Ill 
arose in a great degree from the slavish dread which they enter- 
tained of the power of the gods, and from terror of their wrath. 
To remove these apprehensions was the great object of his teach- 
ing. In order to dispel these fears, he called to his aid the 
atomic theory of Leucippus, by which he sought to demonstrate 
that the Material Universe is not the result of creative energy, 
but that all is formed by the union of elemental particles which 
had existed from all eternity. As to the gods, if such there 
were, they lived in a state of divine tranquillity (like the Brahm 
of India), wholly unmoved by and indifferent to the actions of 
mortals ! Indeed, as they also were composed of atoms, it might 
have happened to them to be resolved into their ultimate elements, 
if they mixed themselves up with mundane affairs ! 
It was thought to be unnecessary to address such Beings in 
prayer, inasmuch as “everything revolves with unchanging 
laws in one eternal circle.”* The true explanation of all this 
is probably to be found in the Brahmanical or Buddhistic 
speculations of the East. 
Lucretius wrote a magnificent poem to uphold these tenets. 
His object, we are told, was the destruction of Superstition, — 
which statement is unquestionably true; — and after reading the 
poet s thrilling narrative of the sacrifice of Iphigenia, there is no 
one with any feeling who is not ready to join in with his con- 
clusion — Tantum religio potuit suadere malorum ! 
“ Such are the crimes that Superstition prompts.” 
But where is the application to our own times and circum- 
stances r We are not in the habit of offering human sacrifices 
in order to obtain favourable weather ; and it is very problem- 
atical whether “ the mild light of Science” will avail much in 
remedying abuses which still remain, or superstitions which still 
influence Christian society. We are not at all disposed “ to pour 
contempt upon matter”; and, as far as our observation extends, 
have little need of exhortation directed against excessive austerity 
or the danger of regarding our bodies as “ mere weeds.” On 
the contrary, I believe that to endeavour to maintain the “mens 
sana in corpore sano ” is what most men regard as a dictate of 
common sense. 
It is to be noticed that, little as there was to be valued in the 
state of society existing in Rome at the time Lucretius wrote, 
he is not without a fear lest, in seeming to destroy the bond of 
that society, he should be accounted guilty of a crime against 
the laws which bind men together. 
O 
* See Hardy’s Manual of Buddhism , pp. 34, 35. 
