,lectures and ,essays ,,by ,,thomas ,,henry ,,huxley ,,macmillan ,,and ,,co41 ,,limited ,,st4 ,,martin',s ,,street1 ,,london #aiaj ,,the ,,works ,,of ,,thomas ,,henry ,,huxley4 ,,the ,,life ,,and ,,works ,,of ,,thomas ,,henry ,,huxley1 ,f4,r4,s4 ,eversley ,series4 ,twelve vols4 ,globe #hvo1 #ds4 net each4 ,,vol4 ,i4 ,,method ,,and ,,results4 ,,ii4 ,,darwiniana4 ,,iii4 ,,science ,,and ,,education4 ,,iv4 ,,science ,,and ,,hebrew ,,tradition4 ,v4 ,,science ,,and ,,christian ,,tradition4 ,,vi4 ,,hume1 ,,with ,,helps ,,to ,,the ,,study ,,of ,,berkeley4 ,,vii4 ,,man',s ,,place ,,in ,,nature4 ,,viii4 ,,discourses1 ,,biological ,,and ,,geological4 ,,ix4 ,,evolution ,,and ,,ethics1 ,,and ,,other ,,essays4 ,x4 ,,xi4 ,,the ,,life ,,and ,,letters ,,of ,,professor ,,huxley4 ,,xii4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,aphorisms ,,and ,,reflections ,,from ,,the ,,works ,,of ,t4,h4 ,,huxley4 ,selected by ,,henrietta ,a4 ,,huxley4 ,with ,portrait4 ,pott #hvo1 #bs4 #f;d4 net4 ,also cloth elegant1 #bs4 #f;d4 net4 ,limp ,leather1 #cs4 #f;d4 net4 ,golden ,treasury ,series4 ,,american ,,addresses4 #hvo1 #fs4 #f;d4 ,,critiques ,,and ,,addresses4 #hvo1 #ajs4 #f;d4 ,,lessons ,,in ,,elementary ,,physiology4 ,f'cap #hvo1 #ds4 #f;d4 ,,questions4 ,pott #hvo1 #as4 #f;d4 ,,lay ,,sermons1 ,,addresses1 ,,and ,,reviews4 #hvo1 #gs4 #f;d4 ,,introductory ,,primer ,,of ,,science4 ,pott #hvo1 #as4 ,,physiography3 ,,an ,,introduction ,,to ,,the ,,study ,,of ,,nature4 ,crown #hvo1 #fs4 ,,physiography4 ,a ,new ,edition4 ,revised and partly re-written by ,r4,a4 ,,gregory4 ,globe #hvo1 #ds4 #f;d4 ,,social ,,diseases ,,and ,,worse ,,remedies4 ,crown #hvo4 ,sewed1 #as4 net4 ,,lectures ,,and ,,essays4 #hvo4 ,sewed4 #f;d4 ,,essays3 ,,ethical ,,and ,,political4 #hvo1 ,sewed4 #f;d4 ,,life ,,of ,,hume4 ,crown #hvo4 ,library ,edition4 #bs4 net4 ,popular ,edition1 #as4 #f;d4 ,sewed4 #as4 ,f'cap #hvo4 ,pocket ,edition4 #as4 net4 ,english ,men of ,letters4 ,by ,prof4 ,t4,h4 ,,huxley1 assisted by ,prof4 ,h4,n4 ,,martin4 ,a ,,course ,,of ,,elementary ,,instruction ,,in ,,practical ,,biology4 ,revised and extended by ,g4,b4 ,,howes and ,d4,h4 ,,scott4 ,crown #hvo1 #ajs4 #f;d4 ,,macmillan ,,and ,,co41 ,,ltd41 ,,london4 ,,lectures ,,and ,,essays ,,by ,,thomas ,,henry ,,huxley ,,macmillan ,,and ,,co41 ,,limited ,,st4 ,,martin',s ,,street1 ,,london #aiaj ,,contents4 ,,page ,,autobiography #e ,,lectures ,,on ,,evolution #aa ,,on ,,the ,,physical ,,basis ,,of ,,life #de ,,naturalism ,,and ,,supernaturalism #eg ,,the ,,value ,,of ,,witness ,,to ,,the ,,miraculous #ga ,,agnosticism #hc ,,the ,,christian ,,tradition ,,in ,,relation ,,to ,,judaic ,,christianity #if ,,agnosticism ,,and ,,christianity #ajh ,first ,edition1 ,february #aijb4 ,reprinted1 ,december #aijb1 #aijc1 #aijd1 #aiaj4 ,,autobiography ,i was born about eight o'clock in the morning on the #dth of ,may1 #ahbe1 at ,ealing1 which was1 at that time1 as quiet a little country village as could be found within half-a-dozen miles of ,hyde ,park ,corner4 ,now it is a suburb of ,london with1 ,i believe1 #cj1jjj inhabitants4 ,my father was one of the masters in a large semi-public school which at one time had a high reputation4 ,i am not aware that any portents preceded my arrival in this world1 but1 in my childhood1 ,i remember hearing a traditional account of the manner in which ,i lost the chance of an endowment of great practical value4 ,the windows of my mother's room were open1 in consequence of the unusual warmth of the weather4 ,for the same reason1 probably1 a neighbouring beehive had swarmed1 and the new colony1 pitching on the window-sill1 was making its way into the room when the horrified nurse shut down the sash4 ,if that well-meaning woman had only abstained from her ill-timed interference1 the swarm might have settled on my lips1 and ,i should have been endowed with that mellifluous eloquence which1 in this country1 leads far more surely than worth1 capacity1 or honest work1 to the highest places in ,church and ,state4 ,but the opportunity was lost1 and ,i have been obliged to content myself through life with saying what ,i mean in the plainest of plain language1 than which1 ,i suppose1 there is no habit more ruinous to a man's prospects of advancement4 ,why ,i was christened ,thomas ,henry ,i do not know2 but it is a curious chance that my parents should have fixed for my usual denomination upon the name of that particular ,apostle with whom ,i have always felt most sympathy4 ,physically and mentally ,i am the son of my mother so completely--even down to peculiar movements of the hands1 which made their appearance in me as ,i reached the age she had when ,i noticed them--that ,i can hardly find any trace of my father in myself1 except an inborn faculty for drawing1 which unfortunately1 in my case1 has never been cultivated1 a hot temper1 and that amount of tenacity of purpose which unfriendly observers sometimes call obstinacy4 ,my mother was a slender brunette1 of an emotional and energetic temperament1 and possessed of the most piercing black eyes ,i ever saw in a woman's head4 ,with no more education than other women of the middle classes in her day1 she had an excellent mental capacity4 ,her most distinguishing characteristic1 however1 was rapidity of thought4 ,if one ventured to suggest she had not taken much time to arrive at any conclusion1 she would say1 ,i cannot help it1 things flash across me4 ,that peculiarity has been passed on to me in full strength2 it has often stood me in good stead2 it has sometimes played me sad tricks1 and it has always been a danger4 ,but1 after all1 if my time were to come over again1 there is nothing ,i would less willingly part with than my inheritance of mother wit4 ,i have next to nothing to say about my childhood4 ,in later years my mother1 looking at me almost reproachfully1 would sometimes say1 ,ah6 you were such a pretty boy6 whence ,i had no difficulty in concluding that ,i had not fulfilled my early promise in the matter of looks4 ,in fact1 ,i have a distinct recollection of certain curls of which ,i was vain1 and of a conviction that ,i closely resembled that handsome1 courtly gentleman1 ,sir ,herbert ,oakley1 who was vicar of our parish1 and who was as a god to us country folk1 because he was occasionally visited by the then ,prince ,george of ,cambridge4 ,i remember turning my pinafore wrong side forwards in order to represent a surplice1 and preaching to my mother's maids in the kitchen as nearly as possible in ,sir ,herbert's manner one ,sunday morning when the rest of the family were at church4 ,that is the earliest indication ,i can call to mind of the strong clerical affinities which my friend ,mr4 ,herbert ,spencer has always ascribed to me1 though ,i fancy they have for the most part remained in a latent state4 ,my regular school training was of the briefest1 perhaps fortunately1 for though my way of life has made me acquainted with all sorts and conditions of men1 from the highest to the lowest1 ,i deliberately affirm that the society ,i fell into at school was the worst ,i have ever known4 ,we boys were average lads1 with much the same inherent capacity for good and evil as any others2 but the people who were set over us cared about as much for our intellectual and moral welfare as if they were baby-farmers4 ,we were left to the operation of the struggle for existence among ourselves1 and bullying was the least of the ill practices current among us4 ,almost the only cheerful reminiscence in connection with the place which arises in my mind is that of a battle ,i had with one of my classmates1 who had bullied me until ,i could stand it no longer4 ,i was a very slight lad1 but there was a wild-cat element in me which1 when roused1 made up for lack of weight1 and ,i licked my adversary effectually4 ,however1 one of my first experiences of the extremely rough-and-ready nature of justice1 as exhibited by the course of things in general1 arose out of the fact that ,i--the victor--had a black eye1 while he--the vanquished--had none1 so that ,i got into disgrace and he did not4 ,we made it up1 and thereafter ,i was unmolested4 ,one of the greatest shocks ,i ever received in my life was to be told a dozen years afterwards by the groom who brought me my horse in a stable-yard in ,sydney that he was my quondam antagonist4 ,he had a long story of family misfortune to account for his position1 but at that time it was necessary to deal very cautiously with mysterious strangers in ,new ,south ,wales1 and on inquiry ,i found that the unfortunate young man had not only been sent out1 but had undergone more than one colonial conviction4 ,as ,i grew older1 my great desire was to be a mechanical engineer1 but the fates were against this1 and1 while very young1 ,i commenced the study of medicine under a medical brother-in-law4 ,but1 though the ,institute of ,mechanical ,engineers would certainly not own me1 ,i am not sure that ,i have not all along been a sort of mechanical engineer in partibus infidelium4 ,i am now occasionally horrified to think how very little ,i ever knew or cared about medicine as the art of healing4 ,the only part of my professional course which really and deeply interested me was physiology1 which is the mechanical engineering of living machines2 and1 notwithstanding that natural science has been my proper business1 ,i am afraid there is very little of the genuine naturalist in me4 ,i never collected anything1 and species work was always a burden to me2 what ,i cared for was the architectural and engineering part of the business1 the working out the wonderful unity of plan in the thousands and thousands of diverse living constructions1 and the modifications of similar apparatuses to serve diverse ends4 ,the extraordinary attraction ,i felt towards the study of the intricacies of living structure nearly proved fatal to me at the outset4 ,i was a mere boy--,i think between thirteen and fourteen years of age--when ,i was taken by some older student friends of mine to the first post-mortem examination ,i ever attended4 ,all my life ,i have been most unfortunately sensitive to the disagreeables which attend anatomical pursuits1 but on this occasion my curiosity overpowered all other feelings1 and ,i spent two or three hours in gratifying it4 ,i did not cut myself1 and none of the ordinary symptoms of dissection-poison supervened1 but poisoned ,i was somehow1 and ,i remember sinking into a strange state of apathy4 ,by way of a last chance1 ,i was sent to the care of some good1 kind people1 friends of my father's1 who lived in a farmhouse in the heart of ,warwickshire4 ,i remember staggering from my bed to the window on the bright spring morning after my arrival1 and throwing open the casement4 ,life seemed to come back on the wings of the breeze1 and to this day the faint odour of wood-smoke1 like that which floated across the farm-yard in the early morning1 is as good to me as the sweet south upon a bed of violets4 ,i soon recovered1 but for years ,i suffered from occasional paroxysms of internal pain1 and from that time my constant friend1 hypochondriacal dyspepsia1 commenced his half century of co-tenancy of my fleshly tabernacle4 ,looking back on my ,lehrjahre1 ,i am sorry to say that ,i do not think that any account of my doings as a student would tend to edification4 ,in fact1 ,i should distinctly warn ingenuous youth to avoid imitating my example4 ,i worked extremely hard when it pleased me1 and when it did not--which was a very frequent case--,i was extremely idle 7unless making caricatures of one's pastors and masters is to be called a branch of industry71 or else wasted my energies in wrong directions4 ,i read everything ,i could lay hands upon1 including novels1 and took up all sorts of pursuits to drop them again quite as speedily4 ,no doubt it was very largely my own fault1 but the only instruction from which ,i ever obtained the proper effect of education was that which ,i received from ,mr4 ,wharton ,jones1 who was the lecturer on physiology at the ,charing ,cross ,school of ,medicine4 ,the extent and precision of his knowledge impressed me greatly1 and the severe exactness of his method of lecturing was quite to my taste4 ,i do not know that ,i have ever felt so much respect for anybody as a teacher before or since4 ,i worked hard to obtain his approbation1 and he was extremely kind and helpful to the youngster who1 ,i am afraid1 took up more of his time than he had any right to do4 ,it was he who suggested the publication of my first scientific paper--a very little one--in the ,medical ,gazette of #ahde1 and most kindly corrected the literary faults which abounded in it1 short as it was2 for at that time1 and for many years afterwards1 ,i detested the trouble of writing1 and would take no pains over it4 ,it was in the early spring of #ahdf1 that having finished my obligatory medical studies and passed the first ,m4,b4 examination at the ,london ,university--though ,i was still too young to qualify at the ,college of ,surgeons--,i was talking to a fellow-student 7the present eminent physician1 ,sir ,joseph ,fayrer71 and wondering what ,i should do to meet the imperative necessity for earning my own bread1 when my friend suggested that ,i should write to ,sir ,william ,burnett1 at that time ,director-,general for the ,medical ,service of the ,navy1 for an appointment4 ,i thought this rather a strong thing to do1 as ,sir ,william was personally unknown to me1 but my cheery friend would not listen to my scruples1 so ,i went to my lodgings and wrote the best letter ,i could devise4 ,a few days afterwards ,i received the usual official circular of acknowledgment1 but at the bottom there was written an instruction to call at ,somerset ,house on such a day4 ,i thought that looked like business1 so at the appointed time ,i called and sent in my card1 while ,i waited in ,sir ,william's ante-room4 ,he was a tall1 shrewd-looking old gentleman1 with a broad ,scotch accent--and ,i think ,i see him now as he entered with my card in his hand4 ,the first thing he did was to return it1 with the frugal reminder that ,i should probably find it useful on some other occasion4 ,the second was to ask whether ,i was an ,irishman4 ,i suppose the air of modesty about my appeal must have struck him4 ,i satisfied the ,director-,general that ,i was ,english to the backbone1 and he made some inquiries as to my student career1 finally desiring me to hold myself ready for examination4 ,having passed this1 ,i was in ,her ,majesty's ,service1 and entered on the books of ,nelson's old ship1 the ,victory1 for duty at ,haslar ,hospital1 about a couple of months after ,i made my application4 ,my official chief at ,haslar was a very remarkable person1 the late ,sir ,john ,richardson1 an excellent naturalist1 and far-famed as an indomitable ,arctic traveller4 ,he was a silent1 reserved man1 outside the circle of his family and intimates2 and1 having a full share of youthful vanity1 ,i was extremely disgusted to find that ,old ,john1 as we irreverent youngsters called him1 took not the slightest notice of my worshipful self either the first time ,i attended him1 as it was my duty to do1 or for some weeks afterwards4 ,i am afraid to think of the lengths to which my tongue may have run on the subject of the churlishness of the chief1 who was1 in truth1 one of the kindest-hearted and most considerate of men4 ,but one day1 as ,i was crossing the hospital square1 ,sir ,john stopped me1 and heaped coals of fire on my head by telling me that he had tried to get me one of the resident appointments1 much coveted by the assistant-surgeons1 but that the ,admiralty had put in another man4 ,however1 said he1 ,i mean to keep you here till ,i can get you something you will like1 and turned upon his heel without waiting for the thanks ,i stammered out4 ,that explained how it was ,i had not been packed off to the ,west ,coast of ,africa like some of my juniors1 and why1 eventually1 ,i remained altogether seven months at ,haslar4 ,after a long interval1 during which ,old ,john ignored my existence almost as completely as before1 he stopped me again as we met in a casual way1 and describing the service on which the ,rattlesnake was likely to be employed1 said that ,captain ,owen ,stanley1 who was to command the ship1 had asked him to recommend an assistant surgeon who knew something of science2 would ,i like that8 ,of course ,i jumped at the offer4 ,very well1 ,i give you leave2 go to ,london at once and see ,captain ,stanley4 ,i went1 saw my future commander1 who was very civil to me1 and promised to ask that ,i should be appointed to his ship1 as in due time ,i was4 ,it is a singular thing that1 during the few months of my stay at ,haslar1 ,i had among my messmates two future ,directors-,general of the ,medical ,service of the ,navy 7,sir ,alexander ,armstrong and ,sir ,john ,watt-,reid71 with the present ,president of the ,college of ,physicians and my kindest of doctors1 ,sir ,andrew ,clark4 ,life on board ,her ,majesty's ships in those days was a very different affair from what it is now1 and ours was exceptionally rough1 as we were often many months without receiving letters or seeing any civilised people but ourselves4 ,in exchange1 we had the interest of being about the last voyagers1 ,i suppose1 to whom it could be possible to meet with people who knew nothing of fire-arms--as we did on the south ,coast of ,new ,guinea--and of making acquaintance with a variety of interesting savage and semi-civilised people4 ,but1 apart from experience of this kind and the opportunities offered for scientific work1 to me1 personally1 the cruise was extremely valuable4 ,it was good for me to live under sharp discipline2 to be down on the realities of existence by living on bare necessaries2 to find out how extremely well worth living life seemed to be when one woke up from a night's rest on a soft plank1 with the sky for canopy and cocoa and weevilly biscuit the sole prospect for breakfast2 and1 more especially1 to learn to work for the sake of what ,i got for myself out of it1 even if it all went to the bottom and ,i along with it4 ,my brother officers were as good fellows as sailors ought to be and generally are1 but1 naturally1 they neither knew nor cared anything about my pursuits1 nor understood why ,i should be so zealous in pursuit of the objects which my friends1 the middies1 christened ,buffons1 after the title conspicuous on a volume of the ,suites ,buffon1 which stood on my shelf in the chart room4 ,during the four years of our absence1 ,i sent home communication after communication to the ,linnean ,society2 with the same result as that obtained by ,noah when he sent the raven out of his ark4 ,tired at last of hearing nothing about them1 ,i determined to do or die1 and in #ahdi ,i drew up a more elaborate paper and forwarded it to the ,royal ,society4 ,this was my dove1 if ,i had only known it4 ,but owing to the movements of the ship1 ,i heard nothing of that either until my return to ,england in the latter end of the year #ahej1 when ,i found that it was printed and published1 and that a huge packet of separate copies awaited me4 ,when ,i hear some of my young friends complain of want of sympathy and encouragement1 ,i am inclined to think that my naval life was not the least valuable part of my education4 ,three years after my return were occupied by a battle between my scientific friends on the one hand and the ,admiralty on the other1 as to whether the latter ought1 or ought not1 to act up to the spirit of a pledge they had given to encourage officers who had done scientific work by contributing to the expense of publishing mine4 ,at last the ,admiralty1 getting tired1 ,i suppose1 cut short the discussion by ordering me to join a ship1 which thing ,i declined to do1 and as ,rastignac1 in the ,pre ,goriot1 says to ,paris1 ,i said to ,london1 nous deux4 ,i desired to obtain a ,professorship of either ,physiology or ,comparative ,anatomy1 and as vacancies occurred ,i applied1 but in vain4 ,my friend1 ,professor ,tyndall1 and ,i were candidates at the same time1 he for the ,chair of ,physics and ,i for that of ,natural ,history in the ,university of ,toronto1 which1 fortunately1 as it turned out1 would not look at either of us4 ,i say fortunately1 not from any lack of respect for ,toronto1 but because ,i soon made up my mind that ,london was the place for me1 and hence ,i have steadily declined the inducements to leave it1 which have at various times been offered4 ,at last1 in #ahed1 on the translation of my warm friend ,edward ,forbes1 to ,edinburgh1 ,sir ,henry ,de la ,beche1 the ,director-,general of the ,geological ,survey1 offered me the post ,forbes vacated of ,paleontologist and ,lecturer on ,natural ,history4 ,i refused the former point blank1 and accepted the latter only provisionally1 telling ,sir ,henry that ,i did not care for fossils1 and that ,i should give up ,natural ,history as soon as ,i could get a physiological post4 ,but ,i held the office for thirty-one years1 and a large part of my work has been paleontological4 ,at that time ,i disliked public speaking1 and had a firm conviction that ,i should break down every time ,i opened my mouth4 ,i believe ,i had every fault a speaker could have 7except talking at random or indulging in rhetoric71 when ,i spoke to the first important audience ,i ever addressed1 on a ,friday evening3 at the ,royal ,institution1 in #aheb4 ,yet1 ,i must confess to having been guilty1 malgr moi1 of as much public speaking as most of my contemporaries1 and for the last ten years it ceased to be so much of a bugbear to me4 ,i used to pity myself for having to go through this training1 but ,i am now more disposed to compassionate the unfortunate audiences1 especially my ever-friendly hearers at the ,royal ,institution1 who were the subjects of my oratorical experiments4 ,the last thing that it would be proper for me to do would be to speak of the work of my life1 or to say at the end of the day whether ,i think ,i have earned my wages or not4 ,men are said to be partial judges of themselves4 ,young men may be2 ,i doubt if old men are4 ,life seems terribly foreshortened as they look back1 and the mountain they set themselves to climb in youth turns out to be a mere spur of immeasurably higher ranges when1 with failing breath1 they reach the top4 ,but if ,i may speak of the objects ,i have had more or less definitely in view since ,i began the ascent of my hillock1 they are briefly these3 ,to promote the increase of natural knowledge and to forward the application of scientific methods of investigation to all the problems of life to the best of my ability1 in the conviction which has grown with my growth and strengthened with my strength1 that there is no alleviation for the sufferings of mankind except veracity of thought and of action1 and the resolute facing of the world as it is when the garment of make-believe by which pious hands have hidden its uglier features is stripped off4 ,it is with this intent that ,i have subordinated any reasonable1 or unreasonable1 ambition for scientific fame which ,i may have permitted myself to entertain to other ends2 to the popularisation of science2 to the development and organisation of scientific education2 to the endless series of battles and skirmishes over evolution2 and to untiring opposition to that ecclesiastical spirit1 that clericalism1 which in ,england1 as everywhere else1 and to whatever denomination it may belong1 is the deadly enemy of science4 ,in striving for the attainment of these objects1 ,i have been but one among many1 and ,i shall be well content to be remembered1 or even not remembered1 as such4 ,circumstances1 among which ,i am proud to reckon the devoted kindness of many friends1 have led to my occupation of various prominent positions1 among which the ,presidency of the ,royal ,society is the highest4 ,it would be mock modesty on my part1 with these and other scientific honours which have been bestowed upon me1 to pretend that ,i have not succeeded in the career which ,i have followed1 rather because ,i was driven into it than of my own free will2 but ,i am afraid ,i should not count even these things as marks of success if ,i could not hope that ,i had somewhat helped that movement of opinion which has been called the ,new ,reformation4 ,,lectures ,,and ,,essays ,,lectures ,,on ,,evolution ,,new ,,york2 #ahgf ,i ,,the ,,three ,,hypotheses ,,respecting ,,the ,,history ,,of ,,nature ,we live in and form part of a system of things of immense diversity and perplexity1 which we call ,nature2 and it is a matter of the deepest interest to all of us that we should form just conceptions of the constitution of that system and of its past history4 ,with relation to this universe1 man is1 in extent1 little more than a mathematical point2 in duration but a fleeting shadow2 he is a mere reed shaken in the winds of force4 ,but as ,pascal long ago remarked1 although a mere reed1 he is a thinking reed2 and in virtue of that wonderful capacity of thought1 he has the power of framing for himself a symbolic conception of the universe1 which1 although doubtless highly imperfect and inadequate as a picture of the great whole1 is yet sufficient to serve him as a chart for the guidance of his practical affairs4 ,it has taken long ages of toilsome and often fruitless labour to enable man to look steadily at the shifting scenes of the phantasmagoria of ,nature1 to notice what is fixed among her fluctuations1 and what is regular among her apparent irregularities2 and it is only comparatively lately1 within the last few centuries1 that the conception of a universal order and of a definite course of things1 which we term the course of ,nature1 has emerged4 ,but1 once originated1 the conception of the constancy of the order of ,nature has become the dominant idea of modern thought4 ,to any person who is familiar with the facts upon which that conception is based1 and is competent to estimate their significance1 it has ceased to be conceivable that chance should have any place in the universe1 or that events should depend upon any but the natural sequence of cause and effect4 ,we have come to look upon the present as the child of the past and as the parent of the future2 and1 as we have excluded chance from a place in the universe1 so we ignore1 even as a possibility1 the notion of any interference with the order of ,nature4 ,whatever may be men's speculative doctrines1 it is quite certain that every intelligent person guides his life and risks his fortune upon the belief that the order of ,nature is constant1 and that the chain of natural causation is never broken4 ,in fact1 no belief which we entertain has so complete a logical basis as that to which ,i have just referred4 ,it tacitly underlies every process of reasoning2 it is the foundation of every act of the will4 ,it is based upon the broadest induction1 and it is verified by the most constant1 regular1 and universal of deductive processes4 ,but we must recollect that any human belief1 however broad its basis1 however defensible it may seem1 is1 after all1 only a probable belief1 and that our widest and safest generalisations are simply statements of the highest degree of probability4 ,though we are quite clear about the constancy of the order of ,nature1 at the present time1 and in the present state of things1 it by no means necessarily follows that we are justified in expanding this generalisation into the infinite past1 and in denying1 absolutely1 that there may have been a time when ,nature did not follow a fixed order1 when the relations of cause and effect were not definite1 and when extra-natural agencies interfered with the general course of ,nature4 ,cautious men will