MR. BALFOUR'S DIALECTICS. 327 



MR. BALFOUR'S DIALECTICS. 



By HERBERT SPENCER. 



IN early stages of progress gods, conceived as man-like in so 

 many other respects, are conceived as man-like in their credu- 

 lity : deceptions being consequently practiced upon them. Some- 

 times in place of a human being an animal dressed up as a human 

 being is immolated. Among the ancient Mexicans effigies of men 

 were subject to sacrificial ceremonies like those to which actual 

 men had been subject. The Chinese carry the system of sham 

 offerings very far ; making paper-models of properties, utensils, 

 and money, and burning them to propitiate the worshiped beings. 

 And there are peoples among whom deceptions of this nature are 

 practiced in the avowed belief that their gods are stupid. So that 

 as the marauding Basuto expects by certain sounds to deceive the 

 gods of the people he is robbing, so, in other cases, the semblance 

 of an offering to a god is supposed to be mistaken by him for the 

 reality. 



What is the relevance of these facts ? Well, I am reminded 

 of them by observing how easily deluded is that many-headed 

 god to whom in our day multitudinous sacrifices are made (espe- 

 cially of convictions), and before whom so much incense is burnt 

 the god Demos, I was about to say, but remembering the re- 

 stricted meaning of the word, let me say instead the apotheo- 

 sized Public, whose fiat, uttered through its delegates, is thought 

 to be a final criterion of good and evil, right and wrong. For 

 this modern deity is deluded with scarcely less ease than the year- 

 god of the Chinese is supposed to be deluded by paper offerings. 

 Similarly lacking in discrimination, it does not distinguish be- 

 tween a semblance and a reality ; and when the process of destroy- 

 ing the semblance has been gone through, it shows, by demon- 

 strations of delight, that it thinks the reality has been destroyed. 

 A good illustration was furnished at the last meeting of the 

 British Association by Lord Salisbury. Beginning his presiden- 

 tial address with the remark that he felt like " a colonel of volun- 

 teers " reviewing " an army corps at Aldershot," but shortly 

 assuming the manner proper to a colonel of the guards reviewing 

 the " awkward squad," he set forth what he professed to be the 

 hypothesis of Natural Selection ; and then, with an amusing simile, 

 thrust it through, and, as it seemed to the onlooking public, let 

 out its life-blood. Whereupon came through the press rounds of 

 applause, and among readers much throwing up of caps and 

 laughter at the fallacy detected : even comic verses, illustrative 

 of the supposed absurdity, being published. Very curious was it 

 to observe how a doctrine which Mr. Darwin had spent a life in 



