foolish than rash to attempt to learn anything more, or to doubt the truth of what was taught. And so humanity remained unprogressive and superstitious; for what is superstition but the acceptance of error in the place of truth?

How, then, was all this altered? By the advent of men who dared to doubt, who refused to accept that as truth which they had not proven for themselves. The chief and representative man among these was Bacon, from the publication of whose "Novum Organon we date all our scientific progress. And what was this "Novum Organon," what this new method? Simply this, To inquire. The new philosophy simply said to men: Deeming yourselves ignorant, go forth and gåther facts; throw by your old theories, your imagined wisdom, and reverently question Nature as men knowing not, but wishful to learn and know. It was done, and the progress made during the last three centuries is the mighty result. And if we ask why men have progressed so wonderfully in knowledge since Bacon's time, we find the answer in the fact that they then for the first time began to admit their ignorance. And the fact stands as a mighty teaching for all future time, no less than for every man in the present time, that since that admission more knowledge is gained daily than was possible in the lapse of thousands of years before.

There is, however, one sphere of thought into which as yet the method of Bacon has not penetrated that of Religion; and where, by consequence, superstition sits enthroned, and progress is looked upon as impossible. Theology, which pretends to be the science of religious truth, is ever at a standstill. The ignorance of a thousand years ago is paraded as the wisdom of to-day; and dogmatic assertion is made to stand in the place of proven truth. The theologian inverts the true process of thought. He begins, not by confessing his ignorance, but by asserting that he possesses the entire truth, knows all that can be known. Inquiry he treats not only as useless, but as absolutely wicked; because to assert the necessity of inquiry is to throw a doubt upon his assertion that he already knows all. The scientific method and the theological, are, therefore, at war. The scientific man says: I am ignorant of much, that which I have asserted as true I have rigorously proved to be true, I ask no man to accept what I say without inquiry; if a man doubt my propositions, I see in that only the necessity for further search and closer analysis, for the doubter may indeed be wiser than I. different is the position taken by the theologian! He says I speak with authority, what I say must be accepted without proof, for its truth is guaranteed by revelation from God Himself; if a man doubt my propositions he flies in the face of Heaven, and is deserving of damnation. And so it is that, in relation to religious truth, we are now just where our fathers were a thousand years ago; while, scientifically, we have been making untold progress. Religiously, we are beggared, while, in matters of scientific inquiry, we are ever becoming richer. Wise scientifically, we are religiously ignorant; our science and our theology are ever at war with each other.

How

Until this war ceases there is no hope of religious progress among our people. Our aim in this journal, and wherever and in whatever form we, as religious Reformers, are at work, is to impress this truth upon the minds of men; to point out and enforce this truth, that, until the same method is pursued in searching out the truth in matters of religion that has been followed with so much success in the world of science, religion and science must be at war. And what is involved in this? First and foremost, it too frequently leads men to look with contempt upon religion. Suppose some man, or set

of men, were to arise amongst us, and undertake to teach as truth the astrological and alchemical follies which were believed so piously five hundred years ago, what would be the feeling of those who had learned the wellproven facts of astronomy and chemistry? Would it not be that of contempt? And yet this is the very thing which is being done in the churches and chapels of the present day. They teach as religious truth things which science has disproved, and the natural and necessary result is that thousands look with contempt upon the teaching; or do, what is worse, palter with their consciences, become untrue to themselves, and, by a species of mental juggling, contrive to make themselves believe, or, at least, not openly to question, as religious truths, things which they know to be scientifically false. The man who does this, whether he knows it or not, and whether or not so called by the world, is a practical atheist; for such a man assumes, if he do not assert, that God is a Being capable of deceiving His creatures, and of requiring them to believe on the one hand what on the other he compels them to deny. The Churches have raised a howl over this as an age of doubt, and not without reason. It is an age of doubt, and they are mainly responsible for its being such. It would be better, however, if they would look at the practical atheism within themselves, rather than at the doubt without. We hail the doubt as the sign of progress, for out of doubt comes inquiry. The thing which is hopeless is that practical atheism which consents to accept a lie as God's truth. It is that, and not doubt, which stands in the way of religious progress; it is that which the Churches teach as religion; and it is that which, if not rooted out, will end in the spiritual death of this English people.

JAS. L. GOODING.

SOUTH PLACE CHAPEL SUNDAY EVENING LECTURES. BY P. W. PERFITT, PH. D.

THE LIFE AND CAREER OF SOLOMON.

(Concluded from p. 224.)

