,,the ,,eclipse ,,of ,,faith2 ,,or ,a ,,visit ,,to ,a ,,religious ,,sceptic4 ,,fifth ,,edition4 ,,boston3 ,,crosby1 ,,nichols ,,and ,,company1 #aaa ,,washington ,,street4 #ahed4 ,,american ,,preface4 ,the effect of the perusal of this book1 and the estimate put upon it by a reader1 will depend upon his taking with him a right view of its design4 ,that design seems in the mind of the writer to have been very definite and very restricted4 ,if he should be thought to have intended an answer to all the elaborate objections from criticism and philosophy recently or renewedly urged against faith in the ,christian revelation1 and1 still more1 if the reader should suppose that the author had aimed to remove all the difficulties in the way of such a faith1 he would equally insure his own disappointment1 and wrong the writer4 ,the book comes forth anonymously1 but it is ascribed to ,mr4 ,henry ,rogers1 some of whose very able papers in the ,edinburgh ,review have been republished in two octavo volumes in ,england1 and one of whose articles1 that on ,reason and ,faith1 dealt with some of the topics which form the subject-matter of this volume4 ,the author seems to have viewed with a keenly attentive and anxious mind the generally unsettled state of opinion1 equally among the literary and some of the humbler classes in ,england1 concerning the terms and the sanction of a religious faith1 especially as the issue bears upon the contents and the authority of the ,bible4 ,that he understands the state of things in which he proposes himself as one who has a word to utter1 will be allowed by all candid judges1 whatever criticism they may pass upon the effectiveness of his own argument4 ,there is abundant evidence in this book of his large intimacy with the freshest forms of speculation1 as developed by the free thought of our age4 ,while he identifies these speculations with the recent writers who have adopted them1 he is not to be understood as allowing that these writers have originated any novel speculations1 or excelled the sceptics of former times in acuteness1 or plausibility1 or success in urging their cause4 ,he adopts the method of the ,platonic dialogue1 and exhibits a dialectic skill in confounding by objections when objections can be made to do service as arguments4 ,his frank admission that he leaves insurmountable objections and unfathomable mysteries still involved in the theme1 a portion of whose range alone he traverses1 should secure him from the imputation of having attempted too much1 or of boastfulness for what he considers that he has accomplished4 ,the truculent notice of this book in the ,westminster ,review for ,july is wholly unworthy of the reputation and the claims of that journal4 ,probably a careful perusal of the book is an essential condition for enlightening the mind of the writer1 and for rectifying his judgment1 so far as information has power to promote candor4 ,the ,prospective ,review for ,august1 in an article on the work1 for the most part commendatory1 though certainly without any warmth of praise1 makes the prominent stricture upon it to be1 a charge against the author of having evaded the gravest1 and in one sense the only serious difficulty1 with which the evidences he supports have to contend4 ,this difficulty is defined to be in the question as to whether our four ,gospels are essentially and substantially documents from the pens of ,matthew1 ,mark1 ,luke1 and ,john1 actual companions and contemporaries of ,him whose life and lessons are therein recorded4 ,the ,reviewer professes to have satisfied his own mind by an affirmative conclusion on this point4 ,but regarding the question as the very turning-point1 the paramount and vital element of the existing issue between faith and unbelief1 and not finding it to be dealt with in this volume1 the ,reviewer considers that it is evaded4 ,it might be urged in reply1 that this question is not to other minds of such paramount importance1 and that its affirmative answer would not be conclusive1 as it would still leave open other questions2 such1 for instance1 as those which enter into the theories of ,paulus and other ,rationalists1 and such as are not even excluded from the incidental adjuncts of ,strauss's mythical theory4 ,it might also be urged1 that1 allowing the question to be paramount in its relation to the whole issue1 it is one which is not so judiciously dealt with in the discursiveness of dialogues after dinner1 as in the solitary study1 with piles of huge tomes1 lexicons1 and manuscripts that require a most deliberate examination4 ,but to leave the merits and the relative importance of this question undebated1 it might have been more generous in the ,reviewer to have confined his criticisms to a decision upon what the author has endeavored to accomplish1 instead of impugning his judgment in the selection of the points on which to employ his pen4 ,how ever desirable it may be that we should have in another form what ,mr4 ,norton has presented so thoroughly in his work on the ,genuineness of the ,gospels1 it is enough to answer to the ,reviewer in the ,prospective1 that the writer of this volume addressed himself to a different course of argument1 starting from other divergences of opinion1 philosophical rather than critical in their relations4 ,he certainly was free to select the method and the direction of his argument1 if he candidly represented the answering point of view of those to whom he opposed himself4 ,amid many episodes and interludes of fancy and narrative1 it will be found that the volume arrays its force of argument against two of the assumptions alike of modern and of ancient scepticism2 namely1 that a revelation from ,god to men through the agency of a book is an unreasonable tenet of belief2 and that it is impossible that a miracle should occur1 and impossible that its occurrence should be authenticated4 ,there is a vigorous and logical power displayed in the discussion of these two points4 ,the discomfiture of those who urge these assumptions does not of course convince all scepticism1 or substitute faith for it1 but it is something to discomfit such pleas1 and to expose the fallacies which confuse the minds of their advocates4 ,the matters of debate are lofty1 and there is no levity in their treatment4 ,,advertisement4 ,he who reads this book only superficially will at once see that it is not all fiction2 and he who reads it more than superficially will as easily see that it is not all fact4 ,in what proportions it is composed of either would probably require a very acute critic accurately to determine4 ,as the ,editor makes no pretensions to such acumen1--as he can lay claim to only an imperfect knowledge of the principal personage in the volume1 and never had any personal acquaintance with the singular youth1 some traits of whose character and some glimpses of whose history are here given1 --he leaves the above question to the decision of the reader4 ,at the same time1 it is of no consequence in the world4 ,the character and purport of the volume are sufficiently disclosed in the parting words of the ,journalist4 ,it aspires1 as is justly said1 to none of the appropriate interest either of a novel or a biography4 ,it might have been very properly entitled ,theological ,fragments4 ,march #ca1 #aheb4 ,,introduction ,a ,,genuine ,,sceptic ,a ,,versatile ,,believer ,,puritan ,,infidelity ,,lord ,,herbert ,,and ,,modern ,,deism ,,some ,,curious ,,paradoxes ,,problems ,a ,,dialogue ,,showing ,,that ,,that ,,may ,,be ,,possible ,,with ,,man ,,which ,,is ,,impossible ,,with ,,god ,,sceptic',s ,,favorite ,,topics ,,unstable ,,equilibrium ,a ,,sceptics ,,first ,,catechism ,,some ,,light ,,on ,,the ,,mystery ,,belief ,,and ,,faith ,,the ,,via ,,media ,,of ,,deism ,a ,,sceptic',s ,,select ,,party ,,how ,,it ,,was ,,that ,,infidelity ,,prevented ,,my ,,becoming ,,an ,,infidel ,,skirmishes ,,christian ,,ethics ,,the ,,blank ,,bible ,a ,,dialogue ,,in ,,which ,,it ,,is ,,contended ,,that ,,miracles ,,are ,,impossible1 ,,but ,,that ,,it ,,is ,,impossible ,,to ,,prove ,,it ,,the ,,analogies ,,of ,,an ,,external ,,revelation ,,with ,,the ,,laws ,,and ,,conditions ,,of ,,human ,,development ,,on ,a ,,prevailing ,,fallacy ,,historic ,,credibility ,a ,,knotty ,,point ,,medical ,,analogies ,,historic ,,criticism ,,the ,,papal ,,aggression ,,proved ,,to ,,be ,,impossible ,,the ,,paradise ,,of ,,fools ,a ,,future ,,life ,a ,,variable ,,quantity ,,discussion ,,of ,,three ,,points ,,the ,,last ,,evening ,,the ,,eclipse ,,of ,,faith4 ,to ,e4 ,b99999999991 ,missionary in ------1 ,south ,pacific4 ,wednesday1 ,june #ah1 #ahea4 ,my ,dear ,edward3-- ,you have more than once asked me to send you1 in your distant solitude1 my impressions respecting the religious distractions in which your native country has been of late years involved4 ,i have refused1 partly1 because it would take a volume to give you any just notions on the subject2 and partly1 because ,i am not quite sure that you would not be happier in ignorance4 ,think1 if you can1 of your native land as in this respect what it was when you left it1 on your exile of ,christian love1 some fifteen years ago4 ,i little thought ,i should ever have so mournful a motive to depart in some degree from my resolution4 ,i intended to leave you to glean what you could of our religious condition from such publications as might reach you4 ,but ,i am now constrained to write something about it4 ,my dear brother1 you will hear it with a sad heart2--your nephew and mine1 our only sister's only child1 has1 in relation to religion at least1 become an absolute sceptic6 ,i well recollect the tenderness you felt for him1 doubly endeared by his own amiable dispositions and the remembrance of her whom in so many points he resembled4 ,what must be mine1 who so long stood to the orphan in the relations which his mother's love and my own affection imposed upon me6 ,it is hardly a figure to say ,i felt for him as for a son4 ,ah6 you will say as you glance at your own children1 my bachelor brother cannot understand that even such an affection is still a faint resemblance of parental love4 ,it may be so4 ,i know that that love is sui generis2 and as ,i have often heard from those who are fathers1 its depth and purity were never realized till they became such4 ,but neither1 perhaps1 can you know how nearly such a love as ,i have felt for ,harrington1 committed to me in death by one ,i loved so well1--beloved alike for her sake and for his own1--the object of so much solicitude during his childhood and youth1--,i say you can hardly1 perhaps1 conceive how near such an affection may approach that of a parent2 how closely such a graft upon a childless stock may resemble the incorporate life of father and son4 ,you remember what hopes we both formed of his youth1 from the promise alike of his heart and of his intellect1 ,how fondly we predicted a career of future usefulness to others1 and honor and happiness to himself6 ,you know how often ,i used to compare him1 for the silent ease with which he mastered difficult subjects1 and the versatility with which he turned his mind to the most opposite pursuits1 to the youthful ,theaetetus1 as described in ,plato's dialogue the movements of whose mind ,theodorus compares to the noiseless flow of oil from the flask4 ,he was just fourteen and a half when you left ,england2 he is now1 therefore1 nearly twenty-nine4 ,he left me four years ago1 when he was just twenty-five1--about a year after the termination of his college course1 which you know was honorable to him1 and gratifying to me4 ,he then went to spend a year1 or a year and a half1 as he supposed1 in ,germany4 ,his stay 7he was not all the time in ,germany1 however7 was prolonged for more than three years4 ,in the letters which ,i received from him1 and which gradually became more rare and more brief1 there was 7without one symptom of decay of personal affection7 a certain air of gradually increasing constraint1 in relation to the subject which ,i knew and felt to be all-important4 ,alas6 my prophetic soul took it aright2 this constraint was the faint penumbra of a disastrous eclipse indeed6 ,he was not1 as so many profess to be1 convinced by any particular book 7as that of ,strauss1 for example7 that the history of ,christianity is false2 nay1 he declares that he is not convinced of that even now2 he is a genuine sceptic1 and is the subject1 he says1 of invincible doubts4 ,those doubts have extended at length to the whole field of theology1 and are due principally1 as he himself has owned1 to the spectacle of the interminable controversies which 7turn where he would7 occupied the mind of ,germany4 ,even when he returned home he does not appear to have finally abandoned the notion of the possibility of constructing some religious system in the place of ,christianity2-- this1 as he affirms1 is a later conviction formed upon him by examining the systems of such men as have attempted the solution of the problem4 ,he declares the result wholly unsatisfactory2 that1 sceptical as he was and is with regard to the truth of ,christianity1 he is not even sceptical with regard to these theories2 and he declares that if 'the undoubtedly powerful minds which have framed them have so signally failed in removing his doubts1 and affording him a rock to stand upon1 he cannot prevail upon himself to struggle further4 ,and so1 instead of stopping at any of those miserable road-side inns between ,christianity and scepticism1 through whose ragged windows all the winds of heaven are blowing1 and whose gaudy signs assure us there is good entertainment within for man and beast1-- whereas it is only for the latter1--,harrington still travelled on in hopes of finding some better shelter1 and now1 in the dark night1 and a night of tempest too1 finds himself on the open heath4 ,to employ his own words1 he could not rest contented with one-sided theories or inconsequential reasonings1 and has pursued the argument to its logical termination4 ,he is ill at ease in mind1 ,i hear1 and not in robust health2 and ,i am just going to visit him4 ,i shall have some melancholy scenes with him2 ,i feel that4 ,do you remember1 when we were in ,switzerland together1 how1 as we wound down the ,susten and the ,grimsel passes1 with the perpendicular cliffs some thousand feet above us1 and a torrent as many feet below1 we used to shudder at the thought of two men1 wrestling upon that dizzy verge1 and striving to throw each other over6 ,i almost imagine that ,i am about to engage in such a strife now1 with the additional horror that the contest is 7as one may say7 between father and son4 ,nay1 it is yet more terrible2 for in such a contest there1 ,i almost feel as if ,i could be contented to employ only a passive resistance4 ,but ,i must here learn to school my heart and mind to an active and desperate conflict4 ,i fear lest ,i should do more harm than good2 and ,i am sure ,i shall if ,i suffer impatience and irascibility to prevail4 ,i shall1 perhaps1 also hear from those lips which once addressed me only in the accents of respect and kindness1 language indicative of that alienation which is the inevitable result of marked dissimilarity of sentiment and character1 and which1 according to ,aristotle's most just description1 will often dissolve the truest friendship1 at all events1 extinguish 7just as prolonged absence will7 all its vividness4 ,so impossible is it for the full sympathies of the heart to coexist with absolute antipathy of the intellect6 ,nay1 ,i shall1 perhaps1 have to listen to the language which ,i cannot but consider as impiety and blasphemy1 and yet keep my temper4 ,i half feel1 however1 that ,i am doing him injustice in much of this2 and ,i will not judge before the time4 ,it cannot be that he will ever cease to regard me with affection1 though1 perhaps1 no longer with reverence2 and ,i am confident that not even scepticism can chill the natural kindness of his disposition4 ,i am persuaded that1 even as a sceptic1 he is very different from most sceptics4 ,they cherish doubts2 he will be impatient of them4 ,scepticism is1 with them1 a welcome guest1 and has entered their hearts by an open door2 ,i am sure that it must have stormed his1 and entered it by a breach4 ,no1 my heart whispers1 ,i shall still find you sincere1 ,harrington2 scorning to take any unfair advantage in argument1 and impatient of all sophistry1 as ,i have ever found you4 ,you will be fully aware of the moral significance of the conclusion at which you have arrived1 --even that there is no conclusion to be arrived at2 and you will be miserable1--as all must be who have your power to comprehend it4 ,accept this1 my dear brother1 as a truer delineation of my wanderer than my first thoughts prompted4 ,but then all this will only make it the more sad to see him4 ,still it is a duty1 and it must be done4 ,i have not the heart at present to give more than the briefest answers to the queries which you so earnestly put to me4 ,no doubt you were startled to find1 from the ,french papers that reached you from ,tahiti1 and on no less authority than that of the ,apostolic ,letter of the ,pope1 and ,cardinal ,wiseman's ,pastoral1 that this enlightened country was once more1 or was on the eve of becoming1 a satellite of ,rome4 ,subsequent information1 touching the course of the almost unprecedented agitation which ,england has just passed through1 will serve to convince you1 either that ,pio ,nono's supplications to the ,virgin and all the ,english saints1 from ,st4 ,dunstan downwards1 have not been so successful as he flattered himself that they would have been1 or that the nation1 if it be about to embrace ,romanism1 has the oddest way of showing it4 ,it has acquired most completely the ,jesuitical art of disguising its real feelings2 or1 as the ,anglicans would say1 of practising the doctrine of reserve4 ,to all appearance the country is more indomitably ,protestant than before4 ,nor need you alarm yourself--as in truth you seem too much inclined to do--about the machinations and triumphs of the ,tractarian party4 ,their insidious attempts are no doubt a graver evil than the preposterous pretensions of ,rome1 to which indeed they gave their only chance of success4 ,the evil has been much abated1 however by those very assumptions2 for it is no longer disguised4 ,tractarianism is seen to be what many had proclaimed it1--the strict ally of ,rome4 ,the hopes it inspired were the causes of the ,pope's presumption and of ,wiseman's folly2 and1 by misleading them1 it has1 to a large extent1 undone the projects both of ,rome and itself4 ,but even before the recent attempts1 its successes were very partial4 ,the degree to which the infection tainted the clergy was no criterion at all of the sympathy of the people4 ,too many of the former were easily converted to a system which confirmed all their ecclesiastical prejudices1 and favored their sacerdotal pretensions2 which endowed every youngster upon whom the bishop laid hands with preternatural graces1 and with the power of working spiritual miracles4 ,but the people generally were in little danger of being misled by these absurdities2 and facts1 even before the recent outbreak1 ought to have convinced the clergy1 that1 if they thought proper to go to ,rome1 their flocks were by no means prepared to follow them4 ,except among some fashionable folks here and there1--young ladies to whom ennui1 susceptible nerves1 and a sentimental imagination made any sort of excitement acceptable2 who turned their arks of embroidery and painting1 and their love of music1 to spiritual uses1 and displayed their piety and their accomplishments at the same time1--except among these1 ,i say1 and those amongst the more ignorant of our rural population whom such people influenced1 the ,anglican movement could not boast of any signal success4 ,in the more densely peopled districts1 and amongst the middle classes especially1 the failure of the thing was often most ignominious4 ,no sooner were the candles placed upon the altar than the congregation began to thin2 and by the time the obsolete rubrics were all admirably observed1 the priest faultlessly arrayed1 the service properly intoned1 and the entire spiritual machine set in motion1 the people were apt to desert the sacred edifice altogether4 ,it was a pity1 doubtless1 that1 when such admirable completeness in the ecclesiastical1 equipments had been attained1 it should be found that the machine would not work2 that just when the ,church became perfect1 it should fail for so insignificant an accident as the want of a congregation4 ,yet so it often was4 ,the ecclesiastical play was an admirable rehearsal1 and nothing more4 ,not but what there are many priests who would prefer a full service1 and an ample ceremonial in an empty church1 to the simple ,gospel in a crowded one2 like ,handel1 who consoled himself with the vacant benches at one of his oratorios by saying that dey made de music sound de ner4 ,and1 in truth1 if we adopt to the full the ,high ,church theory1 perhaps it cannot much matter whether the people be present or not2 the opus operatum of magic rites and spiritual conjuration may be equally effectual4 ,the ,oxford tracts said ten years ago1 ,before the ,reformation1 the ,church recognized the seven hours of prayer2 however these may have been practically neglected1 or hidden in an unknown tongue1 there is no estimating what influence this may have had on common people's minds secretly4 ,surely you must agree that there is no estimating the efficacy of nobody's hearing services which1 if heard by any body1 would have been in an unknown tongue4 ,i repeat1 that the people of ,england will never yield to ,romanism1 --unless1 indeed1 it shall hereafter be as a reaction from infidelity2 just as infidelity is now spreading as a reaction from the attempted restoration of ,romanism4 ,that ,england is not prepared at present is sufficiently shown by the result of the recent agitation4 ,could it terminate otherwise8 ,was it possible that ,england1 in the nineteenth century1 could be brought to adopt the superstitions of the ,middle ,age8 ,if she could1 she would have deserved to be left to the consequences of her besotted folly4 ,we may say1 as ,milton said1 in his day1 to the attempted restoration of superstitions which the ,reformers had already cast off2 ,o1 if we freeze at noon1 after their easy thaw1 let us fear lest the sun for ever hide himself1 and turn his orient steps from our ungrateful horizon justly condemned to be eternally benighted4 ,no1 it is not from this quarter that ,england must look for the chief dangers which menace religion1 except1 indeed1 as these dangers are the inevitable1 the uniform result of every attempt to revive the obsolete past4 ,the principal peril is from a subtle unbelief1 which1 in various forms1 is sapping the religion of our people1 and which1 if not checked1 will by and by give the ,romish bishops a better title to be called bishops in partibus infidelium than has always been the case4 ,the attempt to make men believe too much naturally provokes them to believe too little2 and such has been and will be the recoil from the movement towards ,rome4 ,it is only one1 however1 of the causes of that widely diffused infidelity which is perhaps the most remarkable phenomenon of our day4 ,other and more potent causes are to be sought in the philosophic tendencies of the age1 and especially a sympathy1 in very many minds1 with the worst features of ,continental speculation4 ,infidelity6 you will say4 ,do you mean such infidelity as that of ,collins and ,bolingbroke1 ,chubb and ,tindal8 ,why1 we have plenty of those sorts too1 and--worse2 but the most charming infidelity of the day1 a bastard deism in fact1 often assumes a different form1--a form1 you will be surprised to hear it1 which embodies 7as many say7 the essence of genuine ,christianity6 ,yes2 be it known to you1 that when you have ceased to believe all that is specially characteristic of the ,new ,testament1--its history1 its miracles1 its peculiar doctrine--you may still be a genuine ,christian4 ,christianity is sublimed into an exquisite thing called modern spiritualism4 ,the amount and quality of faith are1 indeed1 pleasingly diversified when come to examine individual professors thereof2 but it always based upon the principle that man is a light to himself2 that his oracle is within2 so clear either to supersede the necessity--some say even possibility--of all external revelation in any sense of that term2 or1 when such revelation is in some sense allowed1 to constitute man the absolute arbiter how much or how little of it is worthy to be received4 ,this theory we all perceive1 of course1 cannot fail to recommend itself by the well-known uniformity and distinctness of man's religious notions and the reasonableness of his religious practices6 ,we all know there has never been any want of a revelation2--of which have doubtless had full proof among the idolatrous barbarians you foolishly went to enlighten and reclaim4 ,i wish1 however1 you had known it fifteen years ago2 ,i might have had my brother with me still4 ,it is a pity that this internal revelation--the absolute religion1 hidden1 as ,mr4 ,theodore ,parker felicitously phrases it1 in all religions of all ages and nations1 so strikingly avouched by the entire history of world--should render itself suspicions by little discrepancies in its own utterances among those who believe in it4 ,yet so it is4 ,compared with the rest of the world1 few at the best can be got to believe in the sufficiency of the internal light and the superfluity all external revelation2 and yet hardly two of the flock agree4 ,it is the rarest little oracle6 ,apollo himself might envy its adroitness in the utterance ambiguities4 ,one man says that the doctrine of future life is undoubtedly a dictate of the religious sentiment1--one of the few universal characteristics of all religion2 another declares his insight tells him nothing of the matter2 one affirms that the supposed chief intuitions of the religious faculty--belief in the efficacy of prayer1 the free will of man1 and the immortality of the soul--are at hopeless variance with intellect and logic2 others exclaim1 and surely not without reason1 that this casts upon our faculties the opprobrium of irretrievable contradictions6 ,as for those spiritualists--and they are1 perhaps1 at present the greater part--who profess1 in some sense1 to pay homage to the ,new ,testament1 they are at infinite variance as to how much--whether #g #a_/b1 #cj1 or #ej per cent of its records--is to be received4 ,very few get so far as the last4 ,one man is resolved to be a ,christian1--none more so1--only he will reject all the peculiar doctrines and all the supernatural narratives of the ,new ,testament2 another declares that miracles are impossible and incredible1 per se2 a third thinks they are neither the one nor the other1 though it is true that probably a comparatively small portion of those narrated in the book are established by such evidence as to be worthy of credit4 ,pray use your pleasure in the selection2 and the more freely1 as a fourth is of opinion that1 however true1 they are really of little consequence4 ,while many extol in vague terms of admiration the deep spiritual insight of the founders of ,christianity1 they do not trouble themselves to explain how it is that this exquisite illumination left them to concoct that huge mass of legendary follies and mystical doctrines which constitute1 according to the modern spiritualism1 the bulk of the records of the ,new ,testament1 and by which its authors have managed to mislead the world2 nor how we are to avoid regarding them either as superstitious and fanatical fools or artful and designing knaves1 if nine tenths1 or seven tenths1 of what they record is all to be rejected2 nor1 if it be affirmed that they never did record it1 but that somebody else has put these matters into their mouths1 how we can be sure that any thing whatever of the small remainder ever came out of their mouths4 ,all this1 ever1 is of the less consequence1 as these gentlemen descend to tell us how we are to separate the spiritual gold which faintly streaks the huge mass of impure ore of fable1 legend1 and mysticism4 ,each man1 it seems has his own particular spade and mattock in his spiritual faculty2 so off with you to the diggings in these spiritual mines of ,ophir4 ,you will say1 ,why not stay at home1 and be content at once1 with the advocates of the absolute sufficiency of the internal oracle1 listen to its responses exclusively8 ,ask these men--for ,i am sure ,i do not know2 ,i only know that the results are very different--whether the possessor of insight listens to its own rare voice1 or puts on spectacles and reads aloud from the ,new ,testament4 ,generally1 as ,i say1 these good folks are resolved that all that is supernatural and specially inspired in sacred volume is to be rejected2 and as to the rest1 which by the way might be conveniently published as the ,spiritualists' ,bible 7in two or three sheets1 #dhmo1 say71 that would still require a careful winnowing2 for1 while one man tells us that the ,apostle ,paul1 in his intense appreciation of the spiritual element1 made light even of the resurrection of ,christ1 and everywhere shows his superiority to the beggarly elements of history1 dogma1 and ritual1 another declares that he was so enslaved by his ,jewish prejudices and the trumpery he had picked up at the feet of ,gamaliel1 that he knew but little or next to nothing of the real mystery of the very ,gospel he preached2 that while he proclaims that it is revealed1 after having been hidden from ages generations1 he himself manages to hide it afresh4 ,this you will be told is a perpetual process1 going on even now2 that as all the earlier prophets were unconscious instruments of a purpose beyond their immediate range of thought1 so the ,apostles themselves similarly illustrated the shallowness of their range of thought2 that1 in fact1 the true significance of the ,gospel lay beyond them1 and doubtless also1 for the very same reasons1 lies beyond us4 ,in other words1 this class of spiritualists tell us that ,christianity is a development1 as the ,papists also assert1 and the ,new ,testament its first imperfect and rudimentary product2 only1 unhappily1 as the development1 it seems1 may be things so very different as ,popery and ,infidelity1 we are as far as ever from any criterion as to which1 out of the ten thousand possible developments1 is the true2 but it is a matter of the less consequence1 since it will1 on such reasoning1 be always something future4 ,unhappy ,paul6 you will say4 ,yes1 it is no better with him than it was in our youth some five-and-twenty years ago4 ,do you not remember the astute old ,german ,professor in his lecture-room introducing the ,apostle as examining with ever-increasing wonder the various contradictory systems which the perverseness of exegesis had extracted from his ,epistles1 and at length1 as he saw one from which every feature of ,christianity had been erased1 exclaiming in a fright1 ,was ist das8 ,but ,i will not detain you on the vagaries of the new school of spiritualists4 ,i shall hear enough of them1 ,i have no doubt1 from ,harrington2 he will riot in their extravagances and contradictions as a justification of his own scepticism4 ,in very truth their authors are fit for nothing else than to be recruiting officers for undisguised infidelity2 and this has been the consistent termination with very many of their converts4 ,yet1 many of them tell us1 after putting men on this inclined plane of smooth ice1 that it is the only place where they can be secure against tumbling into infidelity1 ,atheism1 ,pantheism1 ,scepticism4 ,some of ,oxford ,tractarians informed us1 a little before ,crossing the border1 that their system was the surest bulwark against ,romanism2 and in the same way is this site spiritualism1 a safeguard against infidelity4 ,between many of our modern spiritualists and ,romanists there is a parallelism of movement absolutely ludicrous4 ,you may chance to hear both claiming1 with equal fervor1 against intellect and logic as totally incompetent to decide on religion or spiritual truth1 and in favor of a faith which disclaims all alliance with them4 ,you may chance hear them both insisting on an absolute submission to an infallible authority other than the ,bible2 the one external1--that is1 the ,pope2 the other internal1--that is1 ,spiritual ,insight2 both exacting absolute submission1 the one to the outward oracle1 the ,church1 the other to the inward oracle1 himself2 both insisting that the ,bible is but the first imperfect product of genuine ,christianity1 which is perfected by a development1 though as to the direction of that development they certainly do not agree4 ,both1 if ,i may judge by some recent speculations1 recoil from the ,bible even more than they do from one another2 and both would get rid of it1--one by locking it up1 and the other tearing it to tatters4 ,thus receding in opposite directions round the circle1 they are found placed side by side at the same extremity of a diameter1 at the other extremity of which is the--,bible4 ,the resemblances1 in some instances1 are so striking1 that one is reminded of that little animal1 the fresh-water polype1 whose external structure is so absolutely a mere prolongation of the internal1 that you may turn him inside out1 and all the functions of life go on just as well as before4 ,it is impossible to convey to you an adequate idea of the bouleversement which has taken place in our religious relations1 --even in each man's little sphere4 ,it is as if the religious world were a masquerade1 where you cease to feel surprise at finding some familiar acquaintance disguised in the most fantastical costume4 ,there is our old friend ,w----1 rigorously1 as you know1 educated in his old father's ,evangelical notions1 ready to be a confessor for the two wax candies1 even though unlighted1 and to be a martyr for them if but lighted4 ,his cousin in the opposite direction has found even the most meagre naturalism too much for him1 and avows himself a ,pantheist4 ,l----1 the son1 you remember1 of an independent minister1 is ready to go nobly to death in defence of the prerogatives of his apostolic succession2 and has not the slightest doubts that he can make out his spiritual genealogy1 without a broken link1 from the first ,bishop of ,rome1 downwards6--though1 poor fellow1 it would puzzle him to say who was his great-grandfather4 ,e----1 you are aware1 has long since joined the ,church of ,rome1 and has disclosed such a bottomless abyss of faith1 that whole cart-loads of mediaeval fables1 abandoned even by ,romanists 7who1 by the way1 stand fairly aghast at his insatiable appetite71 have not been able to fill it4 ,all the saints in the ,roman ,hagiography cannot work miracles as fast as he can credit them4 ,on the other hand1 his brother has signalized himself by an equal facility of stripping himself1 fragment by fragment1 of his early creed1 till at last he walks through this bleak world in such a gossamer gauze of transparent spiritualism1 that it makes you both shiver and blush to look at him4 ,your old acquaintance ,p----1 true to his youthful qualities 7which now have most abundant exercise71 who has the charity which believeth all1 things1 though certainly not that which bareth all things1 goes about apologizing for all religious systems1 and finding truth in every thing2--our beloved ,harrington1 on the other hand1 bewildered by all this confusion1 finds truth--in nothing4 ,yet you must not imagine that our religious maladies are at present more than sporadic2 or that the great bulk of our population are at present affected by them3 they still believe the ,bible to be the revealed ,word ,god4 ,should these diseases ever become epidemic1 they will soon degenerate into a still worse type4 ,many apostles of ,atheism and ,pantheism amongst our classes say 7and perhaps truly71 that this modern spiritualism is but a transition state4 ,in that case1 you will have to recall1 with a deeper meaning1 the song of ,byron1 which you told me gave you such anguish1 as you paced the deck on the evening in which lost sight of ,old ,england1--,my native land1 night6 ,i have sometimes mournfully asked myself1 whether the world may not yet want a few experiments as to whether it cannot get on better without ,christianity and the ,bible2 but ,i hope ,england is not destined be the laboratory4 ,i almost envy your happier lot ,i picture to myself your unsophisticated folks1 just reclaimed from the grossest barbarism and idolatry1 receiving the simple ,gospel 7as it ought to be received7 with grateful wonder1 as ,heaven's own method of making man wise and happy2 reverencing the ,bible as what it is1--an infallible guide through this world to a better2 a light shining in a dark place4 ,they listen with unquestioning simplicity to its disclosures1 which find an echo in their own hearts1 and with a reverence which is due to a volume which has transformed them from savages into men1 and from idolaters into ,christians4 ,they are not troubled with doubts of its authenticity or its divinity2 with talk of various readings and discordant manuscripts2 with subtle theories for proving that its miracles are legends1 or its history myths1 or with any other of the infinite vagaries of perverted learning4 ,neither are they perplexed with the assurances of those who tell them that1 though divine1 the ,bible is1 in fact1 a most dangerous book1 and who would request them1 in their new-born enlightenment1 to be pleased to shut their eyes1 and to return to a religion of ceremony quite as absurd and almost as cruel as the polytheism they have renounced4 ,i imagine you and your little flock in the ,sabbath stillness of those mountains and green valleys1 of which you give me such pleasant descriptions1 exhibiting a specimen of a truly primitive ,christianity2 ,i imagine that the peace within is as deep as the tranquillity without4 ,yet ,i know it cannot be2 for you and your flock are men1--and that one word alone suffices to dissolve the charm4 ,you and they have cares1 and worse than cares1 which make you like all the rest of the world2 for guilt and sorrow are of no clime1 and the happy valley never existed except in the pages of ,rasselas4 ,you are1 doubtless1 plagued by every now and then finding that some half-reclaimed cannibal confesses that he has not quite got over his gloating recollections of the delicacies of his diabolical cuisine2 or that fashionable converts turn with a yearning heart1 not to theatres and balls1 but to the dear remembrance of the splendors 'of tattoo and amocos2 or that some unlucky wretch who has not mastered the hideous passions of his old paganism has almost battered out the brains of a fellow disciple in a sudden paroxysm of anger2 or that some timid soul is haunted with half-subdued suspicions that some great goggle-eyed idol1 with whose worship his whole existence has been associated1 is not1 what ,st ,paul declares it is1 absolutely nothing in world4 ,and then you vex your soul about these things1 and worry yourself with apprehensions lest you should have labored in vain and spent your strength for naught2 and lastly1 trouble yourself still more lest you should lose your temper and your patience into the bargain4 ,yes1 your scenery is doubtless beautiful1 as the sketches you have sent me sufficiently show2 especially that scene at the foot of the mountain ,moraii or ,mauroi1 for ,i cannot quite make out the pencil-marks4 ,but1 beautiful as they are1 they are not more so than those which greet my eye even now from my study window4 ,no1 there is no fault to be found with external nature2 it is man only who spoils it all4 ,i see nothing in sun1 moon1 or stars1 in mountain1 forest1 or stream1 that needs to be altered2 we are the blot on this fair world1 ,o man1 ,i am sometimes ready to exclaim1 what a--2 but ,i check myself1 for as ,correggio whispered to himself exultingly1 ,i also am a painter1 so ,i1 though with very different feelings1 say1 ,i also am a man4 ,johnson said1 that every man probably worse of himself than he certainly knows of most other men2 and so ,i am determined that misanthropy1 if is to be indulged at all1 shall1 like its opposite charity1 begin at home4 ,yet1 now ,i think better of it1 it shall not begin at all2 for ,i recollect that ,,he also was a man1 who was infinitely more2 who has penetrated even this cloudy shrine of clay with the effulgence of ,his glory and so let me resolve that our common humanity shall be held sacred for ,his sake1 and pitied for its own4 ,thus ends my little1 transient fit of spleen1 and may it ever end4 ,may we feel more and more1 my dearest brother1 the interior presence of that guest of guests1 that ,divine ,impersonation of ,truth1 ,rectitude1 and ,love1 whose image has had more power to soothe and tranquillize1 stimulate and fortify1 the human heart1 than all the philosophies ever devised by man2 who has not merely left us rules of conduct1 expressed with incomparable force and comprehensiveness1 and illustrated by images of unequalled pathos and beauty2 who was not merely 7and yet1 herein alone1 how superior to all other masters7 the living type of ,his own glorious doctrine1 and affects us as we gaze upon ,him with that transforming influence which the studious contemplation of all excellence exerts by a necessary law of our nature2 but whose ,life and ,death include all motives which can enforce ,his lessons on humanity2--motives all intensely animated by the conviction that ,he is a ,living ,personality1 in communion with our own spirits1 and attracted towards us by all the sympathies of a friendship truly ,divine2 who can be touched with the feelings of our infirmities1 though ,himself without sin4 ,may ,he become so familiar to our souls1 that no suggestions of evil from within1 no incursion of evil from without1 shall be so swift and sudden that the thought of ,him shall not be at least as near to our spirits1 intercept the treachery of our infirm nature1 and guard that throne which ,he alone deserves to fill2 till1 at every turn and every posture of our earthly life1 we may realize a mental image of that countenance of divine compassion bent upon us1 and that voice of gentle instruction murmuring in our ears its words of heavenly wisdom2 till1 whenever tempted to deviate from the narrow path1 we may hear ,him whispering1 ,will ye also go away8 when hated by the world1--,ye know that it hated me before it hated you2 when called to perform some difficult duty1--,if ye love me1 keep my commandments2 when disposed to make an idol of any thing on earth1--,he that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me2 when in suffering and trial1--,whom ,i love ,i rebuke and chasten2 when our way is dark1--,what ,i do thou knowest not now1 but thou shalt know hereafter2 till1 a word1 as we hear ,his faintest footsteps approaching our hearts1 and ,his gentle signal there according to ,his own beautiful image1 ,behold1 ,i stand at the door and knock1 our souls may hasten to welcome the heavenly guest4 ,so may it ever be with you and me6 ,and now ,i find the very thought of these things has cured all my dark and turbulent feelings1 as indeed it ever does2 and ,i can say before ,i go to rest1 ,o man1 my brother1 ,i am at peace with thee6 ,ah6 what an empire is ,his6 ,how1 even at the antipodes1 will these lines touch in your heart a chord responsive to that which vibrates in mine6 4444 ,i go to ,harrington in a few days1 and as our conversation 7perhaps1 alas6 our controversies7 will turn upon some of the most momentous religious topics of the day1 ,i shall keep an exact journal--,boswellize1 in fact--for you1 as well as ,i can2 and how well some of my earlier days have practised my memory for this humble office you know4 ,i shall have a pleasure in this1 not only because you will be glad to hear all ,i can communicate respecting one you love so well1 but also because in this way1 perhaps1 ,i shall in part fulfil your earnest request to let you know the state of religion amongst us4 ,you will expect1 of course1 to find only that portion of our conversations reported which relates to these subjects2 but ,i anticipate1 in discussing others1 some compensation for the misery which will1 ,i fear1 attend the discussion of these4 ,thank your convert ,outai for his present of his grim idol4 ,it is certainly brass for gold1 considering what ,i sent him2 but do not tell him so4 ,if a man gives us his gods1 what more can he do8 ,and yet1 it seems1 he may be the richer for the loss4 ,never was a question more senseless than that of the idolatrous fool1--,ye have taken away my gods1 and what else have ,i left8 ,his godship was a little injured in his transit2 but he was very perfect in deformity before1 and his ugliness could not1 by any accident1 be improved4 ,i have put him into a glass case with some stuffed birds1 at which he ogles1 with his great eyes1 in a manner not altogether divine4 ,his condition1 therefore1 is pretty nearly that to which prophecy has doomed all his tribe2 if not cast to the moles and the bats1 it is to the owls and parrots4 ,i cannot help looking at him sometimes with a sort of respect as contrasted with his worshippers2 for though they have been fools enough to worship him1 he has1 at least1 not been fool enough to worship them4 ,yet even they are better than the ,pantheist1 who must regard it and every thing else1 himself included1 as a fragment of divinity4 ,i fear that1 if ,i could regard either the ,pantheist or myself as divine1 nothing in the world could keep me from blasphemy every day and all day long4 ,again6 you will say1 my brother2 is not that old vein of bitterness yet exhausted8 ,but be it known to you that that last sarcasm was especially for my own behoof4 ,she is a sly jade1--conscience2 like many other folks1 she has a trick of expressing her rebukes in general language2 as thus3 ,what a contemptible set of creatures the race of men are6--hoping that some folks will practically take it to heart4 ,sometimes ,i do2 and sometimes1 ,i suppose1 like my fellows1 ,i look very grave1 and approvingly say1 ,it is but too true1 with the air of one who philosophically assents to a proposition in which he is totally uninterested2 whereupon conscience becomes outrageous and--personal4 ,i can easily imagine what you tell me1 that you hardly know the difference between the missionaries of different denominations1 and are very much troubled to remember1 at times1 which is which4 ,it is a natural consequence of the relations in which you stand to heathenism4 ,i fancy the sight of men worshipping an idol with four heads and twice as many hands must considerably abate impressions of the importance some of the controversies nearer home4 ,do you remember the passage in ,woodstock1 in which our old favorite represents the ,episcopalian ,rochecliffe and the ,presbyterian ,holdenough meeting unexpectedly in prison1 after many years of separation1 during which one had thought the other dead8 ,how sincerely glad they were1 and how pleasantly they talked2 when lo6 an unhappy reference to the bishopric of ,titus gradually abated the fervor of their charity1 and inflamed that of their zeal1 even till they at last separated in mutual dudgeon1 and sat glowering at each other in their distant corners with looks in which the ,episcopalian and ,presbyterian were much more evident than the ,christian2--and so they persevered till the sudden summons to them and their fellow-prisoners1 to prepare for instant execution1 dissolved as with a charm the anger they had felt1 and ,forgive me1 ,o my brother1 and ,i have sinned against thee1 my brother1 broke from their lips as they took what they thought would be a last farewell4 ,i imagine that a feeling a little resembling this1 though from a different cause1 makes it impossible for you to remember1 in the presence of such spiritual horrors as heathenism presents1 the immense importance of many of the controversies so hotly waged at home1 ,i can conceive 7as some of our zealots would say7 that you are tempted to a certain degree of insensibility and defection of heart2 that you no longer discern the momentous superiority of sprinkling over immersion1 or of immersion over sprinkling2 that the wax candles1 lighted and unlighted1 appear to you alike insignificant2 that even the jus divinum of any system of ecclesiastical government is sometimes not discerned with absolute precision2 and1 in short1 that you look with contemptuous wonder on half our great controversies4 ,if ,i mistake not1 things are coming to that pass amongst us1 that we shall soon think of them almost with contemptuous wonder too4 ,vale1--et ora pro me1--as old ,luther used to say at the end of his letters4 ,i will write again soon4 ,your affectionate ,brother1 ,f4,b4 ---- ,grange1 ,july #g1 #ahea4 ,my ,dear ,brother3-- ,i have been with ,harrington a week3 ,i am glad to say that ,i was under some erroneous impressions when ,i wrote my letter4 ,he is not a universal sceptic1--he is only a sceptic in relation to theological and ethical truth4 ,alas6 you will say1 it is an exception which embraces more than the general rule2 it little matters what else he believes4 ,true2 and yet there is consolation in it2 for otherwise it would have been impossible to hold intercourse with him at all4 ,if he had reasoned in order to prove to me that human reason cannot be trusted1 or ,i to convince one who affirmed its universal falsity1 it were hard to say whether he or ,i had been the greater fool4 ,your universal sceptic--if he choose to affect that character1--no man is it--is impregnable2 his true emblem is the hedgehog ensphered in his prickles2 that is1 as long as you are observing him4 ,for if you do not thus irritate his amour propre1 and put him on the defensive1 he will unroll himself4 ,speaking1 reasoning1 acting1 like the rest of the world1 on the implied truthfulness of the faculties whose falsity he affirms1 he will save you the trouble of confuting him1 by confuting himself4 ,and ,i am glad1 for another reason1 that ,harrington does not affect this universal scepticism3 for whereas1 by the confession of its greatest masters1 it is at best but the play of a subtle intellect1 so it does not afford a very flattering picture of an intellect that affects it4 ,i should have been mortified1 ,i confess1 had ,harrington been chargeable with such a foible4 ,it is true that1 in another aspect1 all this makes the case more desperate2 for his scepticism1 so far as it extends1 is deep and genuine2 it is no play of an ingenious subtilty1 nor the affectation of singularity with him2--and my prognostications of the misery which such a mind must feel from driving over the tempestuous ocean of life under bare poles1 without chart or compass1 are1 ,i can see1 verified4 ,one fact1 ,i confess1 gives me hopes1 and often affords me pleasure in listening to him4 ,he is an impartial doubter2 he doubts whether ,christianity be true2 but he also doubts whether it be false2 and1 either from his impatience of the theories which infidelity proposes in its place1 as inspiring yet stronger doubts1 or in revenge for the peace of which he has been robbed1 he never seems more at home than in ridiculing the confidence and conceit of that internal oracle1 which professes to solve the problems which1 it seems1 ,christianity leaves in darkness2 and in pushing the principles on which infidelity rejects the ,new ,testament to their legitimate conclusion4 ,i told you1 in general1 the origin and the progress of his scepticism4 ,i suspect there are causes 7perhaps not distinctly felt by him7 which have contributed to the result ,these1 it may be1 ,i shall never know2 but it is hardly possible not to suppose that some bitter experience has contributed to cloud1 thus portentously1 the brightness of his youth4 ,something1 ,i am confident1 in connection with his long residence abroad1 has tended to warp his young intellect from its straight growth4 ,the heart1 as usual1 has had to do with the logic2 and has been whispering reasons which the reason cannot comprehend4 ,i suspect that passionate hopes have been buried1--whether in the grave1 ,i know not4 ,i must add1 that an indirect and most potential cause1 not indeed of the origination1 yet of the continuance1 of his state of mind1 must be sought in what the world would call his good fortune4 ,his maiden aunt by the father's side left her favorite nephew her pleasant1 old-fashioned1 somewhat gloomy1 but picturesque and comfortable house in ---shire1 about fifty or sixty acres in land1 and three or four hundred a year into the bargain4 ,poor old lady6 ,i heartily wish she had kept him out of possession by living to a hundred2 or1 dying1 had left every farthing to endow a college or a--cat4 ,to ,harrington she has left a very equivocal heritage4 ,for with this and his little patrimony he is entirely placed above the necessity of professional life and fully qualified to live 7,heaven help him67 as a gentleman2--but1 unhappily1 as a gentleman whose nature is deeply speculative1--whose life has been one of study1--and who has no active tastes or habits to correct the morbid portions of his character1 and the dangers of his position4 ,with his views already unsettled1 he retired a few months ago to this comparative solitude2 7for such it is1 though the place is not many miles from the learned city of-----27 and partly from the tendencies of his own mind1 partly from want of some powerful stimulus from without1 he soon acquired the pernicious habit of almost constant seclusion in his library1 where he revolves1 as if fascinated1 the philosophy of doubt1 or some equally distressing themes2 all which has now issued as you see4 ,the contemplative and the active life are both necessary to man1 no doubt2 but in how different proportions6 ,to live as ,harrington has lived of late1 is to breathe little but azote4 ,i believe that all these ill effects would have been1 though not obviated1 at least early cured1 had he been compelled to mingle in active life1--to make his livelihood by a profession4 ,the bracing air of the world would have dissipated these vapors which have gathered over his soul4 ,in very truth1 ,i half wish that he could now be stripped of his all1 and compelled to become hedger and ditcher4 ,it would almost be a kindness to ruin him by engaging him in some of the worst railway speculations6 ,i found him all that ,i had promised to find him2 unchanged towards myself2 sometimes cheerful1 though oftener melancholy1 or1 at least1 to all appearances ennuye2 with more causticity and sarcasm in his humor1 but without misanthropy2 and ,i must add1 with the same logical fairness1 the same abhorrence of sophistry1 which1 were his early characteristics4 ,but the journal of my visit1 which ,i am most diligently keeping1 will more fully inform you of his state of mind4 ,f4,b4 ,,journal ,,of ,a ,,visit1 ,,etc4 ,july #a1 #ahea4 ,i arrived at ----,grange this day4 ,in the evening1 as ,harrington and myself were conversing in the library1 ,i availed myself of a pause in the conversation to break the ice in relation to the topic which lay nearest my heart1 by saying3-- ,and so you have become1 they tell me1 a universal sceptic8 ,not quite1 he replied1 throwing one of his feet over the edge of the sofa on which he was reclining and speaking rather dogmatically 7,i thought7 for a sceptic4 ,not quite3 but in relation to religion ,i certainly become convinced that certainty1 like pride1 was not made for man1 and that it is in vain for man to seek it4 ,i was amused at the contradiction of a certainty of universal uncertainty1 as well as at the discovery there was nothing to be discovered4 ,he noticed my smile1 and divined its cause4 ,forgive me1 he said1 that1 like you ,christians and believers of all sorts1 ,i sometimes find theory discordant with practice4 ,the generality of people are1 you know1 a little inconsistent with their creed2 suffer me to be so with mine4 ,i have no objection1 ,harrington1 in the world2 the more inconsistent you are1 the better ,i shall like you2 you have my free leave to be1 in relation to scepticism1 just what the ,antinomian is in relation to ,christianity or as true a sceptic as he was a true ,churchman who showed his good principles1 according to ,dr4 ,johnston1 by never passing a church without taking off his hat1 though he never went into it2 or even as ,falstaff1 who had forgotten 'what the inside of a church was made of4' ,i shall be contented indeed to see you as little attached to your no-truth1 as the generality of ,christians are to their truth4 ,i thank you1 said he1 a little sarcastically1 ,i doubt if ,i shall ever be able to reach so perfect a pitch of inconsistency4 ,but are you wise1 my dear uncle1 in this taunt8 ,what an argument have you suggested to me1 if ,i thought it worth while to make use of it6 ,how have you surrendered1 without once thinking of the consequences1 the practical power of ,christianity6 ,i began to fear that there would be a good deal of sharp-shooting between us4 ,i have surrendered nothing1 ,i replied4 ,if every thing is to be abandoned1 which1 though professedly the subject of man's conviction1 he fails to reduce to practice1 his creed will be short enough4 ,christianity1 however1 will be in no worse condition than morals1 the theory of which has ever been in lamentable advance of the practice4 ,and least of all can scepticism stand such it test1 of which you have just given a passing illustration4 ,of this system1 or rather no-system1 there has never been a consistent votary1 if we except ,pyrrho himself2 and whether he were not an insincere sceptic1 the world will always be most sincerely sceptical4 ,but forgive me my passing gibe4 ,in wishing you to be as inconsistent as nine tenths of ,christians are1 ,i did not mean to prejudice your arguments1 such as they are4 ,i know it is not in your power to be otherwise than inconsistent2 and ,i shall always have that argument against you1 so far as it is one4 ,and so far as it is one1 he replied1 ,i shall always have the same argument against you4 ,be it so1 ,i replied1 for the present3 ,i am unwilling to engage in polemical strife with you1 the very first evening on which ,i have seen you for so long a time4 ,i would much rather hear a chapter of your past travels and adventures1 which you know your few and brief letters--but ,i will not reproach you--left me in such ignorance of4 ,he complied with my request2 and in the course of conversation informed me of many circumstances which had formed steps in that slow gradation by which he had reached his present state of mind2 a state which he did not affect to conceal4 ,but still ,i felt sure there were other causes which he did not mention4 ,at length ,i said1 ,you must give me the title of an old friend1 --a father1 ,harrington1 ,i might almost say1--and the tears came into my eyes1--to talk hereafter fully with you of your so certain uncertainty about the only topics which supremely affect the happiness of man4 ,i told him1 and ,i spoke it in no idle compliment1 that ,i was convinced he was far enough from being one of those shallow fools who are inclined to scepticism because they shrink from the trouble of investigating the evidence2 who find so much to be said for this1 and much for that1 that they conclude that there is no truth1 simply because they are too indolent to seek it4 ,this1 said ,i1 is the plea of intellectual ,sybarites with whom you have nothing in common4 ,and as little do you sympathize with those dishonest1 though not always shallow thinkers1 who take refuge in alleged uncertainty of evidence1 because they are afraid of pursuing it to unwelcome conclusions2 who are sceptics on the most singular and inconsistent of all grounds1 presumption4 ,i know you are none of these4 ,i am1 ,i think1 none of these1 said he quietly4 ,you are not3 and your manner and countenance proclaim it yet more strongly than your words4 ,the only genuine effect of a sincere scepticism is and must be1 not the complacent and frivolous humor which too often attaches to it1 but a mournful confession of the melancholy condition to which1 if true1 the theory reduces the sceptic himself and all mankind4 ,of all the paradoxes humanity exhibits1 surely there are none more wonderful than the complacency with which scepticism often utters its doubts1 and the tranquillity which it boasts as the perfection of its system6 ,such a state of mind is utterly inconsistent with the genuine realization and true-hearted reception of the theory4 ,on such subjects such a creature as man cannot be in doubt1 and really feel his doubts1 without being anxious and miserable4 ,when ,i hear some youth telling me1 with a simpering face1 that he does not know1 or pretend to say1 whether there be a ,god1 or not1 or whether1 if there be1 ,he takes any interest in human affairs2 or whether1 if ,he does1 it much imports us to know2 or whether1 if ,he has revealed that knowledge1 it is possible or impossible for us to ascertain it2 when ,i hear him further saying1 that meantime he is disposed to make himself very easy in the midst of these uncertainties1 and to await the great revelation of the future with philosophical1 that is1 being interpreted1 with idiotic tranquillity1 ,i see that1 in point of fact1 he has never entered into the question at all2 that he has failed to realize the terrible moment of the questions 7however they may be decided7 of which he speaks with such amazing flippancy4 ,it is too often the result of thoughtlessness2 of a wish to get rid of truths unwelcome to the heart2 of a vain love of paradox1 or perhaps1 in many cases1 7as a friend of mine said17 of an amiable wish to frighten mammas and maiden aunts4 ,but let us be assured that a frivolous sceptic1--a sceptic indeed1--after duly pondering and feeling the doubts he professes to embrace1 is an impossibility4 ,what may be expected in the genuine sceptic is a modest hope that he may be mistaken1 a desire to be confuted2 a retention of his convictions as if they were a guilty secret2 or the promulgation of them only as the utterance of an agonized heart1 unable to suppress the language of its misery2 a dread of making proselytes1--even as men refrain from exposing their sores or plague-infected garments in the eyes of the world4 ,the least we can expect from him is that mood of mind which ,pascal so sublimely says becomes the ,atheist 444 ,is this1 then1 a thing to be said with gayety8 ,is it not rather a thing to be said with tears as the saddest thing in the world8 ,the current of conversation after a while1 somehow swept us round again to the point ,i had resolved to quit for this evening4 ,but since we are there1 said ,i1 ,i wish you would in brief tell me why1 when you doubted of ,christianity1 you did not stop at any of those harbours of refuge which1 in our time especially1 have been so plentifully provided for those who reject the ,new ,testament8 ,you are not ignorant1 ,i know1 of the writings of ,mr4 ,theodore ,parker1 and other modern ,deists4 ,how is it that none of them even transiently satisfied you8 ,an ingenious eclecticism founded on them has satisfied1 you see1 your old college friend1 ,george ,fellowes1 of whom ,i hear rare things4 ,he is far enough from being a sceptic1 ,why1 said he1 laughing1 it is quite true that ,george is not a sceptic1 ,he has believed more and disbelieved more1 and both one and the other for less reason1 than any other man ,i know4 ,he used to send me the strangest letters when ,i was abroad1 and almost every one presented him under some new phase4 ,no1 he is no sceptic4 ,if he has rejected almost every thing1 he has also embraced almost every thing2 at each point in his career1 his versatile faith has found him some system to replace that he had abandoned2 and he is now a dogmatist par excellence1 for he has adopted a theory of religion which formally abjures intellect and logic1 and is as sincerely abjured by them4 ,if the difficulties he has successively encountered had been seen all at once1 ,i fancy he would have been much where ,i am4 ,poor ,george6 ',sufficient unto the day1' with him1 is the theology 'thereof'6 ,i picture him to myself going out of a morning1 with his new theological dress upon him1 and1 chancing to meet with some friend1 who protests there is some thing or other not quite 'comme il faut1' he proceeds with infinite complacency to alter that portion of his attire2 the new costume is found equally obnoxious to the criticism of somebody else1 and off it goes like the rest4 ,this was a ludicrous1 but not untrue1 representation of ,george ,fellows's mind2 only the friend in the image must be supposed to mean his own wayward fancy2 for he is not particularly amenable 7though very amiable7 to external influences4 ,so dominant1 however1 is present feeling and impulse1 or so deficient is he in comprehensiveness1 that he often takes up with the most trumpery arguments2 that is1 for a few days at a time4 ,yet he does not want acuteness4 ,i have known him shine strongly 7as has been said of some one else7 upon an angle of a subject2 but he never sheds over its whole surface equable illumination4 ,where evidence is complicated and various1 and consists of many opposing or modifying elements1 he never troubles himself to compute the sum total1 and strike a fair balance4 ,he stands aghast in the presence of an objection which he cannot solve1 and loses all presence of mind in its contemplation4 ,he seldom considers whether there are not still greater objections on the other side1 nor how much farther1 if a principle be just1 it ought to carry him4 ,the mode in which he looks at a subject often reminds me of the way in which the eye1 according to metaphysicians1 surveys an extensive landscape4 ,it sees1 they say1 only a point at a time1 punctum visibile1 which is perpetually shifting2 and the impression of the whole is in fact a rapid combination1 by means of memory1 of perceptions all but coexistent2 if the attention be strongly fixed upon some one object1 the rest of the landscape comparatively fades from the view4 ,now ,george ,fellowes seemed to me1 in a survey of a large subject1 to have an incomparable faculty of seeing the minimum visibile1 and that so ardently1 that all the rest of the landscape vanished at the moment from his perceptions4 ,well1 said ,i1 smiling1 you must not blame him for his not reaching at once and per saltum your position4 ,he has been more deliberate in stripping himself4 ,yet he has come on pretty well4 ,you ought not to despair of him4 ,i wonder at what point he is now4 ,you may ask him to-morrow1 said he1 for ,i am expecting him here to spend a few weeks with me4 ,at whatever point he may be in these days of 'progress1' as they are called1 he does not know that ,i am already arrived at the ne plus ultra2 for my letters to him were yet briefer and rarer than to you3 and ,i never touched on these topics4 ,where would have been the use of asking counsel of such an oracle8 ,i said ,i should be glad to see him4 ,but ,i shall be still better pleased to hear from you1 why you are dissatisfied with any such system as his2 and especially why you say he ought in consistency to go much farther4 ,i am far from saying that my reasons will be satisfactory1 but ,i will endeavor1 if you wish it1 to justify my opinion4 ,i shall certainly expect no less1 replied ,i4 ,you are strangely altered1 if you are willing to assert without attempting to prove2 and if you were altered1 ,i am not4 ,when will you let me hear you8 ,o1 in a day or two1 when ,i have had time to put my thoughts on paper2 but1 if ,i mistake not1 some of the most important points will be discussed before that1 for ,fellowes1 ,i hear1 is a very knight-errant of 'spiritualism1' and it is a thousand to one but he attempts to convert me4 ,i intend to let him have full opportunity4 ,i hardly know1 said ,i4 ,harrington1 whether ,i wish him success or not4 ,but one thing1 surely1 all must admire in him3 ,i mean his candor4 ,what less than this can prompt him1 after abandoning with such extraordinary facility so many creeds and fragments of creeds1 after travelling round the whole circle of theology1 to confess with such charming simplicity the whole history of his mental revolutions1 and expose himself to the charge of unimaginable caprice1--of theological coquetry8 ,i protest to you that1 a priori1 ,i should have thought it impossible that any man could have made so many and such violent turns in so short a time without a dislocation of all the joints of his soul4--without incurring the danger of a 'universal anchylosis4' ,one would imagine1 said ,harrington1 with a laugh1 that1 in your estimate1 his mind resembles that ingenious toy by which the union of the various colored rays of light is illustrated3 the red1 the yellow1 the blue1 the green1 and so forth1 are distinctly painted on the compartments of a card3 but no sooner are they put into a state of rapid revolution than the whole appears white4 ,such1 it seems1 is the appearance of ,george ,fellowes in that rapid gyration to which he been subjected3 the part-colored rays of his various creeds are lost sight of and the pure white of his 'candor' is alone visible6 ,for myself1 said ,i1 ,i feel in some measure incompetent to pronounce on his present system4 ,when ,i saw him for a short time a few months ago1 he told that1 though his versatility of faith had certainly been great1 he must remind me 7as ,mr4 ,newman had said7 that he had seen both sides2 that persons like myself1 for example1 have had but one experience2 whereas he has had two4 ,if he were to urge me with such an argument1 replied ,harrington1 ,i should say we are even then4 ,but ,i think even you could reply3 ',you yourself injustice1 ,mr4 ,fellowes1 in saying you have had two experiences4 ,you have had two dozen1 at least2 but whether that can qualify you for speaking with any authority on these subjects ,i much doubt2 to give any weight to the opinions of any man some stability at least is necessary4' ,this ,i could not gainsay4 ,slow revolutions on momentous subjects1 when there has been much sobriety as well as diligence of investigation1 are1 perhaps1 not despised as authority4 ,some superior weight may even be attached to the later and maturer views4 ,but man changes them every other day2 if they rise and fall with the barometer2 if his whole life has been one rapid pirouette1 it is impossible with gravity to discuss the question1 whether at some point he may not have been right4 ,whoever be in the right1 he cannot well be who has never long been any thing2 and to take such a man for a guide would be almost as absurd as to mistake a weathercock for a signpost4 ,in seeking religious counsel of ,george ,fellows1 said ,harrington4 ,i should feel much as ,jeannie ,deans1 when she went to the ,interpreter's ,house4' as ,madge ,wildfire calls it1 in company with that fantastical personage4 ,but he is a kind-hearted1 amiable fellow1 and1 in short1 ,i cannot help liking him4 ,july #b4 ,mr4 ,fellowes arrived this day about noon4 ,he is about a year younger than ,harrington4 ,the afternoon was spent very pleasantly in general conversation4 ,in the evening1 after tea1 we went into the library4 ,i told the two friends that1 as they had doubtless much to talk of1 and as ,i had plenty of occupation for my pen1 ,i would sit down at an adjoining table with my desk1 and they might go on with their chat4 ,they did so1 and for some time talked of old college days and on indifferent subjects2 but my attention was soon irresistibly attracted by finding them getting into conversation in which1 on ,harrington's account1 ,i felt a deeper interest4 ,i found my employment impossible1 and yet1 desiring to hear them discuss their theological differences without constraint1 ,i did not venture to interrupt them4 ,at last the distraction became intolerable2 and1 looking up1 ,i said1 ,gentlemen1 ,i believe you might talk on the most private matters without my attending to one syllable you said2 but if you get upon these theological subjects1 such is my present interest in them1 glancing at ,harrington1 that ,i shall be perpetually making blunders in my manuscript4 ,let me beg of you to avoid them when ,i am with you1 or let me go into another room4 ,harrington would not hear of the last2 and as to the first he said1 and said truly1 that it would impede the free current of conversation1 which1 said he1 to be pleasurable at all1 must wind hither and thither as the fit takes us4 ,it is like a many-stringed lyre1 and to break any one of the chords is to mar the music4 ,and so1 my good uncle1 if you find us getting upon these topics1 join us2 we shall seldom be long at a time upon them4 ,i will answer for it2 or if you will not do that1 and yet1 though disturbed by our chatter1 are too polite to show it1 why1 amuse yourself 7,i know your old tachygraphic skill1 which used to move my wonder in childhood71 ,i say1 amuse yourself1 or rather avenge yourself1 by jotting down some fragments of our absurdities1 and afterwards showing us what a couple of fools we have been4 ,i was secretly delighted with the suggestion2 and1 when the subjects of dispute were very interesting1 threw aside my work1 whatever it was1 and reported them pretty copiously4 ,hence the completeness and accuracy of this admirable journal4 ,i cannot of course always1 or even often1 vouch for the ipsissima verba2 and some few explanatory sentences ,i have been obliged to add4 ,but the substance of the dialogues is faithfully given4 ,i need not say1 that they refer only to subjects of a theological and polemical nature4 ,i hardly know how the conversation took the turn it did on the present occasion2 but ,i think it was from ,mr4 ,fellowes's noticing ,harrington's pale looks1 and conjecturing all sorts of reasons for his occasional lapses into melancholy4 ,his friend hoped this and hoped that1 as usual4 ,harrington at last1 seeing his curiosity awakened1 and that he would go on conjecturing all sorts of things1 said1 ,to terminate your suspense1 be it known to that ,i am a bankrupt6 ,a bankrupt6 said the other1 with evident alarm2 you surely have not been so unwise as to risk recently acquired property1 or to speculate in---- ,you have hit it1 said ,harrington2 ,i have speculated far more deeply than you suppose4 ,the countenance of his friend lengthened visibly4 ,be not alarmed4 resumed ,harrington1 with a smile2 ,i mean that ,i have speculated a good deal in--philosophy1 and when ,i said ,i was a bankrupt1 ,i meant only that ,i was a bankrupt--in faith2 having become in fact1 since ,i saw you last1 thoroughly sceptical4 ,the countenance of ,fellowes contracted to its proper dimensions4 ,he looked even cheerful to find that his friend had merely lost his faith1 and not his fortune4 ,is that all8 said he1 ,i am heartily glad to hear it4 ,sceptic6 ,no1 no2 you must not be a sceptic either1 except for a time1 continued he1 musing very sagely4 ,it is no bad thing for a while3 for it at least leaves the house 'empty1 swept and garnished4' ,rather an unhappy application of your remnant of ,biblical knowledge1 said ,harrington2 ,i hope you do not intend to go on with the text4 ,no1 no1 my dear friend2 ,i warrant you we shall find you worthier guests than any such fragments of supposed revelation4 ,if you are in 'search of a religion1' how happy should ,i be to aid you6 ,i shall be infinitely obliged to you1 said ,harrington1 gravely2 for at present ,i do not know that ,i possess a farthing's worth of solid gold in the world4 ,ah6 that it were but in your power to lend me some3 but ,i fear 7he added half sarcastically7 that you have not got more than enough for yourself4 ,i assure you that ,i am far from happy4 ,he spoke with so much gravity1 that ,i hardly knew whether to attribute it to some intention of dissembling a little with his friend1 or to an involuntary expression of the experience of a mind that felt the sorrows of a genuine scepticism4 ,it might be both4 ,however1 it brought things to a crisis at once4 ,his college friend looked equally surprised and pleased at his appeal4 ,i trust1 said he1 with becoming solemnity1 that all this is merely a temporary reaction from having believed too much2 the languor and dejection which attend the morrow after a night's debauch4 ,i assure you that ,i rejoice rather than grieve to hear that you have curtailed your orthodoxy4 ,it has been just my own case1 as you know3 only ,i flatter myself1 that1 perhaps having less subtilty than you1 ,i have not passed the 'golden mean' between superstition and scepticism1--between believing too much and believing too little4 ,i looked up for a moment4 ,i saw a laugh in ,harrington's eyes1 but not a feature moved4 ,it passed away immediately4 ,i tell you1 said he1 that ,i believe absolutely no one religious dogma whatever2 while yet ,i would give worlds1 if ,i had them1 to set my foot upon a rock4 ,i should even be grateful to any one1 who1 if he did not give me truth1 gave me a phantom of it1 which ,i could mistake for reality4 ,he again spoke with an earnestness of tone and manner1 which convinced me that1 if there were any dissimulation1 it cost him little trouble4 ,if you merely meant1 said ,fellowes1 that you do not retain any vestige of your early 'historical' and 'dogmatical' ,christianity1 why1 ,i retain just as little of it4 ,indeed1 ,i doubt1 he continued1 with perhaps superfluous candor1 whether ,i ever was a ,christian2 and he seemed rather anxious to show that his creed had been nominal4 ,if it will save you the trouble of proving it4 said ,harrington1 ,i will liberally grant you both your premises and your conclusion1 without asking you to state the one or prove the other4 ,well1 then1 ,christian or no ,christian4 there was a time1 at all events1 when ,i was orthodox1 you will grant that2 when ,i should hate been willing to sign the ,thirty-nine ,articles3 or three hundred and thirty-nine2 or the ,confession of ,faith3 or any other compilation1 or all others2 though perhaps1 if strictly examined1 ,i might have been found in the condition of the infidel ,scotch professor1 who1 being asked on his appointment to his ,chair1 whether the ',confession of ,faith' contained all that he believed1 replied1 ',yes1 ,gentlemen1 and a great deal more4' ,i have rejected all 'creeds'2 and ,i have now found what the ,scripture calls that 'peace which passeth all understanding4' ,i am sure it passes mine1 said ,harrington1 if you really have found it1 and ,i should be much obliged to you if you would let me participate in the discovery4 ,yes1 said ,fellowes1 ,i have been delivered from the intolerable burden of all discussions as to dogma1 and all examinations of evidence4 ,i have escaped from the 'bondage of the letter1' and have been ,introduced into the 'liberty of the spirit4' ,your language1 at all events1 is richly ,scriptural1 said ,harrington2 it is as though you were determined not to leave the 'letter' of the ,scripture1 even if you renounce the 'spirit' of it4 ,renounce the spirit of it6 say rather1 that in fact ,i have only now discovered it4 ,though no ,christian in the ordinary sense1 ,i am1 ,i hope1 something better2 and a truer ,christian in the spirit than thousands of those in the letter4 ,letter and spirit6 my friend1 said ,harrington1 you puzzle me exceedingly2 you tell me one moment that you do not believe in historical ,christianity at all1 either its miracles or dogmas1--these are fables2 but in the next1 why1 no old ,puritan could garnish such discourse with a more edifying use of the language of ,scripture4 ,i suppose you will next tell me that you understand the 'spirit' of ,christianity better even than ,paul4 ,so ,i do1 said our visitor complacently1 ',paulo majora canamus'2 for after all he was but half delivered from his ,jewish prejudices2 and when he quitted nonsense of the ,old ,testament1--though in fact he never did thoroughly1--he evidently believed the fables of the ,new just as much as the pure truths which lie at the basis of 'spiritual' ,christianity4 ,we separate the dross of ,christianity from its fine gold4 ',the letter killeth1 but the spirit giveth life1'--'the fruit of the spirit is joy1 peace1' not--- ,upon my word1 said ,harrington1 laughing1 ,i shall begin to fancy presently that ,douce ,davie ,deans has turned infidel1 and shall expect to hear of 'right-hand failings off and left-hand defections4' ,but tell me1 if you would have me think you rational1 is not your meaning this3--that the ,new ,testament contains1 amidst an infinity of rubbish1 the statement of certain 'spiritual' truths which1 and which alone1 you recognize4 ,certainly4 ,but you do not acknowledge that these are derived from the ,new ,testament4 ,heaven forbid2 they are indigenous to the heart of man1 and are anterior to all ,testaments1 old or new4 ,very well2 then speak of them as your heart dictates1 and do not1 unless you would have the world think you a hypocrite1 willing to cajole it with the idea that you are a believer in the ,new ,testament1 while you in fact reject it1 or one of the most barren uninventive of all human beings1 or fanatically fond of mystical language1--do not1 ,i say1 affect this very unctuous way of talking4 ,and1 for another reason1 do not4 ,i beseech you1 adopt the phraseology of men who1 according to your view1 must surely have been either the most miserable fanatics or the most abominable impostors2 for if they believed all that system of miracle and doctrine they professed1 and this were not true1 they were certainly the first2 and if they did not believe it4 ,they were as certainly the second4 ,pardon me2 ,i believe them to have been eminently holy men1--full of spiritual wisdom and of a truly sublime faith1 though conjoined with much ignorance and credulity1 which it is unworthy of us to tolerate4 ,whether it could be ignorance and credulity on your theory1 retorted ,harrington1 is to my mind very doubtful4 ,whether any men can untruly affirm that they saw and did the things the ,apostles say they saw and did1 and yet be sincere fanatics1 ,i know not2 but even were it so1 since it shows 7as do also the mystical doctrines you reject as false7 that they could be little less than out of their senses2 and as you further say that the spiritual sentiments you retain in common with them were no gift of theirs1 but are yours and all mankind's1 by original inheritance1 uttered by the oracle of the human heart before any ,testaments were written1--why1 speak your thoughts in your own language4 ,ay1 but how do we know that these original ,christians said that they had seen and done the things you refer to8 which of course they never did see and do1 because they were miraculous4 ,how do we know what additions and corruptions as to fact1 and what disguises of mystical doctrine1 'the idealizing biographers and historians' 7as ,strauss truly calls them7 may have accumulated upon their simple utterances8 ,and how do you know1 then1 whether they ever uttered these simple 'utterances'8 or whether they are not part of the corruptions8 or how can you separate the one from the other8 or how can you ascertain these men meant what you mean1 when you thus vilely copy their language8 ,because ,i know these truths independently of ,bible1 to be sure4 ,then speak of them independently of the ,bible4 ,if you profess to have broken the stereotype-plates of the 'old revelation' and delivered mankind from their bondage1 do not proceed to express yourself only in fragments from them2 if you profess freedom of soul1 and the possession of the pure truth1 do not appear to be so poverty-stricken as to array your thoughts in the tatters of the cast-off ,bible4 ,ay1 but the 'saints' of the ,bible1 replied ,fellows1 are1 even by ,mr4 ,frank ,newman's own confession1 those who have entered1 after all1 most profoundly the truths of spiritual religion1 and stand almost alone in the history of the world in that respect4 ,if it be so1 it is certainly very odd1 considering the mountain-loads of folly1 error1 fable1 fiction1 from which their spiritual religion did not in your esteem defend them1 and which you say you are obliged to reject4 ,it is a phenomenon of which1 ,i think1 you are bound to give some account4 ,but what is there so wonderful in supposing them in possession of superior 'spiritual' advantages1 with mistaken history and fallacious logic1 and so forth8 ,why answered ,harrington1 one wonder is1 that they alone1 and amidst such gross errors1 should possess these spiritual advantages4 ,but it also appears to me that your notions of the 'spiritual' are not the same theirs1 for you reject the ,new ,testament dogmas as well as its history2 if so1 it is another reason for not misleading us by using language in deceptive senses4 ,but1 at all events1 ,i cannot help pitying your poverty of thought1 or poverty of expression1--one or both2 and ,i beg you1 for my sake1 if not for your own1 to express your thoughts as much as possible in your own terms1 and avail yourself less liberally of those of ,david and ,paul1 whose language ordinary ,christians will always associate with another meaning1 and can never believe you sincere in supposing that it rightfully expresses the doctrines of your most2 spiritual' infidelity4 ,they will certainly hear your ,scriptural and devout language with the same feelings with which they would nauseate that most oppressive of all odors1 --the faint scent of lavender in the chamber of death4 ,my good uncle here1 who cannot be prevailed upon to reject the ,bible will not1 ,i am sure1 hear you1 without supposing that you resemble those ,rationalists of whom ,menzel says1 ',these gentlemen smilingly taught their theological pupils that unbelief was the true apostolic1 primitive ,christian belief2 they put all their insipidities into ,christ's month1 and made him1 by means of their exegetical jugglery1 sometimes a ,kantian1 sometimes a ,hegelian1 sometimes one ian and sometimes another1 'wie es dem ,herrn ,professor beliebt'3 neither will he be able to imagine that you are not resorting to this artifice for the same purpose4 ',the ,bible1' says ,menzel1 'and their ,reason being incompatible1 why do they not let them remain separate8 ,why insist on harmonizing things which do not1 and never can harmonize8 ,it is because they are aware that the ,bible has authority with the people2 otherwise they would never trouble themselves about so troublesome a book4' ,i cannot suspect you of such hypocrisy2 but ,i must confess ,i regard your language as cant4 ,as ,i listen to you ,i seem to see a hybrid between ,prynne and ,voltaire4 ,so far from its being true that you have renounced the 'letter' of the ,bible and retained its 'spirit1' ,i think it would be much more correct to say1 comparing your infidel hypothesis with your most spiritual dialect1 that you have renounced the 'spirit' of the ,bible and retained its 'letter4' ,but are you in a condition to give an opinion8 said ,fellowes1 with a serious air4 ,mr4 ,newman says in a like case1 ',the natural man discerneth not things of the spirit of ,god1 because they are foolishness unto him'2 it is the 'spiritual man only who search the deep things of ,god4' ,at the same time ,i freely acknowledge that ,i never could see my way clear to employ an argument which looks so arrogant2 and the less1 as ,i believe1 with ,mr4 ,parker1 that the only revelation is in all men alike4 ,yet1 on the other hand1 ,i cannot doubt my own consciousness4 ,why1 no man doubts his own consciousness1 said ,harrington1 laughing4 ,the question is1 ,what is its value8 ,what is the criterion of universal 'spiritual truth1' if there be any8 ,those words in ,paul's mouth were well1 and had a meaning4 ,in yours1 ,i suspect they would have none1 or a very different one4 ,he dreamt that he was giving to mankind 7vainly1 as seems7 a system of doctrines and truths which were1 many of them1 transcendental to the human intellect and conscience1 and which when revealed were very distasteful 7and not least to you72 but the assertion of a spiritual monopoly would assuredly sound rather odd in one who professes1 if ,i understand you1 that has given to man 7for it is no discovery of any individual7 an internal and universal revelation6 ,but of your possible limitations of your universal spiritual revelation1--which all men 'naturally' possess1 but which the 'natural man' receiveth not1--we will talk after4 ,sceptic as ,i am1 ,i am not a sceptic who is reconciled to scepticism4 ,meantime1 you reject the ,bible in toto1 as an external revelation of ,god1 if ,i understand you4 ,in toto2 and ,i believe that it has received in this age its death-blow4 ,ay1 that is what the infidel has been always promising us2 meantime1 they somehow perish1 and it laughs at them4 ,you remember1 perhaps1 the words of old ,woolston1 so many fragments of whose criticism1 as those of many others1 have been incorporated by ,strauss4 ,he had1 as he elegantly expresses it1 'cut out such a piece of work for the ,boylean lectures as should hold them tug as long as the ministry of the letter should last'2 for he too1 you see1 masked his infidelity by a distinction between the 'letter' and the 'spirit1' though he applied the convenient terms in a totally different sense4 ,poor soul6 ,the fundamental principles of his infidelity are surrendered by ,strauss himself4 ,similarly1 a score of assailants of the ,bible have appeared and vanished since his day2 each proclaiming1 just as he himself went to the bottom1 that he had given the ,bible its death-blow6 ,somehow1 however1 that singular book continues to flourish1 to ,propagate itself1 to speak all languages1 to intermingle more and more with the literature of all civilized nations2 while mankind will not accept1 slaves as they are1 the intellectual freedom you offer them4 ,it is really very provoking2 of what use is it to destroy the ,bible so often1 when it lives the next minute8 ,i have little doubt your new attempts will end just like the labors of the ,rationalists of the ,paulus school1 so graphically described by the ,german writer whom ,i have already referred to4 ',it is sad1 no doubt1' says he1 or something to the same effect1 'that1 after fifty years' exegetical grubbing1 weeding1 and pruning at 'the mighty primitive forest of the ,bible1 the next generation should persist in saying that the ,rationalist had destroyed the forest only in his own addled imagination1 and that it is just as it was4' ,yes2 but the new weapons will not be so easily evaded as those of a past age4 ,will they not8 ,we shall see4 ,you must not prophesy2 in that1 you know1 you do not believe4 ,no2 but nevertheless we shall see so-called sacred dogma and history exploded1 for ,mr4 ,newman-- ,thinks so1 of course2 and he must be right1 because he has never been known to be wrong in any of his judgments1 or even to vary in them4 ,but we have had enough1 ,i think1 of these subjects this evening1 and it is too bad to give you only a controversial welcome4 ,i want to have some conversation with you about very different things1 and more pleasant just now4 ,we shall have plenty of opportunity to discuss theological points4 ,to this ,fellowes assented3 they resumed general conversation1 and ,i finished my letters4 ---- ,july #c4 ,we were all sitting1 as on the previous day1 in the library4 ,book-faith6 ,i heard ,harrington say1 laughing2 why1 as to that ,i must needs acknowledge that the whole school of ,deism1 'rational' or 'spiritual1' have the least reason in the world to indulge in sneers at book-faith2 for1 upon my word1 their faith has consisted in little else4 ,their systems are parchment religions1 my friend1 all of them2--books1 books1 for ever1 from ,lord ,herbert's time downwards1 are all they have yet given to the world4 ,they have ever been boastful and loud-tongued1 but have done nothing2 there are no great social efforts1 no organizations1 no practical projects1 whether successful or futile1 to which they can point4 ,the old 'book-faiths' which you venture to ridicule have been something at all events2 and1 in truth1 ,i can find no other 'faith' than what is somehow or other attached to a 'book1' which has been any thing influential4 ,the ,vedas1 the ,koran1 the ,old ,testament ,scriptures1-- those of the ,new1--over how many millions have these all reigned6 ,whether their supremacy be right or wrong1 their doctrine true or false1 is another question2 but your faith1 which has been book-faith and lip-service par excellence1 has done nothing that ,i can discover4 ,one after another of your infidel ,reformers passes away1 and leaves no trace behind1 except a quantity of crumbling 'book-faith4' ,you have always been just on the eve of extinguishing supernatural fables1 dogmas1 and superstitions1--and then regenerating the world6 ,alas6 the meanest superstition that crawls laughs at you2 and1 false as it may be1 is still stronger than you4 ,and your sect1 retorted ,fellowes1 rather warmly1 if you come to that1 is it not the smallest of all8 ,is that likely to find favor in the eyes of mankind8 ,why1 no1 said ,harrington1 with provoking coolness2 but then it makes no pretensions to any thing of the kind4 ,it were strange if it did2 for as the sceptic doubts if any truth can be certainly attained by man on those subjects on which the 'rational' or the 'spiritual' deist dogmatizes1 it of course professes to be incapable of constructing any thing4 ,and does construct nothing1 retorted ,fellowes4 ,very true1 said ,harrington1 and therein keeps its word2 which is more1 ,i fear1 than can be said with your more ambitious spiritualists1 who profess to construct1 and do not4 ,but you must give the school of spiritualism time3 it is only just born4 ,you seem to me to be confounding the school of the old1 dry1 logical deism with the young1 fresh1 vigorous1 earnest school' which appeals to 'insight' and 'intuition4' ,no1 said ,harrington1 ,i think ,i do not confound4 ,the first and the best of our ,english deists derived his system as immediately from intuitions as ,mr4 ,parker or you4 ,you know how it sped--or1 if you do not1 you may easily discover--with his successors3 they continually disputed about it1 curtailed it1 added to it1 altered it1 agreed in nothing but the author's rejection of ,christianity1 and forgot more and more the decency of his style4 ,so will it be with your ,mr4 ,newman and his successors4 ,they will acquiesce in his rejection ,christianity2 depend upon it1 in nothing more4 ,he may get his admirers to abandon the ,bible1 but they will have naught to do with the 'loves1 and joys1 and sorrows1 and raptures1 which he describes in the ',soul'2 they would just as soon read the ',canticles4' ,i really cannot admit1 said ,fellowes1 that we modern spiritualists are to be confounded with ,lord ,herbert4 ,not confounded with him1 certainly1 replied ,harrington1 but identified with him you may be2 except to be sure1 that he was convinced of the immortality of man as one of the few articles of all religion2 while many of you deny1 or doubt it4 ,the doctrines-- ,call them sentiments1 rather2 ,i like that term better4 ,o1 certainly1 if you prefer it2 only be pleased to observe that a sentiment felt is a fact1 and a fact is a truth1 and a truth may surely be expressed in a proposition4 ,that is all ,i am anxious about at present4 ,if so far1 at least1 we may not patch up the divorce which ,mr4 ,newman has pronounced between the 'intellect and the 'soul1' it is of no use for us to talk about the matter4 ,i say that ,lord ,herbert's articles-- ,there again1 'articles1' said ,fellowes2 ,i hate the word2 ,i could almost imagine that you were going to recite the formidable ,thirty-nine4 ,rather1 from your outcry1 one would suppose ,i was about to inflict the forty save one3 but do not be alarmed4 ,the articles neither of ,lord ,herbert's creed nor of your own1 ,i suspect1 are thirty-nine1 or any thing like it4 ,the catalogue will be soon exhausted4 ,here again1 'creed'3 ,i detest the word4 ,we have no creed4 ,your very language chills me4 ,it reminds me of the dry orthodoxy of the 'letter1' 'logical processes1' 'intellectual propositions1' and so forth4 ,speak of 'spiritual truths' and 'sentiments1' which are the product of immediate 'insight1' of 'an insight into ,god1' a 'spontaneous impression on the gazing soul1' to adopt ,mr4 ,newman's beautiful expressions1 and ,i shall understand you4 ,i am afraid ,i shall hardly understand myself then1 cried ,harrington4 ,but let us not be scared by mere words1 nor go into hysterics at the sound of 'logic' and 'creed1' lest 'sentimental spirituality' be found1 like some other 'sentimental' things1 a bundle of senseless affectations4 ,but you forget that there is all the difference in the world between ,herbert and his deistical successors4 ,they connected religion with the 'intellectual and sensational1' and we with the 'instinctive and emotional' sides of human nature4 ,if you think1 said the other1 7the substance of your religious system being1 as ,i believe1 precisely the same as that of ,lord ,herbert and the better deists17 that you can make it more effective than it has been in the past1 by conjuring with the words 'sensational and intellectual1' 'instinctive and emotional1' or that the mixture of chalk and water will be more potent with one label than with the other1 ,i fancy you will find yourself deceived4 ,the distinctions you refer to have to do with the theory of the subject1 and will make din enough1 no doubt1 among such as ,mr4 ,newman and yourself2 but mankind at large will be unable even to enter into the meaning of your refinements4 ,they will say briefly and bluntly1 ',what are the truths1 whether1 as ,lord ,herbert says1 they are innate1 or1 as you say1 spiritual intuitions1 7we care nothing for the phraseology of either or both of you17 which are to be admitted by universal humanity1 and to be influential over the heart and conscience8' ,now1 ,i suspect that1 when you come to the enumeration of these truths1 your system and that of ,lord ,herbert will be found the same2 only as regards the immortality of the soul his tone is firmer than perhaps ,i shall find yours4 ,but ,i admit the policy of a change of name3 ',rationalist' and ',deist' have a bad sound2 ',spiritualist' is a better nom de guerre for the present4 ,we shall never understand one another1 said ,fellowes3 the spiritual man-- ,pshaw6 said ,harrington2 you can immediately bring the matter to the test by telling me what you maintain1 and then ,i shall know whether your system is or is not identical with ,lord ,herbert's2 or rather tell me what you do not believe1 and let us come to it that way4 ,do you believe a single shred of any of the supernatural narratives of the ,old and ,new ,testament8 ,no1 said ,fellowes2 a thousand times no4 ,very well1 that gets rid of at least four sevenths of the ,bible4 ,do you believe in the ,trinity1 the ,atonement1 the ,resurrection of ,christ1 in a general ,resurrection1 in the ,day of ,judgment8 ,no1 not in one of them1 said ,fellowes2 not in a particle of one of them4 ,pretty well again4 ,you reject1 then1 the characteristic doctrines of ,christianity8 ,not one of them1 was the answer4 ,we are indeed in danger of misunderstanding one another1 said ,harrington4 ,but tell me1 is it not your boast1 as of ,mr4 ,parker1 that the truths which are essential to religion are not peculiar to ,christianity1 but are involved in all religions8 ,assuredly4 ,if ,i were to ask you what were the essential attributes of a man1 would you assign those which he had in common with a pig8 ,certainly not4 ,but if ,i asked you what were those of an animal1 ,i presume you would give those which both species possessed1 and none that either possessed exclusively4 ,i should4 ,need ,i add1 then1 that you are deceiving yourself when you say that you believe all the characteristic doctrines of ,christianity1 since you say that you believe only those which it has in common with every religion8 ,if ,i were to ask you what doctrines are essential to constitute any religion1 then you would do well to enumerate those which belong to ,christianity and every other4 ,but when we talk of the doctrines peculiar to ,christianity1 we mean those which discriminate it from every other1 and not those which are common to it with them4 ,but however1 said ,fellowes1 none of the doctrines you have enumerated are a part of ,christianity1 but are mere additions of imposture or fanaticism4 ,then what are the doctrines which1 though common to every other religion1 are characteristic of it8 ,what is left that is essential or peculiar to ,christianity1 when you have denuded it of all that you reject8 ,is it not then assimilated1 by your own confession1 to every other religion8 ,how shall we discriminate them8 ,by this1 perhaps1 said ,fellowes1 7for ,i acknowledge some difficulty here17 that ,christianity contains these truths of absolute religion alone and pure4 ,as ,mr4 ,parker says1 ,this is the glory of genuine ,christianity4 ,do you not see that this is the very question1--you yourself being obliged to reject nine tenths of the statements in the only records in which we know anything about it8 ,might not an ancient priest of ,jupiter say the same of his religion1 by first divesting it of all but that which you say it had in common with every other8 ,however1 let us now look at the positive side4 ,what is the residuum which you condescend to leave to your genuine ,christianity8 ,christianity1 said ,fellowes1 rather pompously1 is not so much a system as a discipline1--not a creed1 but a life3 in short1 a divine philosophy4 ,all which ,i have heard from all sorts of ,christianity a thousand times1 cried ,harrington2 and it is delightfully vague2 it may mean