Such being, then, what I conceive the only reasonable, as well as the most
truly moral, way of regarding the question to be discussed in the following
pages, even if the conclusions yielded by this discussion were more
negative than they are, I should deem it culpable cowardice in me _for this
reason_ to publish anonymously. For even if an inquiry of the present kind
could ever result in a final demonstration of Atheism, there might be much
for its author to regret, but nothing for him to be ashamed of; and, by
parity of reasoning, in whatever degree the result of such an inquiry is
seen to have a tendency to negative the theistic theory, the author should
not be ashamed candidly to acknowledge his conviction as to the degree of
such tendency, provided only that his conviction is an _honest_ one, and
that he is conscious of its having been reached by using his faculties with
the utmost care of which he is capable.
If it is retorted that the question to be dealt with is of so ultimate a
character that even the scientific methods are here untrustworthy, I reply
that they are nevertheless the _best_ methods available, and hence that the
retort is without pertinence: the question is still to be regarded as a
scientific one, although we may perceive that neither an affirmative nor a
negative answer can be given to it with any approach to a full
demonstration. But if the question is thus conceded to be one falling
within the legitimate scope of rational inquiry, it follows that the mere
fact of demonstrative certainty being here antecedently impossible should
not deter us from instituting the inquiry.
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