THE CONTROVERSIALIST l6l 



the assurances of the official defenders of the faith 

 that the " Church's one foundation " remains un- 

 shaken. " Their faith," in the words of Professor 

 W. James, " is faith in some one else's faith, and in 

 the greatest matters this is most the case." For in- 

 quiry involves effort, and there is ease in travelling 

 along the line of least resistance. 



In opposition, wide as the poles asunder, to this, 



the improver of natural knowledge absolutely refuses 

 to acknowledge authority, as such. For him, scepti- 

 cism is the highest of duties ; blind faith the one un- 

 pardonable sin. And it cannot be otherwise, for 

 every great advance in natural knowledge has involved 

 the absolute rejection of authority, the cherishing of 

 the keenest scepticism, the annihilation of the spirit 

 of blind faith ; and the most ardent votary of science 

 holds his firmest convictions, not because the men he 

 most venerates hold them, not because their verity is 

 testified by portents and wonders ; but because his ex- 

 perience teaches him that whenever he chooses to 

 bring these convictions into contact with their primary 

 source, Nature — whenever he thinks fit to test them 

 by appealing to experiment and to observation — Na- 

 ture will confirm them. The man of science has 

 learned to believe in justification, not by faith, but by 

 verification. 1 



And it was because clericalism demanded accept- 

 ance of its claims in " blind faith " that Huxley 

 would make no terms with it. 



1 Coll. Essays, i. pp. 40, 41. 



