,,collected ,,essays2 ,,volume ,v       
,,science ,,and ,,christian ,,tradition 
,,by ,,thomas ,h4 ,,huxley  ,,new       
,,york1 ,d4 ,,appleton ,,and ,,company1 
#aijb     ,,preface   ,for close upon   
forty years ,i have been writing with   
one purpose2 from time to time1 ,i have 
fought for that which seemed to me the  
truth1 perhaps still more1 against that 
which ,i have thought error2 and1 in    
this way1 ,i have reached1 indeed       
over-stepped1 the threshold of old age4 
,there1 every earnest man has to listen 
to the voice within3 ',give an account  
of thy stewardship1 for thou mayest be  
no longer steward4'  ,that ,i have been 
an unjust steward my conscience does not
 bear witness4 ,at times blundering1 at 
times negligent1 ,heaven knows3 but1 on 
the whole1 ,i have done that which ,i   
felt able and called upon to do2 and ,i 
have done it without looking to the     
right or to the left2 seeking no man's  
favor1 fearing no man's disfavor4  ,but 
what is it that ,i have been doing8 ,in 

the end one's conceptions should form a 
whole1 though only parts may have found 
utterance1 as occasion arose2 now do    
these exhibit harmony and mutual        
connexion8 ,in one's zeal much of the   
old gets broken to pieces2 but has one  
made ready something new1 fit to be set 
in the place of the old8  ,that they    
merely destroy without reconstructing1  
is the especial charge1 with which those
 who work in this direction are         
constantly reproached4 ,in a certain    
sense ,i do not defend myself against   
the charge2 but ,i deny that any        
reproach is deserved4  ,i have never    
proposed to myself to begin outward     
construction2 because ,i do not believe 
that the time has come for it4 ,our     
present business is with inward         
preparation1 especially the preparation 
of those who have ceased to be content  
with the old1 and find no satisfaction  
in half measures4 ,i have wished1 and ,i
 still wish1 to disturb no man's peace  
of mind1 no man's beliefs2 but only to  

point out to those in whom they are     
already shattered1 the direction in     
which1 in my conviction1 firmer ground  
lies4#a  ,so wrote one of the           
protagonists of the ,new                
,reformation--and a well-abused man if  
ever there was one--a score of years    
since1 in the remarkable book in which  
he discusses the negative and the       
positive results of the rigorous        
application of scientific method to the 
investigation of the higher problems of 
human life4  ,recent experience leads me
 to imagine that there may be a good    
many countrymen of my own1 even at this 
time1 to whom it may be profitable to   
read1 mark and inwardly digest1 the     
weighty words of the author of that     
,leben ,jesu1 which1 half a century ago1
 stirred the religious world so         
seriously that it has never settled down
 again quite on the old foundations2    
indeed1 some think it never will4 ,i    
have a personal interest in the carrying
 out of the recommendation ,i venture to

 make4 ,it may enable many worthy       
persons1 in whose estimation ,i should  
really be glad to stand higher than ,i  
do1 to become aware of the possibility  
that my motives in writing the essays1  
contained in this and the preceding     
volume1 were not exactly those that they
 ascribe to me4  ,i too have reached the
 term at which the still1 small voice1  
more audible than any other to the      
dulled ear of age1 makes its demand2 and
 ,i have found that it is of no sort of 
use to try to cook the accounts         
rendered4 ,nevertheless1 ,i distinctly  
decline to admit some of the items      
charged2 more particularly that of      
having gone out of my way to attack the 
,bible2 and ,i as steadfastly deny that 
hatred of ,christianity is a feeling    
with which ,i have any acquaintance4    
,there are very few things which ,i find
 it permissible to hate2 and though1 it 
may be1 that some of the organisations1 
which arrogate to themselves the        
,christian name1 have richly earned a   

place in the category of hateful things1
 that ought to have nothing to do with  
one's estimation of the religion1 which 
they have perverted and disfigured out  
of all likeness to the original4  ,the  
simple fact is that1 as ,i have already 
more than once hinted1 my story is that 
of the wolf and the lamb over again4 ,i 
have never gone out of my way to attack 
the ,bible1 or anything else3 it was the
 dominant ecclesiasticism of my early   
days1 which1 as ,i believe1 without any 
warrant from the ,bible itself1 thrust  
the book in my way4  ,i had set out on a
 journey1 with no other purpose than    
that of exploring a certain province of 
natural knowledge2 ,i strayed no hair's 
breadth from the course which it was my 
right and my duty to pursue2 and yet ,i 
found that1 whatever route ,i took1     
before long1 ,i came to a tall and      
formidable-looking fence4 ,confident as 
,i might be in the existence of an      
ancient and indefeasible right of way1  
before me stood the thorny barrier with 

its comminatory notice-board--,no       
,thoroughfare4 ,by order4 ,moses4 ,there
 seemed no way over2 nor did the        
prospect of creeping round1 as ,i saw   
some do1 attract me4 ,true there was no 
longer any cause to fear the spring guns
 and man-traps set by former lords of   
the manor2 but one is apt to get very   
dirty going on all-fours4 ,the only     
alternatives were either to give up my  
journey--which ,i was not minded to     
do--or to break the fence down and go   
through it4  ,now ,i was and am1 by     
nature1 a law-abiding person1 ready and 
willing to submit to all legitimate     
authority4 ,but ,i also had and have a  
rooted conviction1 that reasonable      
assurance of the legitimacy should      
precede the submission2 so ,i made it my
 business to look up the manorial       
title-deeds4 ,the pretensions of the    
ecclesiastical ,moses to exercise a     
control over the operations of the      
reasoning faculty in the search after   
truth1 thirty centuries after his age1  

might be justifiable2 but1 assuredly1   
the credentials produced in             
justification of claims so large        
required careful scrutiny4  ,singular   
discoveries rewarded my industry4 ,the  
ecclesiastical ,moses proved to be a    
mere traditional mask1 behind which1 no 
doubt1 lay the features of the          
historical ,moses--just as many a       
medival fresco has been hidden by the   
whitewash of ,georgian churchwardens4   
,and as the sthetic rector too often    
scrapes away the defacement1 only to    
find blurred1 parti-coloured patches1 in
 which the original design is no longer 
to be traced2 so1 when the successive   
layers of ,jewish and ,christian        
traditional pigment1 laid on1 at        
intervals1 for near three thousand      
years1 had been removed1 by even the    
tenderest critical operations1 there was
 not much to be discerned of the leader 
of the ,exodus4  ,only one point became 
perfectly clear to me1 namely1 that     
,moses is not responsible for           

nine-tenths of the ,pentateuch2         
certainly not for the legends which had 
been made the bugbears of science4 ,in  
fact1 the fence turned out to be a mere 
heap of dry sticks and brushwood1 and   
one might walk through it with impunity3
 the which ,i did4 ,but ,i was still    
young1 when ,i thus ventured to assert  
my liberty2 and young people are apt to 
be filled with a kind of sva indignatio1
 when they discover the wide            
discrepancies between things as they    
seem and things as they are4 ,it hurts  
their vanity to feel that they have     
prepared themselves for a mighty        
struggle to climb over1 or break their  
way through1 a rampart1 which turns out1
 on close approach1 to be a mere heap of
 ruins2 venerable1 indeed1 and          
archologically interesting1 but of no   
other moment4 ,and some fragment of the 
superfluous energy accumulated is apt to
 find vent in strong language4  ,such1  
,i suppose1 was my case1 when ,i wrote  
some passages which occur in an essay   

reprinted among ,darwiniana4#b ,but     
when1 not long ago the voice put it to  
me1 whether ,i had better not expunge1  
or modify1 these passages2 whether1     
really1 they were not a little too      
strong2 ,i had to reply1 with all       
deference1 that while1 from a merely    
literary point of view1 ,i might admit  
them to be rather crude1 ,i must stand  
by the substance of these items of my   
expenditure4 ,i further ventured to     
express the conviction that scientific  
criticism of the ,old ,testament1 since 
#ahfj1 has justified every word of the  
estimate of the authority of the        
ecclesiastical ,moses written at that   
time4 ,and1 carried away by the heat of 
self-justification1 ,i even ventured to 
add1 that the desperate attempt now set 
afoot to force biblical and             
post-biblical mythology into elementary 
instruction1 renders it useful and      
necessary to go on making a considerable
 outlay in the same direction4 ,not yet1
 has the cosmogony of the semi-barbarous

 ,hebrew ceased to be the incubus of the
 philosopher1 and the opprobrium of the 
orthodox2 not yet1 has the zeal of the  
,bibliolater ceased from troubling2 not 
yet1 are the weaker sort1 even of the   
instructed1 at rest from their fruitless
 toil to harmonise impossibilities1 and 
to force the generous new wine of       
science into the old bottles of         
,judaism4  ,but ,i am aware that the    
head and front of my offending lies not 
now where it formerly lay4 ,thirty years
 ago1 criticism of ,moses was held by   
most respectable people to be deadly    
sin2 now it has sunk to the rank of a   
mere peccadillo2 at least1 if it stops  
short of the history of ,abraham4       
,destroy the foundation of most forms of
 dogmatic ,christianity contained in the
 second chapter of ,genesis1 if you     
will2 the new ecclesiasticism undertakes
 to underpin the superstructure and make
 it1 at any rate to the eye1 as firm as 
ever3 but let him be anathema who       
applies exactly the same canons of      

criticism to the opening chapters of    
,matthew or of ,luke4 ,school-children  
may be told that the world was by no    
means made in six days1 and that        
implicit belief in the story of ,noah's 
,ark is permissible only1 as a matter of
 business1 to their toy-makers2 but they
 are to hold for the certainest of      
truths1 to be doubted only at peril of  
their salvation1 that their ,galilean   
fellow-child ,jesus1 nineteen centuries 
ago1 had no human father4         99    
99       99       99       99  ,well1 we
 will pass the item of #ahfj1 said the  
voice4 ,but why all this more recent    
coil about the ,gadarene swine and the  
like8 ,do you pretend that these poor   
animals got in your way1 years and years
 after the ,mosaic fences were down1 at 
any rate so far as you are concerned8   
,got in my way8 ,why1 my good voice1    
they were driven in my way4 ,i had      
happened to make a statement1 than      
which1 so far as ,i have ever been able 
to see1 nothing can be more modest or   

inoffensive2 to wit1 that ,i am         
convinced of my own utter ignorance     
about a great number of things1         
respecting which the great majority of  
my neighbours 7not only those of adult  
years1 but children repeating their     
catechisms7 affirm themselves to possess
 full information4 ,i ask any candid and
 impartial judge1 ,is that attacking    
anybody or anything8  ,yet1 if ,i had   
made the most wanton and arrogant       
onslaught on the honest convictions of  
other people1 ,i could not have been    
more hardly dealt with4 ,the pentecostal
 charism1 ,i believe1 exhausted itself  
amongst the earliest disciples4 ,yet any
 one who has had to attend1 as ,i have  
done1 to copious objurgations1 strewn   
with such appellations as infidel and   
coward1 must be a hardened sceptic      
indeed if he doubts the existence of a  
gift of tongues in the ,churches of our 
time2 unless1 indeed1 it should occur to
 him that some of these outpourings may 
have taken place after the third hour of

 the day4 ,i am far from thinking that  
it is worth while to give much attention
 to these inevitable incidents of all   
controversies1 in which one party has   
acquired the mental peculiarities which 
are generated by the habit of much      
talking1 with immunity from criticism4  
,but as a rule1 they are the sauce of   
dishes of misrepresentations and        
inaccuracies which it may be a duty1    
nay1 even an innocent pleasure1 to      
expose4 ,in the particular case of which
 ,i am thinking1 ,i felt1 as ,strauss   
says1 able and called upon to undertake 
the business3 and it is no              
responsibility of mine1 if ,i found the 
,gospels1 with their miraculous stories1
 of which the ,gadarene is a typical    
example1 blocking my way1 as heretofore1
 the ,pentateuch had done4  ,i was      
challenged to question the authority for
 the theory of the spiritual world1 and 
the practical consequences deducible    
from human relations to it1 contained in
 these documents4  ,in my judgment1 the 

actuality of this spiritual world--the  
value of the evidence for its objective 
existence and its influence upon the    
course of things--are matters1 which lie
 as much within the province of science1
 as any other question about the        
existence and powers of the varied forms
 of living and conscious activity4  ,it 
really is my strong conviction that a   
man has no more right to say he believes
 this world is haunted by swarms of evil
 spirits1 without being able to produce 
satisfactory evidence of the fact1 than 
he has a right to say1 without adducing 
adequate proof1 that the circumpolar    
antarctic ice swarms with sea-serpents4 
,i should not like to assert positively 
that it does not4 ,i imagine that no    
cautious biologist would say as much2   
but while quite open to conviction1 he  
might properly decline to waste time    
upon the consideration of talk1 no      
better accredited than forecastle yarns1
 about such monsters of the deep4 ,and  
if the interests of ordinary veracity   

dictate this course1 in relation to a   
matter of so little consequence as this1
 what must be our obligations in respect
 of the treatment of a question which is
 fundamental alike for science and for  
ethics8 ,for not only does our general  
theory of the universe and of the nature
 of the order which pervades it1 hang   
upon the answer2 but the rules of       
practical life must be deeply affected  
by it4  ,the belief in a demonic world  
is inculcated throughout the ,gospels   
and the rest of the books of the ,new   
,testament2 it pervades the whole       
patristic literature2 it colours the    
theory and the practice of every        
,christian church down to modern times4 
,indeed1 ,i doubt if1 even now1 there is
 any church which1 officially1 departs  
from such a fundamental doctrine of     
primitive ,christianity as the          
existence1 in addition to the ,cosmos   
with which natural knowledge is         
conversant1 of a world of spirits2 that 
is to say1 of intelligent agents1 not   

subject to the physical or mental       
limitations of humanity1 but            
nevertheless competent to interfere1 to 
an undefined extent1 with the ordinary  
course of both physical and mental      
phenomena4  ,more especially is this    
conception fundamental for the authors  
of the ,gospels4 ,without the belief    
that the present world1 and particularly
 that part of it which is constituted by
 human society1 has been given over1    
since the ,fall1 to the influence of    
wicked and malignant spiritual beings1  
governed and directed by a supreme      
devil--the moral antithesis and enemy of
 the supreme ,god--their theory of      
salvation by the ,messiah falls to      
pieces4 ,to this end was the ,son of    
,god manifested1 that he might destroy  
the works of the devil4#c  ,the         
half-hearted religiosity of latter-day  
,christianity may choose to ignore the  
fact2 but it remains none the less true1
 that he who refuses to accept the      
demonology of the ,gospels rejects the  

revelation of a spiritual world1 made in
 them1 as much as if he denied the      
existence of such a person as ,jesus of 
,nazareth2 and deserves1 as much as any 
one can do1 to be ear-marked infidel by 
our gentle shepherds4         99        
99       99       99       99  ,now that
 which ,i thought it desirable to make  
perfectly clear1 on my own account1 and 
for the sake of those who find their    
capacity of belief in the ,gospel theory
 of the universe failing them1 is the   
fact1 that1 in my judgment1 the         
demonology of primitive ,christianity is
 totally devoid of foundation2 and that 
no man1 who is guided by the rules of   
investigation which are found to lead to
 the discovery of truth in other        
matters1 not merely of science1 but in  
the everyday affairs of life1 will      
arrive at any other conclusion4 ,to     
those who profess to be otherwise       
guided1 ,i have nothing to say2 but to  
beg them to go their own way and leave  
me to mine4  ,i think it may be as well 

to repeat what ,i have said1 over and   
over again1 elsewhere1 that a priori    
notions1 about the possibility1 or the  
impossibility1 of the existence of a    
world of spirits1 such as that          
presupposed by genuine ,christianity1   
have no influence on my mind4 ,the      
question for me is purely one of        
evidence3 is the evidence adequate to   
bear out the theory1 or is it not8 ,in  
my judgment it is not only inadequate1  
but quite absurdly insufficient4 ,and on
 that ground1 ,i should feel compelled  
to reject the theory2 even if there were
 no positive grounds for adopting a     
totally different conception of the     
,cosmos4  ,for most people1 the question
 of the evidence of the existence of a  
demonic world1 in the long run1 resolves
 itself into that of the trustworthiness
 of the ,gospels2 first1 as to the      
objective truth of that which they      
narrate on this topic2 second1 as to the
 accuracy of the interpretation which   
their authors put upon these objective  

facts4 ,for example1 with respect to the
 ,gadarene miracle1 it is one question  
whether1 at a certain time and place1 a 
raving madman became sane1 and a herd of
 swine rushed into the lake of          
,tiberias2 and quite another1 whether   
the cause of these occurrences was the  
transmigration of certain devils from   
the man into the pigs4 ,and again1 it is
 one question whether ,jesus made a long
 oration on a certain occasion1         
mentioned in the first ,gospel2         
altogether another1 whether more or     
fewer of the propositions contained in  
the ,sermon on the ,mount were uttered  
on that occasion4 ,one may give an      
affirmative answer to one of each of    
these pairs of questions and a negative 
to the other3 one may affirm all1 or    
deny all4  ,in considering the          
historical value of any four documents1 
proof when they were written and who    
wrote them is1 no doubt1 highly         
important4 ,for if proof exists1 that ,a
 ,b ,c and ,d wrote them1 and that they 

were intelligent persons1 writing       
independently and without prejudice1    
about facts within their own            
knowledge--their statements must needs  
be worthy of the most attentive         
consideration4#d ,but1 even             
ecclesiastical tradition does not assert
 that either ,mark or ,luke wrote from  
his own knowledge--indeed ,luke         
expressly asserts he did not4 ,i cannot 
discover that any competent authority   
now maintains that the apostle ,matthew 
wrote the ,gospel which passes under his
 name4 ,and whether the apostle ,john   
had1 or had not1 anything to do with the
 fourth ,gospel2 and if he had1 what his
 share amounted to2 are1 as everybody   
who has attended to these matters knows1
 questions still hotly disputed1 and    
with regard to which the extant evidence
 can hardly carry an impartial judge    
beyond the admission of a possibility   
this way or that4  ,thus1 nothing but a 
balancing of very dubious probabilities 
is to be attained by approaching the    

question from this side4 ,it is         
otherwise if we make the documents tell 
their own story3 if we study them1 as we
 study fossils1 to discover internal    
evidence1 of when they arose1 and how   
they have come to be4 ,that really      
fruitful line of inquiry has led to the 
statement and the discussion of what is 
known as the ,synoptic ,problem4  ,in   
the ,essays 7,,vii4--,,xi47 which deal  
with the consequences of the application
 of the agnostic principle to ,christian
 ,evidences1 contained in this volume1  
there are several references to the     
results of the attempts which have been 
made1 during the last hundred years1 to 
solve this problem4 ,and1 though it has 
been clearly stated and discussed1 in   
works accessible to1 and intelligible   
by1 every ,english reader1#e it may be  
well that ,i should here set forth a    
very brief exposition of the matters of 
fact out of which the problem has       
arisen2 and of some consequences1 which1
 as ,i conceive1 must be admitted if the

 facts are accepted4  ,these undisputed 
and1 apparently1 indisputable data may  
be thus stated3  ,i4 ,the three books of
 which an ancient1 but very             
questionable1 ecclesiastical tradition  
asserts ,matthew1 ,mark1 and ,luke to be
 the authors1 agree1 not only in        
presenting the same general view1 or    
,synopsis1 of the nature and the order  
of the events narrated2 but1 to a       
remarkable extent1 the very words which 
they employ coincide4  ,,ii4            
,nevertheless1 there are many equally   
marked1 and some irreconcilable1        
differences between them4 ,narratives1  
verbally identical in some portions1    
diverge more or less in others4 ,the    
order in which they occur in one1 or in 
two1 ,gospels may be changed in another4
 ,in ,matthew and in ,luke events of    
great importance make their appearance1 
where the story of ,mark seems to leave 
no place for them2 and1 at the beginning
 and the end of the two former ,gospels1
 there is a great amount of matter of   

which there is no trace in ,mark4       
,,iii4 ,obvious and highly important    
differences1 in style and substance1    
separate the three ,synoptics1 taken    
together1 from the fourth ,gospel1      
connected1 by ecclesiastical tradition1 
with the name of the apostle ,john4 ,in 
its philosophical proemium2 in the      
conspicuous absence of exorcistic       
miracles2 in the self-assertive         
theosophy of the long and diffuse       
monologues1 which are so utterly unlike 
the brief and pregnant utterances of    
,jesus recorded in the ,synoptics2 in   
the assertion that the crucifixion took 
place before the ,passover1 which       
involves the denial1 by implication1 of 
the truth of the ,synoptic story--to    
mention only a few particulars--the     
,johannine ,gospel presents a wide      
divergence from the other three4  ,,iv4 
,if the mutual resemblances and         
differences of the ,synoptic ,gospels   
are closely considered1 a curious result
 comes out2 namely1 that each may be    

analyzed into four components4 ,the     
first of these consists of passages1 to 
a greater or less extent verbally       
identical1 which occur in all three     
,gospels4 ,if this triple tradition is  
separated from the rest it will be found
 to comprise3  a4 ,a narrative1 of a    
somewhat broken and anecdotic aspect1   
which covers the period from the        
appearance of ,john the ,baptist to the 
discovery of the emptiness of the tomb1 
on the first day of the week1 some      
six-and-thirty hours after the          
crucifixion4  b4 ,an apocalyptic        
address4  c4 ,parables and brief        
discourses1 or rather1 centos of        
religious and ethical exhortations and  
injunctions4  ,the second and the third 
set of components of each ,gospel       
present equally close resemblances to   
passages1 which are found in only one of
 the other ,gospels2 therefore it may be
 said that1 for them1 the tradition is  
double4 ,the fourth component is        
peculiar to each ,gospel2 it is a single

 tradition and has no representative in 
the others4  ,to put the facts in       
another way3 each ,gospel is composed of
 a threefold tradition1 two twofold     
traditions1 and one peculiar tradition4 
,if the ,gospels were the work of       
totally independent writers1 it would   
follow that there are three witnesses   
for the statements in the first         
tradition2 two for each of those in the 
second1 and only one for those in the   
third4  ,v4 ,if the reader will now take
 up that extremely instructive little   
book1 ,abbott and ,rushbrooke's ,common 
,tradition he will easily satisfy       
himself that ,mark has the remarkable   
structure just described4 ,almost the   
whole of this ,gospel consists of the   
first component2 namely1 the threefold  
tradition4 ,but in chap4 i4 #bc-bh he   
will discover an exorcistic story1 not  
to be found in ,matthew1 but repeated1  
often word for word1 in ,luke4 ,this1   
therefore1 belongs to one of the twofold
 traditions4 ,in chap4 viii4 #a-aj1 on  

the other hand1 there is a detailed     
account of the miracle of feeding the   
four thousand2 which is closely repeated
 in ,matthew xv4 #cb-ci1 but is not to  
be found in ,luke4 ,this is an example  
of the other twofold tradition1 possible
 in ,mark4 ,finally1 the story of the   
blind man of ,bethsaida1 ,mark viii4    
#bb-bf1 is peculiar to ,mark4  ,,vi4    
,suppose that1 ,a standing for the      
threefold tradition1 or the matter      
common to all three ,gospels2 we call   
the matter common to ,mark and ,matthew 
only--,b2 that common to ,mark and ,luke
 only--,c2 that common to ,matthew and  
,luke only--,d2 while the peculiar      
components of ,mark1 ,matthew1 and ,luke
 are severally indicated by ,e1 ,f1 ,g2 
then the structure of the ,gospels may  
be represented thus3    ,components of  
,mark  ,a  ,b  ,c  ,e4                  
,matthew  ,a  ,b  ,d  ,f4               
,luke  ,a  ,c  ,d  ,g4  ,,vii4 ,the     
analysis of the ,synoptic documents need
 be carried no further than this point1 

in order to suggest one extremely       
important1 and1 apparently unavoidable  
conclusion2 and that is1 that their     
authors were neither three independent  
witnesses of the things narrated2 nor1  
for the parts of the narrative about    
which all agree1 that is to say1 the    
threefold tradition1 did they employ    
independent sources of information4 ,it 
is simply incredible that each of three 
independent witnesses of any series of  
occurrences should tell a story so      
similar1 not only in arrangement and in 
small details1 but in words1 to that of 
each of the others4  ,hence it follows1 
either that the ,synoptic writers have1 
mediately or immediately1 copied one    
from the other3 or that the three have  
drawn from a common source2 that is to  
say1 from one arrangement of similar    
traditions 7whether oral or written72   
though that arrangement may have been   
extant in three or more1 somewhat       
different versions4  ,,viii4 ,the       
suppositions 7a7 that ,mark had ,matthew

 and ,luke before him2 and 7b7 that     
either of the two latter was acquainted 
with the work of the other1 would seem  
to involve some singular consequences4  
a4 ,the second ,gospel is saturated with
 the lowest supernaturalism4 ,jesus is  
exhibited as a wonder-worker and        
exorcist of the first rank4 ,the        
earliest public recognition of the      
,messiahship of ,jesus comes from an    
unclean spirit2 he himself is made to   
testify to the occurrence of the        
miraculous feeding twice over4  ,the    
purpose with which ,mark sets out is to 
show forth ,jesus as the ,son of ,god1  
and it is suggested1 if not distinctly  
stated1 that he acquired this character 
at his baptism by ,john4 ,the absence of
 any reference to the miraculous events 
of the infancy1 detailed by ,matthew and
 ,luke2 or to the appearances after the 
discovery of the emptiness of the tomb2 
is unintelligible1 if ,mark knew        
anything about them1 or believed in the 
miraculous conception4 ,the second      

,gospel is no summary3 ,mark can find   
room for the detailed story1 irrelevant 
to his main purpose1 of the beheading of
 ,john the ,baptist1 and his miraculous 
narrations are crowded with minute      
particulars4 ,is it to be imagined that1
 with the supposed apostolic authority  
of ,matthew before him1 he could leave  
out the miraculous conception of ,jesus 
and the ascension8 ,further1            
ecclesiastical tradition would have us  
believe that ,mark wrote down his       
recollections of what ,peter taught4    
,did ,peter then omit to mention these  
matters8 ,did the fact testified by the 
oldest authority extant1 that the first 
appearance of the risen ,jesus was to   
himself seem not worth mentioning8 ,did 
he really fail to speak of the great    
position in the ,church solemnly        
assigned to him by ,jesus8 ,the         
alternative would seem to be the        
impeachment either of ,mark's memory1 or
 of his judgment4 ,but ,mark's memory1  
is so good that he can recollect how1 on

 the occasion of the stilling of the    
waves1 ,jesus was asleep on the cushion1
 he remembers that the woman with the   
issue had spent all she had on her      
physicians2 that there was not room even
 about the door on a certain occasion at
 ,capernaum4 ,and it is surely hard to  
believe that ,mark should have failed to
 recollect occurrences of infinitely    
greater moment1 or that he should have  
deliberately left them out1 as things   
not worthy of mention4  b4 ,the         
supposition that ,matthew was acquainted
 with ,luke1 or ,luke with ,matthew has 
equally grave implications4 ,if that be 
so1 the one who used the other could    
have had but a poor opinion of his      
predecessor's historical veracity4 ,if1 
as most experts agree1 ,luke is later   
than ,matthew1 it is clear that he does 
not credit ,matthew's account of the    
infancy2 does not believe the ,sermon on
 the ,mount as given by ,matthew was    
preached2 does not believe in the two   
feeding miracles1 to which ,jesus       

himself is made to refer2 wholly        
discredits ,matthew's account of the    
events after the crucifixion2 and thinks
 it not worth while to notice ,matthew's
 grave admission that some doubted4     
,,ix4 ,none of these troublesome        
consequences pursue the hypothesis that 
the threefold tradition1 in one1 or     
more1 ,greek versions1 was extant before
 either of the canonical ,synoptic      
,gospels2 and that it furnished the     
fundamental framework of their several  
narratives4 ,where and when the         
threefold narrative arose1 there is no  
positive evidence2 though it is         
obviously probable that the traditions  
it embodies1 and perhaps many others1   
took their rise in ,palestine and spread
 thence to ,asia ,minor1 ,greece1 ,egypt
 and ,italy1 in the track of the early  
missionaries4 ,nor is it less likely    
that they formed part of the didaskalia 
of the primitive ,nazarene and          
,christian communities4#f  ,x4 ,the     
interest which attaches to ,mark arises 

from the fact that it seems to present  
this early1 probably earliest1 ,greek   
,gospel narrative1 with least addition1 
or modification4 ,if1 as appears likely 
from some internal evidences1 it was    
compiled for the use of the ,christian  
sodalities in ,rome2 and that it was    
accepted by them as an adequate account 
of the life and work of ,jesus1 it is   
evidence of the most valuable kind      
respecting their beliefs and the limits 
of dogma1 as conceived by them4  ,in    
such case1 a good ,roman ,christian of  
that epoch might know nothing of the    
doctrine of the incarnation1 as taught  
by ,matthew and ,luke2 still less of the
 logos doctrine of ,john2 neither need  
he have believed anything more than the 
simple fact of the resurrection4 ,it was
 open to him to believe it either       
corporeal or spiritual4 ,he would never 
have heard of the power of the keys     
bestowed upon ,peter2 nor have had      
brought to his mind so much as a        
suggestion of trinitarian doctrine4 ,he 

might be a rigidly monotheistic         
,judo-,christian1 and consider himself  
bound by the law3 he might be a ,gentile
 ,pauline convert1 neither knowing of   
nor caring for such restrictions4 ,in   
neither case would he find in ,mark any 
serious stumbling-block4 ,in fact1      
persons of all the categories admitted  
to salvation by ,justin1 in the middle  
of the second century1#g could accept   
,mark from beginning to end4 ,it may    
well be1 that1 in this wide             
adaptability1 backed by the authority of
 the metropolitan church1 there lies the
 reason for the fact of the preservation
 of ,mark1 notwithstanding its limited  
and dogmatically colourless character1  
as compared with the ,gospels of ,luke  
and ,matthew4  ,,xi4 ,mark1 as we have  
seen1 contains a relatively small body  
of ethical and religious instruction and
 only a few parables4 ,were these all   
that existed in the primitive threefold 
tradition8 ,were none others current in 
the ,roman communities1 at the time     

,mark wrote1 supposing he wrote in      
,rome8 ,or1 on the other hand1 was there
 extant1 as early as the time at which  
,mark composed his ,greek edition of the
 primitive ,evangel1 one or more        
collections of parables and teachings1  
such as those which form the bulk of the
 twofold tradition1 common exclusively  
to ,matthew and ,luke1 and are also     
found in their single traditions8 ,many 
have assumed this1 or these1 collections
 to be identical with1 or at any rate   
based upon1 the logia1 of which         
ecclesiastical tradition says1 that they
 were written in ,aramaic by ,matthew1  
and that everybody translated them as he
 could4  ,here is the old difficulty    
again4 ,if such materials were known to 
,mark1 what imaginable reason could he  
have for not using them8 ,surely        
displacement of the long episode of     
,john the ,baptist--even perhaps of the 
story of the ,gadarene swine--by        
portions of the ,sermon on the ,mount or
 by one or two of the beautiful parables

 in the twofold and single traditions   
would have been great improvements2 and 
might have been effected1 even though   
,mark was as much pressed for space as  
some have imagined4 ,but there is no    
ground for that imagination2 ,mark has  
actually found room for four or five    
parables2 why should he not have given  
the best1 if he had known of them8      
,admitting he was the mere pedissequus  
et breviator of ,matthew1 that even     
,augustine supposed him to be1 what     
could induce him to omit the ,lord's    
,prayer8  ,whether more or less of the  
materials of the twofold tradition ,d1  
and of the peculiar traditions ,f and   
,g1 were or were not current in some of 
the communities1 as early as1 or perhaps
 earlier than1 the triple tradition1 it 
is not necessary for me to discuss2 nor 
to consider those solutions of the      
,synoptic problem which assume that it  
existed earlier1 and was already        
combined with more or less narrative4   
,those who are working out the final    

solution of the ,synoptic problem are   
taking into account1 more than hitherto1
 the possibility that the widely        
separated ,christian communities of     
,palestine1 ,asia ,minor1 ,egypt1 and   
,italy1 especially after the ,jewish war
 of ,a4,d4 #ff-gj1 may have found       
themselves in possession of very        
different traditional materials4 ,many  
circumstances tend to the conclusion    
that1 in ,asia ,minor1 even the         
narrative part of the threefold         
tradition had a formidable rival2 and   
that1 around this second narrative1     
teaching traditions of a totally        
different order from those in the       
,synoptics1 grouped themselves2 and1    
under the influence of converts imbued  
more or less with the philosophical     
speculations of the time1 eventually    
took shape in the fourth ,gospel and its
 associated literature4  ,,xii4 ,but it 
is unnecessary1 and it would be out of  
place1 for me to attempt to do more than
 indicate the existence of these complex

 and difficult questions4 ,my purpose   
has been to make it clear that the      
,synoptic problem must force itself upon
 every one who studies the ,gospels with
 attention2 that the broad facts of the 
case1 and some of the consequences      
deducible from these facts1 are just as 
plain to the simple ,english reader as  
they are to the profoundest scholar4    
,one of these consequences is that the  
threefold tradition presents us with a  
narrative believed to be historically   
true1 in all its particulars1 by the    
major part1 if not the whole1 of the    
,christian communities4 ,that narrative 
is penetrated1 from beginning to end1 by
 the demonological beliefs of which the 
,gadarene story is a specimen2 and1 if  
the fourth ,gospel indicates the        
existence of another and1 in some       
respects1 irreconcilably divergent      
narrative1 in which the demonology      
retires into the background1 it is none 
the less there4  ,therefore1 the        
demonology is an integral and           

inseparable component of primitive      
,christianity4 ,the farther back the    
origin of the gospels is dated1 the     
stronger does the certainty of this     
conclusion grow2 and the more difficult 
it becomes to suppose that ,jesus       
himself may not have shared the         
superstitious beliefs of his disciples4 
,it further follows that those who      
accept devils1 possession1 and exorcism 
as essential elements of their          
conception of the spiritual world may   
consistently consider the testimony of  
the ,gospels to be unimpeachable in     
respect of the information they give us 
respecting other matters which appertain
 to that world4  ,those who reject the  
gospel demonology1 on the other hand1   
would seem to be as completely barred1  
as ,i feel myself to be1 from professing
 to take the accuracy of that           
information for granted4 ,if the        
threefold tradition is wrong about one  
fundamental topic1 it may be wrong about
 another1 while the authority of the    

single traditions1 often mutually       
contradictory as they are1 becomes a    
vanishing quantity4  ,it really is      
unreasonable to ask any rejector of the 
demonology to say more with respect to  
those other matters1 than that the      
statements regarding them may be true1  
or may be false2 and that the ultimate  
decision1 if it is to be favourable1    
must depend on the production of        
testimony of a very different character 
from that of the writers of the four    
gospels4 ,until such evidence is brought
 forward1 that refusal of assent1 with  
willingness to re-open the question1 on 
cause shown1 which is what ,i mean by   
,agnosticism1 is1 for me1 the only      
course open4         99       99        
99       99       99  ,a verdict of not 
proven is undoubtedly unsatisfactory and
 essentially provisional1 so far forth  
as the subject of the trial is capable  
of being dealt with by due process of   
reason4  ,those who are of opinion that 
the historical realities at the root of 

,christianity1 lie beyond the           
jurisdiction of science1 need not be    
considered4 ,those who are convinced    
that the evidence is1 and must always   
remain1 insufficient to support any     
definite conclusion1 are justified in   
ignoring the subject4 ,they must be     
content to put up with that reproach of 
being mere destroyers1 of which ,strauss
 speaks4 ,they may say that there are so
 many problems which are and must remain
 insoluble1 that the burden of the      
mystery of all this unintelligible world
 is not appreciably affected by one more
 or less4  ,for myself1 ,i must confess 
that the problem of the origin of such  
very remarkable historical phenomena as 
the doctrines1 and the social           
organization1 which in their broad      
features certainly existed1 and were in 
a state of rapid development1 within a  
hundred years of the crucifixion of     
,jesus2 and which have steadily         
prevailed against all rivals1 among the 
most intelligent and civilized nations  

in the world ever since1 is1 and always 
has been1 profoundly interesting2 and1  
considering how recent the really       
scientific study of that problem1 and   
how great the progress made during the  
last half century in supplying the      
conditions for a positive solution of   
the problem1 ,i cannot doubt that the   
attainment of such a solution is a mere 
question of time4  ,i am well aware that
 it has lain far beyond my powers to    
take any share in this great            
undertaking4 ,all that ,i can hope is to
 have done somewhat towards the         
preparation of those who have ceased to 
be contented with the old and find no   
satisfaction in half measures3 perhaps1 
also1 something towards the lessening of
 that great proportion of my countrymen1
 whose eminent characteristic it is that
 they find full satisfaction in half    
measures4  ,t4,h4,h4 ,,hodeslea1        
,,eastbourne1 ,december #dth1 #ahic4    
,,footnotes3        #a ,d4,f4 ,strauss1 
,der alte und der neue ,glaube          

7#ahgb71 pp4 #i1 #aj4        #b         
,collected ,essays1 vol4 ii41 ,on the   
,origin of           ,species 7#ahfj74  
#c #a ,john iii4 #h4        #d ,not     
necessarily of more than this4 ,a few   
centuries           ago the twelve most 
intelligent and impartial men to be     
found in ,england1 would have           
independently testified           that  
the sun moves1 from east to west1 across
 the           heavens every day4       
#e ,nowhere more concisely and clearly  
than in ,dr4           ,sutherland      
,black's article ,gospels in ,chambers's
           ,encyclopdia4 ,references are
 given to the more           elaborate  
discussions of the problem4        #f   
,those who regard the ,apocalyptic      
discourse as a           vaticination   
after the event may draw conclusions    
therefrom as to the date of the ,gospels
 in which its           several forms   
occur4 ,but the assumption is surely    
dangerous1 from an apologetic point of  
view1 since it           begs the       

question as to the unhistorical         
character of           this solemn      
prophecy4        #g ,see p4 #bhg of this
 volume4     ,,contents                 
,,page    ,i4 ,,prologue                
#a       7,controverted ,questions1     
#ahib74    ,,ii4 ,,scientific ,,and     
,,pseudo-,,scientific ,,realism #ahhg   
#ei   ,,iii4 ,,science ,,and            
,,pseudo-,,science #ahhg                
#ij    ,,iv4 ,,an ,,episcopal ,,trilogy 
#ahhg                      #abf     ,v4 
,,the ,,value ,,of ,,witness ,,to ,,the 
,,miraculous #ahhi    #afj    ,,vi4     
,,possibilities ,,and ,,impossibilities 
#ahia         #aib   ,,vii4             
,,agnosticism #ahhi                     
#bji  ,,viii4 ,,agnosticism3 ,a         
,,rejoinder #ahhi                  #bfc 
,,ix4 ,,agnosticism ,,and ,,christianity
 #ahhi              #cji     ,x4 ,,the  
,,keepers ,,of ,,the ,,herd ,,of ,,swine
 #ahij          #cff    ,,xi4           
,,illustrations ,,of ,,mr4              
,,gladstone',s ,,controversial          

,,methods #ahia                         
#cic     ,i3 ,,prologue  ,controverted  
,questions1 #ahib  ,le plus grand       
service qu'on puisse rendre  la science 
est d'y faire place nette avant d'y rien
 construire4--,,cuvier4   ,most of the  
,essays comprised in the present volume 
have been written during the last six or
 seven years1 without premeditated      
purpose or intentional connection1 in   
reply to attacks upon doctrines which ,i
 hold to be well founded2 or in         
refutation of allegations respecting    
matters lying within the province of    
natural knowledge1 which ,i believe to  
be erroneous2 and they bear the mark of 
their origin in the controversial tone  
which pervades them4  ,of polemical     
writing1 as of other kinds of warfare1  
,i think it may be said1 that it is     
often useful1 sometimes necessary1 and  
always more or less of an evil4 ,it is  
useful1 when it attracts attention to   
topics which might otherwise be         
neglected2 and when1 as does sometimes  

happen1 those who come to see a contest 
remain to think4 ,it is necessary1 when 
the interests of truth and of justice   
are at stake4 ,it is an evil1 in so far 
as controversy always tends to          
degenerate into quarrelling1 to swerve  
from the great issue of what is right   
and what is wrong to the very small     
question of who is right and who is     
wrong4 ,i venture to hope that the      
useful and the necessary were more      
conspicuous than the evil attributes of 
literary militancy1 when these papers   
were first published2 but ,i have had   
some hesitation about reprinting them4  
,if ,i may judge by my own taste1 few   
literary dishes are less appetising than
 cold controversy2 moreover1 there is an
 air of unfairness about the            
presentation of only one side of a      
discussion1 and a flavour of unkindness 
in the reproduction of winged words1    
which1 however appropriate at the time  
of their utterance1 would find a still  
more appropriate place in oblivion4     

,yet1 since ,i could hardly ask those   
who have honoured me by their polemical 
attentions to confer lustre on this     
collection1 by permitting me to present 
their lucubrations along with my own2   
and since it would be a manifest wrong  
to them to deprive their1 by no means   
rare1 vivacities of language of such    
justification as they may derive from   
similar freedoms on my part2 ,i came to 
the conclusion that my best course was  
to leave the essays just as they were   
written2#h assuring my honourable       
adversaries that any heat of which signs
 may remain was generated1 in accordance
 with the law of the conservation of    
energy1 by the force of their own blows1
 and has long since been dissipated into
 space4  ,but1 however the polemical    
coincomitants of these discussions may  
be regarded--or better1                 
disregarded--there is no doubt either   
about the importance of the topics of   
which they treat1 or as to the public   
interest in the ,controverted ,questions

 with which they deal4 ,or rather1 the  
,controverted ,question2 for            
disconnected as these pieces may1       
perhaps1 appear to be1 they are1 in     
fact1 concerned only with different     
aspects of a single problem1 with which 
thinking men have been occupied1 ever   
since they began seriously to consider  
the wonderful frame of things in which  
their lives are set1 and to seek for    
trustworthy guidance among its          
intricacies4  ,experience speedily      
taught them that the shifting scenes of 
the world's stage have a permanent      
background2 that there is order amidst  
the seeming confusion1 and that many    
events take place according to          
unchanging rules4 ,to this region of    
familiar steadiness and customary       
regularity they gave the name of        
,nature4 ,but1 at the same time1 their  
infantile and untutored reason1 little  
more1 as yet1 than the playfellow of the
 imagination1 led them to believe that  
this tangible1 commonplace1 orderly     

world of ,nature was surrounded and     
interpenetrated by another intangible   
and mysterious world1 no more bound by  
fixed rules than1 as they fancied1 were 
the thoughts and passions which coursed 
through their minds and seemed to       
exercise an intermittent and capricious 
rule over their bodies4 ,they attributed
 to the entities1 with which they       
peopled this dim and dreadful region1 an
 unlimited amount of that power of      
modifying the course of events of which 
they themselves possessed a small share1
 and thus came to regard them as not    
merely beyond1 but above1 ,nature4      
,hence arose the conception of a        
,supernature antithetic to ,nature--the 
primitive dualism of a natural world    
fixed in fate and a supernatural1 left  
to the free play of volition--which has 
pervaded all later speculation and1 for 
thousands of years1 has exercised a     
profound influence on practice4 ,for it 
is obvious that1 on this theory of the  
,universe1 the successful conduct of    

life must demand careful attention to   
both worlds2 and1 if either is to be    
neglected1 it may be safer that it      
should be ,nature4 ,in any given        
contingency1 it must doubtless be       
desirable to know what may be expected  
to happen in the ordinary course of     
things2 but it must be quite as         
necessary to have some inkling of the   
line likely to be taken by supernatural 
agencies able1 and possibly willing1 to 
suspend or reverse that course4 ,indeed1
 logically developed1 the dualistic     
theory must needs end in almost         
exclusive attention to ,supernature1 and
 in trust that its overruling strength  
will be exerted in favour of those who  
stand well with its denizens4 ,on the   
other hand1 the lessons of the great    
schoolmaster1 experience1 have hardly   
seemed to accord with this conclusion4  
,they have taught1 with considerable    
emphasis1 that it does not answer to    
neglect ,nature2 and that1 on the whole1
 the more attention paid to her dictates

 the better men fare4  ,thus the        
theoretical antithesis brought about a  
practical antagonism4 ,from the earliest
 times of which we have any knowledge1  
,naturalism and ,supernaturalism have   
consciously1 or unconsciously1 competed 
and struggled with one another2 and the 
varying fortunes of the contest are     
written in the records of the course of 
civilisation1 from those of ,egypt and  
,babylonia1 six thousand years ago1 down
 to those of our own time and people4   
,these records inform us that1 so far as
 men have paid attention to ,nature1    
they have been rewarded for their pains4
 ,they have developed the ,arts which   
have furnished the conditions of        
civilised existence2 and the ,sciences1 
which have been a progressive revelation
 of reality and have afforded the best  
discipline of the mind in the methods of
 discovering truth4 ,they have          
accumulated a vast body of universally  
accepted knowledge2 and the conceptions 
of man and of society1 of morals and of 

law1 based upon that knowledge1 are     
every day more and more1 either openly  
or tacitly1 acknowledged to be the      
foundations of right action4  ,history  
also tells us that the field of the     
supernatural has rewarded its           
cultivators with a harvest1 perhaps not 
less luxuriant1 but of a different      
character4 ,it has produced an almost   
infinite diversity of ,religions4       
,these1 if we set aside the ethical     
concomitants upon which natural         
knowledge also has a claim1 are composed
 of information about ,supernature2 they
 tell us of the attributes of           
supernatural beings1 of their relations 
with ,nature1 and of the operations by  
which their interference with the       
ordinary course of events can be secured
 or averted4 ,it does not appear1       
however1 that supernaturalists have     
attained to any agreement about these   
matters1 or that history indicates a    
widening of the influence of            
supernaturalism on practice1 with the   

onward flow of time4 ,on the contrary1  
the various religions are1 to a great   
extent1 mutually exclusive2 and their   
adherents delight in charging each      
other1 not merely with error1 but with  
criminality1 deserving and ensuing      
punishment of infinite severity4 ,in    
singular contrast with natural          
knowledge1 again1 the acquaintance of   
mankind with the supernatural appears   
the more extensive and the more exact1  
and the influence of supernatural       
doctrines upon conduct the greater1 the 
further back we go in time and the lower
 the stage of civilisation submitted to 
investigation4 ,historically1 indeed1   
there would seem to be an inverse       
relation between supernatural and       
natural knowledge4 ,as the latter has   
widened1 gained in precision and in     
trustworthiness1 so has the former      
shrunk1 grown vague and questionable2 as
 the one has more and more filled the   
sphere of action1 so has the other      
retreated into the region of meditation1

 or vanished behind the screen of mere  
verbal recognition4  ,whether this      
difference of the fortunes of           
,naturalism and of ,supernaturalism is  
an indication of the progress1 or of the
 regress1 of humanity2 of a fall from1  
or an advance towards1 the higher life2 
is a matter of opinion4 ,the point to   
which ,i wish to direct attention is    
that the difference exists and is making
 itself felt4 ,men are growing to be    
seriously alive to the fact that the    
historical evolution of humanity1 which 
is generally1 and ,i venture to think   
not unreasonably1 regarded as progress1 
has been1 and is being1 accompanied by a
 co-ordinate elimination of the         
supernatural from its originally large  
occupation of men's thoughts4 ,the      
question--,how far is this process to   
go8--is1 in my apprehension1 the        
,controverted ,question of our time4    
99       99       99       99       99  
,controversy on this matter--prolonged1 
bitter1 and fought out with the weapons 

of the flesh1 as well as with those of  
the spirit--is no new thing to          
,englishmen4 ,we have been more or less 
occupied with it these five hundred     
years4 ,and1 during that time1 we have  
made attempts to establish a modus      
vivendi between the antagonists1 some of
 which have had a world-wide influence2 
though1 unfortunately1 none have proved 
universally and permanently             
satisfactory4  ,in the fourteenth       
century1 the controverted question among
 us was1 whether certain portions of the
 ,supernaturalism of medival            
,christianity were well-founded4 ,john  
,wicliff proposed a solution of the     
problem which1 in the course of the     
following two hundred years1 acquired   
wide popularity and vast historical     
importance3 ,lollards1 ,hussites1       
,lutherans1 ,calvinists1 ,zwinglians1   
,socinians1 and ,anabaptists1 whatever  
their disagreements1 concurred in the   
proposal to reduce the ,supernaturalism 
of ,christianity within the limits      

sanctioned by the ,scriptures4 ,none of 
the chiefs of ,protestantism called in  
question either the supernatural origin 
and infallible authority of the ,bible1 
or the exactitude of the account of the 
supernatural world given in its pages4  
,in fact1 they could not afford to      
entertain any doubt about these points1 
since the infallible ,bible was the     
fulcrum of the lever with which they    
were endeavouring to upset the ,chair of
 ,st4 ,peter4 ,the freedom of private   
judgment which they proclaimed1 meant no
 more1 in practice1 than permission to  
themselves to make free with the public 
judgment of the ,roman ,church1 in      
respect of the canon and of the meaning 
to be attached to the words of the      
canonical books4 ,private judgment--that
 is to say1 reason--was 7theoretically1 
at any rate7 at liberty to decide what  
books were and what were not to take the
 rank of ,scripture2 and to determine   
the sense of any passage in such books4 
,but this sense1 once ascertained to the

 mind of the sectary1 was to be taken   
for pure truth--for the very word of    
,god4 ,the controversial efficiency of  
the principle of biblical infallibility 
lay in the fact that the conservative   
adversaries of the ,reformers were not  
in a position to contravene it without  
entangling themselves in serious        
difficulties2 while1 since both ,papists
 and ,protestants agreed in taking      
efficient measures to stop the mouths of
 any more radical critics1 these did not
 count4  ,the impotence of their        
adversaries1 however1 did not remove the
 inherent weakness of the position of   
the ,protestants4 ,the dogma of the     
infallibility of the ,bible is no more  
self-evident than is that of the        
infallibility of the ,pope4 ,if the     
former is held by faith1 then the latter
 may be4 ,if the latter is to be        
accepted1 or rejected1 by private       
judgment1 why not the former8 ,even if  
the ,bible could be proved anywhere to  
assert its own infallibility1 the value 

of that self-assertion to those who     
dispute the point is not obvious4 ,on   
the other hand1 if the infallibility of 
the ,bible was rested on that of a      
primitive ,church1 the admission that   
the ,church was formerly infallible was 
awkward in the extreme for those who    
denied its present infallibility4       
,moreover1 no sooner was the ,protestant
 principle applied to practice1 than it 
became evident that even an infallible  
text1 when manipulated by private       
judgment1 will impartially countenance  
contradictory deductions2 and furnish   
forth creeds and confessions as diverse 
as the quality and the information of   
the intellects which exercise1 and the  
prejudices and passions which sway1 such
 judgments4 ,every sect1 confident in   
the derivative infallibility of its     
wire-drawing of infallible materials1   
was ready to supply its contingent of   
martyrs2 and to enable history1 once    
more1 to illustrate the truth1 that     
steadfastness under persecution says    

much for the sincerity and still more   
for the tenacity1 of the believer1 but  
very little for the objective truth of  
that which he believes4 ,no martyrs have
 sealed their faith with their blood    
more steadfastly than the ,anabaptists4 
,last1 but not least1 the ,protestant   
principle contained within itself the   
germs of the destruction of the         
finality1 which the ,lutheran1          
,calvinistic1 and other ,protestant     
,churches fondly imagined they had      
reached4 ,since their creeds were       
professedly based on the canonical      
,scriptures1 it followed that1 in the   
long run1 whoso settled the canon       
defined the creed4 ,if the private      
judgment of ,luther might legitimately  
conclude that the epistle of ,james was 
contemptible1 while the epistles of     
,paul contained the very essence of     
,christianity1 it must be permissible   
for some other private judgment1 on as  
good or as bad grounds1 to reverse these
 conclusions2 the critical process which

 excluded the ,apocrypha could not be   
barred1 at any rate by people who       
rejected the authority of the ,church1  
from extending its operations to        
,daniel1 the ,canticles1 and            
,ecclesiastes2 nor1 having got so far1  
was it easy to allege any good ground   
for staying the further progress of     
criticism4 ,in fact1 the logical        
development of ,protestantism could not 
fail to lay the authority of the        
,scriptures at the feet of ,reason2 and1
 in the hands of latitudinarian and     
rationalistic theologians1 the despotism
 of the ,bible was rapidly converted    
into an extremely limited monarchy4     
,treated with as much respect as ever1  
the sphere of its practical authority   
was minimised2 and its decrees were     
valid only so far as they were          
countersigned by common sense1 the      
responsible minister4  ,the champions of
 ,protestantism are much given to       
glorify the ,reformation of the         
sixteenth century as the emancipation of

 ,reason2 but it may be doubted if their
 contention has any solid ground2 while 
there is a good deal of evidence to     
show1 that aspirations after            
intellectual freedom had nothing        
whatever to do with the movement4       
,dante1 who struck the ,papacy as hard  
blows as ,wicliff2 ,wicliff himself and 
,luther himself1 when they began their  
work2 were far enough from any intention
 of meddling with even the most         
irrational of the dogmas of medival     
,supernaturalism4 ,from ,wicliff to     
,socinus1 or even to ,mnzer1 ,rothmann1 
and ,john of ,leyden1 ,i fail to find a 
trace of any desire to set reason free4 
,the most that can be discovered is a   
proposal to change masters4 ,from being 
the slave of the ,papacy the intellect  
was to become the serf of the ,bible2   
or1 to speak more accurately1 of        
somebody's interpretation of the ,bible1
 which1 rapidly shifting its attitude   
from the humility of a private judgment 
to the arrogant ,csaro-papistry of a    

state-enforced creed1 had no more       
hesitation about forcibly extinguishing 
opponent private judgments and judges1  
than had the old-fashioned              
,pontiff-papistry4  ,it was the         
iniquities1 and not the irrationalities1
 of the ,papal system that lay at the   
bottom of the revolt of the laity2 which
 was1 essentially1 an attempt to shake  
off the intolerable burden of certain   
practical deductions from a             
,supernaturalism in which everybody1 in 
principle1 acquiesced4 ,what was the    
gain to intellectual freedom of         
abolishing transubstantiation1 image    
worship1 indulgences1 ecclesiastical    
infallibility2 if consubstantiation1    
real-unreal presence mystifications1 the
 bibliolatry1 the inner-light           
pretensions1 and the demonology1 which  
are fruits of the same supernaturalistic
 tree1 remained in enjoyment of the     
spiritual and temporal support of a new 
infallibility8 ,one does not free a     
prisoner by merely scraping away the    

rust from his shackles4  ,it will be    
asked1 perhaps1 was not the ,reformation
 one of the products of that great      
outbreak of many-sided free mental      
activity included under the general head
 of the ,renascence8 ,melanchthon1      
,ulrich von ,hutten1 ,beza1 were they   
not all humanists8 ,was not the         
arch-humanist1 ,erasmus1 fautor-in-chief
 of the ,reformation1 until he got      
frightened and basely deserted it8      
,from the language of ,protestant       
historians1 it would seem that they     
often forget that ,reformation and      
,protestantism are by no means          
convertible terms4 ,there were plenty of
 sincere and indeed zealous reformers1  
before1 during1 and after the birth and 
growth of ,protestantism1 who would have
 nothing to do with it4 ,assuredly1 the 
rejuvenescence of science and of art2   
the widening of the field of ,nature by 
geographical and astronomical discovery2
 the revelation of the noble ideals of  
antique literature by the revival of    

classical learning2 the stir of thought1
 throughout all classes of society1 by  
the printers' work1 loosened traditional
 bonds and weakened the hold of medival 
,supernaturalism4 ,in the interests of  
liberal culture and of national welfare1
 the humanists were eager to lend a hand
 to anything which tended to the        
discomfiture of their sworn enemies1 the
 monks1 and they willingly supported    
every movement in the direction of      
weakening ecclesiastical interference   
with civil life4 ,but the bond of a     
common enemy was the only real tie      
between the humanist and the protestant2
 their alliance was bound to be of short
 duration1 and1 sooner or later1 to be  
replaced by internecine warfare4 ,the   
goal of the humanists1 whether they were
 aware of it or not1 was the attainment 
of the complete intellectual freedom of 
the antique philosopher1 than which     
nothing could be more abhorrent to a    
,luther1 a ,calvin1 a ,beza1 or a       
,zwingli4  ,the key to the comprehension

 of the conduct of ,erasmus1 seems to me
 to lie in the clear apprehension of    
this fact4 ,that he was a man of many   
weaknesses may be true2 in fact1 he was 
quite aware of them and professed       
himself no hero4 ,but he never deserted 
that reformatory movement which he      
originally contemplated2 and it was     
impossible he should have deserted the  
specifically ,protestant reformation in 
which he never took part4 ,he was       
essentially a theological whig1 to whom 
radicalism was as hateful as it is to   
all whigs2 or1 to borrow a still more   
appropriate comparison from modern      
times1 a broad churchman who refused to 
enlist with either the ,high ,church or 
the ,low ,church zealots1 and paid the  
penalty of being called coward1         
time-server and traitor1 by both4 ,yet  
really there is a good deal in his      
pathetic remonstrance that he does not  
see why he is bound to become a martyr  
for that in which he does not believe2  
and a fair consideration of the         

circumstances and the consequences of   
the ,protestant reformation seems to me 
to go a long way towards justifying the 
course he adopted4  ,few men had better 
means of being acquainted with the      
condition of ,europe2 none could be more
 competent to gauge the intellectual    
shallowness and self-contradiction of   
the ,protestant criticism of ,catholic  
doctrine2 and to estimate1 at its proper
 value1 the fond imagination that the   
waters let out by the ,renascence would 
come to rest amidst the blind alleys of 
the new ecclesiasticism4 ,the bastard1  
whilom poor student and monk1 become the
 familiar of bishops and princes1 at    
home in all grades of society1 could not
 fail to be aware of the gravity of the 
social position1 of the dangers imminent
 from the profligacy and indifference of
 the ruling classes1 no less than from  
the anarchical tendencies of the people 
who groaned under their oppression4 ,the
 wanderer who had lived in ,germany1 in 
,france1 in ,england1 in ,italy1 and who

 counted many of the best and most      
influential men in each country among   
his friends1 was not likely to estimate 
wrongly the enormous forces which were  
still at the command of the ,papacy4    
,bad as the churchmen might be1 the     
statesmen were worse2 and a person of   
far more sanguine temperament than      
,erasmus might have seen no hope for the
 future1 except in gradually freeing the
 ubiquitous organisation of the ,church 
from the corruptions which alone1 as he 
imagined1 prevented it from being as    
beneficent as it was powerful4 ,the     
broad tolerance of the scholar and man  
of the world might well be revolted by  
the ruffianism1 however genial1 of one  
great light of ,protestantism1 and the  
narrow fanaticism1 however learned and  
logical1 of others2 and to a cautious   
thinker1 by whom1 whatever his          
shortcomings1 the ethical ideal of the  
,christian evangel was sincerely prized1
 it really was a fair question1 whether 
it was worth while to bring about a     

political and social deluge1 the end of 
which no mortal could foresee1 for the  
purpose of setting up ,lutheran1        
,zwinglian1 and other ,peterkins1 in the
 place of the actual claimant to the    
reversion of the spiritual wealth of the
 ,galilean fisherman4  ,let us suppose  
that1 at the beginning of the ,lutheran 
and ,zwinglian movement1 a vision of its
 immediate consequences had been granted
 to ,erasmus2 imagine that to the       
spectre of the fierce outbreak of       
,anabaptist communism1 which opened the 
apocalypse1 had succeeded1 in shadowy   
procession1 the reign of terror and of  
spoliation in ,england1 with the        
judicial murders of his friends1 ,more  
and ,fisher2 the bitter tyranny of      
evangelistic clericalism in ,geneva and 
in ,scotland2 the long agony of         
religious wars1 persecutions1 and       
massacres1 which devastated ,france and 
reduced ,germany almost to savagery2    
finishing with the spectacle of         
,lutheranism in its native country sunk 

into mere dead ,erastian formalism1     
before it was a century old2 while      
,jesuitry triumphed over ,protestantism 
in three-fourths of ,europe1 bringing in
 its train a recrudescence of all the   
corruptions ,erasmus and his friends    
sought to abolish2 might not he have    
quite honestly thought this a somewhat  
too heavy price to pay for              
,protestantism2 more especially1 since  
no one was in a better position than    
himself to know how little the dogmatic 
foundation of the new confessions was   
able to bear the light which the        
inevitable progress of humanistic       
criticism would throw upon them8 ,as the
 wiser of his contemporaries saw1       
,erasmus was1 at heart1 neither         
,protestant nor ,papist1 but an         
,independent ,christian2 and1 as the    
wiser of his modern biographers have    
discerned1 he was the precursor1 not of 
sixteenth century reform1 but of        
eighteenth century enlightenment2 a sort
 of broad-church ,voltaire1 who held by 

his ,independent ,christianity as       
stoutly as ,voltaire by his ,deism4  ,in
 fact1 the stream of the ,renascence1   
which bore ,erasmus along1 left         
,protestantism stranded amidst the      
mudbanks of its articles and creeds3    
while its true course became visible to 
all men1 two centuries later4 ,by this  
time1 those in whom the movement of the 
,renascence was incarnate became aware  
what spirit they were of2 and they      
attacked ,supernaturalism in its        
,biblical stronghold1 defended by       
,protestants and ,romanists with equal  
zeal4 ,in the eyes of the ,patriarch1   
,ultramontanism1 ,jansenism1 and        
,calvinism were merely three persons of 
the one ,infme which it was the object  
of his life to crush4 ,if he hated one  
more than another1 it was probably the  
last2 while ,d',holbach1 and the extreme
 left of the free-thinking host1 were   
disposed to show no more mercy to ,deism
 and ,pantheism4  ,the sceptical        
insurrection of the eighteenth century  

made a terrific noise and frightened not
 a few worthy people out of their wits2 
but cool judges might have foreseen1 at 
the outset1 that the efforts of the     
later rebels were no more likely than   
those of the earlier1 to furnish        
permanent resting-places for the spirit 
of scientific inquiry4 ,however worthy  
of admiration may be the acuteness1 the 
common sense1 the wit1 the broad        
humanity1 which abound in the writings  
of the best of the free-thinkers2 there 
is rarely much to be said for their work
 as an example of the adequate treatment
 of a grave and difficult investigation4
 ,i do not think any impartial judge    
will assert that1 from this point of    
view1 they are much better than their   
adversaries4 ,it must be admitted that  
they share to the full the fatal        
weakness of a priori philosophising1 no 
less than the moral frivolity common to 
their age2 while a singular want of     
appreciation of history1 as the record  
of the moral and social evolution of the

 human race1 permitted them to resort to
 preposterous theories of imposture1 in 
order to account for the religious      
phenomena which are natural products of 
that evolution4  ,for the most part1 the
 ,romanist and ,protestant adversaries  
of the free-thinkers met them with      
arguments no better than their own2 and 
with vituperation1 so far inferior that 
it lacked the wit4 ,but one great       
,christian ,apologist fairly captured   
the guns of the free-thinking array1 and
 turned their batteries upon themselves4
 ,speculative infidelity of the         
eighteenth century type was mortally    
wounded by the ,analogy2 while the      
progress of the historical and          
psychological sciences brought to light 
the important part played by the        
mythopoeic faculty2 and1 by             
demonstrating the extreme readiness of  
men to impose upon themselves1 rendered 
the calling in of sacerdotal            
cooperation1 in most cases1 a           
superfluity4  ,again1 as in the         

fourteenth and the sixteenth centuries1 
social and political influences came    
into play4 ,the free-thinking           
philosophes1 who objected to ,rousseau's
 sentimental religiosity almost as much 
as they did to ,l',infme1 were credited 
with the responsibility for all the evil
 deeds of ,rousseau's ,jacobin          
disciples1 with about as much           
justification as ,wicliff was held      
responsible for the ,peasants' revolt1  
or ,luther for the ,bauern-krieg4 ,in   
,england1 though our ancien rgime was   
not altogether lovely1 the social       
edifice was never in such a bad way as  
in ,france2 it was still capable of     
being repaired2 and our forefathers1    
very wisely1 preferred to wait until    
that operation could be safely          
performed1 rather than pull it all down 
about their ears1 in order to build a   
philosophically planned house on        
brand-new speculative foundations4      
,under these circumstances1 it is not   
wonderful that1 in this country1        

practical men preferred the gospel of   
,wesley and ,whitfield to that of ,jean 
,jacques2 while enough of the old leaven
 of ,puritanism remained to ensure the  
favour and support of a large number of 
religious men to a revival of           
evangelical supernaturalism4 ,thus1 by  
degrees1 the free-thinking1 or the      
indifference1 prevalent among us in the 
first half of the eighteenth century1   
was replaced by a strong                
supernaturalistic reaction1 which       
submerged the work of the free-thinkers2
 and even seemed1 for a time1 to have   
arrested the naturalistic movement of   
which that work was an imperfect        
indication4 ,yet1 like ,lollardry1 four 
centuries earlier1 free-thought merely  
took to running underground1 safe1      
sooner or later1 to return to the       
surface4         99       99       99   
99       99  ,my memory1 unfortunately1 
carries me back to the fourth decade of 
the nineteenth century1 when the        
evangelical flood had a little abated   

and the tops of certain mountains were  
soon to appear1 chiefly in the          
neighbourhood of ,oxford2 but when      
nevertheless1 bibliolatry was rampant2  
when church and chapel alike proclaimed1
 as the oracles of ,god1 the crude      
assumptions of the worst informed and1  
in natural sequence1 the most           
presumptuously bigoted1 of all          
theological schools4  ,in accordance    
with promises made on my behalf1 but    
certainly without my authorisation1 ,i  
was very early taken to hear sermons in 
the vulgar tongue4 ,and vulgar enough   
often was the tongue in which some      
preacher1 ignorant alike of literature1 
of history1 of science1 and even of     
theology1 outside that patronised by his
 own narrow school1 poured forth1 from  
the safe entrenchment of the pulpit1    
invectives against those who deviated   
from his notion of orthodoxy4 ,from dark
 allusions to sceptics and infidels1 ,i 
became aware of the existence of people 
who trusted in carnal reason2 who       

audaciously doubted that the world was  
made in six natural days1 or that the   
deluge was universal2 perhaps even went 
so far as to question the literal       
accuracy of the story of ,eve's         
temptation1 or of ,balaam's ass2 and1   
from the horror of the tones in which   
they were mentioned1 ,i should have been
 justified in drawing the conclusion    
that these rash men belonged to the     
criminal classes4 ,at the same time1    
those who were more directly responsible
 for providing me with the knowledge    
essential to the right guidance of life 
7and who sincerely desired to do so71   
imagined they were discharging that most
 sacred duty by impressing upon my      
childish mind the necessity1 on pain of 
reprobation in this world and damnation 
in the next1 of accepting1 in the strict
 and literal sense1 every statement     
contained in the ,protestant ,bible4 ,i 
was told to believe1 and ,i did believe1
 that doubt about any of them was a sin1
 not less reprehensible than a moral    

delict4 ,i suppose that1 out of a       
thousand of my contemporaries1 nine     
hundred1 at least1 had their minds      
systematically warped and poisoned1 in  
the name of the ,god of truth1 by like  
discipline4 ,i am sure that1 even a     
score of years later1 those who ventured
 to question the exact historical       
accuracy of any part of the ,old        
,testament and a fortiori of the        
,gospels1 had to expect a pitiless      
shower of verbal missiles1 to say       
nothing of the other disagreeable       
consequences which visit those who1 in  
any way1 run counter to that chaos of   
prejudices called public opinion4  ,my  
recollections of this time have recently
 been revived by the perusal of a       
remarkable document1#i signed by as many
 as thirty-eight out of the twenty odd  
thousand clergymen of the ,established  
,church4 ,it does not appear that the   
signataries are officially accredited   
spokesmen of the ecclesiastical         
corporation to which they belong2 but ,i

 feel bound to take their word for it1  
that they are stewards of the ,lord1 who
 have received the ,holy ,ghost1 and1   
therefore1 to accept this memorial as   
evidence that1 though the ,evangelicism 
of my early days may be deposed from its
 place of power1 though so many of the  
colleagues of the thirty-eight even     
repudiate the title of ,protestants1 yet
 the green bay tree of bibliolatry      
flourishes as it did sixty years ago4   
,and1 as in those good old times1 whoso 
refuses to offer incense to the idol is 
held to be guilty of a dishonour to     
,god1 imperilling his salvation4  ,it is
 to the credit of the perspicacity of   
the memorialists that they discern the  
real nature of the ,controverted        
,question of the age4 ,they are awake to
 the unquestionable fact that1 if       
,scripture has been discovered not to be
 worthy of unquestioning belief1 faith  
in the supernatural itself is1 so far1  
undermined4 ,and ,i may congratulate    
myself upon such weighty confirmation of

 an opinion in which ,i have had the    
fortune to anticipate them4 ,but whether
 it is more to the credit of the        
courage1 than to the intelligence1 of   
the thirty-eight that they should go on 
to proclaim that the canonical          
scriptures of the ,old and ,new         
,testaments declare incontrovertibly the
 actual historical truth in all records1
 both of past events and of the delivery
 of predictions to be thereafter        
fulfilled1 must be left to the coming   
generation to decide4  ,the interest    
which attaches to this singular document
 will1 ,i think1 be based by most       
thinking men1 not upon what it is1 but  
upon that of which it is a sign4 ,it is 
an open secret1 that the memorial is put
 forth as a counterblast to a           
manifestation of opinion of a contrary  
character1 on the part of certain       
members of the same ecclesiastical body1
 who therefore have1 as ,i suppose1 an  
equal right to declare themselves       
stewards of the ,lord and recipients of 

the ,holy ,ghost4 ,in fact1 the stream  
of tendency towards ,naturalism1 the    
course of which ,i have briefly traced1 
has1 of late years1 flowed so strongly1 
that even the ,churches have begun1 ,i  
dare not say to drift1 but1 at any rate1
 to swing at their moorings4 ,within the
 pale of the ,anglican establishment1 ,i
 venture to doubt1 whether1 at this     
moment1 there are as many thorough-going
 defenders of plenary inspiration as    
there were timid questioners of that    
doctrine1 half a century ago4           
,commentaries1 sanctioned by the highest
 authority1 give up the actual          
historical truth of the cosmogonical and
 diluvial narratives4 ,university       
professors of deservedly high repute    
accept the critical decision that the   
,hexateuch is a compilation1 in which   
the share of ,moses1 either as author or
 as editor1 is not quite so clearly     
demonstrable as it might be2 highly     
placed ,divines tell us that the        
pre-,abrahamic ,scripture narratives may

 be ignored2 that the book of ,daniel   
may be regarded as a patriotic romance  
of the second century ,b4,c42 that the  
words of the writer of the fourth       
,gospel are not always to be            
distinguished from those which he puts  
into the mouth of ,jesus4 ,conservative1
 but conscientious1 revisers decide that
 whole passages1 some of dogmatic and   
some of ethical importance1 are         
interpolations4 ,an uneasy sense of the 
weakness of the dogma of ,biblical      
infallibility seems to be at the bottom 
of a prevailing tendency once more to   
substitute the authority of the ,church 
for that of the ,bible4 ,in my old age1 
it has happened to me to be taken to    
task for regarding ,christianity as a   
religion of a book as gravely as1 in my 
youth1 ,i should have been reprehended  
for doubting that proposition4 ,it is a 
no less interesting symptom that the    
,state ,church seems more and more      
anxious to repudiate all complicity with
 the principles of the ,protestant      

,reformation and to call itself         
,anglo-,catholic4 ,inspiration1 deprived
 of its old intelligible sense1 is      
watered down into a mystification4 ,the 
,scriptures are1 indeed1 inspired2 but  
they contain a wholly undefined and     
indefinable human element2 and this     
unfortunate intruder is converted into a
 sort of biblical whipping boy4         
,whatsoever scientific investigation1   
historical or physical1 proves to be    
erroneous1 the human element bears the  
blame2 while the divine inspiration of  
such statements1 as by their nature are 
out of reach of proof or disproof1 is   
still asserted with all the vigour      
inspired by conscious safety from       
attack4 ,though the proposal to treat   
the ,bible like any other book which    
caused so much scandal1 forty years ago1
 may not yet be generally accepted1 and 
though ,bishop ,colenso's criticisms may
 still lie1 formally1 under             
ecclesiastical ban1 yet the ,church has 
not wholly turned a deaf ear to the     

voice of the scientific tempter2 and    
many a coy divine1 while crying ,i will 
ne'er consent1 has consented to the     
proposals of that scientific criticism  
which the memorialists renounce and     
denounce4  ,a humble layman1 to whom it 
would seem the height of presumption to 
assume even the unconsidered dignity of 
a steward of science1 may well find this
 conflict of apparently equal           
ecclesiastical authorities              
perplexing--suggestive1 indeed1 of the  
wisdom of postponing attention to       
either1 until the question of precedence
 between them is settled4 ,and this     
course will probably appear the more    
advisable1 the more closely the         
fundamental position of the memorialists
 is examined4  ,no opinion of the fact  
or form of ,divine ,revelation1 founded 
on literary criticism and ,i suppose ,i 
may add historical1 or physical1        
criticism of the ,scriptures themselves1
 can be admitted to interfere with the  
traditionary testimony of the ,church1  

when that has been once ascertained and 
verified by appeal to antiquity4#aj     
,grant that it is the traditionary      
testimony of the ,church which          
guarantees the canonicity of each and   
all of the books of the ,old and ,new   
,testaments4 ,grant also that canonicity
 means infallibility2 yet1 according to 
the thirty-eight1 this traditionary     
testimony has to be ascertained and     
verified by appeal to antiquity4 ,but   
ascertainment and verification are      
purely intellectual processes1 which    
must be conducted according to the      
strict rules of scientific              
investigation1 or be self-convicted of  
worthlessness4 ,moreover1 before we can 
set about the appeal to antiquity1 the  
exact sense of that usefully vague term 
must be defined by similar means4       
,antiquity may include any number of    
centuries1 great or small2 and whether  
antiquity is to comprise the ,council of
 ,trent1 or to stop a little beyond that
 of ,nica1 or to come to an end in the  

time of ,irennus1 or in that of ,justin 
,martyr1 are knotty questions which can 
be decided1 if at all1 only by those    
critical methods which the signataries  
treat so cavalierly4 ,and yet the       
decision of these questions is          
fundamental1 for as the limits of the   
canonical scriptures vary1 so may the   
dogmas deduced from them require        
modification4 ,christianity is one      
thing1 if the fourth ,gospel1 the       
,epistle to the ,hebrews1 the pastoral  
,epistles1 and the ,apocalypse are      
canonical and 7by the hypothesis7       
infallibly true2 and another thing1 if  
they are not4 ,as ,i have already said1 
whoso defines the canon defines the     
creed4  ,now it is quite certain with   
respect to some of these books1 such as 
the ,apocalypse and the ,epistle to the 
,hebrews1 that the ,eastern and the     
,western ,church differed in opinion for
 centuries2 and yet neither the one     
branch nor the other can have considered
 its judgment infallible1 since they    

eventually agreed to a transaction by   
which each gave up its objection to the 
book patronised by the other4 ,moreover1
 the fathers argue 7in a more or less   
rational manner7 about the canonicity of
 this or that book1 and are by no means 
above producing evidence1 internal and  
external1 in favour of the opinions they
 advocate4 ,in fact1 imperfect as their 
conceptions of scientific method may be1
 they not unfrequently used it to the   
best of their ability4 ,thus it would   
appear that though science1 like        
,nature1 may be driven out with a fork1 
ecclesiastical or other1 yet she surely 
comes back again4 ,the appeal to        
antiquity is1 in fact1 an appeal to     
science1 first to define what antiquity 
is2 secondly1 to determine what         
antiquity1 so defined1 says about       
canonicity2 thirdly1 to prove that      
canonicity means infallibility4 ,and    
when science1 largely in the shape of   
the abhorred criticism1 has answered    
this appeal1 and has shown that         

antiquity used her own methods1 however 
clumsily and imperfectly1 she naturally 
turns round upon the appellants1 and    
demands that they should show cause why1
 in these days1 science should not      
resume the work the ancients did so     
imperfectly1 and carry it out           
efficiently4  ,but no such cause can be 
shown4 ,if antiquity permitted          
,eusebius1 ,origen1 ,tertullian1        
,irenus1 to argue for the reception of  
this book into the canon and the        
rejection of that1 upon rational        
grounds1 antiquity admitted the whole   
principle of modern criticism4 ,if      
,irenus produces ridiculous reasons for 
limiting the ,gospels to four1 it was   
open to any one else to produce good    
reasons 7if he had them7 for cutting    
them down to three1 or increasing them  
to five4 ,if the ,eastern branch of the 
,church had a right to reject the       
,apocalypse and accept the ,epistle to  
the ,hebrews1 and the ,western an equal 
right to accept the ,apocalypse and     

reject the ,epistle1 down to the fourth 
century1 any other branch would have an 
equal right1 on cause shown1 to reject  
both1 or1 as the ,catholic ,church      
afterwards actually did1 to accept both4
  ,thus ,i cannot but think that the    
thirty-eight are hoist with their own   
petard4 ,their appeal to antiquity turns
 out to be nothing but a round-about way
 of appealing to the tribunal1 the      
jurisdiction of which they affect to    
deny4 ,having rested the world of       
,christian supernaturalism on the       
elephant of biblical infallibility1 and 
furnished the elephant with standing    
ground on the tortoise of antiquity1    
they1 like their famous ,hindoo         
analogue1 have been content to look no  
further2 and have thereby been spared   
the horror of discovering that the      
tortoise rests on a grievously fragile  
construction1 to a great extent the work
 of that very intellectual operation    
which they anathematise and repudiate4  
,moreover1 there is another point to be 

considered4 ,it is of course true that a
 ,christian ,church 7whether the        
,christian ,church1 or not1 depends on  
the connotation of the definite article7
 existed before the ,christian          
scriptures2 and that the infallibility  
of these depends upon the infallibility 
of the judgment of the persons who      
selected the books of which they are    
composed1 out of the mass of literature 
current among the early ,christians4    
,the logical acumen of ,augustine showed
 him that the authority of the ,gospel  
he preached must rest on that of the    
,church to which he belonged4#aa ,but it
 is no less true that the ,hebrew and   
the ,septuagint versions of most1 if not
 all1 of the ,old ,testament books      
existed before the birth of ,jesus of   
,nazareth2 and that their divine        
authority is presupposed by1 and        
therefore can hardly depend upon1 the   
religious body constituted by his       
disciples4 ,as everybody knows1 the very
 conception of a ,christ is purely      

