t is He? Upon
them devolves the difficult duty of answering that question. They are
morally bound to answer it or make the humiliating confession that they
'ignorantly worship;' that with all their boasted certainty as to the
existence of their 'deified error' they can furnish no satisfactory, or
even intelligible account of His [41:1] nature, if indeed a supernatural
or rather Unnatural Being can properly be said to have a nature.

The author of 'Good Sense' has observed, that names which may be made to
mean anything in reality mean nothing. Is not God a name of this class?
Our 'state puppet showmen,' as my Lord Brougham nicknamed Priests, who
talk so much about Gods, forcibly remind one of that ingenious exhibitor
of puppets, who, after saying to his juvenile patronisers--'Look to the
right, and there you will see the lions a dewouring the dogs,' was
asked--Which is the lion and which is the dogs?' to which query he
replied, 'Vichever you please, my little dears, it makes no difference
votsomnever.' For in exactly the same spirit do our ghostly exhibitors,
they who set up the state puppet show meet the inquiries of the grown
children they make so handsomely (again we are under an obligation to
Lord Brougham) 'to pay for peeping.' Children of this sort would fain
know what is meant by the doctrines concerning the many 'true Gods' they
hear such precious rigmaroles about in Church and Conventicle, as well
as the many orthodox opinions of that God, whose name is there so often
'taken in vain.' But Priests like the showman in question, answer, in
language less inelegant to be sure, but substantially the same,
'Vichever you please, my little dears, it makes no difference
votsomnever.'

He who declared that the word God was invented by philosophers to screen
their own ignorance, taught a valuable truth, though the Author of this
Apology never fails mentally to Substitute _quacks_ for _philosophers_.

Saint Augustin more candid than modern theologians, said, 'God is a
being whom we speak of but whom we cannot describe, and who is superior
to all definitions.' Atheists on the other hand, as candidly deny there
is any such being. To them it seems that the name God stands for
nothing, is the archetype of nothing, explains nothing, and contributes
to nothing but the perpetuation of human imbecility, ignorance and
error. To them it represents neither shadow nor substance, neither
phenomenon nor thing, neither what is ideal nor