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or
A
SHORT
CATECHISM
FOR THE USE OF
SCHOOL-BOARDS.
BY
AN EX-OLEEGYMAN.
Q. What is the Established Church ?
A. It is a pseudo Church, related to and depend
ing upon the State, on the same footing as any
other corporate political body.
Q. Why do you call it a “ pseudo ” Church ?
A. Because as it was cobbled together, after what
was called the “Reformation,” of fragments of
Catholicism and Protestantism, so its whole constitu
tion is anomalous and chaotic; besides which, it is .
without any recognised living authority to decide any
question or act in any matter.
Q. Is it really without any form of authoritative
Government ?
A. There is a branch of the Legislature called a
Judicial Committee (which may consist entirely of
Jews), which is supposed to have a voice in Ecclesias
tical questions, which is a vox et prceterea nihil as a
matter of course. They have been known, however,
on one or two occasions, to sacrifice some rash and
unpopular minister who couldn’t gulp down his
modicum of heterogeneous fare in the regularly
approved manner, to assuage what is called orthodoxy.
Q. What do you understand by orthodoxy ?
A. Any opinion outwardly acquiesced in by a
considerable number of respectable people.
*' 1
�2
Q. What do you understand by heterodoxy ?
A. The expression of any private opinion appa
rently at variance with orthodoxy.
Q. Are there not very highly paid officials, in a
ministerial capacity, in the Established Church, in
whom a certain amount of power is vested ?
A. There are certain functionaries called Bishops,
about whom there still hangs a sort of traditional
haze of authority in the minds of common people.
Some of them have attempted to revive this in a
practical form by passing a sentence of excommuni
cation on one of their own order.
Q. What is excommunication ?
A. It means a form of casting a person out of the
pale of the Church, and at one time involved social
ostracism and a variety of disadvantages and losses.
In the present day, except amongst a few fanatics, it
ranks with exorcism, fortune-telling, enchantment,
and such like. It is conjectured that there are not
above two educated men out of a thousand within
the Established Church who would not prefer excom
munication by the whole Bench of Bishops, to the
bite of a flea.
Q. What are these Bishops supposed to do for
their money ?
A. Exclusive of some little periodical displays of
professional skill they are supposed to prosecute
offending subordinates before the Higher Courts, as
the police do pickpockets before the magistrates ; but
as the costs of such prosecutions fall upon the Bishops,
it is superfluous to observe that they are not much
in vogue.
Q. Is there anything definite required in the
Established Church ?
A. Very little beyond compliance with certain
forms, and subscription to certain portions of matter
selected from the compound, as terms of admission
into its emoluments and places. Anything in the
�3
form of a trade mark of an accepted bearing or
meaning could not be expected where the language
used is necessarily regarded as a convertible medium,
and black indicates white under such passwords as
“non-natural sense ” and “charitable supposition.”
Q. Is there even uniformity in externals, as a rule ?
A. There commonly is to a certain extent, but not
necessarily, as in a system in which anarchy prevails,
things may be said and done in any manner, altered,
curtailed, or omitted, at individual option.
Q. What is the supposed object and use of this
Established Church ?
A. It is supposed to impart a Christian character
to the State and to maintain and teach the Christian
religion.
Q. What is the Christian Religion of the Esta
blished Church ?
A. “Any doctrines within limits which only
extreme subtlety can distinguish from Roman Catho
licism on the one side, from Calvinism on another
side, and from Deism on a third.” (Times article.)
Q. How can we explain the fact of many educated,
thinking, intelligent men, capable of usefulness in
their day and generation, continuing to hold official
positions in such an Established Church as this ?
A. Because they are like Issachar, between two
burdens, Conscience and Self-interest, and they see
that glebe land is good and rest is pleasant, and they
bow their brains, wills, inclinations, capacities, and
tastes, to what they gulp down as the yoke of neces
sity, and so become tributary.
Q. Why do we find educated men in increasing
numbers ceasing to attend the public services of the
Established Church, though not avowedly separated
from her ?
A. Because it somehow strikes them that either
from the nature of the services themselves, or from
the effect produced by continual use upon the person
�4
officiating, the whole performance is unreal and per
functory, on one side; or they find an ornate display
and reverential cultus, with which they have no
sympathy, on the other. Many of them also consider
that they derive more harm than advantage from
what are called sermons, especially to their tempers.
Q. Why does the Dean of Carlisle, in a letter
addressed to the Hock., which he calls the “efflux of
an old Clergyman’s heart,” commit himself to such
a statement as that “ this Established Church is the
greatest bulwark of the faith ” ?
A. Because his old clerical heart has become so
saturated with the system that he has forced him
self into the belief that the party to which he belongs
(and which is diminishing in number and influence
every day) represents what he calls “ the faith,”
i.e., of the Establishment, and also that he is con
tending for this “faith,” and not for the pay and
position of a Dean.
Q. How does the Archdeacon of Taunton express
himself upon the subject ?
A. He says that “if Parliament meddles with
the creed of St Athanasius,” there will be “ nd
“ longer any room to doubt that the Establishment, is
operating actively to the undermining and overthrow
of all sound religion.”
Q. What is the Athanasian creed ?
A. An anonymous, unauthoritative, unintelligible
assortment of words.
Q„ What is the conclusion of the whole matter ?
A. That of the Archdeacon, without his hypo
thesis.
C. W. REY.NELL, PRINTER, LITTLE PULTENEY STREET, HAYMARKET.
�
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Victorian Blogging
Description
An account of the resource
A collection of digitised nineteenth-century pamphlets from Conway Hall Library & Archives. This includes the Conway Tracts, Moncure Conway's personal pamphlet library; the Morris Tracts, donated to the library by Miss Morris in 1904; the National Secular Society's pamphlet library and others. The Conway Tracts were bound with additional ephemera, such as lecture programmes and handwritten notes.<br /><br />Please note that these digitised pamphlets have been edited to maximise the accuracy of the OCR, ensuring they are text searchable. If you would like to view un-edited, full-colour versions of any of our pamphlets, please email librarian@conwayhall.org.uk.<br /><br /><span><img src="http://www.heritagefund.org.uk/sites/default/files/media/attachments/TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" width="238" height="91" alt="TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" /></span>
Creator
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Conway Hall Library & Archives
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2018
Publisher
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Conway Hall Ethical Society
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Original Format
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Pamphlet
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
A short catechism for the use of school-boards by an ex-clergyman
Description
An account of the resource
Place of publication: [London?]
Collation: 4 p. ; 18 cm.
Notes: From the library of Dr Moncure Conway. Printed by C.W. Reynell, Little Pulteney Street, London.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
[Thomas Scott?]
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
[187-?]
Identifier
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G5530
Creator
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[Unknown]
Subject
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Church of England
Rights
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<a href="http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/"><img src="http://i.creativecommons.org/p/mark/1.0/88x31.png" alt="Public Domain Mark" /></a><span> </span><br /><span>This work (A short catechism for the use of school-boards by an ex-clergyman), identified by </span><a href="https://conwayhallcollections.omeka.net/items/show/www.conwayhall.org.uk"><span>Humanist Library and Archives</span></a><span>, is free of known copyright restrictions.</span>
Format
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application/pdf
Type
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Text
Language
A language of the resource
English
Catechisms
Church of England
Church of England-Disestablishment
Conway Tracts
-
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23deaeaef7a79127eda4dff6ad165408
PDF Text
Text
CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE SOCIETY:
ITS
PROFESSED PRINCIPLES and ACTUAL POLICY.
NTEREST in the career of this promising though
hitherto disappointing institution prompted a
visit to Willis’s Rooms on Friday afternoon, June 5,
when the third anniversary was being celebrated.
Whether “ celebrated ” is the happiest term or not,
may be decided after acquaintance with what follows.
In the circular which accompanied the request for our
subscription, the Christian Evidence Society declares
(after enumerating the various aggressive efforts of
heterodox propagandists) that it is their object to
“stem the tide of scepticism.” They “hold that
difficulties must be met by fair argument, and doubts
removed by candid explanations. They desire, too, to
meet the bolder and more aggressive propagation of
infidelity, to confront its champions, and refute their
arguments; to rescue inquiring minds from being
misled by objections—essentially old, capable of refu
tation, and oft refuted, which nevertheless, if un
challenged in their new forms, may be thought un
answerable because unanswered.” A most laudable
object, would to Heaven they would carry it out!
and it was to hear the Society’s own report of its
warfare that our visit was paid.
