorts of erroneous     
beliefs and opinions as products of the 
past1 it can hardly be in any degree    
desirable that they should take  them   
for truths4 ,if there were no other     
objection1 there would be this1  that   
the disturbance and waste of force      
involved in shaking off in their  riper 
years the erroneous opinions which had  
been instilled into them  in childhood1 
would more than counter-balance any     
advantages1 whatever  their precise     
nature may be1 to be derived from having
 shared in their  own proper persons the
 ungrounded notions of others4          
,footnote #bf3 ,miss ,martineau has an  
excellent protest against 'the          

dereliction of principle shown in       
supposing that any ,cause can be of  so 
much importance as fidelity to truth1 or
 can be important at all  otherwise than
 in its relation to truth which wants   
vindicating4 ,it  reminds me of an      
incident which happened when ,i was in  
,america1 at the  time of the severest  
trials of the ,abolitionists4 ,a pastor 
from the  southern ,states lamented to a
 brother clergyman in the ,north the    
introduction of the ,anti-slavery       
question1 because the views of their    
sect were getting on so well before6    
,getting on6 cried the northern         
minister4 ,what is the use of getting   
your vessel on when you have  thrown    
both captain and cargo overboard8 ,thus1
 what signifies the  pursuit of any one 
reform1 like those                      
specified1--,anti-slavery and the       
,woman question1--when the freedom which
 is the very soul of the  controversy1  
the very principle of the movement1--is 
mourned over in any  other of its many  

manifestations8 ,the only effectual     
advocates of such  reforms as those are 
people who follow truth wherever it     
leads4'--,autobiography1 ii4 #ddb4      
,,chapter ,v4      ,,the ,,realisation  
,,of ,,opinion4    ,a person who takes  
the trouble to form his own opinions and
 beliefs will  feel that he owes no     
responsibility to the majority for his  
conclusions4  ,if he is a genuine lover 
of truth1 if he is inspired by the      
divine  passion for seeing things as    
they are1 and a divine abhorrence of    
holding ideas which do not conform to   
the facts1 he will be wholly            
independent of the approval or assent of
 the persons around him4 ,when he       
proceeds to apply his beliefs in the    
practical conduct of life1 the  position
 is different4 ,there are now good      
reasons why his attitude  should be in  
some ways less inflexible4 ,the society 
in which he is  placed is a very ancient
 and composite growth4 ,the people from 
whom he  dissents have not come by their

 opinions1 customs1 and institutions by 
a  process of mere haphazard4 ,these    
opinions and customs all had their      
origin in a certain real or supposed    
fitness4 ,they have a certain depth  of 
root in the lives of a proportion of the
 existing generation4 ,their  fitness   
for satisfying human needs may have     
vanished1 and their  congruity with one 
another may have come to an end4 ,that  
is only one  side of the truth4 ,the    
most zealous propagandism cannot        
penetrate to  them4 ,the quality of     
bearing to be transplanted from one kind
 of soil  and climate to another is not 
very common1 and it is far from being   
inexhaustible even where it exists4     
,in common language we speak of a       
generation as something possessed of a  
kind of exact unity1 with all its parts 
and members one and homogeneous4  ,yet  
very plainly it is not this4 ,it is a   
whole1 but a whole in a state  of       
constant flux4 ,its factors and elements
 are eternally shifting4 ,it is  not    

one1 but many generations4 ,each of the 
seven ages of man is  neighbour to all  
the rest4 ,the column of the veterans is
 already  staggering over into the last 
abyss1 while the column of the newest   
recruits is forming with all its        
nameless and uncounted hopes4 ,to each  
its tradition1 its tendency1 its        
possibilities4 ,only a proportion of    
each in one society can have nerve      
enough to grasp the banner of a new     
truth1 and endurance enough to bear it  
along rugged and untrodden ways4    ,and
 then1 as we have said1 one must        
remember the stuff of which life is     
made4 ,one must consider what an        
overwhelming preponderance of the most  
tenacious energies and most concentrated
 interests of a society must be         
absorbed between material cares and the 
solicitude of the affections4 ,it  is   
obviously unreasonable to lose patience 
and quarrel with one's time1  because it
 is tardy in throwing off its           
institutions and beliefs1 and  slow to  

achieve the transformation which is the 
problem in front of it4  ,men and women 
have to live4 ,the task for most of them
 is arduous enough  to make them well   
pleased with even such imperfect shelter
 as they find  in the use and wont of   
daily existence4 ,to insist on a whole  
community  being made at once to submit 
to the reign of new practices and new   
ideas1 which have just begun to commend 
themselves to the most advanced         
speculative intelligence of the         
time1--this1 even if it were a possible 
process1 would do much to make life     
impracticable and to hurry on social    
dissolution4    ',it cannot be too      
emphatically asserted1' as has been said
 by one of  the most influential of     
modern thinkers1 'that this policy of   
compromise1 alike in institutions1 in   
actions1 and in beliefs1 which          
especially characterises ,english life1 
is a policy essential to a  society     
going through the transitions caused by 
continued growth and  development4      

,ideas and institutions proper to a past
 social state1 but  incongruous with the
 new social state that has grown out of 
it1  surviving into this new social     
state they have made possible1 and      
disappearing only as this new social    
state establishes its own ideas and     
institutions1 are necessarily1 during   
their survival1 in conflict with  these 
new ideas and institutions--necessarily 
furnish elements of  contradiction in   
men's thoughts and deeds4 ,and yet1 as  
for the carrying  on of social life1 the
 old must continue so long as the new is
 not  ready1 this perpetual compromise  
is an indispensable accompaniment of a  
normal development4'#bg    ,yet we must 
not press this argument1 and the state  
of feeling that  belongs to it1 further 
than they may be fairly made to go4 ,the
 danger in  most natures lies on this   
side1 for on this side our love of ease 
works1 and our prejudices4 ,the writer  
in the passage we have just quoted  is  
describing compromise as a natural state

 of things1 the resultant of  divergent 
forces4 ,he is not professing to define 
its conditions or  limits as a practical
 duty4 ,nor is there anything in his    
words1 or in  the doctrine of social    
evolution of which he is the most       
elaborate and  systematic expounder1 to 
favour that deliberate sacrifice of     
truth1  either in search or in          
expression1 against which our two       
previous  chapters were meant to        
protest4#bh ,when ,mr4 ,spencer talks of
 a new  social state establishing its   
own ideas1 of course he means1 and can  
only mean1 that men and women establish 
their own ideas1 and to do that1  it is 
obvious that they must at one time or   
another have conceived them  without any
 special friendliness of reference to   
the old ideas1 which  they were in the  
fulness of time to supersede4 ,still    
less1 of course1  can a new social state
 ever establish its ideas1 unless the   
persons who  hold them confess them     
openly1 and give to them an honest and  

effective  adherence4    ,every         
discussion of the more fundamental      
principles of conduct must  contain1    
expressly or by implication1 some       
general theory of the nature  and       
constitution of the social union4 ,let  
us state in a few words that  which     
seems to command the greatest amount    
both of direct and analogical  evidence 
in our time4 ,it is perhaps all the more
 important to discuss  our subject with 
immediate and express reference to this 
theory1 because  it has become in some  
minds a plea for a kind of philosophic  
indifference towards any policy of      
,thorough1 as well as an excuse for     
systematic abstention from vigorous and 
downright courses of action4    ,a      
progressive society is now constantly   
and justly compared to a growing        
organism4 ,its vitality in this aspect  
consists of a series of changes in      
ideas and institutions4 ,these changes  
arise spontaneously from the  operation 
of the whole body of social conditions1 

external and  internal4 ,the            
understanding and the affections and    
desires are always  acting on the       
domestic1 political1 and economic       
ordering4 ,they influence  the religious
 sentiment4 ,they touch relations with  
societies outside4 ,in  turn they are   
constantly being acted on by all these  
elements4 ,in a  society progressing in 
a normal and uninterrupted course1 this 
play and  interaction is the sign and   
essence of life4 ,it is1 as we are so   
often  told1 a long process of new      
adaptations and re-adaptations2 of the  
modification of tradition and usage by  
truer ideas and improved  institutions4 
,there may be1 and there are1 epochs of 
rest1 when this  modification in its    
active and demonstrative shape slackens 
or ceases to  be visible4 ,but even then
 the modifying forces are only latent4  
,further  progress depends on the       
revival of their energy1 before there   
has been  time for the social structure 
to become ossified and inelastic4 ,the  

history of civilisation is the history  
of the displacement of old  conceptions 
by new ones more conformable to the     
facts4 ,it is the record  of the removal
 of old institutions and ways of living1
 in favour of  others of greater        
convenience and ampler capacity1 at once
 multiplying  and satisfying human      
requirements4    ,now compromise1 in    
view of the foregoing theory of social  
advance1 may  be of two kinds1 and of   
these two kinds one is legitimate and   
the other  not4 ,it may stand for two   
distinct attitudes of mind1 one of them 
obstructive and the other not4 ,it may  
mean the deliberate suppression or      
mutilation of an idea1 in order to make 
it congruous with the  traditional idea 
or the current prejudice on the given   
subject1 whatever  that may be4 ,or else
 it may mean a rational acquiescence in 
the fact  that the bulk of your         
contemporaries are not yet prepared     
either to  embrace the new idea1 or to  
change their ways of living in          

conformity to  it4 ,in the one case1 the
 compromiser rejects the highest truth1 
or  dissembles his own acceptance of it4
 ,in the other1 he holds it             
courageously for his ensign and device1 
but neither forces nor expects  the     
whole world straightway to follow4 ,the 
first prolongs the duration  of the     
empire of prejudice1 and retards the    
arrival of improvement4 ,the  second    
does his best to abbreviate the one1 and
 to hasten and make  definite the other1
 yet he does not insist on hurrying     
changes which1  to be effective1 would  
require the active support of numbers of
 persons  not yet ripe for them4 ,it is 
legitimate compromise to say3--',i do   
not  expect you to execute this         
improvement1 or to surrender that       
prejudice1  in my time4 ,but at any rate
 it shall not be my fault if the        
improvement  remains unknown or         
rejected4 ,there shall be one man at    
least who has  surrendered the          
prejudice1 and who does not hide that   

fact4' ,it is  illegitimate compromise  
to say3--',i cannot persuade you to     
accept my  truth2 therefore ,i will     
pretend to accept your falsehood4'      
,that this distinction is as sound on   
the evolutional theory of society  as on
 any other is quite evident4 ,it would  
be odd if the theory which  makes       
progress depend on modification forbade 
us to attempt to modify4  ,when it is   
said that the various successive changes
 in thought and  institution present and
 consummate themselves spontaneously1 no
 one  means by spontaneity that they    
come to pass independently of human     
effort and volition4 ,on the contrary1  
this energy of the members of the       
society is one of the spontaneous       
elements4 ,it is quite as  indispensable
 as any other of them1 if indeed it be  
not more so4  ,progress depends upon    
tendencies and forces in a community4   
,but of these  tendencies and forces1   
the organs and representatives must     
plainly be  found among the men and     

women of the community1 and cannot      
possibly be  found anywhere else4       
,progress is not automatic1 in the sense
 that if we  were all to be cast into a 
deep slumber for the space of a         
generation1  we should awake to find    
ourselves in a greatly improved social  
state4  ,the world only grows better1   
even in the moderate degree in which it 
does grow better1 because people wish   
that it should1 and take the right      
steps to make it better4 ,evolution is  
not a force1 but a process2 not a       
cause1 but a law4 ,it explains the      
source1 and marks the immovable         
limitations1 of social energy4 ,but     
social energy itself can never be       
superseded either by evolution or by    
anything else4    ,the reproach of being
 impracticable and artificial attaches  
by rights  not to those who insist on   
resolute1 persistent1 and uncompromising
  efforts to remove abuses1 but to a    
very different class--to those1  namely1
 who are credulous enough to suppose    

that abuses and bad customs  and        
wasteful ways of doing things will      
remove themselves4 ,this  credulity1    
which is a cloak for indolence or       
ignorance or stupidity1  overlooks the  
fact that there are bodies of men1 more 
or less numerous1  attached by every    
selfish interest they have to the       
maintenance of these  abusive customs4  
',a plan1' says ,bentham1 'may be said  
to be too good to  be practicable1      
where1 without adequate inducement in   
the shape of  personal interest1 it     
requires for its accomplishment that    
some  individual or class of individuals
 shall have made a sacrifice of his or  
their personal interest to the interest 
of the whole4 ,when it is on the  part  
of a body of men or a multitude of      
individuals taken at random that  any   
such sacrifice is reckoned upon1 then it
 is that in speaking of the  plan the   
term ,utopian may without impropriety be
 applied4' ,and this is  the very kind  
of sacrifice which must be anticipated  

