Atheist is everywhere regarded as a
term of reproach. Every man instinctively recoils from it. Even the
philosophers of the time of the French Revolution repudiated the charge
of atheism, because they believed in motion; and motion being
inscrutable, they believed in an inscrutable something, _i. e._ in
Force. We doubt not Mr. Spencer would indignantly reject the imputation
of atheism; nevertheless, in the judgment of most men, the difference
between Antitheist and Atheist is a mere matter of orthography.
FOOTNOTES:
[3] _First Principles of a New System of Philosophy._ By Herbert
Spencer. Second edition. New York, 1869, p. 30.
[4] _Von den goettlichen Dingen_, _Werke_, III. pp. 422, 425. Leipzig,
1816.
_Hylozoic Theory._
This theory assumes the universe to be eternal. There is nothing extra,
or antemundane. There is but one substance, and that substance is
matter. Matter, however, has an active and passive principle. Life and
rationality are among its attributes or functions. The universe,
therefore, is a living whole pervaded by a principle not only of life
but of intelligence. This hylozoic doctrine, some modern scientific men,
as Professor Tyndall, seem inclined to adopt. They tell us that matter
is not the dead and degraded thing it is commonly regarded. It is active
and transcendental. What that means, we do not know.
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