I
�2
There were about 150 persons present, of whom
perhaps two-thirds were ladies, and a large proportion
of the remainder clergymen, as might perhaps be ex
pected, seeing that the speakers comprised the Arch
bishop of York, Bishop of London (in the chair),
Bishop of Gloucester, Bishop of Oxford, besides lesser
dignitaries of the Church. Prayers were read from
a small book, having no special reference to the work
of the Society. The report was lengthy; common
place at first, it grew chilly as it proceeded, until it
left us decidedly dull. Por, after reviewing the year’s
work, the opposition to which was characterised as
“ only feeble,” and planning out schemes to come,
the dismal truth had to be spoken, that Christians
had not rushed to the defence of the “ faith once
delivered” with the hoped-for energy: the sinews of
war were failing, the funds are dreadfully low. The
receipts had been 1,493Z.; expenditure, l,480Z.; leaving
a balance of 13Z. only “ to stem the tide of scepticism.”
Worse remained behind, the loss of large benefactors;
and there would not have been even a balance at all,
had not pressure of circumstances forced them to sell
out one-fourth of their reserve fund. We were much
relieved to hear, after this, that some of the members
have offered special prayers on the evening of the last
day in each month, in private, for the benefit of the
Society; and though at present the answer had not
been all that might be expected from a “ prayer
answering God,” we were all earnestly requested to
do likewise, since this mode of raising subscriptions
had been “ specially sanctioned by his Grace the
Archbishop of York,” who yawned heartily during
the whole of the report.
The Bishop of London struck the uppermost chord
in the hearts of all present by deploring, in his least
cheerful manner, “that society is saturated with
infidelity from the highest grade to the lowest,” that
men are satisfied to live according to the dictates “ of
�3
their own evil hearts.” The masses, he confessed,
do not attend church, and he believed that the extent
of passive unbelief is more harmful than active infi
delity. Still, he thought that this infidelity is not
deeper to-day than formerly, but more multiform, as
they are now attacked at once by the coarse objections
of Paine, and by the keen criticism of Strauss and
others. His lordship favoured us with a long cata
logue of various phases of modern unbelief, which he
summed up in one word, “ Egotism,” that is the root
of all heresy to-day. He considered that Christians
had been too full of apology and defence of late, and
advised the taking of higher ground in future, stating
boldly that they believe would perhaps have a better
effect with the people than mere argument. He did
not add that assertion was better than proof, when
proof is wanting. The Bishop effectually damped
our not over lively spirits, but there was possibly a
special providence in the fact that very few could
hear a word of his very badly read address. He
concluded with a feeble apology for the existence
of the Society, “ whose work is so valuable, but the
results of which,” said his lordship, “ will only be
known—hereafter. ’ ’
The Chairman stated that a “ good deal of the
infidelity of the day arose from ignorance, and hence
the necessity of a society like the Christian Evidence
Society, which met the Infidel on his own ground,
an.d showed by lectures, pamphlets, and tracts that
Christians were in the right.” Surely the Bishop of
London forgot the facts of the case. It is true that
ignorance breeds superstition, a state of mind largely
traded on by priests of all denominations ; but the
so-called infidelity of the present day, which the
Christian Evidence Society does not attempt to touch,
is the result of the increasing amount of intelligence
in all classes, leading to the examination of the
grounds on which certain facts are said to rest, and
�4
thereby the said facts are proved to have no
existence.
It is to be feared that the clergy comprising the
Christian Evidence Society are hardly so scrupulous
in their statements as their profession should make
them. Had the Bishop said that without the sup
port of the ignorant and superstitious such societies
as the Christian Evidence Society could not be kept
alive, he would indeed have uttered a great truth.
To ignore, as the Christian Evidence Society has
hitherto done, such challenges as that by Judge
Strange or Mr Thomas Scott, seems proof that they
fear to meet such writers. At any rate they ignore
them wholly ; as yet the Society has shrunk from
“ confronting the champions ” of free thought, and,
like Ealstaff, shows its bravery only by big words.
Or are, perhaps, these gentlemen so ignorant and
obscure as to be quite beneath their notice F
It is to be hoped that a steady persistence by these
gentlemen, and a host of others like them, in the
work of laying bare the immense assumptions and
assertions of the orthodox, may at last force this
Society to give some public reply to their various
pamphlets.
The Archbishop of York is abetter specimen of the
Church Militant than his brother of London, and as
he shook himself together it was evident there was
to be a serious deliverance. After paying the con
ventional compliment to “My Lord Bishop ” for the
magnificent oration from the chair, His Grace reluc
tantly declared he could not share the Bishop’s hope
that infidelity is decreasing. With great emphasis
he assured us it is increasing every day. We were
taken to Germany and France, and back to England,
in proof of the terrible encroachment of the great
army of sceptics, and were told how an astronomer had
given a detailed explanation of the movements of the
planetary bodies to one who, astounded, said to the
�5
man of Science, “ Why, you have never even men
tioned the name of God ! ” “ Sir,” said the philo
sopher, “ there is no need of such an hypothesis.”
His Grace also believes that the appearance of one
■who believes is quite as effectual as an argument,
which met with the approbation of many around him.
However potent for good the sight of a live Arch
bishop or Bishop may be, and we do not doubt it in
the least, it seems hardly probable that an exhibition
of lecturers or even the lectures themselves, will effect
much towards the Society’s object—“ the refutation
of arguments which may be thought unanswerable
because unanswered.” He deprecates evidential dis
courses and arguments in the pulpit, which might
cause many to doubt who did not doubt before, but
advises special lectures in suitable places, although he
rightly added that “ Christianity is just as true to-day
as ever it was.” Children ought not to be taught the
proofs of Christianity, nor to reason upon its facts, but
this sentiment was strongly opposed by several succeed
ing speakers. His Grace grew boisterously eloquent
with acknowledged borrowed illustrations and quota
tions upon “ the intellectual side of the Trinity,”
treating us to a little sermon suitable to the Calendar.
But sadness followed with the words “ there have been
works published this year which are as hard to answer
as any that have ever appeared.” He gave no signs of
any intention to reply to them himself, and deliberately
pooh-poohed a suggestion of the report, offered as an
incitement to further subscriptions, that the Society
should publish some works, after the pattern of
Butler’s ‘ Analogy,’ carefully reasoned out, which
shall claim the attention and dispose of the objections
of the cultured sceptic, who will not trouble himself
with their small publications. The Archbishop said
they must let this alone : “you cannot do it properly,
you must not become a publishing society, leave that
to the S.P.C.K. and continue as you are doing.” With
�6
an excuse for himself and Right Reverend Brethren,
that they could not be of much use to the cause,
having so little time at command, His Gtace con
cluded with an earnest appeal for—not arguments,
but funds, and. left the hall. The Rev. W. Arthur,
Wesleyan Minister, followed with an able speech of a
few minutes, in which he demolished Comte with
consummate ease in five sentences and a half. He
held that a child’s mind soon expands, delighting
in argument and reason [this unlucky oversight
of the Creator], could only be remedied by in
stilling into it early the glorious principles of the
Christian doctrine. Dr Jobson, Wesleyan, cheer
fully objected to be classed as a Nonconformist,
since he would willingly sign the Thirty-nine Articles.
He agreed with the last speaker that “ the children
should not be left to Satan,” and after saying nothing
for another five minutes, sat down. Dr J. H. Glad
stone announced himself as a man of Science. “ Some
of us,- or rather two or three of the few who are
known as men of Science, are supposed to be unbe
lievers ! ” A slander against which he vehemently
protested, for though one or two (e.y., Huxley, Tyndall,
Carpenter, and such like scientists) may not be “ with
us ” in all points, they are but units compared with the
great company “ of us,” who reconcile fact and faith.
This gentleman apparently forgot he was not lectur
ing to his class of youths, but at length, after sundry
“ scientific ” sneers at men who pretend to know more
than himself, the well-prepared performance closed.
Thus far we heard nothing about the victories won, or
schemes of future operations ; we were lost in contem
plation of the in-flowing “ tide of scepticism.” The
Bishop of Gloucester is given to plain speaking, espe
cially when advising how to dispose of an inconvenient
opponent, so we looked for light. His lordship had
charge of a resolution embodying a proposal to pub
lish the big books, previously discouraged by the
�7
Archbishop. With great ingenuity, more worthy of
the bar than the bench, his lordship found a way to
support the Society without coming into conflict with
His Grace, by dwelling upon the word “ further;” that
is, the Society will not publish, but only “further”
the publication of the two works, one of which is to
be upon the Gospels, and the other upon the Miracles.
An author of great eminence has undertaken one of
these already. The speaker dealt with many topics,
but managed to omit the interesting question, lost
sight of by all speakers, “ What has been done to
‘ refute the arguments ’ of the many scholars of
eminence who have pointedly challenged the Society ?
The Bishop read extracts from the most recently
published work of this kind, to show us how terribly
infidel in character our first writers are becoming.
But not one word of reply, not a sign of “ refutation ”
or “ stemming the tide.” He also lamented that his
time is so fully occupied, or he might—(no, he did
not say that.) He showed how Butler of the
‘ Analogy ’ is useless to-day, and so of the rest.