by those who so  misunderstand the      
doctrine of evolution as to believe that
 the world is  improved by some mystic  
and self-acting social discipline1 which
  dispenses with the necessity of       
pertinacious attack upon institutions   
that have outlived their time1 and      
interests that have lost their          
justification4    ,we are thus brought  
to the position--to which1 indeed1 bare 
observation  of actual occurrences might
 well bring us1 if it were not for the  
clouding disturbances of selfishness1 or
 of a true philosophy of society        
wrongly applied--that a society can only
 pursue its normal course by  means of a
 certain progression of changes1 and    
that these changes can  only be         
initiated by individuals or very small  
groups of individuals4  ,the progressive
 tendency can only be a tendency1 it can
 only work its  way through the         
inevitable obstructions around it1 by   
means of persons  who are possessed by  
the special progressive idea4 ,such     

ideas do not  spring up uncaused and    
unconditioned in vacant space4 ,they    
have had a  definite origin and ordered 
antecedents4 ,they are in direct        
relation  with the past4 ,they present  
themselves to one person or little group
 of  persons rather than to another1    
because circumstances1 or the accident  
of a superior faculty of penetration1   
have placed the person or group in  the 
way of such ideas4 ,in matters of social
 improvement the most common  reason why
 one hits upon a point of progress and  
not another1 is that  the one happens to
 be more directly touched than the other
 by the  unimproved practice4 ,or he is 
one of those rare intelligences1 active1
  alert1 inventive1 which by            
constitution or training find their     
chief  happiness in thinking in a       
disciplined and serious manner how      
things can  be better done4 ,in all     
cases the possession of a new idea1     
whether  practical or speculative1 only 
raises into definite speech what others 

have needed without being able to make  
their need articulate4 ,this is  the    
principle on which experience shows us  
that fame and popularity are            
distributed4 ,a man does not become     
celebrated in proportion to his  general
 capacity1 but because he does or says  
something which happened  to need doing 
or saying at the moment4    ,this brings
 us directly to our immediate subject4  
,for such a man is the  holder of a     
trust ,it is upon him and those who are 
like him that the  advance of a         
community depends4 ,if he is silent1    
then repair is checked1  and the hurtful
 elements of worn-out beliefs and waste 
institutions  remain to enfeeble the    
society1 just as the retention of waste 
products  enfeebles or poisons the body4
 ,if in a spirit of modesty which is    
often  genuine1 though it is often only 
a veil for love of ease1 he asks why he 
rather than another should speak1 why he
 before others should refuse  compliance
 and abstain from conformity1 the answer

 is that though the  many are ultimately
 moved1 it is always one who is first to
 leave the  old encampment4 ,if the     
maxim of the compromiser were sound1 it 
ought to  be capable of universal       
application4 ,nobody has a right to make
 an  apology for himself in this matter1
 which he will not allow to be valid    
for others4 ,if one has a right to      
conceal his true opinions1 and to       
practice equivocal conformities1 then   
all have a right4 ,one plea for         
exemption is in this case as good as    
another1 and no better4 ,that he has    
married a wife1 that he has bought a    
yoke of oxen and must prove them1  that 
he has bidden guests to a feast--one    
excuse lies on the same level  as the   
rest4 ,all are equally worthless as     
answers to the generous  solicitation of
 enlightened conscience4 ,suppose1 then1
 that each man on  whom in turn the new 
ideas dawned wore to borrow the         
compromiser's plea  and imitate his     
example4 ,we know what would happen4    

,the exploit in  which no one will      
consent to go first1 remains unachieved4
 ,you wait  until there are persons     
enough agreeing with you to form an     
effective  party8 ,but how are the      
members of the band to know one another1
 if all  are to keep their dissent from 
the old1 and their adherence to the new1
  rigorously private8 ,and how many     
members constitute the innovating band  
an effective force6 ,when one-half of   
the attendants at a church are          
unbelievers1 will that warrant us in    
ceasing to attend1 or shall we  tarry   
until the dissemblers number two-thirds8
 ,conceive the additions  which your    
caution has made to the moral integrity 
of the community in  the meantime4      
,measure the enormous hindrances that   
will have been placed  in the way of    
truth and improvement1 when the day at  
last arrives on  which you and your     
two-thirds take heart to say that       
falsehood and abuse  have now reached   
their final term1 and must at length be 

swept away into  the outer darkness4    
,consider how much more terrible the    
shock of change  will be when it does   
come1 and how much less able will men be
 to meet  it1 and to emerge successfully
 from it4    ,perhaps the compromiser   
shrinks1 not because he fears to march  
alone1  but because he thinks that the  
time has not yet come for the           
progressive  idea which he has made his 
own1 and for whose triumph one day he   
confidently hopes4 ,this plea may mean  
two wholly different states of the      
case4 ,the time has not yet come for    
what8 ,for making those positive        
changes in life or institution1 which   
the change in idea must ultimately      
involve8 ,that is one thing4 ,or for    
propagating1 elaborating1 enforcing  the
 new idea1 and strenuously doing all    
that one can to bring as many  people as
 possible to a state of theory1 which   
will at last permit the  requisite      
change in practice to be made with      
safety and success8 ,this is  another   

and entirely different thing4 ,the time 
may not have come for the  first of     
these two courses4 ,the season may not  
be advanced enough for us  to push on to
 active conquest4 ,but the time has     
always come1 and the  season is never   
unripe1 for the announcement of the     
fruitful idea4    ,we must go further   
than that4 ,in so far as it can be done 
by one man  without harming his         
neighbours1 the time has always come for
 the  realisation of an idea4 ,when the 
change in way of living or in           
institution is one which requires the   
assent and co-operation of numbers  of  
people1 it may clearly be a matter for  
question whether men enough  are ready  
to yield assent and co-operation4 ,but  
the expression of the  necessity of the 
change and the grounds of it1 though it 
may not always  be appropriate1 can     
never be premature1 and for these       
reasons4 ,the fact  of a new idea having
 come to one man is a sign that it is in
 the air4  ,the innovator is as much the

 son of his generation as the           
conservative4  ,heretics have as direct 
a relation to antecedent conditions as  
the  orthodox4 ,truth1 said ,bacon1 has 
been rightly named the daughter of      
,time4 ,the new idea does not spring up 
uncaused and by miracle4 ,if it has     
come to me1 there must be others to whom
 it has only just missed coming4  ,if ,i
 have found my way to the light1 there  
must be others groping after  it very   
close in my neighbourhood4 ,my discovery
 is their goal4 ,they are  prepared to  
receive the new truth1 which they were  
not prepared to find  for themselves4   
,the fact that the mass are not yet     
ready to receive1 any  more than to     
find1 is no reason why the possessor of 
the new truth  should run to hide under 
a bushel the candle which has been      
lighted for  him4 ,if the time has not  
come for them1 at least it has come for 
him4 ,no  man can ever know whether his 
neighbours are ready for change or not4 
,he  has all the following certainties1 

at least3--that he himself is ready  for
 the change2 that he believes it would  
be a good and beneficent one2  that     
unless some one begins the work of      
preparation1 assuredly there  will be no
 consummation2 and that if he declines  
to take a part in the  matter1 there can
 be no reason why every one else in turn
 should not  decline in like manner1 and
 so the work remain for ever            
unperformed4 ,the  compromiser who      
blinds himself to all those points1 and 
acts just as if  the truth were not in  
him1 does for ideas with which he       
agrees1 the very  thing which the acute 
persecutor does for ideas which he      
dislikes--he  extinguishes beginnings   
and kills the germs4      ,the          
consideration on which so many persons  
rely1 that an existing  institution1    
though destined to be replaced by a     
better1 performs useful  functions      
provisionally1 is really not to the     
point4 ,it is an excellent  reason why  
the institution should not be removed or

 fundamentally  modified1 until public  
opinion is ripe for the given piece of  
improvement4 ,but it is no reason at all
 why those who are anxious for  the     
improvement1 should speak and act just  
as they would do if they  thought the   
change perfectly needless and           
undesirable4 ,it is no reason  why those
 who allow the provisional utility of a 
belief or an  institution or a custom of
 living1 should think solely of the     
utility  and forget the equally         
important element of its                
provisionalness4 ,for the  fact of its  
being provisional is the very ground why
 every one who  perceives this element1 
should set himself to act accordingly4  
,it is the  ground why he should set    
himself1 in other words1 to draw opinion
 in  every way open to him--by speech1  
by voting1 by manner of life and        
conduct--in the direction of new truth  
and the better practice4 ,let us  not1  
because we deem a thing to be useful for
 the hour1 act as if it  were to be     

useful for ever4 ,the people who        
selfishly seek to enjoy as  much comfort
 and ease as they can in an existing    
state of things1 with  the desperate    
maxim1 ',after us1 the deluge1' are not 
any worse than  those who cherish       
present comfort and case and take the   
world as it  comes1 in the fatuous and  
self-deluding hope1 ',after us1 the     
millennium4' ,those who make no         
sacrifice to avert the deluge1 and those
  who make none to hasten their         
millennium1 are on the same moral level4
  ,and the former have at least the     
quality of being no worse than their    
avowed principle1 while the latter      
nullify their pretended hopes by        
conformities which are only proper      
either to profound social  contentment1 
or to profound social despair4 ,nay1    
they seem to think that  there is some  
merit in this merely speculative        
hopefulness4 ,they act as  if they      
supposed that to be very sanguine about 
the general improvement  of mankind1 is 

a virtue that relieves them from taking 
trouble about any  improvement in       
particular4    ,if those who defend a   
given institution are doing their work  
well1 that  furnishes the better reason 
why those who disapprove of it and      
disbelieve in its enduring efficacy1    
should do their work well also4  ,take  
the ,christian churches1 for instance4  
,assume1 if you will1 that  they are    
serving a variety of useful functions4  
,if that were all1 it  would be a reason
 for conforming4 ,but we are speaking of
 those for whom  the matter does not end
 here4 ,if you are convinced that the   
dogma is not  true2 that a steadily     
increasing number of persons are        
becoming aware  that it is not true2    
that its efficacy as a basis of         
spiritual life is  being lowered in the 
same degree as its credibility2 that    
both dogma and  church must be slowly   
replaced by higher forms of faith1 if   
not also by  more effective             
organisations2 then1 all who hold such  

views as these  have as distinctly a    
function in the community as the        
ministers and  upholders of the         
churches1 and the zeal of the latter is 
simply the most  monstrously untenable  
apology that could be invented for      
dereliction of  duty by the former4     
,if the orthodox to some extent satisfy 
certain of the necessities of the       
present1 there are other necessities of 
the future which can only be  satisfied 
by those who now pass for heretical4    
,the plea which we are  examining1 if it
 is good for the purpose for which it is
 urged1 would  have to be expressed in  
this way3--,the institution is working  
as  perfectly as it can be made to do1  
or as any other in its place would be   
likely to do1 and therefore ,i will do  
nothing by word or deed towards         
meddling with it4 ,those who think this1
 and act accordingly1 are the           
consistent conservatives of the         
community4 ,if a man takes up any       
position short of this1 his conformity1 

acquiescence1 and inertia at  once      
become inconsistent and culpable4 ,for  
unless the institution or  belief is    
entirely adequate1 it must be the duty  
of all who have  satisfied themselves   
that it is not so1 to recognise its     
deficiences1  and at least to call      
attention to them1 even if they lack    
opportunity or  capacity to suggest     
remedies4 ,now we are dealing with      
persons who1 from  the hypothesis1 do   
not admit that this or that factor in an
 existing  social state secures all the 
advantages which might be secured if    
instead of that factor there were some  
other4 ,we are speaking of all the      
various kinds of dissidents1 who think  
that the current theology1 or an        
established church1 or a monarchy1 or an
 oligarchic republic1 is a bad  thing   
and a lower form1 even at the moment    
while they attribute  provisional merit 
to it4 ,they can mean nothing by        
classing each of  these as bad things1  
except that they either bring with them 