,jewish4 ,the validity of the argument  
from the ,messianic prophecies vanishes 
unless their infallible authority is    
granted2 and1 as a matter of fact1      
whether we turn to the ,gospels1 the    
,epistles1 or the writings of the early 
,apologists1 the ,jewish scriptures are 
recognised as the highest court of      
appeal of the ,christian4  ,the proposal
 to cite ,christian antiquity as a      
witness to the infallibility of the ,old
 ,testament1 when its own claims to     
authority vanish1 if certain            
propositions contained in the ,old      
,testament are erroneous1 hardly        
satisfies the requirements of lay logic4
 ,it is as if a claimant to be sole     
legatee1 under another kind of          
testament1 should offer his assertion as
 sufficient evidence of the validity of 
the will4 ,and1 even were not such a    
circular1 or rather rotatory1 argument1 
that the infallibility of the ,bible is 
testified by the infallible ,church1    
whose infallibility is testified by the 

infallible ,bible1 too absurd for       
serious consideration1 it remains       
permissible to ask1 ,where and when the 
,church1 during the period of its       
infallibility1 as limited by ,anglican  
dogmatic necessities1 has officially    
decreed the actual historical truth of  
all records in the ,old ,testament8 ,was
 ,augustine heretical when he denied the
 actual historical truth of the record  
of the ,creation8 ,father ,suarez1      
standing on later ,roman tradition1 may 
have a right to declare that he was2 but
 it does not lie in the mouth of those  
who limit their appeal to that early    
antiquity1 in which ,augustine played so
 great a part1 to say so4         99    
99       99       99       99  ,among   
the watchers of the course of the world 
of thought1 some view with delight and  
some with horror1 the recrudescence of  
,supernaturalism which manifests itself 
among us1 in shapes ranged along the    
whole flight of steps1 which1 in this   
case1 separates the sublime from the    

ridiculous--from ,neo-,catholicism and  
,inner-light mysticism1 at the top1 to  
unclean things1 not worthy of mention in
 the same breath1 at the bottom4 ,in my 
poor opinion1 the importance of these   
manifestations is often greatly         
over-estimated4 ,the extant forms of    
,supernaturalism have deep roots in     
human nature1 and will undoubtedly die  
hard2 but1 in these latter days1 they   
have to cope with an enemy whose full   
strength is only just beginning to be   
put out1 and whose forces1 gathering    
strength year by year1 are hemming them 
round on every side4 ,this enemy is     
,science1 in the acceptation of         
systematized natural knowledge1 which1  
during the last two centuries1 has      
extended those methods of investigation1
 the worth of which is confirmed by     
daily appeal to ,nature1 to every region
 in which the ,supernatural has hitherto
 been recognised4  ,when scientific     
historical criticism reduced the annals 
of heroic ,greece and of regal ,rome to 

the level of fables2 when the unity of  
authorship of the ,iliad was            
successfully assailed by scientific     
literary criticism2 when scientific     
physical criticism1 after exploding the 
geocentric theory of the universe and   
reducing the solar system itself to one 
of millions of groups of like cosmic    
specks1 circling1 at unimaginable       
distances from one another through      
infinite space1 showed the              
supernaturalistic theories of the       
duration of the earth and of life upon  
it1 to be as inadequate as those of its 
relative dimensions and importance had  
been2 it needed no prophetic gift to see
 that1 sooner or later1 the ,jewish and 
the early ,christian records would be   
treated in the same manner2 that the    
authorship of the ,hexateuch and of the 
,gospels would be as severely tested2   
and that the evidence in favour of the  
veracity of many of the statements found
 in the ,scriptures would have to be    
strong indeed1 if they were to be       

opposed to the conclusions of physical  
science4 ,in point of fact1 so far as ,i
 can discover1 no one competent to judge
 of the evidential strength of these    
conclusions1 ventures now to say that   
the biblical accounts of the creation   
and of the deluge are true in the       
natural sense of the words of the       
narratives4 ,the most modern            
,reconcilers venture upon is to affirm1 
that some quite different sense may he  
put upon the words2 and that this       
non-natural sense may1 with a little    
trouble1 be manipulated into some sort  
of noncontradiction of scientific truth4
  ,my purpose1 in the essay 7,,xvi47    
which treats of the narrative of the    
,deluge1 was to prove1 by physical      
criticism1 that no such event as that   
described ever took place2 to exhibit   
the untrustworthy character of the      
narrative demonstrated by literary      
criticism2 and1 finally1 to account for 
its origin1 by producing a form of those
 ancient legends of pagan ,chalda1 from 

which the biblical compilation is       
manifestly derived4 ,i have yet to learn
 that the main propositions of this     
essay can be seriously challenged4  ,in 
the essays 7,,ii41 ,,iii47 on the       
narrative of the ,creation1 ,i have     
endeavoured to controvert the assertion 
that modern science supports1 either the
 interpretation put upon it by ,mr4     
,gladstone1 or any interpretation which 
is compatible with the general sense of 
the narrative1 quite apart from         
particular details4 ,the first chapter  
of ,genesis teaches the supernatural    
creation of the present forms of life2  
modern science teaches that they have   
come about by evolution4 ,the first     
chapter of ,genesis teaches the         
successive origin--firstly1 of all the  
plants1 secondly1 of all the aquatic and
 aerial animals1 thirdly1 of all the    
terrestrial animals1 which now          
exist--during distinct intervals of     
time2 modern science teaches that1      
throughout all the duration of an       

immensely long past so far as we have   
any adequate knowledge of it 7that is as
 far back as the ,silurian epoch71      
plants1 aquatic1 aerial1 and terrestrial
 animals have co-existed2 that the      
earliest known are unlike those which at
 present exist2 and that the modern     
species have come into existence as the 
last terms of a series1 the members of  
which have appeared one after another4  
,thus1 far from confirming the account  
in ,genesis1 the results of modern      
science1 so far as they go1 are in      
principle1 as in detail1 hopelessly     
discordant with it4  ,yet1 if the       
pretensions to infallibility set up1 not
 by the ancient ,hebrew writings        
themselves1 but by the ecclesiastical   
champions and friends from whom they may
 well pray to be delivered1 thus shatter
 themselves against the rock of natural 
knowledge1 in respect of the two most   
important of all events1 the origin of  
things and the palingenesis of          
terrestrial life1 what historical credit

 dare any serious thinker attach to the 
narratives of the fabrication of ,eve1  
of the ,fall1 of the commerce between   
the ,bene ,elohim and the daughters of  
men1 which lie between the creational   
and the diluvial legends8 ,and1 if these
 are to lose all historical worth1 what 
becomes of the infallibility of those   
who1 according to the later scriptures1 
have accepted them1 argued from them1   
and staked far-reaching dogmatic        
conclusions upon their historical       
accuracy8  ,it is the merest ostrich    
policy for contemporary ecclesiasticism 
to try to hide its ,hexateuchal head--in
 the hope that the inseparable          
connection of its body with             
pre-,abrahamic legends may be           
overlooked4 ,the question will still be 
asked1 if the first nine chapters of the
 ,pentateuch are unhistorical1 how is   
the historical accuracy of the remainder
 to be guaranteed8 ,what more intrinsic 
claim has the story of the ,exodus than 
that of the ,deluge1 to belief8 ,if ,god

 did not walk in the ,garden of ,eden1  
how can we be assured that he spoke from
 ,sinai8         99       99       99   
99       99  ,in some other of the      
following essays 7,,ix41 ,x41 ,,xi41    
,,xii41 ,,xiv41 ,,xv47 ,i have          
endeavoured to show that sober and      
well-founded physical and literary      
criticism plays no less havoc with the  
doctrine that the canonical scriptures  
of the ,new ,testament declare          
incontrovertibly the actual historical  
truth in all records4 ,we are told that 
the ,gospels contain a true revelation  
of the spiritual world--a proposition   
which1 in one sense of the word         
spiritual1 ,i should not think it       
necessary to dispute4 ,but1 when it is  
taken to signify that everything we are 
told about the world of spirits in these
 books is infallibly true2 that we are  
bound to accept the demonology which    
constitutes an inseparable part of their
 teaching2 and to profess belief in a   
,supernaturalism as gross as that of any

 primitive people--it is at any rate    
permissible to ask why8 ,science may be 
unable to define the limits of          
possibility1 but it cannot escape from  
the moral obligation to weigh the       
evidence in favour of any alleged       
wonderful occurrence2 and ,i have       
endeavoured to show that the evidence   
for the ,gadarene miracle is altogether 
worthless4 ,we have simply three1       
partially discrepant1 versions of a     
story1 about the primitive form1 the    
origin1 and the authority for which we  
know absolutely nothing4 ,but the       
evidence in favour of the ,gadarene     
miracle is as good as that for any      
other4  ,elsewhere1 ,i have pointed out 
that it is utterly beside the mark to   
declaim against these conclusions on the
 ground of their asserted tendency to   
deprive mankind of the consolations of  
the ,christian faith1 and to destroy the
 foundations of morality2 still less to 
brand them with the question-begging    
vituperative appellation of infidelity4 

,the point is not whether they are      
wicked2 but1 whether1 from the point of 
view of scientific method1 they are     
irrefragably true4 ,if they are1 they   
will be accepted in time1 whether they  
are wicked1 or not wicked4 ,nature1 so  
far as we have been able to attain to   
any insight into her ways1 recks little 
about consolation and makes for         
righteousness by very round-about paths4
 ,and1 at any rate1 whatever may be     
possible for other people1 it is        
becoming less and less possible for the 
man who puts his faith in scientific    
methods of ascertaining truth1 and is   
accustomed to have that faith justified 
by daily experience1 to be consciously  
false to his principle in any matter4   
,but the number of such men1 driven into
 the use of scientific methods of       
inquiry and taught to trust them1 by    
their education1 their daily            
professional and business needs1 is     
increasing and will continually         
increase4 ,the phraseology of           

,supernaturalism may remain on men's    
lips1 but in practice they are          
,naturalists4 ,the magistrate who       
listens with devout attention to the    
precept ,thou shalt not suffer a witch  
to live on ,sunday1 on ,monday1         
dismisses1 as intrinsically absurd1 a   
charge of bewitching a cow brought      
against some old woman2 the             
superintendent of a lunatic asylum who  
substituted exorcism for rational modes 
of treatment would have but a short     
tenure of office2 even parish clerks    
doubt the utility of prayers for rain1  
so long as the wind is in the east2 and 
an outbreak of pestilence sends men1 not
 to the churches1 but to the drains4 ,in
 spite of prayers for the success of our
 arms and ,te ,deums for victory1 our   
real faith is in big battalions and     
keeping our powder dry2 in knowledge of 
the science of warfare2 in energy1      
courage1 and discipline4 ,in these1 as  
in all other practical affairs1 we act  
on the aphorism ,laborare est orare2 we 

admit that intelligent work is the only 
acceptable worship2 and that1 whether   
there be a ,supernature or not1 our     
business is with ,nature4         99    
99       99       99       99  ,it is   
important to note that the principle of 
the scientific ,naturalism of the latter
 half of the nineteenth century1 in     
which the intellectual movement of the  
,renascence has culminated1 and which   
was first clearly formulated by         
,descartes1 leads not to the denial of  
the existence of any ,supernature2#ab   
but simply to the denial of the validity
 of the evidence adduced in favour of   
this1 or of that1 extant form of        
,supernaturalism4  ,looking at the      
matter from the most rigidly scientific 
point of view1 the assumption that1     
amidst the myriads of worlds scattered  
through endless space1 there can be no  
intelligence1 as much greater than man's
 as his is greater than a blackbeetle's2
 no being endowed with powers of        
influencing the course of nature as much

 greater than his1 as his is greater    
than a snail's seems to me not merely   
baseless1 but impertinent4 ,without     
stepping beyond the analogy of that     
which is known1 it is easy to people the
 cosmos with entities1 in ascending     
scale1 until we reach something         
practically indistinguishable from      
omnipotence1 omnipresence1 and          
omniscience4 ,if our intelligence can1  
in some matters1 surely reproduce the   
past of thousands of years ago and      
anticipate the future1 thousands of     
years hence1 it is clearly within the   
limits of possibility that some greater 
intellect1 even of the same order1 may  
be able to mirror the whole past and the
 whole future2 if the universe is       
penetrated by a medium of such a nature 
that a magnetic needle on the earth     
answers to a commotion in the sun1 an   
omnipresent agent is also conceivable2  
if our insignificant knowledge gives us 
some influence over events1 practical   
omniscience may confer indefinably      

greater power4 ,finally1 if evidence    
that a thing may be1 were equivalent to 
proof that it is1 analogy might justify 
the construction of a naturalistic      
theology and demonology not less        
wonderful than the current supernatural2
 just as it might justify the peopling  
of ,mars1 or of ,jupiter1 with living   
forms to which terrestrial biology      
offers no parallel4 ,until human life is
 longer and the duties of the present   
press less heavily1 ,i do not think that
 wise men will occupy themselves with   
,jovian1 or ,martian1 natural history2  
and they will probably agree to a       
verdict of not proven in respect of     
naturalistic theology1 taking refuge in 
that agnostic confession1 which appears 
to me to be the only position for people
 who object to say that they know what  
they are quite aware they do not know4  
,as to the interests of morality1 ,i am 
disposed to think that if mankind could 
be got to act up to this last principle 
in every relation of life1 a reformation

 would be effected such as the world has
 not yet seen2 an approximation to the  
millennium1 such as no supernaturalistic
 religion has ever yet succeeded1 or    
seems likely ever to succeed1 in        
effecting4         99       99       99 
99       99  ,i have hitherto dwelt upon
 scientific ,naturalism chiefly in its  
critical and destructive aspect4 ,but   
the present incarnation of the spirit of
 the ,renascence differs from its       
predecessor in the eighteenth century1  
in that it builds up1 as well as pulls  
down4  ,that of which it has laid the   
foundation1 of which it is already      
raising the superstructure1 is the      
doctrine of evolution4 ,but so many     
strange misconceptions are current about
 this doctrine--it is attacked on such  
false grounds by its enemies1 and made  
to cover so much that is disputable by  
some of its friends1 that ,i think it   
well to define as clearly as ,i can1    
what ,i do not and what ,i do understand
 by the doctrine4  ,i have nothing to   

say to any ,philosophy of ,evolution4   
,attempts to construct such a philosophy
 may be as useful1 nay1 even as         
admirable1 as was the attempt of        
,descartes to get at a theory of the    
universe by the same a priori road2 but1
 in my judgment1 they are as premature4 
,nor1 for this purpose1 have ,i to do   
with any theory of the ,origin of       
,species1 much as ,i value that which is
 known as the ,darwinian theory4 ,that  
the doctrine of natural selection       
presupposes evolution is quite true2 but
 it is not true that evolution          
necessarily implies natural selection4  
,in fact1 evolution might conceivably   
have taken place without the development
 of groups possessing the characters of 
species4  ,for me1 the doctrine of      
evolution is no speculation1 but a      
generalisation of certain facts1 which  
may be observed by any one who will take
 the necessary trouble4 ,these facts are
 those which are classed by biologists  
under the heads of ,embryology and of   

,palontology4 ,embryology proves that   
every higher form of individual life    
becomes what it is by a process of      
gradual differentiation from an         
extremely low form2 palontology proves1 
in some cases1 and renders probable in  
all1 that the oldest types of a group   
are the lowest2 and that they have been 
followed by a gradual succession of more
 and more differentiated forms4 ,it is  
simply a fact1 that evolution of the    
individual animal and plant is taking   
place1 as a natural process1 in millions
 and millions of cases every day2 it is 
a fact1 that the species which have     
succeeded one another in the past1 do1  
in many cases1 present just those       
morphological relations1 which they must
 possess1 if they had proceeded1 one    
from the other1 by an analogous process 
of evolution4  ,the alternative         
presented1 therefore1 is3 either the    
forms of one and the same type--say1    
e4g41 that of the ,horse                
tribe#ac--;arose successively1 but      

independently of one another1 at        
intervals1 during myriads of years2 or1 
the later forms are modified descendants
 of the earlier4 ,and the latter        
supposition is so vastly more probable  
than the former1 that rational men will 
adopt it1 unless satisfactory evidence  
to the contrary can be produced4 ,the   
objection sometimes put forward1 that no
 one yet professes to have seen one     
species pass into another1 comes oddly  
from those who believe that mankind are 
all descended from ,adam4 ,has any one  
then yet seen the production of negroes 
from a white stock1 or vice vers8       
,moreover1 is it absolutely necessary to
 have watched every step of the progress
 of a planet1 to be justified in        
concluding that it really does go round 
the sun8 ,if so1 astronomy is in a bad  
way4  ,i do not1 for a moment1 presume  
to suggest that some one1 far better    
acquainted than ,i am with astronomy and
 physics2 or that a master of the new   
chemistry1 with its extraordinary       

revelations2 or that a student of the   
development of human society1 of        
language1 and of religions1 may not find
 a sufficient foundation for the        
doctrine of evolution in these several  
regions4 ,on the contrary1 ,i rejoice to
 see that scientific investigation1 in  
all directions1 is tending to the same  
result4 ,and it may well be1 that it is 
only my long occupation with biological 
matters that leads me to feel safer     
among them than anywhere else4 ,be that 
as it may1 ,i take my stand on the facts
 of embryology and of palontology2 and  
,i hold that our present knowledge of   
these facts is sufficiently thorough and
 extensive to justify the assertion that
 all future philosophical and           
theological speculations will have to   
accommodate themselves to some such     
common body of established truths as the
 following3--  #a4 ,plants and animals  
have existed on our planet for many     
hundred thousand1 probably millions1 of 
years4 ,during this time1 their forms1  

or species1 have undergone a succession 
of changes1 which eventually gave rise  
to the species which constitute the     
present living population of the earth4 
,there is no evidence1 nor any reason to
 suspect1 that this secular process of  
evolution is other than a part of the   
ordinary course of nature2 there is no  
more ground for imagining the occurrence
 of supernatural intervention1 at any   
moment in the development of species in 
the past1 than there is for supposing   
such intervention to take place1 at any 
moment in the development of an         
individual animal or plant1 at the      
present day4  #b4 ,at present1 every    
individual animal or plant commences its
 existence as an organism of extremely  
simple anatomical structure2 and it     
acquires all the complexity it          
ultimately possesses by gradual         
differentiation into parts of various   
structure and function4 ,when a series  
of specific forms of the same type1     
extending over a long period of past    

time1 is examined1 the relation between 
the earlier and the later forms is      
analogous to that between earlier and   
later stages of individual development4 
,therefore1 it is a probable conclusion 
that1 if we could follow living beings  
back to their earlier states1 we should 
find them to present forms similar to   
those of the individual germ1 or1 what  
comes to the same thing1 of those lowest
 known organisms which stand upon the   
boundary line between plants and        
animals4 ,at present1 our knowledge of  
the ancient living world stops very far 
short of this point4  #c4 ,it is        
generally agreed1 and there is certainly
 no evidence to the contrary1 that all  
plants are devoid of consciousness2 that
 they neither feel1 desire1 nor think4  
,it is conceivable that the evolution of
 the primordial living substance should 
have taken place only along the plant   
line4 ,in that case1 the result might   
have been a wealth of vegetable life1 as
 great1 perhaps as varied1 as at        

present1 though certainly widely        
different from the present flora1 in the
 evolution of which animals have played 
so great a part4 ,but the living world  
thus constituted would be simply an     
admirable piece of unconscious          
machinery1 the working out of which lay 
potentially in its primitive            
composition2 pleasure and pain would    
have no place in it2 it would be a      
veritable ,garden of ,eden without any  
tree of the knowledge of good and evil4 
,the question of the moral government of
 such a world could no more be asked1   
than we could reasonably seek for a     
moral purpose in a kaleidoscope4  #d4   
,how far down the scale of animal life  
the phenomena of consciousness are      
manifested1 it is impossible to say4 ,no
 one doubts their presence in his       
fellow-men2 and1 unless any strict      
,cartesians are left1 no one doubts that
 mammals and birds are to be reckoned   
creatures that have feelings analogous  
to our smell1 taste1 sight1 hearing1    

touch1 pleasure1 and pain4 ,for my own  
part1 ,i should be disposed to extend   
this analogical judgment a good deal    
further4 ,on the other hand1 if the     
lowest forms of plants are to be denied 
consciousness1 ,i do not see on what    
ground it is to be ascribed to the      
lowest animals4 ,i find it hard to      
believe that an infusory animalcule1 a  
foraminifer1 or a fresh-water polype is 
capable of feeling2 and1 in spite of    
,shakspere1 ,i have doubts about the    
great sensitiveness of the poor beetle  
that we tread upon4 ,the question is    
equally perplexing when we turn to the  
stages of development of the individual4
 ,granted a fowl feels2 that the chick  
just hatched feels2 that the chick when 
it chirps within the egg may possibly   
feel2 what is to be said of it on the   
fifth day1 when the bird is there1 but  
with all its tissues nascent8 ,still    
more1 on the first day1 when it is      
nothing but a flat cellular disk8 ,i    
certainly cannot bring myself to believe

 that this disk feels4 ,yet if it does  
not1 there must be some time in the     
three weeks1 between the first day and  
the day of hatching1 when1 as a         
concomitant1 or a consequence1 of the   
attainment by the brain of the chick of 
a certain stage of structural evolution1
 consciousness makes its appearance4 ,i 
have frequently expressed my incapacity 
to understand the nature of the relation
 between consciousness and a certain    
anatomical tissue1 which is thus        
established by observation4 ,but the    
fact remains that1 so far as observation
 and experiment go1 they teach us that  
the psychical phenomena are dependent on
 the physical4  ,in like manner1 if     
fishes1 insects1 scorpions1 and such    
animals as the pearly nautilus1 possess 
feeling1 then undoubtedly consciousness 
was present in the world as far back as 
the ,silurian epoch4 ,but1 if the       
earliest animals were similar to our    
rhizopods and monads1 there must have   
been some time1 between the much earlier

 epoch in which they constituted the    
whole animal population and the         
,silurian1 in which feeling dawned1 in  
consequence of the organism having      
reached the stage of evolution on which 
it depends4  #e4 ,consciousness has     
various forms1 which may be manifested  
independently of one another4 ,the      
feelings of light and colour1 of sound1 
of touch1 though so often associated    
with those of pleasure and pain1 are1 by
 nature1 as entirely independent of them
 as is thinking4 ,an animal devoid of   
the feelings of pleasure and of pain1   
may nevertheless exhibit all the effects
 of sensation and purposive action4     
,therefore1 it would be a justifiable   
hypothesis that1 long after organic     
evolution had attained to consciousness1
 pleasure and pain were still absent4   
,such a world would be without either   
happiness or misery2 no act could be    
punished and none could be rewarded2 and
 it could have no moral purpose4  #f4   
,suppose1 for argument's sake1 that all 

mammals and birds are subjects of       
pleasure and pain4 ,then we may be      
certain that these forms of             
consciousness were in existence at the  
beginning of the ,mesozoic epoch4 ,from 
that time forth1 pleasure has been      
distributed without reference to merit1 
and pain inflicted without reference to 
demerit1 throughout all but a mere      
fraction of the higher animals4         
,moreover1 the amount and the severity  
of the pain1 no less than the variety   
and acuteness of the pleasure1 have     
increased with every advance in the     
scale of evolution4 ,as suffering came  
into the world1 not in consequence of a 
fall1 but of a rise1 in the scale of    
being1 so every further rise has brought
 more suffering4 ,as the evidence stands
 it would appear that the sort of brain 
which characterizes the highest mammals 
and which1 so far as we know1 is the    
indispensable condition of the highest  
sensibility1 did not come into existence
 before the ,tertiary epoch4 ,the       

primordial anthropoid was probably1 in  
this respect1 on much the same footing  
as his pithecoid kin4 ,like them he     
stood upon his natural rights1 gratified
 all his desires to the best of his     
ability1 and was as incapable of either 
right or wrong doing as they4 ,it would 
be as absurd as in their case1 to regard
 his pleasures1 any more than theirs1 as
 moral rewards1 and his pains1 any more 
than theirs1 as moral punishments4  #g4 
,from the remotest ages of which we have
 any cognizance1 death has been the     
natural and1 apparently1 the necessary  
concomitant of life4 ,in our            
hypothetical world 7#c71 inhabited by   
nothing but plants1 death must have very
 early resulted from the struggle for   
existence3 many of the crowd must have  
jostled one another out of the          
conditions on which life depends4 ,the  
occurrence of death1 as far back as we  
have any fossil record of life1 however1
 needs not to be proved by such         
arguments2 for1 if there had been no    

death there would have been no fossil   
remains1 such as the great majority of  
those we met with4 ,not only was there  
death in the world1 as far as the record
 of life takes us2 but1 ever since      
mammals and birds have been preyed upon 
by carnivorous animals1 there has been  
painful death1 inflicted by mechanisms  
specially adapted for inflicting it4    
#h4 ,those who are acquainted with the  
closeness of the structural relations   
between the human organisation and that 
of the mammals which come nearest to    
him1 on the one hand2 and with the      
palontological history of such animals  
as horses and dogs1 on the other2 will  
not be disposed to question the origin  
of man from forms which stand in the    
same sort of relation to ,homo sapiens1 
as ,hipparion does to ,equus4 ,i think  
it a conclusion1 fully justified by     
analogy1 that1 sooner or later1 we shall
 discover the remains of our less       
specialised primatic ancestors in the   
strata which have yielded the less      

specialised equine and canine           
quadrupeds4 ,at present1 fossil remains 
of men do not take us hack further than 
the later part of the ,quaternary epoch2
 and1 as was to be expected1 they do not
 differ more from existing men1 than    
,quaternary horses differ from existing 
horses4 ,still earlier we find traces of
 man1 in implements1 such as are used by
 the ruder savages at the present day4  
,later1 the remains of the palolithic   
and neolithic conditions take us        
gradually from the savage state to the  
civilizations of ,egypt and of ,mycen2  
though the true chronological order of  
the remains actually discovered may be  
uncertain4  #i4 ,much has yet to be     
learned1 but1 at present1 natural       
knowledge affords no support to the     
notion that men have fallen from a      
higher to a lower state4 ,on the        
contrary1 everything points to a slow   
natural evolution2 which1 favoured by   
the surrounding conditions in such      
localities as the valleys of the        

,yang-tse-kang1 the ,euphrates1 and the 
,nile1 reached a relatively high pitch1 
five or six thousand years ago2 while1  
in many other regions1 the savage       
condition has persisted down to our day4
 ,in all this vast lapse of time there  
is not a trace of the occurrence of any 
general destruction of the human race2  
not the smallest indication that man has
 been treated on any other principles   
than the rest of the animal world4  #aj4
 ,the results of the process of         
evolution in the case of man1 and in    
that of his more nearly allied          
contemporaries1 have been marvellously  
different4 ,yet it is easy to see that  
small primitive differences of a certain
 order1 must1 in the long run1 bring    
about a wide divergence of the human    
stock from the others4 ,it is a         
reasonable supposition that1 in the     
earliest human organisms1 an improved   
brain1 a voice more capable of          
modulation and articulation1 limbs which
 lent themselves better to gesture1 a   

more perfect hand1 capable among other  
things of imitating form in plastic or  
other material1 were combined with the  
curiosity1 the mimetic tendency1 the    
strong family affection of the next     
lower group2 and that they were         
accompanied by exceptional length of    
life and a prolonged minority4 ,the last
 two peculiarities are obviously        
calculated to strengthen the family     
organisation1 and to give great weight  
to its educative influences4 ,the       
potentiality of language1 as the vocal  
symbol of thought1 lay in the faculty of
 modulating and articulating the voice4 
,the potentiality of writing1 as the    
visual symbol of thought1 lay in the    
hand that could draw2 and in the mimetic
 tendency1 which1 as we know1 was       
gratified by drawing1 as far back as the
 days of ,quaternary man4 ,with speech  
as the record1 in tradition1 of the     
experience of more than one generation2 
with writing as the record of that of   
any number of generations2 the          

experience of the race1 tested and      
corrected generation after generation1  
could be stored up and made the starting
 point for fresh progress4 ,having these
 perfectly natural factors of the       
evolutionary process in man before us1  
it seems unnecessary to go further      
a-field in search of others4  #aa4 ,that
 the doctrine of evolution implies a    
former state of innocence of mankind is 
quite true2 but1 as ,i have remarked1 it
 is the innocence of the ape and of the 
tiger1 whose acts1 however they may run 
counter to the principles of morality1  
it would be absurd to blame4 ,the lust  
of the one and the ferocity of the other
 are as much provided for in their      
organisation1 are as clear evidences of 
design1 as any other features that can  
be named4  ,observation and experiment  
upon the phenomena of society soon      
taught men that1 in order to obtain the 
advantages of social existence1 certain 
rules must be observed4 ,morality       
commenced with society4 ,society is     

possible only upon the condition that   
the members of it shall surrender more  
or less of their individual freedom of  
action4 ,in primitive societies1        
individual selfishness is a centrifugal 
force of such intensity that it is      
constantly bringing the social          
organisation to the verge of            
destruction4 ,hence the prominence of   
the positive rules of obedience to the  
elders2 of standing by the family or the
 tribe in all emergencies2 of fulfilling
 the religious rites1 non-observance of 
which is conceived to damage it with the
 supernatural powers1 belief in whose   
existence is one of the earliest        
products of human thought2 and of the   
negative rules which restrain each from 
meddling with the life or property of   
another4  #ab4 ,the highest conceivable 
form of human society is that in which  
the desire to do what is best for the   
whole dominates and limits the action of
 every member of that society4 ,the more
 complex the social organisation the    

greater the number of acts from which   
each man must abstain if he desires to  
do that which is best for all4 ,thus the
 progressive evolution of society means 
increasing restriction of individual    
freedom in certain directions4  ,with   
the advance of civilisation1 and the    
growth of cities and of nations by the  
coalescence of families and of tribes1  
the rules which constitute the common   
foundation of morality and of law became
 more numerous and complicated1 and the 
temptations to break or evade many of   
them stronger4 ,in the absence of a     
clear apprehension of the natural       
sanctions of these rules1 a supernatural
 sanction was assumed2 and imagination  
supplied the motives which reason was   
supposed to be incompetent to furnish4  
,religion1 at first independent of      
morality1 gradually took morality under 
its protection2 and the supernaturalists
 have ever since tried to persuade      
mankind that the existence of ethics is 
bound up with that of supernaturalism4  

,i am not of that opinion4 ,but1 whether
 it is correct or otherwise1 it is very 
clear to me that1 as ,beelzebub is not  
to be cast out by the aid of ,beelzebub1
 so morality is not to be established by
 immorality4 ,it is1 we are told1 the   
special peculiarity of the devil that he
 was a liar from the beginning4 ,if we  
set out in life with pretending to know 
that which we do not know2 with         
professing to accept for proof evidence 
which we are well aware is inadequate2  
with wilfully shutting our eyes and our 
ears to facts which militate against    
this or that comfortable hypothesis2 we 
are assuredly doing our best to deserve 
the same character4         99       99 
99       99       99  ,i have not the   
presumption to imagine that1 in spite of
 all my efforts1 errors may not have    
crept into these propositions4 ,but ,i  
am tolerably confident that time will   
prove them to be substantially correct4 
,and if they are so1 ,i confess ,i do   
not see how any extant supernaturalistic

 system can also claim exactness4 ,that 
they are irreconcilable with the        
biblical cosmogony1 anthropology1 and   
theodicy is obvious2 but they are no    
less inconsistent with the sentimental  
,deism of the ,vicaire ,savoyard and his
 numerous modern progeny4 ,it is as     
impossible1 to my mind1 to suppose that 
the evolutionary process was set going  
with full foreknowledge of the result   
and yet with what we should understand  
by a purely benevolent intention1 as it 
is to imagine that the intention was    
purely malevolent4 ,and the prevalence  
of dualistic theories from the earliest 
times to the present day--whether in the
 shape of the doctrine of the inherently
 evil nature of matter2 of an ,ahriman2 
of a hard and cruel ,demiurge2 of a     
diabolical prince of this world1 show   
how widely this difficulty has been     
felt4  ,many seem to think that1 when it
 is admitted that the ancient           
literature1 contained in our ,bibles1   
has no more claim to infallibility than 

any other ancient literature2 when it is
 proved that the ,israelites and their  
,christian successors accepted a great  
many supernaturalistic theories and     
legends which have no better foundation 
than those of heathenism1 nothing       
remains to be done but to throw the     
,bible aside as so much waste paper4  ,i
 have always opposed this opinion4 ,it  
appears to me that if there is anybody  
more objectionable than the orthodox    
,bibliolater it is the heterodox        
,philistine1 who can discover in a      
literature which1 in some respects1 has 
no superior1 nothing but a subject for  
scoffing and an occasion for the display
 of his conceited ignorance of the debt 
he owes to former generations4          
,twenty-two years ago ,i pleaded for the
 use of the ,bible as an instrument of  
popular education1 and ,i venture to    
repeat what ,i then said3  ,consider the
 great historical fact that1 for three  
centuries1 this book has been woven into
 the life of all that is best and       

noblest in ,english history2 that it has
 become the national ,epic of ,britain  
and is as familiar to gentle and simple1
 from ,john o' ,groat's ,house to       
,land's ,end1 as ,dante and ,tasso once 
were to the ,italians2 that it is       
written in the noblest and purest       
,english and abounds in exquisite       
beauties of mere literary form2 and1    
finally1 that it forbids the veriest    
hind1 who never left his village1 to be 
ignorant of the existence of other      
countries and other civilisations and of
 a great past1 stretching back to the   
furthest limits of the oldest nations in
 the world4 ,by the study of what other 
book could children be so much humanised
 and made to feel that each figure in   
that vast historical procession fills1  
like themselves1 but a momentary space  
in the interval between the ,eternities2
 and earns the blessings or the curses  
of all time1 according to its effort to 
do good and hate evil1 even as they also
 are earning their payment for their    

work8#ad  ,at the same time1 ,i laid    
stress upon the necessity of placing    
such instruction in lay hands2 in the   
hope and belief1 that it would thus     
gradually accommodate itself to the     
coming changes of opinion2 that the     
theology and the legend would drop more 
and more out of sight1 while the        
perennially interesting historical1     
literary1 and ethical contents would    
come more and more into view4  ,i may   
add yet another claim of the ,bible to  
the respect and the attention of a      
democratic age4 ,throughout the history 
of the western world1 the ,scriptures1  
,jewish and ,christian1 have been the   
great instigators of revolt against the 
worst forms of clerical and political   
despotism4 ,the ,bible has been the     
,magna ,charta of the poor and of the   
oppressed2 down to modern times1 no     
,state has had a constitution in which  
the interests of the people are so      
largely taken into account1 in which the
 duties1 so much more than the          

privileges1 of rulers are insisted upon1
 as that drawn up for ,israel in        
,deuteronomy and in ,leviticus2 nowhere 
is the fundamental truth that the       
welfare of the ,state1 in the long run1 
depends on the uprightness of the       
citizen so strongly laid down4          
,assuredly1 the ,bible talks no trash   
about the rights of man2 but it insists 
on the equality of duties1 on the       
liberty to bring about that             
righteousness which is somewhat         
different from struggling for rights2 on
 the fraternity of taking thought for   
one's neighbour as for one's self4  ,so 
far as such equality1 liberty1 and      
fraternity are included under the       
democratic principles which assume the  
same names1 the ,bible is the most      
democratic book in the world4 ,as such  
it began1 through the heretical sects1  
to undermine the clerico-political      
despotism of the middle ages1 almost as 
soon as it was formed1 in the eleventh  
century2 ,pope and ,king had as much as 

they could do to put down the           
,albigenses and the ,waldenses in the   
twelfth and thirteenth centuries2 the   
,lollards and the ,hussites gave them   
still more trouble in the fourteenth and
 fifteenth2 from the sixteenth century  
onward1 the ,protestant sects have      
favoured political freedom in proportion
 to the degree in which they have       
refused to acknowledge any ultimate     
authority save that of the ,bible4  ,but
 the enormous influence which has thus  
been exerted by the ,jewish and         
,christian ,scriptures has had no       
necessary connection with cosmogonies1  
demonologies1 and miraculous            
interferences4 ,their strength lies in  
their appeals1 not to the reason1 but to
 the ethical sense4 ,i do not say that  
even the highest biblical ideal is      
exclusive of others or needs no         
supplement4 ,but ,i do believe that the 
human race is not yet1 possibly may     
never be1 in a position to dispense with
 it4  ,,footnotes3       #h  ,with a few

 exceptions1 which are duly noted when  
they amount to more than verbal         
corrections4       #i  ,declaration on  
the ,truth of ,holy ,scripture4 ,the    
,times1 #ahth ,december1 #ahia4         
#aj ,declaration1 ,article #aj4         
#aa ,ego vero evangelio non crederem1   
nisi ecclesi           ,catholic me     
commoveret auctoritas4--,contra         
,epistolam           ,manichi1 cap4 v4  
#ab ,i employ the words ,supernature and
 ,supernatural           in their       
popular senses4 ,for myself1 ,i am bound
 to say           that the term ,nature 
covers the totality of that             
which is4 ,the world of psychical       
phenomena appears to           me to be 
as much part of ,nature as the world of 
physical phenomena2 and ,i am unable to 
perceive any           justification for
 cutting the ,universe into two halves1 
one natural and one supernatural4       
#ac ,the general reader will find an    
admirably clear           and concise   
statement of the evidence in this case1 

in           ,professor ,flower's       
recently published work ,the ,horse3    
a ,study in ,natural ,history4       #ad
 ,the ,school ,boards3 ,what they ,can  
do and what they           ,may do1     
#ahgj4 ,critiques and ,addresses1 p4    
#ea4     ,,ii3 ,,scientific ,,and       
,,pseudo-,,scientific ,,realism  #ahhg  
,next to undue precipitation in         
anticipating the results of pending     
investigations1 the intellectual sin    
which is commonest and most hurtful to  
those who devote themselves to the      
increase of knowledge is the omission to
 profit by the experience of their      
predecessors recorded in the history of 
science and philosophy4 ,it is true     
that1 at the present day1 there is more 
excuse than at any former time for such 
neglect4 ,no small labour is needed to  
raise one's self to the level of the    
acquisitions already made2 and able men1
 who have achieved thus much1 know that1
 if they devote themselves body and soul
 to the increase of their store1 and    

avoid looking back1 with as much care as
 if the injunction laid on ,lot and his 
family were binding upon them1 such     
devotion is sure to be richly repaid by 
the joys of the discoverer and the      
solace of fame1 if not by rewards of a  
less elevated character4  ,so1 following
 the advice of ,francis ,bacon1 we      
refuse inter mortuos qurere vivum2 we   
leave the past to bury its dead1 and    
ignore our intellectual ancestry4 ,nor  
are we content with that4 ,we follow the
 evil example set us1 not only by ,bacon
 but by almost all the men of the       
,renaissance1 in pouring scorn upon the 
work of our immediate spiritual         
forefathers1 the schoolmen of the       
,middle ,ages4 ,it is accepted as a     
truth which is indisputable1 that1 for  
seven or eight centuries1 a long        
succession of able men--some of them of 
transcendent acuteness and encyclopdic  
knowledge--devoted laborious lives to   
the grave discussion of mere frivolities
 and the arduous pursuit of intellectual

 will-o'-the-wisps4 ,to say nothing of a
 little modesty1 a little impartial     
pondering over personal experience might
 suggest a doubt as to the adequacy of  
this short and easy method of dealing   
with a large chapter of the history of  
the human mind4 ,even an acquaintance   
with popular literature which had       
extended so far as to include that part 
of the contributions of ,sam ,slick     
which contains his weighty aphorism that
 there is a great deal of human nature  
in all mankind1 might raise a doubt     
whether1 after all1 the men of that     
epoch1 who1 take them all round1 were   
endowed with wisdom and folly in much   
the same proportion as ourselves1 were  
likely to display nothing better than   
the qualities of energetic idiots1 when 
they devoted their faculties to the     
elucidation of problems which were to   
them1 and indeed are to us1 the most    
serious which life has to offer4        
,speaking for myself1 the longer ,i live
 the more ,i am disposed to think that  

there is much less either of pure folly1
 or of pure wickedness1 in the world    
than is commonly supposed4 ,it may be   
doubted if any sane man ever said to    
himself1 ,evil1 be thou my good1 and ,i 
have never yet had the good fortune to  
meet with a perfect fool4 ,when ,i have 
brought to the inquiry the patience and 
long-suffering which become a scientific
 investigator1 the most promising       
specimens have turned out to have a good
 deal to say for themselves from their  
own point of view4 ,and1 sometimes1 calm
 reflection has taught the humiliating  
lesson1 that their point of view was not
 so different from my own as ,i had     
fondly imagined4 ,comprehension is more 
than half-way to sympathy1 here as      
elsewhere4  ,if we turn our attention to
 scholastic philosophy in the frame of  
mind suggested by these prefatory       
remarks1 it assumes a very different    
character from that which it bears in   
general estimation4 ,no doubt it is     
surrounded by a dense thicket of thorny 

logomachies and obscured by the         
dust-clouds of a barbarous and          
perplexing terminology4 ,but suppose    
that1 undeterred by much grime and by   
many scratches1 the explorer has toiled 
through this jungle1 he comes to an open
 country which is amazingly like his    
dear native land4 ,the hills which he   
has to climb1 the ravines he has to     
avoid1 look very much the same2 there is
 the same infinite space above1 and the 
same abyss of the unknown below2 the    
means of travelling are the same1 and   
the goal is the same4  ,that goal for   
the schoolmen1 as for us1 is the        
settlement of the question how far the  
universe is the manifestation of a      
rational order2 in other words1 how far 
logical deduction from indisputable     
premisses will account for what which   
has happened and does happen4 ,that was 
the object of scholasticism1 and1 so far
 as ,i am aware1 the object of modern   
science may be expressed in the same    
terms4 ,in pursuit of this end1 modern  

science takes into account all the      
phenomena of the universe which are     
brought to our knowledge by observation 
or by experiment4 ,it admits that there 
are two worlds to be considered1 the one
 physical and the other psychical2 and  
that though there is a most intimate    
relation and interconnection between the
 two1 the bridge from one to the other  
has yet to be found2 that their         
phenomena run1 not in one series1 but   
along two parallel lines4  ,to the      
schoolmen the duality of the universe   
appeared under a different aspect4 ,how 
this came about will not be intelligible
 unless we clearly apprehend the fact   
that they did really believe in dogmatic
 ,christianity as it was formulated by  
the ,roman ,church4 ,they did not give a
 mere dull assent to anything the       
,church told them on ,sundays1 and      
ignore her teachings for the rest of the
 week2 but they lived and moved and had 
their being in that supersensible       
theological world which was created1 or 

rather grew up1 during the first four   
centuries of our reckoning1 and which   
occupied their thoughts far more than   
the sensible world in which their       
earthly lot was cast4  ,for the most    
part1 we learn history from the         
colourless compendiums or partisan      
briefs of mere scholars1 who have too   
little acquaintance with practical life1
 and too little insight into speculative
 problems1 to understand that about     
which they write4 ,in historical        
science1 as in all sciences which have  
to do with concrete phenomena1          
laboratory practice is indispensable2   
and the laboratory practice of          
historical science is afforded1 on the  
one hand1 by active social and political
 life1 and1 on the other1 by the study  
of those tendencies and operations of   
the mind which embody themselves in     
philosophical and theological systems4  
,thucydides and ,tacitus1 and1 to come  
nearer our own time1 ,hume and ,grote1  
were men of affairs1 and had acquired1  

by direct contact with social and       
political history in the making1 the    
secret of understanding how such history
 is made4 ,our notions of the           
intellectual history of the middle ages 
are1 unfortunately1 too often derived   
from writers who have never seriously   
grappled with philosophical and         
theological problems3 and hence that    
strange myth of a millennium of         
moonshine to which ,i have adverted4    
,however1 no very profound study of the 
works of contemporary writers who1      
without devoting themselves specially to
 theology or philosophy1 were learned   
and enlightened--such men1 for example1 
as ,eginhard or ,dante--is necessary to 
convince one's self1 that1 for them1 the
 world of the theologian was an         
ever-present and awful reality4 ,from   
the centre of that world1 the ,divine   
,trinity1 surrounded by a hierarchy of  
angels and saints1 contemplated and     
governed the insignificant sensible     
world in which the inferior spirits of  

men1 burdened with the debasement of    
their material embodiment and           
continually solicited to their perdition
 by a no less numerous and almost as    
powerful hierarchy of devils1 were      
constantly struggling on the edge of the
 pit of everlasting damnation4#ae  ,the 
men of the middle ages believed that    
through the ,scriptures1 the traditions 
of the ,fathers1 and the authority of   
the ,church1 they were in possession of 
far more1 and more trustworthy1         
information with respect to the nature  
and order of things in the theological  
world than they had in regard to the    
nature and order of things in the       
sensible world4 ,and1 if the two sources
 of information came into conflict1 so  
much the worse for the sensible world1  
which1 after all1 was more or less under
 the dominion of ,satan4 ,let us suppose
 that a telescope powerful enough to    
show us what is going on in the nebula  
of the sword of ,orion1 should reveal a 
world in which stones fell upwards1     

parallel lines met1 and the fourth      
dimension of space was quite obvious4   
,men of science would have only two     
alternatives before them4 ,either the   
terrestrial and the nebular facts must  
be brought into harmony by such feats of
 subtle sophistry as the human mind is  
always capable of performing when driven
 into a corner2 or science must throw   
down its arms in despair1 and commit    
suicide1 either by the admission that   
the universe is1 after all1 irrational1 
inasmuch as that which is truth in one  
corner of it is absurdity in another1 or
 by a declaration of incompetency4  ,in 
the middle ages1 the labours of those   
great men who endeavoured to reconcile  
the system of thought which started from
 the data of pure reason1 with that     
which started from the data of ,roman   
theology1 produced the system of thought
 which is known as scholastic           
philosophy2 the alternative of surrender
 and suicide is exemplified by ,avicenna
 and his followers when they declared   

that that which is true in theology may 
be false in philosophy1 and vice vers2  
and by ,sanchez in his famous defence of
 the thesis ,quod nil scitur4  ,to those
 who deny the validity of one of the    
primary assumptions of the              
disputants--who decline1 on the ground  
of the utter insufficiency of the       
evidence1 to put faith in the reality of
 that other world1 the geography and the
 inhabitants of which are so confidently
 described in the so-called#af          
,christianity of ,catholicism--the long 
and bitter contest1 which engaged the   
best intellects for so many centuries1  
may seem a terrible illustration of the 
wasteful way in which the struggle for  
existence is carried on in the world of 
thought1 no less than in that of matter4
 ,but there is a more cheerful mode of  
looking at the history of scholasticism4
 ,it ground and sharpened the dialectic 
implements of our race as perhaps       
nothing but discussions1 in the result  
of which men thought their eternal1 no  

less than their temporal1 interests were
 at stake1 could have done4 ,when a     
logical blunder may ensure combustion1  
not only in the next world but in this1 
the construction of syllogisms acquires 
a peculiar interest4 ,moreover1 the     
schools kept the thinking faculty alive 
and active1 when the disturbed state of 
civil life1 the mephitic atmosphere     
engendered by the dominant              
ecclesiasticism1 and the almost total   
neglect of natural knowledge1 might well
 have stifled it4 ,and1 finally1 it     
should be remembered that scholasticism 
really did thresh out pretty effectually
 certain problems which have presented  
themselves to mankind ever since they   
began to think1 and which1 ,i suppose1  
will present themselves so long as they 
continue to think4 ,consider1 for       
example1 the controversy of the         
,realists and the ,nominalists1 which   
was carried on with varying fortunes1   
and under various names1 from the time  
of ,scotus ,erigena to the end of the   

scholastic period4 ,has it now a merely 
antiquarian interest8 ,has ,nominalism1 
in any of its modifications1 so         
completely won the day that ,realism may
 be regarded as dead and buried without 
hope of resurrection8 ,many people seem 
to think so1 but it appears to me that1 
without taking ,catholic philosophy into
 consideration1 one has not to look     
about far to find evidence that ,realism
 is still to the fore1 and indeed       
extremely lively4#ag         99       99
       99       99       99  ,the other 
day ,i happened to meet with a report of
 a sermon recently preached in ,st4     
,paul's ,cathedral4 ,from internal      
evidence ,i am inclined to think that   
the report is substantially correct4    
,but as ,i have not the slightest       
intention of finding fault with the     
eminent theologian and eloquent preacher
 to whom the discourse is attributed1   
for employment of scientific language in
 a manner for which he could find only  
too many scientific precedents1 the     

accuracy of the report in detail is not 
to the purpose4 ,i may safely take it as
 the embodiment of views which are      
thought to be quite in accordance with  
science by many excellent1 instructed1  
and intelligent people4       ,the      
preacher further contended that it was  
yet more      difficult to realise that 
our earthly home would become the       
scene of a vast physical catastrophe4   
,imagination recoils      from the idea 
that the course of nature--the phrase   
helps to      disguise the truth--so    
unvarying and regular1 the ordered      
sequence of movement and life1 should   
suddenly cease4      ,imagination looks 
more reasonable when it assumes the air 
of      scientific reason4 ,physical    
law1 it says1 will prevent the          
occurrence of catastrophes only         
anticipated by an apostle in      an    
unscientific age4 ,might not there1     
however1 be a      suspension of a lower
 law by the intervention of a higher8   
,thus every time we lifted our arms we  

defied the laws of      gravitation1 and
 in railways and steamboats powerful    
laws      were held in check by others4 
,the flood and the destruction      of  
,sodom and ,gomorrah were brought about 
by the operation of      existing laws1 
and may it not be that in ,his          
illimitable      universe there are more
 important laws than those which        
surround our puny life--moral and not   
merely physical      forces8 ,is it     
inconceivable that the day will come    
when      these royal and ultimate laws 
shall wreck the natural order      of   
things which seems so stable and so     
fair8 ,earthquakes      were not things 
of remote antiquity1 as an island off   
,italy1      the ,eastern ,archipelago1 
,greece1 and ,chicago bore              
witness4444 ,in presence of a great     
earthquake men feel how      powerless  
they are1 and their very knowledge adds 
to their      weakness4 ,the end of     
human probation1 the final dissolution  
of organised society1 and the           

destruction of man's home on      the   
surface of the globe1 were none of them 
violently      contrary to our present  
experience1 but only the extension      
of present facts4 ,the presentiment of  
death was common2      there were felt  
to be many things which threatened the  
existence of society2 and as our globe  
was a ball of fire1      at any moment  
the pent-up forces which surge and boil 
beneath our feet might be poured out    
7,pall ,mall ,gazette1      ,december   
#f1 #ahhf74  ,the preacher appears to   
entertain the notion that the occurrence
 of a catastrophe#ah involves a breach  
of the present order of nature--that it 
is an event incompatible with the       
physical laws which at present obtain4  
,he seems to be of opinion that         
scientific reason lends its authority to
 the imaginative supposition that       
physical law will prevent the occurrence
 of the catastrophes anticipated by an  
unscientific apostle4  ,scientific      
reason1 like ,homer1 sometimes nods2 but

 ,i am not aware that it has ever       
dreamed dreams of this sort4 ,the       
fundamental axiom of scientific thought 
is that there is not1 never has been1   
and never will be1 any disorder in      
nature4 ,the admission of the occurrence
 of any event which was not the logical 
consequence of the immediately          
antecedent events1 according to these   
definite1 ascertained1 or unascertained 
rules which we call the laws of nature1 
would be an act of self-destruction on  
the part of science4  ,catastrophe is a 
relative conception4 ,for ourselves it  
means an event which brings about very  
terrible consequences to man1 or        
impresses his mind by its magnitude     
relatively to him4 ,but events which are
 quite in the natural order of things to
 us1 may be frightful catastrophes to   
other sentient beings4 ,surely no       
interruption of the order of nature is  
involved if1 in the course of descending
 through an ,alpine pine-wood1 ,i jump  
upon an anthill and in a moment wreck a 

whole city and destroy a hundred        
thousand of its inhabitants4 ,to the    
ants the catastrophe is worse than the  
earthquake of ,lisbon4 ,to me it is the 
natural and necessary consequence of the
 laws of matter in motion4 ,a           
redistribution of energy has taken      
place1 which is perfectly in accordance 
with natural order1 however unpleasant  
its effects may be to the ants4         
,imagination1 inspired by scientific    
reason1 and not merely assuming the airs
 thereof1 as it unfortunately too often 
does in the pulpit1 so far from having  
any right to repudiate catastrophes and 
deny the possibility of the cessation of
 motion and life1 easily finds          
justification for the exactly contrary  
course4 ,kant in his famous ,theory of  
the ,heavens declares the end of the    
world and its reduction to a formless   
condition to be a necessary consequence 
of the causes to which it owes its      
origin and continuance4 ,and1 as to     
catastrophes of prodigious magnitude and

 frequent occurrence1 they were the     
favourite asylum ignoranti of           
geologists1 not a quarter of a century  
ago4 ,if modern geology is becoming more
 and more disinclined to call in        
catastrophes to its aid1 it is not      
because of any a priori difficulty in   
reconciling the occurrence of such      
events with the universality of order1  
but because the a posteriori evidence of
 the occurrence of events of this       
character in past times has more or less
 completely broken down4  ,it is1 to say
 the least1 highly probable that this   
earth is a mass of extremely hot matter1
 invested by a cooled crust1 through    
which the hot interior still continues  
to cool1 though with extreme slowness4  
,it is no less probable that the faults 
and dislocations1 the foldings and      
fractures1 everywhere visible in the    
stratified crust1 its large and slow    
movements through miles of elevation and
 depression1 and its small and rapid    
movements which give rise to the        

innumerable perceived and unperceived   
earthquakes which are constantly        
occurring1 are due to the shrinkage of  
the crust on its cooling and contracting
 nucleus4  ,without going beyond the    
range of fair scientific analogy1       
conditions are easily conceivable which 
should render the loss of heat far more 
rapid than it is at present2 and such an
 occurrence would be just as much in    
accordance with ascertained laws of     
nature1 as the more rapid cooling of a  
red-hot bar1 when it is thrust into cold
 water1 than when it remains in the air4
 ,but much more rapid cooling might     
entail a shifting and rearrangement of  
the parts of the crust of the earth on a
 scale of unprecedented magnitude1 and  
bring about catastrophes to which the   
earthquake of ,lisbon is but a trifle4  
,it is conceivable that man and his     
works and all the higher forms of animal
 life should be utterly destroyed2 that 
mountain regions should he converted    
into ocean depths and the floor of      

oceans raised into mountains2 and the   
earth become a scene of horror which    
even the lurid fancy of the writer of   
the ,apocalypse would fail to portray4  
,and yet1 to the eye of science1 there  
would he no more disorder here than in  
the sabbatical peace of a summer sea4   
,not a link in the chain of natural     
causes and effects would he broken1     
nowhere would there be the slightest    
indication of the suspension of a lower 
law by a higher4 ,if a sober scientific 
thinker is inclined to put little faith 
in the wild vaticinations of universal  
ruin which1 in a less saintly person    
than the seer of ,patmos1 might seem to 
be dictated by the fury of a revengeful 
fanatic1 rather than by the spirit of   
the teacher who bid men love their      
enemies1 it is not on the ground that   
they contradict scientific principles2  
but because the evidence of their       
scientific value does not fulfil the    
conditions on which weight is attached  
to evidence4 ,the imagination which     

supposes that it does1 simply does not  
assume the air of scientific reason4  ,i
 repeat that1 if imagination is used    
within the limits laid down by science1 
disorder is unimaginable4 ,if a being   
endowed with perfect intellectual and   
sthetic faculties1 but devoid of the    
capacity for suffering pain1 either     
physical or moral1 were to devote his   
utmost powers to the investigation of   
nature1 the universe would seem to him  
to be a sort of kaleidoscope1 in which1 
at every successive moment of time1 a   
new arrangement of parts of exquisite   
beauty and symmetry would present       
itself2 and each of them would show     
itself to be the logical consequence of 
the preceding arrangement1 under the    
conditions which we call the laws of    
nature4 ,such a spectator might well be 
filled with that ,amor intellectualis   
,dei1 the beatific vision of the vita   
contemplativa1 which some of the        
greatest thinkers of all ages1          
,aristotle1 ,aquinas1 ,spinoza1 have    

regarded as the only conceivable eternal
 felicity2 and the vision of illimitable
 suffering1 as if sensitive beings were 
unregarded animalcules which had got    
between the bits of glass of the        
kaleidoscope1 which mars the prospect to
 us poor mortals1 in no wise alters the 
fact that order is lord of all1 and     
disorder only a name for that part of   
the order which gives us pain4  ,the    
other fallacious employment of the names
 of scientific conceptions which        
pervades the preacher's utterance1      
brings me back to the proper topic of   
the present essay4 ,it is the use of the
 word law as if it denoted a thing--as  
if a law of nature1 as science          
understands it1 were a being endowed    
with certain powers1 in virtue of which 
the phenomena expressed by that law are 
brought about4 ,the preacher asks1      
,might not there be a suspension of a   
lower law by the intervention of a      
higher8 ,he tells us that every time we 
lift our arms we defy the law of        

gravitation4 ,he asks whether some day  
certain royal and ultimate laws may not 
come and wreck those laws which are at  
present1 it would appear1 acting as     
nature's police4 ,it is evident1 from   
these expressions1 that laws1 in the    
mind of the preacher1 are entities      
having an objective existence in a      
graduated hierarchy4 ,and it would      
appear that the royal laws are by no    
means to be regarded as constitutional  
royalties3 at any moment1 they may1 like
 ,eastern despots1 descend in wrath     
among the middle-class and plebeian     
laws1 which have hitherto done the      
drudgery of the world's work1 and1 to   
use phraseology not unknown in our seats
 of learning--make hay of their         
belongings4 ,or perhaps a still more    
familiar analogy has suggested this     
singular theory2 and it is thought that 
high laws may suspend low laws1 as a    
bishop may suspend a curate4  ,far be it
 from me to controvert these views1 if  
any one likes to hold them4 ,all ,i wish

 to remark is that such a conception of 
the nature of laws has nothing to do    
with modern science4 ,it is scholastic  
realism--realism as intense and         
unmitigated as that of ,scotus ,erigena 
a thousand years ago4 ,the essence of   
such realism is that it maintains the   
objective existence of universals1 or1  
as we call them nowadays1 general       
propositions4 ,it affirms1 for example1 
that man is a real thing1 apart from    
individual men1 having its existence1   
not in the sensible1 but in the         
intelligible world1 and clothing itself 
with the accidents of sense to make the 
,jack and ,tom and ,harry whom we know4 
,strange as such a notion may appear to 
modern scientific thought1 it really    
pervades ordinary language4 ,there are  
few people who would1 at once1 hesitate 
to admit that colour1 for example1      
exists apart from the mind which        
conceives the idea of colour4 ,they hold
 it to be something which resides in the
 coloured object2 and so far they are as

 much ,realists as if they had sat at   
,plato's feet4 ,reflection on the facts 
of the case must1 ,i imagine1 convince  
every one that colour is--not a mere    
name1 which was the extreme ,nominalist 
position--but a name for that group of  
states of feeling which we call blue1   
red1 yellow1 and so on1 and which we    
believe to be caused by luminiferous    
vibrations which have not the slightest 
resemblance to colour2 while these again
 are set afoot by states of the body to 
which we ascribe colour1 but which are  
equally devoid of likeness to colour4   
,in the same way1 a law of nature1 in   
the scientific sense1 is the product of 
a mental operation upon the facts of    
nature which come under our observation1
 and has no more existence outside the  
mind than colour has4 ,the law of       
gravitation is a statement of the manner
 in which experience shows that bodies1 
which are free to move1 do1 in fact1    
move towards one another4 ,but the other
 facts of observation1 that bodies are  

not always moving in this fashion1 and  
sometimes move in a contrary direction1 
are implied in the words free to move4  
,if it is a law of nature that bodies   
tend to move towards one another in a   
certain way2 it is another and no less  
true law of nature that1 if bodies are  
not free to move as they tend to do1    
either in consequence of an obstacle1 or
 of a contrary impulse from some other  
source of energy than that to which we  
give the name of gravitation1 they      
either stop still1 or go another way4   
,scientifically speaking1 it is the acme
 of absurdity to talk of a man defying  
the law of gravitation when he lifts his
 arm4 ,the general store of energy in   
the universe working through terrestrial
 matter is doubtless tending to bring   
the man's arm down2 but the particular  
fraction of that energy which is working
 through certain of his nervous and     
muscular organs is tending to drive it  
up1 and more energy being expended on   
the arm in the upward than in the       

downward direction1 the arm goes up     
accordingly4 ,but the law of gravitation
 is no more defied1 in this case1 than  
when a grocer throws so much sugar into 
the empty pan of his scales that the one
 which contains the weight kicks the    
beam4  ,the tenacity of the wonderful   
fallacy that the laws of nature are     
agents1 instead of being1 as they really
 are1 a mere record of experience1 upon 
which we base our interpretations of    
that which does happen1 and our         
anticipation of that which will happen1 
is an interesting psychological fact2   
and would be unintelligible if the      
tendency of the human mind towards      
realism were less strong4  ,even at the 
present day1 and in the writings of men 
who would at once repudiate scholastic  
realism in any form1 law is often       
inadvertently employed in the sense of  
cause1 just as1 in common life1 a man   
will say that he is compelled by the law
 to do so and so1 when1 in point of     
fact1 all he means is that the law      

orders him to do it1 and tells him what 
will happen if he does not do it4 ,we   
commonly hear of bodies falling to the  
ground by reason of the law of          
gravitation1 whereas that law is simply 
the record of the fact that1 according  
to all experience1 they have so fallen  
7when free to move71 and of the grounds 
of a reasonable expectation that they   
will so fall4 ,if it should be worth    
anybody's while to seek for examples of 
such misuse of language on my own part1 
,i am not at all sure he might not      
succeed1 though ,i have usually been on 
my guard against such looseness of      
expression4 ,if ,i am guilty1 ,i do     
penance beforehand1 and only hope that  
,i may thereby deter others from        
committing the like fault4 ,and ,i      
venture on this personal observation by 
way of showing that ,i have no wish to  
bear hardly on the preacher for falling 
into an error for which he might find   
good precedents4 ,but it is one of those
 errors which1 in the case of a person  

engaged in scientific pursuits1 do      
little harm1 because it is corrected as 
soon as its consequences become obvious2
 while those who know physical science  
only by name are1 as has been seen1     
easily led to build a mighty fabric of  
unrealities on this fundamental fallacy4
 ,in fact1 the habitual use of the word 
law1 in the sense of an active thing1 is
 almost a mark of pseudo-science2 it    
characterises the writings of those who 
have appropriated the forms of science  
without knowing anything of its         
substance4  ,there are two classes of   
these people3 those who are ready to    
believe in any miracle so long as it is 
guaranteed by ecclesiastical authority2 
and those who are ready to believe in   
any miracle so long as it has some      
different guarantee4 ,the believers in  
what are ordinarily called              
miracles--those who accept the          
miraculous narratives which they are    
taught to think are essential elements  
of religious doctrine--are in the one   

category2 the spirit-rappers1           
table-turners1 and all the other        
devotees of the occult sciences of our  
day are in the other3 and1 if they      
disagree in most things they agree in   
this1 namely1 that they ascribe to      
science a dictum that is not scientific2
 and that they endeavour to upset the   
dictum thus foisted on science by a     
realistic argument which is equally     
unscientific4  ,it is asserted1 for     
example1 that1 on a particular occasion1
 water was turned into wine2 and1 on the
 other hand1 it is asserted that a man  
or a woman levitated to the ceiling1    
floated about there1 and finally sailed 
out by the window4 ,and it is assumed   
that the pardonable scepticism1 with    
which most scientific men receive these 
statements1 is due to the fact that they
 feel themselves justified in denying   
the possibility of any such             
metamorphosis of water1 or of any such  
levitation1 because such events are     
contrary to the laws of nature4 ,so the 

question of the preacher is triumphantly
 put3 ,how do you know that there are   
not higher laws of nature than your     
chemical and physical laws1 and that    
these higher laws may not intervene and 
wreck the latter8  ,the plain answer to 
this question is1 ,why should anybody be
 called upon to say how he knows that   
which he does not know8 ,you are        
assuming that laws are agents--efficient
 causes of that which happens--and that 
one law can interfere with another4 ,to 
us1 that assumption is as nonsensical as
 if you were to talk of a proposition of
 ,euclid being the cause of the diagram 
which illustrates it1 or of the integral
 calculus interfering with the rule of  
three4 ,your question really implies    
that we pretend to complete knowledge   
not only of all past and present        
phenomena1 but of all that are possible 
in the future1 and we leave all that    
sort of thing to the adepts of esoteric 
,buddhism4 ,our pretensions are         
infinitely more modest4 ,we have        

succeeded in finding out the rules of   
action of a little bit of the universe2 
we call these rules laws of nature1 not 
because anybody knows whether they bind 
nature or not1 but because we find it is
 obligatory on us to take them into     
account1 both as actors under nature1   
and as interpreters of nature4 ,we have 
any quantity of genuine miracles of our 
own1 and if you will furnish us with as 
good evidence of your miracles as we    
have of ours1 we shall be quite happy to
 accept them and to amend our expression
 of the laws of nature in accordance    
with the new facts4  ,as to the         
particular cases adduced1 we are so     
perfectly fair-minded as to be willing  
to help your case as far as we can4 ,you
 are quite mistaken in supposing that   
anybody who is acquainted with the      
possibilities of physical science will  
undertake categorically to deny that    
water may be turned into wine4 ,many    
very competent judges are already       
inclined to think that the bodies1 which

 we have hitherto called elementary1 are
 really composite arrangements of the   
particles of a uniform primitive matter4
 ,supposing that view to be correct1    
there would be no more theoretical      
difficulty about turning water into     
alcohol1 ethereal and colouring matters1
 than there is1 at this present moment1 
any practical difficulty in working     
other such miracles2 as when we turn    
sugar into alcohol1 carbonic acid1      
glycerine1 and succinic acid2 or        
transmute gas-refuse into perfumes rarer
 than musk and dyes richer than ,tyrian 
purple4 ,if the so-called elements1     
oxygen and hydrogen1 which compose      
water1 are aggregates of the same       
ultimate particles1 or physical units1  
as those which enter into the structure 
of the so-called element carbon1 it is  
obvious that alcohol and other          
substances1 composed of carbon1         
hydrogen1 and oxygen1 may be produced by
 a rearrangement of some of the units of
 oxygen and hydrogen into the element   

carbon1 and their synthesis with the    
rest of the oxygen and hydrogen4        
,theoretically1 therefore1 we can have  
no sort of objection to your miracle4   
,and our reply to the levitators is just
 the same4 ,why should not your friend  
levitate8 ,fish are said to rise and    
sink in the water by altering the volume
 of an internal air-receptacle2 and     
there may be many ways science1 as yet1 
knows nothing of1 by which we1 who live 
at the bottom of an ocean of air1 may do
 the same thing4 ,dialectic gas and wind
 appear to be by no means wanting among 
you1 and why should not long practice in
 pneumatic philosophy have resulted in  
the internal generation of something a  
thousand times rarer than hydrogen1 by  
which1 in accordance with the most      
ordinary natural laws1 you would not    
only rise to the ceiling and float there
 in quasi-angelic posture1 but perhaps1 
as one of your feminine adepts is said  
to have done1 flit swifter than train or
 telegram to still-vexed ,bermoothes1   

and twit ,ariel1 if he happens to be    
there1 for a sluggard8 ,we have not the 
presumption to deny the possibility of  
anything you affirm2 only1 as our       
brethren are particular about evidence1 
do give us as much to go upon as may    
save us from being roared down by their 
inextinguishable laughter4  ,enough of  
the realism which clings about laws4    
,there are plenty of other              
exemplifications of its vitality in     
modern science1 but ,i will cite only   
one of them4  ,this is the conception of
 vital force which comes straight from  
the philosophy of ,aristotle4 ,it is a  
fundamental proposition of that         
philosophy that a natural object is     
composed of two constituents--the one   
its matter1 conceived as inert or even1 
to a certain extent1 opposed to orderly 
and purposive motion2 the other its     
form1 conceived as a quasi-spiritual    
something1 containing or conditioning   
the actual activities of the body and   
the potentiality of its possible        

activities4  ,i am disposed to think    
that the prominence of this conception  
in ,aristotle's theory of things arose  
from the circumstance that he was to    
begin with and throughout his life1     
devoted to biological studies4 ,in fact 
it is a notion which must force itself  
upon the mind of any one who studies    
biological phenomena1 without reference 
to general physics1 as they now stand4  
,everybody who observes the obvious     
phenomena of the development of a seed  
into a tree1 or of an egg into an       
animal1 will note that a relatively     
formless mass of matter gradually grows1
 takes a definite shape and structure1  
and1 finally1 begins to perform actions 
which contribute towards a certain end1 
namely1 the maintenance of the          
individual in the first place1 and of   
the species in the second4 ,starting    
from the axiom that every event has a   
cause1 we have here the causa finalis   
manifested in the last set of phenomena1
 the causa materialis and formalis in   

the first1 while the existence of a     
causa efficiens within the seed or egg  
and its product1 is a corollary from the
 phenomena of growth and metamorphosis1 
which proceed in unbroken succession and
 make up the life of the animal or      
plant4  ,thus1 at starting1 the egg or  
seed is matter having a form like all   
other material bodies4 ,but this form   
has the peculiarity1 in                 
contradistinction to lower substantial  
forms1 that it is a power which         
constantly works towards an end by means
 of living organisation4  ,so far as ,i 
know1 ,leibnitz is the only philosopher 
7at the same time a man of science1 in  
the modern sense1 of the first rank7 who
 has noted that the modern conception of
 ,force1 as a sort of atmosphere        
enveloping the particles of bodies1 and 
having potential or actual activity1 is 
simply a new name for the ,aristotelian 
,form4#ai ,in modern biology1 up till   
within quite recent times1 the          
,aristotelian conception held undisputed

 sway2 living matter was endowed with   
vital force1 and that accounted for     
everything4 ,whosoever was not satisfied
 with that explanation was treated to   
that very plain argument--confound you  
eternally--wherewith ,lord ,peter       
overcomes the doubts of his brothers in 
the ,tale of a ,tub4 ,materialist was   
the mildest term applied to             
him--fortunate if he escaped pelting    
with infidel and atheist4 ,there may be 
scientific ,rip ,van ,winkles about1 who
 still hold by vital force2 but among   
those biologists who have not been      
asleep for the last quarter of a century
 vital force no longer figures in the   
vocabulary of science4 ,it is a patent  
survival of realism2 the generalisation 
from experience that all living bodies  
exhibit certain activities of a definite
 character is made the basis of the     
notion that every living body contains  
an entity1 vital force1 which is assumed
 to be the cause of those activities4   
,it is remarkable1 in looking back1 to  

notice to what an extent this and other 
survivals of scholastic realism arrested
 or1 at any rate1 impeded the           
application of sound scientific         
principles to the investigation of      
biological phenomena4 ,when ,i was      
beginning to think about these matters1 
the scientific world was occasionally   
agitated by discussions respecting the  
nature of the species and genera of     
,naturalists1 of a different order from 
the disputes of a later time4 ,i think  
most were agreed that a species was     
something which existed objectively1    
somehow or other1 and had been created  
by a ,divine fiat4 ,as to the objective 
reality of genera1 there was a good deal
 of difference of opinion4 ,on the other
 hand1 there were a few who could see no
 objective reality in anything but      
individuals1 and looked upon both       
species and genera as hypostatised      
universals4 ,as for myself1 ,i seem to  
have unconsciously emulated ,william of 
,occam1 inasmuch as almost the first    

public discourse ,i ever ventured upon1 
dealt with ,animal ,individuality1 and  
its tendency was to fight the           
,nominalist battle even in that quarter4
  ,realism appeared in still stranger   
forms at the time to which ,i refer4    
,the community of plan which is         
observable in each great group of       
animals was hypostatised into a         
,platonic idea with the appropriate name
 of archetype1 and we were told1 as a   
disciple of ,philo-,judus might have    
told us1 that this realistic figment was
 the archetypal light by which ,nature  
has been guided amidst the wreck of     
worlds4 ,so1 again1 another naturalist1 
who had no less earned a well-deserved  
reputation by his contributions to      
positive knowledge1 put forward a theory
 of the production of living things     
which1 as nearly as the increase of     
knowledge allowed1 was a reproduction of
 the doctrine inculcated by the ,jewish 
,cabbala4  ,annexing the archetype      
notion1 and carrying it to its full     

logical consequence1 the author of this 
theory conceived that the species of    
animals and plants were so many         
incarnations of the thoughts of         
,god--material representations of       
,divine ideas--during the particular    
period of the world's history at which  
they existed4 ,but1 under the influence 
of the embryological and palontological 
discoveries of modern times1 which had  
already lent some scientific support to 
the revived ancient theories of cosmical
 evolution or emanation1 the ingenious  
author of this speculation1 while       
denying and repudiating the ordinary    
theory of evolution by successive       
modification of individuals1 maintained 
and endeavoured to prove the occurrence 
of a progressive modification in the    
divine ideas of successive epochs4  ,on 
the foundation of a supposed elevation  
of organisation in the whole living     
population of any epoch1 as compared    
with that of its predecessor1 and a     
supposed complete difference in species 

between the populations of any two      
epochs 7neither of which suppositions   
has stood the test of further inquiry71 
the author of this speculation based his
 conclusion that the ,creator had1 so to
 speak1 improved upon his thoughts as   
time went on2 and that1 as each such    
amended scheme of creation came up1 the 
embodiment of the earlier divine        
thoughts was swept away by a universal  
catastrophe1 and an incarnation of the  
improved ideas took its place4 ,only    
after the last such wreck thus brought  
about1 did the embodiment of a divine   
thought1 in the shape of the first man1 
make its appearance as the ne plus ultra
 of the cosmogonical process4  ,i       
imagine that ,louis ,agassiz1 the genial
 backwoodsman of the science of my young
 days1 who did more to open out new     
tracks in the scientific forest than    
most men1 would have been much surprised
 to learn that he was preaching the     
doctrine of the ,cabbala1 pure and      
simple4 ,according to this modification 

of ,neoplatonism by contact with ,hebrew
 speculation1 the divine essence is     
unknowable--without form or attribute2  
but the interval between it and the     
world of sense is filled by intelligible
 entities1 which are nothing but the    
familiar hypostatised abstractions of   
the realists4 ,these have emanated1 like
 immense waves of light1 from the divine
 centre1 and1 as ten consecutive zones  
of ,sephiroth1 form the universe4 ,the  
farther away from the centre1 the more  
the primitive light wanes1 until the    
periphery ends in those mere negations1 
darkness and evil1 which are the essence
 of matter4 ,on this1 the divine agency 
transmitted through the ,sephiroth      
operates after the fashion of the       
,aristotelian forms1 and1 at first1     
produces the lowest of a series of      
worlds4 ,after a certain duration the   
primitive world is demolished and its   
fragments used up in making a better2   
and this process is repeated1 until at  
length a final world1 with man for its  

crown and finish1 makes its appearance4 
,it is needless to trace the process of 
retrogressive metamorphosis by which1   
through the agency of the ,messiah1 the 
steps of the process of evolution here  
sketched are retraced4 ,sufficient has  
been said to prove that the extremist   
realism current in the philosophy of the
 thirteenth century can be fully matched
 by the speculations of our own time4   
,,footnotes3       #ae ,there is no     
exaggeration in this brief and summary  
view           of the ,catholic cosmos4 
,but it would be unfair to leave it     
to be supposed that the ,reformation    
made any essential           alteration1
 except perhaps for the worse1 in that  
cosmology           which called itself 
,christian4 ,the protagonist of the     
,reformation1 from whom the whole of the
 ,evangelical sects           are       
lineally descended1 states the case with
 that plainness           of speech1 not
 to say brutality1 which characterised  
him4           ,luther says that man is 

a beast of burden who only moves as     
his rider orders2 sometimes ,god rides  
him1 and sometimes           ,satan4    
,sic voluntas humana in medio posita    
est1 ceu           jumentum2 si         
insederit ,deus1 vult et vadit1 quo vult
           ,deus4444 ,si insederit      
,satan1 vult et vadit1 quo vult ,satan2 
nec est in ejus arbitrio ad utrum       
sessorem currere1 aut eum               
qurere1 sed ipsi sessores certant ob    
ipsum obtinendum et                     
possidendum 7,de ,servo ,arbitrio1 ,m4  
,lutheri ,opera1 ed4           #aedf1 t4
 ii4 p4 #dfh74 ,one may hear            
substantially the same                  
doctrine preached in the parks and at   
street-corners by           zealous     
volunteer missionaries of ,evangelicism1
 any ,sunday1           in modern       
,london4 ,why these doctrines1 which are
 conspicuous           by their absence 
in the four ,gospels1 should arrogate to
           themselves the title of      
,evangelical1 in contradistinction to   