The brightest gem of his speech was when he
announced, in seductive tones, that the Christian
Evidence Society has plenty of room,—room for men
of genius to work for her, room for money to pay the
men of genius, and in sad need of the prayers of all
who, like their lordships, could not supply anything
else.
Others followed, but it was a weary wail through
out. The principles of the Society seem to flourish
in an inverse ratio to their efforts to propagate them.
Thev were a more powerful force in their first days
than now in their third year. Their confessions of
failure, whether in gaining respect, sympathy,
adherents, or money, are of more worth to the
opponents they ignore than to the cause they
profess to support. They challenge, but do not
fight; they argue, but do not reason; they see
�8
the gauntlet, but look another way; they profess
to be bold, but accept the taunt of cowardice.
It is their principle “to meet difficulties with fair
argument, and remove doubts by candid explana
tions;” it is their policy to meet the doubter with
exploded arguments, and that not sufficing, either
press him into their own army or dismiss him con
firmed in his doubt. Their apparent advance, when
closely observed and challenged, proves to be a stra
tegic movement culminating in retreat. Three years
of patient effort to arouse these apologists to their
duty of answering the persistent attacks of men
abler and more consistent than themselves, have
proved the impossibility of galvanising a moribund
body into active life. The deepest conviction of im
partial minds upon leaving the meeting was that the
Christian Evidence Society has, at great expense,
done little else than furnish evidence of the weakness
of the cause it defends, a conviction which, “how
ever capable of refutation,” if not removed by
“candid explanations,” will assuredly “ be thought
unanswerable because unanswered.”
C. W. REYNELL, printer, little pulteney street, kaymarket, w.
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Victorian Blogging
Description
An account of the resource
A collection of digitised nineteenth-century pamphlets from Conway Hall Library & Archives. This includes the Conway Tracts, Moncure Conway's personal pamphlet library; the Morris Tracts, donated to the library by Miss Morris in 1904; the National Secular Society's pamphlet library and others. The Conway Tracts were bound with additional ephemera, such as lecture programmes and handwritten notes.<br /><br />Please note that these digitised pamphlets have been edited to maximise the accuracy of the OCR, ensuring they are text searchable. If you would like to view un-edited, full-colour versions of any of our pamphlets, please email librarian@conwayhall.org.uk.<br /><br /><span><img src="http://www.heritagefund.org.uk/sites/default/files/media/attachments/TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" width="238" height="91" alt="TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" /></span>
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Conway Hall Library & Archives
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2018
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Conway Hall Ethical Society
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Original Format
The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
Pamphlet
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
The Christian Evidence Society: its professed principles and actual policy
Description
An account of the resource
Place of publication: [s.l.]
Collation: 8 p. ; 18 cm.
Notes: From the library of Dr Moncure Conway. Printed by C.W. Reynell, Little Pulteney Street, London.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
[Thomas Scott?]
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
[187-?]
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
G5543
Subject
The topic of the resource
Christianity
Bible
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
[Unknown]
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
<a href="http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/"><img src="http://i.creativecommons.org/p/mark/1.0/88x31.png" alt="Public Domain Mark" /></a><span> </span><br /><span>This work (The Christian Evidence Society: its professed principles and actual policy), identified by </span><a href="https://conwayhallcollections.omeka.net/items/show/www.conwayhall.org.uk"><span>Humanist Library and Archives</span></a><span>, is free of known copyright restrictions.</span>
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
application/pdf
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Language
A language of the resource
English
Bible-Evidences
Christian Evidence Society
Conway Tracts
-
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4ce1534d4af2d690b3b4c5d885ed9b86
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RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION
IN
SECONDARY FOUNDATION
SCHOOLS.
HOW TO DEAL WITH IT.
HE writer of the following brief remarks has been
impelled to commit them to print by the reflection
that whilst the propriety of allowing the Masters of
Primary Schools to give instruction in religion has for
the last two years formed a prominent subject of
national discussion, the objections which lie against
allowing or requiring the Head Masters of Secondary
Endowed Schools “to make provision, in conjunction
with the Governing Body,” for similar instruction, have
not, as far as he is aware, received adequate attention.
Under the system which at present obtains in the
Secondary Endowed Schools of England, a Head Master
of honesty and intelligence is evidently liable to find
himself in a dilemma of the following kind; either he
must teach the scholars (and whether he does so by
explicit inculcation or by the implication of reticence,
makes but little difference to the resiflt), at a peculiarly
impassionable age, that every detail of the Biblical nar
rative is truth unquestioned and unquestionable on pain
of offending God, and. the maxims of conduct therein
commended, of perfect morality; or he must acquaint
them with some at least of the conclusions to the con
trary established or advanced by modern criticism.
The first alternative, it will be admitted, is not only
very unfavourable to the teacher’s growth in accuracy
of thought on religious topics, and sensitiveness to the
responsibilities of his position, but involves the risk of
drawing the children of parents of broad and en
lightened religious opinions back into the terrifying
misapprehensions, to use no stronger word, which it cost
themselves possibly years of mental agony and painful
study to outgrow. The second alternative would most
assuredly involve him in contentions with the Governors
of the School and with parents of a narrow, unculti
vated, and, by consequence, intolerant type of ortho
doxy, whereby would be caused very probably the im
mediate decadence of the School, and, finally, the ruin
of the Head Master by dismissal where possible.
T
�2
Two courses are open by which the evils indicated
may be avoided. Either the curriculum of instruction
in these schools may be restricted to secular knowledge,
as is the case in the nascent Public Schools and Col
leges in New Zealand, among our colonies ; or the treat
ment of the text of the Bible may be conformed in
practice to that of the histories of Livy and Herodotus,
and the ethical treatises of Plato, Aristotle, and Cicero,
the established conclusions and critical methods of
modern science and historical proof being no more
ignored, discredited, or suppressed in the case of the
one department of study than in that of the other.
It is to be feared that some time must yet elapse
before either of these two courses is introduced by legis
lative enactment into Secondary Endowed Schools. He
desires, therefore, to advocate the immediate establish
ment of a College of Secondary Education, on the Pro
prietary system, after the model of Cheltenham College,
in which the second of the courses defined above, which
is also the one which appears to him abstractedly the
best, may form the distinguishing feature.
He entertains the conviction that the number of
persons has enormously increased of late years, and is
daily increasing still more rapidly, who, so far from
desiring to see promoted in their children, by the in
struction given them in school, a retrogression in reli
gious conceptions from the standard of enlightenment
they have themselves attained, desire to see them aided
and encouraged in achieving and maintaining a like
moral enfranchisement. He is also of opinion that in
the foundation of a school of this kind is to be found
the remedy for the fact that whereas many of the most
able and the most ardent friends of religious enlighten
ment only achieve late in life the mental development
necessary to qualify them for a position in the ranks of
its adherents (perhaps but a few years before they are
removed from active service by death or the infirmities
of advancing years), the champions of obscurantism,
obstruction, and intolerance are recruited, owing to the
present system of Public School education, by the enlist
ment of each successive generation in its childhood.
PRINTED BY C. W. REYNELL, LITTLE PULTENEY STREET, HAYMARKET.
�
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Title
A name given to the resource
Victorian Blogging
Description
An account of the resource
A collection of digitised nineteenth-century pamphlets from Conway Hall Library & Archives. This includes the Conway Tracts, Moncure Conway's personal pamphlet library; the Morris Tracts, donated to the library by Miss Morris in 1904; the National Secular Society's pamphlet library and others. The Conway Tracts were bound with additional ephemera, such as lecture programmes and handwritten notes.<br /><br />Please note that these digitised pamphlets have been edited to maximise the accuracy of the OCR, ensuring they are text searchable. If you would like to view un-edited, full-colour versions of any of our pamphlets, please email librarian@conwayhall.org.uk.<br /><br /><span><img src="http://www.heritagefund.org.uk/sites/default/files/media/attachments/TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" width="238" height="91" alt="TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" /></span>
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Conway Hall Library & Archives
Date
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2018
Publisher
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Conway Hall Ethical Society
Text
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Pamphlet
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Title
A name given to the resource
Religious instruction in secondary foundation schools: how to deal with it
Description
An account of the resource
Place of publication: [London?]
Collation: 2 p. ; 18 cm.
Notes: From the library of Dr Moncure Conway. Printed by C.W. Reynell, Little Pulteney Street, London.
Publisher
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[Thomas Scott?]
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
[187-?]
Identifier
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G5536
Subject
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Education
Religion
Creator
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[Unknown]
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<a href="http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/"><img src="http://i.creativecommons.org/p/mark/1.0/88x31.png" alt="Public Domain Mark" /></a><span> </span><br /><span>This work (Religious instruction in secondary foundation schools: how to deal with it), identified by </span><a href="https://conwayhallcollections.omeka.net/items/show/www.conwayhall.org.uk"><span>Humanist Library and Archives</span></a><span>, is free of known copyright restrictions.</span>
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application/pdf
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Text
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English
Conway Tracts
Education
Religious Education
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465699e9aa508aa3e8f275eda0986158
PDF Text
Text
“CHURCH PROSPECTS.”
