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them be discovered when they have gone out into the world. In his second 
paragraph Professor Lias says : — 
“ Canon Kingsley has told us his belief, that the literature and philosophy 
of Greece were as much a part of God’s design for man’s elevation as the law 
of Moses, and I have no wish to contradict him.” 
Now, in a sense, of course, this must be true. Granted that God has any 
great design in His government of this world, and of course everything that 
happens must conduce to that end more or less ; but, in the special sense in 
which I suppose this passage is written, I apprehend that the literature and 
philosophy of Greece had nothing to do with that design. Then, in the 3rd 
paragraph of the paper there is a syllogism which is a little inverted. The 
object of the paper, Professor Lias says, is — 
“ To show that Christianity has made good her pretensions ; that she has 
actually introduced into the world the most effective instrument for the 
moral and spiritual improvement of man which has ever been brought to 
bear upon him, and since that which elevates the individual cannot be 
without its effect upon the race, it will satisfy all the conditions of the inquiry 
if we show that Christianity has actually produced an extraordinary change 
in the condition of the world.” ° 
Now, it does not follow that, even if Christianity has produced “an extra- 
ordinary change in the condition of the world,” it has produced a change in 
each individual. The proposition, that what influences an individual must 
influence the race, may be true, but it does not follow that what influences 
the race influences each individual. Of course if, as Professor Lias says in 
his 4th paragraph, “ the most cursory glance at history ” is sufficient to prove 
all that is stated in that paragraph, it would not have been necessary to 
write this paper. In his 6th paragraph, Professor Lias makes a point of the 
rapid promulgation of Christianity, as if that were peculiar to the Christian 
religion, but I may remind the members of the Institute that, in a paper, 
which was read before us some time ago by Bishop Claughton, on Buddhism, 
it was stated that Buddhism had spread as rapidly in Asia as Christianity. 
Then, in a note to the 7th paragraph, Professor Lias draws a distinction 
between the immorality of Messalina and the conduct of Theodora. They 
were neither of them very creditable specimens of womankind, I should 
think. But Professor Lias says : — 
Theodora is not accused, even by Procopius, of disgracing the Imperial 
throne with the vices of a Messalina, as described in revolting terms in 
the sixth Satire of Juvenal.” 
But if the stories told of her can bo believed, before she ascended that 
throne she at least equalled her predecessor in vice. Then, in the 9th para- 
graph of the paper I find a proposition of a startling character. Professor 
Lias says : — 
“We find that here, as elsewhere, the rule holds good, that whatever is 
done for conscience’ sake, however ill-informed that conscience may be, will, 
in the end, be productive of good rather than evil.” 