any thing or nothing4 ,but the truths1 the truths1 what are they1 my friend8 ,i see ,i must get them from you by fragments4 ,your faith includes1 ,i presume1 a belief in one ,supreme ,god1 who is a ,divine ,personality2 in the duty of reverencing1 loving1 and obeying him1--whether you know how that is to be done or not2 that we must repent of our sins1--if indeed we duly know what things are sins in his sight2 that he will certainly forgive to any extent on such repentance1 without any mediation2 that perhaps there is a heaven hereafter2 but that it is very doubtful if there are any punishments4 ,i do believe1 said ,fellowes1 these are the cardinal doctrines of the ',absolute ,religion1' as ,mr4 ,parker calls it4 ,nor can ,i conceive that any others are necessary4 ,well1 said ,harrington1 with the exception of the immortality of the soul1 on which ,lord ,herbert has the advantage of speaking a little more firmly1 the ,deists and such 'spiritualists' as you are assuredly identical4 ,i have simply abridged his articles4 ,the same project as yours spiritualism' or 'naturalism1' in all its essential features1 has been often tried before1 and found wanting2 that is1 of guaranteeing to man a sufficient and infallible internal oracle1 independent of all aid from external revelation1 and of proving that he has1 in effect1 possessed and enjoyed it always2 only that1 by a slight inadvertence 7,i suppose71 he did not know it4 ,the theory1 indeed1 is rather suspiciously confined to those who have previously had the ,bible4 ,no such plenary confidence is found in the ancient heathen philosophers1 who1 in many not obscure places1 acknowledge that the path of mortal man1 by his internal light1 is a little dim4 ,many1 therefore1 say1 that the ',naturalists' and ',spiritualists' are but plagiarists from the ,bible1 and of course1 like other plagiarists1 depreciate the sources from which they have stolen their treasures4 ,i think unjustly2 for1 whatever their obligations to that mutilated volume1 ,i acknowledge they have transformed ,christianity quite sufficiently to entitle themselves to the praise of originality2 and if the ,battle of the ,books were to be fought over again1 ,i doubt whether ,moses or ,paul would think it worth while to make any other answer than that of ,plato in that witty piece1 to the ,grub ,street author1 who boasted that he had not been in the slighest deuce indebted to the classics3 ,plato declared that1 upon his honor1 he believed him6 ,whether the successors of the ,herberts and ,tindals of a former day are not plagiarists from them1 is another question1 and depends entirely upon whether the writings of their predecessors are sufficiently known to them4 ,probably1 the hopeless oblivion which1 for the most part1 covers them 7for the perverse world has been again and again assured of its infallible internal light1 and has persisted in denying that it has it7 will protect our modern authors from the imputation of plagiarism2 but that the systems in question are essentially identical can hardly admit of doubt4 ,the principal difference is as to the organon by which the revelation affirmed to be internal and universal is apprehended2 it affects the metaphysics of the question1 and1 like all metaphysics1 is characteristically dark4 ,but about this you will not get the mass of mankind to1 any more than you can get yourselves to agree2 no1 nor will you agree even about the system itself4 ,nay1 you modern spiritualists1 just as the elder deists1 are already quarrelling about it4 ,in short1 the universal light in man's soul flickers and wavers most abominably4 ,i see1 said ,fellowes1 you are profoundly prejudiced against the spiritualists4 ,i believe not1 said ,harrington2 the worst ,i wish them is that they may be honest men1 and appear what they really are4 ,i suppose next1 exclaimed the other1 you will attribute to the modern spiritualists the scurrility of the elder deists1--of ,woolston1 ,tindal1 and ,collins8 ,no1 said ,harrington1 ,i answer no2 nor do ,i 7remember7 compare ,lord ,herbert in these respects with his successors4 ,he was an amiable enthusiast2 in many respects resembling ,mr4 ,newman himself4 ,do you remember1 by the way1 how that most reasonable rejecter of all 'external' revelation prayed that he might be directed by ,heaven whether he should publish or not publish his 'book'8 about which1 if ,heaven was very solicitous1 this world has since been very indifferent4 ,having distinctly heard 'a sound as of thunder1' on a very 'calm and serene day1' he immediately received it as a preternatural answer to prayer1 and an indubitable sign of ,heaven's concurrence'4 ,no such taint of superstition1 however1 will be found clinging to ,mr4 ,newman4 ,he has most thoroughly abjured all notion of an external revelation2 nay1 he denies the possibility of a 'book-revelation of spiritual and moral truth'2 and ,i am confident that his dilemma on that point is unassailable4 ,be it so1 answered ,harrington2 you will readily suppose ,i am not inclined to contest that point very vigorously2 yet ,i confess that1 as usual1 my inveterate scepticism leaves me in some doubts4 ,will you assist me in resolving them8--but not to-night2 let us have a little more talk about old college days1--or what say you to a game at chess8 ,july #d4 ,i thought this day would have passed off entirely without polemics2 but ,i was mistaken4 ,in the evening ,harrington1 after a very cheerful morning1 relapsed into one of his pensive moods4 ,conversation flagged2 at last ,i heard ,fellowes say1 ,i have this advantage of you1 my friend1 that my sentiments have1 at all events1 produced that peace of which you are in quest1 and which your countenance at times too plainly declares you not to possess4 ,if you had it1 you would not take so gloomy a view of things4 ,like him from whom ,i have derived some of my sentiments1 ,i have found that they tend to make me a happier man4 ,the ,christian1 like yourself1 looks upon every thing with a jaundiced or distorted eye1 and is apt to underrate the claims and pleasures of this present scene of our existence4 ,i can truly say that ,i now enter into them much more keenly than ,i could when ,i was an orthodox ,christian4 ,i can say with ,mr4 ,newman1 ,i now1 with deliberate approval1 'love the world and the things of the world4' ,the ,new ,testament1 as ,mr4 ,newman says1 bids us watch perpetually1 not knowing whether the ,lord will return at cock-crowing or midday2 'that the only thing worth spending one's energies on1 is the forwarding of men's salvation4' ,now ,i must say with him1 that1 while ,i believed this1 ,i acted an eccentric and unprofitable part4 ,only then8 said ,harrington4 ,you were fortunate4 ,he says1 that to teach the certain speedy destruction of earthly things1 as the ,new ,testament does1 is to cut the sinews of all earthly progress2 to declare against intellect and imagination1 against industrial and social advancement4 ,my gravity was hardly equal to the task of listening to the first part of ,mr4 ,fellowes's speech4 ,to hear that the common and just reproach against all mankind1 but especially against all ,christians1 of taking too keen an interest in the present1 was in a large measure at least founded upon a mistake2 to find1 in fact1 that there was some danger of an excessive exaggeration of the claims of the future1 which required a corrective2 that the ,christian world1 owing to the above pernicious doctrine1 might possibly evince too faint a relish for the pleasures or too diminished an estimate for the advantages of the present life2 that1 their treasure being in heaven1 it was not impossible but their heart might be too much there also1--there1 perhaps1 when it was imperatively demanded in the counting-house1 on the hustings1 at the mart or the theatre2 all this1 being1 as ,i say1 so notoriously contrary to ordinary opinion and experience1 seemed to me so exquisitely ludicrous that ,i could hardly help bursting into laughter1 especially as ,i imagined one of our new spiritual doctors ascending the pulpit under the new dispensation1 to indulge in exhortations to a keener chase1 of this world1 and the things of this world4 ,i found afterwards similar thoughts were passing through ,harrington's mind1 rendered more whimsical by the recollection that1 during college life1 his friend 7though very far from vicious7 had certainly never seemed to take any deficient interest in the affairs of this world1 nor to exhibit any predilection for an ascetic life4 ,indeed1 he acknowledged that1 after all1 he could not sympathize with ,mr4 ,newman's extreme sensitiveness in relation to this matter4 7,see ,phases1 p4 #bje47 ,harrington answered1 with proper gravity1 ,i am glad to find that any undue austerity of character--of which1 however1 ,i assure you1 upon my honor1 ,i never suspected you--has received so invaluable a corrective4 ,still1 it is obvious to remark1 that1 if the chief effect of this new style of religion is to abate any excessive antipathy which the ,new ,testament has fostered1 or was likely to foster1 to the attractions of this life1 it has1 ,i conceive1 an easy task4 ,i never remarked in ,christians any superfluous contempt of the present world or its pleasures2 any indication of an extravagant admiration of any sublimer objects of pursuit4 ,in truth1 the tendencies of human nature1 as it appears to me1 are so strong the other way1 that the strongest language of a hundred ,new ,testaments would be little heeded4 ,your corrective is something like that of a moralist who should seriously prove that man was to take care that his appetites and passions are duly indulged1 of which ethical writers have1 alas6 condescended to say but little1 supposing that every body would feel that there was no need of solemn counsels on such a subject4 ,it reminds one of the ,christmas sermon mentioned in the ',sketch ,book1' preached by the good little antiquarian who elaborately proved1 and pathetically enforced on reluctant auditors1 the duty of a proper devotion to the festivities of the season4 ,however1 every one must like the complexion of your theology1 though its counsels on this subject do not seem to me of urgent necessity4 ,perhaps1 said ,fellowes1 ,i ought rather to have said that ,christians inculcate1 theoretically1 a contempt of the present life1 while1 practically1 they enter as keenly into its pleasures as the 'worldling1'--uttering the last word with an approach to a sneer4 ,you may be sure1 said ,harrington1 ,i shall leave the ,christian to defend himself2 but if the case be as you now represent it1 your new religious system seems to be superfluous as a corrective of any tendencies to ,christian asceticism1 and can do nothing for us4 ,it appears that your ,reformation was begun and ended before your 'spiritual' ,luthers appeared4 ,not so1 said ,fellowes1 for the eagerness with which the ,christian pursues the world1 while he condemns it1 is1 as ,mr4 ,greg has recently insisted1 gigantic hypocrisy'3 it is founded on a lie4 ,they say this world is not to be the great object for which we are to live and in which we are to find our happiness2 we say it is3 they say it is not our 'country' or our 'home'2 we say it is3 they say that we are to live supremely for the future1 and in it2 we say1 for and in the present2 that if there be a future world 7of which many doubt1 and ,i1 for one1 have not been able to make up my mind71 we are to hope to be happy there1 but that the main business is to secure our happiness here1--to embellish1 adorn1 and enjoy this our only certain dwelling-place1--and1 in fact1 to live supremely for the present4 ,such is the constitution of human nature4 ,i shall not be at the trouble1 replied ,harrington1 to defend the inconsistencies of the ,christian2 but your system1 ,i fear1 is essentially a brutal theology1 and1 ,i am certain1 a false philosophy4 ,all the analogies of our nature cry out against it4 ,all1 even with regard to the 'present1' as you call this life1 man is perpetually living for and in the future4 ,this 'present' 7minute as it is7 is itself broken up into many futures1 and it is these which man truly lives for1 when he is not a beast2 and not for the passing hour4 ,it is not to-day1 it is always to-morrow1 on which his eye is fixed2 and his ever-repining nature perpetually confesses its impatient want of something 7it knows not what7 to come4 ,the child lives for his youth1 and the youth is discontented till he is a man2 every attainment and every possession pails as soon as it is reached1 and we still sigh for something that we have not4 ,it is simply in analogy with all this that the ,christian and every other religion says 7absurdly1 if you will1 but certainly with a deeper knowledge of human nature than you71 that1 as every little present has its little future for which we live1 so the whole present of this life has its great future1 which must1 all the way through1 be made the supreme object of forethought and solicitude2 just as we should despise any man who1 for a moment's gratification to-day1 perilled the happiness of the whole of to-morrow4 ,if ,christians are inconsistent in this respect1 that is their affair2 but ,i am sure their theory is more in accordance with the constitution of human nature than yours4 ,he might have added1 that there is nothing in the ,new ,testament which forbids to ,christians any of the innocent pleasures of this life3 the ,christian may lawfully appropriate them4 ,his system does not constrain him to hermit-like austerity or ,puritanic grimace4 ,he may enjoy them1 just as a wise man1 who will not sacrifice any of the interests of next year for a transient gratification of the passing hour1 does not deny himself any legitimate pleasure which is not inconsistent with the more momentous interest4 ,the pilgrim drinks and rests at the fountain though he does not dream of setting up his tent there4 ,nay1 said ,fellowes1 but think again of the 'gigantic lie' of making the future world the supreme object1 and yet living wholly for this4 ,if that be the case1 said ,i1 joining in their talk1 there is no doubt a 'gigantic lie' somewhere2 but the question is1 ,who tells it8 ,it does not follow that it is ,christianity4 ,you may see every day men nay1 losing1 some important advantages by loitering away the very hour which is to secure them1--in reading a novel1 enjoying a social hour1 lying in bed1 and what not4 ,you do not conclude that the man's estimate of the future--his philosophy of that--is any the more questionable for this folly8 ,the ruthless future comes and makes his heart ache2 and so may it be with ,christianity for aught any such considerations imply4 ,your argument only proves that1 if ,christianity be true1 man is an inconsistent fool2 and1 in my judgment1 that was proved long before ,christianity was born or thought of4 ,your theology1 cried ,harrington1 fairly carried out1 would lead most men to the ',epicurean sty' which1 sceptic as ,i am1 ,i loathe the thought of2 it deserves the rebuke which ,johnson gave the man who pleaded for a 'natural and savage condition1' as he called it4 ',sir1' said the ,doctor1 'it is a brutal doctrine2 a bull might as well say1 ,i have this grass and this cow1--and what can a creature want more8' ,no1 ,i am sure that the ,christian or any other religionist--inconsistent though he is--appeals in this point deeper analogies of our nature than you4 ,but the fact is1 said ,fellowes1 that the ,christian depreciates the innocent pleasures of this life4 ,and my uncle would say it is his own fault then4 ,nay1 but hear me4 ,i conceive that nothing could be more natural1 as several of our writers have remarked1 than the injunctions of the ,apostles to the primitive ,christians to despise the world1 and so forth1 under the impression of that great mistake they had fallen into1 that the world was about to tumble to pieces1 and---- ,i am not sure1 said ,harrington1 who seemed resolved to evince a scepticism provoking enough1 that they did make the mistake1 on your principles4 ,for ,i know not1 nor you either1 whether the expressions on which you found the supposition be not amongst the voluminous additions with which you are pleased to suppose their simple and genuine 'utterances' have been corrupted4 ,but1 leaving you to discuss that point1 if you like1 with my uncle here1 ,i must deny that the mistake1 supposing it one1 makes any thing in relation to our present discussion4 ,you say that the ,apostles did well and naturally to inculcate a light grasp on the world1 on the supposition that it was about to pass away2 and therefore1 ,i suppose1 you 7under a similar impression7 would do the same2 if so1 ought you not still to do it8 for can it make any conceivable difference to the wisdom or the folly of such exhortations1 whether the world passes away from us1 or we pass away from the world8-- whether it 'tumbles to pieces1' as you express it1 or 7which is too certain7 we tumble to pieces8 ,i think1 therefore1 your same comfortable theology cannot be justified1 if you justify the conduct of the ,apostles under their impression1 let it be ever so erroneous4 ,you ought to feel the same sentiments2 you being1 to all practical purposes1 under a precisely similar impression4 ,fellowes looked as if he were a little vexed at having thus hypothetically justified the conduct of the ,apostles4 ,but he was not without his answer1 adopted from ,mr4 ,newman4 ,yes1 said he1 practically1 no doubt1 death is the end of the world to us2 but to urge this1--what is it1 as ,mr4 ,newman says1 but abominable selfishness preached as religion'8 ,if we are to labor for posterity1 will not our work remain1 though we die8 ,but if the world is to perish in fifty years1 or a century1 what then8 ,far be it from me1 said ,harrington1 to compete with your spiritual philanthropy1 which1 doubtless1 will not be content to work unless under a lease of a million of years4 ,i suppose even if you thought the would come to an end in a hundred years1 7and really ,i have no proof that the ,apostles thought it would end sooner1--they spoke of their death as coming first17 you would not think it worth while to do any thing2 the welfare of your children and grandchildren would appear far too paltry for so ambitious a benevolence as yours6 ,most people--,christians1 sceptics1 or otherwise--are contented to aim at the welfare of his generation and the next1 and think as little of their great-great-grandchildren as of their great-great-grandfathers4 ,that little vista terminates the projects of their philanthropy1 just as their own death is to them the end of the world4 ,meantime1 it appears1 you would be tempted to neglect the practical little you could do1 because you could not do more than for a century or so6 ,pray1 which is really the more benevolent8 ,moreover1 as not one man in a million can or does think of benefiting any but his immediate generation1 you ought1 upon your principles1 still to sit down inactive2 for they for whom alone you can work will soon pass away too4 ,but the whole argument is too refined4 ,no mortal-- except you or ,mr4 ,newman--would be wrought upon by it4 ,well1 but1 said ,fellowes1 as to the mistake of the ,apostles1 there can be no doubt of that2 it really appears to me grossly disingenuous--looking towards me--to deny it4 ,what do you say1 ,mr4 ,b48 repeating his assertion that the ,apostles clearly thought that the end of the world was close at hand1--in fact1 that it would happen in their generation4 ,i told him ,i was afraid ,i must run the risk of appearing in his eyes grossly disingenuous2 not that ,i deemed it necessary to maintain that the ,apostles had any idea of the period of time which was to intervene between the first promulgation of the ,gospel and the consummation of all things2 for when ,i found our ,lord himself acknowledging1 ,of that day and that hour knoweth no man1 not even the angels1 nor even the ,son1 but the ,father only1 ,i could not wonder that the ,apostles were left to mere conjectures on a subject which was then veiled even from his humanity4 ,i said ,i even thought it probable that their vivid feeling anticipated the day1--that the interval between1 so to speak1 was foreshortened to them2 but that ,i could not see how the question of their inspiration1 or the truth of ,christianity1 was at all involved in their ignorance on that point2 unless1 indeed1 it could be proved that they had positively stated that the predicted event would take place in their own time4 ,this1 ,i acknowledged1 ,i could not find1--but much to the contrary2 that the charge1 indeed1 had been so often repeated by the infidel school1 that they had persuaded themselves of it1 and spoke of it as if it were a decided point2 but that as long as the second ,epistle of ,st4 ,paul to the ,thessalonians remained1 in which the ,apostle expressly corrected misapprehensions similar to those which infidelity still professes to found on the first ,epistle1 ,i should continue to doubt whether ,paul did not know his own mind better than his modern commentators4 ,i told him that we do not hear that the ,thessalonians persisted in believing that they had rightly interpreted ,paul's words after he had himself disowned the meaning they had put upon them2 that this was a degree of assurance only possible to modern critics2 and that ,i was surprised that ,mr4 ,newman should have quietly assumed the alleged mistake in his ,phases of ,faith1 without thinking it worth while even to state the opposing argument from the ,second ,epistle4 ,i added1 that the repeated references which both ,paul and ,peter make to their own deaths1 as certain to take place before the dissolution of all things1 sufficiently prove that1 however their view of the future might be contracted1 they did not expect the world to end in their day1 and ought to have silenced the perverse criticism on the popular expression1 ,then we which are alive and remain1 c4 ,having briefly stated my opinion1 ,fellowes said he saw that he and ,i were as little likely to agree as ,harrington and he4 ,however1 he continued1 turning to his friend1 to go back to the point from which we digressed4 ,my new faith1 at all events1 makes me happy1 which it is plain--too plain--that your want of all faith does not make you4 ,whether it is your new faith1 said the other1 makes you happy1 --whether you were not as happy in your old faith--whether there are not thousands of ,christians who are as happy with their faith 7they would say much happier1 and ,i should say so too1 if they not only say they believe it1 but believe it and practise it471 ,i will not inquire2 that my want of faith does not make me happy is a sad truth1 which ,i do not think it worth while to deny2 though ,i must confess that there have been many who have shared in my scepticism who have not shared in my misery4 ,it is just because they have not realized what they did not believe2 even as there are thousands of soi-disant ,christians who do not realize what they say they do believe2 neither the one nor the other are the happier or the more sorrowful for their pretended tenets4 ,this is simply because they stand in no need of the admirable correctives supplied by your new theology2 the present engrosses their solicitudes and affections2 and the mere talk of the belief or the no-belief suffices to hush and tranquillize the heart in relation to those most momentous subjects1 on which if man has not thought at all1 he is a fool indeed4 ,in either case the 'future' and the 'eternal' seem so far removed that they seem to be an 'eternal futurity4' ,such parties look at that distant future much as children at the stars2 it is a point1 an invisible speck1 in the firmament4 ,a sixpence held near the eye appears larger2 and brought sufficiently close shuts out the universe altogether4 ,but let us also forget the future1 and have a little talk of the past4 ,they resumed their conversation on subjects indifferent as far as this journal is concerned1 and ,i bade them good night4 --- ,july #e4 ,we were sitting in the library after breakfast4 ,the two college friends soon fell into chat1 while ,i sat writing at my separate table1 but ready to resume my capacity of reporter1 should any polemical discussion take place4 ,i soon had plenty of employment4 ,after about an hour ,i heard ,harrington say3-- ,but ,i shall be happy1 ,i assure you1 to fill the void whenever you will give me something solid wherewith to fill it4 ,it was impossible that even a believer in the doctrine that no creed can be taught1 and that an external revelation is an impossibility1 could be insensible to the charm of making a proselyte4 ,what is it1 said ,fellowes1 that you want8 ,what do ,i want8 ,i want certainty1 or quasi-certainty1 on those points on which if a man is content to remain uncertain1 he is a fool or a brute2 points respecting which it is no more possible for a genuine sceptic--for ,i speak not of the thoughtless lover paradox1 or the queer dogmatist who resolves that nothing is true--to still the soul1 than nakedness can render us insensible to cold2 or hunger cure its own pangs by saying1 ',go to1 now2 ,i have nothing to eat4' ,the generality of mankind are insensible to these questions only because they imagine1 even though it may be falsely1 that they possess certainty4 ,they are problems which1 whenever there is elevation of mind enough to appreciate their importance1 engage the real doubter in a life-long conflict2 and to attempt to appease restlessness of such a mind by the old prescriptions1--the old quackish ,epicurean nostrum of ',carpe diem1'--',let us eat1 drink1 and be merry1 for to-morrow die1'--',we do not know what the morrow may bring--is like attempting to call back the soul from a moral syncope by applying to the nostrils a drop of eau de ,cologne4 ',enjoy to-day1 we do not know what the morrow will bring6' ,why1 that is the very thought which poisons to-day4 ,no1 a soul of any worth cannot but feel an intense wish for the solution of its doubts1 even while it doubts whether they can be solved4 ',carpe diem' certainly would not be my sole prescription1 said ,fellowes2 you have not told me yet what you want4 ,no1 but ,i will4 ,the questions on which ,i want certainty are indeed questions about which philosophers will often argue just to display their vanity1 as human vanity will argue about any thing2 but they are no sooner felt in their true grandeur1 than they absorb the soul4 ,still1 what is it you want8 ,i want to know---whence ,i came2 whither ,i am going4 ,whether there be1 in truth1 as so many say there is1 a ,god1--a tremendous personality1 to whose infinite faculties the 'great' and the 'little' 7as we call them7 equally vanish1--whose universal presence fills all space1 in any point of which he exists entire in the amplitude of all his infinite attributes1--whose universal government extends even to me1 and my fellow-atoms1 called men1--within whose sheltering embrace even ,i am not too mean for protection2--whether1 if there be such a being1 he is truly infinite2 or whether this vast machine of the universe may not have developed tendencies or involved consequences which eluded his forethought1 and are now beyond even his control2 --whether1 for this reason1 or for some other necessity1 such infinite sorrows have been permitted to invade it2--whether1 above all1 ,he be propitious or offended with a world in which ,i feel too surely1 in the profound and various misery of man1 that his aspects are not all benignant2--how1 if he be offended1 he is to be reconciled2--whether he is at all accessible1 or one to whom the pleasures and the sufferings of the poor child of dust are equally subjects of horrible indifference2--whether1 if such ,omnipotent ,being created the world1 he has now abandoned it to be the sport of chance1 and ,i am thus an orphan in the universe2--whether this 'universal frame' be indeed without a mind1 and we are1 in fact1 the only forms of conscious existence2 --whether1 as the ,pantheist declares1 the universe itself be ,god1-- ever making1 never made1--the product of an evolution of an infinite series of 'antecedents' and 'consequents'2 a ,god of which--for ,i cannot say of whom--you and ,i are bits2 perishable fragments of a ,divinity1 itself imperishable only because there will always be bits of it to perish2--whether1 even upon some such supposition1 this conscious existence of ours is to be renewed2 and1 if under what conditions2 or whether1 when we have finished our little day1 no other dawn is to break upon our night2--whether the vale1 vale in eternum vale1 is really the proper utterance of a breaking heart as it closes the sepulchre on the object of its love4 ,his voice faltered2 and ,i was confirmed in my suspicions1 that some deep1 secret sorrow had had to do with his morbid state of mind4 ,in a moment1 he resumed3-- ,these are the questions1 and others like the them1 which ,i have vainly toiled to solve4 ,i1 like you1 have been rudely driven out of my old beliefs2 my early ,christian faith has given way to doubt2 the little hut on the mountain-side1 in which ,i thought to dwell in pastoral simplicity1 has been scattered to the tempest1 and ,i am turned out to the blast without a shelter4 ,i have wandered long and far1 but have not found that rest which you tell me is to be obtained4 ,as ,i examine all other theories1 they seem1 to me1 pressed by at least equal difficulties with that ,i have abandoned4 ,i cannot make myself contented1 as others do1 with believing nothing1 and yet ,i have nothing to believe2 ,i have wrestled long and hard with my ,titan foes1--but not successfully4 ,i have turned to every quarter of the universe in vain2 ,i have interrogated my own soul1 but it answers not2 ,i have gazed upon nature1 but its many voices speak no articulate language to me2 and1 more especially1 when ,i gaze upon the bright page of the midnight heavens1 those orbs gleam upon me with so cold a light1 and amidst so portentous a silence1 that ,i am1 with ,pascal1 terrified at the spectacle of the infinite solitudes1--'de ces espaces infinis4' ,i declare to you that ,i know nothing in nature so beautiful or so terrible as those mute oracles4 ,they are indeed mute1 said ,fellowes2 but not so that still voice which whispers its oracles within4 ,you have but to look inwards1 and you may see1 by the direct gaze of 'the spiritual faculty1' bright and clear1 those great 'intuitions' of spiritual truth which the gauds and splendors of the external universe can no more illustrate than can the illuminated characters of an old missal2--just as little can any book teach these truths4 ,you have truly said1 the stars will shed no light upon them2 they1 on the contrary1 must illumine the stars2 ,i mean1 they must themselves be seen before the outward universe can assume intelligible meaning2 must utter their voices before any of the phenomena of the external world can have any real significance6 ,how different1 said ,harrington1 are the experiences of mankind6 ,you well described those internal oracles1 if there are indeed such1 as whispering their responses2 if they utter them at all1 it is to me in a whisper so low that ,i cannot distinctly catch them4 ,strange paradoxes6 the soul speaks1 and the soul listens1 and the soul cannot tell what the soul says4 ,that is1 the soul speaks to itself1 and says1 ',what have ,i said8' ,i assure you that the ear of my soul 7if ,i may so speak7 has often ached with intense effort to listen to what the tongue of the soul mutters1 and yet ,i cannot catch it4 ,you tell me ,i have only to look down into the depths within4 ,well1 ,i have4 ,i assure you that ,i have endeavoured to do so1 as far as ,i know1 honestly2 and1 so far from seeing clear and bright those splendors which you speak of1 ,i can only see as in the depths of a cavern occasional gleams of a tremulous flickering light1 which distinctly shows me nothing1 and which1 ,i half suspect1 comes from without into these recesses3 or ,i feel as if gazing down an abyss1 the bottom of which is filled with water2 the light--and that1 too1 for aught ,i know1 reflected from without--only throws a transient glimpse of my own image on the surface of the dark water2 that image itself broken and renewed as the water boils up from its hidden fountain4 ,or1 if ,i may recur to your own metaphor1 instead of hearing in those deep caverns the clear oracles of which you boast1 ,i can distinguish nothing but a scarcely audible murmur2 ,i know not whether it be any thing more than the lingering echoes of what ,i heard in my childhood3 or1 rather1 my soul speaks to me on all these momentous subjects much as one in sleep often does2 the lips move1 but no sound issues from them4 ,i retire from these attempts1 as those of old from the cave of ,trophonius1 pale1 terrified1 and dejected4 ,in short1 he continued1 ,i feel much as ,descartes says he did when he had denuded himself of all his traditional opinions1--a condition so graphically described in the beginning of the second of his ,meditations4 ,there is this difference1 however1 and in his favor3 that he imposed upon himself only a self-inflicted doubt1 which he could terminate at any time4 ,his opinions had been but temporarily laid aside4 ,they were on the shelf1 close at hand1 ready to be taken down again when wanted4 ,but enough of this4 ,you will1 ,i know1 aid me1 if you can4 ,and1 now ,i think of it1 do so on one point1 by justifying your assertion1 made the other evening1 as to ,mr4 ,newman's dilemma of the 'impossibility of a book-revelation4' ,i said1 ,i think1 that ,mr4 ,newman has satisfactorily proved to me that a book-revelation of moral and spiritual truth is impossible2 that ,god reveals himself to us within1 and not from without4 ,as to what is impossible1 said the other1 ,i fancy it would be difficult to get one thoroughly convinced of his ignorance and feebleness to be other than very cautious how he used the word4 ,perhaps1 however1 ,mr4 ,newman may be more readily excused than most men for the strength with which he pronounces his opinions2 for1 as he has passed through an infinity of experiences1 it may have given him 'insight' into many absurdities which1 to the generality of mankind1 do not appear such4 ,i think if ,i had believed half so many things1 ,i should have lost all confidence in myself4 ,what a strong mind1 or what buoyant faith1 he must have6 ,both1--both1 said ,fellowes4 ,well1 be it so4 ,but let us1 as you promised yesterday1 examine this very point4 ,this led on to a dialogue in which it was distinctly proved that ,,that ,,may ,,be ,,possible ,,with ,,man1 ,,which ,,is ,,impossible ,,with ,,god4 ,mr4 ,newman affirms1 you say1 said ,harrington1 that in his judgment every book-'revelation' is an absurdity and a contradiction2 or1 in the words quoted by you1 'impossible4' ,yes1--of 'moral and spiritual truth4' ,and of any other truth--as of historical truth--you say such revelation is unnecessary8 ,yes4 ,moreover1 as you and ,mr4 ,newman affirm1 the bulk of mankind are not competent to investigate the claims of such an historic revelation8 ,certainly4 ,and1 therefore1 it is impossible in fact1 if not per se1 unless ,god is to be supposed doing something both unnecessary and futile4 ,i think so1 of course1 said ,fellowes4 ,so that all book-revelation is impossible4 ,i affirm it4 ,very well1--,i do not dispute it4 ,there still remain one or two difficulties on which ,i should like to have your judgment towards forming an opinion3 and they are on the very threshold of the subject4 ,and1 first1 ,i suppose you do not mean to restrict your term of a 'book-revelation' to that only which is literally consigned to a book in our modern sense4 ,you mean an external revelation8 ,certainly4 ,if1 for example1 you could recover a genuine manuscript of ,isaiah or ,paul1 you would not think it entitled to any more respect1 as authority1 than a modern translation in a printed book1--though it might be free from some errors8 ,i should not4 ,you would not allow that parchment1 however ancient1 has any advantage in this respect over paper1 however modern8 ,certainly not4 ,nor ,hebrew or ,greek over ,english or ,german8 ,no4 ,all such matters are in very deed but 'leather and prunella'8 ,nothing more4 ,and for a similar reason1 surely1 you would reject at once the oral teaching of any such man as ,paul or ,matthew1 or any body else1 if he professed that what he said was dictated by divine inspiration1 concurrently or not with the use of his own faculties8 ,you would repudiate at once his claims1 however authenticated1 to be your infallible guide2 to tell you what you are to believe1 and how you are to act8 ,for surely you will not pretend that there is any difference between statements which are merely expressed by the living voice1 and those same statements as consigned to a book2 except that1 if any difference be supposed at all1 one would1 for some reasons1 rather have their in the last shape than in the first4 ,of course there is no difference3 to object to a book-revelation and grant a 'lip-revelation' from ,god1 or to deny that lip-revelation 7when it is made permanent and diffusible7 the authority it had when first given1 would be a childish hatred of a book indeed1 answered ,fellowes4 ,i perfectly agree with you1 replied ,harrington4 ,i understand you1 then1 to deny that any revelation professedly given to you or to me does1 or ever can1 come to us through any external channel1 printed or on parchment1 ancient or modern1 by the living voice or in a written character2 and that this is a proper translation1 in a generalized form1 of the phrase 'a book-revelation'8 ,i admit it4 ,for surely1 as already said1 it would be truly ridiculous to allow that ,paul1 if we could but hear his living voice1 was to be listened to with implicit reverence as an authorized teacher of divine truth2 but that his deliberate utterances1 recorded in a permanent form1 were to be regarded not merely as less authoritative1 but of no authority at all4 ,so that if you saw ,peter or ,paul to-morrow1 you would tell him the same story8 ,of course ,i should1 replied ,mr4 ,fellowes4 ,and you would of course also reject any such revelation1 coming from any external source1 even though the party proclaiming it confirmed it by miracles8 ,for ,i cannot see how1 if it be true that an external revelation is impossible1 and that ,god always reveals himself 'within us' and never 'out of us1' 7which is the principle affirmed17--,i say ,i cannot see how miracles can make any difference in the case4 ,no1 certainly not4 ,but surely you forget that miracles are impossible on my notion3 for1 as ,mr4 ,newman says--- ,whatever he says1 ,i suppose you will not deny that they are conceivable2 and that is all ,i am thinking of at present4 ,their impossibility or possibility ,i will not dispute with you just now4 ,i am disposed to with you2 only1 as usual1 ,i have some doubts1 which ,i wish you would endeavor to solve2 but of that another time4 ,meantime1 my good friend1 be so obliging as to give me an answer to my question1--whether you would deem it to be your duty to reject any such claims to authoritative teaching1 even if backed by the performance of miracles8 for1 admitting miracles never to have occurred1 and even that they never will1 you1 ,i think1 would hesitate to affirm that you clearly perceive that the very notion involves a contradiction4 ,they are1 at least1 imaginable1 and that is sufficient to supply you with an answer to my question4 ,i once more ask you1 therefore1 whether1 if such a teacher of a book-revelation1 in the comprehensive sense of these words already defined1 were to authenticate 7as he affirmed7 his claims to reverence by any number1 variety1 or splendor of miracles1--undoubted miracles1--you would any the more feel bound to believe him8 ,what6 upon the supposition that there was any thing morally objectionable in his doctrine8 ,i will release you on that score too4 said ,harrington1 in a most accommodating manner4 ,morally1 ,i will assume there is nothing in his doctrine but what you approve2 and as for the rest1--to confirm which ,i will suppose the revelation given1--,i will assume nothing in it which you could demonstrate to be false or contradictory2 in fact1 nothing more difficult to be believed than many undeniable phenomena of the external universe1--matters1 for example1 which you acknowledge you do not comprehend1 but which may possibly be true for aught you can tell to the contrary4 ,but if the supposed revelation contain nothing but what1 appealing thus to my judgment1 ,i can approve1 where is the necessity of a revelation at all8 ,did ,i say1 my friend1 that it was to contain nothing but what is referred to your judgment8 nothing but what you would know and approve just as well without it8 or even did ,i concede that you could have known and approved without it that which1 when it is proposed1 you do approve8 ,i simply wish an answer to the question1 whether1 if a teacher of an ethical system such as you entirely approved1 with some doctrines attached1 incomprehensible it may be1 but not demonstratively false or immoral1 were to substantiate 7as he affirmed7 his claims to your belief by the performance of miracles1 you would or would not feel constrained any the more to believe him8 ,but ,i do not see the use of discussing a question under circumstances which it is admitted never did nor ever can occur8 ,you 'fight hard1' as ,socrates says to one of his antagonists on a similar occasion2 but ,i really must request an answer to the question4 ,the case is an imaginable one2 and you may surely say how1 upon the principles you have laid down1 you think those principles would compel you to act in the hypothetical case4 ,well1 then1 if ,i must give all answer1 ,i should say that upon the principles on which ,mr4 ,newman has argued the question1--that all revelation1 except which is internal1 is impossible1--,i should not believe the supposed envoy's claims4 ,whatever the number or the splendor of his miracles8 ,certainly1 said ,fellowes1 with some hesitation however1 and speaking slowly4 ,for that does not affect the principles we are agreed upon8 ,no1--not seeming1 however1 perfectly satisfied4 ,very well1 resumed ,harrington1 that is what ,i call a plain answer to a plain question4 ,i fancy 7waverer that ,i am67 that ,i should believe the man's claims4 ,i should be even greatly tempted to think that those things which ,i could not entirely see ought to be contained in the said revelation1 were to be believed4 ,but all that is doubtless only because ,i am much weaker in mind and will than either ,mr4 ,newman or yourself4 ,you must pardon me2 it will in no degree practically affect the question1 except on the supposition that the same infirmity is also a characteristic of man in general2 that not ,i1 from my weakness1 am an exception to rule2 but you1 in your strength4 ,but to dismiss that4 ,you have agreed that a book-revelation is impossible1 and not to be believed1 even if avouched by miracles4 ,have men in general been disposed to believe a book-revelation impossible8 for if not1 ,i am afraid they would be very liable to run into error1 if they share in my weaknesses4 ,liable to run into error6 said ,fellowes4 ,man has been perpetually running into this very error1 always and everywhere4 ,if it be true1 as you say1 that man has always and everywhere manifested a remarkable facility of falling into this error1 many will be tempted to think that the thing is not so plainly impossible4 ,it seems so strange that men in general should believe things to be possible when they are impossible4 ,however1 you admit it as a too certain fact4 ,i do1 for ,i can not honestly deny it2 but it has been because they have confounded what is historical or intellectual with moral and spiritual truth4 ,i am afraid that will not excuse their absurdity1 because1 as you admit1 all book-revelation is impossible4--,but further1 supposing men to have made this strange blunder1 it only shows that the 'moral and spiritual' could not be very clearly revealed within2 and no wonder men began to think that perhaps it might come to them from without6 ,when men begin to mistake blue for red1 and square for round1 and chaff for wheat1 ,i think it is high time that they repair to a doctor outside them to tell them what is the matter with their poor brains4 ,meantime an external revelation is impossible8 ,certainly4 ,but men1 however1 have somehow perversely believed it very possible1 and that1 in some shape or other1 it has been given8 ,they have1 ,i must admit4 ,unhappy race6 thus led on by some fatality1 though not by the constitution of their nature 7rather by some inevitable perversion of it71 to believe as possible that which is so plainly impossible4 ,o that it did not involve a contradiction to wish that ,god would relieve them from such universal and pernicious delusions1 by giving them a book-revelation to show them that all book-revelations are impossible6 ,that1 said ,fellowes1 laughing1 would indeed be a novelty4 ,miracles would hardly prove that4 ,i think not1 said ,harrington4 ,but1 as the poet says1 'some god or friendly man' may show the way4 ,pray1 permit me to ask1 did you always believe that a book-revelation was impossible8 ,how can you ask the question8--you know that ,i was brought up1 like yourself1 in the reception of the ,bible as the only and infallible revelation of ,god to mankind4 ,to what do you owe your emancipation from this grievous and universal error1 which still infects1 in this or some other shape1 the myriads of the human race8 ,i think principally to the work of ,mr4 ,newman on the ',soul1' and his ',phases of ,faith4' ,these have been to you1 then1 at least1 a book-revelation that a 'divine book-revelation is impossible'2 a truth which ,i acknowledge you could not have received by divine book-revelation1 without a contradiction4 ,you ought1 indeed1 to think very highly of ,mr4 ,newman4 ,it is well1 when ,god cannot do a this that man can2 though ,i confess1 considering the wide prevalence of this pernicious error1 it would have been better1 had it been possible1 that man should have had a divine book-revelation to tell him that a divine book-revelation was impossible4 ,great as is my admiration of ,mr4 ,newman1 ,i should1 myself1 have preferred having ,god's word for it4 ,however1 let us lay it down as an axiom that a human book-revelation1 showing you that 'a divine book-revelation is impossible1' is not impossible2 and really1 considering the almost universal error of man on this subject1--now happily exploded1--the book-revelation which convinces man of this great truth ought to be reverenced as of the highest value2 it is such that it might not appear unworthy of celestial origin1 if it did not imply a contradiction that ,god should reveal to us in a book that a revelation in a book is impossible4 ,fellowes looked very grave1 but said nothing4 ,but yet1 continued ,harrington1 very seriously1 ,i know not whether ,i ought not1 upon your principles1 to consider this book-revelation with which you have been favored1 about the impossibility of such a thing1 as itself a divine revelation2 in which case ,i am afraid we shall be constrained to admit1 in form1 that contradiction which we have been so anxious to avoid1 by making 'possible with man what is impossible with ,god4' ,i know not what you mean1 said ,fellowes1 rather offended4 ,why1 said ,harrington1 quite unmoved1 ,i have heard you say you do not deny1 in some sense1 inspiration1 but only that inspiration is preternatural2 that every 'holy thought1' every 'lofty and sublime conception1' all 'truth and excellence1' in any man1 come from the ',father of lights1' and are to be ascribed to him2 that1 as ,mr4 ,parker and ,mr4 ,foxton affirm on this point1 the inspiration of ,paul or ,milton1 or even of ,christ and of ,benjamin ,franklin1 is of the same nature1 and in an intelligible sense from the same source1--differing only in degree4 ,can you deem less1 then1 of that great conception by which ,mr4 ,newman has released you1 and possibly many more1 from that bondage to a 'book-revelation' in which you were brought up1 and in which1 by your own confession1 you might have been still enthralled8 ,can you think less of this than that it is an 'inspired' voice which has proclaimed 'liberty to the captive1' and made known to you 'spiritual freedom'8 ,if any thing be divine about ,mr4 ,newman's system1 surely it must be this4 ,ought you not to thank ,god that he has been thus pleased to 'open your eyes1' and to turn you from 'darkness to light1'--to raise up in these last days such an apostle of the truth which had lain so long 'hidden from ages and generations'8 ,can you do less than admire the divine artifice by when it was impossible for ,god directly to tell man that he could directly tell him nothing1 ,he raised up his servant ,newman to perform the office8 ,for my part1 said ,fellowes1 ,i am not ashamed to say1 that ,i think ,i ought to thank ,god for such a boon as ,mr4 ,newman has1 in this instance at least1 been the instrument of conveying to me3 ,i acknowledge it most momentous truth1 without which ,i should still have been in thraldom to the 'letter4' ,very well2 then the book-revelation of ,mr4 ,newman is1 as ,i say1 in some sort to you1 perhaps to a divine 'book-revelation4' ,well1 in some sense1 it is so4 ,so that now we have1 in some sense1 a divine book-revelation to prove that a divine book-revelation is impossible4 ,you are pleased to jest on the subject1 said ,fellowes4 ,i never was more serious in my life4 ,however1 ,i will not press this point any further4 ,you shall be permitted to say 7what ,i will not contradict7 that1 though ,mr4 ,newman may be inspired1 for aught ,i know1 in that modified sense in which you believe in any phenomenon1--inspired as much 7say7 as the inventor of ,lucifer matches1--yet that his book is not divine1--that it is purely human2 and even1 if you please1 that ,god has had nothing to do with it4 ,but even then ,i must be allowed to repeat1 that at least you have derived from a 'book-revelation' what it would not have been a unworthy of a divine book-revelation to impart1 if it could have been imparted without contradiction4 ,such book-revelation1 in this case1 must be of inestimable value to man1 because1 without it1 he must have persisted in that ancient and all but inveterate and universal delusion of which we have so often spoken4 ,there is only one little inconvenience1 ,i apprehend1 from it in relation to the argument of such a book2 and that is1 that ,i am afraid that men1 so far from being convinced thereby that a divine revelation is impossible1 will rather argue the contrary way1 and say1 ',if ,mr4 ,newman can do so much1 what might not ,god do by the very same method8' ,if he can thus break the spiritual yoke of his fellow-men by only teaching them negative truth1 surely it may be possible for ,god to be as useful in teaching positive truth4 ,i almost tremble1 ,i assure you1 lest1 by his most conspicuous success in imparting to you such important truth1 and reclaiming you from such a fundamental error1 which lay at the very threshold of your 'spiritual' progress1 he may1 so far from convincing mankind of the truth of his principle1 lead them rather to believe that a 'book-revelation' may have been very possible1 and of singular advantage4 ,but1 to speak the truth1 ,i am by no means sure that ,mr4 ,newman has not done something more than what we have attributed to him1 and whether his book-revelation be not a true divine revelation to you also4 ,fellowes looked rather curious1 and ,i thought a little angry4 ,my good friend1 said ,harrington1 ,i am sure you will not refuse me every satisfaction you can1 in my present state of doubt and perplexity2 that you will render me 7as indeed you have promised7 all the assistance in your power1 by kindly telling me what you know of your own religious development and history4 ,i cannot sufficiently admire your candor and frankness hitherto4 ,you may depend upon it1 said ,fellowes1 ,i will not hesitate to answer any questions you choose to put4 ,i am not ashamed of the system ,i have adopted1--or rather selected1 for ,i do not agree with any one writer--although ,i confess ,i wish ,i were a better advocate of it4 ,o1 rest assured that 'spiritualism' can lose nothing by your advocacy4 ,as to your independence of mind1 you act1 ,i am sure1 upon the maxim in verba nullius jurare4 ,your system seems to me quite a spices of eclecticism4 ,there is no fear of my confounding you with the good old lady who1 after having heard the sermon of some favorite divine1 was asked if she understood him4 ',understand him6' said she2 'do you think ,i would presume8--blessed man6 ,nor with the ,scotchwoman who required1 as a condition of her admiration1 that a sermon should contain some things at least which transcended her comprehension4 ',eh4 it is a' vara weel1' said she1 on hearing one which did not fulfil this reasonable condition2 'but do ye call that fine preaching8--there was na ae word that ,i could na explain mysel4' ,fellowes smiled good-naturedly1 and then said1 ,i was going to observe1 in relation to the present subject1 that it is 'moral and spiritual' truth which ,mr4 ,newman says it is impossible should be the subject of a book-revelation4 ,harrington1 apparently without listening to him1 suddenly said1 ,by the by1 you agree with ,mr4 ,newman1 ,i am sure1 that ,god is to be approached by the individual soul without any of the nonsense of mediation1 which has found so general--all but universal--sanction in the religious systems of the world8 ,certainly1 said ,fellowes1 nor is there probably any 'spiritualist' 7in whatever we may be divided7 who would deny that4 ,supposing it true1 does it not seem to you the must delightful and stupendous of all spiritual truths8 ,it does1 indeed1 said ,fellowes4 ,could you always realize it1 my friend8 said ,harrington4 ,nay1 ,i was once a firm believer in the current orthodoxy1 as you well know4 ,now you see with very different eyes4 ,you can say1 with the man in the ,gospel1 ',this ,i know1 that1 whereas ,i was blind1 now ,i see4 ,i can4 ,and you attribute this happy change of sentiment to the perusal of those writings of ,mr4 ,newman from which you think that ,i also might derive similar benefits8 ,i do4 ,it appears1 then1 that to you1 at least1 my friend1 it is possible that there may be a book-revelation of 'moral and spiritual truth' of the highest possible significance and value1 although you do not consider the book to be divine2 now1 if so1 ,i fancy many will be again inclined to say1 that what ,mr4 ,newman has done in your case1 ,god might easily do1 if he pleased1 for mankind in general2 and with this advantage1 that ,he would not include in the same book which revealed truth to the mind1 and rectified its errors1 an assurance that any such book-revelation was impossible4 ,but1 my ingenious friend4 cried ,fellowes1 with some warmth1 you are inferring a little too fast for the premises4 ,i do not admit that ,mr4 ,newman or any other spiritualist has revealed to me any truth1 but only that he has been the instrument of giving shape and distinct consciousness to what was1 in fact1 uttered in the secret oracles of my own bosom before2 and1 as ,i believe1 is uttered also in the hearts of all other men4 ,i fear your distinction is practically without a difference4 ,it will certainly not avail us4 ,you say you were once in no distinct conscious possession of that system of spiritual truth which you now hold2 on the contrary1 that you believed a very different system2 that the change by which you were brought into your present condition of mind --out of darkness into light--out of error into truth--has been produced chiefly by ,mr4 ,newman's deeply instructive volumes4 ,if so1 one will be apt to argue that a book-revelation may be of the very utmost use and benefit to mankind in general1--if only by making that which would else be inarticulate mutter of the internal oracle distinct and clear2 and that if ,god would but give such a book1 the same value at least might attach to it as to a book of ,mr4 ,newman's4 ,it little matters to this argument1 the question of the possibility1 value1 or utility of an external revelation1--whether the truths it is to communicate be absolutely unknown till it reveals them only not known1 which you confess was your own case4 ,if your natural taper of illumination is stuck into a dark lantern1 and its light only can flash upon the soul when some ,mr4 ,newman kindly lifts up the slide for you2 or if your internal oracle1 like a ghost1 will not speak till it is spoken to2 or1 like a dumb demon1 awaits to find a voice1 and confess itself to be what it is at the summons of an exorcist2--the same argument precisely will apply for the possibility and utility of a revelation from ,god to men in general4 ,what has been done for you by man1 even though no more were done1 might1 one would imagine1 be done for the rest of mankind1 and in a much better manner1 by ,god4 ,if that internal and native revelation which both you and ,mr4 ,newman say has its seat in the human soul1 be clear without his aid1 why did he write a syllable about it8 ,if1 as you say1 its utterances were not recognized1 and that his statements have first made them familiar to you1 the same argument 7the ,christian will say7 will do for the ,bible4 ,it is of little use that nature teaches you1 if ,mr4 ,newman is to teach nature4 ,fellowes was silent2 and1 after a pause1 ,harrington resumed2 he could not resist the temptation of saying1 with playful malice1-- ,perhaps you are in doubt whether to say that the internal revelation which you possess does teach you dearly or darkly4 ,it is a pity that nature so teaches as to leave you in doubt till some one else teaches you what she does teach you4 ,she must be like some ladies1 who keep school indeed1 but have accomplished masters to teach every thing4 ,shall we call ,mr4 ,newman the ,professor of ',spiritual ,insight'8 ,would it not be advisable1 if you are in any uncertainty1 to write to him to ask whether the internal truths which no external revelation can impart be articulate or not2 or whether1 though a book from ,god could not make them plainer1 you are at liberty to say that a book of ,mr4 ,newman's will8 ,it is undoubtedly a subtile question for him to decide for you2 namely1 what is the condition of your own consciousness8 ,but ,i really see no help for it1 after what you have granted2 nor1 without his aid1 do ,i see whether you can truly affirm that you have an internal revelation1 independently of him or not4 ,and whichever way he decides1 ,i am afraid lest he should prove both himself and you very much in the wrong4 ,if he decides for you1 that your internal revelation must and did anticipate any thing he might write1 and that it was perfectly articulate1 as well as inarticulately present to your 'insight' before1 it will be difficult to determine why he should have written at all2 he would also prove1 not only how superfluous is your gratitude1 but that he understands your own consciousness better than you do4 ,if he decides it the other way1 and says you had a 'revelation' before he revealed it1 yet that he made it utter articulate language1 and interpreted its hieroglyphics1-- then it more seems very strange that either you or he should contend that a 'book-revelation' is impossible1 since ,mr4 ,newman has produced it4 ,if1 however1 he should in the first of these two ways1 ,i fear1 my good friend1 that we shall fall into another paradox worse than all for it will prove that the 'internal revelation' which you possess is better known to ,mr4 ,newman than to yourself1 which will be a perfectly worthy conclusion of all this embarrass4 ,it would be surely droll for you to affirm that you possess an internal revelation which renders all 'external revelation' impossible1 but yet that its distinctness is unperceived by yourself1 and awaits the assurance of an external authority1 which at same time declares all 'external revelation' impossible6 ,there is still another word1 said ,fellowes1 which you forget that ,mr4 ,newman employs2 he says that an authoritative book-revelation of moral and spiritual truth is impossible4 ,why said ,harrington1 laughing1 while you were without the truth1 as you say you were1 it was not likely to be authoritative3 if1 when you have it1 it is recognized as authoritative1 which you say is the case with the truth you have got from ,mr4 ,newman1--if you acknowledge that it ought to have authority as soon as known1 --that is all 7so far as ,i know7 that is contended for in the case of the ,bible4 ,if you mean by 'authoritative' a revelation which not only ought to be1 but which is so1 ,i think mankind make it pretty plain that neither the 'external' nor the 'internal' revelation is particularly authoritative4 ,in short1 he concluded ,i do not see how we can doubt1 on the principles on which ,mr4 ,newman acts and yet denies1 that a book-revelation of moral and spiritual truth is very possible2 and if given1 would be signally useful to mankind in general4 ,if ,mr4 ,newman1 as you admit1 has written a book which has put you in possession of moral and spiritual truth1 surely it may be modestly contended that ,god might dictate a better4 ,either you were in possession of the truths in question before he announced them1 or you were not2 if not1 ,mr4 ,newman is your infinite benefactor1 and ,god may be at least as great a one2 if you were1 then ,mr4 ,newman1 like ,job's comforters1 'has plentifully declared the thing as it is4' ,if you say1 that you were in possession of them1 but only by implication2 that you did not see them dearly or vividly till they were propounded1 --that is1 that you saw them1 only practically you were blind1 and knew them1 only you were virtually ignorant2 still1 whatever ,mr4 ,newman does 7and it amounts1 in fact1 to revelation71 that may the ,bible also do4 ,if even that be not possible1 and man naturally possesses these truths explicitly1 as well as implicitly1 then1 indeed1 the ,bible is an impertinence1--and so is ,mr4 ,newman4 ,after a pause1 ,harrington suddenly asked1-- ,do you not think there is some difference between yourself and a ,hottentot8 ,i should hope so1 said ,fellowes1 with a laugh4 ,but still the ,hottentot has all the 'spiritual faculties' of which you speak so much8 ,certainly4 ,what makes this prodigious difference8--for of that1 as a fact1 we cannot dispute4 ,different culture and education1 ,i suppose4 ,this culture and education is a thing external8 ,it is4 ,this culture and education1 however1 must be of immense importance indeed1 since it makes all the difference between the having or the not having1 practically1 any just religious notions1 or sentiments1 or practices1 7even in your estimation17 whatever our eternal revelation4 ,but still ,i hold1 with ,mr4 ,parker1 that the 'absolute religion' is the same in all men4 ,the difference is in circumstantials only1 as ,mr4 ,parker says4 ,then it serves his turn1 said ,harrington2 and he says the contrary1 when it serves his turn2 then the depraved forms of religion are hideous enough3 when he wishes to commend his 'absolute religion1' they differ in circumstantials4 ,circumstantials6 ,i have hardly patience to hear these degrading apologies for all that is most degrading in humanity4 ,if the 'absolute religion1' as he vaguely calls it1 be present in these of gross ignorance and unspeakable pollution1 it is so incrusted and buried that it is indiscernible and worthless4 ,rightly1 therefore1 have you expressed a hope that there is a 'prodigious difference' between you a ,hottentot4 ,you adhere to that1 ,i presume4 ,of course ,i shall1 said ,fellowes4 ,well1 let us see4 ,would you think1 if you were turned into a ,hottentot to-morrow1 you had a religion worthy of the name1 or not8 ,i am afraid ,i should not4 ,you hope it1 you mean4 ,well1 then1 it appears that culture and education do somehow make all difference between a man's having a religion worthy of the name1 and the contrary8 ,i must admit it1 for ,i cannot deny it in point of fact4 ,and you also admit that1 in nine hundred and ninety-nine cases out of a thousand1 or in a much larger proportion1 taking all the nations of the world since time began1 the said culture and education have been wanting1 or ineffably bad8 ,yes4 ,so that there have been very few1 in point of fact1 who have attained that 'spiritual' religion for which you and our spiritualists contend2 and those few chiefly1 as ,mr4 ,newman admits1 amongst ,jews and ,christians1 though they too have had their most grievous errors1 which have deplorably obscured it8 ,yes ,it appears1 then1 ,i think1 that if we allow that the internal revelation without a most happy external culture and development will not form any religion at all worthy of the name1 and that that happy culture and development 7from whatsoever cause7 are not the condition of our race1--it appears1 ,i say1 rather odd to affirm that any divine aid in this absolutely necessary external education of humanity is not only superfluous1 but impossible4 ,another pause ensued1 when ,harrington again said1 ,you will think me very pertinacious1 perhaps1 but ,i must say that1 in my judgment1 ,mr4 ,newman's theory of progressive religion 7for he also admits a doctrine of progress7 favors the same sceptical doubts as to the impossibility of a book-revelation4 ,you do not deny1 ,i suppose1 that he does think the world needs enlightening8 ,had he not believed that1 he would not have written4' ,i suppose not4 ,however1 how the world should need it1 if your principles be true1 and every man brings into the world his own particular lantern1--',enter ,moonshine1'--,i do not quite understand2 or1 if it is in need of such illumination not withstanding1 why it should not be possible for an external revelation to supply it still better than your illuminati1 ,i am equally unable to understand4 ,but let that pass4 ,mr4 ,newman concludes that the world does stand in need of this illumination1 and that it has had it at various times4 ,in is his opinion1 is it not1 that men began by being polytheists and idolaters8 ,it is so2 and surely all history bears out the theory4 ,many doubt it4 ,i will not venture to give any opinion1 except that there are inexplicable difficulties1 as usual1 on both sides4 ,just now ,i am quite willing to take his statement for granted1 and suppose that man in the infancy of his race was1 in spite of the aid of his very peculiar illumination1--which seems to have 'rayed out darkness1' --as very a ,troglodyte in civilization and religion as you 7for the special glory of his ,creator1 ,i suppose1 and the honor of your species7 can wish him to have been4 ,well1 man began by being a polytheist1 and very gradually emerged out of that pleasant condition --or rather an infinitesimal portion of the race has emerged out of it1 into the better forms of idolatry--7poor wretch671 and from thence to monotheism2 that1 in short1 his polytheism is not the corruption of his monotheism1 but his monotheism an elevation of his polytheism4 ,yet it is1 after all1 a cheerless 'progress1' which often 'advances backward4' ,mr4 ,newman says that 'the law of ,god's moral universe1 as known to us1 is that of progress2 that we trace it from old barbarism to the methodized ,egyptian idolatry1 to the more flexible polytheism of ,syria and ,greece1' and so forth2 and so in ,palestine1 from the 'image-worship in ,jacob's family to the rise of spiritual sentiment under ,david1 and ,hezekiah's prophets4' 7,phases1 p4 #bbc7 ,yet he also tells us1 ',ceremonialism more and more incrusted the restored nation1 and ,jesus was needed to spur and stab the consciences of his contemporaries1 and recall them to more spiritual perceptions4' ,well1 thus came ,christ to 'stab and spur'2 and faith1 ,i think 'stab and spur' were again needed by the end of the third century4 ,successive reformers are needed to 'stab and spur' the thick hide of humanity1 without which it will not1 it seems1 go forward1 but perversely go backward2 and even with this perpetual application of the goad of some spiritual mohoul1 man crawls on at an intolerably slow pace4 ,however1 'stab' and 'spur' are needed which is all ,i am now intent upon4 ,yes2 but each of those great souls who have stimulated the dull mind of ordinary humanity derived from its own internal illumination that spiritual light which they have communicated to the rest of mankind6 ,for themselves1 perhaps1 my friend1 said ,harrington1 and if they had kept it to themselves in many instances1 probably the world would have been no loser4 ,that they had it from within1 is true1--if your theory is true4 ,but to others1 to the bulk of mankind1 they have imparted this light2 it has been to mankind an 'external revelation'2 it is from without1 not from within1 that this light has been received1 and that the boasted 'progress' of the race has been secured4 ,it remains1 therefore1 only for your ,christian opponent to ask1 how it should be impossible that mankind should be indebted to an external revelation by ,god1 when it is plain that they are indebted for the like from man6 ,and whether it is not conceivable that1 if ,moses and ,socrates and ,paul could do so much for them1 ,god could do a trifle more8 ,you will say1 perhaps1 on the old plea1 that these profounder spirits only made articulate that which already existed inarticulately in the hearts of those whom they addressed2 that they only chafed into life the marble statue of ,pygmalion1--the dormant principles and sentiments which had a home in the human heart before1 only they were unluckily treated as strangers4 ,well2 the same thing may the apologist for the ,bible say1--merely adding1 that it does more effectually the business of thus awakening 'dormant' powers1 and giving a substantive form to the shadowy conceptions of mankind4 ,but it is still1 in either case1 to the bulk of the world an external revelation1 an outward aid which gives them the actual conscious possession of spiritual light1 and secures the vaunted progress of humanity4 ,such are some of my difficulties respecting your theory of the impossibility and inutility of any and all external revelations4 ,i must1 in candor1 say that our discussion has left them where they were4 ,there is one thing1 he added1 about your system which ,i acknowledge would be consolatory to me if it were but true4 ,if man be really in possession of an internal and universal revelation of moral and spiritual truth1 you neither can nor need take any trouble to enlighten and convert him4 ,it relieves one of all superfluous anxiety on that score4 ,pardon me1 said ,fellowes1 it is ,mr4 ,newman's spiritual theory alone which does allow the prospect of success to any such efforts4 ,as he truly says1 when the spiritual champion has thrown off the burden of an historical ,christianity1 he advances1 as lightly equipped as ,priestley himself4 ,i should say much more lightly4 ',what1' says he1 'may we now expect from the true theologian when he attacks sin1 and vice1 and gross spirituality8' ',the weapon he uses1' to employ ,mr4 ,newman's own language1 'is as lightning from ,god1 kindled from the spirit within him1 and piercing through the unbeliever's soul1 convincing his conscience of sin1 and striking him to the ground before ,god2 until those who believe receive it not as the word of man but as what it is1 in truth1 the word of ,god4 ,its action is directly upon the conscience and upon the soul1 and hence its wonderful results2 not on the critical faculties1 upon which the spirit is powerless4'7,soul1 p4 #bdd7 ,again1 he says that such a preacher 'will have plenty to say1 alike to the vulgar and to the philosophers1 appreciable by the soul4' ,hear him again3 ',then he may speak with confidence of what he knows and feels2 and call on his hearers of themselves to try and prove his words4 ,then the conversion of men to the love of ,god may take place by hundreds and thousands1 as in some former instances4 ,then1 at length1 some hope may dawn that ,mohammedans and ,hindoos may be joined in one fold with us1 under one ,shepherd1 who will only have regained his older name of the ,lord ,god4' 7,soul1 p4 #beh7 ,by all the gods and goddesses of all the nations1 said ,harrington1 ,i cannot understand it4 ,how mankind should need such teaching1 if your theory be true2 how1 if they need it1 it is possible that you should give it if all external revelation of moral and spiritual truth be impossible2 how1 if it is impossible1 it should be impossible for a ,god1 by a ,bible1 to give the like2 how you can get at the souls of people at all except through the intervention of the senses and the intellect1--the latter of which you say has nothing to do with the 'soul1' and surely the former can have as little2 or how1 if you can get at them by this intervention1 it is impossible that a ,bible should1--is all to me a mystery4 ,but let that pass4 ,if your last account be true1 one thing is clear2 that a splendid career is open to you and your friends4 ,you can immediately employ this irresistible 'weapon' for the verification of your views and the conversion of the human race4 ,you can renew1 or rather realize1 the triumphs of early ,christianity2--,i say realize1 for you and ,mr4 ,newman believe them to be1 for the most part1 fabulous1 and that it was the army of ,constantine that conquered the ,empire for ,christianity2 but you can turn such fables into truths4 ,surely the least you can do is to be off as a missionary to ,china or ,india4 ,go to ,constantinople1 my dear fellow1 and take the ,great ,turk by the beard4 ,nor can ,mr4 ,newman do less than repair to ,bagdad1 upon a second and more hopeful mission4 ,you will know when you have demolished ,mohammedanism1 and got fairly into ,thibet4 ,alexander's career will be nothing to it4 ,but alas6 ,i fear it will be only another variety of that impossible thing1--a book-revelation6 ,nay1 said ,fellowes1 we must first finish our mission at home1 and try our weapons upon you and such as you4 ,we must subdue such as you first4 ,then you will never go1 said ,harrington4 ,never mind1 ,i said1 ,mr4 ,fellowes2 ,harrington is very mischievous to-day4 ,but1 as he said he would not contest the ground of your dictum1 that a book-revelation of moral and spiritual truth is impossible1 so he has not entered into it4 ,will you let me1 on a future day1 read to you a brief paper upon it8 ,i have no skill--or but little--in that erotetic method of which ,harrington is so fond4 ,he assented1 and here this long conversation ended4 ,july #g4 ,harrington and ,i spent a portion of this morning alone 7,fellowes was gone out for a day or two71 conversing on various subjects4 ,i hardly know how it was1 but ,i felt a strong reluctance to enter with formality on that one which yet lay nearest my heart1 --whether from the fear lest ,i should do more harm than good2 lest controversy should1 as so often happens1 indurate rather than soften the heart3 or perhaps ,i had some secret distrust of my own temper or his4 ,yet1 if ,i felt any thing of the last1 ,i am sure ,i did him injustice2 and 7,i hope7 myself4 ,be it as it may1 ,i thought it better just to exchange a shot now and then1--sometimes it was a red-hot shot too on both sides1--as we passed and repassed1 in the current of conversation1 than come to a regular set-to1 yard-arm to yard-arm4 ,from whatever cause1 he gave me abundant opportunity of recurring to the subject1 for he was perpetually1 and ,i believe unconsciously1 leading the conversation towards it2 not1 ,i think1 from confidence in his logical prowess1 but from the restlessness in which 7he did not pretend to disguise it7 his state of scepticism had plunged him4 ,it was curious1 indeed1 to see how every thing1 sooner or later1 fell into one channel4 ,for example1 ,i happened to remark1 that a cottage in the valley which we saw from his library window would make a pretty object in a picture1--it was the only sign of life in the little valley4 ,i should like the view itself all the better without it1 said he4 ,i observed that a painter would feel very differently2 and if there were no such object1 he would be sure to put one in4 ,o1 certainly1 he replied1 a painter would1 and justly2 there is no doubt that the shadow of animated existence is very admirable2 a picture1 ,i admit1 is wonderfully more picturesque with such a picture of life2 especially as the painter can and does remove every thing offensive to his fastidious art4 ,he is very apt to regard the objects in his landscapes much as a poet does a cottage1 according to ,cowper's confession4 ',by a cottage1' says he to ,lady ,hesketh1 'you must always understand1 my dear1 that a poet means a house with six sashes in front1 comfortable parlors1 a smart staircase1 and three rooms of convenient dimensions4' ,as ,i have looked sometimes down a mountain glen1 and seen the most picturesque huts upon its sides1 ,i have thought how little the painter could dispense with them4 ,but1 then1 how easily the philosopher can3 for1 alas6 ,i have taken wing from my station1 and looked in through the miserable easement1 and seen1 not only what is disgusting to the senses1--which is a small matter1--but ignorance and disease1 and fear1 and guilt1 and racking pain1 and doubt1 and death2 and ,i have not been able to help saying1 in pity1 ',o for absolute solitude6--how much nature would be improved if the human race were annihilated6' ,the human race1 said ,i1 laughing1 is very much obliged to the pity which would thus exterminate them2 but as one of them1 ,i should decidedly object to so sweeping a mode of improving the picturesque4 ,besides1 ,i suppose you make an exception in favor1 yourself1 otherwise the picturesque would vanish just when it was brought to perfection4 ,i am often inclined to say with ,paley1 though ,i remember well having sometimes felt as you do1 ',it is a happy world after all4' ,i admit1 however1 that a buoyant1 cheerful1 habitual conviction of this will depend on the constitution of the mind1 and even vary with the same in its different moods4 ,but ,i am sure it may be a really happy world1 whatever its sorrows1 to any one who will view it as he ought4 ,i wish you could teach me the art4 ,it is1 said ,i1 to exercise the faith and the hope of a ,christian1 humbly to regard this life as what it is1--a scene of discipline and schooling1 a pilgrimage to a better4 ,it is an old remedy1 but it has been often tried2 and to millions of our race has made this world more than tolerable1 and death tranquil1 nay1 triumphant4 ,do you remember ,schiller's ',walk among the ,linden-,trees'8 ,perfectly well4 ,do you not remember how the two youths differ in their estimate of the beautiful in nature8 ',is it possible1' says ,edwin1 'you can thus turn from the cup of joy1 sparkling and overflowing as it is8'--',yes1' said ,wollmar1 'when one finds a spider in it2 and why not8 ,in your eyes1 to be sure1 ,nature decks herself out like a rosy-checked maiden on her bridal day4 ,to me she appears an old1 withered beldame1 with sunken eyes1 furrowed cheeks1 and artificial ornaments in her hair4 ,how she seems to admire herself in this her ,sunday finery6 ,but it is the same worn and ancient garment1 put off and on some hundreds of thousands of times4' ,but how natural is the explanation of all given at the beautiful close of the dialogue6 ',here1' said the jocund ,edwin1 ',i first met my ,juliet4'--',and it was under these linden-trees1' says ,wollmar1 'that ,i lost my ,laura' ,it was their mood of mind1 and not the outward world1 that made all the difference4 ,all nature1 innocent thing6 must consent to take her hue from it4 ,you have1 ,i fear1 lost your ,laura1--simply alluding to his early faith2 or shall ,i suppose1 from your present mood1 that you have just met with your ,juliet8 ,i spoke1 of course1 of his philosophy4 ,he was looking out of the window2 but on my turning my gaze towards him1 ,i saw such a look of peculiar anguish1 that ,i felt ,i had inadvertently touched a terrible chord indeed4 ,i turned the conversation hastily1 by remarking 7almost without thinking of what ,i said7 on the beautiful contrast between the light blue of the sky and the green of the lawn and trees2 and proceeded to remark on the degree in which the mere organic or sensational pleasures of vision formed an ingredient in the pleasurable associations of the complex beautiful4 ,he gradually resumed conversation2 and we discussed the subject of the beautiful for some time4 ,yet ,i know not how it was1 nor can ,i trace the steps by which we deviated1--only that ,rousseau's summer -day dreams on the ,lake of ,bienne was a link in the chain1--we somehow soon found ourselves on the brink of the great controversy respecting the origin of ,evil4 ,i have read many books on that subject1 said ,i2 but ,i intend to read no more2 and ,i should think you have had enough of them4 ,why1 yes1 said he1 laughing2 whatever philosophers may have thought of the origin of evil1 it is a great aggravation of it to read their speculations4 ,the best thing ,i know on the subject--and it exhausts it--is half a dozen lines in ',robinson ,crusoe4' ,robinson ,crusoe6 said ,i4 ,certainly1 he replied2 do you not remember that when he caught his man ,friday1 the 'intuitional consciousness'--the 'insight'--the 'inward revelation' of that worthy savage not being found quite so perfect as ,mr4 ,parker would fancy1 ,robinson proceeds to indoctrinate him in the mysteries of theology8 ,friday is much puzzled1 as many more learned savages have been before him1 to find that the infinite power1 wisdom1 and goodness of ,god had made every thing good1 and that good it would have continued had not been for the opposition of the ,devil4 ',why ,god not kill ,debbil8' asks poor ,friday4 ,on which says ,robinson1 ',though ,i was a very old man1 ,i found that ,i was but a young doctor in divinity4' ,ah6 if all doctors in divinity had been equally candid1 the treatises on that dread subject would not have been quite so voluminous2 for we close them all alike with the unavailing question1 ',why ,god not kill ,debbil8' ,observing this tendency to gravitate towards the abyss1 ,i at last said to him1 ',i think1 if ,i were you1 having decided that there is no religious truth to be found1 ,i should dismiss the subject from my thoughts altogether4 ,do as the ,indian did1 who struggled as long as he could to right his canoe when he found he was in the stream of ,niagara2 but1 finding his efforts unavailing1 sat himself down with his arms folded1 and went down the falls without stirring a muscle4 ,let us talk no more on the subject4 ,why should you perplex yourself1 as you apparently do1 about a thing so hopeless to be found out as truth8 ',what is truth8' said ,pilate2 and1 as ,bacon says1 'he would not wait for an answer4' ,it was a question to which1 most probably1 he1 like you1 thought no answer could be given4 ,if ,i were you1 ,i should do the same4 ,why perplex yourself to no purpose8 ,i should answer1 said he1 as ,solon did when asked why he grieved for his son1 seeing all grief was unavailing4' ,it is for that very reason that ,i grieve1' was the reply4 ,and in like manner ,i dwell on the impossibility of discovering truth because it is impossible4 ,i acknowledged that it was a sufficient reason1 and that it went to account in some degree for a fact ,i had remarked in the few sceptics ,i had come across1--genuine or otherwise1--that they seemed less capable of reposing in their professed convictions than any one else3 it is of no avail1 they say1 to reason on such subjects2 and yet they are perpetually reasoning6 ,they will neither rest themselves nor let any one else rest4 ,he confessed it1 and said1 ,the state of mind is very much as you have described it2 and you have described it so exactly1 that ,i almost think you1 my dear uncle1 must know the heart of a sceptic1 and have been one yourself some time or other6 ,we wound up the morning1 which was beautiful1 by taking a ride1 in the course of which ,i was amused with an instance of the sensitiveness with which ,harrington's cultivated mind recoiled from the grossness of vulgar and ignorant infidelity4 ,we called at the cottage of a little farmer1 a tenant of his1 somewhat notorious both for profanity and sensuality4 ,presuming1 ,i suppose1 on his young landlord's suspected heterodoxy1 and thinking1 perhaps1 to curry favor with him1 he ventured 7,i know not what led to it7 to indulge in some stupid joke about the legion and the herd of swine4 ,sir1 said he1 scratching his head1 the ,devil1 ,i reckon1 must have been a more clever fellow than ,i thought1 to make two thousand hogs go down a steep place into the sea2 it is hard enough even to make them go where they will1 and almost impossible make them go where they won't4 ,the ,devil1 my good friend1 said ,harrington1 very gravely1 is a very clever fellow2 and ,i hope you do not for a moment intend to compare yourself with him4 ,as to the supposed miracle1 it would1 no doubt1 be hard to say which were most to be pitied1 the devils in the swine1 or the swine with the devils in them2 but has it never struck you that the whole may be an allegorical representation of the miserable and destructive effects of the union of the two vices of sensuality and profanity8 ,they also 7if all tales be true7 lead to a steep place1 but ,i have never heard that it ends in the water4 ,now1 he continued1 ,i dare say you would laugh at that story which the ,roman ,catholics tell of ,st4 ,antony2 namely1 that he preached to the pigs'6 --yet it has had a very sound allegorical interpretation2 we are told that it meant merely that he preached to country farmers2 which1 you see1 is more than ,i have been doing4 ,it was one of the many things which made me a sceptic as to whether he was one4 ,harrington1 said ,i1 at times ,i find it impossible to believe that you doubt the truth of ,christianity4 ,suppose ,i were to answer1 that at times ,i doubt whether ,i doubt it or not1 would not that be a thorough sceptic's answer8 ,i admitted that it would be indeed4 ,july #h4 ,i was already in the library1 writing1 when ,harrington came in to breakfast4 ,you seem busy early1 said he4 ,i told him ,i was merely endeavoring to manifest my love for his future children4 ,you know1 said ,i1 what ,isocrates says1 that it is right that children1 as they inherit the other possessions1 should also inherit the friendships of their fathers4 ,my children6 said he1 very gravely2 ,i shall never have any4 ,o1 yes1 you will1 and then these sullen vapors of doubt will roll off before the sunlight of domestic happiness4 ,it will allure you to love ,him who has given you so much to love4 ,yes1 said ,i1 gayly1 ,i shall visit you one day in happier moods2 when you will wonder how you could have indulged all your present thoughts of ,god and the universe4 ,as you gaze into the face of innocent childhood1 which shows you what faith in ,god is by trust in you1 you will say1 ',heaven shield the boy from being what his father has been8'--you will feel that such thoughts as yours will not do1 as the world says2 and we shall all go together1 you with your wife on your arm1 to church there in the in the bright sun and deep quiet of a ,sabbath morning1 and amidst the music of the ,sabbath bells2 and as the tranquil scene steals into your very soul1 you will say1 ',no1 scepticism was not made for man4' ,it is a pleasant romance1 he replied1 gloomily1 and nothing more4 ,i shall never love1 and shall therefore never wed2 though1 ,i suppose1 that does not logically follow4 ,however1 it does with me2 and1 consequently1 ,i presume the children are also only in posse4 ,however1 what is this instance of your kindness to my possible children8 he added1 more cheerfully4 ,i was endeavoring1 said ,i1 on the bare possibility of your retaining as a father all the feelings you seem to entertain at present1 to compile for your children 7as they must be taught something1 and you would wish them1 as you say1 to know the truth7 a short catechism4 ,i think the questions in ,watts's ,first ,catechism might do for the poor little souls4 ,the answers 7as usual7 might not be wholly intelligible till they got older1 but still might awaken some notion which in time might ripen into confirmed scepticism4 ,well1 said he1 laughing1 let me hear what sort of 'religious' instruction you have provided4 ,i had only finished one question1 ,i replied1 when you came in3 but ,i almost think it may be considered a ',summa ,theologiae' of itself4 ,it is this3-- ',can you tell me1 child1 who made you8' ',i cannot1 certainly1 tell who made me2 neither can my father2 but from the continual misery1 confusion1 and doubt which ,i feel in myself and see around me'--here the little pupil is to be cautioned not to laugh2 the mirth in the eye1 perhaps1 cannot be extinguished1--,i am led to doubt whether ,i was made by one who cares for me or takes any interest in me4'7,good child47 ,as ,i looked up1 after reading this first truth of sceptical theology1 ,i observed in ,harrington's face something of the same look of sorrow which ,i had noted the day before4 ,suddenly be said1 as if to prevent any chance recurrence to painful topics3-- ,i very gradually became a doubter4 ,i was perhaps becoming so when1 two years ago1 ,i became an idolater1 and my idol crumbled to pieces at my feet4 ,that transient vision of the beautiful half reclaimed me from my doubts2 the darkness of the succeeding night taught me juster views of the miseries of man and the incomprehensible riddle of his existence2 and ,i half blushed at my glimpse of selfish happiness4 ,so saying1 he suddenly left the room4 ,some part of the mystery ,i felt was unravelled4 ,alas6 the logic of the head1--how fatally fortified by the logic of the heart6 ,and so1 thought ,i to myself1 even ,harrington too is in part the dupe of that cunning spirit of delusion which in various forms is resolved to cast ,god and a ,redeemer and ,immortality out of the universe1 in compliment to man's wonderful elevation1 purity1 unselfishness1 and philanthropy6 ,one man tells me1 with ,shaftesbury1 that he does not want any immortal hopes1 or any such bribes of prudence to make him virtuous or religious1--delicate1 noble-minded creature6--that he can serve and love ,god equally well1 though he were sure of being annihilated to-morrow morning6 ,another declares that he would not accept heaven itself if purchased by a single pang1 voluntary or involuntary1 endured by any other being in ,god's universe8 ,another swears that such is his sympathetic benevolence1 that he would not accept that same heaven if he thought any other being was to be shut out of it2 ,i wonder whether he condescends to accept any blessing now1 while a single fallow-creature remains destitute of it8 ,a fourth 7a lady too7 declares there is no theory ,god1 of an author of nature1 of an origin of the universe which is not utterly repugnant to her faculties1 which is not 7to her feelings7 so irreverent as to make her blush1 so misleading as to make her mourn2 and now ,harrington1 instead of being thankful for his glimpse of happiness1 and yielding to the better instincts and convictions it partly awakened1 and learning patience1 submission1 and faith under his shattered hopes1 is taken captive on the same weak side2 and 7all unconscious that he shares in the prophet's feeling1 ,i do well to be angry7 fancies that his present gloom is more truly in unison with the condition of the universe1 and that he is bound to be most philanthropically misanthropical4 ,o1 well does the ,book say of this heart of ours1 ,,deceitful ,,above ,,all ,,things6 ,such are our mingled follies and wickedness1 so ludicrous1 so sorrowful1 are the features presented in this great tragi-comedy1--,,the ,,life ,,of ,,man1 --that it is impossible to play consistently either ,democritus or ,heraclitus4 ,july #i4 ,mr4 ,fellowes returned this morning4 ,we had a very pleasant day1--theology being excluded4 ,in the evening my companions were again pleased to disturb my occupations2 but it was only a short skirmish4 ,fellowes was endeavoring to enlighten his friend respecting the mysteries of belief and faith1 as expounded by some of his favorite writers3 he contended1 7making that sheer separation between the intellectual and spiritual1 which so many of the spiritual school affect47 not only that there may be correct belief without true faith1 which1 in an intelligible sense1 few will deny2 but that there may be a true faith with a false belief'1 or even with none1 in the strict sense of the word4 ,referring to a recent acute writer in one of our religious periodicals1 he argued that belief is properly an intellectual process1 founded on a presumed preponderance of reasons or supposed reasons1 for it2 and that whether those reasons amount to demonstration1 or whether the scale be turned by a grain1 matters not2 the product is purely logical1 and has no more to do with faith than a belief in any proposition of ,euclid4 ,but1 at all events1 he proceeded1 whether you choose to call some of these acts of reason by the name of belief or not1 faith is something quite independent of it4 ,as ,mr4 ,newman says1 in his ',phases1' ',belief is one thing and faith another'3 'belief is purely intellectual2 faith is properly spiritual4' ',nowhere from any body of priests1 clergy1 or ministers1 as an order1 is religious progress to be anticipated till intellectual creeds are destroyed4' ,see1 too1 how tenderly he speaks even of atheism4 ',i do not know1' he says1 'how to avoid calling this a moral error2 but ,i must carefully guard against seeming to overlook that it may still be a merely speculative error1 which ought not to separate our hearts from any man4' ,similarly he charitably restricts 'idolatry' in any 'bad sense' to a voluntary worshipping of what the worshipper feels not to deserve his adoration2 and as ,i1 for one1 doubt whether this is ever the case1 this delightful charity is comprehensive indeed4 ,mr4 ,parker's discourse is full of the same beautiful and tolerant maxims4 ',each religious doctrine1' he says1 'has some time stood for a truth 444444 ,each of these forms of religion 7polytheism and fetichism1 to wit7 did the world service in its day4' ,no one form of religion is absolutely true2 faith may be compatible with them all4 ,let me understand you1 if possible1 said ,harrington2 for at present ,i fear ,i do not4 ,that there may be belief without faith in a very ,intelligible sense1 ,i can understand4 ,you say there can be faith without belief1 and a true faith that is connected with any belief1 however erroneous1 do you not8 ,provided it contains the absolute religion4 ,well1 and even the lowest fetichism does that1 according to ,mr4 ,parker1 whom you defend4 ,now this ,protean faith is what ,i do not understand4 ,that1 said ,fellowes1 ,i can easily conceive2 and1 let me add1 no sceptic can understand it4 ,i see no reason why he should not1 said ,harrington1 laughing1 if1 as you and ,mr4 ,newman suppose1 the 'spiritual' can be so perfectly divorced from the 'intellectual4' ,according to your reasoning1 the and the idolater cannot be incapable of exercising this mysterious 'faith1'--when their errors are supposed purely speculative1--since faith has nothing to do with the intellect2 neither therefore ought the sceptic to be quite beyond the pale of your charity4 ,nay1 his intellect being a rasa tabula in these matters1 ,i should think he is in more favorable circumstances than they can be4 ,but1 seriously1 let me try1 if possible1 to fathom this curious dogma1--,i beg your pardon1--sentiment1 ,i mean4 ,belief without faith in an intelligible sense 7if by this last we mean a condition of the emotions or affections71 ,i can understand2 though if the truth believed be of a nature to excite to emotion and to dictate action1 and fail to do so1 ,i doubt whether men in general would not call that belief spurious4 ,for example1 if a man1 on being told that his house was on fire1 sat still in his neighbor's chimney-corner1 and took no notice of the matter1 most persons would say that his assent was no true belief2 for it did not produce its effects1 did not produce faith4 ,but whether faith can ever exist independently of belief1--whether it is not always involved with it1--and whether there can be a faith worth a farthing that is not based on a true belief1--that is the point on which ,i want light4 ,if ,i understand you1 an acceptable faith may or may not coexist with a true belief2 and men who believe in ,jupiter or ,jehovah1 in one ,god or a thousand1 who worship the sun1 or an idol1 or a cat1 or a monkey1 all may have an equally acceptable faith4 ,i affirm it4 ,that as there may be belief in a truth without faith1 so there may be faith1 though the intellect believes in a falsehood2--that faith1 in fact1 is independent of knowledge1 or of any particular condition of the intellect8 ,i do not like the terms in which you express the sentiment1 but ,i1 for one1 believe it substantially correct4 ,never mind the form2 ,i am quite willing to employ other terms1 if you will supply them ,well1 then1 said ,fellowes1 ,i should say1 with ,mr4 ,parker1 that the principle of true faith may be found to coexist with the grossest and most hideous misconceptions of ,god1 while the absence of it may coexist with the truest and most elevated belief4 ,that1 ,i think1 comes to much the same as ,i said4 ,now about the latter we have no dispute4 ,it is the former that ,i want light upon3 the latter only shows that a belief1 which ought to be practical1 and if not practical is nothing1 is but a species of hypocrisy2 and1 of course1 ,i have nothing to say for it4 ,my uncle here1 who is still one of the orthodox1 who believes that an 'acceptable faith' and a belief in the divinity of a monkey or a cat are somehow quite incompatible1 would be among the first to acknowledge the latter position4 ,he would say1 ',no doubt there has often been such a thing as dead orthodoxy1--a creed of the letter1--a religion exclusively dependent on logic1 and nothing to do with the feeling's2 --belief that is not sublimated into faith2--a system of arteries and veins infiltrated with some colored substance1 like the specimens in an anatomical museum1 but in which none of the lifeblood of religion circulates4 ,but surely1' he would say1 'it does not follow1 that1 because there has been belief without faith1 there is or can be any independent of some belief1 or an acceptable faith without a true belief4' ,i affirm1 said ,fellowes1 that 'faith' has nothing to do with the intellect1 but is a state of the affections exclusively4 ,i affirm1 with a recent acute writer1 that there is1 properly speaking1 no belief at all that is distinguishable from reason4 ,for what is meant by belief of a proposition1 but the receiving that proposition true upon evidence1 from a supposed preponderance of reasons in its favor8 ,now1 whether that preponderance be a ton weight or a single grain1 down goes the balance1 and reason as strictly decides that it is to be received as if it were a mathematical demonstration4 ,if the arguments1 whether abstract or otherwise1 absolutely demonstrative or only probable1 are supposed to be exactly balanced1 there is no reason for deciding in favor of one side more than the other2 and there is1 therefore1 no belief1 for the very reason that reason cannot be exercised4 ,very well indeed1 said ,harrington1 so far as it goes2 but ,i forthwith see1 that1 so far from deriving any benefit from this ingenious reasoning1 there is no such thing as either faith or belief3 belief and faith have both vanished at the same time2 the first is resolved into reason1 and the second becomes impossible4 ,belief may1 said ,fellowes1 but faith never4 ,its divine beauty is all the brighter1 when happily divorced from logic and syllogisms1 its misalliance with which can only be compared to that cruel punishment by which the living was chained to the dead4 ,say what you will1 it still reigns and triumphs in the soul in spite of all4 ,i am perfectly convinced1 said ,harrington1 that the modern spiritualist will not bring his 'faith' into any ignominious slavery to intellect or syllogism4 ,but clear up my doubts if you can4 ,i know that the writers you are fond of quoting very generally give an illustration of the nature of faith by pointing to the ingenuous trust of a child in the wisdom and kindness of a parent4 ,they do2 and is it not a beautiful illustration8 ,that is genuine faith indeed6 ,i am willing to take the illustration4 ,the child has faith1 we see1 in his father's superior wisdom and experienced kindness4 ,yes4 ,he believes them1 therefore4 ,certainly4 ,but belief is reason4 ,certainly2 but faith is more than that4 ,no doubt2 but he does believe these things4 ,yes1 certainly4 ,and if he did not believe them1 he would cease to have faith4 ,if1 for instance1 he be convinced that his father is mad1 or cruel1 or unjust1 the state of affections which you call faith will diminish1 and at last cease4 ,perhaps so1 said ,fellowes4 ,perhaps so1 my friend6 ,i really cannot receive your answer1 because ,i am convinced that it does not express your sentiments4 ,well1 ,i believe that the state of affection which call 'faith' would be impossible under such circumstances4 ,but belief is reason4 ,yes4 ,must we not say1 then1 that the child's faith depends on the condition of his belief1 that is1 on his reason1 so that the 'faith' is possible when he believes and so long as he believes1 that his father is wise and kind1 but is impossible when he believes1 and as soon as he believes1 the contrary8 ,yes1 ,i admit that4 ,it appears1 then1 that faith in this1--perhaps the best illustration that could be selected1--so far from being a state of the affections