certain  serious drawbacks1 or exclude  
certain valuable advantages4 ,the fact  
that  they perform their functions well1
 such as they are1 leaves the           
fundamental vice or defect of these     
functions just where it was4 ,if any    
one really thinks that the current      
theology involves depraved notions of   
the supreme impersonation of good1      
restricts and narrows the  intelligence1
 misdirects the religious imagination1  
and has become  powerless to guide      
conduct1 then how does the circumstance 
that it  happens not to be wholly and   
unredeemedly bad in its influence1      
relieve  our dissident from all care or 
anxiety as to the points in which1 as we
  have seen1 he does count it inadequate
 and mischievous8 ,even if he  thinks it
 does more good than harm--a position   
which must be very  difficult for one   
who believes the common supernatural    
conception of it  to be entirely        
false--even then1 how is he discharged  
from the duty of  stigmatising the harm 

which he admits that it does8    ,again1
 take the case of the ,english monarchy4
 ,grant1 if you will1 that  this        
institution has a certain function1 and 
that by the present chief  magistrate   
this function is estimably performed4   
,yet if we are of those  who believe    
that in the stage of civilisation which 
,england has reached  in other matters1 
the monarchy must be either obstructive 
and injurious1  or else merely          
decorative2 and that a merely decorative
 monarchy tends  in divers ways to      
engender habits of abasement1 to nourish
 lower social  ideals1 to lessen a high 
civil self-respect in the community2    
then it  must surely be our duty not to 
lose any opportunity of pressing these  
convictions4 ,to do this is not         
necessarily to act as if one were       
anxious  for the immediate removal of   
the throne and the crown into the museum
 of  political antiquities4 ,we may have
 no urgent practical solicitude in  this
 direction1 on the intelligible         

principle that a free people always     
gets as good a kind of government as it 
deserves4 ,our conviction is not1  on   
the present hypothesis1 that monarchy   
ought to be swept away in  ,england1 but
 that monarchy produces certain         
mischievous consequences to  the public 
spirit of the community4 ,and so what we
 are bound to do is to  take care not to
 conceal this conviction2 to abstain    
scrupulously from  all kinds of action  
and observance1 public or private1 which
 tend ever  so remotely to foster the   
ignoble and degrading elements that     
exist in a  court and spread from it    
outwards2 and to use all the influence  
we have1  however slight it may be1 in  
loading public opinion to a right       
attitude  of contempt and dislike for   
these ignoble and degrading elements1   
and  the conduct engendered by them4 ,a 
policy like this does not interfere     
with the advantages of the monarchy1    
such as they are asserted to be1  and it
 has the effect of making what are      

supposed to be its  disadvantages as    
little noxious as possible4 ,the        
question whether we can  get others to  
agree with us is not relevant4 ,if we   
were eager for  instant overthrow1 it   
would be the most relevant of all       
questions4 ,but  we are in the          
preliminary stage1 the stage for acting 
on opinion4 ,the  fact that others do   
not yet share our opinion1 is the very  
reason for  our action4 ,we can only    
bring them to agree with us1 if it be   
possible  on any terms1 by persistency  
in our principles4 ,this persistency1 in
 all  but either very timid or very     
vulgar natures1 always has been and     
always will be independent of external  
assent or co-operation4 ,the  history of
 success1 as we can never too often     
repeat to ourselves1 is  the history of 
minorities4 ,and what is more1 it is for
 the most part the  history of          
insurrection exactly against what the   
worldly spirits of the  time1 whenever  
it may have been1 deemed mere trifles   

and accidents1 with  which sensible men 
should on no account dream of taking the
 trouble to  quarrel4    ',halifax1'    
says ,macaulay1 'was in speculation a   
strong republican and  did not conceal  
it4 ,he often made hereditary monarchy  
and aristocracy  the subjects of his    
keen pleasantry1 while he was fighting  
the battles  of the court and obtaining 
for himself step after step in the      
peerage4'  ,we are perfectly familiar   
with this type1 both in men who have1   
and men  who have not1 such brilliant   
parts as ,halifax4 ,such men profess to 
nourish high ideals of life1 of         
character1 of social institutions4 ,yet 
they never think of these ideals1 when  
they are deciding what is  practically  
attainable4 ,one would like to ask them 
what purpose is  served by an ideal1 if 
it is not to make a guide for practice  
and a  landmark in dealing with the     
real4 ,a man's loftiest and most ideal  
notions must be of a singularly ethereal
 and1 shall we not say1  senseless kind1

 if he can never see how to take a      
single step that may  tend in the       
slightest degree towards making them    
more real4 ,if an ideal  has no point of
 contact with what exists1 it is        
probably not much more  than the vapid  
outcome of intellectual or spiritual    
self-indulgence4 ,if  it has such a     
point of contact1 then there is sure to 
be something which  a man can do towards
 the fulfilment of his hopes4 ,he cannot
 substitute a  new national religion for
 the old1 but he can at least do        
something to  prevent people from       
supposing that the adherents of the old 
are more  numerous than they really are1
 and something to show them that good   
ideas are not all exhausted by the      
ancient forms4 ,he cannot transform a   
monarchy into a republic1 but he can    
make sure that one citizen at least     
shall aim at republican virtues1 and    
abstain from the debasing  complaisance 
of the crowd4      ',it is a very great 
mistake1 said ,burke1 many years before 

the ,french  ,revolution is alleged1 and
 most unreasonably alleged1 to have     
alienated  him from liberalism3 'it is a
 very great mistake to imagine that     
mankind follow up practically any       
speculative principle1 either of        
government or of freedom1 as far as it  
will go in argument and logical         
illation4 ,all government1 indeed every 
human benefit and enjoyment1  every     
virtue1 and every prudent act1 is       
founded on compromise and  barter4 ,we  
balance inconveniences2 we give and     
take2--we remit some  rights that we may
 enjoy others4444 ,man acts from motives
 relative to  his interests2 and not on 
metaphysical speculations4#bi ,these are
 the  words of wisdom and truth1 if we  
can be sure that men will interpret     
them in all the fulness of their        
meaning1 and not be content to take     
only that part of the meaning which     
falls in with the dictates of their  own
 love of ease4 ,in ,france such words   
ought to be printed in capitals  on the 

front of every newspaper1 and written up
 in letters of burnished  gold over each
 faction of the ,assembly1 and on the   
door of every bureau  in the            
,administration4 ,in ,england they need 
a commentary which shall  bring out the 
very simple truth1 that compromise and  
barter do not mean  the undisputed      
triumph of one set of principles4 ,nor1 
on the other hand1  do they mean the    
mutilation of both sets of principles1  
with a view to  producing a tertium quid
 that shall involve the disadvantages of
 each1  without securing the advantages 
of either4 ,what ,burke means is that we
  ought never to press our ideas up to  
their remotest logical issues1  without 
reference to the conditions in which we 
are applying them4 ,in  politics we have
 an art4 ,success in politics1 as in    
every other art1  obviously before all  
else implies both knowledge of the      
material with  which we have to deal1   
and also such concession as is necessary
 to the  qualities of the material4     

,above all1 in politics we have an art  
in  which development depends upon small
 modifications4 ,that is the true  side 
of the conservative theory4 ,to hurry on
 after logical perfection is  to show   
one's self ignorant of the material of  
that social structure  with which the   
politician has to deal4 ,to disdain     
anything short of an  organic change in 
thought or institution in infatuation4  
,to be willing  to make such changes too
 frequently1 even when they are         
possible1 is  foolhardiness4 ,that fatal
 ,french saying about small reforms     
being the  worst enemies of great       
reforms is1 in the sense in which it is 
commonly  used1 a formula of social     
ruin4    ,on the other hand1 let us not 
forget that there is a sense in which   
this  very saying is profoundly true4 ,a
 small and temporary improvement may    
really be the worst enemy of a great and
 permanent improvement1 unless  the     
first is made on the lines and in the   
direction of the second4 ,and  so it    

may1 if it be successfully palmed off   
upon a society as actually  being the   
second4 ,in such a case as this1 and our
 legislation presents  instances of the 
kind1 the small reform1 if it be not    
made with  reference to some large      
progressive principle and with a view to
 further  extension of its scope1 makes 
it all the more difficult to return to  
the  right line and direction when      
improvement is again demanded4 ,to take 
an  example which is now very familiar  
to us all4 ,the ,education ,act of #ahgj
  was of the nature of a small reform4  
,no one pretends that it is anything    
approaching to a final solution of a    
complex problem4 ,but the government    
insisted1 whether rightly or wrongly1   
that their ,act was as large a  measure 
as public opinion was at that moment    
ready to support4 ,at the  same time it 
was clearly agreed among the government 
and the whole of  the party at their    
backs1 that at some time or other1 near 
or remote1 if  public instruction was to

 be made genuinely effective1 the       
private1  voluntary1 or denominational  
system would have to be replaced by a   
national system4 ,to prepare for this   
ultimate replacement was one of the     
points to be most steadily borne in     
mind1 however slowly and tentatively    
the process might be conducted4 ,instead
 of that1 the authors of the ,act       
deliberately introduced provisions for  
extending and strengthening the  very   
system which will have eventually to be 
superseded4 ,they thus by  their small  
reform made the future great reform the 
more difficult of  achievement4         
,assuredly this is not the compromise   
and barter1 the give  and take1 which   
,burke intended4 ,what ,burke means by  
compromise1 and what  every true        
statesman understands by it1 is that it 
may be most  inexpedient to meddle with 
an institution merely because it does   
not  harmonise with 'argument and       
logical illation4' ,this is a very      
different  thing from giving new comfort

 and strength with one hand1 to an      
institution whose death-warrant you     
pretend to be signing with the  other4  
,in a different way the second possible 
evil of a small reform may be  equally  
mischievous--where the small reform is  
represented as settling  the question4  
,the mischief here is not that it takes 
us out of the  progressive course1 as in
 the case we have just been considering1
 but  that it sets men's minds in a     
posture of contentment1 which is not    
justified by the amount of what has been
 done1 and which makes it all  the      
harder to arouse them to new effort when
 the inevitable time  arrives4    ,in   
these ways1 then1 compromise may mean1  
not acquiescence in an  instalment1 on  
the ground that the time is not ripe to 
yield us more  than an instalment1 but  
either the acceptance of the instalment 
as  final1 followed by the virtual      
abandonment of hope and effort2 or else 
it may mean a mistaken reversal of      
direction1 which augments the  distance 

that has ultimately to be traversed4 ,in
 either of these senses1  the small     
reform may become the enemy of the great
 one4 ,but a right  conception of       
political method1 based on a rightly    
interpreted  experience of the          
conditions on which societies unite     
progress with  order1 leads the wise    
conservative to accept the small change1
 lest a  worse thing befall him1 and the
 wise innovator to seize the chance of a
  small improvement1 while incessantly  
working in the direction of great  ones4
 ,the important thing is that throughout
 the process neither of them  should    
lose sight of his ultimate ideal2 nor   
fail to look at the detail  from the    
point of view of the whole2 nor allow   
the near particular to  bulk so unduly  
large as to obscure the general and     
distant4    ,if the process seems       
intolerably slow1 we may correct our    
impatience by  looking back upon the    
past4 ,people seldom realise the        
enormous period of  time which each     

change in men's ideas requires for its  
full  accomplishment4 ,we speak of these
 changes with a peremptory kind of      
definiteness1 as if they had covered no 
more than the space of a few  years4    
,thus we talk of the time of the        
,reformation1 as we might talk of  the  
,reform ,bill or the ,repeal of the     
,corn ,duties4 ,yet the ,reformation is 
the name for a movement of the mind of  
northern ,europe1 which went on  for    
three centuries4 ,then if we turn to    
that still more momentous set  of       
events1 the rise and establishment of   
,christianity1 one might suppose  from  
current speech that we could fix that   
within a space of half a  century or so4
 ,yet it was at least four hundred years
 before all the  foundations of that    
great superstructure of doctrine and    
organisation  were completely laid4     
,again1 to descend to less imposing     
occurrences1  the transition in the     
,eastern ,empire from the old ,roman    
system of  national organisation to that

 other system to which we give the      
specific  name of ,byzantine1--this     
transition1 so infinitely less important
 as it  was than either of the two other
 movements1 yet occupied no less than a 
couple of hundred years4 ,the conditions
 of speech make it indispensable  for us
 to use definite and compendious names  
for movements that were  both tardy and 
complex4 ,we are forced to name a long  
series of events as  if they were a     
single event4 ,but we lose the reality  
of history1 we fail  to recognise one of
 the most striking aspects of human     
affairs1 and  above all we miss that    
most invaluable practical lesson1 the   
lesson of  patience1 unless we remember 
that the great changes of history took  
up  long periods of time which1 when    
measured by the little life of a man1   
are almost colossal1 like the vast      
changes of geology4 ,we know how long   
it takes before a species of plant or   
animal disappears in face of a  better  
adapted species4 ,ideas and customs1    

