,,no ,,refuge ,,but ,,in ,,truth   ,,by 
,,goldwin ,,smith     ,,toronto  ,,wm4  
,,tyrrell  ,,company  #aijh             
,,copyright1 #aijg-aijh  ,,by ,,the     
,,sun ,,printing ,,and ,,publishing     
,,company    ,,copyright1 ,,canada1     
#aijf  ,,by  ,,goldwin ,,smith          
,,contents4   ,,preface4     ,i4 ,man   
and ,his ,destiny   ,,ii4 ,new ,faith   
,linked with ,old  ,,iii4 ,the ,scope of
 ,evolution   ,,iv4 ,the ,limit of      
,evolution    ,v4 ,explanations   ,,vi4 
,the ,immortality of the ,soul  ,,vii4  
,is there to be a ,revolution in        
,ethics8  ,the ,religious ,situation    
,transcriber's note3 ,because ,the      
,religious ,situation had its own title 
and verso page1 it was split into a     
separate e-book4     ,,preface4  ,the   
letters collected in this volume        
appeared1 with others1 in the ,new ,york
 ,sun1 to the ,editor of which the      
thanks of the writer for his courtesy   
are due4  ,appended is a paper on the   
same subjects commenting on one by the  

late ,mr4 ,chamberlain1 since published 
in the ,north ,american ,review4  ,to   
the ,editor of the ,north ,american     
,review also the writer's               
acknowledgments are due4  ,there        
appeared to be sufficient interest in   
the discussion to call for the          
publication of a small edition4  ,the   
age calls for religious truth4  ,nine   
thousand persons communicated their     
cravings to the ,editor of the ,london  
,daily ,telegraph4  ,by their side the  
present writer places himself1 not a    
teacher1 but an inquirer1 seeking for   
truth and open to conviction4  ,the     
position of the clergy1 especially where
 tests are stringent1 calls for our     
utmost consideration4  ,but ,i submit   
that it would not be improved by any    
attempt1 such as seems to be made in a  
work of great ability before me1 to     
merge the theological in the social     
question4 ,benevolence may still be far 
below the ,gospel mark1 and the         
,christian faith may suffer from its    

default4  ,but the increase of it and   
the multiplication of its monuments     
since the world has been comparatively  
at peace cannot be denied2 while of the 
distress which still calls for an       
increase of ,christian effort1 not the  
whole is due to default on the part of  
the wealthier classes4  ,idleness1 vice1
 intemperance1 improvident marriage1    
play their part4  ,let us not be led    
away upon a false issue4  ,there is     
nothing for it but truth4     ,i4       
,,man1 ,,and ,,his ,,destiny4   ,time   
has passed since ,i first sought access 
to the columns of ,the ,sun1 ranging    
myself with the nine thousand who in an 
,english journal had craved for         
religious light4  ,the movement which   
caused that craving has gone on4  ,the  
,churches show their sense of it4  ,even
 in that of ,rome there is a growth of  
,modernism1 as it is called by the      
,pope1 who1 having lost his mediaeval   
preservatives of unity1 strives to quell
 ,modernism by denunciation4            

,anglicanism resorts to a grand pageant 
of uniformity1 beneath which1 however1  
lurk ,anglo-,catholicism1 ,evangelicism1
 and ,liberalism1 by no means uniform in
 faith4  ,the ,protestant ,churches     
proper1 their spirit being more         
emotional1 feel the doctrinal movement  
less4  ,but they are not unmoved1 as    
they show by relaxation of tests and    
inclination to informal if not formal   
union1 as well as by increasing the     
aesthetic and social attractions of     
their cult4  ,wild theosophic sects are 
born and die4  ,but marked is the       
increase of scepticism1 avowed and      
unavowed4  ,it advances probably        
everywhere in the track of physical     
science4  ,we are confronted with the   
vital question what the world would be  
without religion1 without trust in      
,providence1 without hope or fear of a  
hereafter4  ,social order is threatened4
  ,classes which have hitherto          
acquiesced in their lot1 believing that 
it was a divine ordinance and that there

 would be redress and recompense in a   
future state1 are now demanding that    
conditions shall be levelled here4  ,the
 nations quake with fear of change4     
,the leaders of humanity1 some think1   
may even find it necessary to make up by
 an increase of the powers of government
 for the lost influence of religion4    
,belief in the ,bible as inspired and   
,god's revelation of himself to man     
seems hardly to linger in well-informed 
and open minds4  ,criticism1 history1   
and science have conspired to put an end
 to it4  ,the authorship of the greater 
part1 including the most important      
books1 is unknown4  ,the morality of the
 ,old ,testament differs from that of   
the ,new1 and though in advance of the  
world generally in those days1 in more  
places than one1 as in the case of the  
slaughter of the ,canaanites1 shocks us 
now4  ,there are errors1 too1 in the    
,old ,testament of a physical kind1 such
 as those in the account of creation and
 the belief in the revolution of the    

