,,the ,,lights ,,of ,,the ,,church ,,and
 ,,the ,,light ,,of ,,science  ,,essay  
#f ,,from ,,science ,,and ,,hebrew      
,,tradition   ,by ,thomas ,henry ,huxley
    ,there are three ways of regarding  
any account of past occurrences1 whether
 delivered to us orally or recorded in  
writing4  ,the narrative may be exactly 
true4 ,that is to say1 the words1 taken 
in their natural sense1 and interpreted 
according to the rules of grammar1 may  
convey to the mind of the hearer1 or of 
the reader an idea precisely            
correspondent with one which would have 
remained in the mind of a witness4 ,for 
example1 the statement that ,king       
,charles the ,first was beheaded at     
,whitehall on the #cjth day of ,january 
#afdi1 is as exactly true as any        
proposition in mathematics or physics2  
no one doubts that any person of sound  
faculties1 properly placed1 who was     
present at ,whitehall throughout that   
day1 and who used his eyes1 would have  
seen the ,king's head cut off2 and that 

there would have remained in his mind an
 idea of that occurrence which he would 
have put into words of the same value as
 those which we use to express it4  ,or 
the narrative may be partly true and    
partly false4 ,thus1 some histories of  
the time tell us what the ,king said1   
and what ,bishop ,juxon said2 or report 
royalist conspiracies to effect a       
rescue2 or detail the motives which     
induced the chiefs of the ,commonwealth 
to resolve that the ,king should die4   
,one account declares that the ,king    
knelt at a high block1 another that he  
lay down with his neck on a mere plank4 
,and there are contemporary pictorial   
representations of both these modes of  
procedure4 ,such narratives1 while      
veracious as to the main event1 may and 
do exhibit various degrees of           
unconscious and conscious               
misrepresentation1 suppression1 and     
invention1 till they become hardly      
distinguishable from pure fictions4     
,thus1 they present a transition to     

narratives of a third class1 in which   
the fictitious element predominates4    
,here1 again1 there are all imaginable  
gradations1 from such works as ,defoe's 
quasi-historical account of the ,plague 
year1 which probably gives a truer      
conception of that dreadful time than   
any authentic history1 through the      
historical novel1 drama1 and epic1 to   
the purely phantasmal creations of      
imaginative genius1 such as the old     
,arabian ,nights or the modern ,shaving 
of ,shagpat4 ,it is not strictly needful
 for my present purpose that ,i should  
say anything about narratives which are 
professedly fictitious4 ,yet it may be  
well1 perhaps1 if ,i disclaim any       
intention of derogating from their      
value1 when ,i insist upon the paramount
 necessity of recollecting that there is
 no sort of relation between the        
ethical1 or the aesthetic1 or even the  
scientific importance of such works1 and
 their worth as historical documents4   
,unquestionably1 to the poetic artist1  

or even to the student of psychology1   
,hamlet and ,macbeth may be better      
instructors than all the books of a     
wilderness of professors of aesthetics  
or of moral philosophy4 ,but1 as        
evidence of occurrences in ,denmark1 or 
in ,scotland1 at the times and places   
indicated1 they are out of court2 the   
profoundest admiration for them1 the    
deepest gratitude for their influence1  
are consistent with the knowledge that1 
historically speaking1 they are         
worthless fables1 in which any          
foundation of reality that may exist is 
submerged beneath the imaginative       
superstructure4  ,at present1 however1  
,i am not concerned to dwell upon the   
importance of fictitious literature and 
the immensity of the work which it has  
effected in the education of the human  
race4 ,i propose to deal with the much  
more limited inquiry3 ,are there two    
other classes of consecutive narratives 
7as distinct from statements of         
individual facts71 or only one8 ,is     

there any known historical work which is
 throughout exactly true1 or is there   
not8 ,in the case of the great majority 
of histories the answer is not doubtful3
 they are all only partially true4 ,even
 those venerable works which bear the   
names of some of the greatest of ancient
 ,greek and ,roman writers1 and which   
have been accepted by generation after  
generation1 down to modern times1 as    
stories of unquestionable truth1 have   
been compelled by scientific criticism1 
after a long battle1 to descend to the  
common level1 and to confession to a    
large admixture of error4 ,i might      
fairly take this for granted2 but it may
 be well that ,i should entrench myself 
behind the very apposite words of a     
historical authority who is certainly   
not obnoxious to even a suspicion of    
sceptical tendencies4 #a      ,time     
was--and that not very long ago--when   
all the relations of     ancient authors
 concerning the old world were received 
with a     ready belief2 and an         

unreasoning and uncritical faith        
accepted     with equal satisfaction the
 narrative of the campaigns of ,caesar  
and of the doings of ,romulus1 the      
account of ,alexander's marches     and 
of the conquests of ,semiramis4 ,we can 
most of us remember     when1 in this   
country1 the whole story of regal ,rome1
 and even     the legend of the ,trojan 
settlement in ,latium1 were seriously   
placed before boys as history1 and      
discoursed of as     unhesitatingly and 
in as dogmatic a tone as the tale of the
     ,catilline ,conspiracy or the      
,conquest of ,britain4444      ,but all 
this is now changed4 ,the last century  
has seen the birth     and growth of a  
new science--the ,science of ,historical
     ,criticism4444 ,the whole world of 
profane history has been                
revolutionised4444  ,if these utterances
 were true when they fell from the lips 
of a ,bampton lecturer in #ahei1 with   
how much greater force do they appeal to
 us now1 when the immense labours of the

 generation now passing away constitute 
one vast illustration of the power and  
fruitfulness of scientific methods of   
investigation in history1 no less than  
in all other departments of knowledge4  
,at the present time1 ,i suppose1 there 
is no one who doubts that histories     
which appertain to any other people than
 the ,jews1 and their spiritual progeny 
in the first century1 fall within the   
second class of the three enumerated4   
,like ,goethe's ,autobiography1 they    
might all be entitled ,wahrheit und     
,dichtung--,truth and ,fiction4 ,the    
proportion of the two constituents      
changes indefinitely2 and the quality of
 the fiction varies through the whole   
gamut of unveracity4 ,but ,dichtung is  
always there4 ,for the most acute and   
learned of historians cannot remedy the 
imperfections of his sources of         
information2 nor can the most impartial 
wholly escape the influence of the      
personal equation generated by his      
temperament and by his education4       

