146 
upon the purely religious points, endeavoured to avoid to the best of my 
power anything that would unduly trench upon special opinions of others , 
and yet I hope that I have succeeded in making known and in helping 
you to think out the problems of the book. (Hear, hear.) The subject 
itself is, uo doubt, the principle and, ultimately, the law of Continuity. 
That continuity holds clearly in the visible universe no one doubts. I 
am not aware that any one has ever doubted whether there is a real connec- 
tion in the unseen universe both before or after the existence of this visible 
world, as stated in the work now before us. These authors from, as Pro- 
fessor Clifford said, the standpoint of a very high scientific reputation, 
declare that there is reason for supposing that before this universe began, 
we had some previous universe, physically considered, made of the same 
stuff, although in a more attenuated form ; and that the passage from the one 
universe to the other was effected at certain points by what are called 
luminiferous bridges of aether. At this point you find that Professor 
Clifford, in the Fortnightly Revieiv, takes up the matter. 
Eev. J. J. Coxhead. — I rise for the purpose of making some remarks 
upon this subject, for without doubt the book entitled “the Unseen 
Universe” expresses opiuions of a special character, which probably many 
members of an Institute of this kind would not hold. As regards the 
general purpose of the book, others more able than myself may be de- 
sirous of expressing an opinion ; hence my remarks shall be brief. The 
first thing that struck me on reading the book was that it was one of those 
works of which we have great need in these days, if we do not wish our 
opinions on the most important subjects to exist in our minds in a very 
confused form. Most of us are believers in revelation and in the traditional 
creeds of Christianity. Most of us are believers in the immortality of 
the soul and in the reality of an unseen spiritual universe replete with 
life. But of late days a school of philosophers has sprung up of great im- 
portance as to their intellectual acquirements and the amount of knowledge 
they possess. I will not say that this school has thrown considerable 
doubt on these old traditions and beliefs, but it has nevertheless advanced 
facts which, unless they are to be refuted, will certainly throw con- 
siderable hesitation and diffidence into that sort of certitude which we 
have hitherto possessed. When we hear a man like the late Mr. 1' owell 
Buxton, in the interesting thoughts he has left behind him, stating that 
there can be no doubt whatever that the souls and bodies of men are to 
be regarded as one whole, and that in our thoughts, the soul and the 
mind and the intellect of man cannot be distinguished from his physical 
constitution, it seems to me that if we are to preserve intact our own 
belief, such a position needs to bo met and confuted. Of course you are 
all aware of those theories to which I allude, namely, that there is not a 
single thought that passes through the human mind, not a single emotion 
of our soul, not a single act of our will, in fact, no phenomenon whatever, by 
which we can relate our consciousness to ourselves, which does not de- 
