2 54 Thomas Henry Huxley 



the essence of Mr. Gladstone's ' fourfold division, set forth in 

 an orderly succession of times.' It is that the animal species 

 which compose the water-population, the air-population, and 

 the land-population, respectively, originated during three dis- 

 tinct and successive periods of time, and only during these 

 periods of time. . . . But even this sublimated essence of 

 the Pentateuchal doctrine remains as discordant with natural 

 science as ever." 



There remains the third, or evoliitionar}' hj^pothesis 

 regarding the origin of the existing order of nature. 

 As Huxley held it, it was rigidly Umited within the 

 possibilities afforded by the agnostic attitude. With 

 regard to the real nature, the origin and destiny of 

 the whole universe, there was not sufficient evidence 

 before the human mind, if indeed the human mind 

 were capable of receiving such evidence, to come to 

 any conclusion. For the rest, for the actual condition 

 of the earth itself, science was gradually accumulating 

 overwhelming evidence in favour of a continuous 

 evolution, under natural agencies, from the beginning 

 of life to the existing forms of animals and plants, 

 and the actual origin of hfe from inorganic matter un- 

 der similarly natural agencies was becoming more and 

 more a legitimate inference, 



Huxley's relation to the New Testament may be 

 summed up in few words. It was simply that there 

 was not sufficient evidence for ascribing to it the super- 

 natural sanction demanded for it by dogmatic theology. 



" From the dawn of scientific Biblical criticism until the 

 present day, the evidence against the long-cherished notion 

 that the three synoptic gospels are the work of three independ- 

 ent authors, each prompted by Divine inspiration, has steadily 

 accumulated, until, at the present time, there is no visible 

 escape from the conclusion that each of the three is a compil- 

 ation consisting of a groundwork common to all three— the 



