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nothing except what no one would dispute : first, that we are, and every 
one’s reason will grant that ; and next, that everybody praises and blames 
cle facto, rightly or wrongly. Those are my only assumptions ; and from 
those two assumptions I educed the whole of the foundations on which I 
believe the essentials of religion must depend. I have not gone into minor 
details of the Christian system, though I have glanced at them in the last 
two pages of to-night’s paper ; but I have distinctly addressed those pages 
ad fideles, because I did not connect them with the main argument, and it 
was scarcely to be expected that Dr. Bigg would have fastened on this post- 
script and left the main argument alone altogether. The whole of his 
argument referred to my last two pages, ad fideles 
Mr. Reddie. — When Dr. Bigg’s speech is before you, I am certain you 
will not find it to be as you suppose. 
Dr. Irons. — I wholly deny that there is any contradiction between the 
intellect and the moral nature 
Mr. Bow. — I understood Dr. Bigg to say that Dr. Irons had been obliged 
to fall back on the idea of causation. 
Mr. Reddie. — Not quite that, but only that the essential principle of 
causation was involved in Dr. Irons’s argument along with that of man’s 
free-agency. 
Dr. Irons. — I only deny that I assumed it. It came out really as a, con- 
sequence of my assumption of the fact of praise and blame, and that is a fact 
within everybody’s knowledge and experience which is not and cannot be 
denied. (Hear, hear.) 
The Meeting was then adjourned. 
