Title: A Defence of the Inquiry into Mesmerism & Phrenology
Author: William Armes
Release date: May 4, 2017 [eBook #54662]
Language: English
Transcribed from the 1843 J. W. Aikin and J. Thew edition by David Price, email ccx074@pglaf.org
BY
WILLIAM ARMES.
LYNN:
PUBLISHED BY J. W. AIKIN, AND J. THEW,
HIGH STREET.
1843.
In offering this address to the consideration of the candid and sober minded of my fellow Townsmen, I am guided by no desire to prop, by my small influence, any new, and possibly false, theory; or to cry down, without examination, the pretensions of any science (so called) however adverse to my preconceived ideas.
The subject of Mesmerism and of Mesmeric Phrenology has, for some time past, occupied the attention of the inhabitants of Lynn, and the various phenomena exhibited, as might have been expected, have called forth the credulous wonder of one class, the unworthy ridicule of another, and the patient and quiet examination of a third.
Two pamphlets have appeared upon the subject, which it is not my intention to remark upon at any length. The first (written, I have no doubt, with the very best intention) is from the p. 4pen of an individual who was associated with a small party, employed in the rigid scrutiny of the exhibitions of the Lecturer; who did not, in the Meetings held for that propose, express his doubt or dissent to much of the most novel and starling phenomena; but, who thought it not inconsistent with his position, to leave his friends in the midst of their unfinished inquiry; and, prejudging the question, to placard the Town, with yellow handbills, after the style of other Pamphleteers, advertizing his proportion. This publication, certainly, in the estimation of most intelligent men, is not remarkable for any thing approaching critical investigation or inquiry; but may, possibly, amuse the children and the vulgar, by the low exhibitions of art, imitating wit, by which the author has adorned it.
The last Pamphlet, by Mr. Cotton, published under the ambiguous title of “Popular delusions applied to Mesmerism,” has just issued from the press; I have read it very carefully, and am perfectly astonished to find how very little Mr. C. to say upon the subject.
I can well believe him when he says, “We have gone out of our way to draw up these lines,” it really appears so, and I feel persuaded, that, whatever opinion his readers may form of the entire work, this passage, at least, will be universally received as perfectly clear and veracious.
Mr. C. tells us, at the outset, he is “but a p. 5gatherer,” this also is very evident, and, I only regret that he had not been directed to quarters where he might have gathered something upon the subject; or, at least, more relevant than the conglomerated mass of hard names and phrases, with which he has soiled his pages; which can only induce the head-ache in any of his readers, who should be induced to follow him, in his mental meanderings. And, I have no doubt, this has been the result to the Author, in his toilsome “gathering” of such mighty material!
These two gentlemen, sheltering themselves under the names of those great men, who, it is very true, have discarded, or thrown doubt upon the subject of Mesmerism, have pleased themselves with the idea of their honourable companionship: they have exulted in the presumption of being influenced by the same genius; and, looking at the track, marked out by these larger vessels, they have sung to themselves very innocently,
“There let my little bark, attendant, sail,
Pursue the triumph and partake the gale.”
Indeed Mr. Taylor says, “I would not have sent it thus hurriedly to the press, but, fearing that Mesmerism might die a natural death, before I had given it one kick, I would not delay.” Very unkind indeed towards a falling phantom, which needed not, it appears from our author, a blow p. 6so heavy, as must be the consequence of a kick from so weighty a man as Mr. Taylor!
Had Mr. Taylor and Mr. Cotton merely exercised their right of publishing to the Town their own opinions; or, had they only recorded the opinions of others, I should not have felt it my duty to have taken any special notice of their labors; but, when Mr. Cotton, at the close of his labored essay, which, indeed treats of almost every subject save that of Mesmerism, and to produce which, he must have been very diligent in poring over the pages of the several books upon his shelves; when, at the close of his toil, he charges those, who have seen it to be their duty to enquire into the subject, with “Wonder, Impressibility, and Credulity;” with affording “partisanship, patronage, and encouragement to their Mesmeric Protogees,” I may perhaps be excused for offering to my fellow Townsmen, some remarks upon the subject, which, but for the attempts at satire of Messrs. Taylor and Cotton, would, possibly, not have appeared.
