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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/36798-h.zip b/36798-h.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..b79938e --- /dev/null +++ b/36798-h.zip diff --git a/36798-h/36798-h.htm b/36798-h/36798-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..fb0c945 --- /dev/null +++ b/36798-h/36798-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,1218 @@ +<?xml version="1.0" encoding="us-ascii"?> + +<!DOCTYPE html + PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd" > + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en"> + <head> + <title> + The Limits of Atheism, by G. J. Holyoake. + </title> + <style type="text/css" xml:space="preserve"> + + body { margin:5%; background:#faebd0; text-align:justify} + P { text-indent: 1em; margin-top: .25em; margin-bottom: .25em; } + H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%; } + hr { width: 50%; text-align: center;} + .foot { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; text-indent: -3em; font-size: 90%; } + blockquote {font-size: 97%; font-style: italic; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;} + .mynote {background-color: #DDE; color: #000; padding: .5em; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 95%;} + .toc { margin-left: 10%; margin-bottom: .75em;} + .toc2 { margin-left: 20%;} + div.fig { display:block; margin:0 auto; text-align:center; } + div.middle { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; } + .figleft {float: left; margin-left: 0%; margin-right: 1%;} + .figright {float: right; margin-right: 0%; margin-left: 1%;} + .pagenum {display:inline; font-size: 70%; font-style:normal; + margin: 0; padding: 0; position: absolute; right: 1%; + text-align: right;} + pre { font-style: italic; font-size: 90%; margin-left: 10%;} + +</style> + </head> + <body> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + +Project Gutenberg's The Limits Of Atheism, by George Jacob Holyoake + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Limits Of Atheism + Or, Why should Sceptics be Outlaws? + +Author: George Jacob Holyoake + +Release Date: July 20, 2011 [EBook #36798] +Last Updated: January 25, 2013 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LIMITS OF ATHEISM *** + + + + +Produced by David Widger + + + + + +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <h1> + THE LIMITS OF ATHEISM + </h1> + <h3> + Or, Why should Sceptics be Outlaws? + </h3> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <h2> + BY G. J. HOLYOAKE. + </h2> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "It is historically true that a large proportion of Infidels + in all ages have been persons of distinguished integrity and + honour."—<i>John Stuart Mill 'On Liberty,</i>' p. 80. +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <h3> + LONDON: J. A. BROOK & CO., 282, STRAND, W.C <br /><br /> 1874. <br /><br /> + PRICE TWOPENCE. <br /><br /> REVEREND RICHARD WILLIAM JELF, D.D., <br /><br /> + PRINCIPAL OF KING'S COLLEGE, LONDON, WHO HAS LATELY ALARMED CONVOCATION + <br /><br /> BY CONNECTING <br /><br /> THE 'ESSAYS AND REVIEWS' WITH ATHEISM + <br /> <br /> THESE PAGES, <br /> <br /> WRITTEN IN ARREST OF THE + PARLIAMENTARY JUDGMENT WHICH PLACES THE WORD OF THE ATHEIST BELOW THAT OF + THE FELON, <br /> <br /> Are Respectfully Inscribed, <br /><br /> BY <br /><br /> + GEORGE JACOB HOLYOAKE. + </h3> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <h2> + PREFACE. + </h2> + <p> + The object of these pages* is not to defend the intellectual accuracy of + Atheism (which could not be attempted in this brief space), the object is + to explain its case, to vindicate its moral rectitude, and the right of + those who hold these views, to legal equality. There are two Atheisms in + literature—the ancient one of mere negation; and the affirmative + form, whose relevant name is Cosmism, and of which Humboldt, in his + 'Cosmos,' is a great illustrator, and Comte, in his 'Positive Philosophy,' + an expounder. The term Cosmism ought to supersede the misleading term + Atheism; just as Secularism has superseded the libellous term Infidelity. + Cosmism, as well as Secularism, expresses a new form of Freethought, and I + use the term Atheism, as the subject of a Lecture, for the first time + here. It is a worn-out word, used by Theists in hateful senses. I employ + it, as a title, to-day for political reasons, in order to show those who + make it a ground of civil exclusion, that it is a thing of law and limits: + that the reputed Atheism of English working men, so far as it prevails, is + no longer the old Atheism of mere negation, but the Cosmism of modern + science; neither dissolute, anarchical, nor impious—recognises that + the universe is, without theorising <i>why</i> it is. Negative Atheism + says there is nothing beyond the universe. Cosmism says it cannot explain + anything beyond, and pauses where its knowledge ends. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + *A report of a Lecture delivered in Bendall's Assembly + Rooms, City Road, London, March 8rd, 1861. +</pre> + <p> + Atheism questions—Cosmism affirms. The language of Cosmism is that + of the poet in the 'Purgatory of Suicides':— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'I do not say—there is no God, + But this I say—I know not.' +</pre> + <p> + I prefer Secularism, which concerns itself with the moral life of man, and + maintains a well-advised neutrality upon these speculative questions. My + sympathies are with 'Adam Bede,' that striking and greatest creation of + modern genius, in which the <i>National Review</i> recognised 'The + strong-headed, manly, sharp-tempered, secular carpenter, with his + energetic satisfaction in his work, and impatience of dreamers.' But as I + stated in the York Debate, in 1858, at which the Reverend Canons Hey and + Robinson presided, it is an act of self-defence in England to question the + assumed infallibility of Theism—to prove that Atheists are entitled + to civil recognition, as persons having legitimate, actual, and + conscientious views, and who, therefore, ought not to be outlawed as they + are now. So long as sceptics of Theism are refused the right of + affirmation in courts of law, and their lives and property consequently + placed at the mercy of every ruffian and knave, so long will a Sceptical + propaganda be a parliamentary necessity, to justify these opinions, and to + spread them, that those who hold them may, like the Quakers, win by + pertinacity what is denied to reason. And while this state of things + lasts, I confess that I listen to arguments of opponents with distrust, + for I see in them, not so much the confutation of my opinions, as the + limitation of my freedom, and the justification of my political exclusion. + In the present state of theological liberty in England, for the alleged + Atheist to be silent, is to be a slave consenting to his own degradation. + </p> + <p> + G. J. H. + </p> + <p> + 147, Fleet Street, London, E.C., April 13th, 1861. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0002" id="link2H_4_0002"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE LIMITS OF ATHEISM + </h2> + <p> + Twenty years ago I stepped forward to defend the right of expressing + Atheism on the part of those who conscientiously held it. On Mr. + Southwell's imprisonment in Bristol, I took his place as Editor of the <i>Oracle + of Reason</i>, and shared his fate at Gloucester. Under the same + circumstances I would do it again to-morrow. In the expression of + speculative opinions there may be error and there may be outrage; but the + error is best corrected by discussion, and the outrage by cultivation; but + to prohibit the free publication of opinion is to strike at the root of + all intrepidity of thought and individuality of character; and against a + uniformity of profession, whether brought about by the tyranny of the + majority, by the policeman, or by the magistrate, I ever have, and ever + will, protest as unwise, dishonest, and degrading. + </p> + <p> + Because Atheistical opinions were attacked by the law I defended them: I + defended the right to hold them without sharing them. And in all the + publications I have edited, I have accepted the responsibility of the + views of coadjutors and correspondents without conditions, and my name is + associated in consequence much more with other persons' opinions than with + my own. When the rights of conscience in Free-thought are attacked, to + discriminate is to condemn; and while persecution is attempted, I make it + a point of honour never to pass in appearance on to the side of the + persecutors. As soon as legal opposition to the publication of heretical + opinion ceased, I was the first to insist that the day of good taste must + commence. The moment fair play is permitted, all excuse for invective or + outrage ends. Violence, exaggeration, denunciation, are crimes against + Freethought the moment Freethought is permitted. Now that Sir George + Cornewall Lewis, on the part of the Government, has refused Sir John + Trelawny's request to alter the law which treats an Atheist as an outlaw, + which denies him the common right of legal protection, which exposes him + to plunder or assault without redress, which cedes to the Theist a + monopoly of veracity in courts of law, and places the word of every man + and woman, however honest, cultivated, and reputable, unable to make a + Profession of Faith, as below that of a convicted felon, I am most + reluctant to enter upon any explanation of my own views on the great + speculative propositions of theology, lest it should appear to others as + timidity, retreat, or disposition to compromise.. If a man had (which I + have not) a change of opinion to own, this is not the hour to make it. But + with respect to Affirmative Atheism, the necessity for newness of view is + chiefly felt by those who do not understand it. It is refused civil + recognition because it is conceived to be some lawless thing. The + consternation excited just now by the 'Essays and Reviews' is owing to an + apprehension that public opinion is tending to the negation of theology, + and that is concluded to be a state of intellectual lawlessness. To trace + any outline of the Limits of Atheism, may serve to give more intelligent + definiteness to the misgivings entertained concerning it, and lead earlier + to its legal recognition; and therefore alone I attempt it. + </p> + <p> + Let us avoid verbiage if we can. Too many words are the locusts of the + mind, which darken the air of the understanding and eat up our meaning. I + believe that language is given us not to be used—except upon clear + compulsion. + </p> + <p> + There are two terms which especially excite religious reprobation, and one + of them excites mine. I refer to Infidelity and Atheism. + </p> + <p> + Infidelity is a term I detest. It implies that you believe enough to + subject you to reproach, and disbelieve enough to entitle you to be + damned. It signifies disbelief too inveterate to allow you to go back to + superstition, and too much