H 



FACTS AND FANCIES 



nosticism or Pantheism or Theism — science, 

 properly so called, has no right to be either 

 praised or blamed. Its material may be used, 

 but the structure is the work of the artificer 

 himself. 



It is well, however, to carry with us the truth 

 that this border-land between science and re- 

 ligion is one which men cannot be prevented 

 from entering ; but what they may find therein 

 depends very much on themselves. Under wise 

 guidance it may prove to us an Eden, the very 

 gate of heaven, and we may acquire in it larger 

 and more harmonious views of both the seen 

 and the unseen, of science and of religion. But, 

 on the other hand, it may be found to be a bat- 

 tle-field or a bedlam, a place of confused cries 

 and incoherent ravings, and strewn with the 

 wrecks of human hopes and aspirations. 



There can be no question that the more un- 

 pleasant aspect of the matter is somewhat prev- 

 alent in our time, and that we should, if possible, 

 understand the causes of the conflict and tl e 

 confusion that prevail, and the way out of 

 them. To do this it will be necessary first to 

 notice some of the incidental or extraneous 

 causes of difficulty and strife, and then to in- 

 quire more in detail as to the actual bearing 



