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diff --git a/2632-h/2632-h.htm b/2632-h/2632-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..53c702b --- /dev/null +++ b/2632-h/2632-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,1562 @@ +<?xml version="1.0" encoding="us-ascii"?> + +<!DOCTYPE html + PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd" > + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en"> + <head> + <title> + The Lights of the Church and The Light Of Science, by Thomas Henry Huxley + </title> + <style type="text/css" xml:space="preserve"> + + body { margin:5%; background:#faebd0; text-align:justify} + P { text-indent: 1em; margin-top: .25em; margin-bottom: .25em; } + H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%; } + hr { width: 50%; text-align: center;} + .foot { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; text-indent: -3em; font-size: 90%; } + blockquote {font-size: 97%; font-style: italic; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;} + .mynote {background-color: #DDE; color: #000; padding: .5em; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 95%;} + .toc { margin-left: 10%; margin-bottom: .75em;} + .toc2 { margin-left: 20%;} + div.fig { display:block; margin:0 auto; text-align:center; } + div.middle { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; } + .figleft {float: left; margin-left: 0%; margin-right: 1%;} + .figright {float: right; margin-right: 0%; margin-left: 1%;} + .pagenum {display:inline; font-size: 70%; font-style:normal; + margin: 0; padding: 0; position: absolute; right: 1%; + text-align: right;} + pre { font-style: italic; font-size: 90%; margin-left: 10%;} + +</style> + </head> + <body> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Lights of the Church and the Light of +Science, by Thomas Henry Huxley + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Lights of the Church and the Light of Science + Essay #6 from "Science and Hebrew Tradition" + +Author: Thomas Henry Huxley + +Release Date: December 3, 2008 [EBook #2632] +Last Updated: January 22, 2013 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LIGHTS OF THE CHURCH *** + + + + +Produced by D. R. Thompson, and David Widger + + + + + +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <h1> + THE LIGHTS OF THE CHURCH AND THE LIGHT OF SCIENCE + </h1> + <h3> + ESSAY #6 FROM "SCIENCE AND HEBREW TRADITION" + </h3> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <h2> + By Thomas Henry Huxley + </h2> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <table summary="" border="3" cellpadding="4"> + <tbody> + <tr> + <td> + <a + href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/2631/2631-h/2631-h.htm">Previous + Volume</a> + </td> + </tr> + </tbody> + </table> + <p> + <br /> <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_FOOT"> FOOTNOTES: </a> + </p> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <p> + There are three ways of regarding any account of past occurrences, whether + delivered to us orally or recorded in writing. + </p> + <p> + The narrative may be exactly true. That is to say, the words, taken in + their natural sense, and interpreted according to the rules of grammar, + may convey to the mind of the hearer, or of the reader an idea precisely + correspondent with one which would have remained in the mind of a witness. + For example, the statement that King Charles the First was beheaded at + Whitehall on the 30th day of January 1649, is as exactly true as any + proposition in mathematics or physics; no one doubts that any person of + sound faculties, properly placed, who was present at Whitehall throughout + that day, and who used his eyes, would have seen the King's head cut off; + and that there would have remained in his mind an idea of that occurrence + which he would have put into words of the same value as those which we use + to express it. + </p> + <p> + Or the narrative may be partly true and partly false. Thus, some histories + of the time tell us what the King said, and what Bishop Juxon said; or + report royalist conspiracies to effect a rescue; or detail the motives + which induced the chiefs of the Commonwealth to resolve that the King + should die. One account declares that the King knelt at a high block, + another that he lay down with his neck on a mere plank. And there are + contemporary pictorial representations of both these modes of procedure. + Such narratives, while veracious as to the main event, may and do exhibit + various degrees of unconscious and conscious misrepresentation, + suppression, and invention, till they become hardly distinguishable from + pure fictions. Thus, they present a transition to narratives of a third + class, in which the fictitious element predominates. Here, again, there + are all imaginable gradations, from such works as Defoe's quasi-historical + account of the Plague year, which probably gives a truer conception of + that dreadful time than any authentic history, through the historical + novel, drama, and epic, to the purely phantasmal creations of imaginative + genius, such as the old "Arabian Nights" or the modern "Shaving of + Shagpat." It is not strictly needful for my present purpose that I should + say anything about narratives which are professedly fictitious. Yet it may + be well, perhaps, if I disclaim any intention of derogating from their + value, when I insist upon the paramount necessity of recollecting that + there is no sort of relation between the ethical, or the aesthetic, or + even the scientific importance of such works, and their worth as + historical documents. Unquestionably, to the poetic artist, or even to the + student of psychology, "Hamlet" and "Macbeth" may be better instructors + than all the books of a wilderness of professors of aesthetics or of moral + philosophy. But, as evidence of occurrences in Denmark, or in Scotland, at + the times and places indicated, they are out of court; the profoundest + admiration for them, the deepest gratitude for their influence, are + consistent with the knowledge that, historically speaking, they are + worthless fables, in which any foundation of reality that may exist is + submerged beneath the imaginative superstructure. + </p> + <p> + At present, however, I am not concerned to dwell upon the importance of + fictitious literature and the immensity of the work which it has effected + in the education of the human race. I propose to deal with the much more + limited inquiry: Are there two other classes of consecutive narratives (as + distinct from statements of individual facts), or only one? Is there any + known historical work which is throughout exactly true, or is there not? + In the case of the great majority of histories the answer is not doubtful: + they are all only partially true. Even those venerable works which bear + the names of some of the greatest of ancient Greek and Roman writers, and + which have been accepted by generation after generation, down to modern + times, as stories of unquestionable truth, have been compelled by + scientific criticism, after a long battle, to descend to the common level, + and to confession to a large admixture of error. I might fairly take this + for granted; but it may be well that I should entrench myself behind the + very apposite words of a historical authority who is certainly not + obnoxious to even a suspicion of sceptical tendencies. <a + href="#linknote-1" name="linknoteref-1" id="linknoteref-1"><small>1</small></a> + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Time was—and that not very long ago—when all the relations of + ancient authors concerning the old world were received with a + ready belief; and an unreasoning and uncritical faith accepted + with equal satisfaction the narrative of the campaigns of Caesar + and of the doings of Romulus, the account of Alexander's marches + and of the conquests of Semiramis. We can most of us remember + when, in this country, the whole story of regal Rome, and even + the legend of the Trojan settlement in