I REPUDIATE altogether the statement, that God made Solomon wise above all other men, for, as his conduct showed, he was ignorant of the commonest prin. ciples of good government. He opened a large trade, but by this his people were neither improved nor enriched. He retained that trade in his own hands, and heavily taxed the commodities he supplied, so that by means of his profits he was enabled to live in luxury. This was to exhibit selfishness as a man, and folly as a king; for as a king, desiring his people to grow, he would have tried to clear away all the stumbling-blocks on the path of commerce, looking to his own profit rather as the outcome of their success than as the result of their being impoverished. But it is pleaded on his behalf that he was unacquainted with those laws of com merce which are now recognised that all monarchs of his time were equally ignorant upon the point-and that he only did what they did, and followed Oriental usages. This latter may be confidently denied, because, as we know, commerce really flourished in the early ages, and it did so because of being untrammelled by kingly despotism. But if it were true that he did only the same foolish things which were done by other Oriental monarchs, still, we ask, how then could he have had the wisdom from heaven that is spoken of? If he were no wiser than the rest, it is hard to see how he could have received the precious gift. Is it fair to boast about his superior wisdom, and then, in order to defend his reign from the charge of folly, to fall back upon the ignorance of others? But even in other matters the same fact is seen. We are told that "he trained the Hebrew people to love "the beautiful, and initiated them into the secret of splendour." Did this makewas it calculated to make-Israel strong? When he made "silver to be as stones,

"and cedar-wood to be as the sycamores of the valley," when he collected ivory, and blue robes, and all kinds of costly things, and made them to be common in the new city of David, did he thereby strengthen the people and do something towards building them up into a noble nation? All history declares the contrary, for it shows that he who will befriend and wisely govern a people, will labour to train them into habits of industry and frugality, and will avoid all show and glitter, lest, peradventure, the people be led after the tawdry and vain, instead of pursuing the substantial and the practical. And this was Solomon's error, he was a sensualist in every sense of that term, and sought, with the greediness of the savage, after everything in the shape of glitter and colour that pleased the eye; nor did he ever fairly conceive the mission of a king to labour for the nation, to develope its resources, and to find his own happiness in the daily increasing prosperity of the subjects who bowed under his rule.

But I would not have it supposed that in thus speaking I deprecate the due culture of art as a moral and elevating power. It has been urged by Solomon's friends that his works were undertaken in the spirit of art, and, consequently, that we must treat him rather as a Pericles than as a Moorish king. But the apology is simply absurd. What of art is there in the wild craving for gold and colour? What of art was there either in the temple or the palace? Art, as a power to refine and elevate, is one of the greatest at the disposal of man. But to be used as a power operating in this direction, it must present itself in beautiful forms, in simple dignity, and in ever-glorious countenances. The man who paints a noble scene, preaches therein an ennobling sermon; and he who shapes from rude stone the almost breathing image of some god-like man, clothing the form with simplicity, the brow with intellect, and the countenance with majesty, thereby renders essential service to mankind by embodying the possibilities of humanity, and showing us in mute forms, which yet speak, how the ideal may be transformed into the real. True, as many urge, we need culture in order to comprehend the deepest mysteries of art, but the work of the artist preaches sermons to untutored souls long before they win the knowledge necessary to analyse the springs of this teaching. And, indeed, it not unfrequently happens that when that power is gained, the direct influence of the artist's work is lost, because we begin to dissect before we have paused long enough either to enjoy or be instructed. But, indeed, it is absurd to speak of Solomon as one who either conceived such ideas, or desired through art to elevate his subjects. His notions never went beyond the sensual indulgence of the moment, and the glory which has ever been so captivating to the Oriental mind. And, through pursuing this with too great eagerness, he was stricken down in the midst of sorrow and shame. He died as the fool dieth, and who was there that went to mourn at his tomb? The people said to his son, "Thy father made our yoke heavy, and forced us into grievous service;" so evidently they sorrowed not over his departure. Who, then, could mourn? He slept with his fathers, and left his child to reap the full measure of bitterness from the seeds of evil he had sown. David had given to Israel the possibility of national life, but Solomon had poisoned that life at the source. He had given luxuriousness, and had cherished sensuality, but neither in good laws, in good words, nor in good example, had he done anything whereby the nation could be exalted and made to live.

66

And here a word upon wisdom, and the true nature of this great blessing. The ancients spake of it as an endowment, as something bestowed upon man; and in this sense it was understood by the writers of both the "Kings" and "Chronicles." They were decidedly in error, and when we go to Tennyson's "Locksley Hall" the truth is made apparent in the one line :

"Knowledge comes; but wisdom lingers,"

wherein the right distinction is made between the two, and both are fairly placed. Knowledge and Experience, combined with Thought, can alone give birth to Wisdom. Knowledge by itself is often a vexation of the spirit, and imparts neither peace nor power. There are men who know nearly all it is possible to know, and who yet are found to be of little value in life, either as workers or teachers. They are vast libraries, and cannot by themselves make their contents fruitful; they wander