timidity to carry your doubt to a definite or + legitimate result. I am for thoroughness and decision. If it be + criminality to disbelieve, I will put scepticism far from me. I will not + even tamper with doubt. But if it be lawful to reject from the + understanding whatever seems false, then I will disbelieve error as a + duty, and unhesitatingly doubt whatever is doubtful. + </p> + <p> + Atheism—objectionable as it is from wanton negative associations—is + a far more wholesome term. It is a defiant, militant word. There is a ring + of decision about it. There is no cringing in it. It keeps no terms with + superstition. It makes war, and means it. It carries you away from the + noisome word-jugglery of the conventional pulpits, and brings you face to + face with nature. It is a relief to get out of the crowd who believe + because their neighbours do, who pray by rote, and worship through fear; + and win your liberty to wander in the refreshing solitude where the heart + may be honest, and the intellect free. Affirmative Atheism of the + intellect is a proud, honest, intrepid, self-respecting attitude of the + mind. The Negative Atheism of mere ignorance, of insensibility, of lust, + and gluttony, and drunkenness, of egotism or vanity, whose talk is + outrage, and whose spirit is blasphemy; this is the gross negation of God, + which superstition begets in its slavery, and nurtures by its terrors. + These species of Atheism I recognise only to disown and denounce them. Of + these the priest is the author who preaches the natural corruption of the + human heart, who inculcates the guilt of Freethought, the distrust of + reason, and despair of self-reliant progress. Utterly different from this + is the Atheism of reflection, which seeks for conclusive evidence, which + listens reverentially for the voice of God, which weighs carefully the + teachings of a thoughtful Theism; but refuses to recognise the officious, + incoherent babblement of intolerant or presumptuous men. Reflective + Atheism is simply a reluctant uncertainty as to the consciousness of + Nature, or as to the existence of a Power over Nature. As one who will + allow me the pleasure of calling him my friend, Mr. G. H. Lewes, said, all + reflective Atheism is suspensive. + </p> + <p> + He invented the phrase Suspensive Atheism to describe the only form of + opinion which he knew I maintained. The thoughtful Atheist wishes to + perceive the whole truth of Nature, he hesitates unwillingly, and waits + longingly for more light. + </p> + <p> + Let us dismiss at once that crude and evasive state which affects Atheism, + and, at the same time, denies it; which says no Theist has defined Deity, + and therefore the disbelief in it is an impossibility. + </p> + <p> + Affirmative Atheism may be wrong, but it is at least intelligible. It has + a definite foundation, or it could claim no position, and would deserve + none. It must go upon facts if it would maintain a place in the kingdom of + thought, and it finds these facts in Positivism. The mind that has + wandered in the torrid zones of error, thirsts ardently for the cooling + draughts of positive truth. It is this sentiment which causes Freethought + to take the form of Secularism, and exchanges the verbal distractions of + conflicting creeds for the clear criterions of moral truth. It is the same + wise impatience of metaphysical unrealities which leads to Affirmative + Atheism, and explains it. A series of material and mental facts arrest the + attention of one taking an unbiased and independent view of the universe, + of time, and space, and matter. + </p> + <p> + There are two classes of thinkers—one who commence with ignoring + Nature, seeking in something outside it for the origin of it, and who look + upon the infinite processes of the worlds which people space, with the + dull astonishment accorded to mere agencies, rather than with the native + wonder and awe which the consciousness of original powers awakens—these + are Theists. + </p> + <p> + The other class are those who regard matter as the very garment of the + unknown God, to whom every spray, and pebble, and flower, and star is a + marvel, a glory, and an inspiration; who, comprehending not an external + cause of nature, recognise its existence, its surpassing affluence, its + multitudinous marvels, and give them the first place in their wonder, + study, reverence, and love—these are Affirmative Atheists. + </p> + <p> + To believe in Nature, in its self-existence, its self-subsistence, its + self-action, its eternity, infinity, and materiality, and in that only, is + Affirmative Atheism.* Reflective Atheism is pure inability to, realise the + fact of the consciousness of the universe, or to conceive the existence of + a Being over it. + </p> + <p> + To believe in something besides nature—is Theism. + </p> + <p> + To believe in the consciousness of nature—is Pantheism. + </p> + <p> + The explanation of Affirmative Atheism* here given, involves many + considerations which I am not going to discuss. It is not my province here + to defend, but to state the case. A definition is a map, but it is not the + journey. A definition is a high road through a subject, and a high road + should be a straight road: it may run out of the way of some populous + towns and beautiful scenes, but it gives the means of quickest transit + through a territory, from which the country can be viewed, and the + traveller determine its general features. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * This might stand for a definition of Cosmism, which term I + employ at substantially reciprocal with Affirmative Atheism, + and as its substitute, if I may employ it in its modern and + wider sense than defined by Pythagoras. +</pre> + <p> + If we have said enough for this purpose, we may attempt to trace the + limits of our subject. The road through every high question lies over + precipices. Every great question has its Mont Blancs. The higher you climb + the deeper the chasms on the right hand and on the left. The Roman + Catholic makes worship an art, and abject submission a duty. To relieve + you of anxiety he deprives the mind of initiation and freedom. The + Protestant concedes you private judgment, and surrounds you by a social + despotism lest you should use it. He substitutes a creed for the Church. + The Church is a cell, and the creed is a cage. The cage is lighter, more + airy, and less repulsive than the cell, but the imprisonment is complete + in both. + </p> + <p> + Mere Atheism inculcates freedom and intrepidity of the understanding, but + may land you in negation, in dogmatism, in denunciation, in irreverence. + These are the chasms that lie in the path of mere Atheism. The traveller + who passes into these is lost. To avoid this danger we must keep within + the limits naturally prescribed to Affirmative Atheism, which are:— + </p> + <p> + 1. Positivism in Principle. + </p> + <p> + 2. Exactness in Profession of Opinion. + </p> + <p> + 3. Dispassionateness in Judgment. + </p> + <p> + 4. Humanism in Conception. + </p> + <p> + 1. The Positivist conception of Atheism exhibits the limits which modern + thought has impressed upon it. Affirmative Atheism asserts the realism of + Nature; Theism denies it. Theism refuses to recognise the self-existence, + the self-action, the self-subsistence, eternity, and infinity of the + universe. Theism is the negation of Nature. It is a species of impiety + towards nature, and supplants, by an artificial superstition, the + instinctive reverence of the human heart. + </p> + <p> + Modern Atheism is falsely regarded as a mere negation, as a species of + criminal vacuity of the understanding. To correct this idea is to win for + these opinions attention if not assent. The negation of any error is + useful, but it should be followed by its complement of positive truth. All + mere negative subjects are like the lime and pebbles swallowed by farm + fowl to assist digestion, but it fares ill with the fowl if they get + nothing but stones to digest; if no corn or barley follows to be operated + upon. Now, questions of Atheism and Scepticism are the digestive stimuli + of the mind; positive principles supply the corn and barley which sustain + the mental system and preserve its life. If we give ourselves up to + negative subjects merely, we come to resemble the theologians who, as + Talleyrand said, 'pick a great many bones for very little meat.' + </p> + <p> + Old Atheism shows that the alleged proofs of the existence of a Deity are + inconclusive, untenable, or self-refutatory. As a discipline of the + intellect, as a questioning of that theistical speculation which has + always been arrogant and tyrannical towards dissentients, there is good in + negative Atheism. But it is more important if made to subserve practical + objects. Mere negative Atheism has no ulterior objects it untenants the + mind, and this may not be in all things beneficial. The slave may be more + healthy who is forced to take exercise, and he may have more physical + enjoyment of life than the indolent freeman, who is sedentary by choice, + and diseased through inactivity and overfeeding. + </p> + <p> + You may pluck up weeds, and the rank herbage be more fruitful of miasma + than the weeds; or if the plucked up weeds produce no harm, the ground may + be left useless until crops are made to grow upon it. So of the weeds of + worship which spring up in the priest-ridden mind. Reverence may be + cultivated by superstition, good conduct maybe enforced by terror; if + superstition and terror be exploded, the reverence and good conduct must + be cared for and be better directed. Freethought is no half work, it has + much to do. + </p> + <p> + It is delusive to pull down the altar of superstition and not erect an + altar of science in its place. To pack up the household gods of + superstition and leave the fireside bare, will hardly do.. Affirmative + Atheism must teach that nature is the Bible of truth, work is worship, + that duty is dignity, and the unselfish service of others consolation. + </p> + <p> + There is nothing wholly bad. Superstition has in it some elements of good. + I no more believe in perfect error than in perfect truth. Error, like + truth, is hardly ever found pure; error is mixed with good, and truth + alloyed by evil. The mind must have something to feed upon, and if it + cannot have truth, it will have superstition; and though superstition, + like some diet, is very hard of digestion, and very innutritious, it is + better to feed upon that than die. True, it keeps the mind thin, but it + keeps it alive, and it is better to be a skeleton than a corpse. Now it is + true that some intellects, like some animals, eat by instinct the right + kind of food, but being healthy are not fastidious, and if you give them + bad food they don't object to it and don't care for it. If they take it, + their digestion is so good that it does not hurt them. But there are other + people who pine for the knowledge of nature, and cannot subsist unless a + large proportion of their mental aliment consists of definite