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outfit to take the highest posible view of self-abnegation and act accordingly, 
which is impossible. I am here reminded of the simile of the planets. W e 
find that the various planetary orbs revolve round the sun : each has its 
own definite sphere, and has no business to go out of its particular orbit So 
is it with ourselves. Each of us has a great duty to perform as reinirds him- 
self, and in performing that duty properly he is really performing a duty 
both to others and to God. With regard to that which forms the principal 
point of this paper — the conclusion arrived at by Mr. Herbert Spencer that 
goodness is identical with pleasure — I suppose that we as ( hristians would 
allow, as Professor Wace says, “that moral goodness leads to blessedness” 
(§ 8). But why is it so ? It is for this reason, we find in that Being 
in whom we believe a number of perfections which are His own attri- 
butes and proceed from Him. We call Him “all blessed * and we 
mean one who is all good and all blessed, and who made those two things 
“ goodness ” and “ blessedness ” to exist. Then, according to our belief, we 
should look for these two tilings as (taut everywhere, and wo 
must naturally expect the greatest goodness along w ith the greatest blessed- 
ness, because those who are best in virtue are likest to God, and therefore 
God will give them the largest amount of blessedness. But this is a 
different thing from saying that blessedness is the sum of virtue. We regard 
the two things as being together, we do not know how, but that the two 
always go together is no proof that they are always the same thing, and that 
one is caused by the other. There is just on*’ point more on which I would 
venture a remark. I believe that the only way of understanding Mr. Herbert 
Spencer’s philosophy is to look into what is his own main idea. The* 
reason why such authors are so much read, appears to mo to be this ; and 
I do not think they need regard it as any cause for congratulation : their 
ideas are generally exceedingly simple, not to say oftentimes very >hallowand 
narrow. They persuade people to applaud these ideas as very clever, because 
the novelty and simplicity are very attractive, and they are, of course, able 
to carry them out to a considerable extent. Now Mr. Herbert Spencer has 
one admirable gift, I mean that he possesses a wonderful eye for those endlf >s 
militudes that are to be found in God’s universe, and which are so often 
spoken of in the Bible. His whole scheme of thought runs in the nature of 
parables, and his books teem with them ; this is what makes his works 
so interesting. But they are not the less shallow and narrow in their 
philosophic principles. It reminds me of Charles Dickens's account 
of Mrs. Gamp’s bedroom. There was no safety in the bedroom if 
you did not keep in mind one thing, and that was the huge four-poster 
which nearly filled the apartment. As long as you kept your eye on that 
you were safe ; but if you turned to look at anything else you were sure to 
run your head against something. (Laughter.) Such is the effect of Mr. 
Herbert Spencer’s whole philosophy. It rests on a belief that the atoms 
are moving about, and that they have a certain tendency when moving in 
one direction to continue circulating in the same direction. This is what 
he means by the various rhythms. These atoms he supposes to get into a 