exclusive of the intellect1 is not exclusive of it1 but absolutely dependent on it1 inasmuch as it is absolutely dependent on belief1 and that is dependent on reason4 ,it exists in connection with it1 and is never independent of it4 ,if the contrary be affirmed1 ,i doubt whether there can be any such thing as 'faith' in the world4 ,belief becomes reason1 and faith1 having nothing1 you say1 to do with the intellect1 becomes impossible4 ,but now let it be supposed 7as1 indeed1 ,i cannot but suppose7 that some belief1 that is1 reason1 enlightened or not 7generally the last71 is involved in every act of faith2 you yet affirm most distinctly that it is a state of the affections quite unconnected with the truth or falsehood of any intellectual propositions4 ,i do4 ,it ought to follow1 then1 that it matters not what is the object of belief1 provided there is 'faith'2 and this1 if you observe3 is very much what the language of ,mr4 ,newman would imply1 while it is the very essence of ,mr4 ,parker's teaching4 ,you mean ,father ,newman1 perhaps8 ,why no1 ,i did not2 but1 to tell you the truth4 ,i now mean either2 there not appearing to me much difference between them in this respect4 ,whether you worship an image of a 'winking virgin1' or1 according to the other ,dromio1 the 'ideal' of an idolater1--whether 7provided always it be with sincerity and trust67 you adore the ,jehovah of the ,hebrews1 or 'the image which fell down from ,jupiter1' ought to make1 upon this theory1 no great difference4 ,well1 in whatever difficulty the controversy may involve us1 can we deny this conclusion8 ,truly1 replied ,harrington1 ,i think it does not involve me in any difficulty2 it shows me that1 if this be the 'faith' to which you attach so much importance1 it really is not worth the powder and shot that must be expended in the controversy4 ,for my own part1 ,i do not hesitate to say that ,i would rather be absolutely destitute of 'faith' altogether1 than exercise the most absolute faith ever bestowed upon a tawdry image of the ,virgin1 or some misshapen beast of an idol of ,hindoo or ,hottentot workmanship4 ,ah6 my friend1 cried ,fellowes1 do not thus blaspheme the most holy feelings of humanity1 however misapplied6 ,i do not conceive that ,i do1 in declaring abhorrence and contempt of such perversions of 'sentiment1' however 'holy' you may call them4 ,hideous as they are1 however1 they are less hideous than the half-length apologies for them on the part of cultivated and civilized human beings1 like our 'spiritual' infidels4 ,your tenderness is ludicrously misplaced4 ,i wonder whether the same apology would extend to those exercises of simple-minded 'faith' in which it is said that the ,spanish and ,portuguese pirates sometimes indulged1 when they implored the benediction of their saints on their predatory expeditions6 ,and yet ,i see not how it could be avoided2 for the exorbitancies of these pirates were not more hateful to humanity than are the rites practices1 and the duties enjoined1 by many forms of religion4 ,what delightful1 ingenuous 'faith' and genuine 'simplicity' of mind did these pirates manifest6 ,how can you talk so1 when we make it a mark of a false revelation1 that it contradicts any intuition of our moral nature8 ,then cease to talk of your 'absolute religion1' as capable in any way of consecrating the hateful forms of false and cruel superstition for which you and ,mr4 ,parker condescend to be the apologists4 ,the fanaticism of such pious and devout beasts as those saint-loving pirates is not a more flagrant violation of the principle of morality1 than the acts which flow directly as the immediate and natural expression of the infinitely varied but all-polluting forms of idolatry with which you are pleased to identify your 'absolute religion1' and in all of which you suppose an acceptable 'faith' to be very possible4 ,you see how ,mr4 ,parker extends the apology to the foulest sets of his ,tartar and ,calmuck scoundrels2 acts called murders in the codes of ,christendom and civilization1 but varnished over by the beautiful 'faith' which somehow still lurks under the most frightful practices of a simple-minded barbarian4 ,if this faith will shelter the abominations of a gross idolatry1 ,i see not what else it may not sanctify4--,but1 in fact1 neither in the case of idolaters1 nor any other religionists1 is it true that 'faith' is independent of 'belief'2 in the case of your ,calmuck1 for example1 the 'belief' is vile1 and therefore the 'faith' vile too2 faith practical enough1 certainly1 but one that as certainly does not 'work by love'2 and which1 ,i think1 would be well exchanged for a dead orthodoxy1 or any thing else4 ,it is not difficult to see the source of the fallacy into which ,mr4 ,fellowes had fallen4 ,it lies in the attempt to make a distinction in fact1 as well as in theory1 between the intellectual and emotional parts of our nature4 ,it is very well for the spiritual and mental analyst to consider separately the several principles which constitute humanity1 and which act1 and react1 and interact1 in endless involution4 ,that there may be acts of belief that terminate chiefly in the intellect1 and may be wholly worthless1 who denies8 ,the drunkard1 for example1 may admit that sobriety is a duty2 but yet1 if he gets drunk every night of his life1 we shall1 of course1 think little of that act of belief1--of his daily repetition of moral orthodoxy4 ,in the same manner1 a man may admit that it is his duty to exercise implicit love1 gratitude1 and obedience towards the great object of worship2 but if his habitual conduct shows that he has no thought of acting in accordance with this maxim1 he must be regarded1 in spite of the orthodoxy of his speculative creed1 as no better than a heathen2 or worse4 ,but though it is very possible that a true belief may not involve true faith1 does the converse follow1--that therefore true faith is essentially different from it1 and independent of it8 ,all history shows1 that when religion is practical at all1--that is1 issues in faith1--such faith is as the truth or falsehood believed2 the emotional and active conditions of the soul are colored1 as usual1 by knowledge and intellect4 ,these1 again1 are not independent of the will and the affections1 as we all familiarly know4 ,and hence the fallacy of supposing that no man is to be thought better or worse for his intellectual creed4 ,his creed may be his crime2 and surely none ought to see this more clearly than the writers who deny it2 for why their eternal invectives against dogmas1--and especially the tolerably universal dogmas that men are responsible for the formation of their opinions1--except upon the supposition that men are responsible for framing and maintaining them8 ,if they are not1 men should be left alone2 if they are1 they are to be thought of as worse and better for their intellectual creed4 ,before the conclusion of the conversation1 ,mr4 ,fellowes asked me for my opinion4 ,if1 said ,i1 faith be defined independent of an act of intellect1 then ,i think1 with our sceptical friend here1 there can be no such thing at all4 ,for ,i neither know nor can conceive of any such unreasonable exercise of the emotions or affections4 ,if it be meant1 on the other hand1 that1 though some act of the intellect be indeed uniformly involved1 yet that it matters not what it is1 and that faith does not take its complexion1 as of moral value1 from it1 then ,i also think1 with ,harrington1 that it is impossible to deny that such a doctrine will sanctify any sort of worship1 and any sort of deity1 provided men be sincere2 are you prepared to contend for much8 ,mr4 ,fellowes put an adroit objection here4 ,why1 said he1 you will not deny1 surely1 that even ,scripture often commends1 as good1 a faith which is founded on a very imperfect conception of the spiritual realities to which it is directed8 ,it is ingeniously put1 ,i admit4 ,i grant that there are here1 as in so many other cases1 limits which1 though it may not be very easy to assign them1 as plainly exist4 ,but that does not answer my question4 ,i want to know whether the principle is to be applied without limits at all1 as your speculative theory demands8 ,in other words1 will it or not sanctify acts of the most degrading and pernicious idolatry1 of the most debasing superstition1 because allied to that state of the affections in which you make the essence of faith consist8 ,if it will not1 then your objection to me is nothing2 it merely asks me to assign limits within which the exercise of the affection in question may be acceptable1 or almost equally acceptable1 in cases of a partially enlightened understanding4 ,if it will1 then it leaves you open1 as ,i conceive1 and fairly open1 to all the objections which have been so brusquely urged against you by your friend1 in whose indignant protest against the detestable apologies for the lowest forms of religious degradation1 in which so many 'spiritual' writers indulge1 ,i for one heartily sympathize4 ,i ventured to add1 that the account of faith as a state of the emotions exclusively1 given by some of his favorite writers1 is perfectly arbitrary4 ,belief1 say they1 is wholly intellectual3 faith is wholly moral4 ,now it would be of very little consequence1 if the terms be generally so understood1 whether they be so used or not2 men would1 in that case1 suppose that faith1 thus restricted1 implies a previous process of mind which is to be called exclusively belief4 ,i added1 however1 that ,i did not believe that the word faith was ever thus understood in popular use2 but that1 on the contrary1 it was employed to imply belief founded on knowledge1 or supposed knowledge1 and1 where the belief was1 in its very nature1 practical1 or involved emotion1 a conduct and a state of the affections corresponding thereto4 ,but this1 said ,i1 merely respects the ,popular use of the words1 and if is hardly worth while to prolong discussion on it4 ,as to the reasoning which would show that belief does not properly exist at all1 because it may be all resolved into reason1 founded on the preponderance of evidence1 where it does not matter whether that preponderance be a ton or a scruple1--surely it is over-refined4 ,men will always feel that there is a marked difference between the states of mind in which they assent to a proposition of which they have no more doubt than they have of their own existence1 or to a proposition in the mathematics1 and to one in which they feel that only a few grains turn the scale4 ,to this conscious difference in the condition of mind1 they have given 7and ,i suppose will not give7 very different names2 and though they will continue to say that they believe that two and two make four1 but that they know it1 they will say that they believe that they will die before the end of the century1 though they will not say that they know that4 ,the distinction between the certain and the probable is felt to be far too important not to be marked by corresponding varieties of speech2 and speech has made them according4 ,july #aj4 ,this morning ,harrington fulfilled his promise of acquainting me with a few of the reasons which prevented his taking refuge in the half-way houses between the ,bible and ,religious ,scepticism4 ,mr4 ,fellowes was an attentive listener4 ,harrington had entitled his paper1-- ,,reasons ,,for ,,declining ,,the ,,via ,,media ,,between ,,revealed ,,religion ,,and ,,atheism--,,or ,,scepticism ,,with ,,special ,,reference ,,to ,,the ,,theories ,,of ,,mr4 ,,theodore ,,parker ,,and ,,mr4 ,,francis ,,newman4 ,i shall be brief2 not being solicitous to suggest doubts to others1 but merely to justify my own4 ,both ,mr4 ,parker and ,mr4 ,newman make themselves very merry with a book-revelation1 as they call it2 and if they had given any thing better1--more rational or more certain than the ,bible1--how gladly could ,i have joined in the ridicule6 ,as it is1 ,i doubt the solidity of the theories they support1 and hardly doubt that1 if the principles on which they reject the ,bible be sound1 they ought to go much farther4 ,both affirm the absurdity of a special external revelation to man2 both1 that the fountain of spiritual illumination is exclusively from within1 and not from without4 ,a few brief citations will set this point in a clear light4 ,religion itself4 says ,mr4 ,parker1 must be the same thing in each man2 not a similar thing1 but just the same2 differing only in degree499 ,the ,idea of ,god1 as a fact given in man's nature1 is permanent and alike in all2 while the sentiment of ,god1 though vague and mysterious1 is always the same in itself4 7ibid4 p4 #ba7--,of course1 then1 there is no difference but of words between revealed ,religion and natural ,religion2 for all actual ,religion is revealed in us1 or it could not be felt4 7ibid4 p4 #cc74 ,the ,absolute ,religion1 which he affirms to be universally known1 he defines as ,voluntary ,obedience to the ,law of ,god1--inward and outward ,obedience to that law he has written on our nature1 revealed in various ways through ,instinct1 ,reason1 ,conscience1 and the ,religious ,sentiment4 7ibid4 p4 #cd74 ,similarly1 ,mr4 ,newman says1 ,what ,god reveals to us he reveals within1 through the medium of our moral and spiritual senses4 7,soul1 p4 #ei7 ,christianity itself has practically confessed1 what is theoretically clear1--you must take his word for both1--that an authoritative external revelation of moral and spiritual truth is essentially impossible to man4 7,soul1 p4 #ei7 ,no book-revelation can 7without sapping its own pedestal7 authoritatively dictate laws of human virtue1 or alter our a priori view of the ,divine character4 7,ibid4 p4 #eh7 ---- 99 ,discourses of ,matters pertaining to ,religion1 p4 #cf4 ---- ,happy race of men1 one is ready to exclaim1 with this ,idea of ,god1 one and the same in all2 this ,absolute ,religion1 which is also universal2 this internal revelation1 which supersedes1 by anticipating1 all possible disclosures of an external revelation1 and renders it an impertinence4 ,men in all ages and nations must exhibit a delightful unanimity in their religious notions1 sentiments1 and practices6 ,they would do so1 cries ,mr4 ,parker2 but unhappily1 though the idea of ,god is one and the same1 and perfect in all when the proper conditions are complied with1 yet practically1 if1 in the majority of these proper conditions are not observed2 7,discourses1 p4 #ai7 the conception1 which men universally form of ,god is always imperfect1 sometimes self-contradictory and impossible2 the primitive simplicity and beauty of the idea are lost4 ,and thus it is1 he tells us1 that1 owing to this awkward conceptions the vast majority of the human race have been1 and are1 and for ages will be1 sunk in the grossest ,fetichism1--,polytheism1--and every form of absurd and misshapen ,monotheism2--the horrors of all which he proceeds faithfully1 but not too faithfully1 to describe1 and sometimes1 when he is in the mood1 to soften and extenuate2 in order that he may find that the grim ,calmuck1 and even the savage1 whose hands are smeared over with the blood of human sacrifices1 are yet in possession of the absolute ,idea and the absolute religion4 ,and what must we infer from ,mr4 ,newman8 ,the unanimity anticipated would1 doubtless1 be obtained1 only that1 unfortunately1 there are various principles of man's nature which traverse the legitimate action and impede the due development of the spiritual faculty2 and so man is apt to wander into a variety of those degraded types of religious development1 which the dark panorama of this world's religions has ever presented to us1 and presents still4 ,awe1 wonder1 admiration1 sense of order1 sense of design1 may all mislead the unhappy spiritual faculty into quagmires2 and1 in point of fact1 have wheedled and corrupted it ten thousand times more frequently than it has hallowed them4 ,this all history1 past and present1 shows4 ,it is certainly unfortunate1 and as mysterious1 that those unlucky conceptions of ,god should have the best of it1--or rather1 that the idea of ,god should have the worst of it2 nor less so that ,awe1 ,reverence1 and so forth1 should thus put the spiritual faculty so hopelessly hors de combat4 ,nevertheless1 two questions naturally suggest themselves4 ,since the destructive conceptions have almost everywhere impaired the ,idea1 and the degraded types seduced the spiritual faculty1--#ast4 ,what proof have we that man has an original and universal fountain of spiritual illumination in himself8 and #b;dly4 ,if he have1 but under such circumstances1 is its utility so unquestionable that no space is left for the offices of an external revelation8 ,first4 ,what is the evidence of the uniform existence in man of any such definite faculty8 ,when we say that any principle or faculty is common to the whole species1 do we not make the proof of this depend upon the uniformity of the phenomena which exhibit it8 ,when we say1 for example1 that hunger and thirst are universal appetites1 is it not because we find them universal8 or if we say that the senses of sight and hearing are characteristic of the race1 do we not contend that these are so1 because we find them uniform in such an immense variety of instances1 that the exceptions are not worth reckoning8 ,if men sometimes saw black where others saw white1 some objects rectilinear which others saw curved1 objects small which others saw large1--nay1 the very same men at different times seeing the same objects differently colored1 and of varying forms and attitudes1 and every second man almost stone-blind into the bargain1--,i rather think that1 instead of saying men were endowed with one and the same power of vision1 we should say that our nature exhibited only an imperfect and rudimentary tendency towards so desirable a faculty2 but that a clear1 uniform1 faculty of vision there certainly was not4 ,as ,i gaze upon the spectacle of the infinite diversities of religion1 which variegate1 but1 alas6 do not beautify the what is there to remind me of every uniformity of which ,i do see the indelible traces in every faculty really characteristic of our nature2 as1 for example1 our senses and our appetites8 ,powerfully does ,hume urge this argument in his--,natural ,history of ,religions4 7,introduction7 ,i have my doubts--admire the modesty of a sceptic--whether the entire phenomena of religion do not favor the conclusion1 that man1 in this respect1 only the traces of an imperfect1 truncated creature2 that1 he is in the predicament of the half-created lion so graphically described by ,milton3-- ,now half appeared ,the tawny lion1 pawings to get free ,his hinder parts2 only1 unfortunately1 man's hinder parts--his lower nature--have come up first1 and appear1 unhappily1 prominent2 while his nobler moral and spiritual faculties still seem stuck in the dust6 ,there is1 indeed1 another hypothesis1 which squares1 perhaps1 equally well with the phenomena1--,i mean that of the ,bible3--that man is not in his original state2 that the religions constitution of his nature1 in some way or other1 has received a shock4 ,but either this1 or the supposition that man has been insufficiently equipped for the uniform elimination of religious truth1 is1 ,i think1 alone in harmony with the facts2 and to those facts1 patent on the page of the whole world's history1 ,i appeal for proof that man has not on these highest subjects1 the certitude of any internal revelation1 marked by the remotest analogy to those other undoubted principles and faculties which exhibit themselves with undeniable uniformity4 ,it will perhaps be said1 that the spiritual phenomena are not so uniform as those of sense1--as ,mr4 ,parker and ,mr4 ,newman both abundantly admit1--but that there is an approximate uniformity4 ,and you must seek it1 says ,mr4 ,parker1 in the ,absolute ,religion which animates every form of religion1 and is equally found in all4 ,i know the chatters about this incessantly2 but when ,i attempt thus to hunt the one in the many1 as ,plato would call it4--to seek the elusive unity in the infinite multiform1--to discover what it is which equally embalms all forms1 from the ,christianity of ,paul to the religion of the grim ,calmuck1 ,i acknowledge myself as much at loss as ,martinus in endeavoring to catch the abstraction of a ,lord ,mayor2 ,mr4 ,parker1 on the other hand1 is like ,crambe1 ,who1 to show his acuteness1 swore that he could form an abstraction of a ,lord ,mayor1 not only without his horse1 gown1 and gold chain1 but even without stature1 feature1 color1 hands1 head1 feet1 or any body1 which he supposed was the abstract of a ,lord ,mayor4 ,or if it be vain to attempt to abstract this ,absolute ,religion from all religions1 as ,mr4 ,parker indeed admits1--though it is truly in them1--and ,i take his definition from his direct consciousness1 --which direct consciousness we can see has been directly affected by his abjured ,bible1--namely1 that it is voluntary obedience to will of ,god1 outward and inward1--why1 what on earth does this vague generality do for us8 ,what of ,god8 ,is he or it one or many8 of infinite attributes or finite8 of goodness and mercy equal to his power1 or not8 ,what is his will8 ,how is he to be worshipped8 ,have we offended him8 ,is he placable or not8 ,is he to be approached only through a mediator of some kind1 as nearly all mankind have believe but which ,mr4 ,parker denies1--a queer proof1 by the way1 of the clearness of the internal oracle1 if he be right1--or is he to be approached1 as ,mr4 ,parker believes1 and ,mr4 ,newman with him1 without any mediator at all8 ,is it true that man is immortal1 and knows it by immediate insight1 as ,mr4 ,parker contends1 or does the said insight1 as ,mr4 ,newman believes1 tell us nothing about the matter8 ,surely the ,absolute ,religion1 after having removed from it all in which different religions differ1 is in danger of vanishing that imperfect susceptibility of some religion1 which ,i have already conceded1 and which is certainly not such a thing as to render an external revelation very obviously superfluous4 ,it may be summed up in one imperfect article4 ,all men and each may say1 ,i believe there is some being1 superior in some respects to man1 whom it is my duty or my interest to--caelera desunt4 ,to affirm that every man has this ,absolute ,religion without external revelation is much as if a man were to say that we have an ,absolute ,philosophy on the same terms1 in virtue of man's having faculties which prompt him to philosophize in some way4 ,all religions contain the ,absolute ,religion1 says ,mr4 ,parker3 ,just1 ,i reply1 as all philosophies contain the absolute philosophy4 ,the philosophy of ,plato1 of ,aristotle of ,bacon1 of ,locke1 of ,leibnitz1 of ,reid1 are all philosophies1 no doubt2 but that is all that is to be said4 ,even contraries must resemble one another in one point1 or they could not be contrasted4 ,in truth1 there is1 ,i think1 a striking analogy between man's spiritual and intellectual condition2 only his intellect is a little less variable than his spiritual faculty2 far more so1 however1 than his senses4 ,his animal nature is more defined than his intellectual1 his intellectual than his spiritual and moral4 ,all the phenomena point either to an imperfect organization of his nobler faculties1 or to the doctrine of the ,fall4 ,but further1 surely if this internal oracle exists in man1 every sincere and earnest soul1 on interrogating his consciousness1 would hear the indubitable response1--would enjoy the beatific vision of spiritual insight4 ,if this be asserted1 ,i for one have to say to this representation1 that1 so far as my own consciousness informs me1 ,i have honestly1 sincerely1 and with utmost diligence1 interrogated my spirit2 and ,i solemnly protest1 that1 apart from those external influences and that external instruction which the revelation from within is supposed to anticipate and supersede1 ,i am not conscious that ,i should have any of the sentiments which either of these writers make the sum of religion4 ,even as to that fundamental position1--the existence of a ,being of unlimited power and wisdom1 7as to his unlimited goodness1 ,i believe nothing but an external revelation can absolutely certify us17 ,i feel that ,i am much more indebted to those influences from design1 which these writers made so light of1 than to any clearness in the imperfect intuition3 for if ,i found--and surely this is the true test--the traces of design less conspicuous in the external world1 confusion there1 as in the moral and in both greater than is now found in either2 ,i extremely doubt whether the faintest surmise of such a ,being would have suggested itself to me4 ,but be that as it may2 as to their other cardinal sentiments1--the nature of my relations to this ,being1--his placability2 if offended1 --the terms of forgiveness1 if any1--whether1 as these gentlemen affirm1 he is accessible to all1 without any atonement or mediator2--as to all this1 ,i solemnly declare1 that1 apart from external instruction2 ,i cannot by interrogating my racked spirit1 catch even a murmur4 ,that it must be faint1 indeed1 in other men1 so faint as to render the pretensions of the certitude of the internal revelation1 and its independence of all external revelation1 perfectly preposterous1 ,i infer from this1--that they have1 for the most part1 arrived at diametrically opposite conclusions from those of these interpreters of the spiritual revelation4 ,as to the articles1 indeed2 of man's immortality and a future state1 it would be truly difficult for my spiritual insight to verify theirs2 for1 according to ,mr4 ,parker1 his insight affirms that man is immortal1 and ,mr4 ,newman's insight declares nothing about the matter6 ,nor is my consciousness1 so far as ,i can trace it1 mine only4 ,this painful uncertainty has been the confession of multitudes of far greater minds2 they have been so far from contending that we have naturally a clear utterance on these great questions1 that they have acknowledged the necessity of an external revelation2 and mankind in general1 so far from thinking or feeling such light superfluous1 have been constantly gasping after it1 and adopted almost any thing that but bore the name4 ,what1 then1 am ,i to think of this all-sufficient revelation from within8 ,there is1 indeed1 an amusing answer of ,mr4 ,newman's to the difficulty3 but then it formally surrenders the whole argument4 ,he says to those who say they are unconscious of those facts of spiritual pathology which he describes in his work on the ,soul1 that the consciousness of the spiritual man is not the less true1 that the unspiritual man is not privy to it2 and this most devout gentleman somewhere quotes1 with much unction1 the words1 ,for the spiritual man judgeth all things1 but himself is judged of no man4 ,i shall be curious to know1 said ,i1 interrupting him1 what you will reply to that argument8 ,reply to it1 said he1 eagerly2 does it require any reply8--,however1 ,i will read what ,i have written4 ,is it not plain1 that while ,mr4 ,newman is professedly anatomizing the spiritual nature of man1 as man1--the functions and revelations of that inward oracle which supersedes and anticipates all external revelations--he is1 in fact1 anatomizing his own8 ,what title has he1 when avowedly explaining the phenomena of the religious faculty which he asserts to be inherent in humanity1--though how they should need explaining1 if his theory be true1 ,i know not1--what title has he1 when men deny that they are conscious of the facts he describes1 to raise refuge in his own private revelations1 and that of the few whose privilege it is to be born again by a mysterious law which he says it is impossible for us to investigate8 ,we cannot pretend1 he says1 to sound the mystery whence comes the new birth1 in certain souls4 ,to reply1 ',the ,spirit bloweth where ,he listeth1' confesses the mystery1 and declines to explain it4 ,but it is evident that individuals in ,greece1 in the third century before the ,christian era1 were already moving towards an intelligent heart-worship or had even begun to practise it6 7,soul1 p4#fd7 ,high time1 ,i think1 that after some thousands of years some few individuals should begin to manifest the phenomena of the universal revelation from within1 if such a thing be6 ,this is not to delineate the religions nature of humanity1 but to reveal--yes1 and to reveal externally--the religious nature of the elect few1--and few they are indeed1--who1 by a mysterious infidel ,calvinism1 are permitted to attain1 by direct intuition1 and independent of all external revelation1 the true sentiments and experiences of spiritual insight4 ,it this be ,mr4 ,newman's solution of our difficulties1 it is utterly nugatory4 ,it is not to dissect the soul1 its sorrows and aspirations2 it is merely to give us the pathology--perhaps the morbid pathology--of ,mr4 ,newman's soul2 its sorrows and its aspirations4 ,if the answer merely respected the practical value of a theory of spiritual sentiments1 which all acknowledged1 then ,mr4 ,newman's answer might have some force2 for certainly1 only he who reduced that theory to practice1 or attempted to do so1 would have a right to conclude against the experience of him who did4 ,but it is obvious that the question affects the theory itself1 and especially the consciousness of those terms of possible communion with ,god1 those relations of the soul to him1 on the reception of which all the said spiritual experience must depend4 ,how1 then1 stands the argument8 ,i ask how ,i shall know the intimation of the spiritual faculty1 which renders all external revelation an impertinence8 ,i am told1 with delicious vagueness1 that ,i must gaze on the phenomena of spiritual consciousness2 ,i say ,i exercise earnest and sincere self-scrutiny1 and that ,i can discern nothing but shadowy forms1 most of which do not answer to those which these new spiritualists describe2 and then ,mr4 ,newman turns round and says1 that the unspiritual nature cannot discern them6 ,what is this but to give up the only question of any importance to humanity1--which is not what are ,mr4 ,newman's spiritual phenomena2 if they are known to himself1 it is well2 he has been very long in discovering them1 in spite of the clearness of the internal revelation2--but what are those of man8 ,in the former be all1 ,mr4 ,newman is safe indeed2 he is intrenched in his own peculiar consciousness1 of which ,i am quite willing to admit that all other men 7as well as ,i7 are inadequate judges4 ,but the monograph of a solitary enthusiast is of the least possible consequence to humanity4 ,for reasons similar to those which render us incompetent to pronounce on his experience1 he is incapable of judging of ours4 ,there is only one other answer that ,i know of1 and that is the answer which ,fellowes made to me the other day1 when you were not by3--,o1 but you have the same spiritual consciousness as ,i have1 only you are not aware of it8 ,i contented myself with saying1 that ,i was just as able to comprehend a perception which is not perceived1 as a consciousness which when sought was not to be found4 ,the question is one of consciousness2 you say you have it1 ,i do not deny it2 ,i have it not4 ,now1 if we are not disputing as to whether it be a characteristic of humanity1 it little matters3 if we are1 ,i plainly have the best of it1 because want of uniformity in the phenomenon is destructive of the hypothesis4 ,but ,i proceed to ask my second question4 ,is the absolute religion of ,mr4 ,parker1 or the spiritual faculty of ,mr4 ,newman1 of such singular use as to supersede all external revelation1 since by the unfortunate conceptions of the one1 and the degraded types of the other1 it has for ages left man1 and does1 in fact1 now leave him1 to wallow in the lowest depths of the most debasing idolatry and superstition2 since1 by the confession of these very writers1 the great bulk of mankind have been and are hideously mal-formed1 in fact1 spiritual cripples1 and have been left to wander in infinitely varied paths of error1 but always paths of error8--for ,judaism and ,christianity1 though better forms1 are1 as well as other forms1 --according to these writers1--full of fables and fancies1 of lying legends and fantastical doctrines4 ,think for a moment of a spiritual faculty1 so bright as to anticipate all essential spiritual verities1 --the universal possession of humanity1--which yet terminates in leaving the said humanity to grovel in every form of error1 between the extremes of ,fetichism1 which consecrates a bit of stone1 and ,pantheism1 which consecrates all the bits of stone in the universe1 in fact1 a sort of comprehensive ,fetichism2--which leaves man to erect every thing into a ,god1 provided it is none1--sun1 moon1 stars1 a cat1 a monkey1 an onion1 uncouth idols1 sculptured marble2 nay1 a shapeless trunk1--which the devout impatience of the idolater does not stay to fashion into the likeness of a man1 but gives it its apotheosis at once6 ,think of the venerable1 wide-spread empire of the infinite forms of polytheism1 the ancient ,egyptian1 ,greek1 ,roman1 ,chinese1 and ,hindoo mythologies2 and then acknowledge1 that1 if man has this faculty1 it is either the most idle prerogative ever bestowed on a rational creature1 or that1 somehow or other1 as the ,bible affirms1 it has been denaturalized and disabled4 ,if1 on the other hand1 man has this faculty1 and yet has never fallen1 it can only be because he never stood2 and then1 no doubt1 as ,john ,bunyan hath it1 ,he that is down need fear no fall6 ,there is an answer1 indeed1 but it is one which1 in my judgment1 covers those who resort to it with the deepest shame4 ,it is that which apologizes for all these abominations1--so humiliating and odious1 by representing them as less humiliating and odious than they are4 ,it is true that ,mr4 ,parker1 when it is his cue1 is most eloquent in his denunciations of the infinite miseries and degradation which have followed the exorbitancies of the religious principle4 ,thus he says of superstition 7and there are other innumerable passages to a similar effect71 ,to dismember the soul1 the very image of ,god1--to lop off the most sacred affections1--to call ,reason a liar1 ,conscience a devil's oracle1 and cast ,love clean out from the heart1--this is the last triumph of superstition1 but one often witnessed in all the three forms of ,religion1 ,fetichism1 ,polytheism1 ,monotheism2 in all ages before ,christ1 in all ages after ,christ4 ,far be it from me to deny it1 or the similar horrors which he liberally shows flow from fanaticism4 ,but then1 at other times1 that quintessence of all abstractions which all religions alike contain--the absolute religion--imparts such perfume and appetizing relish to the whole composition1 that1 like ,dominie ,sampson in ,meg ,merrilies's cuisine1 ,mr4 ,p4 finds the ,devil's cookery-book not despicable4 ,the things he so fearfully describes are but perversions of what is essentially good4 ,the forms1 the accidentals1 of different religions become of little consequence2 whether it be ,jehovah or ,jupiter1 the infinite ,creator or a divine cat1 a holy and gracious ,god that is loved1 or an impure demon that is feared1--all this is secondary1 provided the principles of faith1 simplicity1 and earnestness--that is1 blind credulity and idiotic stupidity--inspire the wretched votary2 as if the perversions he deplores and condemns were not the necessary consequences of such religions themselves1 or1 rather1 as if they were aught but the religions6 ,in virtue of the absolute religion1 many a savage smeared with human sacrifice1 and the ,christian martyr perishing with a prayer for his persecutors1 are hastening together to the celestial banquet4 ,i hope the savage will not go with unwashen hands1 ,i trust he may be ,pharisee enough for that2 ,i also hope the two will not sit next one another2 otherwise the savage may be tempted to offer up a second sacrifice1 and the ,christian martyr be a martyr a second time4 ,hear him3--,he that worships truly1 by whatever form1--that is1 who is sincere in his ,fetichism1 his idolatry1 his sacrifices1 though they may be human1 --worships the only ,god2 he hears the prayer1 whether called ,brahma1 ,pan1 or ,lord1 or called by no name at all4 ,each people has its prophets and its saints2 and many a swarthy ,indian who bowed down to wood and stone1--many a grim-faced ,calmuck1 who worshipped the great ,god of ,storms1--many a ,grecian peasant who did homage to ,phoebus ,apollo when the sun rose or went down1--yes1 many a savage1 his hands smeared all over with human sacrifice1--shall come from the ,east and the ,west1 and sit down in the kingdom of ,god1 with ,moses and ,zoroaster1 with ,socrates and ,jesus4 7,discourses1 p4 #hc7 ,the charity which hopes that men may be forgiven the crime of religions which1 if there be a ,god at all1 must be abominations1 one can understand2 but these maudlin apologies for the religions themselves1 --as if they were not themselves crimes1 and involved crimes in their very practice1--,i do not understand4 ,according to this1 all that man has to do is to be sincere in any thing1 however diabolical1 and it is at once transmuted into a virtue which nothing less than heaven can reward6 ,mr4 ,newman sometimes follows closely in ,mr4 ,parker's steps in the exercise of this bastard toleration1 this spurious charity2 though1 in justice1 ,i must say1 he does not go his length4 ,yet who can read without laughter that definition of idolatry1 made apparently for the same preposterous purpose1--to sanctify the hideous absurdities of the religious sentiment1 and to save the credit of the internal oracle8 ,he says1--,to worship as perfect and infinite one whom we know to be imperfect and finite1 this is idolatry1 and 7in any bad sense7 this alone 444444 ,a man can but adore his own highest ideal2 to forbid this is to forbid all religion to him4 ,if1 therefore1 idolatry is to mean any thing wrong and bad1 the word must be reserved for the cases in which a man degrades his ideal by worshipping something that falls short of it4 7,soul1 pp4 #ee1 #ef7 ,so that the most degraded idolater1 if he but come up to his own ideal of the ,divinity1 is none at all1 but a respectable worshipper6 ,it may be2 but the idolater's ideal of ,god is1 generally1 the reality of what others call the ,devil6--,only think of the divine ideal of a man who worships an image of his own making1 with ten heads and twenty hands6 ,the definition reminds me of that passage in which ,pascal's ,jesuit ,father defines the moral sin of idleness3--,it is1 says he1 a grief that spiritual things should be spiritual1 as if it should be regretted that the sacraments are the source of grace2 and it is a mortal sin4 ,o ,father6 said ,i1 ,i cannot imagine that any one can be idle in such a sense4 ,so ,escobar says1 ',i confess it is very seldom that any person fails into the sin of idleness4' ,now1 surely1 you must see the necessity of a good definition6 ,no1 no2 few but ,mr4 ,parker will affirm that the various religions which have overshadowed the world are essentially more one in virtue of the absolute religion1 than they are different in virtue of their principles1 tendencies1 practices1 and forms2 while in none --if we except ,judaism and ,christianity--is there enough of the absolute religion to keep them sweet4 ,these apologies1 odious as they are1 are necessary if the credit of the spiritual faculty and the absolute religion is to be at all preserved4 ,but1 unhappily1 it is not a tone which can be consistently preserved4 ,sometimes the religions of mankind are all tolerable enough1 from the presence of the all-consecrating element2 and sometimes1 in spite of this great antiseptic1 they are represented as the rotten1 putrid things they are6 ,and then another answer1 equally empty with the former1 is hinted to save the credit of the darling oracle4 ,its due influence has been perverted1 its just expansion prevented1 by the influence of national religions1 by the intervention of the historical and traditional1 by false and pernicious education2--these things1 it seems1 have poisoned the waters of spiritual life in their source1 else they had gushed out of the hidden fountains of the heart pure as crystal6 ,yes1 it is too plain2 ,bibliolatry and ,historical ,religion1 in some shape1--,vedas1 ,koran1 or ,bible1--have been the world's bane4 ,had it not been for these1 ,i suppose1 we should everywhere have heard the invariable utterance of spiritual religion in the one dialect of the heart4 ,it is too certain that the world has found its spiritual ,babel3 the one dialect of the heart is yet to be heard4 ,but ,i am not sure that the apologetic vein would not be wiser4 ,for what is this plea1 but to acknowledge that man is so constituted that the boasted religious sentiment1 the spiritual faculty1--if it exist at all1 and is any thing more than an ill-defined tendency1 --instead of being a glorious light which anticipates all external revelation1 and renders it superfluous1 is1 in fact1 about the feeblest in our nature2 which everywhere and always is seduced and debauched by the most trumpery pretensions of the historical and traditional6 ,it is not so with people's eyes2 it is not so with people's appetites2 no parental influence or early instruction can make men think that green is blue1 or stones and chalk good for food4 ,yet this glorious faculty uniformly yields1--goes into shivers in the encounter6 ,i1 at least1 will grant to ,mr4 ,parker all he says of the pernicious and detestable character of the infinite variety of false conceptions of ,god1 and to ,mr4 ,newman all he says of the degraded types of religion2 but then it was ,man himself that framed all those false conceptions1 and all those degraded types4 ,how came he thus universally to triumph over that divinely implanted faculty of spiritual discernment1 which1 if it exist1 must be the most admirable feature of humanity2 which these writers tell us anticipates all external truth1 but which1 it seems1 greedily swallows all external error8 ,it almost universally submits to the most contemptible pretensions of a revelation1 and acknowledges that it dares not to pronounce on that1 even when false1 of which1 even when true1 it is to be the sole source6 ,there never was an historical religion1 however contemptible1 that did not make its thousands of proselytes4 ,man has been easily led to embrace the most absurd systems of mythology and superstition1 and is willing even to go to death for them4 ,so far from venturing to set up the claims of the internal oracle in competition1 man all but uniformly takes his religion from his fathers 7no matter what71 just as he takes his property2 only the former1 however worthless1 he holds as infinitely the more precious4 ,even when he surrenders it1 he still surrenders it to some other historical religion3 it is to that he turns4 ,such men as ,mr4 ,newman and ,mr4 ,parker--though every one can see that their system too has been derived from without1 that it is1 in fact1 nothing but a distorted ,christianity--may be numbered by units4 ,the vast bulk of mankind are unresisting victims of the traditional and historical2 nay1 rather eagerly ask for it1 and willingly submit to it4 ,what1 then1 can ,i infer1 but either1 #ast1 that this vaunted internal faculty which supersedes all necessity of an external revelation is a delusion1 and exists only as a vague and imperfect tendency2 or1 #b;dly1 that1 as ,christians say1 it lies in ruins1 and needs that external revelation1 the possibility of which is denied2 or1 #c;dly1 that ,god has somehow made a great mistake in mingling the various elements of man's composition1 and miscalculating the overmastering power of the historical and traditional 2 or1 #dthly1 that man1 having the original faculty still bright and strong1 and that brightness and strength sufficient for his guidance and support1 is more hopelessly1 deliberately1 and diabolically wicked1 in thus everywhere and always substituting error for truth1 and superstition for religion1--in thus giving the historical and traditional the uniform ascendency over the moral and spiritual1--than even the most desperate ,calvinist ever ventured to represent him6 ,surely he is the most detestable beast that ever crawled on the face of the earth1 and1 in a new and more portentous sense1 loves darkness rather than light4 ,the fact is1 that--so far from having even a suspicion that an external revelation is useless or impossible--he1 as already said1 greedily seeks for it1 and devours it4 ,nay1 so far from its being authenticated by the history1 or vouched by the consciousness of the race1 this very proposition--that man stands in no need of an external revelation--first comes to him1 and rather late too1 by an external revelation2 even the revelation of such writers as ,mr4 ,parker and ,mr4 ,newman4 ,the last has been a student of theology for twenty years1 and has only just arrived at this conviction1 that he needed no light1 inasmuch as he had plenty of light within4 ,brilliant1 surely1 it must have been6 ,i can only say for myself1 that ,i do not1 even with such aid1 find myself in any superfluous illumination1 and would gladly accept1 with ,plato1 some divine communication1 of which1 heathen as he was1 he acknowledged the necessity4 ,the mode of accounting for man's universal aberrations1 from the tyranny of ,bibliolatry and superstitious and pernicious education1 --seeing that it is a tyranny of man's own imposing1--is exactly like that by which some theologians seek to elude the argument of man's depravity2 it is owing1 they say1 to the influence of a universally depraved education6 ,but whence that universally depraved education they forget to tell us4 ,meantime1 the inquirer is apt to put that universal proclivity in the matter of education to that very depravity for which it is to account4 ,similarly1 one is apt to infer1 from man's tendency to deviate into any path of religious superstition and folly1 that the spiritual lantern he carries within casts but a feeble light upon hit path4 ,this plea1 therefore1 is utterly worthless2 for if it were true1 that the influence of tradition and historic association1 when once set up1 could thus darken and debauch the natural faculty1 whose specific office it was to convey1 like the eye1 specific intelligence1 it would not account for the first tendencies of man to disown its authority in favor of an absurd and uniform submission to the usurpations of tradition and priestcraft4 ,the faculty is universally feeble against this influence2 it staggers2 whether from weakness or drunkenness little matters1 except that the last is the viler infirmity of the two4 ,if we find a river turbid1 it is of no consequence whether it was so as it issued from its fountain1 or from pollutions which have been infused into its current lower down1--it is a turbid river still4 ,on the whole1 so far from admitting the principle of ,mr4 ,newman1 that a book-revelation of moral and spiritual truth is unnecessary1 ,i should rather be disposed to infer the very contrary1 from the uncertainty1 vacillation1 and feebleness of man's spiritual nature4 ,i should be disposed to infer it1 whether ,i look at the lessons which experience and history teach1 or those taught by my own anxious and sincere scrutiny of my own consciousness4 ,if it be1 on the other hand1 as he says1 impossible1 mankind are in a very hopeless predicament1 since it only proves that1 the spiritual insight of man having unhappily failed the great majority of our race1 it cannot be supplied by any external aid2 that the malady1 which is but too apparent1 is also as apparently without a remedy4 ,for myself1 ,i must say that ,i find myself hopelessly at issue with him in virtue of the above axiom1 whether ,i receive or reject his theory of religious truth2 for1 if that axiom be true1 ,i must reject his theory of religion1--since it is nothing but a book-revelation to me1--issued by ,mr4 ,newman1 instead of the ,bible or the ,koran4 ,on the other hand1 if that theory be true1 and ,i accept it1 his maxim must be false1 for the very same reason2 since he himself will have given me a double book-revelation1--a revelation at once of the theory and of the genesis of religion1 both of which are in many respects absolute novelties to my consciousness4 ,but further2 if we take the genesis of religion as described by either of these writers1 and consider the infinite corruptions to which they both acknowledge a perverted1 imperfect development of the religious sentiment and the spiritual faculty has led1 one would imagine that an external communication from ,heaven might be both very possible and very useful2 useful1 if only by cautioning men against those false conceptions which have so uniformly swamped the idea1 and those degraded types1 into which all the various principles of our nature have wheedled the spiritual faculty4 ,only listen to a brief specimen of the by-path meadows which entice the poor soul from the direct course of its development1 and judge whether a communication from ,heaven1 if it were only to the extent of a sign-post by the way-side1 might not be of use6 ,first comes awe4 ,but even in this early stage1 says ,mr4 ,newman1 numberless deviations take place1 and mark especially the rudest ,paganism4 ,we may embrace them under the general name of ,fetichism1 which here claims attention 444444 ,but even in the midst of enlightened science1 and highly literate ages1 errors fundamentally identical with those of ,fetichism may and do exist1 and with the very same results4 7,soul1 pp4 #g1 #aj47 ,then comes wonder3 ,but of this likewise we find numerous degraded types in which the rising religion is marred 444444 ,of this we have eminent instances in the gods of ,greece1 and in the fairies of the ,german and ,persian tribes 444444 ,under the same head will be included the grotesque devil-stories and other legends of the ,middle ,ages 444444 ,yet the dreadful alternative of gross superstition is this1 that the graver view tends to cruel and horrible rites1 while the fanciful and sportive sucks out the life-blood of devout feeling4 7,ibid4 pp4 #ad-af47 ,then comes the sense of beauty3 ,this was strikingly illustrated in ,greek sculpture4 ,a statue of exquisite beauty1 representing some hero1 or an ,apollo1 because of its beauty1 seemed to the ,greeks a fit object of worship 444444 ,an opposite danger is often remarked to accompany the use of all the fine arts as handmaids to religion2 namely1 that the would-be worshipper is so absorbed in mere beauty as never to rise into devotion4 7,ibid4 pp4 #ba1 #bc47 ,then comes the sense of order2 but1 alas6 ,atheism and ,pantheism1 and other degrading types1 may be begotten of it6 ,as ,i look at men thus tumbling into error along this wretched causeway to heaven1 ,i seem to be viewing ,addison's bridge of human life1 with its broken arches1 at each of which thousands are falling through4 ,this way to the celestial city ought to be called the ,northwest ,passage2 it has one1 and only one1 trait of your ,christian path3 there will be few that find it4 ,if1 then1 by the confession of these writers1 the false conceptions and the degraded types--the result of what are as truly principles of man's nature as the supposed spiritual faculty1 only that this last always has the worst in the conflict--have universally1 and for unknown ages1 involved man in the darkest abysses of superstition1 crime1 and misery1 surely external revelation is any thing but superfluous2 and if impossible1 so much the worse4 ,the same truth is even formally evinced by the self-destructive course which both writers employ2 for as the conditions of the development of our spiritual nature1 when not complied with1 lead to all the deplorable consequences which they acknowledge1 how do they propose to rectify them8 ,why1 by external culture1 proper discipline and training1 judicious instruction1 by enlightening mankind1--as we may suppose they are doing by these hopeful books of theirs6 ,if man can do so much by his books1 is it impossible that a book from ,god might do something more8 ,but on this ,i will say nothing1 since you tell me that you have heard attentively the conversation ,i had with my friend ,fellowes the other day4 ,i will therefore omit what ,i had written on this point 444444 ,but ,i proceed to another1 maintained by these writers1 on which ,i confess ,i am equally sceptical4 ,if they concede 7as how can they help it87 that the religious sentiment and the spiritual faculty have somehow left humanity involved in the most deplorable perplexities and the most humiliating errors1 they yet assure us that there is a good time coming1--an auspicious progress in virtue and religion1 very gradual indeed1 but sure and illimitable for the race collectively6 ,yes1 progress1 that is 'the word2 and a progress for the world at large1 of which they speak as certainly as if they had received1 at least on that point1 that external revelation1 the possibility of which they deny4 ,a matter of spiritual insight ,i presume none will declare it to be1 and the data are certainly far too meagre and unsatisfactory to make it calculation4 ,is ,saul among the prophets8 ,yes2 but1 as usual1 the truth 7if it be a truth7 for which they contend is1 as with other parts of their system1 a plagiarism from the abjured ,bible4 ,now1 if ,i must believe prophecy1 ,i prefer the magnificent strains of ,isaiah to the sentimental prose either of ,mr4 ,parker or of ,mr4 ,newman4 ,i must modestly doubt whether1 apart from the representations of the books they abjure as special revelations1 there is any thing in the history of the world which will justly a sober-minded man in coming to any positive conclusion as to this promised progress this infidel millennium1 either the one way or the other4 ,the chief facts1 apart from such special information1 would certainly point the other way4 ,look at the condition of the immense majority of the race in every age1--so far as we can gather any thing from history1--compare it with that of the immense majority at the present moment2--what does it tell us8 ,why1 surely1 that1 if there be a destiny of indefinite progress in religion and virtue for the race collectively1 the hand of the great clock moves so immeasurably slow that it is impossible to note it4 ,the experience of the individual1 nay1 of recorded history1--if we can say there is any such thing1--fails to trace the movement of the index on the huge dial4 ,if there be this progress for the race collectively1 it must be accomplished in a cycle vast as those of the geological eras2--a deposit of a millionth of an inch of knowledge and virtue over the whole race in fifty million years or so6 ,mr4 ,newman is pleased to say1 ,some nations sink1 while others rise2 but the lower and higher levels are both generally ascending4 ,has this level for the whole race been raised perceptibly within the memory of so-called history8 ,observe2 ,i am not denying that the notion may be true3 ,i am literally the sceptic ,i profess to be3 ,i know not--apart from special information from a superhuman source--whether it be true or false4 ,i am only venturing to laugh at men1 who1 denying any such information1 affect to speak with any confidence on the solution of this prodigious problem1 the data for solving which ,i contend we have not3 while those we have1 apart from the direct assurance of supposed inspiration1 more plausibly point to an opposite conclusion4 ,the conclusion which would more naturally suggest itself from the history of the past would be that of perpetual advance and perpetual retrogression1 contemporaneously going on in different portions of the race1-- perpetual flux and reflux of the waves of knowledge and science an different shores2 though1 alas6 as to religion and virtue2 ,i fear that these1 like the ,mediterranean1 are almost without their tides4 ,for a progress in the former1--in the race collectively4--far more plausible arguments can be adduced than for a progress in the latter2 yet how much might be said that appears to militate even against that4 ,think of the frequent and signal checks to civilization2 its transference from seat to seat2 the decay of races once celebrated for knowledge and art2 the inundations of barbarism from time to time2--these things alone might make a sober mind pause before he predicted for the entire race a certain progress even in art and science4 ,experience would at most justify a philosopher in saying4 ,perhaps1 yes2 perhaps no4 ,but the argument becomes incomparably more doubtful when we come to religion1 and especially that particular form of it which such writers as ,messrs4 ,parker and ,newman believe will be preeminent and universal2 towards which consummation it does not appear at present that the smallest conceivable advance has been made2 since1 with the exception of that infinitesimal party1 of which they are among the chief1 the immense majority of mankind persist in rejecting the sufficiency of the internal oracle1 and are still found as strongly convinced as ever both of the possibility and necessity of an external revelation1 and that1 in some shape or other1 it has been given6 ,nay1 the facts1 so far as we have any1 seem all the other way2 for no sooner had men been put approximately in possession of the pure spiritual truth1 which both ,mr4 ,newman and ,mr4 ,parker suppose to be characteristic in larger measure of ,judaism and ,christianity than of any other religion1 than they busily began the work1 not of improvement1 but of corruption4 ,the ,jews corrupted their pure monotheistic truths into what these writers believe the fables1 legends1 miracles1 and absurd dogmas of the ,old ,testament3 and1 as if that were not enough1 proceeded to bury them in the huge absurdities of the ,rabbinical traditions2 the ,christians1 in like manner1 corrupted the yet purer truths1 which these writers affirm ,christianity teaches1 with what they also affirm to be the load of myth1 fiction1 false history1 and monstrous doctrine1 which make up nine tenths of the ,new ,testament3 and1 as if that were not enough1 proceeded1 just as did the ,jews1 to expand the ,new ,testament itself into the worse than ,rabbinical traditions of the ,papacy6 ,from approximate spiritual truth to the supposed legends and false dogmas of the ,pentateuch1 from the supposed legends and dogmas of the ,pentateuch to the absurdities of the ,talmud2--again1 from the approximate spiritual truth of ,christianity to the supposed legends and fanciful doctrines of the ,new ,testament1 and from the legends and doctrines of the ,new ,testament to the corruptions the ,papacy2--surely these are queer proofs of a tendency to progress6 ,a tendency to retrogradation is rather indicated4 ,no sooner1 it appears1 does man proceed to obtain spiritual truth tolerably pure1 as tested by such writers1 than he proceeds incontinently to adulterate it6 ,this unhappy and uniform tendency is also a curious comment on the impotence of the internal spiritual oracle1 as against the ascendency of the historical and traditional4 ,similar arguments of doubt may be derived from other facts4 ,over how many countries did primitive ,christianity soon degenerate into such odious idolatry1 that even the delusions of the false prophet have been considered 7like the doom to labor7 as a sort of beneficent curse in comparison6 ,what1 again1 for ages1 was the history of those ,shemitic races1 in which1 of all races1 was found1 according to ,mr4 ,parker1 the happiest religious organization1 by which they discovered1 earlier than other races1 the great truths of ,monotheism8 ,one incessant bulimia for idolatry was their master-passion for ages2 while for many ages past1 as has been remarked by a countryman of ,mr4 ,parker1 their happy religious organization has been in deplorable ruins4 ,i humbly venture1 then1 once again1 to doubt whether any sober-minded man1 apart from special inspiration1 can affirm that he has any grounds to utter a word about a progress in religion or virtue for the race collectively4 ,but it is easy to see where these writers obtained the notion2 they have stolen it from that ,bible which as a special revelation they have abjured4 ,i cannot help remarking here1 that it is a most suspicious circumstance1 if there be1 indeed1 any universal and sufficient internal revelation1 that these writers find every memorable advance of what they deem religious truth in unaccountable connection either with the happy religious organization of one race1 according to ,mr4 ,parker1 or in equally strange connection with the records of two books originating among that race2 according to ,mr4 ,newman4 ,the ,bible1 says the latter1 is pervaded by a sentiment which is implied everywhere1 namely1 the intimate sympathy of the ,pure and ,perfect ,god with the heart of each faithful worshipper4 ,this is that which is wanting in ,greek philosophers1 ,english ,deists1 ,german ,pantheists1 and all formalists4 ,this is that which so often edifies me in ,christian writers and speakers1 when ,i ever so much disbelieve the letter of their sentences4 7,phases1 p4 #ahh47 ,it is unaccountably odd that the universal spiritual faculty should act thus capriciously1 and equally odd that ,mr4 ,newman does not perceive1 that1 if it were not for the ,bible1 his religion would no more have assumed the peculiar task it has1 than that of ,aristotle or ,cicero4 ,sentiments due to the still active influences of his ,christian education he imputes to the direct intuitions of spiritual vision1 just as we are apt to confound the original and acquired perceptions of our eyesight4 ,he is in the condition of one who mistakes a reflected image for the object itself1 or a forgotten suggestion of another for an original idea4 ,in the camera obscura of his mind1 he flatters himself that the colored forms there traced are the original inscriptions on the walls1 forgetful of the little aperture which has let in the light2 and not even disturbed by the untoward phenomenon1 that the ideas thus contemplated are all upside down4 ,but1 surely1 it is natural to ask1--,how is it that ,greek philosophers1 ,hindoo sages1 ,egyptian priests1 ,english ,deists1--that men of all other religions1--having always had access to the fountain of natural illumination within1 have not also had their ,baxters1 ,leightons1 ,watts1 ,doddridges8 that the whole style of thought on this subject is so totally different in them all1 by his own confession8 ,if man possess the spiritual faculty attributed to him1--if it be a characteristic of humanity1--it will be surely generally manifested2 and even if those disturbing causes1 which he and ,mr4 ,parker so plentifully provide1 by which the genesis of religion is so unhappily marred1 but which1 alas6 no revelation from without can ever counteract--prevent its uniform1 or nearly uniform display1 still its principal indications 7partial though they may be everywhere7 ought1 at least1 to be everywhere indifferently diffused throughout the race4 ,its manifestation may be sporadic1 but it will be in one race as in another2 it will not be suspiciously confined to one race with a peculiarly felicitous religious organization1 or to two books exclusively originating with that favored race4 ,for his spiritual illumination1 it is easy to see ,mr4 ,newman's exclusive dependence on that ,bible which he abjures as a special revelation4 ,if it has not been so to mankind1 it has1 at least1 been so to ,mr4 ,newman4 ,to it he perpetually runs for argument and illustration4 ,among those who will accept his infidelity ,i apprehend there will be few who will not recoil from his representations of spiritual experience1 so obviously nothing more than a disguised and mutilated ,christianity4 ,they will say1 that they do not wish the new cloth sewed on to the old garment2 scarcely a soul amongst them will sympathize with his soul's sorrows1 or share his soul's aspirations6 ,but1 however these things may be1 ,i now proceed to what ,i acknowledge is the most weighty topic of my argument2 which is to prove that1 if ,i acquiesce1 on ,mr4 ,newman's grounds1 in the rejection of the ,bible as a special revelation of ,god1 ,i am compelled on the very same principles to go a few steps further1 and to express doubts of the absolutely divine original of the ,world1 and the administration thereof1 just as he does of the divine original of the ,bible4 ,if ,i concede to ,mr4 ,newman1 however we may differ as to the moral and spiritual faculties of man1 that these are yet the sole and ultimate court of appeal to us2 that from our intuitions of right and wrong1 of moral and spiritual1 truth1 be they more perfect according to him1 or more rudimentary and imperfect according to me1 we must form a judgment of the moral bearings of every presumed external revelation of ,god1--,i cannot do otherwise than reject much of the revelation of ,god in his presumed ,works as unworthy of him1 just as ,mr4 ,newman does very much in his supposed ,word as equally unworthy of him4 ,mr4 ,newman says1 ,only by discerning that ,god has ,virtues1 similar in kind to human ,virtues1 do we know of his truthfulness and his goodness444444 ,the nature of the case implies1 that the human mind is competent to sit in moral and spiritual judgment on a professed revelation1 and to decide 7if the case seem to require it7 in the following tone3--',this doctrine attributes to ,god that which we should all call harsh1 cruel1 or unjust in man3 it is therefore intrinsically inadmissible2 for if ,god may be 7what we should call7 cruel1 he may equally well be 7what we should call7 a liar2 and1 if so1 of what use is his word to us8' 7,soul1 p4 #eh7 ,similarly ,mr4 ,newman continually affirms that ,god reveals himself1 when he reveals himself at all1 within1 and not without2 as he says in his ,phases1--,of our moral and spiritual ,god we know nothing without1--every thing within4 ,it is in the spirit that we meet him not in the communications of sense4 7p4 #eb47 ,if ,i acquiesce in this judgment1 ,i must apply the reasoning of the above passage to the external revelation of ,god in his ,works1 as well as to that in his ,word2 and the above reasoning will be equally valid1 merely substituting one word for the other4 ,we are to decide1 if the case seem to require it1 in the following tone3--,these phenomena--this conduct--implies what we should call in man harsh1 or cruel1 or unjust2 it is1 therefore1 intrinsically inadmissible as ,god's work or ,god's conduct4 ,acting on his principles1 ,mr4 ,newman refuses to depress his conscience 7as he says7 to the ,bible standard4 ,he affirms1 that in many cases the ,bible sanctions1 and even enjoins1 things which shock his moral sense as flagrantly immoral1 and he must therefore reject them as supposed to be sanctioned by ,god4 ,he in different places gives instances2--as the supposed approbation of the assassination of ,sisera by the wife of ,heber1 the command to ,abraham to sacrifice his son1 and the extermination of the ,canaanites4 ,now1 whether the ,bible represents ,god1 or not1 in all these cases1 as sanctioning the things in question1 ,i shall not be at the pains to inquire1 because ,i am willing to take it for granted that ,mr4 ,newman's representation is perfectly correct4 ,i only think that he ought1 in consistency1 to have gone a little further4 ,let him defend1 as in perfect harmony with his intuitions of right and wrong1 the undeniably similar instances which occur in the administration of the universe2 or1 if it be found impossible to solve those difficulties1 let him acknowledge1 either that our supposed essential intuitions of moral rectitude are not to be trusted1 as applicable to the ,supreme ,being1 and that therefore the argument from them against the ,bible is inconclusive2 or1 that no such being exists2 or1 lastly1 that he has conferred upon man an intuitive conception of moral equity and rectitude1--of the just and the unjust1--in most edifying contradiction to his own character and proceedings6 ,here ,fellowes broke in3-- ,if indeed there be any such instances2 but ,i think ,mr4 ,newman would reply1 that they will be sought for in vain in the 'world1' however plentiful1 as ,i admit they are1 in the ,bible4 ,i know not whether he would deny them or not1 said ,harrington2 but they are found in great abundance in the world notwithstanding1 and this is my difficulty4 ,if ,mr4 ,newman were the creator of the universe1 no question1 none of these contradictions between 'intuitions' within1 and stubborn 'facts' without1 would be found4 ,he has created a ,god after his own mind2 if he could but have created a universe also after his own mind1 we should doubtless have been relieved from all our perplexities4 ,but1 unhappily1 we find in it1 as ,i imagine1 the very things which so startle ,mr4 ,newman in the ,scriptural representations of the divine character and proceedings4 ,is he not1 like all other infidels1 peculiarly scandalized1 that ,god should have enjoined the extermination of the ,canaanites8 and yet does not ,god do still more startling things every day of our lives1 and which appear less startling only because we are familiar with them1--at least1 if we believe that the elements1 pestilence1 famine1 in a word1 destruction in all its forms1 really fulfil his bidding8 ,is there any difference in the world between the cases1 except that the terrible phenomena which we find it impossible to account for are on an infinitely larger scale1 and in duration as ancient as the world8 that they have1 in fact1 been going on for thousands of weary years1 and for aught you or ,i can tell1 and as ,mr4 ,newman seems to think probable1 for millions of years8 ,does not a pestilence or a famine send thousands of the guilty and the innocent alike--nay1 thousands of those who know not their right hand from their left--to one common destruction8 ,does not ,god 7if you suppose it his doing7 swallow up whole cities by earthquake1 or overwhelm them with volcanic fires8 ,i say1 is there any difference between the cases1 except that the victims are very rarely so wicked as the ,canaanites are said to have been1 and that ,god in the one case himself does the very things which he commissions men to do in the other8 ,now1 if the thing be wrong1 ,i1 for one1 shall never think it less wrong to do it one's self than to do it by proxy4 ,but1 said ,fellowes1 rather warmly1 for he felt rather restive at this part of ,harrington's discourse1 it is absurd to compare such sovereign acts of inexplicable will on the part of ,god with his command to a being so constituted as man to perform them4 ,absurd be it1 said ,harrington1 only be so kind as to show it to be so1 instead of saying so4 ,i maintain that the one class of facts are just as 'inexplicable1' as you call it1 as the other1 and only appear otherwise because1 in the one case1 we daily see them1 have become accustomed to them and1 what is more than all1 cannot deny them1--which last we can so promptly do in the other case2 for ,moses is not here to contradict us4 ,but ,i rather think1 that a being constituted morally and intellectually like us1 who had never known any but a world of happiness1 would just as promptly deny that ,god could ever perform such feats as are daily performed in this world6 ,i repeat1 that1 if for some reasons 7'inexplicable1' ,i grant you7 ,god does not mind doing such things1 he is not likely to hesitate to enjoin them2 for reasons perhaps equally inexplicable4 ,i say perhaps2 for1 as ,i compare such an event as the earthquake in ,lisbon1 or the plague in ,london1 with the extermination of the ,canaanites1 ,i solemnly assure you that ,i find a greater difficulty1 as far as my 'intuitions' go1 in supposing the former event to have been effected by a divine agency than the latter4 ,if we take the ,scripture history1 we must at least allow that the race thus doomed had long tried the patience of ,heaven by their flagrant impiety and unnatural vices2 that they had become a centre and a source 7as we sometimes see collections of men to be7 of moral pestilence1 in the vicinage of which it was unsafe for men to dwell2 that1 as the ,scriptures say 7whether truly or falsely1 ,i do not inquire71 they had1 filled up the measure of their iniquities4' ,let this be supposed as fictitious as you please1 still the whole proceeding is represented as a solemn judicial one2 and supposing the events to have occurred just as they are narrated1 it positively seems to me much less difficult to suppose them to harmonize with the character of a just and even beneficent being1 than those wholesale butcheries which have desolated the world1 in every hour of its long history1 without any discrimination whatever of innocence or guilty2 which1 if they have inflicted unspeakable miseries on the immediate victims1 have produced probably as much or more in the agony of the myriad myriads of hearts which have bled or broken in unavailing sorrow over the sufferings they could not relieve4 ,such things 7,i speak now only of what man has not in any sense inflicted7 are1 in your view1 as undeniably the work of ,god as is the extermination of the ,canaanites according to the ,bible4 ,why1 if ,god does not mind doing such things1 are we to suppose that he minds on some occasions ordering them to be done2 unless we suppose that man--delicate creature6--has more refined intuitions of right and wrong1 and knows better what they are1 than ,god himself8 ,now1 ,mr4 ,newman and you affirm1 that to suppose ,god should have enjoined the destruction of the ,canaanites is a contradiction of our moral intuitions2 and that for this and similar reasons you cannot believe the ,bible to be the word of ,god4 ,i answer1 that the things ,i have mentioned are in still more glaring contradiction to such 'intuitions'2 than which none appears to me more clear than this1--that the morally innocent ought not to suffer2 and ,i therefore doubt whether the above phenomena are the work of ,god4 ,i must refuse1 on the very same principle on which ,mr4 ,newman disallows the ,bible to be a true revelation of such a ,being1 to allow this universe to be so4 ,in equally glaring inconsistency is the entire administration of this lower world with what appears to me a first principle of moral rectitude1--namely1 that he who suffers a wrong to be inflicted on another1 when he can prevent it1 is responsible for the wrong itself4 ,the whole world is full of such instances4 ,ay1 said ,fellowes1 eagerly1 we ought to prevent a wrong1 provided we have the right as well as the power to interfere4 ,i am supposing that we have the right as well as the power2 as1 for example1 to prevent a man from murdering his neighbor1 or a thief from entering his dwelling4 ,there are1 no doubt1 many acts which1 from our very limited right1 we should have no business to prevent2 as1 for example1 to prevent a man from getting tipsy at his own table with his own wine4 ,but no such limitation can apply to ,him who is supposed to be the ,absolute ,monarch of the universe2 and yet ,he 7according to your view7 notoriously does not interpose to prevent the daily commission of the most heinous wrongs and cruelties under which the earth has groaned1 and hearts have been breaking1 for thousands of years4 ,you will say1 perhaps1 that in all such instances we must believe that there are some reasons for ,his conduct1 though we cannot guess what they are4 ,ah6 my friend1 if you come to believing1 you may believe also that the difficulties involved in the ,scriptural representations of the ,divine character and proceedings are susceptible of a similar solution4 ,if you come to believing1 ,i think the ,christian can believe as well as you1 and rather more consistently4 ,but let me proceed4 ,he then read on4 ,it is plain1 that1 in accordance with our primitive moral intuitions 7if we have any71 we should hold him who had the power to prevent a wrong1 and did not use it1 as a participator and accomplice in the crime he did not prevent4 ,applying1 therefore1 the principles of ,mr4 ,newman1 ,i must refuse to acknowledge such conduct on the part of the ,divine ,being1 and to say1 that such things are not done by him4 ,if ,i may trust my whisper of him1 derived from analogous moral qualities in myself1 ,i must believe that an administration which so ruthlessly permits these things is not his work2 but that his power1 wisdom1 and goodness have been thwarted1 baffled1 and overmastered by some omnipotent devil1 to use ,mr4 ,newman's expression2 if it be1 then that whisper of him cannot be trusted3 the heathen was right1 ,sunt superis sua jura4 ,in other words1 ,i feel that ,i must become an ,atheist1 a ,pantheist1 a ,manichaean1 or--what ,i am--a sceptic4 ,all these perplexities are increased when ,i trace them up to that profound mystery in which they all originate1--,i mean the permission of physical and moral evil4 ,either evil could have been prevented or not2 if it could1 its immense and horrible prevalence is at war with the intuition already referred to2 if it could not1 who shall prove it8 ,i am no more able to contradict the intuitions of the intellect than those of the conscience2 and if any thing can be called a contradiction of the former1 it is to be told that a ,being of infinite power1 wisdom1 and beneficence could not construct a world without an immensity of evil in it2 no reason being assignable or even imaginable for such a proposition1 except the fact that such a world has not been created6 ,i am therefore compelled to doubt1 whether such a universe be really the fabrication of such a ,being4 ,it is impossible to express my astonishment at the ease with which ,mr4 ,newman disposes of the difficulties connected with the origin and perpetuation of physical and moral evil4 ,his arguments are just two of the most hackneyed commonplaces with which metaphysicians have attempted to evade these stupendous difficulties2 and it is not too much to say1 that there never was a man who was not resolved that his theory must stand1 who pretended to attach any importance to them4 ,they are most gratuitously assumed1 and even then are most trivial alleviations2 a mere plaster of brown paper for a deep-seated cancer4 ,i certainly know of no other man who has stood so unabashed in front of these awful forms4 ,one almost envies him the truly childlike faith with which he waves his hand to these ,alps1 and says1 ,be ye removed1 and east into the sea2 but the feeling is exchanged for another1 when he seems to rub his eyes1 and exclaim1 ,presto1 they are gone sure enough6 while you still feel that you stand far within the circumference of their awful shadows4 ,as to physical evil1 ,mr4 ,newman tells us1 ,here may be sufficient to remark1 that the difficulty on the ,epicurean assumption1 that physical case and comfort is the most valuable thing in the universe3 but that is not true even with brutes4 ,there is a certain perfection in the nature of each1 consisting in the full development of all their powers1 to which the existing order manifestly tends 444444 ,as for susceptibility to pain1 it is obviously essential to every part of corporeal life1 and to discuss the question of degree is absurd4 ,on the other hand1 human capacity for sorrow is equally necessary to our whole moral nature1 and sorrow itself is a most essential process for the perfecting of the soul4 7,soul1 pp4 #dc1 #dd47 ,this1 then1 is the fine balm for all the anguish under which the world has been groaning for these thousands of years6 ,but1 first1 how does suffering tend to the perfection of the whole lower creation8 ,it enfeebles1 and at last destroys them1 ,i know2 but ,i am yet to ,learn that it is essential to the perfection of animal life4 ,again1 how does it minister to that of man1 except he be more than the insect of the day1 of which ,mr4 ,newman's theology leaves him in utter doubt8 ,and if he be immortal1 how does it operate beneficially except as an instrument of moral improvement8 ,and how rarely 7comparatively7 do we see that it has that effect6 ,how often is it most prolonged and torturing in those who seem least to need it1 and in those who are absolutely as yet incapable of learning from it2 or1 alas6 are too evidently past learning from it6 ,how often do we see1 slowly sinking under the protracted agonies of consumption1 cancer1 or stone1 all these various classes of mortals1 without our being able to assign1 or even conjecture1 the slightest reason for such experiments6 ,i acknowledge freely1 all1 at we can give no reasons for them2 but it is to mock miserable humanity to give such reasons as these2 doubly to mock it1 if men be the ephemeral creatures which ,mr4 ,newman's theology leaves in such doubt3 since in that case we see not only 7what we see at any rate7 that physical evil does not always1 nor even in many instances1 produce a salutary moral effect1 but that it hardly matters whether it does or not2 for just as the poor patient may be beginning to be benefited by his discipline1 and generally in consequence of it1 he is unluckily annihilated2 he dies of his medicine6 ,surely1 if physical evil be this grand elixir1 never was such a precious balm so improvidently expended4 ,we may well say1 only with much more reason1 what the ,jews said of ,mary's box of ointment1--,why was all this waste8 ,to be sure it is given in abundance to the poor4 ,and1 at the best1 this exquisite reasoning gives no account whatever of that suffering which falls upon innocent infancy and childhood4 ,it destroys them1 however1 and effectually prevents their attaining the perfection which it is so admirable an instrument of developing1 and that too before they can be morally benefited by the salutary sorrow it brings6 ,susceptibility to pain1 says ,mr4 ,newman1 is essential to corporeal being4 ,yes1 susceptibility to pain2 just as a created being must be liable to annihilation4 ,must he be annihilated8 ,just as a hungry stomach must be liable to starvation4 ,must it be starved8 ,the primary office of susceptibilities to pain would seem to be to forewarn us to provide against it4 ,they certainly have that effect4 ,does it necessarily follow that they must involve anguish and death8 ,unless it be supposed1 indeed1 that nature1 having provided such an admirable apparatus of susceptibilities of pain1 thought it a thousand pities that they should not be employed4 ,but when it comes to moral evil1 which ,mr4 ,newman acknowledges cannot be so lightly disposed of1 what then8 ,why1 then he says1 ,let the ,gordian knot be cut4 ,well1 what then8 ,why1 then ,mr4 ,newman frankly assumes that it is transitory and finite1 7,soul1 p4 #de47 and will one day vanish from the universe1 a supposition for which he condescends to give no reason whatever4 ,stat pro ratione voluntas4 ,that this moral evil should have existed at all1 much more to so immense an extent1 under the administration of supposed infinite power1 wisdom1 and benevolence1 is the great difficulty2 that it will ever cease to be1 is a pure assumption for the nonce2 but if it will one day entirely vanish1 it is gratuitous to suppose it might not have been prevented4 ,i1 of course1 acknowledge that we can give no answer to the questions involved in this transcendent mystery1--that our ignorance is absolute2 but ,i do say1 that1 if ,i am to trust to those intuitions of the ,divine ,goodness1 on whose warranty ,mr4 ,newman and ,mr4 ,parker reject the ,bible1 as containing what is unworthy of their conceptions of ,god1 ,i am compelled to proceed further in the same direction2 and repudiate1 as unworthy of ,him1 not merely some of the phenomena of the ,book which men profess to be ,his word1 but also some of the phenomena of that universe which men profess to be ,his work4 ,if ,i can only judge1 as these gentlemen urge1 of such a ,being by the analogies of my own nature1 no intuition of theirs can possibly seem stronger than do mine1 that beings absolutely innocent ought not to suffer2 that to inflict suffering upon them is injustice2 that to permit any evils which we can prevent is in like manner to be accomplices in the crime4 ,on those very principles of all moral judgment which ,mr4 ,newman says are innate and our only rule1 ,i say ,i am compelled to these conclusions2 for if ,god does those things which are ordinarily attributed to ,him1 ,he acts as much in contravention of these intuitions as in any acts attributed to ,him in the ,bible4 ,if it be said1 that there may be reasons for such apparent violations of rectitude1 which we cannot fathom1 ,i deny it not3 but that is to acknowledge that the supposed maxims derived from the analogies of our own being are most deceptive as applied to the ,supreme2 it is to remit us to an act of absolute faith1 by which1 with no greater effort1 nor so great1 we may be reconciled to similar mysteries of the ,bible4 ,but above all is it to do this1 to say that the origin and permission of physical and moral evil are inexplicable2 and it is to double this demand on faith1 to declare that it was all necessary1 and could not be evaded in the construction of the universe even by infinite power1 directed by infinite wisdom1 and both animated by an infinite benevolence6 ,as far as ,i can trust my reason at all1 nothing seems more improbable2 and if ,i receive it by a transcendent exercise of faith1 ,i may1 as before1 give the ,bible the benefit of a like act4 ,i am compelled1 therefore1 on such principles1 either to adopt a ,manichaean hypothesis of the universe1 or do what ,i have done1--adopt none at all4 ,i was talking to a friend on these subjects the other day3 ,ah6 but1 said he1 many of those difficulties you mention oppress every hypothesis1--,christianity just as much as the rest4 ,this1 ,i replied1 is no answer to me nor to you1 if you have a particle of candor2 still less is it one to the ,christian1 who consistently applies the same principle of absolute faith to things apparently a priori incredible1 whether found in the works or in the word of ,god4 ,but if you think the argument of any force1 apply it to the next ,christian you meet1 and see what answer he will make to you2 it will not trouble him4 ,but it is far more ridiculous addressed to me4 ,i ask for something in the place of that ,bible of which the faithful application of your own principles deprives me2 and when ,i affirm that the difficulties of the universe are no less than those of the ,bible ,i have surrendered1 you tell me that the perplexities of my new position are no greater than those of the old6 ,that clearly will not do4 ,i must go further4 ,if ,i am to yield to pretensions of any kind1 ,i would infinitely prefer the yoke of the ,bible to that of ,messrs4 ,parker and ,newman2 for it is to nothing else than their dogmatism ,i must yield1 if ,i admit that the difficulties which compel me to doubt in the one case are less than those which compel me to doubt in the other4 ,but it is not even true that the difficulties in question are left where they were by the adoption of any such theory as that of either ,mr4 ,parker or ,mr4 ,newman4 ,i contend that they are all indefinitely increased4 ,the ,bible does at least give me a plausible account of some of the mysteries which baffle me3 it tells me that man was created holy and happy2 that he has fallen from his excellent estate2 and hence the misery1 ignorance1 and guilt in which he is involved1 and which have rendered revelation necessary4 ,but--and it brings me to the last step of my argument--if ,i accept the theory of the universe propounded by these writers1 not only am ,i left without any such approximate solutions1 or1 if that be thought too strong a term1 without any such alleviations1 but all the difficulties as regards the character1 attributes1 and administration of ,god1 are increased a thousand-fold4 ,the ,scripture account of the fall1--however inexplicable it may be that ,god should have permitted it1--yet does expressly assert that1 somehow or other1 it is man's fault1 not ,god's2 that man is not in his normal condition1 nor in the condition for which he was created4 ,dark as are the clouds which envelop the ,divine ,ruler1 their skirts are tinged with gold1--pervaded and penetrated throughout their dusky depths by that mercy which assures us that1 in some intelligible sense1 this condition of man is contrary to the ,divine ,will1 which1 from the first1 resolved to remedy it2 and that a day is coming when what is mysterious shall be explained1--so far1 at least1 that what has been wrong shall be righted4 ,but what is the theory of the universe propounded by these writers8 ,so hideous 7,i solemnly declare it7 that ,i feel ten times more compelled to reject the universe as a work of an infinitely gracious1 wise1 and powerful ,creator1 than if the difficulties had been simply left where the ,bible leaves them4 ,according to their theory1 man is now1 just what he was at first1--as he came from his ,creator's hand2 or rather in some parts of the world 7thanks to himself though7 a little better than he was originally2 that ,god cast man forth1 so constituted by the unhappy mal-admixture of the elements of his nature1--with such an inevitable subjection of the idea to the conception1 of the spiritual faculty to the degraded types1--that for unnumbered ages--for aught we know1 myriads of ages--man has been slowly crawling up1 a very sloth in progress 7poor beast671 from the lowest ,fetichism to ,polytheism1--from ,polytheism1 in all its infinitude of degrading forms1 to imperfect forms of ,monotheism2 and how small a portion of the race have even imperfectly reached this last term1 let the spectacle of the world's religions at the present moment proclaim6 ,from the more imperfect forms of ,monotheism1 the race is gradually to make progress to something else1--,heaven knows what6 but certainly something still far below the horizon1--still concealed in the illimitable future4 ,for this gradual transformation from the veriest religions grub into the spiritual ,psyche1 man was expressly equipped by the constitution of his nature1--he was created this grub4 ,for all this truly geological spiritualism1 and for all the infinitude of hideous superstitions and cruel wrongs involved in the course of this precious development1 ,mr4 ,parker tells us there was a necessity1--nothing less6 ,it was necessary1 no doubt for his logic1 that he should say so2 but1 apart from his own argumentative exigencies1 it is impossible even to imagine any necessity whatever4 ,it was an ordeal1 it seems1 through which man was obliged to pass4 ,what is all this1 but to acknowledge the unaccountable nature of the problem8 ,with this religious theory admirably coincides the hypothesis of man's having been originally created a savage1 from which he was gradually exalted to the lowest stages of civilization1--a theory which ,i thought had 7in mere shame7 been abandoned to some few ,deists of the last century1 or the commencement of this4 ,it is true that these writers do not expressly indorse it2 but it is easy to see that they favor it2 and it is most certain that it alone is consistent with their parallel theory of man's religious development from the vilest ,fetichism to 7shall we say87 a mythical ,christianity2 though even to that very few have yet arrived4 ,according to this theory1 the ,great ,father--supposed a being of infinite power1 wisdom1 and ,goodness--threw his miserable offering on the face of the earth1 with an admirable absolute religion1 no doubt1 and an admirable spiritual faculty1 but the idea so inevitably subject to thwarting conceptions1 and the spiritual faculty so perpetually debauched by awe and reverence1 and the whole rabble of emotions and affections with which it was to keep company1--in fact1 with the elements of his nature originally so ill poised and compounded1 --that everywhere and for unnumbered ages man has been doomed and necessitated1 and for unnumbered ages will be doomed and necessitated1 to wallow in the most hideous1 degrading1 cruel forms of superstition1 --inflicting and suffering reciprocally all the dreadful evils and wrongs which are entailed by them4 ,for this man was created2 such a thing he was1--through this ordeal he passes1--by original destination4 ,if this be the picture of the ,father of ,all1 he is less kind to his off-spring than the most intimate intuitions teach them to be to theirs4 ,the voice of nature teaches them not to expose their children2 the ,universal ,father1 according to this theory1 remorselessly exposed his6 ,such a ,god1 projected by the spiritual faculties of ,mr4 ,newman and ,mr4 ,parker1 may be imagined to be a more worthy object of worship than the ,god of the ,bible3 he shall never receive mine4 ,if ,i am to abjure the ,bible because it gives me unworthy conceptions of the ,deity1 ,i must1 with more reason1 abjure1 on similar grounds1 such a detestable theory of man's creation1 destination1 and history4 ,as to that progress which is promised for the future1 it is like the necessity for the past1 purely an invention of ,mr4 ,parker2 if ,i receive it1 ,i must receive it simply as matter of prophecy4 ,if the necessity has continued so long1 then1 for aught ,i know1 it may continue for ever2 the evil is all too certain1--the bright futurity is still a futurity4 ,but if it ever became a reality1 it would not neutralize one of the dark imputations which such a theory of the original destination and creation of man casts on the ,divine character2 not to say1 that1 if ,mr4 ,newman's doubts of man's immortality be well founded1 that better future will be of no more avail to the myriads of our race who have suffered under the long iron regime of necessity1 than a reprieve to the wretch who was executed yesterday6 ,i told ,harrington ,i must have a copy of the paper he had just read4 ,i should like1 with his leave1 to publish it4 ,o1 and welcome1 said he4 ,only remember that its tendency is to show that there is no tenable resting place between a revealed religion and none at all2 between the ,bible and scepticism4 ,if you make men sceptics1--mind1 it is not my fault4 ,i will take the risk1 said ,i4 ,i wish the controversy to be brought to the issue you have mentioned4 ,i know there will never be many sceptics1 any more than there will be many atheists2 and if men are convinced that the ,via ,media is as hard to find as you suppose1--or as that between ,romanism and ,protestantism1--they will take refuge in the ,,bible4 ,and if it be the ,,book ,,of ,,god indeed1 this is the issue to which the great controversy will and ought to come4 ,but how is it you were not tempted to become an atheist rather than a sceptic8 ,why1 said he1 with a smile1 the great master of the ,modern ,academy had fortified me against that4 ,hume1 you know1 confesses that1 if men be discovered without any impression of a ,deity1--genuine atheists1--we may assume that they will be found the most degraded of the species1 and only one remove above the brutes4 ,now ,i have no wish to be set down in that category4 ,very different4 said ,i1 is the account our modern atheists give of themselves3 they are contending that the banishment of ,god from the universe1 by one or other of the various theories of ,atheism or ,pantheism 7which ,i take to be the same thing1 with different names71 is the tendency of all modern science8 and that when that science is perfect1 ,god will be no more4 ,my dear uncle1 replied ,harrington1 you are insufficiently informed in the mystery of modern theology4 ,there are no atheists1 properly speaking2 they who are so called merely deny any personal1 conscious1 intelligent sovereign of the universe4 ,even those who call themselves so1 and will have it that they are so1 are told that they are none4 ,i myself have perused statements of some of our modern 'spiritualists1' who know every thing1 even other people's consciousness quite as well as their own 7and perhaps better71 that the said atheists are mistaken in thinking themselves such2 that such genuine love of the spirit of universal nature is something truly divine1 and that they are animated by 'a deeply religious spirit1' though they never suspected it6 ,well1 said ,i4 if you had too much reason1 as you flattered yourself 7adopting ,hume's criterion71 to become an atheist1 could you not have adopted such views as those of ,mr4 ,g4 ,atkinson and ,miss ,martineau1 who both possess surely 7as they claim to possess7 that 'religious reverence' of nature of which you have just spoken8 ,why1 he replied1 ,i am afraid that1 if ,i had too much reason for the one1 ,i have not faith enough for the other4 ,that the miracles and prophecies of the ,bible may possibly have been true1--only the effect of mesmerism2--that things quite as wonderful1 or more so1 happen every day by this wonderful agent2--that every phenomenon that takes place does so in virtue a perfectly wise ,,law1 without any wise ,,lawgiver2--that this wise law has1 it seems1 prearranged that man should generally exhibit an inveterate tendency to religious systems of some kind1 though all religions are absurd1 and persist in believing in his free will1 though free from a downright impossibility2--that these contradictions and absurdities of man are the result of an irreversible necessity1 and yet that ,mr4 ,atkinson may hope to correct them2--that1 by the same necessity1 man is in no degree culpable or responsible1 and yet that ,mr4 ,atkinson may perpetually blame him2 --that no man can do any thing 'wrong1' and yet that till he believes that1 man will never cease to do it2--that people may read without their eyes1 and distinguish colors as colors though they are born blind2--that ,bacon was an atheist1 and that this may be proved by induction from his own writings2--these and other paradoxes1 which ,i must believe1 if ,i believe ,mr4 ,atkinson1 require a faith which it would really be unreasonable to expect from such a sceptic as ,i am4 ,july #ah4 ,till three days ago1 nothing since my last date has occurred having any special relation to the sole object of this journal4 ,i was glad to escape on the #acth to a quiet church some miles off2 and1 after a plain and simple1 but earnest1 sermon from a venerable clergyman 7of whom ,i should like to know a little more71 ,i further refreshed my spirit by a long and solitary ramble of some hours through the beautiful scenery in the midst of which ,harrington's dwelling is situated4 ,in the course of it1 ,i reviewed my own early conflicts1 and augured from them happier days for my beloved nephew4 ,i went carefully over all the main points of the argument for and against the truth of ,christianity1 which in youth had so often occupied me1 and resolved that on some fair opportunity ,i would recount my story to him and ,mr4 ,fellowes4 ,i little thought then that ,i should have a larger and very miscellaneous audience to listen to me4 ,but this will account for my not being to seek 7as they say7 when the occasion presented itself4 ,three days ago 7the #afth7 a queer company assembled in ,harrington's quiet house4 ,the conversations and incidents connected with that day have led me to take refuge for the last two mornings in the solitude of my own chamber1 that ,i might1 undisturbed1 recall and record them with as much accuracy and fulness as possible4 ,very much1 indeed1 that ,i wished to remember has vanished2 but the substance of what too many said1 as well as what ,i said myself made too deep an impression to be easily obliterated4 ,be it known to you1 my dear brother1 that ,i have been not a little amused1 ,i may even say instructed1 by a trick played by your madcap nephew1 for the honor and glory1 ,i suppose1 of his scepticism1 or for some other motive1 not easily divined4 ,he promised me significantly an entertainment1 in which ,i should enjoy the feast of reason and the flow of soul1 by which ,i little thought that he was going to collect a rare party of ,rationalists and ,spiritualists1 in fact1 representatives of all the more prominent forms1 whether of belief or unbelief4 ,i may as well call it the ,,sceptic',s ,,select ,,party4 ,you remember1 ,i doubt not1 the humorous paper in the ,spectator1 in which ,addison introduces the whimsical nobleman who used to invite to his table parties of men 7strangers to one another7 all characterized by some similar personal defect or infirmity4 ,on one occasion1 twelve wooden-legged men found stumping into his dining-room1 one after another1 making1 of course1 a terrible clatter2 on another1 twelve guests1 who all had the misfortune to squint1 amused their host with their ludicrous cross lights2 and on a third1 the same number of stutterers entertained him still more1 not only by their uncouth impediment1 but by the anger with which they began to sputter at one another1 on the supposition that each was mocking his neighbor4 ,a short-hand writer1 behind the scenes1 was employed to take down the conversation1 which1 says the witty essayist1 was easily done1 inasmuch as one of the gentlemen was a quarter of an hour in saying that the ducks and green peas were very good1 and another almost an equal time in assenting to it4 ,at the conclusion1 however1 the derided guests became aware of the trick their entertainer had played upon them2 and from their hands1 quicker than their tongues1 he was obliged to make a precipitate retreat4 ,our dinner-party of yesterday did not break up in any such fracas1 nor was the conversation so unhappily restricted4 ,yet the company was hardly better assorted4 ,to bring it together1 ,harrington ransacked his immediate circle1 and ,fellowes unconsciously recruited for him in the university town4 ,our host had provided for our mutual edification an ,italian gentleman1 with whom he had had some pleasant intercourse on the ,continent1 7by the way he spoke ,english uncommonly well17 and now