466 The Doctrine of Evolution. 



MR. WILDER: 



If you remove these passages, based as they are on the doctrine of 

 the persistence of force, or change their phraseology, what becomes of 

 Mr. Spencer's system of philosophy ? 



MR. PISKE: 



I think the synthetic philosophy would thereby be strengthened 

 and, in fact, rendered impregnable by removing its only vulnerable 

 feature. 



LETTER FROM HERBERT SPENCER. 



Besides the letter from Prof. Haeckel, the substance of which is 

 quoted in Prof. Piske's lecture, the following, from Mr. Spencer, was 

 read by the President : 



LONDON, N. W., May 4, 1891. 



DEAR DR. JANES : In old times persecuting priesthoods were content 

 if a so-called heretic would recant and say he agreed with them. 

 Whether he did at heart accept their belief was a matter of indiffer- 

 ence so long as he outwardly conformed and professed the belief. 

 These tactics have in our days been inverted. Defenders of the estab- 

 lished creed, no longer able now to produce apparent agreement by 

 force, exaggerate as much as they can the disagreement, so as to make 

 their antagonists hateful. Persistently ascribing to them views they 

 do not hold, they thus furnish themselves with weapons of offense ; 

 and they find the weapons so convenient and effective that no proof 

 that they are false weapons will make them desist from using them. 



I have had to rebut the charge of materialism times too numerous 

 to remember, and I have now given the matter up. It is impossible 

 to give more emphatic denial or assign more conclusive proof than I 

 have repeatedly done, as you know. My antagonists must continue to 

 vilify me as they please ; I can not prevent them. Practically they 

 say: " It is convenient to us to call you a materialist, and you shall be 

 a materialist whether you like it or not." 



In my earlier days I constantly made the foolish supposition that 

 conclusive proofs would change beliefs. But experience has long since 

 dissipated my faith in men's rationality. 



Sincerely yours, 



SPENCER. 