When Mr. Brookes first lectured in Lynn, I was induced to attend, as I had been informed that he would experiment on a lad who was my apprentice. I went to that Meeting quite as skeptical as any person could be, having seen nothing in Mesmerism, myself, and, having read only as much as gave me a most unfavorable opinion of its pretensions. I saw the experiments; p. 7I endeavoured to account for them, but, was unable. I confess, honestly, that I was astonished at what I saw. I found, that the Lecturer was applauded by the mass of the audience. I felt persuaded that a clever impostor was deluding the people; or, that a power, in Nature, was, then, brought before me of which I had had no previous conception. At the close of his experiments, being desirous that the intelligence of the Town should be brought to the examination of these new phenomena, I proposed, to the Lecturer, that I should endeavour to procure a Meeting at the Town Hall, of a class of persons competent to the investigation. To this he readily assented, with the definite understanding that on his part it would be quite gratuitous; and, that my only object was a rigid examination of his experiments. The Meeting was held; and, I can appeal to those who were present whether there was not, on the part of the audience, a disposition to debate every inch of the argument, as the experiments proceeded.
The result of that Meeting was quite what I expected; The Medical and Scientific Gentlemen present, departed, not satisfied; but, disposed still farther to investigate. Many smaller Meetings have been held, at the houses of the several Gentlemen engaged in the inquiry, and, at those Meetings, a process of examination and of testing the experiments has been pursued, which, could p. 8not be adopted at a Public Meeting. I would here remark, that, at all these Meetings, Mr. Brookes has, cheerfully and gratuitously, afforded every possible opportunity of testing his exhibitions; and, I feel assured, that he will not dissent from my testimony to the courteous, though careful and rigid, character of the investigation.
I wish the reader to bear in mind that, in any statement or opinion I may place upon these pages, I particularly disclaim any intention to commit any Gentleman engaged in the investigation of the subject; whether they may or not hereafter be disposed to publish the result of the inquiry, I am not prepared to say; but, all I now write is upon my own exclusive responsibility.
For myself, I state clearly, that, while I dissent from the extraneous and ridiculous nonsense by which the subject has been allayed and encumbered; yet, that I have seen, in the Meetings to which I refer, such manifestations as were undeniably genuine in their character, and, could certainly not be accounted for by the power of Imagination, laid down by Mr. Taylor; or by any of the hard Words by the employment of which Mr. Cotton has endeavoured to impress the Public with a high idea of his Wisdom.
Of the facts which have been seen, in the course of the inquiry, I, at present, state no more than this. That nothing has been credited upon doubtful evidence; but, that the Inquirers have p. 9trod in the investigation with the utmost caution, doubting every thing, debating every thing, and only advancing to a judgment as they were enabled to connect, link by link, the increasing chain of evidence.
I disclaim for myself, and I feel sure I may for the Gentlemen with whom I have been connected, any design or desire to promote Mesmerism, or to advance the interest of the Lecturer. With the Individual none of us has had the most remote connection, before his visit to Lynn; and for the Science we could not be supposed to have any great predelictions or regard. Our only object has been, as far as possible, to examine the facts, and to prevent, if in our power, any imposture being palmed upon the Town; and I submit that we have been as honorably employed as Messrs. Taylor and Cotton in their mere attempts at ridicule. To the latter Gentleman I would recommend the perusal of Dr. Dickson’s “Fallacies of the Faculty,” where he would learn that he is not the first professional person who has employed ridicule, instead of scrutiny, on the introduction of new theories, some of which, by the way, are now adopted by Mr. Cotton himself, in common with the profession generally.
With the doubts or convictions, resting upon the minds of those who have examined the subject, I have nothing to do; each individual has p. 10the power, given him by the Creator, to examine for himself; and he should be guided by his own convictions, and by those convictions alone; but, when any person is determined to shut his eyes to evidence, and then tells me he cannot see, I can only reply, “It would be Mesmerism indeed if you could;” but, if in addition, he require me to follow his example, and to blindfold my perception, I entertain for such person feelings bordering on contempt.
What I have seen has made an impression on my mind; the nature of that impression is very unimportant to the Public, and I only feel called upon to justify the course I have pursued in the inquiry; or rather, to justify the inquiry itself.
In order to this, I shall briefly reply to the arguments against inquiry into the subject of Mesmerism and Phrenology as I have heard them advanced.