,therefore1 from the narratives of      
,herodotus to those set forth in        
yesterday's ,times1 all history is to be
 read subject to the warning that       
fiction has its share therein4 ,the     
modern vast development of fugitive     
literature cannot be the unmitigated    
evil that some do vainly say it is1     
since it has put an end to the popular  
delusion of less press-ridden times1    
that what appears in print must be true4
 ,we should rather hope that some       
beneficent influence may create among   
the erudite a like healthy suspicion of 
manuscripts and inscriptions1 however   
ancient2 for a bulletin may lie1 even   
though it be written in cuneiform       
characters4 ,hotspur's starling1 that   
was to be taught to speak nothing but   
,mortimer into the ears of ,king ,henry 
the ,fourth1 might be a useful inmate of
 every historian's library1 if ,fiction 
were substituted for the name of ,harry 
,percy's friend4  ,but it was the chief 
object of the lecturer to the           

congregation gathered in ,st4 ,mary's1  
,oxford1 thirty-one years ago1 to prove 
to them1 by evidence gathered with no   
little labour and marshalled with much  
skill1 that one group of historical     
works was exempt from the general rule2 
and that the narratives contained in the
 canonical ,scriptures are free from any
 admixture of error4 ,with justice and  
candour1 the lecturer impresses upon his
 hearers that the special distinction of
 ,christianity1 among the religions of  
the world1 lies in its claim to be      
historical2 to be surely founded upon   
events which have happened1 exactly as  
they are declared to have happened in   
its sacred books2 which are true1 that  
is1 in the sense that the statement     
about the execution of ,charles the     
,first is true4 ,further1 it is affirmed
 that the ,new ,testament presupposes   
the historical exactness of the ,old    
,testament2 that the points of contact  
of sacred and profane history are       
innumerable2 and that the demonstration 

of the falsity of the ,hebrew records1  
especially in regard to those narratives
 which are assumed to be true in the    
,new ,testament1 would be fatal to      
,christian theology4  ,my utmost        
ingenuity does not enable me to discover
 a flaw in the argument thus briefly    
summarised4 ,i am fairly at a loss to   
comprehend how any one1 for a moment1   
can doubt that ,christian theology must 
stand or fall with the historical       
trustworthiness of the ,jewish          
,scriptures4 ,the very conception of the
 ,messiah1 or ,christ1 is inextricably  
interwoven with ,jewish history2 the    
identification of ,jesus of ,nazareth   
with that ,messiah rests upon the       
interpretation of passages of the       
,hebrew ,scriptures which have no       
evidential value unless they possess the
 historical character assigned to them4 
,if the covenant with ,abraham was not  
made2 if circumcision and sacrifices    
were not ordained by ,jahveh2 if the ten
 words were not written by ,god's hand  

on the stone tables2 if ,abraham is more
 or less a mythical hero1 such as       
,theseus2 the story of the ,deluge a    
fiction2 that of the ,fall a legend2 and
 that of the creation the dream of a    
seer2 if all these definite and detailed
 narratives of apparently real events   
have no more value as history than have 
the stories of the regal period of      
,rome--what is to be said about the     
,messianic doctrine1 which is so much   
less clearly enunciated8 ,and what about
 the authority of the writers of the    
books of the ,new ,testament1 who1 on   
this theory1 have not merely accepted   
flimsy fictions for solid truths1 but   
have built the very foundations of      
,christian dogma upon legendary         
quicksands8  ,but these may be said to  
be merely the carpings of that carnal   
reason which the profane call common    
sense2 ,i hasten1 therefore1 to bring up
 the forces of unimpeachable            
ecclesiastical authority in support of  
my position4 ,in a sermon preached last 

,december1 in ,st4 ,paul's ,cathedral1  
#b ,canon ,liddon declares3--  ,for     
,christians it will be enough to know   
that our ,lord ,jesus ,christ set the   
seal of ,his infallible sanction on the 
whole of the ,old ,testament4 ,he found 
the ,hebrew canon as we have it in our  
hands to-day1 and ,he treated it as an  
authority which was above discussion4   
,nay more3 ,he went out of ,his way--if 
we may reverently speak thus--to        
sanction not a few portions of it which 
modern scepticism rejects4 ,when ,he    
would warn ,his hearers against the     
dangers of spiritual relapse1 ,he bids  
them remember ',lot's wife4' #c ,when   
,he would point out how worldly         
engagements may blind the soul to a     
coming judgment1 ,he reminds them how   
men ate1 and drank1 and married1 and    
were given in marriage1 until the day   
that ,noah entered into the ark1 and the
 ,flood came and destroyed them all4 #d 
,if ,he would put ,his finger on a fact 
in past ,jewish history which1 by its   

admitted reality1 would warrant belief  
in ,his own coming ,resurrection1 ,he   
points to ,jonah's being three days and 
three nights in the whale's belly 7p4   
#bc74 #e  ,the preacher proceeds to     
brush aside the common--,i had almost   
said vulgar--apologetic pretext that    
,jesus was using ad hominem arguments1  
or accommodating his better knowledge to
 popular ignorance1 as well as to point 
out the inadmissibility of the other    
alternative1 that he shared the popular 
ignorance4 ,and to those who hold the   
latter view sarcasm is dealt out with no
 niggard hand4      ,but they will find 
it difficult to persuade mankind that1  
if ,he     could be mistaken on a matter
 of such strictly religious             
importance as the value of the sacred   
literature of ,his     countrymen1 ,he  
can be safely trusted about anything    
else4 ,the     trustworthiness of the   
,old ,testament is1 in fact1 inseparable
     from the trustworthiness of our    
,lord ,jesus ,christ2 and if we         

believe that ,he is the true ,light of  
the world1 we shall close     our ears  
against suggestions impairing the credit
 of those     ,jewish ,scriptures which 
have received the stamp of ,his ,divine 
authority4 7p4 #be7  ,moreover1 ,i learn
 from the public journals that a        
brilliant and sharply-cut view of       
orthodoxy1 of like hue and pattern1 was 
only the other day exhibited in that    
great theological kaleidoscope1 the     
pulpit of ,st4 ,mary's1 recalling the   
time so long passed by1 when a ,bampton 
lecturer1 in the same place1 performed  
the unusual feat of leaving the faith of
 old-fashioned ,christians undisturbed4 
,yet many things have happened in the   
intervening thirty-one years4 ,the      
,bampton lecturer of #ahei had to       
grapple only with the infant ,hercules  
of historical criticism2 and he is now a
 full-grown athlete1 bearing on his     
shoulders the spoils of all the lions   
that have stood in his path4 ,surely a  
martyr's courage1 as well as a martyr's 

faith1 is needed by any one who1 at this
 time1 is prepared to stand by the      
following plea for the veracity of the  
,pentateuch3--  ,adam1 according to the 
,hebrew original1 was for #bdc years    
contemporary with ,methuselah1 who      
conversed for a hundred years with      
,shem4 ,shem was for fifty years        
contemporary with ,jacob1 who probably  
saw ,jochebed1 ,moses's mother4 ,thus1  
,moses might by oral tradition have     
obtained the history of ,abraham1 and   
even of the ,deluge1 at third hand2 and 
that of the ,temptation and the ,fall at
 fifth hand4444  ,if it be granted--as  
it seems to be--that the great and      
stirring events in a nation's life will1
 under ordinary circumstances1 be       
remembered 7apart from all written      
memorials7 for the space of #aej years1 
being handed down through five          
generations1 it must be allowed 7even on
 more human grounds7 that the account   
which ,moses gives of the ,temptation   
and the ,fall is to be depended upon1 if

