The Portland daily press., 1874-10-30

ious element in life is about as feeble non-
sense as that in which Mr.. Matthew Arnold
INDUCES in his 'Literature and Dogma"
With Mr.. Arnold religion is morality warmed
and heightened by emotion. Mr.. Tyndall
speaks of the ''immovable basis OF the relig-
ious sentiment in the emotional nature of
man." What does he mean? Does he
mean that there is the possibility OF religious
sentiment in man who does not believe in
the existence of God as his creator, preserver,
benefactor, father, governor-the source and
sum of all moral perfections? If he does,
then the less he talks about religion the bet
ter, for he can only do so to manifest his
childish lack of comprehension of the sub
ject. If man is evolved by the potency of
matter-if there is no soul within him that
bears filial relation to the great soul of the
universe, and will exist when its material
dwelling goes back to dust; if there is no Or
daining intelligence behind all moral law: if
there is no object of worship, or faith, or
trust, or love, OF reverence to be apprehend-
ed by the heart-what mockery is it 10 talk
about the religious sentiment! We are
assured by Mr.. Tyndall that the region of
emotion is the proper spere of religion. The
statement shows how shallow his apprehen-
siOns are of this great subject. A religion
which touches neither motives, character nor
conduct may well pass for little with any
man, and we really do not see why Mr.. Tyn-
dali should pay any attention TO it whatever.
Even science can be ignorant of the simplest
things, and it certainly does not become it to
be scpercilious or contemptuous in its treat
ment of those who question its dicta when it
invades the region of their faith.
The question will naturally occur 10 many
minds, whether Mr.. Tyndall gives anything
worthy to take the place of that which he
undertakes to read out of our beliefs. Does
his materialistic view dignity human life and
destiny, tend to enlarge and strengthen the
motives which bind us to virtue, give us COM
fort in afiietion, add new meaning to exist
ence and experience? Not at all. He brings
US out of matter; he gives us back to matter.
He makes us indebted to matter for all our
joys and for all our sorrows, and places us to
walk on level with brute life, only our
heads being above it. That is all, and he
must not be disappointed to see the Christian
world turning away from his conclusions,
with content in its faith and pity for him.
He knows Eothing on this subject beyond the
rest of us. He offers us material universe
that made itself, stamped with laws that
made themselves, and informed with the
promise and the potency of all forms of life.
This is his speculation, and it is worth just
as much as the apple woman's on the corner,
and no more. He offers it to those who be-
maker ;Ithat nothing was ever designed with
out designer; that no law was ever given
without law-giver-in short, that power
and intelligence necessarily precede all re-
suits of power that betray intelligence
through the analogies apprehended by the
human mind. We do not see how his con-
fession can do more than prove how utterly
incompetent. the pure scientist is to appre-
hend rerigion and its fundamental truths
Dr.. j. G. Holland, in Scribner's for Novena-
ber