l86g THE NAME AGNOSTIC 343 



not been compelled to define his philosophical position until 

 he entered the Metaphysical Society. How he came to 

 enrich the English language with the name " Agnostic " is 

 explained in his article " Agnosticism " {Coll. Ess. v. pp. 



237-239)- 



After describing how it came about that his mind 



" steadily gravitated towards the conclusions of Hume and 



Kant," so well stated by the latter as follows : — 



The greatest and perhaps the sole use of all philosophy of 

 pure reason is, after all, merely negative, since it serves not as 

 an organon for the enlargement (of knowledge), but as a dis- 

 cipline for its delimitation; and, instead of discovering truth, 

 has only the modest merit of preventing error : — 



he proceeds — 



When I reached intellectual maturity, and began to ask 

 myself whether I was an atheist, a theist, or a pantheist ; a ma- 

 terialist or an idealist ; a Christian or a freethinker ; I found 

 that the more I learned and reflected, the less ready was the 

 answer; until, at last, I came to the conclusion that I had 

 neither art nor part with any of these denominations, except the 

 last. The one thing in which most of these good people were 

 agreed was the one thing in which I differed from them. They 

 were quite sure they had attained a certain " gnosis " — had, 

 more or less successfully, solved the problem of existence ; while 

 I was quite sure I had not, and had a pretty strong conviction 

 that the problem was insoluble. And, with Hume and Kant 

 on my side, I could not think myself presumptuous in holding 

 fast by that opinion. . . . 



This was my situation when I had the good fortune to find a 

 place among the members of that remarkable confraternity of 

 antagonists, long since deceased, but of green and pious memory, 

 the Metaphysical Society. Every variety of philosophical and 

 theological opinion was represented there, and expressed itself 

 with entire openness ; most of my colleagues were -ists of one 

 sort or another; and, however kind and friendly they might be, 

 I, the man without a rag of a label to cover himself with, could 

 not fail to have some of the uneasy feelings which must have 

 beset the historical fox when, after leaving the trap in which 

 his tail remained, he presented himself to his normally elongated 

 companions. So I took thought, and invented what I conceived 

 23 