The first, and certainly the most futile of all the reasons alledged why we should not inquire into the fact or fallacy of Mesmeric and Phrenological phenomena is this. That the Lecturer is connected with the Chartists. Had I not heard this myself, and had not Mr. Taylor thrown out in his pamphlet the same insinuation, I confess, I should not have conjectured there was a single individual who could be, at all, influenced by such petty, not to say stupid considerations. Who ever dreamed of inquiring, except p. 11as matters of historic interest, in relation to the individuals themselves, whether Newton, Harvey, Franklin, and the various discoverers of the useful Arts and Sciences were Whigs or Tories? and, I presume, that the individuals making this objection ride very comfortably in the vehicles of the Country, undisturbed as to whether the inventors of stage coaches belonged to their own, or to an opposite class of Politicians. For myself, in examining the Theory, I conclude I have as little guarantee for its truth from the Chartism, as I should expect from the Toryism of its Lecturer. In all such matters I judge from the facts, and not the individuals; and am too well assured that no political party stands so high in virtue as to offer me a complete security against fraud and imposture.
It is argued, also, That if there had been any truth in Mesmerism, it would since the days of its discoverer, have certainly made more progress. That, it has now been many years before the public, and remains, as to any useful purpose, in its original position.
It were sufficient to reply to this argument, that, if no parallel could be found in the introduction of other discoveries, now held to be useful to the public; that the presumption is quite illogical, that I must not credit what I see, and what my senses assure me to be fact, because similar exhibitions have been before, and often p. 12shown to the eyes, and ears, of other persons and they have discarded them.
I conceive, the more philosophical mode to be to come to the examination without prejudging it; and to inquire as closely and carefully as if the subject was being introduced for the first time.
No person, being at all acquainted with History, needs to be informed by what slow process the most useful discoveries have made way in the world. Every thing new comes to us clothed with suspicion; and the most intelligent and best men are reluctant to forego long cherished ideas and hypothesis in favour of a new doctrine, and too hastily to adopt the novelty, among such persons, is to lose cast in society, and to incur the appellation of Enthusiasts in the world.
Farther, when the bare truth of any discovery has been generally allowed, we find, that the movement has been very slow indeed by which it has advanced to perfection.
By what tardy steps has Naval Architecture advanced from the time that the first Savage ventured upon a plank across the brook, until, in our day, the Navies of the Nations are spreading their canvas up the oceans of the world?
It is now, in the fulness of our knowledge, difficult to go back, in idea, from the recent launch of the “Great Britain,” to the remote period when, the power of Steam was first observed, p. 13by some old Lady, when boiling her kettle on the kitchen fire.
We are told, by Mr. Cotton, of several individuals, deservedly eminent in literature, who have discarded the new Science; but, if Mr. C. be on that account entitled to any advantage, might not Mr. Brookes retort upon him, “You have all the advantage of their researches, and surely, if it be imposture, they could have discovered it; I now bring my facts before you, and, after all your experience, challenge your investigation?” and I cannot but think the labour of the learned has been ill employed, for so many years, if they have been able, after all, to lay down no plan by which to detect this presumed imposture.
It is argued also, That, if Mesmerism be true it can be of no real use in Society; and that it may possibly be ill employed.
The answer to this objection I hold to be, that at present, we have nothing to do with the use or abuse of the assumed power; our only object is, to inquire into its existence; that must necessarily be ascertained before it can, in any way, be employed: I feel assured, that, if the power, claimed by Mesmerism, do really exist, it, in common with all the powers of Nature, is capable of producing good; and I would caution Objectors against the reflection upon Providence obviously implied in the opposite idea.
If the real use of a discovery were required, p. 14before it could be advanced to the world, it would operate most fatally to the interests of Science.
Had Dr. Franklin been called upon to prove the use of Electricity, before he was allowed to exhibit his discoveries, he would have been stopped on the very threshold of his experiments, and much of his ingenious discovery would have been lost to the world.
I am here speaking of Mesmerism, alone, as I shall hereafter have to speak of Phrenology. As to any remedial effect to be expected from the practice of Mesmerism, in cases of physical or of nervous disease, it would be quite out of my province, publicly, even to conjecture: I can only state, that I have heard, on most unquestionable authority, of cases of cure, of a most important kind; but, that, in the estimation of Medical men, the result would have been, fairly attributable to the operation of Mesmerism I presume not to determine.
It is creditable to the Medical Gentlemen of Lynn, that they have, with few exceptions, applied themselves to the consideration of the subject, and I have no doubt, would be glad to find in Mesmerism, as in any thing else, an additional auxiliary in their endeavours to ease the couch of suffering, and to lessen the amount of human misery. The curative properties we may leave to the better information of the Faculty, p. 15while we employ our perceptive powers in endeavouring to ascertain the fact, or fallacy, of the presumed Science.