beliefs and institutions1  have always  
lingered just as long in face of their  
successors1 and the  competition is not 
less keen nor less prolonged1 because it
 is for one  or other inevitably        
destined to be hopeless4 ,history1 like 
geology1  demands the use of the        
imagination1 and in proportion as the   
exercise of  the historic imagination is
 vigorously performed in thinking of the
  past1 will be the breadth of our      
conception of the changes which the     
future has in store for us1 as well as  
of the length of time and the  magnitude
 of effort required for their perfect   
achievement#cj4    ,this much1          
concerning moderation in political      
practice4 ,no such  considerations      
present themselves in the matters which 
concern the  shaping of our own lives1  
or the publications of our social       
opinions4 ,in  this region we are not   
imposing charges upon others1 either by 
law or  otherwise4 ,we therefore owe    
nothing to the prejudices or habits of  

others4 ,if any one sets serious value  
upon the point of difference  between   
his own ideal and that which is current1
 if he thinks that his  'experiment in  
living' has promise of real worth1 and  
that if more  persons could be induced  
to imitate it1 some portion of mankind  
would be  thus put in possession of a   
better kind of happiness1 then it is    
selling  a birthright for a mess of     
pottage to abandon hopes so rich and    
generous1 merely in order to avoid the  
passing and casual penalties of  social 
disapproval4 ,and there is a double evil
 in this kind of flinching  from        
obedience to the voice of our better    
selves1 whether it takes the  form of   
absolute suppression of what we think   
and hope1 or only of  timorous and      
mutilated presentation4 ,we lose not    
only the possible  advantage of the     
given change4 ,besides that1 we lose    
also the certain  advantage of          
maintaining or increasing the amount of 
conscientiousness  in the world4 ,and   

everybody can perceive the loss incurred
 in a society  where diminution of the  
latter sort takes place4 ,the advance of
 the  community depends not merely on   
the improvement and elevation of its    
moral maxima1 but also on the quickening
 of moral sensibility4 ,the  latter work
 has mostly been effected1 when it has  
been effected on a  large scale1 by     
teachers of a certain singular personal 
quality4 ,they do  nothing to improve   
the theory of conduct1 but they have the
 art of  stimulating men to a more      
enthusiastic willingness to rise in     
daily  practice to the requirements of  
whatever theory they may accept4 ,the   
love of virtue1 of duty1 of holiness1 or
 by whatever name we call this  powerful
 sentiment1 exists in the majority of   
men1 where it exists at  all1           
independently of argument4 ,it is a     
matter of affection1 sympathy1          
association1 aspiration4 ,hence1 even   
while1 in quality1 sense of duty is  a  
stationary factor1 it is constantly     

changing in quantity4 ,the amount  of   
conscience in different communities1 or 
in the same community at  different     
times1 varies infinitely4 ,the immediate
 cause of the decline  of a society in  
the order of morals is a decline in the 
quantity of its  conscience1 a deadening
 of its moral sensitiveness1 and not a  
depravation of its theoretical ethics4  
,the ,greeks became corrupt and         
enfeebled1 not for lack of ethical      
science1 but through the decay in the   
numbers of those who were actually alive
 to the reality and force of  ethical   
obligations4 ,mahometans triumphed over 
,christians in the ,east  and in        
,spain--if we may for a moment isolate  
moral conditions from the  rest of the  
total circumstances--not because their  
scheme of duty was  more elevated or    
comprehensive1 but because their respect
 for duty was  more strenuous and       
fervid4    ,the great importance of     
leaving this priceless element in a     
community  as free1 as keen1 and as     

active as possible1 is overlooked by the
  thinkers who uphold coercion against  
liberty1 as a saving social  principle4 
,every act of coercion directed against 
an opinion or a way of  living is in so 
far calculated to lessen the quantity of
 conscience in  the society where such  
acts are practised4 ,of course1 where   
ways of  living interfere with the      
lawful rights of others1 where they are 
not  strictly self-regarding in all     
their details1 it is necessary to force 
the dissidents1 however strong may be   
their conscientious sentiment4 ,the     
evil of attenuating that sentiment is   
smaller than the evil of allowing  one  
set of persons to realise their own     
notions of happiness1 at the  expense of
 all the rest of the world4 ,but where  
these notions can be  realised without  
unlawful interference of that kind1 then
 the forcible  hindrance of such        
realisation is a direct weakening of the
 force and  amount of conscience on     
which the community may count4 ,there is

 one  memorable historic case to        
illustrate this4 ,lewis ,,xiv41 in      
revoking the  ,edict of ,nantes1 and the
 author of the still more cruel law of  
#agbd1 not  only violently drove out    
multitudes of the most scrupulous part  
of the  ,french nation2 they virtually  
offered the most tremendous bribes to   
those of less stern resolution1 to feign
 conversion to the orthodox  faith4     
,this was to treat conscience as a thing
 of mean value4 ,it was to  scatter to  
the wind with both hands the moral      
resources of the  community4 ,and who   
can fail to see the strength which would
 have been  given to ,france in her hour
 of storm1 a hundred years after the    
revocation of the ,edict of ,nantes1 if 
her protestant sons1 fortified by  the  
training in the habits of individual    
responsibility which  protestantism     
involves1 had only been there to aid8   
,this consideration brings us to a new  
side of the discussion4 ,we may  seem to
 have been unconsciously arguing as     

strongly in favour of a  vigorous social
 conservatism as of a self-asserting    
spirit of social  improvement4 ,all that
 we have been saying may appear to cut  
both ways4  ,if the innovator should    
decline to practise silence or reserve1 
why  should the possessor of power be   
less uncompromising1 and why should he  
not impose silence by force8 ,if the    
heretic ought to be uncompromising  in  
expressing his opinions1 and in acting  
upon them1 in the fulness of  his       
conviction that they are right1 why     
should not the orthodox be  equally     
uncompromising in his resolution to     
stamp out the heretical  notions and    
unusual ways of living1 in the fulness  
of his conviction  that they are        
thoroughly wrong8 ,to this question the 
answer is that the  hollow kinds of     
compromise are as bad in the orthodox as
 in the  heretical4 ,truth has as much  
to gain from sincerity and thoroughness 
in  one as in the other4 ,but the issue 
between the partisans of the two        

opposed schools turns upon the sense    
which we design to give to the  process 
of stamping out4 ,those who cling to the
 tenets of liberty limit  the action of 
the majority1 as of the minority1       
strictly to persuasion4  ,those who     
dislike liberty1 insist that earnestness
 of conviction  justifies either a      
majority or a minority in using not     
persuasion only1  but force4 ,i do not  
propose here to enter into the great    
question which  ,mr4 ,mill pressed anew 
upon the minds of this generation4 ,his 
arguments  are familiar to every reader1
 and the conclusion at which he arrived 
is  almost taken for a postulate in the 
present essay4#ca ,the object of  these 
chapters is to reiterate the importance 
of self-assertion1  tenacity1 and       
positiveness of principle4 ,the partisan
 of coercion will  argue that this      
thesis is on one side of it a           
justification of  persecution1 and other
 modes of interfering with new opinions 
and new  ways of living by force1 and   

the strong arm of the law1 and whatever 
other energetic means of repression may 
be at command4 ,if the minority  are to 
be uncompromising alike in seeking and  
realising what they take  for truth1 why
 not the majority8 ,now this implies two
 propositions4 ,it  is the same as to   
say1 first1 that earnestness of         
conviction is not to  be distinguished  
from a belief in our own infallibility2 
second1 that  faith in our infallibility
 is necessarily bound up with           
intolerance4    ,neither of these       
propositions is true4 ,let us take them 
in turn4  ,earnestness of conviction is 
perfectly compatible with a sense of    
liability to error4 ,this has been so   
excellently put by a former writer  that
 we need not attempt to better his      
exposition4 ',every one must1 of        
course1 think his own opinions right2   
for if he thought them wrong1 they      
would no longer be his opinions3 but    
there is a wide difference between      
regarding ourselves as infallible1 and  

being firmly convinced of the  truth of 
our creed4 ,when a man reflects on any  
particular doctrine1 he  may be         
impressed with a thorough conviction of 
the improbability or even  impossibility
 of its being false3 and so he may feel 
with regard to all  his other opinions1 
when he makes them objects of separate  
contemplation4 ,and yet when he views   
them in the aggregate1 when he  reflects
 that not a single being on the earth   
holds collectively the  same1 when he   
looks at the past history and present   
state of mankind1  and observes the     
various creeds of different ages and    
nations1 the  peculiar modes of thinking
 of sects and bodies and individuals1   
the  notions once firmly held1 which    
have been exploded1 the prejudices once 
universally prevalent1 which have been  
removed1 and the endless  controversies 
which have distracted those who have    
made it the business  of their lives to 
arrive at the truth2 and when he further
 dwells on  the consideration that many 

of these1 his fellow-creatures1 have had
 a  conviction of the justness of their 
respective sentiments equal to his  own1
 he cannot help the obvious inference1  
that in his own opinion it is  next to  
impossible that there is not an         
admixture of error2 that there  is an   
infinitely greater probability of his   
being wrong in some than  right in      
all4'#cb    ,of course this is not an   
account of the actual frame of mind of  
ordinary  men4 ,they never do think of  
their opinions in the aggregate in      
comparison with the collective opinions 
of others1 nor ever draw the            
conclusions which such reflections would
 suggest4 ,but such a frame of  mind is 
perfectly attainable1 and has often been
 attained1 by persons of  far lower than
 first-rate capacity4 ,and if this is   
so1 there is no  reason why it should   
not be held up for the admiration and   
imitation of  all those classes of      
society which profess to have opinions4 
,it would  thus become an established   

element in the temper of the age4 ,nor  
need we  fear that the result of this   
would be any flaccidity of conviction1  
or  lethargy in act4 ,a man would still 
be penetrated with the rightness of  his
 own opinion on a given issue1 and would
 still do all that he could  to make it 
prevail in practice4 ,but among the     
things which he would no  longer permit 
himself to do1 would be the forcible    
repression in others  of any opinions1  
however hostile to his own1 or of any   
kind of conduct1  however widely it     
diverged from his own1 and provided that
 it concerned  themselves only4 ,this   
widening of his tolerance would be the  
natural  result of a rational and       
realised consciousness of his own       
general  fallibility4    ,next1 even    
belief in one's own infallibility does  
not necessarily lead  to intolerance4   
,for it may be said that though no man  
in his senses  would claim to be        
incapable of error1 yet in every given  
case he is  quite sure that he is not in

 error1 and therefore this assurance in 
particular is tantamount by process of  
cumulation to a sense of  infallibility 
in general4 ,now even if this were so1  
it would not of  necessity either       
produce or justify intolerance4 ,the    
certainty of the  truth of your own     
opinions is independent of any special  
idea as to the  means by which others   
may best be brought to share them4 ,the 
question  between persuasion and force  
remains apart--unless1 indeed1 we may   
say  that in societies where habits of  
free discussion have once begun to  take
 root1 those who are least really sure  
about their opinions1 are  often most   
unwilling to trust to persuasion to     
bring them converts1 and  most disposed 
to grasp the rude implements of         
coercion1 whether legal or  merely      
social4 ,the cry1 ',be my brother1 or ,i
 slay thee1' was the sign of  a very    
weak1 though very fiery1 faith in the   
worth of fraternity4 ,he  whose faith is
 most assured1 has the best reason for  

relying on  persuasion1 and the         
strongest motive to thrust from him all 
temptations  to use angry force4 ,the   
substitution of force for persuasion1   
among its  other disadvantages1 has this
 further drawback1 from our present     
point  of view1 that it lessens the     
conscience of a society and breeds      
hypocrisy4 ,you have not converted a    
man1 because you have silenced him4     
,opinion and force belong to different  
elements4 ,to think that you are  able  
by social disapproval or other coercive 
means to crush a man's  opinion1 is as  
one who should fire a blunderbuss to put
 out a star4 ,the  acquiescence in      
current notions which is secured by law 
or by petulant  social disapproval1 is  
as worthless and as essentially         
hypocritical1 as  the conversion of an  
,irish pauper to protestantism by means 
of  soup-tickets1 or that of a savage to
 ,christianity by the gift of a  string 
of beads4 ,here is the radical fallacy  
of those who urge that  people must use 