 it passed through no more than four    
hands between him and ,adam4 #f  ,if the
 trustworthiness of our ,lord ,jesus    
,christ is to stand or fall with the    
belief in the sudden transmutation of   
the chemical components of a woman's    
body into sodium chloride1 or on the    
admitted reality of ,jonah's ejection1  
safe and sound1 on the shores of the    
,levant1 after three days' sea-journey  
in the stomach of a gigantic marine     
animal1 what possible pretext can there 
be for even hinting a doubt as to the   
precise truth of the longevity          
attributed to the ,patriarchs8 ,who that
 has swallowed the camel of ,jonah's    
journey will be guilty of the           
affectation of straining at such a      
historical gnat--nay1 midge--as the     
supposition that the mother of ,moses   
was told the story of the ,flood by     
,jacob2 who had it straight from ,shem2 
who was on friendly terms with          
,methuselah2 who knew ,adam quite well8 
,yet1 by the strange irony of things1   

the illustrious brother of the divine   
who propounded this remarkable theory1  
has been the guide and foremost worker  
of that band of investigators of the    
records of ,assyria and of ,babylonia1  
who have opened to our view1 not merely 
a new chapter1 but a new volume of      
primeval history1 relating to the very  
people who have the most numerous points
 of contact with the life of the ancient
 ,hebrews4 ,now1 whatever imperfections 
may yet obscure the full value of the   
,mesopotamian records1 everything that  
has been clearly ascertained tends to   
the conclusion that the assignment of no
 more than #djjj years to the period    
between the time of the origin of       
mankind and that of ,augustus ,caesar1  
is wholly inadmissible4 ,therefore the  
,biblical chronology1 which ,canon      
,rawlinson trusted so implicitly in     
#ahei1 is relegated by all serious      
critics to the domain of fable4  ,but if
 scientific method1 operating in the    
region of history1 of philology1 of     

archaeology1 in the course of the last  
thirty or forty years1 has become thus  
formidable to the theological dogmatist1
 what may not be said about scientific  
method working in the province of       
physical science8 ,for1 if it be true   
that the ,canonical ,scriptures have    
innumerable points of contact with civil
 history1 it is no less true that they  
have almost as many with natural        
history2 and their accuracy is put to   
the test as severely by the latter as by
 the former4 ,the origin of the present 
state of the heavens and the earth is a 
problem which lies strictly within the  
province of physical science2 so is that
 of the origin of man among living      
things2 so is that of the physical      
changes which the earth has undergone   
since the origin of man2 so is that of  
the origin of the various races and     
nations of men1 with all their varieties
 of language and physical conformation4 
,whether the earth moves round the sun  
or the contrary2 whether the bodily and 

mental diseases of men and animals are  
caused by evil spirits or not2 whether  
there is such an agency as witchcraft or
 not--all these are purely scientific   
questions2 and to all of them the       
,canonical ,scriptures profess to give  
true answers4 ,and though nothing is    
more common than the assumption that    
these books come into conflict only with
 the speculative part of modern physical
 science1 no assumption can have less   
foundation4  ,the antagonism between    
natural knowledge and the ,pentateuch   
would be as great if the speculations of
 our time had never been heard of4 ,it  
arises out of contradiction upon matters
 of fact4 ,the books of ecclesiastical  
authority declare that certain events   
happened in a certain fashion2 the books
 of scientific authority say they did   
not4 ,as it seems that this             
unquestionable truth has not yet        
penetrated among many of those who speak
 and write on these subjects1 it may be 
useful to give a full illustration of   

it4 ,and for that purpose ,i propose to 
deal1 at some length1 with the narrative
 of the ,noachian ,deluge given in      
,genesis4   ,the ,bampton lecturer in   
#ahei1 and the ,canon of ,st4 ,paul's in
 #ahij1 are in full agreement that this 
history is true1 in the sense in which  
,i have defined historical truth4 ,the  
former is of opinion that the account   
attributed to ,berosus records a        
tradition--     not drawn from the      
,hebrew record1 much less the foundation
 of    that record2 yet coinciding with 
it in the most remarkable way4    ,the  
,babylonian version is tricked out with 
a few extravagances1    as the monstrous
 size of the vessel and the translation 
of    ,xisuthros2 but otherwise it is   
the ,hebrew history down to its         
minutiae4 7p4 #fd74  ,moreover1         
correcting ,niebuhr1 the ,bampton       
lecturer points out that the narrative  
of ,berosus implies the universality of 
the ,flood4     ,it is plain that the   
waters are represented as prevailing    

above    the tops of the loftiest       
mountains in ,armenia--a height which   
must have been seen to involve the      
submersion of all the    countries with 
which the ,babylonians were acquainted  
7p4 #ff74  ,i may remark1 in passing1   
that many people think the size of      
,noah's ark monstrous1 considering the  
probable state of the art of            
shipbuilding only #afjj years after the 
origin of man2 while others are so      
unreasonable as to inquire why the      
translation of ,enoch is less an        
extravagance than that of ,xisuthros4   
,it is more important1 however1 to note 
that the ,universality of the ,deluge is
 recognised1 not merely as a part of the
 story1 but as a necessary consequence  
of some of its details4 ,the latest     
exponent of ,anglican orthodoxy1 as we  
have seen1 insists upon the accuracy of 
the ,pentateuchal history of the ,flood 
in a still more forcible manner4 ,it is 
cited as one of those very narratives to
 which the authority of the ,founder of 

,christianity is pledged1 and upon the  
accuracy of which the trustworthiness of
 our ,lord ,jesus ,christ is staked1    
just as others have staked it upon the  
truth of the histories of demoniac      
possession in the ,gospels4  ,now1 when 
those who put their trust in scientific 
methods of ascertaining the truth in the
 province of natural history find       
themselves confronted and opposed1 on   
their own ground1 by ecclesiastical     
pretensions to better knowledge1 it is1 
undoubtedly1 most desirable for them to 
make sure that their conclusions1       
whatever they may be1 are well founded4 
,and1 if they put aside the unauthorised
 interference with their business and   
relegate the ,pentateuchal history to   
the region of pure fiction1 they are    
bound to assure themselves that they do 
so because the plainest teachings of    
,nature 7apart from all doubtful        
speculations7 are irreconcilable with   
the assertions which they reject4  ,at  
the present time1 it is difficult to    

persuade serious scientific inquirers to
 occupy themselves1 in any way1 with the
 ,noachian ,deluge4 ,they look at you   
with a smile and a shrug1 and say they  
have more important matters to attend to
 than mere antiquarianism4 ,but it was  
not so in my youth4 ,at that time1      
geologists and biologists could hardly  
follow to the end any path of inquiry   
without finding the way blocked by ,noah
 and his ark1 or by the first chapter of
 ,genesis2 and it was a serious matter1 
in this country at any rate1 for a man  
to be suspected of doubting the literal 
truth of the ,diluvial or any other     
,pentateuchal history4 ,the fiftieth    
anniversary of the foundation of the    
,geological ,club 7in #ahbd7 was1 if ,i 
remember rightly1 the last occasion on  
which the late ,sir ,charles ,lyell     
spoke to even so small a public as the  
members of that body4 ,our veteran      
leader lighted up once more2 and1       
referring to the difficulties which     
beset his early efforts to create a     