That the discovery may be abused is at once admitted, though by no means, to the extent of the fears of some individuals; but, we do well to inquire how the same idea applies to other matters. I incline to the belief that there are few powers in Nature not capable of being abused.
Who is not aware of the destructive properties of Fire, and how often it is employed, by the Incendiary, to the damage of the honest and unsuspecting? Who has not heard, day after day, of Juries sitting upon the bodies of unfortunate persons who have been destroyed by this powerful element of Nature? and yet, who ever heard of any sane person who would argue, that it had been better for Mankind had Fire not been known?
Who does not know the mighty power for ill, as well as for good, the Materia Medica confers upon the professional part of civilized Society? yet, who would argue, that it would be better for mankind to discontinue the use and practice of Medicine?
The exhibitions of Mesmerism have been compared to the feats of the Jugglers of India, and, we have been pressed with the assurance, that the Mesmeriser is quite outdone by the Juggler. It may be so, but I submit, that there is a clear p. 16line of distinction to be drawn between the two cases.
The Indian comes before you professing to deceive, he defies you indeed to discern the process of imposture, and sometimes the observer is so astonished that he falls back on the only idea that can serve him at the moment, (so completely are his senses paralyzed) that, there must be some superhuman agency employed; but, after all, it only professes to be the feat of a Conjuror, and he offers you no clue to the practice of the same delusion.
The Mesmeriser exhibits, before your eyes, phenomena very strange and startling, but he says “I am no Conjuror; I only profess to show you a latent power in Nature, as yet but imperfectly developed; I believe that its knowledge may be useful to Society; I profess to do nothing which you cannot do yourselves; test my experiments in every possible way, I will assist you to do so.”
Who, I ask, does not at once see, that in the one case, we are imposed upon by a clever Impostor, and cannot help ourselves; while in the other, we can test almost every experiment by trials of our own, and need draw no conclusion but from the result of our own individual and absolute experiment.
The only remaining argument advanced against inquiring into the assumed sciences, of p. 17which we are speaking, is this, that The establishment of the truth of Mesmerism, and specially of Phrenology, would be destructive to the Christian Religion, and would subvert the authority of the Scriptures upon which that Religion is based.
To my mind, this is, by far, the gravest argument with which we have to deal, and I should be sorry indeed to treat it in an improper or unbecoming manner; yet, I feel that I should be failing in the duty I have imposed upon myself, were I not to look the presumed difficulty fairly in the face; and at least endeavour to justify my own conduct in regard to it; and if possible, to remove the delusion which, I humbly suggest, hangs upon the mind of those who make this objection.
I am quite aware that it is impossible that I should do complete justice to this part of my subject; or, offer more than a comparatively very small part of the argument which might be adduced. My purpose, in this publication, would not be served by a long treatise; and I shall therefore endeavour to compress the argument as much as possible, begging the reader to judge impartially of what I do advance; and not to condemn the argument because I have been unable to compress that which would require a volume, into the pages of a small pamphlet.
p. 18Before I proceed farther, I would altogether dismiss the objection, That we cannot comprehend the phenomena, observing, merely, that that remark applies, with equal force, to a vast variety of subjects and objects, which we are compelled to believe.
“Go ask your mother Earth why Oaks are made
Taller or stouter than the Weeds they shade.”
To the serious, christian man, upon whom this objection has any influence, I would remark, that he who is disposed to admit the truth of that only which he can comprehend, confines his faith in a very narrow circle, within the circumference of which there can be no God!
I here feel it incumbent upon me to state, that I have no sympathy with those individuals who would foster and encourage any Theory by which they hope to damage Christianity; and I wonder that any person can be found so hardy as to endeavour, covertly, to undermine the rock upon which the hopes of so many have been founded; to put out the light which has, for ages, served to guide the pious, humble christian in his journey through life; to take away and to destroy that feeling, with regard to a future world of happiness, which has been the Hope of the pious in all ages, which Hope they have cherished in their hearts, in every difficulty and in every distress, and which has been to them, on the stormy ocean of the World, as an “anchor to the soul.”
p. 19Mine is a far different object, I desire to shew the unlettered Christian that he has not believed in a “cunningly devised fable,” but, that his Faith rests upon a sure basis, and that he may take his Bible in his hand and laugh to scorn the insidious attempts of the learned infidelity and skepticism of the world. [19]
I believe much harm is done to Religion by the well intentioned but idle fears of Christians, upon the introduction of any new Science; their Faith and not their Fears should be called into exercise. I believe the Bible to be given by the Author of Nature, and that he never gave any information to his Creatures which could ever p. 20be adverse or inconsistent to any subsequent development that Nature could afford.
