e
outward forms which pass current in society and at home for vital
Christianity. These spurious forms, fortunately or unfortunately, soon
betray themselves. How little there is in them becomes gradually
apparent. And rather than indulge in a sham the budding sceptic, as the
first step, parts with the form and in nine cases out of ten concerns
himself no further to find a substitute. Quite deliberately, quite
honestly, sometimes with real regret and even at personal sacrifice he
takes up his position, and to his parent's sorrow and his church's
dishonor forsakes forever the faith and religion of his fathers. Who
will deny that this is a true account of the natural history of much
modern scepticism? A formal religion can never hold its own in the
nineteenth century. It is better that it should not. We must either be
real or cease to be. We must either give up our Parasitism or our sons.

Any one who will take the trouble to investigate a number of cases where
whole families of outwardly godly parents have gone astray, will
probably find that the household religion had either some palpable
defect, or belonged essentially to the parasitic order. The popular
belief that the sons of clergymen turn out worse than those of the laity
is, of course, without foundation; but it may also probably be verified
that in the instances where clergymen's sons notoriously discredit their
father's ministry, that ministry in a majority of cases, will be found
to be professional and theological rather than human and spiritual.
Sequences in the moral and spiritual world follow more closely than we
yet discern the great law of Heredity. The Parasite begets the
Parasite--only in the second generation the offspring are sometimes
sufficiently wise to make the discovery, and honest enough to proclaim
it.

We now pass on to the consideration of another form of Parasitism which
though closely related to that just discussed, is of sufficient
importance to justify a separate reference. Appealing to a somewhat
smaller circle, but affecting it not less disastrously, is the
Parasitism induced by certain abuses of _Systems of Theology_.

In its own place, of course, Theology is no more to be dispensed with
than the Church. In every perfect religious system three great
departments must always be represented--criticism, dogmatism, and
evangelism. Without the first there is no guarantee of truth, without
the second no defence of truth, and without the thir