sun4  ,of the ,new ,testament the most  
important books1 the first three        
,gospels1 our main authorities for the  
life of ,christ1 are manifestly grafts  
upon a stock of unknown authorship and  
date4  ,they betray a belief in         
diabolical possession1 a local          
superstition from which the author of   
the ,fourth ,gospel1 who evidently was  
not a ,palestinian ,jew1 was free4      
,there is discrepancy between the first 
three ,gospels and the fourth1 notably  
as to the day and consequent            
significance of ,christ's celebration of
 the ,passover4 ,it is incredible that  
,god in revealing himself to man should 
have allowed any mark of human error to 
appear in the revelation4  ,we have1    
moreover1 to ask why that on which the  
world's salvation depended should have  
been withheld so long and communicated  
to so few4  ,there remains of the ,old  
,testament1 besides its vast historical 
interest1 much that morally still       
impresses and exalts us4  ,of the ,new  

,testament there remains the moral ideal
 of ,christ1 our faith in which no      
uncertainty as to the authors of the    
narratives1 or mistrust of them on      
account of the miraculous embellishment 
common in biographies of saints1 need   
materially affect4  ,the moral ideal of 
,christ conquered the ancient world when
 the ,roman1 mighty in character as well
 as in arms1 was its master4  ,it has   
lived through all these centuries1 all  
their revolutions and convulsions1 the  
usurpation1 tyranny1 and scandals of the
 ,papacy4  ,the most doubtful point of  
it1 considered as a permanent exemplar1 
is its tendency1 not to asceticism1 for 
,christ came eating and drinking1 but to
 an excessive preference for poverty and
 antipathy to wealth which would arrest 
human progress and kill civilization4   
,we have1 however1 a ,nicodemus and a   
,joseph of ,arimathea1 as well as a     
,dives and a ,lazarus4  ,nothing points 
to a ,simeon ,stylites4 ,self-denial1   
though not asceticism proper1 is a      

necessary part of the life of a         
wandering preacher1 which also precluded
 the exhibition of domestic virtues4    
,the relation of ,jesus with his family 
seems to have been hardly domestic2 we  
have no record of any communication     
between him and ,joseph2 in his last    
hour he provides a retreat for his      
mother4  ,we cannot appeal from reason  
to faith4  ,faith is confidence1 and for
 confidence there must be reason4  ,the 
faith to which appeal is made is in fact
 an emotion rather than an intellectual 
conviction4  ,but apart from the ,bible1
 have we any revelation of the nature1  
the will1 the unity1 the existence of   
deity8  ,it must apparently be owned    
that1 though we tremble at the thought1 
we have none4  ,we are left upon this   
shore of time gazing into infinity and  
eternity without clue or guidance except
 such as we can gain either by          
inspection of our own nature with its   
moral indications and promptings or by  
studying the order of the universe4  ,we

 find in man1 it is true1 a natural     
belief in deity1 which we might think   
was implanted by his creator2 but it is 
not found in all men1 and in the lower  
races it assumes forms often so low and 
grotesque that we cannot imagine its    
origin to have been divine4  ,between   
the ,god of the ,christian and the god  
of the red ,indian there is1 saving mere
 force1 no affinity whatever4  ,this we 
must frankly own to ourselves4  ,the god
 of the ,mexican demanded human         
sacrifice4  ,on earth the creative power
 seems to be1 as it were1 contending    
against itself4  ,good of every kind is 
in conflict with evil4  ,slowly and     
fitfully1 with many reverses1 good seems
 to prevail4  ,humanity as a whole      
advances1 and if we could believe in its
 collective advance toward an ultimate  
perfection which all who have           
contributed to the advance should share1
 we might have a solution of the great  
problem4 ,but of this we have no certain
 assurance4  ,multitudes come into being

