76 HUXLEY 



irrefragably established in science, inseparably in- 

 corporated with the common thoughts of men, and 

 only hated and feared by those who would revile, 

 but dare not. What shall a man desire more than 

 this ? " 



The Agnostic Attitude. — " Those who appreciate 

 the nature of our position will see, at once, that 

 when Ecclosiasticism declares that we ought to be- 

 lieve this, that, and the other, and are very -wicked 

 if we don't, it is impossible for us to give any answer 

 but this : We have not the slightest objection to 

 beheve anything you hke, if you will give us good 

 grounds for belief ; but, if you cannot, we must 

 respectfully refuse, even if that refusal should wreck 

 morality and insure om* own damnation several 

 times over. We are quite content to leave that to 

 the decision of the future. The course of the past 

 has impressed us with the firm conviction that no 

 good ever comes of falsehood, and we feel warranted 

 in refusing even to experiment in that direction." 



