Passages from the Prose Writings
Format: Paperback
ISBN13: 9781150367571
Paperback|9781150367571
Out of Stock
Overview
This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1880. Excerpt: ... The Reproach of Presumption. 227 THE REPROACH OF PRESUMPTION. The charge of presumption, and of setting oneself up above all the great men of past days, above 'the wisdom of all nations, ' which is often brought against those who pronounce the old view of our religion to be untenable, springs out of a failure to perceive how little the abandonment, of certain long-current beliefs depends upon a man's own will, or even upon his sum of powers natural or acquired. Sir Matthew Hale was not inferior in force of mind to a modern Chief Justice because he believed in witchcraft. Nay, the more enlightened modern, who drops errors of his forefathers by help of that mass of experience which his forefathers aided in accumulating, may often be, according to the well-known saying, 'a dwarf on the giant's shoulders.' His merits may be small compared with those of the giant. Perhaps his only merit is, that he has had the good sense to get up on the giant's shoulders, instead of trotting contentedly along in his shadow. Yet even this, surely, is something.--God and the Bible. INTELLECTUAL SERIOUSNESS. It is the habit of increased intellectual seriousness, bred of a wider experience and of a larger acquaintance with men's mental history, which is now transforming religion in our country. Intelligent people among the educated classes grow more and more sceptical of the miraculous data which supply the basis for our received theology. The habit is a conquest of the advancing human race; it spreads and spreads; it cannot but be, and will be, on the whole and in the end, a boon to us. But many and many an individual it may find unprepared for it, and may act upon him injuriously. Goethe's saying is well known: 'All which merely frees our spirit, without giving us the command ov..
| ISBN-13 | 9781150367571 |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10 | 1150367571 |
| Weight | 0.51 Pounds |
| Dimensions | 9.00 x 6.00 x 0.35 In |
| List Price | $19.99 |
| Format | Paperback |
|---|---|
| Pages | 150 pages |
| Publisher | |
| Published On | 2009-12-01 |
View All Offers
Sort by:
Price