allow that a universe so different from that which we know may have existed2 just as a very candid thinker may admit that a world in which two and two do not make four1 and in which two straight lines do inclose a space1 may exist4 ,but the same caution which forces the admission of such possibilities demands a great deal of evidence before it recognises them to be anything more substantial4 ,and when it is asserted that1 so many thousand years ago1 events occurred in a manner utterly foreign to and inconsistent with the existing laws of ,nature1 men who without being particularly cautious are simply honest thinkers1 unwilling to deceive themselves or delude others1 ask for trustworthy evidence of the fact4 ,did things so happen or did they not8 ,this is a historical question1 and one the answer to which must be sought in the same way as the solution of any other historical problem4 99 99 99 99 99 ,so far as ,i know1 there are only three hypotheses which ever have been entertained1 or which well can be entertained1 respecting the past history of ,nature4 ,i will1 in the first place1 state the hypotheses1 and then ,i will consider what evidence bearing upon them is in our possession1 and by what light of criticism that evidence is to be interpreted4 ,upon the first hypothesis1 the assumption is1 that phenomena of ,nature similar to those exhibited by the present world have always existed2 in other words1 that the universe has existed1 from all eternity1 in what may be broadly termed its present condition4 ,the second hypothesis is that the present state of things has had only a limited duration2 and that1 at some period in the past1 a condition of the world1 essentially similar to that which we now know1 came into existence1 without any precedent condition from which it could have naturally proceeded4 ,the assumption that successive states of ,nature have arisen1 each without any relation of natural causation to an antecedent state1 is a mere modification of this second hypothesis4 ,the third hypothesis also assumes that the present state of things has had but a limited duration2 but it supposes that this state has been evolved by a natural process from an antecedent state1 and that from another1 and so on2 and1 on this hypothesis1 the attempt to assign any limit to the series of past changes is1 usually1 given up4 ,it is so needful to form clear and distinct notions of what is really meant by each of these hypotheses that ,i will ask you to imagine what1 according to each1 would have been visible to a spectator of the events which constitute the history of the earth4 ,on the first hypothesis1 however far back in time that spectator might be placed1 he would see a world essentially1 though perhaps not in all its details1 similar to that which now exists4 ,the animals which existed would be the ancestors of those which now live1 and similar to them2 the plants1 in like manner1 would be such as we know2 and the mountains1 plains1 and waters would foreshadow the salient features of our present land and water4 ,this view was held more or less distinctly1 sometimes combined with the notion of recurrent cycles of change1 in ancient times2 and its influence has been felt down to the present day4 ,it is worthy of remark that it is a hypothesis which is not inconsistent with the doctrine of ,uniformitarianism1 with which geologists are familiar4 ,that doctrine was held by ,hutton1 and in his earlier days by ,lyell4 ,hutton was struck by the demonstration of astronomers that the perturbations of the planetary bodies1 however great they may be1 yet sooner or later right themselves2 and that the solar system possesses a self-adjusting power by which these aberrations are all brought back to a mean condition4 ,hutton imagined that the like might be true of terrestrial changes2 although no one recognised more clearly than he the fact that the dry land is being constantly washed down by rain and rivers and deposited in the sea2 and that thus1 in a longer or shorter time1 the inequalities of the earth's surface must be levelled1 and its high lands brought down to the ocean4 ,but1 taking into account the internal forces of the earth1 which1 upheaving the sea bottom1 give rise to new land1 he thought that these operations of degradation and elevation might compensate each other2 and that thus1 for any assignable time1 the general features of our planet might remain what they are4 ,and inasmuch as1 under these circumstances1 there need be no limit to the propagation of animals and plants1 it is clear that the consistent working-out of the uniformitarian idea might lead to the conception of the eternity of the world4 ,not that ,i mean to say that either ,hutton or ,lyell held this conception--assuredly not2 they would have been the first to repudiate it4 ,nevertheless1 the logical development of some of their arguments tends directly towards this hypothesis4 ,the second hypothesis supposes that the present order of things1 at some no very remote time1 had a sudden origin1 and that the world1 such as it now is1 had chaos for its phenomenal antecedent4 ,that is the doctrine which you will find stated most fully and clearly in the immortal poem of ,john ,milton--the ,english ,divina ,commedia--,paradise ,lost4 ,i believe it is largely to the influence of that remarkable work1 combined with the daily teachings to which we have all listened in our childhood1 that this hypothesis owes its general wide diffusion as one of the current beliefs of ,english-speaking people4 ,if you turn to the seventh book of ,paradise ,lost1 you will find there stated the hypothesis to which ,i refer1 which is briefly this3 ,that this visible universe of ours came into existence at no great distance of time from the present2 and that the parts of which it is composed made their appearance1 in a certain definite order1 in the space of six natural days1 in such a manner that1 on the first of these days1 light appeared2 that1 on the second1 the firmament1 or sky1 separated the waters above1 from the waters beneath1 the firmament2 that1 on the third day1 the waters drew away from the dry land1 and upon it a varied vegetable life1 similar to that which now exists1 made its appearance2 that the fourth day was signalised by the apparition of the sun1 the stars1 the moon1 and the planets2 that1 on the fifth day1 aquatic animals originated within the waters2 that1 on the sixth day1 the earth gave rise to our four-footed terrestrial creatures1 and to all varieties of terrestrial animals except birds1 which had appeared on the preceding day2 and1 finally1 that man appeared upon the earth1 and the emergence of the universe from chaos was finished4 ,milton tells us1 without the least ambiguity1 what a spectator of these marvellous occurrences would have witnessed4 ,i doubt not that his poem is familiar to all of you1 but ,i should like to recall one passage to your minds1 in order that ,i may be justified in what ,i have said regarding the perfectly concrete1 definite1 picture of the origin of the animal world which ,milton draws4 ,he says3-- ,the sixth1 and of creation last1 arose ,with evening harps and matin1 when ,god said1 ',let the earth bring forth soul living in her kind1 ,cattle and creeping things1 and beast of the earth1 ,each in their kind6' ,the earth obeyed1 and1 straight ,opening her fertile womb1 teemed at a birth ,innumerous living creatures1 perfect forms1 ,limbed and full-grown4 ,out of the ground uprose1 ,as from his lair1 the wild beast1 where he wons ,in forest wild1 in thicket1 brake1 or den2 ,among the trees in pairs they rose1 they walked2 ,the cattle in the fields and meadows green2 ,those rare and solitary2 these in flocks ,pasturing at once1 and in broad herds upsprung4 ,the grassy clods now calved2 now half appears ,the tawny lion1 pawing to get free ,his hinder parts--then springs1 as broke from bonds1 ,and rampant shakes his brinded mane2 the ounce1 ,the libbard1 and the tiger1 as the mole ,rising1 the crumbled earth above them threw ,in hillocks2 the swift stag from underground ,bore up his branching head2 scarce from his mould ,behemoth1 biggest born of earth1 upheaved ,his vastness2 fleeced the flocks and bleating rose ,as plants2 ambiguous between sea and land1 ,the river-horse and scaly crocodile4 ,at once came forth whatever creeps the ground1 ,insect or worm4 ,there is no doubt as to the meaning of this statement1 nor as to what a man of ,milton's genius expected would have been actually visible to an eye-witness of this mode of origination of living things4 ,the third hypothesis1 or the hypothesis of evolution1 supposes that1 at any comparatively late period of past time1 our imaginary spectator would meet with a state of things very similar to that which now obtains2 but that the likeness of the past to the present would gradually become less and less1 in proportion to the remoteness of his period of observation from the present day2 that the existing distribution of mountains and plains1 of rivers and seas1 would show itself to be the product of a slow process of natural change operating upon more and more widely different antecedent conditions of the mineral framework of the earth2 until1 at length1 in place of that framework1 he would behold only a vast nebulous mass1 representing the constituents of the sun and of the planetary bodies4 ,preceding the forms of life which now exist1 our observer would see animals and plants1 not identical with them1 but like them1 increasing their differences with their antiquity and1 at the same time1 becoming simpler and simpler2 until1 finally1 the world of life would present nothing but that undifferentiated protoplasmic matter which1 so far as our present knowledge goes1 is the common foundation of all vital activity4 ,the hypothesis of evolution supposes that in all this vast progression there would be no breach of continuity1 no point at which we could say ,this is a natural process1 and ,this is not a natural process2 but that the whole might be compared to that wonderful operation of development which may be seen going on every day under our eyes1 in virtue of which there arises1 out of the semi-fluid comparatively homogeneous substance which we call an egg1 the complicated organisation of one of the higher animals4 ,that1 in a few words1 is what is meant by the hypothesis of evolution4 ,i have already suggested that1 in dealing with these three hypotheses1 in endeavouring to form a judgment as to which of them is the more worthy of belief1 or whether none is worthy of belief--in which case our condition of mind should be that suspension of judgment which is so difficult to all but trained intellects--we should be indifferent to all a priori considerations4 ,the question is a question of historical fact4 ,the universe has come into existence somehow or other1 and the problem is1 whether it came into existence in one fashion1 or whether it came into existence in another2 and1 as an essential preliminary to further discussion1 permit me to say two or three words as to the nature and the kinds of historical evidence4 ,the evidence as to the occurrence of any event in past time may be ranged under two heads which1 for convenience' sake1 ,i will speak of as testimonial evidence and as circumstantial evidence4 ,by testimonial evidence ,i mean human testimony2 and by circumstantial evidence ,i mean evidence which is not human testimony4 ,let me illustrate by a familiar example what ,i understand by these two kinds of evidence1 and what is to be said respecting their value4 ,suppose that a man tells you that he saw a person strike another and kill him2 that is testimonial evidence of the fact of murder4 ,but it is possible to have circumstantial evidence of the fact of murder2 that is to say1 you may find a man dying with a wound upon his head having exactly the form and character of the wound which is made by an axe1 and1 with due care in taking surrounding circumstances into account1 you may conclude with the utmost certainty that the man has been murdered2 that his death is the consequence of a blow inflicted by another man with that implement4 ,we are very much in the habit of considering circumstantial evidence as of less value than testimonial evidence1 and it may be that1 where the circumstances are not perfectly clear and intelligible1 it is a dangerous and unsafe kind of evidence2 but it must not be forgotten that1 in many cases1 circumstantial is quite as conclusive as testimonial evidence1 and that1 not unfrequently1 it is a great deal weightier than testimonial evidence4 ,for example1 take the case to which ,i referred just now4 ,the circumstantial evidence may be better and more convincing than the testimonial evidence2 for it may be impossible1 under the conditions that ,i have defined1 to suppose that the man met his death from any cause but the violent blow of an axe wielded by another man4 ,the circumstantial evidence in favour of a murder having been committed1 in that case1 is as complete and as convincing as evidence can be4 ,it is evidence which is open to no doubt and to no falsification4 ,but the testimony of a witness is open to multitudinous doubts4 ,he may have been mistaken4 ,he may have been actuated by malice4 ,it has constantly happened that even an accurate man has declared that a thing has happened in this1 that1 or the other way1 when a careful analysis of the circumstantial evidence has shown that it did not happen in that way1 but in some other way4 ,we may now consider the evidence in favour of or against the three hypotheses4 ,let me first direct your attention to what is to be said about the hypothesis of the eternity of the state of things in which we now live4 ,what will first strike you is1 that it is a hypothesis which1 whether true or false1 is not capable of verification by any evidence4 ,for1 in order to observe either circumstantial or testimonial evidence sufficient to prove the eternity of duration of the present state of nature1 you must have an eternity of witnesses or an infinity of circumstances1 and neither of these is attainable4 ,it is utterly impossible that such evidence should be carried beyond a certain point of time2 and all that could be said1 at most1 would be1 that so far as the evidence could be traced1 there was nothing to contradict the hypothesis4 ,but when you look1 not to the testimonial evidence--which1 considering the relative insignificance of the antiquity of human records1 might not be good for much in this case--but to the circumstantial evidence1 then you find that this hypothesis is absolutely incompatible with such evidence as we have2 which is of so plain and simple a character that it is impossible in any way to escape from the conclusions which it forces upon us4 ,illustration3 ,,fig4 #a4--;,,ideal ,,section ,,of ,,the ,,crust ,,of ,,the ,,earth4 ,you are1 doubtless1 all aware that the outer substance of the earth1 which alone is accessible to direct observation1 is not of a homogeneous character1 but that it is made up of a number of layers or strata1 the titles of the principal groups of which are placed upon the accompanying diagram4 ,each of these groups represents a number of beds of sand1 of stone1 of clay1 of slate1 and of various other materials4 ,on careful examination1 it is found that the materials of which each of these layers of more or less hard rock are composed are1 for the most part1 of the same nature as those which are at present being formed under known conditions on the surface of the earth4 ,for example1 the chalk1 which constitutes a great part of the ,cretaceous formation in some parts of the world1 is practically identical in its physical and chemical characters with a substance which is now being formed at the bottom of the ,atlantic ,ocean1 and covers an enormous area2 other beds of rock are comparable with the sands which are being formed upon sea-shores1 packed together1 and so on4 ,thus1 omitting rocks of igneous origin1 it is demonstrable that all these beds of stone1 of which a total of not less than seventy thousand feet is known1 have been formed by natural agencies1 either out of the waste and washing of the dry land1 or else by the accumulation of the exuvi of plants and animals4 ,many of these strata are full of such exuvi--the so-called fossils4 ,remains of thousands of species of animals and plants1 as perfectly recognisable as those of existing forms of life which you meet with in museums1 or as the shells which you pick up upon the sea-beach1 have been imbedded in the ancient sands1 or muds1 or limestones1 just as they are being imbedded now1 in sandy1 or clayey1 or calcareous subaqueous deposits4 ,they furnish us with a record1 the general nature of which cannot be misinterpreted1 of the kinds of things that have lived upon the surface of the earth during the time that is registered by this great thickness of stratified rocks4 ,but even a superficial study of these fossils shows us that the animals and plants which live at the present time have had only a temporary duration2 for the remains of such modern forms of life are met with1 for the most part1 only in the uppermost or latest tertiaries1 and their number rapidly diminishes in the lower deposits of that epoch4 ,in the older tertiaries1 the places of existing animals and plants are taken by other forms1 as numerous and diversified as those which live now in the same localities1 but more or less different from them2 in the mesozoic rocks1 these are replaced by others yet more divergent from modern types2 and1 in the palozoic formations the contrast is still more marked4 ,thus the circumstantial evidence absolutely negatives the conception of the eternity of the present condition of things4 ,we can say1 with certainty1 that the present condition of things has existed for a comparatively short period2 and that1 so far as animal and vegetable nature are concerned1 it has been preceded by a different condition4 ,we can pursue this evidence until we reach the lowest of the stratified rocks1 in which we lose the indications of life altogether4 ,the hypothesis of the eternity of the present state of nature may therefore be put out of court4 ,we now come to what ,i will term ,milton's hypothesis--the hypothesis that the present condition of things has endured for a comparatively short time2 and1 at the commencement of that time1 came into existence within the course of six days4 ,i doubt not that it may have excited some surprise in your minds that ,i should have spoken of this as ,milton's hypothesis1 rather than that ,i should have chosen the terms which are more customary1 such as the doctrine of creation1 or the ,biblical doctrine1 or the doctrine of ,moses1 all of which denominations1 as applied to the hypothesis to which ,i have just referred1 are certainly much more familiar to you than the title of the ,miltonic hypothesis4 ,but ,i have had what ,i cannot but think are very weighty reasons for taking the course which ,i have pursued4 ,in the first place1 ,i have discarded the title of the doctrine of creation1 because my present business is not with the question why the objects which constitute ,nature came into existence1 but when they came into existence1 and in what order4 ,this is as strictly a historical question as the question when the ,angles and the ,jutes invaded ,england1 and whether they preceded or followed the ,romans4 ,but the question about creation is a philosophical problem1 and one which cannot be solved1 or even approached1 by the historical method4 ,what we want to learn is1 whether the facts1 so far as they are known1 afford evidence that things arose in the way described by ,milton1 or whether they do not2 and1 when that question is settled1 it will be time enough to inquire into the causes of their origination4 ,in the second place1 ,i have not spoken of this doctrine as the ,biblical doctrine4 ,it is quite true that persons as diverse in their general views as ,milton the ,protestant and the celebrated ,jesuit ,father ,suarez1 each put upon the first chapter of ,genesis the interpretation embodied in ,milton's poem4 ,it is quite true that this interpretation is that which has been instilled into every one of us in our childhood2 but ,i do not for one moment venture to say that it can properly be called the ,biblical doctrine4 ,it is not my business1 and does not lie within my competency1 to say what the ,hebrew text does1 and what it does not signify2 moreover1 were ,i to affirm that this is the ,biblical doctrine1 ,i should be met by the authority of many eminent scholars1 to say nothing of men of science1 who1 at various times1 have absolutely denied that any such doctrine is to be found in ,genesis4 ,if we are to listen to many expositors of no mean authority1 we must believe that what seems so clearly defined in ,genesis--as if very great pains had been taken that there should be no possibility of mistake--is not the meaning of the text at all4 ,the account is divided into periods that we may make just as long or as short as convenience requires4 ,we are also to understand that it is consistent with the original text to believe that the most complex plants and animals may have been evolved by natural processes1 lasting for millions of years1 out of structureless rudiments4 ,a person who is not a ,hebrew scholar can only stand aside and admire the marvellous flexibility of a language which admits of such diverse interpretations4 ,but assuredly1 in the face of such contradictions of authority upon matters respecting which he is incompetent to form any judgment1 he will abstain1 as ,i do1 from giving any opinion4 ,in the third place1 ,i have carefully abstained from speaking of this as the ,mosaic doctrine1 because we are now assured upon the authority of the highest critics1 and even of dignitaries of the ,church1 that there is no evidence that ,moses wrote the ,book of ,genesis1 or knew anything about it4 ,you will understand that ,i give no judgment--it would be an impertinence upon my part to volunteer even a suggestion--upon such a subject4 ,but1 that being the state of opinion among the scholars and the clergy1 it is well for the unlearned in ,hebrew lore1 and for the laity1 to avoid entangling themselves in such a vexed question4 ,happily1 ,milton leaves us no excuse for doubting what he means1 and ,i shall therefore be safe in speaking of the opinion in question as the ,miltonic hypothesis4 ,now we have to test that hypothesis4 ,for my part1 ,i have no prejudice one way or the other4 ,if there is evidence in favour of this view1 ,i am burdened by no theoretical difficulties in the way of accepting it2 but there must be evidence4 ,scientific men get an awkward habit--no1 ,i won't call it that1 for it is a valuable habit--of believing nothing unless there is evidence for it2 and they have a way of looking upon belief which is not based upon evidence1 not only as illogical1 but as immoral4 ,we will1 if you please1 test this view by the circumstantial evidence alone2 for1 from what ,i have said1 you will understand that ,i do not propose to discuss the question of what testimonial evidence is to be adduced in favour of it4 ,if those whose business it is to judge are not at one as to the authenticity of the only evidence of that kind which is offered1 nor as to the facts to which it bears witness1 the discussion of such evidence is superfluous4 ,but ,i may be permitted to regret this necessity of rejecting the testimonial evidence the less1 because the examination of the circumstantial evidence leads to the conclusion1 not only that it is incompetent to justify the hypothesis1 but that1 so far as it goes1 it is contrary to the hypothesis4 ,the considerations upon which ,i base this conclusion are of the simplest possible character4 ,the ,miltonic hypothesis contains assertions of a very definite character relating to the succession of living forms4 ,it is stated that plants1 for example1 made their appearance upon the third day1 and not before4 ,and you will understand that what the poet means by plants are such plants as now live1 the ancestors1 in the ordinary way of propagation of like by like1 of the trees and shrubs which flourish in the present world4 ,it must needs be so2 for1 if they were different1 either the existing plants have been the result of a separate origination since that described by ,milton1 of which we have no record1 nor any ground for supposition that such an occurrence has taken place2 or else they have arisen by a process of evolution from the original stocks4 ,in the second place1 it is clear that there was no animal life before the fifth day1 and that1 on the fifth day1 aquatic animals and birds appeared4 ,and it is further clear that terrestrial living things1 other than birds1 made their appearance upon the sixth day and not before4 ,hence1 it follows that1 if1 in the large mass of circumstantial evidence as to what really has happened in the past history of the globe we find indications of the existence of terrestrial animals1 other than birds1 at a certain period1 it is perfectly certain that all that has taken place1 since that time1 must be referred to the sixth day4 ,in the great ,carboniferous formation1 whence ,america derives so vast a proportion of her actual and potential wealth1 in the beds of coal which have been formed from the vegetation of that period1 we find abundant evidence of the existence of terrestrial animals4 ,they have been described1 not only by ,european but by your own naturalists4 ,there are to be found numerous insects allied to our cockroaches4 ,there are to be found spiders and scorpions of large size1 the latter so similar to existing scorpions that it requires the practised eye of the naturalist to distinguish them4 ,inasmuch as these animals can be proved to have been alive in the ,carboniferous epoch1 it is perfectly clear that1 if the ,miltonic account is to be accepted1 the huge mass of rocks extending from the middle of the ,palozoic formations to the uppermost members of the series1 must belong to the day which is termed by ,milton the sixth4 ,but1 further1 it is expressly stated that aquatic animals took their origin on the fifth day1 and not before2 hence1 all formations in which remains of aquatic animals can be proved to exist1 and which therefore testify that such animals lived at the time when these formations were in course of deposition1 must have been deposited during or since the period which ,milton speaks of as the fifth day4 ,but there is absolutely no fossiliferous formation in which the remains of aquatic animals are absent4 ,the oldest fossils in the ,silurian rocks are exuvi of marine animals2 and if the view which is entertained by ,principal ,dawson and ,dr4 ,carpenter respecting the nature of the ,eozon be well-founded1 aquatic animals existed at a period as far antecedent to the deposition of the coal as the coal is from us2 inasmuch as the ,eozon is met with in those ,laurentian strata which lie at the bottom of the series of stratified rocks4 ,hence it follows1 plainly enough1 that the whole series of stratified rocks1 if they are to be brought into harmony with ,milton1 must be referred to the fifth and sixth days1 and that we cannot hope to find the slightest trace of the products of the earlier days in the geological record4 ,when we consider these simple facts1 we see how absolutely futile are the attempts that have been made to draw a parallel between the story told by so much of the crust of the earth as is known to us and the story which ,milton tells4 ,the whole series of fossiliferous stratified rocks must be referred to the last two days2 and neither the ,carboniferous1 nor any other1 formation can afford evidence of the