,catholic1 ,christianity1 may well      
perplex the impartial                   
inquirer1 who1 if he were obliged to    
choose between the two1           might 
naturally prefer that which leaves the  
poor beast of           burden a little 
freedom of choice4       #af ,i say     
so-called not by way of offence1 but as 
a           protest against the         
monstrous assumption that ,catholic     
,christianity is explicitly or          
implicitly contained in any             
trustworthy record of the teaching of   
,jesus of ,nazareth4       #ag ,it may  
be desirable to observe that1 in modern 
times1           the term ,realism has  
acquired a signification wholly         
different from that which attached to it
 in the middle ages4           ,we      
commonly use it as the contrary of      
,idealism4 ,the ,idealist               
holds that the phenomenal world has only
 a subjective           existence1 the  
,realist that it has an objective       
existence4 ,i           am not aware    

that any medival philosopher was an     
,idealist           in the sense in     
which we apply the term to ,berkeley4   
,in           fact1 the cardinal defect 
of their speculations lies in           
their oversight of the considerations   
which lead to           ,idealism4 ,if  
many of them regarded the material world
 as a           negation1 it was an     
active negation2 not zero1 but a minus  
quantity4       #ah ,at any rate a      
catastrophe greater than the flood1     
which1 as ,i observe with interest1 is  
as calmly assumed by           the      
preacher to be an historical event as if
 science had           never had a word 
to say on that subject6       #ai ,les  
formes des anciens ou ,entlchies ne sont
 autre           chose que les forces   
7,leibnitz1 ,lettre au ,pre ,bouvet1    
#afig74     ,,iii3 ,,science ,,and      
,,pseudo-,,science  #ahhg   ,in the     
opening sentences of a contribution to  
the last number of this ,review1#bj the 
,duke of ,argyll has favoured me with a 

lecture on the proprieties of           
controversy1 to which ,i should be      
disposed to listen with more docility if
 his ,grace's precepts appeared to me to
 be based upon rational principles1 or  
if his example were more exemplary4     
,with respect to the latter point1 the  
,duke has thought fit to entitle his    
article ,professor ,huxley on ,canon    
,liddon1 and thus forces into prominence
 an element of personality1 which those 
who read the paper which is the object  
of the ,duke's animadversions will      
observe ,i have endeavoured1 most       
carefully1 to avoid4 ,my criticisms     
dealt with a report of a sermon1        
published in a newspaper1 and thereby   
addressed to all the world4 ,whether    
that sermon was preached by ,a or ,b was
 not a matter of the smallest           
consequence2 and ,i went out of my way  
to absolve the learned divine to whom   
the discourse was attributed from the   
responsibility for statements which1 for
 anything ,i knew to the contrary1 might

 contain imperfect1 or inaccurate1      
representations of his views4 ,the      
assertion that ,i had the wish1 or was  
beset1 by any temptation to attack      
,canon ,liddon is simply contrary to    
fact4  ,but suppose that if1 instead of 
sedulously avoiding even the appearance 
of such attack1 ,i had thought fit to   
take a different course2 suppose that1  
after satisfying myself that the eminent
 clergyman whose name is paraded by the 
,duke of ,argyll had really uttered the 
words attributed to him from the pulpit 
of ,st4 ,paul's1 what right would any   
one have to find fault with my action on
 grounds either of justice1 expediency1 
or good taste8  ,establishment has its  
duties as well as its rights4 ,the      
clergy of a ,state ,church enjoy many   
advantages over those of unprivileged   
and unendowed religious persuasions2 but
 they lie under a correlative           
responsibility to the ,state1 and to    
every member of the body politic4 ,i am 
not aware that any sacredness attaches  

to sermons4 ,if preachers stray beyond  
the doctrinal limits set by lay lawyers1
 the ,privy ,council will see to it2    
and1 if they think fit to use their     
pulpits for the promulgation of         
literary1 or historical1 or scientific  
errors1 it is not only the right1 but   
the duty1 of the humblest layman1 who   
may happen to be better informed1 to    
correct the evil effects of such        
perversion of the opportunities which   
the ,state affords them2 and such misuse
 of the authority which its support     
lends them4 ,whatever else it may claim 
to be1 in its relations with the ,state1
 the ,established ,church is a branch of
 the ,civil ,service2 and1 for those who
 repudiate the ecclesiastical authority 
of the clergy1 they are merely civil    
servants1 as much responsible to the    
,english people for the proper          
performance of their duties as any      
others4  ,the ,duke of ,argyll tells us 
that the work and calling of the clergy 
prevent them from pursuing disputation  

as others can4 ,i wonder if his ,grace  
ever reads the so-called religious      
newspapers4 ,it is not an occupation    
which ,i should commend to any one who  
wishes to employ his time profitably2   
but a very short devotion to this       
exercise will suffice to convince him   
that the pursuit of disputation1 carried
 to a degree of acrimony and vehemence  
unsurpassed in lay controversies1 seems 
to be found quite compatible with the   
work and calling of a remarkably large  
number of the clergy4  ,finally1 it     
appears to me that nothing can be in    
worse taste than the assumption that a  
body of ,english gentlemen can1 by any  
possibility1 desire that immunity from  
criticism which the ,duke of ,argyll    
claims for them4 ,nothing would be more 
personally offensive to me than the     
supposition that ,i shirked criticism1  
just or unjust1 of any lecture ,i ever  
gave4 ,i should be utterly ashamed of   
myself if1 when ,i stood up as an       
instructor of others1 ,i had not taken  

every pains to assure myself of the     
truth of that which ,i was about to say2
 and ,i should feel myself bound to be  
even more careful with a popular        
assembly1 who would take me more or less
 on trust1 than with an audience of     
competent and critical experts4  ,i     
decline to assume that the standard of  
morality1 in these matters1 is lower    
among the clergy than it is among       
scientific men4 ,i refuse to think that 
the priest who stands up before a       
congregation1 as the minister and       
interpreter of the ,divinity1 is less   
careful in his utterances1 less ready to
 meet adverse comment1 than the layman  
who comes before his audience1 as the   
minister and interpreter of nature4 ,yet
 what should we think of the man of     
science who1 when his ignorance or his  
carelessness was exposed1 whined about  
the want of delicacy of his critics1 or 
pleaded his work and calling as a reason
 for being let alone8  ,no man1 nor any 
body of men1 is good enough1 or wise    

enough1 to dispense with the tonic of   
criticism4 ,nothing has done more harm  
to the clergy than the practice1 too    
common among laymen1 of regarding them1 
when in the pulpit1 as a sort of        
chartered libertines1 whose divagations 
are not to be taken seriously4 ,and ,i  
am well assured that the distinguished  
divine1 to whom the sermon is           
attributed1 is the last person who would
 desire to avail himself of the         
dishonouring protection which has been  
superfluously thrown over him4  ,so much
 for the lecture on propriety4 ,but the 
,duke of ,argyll1 to whom the hortatory 
style seems to come naturally1 does me  
the honour to make my sayings the       
subjects of a series of other           
admonitions1 some on philosophical1 some
 on geological1 some on biological      
topics4 ,i can but rejoice that the     
,duke's authority in these matters is   
not always employed to show that ,i am  
ignorant of them2 on the contrary1 ,i   
meet with an amount of agreement1 even  

of approbation1 for which ,i proffer    
such gratitude as may be due1 even if   
that gratitude is sometimes almost      
overshadowed by surprise4  ,i am        
unfeignedly astonished to find that the 
,duke of ,argyll1 who professes to      
intervene on behalf of the preacher1    
does really1 like another ,balaam1 bless
 me altogether in respect of the main   
issue4  ,i denied the justice of the    
preacher's ascription to men of science 
of the doctrine that miracles are       
incredible1 because they are violations 
of natural law2 and the ,duke of ,argyll
 says that he believes my denial to be  
well-founded4 ,the preacher was         
answering an objection which has now    
been generally abandoned4 ,either the   
preacher knew this or he did not know   
it4 ,it seems to me1 as a mere lay      
teacher1 to be a pity that the great    
dome of ,st4 ,paul's should have been   
made to echo 7if so be that such        
stentorian effects were really produced7
 a statement which1 admitting the first 

alternative1 was unfair1 and1 admitting 
the second1 was ignorant4#ba  ,having   
thus sacrified one half of the          
preacher's arguments1 the ,duke of      
,argyll proceeds to make equally short  
work with the other half4 ,it appears   
that he fully accepts my position that  
the occurrence of those events1 which   
the preacher speaks of as catastrophes1 
is no evidence of disorder1 inasmuch as 
such catastrophes may be necessary      
occasional consequences of uniform      
changes4 ,whence ,i conclude1 his ,grace
 agrees with me1 that the talk about    
royal laws wrecking ordinary laws may be
 eloquent metaphor1 but is also         
nonsense4  ,and now comes a further     
surprise4 ,after having given these     
superfluous stabs to the slain body of  
the preacher's argument1 my good ally   
remarks1 with magnificent calmness3 ,so 
far1 then1 the preacher and the         
professor are at one4 ,let them smoke   
the calumet4 ,by all means3 smoke would 
be the most appropriate symbol of this  

wonderful attempt to cover a retreat4   
,after all1 the ,duke has come to bury  
the preacher1 not to praise him2 only he
 makes the funeral obsequies look as    
much like a triumphal procession as     
possible4  ,so far as the questions     
between the preacher and myself are     
concerned1 then1 ,i may feel happy4 ,the
 authority of the ,duke of ,argyll is   
ranged on my side4 ,but the ,duke has   
raised a number of other questions1 with
 respect to which ,i fear ,i shall have 
to dispense with his support--nay1 even 
be compelled to differ from him as much1
 or more1 than ,i have done about his   
,grace's new rendering of the benefit of
 clergy4  ,in discussing catastrophes1  
the ,duke indulges in statements1 partly
 scientific1 partly anecdotic1 which    
appear to me to be somewhat misleading4 
,we are told1 to begin with1 that ,sir  
,charles ,lyell's doctrine respecting   
the proper mode of interpreting the     
facts of geology 7which is commonly     
called uniformitarianism7 does not hold 

its head quite so high as it once did4  
,that is great news indeed4 ,but is it  
true8 ,all ,i can say is that ,i am     
aware of nothing that has happened of   
late that can in any way justify it2 and
 my opinion is1 that the body of        
,lyell's doctrine1 as laid down in that 
great work1 ,the ,principles of         
,geology1 whatever may have happened to 
its head1 is a chief and permanent      
constituent of the foundations of       
geological science4  ,but this question 
cannot he advantageously discussed1     
unless we take some pains to            
discriminate between the essential part 
of the uniformitarian doctrine and its  
accessories2 and it does not appear that
 the ,duke of ,argyll has carried his   
studies of geological philosophy so far 
as this point4 ,for he defines          
uniformitarianism to be the assumption  
of the extreme slowness and perfect     
continuity of all geological changes4   
,what perfect continuity may mean in    
this definition1 ,i am by no means sure2

 but ,i can only imagine that it        
signifies the absence of any break in   
the course of natural order during the  
millions of years1 the lapse of which is
 recorded by geological phenomena4  ,is 
the ,duke of ,argyll prepared to say    
that any geologist of authority1 at the 
present day1 believes that there is the 
slightest evidence of the occurrence of 
supernatural intervention1 during the   
long ages of which the monuments are    
preserved to us in the crust of the     
earth8 ,and if he is not1 in what sense 
has this part of the uniformitarian     
doctrine1 as he defines it1 lowered its 
pretensions to represent scientific     
truth8  ,as to the extreme slowness of  
all geological changes1 it is simply a  
popular error to regard that as1 in any 
wise1 a fundamental and necessary dogma 
of uniformitarianism4 ,it is extremely  
astonishing to me that any one who has  
carefully studied ,lyell's great work   
can have so completely failed to        
appreciate its purport1 which yet is    

writ large on the very title-page3 ,the 
,principles of ,geology1 being an       
attempt to explain the former changes of
 the earth's surface by reference to    
causes now in operation4 ,the essence of
 ,lyell's doctrine is here written so   
that those who run may read2 and it has 
nothing to do with the quickness or     
slowness of the past changes of the     
earth's surface2 except in so far as    
existing analogous changes may go on    
slowly1 and therefore create a          
presumption in favour of the slowness of
 past changes4  ,with that epigrammatic 
force which characterises his style1    
,buffon wrote1 nearly a hundred and     
fifty years ago1 in his famous ,thorie  
de la ,terre3 ,pour juger de ce qui est 
arriv1 et mme de ce qui arrivera1 nous  
n'avons qu' examiner ce qui arrive4 ,the
 key of the past1 as of the future1 is  
to be sought in the present2 and1 only  
when known causes of change have been   
shown to be insufficient1 have we any   
right to have recourse to unknown       

causes4 ,geology is as much a historical
 science as archology2 and ,i apprehend 
that all sound historical investigation 
rests upon this axiom4 ,it underlay all 
,hutton's work and animated ,lyell and  
,scope in their successful efforts to   
revolutionise the geology of half a     
century ago4  ,there is no antagonism   
whatever1 and there never was1 between  
the belief in the views which had their 
chief and unwearied advocate in ,lyell  
and the belief in the occurrence of     
catastrophes4 ,the first edition of     
,lyell's ,principles1 published in      
#ahcj1 lies before me2 and a large part 
of the first volume is occupied by an   
account of volcanic1 seismic1 and       
diluvial catastrophes which have        
occurred within the historical period4  
,moreover1 the author1 over and over    
again1 expressly draws the attention of 
his readers to the consistency of       
catastrophes with his doctrine4         
,notwithstanding1 therefore1 that we    
have not witnessed      within the last 

three thousand years the devastation by 
deluge of a large continent1 yet1 as we 
may predict the      future occurrence  
of such catastrophes1 we are authorized 
to      regard them as part of the      
present order of nature1 and they       
may be introduced into geological       
speculations respecting      the past1  
provided that we do not imagine them to 
have been      more frequent or general 
than we expect them to be in time       
to come 7vol4 i4 p4 #hi74  ,again3--    
,if we regard each of the causes        
separately1 which we know to      be at 
present the most instrumental in        
remodelling the state      of the       
surface1 we shall find that we must     
expect each to      be in action for    
thousands of years1 without producing   
any      extensive alterations in the   
habitable surface1 and then to      give
 rise1 during a very brief period1 to   
important      revolutions 7vol4 ii4 p4 
#afa74bb  ,lyell quarrelled with the    
catastrophists then1 by no means because

 they assumed that catastrophes occur   
and have occurred1 but because they had 
got into the habit of calling on their  
god ,catastrophe to help them1 when they
 ought to have been putting their       
shoulders to the wheel of observation of
 the present course of nature1 in order 
to help themselves out of their         
difficulties4 ,and geological science   
has become what it is1 chiefly because  
geologists have gradually accepted      
,lyell's doctrine and followed his      
precepts4  ,so far as ,i know anything  
about the matter1 there is nothing that 
can be called proof1 that the causes of 
geological phenomena operated more      
intensely or more rapidly1 at any time  
between the older tertiary and the      
oldest palozoic epochs than they have   
done between the older tertiary epoch   
and the present day4 ,and if that is so1
 uniformitarianism1 even as limited by  
,lyell1#bc has no call to lower its     
crest4 ,but if the facts were otherwise1
 the position ,lyell took up remains    

impregnable4 ,he did not say that the   
geological operations of nature were    
never more rapid1 or more vast1 than    
they are now2 what he did maintain is   
the very different proposition that     
there is no good evidence of anything of
 the kind4 ,and that proposition has not
 yet been shown to be incorrect4  ,i owe
 more than ,i can tell to the careful   
study of the ,principles of ,geology in 
my young days2 and1 long before the year
 #ahef1 my mind was familiar with the   
truth that the doctrine of uniformity is
 not incompatible with great and sudden 
changes1 which1 as ,i have shown1 is    
taught totidem verbis in that work4     
,even had it been possible for me to    
shut my eyes to the sense of what ,i had
 read in the ,principles1 ,whewell's    
,philosophy of the ,inductive ,sciences1
 published in #ahdj1 a work with which  
,i was also tolerably familiar1 must    
have opened them4 ,for the always acute1
 if not always profound1 author1 in     
arguing against ,lyell's                

uniformitarianism1 expressly points out 
that it does not in any way contravene  
the occurrence of catastrophes4         
,with regard to such occurrences        
earthquakes1 deluges1      etc41        
terrible as they appear at the time1    
they may not      much affect the       
average rate of change3 there may be a  
cycle1 though an irregular one1 of rapid
 and slow change3      and if such      
cycles go on succeeding each other1 we  
may still      call the order of nature 
uniform1 notwithstanding the            
periods of violence which it            
involves4#bd  ,the reader who has       
followed me through this brief chapter  
of the history of geological philosophy 
will probably find the following passage
 in the paper of the ,duke of ,argyll to
 be not a little remarkable3--          
,many years ago1 when ,i had the honor  
of being ,president of      the ,british
 ,association1#be ,i ventured to point  
out1 in the      presence and in the    
hearing of that most distinguished man  

,sir ,c4 ,lyell that the doctrine of    
uniformity was not      incompatible    
with great and sudden changes1 since    
cycles of      these and other cycles of
 comparative rest might well be         
constituent parts of that uniformity    
which he asserted4      ,lyell did not  
object to this extended interpretation  
of his      own doctrine1 and indeed    
expressed to me his entire              
concurrence4  ,i should think he did2   
for1 as ,i have shown1 there was nothing
 in it that ,lyell himself had not said1
 six-and-twenty years before1 and       
enforced1 three years before2 and it is 
almost verbally identical with the view 
of uniformitarianism taken by ,whewell1 
sixteen years before1 in a work with    
which1 one would think1 that any one who
 undertakes to discuss the philosophy of
 science should be familiar4  ,thirty   
years have elapsed since the beginner of
 #ahef persuaded himself that he        
enlightened the foremost geologist of   
his time1 and one of the most acute and 

far-seeing men of science of any time1  
as to the scope of the doctrines which  
the veteran philosopher had grown gray  
in promulgating2 and the ,duke of       
,argyll's acquaintance with the         
literature of geology has not1 even now1
 become sufficiently profound to        
dissipate that pleasant delusion4  ,if  
the ,duke of ,argyll's guidance in that 
branch of physical science1 with which  
alone he has given evidence of any      
practical acquaintance1 is thus unsafe1 
,i may breathe more freely in setting my
 opinion against the authoritative      
deliverances of his ,grace about matters
 which lie outside the province of      
geology4  ,and here the ,duke's paper   
offers me such a wealth of opportunities
 that choice becomes embarrassing4 ,i   
must bear in mind the good old adage1   
,non multa sed multum4 ,tempting as it  
would be to follow the ,duke through his
 labyrinthine misunderstandings of the  
ordinary terminology of philosophy and  
to comment on the curious               

unintelligibility which hangs about his 
frequent outpourings of fervid language1
 limits of space oblige me to restrict  
myself to those points1 the discussion  
of which may help to enlighten the      
public in respect of matters of more    
importance than the competence of my    
,mentor for the task which he has       
undertaken4  ,i am not sure when the    
employment of the word ,law1 in the     
sense in which we speak of laws of      
nature1 commenced1 but examples of it   
may be found in the works of ,bacon1    
,descartes1 and ,spinoza4 ,bacon employs
 ,law as the equivalent of ,form1 and ,i
 am inclined to think that he may be    
responsible for a good deal of the      
confusion that has subsequently arisen2 
but ,i am not aware that the term is    
used by other authorities1 in the       
seventeenth and eighteenth centuries1 in
 any other sense than that of rule or   
definite order of the coexistence of    
things or succession of events in       
nature4 ,descartes speaks of rgles1 que 

je nomme les lois de la nature4         
,leibnitz says loi ou rgle gnrale1 as if
 he considered the terms                
interchangeable4  ,the ,duke of ,argyll1
 however1 affirms that the law of       
gravitation as put forth by ,newton was 
something more than the statement of an 
observed order4 ,he admits that         
,kepler's three laws were an observed   
order of facts and nothing more4 ,as to 
the law of gravitation1 it contains an  
element which ,kepler's laws did not    
contain1 even an element of causation1  
the recognition of which belongs to a   
higher category of intellectual         
conceptions than that which is concerned
 in the mere observation and record of  
separate and apparently unconnected     
facts4 ,there is hardly a line in these 
paragraphs which appears to me to be    
indisputable4 ,but1 to confine myself to
 the matter in hand1 ,i cannot conceive 
that any one who had taken ordinary     
pains to acquaint himself with the real 
nature of either ,kepler's or ,newton's 

work could have written them4 ,that the 
labours of ,kepler1 of all men in the   
world1 should be called mere observation
 and record1 is truly wonderful4 ,and   
any one who will look into the          
,principia1 or the ,optics1 or the      
,letters to ,bentley1 will see1 even if 
he has no more special knowledge of the 
topics discussed than ,i have1 that     
,newton over and over again insisted    
that he had nothing to do with          
gravitation as a physical cause1 and    
that when he used the terms attraction1 
force1 and the like1 he employed them1  
as he says1 mathematic and not physic4  
,how these attractions of gravity1      
magnetism1 and      electricity may be  
performed1 ,i do not here consider4     
,what      ,i call attraction may be    
performed by impulse or by some         
other means unknown to me4 ,i use that  
word here to signify      only in a     
general way any force by which bodies   
tend towards      one another1 whatever 
be the cause4#bf  ,according to my      

reading of the best authorities upon the
 history of science1 ,newton discovered 
neither gravitation1 nor the law of     
gravitation2 nor did he pretend to offer
 more than a conjecture as to the       
causation of gravitation4 ,moreover1 his
 assertion that the notion of a body    
acting where it is not1 is one that no  
competent thinker could entertain1 is   
antagonistic to the whole current       
conception of attractive and repulsive  
forces1 and therefore of the attractive 
force of gravitation4 ,what1 then1 was  
that labour of unsurpassed magnitude and
 excellence and of immortal influence   
which ,newton did perform8 ,in the first
 place1 ,newton defined the laws1 rules1
 or observed order of the phenomena of  
motion1 which come under our daily      
observation1 with greater precision than
 had been before attained2 and1 by      
following out1 with marvellous power and
 subtlety1 the mathematical consequences
 of these rules1 he almost created the  
modern science of pure mechanics4 ,in   

the second place1 applying exactly the  
same method to the explication of the   
facts of astronomy as that which was    
applied a century and a half later to   
the facts of geology by ,lyell1 he set  
himself to solve the following problem4 
,assuming that all bodies1 free to move1
 tend to approach one another as the    
earth and the bodies on it do2 assuming 
that the strength of that tendency is   
directly as the mass and inversely as   
the squares of the distances2 assuming  
that the laws of motion1 determined for 
terrestrial bodies1 hold good throughout
 the universe2 assuming that the planets
 and their satellites were created and  
placed at their observed mean distances1
 and that each received a certain       
impulse from the ,creator2 will the form
 of the orbits1 the varying rates of    
motion of the planets1 and the ratio    
between those rates and their distances 
from the sun1 which must follow by      
mathematical reasoning from these       
premisses1 agree with the order of facts

 determined by ,kepler and others1 or   
not8  ,newton1 employing mathematical   
methods which are the admiration of     
adepts1 but which no one but himself    
appears to have been able to use with   
ease1 not only answered this question in
 the affirmative1 but stayed not his    
constructive genius before it had       
founded modern physical astronomy4  ,the
 historians of mechanical and of        
astronomical science appear to be agreed
 that he was the first person who       
clearly and distinctly put forth the    
hypothesis that the phenomena           
comprehended under the general name of  
gravity follow the same order throughout
 the universe1 and that all material    
bodies exhibit these phenomena2 so that1
 in this sense1 the idea of universal   
gravitation may1 doubtless1 be properly 
ascribed to him4  ,newton proved that   
the laws of ,kepler were particular     
consequences of the laws of motion and  
the law of gravitation--in other words1 
the reason of the first lay in the two  

latter4 ,but to talk of the law of      
gravitation alone as the reason of      
,kepler's laws1 and still more as       
standing in any causal relation to      
,kepler's laws1 is simply a misuse of   
language4 ,it would really be           
interesting if the ,duke of ,argyll     
would explain how he proposes to set    
about showing that the elliptical form  
of the orbits of the planets1 the       
constant area described by the radius   
vector1 and the proportionality of the  
squares of the periodic times to the    
cubes of the distances from the sun1 are
 either caused by the force of          
gravitation or deducible from the law of
 gravitation4 ,i conceive that it would 
be about as apposite to say that the    
various compounds of nitrogen with      
oxygen are caused by chemical attraction
 and deducible from the atomic theory4  
99       99       99       99       99  
,newton assuredly lent no shadow of     
support to the modern pseudo-scientific 
philosophy which confounds laws with    

causes4 ,i have not taken the trouble to
 trace out this commonest of fallacies  
to its first beginning2 but ,i was      
familiar with it in full bloom more than
 thirty years ago1 in a work which had a
 great vogue in its day--the ,vestiges  
of the ,natural ,history of             
,creation--of which the first edition   
was published in #ahdd4  ,it is full of 
apt and forcible illustrations of       
pseudo-scientific realism4 ,consider1   
for example1 this gem serene4 ,when a   
boy who has climbed a tree loses his    
hold of the branch1 the law of          
gravitation unrelentingly pulls him to  
the ground1 and then he is hurt1 whereby
 the ,almighty is quite relieved from   
any responsibility for the accident4    
,here is the law of gravitation acting  
as a cause in a way quite in accordance 
with the ,duke of ,argyll's conception  
of it4 ,in fact1 in the mind of the     
author of the ,vestiges1 laws are       
existences intermediate between the     
,creator and ,his works1 like the ideas 

of the ,platonisers or the ,logos of the
 ,alexandrians4#bg ,i may cite a passage
 which is quite in the vein of ,philo3--
       ,we have seen powerful evidences 
that the construction of      this globe
 and its associates2 and1 inferentially1
 that of      all the other globes in   
space1 was the result1 not of any       
immediate or personal exertion on the   
part of the ,deity1 but      of natural 
laws which are the expression of ,his   
will4 ,what      is to hinder our       
supposing that the organic creation is  
also      a result of natural laws which
 are in like manner an      expression  
of ,his will8 7p4 #aed1 #ast edition74  
,and creation operating by law is       
constantly cited as relieving the       
,creator from trouble about             
insignificant details4  ,i am perplexed 
to picture to myself the state of mind  
which accepts these verbal juggleries4  
,it is intelligible that the ,creator   
should operate according to such rules  
as he might think fit to lay down for   

himself 7and therefore according to     
law72 but that would leave the operation
 of his will just as much a direct      
personal act as it would be under any   
other circumstances4 ,i can also        
understand that 7as in ,leibnitz's      
caricature of ,newton's views7 the      
,creator might have made the cosmical   
machine1 and1 after setting it going1   
have left it to itself till it needed   
repair4 ,but then1 by the supposition1  
his personal responsibility would have  
been involved in all that it did2 just  
as much as a dynamiter is responsible   
for what happens1 when he has set his   
machine going and left it to explode4   
,the only hypothesis which gives a sort 
of mad consistency to the               
,vestigiarian's views is the supposition
 that laws are a kind of angels or      
demiurgoi1 who1 being supplied with the 
,great ,architect's plan1 were permitted
 to settle the details among themselves4
 ,accepting this doctrine1 the          
conception of royal laws and plebeian   

laws1 and of those more than ,homeric   
contests in which the big laws wreck the
 little ones1 becomes quite             
intelligible4 ,and1 in fact1 the honour 
of the paternity of those remarkable    
ideas which come into full flower in the
 preacher's discourse must1 so far as my
 imperfect knowledge goes1 be attributed
 to the author of the ,vestiges4  ,but  
the author of the ,vestiges is not the  
only writer who is responsible for the  
current pseudo-scientific mystifications
 which hang about the term law4 ,when ,i
 wrote my paper about ,scientific and   
,pseudo-,scientific ,realism1 ,i had not
 read a work by the ,duke of ,argyll1   
,the ,reign of ,law1 which1 ,i believe1 
has enjoyed1 possibly still enjoys1 a   
widespread popularity4 ,but the vivacity
 of the ,duke's attack led me to think  
it possible that criticisms directed    
elsewhere might have come home to him4  
,and1 in fact1 ,i find that the second  
chapter of the work in question1 which  
is entitled ,law2 its definitions1 is1  

from my point of view1 a sort of summa  
of pseudo-scientific philosophy4 ,it    
will be worth while to examine it in    
some detail4  ,in the first place1 it is
 to be noted that the author of the     
,reign of ,law admits that law1 in many 
cases1 means nothing more than the      
statement of the order in which facts   
occur1 or1 as he says1 an observed order
 of facts 7p4 #ff74 ,but his            
appreciation of the value of accuracy of
 expression does not hinder him from    
adding1 almost in the same breath1 ,in  
this sense the laws of nature are simply
 those facts of nature which recur      
according to rule 7p4 #ff74 ,thus laws1 
which were rightly said to be the       
statement of an order of facts in one   
paragraph1 are declared to be the facts 
themselves in the next4  ,we are next   
told that1 though it may be customary   
and permissible to use law in the sense 
of a statement of the order of facts1   
this is a low use of the word2 and1     
indeed1 two pages farther on1 the       

writer1 flatly contradicting himself1   
altogether denies its admissibility4    
,an observed order of facts1 to be      
entitled to the rank of a      law1 must
 be an order so constant and uniform as 
to indicate      necessity1 and         
necessity can only arise out of the     
action      of some compelling force 7p4
 #fh74  ,this is undoubtedly one of the 
most singular propositions that ,i have 
ever met with in a professedly          
scientific work1 and its rarity is      
embellished by another direct           
self-contradiction which it implies4    
,for on the preceding page 7#fg71 when  
the ,duke of ,argyll is speaking of the 
laws of ,kepler1 which he admits to be  
laws1 and which are types of that which 
men of science understand by laws1 he   
says that they are simply and purely an 
order of facts4 ,moreover1 he adds3 ,a  
very large proportion of the laws of    
every science are laws of this kind and 
in this sense4  ,if1 according to the   
,duke of ,argyll's admission1 law is    

understood1 in this sense1 thus widely  
and constantly by scientific            
authorities1 where is the justification 
for his unqualified assertion that such 
statements of the observed order of     
facts are not entitled to the rank of   
laws8  ,but let us examine the          
consequences of the really interesting  
proposition ,i have just quoted4 ,i     
presume that it is a law of nature that 
a straight line is the shortest distance
 between two points4 ,this law affirms  
the constant association of a certain   
fact of form with a certain fact of     
dimension4 ,whether the notion of       
necessity which attaches to it has an a 
priori1 or an a posteriori origin is a  
question not relevant to the present    
discussion4 ,but ,i would beg to be     
informed1 if it is necessary1 where is  
the compelling force out of which the   
necessity arises2 and further1 if it is 
not necessary1 whether it loses the     
character of a law of nature8  ,i take  
it to be the law of nature1 based on    

unexceptionable evidence1 that the mass 
of matter remains unchanged1 whatever   
chemical or other modifications it may  
undergo4 ,this law is one of the        
foundations of chemistry4 ,but it is by 
no means necessary4 ,it is quite        
possible to imagine that the mass of    
matter should vary according to         
circumstances1 as we know its weight    
does4 ,moreover1 the determination of   
the force which makes mass constant 7if 
there is any intelligibility in that    
form of words7 would not1 so far as ,i  
can see1 confer any more validity on the
 law than it has now4  ,there is a law  
of nature1 so well vouched by           
experience1 that all mankind1 from pure 
logicians in search of examples to      
parish sextons in search of fees1       
confide in it4 ,this is the law that all
 men are mortal4 ,it is simply a        
statement of the observed order of facts
 that all men sooner or later die4 ,i am
 not acquainted with any law of nature  
which is more constant and uniform than 

this4 ,but will any one tell me that    
death is necessary8 ,certainly there is 
no  priori necessity in the case1 for   
various men have been imagined to be    
immortal4 ,and ,i should be glad to be  
informed of any necessity that can be   
deduced from biological considerations4 
,it is quite conceivable1 as has        
recently been pointed out1 that some of 
the lowest forms of life may be         
immortal1 after a fashion4 ,however this
 may be1 ,i would further ask1 supposing
 all men are mortal to be a real law of 
nature1 where and what is that to which1
 with any propriety1 the title of       
compelling force of the law can be      
given8  ,on page #fi1 the ,duke of      
,argyll asserts that the law of         
gravitation is a law in the sense1 not  
merely of a rule1 but of a cause4 ,but  
this revival of the teaching of the     
,vestiges has already been examined and 
disposed of2 and when the ,duke of      
,argyll states that the observed order  
which ,kepler had discovered was simply 

a necessary consequence of the force of 
gravitation1 ,i need not recapitulate   
the evidence which proves such a        
statement to be wholly fallacious4 ,but 
it may be useful to say1 once more1     
that1 at this present moment1 nobody    
knows anything about the existence of a 
force of gravitation apart from the     
fact2 that ,newton declared the ordinary
 notion of such force to be             
inconceivable2 that various attempts    
have been made to account for the order 
of facts we call gravitation1 without   
recourse to the notion of attractive    
force2 that1 if such a force exists1 it 
is utterly incompetent to account for   
,kepler's laws1 without taking into the 
reckoning a great number of other       
considerations2 and1 finally1 that all  
we know about the force of gravitation1 
or any other so-called force1 is that it
 is a name for the hypothetical cause of
 an observed order of facts4  ,thus1    
when the ,duke of ,argyll says3 ,force1 
ascertained according to some measure of

 its operation--this is indeed one of   
the definitions1 but only one1 of a     
scientific law 7p4 #ga7 ,i reply that it
 is a definition which must be          
repudiated by every one who possesses an
 adequate acquaintance with either the  
facts1 or the philosophy1 of science1   
and be relegated to the limbo of        
pseudo-scientific fallacies4 ,if the    
human mind has never entertained this   
notion of force1 nay1 if it substituted 
bare invariable succession for the      
ordinary notion of causation1 the idea  
of law1 as the expression of a          
constantly-observed order1 which        
generates a corresponding intensity of  
expectation in our minds1 would have    
exactly the same value1 and play its    
part in real science1 exactly as it does
 now4  ,it is needless to extend further
 the present excursus on the origin and 
history of modern pseudo-science4 ,under
 such high patronage as it has enjoyed1 
it has grown and flourished until1      
nowadays1 it is becoming somewhat       

rampant4 ,it has its weekly             
,ephemerides1 in which every new        
pseudo-scientific mare's-nest is hailed 
and belauded with the unconscious       
unfairness of ignorance2 and an army of 
reconcilers1 enlisted in its service1   
whose business seems to be to mix the   
black of dogma and the white of science 
into the neutral tint of what they call 
liberal theology4  ,i remember that1 not
 long after the publication of the      
,vestiges1 a shrewd and sarcastic       
countryman of the author defined it as  
cauld kail made het again4 ,a cynic     
might find amusement in the reflection  
that1 at the present time1 the          
principles and the methods of the       
much-vilified ,vestigiarian are being   
made het again2 and are not only echoed 
by the dome of ,st4 ,paul's1 but        
thundered from the castle of ,inverary4 
,but my turn of mind is not cynical1 and
 ,i can but regret the waste of time and
 energy bestowed on the endeavour to    
deal with the most difficult problems of

 science1 by those who have neither     
undergone the discipline1 nor possess   
the information1 which are indispensable
 to the successful issue of such an     
enterprise4  ,i have already had        
occasion to remark that the ,duke of    
,argyll's views of the conduct of       
controversy are different from mine2 and
 this much-to-be lamented discrepancy   
becomes yet more accentuated when the   
,duke reaches biological topics4        
,anything that was good enough for ,sir 
,charles ,lyell1 in his department of   
study1 is certainly good enough for me  
in mine2 and ,i by no means demur to    
being pedagogically instructed about a  
variety of matters with which it has    
been the business of my life to try to  
acquaint myself4 ,but the ,duke of      
,argyll is not content with favouring me
 with his opinions about my own         
business2 he also answers for mine2 and1
 at that point1 really the worm must    
turn4 ,i am told that no one knows      
better than ,professor ,huxley a variety

 of things which ,i really do not know2 
and ,i am said to be a disciple of that 
,positive ,philosophy which ,i have1    
over and over again1 publicly repudiated
 in language which is certainly not     
lacking in intelligibility whatever may 
be its other defects4  ,i am told that  
,i have been amusing myself with a      
metaphysical exercitation or logomachy  
7may ,i remark incidentally that these  
are not quite convertible terms871 when1
 to the best of my belief1 ,i have been 
trying to expose a process of           
mystification1 based upon the use of    
scientific language by writers who      
exhibit no sign of scientific training1 
of accurate scientific knowledge1 or of 
clear ideas respecting the philosophy of
 science1 which is doing very serious   
harm to the public4 ,naturally enough1  
they take the lion's skin of scientific 
phraseology for evidence that the voice 
which issues from beneath it is the     
voice of science1 and ,i desire to      
relieve them from the consequences of   

their error4  ,the ,duke of ,argyll     
asks1 apparently with sorrow that it    
should be his duty to subject me to     
reproof--       ,what shall we say of a 
philosophy which confounds the          
organic with the inorganic1 and1        
refusing to take note of a              
difference so profound1 assumes to      
explain under one common                
abstraction1 the movements due to       
gravitation and the      movements due  
to the mind of man8  ,to which ,i may   
fitly reply by another question3 ,what  
shall we say to a controversialist who  
attributes to the subject of his attack 
opinions which are notoriously not his2 
and expresses himself in such a manner  
that it is obvious he is unacquainted   
with even the rudiments of that         
knowledge which is necessary to the     
discussion into which he has rushed8    
,what line of my writing can the ,duke  
of ,argyll produce which confounds the  
organic with the inorganic8  ,as to the 
latter half of the paragraph1 ,i have to

 confess a doubt whether it has any     
definite meaning4 ,but ,i imagine that  
the ,duke is alluding to my assertion   
that the law of gravitation is nowise   
suspended or defied when a man lifts his
 arm2 but that1 under such              
circumstances1 part of the store of     
energy in the universe operates on the  
arm at a mechanical advantage as against
 the operation of another part4 ,i was  
simple enough to think that no one who  
had as much knowledge of physiology as  
is to be found in an elementary primer1 
or who had ever heard of the greatest   
physical generalisation of modern       
times--the doctrine of the conservation 
of energy--would dream of doubting my   
statement2 and ,i was further simple    
enough to think that no one who lacked  
these qualifications would feel tempted 
to charge me with error4 ,it appears    
that my simplicity is greater than my   
powers of imagination4  ,the ,duke of   
,argyll may not be aware of the fact1   
but it is nevertheless true1 that when a

 man's arm is raised1 in sequence to    
that state of consciousness we call a   
volition1 the volition is not the       
immediate cause of the elevation of the 
arm4 ,on the contrary1 that operation is
 effected by a certain change of form1  
technically known as contraction in     
sundry masses of flesh1 technically     
known as muscles1 which are fixed to the
 bones of the shoulder in such a manner 
that1 if these muscles contract1 they   
must raise the arm4 ,now each of these  
muscles is a machine comparable1 in a   
certain sense1 to one of the            
donkey-engines of a steamship1 but more 
complete1 inasmuch as the source of its 
ability to change its form1 or contract1
 lies within itself4 ,every time that1  
by contracting1 the muscle does work1   
such as that involved in raising the    
arm1 more or less of the material which 
it contains is used up1 just as more or 
less of the fuel of a steam-engine is   
used up1 when it does work4 ,and ,i do  
not think there is a doubt in the mind  

of any competent physicist1 or          
physiologist1 that the work done in     
lifting the weight of the arm is the    
mechanical equivalent of a certain      
proportion of the energy set free by the
 molecular changes which take place in  
the muscle4 ,it is further a tolerably  
well-based belief that this1 and all    
other forms of energy1 are mutually     
convertible2 and1 therefore1 that they  
all come under that general law or      
statement of the order of facts1 called 
the conservation of energy4 ,and1 as    
that certainly is an abstraction1 so the
 view which the ,duke of ,argyll thinks 
so extremely absurd is really one of the
 commonplaces of physiology4 ,but this  
,review is hardly an appropriate place  
for giving instruction in the elements  
of that science1 and ,i content myself  
with recommending the ,duke of ,argyll  
to devote some study to ,book ,,ii4     
chap4 v4 section #d of my friend ,dr4   
,foster's excellent text-book of        
,physiology 7#ast edition1 #ahgg1 p4    

#cba71 which begins thus3--             
,broadly speaking1 the animal body is a 
machine for      converting potential   
into actual energy4 ,the potential      
energy is supplied by the food2 this the
 metabolism of the      body converts   
into the actual energy of heat and      
mechanical      labour4  ,there is no   
more difficult problem in the world than
 that of the relation of the state of   
consciousness1 termed volition1 to the  
mechanical work which frequently follows
 upon it4 ,but no one can even          
comprehend the nature of the problem1   
who has not carefully studied the long  
series of modes of motion which1 without
 a break1 connect the energy which does 
that work with the general store of     
energy4 ,the ultimate form of the       
problem is this3 ,have we any reason to 
believe that a feeling1 or state of     
consciousness1 is capable of directly   
affecting the motion of even the        
smallest conceivable molecule of matter8
 ,is such a thing even conceivable8 ,if 

we answer these questions in the        
negative1 it follows that volition may  
be a sign1 but cannot be a cause1 of    
bodily motion4 ,if we answer them in the
 affirmative1 then states of            
consciousness become undistinguishable  
from material things2 for it is the     
essential nature of matter to be the    
vehicle or substratum of mechanical     
energy4  ,there is nothing new in all   
this4 ,i have merely put into modern    
language the issue raised by ,descartes 
more than two centuries ago4 ,the       
philosophies of the ,occasionalists1 of 
,spinoza1 of ,malebranche1 of modern    
idealism and modern materialism1 have   
all grown out of the controversies which
 ,cartesianism evoked4 ,of all this the 
pseudo-science of the present time      
appears to be unconscious2 otherwise it 
would hardly content itself with making 
het again the pseudo-science of the     
past4  ,in the course of these          
observations ,i have already had        
occasion to express my appreciation of  

the copious and perfervid eloquence     
which enriches the ,duke of ,argyll's   
pages4 ,i am almost ashamed that a      
constitutional insensibility to the     
,sirenian charms of rhetoric has        
permitted me in wandering through these 
flowery meads1 to be attracted1 almost  
exclusively1 to the bare places of      
fallacy and the stony grounds of        
deficient information1 which are        
disguised1 though not concealed1 by     
these floral decorations4 ,but1 in his  
concluding sentences1 the ,duke soars   
into a ,tyrtan strain which roused even 
my dull soul4       ,it was high time1  
indeed1 that some revolt should be      
raised      against that ,reign of      
,terror which had come to be            
established in the scientific world     
under the abuse of a      great name4   
,professor ,huxley has not joined this  
revolt      openly1 for as yet1 indeed1 
it is only beginning to raise      its  
head4 ,but more than once--and very     
lately--he has      uttered a warning   

voice against the shallow dogmatism that
      has provoked it4 ,the time is     
coming when that revolt will be         
carried further4 ,higher interpretations
 will be established4      ,unless ,i am
 much mistaken1 they are already coming 
in sight      7p4 #cci74  ,i have been  
living very much out of the world for   
the last two or three years1 and when ,i
 read this denunciatory outburst1 as of 
one filled with the spirit of prophecy1 
,i said to myself1 ,mercy upon us1 what 
has happened8 ,can it be that ,x4 and   
,y4 7it would be wrong to mention the   
names of the vigorous young friends     
which occurred to me7 are playing       
,danton and ,robespierre2 and that a    
guillotine is erected in the courtyard  
of ,burlington ,house for the benefit of
 all anti-,darwinian ,fellows of the    
,royal ,society8 ,where are the secret  
conspirators against this tyranny1 whom 
,i am supposed to favour1 and yet not   
have the courage to join openly8 ,and to
 think of my poor oppressed friend1 ,mr4

 ,herbert ,spencer1 'compelled to speak 
with bated breath' 7p4 #cch7 certainly  
for the first time in my thirty-odd     
years' acquaintance with him6 ,my alarm 
and horror at the supposition that while
 ,i had been fiddling 7or at any rate   
physicking71 my beloved ,rome had been  
burning1 in this fashion1 may be        
imagined4  ,i am sure the ,duke of      
,argyll will be glad to hear that the   
anxiety he created was of extremely     
short duration4 ,it is my privilege to  
have access to the best sources of      
information1 and nobody in the          
scientific world can tell me anything   
about either the ,reign of ,terror or   
the ,revolt4 ,in fact1 the scientific   
world laughs most indecorously at the   
notion of the existence of either2 and  
some are so lost to the sense of the    
scientific dignity1 that they descend to
 the use of transatlantic slang1 and    
call it a bogus scare4 ,as to my friend 
,mr4 ,herbert ,spencer1 ,i have every   
reason to know that1 in the ,factors of 

,organic ,evolution1 he has said exactly
 what was in his mind1 without any      
particular deference to the opinions of 
the person whom he is pleased to regard 
as his most dangerous critic and        
,devil's ,advocate-,general1 and still  
less of any one else4  ,i do not know   
whether the ,duke of ,argyll pictures   
himself as the ,tallien of this         
imaginary revolt against a no less      
imaginary ,reign of ,terror4 ,but if so1
 ,i most respectfully but firmly decline
 to join his forces4 ,it is only a few  
weeks since ,i happened to read over    
again the first article which ,i ever   
wrote 7now twenty-seven years ago7 on   
the ,origin of ,species1 and ,i found   
nothing that ,i wished to modify in the 
opinions that are there expressed1      
though the subsequent vast accumulation 
of evidence in favour of ,mr4 ,darwin's 
views would give me much to add4 ,as is 
the case with all new doctrines1 so with
 that of ,evolution1 the enthusiasm of  
advocates has sometimes tended to       

degenerate into fanaticism2 and mere    
speculation has1 at times1 threatened to
 shoot beyond its legitimate bounds4 ,i 
have occasionally thought it wise to    
warn the more adventurous spirits among 
us against these dangers1 in            
sufficiently plain language2 and ,i have
 sometimes jestingly said that ,i       
expected1 if ,i lived long enough1 to be
 looked on as a reactionary by some of  
my more ardent friends4 ,but nothing    
short of midsummer madness can account  
for the fiction that ,i am waiting till 
it is safe to join openly a revolt1     
hatched by some person or persons       
unknown1 against an intellectual        
movement with which ,i am in the most   
entire and hearty sympathy4 ,it is a    
great many years since1 at the outset of
 my career1 ,i had to think seriously   
what life had to offer that was worth   
having4 ,i came to the conclusion that  
the chief good1 for me1 was freedom to  
learn1 think1 and say what ,i pleased1  
when ,i pleased4 ,i have acted on that  

conviction1 and have availed myself of  
the rara temporum felicitas ubi sentire 
qu velis1 et qu sentias dicere licet1   
which is now enjoyable1 to the best of  
my ability2 and though strongly1 and    
perhaps wisely1 warned that ,i should   
probably come to grief1 ,i am entirely  
satisfied with the results of the line  
of action ,i have adopted4  ,my career  
is at an end4 ,i have      ,warmed both 
hands before the fire of life2  and     
nothing is left me1 before ,i depart1   
but to help1 or at any rate to abstain  
from hindering1 the younger generation  
of men of science in doing better       
service to the cause we have at heart   
than ,i have been able to render4  ,and 
yet1 forsooth1 ,i am supposed to be     
waiting for the signal of revolt1 which 
some fiery spirits among these young men
 are to raise before ,i dare express my 
real opinions concerning questions about
 which we older men had to fight1 in the
 teeth of fierce public opposition and  
obloquy--of something which might almost

 justify even the grandiloquent epithet 
of a ,reign of ,terror--before our      
excellent successors had left school4   
,it would appear that the spirit of     
pseudo-science has impregnated even the 
imagination of the ,duke of ,argyll4    
,the scientific imagination always      
restrains itself within the limits of   
probability4  ,,footnotes3       #bj    
,nineteenth ,century1 ,march1 #ahhg4    
#ba ,the ,duke of ,argyll speaks of the 
recent date of the                      
demonstration of the fallacy of the     
doctrine in           question4 ,recent 
is a relative term1 but ,i may          
mention that the question is fully      
discussed in my book           on ,hume2
 which1 if ,i may believe my publishers1
 has           been read by a good many 
people since it appeared in             
#ahgi4 ,moreover1 ,i observe1 from a    
note at page #hi of           ,the      
,reign of ,law1 a work to which ,i shall
 have           occasion to advert by   
and by1 that the ,duke of ,argyll       

draws attention to the circumstance     
that1 so long ago           as #ahff1   
the views which ,i hold on this subject 
were           well known4 ,the ,duke1  
in fact1 writing about this time1       
says1 after quoting a phrase of mine3   
,the question of           miracles     
seems now to be admitted on all hands to
 be           simply a question of      
evidence4 ,in science1 we think         
that a teacher who ignores views which  
have been           discussed coram     
populo for twenty years1 is hardly up   
to the mark4       #bb ,see also vol4 i4
 p4 #dfj4 ,in the ninth edition 7#ahec71
           published twenty-three years 
after the first4 ,lyell                 
deprives even the most careless reader  
of any excuse           for             
misunderstanding him3 ,so in regard to  
subterranean           movements1 the   
theory of the perpetual uniformity of   
the force which they exert on the       
earth-crust is quite                    
consistent with the admission of their  

alternate           development and     
suspension for indefinite periods       
within limited geographical areas 7p4   
#ahg74       #bc ,a great many years ago
 7,presidential ,address to the         
,geological ,society1 #ahfi7 ,i ventured
 to indicate that           which seemed
 to me to be the weak point1 not in the 
fundamental principles of               
uniformitarianism1 but in               
uniformitarianism as taught by ,lyell4  
,it lay1 to my           mind1 in the   
refusal by ,hutton1 and in a less degree
 by           ,lyell1 to look beyond the
 limits of the time recorded            
by the stratified rocks4 ,i said3 ,this 
attempt to           limit1 at a        
particular point1 the progress of       
inductive           and deductive       
reasoning from the things which are to  
the things which were--this             
faithlessness to its own                
logic1 seems to me to have cost         
uniformitarianism the           place as
 the permanent form of geological       

speculation           which it might    
otherwise have held 7,lay ,sermons1 p4  
#bfj74 ,the context shows that          
uniformitarianism here           means  
that doctrine1 as limited in application
 by           ,hutton and ,lyell1 and   
that what ,i mean by                    
evolutionism is consistent and          
thorough-going                          
uniformitarianism4       #bd ,philosophy
 of the ,inductive ,sciences1 vol4 i4 p4
 #fgj4           ,new edition1 #ahdg4   
#be ,at ,glasgow in #ahef4       #bf    
,optics1 query #ca4       #bg ,the      
author recognises this in his           
,explanations4     ,,iv3 ,,an           
,,episcopal ,,trilogy  #ahhg   ,if there
 is any truth in the old adage that a   
burnt child dreads the fire1 ,i ought to
 be very loath to touch a sermon1 while 
the memory of what befell me on a recent
 occasion1 possibly not yet forgotten by
 the readers of the ,nineteenth         
,century1 is uneffaced4 ,but ,i suppose 
that even the distinguished censor of   

that unheard-of audacity to which not   
even the newspaper report of a sermon is
 sacred1 can hardly regard a man of     
science as either indelicate or         
presumptuous1 if he ventures to offer   
some comments upon three discourses1    
specially addressed to the great        
assemblage of men of science which      
recently gathered at ,manchester1 by    
three bishops of the ,state ,church4 ,on
 my return to ,england not long ago1 ,i 
found a pamphlet#bh containing a        
version1 which ,i presume to be         
authorised1 of these sermons1 among the 
huge mass of letters and papers which   
had accumulated during two months'      
absence2 and ,i have read them not only 
with attentive interest1 but with a     
feeling of satisfaction which is quite  
new to me as a result of hearing1 or    
reading1 sermons4 ,these excellent      
discourses1 in fact1 appear to me to    
signalise a new departure in the course 
adopted by theology towards science1 and
 to indicate the possibility of bringing

 about an honourable modus vivendi      
between the two4 ,how far the three     
bishops speak as accredited             
representatives of the ,church is a     
question to be considered by and by4    
,most assuredly1 ,i am not authorised to
 represent any one but myself4 ,but ,i  
suppose that there must be a good many  
people in the ,church of the bishops'   
way of thinking2 and ,i have reason to  
believe that1 in the ranks of science1  
there are a good many persons who1 more 
or less1 share my views4 ,and it is to  
these sensible people on both sides1 as 
the bishops and ,i must needs think     
those who agree with us1 that my present
 observations are addressed4 ,they will 
probably be astonished to learn how     
insignificant1 in principle1 their      
differences are4  ,it is impossible to  
read the discourses of the three        
prelates without being impressed by the 
knowledge which they display1 and by the
 spirit of equity1 ,i might say of      
generosity1 towards science which       

pervades them4 ,there is no trace of    
that tacit or open assumption that the  
rejection of theological dogmas1 on     
scientific grounds1 is due to moral     
perversity1 which is the ordinary note  
of ecclesiastical homilies on this      
subject1 and which makes them look so   
supremely silly to men whose lives have 
been spent in wrestling with these      
questions4 ,there is no attempt to hide 
away real stumbling-blocks under        
rhetorical stucco2 no resort to the tu  
quoque device of setting scientific     
blunders against theological errors2 no 
suggestion that an honest man may keep  
contradictory beliefs in separate       
pockets of his brain2 no question that  
the method of scientific investigation  
is valid1 whatever the results to which 
it may lead2 and that the search after  
truth1 and truth only1 ennobles the     
searcher and leaves no doubt that his   
life1 at any rate1 is worth living4 ,the
 ,bishop of ,carlisle declares himself  
pledged to the belief that the          

advancement of science1 the progress of 
human knowledge1 is in itself a worthy  
aim of the greatest effort of the       
greatest minds4  ,how often was it my   
fate1 a quarter of a century ago1 to see
 the whole artillery of the pulpit      
brought to bear upon the doctrine of    
evolution and its supporters6 ,any one  
unaccustomed to the amenities of        
ecclesiastical controversy would have   
thought we were too wicked to be        
permitted to live4 ,but let us hear the 
,bishop of ,bedford4 ,after a perfectly 
frank statement of the doctrine of      
evolution and some of its obvious       
consequences1 that learned prelate      
pleads1 with all earnestness1 against   
a hasty denunciation of what may be     
proved to have at      least some       
elements of truth in it1 a contemptuous 
rejection      of theories which we may 
some day learn to accept as      freely 
and with as little sense of             
inconsistency with ,god's      word as  
we now accept the theory of the earth's 

motion round      the sun1 or the long  
duration of the geological epochs 7p4   
#bh74  ,i do not see that the most      
convinced evolutionist could ask any    
one1 whether cleric or layman1 to say   
more than this2 in fact1 ,i do not think
 that any one has a right to say more1  
with respect to any question about which
 two opinions can he held1 than that his
 mind is perfectly open to the force of 
evidence4  ,there is another portion of 
the ,bishop of ,bedford's sermon which  
,i think will be warmly appreciated by  
all honest and clear-headed men4 ,he    
repudiates the views of those who say   
that theology and science       occupy  
wholly different spheres1 and need in no
 way      intermeddle with each other4  
,they revolve1 as it were1 in           
different planes1 and so never meet4    
,thus we may pursue      scientific     
studies with the utmost freedom and1 at 
the same      time1 may pay the most    
reverent regard to theology1 having     
no fears of collision1 because allowing 

no points of contact      7p4 #bi74     
,surely every unsophisticated mind will 
heartily concur with the ,bishop's      
remark upon this convenient refuge for  
the descendants of ,mr4                 
,facing-both-ways4 ,i have never been   
able to understand this position though 
,i have often seen it assumed4 ,nor can 
any demurrer be sustained when the      
,bishop proceeds to point out that there
 are1 and must be1 various points of    
contact between theological and natural 
science1 and therefore that it is       
foolish to ignore or deny the existence 
of as many dangers of collision4        
,finally1 the ,bishop of ,manchester    
freely admits the force of the          
objections which have been raised1 on   
scientific grounds1 to prayer1 and      
attempts to turn them by arguing that   
the proper objects of prayer are not    
physical but spiritual4 ,he tells us    
that natural accidents and moral        
misfortunes are not to be taken for     
moral judgments of ,god2 he admits the  

propriety of the application of         
scientific methods to the investigation 
of the origin and growth of religions2  
and he is as ready to recognise the     
process of evolution there1 as in the   
physical world4 ,mark the following     
striking passage3--       ,and how      
utterly all the common objections to    
,divine      revelation vanish away when
 they are set in the light of      this 
theory of a spiritual progression4 ,are 
we reminded that      there prevailed1  
in those earlier days1 views of the     
nature      of ,god and man1 of human   
life and ,divine ,providence1 which     
we now find to be untenable8 ,that1 we  
answer1 is precisely      what the      
theory of development presupposes4 ,if  
early views      of religion and        
morality had not been imperfect1 where  
had      been the development8 ,if      
symbolical visions and mythical         
creations had found no place in the     
early ,oriental      expression of      
,divine truth1 where had been the       

development8      ,the sufficient answer
 to ninety-nine out of a hundred of the 
ordinary objections to the ,bible1 as   
the record of a divine      education of
 our race1 is asked in that one         
word--development4 ,and to what are we  
indebted for that      potent word1     
which1 as with the wand of a magician1  
has at      the same moment so          
completely transformed our knowledge and
      dispelled our difficulties8 ,to   
modern science1 resolutely      pursuing
 its search for truth in spite of       
popular obloquy      and--alas6 that one
 should have to say it--in spite too    
often of theological denunciation 7p4   
#ec74  ,apart from its general          
importance1 ,i read this remarkable     
statement with the more pleasure1 since1
 however imperfectly ,i may have        
endeavoured to illustrate the evolution 
of theology in a paper published in the 
,nineteenth ,century last year1#bi it   
seems to me that in principle1 at any   
rate1 ,i may hereafter claim high       

theological sanction for the views there
 set forth4  ,if theologians are        
henceforward prepared to recognise the  
authority of secular science in the     
manner and to the extent indicated in   
the ,manchester trilogy2 if the         
distinguished prelates who offer these  
terms are really plenipotentiaries1     
then1 so far as ,i may presume to speak 
on such a matter1 there will be no      
difficulty about concluding a perpetual 
treaty of peace1 and indeed of alliance1
 between the high contracting powers1   
whose history has hitherto been little  
more than a record of continual warfare4
 ,but if the great ,chancellor's maxim1 
,do ut des1 is to form the basis of     
negotiation1 ,i am afraid that secular  
science will be ruined2 for it seems to 
me that theology1 under the generous    
impulse of a sudden conversion1 has     
given all that she hath2 and indeed1 on 
one point1 has surrendered more than can
 reasonably be asked4  ,i suppose ,i    
must be prepared to face the reproach   

which attaches to those who criticise a 
gift1 if ,i venture to observe that ,i  
do not think that the ,bishop of        
,manchester need have been so much      
alarmed1 as he evidently has been1 by   
the objections which have often been    
raised to prayer1 on the ground that a  
belief in the efficacy of prayer is     
inconsistent with a belief in the       
constancy of the order of nature4  ,the 
,bishop appears to admit that there is  
an antagonism between the regular       
economy of nature and the regular       
economy of prayer 7p4 #ci71 and that    
prayers for the interruption of ,god's  
natural order are of doubtful validity  
7p4 #db74 ,it appears to me that the    
,bishop's difficulty simply adds another
 example to those which ,i have several 
times insisted upon in the pages of this
 ,review and elsewhere1 of the mischief 
which has been done1 and is being done1 
by a mistaken apprehension of the real  
meaning of natural order and law of     
nature4  ,may ,i1 therefore1 be         

permitted to repeat1 once more1 that the
 statements denoted by these terms have 
no greater value or cogency than such as
 may attach to generalisations from     
experience of the past1 and to          
expectations for the future based upon  
that experience8 ,nobody can presume to 
say what the order of nature must be2   
all that the widest experience 7even if 
it extended over all past time and      
through all space7 that events had      
happened in a certain way could justify1
 would be a proportionally strong       
expectation that events will go on      
happening1 and the demand for a         
proportional strength of evidence in    
favour of any assertion that they had   
happened otherwise4  ,it is this weighty
 consideration1 the truth of which every
 one who is capable of logical thought  
must surely admit1 which knocks the     
bottom out of all  priori objections    
either to ordinary miracles or to the   
efficacy of prayer1 in so far as the    
latter implies the miraculous           

intervention of a higher power4 ,no one 
is entitled to say  priori that any     
given so-called miraculous event is     
impossible2 and no one is entitled to   
say  priori that prayer for some change 
in the ordinary course of nature cannot 
possibly avail4  ,the supposition that  
there is any inconsistency between the  
acceptance of the constancy of natural  
order and a belief in the efficacy of   
prayer1 is the more unaccountable as it 
is obviously contradicted by analogies  
furnished by everyday experience4 ,the  
belief in the efficacy of prayer depends
 upon the assumption that there is      
somebody1 somewhere1 who is strong      
enough to deal with the earth and its   
contents as men deal with the things and
 events which they are strong enough to 
modify or control2 and who is capable of
 being moved by appeals such as men make
 to one another4 ,this belief does not  
even involve theism2 for our earth is an
 insignificant particle of the solar    
system1 while the solar system is hardly

 worth speaking of in relation to the   
,all2 and1 for anything that can be     
proved to the contrary1 there may be    
beings endowed with full powers over our
 system1 yet1 practically1 as           
insignificant as ourselves in relation  
to the universe4 ,if any one pleases1   
therefore1 to give unrestrained liberty 
to his fancy1 he may plead analogy in   
favour of the dream that there may be1  
somewhere1 a finite being1 or beings1   
who can play with the solar system as a 
child plays with a toy2 and that such   
being may be willing to do anything     
which he is properly supplicated to do4 
,for we are not justified in saying that
 it is impossible for beings having the 
nature of men1 only vastly more         
powerful1 to exist2 and if they do      
exist1 they may act as and when we ask  
them to do so1 just as our brother men  
act4 ,as a matter of fact1 the great    
mass of the human race has believed1 and
 still believes1 in such beings1 under  
the various names of fairies1 gnomes1   

angels1 and demons4 ,certainly ,i do not
 lack faith in the constancy of natural 
order4 ,but ,i am not less convinced    
that if ,i were to ask the ,bishop of   
,manchester to do me a kindness which   
lay within his power1 he would do it4   
,and ,i am unable to see that his action
 on my request involves any violation of
 the order of nature4 ,on the contrary1 
as ,i have not the honour to know the   
,bishop personally1 my action would be  
based upon my faith1 in that law of     
nature1 or generalisation from          
experience1 which tells me that1 as a   
rule1 men who occupy the ,bishop's      
position are kindly and courteous4 ,how 
is the case altered if my request is    
preferred to some imaginary superior    
being1 or to the ,most ,high being1 who1
 by the supposition1 is able to arrest  
disease1 or make the sun stand still in 
the heavens1 just as easily as ,i can   
stop my watch1 or make it indicate any  
hour that pleases me8  ,i repeat that it
 is not upon any  priori considerations 

that objections1 either to the supposed 
efficacy of prayer in modifying the     
course of events1 or to the supposed    
occurrence of miracles1 can be          
scientifically based4 ,the real         
objection1 and1 to my mind1 the fatal   
objection1 to both these suppositions1  
is the inadequacy of the evidence to    
prove any given case of such occurrences
 which has been adduced4 ,it is a canon 
of common sense1 to say nothing of      
science1 that the more improbable a     
supposed occurrence1 the more cogent    
ought to be the evidence in its favour4 
,i have looked somewhat carefully into  
the subject1 and ,i am unable to find in
 the records of any miraculous event    
evidence which even approximates to the 
fulfilment of this requirement4  ,but1  
in the case of prayer1 the ,bishop      
points out a most just and necessary    
distinction between its effect on the   
course of nature1 outside ourselves1 and
 its effect within the region of the    
supplicator's mind4  ,it is a law of    

nature1 verifiable by everyday          
experience1 that our already formed     
convictions1 our strong desires1 our    
intent occupation with particular ideas1
 modify our mental operations to a most 
marvellous extent1 and produce enduring 
changes in the direction and in the     
intensity of our intellectual and moral 
activities4 ,men can intoxicate         
themselves with ideas as effectually as 
with alcohol or with bang1 and produce1 
by dint of intense thinking1 mental     
conditions hardly distinguishable from  
monomania4 ,demoniac possession is      
mythical2 but the faculty of being      
possessed1 more or less completely1 by  
an idea is probably the fundamental     
condition of what is called genius1     
whether it show itself in the saint1 the
 artist1 or the man of science4 ,one    
calls it faith1 another calls it        
inspiration1 a third calls it insight2  
but the intending of the mind1 to borrow
 ,newton's well-known phrase1 the       
concentration of all the rays of        

intellectual energy on some one point1  
until it glows and colours the whole    
cast of thought with its peculiar light1
 is common to all4  ,i take it that the 
,bishop of ,manchester has psychological
 science with him when he insists upon  
the subjective efficacy of prayer in    
faith1 and on the seemingly miraculous  
effects which such intending of the mind
 upon religious and moral ideals may    
have upon character and happiness4      
,scientific faith1 at present1 takes it 
no further than the prayer which ,ajax  
offered2 but that petition is           
continually granted4  ,whatever points  
of detail may yet remain open for       
discussion1 however1 ,i repeat the      
opinion ,i have already expressed1 that 
the ,manchester sermons concede all that
 science1 has an indisputable right1 or 
any pressing need1 to ask1 and that not 
grudgingly but generously2 and1 if the  
three bishops of #ahhg carry the ,church
 with them1 ,i think they will have as  
good title to the permanent gratitude of

 posterity as the famous seven who went 
to the ,tower in defence of the ,church 
two hundred years ago4  ,will their     
brethren follow their just and prudent  
guidance8 ,i have no such acquaintance  
with the currents of ecclesiastical     
opinion as would justify me in even     
hazarding a guess on such a difficult   
topic4 ,but some recent omens are hardly
 favourable4 ,there seems to be an      
impression abroad--,i do not desire to  
give any countenance to it--that ,i am  
fond of reading sermons4 ,from time to  
time1 unknown correspondents--some      
apparently animated by the charitable   
desire to promote my conversion1 and    
others unmistakably anxious to spur me  
to the expression of wrathful           
antagonism--favour me with reports or   
copies of such productions4  ,i found   
one of the latter category among the    
accumulated arrears to which ,i have    
already referred4  ,it is a full1 and   
apparently accurate1 report of a        
discourse by a person of no less        

ecclesiastical rank than the three      
authors of the sermons ,i have hitherto 
been considering2 but who he is1 and    
where or when the sermon was preached1  
are secrets which wild horses shall not 
tear from me1 lest ,i fall again under  
high censure for attacking a clergyman4 
,only if the editor of this ,review     
thinks it his duty to have independent  
evidence that the sermon has a real     
existence1 will ,i1 in the strictest    
confidence1 communicate it to him4  ,the
 preacher1 in this case1 is of a very   
different mind from the three           
bishops--and this mind is different in  
quality1 different in spirit1 and       
different in contents4 ,he discourses on
 the  priori objections to miracles1    
apparently without being aware1 in spite
 of all the discussions of the last     
seven or eight years1 that he is doing  
battle with a shadow4  ,i trust ,i do   
not misrepresent the ,bishop of         
,manchester in saying that the essence  
of his remarkable discourse is the      

insistence upon the supreme importance  
of the purely spiritual in our faith1   
and of the relative1 if not absolute1   
insignificance of aught else4 ,he       
obviously perceives the bearing of his  
arguments against the alterability of   
the course of outward nature by prayer1 
on the question of miracles in general2 
for he is careful to say that the       
possibility of miracles1 of a rare and  
unusual transcendence of the world order
 is not here in question 7p4 #ch74 ,it  
may be permitted me to suppose1 however1
 that1 if miracles were in question1 the
 speaker who warns us that we must look 
for the heart of the absolute religion  
in that part of it which prescribes our 
moral and religious relations 7p4 #df7  
would not be disposed to advise those   
who had found the heart of ,christianity
 to take much thought about its         
miraculous integument4  ,my anonymous   
sermon will have nothing to do with such
 notions as these1 and its preacher is  
not too polite1 to say nothing of       

charitable1 towards those who entertain 
them4       ,scientific men1 therefore1 
are perfectly right in asserting        
that ,christianity rests on miracles4   
,if miracles never      happened1       
,christianity1 in any sense which is not
 a mockery1      which does not make the
 term of none effect1 has no reality4   
,i dwell on this because there is now an
 effort making to get      up a         
non-miraculous1 invertebrate            
,christianity1 which may      escape the
 ban of science4 ,and ,i would warn you 
very      distinctly against this new   
contrivance4 ,christianity is           
essentially miraculous1 and falls to the
 ground if miracles      be impossible4 
,well1 warning for warning4 ,i venture  
to warn this preacher and those who1    
with him1 persist in identifying        
,christianity with the miraculous1 that 
such forms of ,christianity are not only
 doomed to fall to the ground2 but that1
 within the last half century1 they have
 been driving that way with continually 

accelerated velocity4  ,the so-called   
religious world is given to a strange   
delusion4 ,it fondly imagines that it   
possesses the monopoly of serious and   
constant reflection upon the terrible   
problems of existence2 and that those   
who cannot accept its shibboleths are   
either mere ,gallios1 caring for none of
 these things1 or libertines desiring to
 escape from the restraints of morality4
 ,it does not appear to have entered the
 imaginations of these people that1     
outside their pale and firmly resolved  
never to enter it1 there are thousands  
of men1 certainly not their inferiors in
 character1 capacity1 or knowledge of   
the questions at issue1 who estimate    
those purely spiritual elements of the  
,christian faith of which the ,bishop of
 ,manchester speaks as highly as the    
,bishop does2 but who will have nothing 
to do with the ,christian ,churches1    
because in their apprehension and for   
them1 the profession of belief in the   
miraculous1 on the evidence offered     

would be simply immoral4  ,so far as my 
experience goes1 men of science are     
neither better nor worse than the rest  
of the world4 ,occupation with the      
endlessly great parts of the universe   
does not necessarily involve greatness  
of character1 nor does microscopic study
 of the infinitely little always produce
 humility4 ,we have our full share of   
original sin2 need1 greed1 and vainglory
 beset us as they do other mortals2 and 
our progress is1 for the most part1 like
 that of a tacking ship1 the resultant  
of opposite divergencies from the       
straight path4 ,but1 for all that1 there
 is one moral benefit which the pursuit 
of science unquestionably bestows4 ,it  
keeps the estimate of the value of      
evidence up to the proper mark2 and we  
are constantly receiving lessons1 and   
sometimes very sharp ones1 on the nature
 of proof4 ,men of science will always  
act up to their standard of veracity1   
when mankind in general leave off       
sinning2 but that standard appears to me

 to be higher among them than in any    
other class of the community4  ,i do not
 know any body of scientific men who    
could be got to listen without the      
strongest expressions of disgusted      
repudiation to the exposition of a      
pretended scientific discovery1 which   
had no better evidence to show for      
itself than the story of the devils     
entering a herd of swine1 or of the     
fig-tree that was blasted for bearing no
 figs when it was not the season of     
figs4 ,whether such events are possible 
or impossible1 no man can say2 but      
scientific ethics can and does declare  
that the profession of belief in them1  
on the evidence of documents of unknown 
date and of unknown authorship1 is      
immoral4 ,theological apologists who    
insist that morality will vanish if     
their dogmas are exploded1 would do well
 to consider the fact that1 in the      
matter of intellectual veracity1 science
 is already a long way ahead of the     
,churches2 and that1 in this particular1

 it is exerting an educational influence
 on mankind of which the ,churches have 
shown themselves utterly incapable4     
,undoubtedly that varying compound of   
some of the best and some of the worst  
elements of ,paganism and ,judaism1     
moulded in practice by the innate       
character of certain people of the      
,western world1 which1 since the second 
century1 has assumed to itself the title
 of orthodox ,christianity1 rests on    
miracles and falls to the ground1 not if
 miracles be impossible1 but if those to
 which it is committed prove themselves 
unable to fulfil the conditions of      
honest belief4 ,that this ,christianity 
is doomed to fall is1 to my mind1 beyond
 a doubt2 but its fall will be neither  
sudden nor speedy4 ,the ,church1 with   
all the aid lent it by the secular arm1 
took many centuries to extirpate the    
open practice of pagan idolatry within  
its own fold2 and those who have        
travelled in southern ,europe will be   
aware that it has not extirpated the    

essence of such idolatry even yet4      
,mutato nomine1 it is probable that     
there is as much sheer fetichism among  
the ,roman populace now as there was    
eighteen hundred years ago2 and if      
,marcus ,antonius could descend from his
 horse and ascend the steps of the ,ara 
,coeli church about ,twelfth ,day1 the  
only thing that need strike him would be
 the extremely contemptible character of
 the modern idols as works of art4      
,science will certainly neither ask for1
 nor receive1 the aid of the secular    
arm4 ,it will trust to the much better  
and more powerful help of that education
 in scientific truth and in the morals  
of assent1 which is rendered as         
indispensable1 as it is inevitable1 by  
the permeation of practical life with   
the products and ideas of science4 ,but 
no one who considers the present state  
of even the most developed countries can
 doubt that the scientific light that   
has come into the world will have to    
shine in the midst of darkness for a    

long time4 ,the urban populations1      
driven into contact with science by     
trade and manufacture1 will more and    
more receive it1 while the pagani will  
lag behind4 ,let us hope that no ,julian
 may arise among them to head a forlorn 
hope against the inevitable4 ,whatever  
happens1 science may bide her time in   
patience and in confidence4  ,but to    
return to my ,anonymous4 ,i am afraid   
that if he represents any great party in
 the ,church1 the spirit of justice and 
reasonableness which animates the three 
bishops has as slender a chance of being
 imitated1 on a large scale1 as their   
common sense and their courtesy4 ,for1  
not contented with misrepresenting      
science on its speculative side1        
,anonymous attacks its morality4        
,for two whole years1 investigations and
 conclusions which      would upset the 
theories of ,darwin on the formation of 
coral      islands were actually        
suppressed1 and that by the advice      
even of those who accepted them1 for    

fear of upsetting the      faith and    
disturbing the judgment formed by the   
multitude      on the scientific        
character--the infallibility--of the    
great      master6  ,so far as ,i know  
anything about the matters which are    
here referred to1 the part of this      
passage which ,i have italicised is     
absolutely untrue4 ,i believe that ,i am
 intimately acquainted with all ,mr4    
,darwin's immediate scientific friends3 
and ,i say that no one of them1 nor any 
other man of science known to me1 ever  
could1 or would1 have given such advice 
to any one--if for no other reason than 
that1 with the example of the most      
candid and patient listener to          
objections that ever lived fresh in     
their memories1 they could not so       
grossly have at once violated their     
highest duty and dishonoured their      
friend4  ,the charge thus brought by    
,anonymous affects the honour and the   
probity of men of science2 if it is     
true1 we have forfeited all claim to the

 confidence of the general public4 ,in  
my belief it is utterly false1 and its  
real effect will be to discredit those  
who are responsible for it4 ,as is the  
way with slanders1 it has grown by      
repetition4 ,anonymous is responsible   
for the peculiarly offensive form which 
it has taken in his hands2 but he is not
 responsible for originating it4 ,he has
 evidently been inspired by an article  
entitled ,a ,great ,lesson1 published in
 the ,september number of this ,review4 
,truly it is a great lesson1 but not    
quite in the sense intended by the giver
 thereof4  ,in the course of his        
doubtless well-meant admonitions1 the   
,duke of ,argyll commits himself to a   
greater number of statements which are  
demonstrably incorrect and which any one
 who ventured to write upon the subject 
ought to have known to be incorrect1    
than ,i have ever seen gathered together
 in so small a space4  ,i submit a      
gathering from the rich store for the   
appreciation of the public4  ,first3--  

,mr4 ,murray's new explanation of the   
structure of coral-reefs      and       
islands was communicated to the ,royal  
,society of      ,edinburgh in #ahhj1   
and supported with such a weight of     
facts      and such a close texture of  
reasoning1 that no serious reply        
has ever been attempted 7p4 #cje74  ,no 
serious reply has ever been attempted6  
,i suppose that the ,duke of ,argyll may
 have heard of ,professor ,dana1 whose  
years of labour devoted to corals and   
coral-reefs when he was naturalist of   
the ,american expedition under          
,commodore ,wilkes1 more than forty     
years ago1 have ever since caused him to
 be recognised as an authority of the   
first rank on such subjects4 ,now does  
his ,grace know1 or does he not know1   
that1 in the year #ahhe1 ,professor     
,dana published an elaborate paper ,on  
the ,origin of ,coral-,reefs and        
,islands1 in which1 after referring to a
 ,presidential ,address by the ,director
 of the ,geological ,survey of ,great   

,britain and ,ireland delivered in      
#ahhc1 in which special attention is    
directed to ,mr4 ,murray's views        
,professor ,dana says3--       ,the     
existing state of doubt on the question 
has led the      writer to reconsider   
the earlier and later facts1 and in the 
following pages he gives his results4   
,professor ,dana then devotes many pages
 of his very serious reply to a most    
admirable and weighty criticism of the  
objections which have at various times  
been raised to ,mr4 ,darwin's doctrine1 
by ,professor ,semper1 by ,dr4 ,rein1   
and finally by ,mr4 ,murray1 and he     
states his final judgment as follows3-- 
,with the theory of abrasion and        
solution incompetent1 all      the      
hypotheses of objectors to ,darwin's    
theory are alike      weak2 for all have
 made these processes their chief       
reliance1 whether appealing to a        
calcareous1 or a volcanic1      or a    
mountain-peak basement for the          
structure4 ,the      subsidence which   

the ,darwinian theory requires has not  
been      opposed by the mention of any 
fact at variance with it1 nor      by   
setting aside ,darwin's arguments in its
 favour2 and it      has found new      
support in the facts from the           
,challenger's      soundings off        
,tahiti1 that had been put in array     
against it1      and strong             
corroboration in the facts from the     
,west ,indies4       ,darwin's theory1  
therefore1 remains as the theory that   
accounts for the origin of reefs and    
islands4#cj  ,be it understood that ,i  
express no opinion on the controverted  
points4 ,i doubt if there are ten living
 men who1 having a practical knowledge  
of what a coral-reef is1 have           
endeavoured to master the very difficult
 biological and geological problems     
involved in their study4 ,i happen to   
have spent the best part of three years 
among coral-reefs and to have made that 
attempt2 and1 when ,mr4 ,murray's work  
appeared1 ,i said to myself that until  

,i had two or three months to give to   
the renewed study of the subject in all 
its bearings1 ,i must be content to     
remain in a condition of suspended      
judgment4 ,in the meanwhile1 the man who
 would be voted by common acclamation as
 the most competent person now living to
 act as umpire1 has delivered the       
verdict ,i have quoted2 and1 to go no   
further1 has fully justified the        
hesitation ,i and others may have felt  
about expressing an opinion4 ,under     
these circumstances1 it seems to me to  
require a good deal of courage to say no
 serious reply has ever been attempted2 
and to chide the men of science1 in     
lofty tones1 for their reluctance to    
admit an error which is not admitted2   
and for their slow and sulky            
acquiescence in a conclusion which they 
have the gravest warranty for           
suspecting4  ,second3--       ,darwin   
himself had lived to hear of the new    
solution and1      with that splendid   
candour which was eminent in him his    

mind1 though now grown old in his own   
early convictions1 was      at least    
ready to entertain it1 and to confess   
that serious      doubts had been       
awakened as to the truth of his famous  
theory 7p4 #cje74  ,i wish that         
,darwin's splendid candour could be     
conveyed by some description of         
spiritual microbe to those who write    
about him4 ,i am not aware that ,mr4    
,darwin ever entertained serious doubts 
as to the truth of his famous theory2   
and there is tolerably good evidence to 
the contrary4 ,the second edition of his
 work1 published in #ahgf1 proves that  
he entertained no such doubts then2 a   
letter to ,professor ,semper1 whose     
objections1 in some respects1           
forestalled those of ,mr4 ,murray1 dated
 ,october #b1 #ahgi1 expresses his      
continued adherence to the opinion that 
the atolls and barrier reefs in the     
middle of the ,pacific and ,indian      
,oceans indicate subsidence2 and the    
letter of my friend ,professor ,judd1   

printed at the end of this article      
7which ,i had perhaps better say        
,professor ,judd had not seen7 will     
prove that this opinion remained        
unaltered to the end of his life4       
,third3--       444 ,darwin's theory is 
a dream4 ,it is not only unsound1 but   
it is in many respects the reverse of   
truth4 ,with all his                    
conscientiousness1 with all his caution1
 with all his powers      of            
observation1 ,darwin in this matter fell
 into errors as      profound as the    
abysses of the ,pacific 7p4 #cja74      
,really8 ,it seems to me that1 under the
 circumstances1 it is pretty clear that 
these lines exhibit a lack of the       
qualities justly ascribed to ,mr4       
,darwin1 which plunges their author into
 a much deeper abyss1 and one from which
 there is no hope of emergence4         
,fourth3--       ,all the acclamations  
with which it was received were as the  
shouts of an ignorant mob 7p4 #cja74    
,but surely it should be added that the 

,coryphus of this ignorant mob1 the     
fugleman of the shouts1 was one of the  
most accomplished naturalists and       
geologists now living--the ,american    
,dana--who1 after years of independent  
study extending over numerous reefs in  
the ,pacific1 gave his hearty assent to 
,darwin's views1 and after all that had 
been said1 deliberately reaffirmed that 
assent in the year #ahhe4  ,fifth3--    
,the overthrow of ,darwin's speculation 
is only beginning to      be known4 ,it 
has been whispered for some time4 ,the  
cherished      dogma has been dropping  
very slowly out of sight 7p4 #cja74     
,darwin's speculation may be right or   
wrong1 but ,i submit that that which has
 not happened cannot even begin to be   
known1 except by those who have         
miraculous gifts to which we poor       
scientific people do not aspire4 ,the   
overthrow of ,darwin's views may have   
been whispered by those who hoped for   
it2 and they were perhaps wise in not   
raising their voices above a whisper4   

,incorrect statements1 if made too      
loudly1 are apt to bring about          
unpleasant consequences4  ,sixth3--     
,mr4 ,murray's views1 published in      
#ahhj1 are said to have met with slow   
and sulky acquiescence 7p4 #cje74 ,i    
have proved that they cannot be said to 
have met with general acquiescence of   
any sort1 whether quick and cheerful1 or
 slow and sulky2 and if this assertion  
is meant to convey the impression that  
,mr4 ,murray's views have been ignored1 
that there has been a conspiracy of     
silence against them1 it is utterly     
contrary to notorious fact4  ,professor 
,geikie's well-known ,textbook of       
,geology was published in #ahhb1 and at 
pages #deg-dei of that work there is a  
careful exposition of ,mr4 ,murray's    
views4 ,moreover ,professor ,geikie has 
specially advocated them on other       
occasions1#ca notably in a long article 
on ,the ,origin of ,coral-,reefs1       
published in two numbers of ,nature for 
#ahhc1 and in a ,presidential ,address  

delivered in the same year4 ,if1 in so  
short a time after the publication of   
his views1 ,mr4 ,murray could boast of a
 convert1 so distinguished and          
influential as the ,director of the     
,geological ,survey1 it seems to me that
 this wonderful conspiration de silence 
7which has about as much real existence 
as the ,duke of ,argyll's other bogie1  
,the ,reign of ,terror 7 must have ipso 
facto collapsed4 ,i wish that1 when ,i  
was a young man1 my endeavours to upset 
some prevalent errors had met with as   
speedy and effectual backing4           
,seventh3--       444 ,mr4 ,john ,murray
 was strongly advised against the       
publication of his views in derogation  
of ,darwin's      long-accepted theory  
of the coral islands1 and was actually  
induced to delay it for two years4 ,yet 
the late ,sir ,wyville      ,thomson1   
who was at the head of the naturalists  
of the      ,challenger expedition1 was 
himself convinced by ,mr4      ,murray's
 reasoning 7p4 #cjg74  ,clearly1 then1  

it could not be ,mr4 ,murray's official 
chief who gave him this advice4 ,who was
 it8 ,and what was the exact nature of  
the advice given8 ,until we have some   
precise information on this head1 ,i    
shall take leave to doubt whether this  
statement is more accurate than those   
which ,i have previously cited4         
,whether such advice was wise or        
foolish1 just or immoral1 depends       
entirely on the motive of the person who
 gave it4 ,if he meant to suggest to    
,mr4 ,murray that it might be wise for a
 young and comparatively unknown man to 
walk warily1 when he proposed to attack 
a generalisation based on many years'   
labour of one undoubtedly competent     
person1 and fortified by the independent
 results of the many years' labour of   
another undoubtedly competent person2   
and even1 if necessary1 to take two     
whole years in fortifying his position1 
,i think that such advice would have    
been sagacious and kind4 ,i suppose that
 there are few working men of science   

who have not kept their ideas to        
themselves1 while gathering and sifting 
evidence1 for a much longer period than 
two years4  ,if1 on the other hand1 ,mr4
 ,murray was advised to delay the       
publication of his criticisms1 simply to
 save ,mr4 ,darwin's credit and to      
preserve some reputation for            
infallibility1 which no one ever heard  
of1 then ,i have no hesitation in       
declaring that his adviser was          
profoundly dishonest1 as well as        
extremely foolish2 and that1 if he is a 
man of science1 he has disgraced his    
calling4  ,but1 after all1 this supposed
 scientific ,achitophel has not yet made
 good the primary fact of his existence4
 ,until the needful proof is            
forthcoming1 ,i think ,i am justified in
 suspending my judgment as to whether he
 is much more than an anti-scientific   
myth4 ,i leave it to the ,duke of       
,argyll to judge of the extent of the   
obligation under which1 for his own     
sake1 he may lie to produce the evidence

 on which his aspersions of the honour  
of scientific men are based4 ,i cannot  
pretend that we are seriously disturbed 
by charges which every one who is       
acquainted with the truth of the matter 
knows to be ridiculous2 but mud has a   
habit of staining if it lies too long1  
and it is as well to have it brushed off
 as soon as may be4  ,so much for the   
,great ,lesson4 ,it is followed by a    
,little ,lesson1 apparently directed    
against my infallibility--a doctrine    
about which ,i should be inclined to    
paraphrase ,wilkes's remark to ,george  
the ,third1 when he declared that he1 at
 any rate1 was not a ,wilkite4 ,but ,i  
really should be glad to think that     
there are people who need the warning1  
because then it will be obvious that    
this raking up of an old story cannot   
have been suggested by a mere fanatical 
desire to damage men of science4 ,i can 
but rejoice1 then1 that these misguided 
enthusiasts1 whose faith1 in me has so  
far exceeded the bounds of reason1      

should be set right4 ,but that want of  
finish in the matter of accuracy which  
so terribly mars the effect of the      
,great ,lesson1 is no less conspicuous  
in the case of the ,little ,lesson1 and1
 instead of setting my too fervent      
disciples right1 it will set them wrong4
  ,the ,duke of ,argyll1 in telling the 
story of ,bathybius1 says that my mind  
was caught by this new and grand        
generalisation of the physical basis of 
life4 ,i never have been guilty of a    
reclamation about anything to my credit1
 and ,i do not mean to be2 but if there 
is any blame going1 ,i do not choose to 
be relegated to a subordinate place when
 ,i have a claim to the first4 ,the     
responsibility for the first description
 and the naming of ,bathybius is mine   
and mine only4 ,the paper on ,some      
,organisms living at great ,depths in   
the ,atlantic ,ocean1 in which ,i drew  
attention to this substance1 is to be   
found by the curious in the eighth      
volume of the ,quarterly ,journal of    