R. LLEWELYN DAVIES, writing in the January
Contemporary
refers
Mstumbling block—on this subject, Creed. thus to that
the Athanasian
“ When a Rubrics Bill is before either House of Parlia
ment there is nothing to prevent the moving of an amend
ment to omit this Rubric, and to remove the Athanasian
Creed from its-present place in the Prayer-Book to the
neighbourhood of the Articles.”
We confess ourselves unable to see how such a move
would clear the ground cumbered by this objectionable
“confession of faith,” the result, as all the world knows, or
( should know, of a theological quarrel between Bishop
Alexander, of Alexandria, and a Presbyter named Arius. It
may not be amiss to refresh a little the memory regarding
this famous (or infamous) creed ; the feud between these
two learned men waxed fast and furious as to whether “the
Son is totally and essentially distinct from the Father, the
first and noblest of those created Beings formed out of
nothing, or whether he is, and was originally, of the same
essence as the Father, viz., God himself in another form.”
To settle this unseemly dispute (during which the Bishop
excommunicates the Presbyter,) the Emperor Constantine,
in 325, assembled the famous Council of the then entire
Christian Church (at Bythynia.)
This Council continued in force for two months, exchang
ing blows as well as words in the warmth of argument.
The Council finally decided, as was perhaps to be expected,
in favour of the Bishop, and condemned .Arius the Pres
byter to exile, compelling his adherents to subscribe to that
confession now called the Nicene Creed.
So far we see there is no appearance of Athanasius in
the matter, who at this time was Archdeacon of Alexandria,
and, as secretary to the Nicene Council, drew up the formu
laries of that creed. He supported his Bishop’s view, and
�2
t
it was out of compliment to him for his strenuous opposi
tion to Arius and his extreme advocacy of the Nicene
Creed that the later one bore his name.
Athanasius succeeded Bishop Alexander, and so impul
sive was the zeal of this good saint, that in the cause of
the Nicene Creed we hear of his flogging Bishops, burn
ing sacred books, breaking the jewelled chalice, overthrow
ing Communion tables, nay, that he razed to the ground
(for the glory of God) the churches of his contumacious
fellow-workers.
Doubt, however, exists as to the origin of this Athananasian Creed, which is said to have been composed by a
drunken monk of the middle ages, who was surely sober
enough to see the monstrous absurdity of the rival claims
of “God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy
Ghost.”
The proposition of Mr. Davies, firstly, to remove this
creed from its present place in the Rubric to the region of
the Articles (of which it already forms a part); and,
secondly, that the laity should resolve, with the Arch
bishops, to strike it, “not out of the Prayer-Book, but out
of the mouths of ordinary men and women, of the poor and
of children,” strikes us as nothing less than a cowardly
form of compromise, showing to the full the entire rotten
ness of a system redolent of pitfalls and snares for honest
men.
Mr. Davies, as a minister of the Church of England, has
signed the Thirty-nine Articles, has sworn his entire belief
“that this Athanasian Creed, with the others, is to be
thoroughly believed and received as truth, which truth
can be proved from Holy Scripture.” Nevertheless, he
speaks of himself “as one of those clergy in whose churches
this creed is not used;” so, while swearing to its truth,
provable from Holy Scripture, he refuses to read it to his
congregation, acknowledging the while that the Rubric
directing its use is unambiguous, that is, obligatory. But
surely the Articles, barring as they do the threshold of the
church, are equally obligatory, and, before dealing with the
Rubric question, Parliament had better take in hand the
more serious matter, and erase from the law of the land
the statute of 1562, a statute enforcing subscription in the
name of God and for his service, to beliefs in a series of
enigmatical propositions, containing absurdities, contradic
�3
tions, and irrational conclusions, summed up in the confes
sion of faith, that forbids us to say, “There be three Gods
or three Lords; compels us by the Christian verity to
acknowledge every person by himself to be God or Lord,
yet declares that, if we confound the Persons, or divide the
substance, the flames of an eternal Hell shall be our
portion.”
Mr. Davies evidently feels that he and his brother clergy
are in a dilemma; they must either offend their congre
gations or forego the use of this enlightened Christian
dogma. “To abstain from a custom more honoured in
the breach than the observance ” is certainly to his credit
as a rational, sensible creature, though by so doing he
breaks his ordination vows—nor, until removed from the
Rubric, could the refusal to read this creed legally better
the condition of himself or of those clergy who follow his
example.
A learned inquirer as to the dogma of the Deity of
Christ, says, “The Sun itself is not more visible in
the bright blue sky of a summer’s day than is the fact
evidenced by the religious history of the past 2,000
years, that the dogma of the Deity of Christ is the pro
duct of the speculations of ancient heathen philosophy
carried to insane lengths ; and is not as our clergy repre
sent it to be, and as the English people are taught to
regard it, a “ special revelation from God.”
Between this Scylla and Charybdis, this God the Son,
and God the Holy Ghost, what wonder if our barques
theological founder with all their freight dogmatic;
what wonder that not only human beliefs but human
intellects stagger blindly, and suffer shipwreck; what
wonder if noble minds “ all o’er wrought ” turn in disgust
and weariness from the contemplation of the impossible,
and seek within the source of those diviner impulses,
that stir the soul to love, pity, justice, and mercy.
Until the scales fall from eyes that should see clear ;
until, casting aside all fear in their search for truth, the
leaders and teachers of the people dare sift to its foundation,
this institution of 2,000 years, this Church, with its army
of apostles, martyrs, hierarchs, and alas ! humbugs, and.
prove its origin to have been a myth ; prove that the
teacher on whose traditional saying, “ Thou art Peter, and
on this rock I found my Church, against which the gates
�4
of Hell shall not prevail,” had no divine authority for
saying it; prove that the Church is equally ignorant of the
nature of its Christ as of the God in whose service it
claims to exist, then, and then only, may we consider our
selves in any way superior to the grand old heathen
“whose sublime speculations concerning the Great Un
known we have corrupted and dwarfed into a Church
dogma, and hardened into a frozen mass of stupidity
and blasphemy, embedded in such creeds as the Nicene,
Athanasian, and Apostolic.”
While reading articles like this on “Church Pros
pects,” from such men as Mr. Davies, seeing how per
sistently they ignore truths, they must know, though
may be dimly, we have scant hope that the scales will
fall in our generation ; less faith that the men who openly
advise that “ the Athanasian Creed shall not be struck out
from the Articles, but prohibited to ordinary men, women,
the poor, and children,” can ever be the pioneers out of
the dark, tangled wood of ignorance, superstition and
pagan barbarisms, pioneers to the presence of unsullied
truth, to that world of unfettered thought, where no
shams, no compromise, no worldly-expediency motives,
shall hide the face of knowledge, or bar to the soul her
search for, “ that power, in darkness whom we guess,” that
being we call God as he really is.
C. W. B.EYNELL, PEINTEB, LITTLE PULTENEY STBEET, HAYMAKKET.
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Victorian Blogging
Description
An account of the resource
A collection of digitised nineteenth-century pamphlets from Conway Hall Library & Archives. This includes the Conway Tracts, Moncure Conway's personal pamphlet library; the Morris Tracts, donated to the library by Miss Morris in 1904; the National Secular Society's pamphlet library and others. The Conway Tracts were bound with additional ephemera, such as lecture programmes and handwritten notes.<br /><br />Please note that these digitised pamphlets have been edited to maximise the accuracy of the OCR, ensuring they are text searchable. If you would like to view un-edited, full-colour versions of any of our pamphlets, please email librarian@conwayhall.org.uk.<br /><br /><span><img src="http://www.heritagefund.org.uk/sites/default/files/media/attachments/TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" width="238" height="91" alt="TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" /></span>
Creator
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Conway Hall Library & Archives
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2018
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Conway Hall Ethical Society
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Original Format
The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
Pamphlet
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
"Church prospects"
Description
An account of the resource
Place of publication: [London?]
Collation: 4 p., 18 cm.
Notes: Comments on an article by John Llewelyn Davies in 'Contemporary Review' 25, January 1875 about the Athanasian Creed. Printed by C.W. Reynell, Little Pulteney Street, London. From the library of Dr Moncure Conway.
Publisher
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[Thomas Scott?]
