First Causes. 15 



symbolising objects. An agnostic or a metaphysician 

 is quite at liberty to style his uncouth terms, pedantic 

 phrases, and interminable sentences, his thoughts or 

 his reason ; but, fundamentally, they are only words, 

 undemonstrable to intelligent men as aught save con- 

 joined letters of a humanly concocted alphabet. 



Fortunately for humanity in the mass, its sanity 

 is protected from and convoyed safely through all 

 epidemics of philosophical incoherences by that ne plus 

 ultra of existence — man must be sensible in order to 

 live. Even a Pyrrho had sometimes to punish his 

 cook for spoiling his dinner. 



In this connection an American writer tersely says, 

 " A reason which will not accept its own paper is 

 hopelessly bankrupt." On the same lines, it may 

 further be added that a humanity which will not 

 accept its own science, uphold its own knowledge, 

 trust to its own inferences, believe in its own creeds, 

 and abide by the consequences of its own observations, 

 experiences and experiments, in preference to the 

 science, knowledge, logic, beliefs, observations, ex- 

 periences and experiments of any past age what- 

 soever, is hopelessly imbecile. 



As all agnostic and metaphysical speculations 

 must, equally with present intelligible knowledge, 

 be tried by the present standard of intelligence 

 (scientific logic and verified fact), we see no evidence 

 either of a known or of an unknown Unknowable. 

 Indeed, this image which Mr Spencer, like a modern 

 Nebuchadnezzar, has enthroned, but typifies in a 