principle. + When these are not supplied by religious teachers, and Christianity by any + intolerance prevents it being supplied by others, such natures expire in + an intellectual sense, and Christianity ought to be regarded as guilty of + wilful murder. And in the case of Atheism, those persons who are + accustomed to take superstition, and are deprived of that, and no attempt + is made to supply its place by more wholesome sustenance, are no doubt + injured. Negative Atheism guilty of this neglect may be said to be guilty + of manslaughter, and it would be murder were the neglect accompanied, as + in the case of Theism, by intolerance. Beware of reckless iconoclasticism. + </p> + <p> + Mere negations give all advantage to superstition; error seems wisdom and + wealth when truth is silent. + </p> + <p> + 2. The logic of Affirmative Atheism begins in self-confession. Not to see + anything where there is nothing to be seen is the sign of the true + faculty; and not to say that you do see when you do not is the first sign + of veracity of intellect. + </p> + <p> + Man is forgiven who believes more than his neighbours, but he is never + forgiven if he believes less. If he believes more than his neighbours, + there is the presumption that he may have made some discovery which may + become profitable one day to join in. It may be that he who believes most, + may merely possess a more industrious credulity, or possess a greater + capacity for hasty assumption. But this is seldom probed. He who believes + less may have abandoned some important item of justifiable belief. But + when he who believes less than the multitude, confesses to the fact in the + face of public disapproval, the probability is that he has inquired into, + and sifted evidence which others have taken for granted, and discovered + some error which they have accepted. His greater accuracy of mind and + exactness of speech are an offence, because a reproach to the careless or + unscrupulous intellects of those who conduct life on secondhand opinions. + Yet austerity of intellect and austerity of speech is as wholesome in + character, as austerity of morals. I hope, says Mr. Grote, in his great + history of Greece, in a memorable passage that ought not to die out of + recollection, 'I hope, when I come to the lives of Socrates and Plato, to + illustrate one of the most valuable of their principles, that conscious + and confessed ignorance is a better state of mind than the fancy without + the reality of knowledge.' And in a passage which I cannot now recall, + Lord Brougham has said that 'a mind uninformed is better than a mind + misinformed.' In a state of ignorance we do nothing, in a state of error + we do wrong. The popular condemnation of the Atheist—which we have + lately heard as ignorantly echoed in the House of Commons as in some + Conventicles—is not always uttered, because the Atheist does not + know more than others, for none know anything certain concerning the + existence of God,* but because the Atheist does not profess more. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * In his remarkable work entitled 'First Principles,' now in + course of publication, Mr. Herbert Spencer has shown that + certain terms of Cosmism are as incapable of ultimate + explanation as certain terms of Theism. This shows how + unwise is dogmatism, how unjustifiable is intolerance, on + either side. +</pre> + <p> + Cosmism, a thoughtful name, which ought to supersede Atheism in the + future, neither denies nor affirms the existence of Deity. It waits for + explanation and proof. It admits there is evidence of something, but what + that something is, does not appear. There is evidence of more than we + know, but what that is we do not know, and it is dishonesty to use a term + respecting it, which pretends that we do know. Why should it not be + honourable to observe a scientific reservation in the exposition of + opinion? In science it is a sign of cultivation to understate a case and + keep within the limits of fact and proof. The reservation of Cosmism, + which so many regard as an offence, arises from a love of exact truth, + from an endeavour to attain to it in expression, and from an honourable + unwillingness to employ words which do not represent to him who uses them, + definite ideas. + </p> + <p> + If we say God is Light, Love, Truth, Power, Goodness, Law, Principle, we + confound attributes with existence. If we say God is a Spirit, God is + space, we merely fill the imagination, not satisfy the understanding: it + is feeding the thoughts with air, and leaving the intellect hungry. A + Trinitarian Deity is one of the scholastic perplexities of the intellect. + The first rule of arithmetic is against it. If it means three Gods in one, + it is an enigma. If it means three doctrinal aspects of God, it confuses + all simplicity of feeling. In the simple, moral heart of man, God is one, + and his name is Love; not a weak, vapoury sentimentality, but an austere, + healthy love, whose expression is strength, purity, truth, justice, + service, and tenderness. But this conception of Deity belongs to the + empire of the emotions, it is a matter of feeling, not of proof, and can + authorise no intolerance towards others, itself existing only by the + sufferance of the intellect, which has chastened its expression, and is + supreme over it. + </p> + <p> + Exactness of phraseology is well understood self-defence. Well chosen + terms are the true weapons of opinion. Employing an old, battered, + rheumatic and abused term like Atheism, is like riflemen using the old + musket instead of the far-reaching and fatal Minie. Cosmism is the new + term which conveys the new idea of the age, and explains the improvements + in thought and spirit, which the mere term Atheism conceals. To suffer an + opponent to choose names for you is as though a combatant should suffer + his enemy to supply his arms for the conflict. He who consents to be + called by a hateful name, can be defeated at the pleasure of his opponent. + His ideas are never discussed, his conscientious spirit is never + recognised, he is trampled down by a name which libels, defames, and + destroys him. Let us banish the unqualified term Atheism from the + literature of theological controversy. + </p> + <p> + 3. Dispassionateness is a law of Affirmative Atheism. Those who commence + by believing themselves infallible, and their view of a question open to + no dispute, can never see reason in, nor view with patience the dissent + which others maintain. It is the first instinct of the Cosmist (to use the + preferable term) to keep his mind open to reason. The dogmatism which + insists on its own case, and shuts its eyes and closes its ears to the + facts and arguments on the side of Theism, is always to be condemned. + Dogmatism, the sin of superstition, is excluded from the empire of + speculation. The clergyman will often admit that Atheism endeavours to + maintain an unprejudiced tone of mind. The Rev. Charles Marriot, of Oriel + College, observed to me, when I had the honour some years ago to be his + guest, that 'he had always more hope of the Atheist than of the Dissenter, + for the Dissenter always moved in a little infallibility of his own, while + the Atheist was always to be reached by reason.' Mystery will always + conquer partisans, and the Cosmist who comprehends this, will reason with + superstition, and never be impatient with it. + </p> + <p> + Dispassionateness of judgment will also lead to dispassionateness of + speech. Opinion in a minority should never have recourse to invective. + Prejudice is inveterate enough without being inflamed by denunciation. + Unpopular and unfriended truth must consent to placate opposition by + respectfulness of tone and fairness of speech. It must never compromise + principle—that is submission, and gives the errorist insolent + confidence. It must never outrage—that makes the errorist indignant, + and deaf to all reason. The force of truth lies in invincible patience and + in invincible perseverance of exposition. Progressive opinion ought ever + to be kept on the high places of dispassionate advocacy. It is wonderful + how truth has been perilled by passion. The battle of opinion has always + been fought on impulse, rather than on calculation of forces; and the + small band of the combatants for new truths has often been trampled down + by the multitudinous army of error. + </p> + <p> + 4. Conceptions of Humanity, or, in other words, Reliance of Humanity, is a + law and limit of Affirmative Atheism. Every man who thinks, must choose + one of two things, a standard without the universe, or a standard within. + I choose one within, I choose humanity. 'Men,' says Lord Bacon, speaking + of Atheism, 'who look no farther, become wary of themselves.' Let us + become wary of ourselves; nothing is more wholesome or progressive! + </p> + <p> + Hardness, assumption, egotism, insubordination to worth—in one word, + irreverence, ought never to be the characteristic of Cosmism. He who + vindicates nature and reason, should show that being left to nature, + philosophy, reputation, and the laws, there exists self-regulation and + reliable rationality.* Cosmism is the highest form of self-reliance; the + responsibility, which to others is a necessity, is to him a duty and a + pride. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * As the late Gen. Jacob, the illustrious commander of the + Scinde Horse, testifies. 