Had he possessed a perfectly philosophic or scientific
temper he would have hesitated. This is not the place to discuss in
detail the theological position very ably and seriously argued by
Mrs. Ward. All we can say is that, one by one, Elsmere's objections
may be met by considerations of the same genus, and not less equal
weight, relatively to a world so obscure, in its origin and issues,
as that in which we live.
Robert Elsmere was a type of a large class of minds which cannot be
sure that the sacred story is true. It is philosophical, doubtless,
and a duty to the intellect to recognize our doubts, [68] to locate
them, perhaps to give them practical effect. It may be also a moral
duty to do this. But then there is also a large class of minds which
cannot be sure it is false--minds of very various degrees of
conscientiousness and intellectual power, up to the highest. They
will think those who are quite sure it is false unphilosophical
through lack of doubt. For their part, they make allowance in their
scheme of life for a great possibility, and with some of them that
bare concession of possibility (the subject of it being what it is)
becomes the most important fact in the world.
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