First Causes. 29 



the First Causes of all religions, including even the 

 " Energy " of the agnostics, as to their origin, what 

 else could they answer but Topsy's " 'Spects we 

 growed." 



If this be so, if First Causes grew spontaneously 

 from nothing, what should hinder man or his matter 

 from being similarly begotten? ' If assumption can 

 be legitimised or materialised in any form, why 

 scruple to manufacture omnipotences ad libitum ? 

 The most stupendous miracle and most improbable 

 fiction may be equally god-fathered by assumption. 

 But under this asinine interregnum science and 

 philosophy would be crochets, culture and learning 

 fads, truth and falsehood twin virtues, and fools and 

 sages twin brothers. 



The hypothesis of self-origination with respect to 

 the universe as a whole is consequently untenable, 

 hence the only impregnable position is : — 



Secondly : That existence, as an ultimate, never had 

 an origin outside of itself , for its component constituents 

 or substratum merely eternally exist. 



Invulnerable from every assailable vantage ground 

 of science, reason, criticism, observation, experience 

 and experiment, this last hypothesis is the only de- 

 fensible stronghold for the intellect of to-day, because 

 it contains three irrefragable propositions: — ■ 



(1) "Nothing from nothing comes, nothing to 

 nothing returns." 



(2) Something from something comes, something 

 to something returns. 



