Far from saying
that they are all false, it would express my position
better to say that they are all true. Providence would
not have used them were they not the best available
tools, and in that sense divine. That they are final I
deny. A simpler and more universal creed will take their
place, when the mind of man is ready for it; and I
believe it will be a creed founded upon those lines of
absolute and provable truth which I have indicated. But
the old creeds are still the best suited to certain
minds, and to certain ages. If they are good enough
for Providence to use, they are good enough for us to
endure. We have but to wait upon the survival of the
truest. If I have seemed to say anything aggressive
against them, it was directed at those who wish to limit
the Almighty's favour to their own little clique, or who
wish to build a Chinese wall round religion, with no
assimilation of fresh truths, and no hope of expansion in
the future. It is with these that the pioneers of
progress can hold no truce. As for my wife, I would as
soon think of breaking in upon her innocent prayers, as
she would of carrying off the works of philosophy from my
study table. She is not narrow in her views; but if one
could stand upon the very topmost pinnacle of broad-
mindedness, one would doubtless see from it that even the
narrow have their mission.
About a year ago I had news of Cullingworth from
Smeaton, who was in the same football team at college,
and who had called when he was passing through Bradfield.
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