promises and threats in order to        
encourage opinions1  thoughts1 and      
feelings which they think good1 and to  
prevent others  which they think bad4   
,promises and threats can influence     
acts4 ,opinions  and thoughts on morals1
 politics1 and the rest1 after they have
 once  grown in a man's mind1 can no    
more be influenced by promises and      
threats  than can my knowledge that snow
 is white or that ice is cold4 ,you may 
impose penalties on me by statute for   
saying that snow is white1 or  acting as
 if ,i thought ice cold1 and the        
penalties may affect my  conduct4 ,they 
will not1 because they cannot1 modify my
 beliefs in the  matter by a single     
iota4 ,one result therefore of          
intolerance is to make  hypocrites4 ,on 
this1 as on the rest of the grounds     
which vindicate the  doctrine of        
liberty1 a man who thought himself      
infallible either in  particular or in  
general1 from the ,pope of ,rome down to
 the editor of  the daily newspaper1    

might still be inclined to abstain from 
any form of  compulsion4 ,the only      
reason to the contrary is that a man who
 is so  silly as to think himself       
incapable of going wrong1 is very likely
 to be  too silly to perceive that      
coercion may be one way of going wrong4 
,the currency of the notion that earnest
 sincerity about one's opinions  and    
ideals of conduct is inseparably        
connected with intolerance1 is          
indirectly due to the predominance of   
legal or juristic analogies in  social  
discussion4 ,for one thing1 the lawyer  
has to deal mainly with  acts1 and to   
deal with them by way of repression4    
,his attention is  primarily fixed on   
the deed1 and only secondarily on the   
mind of the  doer4 ,and so a habit of   
thought is created1 which treats opinion
 as  something equally in the sphere of 
coercion with actions4 ,at the same     
time it favours coercive ways of        
affecting opinion4 ,then1 what is still 
more important1 the jurist's conception 

of society has its root in the  relation
 between sovereign and subject1 between 
lawmaker and those whom  law restrains4 
,exertion of power on one hand1 and     
compliance on the  other--this is his   
type of the conditions of the social    
union4 ,the  fertility and advance of   
discussion on social issues depends on  
the  substitution of the evolutional for
 the legal conception4 ,the lawyer's    
type of proposition is absolute4 ,it is 
also1 for various reasons which  need   
not be given here1 inspired by          
involuntary reference to the lower1     
rather than to the more highly          
developed1 social states4 ,in the lower 
states law1 penalties1 coercion1        
compulsion1 the strong hand1 a sternly  
repressive public opinion1 were the     
conditions on which the community  was  
united and held together4 ,but the line 
of thought which these  analogies       
suggest1 becomes less and less generally
 appropriate in social  discussion1 in  
proportion as the community becomes more

 complex1 more  various in resource1    
more special in its organisation1 in a  
word1 more  elaborately civilised4 ,the 
evolutionist's idea of society concedes 
to  law its historic place and its      
actual part4 ,but then this idea leads  
directly to a way of looking at society1
 which makes the replacement of  law by 
liberty a condition of reaching the     
higher stages of social  development4   
,the doctrine of liberty belongs to the 
subject of this chapter1 because  it is 
only another way of expressing the want 
of connection between  earnestness in   
realising our opinions1 and anything    
like coercion in  their favour4 ,if it  
were true that aversion from compromise1
 in carrying  out our ideas1 implied the
 rightfulness of using all the means in 
our  power to hinder others from        
carrying out ideas hostile to them1 then
 we  should have been preaching in a    
spirit unfavourable to the principle of 
liberty4 ,our main text has been that   
men should refuse to sacrifice  their   

opinions and ways of living 7in the     
self-regarding sphere7 out of  regard to
 the status quo1 or the prejudices of   
others4 ,and this1 as a  matter of      
course1 excludes the right of forcing or
 wishing any one else  to make such a   
sacrifice to us4 ,well1 the first       
foundation-stone for the  doctrine of   
liberty is to be sought in the          
conception of society as a  growing and 
developing organism4 ,this is its true  
base1 apart from the  numerous minor    
expediencies which may be adduced to    
complete the  structure of the argument4
 ,it is fundamentally advantageous that 
in  societies which have reached our    
degree of complex and intricate         
organisation1 unfettered liberty should 
be conceded to ideas and1 within  the   
self-regarding sphere1 to conduct also4 
,the reasons for this are of  some such 
kind as the following4 ,new ideas and   
new 'experiments in  living' would not  
arise1 if there were not a certain      
inadequateness in  existing ideas and   

ways of living4 ,they may not point to  
the right mode  of meeting              
inadequateness1 but they do point to the
 existence and  consciousness of it4    
,they originate in the social capability
 of growth4  ,society can only develop  
itself on condition that all such       
novelties  7within the limit laid down1 
for good and valid reasons1 at self     
regarding conduct7 are allowed to       
present themselves4 ,first1 because     
neither the legislature nor any one else
 can ever know for certain what         
novelties will prove of enduring value4 
,second1 because even if we did  know   
for certain that given novelties were   
pathological growths and not  normal    
developments1 and that they never would 
be of any value1 still  the repression  
necessary to extirpate them would       
involve too serious a  risk both of     
keeping back social growth at some other
 point1 and of  giving the direction of 
that growth an irreparable warp4 ,and   
let us  repeat once more1 in proportion 

as a community grows more complex in its
  classes1 divisions1 and subdivisions1 
more intricate in its productive1       
commercial1 or material arrangements1 so
 does this risk very obviously  wax more
 grave4    ,in the sense in which we are
 speaking of it1 liberty is not a       
positive  force1 any more than the      
smoothness of a railroad is a positive  
force4#cc ,it is a condition4 ,as a     
force1 there is a sense in which it  is 
true to call liberty a negation4 ,as a  
condition1 though it may still  be a    
negation1 yet it may be indispensable   
for the production of certain  positive 
results4 ,the vacuity of an exhausted   
receiver is not a force1  but it is the 
indispensable condition of certain      
positive operations4  ,liberty as a     
force may be as impotent as its         
opponents allege4 ,this does  not affect
 its value as a preliminary or          
accompanying condition4 ,the  absence of
 a strait-waistcoat is a negation2 but  
it is a useful  condition for the       

activity of sane men4 ,no doubt there   
must be a  definite limit to this       
absence of external interference with   
conduct1  and that limit will be fixed  
at various points by different thinkers4
 ,we  are now only urging that it cannot
 be wisely fixed for the more complex   
societies by any one who has not grasped
 this fundamental preconception1  that  
liberty1 or the absence of coercion1 or 
the leaving people to  think1 speak1 and
 act as they please1 is in itself a good
 thing4 ,it is  the object of a         
favourable presumption4 ,the burden of  
proving it  inexpedient always lies1 and
 wholly lies1 on those who wish to      
abridge  it by coercion1 whether direct 
or indirect4    ,one reason why this    
truth is so reluctantly admitted1 is    
men's  irrational want of faith in the  
self-protective quality of a highly     
developed and healthy community4 ,the   
timid compromiser on the one hand1  and 
the advocate of coercive restriction on 
the other1 are equally the  victims of a

 superfluous apprehension4 ,the one     
fears to use his liberty  for the same  
reason that makes the other fearful of  
permitting liberty4  ,this common reason
 is the want of a sensible confidence   
that1 in a free  western community1     
which has reached our stage of          
development1  religious1 moral1 and     
social novelties--provided they are     
tainted by no  element of compulsion or 
interference with the just rights of    
others1  may be trusted to find their   
own level4 ,moral and intellectual      
conditions are not the only motive      
forces in a community1 nor are they     
even the most decisive4 ,political and  
material conditions fix the limits  at  
which speculation can do either good or 
harm4 ,let us take an  illustration of  
the impotence of moral ideas to override
 material  circumstances2 and we shall  
venture to place this illustration      
somewhat  fully before the reader4      
,there is no more important distinction 
between modern civilised  communities   

and the ancient communities than the    
fact that the latter  rested on         
,slavery1 while the former have         
abolished it4 ,hence there can  hardly  
be a more interesting question than     
this--by what agencies so  prodigious a 
transformation of one of the fundamental
 conditions of  society was brought     
about4 ,the popular answer is of a very 
ready kind1  and it passes quite        
satisfactorily4 ,this answer is that the
 first great  step towards free labour1 
the transformation of personal slavery  
into  serfdom1 was the result of the    
spiritual change which was wrought in   
men's minds by the teaching of the      
,church4 ,it is unquestionable that the 
influence of the ,church tended to      
mitigate the evils of slavery1 to       
humanise the relations between master   
and slave1 between the lord and  the    
serf4 ,but this is a very different     
thing from the radical  transformation  
of those relations4 ,if we think of     
society as an  organism we instantly    

understand that so immense a change as  
this could  not possibly have been      
effected without the co-operation of the
 other  great parts of the social       
system1 any more than a critical        
evolution  could take place in the      
nutritive apparatus of an animal1       
without a  change in the whole series of
 its organs4 ,thus in order that serfage
  should be evolved from slavery1 and   
free labour again from serfage1 it      
could not be enough that an alteration  
should have been wrought in men's  ideas
 as to their common brotherhood1 and the
 connected ideas as to the  lawfulness  
or unlawfulness of certain human        
relations4 ,there must have  been an    
alteration also of the economic and     
material conditions4 ,history  confirms 
the expectations which we should thus   
have been led to  entertain4 ,the       
impotence of spiritual and moral        
agencies alone in  bringing about this  
great metamorphosis1 is shown by such   
facts as  these4 ,for centuries after   

the new faith had consolidated itself1  
slavery was regarded without a particle 
of that deep abhorrence which  the      
possession of man by man excites in us  
now4 ,in the ninth and tenth  centuries 
the slave trade was the most profitable 
branch of the  commerce that was carried
 on in the ,mediterranean4 ,the         
historian tells  us that1 even so late  
as this1 slaves were the principal      
article of  ,european export to ,africa1
 ,syria1 and ,egypt1 in payment for the 
produce  of the ,east which was brought 
from those countries4 ,it was the       
crumbling  of the old social system     
which1 by reducing the population1      
lessening  the wealth1 and lowering the 
standard of living among the free       
masters1  tended to extinguish slavery1 
by diminishing the differences between  
the  masters and their bondsmen4 ,again1
 it was certain laws enacted by the     
,roman government for the benefit of the
 imperial fisc1 which first  conferred  
rights on the slave4 ,the same laws     

brought the free farmer1  whose position
 was less satisfactory for the purposes 
of the revenue1  down nearer and nearer 
to a servile condition4 ,again1 in the  
ninth and  tenth centuries1 pestilence  
and famine accelerated the extinction of
  predial slavery by weakening the      
numbers of the free population4         
',history1' we are told by that         
thoroughly competent authority1 ,mr4    
,finlay1 'affords its testimony that    
neither the doctrines of  ,christianity1
 nor the sentiments of humanity1 have   
ever yet succeeded  in extinguishing    
slavery1 where the soil could be        
cultivated with profit  by slave labour4
 ,no ,christian community of            
slave-holders has yet  voluntarily      
abolished slavery4 ,in no country where 
it prevailed has  rural slavery ceased1 
until the price of productions raised by
 slave  labour has fallen so low as to  
leave no profit to the slave-owner4'    
,the moral of all this is the tolerably 
obvious truth1 that the  prosperity of  

an abstract idea depends as much on the 
medium into which  it is launched1 as   
upon any quality of its own4 ,stable    
societies are  amply furnished with     
force enough to resist all effort in a  
destructive  direction4 ,there is seldom
 much fear1 and in our own country there
 is  hardly any fear at all1 of hasty   
reformers making too much way against   
the spontaneous conservatism which      
belongs to a healthy and  well-organised
 community4 ,if dissolvent ideas do make
 their way1 it is  because the society  
was already ripe for dissolution4 ,new  
ideas1 however  ardently preached1 will 
dissolve no society which was not       
already in a  condition of profound     
disorganisation4 ,we may be allowed just
 to point  to two memorable instances1  
by way of illustration1 though a long   
and  elaborate discussion would be      
needed to bring out their full force4   
,it  has often been thought since1 as it
 was thought by timorous  reactionaries 
at the time1 that ,christianity in      

various ways sapped the  strength of the
 ,roman ,empire1 and opened the way for 
the barbarians4 ,in  truth1 the most    
careful and competent students know now 
that the ,empire  slowly fell to pieces1
 partly because the political           
arrangements were  vicious and          
inadequate1 but mainly because the      
fiscal and economic  system impoverished
 and depopulated one district of the    
vast empire  after another4 ,it was the 
break-up of the ,empire that gave the   
,church  its chance2 not the ,church    
that broke up the ,empire4 ,it is a     
mistake of  the same kind to suppose    
that the destructive criticism of the   
,french  philosophers a hundred years   
ago was the great operative cause of the
  catastrophe which befel the old social
 rgime4 ,if ,voltaire1 ,diderot1        
,rousseau1 had never lived1 or if their 
works had all been suppressed as  soon  
as they were printed1 their absence     
would have given no new life to         
agriculture1 would not have stimulated  

