Vii AGNOSTICISM 227 



and deadly effects on both. For anything I can 

 absolutely prove to the contrary, there may be 

 spiritual things capable of the same transmigra- 

 tion, with like effects. Moreover I am bound to 

 add that perfectly truthful persons, for whom I 

 have the greatest respect, believe in stories about 

 spirits of the present day, quite as improbable as 

 that we are considering. 



So I declare, as plainly as I can, that I am unable 

 to show cause why these transferable devils should 

 not exist; nor can I deny that, not merely the 

 whole Roman Church, but many Wacean " infidels " 

 of no mean repute, do honestly and firmly believe 

 that the activity of such like demonic beings is in 

 full swing in this year of grace 1889. 



Nevertheless, as good Bishop Butler says, 

 " probability is the guide of life ; " and it seems to 

 me that this is just one of the cases in which the 

 canon of credibility and testimony, which I have 

 ventured to lay down, has full force. So that, 

 with the most entire respect for many (by no 

 means for all) of our witnesses for the truth of 

 demonology, ancient and modern, I conceive their 

 evidence on this particular matter to be ridicu- 

 lously insufficient to warrant their conclusion. 1 



1 Their arguments, in the long run, are always reducible to 

 one form. Otherwise trustworthy witnesses affirm that such and 

 such events took place. These events are inexplicable, except 

 the agency of " spirits " is admitted. Therefore " spirits " were 

 the cause of the phenomena. 



And the heads of the reply are always the same. Remember 