 who to progress can contribute nothing4
  ,there is evil of all kinds that so   
far as we can see can be followed by no 
good effect4  ,plague and famine1 with a
 great part of the common misfortunes of
 human life1 seem merely evil4  ,so1    
plainly1 do the sufferings of animals1  
sometimes on a terrible scale and       
apparently quite useless4  ,as long as  
effort1 even painful1 is the price of   
perfection the price must be paid and we
 acquiesce4  ,but in innumerable cases  
there appears to be no room for that    
explanation4  ,the rocks display the    
fossil remains of whole races of        
primeval animals produced apparently    
only to become extinct4  ,of the earth  
itself1 man's destined habitation1 large
 portions are utterly uninhabitable4    
,the legendary war between the powers of
 good and evil1 ,god and ,satan1 ,ormuzd
 and ,ahriman1 was a fable naturally    
devised1 though the birth of the two    
powers and the division of existence    
between them is inconceivable4  ,can    

anything like a clear line be drawn     
between good and evil8  ,effort and     
resistance to temptation may seem       
necessary ingredients in the formation  
of a virtuous character4  ,so far we may
 think we have the clue4  ,but what is  
to be said of the myriads of cases in   
which virtuous effort seems to be       
morally impossible2 in the case1 for    
instance1 of barbarous or corrupt and   
depraved tribes or nations in which     
general example is evil8  ,what is to be
 said of deaths in infancy1 when there  
has been no time for character to be    
formed8  ,to suppose that the ,creator  
could not have helped it1 that this was 
his only way to the production of       
virtuous beings1 is to deny his         
omnipotence4  ,a ,satan with horns and  
hoofs1 struggling against the power of  
good1 used to be the solution of the    
problem1 but belongs to the simple      
religion of the past4  ,a plan of which 
we are ignorant1 but of which the end   
will be good1 is apparently our only    

explanation of the mystery4  ,the earth 
is beautiful2 we have human society with
 all its interests2 we have friendship1 
love1 and marriage2 we have art and     
music4  ,we must trust that the power   
which will determine the future reveals 
itself in these4  ,the belief that man  
has an immortal soul inserted into a    
mortal body from which1 being1 as       
,bishop ,butler phrases it1             
indiscerptible1 it is parted at death1  
has become untenable4  ,we know that man
 is one2 that all grows and develops    
together4  ,imagination cannot picture a
 disembodied soul4  ,the spiritualist   
apparitions are always corporeal4  ,free
 will surely we unquestionably have4    
,necessarianism seems to assume that in 
action there is only one element1       
motive4  ,but reflection seems to show  
that there are two elements1 motive and 
will2 and of this duality we seem to be 
sensible when we waver in action or feel
 compunction for what we have done4  ,is
 it possible to explain moral repentance

 or morality at all without assuming the
 freedom of the will8  ,habit may       
enslave2 but to be enslaved is once to  
have been free4  ,what is conscience8   
,when we repent morally are we looking  
only to the immediate consequences of   
the act1 or are we also looking to the  
injury done to our moral nature8  ,if   
the latter1 does it not appear that     
there is something in us not material   
and pointing to a higher life8  ,much of
 us1 no doubt1 is material4  ,memory and
 imagination often act unbidden by the  
will2 imagination often when we are     
asleep4  ,we may find a material element
 even in the character as moulded by    
physical or social circumstance or need4
  ,but is there not also a conscious    
effort of self-improvement not dependent
 on these8  ,that all is material1      
nothing spiritual1 does not seem yet to 
have been proved4  ,it is by close      
examination of our own nature and its   
workings1 perhaps1 that we are most     
likely to solve the enigma of our being4

  ,the word spiritual surely has a      
meaning2 it suggests self-culture not   
only for the present but for a higher   
state4  ,evolution is a great discovery4
  ,but evolution cannot have evolved    
itself1 nor does there seem to have been
 an observed case of it4 ,points of     
similarity between the ape and man are  
not proofs of transition4  ,has any     
animal given1 like man1 the slightest   
sign of self-improvement or conscious   
tendency to progress8  ,the putting on  
by the mortal of immortality1 it must   
however be owned1 baffles conception4   
,in the apologue of ,dives and ,lazarus 
the dead appear still in their human    
forms and talk to each other across the 
gulf1 apparently narrow1 which divides  
the abode of the damned from that of the
 blessed4  ,this clearly is the work of 
imagination4  ,nor1 seeing the infinite 
gradations of character and the frequent
 mixture of good and evil in the same   
man1 can we understand how a clear line 
can be drawn between those who are      