'In the jangle and desert, amid a + barbarous people on the extreme confines of civilisation,' + he applied these principles when Bishops despaired and + Christianity failed; and he records that 'He was permitted + to witness with delight the fact of a whole nation being + raised from a state of barbarous violence, misery, + detestable cruelty, and horror, to one of peace, comfort, + racial order, and happiness;' that 'He had seen their + faithful and steady application in practice change thousands + of the wildest robbers and murderers into kindly and + industrious citizens. +</pre> + <p> + The wildness, excesses, extravagances, and incoherences of superstition, + arise through men looking without themselves into those regions of the + unknown where men make God after their own image, where they imagine their + facts, and reason upon them without check. How impertinent is half our + modern worship, and how poor the other half! Educated ministers speak of + God, and address to him praise they would be ashamed to offer to any + gentleman. That delicacy of reverence, that reticence of laudation, that + avoidance of presumption and familiarity, which the law of humanity + imposes on all men of religious habits in human relations, has no + existence in theology, where it is more to be expected and infinitely more + needful. When St. Augustine speaks of God, there is a magnificent + thoughtfulness in the terms he employs which his Pagan refinement had + taught him, which we seldom find in modern saints. How imposingly he + exclaims in his Confessions:— + </p> + <p> + What art Thou then, my God? Most highest, most good, most potent, most + omnipotent; most merciful, yet most just; most hidden, yet most present; + most beautiful, yet most strong; stable, yet incomprehensible; + unchangeable, yet all-changing; never new, never old; all-renewing, and <i>bringing + age upon the proud, and they know it not</i>; ever working, ever at rest; + still gathering, yet nothing lacking; supporting, filling, and + overspreading; creating, nourishing, and maturing; seeking, yet having all + things. Thou lovest, without passion; art jealous, without anxiety; + repentest, yet grievest not; art angry, yet serene; changest Thy works, + Thy purpose unchanged; receivest again what Thou findest, yet didst never + lose; never in need, yet rejoicing in gains; never covetous, yet exacting + usury. Thou receivest over and above, that Thou mayest owe; and who hath + aught that is not Thine? Thou payest debts, owing nothing; remittest + debts, losing nothing.' + </p> + <p> + We forgive the sublime contradictions in the stately march of this Pagan + praise. Augustine was a noble old saint, but he had a Pagan intellect to + the end. + </p> + <p> + The 'Limits of Atheism' which obviously present themselves to those who + reflect upon them, rescue it from the imputation of lawlessness. + Positivism engrafts upon it practical aims. Exactness of speech + necessitates exactness of thought, and dictates modesty of pretension. + Dispassionateness of judgment checks invective, dogmatism, prejudice, or + unfairness; and Reliance upon Humanity tends to self-trust, + self-direction, and chastity of worship. Why should persons who hold the + views of Affirmative Atheism under these 'Limits' be treated in the + witness-box as public liars—men whose reiterated profession is—that + they 'sum up personal duty in Honour, which is respecting the Truth; in + Morality, which is acting the Truth; and in Love, which is serving the + Truth.'* + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * 'Last Trial for Atheism,' p. 100. +</pre> + <p> + Plato in his 'Laws,' remarks that 'Atheism is a disease of the soul before + it becomes an error of the understanding.' This just opinion, if applied + to mere sensualists, who disbelieve in God because his holiness is a + restraint upon their infamous passions, has since been applied to the pure + thinkers like Spinoza, to whom it is an insult and an outrage. Let us see + how little such a remark is applicable to those who thoughtfully pause + before adopting a creed which, however dictated by a feeling of piety, is + far less reverential than thoughtful silence. + </p> + <p> + If we suppose an interposing Providence to direct the affairs of this + world, what scenes of sorrow must meet his eye? Condemned to poverty and + pain, how many human beings are there whose every word is a prayer, and + every thought a throb, and every pulsation a pang? Is it not far more + reverential to struggle for the right with what powers we have, and with + what Secular light is vouchsafed, and own Theism inscrutable, than connect + all this misery with the name of God? The theory of a God of Prayer who + hears and aids, of a Providence who orders and controls, all issues to one + great Will, and who receives at last the sorrow-stricken, the worn, + struggling and weary spirit, after those conflicts which all who think, + and feel, and aspire, encounter, are primitive and enduring conceptions, + which all humanity, in every age and in every slime, cherishes in its + perplexity and clings to in its weakness. It is not Cosmism which seeks or + wishes to disprove this theory. Alas! the God of Prayer does not exist. I + say it not in wantonness, or recklessness, nor in any proud spirit of + defiance, nor in any hard spirit of denial, nor in outrage, nor wilful + scepticism, nor simulated disbelief. It appears to me an austere fact, + which all who observe must see, which all who are frank must own. Yet I + know not that I ought to say 'Alas it is so.' Why should any man mourn at + truth? What right have I to arraign the facts of Nature. To mourn what <i>is</i>—is + to condemn what is. Sorrow is censure when it relates to what is possibly + the order of God. What authority have I to look on Nature awful in its + glories and mysteries, and by the implication included in my grief, to + judge it and say it is not what it should be? My scrutiny ought rather to + be directed to my weakness. True reverence lies rather in accepting + unmurmuringly the order of things we find; in believing in the + completeness and self sufficiency of nature and humanity, and that these + contain within them elements of self-sustainment. Our duty is to search + there for Truth, to work there patiently for Progress, to regard the + humblest conquest there with glad surprise. All virtue is summed up in + service and endurance. A wise humility in expectation is surely the first + element of reverence. As to the Future Life of man, the whole question + lies in a narrow compass. The immortality of the soul is one of those + problems which you approach with breathless perplexity. Is it possible + that every human being brought into existence, in the caprices of lust and + vice, is a candidate for heaven, and a burden upon the celestial taxes, + and an inmate of the great Poor House or Reformatory of eternity? Is it in + the power of ignorance, profligacy, and passion, to crowd the porticoes of + Paradise with illicit offspring? Can it be true that every being born is + liable to eternal perdition for acts done before it had existence—or + for offences it was predestined to commit, or in the course of events may + commit? It is better never to be born than to incur this frightful risk. + Is it worth while to live at all the prey of these awful anxieties, to + sport for a few years on the borders of Hell? Who would enter the dance of + life with the devil for a partner? The toad that croaks his hideous + existence away in the marsh; the very dog whom men caress, and kick, and + despise; the slimy worm that crawls the grave yard, leads a life of + dignity and undimmed bliss, compared with the dread responsibilities and + never-ending horrors thus imposed on human consciousness. No man will + persuade me that God would bring into existence any creature liable to so + frightful a fate. The belief in annihilation is a creed of holiness, in + comparison with the creed of the popular religion. If, on the other hand, + the future life include no hopeless horror, but a state of purification, + of restoration, of atonement, of instruction and progress, however + arduous, protracted, and slow, I am willing to believe in it, to hope in + it, and rejoice in it. I ask no golden crown—I covet no angel wings—I + crave no presumptuous seat of honour at the right hand of God. I + supplicate for no effeminate security—no eternity of indolence and + singing—I am prepared for toil as well as enjoyment. The instinct of + adventure is strong within me. Study and danger are welcome to me—even + suffering, if it bring deeper knowledge, purity and improvement. I do not + wish to be a 'Saint made perfect,' lingering through an eternity of + monotony, in which there is nothing further to realise, but desire rather + to enter upon the eternal discipline of indefinite progress. There never + were disbelievers in a tolerable immortality. The question is not—is + such a state desirable? but—is it true? The vital inquiry is—are + we to conduct life on the basis of what we hope or what we know? He who + believes in what he wishes, and is willing to teach as true what he + desires, has already passed through the gates of superstition. + </p> + <p> + To honour the brave, to reverence the good, to give thanks to the martyr, + to be re-united to those you have loved and lost; if these be the + incidents of immortality, there never was a disbeliever in it. The Cosmist + only deplores the scantiness of the proof. There is no scepticism here + which is wilful. Every doubt is reluctant, every misgiving is a + self-denial. + </p> + <p> + The popular theology, it must be owned, has many repulsive aspects. The + vulgarest and most illiterate believer is encouraged to profess a familiar + and confident knowledge, hidden from the profoundest philosophers. It is + an unanswerable position, that had God spoken, the universe would have + been convinced. Had Deity desired that his personal existence should be + daily recognised and eternally bruited abroad among men, he would have + placarded the fact on the walls of nature in letters of light—so + luminous, that time should never pale them; so indelibly, that the war of + elements should never efface them; so plainly and conclusively, that no + priest should ever be able to misconstrue them; and no wayfarer, in this + hurrying world, ever be in doubt about them. As this is not so, the great + secret is left evidently to silent thought and reverent conjecture, of + which even mere negative Atheism is a reserved expression, and Cosmism a + scheme of philosophical adoration. + </p> + <p> + Here is a particle of matter. It may be amber, or a ruby, or a stone. + Whence came the electrical properties of the one, the lurid brilliancy of + the other, or the density of the stone? These qualities are wonders and + miracles through all time. Science finds them marvels and leaves them + mysteries. The philosopher is no more provided with a solution than the + peasant. Indeed, the wonder of the philosopher has a deeper intensity. He + sweeps with his eye, and bends his ear over a wider field of nature, and + no sign rewards his scrutiny, no response repays his attention. Look at + this humble, secure, and commonplace stone! We neglect it with the eye, we + spurn it with the foot—it is not worth raising from the shore. Yet + no book was ever written, no message was ever delivered, no romance ever + depicted, no epic ever sung, containing such wondrous interest as the + story of this stone, could any man tell it. What thronging conjectures! + what unbidden and tumultuous memories rise as we contemplate its possible + mutations of existence! History was unwritten when it first slept in the + earth. What generations of men have lived and struggled, and died since it + was first broken from the rock! Great battles, changing the fate of + dynasties, and involving the servitude of races, have been fought over its + calm resting place. Possibly thousands of years ago the mastodon trod upon + it, and the ichthyosaurus paddled it into the sea. Ancient waves may have + washed it into the ocean, before the first ship was launched by the first + mariner. In the silent and wondrous caverns of the great deep, which no + plummet has fathomed and no eye has ever seen, it has lain in regal rest. + What monsters have glared at it! what tempests have raged, what tornadoes + have broken over it! what earthquakes may have tossed it up from its + hiding place. On what shore did it reappear? Did some Assyrian lover watch + the wave which washed it up? Did some young Pharaoh play with it? Has it + been imbedded in the walls of Troy? Did Achilles plant his spear by it? + Did it lie on the plains of Marathon on the morning of the memorable + battle? Has it been dyed by the blood of Caesar in the streets of Rome? + Have Chaldean shepherds picked it up as the orient morning sun broke over + their silent plains? + </p> + <p> + When all these and a thousand other questions have been answered, its + history is not begun. Its elements are indestructible. The parts of which + it is composed were never created—in some form, in some world, they + always existed. Where were they when the earth was without form or void? + To what astral system did the matter of this pebble once belong? Of what + star did it form a part? Where was it before time on this planet began to + be? If matter has existed for ever, this stone in its countless + transmutations is a geological Wandering Jew of eternity. If we cannot + tell the history of a single stone, who shall tell the history of God? If + a poor pebble be a surpassing mystery, who shall understand the Deity? + What must be the pretension, the presumption to infinite capacity of that + man who, pausing not in reverent humility in the presence of these myriad + miracles which crowd before him, yet tells us in confident and dogmatic + tones, that he + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'Looks <i>through</i> Nature up to Nature's God?' +</pre> + <p> + For myself, I cleave rather to that more modest form of opinion which + stands in mute wonder and listens with greedy ears to the secret tale of + Nature, and waits with undying interest the revelations which science, or + thought, or time, or death, shall make of these mysteries which surround + us evermore. