viii THEISM; EVOLUTION OF THEOLOGY 167 



Religion who have undertaken to defend it by the princi- 

 ples of human reason. Our most holy religion is founded 

 on Faith, not on reason, and it is a sure method of expos- 

 ing it to put it to such a trial as it is by no means fitted 

 to endure . . . the Christian religion not only was at first 

 attended with miracles, but even at this day cannot be be- 

 lieved by any reasonable person without one. Mere rea- 

 son is insufficient to convince us of its veracity: And 

 whoever is moved by Faith to assent to it, is conscious of 

 a continual miracle in his own person, which subverts all 

 the principles of his understanding, and gives him a de- 

 termination to believe what is most contrary to custom and 

 experience." (IV. pp. 153, 154.) 



It is obvious that, here and elsewhere, Hume, 

 adopting a popular confusion of ideas, uses religion 

 as the equivalent of dogmatic theology; and, 

 therefore, he says, with perfect justice, that 

 " religion is nothing but a species of philosophy " 

 (iv. p. 171). Here no doubt lies the root of his 

 antagonism. The quarrels of theologians and 

 philosophers have not been about religion, but 

 about philosophy; and philosophers not unfre- 

 quently seem to entertain the same feeling 

 towards theologians that sportsmen cherish 

 towards poachers. " There cannot be two passions 

 more nearly resembling each other than hunting 

 and philosophy/' says Hume. And philosophic 

 hunters are given to think, that, while they pursue 

 truth for its own sake, out of pure love for the 

 chase (perhaps mingled with a little human weak- 

 ness to be thought good shots), and by open and 

 legitimate methods; their theological competitors 