,microscopical ,science1 and was        
published in the year #ahfh4 ,whatever  
errors are contained in that paper are  
my own peculiar property2 but neither at
 the meeting of the ,british            
,association in #ahfh1 nor anywhere     
else1 have ,i gone beyond what is there 
stated2 except in so far that1 at a     
long-subsequent meeting of the          
,association1 being importuned about the
 subject1 ,i ventured to express1       
somewhat emphatically1 the wish that the
 thing was at the bottom of the sea4    
,what is meant by my being caught by a  
generalisation about the physical basis 
of life ,i do not know2 still less can  
,i understand the assertion that        
,bathybius was accepted because of its  
supposed harmony with ,darwin's         
speculations4 ,that which interested me 
in the matter was the apparent analogy  
of ,bathybius with other well-known     
forms of lower life1 such as the        
plasmodia of the ,myxomycetes and the   
,rhizopods4 ,speculative hopes or fears 

had nothing to do with the matter2 and  
if ,bathybius were brought up alive from
 the bottom of the ,atlantic to-morrow1 
the fact would not have the slightest   
bearing1 that ,i can discern1 upon ,mr4 
,darwin's speculations1 or upon any of  
the disputed problems of biology4 ,it   
would merely be one elementary organism 
the more added to the thousands already 
known4  ,up to this moment ,i was not   
aware of the universal favour with which
 ,bathybius was received4#cb ,those     
simulators of an ignorant mob who1      
according to the ,duke of ,argyll1      
welcomed ,darwin's theory of            
coral-reefs1 made no demonstration in my
 favour1 unless his ,grace includes ,sir
 ,wyville ,thomson1 ,dr4 ,carpenter1    
,dr4 ,bessels1 and ,professor ,haeckel  
under that head4 ,on the contrary1 a    
sagacious friend of mine1 than whom     
there was no more competent judge1 the  
late ,mr4 ,george ,busk1 was not to be  
converted2 while1 long before the       
,challenger work1 ,ehrenberg wrote to me

 very sceptically2 and ,i fully expected
 that that eminent man would favour me  
with pretty sharp criticism4            
,unfortunately1 he died shortly         
afterwards1 and nothing from him1 that  
,i know of1 appeared4 ,when ,sir        
,wyville ,thomson wrote to me a brief   
account of the results obtained on board
 the ,challenger ,i sent this statement 
to ,nature1 in which journal it appeared
 the following week1 without any further
 note or comment than was needful to    
explain the circumstances4 ,in thus     
allowing judgment to go by default1 ,i  
am afraid ,i showed a reckless and      
ungracious disregard for the feelings of
 the believers in my infallibility4 ,no 
doubt ,i ought to have hedged and fenced
 and attenuated the effect of ,sir      
,wyville ,thomson's brief note in every 
possible way4 ,or perhaps ,i ought to   
have suppressed the note altogether1 on 
the ground that it was a mere ex parte  
statement4 ,my excuse is that1          
notwithstanding a large and abiding     

faith in human folly1 ,i did not know   
then1 any more than ,i know now1 that   
there was anybody foolish enough to be  
unaware that the only people scientific 
or other1 who never make mistakes are   
those who do nothing2 or that anybody1  
for whose opinion ,i cared1 would not   
rather see me commit ten blunders than  
try to hide one4  ,pending the          
production of further evidence1 ,i hold 
that the existence of people who believe
 in the infallibility of men of science 
is as purely mythical as that of the    
evil counsellor who advised the         
withholding of the truth lest it should 
conflict with that belief4  ,i venture  
to think1 then1 that the ,duke of       
,argyll might have spared his ,little   
,lesson as well as his ,great ,lesson   
with advantage4 ,the paternal authority 
who whips the child for sins he has not 
committed does not strengthen his moral 
influence--rather excites contempt and  
repugnance4 ,and if1 as would seem from 
this and former monitory allocutions    

which have been addressed to us1 the    
,duke aspires to the position of censor1
 or spiritual director1 in relation to  
the men who are doing the work of       
physical science1 he really must get up 
his facts better4 ,there will be an end 
to all chance of our kissing the rod if 
his ,grace goes wrong a third time4 ,he 
must not say again that no serious reply
 has been attempted to a view which was 
discussed and repudiated1 two years     
before1 by one of the highest extant    
authorities on the subject2 he must not 
say that ,darwin accepted that which it 
can be proved he did not accept2 he must
 not say that a doctrine has dropped    
into the abyss when it is quite         
obviously alive and kicking at the      
surface2 he must not assimilate a man   
like ,professor ,dana to the components 
of an ignorant mob2 he must not say that
 things are beginning to be known which 
are not known at all2 he must not say   
that slow and sulky acquiescence has    
been given to that which cannot yet     

boast of general acquiescence of any    
kind2 he must not suggest that a view   
which has been publicly advocated by the
 ,director of the ,geological ,survey   
and no less publicly discussed by many  
other authoritative writers has been    
intentionally and systematically        
ignored2 he must not ascribe ill motives
 for a course of action which is the    
only proper one2 and finally1 if any one
 but myself were interested1 ,i should  
say that he had better not waste his    
time in raking up the errors of those   
whose lives have been occupied1 not in  
talking about science1 but in toiling1  
sometimes with success and sometimes    
with failure1 to get some real work     
done4  ,the most considerable difference
 ,i note among men is not in their      
readiness to fall into error1 but in    
their readiness to acknowledge these    
inevitable lapses4 ,the ,duke of ,argyll
 has now a splendid opportunity for     
proving to the world in which of these  
categories it is hereafter to rank him4 

99       99       99       99       99  
,,dear ,,professor ,,huxley1--,a short  
time before ,mr4 ,darwin's death1 ,i had
 a conversation with1 him concerning the
 observations which had been made by    
,mr4 ,murray upon coral-reefs1 and the  
speculations which had been founded upon
 those observations4 ,i found that ,mr4 
,darwin had very carefully considered   
the whole subject1 and that while1 on   
the one hand1 he did not regard the     
actual facts recorded by ,mr4 ,murray as
 absolutely inconsistent with his own   
theory of subsidence1 on the other hand1
 he did not believe that they           
necessitated or supported the hypothesis
 advanced by ,mr4 ,murray4 ,mr4         
,darwin's attitude1 as ,i understood it1
 towards ,mr4 ,murray's objections to   
the theory of subsidence was exactly    
similar to that maintained by him with  
respect to ,professor ,semper's         
criticism1 which was of a very similar  
character2 and his position with regard 
to the whole question was almost        

identical with that subsequently so     
clearly defined by ,professor ,dana in  
his well-known articles published in the
 ,american ,journal of ,science for     
#ahhe4  ,it is difficult to imagine how 
any one1 acquainted with the scientific 
literature of the last seven years1     
could possibly suggest that ,mr4        
,murray's memoir published in #ahhj had 
failed to secure a due amount of        
attention4 ,mr4 ,murray1 by his position
 in the ,challenger office1 occupied an 
exceptionally favourable position for   
making his views widely known2 and he   
had1 moreover1 the singular good fortune
 to secure from the first the advocacy  
of so able and brilliant a writer as    
,professor ,archibald ,geikie1 who in a 
special discourse and in several        
treatises on geology and physical       
geology very strongly supported the new 
theory4 ,it would be an endless task to 
attempt to give references to the       
various scientific journals which have  
discussed the subject1 but ,i may add   

that every treatise on geology which has
 been published1 since ,mr4 ,murray's   
views were made known1 has dealt with   
his observations at considerable length4
 ,this is true of ,professor ,a4,h4     
,green's ,physical ,geology1 published  
in #ahhb2 of ,professor ,prestwich's    
,geology1 ,chemical and ,physical2 and  
of ,professor ,james ,geikie's ,outlines
 of ,geology1 published in #ahhf4       
,similar prominence is given to the     
subject in ,de ,lapparent's ,trait de   
,gologie1 published in #ahhe1 and in    
,credner's ,elemente der ,geologie1     
which has appeared during the present   
year4 ,if this be a conspiracy of       
silence1 where1 alas6 can the geological
 speculator seek for fame8--,yours very 
truly1 ,,john ,w4 ,,judd4  ,october #aj1
 #ahhg4  ,,footnotes3       #bh ,the    
,advance of ,science4 ,three sermons    
preached in           ,manchester       
,cathedral on ,sunday1 ,september #d1   
#ahhg1           during the meeting of  
the ,british ,association for the       

,advancement of ,science1 by the ,bishop
 of ,carlisle1 the           ,bishop of 
,bedford1 and the ,bishop of            
,manchester4       #bi ,reprinted in    
,vol4 ,,iv4 of this collection4         
#cj ,american ,journal of ,science1     
#ahhe1 p4 #aij4       #ca ,professor    
,geikie1 however1 though a strong1 is a 
fair           and candid advocate4 ,he 
says of ,darwin's theory1 ,that         
it may be possibly true1 in some        
instances1 may be           readily     
granted4 ,for ,professor ,geikie1 then1 
it is not           yet                 
over-thrown--still less a dream4        
#cb ,i find1 moreover1 that ,i specially
 warned my readers           against    
hasty judgment4 ,after stating the facts
 of           observation1 ,i add1 ,i   
have1 hitherto1 said nothing            
about their meaning1 as1 in an inquiry  
so difficult and           fraught with 
interest as this1 it seems to me to be  
in           the highest degree         
important to keep the questions of      

fact and the questions of interpretation
 well apart           7p4 #baj74     ,v3
 ,,the ,,value ,,of ,,witness ,,to ,,the
 ,,miraculous  #ahhi   ,charles1 or1    
more properly1 ,karl1 ,king of the      
,franks1 consecrated ,roman ,emperor in 
,st4 ,peter's on ,christmas ,day1 ,a4,d4
 #hjj1 and known to posterity as the    
,great 7chiefly by his agglutinative    
,gallicised denomination1 of            
,charlemagne71 was a man great in all   
ways1 physically and mentally4 ,within a
 couple of centuries after his death    
,charlemagne became the centre of       
innumerable legends2 and the myth-making
 process does not seem to have been     
sensibly interfered with by the         
existence of sober and truthful         
histories of the ,emperor and of the    
times which immediately preceded and    
followed his reign by a contemporary    
writer who occupied a high and          
confidential position in his court1 and 
in that of his successor4 ,this was one 
,eginhard1 or ,einhard1 who appears to  

have been born about ,a4,d4 #ggj1 and   
spent his youth at the court1 being     
educated along with ,charles's sons4    
,there is excellent contemporary        
testimony not only to ,eginhard's       
existence1 but to his abilities1 and to 
the place which he occupied in the      
circle of the intimate friends of the   
great ruler whose life he subsequently  
wrote4 ,in fact1 there is as good       
evidence of ,eginhard's existence1 of   
his official position1 and of his being 
the author of the chief works attributed
 to him1 as can reasonably be expected  
in the case of a man who lived more than
 a thousand years ago1 and was neither a
 great king nor a great warrior4 ,the   
works are--#a4 ,the ,life of the        
,emperor ,karl4 #b4 ,the ,annals of the 
,franks4 #c4 ,letters4 #d4 ,the ,history
 of the ,translation of the ,blessed    
,martyrs of ,christ1 ,,ss4 ,marcellinus 
and ,petrus4  ,it is to the last1 as one
 of the most singular and interesting   
records of the period during which the  

,roman world passed into that of the    
,middle ,ages1 that ,i wish to direct   
attention4#cc ,it was written in the    
ninth century1 somewhere1 apparently1   
about the year #hcj1 when ,eginhard1    
ailing in health and weary of political 
life1 had withdrawn to the monastery of 
,seligenstadt1 of which he was the      
founder4 ,a manuscript copy of the work1
 made in the tenth century1 and once the
 property of the monastery of ,st4      
,bavon on the ,scheldt1 of which        
,eginhard was ,abbot1 is still extant1  
and there is no reason to believe that1 
in this copy1 the original has been in  
any way interpolated or otherwise       
tampered with4 ,the main features of the
 strange story contained in the         
,historia ,translationis are set forth  
in the following pages1 in which1 in    
regard to all matters of importance1 ,i 
shall adhere as closely as possible to  
,eginhard's own words4       ,while ,i  
was still at ,court1 busied with secular
 affairs1 ,i      often thought of the  

leisure which ,i hoped one day to enjoy 
in a solitary place1 far away from the  
crowd1 with which the      liberality of
 ,prince ,louis1 whom ,i then served1   
had provided      me4 ,this place is    
situated in that part of ,germany which 
lies between the ,neckar and the        
,maine1#cd and is nowadays      called  
the ,odenwald by those who live in and  
about it4 ,and      here having built1  
according to my capacity and resources1 
not only houses and permanent dwellings1
 but also a basilica      fitted for the
 performance of divine service and of no
 mean      style of construction1 ,i    
began to think to what saint or         
martyr ,i could best dedicate it4 ,a    
good deal of time had      passed while 
my thoughts fluctuated about this       
matter1 when      it happened that a    
certain deacon of the ,roman ,church1   
named      ,deusdona1 arrived at the    
,court for the purpose of seeking       
the favour of the ,king in some affairs 
in which he was      interested4 ,he    

remained some time2 and then1 having    
transacted his business1 he was about to
 return to ,rome1      when one day1    
moved by courtesy to a stranger1 we     
invited      him to a modest refection2 
and while talking of many things      at
 table1 mention was made of the         
translation of the body of      the     
blessed ,sebastian1#ce and of the       
neglected tombs of      the martyrs1 of 
which there is such a prodigious number 
at      ,rome2 and the conversation     
having turned towards the               
dedication of our new basilica1 ,i began
 to inquire how it      might be        
possible for me to obtain some of the   
true relics      of the saints which    
rest at ,rome4 ,he at first hesitated1  
and      declared that he did not know  
how that could be done4 ,but            
observing that ,i was both anxious and  
curious about the      subject1 he      
promised to give me an answer some other
 day4       ,when ,i returned to the    
question some time afterwards1 he       

immediately drew from his bosom a paper1
 which he begged me      to read when ,i
 was alone1 and to tell him what ,i was 
disposed to think of that which was     
therein stated4 ,i took      the paper  
and1 as he desired1 read it alone and in
 secret4      7,cap4 i4 #b1 #c47  ,i    
shall have occasion to return to ,deacon
 ,deusdona's conditions1 and to what    
happened after ,eginhard's acceptance of
 them4 ,suffice it1 for the present1 to 
say that ,eginhard's notary1 ,ratleicus 
7,ratleig71 was despatched to ,rome and 
succeeded in securing two bodies1       
supposed to be those of the holy martyrs
 ,marcellinus and ,petrus2 and when he  
had got as far on his homeward journey  
as the ,burgundian town of ,solothurn1  
or ,soleure1#cf notary ,ratleig         
despatched to his master1 at ,st4       
,bavon1 a letter announcing the success 
of his mission4       ,as soon as by    
reading it ,i was assured of the arrival
 of the      saints1 ,i despatched a    
confidential messenger to ,maestricht   

to gather together priests1 other       
clerics1 and also laymen1      to go out
 to meet the coming saints as speedily  
as possible4      ,and he and his       
companions1 having lost no time1 after a
 few      days met those who had charge 
of the saints at ,solothurn4            
,joined with them1 and with a vast crowd
 of people who      gathered from all   
parts1 singing hymns1 and amidst great  
and      universal rejoicings1 they     
travelled quickly to the city of        
,argentoratum1 which is now called      
,strasburg4 ,thence      embarking on   
the ,rhine1 they came to the place      
called      ,portus1#cg and landing on  
the east bank of the river1 at      the 
fifth station thence they arrived at    
,michilinstadt1#ch      accompanied by  
an immense multitude1 praising ,god4    
,this      place is in that forest of   
,germany which in modern times is       
called the ,odenwald1 and about six     
leagues from the ,maine4      ,and here1
 having found a basilica recently built 

by me1 but      not yet consecrated1    
they carried the sacred remains into it 
and deposited them therein1 as if it    
were to be their final                  
resting-place4 ,as soon as all this was 
reported to me ,i      travelled thither
 as quickly as ,i could4 7,cap4 ii4     
#ad47  ,three days after ,eginhard's    
arrival began the series of wonderful   
events which he narrates1 and for which 
we have his personal guarantee4 ,the    
first thing that he notices is the dream
 of a servant of ,ratleig1 the notary1  
who1 being set to watch the holy relics 
in the church after vespers1 went to    
sleep and1 during his slumbers1 had a   
vision of two pigeons1 one white and one
 gray and white1 which came and sat upon
 the bier over the relics2 while1 at the
 same time1 a voice ordered the man to  
tell his master that the holy martyrs   
had chosen another resting-place and    
desired to be transported thither       
without delay4  ,unfortunately1 the     
saints seem to have forgotten to mention

 where they wished to go2 and1 with the 
most anxious desire to gratify their    
smallest wishes1 ,eginhard was naturally
 greatly perplexed what to do4 ,while in
 this state of mind1 he was one day     
contemplating his great and wonderful   
treasure1 more precious than all the    
gold in the world1 when it struck him   
that the chest in which the relics were 
contained was quite unworthy of its     
contents2 and1 after vespers1 he gave   
orders to one of the sacristans to take 
the measure of the chest in order that a
 more fitting shrine might be           
constructed4 ,the man1 having lighted a 
wax candle and raised the pall which    
covered the relics1 in order to carry   
out his master's orders1 was astonished 
and terrified to observe that the chest 
was covered with a blood-like exudation 
7loculum mirum in modum humore sanguineo
 undique distillantem71 and at once sent
 a message to ,eginhard4       ,then ,i 
and those priests who accompanied me    
beheld this      stupendous miracle1    

worthy of all admiration4 ,for just as  
when it is going to rain1 pillars and   
slabs and marble      images exude      
moisture1 and1 as it were1 sweat1 so the
 chest      which contained the most    
sacred relics was found moist with      
the blood exuding on all sides4 7,cap4  
ii4 #af47  ,three days' fast was        
ordained in order that the meaning of   
the portent might be ascertained4 ,all  
that happened1 however1 was that1 at the
 end of that time1 the blood1 which had 
been exuding in drops all the while1    
dried up4 ,eginhard is careful to say   
that the liquid had a saline taste1     
something like that of tears1 and was   
thin as water though of the colour of   
true blood1 and he clearly thinks this  
satisfactory evidence that it was blood4
  ,the same night1 another servant had a
 vision1 in which still more imperative 
orders for the removal of the relics    
were given2 and1 from that time forth1  
not a single night passed without one1  
two1 or even three of our companions    

receiving revelations in dreams that the
 bodies of the saints were to be        
transferred from that place to another4 
,at last a priest1 ,hildfrid1 saw1 in a 
dream1 a venerable white-haired man in a
 priest's vestments1 who bitterly       
reproached ,eginhard for not obeying the
 repeated orders of the saints2 and1    
upon this1 the journey was commenced4   
,why ,eginhard delayed obedience to     
these repeated visions so long does not 
appear4 ,he does not say so1 in so many 
words1 but the general tenor of the     
narrative leads one to suppose that     
,mulinheim 7afterwards ,seligenstadt7 is
 the solitary place in which he had     
built the church which awaited          
dedication4 ,in that case1 all the      
people about him would know that he     
desired that the saints should go there4
 ,if a glimmering of secular sense led  
him to be a little suspicious about the 
real cause of the unanimity of the      
visionary beings who manifested         
themselves to his entourage1 in favour  

of moving on1 he does not say so4  ,at  
the end of the first day's journey1 the 
precious relics were deposited in the   
church of ,st4 ,martin1 in the village  
of ,ostheim4 ,hither1 a paralytic nun   
7sanctimonialis qudam paralytica7 of the
 name of ,ruodlang was brought1 in a    
car1 by her friends and relatives from a
 monastery a league off4 ,she spent the 
night watching and praying by the bier  
of the saints2 and health returning to  
all her members1 on the morrow she went 
back to her place whence she came1 on   
her feet1 nobody supporting her1 or in  
any way giving her assistance4 7,cap4   
ii4 #ai47  ,on the second day1 the      
relics were carried to ,upper           
,mulinheim2 and1 finally1 in accordance 
with the orders of the martyrs1         
deposited in the church of that place1  
which was therefore renamed             
,seligenstadt4 ,here1 ,daniel1 a beggar 
boy of fifteen1 and so bent that he     
could not look at the sky without lying 
on his back1 collapsed and fell down    

during the celebration of the ,mass4    
,thus he lay a long time1 as if asleep1 
and all his limbs straightening and his 
flesh strengthening 7recepta firmitate  
nervorum71 he arose before our eyes1    
quite well4 7,cap4 ii4 #bj47  ,some time
 afterwards an old man entered the      
church on his hands and knees1 being    
unable to use his limbs properly3--     
,he1 in presence of all of us1 by the   
power of ,god and the      merits of the
 blessed martyrs1 in the same hour in   
which he      entered was so perfectly  
cured that he walked without so         
much as a stick4 ,and he said that1     
though he had been deaf      for five   
years1 his deafness had ceased along    
with the      palsy4 7,cap4 iii4 #cc47  
,eginhard was now obliged to return to  
the ,court at ,aix-la-,chapelle1 where  
his duties kept him through the winter2 
and he is careful to point out that the 
later miracles which he proceeds to     
speak of are known to him only at second
 hand4 ,but1 as he naturally observes1  

having seen such wonderful events with  
his own eyes1 why should he doubt       
similar narrations when they are        
received from trustworthy sources8      
,wonderful stories these are indeed1 but
 as they are1 for the most part1 of the 
same general character as those already 
recounted1 they may be passed over4     
,there is1 however1 an account of a     
possessed maiden which is worth         
attention4 ,this is set forth in a      
memoir1 the principal contents of which 
are the speeches of a demon who declared
 himself to possess the singular        
appellation of ,wiggo1 and revealed     
himself in the presence of many         
witnesses1 before the altar1 close to   
the relics of the blessed martyrs4 ,it  
is noteworthy that the revelations      
appear to have been made in the shape of
 replies to the questions of the        
exorcising priest2 and there is no means
 of judging how far the answers are1    
really1 only the questions to which the 
patient replied yes or no4  ,the        

possessed girl1 about sixteen years of  
age1 was brought by her parents to the  
basilica of the martyrs4       ,when she
 approached the tomb containing the     
sacred bodies1      the priest1         
according to custom1 read the formula of
      exorcism over her head4 ,when he  
began to ask how and when      the demon
 had entered her1 she answered1 not in  
the tongue      of the barbarians1 which
 alone the girl knew1 but in the        
,roman tongue4 ,and when the priest was 
astonished and asked      how she came  
to know ,latin1 when her parents1 who   
stood by1      were wholly ignorant of  
it1 ,thou hast never seen my            
parents1 was the reply4 ,to this the    
priest1 ,whence art      thou1 then1 if 
these are not thy parents8 ,and the     
demon1 by      the mouth of the girl1 ,i
 am a follower and disciple of          
,satan1 and for a long time ,i was      
gatekeeper 7janitor7 in      hell2 but  
for some years1 along with eleven       
companions1 ,i      have ravaged the    

kingdom of the ,franks4 7,cap4 v4 #di47 
,he then goes on to tell how they       
blasted the crops and scattered         
pestilence among beasts and men1 because
 of the prevalent wickedness of the     
people4#ci  ,the enumeration of all     
these iniquities1 in oratorical style1  
takes up a whole octavo page2 and at the
 end it is stated1 ,all these things the
 demon spoke in ,latin by the mouth of  
the girl4       ,and when the priest    
imperatively ordered him to come out1 ,i
      shall go1 said he1 not in         
obedience to you1 but on account      of
 the power of the saints1 who do not    
allow me to remain      any longer4 ,and
 having said this1 he threw the girl    
down on      the floor and there        
compelled her to lie prostrate for a    
time1 as though she slumbered4 ,after a 
little while1      however1 he going    
away1 the girl1 by the power of ,christ 
and      the merits of the blessed      
martyrs1 as it were awaking from        
sleep1 rose up quite well1 to the       

astonishment of all      present2 nor   
after the demon had gone out was she    
able to      speak ,latin3 so that it   
was plain enough that it was not she    
who had spoken in that tongue1 but the  
demon by her mouth4      7,cap4 v4 #ea47
  ,if the ,historia ,translationis      
contained nothing more than has been    
laid before the reader1 up to this time1
 disbelief in the miracles of which it  
gives so precise and full a record might
 well be regarded as hyper-scepticism4  
,it might fairly be said1 ,here you have
 a man1 whose high character1 acute     
intelligence1 and large instruction are 
certified by eminent contemporaries2 a  
man who stood high in the confidence of 
one of the greatest rulers of any age1  
and whose other works prove him to be an
 accurate and judicious narrator of     
ordinary events4 ,this man tells you1 in
 language which bears the stamp of      
sincerity1 of things which happened     
within his own knowledge1 or within that
 of persons in whose veracity he has    

entire confidence1 while he appeals to  
his sovereign and the court as witnesses
 of others2 what possible ground can    
there be for disbelieving him8  ,well1  
it is hard upon ,eginhard to say so1 but
 it is exactly the honesty and sincerity
 of the man which are his undoing as a  
witness to the miraculous4 ,he himself  
makes it quite obvious that when his    
profound piety comes on the stage1 his  
good sense and even his perception of   
right and wrong1 make their exit4 ,let  
us go back to the point at which we left
 him1 secretly perusing the letter of   
,deacon ,deusdona4 ,as he tells us1 its 
contents were       that he the deacon  
had many relics of saints at home1 and  
that he would give them to me if ,i     
would furnish him with      the means of
 returning to ,rome2 he had observed    
that ,i had      two mules1 and if ,i   
would let him have one of them and would
      despatch with him a confidential  
servant to take charge of      the      
relics1 he would at once send them to   

me4 ,this plausibly      expressed      
proposition pleased me1 and ,i made up  
my mind to      test the value of the   
somewhat ambiguous promise at           
once2#dj so giving him the mule and     
money for his journey ,i      ordered my
 notary ,ratleig 7who already desired to
 go to ,rome      to offer his devotions
 there7 to go with him4 ,therefore1     
having left ,aix-la-,chapelle 7where the
 ,emperor and his ,court      resided at
 the time7 they came to ,soissons4 ,here
 they spoke      with ,hildoin1 abbot of
 the monastery of ,st4 ,medardus1       
because the said deacon had assured him 
that he had the      means of placing in
 his possession the body of the blessed 
,tiburtius the ,martyr4 ,attracted by   
which promises he      7,hildoin7 sent  
with them a certain priest1 ,hunus by   
name1 a      sharp man 7hominem         
callidum71 whom he ordered to receive   
and bring back the body of the martyr in
 question4 ,and so1      resuming their 
journey1 they proceeded to ,rome as fast

 as      they could4 7,cap4 i4 #c47     
,unfortunately1 a servant of the notary1
 one ,reginbald1 fell ill of a tertian  
fever1 and impeded the progress of the  
party4 ,however1 this piece of adversity
 had its sweet uses2 for three days     
before they reached ,rome1 ,reginbald   
had a vision4 ,somebody habited as a    
deacon appeared to him and asked why his
 master was in such a hurry to get to   
,rome2 and when ,reginbald explained    
their business1 this visionary deacon1  
who seems to have taken the measure of  
his brother in the flesh with some      
accuracy1 told him not by any means to  
expect that ,deusdona would fulfil his  
promises4 ,moreover1 taking the servant 
by the hand1 he led him to the top of a 
high mountain and1 showing him ,rome    
7where the man had never been71 pointed 
out a church1 adding ,tell ,ratleig the 
thing he wants is hidden there2 let him 
get it as quickly as he can and go back 
to his master4 ,by way of a sign that   
the order was authoritative1 the servant

 was promised that1 from that time      
forth1 his fever should disappear4 ,and 
as the fever did vanish to return no    
more1 the faith of ,eginhard's people in
 ,deacon ,deusdona naturally vanished   
with it 7et fidem diaconi promissis non 
haberent74 ,nevertheless1 they put up at
 the deacon's house near ,st4 ,peter ad 
,vincula4 ,but time went on and no      
relics made their appearance1 while the 
notary and the priest were put off with 
all sorts of excuses--the brother to    
whom the relics had been confided was   
gone to ,beneventum and not expected    
back for some time1 and so on--until    
,ratleig and ,hunus began to despair1   
and were minded to return1 infecto      
negotio4       ,but my notary1 calling  
to mind his servant's dream1 proposed   
to his companion that they should go to 
the cemetery which      their host had  
talked about without him4 ,so1 having   
found      and hired a guide1 they went 
in the first place to the      basilica 
of the blessed ,tiburtius in the ,via   

,labicana1 about      three thousand    
paces fron the town1 and cautiously and 
carefully inspected the tomb of that    
martyr1 in order to      discover       
whether it could be opened without any  
one being      the wiser4 ,then they    
descended into the adjoining crypt1 in  
which the bodies of the blessed martyrs 
of ,christ1      ,marcellinus and       
,petrus1 were buried2 and1 having made  
out      the nature of their tomb1 they 
went away thinking their host      would
 not know what they had been about4 ,but
 things fell out      differently from  
what they had imagined4 7,cap4 i4 #g47  
,in fact1 ,deacon ,deusdona1 who        
doubtless kept an eye on his guests1    
knew all about their manoeuvres and made
 haste to offer his services1 in order  
that1 with the help of ,god 7si ,deus   
votis eorum favere dignaretur71 they    
should all work together4 ,the deacon   
was evidently alarmed lest they should  
succeed without his help4  ,so1 by way  
of preparation for the contemplated vol 

avec effraction they fasted three days2 
and then1 at night1 without being seen1 
they betook themselves to the basilica  
of ,st4 ,tiburtius1 and tried to break  
open the altar erected over his remains4
 ,but the marble proving too solid1 they
 descended to the crypt1 and1 having    
evoked our ,lord ,jesus ,christ and     
adored the holy martyrs1 they proceeded 
to prise off the stone which covered the
 tomb1 and thereby exposed the body of  
the most sacred martyr1 ,marcellinus1   
whose head rested on a marble tablet on 
which his name was inscribed4 ,the body 
was taken up with the greatest          
veneration1 wrapped in a rich covering1 
and given over to the keeping of the    
deacon and his brother1 ,lunison1 while 
the stone was replaced with such care   
that no sign of the theft remained4  ,as
 sacrilegious proceedings of this kind  
were punishable with death by the ,roman
 law1 it seems not unnatural that       
,deacon ,deusdona should have become    
uneasy1 and have urged ,ratleig to be   

satisfied with what he had got and be   
off with his spoils4 ,but the notary    
having thus cleverly captured the       
blessed ,marcellinus1 thought it a pity 
he should be parted from the blessed    
,petrus1 side by side with whom he had  
rested1 for five hundred years and more1
 in the same sepulchre 7as ,eginhard    
pathetically observes72 and the pious   
man could neither eat1 drink1 nor sleep1
 until he had compassed his desire to   
re-unite the saintly colleagues4 ,this  
time1 apparently in consequence of      
,deusdona's opposition to any further   
resurrectionist doings1 he took counsel 
with a ,greek monk1 one ,basil1 and1    
accompanied by ,hunus1 but saying       
nothing to ,deusdona1 they committed    
another sacrilegious burglary1 securing 
this time1 not only the body of the     
blessed ,petrus1 but a quantity of dust1
 which they agreed the priest should    
take1 and tell his employer that it was 
the remains of the blessed ,tiburtius4  
,how ,deusdona was squared1 and what he 

got for his not very valuable complicity
 in these transactions1 does not appear4
 ,but at last the relics were sent off  
in charge of ,lunison1 the brother of   
,deusdona1 and the priest ,hunus1 as far
 as ,pavia1 while ,ratleig stopped      
behind for a week to see if the robbery 
was discovered1 and1 presumably1 to act 
as a blind1 if any hue and cry was      
raised4 ,but1 as everything remained    
quiet1 the notary betook himself to     
,pavia1 where he found ,lunison and     
,hunus awaiting his arrival4 ,the       
notary's opinion of the character of his
 worthy colleagues1 however1 may be     
gathered from the fact that1 having     
persuaded them to set out in advance    
along the road which he told them he was
 about to take1 he immediately adopted  
another route1 and1 travelling by way of
 ,st4 ,maurice and the ,lake of ,geneva1
 eventually reached ,soleure4  ,eginhard
 tells all this story with the most     
naive air of unconsciousness that there 
is anything remarkable about an abbot1  

and a high officer of state to boot1    
being an accessory1 both before and     
after the fact1 to a most gross and     
scandalous act of sacrilegious and      
burglarious robbery4 ,and an amusing    
sequel to the story proves that1 where  
relics were concerned1 his friend       
,hildoin1 another high ecclesiastical   
dignitary1 was even less scrupulous than
 himself4  ,on going to the palace early
 one morning1 after the saints were     
safely bestowed at ,seligenstadt1 he    
found ,hildoin waiting for an audience  
in the ,emperor's antechamber1 and began
 to talk to him about the miracle of the
 bloody exudation4 ,in the course of    
conversation1 ,eginhard happened to     
allude to the remarkable fineness of the
 garment of the blessed ,marcellinus4   
,whereupon ,abbot ,hildoin observed 7to 
,eginhard's stupefaction7 that his      
observation was quite correct4 ,much    
astonished at this remark from a person 
who was supposed not to have seen the   
relics1 ,eginhard asked him how he knew 

that8 ,upon this1 ,hildoin saw that he  
had better make a clean breast of it1   
and he told the following story1 which  
he had received from his priestly agent1
 ,hunus4 ,while ,hunus and ,lunison were
 at ,pavia1 waiting for ,eginhard's     
notary1 ,hunus 7according to his own    
account7 had robbed the robbers4 ,the   
relics were placed in a church2 and a   
number of laymen and clerics1 of whom   
,hunus was one1 undertook to keep watch 
over them4 ,one night1 however1 all the 
watchers1 save the wide-awake ,hunus1   
went to sleep2 and then1 according to   
the story which this sharp ecclesiastic 
foisted upon his patron1       it was   
borne in upon his mind that there must  
be some great      reason why all the   
people1 except himself1 had suddenly    
become somnolent2 and1 determining to   
avail himself of the      opportunity   
thus offered 7oblata occasione utendum71
 he      rose and1 having lighted a     
candle1 silently approached the         
chests4 ,then1 having burnt through the 

threads of the seals      with the flame
 of the candle1 he quickly opened the   
chests1      which had no locks2#da and 
taking out portions of each of      the 
bodies which were thus exposed1 he      
closed the chests      and connected the
 burnt ends of the threads with the     
seals      again1 so that they appeared 
not to have been touched2 and1      no  
one having seen him1 he returned to his 
place4 7,cap4 iii4      #bc47  ,hildoin 
went on to tell ,eginhard that ,hunus at
 first declared to him that these       
purloined relics belonged to ,st4       
,tiburtius2 but afterwards confessed1 as
 a great secret1 how he had come by     
them1 and he wound up his discourse     
thus3       ,they have a place of honour
 beside ,st4 ,medardus1 where they      
are worshipped with great veneration by 
all the people2 but      whether we may 
keep them or not is for your judgment   
7,cap4      iii4 #bc47  ,poor ,eginhard 
was thrown into a state of great        
perturbation of mind by this revelation4

 ,an acquaintance of his had recently   
told him of a rumour that was spread    
about that ,hunus had contrived to      
abstract all the remains of ,,ss4       
,marcellinus and ,petrus while          
,eginhard's agents were in a drunken    
sleep2 and that1 while the real relics  
were in ,abbot ,hildoin's hands at ,st4 
,medardus1 the shrine at ,seligenstadt  
contained nothing but a little dust4    
,though greatly annoyed by this         
execrable rumour1 spread everywhere by  
the subtlety of the devil1 ,eginhard had
 doubtless comforted himself by his     
supposed knowledge of its falsity1 and  
he only now discovered how considerable 
a foundation there was for the scandal4 
,there was nothing for it but to insist 
upon the return of the stolen treasures4
 ,one would have thought that the holy  
man1 who had admitted himself to be     
knowingly a receiver of stolen goods1   
would have made instant restitution and 
begged only for absolution4 ,but        
,eginhard intimates that he had very    

great difficulty in getting his brother 
abbot to see that even restitution was  
necessary4  ,hildoin's proceedings were 
not of such a nature as to lead any one 
to place implicit confidence in anything
 he might say2 still less had his agent1
 priest ,hunus1 established much claim  
to confidence2 and it is not surprising 
that ,eginhard should have lost no time 
in summoning his notary and ,lunison to 
his presence1 in order that he might    
hear what they had to say about the     
business4 ,they1 however1 at once       
protested that priest ,hunus's story was
 a parcel of lies1 and that after the   
relics left ,rome no one had any        
opportunity of meddling with them4      
,moreover1 ,lunison1 throwing himself at
 ,eginhard's feet1 confessed with many  
tears what actually took place4 ,it will
 be remembered that after the body of   
,st4 ,marcellinus was abstracted from   
its tomb1 ,ratleig deposited it in the  
house of ,deusdona1 in charge of the    
latter's brother1 ,lunison4 ,but ,hunus1

 being very much disappointed that he   
could not get hold of the body of ,st4  
,tiburtius1 and afraid to go back to his
 abbot empty-handed1 bribed ,lunison    
with four pieces of gold and five of    
silver to give him access to the chest4 
,this ,lunison did1 and ,hunus helped   
himself to as much as would fill a      
gallon measure 7vas sextarii mensuram7  
of the sacred remains4 ,eginhard's      
indignation at the rapine of this       
nequissimus nebulo is exquisitely droll4
 ,it would appear that the adage about  
the receiver being as bad as the thief  
was not current in the ninth century4   
,let us now briefly sum up the history  
of the acquisition of the relics4       
,eginhard makes a contract with         
,deusdona for the delivery of certain   
relics which the latter says he         
possesses4 ,eginhard makes no inquiry   
how he came by them2 otherwise1 the     
transaction is innocent enough4         
,deusdona turns out to be a swindler1   
and has no relics4 ,thereupon           

,eginhard's agent1 after due fasting and
 prayer1 breaks open the tombs and helps
 himself4  ,eginhard discovers by the   
self-betrayal of his brother abbot1     
,hildoin1 that portions of his relics   
have been stolen and conveyed to the    
latter4 ,with much ado he succeeds in   
getting them back4  ,hildoin's agent1   
,hunus1 in delivering these stolen goods
 to him1 at first declared they were the
 relics of ,st4 ,tiburtius1 which       
,hildoin desired him to obtain2 but     
afterwards invented a story of their    
being the product of a theft1 which the 
providential drowsiness of his          
companions enabled him to perpetrate1   
from the relics which ,hildoin well knew
 were the property of his friend4       
,lunison1 on the contrary1 swears that  
all his story is false1 and that he     
himself was bribed by ,hunus to allow   
him to steal what he pleased from the   
property confided to his own and his    
brother's care by their guest ,ratleig4 
,and the honest notary himself seems to 

have no hesitation about lying and      
stealing to any extent1 where the       
acquisition of relics is the object in  
view4  ,for a parallel to these         
transactions one must read a police     
report of the doings of a long firm or  
of a set of horse-coupers2 yet ,eginhard
 seems to be aware of nothing1 but that 
he has been rather badly used by his    
friend ,hildoin1 and the nequissimus    
nebulo ,hunus4  ,it is not easy for a   
modern ,protestant1 still less for any  
one who has the least tincture of       
scientific culture1 whether physical or 
historical1 to picture to himself the   
state of mind of a man of the ninth     
century1 however cultivated1            
enlightened1 and sincere he may have    
been4 ,his deepest convictions1 his most
 cherished hopes1 were bound up with the
 belief in the miraculous4 ,life was a  
constant battle between saints and      
demons for the possession of the souls  
of men4 ,the most superstitious among   
our modern countrymen turn to           

supernatural agencies only when natural 
causes seem insufficient2 to ,eginhard  
and his friends the supernatural was the
 rule2 and the sufficiency of natural   
causes was allowed only when there was  
nothing to suggest others4  ,moreover1  
it must be recollected that the         
possession of miracle-working relics was
 greatly coveted1 not only on high1 but 
on very low grounds4 ,to a man like     
,eginhard1 the mere satisfaction of the 
religious sentiment was obviously a     
powerful attraction4 ,but1 more than1   
this1 the possession of such a treasure 
was an immense practical advantage4 ,if 
the saints were duly flattered and      
worshipped1 there was no telling what   
benefits might result from their        
interposition on your behalf4 ,for      
physical evils1 access to the shrine was
 like the grant of the use of a         
universal pill and ointment manufactory2
 and pilgrimages thereto might suffice  
to cleanse the performers from any      
amount of sin4 ,a letter to ,lupus1     

subsequently abbot of ,ferrara1 written 
while ,eginhard was smarting under the  
grief caused by the loss of his         
much-loved wife ,imma1 affords a        
striking insight into the current view  
of the relation between the glorified   
saints and their worshippers4 ,the      
writer shows that he is anything but    
satisfied with the way in which he has  
been treated by the blessed martyrs     
whose remains he has taken such pains to
 convey to ,seligenstadt1 and to honour 
there as they would never have been     
honoured in their ,roman obscurity4     
,it is an aggravation of my grief and a 
reopening of my      wound1 that our    
vows have been of no avail1 and that the
      faith which we placed in the      
merits and intervention of the          
martyrs has been utterly disappointed4  
,we may admit1 then1 without impeachment
 of ,eginhard's sincerity1 or of his    
honour under all ordinary circumstances1
 that when piety1 self-interest1 the    
glory of the ,church in general1 and    

that of the church at ,seligenstadt in  
particular1 all pulled one way1 even the
 workaday principles of morality were   
disregarded2 and1 a fortiori1 anything  
like proper investigation of the reality
 of alleged miracles was thrown to the  
winds4  ,and if this was the condition  
of mind of such a man as ,eginhard1 what
 is it not legitimate to suppose may    
have been that of ,deacon ,deusdona1    
,lunison1 ,hunus1 and ,company1 thieves 
and cheats by their own confession1 or  
of the probably hysterical nun1 or of   
the professional beggars1 for whose     
incapacity to walk and straighten       
themselves there is no guarantee but    
their own8 ,who is to make sure that the
 exorcist of the demon ,wiggo was not   
just such another priest as ,hunus2 and 
is it not at least possible1 when       
,eginhard's servants dreamed1 night     
after night1 in such a curiously        
coincident fashion1 that a careful      
inquirer might have found they were very
 anxious to please their master4  ,quite

 apart from deliberate and conscious    
fraud 7which is a rarer thing than is   
often supposed71 people1 whose          
mythopoeic faculty is once stirred1 are 
capable of saying the thing that is not1
 and of acting as they should not1 to an
 extent which is hardly imaginable by   
persons who are not so easily affected  
by the contagion of blind faith4 ,there 
is no falsity so gross that honest men  
and1 still more1 virtuous women1 anxious
 to promote a good cause1 will not lend 
themselves to it without any clear      
consciousness of the moral bearings of  
what they are doing4  ,the cases of     
miraculously-effected cures of which    
,eginhard is ocular witness appear to   
belong to classes of disease in which   
malingering is possible or hysteria     
presumable4 ,without modern means of    
diagnosis1 the names given to them are  
quite worthless4 ,one miracle1 however1 
in which the patient1 a woman1 was cured
 by the mere sight of the church in     
which the relics of the blessed martyrs 

lay1 is an unmistakable case of         
dislocation of the lower jaw2 and it is 
obvious that1 as not unfrequently       
happens in such accidents in weakly     
subjects1 the jaws slipped suddenly back
 into place1 perhaps in consequence of a
 jolt1 as the woman rode towards the    
church4 7,cap4 v4 #ec47db  ,there is    
also a good deal said about a very      
questionable blind man--one ,albricus   
7,alberich87--who1 having been cured1   
not of his blindness1 but of another    
disease under which he laboured1 took up
 his quarters at ,seligenstadt1 and came
 out as a prophet1 inspired by the      
,archangel ,gabriel4 ,eginhard intimates
 that his prophecies were fulfilled2 but
 as he does not state exactly what they 
were1 or how they were accomplished1 the
 statement must be accepted with much   
caution4 ,it is obvious that he was not 
the man to hesitate to ease a prophecy  
until it fitted1 if the credit of the   
shrine of his favourite saints could be 
increased by such a procedure4 ,there is

 no impeachment of his honour in the    
supposition4 ,the logic of the matter is
 quite simple1 if somewhat sophistical4 
,the holiness of the church of the      
martyrs guarantees the reality of the   
appearance of the ,archangel ,gabriel   
there2 and what the archangel says must 
be true4 ,therefore1 if anything seem to
 be wrong1 that must be the mistake of  
the transmitter2 and1 in justice to the 
archangel1 it must be suppressed or set 
right4 ,this sort of reconciliation is  
not unknown in quite modern times1 and  
among people who would be very much     
shocked to be compared with a benighted 
papist of the ninth century4  ,the      
readers of this essay are1 ,i imagine1  
very largely composed of people who     
would be shocked to be regarded as      
anything but enlightened ,protestants4  
,it is not unlikely that those of them  
who have accompanied me thus far may be 
disposed to say1 ,well1 this is all very
 amusing as a story1 but what is the    
practical interest of it8 ,we are not   

likely to believe in the miracles worked
 by the spolia of ,,ss4 ,marcellinus and
 ,petrus1 or by those of any other      
saints in the ,roman ,calendar4  ,the   
practical interest is this3 if you do   
not believe in these miracles recounted 
by a witness whose character and        
competency are firmly established1 whose
 sincerity cannot be doubted1 and who   
appeals to his sovereign and other      
contemporaries as witnesses of the truth
 of what he says1 in a document of which
 a ,,ms4 copy exists1 probably dating   
within a century of the author's death1 
why do you profess to believe in stories
 of a like character1 which are found in
 documents of the dates and of the      
authorship of which nothing is certainly
 determined1 and no known copies of     
which come within two or three centuries
 of the events they record8 ,if it be   
true that the four ,gospels and the     
,acts were written by ,matthew1 ,mark1  
,luke1 and ,john1 all that we know of   
these persons comes to nothing in       

comparison with our knowledge of        
,eginhard2 and not only is there no     
proof that the traditional authors of   
these works wrote them1 but very strong 
reasons to the contrary may be alleged4 
,if1 therefore1 you refuse to believe   
that ,wiggo was cast out of the         
possessed girl on ,eginhard's authority1
 with what justice can you profess to   
believe that the legion of devils were  
cast out of the man among the tombs of  
the ,gadarenes8 ,and if1 on the other   
hand1 you accept ,eginhard's evidence1  
why do you laugh at the supposed        
efficacy of relics and the saint-worship
 of the modern ,romanists8 ,it cannot be
 pretended1 in the face of all evidence1
 that the ,jews of the year #cj ,a4,d41 
or thereabouts1 were less imbued with   
the belief in the supernatural than were
 the ,franks of the year #hjj ,a4,d4    
,the same influences were at work in    
each case1 and it is only reasonable to 
suppose that the results were the same4 
,if the evidence of ,eginhard is        

insufficient to lead reasonable men to  
believe in the miracles he relates1 a   
fortiori the evidence afforded by the   
,gospels and the ,acts must be so4#dc   
,but it may be said that no serious     
critic denies the genuineness of the    
four great ,pauline                     
,epistles--,galatians1 ,first and       
,second ,corinthians1 and ,romans--and  
that in three out of these four ,paul   
lays claim to the power of working      
miracles4#dd ,must we suppose1          
therefore1 that the ,apostle to the     
,gentiles has stated that which is      
false8 ,but to how much does this       
so-called claim amount8 ,it may mean    
much or little4 ,paul nowhere tells us  
what he did in this direction2 and in   
his sore need to justify his assumption 
of apostleship against the sneers of his
 enemies1 it is hardly likely that1 if  
he had any very striking cases to bring 
forward1 he would have neglected        
evidence so well calculated to put them 
to shame4 ,and1 without the slightest   

impeachment of ,paul's veracity1 we must
 further remember that his              
strongly-marked mental characteristics1 
displayed in unmistakable fashion by    
these ,epistles1 are anything but those 
which would justify us in regarding him 
as a critical witness respecting matters
 of fact1 or as a trustworthy           
interpreter of their significance4 ,when
 a man testifies to a miracle1 he not   
only states a fact1 but he adds an      
interpretation of the fact4 ,we may     
admit his evidence as to the former1 and
 yet think his opinion as to the latter 
worthless4 ,if ,eginhard's calm and     
objective narrative of the historical   
events of his time is no guarantee for  
the soundness of his judgment where the 
supernatural is concerned1 the heated   
rhetoric of the ,apostle of the         
,gentiles1 his absolute confidence in   
the inner light1 and the extraordinary  
conceptions of the nature and           
requirements of logical proof which he  
betrays1 in page after page of his      

,epistles1 afford still less security4  
,there is a comparatively modern man who
 shared to the full ,paul's trust in the
 inner light1 and who1 though widely    
different from the fiery evangelist of  
,tarsus in various obvious particulars1 
yet1 if ,i am not mistaken1 shares his  
deepest characteristics4 ,i speak of    
,george ,fox1 who separated himself from
 the current ,protestantism of ,england1
 in the seventeenth century1 as ,paul   
separated himself from the ,judaism of  
the first century1 at the bidding of the
 inner light2 who went through          
persecutions as serious as those which  
,paul enumerates2 who was beaten1       
stoned1 cast out for dead1 imprisoned   
nine times1 sometimes for long periods2 
who was in perils on land and perils at 
sea4 ,george ,fox was an even more      
widely-travelled missionary2 while his  
success in founding congregations1 and  
his energy in visiting them1 not merely 
in ,great ,britain and ,ireland and the 
,west ,india ,islands1 but on the       

continent of ,europe and that of ,north 
,america1 were no less remarkable4 ,a   
few years after ,fox began to preach1   
there were reckoned to be a thousand    
,friends in prison in the various gaols 
of ,england2 at his death1 less than    
fifty years after the foundation of the 
sect1 there were #gj1jjj ,quakers in the
 ,united ,kingdom4 ,the cheerfulness    
with which these people--women as well  
as men--underwent martyrdom in this     
country and in the ,new ,england ,states
 is one of the most remarkable facts in 
the history of religion4  ,no one who   
reads the voluminous autobiography of   
,honest ,george can doubt the man's     
utter truthfulness2 and though1 in his  
multitudinous letters1 he but rarely    
rises for above the incoherent          
commonplaces of a street preacher1 there
 can be no question of his power as a   
speaker1 nor any doubt as to the dignity
 and attractiveness of his personality1 
or of his possession of a large amount  
of practical good sense and governing   

faculty4  ,but that ,george ,fox had    
full faith in his own powers as a       
miracle-worker1 the following passage of
 his autobiography 7to which others     
might he added7 demonstrates3--         
,now after ,i was set at liberty from   
,nottingham gaol 7where ,i      had been
 kept a prisoner a pretty long time7 ,i 
travelled as      before1 in the work of
 the ,lord4 ,and coming to ,mansfield   
,woodhouse1 there was a distracted      
woman1 under a doctor's      hand1 with 
her hair let loose all about her ears2  
and he was      about to let her blood1 
she being first bound1 and many         
people being about her1 holding her by  
violence2 but he      could get no blood
 from her4 ,and ,i desired them to      
unbind      her and let her alone2 for  
they could not touch the spirit      in 
her by which she was tormented4 ,so they
 did unbind her1      and ,i was moved  
to speak to her1 and in the name of the 
,lord      to bid her be quiet and      
still4 ,and she was so4 ,and the        

,lord's power settled her mind and she  
mended2 and afterwards      received the
 truth and continued in it to her death4
 ,and the      ,lord's name was         
honoured2 to whom the glory of all ,his 
works      belongs4 ,many great and     
wonderful things were wrought by the    
heavenly power in those days4 ,for the  
,lord made bare his      omnipotent arm 
and manifested ,his power to the        
astonishment      of many2 by the       
healing virtue whereof many have been   
delivered from great infirmities1 and   
the devils were made      subject       
through his name3 of which particular   
instances      might be given beyond    
what this unbelieving age is able to    
receive or bear4#de  ,it needs no long  
study of ,fox's writings1 however1 to   
arrive at the conviction that the       
distinction between subjective and      
objective verities had not the same     
place in his mind as it has in that of  
an ordinary mortal4 ,when an ordinary   
person would say ,i thought so and so1  

or ,i made up my mind to do so and so1  
,george ,fox says1 ,it was opened to me1
 or at the command of ,god ,i did so and
 so4 ,then at the command of ,god on the
 ninth day of the seventh month #afdc   
7,fox being just nineteen71 ,i left my  
relations and brake off all familiarity 
or friendship with young or old4 ,about 
the beginning of the year #afdg ,i was  
moved of the ,lord to go into           
,darbyshire4 ,fox hears voices and he   
sees visions1 some of which he brings   
before the reader with apocalyptic power
 in the simple and strong ,english1     
alike untutored and undefiled1 of which1
 like ,john ,bunyan1 his contemporary1  
he was a master4  ,and one morning as ,i
 was sitting by the fire1 a great cloud 
came over me and a temptation beset me2 
and ,i sate still4 ,and it was said1    
,all things come by ,nature4 ,and the   
elements and stars came over me2 so that
 ,i was in a manner quite clouded with  
it4444 ,and as ,i sate still under it1  
and let it alone1 a living hope arose in

 me1 and a true voice arose in me which 
said1 ,there is a living ,god who made  
all things4 ,and immediately the cloud  
and the temptation vanished away1 and   
life rose over it all1 and my heart was 
glad and ,i praised the living ,god 7p4 
#ac74  ,if ,george ,fox could speak1 as 
he proves in this and some other        
passages he could write1 his astounding 
influence on the contemporaries of      
,milton and of ,cromwell is no mystery4 
,but this modern reproduction of the    
ancient prophet1 with his ,thus saith   
the ,lord1 ,this is the work of the     
,lord1 steeped in supernaturalism and   
glorying in blind faith1 is the mental  
antipodes of the philosopher1 founded in
 naturalism and a fanatic for evidence1 
to whom these affirmations inevitably   
suggest the previous question3 ,how do  
you know that the ,lord saith it8 ,how  
do you know that the ,lord doeth it8 and
 who is compelled to demand that        
rational ground for belief1 without     
which1 to the man of science1 assent is 

merely an immoral pretence4  ,and it is 
this rational ground of belief which the
 writers of the ,gospels1 no less than  
,paul1 and ,eginhard1 and ,fox1 so      
little dream of offering that they would
 regard the demand for it as a kind of  
blasphemy4  ,,footnotes3       #cc ,my  
citations are made from ,teulet's       
,einhardi omnia           qu extant     
opera1 ,paris1 #ahdj-ahdc1 which        
contains a           biography of the   
author1 a history of the text1 with     
translations into ,french1 and many     
valuable           annotations4         
#cd ,at present included in the ,duchies
 of ,hesse-,darmstadt           and     
,baden4       #ce ,this took place in   
the year #hbf ,a4,d4 ,the relics were   
brought from ,rome and deposited in the 
,church of ,st4           ,medardus at  
,soissons4       #cf ,now included in   
,western ,switzerland4       #cg        
,probably1 according to ,teulet1 the    
present           ,sandhoferfahrt1 a    
little below the embouchure of the      

,neckar4       #ch ,the present         
,michilstadt1 thirty miles ,n4,e4 of    
,heidelberg4       #ci ,in the ,middle  
,ages one of the most favourite         
accusations against witches was that    
they committed           just these     
enormities4       #dj ,it is pretty     
clear that ,eginhard had his doubts     
about           the deacon1 whose       
pledges he qualifies as sponsiones      
incert4 ,but1 to be sure1 he wrote after
 events which           fully justified 
scepticism4       #da ,the words are    
scrinia sine clave1 which seems to mean 
having no key4 ,but the circumstances   
forbid the idea           of breaking   
open4       #db ,eginhard speaks with   
lofty contempt of the vana ac           
superstitiosa prsumptio of the poor     
woman's           companions in trying  
to alleviate her sufferings with        
herbs and frivolous incantations4 ,vain 
enough1 no           doubt1 but the     
muliercul might have returned the       
epithet superstitious with interest4    

#dc ,of course there is nothing new in  
this argument3 but it           does not
 grow weaker by age4 ,and the case of   
,eginhard           is far more         
instructive than that of ,augustine1    
because           the former has so very
 frankly1 though incidentally1          
revealed to us not only his own mental  
and moral           habits1 but those of
 the people about him4       #dd ,see #a
 ,cor4 xii4 #aj-bh2 #b ,cor4 vi4 #ab2   
,rom4 xv4 #ai4       #de ,a ,journal or 
,historical ,account of the ,life1      
,travels1           ,sufferings1 and    
,christian ,experiences1 c41 of ,george 
,fox1 ,ed4 #afid1 pp4 #bg1 #bh4         
,,vi3 ,,possibilities ,,and             
,,impossibilities  #ahia   ,in the      
course of a discussion which has been   
going on during the last two years1#df  
it has been maintained by the defenders 
of ecclesiastical ,christianity that the
 demonology of the books of the ,new    
,testament is an essential and integral 
part of the revelation of the nature of 

the spiritual world promulgated by      
,jesus of ,nazareth4 ,indeed1 if the    
historical accuracy of the ,gospels and 
of the ,acts of the ,apostles is to be  
taken for granted1 if the teachings of  
the ,epistles are divinely inspired1 and
 if the universal belief and practice of
 the primitive ,church are the models   
which all later times must follow1 there
 can be no doubt that those who accept  
the demonology are in the right4 ,it is 
as plain as language can make it1 that  
the writers of the ,gospels believed in 
the existence of ,satan and the         
subordinate ministers of evil as        
strongly as they believed in that of    
,god and the angels1 and that they had  
an unhesitating faith in possession and 
in exorcism4 ,no reader of the first    
three ,gospels can hesitate to admit    
that1 in the opinion of those persons   
among whom the traditions out of which  
they are compiled arose1 ,jesus held1   
and constantly acted upon1 the same     
theory of the spiritual world4 ,nowhere 

do we find the slightest hint that he   
doubted the theory1 or questioned the   
efficacy of the curative operations     
based upon it4  ,thus1 when such a story
 as that about the ,gadarene swine is   
placed before us1 the importance of the 
decision1 whether it is to be accepted  
or rejected1 cannot be over-estimated4  
,if the demonological part of it is to  
be accepted1 the authority of ,jesus is 
unmistakably pledged to the             
demonological system current in ,juda in
 the first century4 ,the belief in      
devils who possess men and can be       
transferred from men to pigs1 becomes as
 much a part of ,christian dogma as any 
article of the creeds4 ,if it is to be  
rejected1 there are two alternative     
conclusions4 ,supposing the ,gospels to 
be historically accurate1 it follows    
that ,jesus shared in the errors1       
respecting the nature of the spiritual  
world1 prevalent in the age in which he 
lived and among the people of his       
nation4 ,if1 on the other hand1 the     

,gospel traditions gives us only a      
popular version of the sayings and      
doings of ,jesus1 falsely coloured and  
distorted by the superstitious          
imaginings of the minds through which it
 had passed1 what guarantee have we that
 a similar unconscious falsification1 in
 accordance with preconceived ideas1 may
 not have taken place in respect of     
other reported sayings and doings8 ,what
 is to prevent a conscientious inquirer 
from finding himself at last in a purely
 agnostic position with respect to the  
teachings of ,jesus1 and consequently   
with respect to the fundamentals of     
,christianity8  ,in dealing with the    
question whether the ,gadarene story was
 to be believed or not1 ,i confined     
myself altogether to a discussion of the
 value of the evidence in its favour4   
,and1 as it was easy to prove that this 
consists of nothing more than three     
partially discrepant1 but often verbally
 coincident1 versions of an original1 of
 the authorship of which nobody knows   

anything1 it appeared to me that it was 
wholly worthless4 ,even if the event    
described had been probable1 such       
evidence would have required            
corroboration2 being grossly improbable1
 and involving acts questionable in     
their moral and legal aspect1 the three 
accounts sank to the level of mere      
tales4  ,thus far1 ,i am unable1 even   
after the most careful revision1 to find
 any flaw in my argument2 and ,i incline
 to think none has been found by my     
critics--at least1 if they have1 they   
have kept the discovery to themselves4  
,in another part of my treatment of the 
case ,i have been less fortunate4 ,i was
 careful to say that1 for anything ,i   
could absolutely prove to the contrary1 
there might be in the universe demonic  
beings who could enter into and possess 
men1 and even be transferred from them  
to pigs2 and that ,i1 for my part1 could
 not venture to declare  priori that the
 existence of such entities was         
impossible4 ,i was1 however1 no less    

careful to remark that ,i thought the   
evidence hitherto adduced in favour of  
the existence of such beings            
ridiculously insufficient to warrant the
 belief in them4  ,to my surprise1 this 
statement of what1 after the closest    
reflection1 ,i still conceive to be the 
right conclusion1 has been hailed as a  
satisfactory admission by opponents1 and
 lamented as a perilous concession by   
sympathisers4 ,indeed1 the tone of the  
comments of some candid friends has been
 such that ,i began to suspect that ,i  
must be entering upon a process of      
retrogressive metamorphosis which might 
eventually give me a place among the    
respectabilities4 ,the prospect1        
perhaps1 ought to have pleased me2 but  
,i confess ,i felt something of the     
uneasiness of the tailor who said that1 
whenever a customer's circumference was 
either much less1 or much more1 than at 
the last measurement1 he at once sent in
 his bill2 and ,i was not consoled until
 ,i recollected that1 thirteen years    

ago1 in discussing ,hume's essay on     
,miracles1 ,i had quoted1 with entire   
assent1 the following passage from his  
writings3 ,whatever is intelligible and 
can be distinctly conceived implies no  
contradiction1 and can never be proved  
false by any demonstrative argument or  
abstract reasoning  priori4#dg  ,now1 it
 is certain that the existence of demons
 can be distinctly conceived4 ,in fact1 
from the earliest times of which we have
 any record to the present day1 the     
great majority of mankind have had      
extremely distinct conceptions of them1 
and their practical life has been more  
or less shaped by those conceptions4    
,further1 the notion of the existence of
 such beings implies no contradiction4  
,no doubt1 in our experience1           
intelligence and volition are always    
found in connection with a certain      
material organisation1 and never        
disconnected with it2 while1 by the     
hypothesis1 demons have no such material
 substratum4 ,but then1 as everybody    

knows1 the exact relation between mental
 and physical phenomena1 even in        
ourselves1 is the subject of endless    
dispute4 ,we may all have our opinions  
as to whether mental phenomena have a   
substratum distinct from that which is  
assumed to underlie material phenomena1 
or not2 though if any one thinks he has 
demonstrative evidence of either the    
existence or the non-existence of a     
soul1 all ,i can say is1 his notion of  
demonstration differs from mine4 ,but1  
if it be impossible to demonstrate the  
non-existence of a substance of mental  
phenomena--that is1 of a                
soul--independent of material substance2
 if the idea of such a soul is          
intelligible and can be distinctly      
conceived1 then it follows that it is   
not justifiable to talk of demons as    
impossibilities4 ,the idea of their     
existence implies no more contradiction 
than does the idea of the existence of  
pathogenic microbes in the air4 ,indeed1
 the microbes constitute a tolerably    

exact physical analogue of the powers of
 the air of ancient belief4  ,strictly  
speaking1 ,i am unaware of any thing    
that has a right to the title of an     
impossibility except a contradiction in 
terms4 ,there are impossibilities       
logical1 but none natural4 ,a round     
square1 a present past1 two parallel    
lines that intersect1 are               
impossibilities1 because the ideas      
denoted by the predicates1 round1       
present1 intersect1 are contradictory of
 the ideas denoted by the subjects1     
square1 past1 parallel4 ,but walking on 
water1 or turning water into wine1 or   
procreation without male intervention1  
or raising the dead1 are plainly not    
impossibilities in this sense4  ,in the 
affirmation1 that a man walked upon     
water1 the idea of the subject is not   
contradictory of that in the predicate4 
,naturalists are familiar with insects  
which walk on water1 and imagination has
 no more difficulty in putting a man in 
place of the insect than it has in      

giving a man some of the attributes of a
 bird and making an angel of him2 or in 
ascribing to him the ascensive          
tendencies of a balloon1 as the         
levitationists do4 ,undoubtedly1 there  
are very strong physical and biological 
arguments for thinking it extremely     
improbable that a man could be supported
 on the surface of the water as the     
insect is2 or that his organisation     
could be compatible with the possession 
and use of wings2 or that he could rise 
through the air without mechanical aid4 
,indeed1 if we have any reason to       
believe that our present knowledge of   
the nature of things exhausts the       
possibilities of nature1 we might       
properly say that the attributes of men 
are contradictory of walking on water1  
or floating in the air1 and consequently
 that these acts are truly impossible   
for him4 ,but it is sufficiently        
obvious1 not only that we are at the    
beginning of our knowledge of nature1   
instead of having arrived at the end of 

it1 but that the limitations of our     
faculties are such that we never can be 
in a position to set bounds to the      
possibilities of nature4 ,we have       
knowledge of what is happening and of   
what has happened2 of what will happen  
we have and can have no more than       
expectation1 grounded on our more or    
less correct reading of past experience 
and prompted by the faith1 begotten of  
that experience1 that the order of      
nature in the future will resemble its  
order in the past4  ,the same           
considerations apply to the other       
examples of supposed miraculous events4 
,the change of water into wine          
undoubtedly implies a contradiction1 and
 is assuredly impossible1 if we are     
permitted to assume that the elementary 
bodies of the chemists are1 now and for 
ever1 immutable4 ,not only1 however1 is 
a negative proposition of this kind     
incapable of proof1 but modern chemistry
 is inclining towards the contrary      
doctrine4 ,and if carbon can be got out 

of hydrogen or oxygen1 the conversion of
 water into wine comes within range of  
scientific possibility--it becomes a    
mere question of molecular arrangement4 
,as for virgin procreation1 it is not   
only clearly imaginable1 but modern     
biology recognises it as an everyday    
occurrence among some groups of animals4
 ,so with restoration to life after     
death4 ,certain animals1 long as dry as 
mummies1 and1 to all appearance1 as     
dead1 when placed in proper conditions  
resume their vitality4 ,it may be said  
that these creatures are not dead1 but  
merely in a condition of suspended      
vitality4 ,that1 however1 is only       
begging the question by making the      
incapacity for restoration to life part 
of the definition of death4 ,in the     
absence of obvious lesions of some of   
the more important organs1 it is no easy
 matter1 even for experts1 to say that  
an apparently dead man is incapable of  
restoration to life2 and1 in the        
recorded instances of such restoration1 

the want of any conclusive evidence that
 the man was dead is even more          
remarkable than the insufficiency of the
 testimony as to his coming to life     
again4  ,it may be urged1 however1 that 
there is1 at any rate1 one miracle      
certified by all three of the ,synoptic 
,gospels which really does imply a      
contradiction1 and is1 therefore1       
impossible in the strictest sense of the
 word4 ,this is the well-known story of 
the feeding of several thousand men1 to 
the complete satisfaction of their      
hunger1 by the distribution of a few    
loaves and fishes among them2 the       
wondrousness of this already somewhat   
surprising performance being intensified
 by the assertion that the quantity of  
the fragments of the meal1 left over1   
amounted to much more than the original 
store4  ,undoubtedly1 if the operation  
is stated in its most general form2 if  
it is to be supposed that a certain     
quantity1 or magnitude1 was divided into
 many more parts than the whole         

contained2 and that1 after the          
subtraction of several thousands of such
 parts1 the magnitude of the remainder  
amounted to more than the original      
magnitude1 there does seem to be an     
priori difficulty about accepting the   
proposition1 seeing that it appears to  
be contradictory of the senses which we 
attach to the words whole and parts     
respectively4 ,but this difficulty is   
removed if we reflect that we are not1  
in this case1 dealing with magnitude in 
the abstract1 or with whole and parts in
 their mathematical sense1 but with     
concrete things1 many of which are known
 to possess the power of growing1 or    
increasing in magnitude4 ,they thus     
furnish us with a conception of growth  
which we may1 in imagination1 apply to  
loaves and fishes2 just as we may1 in   
imagination1 apply the idea of wings to 
the idea of a man4 ,it must be admitted 
that a number of sheep might be fed on a
 pasture1 and yet there might be more   
grass on the pasture1 when the sheep    

left it1 than there was at first4 ,we   
may generalise this and other such facts
 into a perfectly definite conception of
 the increase of food in excess of      
consumption2 which thus becomes a       
possibility1 the limitations of which   
are to be discovered only by experience4
 ,therefore1 if it is asserted that     
cooked food has been made to grow in    
excess of rapid consumption1 that       
statement cannot logically be rejected  
as an  priori impossibility1 however    
improbable experience of the            
capabilities of cooked food may justify 
us in holding it to be4  ,on the        
strength of this undeniable             
improbability1 however1 we not only have
 a right to demand1 but are morally     
bound to require1 strong evidence in its
 favour before we even take it into     
serious consideration4 ,but what is the 
evidence in this case8 ,it is merely    
that of those three books1#dh which also
 concur in testifying to the truth of   
the monstrous legend of the herd of     

swine4 ,in these three books1 there are 
five accounts of a miraculous feeding1  
which fall into two groups4 ,three of   
the stories1 obviously derived from some
 common source1 state that five loaves  
and two fishes sufficed to feed five    
thousand persons1 and that twelve       
baskets of fragments remained over4 ,in 
the two others1 also obviously derived  
from a common source1 distinct from the 
preceding1 seven loaves and a few small 
fishes are distributed to four thousand 
persons1 and seven baskets of fragments 
are left4  ,if we were dealing with     
secular records1 ,i suppose no candid   
and competent student of history would  
entertain much doubt that the originals 
of the three stories and of the two are 
themselves merely divergent versions of 
some primitive story which existed      
before the three ,synoptic gospels were 
compiled out of the body of traditions  
current about ,jesus4 ,this view of the 
case1 however1 is incompatible with a   
belief in the historical accuracy of the

 first and second gospels4#di ,for these
 agree in making ,jesus himself speak of
 both the four thousand and the five    
thousand miracle4 ,when ,i brake the    
five loaves among the five thousand1 how
 many baskets full of broken pieces took
 ye up8 ,they say unto him1 twelve4 ,and
 when the seven among the four thousand1
 how many baskets full of broken pieces 
took ye up8 ,and they say unto him1     
seven4  ,thus we are face to face with a
 dilemma the way of escape from which is
 not obvious4 ,either the four thousand 
and the five thousand stories are both  
historically true1 and describe two     
separate events2 or the first and second
 gospels testify to the very words of a 
conversation between ,jesus and his     
disciples which cannot have been        
uttered4  ,my choice between these      
alternatives is determined by no  priori
 speculations about the possibility or  
impossibility of such events as the     
feeding of the four or of the five      
thousand4 ,but ,i ask myself the        

question1 ,what evidence ought to be    
produced before ,i could feel justified 
in saying that ,i believed such an event
 to have occurred8 ,that question is    
very easily answered4 ,proof must be    
given 7#a7 of the weight of the loaves  
and fishes at starting2 7#b7 of the     
distribution to #d-e1jjj persons1       
without any additional supply1 of this  
quantity and quality of food2 7#c7 of   
the satisfaction of these people's      
appetites2 7#d7 of the weight and       
quality of the fragments gathered up    
into the baskets4 ,whatever my present  
notions of probability and improbability
 may be1 satisfactory testimony under   
these four heads would lead me to       
believe that they were erroneous2 and ,i
 should accept the so-called miracle as 
a new and unexpected example of the     
possibilities of nature4  ,but when1    
instead of such evidence1 nothing is    
produced but two sets of discrepant     
stories1 originating nobody knows how or
 when1 among persons who could believe  

as firmly in devils which enter pigs1 ,i
 confess that my feeling is one of      
astonishment that any one should expect 
a reasonable man to take such testimony 
seriously4  ,i am anxious to bring about
 a clear understanding of the difference
 between impossibilities and            
improbabilities1 because mistakes on    
this point lay us open to the attacks of
 ecclesiastical apologists of the type  
of the late ,cardinal ,newman2 acute    
sophists1 who think it fitting to employ
 their intellects1 as burglars employ   
dark lanterns for the discovery of other
 people's weak places1 while they       
carefully keep the light away from their
 own position4  ,when it is rightly     
stated1 the ,agnostic view of miracles  
is1 in my judgment1 unassailable4 ,we   
are not justifiable in the  priori      
assertion that the order of nature1 as  
experience has revealed it to us1 cannot
 change4 ,in arguing about the          
miraculous1 the assumption is           
illegitimate1 because it involves the   

whole point in dispute4 ,furthermore1 it
 is an assumption which takes us beyond 
the range of our faculties4 ,obviously1 
no amount of past experience can warrant
 us in anything more than a             
correspondingly strong expectation for  
the present and future4 ,we find1       
practically1 that expectations1 based   
upon careful observations of events1    
are1 as a rule1 trustworthy4 ,we should 
be foolish indeed not to follow the only
 guide we have through life4 ,but1 for  
all that1 our highest and surest        
generalisations remain on the level of  
justifiable expectations2 that is1 very 
high probabilities4 ,for my part1 ,i am 
unable to conceive of an intelligence   
shaped on the model of that of man1     
however superior it might be1 which     
could be any better off than our own in 
this respect2 that is1 which could      
possess logically justifiable grounds   
for certainty about the constancy of the
 order of things1 and therefore be in a 
position to declare that such and such  

events are impossible4 ,some of the old 
mythologies recognised this clearly     
enough4 ,beyond and above ,zeus and     
,odin1 there lay the unknown and        
inscrutable ,fate which1 one day or     
other1 would crumple up them and the    
world they ruled to give place to a new 
order of things4  ,i sincerely hope that
 ,i shall not be accused of ,pyrrhonism1
 or of any desire to weaken the         
foundations of rational certainty4 ,i   
have merely desired to point out that   
rational certainty is one thing1 and    
talk about impossibilities1 or violation
 of natural laws1 another4 ,rational    
certainty rests upon two grounds--the   
one that the evidence in favour of a    
given statement is as good as it can be2
 the other that such evidence is plainly
 insufficient4 ,in the former case1 the 
statement is to be taken as true1 in the
 latter as untrue2 until something      
arises to modify the verdict1 which1    
however properly reached1 may always be 
more or less wrong1 the best information

 being never complete1 and the best     
reasoning being liable to fallacy4  ,to 
quarrel with the uncertainty that besets
 us in intellectual affairs1 would be   
about as reasonable as to object to live
 one's life1 with due thought for the   
morrow1 because no man can be sure he   
will be alive an hour hence4 ,such are  
the conditions imposed upon us by       
nature1 and we have to make the best of 
them4 ,and ,i think that the greatest   
mistake those of us who are interested  
in the progress of free thought can make
 is to overlook these limitations1 and  
to deck ourselves with the dogmatic     
feathers which are the traditional      
adornment of our opponents4 ,let us be  
content with rational certainty1 leaving
 irrational certainties to those who    
like to muddle their minds with them4 ,i
 cannot see my way to say that demons   
are impossibilities2 but ,i am not more 
certain about anything1 than ,i am that 
the evidence tendered in favour of the  
demonology1 of which the ,gadarene story

 is a typical example1 is utterly       
valueless4 ,i cannot see my way to say  
that it is impossible that the hunger of
 thousands of men should be satisfied   
out of the food supplied by half-a-dozen
 loaves and a fish or two2 but it seems 
to me monstrous that ,i should be asked 
to believe it on the faith of the five  
stories which testify to such an        
occurrence4 ,it is true that the        
position that miracles are impossible   
cannot be sustained4 ,but ,i know of    
nothing which calls upon me to qualify  
the grave verdict of ,hume3 ,there is   
not to be found1 in all history1 any    
miracle attested by a sufficient number 
of men1 of such unquestioned goodness1  
education1 and learning as to secure us 
against all delusion in themselves2 of  
such undoubted integrity as to place    
them beyond all suspicion of any design 
to deceive others2 of such credit and   
reputation in the eyes of mankind as to 
have a great deal to lose in case of    
their being detected in any falsehood2  

and at the same time attesting facts    
performed in such a public manner1 and  
in so celebrated a part of the world1 as
 to render the detection unavoidable3   
all which circumstances are requisite to
 give us a full assurance in the        
testimony of men4#ej       ,the         
preceding paper called forth the        
following criticism      signed         
,agnosco1 to which ,i append my reply3--
       ,while agreeing generally with   
,professor ,huxley's remarks            
respecting miracles1 in ,the ,agnostic  
,annual for #ahib1 it      has seemed to
 me that one of his arguments at least  
requires      qualification4 ,the       
,professor1 in maintaining that         
so-called      miraculous events are    
possible1 although the evidence         
adduced is not sufficient to render them
 probable1 refers to      the           
possibility of changing water into wine 
by molecular      recomposition4 ,he    
tells us that1 if carbon can be got out 
of hydrogen or oxygen1 the conversion of

 water into wine      comes within range
 of scientific possibility4 ,but in     
maintaining that miracles 7so-called7   
have a prospective      possibility1    
,professor ,huxley loses sight--at      
least1 so it      appears to me--of the 
question of their retrospective         
possibility4 ,for1 if it requires a     
certain degree of      knowledge and    
experience1 yet far from having been    
attained1      to perform those acts    
which have been called miraculous1 it   
is not only improbable1 but impossible  
likewise1 that they      should have    
been done by men whose knowledge and    
experience      were considerably less  
than our own4 ,it has seemed to me1 in  
fact1 that this question of the         
retrospective possibility of            
miracles is more important to us        
,rationalists1 and1 for the      matter 
of that1 to ,christians also1 than the  
question of      their prospective      
possibility1 with which ,professor      
,huxley's      article mainly deals4    

,perhaps the ,professor himself could   
help those of us who think so1 by giving
 us his opinion4       ,i am not sure   
that ,i fully appreciate the point      
raised by      ,agnosco1 nor the        
distinction between the prospective and 
the retrospective possibility of such a 
miracle as the      conversion of water 
into wine4 ,if we may contemplate such  
an      event as possible in ,london in 
the year #aijj1 it must1 in      the    
same sense1 have been possible in the   
year #cj 7or      thereabouts7 at ,cana 
in ,galilee4 ,if ,i should live so long1
 ,i      shall take great interest in   
the announcement of the      performance
 of this operation1 say1 nine years     
hence2 and1      if there is no         
objection raised by chemical experts1 ,i
 shall      accept the fact that the    
feat has been performed1 without        
hesitation4 ,but ,i shall have no more  
ground for believing      the ,cana     
story than ,i had before2 simply because
 the      evidence in its favour will   

remain1 for me1 exactly where it        
is4 ,possible or impossible1 that       
evidence is worth nothing4      ,to     
leave the safe ground of no evidence for
 speculations      about                
impossibilities1 consequent upon the    
want of      scientific knowledge of the
 supposed workers of miracles1          
appears to me to be a mistake2          
especially in view of the      orthodox 
contention that they possessed          
supernatural power      and supernatural
 knowledge4 ,t4,h4 ,,huxley4            
,,footnotes3       #df #ahhi-ahia4 ,see 
the next ,essay 7,,vii7 and those which 
follow it4       #dg ,inquiry           
,concerning the ,human ,understanding1  
p4 #e2           #agdh4 ,the passage is 
cited and discussed in my               
,hume1 pp4 #acb1 #acc4       #dh ,the   
story in ,john vi4 #e-ad is obviously   
derived from           the five thousand
 narrative of the ,synoptics4       #di 
,matthew xvi4 #e-ab2 ,mark viii4 #ad-ba4
       #ej ,hume1 ,inquiry1 sec4 ,x41   

part ii4     ,,vii3 ,,agnosticism  #ahhi
   ,within the last few months1 the     
public has received much and varied     
information on the subject of agnostics1
 their tenets1 and even their future4   
,agnosticism exercised the orators of   
the ,church ,congress at ,manchester4#ea
 ,it has been furnished with a set of   
articles fewer1 but not less rigid1 and 
certainly not less consistent than the  
thirty-nine2 its nature has been        
analysed1 and its future severely       
predicted by the most eloquent of that  
prophetical school whose ,samuel is     
,auguste ,comte4 ,it may still be a     
question1 however1 whether the public is
 as much the wiser as might be expected1
 considering all the trouble that has   
been taken to enlighten it4 ,not only   
are the three accounts of the agnostic  
position sadly out of harmony with one  
another1 but ,i propose to show cause   
for my belief that all three must be    
seriously questioned by any one who     
employs the term agnostic in the sense  

in which it was originally used4 ,the   
learned ,principal of ,king's ,college1 
who brought the topic of ,agnosticism   
before the ,church ,congress1 took a    
short and easy way of settling the      
business3--       ,but if this be so1   
for a man to urge1 as an escape from    
this      article of belief1 that he has
 no means of a scientific      knowledge
 of the unseen world1 or of the future1 
is      irrelevant4 ,his difference from
 ,christians lies not in the      fact  
that he has no knowledge of these       
things1 but that he      does not       
believe the authority on which they are 
stated4 ,he      may prefer to call     
himself an ,agnostic2 but his real name 
is      an older one--he is an infidel2 
that is to say1 an      unbeliever4 ,the
 word infidel1 perhaps1 carries an      
unpleasant      significance4 ,perhaps  
it is right that it should4 ,it is1 and 
it ought to be1 an unpleasant thing for 
a man to have to say      plainly that  
he does not believe in ,jesus           

,christ4#eb  ,so much of ,dr4 ,wace's   
address either explicitly or implicitly 
concerns me1 that ,i take upon myself to
 deal with it2 but1 in so doing1 it must
 be understood that ,i speak for myself 
alone4 ,i am not aware that there is any
 sect of ,agnostics2 and if there be1 ,i
 am not its acknowledged prophet or     
pope4 ,i desire to leave to the         
,comtists the entire monopoly of the    
manufacture of imitation                
ecclesiasticism4  ,let us calmly and    
dispassionately consider ,dr4 ,wace's   
appreciation of agnosticism4 ,the       
agnostic1 according to his view1 is a   
person who says he has no means of      
attaining a scientific knowledge of the 
unseen world or of the future2 by which 
somewhat loose phraseology ,dr4 ,wace   
presumably means the theological unseen 
world and future4 ,i cannot think this  
description happy1 either in form or    
substance1 but for the present it may   
pass4 ,dr4 ,wace continues1 that it is  
not his difference from ,christians4    