hither and thither, carrying about the dead things of the past, but cannot inform them by thought, or render them vital as illuminators of the present. These men know all the noble mechanism of the universe, but not the soul that informs it all; and we can only liken them to the camel of the desert that perished through thirst, though carrying a skin of water upon its back. Then we have other men, called men of experience, who yet are not wise. Of the past they know but little, and care less. With them there is nothing like experience. The thing that was shall be again; so it was yesterday, therefore let us provide for it to-morrow." Such men are ever at fault, for reading experience neither by the explanatory light of the yesterday, nor the strengthening hope of the morrow, they remain ever in one stay, neither growing in wisdom nor in peace progressing. But others there are who combine in themselves both experience and knowledge of the past, and yet are as very children, who cannot be entrusted with affairs, and who know not what should be done. They have within them no fire of thought. At school they were trained to believe a certain round of ideas, to approve a certain number of set forms, and to travel onward through life as though active reflection were a curse, rather than a blessing. Hence, though knowledge and experience both crowd their minds, they are helpless and poor in the midst of the sources of strength and wealth. For such we have no angry word, we have only tones of sorrow; they are what they are mainly through the folly of their age, which mistakes facts for wisdom, and the dry husk of knowledge for the informing soul.

There is another class more fortunate--the really wise. They are the men who have gleaned knowledge from various sources, have accumulated experience, and have made both pass into the fusing fire of thought, out of which wisdom will issue as the pure gold, leaving the alloy and dross behind. Wisdom thus cannot exist in any mind which has not been pre-occupied by knowledge and experience, for it is the child and not the father. Hence we say there are few wise; not because there are only a few who have knowledge, or only a few who have experience, but because only a few think well over and digest the knowledge and experience they have accumulated, in order to convert them into pabulum, whereby their souls may be made strong with true wisdom. Thus, wisdom is as the subtle spirit, the concentrated essence of both knowledge and experience, and few are they who have the blessing. But it may be ours. It is the child of our own action, and cannot be communicated. The road is open unto all, and for all, princes and the poorest of scholars, there is but one road. Travel that road, accumulate knowledge and experience, and all will go well when you pass them through the alembic of thought, but dream not that in other ways you can be made wise. Think not heaven will give wisdom, for heaven, in its mercy, never gives ready-formed that which it has already given us power to achieve. To give wisdom unto him who would not pass through the ordeal, would be to cast pearls before swine, and have them trodden under foot. For at first we know not the nature of what we ask, and should not comprehend it were it given into our possession. As we go on in pursuit, our eyes are opened, and we daily see more and more of the mystery, and become better fitted for its comprehension. As the mind nears real wis. dom, it approximates to the Divine. We win victories over the material, and in due proportion rise to the supra-sensual. Solomon did not thus rise, and we say, therefore, he could not be wise. We say God cannot, and would not if He could, convert darkness into light, good into evil, or folly into wisdom; and to say that Solomon was possessed of God-given wisdom is but to say that He did this.

LONDON PUBLISHED BY M. PATTIE, 81, PATERNOSTER ROW, and George

GLAISHER, 470, NEW OXFORD STREET.

Printed by W. Ostell, Hart-street! Bloomsbury.

THE PATHFINDER,

A JOURNAL OF

PURE THEISM AND RELIGIOUS FREETHOUGHT,

THE ORGAN OF INDEPENDENT RELIGIOUS REFORM,

CONDUCTED BY P. W. PERFITT.

No. 119.

New Series, No. 16.]

APRIL 20, 1861.

[PRICE 2D.

FREETHOUGHT AND RELIGION.

ONE of the proverbs adopted by the Hebrews from the Persian, sets forth, almost in modern phrase, that, "A wise man will hear and will increase "learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels." All who have meditated the facts of life will readily endorse this doctrine; for he who is in possession of real wisdom is a very modest man, and, knowing how small is the measure of his wealth compared with that which his researches have shown him to be obtainable, he is ever ready to harken unto those who profess to have discovered a truth which hitherto had been concealed. In an age of great mental activity such men stand upon the tiptoe of expectation, believing that, before long, great things are about to be revealed, and great is their joy when a new light breaks in by means of which subjects that were previously hidden in darkness are rendered comprehensible, for, as men who have found a treasure, they feel themselves to be richer and stronger than before.

Doubtless it may be said of them, that they are in an unquiet state, that they are ever examining the grounds of their belief, and are very ready to abandon opinions they had warmly espoused; but it remains to be proved that this should be preferred as a charge against them, instead of being viewed as a virtue of which they may be proud. The ignorant man is intensely disgusted with their perpetual prying into the nature of things, and considers that their speculations, casting, as they do, a shadow of doubt over what is believed, should be denounced by all good men, He who has uo great store of knowledge is never troubled with grave doubts, and, as a natural consequence, treats all degrees of scepticism as evil; he treats it as an absurdity to seek after knowledge, for, as he pointedly inquires, Do we not already know all that can be known? As an additional reason against inquiry, he protests that all speculations inevitably lead to revolutions in society, and assaults upon religion. Such men readily avail themselves of every advantage, and profit by every discovery which inquiry has produced, and then repudiate the very means through which they have been benefited.

But, in justice to them, it should be acknowledged that they are the unfortunate victims of a bad education. The tutors who educated them were careful in laying it down as a demonstrated truth, that so far, at least, as VOL. V. NEW SERIES. VOL. I.

R