trade1 nor replenished the  bankrupt    
fisc1 nor incorporated the privileged   
classes with the bulk of  the nation1   
nor done anything else to repair an     
organisation of which  every single part
 had become incompetent for its proper  
function4 ,it was  the material misery  
and the political despair engendered by 
the reigning  system1 which brought     
willing listeners to the feet of the    
teachers who  framed beneficent         
governments on the simple principles of 
reason and the  natural law4 ,and these 
teachers only busied themselves with    
abstract  politics1 because the real    
situation was desperate4 ,they had no   
alternative but to evolve social        
improvements out of their own           
consciousness4 ,there was not a single  
sound organ in the body politic1  which 
they could have made the starting-point 
of a reconstitution of a  society on the
 base of its actual or historic         
structure4 ,the mischiefs  which        
resulted from their method are patent   

and undeniable4 ,but the  method was    
made inevitable by the curse of the old 
rgime4#cd    ,nor is there any instance 
in history of mere opinion making a     
breach in  the essential constitution of
 a community1 so long as the political  
conditions were stable and the economic 
or nutritive conditions sound4  ,if some
 absolute monarch were to be seized by a
 philanthropic resolution  to transform 
the ordering of a society which seemed  
to be at his  disposal1 he might        
possibly1 by the perseverance of a      
lifetime1 succeed  in throwing the      
community into permanent confusion4     
,joseph ,,ii4 perhaps  did as much as a 
modern sovereign can do in this         
direction4 ,yet little  came of his     
efforts1 either for good or harm4 ,but a
 man without the  whole political       
machinery in his power need hardly      
labour under any  apprehension that he  
may1 by the mere force of speculative   
opinion1  involuntarily work a          
corresponding mischief4 ,if it is true  

that the most  fervent apostles of      
progress usually do very little of the  
good on which  they congratulate        
themselves1 they ought surely on the    
same ground to be  acquitted of much of 
the harm for which they are sometimes   
reviled4 ,in a  country of unchecked and
 abundant discussion1 a new idea is not 
at all  likely to make much way against 
the objection of its novelty1 unless it 
is really commended by some quality of  
temporary or permanent value4 ,so  far  
therefore as the mere publication of new
 principles is concerned1  and so far   
also as merely self-regarding action    
goes1 one who has the  keenest sense of 
social responsibility1 and is most      
scrupulously afraid  of doing anything  
to slacken or perturb the process of    
social growth1  may still consistently  
give to the world whatever ideas he has 
gravely  embraced4 ,he may safely trust1
 if the society be in a normal          
condition1  to its justice of           
assimilation and rejection4 ,there are a

 few  individuals for whom newness is a 
recommendation4 ,but what are these  few
 among the many to whom newness is a    
stumbling-block8 ,old ideas may  survive
 merely because they are old4 ,a new one
 will certainly not1 among  a           
considerable body of men in a healthy   
social state1 gain any  acceptance worth
 speaking of1 merely because it is new4 
,the recognition of the self-protecting 
quality of society is something  more   
than a point of speculative importance4 
,it has a direct practical  influence4  
,for it would add to the courage and    
intrepidity of the men  who are most    
attached to the reigning order of       
things4 ,if such men could  only divest 
themselves of a futile and nervous      
apprehension1 that things  as they are  
have no root in their essential fitness 
and harmony1 and  that order            
consequently is ever hanging on a       
trembling and doubtful  balance1 they   
would not only gain by the self-respect 
which would be  added to them and the   

rest of the community1 but all          
discussion would  become more robust and
 real4 ,if they had a larger faith in   
the stability  for which they profess so
 great an anxiety1 they would be more   
free  alike in understanding and temper 
to deal generously1 honestly1 and       
effectively with those whom they count  
imprudent innovators4 ,there is  nothing
 more amusing or more instructive than  
to turn to the debates in  parliament or
 the press upon some innovating         
proposal1 after an interval  since the  
proposal was accepted by the            
legislature4 ,the flaming hopes of  its 
friends1 the wild and desperate         
prophecies of its antagonists1 are      
found to be each as ill-founded as the  
other4 ,the measure which was to  do    
such vast good according to the one1    
such portentous evil according  to the  
other1 has done only a part of the      
promised good1 and has done  none of the
 threatened evil4 ,the true lesson from 
this is one of  perseverance and        

thoroughness for the improver1 and one  
of faith in the  self-protectiveness of 
a healthy society for the conservative4 
,the  master error of the latter is to  
suppose that men are moved mainly by    
their passions rather than their        
interests1 that all their passions are  
presumably selfish and destructive1 and 
that their own interests can  seldom be 
adequately understood by the persons    
most directly concerned4  ,how many     
fallacies are involved in this group of 
propositions1 the  reader may well be   
left to judge for himself4    ,we have  
in this chapter considered some of the  
limitations which are  set by the       
conditions of society on the duty of    
trying to realise our  principles in    
action4 ,the general conclusion is in   
perfect harmony with  that of the       
previous chapters4 ,a principle1 if it  
be sound1 represents  one of the larger 
expediencies4 ,to abandon that for the  
sake of some  seeming expediency of the 
hour1 is to sacrifice the greater good  

for the  less1 on no more creditable    
ground than that the less is nearer4 ,it
 is  better to wait1 and to defer the   
realisation of our ideas until we can   
realise them fully1 than to defraud the 
future by truncating them1 if  truncate 
them we must1 in order to secure a      
partial triumph for them in  the        
immediate present4 ,it is better to bear
 the burden of  impracticableness1 than 
to stifle conviction and to pare away   
principle  until it becomes more        
hollowness and triviality4 ,what is the 
sense1 and  what is the morality1 of    
postponing the wider utility to the     
narrower8  ,nothing is so sure to       
impoverish an epoch1 to deprive conduct 
of  nobleness1 and character of         
elevation4    ,,footnotes3    ,footnote 
#bg3 ,the ,study of ,sociology1 p4 #cif4
    ,footnote #bh3 ,no one1 for         
instance1 has given more forcible or    
decisive  expression than ,mr4 ,spencer 
has done to the duty of not passively   
accepting the current theology4 ,see his

 ,first ,principles1 pt4 i4 ch4  vi1    
#cd2 paragraph beginning1--',whoever    
hesitates to utter that which  he thinks
 the highest truth1 lest it should be   
too much in advance of  the time1 may   
reassure himself by looking at his acts 
from an impersonal  point of view1' etc4
    ,footnote #bi3 ,speech on           
,conciliation with ,america4            
,footnote #cj3 ',toute normit dans les  
esprits d'un certain ordre n'est        
souvent qu'une grande vue prise hors du 
temps et du lieu1 et ne gardant  aucun  
rapport rel avec les objets             
environnants4 ,le propre de certaines   
prunelles ardentes est de franchir du   
regard les intervalles et de les        
supprimer4 ,tantt c'est une ide qui     
retarde de plusieurs sicles1 et  que ces
 vigoureux esprits se figurent encore   
prsente et vivante2 tantt  c'est une ide
 qui avance1 et qu'ils croient          
incontinent ralisable4 ,m4  de ,couan   
tait ainsi2 il voyait #ahad ds #ahjd1 et
 de l une  supriorit2 mais il jugeait   

#ahad possible ds #ahjd ou #ahje1 et de 
l  tout un chimrique entassement4--,voil
 un point blanc  l'horizon1  chacun     
jurerait que c'est un nuage4 ,c'est une 
montagne1 dit le  voyageur  l'oeil      
d'aigle2 mais s'il ajoute3 ,nous y      
arriverons ce soir1  dans deux heures2  
si1  chaque heure de marche1 il crie    
avec  emportement3 ,nous y sommes1 et le
 veut dmontrer1 il choque les  voisins  
avec sa poutre1 et donne l'avantage aux 
yeux moins perants et  plus habitus  la 
plaine4'--,ste4 ,beuve's ,volupt1 p4    
#bfb    ,footnote #ca3 ,it is sometimes 
convenient to set familiar arguments    
down  once more2 so ,i venture to       
reprint in a note at the end of the     
chapter a  short exposition of the      
doctrine of liberty1 which ,i had       
occasion to  make in considering ,sir   
,j4,f4 ,stephen's vigorous attack on    
that  doctrine4    ,footnote #cb3 ,mr4  
,samuel ,bailey's ,essays on the        
,formation and  ,publication of         
,opinions1 etc41 p4 #ach1 7#ahbf47      

,footnote #cc3 ,there is a sense1 and a 
most important sense1 in which  liberty 
is a positive force4 ,it is its robust  
and bracing influence on  character1    
which makes wise men prize freedom and  
strive for the  enlargement of its      
province4 ,as ,mr4 ,mill expressed      
this3--',it is of  importance not only  
what men do1 but what manner of men they
 are that do  it1' ,milton pointed to   
the positive effect of liberty on       
character in  the following             
passage3--',they are not skilful        
considerers of human  things who imagine
 to remove sin by removing the matter of
 sin4 ,though  ye take from a covetous  
man his treasure1 he has yet one jewel  
left2 ye  cannot bereave him of his     
covetousness4 ,banish all objects of    
lust1 shut  up all youth into the       
severest discipline that can be         
exercised in any  hermitage1 ye cannot  
make them chaste that came not thither  
so4 ,suppose  we could expel sin by this
 means2 look how much we thus expel of  

sin1 so  much we expel of virtue4 ,and  
were ,i the chooser1 a dram of          
well-doing  should be preferred before  
many times as much the forcible         
hindrance of  evil-doing4 ,for ,god sure
 esteems the growth and completing of   
one  virtuous person1 more than the     
restraint of ten vicious4'    ,footnote 
#cd3 ,there is1 ,i think1 nothing in    
this paragraph really  inconsistent with
 ,de ,tocqueville's well-known and      
striking chapter1  ',comment les hommes 
de lettres devinrent les principaux     
hommes  politiques du pays1 et des      
effets qui en rsultrent4' 7,ancien      
,rgime1  iii4 i47 ,thus ,snac de        
,meilhan writes in #agie2--';,c'est     
quand la  ,rvolution a t entame qu'on a 
cherch dans ,mably1 dans ,rousseau1 des 
armes pour sustenter le systme vers     
lequel entrainait l'effervescence  de   
quelques esprits hardis4 ,mais ce ne    
sont point les auteurs que j'ai  cits   
qui ont enflamme les ttes2 ,m4 ,necker  
seul a produit cet effet1 et  dtermin   

l'explosion1' 444 ',les crits de        
,voltaire ont certainement nui   la     
religion1 et branl la croyance dans un  
assez grand nombre2 mais  ils n'ont     
aucun rapport avec les affaires du      
gouvernement1 et sont plus  favorables  
que contraires  la monarchie4444' ,of   
,rousseau's ,social  ,contract3--',ce   
livre profond et abstrait tait peu lu1  
et etendu de  bien peu de gens4'        
,mably--'avait peu de vogue4' ,de       
,gouvernment1 etc41  en ,france1 p4     
#abi1 etc4          ,,note ,,to ,,page  
#bdb4      ,,the ,,doctrine ,,of        
,,liberty4    ,mr4 ,mill's memorable    
plea for social liberty was little more 
than an  enlargement1 though a very     
important enlargement1 of the principles
 of  the still more famous ,speech for  
,liberty of ,unlicensed ,printing with  
which ,milton ennobled ,english         
literature two centuries before4 ,milton
  contended for free publication of     
opinion mainly on these grounds3        
,first1 that the opposite system implied

 the 'grace of infallibility and        
incorruptibleness' in the licensers4    
,second1 that the prohibition of  bold  
books led to mental indolence and       
stagnant formalism both in  teachers and
 congregations1 producing the 'laziness 
of a licensing  church4' ,third1 that it
 'hinders and retards the importation of
 our  richest merchandise1 truth2' for  
the commission of the licenser enjoins  
him to let nothing pass which is not    
vulgarly received already1 and 'if  it  
come to prohibiting1 there is not aught 
more likely to be prohibited  than truth
 itself1 whose first appearance to our  
eyes1 bleared and  dimmed with prejudice
 and custom1 is more unsightly and      
unplausible  than many errors1 even as  
the person is of many a great man slight
 and  contemptible to see to4' ,fourth1 
that freedom is in itself an ingredient 
of true virtue1 and 'they are not       
skilful considerers of human things  who
 imagine to remove sin by removing the  
matter of sin2 that virtue  therefore1  

