120 WHAT IS DARWINISM f 



human mind to grasp the system of nature ; 

 but that in our day a system destitute of any 

 shadow of proof, and supported merely by 

 vague analogies and figures of speech, and by 

 the arbitrary and artificial coherence of its own 

 parts, should be accepted as philosophy, and 

 should find able adherents to string; on its 

 thread of hypotheses our vast and weighty 

 stores of knowledge, is surpassingly strange. 

 .... In many respects these speculations are 

 important, and worthy the attention of think- 

 ing men. They seek to revolutionize the re- 

 ligious belief of the world, and if accepted 

 would destroy most of the existing theology 

 and philosophy. They indicate tendencies 

 among scientific thinkers, which, though prob- 

 ably temporary, must, before they disappear, 

 descend to lower strata, and reproduce them- 

 selves in grosser forms, and with most serious 

 effects on the whole structure of society. With 

 one class of minds they constitute a sort of 

 religion, which so far satisfies the craving for 

 truth higher than those which relate to imme- 

 diate wants and pleasures. With another and 

 perhaps larger class, they are accepted as af- 

 fording a welcome deliverance from all scruples 

 of conscience and fears of a hereafter. In the 