work of the third day4 ,not only is there this objection to any attempt to establish a harmony between the ,miltonic account and the facts recorded in the fossiliferous rocks1 but there is a further difficulty4 ,according to the ,miltonic account1 the order in which animals should have made their appearance in the stratified rocks would be this3 ,fishes1 including the great whales1 and birds2 after them1 all varieties of terrestrial animals except birds4 ,nothing could be further from the facts as we find them2 we know of not the slightest evidence of the existence of birds before the ,jurassic1 or perhaps the ,triassic1 formation2 while terrestrial animals1 as we have just seen1 occur in the ,carboniferous rocks4 ,if there were any harmony between the ,miltonic account and the circumstantial evidence1 we ought to have abundant evidence of the existence of birds in the ,carboniferous1 the ,devonian1 and the ,silurian rocks4 ,i need hardly say that this is not the case1 and that not a trace of birds makes its appearance until the far later period which ,i have mentioned4 ,and again1 if it be true that all varieties of fishes and the great whales1 and the like1 made their appearance on the fifth day1 we ought to find the remains of these animals in the older rocks--in those which were deposited before the ,carboniferous epoch4 ,fishes we do find1 in considerable number and variety2 but the great whales are absent1 and the fishes are not such as now live4 ,not one solitary species of fish now in existence is to be found in the ,devonian or ,silurian formations4 ,hence we are introduced afresh to the dilemma which ,i have already placed before you3 either the animals which came into existence on the fifth day were not such as those which are found at present1 are not the direct and immediate ancestors of those which now exist2 in which case1 either fresh creations of which nothing is said1 or a process of evolution1 must have occurred2 or else the whole story must be given up1 as not only devoid of any circumstantial evidence1 but contrary to such evidence as exists4 ,i placed before you in a few words1 some little time ago1 a statement of the sum and substance of ,milton's hypothesis4 ,let me now try to state1 as briefly1 the effect of the circumstantial evidence bearing upon the past history of the earth which is furnished1 without the possibility of mistake1 with no chance of error as to its chief features1 by the stratified rocks4 ,what we find is1 that the great series of formations represents a period of time of which our human chronologies hardly afford us a unit of measure4 ,i will not pretend to say how we ought to estimate this time1 in millions or in billions of years4 ,for my purpose1 the determination of its absolute duration is wholly unessential4 ,but that the time was enormous there can be no question4 ,it results from the simplest methods of interpretation1 that leaving out of view certain patches of metamorphosed rocks1 and certain volcanic products1 all that is now dry land has once been at the bottom of the waters4 ,it is perfectly certain that1 at a comparatively recent period of the world's history--the ,cretaceous epoch--none of the great physical features which at present mark the surface of the globe existed4 ,it is certain that the ,rocky ,mountains were not4 ,it is certain that the ,himalaya ,mountains were not4 ,it is certain that the ,alps and the ,pyrenees had no existence4 ,the evidence is of the plainest possible character1 and is simply this3--,we find raised up on the flanks of these mountains1 elevated by the forces of upheaval which have given rise to them1 masses of ,cretaceous rock which formed the bottom of the sea before those mountains existed4 ,it is therefore clear that the elevatory forces which gave rise to the mountains operated subsequently to the ,cretaceous epoch2 and that the mountains themselves are largely made up of the materials deposited in the sea which once occupied their place4 ,as we go back in time1 we meet with constant alternations of sea and land1 of estuary and open ocean2 and1 in correspondence with these alternations1 we observe the changes in the fauna and flora to which ,i have referred4 ,but the inspection of these changes give us no right to believe that there has been any discontinuity in natural processes4 ,there is no trace of general cataclysms1 of universal deluges1 or sudden destructions of a whole fauna or flora4 ,the appearances which were formerly interpreted in that way have all been shown to be delusive1 as our knowledge has increased and as the blanks which formerly appeared to exist between the different formations have been filled up4 ,that there is no absolute break between formation and formation1 that there has been no sudden disappearance of all the forms of life and replacement of them by others1 but that changes have gone on slowly and gradually1 that one type has died out and another has taken its place1 and that thus1 by insensible degrees1 one fauna has been replaced by another1 are conclusions strengthened by constantly increasing evidence4 ,so that within the whole of the immense period indicated by the fossiliferous stratified rocks1 there is assuredly not the slightest proof of any break in the uniformity of ,nature's operations1 no indication that events have followed other than a clear and orderly sequence4 ,that1 ,i say1 is the natural and obvious teaching of the circumstantial evidence contained in the stratified rocks4 ,i leave you to consider how far1 by any ingenuity of interpretation1 by any stretching of the meaning of language1 it can be brought into harmony with the ,miltonic hypothesis4 ,there remains the third hypothesis1 that of which ,i have spoken as the hypothesis of evolution2 and ,i purpose that1 in lectures to come1 we should discuss it as carefully as we have considered the other two hypotheses4 ,i need not say that it is quite hopeless to look for testimonial evidence of evolution4 ,the very nature of the case precludes the possibility of such evidence1 for the human race can no more be expected to testify to its own origin1 than a child can be tendered as a witness of its own birth4 ,our sole inquiry is1 what foundation circumstantial evidence lends to the hypothesis1 or whether it lends none1 or whether it controverts the hypothesis4 ,i shall deal with the matter entirely as a question of history4 ,i shall not indulge in the discussion of any speculative probabilities4 ,i shall not attempt to show that ,nature is unintelligible unless we adopt some such hypothesis4 ,for anything ,i know about the matter1 it may be the way of ,nature to be unintelligible2 she is often puzzling1 and ,i have no reason to suppose that she is bound to fit herself to our notions4 ,i shall place before you three kinds of evidence entirely based upon what is known of the forms of animal life which are contained in the series of stratified rocks4 ,i shall endeavour to show you that there is one kind of evidence which is neutral1 which neither helps evolution nor is inconsistent with it4 ,i shall then bring forward a second kind of evidence which indicates a strong probability in favour of evolution1 but does not prove it2 and1 lastly1 ,i shall adduce a third kind of evidence which1 being as complete as any evidence which we can hope to obtain upon such a subject1 and being wholly and strikingly in favour of evolution1 may fairly be called demonstrative evidence of its occurrence4 ,,ii ,,the ,,hypothesis ,,of ,,evolution4 ,,the ,,neutral ,,and ,,the ,,favourable ,,evidence ,in the preceding lecture ,i pointed out that there are three hypotheses which may be entertained1 and which have been entertained1 respecting the past history of life upon the globe4 ,according to the first of these hypotheses1 living beings1 such as now exist1 have existed from all eternity upon this earth4 ,we tested that hypothesis by the circumstantial evidence1 as ,i called it1 which is furnished by the fossil remains contained in the earth's crust1 and we found that it was obviously untenable4 ,i then proceeded to consider the second hypothesis1 which ,i termed the ,miltonic hypothesis1 not because it is of any particular consequence whether ,john ,milton seriously entertained it or not1 but because it is stated in a clear and unmistakable manner in his great poem4 ,i pointed out to you that the evidence at our command as completely and fully negatives that hypothesis as it did the preceding one4 ,and ,i confess that ,i had too much respect for your intelligence to think it necessary to add that the negation was equally clear and equally valid1 whatever the source from which that hypothesis might be derived1 or whatever the authority by which it might be supported4 ,i further stated that1 according to the third hypothesis1 or that of evolution1 the existing state of things is the last term of a long series of states1 which1 when traced back1 would be found to show no interruption and no breach in the continuity of natural causation4 ,i propose1 in the present and the following lecture1 to test this hypothesis rigorously by the evidence at command1 and to inquire how far that evidence can be said to be indifferent to it1 how far it can be said to be favourable to it1 and1 finally1 how far it can be said to be demonstrative4 ,from almost the origin of the discussions about the existing condition of the animal and vegetable worlds and the causes which have determined that condition1 an argument has been put forward as an objection to evolution1 which we shall have to consider very seriously4 ,it is an argument which was first clearly stated by ,cuvier in his criticism of the doctrines propounded by his great contemporary1 ,lamarck4 ,the ,french expedition to ,egypt had called the attention of learned men to the wonderful store of antiquities in that country1 and there had been brought back to ,france numerous mummified corpses of the animals which the ancient ,egyptians revered and preserved1 and which1 at a reasonable computation1 must have lived not less than three or four thousand years before the time at which they were thus brought to light4 ,cuvier endeavoured to test the hypothesis that animals have undergone gradual and progressive modifications of structure1 by comparing the skeletons and such other parts of the mummies as were in a fitting state of preservation1 with the corresponding parts of the representatives of the same species now living in ,egypt4 ,he arrived at the conviction that no appreciable change had taken place in these animals in the course of this considerable lapse of time1 and the justice of his conclusion is not disputed4 ,it is obvious that1 if it can be proved that animals have endured1 without undergoing any demonstrable change of structure1 for so long a period as four thousand years1 no form of the hypothesis of evolution which assumes that animals undergo a constant and necessary progressive change can be tenable2 unless1 indeed1 it be further assumed that four thousand years is too short a time for the production of a change sufficiently great to be detected4 ,but it is no less plain that if the process of evolution of animals is not independent of surrounding conditions2 if it may be indefinitely hastened or retarded by variations in these conditions2 or if evolution is simply a process of accommodation to varying conditions2 the argument against the hypothesis of evolution based on the unchanged character of the ,egyptian fauna is worthless4 ,for the monuments which are coeval with the mummies testify as strongly to the absence of change in the physical geography and the general conditions of the land of ,egypt1 for the time in question1 as the mummies do to the unvarying characters of its living population4 ,the progress of research since ,cuvier's time has supplied far more striking examples of the long duration of specific forms of life than those which are furnished by the mummified ,ibises and ,crocodiles of ,egypt4 ,a remarkable case is to be found in your own country1 in the neighbourhood of the falls of ,niagara4 ,in the immediate vicinity of the whirlpool1 and again upon ,goat ,island1 in the superficial deposits which cover the surface of the rocky subsoil in those regions1 there are found remains of animals in perfect preservation1 and among them1 shells belonging to exactly the same species as those which at present inhabit the still waters of ,lake ,erie4 ,it is evident1 from the structure of the country1 that these animal remains were deposited in the beds in which they occur at a time when the lake extended over the region in which they are found4 ,this involves the conclusion that they lived and died before the falls had cut their way back through the gorge of ,niagara2 and1 indeed1 it has been determined that1 when these animals lived1 the falls of ,niagara must have been at least six miles further down the river than they are at present4 ,many computations have been made of the rate at which the falls are thus cutting their way back4 ,those computations have varied greatly1 but ,i believe ,i am speaking within the bounds of prudence1 if ,i assume that the falls of ,niagara have not retreated at a greater pace than about a foot a year4 ,six miles1 speaking roughly1 are #cj1jjj feet2 #cj1jjj feet1 at a foot a year1 gives #cj1jjj years2 and thus we are fairly justified in concluding that no less a period than this has passed since the shell-fish1 whose remains are left in the beds to which ,i have referred1 were living creatures4 ,but there is still stronger evidence of the long duration of certain types4 ,i have already stated that1 as we work our way through the great series of the ,tertiary formations1 we find many species of animals identical with those which live at the present day1 diminishing in numbers1 it is true1 but still existing1 in a certain proportion1 in the oldest of the ,tertiary rocks4 ,furthermore1 when we examine the rocks of the ,cretaceous epoch1 we find the remains of some animals which the closest scrutiny cannot show to be1 in any important respect1 different from those which live at the present time4 ,that is the case with one of the cretaceous lamp-shells 7,terebratula7 which has continued to exist unchanged1 or with insignificant variations1 down to the present day4 ,such is the case with the ,globigerin1 the skeletons of which1 aggregated together1 form a large proportion of our ,english chalk4 ,those ,globigerin can be traced down to the ,globigerin which live at the surface of the present great oceans1 and the remains of which1 falling to the bottom of the sea give rise to a chalky mud4 ,hence it must be admitted that certain existing species of animals show no distinct sign of modification1 or transformation1 in the course of a lapse of time as great as that which carries us back to the ,cretaceous period2 and which1 whatever its absolute measure1 is certainly vastly greater than thirty thousand years4 ,there are groups of species so closely allied together1 that it needs the eye of a naturalist to distinguish them one from another4 ,if we disregard the small differences which separate these forms1 and consider all the species of such groups as modifications of one type1 we shall find that1 even among the higher animals1 some types have had a marvellous duration4 ,in the chalk1 for example1 there is found a fish belonging to the highest and the most differentiated group of osseous fishes1 which goes by the name of ,beryx4 ,the remains of that fish are among the most beautiful and well-preserved of the fossils found in our ,english chalk4 ,it can be studied anatomically1 so far as the hard parts are concerned1 almost as well as if it were a recent fish4 ,but the genus ,beryx is represented1 at the present day1 by very closely allied species which are living in the ,pacific and ,atlantic ,oceans4 ,we may go still farther back4 ,i have already referred to the fact1 that the ,carboniferous formations1 in ,europe and in ,america1 contain the remains of scorpions in an admirable state of preservation and1 that those scorpions are hardly distinguishable from such as now live4 ,i do not mean to say that they are not different1 but close scrutiny is needed in order to distinguish them from modern scorpions4 ,more than this4 ,at the very bottom ,of the ,silurian series1 in beds which are by some authorities referred to the ,cambrian formation1 where the signs of life begin to fail us--even there1 among the few and scanty animal remains which are discoverable1 we find species of molluscous animals which are so closely allied to existing forms that1 at one time1 they were grouped under the same generic name4 ,i refer to the well known ,lingula of the ,lingula flags1 lately1 in consequence of some slight differences1 placed in the new genus ,lingulella4 ,practically1 it belongs to the same great generic group as the ,lingula1 which is to be found at the present day upon your own shores and those of many other parts of the world4 ,the same truth is exemplified if we turn to certain great periods of the earth's history--as1 for example1 the ,mesozoic epoch4 ,there are groups of reptiles1 such as the ,ichthyosauria and the ,plesiosauria1 which appear shortly after the commencement of this epoch1 and they occur in vast numbers4 ,they disappear with the chalk and1 throughout the whole of the great series of ,mesozoic rocks1 they present no such modifications as can safely be considered evidence of progressive modification4 ,facts of this kind are undoubtedly fatal to any form of the doctrine of evolution which postulates the supposition that there is an intrinsic necessity1 on the part of animal forms which have once come into existence1 to undergo continual modification2 and they are as distinctly opposed to any view which involves the belief1 that such modification as may occur1 must take place1 at the same rate1 in all the different types of animal or vegetable life4 ,the facts1 as ,i have placed them before you obviously directly contradict any form of the hypothesis of evolution which stands in need of these two postulates4 ,but1 one great service that has been rendered by ,mr4 ,darwin to the doctrine of evolution in general is this3 he has shown that there are two chief factors in the process of evolution3 one of them is the tendency to vary1 the existence of which in all living forms may be proved by observation2 the other is the influence of surrounding conditions upon what ,i may call the parent form and the variations which are thus evolved from it4 ,the cause of the production of variations is a matter not at all properly understood at present4 ,whether variation depends upon some intricate machinery--if ,i may use the phrase--of the living organism itself1 or whether it arises through the influence of conditions upon that form1 is not certain1 and the question may1 for the present1 be left open4 ,but the important point is that granting the existence of the tendency to the production of variations2 then1 whether the variations which are produced shall survive and supplant the parent1 or whether the parent form shall survive and supplant the variations1 is a matter which depends entirely on those conditions which give rise to the struggle for existence4 ,if the surrounding conditions are such that the parent form is more competent to deal with them1 and flourish in them than the derived forms1 then1 in the struggle for existence1 the parent form will maintain itself and the derived forms will be exterminated4 ,but if1 on the contrary1 the conditions are such as to be more favourable to a derived than to the parent form1 the parent form will be extirpated and the derived form will take its place4 ,in the first case1 there will be no progression1 no change of structure1 through any imaginable series of ages2 in the second place there will be modification of change and form4 ,thus the existence of these persistent types1 as ,i have termed them1 is no real obstacle in the way of the theory of evolution4 ,take the case of the scorpions to which ,i have just referred4 ,no doubt1 since the ,carboniferous epoch1 conditions have always obtained1 such as existed when the scorpions of that epoch flourished2 conditions in which scorpions find themselves better off1 more competent to deal with the difficulties in their way1 than any variation from the scorpion type which they may have produced2 and1 for that reason1 the scorpion type has persisted1 and has not been supplanted by any other form4 ,and there is no reason1 in the nature of things1 why1 as long as this world exists1 if there be conditions more favourable to scorpions than to any variation which may arise from them1 these forms of life should not persist4 ,therefore1 the stock objection to the hypothesis of evolution1 based on the long duration of certain animal and vegetable types1 is no objection at all4 ,the facts of this character--and they are numerous--belong to that class of evidence which ,i have called indifferent4 ,that is to say1 they may afford no direct support to the doctrine of evolution1 but they are capable of being interpreted in perfect consistency with it4 ,there is another order of facts belonging to the class of negative or indifferent evidence4 ,the great group of ,lizards1 which abound in the present world1 extends through the whole series of formations as far back as the ,permian1 or latest ,palozoic1 epoch4 ,these ,permian lizards differ astonishingly little from the lizards which exist at the present day4 ,comparing the amount of the differences between them and modern lizards1 with the prodigious lapse of time between the ,permian epoch and the present age1 it may be said that the amount of change is insignificant4 ,but1 when we carry our researches farther back in time1 we find no trace of lizards1 nor of any true reptile whatever1 in the whole mass of formations beneath the ,permian4 ,now1 it is perfectly clear that if our palontological collections are to be taken1 even approximately1 as an adequate representation of all the forms of animals and plants that have ever lived2 and if the record furnished by the known series of beds of stratified rock covers the whole series of events which constitute the history of life on the globe1 such a fact as this directly contravenes the hypothesis of evolution2 because this hypothesis postulates that the existence of every form must have been preceded by that of some form little different from it4 ,here1 however1 we have to take into consideration that important truth so well insisted upon by ,lyell and by ,darwin--the imperfection of the geological record4 ,it can be demonstrated that the geological record must be incomplete1 that it can only preserve remains found in certain favourable localities and under particular conditions2 that it must be destroyed by processes of denudation1 and obliterated by processes of metamorphosis4 ,beds of rock of any thickness1 crammed full of organic remains1 may yet1 either by the percolation of water through them1 or by the influence of subterranean heat1 lose all trace of these remains1 and present the appearance of beds of rock formed under conditions in which living forms were absent4 ,such metamorphic rocks occur in formations of all ages2 and1 in various cases1 there are very good grounds for the belief that they have contained organic remains1 and that those remains have been absolutely obliterated4 ,i insist upon the defects of the geological record the more because those who have not attended to these matters are apt to say1 ,it is all very well1 but1 when you get into a difficulty with your theory of evolution1 you appeal to the incompleteness and the imperfection of the geological record2 and ,i want to make it perfectly clear to you that this imperfection is a great fact1 which must be taken into account in all our speculations1 or we shall constantly be going wrong4 ,you see the singular series of footmarks1 drawn of its natural size in the large diagram hanging up here 7,fig4 #b71 which ,i owe to the kindness of my friend ,professor ,marsh1 with whom ,i had the opportunity recently of visiting the precise locality in ,massachusetts in which these tracks occur4 ,i am1 therefore1 able to give you my own testimony1 if needed1 that the diagram accurately represents what we saw4 ,the valley of the ,connecticut is classical ground for the geologist4 ,it contains great beds of sandstone1 covering many square miles1 which have evidently formed a part of an ancient sea-shore1 or1 it may be1 lake-shore4 ,for a certain period of time after their deposition1 these beds have remained sufficiently soft to receive the impressions of the feet of whatever animals walked over them1 and to preserve them afterwards1 in exactly the same way as such impressions are at this hour preserved on the shores of the ,bay of ,fundy and elsewhere4 ,the diagram represents the track of some gigantic animal1 which walked on its hind legs4 ,you see the series of marks made alternately by the right and by the left foot2 so that1 from one impression to the other of the three-toed foot on the same side1 is one stride1 and that stride1 as we measured it1 is six feet nine inches4 ,i leave you1 therefore1 to form an impression of the magnitude of the creature which1 as it walked along the ancient shore1 made these impressions4 ,illustration3 ,,fig4 #b4--,,tracks ,,of ,,brontozoum4 ,of such impressions there are untold thousands upon these sandstones4 ,fifty or sixty different kinds have been discovered1 and they cover vast areas4 ,but1 up to this present time1 not a bone1 not a fragment1 of any one of the animals which left these great footmarks has been found2 in fact1 the only animal remains which have been met with in all these deposits1 from the time of their discovery to the present day--though they have been carefully hunted over--is a fragmentary skeleton of one of the smaller forms4 ,what has become of the bones of all these animals8 ,you see we are not dealing with little creatures1 but with animals that make a step of six feet nine inches2 and their remains must have been left somewhere4 ,the probability is1 that they have been dissolved away1 and completely lost4 ,i have had occasion to work out the nature of fossil remains1 of which there was nothing left except casts of the bones1 the solid material of the skeleton having been dissolved out by percolating water4 ,it was a chance1 in this case1 that the sandstone happened to be of such a constitution as to set1 and to allow the bones to be afterward dissolved out1 leaving cavities of the exact shape of the bones4 ,had that constitution been other than what it was1 the bones would have been dissolved1 the layers of sandstone would have fallen together into one mass1 and not the slightest indication that the animal had existed would have been discoverable4 ,i know of no more striking evidence than these facts afford1 of the caution which should be used in drawing the conclusion1 from the absence of organic remains in a deposit1 that animals or plants did not exist at the time it was formed4 ,i believe that1 with a right understanding of the doctrine of evolution on the one hand1 and a just estimation of the importance of the imperfection of the geological record on the other1 all difficulty is removed from the kind of evidence to which ,i have adverted2 and that we are justified in believing that all such cases are examples of what ,i have designated negative or indifferent evidence--that is to say1 they in no way directly advance the hypothesis of evolution1 but they are not to be regarded as obstacles in the way of our belief in that doctrine4 ,i now pass on to the consideration of those cases which1 for reasons which ,i will point out to you by and by1 are not to be regarded as demonstrative of the truth of evolution1 but which are such as must exist if evolution be true1 and which therefore are1 upon the whole1 evidence in favour of the doctrine4 ,if the doctrine of evolution be true1 it follows1 that1 however diverse the different groups of animals and of plants may be1 they must all1 at one time or other1 have been connected by gradational forms2 so that1 from the highest animals1 whatever they may be1 down to the lowest speck of protoplasmic matter in which life can be manifested1 a series of gradations1 leading from one end of the series to the other1 either exists or has existed4 ,undoubtedly that is a necessary postulate of the doctrine of evolution4 ,but when we look upon living ,nature as it is1 we find a totally different state of things4 ,we find that animals and plants fall into groups1 the different members of which are pretty closely allied together1 but which are separated by definite1 larger or smaller1 breaks1 from other groups4 ,in other words1 no intermediate forms which bridge over these gaps or intervals are1 at present1 to be met with4 ,to illustrate what ,i mean3 ,let me call your attention to those vertebrate animals which are most familiar to you1 such as mammals1 birds1 and reptiles4 ,at the present day1 these groups of animals are perfectly well-defined from one another4 ,we know of no animal now living which1 in any sense1 is intermediate between the mammal and the bird1 or between the bird and the reptile2 but1 on the contrary1 there are many very distinct anatomical peculiarities1 well-defined marks1 by which the mammal is separated from the bird1 and the bird from the reptile4 ,the distinctions are obvious and striking if you compare the definitions of these great groups as they now exist4 ,the same may be said of many of the subordinate groups1 or orders1 into which these great classes are divided4 ,at the present time1 for example1 there are numerous forms of non-ruminant pachyderms1 or what we may call broadly1 the pig tribe1 and many varieties of ruminants4 ,these latter have their definite characteristics1 and the former have their distinguishing peculiarities4 ,but there is nothing that fills up the gap between the ruminants and the pig tribe4 ,the two are distinct4 ,such also is the case in respect of the minor groups of the class of reptiles4 ,the existing fauna shows us crocodiles1 lizards1 snakes1 and tortoises2 but no connecting link between the crocodile and lizard1 nor between the lizard and snake1 nor between the snake and the crocodile1 nor between any two of these groups4 ,they are separated by absolute breaks4 ,if1 then1 it could be shown that this state of things had always existed1 the fact would be fatal to the doctrine of evolution4 ,if the intermediate gradations1 which the doctrine of evolution requires to have existed between these groups1 are not to be found anywhere in the records of the past history of the globe1 their absence is a strong and weighty negative argument against evolution2 while1 on the other hand1 if such intermediate forms are to be found1 that is so much to the good of evolution2 although for reasons which ,i will lay before you by and by1 we must be cautious in our estimate of the evidential cogency of facts of this kind4 ,it is a very remarkable circumstance that1 from the commencement of the serious study of fossil remains1 in fact from the time when ,cuvier began his brilliant researches upon those found in the quarries of ,montmartre1 palontology has shown what she was going to do in this matter1 and what kind of evidence it lay in her power to produce4 ,i said just now that1 in the existing ,fauna1 the group of pig-like animals and the group of ruminants are entirely distinct2 but one of the first of ,cuvier's discoveries was an animal which he called the ,anoplotherium1 and which proved to be1 in a great many important respects1 intermediate in character between the pigs on the one hand1 and the ruminants on the other ,thus1 research into the history of the past did1 to a certain extent1 tend to fill up the breach between the group of ruminants and the group of pigs4 ,another remarkable animal restored by the great ,french palontologist1 the ,palotherium1 similarly tended to connect together animals to all appearance so different as the rhinoceros1 the horse1 and the tapir4 ,subsequent research has brought to light multitudes of facts of the same order2 and1 at the present day1 the investigations of such anatomists as ,rtimeyer and ,gaudry have tended to fill up1 more and more1 the gaps in our existing series of mammals1 and to connect groups formerly thought to be distinct4 ,but ,i think it may have an especial interest if1 instead of dealing with these examples1 which would require a great deal of tedious osteological detail1 ,i take the case of birds and reptiles2 groups which1 at the present day1 are so clearly distinguished from one another that there are perhaps no classes of animals which1 in popular apprehension1 are more completely separated4 ,existing birds1 as you are aware1 are covered with feathers2 their anterior extremities1 specially and peculiarly modified1 are converted into wings1 by the aid of which most of them are able to fly2 they walk upright upon two legs2 and these limbs1 when they are considered anatomically1 present a great number of exceedingly remarkable peculiarities1 to which ,i may have occasion to advert incidentally as ,i go on1 and which are not met with1 even approximately1 in any existing forms of reptiles4 ,on the other hand1 existing reptiles have no feathers4 ,they may have naked skins1 or be covered with horny scales1 or bony plates1 or with both4 ,they possess no wings2 they neither fly by means of their fore-limbs1 nor habitually walk upright upon their hind-limbs2 and the bones of their legs present no such modifications as we find in birds4 ,it is impossible to imagine any two groups more definitely and distinctly separated1 notwithstanding certain characters which they possess in common4 ,as we trace the history of birds back in time1 we find their remains1 sometimes in great abundance1 throughout the whole extent of the tertiary rocks2 but1 so far as our present knowledge goes1 the birds of the tertiary rocks retain the same essential characters as the birds of the present day4 ,in other words1 the tertiary birds come within the definition of the class constituted by existing birds1 and are as much separated from reptiles as existing birds are4 ,not very long ago no remains of birds had been found below the tertiary rocks1 and ,i am not sure but that some persons were prepared to demonstrate that they could not have existed at an earlier period4 ,but1 in the course of the last few years1 such remains have been discovered in ,england2 though1 unfortunately1 in so imperfect and fragmentary a condition1 that it is impossible to say whether they differed from existing birds in any essential character or not4 ,in your country the development of the cretaceous series of rocks is enormous2 the conditions under which the later cretaceous strata have been deposited are highly favourable to the preservation of organic remains2 and the researches1 full of labour and risk1 which have been carried on by ,professor ,marsh in these cretaceous rocks of ,western ,america1 have rewarded him with the discovery of forms of birds of which we had hitherto no conception4 ,by his kindness1 ,i am enabled to place before you a restoration of one of these extraordinary birds1 every part of which can be thoroughly justified by the more or less complete skeletons1 in a very perfect state of preservation1 which he has discovered4 ,this ,hesperornis 7,fig4 #c71 which measured between five and six feet in length1 is astonishingly like our existing divers or grebes in a great many respects2 so like them indeed that1 had the skeleton of ,hesperornis been found in a museum without its skull1 improbably would have been placed in the same group of birds as the divers and grebes of the present day4#a ,but ,hesperornis differs from all existing birds1 and so far resembles reptiles1 in one important particular--it is provided with teeth4 ,the long jaws are armed with teeth which have curved crowns and thick roots 7,fig4 #d71 and are not set in distinct sockets1 but are lodged in a groove4 ,in possessing true teeth1 the ,hesperornis differs from every existing bird1 and from every bird yet discovered in the tertiary formations1 the tooth-like serrations of the jaws in the ,odontopteryx of the ,london clay being mere processes of the bony substance of the jaws1 and not teeth in the proper sense of the word4 ,in view of the characteristics of this bird we are therefore obliged to modify the definitions of the classes of birds and reptiles4 ,before the discovery of ,hesperornis1 the definition of the class ,aves based upon our knowledge of existing birds might have been extended to all birds2 it might have been said that the absence of teeth was characteristic of the class of birds2 but the discovery of an animal which1 in every part of its skeleton1 closely agrees with existing birds1 and yet possesses teeth1 shows that there were ancient birds1 which1 in respect of possessing teeth1 approached reptiles more nearly than any existing bird does1 and1 to that extent1 diminishes the hiatus between the two classes4 ,illustration3 ,,fig4 #c--;,,hesperornis ,,regalis 7,marsh74 ,the same formation has yielded another bird ,ichthyornis 7,fig4 #e71 which also possesses teeth2 but the teeth are situated in distinct sockets1 while those of ,hesperornis are not so lodged4 ,the latter also has such very small1 almost rudimentary wings1 that it must have been chiefly a swimmer and a diver like a ,penguin2 while ,ichthyornis has strong wings and no doubt possessed corresponding powers of flight4 ,ichthyornis also differed in the fact that its vertebr have not the peculiar characters of the vertebr of existing and of all known tertiary birds1 but were concave at each end4 ,this discovery leads us to make a further modification in the definition of the group of birds1 and to part with another of the characters by which almost all existing birds are distinguished from reptiles4 ,illustration3 ,,fig4 #d4--;,,hesperornis ,,regalis 7,marsh74 ,side and upper views of half the lower jaw2 side and end views of a vertebra and a separate tooth4 ,apart from the few fragmentary remains from the ,english greensand1 to which ,i have referred1 the ,mesozoic rocks1 older than those in which ,hesperornis and ,ichthyornis have been discovered have afforded no certain evidence of birds1 with the remarkable exception of the ,solenhofen slates4 ,these so-called slates are composed of a fine grained calcareous mud which has hardened into lithographic stone1 and in which organic remains are almost as well preserved as they would be if they had been imbedded in so much plaster of ,paris4 ,they have yielded the ,archopteryx1 the existence of which was first made known by the finding of a fossil feather1 or rather of the impression of one4 ,it is wonderful enough that such a perishable thing as a feather1 and nothing more1 should be discovered2 yet for a long time1 nothing was known of this bird except its feather4 ,but by and by a solitary skeleton was discovered which is now in the ,british ,museum4 ,the skull of this solitary specimen is unfortunately wanting1 and it is therefore uncertain whether the ,archopteryx possessed teeth or not4#b ,but the remainder of the skeleton is so well preserved as to leave no doubt respecting the main features of the animal1 which are very singular4 ,the feet are not only altogether bird-like1 but have the special characters of the feet of perching birds1 while the body had a clothing of true feathers4 ,nevertheless1 in some other respects1 ,archopteryx is unlike a bird and like a reptile4 ,there is a long tail composed of many vertebr4 ,the structure of the wing differs in some very remarkable respects from that which it presents in a true bird4 ,in the latter1 the end of the wing answers to the thumb and two fingers of my hand2 but the metacarpal bones1 or those which answer to the bones of the fingers which lie in the palm of the hand1 are fused together into one mass2 and the whole apparatus1 except the last joints of the thumb1 is bound up in a sheath of integument1 while the edge of the hand carries the principal quill feathers4 ,in the ,archopteryx1 the upper-arm bone is like that of a bird2 and the two bones of the fore-arm are more or less like those of a bird1 but the fingers are not bound together--they are free4 ,what their number may have been is uncertain2 but several1 if not all1 of them were terminated by strong curved claws1 not like such as are sometimes found in birds1 but such as reptiles possess2 so that1 in the ,archopteryx1 we have an animal which1 to a certain extent1 occupies a midway place between a bird and a reptile4 ,it is a bird so far as its foot and sundry other parts of its skeleton are concerned2 it is essentially and thoroughly a bird by its feathers2 but it is much more properly a reptile in the fact that the region which represents the hand has separate bones1 with claws resembling those which terminate the fore-limb of a reptile4 ,moreover1 it had a long reptile-like tail with a fringe of feathers on each side2 while1 in all true birds hitherto known1 the tail is relatively short1 and the vertebr which constitute its skeleton are generally peculiarly modified4 ,illustration3 ,,fig4 #e4--;,,ichthyornis ,,dispar 7,marsh74 7,side and upper views of half the lower jaw2 and side and end views of a vertebra47 ,like the ,anoplotherium and the ,palotherium1 therefore1 ,archaopteryx tends to fill up the interval between groups which1 in the existing world1 are widely separated1 and to destroy the value of the definitions of zoological groups based upon our knowledge of existing forms4 ,and such cases as these constitute evidence in favour of evolution1 in so far as they prove that1 in former periods of the world's history1 there were animals which overstepped the bounds of existing groups1 and tended to merge them into larger assemblages4 ,they show that animal organisation is more flexible than our knowledge of recent forms might have led us to believe2 and that many structural permutations and combinations1 of which the present world gives us no indication1 may nevertheless have existed4 ,but it by no means follows1 because the ,palotherium has much in common with the horse1 on the one hand1 and with the rhinoceros on the other1 that it is the intermediate form through which rhinoceroses have passed to become horses1 or vice versa2 on the contrary1 any such supposition would certainly be erroneous4 ,nor do ,i think it likely that the transition from the reptile to the bird has been effected by such a form as ,archopteryx4 ,and it is convenient to distinguish these intermediate forms between two groups1 which do not represent the actual passage from the one group to the other1 as intercalary types1 from those linear types which1 more or less approximately1 indicate the nature of the steps by which the transition from one group to the other was effected4 ,i conceive that such linear forms1 constituting a series of natural gradations between the reptile and the bird1 and enabling us to understand the manner in which the reptilian has been metamorphosed into the bird type1 are really to be found among a group of ancient and extinct terrestrial reptiles known as the ,ornithoscelida4 ,the remains of these animals occur throughout the series of ,mesozoic formations1 from the ,trias to the ,chalk1 and there are indications of their existence even in the later ,palozoic strata4 ,most of these reptiles1 at present known1 are of great size1 some having attained a length of forty feet or perhaps more4 ,the majority resembled lizards and crocodiles in their general form1 and many of them were1 like crocodiles1 protected by an armour of heavy bony plates4 ,but1 in others1 the hind-limbs elongate and the fore-limbs shorten1 until their relative proportions approach those which are observed in the short-winged1 flightless1 ostrich tribe among birds4 ,the skull is relatively light1 and in some cases the jaws1 though bearing teeth1 are beak-like at their extremities and appear to have been enveloped in a horny sheath4 ,in the part of the vertebral column which lies between the haunch bones and is called the sacrum1 a number of vertebr may unite together into one whole1 and in this respect1 as in some details of its structure1 the sacrum of these reptiles approaches that of birds4 ,but it is in the structure of the pelvis and of the hind limb that some of these ancient reptiles present the most remarkable approximation to birds1 and clearly indicate the way by which the most specialised and characteristic features of the bird may have been evolved from the corresponding parts in the reptile4 ,in ,fig4 #f1 the pelvis and hind-limbs of a crocodile1 a three-toed bird1 and an ornithoscelidan are represented side by side2 and1 for facility of comparison1 in corresponding positions2 but it must be recollected that1 while the position of the bird's limb is natural1 that of the crocodile is not so4 ,in the bird1 the thigh-bone lies close to the body1 and the metatarsal bones of the foot 7ii41 iii41 iv41 ,fig4 #f7 are1 ordinarily1 raised into a more or less vertical position2 in the crocodile1 the thigh-bone stands out at an angle from the body1 and the metatarsal bones 7i41 ii41 iii41 iv41 ,fig4 #f7 lie flat on the ground4 ,hence1 in the crocodile1 the body usually lies squat between the legs1 while1 in the bird1 it is raised upon the hind legs1 as upon pillars4 ,in the crocodile1 the pelvis is obviously composed of three bones on each side3 the ilium 7,il471 the pubis 7,pb471 and the ischium 7,is474 ,in the adult bird there appears to be but one bone on each side4 ,the examination of the pelvis of a chick1 however1 shows that each half is made up of three bones1 which answer to those which remain distinct throughout life in the crocodile4 ,there is1 therefore1 a fundamental identity of plan in the construction of the pelvis of both bird and reptile2 though the difference in form1 relative size1 and direction of the corresponding bones in the two cases are very great4 ,illustration3 ,,fig4 #f4--;,,bird4 ,,ornithoscelidan4 ,,crocodile4 7,the letters have the same signification in all the figures4 ,il41 ,ilium2 a1 anterior end2 b1 posterior end ,is41 ischium2 ,pb41 pubis2 ,t1 tibia2 ,f1 fibula2 ,as41 astragalus2 ,ca41 calcaneum2 i1 distal portion of the tarsus2 i41 ii41 iii41 iv41 metatarsal bones47 ,but the most striking contrast between the two lies in the bones of the leg and of that part of the foot termed the tarsus1 which follows upon the leg4 ,in the crocodile1 the fibula 7,f7 is relatively large and its lower end is complete4 ,the tibia 7,t7 has no marked crest at its upper end1 and its lower end is narrow and not pulley-shaped4 ,there are two rows of separate tarsal bones 7,as41 ,ca41 c47 and four distinct metatarsal bones1 with a rudiment of a fifth4 ,in the bird the fibula is small and its lower end diminishes to a point4 ,the tibia has a strong crest at its upper end and its lower extremity passes into a broad pulley4 ,there seem at first to be no tarsal bones2 and only one bone1 divided at the end into three heads for the three toes which are attached to it1 appears in the place of the metatarsus4 ,in a young bird1 however1 the pulley-shaped apparent end of the tibia is a distinct bone1 which represents the bones marked ,as41 ,ca41 in the crocodile2 while the apparently single metatarsal bone consists of three bones1 which early unite with one another and with an additional bone1 which represents the lower row of bones in the tarsus of the crocodile4 ,in other words it can be shown by the study of development that the bird's pelvis and hind limb are simply extreme modifications of the same fundamental plan as that upon which these parts are modelled in reptiles4 ,on comparing the pelvis and hind limb of the ornithoscelidan with that of the crocodile1 on the one side1 and that of the bird1 on the other 7,fig4 #f71 it is obvious that it represents a middle term between the two4 ,the pelvic bones approach the form of those of the birds1 and the direction of the pubis and ischium is nearly that which is characteristic of birds2 the thigh bone1 from the direction of its head1 must have lain close to the body2 the tibia has a great crest2 and1 immovably fitted on to its lower end1 there is a pulley-shaped bone1 like that of the bird1 but remaining distinct4 ,the lower end of the fibula is much more slender1 proportionally1 than in the crocodile4 ,the metatarsal bones have such a form that they fit together immovably1 though they do not enter into bony union2 the third toe is1 as in the bird1 longest and strongest4 ,in fact1 the ornithoscelidan limb is comparable to that of an unhatched chick4 ,illustration3 ,,fig4 #g4--,,restoration ,,of ,,compsognathus ,,longipes4 ,taking all these facts together1 it is obvious that the view1 which was entertained by ,mantell and the probability of which was demonstrated by your own distinguished anatomist1 ,leidy1 while much additional evidence in the same direction has been furnished by ,professor ,cope1 that some of these animals may have walked upon their hind legs1 as birds do1 acquires great weight4 ,in fact1 there can be no reasonable doubt that one of the smaller forms of the ,ornithoscelida1 ,compsognathus1 the almost entire skeleton of which has been discovered in the ,solenhofen slates1 was a bipedal animal4 ,the parts of this skeleton are somewhat twisted out of their natural relations1 but the accompanying figure gives a just view of the general form of ,compsognathus and of the proportions of its limbs2 which1 in some respects1 are more completely bird-like than those of other ,ornithoscelida4 ,we have had to stretch the definition of the class of birds so as to include birds with teeth and birds with paw-like fore-limbs and long tails4 ,there is no evidence that ,compsognathus possessed feathers2 but1 if it did1 it would be hard indeed to say whether it should be called a reptilian bird or an avian reptile4 ,as ,compsognathus walked upon its hind legs1 it must have made tracks like those of birds4 ,and as the structure of the limbs of several of the gigantic ,ornithoscelida1 such as ,iguandon1 leads to the conclusion that they also may have constantly1 or occasionally1 assumed the same attitude1 a peculiar interest attaches to the fact that1 in the ,wealden strata of ,england1 there are to be found gigantic footsteps1 arranged in order like those of the ,brontozoum1 and which there can be no reasonable doubt were made by some of the ,ornithoscelida1 the remains of which are found in the same rocks4 ,and1 knowing that reptiles that walked upon their hind legs and shared many of the anatomical characters of birds did once exist1 it becomes a very important question whether the tracks in the ,trias of ,massachusetts1 to which ,i referred some time ago1 and which formerly used to be unhesitatingly ascribed to birds may not all have been made by ,ornithoscelidan reptiles2 and whether1 if we could obtain the skeletons of the animals which made these tracks1 we should not find in them the actual steps of the evolutional process by which reptiles gave rise to birds4 ,the evidential value of the facts ,i have brought forward in this ,lecture must be neither over nor under estimated4 ,it is not historical proof of the occurrence of the evolution of birds from reptiles1 for we have no safe ground for assuming that true birds had not made their appearance at the commencement of the ,mesozoic epoch4 ,it is in fact1 quite possible that all these more or less aviform reptiles of the ,mesozoic epoch are not terms in the series of progression from birds to reptiles at all1 but simply the more or less modified descendants of ,palozoic forms through which that transition was actually effected4 ,illustration3 ,,fig4 #h4--,,pterodactylus ,,spectabilis 7,von ,meyer74 ,we are not in a position to say that the known ,ornithoscelida are intermediate in the order of their appearance on the earth between reptiles and birds4 ,all that can be said is that1 if independent evidence of the actual occurrence of evolution is producible1 then these intercalary forms remove every difficulty in the way of understanding what the actual steps of the process1 in the case of birds1 may have been4 ,that intercalary forms should have existed in ancient times is a necessary consequence of the truth of the hypothesis of evolution2 and1 hence1 the evidence ,i have laid before you in proof of the existence of such forms1 is1 so far as it goes1 in favour of that hypothesis4 ,there is another series of extinct reptiles which may be said to be intercalary between reptiles and birds1 in so far as they combine some of the characters of these groups2 and which1 as they possessed the power of flight1 may seem1 at first sight1 to be nearer representatives of the forms by which the transition from the reptile to the bird was effected1 than the ,ornithoscelida4 ,these are the ,pterosauria1 or ,pterodactyles1 the remains of which are met with throughout the series of ,mesozoic rocks1 from the lias to the chalk1 and some of which attain a great size1 their wings having a span of eighteen or twenty feet4 ,these animals1 in the form and proportions of the head and neck relatively to the body1 and in the fact that the ends of the jaws were often1 if not always1 more or less extensively ensheathed in horny beaks1 remind us of birds4 ,moreover1 their bones contained air cavities1 rendering them specifically lighter1 as is the case in most birds4 ,the breast-bone was large and keeled1 as in most birds and in bats1 and the shoulder girdle is strikingly similar to that of ordinary birds4 ,but it seems to me that the special resemblance of pterodactyles to birds ends here1 unless ,i may add the entire absence of teeth which characterises the great pterodactyles 7,pteranodon7 discovered by ,professor ,marsh4 ,all other known pterodactyles have teeth lodged in sockets4 ,in the vertebral column and the hind-limbs there are no special resemblances to birds1 and when we turn to the wings they are found to be constructed on a totally different principle from those of birds4 ,there are four fingers4 ,these four fingers are large1 and three of them1 those which answer to the thumb and two following fingers in my hand--are terminated by claws1 while the fourth is enormously prolonged and converted into a great jointed style4 ,you see at once1 from what ,i have stated about a bird's wing1 that there could be nothing less like a bird's wing than this is4 ,it was concluded by general reasoning that this finger had the office of supporting a web which extended between it and the body4 ,an existing specimen proves that such was really the case1 and that the pterodactyles were devoid of feathers1 but that the fingers supported a vast web like that of a bat's wing2 in fact1 there can be no doubt that this ancient reptile flew after the fashion of a bat4 ,thus1 though the pterodactyle is a reptile which has become modified in such a manner as to enable it to fly1 and therefore1 as might be expected1 presents some points of resemblance to other animals which fly2 it has1 so to speak1 gone off the line which leads directly from reptiles to birds1 and has become disqualified for the changes which lead to the characteristic organisation of the latter class4 ,therefore1 viewed in relation to the classes