iv MODERN EVOLUTION 159 



obvious that the bottom was knocked out of all 

 traditional dogmas of man's fall and redemption, of 

 human sin and divine forgiveness. Therefore, what 

 Darwin himself believed remains a matter of moment. 

 His answers to enquiries which were made public 

 during his lifetime told us that while the varying 

 circumstances and modes of life caused his judg- 

 ment to often fluctuate, and that while he had never 

 been an atheist in the sense of denying the existence 

 of a God, ' I think/ he says, * that generally (and 

 more and more as I grow older), but not always, an 

 agnostic would be the most correct description of 

 my state of mind.' The chapter on ' Religion,' 

 although a part of the autobiography, is printed 

 separately in the Life and Letters ; and, as the fol- 

 lowing quotation shows, it is interesting as detailing 

 a few of the steps by which Darwin reached that 

 suspensive stage : 



Whilst on board the Beagle I was quite orthodox, and I 

 remember being heartily laughed at by several of the officers 

 (though themselves orthodox) for quoting the Bible as an 

 unanswerable authority on some point of morality. I 

 suppose it was the novelty of the argument that amused 

 them. But I had gradually come by this time i.e. 1836 

 to 1839 to see that the Old Testament was no more to 

 be trusted than the sacred books of the Hindoos. The 

 question, then, continually rose before my mind, and would 

 not be banished is it credible that if God were now to 

 make a revelation to the Hindoos he would permit it 

 to be connected with the belief in Vishnu, Siva, etc., as 

 Christianity is connected with the Old Testament? This 

 appeared to me utterly incredible. 



By further reflecting that the clearest evidence would be 

 requisite to make any sane man believe in the miracles by 

 which Christianity is supported and that the more we 



