the eternal interests of a larger number of immortal beings ; 
and also in proportion as it extends more deeply, and therefore 
in the view of the moral philosopher and the politician, shakes 
the very basis of society, the fundamental distinctions of right 
and wrong, the accountability of man, and therefore the very 
existence of civilization. 
If such views may be decried as the panic utterance of the 
divine whose craft is in danger, none can well take exception 
to them when no less a personage than the Prime Minister of 
England has thought it his duty to enforce them on his 
countrymen with all the weight of his position, and the power 
of his eloquence.* “It is not now/ ; said he, “only the 
Christian Church, or only the Holy Scripture, or only Chris- 
tianity, which is attacked. The disposition is boldly pro-v^ 
claimed to deal alike with root and branch, and to snap utterly 
the ties which, under the still venerable name of religion, unite 
man with the unseen world, and lighten the struggles and the 
woes of life by the hope of a better land. .... Upon the 
ground of what is termed evolution, God is relieved of the 
labour of creation; in the name of unchangeable laws He is 
discharged from governing the world, and His function of 
judgment is also dispensed with, as justice and benevolence 
are held to forbid that men should hereafter be called to strict 
account for actions which, under these unchangeable laws, 
they may have committed/'' 
This is the grave responsible utterance of the Prime Minister 
of England. It is a sufficient justification in itself for the 
existence and the action of this Society; for it indicates a 
special line of study, investigation, criticism, and controversy 
in which believing men of science may unite, and in uniting, 
encourage each other to resist this appalling spirit of destruc- 
tion. We do not pretend to possess the suffrages of all such 
persons. Many may think they can do their part more effec- 
tually in an independent position. Nor would we dispute their 
judgment if they will manfully stand their ground. Still a 
very important place is left for combined action, and that place 
this Institute is calculated to maintain. 
Those who are familiar with the men and things now in 
debate will need no more. But for more general use it is 
necessary to come down from general charges to specific in- 
dictments. The case for the necessity of our operations is 
this, that the very foundations of society are being cut away. 
It is no mere question of theologians or philosophers disputing 
* Address delivered at the Liverpool College, Dec. 21, 1872, by the Right 
Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P. 
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