of reptiles and birds1 the pterodactyles appear to me to be1 in a limited sense1 intercalary forms2 but they are not even approximately linear1 in the sense of exemplifying those modifications of structure through which the passage from the reptile to the bird took place4 ,,iii ,,the ,,demonstrative ,,evidence ,,of ,,evolution ,the occurrence of historical facts is said to be demonstrated1 when the evidence that they happened is of such a character as to render the assumption that they did not happen in the highest degree improbable2 and the question ,i now have to deal with is1 whether evidence in favour of the evolution of animals of this degree of cogency is1 or is not1 obtainable from the record of the succession of living forms which is presented to us by fossil remains4 ,those who have attended to the progress of palontology are aware that evidence of the character which ,i have defined has been produced in considerable and continually-increasing quantity during the last few years4 ,indeed1 the amount and the satisfactory nature of that evidence are somewhat surprising1 when we consider the conditions under which alone we can hope to obtain it4 ,it is obviously useless to seek for such evidence except in localities in which the physical conditions have been such as to permit of the deposit of an unbroken1 or but rarely interrupted1 series of strata through a long period of time in which the group of animals to be investigated has existed in such abundance as to furnish the requisite supply of remains2 and in which1 finally1 the materials composing the strata are such as to ensure the preservation of these remains in a tolerably perfect and undisturbed state4 ,it so happens that the case which1 at present1 most nearly fulfils all these conditions is that of the series of extinct animals which culminates in the horses1 by which term ,i mean to denote not merely the domestic animals with which we are all so well acquainted1 but their allies1 the ass1 zebra1 quagga1 and the like4 ,in short1 ,i use horses as the equivalent of the technical name ,equid1 which is applied to the whole group of existing equine animals4 ,the horse is in many ways a remarkable animal2 not least so in the fact that it presents us with an example of one of the most perfect pieces of machinery in the living world4 ,in truth1 among the works of human ingenuity it cannot be said that there is any locomotive so perfectly adapted to its purposes1 doing so much work with so small a quantity of fuel1 as this machine of ,nature's manufacture--the horse4 ,and1 as a necessary consequence of any sort of perfection1 of mechanical perfection as of others1 you find that the horse is a beautiful creature1 one of the most beautiful of all land animals4 ,look at the perfect balance of its form1 and the rhythm and force of its action4 ,the locomotive machinery is1 as you are aware1 resident in its slender fore and hind limbs2 they are flexible and elastic levers1 capable of being moved by very powerful muscles2 and1 in order to supply the engines which work these levers with the force which they expend1 the horse is provided with a very perfect apparatus for grinding its food and extracting therefrom the requisite fuel4 ,without attempting to take you very far into the region of osteological detail1 ,i must nevertheless trouble you with some statements respecting the anatomical structure of the horse2 and1 more especially1 will it be needful to obtain a general conception of the structure of its fore and hind limbs1 and of its teeth4 ,but ,i shall only touch upon those points which are absolutely essential to our inquiry4 ,let us turn in the first place to the fore-limb4 ,in most quadrupeds1 as in ourselves1 the fore-arm contains distinct bones called the radius and the ulna4 ,the corresponding region in the horse seems at first to possess but one bone4 ,careful observation1 however1 enables us to distinguish in this bone a part which clearly answers to the upper end of the ulna4 ,this is closely united with the chief mass of the bone which represents the radius1 and runs out into a slender shaft which may be traced for some distance downwards upon the back of the radius1 and then in most cases thins out and vanishes4 ,it takes still more trouble to make sure of what is nevertheless the fact1 that a small part of the lower end of the bone of the horse's fore-arm1 which is only distinct in a very young foal1 is really the lower extremity of the ulna4 ,what is commonly called the knee of a horse is its wrist4 ,the cannon bone answers to the middle bone of the five metacarpal bones1 which support the palm of the hand in ourselves4 ,the pastern1 coronary1 and coffin bones of veterinarians answer to the joints of our middle fingers1 while the hoof is simply a greatly enlarged and thickened nail4 ,but if what lies below the horse's knee thus corresponds to the middle finger in ourselves1 what has become of the four other fingers or digits8 ,we find in the places of the second and fourth digits only two slender splint-like bones1 about two-thirds as long as the cannon-bone1 which gradually taper to their lower ends and bear no finger joints1 or1 as they are termed1 phalanges4 ,sometimes1 small bony or gristly nodules are to be found at the bases of these two metacarpal splints1 and it is probable that these represent rudiments of the first and fifth toes4 ,thus1 the part of the horse's skeleton which corresponds with that of the human hand contains one overgrown middle digit1 and at least two imperfect lateral digits2 and these answer1 respectively1 to the third1 the second1 and the fourth fingers in man4 ,corresponding modifications are found in the hind limb4 ,in ourselves1 and in most quadrupeds1 the leg contains two distinct bones1 a large bone1 the tibia1 and a smaller and more slender bone1 the fibula4 ,but in the horse1 the fibula seems1 at first1 to be reduced to its upper end2 a short slender bone united with the tibia1 and ending in a point below1 occupying its place4 ,examination of the lower end of a young foal's shin-bone1 however1 shows a distinct portion of osseous matter1 which is the lower end of the fibula2 so that the apparently single lower end of the shin-bone is really made up of the coalesced ends of the tibia and fibula1 just as the apparently single lower end of the fore-arm bone is composed of the coalesced radius and ulna4 ,the heel of the horse is the part commonly known as the hock4 ,the hinder cannon-bone answers to the middle metatarsal bone of the human foot1 the pastern1 coronary1 and coffin bones1 to the middle toe bones2 the hind hoof to the nail1 as in the fore-foot4 ,and1 as in the fore-foot1 there are merely two splints to represent the second and the fourth toes4 ,sometimes a rudiment of a fifth toe appears to be traceable4 ,the teeth of a horse are not less peculiar than its limbs4 ,the living engine1 like all others1 must be well stoked if it is to do its work2 and the horse1 if it is to make good its wear and tear1 and to exert the enormous amount of force required for its propulsion1 must be well and rapidly fed4 ,to this end1 good cutting instruments and powerful and lasting crushers are needful4 ,accordingly1 the twelve cutting teeth of a horse are close-set and concentrated in the fore-part of its mouth1 like so many adzes or chisels4 ,the grinders or molars are large1 and have an extremely complicated structure1 being composed of a number of different substances of unequal hardness4 ,the consequence of this is that they wear away at different rates2 and1 hence1 the surface of each grinder is always as uneven as that of a good millstone4 ,i have said that the structure of the grinding teeth is very complicated1 the harder and the softer parts being1 as it were1 interlaced with one another4 ,the result of this is that1 as the tooth wears1 the crown presents a peculiar pattern1 the nature of which is not very easily deciphered at first2 but which it is important we should understand clearly4 ,each grinding tooth of the upper jaw has an outer wall so shaped that1 on the worn crown1 it exhibits the form of two crescents1 one in front and one behind1 with their concave sides turned outwards4 ,from the inner side of the front crescent1 a crescentic front ridge passes inwards and backwards1 and its inner face enlarges into a strong longitudinal fold or pillar4 ,from the front part of the hinder crescent1 a back ridge takes a like direction1 and also has its pillar4 ,the deep interspaces or valleys between these ridges and the outer wall are filled by bony substance1 which is called cement1 and coats the whole tooth4 ,the pattern of the worn face of each grinding tooth of the lower jaw is quite different4 ,it appears to be formed of two crescent-shaped ridges1 the convexities of which are turned outwards4 ,the free extremity of each crescent has a pillar1 and there is a large double pillar where the two crescents meet2 ,the whole structure is1 as it were1 imbedded in cement1 which fills up the valleys1 as in the upper grinders4 ,if the grinding faces of an upper and of a lower molar of the same side are applied together1 it will be seen that the apposed ridges are nowhere parallel1 but that they frequently cross2 and that thus1 in the act of mastication1 a hard surface in the one is constantly applied to a soft surface in the other1 and vice versa4 ,they thus constitute a grinding apparatus of great efficiency1 and one which is repaired as fast as it wears1 owing to the long-continued growth of the teeth4 ,some other peculiarities of the dentition of the horse must be noticed1 as they bear upon what ,i shall have to say by and by4 ,thus the crowns of the cutting teeth have a peculiar deep pit1 which gives rise to the well-known mark of the horse4 ,there is a large space between the outer incisors and the front grinder4 ,in this space the adult male horse presents1 near the incisors on each side1 above and below1 a canine or tush1 which is commonly absent in mares4 ,in a young horse1 moreover1 there is not unfrequently to be seen in front of the first grinder1 a very small tooth1 which soon falls out4 ,if this small tooth be counted as one1 it will be found that there are seven teeth behind the canine on each side2 namely1 the small tooth in question1 and the six great grinders1 among which1 by an unusual peculiarity1 the foremost tooth is rather larger than those which follow it4 ,i have now enumerated those characteristic structures of the horse which are of most importance for the purpose we have in view4 ,to any one who is acquainted with the morphology of vertebrated animals1 they show that the horse deviates widely from the general structure of mammals2 and that the horse type is1 in many respects1 an extreme modification of the general mammalian plan4 ,the least modified mammals1 in fact1 have the radius and ulna1 the tibia and fibula1 distinct and separate4 ,they have five distinct and complete digits on each foot1 and no one of these digits is very much larger than the rest4 ,moreover1 in the least modified mammals1 the total number of the teeth is very generally forty-four1 while in horses1 the usual number is forty1 and in the absence of the canines1 it may be reduced to thirty-six2 the incisor teeth are devoid of the fold seen in those of the horse3 the grinders regularly diminish in size from the middle of the series to its front end2 while their crowns are short1 early attain their full length1 and exhibit simple ridges or tubercles1 in place of the complex foldings of the horse's grinders4 ,hence the general principles of the hypothesis of evolution lead to the conclusion that the horse must have been derived from some quadruped which possessed five complete digits on each foot2 which had the bones of the fore-arm and of the leg complete and separate2 and which possessed forty-four teeth1 among which the crowns of the incisors and grinders had a simple structure2 while the latter gradually increased in size from before backwards1 at any rate in the anterior part of the series1 and had short crowns4 ,and if the horse has been thus evolved1 and the remains of the different stages of its evolution have been preserved1 they ought to present us with a series of forms in which the number of the digits becomes reduced2 the bones of the fore-arm and leg gradually take on the equine condition2 and the form and arrangement of the teeth successively approximate to those which obtain in existing horses4 ,let us turn to the facts1 and see how far they fulfil these requirements of the doctrine of evolution4 ,in ,europe abundant remains of horses are found in the ,quaternary and later ,tertiary strata as far as the ,pliocene formation4 ,but these horses1 which are so common in the cave-deposits and in the gravels of ,europe1 are in all essential respects like existing horses4 ,and that is true of all the horses of the latter part of the ,pliocene epoch4 ,but1 in deposits which belong to the earlier ,pliocene and later ,miocene epochs1 and which occur in ,britain1 in ,france1 in ,germany1 in ,greece1 in ,india1 we find animals which are extremely like horses--which1 in fact1 are so similar to horses1 that you may follow descriptions given in works upon the anatomy of the horse upon the skeletons of these animals--but which differ in some important particulars4 ,for example1 the structure of their fore and hind limbs is somewhat different4 ,the bones which1 in the horse1 are represented by two splints1 imperfect below1 are as long as the middle metacarpal and metatarsal bones2 and1 attached to the extremity of each1 is a digit with three joints of the same general character as those of the middle digit1 only very much smaller4 ,these small digits are so disposed that they could have had but very little functional importance1 and they must have been rather of the nature of the dew-claws1 such as are to be found in many ruminant animals4 ,the ,hipparion1 as the extinct ,european three-toed horse is called1 in fact1 presents a foot similar to that of the ,american ,protohippus 7,fig4 #i71 except that1 in the ,hipparion1 the smaller digits are situated farther back1 and are of smaller proportional size1 than in the ,protohippus4 ,the ulna is slightly more distinct than in the horse2 and the whole length of it1 as a very slender shaft1 intimately united with the radius1 is completely traceable4 ,the fibula appears to be in the same condition as in the horse4 ,the teeth of the ,hipparion are essentially similar to those of the horse1 but the pattern of the grinders is in some respects a little more complex1 and there is a depression on the face of the skull in front of the orbit1 which is not seen in existing horses4 ,in the earlier ,miocene1 and perhaps the later ,eocene deposits of some parts of ,europe1 another extinct animal has been discovered1 which ,cuvier1 who first described some fragments of it1 considered to be a ,palotherium4 ,but as further discoveries threw new light upon its structure1 it was recognised as a distinct genus1 under the name of ,anchitherium4 ,in its general characters1 the skeleton of ,anchitherium is very similar to that of the horse4 ,in fact1 ,lartet and ,de ,blainville called it ,palotherium equinum or hippoides2 and ,de ,christol1 in #ahdg1 said that it differed from ,hipparion in little more than the characters of its teeth1 and gave it the name of ,hipparitherium4 ,each foot possesses three complete toes2 while the lateral toes are much larger in proportion to the middle toe than in ,hipparion1 and doubtless rested on the ground in ordinary locomotion4 ,the ulna is complete and quite distinct from the radius1 though firmly united with the latter4 ,the fibula seems also to have been complete4 ,its lower end1 though intimately united with that of the tibia1 is clearly marked off from the latter bone4 ,there are forty-four teeth4 ,the incisors have no strong pit4 ,the canines seem to have been well developed in both sexes4 ,the first of the seven grinders1 which1 as ,i have said1 is frequently absent1 and1 when it does exist1 is small in the horse1 is a good-sized and permanent tooth1 while the grinder which follows it is but little larger than the hinder ones4 ,the crowns of the grinders are short1 and though the fundamental pattern of the horse-tooth is discernible1 the front and back ridges are less curved1 the accessory pillars are wanting1 and the valleys1 much shallower1 are not filled up with cement4 ,seven years ago1 when ,i happened to be looking critically into the bearing of palontological facts upon the doctrine of evolution1 it appeared to me that the ,anchitherium1 the ,hipparion1 and the modern horses1 constitute a series in which the modifications of structure coincide with the order of chronological occurrence1 in the manner in which they must coincide1 if the modern horses really are the result of the gradual metamorphosis1 in the course of the ,tertiary epoch1 of a less specialised ancestral form4 ,and ,i found by correspondence with the late eminent ,french anatomist and palontologist1 ,m4 ,lartet1 that he had arrived at the same conclusion from the same data4 ,that the ,anchitherium type had become metamorphosed into the ,hipparion type1 and the latter into the ,equine type1 in the course of that period of time which is represented by the latter half of the ,tertiary deposits1 seemed to me to be the only explanation of the facts for which there was even a shadow of probability4#c ,and1 hence1 ,i have ever since held that these facts afford evidence of the occurrence of evolution1 which1 in the sense already defined1 may be termed demonstrative4 ,all who have occupied themselves with the structure of ,anchitherium1 from ,cuvier onwards1 have acknowledged its many points of likeness to a well-known genus of extinct ,eocene mammals1 ,palotherium4 ,indeed1 as we have seen1 ,cuvier regarded his remains of ,anchitherium as those of a species of ,palotherium4 ,hence1 in attempting to trace the pedigree of the horse beyond the ,miocene epoch and the ,anchitheroid form1 ,i naturally sought among the various species of ,palotheroid animals for its nearest ally1 and ,i was led to conclude that the ,palotherium minus 7,plagiolophus7 represented the next step more nearly than any form then known4 ,i think that this opinion was fully justifiable2 but the progress of investigation has thrown an unexpected light on the question1 and has brought us much nearer than could have been anticipated to a knowledge of the true series of the progenitors of the horse4 ,you are all aware that1 when your country was first discovered by ,europeans1 there were no traces of the existence of the horse in any part of the ,american continent4 ,the accounts of the conquest of ,mexico dwell upon the astonishment of the natives of that country when they first became acquainted with that astounding phenomenon--a man seated upon a horse4 ,nevertheless1 the investigations of ,american geologists have proved that the remains of horses occur in the most superficial deposits of both ,north and ,south ,america1 just as they do in ,europe4 ,therefore1 for some reason or other--no feasible suggestion on that subject1 so far as ,i know1 has been made--the horse must have died out on this continent at some period preceding the discovery of ,america4 ,of late years there has been discovered in your ,western ,territories that marvellous accumulation of deposits1 admirably adapted for the preservation of organic remains1 to which ,i referred the other evening1 and which furnishes us with a consecutive series of records of the fauna of the older half of the ,tertiary epoch1 for which we have no parallel in ,europe4 ,they have yielded fossils in an excellent state of conservation and in unexampled number and variety4 ,the researches of ,leidy and others have shown that forms allied to the ,hipparion and the ,anchitherium are to be found among these remains4 ,but it is only recently that the admirably conceived and most thoroughly and patiently worked-out investigations of ,professor ,marsh have given us a just idea of the vast fossil wealth1 and of the scientific importance1 of these deposits4 ,i have had the advantage of glancing over the collections in ,yale ,museum2 and ,i can truly say that1 so far as my knowledge extends1 there is no collection from any one region and series of strata comparable1 for extent1 or for the care with which the remains have been got together1 or for their scientific importance1 to the series of fossils which he has deposited there4 ,this vast collection has yielded evidence bearing upon the question of the pedigree of the horse of the most striking character4 ,it tends to show that we must look to ,america1 rather than to ,europe1 for the original seat of the equine series2 and that the archaic forms and successive modifications of the horse's ancestry are far better preserved here than in ,europe4 ,professor ,marsh's kindness has enabled me to put before you a diagram1 every figure in which is an actual representation of some specimen which is to be seen at ,yale at this present time 7,fig4 #i74 ,the succession of forms which he has brought together carries us from the top to the bottom of the ,tertiaries4 ,firstly1 there is the true horse4 ,next we have the ,american ,pliocene form of the horse 7,pliohippus72 in the conformation of its limbs it presents some very slight deviations from the ordinary horse1 and the crowns of the grinding teeth are shorter4 ,then comes the ,protohippus1 which represents the ,european ,hipparion1 having one large digit and two small ones on each foot1 and the general characters of the fore-arm and leg to which ,i have referred4 ,but it is more valuable than the ,european ,hipparion1 for the reason that it is devoid of some of the peculiarities of that form--peculiarities which tend to show that the ,european ,hipparion is rather a member of a collateral branch1 than a form in the direct line of succession4 ,next1 in the backward order in time1 is the ,miohippus1 which corresponds pretty nearly with the ,anchitherium of ,europe4 ,it presents three complete toes--one large median and two smaller lateral ones2 and there is a rudiment of that digit1 which answers to the little finger of the human hand4 ,illustration3 ,,fig4 #i4 ,the ,european record of the pedigree of the horse stops here2 in the ,american ,tertiaries1 on the contrary1 the series of ancestral equine forms is continued into the ,eocene formations4 ,an older ,miocene form1 termed ,mesohippus1 has three toes in front1 with a large splint-like rudiment representing the little finger2 and three toes behind4 ,the radius and ulna1 the tibia and the fibula1 are distinct1 and the short crowned molar teeth are anchitherold in pattern4 ,but the most important discovery of all is the ,orohippus1 which comes from the ,eocene formation1 and is the oldest member of the equine series as yet known4 ,here we find four complete toes on the front limb1 three toes on the hind-limb1 a well-developed ulna1 a well-developed fibula1 and short-crowned grinders of simple pattern4 ,thus1 thanks to these important researches1 it has become evident that1 so far as our present knowledge extends1 the history of the horse-type is exactly and precisely that which could have been predicted from a knowledge of the principles of evolution4 ,and the knowledge we now possess justifies us completely in the anticipation1 that when the still lower ,eocene deposits1 and those which belong to the cretaceous epoch1 have yielded up their remains of ancestral equine animals1 we shall find1 first1 a form with four complete toes and a rudiment of the innermost or first digit in front1 with probably a rudiment of the fifth digit in the hind foot2#d while1 in still older forms1 the series of the digits will be more and more complete1 until we come to the five-toed animals1 in which1 if the doctrine of evolution is well founded1 the whole series must have taken its orgin4 ,that is what ,i mean by demonstrative evidence of evolution4 ,an inductive hypothesis is said to be demonstrated when the facts are shown to be in entire accordance with it4 ,if that is not scientific proof1 there are no merely inductive conclusions which can be said to be proved4 ,and the doctrine of evolution1 at the present time1 rests upon exactly as secure a foundation as the ,copernican theory of the motions of the heavenly bodies did at the time of its promulgation4 ,its logical basis is precisely of the same character--the coincidence of the observed facts with theoretical requirements4 ,the only way of escape1 if it be a way of escape1 from the conclusions which ,i have just indicated1 is the supposition that all these different equine forms have been created separately at separate epochs of time2 and1 ,i repeat1 that of such an hypothesis as this there neither is1 nor can be1 any scientific evidence2 and1 assuredly so far as ,i know1 there is none which is supported1 or pretends to be supported1 by evidence or authority of any other kind4 ,i can but think that the time will come when such suggestions as these1 such obvious attempts to escape the force of demonstration1 will be put upon the same footing as the supposition made by some writers1 who are ,i believe not completely extinct at present1 that fossils are mere simulacra1 are no indications of the former existence of the animals to which they seem to belong2 but that they are either sports of ,nature1 or special creations1 intended--as ,i heard suggested the other day--to test our faith4 ,in fact1 the whole evidence is in favour of evolution1 and there is none against it4 ,and ,i say this1 although perfectly well aware of the seeming difficulties which have been built up upon what appears to the uninformed to be a solid foundation4 ,i meet constantly with the argument that the doctrine of evolution cannot be well founded1 because it requires the lapse of a very vast period of time2 while the duration of life upon the earth thus implied is inconsistent with the conclusions arrived at by the astronomer and the physicist4 ,i may venture to say that ,i am familiar with those conclusions1 inasmuch as some years ago1 when ,president of the ,geological ,society of ,london1 ,i took the liberty of criticising them1 and of showing in what respects1 as it appeared to me1 they lacked complete and thorough demonstration4 ,but1 putting that point aside1 suppose that1 as the astronomers1 or some of them1 and some physical philosophers1 tell us1 it is impossible that life could have endured upon the earth for as long a period as is required by the doctrine of evolution--supposing that to be proved--,i desire to be informed1 what is the foundation for the statement that evolution does require so great a time8 ,the biologist knows nothing whatever of the amount of time which may be required for the process of evolution4 ,it is a matter of fact that the equine forms which ,i have described to you occur1 in the order stated1 in the ,tertiary formations4 ,but ,i have not the slightest means of guessing whether it took a million of years1 or ten millions1 or a hundred millions1 or a thousand millions of years1 to give rise to that series of changes4 ,a biologist has no means of arriving at any conclusion as to the amount of time which may be needed for a certain quantity of organic change4 ,he takes his time from the geologist4 ,the geologist1 considering the rate at which deposits are formed and the rate at which denudation goes on upon the surface of the earth1 arrives at more or less justifiable conclusions as to the time which is required for the deposit of a certain thickness of rocks2 and if he tells me that the ,tertiary formations required #ejj1jjj1jjj years for their