THEOPHOBIA: ITS NEMESIS 49 



rather startling conclusion that science is " re- 

 ligion of a very deep 1 and austere kind." One is 

 reminded of a well-known passage in the Bible : 

 " Inveni et aram in qua scriptum erat IGNOTO 

 DEO." To set up science as an " unknown God " 

 seems a curious choice, even more curious than 

 the choice of humanity, which pitiable object as 

 it is was at least made in the image of God. 

 Not to pile up instance upon instance, let us con- 

 tent ourselves with remembering that Mr. Wells, 

 who in his earlier novels had certainly not dis- 

 played any marked affection for religion, in the 

 last published before the war (Marriage} brings 

 his hero face to face with the great realities, and 

 makes him exclaim to his wife that he may " die 

 a Christian yet," and urge upon her the need 

 for prayer, if only out into the darkness. Of 

 course, as all the reading world knows, since the 

 war commenced, Mr. Wells has set up his own altar 

 " IGNOTO DEO," not with much more satis- 

 factory results than those attained by Mr. Mase- 

 field. It is an historical fact that times of war have 

 also been times of religious awakening, and it is 

 natural that they should be so, for even the most 

 careless must be brought to contemplate some- 

 thing more than the day's enjoyment. It is not 

 then wonderful that the terrible war which has 

 raged with Europe as the cockpit, and practically 

 all the nations of the world as participants, should 

 turn the minds of those who are in the fighting 

 line towards thoughts which in times of peace 

 may never have found entrance there. From 

 all sides one hears that this is so, yet here 