admitted to heaven and those who are    
condemned to hell4  ,mere difficulties  
of sense or intellect on mundane        
questions might be met by appeal to the 
mysteries of a universe which may       
conceivably be other in reality than to 
us it appears4  ,but it is to be        
supposed that divine beneficence would  
give its creatures all powers of        
intelligence necessary to their moral   
welfare1 above all those entailing      
reward or punishment in a future life4  
,what is to be said in this connection  
of man's aesthetic nature1 of his sense 
of beauty and melody8  ,can they be the 
offspring of material evolution8  ,as   
they meet no material need1 we might    
almost take them for the smile of a     
beneficent and sympathizing spirit4     
,the basis of the gifts no doubt is     
physical1 but we cannot easily          
understand how they can have been       
developed by a purely physical process4 
,to ghosts and apparitions of all kinds1
 spiritualism included1 we bid a long   

farewell4  ,we turn to the universe1 of 
which while we believed in the          
,incarnation our earth was the central  
and all-important scene1 but in which it
 now holds the place only of a minor    
planet4  ,we see order and grandeur     
inexpressible1 but with some apparent   
signs of an opposite kind--the          
conflagration of a star1 a moon bereft  
of atmosphere1 errant comets and        
aerolites4  ,in our own abode we have   
variations of weather1 apparently       
accidental and sometimes noxious1       
atmospheric influences which beget      
plagues1 ministers of destruction such  
as earthquakes and volcanoes4 ,the plan1
 if plan there is1 transcends our sense 
and comprehension4  ,still1 be it ever  
borne in mind1 of the human race1       
progress1 moral and mental1 is the      
unique characteristic1 and the one which
 suggests a divine plan to be fulfilled 
in the sum of things4  ,it distinguishes
 man vitally and immeasurably from all  
other creatures4  ,fitful1 often        

arrested1 sometimes reversed1 it does   
not cease4  ,it may point to an ultimate
 solution of the enigma of our chequered
 being such as shall justify the ways of
 ,god to man4  ,this may be still the   
world's childhood1 and the faith which  
seems to be collapsing may be only that 
of the child4  ,whatever trouble1 moral1
 social1 or political1 a great change of
 belief may bring1 there is surely      
nothing for it but to seek and embrace  
the truth4  ,whatever may become of our 
creeds and of the dogma1 so plainly     
human in its origin1 of some of them1 we
 have still the ,christian ideal of     
character1 which has not yet been       
seriously challenged1 does not depend on
 miracle or dogma for its claim to      
acceptance1 and may continue to unite   
,christendom4  ,superstition can be of  
no use morally2 even politically it can 
be of little use1 and not for long4  ,in
 the ,christian ideal we still have a   
rule of life4  ,robinson1 the good      
,puritan pastor1 taking leave of the    

members of his flock who were embarking 
for ,america1 bade them not confine     
themselves to what they had learned from
 his teaching1 but to be ready to       
receive whatever truth might be made    
known to them from the written word of  
,god4  ,if there is a ,god1 are not all 
truths1 scientific1 historic1 or        
critical1 as much as anything written in
 the ,bible1 the word of ,god8          
,september #bjth1 #aijh4     ,,ii4      
,,new ,,faith ,,linked ,,with ,,old4    
,a preacher cites a lecture of mine1    
delivered nearly half a century ago1 a  
part of which has had the honour of     
being embalmed in the work of that most 
eminent theologian1 the late ,dean      
,westcott1 on ,the ,historic ,faith4  ,i
 turned rather nervously to the lecture 
to see what it was that ,i had said4    
,not that ,i should have been much      
shocked had ,i found that my opinions   
had even been completely changed4       
,since that lecture was delivered       
science and criticism have wrought a    

revolution in theological belief1       
likely1 as it appears to me1 to be      
regarded hereafter as the most momentous
 revolution in history4  ,with the whole
 passage cited by ,dean ,westcott ,i    
will not burden the columns of ,the     
,sun1 but part of it is this3--  ,the   
type of character set forth in the      
,gospel history is an absolute          
embodiment of love1 both in the way of  
action and affection1 crowned by the    
highest possible exhibition of it in an 
act of the most transcendent            
self-devotion to the interest of the    
human race4  ,this being the case1 it is
 difficult to see how the ,christian    
morality can ever be brought into       
antagonism with the moral progress of   
mankind2 or how the ,christian type of  
character can ever be left behind by the
 course of human development1 lose the  
allegiance of the moral world1 or give  
place to newly emerging and higher      
ideals4  ,this type1 it would appear1   
being perfect1 will be final4  ,it will 

