vin THEISM; EVOLUTION OF THEOLOGY 167 



Religion who have undertaken to defend it by the princi- 

 ples of human reason. Our most holy religion is founded 

 on Faith, not on reason, and it is a sure method of expos- 

 ing it to put it to such a trial as it is by no means fitted 

 to endure . . . the Christian religion not only was at first 

 attended with miracles, but even at this day cannot be be- 

 lieved by any reasonable person without one. Mere rea- 

 son is insufficient to convince us of its veracity : And 

 whoever is moved by Faith to assent to it, is conscious of 

 a continual miracle in his own person, which subverts all 

 the principles of his understanding, and gives him a de- 

 termination to believe what is most contrary to custom and 

 experience." (IV. pp. 153, 154.) 



It is obvious that, here and elsewhere, Hume, 

 adopting a popular confusion of ideas, uses religion 

 as the equivalent of dogmatic theology; and, 

 therefore, he says, with perfect justice, that 

 " religion is nothing but a species of philosophy " 

 (iv. p. 171). Here no doubt lies the root of his 

 antagonism. The quarrels of theologians and 

 philosophers have not been about religion, but 

 about philosophy; and philosophers not unfre- 

 quently seem to entertain the same feeling 

 towards theologians that sportsmen cherish 

 towards poachers. " There cannot be two passions 

 more nearly resembling each other than hunting 

 and philosophy," says Hume. And philosophic 

 hunters are given to think, that, while they pursue 

 truth for its own sake, out of pure love for the 

 chase (perhaps mingled with a little human weak- 

 ness to be thought good shots), and by open and 

 legitimate methods; their theological competitors 