rational science of geology1 spoke1 with
 his wonted clearness and vigour1 of the
 social ostracism which pursued him     
after the publication of the ,principles
 of ,geology1 in #ahcj1 on account of   
the obvious tendency of that noble work 
to discredit the ,pentateuchal accounts 
of the ,creation and the ,deluge4 ,if my
 younger contemporaries find this hard  
to believe1 ,i may refer them to a grave
 book1 ,on the ,doctrine of the ,deluge1
 published eight years later1 and       
dedicated by its author to his father1  
the then ,archbishop of ,york4 ,the     
first chapter refers to the treatment of
 the ,mosaic ,deluge1 by ,dr4 ,buckland 
and ,mr4 ,lyell1 in the following terms3
     ,their respect for revealed        
religion has prevented them from        
arraying themselves openly against the  
,scriptural account of it    --much less
 do they deny its truth--but they are in
 a great    hurry to escape from the    
consideration of it1 and evidently      
concur in the opinion of ,linnaeus1 that

 no proofs whatever of    the ,deluge   
are to be discovered in the structure of
 the    earth 7p4 #a74  ,and after an   
attempt to reply to some of ,lyell's    
arguments1 which it would be cruel to   
reproduce1 the writer continues3--      
,when1 therefore1 upon such slender     
grounds1 it is    determined1 in answer 
to those who insist upon its            
universality1    that the ,mosaic       
,deluge must be considered a            
preternatural event1    far beyond the  
reach of philosophical inquiry2 not only
 as to    the causes employed to produce
 it1 but as to the effects most         
likely to result from it2 that          
determination wears an aspect of        
scepticism1 which1 however much soever  
it may be unintentional    in the mind  
of the writer1 yet cannot but produce an
 evil    impression on those who are    
already predisposed to carp and    cavil
 at the evidences of ,revelation 7pp4   
#h-i74  ,the kindly and courteous writer
 of these curious passages is evidently 

unwilling to make the geologists the    
victims of general opprobrium by        
pressing the obvious consequences of    
their teaching home4 ,one is therefore  
pained to think of the feelings with    
which1 if he lived so long as to become 
acquainted with the ,dictionary of the  
,bible1 he must have perused the article
 ,noah1 written by a dignitary of the   
,church for that standard compendium and
 published in #ahfc4 ,for the doctrine  
of the universality of the ,deluge is   
therein altogether given up2 and ,i     
permit myself to hope that a long       
criticism of the story from the point of
 view of natural science1 with which1 at
 the request of the learned theologian  
who wrote it1 ,i supplied him1 may1 in  
some degree1 have contributed towards   
this happy result4  ,notwithstanding    
diligent search1 ,i have been unable to 
discover that the universality of the   
,deluge has any defender left1 at least 
among those who have so far mastered the
 rudiments of natural knowledge as to be

 able to appreciate the weight of       
evidence against it4 ,for example1 when 
,i turned to the ,speaker's ,bible1     
published under the sanction of high    
,anglican authority1 ,i found the       
following judicial and judicious        
deliverance1 the skilful wording of     
which may adorn1 but does not hide1 the 
completeness of the surrender of the old
 teaching3--  ,without pronouncing too  
hastily on any fair inferences from the 
words of ,scripture1 we may reasonably  
say that their most natural             
interpretation is1 that the whole race  
of man had become grievously corrupted  
since the faithful had intermingled with
 the ungodly2 that the inhabited world  
was consequently filled with violence1  
and that ,god had decreed to destroy all
 mankind except one single family2 that1
 therefore1 all that portion of the     
earth1 perhaps as yet a very small      
portion1 into which mankind had spread  
was overwhelmed with water4 ,the ark was
 ordained to save one faithful family2  

and lest that family1 on the subsidence 
of the waters1 should find the whole    
country round them a desert1 a pair of  
all the beasts of the land and of the   
fowls of the air were preserved along   
with them1 and along with them went     
forth to replenish the now desolated    
continent4 ,the words of ,scripture     
7confirmed as they are by universal     
tradition7 appear at least to mean as   
much as this4 ,they do not necessarily  
mean more4 #g  ,in the third edition of 
,kitto's ,cyclopaedia of ,biblical      
,literature 7#ahgf71 the article        
,deluge1 written by my friend1 the      
present distinguished head of the       
,geological ,survey of ,great ,britain1 
extinguishes the universality doctrine  
as thoroughly as might be expected from 
its authorship2 and1 since the writer of
 the article ,noah refers his readers to
 that entitled ,deluge1 it is to be     
supposed1 notwithstanding his generally 
orthodox tone1 that he does not dissent 
from its conclusions4 ,again1 the       

writers in ,herzog's ,real-,encyclopadie
 7,bd4 ,x4 #ahhb7 and in ,riehm's       
,handworterbuch 7#ahhd7--;both works    
with a conservative leaning--are on the 
same side2 and ,diestel1 #h in his full 
discussion of the subject1 remorselessly
 rejects the universality doctrine4     
,even that staunch opponent of          
scientific rationalism--may ,i say      
rationality8--,zockler #i flinches from 
a distinct defence of the thesis1 any   
opposition to which1 well within my     
recollection1 was howled down by the    
orthodox as mere infidelity4 ,all that1 
in his sore straits1 ,dr4 ,zockler is   
able to do1 is to pronounce a faint     
commendation upon a particularly absurd 
attempt at reconciliation1 which would  
make out the ,noachian ,deluge to be a  
catastrophe which occurred at the end of
 the ,glacial ,epoch4 ,this hypothesis  
involves only the trifle of a physical  
revolution of which geology knows       
nothing2 and which1 if it secured the   
accuracy of the ,pentateuchal writer    

about the fact of the ,deluge1 would    
leave the details of his account as     
irreconcilable with the truths of       
elementary physical science as ever4    
,thus ,i may be permitted to spare      
myself and my readers the weariness of a
 recapitulation of the overwhelming     
arguments against the universality of   
the ,deluge1 which they will now find   
for themselves stated1 as fully and     
forcibly as could be wished1 by         
,anglican and other theologians1 whose  
orthodoxy and conservative tendencies   
have1 hitherto1 been above suspicion4   
,yet many fully admit 7and1 indeed1     
nothing can be plainer7 that1 as a      
matter of fact1 the whole earth known to
 him was inundated2 nor is it less      
obvious that unless all mankind1 with   
the exception of ,noah and his family1  
were actually destroyed1 the references 
to the ,flood in the ,new ,testament are
 unintelligible4  ,but ,i am quite aware
 that the strength of the demonstration 
that no universal ,deluge ever took     