be final not as precluding future       
history1 but as comprehending it4  ,the 
moral efforts of all ages1 to the       
consummation of the world1 will be      
efforts to realize this character and to
 make it actually1 as it is potentially1
 universal4  ,while these efforts are   
being carried on under all the various  
circumstances of life and society1 and  
under all the various moral and         
intellectual conditions attaching to    
particular men1 an infinite variety of  
characters1 personal and national1 will 
be produced2 a variety ranging from the 
highest human grandeur down to the very 
verge of the grotesque4  ,but these     
characters1 with all their variations1  
will go beyond their sources and their  
ideal only as the rays of light go      
beyond the sun4  ,humanity1 as it passes
 through phase after phase of the       
historical movement1 may advance        
indefinitely in excellence2 but its     
advance will be an indefinite           
approximation to the ,christian type4   

,a divergence from that type1 to        
whatever extent it may take place1 will 
not be progress1 but debasement and     
corruption4  ,in a moral point of view1 
in short1 the world may abandon         
,christianity1 but it can never advance 
beyond it4  ,this is not a matter of    
authority1 or even of revelation4  ,if  
it is true1 it is a matter of reason as 
much as anything in the world4  ,i went 
on to dwell on the freedom of the       
,christian type of character as embodied
 in the ,founder of ,christianity from  
peculiarities of nation1 race1 or sex   
which might have derogated from its     
perfection as a type of pure humanity4  
,in those days ,i believed in           
revelation4  ,but my argument was not   
from revelation1 but from ethics and    
history4  ,the undertaking of           
,christianity to convert mankind to a   
fraternal and purely beneficent type of 
character and enfold men in a universal 
brotherhood1 baffled and perverted      
although the effort has been in various 

ways1 appears to have no parallel in    
ethical history4  ,there is none in the 
,greek philosophers or the ,roman       
,stoics1 high as some of them may soar  
in their way4  ,aristotle's ideal man is
 perfect in its statuesque fashion1 but 
it is not fraternal2 it is not even     
philanthropic4  ,nor does the ,christian
 character or the effort to create it   
depart with belief in dogma4  ,do not   
men who have totally renounced the dogma
 still cultivate a character in its     
gentleness and benevolence essentially  
,christian8  ,theory1 ,i have none4  ,i 
plead1 on a footing with the nine       
thousand correspondents of the ,daily   
,telegraph of ,london1 for thoroughgoing
 allegiance to the truth1 emancipation  
of the clerical intellect from tests1   
and comprehension in the inquiry not    
only of the material1 but of the higher 
or spiritual nature of man1 including   
his aspiration to progress1 of which    
there cannot be said to be any visible  
sign in brutes1 whatever rudiments of   

human faculties and affections they may 
otherwise display4  ,but though ,i have 
no theory1 ,i cannot help having a      
conception1 and my present conception of
 the historical relation of             
,christianity and its ,founder to       
humanity and human progress does not    
seem to me to be so different from what 
it was half a century ago as when ,i    
came to compare the two ,i expected to  
find it4  ,it seems to me still that    
history is a vast struggle1 with varying
 success1 toward the attainment of moral
 perfection1 of which1 if the advent of 
,christianity furnished the true ideal1 
it may be deemed in a certain sense a   
revelation4  ,assuredly it may if in    
this most mysterious world there is1    
beneath all the conflict of good with   
evil1 a spirit striving toward good and 
destined in the end to prevail4  ,if    
there is not such a spirit1 if all is   
matter and chance1 we1 can only say1    
,what a spectacle is ,history6          
,january #bjth1 #aijg4     ,,iii4  ,,the

 ,,scope ,,of ,,evolution4   ,in        
discussing the ground of ethical science
 some writers appear to hold that       
evolution explains all2 but surely the  
illustrious discoverer of evolution     
never carried his theory beyond the     
material part of man4  ,he never        
professed to trace the birth of ethics1 
idealization1 science1 poetry1 art1     
religion1 or anything spiritual in the  
anthropoid ape4 ,there is here1         
apparently1 not only a step in          
development but a saltus mortalis1 a    
dividing and impassable gulf4  ,our     
bodily senses we share with the brutes4 
,some brutes excel us in quickness of   
sense4  ,they have the rudiments1 but   
the rudiments only1 of our emotions and 
affections4  ,the mother bird loves her 
offspring1 but only until they are      
fledged4  ,the dog is attached to the   
master who feeds him1 commands him1 and 
if he offends whips him2 but without    
respect to that master's personal       
character or deserts4  ,he is as much   

