The Hour Before the Dawn. 123 



great ones of earth. Humanity is still in its childhood, 

 i)ut_now ap proaches ado lescent years, the age wHen'yollth 

 becQiBfis_incredulg us o f fairyTales; Aiid, lo, in place of 

 this illusion of the world's infancy, we are opening our 

 eyes to the greater, grander gospel of manly endeavor and 

 achievement. 



If in these papers the writer appears to play the part of 

 an iconoclast, a ruthless breaker of the sacred images of 

 human faith and religion, it is not from any joy that he 

 has felt in the task. Bather pain. 



It is impossible to speak without emotion of that fond 

 Hope of dying men which it is the thankless office of our 

 science to pronounce baseless. So much of solace "has 

 centered in it, so much of consolation for the pangs of 

 death; such sweet anticipation of future reunions with 

 dear ones dead have grown up about it, such halos of 

 comfort in adversity, such visions of redemption by Grace, 

 such long ladders of creed, ascending by which we have 

 hoped to scale Heaven and Immortality. Creeds so 

 venerable to the human heart, so firmly implanted in the 

 woof of brain, that the uprooting of them can but cause 

 widespread confusion and consternation. 



Such consternation and pain, indeed, that not a few 

 will deem it illy done, if true. It has even been held 

 that humanity would not survive deprivation of this its 

 fond hope of " spirit " life, but like a flower deprived of 

 moisture, would wither on a desiccant earth ; that man- 