Latium, were seriously + placed before boys as history, and discoursed of as + unhesitatingly and in as dogmatic a tone as the tale of the + Catilline Conspiracy or the Conquest of Britain.... + + But all this is now changed. The last century has seen the birth + and growth of a new science—the Science of Historical + Criticism.... The whole world of profane history has been + revolutionised.... +</pre> + <p> + If these utterances were true when they fell from the lips of a Bampton + lecturer in 1859, with how much greater force do they appeal to us now, + when the immense labours of the generation now passing away constitute one + vast illustration of the power and fruitfulness of scientific methods of + investigation in history, no less than in all other departments of + knowledge. + </p> + <p> + At the present time, I suppose, there is no one who doubts that histories + which appertain to any other people than the Jews, and their spiritual + progeny in the first century, fall within the second class of the three + enumerated. Like Goethe's Autobiography, they might all be entitled + "Wahrheit und Dichtung"—"Truth and Fiction." The proportion of the + two constituents changes indefinitely; and the quality of the fiction + varies through the whole gamut of unveracity. But "Dichtung" is always + there. For the most acute and learned of historians cannot remedy the + imperfections of his sources of information; nor can the most impartial + wholly escape the influence of the "personal equation" generated by his + temperament and by his education. Therefore, from the narratives of + Herodotus to those set forth in yesterday's "Times," all history is to be + read subject to the warning that fiction has its share therein. The modern + vast development of fugitive literature cannot be the unmitigated evil + that some do vainly say it is, since it has put an end to the popular + delusion of less press-ridden times, that what appears in print must be + true. We should rather hope that some beneficent influence may create + among the erudite a like healthy suspicion of manuscripts and + inscriptions, however ancient; for a bulletin may lie, even though it be + written in cuneiform characters. Hotspur's starling, that was to be taught + to speak nothing but "Mortimer" into the ears of King Henry the Fourth, + might be a useful inmate of every historian's library, if "Fiction" were + substituted for the name of Harry Percy's friend. + </p> + <p> + But it was the chief object of the lecturer to the congregation gathered + in St. Mary's, Oxford, thirty-one years ago, to prove to them, by evidence + gathered with no little labour and marshalled with much skill, that one + group of historical works was exempt from the general rule; and that the + narratives contained in the canonical Scriptures are free from any + admixture of error. With justice and candour, the lecturer impresses upon + his hearers that the special distinction of Christianity, among the + religions of the world, lies in its claim to be historical; to be surely + founded upon events which have happened, exactly as they are declared to + have happened in its sacred books; which are true, that is, in the sense + that the statement about the execution of Charles the First is true. + Further, it is affirmed that the New Testament presupposes the historical + exactness of the Old Testament; that the points of contact of "sacred" and + "profane" history are innumerable; and that the demonstration of the + falsity of the Hebrew records, especially in regard to those narratives + which are assumed to be true in the New Testament, would be fatal to + Christian theology. + </p> + <p> + My utmost ingenuity does not enable me to discover a flaw in the argument + thus briefly summarised. I am fairly at a loss to comprehend how any one, + for a moment, can doubt that Christian theology must stand or fall with + the historical trustworthiness of the Jewish Scriptures. The very + conception of the Messiah, or Christ, is inextricably interwoven with + Jewish history; the identification of Jesus of Nazareth with that Messiah + rests upon the interpretation of passages of the Hebrew Scriptures which + have no evidential value unless they possess the historical character + assigned to them. If the covenant with Abraham was not made; if + circumcision and sacrifices were not ordained by Jahveh; if the "ten + words" were not written by God's hand on the stone tables; if Abraham is + more or less a mythical hero, such as Theseus; the story of the Deluge a + fiction; that of the Fall a legend; and that of the creation the dream of + a seer; if all these definite and detailed narratives of apparently real + events have no more value as history than have the stories of the regal + period of Rome—what is to be said about the Messianic doctrine, + which is so much less clearly enunciated? And what about the authority of + the writers of the books of the New Testament, who, on this theory, have + not merely accepted flimsy fictions for solid truths, but have built the + very foundations of Christian dogma upon legendary quicksands? + </p> + <p> + But these may be said to be merely the carpings of that carnal reason + which the profane call common sense; I hasten, therefore, to bring up the + forces of unimpeachable ecclesiastical authority in support of my + position. In a sermon preached last December, in St. Paul's Cathedral, <a + href="#linknote-2" name="linknoteref-2" id="linknoteref-2"><small>2</small></a> + Canon Liddon declares:— + </p> + <p> + "For Christians it will be enough to know that our Lord Jesus Christ set + the seal of His infallible sanction on the whole of the Old Testament. He + found the Hebrew canon as we have it in our hands to-day, and He treated + it as an authority which was above discussion. Nay more: He went out of + His way—if we may reverently speak thus—to sanction not a few + portions of it which modern scepticism rejects. When He would warn His + hearers against the dangers of spiritual relapse, He bids them remember + 'Lot's wife.' <a href="#linknote-3" name="linknoteref-3" id="linknoteref-3"><small>3</small></a> + When He would point out how worldly engagements may blind the soul to a + coming judgment, He reminds them how men ate, and drank, and married, and + were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and + the Flood came and destroyed them all. <a href="#linknote-4" + name="linknoteref-4" id="linknoteref-4"><small>4</small></a> If He would + put His finger on a fact in past Jewish history which, by its admitted + reality, would warrant belief in His own coming Resurrection, He points to + Jonah's being three days and three nights in the whale's belly (p. 23)." + <a href="#linknote-5" name="linknoteref-5" id="linknoteref-5"><small>5</small></a> + </p> + <p> + The preacher proceeds to brush aside the common—I had almost said + vulgar—apologetic pretext that Jesus was using <i>ad hominem</i> + arguments, or "accommodating" his better knowledge to popular ignorance, + as well as to point out the inadmissibility of the other alternative, that + he shared the popular ignorance. And to those who hold the latter view + sarcasm is dealt out with no niggard hand. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + But they will find it difficult to persuade mankind that, if He + could be mistaken on a matter of such strictly religious + importance as the value of the sacred literature of His + countrymen, He can be safely trusted about anything else. The + trustworthiness of the Old Testament is, in fact, inseparable + from the trustworthiness of our Lord Jesus Christ; and if we + believe that He is the true Light of the world, we shall close + our ears against suggestions impairing the credit of those + Jewish Scriptures which have received the stamp of His Divine + authority. (p. 25) +</pre> + <p> + Moreover, I learn from the public journals that a brilliant and + sharply-cut view of orthodoxy, of like hue and pattern, was only the other + day exhibited in that great theological kaleidoscope, the pulpit of St. + Mary's, recalling the time so long passed by, when a Bampton lecturer, in + the same place, performed the unusual feat of leaving the faith of + old-fashioned Christians undisturbed. + </p> + <p> + Yet many things have happened in the intervening thirty-one years. The + Bampton lecturer of 1859 had to grapple only with the infant Hercules of + historical criticism; and he is now a full-grown athlete, bearing on his + shoulders the spoils of all the lions that have stood in his path. Surely + a martyr's courage, as well as a martyr's faith, is needed by any one who, + at this time, is prepared to stand by the following plea for the veracity + of the Pentateuch:— + </p> + <p> + "Adam, according to the Hebrew original, was for 243 years contemporary + with Methuselah, who conversed for a hundred years with Shem. Shem was for + fifty years contemporary with Jacob, who probably saw Jochebed, Moses's + mother. Thus, Moses might by oral tradition have obtained the history of + Abraham, and even of the Deluge, at third hand; and that of the Temptation + and the Fall at fifth hand.... + </p> + <p> + "If it be granted—as it seems to be—that the great and + stirring events in a nation's life will, under ordinary circumstances, be + remembered (apart from all written memorials) for the space of 150 years, + being handed down through five generations, it must be allowed (even on + more human grounds) that the account which Moses gives of the Temptation + and the Fall is to be depended upon, if it passed through no more than + four hands between him and Adam." <a href="#linknote-6" + name="linknoteref-6" id="linknoteref-6"><small>6</small></a> + </p> + <p> + If "the trustworthiness of our Lord Jesus Christ" is to stand or fall with + the belief in the sudden transmutation of the chemical components of a + woman's body into sodium chloride, or on the "admitted reality" of Jonah's + ejection, safe and sound, on the shores of the Levant, after three days' + sea-journey in the stomach of a gigantic marine animal, what possible + pretext can there be for even hinting a doubt as to the precise truth of + the longevity attributed to the Patriarchs? Who that has swallowed the + camel of Jonah's journey will be guilty of the affectation of straining at + such a historical gnat—nay, midge—as the supposition that the + mother of Moses was told the story of the Flood by Jacob; who had it + straight from Shem; who was on friendly terms with Methuselah; who knew + Adam quite well? + </p> + <p> + Yet, by the strange irony of things, the illustrious brother of the divine + who propounded this remarkable theory, has been the guide and foremost + worker of that band of investigators of the records of Assyria and of + Babylonia, who have opened to our view, not merely a new chapter, but a + new volume of primeval history, relating to the very people who have the + most numerous points of contact with the life of the ancient Hebrews. Now, + whatever imperfections may yet obscure the full value of the Mesopotamian + records, everything that has been clearly ascertained tends to the + conclusion that the assignment of no more than 4000 years to the period + between the time of the origin of mankind and that of Augustus Caesar, is + wholly inadmissible. Therefore the Biblical chronology, which Canon + Rawlinson trusted so implicitly in 1859, is relegated by all serious + critics to the domain of fable. + </p> + <p> + But if scientific method, operating in the region of history, of + philology, of archaeology, in the course of the last thirty or forty + years, has become thus formidable to the theological dogmatist, what may + not be said about scientific method working in the province of physical + science? For, if it be true that the Canonical Scriptures have innumerable + points of contact with civil history, it is no less true that they have + almost as many with natural history; and their accuracy is put to the test + as severely by the latter as by the former. The origin of the present + state of the heavens and the earth is a problem which lies strictly within + the province of physical science; so is that of the origin of man among + living things; so is that of the physical changes which the earth has + undergone since the origin of man; so is that of the origin of the various + races and nations of men, with all their varieties of language and + physical conformation. Whether the earth moves round the sun or the + contrary; whether the bodily and mental diseases of men and animals are + caused by evil spirits or not; whether there is such an agency as + witchcraft or not—all these are purely scientific questions; and to + all of them the Canonical Scriptures profess to give true answers. And + though nothing is more common than the assumption that these books come + into conflict only with the speculative part of modern physical science, + no assumption can have less foundation. + </p> + <p> + The antagonism between natural knowledge and the Pentateuch would be as + great if the speculations of our time had never been heard of. It arises + out of contradiction upon matters of fact. The books of ecclesiastical + authority declare that certain events happened in a certain fashion; the + books of scientific authority say they did not. As it seems that this + unquestionable truth has not yet penetrated among many of those who speak + and write on these subjects, it may be useful to give a full illustration + of it. And for that purpose I propose to deal, at some length, with the + narrative of the Noachian Deluge given in Genesis. + </p> + <p> + The Bampton lecturer in 1859, and the Canon of St. Paul's in 1890, are in + full agreement that this history is true, in the sense in which I have + defined historical truth. The former is of opinion that the account + attributed to Berosus records a tradition— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + not drawn from the Hebrew record, much less the foundation of + that record; yet coinciding with it in the most remarkable way. + The Babylonian version is tricked out with a few extravagances, + as the monstrous size of the vessel and the translation of + Xisuthros; but otherwise it is the Hebrew history <i>down to its + minutiae.</i> (p. 64). +</pre> + <p> + Moreover, correcting Niebuhr, the Bampton lecturer points out that the + narrative of Berosus implies the universality of the Flood. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + It is plain that the waters are represented as prevailing above + the tops of the loftiest mountains in Armenia—a height which + must have been seen to involve the submersion of all the + countries with which the Babylonians were acquainted (p. 66). +</pre> + <p> + I may remark, in passing, that many people think the size of Noah's ark + "monstrous," considering the probable state of the art of shipbuilding + only 1600 years after the origin of man; while others are so unreasonable + as to inquire why the translation of Enoch is less an "extravagance" than + that of Xisuthros. It is more important, however, to note that the + Universality of the Deluge is recognised, not merely as a part of the + story, but as a necessary consequence of some of its details. The latest + exponent of Anglican orthodoxy, as we have seen, insists upon the accuracy + of the Pentateuchal history of the Flood in a still more forcible manner. + It is cited as one of those very narratives to which the authority of the + Founder of Christianity is pledged, and upon the accuracy of which "the + trustworthiness of our Lord Jesus Christ" is staked, just as others have + staked it upon the truth of the histories of demoniac possession in the + Gospels. + </p> + <p> + Now, when those who put their trust in scientific methods of ascertaining + the truth in the province of natural history find themselves confronted + and opposed, on their own ground, by ecclesiastical pretensions to better + knowledge, it is, undoubtedly, most desirable for