Teachings of Thomas Huxley 31 



a simple basis of the Judaic type. It should 

 find place neither for discussion nor dissent. 

 According to Huxley, "What Ave are usually 

 pleased to call religion nowadays is for the 

 most part Hellenized Judaism; and not infre- 

 quently the Hellenic element carries with it a 

 mighty remnant of old-world paganism, and 

 a great infusion of the worst and weakest pro- 

 ducts of Greek scientific speculation; while 

 fragments of Persian and Babylonian, or rather 

 Accadian mythology, burden the Judaic con- 

 tribution to the common stock." This is surely 

 a severe arraignment but is not entirely with- 

 out reason; for such complexity cannot but re- 

 sult in a division into factions which under- 

 mine and weaken the entire fabric. 



RATIONAL BELIEFS. 



No belief is rational unless the senses have 

 evidence of its soundness as founded upon ex- 

 ternal facts; yet it is indeed curious what a 

 firm hold certain irrational .beliefs take upon 

 the mind, and how difficult is their eradication. 

 Everyone who has had any acquaintance with 

 mental disorders knows how deeply rooted are 

 the delusions and hallucinations of the insane. 

 A lunatic will hear voices calling upon him to 

 kill himself or plotting against him or his fam- 

 ily, and so thoroughly grounded is his belief 

 in the actuality of these external signs, that, 



