man and the religion of humanity as invented and expounded by Comte. Of course, the new view can only be accepted by the abandonment of the old, and we very much doubt if the world will approve or accept the change. It is incongruous and fantastic, and would be incredible, but for the ridiculous fact that a little sect is actually trying to adopt and carry it out. A writer in an English newspaper, who had visited the Little Bethel of the Comteists to witness the services on the eve of the fête of the founder of the new religion, thus describes what he saw: "When I entered Dr. Congreve was reading the service for the day. He had an audience of some thirty persons, several of them young ladies who had evidently come to be startled. The sermon was preached by Mr. Crompton. If he is a 'priest' of the new dispensation, he wears no clerical attire. Perhaps the.! year 96 of the Comteist era (for they have, like the French Republic, their own era) is too early for the invention of sacerdotal robes. The preacher came to a desk draped in red baize, and for a half-hour poured forth a rhapsody upon Auguste Comte, Clothilde de Vaux, progress, order, unity, and love, which was chiefly remarkable for the free use of Christian language to set forth a faith (if it can be called a faith) antagonistic to Christianity. The poor wife of Comte, who left him, was dismissed with a word of scorn for one who was incapable of sharing the honors of greatness; and Clothilde, the mistress, was extolled to the skies for her devotion to her distinguished lover. Comte and Clothilde were declared to be the two greatest people who had visited this earth; and the peroration was a sort of ascription to them. It was startling to hear the organ, as the preacher sat down, peal forth that beautiful phrase from Mendelssohn's 'Elijah' so often heard as a Kyrie, and associated in the oratorio with the words 'Bend down from heaven and grant us thy peace. Help, Lord, thy servants; help, God!' Dr. Congreve then rose and said, 'Let us pray.' Everybody stood. 'We praise thee, Humanity,' said Dr. Congreve, 'as for all thy servants, so especially for Auguste Comte; and we pray that, in proof of our gratitude, we may become thy more willing and complete servants.' The prayer went on to talk of 'the queen of our devotion, the lady of our loving service, the one center of all our being, the one bond of all ages, the one shelter for all the families of mankind, the one foundation of a truly catholic church. To thee be all honor and glory. Amen!' Then came a parody of the benediction given in the name of Humanity: 'The peace of her slowly dawning kingdom be upon you, the blessing of Humanity abide with you, now and forever.' The organ played again, and the little audience departed."
The devotees of this new religious cult may be sincere, but they are none the less absurd; and to call this result of insane egotism—the substitution of man for God as an object of worship—by the name of religion is to take liberties with the meanings of words which, if carried out, would reduce all language to a state of chaos.
A HEALTHY MATERIALISM.
In spite of the intellectual advancement of our age, men are still to far too great an extent under the dominion of mere words. If there is any habit which science is destined to break up and dispel it is this. Science must do it, because it is pre-eminently the knowledge of things, and to know things should make the mere names of things sit lightly upon one. Words have seized the throne of man's reason; they command, and he obeys. It is time to dethrone them, to break their spell over the human mind, to teach every human being to ask without dismay: "What is the reality of
