214 THE GOSPEL, AND THE SOCIAL CUBED OF SCIENCE. 



reproach, or in the light of an honour, since the spirit is 

 now becoming universal, a fact it is that, from the time 

 of Bacon to our own, all the great works of the English 

 intellect outside the sphere of poetry, and notably in 

 philosophy and morals, have been remarkably distin- 

 guished by the positive spirit, and governed by its 

 methods of inquiry and proof. 



Positivism, as here regarded, is, in its philosophical 

 references, rather an attitude of mind to all philosophical 

 problems, and a method of treating such of them as are 

 legitimate and soluble, than a system of philosophy itself. 

 It is true that Comte has offered his positivism to the 

 world in the latter character, as a philosophy with an 

 appended doctrine. But the pretensions of Comte's 

 Positive Philosophy have not been generally credited in 

 these respects, especially after being further supplemented 

 by his religious fancies. By positivism, then, we do not 

 specially refer to Comte's characterization of it, any 

 further than as it recognizes, and anew emphasizes, the 

 general positive spirit and methods which existed before 

 his time, and which at present obtain amongst thinkers 

 on all subjects except theology and metaphysics, and 

 sometimes even on these. 



The positive point of view, which is no other than 

 the ground of proved experience, is professedly that of 

 the modern evolutionist and materialist, of Darwin and 

 Spencer, of Haeckel and Huxley; although the materialist, 

 in his ambition to give an explanation of the world from 

 matter only, finds it extremely difficult to adhere to the 

 positivist injunction to keep clear of the metaphysical 

 vortices, which, in truth, f are always perilously near 

 all assertions respecting the ultimate principle of the 

 universe. But, however difficult it be to maintain it, 

 especially when hypotheses are necessarily employed, 



