50G COSMIC PHILOSOPHY. [PT. IIL 



after a loose and inconsistent fashion in so far as his own 

 special studies have constrained him to adopt it, remains 

 nevertheless in his mind a barren conception. He quite 

 fails to grasp the dynamical view of things, and therefore 

 naturally regards the overthrow of Eoman Catholic theology 

 as equivalent to the inauguration of atheism and of anarchy. 

 ^\ r e have seen, on the other hand, that all the iconoclastic 

 attacks which have been directed either against Christianity 

 or against the existing order of society have been theoretically 

 based upon fallacies which are incompatible with the Doctrine 

 of Evolution. It has been shown that, upon our general 

 theory of life, we can look, for the realization of our highest 

 social ideal, only to the perfecting of individual character 

 under the conditions at any time existing. And for the 

 perfecting of individual character we must rely upon that 

 increasing sense of divine omnipresence and that increas 

 ing aspiration after completeness of spiritual life, which, 

 taken together, constitute the permanent element in Chris 

 tianity. When we add that our ethical code, deduced 

 theoretically from the conception of Life set forth at such 

 .length in the second part of this work, is at bottom identical 

 with the ethical code sanctioned by the highest Christianity, 

 it at last becomes apparent how truly conservative, in the 

 best sense of the word, is the critical attitude of our 

 philosophy. 



The iconoclast, who has the welfare of mankind nearest 

 his heart, will indeed probably blame us as too conservative, 

 as lacking in robust and wholesome aggressiveness. And 

 lie will perhaps find fault with us for respecting prejudices 

 which he thinks ought to be shocked. Our reply must be, 

 that it is not by wounding prejudices that the cause of 

 truth is most efficiently served. Men do not give up their 

 false or inadequate beliefs by hearing them scoffed at or 

 harshly criticized : they give them up only when they have 