attached to ,bill ,sykes as he would be 
to the best of men4  ,the workings of   
what we call instinct in beavers1 bees1 
and ants are marvellous and seem in some
 ways almost to outstrip humanity1 but  
they are not1 like humanity1            
progressive4  ,the ant and the bee of   
thousands of years ago are the ant and  
the bee of the present day4  ,the bee is
 not even taught by experience that her 
honey will be taken again next year4    
,still less is it possible to detect    
anything like moral aspiration or effort
 at improving the community in a moral  
way4  ,beavers are wonderfully          
co-operative1 but they have shown no    
tendency to establish a church4  ,of the
 science of ethics the foundation surely
 is our sense of the difference between 
right and wrong1 and of our obligation  
to choose the right and avoid the wrong 
for our own sake and for the sake of the
 society of which we are members and the
 character of which reacts upon         
ourselves4  ,this sense seems to me to  

be authoritative1 whatever its origin   
may be4  ,different conceptions of right
 and wrong may to some extent prevail   
under different circumstances1 national 
or of other kinds1 giving room for      
different ethical systems1 as a         
comparison of the ethics of the ,gospel 
with those of ,aristotle shows4  ,still1
 there is always the sense of the       
difference between right and wrong and  
of the necessity1 individual and social1
 of embracing the first and eschewing   
the second4  ,if the ,christian system  
is found by experience to show itself   
essentially superior to all other       
systems and to satisfy individually and 
socially1 it is supreme1 and is         
presumably the dictate of the author of 
our being1 if an author of our being    
there is4  ,the necessarian theory1     
which in this connection is still       
advanced or implied1 largely accepted as
 it has been1 ,i cannot help thinking is
 really traceable to an oversight4  ,if 
in action there were only one factor1   

that is to say1 the motive1 the action  
would seem to be necessary and to be    
traceable in its origin apparently back 
to the nebula4  ,but surely there are   
two factors1 the motive and the         
volition4 ,of the second factor in      
actions which are matters of course we  
are not conscious2 where there is a     
conflict of motives or hesitation of any
 kind1 we are4  ,huxley at one time held
 that man was an automaton4  ,i believe 
my illustrious friend afterward receded 
from that position4 ,yet on the         
necessarian theory automatons we must   
apparently be4   ,february #ajth1 #aijg4
     ,,iv4  ,,the ,,limit ,,of          
,,evolution4   ,your last correspondent 
on the subject of my letters treats the 
question lightly4  ,perhaps he is young1
 enjoying the morning of life and       
thinking little of its close4  ,on the  
mind of a student of history is deeply  
impressed the sadness of its page2 the  
record of infinite misery and suffering 
as well as depravity1 all apparently to 

no purpose if the end is to be a        
physical catastrophe4  ,comtism1 while  
it bids us devote and sacrifice         
ourselves to the future of humanity1 can
 apparently hold out nothing more4  ,i  
accept evolution1 if it is the verdict  
of science as to the origin of physical 
species1 the human species included2    
though it certainly seems strange that1 
the chances being so numerous as they   
are1 no distinct ease of evolution      
should have taken place within our ken4 
,but the theory apparently does not     
pretend to account for the development  
of man's higher nature4  ,that there is 
a gap in the continuity of development  
or any supernatural intervention has    
never been suggested by me2 but it does 
appear that there is an ascent such as  
constitutes an essential difference and 
calls for other than physical           
explanation4  ,in matter1 said ,tyndall1
 is the potentiality of all life4       
,matter is what we discern by our bodily
 senses4  ,what assurance have we that  

the account of the universe and of our  
relations to it given us by our bodily  
senses is exhaustive1 or that the moral 
conscience may not have another source8 
,apart from anything more distinctly    
spiritual1 where do we get the faculty  
of idealization8  ,is it traceable to   
physical sense8  ,unless the moral      
conscience has a source higher than mere
 physical evolution1 what is to deter a 
man in whom criminal propensities are   
strong from indulging them so long as he
 can do so with impunity8 ,eccelino had 
a lust of cruelty4  ,was he wrong in    
indulging it1 so long as he had the     
power1 which he might have had1 with    
common prudence1 to the end of his life8
  ,i speak1 as ,i have always said1 from
 the ranks2 and ,i am not presuming to  
criticise ,darwin's theory as an        
explanation of the origin and nature of 
the physical man4  ,but if the theory is
 to be carried farther1 and we are to be
 told that man's higher attributes and  
his moral conscience have no source or  