them to make sure that + their conclusions, whatever they may be, are well founded. And, if they + put aside the unauthorised interference with their business and relegate + the Pentateuchal history to the region of pure fiction, they are bound to + assure themselves that they do so because the plainest teachings of Nature + (apart from all doubtful speculations) are irreconcilable with the + assertions which they reject. + </p> + <p> + At the present time, it is difficult to persuade serious scientific + inquirers to occupy themselves, in any way, with the Noachian Deluge. They + look at you with a smile and a shrug, and say they have more important + matters to attend to than mere antiquarianism. But it was not so in my + youth. At that time, geologists and biologists could hardly follow to the + end any path of inquiry without finding the way blocked by Noah and his + ark, or by the first chapter of Genesis; and it was a serious matter, in + this country at any rate, for a man to be suspected of doubting the + literal truth of the Diluvial or any other Pentateuchal history. The + fiftieth anniversary of the foundation of the Geological Club (in 1824) + was, if I remember rightly, the last occasion on which the late Sir + Charles Lyell spoke to even so small a public as the members of that body. + Our veteran leader lighted up once more; and, referring to the + difficulties which beset his early efforts to create a rational science of + geology, spoke, with his wonted clearness and vigour, of the social + ostracism which pursued him after the publication of the "Principles of + Geology," in 1830, on account of the obvious tendency of that noble work + to discredit the Pentateuchal accounts of the Creation and the Deluge. If + my younger contemporaries find this hard to believe, I may refer them to a + grave book, "On the Doctrine of the Deluge," published eight years later, + and dedicated by its author to his father, the then Archbishop of York. + The first chapter refers to the treatment of the "Mosaic Deluge," by Dr. + Buckland and Mr. Lyell, in the following terms: + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Their respect for revealed religion has prevented them from + arraying themselves openly against the Scriptural account of it + —much less do they deny its truth—but they are in a great + hurry to escape from the consideration of it, and evidently + concur in the opinion of Linnaeus, that no proofs whatever of + the Deluge are to be discovered in the structure of the + earth (p. 1). +</pre> + <p> + And after an attempt to reply to some of Lyell's arguments, which it would + be cruel to reproduce, the writer continues:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + When, therefore, upon such slender grounds, it is + determined, in answer to those who insist upon its universality, + that the Mosaic Deluge must be considered a preternatural event, + far beyond the reach of philosophical inquiry; not only as to + the causes employed to produce it, but as to the effects most + likely to result from it; that determination wears an aspect of + scepticism, which, however much soever it may be unintentional + in the mind of the writer, yet cannot but produce an evil + impression on those who are already predisposed to carp and + cavil at the evidences of Revelation (pp. 8-9). +</pre> + <p> + The kindly and courteous writer of these curious passages is evidently + unwilling to make the geologists the victims of general opprobrium by + pressing the obvious consequences of their teaching home. One is therefore + pained to think of the feelings with which, if he lived so long as to + become acquainted with the "Dictionary of the Bible," he must have perused + the article "Noah," written by a dignitary of the Church for that standard + compendium and published in 1863. For the doctrine of the universality of + the Deluge is therein altogether given up; and I permit myself to hope + that a long criticism of the story from the point of view of natural + science, with which, at the request of the learned theologian who wrote + it, I supplied him, may, in some degree, have contributed towards this + happy result. + </p> + <p> + Notwithstanding diligent search, I have been unable to discover that the + universality of the Deluge has any defender left, at least among those who + have so far mastered the rudiments of natural knowledge as to be able to + appreciate the weight of evidence against it. For example, when I turned + to the "Speaker's Bible," published under the sanction of high Anglican + authority, I found the following judicial and judicious deliverance, the + skilful wording of which may adorn, but does not hide, the completeness of + the surrender of the old teaching:— + </p> + <p> + "Without pronouncing too hastily on any fair inferences from the words of + Scripture, we may reasonably say that their most natural interpretation + is, that the whole race of man had become grievously corrupted since the + faithful had intermingled with the ungodly; that the inhabited world was + consequently filled with violence, and that God had decreed to destroy all + mankind except one single family; that, therefore, all that portion of the + earth, perhaps as yet a very small portion, into which mankind had spread + was overwhelmed with water. The ark was ordained to save one faithful + family; and lest that family, on the subsidence of the waters, should find + the whole country round them a desert, a pair of all the beasts of the + land and of the fowls of the air were preserved along with them, and along + with them went forth to replenish the now desolated continent. The words + of Scripture (confirmed as they are by universal tradition) appear at + least to mean as much as this. They do not necessarily mean more." <a + href="#linknote-7" name="linknoteref-7" id="linknoteref-7"><small>7</small></a> + </p> + <p> + In the third edition of Kitto's "Cyclopaedia of Biblical Literature" + (1876), the article "Deluge," written by my friend, the present + distinguished head of the Geological Survey of Great Britain, extinguishes + the universality doctrine as thoroughly as might be expected from its + authorship; and, since the writer of the article "Noah" refers his readers + to that entitled "Deluge," it is to be supposed, notwithstanding his + generally orthodox tone, that he does not dissent from its conclusions. + Again, the writers in Herzog's "Real-Encyclopadie" (Bd. X. 1882) and in + Riehm's "Handworterbuch" (1884)—both works with a conservative + leaning—are on the same side; and Diestel, <a href="#linknote-8" + name="linknoteref-8" id="linknoteref-8"><small>8</small></a> in his full + discussion of the subject, remorselessly rejects the universality + doctrine. Even that staunch opponent of scientific rationalism—may I + say rationality?