that I take upon myself to deal with it; but, in so doing, it must
be understood that I speak for myself alone. I am not aware that there
is any sect of Agnostics; and if there be, I am not its acknowledged
prophet or pope. I desire to leave to the Comtists the entire monopoly
of the manufacture of imitation ecclesiasticism.

Let us calmly and dispassionately consider Dr. Wace's appreciation of
agnosticism. The agnostic, according to his view, is a person who says
he has no means of attaining a scientific knowledge of the unseen
world or of the future; by which somewhat loose phraseology Dr. Wace
presumably means the theological unseen world and future. I cannot
think this description happy, either in form or substance, but for the
present it may pass. Dr. Wace continues, that it is not "his
difference from Christians." Are there then any Christians who say
that they know nothing about the unseen world and the future? I was
ignorant of the fact, but T am ready to accept it on the authority of
a professional theologian, and I proceed to Dr. Wace's next
proposition.

The real state of the case, then, is that the agnostic "does not
believe the authority" on which "these things" are stated, which
authority is Jesus Christ. He is simply an old-fashioned "infidel" who
is afraid to own to his right name. As "Presbyter is priest writ
large," so is "agnostic" the mere Greek equivalent for the Latin
"infidel." There is an attractive simplicity about this solution of
the problem; and it has that advantage of being somewhat offensive to
the persons attacked, which is so dear to the less refined sort of
controversialist. The agnostic says, "I cannot find good evidence that
so and so is true." "Ah," says his adversary, seizing his opportunity,
"then you declare that Jesus Christ was untruthful, for he said so and
so;" a very telling method of rousing prejudice. But suppose that the
value of the evidence as to what Jesus may have said and done, and as
to the exact nature and scope of his authority, is just that which the
agnostic finds it most difficult to determine. If I venture to doubt
that the Duke of Wellington gave the command "Up, Guards, and at 'em!"
at Waterloo, I do not think that even Dr. Wace would accuse me of
disbelieving the Duke. Yet it would be just as reasonable to do this
as to accuse any one of denying what Jesus said, before the
preliminary question as to what he did say is settled.

Now, the question as to wha