1892 'AN APOLOGETIC IKENICON ' 215 



teaching, as the Magna. Charta of the poor and of the 

 oppressed, the most democratic book in the world, 

 he could not spare it. "I do not say," he adds, 

 " that even the highest biblical ideal is exclusive of 

 others or needs no supplement. But I do believe 

 that the human race is not yet, possibly may never 

 be, in a position to dispense with it." 



It was this volimie that led to the writing of the 

 magazine article referred to above. The republica- 

 tion in it of the "Agnosticism," originally vrritten in 

 reply to an article of jMi\ Frederic Harrison's, induced 

 the latter to disclaim in the Fortnightly JReview the 

 intimate connection assumed to exist between his 

 views and the system of Positi"vasm detailed bj' Comte, 



i and at the same time to offer the olive branch to his 

 former opponent. But while gratefully accepting 



I the goodwill implied in the offer, Huxley still 

 declared himself unable to "give his assent to a 

 single doctrine which is the pecidiar property of 

 Positi-^-ism, old or new," nor to agree -with Mr. 

 Harrison when he wanted 



to persuade us that agnosticism is only the Court of the 

 Gentiles of the Positivist temple ; and that those who 

 profess ignorance about the proper solution of certain 

 speculative problems ought to call themselves Positivists 

 of the Gate, if it happens that they also take a lively 

 interest in social and political questions. 



This essay, "An Apologetic Irenicon," contains 

 more than one passage of personal interest, which are 

 the more worth quoting here, as the essay has not 



