Wichita eagle., 1889-03-01
ORIGIN OF THE TERM "AGNosT1C."

Prof Huxley in the Nineteenth Century.
When | reached intellectual maturity
and began to ask myself whether l was
an atheist, theist or pantheist, ma
terialist or an idealist, christian or a
freethinker, found that the more !
learned and reflected the less ready was
the answer, until at last l came to the
conclusion that | had neither art nor
part with any of these denominations
except the last. the one thing in whic b
most of these good people were agreed
was the one thing which in which l diff
fered from them. They were quite snre
they had attained a certain ''gnosis'
had, more or less successfully solved the
problem of existence, while l was quite
sure l had not, and had a pretty strong
conviction that the problem was insolu-
BILE: and with Hume and Kant on my
side l could not think myself presump-
tuous in holding fast by that opinion.
Like Dante
Mel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita
Mi ritrovai per una selva Oscuro,
but, unlike Dante, cannot add
Che la diritta via era smarrita.
On the contrary, I had, and have, the
"verace via'-the straight road; and
the dark depths of a wild and tangled
forest. And though l have found Loop
ards and lions in the path; though have
made abundant acquaintance with the
hungry wolf, that with privy paw de-
YOURS apace and nothing said," as an
other great poet says of the ravening
beast; and though no friendly specter
has even yet offered his guidance, was,
and am, minded to go straight on, until
1 either come out on the other side of the
wood, or find that there is no other side
to it, at least none attainabe by me.
This was my situation when | had the
good fortune to find place among the
members Of that remarkable confrater-
nifty of antagonists, long since deceased,
but of green and pious memory, the
Metaphysical society. Every variety of
philosophical and theological opinion
was represented there, and expressed
itself with entire openness; most of my
colleagues were lists of some sort or an
other; and, how kindly and friendly
they might be, l, the man without
a rag of a label to cover him
self with, could not fail to
have some of the uneasy feelings
which must have beset the historical
fox which, after leaving the trap in
which his tail remained, he presented
himself to his normally elongated COM
panions. So l took thought. and in
vented what l conceived to be the ap-
propriate title of ''agnostic." 1t came
into my head as suggestively antithetic
to the '.gnostic' of church history. who
who professed to know so much about
the very things of which was ignorast,
and took the earliest opportunity of
parading it at our society, to show that
|, too, had tail, like the other foxes.
To my great satisfaction, to term took
and when the Spectator had stood god
father to it, any suspicious in the minds
of respectable people, that a knowledge
of its parentage might have awakened,
was, of course, completely lulled.
That Is the history of the origin of the
terms ''agnostic'' and "agnosticism, !"
and it will be observed that it does not
quite agree with the confident assertion
of the reverend principal OF Kings col
lege. that 1.-The adoption OF the term ag
nostic is only an attempt to shift the is
sue, and that it involves mere evasion"
in relation to the church and Chris
tianity.