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
[1875]
Identifier
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G5532
Subject
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Christianity
Creator
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[Unknown]
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<a href="http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/"><img src="http://i.creativecommons.org/p/mark/1.0/88x31.png" alt="Public Domain Mark" /></a><span> </span><br /><span>This work ("Church prospects"), identified by </span><a href="https://conwayhallcollections.omeka.net/items/show/www.conwayhall.org.uk"><span>Humanist Library and Archives</span></a><span>, is free of known copyright restrictions.</span>
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application/pdf
Type
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Text
Language
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English
Athanasian Creed
Conway Tracts
John Llewelyn Davies
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b79a095e513a1227f3cf12c655447070
PDF Text
Text
CT I " C'T 2 b
��THE PUBLICATION
OF
THE NEW KORAN.
A FEW WORDS FROM THE AUTHOR.
In the autumn of 1861,1 published a didactic poem, in Scriptural
style and arrangement, called the New Koran.
It was my
original intention to carry out the whole edition to Constanti
nople, and distribute it among the English and American
residents there, with the view of making it the banner of an
ambitious reformation movement. Finally, on getting it through
the press, circumstances compelled me to relinquish this plan,
and risk its publication in London, where it sold badly, and even
so far as it did sell, failed altogether to kindle any enthusiasm,
or lead to any organic action among religious reformers. Last
summer, when I had neither seen nor heard anything of the
book for a year and a-half, it was brought under the notice of
the Rev. C. Voysey, by one of the members of his congregation
at St. George’s Hall. No person who had hitherto read it could
so well understand and appreciate its aim: the story of the
Jewish reformer (Jaido Morata), struggling with difficulties, con
tending against superstitions, gathering followers from all sects,
and carrying on the same catholic and cosmopolitan work in Pales
tine which he was himself endeavouring to accomplish in London,
naturally afforded him the highest interest and pleasure, not
withstanding minor differences of doctrine appearing in a few of
the chapters, and it is through calling attention to it in some of
his sermons that it has recently sold well, and the whole of the
copies being at length disposed of, inquiries are now made for
a new edition.
So far as the literary part of the task goes, there will be no
difficulty in supplying a second edition, since I have already
carefully revised the book and added to it several important
�2
chapters. In order, however, that no prospective reader may
be disappointed as to the nature and extent of the alterations
which have been made, it may be well here briefly to specify
them. The first edition, having for its secondary title, “ TextBook of Turkish Reformers,” was intended for export to the East;
the second, in which Turkish affairs will hold a more subordi
nate place, is intended for home consumption. The former was
issued with the aim of its becoming a veritable Bible in the
midst of a small colony; the latter, if it appears, will only be
expected to take the rank of a religious poem, such as that of
the Pilgrim’s Progress, among the reformers of a great
nation. So far, and with respect to certain doctrinal corrections
and developments which friendly criticism, a riper experience,
and further research after truth have enabled me to make, most
people who have seen the old edition will probably like the new
better. It must not, however, be supposed that in any of the
alterations and adaptations which have been made in the book,
I have sacrificed my convictions and pandered to popular passion
and class prejudice, like the editor of a newspaper, in order to
increase the number of my readers. Several people have
objected to the New Koran for no other reason than because
it is many-sided, and they would greatly prefer it to be one
sided. Those, who contend that it has not done justice to
Christianity, would, probably, be as little disposed as the old
Crusaders to render justice to the long-persecuted Jews.
Christianity is too high seated and domineering to be in danger
of suffering wrong from anything which is said in my book; it
is not the flourishing cause, with many friends, but the cause
which is down and kicked, and has but very few friends, that is
always in danger of suffering injustice. Journalists are for the
most part nothing better than literary advocates, engaged to
take the side of their clients through thick and thin, and daring
not to assume the position of a judge, because impartiality will
not pay. Let a paper be started as the one-eyed mouth-piece of
some trade, interest, class, party, or sect, and it will not want
subscribers; but if it attempts to speak honestly and fairly in
behalf of all people, as God himself would speak, it will get the
support of none. Authors, as well as journalists, must be partial
if they intend to please a partial selfish community; but this is
what I never set out to do when I commenced to write the
New Koran, neither have I had any such aim in revising it;
I shall continue in the second edition, as in the first, to be true
�3
to my view, and say just what I see, without fear and without
flattery, whether in the presence of King Christ, or King Caste,
or King Mob.
It must thus, I think, be evident that if a second edition of my
book should be actually published, notwithstanding the advan
tages which it will have over the preceding one, it cannot, from
the very nature of its teaching, and the host of prejudices arrayed
against it, be expected to command a very ready and brisk sale.
And this brings me to the consideration of another point, namely,
the cost of printing and publishing a Second Thousand copies
of the work, and the price at which they can be reasonably
offered to the public, with the view of nearly defraying that
cost. It is a well-known axiom of commercial economy, that
just in proportion as the demand for any article of consumption
is small, the cost of its distribution will be great. The keeper of
a clothing or furniture shop may do very well with a profit of
from ten to twenty per cent, on the selling price of his goods,
but a publisher of books must have fifty per cent., and even at
this high charge, if he has a good business, he will not care to
encumber his shelves 'with literature of an unpopular character,
and in little request. And consequently some heterodox books,
among others, which respectable publishers refuse, are generally
taken in hand by a class of adventurers, whose honesty and
solvency are not to be depended on, and their authors thereby
have frequently to make still heavier sacrifices in endeavouring
to get them into the hands of the public. Let me here briefly
place before my prospective readers the extent of the losses
which I have had to bear on the first edition of the New
Koran.
The printing of the book, by Messrs. Saville and Edwards,
came to £141 15s. 67. Manwaring, the first publisher, estimated
the binding of the Thousand at from £20 to £24, making the
whole cost of production about 3s. 3d. per copy; and in order
that the sale, if successful, should pretty nearly defray this cost,
with that of advertising, he fixed the price at 7s. 6d. In a few
months’ time, when only eleven copies had been sold, he became
bankrupt, and so far from having anything to receive from his
assignees, I had a very crooked bill of £31 11 s. 6d. to pay for ad
vertising, andforbinding250 copies, &c., making,with the printers’
bill, my total expenditure by the summer of 1862, £173 7s., a
sum of no small consideration to me, as the whole had been
saved out of earnings which hardly amounted to £1 a week.
�4
The unsold stock, being refused by Triibner and other publishers,
was at length taken by a poor publishing company in Fleet
street, who agreed to offer it at the reduced price of 5s. per copy,
and out of this give me one-half. Soon after, at my direction,
fifty bound copies were transferred by the company to the hands
of a third publisher, to be sold on the same terms, and I found
this man exceptionally honest; he disposed of about twenty-five
copies in the course of a year, and gave me half the sale price,
as agreed on; and as there was nothing to pay for advertising,
the small sum I received from him was an actual return. He
told me, however, that the business of selling heterodox books
had been to him a very unremunerative one, and gave it up at
the end of 1863, transferring what copies remained of the New
Koran, with his other unsold stock, to an adventure publisher,
with small means, then newly established in a neighbouring
street. Hearing a very fair account of this man, and a bad
account of the publishing company, I directed them to transfer
the whole of their unsold New Koran stock to him early in
1864, which they at length did reluctantly, after they had been
threatened with legal force. They proved, however, in the end,
more honest than I had been led to expect; they fairly accounted
to me, as the retiring publisher had done, for all that they had
sold—nearly twenty copies, and the whole return from both
these parties came to about £5, and not a farthing have I
received since. Even this small sum, which came to me from
the sale of the book, was soon more than swallowed up in further
expenses attending it, namely, the cost of binding a second 250
copies, and the printing of 2,000 descriptive handbills, to assist
the fourth publisher in getting it into circulation. This man agreed
to sell the book at the further reduced price of 2s. 6cl. a copy,
and divide the proceeds with me; but his notions of equity not
being satisfied with the fifty per cent, allowed him for selling, he
made up his mind to keep all. Moreover, he not only withheld
from me what money was due on the sale of the book, but the
sympathy and moral encouragement of a number of readers, by
refusing to give them my address, under the pretence that he
had never had or known it; thus, evidently hoping that I, living’
far away in the country, and hearing nothing of my literary
enterprise, should in time forget all about it, and be myself
forgotten, just as every kidnapper endeavours to cut off all com
munication and draw a curtain of obliviousness between parent
and child, the better to accomplish his nefarious design. When
�5
Mr. Voysey, with considerable difficulty, discovered my address
in August, 1872, he could get no information through the pub
lisher, either of my whereabouts or existence; and had there
been no other means of tracing me out, I might have been to this
moment regarded as a myth. A few friends, who knew that I
had been shamefully defrauded, advised me to seek redress
before a court of justice, and I took the requisite preliminary
steps to do so; but on learning that there was a possibility, or
rather a probability, of the suit costing more than the debt was
worth, I felt that offering justice to a poor man by way of our
expensive and uncertain law administration was a sham, and
that I had better remain content with my present wrong than
run the risk of aggravating it with further mockery and dis
appointment.
I now wish to direct the attention of my readers to something
far better than the punishment of roguery, and that is, the
effecting, by a more economical system of trade, its prevention.
