554 Edward Livingston Youmans. 



Bradlaugh a " pronounced atheist," because we have 

 heard him say that he is the only man who ever ran for 

 Parliament distinctly as an atheist. He has, besides, a 

 large following in open agreement with him, and who may, 

 therefore, be properly called atheists. A "pronounced 

 atheist " in short, must simply be one who pronounces him- 

 self an atheist. 



And now, having found that atheists are those who 

 avow a certain belief, it is desirable to note distinctly what 

 that belief is. " Atheism," says Webster, " is the denial of 

 the existence of a God." But the term God has many sig- 

 nifications, and is variously defined. We take the highest 

 definition given by Webster, "the Supreme Being; the 

 Eternal and Infinite Spirit." A pronounced atheist, there- 

 fore, is one who professes to deny the existence of "the 

 Supreme Being; the Eternal and Infinite Spirit." 



The writer in the Post declares that the Popular Sci- 

 ence Monthly " has published everything of interest written 

 by 'pronounced atheists,' and excluded everything that 

 appeared of merit on the other side." The other side of 

 what ? Why, the advocacy of atheism, of course ! That 

 is, " for a long period of years " this magazine has been 

 given over to the work of teaching the doctrine of the 

 non-existence of " the Eternal and Infinite Spirit." This 

 statement is not true ; it has not a vestige of truth in it ; 

 it is wholly and absolutely false. This is one of the 

 charges that calls for proof, and happily the writer has 

 given his proof. It is this, and nothing else that "the 

 papers of Herbert Spencer and others of his class " have 

 appeared in The Popular Science Monthly. That any 

 such papers really have the character charged, there is not 

 the slightest attempt at proof. 



But Herbert Spencer is not an atheist, and never has 

 been. He has never declared his belief in atheism, and he 

 is a man who expresses his opinions very freely and with 