—Zockler <a href="#linknote-9" name="linknoteref-9" + id="linknoteref-9"><small>9</small></a> flinches from a distinct defence + of the thesis, any opposition to which, well within my recollection, was + howled down by the orthodox as mere "infidelity." All that, in his sore + straits, Dr. Zockler is able to do, is to pronounce a faint commendation + upon a particularly absurd attempt at reconciliation, which would make out + the Noachian Deluge to be a catastrophe which occurred at the end of the + Glacial Epoch. This hypothesis involves only the trifle of a physical + revolution of which geology knows nothing; and which, if it secured the + accuracy of the Pentateuchal writer about the fact of the Deluge, would + leave the details of his account as irreconcilable with the truths of + elementary physical science as ever. Thus I may be permitted to spare + myself and my readers the weariness of a recapitulation of the + overwhelming arguments against the universality of the Deluge, which they + will now find for themselves stated, as fully and forcibly as could be + wished, by Anglican and other theologians, whose orthodoxy and + conservative tendencies have, hitherto, been above suspicion. Yet many + fully admit (and, indeed, nothing can be plainer) that, as a matter of + fact, the whole earth known to him was inundated; nor is it less obvious + that unless all mankind, with the exception of Noah and his family, were + actually destroyed, the references to the Flood in the New Testament are + unintelligible. + </p> + <p> + But I am quite aware that the strength of the demonstration that no + universal Deluge ever took place has produced a change of front in the + army of apologetic writers. They have imagined that the substitution of + the adjective "partial" for "universal," will save the credit of the + Pentateuch, and permit them, after all, without too many blushes, to + declare that the progress of modern science only strengthens the authority + of Moses. Nowhere have I found the case of the advocates of this method of + escaping from the difficulties of the actual position better put than in + the lecture of Professor Diestel to which I have referred. After frankly + admitting that the old doctrine of universality involves physical + impossibilities, he continues:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + All these difficulties fall away as soon as we give up the + universality of the Deluge, and imagine a <i>partial</i> + flooding of the earth, say in western Asia. But have we a right + to do so? The narrative speaks of "the whole earth." But what is + the meaning of this expression? Surely not the whole surface of + the earth according to the ideas of <i>modern</i> geographers, + but, at most, according to the conceptions of the Biblical + author. This very simple conclusion, however, is never drawn by + too many readers of the Bible. But one need only cast one's eyes + over the tenth chapter of Genesis in order to become acquainted + with the geographical horizon of the Jews. In the north it was + bounded by the Black Sea and the mountains of Armenia; + extended towards the east very little beyond the Tigris; + hardly reached the apex of the Persian Gulf; passed, then, + through the middle of Arabia and the Red Sea; went southward + through Abyssinia, and then turned westward by the frontiers of + Egypt, and inclosed the easternmost islands of the + Mediterranean (p. 11). +</pre> + <p> + The justice of this observation must be admitted, no less than the further + remark that, in still earlier times, the pastoral Hebrews very probably + had yet more restricted notions of what constituted the "whole earth." + Moreover, I, for one, fully agree with Professor Diestel that the motive, + or generative incident, of the whole story is to be sought in the + occasionally excessive and desolating floods of the Euphrates and the + Tigris. + </p> + <p> + Let us, provisionally, accept the theory of a partial deluge, and try to + form a clear mental picture of the occurrence. Let us suppose that, for + forty days and forty nights, such a vast quantity of water was poured upon + the ground that the whole surface of Mesopotamia was covered by water to a + depth certainly greater, probably much greater, than fifteen cubits, or + twenty feet (Gen. vii. 20). The inundation prevails upon the earth for one + hundred and fifty days and then the flood gradually decreases, until, on + the seventeenth day of the seventh month, the ark, which had previously + floated on its surface, grounds upon the "mountains of Ararat" <a + href="#linknote-10" name="linknoteref-10" id="linknoteref-10"><small>10</small></a> + (Gen. viii. 34). Then, as Diestel has acutely pointed out ("Sintflut," p. + 13), we are to imagine the further subsidence of the flood to take place + so gradually that it was not until nearly two months and a half after this + time (that is to say, on the first day of the tenth month) that the "tops + of the mountains" became visible. Hence it follows that, if the ark drew + even as much as twenty feet of water, the level of the inundation fell + very slowly—at a rate of only a few inches a day—until the top + of the mountain on which it rested became visible. This is an amount of + movement which, if it took place in the sea, would be overlooked by + ordinary people on the shore. But the Mesopotamian plain slopes gently, + from an elevation of 500 or 600 feet at its northern end, to the sea, at + its southern end, with hardly so much as a notable ridge to break its + uniform flatness, for 300 to 400 miles. These being the conditions of the + case, the following inquiry naturally presents itself: not, be it + observed, as a recondite problem, generated by modern speculation, but as + a plain suggestion flowing out of that very ordinary and archaic piece of + knowledge that water cannot be piled up like in a heap, like sand; or that + it seeks the lowest level. When, after 150 days, "the fountains also of + the deep and the windows of heaven were stopped, and the rain from heaven + was restrained" (Gen. viii.2), what prevented the mass of water, several, + possibly very many, fathoms deep, which covered, say, the present site of + Bagdad, from sweeping seaward in a furious torrent; and, in a very few + hours, leaving, not only the "tops of the mountains," but the whole plain, + save any minor depressions, bare? How could its subsistence, by any + possibility, be an affair of weeks and months? + </p> + <p> + And if this difficulty is not enough, let any one try to imagine how a + mass of water several perhaps very many, fathoms deep, could be + accumulated on a flat surface of land rising well above the sea, and + separated from it by no sort of barrier. Most people know Lord's + Cricket-ground. Would it not be an absurd contradiction to our common + knowledge of the properties of water to imagine that, if all the mains of + all the waterworks of London were turned on to it, they could maintain a + heap of water twenty feet deep over its level surface? Is it not obvious + that the water, whatever momentary accumulation might take place at first, + would not stop there, but that it would dash, like a mighty mill-race, + southwards down the gentle slope which ends in the Thames? And is it not + further obvious, that whatever depth of water might be maintained over the + cricket-ground so long as all the mains poured on to it, anything which + floated there would be speedily whirled away by the current, like a cork + in a gutter when the rain pours? But if this is so, then it is no less + certain that Noah's deeply laden, sailless, oarless, and rudderless craft, + if by good fortune it escaped capsizing in whirlpools, or having its + bottom knocked into holes by snags (like those which prove fatal even to + well-built steamers on the Mississippi in our day), would have speedily + found itself a good way down the Persian Gulf, and not long after in the + Indian Ocean, somewhere between Arabia and Hindostan. Even if, eventually, + the ark might have gone ashore, with other jetsam and flotsam, on the + coasts of Arabia, or of Hindostan, or of the Maldives, or of Madagascar, + its return to the "mountains of Ararat" would have been a miracle more + stupendous than all the rest. + </p> + <p> + Thus, the last state of the would-be reconcilers of the story of the + Deluge with fact is worse than the first. All that they have done is to + transfer the contradictions to established truth from the region of + science proper to that of common information and common sense. For, + really, the assertion that the surface of a body of deep water, to which + no addition was made, and which there was nothing to stop from running + into the sea, sank at the rate of only a few inches or even feet a day, + simply outrages the most ordinary and familiar teachings of every man's + daily experience. A child may see the folly of it. + </p> + <p> + In addition, I may remark that the necessary assumption of the "partial + Deluge" hypothesis (if it is confined to Mesopotamia) that the Hebrew + writer must have meant low hills when he said "high mountains," is quite + untenable. On the eastern side of the Mesopotamian plain, the snowy