scientific discovery tends to show more and more that an immutable
law regulates the smallest details of life. I honour, with all my
heart, the critics who have approached the Bible in the same spirit
in which they approach other literature; but the only definite
result has been to make what was considered a matter of blind faith
more a matter of opinion. But to attempt to scare men away from
discussing religious topics, by saying that it is only a matter for
experts, is to act in the spirit of the Inquisition. It is like
saying to a man that he must not discuss questions of diet and
exercise because he is not acquainted with the Pharmacopoeia, or
that no one may argue on matters of current politics unless he is a
trained historian. Religion is, or ought to be, a matter of vital
and daily concern for every one of us; if our moral progress and
our spiritual prospects are affected by what we believe,
theologians ought to be grateful to any one who will discuss
religious ideas from the current point of view, if it only leads
them to clear up misconceptions that may prevail. If I needed to
justify myself further, I would only add that since I began to
write on such subjects I have received a large number of letters
from unknown people, who seem to be grateful to any one who will
attempt to speak frankly on these matters, with the earnest desire,
which I can honestly say has never been absent from my mind, to
elucidate and confirm a belief in simple and essential religious
principles.

And now I would go on to say a few words as to the larger object
which I have had in view. My aim has been to show how it is
possible for people living quiet and humdrum lives, without any
opportunities of gratifying ambition or for taking a leading part
on the stage of the world, to make the most of simple conditions,