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Limits Of Atheism, by George Jacob Holyoake + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LIMITS OF ATHEISM *** + +***** This file should be named 36798-h.htm or 36798-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/6/7/9/36798/ + +Produced by David Widger + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Limits Of Atheism + Or, Why should Sceptics be Outlaws? + +Author: George Jacob Holyoake + +Release Date: July 20, 2011 [EBook #36798] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LIMITS OF ATHEISM *** + + + + +Produced by David Widger + + + + + +THE LIMITS OF ATHEISM + +Or, Why should Sceptics be Outlaws? + +BY G. J. HOLYOAKE. + + "It is historically true that a large proportion of Infidels + in all ages have been persons of distinguished integrity and + honour."--_John Stuart Mill 'On Liberty,_' p. 80. + +LONDON: J. A. BROOK & CO., 282, STRAND, W.C + +1874. + +PRICE TWOPENCE. + + + +REVEREND RICHARD WILLIAM JELF, D.D., + +PRINCIPAL OF KING'S COLLEGE, LONDON, WHO HAS LATELY ALARMED CONVOCATION + +BY CONNECTING + +THE 'ESSAYS AND REVIEWS' WITH ATHEISM + +THESE PAGES, + +WRITTEN IN ARREST OF THE PARLIAMENTARY JUDGMENT WHICH PLACES THE WORD OF +THE ATHEIST BELOW THAT OF THE FELON, + +Are Respectfully Inscribed, + +BY + +GEORGE JACOB HOLYOAKE. + + + + +PREFACE. + +The object of these pages* is not to defend the intellectual accuracy of +Atheism (which could not be attempted in this brief space), the object +is to explain its case, to vindicate its moral rectitude, and the right +of those who hold these views, to legal equality. There are two Atheisms +in literature--the ancient one of mere negation; and the affirmative +form, whose relevant name is Cosmism, and of which Humboldt, in +his 'Cosmos,' is a great illustrator, and Comte, in his 'Positive +Philosophy,' an expounder. The term Cosmism ought to supersede the +misleading term Atheism; just as Secularism has superseded the libellous +term Infidelity. Cosmism, as well as Secularism, expresses a new form +of Freethought, and I use the term Atheism, as the subject of a Lecture, +for the first time here. It is a worn-out word, used by Theists in +hateful senses. I employ it, as a title, to-day for political reasons, +in order to show those who make it a ground of civil exclusion, that +it is a thing of law and limits: that the reputed Atheism of English +working men, so far as it prevails, is no longer the old Atheism of +mere negation, but the Cosmism of modern science; neither dissolute, +anarchical, nor impious--recognises that the universe is, without +theorising _why_ it is. Negative Atheism says there is nothing beyond +the universe. Cosmism says it cannot explain anything beyond, and pauses +where its knowledge ends. + + *A report of a Lecture delivered in Bendall's Assembly + Rooms, City Road, London, March 8rd, 1861. + +Atheism questions--Cosmism affirms. The language of Cosmism is that of +the poet in the 'Purgatory of Suicides':-- + + 'I do not say--there is no God, + But this I say--I know not.' + +I prefer Secularism, which concerns itself with the moral life of +man, and maintains a well-advised neutrality upon these speculative +questions. My sympathies are with 'Adam Bede,' that striking and +greatest creation of modern genius, in which the _National Review_ +recognised 'The strong-headed, manly, sharp-tempered, secular carpenter, +with his energetic satisfaction in his work, and impatience of +dreamers.' But as I stated in the York Debate, in 1858, at which the +Reverend Canons Hey and Robinson presided, it is an act of self-defence +in England to question the assumed infallibility of Theism--to prove +that Atheists are entitled to civil recognition, as persons having +legitimate, actual, and conscientious views, and who, therefore, ought +not to be outlawed as they are now. So long as sceptics of Theism are +refused the right of affirmation in courts of law, and their lives and +property consequently placed at the mercy of every ruffian and knave, +so long will a Sceptical propaganda be a parliamentary necessity, to +justify these opinions, and to spread them, that those who hold them +may, like the Quakers, win by pertinacity what is denied to reason. And +while this state of things lasts, I confess that I listen to arguments +of opponents with distrust, for I see in them, not so much the +confutation of my opinions, as the limitation of my freedom, and +the justification of my political exclusion. In the present state of +theological liberty in England, for the alleged Atheist to be silent, is +to be a slave consenting to his own degradation. + +G. J. H. + +147, Fleet Street, London, E.C., April 13th, 1861. + + + + +THE LIMITS OF ATHEISM + +Twenty years ago I stepped forward to defend the right of expressing +Atheism on the part of those who conscientiously held it. On Mr. +Southwell's imprisonment in Bristol, I took his place as Editor of the +_Oracle of Reason_, and shared his fate at Gloucester. Under the same +circumstances I would do it again to-morrow. In the expression of +speculative opinions there may be error and there may be outrage; +but the error is best corrected by discussion, and the outrage by +cultivation; but to prohibit the free publication of opinion is to +strike at the root of all intrepidity of thought and individuality of +character; and against a uniformity of profession, whether brought about +by the tyranny of the majority, by the policeman, or by the magistrate, +I ever have, and ever will, protest as unwise, dishonest, and degrading. + +Because Atheistical opinions were attacked by the law I defended them: +I defended the right to hold them without sharing them. And in all the +publications I have edited, I have accepted the responsibility of the +views of coadjutors and correspondents without conditions, and my name +is associated in consequence much more with other persons' opinions than +with my own. When the rights of conscience in Free-thought are attacked, +to discriminate is to condemn; and while persecution is attempted, I +make it a point of honour never to pass in appearance on to the side +of the persecutors. As soon as legal opposition to the publication of +heretical opinion ceased, I was the first to insist that the day of good +taste must commence. The moment fair play is permitted, all excuse for +invective or outrage ends. Violence, exaggeration, denunciation, are +crimes against Freethought the moment Freethought is permitted. Now that +Sir George Cornewall Lewis, on the part of the Government, has refused +Sir John Trelawny's request to alter the law which treats an Atheist as +an outlaw, which denies him the common right of legal protection, which +exposes him to plunder or assault without redress, which cedes to the +Theist a monopoly of veracity in courts of law, and places the word of +every man and woman, however honest, cultivated, and reputable, unable +to make a Profession of Faith, as below that of a convicted felon, I +am most reluctant to enter upon any explanation of my own views on the +great speculative propositions of theology, lest it should appear to +others as timidity, retreat, or disposition to compromise.. If a man had +(which I have not) a change of opinion to own, this is not the hour +to make it. But with respect to Affirmative Atheism, the necessity for +newness of view is chiefly felt by those who do not understand it. It +is refused civil recognition because it is conceived to be some lawless +thing. The consternation excited just now by the 'Essays and Reviews' is +owing to an apprehension that public opinion is tending to the negation +of theology, and that is concluded to be a state of intellectual +lawlessness. To trace any outline of the Limits of Atheism, may serve +to give more intelligent definiteness to the misgivings entertained +concerning it, and lead earlier to its legal recognition; and therefore +alone I attempt it. + +Let us avoid verbiage if we can. Too many words are the locusts of the +mind, which darken the air of the understanding and eat up our meaning. +I believe that language is given us not to be used--except upon clear +compulsion. + +There are two terms which especially excite religious reprobation, and +one of them excites mine. I refer to Infidelity and Atheism. + +Infidelity is a term I detest. It implies that you believe enough to +subject you to reproach, and disbelieve enough to entitle you to be +damned. It signifies disbelief too inveterate to allow you to go back to +superstition, and too much timidity to carry your doubt to a definite +or legitimate result. I am for thoroughness and decision. If it be +criminality to disbelieve, I will put scepticism far from me. I will +not even tamper with doubt. But if it be lawful to reject from the +understanding whatever seems false, then I will disbelieve error as a +duty, and unhesitatingly doubt whatever is doubtful. + +Atheism--objectionable as it is from wanton negative associations--is a +far more wholesome term. It is a defiant, militant word. There is a ring +of decision about it. There is no cringing in it. It keeps no terms with +superstition. It makes war, and means it. It carries you away from the +noisome word-jugglery of the conventional pulpits, and brings you face +to face with nature. It is a relief to get out of the crowd who believe +because their neighbours do, who pray by rote, and worship through fear; +and win your liberty to wander