,are there then any ,christians who say 
that they know nothing about the unseen 
world and the future8 ,i was ignorant of
 the fact1 but ,i am ready to accept it 
on the authority of a professional      
theologian1 and ,i proceed to ,dr4      
,wace's next proposition4  ,the real    
state of the case1 then1 is that the    
agnostic does not believe the authority 
on which these things are stated1 which 
authority is ,jesus ,christ4 ,he is     
simply an old-fashioned infidel who is  
afraid to own to his right name4 ,as    
,presbyter is priest writ large1 so is  
agnostic the mere ,greek equivalent for 
the ,latin infidel4 ,there is an        
attractive simplicity about this        
solution of the problem2 and it has that
 advantage of being somewhat offensive  
to the persons attacked1 which is so    
dear to the less refined sort of        
controversialist4 ,the agnostic says1 ,i
 cannot find good evidence that so and  
so is true4 ,ah1 says his adversary1    
seizing his opportunity1 then you       

declare that ,jesus ,christ was         
untruthful1 for he said so and so2 a    
very telling method of rousing          
prejudice4 ,but suppose that the value  
of the evidence as to what ,jesus may   
have said and done1 and as to the exact 
nature and scope of his authority1 is   
just that which the agnostic finds it   
most difficult to determine4 ,if ,i     
venture to doubt that the ,duke of      
,wellington gave the command ,up1       
,guards1 and at 'em6 at ,waterloo1 ,i do
 not think that even ,dr4 ,wace would   
accuse me of disbelieving the ,duke4    
,yet it would be just as reasonable to  
do this as to accuse any one of denying 
what ,jesus said1 before the preliminary
 question as to what he did say is      
settled4  ,now1 the question as to what 
,jesus really said and did is strictly a
 scientific problem1 which is capable of
 solution by no other methods than those
 practised by the historian and the     
literary critic4 ,it is a problem of    
immense difficulty1 which has occupied  

some of the best heads in ,europe for   
the last century2 and it is only of late
 years that their investigations have   
begun to converge towards one           
conclusion4#ec  ,that kind of faith     
which ,dr4 ,wace describes and lauds is 
of no use here4 ,indeed1 he himself     
takes pains to destroy its evidential   
value4  ,what made the ,mahommedan      
world8 ,trust and faith in the          
declarations and assurances of          
,mahommed4 ,and what made the ,christian
 world8 ,trust and faith in the         
declarations and assurances of ,jesus   
,christ and ,his ,apostles 7l4c4 p4     
#bec74 ,the triumphant tone of this     
imaginary catechism leads me to suspect 
that its author has hardly appreciated  
its full import4 ,presumably1 ,dr4 ,wace
 regards ,mahommed as an unbeliever1 or1
 to use the term which he prefers1      
infidel2 and considers that his         
assurances have given rise to a vast    
delusion which has led1 and is leading1 
millions of men straight to everlasting 

punishment4 ,and this being so1 the     
,trust and faith which have made the    
,mahommedan world1 in just the same     
sense as they have made the ,christian  
world1 must be trust and faith in       
falsehoods4 ,no man who has studied     
history1 or even attended to the        
occurrences of everyday life1 can doubt 
the enormous practical value of trust   
and faith2 but as little will he be     
inclined to deny that this practical    
value has not the least relation to the 
reality of the objects of that trust and
 faith4 ,in examples of patient         
constancy of faith and of unswerving    
trust1 the ,acta ,martyrum do not excel 
the annals of ,babism4#ed         99    
99       99       99       99  ,the     
discussion upon which we have now       
entered goes so thoroughly to the root  
of the whole matter2 the question of the
 day is so completely1 as the author of 
,robert ,elsmere says1 the value of     
testimony1 that ,i shall offer no       
apology for following it out somewhat in

 detail2 and1 by way of giving substance
 to the argument1 ,i shall base what ,i 
have to say upon a case1 the            
consideration of which lies strictly    
within the province of natural science1 
and of that particular part of it known 
as the physiology and pathology of the  
nervous system4  ,i find1 in the second 
,gospel 7chap4 v471 a statement1 to all 
appearance intended to have the same    
evidential value as any other contained 
in that history4 ,it is the well-known  
story of the devils who were cast out of
 a man1 and ordered1 or permitted1 to   
enter into a herd of swine1 to the great
 loss and damage of the innocent        
,gerasene1 or ,gadarene1 pig owners4    
,there can be no doubt that the narrator
 intends to convey to his readers his   
own conviction that this casting out and
 entering in were effected by the agency
 of ,jesus of ,nazareth2 that1 by speech
 and action1 ,jesus enforced this       
conviction2 nor does any inkling of the 
legal and moral difficulties of the case

 manifest itself4  ,on the other hand1  
everything that ,i know of physiological
 and pathological science leads me to   
entertain a very strong conviction that 
the phenomena ascribed to possession are
 as purely natural as those which       
constitute small-pox2 everything that ,i
 know of anthropology leads me to think 
that the belief in demons and demoniacal
 possession is a mere survival of a once
 universal superstition1 and that its   
persistence1 at the present time1 is    
pretty much in the inverse ratio of the 
general instruction1 intelligence1 and  
sound judgment of the population among  
whom it prevails4 ,everything that ,i   
know of law and justice convinces me    
that the wanton destruction of other    
people's property is a misdemeanour of  
evil example4 ,again1 the study of      
history1 and especially of that of the  
fifteenth1 sixteenth1 and seventeenth   
centuries1 leaves no shadow of doubt on 
my mind that the belief in the reality  
of possession and of witchcraft1 justly 

based1 alike by ,catholics and          
,protestants1 upon this and innumerable 
other passages in both the ,old and ,new
 ,testaments1 gave rise1 through the    
special influence of ,christian         
ecclesiastics1 to the most horrible     
persecutions and judicial murders of    
thousands upon thousands of innocent    
men1 women1 and children4 ,and when ,i  
reflect that the record of a plain and  
simple declaration upon such an occasion
 as this1 that the belief in witchcraft 
and possession is wicked nonsense1 would
 have rendered the long agony of medival
 humanity impossible1 ,i am prompted to 
reject1 as dishonouring1 the supposition
 that such declaration was withheld out 
of condescension to popular error4      
,come forth1 thou unclean spirit1 out of
 the man 7,mark v4 #h71ee are the words 
attributed to ,jesus4 ,if ,i declare1 as
 ,i have no hesitation in doing1 that ,i
 utterly disbelieve in the existence of 
unclean spirits1 and1 consequently1 in  
the possibility of their coming forth   

out of a man1 ,i suppose that ,dr4 ,wace
 will tell me ,i am disregarding the    
testimony of our ,lord4 ,for1 if these  
words were really used1 the most        
resourceful of reconcilers can hardly   
venture to affirm that they are         
compatible with a disbelief in these    
things4 ,as the learned and fair-minded1
 as well as orthodox1 ,dr4 ,alexander   
remarks1 in an editorial note to the    
article ,demoniacs1 in the ,biblical    
,cyclopdia 7vol4 i4 p4 #ffd1 note73--   
444 ,on the lowest grounds on which our 
,lord and ,his ,apostles      can be    
placed they must1 at least1 be regarded 
as honest      men4 ,now1 though honest 
speech does not require that words      
should be used always and only in their 
etymological sense1      it does require
 that they should not be used so as to  
affirm      what the speaker knows to be
 false4 ,whilst1 therefore1 our         
,lord and ,his ,apostles might use the  
word ,greek3 daimonizesthai1      or the
 phrase1 ,greek3 daimonion echein as a  

popular      description of certain     
diseases1 without giving in to the      
belief which lay at the source of such a
 mode of expression1      they could not
 speak of demons entering into a man1 or
 being      cast out of him1 without    
pledging themselves to the belief of    
an actual possession of the man by the  
demons4 7,campbell1      ,prel4 ,diss4  
vi4 #a1 #aj47 ,if1 consequently1 they   
did not hold      this belief1 they     
spoke not as honest men4  ,the story    
which we are considering does not rest  
on the authority of the second ,gospel  
alone4 ,the third confirms the second1  
especially in the matter of commanding  
the unclean spirit to come out of the   
man 7,luke viii4 #bi72 and1 although the
 first ,gospel either gives a different 
version of the same story1 or tells     
another of like kind1 the essential     
point remains3 ,if thou cast us out1    
send us away into the herd of swine4    
,and ,he said unto them3 ,go6 7,matt4   
viii4 #ca1 #cb74  ,if the concurrent    

testimony of the three synoptics1 then1 
is really sufficient to do away with all
 rational doubt as to a matter of fact  
of the utmost practical and speculative 
importance--belief or disbelief in which
 may affect1 and has affected1 men's    
lives and their conduct towards other   
men1 in the most serious way--then ,i am
 bound to believe that ,jesus implicitly
 affirmed himself to possess a knowledge
 of the unseen world1 which afforded    
full confirmation of the belief in      
demons and possession current among his 
contemporaries4 ,if the story is true1  
the medival theory of the invisible     
world may be1 and probably is1 quite    
correct2 and the witch-finders1 from    
,sprenger to ,hopkins and ,mather1 are  
much-maligned men4  ,on the other hand1 
humanity1 noting the frightful          
consequences of this belief2 common     
sense1 observing the futility of the    
evidence on which it is based1 in all   
cases that have been properly           
investigated2 science1 more and more    

seeing its way to inclose all the       
phenomena of so-called possession within
 the domain of pathology1 so far as they
 are not to be relegated to that of the 
police--all these powerful influences   
concur in warning us1 at our peril1     
against accepting the belief without the
 most careful scrutiny of the authority 
on which it rests4  ,i can discern no   
escape from this dilemma3 either ,jesus 
said what he is reported to have said1  
or he did not4 ,in the former case1 it  
is inevitable that his authority on     
matters connected with the unseen world 
should be roughly shaken2 in the latter1
 the blow falls upon the authority of   
the synoptic ,gospels4 ,if their report 
on a matter of such stupendous and      
far-reaching practical import as this is
 untrustworthy1 how can we be sure of   
its trustworthiness in other cases8 ,the
 favourite earth1 in which the          
hard-pressed reconciler takes refuge1   
that the ,bible does not profess to     
teach science1#ef is stopped in this    

instance4 ,for the question of the      
existence of demons and of possession by
 them1 though it lies strictly within   
the province of science1 is also of the 
deepest moral and religious             
significance4 ,if physical and mental   
disorders are caused by demons1 ,gregory
 of ,tours and his contemporaries       
rightly considered that relics and      
exorcists were more useful than doctors2
 the gravest questions arise as to the  
legal and moral responsibilities of     
persons inspired by demoniacal impulses2
 and our whole conception of the        
universe and of our relations to it     
becomes totally different from what it  
would be on the contrary hypothesis4    
,the theory of life of an average       
medival ,christian was as different from
 that of an average nineteenth-century  
,englishman as that of a ,west ,african 
negro is now1 in these respects4 ,the   
modern world is slowly1 but surely1     
shaking off these and other monstrous   
survivals of savage delusions2 and1     

whatever happens1 it will not return to 
that wallowing in the mire4 ,until the  
contrary is proved1 ,i venture to doubt 
whether1 at this present moment1 any    
,protestant theologian1 who has a       
reputation to lose1 will say that he    
believes the ,gadarene story4  ,the     
choice then lies between discrediting   
those who compiled the ,gospel          
biographies and disbelieving the        
,master1 whom they1 simple souls1       
thought to honour by preserving such    
traditions of the exercise of his       
authority over ,satan's invisible world4
 ,this is the dilemma4 ,no deep         
scholarship1 nothing but a knowledge of 
the revised version 7on which it is to  
be supposed all that mere scholarship   
can do has been done71 with the         
application thereto of the commonest    
canons of common sense1 is needful to   
enable us to make a choice between its  
alternatives4 ,it is hardly doubtful    
that the story1 as told in the first    
,gospel1 is merely a version of that    

told in the second and third4           
,nevertheless1 the discrepancies are    
serious and irreconcilable2 and1 on this
 ground alone1 a suspension of judgment1
 at the least1 is called for4 ,but there
 is a great deal more to be said4 ,from 
the dawn of scientific biblical         
criticism until the present day1 the    
evidence against the long-cherished     
notion that the three synoptic ,gospels 
are the works of three independent      
authors1 each prompted by ,divine       
inspiration1 has steadily accumulated1  
until1 at the present time1 there is no 
visible escape from the conclusion that 
each of the three is a compilation      
consisting of a groundwork common to all
 three--the threefold tradition2 and of 
a superstructure1 consisting1 firstly1  
of matter common to it with one of the  
others1 and1 secondly1 of matter special
 to each4 ,the use of the terms         
groundwork and superstructure by no     
means implies that the latter must be of
 later date than the former4 ,on the    

contrary1 some parts of it may be1 and  
probably are1 older than some parts of  
the groundwork4#eg  ,the story of the   
,gadarene swine belongs to the          
groundwork2 at least1 the essential part
 of it1 in which the belief in demoniac 
possession is expressed1 does2 and      
therefore the compilers of the first1   
second1 and third ,gospels1 whoever they
 were1 certainly accepted that belief   
7which1 indeed1 was universal among both
 ,jews and pagans at that time71 and    
attributed it to ,jesus4  ,what1 then1  
do we know about the originator1 or     
originators1 of this groundwork--of that
 threefold tradition which all three    
witnesses 7in ,paley's phrase7 agree    
upon--that we should allow their mere   
statements to outweigh the counter      
arguments of humanity1 of common sense1 
of exact science1 and to imperil the    
respect which all would be glad to be   
able to render to their ,master8        
,absolutely nothing4#eh ,there is no    
proof1 nothing more than a fair         

presumption1 that any one of the        
,gospels existed1 in the state in which 
we find it in the authorised version of 
the ,bible1 before the second century1  
or1 in other words1 sixty or seventy    
years after the events recorded4 ,and1  
between that time and the date of the   
oldest extant manuscripts of the        
,gospels1 there is no telling what      
additions and alterations and           
interpolations may have been made4 ,it  
may be said that this is all mere       
speculation1 but it is a good deal more4
 ,as competent scholars and honest men1 
our revisers have felt compelled to     
point out that such things have happened
 even since the date of the oldest known
 manuscripts4 ,the oldest two copies of 
the second ,gospel end with the #hth    
verse of the #afth chapter2 the         
remaining twelve verses are spurious1   
and it is noteworthy that the maker of  
the addition has not hesitation to      
introduce a speech in which ,jesus      
promises his disciples that in ,my name 

shall they cast out devils4  ,the other 
passage rejected to the margin is still 
more instructive4 ,it is that touching  
apologue1 with its profound ethical     
sense1 of the woman taken in            
adultery--which1 if internal evidence   
were an infallible guide1 might well be 
affirmed to be a typical example of the 
teachings of ,jesus4 ,yet1 say the      
revisers1 pitilessly1 ,most of the      
ancient authorities emit ,john vii4     
#ec-viii4 #aa4 ,now let any reasonable  
man ask himself this question4 ,if1     
after an approximate settlement of the  
canon of the ,new ,testament1 and even  
later than the fourth and fifth         
centuries1 literary fabricators had the 
skill and the audacity to make such     
additions and interpolations as these1  
what may they have done when no one had 
thought of a canon2 when oral tradition1
 still unfixed1 was regarded as more    
valuable than such written records as   
may have existed in the latter portion  
of the first century8 ,or1 to take the  

other alternative1 if those who         
gradually settled the canon did not know
 of the existence of the oldest codices 
which have come down to us2 or if1      
knowing them1 they rejected their       
authority1 what is to be thought of     
their competency as critics of the text8
  ,people who object to free criticism  
of the ,christian ,scriptures forget    
that they are what they are in virtue of
 very free criticism2 unless the        
advocates of inspiration are prepared to
 affirm that the majority of influential
 ecclesiastics during several centuries 
were safeguarded against error4 ,for1   
even granting that some books of the    
period were inspired1 they were         
certainly few amongst many2 and those   
who selected the canonical books1 unless
 they themselves were also inspired1    
must be regarded in the light of mere   
critics1 and1 from the evidence they    
have left of their intellectual habits1 
very uncritical critics4 ,when one      
thinks that such delicate questions as  

those involved fell into the hands of   
men like ,papias 7who believed in the   
famous millenarian grape story72 of     
,irenus with his reasons for the        
existence of only four ,gospels2 and of 
such calm and dispassionate judges as   
,tertullian1 with his ,credo quia       
impossibile3 the marvel is that the     
selection which constitutes our ,new    
,testament is as free as it is from     
obviously objectionable matter4 ,the    
apocryphal ,gospels certainly deserve to
 be apocryphal2 but one may suspect that
 a little more critical discrimination  
would have enlarged the ,apocrypha not  
inconsiderably4  ,at this point a very  
obvious objection arises and deserves   
full and candid consideration4 ,it may  
be said that critical scepticism carried
 to the length suggested is historical  
pyrrhonism2 that if we are altogether to
 discredit an ancient or a modern       
historian1 because he has assumed       
fabulous matter to be true1 it will be  
as well to give up paying any attention 

to history4 ,it may be said1 and with   
great justice1 that ,eginhard's ,life of
 ,charlemagne is none the less          
trustworthy because of the astounding   
revelation of credulity1 of lack of     
judgment1 and even of respect for the   
eighth commandment1 which he has        
unconsciously made in the ,history of   
the ,translation of the ,blessed        
,martyrs ,marcellinus and ,paul4 ,or1 to
 go no further back than the last number
 of the ,nineteenth ,century1 surely    
that excellent lady1 ,miss ,strickland1 
is not to be refused all credence1      
because of the myth about the second    
,james's remains which she seems to have
 unconsciously invented4  ,of course    
this is perfectly true4 ,i am afraid    
there is no man alive whose witness     
could be accepted1 if the condition     
precedent were proof that he had never  
invented and promulgated a myth4 ,in the
 minds of all of us there are little    
places here and there1 like the         
indistinguishable spots on a rock which 

give foothold to moss or stonecrop2 on  
which1 if the germ of a myth fall1 it is
 certain to grow1 without in the least  
degree affecting our accuracy or        
truthfulness elsewhere4 ,sir ,walter    
,scott knew that he could not repeat a  
story without1 as he said1 giving it a  
new hat and stick4 ,most of us differ   
from ,sir ,walter only in not knowing   
about this tendency of the mythopoeic   
faculty to break out unnoticed4 ,but it 
is also perfectly true that the         
mythopoeic faculty is not equally active
 in all minds1 nor in all regions and   
under all conditions of the same mind4  
,david ,hume was certainly not so liable
 to temptation as the ,venerable ,bede1 
or even as some recent historians who   
could be mentioned2 and the most        
imaginative of debtors1 if he owes five 
pounds1 never makes an obligation to pay
 a hundred out of it4 ,the rule of      
common sense is prim facie to trust a   
witness in all matters1 in which neither
 his self-interest1 his passions1 his   

prejudices1 nor that love of the        
marvellous1 which is inherent to a      
greater or less degree in all mankind1  
are strongly concerned2 and1 when they  
are involved1 to require corroborative  
evidence in exact proportion to the     
contravention of probability by the     
thing testified4  ,now1 in the ,gadarene
 affair1 ,i do not think ,i am          
unreasonably sceptical1 if ,i say that  
the existence of demons who can be      
transferred from a man to a pig1 does   
thus contravene probability4 ,let me be 
perfectly candid4 ,i admit ,i have no   
priori objection to offer4 ,there are   
physical things1 such as tni and        
trichin1 which can be transferred from  
men to pigs1 and vice vers1 and which do
 undoubtedly produce most diabolical and
 deadly effects on both4 ,for anything  
,i can absolutely prove to the contrary1
 there may be spiritual things capable  
of the same transmigration1 with like   
effects4 ,moreover ,i am bound to add   
that perfectly truthful persons1 for    

whom ,i have the greatest respect1      
believe in stories about spirits of the 
present day1 quite as improbable as that
 we are considering4  ,so ,i declare1 as
 plainly as ,i can1 that ,i am unable to
 show cause why these transferable      
devils should not exist2 nor can ,i deny
 that1 not merely the whole ,roman      
,church1 but many ,wacean infidels of no
 mean repute1 do honestly and firmly    
believe that the activity of such like  
demonic beings is in full swing in this 
year of grace #ahhi4  ,nevertheless1 as 
good ,bishop ,butler says1 probability  
is the guide of life2 and it seems to me
 that this is just one of the cases in  
which the canon of credibility and      
testimony1 which ,i have ventured to lay
 down1 has full force4 ,so that1 with   
the most entire respect for many 7by no 
means for all7 of our witnesses for the 
truth of demonology1 ancient and modern1
 ,i conceive their evidence on this     
particular matter to be ridiculously    
insufficient to warrant their           

conclusion4#ei  ,after what has been    
said ,i do not think that any sensible  
man1 unless he happen to be angry1 will 
accuse me of contradicting the ,lord and
 ,his ,apostles if ,i reiterate my total
 disbelief in the whole ,gadarene story4
 ,but1 if that story is discredited1 all
 the other stories of demoniac          
possession fall under suspicion4 ,and if
 the belief in demons and demoniac      
possession1 which forms the sombre      
background of the whole picture of      
primitive ,christianity1 presented to us
 in the ,new ,testament1 is shaken1 what
 is to be said1 in any case1 of the     
uncorroborated testimony of the ,gospels
 with respect to the unseen world8  ,i  
am not aware that ,i have been          
influenced by any more bias in regard to
 the ,gadarene story than ,i have been  
in dealing with other cases of like kind
 the investigation of which has         
interested me4 ,i was brought up in the 
strictest school of evangelical         
orthodoxy2 and when ,i was old enough to

 think for myself1 ,i started upon my   
journey of inquiry with little doubt    
about the general truth of what ,i had  
been taught2 and with that feeling of   
the unpleasantness of being called an   
infidel which we are told1 is so right  
and proper4 ,near my journey's end1 ,i  
find myself in a condition of something 
more than mere doubt about these        
matters4  ,in the course of other       
inquiries1 ,i have had to do with fossil
 remains which looked quite plain at a  
distance1 and became more and more      
indistinct as ,i tried to define their  
outline by close inspection4 ,there was 
something there--something which1 if ,i 
could win assurance about it1 might mark
 a new epoch in the history of the      
earth2 but1 study as long as ,i might1  
certainty eluded my grasp4 ,so had it   
been with me in my efforts to define the
 grand figure of ,jesus as it lies in   
the primary strata of ,christian        
literature4 ,is he the kindly1 peaceful 
,christ depicted in the ,catacombs8 ,or 

is he the stern ,judge who frowns upon  
the altar of ,,ss4 ,cosmas and          
,damianus8 ,or can he be rightly        
represented by the bleeding ascetic1    
broken down by physical pain1 of too    
many medival pictures8 ,are we to accept
 the ,jesus of the second1 or the ,jesus
 of the fourth ,gospel1 as the true     
,jesus8 ,what did he really say and do2 
and how much that is attributed to him1 
in speech and action1 is the embroidery 
of the various parties into which his   
followers tended to split themselves    
within twenty years of his death1 when  
even the threefold tradition was only   
nascent8  ,if any one will answer these 
questions for me with something more to 
the point than feeble talk about the    
cowardice of agnosticism1 ,i shall be   
deeply his debtor4 ,unless and until    
they are satisfactorily answered1 ,i say
 of agnosticism in this matter1 ,j'y    
suis1 et j'y reste4  ,but1 as we have   
seen1 it is asserted that ,i have no    
business to call myself an agnostic2    

that1 if ,i am not a ,christian ,i am an
 infidel2 and that ,i ought to call     
myself by that name of unpleasant       
significance4 ,well1 ,i do not care much
 what ,i am called by other people1 and 
if ,i had at my side all those who1     
since the ,christian era1 have been     
called infidels by other folks1 ,i could
 not desire better company4 ,if these   
are my ancestors1 ,i prefer1 with the   
old ,frank1 to be with them wherever    
they are4 ,but there are several points 
in ,dr4 ,wace's contention which must be
 elucidated before ,i can even think of 
undertaking to carry out his wishes4 ,i 
must1 for instance1 know what a         
,christian is4 ,now what is a           
,christian8 ,by whose authority is the  
signification of that term defined8 ,is 
there any doubt that the immediate      
followers of ,jesus1 the sect of the    
,nazarenes1 were strictly orthodox ,jews
 differing from other ,jews not more    
than the ,sadducees1 the ,pharisees1 and
 the ,essenes differed from one another2

 in fact1 only in the belief that the   
,messiah1 for whom the rest of their    
nation waited1 had come8 ,was not their 
chief1 ,james1 the brother of the ,lord1
 reverenced alike by ,sadducee1         
,pharisee1 and ,nazarene8 ,at the famous
 conference which1 according to the     
,acts1 took place at ,jerusalem1 does   
not ,james declare that myriads of      
,jews1 who1 by that time1 had become    
,nazarenes1 were all zealous for the    
,law8 ,was not the name of ,christian   
first used to denote the converts to the
 doctrine promulgated by ,paul and      
,barnabas at ,antioch8 ,does the        
subsequent history of ,christianity     
leave any doubt that1 from this time    
forth1 the little rift within the lute  
caused by the new teaching1 developed1  
if not inaugurated1 at ,antioch1 grew   
wider and wider1 until the two types of 
doctrines irreconcilably diverged8 ,did 
not the primitive ,nazarenism1 or       
,ebionism1 develop into the ,nazarenism1
 and ,ebionism1 and ,elkasaitism of     

later ages1 and finally die out in      
obscurity and condemnation1 as damnable 
heresy2 while the younger doctrine      
throve and pushed out its shoots into   
that endless variety of sects1 of which 
the three strongest survivors are the   
,roman and ,greek ,churches and modern  
,protestantism8  ,singular state of     
things6 ,if ,i were to profess the      
doctrine which was held by ,james1 the  
brother of the ,lord1 and by every one  
of the myriads of his followers and     
co-religionists in ,jerusalem up to     
twenty or thirty years after the        
,crucifixion 7and one knows not how much
 later at ,pella71 ,i should be         
condemned1 with unanimity1 as an        
ebionising heretic by the ,roman1       
,greek1 and ,protestant ,churches6 ,and1
 probably1 this hearty and unanimous    
condemnation of the creed1 held by those
 who were in the closest personal       
relation with their ,lord1 is almost the
 only point upon which they would be    
cordially of one mind4 ,on the other    

hand1 though ,i hardly dare imagine such
 a thing1 ,i very much fear that the    
pillars of the primitive ,hierosolymitan
 ,church would have considered ,dr4     
,wace an infidel4 ,no one can read the  
famous second chapter of ,galatians and 
the book of ,revelation without seeing  
how narrow was even ,paul's escape from 
a similar fate4 ,and1 if ecclesiastical 
history is to be trusted1 the           
thirty-nine articles1 be they right or  
wrong1 diverge from the primitive       
doctrine of the ,nazarenes vastly more  
than even ,pauline ,christianity did4   
,but1 further than this1 ,i have great  
difficulty in assuring myself that even 
,james1 the brother of the ,lord1 and   
his myriads of ,nazarenes1 properly     
represented the doctrines of their      
,master4 ,for it is constantly asserted 
by our modern pillars that one of the   
chief features of the work of ,jesus was
 the instauration of ,religion by the   
abolition of what our sticklers for     
articles and liturgies1 with1           

unconscious humour1 call the narrow     
restrictions of the ,law4 ,yet1 if      
,james knew this1 how could the bitter  
controversy with ,paul have arisen2 and 
why did not one or the other side quote 
any of the various sayings of ,jesus1   
recorded in the ,gospels1 which directly
 bear on the question--sometimes1       
apparently1 in opposite directions8     
,so1 if ,i am asked to call myself an   
infidel1 ,i reply3 ,to what doctrine do 
you ask me to be faithful8 ,is it that  
contained in the ,nicene and the        
,athanasian ,creeds8 ,my firm belief is 
that the ,nazarenes1 say of the year    
#dj1 headed by ,james1 would have       
stopped their ears and thought worthy of
 stoning the audacious man who          
propounded it to them4 ,is it contained 
in the so-called ,apostle's ,creed8 ,i  
am pretty sure that even that would have
 created a recalcitrant commotion at    
,pella in the year #gj1 among the       
,nazarenes of ,jerusalem1 who had fled  
from the soldiers of ,titus4 ,and yet1  

if the unadulterated tradition of the   
teachings of the ,nazarene were to be   
found anywhere1 it surely should have   
been amidst those not very aged         
disciples who may have heard them as    
they were delivered4  ,therefore1       
however sorry ,i may be to be unable to 
demonstrate that1 if necessary1 ,i      
should not be afraid to call myself an  
infidel1 ,i cannot do it4 ,infidel is a 
term of reproach1 which ,christians and 
,mahommedans1 in their modesty1 agree to
 apply to those who differ from them4   
,if he had only thought of it1 ,dr4     
,wace might have used the term          
miscreant1 which1 with the same         
etymological signification1 has the     
advantage of being still more unpleasant
 to the persons to whom it is applied4  
,but why should a man be expected to    
call himself a miscreant or an infidel8 
,that ,st4 ,patrick had two birthdays   
because he was a twin is a reasonable   
and intelligible utterance beside that  
of the man who should declare himself to

 be an infidel on the ground of denying 
his own belief4 ,it may be logically1 if
 not ethically1 defensible that a       
,christian should call a ,mahommedan an 
infidel and vice vers2 but1 on ,dr4     
,wace's principles1 both ought to call  
themselves infidels1 because each       
applies the term to the other4  ,now ,i 
am afraid that all the ,mahommedan world
 would agree in reciprocating that      
appellation to ,dr4 ,wace himself4 ,i   
once visited the ,hazar ,mosque1 the    
great ,university of ,mohammedanism1 in 
,cairo1 in ignorance of the fact that ,i
 was unprovided with proper authority4  
,a swarm of angry undergraduates1 as ,i 
suppose ,i ought to call them1 came     
buzzing about me and my guide2 and if ,i
 had known ,arabic1 ,i suspect that dog 
of an infidel would have been by no     
means the most unpleasant of the        
epithets showered upon me1 before ,i    
could explain and apologise for the     
mistake4 ,if ,i had had the pleasure of 
,dr4 ,wace's company on that occasion1  

the undiscriminative followers of the   
,prophet would1 ,i am afraid1 have made 
no difference between us2 not even if   
they had known that he was the head of  
an orthodox ,christian seminary4 ,and ,i
 have not the smallest doubt that even  
one of the learned mollahs1 if his grave
 courtesy would have permitted him to   
say anything offensive to men of another
 mode of belief1 would have told us that
 he wondered we did not find it very    
unpleasant to disbelieve in the ,prophet
 of ,islam4  ,from what precedes1 ,i    
think it becomes sufficiently clear that
 ,dr4 ,wace's account of the origin of  
the name of ,agnostic is quite wrong4   
,indeed1 ,i am bound to add that very   
slight effort to discover the truth     
would have convinced him that1 as a     
matter of fact1 the term arose          
otherwise4 ,i am loath to go over an old
 story once more2 but more than one     
object which ,i have in view will be    
served by telling it a little more fully
 than it has yet been told4  ,looking   

back nearly fifty years1 ,i see myself  
as a boy1 whose education has been      
interrupted1 and who1 intellectually1   
was left1 for some years1 altogether to 
his own devices4 ,at that time1 ,i was a
 voracious and omnivorous reader2 a     
dreamer and speculator of the first     
water1 well endowed with that splendid  
courage in attacking any and every      
subject1 which is the blessed           
compensation of youth and inexperience4 
,among the books and essays1 on all     
sorts of topics from metaphysics to     
heraldry1 which ,i read at this time1   
two left indelible impressions on my    
mind4 ,one was ,guizot's ,history of    
,civilization1 the other was ,sir       
,william ,hamilton's essay ,on the      
,philosophy of the ,unconditioned1 which
 ,i came upon1 by chance1 in an odd     
volume of the ,edinburgh ,review4 ,the  
latter was certainly strange reading for
 a boy1 and ,i could not possibly have  
understood a great deal of it2#fj       
nevertheless1 ,i devoured it with       

avidity1 and it stamped upon my mind the
 strong conviction that1 on even the    
most solemn and important of questions1 
men are apt to take cunning phrases for 
answers2 and that the limitation of our 
faculties1 in a great number of cases1  
renders real answers to such questions1 
not merely actually impossible1 but     
theoretically inconceivable4            
,philosophy and history having laid hold
 of me in this eccentric fashion1 have  
never loosened their grip4 ,i have no   
pretension to be an expert in either    
subject2 but the turn for philosophical 
and historical reading1 which rendered  
,hamilton and ,guizot attractive to me1 
has not only filled many lawful leisure 
hours1 and still more sleepless ones1   
with the repose of changed mental       
occupation1 but has not unfrequently    
disputed my proper work-time with my    
liege lady1 ,natural ,science4 ,in this 
way ,i have found it possible to cover a
 good deal of ground in the territory of
 philosophy2 and all the more easily    

that ,i have never cared much about ,a's
 or ,b's opinions1 but have rather      
sought to know what answer he had to    
give to the questions ,i had to put to  
him--that of the limitation of possible 
knowledge being the chief4 ,the ordinary
 examiner1 with his ,state the views of 
,so-and-so1 would have floored me at any
 time4 ,if he had said what do you think
 about any given problem1 ,i might have 
got on fairly well4  ,the reader who has
 had the patience to follow the         
enforced1 but unwilling1 egotism of this
 veritable history 7especially if his   
studies have led him in the same        
direction71 will now see why my mind    
steadily gravitated towards the         
conclusions of ,hume and ,kant1 so well 
stated by the latter in a sentence1     
which ,i have quoted elsewhere4  ,the   
greatest and perhaps the sole use of all
 philosophy of pure reason is1 after    
all1 merely negative1 since it serves   
not as an organon for the enlargement of
 knowledge1 but as a discipline for its 

delimitation2 and1 instead of           
discovering truth1 has only the modest  
merit of preventing error4#fa  ,when ,i 
reached intellectual maturity and began 
to ask myself whether ,i was an atheist1
 a theist1 or a pantheist2 a materialist
 or an idealist2 a ,christian or a      
freethinker2 ,i found that the more ,i  
learned and reflected1 the less ready   
was the answer2 until1 at last1 ,i came 
to the conclusion that ,i had neither   
art nor part with any of these          
denominations1 except the last4 ,the one
 thing in which most of these good      
people were agreed was the one thing in 
which ,i differed from them4 ,they were 
quite sure they had attained a certain  
gnosis1--had1 more or less successfully1
 solved the problem of existence2 while 
,i was quite sure ,i had not1 and had a 
pretty strong conviction that the       
problem was insoluble4 ,and1 with ,hume 
and ,kant on my side1 ,i could not think
 myself presumptuous in holding fast by 
that opinion4 ,like ,dante1      ,nel   

mezzo del cammin di nostra vita         
,mi ritrovai per una selva oscura1  but1
 unlike ,dante1 ,i cannot add1      ,che
 la diritta via era smarrita4  ,on the  
contrary1 ,i had1 and have1 the firmest 
conviction that ,i never left the verace
 via--the straight road2 and that this  
road led nowhere else but into the dark 
depths of a wild and tangled forest4    
,and though ,i have found leopards and  
lions in the path2 though ,i have made  
abundant acquaintance with the hungry   
wolf1 that with privy paw devours apace 
and nothing said1 as another great poet 
says of the ravening beast2 and though  
no friendly spectre has even yet offered
 his guidance1 ,i was1 and am1 minded to
 go straight on1 until ,i either come   
out on the other side of the wood1 or   
find there is no other side to it1 at   
least1 none attainable by me4  ,this was
 my situation when ,i had the good      
fortune to find a place among the       
members of that remarkable confraternity
 of antagonists1 long since deceased1   

but of green and pious memory1 the      
,metaphysical ,society4 ,every variety  
of philosophical and theological opinion
 was represented there1 and expressed   
itself with entire openness2 most of my 
colleagues were -ists of one sort or    
another2 and1 however kind and friendly 
they might be1 ,i1 the man without a rag
 of a label to cover himself with1 could
 not fail to have some of the uneasy    
feelings which must have beset the      
historical fox when1 after leaving the  
trap in which his tail remained1 he     
presented himself to his normally       
elongated companions4 ,so ,i took       
thought1 and invented what ,i conceived 
to be the appropriate title of agnostic4
 ,it came into my head as suggestively  
antithetic to the gnostic of ,church    
history1 who professed to know so much  
about the very things of which ,i was   
ignorant2 and ,i took the earliest      
opportunity of parading it at our       
,society1 to show that ,i1 too1 had a   
tail1 like the other foxes4 ,to my great

 satisfaction1 the term took2 and when  
the ,spectator had stood godfather to   
it1 any suspicion in the minds of       
respectable people1 that a knowledge of 
its parentage might have awakened was1  
of course1 completely lulled4  ,that is 
the history of the origin of the terms  
agnostic and agnosticism2 and it will be
 observed that it does not quite agree  
with the confident assertion of the     
reverend ,principal of ,king's ,college1
 that the adoption of the term agnostic 
is only an attempt to shift the issue1  
and that it involves a mere evasion in  
relation to the ,church and             
,christianity4#fb         99       99   
99       99       99  ,the last         
objection 7,i rejoice as much as my     
readers must do1 that it is the last7   
which ,i have to take to ,dr4 ,wace's   
deliverance before the ,church ,congress
 arises1 ,i am sorry to say1 on a       
question of morality4  ,it is1 and it   
ought to be1 authoritatively declares   
this official representative of         

,christian ethics1 an unpleasant thing  
for a man to have to say plainly that he
 does not believe in ,jesus ,christ     
7l4c4 p4 #bed74  ,whether it is so      
depends1 ,i imagine1 a good deal on     
whether the man was brought up in a     
,christian household or not4 ,i do not  
see why it should be unpleasant for a   
,mahommedan or ,buddhist to say so4 ,but
 that it ought to be unpleasant for any 
man to say anything which he sincerely1 
and after due deliberation1 believes1   
is1 to my mind1 a proposition of the    
most profoundly immoral character4 ,i   
verily believe that the great good which
 has been effected in the world by      
,christianity has been largely          
counteracted by the pestilent doctrine  
on which all the ,churches have         
insisted1 that honest disbelief in their
 more or less astonishing creeds is a   
moral offence1 indeed a sin of the      
deepest dye1 deserving and involving the
 same future retribution as murder and  
robbery4 ,if we could only see1 in one  

view1 the torrents of hypocrisy and     
cruelty1 the lies1 the slaughter1 the   
violations of every obligation of       
humanity1 which have flowed from this   
source along the course of the history  
of ,christian nations1 our worst        
imaginations of ,hell would pale beside 
the vision4  ,a thousand times1 no6 ,it 
ought not to be unpleasant to say that  
which one honestly believes or          
disbelieves4 ,that it so constantly is  
painful to do so1 is quite enough       
obstacle to the progress of mankind in  
that most valuable of all qualities1    
honesty of word or of deed1 without     
erecting a sad concomitant of human     
weakness into something to be admired   
and cherished4 ,the bravest of soldiers 
often1 and very naturally1 feel it      
unpleasant to go into action2 but a     
court-martial which did its duty would  
make short work of the officer who      
promulgated the doctrine that his men   
ought to feel their duty unpleasant4  ,i
 am very well aware1 as ,i suppose most 

thoughtful people are in these times1   
that the process of breaking away from  
old beliefs is extremely unpleasant2 and
 ,i am much disposed to think that the  
encouragement1 the consolation1 and the 
peace afforded to earnest believers in  
even the worst forms of ,christianity   
are of great practical advantage to     
them4 ,what deductions must be made from
 this gain on the score of the harm done
 to the citizen by the ascetic          
other-worldliness of logical            
,christianity2 to the ruler1 by the     
hatred1 malice1 and all uncharitableness
 of sectarian bigotry2 to the           
legislator1 by the spirit of            
exclusiveness and domination of those   
that count themselves pillars of        
orthodoxy2 to the philosopher1 by the   
restraints on the freedom of learning   
and teaching which every ,church        
exercises1 when it is strong enough2 to 
the conscientious soul1 by the          
introspective hunting after sins of the 
mint and cummin type1 the fear of       

theological error1 and the overpowering 
terror of possible damnation1 which have
 accompanied the ,churches like their   
shadow1 ,i need not now consider2 but   
they are assuredly not small4 ,if       
agnostics lose heavily on the one side1 
they gain a good deal on the other4     
,people who talk about the comforts of  
belief appear to forget its discomforts2
 they ignore the fact that the          
,christianity of the ,churches is       
something more than faith in the ideal  
personality of ,jesus1 which they create
 for themselves1 plus so much as can be 
carried into practice1 without          
disorganising civil society1 of the     
maxims of the ,sermon on the ,mount4    
,trip in morals or in doctrine          
7especially in doctrine71 without due   
repentance or retractation1 or fail to  
get properly baptized before you die1   
and a plbiscite of the ,christians of   
,europe1 if they were true to their     
creeds1 would affirm your everlasting   
damnation by an immense majority4       

,preachers1 orthodox and heterodox1 din 
into our ears that the world cannot get 
on without faith of some sort4 ,there is
 a sense in which that is as eminently  
as obviously true2 there is another1 in 
which1 in my judgment1 it is as         
eminently as obviously false1 and it    
seems to me that the hortatory1 or      
pulpit1 mind is apt to oscillate between
 the false and the true meanings1       
without being aware of the fact4  ,it is
 quite true that the ground of every one
 of our actions1 and the validity of all
 our reasonings1 rest upon the great act
 of faith1 which leads us to take the   
experience of the past as a safe guide  
in our dealings with the present and the
 future4 ,from the nature of            
ratiocination1 it is obvious that the   
axioms1 on which it is based1 cannot be 
demonstrated by ratiocination4 ,it is   
also a trite observation that1 in the   
business of life1 we constantly take the
 most serious action upon evidence of an
 utterly insufficient character4 ,but it

 is surely plain that faith is not      
necessarily entitled to dispense with   
ratiocination because ratiocination     
cannot dispense with faith as a         
starting-point2 and that because we are 
often obliged1 by the pressure of       
events1 to act on very bad evidence1 it 
does not follow that it is proper to act
 on such evidence when the pressure is  
absent4  ,the writer of the epistle to  
the ,hebrews tells us that faith is the 
assurance of things hoped for1 the      
proving of things not seen4 ,in the     
authorised version1 substance stands for
 assurance1 and evidence for proving4   
,the question of the exact meaning of   
the two words1 ,greek3 hypostasis and   
,greek3 elegchos affords a fine field of
 discussion for the scholar and the     
metaphysician4 ,but ,i fancy we shall be
 not far from the mark if we take the   
writer to have had in his mind the      
profound psychological truth1 that men  
constantly feel certain about things for
 which they strongly hope1 but have no  

evidence1 in the legal or logical sense 
of the word2 and he calls this feeling  
faith4 ,i may have the most absolute    
faith that a friend has not committed   
the crime of which he is accused4 ,in   
the early days of ,english history1 if  
my friend could have obtained a few more
 compurgators of a like robust faith1 he
 would have been acquitted4 ,at the     
present day1 if ,i tendered myself as a 
witness on that score1 the judge would  
tell me to stand down1 and the youngest 
barrister would smile at my simplicity4 
,miserable indeed is the man who has not
 such faith in some of his              
fellow-men--only less miserable than the
 man who allows himself to forget that  
such faith is not1 strictly speaking1   
evidence2 and when his faith is         
disappointed1 as will happen now and    
again1 turns ,timon and blames the      
universe for his own blunders4 ,and so1 
if a man can find a friend1 the         
hypostasis of all his hopes1 the mirror 
of his ethical ideal1 in the ,jesus of  

any1 or all1 of the ,gospels1 let him   
live by faith in that ideal4 ,who shall 
or can forbid him8 ,but let him not     
delude himself with the notion that his 
faith is evidence of the objective      
reality of that in which he trusts4     
,such evidence is to be obtained only by
 the use of the methods of science1 as  
applied to history and to literature1   
and it amounts at present to very       
little4  ,it appears that ,mr4          
,gladstone some time ago asked ,mr4     
,laing if he could draw up a short      
summary of the negative creed2 a body of
 negative propositions1 which have so   
far been adopted on the negative side as
 to be what the ,apostles' and other    
accepted creeds are on the positive2 and
 ,mr4 ,laing at once kindly obliged ,mr4
 ,gladstone with the desired            
articles--eight of them4  ,if any one   
had preferred this request to me1 ,i    
should have replied that1 if he referred
 to agnostics1 they have no creed2 and1 
by the nature of the case1 cannot have  

any4 ,agnosticism1 in fact1 is not a    
creed1 but a method1 the essence of     
which lies in the rigorous application  
of a single principle4 ,that principle  
is of great antiquity2 it is as old as  
,socrates2 as old as the writer who     
said1 ,try all things1 hold fast by that
 which is good2 it is the foundation of 
the ,reformation1 which simply          
illustrated the axiom that every man    
should be able to give a reason for the 
faith that is in him2 it is the great   
principle of ,descartes2 it is the      
fundamental axiom of modern science4    
,positively the principle may be        
expressed3 ,in matters of the intellect1
 follow your reason as far as it will   
take you1 without regard to any other   
consideration4 ,and negatively3 ,in     
matters of the intellect do not pretend 
that conclusions are certain which are  
not demonstrated or demonstrable4 ,that 
,i take to be the agnostic faith1 which 
if a man keep whole and undefiled1 he   
shall not be ashamed to look the        

universe in the face1 whatever the      
future may have in store for him4  ,the 
results of the working out of the       
agnostic principle will vary according  
to individual knowledge and capacity1   
and according to the general condition  
of science4 ,that which is unproven     
to-day may be proven by the help of new 
discoveries to-morrow4 ,the only        
negative fixed points will be those     
negations which flow from the           
demonstrable limitation of our          
faculties4 ,and the only obligation     
accepted is to have the mind always open
 to conviction4 ,agnostics who never    
fail in carrying out their principles   
are1 ,i am afraid1 as rare as other     
people of whom the same consistency can 
be truthfully predicated4 ,but1 if you  
were to meet with such a phoenix and to 
tell him that you had discovered that   
two and two make five1 he would         
patiently ask you to state your reasons 
for that conviction1 and express his    
readiness to agree with you if he found 

them satisfactory4 ,the apostolic       
injunction to suffer fools gladly should
 be the rule of life of a true agnostic4
 ,i am deeply conscious how far ,i      
myself fall short of this ideal1 but it 
is my personal conception of what       
agnostics ought to be4  ,however1 as ,i 
began by stating1 ,i speak only for     
myself2 and ,i do not dream of          
anathematizing and excommunicating ,mr4 
,laing4 ,but1 when ,i consider his creed
 and compare it with the ,athanasian1 ,i
 think ,i have on the whole a clearer   
conception of the meaning of the latter4
 ,polarity1 in ,article ,,viii1 for     
example1 is a word about which ,i heard 
a good deal in my youth1 when           
,naturphilosophie was in fashion1 and   
greatly did ,i suffer from it4 ,for many
 years past1 whenever ,i have met with  
polarity anywhere but in a discussion of
 some purely physical topic1 such as    
magnetism1 ,i have shut the book4 ,mr4  
,laing must excuse me if the force of   
habit was too much for me when ,i read  

his eighth article4  ,and now1 what is  
to be said to ,mr4 ,harrison's          
remarkable deliverance ,on the future of
 agnosticism 8#fc ,i would that it were 
not my business to say anything1 for ,i 
am afraid ,i can say nothing which shall
 manifest my great personal respect for 
this able writer1 and for the zeal and  
energy with which he ever and anon      
galvanises the weakly frame of          
,positivism until it looks1 more than   
ever1 like ,john ,bunyan's ,pope and    
,pagan rolled into one4 ,there is a     
story often repeated1 and ,i am afraid  
none the less mythical on that account1 
of a valiant and loud-voiced corporal in
 command of two full privates who1      
falling in with a regiment of the enemy 
in the dark1 orders it to surrender     
under pain of instant annihilation by   
his force2 and the enemy surrenders     
accordingly4 ,i am always reminded of   
this tale when ,i read the positivist   
commands to the forces of ,christianity 
and of ,science2 only the enemy show no 

more signs of intending to obey now than
 they have done any time these forty    
years4  ,the allocution under           
consideration has a certain papal       
flavour4 ,mr4 ,harrison speaks with     
authority and not as one of the common  
scribes of the period4 ,he knows not    
only what agnosticism is and how it has 
come about1 but what will become of it4 
,the agnostic is to content himself with
 being the precursor of the positivist4 
,in his place1 as a sort of navvy       
levelling the ground and cleansing it of
 such poor stuff as ,christianity1 he is
 a useful creature who deserves patting 
on the back1 on condition that he does  
not venture beyond his last4 ,but let   
not these scientific ,sanballats presume
 that they are good enough to take part 
in the building of the ,temple--they are
 mere ,samaritans1 doomed to die out in 
proportion as the ,religion of ,humanity
 is accepted by mankind4 ,well1 if that 
is their fate1 they have time to be     
cheerful4 ,but let us hear ,mr4         

,harrison's pronouncement of their doom4
  ,agnosticism is a stage in the        
evolution of religion1 an entirely      
negative stage1 the point reached by    
physicists1 a purely mental conclusion1 
with no relation to things social at all
 7p4 #aed74 ,i am quite dazed by this   
declaration4 ,are there1 then1 any      
conclusions that are not purely mental8 
,is there no relation to things social  
in mental conclusions which affect men's
 whole conception of life8 ,was that    
prince of agnostics1 ,david ,hume1      
particularly imbued with physical       
science8 ,supposing physical science to 
be non-existent1 would not the agnostic 
principle1 applied by the philologist   
and the historian1 lead to exactly the  
same results8 ,is the modern more or    
less complete suspension of judgment as 
to the facts of the history of regal    
,rome1 or the real origin of the        
,homeric poems1 anything but agnosticism
 in history and in literature8 ,and if  
so1 how can agnosticism be the mere     

negation of the physicist8  ,agnosticism
 is a stage in the evolution of         
religion4 ,no two people agree as to    
what is meant by the term religion2 but 
if it means1 as ,i think it ought to    
mean1 simply the reverence and love for 
the ethical ideal1 and the desire to    
realise that ideal in life1 which every 
man ought to feel--then ,i say          
agnosticism has no more to do with it   
than it has to do with music or         
painting4 ,if1 on the other hand1 ,mr4  
,harrison1 like most people1 means by   
religion theology1 then1 in my judgment1
 agnosticism can be said to be a stage  
in its evolution1 only as death may be  
said to be the final stage in the       
evolution of life4       ,when agnostic 
logic is simply one of the canons of    
thought1      agnosticism1 as a         
distinctive faith1 will have            
spontaneously      disappeared 7p4      
#aee74  ,i can but marvel that such     
sentences as this1 and those already    
quoted1 should have proceeded from ,mr4 

,harrison's pen4 ,does he really mean to
 suggest that agnostics have a logic    
peculiar to themselves8 ,will lie kindly
 help me out of my bewilderment when ,i 
try to think of logic being anything    
else than the canon 7which1 ,i believe1 
means rule7 of thought8 ,as to          
agnosticism being a distinctive faith1  
,i have already shown that it cannot    
possibly be anything of the kind1 unless
 perfect faith in logic is distinctive  
of agnostics2 which1 after all1 it may  
be4       ,agnosticism as a religious   
philosophy per se rests on an           
almost total ignoring of history and    
social evolution 7p4      #aeb74  ,but  
neither per se nor per aliud has        
agnosticism 7if ,i know anything about  
it7 the least pretension to be a        
religious philosophy2 so far from       
resting on ignorance of history1 and    
that social evolution of which history  
is the account1 it is and has been the  
inevitable result of the strict         
adherence to scientific methods by      

historical investigators4 ,our          
forefathers were quite confident about  
the existence of ,romulus and ,remus1 of
 ,king ,arthur1 and of ,hengist and     
,horsa4 ,most of us have become         
agnostics in regard to the reality of   
these worthies4 ,it is a matter of      
notoriety of which ,mr4 ,harrison1 who  
accuses us all so freely of ignoring    
history1 should not be ignorant1 that   
the critical process which has shattered
 the foundations of orthodox ,christian 
doctrine owes its origin1 not to the    
devotees of physical science1 but1      
before all1 to ,richard ,simon1 the     
learned ,french ,oratorian1 just two    
hundred years ago4 ,i cannot find       
evidence that either ,simon1 or any one 
of the great scholars and critics of the
 eighteenth and nineteenth centuries who
 have continued ,simon's work1 had any  
particular acquaintance with physical   
science4 ,i have already pointed out    
that ,hume was independent of it4 ,and  
certainly one of the most potent        

influences in the same direction1 upon  
history in the present century1 that of 
,grote1 did not come from the physical  
side4 ,physical science1 in fact1 has   
had nothing directly to do with the     
criticism of the ,gospels2 it is wholly 
incompetent to furnish demonstrative    
evidence that any statement made in     
these histories is untrue4 ,indeed1     
modern physiology can find parallels in 
nature for events of apparently the most
 eminently supernatural kind recounted  
in some of those histories4  ,it is a   
comfort to hear1 upon ,mr4 ,harrison's  
authority1 that the laws of physical    
nature show no signs of becoming less   
definite1 less consistent1 or less      
popular as time goes on 7p4 #aed74 ,how 
a law of nature is to become indefinite1
 or inconsistent1 passes my poor powers 
of imagination4 ,but with universal     
suffrage and the coach-dog theory of    
premiership in full view2 the theory1 ,i
 mean1 that the whole duty of a         
political chief is to look sharp for the

 way the social coach is driving1 and   
then run in front and bark loud--as if  
being the leading noise-maker and       
guiding were the same things--it is     
truly satisfactory to me to know that   
the laws of nature are increasing in    
popularity4 ,looking at recent          
developments of the policy which is said
 to express the great heart of the      
people1 ,i have had my doubts of the    
fact2 and my love for my                
fellow-countrymen has led me to reflect1
 with dread1 on what will happen to     
them1 if any of the laws of nature ever 
become so unpopular in their eyes1 as to
 be voted down by the transcendent      
authority of universal suffrage4 ,if the
 legion of demons1 before they set out  
on their journey in the swine1 had had  
time to hold a meeting and to resolve   
unanimously ,that the law of gravitation
 is oppressive and ought to be repealed1
 ,i am afraid it would have made no sort
 of difference to the result1 when their
 two thousand unwilling porters were    

once launched down the steep slopes of  
the fatal shore of ,gennesaret4         
,the question of the place of religion  
as an element of human      nature1 as a
 force of human society1 its origin1    
analysis1      and functions1 has never 
been considered at all from an          
agnostic point of view 7p4 #aeb74  ,i   
doubt not that ,mr4 ,harrison knows     
vastly more about history than ,i do2 in
 fact1 he tells the public that some of 
my friends and ,i have had no           
opportunity of occupying ourselves with 
that subject4 ,i do not like to         
contradict any statement which ,mr4     
,harrison makes on his own authority2   
only1 if ,i may be true to my agnostic  
principles1 ,i humbly ask how he has    
obtained assurance on this head4 ,i do  
not profess to know anything about the  
range of ,mr4 ,harrison's studies2 but  
as he has thought it fitting to start   
the subject1 ,i may venture to point out
 that1 on evidence adduced1 it might be 
equally permissible to draw the         

conclusion that ,mr4 ,harrison's other  
labours have not allowed him to acquire 
that acquaintance with the methods and  
results of physical science1 or with the
 history of philosophy1 or of           
philological and historical criticism1  
which is essential to any one who       
desires to obtain a right understanding 
of agnosticism4 ,incompetence in        
philosophy1 and in all branches of      
science except mathematics1 is the      
well-known mental characteristic of the 
founder of positivism4 ,faithfulness in 
disciples is an admirable quality in    
itself2 the pity is that it not         
unfrequently leads to the imitation of  
the weaknesses as well as of the        
strength of the master4 ,it is only such
 over-faithfulness which can account for
 a strong mind really saturated with the
 historical sense 7p4 #aec7 exhibiting  
the extraordinary forgetfulness of the  
historical fact of the existence of     
,david ,hume implied by the assertion   
that       it would be difficult to name

 a single known agnostic who      has   
given to history anything like the      
amount of thought and      study which  
he brings to a knowledge of the physical
 world      7p4 #aec74  ,whoso calls to 
mind what ,i may venture to term the    
bright side of ,christianity--that ideal
 of manhood1 with its strength and its  
patience1 its justice and its pity for  
human frailty1 its helpfulness to the   
extremity of self-sacrifice1 its ethical
 purity and nobility1 which apostles    
have pictured1 in which armies of       
martyrs have placed their unshakable    
faith1 and whence obscure men and women1
 like ,catherine of ,sienna and ,john   
,knox1 have derived the courage to      
rebuke popes and kings--is not likely to
 underrate the importance of the        
,christian faith as a factor in human   
history1 or to doubt that if that faith 
should prove to be incompatible with our
 knowledge1 or necessary want of        
knowledge1 some other hypostasis of     
men's hopes1 genuine enough and worthy  

enough to replace it1 will arise4 ,but  
that the incongruous mixture of bad     
science with eviscerated papistry1 out  
of which ,comte manufactured the        
positivist religion1 will be the heir of
 the ,christian ages1 ,i have too much  
respect for the humanity of the future  
to believe4 ,charles the ,second told   
his brother1 ,they will not kill me1    
,james1 to make you king4 ,and if       
critical science is remorselessly       
destroying the historical foundations of
 the noblest ideal of humanity which    
mankind have yet worshipped1 it is      
little likely to permit the pitiful     
reality to climb into the vacant shrine4
  ,that a man should determine to devote
 himself to the service of              
humanity--including intellectual and    
moral self-culture under that name2 that
 this should be1 in the proper sense of 
the word1 his religion--is not only an  
intelligible1 but1 ,i think1 a laudable 
resolution4 ,and ,i am greatly disposed 
to believe that it is the only religion 

which will prove itself to be           
unassailably acceptable so long as the  
human race endures4 ,but when the       
,comtist asks me to worship             
,humanity--that is to say1 to adore the 
generalised conception of men as they   
ever have been and probably ever will   
be--,i must reply that ,i could just as 
soon bow down and worship the           
generalised conception of a wilderness  
of apes4 ,surely we are not going back  
to the days of ,paganism1 when          
individual men were deified1 and the    
hard good sense of a dying ,vepasian    
could prompt the bitter jest1 ,ut puto  
,deus fio4 ,no divinity doth hedge a    
modern man1 be he even a sovereign      
ruler4 ,nor is there any one1 except a  
municipal magistrate1 who is officially 
declared worshipful4 ,but if there is no
 spark of worship-worthy divinity in the
 individual twigs of humanity1 whence   
comes that godlike splendour which the  
,moses of ,positivism fondly imagines to
 pervade the whole bush8  ,i know no    

study which is so unutterably saddening 
as that of the evolution of humanity1 as
 it is set forth in the annals of       
history4 ,out of the darkness of        
prehistoric ages man emerges with the   
marks of his lowly origin strong upon   
him4 ,he is a brute1 only more          
intelligent than the other brutes1 a    
blind prey to impulses1 which as often  
as not lead him to destruction2 a victim
 to endless illusions1 which make his   
mental existence a terror and a burden1 
and fill his physical life with barren  
toil and battle4 ,he attains a certain  
degree of physical comfort1 and develops
 a more or less workable theory of life1
 in such favourable situations as the   
plains of ,mesopotamia or of ,egypt1 and
 then1 for thousands and thousands of   
years1 struggles1 with varying fortunes1
 attended by infinite wickedness1       
bloodshed1 and misery1 to maintain      
himself at this point against the greed 
and the ambition of his fellow-men4 ,he 
makes a point of killing and otherwise  

persecuting all those who first try to  
get him to move on2 and when he has     
moved on a step1 foolishly confers      
post-mortem deification on his victims4 
,he exactly repeats the process with all
 who want to move a step yet farther4   
,and the best men of the best epochs are
 simply those who make the fewest       
blunders and commit the fewest sins4    
,that one should rejoice in the good    
man1 forgive the bad man1 and pity and  
help all men to the best of one's       
ability1 is surely indisputable4 ,it is 
the glory of ,judaism and of            
,christianity to have proclaimed this   
truth1 through all their aberrations4   
,but the worship of a ,god who needs    
forgiveness and help1 and deserves pity 
every hour of his existence1 is no      
better than that of any other           
voluntarily selected fetish4 ,the       
,emperor ,julian's project was hopeful  
in comparison with the prospects of the 
,comtist ,anthropolatry4  ,when the     
historian of religion in the twentieth  

century is writing about the nineteenth1
 ,i foresee he will say something of    
this kind3  ,the most curious and       
instructive events in the religious     
history of the preceding century are the
 rise and progress of two new sects     
called ,mormons and ,positivists4 ,to   
the student who has carefully considered
 these remarkable phenomena nothing in  
the records of religious self-delusion  
can appear improbable4  ,the ,mormons   
arose in the midst of the great         
,republic1 which1 though comparatively  
insignificant1 at that time1 in         
territory as in the number of its       
citizens1 was 7as we know from the      
fragments of the speeches of its orators
 which have come down to us7 no less    
remarkable for the native intelligence  
of its population than for the wide     
extent of their information1 owing to   
the activity of their publishers in     
diffusing all that they could invent1   
beg1 borrow1 or steal4 ,nor were they   
less noted for their perfect freedom    

from all restraints in thought1 or      
speech1 or deed2 except1 to be sure1 the
 beneficent and wise influence of the   
majority1 exerted1 in case of need1     
through an institution known as tarring 
and feathering1 the exact nature of     
which is now disputed4  ,there is a     
complete consensus of testimony that the
 founder of ,mormonism1 one ,joseph     
,smith1 was a low-minded1 ignorant      
scamp1 and that he stole the ,scriptures
 which he propounded2 not being clever  
enough to forge even such contemptible  
stuff as they contain4 ,nevertheless he 
must have been a man of some force of   
character1 for a considerable number of 
disciples soon gathered about him4 ,in  
spite of repeated outbursts of popular  
hatred and violence--during one of which
 persecutions ,smith was brutally       
murdered--the ,mormon body steadily     
increased1 and became a flourishing     
community4 ,but the ,mormon practices   
being objectionable to the majority1    
they were1 more than once1 without any  

pretence of law1 but by force of riot1  
arson1 and murder1 driven away from the 
land they had occupied4 ,harried by     
these persecutions1 the ,mormon body    
eventually committed itself to the      
tender mercies of a desert as barren as 
that of ,sinai2 and after terrible      
sufferings and privations1 reached the  
,oasis of ,utah4 ,here it grew and      
flourished1 sending out missionaries to1
 and receiving converts from1 all parts 
of ,europe1 sometimes to the number of  
#aj1jjj in a year2 until1 in #ahhj1 the 
rich and flourishing community numbered 
#aaj1jjj souls in ,utah alone1 while    
there were probably #cj1jjj or #dj1jjj  
scattered abroad elsewhere4 ,in the     
whole history of religions there is no  
more remarkable example of the power of 
faith2 and1 in this case1 the founder of
 that faith was indubitably a most      
despicable creature4 ,it is interesting 
to observe that the course taken by the 
great ,republic and its citizens runs   
exactly parallel with that taken by the 

,roman ,empire and its citizens towards 
the early ,christians1 except that the  
,romans had a certain legal excuse for  
their acts of violence1 inasmuch as the 
,christian sodalitia were not licensed1 
and consequently were1 ipso facto1      
illegal assemblages4 ,until1 in the     
latter part of the nineteenth century1  
the ,united ,states legislature decreed 
the illegality of polygamy1 the ,mormons
 were wholly within the law4  ,nothing  
can present a greater contrast to all   
this than the history of the            
,postivists4 ,this sect arose much about
 the same time as that of the ,mormons1 
in the upper and most instructed stratum
 of the quick-witted1 sceptical         
population of ,paris4 ,the founder1     
,auguste ,comte1 was a teacher of       
mathematics1 but of no eminence in that 
department of knowledge1 and with       
nothing but an amateur's acquaintance   
with physical1 chemical1 and biological 
science4 ,his works are repulsive1 on   
account of the dull diffuseness of their

 style1 and a certain air1 as of a      
superior person1 which characterises    
them2 but nevertheless they contain good
 things here and there4 ,it would take  
too much space to reproduce in detail a 
system which proposes to regulate all   
human life by the promulgation of a     
,gentile ,leviticus4 ,suffice it to say1
 that ,m4 ,comte may be described as a  
syncretic1 who1 like the ,gnostics of   
early ,church history1 attempted to     
combine the substance of imperfectly    
comprehended contemporary science with  
the form of ,roman ,christianity4 ,it   
may be that this is the reason why his  
disciples were so very angry with some  
obscure people called ,agnostics1 whose 
views1 if we may judge by the account   
left in the works of a great ,positivist
 controversial writer1 were very absurd4
  ,to put the matter briefly1 ,m4       
,comte1 finding ,christianity and       
,science at daggers drawn1 seems to have
 said to ,science1 ,you find            
,christianity rotten at the core1 do    

you8 ,well1 ,i will scoop out the inside
 of it4 ,and to ,romanism3 ,you find    
,science mere dry light--cold and bare4 
,well1 ,i will put your shell over it1  
and so1 as schoolboys make a spectre out
 of a turnip and a tallow candle1 behold
 the new religion of ,humanity complete6
  ,unfortunately neither the ,romanists1
 nor the people who were something more 
than amateurs in science1 could be got  
to worship ,m4 ,comte's new idol        
properly4 ,in the native country of     
,positivism1 one distinguished man of   
letters and one of science1 for a time1 
helped to make up a roomful of the      
faithful1 but their love soon grew cold4
 ,in ,england1 on the other hand1 there 
appears to be little doubt that1 in the 
ninth decade of the century1 the        
multitude of disciples reached the grand
 total of several score4 ,they had the  
advantage of the advocacy of one or two 
most eloquent and learned apostles1 and1
 at any rate1 the sympathy of several   
persons of light and leading2 and1 if   

they were not seen1 they were heard1 all
 over the world4 ,on the other hand1 as 
a sect1 they laboured under the         
prodigious disadvantage of being        
refined1 estimable people1 living in the
 midst of the worn-out civilisation of  
the old world2 where any one who had    
tried to persecute them1 as the ,mormons
 were persecuted1 would have been       
instantly hanged4 ,but the majority     
never dreamed of persecuting them2 on   
the contrary1 they were rather given to 
scold and otherwise try the patience of 
the majority4  ,the history of these    
sects in the closing years of the       
century is highly instructive4          
,mormonism 444  ,but ,i find ,i have    
suddenly slipped off ,mr4 ,harrison's   
tripod1 which ,i had borrowed for the   
occasion4 ,the fact is1 ,i am not equal 
to the prophetical business1 and ought  
not to have undertaken it4         99   
99       99       99       99  ,it did  
not occur to me1 while writing the      
latter part of this essay1 that it could

 be needful to disclaim the intention of
 putting the religious system of ,comte 
on a level with ,mormonism4 ,and ,i was 
unaware of the fact that ,mr4 ,harrison 
rejects the greater part of the         
,positivist ,religion1 as taught by     
,comte4 ,i have1 therefore1 erased one  
or two passages1 which implied his      
adherence to the ,religion of ,humanity 
as developed by ,comte1 #ahic4          
,,footnotes3       #ea ,see the         
,official ,report of the ,church        
,congress held           at ,manchester1
 ,october #ahhh1 pp4 #bec1 #bed4        
#eb ,in this place and in the eleventh  
essay1 there are           references to
 the late ,archbishop of ,york which are
 of           no importance to my main  
argument1 and which ,i have             
expunged because ,i desire to obliterate
 the traces of a           temporary    
misunderstanding with a man of rare     
ability1           candour1 and wit1 for
 whom ,i entertained a great liking     
and no less respect4 ,i rejoice to think

 now of the           7then7 ,bishop's  
cordial hail the first time we met      
after our little skirmish1 ,well1 is it 
to be peace or           war8 ,i        
replied1 ,a little of both4 ,but there  
was only           peace when we parted1
 and ever after4       #ec ,dr4 ,wace   
tells us1 ,it may be asked how far we   
can rely           on the accounts we   
possess of our ,lord's teaching on      
these subjects4 ,and he seems to think  
the question           appropriately    
answered by the assertion that it ought 
to be regarded as settled by ,m4        
,renan's practical           surrender  
of the adverse case4 ,i thought ,i knew 
,m4           ,renan's works pretty     
well1 but ,i have contrived to miss     
this practical 7,i wish ,dr4 ,wace had  
defined the scope           of that     
useful adjective7 surrender4 ,however1  
as ,dr4           ,wace can find no     
difficulty in pointing out the passage  
of ,m4 ,renan's writings1 by which he   
feels justified in           making his 

statement1 ,i shall wait for further    
enlightenment1 contenting myself1 for   
the present1 with           remarking   
that if ,m4 ,renan were to retract and  
do           penance in ,notre-,dame    
to-morrow for any contributions         
to ,biblical criticism that may be      
specially his           property1 the   
main results of that criticism1 as they 
are set forth in the works of ,strauss1 
,baur1 ,reuss1 and           ,volkmar1  
for example1 would not be sensibly      
affected4       #ed ,see ,de ,gobineau1 
,les ,religions et les ,philosophies    
dans l',asie ,centrale2 and the recently
 published work           of ,mr4 ,e4,g4
 ,browne1 ,the ,episode of the ,bab4    
#ee ,here1 as always1 the revised       
version is cited4       #ef ,does any   
one really mean to say that there is any
           internal or external         
criterion by which the reader of a      
biblical statement1 in which scientific 
matter is           contained1 is       
enabled to judge whether it is to       

betaken           au srieux or not8 ,is 
the account of the ,deluge1             
accepted as true in the ,new ,testament1
 less precise and           specific    
than that of the call of ,abraham1 also 
accepted as true therein8 ,by what mark 
does the story           of the feeding 
with manna in the wilderness1 which     
involves some very curious scientific   
problems1 show           that it is     
meant merely for edification1 while the 
story of the inscription of the ,law on 
stone by the           hand of ,jahveh  
is literally true8 ,if the story of the 
,fall is not the true record of an      
historical           occurrence1 what   
becomes of ,pauline theology8 ,yet the  
story of the ,fall as directly conflicts
 with           probability1 and is as  
devoid of trustworthy evidence1         
as that of the creation or that of the  
,deluge1 with           which it forms  
an harmoniously legendary series4       
#eg ,see1 for an admirable discussion of
 the whole subject1           ,dr4      

,abbott's article on the ,gospels in the
           ,encyclopdia ,britannica2 and
 the remarkable monograph           by  
,professor ,volkmar1 ,jesus ,nazarenus  
und die erste           christliche     
,zeit 7#ahhb74 ,whether we agree with   
the           conclusions of these      
writers or not1 the method of           
critical investigation which1 they adopt
 is           unimpeachable4       #eh  
,notwithstanding the hard words shot at 
me from behind           the hedge of   
anonymity by a writer in a recent number
           of the ,quarterly ,review1 ,i
 repeat1 without the           slightest
 fear of refutation1 that the four      
,gospels1 as           they have come to
 us1 are the work of unknown writers4   
#ei ,their arguments1 in the long run1  
are always reducible           to one   
form4 ,otherwise trustworthy witnesses  
affirm           that such and such     
events took place4 ,these events are    
inexplicable1 except the agency of      
spirits is           admitted4          

,therefore spirits were the cause of the
           phenomena4            ,and   
the heads of the reply are always the   
same4           ,remember ,goethe's     
aphorism3 ,alles factische ist schon    
,theorie4 ,trustworthy witnesses are    
constantly           deceived1 or       
deceive themselves1 in their            
interpretation of sensible phenomena4   
,no one can prove           that the    
sensible phenomena1 in these cases1     
could be           caused only by the   
agency of spirits3 and there is         
abundant ground for believing that they 
may be produced           in other ways4
 ,therefore1 the utmost that can be     
reasonably asked for1 on the evidence as
 it stands1 is           suspension of  
judgment4 ,and1 on the necessity for    
even           that suspension1         
reasonable men may differ1 according    
to their views of probability4       #fj
 ,yet ,i must somehow have laid hold of 
the pith of the           matter1 for1  
many years afterwards1 when ,dean       

,mansel's           ,bampton ,lectures  
were published1 it seemed to me ,i      
already knew all that this eminently    
agnostic thinker           had to tell  
me4       #fa ,kritik der reinen        
,vernunft4 ,edit4 ,hartenstein1 p4 #bef4
       #fb ,report of the ,church       
,congress1 ,manchester1 #ahhh1 p4 #beb4 
#fc ,fortnightly ,review1 ,jan4 #ahhi4  
,,viii3 ,,agnosticism3 ,a ,,rejoinder   
#ahhi   ,those who passed from ,dr4     
,wace's article in the last number of   
the ,nineteenth ,century to the         
anticipatory confutation of it which    
followed in ,the ,new ,reformation1 must
 have enjoyed the pleasure of a dramatic
 surprise--just as when the fifth act of
 a new play proves unexpectedly bright  
and interesting4 ,mrs4 ,ward will1 ,i   
hope1 pardon the comparison1 if ,i say  
that her effective clearing away of     
antiquated incumbrances from the lists  
of the controversy1 reminds me of       
nothing so much as of the action of some
 neat-handed1 but strong-wristed1       

,phyllis1 who1 gracefully wielding her  
long-handled ,turk's head1 sweeps away  
the accumulated results of the toil of  
generations of spiders4 ,i am the more  
indebted to this luminous sketch of the 
results of critical investigation1 as it
 is carried out among these theologians 
who are men of science and not mere     
counsel for creeds1 since it has        
relieved me from the necessity of       
dealing with the greater part of ,dr4   
,wace's polemic1 and enables me to      
devote more space to the really         
important issues which have been        
raised4#fd  ,perhaps1 however1 it may be
 well for me to observe that approbation
 of the manner in which a great biblical
 scholar1 for instance1 ,reuss1 does his
 work does not commit me to the adoption
 of all1 or indeed any of his views2    
and1 further1 that the disagreements of 
a series of investigators do not in any 
way interfere with the fact that each of
 them has made important contributions  
to the body of truth ultimately         

established4 ,if ,i cite ,buffon1       
,linnus1 ,lamarck1 and ,cuvier1 as      
having each and all taken a leading     
share in building up modern biology1 the
 statement that every one of these great
 naturalists disagreed with1 and even   
more or less contradicted1 all the rest 
is quite true2 but the supposition that 
the latter assertion is in any way      
inconsistent with the former1 would     
betray a strange ignorance of the manner
 in which all true science advances4    
,dr4 ,wace takes a great deal of trouble
 to make it appear that ,i have desired 
to evade the real questions raised by   
his attack upon me at the ,church       
,congress4 ,i assure the reverend       
,principal that in this1 as in some     
other respects1 he has entertained a    
very erroneous conception of my         
intentions4 ,things would assume more   
accurate proportions in ,dr4 ,wace's    
mind1 if he would kindly remember that  
it is just thirty years since           
ecclesiastical thunderbolts began to fly

 about my ears4 ,i have had the ,lion   
and the ,bear to deal with1 and it is   
long since ,i got quite used to the     
threatenings of episcopal ,goliaths1    
whose croziers were like unto a weaver's
 beam4 ,so that ,i almost think ,i might
 not have noticed ,dr4 ,wace's attack1  
personal as it was2 and although1 as he 
is good enough to tell us1 separate     
copies are to be had for the modest     
equivalent of twopence1 as a matter of  
fact1 it did not come under my notice   
for a long time after it was made4 ,may 
,i further venture to point out that    
7reckoning postage7 the expenditure of  
twopence-halfpenny1 or1 at the most1    
threepence1 would have enabled ,dr4     
,wace so far to comply with ordinary    
conventions as to direct my attention to
 the fact that he had attacked me before
 a meeting at which ,i was not present8 
,i really am not responsible for the    
five months' neglect of which ,dr4 ,wace
 complains4 ,singularly enough1 the     
,englishry who swarmed about the        

