2i6 THOMAS HENRY HUXLEY 



fore long, I came to a tall and formidable-looking fence. Confident 

 as I might be in the existence of an ancient and indefeasible 

 right-of-way, before me stood the thorny barrier with its 

 comminatory notice-board — ' No Thoroughfare. By Order. 

 Moses.' There seemed no way over; nor did the prospect of 

 creeping round, as I saw some do, attract me. . . . The only 

 alternatives were either to give up my journey — which I was not 

 minded to do — or to break the fence down and go through it." 



As to the extension of criticism to the New Testa- 

 ment : — 



" Thirty years ago, criticism of ' Moses ' was held by most 

 respectable people to be deadly sin ; now it has sunk to the rank 

 of a mere peccadillo ; at least, if it stops short of the history of 

 Abraham. . . . 



" Well, we will pass the item of i860, said the ' voice ' [of 

 conscience]. But why all this more recent coil about the 

 Gadarene swine and the like ? Do you pretend that these 

 poor animals got in your way, years and years after the ' Mosaic ' 

 fences were down, at any rate so far as you are concerned ? 

 Got in my way ? why my good ' voice,' they were driven in my 

 way. . . . 



" The half-hearted religiosity of latter-day Christianity may 

 choose to ignore the fact ; but it remains none the less true, that 

 he who refuses to accept the demonology of the Gospels rejects 

 the revelation of a spiritual world, made in them, as much as if 

 he denied the existence of such a person as Jesus of Nazareth ; 

 and deserves, as much as any one can do, to be ear-marked 

 ' infidel ' by our gentle shepherds." 



The reply to Mr. Gladstone's attack appeared in the 

 December number of the Nitieteentb Century, under the 

 title of " The Keepers of the Herd of Swine " (Coll. 

 Essays, v, p. 336). One reason for undertaking the 

 article is to clearly state the position of the writer, 

 for, — 



" the warmest admirers of Mr. Gladstone will hardly be pre- 

 pared to maintain that mathematical accuracy in stating the 