authority other than physical evolution1
 we may fairly ask to see our way4      
,march #agth1 #aijg4     ,v4            
,,explanations4   ,interest is evidently
 felt in questions which ,i have been   
permitted to treat in ,the ,sun1 and    
after the notices and the queries which 
,i have received there are points on    
which ,i should like1 if you will allow 
me1 to set myself right4  ,i4  ,the     
leaning to orthodoxy with which ,i am   
gently reproached goes not beyond a     
conviction1 drawn from the study not of 
theology but of history1 that of all the
 types of character hitherto produced   
the ,christian type1 founded on a belief
 in the fatherhood of ,god and the      
brotherhood of man1 appears to be the   
happiest and the best4  ,at its birth it
 encountered alien and hostile          
influences2 ,alexandrian theosophy1     
,oriental asceticism1 ,byzantine        
imperialism4  ,later it encountered the 
worst influence of all1 that of         
theocracy engendered by the ambition of 

the monk ,hildebrand4  ,theocracy1 not  
,catholicism or anything spiritual1 has 
been the source of the crimes of the    
,papacy2 of the ,norman raids upon      
,england and ,ireland2 the civil wars   
kindled by ,papal intrigue in ,germany2 
the extermination of the ,albigenses2   
the ,inquisition2 ,alva's tribunal of   
blood in the ,netherlands2 the massacre 
of ,st4 ,bartholomew2 the persecution of
 the ,huguenots2 ,jesuitism and the     
evils1 moral and political1 as well as  
religious1 which ,jesuitism has wrought4
  ,through all this1 and in spite of it 
all1 ,christian character has preserved 
itself1 and it is still the basis of the
 world's best civilization4  ,much that 
is far outside the ,christian creed is  
still ,christian in character and       
traceable to a ,christian source4  ,,ii4
  ,i fully admit that society can be    
regulated by a law framed for mutual    
protection and general well-being       
without the religious conscience or     
other support than temporal interest4   

,but if individual interest or passion  
can break this law with impunity1 as    
often they can1 what is there to        
withhold them from doing it8  ,what is  
the value of a clean breast8  ,,iii4    
,the fatherhood of ,god seems to be     
implied in the ,christian belief in the 
brotherhood of man4  ,by that phrase ,i 
meant to characterise ,christianity1 not
 to embark upon the question of ,theism4
  ,it does not seem possible that we    
should ever have direct proof through   
human observation and reasoning of the  
existence of ,deity or of the divine aim
 and will4  ,to some power1 and         
apparently to some moral power1 we must 
owe our being4  ,we can hardly believe  
that creation planned itself or that the
 germ endowed itself with life and      
provision for development4  ,but what   
can have been the aim of creation8      
,what can have led to the production of 
humanity1 with all the evil and         
suffering which ,omniscience must have  
foreseen8  ,what was there which without

 such a process mere fiat1 so far as we 
can see1 could not produce8  ,the only  
thing that presents itself is character1
 which apparently must be self-formed   
and developed by resistance to evil4    
,we have had plenty of evidences in the 
manner of ,paley or the ,bridgewater    
,treatises1 met by sceptical argument on
 the other side2 but has inquiry yet    
tried to fathom the mystery of human    
existence8  ,,iv4  ,one thing for which 
,i have earnestly pleaded is the        
abolition of clerical tests1 which are  
in fact renunciations of absolute       
loyalty to truth4  ,would this involve  
the dissolution of the ,churches8       
,nothing surely can put an end to the   
need of spiritual association or to the 
usefulness of the pastorate so long as  
we believe in spiritual life4  ,i think 
,i have seen the most gifted minds1 such
 as might have done us the highest      
service in the quest of truth1 condemned
 to silence by the tests4   ,may #eth1  
#aijg4     ,,vi4  ,,the ,,immortality   

,,of ,,the ,,soul4   ,there appeared the
 other day in the ,washington ,herald a 
notable letter by ,mr4 ,paul            
,chamberlain on ,immortality4  ,it took 
the same line as an essay on the same   
question by ,mr4 ,chamberlain's late    
father1 which ,i had read in manuscript4
  ,both the letter and the essay are on 
the negative side of the question1      
which1 in the essay at least1 is        
pronounced the happier and better view1 
as conducive to unselfishness4          
,unselfishness1 it must surely be1 of a 
supreme kind4  ,annihilation is not a   
cheerful word4  ,bacon has a highly     
rhetorical passage flouting the fear of 
death4  ,his was probably not a very    
loving nature1 nor does he seem to have 
thought of the parting from those we    
love4  ,the life of the late ,mr4       
,chamberlain was evidently happy as well
 as good4  ,that of his son1 ,i have no 
doubt1 is the same4  ,but of the lot of 
the myriads whose lives1 through no     
fault of their own1 are1 or in the      