in the refreshing solitude where the +heart may be honest, and the intellect free. Affirmative Atheism of the +intellect is a proud, honest, intrepid, self-respecting attitude of the +mind. The Negative Atheism of mere ignorance, of insensibility, of +lust, and gluttony, and drunkenness, of egotism or vanity, whose talk +is outrage, and whose spirit is blasphemy; this is the gross negation +of God, which superstition begets in its slavery, and nurtures by +its terrors. These species of Atheism I recognise only to disown and +denounce them. Of these the priest is the author who preaches the +natural corruption of the human heart, who inculcates the guilt of +Freethought, the distrust of reason, and despair of self-reliant +progress. Utterly different from this is the Atheism of reflection, +which seeks for conclusive evidence, which listens reverentially for +the voice of God, which weighs carefully the teachings of a thoughtful +Theism; but refuses to recognise the officious, incoherent babblement of +intolerant or presumptuous men. Reflective Atheism is simply a reluctant +uncertainty as to the consciousness of Nature, or as to the existence +of a Power over Nature. As one who will allow me the pleasure of +calling him my friend, Mr. G. H. Lewes, said, all reflective Atheism is +suspensive. + +He invented the phrase Suspensive Atheism to describe the only form of +opinion which he knew I maintained. The thoughtful Atheist wishes to +perceive the whole truth of Nature, he hesitates unwillingly, and waits +longingly for more light. + +Let us dismiss at once that crude and evasive state which affects +Atheism, and, at the same time, denies it; which says no Theist has +defined Deity, and therefore the disbelief in it is an impossibility. + +Affirmative Atheism may be wrong, but it is at least intelligible. It +has a definite foundation, or it could claim no position, and would +deserve none. It must go upon facts if it would maintain a place in the +kingdom of thought, and it finds these facts in Positivism. The mind +that has wandered in the torrid zones of error, thirsts ardently for the +cooling draughts of positive truth. It is this sentiment which causes +Freethought to take the form of Secularism, and exchanges the verbal +distractions of conflicting creeds for the clear criterions of moral +truth. It is the same wise impatience of metaphysical unrealities which +leads to Affirmative Atheism, and explains it. A series of material +and mental facts arrest the attention of one taking an unbiased and +independent view of the universe, of time, and space, and matter. + +There are two classes of thinkers--one who commence with ignoring +Nature, seeking in something outside it for the origin of it, and who +look upon the infinite processes of the worlds which people space, with +the dull astonishment accorded to mere agencies, rather than with +the native wonder and awe which the consciousness of original powers +awakens--these are Theists. + +The other class are those who regard matter as the very garment of the +unknown God, to whom every spray, and pebble, and flower, and star is a +marvel, a glory, and an inspiration; who, comprehending not an external +cause of nature, recognise its existence, its surpassing affluence, its +multitudinous marvels, and give them the first place in their wonder, +study, reverence, and love--these are Affirmative Atheists. + +To believe in Nature, in its self-existence, its self-subsistence, its +self-action, its eternity, infinity, and materiality, and in that +only, is Affirmative Atheism.* Reflective Atheism is pure inability to, +realise the fact of the consciousness of the universe, or to conceive +the existence of a Being over it. + +To believe in something besides nature--is Theism. + +To believe in the consciousness of nature--is Pantheism. + +The explanation of Affirmative Atheism* here given, involves many +considerations which I am not going to discuss. It is not my province +here to defend, but to state the case. A definition is a map, but it is +not the journey. A definition is a high road through a subject, and a +high road should be a straight road: it may run out of the way of some +populous towns and beautiful scenes, but it gives the means of quickest +transit through a territory, from which the country can be viewed, and +the traveller determine its general features. + + * This might stand for a definition of Cosmism, which term I + employ at substantially reciprocal with Affirmative Atheism, + and as its substitute, if I may employ it in its modern and + wider sense than defined by Pythagoras. + +If we have said enough for this purpose, we may attempt to trace the +limits of our subject. The road through every high question lies over +precipices. Every great question has its Mont Blancs. The higher you +climb the deeper the chasms on the right hand and on the left. The Roman +Catholic makes worship an art, and abject submission a duty. To relieve +you of anxiety he deprives the mind of initiation and freedom. The +Protestant concedes you private judgment, and surrounds you by a social +despotism lest you should use it. He substitutes a creed for the Church. +The Church is a cell, and the creed is a cage. The cage is lighter, more +airy, and less repulsive than the cell, but the imprisonment is complete +in both. + +Mere Atheism inculcates freedom and intrepidity of the understanding, +but may land you in negation, in dogmatism, in denunciation, in +irreverence. These are the chasms that lie in the path of mere Atheism. +The traveller who passes into these is lost. To avoid this danger we +must keep within the limits naturally prescribed to Affirmative Atheism, +which are:-- + +1. Positivism in Principle. + +2. Exactness in Profession of Opinion. + +3. Dispassionateness in Judgment. + +4. Humanism in Conception. + + + +1. The Positivist conception of Atheism exhibits the limits which modern +thought has impressed upon it. Affirmative Atheism asserts the +realism of Nature; Theism denies it. Theism refuses to recognise the +self-existence, the self-action, the self-subsistence, eternity, and +infinity of the universe. Theism is the negation of Nature. It is a +species of impiety towards nature, and supplants, by an artificial +superstition, the instinctive reverence of the human heart. + +Modern Atheism is falsely regarded as a mere negation, as a species of +criminal vacuity of the understanding. To correct this idea is to win +for these opinions attention if not assent. The negation of any error is +useful, but it should be followed by its complement of positive truth. +All mere negative subjects are like the lime and pebbles swallowed by +farm fowl to assist digestion, but it fares ill with the fowl if they +get nothing but stones to digest; if no corn or barley follows to +be operated upon. Now, questions of Atheism and Scepticism are the +digestive stimuli of the mind; positive principles supply the corn and +barley which sustain the mental system and preserve its life. If we +give ourselves up to negative subjects merely, we come to resemble the +theologians who, as Talleyrand said, 'pick a great many bones for very +little meat.' + +Old Atheism shows that the alleged proofs of the existence of a Deity +are inconclusive, untenable, or self-refutatory. As a discipline of the +intellect, as a questioning of that theistical speculation which has +always been arrogant and tyrannical towards dissentients, there is +good in negative Atheism. But it is more important if made to subserve +practical objects. Mere negative Atheism has no ulterior objects it +untenants the mind, and this may not be in all things beneficial. The +slave may be more healthy who is forced to take exercise, and he may +have more physical enjoyment of life than the indolent freeman, who is +sedentary by choice, and diseased through inactivity and overfeeding. + +You may pluck up weeds, and the rank herbage be more fruitful of miasma +than the weeds; or if the plucked up weeds produce no harm, the ground +may be left useless until crops are made to grow upon it. So of the +weeds of worship which spring up in the priest-ridden mind. Reverence +may be cultivated by superstition, good conduct maybe enforced by +terror; if superstition and terror be exploded, the reverence and good +conduct must be cared for and be better directed. Freethought is no half +work, it has much to do. + +It is delusive to pull down the altar of superstition and not erect +an altar of science in its place. To pack up the household gods of +superstition and leave the fireside bare, will hardly do.. Affirmative +Atheism must teach that nature is the Bible of truth, work is worship, +that duty is dignity, and the unselfish service of others consolation. + +There is nothing wholly bad. Superstition has in it some elements of +good. I no more believe in perfect error than in perfect truth. Error, +like truth, is hardly ever found pure; error is mixed with good, and +truth alloyed by evil. The mind must have something to feed upon, and +if it cannot have truth, it will have superstition; and though +superstition, like some diet, is very hard of digestion, and very +innutritious, it is better to feed upon that than die. True, it keeps +the mind thin, but it keeps it alive, and it is better to be a skeleton +than a corpse. Now it is true that some intellects, like some animals, +eat by instinct the right kind of food, but being healthy are not +fastidious, and if you give them bad food they don't object to it and +don't care for it. If they take it, their digestion is so good that +it does not hurt them. But there are other people who pine for the +knowledge of nature, and cannot subsist unless a large proportion of +their mental aliment consists of definite principle. When these are +not supplied by religious teachers, and Christianity by any intolerance +prevents it being supplied by others, such natures expire in an +intellectual sense, and Christianity ought to be regarded as guilty +of wilful murder. And in the case of Atheism, those persons who are +accustomed to take superstition, and are deprived of that, and no +attempt is made to supply its place by more wholesome sustenance, are no +doubt injured. Negative Atheism guilty of this neglect may be said to +be guilty of manslaughter, and it would be murder were the neglect +accompanied, as in the case of Theism, by intolerance. Beware of +reckless iconoclasticism. + +Mere negations give all advantage to superstition; error seems wisdom +and wealth when truth is silent. + + +2. The logic of Affirmative Atheism begins in self-confession. Not to +see anything where there is nothing to be seen is the sign of the true +faculty; and not to say that you do see when you do not is the first +sign of veracity of intellect. + +Man is forgiven who believes more than his neighbours, but he is never +forgiven if he believes less. If he believes more than his neighbours, +there is the presumption that he may have made some discovery which may +become profitable one day to join in. It may be that he who believes +most, may merely possess