staying with a ,roman ,catholic in the neighborhood3 this gentleman himself1 with whom ,harrington1 by means of his former friend1 has knocked up an acquaintance 7he is a liberal ,catholic of the true ,british species72 our acquaintance1 ,fellowes1 with his love of insight and spiritualism6 a young surgeon from ----41 a rare1 perhaps unique1 specimen of conversion to certain crude atheistical speculations of ,mr4 ,atkinson and ,miss ,martineau2 a young ,englishman 7an acquaintance of ,harrington's7 just fresh from ,germany1 after sundry semesters at ,bonn and ,tubingen1 five hundred fathoms deep in ,german philosophy1 and who hardly came once to the surface during the whole entertainment2 three ,rationalists 7acquaintances of ,fellowes71 standing at somewhat different points in the spiritual thermometer1 one a devoted advocate of ,strauss3 add to these a ,deist1 no unworthy representative of the old ,english school2 one or two others further gone still2 a ,roman ,catholic priest1 an admirer of ,father ,newman1 who therefore believes every thing2 our sceptical friend ,harrington1 who believes nothing2 and myself1 still fool enough to believe the ,bible to be divine1 --and you will acknowledge that a more curious party never sat down to edify one another with their absurdities and contradictions4 ,questionable as was the entertainment for the mind1 that for the body was unexceptionable4 ,the dinner was excellent2 our host performed his duties with admirable tact and grace2 and somehow speedily put every body at his ease4 ,relieved1 according to the judicious modern mode1 of the care of supplying the plates of his guests1 he had eye1 ear1 and tongue for every one1 and leisure to direct the conversation into what channel he pleased4 ,he took care to turn it for some time on indifferent topics2 and each man lost his reserve and his frigidity almost before he was aware2 so that1 by the time dinner was fairly over1 every one was ready for animated conversation4 ,if any one began to have queer suspicions of his neighbors1 he felt1 as on board ship1 that he was in for it1 and bound1 by common politeness1 to make the best of it4 ,the ,deist1 addressing himself to the ,italian gentleman1 asked him if he had heard lately from ,italy4 ,he replied in the negative4 ,i can tell you some news1 then1 said he4 ,they say that the head of the illustrious ,guicciardini family has been just imprisoned at ,florence1 having been detected reading in ,diodati's ,bible a chapter in the ,gospel of ,st4 ,john4 ,supposing the fact true1 for a moment1 may ,i ask if it would be the wish of the ,roman ,catholic ,church1 were she to regain her power in ,england1 to imprison every one who was found reading a chapter in ,john8 ,if so1 ,england would have to enlarge her prisons4 ,not much1 said one of the ,rationalist gentlemen1 laughing2 for if things go on as they have done1 there will not1 in a few years1 be many who will be found reading a chapter in ,john4 ,perhaps so1 said ,harrington1 smiling1 but1 if for the reason you would assign1 few will be found in church either2 and the ecclesiastical authorities might perhaps put you in prison for that instead4 ,o1 ,i will answer for him6 said the ,deist1 who knew something of his plasticity2 our friend is very accommodating1 and though he would not like to go to go to church1 he would still less like to go to prison4 ,and to church he would go2 and look very devout into the bargain4 ,but1 however1 ,i should like to hear what your ,italian guest has to say to my question4 ,the impatience of the ,english ,catholic could not be repressed4 ,if1 said he1 the ,roman ,catholic religion were to regain its ascendency to-morrow1 it would leave our entire code of laws1 liberties1 and privileges just as it found them2 it is one of the many calumnies with which our ,church is continually treated1 to say that she would act otherwise3 and were it not so1 ,i would immediately desert her4 ,the ,catholic priest did not look well pleased with this frank avowal4 ,i quite believe you1 said our host4 ,i believe you are too much of an ,englishman to say or to act otherwise4 ,so do ,i1 said the ,deist2 ,i moreover agree with you1 that1 if the ,roman ,catholic religion were to regain her ascendency to-morrow1 she would leave all our privileges intact2 but would she the next day1 and the day after that8 ,in other words1 is it an essential principle with her to persecute1--as in this instance1 to imprison for peeping between the leaves of the ,bible1--or is it not8 ,do you think1 ,signor1 that in such acts the principles of your ,church are complied with or violated8 ,the ,italian gentleman looked perplexed2 he presumed that the ,catholic ,church complied with the actual laws of every country2 and if such ,country chose to deny religious liberty1 the ,church did not deem it requisite to declare opposition4 ,i fear that is no answer to my question1 cried the other1 a little cavalierly4 ,it cannot serve you1 ,signor4 ,it would not1 indeed1 serve you anywhere for we know the anxiety with which ,rome has expressly secured1 in her recent concordat with ,spain1 the recognition of the most intolerant maxims4 ,but least can it serve you in the ,papal ,states1 where1 unluckily for your observation1 the ,pope is monarch4 ,your remark would imply that your ,church favored the principles of religious liberty rather than otherwise1 but did not deem it right to oppose the will of civil governments4 ,are we to understand by that1 that the chief of the ,papal ,states abhors as a ,pope what he does as a sovereign8 that in the one capacity he protests against what he allows in the other8 ,no1 no1 continued this brusque assailant1 ,it is too late to talk in that way4 ,if the ,church of ,rome really approve of religious liberty1--of such principles as those which govern ,england1--where are her protests and her efforts against intolerance and persecution where she still retains power8 ,it is the least that humanity can expect of her4 ,if not1 let her plainly say that1 when she regains power in ,england1 she will reform us to the condition of ,spain and ,italy in this matter4 ,for my part1 ,i frankly acknowledge1 that ,i have more respect for a ,roman ,catholic who proclaims that it is inconsistent for his ,church to tolerate where it has the power to repress1 because ,i see that that is her uniform practice1 and therefore ought to be her avowed maxim4 ,the ,roman ,catholic priest1 who is a devoted admirer of ,father ,newman1 said that he thought so too2 and quoted some candid recent admissions to that effect from certain ,english ,roman ,catholic periodicals4 ,to employ1 said he1 the very words of a recent convert to us from the ,anglican ,church1 ',the ,church of ,rome may say1 ,i cannot tolerate you2 it is inconsistent with my principles2 but you can tolerate me1 for it is not inconsistent with yours4 ,the ,deist remarked that it was straightforward2 that he admired it4 ,though as an argument1 said he1 it is much as if a robber should say to an honest man on the king's highway1 ',how advantageously ,i am situated6 ,you cannot rob me1 for it is inconsistent with your principles2 but ,i can rob you1 for ,i have none4' ,another of the company observed that he feared it was in vain for the ,church of ,rome to contend that she was favorable to freedom of opinion1 in any degree or form1 so long as the ,index ,expurgatorius was in existence1 or such stringent means adopted to repress the circulation and perusal of the ,scriptures4 ,the liberal ,english ,catholic again chafed at this last indictment4 ,it was1 he said1 another of the calumnies with which his ,church was treated4 ,hardly a calumny1 my good sir1 replied the other1 in the face of such facts as that which gave rise to the present conversation1 of the encyclical letters of ,pius ,,vii41 ,leo ,,xii41 ,gregory ,,xvi41 and many other ,popes1 and the well-known fact that it is impossible to obtain in ,rome itself a copy of the ,scriptures1 except at an enormous price1 and even then it must be read by special license4 ,pardon me1 he continued1 still addressing the ,english ,catholic1 ,i mean nothing offensive to you2 but neither ,i nor any other ,english ,protestant can consent to admit you sincerely liberal ,english ,roman ,catholics to be in a condition to give us the requisite information touching the maxims and principles of your ,church4 ,you have been too long accustomed to enjoy and revere religious liberty1 not to imagine your ,church sympathizes with it2 you do not realize what she is abroad2 and if you be sincere in condemning such acts as that which led to this conversation1 as inconsistent with her genuine principles1 why the ominous silence of you and your co-religionists in all such cases8 ,where are your protests and efforts8 ,how is it you do not denounce maxims and practices so rife throughout ,papal ,christendom1 since you say you would denounce them1 if it were attempted to realize them here8 ,when you protest with one voice against these things as inconsistent 7so you say7 with the principles of your ,church1 and as therefore deeply dishonoring her1--whether your views on this point be right or wrong1--we shall at least admit you to have a title to give us an opinion on the subject4 ,even then1 though1 said the ,deist1 we may think it safer to consult the opinions1 and1 what is the practices1 of the vast majority of the ,roman ,catholic ,church1 and her conduct in the countries in which she holds undisputed sway1 and therefore ,i am anxious to hear whether the ,signor would justify imprisonment for reading the ,bible4 ,our host seemed to think that the conversation proceeded in this direction quite far enough2 and his foreign guest should be made uncomfortable by these close inquiries1 observed1 sarcastically1 that he was glad to find that the querists were so anxious to secure the inestimable privilege of freely reading ,scriptures4 ,it is the more admirable1 said he to last speaker1 as ,i am aware it is most disinterested2 you having too little value for the ,scriptures to read them yourself4 ,sic vos non vobis3 you labor for others4 ,you remind me of the colloquy in the ',citizen of the ,world1' between the debtor in jail and the soldier outside his prison window4 ,they were discussing1 you recollect1 the chances of a ,french invasion4 ',for my part1' cries the prisoner1 'the greatest of my apprehensions is for our freedom2 if the ,french should conquer1 what would become of ,english liberty8 ',it is not so much our liberties1' says the soldier1 with a profane oath1 'as our religion1 that would suffer by such a change2 ay1 our religion1 my lads6' ,the company laughed1 and the assailants forgot the former topics4 ,our host went on further to encourage his foreign guest1 though in a left-handed way1 with a gravity which1 if ,i had not known him1 would not only have staggered1 but even imposed upon me4 ,for my part1 said he1 my good ,sir1 if ,i were you1 ,i should not hesitate to acknowledge at once that it is not only the true policy1 but the solemn duty1 of the ,church of ,rome to seclude as much as possible the ,scriptures from the people4 ,the gentleman looked gratified1 and the guests were all attention4 ,in my judgment much more can be said on behalf of the practice than at first appears2 and if ,i sincerely believed all you do1 ,i should certainly advocate the most stringent measures of repression4 ,the foreigner began to look quite at his ease4 ,for example1 continued ,harrington1 in a very quiet tone1 supposing ,i believed1 as you do1 that the ,holy ,virgin is entitled to all the honors which you pay her1 so that1 as is well known1 in ,italy and other countries1 she even eclipses her ,son1 and is more eagerly and fondly worshipped1--it would be impossible for me to peruse the meagre accounts given in the ,new ,testament of this so prominent an object of ,catholic reverence and worship1--to read the brief1 frigid1 not to say harsh speeches of ,christ1--to contemplate the stolidity of the ,apostles with regard to her1 throughout their ,epistles1--never even mentioning her name1--,i say it would be impossible for me to read all this without having the idea suggested that it was never intended that ,i should pay her such homage as you demand for her1 or without feeling suspicious that the ,new ,testament disowned it and knew nothing of it4 ,very true1 said the ,italian3 ,i must say that ,i have often felt that there is such a danger to myself4 ,similarly1 what a shock would it perpetually be to my deep reverence for the spiritual head of the ,church1 and my conviction of his undoubted inheritance1 from the ,prince of the ,apostles1 of his august prerogatives1 to find no trace of such a personage as the ,pope in the sacred page1--the title of ',bishop of ,rome' never whispered1--no hint given that ,peter was ever even there6 ,i really think it would be impossible to read the book without feeling my flesh creep and my heart full of doubt4 ,similarly1 take that single mystery of 'transubstantiation'2 though it seems sufficiently asserted in one text1 which therefore it well 7as is1 indeed1 the practice with every pious ,catholic7 continually to quote alone1 yet1 when ,i look into other portions of the ,new ,testament1 ,i see how perpetually ,christ is employing metaphors equally strong1 without any such mystery being attached to them4 ,i cannot but feel that ,i and every other vulgar reader would be sure to be exposed to the peril of suspecting that in that single case a metaphorical meaning much more probable than so great a mystery4 ,you reason fairly1 my dear ,sir1 said the ,italian4 ,again1 continued ,harrington1 blandly bowing to the compliment1 believing1 as ,i should1 in the efficacy of the intercessions of the saints1 in the worship of images1 in seven sacraments1 in indulgences1 and necessity of observing a ritual incomparably more elaborate than an undeveloped ,christianity admitted1 how very1 very apt ,i should be to misinterpret many passages1 both in the ,old ,testament and the ,new6 ,how is it possible that the vulgar reader should be able to limit the command not to bow down 'to any graven image' to its true meaning1--that is1 'to any image' except those of the ,virgin and all the saints2 to interpret aright the passages which speak so absolutely about the one ,mediator and ,intercessor1 when there are thousands6 ,how will he be necessarily startled to find 'seven' sacraments grown out of 'two'6 ,how will he be shocked at the apparent--of course only apparent--contempt with which ,st4 ,paul speaks of ritual and ceremonial matters1 of the futility of 'fasts' and distinctions of 'meats and drinks1' of observing 'days and months and years4' and so on4 ,his whole language1 ,i contend1 would necessarily mislead the simple into heresies innumerable4 ,of numberless texts1 again1 even if the meaning were not mistaken1 the true meaning would never be discovered unless the ,church had declared it4 ,who1 for example1 would have supposed that the doctrine of the ,pope's supremacy and universal jurisdiction lay hid under expressions such as ',i say unto thee that thou art ,peter1' and ',feed my sheep'2 or that the two swords of the ,prince of the ,apostles meant the temporal and spiritual authority with which he was invested8 ,under such circumstances1 ,i must say1 that1 if ,i were a devout ,catholic1 ,i should plead for the absolute suppression of a book so infinitely likely--nay1 so necessarily certain--to mislead4 ,it is precisely on that ground1 said the ,italian1 and on that ground only1 the welfare of the ,church1 that our ,holy ,mother does not approve of the ,bible being read generally4 ,the true theory of the ,roman ,catholic ,church would never be elicited from it4 ,precisely so1 said our host1 gravely2 ,i am sure it could not4 ,but then1 remarked our friend1 the ,deist1 since the ,church of ,rome holds this book to be the inspired revelation of ,god to mankind1 is it not singular to say that this 'revelation' requires to be carefully concealed from mankind2 that the ,bible is invaluable1 indeed1 but only while it is unread2 and that1 in fact1 the ,church knows herself better than ,jesus ,christ himself did8 for in that book we are supposed to have the words of ,him and her founders1 and yet it seems they could only mislead6 ',never man spake like this man1' may well be said of ,christ1 if this were true4 ,never mind him1 ,signor1 said our host4 ,he secretly cannot but approve of your end1 though he disapproves the means4 ,the ,deist looked surprised4 ,why1 have you not sometimes said that you believe the ,bible to be1 in many respects1 a most pernicious book8 that many of the most obstinate and dangerous prejudices of mankind are principally due to it8 and that you wish it were in your power to destroy it8 ,well1 ,i certainly have thought so1 if not said so4 ,then you approve of the end1 though you disapprove of the means4 ,you ought to thank our friend here1 and regret that his work is not done more effectually4 ,but enough of this4 ,i must not have my respected ,roman ,catholic guests alone put on the defensive4 ,the ,signor fairly tells us what his system is in relation to the ,bible and why he would place it under lock and key2 he tells you also what better thing he substitutes when he removes the ,bible4 ,i really think it is but fair and candid in you to do as much4 ,i know you all believe that you are not only in quest of religious truth1 but have found it to some extent or other3--for my own part ,i am exempted from speaking2 for ,i have given over the search in despair4 ,this frank acknowledgment was followed by some highly curious conversation1 of which ,i regret my inability to recall all the particulars4 ,suffice it to say1 that there were not two who were agreed either as to the grounds on which ,christianity was deemed a thing of naught1 or on what was to be substituted in its place2 one even had his doubts whether any thing need be substituted1 and another thought that any thing might be4 ,one of the ,rationalists was a little offended at being supposed willing to abandon the ,bible at all3 he declared1 on the contrary1 his unfeigned reverence for the ,new ,testament at least1 as containing1 in larger mass and purer ore than any other book in the world1 the principles of ethical truth2 that he was willing even to admit--with exquisite naivete--that it was inspired in the same sense in which ,plato's ,dialogues and the ,koran were inspired2 he merely dispensed with all that was supernatural and miraculous and mystical6 ,the ,deist laughed1 and told him that he believed just as much1 if that constituted a ,christian4 ,i believe1 said he1 that the ,new ,testament is quite as much inspired as the ,koran of ,mahomet2 and that it contains more of ethical truth 7however it came there7 than is to be found in any other book of equal bulk4 ,but1 he proceeded1 if you dispense with all that is miraculous in the facts1 and all that is peculiar and characteristic in the doctrines1--that is1 all which discriminates ,christianity from any other religion1--,i am afraid that your ,christianity is own born brother to my ,infidelity4 ,as for your reverence for this inspired book1 since you must reject ninety per cent4 of the whole1 it seems to me very gratuitous2 equally so1 whether you suppose the compilers believed or disbelieved the facts and doctrines you reject2 if the former1 and they were deceived1 they must have been inspired idiots2 if the latter1 and were deceiving others1 they were surely inspired knaves4 ,for my part1 he continued1 while ,i hold that the book somehow does unaccountably contain more of the morally true and beautiful than any book of equal extent1 ,i also hold that ,christianity itself is a pure imposture from beginning to end4 ,this coarse avowal of adherence to the elder1 and1 after all1 more intelligible deism1 brought down upon him at once two of the company4 ,one was the disciple of ,strauss 7,i mean as regards his theory of the origin of ,christianity1 not as regards his ,pantheism72 the other a ,rationalist1 with about the same small tatters of ,christianity fluttering about him1 but who was a little disposed1 like so many ,german theologians1 to consider ,strauss as somewhat passe4 ,unhappily1 got athwart each other's bows shortly after they into action4 ,they both enlarged--really in a edifying manner1 ,i could have listened to them an hour--on the absurdity of the ,deist's argument6 ,what6 cried one2 the purest system of ethics from the most shameless impostors6 ,and what do you make of the infinitely varied and inimitable marks of simplicity and honesty in the writers8 cried the other4 ,and who does not see the impossibility of getting up the miracles so as to impose upon a world of bitter and prejudiced enemies in open day8 exclaimed the ,rationalist4 ,they were obviously mere myths1 cried the ,straussian4 ,that ,i must beg to doubt1 said the other4 ,and now1 as they proceeded to give each his own solution of the difficulty1 the scene became comic in the extreme4 ,the ,rationalist ridiculed the notion that nations and races1 all of whom1 in the nature of things1 must have been prejudiced against such myths as those of ,christianity1 could originate or would believe them2 and still more1 the notion that in so short a space of time these wildest of wild legends 7if legends at all7 could induce the world to acquiesce in them as historic realities6 ,in his zeal he even said1 that1 though not altogether satisfied with it1 he would sooner believe all the frigid glosses by which the school of ,paulus had endeavored to resolve the miracles into misunderstood natural phenomena4 ,as the dispute became more animated between these three champions1 they exhibited a delicate trait of human nature1 which ,i saw our sceptical host most maliciously enjoyed4 ,each became more anxious to prove that his mode of proving ,christianity false was the true mode1 than to prove the falsehood of ,christianity itself4 ,i tell you what1 said the ,straussian1 with some warmth1 sooner than believe all the absurdities of such an hypothesis as that of ,paulus1 ,i could believe ,christianity to be what it professes to be4 ,i may say the same of that of ,strauss1 said the other1 with equal asperity2 if ,i had no better escape than his1 ,i could say to him1 as ,agippa to ,paul1 ',almost thou persuadest me to be a ,christian4' ,for my part1 exclaimed the ,deist1 who was perfectly contented with his brief solution1--the difficulties of the problem he had never had the patience to master1 --,i should rather say1 as ,festus to ,paul1 ',much learning has made you both mad'3 and sooner than believe the impossibilities of the theory of either1--sooner than suppose men honestly and guilelessly to have misled the world by a book which you and ,i admit to be a tissue of fables1 legends1 and mystical non-sense1--,i could almost find it in my heart to go over to the ,pope himself4 ,good1 whispered our host to me1 who sat at his left hand2 we shall have them all becoming ,christians1 by and by1 just to spite one another4 ,the admirer of ,mr4 ,atkinson and ,miss ,martineau here reminded the company that the miracles of the ,new ,testament might be true1--only the result of mesmerism4 ,christ1 said he1 to employ the words of ,mr4 ,atkinson1 was constitutionally a clairvoyant 44444 ,prophecy and miracle and inspiration are the effects of abnormal conditions of man 44444 ,prophecy1 clairvoyance1 healing by touch1 visions1 dreams1 revelations1 4444 are now known to be simple matters in nature1 which may be induced at will1 and experimented upon at our firesides1 here in ,england 7climate and other circumstances permitting71 as well as in the ,holy ,land499 ,but no one seemed prepared to receive this hypothesis4 ,at last1 our host1 addressing the ,deist1 said1 ,but you forget1 ,mr4 ,m41 that1 though you find it insurmountably difficult to conceive a book full of lies 7as you express it7 to have been1 consciously or unconsciously1 the product of honest and guileless minds1 you ought to find it a little difficult to conceive a book 7as you admit the ,new ,testament to be7 of profound moral worth produced by shameless impostors4 ,but let that pass4 ,let us assume that ,christianity1 as a supernaturally revealed and miraculously authenticated system1 is false1 though you are dolefully at variance as to how it is to be proved so2 let us assume1 ,i say1 that this system is false1 and dismiss it4 ,i am much more anxious to hear what is the positive system of religious truth1 which you are of course each persuaded is the true one4 ,i have left off to seek1' but if any one will find the truth for me without my 'seeking' it1 how rejoiced shall ,i be6 --- 99 ,he cited the substance of these sentiments4 ,i have since referred to1 and here quote1 the ipsissima verba4 ,see ,letters1 c41 pp4 #age1 #bab4 --- ,painful as were the revelations which ensued1 ,i would not have missed them on any account4 ,in vino veritas1 says the proverb which on this occasion lied most vilely2 yet it was true in the only sense in which veritas is there used2 for there was unbounded candor and frankness1 under the inspiring hospitality of our host1 aided by his skilful management of the conversation4 ,nor was there1 ,i am bound to say1 much of coarse ribaldry1 even from the free-spoken representative of the ,tindals and ,woolstons of other days4 ,but the varieties of judgment and opinion in that small company were almost numberless4 ,fellowes1 and two of the ,rationalists1 were firm believers in the theory of insight2 that the human spirit derives1 by immediate intuition from the depths of its consciousness1 a revelation of religious and spiritual truth4 ,they differed1 however1 as to several articles2 but especially as to the little point1 whether the fact of man's future existence was amongst the intimations of man's religious nature2 one contending that it was1 another that it was not1 and ,fellowes1 as usual1 with several more of the company1 declaring that their consciousness told them nothing about the matter either way4 ,but when some one further declared1 amidst these very disputes1 that this internal revelation was so clear and plain as not only to anticipate and supersede any external revelation1 but to render it impossible to be given1 our host suddenly broke out into a fit of laughter4 ,the disputants were silent1 and every one looked to him for an explanation4 ,he seemed to feel that it was due1 and1 after apologizing for his rudeness1 said1 that1 while some of them were asserting man's clear internal revelation1 he could not help thinking of the whimsical contrast presented by the diversified speculations and opinions of even this little party1 and the infinitely more whimsical contrast presented by the gross delusions of polytheism and superstition1 which in such endless variations of form and unchanging identity of folly had misled the nations of the earth for so many thousands of years3 ,and just then1 said he1 it occurred to me what a curious commentary it would be on the asserted unity and sufficiency of 'internal revelation1' if the ',great ,exhibition of the ,industry of all ,nations' were followed up by a ',great ,exhibition of the ,idolatry of all ,nations' under the same roof4 ,thither night be brought specimens of the ingenious handicraft of men in the manufacture of deities2 we might have the whole process1 in all its varieties1 complete2 the raw material of a ,god in a block of stone or wood1 and the most finished specimen in the shape of a ,phidian ,jupiter2 the countless bits of trumpery which ,fetichism has ever consecrated2 the divine monsters of ancient ,egypt1 and the equally divine monsters of modern ,india2 the infinite array of grim deformities hallowed by ,american1 ,asiatic1 and ,african superstition4 ,i imagined1 notwithstanding the vastness of that ,crystal ,pantheon1 there would still be crowds of their godships who would be obliged to wait outside1 having come too late to exhibit their perfections to advantage4 ,however1 as ,i went in fancy up the long aisles1 and saw1 to the right and the left1 the admiring crowds of worshippers1 grimacing1 and mowing1 and prostrating themselves1 with a folly which might lead one reasonably to suppose1 that1 miserable as were the gods1 they were gods indeed compared with such worshippers1 ,i imagined my worthy friend ,fellowes in the corner where the ,bible1 in its #abj languages1 is now kept1 employed in delivering a lecture on the admirable clearness of those intuitions of spiritual truth which constitute each man's particular oracle1 and the superfluity of all 'external' revelation4 ,this was1 ,i confess1 a little too much for my gravity1 and ,i was involuntarily guilty of the rudeness for which ,i now apologize4 ,it was certainly a ridiculous vision enough2 and we made ourselves very merry by pursuing it for a little while4 ,presently the company resumed their solutions off the great problem4 ,the ,deist remarked1 that one and only one thing was plain1 and indubitable1--for he was a dogmatist in his way2--it was1 that intellect and power to an indefinite extent had been at work in the universe1 but whether the ,being to whom these attributes belonged took any cognizance of man1 or his actions1 he had never been able to make up his mind4 ,yet surely it does make a slight difference1 said ,harrington1 since if ,god takes no cognizance of man1 then1 as ,cicero long ago remarked of the idle dogs of ,epicurus1 --,i mean gods of ,epicurus1 ,i beg their pardon1 but really it does not matter which consonant comes first1--atheism and deism are much the same thing4 ,why1 said the ,deist1 there is as much difference as in the theories of our 'intuitional' friends here1 one of whom admits1 and another denies1 the future existence of man2 for if we be the ephemeral insects the latter supposes1 it little matters what system of religion we espouse or abjure4 ,however1 ,i am clear that1 if ,god require any duty of us1 it is that we should reverence him as the ,creator of all things1--prayer to him is an absurdity1--and perform those offices of honest men which are so clearly the dictates of conscience1--the reward and punishment being exclusively the result of present laws4 ,which laws1 said his next neighbor1 often secure no reward or punishment at all1--or rather1 often give the reward to the vice of man1 and the punishment to his virtue4 ,very true1 rejoined the ,deist1 and ,i must say1--sagely shaking his head1--that such things make me often suspect the whole of that slippery1 uncertain thing called 'natural religion1' whether as taught by the elder deists or modified by our modern spiritualists4 ,surely they may be abundantly charged with the same faults with which they tax the ,christian2 for they are full of interminable disputes about the 'truths' or 'sentiments' of their theology4 ,one of those who had gone further than our ,deists felt disposed to question all immutable morality original dictates of conscience4 ,i doubt1 said he1 whether those dictates are any clearer than those dogmas of 'natural religion' which have been so oppugned2 and ,i judge so for the same reason1--the endless disputes of men with regard to the source1 the rule1 the obligation of what they call duty2 which are exactly similar to the disputes which we charge upon the ,natural ,religionist and the ,christian4 ,and here he ran through half a dozen of the two score theories which the history of ethics presents1 rare work with ,plato and ,aristotle1 ,hobbes1 ,cudworth1 ,mandeville1 and ,bentham4 ,meantime1 he concluded1 we do see1 in point of fact1 that the moral rule is most flexible1 and to an indeterminate degree the creature of association1 custom1 and education1 so that ,i am inclined to think that that alone is obligatory which the positive laws and institutions of any society render binding4 ,so that cried ,harrington1 a man both may and ought to thieve in ancient ,sparta1 may expose his parents in ,hindostan1 and commit infanticide in ,china6 ,it is a pity1 archly whispered the ,italian guest1 that this gentleman was not born in ,china4 ,it is a respectable1 but very old speculation1 said ,harrington1 of which many ancient moralists avowed themselves the advocates1 but of which it is only fair to admit that ,plato and many other heathens were heartily ashamed4 ,it seemed as if the bathos of theological and ethical absurdity could not lie deeper2 but ,i was mistaken4 ,the admirer of ,mr4 ,atkinson declared with great modesty that he thought1 as did his favorite author1 that the whole world had been mad on the subject of theology and morality2--that the prime error consisted in the superficial notion of a ,personal ,deity1 and the foolish attribution of the notion of sin and crime to human motives and conduct1 instead of regarding the former as a name of an absolutely unknown cause of the entire phenomena of the universe1 and the latter as part of a series of rigidly necessary antecedents and consequents1 for which man is no more to be either blamed or praised than the sun for shining or the avalanche for falling2 he added1 that only in this way could man attain peace4 ,as ,mr4 ,atkinson beautifully says1 ',what a hopeful and calming influence has such a contemplation of nature6 ,at this moment it is not ,i1 but the nature within me1 that dictates my speech and guides my pen4 ,i am what ,i am4 ,i cannot alter my will1 or be other than what ,i am1 and cannot deserve either reward or punishment4' ,but ,i feel with him1 ',we may preach these things1 and men may think us mad or something worse4' 7,pp4 #aij1 #aia47 ,and perhaps justly1 said ,harrington1 with a laugh1 for nature has surely1 after so many thousands of years1 let you know what her law is1 and you say that that law is necessary and irreversible1 and yet you strive to alter it6 ,you had better leave men to their necessary absurdities4 ,nay1 said the other1 as ,mr4 ,atkinson says1 from the recognition of a universal law we shall develop a universal love2 the disposition and ability to love without offence or ill-feeling towards any2 or1 as ,miss ,martineau represents it1--,when the mind has completely surmounted every idea of a personal ,god1 of a supreme will1 'what repose begins to pervade the mind6 ,what clearness of moral purpose naturally ensues6 and what healthful activity of the moral faculties6' 7p4 #bai7 4444 ,what a new perception we obtain of the beauty of holiness1--the loveliness of a healthful moral condition1--accordant with the laws of natures1 and not with the requisitions of theology6' 7p4 #bai47 ,i got him afterwards to show me these passages1 for ,i could hardly believe that he had quoted them right4 ,and as for morality1 continued he1 the knowledge which mesmerism gives of the influence of body on body1 and consequently of mind on mind1 will bring about a morality we have not yet dreamed of4 ,and who shall disguise his nature and his acts when we cannot be sure at any moment that we are free from the clairvoyant eye of some one who is observing our actions and most secret thoughts2 and our whole character and history may be read off at any moment6 7,h4 ,g4 ,a4 to ,h4 ,m41 p4 #bhj47 ,what an admirable substitute1 thought ,i1 for the idea of an omnipresent and omniscient ,deity6 ,who will not abstain from lying and stealing when he thinks1 there is possibly some clairvoyant at the antipodes in mesmeric rapport with his own spirit1 and perhaps1 by the way1 in very sympathizing rapport1 if the clairvoyant happen to be in ,australia8 ,it was at this point that our young friend from ,germany broke in4 ,i hold that you are right1 ,sir1 he said to the last speaker1 in saying that ,god is not a person2 but then it is because1 as ,hegel says1 he is personality itself--the universal personality which realizes itself in each human consciousness1 as a separate thought of the one eternal mind4 ,our idea of the absolute is the absolute itself2 apart from and out of the universe1 therefore1 there is no ,god4 ,i think we may grant you that1 said ,harrington1 laughing4 ,nor1 continued the other1 is there any ,god apart from the universal consciousness of man4 ,he-- ,ought you not to say it8 said ,harrington4 ,it1 then1 said our student1 is the entire process of thought combining in itself the objective movement in nature with the logical subjective1 and realizing itself in the spiritual totality of humanity4 ,he 7or it1 if you will7 is the eternal movement of the universal1 ever raising itself to a subject1 which first of all in the subject comes to objectivity and a real consistence1 and accordingly absorbs the subject in its abstract individuality4 ,god is1 therefore1 not a person1 but personality itself4 ,nobody answered1 for nobody understood4 ,q4 ,e4 ,d41 said ,harrington1 with the utmost gravity4 ,thus encouraged1 our student was going on to show how much more clear ,hegel's views are than those of ,schelling4 ,the only real existence1 he said1 is the relation2 subject and object1 which seem contradictory1 are really one1--not one in the sense of ,schelling1 as opposite poles of the same absolute existence1 but one as the relation itself forms the very idea4 ,not but what in the threefold rhythm of universal existence there are affinities with the three potencies of ,schelling2 but---- ,take a glass of wine4 said ,harrington to his young acquaintance1 take a glass of wine1 as the ,antiquary said to ,sir ,arthur ,wardour1 when he was trying to cough up the barbarous names of his ,pictish ancestors1 'and wash down that bead-roll of unbaptized jargon which would choke a dog4' ,we laughed1 for we could not help it4 ,our young student looked offended1 and muttered something about the inaptitude of the ,english for a deep theosophy and philosophy4 ,it is all very well4 said he1 ,mr4 ,harrington2 but it is not in this way that the profound questions which1 under some aspects1 have divided such minds as ,fichte1 ,schelling1 and ,hegel2 and under others1 ,gosehel1 ,hinrichs1 ,erdmann1 ,marheineke1 ,schaller1 ,gabler ----- ,harrington burst out laughing4 ,they divide a good many philosophers of that last name in ,england also1 said he4 ,why1 what have ,i said8 replied the other1 looking surprised and vexed4 ,nothing at all1 said ,harrington1 still laughing4 ,nothing that ,i know of2 ,i am sure ,i may with truth affirm it4 ,but ,i beg your pardon for laughing2 only ,i could not help it1 at finding you like so many other young philosophers born of ,german theology and philosophy1 attempting to frighten me by a mere roll-call of formidable names4 ,why1 my friend1 it is because these things have1 as you say1 divided these great minds so hopelessly1 that ,i am in difficulty2 if the philosophers had agreed about them1 it would have been another story4 ,one would think1 to hear them invoked by many a youth here1 that these powerful minds had convinced one another2 instead of that1 they have simply confounded one another4 ,it was the very spectacle of their interminable disputes and distractions in philosophy and theology1--ever darker and darker1 deeper and deeper1 as system after system chased each other away1 like the clouds they resemble through a winter sky2--,i say it was the very spectacle of their distractions which first made me a sceptic2 and ,i think ,i am hardly likely to be reconvinced by the mere sound of their names1 ushered in by vague professions of profound admiration of their profundity6 ,the praise is often oddly justified by citing something or other1 which1 obscure enough in the original1 is absolute darkness when translated into ,english2 and must1 like some versions ,i have seen of the classics1 be examined in the original1 in order to gain a glimpse of its meaning4 ,the student acknowledged that there was certainly much vague admiration and pretension amongst young ,englishmen in this matter2 but thought that profounder views were to be gathered from these sources than was generally acknowledged4 ,very well1 replied ,harrington2 ,i do not deny it1 perhaps it is so2 and whenever you choose to justify that opinion by expressing in intelligible ,english the special views of the special author you think thus worthy of attention1 whether he be from ,germany or ,timbuctoo1 ,i humbly venture to say that ,i will 7so far from laughing7 examine them with as much patience as yourself4 ,but if you wish to cure me of laughing1 ,i beseech you to refrain from all vague appeals to wholesale authority4 ,the most ludicrous circumstance1 however1 he continued1 connected with this ,german mania is1 that in many cases our admiring countrymen are too late in changing their metaphysical fashions2 so that they sometimes take up with rapture a man whom the ,germans are just beginning to cast aside4 ,our servile imitators live on the crumbs that fall from the ,german table1 or run off with the well-picked bone to their kennel1 as if it were a treasure1 and growl and show their teeth to any one that approaches them1 in very superfluous terror of being deprived of it4 ,it would be well if they were to imitate the importers of ,parisian fashions1 and let us know what is the philosophy or theology a la mode1 that we may not run a chance of appearing perfect frights in the estimate even of the ,germans themselves4 ,coffee was here brought in3 and ,harrington said1 ,thank you1 gentlemen1 for your candor1 though your unanimity does not seem very admirable4 ,in one sentiment1 indeed1 you are pretty well agreed1--that the ,bible is to be discarded2 though you are infinitely at variance1 as to the grounds on which you think so2 ,catholic friends deeming it too precious to be intrusted to every body's hands1 and the rest of you1 as a gift not worth receiving4 ,but as to the systems you would substitute in its place1 they are so portentously various that they are hardly likely to cure me of my scepticism2 nor even my worthy relative here--pointing to me--of his old-fashioned orthodoxy4 ,he will say1 ',much as we theologians differ as to the interpretation of ,scripture1 our differences are neither so great nor so formidable as those of these gentlemen4 ,i had better remain where ,i am4' ,several of the guests stared at me as they would at the remains of a megatherium4 ,is it possible1 said one at last1 that you1 ,sir1 can retain a belief in the divine inspiration of the ,bible1--excluding incidental errors of transcription and so on8 ,it is not only possible1 said ,i1 but certain4 ,do you mean1 said the other1 that you can give satisfactory answers to the objections which can be brought against various parts of it8 ,by no means1 said ,i2 while ,i think that many may be wholly solved1 and more1 partially1 ,i admit there are some which are altogether insoluble4' ,then why1 in the name of wonder1 do you retain your belief8 ,because ,i think that the evidence for retaining it is1 on the whole1 stronger than the evidence for relinquishing it2 that is1 that the objections to admitting the objections are stronger than the objections themselves4 ,but how do you manage in a controversy with an opponent as to those insoluble objections8 ,i admit them4 ,then you allow his position to be more tenable and reasonable than yours8 ,no1 said ,i1 ,i take care of that4 ,how so8 ,i transfer the war1 ,my good ,sir3 a practice which ,i would recommend to most ,christians in these days4 ,when ,i meet with an opponent of the stamp you refer to1 who thinks insoluble objections alone are sufficient reasons for rejecting any thing4 ,i say to him1 ',my friend1 this ,christianity1 if so clearly false1 is not worth talking about3 let us quit it4 ,but as you admit1 with me1 that religious truth is of great moment1 and as you think you have it1 pray oblige me by your system4' ,to tell you the truth1 ,i never found any difficulty in propounding plenty of insoluble objections2 but if you think differently1 you or any gentleman present can make experiment of the matter now4 ,nay1 my dear uncle1 said ,harrington1 you are invading my province4 ,it is ,i only who can consistently challenge all comers2 like the ancient ,scythians1 ,i have every thing to gain and nothing to lose4 ,whether it was out of respect for the host1 or that each felt1 after the recent disclosures1 that he would not only have ,harrington and myself1 but every body else1 down upon him1 nobody accepted this challenge4 ,at last one of them said he could not even yet comprehend how it was that ,i could remain an old-fashioned believer in these days of progress4 ,it was infidelity itself1 ,i replied1 that early robbed me of the advantages of being an infidel4 ,several expressed their surprise1 and ,i told them that1 after we had taken tea in the drawing-room 7to which we were then summoned71 ,i would1 if they felt any curiosity upon the matter1 and would allow a little scope to the garrulity of an old man1 tell them ,,how ,,it ,,was ,,that ,,infidelity ,,prevented ,,my ,,becoming ,,an ,,infidel4 ,,after tea ,i gave my story1 as nearly as ,i can recollect1 in the following way4 ,of course ,i cannot recall the precise words2 but the order of the thoughts--how often have they been pondered6--,i cannot be mistaken about4 ,it is now thirty years ago or more since ,i was passing through many of the mental conflicts in which ,i see so many of the young in the present day involved4 ,i have no doubt that the majority of them will come out1 probably after an eclipse more or less partial1 very orthodox ,christians1--so great are the revolutions of opinion which an experience of human life and the necessities of the human heart work upon us6 ,as ,i look around me1 ,i see few of my youthful contemporaries who have not survived their infidelity4 ,far be it from me--7,i spoke in a tone which1 ,i imagine1 they hardly knew whether to take as compliment or irony7--to affirm that the infidels of this day are like those ,i knew in my youth4 ,i have no hesitation in saying of us1 that a perfectly natural recoil--partly intellectual and partly moral--from the supernatural history1 the peculiar doctrines1 but1 above all1 the severe morality of the ,new ,testament1 was at the bottom of our unbelief4 ,i have long felt that the reception of that book on the part of any human being is not the least of its proofs that it is divine1 for ,i am persuaded there never was a book naturally more repulsive either to the human head or heart4 ,all the prejudices of man are necessarily arrayed against it4 ,i felt these prejudice1 ,i am now distinctly conscious2 nor was ,i insensible to the palpable advantages of infidelity2--its accommodating morality2 its ,large margin for the passions and appetites2 its doubts of any future world1 or its certainty that1 if there were one1 it would prove a universal paradise 7for doubts and certainties are equally within the compass of human wishes72 the absolute abolition of hell and every thing like in4 ,i say ,i saw clearly enough the advantages which infidelity promised1 and ,i acknowledge ,i was not insensible to them4 ,i think no young men are likely to be4 ,i do not insinuate that similar advantages have any thing to do with those many peculiar revelations of religion which different oracles have in our day substituted for the ,new ,testament4 ,the arguments against ,christianity1 indeed1 ,i do not find much altered2 the substitutions for it1 though distractingly various1 are1 ,i confess1 in some respects different4 ,nay1 we see that many of our spiritualists complain chiefly of the moral and spiritual deficiencies of ,christianity2 they are afraid1 with ,mr4 ,newman1 of the conscience of man being ,,depressed to the ,bible standard6 ,so that we must suppose that the aim of some1 at least1 of our infidel reformers1 are prompted by a loftier ideal of spiritual purity than ,christianity presents6 ,it certainly was not so then4 ,i felicitate some of you1 gentlemen1 on being so much holier and wiser1 nor only than we were1 but even than ,christ and his ,apostles4 ,i have said ,i was not insensible to the advantages of infidelity2 but nature had endowed me with prudence as well as passions2 and ,i wanted evidence for what appeared to me its most gratuitous philosophy of the future1--for its too uncertain doubts of all futurity1 and its too doubtful certainty of none but a happy one6 ,i also wanted evidence of the falsehood of ,christianity itself4 ,as to the former1 ,i shall not trouble you with my difficulties2 there were indeed then1 as now1 an admirable variety of theories2 but if ,i could have been convinced of the futility of the claims of ,christianity1 ,i believe ,i should have been easily satisfied as to a substitute2 or rather1 unable to decide between ,chubb and ,bolingbroke1 ,voltaire and ,rousseau1 ,i should most likely have tossed up for my religion4 ,it was the distractions with regard to the evidences of ,christianity that ruined me2 and at last condemned me to be a ,christian4 ,i was first troubled1 like so many in our day1 about the miracles4 ,i could hardly bring my mind to believe them4 ,one day1 talking with a jovial fellow whom ,i casually met 7not of very strong mind indeed1 but who made up for it by very strong passions7 over the improbability of such occurrences1 he exclaimed1 as he mixed his third glass of brandy and water1 ,i only wonder how any one can be such a fool as to believe in any stuff of that sort8 ,do you think that1 if the miracles had been really wrought1 there could have been any doubters of ,christianity8 ,he tossed off the brandy and water with a triumphant air2 and ,i quite forgot his argument in compassion for his bestiality4 ,i expostulated with him4 ,you may spare your breath1 ,mr4 ,solomon1 said he4 ,may this be my poison 7as it will be my poison71 mixing a fourth glass1 if ,i need any sermons on the subject4 ,hark ye1--,i am perfectly convinced that the habit ,i am chained to will be the destruction of health1 of reputation1 of my slender means1--will reduce to beggary and starvation my wife and children1--and yet1 drinking again1 ,i know ,i shall never leave it off4 ,good heavens6 said ,i4 ,why1 you seem as plainly convinced of the infatuation of your conduct as if miracle had been wrought to convince you of it4 ,i am4 he said1 unthinkingly2 ten thousand miracles could not make it plainer2 so you may 'spare your breath to cool your porridge1' and preach to one who is not already in the condemned cell4 ,i was exceedingly shocked2 but ,i thought within myself1--,it appears1 then1 that man may act against convictions1 as strong as any that a miracle could produce4 ,it is clear there are no ,,limits to the perversity with which a depraved will and passions can overrule evidence1 even where it is admitted by the reason to be invincible4 ,it does not follow1 then1 that a miracle 7which cannot present conclusions more clear7 must triumph over them4 ,if the passions can defy the understanding1 where it coolly acknowledges they cannot pervert the evidence1 how much more easily may they cajole it to suggest doubts of the evidence itself6 ,and what more easy than in relation to miracles8 ,such a phenomenon might from novelty produce a transient impression2 but that would pass away1 just as the vivid feelings sometimes excited by a sudden escape from death pass away2 the half-roused debauchee resumes his old career1 just as if he had never looked over the brink of eternity and shuddered with horror as he gazed4 ,he who had seen a miracle might very soon1 and probably would1 if he did not like the doctrine it was to confirm1 persuade himself that it was an illusion of his senses1 for they have deceived him2 unless1 indeed1 he saw a new miracle every day1 and then he would be certain to get used to it4 ,how much more easily could the ,jews do this1 who both hated the doctrine of ,him who taught1 and1 not thinking miracles impossible1 could conveniently refer them to ,beelzebub6 ,i felt1 therefore1 that the brandy and water logic had perfectly convinced me that this was far too precarious ground on which to conclude that the miracles of the ,new ,testament had been wrought4 ,i was further confirmed in my convictions of the illogical nature of all a priori views on the subject1 by the whimsical differences of opinion among my infidel friends4 ,one told me that it was plain that miracles were incredible1 and impossible1 per se2 but he was immediately contradicted by a second1 who said that he really could not see any thing incredible or impossible about them2 that all that was wanting to make them credible was sufficient evidence1 which perhaps had in no case been given4 ,a third said1 that it was of little consequence2 that no miracle could prove a moral truth2 and2 taking a view just the opposite to that of my first acquaintance1 swore that1 if he saw a score of miracles1 he should not be a bit the more inclined to believe in the authority of a religion authenticated by them4 ,here was a fine beginning for an ingenuous neophyte1 who was eager to be fully initiated in infidel theology6 ,it set me to examine the miracles themselves1 and the evidence for them4 ,they were the simple result of fraud practising upon simplicity1 said one of the genuine descendants of ,bolingbroke and ,tindal4 ,i pondered over it a good deal4 ,at last ,i said one day to another infidel acquaintance1 ,you ask me to believe that the miraculous events of the ,new ,testament were contrivances of fraud2 which1 though ventured upon in the very eyes of those who were interested in detecting them1 who must have been prejudiced against them1 nay1 the majority of whom 7as the events show7 were determined1 whether they detected them or not1 not to believe those who wrought them1 were yet successfully practised1 not only on the deluded disciples of the impostors1 but on their unbelieving persecutors1 who admitted them to be miracles1 only of ,beelzebub's performing4 ,i really know not how to believe it4 ,as ,i look at the general history of religion1 ,i see that this open-day appeal to miracles--especially such as raising the dead--among prejudiced spectators interested in unmasking them is1 if unsupported by truth1 just the thing under which a religious enterprise inevitably fails4 ,i reminded him that the ,french prophets in ,england got on pretty well till their unlucky attempt to raise the dead1 when the bubble burst instantly2 that for this reason the more astute impostors have refrained from any pretensions of the kind1 from ,mahomet downwards2 7,how discreetly cautious1 again1 have the ,mormonites been on this point67 that the miracles they professed to have wrought were conveniently wrought in secret1 on the safe theatre of their mental consciousness2 or that they were reserved for times when their disciples were predetermined to believe them1 because they were cordial believers already in the religion which appealed to them6 ,i said nothing of the unlikelihood of the instruments--,galilean ,jews--whom the theory invests with such superhuman powers of deception2 or of the prodigious intellect and lofty ambition with which it also so liberally endows these obscure vagabonds1 who not only conceived1 in spite of their narrow-hearted ,jewish bigotry1 such a system as ,christianity1 but proclaimed their audacious resolve of establishing it on the ruins of every other religion1--,jewish or ,heathen4 ,i said nothing of the still stranger moral attributes with which it invests them1 7in spite of their being such odious tricksters1 in spite of all their grovelling notions and exclusive prejudices17 as the teachers of a singularly elevated and catholic morality2 what is still stranger as suffering for it1--strangest of all1 as apparently practising it4 ,i said nothing of what is still more wonderful1 their acting this inconsistent part from motives we cannot assign or even imagine2 their encountering obloquy1 persecution1 death1 in the prosecution of their object1 whatever it was4 ,i said nothing of the innumerable and one would think inimitable1 traits of nature and sincerity in the narrative of those who record these miracles1 and which1 if simulated by such liars1 would be almost a miracle itself2 a narrative1 in which majestic indifference to human criticism is everywhere exhibited2 in which are no apologies for the extraordinary stories told1 no attempt to conciliate prejudice1 no embellishment1 no invectives 7as ,pascal says7 against the persecutors of ,christ himself2--they are simple witnesses1 and nothing more1 and are seemingly indifferent whether men despise them or not4 ,i repeat1 ,i said nothing of all these paradoxes2 ,i insisted that the mere fact of the successful machination of false miracles1 of such a nature1 at so many points1 in open day1 in defiance of every motive and prejudice which must have prompted the world to unmask the cheat1--of a conspiracy successfully prosecuted1 not by one1 but by many conspirators1 whose fortitude1 obstinacy1 and circumspection1 both when acting together and acting alone1 never allowed them to betray themselves1--was1 per se1 incredible2 and yet1 said ,i to my friend1 you ask me to believe it8 ,i ask you to believe it8 cried he1 in surprise which equalled my own4 ,i am not fool enough ask you to believe any thing of the kind3 and they are fools who do4 ,the miracles fraudulent machinations6 no1 no1 it was1 as you say1 evidently impossible4 ,and where shall we look for marks of simplicity and truthfulness1 if not in the records which contain them4 ,the fact is4 said he 7,i should mention that it was just about the time that the system of naturalism was culminating under the auspices of ,paulus of ,heidelberg1 from whom1 at second hand1 my infidel friend borrowed as much as he wanted71--the fact is1 that the compilers of the ,new ,testament were pious1 simple-minded1 excellent enthusiasts1 who sincerely1 but not the less falsely1 mistook natural phenomena for supernatural miracles4 ,what more easy than to suppose people dead when they were not1 and who were merely recovered from a swoon or trance8 than to imagine the blind1 deaf1 or dumb to be miraculously healed1 when in fact they were cured by medical skill8 than to fancy the blaze of a flambeau to be a star1 and to shape thunder into articulate speech1 and so on8 ,christ was no miracle-worker1 but he was a capital doctor4 ,i pondered over this natural explanation for a long time4 ,at last ,i ventured to express to a third infidel friend my dissatisfaction with it4 ,not only1 said ,i1 is such a perpetual and felicitous genius for gross blundering1 such absolute craziness of credulity1 in strange contrast with the intellectual and moral elevation which the ,new ,testament writers everywhere evince1 and especially in the conception of that ,ideal of ,excellence which even those who reject all that is supernatural in ,christianity acknowledge to be so sublime a masterpiece1--in whose discourses the most admirable ethics are illustrated1 and in whose life they are still more divinely dramatized1--not only is such ludicrous madness of fanaticism at variance with the tone of sobriety and simplicity everywhere traceable2 but1--what is more1--when ,i reflect on the number and grossness of these supposed illusions1 ,i find it hard to imagine how to image how even individual could have been honestly stupid enough to be beguiled by them1 and utterly impossible to suppose that a number of men should on many occasions have been simultaneously thus befooled6 ,but1 what is much more1 how can those who must often have managed the phenomena which were thus misinterpreted into miracles1--how1 especially1 can the great ,physician himself1 who knew that he was only playing the doctor1 be supposed honestly to have allowed the simple-minded followers to persist in so strange an error8 ,either he1 or they1 or both1 must1 one would think1 have been guilty of the grossest frauds4 ,but the mere number and simultaneity of such strange illusions1 under such a variety of circumstances1 render it impossible to receive this hypothesis4 ,i cannot see1 ,i said1 that it is so very easy for a number of men to have been continually mistaking 'flambeaux' for 'stars1' 'thunder' for 'human speech1' and ',roman soldiers' for 'angels4' ,my friend laughed outright4 ,i should think it is not easy1 indeed6 he exclaimed1 especially that last4 ,for my part1 ,i see clearly1 on this theory1 that either the ,apostles or their commentators were the most crazy1 addle-headed wretches in the world4 ,either ,paulus of ,tarsus or ,paulus of ,heidelberg was certainly cracked3 ,i believe the last4 ,no1 my friend2 depend upon it that the ,gospels consist of a number of fictions1--many of them very beautiful1--invented1 ,i am inclined to believe1 for a very pious purpose1 by highly imaginative minds4 ,this sat me thinking again4 ,and1 in time1 my doubts1 as usual1 assumed a determinate shape1 and ,i hastened to another oracle of infidelity in hopes of a solution4 ,if the ,new ,testament be supposed a series of fictions1 ,i argued1--the work of highly imaginative minds for a pious purposes--there is perhaps a slight moral anomaly in the case 7but ,i do not insist upon it73 ,i mean that of supposing pious men writing fictions which they evidently wish to impose on the world as simple history1 and which they must have known would1 if received at all1 be actually regarded as such2 as1 in fact1 they have been4 ,i do not quite understand how pious men should thus endeavor to cheat men into virtue1 nor inculcate sanctity and truth through the medium of deliberate fraud and falsehood4 ,but let that pass2 perhaps one could forgive it4 ,other anomalies1 far more inexplicable1 strike me4 ,that ,galilean ,jews 7such as the history of the time represents them71 with all their national and inveterate prejudices1--wedded not more to the law of ,moses than to their own corruptions of it1 bigoted and exclusive beyond all the nations that ever existed1 eaten up with the most beggarly superstitions1--should rise to the moral grandeur1 the nobility of sentiment1 the catholicity of spirit1 which characterize the ,gospel1 and1 above all1 to such an ideal as ,jesus ,christ1--this is a moral anomaly1 which is to me incomprehensible3 the improbability of ,christianity having its natural origin in such a source is properly measured by the hatred of the ,jews against it1 both then and through all time4 ,i said ,i could as little understand the intellectual anomalies of such a theory4 ,could men1 among the most ignorant of a nation sunk in that gross and puerile superstition of which the ,new ,testament itself presents a true picture1 and which is reflected in the ,jewish literature of that age1 and ever since1--a nation whose master minds then and ever since 7think of that67 have given us only such stuff as fills the ,talmud1 --could such men1 ,i said1 have created such fictions as those of the ,new ,testament1--reached such elevated sentiments1 or conveyed them in perfectly original forms1 embodied truth so sublime in a style so simple8 ,throughout those writings is a peculiar tone which belongs to no other compositions of man4 ,while the individuality of the writers not lost1 there are still peculiarities which pervade the whole1 and have1 as ,i think1 justly been called a ,scripture style4 ,one of their most striking characteristics1 by the way1 is a severely simple taste2 a uniform freedom from the vulgarities of conception1 the exaggerated sentiment1 the mawkish nonsense and twaddle1 which disfigure such an infinitude of volumes of religious biography and fiction which have been written since4 ,could such men attain this uniform elevation8 ,could such men have invented those extraordinary fictions1--the miracles and the parables8 ,could they1 in spite of their gross ignorance1 have so interwoven the fictitious and the historical as to make the fiction let into the history seem a natural part of it8 ,could they1 above all1 have conceived the daring1 but glorious1 project of embodying and dramatizing the ideal of the system they inculcated in the person of ,christ8 ,and yet they have succeeded1 though choosing to attempt the wonderful task in a life full of unearthly incidents1 which they have somehow wrought into an exquisite harmony6 ,but even if one such man in such an age and nation could have been found equal to all this1 could we1 ,i argued1 believe that several 7with undeniable individual varieties of manner7 were capable of working into the picture similarly unique1 but different materials1 with similar success1 and of reproducing the same portrait1 in varying posture and attitude1 of the great ,moral ,idea8 ,could we believe that1 in achieving this task1 not one1 but several1 were intellectual magicians enough to solve that great problem of producing compositions in a form independent of language1--of laying on colors which do not fade by time2 so that while ,homer1 ,shakspeare1 ,milton1 suffer grievous wrong the moment their thoughts are transferred into another tongue1 these men should have written so that their wonderful narrative naturally adapts itself to every dialect under heaven8 ,these intellectual anomalies1 ,i confessed1--if these had been all1-- staggered me4 ,as ,lord ,bacon said that he would sooner believe all the fables of the ,talmud1 than that this universal frame was without a mind1 so ,i could sooner believe all those fables1 than that minds that can only produce ,talmuds should have conceived such fictions as the ,gospel4 ,i could as soon believe that some dull chronicler of the ,middle ,ages composed ,shakspeare's plays1 or a ploughman had written ,paradise ,lost2 only that1 to parallel the present case1 we ought to believe that four ploughmen wrote four ,paradise ,losts6 ,nay1 ,i said1 ,i would as soon believe that most laughable theory of learned folly1 that the monks of the ,middle ,ages compiled all the classics6 ,nor could it help me to say that it was ,christians1 not ,jews1 who compiled the ,new ,testament2 for they must have been ,jews before they were ,christians3 and the twofold moral and intellectual problem comes back upon our hands1--to imagine how the ,jewish mind could have given birth to the ideas of ,christianity1 or have embodied them in such a surpassing form4 ,and as to the intellectual part of the difficulty1--unhappily abundant proof exists in ,christian literature that the early ,christians could as little have manufactured such fictions as the ,jews themselves6 ,the ,new ,testament is not more different from the writings of ,jews1 or superior to them1 than it is different from the writings of the ,fathers1 and superior to them4 ,it stands alone1 like the ,peak of ,teneriffe4 ,the ,alps amidst the flats of ,holland would not present a greater contrast than the ,new ,testament and the ,fathers4 ,and the further we come down1 the less capable morally1 and nearly as incapable intellectually1 do the rapidly degenerating ,christians appear1 of producing such a fiction as the ,new ,testament2 so that1 if it be asked whether it was not possible that some ,christians of after times might have forged these books1 one must say with ,paley1 that they could not4 ,and by the by1 gentlemen1 said ,i1 7interrupting my narrative1 and addressing the present company17 ,i may remind some of you who are great admirers of ,professor ,newman1 that he admits 7as indeed all must1 who have had an opportunity of comparing them7 the infinite inferiority of the ,fathers1 though he does not attempt to account1 as surely he ought1 for so singular a circumstance4 ,he says in his ,phases3 ,on the whole1 this reading of the ,apostolical ,fathers greatly exalted my sense of the unapproachable greatness of the ,new ,testament4 ,the moral chasm between it and the very earliest ,christian writers seemed to me so vast1 as only to be accounted for by the doctrine 44444 that the ,new ,testament was dictated by the immediate action of the ,holy ,spirit4 7,phases1 p4 #be47 ,but to resume the statement of my early difficulties4 ,i felt that the anomalies involved in the theory of the fictitious origin of the ,new ,testament were almost endless2 ,i said that1 however hard to believe that any men1 much less such men as ,jews of that age1 were capable of such achievements as ,i had already specified1 ,i must believe much more still2 for the men1 with all their wisdom1 were fools enough to make their enterprise infinitely more hazardous1--by intrusting the execution of it to a league of many minds1 thus multiplying indefinitely their chances of contradiction2 by adopting every kind and style of composition1 full of reciprocal allusions2 and1 above all1 by dovetailing their fabrications into true history1 thus encountering a perpetual danger of collision between the two2 all as if to accumulate upon their task every difficulty which ingenuity could devise6 ,could ,i believe that such men as those to whom history restricts the problem had been able1 while thus giving every advantage to the detection of imposture1 to invent a narrative so infinitely varied in form and style1 composed by so many different hands1 traversing1 in such diversified ways1 contemporary characters and events1 involving names of places1 dates1 and numberless specialities of circumstance1 and yet maintain a general harmony of so peculiar a kind1 such a callida junctura of these most heterogeneous materials1 as to have imposed on the bulk of readers in all ages an impression of their artless truth and innocence1 and that they were writing facts1 and not fictions8 ,above all1 could they be capable of fabricating those deeply-latent coincidences1 which1 if fraud employed them1 overreached fraud itself2 lying so deep as to be undiscovered for nearly eighteen centuries1 and only recently attracting the attention of the world in consequence of the objections of infidels themselves8 ,we know familiarly enough1 that to sustain any verisimilitude in a fictitious history 7even though only one man has the manufacture of it7 is almost impossible1 because the relations of fact that must be anticipated and provided against are so infinitely various1 that the writer is certain to betray himself4 ,the constant detection of very limited fabrications of a similar nature1 when evidence is sifted in a court of justice1 shows us the impossibility of weaving a plausible texture of this kind4 ,many things are sure to have been forgotten which ought to have been remembered4 ,if this be the case1 even where one mind has the fabrication of the whole1 how much more would it be the case if many minds were engaged in the conspiracy8 ,should we not expect1 at the very least1 the hesitating1 suspicious1 self-betraying tone usual in all such cases8 ,could we expect that general air of truth which so undeniably prevails throughout the ,new ,testament1--the inimitable tone of nature1 earnestness1 and frank sincerity1 which1 in the case of such extravagant forgeries1 would alone be marvellous traits8 ,but1 at all events1 could we expect those minute coincidences1 which lay too deep for the eye of all ordinary readers1 and would never have been discovered had not infidelity provoked ,paley and others to excavate those subterranean galleries in which they are found8 ,and here again ,i interrupted my narrative to remark1 that ,professor ,newman acknowledges the force of these coincidences1 and1 as usual1 gives no account of them4 ,he says of the ,horae ,paulinae1 in his ,phases3 ,this book greatly enlarged my mind as to the resources of historical criticism4 ,previously my sole idea of criticism was that of the discreet discernment of style2 but ,i now began to understand what powerful argument rose out of combinations2 and the very complete establishment which this work gives to the narrative concerning ,paul in the latter half of the ,acts appeared to me to reflect critical honor on the whole ,new ,testament4 7,phases1 p4 #bc47 ,but once more to resume my statement4 ,upon mentioning these and such like considerations to my infidel friend1 who pleaded1 that the ,new ,testament was fiction1 he replied4 ,as to the harmony in these fictions1 --if they be such1--you acknowledge that it is not absolute3 that are discrepancies4 ,yes1 ,i said1 there are discrepancies1 ,i admit2 and ,i was about to mention that as another difficulty in the way of my reception of his theory3 ,i refer to the nature and the limits of those discrepancies4 ,if there had been an absolute harmony1 even to the mildest point1 ,i am persuaded that1 on the principle of evidence in all such cases1 many would have charged collusion on the writers1 and have felt that it was a corroboration of the theory of the fictitious origin of these compositions4 ,but as the case stands1 the discrepancies1 if the compositions be fictitious indeed1 are only a proof that these men attained a still more wonderful skill in aping verisimilitude than if there had been no discrepancies at all4 ,they have left in the historic portions of their narrative an air of general harmony1 with an exquisite congruity in points which lie deep below the surface1--a congruity which they must be supposed to have known would astonish the world when once discovered2 and have at the same time left certain discrepancies on the surface 7which criticism would be sure to point out71 as if for the very purpose of affording guaranties and vouchers against the suspicion of collusion4 ,the discords increase the harmony4 ,once more1 ,i asked1 could ,i believe ,jews1 ,jews in the reign of ,tiberius or ,nero1 equal to all these wonders8 ,but all this1 even all this1 ,i said1 was as nothing compared with another difficulty involved in this theory4 ,how came these fictions1 containing such monstrous romance1 if romance at all1 and equally monstrous doctrines1 to be believed2 to be believed by multitudes of ,jews and ,gentiles1 both opposed and equally opposed to them by previous inveterate superstition and prejudice8 ,how came so many men of such different races and nations of mankind to hasten to unclothe themselves of all their previous beliefs in order to adopt these fantastical fables8 ,how came they to persist in regarding them as authoritative truth8 ,how came so many in so many different countries to do this at once8 ,nay1 ,i added with a laugh1 ,i think there are distinct traces1 as far as we have any evidence1 that these very peculiar fictions must have been believed by many before they were even compiled and published4 ,my infidel friend mused1 and at last said1 ,i agree with you that these compositions could not have been fictions in the ordinary sense1 that is1 deliberately composed by a conspiracy of highly imaginative minds4 ,that last argument alone1 of their success1 is conclusive against that2 but may they not have been legends which gradually assumed this form out of floating traditions and previous popular and national prepossessions8 ,in short1 he faintly sketched a notion somewhat similar to that mythic theory1 since so elaborately wrought out by ,strauss4 ,i answered somewhat as follows3--,if the first place1 on this hypothesis1 all the intellectual and moral anomalies of the last theory reappear4 ,that such legends should have been the product of the ,jewish mind 7whether designedly or undesignedly1 consciously or unconsciously1 makes no difference71 is one of the principal difficulties4 ,if it had been objected to ,pere ,hardouin1 that ,virgil's ,aeneid could nor have been composed by one of the monks of the ,middle ,ages4 ,i suppose that it would have been no relief from the difficulties of his hypothesis to say that it was a gradual1 unconsciously formed deposit of the monkish mind6 ,but besides all this1 ,i said1 the theory was loaded with other absurdities specially its own3 for we must then believe all the indications of historic plausibility to which ,i had adverted in speaking of the previous theory to be the work of accident2 a supposition1 if possible1 still more inconceivable than that some superhuman genius for fiction had been employed on their elaboration4 ,things moulder into rubbish1 but they do not moulder into fabrics4 ,and then 7,i continued7 the greatest difficulty1 as before1 reappears1 how came these queer legends1 the product whether of design or accident1 to be believed8 ,jews and ,gentiles were and must have been thoroughly opposed to them4 ,to this he replied1 ,i suppose the belief1 as you also do1 anterior to the books1 which express that belief1 but did not cause it4 ,i suppose the ,christian system already existing as a floating vapor and merely condensed into the written form4 ,it was a gradual formation1 like the ,greek and ,indian mythologies4 ,i thought on this for some time1 and then said something like this3-- ,worse and worse3 for ,i fear that the age of ,augustus was no age in which the world was likely to frame a mythology at all3--if it had been such an age1 the problem does not allow sufficient time for it2--if there had been sufficient time1 it would not have been such a mythology2 --and if there had been any formed1 it would not have been rapidly embraced1 any more than other mythologies1 by men of different races1 but would have been confined to that which gave it birth4 ,as to the first point1 you ask me to believe that something like the mythology of the ,hindoos or ,egyptians could spring up and diffuse itself in such an age of civilization and philosophy1 books and history2 whereas all experience shows us that only a time of barbarism1 before authentic history has commenced1 is proper to the birth of such monstrosities2 that this congelation of tradition and legend takes place only during the long frosts and the deep night of ages1 and is impossible in the bright sun of history2--in whose very beams1 nevertheless1 these prodigious icicles are supposed to have been formed6 ,as to the second point1 you ask me to believe that the thing should be done almost instantly2 for in ,a4,d4 #a1 we find1 by all remains of antiquity1 that both ,jews and ,gentiles were reposing in the shadow of their ancient superstitions2 and in ,a4 ,d4 #fj4 multitudes among different races had become the bigoted adherents of this novel mythology6 ,as to the third point1 you ask me to believe that such a mythology as ,christianity could have sprung up when those amongst whom it is supposed to have originated1 and those amongst whom it is supposed to have been propagated1 must have equally loathed it4 ,national prepossessions of the ,jews4 ,why1 the kind of ,messiah on which the national heart was set1 the inveteracy with which they persecuted to the death the one that offered himself1 and the hatred with which for eighteen hundred years they have recoiled from him1 sufficiently show how preposterous this notion is6 ,as a nation1 they were1 ever have been1 and are now1 more opposed to ,christianity than any other nation on earth4 ,prepossessions of the ,gentiles6 ,there was not a ,messiah that a ,jew could frame a notion of1 but would have been an object of intense loathing and detestation to them all6 ,yet you ask me to believe that a mythology originated in the prejudices of a nation the vast bulk of whom from its commencement have most resolutely rejected it1 and was rapidly propagated among other nations and races1 who must have been prejudiced against it2 who even in its favor those venerable superstitions which were consecrated by the most powerful associations of antiquity6 ,as to the fourth point1 you ask me to believe that1 at a juncture when all the world was divided between deep-rooted superstition and incredulous scepticism1--divided1 as regards the into ,pharisees and ,sadducees1 and1 as regards the ,gentiles1 into their ,pharisees and ,sadducees1 that is1 into the vulgar who believed1 or at least practised1 all popular religions1 and the philosophers who laughed at them all1 and whose combined hostility was directed against the supposed new mythology1--it nevertheless found favor with multitudes in almost all lands6 ,you ask me to believe that a mythology was rapidly received by thousands of different races and nations1 when all history proclaims1 that it is with the utmost difficulty that any such system ever passes the limits of the race which has originated it2 and that you can hardly get another race even to look at it as a matter of philosophic curiosity6 ,you ask me to believe that this system was received by multitudes among many different races1 both of ,asia and ,europe1 without force1 when a similar phenomenon has never been witnessed in relation to any mythology whatever6 ,thus1 after asking me to burden myself with a thousand perplexities to account for the origin of these fables1 you afterwards burden me with a thousand more1 to account for their success6 ,lastly1 you ask me to believe1 not only that men of different races and countries became bigotedly attached to legends which none were likely to originate1 which all were likely to hate1 and1 most of all1 those who are supposed to have originated them2 but that they received them as historic facts1 when the known recency of their origin must have shown the world that they were the legendary birth of yesterday2 and that they acted thus1 though those who propagated these legends had no military power no civil authority1 no philosophy1 no science1 no one instrument of human success to aid them1 while the opposing prejudices which everywhere encountered them had6 ,i really know not how to believe all this4 ,there are certainly many difficulties in the matter candidly replied my infidel friend4 ,but1 as if wishing to effect a diversion1--,have you ever read ,gibbon's celebrated chapter8 ,why1 yes1 ,i told him1 two or three years before2 but he does not say a syllable in solution of my chief difficulties2 he does not tell me any thing as to the origin of the ideas of ,christianity1 nor who could have written the wonderful books in which they are embodied2 besides1 said ,i1 in my simplicity1 he yields the point1 by allowing miracles to be the most potent cause of the success of ,christianity4 ,ah he replied1 but every one can see that he is there speaking ironically4 ,why1 then1 said ,i1 laughing1 ,i fear he is telling us how the success of ,christianity cannot be accounted for1 rather than how it can4 ,o1 but he gives you the secondary causes2 which it is easy to see he considers the principal2 and also sufficient4 ,i will read him again1 ,i said1 and with deep attention4 ,some time after1 in meeting with the same friend1 ,i began upon ,gibbon's secondary causes4 ,they have given you satisfaction1 ,i hope4 ,any thing but that1 ,i replied2 they do not1 as ,i said before1 touch my principal difficulties3 and even as to the success of the system when once elaborated1--his reasons are either a mere restatement of the difficulty to be solved1 or aggravate it indefinitely4 ,you are hard to please1 he replied4 ,i said ,i was1 except by solid arguments4 ,but does ,gibbon offer them8 ,i asked4 ,he tells us1 for example1 that the virtues1 energy1 and zeal of the early ,church was a main instrument of the success of ,christianity2 whereas it is the very origination of the early ,church1 with all these efficacious endowments1 that we want to account for3 it is as though he had told me that we might account for the success of ,christianity from the fact that it had succeed to such an extent as to render its further success very probable6 ,as for the rest of his secondary causes1 they are difficulties in its way rather than auxiliaries4 ,he asks me to believe that the intolerance of ,christianity--by which it refused all alliance with other religions1 and insisted in reigning alone or not at all1 by which it spat contempt on the whole rabble of the ,pantheon--was likely to facilitate its reception among nations1 whose pride and whose pleasure alike it was to encourage civilities and compliments between their ,gods1 each of whom was on gracious visiting terms with its neighbors6 ,he asks me1 in effect1 to believe that the austerity of the ,christians tended to give them favor in the eves of an accommodating and jovial ,heathenism2 that the severity of manners by which they reproved it1 and which to their contemporaries must have appeared 7as we know from the ,apologists it did7 much as ,puritan grimace to the court of ,charles ,,ii41 was somehow attractive6 ,that the scruples with which they recoiled from all usages and customs which could be associated with the elegant pomp of ,pagan worship1 and the suspicion with which1 as having been linked with idolatry1 they looked on every emanation of that spirit of beauty which reigned over the exterior life of ,paganism1 would operate as a charm in their favor6 ,that their studied absence from all scenes social hilarity1 their grave looks on festal days1 their garlanded heads1 their simple attire1 their utter estrangement from the ,graces1 which in truth were the legitimate ,gods in ,greece1 and the true mothers of whole family of ,olympus1 would be likely to conciliate towards the ,gospel the favorable dispositions classic antiquity6 ,i have not so read history1 nor learnt human nature4 ,again1 he asks me to believe that the immortality which ,christianity promised ,heathen--such an immortality --was another of things which tended to give it success2--on the one hand1 a menace of retribution1 not for flagrant crimes only1 which ,heathenism itself punished1 nor for the lax manners which the easy spirit of ,paganism had made venial but for spiritual vices1 of which it took account1 some of which it had even consecrated virtues2 and1 on the other hand1 an other of a which promised nothing but delights of a spiritual order2 a paradise which1 whatever material or imaginative adjuncts it might have1 certainly disclosed none2 which presented no one thing to gratify the prurient curiosity of man's fancy1 or the eager passions of his sensual nature2 which must1 in fact1 have been about as inviting to the soul of a ,heathen as the promise of an eternal ,lent to an epicure6 ,surely these were resistless seductions4 ,yet it is to such things as auxiliaries that ,gibbon refers me for the success of ,christianity4 ,verily it is not without reason that he is called a master of irony6 ,my friend fairly acknowledged the difficulties of the subject1 but said he could not believe in the truth of ,christianity4 ,i repaired to another infidel acquaintance4 ,it is a perplexing1 a very perplexing controversy1 no doubts1 was his reply2 but every thing tends to show that ,christianity resembles in its principal features all those other religions which you admit to be false4 ,all have their prodigies and miracles1--their revelations and ,inspirations1--their fragments of truth and their masses of nonsense4 ,they are all to be rejected together4 ,i again puzzled for a long time over this aspect of the case4 ,at last ,i said to him1--,this seems a curious way of disposing of the evidence for ,christianity2 for if there be any true religion1 it is likely1 as in all other cases1 that the counterfeits will have some features in common with it4 ,it would follow1 also1 that there can be no true philosophy2 since1 while there are scores of philosophies1 only one can be true4 ,but ,i have another difficulty3 on comparing ,christianity with other systems1 ,i find vital differences1 both as regards theory and fact4 ,as regards theory1 ,i find an insuperable difficulty1 not merely in imagining how ,jews1 ,greeks1 or ,romans1 any or all of them1 should have been the originators of ,christianity1 but how human nature should have been fool enough to originate it at all6 ,for ,i am asked to believe that man1 such as ,i know him through all history1 such as he appears in so many forms of religion which have been his undoubted and most worthy fabrication1 did1 whether fraudulently or not1 whether designedly or unconsciously1 frame a religion which is in striking contrast with all his ordinary handiwork of this sort6 ,this religion enjoins the austerest morality2 human religions generally enjoin a very lax one3--this demands the most refined purity1 even of the thoughts and desires2 other religions usually attach to external and ceremonial observances greater weight than to morality itself2--this is singularly simple in its rites2 they for the most part consist of little else2--this exhibits a singular silence and abstinence in relation to the future and invisible2 they amply indulge the imagination and fancy1 and are full of delineations calculated to gratify man's most natural curiosity2--this takes under its special patronage those virtues which man is least likely to love or cultivate1 and which men in general regard as pusillanimous infirmities1 if not vices2 they patronize the must energetic passions1--the passions which made the demigods and heroes of antiquity4 ,i am not saying which is the belief in these respects2 ,i am only saying that human nature appears more true to itself in the last4 ,and so notorious is all this1 that the corruptions of ,christianity1 as years rolled on1 have ever been to assimilate it to the other religions of the earth2 to abate its spirituality2 to relax its austere code of morals2 to commute its proper claims for external observances2 to encumber its ritual with an infinity of ceremonies2 and1 above all1 to uncover the future and invisible1 on which it left a veil1 and add a purgatory into the bargain6 ,thus1 whether contrasted with other religions or with its corrupted self1 ,christianity does not seem a religion which human nature would be pleased to invent4 ,again1 is it like the other religious products of human nature1 in daring to aspire to universal dominion1 and that too founded on moral power alone8 ,never1 till ,christianity appeared1 had such an imagination ever entered the mind of man6 ,other religions were national affairs2 their gods never dreamed of such an enterprise as that of subduing all nations4 ,they were naturally contented with the country that gave them birth1 and the homage of the race that worshipped them4 ,they were1 when not themselves assailed1 very tolerant1 and did the civil thing by all other gods of all other nations1 and were even content to expire with great propriety 7they usually did so7 with the political extinction of the race of their votaries6 ,christianity alone adopts a different tone1--,go ye1 and preach the ,gospel to all nations4--and declares1 not only that it will reign1 but that none other shall4 ,it will not endure a rival2 it will not consent to have a statue with the mob of the ,pantheon4 ,whether this ambition--call it pride and folly1 if you will1 as you well may if the thing be merely human--was likely to suggest itself to man1 considering the local and national character of other religions1 and the apparent hopelessness of any such enterprise1 ,i have my doubts4 ,arrogance it may be2 but it is not such arrogance as is very natural to man4 ,these1 ,i said1 were amongst a few of the things in which ,i must say ,i thought the theory of ,christianity very unlike that of any religion human nature was likely to invent4 ,if1 ,i continued1 ,i examine the past history and present position of ,christianity1 with an impartial eye1 ,i see that it presents in several most important respects a contrast with other religions in point office4 ,i shall content myself with enumerating a few4 ,look1 then1 at the perpetual spirit of aggression which characterizes this religion2 its undeniable power 7in whatever it consists1 and from whatever it springs7 to prompt those who hold it to render it victorious1--a spirit which has more or less characterized its whole history3 which still lives1 even in its most corrupt forms1 and which has not been least active in our own time4 ,i do not see any thing like it in other religions4 ,till ,i see ,mollahs from ,ispahan1 ,brahmins from ,benares1 ,bonzes from ,china1 preaching their systems of religion in ,london1 ,paris1 and ,berlin1 supported year after year by an enormous expenditure on the part of their zealous compatriots1 and the nations who support them taking the liveliest interest in their success or failure1 till ,i see this 7call it fanatical if you will1 the money thus expended wasted1 the men who give it fools71 ,i shall not be able to pronounce ,christianity simply on a par with other religions4 ,till the sacred books of other religions can boast of at least a hundredth part of the same efforts to translate and diffuse them as have been concentrated on the ,bible2 till we find them in at least half as many languages2 till they can render those who possess them at least a tenth part as willing to make costly efforts to insure to them a circulation coextensive with the family of man2 till they occupy an equal space in the literature of the world1 and are equally bound up with the philosophy1 history1 poetry1 of the community of civilized nations2 till they have given an equal number of human communities a written language1 and may thus boast of having imparted to large sections of the human family the germ of all art1 science1 and civilization2 till they can cite an equal amount of testimonies to their beauty and sublimity from those who reject their divine original1--,i shall scarcely think ,christianity can be put simply on a par with other religions4 ,till it can be said that the sacred books of other religions are equally unique in relation to all the literature in which they are imbedded2 similar neither to what precedes nor what comes after them1 --their enemies themselves being judges2 till they can be shown to be as superior to all that is found in contemporaneous authors as the ,new ,testament is to the writings of ,christian ,fathers or the ,jewish ,rabbis1--,i cannot say that ,christianity is just like any other religion4 ,till we can find a religion that has stood as many different assaults from infidelity in the midst of it1--educated infidelity1 infidelity aided by learning1 genius1 philosophy1 freely employing all the power of argument and all the power of ridicule to disabuse its votaries2 till we can find a religion which can point to an equal array of educated men1 philosophic in spirit1 in learning1 and genius1 deeply skilled in the investigation of evidence1 deliberately declaring that its claims are well sustained4--we cannot say that ,christianity is just like any other religion4 ,till it can be shown that another religion to an equal extent1 has propagated itself without force amongst totally different races1 and in the most distant countries1 and has survived equal revolutions of thought and opinion1 manners and laws1 amongst those who have embraced it1 it cannot be said that ,christianity is simply like any other religion4 ,till it can be shown that the sacred books of other religions have contained predictions as definite and as unlikely to be fulfilled as the success of early ,christianity against all the opposition of prejudice and persecution1--its voluntary reception amongst different races1 contrary to all the analogies of religious history1--and the continued preservation of the ,jews among all nations without forming a part of any1--,i cannot think that ,christianity is precisely in the condition of any other religion4 ,such1 gentlemen1 were some few of the differences in fact which seemed to me1 not less than its theory1 to discriminate ,christianity from other religions4 ,had ,i in those days of my youth1 been favored with the views of modern spiritualism1 ,i should have added1 that till it is shown that some other religion has possessed an equal power of moulding those characters whom ,mr4 ,newman points out as the best examples of spiritual religion1 and can point to oracles equally pervaded by that sentiment which he declares is wanting in ,greek philosophers1 ,english ,deists1 and ,german ,pantheists1 but which1 he admits1 pervades the ,bible2 till ,i see the devout men whom he extols produced by other religions1 or rather4 ,i ought to say1 produced without them 7where ,christianity however is unknown7 by the unaided spiritual faculty1--,i cannot but think that the position of ,christianity is somewhat discriminated both from other religions and from ,naturalism4 ,such1 ,i said1 to conclude1 was an imperfect outline of some of my early conflicts1 and such the cruel mode in which my unbelieving friends laughed at each other's hypotheses1 and left me destitute of any4 ,finding that they conclusively confuted one another1 and perceiving at last that the idea of the superhuman origin of ,christianity did1 and1 as ,bishop ,butler says1 alone can resolve all the difficulties of the subject1 ,i was compelled to forego all the advantages of infidelity1 and condescended to depress my conscience to the ,biblical standard6 ,would to ,heaven that it had never been depressed below it6 ,i am bound to say my auditors listened with courtesy4 ,the conversation was now carried on in little knots3 ,i1 who was glad of a rest1 was occupied in listening to a conversation between ,harrington and his ,italian friend1 who was urging him to take refuge from such a ,babel of discords as his company had uttered1 in the only secure asylum4 ,harrington told him1 with the utmost gravity1 that one great objection to the ,church of ,rome was the unseemly liberty she allowed to the right of private judgment2 that he found in her communion distractions the most perplexing1 especially as between ,english and foreign ,romanists6 ,after the party had broken up1 and we were left alone1 ,mr4 ,fellows1 turning to me1 said1 ,you lay great stress on the origination of such a character as ,christ4 ,but can we make its reality a literary problem8 ,may it not have been imaginary8 ,as ,mr4 ,newman says1 ,human nature is often portrayed in superhuman dignity2 ,why not in superhuman goodness8 ,that the origination2 said ,i1 of such a ,moral ,ideal1 in so peculiar a form1 by such men as ,galilean ,jews1 is unaccountable enough1 ,i fancy all will admit2 but it is1 you observe1 only one of the numberless points which are unaccountable2 neither do ,i make this one feature1 or any of the other singular characteristics of the ,new ,testament1 merely a literary problem4 ,the whole1 you see1 is a vast literary1 moral1 intellectual1 spiritual1 and historical problem4 ,but it is too much the way with you objectors to say1 ',this may1 perhaps1 be got over1' and ',that may be got over'2 the question is1 as ,bishop ,butler says1 whether all can be got over2 for if all the arguments for it be not false1 ,christianity is true4 ,you charge us with the very conduct1 retorted ,fellowes1 which ,mr4 ,newman objects to ,christians4 ,they1 says he1 affirm that this objection is of little weight1 and that is of little weight2 whereas altogether they amount to considerable weight4 ,i admit it1 said ,i2 and those are very unfair who deny it4 ,but still1 since there are these things of weight on both sides1 the argument returns1 on which side does the balance on the sum-total of evidence lie8 ,but1 said ,fellowes1 how few are competent to compute that6 ,you are really pleasant1 ,mr4 ,fellowes1 ,i replied2 ,i thought the question we were arguing was as to the truth or the falsehood of ,christianity1 not whether the bulk of mankind are fully competent to form an independent and profound judgment on its evidences3 very few are competent to do so either on this or any other complex subject2 certainly not 7as our differences show7 on the subject of your 'spiritualism4' ,but the incompetency of the great bulk of mankind to deal with complicated evidence makes a thing neither true nor false2 perhaps on this1 as on so many other subjects1 the few must thoroughly sift the matter for the many4 ,if your present objection were of force1 what would become of truth in politics1 law1 medicine1 in all which the great majority must trust much to the conclusions of their wiser fellow-creatures8 ,your observation is no confutation of the evidences for ,christianity3 it is simply a satire upon ,god and the condition of the human creatures he has made6 ,well1 let that pass1 said ,fellowes2 ,i was going to say further1 that it is not so clear to every one that ,christ is so very wonderful an ideal of humanity4 ,do you remember that ,mr4 ,newman says in his ',phases1' that1 when he was a boy1 he read ,benson's ,life of ,fletcher of ,madely1 and thought ,fletcher a more perfect man than ,jesus ,christ8 and he also says that he imagines1 if he were to read the book again1 he would think the same4 ,have you nothing to say to that8 ,,nothing1 said ,i1 except to point you to the infinitely different estimates of ,christ formed by other men who yet think of historical ,christianity much as you do4 ,how differently do such writers as ,mr4 ,greg and ,mr4 ,parker speak6 ,how do they almost exhaust the resources of language to express their sentiments of this wonderful character6 ,as to ,mr4 ,newman's impression1 ,i do not think it worth an answer4 ,when a man so far forgets himself as to say what he can hardly help knowing will be unspeakably painful to multitudes of his fellow-creatures1 on the strength of boyish impressions1--not even thinking it worth while to verify those impressions1 and see whether1 after thirty or forty years1 he is not something more than a boy1--,i think it is scarcely worth while to reply4 ,christianity is willing to consider the arguments of men1 but not the impressions of boys4 ,but we must not be too hard4 said ,harrington1 upon ,mr4 ,newman2 it is evident1 from his ,hebrew ,monarchy1 that1 as he takes a benevolent pleasure in defending those whom nobody else will defend1--in petting ,ahab1 whom he pronounces rather weak than wicked1 and palliating ,jezebel1 whose character was1 it seems1 grievously deteriorated by contact with the 'prophets of ,jehovah1'--so he has a chivalrous habit of depressing those who have been particularly the objects of veneration4 ,elisha1 ,samuel1 and ,david are all brought down a great many degrees in the moral scale4 ,he has simply done the same with ,christ4 ,well1 said ,fellowes1 ,i cannot help agreeing with ,mr4 ,newman in thinking that1 when one hears men