265 



Professor Tyndall and his unknown physician must bear all the 

 consequences of this revolting and mistaken movement. It is 

 impossible to conceive anything more dreadful than the pro- 

 position made by these raen^ founded as it is upon ignorance of 

 the meaning, the objects, and the value of the greatest of all 

 human blessings. 



59. If not the direct result of Darwinism, which I believe it 

 to be, this discussion displays at least the utter want of religious 

 feelings among its disciples. Is man to dictate to God ? Is 

 man to put God upon his trial ? Is the great Omnipotent to 

 be placed in parallelism with the self-glorifying and pre- 

 sumptuous aspirations of scepticism ? Alas for the day when 

 the Christian should be deprived of the privilege of praying to 

 his God ! It has been well remarked by the editor of the 

 Sunday Magazine for October, 1872, " There is something very 

 melancholy in the endeavoufi', in the name of science, to deprive 

 us of one of our highest privileges. If the views of Tyndall 

 and Galton should be established, the awful dream of John 

 Paul Richter would become nearly a reality. ' I wandered to 

 the farthest verge of creation, and there I saw a socket where 

 an eye should have been, and I heard the shriek of a fatherless 

 world.'' 



60. In Fraser's Magazine for April, 1872, there is a paper 

 under the signature of L. S., entitled "Darwinism and Divinity.'' 

 The writer of the article holds the opinion that the doctrine 

 of evolution should appear harmless, because "Every sincere 

 believer ought to hold that religion depends upon certain 

 instincts, whose existence cannot be explained away by any 

 possible account of the mode by which they came into existence." 



61. This is a good example of the manner in which religion, 

 is treated by the disciples of Darwin. Of course it suits the 

 doctrine to argue that religion depends upon " certain instincts." 

 Having thus begged the question, the writer proceeds : — " A 

 little more straining of a few phrases which have proved them- 

 selves sufficiently elastic, and the first obvious difficulty may be 

 removed. The first chapter of Genesis has survived Sir Charles 

 Lyell ; it may be stretched sufficiently to include Mr. Darwin." 



62. But before this can be done, the writer considers that 

 " a certain change is being brought about by the application 

 of that method of which Darwinism is at present the most 

 conspicuous example. Possibly the change may be of even 

 greater importance. Certainly it is of far too great importance 

 to be more than dimly indicated here. Brieflj^, it may be 

 described as the substitution of belief in gradual evolution for 

 a belief in spasmodic action and occasional outbursts of creative 

 energy : of the acceptance of the corollary that we must seek 