a more industrious credulity, or possess a +greater capacity for hasty assumption. But this is seldom probed. He +who believes less may have abandoned some important item of justifiable +belief. But when he who believes less than the multitude, confesses to +the fact in the face of public disapproval, the probability is that +he has inquired into, and sifted evidence which others have taken for +granted, and discovered some error which they have accepted. His greater +accuracy of mind and exactness of speech are an offence, because a +reproach to the careless or unscrupulous intellects of those who conduct +life on secondhand opinions. Yet austerity of intellect and austerity +of speech is as wholesome in character, as austerity of morals. I hope, +says Mr. Grote, in his great history of Greece, in a memorable passage +that ought not to die out of recollection, 'I hope, when I come to the +lives of Socrates and Plato, to illustrate one of the most valuable of +their principles, that conscious and confessed ignorance is a better +state of mind than the fancy without the reality of knowledge.' And in +a passage which I cannot now recall, Lord Brougham has said that 'a mind +uninformed is better than a mind misinformed.' In a state of ignorance +we do nothing, in a state of error we do wrong. The popular condemnation +of the Atheist--which we have lately heard as ignorantly echoed in the +House of Commons as in some Conventicles--is not always uttered, because +the Atheist does not know more than others, for none know anything +certain concerning the existence of God,* but because the Atheist does +not profess more. + + * In his remarkable work entitled 'First Principles,' now in + course of publication, Mr. Herbert Spencer has shown that + certain terms of Cosmism are as incapable of ultimate + explanation as certain terms of Theism. This shows how + unwise is dogmatism, how unjustifiable is intolerance, on + either side. + +Cosmism, a thoughtful name, which ought to supersede Atheism in the +future, neither denies nor affirms the existence of Deity. It waits for +explanation and proof. It admits there is evidence of something, but +what that something is, does not appear. There is evidence of more than +we know, but what that is we do not know, and it is dishonesty to use a +term respecting it, which pretends that we do know. Why should it not +be honourable to observe a scientific reservation in the exposition of +opinion? In science it is a sign of cultivation to understate a case and +keep within the limits of fact and proof. The reservation of Cosmism, +which so many regard as an offence, arises from a love of exact truth, +from an endeavour to attain to it in expression, and from an honourable +unwillingness to employ words which do not represent to him who uses +them, definite ideas. + +If we say God is Light, Love, Truth, Power, Goodness, Law, Principle, +we confound attributes with existence. If we say God is a Spirit, God is +space, we merely fill the imagination, not satisfy the understanding: +it is feeding the thoughts with air, and leaving the intellect hungry. +A Trinitarian Deity is one of the scholastic perplexities of the +intellect. The first rule of arithmetic is against it. If it means three +Gods in one, it is an enigma. If it means three doctrinal aspects of +God, it confuses all simplicity of feeling. In the simple, moral +heart of man, God is one, and his name is Love; not a weak, vapoury +sentimentality, but an austere, healthy love, whose expression is +strength, purity, truth, justice, service, and tenderness. But this +conception of Deity belongs to the empire of the emotions, it is a +matter of feeling, not of proof, and can authorise no intolerance +towards others, itself existing only by the sufferance of the intellect, +which has chastened its expression, and is supreme over it. + +Exactness of phraseology is well understood self-defence. Well chosen +terms are the true weapons of opinion. Employing an old, battered, +rheumatic and abused term like Atheism, is like riflemen using the old +musket instead of the far-reaching and fatal Minie. Cosmism is the +new term which conveys the new idea of the age, and explains the +improvements in thought and spirit, which the mere term Atheism +conceals. To suffer an opponent to choose names for you is as though a +combatant should suffer his enemy to supply his arms for the conflict. +He who consents to be called by a hateful name, can be defeated at +the pleasure of his opponent. His ideas are never discussed, his +conscientious spirit is never recognised, he is trampled down by a name +which libels, defames, and destroys him. Let us banish the unqualified +term Atheism from the literature of theological controversy. + + +3. Dispassionateness is a law of Affirmative Atheism. Those who commence +by believing themselves infallible, and their view of a question open +to no dispute, can never see reason in, nor view with patience the +dissent which others maintain. It is the first instinct of the Cosmist +(to use the preferable term) to keep his mind open to reason. The +dogmatism which insists on its own case, and shuts its eyes and closes +its ears to the facts and arguments on the side of Theism, is always to +be condemned. Dogmatism, the sin of superstition, is excluded from +the empire of speculation. The clergyman will often admit that Atheism +endeavours to maintain an unprejudiced tone of mind. The Rev. Charles +Marriot, of Oriel College, observed to me, when I had the honour some +years ago to be his guest, that 'he had always more hope of the Atheist +than of the Dissenter, for the Dissenter always moved in a little +infallibility of his own, while the Atheist was always to be reached +by reason.' Mystery will always conquer partisans, and the Cosmist who +comprehends this, will reason with superstition, and never be impatient +with it. + +Dispassionateness of judgment will also lead to dispassionateness of +speech. Opinion in a minority should never have recourse to invective. +Prejudice is inveterate enough without being inflamed by denunciation. +Unpopular and unfriended truth must consent to placate opposition by +respectfulness of tone and fairness of speech. It must never compromise +principle--that is submission, and gives the errorist insolent +confidence. It must never outrage--that makes the errorist indignant, +and deaf to all reason. The force of truth lies in invincible patience +and in invincible perseverance of exposition. Progressive opinion ought +ever to be kept on the high places of dispassionate advocacy. It is +wonderful how truth has been perilled by passion. The battle of opinion +has always been fought on impulse, rather than on calculation of forces; +and the small band of the combatants for new truths has often been +trampled down by the multitudinous army of error. + + +4. Conceptions of Humanity, or, in other words, Reliance of Humanity, +is a law and limit of Affirmative Atheism. Every man who thinks, must +choose one of two things, a standard without the universe, or a standard +within. I choose one within, I choose humanity. 'Men,' says Lord Bacon, +speaking of Atheism, 'who look no farther, become wary of themselves.' +Let us become wary of ourselves; nothing is more wholesome or +progressive! + +Hardness, assumption, egotism, insubordination to worth--in one word, +irreverence, ought never to be the characteristic of Cosmism. He who +vindicates nature and reason, should show that being left to nature, +philosophy, reputation, and the laws, there exists self-regulation and +reliable rationality.* Cosmism is the highest form of self-reliance; +the responsibility, which to others is a necessity, is to him a duty and +a pride. + + * As the late Gen. Jacob, the illustrious commander of the + Scinde Horse, testifies. 'In the jangle and desert, amid a + barbarous people on the extreme confines of civilisation,' + he applied these principles when Bishops despaired and + Christianity failed; and he records that 'He was permitted + to witness with delight the fact of a whole nation being + raised from a state of barbarous violence, misery, + detestable cruelty, and horror, to one of peace, comfort, + racial order, and happiness;' that 'He had seen their + faithful and steady application in practice change thousands + of the wildest robbers and murderers into kindly and + industrious citizens. + +The wildness, excesses, extravagances, and incoherences of superstition, +arise through men looking without themselves into those regions of the +unknown where men make God after their own image, where they imagine +their facts, and reason upon them without check. How impertinent is +half our modern worship, and how poor the other half! Educated ministers +speak of God, and address to him praise they would be ashamed to +offer to any gentleman. That delicacy of reverence, that reticence of +laudation, that avoidance of presumption and familiarity, which the law +of humanity imposes on all men of religious habits in human relations, +has no existence in theology, where it is more to be expected and +infinitely more needful. When St. Augustine speaks of God, there is +a magnificent thoughtfulness in the terms he employs which his Pagan +refinement had taught him, which we seldom find in modern saints. How +imposingly he exclaims in his Confessions:-- + +What art Thou then, my God? Most highest, most good, most potent, most +omnipotent; most merciful, yet most just; most hidden, yet most +present; most beautiful, yet most strong; stable, yet incomprehensible; +unchangeable, yet all-changing; never new, never old; all-renewing, and +_bringing age upon the proud, and they know it not_; ever working, ever +at rest; still gathering, yet nothing lacking; supporting, filling, and +overspreading; creating, nourishing, and maturing; seeking, yet having +all things. Thou lovest, without passion; art jealous, without anxiety; +repentest, yet grievest not; art angry, yet serene; changest Thy works, +Thy purpose unchanged; receivest again what Thou findest, yet didst +never lose; never in need, yet rejoicing in gains; never covetous, yet +exacting usury. Thou receivest over and above, that Thou mayest owe; +and who hath aught that is not Thine? Thou payest debts, owing nothing; +remittest debts, losing nothing.' + +We forgive the sublime contradictions in the stately march of this Pagan +praise. Augustine was a noble old saint, but he had a Pagan intellect to +the end. + +The 'Limits of Atheism' which obviously present themselves to those +who reflect upon them, rescue it from the imputation of lawlessness. +Positivism engrafts upon it practical aims. Exactness of speech +necessitates exactness of thought, and dictates modesty of pretension. +Dispassionateness of judgment checks invective, dogmatism, prejudice, +or unfairness; and Reliance upon Humanity tends to self-trust, +self-direction, and chastity of worship. Why should persons who hold +the views of Affirmative Atheism under these 'Limits' be treated in the +witness-box as public liars--men whose reiterated profession is--that +they 'sum up personal duty in Honour, which is respecting the Truth; in +Morality, which is acting the Truth; and in Love, which is serving the +Truth.'