made the objects of extravagant eulogy1 it almost 'tempts one1 even though a stranger to their very name1 to pick holes1 as the saying is4' ,it may be so1 said ,i2 but it is a tendency against which we should guard4 ,it would lead us1 like him of ,athens1 to ostracize ,aristides3 we should be weary of hearing him continually called ',the ,just4' ,however4 rejoined ,fellowes1 ,i am weary of hearing ,christ so perpetually called our example4 ,as ,mr4 ,newman says1 he cannot1 except in a very modified sense1 be such4 ',his garments will not fit us4' ,did you ever hear1 said ,i4 that fathers and mothers ought to set an example to their children8 ,certainly4 ,yet surely not in all things can they be such4 ,their garments surely will not fit their children4 ,no4 said ,harrington2 those of the father at all events will not1 if they are girls1 nor of the mother1 if they are boys4 ,fellowes1 ,i think you had better say nothing on this subject4 ,if men of fifty can1 in all essential points1 be beautiful examples to girls of ten1--in gentleness1 in patience1 in humility1 in kindness1 and so forth1--and all the more impressively for the wide interval between them1 why1 ,i suppose ,jesus ,christ may be as much to his disciples4 ,but1 again1 urged ,fellowes to me1 you1 like so many men1 seem to lay such stress on the superiority of the morality of the ,new ,testament4 ,i cannot see it4 ,i confess1 with ,mr4 ,foxton and many more1 that it seems to me that it has not such a very great advantage over that of many heathen moralists who have said the same things1--,plato1 for example4 ,i replied1 that1 of course1 it would be of no avail to affirm in general 7what ,i was yet convinced was true71 that the ,new ,testament inculcated a system of ethics much more just and comprehensive than any other volume in the world4 ,i told him1 however1 that ,i thought he would not deny that its manner of conveying ethical truth was unique2 that it not only contained more admirable and varied summaries of duty than any other book whatever1 but that we should seek in vain in any other for such a profusion of just maxims and weighty sentiments1 expressed with such comprehensive brevity1 or illustrated with so much beauty and pathos4 ,i remarked that1 if he would be pleased to do as ,i had once done1--compile a selection of the principal precepts and maxims from the most admirable ethical works of antiquity 7those of ,aristotle1 for example71 and compare them with two or three of the summaries of similar precepts in the ,new ,testament1--he would at once feel how much more vivid1 touching1 animated1 and even comprehensive1 was the ,scriptural expression of the same truths4 ,but ,i further observed1 that1 even to obtain the means of such comparison1 he must reject from ,plato or the ,stagyrite twenty times the bulk of questionable speculations1 and dreary subtilties1 which separate by long intervals those gems of moral truth1 which everywhere sparkle on the pages of the ,new ,testament4 ,i told him ,i could not help laying great stress on the degree and manner in which this element enters into the composition of the ,new ,testament2 that ethical truths are there expressed in every variety of form which can fix them upon the imagination and the heart1 with an entire absence of those prolix discussions and metaphysical refinements which form so large a portion of ,aristotle and ,plato4 ,if we find in these writers a moral truth expressed with something approaching the comprehensive beauty and simplicity of the ,gospels1 we are filled with surprise and rapture1 and dig out with joy the glittering fragment from the mass of earthy matter1--oppressive disquisitions about ideas and essences1 energies and entelechies1 and so forth1 in which it is sure to be imbedded4 ,i promised1 if health and life were given1 to exhibit some day these gems1 with a sufficient portion of the surrounding earth still attached to them1 and to contrast them with those of the ,new ,testament4 ,in this strange volume1 ,i continued1 the most beautiful ethical maxims exist in unexampled profusion4 ,after reading ,aristotle's ethics1 ,i feel1 when ,i turn to the ,new ,testament1 as ,linnaeus is said to have felt when he first saw growing wild the masses of blooming gorse1 which he had never seen in his cold ,north1 except as a sheltered exotic4 ,whether it was likely that contemporaries of the ,pharisees1 who were sunk in formalism1 and who had glossed away every moral and spiritual the ,law1 could reach and maintain such elevation of tone1 ,i leave you to judge4 ,but though ,i felt this1 ,i acknowledged that it was difficult to express it2 and said that perhaps the best way to compare the morality of the ,new ,testament with the ethical system of any philosopher1 or the code of any legislator1 would be to imagine them all universally adopted1 and see how much would have to be objected to1--how much brick was mingled with the porphyry4 ,if1 for example1 said ,i1 ,plato1 who1 ,i admit1 so flashes upon us the sublimest and most comprehensive principles of morals1 and whose ethical system you say is identical with that of ,christianity1 had the forming of a republic1 you would have community of women property1 --women trained to war1---infanticide certain circumstances1--young children led to battle 7though at a safe distance71 that 'the young might early scent carnage1 and be inured to slaughter6 ,both with him and ,aristotle slavery would be a regularly sanctioned and perfectly natural institution4 ,not only did they entertain very lax notions of the relation of the sexes1 but the tone in which they speak of most abominable corruptions--,i do not except cannibalism--to which humanity has ever degraded implied that they regarded such things as comparatively venial4 ,i know no greater single names than these1 and ,i presume that these points you would find so1 difficulty in digesting4 ,he admitted it4 ,i told him ,i supposed he would take equal objections to the ,gentoo1 or the ,roman1 or the ,spartan code1 as also to the ,koran4 ,he admitted all this too4 ,but now1 if we take the ,christian code1 and suppose the ,new ,testament made the literal guide of in every man1 tell me1 ,mr4 ,fellowes1 what would the consequence8 ,what would you wish otherwise8 ,why1 said ,harrington1 smiling1 he would1 perhaps1 object that there would be no more war1 and that retaliation would be impossible4 ,the former1 said ,i1 we could all endure1 ,i suppose2 nor be unwilling to give up the latter1 seeing that there would1 in that case1 be no wrongs to avenge4 ,it would not matter that you would be compelled to turn your right cheek to him who smote you on the left 7let the interpretation be as literal as you will71 since no one would strike you on the left2 nor that you must surrender your cloak to him who took away your coat1 since no one would take your coat4 ,but tell me1 is there any thing more serious that would follow from the literal and universal adoption of the ethics of the ,new ,testament8 ,fellowes acknowledged that he knew of nothing1 unless it was a sanction of slavery4 ,i do not admit that the ,new ,testament sanctions it1 ,i replied2 and ,i will1 if you like1 give my reasons in full1 another time4 ,but is there any thing else8 ,he said he did not recollect any thing4 ,but you would recoil from the literal realization of the systems and codes we have mentioned4 ,he confessed this also4 ,the superiority of the ,christian code1 then1 said ,i1 is practically acknowledged4 ,and it is further often confessed1 in a most significant way1 by the mode in which the enemies of ,christianity taunt its disciples4 ,when they speak of the vices and corruptions of the heathen1 they blame1 and justly blame1 the principles of their vicious systems2 and ask how it could be otherwise8 ,when they blame the ,christian1 the first and the last thing they usually do1 is to point in triumph to the contrast between his principles and practice4 ',how much better1' say they1 'is his code than conduct6' ,it is as a hypocrite that they censure him4 ,it is sad for him that it should be so2 but it is a glorious compliment to the morality of the ,new ,testament4 ,its enemies know not how to attack its disciples1 except by endeavoring to show that they do not act as it bids them4 ,surely1 said ,i1 in conclusion this uniform excellence of the ,christian ethics1 as compared with other systems1 is a peculiarity worth noting1 and utterly incomprehensible upon the hypothesis that it was the unaided work of man4 ,that there are points on which the moral systems of men and nations osculate1 is most true2 that there should have been certain approximations on many most important subjects was to be expected from the essential identity of human nature1 in all ages and countries2 but their deviations in some point or other--usually in several--from what we acknowledge to be both right and expedient1 is equally undeniable4 ,that1 when such men as ,plato and ,aristotle tried their hands upon the problem1 they should err1 while the writers of the ,new ,testament should have succeeded1--that these last should do what all mankind besides had in some points or other failed to do1--is sufficiently wonderful2 that ,galilean ,jews should have solved the problem is1 whether we consider their age1 their ignorance1 or their prepossessions1 to me utterly incredible4 ,it was now very late2 and we rose to retire4 ,mr4 ,fellowes said1 ,i should be glad to know what answer you would make to ,mr4 ,newman's observations on three points1--one of them just alluded to1--on which he affirms that undue credit has been given to ,christianity2 ,i mean its supposed elevating influence in relation to women1 its supposed mitigation of slavery1 and its supposed triumphs before ,constantine4 ,i said ,i would scribble a few remarks on the subject1 and would give them to him in a day or two4 ,i remarked that ,mr4 ,newman had treated these great subjects very briefly1 but that ,i could not be quite so concise as he had been4 ,the discussions of the preceding day had made so deep an impression upon me1 that when ,i went to bed ,i found it very difficult to sleep2 and when ,i did get off at last1 my thoughts shaped themselves into a singular dream1 which1 though only a dream1 is not1 ,i think1 without instruction4 ,i shall entitle it ,,the ,,blank ,,bible4 ,etlen gegonein vuktiphoit' oneirata4 ,a,eschyl4 ,prom4 ,vinct4 #feg4 ,i take courage to proclaim night-roaming dreams ,i thought ,i was at home1 and that on taking up my ,greek ,testament one morning to read 7as is my wont7 a chapter1 ,i found1 to my surprise1 that what seemed to be the old1 familiar book was a total blank2 not a character was inscribed in it or upon it4 ,i supposed that some book like it had1 by some accident1 got into its place2 and1 without stopping to hunt for it1 took down a large quarto volume which contained both the ,old and ,new ,testaments4 ,to my surprise1 however1 this also was a blank from beginning to end4 ,with that facility of accommodation to any absurdities which is proper to dreams1 ,i did not think very much of the coincidence of two blank volumes having been substituted for two copies of the ,scriptures in two different places1 and therefore quietly reached down a copy of the ,hebrew ,bible1 in which ,i could just manage to make out a chapter4 ,to my increased surprise1 and even something like terror1 ,i found that this also was a perfect blank4 ,while ,i was musing on this unaccountable phenomenon1 my servant entered the room1 and said that thieves had been in the house during the night1 for that her large ,bible1 which she had left on the kitchen table1 had been removed1 and another volume left by mistake in its place1 of just the same size1 but made of nothing but white paper4 ,she added1 with a laugh1 that it must have been a very queer kind of thief to steal a ,bible at all2 and that he should have left another book instead1 made it the more odd4 ,i asked her if any thing else had been missed1 and if there were any signs of people having entered the house4 ,she answered in the negative to both these questions2 and ,i began to be strangely perplexed4 ,on going out into the street1 ,i met a friend1 who1 almost before we had exchanged greetings1 told me that a most unaccountable robbery had been committed at his house during the night1 for that every copy of the ,bible had been removed1 and a volume of exactly the same size1 but of pure white paper1 left in its stead4 ,upon telling him that the same accident had happened to myself1 we began to think that there was more in it than we had at first surmised4 ,on proceeding further1 we found every one complaining1 in similar perplexity1 of the same loss2 and before night it became evident that a great and terrible miracle had been wrought in the world2 that in one night1 silently1 but effectually1 that hand which had written its terrible menace on the walls of ,belshazzar's palace had reversed the miracle2 had sponged out of our ,bibles every syllable they contained1 and thus reclaimed the most precious gift which ,heaven had bestowed1 and ungrateful man had abused4 ,i was curious to watch the effects of this calamity on the varied characters of mankind4 ,there was universally1 however1 an interest in the ,bible now it was lost1 such as had never attached to it while it was possessed2 and he who had been but happy enough to possess fifty copies might have made his fortune4 ,one keen speculator1 as soon as the first whispers of the miracle began to spread1 hastened to the depositories of the ,bible ,society and the great book-stocks in ,paternoster ,row1 and offered to buy up at a high premium any copies of the ,bible that might be on hand2 but the worthy merchant was informed that there was not a single copy remaining4 ,some1 to whom their ,bible had been a blank book for twenty years1 and who would never have known whether it was full or empty had not the lamentations of their neighbors impelled them to look into it1 were not the least loud in their expressions of sorrow at this calamity4 ,one old gentleman1 who had never troubled the book in his life1 said it was confounded hard to be deprived of his religion in his old age2 and another1 who seemed to have lived as though he had always been of ,mandeville's opinion1 that private vices were public benefits1 was all at once alarmed for the morals of mankind4 ,he feared1 he said1 that the loss of the ,bible would have a cursed bad effect on the public virtue of the country4 ,as the fact was universal and palpable1 it was impossible that1 like other miracles1 it should leave the usual loopholes for scepticism4 ,miracles in general1 in order to be miracles at all1 have been singular or very rare violations of a general law1 witnessed by a few1 on whose testimony they are received1 and in the reception of whose testimony consists the exercise of that faith to which they appeal4 ,it was evident1 that1 whatever the reason of this miracle1 it was not an exercise of docile and humble faith founded on evidence no more than just sufficient to operate as a moral test4 ,this was a miracle which1 it could not be denied1 looked marvellously like a judgment4 ,however1 there were1 in some cases1 indications enough to show how difficult it is to give such evidence as will satisfy the obstinacy of mankind4 ,one old sceptical fellow1 who had been for years bedridden1 was long in being convinced 7if indeed1 he ever was7 that any thing extraordinary had occurred in the world2 he at first attributed the reports of what he heard to the impudence of his servants and dependents1 and wondered that they should dare to venture upon such a joke4 ,on finding these assertions backed by those of his acquaintance1 he pished and pshawed1 and looked very wise1 and ironically congratulated them on this creditable conspiracy with the insolent rascals1 his servants4 ,on being shown the old ,bible1 of which he recognized the binding1 though he had never seen the inside1 and finding it a very fair book of blank paper1 he quietly observed that it was very easy to substitute the one book for the other1 though he did not pretend to divine the motives which induced people to attempt such a clumsy piece of imposition2 and1 on their persisting that they were not deceiving him1 swore at them as a set of knaves1 who would fain persuade him out of his senses4 ,on their bringing him a pile of blank ,bibles backed by the asseverations of other neighbors1 he was ready to burst with indignation4 ,as to the volumes1 he said1 it was not difficult to procure a score or two 'of commonplace books1' and they had doubtless done so to carry on the cheat2 for himself he would sooner believe that the whole world was leagued against him than credit any such nonsense4 ,they were angry1 in their turn1 at his incredulity1 and told him that he was very much mistaken if he thought himself of so much importance that they would all perjure themselves to delude him1 since they saw plainly enough that he could do that very easily for himself1 without any help of theirs4 ,they really did not care one farthing whether he believed them or not3 if he did not choose to believe the story1 he might leave it alone4 ,well1 well1 said he1 it is all very fine3 but unless you show me1 not one of these blank books1 which could not impose upon an owl1 but one of the very blank ,bibles themselves1 ,i will not believe4 ,at this curious demand1 one of his nephews who stood by 7a lively young fellow7 was so exceedingly tickled1 that1 though he had some expectations from the sceptic1 he could not help bursting out into laughter2 but he became grave enough when his angry uncle told him that he would leave him in his will nothing but the family ,bible1 which he might make a ledger if he pleased4 ,whether this resolute old sceptic ever vanquished his incredulity1 ,i do not remember4 ,very different from the case of this sceptic was that of a most excellent female relative1 who had been equally long a prisoner to her chamber1 and to whom the ,bible had been1 as to so many thousands more1 her faithful companion in solitude1 and the all-sufficient solace of her sorrows4 ,i found her gazing intently on the blank ,bible1 which had been so recently bright to her with the lustre of immortal hopes4 ,she burst into tears as she saw me4 ,and has your faith left you too1 my gentle friend8 said ,i4 ,no1 she answered1 and ,i trust it never will4 ,he who has taken away the ,bible has not taken away my memory1 and ,i now recall all that is most precious in that book which has so long been my meditation4 ,it is a heavy judgment upon the land2 and surely1 added this true ,christian1 never thinking of the faults of others1 ,i1 at least1 cannot complain1 for ,i have not prized as ,i ought that book1 which yet1 of late years1 ,i think ,i can say1 ,i loved more than any other possession on earth4 ,but ,i know1 she continued1 smiling through her tears1 that the sun shines1 though clouds may veil him for the moment2 and ,i am unshaken in my faith in those truths which have transcribed on my memory1 though they are blotted from my book4 ,in these hopes ,i have lived1 and in these hopes ,i will die4 ,i have no consolation to offer to you1 said ,i1 for you need none4 ,she quoted many of the passages which have been1 through all ages1 the chief stay of sorrowing humanity2 and ,i thought the words of ,scripture had never sounded so solemn or so sweet before4 ,i shall often come to see you1 ,i said1 to hear a chapter in the ,bible1 for you know it far better than ,i4 ,no sooner had ,i taken my leave1 than ,i was informed that an old lady of my acquaintance had summoned me in haste4 ,she said she was much impressed by this extraordinary calamity4 ,as1 to my certain knowledge1 she had never troubled the contents of the book1 ,i was surprised that she had so taken to heart the loss of that which had1 practically1 been lost to her all her days4 ,sir said she1 the moment ,i entered1 the ,bible1 the ,bible4 ,yes1 madam1 said ,i1 this is a very grievous and terrible visitation4 ,i hope we may learn the lessons which it is calculated to teach us4 ,i am sure1 answered she1 ,i am not likely to forget it for a while1 for it has been a grievous loss to me4 ,i told her ,i was very glad4 ,glad6 she rejoined4 ,yes1 ,i said1 ,i am glad to find that you think it so great a loss1 for that loss may then be a gain indeed4 ,there is1 thanks be to ,god1 enough left in our memories to carry us to heaven4 ,ah6 but1 said she1 the hundred pounds and the villany of my maid-servant4 ,have you not heard8 ,this gave me some glimpse as to the secret of her sorrow4 ,she told me that she had deposited several bank-notes in the leaves of her family ,bible1 thinking that1 to be sure1 nobody was likely to look there for them4 ,no sooner1 said she1 were the ,bibles made useless by this strange event1 than my servant peeped into every copy in the house1 and she now denies that she found any thing in my old family ,bible1 except two or three blank leaves of thin paper1 which1 she says1 she destroyed2 that1 if any characters were ever on them1 they must have been erased when those of the ,bible were obliterated4 ,but ,i am sure she lies2 for who would believe that ,heaven took the trouble to blot out my precious bank-notes4 ,they were not ,god's word1 ,i trow4 ,it was clear that she considered the promise to pay better by far than any promises which the book contained4 ,i should not have cared so much about the ,bible1 she whined1 hypocritically1 because1 as you truly observe1 our memories may retain enough to carry us to heaven1--a little in that case would certainly go a great way1 ,i thought to myself1--and if not1 there are those who can supply the loss4 ,but who is to get my bank-notes back again8 ,other people have only lost their ,bibles4 ,it was1 indeed1 a case beyond my power of consolation4 ,the calamity not only strongly stirred the feelings of men1 and upon the whole1 ,i think1 beneficially1 but it immediately stimulated their ingenuity4 ,it was wonderful to see the energy with which men discussed the subject1 and the zeal1 too1 with which they ultimately exerted themselves to repair the loss4 ,i could even hardly regret it1 when ,i considered what a spectacle of intense activity1 intellectual and moral1 the visitation had occasioned4 ,it was very early suggested1 that the whole ,bible had again and again been quoted piecemeal in one book or other2 that it had impressed its own image on the surface of human literature1 and had been reflected on its course as the stars on a steam4 ,but1 alas6 on investigation1 it was found as vain to expect that the gleam of starlight would still remain mirrored in the water when the clouds had veiled the stars themselves1 as that the bright characters of the ,bible would remain reflected in the books of man when had been erased from the ,book of ,god4 ,on inspection it was found that every text1 every phrase which had been quoted1 not only in the books of devotion and theology1 but in those of poetry and fiction1 had been remorselessly expunged4 ,never before had ,i had any adequate idea of the extent to which the ,bible had moulded the intellectual and moral life of the last eighteen centuries1 nor how intimately it had interfused itself with habits of thought and modes of expression2 nor how naturally and extensively its comprehensive imagery and language had been introduced into human writings1 and most of all where there had been most of genius4 ,a vast portion of literature became instantly worthless1 and was transformed into so much waste-paper4 ,it was almost impossible to look into any book of any merit1 and read ten pages together1 without coming to some provoking erasures and mutilations1 some hiatus valde deflendi1 which made whole passages perfectly unintelligible4 ,many of the sweetest passages of ,shakspeare were converted into unmeaning nonsense1 from the absence of those words which his own all but divine genius had appropriated from a still diviner source4 ,as to ,milton1 he was nearly ruined1 as might naturally be supposed4 ,walter ,scott's novels were filled with perpetual lacunae4 ,i hoped it might be otherwise with the philosophers1 and so it was2 but even here it was curious to see what strange ravages the visitation had wrought4 ,some of the most beautiful and comprehensive of ,bacon's ,aphorisms were reduced to enigmatical nonsense4 ,those who held large stocks of books knew not what to do4 ,ruin stared them in the face2 their value fell seventy or eighty per cent4 ,all branches of theology1 in particular1 were a drug4 ,one fellow said1 that he should not so much have minded if the miracle had sponged out what was human as well as what was divine1 for in that case he would at least have had so many thousand volumes of fair blank paper1 which was as much as many of them were worth before4 ,a wag answered1 that it was not usual1 in despoiling a house1 to carry away any thing except the valuables4 ,meantime1 millions of blank ,bibles filled the shelves of stationers1 to be sold for day-books and ledgers1 so that there seemed to be no more employment for the paper-makers in that direction for many years to come4 ,a friend1 who used to mourn over the thought of palimpsest manuscripts1--of portions of ,livy and ,cicero erased to make way for the nonsense of some old monkish chronicler1 --exclaimed1 as he saw a tradesman trudging off with a handsome morocco-bound quarto for a day-book1 ,only think of the pages once filled with the poetry of ,isaiah1 and the parables of ,christ1 sponged clean to make way for orders for silks and satins1 muslins1 cheese1 and bacon6 ,the old authors1 of course1 were left to their mutilations2 there was no way in which the confusion could be remedied4 ,but the living began to prepare new editions of their works1 in which they endeavored to give a new turn to the thoughts which had been mutilated by erasure1 and ,i was nor a little amused to see that many1 having stolen from writers whose compositions were as much mutilated as their own1 could not tell the meaning of their own pages4 ,it seemed at first to be a not unnatural impression1 that even those who could recall the erased texts as they perused the injured books1 --who could mentally full up the imperfect clauses1--were not at liberty to inscribe them2 they seemed to fear that1 if they did so1 the characters would be as if written in invisible ink1 or would surely fade away4 ,it was with trembling that some at length made the attempt1 and to their unspeakable joy found the impression durable4 ,day after day passed2 still the characters remained2 and the people length came to the conclusion1 that ,god left them at liberty1 if they could1 to reconstruct the ,bible for themselves out of their collective remembrances of its divine contents4 ,this led again to some curious results1 all of them singularly indicative of the good and ill that is in human nature4 ,it was with incredible joy that men came to the conclusion that the book might be thus recovered nearly entire1 and nearly in the very words of the original1 by the combined effort of human memories4 ,some of the obscurest of the species1 who had studied nothing else but the ,bible1 but who had well studied that1 came to be objects of reverence among ,christians and booksellers2 and the various texts they quoted were taken down with the utmost care4 ,he who could fill up a chasm by the restoration of words which were only partially remembered1 or could contribute the least text that had been forgotten1 was regarded as a sort of public benefactor4 ,at length1 a great public movement amongst the divines of all denominations was projected1 to collate the results of these partial recoveries of the sacred text4 ,it was curious1 again1 to see in how various ways human passions and prejudices came into play4 ,it was found that the several parties who had furnished from memory the same portions of the sacred texts had fallen into a great variety of different readings2 and though most of them were of as little importance in themselves as the bulk of those which are paraded in the critical recensions of ,mill1 ,griesbach1 or ,tischendorf1 they became1 from the obstinacy and folly of the men who contended about them1 important differences1 merely because they were differences4 ,two reverend men of the synod1 ,i remember1 had a rather tough dispute as to whether it was twelve baskets full of fragments of the five loaves which the five thousand left1 and seven baskets full of the seven loaves which the four thousand had left1 or vice versa3 as also whether the words in ,john vi4 #ai were about twenty or five and twenty1 or about thirty or five and thirty furlongs4 ,to do the assembly justice1 however1 there was found an intense general earnestness and sincerity befitting the occasion1 and an equally intense desire to obtain1 as nearly as possible1 the very words of the lost volume2 only 7as was also1 alas6 natural7 vanity in some2 in others1 confidence in their strong impressions and in the accuracy of their memory2 obstinacy and pertinacity in many more 7all aggravated as usual by controversy71--caused many odd embarrassments before the final adjustment was effected4 ,i was particularly struck with the varieties of reading which mere prejudices in favor of certain systems of theology occasioned in the several partisans of each4 ,no doubt the worthy men were generally unconscious of the influence of these prejudices2 yet1 somehow1 the memory was seldom so dear in relation to those texts which told against them as in relation to those which told for them4 ,a certain ,quaker had an impression that the words instituting the ,eucharist were preceded by a qualifying expression1 ,and ,jesus said to the twelve1 ,do this in remembrance of me2 while he could not exactly recollect whether or not the formula of baptism was expressed in the general terms some maintained it was4 ,several ,unitarians had a clear recollection1 that in several places the authority of manuscripts1 as estimated in ,griesbaeh's recension1 was decidedly against the common reading2 while the ,trinitarians maintained that ,griesbaeb's recension in those instances had left that reading undisturbed4 ,an ,episcopalian began to bare his doubts whether the usage in favor of the interchange of the words bishop and presbyter was so uniform as the ,presbyterian and ,independent maintained1 and whether there was not a passage in which ,timothy and ,titus were expressly called bishops4 ,the ,presbyterian and ,independent had similar biases2 and one gentleman1 who was a strenuous advocate of the system of the latter1 enforced one equivocal remembrance by saying1 he could1 as it were1 distinctly see the very spot on the page before his mind's eye4 ,such tricks will imagination play with the memory1 when preconception plays tricks with the imagination6 ,in like manner2 it was seen that1 while the ,calvinist was very distinct in his recollection of the ninth chapter of ,romans1 his memory was very faint as respects the exact wording of some of the verses in the ,epistle of ,james2 and though the ,arminian had a most vivacious impression of all those passages which spoke of the claims of the law1 he was in some doubt whether the ,apostle ,paul's sentiments respecting human depravity1 and justification by faith alone1 had not been a little exaggerated4 ,in short1 it very dearly appeared that tradition was no safe guide2 that if1 even while she was hardly a month old2 she could play such freaks with the memories of honest people1 there was but a sorry prospect of the secure transmission of truth for eighteen hundred years4 ,from each man's memory seemed to glide something or other which he was not inclined to retain there1 and each seemed to substitute in its stead something that he liked better4 ,though the assembly was in the main most anxious to come to a right decision1 and really advanced an immense way towards completing a true and faithful copy of the lost original1 the disputes which arose1 on almost every point of theology1 promised the world an abundant crop of new sects and schisms4 ,already there had sprung up several whose names had never been heard of in the world1 but for this calamity4 ,amongst them were two who were called the ,long ,memories and the ,short ,memories4 ,their general tendencies coincided pretty much with those of the orthodox and the rationalists4 ,it was curious to see by what odd associations1 sometimes of contrast1 sometimes of resemblance1 obscure texts were recovered1 though they were verified1 when once mentioned1 by the consciousness of hundreds4 ,one old gentleman1 a miser1 contributed 7and it was all he did contribute7 a maxim of prudence1 which he recollected1 principally from having systematically abused it4 ,all the ethical maxims1 indeed1 were soon collected2 for though1 as usual1 no one recollected his own peculiar duties or infirmities1 every one1 as usual1 kindly remembered those of his neighbors4 ,husbands remembered what was due from their wives1 and wives what was due from their husbands4 ,the unpleasant sayings about better to dwell on the house-top and the perpetual dropping on a very rainy day were called to mind by thousands4 ,almost the whole of ,proverbs and ,ecclesiastes were contributed1 in the merest fragments1 in this way4 ,as for ,solomon's times for every thing1 few could remember them all1 but every body remembered some4 ,undertakers said there was a time to mourn1 and comedians that there was a time to laugh2 young ladies innumerable remembered that there was a time to love1 and people of all kinds that there was a time to hate2 every body knew there was a time to speak1 but a worthy ,quaker reminded them that there was also a time to keep silence4 ,some dry parts of the laws of ,moses were recovered by the memory of jurists1 who seemed to have no knowledge whatever of any other parts of the sacred volume2 while in like manner one or two antiquarians supplied some very difficult genealogical and chronological matters1 in equal ignorance of the moral and spiritual contents of the ,scriptures4 ,as people became accustomed to the phenomenon1 the perverse humors of mankind displayed themselves in a variety of ways4 ,the efforts of the pious assembly were abundantly laughed at2 but ,i must1 in justice1 add1 without driving them from their purpose4 ,some profane wags suggested there was now a good opportunity of realizing the scheme taking not out of the ,commandments and inserting it in the ,creed4 ,but they were sarcastically told1 that the old objection to the plan would still apply2 that they would not sin with equal relish if they were expressly commanded to do so1 nor take such pleasure in infidelity if infidelity became a duty4 ,others said that1 if the world must wait till the synod had concluded its labors1 the prophecies of the ,new ,testament would not be written till some time after their fulfilment2 and that1 if all the conjectures of the learned divines were inserted in the new edition of the ,bible1 the declaration in ,john would be literally verified1 and that the world itself would not contain all the books which would be written4 ,but the most amusing thing of all was to see1 as time made man more familiar with this strange event1 the variety of speculations which were entertained respecting its object and design4 ,many began gravely to question whether it was the duty of the synod to attempt the reconstruction of a book of which ,god himself had so manifestly deprived the world1 and whether it was not a profane1 nay1 an atheistical1 attempt to frustrate his will4 ,some1 who were secretly glad to be released from so troublesome a book1 were particularly pious on this head1 and exclaimed bitterly against this rash attempt to counteract and cancel the decrees of ,heaven4 ,the ,papists1 on their part1 were confident that the design was to correct the exorbitancies of a rabid ,protestantism1 and show the world1 by direct miracle1 the necessity of submitting to the decision of their ,church and the infallibility of the supreme ,pontiff2 who1 as they truly alleged1 could decide all knotty points quite as well without the ,word of ,god as with it4 ,on being reminded that the writings of the ,fathers1 on which they laid so much stress as the vouchers of their traditions1 were mutilated by the same stroke which had demolished the ,bible 7all their quotations from the sacred volume being erased71 some of the ,jesuits affirmed that many of the ,fathers were rather improved than otherwise by the omission1 and that they found these writings quite as intelligible and not less edifying than before4 ,in this1 many ,protestants very cordially agreed4 ,on the other hand1 many of our modern infidels gave an entirely new turn to the whole affair1 by saying that the visitation was evidently not in judgment1 but in mercy2 that ,god in compassion1 and not in indignation1 had taken away a book which man had regarded with an extravagant admiration and idolatry1 and which they had exalted to the place of that clear internal oracle which ,he had planted in the human breast2 in a word1 that1 if it was a rebuke at all1 it was a rebuke to a rampant ,bibliolatry4 ,as ,i heard all these different versions of so simple a matter1 and found that not a few were inclined to each1 ,i could1 not help exclaiming1 ,in truth the ,devil is a very clever fellow1 and man even a greater blockhead than ,i had taken him for4 ,but in spite of the surprise with which ,i had listened to these various explanations of an event which seemed to me clear as if written with a sunbeam1 this last reason1 which assigned as the cause of ,god's resumption of his own gift1 an extravagant admiration and veneration of it on the part of mankind1--it being so notorious that those who professed belief in its divine origin and authority had 7even the best of them7 so grievously neglected both the study and the practice of it1--struck me as so exquisitely ludicrous1 that ,i broke into a fit of laughter1 which awoke me4 ,i found that it was broad daylight1 and the morning sun was streaming in at the window1 and shining in quiet radiance upon the open ,bible which lay on my table4 ,so strongly had my dream impressed me1 that ,i almost felt as though1 on inspection1 ,i should find the sacred leaves a blank1 and it was therefore with joy that my eyes rested on those words1 which ,i read through grateful tears3 ,the gifts of ,god are without repentance4 ,july #ai4 ,this morning my friends treated me to a long dialogue in which it was contended ,,that ,,miracles ,,are ,,impossible1 ,,but ,,that ,,it ,,is ,,impossible ,,to ,,prove ,,it4 ,i think1 ,fellowes1 ,harrington began1 if there be any point in which you and ,i are likely to agree1 it is in that dogma that miracles are impossible4 ,and yet here1 as usual1 my sceptical doubts pursue and baffle me4 ,i wish you would try with me whether there be not an escape from them4 ,fellowes assented4 ,as ,i have to propose and explain my doubts1 said ,harrington1 perhaps you will excuse my taking the 'lion's share' of the conversation4 ,but now1 by way of beginning in some way1--what1 my dear friend1 is a miracle8 ,what is a miracle8 ,ay1 that is the question2 but though it may be difficult to find an exact definition of it1 it is easily understood by every body4 ,very likely2 then you can with more ease give me your notion of it4 ,if1 for example1 said ,fellowes1 the sun which has risen so long1 every morning1 were to rise no more2 or if a man1 whom we knew to be dead and buried1 were to come to life again2 or if what we know to be water were at once to become wine1 none would hesitate to call that a miracle4 ,you remember1 perhaps1 said ,harrington1 an amusing little play of ,socratic humor in the dialogue of ,theaetetus1 somewhere in the introduction1 when the ironical querist has asked that intelligent youth what science is8 ,i cannot say that ,i do2 for though ,i have read that dialogue1 it is some years ago4 ,let me read you the passage then4 ,here it is1 said ,harrington1 reaching down the dialogue and turning to the place4 ',tell me frankly1' says ,socrates1 'what do you think science is8' ',it appears to me1' says ,theaetetus1 'that such things as one may learn from ,theodorus here1 --namely1 geometry1 as well as other things which you have just enumerated2 and again1 that the shoemaker's art1 and those of other artisans1--all and each of them are nothing else but science4' ',you are munificent indeed1' said ,socrates2 'for when asked for one thing1 you have given many4' ,i almost think1 continued ,harrington1 that1 if ,socrates were here1 he would do what ,i should not presume to do1--banter you in a somewhat similar way4 ,he would say1 that1 having asked what a miracle was1 ,mr4 ,fellowes told him that half a dozen things were miracles1 but did not tell him what every miracle was2 that is1 never told him what made all miracles such4 ,suffer me again to ask you what a miracle is8 ,i recollect now enough of the charming dialogue from which you have taken occasion to twit me1 to answer you in the same vein4 ,as it turns out1 ,socrates1 appears to be at least equally ignorant with ,theaetetus as to the definition of which he is in search4 ,i think it may be as well for me to do at once what certainly ,theaetetus would have done1 had he known that his reprover was as much in the dark as himself4 ,what is that8 said ,harrington4 ,he would have cut short a good deal of banter by at once turning the tables upon his ironical tormentor2 acknowledging his impotence1 and making him give the required definition4 ,come1 let me take that course4 ,i have no objection1 my friend1 if you will first1 as you say1 acknowledge your impotence2 only ,i would not advise you1 for in that case you would be obliged to confess that you have resolved with me that a miracle is impossible1 and yet that you are not quite sure that you can tell1 or rather own that you cannot1 what a miracle is4 ,let me entreat you to essay some definition2 and if you break down1 ,i have no objection to take my chance of the honor of success or the ignominy of failure4 ,the fact is1 answered ,fellowes1 that1 like many other things1 it is better understood-- ,than described1 as the novelists say1 when they feel that their powers of description fail them4 ,but this will hardly do for us2 we are philosophers1 you know 7save the mark67 in search of truth4--,a thing that is well known by every body1 and is capable of being described by nobody1 would be almost a miracle of itself2 and ,i think it imports us to give some better account of the matter4 ,i can see that my orthodox uncle there is already secretly amusing himself at the anticipation of our perplexities4 ,i took no notice of the remark1 but went on writing4 ,well1 then1 if ,i must give you some definition1 said ,fellowes1 ,i know not if ,i can do better than avail myself of the usual one1 that it is a suspension or violation of a law of nature4 ,is not that the account which ,hume gives of the matter8 ,i think it is4 ,i am afraid1 however1 that at the very outset we should have some difficulty in determining one of the phrases used in this very definition1--namely1 how we are to understand a law of nature4 ,i do not ask whether law implies a lawgiver2 you will assert it1 and ,i shall not gainsay it3 it is at present immaterial4 ,but do you not mean by a law of nature 7,i am asking the question merely to ascertain whether or not we are thinking of the same thing7 just this2--the fact that similar phenomena uniformly reappear in an observed series of antecedents and consequents1 which series is invariable so far as we know1 and so far as others know1 whose experience we can test8 ,is not that what you mean8 ,you do not1 ,i presume1 suppose you know any thing of the connection which binds together causes and effects1 or the manner in which the secret bond 7if there be any7 which unites antecedents and consequents1 in any natural phenomena1 is maintained8 ,i certainly make no such pretensions2 all that ,i mean by a law of nature is just what you have mentioned4 ,i shall be well content to adhere to your explanation1 answered ,fellowes4 ,so that when we observe similar phenomena reproduced in the aforesaid series of antecedents and consequents1 we call that a law of nature1 and affirm that violation of that law would be a miracle1 and impossible8 ,certainly4 ,and further1 do you not agree with me that such invariable series is sufficiently certified to us by our own uniform experience1--that of all our neighbors and friends1--and1 in a word1 that of all whose experience we can test8 ,i agree with you4 ,i am content1 replied ,harrington2 but at the outset it seems to me that the expression ,i have used requires a little expansion to meet the sophistry of our opponents4 ,i will either explain myself now1 and then leave you to judge2 or ,i will say no more of the matter here1 but pursue our discussion1 and let the difficulty 7if there be one7 disclose itself in the course of it1 and be provided for as may be in our power4 ,what is it8 ,it is this2--that it cannot1 with truth1 be said1 in relation to many phenomena1 that 7so far as our experience informs us7 they do follow each other in an absolutely invariable order2 which phenomena1 nevertheless1 we believe to be as much under the dominion of law as the rest2 and any violation of this law1 ,i presume1 you would think as much a miracle as any other4 ,for example1 we do not find the same remedies or the same regimen will produce the same effects upon different individuals at different times2 again1 the varieties of the weather1 in every climate1 are dependent upon so many causes1 that it transcends all human skill to calculate them4 ,yet ,i dare say you can easily imagine certain degrees and continuity of change in these variable phenomena which you would not hesitate to call as much miracle as if the dead were raised1 or the sun stayed in mid-heaven4 ,yes1 unquestionably1 replied ,fellowes2 if ,i found1 for instance that a dozen men could take an ounce of arsenic or half a pound of opium with impunity1 ,i should not hesitate to regard it as a miracle1 although the precise amount sufficient to kill in any particular case might not be capable of being ascertained4 ,in the same manner1 if ,i found that though the amount of heat and cold in summer and winter in our climate is subject to marked variations1 yet that suddenly for several consecutive years we had more frost in ,july than in ,december2 that gooseberries and currants were getting ripe on ,christmas day1 and men were skating on the ,serpentine on the #ajth of ,august1 ,i should certainly argue that a change tantamount to a miracle had been wrought in nature4 ,you have just expressed my own feelings on that point1 said ,harrington2 and it was this very consideration which made me say1 that1 in order to render my expression perfectly clear1 and to obviate misconception and misrepresentation1 we must endeavor to include this very frequent case of a certain limited variation from the order of nature as consistent with the absence of miracle1 and a certain degree of that variation as inconsistent with it4 ,will you just state our criterion once more1 with the limitation attached2 and then ,i shall know better whether we are certainly agreed in the criterion we ought to employ8 ,i say1 then1 resumed ,harrington1 that our uniform experience1 that of our friends and neighbors1 and of all whose experience we have the opportunity of testing1 as to the order of nature1--meaning by that either an order absolutely invariable1 or varying only limits which are themselves absolutely invariable1--justifies us in pronouncing an event contradicting such experience to be all impossibility4 ,if the principle is worth any thing1 let us embrace it1 and inflexibly apply it4 ,and ,i1 for one1 replied ,fellowes1 am quite satisfied with the principle and the limitations you have laid down2 and am so confident of its correctness1 that ,i do not hesitate to say that all the miraculous histories on record are to be summarily rejected4 ,for example1 said ,harrington1 we have seen the sun rise every morning and set every evening all our lives2 and every one whose experience we can test has seen the same4 ,every man who has come into the world has come into it but one way1 and has as certainly gone out of it1 and has not returned2 and every one whose experience we can test affirms the same4 ,we therefore conclude on this uniform and invariable experience1 that the same sequences took place yesterday and the day before1 and will take place tomorrow and the day after2 and we may fearlessly apply this principle both to the past and the future4 ,i know of no other reason for rejecting a miracle2 and if ,i am to apply the principle at all to phenomena which have not fallen under my own observation1 ,i must apply it without restriction4 ,i am quite of your mind4 ,you think1 with me1 that our experience1--the experience of those about us1--the experience of all whose experience we have the means of testing1--is sufficient to settle the question as to the experience of those whose experience we have not the means of testing2 who lived1 for example1 a thousand years before we were born2 or in a distant part of the world1 where we have never been8 ,certainly3 why should we hesitate so to apply it8 ,i am sure ,i know not2 and you see ,i am not unwilling so to apply it4 ,only ,i asked the question1 because we must not forget that many say it is begging the question2 for1 as a 'miracle' has not been exerted on us to give us a vision of the past experience of man1 or his present experience in any part of the world we never visited1 our opponents affirm1 that to say that the experience we trust to has been and is the universal experience of man1 is a clear petitio principii4 ,surely1 said ,fellowes1 it may be said that the general experience of mankind has been of such a character4 ,exactly so1 as a postulate from our experience1 as a generalized assumption that our experience may be taken as a specimen and criterion of all experience4 ,we assume that1--we do not prove it4 ,it is just as in any other case of induction2 we say1 ',because this is true in twenty or thirty or a hundred instances 7as the case may be71 which we can test1 --therefore it is generally or universally true'2 we do not say1 because this is true in these instances1 and because it is also generally or universally true1 therefore it is so6 ,no2 our true premise is restricted to what alone we know from our experience and the experience of all whose experience we can test if we please4 ,this is our real ground on which we are to justify our rejection of all miracles1 and let us adhere to it4 ,as to your general experience1 you see1 the advocate of miracles easily gets over that4 ,he says1 ',why1 no one pretends that miracles are as plenty as blackberries2 otherwise they would no longer be miracles2 these are comparatively rare events1 of course2 and1 being rare1 are necessarily at variance with general experience'2 and1 for my part1 ,i should not know how to answer the objection4 ,well1 then1 said ,fellowes4 let us adhere to that which is our real ground of objection1 and let us consistently apply it4 ,with all my heart1 said ,harrington2 we agree then1 that our own uniform experience1--that of all our neighbors and friends1--in fact1 of all whose experience we can test1 is a sufficient criterion of a law of nature1 and justifies us in at once rejecting as possible any alleged fact which violates it4 ,certainly4 ,for example1 if it were asserted that last year that the sun never rose on a certain day1 or1 rather1 for twenty-four hours the rotation of the earth ceased1 we should instantly reject the story1 without examination of witnesses1 or any such thing4 ,no doubt of that4 ,and just so in other cases4 ,this1 then1 is our ground4 ,you would not 7if ,i may advise7 lay much stress on the fact that there have been so many stories of a supernatural kind false4 ,why1 ,i do not know whether it would not be wise to insist upon that argument4 ,it seems to be not without weight1 urged ,fellowes4 ,perhaps so1 replied ,harrington2 but it has1 you see1 this inconvenience1 of proving more than you want4 ,the greater part by far of all religions have been false4 ,but you affirm that there is one little system absolutely true4 ,the greater part of the theories of science and philosophy1 which men1 from time to time1 have framed1 have also been false2 and yet you believe that there is such a thing as true philosophy and true science4 ,similarly1 the generality of political governments have been founded on vicious principles1 yet you hope for a political millennium at last4 ,in short1 the argument would go to prove1 that1 as there can never have been any true miracles because there have been so many false ones1 so1 for similar reasons1 it is mere 'vanity and vexation of spirit' to search after truth in religion1 or science1 or politics2 and though a sceptic1 like myself1 might not much mind it1 perhaps it would trammel such a positive philosopher as you4 ,nay1 a pertinacious opponent might even say1 that1 as you believe that in all these last cases there is a substance1 else there would not have been the shadows1 so1 with reference to miracles1 the very general belief of them rather argues that there have been miracles1 than that there have been none4 ,my advice is1 that we adhere to these reasons we have assigned1 for they are our real reasons4 ,be it so2 ,i hate miracles so much1 that ,i care not by what means the doltish delusion is dissipated4 ,only that the weapons should be fair8 ,o1 of course4 ,to resume1 then4 ,i say1 that1 if we were told that last year an event of such a miraculous nature occurred as that the earth did not revolve for twenty-four hours together1 we should at once reject it1 without any examination of witnesses1 or troubling ourselves with any thing of the kind4 ,unquestionably4 ,and if it were said to have occurred twenty years ago we should take the same course4 ,certainly4 ,and so if any such event were said to have occurred eighteen hundred years ago8 ,agreed4 ,and if such events were said at that day to have occurred eighteen hundred years previously1 we believe1 of course1 the men of that time would have been equally entitled to reason in the same way about them as ourselves2 and1 in short1 that we may fearlessly apply the same principle to the same epoch4 ,of course ,and so for two thousand years before that2 and1 in fact1 we must believe that every thing has always been going on in the same manner1 --the sun always rising and setting1 men dying and never rising and so forth4 ,exactly so1 even from the beginning of the creation1 said ,fellowes4 ,the beginning of the creation6 ,my good fellow1 ,i do not understand you4 ,as we have been going back1 we have seen that there is no period at which the same principle of judgment will not apply1 and1 following it fearlessly1 ,i say that we are in all fairness bound to believe that there never has been a period when the present order has been different from what it is2 in other words1 that the progression has been an eternal one4 ,i cannot admit that argument1 said ,fellowes4 ,then be pleased to provide me with a good answer to it1 which will still leave us at liberty to say1 that a miracle 7that is1 a variation from the order of nature as determined by our uniform experience1 and by that of the whole circle of our contemporaries7 is impossible1 and that we may reject at once any pretension of the kind4 ,but ,i do not admit that the creation of any thing or of all things is of the nature of a miracle4 ,harrington smiled4 ,i am afraid1 said he1 that to common sense1 to fair reasoning1 to any philosopher worthy of the name there would be no difference except in magnitude1 between such an event as the sudden appearance of an animal 7say man7 for the first time in our world1 or the first appearance of a tree 7such a thing never having been before71 and the restoration to life of a dead man4 ,each is1 to all intents and purposes1 a violation of the previous established series of antecedents and consequents1 and comes strictly within the limits of our definition of a miracle2 and a miracle1 you know is impossible4 ,the only difference will be1 that the miracle in the one case will be greater and more astonishing than that in the other4 ,but it is impossible1 in the face of geologists1 to contend that there have not been many such revolutions in the history of the world as these4 ,man himself is of comparatively recent introduction into our system4 ,i cannot help what the geologists affirm4 ,if we are to abide by our principle1 we have no warrant to believe that there have been any such violations1 or infractions1 or revolutions of nature's laws in the world's history4 ,if they contend for the interpolation of events in the history of the universe1 which1 by our criterion1 are of the nature of miracles1 and we are convinced that miracles are impossible1 we must reject the conclusions of geologists4 ,but may we not say1 that the great epochs in the history of the universe are themselves but the manifestation of law8 ,in no other sense1 ,i think1 than the advocate of miracles is entitled to say that the intercalation of miracles in the world's history is also according to law1--parts1 though minute parts1 of a universal plan1 and permitted for reasons worthy of the ,creator4 ,to both1 or neither1 is the same answer open4 ,your objection is1 ,i think1 a mere sophistical evasion of the difficulty4 ,there is no difference whatever in the nature of the events1 except that the variation from the 'established series of sequences' is infinitely greater in those portentous revolutions of the universe to which the geologist points your attention4 ,the application of our principle 7as you affirm with me7 will justify us in at once pronouncing any variation from the 'established series' whether occurring yesterday1 a year ago1 a thousand years ago1 or a million of years ago1 incredible2 it will1 in the same manner1 justify the men of any age in saying the same of all previous ages2 and ,i1 therefore1 while contending for your principle with you1 carry it consistently out1 and affirm that the series of antecedents and consequents 7as we now find it7 must be regarded as eternal1 because creation would do what a miracle is supposed to do1 and a miracle1 you know1 is impossible4 ,you are silent4 ,i am not able to retract acquiescence in the principle1 and ,i am as little inclined to concede the conclusions you would draw from it4 ,as you please2 only1 in the latter case1 provide me with an answer4 ,if you saw now introduced on the earth for the first time a being as unlike than as man is unlike the other animals1--say with seven senses1 wings on his shoulders1 a pair of eyes behind his head as well as in front of it1 and the tail of a peacock1 by way of finishing him off handsomely1--would you not call such a phenomenon a miracle8 ,i think ,i should1 said ,fellowes1 laughing4 ,and if the creature died1 leaving no issue1 would you continue to call it so8 ,yes4 ,but if you found that he was the head of a race1 as man was1 and a whole nation of such monsters springing from him1 then would you say that this wonderful intrusion into the sphere of our experience was no miracle1 but that it was merely according to law8 ,i should4 ,verily1 my dear friend1 ,i am afraid the world will laugh at us for making such fantastical distinctions4 ,this infraction of 'established sequences' ceases to be miraculous1 if the wonder is perpetuated and sufficiently multiplied6 ,meantime1 what becomes of the prodigy during the time in which it is uncertain whether any thing will come of it or not8 ,you will say1 ,i suppose1 7the interpolation in the 'series' of phenomena being just what ,i have supposed17 that it is uncertain whether it is to be regarded as miraculous or not1 till we know whether it is to be repealed or not4 ,i think ,i must1 if ,i adhere to the principle ,i am now defending4 ,very well2 only in the mean time you are in the ludicrous position of facing a phenomenon of which you do not know whether you will call it a miracle or not1--the contingency1 meantime1 on which it is to be decided1 not at all1 as ,i contend1 affecting the matter2 since you allow that it is the infraction of the previously established order of sequences1 as known to uniform experience1 which constitutes a miracle6 ,if so1 ,i must maintain that the creation of man was1 for the same reasons1 of the essence of a miracle4 ,you seem to think there is no objection to the admission of miracles1 provided they are astounding and numerous enough2 or provided they are a long time about1 instead of being instantaneously wrought4 ,i must remind you1 that to the principle of our argument these things are quite immaterial4 ,whether the revolution by which the established order of sequences is absolutely infringed1--the face of the universe or of our globe transformed1 or an entirely new race 7as1 for example1 man7 originated1--,i say1 whether such change be produced slowly or quickly is of no consequence in the world to our argument4 ,it is whether or not a series of phenomena be produced as absolutely transcending the sphere of all experience1 as those events we admit to be impossible1 called 'miracles4' ,that the introduction of man upon the earth for the first time 7for you will not allow his race eternal71 or the origination of a sun1 is not at all to be reckoned as transcending that experience1 ,i cannot understand4 ,nor can ,i understand it a bit better by your saying that it1 is in conformity with the vague something you are pleased to call a law4 ,it is a safe phrase1 however2 for as neither you nor any one else can interpret it1 no one can refute you4 ,this law is a most convenient thing6 ,it repeals1 it appears to me1 all other laws1--even those of logic4 ,perhaps would be better to say that miracles are no miracles when they are 'lawful' miracles4 ,no6 let us keep our principle intact from all such dangerous admissions as these4 ,in that way only are we safe4 ,safe do you call it8 ,i see not how1 if we carry out this principle in the way and to the extent you propose1 we can reply to the atheist or to the pantheist1 who tells us that the universe is but an eternal evolution of phenomena in one infinite series1 or in an eternal recurrence of finite cycles4 ,and what is that to you or me8 ,how can we help our principle 7if we are to hold it at all7 leading to some such conclusion8 ,we are1 ,i presume1 anxious to know the truth4 ,you see that ,strauss1 who is the most strenuous assertor of the impossibility of miracles1 is also a pantheist4 ,i know not whether you may not become one yourself4 ,never1 said ,fellowes1 vehemently2 never1 ,i trust1 shall ,i yield to that 'desolating pantheism' 7as worthy ,mr4 ,newman calls it7 which is now so rife4 ,i think ,mr4 ,newman's principles ought to guide you thither4 ,you seem to hold fast by his skirts at present2 but ,i very much doubt whether you have yet reached the termination of your career4 ,you have1 you must admit1 made advances quite as extraordinary before4 ,we shall see4--,but ,i suppose you have reached the end of the objections which your wayward scepticism suggests against a conclusion which we both admit2 or have you any more8 ,o1 plenty2 and amongst the rest1 ,i am afraid we must admit--whether we admit or not your expedient of law--a miracle1 or something indistinguishable from it1 as involved in the creation and preservation of the first man1--since you will have a first man4 ,what do you mean8 ,i mean1 that supposing the creation of man to be no miracle1 because he entered by law2 or that that first fact 7which would otherwise be miraculous7 is not such1 simply because it is the first of a series of such facts1--,i should like to see whether we have not even then to deal with a miracle1 or a fact as absolutely unique2 and which was not connected with any series of similar facts4 ,i think you would find it very hard to prove it4 ,nous verrons4 ,i am sure we shall not disagree as to the fact that man1 however he came into the world1 sooner or later1 by ordinary or extraordinary methods1 by some lawful wedlock of nature1 or by some miracle which is not 'lawful1' is endowed by nature with various faculties and susceptibilities4 ,certainly1 said ,fellowes1 laughing2 if you demand my assent to nothing more than that1 ,i shall easily admit your premises and deny your conclusion4 ,you will also admit1 ,i think1 that the process by which man comes to the use of these faculties1 and powers1 and so forth1 is very gradual8 ,assuredly4 ,and will you not also admit that the development and command of these is something very different from the1 potentialities themselves1 as my uncle here would call them8--that1 for example1 we have the faculty of vision2 but that the art of seeing involves a slow laborious process1 acquired not without the concurrent exercise of other senses3 and that the apparatus for walking is perfect even in an infant2 but that the art of walking is1 in fact1 a wonderful acquisition3 further1 that the command given us by these faculties1 as actually exercised1 is immensely greater than would be conferred by each alone4 ,in one word1 you will allow that man1 when he comes to the use of his faculties1 is1 as has been well said1 a bundle of habits1 or1 as ,burke puts it1 is a creature who1 to a great extent1 has the making of himself4 ,i am much at my ease1 said ,fellowes2 ,i shall not dispute any of these premises either4 ,and will you not also admit that1 as man comes into the world now1 a long time is required for this development2 and that during that time he is absolutely dependent on the care of those who have already in their turn required similar care8 ,seeing that we have had fathers and mothers1--as ,i suppose our grandfathers and grandmothers also had1--there can be as little doubt of this as of the preceding points1 said ,fellowes1 rather condescendingly4 ,and that many of the functions which thus task their care are necessary for our existence1 and for any chance of our being able to develop into men4 ,i think so1 of course4 ,so that1 if an infant were exposed on a mountain-side or forest1 you would have no doubt he would perish 7unless it pleased some kind-hearted wolf to suckle him7 before he could come to the use of his faculties1 and develop them by exercise4 ,i think1 said the other1 your premises perfectly innocent2 ,i shall not contest them4 ,a little further4 said ,harrington1 we may go together2 and then1 if ,i mistake not1 you will pause before you go one step further4 ,this1 then1 is the normal condition of humanity8 ,yes4 ,do you think the first man was like us in these respects8 ,i cannot tell4 ,i dare engage you cannot1--it is a very natural answer4 ,but he either was1 ,i suppose1 or was not4 ,that1 ,i think1 you will grant me4 ,he assented1 though rather reluctantly4 ,pray please yourself1 said ,harrington2 for it is quite immaterial to me which alternative you take4 ,if man was in our condition1 then1 though the 'lawful miracle' by which he was brought into the world might have made him a baby of six feet high1 he would have been no more than a baby still4 ,all that was to constitute him a man1--all those habits by which alone his existence was capable of being preserved1--and without which he must have perished immediately after his creation1 in which case you and ,i should have been spared the necessity of all this discussion on the subject1 would have to be learned2 and his existence during that time--and a long time it must have been1 having no teachers and aids1 as we have--must have been preserved by a--miracle4 ,if he were taught by the ,creator himself1 then we have the miracle in that direction4 ,if he were not brought into the world under the same conditions of development as we are1 but with habits ready made1--if1 indeed1 that be not a contradiction1 --then we have a miracle in that direction2 if he had his faculties preternaturally quickened and expanded1 so as to acquire instantaneously1 or possess by instinct1 what we acquire by a long and slow process1 and not for many years1--then we have a miracle in that direction4 ,if you do not like these suppositions1 ,i see but one other2 and that is that2 being a baby1--though1 as ,i said1 a baby six feet high1--he had an angel nurse sent down expressly to attend him1 and to push or wheel him about the walls of paradise in a celestial go-cart4 ,but then ,i think that in this last particular we shall hardly say that we have got rid of a miracle1 though it would doubtless be a miracle of a very ludicrous kind4 ,if you can imagine any other supposition1 ,i shall be glad to hear it4 ,i acknowledge ,i can form no supposition on the subject4 ,only remember that1 if you could1 the theory would still suppose man's actual preservation and development effected under totally different conditions from those which have formed the uniform experience of all his posterity2 and so far from any subterfuge of a law stepping in1 it is a single expedient provided for our first parent alone4 ,i do not think we are at all in a condition to consider any such case1 about which we cannot know any thing1 replied ,fellowes4 ,neither do ,i2 but pardon me1--the question ,i asked does not depend upon any such knowledge2 it is a question which is wholly independent whether of our ignorance or our knowledge4 ,granting1 as you do1 that man was created1 but that it was no miracle1 nor any thing analogous to one 7as you say71 still either he was created subject to our conditions of development and preservation1 or he was not2 if he was not1 then ,i fear we have in form the miracle we wish to evade2 if he was1 then ,i fear also that there are but the three imaginable modes of obviating the difficulty which ,i have so liberally provided2 and supposing there were a thousand4 ,i fear still that they all involve a departure from the 'uniform course of ,nature4' ,but ,i do not see1 replied ,fellowes1 that it is absolutely necessary1 supposing that the first man was thrown upon the green of paradise4 ,or in a forest1 or on a moor1 said ,harrington1 for you know nothing of paradise4 ,well1 then1 in a forest1 or on a moor2--,i say if man were cast out there1 the same helpless being which all his posterity are1--unfortified1 as the lower animals are1 by feathers or hair1 or by instincts equal to theirs1--who can affirm that it was beyond the possibilities of his nature1 that he might survive this cruel experiment8 crawl1 perhaps1 for an indefinite period on all fours1 live on berries1 and at last--by very slow degrees doubtless1 but still at last--emerge into--- ,the dignity of a savage1 cried ,harrington1 as the first step towards something better1--his ,creator having beneficently created him something infinitely worse6 ,surely1 you must be returning to a savage yourself1 even to hint at such a pedigree4 ,but ,i have done3 till those cases of which certain philosophers have said so much have been authenticated2 till you can produce an instance of a new-born babe1 exposed on a mountain-side1 in all the helplessness of his natal hour1 and self-preserved1--nay1 two of them1--for you must at least have a pair of these 'babes in the wood'2 and till1 moreover1 it can be shown that they would have survived this experiment so as to preserve the characteristics of humanity a little better than the 'wild boy of ,germany1' and were fit to be the heads of the human family1--,i shall at times be strangely tempted to embrace any theory as infinitely more probable4 ,i cannot think it was in this way that our first parents made their entree into the world4 ,i hope not1 for the credit of the ,creator1 as well as for the happiness of his offspring4 ,of the moral bearings of such a brutal theory1 ,i say nothing2 but if it can be true1 all ,i can say is1 that ,i am glad that you and ,i1 my dear ,fellowes1 are not the immediate children but so fortunate as to be only the great-great --great-great-grandchildren of ,god6 ,you have well called it a 'cruel experiment'2 according to this1 the first ,father of all thrust forth his children into the world to be for an indefinite time worse than the beasts1 who were carefully provided against miserable man's inconveniences6 ,certainly1 ,i think you may alter the account of man's creation given in ,genesis1 to great advantage4 ,instead of ,god's saying1 ',let us create man in our image1 he must be supposed to have said1 ',let us create man in the image of a ,,beast3 and in the image of a ,,beast created he him1 male and female created he them'2 and very imperfect beasts they must have been1 after all4 ,this is that old savage theory which ,i had supposed was pretty well abandoned4 ,if the necessity of denying miracles imposes any necessity of believing that1 ,i fear that ,i shall sooner be got to believe a thousand4 ,well1 said ,fellowes1 who seemed ashamed of this theory1 but knew not how to abandon it2 ,i cannot believe there have been any miracles1 and1 what is more1 ,i will not4 ,that is perhaps the best reason you have given yet1 said ,harrington4 ,the ,will is indeed your only irresistible logician4 ,you are one degree1 at all events1 better off than ,i1 for ,i can hardly say either that ,i believe1 or that ,i do not believe1 in miracles4 ,and yet1 continued ,harrington1 after a pause1 two or three other strange consequences seem to follow from that seemingly undeniable principle on which we base the conclusion that there neither has been nor can be any such thing as a miracle3 in other words1 a departure from the established series of sequences which1 as tested by our own experience and by that of other men1 we are convinced is stable4 ,will you see with me whether there is any fair mode of escaping from them8 ,i should be very glad if ,i could do so4 ,what are they8 ,why1 first1 ,i am afraid it must be said1 that we must entirely justify a man in the condition of the ,eastern prince mentioned by ,hume1 who could not be induced to believe that there was such a thing as ice4 ,i am afraid that he was quite in the right2 and yet we know that in fact he was wrong4 ,you are not1 then1 satisfied with ,hume's own solution8 ,so far from it1 that ,i cannot see1 upon the principles on which we refuse to believe miracles1 that it is even intelligible4 ,we agree1 do we not1 that1 from the experience we have 7and1 so far as we can ascertain1 from every body else's7 of the uniform course of events1 of the established order of sequences1 we are to reject any assertion of a violation of those sequences2 as1 for example1 of a man's coming into the world in any preternatural manner1 or1 when he has once gone out of it1 coming into it again2 and that we are entitled to do this without any examination of the witnesses to any such fact1 merely on the strength of the principles aforesaid8 ,i admit that we have agreed to this4 ,now was not the assertion that in a certain quarter of the world water became solid as stone1 could be cut into pieces1 and be put into one's pockets1 contrary1 in a similar manner1 to all the phenomena which the said prince had witnessed1 and also to the uniform experience of all about him from his earliest years8 ,it certainly was4 ,he was right1 then1 in rejecting the fact2 that is1 he was right in rejecting the possibility of such an occurrence1 said ,harrington4 ,but did we not ourselves say1 with ,hume1 that1 as we see that there is not an absolute uniformity in the phenomena of nature1 but that they are varied within certain limits in different climates and countries1 so it does not become us to say that a phenomenon1 though somewhat variable1 is a violation of the usual order of sequences8 ,we did2 but we also agreed1 ,i think1 that those variations were to be within invariable limits1 as tested by the whole of our experience2 we did not include within those variations what is diametrically contrary 7as in the present case7 to all our own experience and that of every body about us4 ,if it is to extend to such variations1 what do we say but this1--that the order of nature is uniform and invariable1 except where--it is the reverse8 and1 as it seems it sometimes is so1 see what comes of the admission4 ,a man asserts the reality of a miracle which you reject at once as simply impossible1 as contrary to your experience and that of every one whose experience you can test4 ,it will be easy for him to say1 and upon ,hume's evasion he will say1 that it was performed1 for aught you know1 under conditions so totally different from those which ordinarily obtain in relation to the same order of events1 that you are no adequate judge as to whether it was possible or not4 ,he acknowledges that a miracle is a very rare occurrence2 that it is performed for special ends2 is strictly limited to time and place1 like those phenomena the ,indian prince was asked to believe2 and that your experience cannot embrace it1 nor is warranted in pronouncing upon it4 ,i really fear that1 if our incredulous prince is to be condemned1 our principle will be ruined4 ,i am anxious for his safe deliverance1 ,i assure you4 ,still ,i cannot see that we can deny that phenomena may be manifested1 in virtue of the laws of nature1 totally different from those which we have ever seen or heard of4 ,what6 so different that the phenomena in question shall be a total departure from that order of nature of which alone we and all about us are cognizant2 in fact1 all but the one man1 who tells us the strange thing1 we being at the same time totally incapable of testing his experience8 ,yes1 said ,fellowes2 ,i must grant it4 ,i see1 said ,harrington1 you are bent on the destruction of our criterion4 ,do you not perceive that1 if our experience and that of the immense majority1 or of all about us1 be not a sufficient criterion of the laws of nature1 our argument falls to the ground8 ',your principle1' our adversaries will say1 'is a fallacious one2 ,nature has her laws1 no doubt1 which apply to miracles as to every other phenomenon2 but in assuming your experience to be a sufficient criterion of these laws1 you have been1 not interpreting her laws1 but imposing upon her your own4' ,if unknown powers of nature may thus reverse our experience and the experience of all those whose experience1 under the given conditions1 we have opportunities of testing1 we ought to abstain from saying that some unknown powers may not also have wrought miracles4 ,let us then affirm consistently the sufficiency of our criterion2 and the prince aforesaid must do the same2 and it warranted him1 ,i say1 in believing that there neither was nor could be such a thing as ice4 ,but this seems ridiculous1 said ,fellowes2 for according to this1 different and opposite experiences may1 in different places give different or opposite measures of the laws of nature2 which nevertheless are supposed to be invariably the same1 or invariably the limits certified by that experience4 ,i cannot help it2 upon that same experience we must believe it true that there are no miracles1 and our unbelieving prince1 that there could be no such thing as ice2 for to him it was a miracle4 ,if we do not reason thus1 may we not be compelled to admit that our uniform experience1 with its limited variations1 is no rule at all1 and that there are cases for which it makes no provision8 and may not the advocate for miracles say that miracles are amongst them8 ,no1 let us adhere to our principle1 and adhering to it1 ,i wish to know whether the prince in question was not quite right in saying that there neither was nor could be such a thing as ice2 for the assertion that there was1 was contrary to all his experience and to that of every soul about him4 ,i must say1 that1 if we look only to the principle of this uniform experience1 he was right4 ,but he rejected the truth4 ,he certainly did4 ,and he was right in rejecting the truth8 ,certainly1 upon your principle4 ,upon my principle6 ,do not say upon my principle1 unless you mean to deny that you too embrace it2 if you give up that principle1 you lay yourself open at once to the retort that your position is insecure2 that you have taken your experience as a sufficient criterion of the possibilities of events1 when it is in fact merely a measure of such as have fallen under your own observation4 ,perhaps1 said ,fellowes1 ,i should say that the prince in question was justified at first in rejecting the fact1 but that when he found other men1 whose veracity he could not suspect1 coming from the same regions of the world1 and affirming the same phenomenon1 it was his business to correct his experience1 and to admit that the fact was so4 ,i am surprised to hear you say so2 you are again ruining our principle4 ,do you admit that the assertion that there was a place on earth at which water in large quantities became solid1 was apparently as great a violation of all the experience of this man1 as what is ordinarily called a miracle is of ours8 ,i cannot deny that it was so4 ,but yet you think1 that1 though justified in disbelieving it at first1 he would not be so when others1 whose veracity and motives he had no reason to suspect1 told him the same tale8 ,yes4 ,why1 then1 is not this plainly to make a belief of such events depend upon testimony1 and do we not give up altogether our sufficient principle of rejection of all such testimony8 ,you are yielding1 without doubt1 the principle of our opponents1 who affirm that there is no event so improbable that a certain combination of testimony would not be sufficient to warrant your reception of it2 because1 as they say1 that testimony might be given under such circumstances1--so variously certified1 and so above suspicion1--that it would be more improbable that the statement to which it applied 7however strange7 should be false1 than that the testimony should not be true2 in other words1 that the falsehood of the testimony would be the greater miracle of the two4 ,and they say this1 because 7as they assert7 the uniform experience on which we found our objection to any miraculous narrative is no less applicable to the world of mind than to the world of matter2 that there is not indeed an absolute uniformity of experience in the former1 as neither is there in the latter2 but neither in one nor in the other is there any absolute bouleversement of the principles and constitution of nature2 which1 they say1 would be implied1 if under all conceivable circumstances testimony might prove false4 ,and yet now you seem to admit the very thing for which they contend2 and in contending for it1 you give up your case4 ,doing so1 you certainly get rid of the paradoxical conclusions which my wretched scepticism sometimes suggests to me1 as throwing a doubt on the integrity of our principle4 ,i say your admission gets rid of it2 but then it is with the ruin of the principle itself4 ,what was that paradox8 ,it is this2 that1 if we adhere to our principle1 we must deny that any amount of testimony is sufficient to warrant the belief of a miracle4 ,that is what we do maintain4 ,i thought so2 but you seem to me to have hastily given it up4 ,let us then again maintain that our prince1 in denying what was a miracle to him1 was not only consistent in saying that it could not be1 when first asserted to him1 but also when last asserted2 and died an orthodox infidel in the possibility of ice1 or an orthodox believer in the eternal fluidity of water1 whichever you prefer to consider it4 ,well1 and what then8 ,why1 then1 let us act upon our principle with equal consistency in other cases2 for you say that there is no amount or complexity of evidence which would induce you to believe in a miracle4 ,i do4 ,let us suppose it was asserted that a man known to have been dead and buried had risen again1 and1 after having been seen by many1 had at last1 in presence of a multitude1 on a clear day1 ascended to heaven through the calm sky1 without artificial wings or balloon1 or any such thing2 that he was seen to pass out of sight of the gazing crowd1 who watched and watched in vain for his return2 and that he had never more been seen4 ,let us suppose that the witnesses who saw this constantly affirmed it2 that amongst them were many known to you1 whose veracity you had no reason to suspect1 and who had no imaginable motive to deceive you2 let us suppose further1 that they persisted in affirming this1 in spite of all contumely and contempt1 insult and wrong1 amidst threats of persecution1 and persecution itself2 lastly1 let there be amongst them many1 who before this event had been as strenuous assertors of the impossibility of a miracle as yourself4 ,i want to know whether you would believe this story1 thus authenticated1 or not8 ,but it is1 ,i think1 unfair to put any such case2 for there never was such an event so authenticated4 ,it is quite sufficient to test our principle1 that you can imagine such testimony4 ,if that principle is sound1 it is plain that it will apply to all imaginable degrees of testimony1 as well as to all actual4 ,no testimony1 you say1 can establish a miracle4 ,this is true or not4 ,if you admit that there are any degrees in this matter1 you come at last to the old argument1 which you abjure2 namely1 that whether a miraculous event has taken place or not depends on the degree of evidence with which it is substantiated1 and that must be the result of a certain investigation of it in the particular alleged case4 ,you remember the story of the ring of ,gyges1 which made the wearer invisible4 ,plato tells us how a man ought to act1 and how a good man would act1 if he had such a ring4 ,cicero tells us how absurd it would be to reply to his reasoning 7as one did71 by saying that there never was such a ring4 ,it was not necessary to the force of the illustration that there should be such a ring4 ,so neither is it necessary to my argument there should be such testimony as ,i have supposed1 to enable us to see whether we are prepared to admit the truth of your principle that no evidence can establish a miracle4 ,once more1 then1 ,i ask you whether1 on supposition of such testimony1 you would reject the supposed fact or not8 ,well1 then1 ,i should say1 that1 since no testimony can establish a miracle1 ,i should reject it4 ,bravo1 ,fellowes6 ,i do of all things like to see an unflinching regard to a principle1 when once laid down4 ,but would not you also reject it1 upon the same principle8 ,of course ,i should1 if the principle be true2 but ah6 my friend1 pardon me for acknowledging my infirmities2 my miserable scepticism tosses me to and fro4 ,i have not your strength of will2 and ,i fear that the rejection in such a case would cost me many qualms and doubts4 ,such is the infirmity of our nature1 and so much may be said on all sides6 ,and ,i fear that ,i should be more likely to have these uneasy thoughts1 inasmuch as ,i fancy ,i see a difficult dilemma 7,i but now referred to it71 which would be proposed to us by some keen-sighted opponent1--,i say not with justice1--who would endeavor to show that we had abandoned our principle in the very attempt to maintain it2 that the bow from which we were about to launch so fatal an arrow at the enemy had broken in our hands1 and left us defenceless4 ,what dilemma do you refer to8 said ,fellowes4 ,i think such an adversary might perhaps say3 ',that same uniform experience on which you justify the rejection of all miracles1--does it extend only to one part of nature1 to the physical and material only1 or to the mental and spiritual also8' ,in other words1 if there were such things as miracles at all1 might there be miracles in connection with mind as well as in connection with matter8 ,what would you say8 ,what can ,i say1 but what ,hume himself says1 so truly and so beautifully1 in his essay on ',necessary ,connection1' and ',on ,liberty and ,necessity'2 namely1 that there is a uniformity in both the moral and physical world1 and that nature does not transgress certain limits in either the one or the other'8 ,you must remember that he says so8 ,i do1 said ,harrington4 ,now1 ,i am afraid our astute adversary would say that such a complication of false testimony as we have supposed would itself be a flagrant violation of the established series of sequences1 on which1 as applied to the physical world1 we justify the rejection of all miracles2 that we have got rid of a miracle by admitting a miracle2 and that our uniform experience has broken down with us4 ,but again ,i say1 there never was such a case of testimony1 urged ,fellowes4 ,i wish this could help us2 but it plainly will not2 because we have concluded that1 if there were such testimony1 we must believe it false1 and therefore should admit that the miracle of its falsehood was1 in that case1 necessary to be believed2 not to say that there has been1 in the opinion of millions1 testimony often given to miracles1 which1 if false1 does imply that the laws of human nature must have been turned topsy-turvy1--and ,i1 for my part1 know not how to disprove it4 ,if1 in such cases1 the testimony1 the falsity of which would be a miracle1 is not to be rejected1 then we must admit that the miracle which it supports is true4 ,i must leave it there4 said ,harrington1 with an air of comic resignation2 ,i cannot answer for any thing except that you may reject both miracles alternatively1 if that will be any comfort to you1 without being able to disbelieve simultaneously4 ,if you believe the testimony false1 you must believe the alleged miracle false2 but you will have then the moral miracle to believe4 ,if you believe the testimony true1 you will then believe the physical miracle true4 ,perhaps the best way will be to believe both alternately in rapid succession2 and you will then hardly perceive the difficulty at all6 ,there was here a brief pause4 ,harrington suddenly resumed4 ,these are very perplexing considerations4 ,one thing1 ,i confess1 has often puzzled me much2 and that is1--what should we do1 in what state of mind should we be1 if we did see a miracle8 ,of what use is the discussion of such a particular case1 when you know it is impossible that we should ever see it realized8 replied ,fellowes4 ,of course it is2 just as it is impossible that we should ever see levers perfectly inflexible1 or cords perfectly flexible4 ,nevertheless1 it is perfectly possible to entertain such a hypothetical case1 and to reason with great conclusiveness on the consequences of such a supposition2 and in the same way we can imagine that we have seen a miracle2 and what then8 ,why1 if we were to see one1 of course seeing is believing4 ,we must give up our principle1 said ,fellowes1 laughing4 ,do you think so8 ,i think we should be very foolish then4 ,how can we be sure that we have seen it8 ,can it appeal to any thing stronger than senses1 and have not our senses often beguiled us8 ,must we not rather abide by that general induction from the evidence to which our ordinary experience points us8 ,in other words1 ought we not to adhere to the great principle we have already laid down1 that a miracle is impossible8 ,but1 according to this1 if we err in that principle1 and ,god were to work a miracle for the very purpose of convincing us1 it would be impossible for him to attain his purpose4 ,i think it would1 my friend1 ,i confess2 just for the reason that1 since we believe a miracle to be impossible1 we must believe it impossible for even ,god to work one2 and therefore1 if we are mistaken1 and it is possible for him to work one1 it is still impossible that he should convince us of it4 ,i really know not how to go that length4 ,why not8 ,you acknowledge that your senses have deceived you2 you know that they have deceived others2 and it is on that very ground that you dispose of very many cases of supposed miracles which you are not willing1 or are not able1 to resolve otherwise4 ,if ,i believe1 then1 that a miracle is impossible1 ,i must admit that1 if ,i err in that1 it is still impossible for ,god himself to convince me of it4 ,fellowes looked grave1 but said nothing4 ,and do you know1 said ,harrington1 ,i have sometimes thought that ,hume1 so far from representing his argument from ',transubstantiation' fairly1 7there is an obvious fallacy on the very face of it1 to which ,i do not now allude17 is himself precisely in the condition in which he represents the believer in miracles8 ,fellowes smiled incredulously4 ,first1 however1 said he1 what is the more notorious fallacy to which you allude8 ,it is so barefaced an assumption1 that ,i am surprised that his acuteness did not see it2 or that1 if he saw it1 he could have descended to make a point by appearing not to see it4 ,it has been often pointed out1 and you will recollect it the moment ,i name it4 ,you know he commences with the well-known argument of ,tillotson against ,transubstantiation and flatters himself that he sees a similar argument in relation to miracles4 ,now it certainly requires but a moderate degree of sagacity to see that the very point in which ,tillotson's argument tells1 is that very one in which ,hume's is totally unlike it4 ,tillotson says1 that when it is pretended that the bread and wine which are submitted to his own senses have been 'transubstantiated into flesh and blood1' the alleged phenomena contradict his senses2 and that as the information of his senses as much comes from ,god as the doctrines of ,scripture 7and even the miracles of ,scripture appeal to nothing stronger71 he must believe his senses in this case in preference to the assertions of the priest4 ,hume then goes on quietly to take it for granted that the miracles to which consent is asked in like manner contradict the testimony of the senses of him to whom they appeal is made2 whereas1 in fact1 the assertor of the miracles does not pretend that he who denies them has ever seen them1 or had the opportunity of seeing them4 ,to make the argument analogous1 it ought to be shown that the objector1 having been a spectator of the pretended miracles1 when and where they were affirmed to have been wrought1 had then and there the testimony of his senses that no such events had taken place4 ,it is mere juggling with words to say that never to have seen a like event is the same argument of an event's never having occurred1 as never to have seen that event when it was alleged to have taken place under our very eyes6 ,i give up the reasoning on this point1 said ,fellowes1 but how1 ,i should like to know1 do you retort the argument upon him8 ,thus2 you see that we maintain that a miracle is incredible per se1 because impossible2 not to be believed1 therefore1 on any evidence4 ,certainly4 ,if1 then1 we saw what seemed a miracle1 we should distrust our senses2 we should say that it was most likely that they deceived us4 ,hear what ,voltaire says in one of his letters to ,d',alembert3 ',je persiste a penser que cent mille hommes qui ont vu ressusciter un mort1 pourraient bien etre cent mille hommes qui auraient la berlue4' ,and what he says of their bad eyes1 there is no doubt he would say of his own1 if he had been one of the hundred thousand4 ,i think so1 certainly4 ,and ,strauss1 and ,hume1 and ,voltaire1 and you and ,i1 and all who hold a miracle impossible1 would distrust our senses1 and fall back upon that testimony from the general experience of others1 which alone could correct our own halting and ambiguous experience4 ,certainly4 ,it appears1 then1 my good fellow1 that the position of those who deny and those who assert miracles is exactly the reverse of ,hume's statement4 ,the man who believes ',transubstantiation' distrusts his senses1 and rather believes testimony3 and even so would he who has fully made up his mind1 on our sublime principle as to the impossibility of miracles1 when any thing which has that appearance crosses his path2 he is prepared to deny his senses and to trust to testimony1--to that general experience of others which comes to him1 and can come to him1 only in that shape4 ,it is we1 therefore1 and not our adversaries1 who are liable to be reached by this unlucky illustration4 ,fellowes himself seemed much amused by finding the tables thus turned4 ,for my part1 ,i had difficulty in repressing a chuckle over this display of sceptical candor and subtilty4 ,there is perhaps another paradox which may be as well mentioned1 resumed ,harrington4 ,it is a little trying to my scepticism1 but perhaps will not be to your faith4 ,i mean this4 ,we are constrained to believe from our 'uniform-experience' criterion that no miracle has ever occurred1 or ever will2 in short1 it is1 as we say1 impossible4 ,now the principle which undoubtedly leads us to the conclusion we may regard as a principle of our nature1 if ever there was one2 that is1 we are so constituted as to infer the perpetual uniformity of certain sequences of phenomena from our observation of that uniformity4 ,assuredly4 ,and as all mankind obviously act upon that same principle in most cases1 and we believe that it is part of the very uniformity in question that human nature is radically the same in all ages and in all countries1 ,i think we ought to conclude that it is not you and ,i only1 but at all events the vast majority of mankind1 who have maintained the impossibility of miracles4 ,we ought to be able to conclude so1 said ,fellowes1 but it is very far from being the case4 ,so far from it1 that nothing can be plainer than that miraculous legends have been most greedily taken up by the vast majority of mankind1 and have made a very common part of almost every form of religion4 ,men do not then1 it appears1 in this instance1 at all regard the uniform tenor of their experience2 so that it is a part of our uniform experience1 that mankind disregard and disbelieve the lessons of their uniform experience4 ,this is almost a miracle of itself2 at all events1 a curious paradox2 but one which we must not stay to examine3 though ,i confess it leads to one other humiliating conclusion1--a little corollary1 which ,i think it is not unimportant to mark2 and that is1 that we can never expect these enlightened views of ours to spread amongst the mass of mankind4 ,nay1 ,i cannot agree with you4 ,i hope far other wise1 and far better for the human race4 ,but will the result not contradict your uniform experience1 if your hopes be realized8 ,is not your experience sufficiently long and sufficiently varied to show that the belief of miracles and all sorts of prodigies is the normal condition of mankind1 and that it is only a comparatively few who can discern that uniform experience justifies man in believing that no miracle is possible8 ,while it teaches us that a miracle is impossible does it not also teach us that1 though none is possible1 it is nevertheless impossible that they should not be generally believed8 ,is not this taught us as plainly by our uniform experience as any thing else8 ,see how fairly ,hume admits this at the commencement of his ,essay on ,miracles4 ,he says1 ',i flatter myself that ,i have discovered an argument which1 if just1 will1 with the wise and learned1 be an everlasting check to all kinds of superstitious delusion1 and consequently will be useful as long as the world endures4 ,for so long1 ,i presume1 will the accounts of miracles and prodigies be found in all histories1 sacred and profane4' ,thus are we led to the conclusion1 that1 though miracles never can be real1 they will nevertheless be always believed2 and that1 though the truth is with us1 it never can be established in the minds of men in general4 ,and1 my dear friend1 let us be thankful that it never can2 for if it could1 that fact would have proved the possibility of miracles by contradicting one of those very deductions from uniform experience on the validity of which their impossibility is demonstrated4 ,these are some of the perplexities1 continued ,harrington1 which1 as ,theaetetus says1 sometimes make ',my head dizzy1' when ,i revolve the subject4 ,meantime1 surely a nobler spectacle can hardly present itself than our fairly abiding by our principle1 amidst so many plausible difficulties as assail it4 ,i know no one principle in theology or philosophy which has been so battered as that of ,hume4 ,not only ,campbell1 ,paley1 and so many more1 confidently affirm errors in it1--such as his assuming individual or general experience to be universal2 his quietly attributing to individual experience a belief of facts which are believed by the vast mass of mankind on testimony1 and nothing else2 his representing the experience of a man who says he has seen a certain event as 'contrary' to the experience of him who says he has not seen a similar one2 his implying that no amount of testimony can establish a miracle1 which might compel us to believe moral miracles to get rid of physical miracles2 ,i say not only so1 but the most recent investigators of the theory of evidence cruelly abandon him4 ,the argument of ,hume and ,paley1 says ,de ,morgan1 in his treatise on ,probabilities1 7,encyclopaedia ,metropolitana3 ,theory of ,probabilities1 #ahb47 is a 'fallacy answered by fallacies1'--meaning by this last that ,paley had conceded to his opponent more than he ought to have done4 ,with similar vexatious opposition1 ,mr4 ,j4 ,s4 ,mill says1 that1 to make any alleged fact contradictory to a law of causation1 'the allegation must be that this happened in the absence of any adequate counteracting cause4 ,now1 in the case of an alleged miracle1 the assertion is the exact opposite of this4' ,he says1 'that all which ,hume has made out is1 that no evidence can prove a miracle to any one who did not previously believe the existence of a being or beings with supernatural power2 or who believed himself to have full proof that the character'7,system of ,logic1 ,vol4 ,,ii4 pp4 #ahf1 #ahg47 of such being or beings is inconsistent with such an interference2 that