I dare not admit the idea that the testimony of Scripture depends for its acceptance upon the sufferance of Modern Science. I take vastly higher ground, and believe that the Christian man may approach with confidence to the investigation of any phenomena in Nature, in the assurance that, so far as it is true, it will not be found inconsonant with what he rightly considers to be the Word of God.
Much of the difficulty in the minds of well meaning Christians, in all ages, in relation to discoveries in Nature has doubtless arisen from the peculiar and poetical language in which the Scriptural Record is expressed. In the fact that it was just so expressed as to be understood by the particular people to whom it was originally given. That it does not profess to be a guide to man, in his researches through the arcanum of Nature; but, incidentally alludes to natural phenomena only so far as the people of that age were acquainted with such subjects, and in order only, to give a proper impression as to the greatness and goodness of God.
Had these propositions been more generally observed, I venture to suggest, that Religion and Science would not have been found so often in circumstances of apparent collision.
The best men have, in all ages, been too much p. 21disposed to put their Faith in abeyance, while their Fears have been allowed to proclaim a danger to Religion; and, alas! too often to persecute those who have made the most useful and important discoveries.
It is well known that the Copernican System was declared by the Pope, on its introduction, in a bull, specially issued for the purpose, to be “false in fact and heretical in religion,” and its author was doomed to imprisonment for his discovery! and we find that while Plato, Cicero, Aristotle, Strabo, and other heathen authors allowed the rotundity of the earth, that Lactantius, one of the Christian Fathers, influenced by the well meaning, but ill employed fear I have described, contended for the old opinion. He asks, “Is any one so foolish, as to believe that there are men whose feet are higher than their heads; trees growing downwards; rain, snow, and hail, falling upwards?”
Lactantius feared that his Religion and the new theory could not exist together. We have become assured of the truth of the theory, and who now fears for the Scriptures on account of the globular form of the Earth?
Some few years since Geology was introduced as a science, the Christian World became alarmed; the pens of divines were busily employed to write down the supposed delusion; the patient Investigators of the structure of the Earth continued p. 22their labor, and we now find that, as the science makes way the fear subsides, and Geology, in the present day, numbers among its supporters and defenders some of the brightest ornaments of the Christian Church.
It may not be familiar to my readers, that even Navigation, by the discovery and pursuit of which mankind in our day are always passing in large numbers upon the Ocean, which we term in modern language, the “Highway of Nations;” which is quite indispensible to the intercourse and commerce of the world; which conduces so much, and in so many ways, to human happiness: by the aid of which the providential bounties of the Torrid are conveyed to the Inhabitants of the Frigid Zone: and even the Polar Seas themselves are laid under contribution and made to minister to the comfort and enjoyment of the Inhabitants of more temperate climes.
It may, possibly, astonish some of my Christian Readers to be informed that Navigation without which the precept of the Scripture “Preach the Gospel to every Creature” could never be complied with; and the abandonment of which would involve the annihilation to a large extent of Benevolent and Missionary enterprise, it may astonish them to know that even Navigation has been denounced as impiety, but such is the fact! we find the accomplished Horace writing thus:—“In vain did a God purposely, p. 23cut off the lands from the Ocean, forbidding all intercourse, if, nevertheless, the impious Barks bound contemptuously over the seas not to be touched.” [23]
The difficulty appears to be, to get mankind to understand that the wonders of Nature are no less wonderful because we are permitted, successfully, to explore the various laws and modes of her operations.
Are we at all less indebted to Providence for the “showers that water the Earth” because we now know that the moisture is exhaled from our planet before it is dropped from the cloud?
Is the genial influence of the Sun of less importance because we are, now, aware that the Earth revolves around it, instead of (as our fathers supposed) the Sun revolving round the Earth?
Is the planetary system at all less interesting to us because the extension of telescopic vision has shewn us new worlds beyond the ken and credence of our forefathers? Surely not! But, should we not rather be the more impressed with the greatness and the condescension of God, just in proportion as we are permitted to advance, cautiously and tremblingly indeed, in the contemplation and understanding of his work?