,engadine1 during the three months that 
,i was being brought back to life by the
 glorious air and perfect comfort of the
 ,maloja1 did not1 in my hearing1 say   
anything about the important events     
which had taken place at the ,church    
,congress2 and ,i think ,i can venture  
to affirm that there was not a single   
copy of ,dr4 ,wace's pamphlet in any of 
the hotel libraries which ,i rummaged1  
in search of something more edifying    
than dull ,english or questionable      
,french novels4  ,and now1 having1 as ,i
 hope1 set myself right with the public 
as regards the sins of commission and   
omission with which ,i have been        
charged1 ,i feel free to deal with      
matters to which time and type may be   
more profitably devoted4  ,i believe    
that there is not a solitary argument ,i
 have used1 or that ,i am about to use1 
which is original1 or has anything to do
 with the fact that ,i have been chiefly
 occupied with natural science4 ,they   
are all1 facts and reasoning alike1     

either identical with1 or consequential 
upon1 propositions which are to be found
 in the works of scholars and           
theologians of the highest repute in the
 only two countries1 ,holland and       
,germany1#fe in which1 at the present   
time1 professors of theology are to be  
found1 whose tenure of their posts does 
not depend upon the results to which    
their inquiries lead them4#ff ,it is    
true that1 to the best of my ability1 ,i
 have satisfied myself of the soundness 
of the foundations on which my arguments
 are built1 and ,i desire to be held    
fully responsible for everything ,i say4
 ,but1 nevertheless1 my position is     
really no more than that of an          
expositor2 and my justification for     
undertaking it is simply that conviction
 of the supremacy of private judgment   
7indeed1 of the impossibility of        
escaping it7 which is the foundation of 
the ,protestant ,reformation1 and which 
was the doctrine accepted by the vast   
majority of the ,anglicans of my youth1 

before that backsliding towards the     
beggarly rudiments of an effete and     
idolatrous sacerdotalism which has1 even
 now1 provided us with the saddest      
spectacle which has been offered to the 
eyes of ,englishmen in this generation4 
,a high court of ecclesiastical         
jurisdiction1 with a host of great      
lawyers in battle array1 is and1 for    
,heaven knows how long1 will be1        
occupied with these very questions of   
washing of cups and pots and brazen     
vessels1 which the ,master1 whose       
professed representatives are rending   
the ,church over these squabbles1 had in
 his mind when1 as we are told1 he      
uttered the scathing rebuke3--          
,well did ,isaiah prophesy of you       
hypocrites1 as it is written1           
,this people honoureth me with their    
lips1         ,but their heart is far   
from me4         ,but in vain do they   
worship me1         ,teaching as their  
doctrines the precepts of men4          
7,mark vii4 #f-g47  ,men who can be     

absorbed in bickerings over miserable   
disputes of this kind can have but      
little sympathy with the old evangelical
 doctrine of the open ,bible1 or        
anything but a grave misgiving of the   
results of diligent reading of the      
,bible1 without the help of             
ecclesiastical spectacles1 by the mass  
of the people4 ,greatly to the surprise 
of many of my friends1 ,i have always   
advocated the reading of the ,bible1 and
 the diffusion of the study of that most
 remarkable collection of books among   
the people4 ,its teachings are so       
infinitely superior to those of the     
sects1 who are just as busy now as the  
,pharisees were eighteen hundred years  
ago1 in smothering them under the       
precepts of men2 it is so certain1 to my
 mind1 that the ,bible contains within  
itself the refutation of nine-tenths of 
the mixture of sophistical metaphysics  
and old-world superstition which has    
been piled round it by the so-called    
,christians of later times2 it is so    

clear that the only immediate and ready 
antidote to the poison which has been   
mixed with ,christianity1 to the        
intoxication and delusion of mankind1   
lies in copious draughts from the       
undefiled spring1 that ,i exercise the  
right and duty of free judgment on the  
part of every man1 mainly for the       
purpose of inducing other laymen to     
follow my example4 ,if the ,new         
,testament is translated into ,zulu by  
,protestant missionaries1 it must be    
assumed that a ,zulu convert is         
competent to draw from its contents all 
the truths which it is necessary for him
 to believe4 ,i trust that ,i may1      
without immodesty1 claim to be put on   
the same footing as a ,zulu4  ,the most 
constant reproach which is launched     
against persons of my way of thinking is
 that it is all very well for us to talk
 about the deductions of scientific     
thought1 but what are the poor and the  
uneducated to do8 ,has it ever occurred 
to those who talk in this fashion1 that 

their creeds and the articles of their  
several confessions1 their determination
 of the exact nature and extent of the  
teachings of ,jesus1 their expositions  
of the real meaning of that which is    
written in the ,epistles 7to leave aside
 all questions concerning the ,old      
,testament71 are nothing more than      
deductions which1 at any rate1 profess  
to be the result of strictly scientific 
thinking1 and which are not worth       
attending to unless they really possess 
that character8 ,if it is not           
historically true that such and such    
things happened in ,palestine eighteen  
centuries ago1 what becomes of          
,christianity8 ,and what is historical  
truth but that of which the evidence    
bears strict scientific investigation8  
,i do not call to mind any problem of   
natural science which has come under my 
notice which is more difficult1 or more 
curiously interesting as a mere problem1
 than that of the origin of the         
,synoptic ,gospels and that of the      

historical value of the narratives which
 they contain4 ,the ,christianity of the
 ,churches stands or falls by the       
results of the purely scientific        
investigation of these questions4 ,they 
were first taken up1 in a purely        
scientific spirit1 about a century ago2 
they have been studied over and over    
again by men of vast knowledge and      
critical acumen2 but he would be a rash 
man who should assert that any solution 
of these problems1 as yet formulated1 is
 exhaustive4 ,the most that can be said 
is that certain prevalent solutions are 
certainly false1 while others are more  
or less probably true4  ,if ,i am doing 
my best to rouse my countrymen out of   
their dogmatic slumbers1 it is not that 
they may be amused by seeing who gets   
the best of it in a contest between a   
scientist and a theologian4 ,the serious
 question is whether theological men of 
science1 or theological special         
pleaders1 are to have the confidence of 
the general public2 it is the question  

whether a country in which it is        
possible for a body of excellent        
clerical and lay gentlemen to discuss1  
in public meeting assembled1 how much it
 is desirable to let the congregations  
of the faithful know of the results of  
biblical criticism1 is likely to wake up
 with anything short of the grasp of a  
rough lay hand upon its shoulder2 it is 
the question whether the ,new ,testament
 books1 being1 as ,i believe they were1 
written and compiled by people who1     
according to their lights1 were         
perfectly sincere1 will not1 when       
properly studied as ordinary historical 
documents1 afford us the means of       
self-criticism4 ,and it must be         
remembered that the ,new ,testament     
books are not responsible for the       
doctrine invented by the ,churches that 
they are anything but ordinary          
historical documents4 ,the author of the
 third gospel tells us1 as              
straightforwardly as a man can1 that he 
has no claim to any other character than

 that of an ordinary compiler and       
editor1 who had before him the works of 
many and variously qualified            
predecessors4         99       99       
99       99       99  ,in my former     
papers1 according to ,dr4 ,wace1 ,i have
 evaded giving an answer to his main    
proposition1 which he states as         
follows--       ,apart from all disputed
 points of criticism1 no one            
practically doubts that our ,lord lived1
 and that ,he died on      the cross1 in
 the most intense sense of filial       
relation to      ,his ,father in        
,heaven1 and that ,he bore testimony to 
that      ,father's providence1 love1   
and grace towards mankind4 ,the         
,lord's ,prayer affords a sufficient    
evidence on these points4      ,if the  
,sermon on the ,mount alone be added1   
the whole unseen      world1 of which   
the ,agnostic refuses to know anything1 
stands unveiled before us4444 ,if ,jesus
 ,christ preached that      ,sermon1    
made those promises1 and taught that    

prayer1 then      any one who says that 
we know nothing of ,god1 or of a future 
life1 or of an unseen world1 says that  
he does not believe      ,jesus ,christ 
7pp4 #ced-cee74  ,again--       ,the    
main question at issue1 in a word1 is   
one which      ,professor ,huxley has   
chosen to leave entirely on one         
side--whether1 namely1 allowing for the 
utmost uncertainty      on other points 
of the criticism to which he appeals1   
there      is any reasonable doubt that 
the ,lord's ,prayer and the      ,sermon
 on the ,mount afford a true account of 
our ,lord's      essential belief and   
cardinal teaching 7p4 #cee47  ,i        
certainly was not aware that ,i had     
evaded the questions here stated2 indeed
 ,i should say that ,i have indicated my
 reply to them pretty clearly2 but1 as  
,dr4 ,wace wants a plainer answer1 he   
shall certainly be gratified4 ,if1 as   
,dr4 ,wace declares it is1 his whole    
case is involved in the argument as     
stated in the latter of these two       

extracts1 so much the worse for his     
whole case4 ,for ,i am of opinion that  
there is the gravest reason for doubting
 whether the ,sermon on the ,mount was  
ever preached1 and whether the so-called
 ,lord's ,prayer was ever prayed1 by    
,jesus of ,nazareth4 ,my reasons for    
this opinion are1 among others1         
these3--,there is now no doubt that the 
three ,synoptic ,gospels1 so far from   
being the work of three independent     
writers1 are closely interdependent1#fg 
and that in one of two ways4 ,either all
 three contain1 as their foundation1    
versions1 to a large extent verbally    
identical1 of one and the same          
tradition2 or two of them are thus      
closely dependent on the third2 and the 
opinion of the majority of the best     
critics has of late years more and more 
converged towards the conviction that   
our canonical second gospel 7the        
so-called ,mark's ,gospel7 is that which
 most closely represents the primitive  
groundwork of the three4#fh ,that ,i    

take to be one of the most valuable     
results of ,new ,testament criticism1 of
 immeasurably greater importance than   
the discussion about dates and          
authorship4  ,but if1 as ,i believe to  
be the case1 beyond any rational doubt  
or dispute1 the second gospel is the    
nearest extant representative of the    
oldest tradition1 whether written or    
oral1 how comes it that it contains     
neither the ,sermon on the ,mount nor   
the ,lord's ,prayer1 those typical      
embodiments1 according to ,dr4 ,wace1 of
 the essential belief and cardinal      
teaching of ,jesus8 ,not only does      
,mark's gospel fail to contain the      
,sermon on the ,mount1 or anything but a
 very few of the sayings contained in   
that collection2 but1 at the point of   
the history of ,jesus where the ,sermon 
occurs in ,matthew1 there is in ,mark an
 apparently unbroken narrative from the 
calling of ,james and ,john to the      
healing of ,simon's wife's mother4 ,thus
 the oldest tradition not only ignores  

the ,sermon on the ,mount1 but1 by      
implication1 raises a probability       
against its being delivered when and    
where the later ,matthew inserts it in  
his compilation4  ,and still more       
weighty is the fact that the third      
gospel1 the author of which tells us    
that he wrote after many others had     
taken in hand the same enterprise2 who  
should therefore have known the first   
gospel 7if it existed71 and was bound to
 pay to it the deference due to the work
 of an apostolic eye-witness 7if he had 
any reason for thinking it was so7--this
 writer1 who exhibits far more literary 
competence than the other two1 ignores  
any ,sermon on the ,mount1 such as that 
reported by ,matthew1 just as much as   
the oldest authority does4 ,yet ,luke   
has a great many passages identical1 or 
parallel1 with those in ,matthew's      
,sermon on the ,mount1 which are1 for   
the most part1 scattered about in a     
totally different connection4           
,interposed1 however1 between the       

nomination of the ,apostles and a visit 
to ,capernaum2 occupying1 therefore1 a  
place which answers to that of the      
,sermon on the ,mount1 in the first     
gospel1 there is in the third gospel a  
discourse which is as closely similar to
 the ,sermon on the ,mount1 in some     
particulars1 as it is widely unlike it  
in others4  ,this discourse is said to  
have been delivered in a plain or level 
place 7,luke vi4 #ag71 and by way of    
distinction we may call it the ,sermon  
on the ,plain4  ,i see no reason to     
doubt that the two ,evangelists are     
dealing1 to a considerable extent1 with 
the same traditional material2 and a    
comparison of the two ,sermons suggests 
very strongly that ,luke's version is   
the earlier4 ,the correspondences       
between the two forbid the notion that  
they are independent4 ,they both begin  
with a series of blessings1 some of     
which are almost verbally identical4 ,in
 the middle of each 7,luke vi4 #bg-ch1  
,matt4 v4 #dc-dh7 there is a striking   

exposition of the ethical spirit of the 
command given in ,leviticus xix4 #ah4   
,and each ends with a passage containing
 the declaration that a tree is to be   
known by its fruit1 and the parable of  
the house built on the sand4 ,but while 
there are only #bi verses in the ,sermon
 on the ,plain there are #ajg in the    
,sermon on the ,mount2 the excess in    
length of the latter being chiefly due  
to the long interpolations1 one of #cj  
verses before and one of #cd verses     
after1 the middlemost parallelism with  
,luke4 ,under these circumstances it is 
quite impossible to admit that there is 
more probability that ,matthew's version
 of the ,sermon is historically         
accurate1 than there is that ,luke's    
version is so2 and they cannot both be  
accurate4  ,luke either knew the        
collection of loosely-connected and     
aphoristic utterances which appear under
 the name of the ,sermon on the ,mount  
in ,matthew2 or he did not4 ,if he did  
not1 he must have been ignorant of the  

existence of such a document as our     
canonical ,matthew1 a fact which does   
not make for the genuineness1 or the    
authority1 of that book4 ,if he did1 he 
has shown that he does not care for its 
authority on a matter of fact of no     
small importance2 and that does not     
permit us to conceive that he believed  
the first gospel to be the work of an   
authority to whom he ought to defer1 let
 alone that of an apostolic eye-witness4
  ,the tradition of the ,church about   
the second gospel1 which ,i believe to  
be quite worthless1 but which is all the
 evidence there is for ,mark's          
authorship1 would have us believe that  
,mark was little more than the          
mouthpiece of the apostle ,peter4       
,consequently1 we are to suppose that   
,peter either did not know1 or did not  
care very much for1 that account of the 
essential belief and cardinal teaching  
of ,jesus which is contained in the     
,sermon on the ,mount2 and1 certainly1  
he could not have shared ,dr4 ,wace's   

view of its importance4#fi  ,i thought  
that all fairly attentive and           
intelligent students of the gospels1 to 
say nothing of theologians of           
reputation1 knew these things4 ,but how 
can any one who does know them have the 
conscience to ask whether there is any  
reasonable doubt that the ,sermon on the
 ,mount was preached by ,jesus of       
,nazareth8 ,if conjecture is            
permissible1 where nothing else is      
possible1 the most probable conjecture  
seems to be that ,matthew1 having a     
cento of sayings attributed--rightly or 
wrongly it is impossible to say--to     
,jesus among his materials1 thought they
 were1 or might be1 records of a        
continuous discourse1 and put them in at
 the place he thought likeliest4        
,ancient historians of the highest      
character saw no harm in composing long 
speeches which never were spoken1 and   
putting them into the mouths of         
statesmen and warriors2 and ,i presume  
that whoever is represented by ,matthew 

would have been grievously astonished to
 find that any one objected to his      
following the example of the best models
 accessible to him4  ,so with the       
,lord's ,prayer4 ,absent in our         
representative of the oldest tradition1 
it appears in both ,matthew and ,luke4  
,there is reason to believe that every  
pious ,jew1 at the commencement of our  
era1 prayed three times a day1 according
 to a formula which is embodied in the  
present ,schmone-,esre#gj of the ,jewish
 prayer-book4 ,jesus1 who was assuredly1
 in all respects1 a pious ,jew1 whatever
 else he may have been1 doubtless did   
the same4 ,whether he modified the      
current formula1 or whether the         
so-called ,lord's ,prayer is the prayer 
substituted for the ,schmone-,esre in   
the congregations of the ,gentiles1 is a
 question which can hardly be answered4 
,in a subsequent passage of ,dr4 ,wace's
 article 7p4 #cef7 he adds to the list  
of the verities which he imagines to be 
unassailable1 ,the ,story of the        

,passion4 ,i am not quite sure what he  
means by this4 ,i am not aware that any 
one 7with the exception of certain      
ancient heretics7 has propounded doubts 
as to the reality of the crucifixion2   
and certainly ,i have no inclination to 
argue about the precise accuracy of     
every detail of that pathetic story of  
suffering and wrong4 ,but1 if ,dr4 ,wace
 means1 as ,i suppose he does1 that that
 which1 according to the orthodox view1 
happened after the crucifixion1 and     
which is1 in a dogmatic sense1 the most 
important part of the story1 is founded 
on solid historical proofs1 ,i must beg 
leave to express a diametrically        
opposite conviction4  ,what do we find  
when the accounts of the events in      
question1 contained in the three        
,synoptic gospels1 are compared         
together8 ,in the oldest1 there is a    
simple1 straightforward statement which1
 for anything that ,i have to urge to   
the contrary1 may be exactly true4 ,in  
the other two1 there is1 round this     

possible and probable nucleus1 a mass of
 accretions of the most questionable    
character4  ,the cruelty of death by    
crucifixion depended very much upon its 
lingering character4 ,if there were a   
support for the weight of the body1 as  
not unfrequently was the practice1 the  
pain during the first hours of the      
infliction was not1 necessarily1        
extreme2 nor need any serious physical  
symptoms1 at once1 arise from the wounds
 made by the nails in the hands and     
feet1 supposing they were nailed1 which 
was not invariably the case4 ,when      
exhaustion set in1 and hunger1 thirst1  
and nervous irritation had done their   
work1 the agony of the sufferer must    
have been terrible2 and the more        
terrible that1 in the absence of any    
effectual disturbance of the machinery  
of physical life1 it might be prolonged 
for many hours1 or even days4           
,temperate1 strong men1 such as were the
 ordinary ,galilean peasants1 might live
 for several days on the cross4 ,it is  

necessary to bear these facts in mind   
when we read the account contained in   
the fifteenth chapter of the second     
gospel4  ,jesus was crucified at the    
third hour 7xv4 #be71 and the narrative 
seems to imply that he died immediately 
after the ninth hour 7v4 #cd74 ,in this 
case1 he would have been crucified only 
six hours2 and the time spent on the    
cross cannot have been much longer1     
because ,joseph of ,arimatha must have  
gone to ,pilate1 made his preparations1 
and deposited the body in the rock-cut  
tomb before sunset1 which1 at that time 
of the year1 was about the twelfth hour4
 ,that any one should die after only six
 hours' crucifixion could not have been 
at all in accordance with ,pilate's     
large experience of the effects of that 
method of punishment4 ,it1 therefore1   
quite agrees with what might be         
expected1 that ,pilate marvelled if he  
were already dead and required to be    
satisfied on this point by the testimony
 of the ,roman officer who was in       

command of the execution party4 ,those  
who have paid attention to the          
extraordinary difficult question1 ,what 
are the indisputable signs of           
death8--will be able to estimate the    
value of the opinion of a rough soldier 
on such a subject2 even if his report to
 the ,procurator were in no wise        
affected by the fact that the friend of 
,jesus1 who anxiously awaited his       
answer1 was a man of influence and of   
wealth4  ,the inanimate body1 wrapped in
 linen1 was deposited in a spacious1#ga 
cool rock chamber1 the entrance of which
 was closed1 not by a well-fitting door1
 but by a stone rolled against the      
opening1 which would of course allow    
free passage of air4 ,a little more than
 thirty-six hours afterwards 7,friday #f
 ,p4,m41 to ,sunday #f ,a4,m41 or a     
little after7 three women visit the tomb
 and find it empty4 ,and they are told  
by a young man arrayed in a white robe  
that ,jesus is gone to his native       
country of ,galilee1 and that the       

disciples and ,peter will find him      
there4  ,thus it stands1 plainly        
recorded1 in the oldest tradition that1 
for any evidence to the contrary1 the   
sepulchre may have been emptied at any  
time during the ,friday or ,saturday    
nights4 ,if it is said that no ,jew     
would have violated the ,sabbath by     
taking the former course1 it is to be   
recollected that ,joseph of ,arimatha   
might well be familiar with that wise   
and liberal interpretation of the fourth
 commandment1 which permitted works of  
mercy to men--nay1 even the drawing of  
an ox or an ass out of a pit--on the    
,sabbath4 ,at any rate1 the ,saturday   
night was free to the most scrupulous of
 observers of the ,law4  ,these are the 
facts of the case as stated by the      
oldest extant narrative of them4 ,i do  
not see why any one should have a word  
to say against the inherent probability 
of that narrative2 and1 for my part1 ,i 
am quite ready to accept it as an       
historical fact1 that so much and no    

more is positively known of the end of  
,jesus of ,nazareth4 ,on what grounds   
can a reasonable man be asked to believe
 any more8 ,so far as the narrative in  
the first gospel1 on the one hand1 and  
those in the third gospel and the ,acts1
 on the other1 go beyond what is stated 
in the second gospel1 they are          
hopelessly discrepant with one another4 
,and this is the more significant       
because the pregnant phrase some        
doubted1 in the first gospel1 is ignored
 in the third4  ,but it is said that we 
have the witness ,paul speaking to us   
directly in the ,epistles4 ,there is    
little doubt that we have1 and a very   
singular witness he is4 ,according to   
his own showing1 ,paul1 in the vigour of
 his manhood1 with every means of       
becoming acquainted1 at first hand1 with
 the evidence of eye-witnesses1 not     
merely refused to credit them1 but      
persecuted the church of ,god and made  
havoc of it4 ,the reasoning of ,stephen 
fell dead upon the acute intellect of   

this zealot for the traditions of his   
fathers3 his eyes were blind to the     
ecstatic illumination of the martyr's   
countenance as it had been the face of  
an angel2 and when1 at the words        
,behold1 ,i see the heavens opened and  
the ,son of ,man standing on the right  
hand of ,god1 the murderous mob rushed  
upon and stoned the rapt disciple of    
,jesus1 ,paul ostentatiously made       
himself their official accomplice4  ,yet
 this strange man1 because he has a     
vision1 one day1 at once1 and with      
equally headlong zeal1 flies to the     
opposite pole of opinion4 ,and he is    
most careful to tell us that he         
abstained from any re-examination of the
 facts4       ,immediately ,i conferred 
not with flesh and blood2 neither       
went ,i up to ,jerusalem to them which  
were ,apostles before      me2 but ,i   
went away into ,arabia4 7,galatians i4  
#af1 #ag47  ,i do not presume to quarrel
 with ,paul's procedure4 ,if it         
satisfied him1 that was his affair2 and1

 if it satisfies anyone else1 ,i am not 
called upon to dispute the right of that
 person to be satisfied4 ,but ,i        
certainly have the right to say that it 
would not satisfy me1 in like case2 that
 ,i should be very much ashamed to      
pretend that it could1 or ought to1     
satisfy me2 and that ,i can entertain   
but a very low estimate of the value of 
the evidence of people who are to be    
satisfied in this fashion1 when         
questions of objective fact1 in which   
their faith is interested1 are          
concerned4 ,so that when ,i am called   
upon to believe a great deal more than  
the oldest gospel tells me about the    
final events of the history of ,jesus on
 the authority of ,paul 7#a ,corinthians
 xv4 #e-h7 ,i must pause4 ,did he think 
it1 at any subsequent time1 worth while 
to confer with flesh and blood1 or1 in  
modern phrase1 to re-examine the facts  
for himself8 or was he ready to accept  
anything that fitted in with his        
preconceived ideas8 ,does he mean1 when 

he speaks of all the appearances of     
,jesus after the crucifixion as if they 
were of the same kind1 that they were   
all visions1 like the manifestation to  
himself8 ,and1 finally1 how is this     
account to be reconciled with those in  
the first and third gospels--which1 as  
we have seen1 disagree with one another8
  ,until these questions are            
satisfactorily answered1 ,i am afraid   
that1 so far as ,i am concerned1 ,paul's
 testimony cannot be seriously regarded1
 except as it may afford evidence of the
 state of traditional opinion at the    
time at which he wrote1 say between #ee 
and #fj ,a4,d42 that is1 more than      
twenty years after the event2 a period  
much more than sufficient for the       
development of any amount of mythology  
about matters of which nothing was      
really known4 ,a few years later1 among 
the contemporaries and neighbours of the
 ,jews1 and1 if the most probable       
interpretation of the ,apocalypse can he
 trusted1 among the followers of ,jesus 

also1 it was fully believed1 in spite of
 all the evidence to the contrary1 that 
the ,emperor ,nero was not really dead1 
but that he was hidden away somewhere in
 the ,east1 and would speedily come     
again at the head of a great army1 to be
 revenged upon his enemies4#gb  ,thus1  
,i conceive that ,i have shown cause for
 the opinion that ,dr4 ,wace's challenge
 touching the ,sermon on the ,mount1 the
 ,lord's ,prayer1 and the ,passion was  
more valorous than discreet4 ,after all 
this discussion1 ,i am still at the     
agnostic point4 ,tell me1 first1 what   
,jesus can be proved to have been1 said1
 and done1 and ,i will say whether ,i   
believe him1 or in him1#gc or not4 ,as  
,dr4 ,wace admits that ,i have          
dissipated his lingering shade of       
unbelief about the bedevilment of the   
,gadarene pigs1 he might have done      
something to help mine4 ,instead of     
that1 he manifests a total want of      
conception of the nature of the         
obstacles which impede the conversion of

 his infidels4  ,the truth ,i believe to
 be1 that the difficulties in the way of
 arriving at a sure conclusion as to    
these matters1 from the ,sermon on the  
,mount1 the ,lord's ,prayer1 or any     
other data offered by the ,synoptic     
gospels 7and a fortiori from the fourth 
gospel71 are insuperable4 ,every one of 
these records is coloured by the        
prepossessions of those among whom the  
primitive traditions arose1 and of those
 by whom they were collected and edited3
 and the difficulty of making allowance 
for these prepossessions is enhanced by 
our ignorance of the exact dates at     
which the documents were first put      
together2 of the extent to which they   
have been subsequently worked over and  
interpolated2 and of the historical     
sense1 or want of sense1 and the        
dogmatic tendencies of their compilers  
and editors4 ,let us see if there is any
 other road which will take us into     
something better than negation4  ,there 
is a widespread notion that the         

primitive ,church1 while under the      
guidance of the ,apostles and their     
immediate successors1 was a sort of     
dogmatic dovecot1 pervaded by the most  
loving unity and doctrinal harmony4     
,protestants1 especially1 are fond of   
attributing to themselves the merit of  
being nearer the ,church of the         
,apostles than their neighbours2 and    
they are the less to be excused for     
their strange delusion because they are 
great readers of the documents which    
prove the exact contrary4 ,the fact is  
that1 in the course of the first three  
centuries of its existence1 the ,church 
rapidly underwent a process of evolution
 of the most remarkable character1 the  
final stage of which is far more        
different from the first than           
,anglicanism is from ,quakerism4 ,the   
key to the comprehension of the problem 
of the origin of that which is now      
called ,christianity1 and its relation  
to ,jesus of ,nazareth1 lies here4 ,nor 
can we arrive at any sound conclusion as

 to what it is probable that ,jesus     
actually said and did1 without being    
clear on this head4 ,by far the most    
important and subsequently influential  
steps in the evolution of ,christianity 
took place in the course of the century1
 more or less1 which followed upon the  
crucifixion4 ,it is almost the darkest  
period of ,church history1 but1 most    
fortunately1 the beginning and the end  
of the period are brightly illuminated  
by the contemporary evidence of two     
writers of whose historical existence   
there is no doubt1#gd and against the   
genuineness of whose most important     
works there is no widely-admitted       
objection4 ,these are ,justin1 the      
philosopher and martyr1 and ,paul1 the  
,apostle to the ,gentiles4 ,i shall call
 upon these witnesses only to testify to
 the condition of opinion among those   
who called themselves disciples of      
,jesus in their time4  ,justin1 in his  
,dialogue with ,trypho the ,jew1 which  
was written somewhere about the middle  

of the second century1 enumerates       
certain categories of persons who1 in   
his opinion1 will1 or will not1 be      
saved1#ge ,these are3--  #a4 ,orthodox  
,jews who refuse to believe that those  
who do observe it to be heretics4       
,saved4  #b4 ,jews who observe the ,law2
 believe ,jesus to be the ,christ2 but  
who insist on the observance of the ,law
 by ,gentile converts4 ,not ,saved4  #c4
 ,jews who observe the ,law2 believe    
,jesus to be the ,christ1 and hold that 
,gentile converts need not observe the  
,law4 ,saved 7in ,justin's opinion2 but 
some of his fellow-,christians think the
 contrary74  #d4 ,gentile converts to   
the belief in ,jesus as the ,christ1 who
 observe the ,law4 ,saved 7possibly74   
#e4 ,gentile believers in ,jesus as the 
,christ1 who do not observe the ,law    
themselves 7except so far as the refusal
 of idol sacrifices71 but do not        
consider those who do observe it        
heretics4 ,saved 7this is ,justin's own 
view74  #f4 ,gentile believers who do   

not observe the ,law1 except in refusing
 idol sacrifices1 and hold those who do 
observe it to be heretics4 ,saved4  #g4 
,gentiles who believe ,jesus to be the  
,christ and call themselves ,christians1
 but who eat meats sacrificed to idols4 
,not ,saved4  #h4 ,gentiles who         
disbelieve in ,jesus as the ,christ4    
,not ,saved4  ,justin does not consider 
,christians who believe in the natural  
birth of ,jesus1 of whom he implies that
 there is a respectable minority1 to be 
heretics1 though he himself strongly    
holds the preternatural birth of ,jesus 
and his pre-existence as the ,logos or  
,word4 ,he conceives the ,logos to be a 
second ,god1 inferior to the first1     
unknowable ,god1 with respect to whom   
,justin1 like ,philo1 is a complete     
agnostic4 ,the ,holy ,spirit is not     
regarded by ,justin as a separate       
personality1 and is often mixed up with 
the ,logos4 ,the doctrine of the natural
 immortality of the soul is1 for        
,justin1 a heresy2 and he is as firm a  

believer in the resurrection of the     
body1 as in the speedy ,second ,coming  
and the establishment of the millennium4
  ,the pillar of the ,church in the     
middle of the second century--a         
much-travelled native of ,samaria--was  
certainly well acquainted with ,rome1   
probably with ,alexandria2 and it is    
likely that he knew the state of opinion
 throughout the length and breadth of   
the ,christian world as well as any man 
of his time4 ,if the various categories 
above enumerated are arranged in a      
series thus3--                          
,justin's ,christianity                 
_/                        _/            
,orthodox    ,judo-,christianity        
,idolothytic ,judaism      _/           
,christianity   ,paganism               
_/                     ,i4     ,,ii4    
,,iii4  ,,iv4    ,v4       ,,vi4  ,,vii4
          ,,viii4  it is obvious that   
they form a gradational series from     
orthodox ,judaism1 on the extreme left1 
to ,paganism1 whether philosophic or    

popular1 on the extreme right2 and it   
will further be observed that1 while    
,justin's conception of ,christianity is
 very broad1 he rigorously excludes two 
classes of persons who1 in his time1    
called themselves ,christians2 namely1  
those who insist on circumcision and    
other observances of the ,law on the    
part of ,gentile converts2 that is to   
say1 the strict ,judo-,christians       
7,,ii472 and1 on the other hand1 those  
who assert the lawfulness of eating meat
 offered to idols--whether they are     
,gnostic or not 7,,vii474 ,these last ,i
 have called idolothytic ,christians1   
because ,i cannot devise a better name1 
not because it is strictly defensible   
etymologically4  ,at the present moment1
 ,i do not suppose there is an ,english 
missionary in any heathen land who would
 trouble himself whether the materials  
of his dinner had been previously       
offered to idols or not4 ,on the other  
hand1 ,i suppose there is no ,protestant
 sect within the pale of orthodoxy1 to  

say nothing of the ,roman and ,greek    
,churches1 which would hesitate to      
declare the practice of circumcision and
 the observance of the ,jewish ,sabbath 
and dietary rules1 shockingly heretical4
  ,modern ,christianity has1 in fact1   
not only shifted far to the right of    
,justin's position1 but it is of much   
narrower compass4                       
,justin                      _/         
_/                                      
,judo-,christianity   ,modern           
,christianity  ,paganism ,judaism     _/
                   _/              _/   
_/                     ,i4     ,,ii4    
,,iii4     ,,iv4        ,v4   ,,vi4     
,,vii4     ,,viii4  ,for1 though it     
includes ,,vii41 and even1 in saint and 
relic worship1 cuts a monstrous cantle  
out of paganism1 it excludes1 not only  
all ,judo-,christians1 but all who doubt
 that such are heretics4 ,ever since the
 thirteenth century1 the ,inquisition   
would have cheerfully burned1 and in    
,spain did abundantly burn1 all persons 

who came under the categories ,,ii41    
,,iii41 ,,iv41 ,v4 ,and the wolf would  
play the same havoc now1 if it could    
only get its blood-stained jaws free    
from the muzzle imposed by the secular  
arm4  ,further1 there is not a          
,protestant body except the ,unitarian1 
which would not declare ,justin himself 
a heretic1 on account of his doctrine of
 the inferior godship of the ,logos2    
while ,i am very much afraid that1 in   
strict logic1 ,dr4 ,wace would be under 
the necessity1 so painful to him1 of    
calling him an infidel1 on the same and 
on other grounds4  ,now let us turn to  
our other authority4 ,if there is any   
result of critical investigations of the
 sources of ,christianity which is      
certain1#gf it is that ,paul of ,tarsus 
wrote the ,epistle to the ,galatians    
somewhere between the years #ee and #fj 
,a4,d41 that is to say1 roughly1 twenty1
 or five-and-twenty years after the     
crucifixion4 ,if this is so1 the        
,epistle to the ,galatians is one of the

 oldest1 if not the very oldest1 of     
extant documentary evidences of the     
state of the primitive ,church4 ,and1 be
 it observed1 if it is ,paul's writing1 
it unquestionably furnishes us with the 
evidence of a participator in the       
transactions narrated4 ,with the        
exception of two or three of the other  
,pauline ,epistles1 there is not one    
solitary book in the ,new ,testament of 
the authorship and authority of which we
 have such good evidence4  ,and what is 
the state of things we find disclosed8  
,a bitter quarrel1 in his account of    
which ,paul by no means minces matters1 
or hesitates to hurl defiant sarcasms   
against those who were reputed to be    
pillars3 ,james the brother of the      
,lord1 ,peter1 the rock on whom ,jesus  
is said to have built his ,church1 and  
,john1 the beloved disciple4 ,and no    
deference toward the rock withholds     
,paul from charging ,peter to his face  
with dissimulation4  ,the subject of the
 hot dispute was simply this4 ,were     

,gentile converts bound to obey the ,law
 or not8 ,paul answered in the negative2
 and1 acting upon his opinion1 he had   
created at ,antioch 7and elsewhere7 a   
specifically ,christian community1 the  
sole qualifications for admission into  
which were the confession of the belief 
that ,jesus was the ,messiah1 and       
baptism upon that confession4 ,in the   
epistle in question1 ,paul puts         
this--his gospel1 as he calls it--in its
 most extreme form4 ,not only does he   
deny the necessity of conformity with   
the ,law1 but he declares such          
conformity to have a negative value4    
,behold1 ,i1 ,paul1 say unto you1 that  
if ye receive circumcision1 ,christ will
 profit you nothing 7,galatians v4 #b74 
,he calls the legal observances beggarly
 rudiments1 and anathematises every one 
who preaches to the ,galatians any other
 gospel than his own4 ,that is to say1  
by direct consequence1 he anathematises 
the ,nazarenes of ,jerusalem1 whose zeal
 for the ,law is testified by ,james in 

a passage of the ,acts cited further on4
 ,in the first ,epistle to the          
,corinthians1 dealing with the question 
of eating meat offered to idols1 it is  
clear that ,paul himself thinks it a    
matter of indifference2 but he advises  
that it should not he done1 for the sake
 of the weaker brethren4 ,on the other  
hand1 the ,nazarenes of ,jerusalem most 
strenuously opposed ,paul's gospel1     
insisting on every convert becoming a   
regular ,jewish proselyte1 and          
consequently on his observance of the   
whole ,law2 and this party was led by   
,james and ,peter and ,john 7,galatians 
ii4 #i74 ,paul does not suggest that the
 question of principle was settled by   
the discussion referred to in           
,galatians4 ,all he says is1 that it    
ended in the practical agreement that he
 and ,barnabas should do as they had    
been doing1 in respect to the ,gentiles2
 while ,james and ,peter and ,john      
should deal in their own fashion with   
,jewish converts4 ,afterwards1 he       

complains bitterly of ,peter1 because1  
when on a visit to ,antioch1 he1 at     
first1 inclined to ,paul's view and ate 
with the ,gentile converts2 but when    
certain came from ,james1 drew back1 and
 separated himself1 fearing them that   
were of the circumcision4 ,and the rest 
of the ,jews dissembled likewise with   
him2 insomuch as even ,barnabas was     
carried away with their dissimulation   
7,galatians ii4 #ab-ac74  ,there is but 
one conclusion to be drawn from ,paul's 
account of this famous dispute1 the     
settlement of which determined the      
fortunes of the nascent religion4 ,it is
 that the disciples at ,jerusalem1      
headed by ,james1 the ,lord's brother1  
and by the leading apostles1 ,peter and 
,john1 were strict ,jews1 who had       
objected to admit any converts into     
their body1 unless these1 either by     
birth1 or by becoming proselytes1 were  
also strict ,jews4 ,in fact1 the sole   
difference between ,james and ,peter and
 ,john1 with the body of the disciples  

whom they led and the ,jews by whom they
 were surrounded1 and with whom they1   
for many years1 shared the religious    
observances of the ,temple1 was that    
they believed that the ,messiah1 whom   
the leaders of the nation yet looked    
for1 had already come in the person of  
,jesus of ,nazareth4  ,the ,acts of the 
,apostles is hardly a very trustworthy  
history2 it is certainly of later date  
than the ,pauline ,epistles1 supposing  
them to be genuine4 ,and the writer's   
version of the conference of which ,paul
 gives so graphic a description1 if that
 is correct1 is unmistakably coloured   
with all the art of a reconciler1       
anxious to cover up a scandal4 ,but it  
is none the less instructive on this    
account4 ,the judgment of the council   
delivered by ,james is that the ,gentile
 converts shall merely abstain from     
things sacrificed to idols1 and from    
blood and from things strangled1 and    
from fornication4 ,but notwithstanding  
the accommodation in which the writer of

 the ,acts would have us believe1 the   
,jerusalem ,church held to its endeavour
 to retain the observance of the ,law4  
,long after the conference1 some time   
after the writing of the ,epistles to   
the ,galatians and ,corinthians1 and    
immediately after the despatch of that  
to the ,romans1 ,paul makes his last    
visit to ,jerusalem1 and presents       
himself to ,james and all the elders4   
,and this is what the ,acts tells us of 
the interview3--       ,and they said   
unto him1 ,thou seest1 brother1 how many
      thousands or myriads there are    
among the ,jews of them      which have 
believed2 and they are all zealous for  
the law2      and they have been        
informed concerning thee1 that thou     
teachest all the ,jews which are among  
the ,gentiles to      forsake ,moses1   
telling them not to circumcise their    
children1 neither to walk after the     
customs4 7,acts xxi4 #bj1      #ba47    
,they therefore request that he should  
perform a certain public religious act  

in the ,temple1 in order that       all 
shall know that there is no truth in the
 things whereof      they have been     
informed concerning thee2 but that thou 
thyself walkest orderly1 keeping the law
 7ibid4 #bd74gg  ,how far ,paul could do
 what he is here requested to do1 and   
which the writer of the ,acts goes on to
 say he did1 with a clear conscience1 if
 he wrote the ,epistles to the          
,galatians and ,corinthians1 ,i may     
leave any candid reader of these        
epistles to decide4 ,the point to which 
,i wish to direct attention is the      
declaration that the ,jerusalem ,church1
 led by the brother of ,jesus and by his
 personal disciples and friends1 twenty 
years and more after his death1         
consisted of strict and zealous ,jews4  
,tertullus1 the orator1 caring very     
little about the internal dissensions of
 the followers of ,jesus1 speaks of     
,paul as a ringleader of the sect of the
 ,nazarenes 7,acts xxiv4 #e71 which must
 have affected ,james much in the same  

way as it would have moved the          
,archbishop of ,canterbury1 in ,george  
,fox's day1 to hear the latter called a 
ringleader of the sect of ,anglicans4   
,in fact1 ,nazarene was1 as is well     
known1 the distinctive appellation      
applied to ,jesus2 his immediate        
followers were known as ,nazarenes2     
while the congregation of the disciples1
 and1 later1 of converts at             
,jerusalem--the ,jerusalem ,church--was 
emphatically the sect of the ,nazarenes1
 no more1 in itself1 to be regarded as  
anything outside ,judaism than the sect 
of the ,sadducees1 or that of the       
,essenes4#gh ,in fact1 the tenets of    
both the ,sadducees and the ,essenes    
diverged much more widely from the      
,pharisaic standard of orthodoxy than   
,nazarenism did4  ,let us consider the  
condition of affairs now 7,a4,d4 #ej-fj7
 in relation to that which obtained in  
,justin's time1 a century later4 ,it is 
plain that the ,nazarenes--presided over
 by ,james1 the brother of the ,lord1   

and comprising within their body all the
 twelve apostles--belonged to ,justin's 
second category of ,jews who observe the
 ,law1 believe ,jesus to be the ,christ1
 but who insist on the observance of the
 ,law by ,gentile converts1 up till the 
time at which the controversy reported  
by ,paul arose4 ,they then1 according to
 ,paul1 simply allowed him to form his  
congregations of non-legal ,gentile     
converts at ,antioch and elsewhere2 and 
it would seem that it was to these      
converts1 who would come under ,justin's
 fifth category1 that the title of      
,christian was first applied4 ,if any of
 these ,christians had acted upon the   
more than half-permission given by      
,paul1 and had eaten meats offered to   
idols1 they would have belonged to      
,justin's seventh category4  ,hence1 it 
appears that1 if ,justin's opinion1     
which was probably that of the ,church  
generally in the middle of the second   
century1 was correct1 ,james and ,peter 
and ,john and their followers could not 

be saved2 neither could ,paul1 if he    
carried into practice his views as to   
the indifference of eating meats offered
 to idols4 ,or1 to put the matter       
another way1 the centre of gravity of   
orthodoxy1 which is at the extreme right
 of the series in the nineteenth        
century1 was at the extreme left just   
before the middle of the first century1 
when the sect of the ,nazarenes         
constituted the whole church founded by 
,jesus and the apostles2 while1 in the  
time of ,justin1 it lay mid-way between 
the two4 ,it is therefore a profound    
mistake to imagine that the             
,judo-,christians 7,nazarenes and       
,ebionites7 of later times were         
heretical outgrowths from a primitive   
universalist ,christianity4 ,on the     
contrary1 the universalist ,christianity
 is an outgrowth from the primitive1    
purely ,jewish1 ,nazarenism2 which1     
gradually eliminating all the ceremonial
 and dietary parts of the ,jewish law1  
has thrust aside its parent1 and all the

 intermediate stages of its development1
 into the position of damnable heresies4
  ,such being the case1 we are in a     
position to form a safe judgment of the 
limits within which the teaching of     
,jesus of ,nazareth must have been      
confined4 ,ecclesiastical authority     
would have us believe that the words    
which are given at the end of the first 
,gospel1 ,go ye1 therefore1 and make    
disciples of all the nations1 baptizing 
them in the name of the ,father and of  
the ,son and of the ,holy ,ghost1 are   
part of the last commands of ,jesus1    
issued at the moment of his parting with
 the eleven4 ,if so1 ,peter and ,john   
must have heard these words2 they are   
too plain to be misunderstood2 and the  
occasion is too solemn for them ever to 
be forgotten4 ,yet the ,acts tells us   
that ,peter needed a vision to enable   
him so much as to baptize ,cornelius2   
and ,paul1 in the ,galatians1 knows     
nothing of words which would have       
completely borne him out as against     

those who1 though they heard1 must be   
supposed to have either forgotten1 or   
ignored them4 ,on the other hand1 ,peter
 and ,john1 who are supposed to have    
heard the ,sermon on the ,mount1 know   
nothing of the saying that ,jesus had   
not come to destroy the ,law1 but that  
every jot and tittle of the ,law must be
 fulfilled1 which surely would have been
 pretty good evidence for their view of 
the question4  ,we are sometimes told   
that the personal friends and daily     
companions of ,jesus remained zealous   
,jews and opposed ,paul's innovations1  
because they were hard of heart and dull
 of comprehension4 ,this hypothesis is  
hardly in accordance with the           
concomitant faith of those who adopt it1
 in the miraculous insight and          
superhuman sagacity of their ,master2   
nor do ,i see any way of getting it to  
harmonise with the orthodox postulate2  
namely1 that ,matthew was the author of 
the first gospel and ,john of the       
fourth4 ,if that is so1 then1 most      

assuredly1 ,matthew was no dullard2 and 
as for the fourth gospel--a theosophic  
romance of the first order--it could    
have been written by none but a man of  
remarkable literary capacity1 who had   
drunk deep of ,alexandrian philosophy4  
,moreover1 the doctrine of the writer of
 the fourth gospel is more remote from  
that of the sect of the ,nazarenes than 
is that of ,paul himself4 ,i am quite   
aware that orthodox critics have been   
capable of maintaining that ,john1 the  
,nazarene1 who was probably well past   
fifty years of age1 when he is supposed 
to have written the most thoroughly     
,judaising book in the ,new             
,testament--the ,apocalypse--in the     
roughest of ,greek1 underwent an        
astounding metamorphosis of both        
doctrine and style by the time he       
reached the ripe age of ninety or so1   
and provided the world with a history in
 which the acutest critic cannot always 
make out where the speeches of ,jesus   
end and the text of the narrative       

begins2 while that narrative is utterly 
irreconcilable1 in regard to matters of 
fact1 with that of his fellow-apostle1  
,matthew4  ,the end of the whole matter 
is this3--,the sect of the ,nazarenes1  
the brother and the immediate followers 
of ,jesus1 commissioned by him as       
apostles1 and those who were taught by  
them up to the year #ej ,a4,d41 were not
 ,christians in the sense in which that 
term has been understood ever since its 
asserted origin at ,antioch1 but        
,jews--strict orthodox ,jews--whose     
belief in the ,messiahship of ,jesus    
never led to their exclusion from the   
,temple services1 nor would have shut   
them out from the wide embrace of       
,judaism4#gi ,the open proclamation of  
their special view about the ,messiah   
was doubtless offensive to the          
,pharisees1 just as rampant ,low        
,churchism is offensive to bigoted ,high
 ,churchism in our own country2 or as   
any kind of dissent is offensive to     
fervid religionists of all creeds4 ,to  

the ,sadducees1 no doubt1 the political 
danger of any ,messianic movement was   
serious2 and they would have been glad  
to put down ,nazarenism1 lest it should 
end in useless rebellion against their  
,roman masters1 like that other         
,galilean movement headed by ,judas1 a  
generation earlier4 ,galilee was always 
a hotbed of seditious enthusiasm against
 the rule of ,rome2 and high priest and 
procurator alike had need to keep a     
sharp eye upon natives of that district4
 ,on the whole1 however1 the ,nazarenes 
were but little troubled for the first  
twenty years of their existence2 and the
 undying hatred of the ,jews against    
those later converts1 whom they regarded
 as apostates and fautors of a sham     
,judaism1 was awakened by ,paul4 ,from  
their point of view1 he was a mere      
renegade ,jew1 opposed alike to orthodox
 ,judaism and to orthodox ,nazarenism2  
and whose teachings threatened ,judaism 
with destruction4 ,and1 from their point
 of view1 they were quite right4 ,in the

 course of a century1 ,pauline          
influences had a large share in driving 
primitive ,nazarenism from being the    
very heart of the new faith into the    
position of scouted error2 and the      
spirit of ,paul's doctrine continued its
 work of driving ,christianity farther  
and farther away from ,judaism1 until   
meats offered to idols might be eaten   
without scruple1 while the ,nazarene    
methods of observing even the ,sabbath1 
or the ,passover1 were branded with the 
mark of ,judaising heresy4  ,but if the 
primitive ,nazarenes of whom the ,acts  
speak were orthodox ,jews1 what sort of 
probability can there be that ,jesus was
 anything else8 ,how can he have founded
 the universal religion which was not   
heard of till twenty years after his    
death8#hj ,that ,jesus possessed1 in a  
rare degree1 the gift of attaching men  
to his person and to his fortunes2 that 
he was the author of many a striking    
saying1 and the advocate of equity1 of  
love1 and of humility2 that he may have 

disregarded the subtleties of the bigots
 for legal observance1 and appealed     
rather to those noble conceptions of    
religion which constituted the pith and 
kernel of the teaching of the great     
prophets of his nation seven hundred    
years earlier2 and that1 in the last    
scenes of his career1 he may have       
embodied the ideal sufferer of ,isaiah1 
may be1 as ,i think it is1 extremely    
probable4 ,but all this involves not a  
step beyond the borders of orthodox     
,judaism4 ,again1 who is to say whether 
,jesus proclaimed himself the veritable 
,messiah1 expected by his nation since  
the appearance of the pseudoprophetic   
work of ,daniel1 a century and a half   
before his time2 or whether the         
enthusiasm of his followers gradually   
forced him to assume that position8     
,but one thing is quite certain3 if that
 belief in the speedy second coming of  
the ,messiah which was shared by all    
parties in the primitive ,church1       
whether ,nazarene or ,pauline2 which    

,jesus is made to prophesy1 over and    
over again1 in the ,synoptic gospels2   
and which dominated the life of         
,christians during the first century    
after the crucifixion2--if he believed  
and taught that1 then assuredly he was  
under an illusion1 and he is responsible
 for that which the mere effluxion of   
time has demonstrated to be a prodigious
 error4  ,when ,i ventured to doubt     
whether any ,protestant theologian who  
has a reputation to lose will say that  
he believes the ,gadarene story1 it     
appears that ,i reckoned without ,dr4   
,wace1 who1 referring to this passage in
 my paper1 says3--       ,he will judge 
whether ,i fall under his description2  
but ,i      repeat that ,i believe it1  
and that he has removed the only        
objection to my believing it 7p4 #cfc74 
,far be it from me to set myself up as a
 judge of any such delicate question as 
that put before me2 but ,i think ,i may 
venture to express the conviction that1 
in the matter of courage1 ,dr4 ,wace has

 raised for himself a monument re       
perennius4 ,for really1 in my poor      
judgment1 a certain splendid            
intrepidity1 such as one admires in the 
leader of a forlorn hope1 is manifested 
by ,dr4 ,wace when he solemnly affirms  
that he believes the ,gadarene story on 
the evidence offered4 ,i feel less      
complimented perhaps than ,i ought to   
do1 when ,i am told that ,i have been an
 accomplice in extinguishing in ,dr4    
,wace's mind the last glimmer of doubt  
which common sense may have suggested4  
,in fact1 ,i must disclaim all          
responsibility for the use to which the 
information ,i supplied has been put4 ,i
 formally decline to admit that the     
expression of my ignorance whether      
devils1 in the existence of which ,i do 
not believe1 if they did exist1 might or
 might not be made to go out of men into
 pigs1 can1 as a matter of logic1 have  
been of any use whatever to a person who
 already believed in devils and in the  
historical accuracy of the gospels4  ,of

 the ,gadarene story1 ,dr4 ,wace1 with  
all solemnity and twice over1 affirms   
that he believes it4 ,i am sorry to     
trouble him further1 but what does he   
mean by it8 ,because there are two      
stories1 one in ,mark and ,luke1 and the
 other in ,matthew4 ,in the former1     
which ,i quoted in my previous paper1   
there is one possessed man2 in the      
latter there are two4 ,the story is told
 fully1 with the vigorous homely diction
 and the picturesque details of a piece 
of folklore1 in the second gospel4 ,the 
immediately antecedent event is the     
storm on the ,lake of ,gennesaret4 ,the 
immediately consequent events are the   
message from the ruler of the synagogue 
and the healing of the woman with an    
issue of blood4 ,in the third gospel1   
the order of events is exactly the same1
 and there is an extremely close general
 and verbal correspondence between the  
narratives of the miracle4 ,both agree  
in stating that there was only one      
possessed man1 and that he was the      

residence of many devils1 whose name was
 ,legion4  ,in the first gospel1 the    
event which immediately precedes the    
,gadarene affair is1 as before1 the     
storm2 the message from the ruler and   
the healing of the issue are separated  
from it by the accounts of the healing  
of a paralytic1 of the calling of       
,matthew1 and of a discussion with some 
,pharisees4 ,again1 while the second    
gospel speaks of the country of the     
,gerasenes as the locality of the event1
 the third gospel has ,gerasenes1       
,gergesenes1 and ,gadarenes in different
 ancient ,,mss42 while the first has    
,gadarenes4  ,the really important      
points to be noticed1 however1 in the   
narrative of the first gospel1 are      
these--that there are two possessed men 
instead of one2 and that while the story
 is abbreviated by omissions1 what there
 is of it is often verbally identical   
with the corresponding passages in the  
other two gospels4 ,the most unabashed  
of reconcilers cannot well say that one 

man is the same as two1 or two as one2  
and1 though the suggestion really has   
been made1 that two different miracles1 
agreeing in all essential particulars1  
except the number of the possessed1 were
 effected immediately after the storm on
 the lake1 ,i should be sorry to accuse 
any one of seriously adopting it4 ,nor  
will it he pretended that the allegory  
refuge is accessible in this particular 
case4  ,so1 when ,dr4 ,wace says that he
 believes in the synoptic evangelists'  
account of the miraculous bedevilment of
 swine1 ,i may fairly ask which of them 
does he believe8 ,does he hold by the   
one evangelist's story1 or by that of   
the two evangelists8 ,and having made   
his election1 what reasons has he to    
give for his choice8 ,if it is suggested
 that the witness of two is to be taken 
against that of one1 not only is the    
testimony dealt with in that            
common-sense fashion against which the  
theologians of his school protest so    
warmly2 not only is all question of     

inspiration at an end1 but the further  
inquiry arises1 ,after all1 is it the   
testimony of two against one8 ,are the  
authors of the versions in the second   
and third gospels really independent    
witnesses8 ,in order to answer this     
question1 it is only needful to place   
the ,english versions of the two side by
 side1 and compare them carefully4 ,it  
will then be seen that the coincidences 
between them1 not merely in substance1  
but in arrangement1 and in the use of   
identical words in the same order1 are  
such1 that only two alternatives are    
conceivable3 either one evangelist      
freely copied from the other1 or both   
based themselves upon a common source1  
which may either have been a written    
document1 or a definite oral tradition  
learned by heart4 ,assuredly1 these two 
testimonies are not those of independent
 witnesses4 ,further1 when the narrative
 in the first gospel is compared with   
that in the other two1 the same fact    
comes out4  ,supposing1 then1 that ,dr4 

,wace is right in his assumption that   
,matthew1 ,mark1 and ,luke wrote the    
works which we find attributed to them  
by tradition1 what is the value of their
 agreement1 even that something more or 
less like this particular miracle       
occurred1 since it is demonstrable1     
either that all depend on some          
antecedent statement1 of the authorship 
of which nothing is known1 or that two  
are dependent upon the third8  ,dr4     
,wace says he believes the ,gadarene    
story2 whichever version of it he       
accepts1 therefore1 he believes that    
,jesus said what he is stated in all the
 versions to have said1 and thereby     
virtually declared that the theory of   
the nature of the spiritual world       
involved in the story is true4 ,now ,i  
hold that this theory is false1 that it 
is a monstrous and mischievous fiction2 
and ,i unhesitatingly express my        
disbelief in any assertion that it is   
true1 by whomsoever made4 ,so that1 if  
,dr4 ,wace is right in his belief1 he is

 also quite right in classing me among  
the people he calls infidels2 and       
although ,i cannot fulfil the eccentric 
expectation that ,i shall glory in a    
title which1 from my point of view1 it  
would be simply silly to adopt1 ,i      
certainly shall rejoice not to be       
reckoned among ,christians so long as   
the profession of belief in such stories
 as the ,gadarene pig affair1 on the    
strength of a tradition of unknown      
origin1 of which two discrepant reports1
 also of unknown origin1 alone remain1  
forms any part of the ,christian faith4 
,and1 although ,i have1 more than once1 
repudiated the gift of prophecy1 yet ,i 
think ,i may venture to express the     
anticipation1 that if ,christians       
generally are going to follow the line  
taken by ,dr4 ,wace1 it will not be long
 before all men of common sense qualify 
for a place among the infidels4         
,,footnotes3       #fd ,i may perhaps   
return to the question of the authorship
           of the ,gospels4 ,for the    

present ,i must content myself          
with warning my readers against any     
reliance upon ,dr4           ,wace's    
statements as to the results arrived at 
by           modern criticism4 ,they are
 as gravely as surprisingly             
erroneous4       #fe ,the ,united       
,states ought1 perhaps1 to be added1 but
           ,i am not sure4       #ff    
,imagine that all our chairs of         
astronomy had been           founded in 
the fourteenth century1 and that their  
incumbents were bound to sign ,ptolemaic
 articles4 ,in           that case1 with
 every respect for the efforts of       
persons thus hampered to attain and     
expound the truth1           ,i think   
men of common sense would go elsewhere  
to learn           astronomy4 ,zeller's 
,vortrge und ,abhandlungen were         
published and came into my hands a      
quarter of a century           ago4 ,the
 writer's rank1 as a theologian to begin
 with1           and subsequently as a  
historian of ,greek philosophy1 is      

of the highest4 ,among these essays are 
two--,das           ,urchirstenthum and 
,die ,tbinger historische               
,schule--which are likely to be of more 
use to those           who wish to know 
the real state of the case than all     
that the official apologists1 with their
 one eye on           truth and the     
other on the tenets of their sect1 have 
written4 ,for the opinion of a          
scientific theologian           about   
theologians of this stamp see pp4 #bbe  
and #bbg of           the ,vortrge4     
#fg ,i suppose this is what ,dr4 ,wace  
is thinking about when           he says
 that ,i allege that there is no visible
 escape           from the supposition  
of an ,ur-,marcus 7p4 #cfg74 ,that a    
theologian of repute should confound an 
indisputable           fact with one of 
the modes of explaining that fact is    
not so singular as those who are        
unaccustomed to the           ways of   
theologians might imagine4       #fh    
,any examiner whose duty it has been to 

examine into a           case of copying
 will be particularly well prepared to  
appreciate the force of the case stated 
in that most           excellent little 
book1 ,the ,common ,tradition of the    
,synoptic ,gospels1 by ,dr4 ,abbott and 
,mr4 ,rushbrooke           7,macmillan1 
#ahhd74 ,to those who have not passed   
through           such painful          
experiences ,i may recommend the brief  
discussion of the genuineness of the    
,casket ,letters           in my friend 
,mr4 ,skelton's interesting book1       
,maitland           of ,lethington4 ,the
 second edition of ,holtzmann's         
,lehrbuch1 published in #ahhf1 gives a  
remarkably fair           and full      
account of the present results of       
criticism4           ,at p4 #cff he     
writes that the present burning question
           is whether the relatively    
primitive narrative and the             
root of the other synoptic texts is     
contained in           ,matthew or in   
,mark4 ,it is only on this point that   

properly-informed 7sachkundige7 critics 
differ1 and           he decides in     
favour of ,mark4       #fi ,holtzmann   
7,die synoptischen ,evangelien1 #ahfc1  
p4 #ge71           following ,ewald1    
argues that the ,source ,a 7 the        
threefold tradition1 more or less7      
contained something           that      
answered to the ,sermon on the ,plain   
immediately           after the words of
 our present ,mark1 ,and he cometh      
into a house 7iii4 #ai74 ,but what      
conceivable motive           could ,mark
 have for omitting it8 ,holtzmann has no
           doubt1 however1 that the     
,sermon on the ,mount is a              
compilation1 or1 as he calls it in his  
recently-published ,lehrbuch 7p4 #cgb71 
an artificial           mosaic work4    
#gj ,see ,schrer1 ,geschichte des       
jdischen ,volkes1           ,zweiter    
,thiel1 p4 #chd4       #ga ,spacious1   
because a young man could sit in it on  
the           right side 7xv4 #e71 and  
therefore with plenty of room           

to spare4       #gb ,king ,herod had not
 the least difficulty in supposing      
the resurrection of ,john the           
,baptist--,john1 whom ,i                
beheaded1 he is risen 7,mark vi4 #af74  
#gc ,i am very sorry for the            
interpolated in1 because                
citation ought to be accurate in small  
things as in           great4 ,but what 
difference it makes whether one         
believes ,jesus or believes in ,jesus   
much thought           has not enabled  
me to discover4 ,if you believe him     
you must believe him to be what he      
professed to           be--that is1     
believe in him2 and if you believe in   
him you must necessarily believe him4   
#gd ,true for ,justin3 but there is a   
school of theological           critics1
 who more or less question the          
historical           reality of ,paul1  
and the genuineness of even the four    
cardinal epistles4       #ge ,see ,dial4
 cum ,tryphone1 #dg and #ce4 ,it is to  
be           understood that ,justin    

does not arrange these                  
categories in order1 as ,i have done4   
#gf ,i guard myself against being       
supposed to affirm that           even  
the four cardinal epistles of ,paul may 
not have           been seriously       
tampered with4 ,see note #a1 p4 #bhg    
above4       #gg ,paul1 in fact1 is     
required to commit in ,jerusalem1 an act
           of the same character as that
 which he brands as                     
dissimulation on the part of ,peter in  
,antioch4       #gh ,all this was quite 
clearly pointed out by ,ritschl nearly  
forty years ago4 ,see ,die ,entstchung  
der           alt-katholischen ,kirche  
7#ahej71 p4 #ajh4       #gi ,if every   
one was baptized as soon as he          
acknowledged           ,jesus to be the 
,messiah1 the first ,christians can have
           been aware of no other       
essential differences from the          
,jews4--,zeller1 ,vortrge 7#ahfe71 p4   
#bf4       #hj ,dr4 ,harnack1 in the    
lately-published second edition of      

his ,dogmengeschichte1 says 7p4 #ci71   
,jesus ,christ           brought forward
 no new doctrine2 and again 7p4 #fe71   
,it is not difficult to set against     
every portion of           the          
utterances of ,jesus an observation     
which deprives           him of         
originality4 ,see also ,zusatz #d1 on   
the same           page4     ,,ix3      
,,agnosticism ,,and ,,christianity      
#ahhi  ,nemo ergo ex me scire qurat1    
quod me nescire scio1 nisi forte ut     
nescire discat4--,,augustinus1 ,de ,civ4
 ,dei1 xii4 #g4   #ha ,the present      
discussion has arisen out of the use1   
which has become general in the last few
 years1 of the terms ,agnostic and      
,agnosticism4  ,the people who call     
themselves ,agnostics have been charged 
with doing so because they have not the 
courage to declare themselves ,infidels4
 ,it has been insinuated that they have 
adopted a new name in order to escape   
the unpleasantness which attaches to    
their proper denomination4 ,to this     

wholly erroneous imputation1 ,i have    
replied by showing that the term        
,agnostic did1 as a matter of fact1     
arise in a manner which negatives it2   
and my statement has not been1 and      
cannot be1 refuted4 ,moreover1 speaking 
for myself1 and without impugning the   
right of any other person to use the    
term in another sense1 ,i further say   
that ,agnosticism is not properly       
described as a negative creed1 nor      
indeed as a creed of any kind1 except in
 so far as it expresses absolute faith  
in the validity of a principle1 which is
 as much ethical as intellectual4 ,this 
principle may be stated in various ways1
 but they all amount to this3 that it is
 wrong for a man to say that he is      
certain of the objective truth of any   
proposition unless he can produce       
evidence which logically justifies that 
certainty4 ,this is what ,agnosticism   
asserts2 and1 in my opinion1 it is all  
that is essential to ,agnosticism4 ,that
 which ,agnostics deny and repudiate1 as

 immoral1 is the contrary doctrine1 that
 there are propositions which men ought 
to believe1 without logically           
satisfactory evidence2 and that         
reprobation ought to attach to the      
profession of disbelief in such         
inadequately supported propositions4    
,the justification of the ,agnostic     
principle lies in the success which     
follows upon its application1 whether in
 the field of natural1 or in that of    
civil1 history2 and in the fact that1 so
 far as these topics are concerned1 no  
sane man thinks of denying its validity4
  ,still speaking for myself1 ,i add1   
that though ,agnosticism is not1 and    
cannot be1 a creed1 except in so far as 
its general principle is concerned2 yet 
that the application of that principle  
results in the denial of1 or the        
suspension of judgment concerning1 a    
number of propositions respecting which 
our contemporary ecclesiastical gnostics
 profess entire certainty4 ,and1 in so  
far as these ecclesiastical persons can 

be justified in their old-established   
custom 7which many nowadays think more  
honoured in the breach than the         
observance7 of using opprobrious names  
to those who differ from them1 ,i fully 
admit their right to call me and those  
who think with me ,infidels2 all ,i have
 ventured to urge is that they must not 
expect us to speak of ourselves by that 
title4  ,the extent of the region of the
 uncertain1 the number of the problems  
the investigation of which ends in a    
verdict of not proven1 will vary        
according to the knowledge and the      
intellectual habits of the individual   
,agnostic4 ,i do not very much care to  
speak of anything as unknowable4#hb     
,what ,i am sure about is that there are
 many topics about which ,i know        
nothing2 and which1 so far as ,i can    
see1 are out of reach of my faculties4  
,but whether these things are knowable  
by any one else is exactly one of those 
matters which is beyond my knowledge1   
though ,i may have a tolerably strong   

opinion as to the probabilities of the  
case4 ,relatively to myself1 ,i am quite
 sure that the region of                
uncertainty--the nebulous country in    
which words play the part of            
realities--is far more extensive than ,i
 could wish4 ,materialism and ,idealism2
 ,theism and ,atheism2 the doctrine of  
the soul and its mortality or           
immortality--appear in the history of   
philosophy like the shades of           
,scandinavian heroes1 eternally slaying 
one another and eternally coming to life
 again in a metaphysical ,nifelheim4 ,it
 is getting on for twenty-five          
centuries1 at least1 since mankind began
 seriously to give their minds to these 
topics4 ,generation after generation1   
philosophy has been doomed to roll the  
stone uphill2 and1 just as all the world
 swore it was at the top1 down it has   
rolled to the bottom again4 ,all this is
 written in innumerable books2 and he   
who will toil through them will discover
 that the stone is just where it was    

when the work began4 ,hume saw this2    
,kant saw it2 since their time1 more and
 more eyes have been cleansed of the    
films which prevented them from seeing  
it2 until now the weight and number of  
those who refuse to be the prey of      
verbal mystifications has begun to tell 
in practical life4  ,it was inevitable  
that a conflict should arise between    
,agnosticism and ,theology2 or rather1  
,i ought to say1 between ,agnosticism   
and ,ecclesiasticism4 ,for ,theology1   
the science1 is one thing2 and          
,ecclesiasticism1 the championship of a 
foregone conclusion#hc as to the truth  
of a particular form of ,theology1 is   
another4 ,with scientific ,theology1    
,agnosticism has no quarrel4 ,on the    
contrary1 the ,agnostic1 knowing too    
well the influence of prejudice and     
idiosyncrasy1 even on those who desire  
most earnestly to be impartial1 can wish
 for nothing more urgently than that the
 scientific theologian should not only  
be at perfect liberty to thresh out the 

matter in his own fashion2 but that he  
should1 if he can1 find flaws in the    
,agnostic position2 and1 even if        
demonstration is not to be had1 that he 
should put1 in their full force1 the    
grounds of the conclusions he thinks    
probable4 ,the scientific theologian    
admits the ,agnostic principle1 however 
widely his results may differ from those
 reached by the majority of ,agnostics4 
,but1 as between ,agnosticism and       
,ecclesiasticism1 or1 as our neighbours 
across the ,channel call it1            
,clericalism1 there can be neither peace
 nor truce4 ,the ,cleric asserts that it
 is morally wrong not to believe certain
 propositions1 whatever the results of a
 strict scientific investigation of the 
evidence of these propositions4 ,he     
tells us that religious error is1 in    
itself1 of an immoral nature4#hd ,he    
declares that he has prejudged certain  
conclusions1 and looks upon those who   
show cause for arrest of judgment as    
emissaries of ,satan4 ,it necessarily   

follows that1 for him1 the attainment of
 faith1 not the ascertainment of truth1 
is the highest aim of mental life4 ,and1
 on careful analysis of the nature of   
this faith1 it will too often be found  
to be1 not the mystic process of unity  
with the ,divine1 understood by the     
religious enthusiast2 but that which the
 candid simplicity of a ,sunday scholar 
once defined it to be4 ,faith1 said this
 unconscious plagiarist of ,tertullian1 
is the power of saying you believe      
things which are incredible4  ,now ,i1  
and many other ,agnostics1 believe that 
faith1 in this sense1 is an abomination2
 and though we do not indulge in the    
luxury of self-righteousness so far as  
to call those who are not of our way of 
thinking hard names1 we do not feel that
 the disagreement between ourselves and 
those who hold this doctrine is even    
more moral than intellectual4 ,it is    
desirable there should be an end of any 
mistakes on this topic4 ,if our clerical
 opponents were clearly aware of the    

real state of the case1 there would be  
an end of the curious delusion1 which   
often appears between the lines of their
 writings1 that those whom they are so  
fond of calling ,infidels are people who
 not only ought to be1 but in their     
hearts are1 ashamed of themselves4 ,it  
would be discourteous to do more than   
hint the antipodal opposition of this   
pleasant dream of theirs to facts4  ,the
 clerics and their lay allies commonly  
tell us1 that if we refuse to admit that
 there is good ground for expressing    
definite convictions about certain      
topics1 the bonds of human society will 
dissolve and mankind lapse into         
savagery4 ,there are several answers to 
this assertion4 ,one is that the bonds  
of human society were formed without the
 aid of their theology2 and1 in the     
opinion of not a few competent judges1  
have been weakened rather than          
strengthened by a good deal of it4      
,greek science1 ,greek art1 the ethics  
of old ,israel1 the social organisation 

of old ,rome1 contrived to come into    
being1 without the help of any one who  
believed in a single distinctive article
 of the simplest of the ,christian      
creeds4 ,the science1 the art1 the      
jurisprudence1 the chief political and  
social theories1 of the modern world    
have grown out of those of ,greece and  
,rome--not by favour of1 but in the     
teeth of1 the fundamental teachings of  
early ,christianity1 to which science1  
art1 and any serious occupation with the
 things of this world1 were alike       
despicable4  ,again1 all that is best in
 the ethics of the modern world1 in so  
far as it has not grown out of ,greek   
thought1 or ,barbarian manhood1 is the  
direct development of the ethics of old 
,israel4 ,there is no code of           
legislation1 ancient or modern1 at once 
so just and so merciful1 so tender to   
the weak and poor1 as the ,jewish law2  
and1 if the ,gospels are to be trusted1 
,jesus of ,nazareth himself declared    
that he taught nothing but that which   

lay implicitly1 or explicitly1 in the   
religious and ethical system of his     
people4       ,and the scribe said unto 
him1 ,of a truth1 ,teacher1 thou hast   
well said that he is one2 and there is  
none other but he1      and to love him 
with all the heart1 and with all the    
understanding1 and with all the         
strength1 and to love his      neighbour
 as himself1 is much more than all whole
 burnt      offerings and sacrifices4   
7,mark xii4 #cb1 #cc47  ,here is the    
briefest of summaries of the teaching of
 the prophets of ,israel of the eighth  
century2 does the ,teacher1 whose       
doctrine is thus set forth in his       
presence1 repudiate the exposition8     
,nay2 we are told1 on the contrary1 that
 ,jesus saw that he answered discreetly1
 and replied1 ,thou art not far from the
 kingdom of ,god4  ,so that ,i think    
that even if the creeds1 from the       
so-called ,apostles1 to the so-called   
,athanasian1 were swept into oblivion2  
and even if the human race should arrive

 at the conclusion that1 whether a      
bishop washes a cup or leaves it        
unwashed1 is not a matter of the least  
consequence1 it will get on very well4  
,the causes which have led to the       
development of morality in mankind1     
which have guided or impelled us all the
 way from the savage to the civilised   
state1 will not cease to operate because
 a number of ecclesiastical hypotheses  
turn out to be baseless4 ,and1 even if  
the absurd notion that morality is more 
the child of speculation than of        
practical necessity and inherited       
instinct1 had any foundation2 if all the
 world is going to thieve1 murder1 and  
otherwise misconduct itself as soon as  
it discovers that certain portions of   
ancient history are mythical1 what is   
the relevance of such arguments to any  
one who holds by the ,agnostic          
principle8  ,surely1 the attempt to cast
 out ,beelzebub by the aid of ,beelzebub
 is a hopeful procedure as compared to  
that of preserving morality by the aid  

of immorality4 ,for ,i suppose it is    
admitted that an ,agnostic may be       
perfectly sincere1 may be competent1 and
 may have studied the question at issue 
with as much care as his clerical       
opponents4 ,but1 if the ,agnostic really
 believes what he says1 the dreadful    
consequence argufier 7consistently1 ,i  
admit1 with his own principles7         
virtually asks him to abstain from      
telling the truth1 or to say what he    
believes to be untrue1 because of the   
supposed injurious consequences to      
morality4 ,beloved brethren1 that we may
 be spotlessly moral1 before all things 
let us lie1 is the sum total of many an 
exhortation addressed to the ,infidel4  
,now1 as ,i have already pointed out1 we
 cannot oblige our exhorters4 ,we leave 
the practical application of the        
convenient doctrines of ,reserve and    
,non-natural interpretation to those who
 invented them4  ,i trust that ,i have  
now made amends for any ambiguity1 or   
want of fulness1 in my previous         

exposition of that which ,i hold to be  
the essence of the ,agnostic doctrine4  
,henceforward1 ,i might hope to hear no 
more of the assertion that we are       
necessarily ,materialists1 ,idealists1  
,atheists1 ,theists1 or any other ists1 
if experience had led me to think that  
the proved falsity of a statement was   
any guarantee against its repetition4   
,and those who appreciate the nature of 
our position will see1 at once1 that    
when ,ecclesiasticism declares that we  
ought to believe this1 that1 and the    
other1 and are very wicked if we don't1 
it is impossible for us to give any     
answer but this3 ,we have not the       
slightest objection to believe anything 
you like1 if you will give us good      
grounds for belief2 but1 if you cannot1 
we must respectfully refuse1 even if    
that refusal should wreck mortality and 
insure our own damnation several times  
over4 ,we are quite content to leave    
that to the decision of the future4 ,the
 course of the past has impressed us    

with the firm conviction that no good   
ever comes of falsehood1 and we feel    
warranted in refusing even to experiment
 in that direction4         99       99 
99       99       99  ,in the course of 
the present discussion it has been      
asserted that the ,sermon on the ,mount 
and the ,lord's ,prayer furnish a       
summary and condensed view of the       
essentials of the teaching of ,jesus of 
,nazareth1 set forth by himself4 ,now   
this supposed ,summa of ,nazarene       
theology distinctly affirms the         
existence of a spiritual world1 of a    
,heaven1 and of a ,hell of fire2 it     
teaches the ,fatherhood of ,god and the 
malignity of the ,devil2 it declares the
 superintending providence of the former
 and our need of deliverance from the   
machinations of the latter2 it affirms  
the fact of demoniac possession and the 
power of casting out devils by the      
faithful4 ,and from these premises1 the 
conclusion is drawn1 that those         
,agnostics who deny that there is any   

evidence of such a character as to      
justify certainty1 respecting the       
existence and the nature of the         
spiritual world1 contradict the express 
declarations of ,jesus4 ,i have replied 
to this argumentation by showing that   
there is strong reason to doubt the     
historical accuracy of the attribution  
to ,jesus of either the ,sermon on the  
,mount or the ,lord's ,prayer2 and1     
therefore1 that the conclusion in       
question is not warranted1 at any rate1 
on the grounds set forth4  ,but1 whether
 the ,gospels contain trustworthy       
statements about this and other alleged 
historical facts or not1 it is quite    
certain that from them1 taken together  
with the other books of the ,new        
,testament1 we may collect a pretty     
complete exposition of that theory of   
the spiritual world which was held by   
both ,nazarenes and ,christians2 and    
which was undoubtedly supposed by them  
to be fully sanctioned by ,jesus1 though
 it is just as clear that they did not  

imagine it contained any revelation by  
him of something heretofore unknown4 ,if
 the pneumatological doctrine which     
pervades the whole ,new ,testament is   
nowhere systematically stated1 it is    
everywhere assumed4 ,the writers of the 
,gospels and of the ,acts take it for   
granted1 as a matter of common          
knowledge2 and it is easy to gather from
 these sources a series of propositions1
 which only need arrangement to form a  
complete system4  ,in this system1 ,man 
is considered to be a duality formed of 
a spiritual element1 the soul2 and a    
corporeal#he element1 the body4 ,and    
this duality is repeated in the         
,universe1 which consists of a corporeal
 world embraced and interpenetrated by a
 spiritual world4 ,the former consists  
of the earth1 as its principal and      
central constituent1 with the subsidiary
 sun1 planets1 and stars4 ,above the    
earth is the air1 and below is the      
watery abyss4 ,whether the heaven1 which
 is conceived to be above the air1 and  

the hell in1 or below1 the subterranean 
deeps1 are to be taken as corporeal or  
incorporeal is not clear4 ,however this 
may be1 the heaven and the air1 the     
earth and the abyss1 are peopled by     
innumerable beings analogous in nature  
to the spiritual element in man1 and    
these spirits are of two kinds1 good and
 bad4 ,the chief of the good spirits1   
infinitely superior to all the others1  
and their creator1 as well as the       
creator of the corporeal world and of   
the bad spirits1 is ,god4 ,his residence
 is heaven1 where he is surrounded by   
the ordered hosts of good spirits2 his  
angels1 or messengers1 and the executors
 of his will throughout the universe4   
,on the other hand1 the chief of the bad
 spirits is ,satan1 the devil par       
excellence4 ,he and his company of      
demons are free to roam through all     
parts of the universe1 except the       
heaven4 ,these bad spirits are far      
superior to man in power and subtlety2  
and their whole energies are devoted to 

bringing physical and moral evils upon  
him1 and to thwarting1 so far as his    
power goes1 the benevolent intentions of
 the ,supreme ,being4 ,in fact1 the     
souls and bodies of men form both the   
theatre and the prize of an incessant   
warfare between the good and the evil   
spirits--the powers of light and the    
powers of darkness4 ,by leading ,eve    
astray1 ,satan brought sin and death    
upon mankind4 ,as the gods of the       
heathen1 the demons are the founders and
 maintainers of idolatry2 as the powers 
of the air they afflict mankind with    
pestilence and famine2 as unclean       
spirits they cause disease of mind and  
body4  ,the significance of the         
appearance of ,jesus1 in the capacity of
 the ,messiah1 or ,christ1 is the       
reversal of the satanic work by putting 
an end to both sin and death4 ,he       
announces that the kingdom of ,god is at
 hand1 when the ,prince of this world   
shall be finally cast out 7,john xii4   
#ca7 from the cosmos1 as ,jesus1 during 

his earthly career1 cast him out from   
individuals4 ,then will ,satan and all  
his devilry1 along with the wicked whom 
they have seduced to their destruction1 
be hurled into the abyss of unquenchable
 fire--there to endure continual        
torture1 without a hope of winning      
pardon from the merciful ,god1 their    
,father2 or of moving the glorified     
,messiah to one more act of pitiful     
intercession2 or even of interrupting1  
by a momentary sympathy with their      
wretchedness1 the harmonious psalmody of
 their brother angels and men1 eternally
 lapped in bliss unspeakable4  ,the     
straitest ,protestant1 who refuses to   
admit the existence of any source of    
,divine truth1 except the ,bible1 will  
not deny that every point of the        
pneumatological theory here set forth   
has ample scriptural warranty4 ,the     
,gospels1 the ,acts1 the ,epistles1 and 
the ,apocalypse assert the existence of 
the devil1 of his demons and of ,hell1  
as plainly as they do that of ,god and  

his angels and ,heaven4 ,it is plain    
that the ,messianic and the ,satanic    
conceptions of the writers of these     
books are the obverse and the reverse of
 the same intellectual coinage4 ,if we  
turn from ,scripture to the traditions  
of the ,fathers and the confessions of  
the ,churches1 it will appear that1 in  
this one particular1 at any rate1 time  
has brought about no important deviation
 from primitive belief4 ,from ,justin   
onwards1 it may often be a fair question
 whether ,god1 or the devil1 occupies a 
larger share of the attention of the    
,fathers4 ,it is the devil who          
instigates the ,roman authorities to    
persecute2 the gods and goddesses of    
paganism are devils1 and idolatry itself
 is an invention of ,satan2 if a saint  
falls away from grace1 it is by the     
seduction of the demon2 if heresy       
arises1 the devil has suggested it2 and 
some of the ,fathers#hf go so far as to 
challenge the pagans to a sort of       
exorcising match1 by way of testing the 

truth of ,christianity4 ,medival        
,christianity is at one with patristic1 
on this head4 ,the masses1 the clergy1  
the theologians1 and the philosophers   
alike1 live and move and have their     
being in a world full of demons1 in     
which sorcery and possession are        
everyday occurrences4 ,nor did the      
,reformation make any difference4       
,whatever else ,luther assailed1 he left
 the traditional demonology untouched2  
nor could any one have entertained a    
more hearty and uncompromising belief in
 the devil1 than he and1 at a later     
period1 the ,calvinistic fanatics of    
,new ,england did4 ,finally1 in these   
last years of the nineteenth century1   
the demonological hypotheses of the     
first century are1 explicitly or        
implicitly1 held and occasionally acted 
upon by the immense majority of         
,christians of all confessions4  ,only  
here and there has the progress of      
scientific thought1 outside the         
ecclesiastical world1 so far affected   

,christians1 that they and their        
teachers fight shy of the demonology of 
their creed4 ,they are fain to conceal  
their real disbelief in one half of     
,christian doctrine by judicious silence
 about it2 or by flight to those refuges
 for the logically destitute1           
accommodation or allegory4 ,but the     
faithful who fly to allegory in order to
 escape absurdity resemble nothing so   
much as the sheep in the fable who--to  
save their lives--jumped into the pit4  
,the allegory pit is too commodious1 is 
ready to swallow up so much more than   
one wants to put into it4 ,if the story 
of the temptation is an allegory2 if the
 early recognition of ,jesus as the ,son
 of ,god by the demons is an allegory2  
if the plain declaration of the writer  
of the first ,epistle of ,john 7iii4    
#h71 ,to this end was the ,son of ,god  
manifested1 that ,he might destroy the  
works of the devil1 is allegorical1 then
 the ,pauline version of the ,fall may  
be allegorical1 and still more the words

 of consecration of the ,eucharist1 or  
the promise of the second coming2 in    
fact1 there is not a dogma of           
ecclesiastical ,christianity the        
scriptural basis of which may not be    
whittled away by a similar process4  ,as
 to accommodation1 let any honest man   
who can read the ,new ,testament ask    
himself whether ,jesus and his immediate
 friends and disciples can be           
dishonoured more grossly than by the    
supposition that they said and did that 
which is attributed to them2 while1 in  
reality1 they disbelieved in ,satan and 
his demons1 in possession and in        
exorcism8#hg  ,an eminent theologian has
 justly observed that we have no right  
to look at the propositions of the      
,christian faith with one eye open and  
the other shut4 7,tract #he1 p4 #bi47   
,it really is not permissible to see1   
with one eye1 that ,jesus is affirmed to
 declare the personality and the        
,fatherhood of ,god1 ,his loving        
providence and ,his accessibility to    

prayer2 and to shut the other to the no 
less definite teaching ascribed to      
,jesus1 in regard to the personality and
 the misanthropy of the devil1 his      
malignant watchfulness1 and his         
subjection to exorcistic formula and    
rites4 ,jesus is made to say that the   
devil was a murderer from the beginning 
7,john viii4 #dd7 by the same authority 
as that upon which we depend for his    
asserted declaration that ,god is a     
spirit 7,john iv4 #bd74  ,to those who  
admit the authority of the famous       
,vincentian dictum that the doctrine    
which has been held always1 everywhere1 
and by all is to be received as         
authoritative1 the demonology must      
possess a higher sanction than any other
 ,christian dogma1 except1 perhaps1     
those of the ,resurrection and of the   
,messiahship of ,jesus2 for it would be 
difficult to name any other points of   
doctrine on which the ,nazarene does not
 differ from the ,christian1 and the    
different historical stages and         

contemporary subdivisions of            
,christianity from one another4 ,and1 if
 the demonology is accepted1 there can  
be no reason for rejecting all those    
miracles in which demons play a part4   
,the ,gadarene story fits into the      
general scheme of ,christianity2 and the
 evidence for ,legion and their doings  
is just as good as any other in the ,new
 ,testament for the doctrine which the  
story illustrates4  ,it was with the    
purpose of bringing this great fact into
 prominence2 of getting people to open  
both their eyes when they look at       
,ecclesiasticism2 that ,i devoted so    
much space to that miraculous story     
which happens to be one of the best     
types of its class4 ,and ,i could not   
wish for a better justification of the  
course ,i have adopted1 than the fact   
that my heroically consistent adversary 
has declared his implicit belief in the 
,gadarene story and 7by necessary       
consequence7 in the ,christian          
demonology as a whole4 ,it must be      

obvious1 by this time1 that1 if the     
account of the spiritual world given in 
the ,new ,testament1 professedly on the 
authority of ,jesus1 is true1 then the  
demonological half of that account must 
be just as true as the other half4 ,and1
 therefore1 those who question the      
demonology1 or try to explain it away1  
deny the truth of what ,jesus said1 and 
are1 in ecclesiastical terminology1     
,infidels just as much as those who deny
 the spirituality of ,god4 ,this is as  
plain as anything can well be1 and the  
dilemma for my opponent was either to   
assert that the ,gadarene               
pig-bedevilment actually occurred1 or to
 write himself down an ,infidel4 ,as was
 to be expected1 he chose the former    
alternative2 and ,i may express my great
 satisfaction at finding that there is  
one spot of common ground on which both 
he and ,i stand4 ,so far as ,i can      
judge1 we are agreed to state one of the
 broad issues between the consequences  
of agnostic principles 7as ,i draw      

them71 and the consequences of          
ecclesiastical dogmatism 7as he accepts 
it71 as follows4  ,ecclesiasticism says3
 ,the demonology of the ,gospels is an  
essential part of that account of that  
spiritual world1 the truth of which it  
declares to be certified by ,jesus4     
,agnosticism 7me judice7 says3 ,there is
 no good evidence of the existence of a 
demoniac spiritual world1 and much      
reason for doubting it4  ,hereupon the  
ecclesiastic may observe3 ,your doubt   
means that you disbelieve ,jesus2       
therefore you are an ,infidel instead of
 an ,agnostic4 ,to which the agnostic   
may reply3 ,no2 for two reasons3 first1 
because your evidence that ,jesus said  
what you say he said is worth very      
little2 and secondly1 because a man may 
be an agnostic1 in the sense of         
admitting he has no positive knowledge1 
and yet consider that he has more or    
less probable ground for accepting any  
given hypothesis about the spiritual    
world4 ,just as a man may frankly       

declare that he has no means of knowing 
whether the planets generally are       
inhabited or not1 and yet may think one 
of the two possible hypotheses more     
likely that the other1 so he may admit  
that he has no means of knowing anything
 about the spiritual world1 and yet may 
think one or other of the current views 
on the subject1 to some extent1         
probable4  ,the second answer is so     
obviously valid that it needs no        
discussion4 ,i draw attention to it     
simply in justice to those agnostics who
 may attach greater value that ,i do to 
any sort of pneumatological             
speculations2 and not because ,i wish to
 escape the responsibility of declaring 
that1 whether ,jesus sanctioned the     
demonological part of ,christianity or  
not1 ,i unhesitatingly reject it4 ,the  
first answer1 on the other hand1 opens  
up the whole question of the claim of   
the biblical and other sources1 from    
which hypotheses concerning the         
spiritual world are derived1 to be      

regarded as unimpeachable historical    
evidence as to matters of fact4  ,now1  
in respect of the trustworthiness of the
 ,gospel narratives1 ,i was anxious to  
get rid of the common assumption that   
the determination of the authorship and 
of the dates of these works is a matter 
of fundamental importance4 ,that        
assumption is based upon the notion that
 what contemporary witnesses say must be
 true1 or1 at least1 has always a prim  
facie claim to be so regarded2 so that  
if the writers of any of the ,gospels   
were contemporaries of the events 7and  
still more if they were in the position 
of eye-witnesses7 the miracles they     
narrate must be historically true1 and1 
consequently1 the demonology which they 
involve must be accepted4 ,but the story
 of the ,translation of the blessed     
martyrs ,marcellinus and ,petrus1 and   
the other considerations 7to which      
endless additions might have been made  
from the ,fathers and the medival       
writers7 set forth in a preceding essay1

 yield1 in my judgment1 satisfactory    
proof that1 where the miraculous is     
concerned1 neither considerable         
intellectual ability1 nor undoubted     
honesty1 nor knowledge of the world1 nor
 proved faithfulness as civil           
historians1 nor profound piety1 on the  
part of eye-witnesses and               
contemporaries1 affords any guarantee of
 the objective truth of their           
statements1 when we know that a firm    
belief in the miraculous was ingrained  
in their minds1 and was the             
pre-supposition of their observations   
and reasonings4  ,therefore1 although it
 be1 as ,i believe1 demonstrable that we
 have no real knowledge of the          
authorship1 or of the date of           
composition of the ,gospels1 as they    
have come down to us1 and that nothing  
better than more or less probable       
guesses can be arrived at on that       
subject1 ,i have not cared to expend any
 space on the question4 ,it will be     
admitted1 ,i suppose2 that the authors  

of the works attributed to ,matthew1    
,mark1 ,luke1 and ,john1 whoever they   
may be1 are personages whose capacity   
and judgment in the narration of        
ordinary events are not quite so well   
certified as those of ,eginhard2 and we 
have seen what the value of ,eginhard's 
evidence is when the miraculous is in   
question4         99       99       99  
99       99  ,i have been careful to    
explain that the arguments which ,i have
 used in the course of this discussion  
are not new2 that they are historical   
and have nothing to do with what is     
commonly called science2 and that they  
are all1 to the best of my belief1 to be
 found in the works of theologians of   
repute4  ,the position which ,i have    
taken up1 that the evidence in favour of
 such miracles as those recorded by     
,eginhard1 and consequently of medival  
demonology1 is quite as good as that in 
favour of such miracles as the          
,gadarene1 and consequently of ,nazarene
 demonology1 is none of my discovery4   