course of history have been1 unhappy1   
often most miserable1 what is to be     
said8  ,if for them there is no         
compensation1 can we believe that       
benevolence and justice rule the world8 
,if the world is not ruled by           
benevolence and justice1 what is our    
ground of hope8  ,the negative          
conclusion rids us1 it is true1 of the  
,dantean ,hell1 which paints the ,deity 
as incomparably worse than the worst    
,italian tyrant1 and1 as it is to be    
everlasting1 concedes the final victory 
to evil4  ,we discard all ghost stories 
and spiritualist apparitions as at most 
signs of a general craving4  ,we resign 
all reasoning like that of ,butler1 who 
describes the soul as indiscerptible1   
assuming that it exists separately from 
the body4  ,nor can we be said to have  
anything that bears the character of    
,revelation4  ,that the ,founder of     
,christianity looked for a future life1 
with its rewards and punishments1 is    
evident4  ,but he brought no special    

message1 lifted not the curtain of      
mystery1 did nothing to clear our minds 
upon the subject4  ,his apologue of     
,dives and ,lazarus shows that to ,him  
as to us the other world was a realm of 
the imagination4  ,is there anything in 
man not physical1 or apparently         
explained and limited by the transient  
conditions and necessities of his       
present state1 anything which gives an  
inkling of immortality8  ,our           
utilitarian morality is the offspring   
and adjunct of our condition here4  ,but
 is there not an aspiration to character
 which points to something more         
spiritual and higher than conformity to 
the utilitarian code8  ,heroism and     
self-sacrifice are not utilitarian4  ,we
 can hardly allow the investigation to  
be closed by the mere mention of the    
talismanic formulary ,evolution4  ,there
 may be something still to be said on   
that subject4  ,evolution cannot have   
evolved itself1 nor does it seem capable
 of infallible demonstration4  ,it no   

doubt postulates vast spaces of time for
 its action4  ,but within the space of  
time of which we in any way have        
knowledge1 apparently no case of        
spontaneous evolution has taken place4  
,rudimentary likeness between the frame 
of the ape and that of man seems hardly 
in itself a proof of the generation of  
man from the ape4  ,on no subject1      
however1 does one who is not a man of   
science or a philosopher feel more      
intensely his deficiency1 and his need  
of having his paths lighted by the      
perfectly free while reverent inquiry1  
to pray for which has been the object of
 these letters4   ,august #aath1 #aijg4 
,,vii4  ,,is ,,there ,,to ,,be ,a       
,,revolution ,,in ,,ethics8   ,a        
revolution in theology and in our       
conception of the government of the     
universe such as we are undergoing is   
sure to draw with it a revolutionary    
movement in ethics4  ,there lies before 
me a review article giving an account of
 a number of books on ethics which are  

widely at variance1 it appears1 with the
 ethics of ,christianity4  ,the general 
tendency of the authors seems to be to  
reject altogether the ,christian type of
 character as artificial and weak1 and  
to aim at substituting for it something 
more robust and1 it is assumed1 more in 
accordance with nature4  ,one theorist  
is represented as regarding humanity in 
its present form only as transient      
material out of which is to be wrought  
the ,superman4  ,in what respect1 so far
 as our conceptions extend1 has         
,christian ethic failed8  ,it has given 
birth to the patriot as well as to the  
martyr1 to the virtues of the softer as 
well as to those of the stronger sex4   
,communities which have kept its rules1 
as well as individuals1 have been happy4
  ,the ,christian ideal of character and
 life went essentially unchanged through
 the violence of the ,middle ,ages and  
the vices of the ,papacy4 ,it was       
somewhat perverted by asceticism2 but it
 was radically the same character in    

,anselm or in ,st4 ,louis1 as it is in  
their counterparts now4  ,nor does it   
seem to lose by renunciation of         
theological dogma4 ,the moral principles
 and aspirations of good free thinkers  
or ,positivists remain still essentially
 ,christian4  ,the ethical ideal which  
is now being set up against the         
,christian apparently1 is that of the   
,greeks4  ,in literature and art        
,greece1 or rather ,athens1 or1 to speak
 still more correctly1 a limited number 
of free citizens in ,athens1 was        
pre-eminent3 but its pre-eminence1 if we
 may trust its own moralists1 hardly    
extended to morals4   ,may #crd1 #aijh4