My esteemed friend, William Ellis, from whom I have learnt
much, and always differ with reluctance, has, among his other
valuable contributions to the elucidation of social science
from a commercial view-point, written an able little tract to
prove, against the co-operators, the advantages which society
derives from competition. In the recent revision of my book I
have endeavoured to present the reverse side of the picture, and
show that unregulated competition is a great evil to society, very
nearly approaching that of civil war. Wherever we see industry
effectively organised, there is true economy; no farmer, builder,
or manufacturer would think of putting two men to do the
labour of one ; but where ignorant people set themselves to work
with no other guidance but blind inclination, and the ill-under
stood law of supply and demand, there is a great deal of carrying
coals to Newcastle, and the business of one person may often be
seen divided among three. Many ill-trained human beings (of
whom the Jews, Greeks, Armenians, and Yankees are notable
examples) have a great dislike to earning their bread slowly and
surely by any kind of productive industry, and prefer embarking
in the adventures of commerce, and consequently all our cities
are overcrowded with traders; there are far more people engaged
in the distribution of wealth than are really needed by the
exigencies of society. One necessary result of this overcrowding
and immense waste of power among distributors is, that their
operations are thereby rendered very costly ; they want a much
�6
larger percentage of profits, on sales effected, to enable them to
live, than would be required if the whole business of distribu
tion were regulated and conducted with strict economy. Another
consequence is, that the weaker tradesmen, in order to maintain
their ground in the face of stronger rivals, are driven to all sorts
of fraudulent practices, such as adulteration, colouring, false
measuring, swindling, and embezzlement; indeed, thousands of
needy adventurers who go unprepared into the fierce arena of
competition, soon find themselves in such straits, that they are
just as much necessitated to choose between fraud and bank
ruptcy as the City Arab is often compelled to choose between
theft and starvation. What we really ought to do, then, is to
discourage rash speculation, to check unwise competition, to
prevent, as much as possible, two rivals from wasting their
energies in contending for a sphere of labour which only affords
occupation for one. In some instances, where large interests
are concerned, the duty of restraining wanton and dishonest
competitors is already effected by the Government. Hundreds
of railways are projected by scheming adventurers, where they
are not really needed, and there is no reasonable prospect of
their being remunerative ; but any such line will serve the pur
pose of the schemers if it can only allure shareholders for its
construction, or be worked in such a way as to annoy some other
company, and force it to buy up the annoyance. The Govern
ment, therefore, though sometimes imposed upon, generally
refuses to sanction such ill-planned enterprises; it agrees to
protect the really useful companies from injurious competition,
on the condition that the public shall receive from them liberal
treatment, and fairly share their advantages. The same legis
lative restraint, which prevents railways, board schools, and
post-offices from cutting each other’s throats, might justly be
extended to ordinary shops; the Government, for instance, might
very reasonably refuse to allow any person to start a publishing
business in London, until he should first show that he had got
a sufficient capital for the undertaking, and the promise of a
certain number of commissions, as a fair guarantee for his
honesty and success. By this regulation, a host of needy and
unscrupulous adventurers would be kept out of the trade, and
compelled to earn their living as printers, shopmen, and clerks,
or to emigrate ; while the Government, in return for protecting
and economising the labour of genuine publishers, might require
them, as they could well afford, to distribute books at reduced
�7
charges. But such a vast extension of Board-of-Trade inter
ference in behalf of the public, though perfectly legitimate .and
reasonable, is, at the present day, very far from practicable, and
people, who suffer for the want of it, must seek a remedy at their
own hands; the business of distribution, as now wastefully
conducted by the shop-keeping world, can only be gradually
economised and reformed by establishing co-operative societies.
Co-operative publishing has been successfully carried on for a
very long period by a number of societies in connection with
the Church of England, and we heterodox people, who are
endeavouring to organise a church outside the pale of
Christianity, may with good profit study their example. See
how well, for instance, the Religious Tract Society has been
made to work for the diffusion of religious knowledge of the
Evangelical pattern, among the poorer population of this coun
try. Some Cumberland curate, or Cornish schoolmaster, or
Methodist preacher in Kent, writes an instructive tale, which
he has no means of publishing at his own expense, or, even if
he can accomplish this end, will not be able to sell more than
fifty copies ; but he sends it to the Repository, Paternoster Row,
it goes before the Committee, is approved and published, and in
less than half-a-dozen years will be read in almost every town
and village of the kingdom. The books and tracts, which the
Society thus puts into the hands of the people, are not only
cheaper, but better, than those of the same class which are ordi
narily distributed by private houses; for the labour of their
publication is strictly economised, and they are selected by an
impartial and competent literary tribunal, who are resolved that
the shelves of the Repository shall not be encumbered with
trash. The Jews and Unitarians have each a similar co-operative
society for the diffusion of the select and standard literature
of their respective faiths; and to show that we constructive
Theists, Theofederans, or whatever, we are called, have very
great need of such an organisation for the dissemination of our
views, it will suffice to state some of the difficulties which I had
to encounter, years ago, both in seeking light, and imparting it
to others.
It was my lot to be born behind the plough, and to labour in
the fields from the age of eleven to twenty-five as a farm
servant, and, had it not been for the National Society establish
ing a school in the neighbouring parish, and the Christian
Knowledge Society publishing the Saturday Magazine, which my
�self-taught father regularly purchased, I should probably have
remained, at the present day, an almost illiterate clown. I owe
an especial debt of gratitude to the charming little illustrated
periodical of 1832-44 ; the variety of useful information, which
I acquired from it, set me craving for more, and, having no
educated friends to assist me, I left my home clandestinely at
the age of sixteen and started off to London for the purpose of
consulting the editor as to how and where I could obtain better
means of self-culture. On arriving at the publisher’s office in
West Strand, my rustic garb and singular errand occasioned
some surprise, but I was kindly told that “ the editor was not
to be seen,” and advised to apply to the London Mechanics’
Institute, Southampton Buildings. I went thither, but, possess
ing only two shillings and being without employment, found its
advantages inaccessible to me, and thenceforth began to wander
about London for a fortnight, visiting coffee-house libraries, pick
ing up information from book-stalls, and sleeping in a suburban
stable, till hunger compelled me to return to my native fields.
The rich intellectual feast which I gathered from studying in
the streets so amply compensated for all my physical privations,
that I was tempted in the following year to repeat my runaway
adventure, when I acquired much enlargement of mind, not only
from books, but from visiting a Catholic chapel, a Jews’ syna
gogue, and the British Museum. Such a spirit of inquiry and
reflection was now awakened within me that at the age of
eighteen I completely shook off the trammels of the orthodox
creed and began to take up the position of a religious reformer.
