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Sectarian Morality contrasted with the [September, 
V. ON THE EVILS OF SECTARIAN MORALITY, 
CONTRASTED WITH THE 
BENEFITS OF THE SCIENTIFIC OR NATURAL 
SYSTEM. 
By S. Tolver Preston. 
t ^T has been an idea with some that because the religions 
of sedts have been naturally evolved accordingto the ge- 
neral theory of Evolution, that therefore they must have 
been fitting to some extent. It would seem to be overlooked 
here that error — connected doubtless with an imperfedtion 
or infirmity of the brain — is a concomitant to evolution as 
well as truth ; that we cannot expedt truth to prevail at 
once (though there are some recent signs of a rapid ad- 
vance) ; and that the real fadt may be that society has 
survived, not through sedtarian ethics, but in spite of it. I 
do not allude here to the simple belief in a Supreme Being, 
against which there would be not one word to be said, but 
to the endless dodtrines and sedtarian propaganda (unfor- 
tunately tacked on to this simple belief), and which are 
unworthily classed as “ religion.” It is notorious that the 
most eminent minds have distrusted to the greatest degree 
the common idea of the salutary influence of popular reli- 
gions, more especially the grand old Greek philosophers. 
It would be arrogant to suppose that we are so near perfec- 
tion that there is not much to reform yet in dodtrines and 
views ; for progress consists in the continued elimination of 
error. ’ The first step towards the establishment of truth 
must* evidently be the abolition of sedts ; for truth can, of 
its very essence, never be sedtarian. The foundation of 
morality upon an unsedtarian or universal basis therefore 
becomes a pressing need. It cannot be doubted that the 
introduction of the new Morality now being unfolded by 
Natural Science may be accelerated by showing the conclu- 
sion to be well founded that the present sedtarian morality, 
so far from conducing to stability in society, in reality tends 
to upset it (or constitutes an encouragement to wrong-doing), 
and that these dodtrines have been mainly sheltered from 
attack by the unfortunate idea of their salutariness. 
It is not doubted for one moment that there are a large 
number of well-meaning people who teach these dodtrines with 