place has produced a change of front in 
the army of apologetic writers4 ,they   
have imagined that the substitution of  
the adjective partial for universal1    
will save the credit of the ,pentateuch1
 and permit them1 after all1 without too
 many blushes1 to declare that the      
progress of modern science only         
strengthens the authority of ,moses4    
,nowhere have ,i found the case of the  
advocates of this method of escaping    
from the difficulties of the actual     
position better put than in the lecture 
of ,professor ,diestel to which ,i have 
referred4 ,after frankly admitting that 
the old doctrine of universality        
involves physical impossibilities1 he   
continues3--     ,all these difficulties
 fall away as soon as we give up the    
universality of the ,deluge1 and imagine
 a partial    flooding of the earth1 say
 in western ,asia4 ,but have we a right 
to do so8 ,the narrative speaks of the  
whole earth4 ,but what is    the meaning
 of this expression8 ,surely not the    

whole surface of    the earth according 
to the ideas of modern geographers1     
but1 at most1 according to the          
conceptions of the ,biblical    author4 
,this very simple conclusion1 however1  
is never drawn by    too many readers of
 the ,bible4 ,but one need only cast    
one's eyes    over the tenth chapter of 
,genesis in order to become acquainted  
with the geographical horizon of the    
,jews4 ,in the north it was    bounded  
by the ,black ,sea and the mountains of 
,armenia2    extended towards the east  
very little beyond the ,tigris2         
hardly reached the apex of the ,persian 
,gulf2 passed1 then1    through the     
middle of ,arabia and the ,red ,sea2    
went southward    through ,abyssinia1   
and then turned westward by the         
frontiers of    ,egypt1 and inclosed the
 easternmost islands of the             
,mediterranean 7p4 #aa74  ,the justice  
of this observation must be admitted1 no
 less than the further remark that1 in  
still earlier times1 the pastoral       

,hebrews very probably had yet more     
restricted notions of what constituted  
the whole earth4 ,moreover1 ,i1 for one1
 fully agree with ,professor ,diestel   
that the motive1 or generative incident1
 of the whole story is to be sought in  
the occasionally excessive and          
desolating floods of the ,euphrates and 
the ,tigris4  ,let us1 provisionally1   
accept the theory of a partial deluge1  
and try to form a clear mental picture  
of the occurrence4 ,let us suppose that1
 for forty days and forty nights1 such a
 vast quantity of water was poured upon 
the ground that the whole surface of    
,mesopotamia was covered by water to a  
depth certainly greater1 probably much  
greater1 than fifteen cubits1 or twenty 
feet 7,gen4 vii4 #bj74 ,the inundation  
prevails upon the earth for one hundred 
and fifty days and then the flood       
gradually decreases1 until1 on the      
seventeenth day of the seventh month1   
the ark1 which had previously floated on
 its surface1 grounds upon the mountains

 of ,ararat #aj 7,gen4 viii4 #cd74      
,then1 as ,diestel has acutely pointed  
out 7,sintflut1 p4 #ac71 we are to      
imagine the further subsidence of the   
flood to take place so gradually that it
 was not until nearly two months and a  
half after this time 7that is to say1 on
 the first day of the tenth month7 that 
the tops of the mountains became        
visible4 ,hence it follows that1 if the 
ark drew even as much as twenty feet of 
water1 the level of the inundation fell 
very slowly--at a rate of only a few    
inches a day--until the top of the      
mountain on which it rested became      
visible4 ,this is an amount of movement 
which1 if it took place in the sea1     
would be overlooked by ordinary people  
on the shore4 ,but the ,mesopotamian    
plain slopes gently1 from an elevation  
of #ejj or #fjj feet at its northern    
end1 to the sea1 at its southern end1   
with hardly so much as a notable ridge  
to break its uniform flatness1 for #cjj 
to #djj miles4 ,these being the         

conditions of the case1 the following   
inquiry naturally presents itself3 not1 
be it observed1 as a recondite problem1 
generated by modern speculation1 but as 
a plain suggestion flowing out of that  
very ordinary and archaic piece of      
knowledge that water cannot be piled up 
like in a heap1 like sand2 or that it   
seeks the lowest level4 ,when1 after    
#aej days1 the fountains also of the    
deep and the windows of heaven were     
stopped1 and the rain from heaven was   
restrained 7,gen4 viii4#b71 what        
prevented the mass of water1 several1   
possibly very many1 fathoms deep1 which 
covered1 say1 the present site of       
,bagdad1 from sweeping seaward in a     
furious torrent2 and1 in a very few     
hours1 leaving1 not only the tops of the
 mountains1 but the whole plain1 save   
any minor depressions1 bare8 ,how could 
its subsistence1 by any possibility1 be 
an affair of weeks and months8  ,and if 
this difficulty is not enough1 let any  
one try to imagine how a mass of water  

several perhaps very many1 fathoms deep1
 could be accumulated on a flat surface 
of land rising well above the sea1 and  
separated from it by no sort of barrier4
 ,most people know ,lord's              
,cricket-ground4 ,would it not be an    
absurd contradiction to our common      
knowledge of the properties of water to 
imagine that1 if all the mains of all   
the waterworks of ,london were turned on
 to it1 they could maintain a heap of   
water twenty feet deep over its level   
surface8 ,is it not obvious that the    
water1 whatever momentary accumulation  
might take place at first1 would not    
stop there1 but that it would dash1 like
 a mighty mill-race1 southwards down the
 gentle slope which ends in the ,thames8
 ,and is it not further obvious1 that   
whatever depth of water might be        
maintained over the cricket-ground so   
long as all the mains poured on to it1  
anything which floated there would be   
speedily whirled away by the current1   
like a cork in a gutter when the rain   

pours8 ,but if this is so1 then it is no
 less certain that ,noah's deeply laden1
 sailless1 oarless1 and rudderless      
craft1 if by good fortune it escaped    
capsizing in whirlpools1 or having its  
bottom knocked into holes by snags 7like
 those which prove fatal even to        
well-built steamers on the ,mississippi 
in our day71 would have speedily found  
itself a good way down the ,persian     
,gulf1 and not long after in the ,indian
 ,ocean1 somewhere between ,arabia and  
,hindostan4 ,even if1 eventually1 the   
ark might have gone ashore1 with other  
jetsam and flotsam1 on the coasts of    
,arabia1 or of ,hindostan1 or of the    
,maldives1 or of ,madagascar1 its return
 to the mountains of ,ararat would have 
been a miracle more stupendous than all 
the rest4  ,thus1 the last state of the 
would-be reconcilers of the story of the
 ,deluge with fact is worse than the    
first4 ,all that they have done is to   
transfer the contradictions to          
established truth from the region of    

science proper to that of common        
information and common sense4 ,for1     
really1 the assertion that the surface  
of a body of deep water1 to which no    
addition was made1 and which there was  
nothing to stop from running into the   
sea1 sank at the rate of only a few     
inches or even feet a day1 simply       
outrages the most ordinary and familiar 
teachings of every man's daily          
experience4 ,a child may see the folly  
of it4  ,in addition1 ,i may remark that
 the necessary assumption of the partial
 ,deluge hypothesis 7if it is confined  
to ,mesopotamia7 that the ,hebrew writer
 must have meant low hills when he said 
high mountains1 is quite untenable4 ,on 
the eastern side of the ,mesopotamian   
plain1 the snowy peaks of the frontier  
ranges of ,persia are visible from      
,bagdad1 #aa and even the most ignorant 
herdsmen in the neighbourhood of ,ur of 
the ,chaldees1 near its western limit1  
could hardly have been unacquainted with
 the comparatively elevated plateau of  