which is but a youngling in the         
contemplation of evil1 and  knows not   
the utmost that vice promises to her    
followers1 and rejects  it1 is but a    
blank virtue1 not a pure2 her virtue is 
but an excremental  virtue1 which was   
the reason why our sage and serious poet
 ,spenser1 whom  ,i dare be known to    
think a better teacher than ,scotus or  
,aquinas1  describing true temperance   
under the form of ,guion1 brings him in 
with  his palmer through the cave of    
,mammon and the tower of earthly bliss1 
that he might see and know and yet      
abstain4'    ,the four grounds on which 
,mr4 ,mill contends for the necessity of
 freedom  in the expression of opinion  
to the mental wellbeing of mankind1 are 
virtually contained in these4 ,his four 
grounds are1 7#a7 that the  silenced    
opinion may be true2 7#b7 it may contain
 a portion of truth1  essential to      
supplement the prevailing opinion2 7#c7 
vigorous contesting  of opinions that   
are even wholly true1 is the only way of

 preventing  them from sinking to the   
level of uncomprehended prejudices2 7#d7
 without  such contesting1 the doctrine 
will lose its vital effect on character 
and conduct4    ,but ,milton drew the   
line of liberty at what he calls        
'neighbouring  differences1 or rather   
indifferences4' ,the ,arminian          
controversy had  loosened the bonds with
 which the newly liberated churches of  
the  ,reformation1 had made haste to    
bind themselves again1 and weakened that
  authority of confessions1 which had   
replaced the older but not more         
intolerant authority of the universal   
church4 ,other controversies which      
raged during the first half of the      
seventeenth century1--those between     
catholics and protestants1 between      
prelatists and presbyterians1 between   
socinians and trinitarians1 between     
latitudinarians1 puritans1 and          
sacramentalists1--all tended to weaken  
theological exclusiveness4 ,this        
slackening1 however1 was no more than   

partial4 ,roger ,williams1 indeed1  the 
,welsh founder of ,rhode ,island1       
preached1 as early as #afca1 the        
principles of an unlimited toleration1  
extending to catholics1 ,jews1 and  even
 infidels4 ,milton stopped a long way   
short of this4 ,he did not mean         
'tolerated popery and open superstition1
 which1 as it extirpates all  religious 
and civil supremacies1 so itself should 
be extirpate1 provided  first that all  
charitable and compassionate means be   
used to win and  regain the weak and the
 misled3 that also which is impious or  
evil  absolutely either against faith or
 manners no law can possibly permit     
that intends not to unlaw itself4'      
,locke1 writing five-and-forty years    
later1 somewhat widened these           
limitations4 ,his question was not      
merely whether there should be free     
expression of opinion1 but whether there
 should furthermore be freedom  of      
worship and of religious union4 ,he     
answered both questions                 

affirmatively1--not on the              
semi-sceptical ground of ,jeremy        
,taylor1 which  is also one of the      
grounds taken by ,mr4 ,mill1 that we    
cannot be sure  that our own opinion is 
the true one1--but on the strength of   
his  definition of the province of the  
civil magistrate4 ,locke held that the  
magistrate's whole jurisdiction reached 
only to civil concernments1 and  that   
'all civil power1 right1 and dominion is
 bounded to that only care  of promoting
 these things2 and that it neither can  
nor ought in any  manner to be extended 
to the saving of souls4 ,this chiefly   
because the  power of the civil         
magistrate consists only in outward     
force1 while true  and saving religion  
consists in the inward persuasion of the
 mind1  without which nothing can be    
acceptable to ,god1 and such is the     
nature  of the understanding that it    
cannot he compelled to the belief of    
anything by outward force4444 ,it is    
only light and evidence that can  work a

 change in men's opinions2 and that     
light can in no manner proceed  from    
corporal sufferings1 or any other       
outward penalties4' ',i may grow  rich  
by an art that ,i take not delight in2  
,i may be cured of some  disease by     
remedies that ,i have not faith in2 but 
,i cannot be saved by a  religion that  
at ,i distrust and a ritual that ,i     
abhor4' 7,first ,letter  concerning     
,toleration47 ,and much more in the same
 excellent vein4 ,but  ,locke fixed     
limits to toleration4 #a4 ,no opinions  
contrary to human  society1 or to those 
moral rules which are necessary to the  
preservation  of civil society1 are to  
be tolerated by the magistrate4 ,thus1  
to take  examples from our own day1 a   
conservative minister would think       
himself  right on this principle in     
suppressing the ,land and ,labour       
,league2 a  catholic minister in        
dissolving the ,education ,league2 and  
any minister  in making mere membership 
of the ,mormon sect a penal offence4 #b4

 ,no  tolerance ought to be extended to 
'those who attribute unto the  faithful1
 religious1 and orthodox1 that is in    
plain terms unto  themselves1 any       
peculiar privilege or power above other 
mortals1 in  civil concernments2 or who1
 upon pretence of religion1 do challenge
 any  manner of authority over such as  
are not associated with them in their   
ecclesiastical communion4' ,as ,i have  
seldom heard of any sect1 except  the   
,friends1 who did not challenge as much 
authority as it could  possibly get over
 persons not associated with it1 this   
would amount to a  universal            
proscription of religion2 but ,locke's  
principle might at any  rate be invoked 
against ,ultra-montanism in some        
circumstances4 #c4 ,those  are not at   
all to be tolerated who deny the being  
of ,god4 ,the taking  away of ,god1     
though but even in thought1 dissolves   
all society2 and  promises1 covenants1  
and oaths1 which are the bonds of human 
society1  have no hold on such4 ,thus   

the police ought to close ,mr4          
,bradlaugh's  ,hall of ,science1 and    
perhaps on some occasions the           
,positivist ,school4    ,locke's        
principles depended on a distinction    
between civil concernments1  which he   
tries to define1 and all other          
concernments4 ,warburton's  arguments on
 the alliance between church and state  
turned on the same  point1 as did the   
once-famous ,bangorian controversy4     
,this distinction  would fit into ,mr4  
,mill's cardinal position1 which        
consists in a  distinction between the  
things that only affect the doer or     
thinker of  them1 and the things that   
affect other persons as well4 ,locke's  
attempt  to divide civil affairs from   
affairs of salvation1 was satisfactory  
enough for the comparatively narrow     
object with which he opened his         
discussion4 ,mr4 ,mill's account of     
civil affairs is both wider and more    
definite2 naturally so1 as he had to    
maintain the cause of tolerance in  a   

much more complex set of social         
conditions1 and amid a far greater      
diversity of speculative energy1 than   
any one dreamed of in ,locke's  time4   
,mr4 ,mill limits the province of the   
civil magistrate to the  repression of  
acts that directly and immediately      
injure others than the  doer of them4   
,so long as acts1 including the         
expression of opinions1 are  purely     
self-regarding1 it seems to him         
expedient in the long run that  they    
should not be interfered with by the    
magistrate4 ,he goes much  further than 
this4 ,self-regarding acts should not be
 interfered with by  the magistrate4    
,not only self-regarding acts1 but all  
opinions  whatever1 should1 moreover1 be
 as little interfered with as possible  
by  public opinion1 except in the way of
 vigorous argumentation and earnest     
persuasion in a contrary direction2 the 
silent but most impressive  solicitation
 of virtuous example2 the wise and      
careful upbringing of the  young1 so    

that when they enter life they may be   
most nobly fitted to  choose the right  
opinions and obey the right motives4    
,the consideration by which he supports 
this rigorous confinement of  external  
interference on the part of government1 
or the unorganised  members of the      
community whose opinion is called public
 opinion1 to  cases of self-protection1 
are these1 some of which have been      
already  stated3--    #a4 ,by           
interfering to suppress opinions or     
experiments in living1 you may  resist  
truths and improvements in a greater or 
less degree4    #b4 ,constant discussion
 is the only certain means of preserving
 the  freshness of truth in men's minds1
 and the vitality of its influence  upon
 their conduct and motives4    #c4      
,individuality is one of the most       
valuable elements of wellbeing1 and  you
 can only be sure of making the most of 
individuality1 if you have an           
atmosphere of freedom1 encouraging free 
development and expansion4    #d4       

,habitual resort to repressive means of 
influencing conduct tends more  than    
anything else to discredit and frustrate
 the better means1 such as  education1  
good example1 and the like4 7,liberty1  
#adh47    ,the principle which he       
deduces from these considerations       
is--'that the  sole end for which       
mankind are warranted1 individually or  
collectively1  in interfering with the  
liberty of action of any of their number
 is  self-protection2 the only purpose  
for which power can be rightfully       
exercised over any member of a civilised
 community1 is to prevent harm  to      
others4 ,his own good1 either physical  
or moral1 is not a sufficient  warrant4 
,he cannot be rightfully compelled to do
 or forbear because it  will make him   
happier1 because in the opinion of      
others to do so would  be wise or even  
right4 ,these are good reasons for      
remonstrating with  him1 or reasoning   
with him1 or persuading him1 or         
entreating him1 but  not for compelling 

him1 or visiting him with any evil in   
case he do  otherwise4 ,to justify that1
 the conduct from which it is desired to
  deter him must be calculated to       
produce evil to others4' 7,liberty1     
#bb47      ,two disputable points in the
 above doctrine are likely at once to   
reveal  themselves to the least critical
 eye4 ,first1 that doctrine would seem  
to  check the free expression of        
disapproval2 one of the most wholesome  
and  indispensable duties which anybody 
with interest in serious questions  has 
to perform1 and the non-performance of  
which would remove the most  proper and 
natural penalty from frivolous or       
perverse opinions and  obnoxious        
conduct4 ,mr4 ,mill deals with this     
difficulty as follows3--',we  have a    
right in various ways to act upon our   
unfavourable opinion of any  one1 not to
 the oppression of his individuality1   
but in the exercise of  ours4 ,we are   
not bound1 for example1 to seek his     
society2 we have a  right to avoid it   

7though not to parade the avoidance7 for
 we have a  right to choose the society 
most acceptable to us4 ,we have a right1
 and  it may be our duty1 to caution    
others against him1 if we think his     
example or conversation likely to have a
 pernicious effect on those with  whom  
he associates4 ,we may give others a    
preference over him in optional  good   
offices1 except those which tend to his 
improvement4 ,in these  various modes a 
person may suffer very severe penalties 
at the hands of  others for faults which
 directly concern only himself2 but he  
suffers  these penalties only in so far 
as they are the natural1 and as it were 
the spontaneous1 consequences of the    
faults themselves1 not because they  are
 purposely inflicted on him for the sake
 of punishment4' 7,liberty1  #aci47     
,this appears to be a satisfactory way  
of meeting the objection4  ,for though  
the penalties of disapproval may be just
 the same1 whether  deliberately        
inflicted1 or naturally and             

spontaneously falling on the  object of 
such disapproval1 yet there is a very   
intelligible difference  between the two
 processes in their effect on the two   
parties concerned4  ,a person imbued    
with ,mr4 ,mill's principle would feel  
the responsibility  of censorship much  
more seriously2 would reflect more      
carefully and  candidly about the       
conduct or opinion of which he thought  
ill2 would be  more on his guard against
 pharisaic censoriousness1 and that     
desire to  be ever judging one another1 
which ,milton well called the stronghold
 of  our hypocrisy4 ,the disapproval of 
such a person would have an austere     
colour1 a gravity1 a self-respecting    
reserve1 which could never belong  to an
 equal degree of disapproval in a person
 who had started from the  officious    
principle1 that if we are sure we are   
right1 it is straightway  our business  
to make the person whom we think wrong  
smart for his error4  ,and in the same  
way such disapproval would be much more 

impressive to  the person whom it       
affected4 ,if it was justified1 he would
 be like a  froward child who is always 
less effectively reformed--if reformable
 at  all--by angry chidings and         
passionate punishments than by the sight
 of a  cool and austere displeasure     
which lets him persist in his           
frowardness  if he chooses4      ,the   
second weak point in the doctrine lies  
in the extreme vagueness of  the terms1 
protective and self-regarding4 ,the     
practical difficulty  begins with the   
definition of these terms4 ,can any     
opinion1 or any  serious part of        
conduct1 be looked upon as truly and    
exclusively  self-regarding8 ,this      
central ingredient in the discussion    
seems  insufficiently laboured in the   
essay on ,liberty4 ,yet it is here more 
than anywhere else that controversy is  
needed to clear up what is in  just as  
much need of elucidation1 whatever view 
we may take of the  inherent virtue of  
freedom--whether we look on freedom as a