Early in 1849, I again tramped up to London to gather more
light, and being now much better provided, having for the first
time the sum of £3 15s. in my pocket, I determined to purchase
a good selection of what Emerson would perhaps call Repre
sentative Books, to study at my leisure in the country. I
obtained from the stalls, in the first place, Josephus, the Koran
of Mohammed, and the Dictionary of Voltaire ; and afterwards
picked out and added to my literary wallet, the Apology of
Grotius, Butler’s Analogy, and Paley’s Evidences. I greatly
admired Paley’s calm philosophical spirit and masterly special
pleading, while perceiving the unsoundness of his reasoning at
every step, and imagined that there must surely exist the work
of some modern scholar who had refuted him. So indeed there
did (Jlennell’s Inquiry, at the shop of T. Allman, Holborn), but,
such is our present defective system of distributing the light of
�9
advanced thought, that I was quite unable to find it out. A
much better known heterodox publisher, James Watson, of
Queen’s Head Passage, I discovered with little difficulty, and
asked him to show me the very best modern works which his
shop contained, and above all a good refutation of Paley. He
laid several books before me, with the merits of which I was by
no means prepossessed, yet purchased five from his recommenda
tion and they all disappointed me, especially Taylor’s Diegesis,
in which the most extravagant of mythical theories was advo
cated with a sad mixture of ribaldry and rant. Having
■exhausted my funds, and being unable to make further research,
I returned with my pack of theological books to the country,
and, under the impression that the learned champions of
Christian orthodoxy had never been effectually answered, set
about in leisure hours to controvert their arguments myself. In
the course of a year and a-half I had written with this view a
treatise of considerable length, and in the summer of 1850 again
left my plough and went to London for the double purpose of
getting it published there, and obtaining some new sphere of
■employment. I succeeded in neither object: no London pub/ lisher could be induced even to read my rough manuscript, much
less risk the expense of its publication. Just as I was about
to return in despair to my native parish, I happened, by the
merest chance, to see in the heretical Leader, but recently started
by G. Lewes, a notice of Professor Newman’s new work, Phases
of Faith, which was then causing some excitement in religious
circles. Had I seen it noticed by any orthodox reviewers, these
defenders of Christian miracles are such genuine spiritual
descendants of the old miracle workers, they go to such lengths
in pious frauds to keep up the original illusion, and their skill
in sham-sampling and misrepresentation is so great, that I
should probably have been led to imagine it a lame and despic
able production unworthy of being sought after as a gift. But
the new journal of free thought did justice to the book, and I
was so charmed by the powerful reasoning and high moral tone
■of one or two extracts from it, that I hastened to the publisher,
obtained the author’s address, and immediately wrote to him
expressing the pleasure which I experienced from meeting
unexpectedly an abler controversialist in the same field of refor
mation in which I was labouring myself. Professor Newman,
on receiving this letter, directly came to visit me at my humble
lodging, and after some friendly conversation on my special
�10
views and aims, agreed to take a portion of my manuscript
home with him and give me his candid opinion of it. In
a few days it was returned to me with an accompanying
critical letter, commenting on the weak and strong points of
my treatise, and disapproving of my attempts to connect the
early Christians with the Essenes, and reconstruct the
Gospel story* in a manner similar to that of Charles Hennell,
* It may be well to say here, in reference to a portion of my prepared Second
Edition, that Professor Newman classed my dramatic theory of explaining the
Gospels with those which are called by German scholars Rationalistic, and
declared his own preference for the Mythical Theory of Strauss. From what
he said, I was led on the first opportunity to study very carefully the writings
of Strauss, R. W. Mackay, Niebuhr, and Grote, together with his own Hebrew
Monarchy and Regal Rome, and my opinions were in consequence consider
ably modified with respect to the general credibility of ancient records, but in
the main I was still forced to cling to my original view, and consequently re
stated it in the New Koran. Within the last ten years I have found the
hypothesis set forth in Questions xxxviii.—xliv., strongly confirmed by further
historical research, and have developed it in another work, and in a series of
articles contributed to the Jewish Chronicle. What I maintain is simply
this :—
I. That it is useless to insist on the late origin of our present Gospels as an
evidence of their being unauthentic, because even if they were all written in the
second century, it is no proof that they were not derived from earlier contempo
rary records. Several minor contradictions by no means convict the writers of
myth-making, but only furnish a clear proof of their fallibility. So, too, the
fact of their adding some undoubted legendary matter, such as the prefatory
stories of Matthew and Luke, affords no better ground for rejecting their testi
mony in the mass, than for treating in a similar manner the Life of St. Bernard
or the Book of Maccabees.
II. That Christianity, if we rationally interpret the testimony of the Evange
lists, was from the very first of a composite character, originating from a small
religious confederacy, and not from the spontaneous action of one reformer of
extraordinary genius as Strauss, Renan and others have represented.
III. That Jesus resembled the monk Jetzer of Berne, rather than the founder
of the Dominican or Franciscan brotherhood, being evidently a poor Galilean
devotee, tutored by apparitions to act the part of a suffering Messiah, and
acquiring the whole of his mighty influence, not from his actual teaching and
labours, but from his supposed conquest of death.
IV. That the crucifixion of Jesus, like many child-crucifixions which were
turned against the poor Jews in the middle ages, was a masked drama got up to
excite strong feeling and move the multitude, while his Resurrection also was
as clearly dramatic as the annual Easter miracle exhibited in his pretended
sepulchre.
V. That the faith and enthusiasm which moved the peasant followers of
Jesus after his death, was started wholly by dramatic illusions, similar to that
miraculous performance before shepherds, which in our own times has established
the Confraternity of Our Lady of La Salette.
As I have not a greater love for my own opinion than for truth, I shall feel
thankful to any reader who still believes with Strauss, that Christianity arose
�11
who had thus exposed his otherwise unanswerable argument
to the attack of orthodox reviewers. “ Hennell’s Inquiry,” he
continued, “ is a very able, temperate, well written book, yet I
am told that it sells badly, and does not satisfy the publisher.” On
the strength of this disinterested and competent judgment I
bought the fine work of Henn ell with the first 12s. 6d. which
could be spared from my poor means, and only regretted that
I had not seen it earlier, when a number of greatly inferior
books were thrust into my hands. German scholars may well
express their surprise that Hennell, in his own country, the
country which produced Chubb, Collins, Toland, Tyndal,
Bolingbroke and Gibbon, should still continue to be so little
appreciated and comparatively unknown. Now that the poor
hubbub of a Government prosecution no longer serves to make
a lay heretic notorious in England, such is the general stupidity
and prejudice of our literary tribunals, and such is our want of
organised distribution that more than half the soldiers of the
Rationalist camp may be seen going forth to combat with old
rusty muskets, pitchforks, and clubs, when they might be all
furnished with arms of precision. Even the powerful attacks
on orthodoxy by Professor Newman, W. R. Greg, Lecky,
Matthew Arnold, Miss Cobbe, and a few other writers who have
acquired, apart from these works, a high literary reputation,
remain unread and unheard of by thousands of their country
people, who are struggling hard to free themselves from the
oppressive bonds of Christian superstition, and would greatly
rejoice at their aid. One gentleman, Thomas Scott, Esq., now of
Norwood, author of The English Life of Jesus, has been so
strongly impressed with the present imperfect means of publi
cation afforded to controversial writers of his class, that he has
formed, by his own individual efforts, a Society for the Diffusion
of Rational Knowledge. The many good things which he has
among the peasants of a superstitious thaumaturgic country without any appeal
to miracles, to point, as he has not done, to some other adequate power for pro
ducing the primitive Nazarene excitement, and also explain how it was that
dramatic wonder-working was so early and extensively resorted to in the
Christian Church as a legitimate means of kindling religious fervour, and has
continued to be so employed till discredited by the rise of the spirit of Ration
alism, when nothing similar can be pointed to in the history of the Mahometan
Church. We plain, honest truth-seekers, who are not writing for Christians,
have no need to care about conciliating their prejudices, or study to furnish
such an explanation of the Gospel narrative as shall give the least offence to
their absurd idolatry.
�12
"both written himself, and reprinted from other authors in behalf
of our New Reformation, if he were to depend on the ordinary
commercial channels of distribution afforded by London publish
ers would never be got into circulation, even by expending a
fortune. Therefore, rather than incur a heavy loss in this way,
to no good purpose, he has chosen to distribute his books and
pamphlets gratuitously through the post, among just those people
who are likely to appreciate them, and aid in effecting their fur
ther dissemination. Two years ago when I found him busily
engaged in his Repository, at Ramsgate, he told me that his mis
sion work was steadily increasing, and that the bread which he
had perseveringly cast on the waters was beginning to be found
again after many days. Lor awhile he was heavily burdened
with his benevolent enterprise, and could not count with cer
tainty on being able to continue it, but sympathising helpers
wrote to him one after another, till at length he had a good
number of regular subscribers, and friendly contributions and
correspondence were flowing in upon him from all parts of the
kingdom. In proportion as help came, his publishing, under
the most economical management of himself and wife, grew and
extended, and I see at the end of one of his recent pamphlets, a
well selected catalogue of upwards of a hundred modern hetero
dox works which vrould do credit to the Index Expurgatorius.
Those people, who object to Mr. Scott’s mission, as a mischievous
proselytising work, should bear in mind that it has never pro
voked any Belfast riots, or Indian mutinies, or Chinese insur
rections and massacres. It is not his plan to distribute his
publications indiscriminately in the parks, or thrust them into
the hands of the congregants at orthodox churches, or even
advertise them in orthodox journals, or offend the susceptibilities
of their editors by obtruding them under their notice. He has
wisely avoided stirring up angry passions and encountering the
blind hostility of Christian bigots, and has proceeded in a quiet,
judicious manner to diffuse a higher religious light among his
countrymen only just where it will receive a welcome, and be
productive of good. Perhaps, even Lord Shaftesbury and a few
other Exeter Hall magnates may derive a considerable amount
of spiritual benefit from this new missionary enterprise, however
much they may be disposed to condemn it; while they are mov
ing heaven and earth to convert other nations from idolatry, it
may prove a wholesome check to their intemperate zeal to know
that a band of philanthropic men are labouring, with equal
�13
earnestness, to deliver our own “land from error’s chain,” and
are regarding them as idolaters themselves. Those who now fre
quently procure Mr. Scott’s publications through the post,
esteem him not only as a religious reformer, but as a commercial
economist; “he has worked himself,” as a late Judge of the
High Court of Madras observes, “into a position of considerable
notoriety, and for years has been the centre of a wide circle of
readers and writers,” * and the success which has attended his
labours, proves the existence of a vast amount of co-operative
illuminating power in the world of free inquiry, which, if well
organised, would accomplish much greater results. I hope the
time is not far off when we shall see in this country a regularly
constituted League of Light, under the direction of an able
committee, and that authors who write to impart a higher
religious knowledge, and readers who seek it, may, with a little
more exertion, so contrive to stretch forth and join hands as to
avoid altogether the losses and disappointments which are now
occasioned by the intervention of those rascally “ Carry your
parcel, sir ? ” boys, the needy adventure publishers.