the ,syrian desert which lay close at   
hand4 ,but1 surely1 we must suppose the 
,biblical writer to be acquainted with  
the highlands of ,palestine and with the
 masses of the ,sinaitic peninsula1     
which soar more than #hjjj feet above   
the sea1 if he knew of no higher        
elevations2 and1 if so1 he could not    
well have meant to refer to mere        
hillocks when he said that all the high 
mountains which were under the whole    
heaven were covered 7,genesis vii4 #ai74
 ,even the hill-country of ,galilee     
reaches an elevation of #djjj feet2 and 
a flood which covered it could by no    
possibility have been other than        
universal in its superficial extent4    
,water really cannot be got to stand at1
 say1 #djjj feet above the sea-level    
over ,palestine1 without covering the   
rest of the globe to the same height4   
,even if1 in the course of ,noah's six  
hundredth year1 some prodigious         
convulsion had sunk the whole region    
inclosed within the horizon of the      

geographical knowledge of the           
,israelites by that much1 and another   
had pushed it up again1 just in time to 
catch the ark upon the mountains of     
,ararat1 matters are not much mended4 ,i
 am afraid to think of what would have  
become of a vessel so little seaworthy  
as the ark and of its very numerous     
passengers1 under the peculiar obstacles
 to quiet flotation which such rapid    
movements of depression and upheaval    
would have generated4  ,thus1 in view1  
not1 ,i repeat of the recondite         
speculations of infidel philosophers1   
but in the face of the plainest and most
 commonplace of ascertained physical    
facts1 the story of the ,noachian       
,deluge has no more claim to credit than
 has that of ,deucalion2 and whether it 
was1 or was not1 suggested by the       
familiar acquaintance of its originators
 with the effects of unusually great    
overflows of the ,tigris and ,euphrates1
 it is utterly devoid of historical     
truth4  ,that is1 in my judgment1 the   

necessary result of the application of  
criticism1 based upon assured physical  
knowledge to the story of the ,deluge4  
,and it is satisfactory that the        
criticism which is based1 not upon      
literary and historical speculations1   
but upon well-ascertained facts in the  
departments of literature and history1  
tends to exactly the same conclusion4   
,for ,i find this much agreed upon by   
all ,biblical scholars of repute1 that  
the story of the ,deluge in ,genesis is 
separable into at least two sets of     
statements2 and that1 when the          
statements thus separated are recombined
 in their proper order1 each set        
furnishes an account of the event1      
coherent and complete within itself1 but
 in some respects discordant with that  
afforded by the other set4 ,this fact1  
as ,i understand1 is not disputed4      
,whether one of these is the work of an 
,elohist1 and the other of a ,jehovist  
narrator2 whether the two have been     
pieced together in this strange fashion 

because1 in the estimation of the       
compilers and editors of the            
,pentateuch1 they had equal and         
independent authority1 or not2 or       
whether there is some other way of      
accounting for it--are questions the    
answers to which do not affect the fact4
 ,if possible ,i avoid a priori         
arguments4 ,but still1 ,i think it may  
be urged1 without imprudence1 that a    
narrative having this structure is      
hardly such as might be expected from a 
writer possessed of full and infallibly 
accurate knowledge4 ,once more1 it would
 seem that it is not necessarily the    
mere inclination of the sceptical spirit
 to question everything1 or the wilful  
blindness of infidels1 which prompts    
grave doubts as to the value of a       
narrative thus curiously unlike the     
ordinary run of veracious histories4    
,but the voice of archaeological and    
historical criticism still has to be    
heard2 and it gives forth no uncertain  
sound4 ,the marvellous recovery of the  

records of an antiquity1 far superior to
 any that can be ascribed to the        
,pentateuch1 which has been effected by 
the decipherers of cuneiform characters1
 has put us in possession of a series1  
once more1 not of speculations1 but of  
facts1 which have a most remarkable     
bearing upon the question of the        
truthworthiness of the narrative of the 
,flood4 ,it is established1 that for    
centuries before the asserted migration 
of ,terah from ,ur of the ,chaldees     
7which1 according to the orthodox       
interpreters of the ,pentateuch1 took   
place after the year #bjjj ,b4,c47      
,lower ,mesopotamia was the seat of a   
civilisation in which art and science   
and literature had attained a           
development formerly unsuspected or1 if 
there were faint reports of it1 treated 
as fabulous4 ,and it is also no matter  
of speculation1 but a fact1 that the    
libraries of these people contain       
versions of a long epic poem1 one of the
 twelve books of which tells a story of 

a deluge1 which1 in a number of its     
leading features1 corresponds with the  
story attributed to ,berosus1 no less   
than with the story given in ,genesis1  
with curious exactness4 ,thus1 the      
correctness of ,canon ,rawlinson's      
conclusion1 cited above1 that the story 
of ,berosus was neither drawn from the  
,hebrew record1 nor is the foundation of
 it1 can hardly be questioned4 ,it is   
highly probable1 if not certain1 that   
,berosus relied upon one of the versions
 7for there seem to have been several7  
of the old ,babylonian epos1 extant in  
his time2 and1 if that is a reasonable  
conclusion1 why is it unreasonable to   
believe that the two stories1 which the 
,hebrew compiler has put together in    
such an inartistic fashion1 were        
ultimately derived from the same source8
 ,i say ultimately1 because it does not 
at all follow that the two versions1    
possibly trimmed by the ,jehovistic     
writer on the one hand1 and by the      
,elohistic on the other1 to suit ,hebrew

 requirements1 may not have been current
 among the ,israelites for ages4 ,and   
they may have acquired great authority  
before they were combined in the        
,pentateuch4  ,looking at the           
convergence of all these lines of       
evidence to the one conclusion--that the
 story of the ,flood in ,genesis is     
merely a ,bowdlerised version of one of 
the oldest pieces of purely fictitious  
literature extant2 that whether this is1
 or is not1 its origin1 the events      
asserted in it to have taken place      
assuredly never did take place2 further1
 that1 in point of fact1 the story1 in  
the plain and logically necessary sense 
of its words1 has long since been given 
up by orthodox and conservative         
commentators of the ,established        
,church--,i can but admire the courage  
and clear foresight of the ,anglican    
divine who tells us that we must be     
prepared to choose between the          
trustworthiness of scientific method and
 the trustworthiness of that which the  