* + + * 'Last Trial for Atheism,' p. 100. + +Plato in his 'Laws,' remarks that 'Atheism is a disease of the soul +before it becomes an error of the understanding.' This just opinion, if +applied to mere sensualists, who disbelieve in God because his holiness +is a restraint upon their infamous passions, has since been applied to +the pure thinkers like Spinoza, to whom it is an insult and an +outrage. Let us see how little such a remark is applicable to those who +thoughtfully pause before adopting a creed which, however dictated by a +feeling of piety, is far less reverential than thoughtful silence. + +If we suppose an interposing Providence to direct the affairs of this +world, what scenes of sorrow must meet his eye? Condemned to poverty and +pain, how many human beings are there whose every word is a prayer, and +every thought a throb, and every pulsation a pang? Is it not far more +reverential to struggle for the right with what powers we have, and +with what Secular light is vouchsafed, and own Theism inscrutable, than +connect all this misery with the name of God? The theory of a God of +Prayer who hears and aids, of a Providence who orders and controls, all +issues to one great Will, and who receives at last the sorrow-stricken, +the worn, struggling and weary spirit, after those conflicts which all +who think, and feel, and aspire, encounter, are primitive and enduring +conceptions, which all humanity, in every age and in every slime, +cherishes in its perplexity and clings to in its weakness. It is not +Cosmism which seeks or wishes to disprove this theory. Alas! the God of +Prayer does not exist. I say it not in wantonness, or recklessness, nor +in any proud spirit of defiance, nor in any hard spirit of denial, nor +in outrage, nor wilful scepticism, nor simulated disbelief. It appears +to me an austere fact, which all who observe must see, which all who are +frank must own. Yet I know not that I ought to say 'Alas it is so.' Why +should any man mourn at truth? What right have I to arraign the facts +of Nature. To mourn what _is_--is to condemn what is. Sorrow is censure +when it relates to what is possibly the order of God. What authority +have I to look on Nature awful in its glories and mysteries, and by the +implication included in my grief, to judge it and say it is not what it +should be? My scrutiny ought rather to be directed to my weakness. True +reverence lies rather in accepting unmurmuringly the order of things we +find; in believing in the completeness and self sufficiency of +nature and humanity, and that these contain within them elements of +self-sustainment. Our duty is to search there for Truth, to work there +patiently for Progress, to regard the humblest conquest there with +glad surprise. All virtue is summed up in service and endurance. A wise +humility in expectation is surely the first element of reverence. As to +the Future Life of man, the whole question lies in a narrow compass. The +immortality of the soul is one of those problems which you approach with +breathless perplexity. Is it possible that every human being brought +into existence, in the caprices of lust and vice, is a candidate for +heaven, and a burden upon the celestial taxes, and an inmate of the +great Poor House or Reformatory of eternity? Is it in the power of +ignorance, profligacy, and passion, to crowd the porticoes of Paradise +with illicit offspring? Can it be true that every being born is liable +to eternal perdition for acts done before it had existence--or for +offences it was predestined to commit, or in the course of events may +commit? It is better never to be born than to incur this frightful risk. +Is it worth while to live at all the prey of these awful anxieties, to +sport for a few years on the borders of Hell? Who would enter the dance +of life with the devil for a partner? The toad that croaks his hideous +existence away in the marsh; the very dog whom men caress, and kick, +and despise; the slimy worm that crawls the grave yard, leads a life of +dignity and undimmed bliss, compared with the dread responsibilities and +never-ending horrors thus imposed on human consciousness. No man will +persuade me that God would bring into existence any creature liable to +so frightful a fate. The belief in annihilation is a creed of holiness, +in comparison with the creed of the popular religion. If, on the +other hand, the future life include no hopeless horror, but a state of +purification, of restoration, of atonement, of instruction and progress, +however arduous, protracted, and slow, I am willing to believe in it, to +hope in it, and rejoice in it. I ask no golden crown--I covet no angel +wings--I crave no presumptuous seat of honour at the right hand of God. +I supplicate for no effeminate security--no eternity of indolence and +singing--I am prepared for toil as well as enjoyment. The instinct of +adventure is strong within me. Study and danger are welcome to me--even +suffering, if it bring deeper knowledge, purity and improvement. I do +not wish to be a 'Saint made perfect,' lingering through an eternity +of monotony, in which there is nothing further to realise, but desire +rather to enter upon the eternal discipline of indefinite progress. +There never were disbelievers in a tolerable immortality. The question +is not--is such a state desirable? but--is it true? The vital inquiry +is--are we to conduct life on the basis of what we hope or what we know? +He who believes in what he wishes, and is willing to teach as true what +he desires, has already passed through the gates of superstition. + +To honour the brave, to reverence the good, to give thanks to the +martyr, to be re-united to those you have loved and lost; if these be +the incidents of immortality, there never was a disbeliever in it. +The Cosmist only deplores the scantiness of the proof. There is no +scepticism here which is wilful. Every doubt is reluctant, every +misgiving is a self-denial. + +The popular theology, it must be owned, has many repulsive aspects. +The vulgarest and most illiterate believer is encouraged to profess +a familiar and confident knowledge, hidden from the profoundest +philosophers. It is an unanswerable position, that had God spoken, the +universe would have been convinced. Had Deity desired that his personal +existence should be daily recognised and eternally bruited abroad among +men, he would have placarded the fact on the walls of nature in letters +of light--so luminous, that time should never pale them; so indelibly, +that the war of elements should never efface them; so plainly and +conclusively, that no priest should ever be able to misconstrue them; +and no wayfarer, in this hurrying world, ever be in doubt about them. As +this is not so, the great secret is left evidently to silent thought and +reverent conjecture, of which even mere negative Atheism is a reserved +expression, and Cosmism a scheme of philosophical adoration. + +Here is a particle of matter. It may be amber, or a ruby, or a stone. +Whence came the electrical properties of the one, the lurid brilliancy +of the other, or the density of the stone? These qualities are wonders +and miracles through all time. Science finds them marvels and leaves +them mysteries. The philosopher is no more provided with a solution +than the peasant. Indeed, the wonder of the philosopher has a deeper +intensity. He sweeps with his eye, and bends his ear over a wider field +of nature, and no sign rewards his scrutiny, no response repays his +attention. Look at this humble, secure, and commonplace stone! We +neglect it with the eye, we spurn it with the foot--it is not worth +raising from the shore. Yet no book was ever written, no message was +ever delivered, no romance ever depicted, no epic ever sung, containing +such wondrous interest as the story of this stone, could any man tell +it. What thronging conjectures! what unbidden and tumultuous memories +rise as we contemplate its possible mutations of existence! History was +unwritten when it first slept in the earth. What generations of men have +lived and struggled, and died since it was first broken from the +rock! Great battles, changing the fate of dynasties, and involving +the servitude of races, have been fought over its calm resting place. +Possibly thousands of years ago the mastodon trod upon it, and the +ichthyosaurus paddled it into the sea. Ancient waves may have washed it +into the ocean, before the first ship was launched by the first mariner. +In the silent and wondrous caverns of the great deep, which no plummet +has fathomed and no eye has ever seen, it has lain in regal rest. What +monsters have glared at it! what tempests have raged, what tornadoes +have broken over it! what earthquakes may have tossed it up from its +hiding place. On what shore did it reappear? Did some Assyrian lover +watch the wave which washed it up? Did some young Pharaoh play with it? +Has it been imbedded in the walls of Troy? Did Achilles plant his +spear by it? Did it lie on the plains of Marathon on the morning of the +memorable battle? Has it been dyed by the blood of Caesar in the streets +of Rome? Have Chaldean shepherds picked it up as the orient morning sun +broke over their silent plains? + +When all these and a thousand other questions have been answered, its +history is not begun. Its elements are indestructible. The parts of +which it is composed were never created--in some form, in some world, +they always existed. Where were they when the earth was without form or +void? To what astral system did the matter of this pebble once belong? +Of what star did it form a part? Where was it before time on this planet +began to be? If matter has existed for ever, this stone in its countless +transmutations is a geological Wandering Jew of eternity. If we cannot +tell the history of a single stone, who shall tell the history of God? +If a poor pebble be a surpassing mystery, who shall understand the +Deity? What must be the pretension, the presumption to infinite capacity +of that man who, pausing not in reverent humility in the presence of +these myriad miracles which crowd before him, yet tells us in confident +and dogmatic tones, that he + + 'Looks _through_ Nature up to Nature's God?' + +For myself, I cleave rather to that more modest form of opinion which +stands in mute wonder and listens with greedy ears to the secret tale of +Nature, and waits with undying interest the revelations which science, +or thought, or time, or death, shall make of these mysteries which +surround us evermore. + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Limits Of Atheism, by George Jacob Holyoake + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LIMITS OF ATHEISM *** + +***** This file should be named 36798.txt or 36798.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/6/7/9/36798/ + +Produced by David Widger + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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