208 THOMAS HENRY HUXLEY 



Nineteenth Century for April (Coll. Essays, v, p. 263). 

 There the difficulty of coming to any definite conclusion 

 as to what Christ's utterances actually were is dealt with 

 at length, and the following reasons are advanced for 

 Huxley's advocacy of Bible-reading (cf. p. 102) : — 



" Greatly to the surprise of many of my friends, I have always 

 advocated the reading of the Bible, and the diffusion of the study 

 of that most remarkable collection of books among the people. 

 Its teachings are so infinitely superior to those of the sects, who 

 are just as busy now as the Pharisees were eighteen hundred 

 years ago, in smothering them under ' the precepts of men ' ; it 

 is so certain, to my mind, that the Bible contains within itself 

 the refutation of nine-tenths of the mixture of metaphysics and 

 old-world superstition which has been piled round it by the 

 so-called Christians of later times : it is so clear that the only 

 immediate and ready antidote to the poison which has been mixed 

 with Christianity, to the intoxication and delusion of mankind, 

 lies in copious draughts from the undefiled spring, that I exercise 

 the right and duty of free judgment on the part of every man, 

 mainly for the purpose of inducing other laymen to follow my 

 example. If the New Testament is translated into Zulu by 

 Protestant missionaries, it must be assumed that a Zulu convert 

 is competent to draw from its contents all the truths which it is 

 necessary for him to believe. I trust that I may, without 

 immodesty, claim to be put on the same footing as a Zulu." 



Huxley's last contribution to this controversy appeared 

 in the Nineteenth Century for June, under the title of 

 " Agnosticism and Christianity" (Coll. Essays, v, p. 309). 

 An unexpected, mischievously humorous, turn is given 

 to the discussion by citations from Cardinal Newman's 

 opinions. There is no logical middle course between 

 accepting modern as well as ancient miracles, and reject- 

 ing both : — 



" Dr. Newman made his choice and passed over to the Roman 

 Church half a century ago. Some of those who were essentially 

 in harmony with his views preceded, and many followed him. 