deposit1 ,i suppose he has good ground for what he says1 and ,i take that as a measure of the duration of the evolution of the horse from the ,orohippus up to its present condition4 ,and1 if he is right1 undoubtedly evolution is a very slow process and requires a great deal of time4 ,but suppose1 now1 that an astronomer or a physicist--for instance1 my friend ,sir ,william ,thomson--tells me that my geological authority is quite wrong2 and that he has weighty evidence to show that life could not possibly have existed upon the surface of the earth #ejj1jjj1jjj years ago1 because the earth would have then been too hot to allow of life1 my reply is3 ,that is not my affair2 settle that with the geologist1 and when you have come to an agreement among yourselves ,i will adopt your conclusion4 ,we take our time from the geologists and physicists2 and it is monstrous that having taken our time from the physical philosopher's clock1 the physical philosopher should turn round upon us1 and say we are too fast or too slow4 ,what we desire to know is1 is it a fact that evolution took place8 ,as to the amount of time which evolution may have occupied1 we are in the hands of the physicist and the astronomer1 whose business it is to deal with those questions4 ,i have now1 ladies and gentlemen1 arrived at the conclusion of the task which ,i set before myself when ,i undertook to deliver these lectures4 ,my purpose has been1 not to enable those among you who have paid no attention to these subjects before1 to leave this room in a condition to decide upon the validity or the invalidity of the hypothesis of evolution2 but ,i have desired to put before you the principles upon which all hypotheses respecting the history of ,nature must be judged2 and furthermore1 to make apparent the nature of the evidence and the amount of cogency which is to be expected and may be obtained from it4 ,to this end1 ,i have not hesitated to regard you as genuine students and persons desirous of knowing the truth4 ,i have not shrunk from taking you through long discussions1 that ,i fear may have sometimed tried your patience2 and ,i have inflicted upon you details which were indispensable1 but which may well have been wearisome4 ,but ,i shall rejoice--,i shall consider that ,i have done you the greatest service which it was in my power to do--if ,i have thus convinced you that the great question which we have been discussing is not one to be dealt with by rhetorical flourishes1 or by loose and superficial talk2 but that it requires the keen attention of the trained intellect and the patience of the accurate observer4 ,,on ,,the ,,physical ,,basis ,,of ,,life #ahfh ,in order to make the title of this discourse generally intelligible1 ,i have translated the term ,protoplasm1 which is the scientific name of the substance of which ,i am about to speak1 by the words the physical basis of life4 ,i suppose that1 to many1 the idea that there is such a thing as a physical basis1 or matter1 of life may be novel--so widely spread is the conception of life as a something which works through matter1 but is independent of it2 and even those who are aware that matter and life are inseparably connected1 may not be prepared for the conclusion plainly suggested by the phrase1 the physical basis or matter of life1 that there is some one kind of matter which is common to all living beings1 and that their endless diversities are bound together by a physical1 as well as an ideal1 unity4 ,in fact1 when first apprehended1 such a doctrine as this appears almost shocking to common sense4 ,what1 truly1 can seem to be more obviously different from one another1 in faculty1 in form1 and in substance1 than the various kinds of living beings8 ,what community of faculty can there be between the brightly-coloured lichen1 which so nearly resembles a mere mineral incrustation of the bare rock on which it grows1 and the painter1 to whom it is instinct with beauty1 or the botanist1 whom it feeds with knowledge8 ,again1 think of the microscopic fungus--a mere infinitesimal ovoid particle1 which finds space and duration enough to multiply into countless millions in the body of a living fly2 and then of the wealth of foliage1 the luxuriance of flower and fruit1 which lies between this bald sketch of a plant and the giant pine of ,california1 towering to the dimensions of a cathedral spire1 or the ,indian fig1 which covers acres with its profound shadow1 and endures while nations and empires come and go around its vast circumference4 ,or1 turning to the other half of the world of life1 picture to yourselves the great ,finner whale1 hugest of beasts that live1 or have lived1 disporting his eighty or ninety feet of bone1 muscle1 and blubber1 with easy roll1 among waves in which the stoutest ship that ever left dockyard would flounder hopelessly2 and contrast him with the invisible animalcules--mere gelatinous specks1 multitudes of which could1 in fact1 dance upon the point of a needle with the same ease as the angels of the ,schoolmen could1 in imagination4 ,with these images before your minds1 you may well ask1 what community of form1 or structure1 is there between the animalcule and the whale2 or between the fungus and the fig-tree8 ,and1 a fortiori1 between all four8 ,finally1 if we regard substance1 or material composition1 what hidden bond can connect the flower which a girl wears in her hair and the blood which courses through her youthful veins2 or1 what is there in common between the dense and resisting mass of the oak1 or the strong fabric of the tortoise1 and those broad disks of glassy jelly which may be seen pulsating through the waters of a calm sea1 but which drain away to mere films in the hand which raises them out of their element8 ,such objections as these must1 ,i think1 arise in the mind of every one who ponders1 for the first time1 upon the conception of a single physical basis of life underlying all the diversities of vital existence2 but ,i propose to demonstrate to you that1 notwithstanding these apparent difficulties1 a threefold unity--namely1 a unity of power or faculty1 a unity of form1 and a unity of substantial composition--does pervade the whole living world4 ,no very abstruse argumentation is needed1 in the first place1 to prove that the powers1 or faculties1 of all kinds of living matter1 diverse as they may be in degree1 are substantially similar in kind4 ,goethe has condensed a survey of all powers of mankind into the well-known epigram3-- ,warum treibt sich das ,volk so und schreit8 ,es will sich ernhren ,kinder zeugen1 und die nhren so gut es vermag4 99 99 99 99 99 ,weiter bringt es kein ,mensch1 stell' er sich wie er auch will4 ,in physiological language this means1 that all the multifarious and complicated activities of man are comprehensible under three categories4 ,either they are immediately directed towards the maintenance and development of the body1 or they effect transitory changes in the relative positions of parts of the body1 or they tend towards the continuance of the species4 ,even those manifestations of intellect1 of feeling1 and of will1 which we rightly name the higher faculties1 are not excluded from this classification1 inasmuch as to every one but the subject of them1 they are known only as transitory changes in the relative positions of parts of the body4 ,speech1 gesture1 and every other form of human action are1 in the long run1 resolvable into muscular contraction1 and muscular contraction is but a transitory change in the relative positions of the parts of a muscle4 ,but the scheme which is large enough to embrace the activities of the highest form of life1 covers all those of the lower creatures4 ,the lowest plant1 or animalcule1 feeds1 grows1 and reproduces its kind4 ,in addition1 all animals manifest those transitory changes of form which we class under irritability and contractility2 and1 it is more than probable1 that when the vegetable world is thoroughly explored1 we shall find all plants in possession of the same powers1 at one time or other of their existence4 ,i am not now alluding to such phnomena1 at once rare and conspicuous1 as those exhibited by the leaflets of the sensitive plants1 or the stamens of the barberry1 but to much more widely spread1 and at the same time1 more subtle and hidden1 manifestations of vegetable contractility4 ,you are doubtless aware that the common nettle owes its stinging property to the innumerable stiff and needle-like1 though exquisitely delicate1 hairs which cover its surface4 ,each stinging-needle tapers from a broad base to a slender summit1 which1 though rounded at the end1 is of such microscopic fineness that it readily penetrates1 and breaks off in1 the skin4 ,the whole hair consists of a very delicate outer case of wood1 closely applied to the inner surface of which is a layer of semi-fluid matter1 full of innumerable granules of extreme minuteness4 ,this semi-fluid lining is protoplasm1 which thus constitutes a kind of bag1 full of a limpid liquid1 and roughly corresponding in form with the interior of the hair which it fills4 ,when viewed with a sufficiently high magnifying power1 the protoplasmic layer of the nettle hair is seen to be in a condition of unceasing activity4 ,local contractions of the whole thickness of its substance pass slowly and gradually from point to point1 and give rise to the appearance of progressive waves1 just as the bending of successive stalks of corn by a breeze produces the apparent billows of a cornfield4 ,but1 in addition to these movements1 and independently of them1 the granules are driven1 in relatively rapid streams1 through channels in the protoplasm which seem to have a considerable amount of persistence4 ,most commonly1 the currents in adjacent parts of the protoplasm take similar directions2 and1 thus1 there is a general stream up one side of the hair and down the other4 ,but this does not prevent the existence of partial currents which take different routes2 and sometimes trains of granules may be seen coursing swiftly in opposite directions within a twenty-thousandth of an inch of one another2 while1 occasionally1 opposite streams come into direct collision1 and1 after a longer or shorter struggle1 one predominates4 ,the cause of these currents seems to lie in contractions of the protoplasm which bounds the channels in which they flow1 but which are so minute that the best microscopes show only their effects1 and not themselves4 ,the spectacle afforded by the wonderful energies prisoned within the compass of the microscopic hair of a plant1 which we commonly regard as a merely passive organism1 is not easily forgotten by one who has watched its display1 continued hour after hour1 without pause or sign of weakening4 ,the possible complexity of many other organic forms1 seemingly as simple as the protoplasm of the nettle1 dawns upon one2 and the comparison of such a protoplasm to a body with an internal circulation1 which has been put forward by an eminent physiologist1 loses much of its startling character4 ,currents similar to those of the hairs of the nettle have been observed in a great multitude of very different plants1 and weighty authorities have suggested that they probably occur1 in more or less perfection1 in all young vegetable cells4 ,if such be the case1 the wonderful noonday silence of a tropical forest is1 after all1 due only to the dulness of our hearing2 and could our ears catch the murmur of these tiny ,maelstroms1 as they whirl in the innumerable myriads of living cells which constitute each tree1 we should be stunned1 as with the roar of a great city4 ,among the lower plants1 it is the rule rather than the exception1 that contractility should be still more openly manifested at some periods of their existence4 ,the protoplasm of ,alg and ,fungi becomes1 under many circumstances1 partially1 or completely1 freed from its woody case1 and exhibits movements of its whole mass1 or is propelled by the contractility of one1 or more1 hair-like prolongations of its body1 which are called vibratile cilia4 ,and1 so far as the conditions of the manifestation of the phnomena of contractility have yet been studied1 they are the same for the plant as for the animal4 ,heat and electric shocks influence both1 and in the same way1 though it may be in different degrees4 ,it is by no means my intention to suggest that there is no difference in faculty between the lowest plant and the highest1 or between plants and animals4 ,but the difference between the powers of the lowest plant1 or animal1 and those of the highest1 is one of degree1 not of kind1 and depends1 as ,milne-,edwards long ago so well pointed out1 upon the extent to which the principle of the division of labour is carried out in the living economy4 ,in the lowest organism all parts are competent to perform all functions1 and one and the same portion of protoplasm may successfully take on the function of feeding1 moving1 or reproducing apparatus4 ,in the highest1 on the contrary1 a great number of parts combine to perform each function1 each part doing its allotted share of the work with great accuracy and efficiency1 but being useless for any other purpose4 ,on the other hand1 notwithstanding all the fundamental resemblances which exist between the powers of the protoplasm in plants and in animals1 they present a striking difference 7to which ,i shall advert more at length presently71 in the fact that plants can manufacture fresh protoplasm out of mineral compounds1 whereas animals are obliged to procure it ready made1 and hence1 in the long run1 depend upon plants4 ,upon what condition this difference in the powers of the two great divisions of the world of life depends1 nothing is at present known4 ,with such qualification as arises out of the last-mentioned fact1 it may be truly said that the acts of all living things are fundamentally one4 ,is any such unity predicable of their forms8 ,let us seek in easily verified facts for a reply to this question4 ,if a drop of blood be drawn by pricking one's finger1 and viewed with proper precautions1 and under a sufficiently high microscopic power1 there will be seen1 among the innumerable multitude of little1 circular1 discoidal bodies1 or corpuscles1 which float in it and give it its colour1 a comparatively small number of colourless corpuscles1 of somewhat larger size and very irregular shape4 ,if the drop of blood be kept at the temperature of the body1 these colourless corpuscles will be seen to exhibit a marvellous activity1 changing their forms with great rapidity1 drawing in and thrusting out prolongations of their substance1 and creeping about as if they were independent organisms4 ,the substance which is thus active is a mass of protoplasm1 and its activity differs in detail1 rather than in principle1 from that of the protoplasm of the nettle4 ,under sundry circumstances the corpuscle dies and becomes distended into a round mass1 in the midst of which is seen a smaller spherical body1 which existed1 but was more or less hidden1 in the living corpuscle1 and is called its nucleus4 ,corpuscles of essentially similar structure are to be found in the skin1 in the lining of the mouth1 and scattered through the whole framework of the body4 ,nay1 more2 in the earliest condition of the human organism1 in that state in which it has but just become distinguishable from the egg in which it arises1 it is nothing but an aggregation of such corpuscles1 and every organ of the body was1 once1 no more than such an aggregation4 ,thus a nucleated mass of protoplasm turns out to be what may be termed the structural unit of the human body4 ,as a matter of fact1 the body1 in its earliest state1 is a mere multiple of such units2 and in its perfect condition1 it is a multiple of such units1 variously modified4 ,but does the formula which expresses the essential structural character of the highest animal cover all the rest1 as the statement of its powers and faculties covered that of all others8 ,very nearly4 ,beast and fowl1 reptile and fish1 mollusk1 worm1 and polype1 are all composed of structural units of the same character1 namely1 masses of protoplasm with a nucleus4 ,there are sundry very low animals1 each of which1 structurally1 is a mere colourless blood-corpuscle1 leading an independent life4 ,but at the very bottom of the animal scale1 even this simplicity becomes simplified1 and all the phnomena of life are manifested by a particle of protoplasm without a nucleus4 ,nor are such organisms insignificant by reason of their want of complexity4 ,it is a fair question whether the protoplasm of those simplest forms of life1 which people an immense extent of the bottom of the sea1 would not outweigh that of all the higher living beings which inhabit the land put together4 ,and in ancient times1 no less than at the present day1 such living beings as these have been the greatest of rock builders4 ,what has been said of the animal world is no less true of plants4 ,embedded in the protoplasm at the broad1 or attached1 end of the nettle hair1 there lies a spheroidal nucleus4 ,careful examination further proves that the whole substance of the nettle is made up of a repetition of such masses of nucleated protoplasm1 each contained in a wooden case1 which is modified in form1 sometimes into a woody fibre1 sometimes into a duct or spiral vessel1 sometimes into a pollen grain1 or an ovule4 ,traced back to its earliest state1 the nettle arises as the man does1 in a particle of nucleated protoplasm4 ,and in the lowest plants1 as in the lowest animals1 a single mass of such protoplasm may constitute the whole plant1 or the protoplasm may exist without a nucleus4 ,under these circumstances it may well be asked1 how is one mass of non-nucleated protoplasm to be distinguished from another8 why call one plant and the other animal8 ,the only reply is that1 so far as form is concerned1 plants and animals are not separable1 and that1 in many cases1 it is a mere matter of convention whether we call a given organism an animal or a plant4 ,there is a living body called thalium septicum1 which appears upon decaying vegetable substances1 and1 in one of its forms1 is common upon the surfaces of tan-pits4 ,in this condition it is1 to all intents and purposes1 a fungus1 and formerly was always regarded as such2 but the remarkable investigations of ,de ,bary have shown that1 in another condition1 the thalium is an actively locomotive creature1 and takes in solid matters1 upon which1 apparently1 it feeds1 thus exhibiting the most characteristic feature of animality4 ,is this a plant2 or is it an animal8 ,is it both2 or is it neither8 ,some decide in favour of the last supposition1 and establish an intermediate kingdom1 a sort of biological ,no ,man's ,land for all these questionable forms4 ,but1 as it is admittedly impossible to draw any distinct boundary line between this no man's land and the vegetable world1 on the one hand1 or the animal1 on the other1 it appears to me that this proceeding merely doubles the difficulty which1 before1 was single4 ,protoplasm1 simple or nucleated1 is the formal basis of all life4 ,it is the clay of the potter3 which1 bake it and paint it as he will1 remains clay1 separated by artifice1 and not by nature1 from the commonest brick or sun-dried clod4 ,thus it becomes clear that all living powers are cognate1 and that all living forms are fundamentally of one character4 ,the researches of the chemist have revealed a no less striking uniformity of material composition in living matter4 ,in perfect strictness1 it is true that chemical investigation can tell us little or nothing1 directly1 of the composition of living matter1 inasmuch as such matter must needs die in the act of analysis1--and upon this very obvious ground1 objections1 which ,i confess seem to me to be somewhat frivolous1 have been raised to the drawing of any conclusions whatever respecting the composition of actually living matter1 from that of the dead matter of life1 which alone is accessible to us4 ,but objectors of this class do not seem to reflect that it is also1 in strictness1 true that we know nothing about the composition of any body whatever1 as it is4 ,the statement that a crystal of calc-spar consists of carbonate of lime1 is quite true1 if we only mean that1 by appropriate processes1 it may be resolved into carbonic acid and quicklime4 ,if you pass the same carbonic acid over the very quicklime thus obtained1 you will obtain carbonate of lime again2 but it will not be calc-spar1 nor anything like it4 ,can it1 therefore1 be said that chemical analysis teaches nothing about the chemical composition of calc-spar8 ,such a statement would be absurd2 but it is hardly more so than the talk one occasionally hears about the uselessness of applying the results of chemical analysis to the living bodies which have yielded them4 ,one fact1 at any rate1 is out of reach of such refinements1 and this is1 that all the forms of protoplasm which have yet been examined contain the four elements1 carbon1 hydrogen1 oxygen1 and nitrogen1 in very complex union1 and that they behave similarly towards several reagents4 ,to this complex combination1 the nature of which has never been determined with exactness1 the name of ,protein has been applied4 ,and if we use this term with such caution as may properly arise out of our comparative ignorance of the things for which it stands1 it may be truly said1 that all protoplasm is proteinaceous1 or1 as the white1 or albumen1 of an egg is one of the commonest examples of a nearly pure proteine matter1 we may say that all living matter is more or less albuminoid4 ,perhaps it would not yet be safe to say that all forms of protoplasm are affected by the direct action of electric shocks2 and yet the number of cases in which the contraction of protoplasm is shown to be affected by this agency increases every day4 ,nor can it be affirmed with perfect confidence1 that all forms of protoplasm are liable to undergo that peculiar coagulation at a temperature of #dj-ej centigrade1 which has been called heat-stiffening1 though ,khne's beautiful researches have proved this occurrence to take place in so many and such diverse living beings1 that it is hardly rash to expect that the law holds good for all4 99 99 99 99 99 ,enough has1 perhaps1 been said to prove the existence of a general uniformity in the character of the protoplasm1 or physical basis1 of life1 in whatever group of living beings it may be studied4 ,but it will be understood that this general uniformity by no means excludes any amount of special modifications of the fundamental substance4 ,the mineral1 carbonate of lime1 assumes an immense diversity of characters1 though no one doubts that1 under all these ,protean changes1 it is one and the same thing4 ,and now1 what is the ultimate fate1 and what the origin1 of the matter of life8 ,is it1 as some of the older naturalists supposed1 diffused throughout the universe in molecules1 which are indestructible and unchangeable in themselves2 but1 in endless transmigration1 unite in innumerable permutations1 into the diversified forms of life we know8 ,or1 is the matter of life composed of ordinary matter1 differing from it only in the manner in which its atoms are aggregated8 ,is it built up of ordinary matter1 and again resolved into ordinary matter when its work is done8 ,modern science does not hesitate a moment between these alternatives4 ,physiology writes1 over the portals of life-- ,debemur morti nos nostraque1 with a profounder meaning than the ,roman poet attached to that melancholy line4 ,under whatever disguise it takes refuge1 whether fungus or oak2 worm or man1 the living protoplasm not only ultimately dies and is resolved into its mineral and lifeless constituents1 but is always dying1 and1 strange as the paradox may sound1 could not live unless it died4 ,in the wonderful story of the ,peau de ,chagrin1 the hero becomes possessed of a magical wild ass' skin1 which yields him the means of gratifying all his wishes4 ,but its surface represents the duration of the proprietor's life2 and for every satisfied desire the skin shrinks in proportion to the intensity of fruition1 until at length life and the last hand-breadth of the peau de chagrin1 disappear with the gratification of a last wish4 ,balzac's studies had led him over a wide range of thought and speculation1 and his shadowing forth of physiological truth in this strange story may have been intentional4 ,at any rate1 the matter of life is a veritable peau de chagrin1 and for every vital act it is somewhat the smaller4 ,all work implies waste1 and the work of life results1 directly or indirectly1 in the waste of protoplasm4 ,every word uttered by a speaker costs him some physical loss2 and1 in the strictest sense1 he burns that others may have light--so much eloquence1 so much of his body resolved into carbonic acid1 water1 and urea4 ,it is clear that this process of expenditure cannot go on for ever4 ,but1 happily1 the protoplasmic peau de chagrin differs from ,balzac's in its capacity of being repaired1 and brought back to its full size1 after every exertion4 ,for example1 this present lecture1 whatever its intellectual worth to you1 has a certain physical value to me1 which is1 conceivably1 expressible by the number of grains of protoplasm and other bodily substance wasted in maintaining my vital processes during its delivery4 ,my peau de chagrin will be distinctly smaller at the end of the discourse than it was at the beginning4 ,by and by1 ,i shall probably have recourse to the substance commonly called mutton1 for the purpose of stretching it back to its original size4 ,now this mutton was once the living protoplasm1 more or less modified1 of another animal--a sheep4 ,as ,i shall eat it1 it is the same matter altered1 not only by death1 but by exposure to sundry artificial operations in the process of cooking4 ,but these changes1 whatever be their extent1 have not rendered it incompetent to resume its old functions as matter of life4 ,a singular inward laboratory1 which ,i possess1 will dissolve a certain portion of the modified protoplasm2 the solution so formed will pass into my veins2 and the subtle influences to which it will then be subjected will convert the dead protoplasm into living protoplasm1 and transubstantiate sheep into man4 ,nor is this all4 ,if digestion were a thing to be trifled with1 ,i might sup upon lobster1 and the matter of life of the crustacean would undergo the same wonderful metamorphosis into humanity4 ,and were ,i to return to my own place by sea1 and undergo shipwreck1 the crustacean might1 and probably would1 return the compliment1 and demonstrate our common nature by turning my protoplasm into living lobster4 ,or1 if nothing better were to be had1 ,i might supply my wants with mere bread1 and ,i should find the protoplasm of the wheat-plant to be convertible into man1 with no more trouble than that of the sheep1 and with far less1 ,i fancy1 than that of the lobster4 ,hence it appears to be a matter of no great moment what animal1 or what plant1 ,i lay under contribution for protoplasm1 and the fact speaks volumes for the general identity of that substance in all living beings4 ,i share this catholicity of assimilation with other animals1 all of which1 so far as we know1 could thrive equally well on the protoplasm of any of their fellows1 or of any plant2 but here the assimilative powers of the animal world cease4 ,a solution of smelling-salts in water1 with an infinitesimal proportion of some other saline matters1 contains all the elementary bodies which enter into the composition of protoplasm2 but1 as ,i need hardly say1 a hogshead of that fluid would not keep a hungry man from starving1 