98 LIFE OF PROFESSOR HUXLEY chap. V 



to the marriage in quick succession of his two 

 youngest daughters, whereby, indeed, the giving up 

 of the house in London and definite departure from 

 London was made possible. 



All the early part of the 3'ear, till he found it 

 necessary to go to Switzerland again, he stayed 

 unwillingly in Eastbourne, from time to time running 

 up to town, or having son or daughter to stay with 

 him for a week, his wife being too busy to leave town, 

 with the double preparations for the weddings on 

 hand, so that he writes to her : "I feel worse than the 

 ' cowardly agnostic ' I am said to be — for leaving you 

 to face your botherations alone." One can picture 



Council of the Church Agnostic were held, very likely I should be 

 condemned as a heretic. But I speak only for myself in answering 



these questions. 



1. Agnosticism is of the essence of science, whether ancient or 

 modern. It simply means that a man shall not say he knows or 

 believes that which he has no scientific grounds for professing to 

 know or believe. 



2. Consequently Agnosticism puts aside not only the greater 

 part of popular theology, but also the greater part of popular anti- 

 theology. On the whole, the "bosh" of heterodoxy is more 

 offensive to me than that of orthodoxy, becaitse heterodoxy pro- 

 fesses to be guided by reason and science, and orthodoxy does not. 



3. I have no doubt that scientific criticism will prove destructive 

 to the forms of supernaturalism which enter into the constitution 

 of existing religions. On trial of any so-called miracle the verdict 

 of science is " Not proven." But true Agnosticism will not forget 

 that existence, motion, and law-abiding operation in nature are 

 more stupendous miracles than any recounted by the mythologies, 

 and that there may be things, not only in the heavens and earth, 

 but beyond the intelligible universe, which " are not dreamt of in 

 our philosophy." The theological "gnosis " would have us believe 

 that the world is a conjurer's house ; the anti-theological "gnosis " 

 talks as if it were a "dirt-pie," made by the two blind children, 

 Law and Force. Agnosticism simply says that we know nothing 

 ot what may be behind phenomena. 