,its strength was1 wittingly or         
unwittingly1 suggested1 a century and a 
half ago1 by a theological scholar of   
eminence2 and it has been1 if not       
exactly occupied1 yet so fortified with 
bastions and redoubts by a living       
ecclesiastical ,vauban1 that1 in my     
judgment1 it has been rendered          
impregnable4 ,in the early part of the  
last century1 the ecclesiastical mind in
 this country was much exercised by the 
question1 not exactly of miracles1 the  
occurrence of which in biblical times   
was axiomatic1 but by the problem3 ,when
 did miracles cease8 ,anglican divines  
were quite sure that no miracles had    
happened in their day1 nor for some time
 past2 they were equally sure that they 
happened sixteen or seventeen centuries 
earlier4 ,and it was a vital question   
for them to determine at what point of  
time1 between this terminus a quo and   
that terminus ad quem1 miracles came to 
an end4  ,the ,anglicans and the        
,romanists agreed in the assumption that

 the possession of the gift of          
miracle-working was prim facie evidence 
of the soundness of the faith of the    
miracle-workers4 ,the supposition that  
miraculous powers might be wielded by   
heretics 7though it might be supported  
by high authority7 led to consequences  
too frightful to be entertained by      
people who were busied in building their
 dogmatic house on the sands of early   
,church history4 ,if1 as the ,romanists 
maintained1 an unbroken series of       
genuine miracles adorned the records of 
their ,church1 throughout the whole of  
its existence1 no ,anglican could       
lightly venture to accuse them of       
doctrinal corruption4 ,hence1 the       
,anglicans1 who indulged in such        
accusations1 were bound to prove the    
modern1 the medival ,roman1 and the     
later ,patristic miracles false2 and to 
shut off the wonder-working power from  
the ,church at the exact point of time  
when ,anglican doctrine ceased and      
,roman doctrine began4 ,with a little   

adjustment--a squeeze here and a pull   
there--the ,christianity of the first   
three or four centuries might be made to
 fit1 or seem to fit1 pretty well into  
the ,anglican scheme4 ,so the miracles1 
from ,justin say to ,jerome1 might be   
recognised2 while1 in later times1 the  
,church having become corrupt--that is  
to say1 having pursued one and the same 
line of development further than was    
pleasing to ,anglicans--its alleged     
miracles must needs be shams and        
impostures4  ,under these circumstances1
 it may be imagined that the            
establishment of a scientific frontier  
between the earlier realm of supposed   
fact and the later of asserted delusion1
 had its difficulties2 and torrents of  
theological special pleading about the  
subject flowed from clerical pens2 until
 that learned and acute ,anglican       
divine1 ,conyers ,middleton1 in his     
,free ,inquiry1 tore the sophistical web
 they had laboriously woven to pieces1  
and demonstrated that the miracles of   

the patristic age1 early and late1 must 
stand or fall together1 inasmuch as the 
evidence for the later is just as good  
as the evidence for the earlier wonders4
 ,if the one set are certified by       
contemporaneous witnesses of high       
repute1 so are the other2 and1 in point 
of probability1 there is not a pin to   
choose between the two4 ,that is the    
solid and irrefragable1 result of       
,middleton's contribution to the        
subject4 ,but the ,free ,inquirer's     
freedom had its limits2 and he draws a  
sharp line of demarcation between the   
patristic and the ,new ,testament       
miracles--on the professed ground that  
the accounts of the latter1 being       
inspired1 are out of the reach of       
criticism4  ,a century later1 the       
question was taken up by another divine1
 ,middleton's equal in learning and     
acuteness1 and far his superior in      
subtlety and dialectic skill2 who1      
though an ,anglican1 scorned the name of
 ,protestant2 and1 while yet a          

,churchman1 made it his business to     
parade1 with infinite skill1 the utter  
hollowness of the arguments of those of 
his brother ,churchmen who dreamed that 
they could be both ,anglicans and       
,protestants4 ,the argument of the      
,essay on the ,miracles recorded in the 
,ecclesiastical ,history of the ,early  
,ages#hh by the present #ahhi ,roman    
,cardinal1 but then ,anglican ,doctor1  
,john ,henry ,newman1 is compendiously  
stated by himself in the following      
passage3--       ,if the miracles of    
,church history cannot be defended by   
the      arguments of ,leslie1          
,lyttleton1 ,paley1 or ,douglas1 how    
many      of the ,scripture miracles    
satisfy their conditions8 7p4 cvii74    
,and1 although the answer is not given  
in so many words1 little doubt is left  
on the mind of the reader1 that1 in the 
mind of the writer1 it is3 ,none4 ,in   
fact1 this conclusion is one which      
cannot be resisted1 if the argument in  
favour of the ,scripture miracles is    

based upon that which laymen1 whether   
lawyers1 or men of science1 or          
historians1 or ordinary men of affairs1 
call evidence4 ,but there is something  
really impressive in the magnificent    
contempt with which1 at times1 ,dr4     
,newman sweeps aside alike those who    
offer and those who demand such         
evidence4       ,some infidel authors   
advise us to accept no miracles which   
would not have a verdict in their favour
 in a court of      justice2 that is1   
they employ against ,scripture a weapon 
which ,protestants would confine to     
attacks upon the ,church2      as if    
moral and religious questions required  
legal proof1      and evidence were the 
test of truth#hi 7p4 cvii74  ,as if     
evidence were the test of               
truth6--although the truth in question  
is the occurrence1 or the               
non-occurrence1 of certain phenomena at 
a certain time and in a certain place4  
,this sudden revelation of the great    
gulf fixed between the ecclesiastical   

and the scientific mind is enough to    
take away the breath of any one         
unfamiliar with the clerical organon4   
,as if1 one may retort1 the assumption  
that miracles may1 or have1 served a    
moral or a religious end1 in any way    
alters the fact that they profess to be 
historical events1 things that actually 
happened2 and1 as such1 must needs be   
exactly those subjects about which      
evidence is appropriate and legal proofs
 7which are such merely because they    
afford adequate evidence7 may be justly 
demanded4 ,the ,gadarene miracle either 
happened1 or it did not4 ,whether the   
,gadarene question is moral or          
religious1 or not1 has nothing to do    
with the fact that it is a purely       
historical question whether the demons  
said what they are declared to have     
said1 and the devil-possessed pigs did1 
or did not1 rush over the heights       
bounding the ,lake of ,gennesaret on a  
certain day of a certain year1 after    
,a4,d4 #bf and before ,a4,d4 #cf2 for   

vague and uncertain as ,new ,testament  
chronology is1 ,i suppose it may be     
assumed that the event in question1 if  
it happened at all1 took place during   
the procuratorship of ,pilate4 ,if that 
is not a matter about which evidence    
ought to be required1 and not only      
legal1 but strict scientific proof      
demanded by sane men who are asked to   
believe the story--what is8 ,is a       
reasonable being to be seriously asked  
to credit statements which1 to put the  
case gently1 are not exactly probable1  
and on the acceptance or rejection of   
which his whole view of life may depend1
 without asking for as much legal proof 
as would send an alleged pickpocket to  
gaol1 or as would suffice to prove the  
validity of a disputed will8  ,infidel  
authors 7if1 as ,i am assured1 ,i may   
answer for them7 will decline to waste  
time on mere darkenings of counsel of   
this sort2 but to those ,anglicans who  
accept his premises1 ,dr4 ,newman is a  
truly formidable antagonist4 ,what1     

indeed1 are they to reply when he puts  
the very pertinent question3--          
whether persons who not merely question1
 but prejudge the      ,ecclesiastical  
miracles on the ground of their want of 
resemblance1 whatever that be1 to those 
contained in      ,scripture--as if the 
,almighty could not do in the ,christian
      ,church what ,he had not already  
done at the time of its      foundation1
 or under the ,mosaic ,covenant--whether
 such      reasoners are not siding with
 the sceptic1  and       whether it is  
not a happy inconsistency by which they 
continue to believe the ,scriptures     
while they reject the      ,church#ij   
7p4 liii74  ,again1 ,i invite ,anglican 
orthodoxy to consider this passage3--   
the narrative of the combats of ,st4    
,anthony with evil      spirits1 is a   
development rather than a contradiction 
of      revelation1 viz4 of such texts  
as speak of ,satan being cast      out  
by prayer and fasting4 ,to be shocked1  
then1 at the      miracles of           

,ecclesiastical history1 or to ridicule 
them for      their strangeness1 is no  
part of a scriptural philosophy         
7pp4 liii-liv74  ,further on1 ,dr4      
,newman declares that it has been       
admitted       that a distinct line can 
be drawn in point of character and      
circumstance between the miracles of    
,scripture and of ,church      history2 
but this is by no means the case 7p4 lv7
 444      specimens are not wanting in  
the history of the ,church1 of          
miracles as awful in their character and
 as momentous in      their effects as  
those which are recorded in ,scripture4 
,the      fire interrupting the         
rebuilding of the ,jewish temple1 and   
the death of ,arius1 are instances1 in  
,ecclesiastical      history1 of such   
solemn events4 ,on the other hand1      
difficult      instances in the         
,scripture history are such as these3   
the      serpent in ,eden1 the ,ark1    
,jacob's vision for the                 
multiplication of his cattle1 the       

speaking of ,balaam's ass1      the axe 
swimming at ,elisha's word1 the miracle 
on the swine1      and various instances
 of prayers or prophecies1 in which1 as 
in that of ,noah's blessing and curse1  
words which seem the      result of     
private feeling are expressly or        
virtually      ascribed to a ,divine    
suggestion 7p4 lvi74  ,who is to gainsay
 our ecclesiastical authority here8     
,infidel authors might be accused of a  
wish to ridicule the ,scripture miracles
 by putting them on a level with the    
remarkable story about the fire which   
stopped the rebuilding of the ,temple1  
or that about the death of ,arius--but  
,dr4 ,newman is above suspicion4 ,the   
pity is that his list of what he        
delicately terms difficult instances is 
so short4 ,why omit the manufacture of  
,eve out of ,adam's rib1 on the strict  
historical accuracy of which the chief  
argument of the defenders of an         
iniquitous portion of our present law   
depends8 ,why leave out the account of  

the ,bene ,elohim and their gallantries1
 on which a large part of the worst     
practices of the medival inquisitors    
into witchcraft was based8 ,why forget  
the angel who wrestled with ,jacob1 and1
 as the account suggests1 somewhat      
over-stepped the bounds of fair play1 at
 the end of the struggle8 ,surely1 we   
must agree with ,dr4 ,newman that1 if   
all these camels have gone down1 it     
savours of affectation to strain at such
 gnats as the sudden ailment of ,arius  
in the midst of his deadly1 if          
prayerful1#ia enemies2 and the fiery    
explosion which stopped the ,julian     
building operations4 ,though the words  
of the ,conclusion of the ,essay on     
,miracles may1 perhaps1 be quoted       
against me1 ,i may express my           
satisfaction at finding myself in       
substantial accordance with a theologian
 above all suspicion of heterodoxy4     
,with all my heart1 ,i can declare my   
belief that there is just as good reason
 for believing in the miraculous slaying

 of the man who fell short of the       
,athanasian power of affirming          
contradictories1 with respect to the    
nature of the ,godhead1 as there is for 
believing in the stories of the serpent 
and the ark told in ,genesis1 the       
speaking of ,balaam's ass in ,numbers1  
or the floating of the axe1 at ,elisha's
 order1 in the second book of ,kings4   
99       99       99       99       99  
,it is one of the peculiarities of a    
really sound argument that it is        
susceptible of the fullest development2 
and that it sometimes leads to          
conclusions unexpected by those who     
employ it4 ,to my mind1 it is impossible
 to refuse to follow ,dr4 ,newman when  
he extends his reasoning1 from the      
miracles of the patristic and medival   
ages backward in time1 as far as        
miracles are recorded4 ,but1 if the     
rules of logic are valid1 ,i feel       
compelled to extend the argument        
forwards to the alleged ,roman miracles 
of the present day1 which ,dr4 ,newman  

might not have admitted1 but which      
,cardinal ,newman may hardly reject4    
,beyond question1 there is as good1 or  
perhaps better1 evidence for the        
miracles worked by our ,lady of         
,lourdes1 as there is for the floating  
of ,elisha's axe1 or the speaking of    
,balaam's ass4 ,but we must go still    
further2 there is a modern system of    
thaumaturgy and demonology which is just
 as well certified as the ancient4#ib   
,veracious1 excellent1 sometimes learned
 and acute persons1 even philosophers of
 no mean pretensions1 testify to the    
levitation of bodies much heavier than  
,elisha's axe2 to the existence of      
spirits who1 to the mere tactile sense1 
have been indistinguishable from flesh  
and blood2 and1 occasionally1 have      
wrested with all the vigour of ,jacob's 
opponent2 yet1 further1 to the speech1  
in the language of raps1 of spiritual   
beings1 whose discourses1 in point of   
coherence and value1 are far inferior to
 that of ,balaam's humble but sagacious 

steed4 ,i have not the smallest doubt   
that1 if these were persecuting times1  
there is many a worthy spiritualist who 
would cheerfully go to the stake in     
support of his pneumatological faith2   
and furnish evidence1 after ,paley's own
 heart1 in proof of the truth of his    
doctrines4 ,not a few modern divines1   
doubtless struck by the impossibility of
 refusing the spiritualist evidence1 if 
the ecclesiastical evidence is accepted1
 and deprived of any  priori objection  
by their implicit belief in ,christian  
,demonology1 show themselves ready to   
take poor ,sludge seriously1 and to     
believe that he is possessed by other   
devils than those of need1 greed1 and   
vainglory4  ,under these circumstances1 
it was to be expected1 though it is none
 the less interesting to note the fact1 
that the arguments of the latest school 
of spiritualists present a wonderful    
family likeness to those which adorn the
 subtle disquisitions of the advocate of
 ecclesiastical miracles of forty years 

ago4 ,it is unfortunate for the         
spiritualists that1 over and over again1
 celebrated and trusted media1 who      
really1 in some respects1 call to mind  
the ,montanist#ic and gnostic seers of  
the second century1 are either proved in
 courts of law to be fraudulent         
impostors2 or1 in sheer weariness1 as it
 would seem1 of the honest dupes who    
swear by them1 spontaneously confess    
their long-continued iniquities1 as the 
,fox women did the other day in ,new    
,york4#id ,but1 whenever a catastrophe  
of this kind takes place1 the believers 
are no wise dismayed by it4 ,they freely
 admit that not only the media1 but the 
spirits whom they summon1 are sadly apt 
to lose sight of the elementary         
principles of right and wrong2 and they 
triumphantly ask3 ,how does the         
occurrence of occasional impostures     
disprove the genuine manifestations     
7that is to say1 all those which have   
not yet been proved to be impostures or 
delusions78 ,and1 in this1 they         

unconsciously plagiarise from the       
churchman1 who just as freely admits    
that many ecclesiastical miracles may   
have been forged2 and asks1 with calm   
contempt1 not only of legal proofs1 but 
of common-sense probability1 ,why does  
it follow that none are to be supposed  
genuine8 ,i must say1 however1 that the 
spiritualists1 so far as ,i know1 do not
 venture to outrage right reason so     
boldly as the ecclesiastics4 ,they do   
not sneer at evidence2 nor repudiate the
 requirement of legal proofs4 ,in fact1 
there can be no doubt that the          
spiritualists produce better evidence   
for their manifestations than can be    
shown either for the miraculous death of
 ,arius1 or for the ,invention of the   
,cross4#ie  ,from the levitation of the 
axe at one end of a period of near three
 thousand years to the levitation of    
,sludge  ,co4 at the other end1 there is
 a complete continuity of the           
miraculous1 with every gradation1 from  
the childish to the stupendous1 from the

 gratification of a caprice to the      
illustration of sublime truth4 ,there is
 no drawing a line in the series that   
might be set out of plausibly attested  
cases of spiritual intervention4 ,if one
 is true1 all may be true2 if one is    
false1 all may be false4         99     
99       99       99       99  ,this is1
 to my mind1 the inevitable result of   
that method of reasoning which is       
applied to the confutation of           
,protestantism1 with so much success1 by
 one of the acutest and subtlest        
disputants who have ever championed     
,ecclesiasticism--and one cannot put his
 claims to acuteness and subtlety       
higher4       444 the ,christianity of  
history is not ,protestantism4 ,if      
ever there were a safe truth it is      
this4444 ,to be deep in      history is 
to cease to be a ,protestant4#if  ,i    
have not a shadow of doubt that these   
anti-,protestant epigrams are profoundly
 true4 ,but ,i have as little that1 in  
the same sense1 the ,christianity of    

history is not ,romanism2 and that to be
 deeper in history is to cease to be a  
,romanist4 ,the reasons which compel my 
doubts about the compatibility of the   
,roman doctrine1 or any other form of   
,catholicism1 with history1 arise out of
 exactly the same line of argument as   
that adopted by ,dr4 ,newman in the     
famous essay which ,i have just cited4  
,if1 with one hand1 ,dr4 ,newman has    
destroyed ,protestantism1 he has        
annihilated ,romanism with the other2   
and the total result of his ambidextral 
efforts is to shake ,christianity to its
 foundations4 ,nor was any one better   
aware that this must be the inevitable  
result of his arguments--if the world   
should refuse to accept ,roman doctrines
 and ,roman miracles--than the writer of
 ,tract #he4  ,dr4 ,newman made his     
choice and passed over to the ,roman    
,church half a century ago4 ,some of    
those who were essentially in harmony   
with his views preceded1 and many       
followed him4 ,but many remained2 and1  

as the quondam ,puseyite and present    
,ritualistic party1 they are continuing 
that work of sapping and mining the     
,protestantism of the ,anglican ,church 
which he and his friends so ably        
commenced4 ,at the present time1 they   
have no little claim to be considered   
victorious all along the line4 ,i am old
 enough to recollect the small          
beginnings of the ,tractarian party2 and
 ,i am amazed when ,i consider the      
present position of their heirs4 ,their 
little leaven has leavened if not the   
whole1 yet a very large lump of the     
,anglican ,church2 which is now pretty  
much of a preparatory school for        
,papistry4 ,so that it really behoves   
,englishmen 7who1 as ,i have been       
informed by high authority1 are all     
legally1 members of the ,state ,church1 
if they profess to belong to no other   
sect7 to wake up to what that powerful  
organization is about1 and whither it is
 tending4 ,on this point1 the writings  
of ,dr4 ,newman1 while he still remained

 within the ,anglican fold1 are a vast  
store of the best and the most          
authoritative information4 ,his         
doctrines on ,ecclesiastical miracles   
and on ,development are the             
corner-stones of the ,tractarian fabric4
 ,he believed that his arguments led    
either ,romeward1 or to what            
ecclesiastics call ,infidelity1 and ,i  
call ,agnosticism4 ,i believe that he   
was quite right in this conviction2 but 
while he chooses the one alternative1 ,i
 choose the other2 as he rejects        
,protestantism on the ground of its     
incompatibility with history1 so1 a     
fortiori1 ,i conceive that ,romanism    
ought to be rejected2 and that an       
impartial consideration of the evidence 
must refuse the authority of ,jesus to  
anything more than the ,nazarenism of   
,james and ,peter and ,john4 ,and let it
 not be supposed that this is a mere    
infidel perversion of the facts4 ,no one
 has more openly and clearly admitted   
the possibility that they may be fairly 

interpreted in this way than ,dr4       
,newman4 ,if1 he says1 there are texts  
which seem to show that ,jesus          
contemplated the evangelisation of the  
heathen3       444 ,did not the         
,apostles hear our ,lord8 and what was  
their      impression from what they    
heard8 ,is it not certain that the      
,apostles did not gather this truth from
 ,his teaching8 7,tract      #he1 p4    
#fc74       ,he said1 ,preach the       
,gospel to every creature4 ,these words 
need have only meant ,bring all men to  
,christianity      through ,judaism4    
,make them ,jews1 that they may enjoy   
,christ's privileges1 which are lodged  
in ,judaism2 teach them      those rites
 and ceremonies1 circumcision and the   
like1 which      hitherto have been dead
 ordinances1 and now are living2 and    
so the ,apostles seem to have understood
 them 7ibid4 p4      #fe74  ,so far as  
,nazarenism differentiated itself from  
contemporary orthodox ,judaism1 it seems
 to have tended towards a revival of the

 ethical and religious spirit of the    
prophetic age1 accompanied by the belief
 in ,jesus as the ,messiah1 and by      
various accretions which had grown round
 ,judaism subsequently to the exile4 ,to
 these belong the doctrines of the      
,resurrection1 of the ,last ,judgment1  
of ,heaven and ,hell2 of the hierarchy  
of good angels2 of ,satan and the       
hierarchy of evil spirits4 ,and there is
 very strong ground for believing that  
all these doctrines1 at least in the    
shapes in which they were held by the   
post-exilic ,jews1 were derived from    
,persian and ,babylonian#ig sources1 and
 are essentially of heathen origin4     
,how far ,jesus positively sanctioned   
all these indrainings of circumjacent   
,paganism into ,judaism2 how far any one
 has a right to declare1 that the       
refusal to accept one or other of these 
doctrines1 as ascertained verities1     
comes to the same thing as contradicting
 ,jesus1 it appears to me not easy to   
say4 ,but it is hardly less difficult to

 conceive that he could have distinctly 
negatived any of them2 and1 more        
especially1 that demonology which has   
been accepted by the ,christian         
,churches1 in every age and under all   
their mutual antagonisms4 ,but1 ,i      
repeat my conviction that1 whether      
,jesus sanctioned the demonology of his 
time and nation or not1 it is doomed4   
,the future of ,christianity1 as a      
dogmatic system and apart from the old  
,israelitish ethics which it has        
appropriated and developed1 lies in the 
answer which mankind will eventually    
give to the question1 whether they are  
prepared to believe such stories as the 
,gadarene and the pneumatological       
hypotheses which go with it1 or not4 ,my
 belief is they will decline to do      
anything of the sort1 whenever and      
wherever their minds have been          
disciplined by science4 ,and that       
discipline must1 and will1 at once      
follow and lead the footsteps of        
advancing civilisation4  ,the preceding 

pages were written before ,i became     
acquainted with the contents of the ,may
 number of the ,nineteenth ,century1    
wherein ,i discover many things which   
are decidedly not to my advantage4 ,it  
would appear that evasion is my chief   
resource1 incapacity for strict argument
 and rottenness of ratiocination my main
 mental characteristics1 and that it is 
barely credible that a statement which  
,i profess to make of my own knowledge  
is true4 ,all which things ,i notice1   
merely to illustrate the great truth1   
forced on me by long experience1 that it
 is only from those who enjoy the       
blessing of a firm hold of the          
,christian faith that such              
manifestations of meekness1 patience1   
and charity are to be expected4  ,i had 
imagined that no one who had read my    
preceding papers1 could entertain a     
doubt as to my position in respect of   
the main issue1 as it has been stated   
and restated by my opponent3       an   
,agnosticism which knows nothing of the 

relation of man to      ,god must not   
only refuse belief to our ,lord's most  
undoubted      teaching1 but must deny  
the reality of the spiritual            
convictions in which ,he lived4#ih      
,that is said to be the simple question 
which is at issue between us1 and the   
three testimonies to that teaching and  
those convictions selected are the      
,sermon on the ,mount1 the ,lord's      
,prayer1 and the ,story of the ,passion4
  ,my answer1 reduced to its briefest   
form1 has been3 ,in the first place1 the
 evidence is such that the exact nature 
of the teachings and the convictions of 
,jesus is extremely uncertain2 so that  
what ecclesiastics are pleased to call a
 denial of them may be nothing of the   
kind4 ,and1 in the second place1 if     
,jesus taught the demonological system  
involved in the ,gadarene story--if a   
belief in that system formed a part of  
the spiritual convictions in which he   
lived and died--then ,i1 for my part1   
unhesitatingly refuse belief in that    

teaching1 and deny the reality of those 
spiritual convictions4 ,and ,i go       
further and add1 that1 exactly in so far
 as it can be proved that ,jesus        
sanctioned the essentially pagan        
demonological theories current among the
 ,jews of his age1 exactly in so far1   
for me1 will his authority in any matter
 touching the spiritual world be        
weakened4  ,with respect to the first   
half of my answer1 ,i have pointed out  
that the ,sermon on the ,mount1 as given
 in the first ,gospel1 is1 in the       
opinion of the best critics1 a mosaic   
work of materials derived from different
 sources1 and ,i do not understand that 
this statement is challenged4 ,the only 
other ,gospel--the third--which contains
 something like it1 makes1 not only the 
discourse1 but the circumstances under  
which it was delivered1 very different4 
,now1 it is one thing to say that there 
was something real at the bottom of the 
two discourses--which is quite possible2
 and another to affirm that we have any 

right to say what that something was1 or
 to fix upon any particular phrase and  
declare it to be a genuine utterance4   
,those who pursue theology as a science1
 and bring to the study an adequate     
knowledge of the ways of ancient        
historians1 will find no difficulty in  
providing illustrations of my meaning4  
,i may supply one which has come within 
range of my own limited vision4  ,in    
,josephus's ,history of the ,wars of the
 ,jews 7chap1 xix471 that writer reports
 a speech which he says ,herod made at  
the opening of a war with the ,arabians4
 ,it is in the first person1 and would  
naturally be supposed by the reader to  
be intended for a true version of what  
,herod said4 ,in the ,antiquities1      
written some seventeen years later1 the 
same writer gives another report1 also  
in the first person1 of ,herod's speech 
on the same occasion4 ,this second      
oration is twice as long as the first   
and1 though the general tenor of the two
 speeches is pretty much the same1 there

 is hardly any verbal identity1 and a   
good deal of matter is introduced into  
the one1 which is absent from the other4
 ,josephus prides himself on his        
accuracy2 people whose fathers might    
have heard ,herod's oration were his    
contemporaries2 and yet his historical  
sense is so curiously undeveloped that  
he can1 quite innocently1 perpetrate an 
obvious literary fabrication2 for one of
 the two accounts must be incorrect4    
,now1 if ,i am asked whether ,i believe 
that ,herod made some particular        
statement on this occasion2 whether1 for
 example1 he uttered the pious aphorism1
 ,where ,god is1 there is both multitude
 and courage1 which is given in the     
,antiquities1 but not in the ,wars1 ,i  
am compelled to say ,i do not know4 ,one
 of the two reports must be erroneous1  
possibly both are3 at any rate1 ,i      
cannot tell how much of either is true4 
,and1 if some fervent admirer of the    
,idumean should build up a theory of    
,herod's piety upon ,josephus's evidence

 that he propounded the aphorism1 it is 
a mere evasion to say1 in reply1 that   
the evidence that he did utter it is    
worthless8  ,it appears again that1     
adopting the tactics of ,conachar when  
brought face to face with ,hal o' the   
,wynd1 ,i have been trying to get my    
simple-minded adversary to follow me on 
a wild-goose chase through the early    
history of ,christianity1 in the hope of
 escaping impending defeat on the main  
issue4 ,but ,i may be permitted to point
 out that there is an alternative       
hypothesis which equally fits the facts2
 and that1 after all1 there may have    
been method in the madness of my        
supposed panic4  ,for suppose it to be  
established that ,gentile ,christianity 
was a totally different thing from the  
,nazarenism of ,jesus and his immediate 
disciples2 suppose it to be demonstrable
 that1 as early as the sixth decade of  
our era at least1 there were violent    
divergencies of opinion among the       
followers of ,jesus2 suppose it to be   

hardly doubtful that the ,gospels and   
the ,acts took their present shapes     
under the influence of those            
divergencies2 suppose that their        
authors1 and those through whose hands  
they passed1 had notions of historical  
veracity not more eccentric than those  
which ,josephus occasionally displays3  
surely the chances that the ,gospels are
 altogether trustworthy records of the  
teachings of ,jesus become very slender4
 ,and1 since the whole of the case of   
the other side is based on the          
supposition that they are accurate      
records 7especially of speeches1 about  
which ancient historians are so         
curiously loose71 ,i really do venture  
to submit that this part of my argument 
bears very seriously on the main issue2 
and1 as ratiocination1 is sound to the  
core4  ,again1 when ,i passed by the    
topic of the speeches of ,jesus on the  
,cross1 it appears that ,i could have   
had no other motive than the dictates of
 my native evasiveness4 ,an             

ecclesiastical dignitary may have       
respectable reasons for declining a     
fencing match in sight of ,gethsemane   
and ,calvary2 but an ecclesiastical     
,infidel6 ,never4 ,it is obviously      
impossible that in the belief that the  
greater includes the less1 ,i1 having   
declared the ,gospel evidence in        
general1 as to the sayings of ,jesus1 to
 be of questionable value1 thought it   
needless to select for illustration of  
my views1 those particular instances    
which were likely to be most offensive  
to persons of another way of thinking4  
,but any supposition that may have been 
entertained that the old familiar tones 
of the ecclesiastical war-drum will     
tempt me to engage in such needless     
discussion had better be renounced4 ,i  
shall do nothing of the kind4 ,let it   
suffice that ,i ask my readers to turn  
to the twenty-third chapter of ,luke    
7revised version71 verse thirty-four1   
and he will find in the margin          
,some ancient authorities omit3 ,and    

,jesus said ,father1      forgive them1 
for they know not what they do4  ,so    
that1 even as late as the fourth        
century1 there were ancient authorities1
 indeed some of the most ancient and    
weightiest1 who either did not know of  
this utterance1 so often quoted as      
characteristic of ,jesus1 or did not    
believe it had been uttered4  ,many     
years ago1 ,i received an anonymous     
letter1 which abused me heartily for my 
want of moral courage in not speaking   
out4 ,i thought that one of the oddest  
charges an anonymous letter-writer could
 bring4 ,but ,i am not sure that the    
plentiful sowing of the pages of the    
article with which ,i am dealing with   
accusations of evasion1 may not seem    
odder to those who consider that the    
main strength of the answers with which 
,i have been favoured 7in this review   
and elsewhere7 is devoted not to        
anything in the text of my first paper1 
but to a note which occurs at p4 #bab4  
,in this ,i say3       ,dr4 ,wace tells 

us3 ,it may be asked how far we can rely
 on      the accounts we possess of our 
,lord's teaching on these      subjects4
 ,and he seems to think the question    
appropriately      answered by the      
assertion that it ought to be regarded  
as      settled by ,m4 ,renan's         
practical surrender of the adverse      
case4  ,i requested ,dr4 ,wace to point 
out the passages of ,m4 ,renan's works  
in which1 as he affirms1 this practical 
surrender 7not merely as to the age and 
authorship of the ,gospels1 be it       
observed1 but as to their historical    
value7 is made1 and he has been so good 
as to do so4 ,now let us consider the   
parts of ,dr4 ,wace's citation from     
,renan which are relevant to the        
issue3--       ,the author of this      
,gospel ,luke is certainly the same as  
the author of the ,acts of the          
,apostles4 ,now the author of      the  
,acts seems to be a companion of ,st4   
,paul--a character      which accords   
completely with ,st4 ,luke4 ,i know that

 more      than one objection may be    
opposed to this reasoning3 but one      
thing1 at all events1 is beyond doubt1  
namely1 that the      author of the     
third ,gospel and of the ,acts is a man 
who      belonged to the second         
apostolic generation2 and this          
suffices for our purpose4  ,this is a   
curious practical surrender of the      
adverse case4 ,m4 ,renan thinks that    
there is no doubt that the author of the
 third ,gospel is the author of the     
,acts--a conclusion in which ,i suppose 
critics generally agree4 ,he goes on to 
remark that this person seems to be a   
companion of ,st4 ,paul1 and adds that  
,luke was a companion of ,st4 ,paul4    
,then1 somewhat needlessly1 ,m4 ,renan  
points out that there is more than one  
objection to jumping1 from such data as 
these1 to the conclusion that ,luke is  
the writer of the third ,gospel4 ,and1  
finally1 ,m4 ,renan is content to reduce
 that which is beyond doubt to the fact 
that the author of the two books is a   

man of the second apostolic generation4 
,well1 it seems to me that ,i could     
agree with all that ,m4 ,renan considers
 beyond doubt here1 without surrendering
 anything1 either practically or        
theoretically4  ,dr4 ,wace 7,nineteenth 
,century1 ,march1 p4 #cfc7 states that  
he derives the above citation from the  
preface to the #aeth edition of the ,vie
 de ,jsus4 ,my copy of ,les vangiles1   
dated #ahgg1 contains a list of ,renan's
 ,oeuvres ,compltes1 at the head of     
which ,i find ,vie de ,jsus1 #ae;e      
dition4 ,it is1 therefore1 a later work 
than the edition of the ,vie de ,jsus   
which ,dr4 ,wace quotes4 ,now ,les      
vangiles1 as its name implies1 treats   
fully of the questions respecting the   
date and authorship of the ,gospels2 and
 any one who desired1 not merely to use 
,m4 ,renan's expressions for            
controversial purposes1 but to give a   
fair account of his views in their full 
significance1 would1 ,i think1 refer to 
the later source4  ,if this course had  

been taken1 ,dr4 ,wace might have found 
some as decided expressions of opinion1 
in favour of ,luke's authorship of the  
third ,gospel1 as he has discovered in  
,the ,apostles4 ,i mention this         
circumstance1 because ,i desire to point
 out that1 taking even the strongest of 
,renan's statements1 ,i am still at a   
loss to see how it justifies that       
large-sounding phrase1 practical        
surrender of the adverse case4 ,for1 on 
p4 #dch of ,les vangiles1 ,renan speaks 
of the way in which ,luke's excellent   
intentions have led him to torture      
history in the ,acts2 he declares ,luke 
to be the founder of that eternal       
fiction which is called ecclesiastical  
history2 and1 on the preceding page1 he 
talks of the myth of the                
,ascension--with its mise en scne       
voulue4 ,at p4 #dce1 ,i find ,luc1 ou   
l'auteur quel qu'il soit du troisime    
vangile2 at p4 #bhj1 the accounts of the
 ,passion1 the death and the            
resurrection of ,jesus1 are said to be  

peu historiques2 at p4 #bhc1 ,la valeur 
historique du troisime vangile est      
srement moindre que celles des deux     
premiers4 ,a ,pyrrhic sort of victory   
for orthodoxy1 this surrender6 ,and1 all
 the while1 the scientific student of   
theology knows that1 the more reason    
there may be to believe that ,luke was  
the companion of ,paul1 the more        
doubtful becomes his credibility if he  
really wrote the ,acts4 ,for1 in that   
case1 he could not fail to have been    
acquainted with ,paul's account of the  
,jerusalem conference and he must have  
consciously misrepresented it4  ,we may 
next turn to the essential part of ,dr4 
,wace's citation 7,nineteenth ,century1 
p4 #cfe7 touching the first ,gospel3--  
,st4 ,matthew evidently deserves        
peculiar confidence for the             
discourses4 ,here are the oracles--the  
very notes taken      while the memory  
of the instruction of ,jesus was living 
and      definite4  ,m4 ,renan here     
expresses the very general opinion as to

 the existence of a collection of logia1
 having a different origin from the text
 in which they are embedded1 in         
,matthew4 ,notes are somewhat suggestive
 of a shorthand writer1 but the         
suggestion is unintentional1 for ,m4    
,renan assumes that these notes were    
taken1 not at the time of the delivery  
of the logia but subsequently1 while 7as
 he assumes7 the memory of them was     
living and definite2 so that1 in this   
very citation1 ,m4 ,renan leaves open   
the question of the general historical  
value of the first ,gospel2 while it is 
obvious that the accuracy of ,notes     
taken1 not at the time of delivery1 but 
from memory1 is a matter about which    
more than one opinion may be fairly     
held4 ,moreover1 ,renan expressly calls 
attention to the difficulty of          
distinguishing the authentic logia from 
later additions of the same kind 7,les  
vangiles1 p4 #bja74 ,the fact is1 there 
is no contradiction here to that opinion
 about the first ,gospel which is       

expressed in ,les vangiles 7p4 #age74   
,the text of the so-called ,matthew     
supposes the pre-existence      of that 
of ,mark1 and does little more than     
complete it4 ,he      completes it in   
two fashions--first1 by the insertion of
      those long discourses which gave  
their chief value to the      ,hebrew   
,gospels2 then by adding traditions of a
 more modern      formation1 results of 
successive developments of the legend1  
and to which the ,christian             
consciousness already attached          
infinite value4  ,m4 ,renan goes on to  
suggest that besides ,mark1             
pseudo-,matthew used an ,aramaic version
 of the ,gospel1 originally set forth in
 that dialect4 ,finally1 as to the      
second ,gospel 7,nineteenth ,century1 p4
 #cfe73--       ,he ,mark is full of    
minute observations1 proceeding1 beyond 
doubt1 from an eye-witness4 ,there is   
nothing to conflict      with the       
supposition that this eye-witness 444   
was the      ,apostle ,peter himself1 as

 ,papias has it4  ,let us consider this 
citation by the light of ,les           
vangiles3--       ,this work1 although  
composed after the death of ,peter1 was1
      in a sense1 the work of ,peter2 it
 represents the way in      which ,peter
 was accustomed to relate the life of   
,jesus 7p4      #aaf74  ,m4 ,renan goes 
on to say that1 as an historical        
document1 the ,gospel of ,mark has a    
great superiority 7p4 #aaf72 but ,mark  
has a motive for omitting the           
discourses1 and he attaches a puerile   
importance to miracles 7p4 #aag74 ,the  
,gospel of ,mark is less a legend1 than 
a biography written with credulity 7p4  
#aah74 ,it would be rash to say that    
,mark has not been interpolated and     
retouched 7p4 #abj74  ,if any one thinks
 that ,i have not been warranted in     
drawing a sharp distinction between     
scientific theologians and counsels for 
creeds2 or that my warning against the  
too ready acceptance of certain         
declarations as to the state of biblical

 criticism was needless2 or that my     
anxiety as to the sense of the word     
practical was superfluous2 let him      
compare the statement that ,m4 ,renan   
has made a practical surrender of the   
adverse case with the facts just set    
forth4 ,for what is the adverse case8   
,the question1 as ,dr4 ,wace puts it1   
is1 ,it may be asked how far can we rely
 on the accounts we possess of our      
,lord's teaching on these subjects4 ,it 
will be obvious that ,m4 ,renan's       
statements amount to an adverse         
answer--to a practical denial that any  
great reliance can be placed on these   
accounts4 ,he does not believe that     
,matthew1 the apostle1 wrote the first  
,gospel2 he does not profess to know who
 is responsible for the collection of   
logia1 or how many of them are          
authentic2 though he calls the second   
,gospel the most historical1 he points  
out that it is written with credulity1  
and may have been interpolated and      
retouched2 and1 as to the author1 quel  

qu'il soit1 of the third ,gospel1 who is
 to rely on the accounts of a writer1   
who deserves the cavalier treatment     
which ,luke meets with at ,m4 ,renan's  
hands4  ,i repeat what ,i have already  
more than once said1 that the question  
of the age and the authorship of the    
,gospels has not1 in my judgment1 the   
importance which is so commonly assigned
 to it2 for the simple reason that the  
reports1 even of eye-witnesses1 would   
not suffice to justify belief in a large
 and essential part of their contents2  
on the contrary1 these reports would    
discredit the witnesses4 ,the ,gadarene 
miracle1 for example1 is so extremely   
improbable1 that the fact of its being  
reported by three1 even independent1    
authorities could not justify belief in 
it1 unless we had the clearest evidence 
as to their capacity as observers and as
 interpreters of their observations4    
,but it is evident that the three       
authorities are not independent2 that   
they have simply adopted a legend1 of   

which there were two versions2 and      
instead of their proving its truth1 it  
suggests their superstitious credulity3 
so that if ,matthew1 ,mark1 and ,luke   
are really responsible for the ,gospels1
 it is not the better for the ,gadarene 
story1 but the worse for them4  ,a      
wonderful amount of controversial       
capital has been made out of my         
assertion in the note to which ,i have  
referred1 as an obiter dictum of no     
consequence to my argument1 that if     
,renan's work#ii were non-extant1 the   
main results of biblical criticism1 as  
set forth in the works of ,strauss1     
,baur1 ,reuss1 and ,volkmar1 for        
example1 would not be sensibly affected4
 ,i thought ,i had explained it         
satisfactorily already1 but it seems    
that my explanation has only exhibited  
still more of my native perversity1 so  
,i ask for one more chance4  ,in the    
course of the historical development of 
any branch of science1 what is          
universally observed is this3 that the  

men who make epochs1 and are the real   
architects of the fabric of exact       
knowledge1 are those who introduce      
fruitful ideas or methods4 ,as a rule1  
the man who does this pushes his idea1  
or his method1 too far2 or1 if he does  
not1 his school is sure to do so2 and   
those who follow have to reduce his work
 to its proper value1 and assign it its 
place in the whole4 ,not unfrequently1  
they1 in their turn1 overdo the critical
 process1 and1 in trying to eliminate   
error1 throw away truth4  ,thus1 as ,i  
said1 ,linnus1 ,buffon1 ,cuvier1        
,lamarck1 really set forth the results  
of a developing science1 although they  
often heartily contradict one another4  
,notwithstanding this circumstance1     
modern classificatory method and        
nomenclature have largely grown out of  
the work of ,linnus2 the modern         
conception of biology1 as a science1 and
 of its relation to climatology1        
geography1 and geology1 are1 as largely1
 rooted in the results of the labours of

 ,buffon2 comparative anatomy and       
palontology owe a vast debt to ,cuvier's
 results2 while invertebrate zoology and
 the revival of the idea of evolution   
are intimately dependent on the results 
of the work of ,lamarck4 ,in other      
words1 the main results of biology up to
 the early years of this century are to 
be found in1 or spring out of1 the works
 of these men4  ,so1 if ,i mistake not1 
,strauss1 if he did not originate the   
idea of taking the mythopoeic faculty   
into account in the development of the  
,gospel narratives1 and though he may   
have exaggerated the influence of that  
faculty1 obliged scientific theology1   
hereafter1 to take that element into    
serious consideration2 so ,baur1 in     
giving prominence to the cardinal fact  
of the divergence of the ,nazarene and  
,pauline tendencies in the primitive    
,church2 so ,reuss1 in setting a        
marvellous example of the cool and      
dispassionate application of the        
principles of scientific criticism over 

the whole field of ,scripture2 so       
,volkmar1 in his clear and forcible     
statement of the ,nazarene limitations  
of ,jesus1 contributed results of       
permanent value in scientific theology4 
,i took these names as they occurred to 
me4 ,undoubtedly1 ,i might have         
advantageously added to them2 perhaps1  
,i might have made a better selection4  
,but it really is absurd to try to make 
out that ,i did not know that these     
writers widely disagree2 and ,i believe 
that no scientific theologian will deny 
that1 in principle1 what ,i have said is
 perfectly correct4 ,ecclesiastical     
advocates1 of course1 cannot be expected
 to take this view of the matter4 ,to   
them1 these mere seekers after truth1 in
 so far as their results are            
unfavourable to the creed the clerics   
have to support1 are more or less       
infidels1 or favourers of infidelity2   
and the only thing they care to see1 or 
probably can see1 is the fact that1 in a
 great many matters1 the truth-seekers  

differ from one another1 and therefore  
can easily be exhibited to the public1  
as if they did nothing else2 as if any  
one who referred to their having1 each  
and all1 contributed his share to the   
results of theological science1 was     
merely showing his ignorance2 and as if 
a charge of inconsistency could be based
 on the fact that he himself often      
disagrees with what they say4 ,i have   
never lent a shadow of foundation to the
 assumption that ,i am a follower of    
either ,strauss1 or ,baur1 or ,reuss1 or
 ,volkmar1 or ,renan2 my debts to these 
eminent men--so far my superiors in     
theological knowledge--is1 indeed1      
great2 yet it is not for their opinions1
 but for those ,i have been able to form
 for myself1 by their help4  ,in        
,agnosticism3 a ,rejoinder 7p4 #bff71 ,i
 have referred to the difficulties under
 which those professors of the science  
of theology1 whose tenure of their posts
 depends on the results of their        
investigations1 must labour2 and1 in a  

note1 ,i add--       ,imagine that all  
our chairs of ,astronomy had been       
founded in      the fourteenth century1 
and that their incumbents were bound    
to sign ,ptolemaic articles4 ,in that   
case1 with every respect      for the   
efforts of persons thus hampered to     
attain and      expound the truth1 ,i   
think men of common sense would go      
elsewhere to learn astronomy4  ,i did   
not write this paragraph without a      
knowledge that its sense would be open  
to the kind of perversion which it has  
suffered2 but1 if that was clear1 the   
necessity for the statement was still   
clearer4 ,it is my deliberate opinion3  
,i reiterate it2 and ,i say that1 in my 
judgment1 it is extremely inexpedient   
that any subject which calls itself a   
science should be intrusted to teachers 
who are debarred from freely following  
out scientific methods to their         
legitimate conclusions1 whatever those  
conclusions may be4 ,if ,i may borrow a 
phrase paraded at the ,church ,congress1

 ,i think it ought to be unpleasant for 
any man of science to find himself in   
the position of such a teacher4  ,human 
nature is not altered by seating it in a
 professorial chair1 even of theology4  
,i have very little doubt that if1 in   
the year #ahei1 the tenure of my office 
had depended upon my adherence to the   
doctrines of ,cuvier1 the objections to 
them set forth in the ,origin of        
,species would have had a halo of       
gravity about them that1 being free to  
teach what ,i pleased1 ,i failed to     
discover4 ,and1 in making that          
statement1 it does not appear to me that
 ,i am confessing that ,i should have   
been debarred by selfish interests from 
making candid inquiry1 or that ,i should
 have been biassed by sordid motives4 ,i
 hope that even such a fragment of moral
 sense as may remain in an              
ecclesiastical infidel might have got me
 through the difficulty2 but it would be
 unworthy to deny1 or disguise1 the fact
 that a very serious difficulty must    

have been created for me by the nature  
of my tenure4 ,and let it be observed   
that the temptation1 in my case1 would  
have been far slighter than in that of a
 professor of theology2 whatever        
biological doctrine ,i had repudiated1  
nobody ,i cared for would have thought  
the worse of me for so doing4 ,no       
scientific journals would have howled me
 down1 as the religious newspapers      
howled down my too honest friend1 the   
late ,bishop of ,natal2 nor would my    
colleagues of the ,royal ,society have  
turned their backs upon me1 as his      
episcopal colleagues boycotted him4  ,i 
say these facts are obvious1 and that it
 is wholesome and needful that they     
should be stated4 ,it is in the         
interests of theology1 if it be a       
science1 and it is in the interests of  
those teachers of theology who desire to
 be something better than counsel for   
creeds1 that it should be taken to      
heart4 ,the seeker after theological    
truth and that only1 will no more       

suppose that ,i have insulted him1 than 
the prisoner who works in fetters will  
try to pick a quarrel with me1 if ,i    
suggest that he would get on better if  
the fetters were knocked off3 unless    
indeed1 as it is said does happen in the
 course of long captivities1 that the   
victim at length ceases to feel the     
weight of his chains1 or even takes to  
hugging them1 as if they were honourable
 ornaments4#ajj  ,,footnotes3       #ha 
,the substance of a paragraph which     
precedes this has           been        
transferred to the ,prologue4       #hb 
,i confess that1 long ago1 ,i once or   
twice made this           mistake2 even 
to the waste of a capital ',u4' #ahic4  
#hc ,let us maintain1 before we have    
proved4 ,this seeming           paradox 
is the secret of happiness 7,dr4        
,newman3 ,tract           #he1 p4 #he74 
#hd ,dr4 ,newman1 ,essay on             
,development1 p4 #ceg4       #he ,it is 
by no means to be assumed that spiritual
 and           corporeal are exact      

equivalents of immaterial and           
material in the minds of ancient        
speculators on           these topics4  
,the spiritual body of the risen dead   
7#a ,cor4 xv47 is not the natural flesh 
and blood           body4 ,paul does not
 teach the resurrection of the body     
in the ordinary sense of the word body2 
a fact1           often overlooked1 but 
pregnant with many consequences4        
#hf ,tertullian 7,apolog4 ,adv4 ,gentes1
 cap4 xxiii7 thus           challenges  
the ,roman authorities3 let them bring a
           possessed person into the    
presence of a ,christian                
before their tribunal1 and if the demon 
does not           confess himself to be
 such1 on the order of the              
,christian1 let the ,christian be       
executed out of hand4       #hg ,see the
 expression of orthodox opinion upon the
           accommodation subterfuge     
already cited above1 p4 #bag4       #hh 
,i quote the first edition 7#ahdc74 ,a  
second edition           appeared in    

#ahgj4 ,tract #he of the ,tracts for the
           ,times should be read with   
this ,essay4 ,if ,i were                
called upon to compile a ,primer of     
,infidelity1 ,i           think ,i      
should save myself trouble by making a  
selection from these works1 and from the
 ,essay on           ,development by the
 same author4       #hi ,yet1 when it   
suits his purpose1 as in the            
,introduction           to the ,essay on
 ,development1 ,dr4 ,newman can demand  
strict evidence in religious questions  
as sharply as           any infidel     
author2 and he can even profess to yield
           to its force 7,essay on      
,miracles1 #ahgj2 note1 p4 #cia74       
#ij ,compare ,tract #he1 p4 #aaj2 ,i am 
persuaded that were men           but   
consistent who oppose the ,church       
doctrines as being                      
unscriptural1 they would vindicate the  
,jews for           rejecting the       
,gospel4       #ia ,according to ,dr4   
,newman1 ,this prayer that of ,bishop   

,alexander1 who begged ,god to 'take    
,arius away' is said           to have  
been offered about #c ,p4,m4 on the     
,saturday2 that           same evening  
,arius was in the great square of       
,constantine1 when he was suddenly      
seized with           indisposition 7p4 
clxx74 ,the infidel ,gibbon seems to    
have dared to suggest that an option    
between poison           and miracle is 
presented by this case2 and it must be  
admitted1 that1 if the ,bishop had been 
within the reach           of a modern  
police magistrate1 things might have    
gone           hardly with him4 ,modern 
,infidels1 possessed of a               
slight knowledge of chemistry1 are not  
unlikely1 with           no less        
audacity1 to suggest an option between  
fire-damp and miracle in seeking for the
 cause of the           fiery outburst  
at ,jerusalem4       #ib ,a writer in a 
spiritualist journal takes me roundly   
to task for venturing to doubt the      
historical and           literal truth  

of the ,gadarene story4 ,the following  
passage in his letter is worth          
quotation3 ,now to the                  
materialistic and scientific mind1 to   
the uninitiated           in spiritual  
verities1 certainly this story of the   
,gadarene or ,gergesene swine presents  
insurmountable           difficulties2  
it seems grotesque and nonsensical4 ,to 
the experienced1 trained1 and cultivated
 ,spiritualist           this miracle   
is1 as ,i am prepared to show1 one of   
the           most instructive1 the most
 profoundly useful1 and the             
most beneficent which ,jesus ever       
wrought in the whole           course of
 ,his pilgrimage of redemption on earth4
 ,just           so4 ,and the first page
 of this same journal presents          
the following advertisement1 among      
others of the same           kidney3    
,to ,,wealthy ,,spiritualists--,a ,lady 
,medium of tried power           wishes 
to meet with an elderly gentleman who   
would be           willing to give her a

 comfortable home and maintenance       
in ,exchange for her ,spiritualistic    
services1 as her           guides       
consider her health is too delicate for 
public           sittings3 ,london      
preferred4--,address ',mary1' ,office of
           ,light4            ,are we   
going back to the days of the ,judges1  
when           wealthy ,micah set up his
 private ephod1 teraphim1 and           
,levite8       #ic ,consider            
,tertullian's sister 7hodie apud nos71  
who conversed with angels1 saw and heard
 mysteries1           knew men's        
thoughts1 and prescribed medicine for   
their           bodies 7,de ,anima1 cap4
 #i74 ,tertullian tells us that         
this woman saw the soul as corporeal1   
and described its           colour and  
shape4 ,the infidel will probably be    
unable           to refrain from        
insulting the memory of the ecstatic    
saint by the remark1 that ,tertullian's 
known views           about the         
corporeality of the soul may have had   

something to do with the remarkable     
perceptive powers           of the      
,montanist medium1 in whose revelations 
of the           spiritual world he took
 such profound interest4       #id ,see 
the ,new ,york ,world for ,sunday1 #bast
 ,october1           #ahhh2 and the     
,report of the ,seybert ,commission1    
,philadelphia1 #ahhg4       #ie ,dr4    
,newman's observation that the          
miraculous           multiplication of  
the pieces of the true cross 7with      
which the whole world is filled1        
according to ,cyril           of        
,jerusalem2 and of which some say there 
are enough           extant to build a  
man-of-war7 is no more wonderful        
than that of the loaves and fishes1 is  
one that ,i do           not see my way 
to contradict4 ,see ,essay on ,miracles4
           #b;d ed4 p4 #afc4       #if  
,an ,essay on the ,development of       
,christian ,doctrine1           by      
,j4,h4 ,newman1 ,d4,d41 pp4 #g and #h4  
7#ahgh47       #ig ,dr4 ,newman faces   

this question with his customary        
ability4 ,now1 ,i own1 ,i am not at all 
solicitous to           deny that this  
doctrine of an apostate ,angel and his  
hosts was gained from ,babylon3 it might
 still be           ,divine             
nevertheless4 ,god who made the         
prophet's ass           speak1 and      
thereby instructed the prophet1 might   
instruct ,his ,church by means of       
heathen ,babylon           7,tract #he1 
p4 #hc74 ,there seems to be no end to   
the           apologetic burden that    
,balaam's ass may carry4       #ih      
,nineteenth ,century1 ,may #ahhi 7p4    
#gja74       #ii ,i trust it may not be 
supposed that ,i undervalue ,m4         
,renan's labours1 or intended to speak  
slightingly of           them4      #ajj
 ,to-day's ,times contains a report of a
 remarkable           speech by ,prince 
,bismarck1 in which he tells the        
,reichstag that he has long given up    
investing in           foreign stock1   
lest so doing should mislead his        

judgment in his transactions with       
foreign states4 ,does           this    
declaration prove that the ,chancellor  
accuses           himself of being      
sordid and selfish2 or does it not      
rather show that1 even in dealing with  
himself1 he           remains the man of
 realities8     ,x3 ,,the ,,keepers ,,of
 ,,the ,,herd ,,of ,,swine  #ahij   ,i  
had fondly hoped that ,mr4 ,gladstone   
and ,i had come to an end of            
disputation1 and that the hatchet of war
 was finally superseded by the calumet1 
which1 as ,mr4 ,gladstone1 ,i believe1  
objects to tobacco1 ,i was quite willing
 to smoke for both4 ,but ,i have had1   
once again1 to discover that the adage  
that whoso seeks peace will ensue it1 is
 a somewhat hasty generalisation4 ,the  
renowned warrior with whom it is my     
misfortune to be opposed in most things 
has dug up the axe and is on the        
war-path once more4 ,the weapon has been
 wielded with all the dexterity which   
long practice has conferred on a past   

master in craft1 whether of wood or     
state4 ,and ,i have reason to believe   
that the simpler sort of the great tribe
 which he heads1 imagine that my scalp  
is already on its way to adorn their big
 chief's wigwam4 ,i am glad therefore to
 be able to relieve any anxieties which 
my friends may entertain without delay4 
,i assure them that my skull retains its
 normal covering1 and that though1      
naturally1 ,i may have felt alarmed1    
nothing serious has happened4 ,my       
doughty adversary has merely performed a
 war dance1 and his blows have for the  
most part cut the air4 ,i regret to add1
 however1 that by misadventure1 and ,i  
am afraid ,i must say carelessness1 he  
has inflicted one or two severe         
contusions on himself4  ,when the noise 
of approaching battle roused me from the
 dreams of peace which occupy my        
retirement1 ,i was glad to observe      
7since ,i must fight7 that the campaign 
was to be opened upon a new field4 ,when
 the contest raged over the             

,pentateuchal myth of the creation1 ,mr4
 ,gladstone's manifest want of          
acquaintance with the facts and         
principles involved in the discussion1  
no less than with the best literature on
 his own side of the subject1 gave me   
the uncomfortable feeling that ,i had my
 adversary at a disadvantage4 ,the sun  
of science1 at my back1 was in his eyes4
 ,but1 on the present occasion1 we are  
happily on an equality4 ,history and    
,biblical criticism are as much1 or as  
little1 my vocation as they are that of 
,mr4 ,gladstone2 the blinding from too  
much light1 or the blindness from too   
little1 may be presumed to be equally   
shared by both of us4  ,mr4 ,gladstone  
takes up his new position in the country
 of the ,gadarenes4 ,his strategic sense
 justly leads him to see that the       
authority of the teachings of the       
synoptic ,gospels1 touching the nature  
of the spiritual world1 turns upon the  
acceptance1 or the rejection1 of the    
,gadarene and other like stories4 ,as we

 accept1 or repudiate1 such histories as
 that of the possessed pigs1 so shall we
 accept1 or reject1 the witness of the  
synoptics to such miraculous            
interventions4  ,it is exactly because  
these stories constitute the key-stone  
of the orthodox arch1 that ,i originally
 drew attention to them2 and1 in spite  
of my longing for peace1 ,i am truly    
obliged to ,mr4 ,gladstone for          
compelling me to place my case before   
the public once more4 ,it may be thought
 that this is a work of supererogation  
by those who are aware that my essay is 
the subject of attack in a work so      
largely circulated as the ,impregnable  
,rock of ,holy ,scripture2 and who may  
possibly1 in their simplicity1 assume   
that it must be truthfully set forth in 
that work4 ,but the warmest admirers of 
,mr4 ,gladstone will hardly be prepared 
to maintain that mathematical accuracy  
in stating the opinions of an opponent  
is the most prominent feature of his    
controversial method4 ,and what follows 

will show that1 in the present case1 the
 desire to be fair and accurate1 the    
existence of which ,i am bound to       
assume1 has not borne as much fruit as  
might have been expected4  ,in referring
 to the statement of the narrators1 that
 the herd of swine perished in          
consequence of the entrance into them of
 the demons by the permission1 or order1
 of ,jesus of ,nazareth1 ,i said3       
,everything that ,i know of law and     
justice convinces me that the wanton    
destruction of other people's property  
is a misdemeanour of evil example       
7,nineteenth ,century1 ,february1 #ahhi1
 p4 #agb74  ,mr4 ,gladstone has not     
found it convenient to cite this        
passage2 and1 in view of various        
considerations1 ,i dare not assume that 
he would assent to it1 without sundry   
subtle modifications which1 for me1     
might possibly rob it of its            
argumentative value4 ,but1 until the    
proposition is seriously controverted1  
,i shall assume it to be true1 and      

content myself with warning the reader  
that neither he nor ,i have any grounds 
for assuming ,mr4 ,gladstone's          
concurrence4 ,with this caution1 ,i     
proceed to remark that ,i think it may  
be granted that the people whose herd of
 #bjjj swine 7more or fewer7 was        
suddenly destroyed suffered great loss  
and damage4 ,and it is quite certain    
that the narrators of the ,gadarene     
story do not1 in any way1 refer to the  
point of morality and legality thus     
raised2 as ,i said1 they show no inkling
 of the moral and legal difficulties    
which arise4  ,such being the facts of  
the case1 ,i submit that for those who  
admit the principle laid down1 the      
conclusion which ,i have drawn          
necessarily follows2 though ,i repeat   
that1 since ,mr4 ,gladstone does not    
explicitly admit the principle1 ,i am   
far from suggesting that he is bound by 
its logical consequences4 ,however1 ,i  
distinctly reiterate the opinion that   
any one who acted in the way described  

in the story would1 in my judgment1 be  
guilty of a misdemeanour of evil        
example4 ,about that point ,i desire to 
leave no ambiguity whatever2 and it     
follows that1 if ,i believed the story1 
,i should have no hesitation in applying
 this judgment to the chief actor in it4
  ,but1 if any one will do me the favour
 to turn to the paper in which these    
passages occur1 he will find that a     
considerable part of it is devoted to   
the exposure of the familiar trick of   
the counsel for creeds1 who1 when they  
wish to profit by the easily stirred    
odium theologicum1 are careful to       
confuse disbelief in a narrative of a   
man's act1 or disapproval of the acts as
 narrated1 with disbelieving and        
vilipending the man himself4 ,if ,i say 
that according to paragraphs in several 
newspapers1 my valued ,separatist friend
 ,a4,b4 has houghed a lot of cattle1    
which he considered to be unlawfully in 
the possession of an ,irish             
land-grabber2 that1 in my opinion1 any  

such act is a misdemeanour of evil      
example2 but1 that ,i utterly disbelieve
 the whole story and have no doubt that 
it is a mere fabrication3 it really     
appears to me that1 if any one charges  
me with calling ,a4,b4 an immoral       
misdemeanant ,i should be justified in  
using very strong language respecting   
either his sanity or his veracity4 ,and1
 if an analogous charge has been brought
 in reference to the ,gadarene story1   
there is certainly no excuse producible1
 on account of any lack of plain speech 
on my part4 ,surely no language can be  
more explicit than that which follows3  
,i can discern no escape from this      
dilemma2 either ,jesus said what he is  
reported to have said1 or he did not4   
,in the former case1 it is inevitable   
that his authority on matters connected 
with the 'unseen world' should be       
roughly shaken2 in the latter1 the blow 
falls upon the authority of the synoptic
 ,gospels 7p4 #agc74 ,the choice then   
lies between discrediting those who     

compiled the ,gospel biographies and    
disbelieving the ,master1 whom they1    
simple souls1 thought to honour by      
preserving such traditions of the       
exercise of his authority over ,satan's 
invisible world 7p4 #agd74 ,and ,i leave
 no shadow of doubt as to my own choice3
 ,after what has been said1 ,i do not   
think that any sensible man1 unless he  
happen to be angry1 will accuse me of   
'contradicting the ,lord and his        
,apostles' if ,i reiterate my total     
disbelief in the whole ,gadarene story  
7p4 #agh74  ,i am afraid1 therefore1    
that ,mr4 ,gladstone must have been     
exceedingly angry when he committed     
himself to such a statement as follows3 
,so1 then1 after eighteen centuries of  
worship offered to our      ,lord by the
 most cultivated1 the most developed1   
and the      most progressive portion of
 the human race1 it has been            
reserved to a scientific inquirer to    
discover that ,he was no      better    
than a law-breaker and an evil-doer4444 

,how1 in such      a matter1 came the   
honours of originality to be reserved to
      our time and to ,professor        
,huxley8 7,pp4 #bfi1 #bgj47  ,truly1 the
 hatchet is hardly a weapon of          
precision1 but would seem to have rather
 more the character of the boomerang1   
which returns to damage the reckless    
thrower4 ,doubtless such incidents are  
somewhat ludicrous4 ,but they have a    
very serious side2 and1 if ,i rated the 
opinion of those who blindly follow ,mr4
 ,gladstone's leading1 but not light1 in
 these matters1 much higher than the    
great ,duke of ,wellington's famous     
standard of minimum value1 ,i think ,i  
might fairly beg them to reflect upon   
the general bearings of this particular 
example of his controversial method4 ,i 
imagine it can hardly commend itself to 
their cool judgment4  ,after this       
tragi-comical ending to what an old     
historian calls a robustious and rough  
coming on2 and after some praises of the
 provisions of the ,mosaic law in the   

matter of not eating pork--in which1 as 
pork disagrees with me and for some     
other reasons1 ,i am much disposed to   
concur1 though ,i do not see what they  
have to do with the matter in           
hand--comes the serious onslaught4      
,mr4 ,huxley1 exercising his rapid      
judgment on the text1 does      not     
appear to have encumbered himself with  
the labour of      inquiring what       
anybody else had known or said about it4
 ,he      has thus missed a point which 
might have been set up in      support  
of his accusation against our ,lord4    
7,p4 #bgc47  ,unhappily for my conduct1 
,i have been much exercised in          
controversy during the past thirty      
years2 and the only compensation for the
 loss of time and the trials of temper  
which it has inflicted upon me1 is that 
,i have come to regard it as a branch of
 the fine arts1 and to take an impartial
 and sthetic interest in the way in     
which it is conducted1 even by those    
whose efforts are directed against      

myself4 ,now1 from the purely artistic  
point of view 7which1 as we are all     
being told1 has nothing to do with      
morals71 ,i consider it an axiom1 that  
one should never appear to doubt that   
the other side has performed the        
elementary duty of acquiring proper     
elementary information1 unless there is 
demonstrative evidence to the contrary4 
,and ,i think1 though ,i admit that this
 may be a purely subjective             
appreciation1 that 7unless you are quite
 certain7 there is a want of finish1 as 
a great master of disputation once put  
it1 about the suggestion that your      
opponent has missed a point on his own  
side4 ,because it may happen that he has
 not missed it at all1 but only thought 
it unworthy of serious notice4 ,and if  
he proves that1 the suggestion looks    
foolish4  ,merely noting the careful    
repetition of a charge1 the absurdity of
 which has been sufficiently exposed    
above1 ,i now ask my readers to         
accompany me on a little voyage of      

discovery in search of the side on which
 the rapid judgment and the ignorance of
 the literature of the subject lie4 ,i  
think ,i may promise them very little   
trouble1 and a good deal of             
entertainment4  ,mr4 ,gladstone is of   
opinion that the ,gadarene swinefolk    
were ,hebrews bound by the ,mosaic law  
7p4 #bgd72 and he conceives that it has 
not occurred to me to learn what may be 
said in favour of and against this view4
 ,he tells us that       ,some          
commentators have alleged the authority 
of ,josephus for      stating that      
,gadara was a city of ,greeks rather    
than of      ,jews1 from whence it might
 be inferred that to keep swine      was
 innocent and lawful4 7,p4 #bgc47  ,mr4 
,gladstone then goes on to inform his   
readers that in his painstaking search  
after truth he has submitted to the     
labour of personally examining the      
writings of ,josephus4 ,moreover1 in a  
note1 he positively exhibits an         
acquaintance1 in addition1 with the     

works of ,bishop ,wordsworth and of     
,archbishop ,trench2 and even shows that
 he has read ,hudson's commentary on    
,josephus4 ,and yet people say that our 
,biblical critics do not equal the      
,germans in research6 ,but ,mr4         
,gladstone's citation of ,cuvier and    
,sir ,john ,herschel about the ,creation
 myth1 and his ignorance of all the best
 modern writings on his own side1       
produced a great impression on my mind4 
,i have had the audacity to suspect that
 his acquaintance with what has been    
done in ,biblical history might stand at
 no higher level than his information   
about the natural sciences4 ,however    
unwillingly1 ,i have felt bound to      
consider the possibility that ,mr4      
,gladstone's labours in this matter may 
have carried him no further than        
,josephus and the worthy1 but somewhat  
antique1 episcopal and other authorities
 to whom he refers2 that even his       
reading of ,josephus may have been of   
the most cursory nature1 directed not to

 the understanding of his author1 but to
 the discovery of useful controversial  
matter2 and that1 in view of the not    
inconsiderable misrepresentation of my  
statements to which ,i have drawn       
attention1 it might be that ,mr4        
,gladstone's exposition of the evidence 
of ,josephus was not more trustworthy4  
,i proceed to show that my previsions   
have been fully justified4 ,i doubt if  
controversial literature contains       
anything more piquant than the story ,i 
have to unfold4  ,that ,i should be     
reproved for rapidity of judgment is    
very just2 however quaint the situation 
of ,mr4 ,gladstone1 as the reprover1 may
 seem to people blessed with a sense of 
humour4 ,but it is a quality1 the       
defects of which have been painfully    
obvious to me all my life2 and ,i try to
 keep my ,pegasus--at best1 a poor      
,shetland variety of that species of    
quadruped--at a respectable jog-trot1 by
 loading him heavily with bales of      
reading4 ,those who took the trouble to 

study my paper in good faith and not for
 mere controversial purposes1 have a    
right to know1 that something more than 
a hasty glimpse of two or three passages
 of ,josephus 7even with as many        
episcopal works thrown in7 lay at the   
back of the few paragraphs ,i devoted to
 the ,gadarene story4 ,i proceed to set 
forth1 as briefly as ,i can1 some       
results of that preparatory work4 ,my   
artistic principles do not permit me1 at
 present1 to express a doubt that ,mr4  
,gladstone was acquainted with the facts
 ,i am about to mention when he         
undertook to write4 ,but1 if he did know
 them1 then both what he has said and   
what he has not said1 his assertions and
 his omissions alike1 will require a    
paragraph to themselves4  ,the common   
consent of the synoptic ,gospels affirms
 that the miraculous transference of    
devils from a man1 or men1 to sundry    
pigs1 took place somewhere on the       
eastern shore of the ,lake of ,tiberias2
 on the other side of the sea over      

against ,galilee1 the western shore     
being1 without doubt1 included in the   
latter province4 ,but there is no such  
concord when we come to the name of the 
part of the eastern shore1 on which1    
according to the story1 ,jesus and his  
disciples landed4 ,in the revised       
version1 ,matthew calls it the country  
of the ,gadarenes3 ,luke and ,mark have 
,gerasenes4 ,in sundry very ancient     
manuscripts ,gergesenes occurs4  ,the   
existence of any place called ,gergesa1 
however1 is declared by the weightiest  
authorities whom ,i have consulted to be
 very questionable2 and no such town is 
mentioned in the list of the cities of  
the ,decapolis1 in the territory of     
which 7as it would seem from ,mark v4   
#bj7 the transaction was supposed to    
take place4 ,about ,gerasa1 on the other
 hand1 there hangs no such doubt4 ,it   
was a large and important member of the 
group of the ,decapolitan cities4 ,but  
,gerasa is more than thirty miles       
distant from the nearest part of the    

,lake of ,tiberias1 while the city      
mentioned in the narrative could not    
have been very far off the scene of the 
event4 ,however1 as ,gerasa was a very  
important ,hellenic city1 not much more 
than a score of miles from ,gadara1 it  
is easily imaginable that a locality    
which was part of ,decapolitan territory
 may have been spoken of as belonging to
 one of the two cities1 when it really  
appertained to the other4 ,after        
weighing all the arguments1 no doubt    
remains on my mind that ,gadarene is the
 proper reading4 ,at the period under   
consideration1 ,gadara appears to have  
been a good-sized fortified town1 about 
two miles in circumference4 ,it was a   
place of considerable strategic         
importance1 inasmuch as it lay on a high
 ridge at the point of intersection of  
the roads from ,tiberias1 ,scythopolis1 
,damascus1 and ,gerasa4 ,three miles    
north from it1 where the ,tiberias road 
descended into the valley of the        
,hieromices1 lay the famous hot springs 

and the fashionable baths of ,amatha4   
,on the north-east side1 the remains of 
the extensive necropolis of ,gadara are 
still to be seen4 ,innumerable          
sepulchral chambers are excavated in the
 limestone cliffs1 and many of them     
still contain sarcophaguses of basalt2  
while not a few are converted into      
dwellings by the inhabitants of the     
present village of ,um ,keis4 ,the      
distance of ,gadara from the            
south-eastern shore of the ,lake of     
,tiberias is less than seven miles4 ,the
 nearest of the other cities of the     
,decapolis1 to the north1 is ,hippos1   
which also lay some seven miles off1 in 
the south-eastern corner of the shore of
 the lake4 ,in accordance with the      
ancient ,hellenic practice1 that each   
city should be surrounded by a certain  
amount of territory amenable to its     
jurisdiction1#aja and on other grounds1 
it may be taken for certain that the    
intermediate country was divided between
 ,gadara and ,hippos2 and that the      

citizens of ,gadara had free access to a
 port on the lake4 ,hence the title of  
country of the ,gadarenes applied to the
 locality of the porcine catastrophe    
becomes easily intelligible4 ,the swine 
may well be imagined to have been       
feeding 7as they do now in the adjacent 
region7 on the hillsides1 which slope   
somewhat steeply down to the lake from  
the northern boundary wall of the valley
 of the ,hieromices 7,nahr ,yarmuk71    
about half-way between the city and the 
shore1 and doubtless lay well within the
 territory of the polis of ,gadara4     
,the proof that ,gadara was1 to all     
intents and purposes1 a ,gentile1 and   
not a ,jewish1 city is complete4 ,the   
date and the occasion of its foundation 
are unknown2 but it certainly existed in
 the third century ,b4,c4 ,antiochus the
 ,great annexed it to his dominions in  
,b4,c4 #aih4 ,after this1 during the    
brief revival of ,jewish autonomy1      
,alexander ,jannus took it2 and for the 
first time1 so far as the records go1 it

 fell under ,jewish rule4#ajb ,from this
 it was rescued by ,pompey 7,b4,c4 #fc71
 who rebuilt the city and incorporated  
it with the province of ,syria4 ,in     
gratitude to the ,romans for the        
dissolution of a hated union1 the       
,gadarenes adopted the ,pompeian era of 
their coinage4 ,gadara was a commercial 
centre of some importance1 and          
therefore1 it may be assumed1 ,jews     
settled in it1 as they settled in almost
 all considerable ,gentile cities4 ,but 
a wholly mistaken estimate of the       
magnitude of the ,jewish colony has been
 based upon the notion that ,gabinius1  
proconsul of ,syria in #eg-ee ,b4,c41   
seated one of the five sanhedrins in    
,gadara4 ,schrer has pointed out that   
what he really did was to lodge one of  
them in ,gadara1 far away on the other  
side of the ,jordan4 ,this is one of the
 many errors which have arisen out of   
the confusion of the names ,gadara1     
,gazara1 and ,gabara4  ,augustus made a 
present of ,gadara to ,herod the ,great1

 as an appanage personal to himself2    
and1 upon ,herod's death1 recognising it
 to be a ,grecian city like ,hippos and 
,gaza1#ajc he transferred it back to its
 former place in the province of ,syria4
 ,that ,herod made no effort to judaise 
his temporary possession1 but rather the
 contrary1 is obvious from the fact that
 the coins of ,gadara1 while under his  
rule1 bear the image of ,augustus with  
the superscription ,greek3 ,sebastos--a 
flying in the face of ,jewish prejudices
 which1 even he1 did not dare to venture
 upon in ,juda4 ,and ,i may remark that1
 if my co-trustee of the ,british       
,museum had taken the trouble to visit  
the splendid numismatic collection under
 our charge1 he might have seen two     
coins of ,gadara1 one of the time of    
,tiberius and the other of that of      
,titus1 each bearing the effigies of the
 emperor on the obverse3 while the      
personified genius of the city is on the
 reverse of the former4 ,further1 the   
well-known works of ,de ,saulcy and of  

,ekhel would have supplied the          
information that1 from the time of      
,augustus to that of ,gordian1 the      
,gadarene coinage had the same          
thoroughly ,gentile character4 ,curious 
that a city of ,hebrews bound by the    
,mosaic law should tolerate such a mint6
  ,whatever increase in population the  
,ghetto of ,gadara may have undergone1  
between ,b4,c4 #d and ,a4,d4 #ff1 it    
nowise affected the gentile and         
anti-judaic character of the city at the
 outbreak of the great war2 for         
,josephus tells us that1 immediately    
after the great massacre of ,csarea1 the
 revolted ,jews laid waste the villages 
of the ,syrians and their neighbouring  
cities1 ,philadelphia and ,sebonitis and
 ,gerasa and ,pella and ,scythopolis1   
and after them ,gadara and ,hippos      
7,wars1 ,,ii4 xviii4 #a74 ,i submit     
that1 if ,gadara had been a city of     
,hebrews bound by the ,mosaic law1 the  
ravaging of their territory by their    
brother ,jews1 in revenge for the       

massacre of the ,csarean ,jews by the   
,gentile population of that place1 would
 surely have been a somewhat            
unaccountable proceeding4 ,but when we  
proceed a little further1 to the fifth  
section of the chapter in which this    
statement occurs1 the whole affair      
becomes intelligible enough4            
,besides this murder at ,scythopolis1   
the other cities rose up      against   
the ,jews that were among them3 those of
 ,askelon slew      two thousand five   
hundred1 and those of ,ptolemais two    
thousand1 and put not a few into bonds2 
those of ,tyre also      put a great    
number to death1 but kept a great number
 in      prison2 moreover1 those of     
,hippos and those of ,gadara did        
the like1 while they put to death the   
boldest of the ,jews1      but kept     
those of whom they were most afraid in  
custody2 as      did the rest of the    
cities of ,syria according as they every
      one either hated them or were     
afraid of them4  ,josephus is not always

 trustworthy1 but he has no conceivable 
motive for altering facts here2 he      
speaks of contemporary events1 in which 
he himself took an active part1 and he  
characterises the cities in the way     
familiar to him4 ,for ,josephus1 ,gadara
 is just as much a ,gentile city as     
,ptolemais2 it was reserved for his     
latest commentator1 either ignoring1 or 
ignorant of1 all this1 to tell us that  
,gadara had a ,hebrew population1 bound 
by the ,mosaic law4  ,in the face of all
 this evidence1 most of which has been  
put before serious students1 with full  
reference to the needful authorities and
 in a thoroughly judicial manner1 by    
,schrer in his classical work1#ajd one  
reads with stupefaction the statement   
which ,mr4 ,gladstone has thought fit to
 put before the uninstructed public3    
,some commentators have alleged the     
authority of ,josephus for      stating 
that ,gadara was a city of ,greeks      
rather than of      ,jews1 from whence  
it might be inferred that to keep swine 

was innocent and lawful4 ,this is not   
quite the place for a      critical     
examination of the matter2 but ,i have  
examined it1      and have satisfied    
myself that ,josephus gives no reason   
whatever to suppose that the population 
of ,gadara1 and still      less 7if less
 may be7 the population of the          
neighbourhood1      and least of all the
 swine-herding or lower portion of that 
population1 were other than ,hebrews    
bound by the ,mosaic law4      7,pp4    
#cgc-d47  ,even rapid judgment cannot be
 pleaded in excuse for this surprising  
statement1 because a ,note on the       
,gadarene miracle is added 7in a special
 appendix71 in which the references are 
given to the passages of ,josephus1 by  
the improved interpretation of which1   
,mr4 ,gladstone has thus contrived to   
satisfy himself of the thing which is   
not4 ,one of these is ,antiquities      
,,xvii4 xiii4 #d1 in which section1 ,i  
regret to say1 ,i can find no mention of
 ,gadara4 ,in ,antiquities1 ,,xvii4 xi4 

