New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-04-21
ocndition which makes even our city streets
look spotless by comparison.
cowIRD1Y AGYoSTfcTSM

r1rdsr this carlton Mr.. w. II. Mallock,, in the
o,,,rent number of sThe Fortnightly Review"
at.acks Professor Huxley--snd through bin the
hole scbool of Agnostics-in trenehant ana
,aaI,, ro,,oned review of his position. no better
..oson,at,on has thus far been made OF the weak
-, .La Agrostie creed, and 10 deserves 10 be
o.Iaod not only because Of its intrinsic force
oS eoconcv INIT because Professor Haxleys re-
go, will no awaited with great deal OF IN
!oIuU'i "a our,osity. Mr. MallOck accuses Ag-
~ coyyardice not because IL refuses
=. Relieve enoprh. but because, tired by It's own
stou6ard Il refuses to deny enough ne pro-
noses 70 show that Professor huAleyb AshoS-
,ic,sm is cownrdly, not because u docs hoV uAre
% affirm the authority Of Christ ouC because ~
does not dare 10 deny the meaning anu tue re"hy
90 dptvn lie then cites Professor 'luAiey snu
A., Herbert Spencer rs holding the posiuon 'u"s
Tho sense Of duty ought TO gulde anu govern
mon notwithstanding their acoeptance Oh Vne
Nc+nu Of Science that nothing con DO KNOWN VI
God or OF the meaning Of the nmVerse' w VI "ny
t,,uro state Of existence. Mr.. ManocN pe."nen%y
os,rs what in the circumstances, Che hsnoo,i .s
moan by saying that the sense OF o0S ousNV
10 control the world. ,,., =. a..
Professor Huxley admits THAI tne ueui"i Vi oAe
bases Of religion affects mans who're eoncep'iVn
~ lifeo that through such denial INC DeHau'S W
bfe NAV be destroyed and It's energies p"r@lyIeu
PRECISELY 80; and among the conceptions anecee"
ard changed and the energies psraVSeo' u "'e
conce ption Of O life beyond this, ana Che energy
which Is expended in the performance Oh auty'
Tho Aenostics, indeed, assert that some suDs'i-
,utep for the Christian religion, genuine enough
and worthy enough to replace it. Will arise. oo
,o the only religion proposed Is the socaileo re-
boion OF Humanity; but that is almost heroeiy
ossoiled by Professor Huxley himself, tor ne ms
written: when the Positivists order men TO
worsbip Humanity-that is TO say, 70 adore tne
,,aneralized conception OF men, as they ever have
been. and probably ever will bel must reply TINT
could lust as soon bow down ana
worship the generalized oonce ption OF
wilderness Of apes" What, then, is 10
no the ACnostic religionP Mr. Mallock says.
and goes far toward proving, that IT consists In
dependence upon that duty which Christiamy
alone has made influential and reasonable, ana
which. upon the denial OF God and purpose IN
ute ceases TO possess any significance, and obVi-
ously can no longer be appealed 10 as the motive
Of conduct Moreover the idea OF duty Is not de-
riyable from Agnosticisrn, with which doctrine u
has no affiliations. For II there be no God, ana
nseessty is the final law OF life, to what concelv-
able end should men devote themselves to SELL
denial self-sacrice and thought for Others in any
way9
Part of Mr. Msloek's interesting paper is occn-
MED In demonstrating the impossibility OF baslng
religion upon contemplation Of the Unknowaole-
the mysterious All. lie argues that no sense OF
d,youtness can spring from such contemplation
Neither awe nor fear-perhapS not even wonder
.yould result, he thinks, and II there Is any won
der involved In the matter at ALL IL Is nothing Dut
wonder a. our own ignorance" There ore other
troublesome questions for Professor Huxley TO
answer. For instance, how can an Agnostc aim
TO play his right Tart in the world seeing that
from his point Of view IL Is impossible Tor Nun ever
20 know what his right part in the world is-or
even whether there IL any right part IN the worlp
for him 10 pby7 The Professor cannot derive his
conception OF duty from human experience for, aT-
cording 20 him, men have always been doing tho
very worst things in the worst possible why's, and
they arc in the aggregate no more worthy OF re-
spect than "a wilderness Of apes" But the fact
is that the Agnostics practically admit the imposSi-
bilty of deriving any rule Of conduct from the
mentions tho hold by and In talking OF duty NJ
all they are borrowins ritual conceptions from
the religion they affect TO contemn This Is GET
,ainly n strong point and Mr.. Mallock presses the
aropnent home with characteristic vigor and abi-
ty. No doubt Professor Huxley will have answer,
hut u is not probable TINT he or my OF his school
win succeed in showing that AgnoSticisrn Is capo-
bic OF afYording any other ruiz Of life than TINT
which the Spirit who always Denies as Goethe
puts IL, represents and illustrates
@-------------=
uOT TN CURE SLEEPLESSNFSS