 mere  negation1 or as one of the most  
powerful positive conditions of         
attaining the highest kind of human     
excellence4    ,to some persons the     
analysis of conduct1 on which the whole 
doctrine of  liberty rests1 seems       
metaphysical and arbitrary4 ,they are   
reluctant to  admit there are any       
self-regarding acts at all4 ,this       
reluctance implies  a perfectly tenable 
proposition1 a proposition which has    
been maintained  by nearly all religious
 bodies in the world's history in their 
non-latitudinarian stages4 ,to          
distinguish the self-regarding from the 
other parts of conduct1 strikes them not
 only as unscientific1 but as  morally  
and socially mischievous4 ,they insist  
that there is a social as  well as a    
personal element in every human act1    
though in very different  proportions4  
,there is no gain1 they contend1 and    
there may be much harm1  in trying to   
mark off actions1 in which the personal 
element decisively  preponderates1 from 

actions of another sort4 ,mr4 ,mill did 
so distinguish  actions1 nor was his    
distinction either metaphysical or      
arbitrary in its  source4 ,as a matter  
of observation1 and for the practical   
purposes of  morality1 there are kinds  
of action whose consequences do not go  
beyond  the doer of them4 ,no doubt1 you
 may say that by engaging in these kinds
  in any given moment1 the doer is      
neglecting the actions in which the     
social element preponderates1 and       
therefore even acts that seem purely    
self-regarding have indirect and        
negative consequences to the rest of    
the world4 ,but to allow considerations 
of this sort to prevent us from  using a
 common-sense classification of acts by 
the proportion of the  personal element 
in them1 is as unreasonable as if we    
allowed the  doctrine of the            
conservation of physical force1 or the  
evolution of one  mode of force into    
another1 to prevent us from classifying 
the  affections of matter independently1

 as light1 heat1 motion1 and the  rest4 
,there is one objection obviously to be 
made to most of the  illustrations which
 are designed to show the public element
 in all  private conduct4 ,the          
connection between the act and its      
influence on  others is so remote 7using
 the word in a legal sense71 though     
quite  certain1 distinct1 and traceable1
 that you can only take the act out of  
the self-regarding category1 by a       
process which virtually denies the      
existence of any such category4 ,you    
must set a limit to this 'indirect  and 
at-a-distance argument1' as ,locke      
called a similar plea1 and the  setting 
of this limit is the natural supplement 
to ,mr4 ,mill's 'simple  principle4'    
,the division between self-regarding    
acts and others then1 rests on          
observation of their actual             
consequences4 ,and why was ,mr4 ,mill so
  anxious to erect self-regarding acts  
into a distinct and important  class1 so
 important as to be carefully and       

diligently secured by a  special        
principle of liberty8 ,because          
observation of the recorded  experience 
of mankind teaches us1 that the         
recognition of this  independent        
provision is essential to the richest   
expansion of human  faculty4 ,to narrow 
or to repudiate such a province1 and to 
insist  exclusively on the social       
bearing of each part of conduct1 is to  
limit  the play of motives1 and to      
thwart the doctrine that 'mankind obtain
 a  greater sum of happiness when each  
pursues his own1 under the rules and    
conditions required by the rest1 than   
when each makes the good of the  rest   
his only object4' ,to narrow or to      
repudiate such a province is to  tighten
 the power of the majority over the     
minority1 and to augment the  authority 
of whatever sacerdotal or legislative   
body may represent the  majority4       
,whether the lawmakers be laymen in     
parliament1 or priests of  humanity     
exercising the spiritual power1 it      

matters not4      ,we may best estimate 
the worth and the significance of the   
doctrine of  ,liberty by considering the
 line of thought and observation which  
led to  it4 ,to begin with1 it is in    
,mr4 ,mill's hands something quite      
different  from the same doctrine as    
preached by the ,french revolutionary   
school2  indeed one might even call it  
reactionary1 in respect of the ,french  
theory of a hundred years back4 ,it     
reposes on no principle of abstract     
right1 but1 like the rest of its        
author's opinions1 on principles of     
utility and experience4 ,dr4 ,arnold    
used to divide reformers into two       
classes1 popular and liberal4 ,the first
 he defined as seekers of  liberty1 the 
second as seekers of improvement2 the   
first were the goats1  and the second   
were the sheep4 ,mr4 ,mill's doctrine   
denied the mutual  exclusiveness of the 
two parts of this classification1 for it
 made  improvement the end and the test1
 while it proclaimed liberty to be the  

means4 ,every thinker now perceives that
 the strongest and most durable         
influences in every western society lead
 in the direction of democracy1  and    
tend with more or less rapidity to throw
 the control of social  organisation    
into the hands of numerical majorities4 
,there are many  people who believe that
 if you only make the ruling body big   
enough1 it  is sure to be either very   
wise itself1 or very eager to choose    
wise  leaders4 ,mr4 ,mill1 as any one   
who is familiar with his writings is    
well  aware1 did not hold this opinion4 
,he had no more partiality for mob rule 
than ,de ,maistre or ,goethe or ,mr4    
,carlyle4 ,he saw its evils more clearly
  than any of these eminent men1 because
 he had a more scientific eye1 and      
because he had had the invaluable       
training of a political administrator   
on a large scale1 and in a very         
responsible post4 ,but he did not       
content  himself with seeing these      
evils1 and he wasted no energy in       

passionate  denunciation of them1 which 
he knew must prove futile4 ,guizot said 
of ,de  ,tocqueville1 that he was an    
aristocrat who accepted his defeat4 ,mr4
 ,mill  was too penetrated by popular   
sympathies to be an aristocrat in ,de   
,tocqueville's sense1 but he likewise   
was full of ideas and hopes which  the  
unchecked or undirected course of       
democracy would defeat without  chance  
of reparation4 ,this fact he accepted1  
and from this he started4  ,mr4         
,carlyle1 and one or two rhetorical     
imitators1 poured malediction on  the   
many-headed populace1 and with a rather 
pitiful impatience insisted  that the   
only hope for men lay in their finding  
and obeying a strong  man1 a king1 a    
hero1 a dictator4 ,how he was to be     
found1 neither the  master nor his still
 angrier and more impatient mimics could
 ever tell  us4    ,now ,mr4 ,mill's    
doctrine laid down the main condition of
 finding your  hero2 namely1 that all   
ways should be left open to him1 because

 no man1  nor majority of men1 could    
possibly tell by which of these ways    
their  deliverers were from time to time
 destined to present themselves4 ,wits  
have caricatured all this1 by asking us 
whether by encouraging the tares  to    
grow1 you give the wheat a better       
chance4 ,this is as misleading as  such 
metaphors usually are4 ,the doctrine of 
liberty rests on a faith  drawn from the
 observation of human progress1 that    
though we know wheat  to be serviceable 
and tares to be worthless1 yet there are
 in the great  seed-plot of human nature
 a thousand rudimentary germs1 not wheat
 and  not tares1 of whose properties we 
have not had a fair opportunity of      
assuring ourselves4 ,if you are too     
eager to pluck up the tares1 you are    
very likely to pluck up with them these 
untried possibilities of human          
excellence1 and you are1 moreover1 very 
likely to injure the growing  wheat as  
well4 ,the demonstration of this lies in
 the recorded experience  of mankind4   

,nor is this all4 ,mr4 ,mill's doctrine 
does not lend the least countenance  to 
the cardinal opinion of some writers in 
the last century1 that the  only need of
 human character and of social          
institutions is to be let  alone4 ,he   
never said that we were to leave the    
ground uncultivated1 to  bring up       
whatever might chance to grow4 ,on the  
contrary1 the ground was  to be         
cultivated with the utmost care and     
knowledge1 with a view to  prevent the  
growth of tares--but cultivated in a    
certain manner4 ,you may  take the      
method of the ,inquisition1 of the more 
cruel of the ,puritans1  of ,de         
,maistre1 of ,mr4 ,carlyle2 or you may  
take ,mr4 ,mill's method of             
cultivation4 ,according to the doctrine 
of ,liberty1 we are to devote  ourselves
 to prevention1 as the surest and most  
wholesome mode of  extirpation4         
,persuade2 argue2 cherish virtuous      
example2 bring up the  young in habits  
of right opinion and right motive2 shape

 your social  arrangements so as to     
stimulate the best parts of character4  
,by these  means you will gain all the  
advantages that could possibly have come
 of  heroes and legislative dragooning1 
as well as a great many more which      
neither heroes nor legislative          
dragooning could ever have secured4     
,it is well with men1 ,mr4 ,mill said1  
moreover1 in proportion as they  respect
 truth4 ,now they at once prove and     
strengthen their respect for  truth1 by 
having an open mind to all its          
possibilities1 while at the  same time  
they hold firmly to their own proved    
convictions1 until they  hear better    
evidence to the contrary4 ,there is no  
anarchy1 nor  uncertainty1 nor          
paralysing air of provisionalness in    
such a frame of  mind4 ,so far is it    
from being fatal to loyalty or          
reverence1 that it is  an indispensable 
part of the groundwork of the only      
loyalty that a wise  ruler or teacher   
would care to inspire--the loyalty      

springing from a  rational conviction   
that1 in a field open to all comers1 he 
is the best  man they can find4 ,only on
 condition of liberty without limit is  
the  ablest and most helpful of 'heroes'
 sure to be found2 and only on          
condition of liberty without limit are  
his followers sure to be worthy  of him4
 ,you must have authority1 and yet must 
have obedience4 ,the  noblest and       
deepest and most beneficent kind of     
authority is that which  rests on an    
obedience that is rational and          
spontaneous4      ,the same futile      
impatience which animates the political 
utterances of  ,mr4 ,carlyle and his    
more weak-voiced imitators1 takes       
another form in  men of a different     
training or temperament4 ,they insist   
that if the  majority has the means of  
preventing vice by law1 it is folly and 
weakness not to resort to those means4  
,the superficial attractiveness  of such
 a doctrine is obvious4 ,the doctrine of
 liberty implies a broader  and a more  

patient view4 ,it says3--,even if you   
could be sure that what  you take for   
vice is so--and the history of          
persecution shows how  careful you      
should be in this preliminary           
point--even then it is an  undoubted    
and1 indeed1 a necessary tendency of    
this facile repressive  legislation1 to 
make those who resort to it neglect the 
more effective1  humane1 and durable    
kinds of preventive legislation4 ,you   
pass a law 7if  you can7 putting down   
drunkenness2 there is a neatness in such
 a method  very attractive to fervid and
 impatient natures4 ,would you not have 
done  better to leave that law unpassed1
 and apply yourselves sedulously        
instead to the improvement of the       
dwellings of the more drunken class1  to
 the provision of amusements that might 
compete with the ale-house1 to  the     
extension and elevation of instruction1 
and so on8 ,you may say that  this      
should be done1 and yet the other should
 not be left undone2 but1  as matter of 

fact and history1 the doing of the one  
has always gone with  the neglect of the
 other1 and ascetic law-making in the   
interests of  virtue has never been     
accompanied either by law-making or any 
other  kinds of activity for making     
virtue easier or more attractive4 ,it is
 the  recognition how little punishment 
can do1 that leaves men free to see  how
 much social prevention can do4 ,i      
believe1 then1 that what seems to  the  
criminal lawyers and passionate         
philanthropists self-evident1 is in     
truth an illusion1 springing from a very
 shallow kind of impatience1  heated in 
some of them by the addition of a       
cynical contempt for human  nature and  
the worth of human existence4    ,if    
people believe that the book of social  
or moral knowledge is now  completed1   
that we have turned over the last page  
and heard the last  word1 much of the   
foundation of ,mr4 ,mill's doctrine     
would disappear4 ,but  those who hold   
this can hardly have much to            

congratulate themselves  upon4 ,if it   
were so1 and if governments were to     
accept the principle  that the only     
limits to the enforcement of the moral  
standard of the  majority are the narrow
 expediencies of each special case1     
without  reference to any deep and      
comprehensive principle covering all the
  largest considerations1 why1 then1 the
 society to which we ought to look  with
 most admiration and envy1 is the       
,eastern ,empire during the ninth  and  
tenth centuries1 when the ,byzantine    
system of a thorough  subordination of  
the spiritual power had fully           
consolidated itself6