JULIAN S. HUXLEY 107 



and indeed, every reason for supposing the contrary. 

 Quite apart from that we can be sure that there are 

 whole realms of knowledge which he has not yet dis- 

 covered. The truly rehgious man must be content not 

 to know many things, of which those that most vitally 

 concern our present quest are the ultimate nature and 

 purpose of the universe, and the truth as to the sur- 

 vival of personality after death. 



The obverse of this state of mind is the refusal to 

 mistake wish for fact, the strength of one's desire for 

 a thing, for proof that the thing exists. Most men 

 desire immortality; and this is often adduced as evi- 

 dence that man is immortal. But it is of the very 

 essence of the scientific spirit to refuse admittance to 

 desire and emotion in the quest for knowledge — save 

 only the one thing of discovering more truth. 



The most important characteristic of the scientific 

 method is its constant reference back to experience in 

 the search for knowledge. This also rules out a con- 

 ception which played an important part in medieval 

 theology — the idea that pure deductive reason and 

 abstract principles such as that of perfection could tell 

 one anything about the nature of things. For Aris- 

 totle and the Schoolmen, the heavenly bodies had to 

 be arranged on spheres and to move in circles because 

 these are perfect forms, while ellipsoids and parabolas 

 are not. And from purely abstract principles, such as 

 the goodness of God and the consequent perfection of 

 the universe, all sorts of elaborate deductions were 

 made. 



There is, however, no reason why the universe 

 should be perfect; there is, indeed, no reason why it 