is1 the argument could have no force unless either a man believed there were no ,god at all1 or the objector happened to be something like a ,god himself6 ,and now1 lastly1 ,i have shown that the predicament of ,hume1 and ,voltaire1 and ,strauss1 and you and myself 7if consistent71 is just the reverse of that in which the argument from ,transubstantiation represents it4 ,but never mind2 so much more glory is due to us for abiding by our principle4 ,i begin almost to think that ,i am arriving at that transcendental 'faith' which you admire so much1 and which is totally independent of logic and argument1 and all 'intellectual processes whatever4' ,july #bc4 ,i this day read to ,mr4 ,fellowes the paper ,i had promised a week or two before1 and which ,i had entitled1 ,,an ,,external ,,revelation1 ,,even ,,of ,,elementary ,,spiritual ,,and ,,moral ,,truths ,,very ,,possible1 ,,and ,,very ,,useful2 ,,and ,,in ,,analogy ,,with ,,the ,,conditions ,,of ,,human ,,development1 ,,whether ,,in ,,the ,,individual ,,or ,,the ,,species4 ,it is ,necessary to observe in the outset1 that1 even if ,i were to grant your proposition1 that a revelation of moral and spiritual truth is impossible1--understanding by such truth what you seem to mean1 the truth which ,natural ,religion1 as it is called1 has recognized in some shape or other 7for it has varied not a little71--it would leave the chief reasons for imparting an external revelation just where they were4 ,i1 at least1 should never contend that the sole or even chief object of an external revelation is to impart elementary moral or spiritual truth1 however possible ,i may deem it4 ,on the contrary1 ,i am fully persuaded that the great purpose for which such a revelation has been given is to communicate facts and truths many of which were quite transcendental to the human faculties2 which man would never have discovered1 and most of which he would never have surmised4 ,all this your favorite ,mr4 ,newman perceived in his earlier days clearly enough1 and has recorded his sentiments held at that period in his ,phases47p4#db7 ,if ,i were to grant you1 therefore1 your proposition1 it would leave the question of an external revelation untouched2 your hasty inference from it1 that every book-revelation is to be rejected1 is perfectly gratuitous4 ,but ,i am thoroughly persuaded that the notion of the impossibility of all external revelation of moral and spiritual truth1 even of the elementary form already referred to1 is a fallacy4 ,whether the religious faculty in men be a simple faculty1 or 7as ,sir ,james ,mackintosh seemed to think might possibly be the case with conscience7 a complex one1 constituted by means of several different powers and principles of our nature1 is a question not essential to the argument2 for ,i frankly admit at once1 with ,mr4 ,newman and ,mr4 ,parker1 that there is such a susceptibility 7simple or complex71 and not a mere abortive tendency1 as ,harrington seems to suppose possible4 ,otherwise ,i cannot1 ,i confess1 account for the fact 7so largely insisted upon by ,mr4 ,parker7 of the very general1 the all but universal1 adoption by man of some religion1 and the power1 the prodigious power1 which1 even when false1 hideously false1 it exerts over him4 ,but then ,i must as frankly confess1 that ,i can as little account for all the 7not only terrible but7 uniform aberrations of this susceptibility1 on which ,harrington has insisted1 and which1 ,i do think1 prove 7if ever truth was proved by induction7 one of two things2 either that1 as he says1 this susceptibility in man was originally defective and rudimentary1 or that man is no longer in his normal state2 in other words1 that he is1 as the ,scriptures declare1 depraved4 ,i acknowledge ,i accept this last solution2 and firmly believe with ,pascal1 that without it moral and religious philosophy must toil over the problem of humanity in vain4 ,if this be so1 we have1 of course1 no difficulty in believing that there may be1 in spite of the existence of the religious faculty in man1 ample scope for an external revelation1 to correct its aberrations and remedy its maladies4 ,but you will say that this fact is not to be taken for granted4 ,i admit it2 and therefore lay no further stress upon it4 ,i go one step further2 and shall endeavor1 at least1 to prove1 that1 supposing man is just as he was created1 yet also supposing1 what neither ,mr4 ,parker nor ,mr4 ,newman will deny1 7and if they did1 the whole history of the world would confute them17 that man's religious faculty is not uniform or determinate in its action1 but is dependent on external development and culture for assuming the form it does1 ample scope is still left for an external revelation4 ,i contend that the entire condition of this susceptibility 7as shown by experience7 proves that1 if in truth an external revelation be impossible1 it is not because it has superseded the necessity for one2 and that the declaration of the elder deists and modern spiritualists on this in the face of what all history proves man to be1 is the most preposterous in the world4 ,further2 ,i contend that all the analogies from the fundamental laws of the development of man's nature1--from a consideration of the relations in which that nature stands to the external world1--from the absolute dependence of the individual on external culture1 and that of the whole species on its historic development1--are all in favor of the notion both of the possibility and utility of an external revelation1 and even in favor of that particular form of it which ,mr4 ,newman and you so contemptuously call a book revelation4 ,i4 ,i argue from all the analogies of the fundamental laws of the development of the human mind4 ,nor do ,i fear to apply the reasoning even to the cases in which it has been so confidently asserted that there can be no revelation1 on the fallacious ground that a revelation of spiritual and moral truth presupposes in man certain principles to which it appeals4 ,to possess certain faculties for the appreciation of spiritual and moral truth is one thing2 to acquire the conscious possession of that truth is another2 the former fact would not make an external revelation superfluous1 or an empty name4 ,every thing in the process of the mind's development goes to show1 that1 whatever its capacities1 tendencies1 faculties1 potentialities1 7call them what you will17 a certain external influence is necessary to awaken its dormant life2 to turn a potentiality into an energy 2 to transform a dim inkling of a truth into an intelligent1 vital1 conscious recognition of it4 ,nor is this law confined to mind alone2 all nature attests its presence4 ,all effects are the result of properties or susceptibilities in one thing1 solicited by external contact with those of others4 ,the fire no doubt may smoulder in the dull and languid embers2 it is when the external breeze sweeps over them1 that they begin to sparkle and glow1 and vindicate the vital element they contain4 ,the diamond in the mine has the same internal properties in the darkness as in the light2 it is not till the sun shines upon it1 that it flashes on the eye its splendor4 ,look at a flower of any particular species2 we see that1 as it is developed in connection with a variety of external influences1--as it comes successively under the action of the sun1 rain1 dew1 soil1--it expands in a particular manner1 and in that only4 ,it exhibits a certain configuration of parts1 a certain form of leaf1 a certain color1 fragrance1 and no other4 ,we do not doubt1 on the one hand1 that without the skyey influences these things would never have been2 nor1 on the other2 that the flower assumes this form of development1 and this alone1 in virtue of its internal structure and organization4 ,but both sets of conditions must conspire in the result4 ,it is much the same with the mind4 ,that it possesses certain tendencies and faculties1 which1 as it develops itself1 will terminate in certain ideas and sentiments1 is admitted2 but apart from certain external conditions of development1 those sentiments and ideas will1 in effect1 never be formed1--the mind will be in perpetual slumber4 ,thus1 in point of fact1 this controversy is connected ultimately with that ancient dispute as to the origin1 sources1 and genesis of human knowledge and sentiments4 ,i shall simply take for granted that you are 7as most philosophers are7 an advocate of innate capacities1 but not of innate ideas2 of innate susceptibilities1 but not of innate sentiments2 that is1 ,i presume you do not contend that the mind possesses more than the faculties--the laws of thought and feeling--which1 under conditions of development1 actually give birth to thoughts and feelings4 ,these faculties and susceptibilities are1 no doubt1 congenital with the mind1 --or1 rather1 are the mind itself4 ,but its actually manifested phenomena wait the of the external2 and they will be modified accordingly4 ,it is absolutely dependent on experience in this sense1 that it is only as it is operated upon by the outward world that the dormant faculties1 whatever they are1 and whatever their nature1 be they few or many1-- intellectual1 moral1 or spiritual1--are first awakened4 ,if a mind were created 7it is1 at least1 a conceivable case7 with all the avenues to the external world closed1--in fact1 we sometimes see approximations to such a condition in certain unhappy individuals1--we do not doubt such a mind1 by the present laws of the human constitution1 could not possess any thoughts1 feelings1 emotions2 in fact1 could exhibit none of the phenomena1 spiritual1 intellectual1 moral1 or sensational1 which diversify it4 ,in proportion as we see human beings approach this condition1--in fact1 we sometimes see them approach it very nearly1--we see the potentialities of the soul 7,i do not like the word1 but it expresses my meaning better than any other ,i know7 held in abeyance1 and such an imperfectly awakened man does not1 in some cases1 manifest the degree of sensibility or intelligence manifested in many animals4 ,if the seclusion from sense and experience be quite complete1 the life of such a soul would be wrapped up in the germ1 and possess no more consciousness than a vegetable4 ,it appears1 then1 that universally1 however true it may be1 and doubtless is1 that the laws of thought and feeling enable us to derive from external influence what it alone would never give1 yet that influences an indispensable condition1 as we are at present constituted1 of the development of any and of all our faculties4 ,as this seems the law of development universally1 it is so of the spiritual and religious part of our nature as well as the rest2 and in this very fact we have abundant scope for the possibility and utility of a revelation1--if ,god be pleased to give one1--even of elementary moral and spiritual truth2 since1 though conceding the perfect congruity between that truth and the structure of the soul1 it is only as it is in some way actually presented to it from without1 that it arrives at the conscious possession of it4 ,and what1 after all1 but such an external source of revelation is that ,volume of ,nature1 which1 operating in perfect analogy with the aforesaid conditions of the soul's development1 awakens1 though imperfectly1 the dormant elements of religious and spiritual life8 ,so far from its being true in any intelligible sense that an external revelation of moral and spiritual truth is impossible1 it is absolutely necessary1 in some form1 as a condition of its evolution2 so far from its being true that such revelation is an absurdity1 it is in strict analogy with the fundamental laws of our being4 ,whether1 if this be so1 the express external presentation of such truth in a book constructed by divine wisdom and expressed in human language1--this last being the most universal and most appropriate instrument by which man's dormant powers are actually awakened1--may not be a more effective method of attaining the end than any of man's devising1 whether instinctive or artificial2 or than the casual influences of external nature1 well or ill deciphered2--all this is another question4 ,but some such external apparatus--applied to the faculties of men--is essential1 whether it be in the ,volume of ,nature1 or in the ,bible or in a book of ,mr4 ,newman or ,mr4 ,parker4 ,all that makes the difference between you and a ,hottentot 7to recur to that illustration which ,harrington1 ,i really think1 fairly employed7 depends on external influences1 and the consequent development of the spiritual and religious faculties4 ,and this very fact--the unspeakable differences between man and man1 nation and nation1 as regards recognition the conscious possession of even elementary moral and spiritual truth 7varying1 as it perpetually does1 as those external influences vary1 and more or less perfect1 according as that external revelation1 which1 in some degree1 and of some species1 is indispensable1 more or less perfect7--affords another indication of the ample utility of an external divine revelation1 as well as of its possibility2 and a proof that1 if there be one1 it is in harmony1 again1 with the conditions of human nature4 ,and here ,i may employ1 in further illustration1 one of the analogies ,i adverted to a little time ago4 ,not only is the flower never independent of external influences for its actual development1--not only would it remain in the germ without them1--but we see that within certain limits1 often very wide1 the kind of external influence operates powerfully on the species1 and on the individual itself2--according as it is in one climate or another1--in this soil or that1--submitted to culture or suffered to grow wild4 ,it is needless to apply the analogy4 ,while we see that the moral spiritual faculties of man no more than his other faculties can attain their development except in cooperation with some external influences1 we also see that they exhibit every degree and variety of development according to the quality of those external influences4 ,is there then not even a possibility left for an external revelation8 ,if the actual exhibition of any spiritual and religious phenomena in man not only depends on some external influences and culture1 but perpetually varies with them1 what would such a revelation be but a provision in analogy with these facts8 ,but it is sufficient to rebut this gratuitous dictum1 of an external revelation of spiritual and moral truth being impossible1 that some external influence is necessary for any development of the religious faculty at all4 ,if the last be necessary1 ,i cannot conceive how the other should be impossible4 ,nor is it any reply to say1--as ,i think has been abundantly shown in your debates with ,harrington1--that any such external influences only make articulate that which already existed inarticulately in the heart2 that they only chafe and stimulate into life the ivory of ,pygmalion's statue1 to use his expression1--the dormant principles and sentiments which somehow existed1 but were in deep slumber4 ,that which makes them vital1 active1 the objects of consciousness and the sources of power1 may well be called a revelation4 ,nay1 since it seems that1 in some way1 this outward voice must be heard first1 ,i think it is more properly so called than the internal response of the heart4 ,that is rather the echo4 ,it may be admitted that the elementary truths of religion1 once propounded1 are promptly admitted1 but still in some external shape they require to be propounded4 ,there is such a thing in the human mind as unrealized truth1 both intellectual and spiritual2 the inarticulate muttering of an obscurely felt sentiment2 a vague appetency for something we are not distinctly conscious of4 ,the clear utterance of it1 its distinct proposition to us1 is the very thing that is often wanted to convert this dim feeling into distinct vision4 ,this is the electric spark which transforms two invisible gases into a visible and transparent fluid2 this is the influence which evolves the latent caloric1 and makes it a powerful and active element4 ,i cannot help thinking that the great source of fallacy on this subject arises from confounding the idea of certain characteristic tendencies and potentialities of our nature with the supposition1-- contradicted by the whole religious history of man in all ages1--that they must be everywhere efficaciously active1 and spontaneously exhibit a moral manifestation2 than which there cannot1 ,i conceive1 be a greater error4 ,i must entreat you to recollect ,harrington's dilemma4 ,either the supposed truths of your spiritual theory1 or that of ,mr4 ,newman or ,mr4 ,parker1 are known to all mankind1 or not2 if they are1 surely their books1 and every such book is the most important in the world2 if not1 these authors did well to write1 supposing them to have truth on their side2 but then that vindicates the possibility and utility of a book-revelation4 ,,ii4 ,but ,i go a step further1 and not only contend that1 from the very law of the soul's development1 there is ample scope for a revelation1 even of elementary moral and spiritual truth1 but that even if we supposed all men in actual possession of that truth1 in some shape or other1 there would still be abundant scope for a divinely constructed external instrument for giving it efficacy2 and that this1 again1 is in perfect analogy with the fundamental condition of the soul's action4 ,the principles of spiritual and religious life are capable in an infinite variety of ways1 of being modified1 intensified1 vivified1 by the external influences brought to bear upon them from time to time4 ,not only must that external influence be exerted for the first awakening of the soul1 but it must be continued all our life long1 in order to maintain the principles thus elicited in a state of activity4 ,sometimes they seem for a while to have been half obliterated1--to fade away from the consciousness2 they are reillumined1 made to blaze out again in brilliant light on the walls of the chambers of imagery1 by some outward stimulus2 by a word spoken in season2 by the recollection of some weighty apothegm which embodies truth1--some ennobling image which illustrates it2 by the utterance of certain charmed words1 hallowed by association as they fall on the external sense1 or are recalled by memory4 ,how familiar to us all is this dependence on the external6 ,how dull1 how sluggish1 has often been the soul6 ,a single word1 the sight of an object surrounded with vivid associations1 the sudden suggestion of a half-forgotten strain of poetry or song1--what power have these to stir its stagnant depths1 and awaken spiritual and every other species of emotion1 as well as intellectual activity6 ,the lightning does not more suddenly cleave the cloud in which it slumbered1 the sleeping ocean is not more suddenly ruffled by the descending tempest1 than the soul of man is thus capable of being vivified and animated by the presentation of appropriate objects1--nay1 often by even the most casual external impulse4 ,if this be so1 is it not possible that an external instrument for thus stimulating and vivifying spiritual life might be given us by ,god2 which1 if not1 in literal strictness1 a revelation1 would virtually have all the effect of one1 as rekindling the dying light1 reillumining the fading characters1 of spiritual truth8 ,nor1 surely1 is there much presumption in supposing that the appropriate influences of such an instrumentality may be brought to bear upon us with infinite advantage by ,him who alone possesses perfect access to all the avenues of our spirits2 a perfect mastery of our whole nature2 of intellect1 imagination1 and conscience of those laws of association and emotion which ,he himself has framed4 ,if ,shakspeare and ,milton can daily exercise over myriads of minds an ascendency which makes their admirers speak of them almost with the ,bibliolatry with which ,mr4 ,newman makes ,christian speak of the ,bible1 ,i apprehend ,god could construct a book1 even though it told man nothing which was strictly a revelation1 which might be of infinite value to him2 simply from the fact that the modes in which truths operate upon us1 and by which our faculties are educated to their perfection1 are scarcely less important than either the truths or the faculties themselves4 ,but ,i need say the less upon this point1 inasmuch as ,mr4 ,newman has spoken of the ,new ,testament1 and its influence over his mental history1 in terms which conclusively show that1 if it be not a revelation1 ample space is left for such a divinely constructed book1 if ,god were pleased to give one4 ,there is no book in all the world1 says he1 which ,i love and esteem so much as the ,new ,testament1 with the devotional parts of the ,old4 ,there is none which ,i know so intimately1 the very words of which dwell close to me in my most sacred thoughts1 none for which ,i so thank ,god1 none on which my soul and heart have been to so great an extent moulded4 ,in my early boyhood1 it was my private delight and daily companion2 and to it ,i owe the best part of whatever wisdom there is in my manhood4 7,soul1 pp4 #bda1 #bdb47 ,i only doubt whether even this testimony1 strong as it is1 fully represents the power which the ,book has had in modifying his interior life1 though he would now fain renounce its proper authority2 whether it has not had more to do than he thinks in originating his conception of such moral and spiritual truth as he still recognizes4 ,its very language comes so spontaneously to his lips1 that his dialect of spiritualism is one continued plagiarism from ,david and ,isaiah1 ,paul and ,christ4 ,nay1 ,i may well be doubted whether the entire substance of his spiritual theory be any thing else than a distorted and mutilated ,christianity4 ,some of the previous observations apply to the possibility and utility of a divinely originated statement of ethical truth2 nor will they be neutralized by an objection which ,mr4 ,newman is fond of urging1 --namely1 that a book cannot express 7as it is freely acknowledged no book can7 the limitations with which maxims of critical truth are to be received and applied2 that all it can do is to give general principles1 and leave them to be applied by the individual reason and conscience4 ,such reasoning is refuted by fact4 ,the same thing precisely is done1 and necessarily done1 in every department in which men attempt to convey instruction in any particular art or method4 ,it is thus with the general principles of mechanics1 of law1 of medicine4 ,yet men never entertain a notion that the collection and inculcation of such maxims are of no use1 or of little1 merely because they must be intelligently modified and not blindly applied in action4 ,if indeed there were any force in the objection1 it would put an end to all instruction1--that of ,mr4 ,newman's spiritual faculty amongst the rest1 for that too can only prompt us by general impulses1 and leaves us in the same ignorance and perplexity how far we are to obey them4 ,that is still to be otherwise determined4 ,the genuine result of such reasoning1 if it were acted upon1 would be that we need never1 in any science or art whatever1 trouble ourselves to enunciate any general principle or maxim1 because perfectly useless6 ,similarly1 we need never inculcate on children the duty of obeying their honoring their superiors1 of being frugal or diligent1 humble or aspiring1 the particular circumstances and limitations in which they are to be applied being indeterminate6 ,but is not the experience of every day and of all the world against it8 ,is not the early and sedulous inculcation of just maxims of duty fell to be a great auxiliary to its performance in the circumstances in which it is necessary to apply them8 ,is not the possession of a general rule1 with the advantages of a clear and concise expression1--in the form of familiar proverbs1 or embodied in powerful imagery1--a potent suggestive to the mind2 not only whispering of duty1 but1 by perpetual recurrence1 aiding the habit of attending to it8 ,is not the early and earnest iteration of such sententious wisdom in the ears of the young1 --the honor which has been paid to sages who have elicited it1 or felicitously expressed it1--the care with which these treasures of moral wisdom have been garnered up1--the perpetual efforts to conjoin elementary moral truth with the fancy and association1--is not all this a standing testimony to a consciousness of the value of such auxiliaries of virtue and duty8 ,is it not felt1 that1 however general such truths may be1 the very forms of expression1--the portable shape in which the truth is presented1--have an immense value in relation to practice8 ,admitting1 therefore1 as before1--but1 as before1 only conceding it for argument's sake 7for the limits of variation1 even as regards the elementary truths of morals1 are1 as experience shows1 very wide71--that each man in some shape could anticipate for himself the more important ethical truth1 there would be yet ample scope left for the utility of a divinely constructed instrument for its exhibition and enforcement1 in perfect harmony with the modes in which it is actually exhibited and enforced by man1 in close analogy with the form in which he attempts the same task1 whenever he teaches any practical art or method whatever4 ,only may it not be again presumed here1 that ,he who knows perfectly what is in man would be able to perform the work with correspondent perfection8 ,whether ,he has performed it in the ,bible or not1 that book does1 at all events1 contain not merely a larger portion of pure ethical truth than any other in the world1 but ethical truth expressed and exhibited 7as ,mr4 ,newman himself1 and most other persons1 would admit7 in modes incomparably better adapted than in any other book to lay hold of the memory1 the imagination1 the conscience1 and the heart4 ,even then1 if we conceded that elementary spiritual and moral truth is not only congruous to man's faculties1 but in some shape universally recognized and possessed1 it might yet be contended1 from the manner in which such truth is dependent for its power and vitality on the forms in which it comes in contact with the human spirit and stimulates it1 that ample space is left for such a divine instrument as the ,bible2 and that it would be in perfect conformity with the laws of our nature1 --in analogy with the known modes in which external aids give efficacy to such truth4 ,at the same time1 be pleased once more to remember1 that ,i concede so much only for argument's sake2 ,i contend that in the stricter sense1 without some external aid1--and the ,bible may be at least as effectual1--the religious faculty will not expand at all2 and that1 even where there are these indispensable external influences1 the recognition of the truth is obscure or bright1 as those influences vary in their degrees of appropriateness4 ,where they are rude and imperfect1 7as amongst barbarous nations7 we have the spectacle of a soul which struggles towards the light1 like a plant to which but small portion of the sun's rays is admitted2 it depends on the free admission of the light whether or not it shall arrive at its full development1--its beauty1 its fragrance1 and its color4 ,the most that merely human culture can promise1 even under the most favorable circumstances1 7witness ancient ,greece67 is that men1 in some few favored instances1 may possibly attain those truths which it may be admitted are congenital to the soul1 and easily recognized when once propounded but which1 in fact1 few men1 by nature's sole teaching1 ever do clearly attain4 ,it is infinitely important that the path1 dimly explored by sages alone1 should be thrown open to mankind4 ,is it not even possible1 then1 that this task should be performed by a book like the ,bible8 and if such a book were given1 would it not be1 ,i once more ask1 in analogy with the fundamental laws of the soul's development1--its uniform dependence on external influences for any result1 and the variable nature of that result1 as the influence itself is more or less appropriate8 ,to affirm that each man at once1 by in internal illumination alone1 attains a clear recognition of even elementary moral and spiritual truth is to ignore the laws according to which the soul's activity is developed1 and to contradict universal experience1 which tells us that the great majority of mankind are but in partial possession of this spiritual and moral truth1 and hold it for the most part in connection with the most prodigious and pernicious errors4 ,you will perceive that ,i have here chosen to argue the question of the possibility and utility of a revelation on your own grounds2 but recollect what ,i have said1 that1 in fact1 the principal reasons for a revelation would still remain in force1 even if all you demand were conceded4 ,it is a point which ,i do not find that ,mr4 ,newman's dictum affects4 ,there may obviously be other facts and other truths as intimately connected with man's destinies and happiness as the elementary truths of religious and moral science2 facts and truths which may be necessary to give efficacy to mere elementary principles1 and to supply motives to the performance of moral precepts4 ,and how ample in this respect are man's necessities1 and how large the field for a divine revelation1 if we content ourselves with such a meagre theology as that of ,mr4 ,parker and ,mr4 ,newman1 you see plainly enough in the questions asked by ,harrington6 ,how many of ,mr4 ,newman's and ,mr4 ,parker's assumptions--the moment they step beyond such spiritual and moral truth as is elementary indeed--does ,harrington declare that he finds unverified by his own consciousness1 and needing1 if true1 an authority to confirm them far more weighty than theirs6 ,as to the terms of access to the ,supreme ,being1--his aspects towards man1--man's duties towards him1--the future destinies1 even the future existence1 of the soul 7a point on which these writers are themselves divided71--the boasted progress of the race1 which they prophesy1 indeed1 but without any credentials of their mission1--you see how on all these points ,harrington maintains--and oh6 how many1 if the ,bible be untrue1 must maintain with him--that he is in total darkness6 ,,iii4 ,but ,i must proceed to show yet further1 if you will have patience with me1 that1 supposing a divine external revelation to be given1 it is in striking analogy1 not only with the primary laws of development of our whole intellectual and spiritual being1 but with the fact-- undeniable1 however unaccountable--that our subjection to external influence does1 in truth1 not only mould and modify1 but usually determine1 our intellectual and religious position4 ,we see not only some external influence is necessary to awaken activity at all1 but that it is actually so powerful and so inevitable from the manner in which man enters the world1 and is brought up in it1--his long years of dependence1 absolute dependence1 on the education which is given him 7and what an education it has ever been for the mass of the race671--that it makes all the difference1 intellectually and morally1 between a ,new ,zealand savage and an ,englishman1--between the grossest idolater and the most enlightened ,christian4 ,this fact affects alike our intellectual and spiritual condition4 ,the savage can use his senses better than the civilized2 but the interval is trifling compared with that between the intellectual condition of a man can appreciate ,milton and ,newman1 and that of our ,teutonic ancestors4 ,its the sentiments of a nature there is the same wide gulf--or rather wider--between a ,hottentot and a ,paul4 ,yet the same susceptibilities and potentialities are in each human mind4 ,the same remark applies to the sense of the beautiful and sublime2 the characteristic faculties are in all mankind2 it is education which elicits them4 ,nay1 would you not stare at a man who should affirm that education was not itself a species of revelation1 simply because the truths thus communicated were all potentially in the mind before8 ,the fact is1 that education is of coordinate importance with the very faculties without which it cannot be imparted4 ,now we cannot break away from that law of development with which our individual existence is involved1 and which necessarily 7as far as any will of ours is concerned7 is a most important1 nay1 the most important1 element in that tertium quid which man becomes in virtue of the threefold elements which constitute him3--#ast1 a given internal constitution of mind2 #b;d4 the modifying effects of the actual exercise of his faculties and their interaction with one another1 resulting in habits2 and1 #c;d1 that external world of influences which supplies the materiel from which this strange plant extracts its aliment1 and ultimately derives its fair fruits or its poisonous berries4 ,all this is inevitable1 upon the supposition that man was to be a social1 not a solitary being1--linked by an indissoluble chain to those who came before and to those who come after him1--dependent1 absolutely dependent1 upon others for his being1 his training1 his whole condition1 civil1 social1 intellectual1 moral1 and religious4 ,if1 then1 an external instrument of moral and religious culture were ,given by ,god to man1 would it not be in strict analogy with this tremendous and mysterious law of human development8 ,,iv4 ,i must be permitted to proceed yet one step further1 and affirm that the very form in which this presumed revelation has 7as we say7 been given--that of a ,book--is also in strict analogy with the law by which ,god himself has made this an indispensable instrument of all human progress4 ,we have just seen that man is what he is1 as much 7to say the least7 by the influence of external influence as by the influence of the internal principles of his constitution2 it must be added1 that to make that external influence of much efficiency at all1 still more to render it either universally or progressively beneficial1 the world waits for a--,,book4 ,among the varied external influences amidst which the human race is developed1 this is incomparably the most important1 and the only one that is absolutely essential4 ,upon it the collective education of the race depends4 ,it is the sole instrument of registering1 perpetuating1 transmitting thought4 ,yes1 whatever trivial and vulgar associations may impair our due conceptions of this grandeur of this material and artificial organon of man's development1 as compared with the intellectual and moral energies1 which have recourse to it1 but which are almost impotent without it4 ,god has made man's whole career of triumphs dependent upon this same art of writing6 ,the whole progress of the world he has created1 he has made dependent upon the ,alphabet6 ,without this the progress of the individual is inconceivably slow1 and with him1 for the most part1 progress terminates4 ,by this alone can we garner the fruits of experience1--become wise by the wisdom of others1 and strong by their strength4 ,without this man everywhere remains1 age after age1 immovably a savage2 and1 if he were to lose it when he has once gained it1 would1 after a little ineffectual flutter by the aid of tradition1 sink into barbarism again4 ,till this cardinal want is supplied1 all considerable progress is impossible4 ,it may look odd to say that the whole world is dependent on any thing so purely artificial2 but1 in point of fact1 it is only another way of stating the truth that ,god has constituted the race a series of mutually dependent beings2 and as each term of this series is perishable and evanescent1 the development and improvement of the race must depend on an instrument by which an inter-connection can be maintained between its parts2 till then1 progress must not only be most precarious1 but virtually impossible4 ,to the truth of this all history testifies4 ,i say1 then1 not only that1 if ,god has given man a revelation at all1 he has but acted in analogy with that law by which he has made man so absolutely dependent upon external culture1 but that if he has given it in the very shape of a book1 he has acted also in strict analogy with the very form in which he has imposed that law on the world4 ,he has simply made use of that instrument1 which1 by the very constitution of our nature and of the world1 he has made absolutely essential to the progress and advancement of humanity4 ,may we not conclude from analogy1 that if ,god has indeed thus constituted the world1 and if he busies himself at all in the fortunes of miserable humanity1 he has not disdained to take part in its education1 by condescendingly using that very instrument which himself has made the condition of all human progress8 ,i think1 even if you hesitate to admit that ,god has given us a book-revelation1 you must admit it would be at least in manifest coincidence with the laws of human development and the constitution and course of nature4 ,to conclude2 ,i must say that ,mr4 ,newman1 in his account of the genesis of religion1 does himself in effect admit 7as ,harrington has remarked7 an external revelation1 though not in a book4 ,for what else is that apparatus of external influences by which the several preparatory or auxiliary emotions are awakened1 and the development of your spiritual faculty effected8--contact with the outward world1--with visible and material nature1--the instruction of the living voice6 ,you acknowledge all this without derogation1 as you imagine1 to the sublime and divine functions of the indwelling spiritual power1 why this rabid1 this1 ,i might almost say1 puerile 7if ,i ought not rather to say fanatical71 hatred of the very notion of a book-revelation8 ,let us confess that1 if a revelation be possible at all1 it cannot be more worthy of ,god to give one even from within than in such a shape as a book2 since without a ,,book man remains an idolater1 in spite of his fine spiritual faculties1 and a barbarian1 in spite of his sublime intellect2 in fact1 not much better than the beasts1 in spite of all those noble capacities which1 although they are in him1 are as it were hopelessly locked up till he has obtained this key to their treasures4 ,nor do ,i think that the invectives of the modern spiritualists on this point are particularly becoming1 when we reflect not only that they freely give mankind what ,harrington declares to be to him1 and ,i must say are equally to me1 their book-revelations1 but in very deed1 as he truly affirms1 have given us nothing else4 ,it has been much the same with all who have rejected historical ,christianity1 from ,lord ,herbert's time downwards4 ,i paused1 and ,fellowes mused4 ,at last he said1 ,i cannot feel convinced that the 'absolute religion' is 7as ,mr4 ,parker says7 essentially the same in all men1 and internally revealed4 ,the want exists in all1 and there must1 according to the arrangements of universal nature1 be the supply2 just as the eye is for the light1 and the light is for the eye4 ,as he says1 'we feel instinctively it must be so4' ,unhappily1 said ,harrington1 ,mr4 ,parker says that many things must be which we find are not1 and this among the number4 ,at least ,i1 for one1 shall not grant that the sort of spiritual 'supply' which is to the ,calmuck1 or the savage 'besmeared with the blood of human sacrifices1' at all resembles that uniform light which is made for all people's eyes4 ,fellowes seemed still perplexed with his old difficulty4 ,i cannot help thinking1 he began again1 that the 'spiritual faculty' acts by immediate 'insight1' and has nothing to do with 'logical processes' or 'intellectual propositions1' or the sensational or the imaginative parts of our nature2 that it 'gazes immediately upon spiritual truth4' ,now in the argument you have constructed1 you have expressly implied the contrary4 ,you have said1 you know1 that1 even if you granted men to be in possession of 'spiritual and moral truth1' there might still be large space for a divinely constructed book from the reflex operation of the intellect1 the imagination1 and so forth1 upon the products of the spiritual faculty2 both directly1 and also indirectly1 inasmuch as external influences modify or stimulate them4 ,but1 said ,i1 does not ,mr4 ,newman himself1 in the first part of his ,treatise on the ,soul1 admit the reciprocal action of all these on the too plastic spiritual products2 and as to 'logical and intellectual processes1' does he not continually employ them--for his system of opinions1 though he will not allow them to be employed against it8 ,and by what other means than through the intervention of your senses1 by which you read his pages1--your imagination1 by which you seize his illustrations1--your intellect1 by which you comprehend his arguments1 did he reclaim you1 as you say he has done1 from many of your ancient errors8 ,how else1 in the name of common sense1 did he get access to your soul at all8 ,i cannot pretend to defend ,mr4 ,newman's consistency1 said he1 in his various statements on this subject4 ,i acknowledge ,i am even puzzled to find out how he did convince me1 upon his hypothesis4 ,are you sure1 said ,i1 laughing1 that he ever convinced you at all8 ,however1 all your perplexity seems to me to arise from supposing the spiritual powers of man to act in greater isolation from his other powers than is conceivable or even possible4 ,not apart from these1 but in intimate conjunction with them1 are the functions of the soul performed4 ,the divorce between the 'spiritual faculties' and the intellect1 which your favorite1 ,mr4 ,newman1 has attempted to effect1 is impossible4 ,it is an attempt to sever phenomena which coexist in the unity of our own consciousness4 ,i am bound in justice to admit1 that there are others of our 'modern spiritualists' who condemn this attempt to separate what ,god hath joined so inseparably4 ,even ,mr4 ,newman does practically contradict his own assertions2 and outraged reason and intellect have avenged his wrongs upon them by deserting him when he has invoked them1 and left him to express his paradoxes in endless perplexity and confusion4 ,but this conversation is no bad preface to some observations on this important fallacy1 7as ,i conceive17 which ,i have appended to the paper ,i have read1 and1 with your leave1 ,i will finish with them4 ,they assented1 and ,i proceeded4 ,it is very common for philosophers1 spiritual and otherwise1 to be guilty of two opposite errors1 both exposed in the first book of the ,novum ,organum4 ,one is1 that of supposing the phenomena which they have to analyze more simple1 more capable of being reduced to some one principle1 than is really the case2 the other1 that of introducing a cumbrous complexity of operations unknown to nature4 ,it is unnecessary here to adduce examples of the last2 quite as frequently1 at least1 man apt to be guilty of the first4 ,he imagines that complex and generally deeply convoluted phenomena he is called to investigate are capable of being more summarily analyzed than they can be4 ,the ends to be answered in nature by the same set of instruments are in many cases so various1 and in some respects so limit and traverse one another1 that though the same multiplicity of ends is attained more completely1 and in higher aggregate perfection1 than by any device which man's ingenuity could substitute for them1 yet those instruments are necessarily very complex at the best4 ,look1 for example1 at the system of organs by which1 variously employed1 we utter the infinite variety of articulate sounds1 perform the most necessary of all vital functions 7that of respiration71 masticate solid food1 and swallow fluids4 ,the miracle is1 that any one set of organs in any conceivable juxtaposition should suffice to discharge with such amazing facility and rapidity these different and rapidly alternated functions2 yet ,i suppose few who have studied anatomy will deny1 that1 though relatively to the variety of purposes it has to perform the apparatus is very simple1 it is absolutely very complex2 and that its parts play into one another with great facility indeed1 but with endless intricacy4 ,to apply these observations to my special object4 ,to one who attentively studies man's immaterial anatomy1 much the same complexity is1 ,i think1 apparent2 the philosopher is too apt to assume it to be much more simple than it is4 ,it is the very error1 as ,i conceive1 into which some of you modern spiritualists fall when considering the phenomena of our religious nature4 ,you do not sufficiently regard man as a complicated unity2 you represent1 if you do not suppose1 the several capacities of his nature1--the different parts of it1 sensational1 emotional1 intellectual1 moral1 spiritual1--as set off from one another by a sharper boundary line than nature acknowledges4 ,they all work for immediate ends1 indeed2 but they all also work for1 with1 and upon each other1 for other ends than their own4 ,yet1 as they all exist in one indivisible mind1 or rather constitute it1 they form one most intricate machine3 and it can rarely happen that the particular phenomena of our interior nature we happen to be investigating do not involve many others4 ,throughout his book on the ,soul1 we find ,mr4 ,newman employing expressions 7though ,i admit there are others which contradict them7 which imply that the phenomena of religion1 of what he calls spiritual insight1 may be viewed in clearer distinction from those of the intellect1 than1 as ,i conceive1 they ever can be2 and that a much clearer separation can be effected between them than nature has made possible4 ,to hear him sometimes speak1 one would imagine that the logical1 the moral1 and the spiritual are held together by no vital bond of connection2 nay1 from some expressions1 one would think that the logical faculty had nothing to do with religion1 if it is not to be supposed rather to stand in the way of it2 that the intellect and the spiritual faculty may each retire to its vacant interlunar cave1 and never trouble its head about what the other is doing4 ,thus he says in one place1 ,all the grounds of ,belief proposed to the mere understanding have nothing to do with ,faith at all4 7,soul1 p4 #bbc47 ,in another1 ,the processes of thought have nothing to quicken the conscience or affect the soul4 7ibid4 p4 #bde7 ,how1 then1 can the state of the soul be tested by the conclusion to which the intellect is led8 7ibid4 p4 #bde47 ,and accordingly you see he everywhere affirms that we ought not to have any better or worse opinion of any man for his intellectual creed2 and that religious progress cannot be anticipated till intellectual creeds are destroyed4 7,phases1 p4 #bbb47 ,here one would imagine that the intellectual1 moral1 and spiritual had even less to do with the production of each other's results than matter and mind reciprocally have with theirs4 ,these last1 we see1 in a thousand cases act and react upon one another2 and modify each other's peculiar products and operations in a most important manner4 ,how much more reasonably may we infer that the elementary faculties of the same indivisible mind will not discharge their functions without important reciprocal action2 that in no case can we have the process pure and simple as the result of the operation of a single faculty6 ,if it were not so1 ,i see not how we are to perform any of the functions of a spiritual nature1 even as defined by you and your favorite writers2 unless1 indeed1 you would equip the soul with an entire ,sunday suit of separate capacities of reasoning1 remembering1 imagining1 hoping1 rejoicing1 and so on1 to be expressly used by the soul alone when engaged in her spiritual functions2 quite different from that old1 threadbare1 much-worn suit of faculties1 having similar functions indeed1 but exercised on other objects4 ,what can be more obvious 7and it must be admitted that the most fanatical spiritualist employs expressions1 and1 what is more1 uses methods1 which imply it7 than that1 whether we have a distinct religious faculty or whether it be the result of the action of many faculties1 the functions of our spiritual nature are performed by the instrumentality1 and involve the intervention1 of the very same much-abused faculties which enable us to perform any other function4 ,it is one and the same indivisible mind which is the subject of religious thought and emotion1 and of any other thought and emotion4 ,religious truth1 like any other truth1 is embraced by the understanding--as indeed it would be a queer kind of truth that is not is stated in propositions1 yields inferences1 is adorned by eloquence is illustrated by the imagination1 and is thus1 as well from its intrinsic claims1 rendered powerful over the emotions1 the affections1 and the will4 ,in brief1 when the soul apprehends1 reasons1 remembers1 rejoices1 hopes1 fears1 spiritually1 it surely does not perform these functions by totally different faculties from these by which similar things are done on other occasions4 ,all experience and consciousness are against the supposition4 ,in religion1 men's minds are employed on more sublime and elevated themes indeed1 but the operations themselves are essentially of the same nature as in other cases4 ,hence we see the dependence of the true development of religion on the just and harmonious action of all our faculties4 ,they march together2 and it is the glorious prerogative of true religion that it makes them do so2 that all the elements of our nature1 being indissolubly connected1 and perpetually acting and reacting on one another1 should aid one another and attain a more just conjoint action4 ,if there be acceptable faith1 it presupposes belief of the truth1 as well as love of it in the heart2 if there be holy habit1 it implies just knowledge of duty2 if there be spiritual emotion awakened1 it will still be in accordance with the laws which ordinarily produce it2 that is1 because that which should produce it is perceived by the senses or the intellect1 is recalled by the memory1 is vivified by the imagination4 ,if faith and hope and love often kindle into activity1 and hallow these instruments by which and through which they act1 it is not the less true1 that1 apart from these1--as constituting the same indivisible mind--faith and hope and love cannot exist3 and not only so2 but when faith is languid1 and hope faint1 and love expiring1 these faculties themselves shall often in their turn initiate the process which shall revive them all2 some outward object1 some incident of life1 some magic word1 some glorious image1 some stalwart truth1 suddenly and energetically stated1 shall1 through the medium of the senses1 the imagination1 or the intellect1 set the soul once more in a blaze1 and revive the emotions which it is at other times only their office to express4 ,a sanctified intellect1 a hallowed imagination1 devout affections1 have a reciprocal tendency to stimulate each other4 ,in whatever faculty of our nature the stimulus may be felt1--in the intellect or the imagination1--it is thence propagated through the mysterious net-work of the soul to the emotions1 the affections1 the conscience1 the will3 or1 conversely1 these last may commence the movement and propagate it in reverse order4 ,each may become in turn a centre of influence2 but so indivisible is the soul and mind of man1 so indissolubly bound together the elements which constitute them1 that the influence once commenced never stops where it began1 but acts upon them all4 ,the ripple1 as that of a stone dropped into still water1 no matter where1 may be fainter and fainter the farther from the spot where the commotion began1 but it will stop only with the bank4 ,ordinarily many functions of the mind are involved in each1 and sometimes all in one4 ,july #bd4 ,yesterday1 a somewhat interesting conversation took place between ,harrington and ,edward ,robinson1 a youth at college1 a friend of ,george ,fellowes's family4 ,he is a devout admirer of ,strauss1 and thinks that writer has completely destroyed the historical character of the ,gospels4 ,i was1 as usual1 struck with the candor and logical consistency with which our sceptic was disposed to regard the subject4 ,you have ,lingard and ,macaulay here1 ,i see1 said young ,robinson4 ,i need hardly ask1 ,i think1 which you find the most pleasant reading8 ,you need not1 indeed1 cried ,harrington4 ,mr4 ,macaulay is so superior to the ,roman ,catholic historian 7though his merits are great too7 in genius1 in consequence1 in variety and amplitude of knowledge1 in imagination1 in style1 that there is no comparison between them4 ,and do you think ,mr4 ,macaulay as accurate as he is full of genius and eloquence8 ,if he be not1 said ,harrington1 laughing1 ,i am afraid there are very few of us deeply versed enough in history to detect his delinquencies1 or even to say whether they have been committed4 ,there may be1 for aught ,i know1 some cases 7of infinite importance of course7 in which he has represented an event as having taken place on the #bjth of ,dec4 #afic2 whereas it took place on the #c;d ,jan4 #afid2 or he may have said that ,sir ,thomas ,nobody was the son of another ,sir ,thomas ,nobody1 whereas two or three antiquarians can incontestably prove that he was the son of ,sir ,john ,nobody1 and nephew of the above4 ,to me1 ,i confess1 he appears distinguished scarcely more by the splendor of his imagination than by the opulence of his knowledge1 and the imperial command which he possesses over it4 ,but1 in truth1 the accuracy or otherwise of history1 when it is at all remote1 is a matter in which ,i feel less interest than ,i once did4 ,i read1 indeed1 ,mr4 ,macaulay with perpetual renewal of wonder and delight4 ,but though ,i believe that his vivid pictures are the result1 of a faithful use of his materials1 yet1 if ,i must confess the full extent of my scepticism1 his work1 and every other work which involves a reference to events which transpired only a century or two ago1 is poisoned as history by the suspicion that to ascertain the truth is impossible4 ,i know it must be so1 if the principles of your favorite ,strauss are to be received2 and yet it seems so absurd1 that ,i am sometimes inclined1 on that account alone1 to laugh at ,strauss's criticisms1 just as ,david ,hume did at his own speculative doubts when he got into society and sat down to backgammon with a friend4 ,at other times1 as ,i say1 the whole field of historic investigation seems more or less the territory of scepticism4 ,i know not1 said the other1 how you can justify any such general scepticism from any thing that ,strauss has written4 ,do you not8 and yet ,i think it is a perfectly legitimate inference4 ,does not ,strauss argue that certain discrepancies are to be observed1 certain apparent contradictions and inconsistencies detected1 in the ,new ,testament narratives2 and that therefore we are to reckon1 if not the whole1 yet by far the larger part1 as utterly fabulous or doubtful1 mythic or legendary8 ,now1 ,i cannot but feel1 on the other hand1 that these narratives are as strikingly marked by all the usual indications of historic truthfulness as any historic writings in the world4 ,the artlessness1 simplicity1 and speciality of the narrative1--a certain inimitable tone and air of reality1 earnestness1 and candor1--the general harmony of these so-called sacred writers with themselves and with profane authors 7quite as general1 to say the least1 as usually distinguishes other narratives by different hands71--above all1 the long-concealed1 and yet most numerous 'coincidences' which lie deep beneath the surface and which only a very industrious mind brings to light2 coincidences which1 if ingenuity had been subtle enough to fabricate1 that same ingenuity would have been too sagacious to conceal so deep1 and which are too numerous and striking 7one would imagine7 to be the effect of accident2--all these things1 ,i say1 would seem to argue 7if any thing can7 the integrity of the narrative4 ,yet all these things must necessarily1 of course1 go for nothing1 on ,strauss's hypothesis4 ,there are1 you say1 certain discrepancies1 and from them you proceed to conclude that the narrative is uncertain1 and unworthy of credit2 that1 if there be a residuum of truth at all1 no man can know with any certainty what or how much it is4 ,we must there-fore leave the whole problematical4 ,now the question comes1 whether we must not in consistency apply the same principle further2 and1 if so1 whether we can find in any history whatever stronger marks of credibility2 whether any was ever submitted to an examination more severe1 or so severe2 whether any can boast of a larger number of minds1 of the first order1 giving their assent to it4 ,let me stop you there1 said the other2 you must consider that those minds were prejudiced in favor of the conclusion4 ,they were inclined to believe the supernatural wonders which these pretended historians retail4 ,how differently men may argue with the same premises6 ,i was about to mention the suspicion attaching to miraculous narratives1 as attesting 7,i still think so1 notwithstanding your observation7 that stress and pressure of supposed historic credibility under which so many powerful minds--minds many of them of the first order--have felt themselves compelled to receive these histories as true1 in spite of such obstacles4 ,surely1 you do not think that a miracle is in our age1 or has been for many ages1 an antecedent ground of credibility2 or that if a history does not contain enough of them1 as this assuredly does1 it is certain to be believed4 ,no2 do not you with ,strauss contend that a miracle is not to be believed at all1 because it contradicts uniform experience8 ,and yet thousands of powerful minds have believed the truth of these historic records against all this uniform experience6 ,their prejudices against it must surely have been stronger than those for it4--,but to resume the statement of my difficulties4 ,i say the question returns whether there is any history in the world which either presents in inexplicable marks of historic credibility1 or in which as numerous and equally inexplicable discrepancies cannot be discovered4 ,if there be none1 then how far shall we adopt and carry out the principles of ,strauss8 for if we carry them out with rigid equity1 the whole field of history is abandoned to scepticism3 it is henceforth the domain of doubt and contention2 as1 in truth1 a very large part of it in ,germany has already become1 in virtue of these very principles4 ,much of profane history is abandoned1 as well as the sacred2 and ,homer becomes as much a shadow as ,christ4 ,you seem1 said ,robinson1 to be almost in the condition to entertain ,dr4 ,whately's ingenious ',historic ,doubts' touching the existence of ,napoleon ,bonaparte6 99 99 ,are the ingenious ,historic ,certainties1 by ,aristar hus ,newlight1 from the same admirable mint8--,,ed4 ,i believe that it is simply our proximity to the events which renders it difficult to entertain them4 ,if the injuries of time and the caprice of fortune should in the remote future leave as large gaps in the evidence1 and as large scope for ingenious plausibilities1 as in relation to the remote past1 ,i believe multitudes would find no difficulty in entertaining those 'doubts4' ,they seem to me perfectly well argued1 and absolutely conclusive on the historic canons on which ,strauss's work is constructed1--namely1 that if you find what seem discrepancies and improbabilities in a reputed history1 the mass of that historic texture in which they are found may be regarded as mythical or fabulous1 doubtful or false4 ,if you say the principles of ,strauss are false1 that is another matter4 ,i shall not think it worth while to contest their truth or their falsehood with you4 ,but if you adhere to them1 ,i will take the liberty of showing you that you do not hold them consistently1 if you think any remote history is to be regarded as absolutely placed beyond doubt4 ,well1 if you will be grave1 said ,robinson1 though1 upon my word4 ,i thought you in jest1--is it possible that you do not see that there is a vast difference between rejecting1 on the same ground of discrepancies1 the credibility of the narratives of the ,gospel1 and that of any common history8 ,i must honestly confess1 then1 that ,i do not1 if the discrepancies1 as ,strauss alleges1 and not something else1 is to be assigned as the cause of their rejection4 ,if indeed1 like some criminals under despotic governments1 they are apprehended and convicted on a certain charge1 but really hanged for an entirely different reason1 ,i can understand that there may be policy in the proceeding2 but ,i do not comprehend its argumentative honesty4 ,be pleased1 therefore1 7that ,i may form some conclusion17 to tell me what are those circumstances which so wonderfully discriminate the discrepancies in the ,new ,testament histories from those in other histories1 as that the inevitable consequence of finding a certain amount of discrepancies in the former leads to the rejection of the entire1 or nearly entire1 documents in which they are found1 while their presence in other histories even to a far greater extent shall not authorize their rejection at all1 or the rejection only of the parts in which the discrepancies are found4 ,and yet ,i think ,i can guess4 ,well1 what do you guess8 ,that you think that the miraculous nature of the events which form a portion of the ,new ,testament history makes a great difference in the case4 ,and do not you8 ,i cannot say ,i do3 for though it is doubtless ,strauss's principal object to get rid of these miracles1 it is not as miracles1 but as history1 that his canons of historic criticism are applied to them4 ,it is as history that he attacks the books in which they are contained4 ,his weapons are directed against the miracles1 indeed2 but it is only by piercing the history1 with which alone the supposed discrepancies had ally thing to do4 ,but ,i cannot conceive that the historic discrepancies occurring in connection with such topics must not have more weight attached to them than if they occurred in any other history4 ,this is because you have already resolved that miracles are impossible on totally different grounds4 ,but you may see the fallacy in a moment4 ,talk with a man who does not believe miracles a priori impossible1 and that1 though of course improbable 7otherwise they would be none1 ,i suppose71 the authentication of a divine revelation is a sufficient reason for their being wrought1 and he evades your argument4 ,you are then compelled1 you see1 to throw yourself exclusively upon the alleged historic discrepancies2 they become your sole weapon2 and if it pierces the ,new ,testament history1 ,i want to know whether it does not equally pierce all other remote history too8 ,in truth1 if1 as you and ,mr4 ,fellowes agree1--,i only doubt1--a miracle is impossible1 nothing can 7as ,i think7 be more strange1 than that1 instead of reposing in that simple fact1 which you say is demonstrable1 you should fly to historic proofs4 ,and do you not think that miracles are impossible and absurd8 ,i think nothing1 because1 as ,i told ,fellowes the other day1 ,i am half inclined to doubt whether ,i doubt whether a miracle is possible or not1 like a genuine sceptic as ,i am4 ,and this doubt1 you see1 even of a doubt1 makes me cautious4 ,but to resume4 ,if that principle be sound1 it seems much more natural to adhere to it than to attack the ,gospels as history4 ,strauss1 however1 has thought otherwise2 and while he has left this main dictum unproved1--nay1 has not even attempted a proof of it1--he has endeavored to shake the historic character of these records1 treating them like any other records4 ,i say1 therefore1 that to adduce the circumstance that the narrative is miraculous1 is nothing to the purpose1 until the impossibility of miracles is proved2 and then1 when this is proved1 it is unnecessary to adduce the discrepancies4 ,if on the other hand1 a man has no difficulty 7as the ,christian1 for example7 in believing miracles to be possible1 and that they have really occurred1 ,strauss's argument1 as ,i have said1 is evaded2 and the seeming discrepancies can do no more against the credibility of the ,new ,testament history1 than equal discrepancies can prove against any other document4 ,i will1 if possible1 make my meaning plain by yet another example4 ,let us suppose some ,walter ,scott had compiled some purely fictitious history1 professedly laid in the ,middle ,ages 7and surely even miraculous occurrences cannot be more unreal than these products of sheer imagination72 and suppose some critic had engaged to prove it fiction from internal evidence supplied by contradictions and discrepancies1 and so on1 would you not think it strange if he were to enforce that argument by saying1 ',and besides all this1 what is more suspicious is1 that they occur in a work of imagination6' ,would you not say1 ',learned sir1 we humbly thought this was the point you were engaged in making out8 ,is it not to assume the very point in debate8 ,and if it be true1 would it not be better to stop there at once1 instead of taking us so circuitous a road to the same result1 which we perceive you had already reached beforehand8 ,are you not a little like that worthy ,mayor who told ,henri ,quatre that he had nineteen good reasons for omitting to fire a salute on his ,majesty's arrival2 the first of which was1 that he had no artillery2 whereupon his ,majesty graciously told him that he might spare the remaining eighteen8' ,so ,i should say in the supposed case4--,to return1 then3 you must1 if you would consider the validity of ,strauss's argument1 lay aside the miraculous objection1 which must be decided on quite different grounds1 and which1 in fact1 if valid1 settles the controversy without his critical aid4 ,all who read ,strauss's book either believe that miracles are impossible1 or not2 the former need not his criticisms1--they have already arrived at the result by a shorter road2 the latter can only reject the history by supposing the discrepancies in it1 as history1 justify them4 ,i ask you1 then1 supposing you one who1 like the ,christian1 believes miracles possible1 whether these historic discrepancies would justify you in saying that the ,new ,testament records1 considered simply as history1 no longer deserve credit1 and that you are left in absolute ignorance how much of them1 or whether any part1 is to be received1--ay or no8 ,well1 then1 ,i should say that ,strauss has shown that the history1 as history1 is to be rejected4 ,very well2 only then do not be surprised that1 in virtue of such conclusions1 ,i doubt whether you ought not to push the principle a little further1 and contend that1 as there are no writings in the world which to bear more marks of historic sincerity and trustworthiness1 and certainly none of any magnitude or variety in which far greater discrepancies are not to be founds1 it is doubtful whether we can receive any thing as absolutely veritable history2 and that the ,book of ,genesis1 and ,gospel of ,luke1 and ,history of ,lingard1 and ,history of ,hume1 are alike covered with a mist of sceptical obscurity4 ,but really1 ,mr4 ,harrington1 this is absurd and preposterous6 ,it may be so2 but you must prove it1 and not simply content yourself with affirming it4 ,i am1 at all events1 more consistent than you1 who tell the man who does not see your a priori objection to the belief of miracles1 that a history which certainly contains as many marks of historic veracity as any history in the world1 and discrepancies neither greater nor more numerous1 must be reduced 7ninety-nine hundredths of it7 to myth on account of those discrepancies1 while the others may still legitimate their claims to be considered as genuine history6 ,your only escape1 as ,i conceive1 from this dilemma1 is1 by saying that the marks of historic truth in the ,new ,testament1 looked at as mere history1 are not so great as those of other histories1 or that the discrepancies are greater2 and ,i think even you will not venture to assert that4 ,but if you do1 and choose to put it on that issue1 ,i shall be most happy to try the criterion by examining ,luke and ,paul1 ,matthew and ,mark1 on the one side2 and ,clarendon and ,may1 or ,hume1 ,lingard1 and ,macaulay1 on the other2 or1 if you prefer them1 ,livy and ,polybius1 or ,tacitus and ,josephus4 ,but ,i have bethought me of another answer1 said ,robinson4 ,suppose the sacred writers affirm that every syllable they utter is infallibly true1 being inspired8 ,why1 then1 said ,harrington1 first1 you must find such a passage1 which many say you cannot2 secondly1 you must find one which says that every syllable would remain always infallibly true1 in spite of all errors of transcription and corruptions of time1 otherwise your discrepancies will not touch the writers2 and lastly1 it does not affect my argument whether you find any such absurdities or not1 since you and ,i would know what to say1 though the ,christian would not like to say it2 namely1 that these writers were mistaken in the notion of their plenary inspiration4 ,it would still leave the mass of their history to be dealt with like any other history4 ,now ,i want to know why1 if ,i reject the mass of that on the ground of certain discrepancies1 ,i must not reject the mass of this on the score of equal or greater4 ,after a few minutes ,harrington turned to ,fellowes and said1--,that in relation to the bulk of mankind there can be no authentic history of remote events plainly appears from a statement of ,mr4 ,newman4 ,he says1 you know1 after having relinquished the investigation of the evidences of ,christianity1 that he might have spared much weary thought and useless labor1 if1 at an earlier time1 this simple truth had been pressed upon him1 that since the 'poor and half-educated cannot investigate historical and literary questions1 therefore these questions cannot constitute an essential part of religion4' ,you1 if you recollect1 mentioned it to my uncle the other night2 and1 in spite of what he replied1 it does appear a weighty objection2 on the other hand1 if ,i admit it to be conclusive1 ,i seem to be driven to the most paradoxical conclusions1 at direct variance with the experience of all mankind1--at least so they say4 ,for why cannot an historical fact constitute part of a religion8 ,because1 as ,mr4 ,newman says1 it is impossible that the bulk of people call have any 'certainty in relation to such remote facts of history1 said ,fellowes4 ,and1 therefore1 in relation to any other remote history2 for if the bulk of men cannot obtain certainty on1 such historical questions1 neither can they obtain certainty on other historical questions4 ,perhaps not2 but then what does it matter1 in that case1 whether they can obtain certainty or not8 ,i am not talking--,i am not thinking--as to whether it would matter or not4 ,i merely remark that1 in relation to the generality of people1 at all events1 they cannot obtain certainty on any remote historical questions4 ,of course1 with regard to ordinary history1 it is neither a man's duty1 strictly speaking1 to believe or disbelieve2 and therefore ,i said nothing about duty4 ,but in neither the one case nor the other is it possible for the bulk of mankind to obtain satisfaction1 from a personal investigation1 as to the facts of remote history1 or indeed any history at all1 except of a man's own life and that perhaps of his own family1 up to his father and down to his son6 ,what do you say to this1--yes or no8 ,i do not know that ,i should object to say that the great bulk of mankind never can obtain a sufficiently certain knowledge of any fact of history to warrant their belief of it4 ,very consistent1 ,i think2 for you doubtless perceive that if we say they can obtain a reasonable ground of assurance of the facts of remote history1--so that1 if any thing did or does depend on their believing it1 they are truly in possession of a warrant for acting on that belief1--,i say you then see whither our argument1 ,mr4 ,newman's and yours and mine1 is going2 it vanishes1--oichetai1 as ,socrates would say4 ,if1 for example1 men can attain reasonable certainty in relation to ,alfred and ,cromwell1 alas6 they may do the like in reference to ,christ2 and many persons will say much more easily4 ,now1 with my too habitual scepticism1 ,i confess to a feeling of difficulty here4 ,you know there are thousands and tens of thousands amongst us1 who1 if you asked respecting the history of ,alfred the ,great or ,oliver ,cromwell1 would glibly repeat to you all the principal facts of the story1--as they suppose2 and if you ask them whether they have ever investigated critically the sources whence they had obtained their knowledge1 they will say1 ,no2 but that they have read the things in ,hume's ,history2 or1 perhaps1 7save the mark67 in ,goldsmith's ,abridgment6 ,but they are profoundly ignorant of even the names of the principal authorities1 and have never investigated one of the many doubtful points which have perplexed historians2 nay1 as to most of them1 are not even aware that they exist4 ,yet nothing can be more certain1 than that their supposed knowledge would embrace by far the most important conclusions at which the most accurate historians have arrived4 ,it would be principally in a supposed juster comprehension of minor points--of details--that the latter would have an advantage over them2 compensated1 however1 by a 'plentiful assortment' of doubts on other points1 from which these simple souls are free2 doubts which are the direct result of more extensive investigation1 but which can scarcely be thought additions to our knowledge2--they are rather additions to our ignorance4 ,the impressions of the mass of readers on all the main facts of the two memorable periods respectively would be the same as those of more accurate critics4 ,now what ,i want to know is1 whether you would admit that these superficial inquirers--the bulk of your decent countrymen1 recollect--can be said to have an intelligent belief in any such history2 whether you think them justified in saying that they are certain of the substantial accuracy of their impressions1 and that they may laugh in your face 7which they assuredly would do7 if you told them that it is possible that ,alfred may have existed1 and been a wise and patriotic prince2 and that probably ,oliver ,cromwell was ,protector of ,england1 and died in #afeh2 but that really they know nothing about the matter4 ,of course they would affirm that they are as assured of the substantial accuracy of their impressions as of their own existence1 replied ,fellowes4 ,but what answer do you think they ought to give1 my friend8 ,do you think that they can affirm a reasonable ground of belief in these things8 ,i confess ,i think they can4 ,ah6 then ,i fear you are grossly inconsistent with ,mr4 ,newman's principles1 and must so far distrust his argument against historic religion4 ,if you think that this ready assent to remote historic events may pass for a reasonable conviction and an intelligent belief1 ,i cannot see why it should be more difficult to attain a similar confidence in the general results of a religious history2 and in that case it may also become men's duty to act upon that belief4 ,on the other hand1 if it be not possible to obtain this degree of satisfaction in the latter case1 neither for similar reasons will it be in the former4 ,if you hold ,mr4 ,newman's principles consistently1 seeing that neither in the one case nor the other can the bulk of mankind attain that sort of critical knowledge which he supposes necessary to certainty1 you ought to deny that any common man has any business to say that he believes that he is certain of the main facts in the history either of ,alfred or ,cromwell4 ,you do not surely mean to compare the importance of a belief in the one case with the importance of a belief in the other8 rejoined ,fellowes4 ,i do not2 and can as little disguise from myself that such a question has nothing to do with the matter4 ,the duty in the one case depends entirely on the question whether such a conviction of the accuracy of the main facts and more memorable events1 as may pass for moral certainty1 and justify its language and acts1 be possible or not4 ,if1 from a want of capacity and opportunity for a thorough investigation of all the conditions of the problem1 it be not in the one case1 neither will it be in the other4 ,if this be a fallacy1 be pleased to prove it such1--,i shall not be sorry to have it so proved4 ,but at present you seem to me grossly inconsistent in this matter4 ,i have also my doubts 7to speak frankly7 whether we must not apply ,mr4 ,newman's principle 7to the great relief of mankind7 in other most momentous questions1 in which the notion of duty cannot be excluded1 but enters as an essential element4 ,i cannot help fancying1 that1 if his principle be true1 mankind ought to be much obliged to him2 for he has exempted them from the necessity of acting in all the most important affairs of life4 ,for example1 you are1 ,i know1 a great political philanthropist2 you plead for the duty of enlightening the masses of the people on political questions1 --of making them intelligently acquainted with the main points of political and economical science4 ,you do not despair of all this8 ,i certainly do not1 said ,fellowes4 ,a most hopeless task1 said ,harrington1 on ,mr4 ,newman's principle4 ,the questions on which you seek to enlighten them are1 many of them1 of the most intricate and difficult character1--are1 all of them1 dependent on principles1 and involve controversies1 with which the great bulk of mankind are no more competent to deal than with ,newton's ',principia4' ,an easy1 and often erroneous assent1 on ill-comprehended data1 is all that you can expect of the mass2 and how can it be their duty1 when it may often be their ruin1 to act upon this8 ,a superficial knowledge is all that you can give them2 thorough investigation is out of the question4 ,most men1 ,i fear1 will continue to believe it at least as possible for the common people to form a judgment on the validity of ,paley's ',evidences1' as on the reasonings of ,smith's ',political ,economy4' ,they will say1 if the common people can be sufficiently sure of their conclusions in the latter case to take action upon them1--that is1 to render action a duty1--the like is possible in the former4 ,should you not hold by your principle1 and say1 that1 as from the difficulty of the investigation it is not possible for the bulk of mankind to attain such a degree of certainty as to make belief in an 'historical religion' a duty1 so neither1 for the like reason1 can it be their duty to come to any definite conclusion1 or to take any definite action1 in relation to the equally difficult questions of politics1 legislation1 political economy1 and a variety of other sciences8 ,i will take another case4 ,i believe you will not deny that you are profoundly ignorant of medicine1 nor that1 though the most necessary1 it is at the same time the most difficult and uncertain of all the sciences4 ,you know that the great bulk of mankind are as ignorant as yourself2 nay1 some affirm that physicians themselves are about as ignorant as their patients2 it is certain that1 in reference to many classes of disease1 doctors take the most opposite views of the appropriate treatment1 and even treat disease in general on principles diametrically opposed6 ,a more miserable condition for an unhappy patient can hardly be imagined4 ,though our own life1 or that of our dearest friend in the world1 hangs in the balance1 it is impossible for us to tell whether the art of the doctor will save or kill4 ,i doubt1 therefore1 whether you ought not to conclude1 from the principle on which we have already said so much1 that ,god cannot have made it a poor wretch's duty to take any step whatever2 nay1 since even the medical man himself often confesses that he does not know whether the remedies he uses will do harm or good1 it may be a question whether he himself ought not to relinquish his profession1 at least if it be a duty in man to act only in cases in which he can form something better than conjectures4 ,well1 said ,fellowes1 laughing2 and some even in the profession itself say1 that perhaps it might not be amiss if the patient never called in such equivocal aid1 and allowed himself to die1 not secundum artem1 but secundum naturam4 ,and yet ,i fancy that1 in the sudden illness of a wife or child1 you would send to the first medical man in your street1 or the next1 though you might be ignorant of his name1 and he might be almost as ignorant of his profession2 at least1 that is what the generality of mankind would do4 ,they certainly would4 ,but yet1 upon your principles1 how can it be their duty to act on such slender probabilities1 or1 rather1 mere conjectures1 in cases so infinitely important8 ,i know not how that may be1 but it is assuredly necessary4 ,well1 then1 shall we say it is only necessary1 but not a duty8 ,but then1 if in a case of such importance ,god has made it thus necessary for man to act in such ignorance1 people will say he may possibly have left them in something less than absolute certainty in the matter of an 'historical religion4'--,ah6 it is impossible to unravel these difficulties4 ,i only know1 that1 if the principle be true1 then as men in general cannot form any reasonable judgment1 not only on the principles of medical science1 but even on the knowledge and skill of any particular professor of it1 7by their ludicrous mis-estimate of which they are daily duped both of money and life to an enormous extent17 it cannot be their duty to take any steps in this matter at all4 ,the fair application1 therefore1 of the principle in question would1 as ,i say1 save mankind a great deal of trouble2--but1 alas6 it involves us philosophers in a great deal4 ,i cannot help thinking1 said ,fellowes1 that you have caricatured the principle4 ,and he appealed to me4 ,however ludicrous the results1 said ,i1 of ,harrington's argument1 ,i do not think that his representation1 if the principle is to be fairly carried out1 is any caricature at all4 ,the absurdity1 if anywhere1 is in the principle aimed2 viz4 that ,god cannot have constituted it man's duty to act1 in cases of very imperfect knowledge1 and yet we see that he has perpetually compelled him to do so2 nay1 often in a condition next door to stark ignorance4 ,to vindicate the wisdom of such a constitution may be impossible2 but the fact cannot be denied4 ,the ,christian admits the difficulty alike in relation to religion and to the affairs of this world4 ,he believes1 with ,butler1 that 'probability is the guide of life'2--that man may have sufficient evidence1 in a thousand cases1--varying1 however1 in different individuals1--to warrant his action1 and a reasonable confidence in the results1 though that evidence is very far removed from certitude2--that similarly the mass of men are justified in saying that they know a thousand facts of history to be true1 though they never had the opportunity1 or capacitor1 of thoroughly investigating them1 and that the great facts of science are true1 though they may know no more of science than of the geology of the moon2--that the statesman1 the lawyer1 and the physician are justified in acting1 where they yet are compelled to acknowledge that they act only on most unsatisfactory calculations of probabilities1 and amidst a thousand doubts and difficulties2--that you1 ,mr4 ,fellowes1 are justified in endeavoring to enlighten the common people on many important subjects connected with political and social science1 in which it is yet quite certain that not one in a hundred thousand can ever go to the bottom of them2 of which very few can do more than attain a rough and crude notion1 and in which the bulk must act solely because they are persuaded that other men know more about the matters in question than themselves2--all which1 say we ,christians1 is true in relation to the ,christian religion1 the evidence for which is plainer1 after all1 than that on which man in ten thousand cases is necessitated to hazard his fortune or his life4 ,if you follow out ,mr4 ,newman's principle1 ,i think you must with ,harrington liberate mankind from the necessity of acting altogether in all the most important relations of human life4 ,if it be thought not only hard that men should be called perpetually to act on defective1 grossly defective evidence1 but still harder that they should possess varying degrees even of that evidence1 it may be said that the difference perhaps is rather apparent than real4 ,those whom we call profoundly versed in the more difficult matters which depend on moral evidence1 are virtually in the same condition as their humbler neighbors2 they are profound only by comparison with the superficiality of these last4 ,where men must act1 the decisive facts1 as was said in relation to history1 may be pretty equally grasped by all2 and as for the rest1 the enlargement of the circle of a man's knowledge is1 in a still greater proportion1 the enlargement of the circle of his ignorance2 for the circumscribing periphery lies in darkness4 ,doubts1 in proportion to the advance of knowledge1 spring up where they were before unknown2 and though the previous ignorance of these was not knowledge1 the knowledge of them 7as ,harrington has said7 is little better than an increase of our ignorance4 ,if1 as you suppose1 it cannot be our duty to act in reference to any 'historical religion' because a satisfactory investigation is impossible to the mass of mankind1 the argument may be retorted on your own theory4 ,you assert1 indeed1 that in relation to religion we have an internal 'spiritual faculty' which evades this difficulty2 yet men persist in saying1 in spite of you1 that it is doubtful1--#ast1 whether they have any such2 #b;d1 whether1 if there be one1 it be not so debauched and sophisticated by other faculties1 that they can no longer trust it implicitly2 #c;d1 what is the amount of its genuine utterances2 #dth1 what that of its aberrations2 #eth1 whether it is not so dependent on development1 education1 and association1 as to leave room enough for an auxiliary external revelation2--on all which questions the generality of mankind are just as incapable of deciding1 as about any historical question whatever4 ,here ,fellowes was called out of the room4 ,harrington1 who had been glancing at the newspaper1 exclaimed1--,talk about the conditions on which man is left to act indeed6 ,only think of his gross ignorance and folly being left a prey to such quack advertisements as half fill this column4 ,here empirics every day almost invite men to be immortal for the small charge of half a crown4 ,here is a panacea for nearly every disease under heaven in the shape of some divine elixir1 and1 what is more1 we know that thousands are gulled by it4 ,how satisfactory is that condition of the human intellect in which quack promises can be proffered with any plausible chance of success6 ,i told him ,i thought the science of medicine would yield an argument against religious sceptics which they would find it very difficult to reply to4 ,how so8 ,ah6 it is well masked2 but ,i know you too well to allow me to doubt that you suspect what ,i am referring to4 ,upon my word1 ,i am all in the dark4 ,is there not1 said ,i1 a close analogy between the condition of men in reference to the health of their bodies and the science by which they hope to conserve or restore it1 and the health of their souls and the science by which they hope to conserve or restore that8 ,has not ,god placed them in precisely the same difficulty and perplexity in both cases1--nay1 as ,i think1 in greater in relation to medicine1--and yet is not man most willing and eager to apply to its most problematic aid1 imparted even by the most ignorant practitioners1 rather than be without it altogether8 ,the possession which man holds most valuable in this world1 and most men1 alas6 more valuable than aught in any other world1--,,life itself1--is at stake2 it is subjected to a science1 or rather an art1 proverbially difficult in theory and uncertain in practice1 about which there have been ten thousand varieties of opinion1 --whimsically corresponding to the diversity of sect1 creed1 and priesthood1 on which sceptics like you lay so much stress2 in which even the wisest and most cautious practitioners confess that their art is at best only a species of guessing2 while the patient can no more judge of the remedies he consents1 with so much faith1 to swallow on the knowledge of him who prescribes them1 than he can of the perturbations of ,jupiter's satellites4 ,yet the moment he is sick1 away he goes to this dubious oracle1 and trusts it with a most instructive faith and docility1 as if it were infallible4 ,all his doubts are mastered in an instant4 ,i strongly suspect yours would be4 ,ought you not in consistency to refuse to act at all in such deplorable deficiency of evidence8 ,well1 said he1 consistent or inconsistent1 it must be admitted that the parallel is very complete1--and amusing4 ,and he then went on1 as he was apt to do1 when an analogy struck his fancy4 ,let me see1--yes1 our unlucky race is condemned to put its most valued possession on the hazard of a wise choice1 without any of the essential qualifications for wisely making it2 a man cannot at all tell whether his particular priest in medicine understands and can skilfully apply even his own theory4 ,yes1 he went on1 and ,i think 7as you say7 we might find1 not only in the partisans of different systems of physic1 the representatives of the various priesthoods1 but in their too credulous--or shall we say1 too faithful patients8 --the representatives of all sects4 ,there is1 for example1 the superstitious vulgar in medicine1--the gross worshipper of the ,fetish1 who believes in the efficacy of charm1 and spell1 and incantation1 of mere ceremonial and opus operatum2 then there is the polytheist1 who will adore any thing in the shape of a drug1 and who is continually quacking himself with some nostrum or other from morning to night2 who not only takes his regular physician's prescriptions1 but has his household gods of empirical remedies1 to which he applies with equal devotion4 ,then there is the ,romanist in medicine1 who swears by the infallibility of some papal ,abernethy1 and the unfailing efficacy of some viaticum of a blue pill4 ,and who1 said ,i1 would represent our friend who has just left the room1 and who has tried every thing8 ,why1 he replied1 ,i think he is in the condition of a little boy of whom ,i heard a little while ago1 whose mother was a homoeopathist1 and kept a little chest1 from which she dispensed to her family and friends1 perhaps as skilfully as the doctor himself could have done4 ,the little fellow1 going into her dressing-room1 opened this box1 and1 thinking that he had fallen on a score of 'millions' 7as children call them71 swallowed up his mother's whole doctor's shop before he could be stopped4 ,it was happy1 said the doctor1 when called in1 that the little patient had swallowed so many1 or he would have been infallibly killed4 ,or perhaps we may liken our friend to that humorous traveller1 ,mr4 ,stephens1 who tells us1 that1 having been provided at ,cairo1 by a skilful physician there1 with a number of remedies for some serious complaint to which he was subject1 found1 to his dismay1 when suffering under a severe paroxysm in the fortress of ,akaba1 that he had lost the directions which told him in what order the medicines were to be taken4 ,whether pill1 powder1 or draught was to come first1 he knew not3 'on which1' says he1 'in a fit of desperation1 ,i placed them all in a row before me1 and resolved to swallow them all serialim till ,i obtained relief4' ,george has equal faith4 ,you have omitted1 said ,i1 one character1--that of the sceptic1 who believes in no medicine at all2 who sturdily dies with his doubts unresolved1 and unattended by any physician4 ,but it must be confessed that he is a still rarer character than the sceptic in religion4 ,nature1 my dear ,harrington1 everywhere decides against you4 ,i acknowledge1 he said1 that we are but a scanty flock in any department of life2 but1 upon my word1 the parallel you have suggested is so striking1 that ,i think ,i must in consistency1 extend my scepticism to physic at least1 and1 if ,i am ill1 refrain from availing myself of so uncertain an art1 practised by such uncertain hands and which are to be selected by one who cannot even guess whether they are ignorant or skilful2--doctors1 who may perhaps1 as ,voltaire said1 put drugs of which they know nothing into bodies of which they know still less4 ,act upon that resolution1 ,harrington1 said ,i1 and you will at least be consistent3 but1 depend upon it1 nature will confute you4 ,why1 said he1 jestingly1 perhaps in the case of medicine1 at all events1 ,i might face the consequences of scepticism'4 ,i remember reading1 in some account of ,madagascar1 that the natives are absolutely without the healing art2 'and yet1' says the author1 with grave surprise1 'it is not observed that the number of deaths is increased4' ,perhaps1 thought ,i1 that is the cause of it4 ,the statistics1 ,i replied1 of more civilized countries amply refute you1 and show you that1 uncertain as is the evidence on which ,god has destined and compelled men to act in this1 the most important affair of the present life1 and absolute as is the faith they are summoned to exercise1 neither is the study of the art 7uncertain as it is in itself71 nor the dependence of patients upon it 7still more precarious as that is71 unjustified on the whole by the result2 and as to the abuses of downright quackery1 a little prudence and common sense are required1 and are sufficient to preserve men from them4 ,he mused1 and1 ,i thought1 seemed struck by this analogy between man's temporal and spiritual condition ,i said no more1 hoping that he would ponder it4 ,july #be4 ,i had been so much interested in the discussion between ,harrington and young ,robinson on the fair application of the principle of ,strauss to history in general1 that ,i could not resist the temptation to tell the youth1 in secret1 that ,i thought the matter would admit of further discussion1 and that he would do well to challenge ,harrington plausibly to show that some undoubted modern event might1 when it became remote history1 be rendered dubious to posterity4 ,he willingly acted on the hint the next morning4 ,to some remark of his1 ,harrington replied thus3-- ,assuming with you1 that ,strauss has really cast suspicion on the historic character of the bulk of the transactions recorded in the ,new ,testament1 ,i must suspect that there is not an event in history1 if at all remote1 which1 arguing exactly on the same principles1 may not be made doubtful2 and that is-- ,why1 now1 replied the other1 do you think it possible that the events of the present year 7referring to the ,papal ,aggression71 which are making such a prodigious noise in ,england1 will ever stand a chance of being similarly treated some centuries hence8 ,if they are ever treated at all1 said ,harrington2 but you must have observed that it is the tendency of man to make ridiculous miss-estimates of the importance of the transactions of his own age1 and to imagine that posterity will have nothing to do but to recount them4 ,he is much mistaken2 they forget or care not a doit for nine tenths of what he does2 and misrepresent the tenth1 continued he1 laughing4 ,well1 then1 upon the supposition that ,pio ,nono and ,cardinal ,wiseman are of sufficient importance to be remembered at all eighteen hundred and fifty years hence1 that is1 in the year #cgjj of the ,christian era1 --though in all probability some new and more rational epoch will have jostled out both the ,christian era the ,mahometan hegira by that time-- ,pray be sure1 interrupted ,i1 before you predict a new epoch1 that it will be wanted2 that ,christianity is really dead before you bury her4 ,you will please remember that the experiment was tried in ,france with much formality1 but somehow came to a speedy ignominious conclusion2 the new era did not survive infancy4 ,as ,paulus thinks that ,christ was only in a trance when he seemed to be dead1 so it certainly often is 7figuratively speaking7 with his religion3 it seems to be dead when it is only in a trance4 ,it is apt to rise again1 and be more active than ever2 and never more so than when1 as in the middle of the last century1 our infidel undertakers were providing for its funeral4 ,but ,i beg your pardon for interrupting your conversation2 you were saying-- ,i was saying1 said ,robinson1 that ,i doubt whether ,cardinal ,wiseman and his doings1 eighteen hundred and fifty years hence1 could be as much the subject of doubt and controversy 7if remembered at all7 as the events which ,strauss has shown to be unhistorical4 ,i think the press alone1 with its diffusion and multiplication 'of the sources of knowledge1 will alone prevent in the future the doubts which gather over the past4 ,there will never again be the same dearth of historic materials4 ,in spite of all that1 replied ,harrington1 ,i suspect it will be very possible for men to entertain the same doubts about many events of our time1 eighteen hundred and fifty years hence1 as they entertain of many which happened eighteen hundred and fifty years ago4 ,i can hardly imagine this to be possible4 ,because1 ,i apprehend1 first1 that you are laboring under the delusion already mentioned1 by which men ever magnify the importance of the events of their own age1 and forget how readily future generations will let them slip from their memory1 and let documents which contain the record of them slip out of existence2 and1 secondly1 because you do not give yourself time to realize all that is implied in supposing eighteen hundred years to have elapsed1 nor to transport yourself fairly into that distant age4 ,as to the first2--let us recollect that the importance of historical events is by no means in proportion to the excitement they produce at the time of their occurrence4 ,we have many exemplifications of this even in our own time2 see the rapidity with which every trace of a political storm1 which for a moment may have lashed the whole nation into fury1 is appeased again3 the surface is as smooth after a few short years as if it had never been ruffled at all6 ,in all such cases1 the constant tendency is to let the events which have been thus transient in their effects sink into oblivion4 ,but even of those which have been far more significant1 7since each future age will teem with fresh events equally significant1 all claiming a part in the page of general history17 the importance will be perpetually diminishing in estimate1 and still more in interest1 from the intenser feeling with which each age will in turn regard the events which stand in immediate proximity to its own4 ,as time rolls on1 all of the past that can be spared will be gradually jostled out4 ,details will be lost2 and then1 when remote ages turn to reinvestigate the half-forgotten past1 the want of those details will issue in the customary problems and 'historic doubts4' ,in the page of general history1 events of a remote age1 except those of a surpassing interest1 will be reduced to more and more meagre outlines1 till abridgments are abridged1 and even these compendiums thought tedious4 ,the interval between decade and decade now will be as much as that between century and century then4 ,history will have to employ a sort of ,bramah press in her compositions1 and its application will compress into mere films the loose and pulpy textures submitted to it by each age4 ,let human vanity think what it will1 many events and many names which seem imperishable will speedily die out of remembrance2 many lights in the firmament1 destined 7as we deem7 to shine 'like the stars for ever and ever1' will hereafter be missing from the catalogue of the historic astronomer4 ,but1 at all events1 said the other1 though there are thousands of facts which will be virtually forgotten1 it will be at all times easy to ascertain 7if a sufficiently strong motive exist7 the real character of past1 events by a reference to the documents preserved by the press4 ,the press1--the press it is which will preserve us from the doubts of the past4 ,i doubt that4 ,has there been any lack of historic controversy respecting a thousand facts which have transpired since the press was in full activity8 ,you forget1 that1 in the first place1 neither the press1 nor any thing else1 can preserve any original documents4 ,time will not be inactive in the future more than in the past2 it will have no more respect for printed books than for manuscripts4 ,an immense mass of print is every year silently perishing by mere decay4 ,the original documents to which you refer will1 eighteen hundred years hence1 have almost all perished2 few will be preserved except in copies1 and how many disputes that alone will cause1 it is hard to say2 but we may form some guess from the experience of the past4 ,of thousands of these documents1 again1 no importance having been attached to them1 and no one having imagined that any importance would ever be attached to them1 no copies will have been taken1 and there will be here again the usual field for conjectures4 ,this is a common trick of time2--silently destroying what a present age thinks may as well be left to his maw4 ,it is not even discovered that valuable documents are lost1 till something turns up to make mankind wish they may be found4 ,but neither is this the sole nor the chief source of future historic doubts4 ,do not flatter yourself too much on the wonders which the press can work1 amongst