COSMIC PHILOSOPHY 



truths than in looking about for ugly conse- 

 quences, have seldom said anything on either 

 side of the question, their silence has been in- 

 terpreted as equivalent to assent, both by the 

 materialists and by the theologians. Energetic 

 protests, however, have been made against this 

 erroneous interpretation, by Professor Tyndall 

 on the part of molecular physics, and by Pro- 

 fessor Huxley on the part of physiology ; while 

 Mr. Spencer has most conclusively demonstrated 

 that, from the scientific point of view, the hypo- 

 thesis of the materialists is not only as unten- 

 able to-day as it has ever been, but must always 

 remain inferior in philosophic value to the op- 

 posing spiritualistic hypothesis. Let us look 

 at some of the arguments which necessitate this 

 conclusion. 



" No thought without phosphorus ! " This 

 remark of Moleschott*s has been called a " tren- 

 chant " remark. To me it seems a very barren 

 piece of truism. I have no doubt that a century 

 hence the fact that such a remark should have 

 been regarded either as a valuable novelty or 

 as an alarming heresy will be cited in evidence 

 of the intellectual dulness of our time. If the 

 aphorism is not restricted to the conditions un- 

 der which thinking occurs within the limits of 

 our experience, it is merely an audacious as- 

 sertion, not worthy of serious refutation. If it 

 is thus restricted, it becomes a mere platitude. 

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