Infidels and Heretics an Agnostic's Anthology 1417917342, 9781417917341

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MULTNOMAH COUNTY LIBRARY PORTLAND, OR

3 1168 07824 4793

Tautfor by the. Library

'Endowment ‘fund w

Clarence Darrow and Wallace Rice

Knowledge is the knowing that we cannot know. — T^alph Waldo Emerson ---------------------------------------- — - ------------------- *

AND

An Agnostic s Anthology 'Ey CLARENCE DARROW and WALLACE RICE

Purchased from Multnomah County Library Title Wave Used Bookstore 216 NE Knott St, Portland, OR 503-988-5021

Printed in the United States of America

INFIDELS and HERETICS

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ACKNOWLEDGMENT an extract from 'The Brobk Kerith.” by Mr. George Moore, for which last the consent Qf the author was also obtained; Mr. John Cowper Powys: Two exfracts from his works; Miss Charlotte Reynolds: A Sonnet; Charles Scribner’s Sons. New York: A sonnet and an extract from “Lucifer” by Mr. George Santayana, and two sonnets by Mrs. Edith Wharton; and to all others whose work has been used, due diligence having been taken in all cases to ascertain the ownership of the material used.

INFIDELS and

HERETICS

Contents Introduction “Man is the Measure" Evolution and God . The Song of Myself .

Protagoras...................... William Herbert Carruth Walt Whitman...............

iv v 9

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I. Foundation Stones II "Agnosticism Thomas Henry Huxley . "Agnosticism Misused Hugh Chisholm............ Natural Selection Charles Darwin ............ The Unknowable Herbert Spencer ............ The Unknowable William Kingdon Clifford The Unknown God........................... Sir Oliver Lodge............. An Agnostic Race.............................. Sir Leslie Stephen........... The Challenge of the Unknown . . . John Dewey ................. Gnostic Pride........................................ Sir Leslie Stephen........... Theology and Science......................... John W. Draper............... Forgotten Tools................................... Sir Leslie Stephen........... Useless Natural Structures.................. William Kingdon Clifford Insoluble Doubt................................... Sir Leslie Stephen............. First Principles......................................Samuel Butler .................. World-Beginnings for Children . . . . William Kingdon Clifford . .

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3 4 4 6 7 8 9 9 10 11 11 12 13 13 15

II. The Depths of Thought

On the Death of a Metaphysician . . George Santayana......................... 19 No Shame in Ignorance..................... Sir Leslie Stephen .... 19 Knowledge of Ignorance.................... William Kingdon Clifford........... 21 Ignorance.............................................. Robert G. Ingersoll......................... 22 Science and Philosophy......................William Kingdon Clifford............ 23 The Baselessness of Our Ideas......... Samuel Butler ................................ 23 Savages and Conservatives.................James Harvey Robinson.............. 25 Mind and Motion .............................. George John Romanes................ 26 Fraudulent Psychology...................... F. Nietzsche..................................... 17 Philosophy and Pessimism ............... Albert Bigelow Paine................... 27 Death as the Fool................. .............. Frank T. Marzials........................... 31 Seekers After Truth........................... Mark Twain .................................. 31 Intellect and Emotion.........................M. C. Ott....................................... 32 Pantheism and Agnosticism............ Sir Leslie Stephen........................... 34 Change.................................................... John Dewey .................................. 34 Dreams and Responsibility............... Mark Twain .................................. 35 Voltaire..................................................Clarence Darrow .......................... 36 Appearance and Reality .................... Herbert Spencer............................. 36

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CONTENTS III. Honest Doubt The Sceptic .......................................... Ralph Waldo Emerson............. Laws ..................................... • • • - Alfred Edward Housman . . . From the Plea in Defense of Loeb and Leopold................................... Clarence Darrow ....................... The Culprit ...... ............. Alfred Edward Housman . . . . "Now Hollow Fires Burn Out to Black**............................................. Alfred Edward Housman "So I Be Written in the Book of Love*’ (............................................. Omar Khayyam ......................... A Summer Night................................ Matthew Arnold ....................... From—The Myth of the Soul .... Clarence Darrow .................... Is There a God ?...................................George Frederick Cameron . . . Sea-Shell Murmurs.............................. Eugene Lee-Hamilton................ The Heavens Are Our Riddle . . . .Herbert Bates .... Hope...................................................... Wallace Rice ............................ Flower in the Crannied Wall............ Alfred Lord Tennyson............. Clover.................................................... John Banister Tabb.................. Generation.............................................Paul Eldridge..............................

41 42 42 45 49

52 52 55 57 57 58 58 60 60 61

IV. Gods and Demigods The Blow ........................... .. Thomas Hardy............................. The Carpenter s Son........................... Alfred Edward Housman ........... Standards for Gods........................... Sir James Frazer . .. Creation..................................................Arthur Schopenhauer .................. The Problem of Good and Evil .... Julian S. Huxley God and the Devil.............................. Samuel Butler .............................. From—The Soliloquy of Jesus .... George Moore ............................. Hertha....................................................Algernon Charles Swinburne . Dead Gods............................................ Wallace Rice ................................. Aquae Sulis.......................................... Thomas Hardy ............................ ’Ayvc6