ill. I can only say, that I would as soon take my chance
in the other world, in the company of the 'unbeliever,' as in that of
his Jesuit detractor. In Dr. Ward we have an example of a wholesome
and vigorous nature, soured and perverted by a poisonous creed.] 'And
there are others who hold that we, who cherish our noble Bible,
wrought as it has been into the constitution of our forefathers, and
by inheritance into us, must necessarily be hypocritical and
insincere. Let us disavow and discountenance such people, cherishing
the unswerving faith that what is good and true in both our arguments
will be preserved for the benefit of humanity, while all that is bad
or false will disappear.'

I hold the Bishop's reasoning to be unanswerable, and his liberality
to be worthy of imitation.

It is worth remarking that in one respect the Bishop was a product of
his age. Long previous to his day the nature of the soul had been so
favourite and general a topic of discussion, that, when the students
of the Italian Universities wished to know the leanings of a new
Professor, they at once requested him to lecture upon the soul. About
the time of Bishop Butler the question was not only agitated but
extended. It was seen by the clear-witted men who entered this arena,
that many of their best arguments applied equally to brutes and men.
The Bishop's arguments were of this character. He saw it, admitted
it, took the consequence, and boldly embraced the whole animal world
in his scheme of immortality.

6.

Bishop Butler accepted with unwavering trust the chronology of the Old
Testament, describing it as confirmed by the natural and civil history
of the world, collected from common historians, from the state of the
earth, and from the late inventions of arts and sciences.' These words
mark progress; and they must seem somewhat hoary to the Bishop's
successors of today. It is hardly necessary to inform you that since
his time the domain of the naturalist has been immensely extended--the
whole science of geology, with its astounding revelations regarding
the life of the ancient earth, having been created. The rigidity of
old conceptions has been relaxed, the public mind being rendered
gradually tolerant of the idea that not for six thousand, nor for
sixty thousand, nor for six thousand thousand, but for aeons embracing
untold millions of years, this earth has been the theatre of life and
death. The riddle of the rocks has been rea