Man is a complex being, “fearfully and wonderfully p. 24made,” having, besides his bodily powers, some principle which keeps the machine in motion, and some unseen, yet evident power of volition by the aid, and at the command of which his several actions are performed.
In what part of the system that power is deposited was long held to be doubtful; but, it is now generally allowed that the seat of that power is the brain, and several industrious and learned men have, of late years, been carefully engaged in endeavours to understand the anatomy of that part of the human frame.
The result of their inquiries, as might be supposed, has been variously stated by different individuals; among other ideas, some have supposed they were able to trace, with tolerable correctness, the various parts of the brain which impelled the individual to various actions; and they endeavoured to assign to each class of human sentiment and faculty its peculiar portion which they have designated Organs.
They have, in pursuance of their Theory, mapped out the human scull into compartments, to each of which they have assigned a particular faculty or sentiment, and they profess to tell, with some degree of accuracy, the individual character by the peculiar formation of the head.
The reader will bear in mind, that I profess not even to conjecture, in this argument, the truth or fallacy of the system, that Phrenologists p. 25have laid down; I am only endeavouring to disabuse the mind of the serious and pious man of any fears for his Religion, on the possibility that Phrenology should be found true.
No man can have observed human Nature, with even common or ordinary care, but must have been impressed with the fact, that there is as much diversity in the development of mind as is apparent, to common observation, in the structure of the body. One man is mentally competent to, and would excel in one department of Art or Science or of ordinary Business in which another would certainly fail, while the first would be equally deficient in another department, not by any means requiring more than common sagacity to insure success. This is a matter of such common observation that I need not enlarge upon it.
My position then is this; That allowing, as we must, the great diversity of mental, human character, it will do no damage to Religion if Phrenology should succeed in exhibiting that, minutely and in detail, which we already admit in the mass.
The Milky Way is not the less brilliant because to the Telescopic eye it exhibits a cluster of beauties, while to common observation, these minutiæ are concealed.
It can release no man from the common obligations which all owe to God, who judgeth not p. 26according to the sight of the eye: but, who “judgeth righteous judgment.”
If Phrenology be true, it may indeed teach us lessons of forbearance and charity to human frailty; but can in no respect affect our duty and obligations toward God.
In conclusion I observe, that I am, individually, quite unconcerned as to whether the Sciences, as they are termed, which we have been considering, should prove, on farther and fuller examination, to be true or to be false.
Possibly their promoters, in the sanguine pursuit of a new Theory, may have asked of the Public a too unsuspecting confidence, and may have pushed their Theory beyond its legitimate position. This I leave to them and to the Public to determine.
I sat down to write this address in order to defend myself, and as far as I may have expressed their sentiments, my friends also, from the unsparing censure which has been passed upon us for our efforts to ascertain for ourselves the truth or falsehood of these phenomena.
How far I have succeeded the Reader and the Public must determine. I have designed offence to no one, and I hope that no one has been offended. As to the remarks I felt compelled to make upon the Gentlemen who have published upon the subject, I think the reader will allow that I was justified, by the pamphlets p. 27themselves, for the course I have pursued.
I now take leave of the subject, careless as to the success of Mesmerism or Phrenology; and only solicitous that every facility should be afforded for the complete exhibition and testing of so important phenomena.
W. A.
Market-place, Lynn,
Aug. 11th, 1843.
FINIS.
p. 29LYNN:
PRINTED BY J. W. AIKEN,
HIGH STREET.
[19] Dr. Chalmers says—“Perhaps the most singular attempt to graft Infidelity on any thing called a Science, is by those who associate their denial of the Christian Revelation with the doctrines of Phrenology, as if there were any earthly connection between the form of the human skull, or its effects upon the human character upon the one hand, and the truth or falsehood of our Religion on the other; for, granting them all their Organs, it no more tells either to the confirmation or disparagement of our historical evidence for the visitation of this earth by a messenger from Heaven, than it tells on the historical evidence for the invasion of Britain by Julius Cæsar. And we venture to affirm of all the other Sciences, that no discovery has been made in any of them, which is not in every way as inconsequential to the point at issue; and that the truths of all Philosophy put together as little interfere with the truths of the Gospel as the discoveries of the Astronomer interfere with the discoveries of the Anatomist.”
Preface to Modern Philosophy.
[23] Horace Car III. Lib. I.