nor would it save any animal whatever from a like fate4 ,an animal cannot make protoplasm1 but must take it ready-made from some other animal1 or some plant--the animal's highest feat of constructive chemistry being to convert dead protoplasm into that living matter of life which is appropriate to itself4 ,therefore1 in seeking for the origin of protoplasm1 we must eventually turn to the vegetable world4 ,a fluid containing carbonic acid1 water1 and nitrogenous salts1 which offers such a ,barmecide feast to the animal1 is a table richly spread to multitudes of plants2 and1 with a due supply of only such materials1 many a plant will not only maintain itself in vigour1 but grow and multiply until it has increased a million-fold1 or a million million-fold1 the quantity of protoplasm which it originally possessed2 in this way building up the matter of life1 to an indefinite extent1 from the common matter of the universe4 ,thus1 the animal can only raise the complex substance of dead protoplasm to the higher power1 as one may say1 of living protoplasm2 while the plant can raise the less complex substances--carbonic acid1 water1 and nitrogenous salts--to the same stage of living protoplasm1 if not to the same level4 ,but the plant also has its limitations4 ,some of the fungi1 for example1 appear to need higher compounds to start with2 and no known plant can live upon the uncompounded elements of protoplasm4 ,a plant supplied with pure carbon1 hydrogen1 oxygen1 and nitrogen1 phosphorus1 sulphur1 and the like1 would as infallibly die as the animal in his bath of smelling-salts1 though it would be surrounded by all the constituents of protoplasm4 ,nor1 indeed1 need the process of simplification of vegetable food be carried so far as this1 in order to arrive at the limit of the plant's thaumaturgy4 ,let water1 carbonic acid1 and all the other needful constituents be supplied except nitrogenous salts1 and an ordinary plant will still be unable to manufacture protoplasm4 ,thus the matter of life1 so far as we know it 7and we have no right to speculate on any other71 breaks up1 in consequence of that continual death which is the condition of its manifesting vitality1 into carbonic acid1 water1 and nitrogenous compounds1 which certainly possess no properties but those of ordinary matter4 ,and out of these same forms of ordinary matter1 and from none which are simpler1 the vegetable world builds up all the protoplasm which keeps the animal world a-going4 ,plants are the accumulators of the power which animals distribute and disperse4 ,but it will be observed1 that the existence of the matter of life depends on the pre-existence of certain compounds2 namely1 carbonic acid1 water1 and certain nitrogenous bodies4 ,withdraw any one of these three from the world1 and all vital phnomena come to an end4 ,they are as necessary to the protoplasm of the plant as the protoplasm of the plant is to that of the animal4 ,carbon1 hydrogen1 oxygen1 and nitrogen are all lifeless bodies4 ,of these1 carbon and oxygen unite in certain proportions and under certain conditions1 to give rise to carbonic acid2 hydrogen and oxygen produce water2 nitrogen and other elements give rise to nitrogenous salts4 ,these new compounds1 like the elementary bodies of which they are composed1 are lifeless4 ,but when they are brought together1 under certain conditions1 they give rise to the still more complex body1 protoplasm1 and this protoplasm exhibits the phnomena of life4 ,i see no break in this series of steps in molecular complication1 and ,i am unable to understand why the language which is applicable to any one term of the series may not be used to any of the others4 ,we think fit to call different kinds of matter carbon1 oxygen1 hydrogen1 and nitrogen1 and to speak of the various powers and activities of these substances as the properties of the matter of which they are composed4 ,when hydrogen and oxygen are mixed in a certain proportion1 and an electric spark is passed through them1 they disappear1 and a quantity of water1 equal in weight to the sum of their weights1 appears in their place4 ,there is not the slightest parity between the passive and active powers of the water and those of the oxygen and hydrogen which have given rise to it4 ,at #cb ,fahrenheit1 and far below that temperature1 oxygen and hydrogen are elastic gaseous bodies1 whose particles tend to rush away from one another with great force4 ,water1 at the same temperature1 is a strong though brittle solid1 whose particles tend to cohere into definite geometrical shapes1 and sometimes build up frosty imitations of the most complex forms of vegetable foliage4 ,nevertheless we call these1 and many other strange phnomena1 the properties of the water1 and we do not hesitate to believe that1 in some way or another1 they result from the properties of the component elements of the water4 ,we do not assume that a something called aquosity entered into and took possession of the oxidated hydrogen as soon as it was formed1 and then guided the aqueous particles to their places in the facets of the crystal1 or amongst the leaflets of the hoarfrost4 ,on the contrary1 we live in the hope and in the faith that1 by the advance of molecular physics1 we shall by and by be able to see our way as clearly from the constituents of water to the properties of water1 as we are now able to deduce the operations of a watch from the form of its parts and the manner in which they are put together4 ,is the case in any way changed when carbonic acid1 water1 and nitrogenous salts disappear1 and in their place1 under the influence of pre-existing living protoplasm1 an equivalent weight of the matter of life makes its appearance8 ,it is true that there is no sort of parity between the properties of the components and the properties of the resultant1 but neither was there in the case of the water4 ,it is also true that what ,i have spoken of as the influence of pre-existing living matter is something quite unintelligible2 but does anybody quite comprehend the modus operandi of an electric spark1 which traverses a mixture of oxygen and hydrogen8 ,what justification is there1 then1 for the assumption of the existence in the living matter of a something which has no representative1 or correlative1 in the not living matter which gave rise to it8 ,what better philosophical status has vitality than aquosity8 ,and why should vitality hope for a better fate than the other itys which have disappeared since ,martinus ,scriblerus accounted for the operation of the meat-jack by its inherent meat-roasting quality1 and scorned the materialism of those who explained the turning of the spit by a certain mechanism worked by the draught of the chimney4 ,if scientific language is to possess a definite and constant signification whenever it is employed1 it seems to me that we are logically bound to apply to the protoplasm1 or physical basis of life1 the same conceptions as those which are held to be legitimate elsewhere4 ,if the phenomena exhibited by water are its properties1 so are those presented by protoplasm1 living or dead1 its properties4 ,if the properties of water may be properly said to result from the nature and disposition of its component molecules1 ,i can find no intelligible ground for refusing to say that the properties of protoplasm result from the nature and disposition of its molecules4 ,but ,i bid you beware that1 in accepting these conclusions1 you are placing your feet on the first rung of a ladder which1 in most people's estimation1 is the reverse of ,jacob's1 and leads to the antipodes of heaven4 ,it may seem a small thing to admit that the dull vital actions of a fungus1 or a foraminifer1 are the properties of their protoplasm1 and are the direct results of the nature of the matter of which they are composed4 ,but if1 as ,i have endeavoured to prove to you1 their protoplasm is essentially identical with1 and most readily converted into1 that of any animal1 ,i can discover no logical halting-place between the admission that such is the case1 and the further concession that all vital action may1 with equal propriety1 be said to be the result of the molecular forces of the protoplasm which displays it4 ,and if so1 it must be true1 in the same sense and to the same extent1 that the thoughts to which ,i am now giving utterance1 and your thoughts regarding them1 are the expression of molecular changes in that matter of life which is the source of our other vital phnomena4 ,past experience leads me to be tolerably certain that1 when the propositions ,i have just placed before you are accessible to public comment and criticism1 they will be condemned by many zealous persons1 and perhaps by some few of the wise and thoughtful4 ,i should not wonder if gross and brutal materialism were the mildest phrase applied to them in certain quarters4 ,and1 most undoubtedly1 the terms of the propositions are distinctly materialistic4 ,nevertheless two things are certain2 the one1 that ,i hold the statements to be substantially true2 the other1 that ,i1 individually1 am no materialist1 but1 on the contrary1 believe materialism to involve grave philosophical error4 ,this union of materialistic terminology with the repudiation of materialistic philosophy ,i share with some of the most thoughtful men with whom ,i am acquainted4 ,and1 when ,i first undertook to deliver the present discourse1 it appeared to me to be a fitting opportunity to explain how such a union is not only consistent with1 but necessitated by1 sound logic4 ,i purposed to lead you through the territory of vital phnomena to the materialistic slough in which you find yourselves now plunged1 and then to point out to you the sole path by which1 in my judgment1 extrication is possible4 ,an occurrence of which ,i was unaware until my arrival here last night renders this line of argument singularly opportune4 ,i found in your papers the eloquent address ,on the ,limits of ,philosophical ,inquiry1 which a distinguished prelate of the ,english ,church delivered before the members of the ,philosophical ,institution on the previous day4 ,my argument1 also1 turns upon this very point of the limits of philosophical inquiry2 and ,i cannot bring out my own views better than by contrasting them with those so plainly and1 in the main1 fairly stated by the ,archbishop of ,york4 ,but ,i may be permitted to make a preliminary comment upon an occurrence that greatly astonished me4 ,applying the name of the ,new ,philosophy to that estimate of the limits of philosophical inquiry which ,i1 in common with many other men of science1 hold to be just1 the ,archbishop opens his address by identifying this ,new ,philosophy with the ,positive ,philosophy of ,m4 ,comte 7of whom he speaks as its founder72 and then proceeds to attack that philosopher and his doctrines vigorously4 ,now1 so far as ,i am concerned1 the most reverend prelate might dialectically hew ,m4 ,comte in pieces1 as a modern ,agag1 and ,i should not attempt to stay his hand4 ,in so far as my study of what specially characterises the ,positive ,philosophy has led me1 ,i find therein little or nothing of any scientific value1 and a great deal which is as thoroughly antagonistic to the very essence of science as anything in ultramontane ,catholicism4 ,in fact1 ,m4 ,comte's philosophy1 in practice1 might be compendiously described as ,catholicism minus ,christianity4 ,but what has ,comtism to do with the ,new ,philosophy1 as the ,archbishop1 defines it in the following passage8 ,let me briefly remind you of the leading principles of this new philosophy4 ,all knowledge is experience of facts acquired by the senses4 ,the traditions of older philosophies have obscured our experience by mixing with it much that the senses cannot observe1 and until these additions are discarded our knowledge is impure4 ,thus metaphysics tell us that one fact which we observe is a cause1 and another is the effect of that cause2 but1 upon a rigid analysis1 we find that our senses observe nothing of cause or effect3 they observe1 first1 that one fact succeeds another1 and1 after some opportunity1 that this fact has never failed to follow--that for cause and effect we should substitute invariable succession4 ,an older philosophy teaches us to define an object by distinguishing its essential from its accidental qualities3 but experience knows nothing of essential and accidental2 she sees only that1 certain marks attach to an object1 and1 after many observations1 that some of them attach invariably1 whilst others may at times be absent4444 ,as all knowledge is relative1 the notion of anything being necessary must be banished with other traditions4 #e ,there is much here that expresses the spirit of the ,new ,philosophy1 if by that term be meant the spirit of modern science2 but ,i cannot but marvel that the assembled wisdom and learning of ,edinburgh should have uttered no sign of dissent1 when ,comte was declared to be the founder of these doctrines4 ,no one will accuse ,scotchmen of habitually forgetting their great countrymen2 but it was enough to make ,david ,hume turn in his grave1 that here1 almost within ear-shot of his house1 an instructed audience should have listened1 without a murmur1 while his most characteristic doctrines were attributed to a ,french writer of fifty years later date1 in whose dreary and verbose pages we miss alike the vigour of thought and the exquisite clearness of style of the man whom ,i make bold to term the most acute thinker of the eighteenth century--even though that century produced ,kant4 ,but ,i did not come to ,scotland to vindicate the honour of one of the neatest men she has ever produced4 ,my business is to point out to you that the only way of escape out of the crass materialism in which we just now landed1 is the adoption and strict working out of the very principles which the ,archbishop holds up to reprobation4 ,let us suppose that knowledge is absolute1 and not relative1 and therefore1 that our conception of matter represents that which it really is4 ,let us suppose1 further1 that we do know more of cause and effect than a certain definite order of succession among facts1 and that we have a knowledge of the necessity of that succession--and hence1 of necessary laws--and ,i1 for my part1 do not see what escape there is from utter materialism and necessarianism4 ,for it is obvious that our knowledge of what we call the material world is1 to begin with1 at least as certain and definite as that of the spiritual world1 and that our acquaintance with law is of as old a date as our knowledge of spontaneity4 ,further1 ,i take it to be demonstrable that it is utterly impossible to prove that anything whatever may not be the effect of a material and necessary cause1 and that human logic is equally incompetent to prove that any act is really spontaneous4 ,a really spontaneous act is one which1 by the assumption1 has no cause2 and the attempt to prove such a negative as this is1 on the face of the matter1 absurd4 ,and while it is thus a philosophical impossibility to demonstrate that any given phnomenon is not the effect of a material cause1 any one who is acquainted with the history of science will admit1 that its progress has1 in all ages1 meant1 and now1 more than ever1 means1 the extension of the province of what we call matter and causation1 and the concomitant gradual banishment from all regions of human thought of what we call spirit and spontaneity4 ,i have endeavoured1 in the first part of this discourse1 to give you a conception of the direction towards which modern physiology is tending2 and ,i ask you1 what is the difference between the conception of life as the product of a certain disposition of material molecules1 and the old notion of an ,archus governing and directing blind matter within each living body1 except this--that here1 as elsewhere1 matter and law have devoured spirit and spontaneity8 ,and as surely as every future grows out of past and present1 so will the physiology of the future gradually extend the realm of matter and law until it is co-extensive with knowledge1 with feeling1 and with action4 ,the consciousness of this great truth weighs like a nightmare1 ,i believe1 upon many of the best minds of these days4 ,they watch what they conceive to be the progress of materialism1 in such fear and powerless anger as a savage feels1 when1 during an eclipse1 the great shadow creeps over the face of the sun4 ,the advancing tide of matter threatens to drown their souls2 the tightening grasp of law impedes their freedom2 they are alarmed lest man's moral nature be debased by the increase of his wisdom4 ,if the ,new ,philosophy be worthy of the reprobation with which it is visited1 ,i confess their fears seem to me to be well founded4 ,while1 on the contrary1 could ,david ,hume be consulted1 ,i think he would smile at their perplexities1 and chide them for doing even as the heathen1 and falling down in terror before the hideous idols their own hands have raised4 ,for1 after all1 what do we know of this terrible matter1 except as a name for the unknown and hypothetical cause of states of our own consciousness8 ,and what do we know of that spirit over whose threatened extinction by matter a great lamentation is arising1 like that which was heard at the death of ,pan1 except that it is also a name for an unknown and hypothetical cause1 or condition1 of states of consciousness8 ,in other words1 matter and spirit are but names for the imaginary substrata of groups of natural phnomena4 ,and what is the dire necessity and iron law under which men groan8 ,truly1 most gratuitously invented bugbears4 ,i suppose if there be an iron law1 it is that of gravitation2 and if there be a physical necessity1 it is that a stone1 unsupported1 must fall to the ground4 ,but what is all we really know1 and can know1 about the latter phnomena8 ,simply1 that1 in all human experience1 stones have fallen to the ground under these conditions2 that we have not the smallest reason for believing that any stone so circumstanced will not fall to the ground2 and that we have1 on the contrary1 every reason to believe that it will so fall4 ,it is very convenient to indicate that all the conditions of belief have been fulfilled in this case1 by calling the statement that unsupported stones will fall to the ground1 a law of ,nature4 ,but when1 as commonly happens1 we change will into must1 we introduce an idea of necessity which most assuredly does not lie in the observed facts1 and has no warranty that ,i can discover elsewhere4 ,for my part1 ,i utterly repudiate and anathematise the intruder4 ,fact ,i know2 and ,law ,i know2 but what is this ,necessity1 save an empty shadow of my own mind's throwing8 ,but1 if it is certain that we can have no knowledge of the nature of either matter or spirit1 and that the notion of necessity is something illegitimately thrust into the perfectly legitimate conception of law1 the materialistic position that there is nothing in the world but matter1 force1 and necessity1 is as utterly devoid of justification as the most baseless of theological dogmas4 ,the fundamental doctrines of materialism1 like those of spiritualism1 and most other isms1 lie outside the limits of philosophical inquiry1 and ,david ,hume's great service to humanity is his irrefragable demonstration of what these limits are4 ,hume called himself a sceptic and therefore others cannot be blamed if they apply the same title to him2 but that does not alter the fact that the name1 with its existing implications1 does him gross injustice4 ,if a man asks me what the politics of the inhabitants of the moon are1 and ,i reply that ,i do not know2 that neither ,i1 nor any one else1 has any means of knowing2 and that1 under these circumstances1 ,i decline to trouble myself about the subject at all1 ,i do not think he has any right to call me a sceptic4 ,on the contrary1 in replying thus1 ,i conceive that ,i am simply honest and truthful1 and show a proper regard for the economy of time4 ,so ,hume's strong and subtle intellect takes up a great many problems about which we are naturally curious1 and shows us that they are essentially questions of lunar politics1 in their essence incapable of being answered1 and therefore not worth the attention of men who have work to do in the world4 ,and he thus ends one of his essays3-- ,if we take in hand any volume of ,divinity1 or school metaphysics1 for instance1 let us ask1 ,does it contain any abstract reasoning concerning quantity or number8 ,no4 ,does it contain any experimental reasoning concerning matter of fact and existence8 ,no4 ,commit it then to the flames2 for it can contain nothing but sophistry and illusion4 #f ,permit me to enforce this most wise advice4 ,why trouble ourselves about matters of which1 however important they may be1 we do know nothing1 and can know nothing8 ,we live in a world which is full of misery and ignorance1 and the plain duty of each and all of us is to try to make the little corner he can influence somewhat less miserable and somewhat less ignorant than it was before he entered it4 ,to do this effectually it is necessary to be fully possessed of only two beliefs3 the first1 that the order of ,nature is ascertainable by our faculties to an extent which is practically unlimited2 the second1 that our volition#g counts for something as a condition of the course of events4 ,each of these beliefs can be verified experimentally1 as often as we like to try4 ,each1 therefore1 stands upon the strongest foundation upon which any belief can rest1 and forms one of our highest truths4 ,if we find that the ascertainment of the order of nature is facilitated by using one terminology1 or one set of symbols1 rather than another1 it is our clear duty to use the former2 and no harm can accrue1 so long as we bear in mind1 that we are dealing merely with terms and symbols4 ,in itself it is of little moment whether we express the phnomena of matter in terms of spirit2 or the phnomena of spirit in terms of matter3 matter may be regarded as a form of thought1 thought may be regarded as a property of matter--each statement has a certain relative truth4 ,but with a view to the progress of science1 the materialistic terminology is in every way to be preferred4 ,for it connects thought with the other phnomena of the universe1 and suggests inquiry into the nature of those physical conditions1 or concomitants of thought1 which are more or less accessible to us1 and a knowledge of which may1 in future1 help us to exercise the same kind of control over the world of thought1 as we already possess in respect of the material world2 whereas1 the alternative1 or spiritualistic1 terminology is utterly barren1 and leads to nothing but obscurity and confusion of ideas4 ,thus there can be little doubt1 that the further science advances1 the more extensively and consistently will all the phnomena of ,nature be represented by materialistic formul and symbols4 ,but the man of science1 who1 forgetting the limits of philosophical inquiry1 slides from these formul and symbols into what is commonly understood by materialism1 seems to me to place himself on a level with the mathematician1 who should mistake the x's and y's with which he works his problems1 for real entities--and with this further disadvantage1 as compared with the mathematician1 that the blunders of the latter are of no practical consequence1 while the errors of systematic materialism may paralyse the energies and destroy the beauty of a life4 ,,naturalism ,,and ,,supernaturalism ,,from ,,prologue ,,to ,,controverted ,,questions1 #ahib4 ,there is a single problem with different aspects of 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 contusion1 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 ,but 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 speculation1 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 over-ruling strength will be exerted in favour of those who stand well with its denizens4 ,on the other hand1 the lessons of the great school-master1 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 civilisation 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 reality1 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 matters 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 humanity 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--is in my apprehension1 the ,controverted ,question of our time4 ,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 and 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 creed 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 or 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 others1 and to a cautious thinker1 by whom1 whatever his short-comings1 the ethical ideal of the ,christian evangel was sincerely prized1 it really was a fair question 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 communism which opened the apocalypse 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 ,protestanism 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 best1 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 co-operation1 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 ,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 when1 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#h signed by as many as thirty-eight out of the twenty odd thousand clergymen of the ,established ,church4 ,it does not appear that the signatories are officially accredited spokesmen of the ecclesiastical corporation to which they belong2 but ,i feel bound to take their word for it that they are stewards of the ,lord 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 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 blame3 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 #i ,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 ,irenus1 or in that of ,justin ,martyr1 are knotty questions which can be decided1 if at all1 only by those critical methods which the signatories 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 principal 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 or 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 tribunal 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 infallibility of these depends upon 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#aj ,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 rotatory 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 ,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 systematised 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 circling at unimaginable distances from one another through infinite space1 showed the supernaturalistic theories of the duration of the earth and of life upon it 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 indeed 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 conclusions 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 be put upon the words2 and that this non-natural sense may1 with a little trouble1 be manipulated into some sort of non-contradiction of scientific truth4 ,my purpose1 in an essay#aa 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 origin by producing a form of those ancient legends of pagan ,chaldaea1 from which the biblical compilation is manifestly derived4 ,i have yet to learn that the main proposition of this essay can be seriously challenged4 ,in two essays#ab 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 plants2 secondly1 of all the aquatic and aerial animals2 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 past1 so far as we have any adequate knowledge of it 7that is 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 bide 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 of the ,deluge1 to belief8 ,if ,god not walk