peaks + of the frontier ranges of Persia are visible from Bagdad, <a + href="#linknote-11" name="linknoteref-11" id="linknoteref-11"><small>11</small></a> + and even the most ignorant herdsmen in the neighbourhood of "Ur of the + Chaldees," near its western limit, could hardly have been unacquainted + with the comparatively elevated plateau of the Syrian desert which lay + close at hand. But, surely, we must suppose the Biblical writer to be + acquainted with the highlands of Palestine and with the masses of the + Sinaitic peninsula, which soar more than 8000 feet above the sea, if he + knew of no higher elevations; and, if so, he could not well have meant to + refer to mere hillocks when he said that "all the high mountains which + were under the whole heaven were covered" (Genesis vii. 19). Even the + hill-country of Galilee reaches an elevation of 4000 feet; and a flood + which covered it could by no possibility have been other than universal in + its superficial extent. Water really cannot be got to stand at, say, 4000 + feet above the sea-level over Palestine, without covering the rest of the + globe to the same height. Even if, in the course of Noah's six hundredth + year, some prodigious convulsion had sunk the whole region inclosed within + "the horizon of the geographical knowledge" of the Israelites by that + much, and another had pushed it up again, just in time to catch the ark + upon the "mountains of Ararat," matters are not much mended. I am afraid + to think of what would have become of a vessel so little seaworthy as the + ark and of its very numerous passengers, under the peculiar obstacles to + quiet flotation which such rapid movements of depression and upheaval + would have generated. + </p> + <p> + Thus, in view, not, I repeat of the recondite speculations of infidel + philosophers, but in the face of the plainest and most commonplace of + ascertained physical facts, the story of the Noachian Deluge has no more + claim to credit than has that of Deucalion; and whether it was, or was + not, suggested by the familiar acquaintance of its originators with the + effects of unusually great overflows of the Tigris and Euphrates, it is + utterly devoid of historical truth. + </p> + <p> + That is, in my judgment, the necessary result of the application of + criticism, based upon assured physical knowledge to the story of the + Deluge. And it is satisfactory that the criticism which is based, not upon + literary and historical speculations, but upon well-ascertained facts in + the departments of literature and history, tends to exactly the same + conclusion. + </p> + <p> + For I find this much agreed upon by all Biblical scholars of repute, that + the story of the Deluge in Genesis is separable into at least two sets of + statements; and that, when the statements thus separated are recombined in + their proper order, each set furnishes an account of the event, coherent + and complete within itself, but in some respects discordant with that + afforded by the other set. This fact, as I understand, is not disputed. + Whether one of these is the work of an Elohist, and the other of a + Jehovist narrator; whether the two have been pieced together in this + strange fashion because, in the estimation of the compilers and editors of + the Pentateuch, they had equal and independent authority, or not; or + whether there is some other way of accounting for it—are questions + the answers to which do not affect the fact. If possible I avoid <i>a + priori</i> arguments. But still, I think it may be urged, without + imprudence, that a narrative having this structure is hardly such as might + be expected from a writer possessed of full and infallibly accurate + knowledge. Once more, it would seem that it is not necessarily the mere + inclination of the sceptical spirit to question everything, or the wilful + blindness of infidels, which prompts grave doubts as to the value of a + narrative thus curiously unlike the ordinary run of veracious histories. + </p> + <p> + But the voice of archaeological and historical criticism still has to be + heard; and it gives forth no uncertain sound. The marvellous recovery of + the records of an antiquity, far superior to any that can be ascribed to + the Pentateuch, which has been effected by the decipherers of cuneiform + characters, has put us in possession of a series, once more, not of + speculations, but of facts, which have a most remarkable bearing upon the + question of the truthworthiness of the narrative of the Flood. It is + established, that for centuries before the asserted migration of Terah + from Ur of the Chaldees (which, according to the orthodox interpreters of + the Pentateuch, took place after the year 2000 B.C.) Lower Mesopotamia was + the seat of a civilisation in which art and science and literature had + attained a development formerly unsuspected or, if there were faint + reports of it, treated as fabulous. And it is also no matter of + speculation, but a fact, that the libraries of these people contain + versions of a long epic poem, one of the twelve books of which tells a + story of a deluge, which, in a number of its leading features, corresponds + with the story attributed to Berosus, no less than with the story given in + Genesis, with curious exactness. Thus, the correctness of Canon + Rawlinson's conclusion, cited above, that the story of Berosus was neither + drawn from the Hebrew record, nor is the foundation of it, can hardly be + questioned. It is highly probable, if not certain, that Berosus relied + upon one of the versions (for there seem to have been several) of the old + Babylonian epos, extant in his time; and, if that is a reasonable + conclusion, why is it unreasonable to believe that the two stories, which + the Hebrew compiler has put together in such an inartistic fashion, were + ultimately derived from the same source? I say ultimately, because it does + not at all follow that the two versions, possibly trimmed by the + Jehovistic writer on the one hand, and by the Elohistic on the other, to + suit Hebrew requirements, may not have been current among the Israelites + for ages. And they may have acquired great authority before they were + combined in the Pentateuch. + </p> + <p> + Looking at the convergence of all these lines of evidence to the one + conclusion—that the story of the Flood in Genesis is merely a + Bowdlerised version of one of the oldest pieces of purely fictitious + literature extant; that whether this is, or is not, its origin, the events + asserted in it to have taken place assuredly never did take place; + further, that, in point of fact, the story, in the plain and logically + necessary sense of its words, has long since been given up by orthodox and + conservative commentators of the Established Church—I can but admire + the courage and clear foresight of the Anglican divine who tells us that + we must be prepared to choose between the trustworthiness of scientific + method and the trustworthiness of that which the Church declares to be + Divine authority. For, to my mind, this declaration of war to the knife + against secular science, even in its most elementary form; this rejection, + without a moment's hesitation, of any and all evidence which conflicts + with theological dogma—is the only position which is logically + reconcilable with the axioms of orthodoxy. If the Gospels truly report + that which an incarnation of the God of Truth communicated to the world, + then it surely is absurd to attend to any other evidence touching matters + about which he made any clear statement, or the truth of which is + distinctly implied by his words. If the exact historical truth of the + Gospels is an axiom of Christianity, it is as just and right for a + Christian to say, Let us "close our ears against suggestions" of + scientific critics, as it is for the man of science to refuse to waste his + time upon circle-squarers and flat-earth fanatics. + </p> + <p> + It is commonly reported that the manifesto by which the Canon of St. + Paul's