300 
of doubt which is not altogether honest. We must not be 
misled by a tone of earnestness which, if not exactly 
assumed, may be the result of self-deception. It is the 
fashion in this age to display at least a certain appearance of 
earnestness ; but a man may easily persuade himself that he 
possesses that quality when he has it not. And in a time like 
our own, which is distracted by the variety of its studies, and 
overwhelmed by the amount of its evanescent literature, the 
habit of dealing superficially with all questions, however 
important, is one that is growing, and is likely to grow 
among us. It is a bad habit at all times, but it is especially 
dangerous when it invades the province of religion. That 
man incurs no light responsibility who without full considera- 
tion disturbs the religious convictions of his neighbours. It 
is no light responsibility, even when we are sure that they 
are wrong ; it is a very heavy one unless we have excellent 
reasons for being sure that we are right. Before we put 
before the world that which, if accepted, will shake old 
beliefs to their foundations, we ought thoroughly to test and 
examine the grounds for what we say. Random asser- 
tions, like thistle-down, if given to the winds, will spread 
widely abroad, and will produce an abundant crop of weeds 
instead of a harvest of useful grain. And as a rule the 
works now published against the Christian religion are a diffu- 
sion of "trifles light as air/'’ rather than of weighty and solid 
investigations into the grounds of Christian belief. They 
have a rapid circulation, and then they fall down and die ; 
but not without doing their fatal work of destroying conviction 
iu many a heart. .Men will imbibe the poison, who will not 
take the trouble to employ the antidote. Such books are 
eagerly read, because they have a certain gloss of novelty, 
and often, it is to be feared, a flippancy to which replies on 
so solemn a subject could not possibly condescend. They 
produce conviction, such as it is, because men have neither 
the time nor the inclination to inquire into the truth of 
assertions so boldly hazarded. And the Bashi-Bazouks of 
scepticism,* the men who are glad to get rid of Christianity 
because it is a check to their evil desires, swell the ranks of 
its antagonists, and give an additional point to the cry, See 
how many are the opponents of Christianity — how few are 
its defenders ! 
* I am not indebted to Professor Huxley for this expression. It was 
written before the lecture of his, in which a similar expression occurs, was 
delivered. 