#d1 however1 there is a passage which   
would appear to be that ,mr4 ,gladstone 
means2 and ,i will give it in full1     
although ,i have already cited part of  
it3       ,there were also certain of   
the cities which paid tribute to        
,archelaus2 ,strato's tower1 and        
,sebaste1 with ,joppa and               
,jerusalem2 for1 as to ,gaza1 ,gadara1  
and ,hippos1 they were      ,grecian    
cities1 which ,csar separated from his  
government1      and added them to the  
province of ,syria4  ,that is to say1   
,augustus simply restored the state of  
things which existed before he gave     
,gadara1 then certainly a ,gentile city1
 lying outside ,juda1 to ,herod as a    
mark of great personal favour4 ,yet ,mr4
 ,gladstone can gravely tell those who  
are not in a position to check his      
statements3       ,the sense seems to   
be1 not that these cities were inhabited
      by a ,greek population1 but that  
they had politically been      taken out
 of ,juda and added to ,syria1 which ,i 

presume was      classified as simply   
,hellenic1 a portion of the great ,greek
      empire erected by ,alexander4     
7,pp4 #bie-f47  ,mr4 ,gladstone's next  
reference is to the ,wars1 ,,iii4 vii4  
#a3       ,so ,vespasian marched to the 
city ,gadara1 and took it upon      the 
first onset1 because he found it        
destitute of a      considerable number 
of men grown up for war4 ,he then came  
into it1 and slew all the youth1 the    
,romans having no mercy      on any age 
whatsoever2 and this was done out of the
 hatred      they bore the nation1 and  
because of the iniquity they had        
been guilty of in the affair of         
,cestius4  ,obviously1 then1 ,gadara was
 an ultra-,jewish city4 ,q4,e4,d4 ,but a
 student trained in the use of weapons  
of precision1 rather than in that of    
rhetorical tomahawks1 has had many and  
painful warnings to look well about him1
 before trusting an argument to the     
mercies of a passage1 the context of    
which he has not carefully considered4  

,if ,mr4 ,gladstone had not been too    
much in a hurry to turn his imaginary   
prize to account--if he had paused just 
to look at the preceding chapter of     
,josephus--he would have discovered that
 his much haste meant very little speed4
 ,he would have found 7,wars1 ,,iii4 vi4
 #b7 that ,vespasian marched from his   
base1 the port of ,ptolemais 7,acre71 on
 the shores of the ,mediterranean1 into 
,galilee2 and1 having dealt with the    
so-called ,gadara1 was minded to finish 
with ,jotapata1 a strong place about    
fourteen miles south-east of ,ptolemais1
 into which ,josephus1 who at first had 
fled to ,tiberias1 eventually threw     
himself--,vespasian arriving before     
,jotapata the very next day4 ,now1 if   
any one will take a decent map of       
,ancient ,palestine in hand1 he will see
 that ,jotapata1 as ,i have said1 lies  
about fourteen miles in a straight line 
east-south-east of ,ptolemais1 while a  
certain town1 ,gabara 7which was also   
held by the ,jews71 is situated1 about  

the same distance1 to the east of that  
port4 ,nothing can be more obvious than 
that ,vespasian1 wishing to advance from
 ,ptolemais into ,galilee1 could not    
afford to leave these strongholds in the
 possession of the enemy2 and1 as       
,gabara would lie on his left flank when
 he moved to ,jotapata1 he took that    
city1 whence his communications with his
 base could easily be threatened1 first4
 ,it might really have been fair        
evidence of demoniac possession1 if the 
best general of ,rome had marched forty 
odd miles1 as the crow flies1 through   
hostile ,galilee1 to take a city 7which1
 moreover1 had just tried to abolish its
 ,jewish population7 on the other side  
of the ,jordan2 and then marched back   
again to a place fourteen miles off his 
starting-point4#aje ,one would think    
that the most careless of readers must  
be startled by this incongruity into    
inquiring whether there might not be    
something wrong with the text2 and1 if  
he had done so1 he would have easily    

discovered that since the time of       
,reland1 a century and a half ago1      
careful scholars have read ,gabara for  
,gadara4#ajf  ,once more1 ,i venture to 
point out that training in the use of   
the weapons of precision of science may 
have its value in historical studies1 if
 only in preventing the occurrence of   
droll blunders in geography4  ,in the   
third citation 7,wars1 ,,iv4 vii47      
,josephus tells us that ,vespasian      
marched against ,gadara1 which he calls 
the metropolis of ,pera 7it was possibly
 the seat of a common festival of the   
,decapolitan cities71 and entered it1   
without opposition1 the wealthy and     
powerful citizens having opened         
negotiations with him without the       
knowledge of an opposite party1 who1 as 
being inferior in number to their       
enemies1 who were within the city1 and  
seeing the ,romans very near the city1  
resolved to fly4 ,before doing so1      
however1 they1 after a fashion          
unfortunately too common among the      

,zealots1 murdered and shockingly       
mutilated ,dolesus1 a man of the first  
rank1 who had promoted the embassy to   
,vespasian2 and then ran out of the     
city4 ,hereupon1 the people of ,gadara  
7surely not this time ,hebrews bound by 
the ,mosaic law7 received ,vespasian    
with joyful acclamations1 voluntarily   
pulled down their wall1 so that the city
 could not in future be used as a       
fortress by the ,jews1 and accepted a   
,roman garrison for their future        
protection4 ,granting that this ,gadara 
really is the city of the ,gadarenes1   
the reference1 without citation1 to the 
passage1 in support of ,mr4 ,gladstone's
 contention seems rather remarkable4    
,taken in conjunction with the shortly  
antecedent ravaging of the ,gadarene    
territory by the ,jews1 in fact1 better 
proof could hardly be expected of the   
real state of the case2 namely1 that the
 population of ,gadara 7and notably the 
wealthy and respectable part of it7 was 
thoroughly ,hellenic2 though1 as in     

,csarea and elsewhere among the         
,palestinian cities1 the rabble         
contained a considerable body of        
fanatical ,jews1 whose reckless ferocity
 made them1 even though a mere minority 
of the population1 a standing danger to 
the city4  ,thus ,mr4 ,gladstone's      
conclusion from his study of ,josephus1 
that the population of ,gadara were     
,hebrews bound by the ,mosaic law1 turns
 out to depend upon nothing better than 
the marvellously complete               
misinterpretation of what that author   
says1 combined with equally marvellous  
geographical misunderstandings1 long    
since exposed and rectified2 while the  
positive evidence that ,gadara1 like    
other cities of the ,decapolis1 was     
thoroughly ,hellenic in organisation1   
and essentially ,gentile in population1 
is overwhelming4  ,and1 that being the  
fact of the matter1 patent to all who   
will take the trouble to enquire about  
what has been said about it1 however    
obscure to those who merely talk of so  

doing1 the thesis that the ,gadarene    
swineherds1 or owners1 were ,jews       
violating the ,mosaic law shows itself  
to be an empty and most unfortunate     
guess4 ,but really1 whether they that   
kept the swine were ,jews1 or whether   
they were ,gentiles1 is a consideration 
which has no relevance whatever to my   
case4 ,the legal provisions1 which alone
 had authority over an inhabitant of the
 country of the ,gadarenes1 were the    
,gentile laws sanctioned by the ,roman  
suzerain of the province of ,syria1 just
 as the only law1 which has authority in
 ,england1 is that recognised by the    
sovereign ,legislature4 ,jewish         
communities in ,england may have their  
private code1 as they doubtless had in  
,gadara4 ,but an ,english magistrate1 if
 called upon to enforce their peculiar  
laws1 would dismiss the complainants    
from the judgment seat1 let us hope with
 more politeness than ,gallio did in a  
like case1 but quite as firmly4         
,moreover1 in the matter of keeping     

pigs1 we may be quite certain that      
,gadarene law left everybody free to do 
as he pleased1 indeed encouraged the    
practice rather than otherwise4 ,not    
only was pork one of the commonest and  
one of the most favourite articles of   
,roman diet2 but1 to both ,greeks and   
,romans1 the pig was a sacrificial      
animal of high importance4 ,sucking pigs
 played an important part in ,hellenic  
purificatory rites2 and everybody knows 
the significance of the ,roman          
suovetaurilia1 depicted on so many      
bas-reliefs4  ,under these              
circumstances1 only the extreme need of 
a despairing reconciler drowning in a   
sea of adverse facts1 can explain the   
catching at such a poor straw as the    
reckless guess that the swineherds of   
the country of the ,gadarenes were      
erring ,jews1 doing a little clandestine
 business on their own account4 ,the    
endeavour to justify the asserted       
destruction of the swine by the analogy 
of breaking open a cask of smuggled     

spirits1 and wasting their contents on  
the ground1 is curiously unfortunate4   
,does ,mr4 ,gladstone mean to suggest   
that a ,frenchman landing at ,dover1 and
 coming upon a cask of smuggled brandy  
in the course of a stroll along the     
cliffs1 has the right to break it open  
and waste its contents on the ground8   
,yet the party of ,galileans who1       
according to the narrative1 landed and  
took a walk on the ,gadarene territory1 
were as much foreigners in the          
,decapolis as ,frenchmen would be at    
,dover4 ,herod ,antipas1 their          
sovereign1 had no jurisdiction in the   
,decapolis--they were strangers and     
aliens1 with no more right to interfere 
with a pig-keeping ,hebrew1 than ,i have
 a right to interfere with an ,english  
professor of the ,israelitic faith1 if  
,i see a slice of ham on his plate4     
,according to the law of the country in 
which these ,galilean foreigners found  
themselves1 men might keep pigs if they 
pleased4 ,if the men who kept them were 

,jews1 it might be permissible for the  
strangers to inform the religious       
authority acknowledged by the ,jews of  
,gadara2 but to interfere themselves1 in
 such a matter1 was a step devoid of    
either moral or legal justification4    
,suppose a modern ,english ,sabbatarian 
fanatic1 who believes1 on the strength  
of his interpretation of the fourth     
commandment1 that it is a deadly sin to 
work on the ,lord's ,day1 sees a fellow 
,puritan yielding to the temptation of  
getting in his harvest on a fine ,sunday
 morning--is the former justified in    
setting fire to the latter's corn8      
,would not an ,english court of justice 
speedily teach him better8  ,in truth1  
the government which permits private    
persons1 on any pretext 7especially     
pious and patriotic pretexts71 to take  
the law into their own hands1 fails in  
the performance of the primary duties of
 all governments2 while those who set   
the example of such acts1 or who approve
 them1 or who fail to disapprove them1  

are doing their best to dissolve civil  
society2 they are compassers of         
illegality and fautors of immorality4   
,i fully understand that ,mr4 ,gladstone
 may not see the matter in this light4  
,he may possibly consider that the union
 of ,gadara with the ,decapolis1 by     
,augustus1 was a blackguard transaction1
 which deprived ,hellenic ,gadarene law 
of all moral force2 and that it was     
quite proper for a ,jewish ,galilean1   
going back to the time when the land of 
the ,girgashites was given to his       
ancestors1 some #aejj years before1 to  
act1 as if the state of things which    
ought to obtain1 in territory which     
traditionally1 at any rate1 belonged to 
his forefathers1 did really exist4 ,and1
 that being so1 ,i can only say ,i do   
not agree with him1 but leave the matter
 to the appreciation of those of our    
countrymen1 happily not yet the         
minority1 who believe that the first    
condition of enduring liberty is        
obedience to the law of the land4       

99       99       99       99       99  
,the end of the month drawing nigh1 ,i  
thought it well to send away the        
manuscript of the foregoing pages       
yesterday1 leaving open1 in my own mind1
 the possibility of adding a succinct   
characterisation of ,mr4 ,gladstone's   
controversial methods as illustrated    
therein4 ,this morning1 however1 ,i had 
the pleasure of reading a speech which  
,i think must satisfy the requirements  
of the most fastidious of controversial 
artists2 and there occurs in it so      
concise1 yet so complete1 a delineation 
of ,mr4 ,gladstone's way of dealing with
 disputed questions of another kind1    
that no poor effort of mine could better
 it as a description of the aspect which
 his treatment of scientific1           
historical1 and critical questions      
presents to me4       ,the smallest     
examination would have told a man of his
      capacity and of his experience    
that he was uttering the      grossest  
exaggerations1 that he was basing       

arguments upon      the slightest       
hypotheses1 and that his discussions    
only had      to be critically examined 
by the most careless critic in          
order to show their intrinsic           
hollowness4  ,those who have followed me
 through this paper will hardly dispute 
the justice of this judgment1 severe as 
it is4 ,but the ,chief ,secretary for   
,ireland has science in the blood2 and  
has the advantage of a natural1 as well 
as a highly cultivated1 aptitude for the
 use of methods of precision in         
investigation1 and for the exact        
enunciation of the results thereby      
obtained4  ,,footnotes3      #aja ,thus 
,josephus 7lib4 ix47 says that his      
rival1 ,justus1           persuaded the 
citizens of ,tiberias to set the        
villages           that belonged to     
,gadara and ,hippos on fire2 which      
villages were situated on the borders of
 ,tiberias and           of the region  
of ,scythopolis4      #ajb ,it is said  
to have been destroyed by its captors4  

#ajc ,but as to the ,grecian cities1    
,gaza and ,gadara and           ,hippos1
 he cut them off from the kingdom and   
added them           to                 
,syria4--,josephus1 ,wars1 ,,ii4 vi4 #c4
 ,see also           ,antiquities1      
,,xvii4 xi4 #d4      #ajd ,geschichte   
des jdischen ,volkes im ,zeitalter      
,christi1           #ahhf-ij4      #aje 
,if ,william the ,conqueror1 after      
fighting the battle           of        
,hastings1 had marched to capture       
,chichester and then           returned 
to assault ,rye1 being all the while    
anxious to           reach ,london1 his 
proceedings would not have been more    
eccentric than ,mr4 ,gladstone must     
imagine those of           ,vespasian   
were4      #ajf ,see ,reland1 ,palestina
 7#agad71 t4 ii4 p4 #gga4 ,also         
,robinson1 ,later ,biblical ,researches 
7#ahef71 p4 #hg           note4         
,,xi3 ,,illustrations ,,of ,,mr4        
,,gladstone',s ,,controversial ,,methods
  #ahia   ,the series of essays1 in     

defence of the historical accuracy of   
the ,jewish and ,christian ,scriptures1 
contributed by ,mr4 ,gladstone to ,good 
,words1 having been revised and enlarged
 by their author1 appeared last year as 
a separate volume1 under the somewhat   
defiant title of ,the ,impregnable ,rock
 of ,holy ,scripture4  ,the last of     
these ,essays1 entitled ,conclusion1    
contains an attack1 or rather several   
attacks1 couched in language which      
certainly does not err upon the side of 
moderation or of courtesy1 upon         
statements and opinions of mine4 ,one of
 these assaults is a deliberately       
devised attempt1 not merely to rouse the
 theological prejudices ingrained in the
 majority of ,mr4 ,gladstone's readers1 
but to hold me up as a person who has   
endeavoured to besmirch the personal    
character of the object of their        
veneration4 ,for ,mr4 ,gladstone asserts
 that ,i have undertaken to try the     
character of our ,lord 7p4 #bfh72 and he
 tells the many who are1 as ,i think    

unfortunately1 predisposed to place     
implicit credit in his assertions1 that 
it has been reserved for me to discover 
that ,jesus was no better than a        
law-breaker and an evil-doer6 7p4 #bfi74
  ,it was extremely easy for me to      
prove1 as ,i did in the pages of this   
,review last ,december1 that1 under the 
most favourable interpretation1 this    
amazing declaration must be ascribed to 
extreme confusion of thought4 ,and1 by  
bringing an abundance of good-will to   
the consideration of the subject1 ,i    
have now convinced myself that it is    
right for me to admit that a person of  
,mr4 ,gladstone's intellectual acuteness
 really did mistake the reprobation of  
the course of conduct ascribed to       
,jesus1 in a story of which ,i expressly
 say ,i do not believe a word1 for an   
attack on his character and a           
declaration that he was no better than a
 law-breaker1 and an evil-doer4 ,at any 
rate1 so far as ,i can see1 this is what
 ,mr4 ,gladstone wished to be believed  

when he wrote the following passage3--  
,i must1 however1 in passing1 make the  
confession that ,i did      not state   
with accuracy1 as ,i ought to have done1
 the      precise form of the           
accusation4 ,i treated it as an         
imputation on the action of our ,lord2  
he replies that it is      only an      
imputation on the narrative of three    
evangelists      respecting ,him4 ,the  
difference1 from his point of view1 is  
probably material1 and ,i therefore     
regret that ,i overlooked      it4#ajg  
,considering the gravity of the error   
which is here admitted1 the fashion of  
the withdrawal appears more singular    
than admirable4 ,from my point of       
view--not from ,mr4 ,gladstone's        
apparently--the little discrepancy      
between the facts and ,mr4 ,gladstone's 
carefully offensive travesty of them is 
probably 7only probably7 material4      
,however1 as ,mr4 ,gladstone concludes  
with an official expression of regret   
for his error1 it is my business to     

return an equally official expression of
 gratitude for the attenuated reparation
 with which ,i am favoured4  ,having    
cleared this specimen of ,mr4           
,gladstone's controversial method out of
 the way1 ,i may proceed to the next    
assault1 that on a passage in an article
 on ,agnosticism 7,nineteenth ,century1 
,february #ahhi71 published two years   
ago4 ,i there said1 in referring to the 
,gadarene story1 ,everything ,i know of 
law and justice convinces me that the   
wanton destruction of other people's    
property is a misdemeanour of evil      
example4 ,on this1 ,mr4 ,gladstone1     
continuing his candid and urbane        
observations1 remarks 7,impregnable     
,rock1 p4 #bgc7 that1 ,exercising his   
rapid judgment on the text1 and not     
inquiring what anybody else had known or
 said about it1 ,i had missed a point in
 support of that accusation against our 
,lord which he has now been constrained 
to admit ,i never made4  ,the point in  
question is that ,gadara was a city of  

,greeks rather than of ,jews1 from      
whence it might be inferred that to keep
 swine was innocent and lawful4 ,i      
conceive that ,i have abundantly proved 
that ,gadara answered exactly to the    
description here given of it2 and ,i    
shall show1 by and by1 that ,mr4        
,gladstone has used language which1 to  
my mind1 involves the admission that the
 authorities of the city were not ,jews4
 ,but ,i have also taken a good deal of 
pains to show that the question thus    
raised is of no importance in relation  
to the main issue4#ajh ,if ,gadara was1 
as ,i maintain it was1 a city of the    
,decapolis1 ,hellenistic in constitution
 and containing a predominantly ,gentile
 population1 my case is superabundantly 
fortified4 ,on the other hand1 if the   
hypothesis that ,gadara was under       
,jewish government1 which ,mr4          
,gladstone seems sometimes to defend and
 sometimes to give up1 were accepted1 my
 case would be nowise weakened4 ,at any 
rate1 ,gadara was not included within   

the jurisdiction of the tetrach of      
,galilee2 if it had been1 the ,galileans
 who crossed over the lake to ,gadara   
had no official status2 and they had no 
more civil right to punish law-breakers 
than any other strangers4  ,in my turn1 
however1 ,i may remark that there is a  
point which appears to have escaped ,mr4
 ,gladstone's notice4 ,and that is      
somewhat unfortunate1 because his whole 
argument turns upon it4 ,mr4 ,gladstone 
assumes1 as a matter of course1 that    
pig-keeping was an offence against the  
,law of ,moses2 and1 therefore1 that    
,jews who kept pigs were as much liable 
to legal pains and penalties as         
,englishmen who smuggle brandy          
7,impregnable ,rock1 p4 #bgd74  ,there  
can be no doubt that1 according to the  
,law1 as it is defined in the           
,pentateuch1 the pig was an unclean     
animal1 and that pork was a forbidden   
article of diet4 ,moreover1 since pigs  
are hardly likely to be kept for the    
mere love of those unsavoury animals1   

pig-owning1 or swine-herding1 must have 
been1 and evidently was1 regarded as a  
suspicious and degrading occupation by  
strict ,jews1 in the first century      
,a4,d4 ,but ,i should like to know on   
what provision of the ,mosaic ,law1 as  
it is laid down in the ,pentateuch1 ,mr4
 ,gladstone bases the assumption1 which 
is essential to his case1 that the      
possession of pigs and the calling of a 
swineherd were actually illegal4 ,the   
inquiry was put to me the other day2    
and1 as ,i could not answer it1 ,i      
turned up the article ,schwein in       
,riehm's standard ,handwrterbuch1 for   
help out of my difficulty2 but          
unfortunately without success4 ,after   
speaking of the martyrdom which the     
,jews1 under ,antiochus ,epiphanes1     
preferred to eating pork1 the writer    
proceeds3--       ,it may be1           
nevertheless1 that the practice of      
keeping pigs      may have found its way
 into ,palestine in the ,grco-,roman    
time1 in consequence of the great       

increase of the non-,jewish             
population2 yet there is no evidence of 
it in the ,new      ,testament2 the     
great herd of swine1 #b1jjj in number1  
mentioned in the narrative of the       
possessed1 was feeding in      the      
territory of ,gadara1 which belonged to 
the ,decapolis2      and the prodigal   
son became a swineherd with the native  
of a      far country into which he had 
wandered2 in neither of these      cases
 is there reason for thinking that the  
possessors of      these herds were     
,jews4#aji  ,having failed in my search1
 so far1 ,i took up the next book of    
reference at hand1 ,kitto's ,cyclopdia  
7vol4 iii4 #ahgf74 ,there1 under ,swine1
 the writer1 ,colonel ,hamilton ,smith1 
seemed at first to give me what ,i      
wanted1 as he says that swine appear to 
have been repeatedly introduced and     
reared by the ,hebrew people1#aaj       
notwithstanding the strong prohibition  
in the ,law of ,moses 7,is4 lxv4 #d74   
,but1 in the first place1 ,isaiah's     

writings form no part of the ,law of    
,moses2 and1 in the second place1 the   
people denounced by the prophet in this 
passage are neither the possessors of   
pigs1 nor swineherds1 but these which   
eat swine's flesh and broth of          
abominable things is in their vessels4  
,and when1 in despair1 ,i turned to the 
provisions of the ,law itself1 my       
difficulty was not cleared up4          
,leviticus xi4 #h 7,revised ,version7   
says1 in reference to the pig and other 
unclean animals3 ,of their flesh ye     
shall not eat1 and their carcasses ye   
shall not touch4 ,in the revised version
 of ,deuteronomy1 xiv4 #h1 the words of 
the prohibition are identical1 and a    
skilful refiner might possibly satisfy  
himself1 even if he satisfied nobody    
else1 that carcase means the body of a  
live animal as well as a dead one2 and  
that1 since swineherds could hardly     
avoid contact with their charges1 their 
calling was implicitly forbidden4#aaa   
,unfortunately1 the authorised version  

expressly says dead carcase2 and thus   
the most rabbinically minded of         
reconcilers might find his casuistry    
foiled by that great source of          
surprises1 the original ,hebrew4 ,that  
such check is at any rate possible1 is  
clear from the fact that the legal      
uncleanness of some animals1 as food1   
did not interfere with their being      
lawfully possessed1 cared for1 and sold 
by ,jews4 ,the provisions for the       
ransoming of unclean beasts 7,lev4      
xxvii4 #bg7 and for the redemption of   
their sucklings 7,numbers xviii4 #ae7   
sufficiently prove this4 ,as the late   
,dr4 ,kalisch has observed in his       
,commentary on ,leviticus1 part ii4 p4  
#abi1 note3--       ,though asses and   
horses1 camels and dogs1 were kept by   
the      ,israelites1 they were1 to a   
certain extent1 associated with      the
 notion of impurity2 they might be      
turned to profitable      account by    
their labour or otherwise1 but in       
respect to food      they were an       

abomination4  ,the same learned         
commentator 7loc4 cit4 p4 #hh7 proves   
that the ,talmudists forbade the rearing
 of pigs by ,jews1 unconditionally and  
everywhere2 and even included it under  
the same ban as the study of ,greek     
philosophy1 since both alike were       
considered to lead to the desertion of  
the ,jewish faith4 ,it is very possible1
 indeed probable1 that the ,pharisees of
 the fourth decade of our first century 
took as strong a view of pig-keeping as 
did their spiritual descendants4 ,but1  
for all that1 it does not follow that   
the practice was illegal4 ,the stricter 
,jews could not have despised and hated 
swineherds more than they did publicans2
 but1 so far as ,i know1 there is no    
provision in the ,law against the       
practice of the calling of a            
tax-gatherer by a ,jew4 ,the publican   
was in fact very much in the position of
 an ,irish process-server at the present
 day--more1 rather than less1 despised  
and hated on account of the perfect     

legality of his occupation4 ,except for 
certain sacrificial purposes1 pigs were 
held in such abhorrence by the ancient  
,egyptians1 that swineherds were not    
permitted to enter a temple1 or to      
intermarry with other castes2 and any   
one who had touched a pig1 even         
accidentally1 was unclean4 ,but these   
very regulations prove that pig-keeping 
was not illegal2 it merely involved     
certain civil and religious             
disabilities4 ,for the ,jews1 dogs were 
typically unclean animals2 but when that
 eminently pious ,hebrew1 ,tobit1 went  
forth with the angel the young man's dog
 went with them 7,tobit v4 #af7 without 
apparent remonstrance from the celestial
 guide4 ,i really do not see how an     
appeal to the ,law could have justified 
any one in drowning ,tobit's dog1 on the
 ground that his master was keeping and 
feeding an animal quite as unclean as   
any pig4 ,certainly the excellent       
,raguel must have failed to see the harm
 of dog-keeping1 for we are told that1  

on the traveller's return homewards1 the
 dog went after them 7xi4 #d74  ,until  
better light than ,i have been able to  
obtain is thrown upon the subject1      
therefore1 it is obvious that ,mr4      
,gladstone's argumentative house has    
been built upon an extremely slippery   
quick-sand2 perhaps even has no         
foundation at all4  ,yet another point  
does not seem to have occurred to ,mr4  
,gladstone1 who is so much shocked that 
,i attach no overwhelming weight to the 
assertions contained in the synoptic    
,gospels1 even when all three concur4   
,these ,gospels agree in stating1 in the
 most express1 and to some extent       
verbally identical1 terms1 that the     
devils entered the pigs at their own    
request1#aab and the third ,gospel      
7viii4 #ca7 tells us what the motive of 
the demons was in asking the singular   
boon3 ,they intreated him that he would 
not command them to depart into the     
abyss4 ,from this1 it would seem that   
the devils thought to exchange the heavy

 punishment of transportation to the    
abyss for the lighter penalty of        
imprisonment in swine4 ,and some        
commentators1 more ingenious than       
respectful to the supposed chief actor  
in this extraordinary fable1 have dwelt1
 with satisfaction1 upon the very       
unpleasant quarter of an hour which the 
evil spirits must have had1 when the    
headlong rush of their maddened         
tenements convinced them how completely 
they were taken in4 ,in the whole story1
 there is not one solitary hint that the
 destruction of the pigs was intended as
 a punishment of their owners1 or of the
 swineherds4 ,on the contrary1 the      
concurrent testimony of the three       
narratives is to the effect that the    
catastrophe was the consequence of      
diabolic suggestion4 ,and1 indeed1 no   
source could be more appropriate for an 
act of such manifest injustice and      
illegality4  ,i can but marvel that     
modern defenders of the faith should not
 be glad of any reasonable excuse for   

getting rid of a story which1 if it had 
been invented by ,voltaire1 would have  
justly let loose floods of orthodox     
indignation4         99       99        
99       99       99  ,thus1 the        
hypothesis1 to which ,mr4 ,gladstone so 
fondly clings1 finds no support in the  
provisions of the ,law of ,moses as that
 law is defined in the ,pentateuch2     
while it is wholly inconsistent with the
 concurrent testimony of the synoptic   
,gospels1 to which ,mr4 ,gladstone      
attaches so much weight4 ,in my         
judgment1 it is directly contrary to    
everything which profane history tells  
us about the constitution and the       
population of the city of ,gadara2 and  
it commits those who accept it to a     
story which1 if it were true1 would     
implicate the founder of ,christianity  
in an illegal and inequitable act4      
,such being the case1 ,i consider myself
 excused from following ,mr4 ,gladstone 
through all the meanderings of his late 
attempt to extricate himself from the   

maze of historical and exegetical       
difficulties in which he is entangled4  
,i content myself with assuring those   
who1 with my paper 7not ,mr4            
,gladstone's version of my arguments7 in
 hand1 consult the original authorities1
 that they will find full justification 
for every statement ,i have made4 ,but  
in order to dispose those who cannot1 or
 will not1 take that trouble1 to believe
 that the proverbial blindness of one   
that judges his own cause plays no part 
in inducing me to speak thus decidedly1 
,i beg their attention to the following 
examination1 which shall be as brief as 
,i can make it1 of the seven            
propositions in which ,mr4 ,gladstone   
professes to give a faithful summary of 
my errors4  ,when1 in the middle of the 
seventeenth century1 the ,holy ,see     
declared that certain propositions      
contained in the work of ,bishop ,jansen
 were heretical1 the ,jansenists of     
,port ,royal replied that1 while they   
were ready to defer to the ,papal       

authority about questions of faith and  
morals1 they must be permitted to judge 
about questions of fact for themselves2 
and that1 really1 the condemned         
propositions were not to be found in    
,jansen's writings4 ,as everybody knows1
 ,his ,holiness and the ,grand ,monarque
 replied to this1 surely not            
unreasonable1 plea after the manner of  
,lord ,peter in the ,tale of a ,tub4 ,it
 is1 therefore1 not without some        
apprehension of meeting with a similar  
fate1 that ,i put in a like plea against
 ,mr4 ,gladstone's ,bull4 ,the seven    
propositions declared to be false and   
condemnable1 in that kindly and gentle  
way which so pleasantly compares with   
the authoritative style of the ,vatican 
7,no4 #e more particularly71 may or may 
not be true4 ,but they are not to be    
found in anything ,i have written4 ,and 
some of them diametrically contravene   
that which ,i have written4 ,i proceed  
to prove my assertions4  ,,prop4 #a4    
,throughout the paper he confounds      

together what ,i had distinguished1     
namely1 the city of ,gadara and the     
vicinage attached to it1 not as a mere  
pomoerium1 but as a rural district4  ,in
 my judgment1 this statement is devoid  
of foundation4 ,in my paper on ,the     
,keepers of the ,herd of ,swine ,i point
 out1 at some length1 that1 in          
accordance with the ancient ,hellenic   
practice1 each city of the ,decapolis   
must have been surrounded by a certain  
amount of territory amenable to its     
jurisdiction3 and1 to enforce this      
conclusion1 ,i quote what ,josephus says
 about the villages that belonged to    
,gadara and ,hippos4 ,as ,i understand  
the term pomerium or pomoerium1#aac it  
means the space which1 according to     
,roman custom1 was kept free from       
buildings1 immediately within and       
without the walls of a city2 and which  
defined the range of the auspicia       
urbana4 ,the conception of a pomoerium  
as a vicinage attached to a city1       
appears to be something quite novel and 

original4 ,but then1 to be sure1 ,i do  
not know how many senses ,mr4 ,gladstone
 may attach to the word vicinage4       
,whether ,gadara had a pomoerium1 in the
 proper technical sense1 or not1 is a   
point on which ,i offer no opinion4 ,but
 that the city had a very considerable  
rural district attached to it and       
notwithstanding its distinctness1       
amenable to the jurisdiction of the     
,gentile municipal authorities1 is one  
of the main points of my case4  ,,prop4 
#b4 ,he more fatally confounds the local
 civil government and its following1    
including1 perhaps1 the whole wealthy   
class and those attached to it1 with the
 ethnical character of a general        
population4  ,having survived confusion 
,no4 #a1 which turns out not to be on my
 side1 ,i am now confronted in ,no4 #b  
with a more fatal error--and so it is1  
if there be degrees of fatality2 but1   
again1 it is ,mr4 ,gladstone's and not  
mine4 ,it would appear1 from this       
proposition 7about the grammatical      

interpretation of which1 however1 ,i    
admit there are difficulties71 that ,mr4
 ,gladstone holds that the local civil  
government and its following among the  
wealthy1 were ethnically different from 
the general population4 ,on p4 #cdh1 he 
further admits that the wealthy and the 
local governing power were friendly to  
the ,romans4 ,are we then to suppose    
that it was the persons of ,jewish      
ethnical character who favoured the     
,romans1 while those of ,gentile        
ethnical character were opposed to them8
 ,but1 if that supposition is absurd1   
the only alternative is that the local  
civil government was ethnically         
,gentile4 ,this is exactly my           
contention4  ,at pp4 #cgi to #cia of the
 essay on ,the ,keepers of the ,herd of 
,swine ,i have fully discussed the      
question of the ethnical character of   
the general population4 ,i have shown   
that1 according to ,josephus1 who surely
 ought to have known1 ,gadara was as    
much a ,gentile city as ,ptolemais2 ,i  

have proved that he includes ,gadara    
amongst the cities that rose up against 
the ,jews that were amongst them1 which 
is a pretty definite expression of his  
belief that the ethnical character of   
the general population was ,gentile4    
,there is no question here of ,jews of  
the ,roman party fighting with ,jews of 
the ,zealot party1 as ,mr4 ,gladstone   
suggests4 ,it is the non-,jewish and    
anti-,jewish general population which   
rises up against the ,jews who had      
settled among them4  ,,prop4 #c4 ,his   
one item of direct evidence as to the   
,gentile character of the city refers   
only to the former and not to the       
latter4  ,more fatal still4 ,but1 once  
more1 not to me4 ,i adduce not one1 but 
a variety of items in proof of the      
non-,judaic character of the population 
of ,gadara3 the evidence of history2    
that of the coinage of the city2 the    
direct testimony of ,josephus1 just     
cited--to mention no others4 ,i repeat1 
if the wealthy people and those         

connected with them--the classes and the
 hangers on of ,mr4 ,gladstone's        
well-known taxonomy--were1 as he appears
 to admit they were1 ,gentiles2 if the  
civil government of the city was in     
their hands1 as the coinage proves it   
was2 what becomes of ,mr4 ,gladstone's  
original proposition in ,the            
,impregnable ,rock of ,scripture that   
the population of ,gadara1 and still    
less 7if less may be7 the population of 
the neighbourhood1 were ,hebrews bound  
by the ,mosaic law8 ,and what is the    
importance of estimating the precise    
proportion of ,hebrews who may have     
resided1 either in the city of ,gadara  
or in its independent territory1 when1  
as ,mr4 ,gladstone now seems to admit   
7,i am careful to say seems71 the       
government1 and consequently the law1   
which ruled in that territory and       
defined civil right and wrong was       
,gentile and not ,judaic8 ,but perhaps  
,mr4 ,gladstone is prepared to maintain 
that the ,gentile local civil government

 of a city of the ,decapolis            
administered ,jewish law2 and showed    
their respect for it1 more particularly1
 by stamping their coinage with effigies
 of the ,emperors4  ,in point of fact1  
in his haste to attribute to me errors  
which ,i have not committed1 ,mr4       
,gladstone has given away his case4     
,,prop4 #d4 ,he fatally confounds the   
question of political party with those  
of nationality and of religion1 and     
assumes that those who took the side of 
,rome in the factions that prevailed    
could not be subject to the ,mosaic     
,law4  ,it would seem that ,i have a    
feline tenacity of life2 once more1 a   
fatal error4 ,but ,mr4 ,gladstone has   
forgotten an excellent rule of          
controversy2 say what is true1 of       
course1 but mind that it is decently    
probable4 ,now it is not decently       
probable1 hardly indeed conceivable1    
that any one who has read ,josephus1 or 
any other historian of the ,jewish war1 
should be unaware that there were ,jews 

7of whom ,josephus himself was one7 who 
,romanised and1 more or less openly1    
opposed the war party4 ,but1 however    
that may be1 ,i assert that ,mr4        
,gladstone neither has produced1 nor can
 produce1 a passage of my writing which 
affords the slightest foundation for    
this particular article of his          
indictment4  ,,prop4 #e4 ,his           
examination of the text of ,josephus is 
alike one-sided1 inadequate1 and        
erroneous4  ,easy to say1 hard to prove4
 ,so long as the authorities whom ,i    
have cited are on my side1 ,i do not    
know why this singularly temperate and  
convincing dictum should trouble me4 ,i 
have yet to become acquainted with ,mr4 
,gladstone's claims to speak with an    
authority equal to that of scholars of  
the rank of ,schrer1 whose obviously    
just and necessary emendations he so    
unceremoniously pooh-poohs4  ,,prop4 #f4
 ,finally1 he sets aside1 on grounds not
 critical or historical1 but partly     
subjective1 the primary historical      

testimony on the subject1 namely1 that  
of the three ,synoptic ,evangelists1 who
 write as contemporaries and deal       
directly with the subject1 neither of   
which is done by any other authority4   
,really this is too much6 ,the fact is1 
as anybody can see who will turn to my  
article of ,february #ahhi ,,vii4 supra1
 out of which all this discussion has   
arisen1 that the arguments upon which ,i
 rest the strength of my case touching  
the swine-miracle1 are exactly          
historical and critical4 ,expressly1 and
 in words that cannot be misunderstood1 
,i refuse to rest on what ,mr4          
,gladstone calls subjective evidence4 ,i
 abstain from denying the possibility of
 the ,gadarene occurrence1 and ,i even  
go so far as to speak of some physical  
analogies to possession4 ,in fact1 my   
quondam opponent1 ,dr4 ,wace1 shrewdly1 
but quite fairly1 made the most of these
 admissions2 and stated that ,i had     
removed the only consideration which    
would have been a serious obstacle in   

the way of his belief in the ,gadarene  
story4#aad  ,so far from setting aside  
the authority of the synoptics on       
subjective grounds1 ,i have taken a     
great deal of trouble to show that my   
non-belief in the story is based upon   
what appears to me to be evident2       
firstly1 that the accounts of the three 
synoptic ,gospels are not independent1  
but are founded upon a common source2   
secondly1 that1 even if the story of the
 common tradition proceeded from a      
contemporary1 it would still be worthy  
of very little credit1 seeing the manner
 in which the legends about medival     
miracles have been propounded by        
contemporaries4 ,and in illustration of 
this position ,i wrote a special essay  
about the miracles reported by          
,eginhard4#aae  ,in truth1 one need go  
no further than ,mr4 ,gladstone's sixth 
proposition to be convinced that        
contemporary testimony1 even of         
well-known and distinguished persons1   
may be but a very frail reed for the    

support of the historian1 when          
theological prepossession blinds the    
witness4#aaf  ,,prop4 #g4 ,and he treats
 the entire question1 in the narrowed   
form in which it arises upon secular    
testimony1 as if it were capable of a   
solution so clear and summary as to     
warrant the use of the extremest weapons
 of controversy against those who       
presume to differ from him4  ,the six   
heretical propositions which have gone  
before are enunciated with sufficient   
clearness to enable me to prove1 without
 any difficulty1 that1 whosesoever they 
are1 they are not mine4 ,but number     
seven1 ,i confess1 is too hard for me4  
,i cannot undertake to contradict that  
which ,i do not understand4  ,what is   
the entire question which arises in a   
narrowed form upon secular testimony8   
,after much guessing1 ,i am fain to give
 up the conundrum4 ,the question may be 
the ownership of the pigs2 or the       
ethnological character of the           
,gadarenes2 or the propriety of meddling

 with other people's property without   
legal warrant4 ,and each of these       
questions might be so narrowed when it  
arose on secular testimony that ,i      
should not know where ,i was4 ,so ,i am 
silent on this part of the proposition4 
,but ,i do dimly discern1 in the latter 
moiety of this mysterious paragraph1 a  
reproof of that use of the extremest    
weapons of controversy which is         
attributed to me4 ,upon which ,i have to
 observe that ,i guide myself1 in such  
matters1 very much by the maxim of a    
great statesman1 ,do ut des4 ,if ,mr4   
,gladstone objects to the employment of 
such weapons of defence1 he would do    
well to abstain from them in attack4 ,he
 should not frame charges which he has1 
afterwards1 to admit are erroneous1 in  
language of carefully calculated        
offensiveness 7,impregnable ,rock1 pp4  
#bfi-gj72 he should not assume that     
persons with whom he disagrees are so   
recklessly unconscientious as to evade  
the trouble of inquiring what has been  

said or known about a grave question    
7,impregnable ,rock1 p4 #bgc72 he should
 not qualify the results of careful     
thought as hand-over-head reasoning     
7,impregnable ,rock1 p4 #bgd72 he should
 not1 as in the extraordinary           
propositions which ,i have just         
analysed1 make assertions respecting his
 opponent's position and arguments which
 are contradicted by the plainest facts4
  ,persons who1 like myself1 have spent 
their lives outside the political world1
 yet take a mild and philosophical      
concern in what goes on in it1 often    
find it difficult to understand what our
 neighbours call the psychological      
moment of this or that party leader1 and
 are1 occasionally1 loth to believe in  
the seeming conditions of certain kinds 
of success4 ,and when some chieftain1   
famous in political warfare1 adventures 
into the region of letters or of        
science1 in full confidence that the    
methods which have brought fame and     
honour in his own province will answer  

there1 he is apt to forget that he will 
be judged by these people1 on whom      
rhetorical artifices have long ceased to
 take effect2 and to whom mere dexterity
 in putting together cleverly ambiguous 
phrases1 and even the great art of      
offensive misrepresentation1 are        
unspeakably wearisome4 ,and1 if that    
weariness finds its expression in       
sarcasm1 the offender really has no     
right to cry out4 ,assuredly ridicule is
 no test of truth1 but it is the        
righteous meed of some kinds of error4  
,nor ought the attempt to confound the  
expression of a revolted sense of fair  
dealing with arrogant impatience of     
contradiction1 to restrain those to whom
 the extreme weapons of controversy come
 handy from using them4 ,the function of
 police in the intellectual1 if not in  
the civil1 economy may sometimes be     
legitimately discharged by volunteers4  
99       99       99       99       99  
,some time ago in one of the many       
criticisms with which ,i am favoured1 ,i

 met with the remark that1 at our time  
of life1 ,mr4 ,gladstone and ,i might be
 better occupied than in fighting over  
the ,gadarene pigs4 ,and1 if these too  
famous swine were the only parties to   
the suit1 ,i1 for my part1 should fully 
admit the justice of the rebuke4 ,but1  
under the beneficent rule of the ,court 
of ,chancery1 in former times1 it was   
not uncommon1 that a quarrel about a few
 perches of worthless land1 ended in the
 ruin of ancient families and the       
engulfing of great estates2 and ,i think
 that our admonisher failed to observe  
the analogy--to note the momentous      
consequences of the judgment which may  
be awarded in the present apparently    
insignificant action in re the          
swineherds of ,gadara4  ,the immediate  
effect of such judgment will be the     
decision of the question1 whether the   
men of the nineteenth century are to    
adopt the demonology of the men of the  
first century1 as divinely revealed     
truth1 or to reject it1 as degrading    

falsity4 ,the reverend ,principal of    
,king's ,college has delivered his      
judgment in perfectly clear and candid  
terms4 ,two years since1 ,dr4 ,wace said
 that he believed the story as it       
stands2 and consequently he holds1 as a 
part of divine revelation1 that the     
spiritual world comprises devils1 who1  
under certain circumstances1 may enter  
men and be transferred from them to     
four-footed beasts4 ,for the            
distinguished ,anglican ,divine and     
,biblical scholar1 that is part and     
parcel of the teachings respecting the  
spiritual world which we owe to the     
founder of ,christianity4 ,it is an     
inseparable part of that ,christian     
orthodoxy which1 if a man rejects1 he is
 to be considered and called an infidel4
 ,according to the ordinary rules of    
interpretation of language1 ,mr4        
,gladstone must hold the same view4  ,if
 antiquity and universality are valid   
tests of the truth of any belief1 no    
doubt this is one of the beliefs so     

certified4 ,there are no known savages1 
nor people sunk in the ignorance of     
partial civilisation1 who do not hold   
them4 ,the great majority of ,christians
 have held them and still hold them4    
,moreover the oldest records we possess 
of the early conceptions of mankind in  
,egypt and in ,mesopotamia prove that   
exactly such demonology1 as is implied  
in the ,gadarene story1 formed the      
substratum1 and1 among the early        
,accadians1 apparently the greater part1
 of their supposed knowledge of the     
spiritual world4 ,m4 ,lenormant's       
profoundly interesting work on          
,babylonian magic and the magical texts 
given in the ,appendix to ,professor    
,sayce's ,hibbert ,lectures leave no    
doubt on this head4 ,they prove that the
 doctrine of possession1 and even the   
particular case of pig1 possession1#aag 
were firmly believed in by the          
,egyptians and the ,mesopotamians before
 the tribes of ,israel invaded          
,palestine4 ,and it is evident that     

these beliefs1 from some time after the 
exile and probably much earlier1        
completely interpenetrated the ,jewish  
mind1 and thus became inseparably       
interwoven with the fabric of the       
synoptic ,gospels4  ,therefore1 behind  
the question of the acceptance of the   
doctrines of the oldest heathen         
demonology as part of the fundamental   
beliefs of ,christianity1 there lies the
 question of the credibility of the     
,gospels1 and of their claim to act as  
our instructors1 outside that ethical   
province in which they appeal to the    
consciousness of all thoughtful men4    
,and still1 behind this problem1 there  
lies another--how far do these ancient  
records give a sure foundation to the   
prodigious fabric of ,christian dogma1  
which has been built upon them by the   
continuous labours of speculative       
theologians1 during eighteen centuries8 
,i submit that there are few questions  
before the men of the rising generation1
 on the answer to which the future hangs

 more fatally1 than this4 ,we are at the
 parting of the ways4 ,whether the      
twentieth century shall see a           
recrudescence of the superstitions of   
medival papistry1 or whether it shall   
witness the severance of the living body
 of the ethical ideal of prophetic      
,israel from the carcase1 foul with     
savage superstitions and cankered with  
false philosophy1 to which the          
theologians have bound it1 turns upon   
their final judgment of the ,gadarene   
tale4  ,the gravity of the problems     
ultimately involved in the discussion of
 the legend of ,gadara will1 ,i hope1   
excuse a persistence in returning to the
 subject1 to which ,i should not have   
been moved by merely personal           
considerations4  ,with respect to the   
diluvial invective which overflowed     
thirty-three pages of the ,nineteenth   
,century last ,january1 ,i doubt not    
that it has a catastrophic importance in
 the estimation of its author4 ,i1 on   
the other hand1 may be permitted to     

regard it as a mere spate2 noisy and    
threatening while it lasted1 but        
forgotten almost as soon as it was over4
 ,without my help1 it will be judged by 
every instructed and clear-headed       
reader2 and that is fortunate1 because1 
were aid necessary1 ,i have cogent      
reasons for withholding it4  ,in an     
article characterised by the same       
qualities of thought and diction1       
entitled ,a ,great ,lesson1 which       
appeared in the ,nineteenth ,century for
 ,september #ahhg1 the ,duke of ,argyll1
 firstly1 charged the whole body of men 
of science1 interested in the question1 
with having conspired to ignore certain 
criticisms of ,mr4 ,darwin's theory of  
the origin of coral reefs2 and1         
secondly1 he asserted that some person  
unnamed had actually induced ,mr4 ,john 
,murray to delay the publication of his 
views on that subject for two years4    
,it was easy for me and for others to   
prove that the first statement was not  
only1 to use the ,duke of ,argyll's     

favourite expression1 contrary to fact1 
but that it was without any foundation  
whatever4 ,the second statement rested  
on the ,duke of ,argyll's personal      
authority4 ,all ,i could do was to      
demand the production of the evidence   
for it4 ,up to the present time1 so far 
as ,i know1 that evidence has not made  
its appearance2 nor has there been any  
withdrawal of1 or apology for1 the      
erroneous charge4  ,under these         
circumstances most people will          
understand why the ,duke of ,argyll may 
feel quite secure of having the battle  
all to himself1 whenever it pleases him 
to attack me4  ,see the note at the end 
of ,hasisadra's ,adventure 7vol iv4 p4  
#bhc74 ,the discussion on coral reefs1  
at the meeting of the ,british          
,association this year1 proves that ,mr4
 ,darwin's views are defended now1 as   
strongly as in #ahia1 by highly         
competent authorities4 ,october #be1    
#ahic4  ,,footnotes3      #ajg          
,nineteenth ,century1 ,february #ahia1  

pp4 #cci-dj4      #ajh ,neither is it of
 any consequence whether the locality   
of the supposed miracle was ,gadara1 or 
,gerasa1 or           ,gergesa4 ,but ,i 
may say that ,i was well acquainted with
           ,origen's opinion respecting 
,gergesa4 ,it is fully                  
discussed and rejected in ,riehm's      
,handwrterbuch4 ,in           ,kitto's  
,biblical ,cyclopdia 7ii4 p4 #ea7       
,professor           ,porter remarks    
that ,origen merely conjectures that    
,gergesa was indicated3 and he adds1    
,now1 in a question           of this   
kind conjectures cannot be admitted4 ,we
 must           implicitly follow the   
most ancient and creditable             
testimony1 which clearly pronounces in  
favour of           ,gadarnhn4 ,this    
reading is adopted by ,tischendorf1     
,alford1 and ,tregelles4      #aji ,i   
may call attention1 in passing1 to the  
fact that this           authority1 at  
any rate1 has no sort of doubt of the   
fact that ,jewish ,law did not rule in  

,gadara 7indeed1           under the    
head of ,gadara1 in the same work1 it is
           expressly stated that the    
population of the place                 
consisted predominantly of heathens71   
and that he           scouts the notion 
that the ,gadarene swineherds were      
,jews4      #aaj ,the evidence adduced1 
so far as post-exile times are          
concerned1 appears to me insufficient to
 prove this           assertion4        
#aaa ,even ,leviticus xi4 #bf1 cited    
without reference to the                
context1 will not serve the purpose2    
because the swine           is          
cloven-footed 7,lev4 xi4 #g74      #aab 
#ast ,gospel3 ,and the devils besought  
him1 saying1           ,if ,thou cast us
 out send us away into the herd of      
swine4 #b;d ,gospel3 ,they besought him1
 saying1 ,send           us into the    
swine4 #c;d ,gospel3 ,they intreated him
           that he would give them leave
 to enter into them4      #aac ,see     
,marquardt1 ,rmische ,staatsverwaltung1 

,bd4 ,,iii4           p4 #djh4      #aad
 ,nineteenth ,century1 ,march #ahhi 7p4 
#cfb74      #aae ,the ,value of ,witness
 to the ,miraculous4 ,nineteenth        
,century1 ,march #ahhi4      #aaf ,i    
cannot ask the ,editor of this ,review  
to reprint pages           of an old    
article1--but the following passages    
sufficiently illustrate the extent and  
the character of           the          
discrepancy between the facts of the    
case and ,mr4           ,gladstone's    
account of them3--            ,now1 in  
the ,gadarene affair1 ,i do not think ,i
 am           unreasonably sceptical if 
,i say that the existence of            
demons who can be transferred from a man
 to a pig does           thus contravene
 probability4 ,let me be perfectly      
candid4 ,i admit ,i have no  priori     
objection to           offer4444 ,i     
declare1 as plainly as ,i can1 that ,i  
am           unable to show cause why   
these transferable devils               
should not exist4 444 7,agnosticism1    

,nineteenth           ,century1 #ahhi1  
p4 #agg74            ,what then do we   
know about the originator1 or           
originators1 of this groundwork--of that
 threefold           tradition which all
 three witnesses 7in ,paley's phrase7   
agree upon--that we should allow their  
mere statements           to outweigh   
the counter arguments of humanity1 of   
common sense1 of exact science1 and to  
imperil the           respect which all 
would be glad to be able to render to   
their ,master8 7ibid4 p4 #age74         
,i then go on through a couple of pages 
to discuss the           value of the   
evidence of the synoptics on critical   
and           historical grounds4 ,mr4  
,gladstone cites the essay from         
which these passages are taken1 whence  
,i suppose he has           read it2    
though it may be that he shares the     
impatience           of ,cardinal       
,manning where my writings are          
concerned4           ,such impatience   
will account for1 though it will not    

excuse1 his sixth proposition4      #aag
 ,the wicked1 before being annihilated1 
returned to the           world to      
disturb men2 they entered into the body 
of           unclean animals1 often that
 of a pig1 as on the                    
,sarcophagus of ,seti ,i4 in the ,soane 
,museum4--,lenormant1 ,chaldean ,magic1 
p4 #hh1 ,editorial           ,note4     
,,end ,,of ,,vol4 ,v         99       99
       99       99       99  ,,thomas   
,h4 ,,huxley',s ,,works4  ,collected4   
,essays1 #abmo1 cloth1 #a4be per volume4
   ,vol4 #a4 ,method and ,results4      
#b4 ,darwiniana4       #c4 ,science and 
,education4       #d4 ,science and      
,hebrew ,tradition4       #e4 ,science  
and ,christian ,tradition4       #f4    
,hume4       #g4 ,man's ,place in       
,nature4       #h4 ,discourses1         
,biological and ,geological4       #i4  
,evolution and ,ethics1 and ,other      
,essays4  ,the ,crayfish3   ,an         
,introduction to the ,study of ,zology4 
,with #hb ,illustrations4 #abmo1 cloth1 

#a4ge4  ,manual of the ,anatomy of      
,vertebrated   ,animals4 ,illustrated4  
#abmo1 cloth1 #b4ej4  ,manual of the    
,anatomy of ,invertebrated   ,animals4  
,illustrated4 #abmo1 cloth1 #b4ej4      
,physiography3   ,an ,introduction to   
the ,study of ,nature4 ,with            
,illustrations and ,colored ,plates4    
#abmo1 cloth1 #b4ej4  ,the ,origin of   
,species2   ,or1 ,the ,causes of the    
,phenomena of ,nature4   #abmo1 cloth1  
#a4jj4  ,d4 ,,appleton ,,and ,,company1 
,,new ,,york4         99       99       
99       99       99  ,,the ,,book ,,of 
,,the ,,year4  ,,life ,,and ,,letters   
,,of ,,thomas ,,henry ,,huxley      ,by 
his ,son1 ,,leonard ,,huxley4      ,in  
two volumes4 ,illustrated4 #hvo4 ,cloth1
 #e4jj net4       ,this very complete   
revelation of the character and work of 
a man who must be regarded as one of the
 forces which gave      character to the
 nineteenth century will be welcomed by 
a      far wider circle of readers than 
that which is interested in             

,huxley's strictly scientific           
researches4444 ,these two richly        
interesting volumes are sure to be      
widely read4--,london      ,times4      
,it 'goes without saying' what precious 
freight was carried      by ,huxley's   
letters4444 ,these two delightful       
volumes4--,london ,chronicle4           
,huxley's life was so full1 so active1  
so many-sided1 in      touch with such a
 number of interesting people1 that this
      work appeals to all sorts and     
conditions of men4444 ,an      admirably
 written biography4--,london ,standard4 
,his letters are a self-revelation of   
the man1 his work1 his      ambitions1  
his trials1 his views of religion1 his  
philosophy1 his public activity and     
domestic happiness4444      ,whoso reads
 these volumes will feel that he knows  
better a      man worth knowing1 and the
 number who will read them will be      
great4--,london ,telegraph4             
,huxley's career makes a wonderful      
story4--,london ,mail4       ,mr4       

,leonard ,huxley has given the world    
many extremely      valuable and        
interesting letters1 all characteristic1
 and he      has connected them by a    
well-written consecutive narrative      
which is sufficient to weave them       
together4--,london ,news4  ,d4          
,,appleton ,,and ,,company1 ,,new       
,,york4        99       99       99     
99       99  ,,recent ,,books ,,by      
,,distinguished ,,specialists4  ,,the   
,,comparative ,,physiology ,,and        
,,morphology ,,of ,,animals4    ,by     
,prof4 ,,joseph ,,le ,,conte4           
,illustrated4 #abmo4 ,cloth1 #b4jj4     
,,evolution ,,by ,,atrophy4    ,by      
,,jean ,,demoor1 ,,jean ,,massart1 and  
,,mile ,,vandervelde4    ,a new volume  
in the ,international ,scientific       
,series4    #abmo1 ,cloth1 #a4ej4       
,,foot-,,notes ,,to ,,evolution4    ,a  
,series of ,popular ,addresses on the   
,evolution of ,life4    ,by ,,david     
,,starr ,,jordan1 ,ph4,d41    ,president
 of ,leland ,stanford ,junior           

,university4    #abmo4 ,cloth1 #a4ej4   
,,outlines ,,of ,,the ,,earth',s        
,,history4    ,a ,popular ,study in     
,physiography4    ,by ,prof4 ,n4,s4     
,,shaler1 of ,harvard ,university4      
,illustrated4 #abmo4 ,cloth1 #a4ej4     
,,studies ,,of ,,good ,,and ,,evil4     
,by ,,josiah ,,royce1    ,professor of  
the ,history of ,philosophy in ,harvard 
,university4    #abmo4 ,cloth1 #a4ej4   
,,evolution ,,ethics ,,and ,,animal     
,,psychology4    ,by ,e4,p4 ,,evans1    
,author of ,animal ,symbolism in        
,ecclesiastical ,architecture1 etc4     
#abmo4 ,cloth1 #a4ge4  ,,wages ,,and    
,,capital4    ,an ,examination of the   
,wages ,fund ,doctrine4    ,by ,f4,w4   
,,taussig1 ,professor of ,political     
,economy in ,harvard ,university1       
,author of ,tariff ,history of the      
,united ,state and    ,the ,silver      
,situation in the ,united ,states4      
#abmo4 ,cloth1 #a4ej4  ,,what ,,is      
,,electricity8    ,by ,prof4 ,,john     
,,trowbridge1 of ,harvard ,university4  

#abmo4 ,cloth1 #a4ej4  ,,the            
,,psychology ,,of ,,suggestion4    ,a   
,research into the ,subconscious ,nature
 of ,man and ,society4    ,by ,,boris   
,,sidis1 ,m4,a41 ,ph4,d41    ,associate 
in ,psychology at the ,pathological     
,institute    of the ,new ,york ,state  
,hospitals4    ,with an ,introduction by
 ,prof4 ,william ,james1 of ,harvard    
,university4    ,illustrated4 #abmo4    
,cloth1 #a4ge4  ,d4 ,,appleton ,,and    
,,company1 ,,new ,,york         99      
99       99       99       99           
,,spencer',s ,,synthetic ,,philosophy1  
#abmo1 cloth1 #b4jj per volume4         
,,new ,,edition ,,of      ,first        
,principles4       ,by ,,herbert        
,,spencer4 ,new and revised 7sixth7     
edition of the      first volume of the 
author's ,synthetic ,philosophy4        
,this fundamental and most important    
work has been changed in      substance 
and in form to a considerable extent1   
and largely      rewritten and wholly   
reset4 ,it is now forty years since the 

author began the ,first ,principles1 and
 its presentation in      this          
definitive form1 with the author's last 
revisions1 is      an event of peculiar 
interest and consequence4 ,while        
experience has not caused him to recede 
from the general      principles set    
forth1 he has made some important       
changes in      the substance and form4 
,his amendments of matter and manner    
are now final4       ,the contents of   
the several volumes of the series are as
      follows3       #a4 ,first         
,principles4             ,i4 ,the       
,unknowable4            ,,ii4 ,the      
,knowable4       #b4 ,the ,principles of
 ,biology4 ,vol4 #a4            ,i4 ,the
 ,data of ,biology4           ,,ii4 ,the
 ,inductions of ,biology4               
,,iii4 ,the ,evolution of ,life4        
#c4 ,the ,principles of ,biology4 ,vol4 
#b4           ,,iv4 ,morphological      
,development4            ,v4            
,physiological ,development4            
,,vi4 ,laws of ,multiplication4         

#d4 ,the ,principles of ,psychology4    
,vol4 #a4            ,i4 ,the ,data of  
,psychology4           ,,ii4 ,the       
,inductions of ,psychology4             
,,iii4 ,general ,synthesis4             
,,iv4 ,special ,synthesis4              
,v4 ,physical ,synthesis4       #e4 ,the
 ,principles of ,psychology4 ,vol4 #b4  
,,vi4 ,special ,analysis4               
,,vii4 ,general ,analysis4              
,,viii4 ,congruities4           ,,ix4   
,corollaries4       #f4 ,the ,principles
 of ,sociology4 ,vol4 #a4            ,i4
 ,the ,data of ,sociology4              
,,ii4 ,the ,inductions of ,sociology4   
,,iii4 ,the ,domestic ,relations4       
#g4 ,the ,principles of ,sociology4     
,vol4 #b4           ,,iv4 ,ceremonial   
,institutions4            ,v4 ,political
 ,institutions4       #h4 ,the          
,principles of ,sociology4 ,vol4 #c4    
,,vi4 ,ecclesiastical ,institutions4    
,,vii4 ,professional ,institutions4     
,,viii4 ,industrial ,institutions4      
#i4 ,the ,principles of ,ethics4 ,vol4  

#a4            ,i4 ,the ,data of        
,ethics4           ,,ii4 ,the           
,inductions of ,ethics4          ,,iii4 
,the ,ethics of ,individual ,life4      
#aj4 ,the ,principles of ,ethics4 ,vol4 
#b4           ,,iv4 ,the ,ethics of     
,social ,life3 ,justice4            ,v4 
,the ,ethics of ,social ,life3 ,negative
 ,beneficence4           ,,vi4 ,the     
,ethics of ,social ,life3 ,positive     
,beneficence4  ,d4 ,,appleton ,,and     
,,company1 ,,new ,,york4         99     
99       99       99       99  ,,books  
,,by ,,prof4 ,g4 ,,frederick ,,wright4  
,,the ,,scientific ,,aspects ,,of       
,,christian ,,evidences4      ,by ,g4   
,,frederick ,,wright1 ,d4,d41 ,,ll4,d41 
,f4,g4,s4,a41      ,professor of the    
,harmony of ,science and ,revelation1   
,oberlin ,college2      ,author of ,the 
,logic of ,christian ,evidences1        
,the ,ice ,age in ,north ,america1 etc4 
,illustrated4 #abmo4 ,cloth1 #a4ej4     
,this volume contains the ripest fruit  
of the author's varied      studies     

along the several cognate lines of      
evidence which      converge with       
special power in recent times to shed   
light      upon the foundations of      
,christianity4 ,among the subjects      
discussed are ,limits of ,scientific    
,thought1 ,paradoxes of      ,science1  
,god and ,nature1 ,darwinism and        
,design1 ,mediate      ,miracles1       
,beyond ,reasonable ,doubt1 ,the ,newly 
,discovered      ,external ,evidences1  
,the ,evidence of ,textual ,criticism1  
,internal ,evidence of the ,early ,date 
of the ,gospel1 and      ,positive      
,results of the ,cumulative ,evidence4  
,these chapters      are an elaboration 
of the ,lowell ,institute ,lectures     
delivered in ,boston in #ahif4          
,,greenland ,,icefields1 ,,and ,,life   
,,in ,,the ,,north ,,atlantic4          
,with a ,new ,discussion of the ,causes 
of the ,ice ,age4      ,by ,g4          
,,frederick ,,wright1 ,d4,d41 ,,ll4,d41 
,f4,g4,s4,a41 ,author of      ,the ,ice 
,age in ,north ,america1 ,man and the   

,glacial      ,period1 etc41 and        
,,warren ,,upham1 ,a4,m41 ,f4,g4,s4,a41 
late of the      ,geological ,surveys of
 ,new ,hampshire1 ,minnesota1 and the   
,united ,states4 ,with numerous ,maps   
and ,illustrations4 #abmo4      ,cloth1 
#b4jj4  ,,the ,,ice ,,age ,,in ,,north  
,,america1 and its ,bearings upon the   
,antiquity of ,man4      ,with an       
,appendix on ,the ,probable ,cause of   
,glaciation1 by      ,,warren ,,upham1  
,f4,g4,s4,a41 ,assistant on the         
,geological ,surveys      of ,new       
,hampshire1 ,minnesota1 and the ,united 
,states4 ,new and      enlarged edition4
 ,with #aej ,maps and ,illustrations4   
#hvo1 #fbe      pages1 and ,index4      
,cloth1 #e4jj4  ,,man ,,and ,,the       
,,glacial ,,period4      ,international 
,scientific ,series4      ,with numerous
 ,illustrations4 #abmo4 ,cloth1 #a4ge4  
,the earlier chapters describing glacial
 action1 and the      traces of it in   
,north ,america--especially the defining
 of      its limits1 such as the        

terminal moraine of the great           
movement itself--are of great interest  
and value ,the maps      and diagrams   
are of much assistance in enabling the  
reader      to grasp the vast extent of 
the movement4--,london      ,spectator4 
,d4 ,,appleton ,,and ,,company1 ,,new   
,,york4         99       99       99    
99       99  ,d4 ,,appleton ,,and       
,,company',s ,,publications4            
,,miscellaneous ,,works ,,of ,,herbert  
,,spencer4  ,,social ,,statics4         
,new and revised edition1 including ,the
 ,man versus ,the      ,state4 ,a series
 of essays on political tendencies      
heretofore published separately4 #abmo4 
#dbj pages4 ,cloth1      #b4jj4         
,mr4 ,spencer has thoroughly studied the
 issues which are      behind the social
 and political life of our own time1 not
      exactly those issues which are    
discussed in ,parliament or in          
,congress1 but the principles of all    
modern government1 which      are slowly
 changing in response to the broader    

industrial      and general development 
of human experience4 ,one will obtain   
no suggestions out of his book for      
guiding a political party      or       
carrying a point in economics1 but he   
will find the      principles of        
sociology1 as they pertain to the whole 
of      life1 better stated in these    
pages than he can find them             
expressed anywhere else4 ,it is in this 
sense that this work      is important  
and fresh and vitalizing4 ,it goes      
constantly to      the foundation of    
things4--,boston ,herald4  ,,various    
,,fragments1      #abmo4 ,cloth1 #a4be4 
,along with a considerable variety of   
other matter1 these      ,fragments     
include a number of replies to          
criticisms1 among      which will be    
found some of the best specimens of ,mr4
      ,spencer's controversial writings1
 notably his letter to the      ,london 
,athenum on ,professor ,huxley's famous 
address on      ,evolutionary ,ethics4  
,his views on copyright1 national and   

international1 ,social ,evolution and   
,social ,duty1 and      ,anglo-,american
 ,arbitration1 also form a part of the  
contents4  ,,education3 ,intellectual1  
,moral1 and ,physical4      #abmo4      
,paper1 #ej cents2 cloth1 #a4be4        
,,contents3 ,what ,knowledge is of most 
,worth8 ,intellectual      ,education4  
,moral ,education4 ,physical ,education4
  ,,the ,,study ,,of ,,sociology4       
,the fifth volume in the ,international 
scientific ,series4      #abmo4 ,cloth1 
#a4ej4       ,,contents3 ,our need of   
it4 ,is there a ,social ,science8       
,nature      of the ,social ,science4   
,difficulties of the ,social ,science4  
,objective ,difficulties4 ,subjective   
,difficulties1      ,intellectual4      
,subjective ,difficulties1 ,emotional1  
,the      ,educational ,bias4 ,the ,bias
 of ,patriotism4 ,the ,class ,bias4     
,the ,political ,bias4 ,the ,theological
 ,bias4 ,discipline4      ,preparation  
in ,biology4 ,preparation in            
,psychology4      ,conclusion4  ,,the   

,,inadequacy ,,of ,,natural ,,selection4
      #abmo4 ,paper1 #cj cents4         
,this essay1 in which ,professor        
,weismann's theories are                
criticised1 is reprinted from the       
,contemporary ,review1 and              
comprises a forcible presentation of    
,mr4 ,spencer's views      upon the     
general subject indicated in the title4 
,d4 ,,appleton ,,and ,,company1 ,,new   
,,york4         99       99       99    
99       99  ,,pioneers ,,of ,,science  
,,in ,,america4      ,sketches of their 
,lives and ,scientific ,work4           
,edited and revised by ,,william ,,jay  
,,youmans1 ,m4,d4      ,with ,portraits4
 #hvo1 ,cloth1 #d4jj4       ,impelled   
solely by an enthusiastic love of       
,nature1 and      neither asking nor    
receiving outside aid1 these early      
workers opened the way and initiated the
 movement through      which ,american  
science has reached its present         
commanding      position4 ,this book    
gives some account of these men1 their  

early struggles1 their scientific       
labors1 and1 whenever      possible1    
something of their personal             
characteristics4 ,this      information1
 often very difficult to obtain1 has    
been      collected from a great variety
 of sources1 with the utmost      care  
to secure accuracy4 ,it is presented in 
a series of      sketches1 some fifty in
 all1 each with a single exception      
accompanied with a well-authenticated   
portrait4       ,fills a place that     
needed filling1 and is likely to be     
widely read4--,n4,y4 ,sun4       ,it is 
certainly a useful and convenient       
volume1 and      readable too1 if we    
judge correctly of the degree of        
accuracy of the whole by critical       
examination of those cases      in which
 our own knowledge enables us to form an
 opinion4444      ,in general1 it seems 
to us that the handy volume is          
specially to be commended for setting in
 just historical      perspective many  
of the earlier scientists who are       

neither      very generally nor very    
well known4--,new ,york ,evening        
,post4       ,a wonderfully interesting 
volume4 ,many a young man will      find
 it fascinating4 ,the compilation of the
 book is a work      well done1 well    
worth the doing4--,philadelphia ,press4 
,one of the most valuable books which we
 have      received4--,boston           
,advertiser4       ,a book of no little 
educational value4444 ,an extremely     
valuable work of reference4--,boston    
,beacon4       ,a valuable handbook for 
those whose work runs on these same     
lines1 and is likely to prove of lasting
 interest to those      for whom 'les   
documents humain' are second only to    
history      in importance--nay1 are a  
vital part of history4--,boston         
,transcript4       ,a biographical      
history of science in ,america1         
noteworthy      for its completeness and
 scope4444 ,all of the sketches are     
excellently prepared and unusually      
interesting4--,chicago      ,record4    

,one of the most valuable contributions 
to ,american      literature recently   
made4444 ,the pleasing style in which   
these sketches are written1 the plans   
taken to secure      accuracy1 and the  
information conveyed1 combine to give   
them      great value and interest4 ,no 
better or more inspiring      reading   
could be placed in the hands of an      
intelligent and      aspiring young     
man4--,new ,york ,christian ,work4      
,a book whose interest and value are not
 for to-day or      to-morrow1 but for  
indefinite time4--,rochester ,herald4   
,it is difficult to imagine a reader of 
ordinary      intelligence who would not
 be entertained by the book4444         
,conciseness1 exactness1 urbanity of    
tone1 and      interestingness are the  
four qualities which chiefly impress    
the reader of these sketches4--,buffalo 
,express4       ,full of interesting and
 valuable matter4--,the ,churchman4     
,new ,york3 ,d4 ,,appleton  ,,co41 #gb  
,fifth ,avenue4         99       99     

99       99       99  ,,pioneers ,,of   
,,evolution1 from ,thales to ,huxley4   
,by ,,edward ,,clodd1 ,president of the 
,folk-,lore ,society2      ,author of   
,the ,story of ,creation1      ,the     
,story of ',primitive' ,man1 etc4       
,with ,portraits4 #abmo4 ,cloth4 #a4ej4 
,the mass of interesting material which 
,mr4 ,clodd has got      together and   
woven into a symmetrical story of the   
progress      from ignorance and theory 
to knowledge and the intelligent        
recording of fact is prodigious4444 ,the
 'goal' to which ,mr4      ,clodd leads 
us in so masterly a fashion is but the  
starting      point of fresh            
achievements1 and1 in due course1 fresh 
theories4 ,his book furnishes an        
important contribution to a      liberal
 education4--,london ,daily ,chronicle4 
,we are always glad to meet ,mr4 ,clodd4
 ,he is never dull2 he      is always   
well informed1 and he says what he has  
to say with      clearness and          
precision4444 ,the interest intensifies 

as ,mr4      ,clodd attempts to show the
 part really played in the growth       
of the doctrine of evolution by men like
 ,wallace1 ,darwin1      ,huxley1 and   
,spencer4444 ,we commend the book to    
those who      want to know what        
evolution really means4--,london ,times4
       ,this is a book which was        
needed4444 ,altogether1 the book        
could hardly be better done4 ,it is     
luminous1 lucid1 orderly1      and      
temperate4 ,above all1 it is entirely   
free from personal      partisanship4   
,each chief actor is sympathetically    
treated1      and friendship is seldom  
or never allowed to overweight          
sound judgment4--,london ,academy4      
,we can assure the reader that he will  
find in this work a      very useful    
guide to the lives and labors of leading
      evolutionists of the past and     
present4 ,especially      serviceable is
 the account of ,mr4 ,herbert ,spencer  
and his      share in rediscovering     
evolution1 and illustrating its         

relations to the whole field of human   
knowledge4 ,his      forcible style and 
wealth of metaphor make all that ,mr4   
,clodd writes arrestive and             
interesting4--,london ,literary         
,world4       ,can not but prove welcome
 to fair-minded men4444 ,to read it     
is to have an object-lesson in the      
meaning of evolution4444      ,there is 
no better book on the subject for the   
general      reader4444 ,no one could go
 through the book without being         
both refreshed and newly instructed by  
its masterly survey      of the growth  
of the most powerful idea of modern     
times4--,the ,scotsman4  ,d4 ,,appleton 
,,and ,,company1 ,,new ,,york4          
99       99       99       99       99  
,,evolution ,,of ,,man ,,and            
,,christianity4      ,new edition4 ,by  
the ,rev4 ,,howard ,,macqueary4         
,with a new ,preface1 in which the      
,author answers his ,critics1      and  
with some important ,additions4 #abmo4  
,cloth1 #a4ge4       ,this is a revised 

and enlarged edition of a book published
      last year4 ,the author reviews    
criticisms upon the first      edition1 
denies that he rejects the doctrine of  
the      incarnation1 admits his doubts 
of the physical resurrection      of    
,christ1 and his belief in evolution4   
,the volume is to be      marked as one 
of the most profound expressions of the 
modern      movement toward broader     
theological positions4--,brooklyn       
,times4       ,he does not write with   
the animus of the destructive           
school2 he intends to be1 and honestly  
believes he is1 doing      a work of    
construction1 or at least of            
reconstruction4444 ,he      writes with 
manifest earnestness and conviction1 and
 in a      style which is always clear  
and energetic4--,churchman4  ,,history  
,,of ,,the ,,conflict ,,between         
,,religion ,,and ,,science4      ,by    
,dr4 ,,john ,,william ,,draper4         
#abmo4 ,cloth1 #a4ge4       ,the        
key-note to this volume is found in the 

antagonism      between the progressive 
tendencies of the human mind and the    
pretensions of ecclesiastical authority1
 as developed in the      history of    
modern science4 ,no previous writer has 
treated      the subject from this point
 of view1 and the present      monograph
 will be found to possess no less       
originality of      conception than     
vigor of reasoning and wealth of        
erudition4--,new ,york ,tribune4  ,a    
,,critical ,,history ,,of ,,free        
,,thought ,,in ,,reference ,,to ,,the   
,,christian ,,religion4      ,by ,rev4  
,canon ,,adam ,,storey ,,farrar1 ,d4,d41
 ,f4,r4,s41 etc4      #abmo4 ,cloth1    
#b4jj4       ,a conflict might naturally
 be anticipated between the             
reasoning faculties of man and a        
religion which claims the      right1 on
 superhuman authority1 to impose limits 
on the      field or manner of their    
exercise4 ,it is the chief of the       
movements of free thought which it is my
 purpose to      describe1 in their     

historic succession1 and their          
connection      with intellectual       
causes4 ,we must ascertain the facts1   
discover the causes1 and read the       
moral4--,the ,author4  ,,creation ,,or  
,,evolution8 ,a ,philosophical ,inquiry4
      ,by ,,george ,,ticknor ,,curtis1  
#abmo4 ,cloth1 #b4jj4       ,a treatise 
on the great question of ,creation or   
,evolution      by one who is neither a 
naturalist nor theologian1 and who      
does not profess to bring to the        
discussion a special      equipment in  
either of the sciences which the        
controversy      arrays against each    
other1 may seem strange at first sight2 
but ,mr4 ,curtis will satisfy the       
reader1 before many pages      have been
 turned1 that he has a substantial      
contribution to      make to the debate1
 and that his book is one to be treated 
with respect4 ,his part is to apply to  
the reasonings of the      men of       
science the rigid scrutiny with which   
the lawyer is      accustomed to test   

the value and pertinency of testimony1  
and the legitimacy of inferences from   
established      facts4--,new ,york     
,tribune4       ,mr4 ,curtis's book is  
honorably distinguished from a sadly    
too great proportion of treatises which 
profess to discuss      the relation of 
scientific theories to religion1 by its 
author's thorough acquaintance with his 
subject1 his      scrupulous fairness1  
and remarkable freedom from             
passion4--,london ,literary ,world4  ,d4
 ,,appleton  ,,co41 #gb ,fifth ,avenue1 
,new ,york4         99       99       99
       99       99  ,,the ,,warfare ,,of
 ,,science ,,with ,,theology4 ,a        
,history of the ,warfare of ,science    
with ,theology in ,christendom4      ,by
 ,,andrew ,d4 ,,white1 ,,ll4,d41 late   
,president and      ,professor of       
,history at ,cornell ,university4       
,in two volumes4 #hvo4 ,cloth1 #e4jj4   
,the story of the struggle of searchers 
after truth with the      organized     
forces of ignorance1 bigotry1 and       

superstition is      the most inspiring 
chapter in the whole history of mankind4
      ,that story has never been better 
told than by the      ex-,president of  
,cornell ,university in these two       
volumes4444      ,a wonderful story it  
is that he tells4--,london ,daily       
,chronicle4       ,a literary event of  
prime importance is the appearance of   
',a ,history of the ,warfare of ,science
 with ,theology in                      
,christendom4'--,philadelphia ,press4   
,such an honest and thorough treatment  
of the subject in all      its bearings 
that it will carry weight and be        
accepted as an      authority in tracing
 the process by which the scientific    
method has come to be supreme in modern 
thought and      life4--,boston ,herald4
       ,a great work of a great man upon
 great subjects1 and will      always be
 a religio-scientific classic4--,chicago
 ,evening      ,post4       ,it is      
graphic1 lucid1 even-tempered--never    
bitter nor      vindictive4 ,no student 

of human progress should fail to read   
these volumes4 ,while they have about   
them the fascination of      a well-told
 tale1 they are also crowded with the   
facts of      history that have had a   
tremendous bearing upon the             
development of the race4--,brooklyn     
,eagle4       ,the same liberal spirit  
that marked his public life is seen     
in the pages of his book1 giving it a   
zest and interest that      can not fail
 to secure for it hearty commendation   
and honest      praise4--,philadelphia  
,public ,ledger4       ,a conscientious 
summary of the body of learning to which
 it      relates accumulated during long
 years of research4444 ,a      monument 
of industry4--,n4,y4 ,evening ,post4    
,a work which constitutes in many ways  
the most instructive      review that   
has ever been written of the evolution  
of human      knowledge in its conflict 
with dogmatic belief4444 ,as a          
contribution to the literature of       
liberal thought1 the book      is one   

the importance of which can not be      
easily      overrated4--,boston ,beacon4
       ,the most valuable contribution  
that has yet been made to      the      
history of the conflicts between the    
theologists and the                     
scientists4--,buffalo ,commercial4      
,undoubtedly the most exhaustive        
treatise which has been      written on 
this subject4444 ,able1 scholarly1      
critical1      impartial in tone and    
exhaustive in treatment4--,boston       
,advertiser4  ,new ,york3 ,d4 ,,appleton
  ,,co41 #gb ,fifth ,avenue4         99 
99       99       99       99  ,a ,,new 
,,book ,,by ,,prof4 ,,groos4  ,,the     
,,play ,,of ,,man4      ,by ,,karl      
,,groos1 ,professor of ,philosophy in   
the ,university of      ,basel1 and     
author of ,the ,play of ,animals4       
,translated1 with      the author's     
cooperation1 by ,elizabeth ,l4 ,baldwin1
 and      edited1 with a ,preface and   
,appendix1 by ,prof4 ,j4 ,mark          
,baldwin1 of ,princeton ,university4    

#abmo4 ,cloth1 #a4ej net2      postage1 
#ab cents additional4       ,the results
 of ,professor ,groos's original and    
acute      investigations are of        
peculiar value to those who are         
interested in psychology and sociology1 
and they are of      great importance to
 educators4 ,he presents the            
anthropological aspects of the subject  
treated in his      psychological study 
of the ,play of ,animals1 which has     
already become a classic4 ,professor    
,groos1 who agrees with      the        
followers of ,weismann1 develops the    
great importance of      the child's    
play as tending to strengthen his       
inheritance in      the acquisition of  
adaptations to his environment4 ,the    
influence of play on character1 and its 
relation to      education1 are         
suggestively indicated4 ,the playful    
manifestations affecting the child      
himself and those      affecting his    
relations to others have been carefully 
classified1 and the reader is led from  

the simpler exercises      of the       
sensory apparatus through a variety of  
divisions to      inner imitations and  
social play4 ,the biological1 sthetic1  
ethical1 and pedagogical standpoints    
receive much attention      from the    
investigator4 ,while this book is an    
illuminating      contribution to       
scientific literature1 it is of         
eminently      practical value4 ,its    
illustrations and lessons will be       
studied and applied by educators1 and   
the importance of this      original    
presentation of a most fertile subject  
will be      appreciated by parents as  
well as by those who are      interested
 as general students of sociological and
      psychological themes4  ,d4        
,,appleton ,,and ,,company1 ,,new       
,,york4