,church declares to be ,divine          
authority4 ,for1 to my mind1 this       
declaration of war to the knife against 
secular science1 even in its most       
elementary form2 this rejection1 without
 a moment's hesitation1 of any and all  
evidence which conflicts with           
theological dogma--is the only position 
which is logically reconcilable with the
 axioms of orthodoxy4 ,if the ,gospels  
truly report that which an incarnation  
of the ,god of ,truth communicated to   
the world1 then it surely is absurd to  
attend to any other evidence touching   
matters about which he made any clear   
statement1 or the truth of which is     
distinctly implied by his words4 ,if the
 exact historical truth of the ,gospels 
is an axiom of ,christianity1 it is as  
just and right for a ,christian to say1 
,let us close our ears against          
suggestions of scientific critics1 as it
 is for the man of science to refuse to 
waste his time upon circle-squarers and 
flat-earth fanatics4  ,it is commonly   

reported that the manifesto by which the
 ,canon of ,st4 ,paul's proclaims that  
he nails the colours of the straitest   
,biblical infallibility to the mast of  
the ship ecclesiastical1 was put forth  
as a counterblast to ,lux ,mundi2 and   
that the passages which ,i have more    
particularly quoted are directed against
 the essay on ,the ,holy ,spirit and    
,inspiration in that collection of      
treatises by ,anglican divines of high  
standing1 who must assuredly be         
acquitted of conscious infidel          
proclivities4 ,i fancy that rumour must1
 for once1 be right1 for it is          
impossible to imagine a more direct and 
diametrical contradiction than that     
between the passages from the sermon    
cited above and those which follow3--   
,what is questioned is that our ,lord's 
words foreclose certain    critical     
positions as to the character of ,old   
,testament    literature4 ,for example1 
does ,his use of ,jonah's resurrection  
as    a type of ,his own1 depend in any 

real degree upon whether    it is       
historical fact or allegory8444 ,once   
more1 our ,lord uses    the time before 
the ,flood1 to illustrate the           
carelessness of men    before ,his own  
coming4444 ,in referring to the ,flood  
,he    certainly suggests that ,he is   
treating it as typical1 for ,he         
introduces circumstances--eating and    
drinking1 marrying and    giving in     
marriage --which have no counterpart in 
the original    narrative4 7pp4 #ceh-i74
  ,while insisting on the flow of       
inspiration through the whole of the    
,old ,testament1 the essayist does not  
admit its universality4 ,here1 also1 the
 new apologetic demands a partial flood3
     ,but does the inspiration of the   
recorder guarantee the exact            
historical truth of what he records8    
,and1 in matter of fact1 can    the     
record with due regard to legitimate    
historical criticism1    be pronounced  
true8 ,now1 to the latter of these two  
questions    7and they are quite        

distinct questions7 we may reply that   
there    is nothing to prevent our      
believing1 as our faith strongly        
disposes us to believe1 that the record 
from ,abraham downward    is1 in        
substance1 in the strict sense          
historical 7p4 #cea74  ,it would appear1
 therefore1 that there is nothing to    
prevent our believing that the record1  
from ,abraham upward1 consists of       
stories in the strict sense             
unhistorical1 and that the              
pre-,abrahamic narratives are mere moral
 and religious types and parables4  ,i  
confess ,i soon lose my way when ,i try 
to follow those who walk delicately     
among types and allegories4 ,a certain  
passion for clearness forces me to ask1 
bluntly1 whether the writer means to say
 that ,jesus did not believe the stories
 in question1 or that he did8 ,when     
,jesus spoke1 as of a matter of fact1   
that the ,flood came and destroyed them 
all1 did he believe that the ,deluge    
really took place1 or not8 ,it seems to 

me that1 as the narrative mentions      
,noah's wife1 and his sons' wives1 there
 is good scriptural warranty for the    
statement that the antediluvians married
 and were given in marriage2 and ,i     
should have thought that their eating   
and drinking might be assumed by the    
firmest believer in the literal truth of
 the story4 ,moreover1 ,i venture to ask
 what sort of value1 as an illustration 
of ,god's methods of dealing with sin1  
has an account of an event that never   
happened8 ,if no ,flood swept the       
careless people away1 how is the warning
 of more worth than the cry of ,wolf    
when there is no wolf8 ,if ,jonah's     
three days' residence in the whale is   
not an admitted reality1 how could it   
warrant belief in the coming            
resurrection8 ,if ,lot's wife was not   
turned into a pillar of salt1 the       
bidding those who turn back from the    
narrow path to remember it is1 morally1 
about on a level with telling a naughty 
child that a bogy is coming to fetch it 

away4 ,suppose that a ,conservative     
orator warns his hearers to beware of   
great political and social changes1 lest
 they end1 as in ,france1 in the        
domination of a ,robespierre2 what      
becomes1 not only of his argument1 but  
of his veracity1 if he1 personally1 does
 not believe that ,robespierre existed  
and did the deeds attributed to him8    
,like all other attempts to reconcile   
the results of scientifically-conducted 
investigation with the demands of the   
outworn creeds of ecclesiasticism1 the  
essay on ,inspiration is just such a    
failure as must await mediation1 when   
the mediator is unable properly to      
appreciate the weight of the evidence   
for the case of one of the two parties4 
,the question of ,inspiration really    
possesses no interest for those who have
 cast ecclesiasticism and all its works 
aside1 and have no faith in any source  
of truth save that which is reached by  
the patient application of scientific   
methods4 ,theories of inspiration are   

speculations as to the means by which   
the authors of statements1 in the ,bible
 or elsewhere1 have been led to say what
 they have said--and it assumes that    
natural agencies are insufficient for   
the purpose4 ,i prefer to stop short of 
this problem1 finding it more profitable
 to undertake the inquiry which         
naturally precedes it--namely1 ,are     
these statements true or false8 ,if they
 are true1 it may be worth while to go  
into the question of their supernatural 
generation2 if they are false1 it       
certainly is not worth mine4  ,now1 not 
only do ,i hold it to be proven that the
 story of the ,deluge is a pure fiction2
 but ,i have no hesitation in affirming 
the same thing of the story of the      
,creation4 #ab ,between these two lies  
the story of the creation of man and    
woman and their fall from primitive     
innocence1 which is even more           
monstrously improbable than either of   
the other two1 though1 from the nature  
of the case1 it is not so easily capable

 of direct refutation4 ,it can be       
demonstrated that the earth took longer 
than six days in the making1 and that   
the ,deluge1 as described1 is a physical
 impossibility2 but there is no proving1
 especially to those who are perfect in 
the art of closing their ears to that   
which they do not wish to hear1 that a  
snake did not speak1 or that ,eve was   
not made out of one of ,adam's ribs4    
,the compiler of ,genesis1 in its       
present form1 evidently had a definite  
plan in his mind4 ,his countrymen1 like 
all other men1 were doubtless curious to
 know how the world began2 how men1 and 
especially wicked men1 came into being1 
and how existing nations and races arose
 among the descendants of one stock2    
and1 finally1 what was the history of   
their own particular tribe4 ,they1 like 
ourselves1 desired to solve the four    
great problems of cosmogeny1            
anthropogeny1 ethnogeny1 and geneogeny4 
,the ,pentateuch furnishes the solutions
 which appeared satisfactory to its     