which one unquestionably is1 that it will bury at least as much as it will preserve4 ,several considerations will suffice to show that here1 too1 we labor under a delusion4 ,oblivion will practically cover many events1 owing to the mere accumulations of the press itself4 ,you talk of the ease of consulting 'original documents'2 but when they lie buried in the depths of national museums1 amidst mountain loads of forgotten and decaying literature1 it will not be so easy1 even supposing the present activity of the press only maintained for eighteen hundred and fifty years 7although1 in all probability1 it will proceed at a rapidly increased ratio71--,i say it will not be so easy to lay your hands on what you want4 ,the materials1 again1 will often exist by that time in dead or half-obsolete languages1 or at least in languages full of archaic forms4 ,it will be almost as difficult to unearth and collate the documents which bear upon any events less than the most momentous1 as to recover the memorials of ,egypt from the pyramids1 or of ancient ,assyria from the mounds of ,nineveh4 ,the historian of a remote period must be a sort of ,belzoni or ,layard4 ,if we can suppose any thing so extravagant as that the ,british ,museum will be in existence then1 having preserved during these centuries 7as it does now7 all new hooks1 and accumulated ancient and foreign literature only at the rate it has during these few years past1 the library alone will extend over hundreds of acres at least4 ,this1 unless our posterity are fools1 can hardly be the case2 and therefore much will be rejected and left to the mercy of the great destroyer4 ,but the very existence of any such repository is itself a very doubtful supposition4 ,comprehensive1 indeed1 may be the destruction of many large portions of our archives1 essentially necessary to minute accuracy at so distant a date2 nay1 ,england herself may have ceased to exist4 ,if her subterranean fuel be not exhausted1 a cheaper and equally abundant supply of it may have been found elsewhere1 and transfer for ever the chief elements of her manufacturing or commercial prosperity2 or entirely new and more transcendent sources of science may have done the same thing1 and our country may be left1 like a stranded vessel1 to rot upon the beach6 ,her furnaces extinguished1 her manufactories deserted1 her cities decayed1 the hum of her busy population silenced1 she may present a spectacle of desolation like that of so many other famous nations which have risen1 culminated1 and set for ever4 ,or1 interrupted ,i1 7and may ,god avert the omen67 the same ruin may be accomplished still earlier1 and by more potent causes4 ,her nobles enervated by luxury1 her lower classes sunk in vice and ignorance1 and both the one and the other decaying in piety and religion 7a sure result of neglecting that ,bible which has directly and indirectly formed her strength71 she may have fallen a victim to the consequences of her own degeneracy1 or to an irresistible combination of the enemies who envy and hate her4 ,that picture of the splendid imagination of the great historian of our day may be realized1 'when some traveller from ,new ,zealand shall1 in the midst of a vast solitude1 take his stand on a broken arch of ,london ,bridge to sketch the ruins of ,st4 ,paul's4' ,in short1 resumed ,harrington1 in several ways that appalling catastrophe may have taken place2 and1 should this be the case1 how many questions will be asked of history1 but asked in vain6 ,as for ,rome1--what other great name in the present strife pitted against ,england1--for aught we can tell1 she may by that time be in desolation far more remediless than when the grim ,attilas and ,alarics stormed her walls4 ,for aught we know1 the agency of those terrible elements which more or less mine the soil of ,italy may have made her 'like unto' ,herculaneum or ,pompeii2 or that silent desolater1 the malaria1 which ,dr4 ,arnold thinks will be perpetual and will increase1 may long before that period have reduced1 not only the ,campagna of ,rome1 but the whole region of the 'seven hills1' to a pestilential solitude4 ,but all this is mere vision8 said ,robinson4 ,certainly2 but it is the vision of the possible4 ,similarly wonderful and equally unexpected revolutions have taken place in the history of past nations and empires in a less space of time2 and some enormous changes1 we know1 must happen during the next eighteen hundred and fifty years2 and they will tend both to jostle out thousands of events of meaner moment1 and to effect a comparative destruction of the memorials of the past4 ,you do not suppose1 ,i presume1 that ,london and ,rome are absolutely privileged from the fate which has overtaken ,babylon and ,memphis4 ,i1 for one1 therefore1 do not expect that the time will arrive when1 in the historic investigations of the past1 our ,strausses will not find abundant scope for ingenious theories2 nay1 many real sources of perplexity even in reference to events which1 at the time of their occurrence1 seemed written as 'with a pen of iron on the rock for ever4' ,but even supposing no other difficulty1 ,i cannot lay small stress upon the mere accumulation of materials on which the historian1 two thousand years hence1 will have to operate1 if he would recover an exact account of the events of our time4 ,it is much the same whether you have to dig into the pyramids of ,egypt1 or into the catacombs of the buried literature of two thousand years1 for the memorials which are to enable you to arrive at the exact truth1 at least as to any events of transient interest1 however important at the time of their occurrence4 ,it will be like 'hunting for a needle in a bundle of hay1' as the proverb says4 ,still1 ,i cannot imagine that facts like those with which our ears have been ringing during the last eight months1 can ever be contested4 ,can you not8 said ,harrington4 ,i cannot imagine any thing more likely than that1 eighteen hundred and fifty years hence1 such an event1 on ,strauss's principles1 may be shown to be very problematical4 ,will you endeavor to show how it may probably be8 rejoined ,robinson4 ,well1 ,i have no objection1 if you will give me till this evening to prepare so important a document4 ,in the evening1 after supper1 he amused us by reading us a brief paper1 entitled ,,the ,,papal ,,aggression ,,shown ,,to ,,be ,,impossible4 ,i shall proceed on the supposition that some ,dr4 ,dickkopf or ,dr4 ,scharfsinn1 for either name will do1 has to deal 7as my uncle here believes our modern critics have to deal in the ,gospels7 with an account literally true4 ,this learned man ,i shall imagine as existing in some nation at the antipodes eighteen hundred and fifty years hence1 and intellectually1 if not literally1 descended from some erudite critics of our age4 ,let me further suppose that the principal memorials of the current events are found in the page of some continuator of ,macaulay 7may the ,fates have pity on him6 ,i am afraid he will be far worse than even ,smollett after ,hume71 who publishes his work only sixty years hence4 ,let us suppose him 7as surely we well may7 proceeding thus3 ',during the year #ahej-ea1 our countrymen are represented to us1 by the accounts of those who lived at the time 7some few still survive71 as having been in a condition of political and religious excitement almost unprecedented in their history4 ,it was occasioned by the attempt of the ,pope to reestablish the ,roman ,catholic hierarchy1 which had been extinct since the ,reformation4 ,as these events1 though all-absorbing to the actors in them1 7as are so many others of very secondary importance17 have now shrunk to their true dimensions1 and are1 in fact1 infinitely less momentous than others which were silently transpiring at the time almost without notice1 ,i shall content myself with simply condensing a brief contemporaneous document which gives the chief points1 without passion or prejudice1 in a narrative so simple that it vouches for its own veracity3-- ,without permission of the ,crown1 or any negotiations with the ,government whatever1 ,pope ,plus the ,ninth divided the whole of ,england into twelve sees1 and assigned these to as many ,roman ,catholic bishops with local titles and territorial jurisdiction4 ,the chief of them was one ,nicholas ,wiseman 7by birth1 it is said1 a ,spaniard71 who was created ,archbishop of ,westminster and ,cardinal4 ',the said ,wiseman issued a pastoral letter1 which was read on the #bgth day of ,october1 #ahej1 in all the churches and chapels of the ,romanists1 congratulating ,catholic ,england on the reestablishment of the ,roman hierarchy4 ,in it he used the startling expression1 ,our beloved country has been restored to its orbit in the ecclesiastical firmament1 from which its light had long vanished4 ',the nation was the more surprised at all this1 inasmuch as the position of ,pio ,nono was not such as to warrant any expectation of a step so audacious4 ,little more than a year had elapsed since his own subjects in ,rome itself rebelled against him1 murdered his ,prime ,minister1 and compelled him1 in the disguise of a menial1 to fly from ,rome2 nor was he restored except by the arms of the ,french1 who besieged and took ,rome in #ahdi4 ',that the ,pope1 while holding his own little dominions on so precarious a tenure1 should venture to assume such an exercise of supremacy over the most powerful nation in the world1--a nation so jealous of its independence1 which had so long been1 and which still was1 most averse to his claims1--seemed almost incredible to the people of ,england2 and they were proportionably indignant4 ',some affirmed that the aforesaid ,cardinal ,wiseman was the chief cause of it all1--the spectacle of many conversions from the ,church of ,england to that of ,rome having deceived him into a notion that the national mind was far more generally disposed to receive ,romanism2 and to make up the long-standing breach with the ,papacy1 than was really the case4 ,the principal cause of the conversions above mentioned was what was called the ,oxford ,movement4 ,in the ,university of ,oxford had sprung up a body of men who had consecrated their lives to the diffusion of doctrines indefinitely near those of ,rome4 ,they spoke of the ,reformation contemptuously2 advocated very many1 obsolete rites and usages2 magnified the power of the church and the prerogatives of the priesthood4 ,many of them1 at length1 finding that they could not1 with any shadow of consistency1 remain in the ,english church1 abandoned it2 but many others remained1 and propagated the same opinions with impunity4 ,they were regarded as traitors by their brethren1 though no steps were taken to prevent them from teaching their notions1 nor to deprive them of their benefices and emoluments4 ,among those who gave up their livings1 of their own accord1 from the feeling that they could not hold them with a safe conscience1 the principal was one afterwards called ,father ,newman4 ',now this ,newman must by no means be confounded with another of the same name1 ,professor ,newman1--in fact his own brother1--who was also educated at ,oxford1 but whose history was in most singular contrast with his4 ,while the one brother went over to ,rome1 exceeded in zeal and credulity even the ,romanists themselves1 and sighed for a restoration of mediaeval puerilities1 the other lapsed into downright infidelity1 and denied even the possibility of an external revelation4 ',very many thought1 that1 if the ,oxford party had been wise enough to proceed more gently in the propagation of their notions1 they would have accomplished much greater things1 and perhaps eventually brought the popular mind to embrace the ,romish ,church4 ,but their later publications 7and especially ,no4 #ij7 opened the eyes of many1 and the frequent defections from the ,english ,church1 which were almost daily announced in the papers1 opened the eyes of many more4 ',but whether or not ,wiseman and other principal persons were misled by erroneous representations of the state of the ,english mind1 certain it is that he advised the ,pope to take this perilous step4 ,the ,pope was persuaded2 he assured the people of ,england1 that he should not cease to supplicate the ,virgin ,mary and all the saints whose virtues had made this country illustrious1 that they would deign to obtain1 by their intercessions with ,god1 a happy issue to his enterprise4 ',the excitement produced by the publication of the ,pope's proceedings throughout ,england was prodigious1 and can hardly be conceived by us at this day4 ,every county1 city1 and almost every town1 held meetings in the utmost alarm and indignation2 and resolved on petitioning the ,queen and ,parliament to do something or other to prevent the ,pope's measures from taking effect2 and especially to annul all claims to local and territorial jurisdiction in this country4 ,the universities2 the clergy in their dioceses2 the ,bishops collectively1--even ,philpotts of ,exeter1 though intoxicated with zeal for those ,oxford notions which had done all the mischief2 the municipalities2 almost all organized bodies1 whether of ,churchmen or ,dissenters2--discussed and resolved4 ,amongst these meetings one was held at the ,guildhall of ,london1 which was crowded with the merchant princes of that great city1 and all that could represent its wealth1 intelligence1 and energy4 ,one ,masterman opened the proceedings1 made a vehement speech against the ,bishop of ,rome and his pretensions1 and proposed a stringent resolution1 which was carried by acclamation4 ',at a dinner given by the ,lord ,mayor1 at which were present many of the ,ministers of the ,crown1 the ,lord ,chancellor ,wilde spoke very boldly1 and1 as some thought1 unadvisedly1 on his possible future relations to the ,cardinal4 ',cardinal ,wiseman published a subtle defence of himself and the ,popish measure1 which he addressed to the people of ,england2 and1 whether consistently or inconsistently1 pleaded in the most strenuous manner for the inviolable observance of the principles of religious liberty4 ',a singular and indeed inexplicable circumstance occurred in the course of this controversy4 ,in a lecture1 delivered at the ,hanover ,square ,rooms1 a certain ,presbyterian clergyman had asserted that the oath prescribed in the ,pontificale ,romanum1 which the ,cardinal ,wiseman must have taken to the ,pope when he received the ,pallium as ,archbishop of ,westminster1 notoriously contained a clause enjoining the duty of persecution4 ,this clause1 a facetious ,englishman said1 ought to be translated1 ,i will persecute and pitch into all heretics to the utmost of my power2 and every one knew that the ,pope of ,rome looked upon the ,english as the greatest heretics in the world4 ',when ,wiseman heard of the representations thus made1 he caused his secretary to write to the ,protestant lecturer1 to say that the clause in the oath to which he had referred was not insisted upon1 in his 7the ,cardinal's7 case1 by the ,pope1 and that1 if his calumniator chose to go to the ,cardinal's library1 he would see that it was cancelled in his copy of the ,pontifical4 ,the ,protestant accepted his challenge and went to the said library4 ,he was then shown the oath1 and found the clause in question1 totidem verbis2 not cancelled1 however1 but marked off by a line in black ink drawn over it1 and 7as it seemed7 very recently4 ',pamphlets were published on this curious circumstance on both sides2 the ,roman ,catholics contended that the mere fact of ,wiseman's challenge was a sufficient proof of his consciousness of rectitude4 ',on the whole1 after half a year of perpetual agitation1 both in and out of ,parliament1 a measure was passed which was notoriously inadequate to suppress the offence1 and which was broken with impunity4 ',it is gratifying to add1 that1 notwithstanding the dangerous and vehement excitement which so long inflamed the minds of the people1 no life was lost except on one occasion4 ,the sufferer--contrary to what might have been expected--was of the dominant party a policeman1 who was endeavoring to repress the party violence of some ,irish ,catholics in the ,north of ,england4' ,now it need not be said1 proceeded ,harrington1 that these sentences contain what is perfectly well known by you--for myself ,i say nothing--to be the merest matter of fact1 narrated in the simplest language1 without any art or embellishment4 ,would you like to hear how ,dr4 ,dickkopf1 of ,new ,zealand1 or ,kamtschatka1 or ,caffre-land1 might treat such a document eighteen hundred and fifty years hence1 amidst that imperfect light which we well know rests upon so many portions of the past1 and which may1 very possibly1 be felt in the future8 ,i think it would not be difficult for him to show that the ',papal ,aggression' was impossible4 ,we will1 at least1 listen to you1 said ,robinson4 ,let us suppose1 then1 some learned ,theban stumbling upon this brief record of an obscure event1 and1 as usual1 making 7if only because he had discovered what nobody in the world either knew or cared about7 a huge commentary upon it2 concluding from the internal evidence1 the simplicity of the style1 the absence of all imaginable motives for misrepresentation1 and some external corroborative fragments painfully gleaned from the history of the period1 that these sentences formed a genuine1 literal1 historic account of certain events which transpired in ,england in the year #ahej4 ,this1 of course1 would of itself be sufficient to make ten ,dr4 ,dickkopfs turn to and prove the contrary2 and any one of them1 ,i imagine1 might1 and probably would1 thus reply4 ,excuse his clumsy style4 ,he would say3-- ',that there may have been1 and very probably was1 some nucleus of fact which may have served as a groundwork for these pseudo-historical memorials1 is not denied3 but to regard that document of which it is professedly a condensation as a genuine record of the period in question1 can only1 we conceive1 be the infelicity of an essentially uncritical mind4 ,most evidently1 whether we regard the known events and relations of that age 7as far as they have come down to us7 or the internal characteristics of the document itself1 we discover unequivocal traces of an unhistoric origin4 ,let us look at both these sources of evidence in order4 ,if we mistake not1 the document1 even as it now stands1 bears on its very front1 that the original document1 so far from being a literal description of the events of the time to which it professedly related1 was allegorical1 or at most historico- allegorical1 and most likely designed broadly to caricature and satirize some perceived tendencies or conditions of the ,english religious development in certain parties of that age4 ,but whether it be1 or be not1 reducible to the class of allegorieo-ecclesiastico- political satire1 certainly no person of critical discernment can for a moment allow it to be a literal statement of historic events4 ,and first to look at the internal evidence4 ',is it possible to overlook the singular character of the names which everywhere meet us8 ,they1 in fact1 tell their own tale1 and almost1 as it were1 proclaim of themselves that they are allegorical4 ,wiseman1 ,newman 7two of them1 be it observed71 ,masterman1 ,philpotts1 ,wilde4 ,who1 that has been gifted with even a moderate share of critical acumen1 can fail to see that these are all fictitious names1 invented by the allegorist either to set forth certain qualities or attributes of certain persons whose true names are concealed1 or1 as ,i rather think1 to embody certain tendencies of the times1 or represent certain party characteristics4 ,thus the name ,wiseman is evidently chosen to represent the proverbial craft which was attributed to the ,church of ,rome2 and ,nicholas has also been chosen 7as ,i apprehend7 for the purpose of indicating the sources whence that craft was derived4 ,in all probability the name was selected just in the same manner as ,bunyan in his immortal ,pilgrim's ,progress 7which still delights the world7 has chosen ,worldly ,wiseman for one of his characters4 ,it is said that he was a ,spaniard3 but who so fit as a ,spaniard to be represented as the agent of the ,holy ,see8 while1 as there never was a ,spaniard of that name1 every one can see that historic probability has not been regarded4 ,the word ,newman again 7and observe the significant fact that there were two of them7 was1 in all probability1 ,i may say certainly1 designed to embody two opposite tendencies1 both of which1 perhaps1 claimed1 in impatience of the effete humanity of that age 7a dead and stereotyped ,protestantism71 to introduce a new order of things4 ,these parties 7if ,i may form a conjecture from the document itself7 were essaying to extricate the mind of the age from the difficulties of its intellectual position2 an age1 asserting inconsistently1 on the one hand1 the freedom of spiritual life1 and1 on the other1 claiming for the ,bible an authorized supremacy over all the phenomena of that spiritual life4 ,one of these parties sought to solve this difficulty by endeavoring to resuscitate the spirit of the past2 the other1 by attempting to set human intellect and consciousness free from the yoke of all external authority4 ,in all probability the names were suggested to the somewhat profane allegorico-satitical writer by that text in the ,english version1 ,put on the ,newman1 the new man of the spirit4 ,we are almost driven to this interpretation1 indeed1 by the extreme and ludicrous improbability of two men--brothers1 brought up at the same university--gradually receding1 pari passu1 from the same point in opposite directions1 to the uttermost extreme2 one till he had embraced the most puerile legends of the ,middle ,ages1 the other1 till he had proceeded to open infidelity4 ,probably such a curious coincidence of events was never heard of since the world began2 and this must1 at all events1 be rejected4 ',similar observations apply to the name ,masterman1 which1 in ancient ,english1 was applied to him who was not a servant or journeyman1 and is not unfitly used to indicate collectively the assemblage of wealthy merchants who1 like those of ,tyre1 were princes2 as well as to imply that the powerful class to which they belonged were the ,mastermen in the country1 and1 in fact1 spoke in a potential voice in all such crises as that supposed4 ,it might also1 perhaps1 be designed obliquely to intimate1 that1 'whatever the clergy and the theologians of different parties might wish to realize1 it was1 after all1 the powerful and independent class of the laity who were the mastermen1 and would not succumb to any spiritual guides whatever1 even though called by the specious names of ,wisemen and ,newmen4 ,the mere singularity of the names alone ought to decide the point4 ,and what further confirms our view is1 that it is impossible to point out any ,englishmen of any distinction who ever had any of these names4 ,here we do not argue from conjecture1 after merely looking into the most recent biographical repertories 7as1 for example1 the ,bibliotheca ,clarisimorum ,virorum1 in three hundred and fifty volumes folio72 for it is no argument that this meagre collection makes no mention of any such names2 since1 in the successive compilations of such works1 7as the world grows older17 it has been found necessary to extrude from time to time thousands of lesser names1 which had twinkled in preceding ages4 ,but1 deeply anxious to establish truth1 we have at infinite pains caused to be fished up1 from the depths of the archives of our national museums1 very rare reprints of some of the works of the age nearest that in which these events are said to have occurred1 and in none of these works is there an individual mentioned of the name of ,newman or ,masterman1 and only one comparatively obscure person of the name of ,wiseman1--a presumptive proof that they were fictitious names4 ,is it possible that these curious and varied coincidences can be the mere effect of chance8' ,i shall spare you1 said ,harrington1 ,dr4 ,dickkopf's learned etymological disquisitions on the names ,wilde and ,philpotts1 which1 aided by the imputed 'rashness' of the one1 and the 'intoxicated zeal' of the other1 he clearly demonstrated to be fictitious4 ,after which1 ,i will suppose him to proceed thus3-- ',we presume we have said enough to convince any acute and candid mind of the extreme improbability of the document being designed to convey to posterity a literal statement of facts2 not that we for a moment think it necessary to suppose that any evil design actuated the writer1 whoever he might be4 ,it was most likely intended1 as we have already said1 to be an allegorico-political caricature of certain events which did undeniably occur1 and which formed a slender basis of historic fact on which to found it4 ',nor is the particularity of some of the dates and alleged circumstances of much weight in our judgment4 ,he must be a miserable inventor of fiction indeed1 who cannot clothe a narrative in some verisimilitude of this kind4 ,it is said1 that the historian makes a seeming reference to those who were living at the very time4 ,some1 he says1 still survive4 ,but who does not see that the word survive may refer to the accounts 7which he1 it appears1 knew little how to interpret71 not the persons2 though1 be it observed1 that on such a supposition he does not vouch for having seen them1 and may have spoken merely from report4 ,this very clause1 too1 has undeniably much the appearance of an interpolation4 ,there are many other little circumstances1 which1 to those who have been accustomed to detect unhistoric characteristics in ancient documents1 and to draw a sharp line between the mythic or allegoric and the historic1 sufficiently proclaim the origin of this supposed narrative of facts4 ',but the internal evidence1 conclusive as it is1 is as nothing to the external4 ,if we examine the document by the light of the facts which contemporary history supplies1 nay1 even by the probability or otherwise of its own contents1 we shah see the extreme absurdity of supposing that the account from which it was borrowed was ever meant to be a record of facts4 ,we hesitate not to say1 that the political facts of which it makes mention are many of them in the highest degree incredible4 ,that there may have been a rebellion at ,rome is very possible2 but assuredly the only nation in ,europe1 7if we except ,england17 that was not likely to take the ,pope's part against a republican movement1 or resent him on his throne1 was the ,french4 ,to suppose them thus acting is contrary to all that we know of the history of that nation1 and of human nature4 ,the traces of the terrible revolutions which in that century1 and at the close of the preceding one1 shook ,france again and again to her centre1 and the outlines of which still live in authentic history1 all show the extent to which infidelity and democratic violence prevailed in ,france2 nay1 we know that during the dominion of the ,emperor ,napoleon1 if we are to regard his history as literally true1 and not a collection of fables and legends199 as some even of that age maintained1 that great conqueror arrested and imprisoned the ,pope4 ,that ,france should have undertaken the task of subduing a republican movement1 just when she had come out of a similar revolution1 or rather many such1--and of reseating the ,pope on his throne1 when she had been more impatient of the restraints of all religion than any other nation in ,europe1--is perfectly incredible6 ,not less improbable is it that1 supposing 7as may perhaps be true7 that there was a basis of fact in the asserted rebellion of the ,romans1 and ,pio ,nono's restoration to his dominions 7though not by ,france1 that the intelligent reader will on politico-logical grounds pronounce impossible1 but more probably by the ,spaniards71--yet can we suppose that a power which was always celebrated for its astuteness and subtlety would choose that very moment of humiliation and ignominy to rush into an act so audacious as that of reestablishing the ,romish hierarchy in ,england1--in a nation by far the most powerful in the world at that time1--a nation which1 if it had pleased1 could have blown ,rome into the air in three months8 ,it must needs have strengthened a thousand-fold the strong antipathies of the ,english to the ,see of ,rome4 ,it would1 indeed1 have justified that storm of indignation with which it is said to have been met4 99 ,dr4 ,dickkopf may be here supposed to refer to the ,historic ,doubts of ,archbishop ,whately1 which may well deceive even more astute critics4--,ed4 ',there is much that is palpably improbable in many other parts of the statement 7simple as it seems to be7 when submitted to the searching spirit of modern criticism4 ,how ridiculous is the story of ,cardinal ,wiseman's pretending that the oath in receiving the ,pallium had been modified for his convenience2 little less so1 indeed1 than his challenge to his ,presbyterian antagonist to examine it1 and that1 too1 in the very book in which the contested clause was not cancelled6 ,all this is such a maze of absurdity1 that it is impossible to believe it4 ,in the first place1 do we not know that1 throughout the whole history of the ,papal power1 the inflexible character1 not only of its doctrines1 but of its official forms and solemnities1 was always maintained1 and that this pertinacity was continually placing it at a disadvantage in the contest with the more flexible spirit of ,protestantism8 ,it would not renounce1 in terms or words1 the very things which it did renounce in deeds1 and never could prevail upon itself to get over this unaccommodating spirit6 ,yet here we are to believe that1 at the ,cardinal's request a certain part of a most solemn ceremonial--that of receiving the ,pallium was remitted by the ,pope6 ,if it were so1 the ,cardinal would certainly have desired to conceal it4 ,if he could not have done that1 he would1 at least1 never have given so easy a triumph to his adversary as to challenge him to inspect the very copy of the ,pontifical1 in which1 after all1 the oath was not cancelled1 in order that he might be satisfied that it was6 ,who can believe that a ,cardinal of the ,romish ,church1 ,wiseman or fool1 would have been simple enough for such a step as this8 ,it is plain that the historian himself was not unaware that such an objection would immediately suggest itself1 and endeavors to guard against it1--a suspicious circumstance in itself--which may serve to warn us how little we can depend on the historic character of the document4 ',again2 what can be more improbable1 than that1 when a great nation was convulsed from one end to the other1 as the ,english are said to have been1 there should have been no violence1 not even accidentally1 attending those huge and excited assemblages2 a thing so natural1 nay1 so certain6 ,who can believe that only one man was sacrificed1 and he on the predominant side8 ,i have discovered in my laborious researches on this important subject1 that only seventy years before1 when a cry of the same nature1 but much less potent1 was raised1 ,london was filled with conflagration and blood-shed4 ,who ever heard1 indeed1 of commotion such as this is pretended to have been1 and its ending in vox et praeterea nihil8 ',it is superfluous to point out the absurdity of supposing a ,cardinal of the ,romish ,church lecturing the people of ,england on the claims of religious liberty2 or so great a nation1 in such a paroxysm1 spending many months in the concoction of a measure confessed to be a feeble one1 and suffered to be broken with impunity6 ',but1 lastly1 my laborious researches have led to the important discovery1 that1 in this very year of pretended hot commotion1 ,england--in peace with all the world1 profound peace within and profound peace without--celebrated a sort of jubilee of the nations1 in a vast building of glass 7wonderful for those times71 called the ,great ,exhibition1 to which every country had contributed specimens of the comparatively rude manufacture--of that rude age6 ,london was filled with foreigners from all parts of the earth2 the whole kingdom was in a commotion1 indeed1 but a commotion of hospitable festivity1 in which it shook hands with all the world6 ,this is a piece of positive evidence which ought to settle the whole matter4 ,in short1 the external and internal evidence alike warrants us in rejecting this absurd story as utterly incredible4' ,upon my word1 said young ,robinson1 you have said more than ,i thought you could have said on such a theme4 ,i really almost doubt whether ,dr4 ,dickkopf has not the best of it1 and whether we ought not to agree that the ',papal ,aggression' is a sheer delusion4 ,o1 said ,harrington1 ,i have mot given you half the arguments by which an historian1 eighteen hundred years hence1 might prove that what has actually occurred never could have occurred1 and that what has not occurred must1 in the very nature of things1 have occurred1 by a necessity alike political1 historical1 ethical1 logical1 and psychological4 ,and no doubt ,dr4 ,dickkopf is right on the principles on which acute critics may argue2 that is1 the assumption that certain probabilities will justify conclusions on such subjects4 ,one might naturally have supposed the ,pope to have been more politic than to take this step1--the ,french more consistent than to suppress the ,republican movement of ,italy1--the ,english less moderate in expressing their indignation1--and certainly that there would never have been such an array of odd names to garnish one brief document4 ,and now1 ,i bethink me1 it is far from impossible that some ,dr4 ,dickkopf may even apply to ,strauss's ,leben ,jesu1 and ,dr4 ,whately's ',historic ,doubts' similar reasoning1 to prove that the first was elaborate irony1 and the second a sincere expression of scepticism4 ,how can that be8 ,thus3 he will prove that the age was remarkably fond of such species of ironical literature4 ,as ,strauss1 in his preface1 has expressly admitted 7though we all know what he means7 that ,christianity is true1 and has suggested an unimaginably absurd hypothesis as to its true import1 founded on the principles of the ,hegelian philosophy1 the learned ,dr4 ,dickkopf will say1 that no one who so spoke of ,christianity could have intended seriously to discredit it1 and yet certainly could not possibly believe the absurd theory of it concocted out of ,german philosophy2 ergo1 that we must regard the whole book as a piece of prolonged irony1--a little too characteristic of ,german pedantry1 it is true1 but sincerely designed to expose that extravagance of historic criticism and ,biblical exegesis which had so distinguished the author's countrymen1 by which ,homer had been annihilated1 a great part of ancient history rendered doubtful1 and the ,bible turned into a riddle-book2 that this hypothesis is confirmed by the space which ,strauss gives to the exposure of the absurdities of the ,rationalists1 which1 in fact1 occupies at least half his work4 ,dr4 ,d4 will even very likely prove that ,strauss himself is a fictitious name2 ,strauss1 in the ,german1 meaning an ostrich1 which1 according to the proverb1 can digest any thing4 ,on the other hand1 as he will be able to show that ,strauss's work is a piece of prolonged irony1 he will very likely show that ,whately's ',historic ,doubts' may be a sincere expression of opinion 7which1 in fact1 many have even in our day wisely believed it to be71 and he will argue it with a gravity worthy of one of the commentators who interpret the irony of ,socrates literally2 he will prove it from the air of sobriety and sincerity which pervades the pamphlet4 ,nay1 for aught ,i know1 he may show that there was an 'historic place' for such a piece in the undoubted myths to which the wondrous achievements of ,napoleon had given rise2 he will say that these had produced a natural feeling of scepticism as to the greater part of the facts1 though he will think ,dr4 ,whately has gone a little too far in doubting his very existence2 there being sufficient evidence that such a man as ,napoleon existed1 though the world really knows little more about him than about ,semitamis or ,genghis ,khan6 ,well1 said ,i1 having proved that ,dr4 ,strauss's work is irony1 and ,whately's brochure a sincere expression of opinion1 it would be hard for even ,dr4 ,dickkopf to go further4 ,but1 seriously1 it is no laughing matter4 ,this is a strange power the future historian has over us4 ,o1 be assured1 said ,harrington1 he can make of us just what he pleases4 ,never was a question more unreasonable than that of the ,irishman1 who1 being conjured1 on some occasion1 to think of posterity1 said1 ',i should like to know what posterity has done for us4' ,it will do something for us1 depend upon it4 ,a future historian will not only make us confess1 with the ,prayer-,book1 'that we have done the things we ought not to have done1 and have left undone the things we ought to have done1' but 'that we have done the things that we have not done1 and have left undone the things that we have done4' ,i wonder1 said ,i1 that some of ,dr4 ,strauss's countrymen have not proved him to be an imaginary being1--a myth4 ,it were very easy to do it on such principles4 ,it has been done long since1 said ,harrington1 by ,wolfgang ,menzel4 ,thank you1 said ,i1 in conclusion1 you have clearly proved that a true history may plausibly be shown to be false4 ,and therefore1 my dear uncle1 you will1 ,i hope1 justify my scepticism in all such matters1 said he archly4 ,i acknowledge1 as ,socrates says1 that ,i felt for a moment as if ,i had received a sudden blow1 and hardly knew what to say4 ,no1 said ,i at last1 unless you can justify ,dr4 ,strauss's theory of historical criticism1 of which you yourself acknowledge you have doubts4 ,with that any thing may be proved false2 meantime it appears that the facts to which it is applied may be undoubtedly true4 ,on retiring to my chamber1 ,i mused for some time on the facility with which man's ingenuity or inclinations can pervert any facts which he resolves shall be otherwise than they are4 ,dubious as is the ,,evidence1 ,harrington was fond of saying1 ,i distrust the ,judas still more2 an admission1 ,i told him1 of which ,i should one day remind him4 ,tired at last of this unpleasant theme1 ,i took up a volume of ,leibnitz's ,theodicee1 which happened to lie on the table1 and read those striking passages towards the conclusion in which he represents ,theodore 7reluctant to accept the iron theory of necessity7 as privileged with a peep into a number of the infinite possible worlds2 from which he has the satisfaction of seeing that1 bad as is the lot of ,sextus in the best of all possible worlds1 that lot1 ,sextus being what he is1 could not possibly be any better2 a queer consolation1 by the way1 till we know why ,sextus must be what he is1 or why ,sextus must be at all4 ,i sank off to slumber in my chair1 no doubt under the soporific effects of this metaphysical morphine4 ,while ,i slept1 the previous discussions of the day and the dose of ,theodicee operating together suggested a very strange dream1 which ,i shall here record4 ,it shall be entitled ,,the ,,paradise ,,of ,,fools4 ,methought ,i saw a grave and very venerable old man with a long white beard enter my chamber1 and quietly seat himself opposite to me4 ,instead of asking who he was and how he came there1 nothing seemed more natural and proper4 ,we all know how easily in dreams the mind dispenses with all ceremony2 little or no introduction is required2 every one is at once on a most delightful footing of familiarity with all the world2 and the greatest possible incongruities appear just comme il faut4 ,he told me that he had come from a very curious part of the best of all possible worlds1--the ,paradise of ,fools2 and on my looking surprised1 said1-- ,are you ignorant1 then1 that there is a spot in the universe where a vicegerent of the ,deity has at his disposal unlimited power and wisdom to enable him to comply with the somewhat whimsical conditions of the theories of those wonderful philosophers who have taken upon them to say how the universe might have been constructed without any supreme or presiding intelligence at all2 or have modestly suggested1 that1 had they been consulted1 certain notable improvements might have been effected in its fabrication or government2 or1 lastly1 who have complained of the revelation which ,god has vouchsafed to man1 or contended1 that1 if true1 it might have been more unexceptionably framed1 and more skilfully promulgated8 ,and what is the result8 ,i asked4 ,the result is a part of 'the everlasting shame and contempt' which are the heritage of impiety4 ,there must have been enough for the said vicegerent to do1 ,i remarked4 ,not so much as you imagine1 said he1 smiling4 ,the conditions of their theories1 so far as even omniscience can comprehend or omnipotence realize them1 are indeed exactly complied with2 but nevertheless1 they often baffle both4 ,sometimes the reproof1 thus implied1 obliquely strikes more than its immediate objects2 it alights even on some of the profoundest philosophers1 who never had it in their thoughts to call in question the infinite superiority of ,divine ,power and ,wisdom1 but who have delivered themselves a little too positively about 'monads' and 'atoms1' and ultimate constituents of the universe4 ,they have sometimes been not a little scandalized1 as well as laughed at1 when some half-witted1 muddle-headed followers1 glad to escape their trial1 pretended to have founded systems of ,pantheism1 or what is just the same thing1 ,atheism1 on some of their too obscure definitions4 ,one man declared that he could do nothing without the ,monads of ,leibnitz1 each of which1 says that philosopher1 'is a mirror representing the universe1 though obscurely1 and knows every thing1 but confusedly1' which last clause is unexceptionable enough4 ,another rogue asked for the archetypes of ,plato1--he had had a notion1 he said1 that a good deal might be made out of them without ,plato's ,demiurgus2 another1 for the constituents of the vital automata of ,descartes3 he had been misled to believe1 that1 if animals could be mechanically produced1 the whole universe might have been so produced also4 ,the ,archangel assured them and others1 with much politeness1 that1 if the philosophers in question could in any way make their meaning intelligible1 ,heaven would do its poor best to realize their conceptions2 but that it was impossible for even omnipotence to execute commands which even omniscience could not comprehend4 ,similarly1 one man requested that he might be provided with a little of ,aristotle's ',eternal ,matter1' but he was told that there was no such thing in rerum natura1 and that it was unfortunately too late to make it4 ,he seemed to think himself very unjustly treated4 ,another demanded some of the ,atoms of ,epicurus1 to make a slight experiment with2 unexceptionably spherical1 invisible1 and so forth4 ,these1 he was told1 he might be accommodated with2 and that all he had to do was to shake them long enough1 and doubtless the fortuitous jumble would come out at last a miniature world4 ,above all1 there were several ,german philosophers1 who1 having founded various physical theories1 more or less extensive1 on the perspicuous metaphysics of their countrymen1 were confident that1 if they had not hit on the modes which ,supreme ,wisdom had adopted1 their modes were yet very excellent modes2 and they were absolutely clamorous that their experiments should begin4 ,but1 alas6 many of them stood but little chance of being ever tried1 for the very same reason which prevented the disciple of ,leibnitz from obtaining his ',monads'2 their authors could not make their meaning intelligible to the delegated omniscience4 ,as to some of the metaphysicians1 since their theories embraced nothing less than the evolution of the 'totality' of the universe1 the 'infinite' and the 'absolute' included1 it was of course impossible that they could be tried4 ,but it was thought an appropriate punishment for them to be condemned to write on till they had made their meaning intelligible4 ,some have labored with incredible industry to comply with this very reasonable request1 but their notions seem to grow darker and darker at every step2 and one in particular has written a huge folio1 in which1 by universal consent of men and angels1 there is not the smallest glimmer of meaning from one end to the other4 ,another even complains in private of the want of philosophical genius in the court of celestial criticism1 and declares that in ,germany they could have constructed ten theories of the universe and given twenty solutions of the 'infinite' and the 'absolute' in the time he has been vainly endeavoring to explain his meaning to personages so deplorably deficient in metaphysical acumen4 ,he was going on with some other details of the hapless philosophers4 ,i would much rather hear from you1 said ,i1 for it is a subject in which ,i take a far deeper interest1 how those have sped who have objected to the ,revelation with which ,god has favored man1 on the ground that it cannot be true1 else it would have been more unexceptionably framed or more wisely promulgated4 ,i take it for granted that these have not been destitute of opportunities of trying their experiment4 ,surely not1 replied my new acquaintance4 ',the ,paradise of ,fools' is well stocked with creatures of this description4 ,many of the experiments which required time to test them were commenced hundreds of years ago1 and are completed4 ,others are still unfinished while there have been many which required only to be commenced and they were completed instantly1 to the confusion of their authors4 ,i should much like1 said ,i1 to hear an account of some of these experiments4 ,willingly1 answered he2 only you must bear in mind that they were all to be performed under certain limitations1 without which no revelation which ,god can give to man would be of the slightest value4 ,he then informed me1 that the evidence afforded must not be such as to annihilate the conditions on which man is to be made virtuous and happy1 if he is to be made so at all4 ,it must not be inconsistent with the exercise of either his reason or his faith1 nor prevent the play of his moral dispositions1 nor triumph by mere violence over his prejudices2 it must not operate purely upon the passions or the senses1 nor overhear all possibility of offering resistance1--as would be the case1 for example1 if a man were placed on the edge of a precipice1 and told that he would immediately be thrown over it if he transgressed the rules of temperance or chastity4 ,the happiness1 he said1 which ,god originally designed for his intelligent and moral creatures was a voluntary happiness1 springing out of the well-balanced and well-directed activity of all the principles of their nature4 ,any revelation1 therefore1 must proceed on the same basis1 both as regards itself and the mode in which it is given4 ,arguments and motives morally sufficient1 but not more than sufficient1 must be addressed to the intellect and the conscience4 ,all this is necessary to render the felicity and perfection of man stable and permanent2 for without such a trial1 triumphantly sustained1 he would have no security that1 in the presence of objects which tend to exert an overpowering influence on his senses or his feelings1 he might not at some period of the unknown future be impelled to take a wrong path1 and err and be miserable4 ,this ordeal1 originally designed for man and not superseded by revelation1 must be continued long enough to render the principles on which he ought to act practical habits2 after which he may go forth 7sublime and glorious privilege67 to any part of this world1 or of any world to which ,god may call him1 master of himself and his destiny2 not afraid lest temptations should warp him from a steadfastness that is founded on the decisions of an inflexible will1 itself directed by enlightened intelligence and moral rectitude2 in a word1 in possession of the appropriate and alone appropriate happiness of an intellectual and moral agent2 an image of the felicity of the great ,creator himself4 ,this condition1 he said1 of giving a revelation1 so far from being a hardship1 is not only in harmony with the nature of things1 but is itself an expression of the ,divine ,beneficence2 which designed for man no casual1 precarious safety1 as the result of transient external violence to the principles of his nature1 but a permanent and inviolable equilibrium of the powers within him4 ,heaven itself1 he concluded1 can be heaven only to those who are internally prepared for it4 ,were there many1 ,i cried1 who were willing to make the experiment of giving a revelation more unexceptionably than it has been given1 on the proposed conditions8 ,not very many1 as you may well suppose1 said he2 but if objectors had been unwilling1 they would have been compelled to make it4 ,but upon whom were the experiments to be made8 said ,i2 for unless they were beings of the same intellectual and moral condition as themselves1 ,i see not how aught could come of it4 ,o1 be satisfied1 he replied2 the beings who are provided for these ,projectors are as like the inhabitant of your world as one egg is like another4 ,they are men themselves2 communities made up of those who have lived in your world1 and who have gone out of it with the same thoughts1 passions1 and emotions as they had on earth2 many of them having rejected or disregarded the true revelation1 and others never having had that revelation to reject4 ,of course they are ignorant1 in this intermediate state1 of the tricks which these experimenters play with them1 till they are concluded2 but in rejecting the new revelations1 many of them reject the very conditions of belief which when on earth they said would have been sufficient1 while the result in those who make the experiment and in those on whom the experiment is made is to 'vindicate the ways of ,god to man4' ,there is a wonderful power in getting over trifling difficulties in our dreams1 or ,i should certainly have demurred to some parts of this statement4 ,instead of that1 ,i let my mind1 as usual in such cases1 dwell on a point which was no difficulty at all4 ,if1 said ,i1 they are dead1 they are probably very different beings from what they were when alive4 ,and do you think1 said he1 with an unpleasant half-sneer1 that mere change of place makes any difference in man1 or that the merely physical effects of death operate a magical change on his intellect1 affections1 emotions1 and volitions1 or can render him a more reasonable creature than he was before8 ,i did not mean exactly that1 said ,i2 but surely it is not possible that the soul without the body can be exactly like the soul with it4 ,have not your philosophers1 said he1 often founded1 or pretended to found1 scepticism on the argument that it is difficult to tell whether life itself may not be a series of illusions like those in dreams8 ,have they not even declared1 that1 as in dreams all seems to be real1 so in their waking moments all may be no more than a dream8 nay1 have not some said that it is impossible to tell which is the real and which the dreaming part of their existence8 ,there have been such1 said ,i1 but ,i never knew any one convinced by their reasoning4 ,perhaps not1 he answered1 but it may be of use to show you1 that in that intermediate state men may1 as in dreams1 be capable of a series of thoughts and emotions exactly similar to what they experienced in this world2 quite as vivid1 and1 he added with a quiet smile1 perhaps as rational4 ,but they must be more coherent than those which now visit our slumbers1 said ,i4 ,it is hardly worth while to contend about the difference1 he replied1 with a sarcastic expression which ,i did not much like4 ,it is sufficient to say1 however1 that these projectors have no reason to complain2 for with whatever show of reason men think or act here1 so under exactly the same laws of thought and emotion do those shadows act there4 ,but ,i1 who am now awake and perfectly sensible-- ,he laughed outright4 ,are you so sure1 said he1 that you are awake4 ,how do you know it8 ,because ,i am conscious of it1 said ,i4 ,and this too1 ,i suppose1 is a philosopher1 he muttered to himself4 ,well1 he continued aloud1 we must not discuss these matters just now2 you must believe me when ,i say that the communities to which our experimenters go to work1 on their own hypotheses1 are just as capable of ingenious reasoning and impartial and candid deliberation1 as you are now in your present waking moments4 ,you wish to hear a few of these experiments8 ,i nodded4 ,well1 then1 first1 there was one worthy philosopher1 who1 having seen the advantages which infidelity has gained from the discrepancies and other difficulties occasioned by the varied testimonies which the evangelical historians have left behind them1 resolved1 after having wrought a number of splendid miracles 7uniformly affirmed and never denied by the parties in whose presence they were performed71 that they should all be consigned to one single history41 so admirably constructed that there was not a single discrepancy from beginning to end4 ,and what was the effect8 ,why1 in the first place1 you must recollect that1 according to that or any other mode of authenticating a divine communication by miracles1 there were a great many more of those who never saw the miracles than of those who did2 for if miracles had been common1 they would have ceased to be miracles4 ,there were vast numbers1 therefore1 who1 even in the age in which they were performed1 never believed them2 but1 what is more1 in four generations there was not a soul that did not treat them as old wives' fables4 ,surely they were very unreasonable1 ,i said4 ,not at all2 it was inevitable2 for it was asked 7and every one assented to it71 whether it was reasonable that a story so marvellous1 and so contrary to experience1 should be believed on any single testimony1 however unexceptionable8 ,there were also keen critics who said1 that1 as there was proof that in the very age in which the miracles were wrought there were many who did not believe the message which they professedly confirmed1 it was a strong indication that the whole was a fiction2 while some others of still greater acumen discovered that the very freedom from all discrepancies and contradictions in the account itself smelt very strongly of art and design2 that this perfection of consistency was not the characteristic of any history ever written by an honest man1 and that no doubt it had been elaborately contrived by a single highly inventive mind4 ,the idiots6 ,i exclaimed4 ,why1 this very circumstance ought surely to have led them to argue the other way4 ,they thought otherwise2 and ,i must say ,i think they argued very plausibly1 and that very much is to be said for them4 ,they thought that perfect self-consistency might possibly be obtained by a single mind of highly inventive power1 and they preferred believing that1 to receiving such wonderful things supported by any single testimony4 ,but did none attempt to remedy this defect of the unhappy speculator8 ,o1 yes2 another attempted to establish in a second community of our reasonable shadows a revelation on the same basis of miracles2 but instead of trusting to one witness1 he recorded the results by ten2 and with such perfection of art1 that all the ingenuity of all the critics of succeeding ages could not detect a single variation other than in language2 the records themselves and their contents were precisely the same4 ,and what was the result4 ,much the same as before2 for this identity of substance and almost of manner showed most evidently1 said the critics1 that there had been collusion between the several parties who had framed the revelation3--and in the course of three or four generations it was universally rejected1 as totally unworthy of belief4 ,i see not1 then1 how a revelation by any such means could be authenticated at all8 ,why1 our reasonable creatures require a great deal of management1 --that is the truth4 ,there is no way in which you cannot prove to your own satisfaction1 that no one of any divine communications 7given under the conditions aforesaid7 is to be believed2 but perhaps after all1 the method would have been more sure1 had these sages confined these communications to different testimonies1 in which the general harmony and undesigned coincidences should be manifest1 but which should contain slight discrepancies1 and even some apparent contradictions1 which the parties1 if there had been collusion1 would certainly have obviated4 ,this would1 perhaps1 have been the best guaranty that there could not be any fraud in the case4 ,but this1 ,i remarked1 was just the mode in which the ,gospels of ,christ were consigned to mankind4 ,and you see with what mixed result4 ,it was sufficient1 indeed1 to justify the method1 if it was attended with less disastrous effects than any other mode4 ,for it is a problem of limits even at the very best4 ,prompted1 ,i suppose1 by some recollection of ,woolston's opinion1 that the miracles of ,jesus ,christ would have been better worthy of attention1 and more likely to be credited by posterity1 if they had been performed on royal or notable public characters1 or in their presence1 ,i felt curious to know if any one had been determined to guard against a similar error4 ,i was told that there had been2 and for a time every thing went on well4 ,this sage's doctrine and pretensions were rapidly propagated within certain limits of space and time4 ,but alas6 while even in his lifetime the zeal of some of the royal or noble converts caused the doctrine to be regarded with considerable suspicion among the rival great1 to whom the fame of the miracles was known only by hearsay1 its early success proved an insurmountable objection in a few generations2 for several learned infidels showed to the satisfaction of the entire community1 that the pretended revelation could have been nothing else than a conspiracy of crafty statesmen for political purposes4 ,it was sagely remarked1 that it was not wonderful that a doctrine had been believed1 and had rapidly diffused itself1 which had all the prestige of rank1 and power1 and statesmanship in its favor2 that if1 indeed1 it had appeared amongst the poor and ignorant portion of mankind1 and the had been witnessed by such as from their situation were rather likely to be persecuted by the great and powerful than to be favored by them2 and lastly1 if the pretended revelation had vanquished such resistance instead of being suspiciously allied with it1 something more might be said in its behalf2 but as it was1 the whole thing was evidently--a lie4 ,really1 said ,i1 it seems a more difficult thing for ,god to make known his will to mankind than ,i had supposed4 ,it is1 said he1 on those conditions to which his wisdom for man's own sake has restricted him1 and apart from which condition ,i have already stated that a revelation would be worthless4 ,it is a far more difficult matter than those who have not reflected upon the subject would suppose1 and you would have more reason to say so still1 if you knew1 as ,i do1 how ludicrously1 as well as how utterly1 many other attempts have failed4 ,he then amused me with an account of a sage1 who1 seeing the ill consequences which had followed from the very local or limited character of miracles 7when a few generations had passed by71 resolved to remedy this by a series of wonders so stupendous and magnificent1 that the very echo of them1 as it were1 should reverberate through the hollow of future ages1 and so impress all tradition as to render them independent of the voice of individual historians4 ,he accordingly passed to the very extreme limit 7if he did not go beyond it7 by which a miracle is necessarily restricted1-- that of not disturbing general laws4 ,he succeeded perfectly in the place in which these phenomena were witnessed2 though1 as there were multitudes who knew nothing of the operator1 but were only conscious that nature was playing some strange pranks1 no connection was established in their minds between the doctrine and the miracles4 ,but the consequences in the future were the direct contrary of what the sanguine philosopher had contemplated4 ,if the impression of those who saw these splendid wonders could have been prolonged1 all had been well2 but so far from the report of them conciliating the regard of posterity1 their very grandeur and vastness were the principal arguments against them1 and condemned them to universal rejection4 ,who could believe1 men said1 that phenomena so strange and so portentous--not only so different from1 and so contrary to1 the uniform course of nature1 but so much beyond the limited purpose which must have been contemplated by a truly miraculous interposition--had ever happened8 ,if they had been single events1 very transient and local disturbances of the laws of nature for a high object1 the case1 they candidly avowed1 would have been wholly different2 but such wholesale infractions of the fixed laws of the universe were at once to be summarily rejected4 ,they were unquestionably the offspring of an age of fable and superstition4 ,it did not fare much better with another miracle-monger of the same species4 ,in one community1 which he had engaged to instruct in the mysteries of his revelation1 the wonders he wrought extended to such large classes of phenomena1 and for a time were so constant1 that they ceased to be miracles at all4 ,as he could not add ubiquity to his other attributes1 few attached any importance to his declaration that he was the author of such vast and distant operations1 and fewer absolutely believed him4 ,moreover1 men became accustomed to phenomena which they daily witnessed2 for such1 it seems1 is the constitution of human nature in any world1 that things cease to be wonderful when they cease to be novel4 ,were it otherwise1 men would be always wondering2 for no miracles are more wonderful than the phenomena of every day in every part of the universe4 ,not a few wise men1 therefore1 in this community1 succeeded in giving a perfectly plausible account of these wholesale infractions of the uniformity of nature4 ,nature1 it was said1 was unquestionably uniform1 but only in the several larger portions of her operations2 that within certain cycles she varied her operations1 as was clearly seen in the introduction of new races1 and so forth2 that the generation which had just witnessed such departures from what seemed the established order of things were doubtless living at an epoch in which the huge evolution of the universe was about to exhibit one of these new phases1 and that the series of sequences to which they were just becoming accustomed would afterwards continue uniform for a number of ages2 that such things were no miracles1 but merely indicated that nature was1 within certain limits1 only variably uniform1 though she was also1 within certain limits1 uniformly invariable4 ,after this very clear deliverance of philosophy1 few people troubled themselves about the claims of this seer1 and were so fast getting accustomed to the new uniformity1 that it seemed highly probable that the very next generation1 or at most the second1 would begin to prate in the old style about the invariable uniformity of nature1 and to treat all the ancient order of things which their progenitors had seen changed as a lying fable of those remote ages4 ,enraged at such an unexpected result of his operations1 the projector changed his plan1 and broke in upon nature with such a startling explosion of single miracles1 that there could be no longer any doubt that nature was neither 'variably uniform' nor 'uniformly invariable'3 the only question was1 whether nature was not 'uniformly variable4' ,he set the sun spinning through the heavens at such a rate1 or rather at such a jaunty pace1 that no one knew when to expect either light or darkness2 men now froze with cold1 and now melted with heat2 the seasons seemed playing one grand masquerade2 the longest day and the shortest day1 and no day at all1 succeeded one another in rapid succession1 and the whole universe seemed threatened with ruin and desolation4 ,now1 he thought1 was the time to put an end to all this strange disorder1 and avow himself the great agent in all these marvels6 ,but he found1 to his chagrin1 that1 so far from having convinced men of the being and attributes of ,god1 and of the truth of the revelation which he had brought them1 they were never less disposed to listen to any such story2 and1 in fact1 that the very few whose terror had left them at all in possession of their senses1 had become perfectly convinced that the universe was under the dominion of ,chance2 and that the only orthodox belief in such a world was stark ,atheism4 ,as there will always be men who will speculate upon chance itself1 there were not wanting philosophers who concocted admirable theories of all this disorder1 but not one of them dreamed of the true4 ,they all agreed1 however1 that the state of things admitted of no remedy from any gods1 celestial or infernal2 for if a divine artificer had existed1 they said1 it could not have occurred4 ,and thus the miracles which were designed by this great man to convince the world of a ,god1 served for a demonstration that there was and could be none6 ,they equally served also to stifle the sage's claims to be considered ,god's messenger1 for1 unhappily exhorting a large crowd to believe that he was the cause of all the misery and terror which they had suffered1 they were so exasperated that they took summary vengeance on him3 upon which the sun resumed his wonted quiet pace again through the heavens1 and every thing fell into the old harmonious jogtrot of uniformity4 ,philosophers who lived at a distance from the scene of the prophet's exit quietly adjusted their old theory to the new phenomena1 and showed most conclusively that the whole train of things had been just what must necessarily have been1 and could not but have happened1 without the most serious consequences2 while those who lived near to the scene aforesaid1 and were privy to the circumstances1 speculated upon the curious coincidence between the impostor's death and the return of nature to her order4 ,it was well1 they said1 that such things did not happen often1 or they could not fail to give rise to some superstitious notions as to some law of causation between ignorant fanaticism and the sublimest phenomena of the universe4 ,i asked my visitor how it fared with the many who have objected to the clearness and force of prophecy1 and who have not scrupled to assert1 that1 if prophecies had been given1 they would have been given in such a shape as would have made their claims more plain1 and their fulfilment more incontrovertible4 ,were there none who relied on this mode of demonstrating the reality of a divine revelation1 and manifesting their claims to be regarded as an embassy from heaven8 ,many1 he replied1 so many that it were tedious to detail them4 ,but you are quite mistaken if you suppose it possible that even ,god can employ any moral methods which man cannot evade2 how much less the fools who think they can improve upon his6 ,the wisdom of ,god1 said he1 with a melancholy smile1 is no match for the ingenuity of man4 ,as to your present question1 you know there have been persons who have continually complained in your world that prophecy is so obscure that the event cannot be certainly known to have been referred to by it1 or else so plain that1 ipso facto1 it proves that the prediction must have been composed after the event4 ,now it was precisely in attempting the juste milieu between these extremes that our prophetical speculators wrecked themselves4 ,men always had it to say that their prophecies had been either too plain or too obscure2 or1 if very plain1 and yet as plainly written before the event1 that their very plainness had insured their own accomplishment by prompting to the very actions and conduct they so clearly indicated6 ,i can easily conceive that1 ,i answered4 ,but now for another problem4 ,not a few of our older infidels complained of the revelation in the ,bible on the score that the maxims of conduct which it delivers are too general to be of any use1 because the application of them is still left to be adjusted by a reference to particular circumstances2 and that1 if a revelation were framed1 it ought to take in all the limitations of action1 and furnish1 in fact1 a complete system of casuistry2 otherwise it would be of no avail4 ,were there none who attempted this task8 ,five-and-twenty men1 he answered1 who were destined to be a torment to one another1 were instructed to compile such a system of rules1 and publish them for the benefit of a certain community as an infallible rule of life4 ,and have they completed it8 ,completed it6 ,they have been sitting now for two hundred years1 and have not yet exhausted the infinitude of cases to be digested under their very first capitulary4 ,he said that being all of them ingenious men1 all anxious to show their ingenuity1 and knowing that their credit was staked upon the completeness of their system1 it was incredible what strange and ridiculous contingencies and combinations of circumstance they had suggested as modifying the application of their general rules4 ,the books of law1 voluminous as they are in most civilized countries1 were conciseness itself compared with this new code of morals4 ,it was thought by many1 that the labors of the commissioners would not come to an end till long after the race for whose benefit it was designed had ceased to exist4 ,afraid1 apparently1 of such a direful contingency1 they had published1 about three years before1 the first part1 in seventy-five folio volumes1 containing limitations1 illustrative cases1 exceptions1 and modifications1 in relation to that very obscure general maxim1 ',do unto others as ye would that others should do unto you4' ,all questions appertaining to this point were from that time to be decided by the precise statements contained in these statutes at large4 ,but their mere publication sufficed to make an incredible number of infidels in the authority of the commission4 ,such a voluminous rule1 they truly said1 could be no rule at all1 and could be fruitful of nothing but everlasting litigation4 ,if 7they admitted7 general maxims had been as briefly as possible laid down1 and men's common sense had been left to interpret and apply them with the requisite restrictions1 there would be much more to be said for their divine origin4 ,but on such a system1 no man1 if he lived for a thousand years1 could tell what his duty was4 ,many complained that1 before they found the rule for which they were in search1 the time for its application had passed away4 ,many excused themselves from complying with the dictates of justice and charity1 because they could not discover the cases that related to their special circumstances2 some even denied that the rules could have been devised by heavenly wisdom1 because1 having carefully studied the whole of the seventy-five volumes1 they did not hesitate to say1 that there were many cases which had not been provided for at all6 ,i was so amused with this last disastrous attempt to construct a revelation1 that ,i laughed outright1 and in so doing awoke4 ,i found that my lamp was fast going out2 so1 dismissing the innocent volume of ,leibnitz which had suggested all these incongruities1 ,i went to bed2 firmly convinced that the shadows of men in the ,paradise of ,fools are about as wise and ingenious as are men themselves4 ,july #bh4 ,i had this morning some curious1 and1 if it had not been for the grave importance of the subject1 amusing conversation with ,mr4 ,fellowes on his views1 or rather his no views1 respecting a future life4 ,he said he wished he could make up his mind whether the doctrine was true2 also whether1 as some of his favorite writers supposed1 it was of no spiritual importance to decide it4 ,i said it certainly did seem of some importance4 ,i reminded him of ,pascal's saying1 that he could excuse men's contented ignorance with any thing rather than that4 ,they are not obliged1 says he1 to examine the ,copernican system2 but it is vital to the whole of existence to ascertain whether the soul is mortal or not4 ,mr4 ,newman1 said ,fellowes1 thinks very differently3 but then his whole mind is differently constituted from ,pascal's4 ,i admitted it1 of course4 ,mr4 ,newman's views1 he continued1 on the subject1 certainly do not quite satisfy me2 and yet they are very sublime4 ,if he has any hope in this matter1 7of which he appears not absolutely destitute17 it is from the sheer strength of a 'faith' which triumphs over all obstacles1 or rather hangs upon nothing4 ,he ridicules all intellectual proofs1 and at the same time declares that his 'spiritual insight' deserts him4 ,it is a faith pure from all reason1 and from all 'insight' too4 ,as to insight in this matter1 ,i must agree with him1 that1 to ascertain the fact of a future life by 'direct vision1' is 'to me hitherto impossible4' ,harrington1 who was sitting by1 smiled3 ,you speak of your 'insight' and 'direct vision' much as a ,highlander might talk of his 'second sight4' ,as to your present difficulty1 do you remember the advice of ,ranald of the ,mist to ,allan ,m',aulay1 when the 'vision' obstinately averted its face from him8 ',have you reversed your own plaid1' said ,ranald1 'according to the rule of the experienced seers in such cases8' ,you do not wear a plaid1 ,george1 but suppose you try the experiment of turning your coat inside out4 ,really1 ,harrington1 said ,fellowes1 with becoming solemnity1 'insight' is far too serious a subject to joke upon4 ,why1 my dear fellow1 said the other1 you do not think ,i am going to treat your 'insight' with more respect than we treat the ,bible4 ,odi profanum1 said ,fellowes1 almost angrily4 ,no man hateth his own flesh1 said ,harrington1 with provoking quiet2 and that1 ,i am sure1 is from no profane writer4 ,as to the 'odi profanum1' why1 ,i shall simply say1 that ',you can quote it1 ,with as much truth as he who wrote it4' ,so saying1 he left the room4 ,i was not sorry that he was gone1 as ,i thought perhaps ,fellowes might be more communicative4 ,i asked him why he felt ,mr4 ,newman's arguments on this subject unsatisfactory2 why he could not acquiesce in them4 ,in the first place1 then1 said he1 ,i was struck with the fact1 that1 while admitting that he had no 'spiritual insight' on the subject of a future life1 he yet admits that others may have enjoyed what is impossible to him2 that there may be souls favored with this 'vision1' though clouds obscure his own4 ,it is true he has admitted 7and indeed who can deny it87 that the spiritual faculty is not equally developed in all men2--though1 as it is not1 ,i feel some difficulty in rejecting the arguments hence arising for the possibility and utility of an external revelation2--yet at the best1 if the faculty may be so uncertain in reference to so important a question1 when consulted by so diligent and deep a student of its oracles as ,mr4 ,newman1 if even his soul may be dubious on such a point1--why1 upon my soul1 ,i sometimes hardly know what to think4 ,again1 ,mr4 ,newman says1 that some may have1 as by special privilege from ,god1 what is denied to him4 ,now really this looks a little too much like favoring the vulgar view of inspiration1 nay1 a sort of ,calvinistic 'election' in this matter2 it seems to me to cast doubts both on the competency and the uniformity of the sublime 'spiritual faculty1' even when most sedulously consulted4 ,it does look a little like it1 said ,i2 and what next8 ,in the next place1 ,i am free to confess1 that1 if ,i may be allowed to argue against such an authority-- ,o1 remember1 ,i pray1 that you are of the school of free thought3 do not ,bibliolatrize4 ,to state my views freely then3 ,i must say1 that1 if this suspected doctrine be not one of the unsophisticated utterances of the spiritual nature of man1 ,i am almost led to doubt whether the clearness with which the spiritualist 'gazes' on the rest may not possibly be an illusion4 ,for if any truth would seem to be a dictate of nature1 it is a sort of dim conviction or impression of a future state4 ,we see it1 in some shape or other1 extensively believed by all nations1 and forming a feature of all systems of religion1 however degraded they may be4 ,mr4 ,w4 ,j4 ,fox mentions it as one of those things which are certainly characteristic of the absolute religion2 so does ,mr4 ,parker4 ,mr4 ,fox expressly affirms that the approximate universality of the belief justifies the application of his criterion for detecting the eternally 'true' under the ,protean shapes of the 'false' in religion2 it is one of the points1 he says1 in which they are all agreed4 ,which1 said ,i1 if true1 is perhaps the only point in which all religions are agreed1 unless we affirm that they have all recognized a ,deity1 because most of them have recognized thousands4 ,yet as men's ,gods have varied between the ,infinite ,creator and a monkey1 so in relation to this article of a 'future life1' it must be confessed that there is a little difference between the ,heaven of a ,christian1 the ,paradise of a ,mahometan1 and the ,valhalla of an ancient ,goth4 ,still1 as you say1 it is true that1 in some shape or other1 nations have more distinctly recognized the idea of an after existence1 than any other assignable religious tenet4 ,you know1 resumed ,fellowes1 that in the draught of 'natural religion' given us by ,lord ,herbert1 that writer particularly insists on this as one of the articles which nature itself teaches us1 as amongst the 'common notions1' a sentiment innate to the human mind4 ,now if such masters as ,mr4 ,newman may be in doubt about our innate sentiments1 truly ,i scarcely know what to think4 ,you can easily decide1 said ,i1 gravely1 and decide infallibly4 ,how so8 ,consult that spiritual faculty which ,mr4 ,newman says you have as well as he or ,lord ,herbert4 ,if your theory be true1 how can there be any doubt as to your 'innate' sentiments8 ,if you say they are written in very small characters1 and require to be magnified by somebody's microscope1 that1 recollect1 is tantamount to acknowledging the possible utility of an external revelation4 ,but what next8 ,well1 then1 if ,i must confess all the truth1 ,i thought ,mr4 ,newman hardly fair in his exhibition of ,paul's reasoning on this matter4 ,he1 if you recollect1 says that ,paul seems to have rested the belief of ,christ's resurrection very little upon evidence1 which he received very credulously1 upon very insufficient proof1 and in a manner which would have moved the laughter of ,paley2 that1 in short1 he cared very little about the evidence1 and arrived mainly at his convictions in virtue of his 'spiritual aspirations'2 that it was rather his strong aspirations after immortality which made ,paul believe the supposed fact1 than the supposed fact which gave strength to his aspirations after immortality4 ,now it is very clear 7from texts which1 for whatsoever reasons1 are not quoted by ,mr4 ,newman71 that the ,apostle ,paul made his whole argument depend on the alleged fact of ,christ's resurrection1 whether carelessly received or not3 ',if ,christ be not risen1 then is your faith vain1 and our preaching is also vain 4444 ,then are we of all men most miserable4' ,but you recollect that ,mr4 ,newman alleges that ,paul deals very superficially with the evidence1--with that of the 'five hundred1' for example4 ,he observes that ,paley would have made a widely different matter of it4 ,see how variously men may argue1 replied ,fellowes1 candidly4 ,i was talking on that very point with one of the orthodox the other day1 and he reasoned in some such way as this3-- ,on the supposition1 he said1 that the possession of miraculous powers was notorious in the ,church1--that many of those whom ,paul addressed had actually witnessed them1--that the ,gospel1 when preached by him and by the other ,apostles1 was confirmed by 'signs and wonders1'--nothing could be more natural than the very tone which the ,apostles employed3 that1 so far from its being suspicious1 it was one of the truest touches of nature and verisimilitude in their compositions2 so much so1 that1 supposing there were no miracles1 that very tone required itself to be accounted for as unnatural2 he said that it is1 in fact1 just the way in which men talk and write of any other extraordinary events which notoriously happened in their time4 ,they never think of posterity1 and what it may think2 of anticipating either future doubts or charges of fraud4 ,it is natural that men should speak in this1 as we should call it1 loose way1 of what is transpiring under their very noses4 ,if1 on the other hand1 there had been no miracles to appeal to1 so as to render this style as natural as1 on the contrary supposition1 it was the reverse1 he could not1 he said1 imagine1 that1 in that or any other age1 any men1 especially men opposed to such pretensions1 would so easily have been satisfied1 even had the ,apostles confined themselves to rumors of alleged distant miracles2 but much less where similar wonders were said to have been brought under the eyes of the very parties to whom the appeal was made6 ,he said he would even go a step further1 and affirm that1 under the circumstances of the professed notoriety of the miraculous occurrences to which ,paul and the other ,apostles appealed1 any declaration that they had instituted that careful scrutiny of evidence1 that minute circumstantial cross-examination of the witnesses1--which would be a course all very well in the days of ,paley1 eighteen hundred years after1 but absolutely preposterous then1--would have appeared to our age a much more suspicious thing than the tone actually adopted2 that the scrupulous deposition of technical proof would have been finessing too much1 and would have been the strongest proof of collusion4 ,the very tone objected to1 he said1 supposing there were no miracles1 is one of the most striking proofs of the astonishing sagacity of these men2 for it is just the tone they would have used if there had been4 ,so differently may men reason from the same data6 ,whether 7he concluded7 ,mr4 ,newman's view of the facts1 or his1 was founded on a deeper and more comprehensive knowledge of human nature1 he must leave to my judgment4 ,i protest1 said ,i1 ,i think the orthodox had the best of it4 ,but what struck you next as unaccountable in ,mr4 ,newman's view of this subject of a future life8 ,i confess1 then1 that the reasoning by which he endeavors to show that1 even admitting the fact of ,christ's resurrection1 there could be nothing in it to warrant the expectation of the resurrection of any other human beings1 simply because he must have differed so stupendously from all the rest of mankind1 appears to me very damaging to us4 ,of what use is it1 to argue upon such an hypothesis8 ,of none in the world1 certainly1 said ,i1 laughing4 ,surely not1 he replied2 for if ,christ's resurrection be admitted1 we know very well it will carry with it1 in the estimation of the bulk of mankind1 all the other great facts implicated with the ,christian system4 ,they will concede1 at once1 the supernatural character1 the divine origin1 of the ,new ,testament4 ,i suppose them scarcely ever was a man who admitted these premises who would trouble himself to contest the conclusion4 ,but seriously1 continued this half-repentant admirer1 almost frightened at the extent of his own freedom of thought1 though ,i cannot say ,i am satisfied with ,mr4 ,newman's notions on this subject1 --and1 in fact1 cannot make up my mind upon it1--can there be any thing morally more sublime than the view1 that the doctrine of immortality1 which has been superficially supposed1 if not necessary1 yet so conducive to sincere and elevated piety1 may be readily dispensed with1 as no way necessary 7as ,mr4 ,newman feels7 for the spiritual nourishment of the soul8 ',confidence1' he says1 'there is none2 and hopeful aspiration is the soul's highest state4 ,but1 then1 there is herein nothing what ever to distress her2 no cloud of grief crosses the area of her vision1 as she gazes upwards4' ,he even intimates that1 from the stress laid upon immortality by 'modern divines1' they might seem to be 'incarnations of selfishness4' ,he says it tends to 'degrade religion into a prudential regard for our interests after death'2 that 'conscience1 the love of virtue1 for its own sake1 and much more the love of ,god1 are ignored4' ,many of the 'spiritual' school agree with him in this2 and some even affirm that the hope of immortal felicity is but a bribe to selfishness4 ,can any thing be more elevated or original than this view8 ,as to the elevation1 said ,i1 ,i confess ,i prefer the spectacle of ,socrates1 relying even on feeble arguments rather than sink to this tame acquiescence in a notion so degrading to the ,deity1 as that man was created for a dog's life with the tormenting aspiration for something better4 ,the spectacle of the heathen sage1 who1 amidst the thick gloom1 the 'palpable obscure1' which involved this subject1 gazed intently into the darkness1 and 'longed for the day1'--who strained every nerve of an insufficient logic1 and was willing to take even the whispers of hope for the oracles of truth1 rather than part with the prospect of immortality1--is1 to my mind1 much more attractive4 ,as to the originality of the view you just expressed1 why1 it is merely a resurrection of one of the theories of some of our very 'spiritual deists' a century ago4 ,collins and ,shaftesbury were1 in like manner1 apprehensive lest an elevated 'virtue' should suffer at all from this bribery of a hope of a 'blessed immortality'2 as you may see in the ,characteristics4 ,for my own part1 ,i certainly have my doubts whether virtue will be the less virtuous1 or spirituality the less spiritual1 for such a doctrine2 and ,i must believe it even on the hypothesis of you spiritual folks2 for you generally affirm that the ,belief of a ,future ,life does not really exercise any thing more than an insignificant influence on human nature2 the hopes and the fears of that so distant a morrow are too vague to be operative4 ,now1 if it be so1 immortality can be no more a bribe than a menace4 ,yet1 said ,fellowes1 in justice to ,mr4 ,newman1 it must not be forgotten1 that he thinks that 'a firm belief of immortality must have very energetic force1' provided it 'rises out of insight'2 it is as 'an external dogma' that he thinks it of little efficacy4 ,he says1 you know1 that1 supposing ,paul to have had this insight1 'his light can do us no good1 while it is a light outside of us4 ,if he in any way confused the conclusions of his logic 7which is often extremely inconsequent and mistaken7 with the perceptions of his divinely illuminated soul1 our belief might prove baseless4' 7,soul1 pp4 #bbf4 #bbg47 ,these are his very words4 ,very well1 then2 say that ,mr4 ,newman thinks the notions of a future hell of little efficacy2 and of a future heaven of as little1 except when it rises from 'insight'2--he confessing that he has not that 'insight1' and2 from the necessity of the case1 not knowing whether any body else has1 it being a 'light outside him4' ,if so1 ,i think he is much like the rest of you1 and cannot in fact suppose the thought of a future life to operate strongly either as a bribe or a menace4 ,but1 surely1 whatever his views1 or those of any individual1 you must admit that a piety which is sustained without any hopes of immortality is less selfish than that which is4 ,why1 replied ,i1 laughing2 ,i cannot conceive how the hope of a virtuous immortality can produce a vicious self-love4 ,but if the hope and the consciousness of happiness now exercise any influence at all1 your argument proves too much2 and there is a simple impossibility of being unselfishly religious at all4 ,how so8 ,do you think that1 admitting not only the uncertainty of any future life1 but the certainty that there is none1 and that nevertheless 7as you affirm7 man1 under that conviction1 is just as capable of manifesting a true devotion and piety towards ,god1 any felicity flows from his so doing8 ,the highest1 of course1 said he4 ,do you think that the happiness so derived and expected from day to day has any sinister influence on the spiritual life of him who feels it8 ,of course1 none4 ,the contrary1 perhaps8 ,i think so4 ,then neither need the expectation of an eternity of such blessedness be any impediment4 ,again2 let us come to facts2 are not the declarations of those whom ,mr4 ,newman1 however oddly1 is willing to admit have been the best specimens yet afforded of his true 'spiritual' man1--the ,doddridges1 the ,fletchers1 the ,baxters1 and ,paul especially1--full of this sentiment8 ',i desire to depart1' says ,paul1 'and to be with ,christ1 which is far better'2 and similar selfish hopes inspired those excellent men whose names still rise spontaneously to ,mr4 ,newman's memory when he would remind us of examples of his 'spiritual religion6 ,tell me1 do you not think ,paul a 'spiritual' man8 ,yes2 with all his blunders1 said ,fellowes1 ,i do2 and ,mr4 ,newman's writings are full of that admission4 ,very true4 ,but then ,paul is so selfish1 you know1 as to say1 not merely that the immortality of man is true1 and that the 'light afflictions which are but for a moment' are to be despised1 because unworthy 'to be compared with the glory to be revealed'2 but that1 if immortality be not true1 ,christians1 as deluded in such hopes1 are of all men most miserable4 ,all this shows how powerfully the 'spiritual' ,paul thought that the doctrine of a future state operated and ought to operate on the mind of a ,christian2 he never supposed that it could possibly have a negative1 still less a sinister influence4' ,but then1 surely1 what ,mr4 ,newman says is true1 that many of the saints of the ,old ,testament exemplified all the heroism of a true faith1 and kindled with the ardors of a true devotion1 in an ignorance of any such state1 and the absence of all such expectations4 ,i answer1 that ,mr4 ,newman too often speaks as if his individual impressions were to be taken for demonstration4 ,that the ,old ,testament is unpervaded by any distinct traces of expectations of a future life is1 at all events1 not the opinion of the majority of men1 many of them at least as capable of judging as ,mr4 ,newman4 ,it is not the opinion of the writers of the ,new ,testament1 that the ,old ,testament worthies were in this deplorable darkness2 nor of the majority of the ,jewish interpreters of their ancestors' writings2 nor is it the impression of the great majority of those who now read them4 ,how it can be the opinion of any one who has not some hypothesis to serve1 is to me a mystery4 ,meanwhile ,mr4 ,newman himself at least gives some notable passages to the contrary1 though he chooses to call them only personal aspirations4 ,think of the absurdity1 my good friend1 of supposing that ,job1 ,david1 ,isaiah1 failed to realize a doctrine 7imperfectly it may be7 which1 as you truly affirm1 has1 in some shape or other1 animated all forms of religion6 that these brightest specimens of 'spiritual religion' in the ancient world somehow missed what many of the lowest savages have managed to stumble upon6 ,well1 he replied1 but1 after all1 he who loves ,god without any thought of heaven must surely be more unselfish than he who hopes for it4 ,i laughed1--for ,i could not help it4 ,unhappy ,paul6 interjected ,harrington1 who had again entered the library2 unhappy ,paul6 ,burdened with the hopes of immortality2 what an impediment he must have found it in his ,christian course6 ,i wonder he did not throw aside 'this weight1 which so easily beset him4' ,pity that when he became a ,christian1 and ceased to be a ,pharisee1 he did not1 like so many 'spiritual' ,christians of our day1 know that1 when he became a ,christian1 he might still remain in one of the ,jewish sects1 and turn ,sadducee4 ,be it so1 said ,fellowes1 a ,christian ,sadducee1 caeteris partibus1 might perhaps be a more virtuous man having no hopes of heaven by which he can possibly be bribed4 ,religious love and hope1 said ,i1 will with difficulty exist in such an atmosphere as you create4 ,it is a sublime altitude1 doubtless1 but no ordinary 'spiritual' beings can breathe that rarefied air4 ,it is for the honor of ,shaftesbury and some few other ,deists1 that they aspired to this transcendental virtue6 ,you are imitating them4 ,i fear you will not be more successful4 ,once leave a man to conclude1 or even to suspect1 that he and his cat end together1 and1 if a bad man1 he will gladly accept a release from every claim but that of his passions and appetites 7the effects being more or less philosophically calculated according to his intellectual power72 while the best man would be liable to contemplate ,god and religion with a depressed and faltering heart4 ,he would be apt to lose all energy2 he would feel it impossible to repress doubts of the infinite wisdom and benignity of ,him 7whatever he might think of ,his power7 who had given him the soul of a man and the life of a butterfly2 conceptions and aspirations so totally disproportioned to the evanescence of his being6 ,if1 however1 you really think that the hopes of an immortality of virtuous happiness will stand in the way of a sublime disinterestedness of spirituality1 you ought to recollect that any expectation of happiness1 even for a day1 will1 in its measure1 have the same effect4 ,so that the only way in which you can accommodate so 'spiritual a piety1' and absolutely insure yourself against 'spiritual bribery1' is to deprive yourself of all possibility of being so misled4 ,if your piety would be absolutely sure that it loves ,god on these sublime terms1 it should take care to neutralize the happiness which that love brings with it2 so that1 if ,god has not made you miserable1 you should never fail1 like the ascetics1 to make yourself so4 ,i fear you never can be perfectly 'spiritual' till you have made yourself supremely wretched4 ,but to quit this point1 ,i continued2 if immortality be a delusion1 ,i fear we say that it covers the divine administration with an penetrable cloud1--one which we cannot hope will removed4 ,the inequalities of that administration not be redressed4 ,but do you not recollect1 replied ,fellowes1 reason ,mr4 ,newman gives for despising any such mitigation8 ,does he not say1 that it is a strange argument for a day of recompense1 that man has unsatisfied claims upon ,god8 ,he says1 ',christians have added an argument of their own for a future state1 but1 unfortunately1 one that cannot bring personal comfort or assurance4 ,a future state 7it seems7 is requisite to redress the inequalities of this life4 ,and can ,i go to the ,supreme ,judge1 and tell ,him that ,i deserve more happiness than ,he has granted me in this life8' ,do you not recollect this8--or has this sarcasm escaped you8 ,it has not escaped me1--,i remember it well2 but it seems to have escaped you1 that it is a very transparent sophism4 ,for what is it but a pretence that the ,christian in general is confident enough of his virtue to think that he has not been sufficiently well treated1 and that his ,creator and ,judge cannot do less than make amends for his injustice1 by giving him compensation in another world8 ,and is not that the true statement of the case8 ,i imagine not2 whether men be ,christians or otherwise4 ,the generality1 when they reason upon this subject1 7you and ,i1 for example1 at this very moment17 not at all considering the aspect of such a day upon themselves2 how much they will lose if there be none2 perhaps the bulk would wish that it could be proved that it would never come6 ,it has been from a wish to escape great speculative perplexities1 connected with the divine administration1 and not in relation to man's deserts1 that the question has been argued4 ,when dictated by other feelings1 the conviction of a future state has been quite as generally the utterance of remorse and fear1 the response of an accusing conscience1 as of hope and aspiration2 and derives1 perhaps1 a terrible significance from that circumstance4 ,but it has certainly not been1 in the ,christian1 the result of any absurd expectation of virtues to be rewarded1 or rights to be redressed4 ,as to the ,christian1 though he feels that he would not1 and dare not1 go to the divine tribunal with any such absurd plea as ,mr4 ,newman is pleased to put into his mouth1--though he cannot impeach the divine goodness1--he none the less feels that that goodness1 if this scene be all1 is open to very grievous impeachment in relation to millions who have suffered much1 and done no wrong1 and to multitudes more who have inflicted infinite wrong1 and suffered next to nothing2 and they would fain1 if they could1 get over difficulties which ,mr4 ,newman chooses1 from the mere exigencies of his theology1 to represent as no difficulties at all4 ,to escape them or to solve them is the thing principally in the minds of those who contend for a day of recompense2 not the imaginary compensation of individual wrongs4 ,i do contend that1 if this world be all1 the divine administration in many points is more hopelessly opposed to our moral instincts1 and to all our notions of equity and benevolence1 than any thing on which you spiritualists are accustomed to justify your censure of ,scripture4 ,you ought1 as ,harrington says1 to go further4 ,july #cj4 ,i was much interested yesterday morning by a conversation between ,harrington and two pleasant youths1 acquaintances of ,mr4 ,fellowes1 both younger by three or four years than either he or ,harrington4 ,they are now at college1 and have imbibed in different degrees that curious theory which1 professedly recognizing ,christianity 7as consigned to the ,new ,testament7 as a truly divine revelation1 yet asserts that it is intermingled with a large amount of error and absurdity1 and tells each man to eliminate the divine element for himself4 ,according to this theory1 the problem of eliciting revealed truth may be said to be indeterminate2 of the unknown x varies through all degrees of magnitude2 it is equal to any thing1 equal to every thing1 equal to nothing1 equal to infinity4 ,the whole party thought1 with the exception of ,harrington1 who knew not what to think1 that the religious faculty or faculties 7one or many1--no man seems to know exactly7 are quite sufficient to decide all doubts and difficulties in religious matters4 ,harrington knew not whether to say there was any truth in ,christianity or not2 ,fellowes knew that there was none1 except in that religious element1 ,which is found alike essentially in all religions2 that its miracles1 its inspiration1 its peculiar doctrines1 are totally false4 ,the young gentlemen just referred to believed that it might be admitted that an external revelation was possible1 and that the condition of man1 considering the aspects of his history1 has not been altogether felicitous as to show that he never needed1 and might not be benefited1 by such light4 ,i could cordially agree with them so far2 superabundance of religious illumination not being amongst the things of which humanity can legitimately complain4 ,but then1 as they both believed that each man was to distil the elixir ,vitrae for himself from the crude mass of truth and falsehood which the ,new ,testament presents1 ,harrington1 with his interrogations1 soon compelled them to see how inconsistent they were both with themselves and with one another4 ,one of them believed1 he said1 that the ,apostles might have been favored by a true revelation2 but not in such a sense as to prevent their often falling into serious errors1 whenever the distinctly religious element was not concerned2 this was the only truly divine thing about it2 but he saw no particular objection to receiving the miracles2 at least some of them1--the best authenticated and most reasonable2 perhaps they were of value as part of the complex evidence needful to establish doctrines which1 if not absolutely transcendental to the human faculties1--as the doctrine of a future life1 for example1--yet1 apart from revelation1 are but matter of conjecture4 ,the other was also not unwilling to admit the miraculous and inspired character of the revelation1 but contended1 further1 that the religious element was to be submitted to human judgment as well as the rest2 and that1 if apparently absurd1 contradictory1 or pernicious1 as judged by that infallible and ultimate standard1 it was to be rejected4 ,it was amusing to think that1 in this little company of three devout believers in the internal oracle1 no two thought alike6 ,after the two youths had frankly stated their opinions1 ,harrington quietly said1 ,i should much like to ask each of you a few questions4 ,there are certain difficulties connected with each hypothesis just stated1 on which ,i should be glad to receive some light4 ,i frankly confess beforehand1 however1 that ,i fear that that curiously constructed book1 which gives us all so much trouble1--which will not allow me to say positively either that it is true or false1--will still less permit you to reject a part or parts at your pleasure4 ,it is1 ,i must admit1 a most independent book in that respect1 and treats your spiritual illumination most cavalierly4 ,it says to you1 ,receive me altogether1 or reject me altogether1 just as you please2 and when men have rejected it altogether1 it leaves them certain literary and historical1 and moral problems1 in all