390 LESSONS FEOM NATUKE. [CHAP. XIII 



the essence of all religion &quot; (p. 15). The familiar phrase 

 &quot; serious views,&quot; is very inadequate to express the deep 

 depression of the creed proposed to us in place of that which 

 tells us, &quot; Rejoice always, and again I say unto you rejoice.&quot; 

 Mr. Spencer s expression for first cause is fully accepted, as 

 we are told, as to the Unknowable that we &quot; Jcnoiv (!), to 

 our cost, that he never overlooks a mistake, or makes the 

 smallest allowance for ignorance &quot; (p. 36). Again we read : 



&quot; Were mankind deserving of the title rational, which they arrogate 

 to themselves, there can be no question that they would consider, as the 

 most necessary of all branches of instruction for themselves and for their 

 children, that which professes to acquaint them with the conditions of 

 the existence they prize so highly which teaches them how to avoid 

 disease, and to cherish health in themselves, and those who are dear 

 to them.&quot; p. 98. &quot;It becomes clear that all living powers are cog 

 nate, and that all living forms are fundamentally of one character.&quot; 

 p. 142. 



&quot; Even those manifestations of intellect, of feeling, and of will, which 

 we rightly name the higher faculties, are .... to every one but the 

 subject of them, known only as transitory changes in the relative 

 positions of parts of the body.&quot; p. 135. 



In the first place we should be glad to know, on what 

 principle Professor Huxley considers one human mental 

 manifestation &quot; higher &quot; thaii another ; but letting this pass, 

 surely &quot;known ~by means of changes of position&quot; would be 

 the more correct form of expression. Yet sometimes the 

 Professor does not scruple to go beyond the facts of phe 

 nomena into the regions of abstractions and occult causes as 

 freely as his neighbours. Thus he tells us : &quot; We do not 

 hesitate to believe that, in some way or another,&quot; the proper 

 ties of water &quot; result from the properties of the component 

 elements of water&quot; (p. 150). It is difficult to understand 

 this bold assertion on Professor Huxley s own principles. At 

 other times he does not scruple to ignore, and practically 

 deny, what is evident to the reason, though hidden from the 

 sense, as when he tells us that : 



&quot; A nucleated mass of protoplasm turns out to be what may be 

 termed the structural unit of the human body. As a matter of fact, 

 the body, in its earliest state, is a mere multiple of such units ; and, in 