author4 ,one of these1 as we have seen1 
was borrowed from a ,babylonian fable2  
and ,i know of no reason to suspect any 
different origin for the rest4 ,now1 ,i 
would ask1 is the story of the          
fabrication of ,eve to be regarded as   
one of those pre-,abrahamic narratives1 
the historical truth of which is an open
 question1 in face of the reference to  
it in a speech unhappily famous for the 
legal oppression to which it has been   
wrongfully forced to lend itself8       
,have ye not read1 that he which made   
them from the beginning    made them    
male and female1 and said1 ,for this    
cause shall a man    leave his father   
and mother1 and cleave to his wife2 and 
the    twain shall become one flesh8    
7,matt4 xix4 #e47  ,if divine authority 
is not here claimed for the             
twenty-fourth verse of the second       
chapter of ,genesis1 what is the value  
of language8 ,and again1 ,i ask1 if one 
may play fast and loose with the story  
of the ,fall as a type or allegory1 what

 becomes of the foundation of ,pauline  
theology8--     ,for since by man came  
death1 by man came also the             
resurrection of the dead4 ,for as in    
,adam all die1 so also in    ,christ    
shall all be made alive 7#a ,corinthians
 xv4 #ba1 #bb74  ,if ,adam may be held  
to be no more real a personage than     
,prometheus1 and if the story of the    
,fall is merely an instructive type1    
comparable to the profound ,promethean  
mythus1 what value has ,paul's          
dialectic8  ,while1 therefore1 every    
right-minded man must sympathise with   
the efforts of those theologians1 who   
have not been able altogether to close  
their ears to the still1 small1 voice of
 reason1 to escape from the fetters     
which ecclesiasticism has forged2 the   
melancholy fact remains1 that the       
position they have taken up is          
hopelessly untenable4 ,it is raked alike
 by the old-fashioned artillery of the  
churches and by the fatal weapons of    
precision with which the enfants perdus 

of the advancing forces of science are  
armed4 ,they must surrender1 or fall    
back into a more sheltered position4    
,and it is possible that they may long  
find safety in such retreat4  ,it is1   
indeed1 probable that the proportional  
number of those who will distinctly     
profess their belief in the             
transubstantiation of ,lot's wife1 and  
the anticipatory experience of submarine
 navigation by ,jonah2 in water standing
 fathoms deep on the side of a declivity
 without anything to hold it up2 and in 
devils who enter swine--will not        
increase4 ,but neither is there ground  
for much hope that the proportion of    
those who cast aside these fictions and 
adopt the consequence of that           
repudiation1 are1 for some generations1 
likely to constitute a majority4 ,our   
age is a day of compromises4 ,the       
present and the near future seem given  
over to those happily1 if curiously1    
constituted people who see as little    
difficulty in throwing aside any amount 

of post-,abrahamic ,scriptural          
narrative1 as the authors of ,lux ,mundi
 see in sacrificing the pre-,abrahamic  
stories2 and1 having distilled away     
every inconvenient matter of fact in    
,christian history1 continue to pay     
divine honours to the residue4 ,there   
really seems to be no reason why the    
next generation should not listen to a  
,bampton ,lecture modelled upon that    
addressed to the last3--     ,time      
was--and that not very long ago--when   
all the relations of    ,biblical       
authors concerning the whole world were 
received with a    ready belief2 and an 
unreasoning and uncritical faith        
accepted    with equal satisfaction the 
narrative of the ,captivity and the     
doings of ,moses at the court of        
,pharaoh1 the account of the            
,apostolic meeting in the ,epistle to   
the ,galatians1 and that of    the      
fabrication of ,eve4 ,we can most of us 
remember when1 in this    country1 the  
whole story of the ,exodus1 and even the

 legend of    ,jonah1 were seriously    
placed before boys as history2 and      
discoursed of in as dogmatic a tone as  
the tale of ,agincourt or    the history
 of the ,norman ,conquest4     ,but all 
this is now changed4 ,the last century  
has seen the    growth of scientific    
criticism to its full strength4 ,the    
whole    world of history has been      
revolutionised and the mythology which  
embarrassed earnest ,christians has     
vanished as an evil mist1 the    lifting
 of which has only more fully revealed  
the lineaments of    infallible ,truth4 
,no longer in contact with fact of any  
kind1    ,faith stands now and for ever 
proudly inaccessible to the    attacks  
of the infidel4  ,so far the apologist  
of the future4 ,why not8 ,cantabit      
vacuus4     ,,footnotes3  ,footnote #a3 
,bampton ,lectures 7#ahei71 on ,the     
,historical ,evidence of the ,truth of  
the ,scripture ,records stated anew1    
with ,special ,reference to the ,doubts 
and ,discoveries of ,modern ,times1 by  

the ,rev4 ,g4 ,rawlinson1 ,m4,a41 pp4   
#e-f4  ,footnote #b3 ,the ,worth of the 
,old ,testament1 a ,sermon preached in  
,st4 ,paul's ,cathedral on the second   
,sunday in ,advent1 #hth ,dec41 #ahhi1  
by ,h4 ,p4 ,liddon1 ,d4,d41 ,d4,c4,l41  
,canon and ,chancellor of ,st4 ,paul's4 
,second edition revised and with a new  
preface1 #ahij4  ,footnote #c3 ,st4     
,luke xvii4 #cb4  ,footnote #d3 ,st4    
,luke xvii4 #bg4  ,footnote #e3 ,st4    
,matt4 xii4 #dj4  ,footnote #f3 ,bampton
 ,lectures1 #ahei1 pp4 #ej-ea4          
,footnote #g3 ,commentary on ,genesis1  
by the ,bishop of ,ely1 p4 #gg4         
,footnote #h3 ,die ,sintflut1 #ahgf4    
,footnote #i3 ,theologie und            
,naturwissenschaft1 ii4 #ghd-gia        
7#ahgg74  ,footnote #aj3 ,it is very    
doubtful if this means the region of the
 ,armenian ,ararat4 ,more probably it   
designates some part either of the      
,kurdish range or of its south-eastern  
continuation4  ,footnote #aa3 ,so       
,reclus 7,nouvelle ,geographie          

,universelle1 ix4 #chf71 but ,i find the
 statement doubted by an authority of   
the first rank4  ,footnote #ab3 ,so far 
as ,i know1 the narrative of the        
,creation is not now held to be true1 in
 the sense in which ,i have defined     
historical truth1 by any of the         
reconcilers4 ,as for the attempts to    
stretch the ,pentateuchal days into     
periods of thousands or millions of     
years1 the verdict of the eminent       
,biblical scholar1 ,dr4 ,riehm 7,der    
biblische ,schopfungsbericht1 #ahha1 pp4
 #ae1 #af7 on such pranks of            
,auslegungskunst should be final4 ,why  
do the reconcilers take ,goethe's advice
 seriously8--       ,im ,auslegen seyd  
frisch und munter6       ,legt ihr's    
nicht aus1 so legt was unter4