in the ,garden of ,eden1 how we be assured that he spoke from ,sinai8 ,in other essays#ac ,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 ,elsewhere ,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 morality3 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 are they will be accepted in time1 whether they are wicked 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 ,monday 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#ad 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 intelligence 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 his as his is greater than a snail's1 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 omnipresence and omniscience4 ,if our intelligence can1 in some matters1 surely reproduce the past of thousands of years ago and anticipate the future 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 be 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 ,,the ,,value ,,of ,,witness ,,to ,,the ,,miraculous #ahhi ,charles1 or 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 denomination 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 reign1 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#ae ,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 ,translations 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#af 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#ag 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 #a1 #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#ah 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#ai and landing on the east bank of the river1 at the fifth station thence they arrived at ,michilinstadt1#bj 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 the measure of the chest in order a more fitting shrine might be constructed4 ,the man1 having lighted a 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 water1 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 entourage 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 but1 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#ba ,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 ,and1 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 ,translations 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#bb 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 from 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 less they should succeed without his help4 ,so1 by way of preparation for the contemplated vol avec affraction 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 that having persuaded them to set out in advance along a 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 was supposed not to have seen the relics1 ,eginhard asked him how he knew that8 ,upon this1 ,hildoin saw 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 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#bc and1 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 ,tiburtius 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 judgment4 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 ,hunus 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 this 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 rule3 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 than 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 master8 ,quite apart from deliberate and conscious fraud 7which is a rarer thing than is often supposed71 people 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 jaw slipped suddenly back into place1 perhaps in consequence of a jolt1 as the woman rode towards the church4 7,cap4 v4 #ec47bd ,there is also a good deal said about a very questionable blind man--one ,albricus 7,alberich87--who 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 ,therefore 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 comtemporaries as witnesses of the truth of what he says 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,d4 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#be ,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#bf ,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 in 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 periods1 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 far 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 be 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#bg ,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 morning1 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 me 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 ,,agnosticism #ahhi ,within the last few months #ahhi 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#bh ,it has been furnished with a set of articles1 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#bi ,so much of ,dr4 ,wace's address either explicitly or implicitly concerns me1 that ,i take upon myself to deal with it2 but1 in doing so1 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 substance2 but for the present it may pass4 ,dr4 ,wace continues that 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 practised2 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#cj ,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 falsehood4 ,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#ca ,the discussion upon which we have 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 smallpox2 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 #h7cb 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 ,demoniacs 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 echein1 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 the 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 earth in which the hard-pressed reconciler takes refuge1 that the ,bible does not profess to teach science1#cc is stopped in this instance4 ,for the question of the existence of demon3 and of possession by them1 though it lies strictly within the province of science 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 judgment 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 until at the present time 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#cd ,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#ce ,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 or in other words1 sixty or seventy years after the events recorded4 ,and between that time and the date of the oldest extant manuscripts1 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 hesitated 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 omit ,john vii4 #ec-viii4 #aa4 ,now let any reasonable man ask himself this question3 ,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 many1 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 remains1 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 prima 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 a priori objection to offer4 ,there are physical things1 such as lni and trichin which can be transferred from men to pigs1 and vice versa1 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 ,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#cf ,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 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 myself ,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 which1 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 has 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 above 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 satifactorily 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 ,frank 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 another1 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 who 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 doctrine 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 condemned 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 with 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 directions4 ,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 ,apostles' ,creed6 ,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 infidel1 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 versa2 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 ,mahommedanism1 in ,cairo1 in ignorance of the fact that ,i was unprovided with proper authority4 ,a swarm of angry under-graduates1 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 who intellectually was left1 for some years1 altogether to his own devices4 ,at that time ,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 ,civilisation1 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#cg nevertheless ,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 the chief4 ,the ordinary examiner1 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 #ch ,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 people 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#ci 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 this 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 elenchos1 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 ,,the ,,christian ,,tradition ,,in ,,relation ,,to ,,judaic ,,christianity ,,from ,,agnosticism3 ,a ,,rejoinder1 #ahhi ,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 any 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 discuss 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 being 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 ,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 #cee74 ,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 inter-dependent1#dj 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#da ,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 is1 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 ,plain1 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 before1 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 believes 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 ,mount3 and1 certainly1 he could not have shared ,dr4 ,wace's view of its importance#db ,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 tradition 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 #dc 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 extraordinarily 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 subject1 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#dd 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,friday1 #f ,p4,m41 to ,sunday1 #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 vision 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 any one 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 me 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 be 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#de ,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#df 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#dg 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 saved4#dh ,these are3-- #a4 ,orthodox ,jews who refuse to believe that ,jesus is the ,christ4 ,not ,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 a believer in the resurrection of the body1 as in the speedy ,second ,coming establishment of the millennium4 ,this 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- ,idolothytic ,paganism ,judaism ,christianity ,christianity ,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 converts3 that is to say1 the strict ,judo-,christians 7,,ii473 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 hand ,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- ,modern ,paganism ,christianity ,christianity ,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 ,,iii4 ,,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#di 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 ,james1 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 value1 ,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 be 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 ,gentiles3 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 that 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 religous 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 #bd74ej ,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 ,corinthians ,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 ,essenes#ea4 ,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 position 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 left1 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 midway 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 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 narrative1 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 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#eb ,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 speaks 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#ec ,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 pseudo-prophetic 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 again 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 ,,agnosticism ,,and ,,christianity ,nemo ergo ex me scire qurat1 quod me nescire scio1 nisi forte ut nescire discat4--,,augustinus4 ,de ,civ4 ,dei1 xii4 #g4 ,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 #ed ,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 or1 rather1 ,i ought to say1 between ,agnosticism and ,ecclesiasticism4 ,for ,theology1 the science1 is one thing2 and ,ecclesiasticism1 the championship of a foregone conclusion#ee 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 #ef ,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 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 on 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 of 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 ,apostles 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 mythical2 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 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 morality 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 ,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 ,and1 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 ,prayer 2 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#eg 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 their 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 xii1 #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#eh 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#ei ,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 formul 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 ,here upon 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 than the other1 so he may admit 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 than ,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 prima 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 presupposition 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 suppose1 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 ,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 quem miracles came to an end4 ,the ,anglicans and the ,romanists agreed in the assumption that the possession of the gift of miracle-working was prima 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 ,patristic1 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 irrefragable 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 business1 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 #fj 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 ,lyttelton1 ,paley1 or ,douglas1 how many of the ,scripture miracles satisfy their conditions8 7,p4 cvii47 ,and1 although the answer is not given in so many words1 little doubt is left on the mind of the reader1 that 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#fa 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 #cf3 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 statements1 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#fb 7p4 liii74 ,again1 ,i invite ,anglican orthodoxy to consider this passage3-- the narrative of the combats of ,st4 ,antony 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 lie 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 marriage 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 bound 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#fc 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 ,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 of 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#fd ,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 wrestled 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 a 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 these1 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#fe 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#ff ,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#fg ,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 ,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 this 444 ,to be deep in history is to cease to be a ,protestant4 #fh ,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 he 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 leavened1 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 legally members of the ,state ,church1 if they profess to belong to no other sect7 to wake up to what that powerful organisation 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 #fc47 ,he said1 ,preach the ,gospel to every creature1 ,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 living3 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#fi 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 declare 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 ,but ,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#gj ,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 could 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 is it 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 that1 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 said1 ,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 devoted1 not to anything in the text of my first paper1 but to a note which occurs at p4 #hd4 ,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 edition4 ,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 ,fauteur 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 credibility1 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 conference1 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 7p1 #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 is ,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 and as to the author1 quid 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 hands8 ,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 it for the simple reason that the reports 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 improbable that the fact of its being reported by three 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 legend of which there were two versions2 and instead of their proving its truth1 it suggests their superstitious credulity2 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#ga 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 ,linnus3 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 debt 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 ,rejoinder1 ,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 entrusted 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 and1 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 off2 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 ,r4 ,,clay ,,and ,,sons1 ,,ltd41 ,,bread ,,st4 ,,hill1 ,e4,c41 ,,and ,,bungay1 ,,suffolk4 99 99 99 99 99 ,footnote #a3 ,the absence of any keel on the breast-bone and some other osteological peculiarities1 observed by ,professor ,marsh1 however1 suggest that ,hesperornis may be a modification of a less specialised group of birds than that to which these existing aquatic birds belong4 ,footnote #b3 ,a second specimen1 discovered in #ahgg1 and at present in the ,berlin museum1 shows an excellently preserved skull with teeth3 and three digits1 all terminated by claws1 in the fore-limb4 #ahic4 ,footnote #c3 ,i use the word type because it is highly probable that many forms of ,anchitherium-like and ,hipparion-like animals existed in the ,miocene and ,pliocene epochs1 just as many species of the horse tribe exist now2 and it is highly improbable that the particular species of ,anchitherium or ,hipparion1 which happen to have been discovered1 should be precisely those which have formed part of the direct line of the horse's pedigree4 ,footnote #d3 ,since this lecture was delivered1 ,professor ,marsh has discovered a new genus of equine mammals 7,eohippus7 from the lowest ,eocene deposits of the ,west1 which corresponds very nearly to this description4--,american ,journal of ,science1 ,november1 #ahgf4 ,footnote #e3 ,the ,limits of ,philosophical ,inquiry1 pp4 #d and #e4 ,footnote #f3 ,hume's ,essay1 ,of the ,academical or ,sceptical ,philosophy1 in the ,inquiry concerning the ,human ,understanding4--,many critics of this passage seem to forget that the subject-matter of ,ethics and sthetics consists of1 matters of fact and existence4--#ahib4 ,footnote #g3 ,or1 to speak more accurately1 the physical state of which volition is the expression4--#ahib4 ,footnote #h3 ,declaration on the ,truth of ,holy ,scripture1 ,the ,times1 #ahth ,december1 #ahia4 ,footnote #i3 ,declaration1 ,article #aj4 ,footnote #aj3 ,ego vero evangelio non crederem1 nisi ecclesi ,catholic me commoveret auctoritas4--,contra ,epistolam ,manichi cap4 v4 ,footnote #aa3 ,hasisadra's ,adventure4 ,footnote #ab3 ,the ,interpreters of ,genesis and the ,interpreters of ,nature and ,mr4 ,gladstone and ,genesis4 ,footnote #ac3 ,agnosticism2 ,the ,value of ,witness to the ,miraculous2 ,agnosticism3 a ,rejoinder2 ,agnosticism and ,christianity2 ,the ,keepers of the ,herd of ,swine2 and ,illustrations of ,mr4 ,gladstone's ,controversial ,methods4 ,footnote #ad3 ,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 ,footnote #ae3 ,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 ,footnote #af3 ,at present included in the ,duchies of ,hesse-,darmstadt and ,baden4 ,footnote #ag3 ,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 ,footnote #ah3 ,now included in ,western ,switzerland4 ,footnote #ai3 ,probably1 according to ,teulet1 the present ,sandhofer-fahrt1 a little below the embouchure of the ,neckar4 ,footnote #bj3 ,the present ,michilstadt1 thirty miles ,n4,e4 of ,heidelberg4 ,footnote #ba3 ,in the ,middle ,ages one of the most favourite accusations against witches was that they committed just these enormities4 ,footnote #bb3 ,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 ,footnote #bc3 ,the words are scrinia sine clave1 which seems to mean having no key4 ,but the circumstances forbid the idea of breaking open4 ,footnote #bd3 ,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 ,footnote #be3 ,of course there is nothing new in this argument2 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 ,footnote #bf3 ,see #a ,cor4 xii4 #aj-bh2 #b ,cor4 vi4 #ab ,rom4 xv1 #ai4 ,footnote #bg3 ,a ,journal or ,historical ,account of the ,life1 ,travels1 ,sufferings1 and ,christian ,experiences1 c41 of ,george ,fox4 ,ed4 #afid1 pp4 #bg1 #bh4 ,footnote #bh3 ,see the ,official ,report of the ,church ,congress held at ,manchester1 ,october #ahhh1 pp4 #bec1 #bed4 ,footnote #bi3 ,in this place and in ,illustrations of ,mr4 ,gladstone's ,controversial ,methods1 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 ,footnote #cj3 ,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 could not be sensibly affected4 ,footnote #ca3 ,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 ,footnote #cb3 ,here1 as always1 the revised version is cited4 ,footnote #cc3 ,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 be taken 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 or 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 ,footnote #cd3 ,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 which they adopt is unimpeachable4 ,footnote #ce3 ,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 ,footnote #cf3 ,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 ,footnote #cg3 ,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 ,footnote #ch3 ,kritik der reinen ,vernunft4 ,edit4 ,hartenstein p4 #bef4 ,footnote #ci3 ,report of the ,church ,congress1 ,manchester1 #ahhh1 p4 #beb4 ,footnote #dj3 ,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 ,footnote #da3 ,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 ,footnote #db3 ,holtzmann 7,die synoptischen ,evangelien #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 7iii #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 or as he calls it in his recently-published ,lehrbuch 7p4 #cgb71 an artificial mosaic work4 ,footnote #dc3 ,see ,schrer1 ,geschichte des jdischen ,volkes1 ,zweiter ,theil1 p4 #chd4 ,footnote #dd3 ,spacious1 because a young man could sit in it on the right side 7xv4 #e71 and therefore with plenty of room to spare4 ,footnote #de3 ,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 ,footnote #df3 ,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 is believe in him2 and if you believe in him you must necessarily believe him4 ,footnote #dg3 ,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 ,footnote #dh3 ,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 ,footnote #di3 ,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 #dg above4 ,footnote #ej3 ,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 ,footnote #ea3 ,all this was quite clearly pointed out by ,ritschl nearly forty years ago4 ,see ,die ,entstehung der alt-katholischen ,kirche 7#ahej71 p4 #ajh4 ,footnote #eb3 ,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 ,footnote #ec3 ,dr4 ,harnack1 in the lately-published second edition of ,his ,dogmengeschichte1 says 7p4 #ci71 ,jesus ,christ brought forward no new doctrine2 and again1 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 ,footnote #ed3 ,i confess that1 long ago1 ,i once or twice made this mistake2 even to the waste of a capital ',u4' #ahic4 ,footnote #ee3 ,let us maintain1 before we have proved4 ,this seeming paradox is the secret of happiness 7,dr4 ,newman3 ,tract #he1 p4 #he74 ,footnote #ef3 ,dr1 ,newman1 ,essay on ,development1 p4 #ceg4 ,footnote #eg3 ,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 ,footnote #eh3 ,tertullian 7,apolog4 adv4 ,gentes1 cap4 xxiii47 thus challenges the ,roman authorities3 let them bring a possessed person into the presence of a ,christian before their tribunal2 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 ,footnote #ei3 ,see the expression of orthodox opinion upon the accommodation subterfuge already cited above1 pp4 #he and #hf4 ,footnote #fj3 ,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 ,footnote #fa3 ,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 ,footnote #fb3 ,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 and1 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 ,footnote #fc3 ,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 ,footnote #fd3 ,a writer in a spiritualist journal takes me soundly 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 swine1 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 ,,spiritualists4--,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 ,footnote #fe3 ,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 ,anima4 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 ,footnote #ff3 ,see the ,new ,york ,world for ,sunday1 #bast ,october1 #ahhh2 and the ,report of the ,stybert ,commission ,philadelphia1 #ahhg4 ,footnote #fg3 ,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 ,miracles1 #b;d ed4 p4 #afc4 ,footnote #fh3 ,an ,essay on the ,development of ,christian ,doctrine1 by ,j4,h4 ,newman1 ,d4,d41 pp4 #g and #h4 7#ahgh47 ,footnote #fi3 ,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 can carry4 ,footnote #gj3 ,nineteenth ,century1 ,may #ahhi 7p4 #gja74 ,footnote #ga3 ,i trust it may not be supposed that ,i undervalue ,m4 ,renan's labours1 or intended to speak slightingly of them4