I.

MATERIALISM.

UETONIUS in the first century re

lates that when Nero heard of the overthrow of his power in Gaul, and the signs of the times clearly pointed to a collapse of his Empire at home, "He held a hasty consultation upon the present state of affairs, and spent the rest of the day in gravely consulting his Senators about some musical instruments to be played by water."

The future historian of the nineteenth century will have to relate that when the scientific provinces broke out in open revolt against established Theology, and the very foundations of Religion itself were threatened by Materialism, the defenders of the faith, blind to

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the real points at issue, or giving them but a hasty and contemptuous glance, betook themselves to playing with water-machines.

2. The eloquent and earnest Canon Liddon is still entangled in the bad metaphysics of the Greek Fathers, and no one can deny that he makes sweet music enough with these watermachines. Verbal Inspiration is still the cry of the Evangelical clergy, whilst the narrower cry of an Established Church in bitter opposition to Dissent is the religious water-machine of at least two-thirds of the country clergy. Mr. Gladstone's well-known water-machine is the Protestant Church against Ultramontanism; whilst good Father Hyacinthe plays with a master-hand upon the terms of union between the Churches of Christendom, not perceiving that the foundation of all Churches is equally threatened; whilst the water-machine which still provides endless occupation to our theological scholars is the retranslation or the technical criticism of Bible texts.

And all this time the enemy is at the gate; and the only people who both love the city, and would go for its real defence, are shunned

as disturbers of the public peace.

"You must

not unsettle people's minds," they are told. "You must not divert their thoughts from orthodox religion." "You must not disturb them in the midst of their harmonious occupations," which consist shortly in grinding their various water-machines, of Greek metaphysics, verbal inspiration, Establishment, Protestantism, reunion of Christendom, or retranslation of the Bible.

3. But there are some who see that all these things may be left to settle themselves. The real strain of the battle in these days is elsewhere. It is not now a question of Catholic or Protestant Church, but of any Church at all; not a question of heaven or hell, but of any life beyond the grave; not a question of Trinity in unity, Christian or Theist views of God, but whether what the fool says in his heart, and some of the wise men of science and philosophy say with their lips, is true or not: "There is no God."

4. Is there a God?

If so, how is He to be thought of?

These are the real questions of the day, and beside them all others are trifles light as air, and the clergy who don't read what they call godless and ephemeral literature—that is, John Stuart Mill, Huxley, Tyndall, Bain, Herbert Spencer, and such triflers-the clergy and a large section of the religious world who seem to have no idea of what is really going on in the minds of thoughtful people will some day awake, like Nero, at the eleventh hour, and turning from the water-machines which have lulled them into so fatal a sleep, find the cause of the Church lost through their apathy, and the city of God betrayed into the hands of the enemy.

5. In vain, at such an hour, will they hastily furbish up the good old arms of a bygone age. Paley's old round bores will burst in their hands. Butler's famous three-deckers have no iron plates to resist the new rifled cannon of science. Times have changed.

Paley and Butler did for their age what our clergy, if they can, ought to be doing for ours. They answered, and answered well, the objections offered to the religion of their day, retiring