proclaims that he nails the colours of the straitest Biblical + infallibility to the mast of the ship ecclesiastical, was put forth as a + counterblast to "Lux Mundi"; and that the passages which I have more + particularly quoted are directed against the essay on "The Holy Spirit and + Inspiration" in that collection of treatises by Anglican divines of high + standing, who must assuredly be acquitted of conscious "infidel" + proclivities. I fancy that rumour must, for once, be right, for it is + impossible to imagine a more direct and diametrical contradiction than + that between the passages from the sermon cited above and those which + follow:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + What is questioned is that our Lord's words foreclose certain + critical positions as to the character of Old Testament + literature. For example, does His use of Jonah's resurrection as + a <i>type</i> of His own, depend in any real degree upon whether + it is historical fact or allegory?... Once more, our Lord uses + the time before the Flood, to illustrate the carelessness of men + before His own coming.... In referring to the Flood He + certainly suggests that He is treating it as typical, for He + introduces circumstances—"eating and drinking, marrying and + giving in marriage "—which have no counterpart in the original + narrative. (pp. 358-9). +</pre> + <p> + While insisting on the flow of inspiration through the whole of the Old + Testament, the essayist does not admit its universality. Here, also, the + new apologetic demands a partial flood: + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + But does the inspiration of the recorder guarantee the exact + historical truth of what he records? And, in matter of fact, can + the record with due regard to legitimate historical criticism, + be pronounced true? Now, to the latter of these two questions + (and they are quite distinct questions) we may reply that there + is nothing to prevent our believing, as our faith strongly + disposes us to believe, that the record from Abraham downward + is, in substance, in the strict sense historical (p. 351). +</pre> + <p> + It would appear, therefore, that there is nothing to prevent our believing + that the record, from Abraham upward, consists of stories in the strict + sense unhistorical, and that the pre-Abrahamic narratives are mere moral + and religious "types" and parables. + </p> + <p> + I confess I soon lose my way when I try to follow those who walk + delicately among "types" and allegories. A certain passion for clearness + forces me to ask, bluntly, whether the writer means to say that Jesus did + not believe the stories in question, or that he did? When Jesus spoke, as + of a matter of fact, that "the Flood came and destroyed them all," did he + believe that the Deluge really took place, or not? It seems to me that, as + the narrative mentions Noah's wife, and his sons' wives, there is good + scriptural warranty for the statement that the antediluvians married and + were given in marriage; and I should have thought that their eating and + drinking might be assumed by the firmest believer in the literal truth of + the story. Moreover, I venture to ask what sort of value, as an + illustration of God's methods of dealing with sin, has an account of an + event that never happened? If no Flood swept the careless people away, how + is the warning of more worth than the cry of "Wolf" when there is no wolf? + If Jonah's three days' residence in the whale is not an "admitted + reality," how could it "warrant belief" in the "coming resurrection?" If + Lot's wife was not turned into a pillar of salt, the bidding those who + turn back from the narrow path to "remember" it is, morally, about on a + level with telling a naughty child that a bogy is coming to fetch it away. + Suppose that a Conservative orator warns his hearers to beware of great + political and social changes, lest they end, as in France, in the + domination of a Robespierre; what becomes, not only of his argument, but + of his veracity, if he, personally, does not believe that Robespierre + existed and did the deeds attributed to him? + </p> + <p> + Like all other attempts to reconcile the results of + scientifically-conducted investigation with the demands of the outworn + creeds of ecclesiasticism, the essay on Inspiration is just such a failure + as must await mediation, when the mediator is unable properly to + appreciate the weight of the evidence for the case of one of the two + parties. The question of "Inspiration" really possesses no interest for + those who have cast ecclesiasticism and all its works aside, and have no + faith in any source of truth save that which is reached by the patient + application of scientific methods. Theories of inspiration are + speculations as to the means by which the authors of statements, in the + Bible or elsewhere, have been led to say what they have said—and it + assumes that natural agencies are insufficient for the purpose. I prefer + to stop short of this problem, finding it more profitable to undertake the + inquiry which naturally precedes it—namely, Are these statements + true or false? If they are true, it may be worth while to go into the + question of their supernatural generation; if they are false, it certainly + is not worth mine. + </p> + <p> + Now, not only do I hold it to be proven that the story of the Deluge is a + pure fiction; but I have no hesitation in affirming the same thing of the + story of the Creation. <a href="#linknote-12" name="linknoteref-12" + id="linknoteref-12"><small>12</small></a> Between these two lies the story + of the creation of man and woman and their fall from primitive innocence, + which is even more monstrously improbable than either of the other two, + though, from the nature of the case, it is not so easily capable of direct + refutation. It can be demonstrated that the earth took longer than six + days in the making, and that the Deluge, as described, is a physical + impossibility; but there is no proving, especially to those who are + perfect in the art of closing their ears to that which they do not wish to + hear, that a snake did not speak, or that Eve was not made out of one of + Adam's ribs. + </p> + <p> + The compiler of Genesis, in its present form, evidently had a definite + plan in his mind. His countrymen, like all other men, were doubtless + curious to know how the world began; how men, and especially wicked men, + came into being, and how existing nations and races arose among the + descendants of one stock; and, finally, what was the history of their own + particular tribe. They, like ourselves, desired to solve the four great + problems of cosmogeny, anthropogeny, ethnogeny, and geneogeny. The + Pentateuch furnishes the solutions which appeared satisfactory to its + author. One of these, as we have seen, was borrowed from a Babylonian + fable; and I know of no reason to suspect any different origin for the + rest. Now, I would ask, is the story of the fabrication of Eve to be + regarded as one of those pre-Abrahamic narratives, the historical truth of + which is an open question, in face of the reference to it in a speech + unhappily famous for the legal oppression to which it has been wrongfully + forced to lend itself? + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Have ye not read, that he which made them from the beginning + made them male and female, and said, For this cause shall a man + leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife; and the + twain shall become one flesh? (Matt. xix. 5.) +</pre> + <p> + If divine authority is not here claimed for the twenty-fourth verse of the + second chapter of Genesis, what is the value of language? And again, I + ask, if one may play fast and loose with the story of the Fall as a "type" + or "allegory," what becomes of the foundation of Pauline theology?— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + For since by man came death, by man came also the + resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in + Christ shall all be made alive (1 Corinthians xv. 21, 22). +</pre> + <p> + If Adam may be held to be no more real a personage than Prometheus, and if + the story of the Fall is merely an instructive "type," comparable to the + profound Promethean mythus, what value has Paul's dialectic? + </p> + <p> + While, therefore, every right-minded man must sympathise with the efforts + of those theologians, who have not been able altogether to close their + ears to the still, small, voice of reason, to escape from the fetters + which ecclesiasticism has forged; the melancholy fact remains, that the + position they have taken up is hopelessly untenable. It is raked alike by + the old-fashioned artillery of the churches and by the fatal weapons of + precision with which the <i>enfants perdus</i> of the advancing forces of + science are armed. They must surrender, or fall back into a more sheltered + position. And it is possible that they may long find safety in such + retreat. + </p> + <p> + It is, indeed, probable that the proportional number of those who will + distinctly profess their belief in the transubstantiation of Lot's wife, + and the anticipatory experience of submarine navigation by Jonah; in water + standing fathoms deep on the side of a declivity without anything to hold + it up; and in devils who enter swine—will not increase. But neither + is there ground for much hope that the proportion of those who cast aside + these fictions and adopt the consequence of that repudiation, are, for + some generations, likely to constitute a majority. Our age is a day of + compromises. The present and the near future seem given over to those + happily, if curiously, constituted people who see as little difficulty in + throwing aside any amount of post-Abrahamic Scriptural narrative, as the + authors of "Lux Mundi" see in sacrificing the pre-Abrahamic stories; and, + having distilled away every inconvenient matter of fact in Christian + history, continue to pay divine honours to the residue. There really seems + to be no reason why the next generation should not listen to a Bampton + Lecture modelled upon that addressed to the last:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Time was—and that not very long ago—when all the relations of + Biblical authors concerning the whole world were received with a + ready belief; and an unreasoning and uncritical faith accepted + with equal satisfaction the narrative of the Captivity and the + doings of Moses at the court of Pharaoh, the account of the + Apostolic meeting in the Epistle to the Galatians, and that of + the fabrication of Eve. We can most of us remember when, in this + country, the whole story of the Exodus, and even the legend of + Jonah, were seriously placed before boys as history; and + discoursed of in as dogmatic a tone as the tale of Agincourt or + the history of the Norman Conquest. + + But all this is now changed. The last century has seen the + growth of scientific criticism to its full strength. The whole + world of history has been revolutionised and the mythology which + embarrassed earnest Christians has vanished as an evil mist, the + lifting of which has only more fully revealed the lineaments of + infallible Truth. No longer in contact with fact of any kind, + Faith stands now and for ever proudly inaccessible to the + attacks of the infidel. +</pre> + <p> + So far the apologist of the future. Why not? <i>Cantabit vacuus.</i> + </p> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> <a name="link2H_FOOT" id="link2H_FOOT"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + FOOTNOTES + </h2> + <p> + <a name="linknote-1" id="linknote-1"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 1 (<a href="#linknoteref-1">return</a>)<br /> [ <i>Bampton Lectures</i> + (1859), on "The Historical Evidence of the Truth of the Scripture Records + stated anew, with Special Reference to the Doubts and Discoveries of + Modern Times," by the Rev. G. Rawlinson, M.A., pp. 5-6.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-2" id="linknote-2"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 2 (<a href="#linknoteref-2">return</a>)<br /> [ <i>The Worth of the Old + Testament,</i> a Sermon preached in St. Paul's Cathedral on the second + Sunday in Advent, 8th Dec., 1889, by H. P. Liddon, D.D., D.C.L., Canon and + Chancellor of St. Paul's. Second edition revised and with a new preface, + 1890.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-3" id="linknote-3"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 3 (<a href="#linknoteref-3">return</a>)<br /> [ St. Luke xvii. 32.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-4" id="linknote-4"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 4 (<a href="#linknoteref-4">return</a>)<br /> [ St. Luke xvii. 27.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-5" id="linknote-5"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 5 (<a href="#linknoteref-5">return</a>)<br /> [ St. Matt. xii. 40.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-6" id="linknote-6"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 6 (<a href="#linknoteref-6">return</a>)<br /> [ <i>Bampton Lectures,</i> + 1859, pp. 50-51.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-7" id="linknote-7"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 7 (<a href="#linknoteref-7">return</a>)<br /> [ <i>Commentary on Genesis,</i> + by the Bishop of Ely, p. 77.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-8" id="linknote-8"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 8 (<a href="#linknoteref-8">return</a>)<br /> [ <i>Die Sintflut,</i> 1876.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-9" id="linknote-9"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 9 (<a href="#linknoteref-9">return</a>)<br /> [ <i>Theologie und + Naturwissenschaft,</i> ii. 784-791 (1877).] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-10" id="linknote-10"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 10 (<a href="#linknoteref-10">return</a>)<br /> [ It is very doubtful if + this means the region of the Armenian Ararat. More probably it designates + some part either of the Kurdish range or of its south-eastern + continuation.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-11" id="linknote-11"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 11 (<a href="#linknoteref-11">return</a>)<br /> [ So Reclus (<i>Nouvelle + Geographie Universelle,</i> ix. 386), but I find the statement doubted by + an authority of the first rank.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-12" id="linknote-12"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 12 (<a href="#linknoteref-12">return</a>)<br /> [ So far as I know, the + narrative of the Creation is not now held to be true, in the sense in + which I have defined historical truth, by any of the reconcilers. As for + the attempts to stretch the Pentateuchal days into periods of thousands or + millions of years, the verdict of the eminent Biblical scholar, Dr. Riehm + (<i>Der biblische Schopfungsbericht,</i> 1881, pp. 15, 16) on such pranks + of "Auslegungskunst" should be final. Why do the reconcilers take Goethe's + advice seriously?— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "Im Auslegen seyd frisch und munter! + Legt ihr's nicht aus, so legt was unter."] +</pre> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <table summary="" border="3" cellpadding="4"> + <tbody> + <tr> + <td> + <a + href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/2633/2633-h/2633-h.htm">Next + Volume</a> + </td> + </tr> + </tbody> + </table> + <p> + <br /> <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Lights of the Church and the Light +of Science, by Thomas Henry Huxley + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LIGHTS OF THE CHURCH *** + +***** This file should be named 2632-h.htm or 2632-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/6/3/2632/ + +Produced by D. R. 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