fairness demanding solution1 which ,i doubt whether it is in our power to solve1 or to give any decent account of4 ,what do you mean1 said the younger of the two youths1 by affirming that we are compelled to receive the whole book1 or to reject it all8 ,let us see1 said ,harrington1 whether there is any consistent stopping-place between4 ,it appears to me1 that1 whether by the most singular series of 'coincidences1' or by immense subtlety of design1 this book1 evidently composed by different hands1 has yet its materials so interwoven1 and its parts so reciprocally dependent1 that it is impossible to separate them1--to set some aside1 and say1 ',we will accept these1 and reject those'3 just as1 in certain textures1 no sooner do we begin to take out a particular thread1 than we find it is inextricably entangled with others1 and those again with others2 so that there immediately takes place a prodigious 'gathering' at that point1 and if we persevere1 a rent2 but the obstinate part at which we tug will not come away alone4 ,whether it is so or not1 we shall soon see1 by examining the results of the application of your theories4 ,i will begin with you1 7addressing the younger17 because you believe least2 you say1 ,i think1 that you admit the records of the ,new ,testament contain a real revelation1--a religious element1--and that it has been authenticated to you by miracles and other evidence2 but that the human mind is still the judge of how much of that revelation is to be received1 'and sit in judgment' on the 'religious element as well as the rest4' ,the other assented4 ,you admit1 probably1 the doctrine of the soul's immortality as a part of that revelation1--perhaps even the doctrine of a resurrection8 ,i do1--both these doctrines4 ,but perhaps you reject the idea of an 'atonement1' though you admit it to be in the ,book8 ,yes4 ,at the same time it is contended by many 7as you are aware7 that such a doctrine is not there4 ,i am aware of it1 of course2 but with them we have no controversy here4 ,they are consistent1 so far as the present argument goes2 as consistent as the orthodox themselves4 ,they do not allege a liberty of rejecting what they admit the book does contain1 but only deny that it does contain some things which they reject4 ,they would admit that1 if those doctrines be there1 then either they must concede them because authenticated by the miracles and other evidence1 which proves what else they concede1 or they must reject the said evidence altogether1 because it authenticated what they found it impossible to concede4 ,the controversy between them and the orthodox is one of interpretation1 and is quite different from that in which we are now engaged4 ,i must admit it4 ,they may go1 then8 said ,harrington4 ,they may4 ,you admit1 then1 the miraculous authentication of such an event as the resurrection of man1 but deny the doctrine of the atonement1 though equally found in the said records8 ,i do4 ,may ,i ask why8 ,because the one doctrine does not seem to me to contradict my 'spiritual consciousness1' and the other does4 ,you receive the one1 ,i suppose you will say1 on account of the miracles1 and so on2 since1 while not contradicting your impressions of spiritual truth1 it could not be authenticated without external evidence8 ,exactly so4 ,but is not the other doctrine as much authenticated by the miracles and so forth8 or have you any thing to show that1 while all those passages which relate to the former are true assertions1 as well as truly the assertions of those who published the revelation1 those which relate to the latter are not8 ,i acknowledge ,i have not1 replied the youth4 ,or supposing they are not their sayings at all1 have you any evidence by which you can show that they are not1 so as to separate them from those that are8 ,i must admit that ,i have no criterion of this kind4 ,for aught you know1 then1 since you know nothing of ,christianity except from those documents in which the miracles and the doctrines are alike consigned to you1 the said miracles1 together with the other evidence1 do equally establish the truths which you say are a part of divine revelation1 and the errors which you say your 'spiritual faculty1' 'moral intuitions1' or what you will1 tells you that you are to reject4 ,you believe1 then1 in the force of evidence1 which equally establishes truth and falsehood8 ,you can hardly expect me to admit that4 ,but ,i expect you to answer a plain question8 ,why1 said the youth1 with a little flippancy1 but with a good-humored laugh too1 the proverb says ',even a fool may ask questions which a wise man cannot answer4' ,i acknowledge myself to be a fool said ,harrington1 with a half serious1 half comic air2 and you shall be the wise man who does not --for ,i will not say cannot--answer the fool's question4 ,i beg your pardon1 said the other4 ,i acknowledge that it was an uncourteous expression4 ,enough said1 replied ,harrington2 and now1 since you are not pleased to answer my question1 ,i will answer it myself2 and ,i say1 it is plain that the evidence to which you refer does affirm equally the truths you declare thus revealed to you1 and the errors you declare you must reject4 ,now either the evidence is not sufficient to prove the one1 or it is sufficient to prove both4 ,so far1 then1 ,i think we may say1 and say justly1 that the supposed revelation is so constructed that you cannot accept a part and reject a part1 on such a theory4 ,but to make the case a little plainer still1 if possible4 ,there have been men1 you know1 who have taken precisely opposite views of the two doctrines you have mentioned2 who have declared that the doctrine1 not of man's immortality1 but of the resurrection1 so far from being conceivable1 is1 in their judgment1 a physical contradiction2 but who have also declared that the doctrine of atonement1 in some shape1 is instinctively taught by human nature1 and has consequently formed a part of almost every religion2 that it is in analogy with many singular facts of this world's constitution1 and is not absolutely contradicted by any principle of our nature1 intellectual or moral4 ,such a man1 therefore1 might take the very opposite of the course you have taken4 ,he would proceed upon your common basis of a miraculously confirmed revelation1 grossly infested with errors and falsehoods2 he might say that he believed the authentication of the doctrine of 'atonement' in virtue of the evidence1 because1 though transcendental to his reason1 it was not repugnant to it2 but that he rejected the doctrine of the 'resurrection1' though equally established by the evidence1 because contrary to the plainest conclusions of his reason4 ,i cannot in candor deny1 said the other1 the possibility of such a case4 ,and in such a case1 we might say1 he does the very opposite of what you do4 ,neither can ,i help admitting that4 ,the miracles1 then1 and other evidence1 not only play the part of equally supporting truth and falsehood1 but1 what is still more wonderful1 convert the same things1 in different men1 into truth and falsehood alternately4 ,miracles they must verily be if they can do that6 ,a wonderful revelation it certainly is1 which thus accommodates itself to the varying conditions of the human intellect and conscience1 and demonstrates just so much as each of you is pleased to accept1 and no more4 ,no doubt the whole 'corpus dogmatum1' so supported1 will1 by the entire body of such believers1 be eaten up2 just as was the ,mahometan hog1 so humorously referred to by ,cowper2 but even that had not all its 'forbidden parts' miraculously shown to be 'unforbidden' to different minds6 ,i do not wonder that such a revelation should need miracles2 that any should be sufficient1 is the greatest wonder of all2 if indeed we except two2--the first1 that ,supreme ,wisdom should have constructed such a curious revelation1 in which he has revealed alternately1 to different people1 truth and falsehood1 and has established each on the very same evidence2 and the second 7almost as great71 that any rational creature should be got to receive such a revelation on such evidence as equally applies to which he says it does not prove1 and to points which he says it does2 these points1 however1 being1 it appears1 totally different in different men6 ,but ,i will now go to your friend1 who has got a point further in his belief1 and graciously accepts all the 'religious elements' in this revelation4 ,excuse me1 said the last2 before you go to him1 permit me to mention a difficulty which occurred to me while we were speaking4 ,by all means2 but ,i do not promise to solve it4 ,perhaps ,i on this occasion shall prove the 'wise man1' though ,i am sure you will not be the fool4 ,you recollect1 said the other1 blushing1 our dismissing those who1 while contending1 like myself1 that such and such doctrines are to be rejected1 differ from me in this1 that they contend that the said doctrines are not contained in the records of the supposed revelation at all2 while others contend that they are4 ,now1 if1 while the two parties admit the general evidence which is to substantiate all that is in the records1 they arrive by different interpretation at such very different results as to the supposed truth which it supports1 are they in any better condition than ,i8 ,there is the same difference1 though arrived at in different ways2 and the revelation still remains indeterminate4 ,your objection is ingenious1 replied ,harrington4 ,first1 however1 it is rather hard to ask me to solve a difficulty with which ,i am in no way concerned1 who profess to be altogether sceptical on the subject4 ,secondly1 it certainly does not at all mend your case to prove that there are other men who possibly are as inconsistent as yourself4 ,it makes your theory neither better nor worse4 ,but1 thirdly1 if ,i were a ,christian1 ,i should not hesitate to contend that there was an obvious and vital difference in the two cases4 ,indeed6 ,if you can show that4 ,i should attempt it1 at all events ,i should say that in the latter case the evidence to which the appeal was made did not equally serve to establish truth and falsehood1 or1 what is still worse1 alternately to make falsehood truth1 and truth falsehood1 to different minds2 that it was designed to establish all that was really in the records1 though what that all was might give rise to different views1 from the prejudices and the ignorance1 the different degrees of intelligence and candor1 on part of those who interpreted the records2 that they made the falsehoods1 and not the records or the evidence4 ,i should1 therefore1 have no difficulty in relation to what1 on your theory1 is so incomprehensible2 namely1 that ,god should have given man so peculiarly constructed a revelation4 ,that men should differ or err in its interpretation is not1 ,i presume1 very wonderful1 because man1 they say1 is a creature of prejudice and passion as well as reason4 ,but ,god would still have given the revelation1 and yet it is capable1 it appears1 of being variously interpreted6 said the other4 ,very true1 and it is very plain to me that1 supposing him to have given any1 he could have given no other1 unless his omnipotence had been immediately exerted separately upon each individual of the human race1 and then in such a way as to supersede all the moral discipline which ,christians affirm is involved in its reception4 ,supposing this discipline 7as those who believe in a revelation contend7 to be an essential condition1 ,i cannot conceive ,god himself to give a document which man's ingenuity cannot easily misinterpret4 ,you see man plays the same trick equally well with that faculty of 'spiritual insight1' which some say is the sole source of religious truth1 and which you say is the sole arbiter of an external revelation6 ,we cannot find two of you who think alike1 or who will give us the same transcript of religious truth4 ,similarly1 we see the same ingenuity manifested by man whenever it is his interest to find in a document a different meaning from that which it apparently carries on its face4 ,does not the endless controversy1 the perpetual litigation of men1 respecting the meaning of seemingly the plainest documents1 assure us that1 if a revelation were really given1 the like would be possible with that8 ,it is doubtful with me1 therefore1 whether ,god himself could give a revelation1 such that men could not misrepresent and pervert it2 that is1 as long as they were rational creatures1 he continued bitterly4 ,but the mischief of your theory is1 that it charges the inevitable result of man's perverseness or ignorance on ,god1 and the revelation he has been supposed to construct1 and that is to me an absurdity4 ,i do not see that these answers are satisfactory1 said the other4 ,i must leave you to judge of that1 said ,harrington1 or to contest it with my uncle here4 ,i am keeping my next friend waiting1 who1 ,i can see1 is impatient to run a course in favor of his view of revelation4 ,he tells us1 too1 that a divine revelation1 as conveyed in the ,new ,testament1 is to be admitted1 but he cannot away with the notion that its certainty extends to any thing more than to what he calls the 'religious element4' ,is not that your notion8 ,it is4 ,you think1 for example1 that it is possible that the ,apostles and writers of the ,new ,testament 7in fact1 whoever had the charge of recording and transmitting to posterity the doctrines of this revelation7 were left liable1 just as any other men1 to all sorts of errors1 geographical1 chronological1 logical1 historical1 political1 moral-- ,no1 no1 not moral1 said the other2 ,i did not say moral3 their morality is implied in their theology4 ,o1 very well6 we shall better see that presently2 only ,i have to remind you1 for the glory of your ,rationalism1 that other ,rationalists make the errors extend even to the 'moral element'2 but it is all one to me4 ,you say1 that1 as far as regards every thing else1 it is very possible that these 'inspired' men might err to any amount8 ,yes2 ,i believe it4 ,you have1 doubtless1 some reason for saying that they were made infallible in religion and morality1 but liable to all sorts of errors on other subjects8 ,nothing but this2 that1 if to give us 'spiritual truth' 7as is supposed7 was their proper function 7and we cannot but suppose that it was71 they must have been invested 7we must suppose7 with all the necessary qualities for this end1 since ,i am supposing that even miracles were thought worth working in order to confirm their doctrine4 ,you use the word suppose rather frequently1 my friend2 however1 ,i will not quarrel with you for that2 only you ought not to be surprised if1 adopting your last supposition1--that1 when miracles and inspiration have been supposed to be vouchsafed to authenticate a particular revelation1 all such endowments1 at least1 will be granted as shall secure that object from defeat1--other ,christians further suppose that the documents in which the revelation was to be consigned to all future ages would not be disfigured 7and in many respects obscured7 by the liability of their authors to all sorts of errors on an infinity of points1 hopelessly entangled1 as we shall soon see1 with this one6 that when heaven was at the trouble to embark its cargo of diamonds and pearls for this world1 it would not send them in a vessel with a great hole in the bottom6 ,if the ,apostles were plenarily inspired with regard to this one subject1 men will think it strange1 perhaps1 that divine aid should not have gone a little further1 and since the destined revelation was to be recorded or rather imbedded1 in history1 illustrated by imagination1 enforced by argument1 and expressed in human language1--its authors should have been left liable to destroy the substance by egregious and perpetual blunders as to the form2 to run the chance of knocking out the brains of the unfortunate revelation by upsetting the vehicle in which it was to be conveyed6 ,but1 then1 these supposed endowments are purely a supposition on the part of ,christians in general4 ,just as yours1 we may say1 of an indefectible wisdom on one point is a supposition on your part4 ,i think in that respect that you are both well matched4 ,but ,i freely confess that ,i think their supposition more plausible than yours2 and1 if ,i were an advocate for ,christianity1 ,i should certainly rather suppose with them than suppose with you2 that is1 ,i should think it more credible1 if ,god interposed with such stupendous instruments as miracles1 inspiration1 and prophecy at all1 he would endow the men thus favored 7not with all knowledge1 indeed1 but7 with whatever was necessary to prevent their encountering a certainty of vitiating their testimony4 ,but how would their testimony be liable to be vitiated8 ,i am supposing them to be absolutely free from error as regards the religious clement1 which they deliver pure4 ',we shall see in a minute whether their testimony was liable to be vitiated or not1 and whether the separation for which you contend be conceivable1 or even possible4 ,i fear that you have no winnowing-fan which will separate the chaff from the wheat4 ,to me1 nothing seems more easy than the supposition ,i have made4 ,few things are more easy than to make suppositions2 but let us see4 ,i am sure you will answer as fairly as ,i shall ask questions4 ,to do otherwise would be to separate the 'moral element' from the 'logical1' whatever the ,new ,testament writers may have done4 ,you believe1 you say1 in the resurrection of ,christ8 ,i do4 ,as a fact or doctrine8 ,both as a fact and doctrine4 ,for it is both1 if true1 said ,harrington2 and so1 ,i apprehend1 it will be found with the other doctrines of ,christianity4 ,whether1 in your particular latitude of ,rationalism1 you believe many or few of them1 still1 if true at all 7which we at present take for granted71 they are both facts and doctrines1 from the ,incarnation to the ,resurrection4 ,but to confine ourselves to one1--that of the ,resurrection1--for one will answer my purpose as well as a thousand2 --that1 you say1 is a fact1--a fact of history8 ,it is4 ,it is1 then1 conveyed to us as such8 ,certainly4 ,were the recorders of that fact liable to error in conveying it to us8 ,in other words1 might they so blunder in conveying that fact 7as we know the unaided historian may1 and often does7 as to leave us in doubt whether it ever took place or not8 ,well1 said the youth1 and you know they have exhibited it in such a way as to suggest many apparent discrepancies1 and those very difficult to be reconciled4 ,i am aware of it1 and for that very reason selected this particular fact4 ,in my judgment1 there are no passages which more exercise the ingenuity of the harmonists than those which record the transactions connected with the resurrection4 ,but still1 in spite of them all1 ,i presume that you do not think that those discrepancies really call the fact in question1 else you would not continue to believe it4 ,i should then suddenly find myself arguing with a very different person4 ,certainly1 you are quite right4 ,i agree that the substantial facts are as the writers have delivered them2 although they may1 from their liability to error1 have delivered some of the details erroneously4 ,but might this liability to error have led them a little further in their discrepancies1 so as to involve the fact itself in just doubt1 and so of other great facts which constitute the doctrines as well as the facts of ,scripture8 ,of course1 ,i think it might1 since ,i suppose them unaided by any supernatural wisdom in this respect4 ,the answer is honest4 ,i thought1 perhaps1 you would have answered differently1 in which case you would have given me the trouble of pursuing the argument one step further4 ,it appears1 then1 that1 though inspired to give mankind a true statement of doctrines1 yet that1 when these doctrines assume the form of facts 7which1 unhappily1 they do perpetually71 this hazardous liability to error as historians may counteract their inspiration1 and they may give them in such a form as to throw upon them all manner of doubts and suspicions2 possibly they have done so1 for aught you can tell4--,but1 again1 you also affirm that these so-called inspired men were liable to make all sorts of logical blunders1 just as the uninspired4 ,certainly2 and ,i must confess ,i think the logic of the ,apostle ,paul1 in particular1 often exceedingly absurd4 ,very fair and candid4 ,for example1 ,i dare say that you do not think much of his arguments or inferences from certain doctrines2 or his proofs of those doctrines from the ,old ,testament or-- ,they are not1 indeed1 worth much in my estimation4 ,candid again2 but then it is plain1 first1 that you will have to distinguish between the pure doctrines which ,paul derived from a celestial source1 and his erroneous proofs or inferences1 which are delivered in precisely the same manner and with the same assumption of authority4 ,and this1 ,i think1 would be an insuperable task2 at least1 it seems so1 for you ,rationalists decide this matter very differently4 ,when any of you favor me with your sketches of the true heaven-descended ,pauline theology1 ,i find them widely different from each other4 ,your 'religious element' is of the most variable volume4 ,some of you include nearly the whole creed of ordinary orthodoxy2 others1 fifty or even eighty per cent4 less1 both in bulk and weight4 ,perhaps so4 ,perhaps so6 ,but then1 what becomes of your principle1 that you may separate the pure 'religion element1' as conveyed to the minds of the sacred writers by direct illumination1 from the errors of vicious logic which have been permitted to mingle with it8 ,to me it appears any thing but easy to separate the functions of a revealer of truly inspired truth from the vitiating influences of a fallacious logic4 ,the 'heavenly vision1' however 'obedient' a ,paul may be to it1 will be but obscurely represented1 and suffer egregiously from that distorted image which the ill-constructed mirror will convey to us4 --,but once more1 ,i think you do not hold ,paul's rhetoric to be always of the first excellence8 ,certainly not2 ,i think his representations are often as faulty as his logic is vicious2 especially when1 under the influence of his ,jewish education1 he throws old ,gamaliel's mantle over his shoulders1 and dotes about 'allegories' founded on the ,old ,testament4 ,fair and candid once more2 but then1 ,i suppose you will admit that the divine truths which he was1 nevertheless1 commissioned to teach mankind1 will1 like any other truths1 be much affected by the mode in which they are represented to the imagination2 will become brighter or more obscure1 more animated or more feeble1 and even more just or distorted1 as this task is wisely and judiciously1 or preposterously performed8 ,no doubt4 ,then it appears1 ,i think1 that1 if there were nothing to control the ,apostle ,paul's manner of exhibiting divine verities1 even in relation only to the imagination1 there might be all the difference between sober truth and fanatical perversions of it4 ,i might1 in the same manner1 proceed to show that the feelings1 uncontrolled by a superior influence1 would be also likely to give distortion or exaggeration to the doctrines4 ,but it is enough4 ,it appears very plain1 that1 according to your hypothesis1 even though the ,apostles were commissioned to teach by supernatural illumination certain truths1 yet that1 being liable to be infected with all the faults of false history1 bad logic1 vicious rhetoric1 fanatical feeling1 these divine truths might1 possibly1 be most falsely presented to us4 ,we have1 really1 no guaranty but your gratuitous 'supposition' that they have been taught at all4 ,we have no criterion for separating what is thus divine from what is merely human4 ,i fear1 therefore1 your distinction will not hold4 ,the stream1 whatever the crystal purity of its fountain1 could not fail to be horribly impure by the time it had flowed through such foul conduits4 ,in short1 continued ,harrington1 with a bitter smile at the same time1 there are but three consistent characters in the world2 the ,bible ,christian1 and the genuine ,atheist1--or the absolute ,sceptic4 ,no1--no1--no1 exclaimed the whole trio at once2 and you yourself must be true to your principles1 and therefore sceptical as to this4 ,it is he replied1 one of the very few things which ,i am not sceptical about4 ,at all events1 right or wrong1 ,i am1 as usual1 willing to give you my reasons for my belief4 ,rather say your doubts1 said ,fellowes4 ,well1 for my doubts1 then4 ,you see1 my friends1 the matter is as follows4 ,the ,christian speaks on this wise3-- ',i find1 in reference to ,christianity as in references to ,theism1 what appears to me an immense preponderance of evidence of various kinds in favor of its truth2 but both alike ,i find involved in many difficulties which ,i acknowledge to be insurmountable1 and in many mysteries which ,i cannot fathom4 ,i believe the conclusions in spite of them4 ,as to the revelation1 ,i see some of its discrepancies are the effect of transcription and corruption2 others are the result of omissions of one or more of the writers1 which1 if supplied1 would show that they are apparent only2 of others1 ,i can suggest no explanations at all2 and1 over and above these1 ,i see difficulties of doctrine which ,i can no more profess to solve than ,i can the parallel perplexities in ,nature and ,providence1 and especially those involved in the permitted phenomenon of an infinity of physical and moral evil4 ,as to these difficulties1 ,i simply submit to them1 because ,i think the rejection of the evidence for the truths which they embarrass would involve me in a much greater difficulty4 ,with regard to many of the difficulties1 in both cases1 ,i set that the progress of knowledge and science is continually tending to dissipate some1 and to diminish1 if not remove1 the weight of others3 ,i see that a dawning light now glimmers on many portions of the void where continuous darkness once reigned2 though that very light has also a tendency to disclose other difficulties2 for1 as the sphere of knowledge increases1 the outline of darkness beyond also increases1 and increases even in a greater ratio4 ,but ,i also find1 ,i frankly admit1 that on many of my difficulties1 and especially that connected with the origin of evil1 and other precisely analogous difficulties of ,scripture1 no light whatever is cast3 to the solution of them1 man has not made the slightest conceivable approximation4 ,these things ,i submit to1 as an exercise of my faith and a test of my docility1 and that is all ,i have to say about them2 you will not alter my views by dwelling on them1 for your sense of them cannot be stronger than mine4' ,thus speaks the ,christian2 and the ,atheist and the ,sceptic occupy ground as consistent4 ,they say1 ',we agree with you ,christians1 that the ,bible contains no greater difficulties than those involved in the inscrutable constitution and course of nature2 but on the very principles on which the ,rationalist1 or ,spiritualist1 or ,deist1 or whatever he pleases to call himself1 rejects the divine origin of the former1 we are compelled to go a few steps farther1 and deny--or doubt the divine origin of the latter4 ,it is true that the ,bible presents no greater difficulties than the external universe and its administration2 7it cannot involve greater27 but if those difficulties are sufficient to justify the denial or doubt of the divine authorship of the one1 they are sufficient to justify denial or doubt about the divine origin of the other4'--,but as to you1 what consistent position can you take1 so long as you affirm and deny so capriciously8 ,who 'strain at the gnats' of the ,bible1 and 'swallow the camels' of your ,natural ,religion8 ,you ought1 on the principle on which you reject so much of the ,bible1--namely1 that it does not harmonize with the deductions of your intellect1 the instincts of conscience1 the intuitions of the 'spiritual faculty1' and ,heaven knows what1--to become ,manichaeans at the least4 ,but these very arguments1 said one of the youths1 are just the old-fashioned arguments of ,,butler1 ,which it is surely droll of all things to find a sceptic making use of4 ,i admit they are his1 my friend2 but not that there is any inconsistency in my employing them4 ,i affirm that ,butler is quite right in his premises1 though ,i may reject the conclusion to which he would bring me4 ,he leaves two alternatives1 and only two1 in my judgment1 open2 leaves two parties untouched2 one is the ,christian1 and the other is the ,atheist or the ,sceptic1 which-ever you please2 but ,i am profoundly convinced he does not leave a consistent footing for any thing between4 ,his fire does not injure the ,christian1 for-comes out of his own camp2 nor me1 for it falls short of my lines2 but for you1 who have pitched your tent between1 take heed to yourselves4 ,he proves clearly enough1 that the very difficulties for which you reject ,christianity exist equally1 sometimes to a still amount1 in the domain of nature4 ,oh6 said the youngest1 we do not think that ,butler's argument is sound4 ,then1 said ,harrington1 the sooner you refute it the better4 ,all you have to do is1 just to show that this world does not exhibit the inequalities1 the miseries1--the apparent caprice in its administration1 --the involuntary ignorance1--the enormous wrongs1--the wide-spread sorrows and death1--it does4 ,you will do greater service to the ,deist than the whole of the have ever done him yet4 ,i am convinced that ,butler is not to be refuted4 ,but do you not recollect what no less a man than ,pitt said1--',analogy is an argument so easily retorted6' replied the same youth4 ,then you will have the less difficulty in retorting it1 said ,harrington1 coolly4 ,pitt's observation only shows that he had forgotten the true object of the work1 or never understood it4 ,for the purposes of refutation1 it does not follow that an analogy may be easily retorted2 it may be1 and often is1 irresistible4 ,it is when employed to establish a truth1 not to expose an error1 that it is often feeble4 ,if ,butler had attempted to prove that the inhabitants of ,jupiter must be miserable1 nothing could have been more ridiculous than to adduce the analogy of our planet4 ,but if he merely wished to show that it did not follow that that beautiful orb1 being created by infinite power1 wisdom1 and goodness1 must be an abode of happiness1 7just the ,rationalist style of reasoning17 it would be quite sufficient to introduce the speculator to this ill-starred planet of ours4 ,there are few who will not acquiesce in this remark of ,harrington's1 however they may lament the alternative he seemed disposed to take4 ,assuredly1 for the specific object in view1 no book written by man was ever more conclusive than that of ,butler4 ,for if you can show to an unbeliever in ,christianity1 who is yet 7as most are7 a ,theists1 that any objection derived from its apparent repugnance to wisdom or goodness applies equally to the constitution and course of nature1 you do fairly compel him 7as long as he remains a ,theist7 to admit that that objection ought not to have weight with him4 ,he has indeed an alternative2 that of ,atheism or ,scepticism2 but it is clear he must give up either his argument or his--,theism4 ,it may be called1 indeed1 an argument ad hominem2 but as almost every unbeliever in ,christianity is a man of the above stamp1 it is of wide application4 ,this is the fair issue to which ,butler brings the argument2 and the conclusiveness of his logic has been shown in this1 that1 however easily analogies may be retorted1 the parties affected by it have never answered it4 ,i was amused with the criticism with which ,harrington wound up4 ,butler1 said he1 wrote but little2 but when reading him1 ,i have often thought of ,walter ,scott's wolf-dog ,maida1 who seldom was tempted to join in the bark of his lesser canine associates4 ',he seldom opens his mouth1' said his master2 'but when he does1 he shakes the ,eildon ,hills4 ,maida is like the great gun at ,constantinople1--it takes a long time to load it2 but when it does go off1 it goes off for something6' ,aug4 #a4 ,i this day put into ,mr4 ,fellowes's hands the brief notes on the three questions on which he had solicited my opinion4 ,they were as follows3-- ,i4 ,mr4 ,newman says that it is an idle boast that the elevation of woman is in any high degree attributable to the ,gospel4 ,in point of fact1 says he1 ,christian doctrine1 as propounded by ,paul1 is not at all so honorable to woman as that which ,german soundness of heart has established4 ,with ,paul the sole reason for marriage is that a man may without sin vent his sensual desires4 ,if1 indeed1 there were no other passage in the ,new ,testament than that to which ,mr4 ,newman refers1 there might be something to be said for him4 ,but it is only one of many1 and the question really at issue is consequently blinked1 namely1 what is the aspect of the entire ,new ,testament institute upon the relations of woman8 ,it is true1 indeed1 that the reason for marriage which ,mr4 ,newman contends is the only thing ,paul thought about1 is very properly urged2 for from the constitution of human nature1 7as every comprehensive philosopher and legislator would admits7 as well as from the horrible condition of things where marriage is neglected1 prominence is very justly given to the preservation of chastity as one of the primary objects of the institution4 ,but the question as between ,mr4 ,newman and ,christianity is this3 ,is this the only aspect under which the relations of man and woman are represented to us8 ,that every thing is not said in one passage is true enough4 ,from the desultory manner in which the ethics as well as doctrines of the ,new ,testament are expounded to us1 and especially from the casual form which they assume in the ,apostolic ,epistles1 where the particular circumstances of the parties addressed naturally suggested the degree of prominence given to each topic1 we must fairly examine the whole volume in order to comprehend the spirit of the whole1 and not take up a solitary passage as though it were the only one4 ,now1 if we examine other passages1 we cannot fail to see that the ,new ,testament consecrates married life by enjoining the utmost purity1 devotion1 and tenderness of affection4 ,look at only one or two of the passages in which the ,new ,testament enjoins the reciprocal duties of husbands and wives2 what sort of model it proposes for their love4 ,husbands1 love your wives1 even as ,christ also loved the ,church and gave himself for it 44444 ,let every one in particular so love his wife even as himself2 and the wife see that she reverence her husband4 ,so ought men to love their wives as their own bodies1 4444 giving honor unto the wife as unto the weaker vessel1 and as being heirs together of the grace of life4 ,is this like condemning women to be elegant toys and voluptuous appendages8 ,admitting1 for the sake of argument1 that the whole of ,christianity is a delusion2 that ,christ never lived1 and therefore never died2 that he is a more palpable myth than even ,dr4 ,strauss contends for2 still it is impossible not to see that the writers of the ,new ,testament represent his love for man as the ideal of pure1 disinterested1 self-sacrificing affection2 this appears whether we listen to the words which the ,evangelists have put into his mouth1 or those in which they have spoken of him4 ,greater love hath non man than this that a man lay down his life for his friends4 ,now1 let there be as much or as little historic truth in such statements1 in the doings and sufferings of ,christ on behalf of humanity1 as you will1 the conclusion is irresistible that his conduct 7real or imaginary7 is set forth as the exhibition of unequalled patience1 gentleness1 meekness1 and forbearance2 of a love anxious to purchase1 at the dearest cost1 the purest and highest happiness of its objects4 ,now such is the pattern of affection which the ,apostles commend to the imitation of husbands and wives in their conduct towards one another4 ,such is to be the lofty standard which their love is to emulate4 ,is it possible to go further8 ,does not the fantastical observance1 or rather the absolute idolatry of women cherished by chivalry1--itself1 however1 rooted in the influences of a corrupt ,christianity1--look like a caricature beside the picture8 ,and who are the poets of ,germanic culture who have risen to an equal ideal of the reciprocal duties and sentiments of wedded life8 ,i must contend that so beautiful a picture of a real equality between man and woman1--founded on the love of the common ,lord of both1--such a picture of woman's true elevation1 was never realized in the ancient world1 nor would have been to this day had not ,christianity been promulgated2 nor is now1 except where ,christianity is known1 though1 alas6 not always where it is4 ,but if you think otherwise1 beg ,mr4 ,newman to give you a catena of passages from the poets of ,germanic culture 7he has not adduced a syllable in proof72 and recollect it ought to be from ,germanic poets who lived before the ,germans were ,christians6 ,or perhaps you would wish to seek the ,germanic sentiment towards woman pure in its source1 as given in the certainly not unfavorable estimate of ,tacitus4 ,in their respect for woman and the stress they laid on chastity1 the ancient ,germans transcended without doubt many savages4 ,still1 few readers will suppose there was much reason to boast of the elevation of women1 or the presence of much refined sentiment between the sexes6 ,as long as women do all the drudgery of house and field work1 while their lazy husbands drink and gamble2 as long as they are liable 7and their children too7 to be sold or put on the hazard of a cast of the dice2 as long as they are themselves ferocious enough to go out to battle with their husbands2 ,i presume you will think the ,germanic culture very far short of the culture likely to be produced by the ,new ,testament6 ,well says ,gibbon1 ,heroines of such a cast may claim admiration2 but they were most assuredly neither lovely nor very susceptible of love4 ,,ii4 ,mr4 ,newman says1 that undue credit has been claimed for ,christianity as the foe and extirpator of slavery4 ,he says that1 at this day1 the ,new ,testament is the argumentative stronghold of those who are trying to keep up the accursed system4 ,would it not have been candid to add1 that the ,new ,testament has ever been also the stronghold of those who oppose it1 as well in this country as in ,america8 ,it is on the express ground to its supposed inconsistency with the maxims and spirit of ,christianity1 that the great mass of ,abolitionists hate and loathe it4 ,a public clamor against it was never raised in the days of ancient slavery1 nor is now in any country where ,christianity is unknown4 ,the opposition to it in our own country was a religious one2 that we know full well2 and so is the opposition of the ,american ,abolitionists at the present day4 ,if selfish cupidity1 on the one hand1 appeals to the ,new ,testament for its continuance1 so does philanthropy1 on the other1 for its abolition2 and though in my judgment the inferences of the latter are far more reasonable1 the mere fact that both parties appeal to the book shows that the ,new ,testament neither sanctions it--rather the contrary by implication--nor expressly denounces it2--,mr4 ,newman doubtless can do it safely4 ,this very moderation of language1 however1 has to many minds1 and those of no mean capacity1 7the late ,dr4 ,chalmers for example17 been regarded as an indication of the wisdom which has presided over the construction of the ,new ,testament2 it was not only a tone peremptorily demanded by the necessary conditions of publishing ,christianity at all1 but was best adapted1--nay1 alone adapted1--in the actual condition of the world in relation to slavery1 to make any salutary impression4 ,admitting that the great1 the primary end of the ,gospel was spiritual2 that it was the object of the ,apostles to obtain for it a dispassionate hearing among all nations2 and that1 however they might hope indirectly to affect the temporal prosperity and political welfare of mankind1 all good of this kind was in their view subordinate to that spiritual amelioration1 which1 if affected1 would necessarily involve all inferior social and political improvements2--,i say1 admitting this1 it is really difficult to imagine any other course open to a wise choice than that which was actually adopted4 ,i contend1 that in not passionately denouncing slavery1 and in contenting themselves with quietly depositing those principles and sentiments which1 while achieving objects infinitely more important1 would infallibly abolish it1 the ,apostles took the wisest course1 even with relation to this latter object1--though it was doubtless not the course into which a blind fanaticism would have plunged4 ,to enter upon an open crusade against slavery in that age would have been to render the preaching of the ,gospel a simple impossibility1 and to convert a professedly moral and spiritual institute into an engine of political agitation2 it would have afforded the indignant governments of the world--quite prompt enough to charge it with seditious tendencies--a plausible pretext for its suppression4 ,both the primary and the secondary objects would have been sacrificed2 and the chains of slavery riveted1 not relaxed4 ,slavery1 in that age1 we must recollect1 was interwoven with the entire fabric of society in almost all nations4 ,to denounce it would have been a provocation1 nay1 a challenge1 to a servile war in every country to which the zeal of the ,christian emissaries might carry the ,gospel4 ,contenting themselves1 therefore1 with the enunciation of those principles which1 where they are truly embraced1 are inconsistent with the permanent existence of slavery1 and1 if triumphant1 insure its downfall1 the ,apostles pursued that which was their great object2 and for those of an inferior order1 patiently waited for the time when the seed they had sown broadcast in the earth should yield its harvest4 ,and surely the event has justified their sagacity4 ,for to what1 after all1 have just notions on this most important subject been owing1 except to this said ,christianity8 ,though it is true that1 owing to the imperfect exemplification of its principles by men who profess it1 it has not yet done its work1 it is doing it2 though some ,christian nations--more shame for them--have slaves1 none but ,christian nations are without them4 ,not only is the sincere admission of the maxims and principles of the ,new ,testament inconsistent with the permanent existence of slavery1 but the history of ,christianity affords perpetual illustrations of its tendency to destroy it4 ,even during the ,dark ,ages1 even in its most corrupted form1 ,christianity wrought for the practical extinction of serfdom4 ,mr4 ,newman says that it was ,christians1 not men1 that the church sought to enfranchise2 it little matters2 she sought to abolish all villanage4 ,he says that even ,mahometans do not like to enslave ,mahometans2 ,i ask1 can he find immense bodies of ,mahometans who contend that it is ,contrary to the spirit1 tendencies1 and maxims1 if not precise letter1 of their religion1 to enslave any body8 ,for it was such a principle which expressly called forth the abhorrence and condemnation of slavery in our own age and nation4 ,it cannot be denied that the movement by which this accursed system was1 after so long a struggle1 exterminated amongst us1 was an eminently religious one1 as regards its main supporters1 the ground they took1 and the sacrifices they made4 ,but ,christian nations have defended and practised slavery6 you will say4 ,they have2 and ,christian nations have often practised the vices which the ,book expressly condemns1--just as all nations have practised many things which their codes of morals or laws condemn4 ,the question is whether in the one case the ,book1 or in the other case the codes1 approve them2 not1 ,i presume1 whether man is a very inconsistent animal4 ,but no system is made answerable for the violations of its spirit--except ,christianity4 ,mr4 ,newman says that slaveholders make the ,new ,testament the stronghold of the accursed system4 ,it had been more to the purpose if he had pointed out a passage or two which recommend it4 ,he knows that it is simply because it does not 7for reasons already stated7 denounce it1 that they say it approves it4 ,are you satisfied with this reasoning8 ,then try it on another case1--for despotism is exactly parallel4 ,the ,new ,testament does not expressly denounce that1 and for the same reasons2 and the arguments for passive obedience have been with equal plausibility drawn from its pages4 ,will the ,transatlantic republicans approve despotism on the same authority8 --,despotism has wrought at least as much misery to mankind as slavery1 and probably much more4 ,was it a duty of the ,apostles1 instead of laying down principles which1 though having another object1 would infallibly undermine it1 to denounce despotism everywhere1 and invite all people to an insurrection against their rulers8 ,if they had1 the spiritual objects of the ,gospel would have been easily understood1 and very properly treated4 ,let me apply the argumentum ad hominem4 ,mr4 ,newman has favored the world with his views of religious truth1 and the spiritual weapons by which its champion is to make it victorious over mankind2 he has also recorded his hatred of slavery and despotism1 where such magnanimity is perfectly safe1 and perfectly superfluous4 ,let me now suppose you1 not only partly1 but wholly of his mind1 and animated 7if spiritualism will ever prompt men to do any thing1 except1 as ,harrington says1 to write books against book-revelation71 --let me suppose you animated to go as missionary to the ,east to preach this spiritual system3 would you1 in addition to all the rest1 publicly denounce the social and political evils under which the nations groan8 ,if so1 your spiritual projects would soon be perfectly understood1 and summarily dealt with4 ,it is in vain to say that1 if commissioned by ,heaven1 and endowed with power of working miracles1 you would do so2 for you cannot tell under what limitations your commission would be given2 it is pretty certain that it would leave you to work a moral and spiritual system by moral and spiritual means1 and not allow you to turn the world upside down1 nor mendaciously tell it that you came only to preach peace1 while every syllable you uttered would be an incentive to sedition4 ,,iii4 ,the last point on which you ask a few remarks is in relation to the early spread of ,christianity4 ,mr4 ,newman makes easy work of this great problem4 ,he says1 ,before ,constantine1 ,christians were but a small fraction of the empire 44444 ,in fact1 it was the ,christian soldiers in ,constanline's army who conquered the empire for ,christianity4 7,phases1 p4 #afb47 ,in the first place1 supposing the facts just as stated4--namely1 that it was the ,christian soldiers of ,constantine who conquered the empire for ,christianity1--who was it that conquered the army for ,christianity8 ,when ,i find ,mahometanism the prevalent religion through the ,english regiments1 ,i shall shrewdly suspect that the conquest of ,england for ,mahometanism will have been made an easy task1 by its having already made equal progress amongst the people generally6 ,i suppose it will not be denied that the soldiers1 by whose aid ,constantine achieved this great victory1 were themselves professedly converts to ,christianity2 and ,christianity as it had existed in the times of the recent persecutions was not likely to allure men to the profession of arms4 ,i think1 therefore1 we may fairly assume1 that1 if the imperial armies were to any considerable extent--and it must have been ex hypothesi to a prevailing extent--composed of ,christians1 ,christianity had made at least equal progress in the ranks of civil life4 ,the one may be taken as the measure of the other2 though we might fairly suppose1 both from the principles and habits of the ,christians1 that they would be found in civil life in a larger ratio4 ,the camp was not precisely the place for them2 the ,gospel might find them there1 it rarely sent them4 ,so that the question returns1 ,how came it to pass that the bulk of the armies which conquered the empire for ,christianity came to be ,christians1--at least in name and profession8 ,ah6 you will say1 in name1--but they were strange ,christians who became soldiers4 ,very true2 and it makes my argument the stronger4 ,mere professors of a religious system only follow in the wake of its triumphs4 ,when those who do not care much for a system profess and embrace it1 depend upon it1 it has largely triumphed4 ,to suppose1 therefore1 that ,constantine conquered the empire for ,christianity1 while we admit that the army was already ,christian1 is very like getting rid of the objection in the way the ,irishman proposed to get rid of some superfluous cart-loads of earth4 ,let us dig a hole1 said he1 and put it in4 ,it is much the same here4 ,constantine became a convert1 perhaps from conviction1 but certainly rather late4 ,supposing him a political convert1 as many have done1 it could only be because he saw that ,christianity had done its work to such an extent as to render it more probable that it would assist him than that he could assist it4 ,this induced him to take it under the wing of his patronage4 ,and on such a theory1 what but such a conviction could have justified him in the attempt for a moment8 ,how could he be fool enough to add to the difficulties of his position--a candidate for empire--the stupendous difficulty of forcing upon his unwilling or indifferent subjects a religion which by supposition they were any thing but prepared to receive8 ,if the prospects of ,christianity had not already decided the question for him1 so far from receiving credit for political sagacity1 as he ever has done1 he would deserve rather to be considered an absolute idiot6 ,again2 is it not plain from history in general1 and must we not infer it from the nature of the case a priori1 that ,christianity must in some fashion have conquered its millions before ,constantine or any other man was likely to attempt to conquer the empire for ,christianity1 or to succeed in so doing if he had8 ,is there an instance on record of a people suddenly1 at a moment's notice1 changing its religion1 or rather--for this is the true representation--of many different nations changing their many different religions at the simple command of their sovereign1 and he too an upstart8 ,in two cases1 and in only two1 it may be done2 first1 by an unsparing use of the sword1 the brief1 simple alternative of ,mahomet1 ,death or the ,koran2 the other1 when the new form of belief has converted the bulk or a large portion of the nation2 of which1 in this case1 the conversion of the army is a tolerably significant indication4 ,but again2 if it be said that the people1 or rather the many different nations1 abandoned their religions out of complaisance to their sovereign1 ,i answer1 ,why do we not see the same thing repeated when ,julian wished to reverse the experiment8 ,they were not so pliant then2 then was it seen very dearly that the people were1 as in every other case1 unwilling1 as regards their religion1 to be mere puppets in the hands of their governors4 ,he was animated by at least as strong a hatred of ,christianity as ,constantine by a love of it4 ,yet we see all the way through1 that there was not a chance of success for him4 ,but there were some persecutions1 you will say1 by ,constantine4 ,true1 but they were so trifling compared with what would have been required had the conversion of an unbelieving and refractory empire depended on such means1 that few who read the history of religious revolutions will believe that they were the cause of the change4 ,every thing shows that a vast preceding moral revolution in the empire is the only sufficient explanation of so sudden an event4 ,gibbon himself admits ,constantine's tolerant disposition4 ,but1 it may be said1 the old heathenism was worn out and effete2 no one thought it worth his while to stand up in its defence4 ,i answer1 first1 it seems to have been sufficiently loved1 or at least ,christianity was sufficiently hated1 to insure frequent and sanguinary persecutions of the latter1 almost up to the eve of ,constantine's accession4 ,secondly1 you are to consider that1 though in the schools of philosophers1 in the ,epicurean or sceptical atmosphere of the luxurious capital and other great cities1 there was unquestionably a numerous party to whom the old superstition was a laughing-stock1 there were vast multitudes to whom it was still1 in its various forms1 a thing of power4 ,you are to recollect that the ,roman empire was made up of many nations1 each with a different mode of religion1 and to suppose that these different religions had ceased to exercise the usual influence on vast multitudes of the people would be mere delusion4 ,if they were surrendered at last so easily1 it could only be because a great party--antagonistic to each--had been silently forming in each nation1 and undermining the power of the popular superstitions4 ,but1 thirdly1 if the representation were true1 to what can so singular a phenomenon--this simultaneous decay of different religions1 this epidemic pestilence amongst the gods of the ,pantheon --be ascribed1 but to the previous influence of ,christianity1 and its extensive conquests8 ,and1 fourthly1 supposing this not the case1 and yet that the indifference in question existed1 this indifference to the old systems of religion would not presuppose equal indifference to new1 or induce the people to embrace them at the mere bidding of their new master4 ,if this were so1 we ought to see the same phenomenon repeated in the case of ,julian4 ,if1 in their presumed indifference to the old and the new1 they listened to ,constantine when he commanded them to become ,christians1 why did not they manifest an equally compliant temper when the ,apostate enjoined them to become heathens1 and like ,constantine1 gave them both precept and example8 ,but look at the historic evidence on the subject long before the establishment of ,christianity4 ,is it possible for any candid person to read the ,epistle of ,pliny to ,trajan1 and not see in that alone1 after making every deduction for any supposed bias under which the letter may have been written 7though1 in fact1 it is difficult to suppose any bias that would not rather lead the writer to diminish the number of the ,christians than to exaggerate it71--is it possible1 ,i say1 to read that singular state paper1 and not feel that the new religion had made prodigious progress in that remote province8 and that1 a fortiori1 if in ,bithynia it had conquered its thousands of proselytes1 in other and more favored provinces it must have gained its tens of thousands8 ,to me the letter of ,pliny speaks volumes2 and if so much could be said at so early a period as ,a4 ,d4 #ajg1 what was the state of things two centuries later8 ,precisely the same conclusion must be arrived at if we consult the uniform tone of the ,christian apologists1 from ,justin ,martyr to ,minucius ,felix4 ,making here1 again1 what deductions you please for the fervid eloquence and rhetorical exaggerations of such a man as ,tertullian1 it is too much to suppose even his ,african impetuosity would have ventured1 not merely on the virulent invective1 the bold taunts1 with which he everywhere assails the popular superstitions1 but on such strong assertions of the triumphant progress of the upstart religion1 unless there had been obvious approximation to truth in his statements4 ,we were but of yesterday1 says he1 and we have filled your cities1 islands1 towns1 and assemblies2 the camp1 the senate1 the palace1 and the forum swarm with converts to ,christianity4 ,apologist for ,christianity6 ,unless these words had been enforced by very much of truth1 he would have made ,christianity simply ridiculous2 and ,christians would have been necessitated to apologize for their mad apologist4 ,the same conclusion equally follows from the consideration of those very corruptions of ,christianity1 which no candid student of ecclesiastical history will be slow to admit had already infected it1 many years before ,constantine ventured to aid it by his equivocal patronage4 ,it was obviously its triumphant progress1--its attraction to itself of much wealth1--the accession1 to a considerable extent1 of fashion1 rank1 and power1--that chiefly caused those corruptions4 ,so long as the ,christian ,church was poor and despised1 such scenes as often attended the election of bishops in the great cities of the empire would be quite impossible4 ,under such circumstances the argument of ,mr4 ,newman--judiciously compressed into a few sentences--appears to me even ludicrous4 ,how different the course which ,gibbon pursues6 ,what a pity that the great historian did not perceive that this statement would have led him equally well to his desired end2 that so brief a demonstration would suffice to account for that unmanageable phenomenon1 the rapid progress and ultimate triumph of ,christianity6 ,he1 on the contrary1 seems to have read history with very different eyes2 and yet ,i suppose no man will question either his learning or his sagacity4 ,he finds himself obliged to admit the conspicuous advance which the ,gospel had made before ,constantine's accession1 and employs every nerve to invent sufficient natural causes to account for it4 ,what a facile task would he have had of it1 if he had but bethought him that ,christianity1 instead of having been to an enormous extent successful was1 in fact1 waiting1 in comparative failure1 the triumphant aid of a military conqueror6 ,he might then have dispensed with the celebrated chapter1 and substituted for it the two pregnant sentences by which ,mr4 ,newmen has1 in effect1 declared it superfluous4 ,august #g4 ,three days ago 7the evening before my return home7 ,i managed to prevail upon myself to have a close and formal discussion with ,harrington on the subject of his scepticism4 ,we had a regular fight1 which lasted till midnight1 and beyond4 ,a good deal of it was 7in a double sense1 perhaps7 a nuktomachia4 ,as ,i had no one to jot down short-hand notes of our controversy1--perhaps it is as well for me and for truth that there was none1--it is impossible that ,i should do more than give you a succinct summary of its course4 ,but its principal topics are too indelibly impressed on my memory to leave me in doubt about general accuracy4 ,i hardly know what led to it2 ,i believe1 however1 it was an observation he made on the different fates of metaphysical and physical science1--the last all progress1 and the first perpetual uncertainty4 ,he had been reading a remark of some philosopher who attributed this difference to the more substantial incentives offered to the cultivation of the physical sciences4 ,so that1 said he1 they are1 it seems1 what our ,german friends would call ',brodwissenschaften'6 ,not the brain1 as some idly suppose1 but the stomach1 is the true organon of discovery1 and if the metaphysician could but be punctually assured of his dinner 7which has not always been the case71 or at all events of a fortune1 we should soon have the true theories of the ,sublime and ,beautiful1--of ,ethics1--of the ,infinite1--of the ,absolute1--of ,mind and ,matter1--of ,liberty and ,necessity2 whereas ,i think we should only have a multiplication of doubtful theories4 ,he remarked that he doubted the truth of the hypothesis in both its parts2 that not the want of adequate motives1 but the intrinsic difficulty of the subjects1 had kept metaphysics back 7on what subjects had men expended more gigantic toil872 nor1 on the other hand1 was it necessity that chiefly impelled man to cultivate physical science2 it was the desire of knowledge1--or rather1 he added1 the love of truth2 for what else was his admitted curiosity1 in the last resort1 unless man is equally curious about falsehood and truth2 that is1 said he1 laughing1 as curious after ignorance as after knowledge6 ,no1 he continued1 the sciences are made arts for utilitarian purposes2 but the sciences themselves have a very different origin4 ,for my own part1 ,i would as soon believe that ,sir ,isaac ,newton excogitated his system of the universe in hopes of being made one day ,master of the ,mint4 ,i assented1 and1 smiling1 told him ,i was glad to find him admit that there was in man a love of knowledge1 identical with the love of truth4 ,he said he admitted the appetite1 but denied that there was always an adequate supply of food4 ,he admitted that in physical science man seemed capable of unlimited progress2 but it seemed doubtful whether this was the case in other directions4 ,what was there inconsistent with scepticism in that8 he asked4 ,i answered1 that it was not for me to say at what point of the scale a man might become an orthodox doubter2 but ,i was1 at all events1 glad that he had not gone all the lengths which some had gone1 or professed to have gone2 who1 if they had not reached that climax of ,pyrrhonism1 to doubt even if they doubt1 yet had declared the attainment of all truth impossible4 ,i then bantered him a little on the advantages of absolute scepticism2 told him ,i wondered that he should throw them away2 and reminded him of the success with which the sceptic might train on his adversary into the bosky depths of ,german metaphysics1--the theories of ,schelling1 ,fichte1 ,hegel4 ,if truth be in any of those dusky labyrinths1 said ,i1 you are not compelled to find her2 the more unintelligible the discussion becomes1 the better for the sceptic2 you may not only doubt1 but doubt whether you even understand your doubts4 ,you may play 'hide and seek' there for ten thousand years4 ,for all eternity1 was his reply4 ,but he said he had no wish to seek any such covert1 nor to play the sceptic4 ,i told him ,i was glad to find that his scepticism did not--to use ,burke's expression on another subject--go down to the foundations4 ,he answered that he was afraid it did on all subjects really of any significance to man4 ,as to the present life1 he continued1 ,i am quite willing to accept ,bayle's dictum3 ',les ,sceptiques ne nioient pas qu'il ne se fallut conformer aux coutumes de son pays1 et pratiquer des devoirs de la morale1 et prendre parti en ces choses la sur des probabilites1 sans attendre la certitude4' ,i was not sorry that he took ,bayle's limits of scepticism rather than ,hume's3 ,i told him so4 ,hume1 he said1 was evidently playing with scepticism2 for himself1 he had no heart to jest upon the subject4 ,the ,scotch sceptic acknowledged that the metaphysical riddles of his absolute scepticism exercised1 and ought to exercise1 no practical influence on himself or any man2 that the moment he quitted them1 and entered into society1 they appeared to him so frigid and unnatural that he could not get himself to interest himself about them any further2 that a dinner with a friend1 or a game at backgammon1 put them all to flight1 and restored him to the undoubting belief of all the maxims which his meditative hours had stripped him of4 ,it was natural1 ,harrington said2 for such scepticism was impossible4 ,he added1 however1 that1 had ,hume been honest1 he would never have employed his subtilty in the one-sided way he did2 for1 said he1 if his principles be true1 they tell just as much against those who deny any religious dogmas as against those who maintain them4 ,yet everywhere in relation to religion--take the question of miracles1 for example--he argues not as a sceptic at all1 but as a dogmatist1 only on the negative side4 ,if his doctrine of ',ideas' and of ',causation' be true1 he ought to have maintained that2 for any thing we know1 miracles may have occurred a thousand times1 and may as often occur again4 ,hume1 he said1 was amusing himself2 but ,i am not3 nor can any one really feel--many pretend to do so without feeling at all--the pressure of such doubts as envelop me1 and be content to amuse themselves with them4 ,i found it very difficult to attack him in the intrenchments he had thrown up4 ,i thought ,i would just try for a moment to act on the ,spiritualist's advice1 and1 throwing aside all intellectual and logical processes1 all appeals to the critical faculties1 advance lightly equipped as ,priestley himself1 making my appeal to the spiritual faculty4 ,i cannot say that the result was at all what spiritualism promises4 ,on the contrary1 ,harrington parried all such appeals in a twinkling4 ,he said he did not admit that he had any spiritual faculty which acted in isolation from the intellect2 that religious faith must be founded on religious truth1 and even quasi-religious faith on quasi-religious truth4 ,that the intellect and the moral and spiritual faculties 7if he had any7 acted together1 since he felt that he was indivisible1 and that the former man be satisfied as well as the latter2 that it was so with all his faculties1 none of which acted in isolation2 that however hunger might prompt to food1 he never took what his senses of sight and touch told him was sand or gravel2 that if he indulged love1 or pity1 or anger1 it was only as the senses and the imagination and the understanding were busied with objects adequate to elicit them2 that if beautiful poetry excited emotion1 it was only as he understood the meaning and connection of the words4 ,and what else are you doing now1 while urging me to realize by direct 'insight1' by 'gazing' on 'spiritual truth1' and so forth1 the things you wish me to realize1 --,i say what are you doing but appealing to me1 through these same media of the senses and the imagination1 by rhetoric and logic8 ,how else can you gain any access to my supposed 'spiritual faculties'8 ,i replied1 that even the spiritualist did that1--he endeavored to convince men1 ,i supposed4 ,yes1 he replied1 laughing1 because he is privileged doubly to abuse logic at one and the same time2 to abuse it in one sense as a fallacious instrument of religious conviction in the hands of others1 and to abuse it in another sense1 as an instrument of fallacious conviction in his own4 ,but you are not so privileged4 ,harrington insisted on the fact1 that the whole thing was a delusion2 ,i might appeal1 he said1 if ,i thought proper1 to any faculties1 or rudiments of faculties1 he possessed1 spiritual or otherwise2 but he really could not pretend even to comprehend one syllable ,i said1 if ,i denied him the use of his understanding4 ,i might as well1 and for the same reasons1 appeal to him without the intervention of his senses1 --for his soul could not be more different from his intellect than from them4 ,besides1 he continued1 ,i know you do not imagine that any spiritual faculty acts thus independently of the intellect2 and therefore you are only mocking me4 ,i thought it best to cut my cable and leave this unsafe anchorage4 ,i told him that1 as he doubted whether man had any distinctly marked religious and spiritual faculties1 while ,i affirmed that he had1 --although he was quite right in supposing that ,i did not believe that they acted except in close conjunction with the intellect1--it made it difficult to hold any discourse with him4 ,doubting the ,bible1 he had also learned to doubt that doctrine of human depravity1 which he once thought harmonized--and ,i still thought did alone harmonize--the great facts of man's essentially religious constitution and his eternally varied and most egregiously corrupt religious development4 ,however1 ,i told him that1 even in the concession of the probable as a sufficient rule of conduct in this life1 he had granted enough to condemn utterly his sceptical position4 ,he now looked sincerely interested4 ,let me1 said ,i1 ask you a few questions4 ,he glanced towards me an arch look4 ,what6 he said1 you wish to get the ,socratic weather-gage of me1 do you8 ,you forget1 my dear uncle1 that you introduced me to the ,platonic dialectics4 ,heaven forgive you1 said ,i1 for the thought4 ,you know ,i make little pretension to your favorite erotetic method3 and if ,i did1 oh6 do you not know1 ,harrington1 my son1 that1 if ,i could but convince you on this one subject1 ,i would consent to be confuted by you on every other every day in the year8--nay1 to be trampled under your feet8 ,i added1 with a faltering voice4 ,and1 besides that1 do you not know that there can be no rivalry between father and son2 that it is the only human affection which forbids it2 that pride1 and not envy1 swells a father's heart1 when he finds himself outdone8 ,he was not unmoved2 told me he knew that ,i loved him well1 and desired me to ask any questions ,i pleased4 ,he saw how gratified his affection made me feel4 ,i said1 gayly1 ,well1 then1 let me ask 7as our old friend with the queer face might have said71 ,do you not grant there is such a thing as prudence8 ,i do1 he said4 ,but to be prudent is1 ,i think1 to do that which is most likely to promote our happiness4 ,that which seems most likely1 for ,i do not admit that we know what will4 ,that which seems1 then1 for it is of no consequence4 ,of no consequence6 surely there is a little difference between being and seeming to be4 ,all the difference in the world1 ,i replied1 but not in relation to our choice of conduct1 ,we choose1 if prudent1 that conduct which1 on the whole1 deliberately seems most likely to promote our happiness1 and1 as far as that goes1 what seems is4 ,i grant it2 and that probabilities are the measure of it1 said ,harrington4 ,you are of ,bayle's opinion1 that there is in relation to the present life a probable prudent1 and that it would be gross folly to neglect it8 ,certainly4 ,and in proportion as the interest was greater1 and extended over a longer time1 you would be content with less and less probabilities to justify action8 ,i freely grant ,i should4 ,if now a servant came into the room to say that he feared your farm-house at ,king's ,o--- was on fire1 though you might think it but faintly probable1 you would not think it prudent to neglect the information8 ,i certainly should not4 ,and if you were immortal here on earth1 and the neglect of some probably1 or 7we will say7 only possibly1 true information in relation to some vital interest might affect it through that whole immortality1 you would consider it prudent to act on almost no probability at all1 on the very faintest presumption of the truth8 ,i must in honesty agree with you so far4 ,what does your scepticism promise you1 if it be well founded8 ,much happiness8 ,to me none2 rather the contrary2 and to none1 ,i think1 can it promise much4 ,and if ,christianity be true1--for ,i speak only of that1--,i know there is not in your estimate any other religion that comes into competition with it--immortal felicity1 immortal misery1 depends on it8 ,yes2 it cannot be denied4 ,you admit that scepticism may be false1 even though it has a thousand to one in its favor2 for by its very principles you know nothing1 and can know nothing1 on the subjects to which its doubts extend8 ,i acknowledge it4 ,and ,christianity may be true by the very same reasoning1 though the chances be only as one to a thousand8 ,it is so4 ,then by your own confession you are not prudent1 for you do not act in relation to ,christianity on the principles on which you say you act in the affairs of the present life2 where you acknowledge that the least presumption will move you1 when the interests are sufficiently permanent and great4 ,he told me1 with a smile1 ,i might have arrived at the same conclusion without any argument2 for he was willing to acknowledge in general that he was not prudent1 and in relation to this very subject should always admit1 with ,byron1 that the sincere ,christian had an undeniable advantage over both the infidel and the sceptic2 since1 he added1 putting the admission into a very concise form1 their best is his worst4 ,very well1 said ,i1 ,harrington1 only remember that your imprudence is none the less for your admission of it4 ,none in the world1 he admitted2 but be contended there was a flaw in the argument2 for that it was impossible to accept any religion on merely prudential grounds4 ,and he then went on1 in his curious way1 to lament that an unreasonable candor prevented him from here taking advantage of an ingenious argument adopted by some of the modern spiritualists in reasoning on the probabilities of a future life4 ,they contend that it is necessary to insulate the soul 7if it would discover spiritual truth7 from all bias of self- interest1--from all oblique glances at prospective advantage2 in fact1 that only he is fully equipped for discovering spiritual truth who is disinterestedly indifferent as to whether it be discovered or not4 ,harrington said he could not pretend that even the sceptic was so favorably circumstanced as that4 ,for my part1 he said1 ,i cannot honestly adopt this view1 and always think it prudent to accept as large an armful of happiness as ,i can grasp1 when truth and duty do not come in the way4 ,and in the name of common sense1 ,i said1 what truth and duty are to stand in your way8 ,is not your truth1 that there is none8 ,yes1 he replied1 smiling2 but is not the truth the truth1 as ,falstaff said8 though to be sure it was when he was manufacturing his eleven men in buckram out of two4 ,however1 as ,mr4 ,newman1 when some one foretold that he would be some day a ,socinian or an infidel1 replied1 ',well1 if ,socinianism or any thing else be the truth1 ,socinians or any thing else let us be'2 so ,i must say1 if no truth be the truth1 no-truth men let us be4 ,very well1 ,i replied4 ,then1 it seems1 truth stands in the way of acting prudently2 and1 instead of remedying our first paradox1 we have started on another1 that truth and prudence are here opposed3 for in no other cases 7,i think7 in which you apply your own rule of the probable to the present life will a mind of your comprehensiveness say they are opposed2 ,i am sure you will admit the general maxims1 that to lie is inexpedient1 and that honesty is the best policy1 and so on4 ,he granted it4 ,but further1 said ,i1 what sort of truth is this1 which involves duty1 and yet is opposed to prudence8 ,it is1 that there is no truth1 it seems1 and this completes the paradox4 ,this strange truth--the ,alpha ,omega of the sceptic1 his first and his last--is to involve duty2 he is to be a confessor and martyr for it6 ,nothing less than happiness and prudence are to be sacrificed to conscience in the matter4 ,truly1 if the truth that there is no truth involves any duty1 it ought to be the duty of believing that there is no duty to be performed2 and you might as well call yourself a no-duty man as a no-truth man4 ,he smiled1 but replied1 that1 seriously1 it was impossible to adopt any religious opinions1 or to change them1 at the bidding of the will4 ,i admitted1 of course1 that the will had no direct power in the matter2 but reminded him that1 if he meant it had no influence1 or even a little1 on the formation or retention of opinions1 no one could be a more strenuous assertor of the contrary than he had often been4 ,i reminded him it was so notorious that man usually managed to believe as he wished1 that was no one maxim more frequently on the lips of the greatest philosophers1 orators1 and poets4 ,but ,i added that there is also a legitimate way of influencing will1 and that is through the understanding2 and was with the hope of inducing him to reconsider the paradoxes of scepticism1 and not with any expectation of instant or violent change1 that ,i was anxious to enumerate them on the present occasion4 ,it is impossible for me to recollect exactly the course of the long conversation that ensued2 suffice it to say1 that he willingly granted many other paradoxes1 some of them so readily1 as to confirm the suspicion ,i had sometimes felt1 that he must often have doubted the validity of his doubts4 ,he admitted1 for example1 that since men in general 7whether from the possession of a distinct religious faculty1 though it might be corrupt and depraved1 or a mere rudimentary tendency to religion7 had adapted some religion1 religious scepticism1 in an intelligible sense1 was opposed to nature2 --that it was equally opposed to nature1 inasmuch as the general constitution of man sought and loved certainty1 or supposed certainty1 and found a state of perpetual doubt intolerable2 and that if this be attributed to a tendency to dogmatism1 that is the very tendency of nature which is affirmed2--that it is opposed to nature again in this way1 that whereas restlessness and agitation of mind are usually1 at all events1 warnings to seek relief1 scepticism produces these as its pure and proper result2--that since1 by the confession of every mind worthy of respect1 the great doctrines of religion1 if not true1 are such that we cannot but wish they were2 since1 by his own confession1 scepticism has nothing to allure in it1 and rather causes misery than happiness2 and since1 by his confession and that of every one else1 men in general easily believe as they wish1 it is an unaccountable paradox1 that any one should remain a sceptic for a day1 except1 indeed1 from a guilty fear of the truth2--that1 since scepticism tends to misery1 it is better not to know its truth1 and that therefore ignorance is better than knowledge2--that1 if ,christianity be an illusion1 it1 at all events1 tends to make men happier than the truth of scepticism1 and that therefore error is better than truth2--that religious scepticism is open to the same objection as scepticism absolute2 for whereas the last is taunted with trusting to reason to prove that reason can in nothing be trusted1 religious scepticism is chargeable with declaring the certainty of all uncertainty1 and1 while proclaiming3 that there is nothing true1 avowing that that is truth and lastly1 that if1 in consistency1 it leaves even that uncertainty uncertain1 it arrives at a conclusion which everlastingly remits us to renewed investigation6 ,but1 said he1 the sceptic does affirm the certainty of all uncertainty4 ,that is precisely my state of mind1 even in relation to ,christianity4 ,both its truth and falsehood are--uncertain4 ,then1 said ,i1 ,i must not say you reject ,christianity1 but only that you do not receive it8 ,precisely so1 said he1 with a smile and a blush at the same time4 ,i was much amused with this logical ceremoniousness1 by which a man is not to say that he rejects any thing so conditioned1 but only that he does not receive it4 ,i told him ,i imagined they came to much the same thing4 ,it is impossible1 said he1 after a pause1 to affirm any thing on these subjects4 ,it is equally impossible8 said ,i1 to affirm nothing2 on the contrary1 you sceptics have two conclusions1 though in a negative form1 for every body else's one1--together with the pleasant addition1 that they are contraries to one another2 and as ,pascal said that the man who attempted to be neuter between the sceptic and dogmatist was a sceptic par excellence1 so the genuine sceptic may be called a dogmatist par excellence4 ,for my part1 said he1 smiling sadly1 ,i hardly think it is very difficult either to believe nothing or every thing4 ,fellowes1 you see1 has believed everything1 and now he is in a fair way to believe nothing4 ,however1 all ,i mean is1 that the evidence on these subjects reduces one to a state of complete mental suspense1 in which it is equally unreasonable to say that we believe1 as to say that we believe not4 ,however1 ,i grant you most of the paradoxes you mention2 but a sceptic is not to be startled by paradoxes1 ,i trow2 alas6 they prove nothing4 ,prove nothing6 nay1 ,i think you do your system injustice2 ,i think it is entitled to the distinction of making great discoveries4 ,you confess that the only truth on these subjects is1 that there is no truth2 that to act on this truth necessitates a conduct opposed to nature1 to prudence1 to happiness2 that it is a knowledge worse than ignorance2 that it is a truth that is worse than error2 that it never did1 will1 or can be embraced by many1 and that it makes the few who embrace it miserable2 you admit further1 with me1 that men generally believe as they wish4 ,why1 then1 do you not fly from so hideous a monster1 on the very ground 7only in this case it is stronger7 on which you doubt all religious systems1--that is1 on account of the supposed paradoxes they involve8 ,it may be but a little argument with you1 who seem to demand demonstration of religious truth2 but for myself1 ,i feel that1 whatever be the truth1 such a chimera as scepticism1 bristling all over with paradoxes1 must be--a lie4 ,well1 he replied1 but then which religion is the true8 ,nay1 ,i said1 that is an after consideration2 if you can but be brought to believe that any is true1 ,i know you will believe but one4 ,you touched just now1 he replied1 on the very difficulty4 ,i shall believe as soon as any one gives me what you truly say ,i ask1-- demonstration of the truth of some one of the thousand and one religious systems which men have believed4 ,and that1 demonstration1 said ,i1 you cannot have2 for ,god has not granted demonstration to man on that or any other subject in which duty is involved4 ,but why might ,i not have had it8 and should ,i not have had it1 if it had been incumbent on me to believe it8 ,we had now come to the very knot of the whole argument4 ,incumbent on you to believe6 ,i suppose you mean1 if there had been any system which you could not but believe2 which you must believe whether you would or not4 ,no doubt1 in that case1 the requisite evidence would have been such that scepticism would have been impossible2 that word 'incumbent' implies duty2 and that word duty is the key to the whole mystery1 for it implies the possibility of resisting its claims4 ,we do not speak of its being incumbent on a man to run out of a burning house1 or to swim1 if he can1 when thrown into deep water4 ,he cannot help it4 ,if there be a ,supreme ,ruler of the universe1 and if the posture of his intelligent creatures be that of submissive obedience to him1 it is inconceivable that a man can ever have experience of his being willing to perform that duty with the sort of demonstration which you demand2 and1 for aught we know1 it may be impossible1 constituted as we are1 that we should ever be actually trained to that duty1 except in the midst of very much less than certainty4 ,now1 if this be so1--and ,i defy you or any man to prove that it may not be so1--then we are asking a simple impossibility when we ask that we may be freed from these conditions2 for it is asking that we may perform our duty1 under circumstances which shall render all duty impossible4 ,i pursued this subject at some length1 and reminded him that the supposed law of our religious condition was throughout in analogy with that of the entire condition of our present life1 and in conformity with his own rule of the probable2 that it is probable evidence only that is given to man in either case1 and probable evidence1 as ,bishop ,butler says1 often of even wretchedly insufficient character4 ,nature1 or rather ,god himself1 everywhere cries aloud to us1 ,o mortals6 certainty1 demonstration1 infallibility1 are not for you1 and shall not be given to you2 for there must be a sphere for faith1 hope1 sincerity1 diligence1 patience4 ,and as if to prove to us1 not only that this evidence is what we must trust to1 but that we safely may1 ,he impels us by strong necessities of our lower nature operating on the higher 7which would otherwise1 perhaps1 plead for the sceptic's inaction in relation to this as well as to another world7 to play our part2 if we stand shivering on the brink of action1 necessity plunges us headlong in2 if we fear to hoist the sail1 the strength of the current of life snaps our moorings1 and compels us to drive4 ,i reminded him1 that the general result also shows that1 as man must1 so he may1 can1 will1 shall1 7and so through all the moods and tenses of contingency17 do well2 that faith in that same sort of evidence which the sceptic rejects when urged in behalf of religion1 prompts the farmer to cast in his seed1 though he can command no blink of sunshine1 nor a drop of rain2 the merchant to commit his treasures to the deep1 though they may all go to the bottom1 and sometimes do2 the physician to essay the cure of his patient1 though often half in doubt whether his remedy will kill or save4 ,it is1 said ,i1 in that same faith that we build1 and plant1 and lay our little plans each day2 sometimes coming to nothing1 but generally1 and according to the fidelity and manliness with which we have conducted ourselves1 securing more than a return for the moral capital embarked2 and even where this is not the case1 issuing1 when there have been the qualities which would naturally secure success1 a vigor and robustness of character1 which1 like the rude health glowing in the weather-beaten mariner1 who has buffeted with wind and wave1 are a more precious recompense than success itself4 ,in these examples ,god says to us in effect1 ',on such evidence you must and shall act1' and shows us that we safely may4 ,without promising us absolute success in all our plans1 or absolute truth in the investigation of evidence1 he says1 in either case1 ',do your best2 be faithful to the light you have1 diligent and conscientious in your investigations of available evidence1 great or little1--act fearlessly on what appears the truth1 and leave the rest to me4' ,harrington here asked the question ,i expected3--,but suppose different men coming 7as they do7 on religious subjects to different conclusions1 after the diligence and fidelity of which you speak1 what then8 ,then1 if the fidelity and diligence have been absolute1--if all has been done which1 under the circumstances1 could be done1--,i doubt not they are blameless4 ,but ,i fear there are very few who can absolutely say this2 and for those who cannot say it at all1 their guilt is proportionate to the demands which the momentous nature of the subject made on diligence and fidelity4 ,i suppose said he1 with some hesitation1 you will not allow that ,i have exercised this impartial search2 and yet1 supposing that ,i have1 will you not hold me blameless on the very principles now laid down8 ,it was a painful question2 but ,i was resolved ,i would have nothing to reproach myself with2 and therefore answered steadily1 that it was not for me to judge the degree of blame which attached to his present state of mind1 which ,i trusted was only transient2 that the argument from sincerity was itself only one of the probable things of which we had been speaking2 that1 so subtle are the operations of the human mind1 so mysterious the play of the passions and affections1 the reason and conscience1 so intimate the connection amongst all our powers and faculties1 that it is one of the most difficult things to be able to say1 with truth1 that we are perfectly sincere2 that ,i did not see any difficulty in believing that there is many a man who1 without hesitation and without any conscious hypocrisy1 would avow his sincerity1 who1 upon being suffered to look into his own mind through a moral solar microscope1 would see there all sorts of misshapen monsters1 and turn away from the spectacle with disgust and horror2 that such a microscope 7to speak in figure7 might one day be applied by that ,power to whom only the human heart is fully known4 ,i added1 however1 that1 if ,i knew more of his mental history for some years past1 7into which my affection-should never induce me impertinently to pry17 ,i might1 perhaps1 in some measure1 account for his scepticism2 that ,i could even conceive cases of minds so encompassed with infirmity1 or so dependent on states of health1 as to render such a state involuntary1 and therefore to take them out of the sphere of our argument4 ,but1 apart from some such causes1 ,i plainly told him ,i could not permit myself to believe that religious scepticism could be free from heavy blame1 if only on the ground that such as feel it do not act consistently with its maxims in other cases1 where the evidence is of the same dubious nature1 or rather is much more dubious4 ,the parallel case would be1 7if we could find it17 of a man whose interest urgently required him to act one way or the other1 and who1 instead of acting accordingly1 sat down in absolute inaction1 on the score that he did not know what course to pursue4 ,that indecision would be always blamable4 ,ah6 said ,i1 those cool heads and skilful hands which pilot the little bark of their worldly fortunes amidst such dangerous rocks and breakers1 under such dark and stormy skies1 what can they say1 if asked why they gave up all thought of religion on the score of doubt1 when its hopes are at least as high as those of the schemes of earthly success1 and its claims at least as strong as those of present duty8 ,what will they be able to say8 ,o ,harrington6 ,i continued1 in some such words as these1 supposing the draught of our present condition not to be such as ,i have sketched2 that the sceptical view of the gloom in which we are placed is the true one1 and that the ,christian's is false2 which1 nevertheless1 is likely to be not merely the happier1 but the nobler being1--he who sits down in querulous repining or slothful inactivity1 as the result of doubt1 or he who1 buoyant with faith and hope1 encounters the gloom1 and1 while longing for the dawn1 is confident that it will come8 ,but if that sketch be a true one1--if the trial of which ,i have spoken be necessary for you and for all1 to develop and discipline those qualities which alone will elicit and mature an ,immortal ,virtue1 and secure to us at last the privilege of indefectible 'children of ,god1'--then with what feelings will you hear the ,great ,master say1 ',in every other case but this1 you acted on the principles and maxims by which ,i taught you 7not obscurely7 that ,i summoned you to act in this case also3 doubts and difficulties were necessary to you as to all1 and ,i exacted of you no more than were necessary ultimately to secure for you an eternal exemption from them4 ,but because you could not have that certainty which the very necessity of the case excluded1 you declined the trial1 and have accounted yourself unworthy of eternal life6' ,ah6 how different if you could hear him say1 ',it was indeed a temptation2 amidst numberless blessings denied to others1 ,i yet gave you1 too1 your trial2--the questionable talent of an inquisitive intellect1 and leisure to use or abuse it4 ,tempted to absolute doubt1 you would not succumb to it2 you would not be so inconsistent here as to relinquish those maxims on which ,i compelled you to act in every other case in life1 nor deny to ,,me the confidence which you granted to every common friend6 ,warned by the very misery which was sent to caution you that in that direction lay death1 you struggled against the incursions of your subtle foes1 and you overcame4 ,welcome1 child of clay6 welcome to that world in which there is no more ,,night6' ,we had been talking on till long past midnight2 and the lamp suddenly warned us that its light was just expiring4 ,harrington took off the shade1 and was about to light a candle by the dying flame1 when it went out4 ,it matters not1 he said1 ,i have the means of kindling a light close at hand4 ,let it alone1 said ,i1 rising1 and gently laying my hand on his arm1 and speaking in a low voice1 but with much earnestness2 this darkness is an emblem of our present life4 ,you cannot see me1 but you hear my voice and feel the touch of my hand4 ,for any thing you know1 ,i may be seized with a sudden fit of insanity4 ,i may be about to stab you in this darkness2 such things have been4 ,you have lost1 with the light1 more than half the indications of affection which that would disclose4 ,but you trust to the probable2 your pulse does not beat any the quicker1 nor do your nerves tremble4 ,you may have similar1 nay1 how much stronger proofs 7if you will7 of the confidence with which you may trust ,god1 and ,him1 the compassionate ,one1 whom he hath sent1 in spite of all the gloom in which this life is involved4 ,that certainty for which you have just now asked will only be granted when the darkness is passed away2 and then you will 'rejoice in the light of his countenance4' ,and1 further1 ,i continued1 there is yet one thing which ,i wish to say to you2 and ,i feel as if ,i could say it better in this darkness2 for ,i will not venture to say that ,i should not manifest more feeling than is consistent in a hard-hearted metaphysician4 ,yes6 it is on the side of feeling that ,i would also address you4 ,you will say1 feeling is not argument8 ,no2 but is man all reason8 ,i firmly believe1 indeed1 that man is not called upon to do any thing for which his reason does not tell him that he has sufficient evidence2 but a part of that very evidence is often the dictate of feeling2 and genuine reason will listen to the heart1 as not always1 nor perhaps more frequently than otherwise1 a suspicious pleader4 ,if1 as ,pascal says so truly1 it sometimes has its reasons which the reason cannot comprehend1 it has also its reasons which the reason thoroughly understands4 ,you were early an orphan2 you do not remember your mother2 but ,i do2 ah1 how well6 ,i saw her the last time she ever saw you4 ,you were brought to her bedside when she was in the full possession of all her faculties1 and deeply conscious that she had not many hours to live4 ,she looked at you as you were held in your nurse's arms1 smiling upon her with to me an agonizing unconsciousness of your approaching orphanage4 ,she gazed upon you with that intense look of inexpressible affection which only maternal love1 sharpened by death1 can give2 she looked long and earnestly1 but spoke not one syllable4 ,as you were at length taken from the room1 she followed you with her eyes till the door closed1 and then it seemed as if the light of this world had been quenched in them for ever4 ',i charge you1' she said at length1 'let me see him again4' ,i made a motion as if to recall the attendant ',not here1' she added1 laying her hand gently on my arm1 and ,i understood her but too well4 ,you know whether ,i have in any degree fulfilled my trust4 ,but is it possible that ,i can think of an utter failure1 and not be more than troubled8 ,and if ,christianity be true1 and if ,i am so happy as to obtain admission to that 'blessed country into which an enemy never entered1 and from which a friend never went away1' and she whom ,i loved so well should ask me why you come not1--that she had tarried for you long1--must ,i say that you will never come8 that her child had wandered from the fold of the ,good ,shepherd1 and had gone ,i knew not whither8 that ,i sought him in the lonely glens and mountains1 but found him not8 ,i hardly know1 but ,i almost think--such was the love she had for you--that such reply would shade that radiant face even amidst the glories of ,paradise4 ,and now--let all this be a dream--suppose that not simply by your own fault you will never see that mother more1 but that from the sad truth of your no truth--you never can2 that the ',vale1 vale1 in aeternum1 vale1' is all that you can say to her3 yet ,i say this1--that to live only in the hope of the possibility of fulfilling the better wishes of such a friend1 and rejoining her for ever in 7if you will7 the fabulous 'islands of the blest1' would not only make you a happier1 but even a nobler1 being than your present mood can ever make you4 ,my ,,fabulous is better than your ,,true4 ,i felt that he was not unmoved4 ,i was myself moved too much to allow me to stay any longer1 and saying that ,i could find my way very well to my chamber in the dark1 where ,i had the means of kindling a light1 ,i softly closed the door and left him4 ,as ,i was to leave very early in the morning1 ,i had told ,harrington that ,i should depart for the neighboring town 7whither his servant was to drive me7 without disturbing him4 ,but ,i could not tear myself away1 after the singular close of our interview on the last evening1 without a more express farewell4 ,i tapped at his chamber door1 but1 receiving no reply1 gently entered4 ,he was resting in unquiet slumber4 ,a table1 lamp1 and books1 by his bedside1 bore witness to his perseverance in that pernicious habit which he had early formed6 ,i gently drew back one of the curtains1 and let in the light of the summer morning on his pallid1 but most speaking features1 and gazed on them with a sad and foreboding feeling4 ,i recalled those days when ,i used nightly to visit the slumbers of the little orphan1 and trace in his features the image of his mother4 ,he was not aroused by my entrance2 most likely he had sunk to slumber at a late hour4 ,presently he began to talk in his sleep1 which was almost a constant habit in his younger days1 and which ,i used to consider one of the symptoms of that intense cerebral activity by which he was distinguished4 ,on the present occasion ,i thought ,i could interpret the fitful and fleeting images which were chasing each other by the laws of association through his mind4 ,but how shall ,i know that these thing which ,i call real1 are different from the phenomena of sleep which ,i call real8 ,alas6 thought ,i1 the ruling passion is strong in sleep1 as in waking moments6 ,how ,i dread lest it should be strong in death itself1 of which this sleep is the image6 ,after a pause1 an expression of deepest sadness crept over the features1 and he murmured1 with a slight alteration1 two lines from ,coleridge's translation of that glorious scene in which ,wallenstein looks forth into the windy night in search of his star1 and thinks of that brighter light of his life which had been just extinguished4 ,harrington used to say1 that he preferred the translation of that scene even to the magnificent original itself4 ,these lines1 7now a little varied17 ,i had often heard him quote with delight3-- ,methinks ,if ,i but saw her1 't would be well with me2 ,she was the star of my nativity4 ,was he1 by the magic of dream-land1 transported back to childhood8 ,was he as an orphan child thinking of his mother1 the image of whose dying hours ,i had so recently called up before him8 ,or was it the recollection of a still brighter and more recently extinguished star1 which thus troubled his wandering fancy8--,there was another pause1 and again the fitful breeze of association awakened the sad and plaintive melody of the ,a,eolian lyre2 but ,i could not distinguish the words4 ,presently the scene again changed2 and he suddenly said1 ,beautiful shadow6 if thou art a shadow1--thou hast said1 ,come to me all ye that are weary1--and surely if ever man was weary--,to whom can ,i go-- ,it was with intense feeling that ,i watched for something more2 but to my disappointment1 7,i may almost call it anguish17 he continued silent4 ,i could not find it in my heart to rouse him1 and1 softly leaving the chamber1 departed for home4 ,october #ca4 ,the young ,sceptic has since gone where doubts are solved for ever2 but ,i am not without hope1 that in his last hours he was able to finish the sentence which his dream-left incomplete4 ,to whom can ,i go1 but unto ,thee8 ,,thou ,,only ,,hast ,,the ,,words ,,of ,,eternal ,,life4 ,for me1 ,i have nothing more to live for here4 ,in a few weeks ,i gladly go to join my brother in his distant exile2--and for ,thee1 my ,country1 ,peace be within thy dwellings1 and prosperity within thy palaces6 ,and that it may be so1 may that ,christianity1 which1 all imperfectly as it has been exemplified1 has yet been thy ,palladium and thy ,glory1 be ever and increasingly dear to thee6 ,december #bg4 ,i have resolved that the fragments which originally constituted this journal shall not be destroyed4 ,i have employed the interval since the last date in adapting and disguising them for publication4 ,how far an embroidery of fiction has been necessary in attaining this object1 is a matter of no consequence to any one2 since the book aspires to none of the appropriate attractions of either a novel or a history4 ,no doubt a much stronger interest1 of a certain kind1 might have been secured by a free employment of fictitious embellishment1 or even by a more liberal indulgence in biographical details4 ,but ,i have been content1 for a special object1 to do what some tell us is to be done with the ,bible1--to separate1 from the mass of incident which might have varied or adorned the narrative the exclusively ,religious ,element4 ,if the discussions in the preceding pages shall in any instance convince the youthful reader of the precarious nature of those modern book-revelations which are somewhat inconsistently given us in books which tell us that all book-revelations of religious truth are superfluous or even impossible2 if they shall convince him how easily an impartial doubter can retort with interest the deistical arguments against ,christianity1 or how little merely insoluble objections can avail against any thing2 if they shall convince him that the differences with which the assailants of the ,bible taunt its advocates are neither so numerous nor half so appalling as those which divide its enemies2 or1 lastly1 if they shall1 par avarice1 in any degree protect those who1 like ,harrington ,d----1 are being made1 or are in danger of being made1 sceptical as to all religious truth1 by the religious distractions of the present day1--,i shall be well content to bear the charge of having spoiled a ,fiction1 or even of having mutilated a ,biography4 ,f4,b4 ,,the ,,end4