After the somewhat discursive explanation which I have found
it necessary to make, will those of my readers who desire to see
a second edition of the New Koran, be willing to co-operate
with me for the purpose of lessening the expense of its distri
bution ? My direct pecuniary loss on the first edition, is at the
very least £250 ; if I reckon four per cent, interest, which might
have been obtained from a safe investment of the money which
I expended in 1861-2 to produce no return. I know too well
that I cannot afford to lose another such sum, nor even half of
it, and should not expect to do so, even by the ordinary means
of publication, because the book has a decidedly better prospect
of selling now than at first, and would probably be accepted by
a respectable and honest publisher. But even in this case, it
could only be placed in the hands of the reader at such a price
as must tend in no small degree to limit and retard its circula
tion. As the second edition will contain about thirty new
chapters, the cost of production cannot, with the most rigid
economy, be estimated at less than four shillings per copy. To
defray this expense and satisfy the publisher, and pay for adver
tising, it could not be offered to the public for a less price than
ten shillings; but if a sufficient number of readers can be got to
order the book directly of me, or my friends, it shall be sent to
* T. Lumsden Strange, Esq.: “ The Christian Evidence Society,” p. 4.
�14
them through the post for five. “ ’Spoke-work is a deal better
than spec’-work,” a village cobbler, who was weary of serving
the town shops, once said in my hearing, and I am disposed to
say the same to my readers. It so happens, however, that since
the invention of printing, books can no longer be made singly
to order like boots, but must of necessity be produced in great
batches, and therefore a prudent scribe who wishes to work
economically, and avoid risk, should receive a large number of
orders before he can feel warranted in going to the press. It
will not be safe for me to venture on printing a second thousand
copies of the New Koran, and offering them at the price named,
till I can be assured of effecting an immediate sale of one half.
I may have to wait several years to obtain this guarantee
against a heavy loss, and it may never be obtained, but a very
bitter experience determines me not to spend another penny on
publishing my hitherto burdensome book without it.
Even if 500 copies of the second edition should be ordered,
as I cannot afford to advertise, I must ask for the further
co-operation of my readers to aid me with their recommenda
tions in selling the rest. Nearly the whole of the first edition
was got into circulation by such means, after advertising had
proved an entire failure. One person, who had read and appre
ciated the book, presented it to a friend, or induced a neighbour
of kindred spirit to purchase it, who, in turn, spoke favourably
of it to some one else, till it at length reached the hands of an
eloquent religious reformer, who has well fulfilled the duty of
passing on to others every lamp of light which he receives, and
he speedily diffused it among hundreds. Some judgment and
discrimination must, of course, be used in introducing a book of
this kind to individuals, in order that it may not be as seed
scattered among thorns and in stony places, and unproductive
of good. It is by no means desirable that it should get into the
hands of a class of idle, luxurious drawing-room readers, who
would enjoy it for about nine days as a sort of literary novelty,
and then cast it aside. I should be sorry for any people to be
bored with it, or induced to buy it, when they are not likely to
devote a single hour to its perusal. It would also be a great
mistake to obtrude it on quiet, orthodox Christians, or use it in
any way as an instrument of proselytism. I have half-a-dozen
brothers and sisters of this class, who have never seen the New
Koran, nor will ever see it from me, so long as they are not
educated up to it, but remain contented and happy in the bonds
�15
of their childhood’s belief. Years ago, Professor Newman, in a
letter from which I have already quoted, after advising me not
to seek employment in London, nor think of separating from
my parents and friends, without good reason, continued—“ Do
not imagine that any book of yours will ever soothe or convince
them. Dutiful and affectionate conduct, a manifestly pious and
conscientious mind in you, are what will most soothe and most
convince them. ..... Men will never be converted from a
religion which has much moral excellence in it, until they see a
higher moral excellence in those who impugn it. The inveterate
belief that all who reject Christianity are immoral, or unspiritual,
is the strength of the existing creed, as indeed the strength of
Trinitarianism lies in the prevalent want of spirituality in
Unitarians. Argument is important, yet argument of itself is
useless. Trinitarianism has been argued down a thousand times,
yet no impression is made on it commensurate with the strength
of the refutation. Beligious creeds were not originated by the
pure intellect, nor will they be ever overthrown by it. See how,
even in France, Popery has budded and renewed its strength in
the last fifty years ! That is because no higher spiritual move
ment followed on its prostration.’'’
The longer I live the more strongly do I find the truth of
these sentiments confirmed, and if they were more generally
entertained and acted on by religious reformers, it were well for
human progress. In order to benefit our fellow men, who are
contented slaves of superstition, we should be more anxious to
improve their character than to reform their creed; it is
desirable, before all things, to elevate them, and they will in
due time liberate themselves. The opposite unwise course,
of destroying reverential feeling in people who are morally
weak and ill-trained, and unprepared to make a good use of the
intellectual freedom which is forced upon them, has ever been
attended with mischievous results; it has produced nothing
better than religious rowdyism, bear-garden debates, and
French revolutions. Then, there are many thoughtful and pure
minds who, after slowly working their way towards a safe
emancipation from orthodox thraldom, turnback at last, appalled
on beholding the utter anarchy which prevails outside the pale
of Christianity, and believe Bationalism to be condemned by
its fruits. Other more courageous reformers having ventured
further and entirely got away from the old dominion of false
hood, on finding in the world of free-thought no new fellowship
�16
or religious communion to aid and cheer them in the path of
duty, nothing but cold, cavilling, self-reliant criticism, also
retrace their wandering steps at length, and, thoroughly broken
hearted and weary of spirit, re-enter their nursery fold as pro
digals, under the conviction that the bondage of its erratic
creed, with sympathy and love, is more easily to be borne than
liberty without. It is abundantly clear from such cases and
from the revolutionary history of the last hundred years, that
our mere destructive preaching and writing will avail little to
overthrow superstitions of twenty centuries’ growth; we must
contrive somehow and somewhere to setup the light of a higher
example. The world is not to be reformed by argument but by
action.
As the immediate object of this paper is a simple matter of
business, I must not unnecessarily complicate it, or allow my pen
to wander further in the discussion of principles which may be
more appropriately treated of elsewhere. The difficulties and
losses attending the publication of my book by the ordinary
commercial channel, and the circumstances which have compel
led me to think of some more safe and economical arrangement,
required a full and candid explanation. There is nothing more
to add; I will merely ask those of my readers who are in favour
of co-operative publishing, where exceptionally needed, and who
wish to see the second edition, which I have prepared, brought
out partly or wholly in this way, and are willing to purchase
copies on the terms mentioned, to kindly notify the same to—
John Vickers,
Sarness, Waltham,
Canterbury,
or
Rev. Charles Voysey,
Camden House,
Dulwich, S.E.
June 1st, 1873.
Wertheimer, Lea & Co., Printers, Finsbury Circus.
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Victorian Blogging
Description
An account of the resource
A collection of digitised nineteenth-century pamphlets from Conway Hall Library & Archives. This includes the Conway Tracts, Moncure Conway's personal pamphlet library; the Morris Tracts, donated to the library by Miss Morris in 1904; the National Secular Society's pamphlet library and others. The Conway Tracts were bound with additional ephemera, such as lecture programmes and handwritten notes.<br /><br />Please note that these digitised pamphlets have been edited to maximise the accuracy of the OCR, ensuring they are text searchable. If you would like to view un-edited, full-colour versions of any of our pamphlets, please email librarian@conwayhall.org.uk.<br /><br /><span><img src="http://www.heritagefund.org.uk/sites/default/files/media/attachments/TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" width="238" height="91" alt="TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" /></span>
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Conway Hall Library & Archives
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2018
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Conway Hall Ethical Society
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Original Format
The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
Pamphlet
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
The publication of the new Koran: a few words from the author
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Vickers, John
Description
An account of the resource
Place of publication: [London?]
Collation: 16 p. ; 19 cm.
Notes: Presented in Memory of Dr. Moncure D. Conway by his children, July Nineteen hundred & eight. From the library of Dr Moncure Conway. Printed by Wertheimer, Lea & Co., Finsbury Circus, London. Author attribution from Virginia Clark's catalogue. Includes bibliographical reference.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
[Thomas Scott?]
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1873
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
CT1
G5752
Subject
The topic of the resource
Islam
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
<a href="http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/"><img src="http://i.creativecommons.org/p/mark/1.0/88x31.png" alt="Public Domain Mark" /></a><span> </span><br /><span>This work (</span>The publication of the new Koran: a few words from the author<span>), identified by </span><a href="https://conwayhallcollections.omeka.net/items/show/www.conwayhall.org.uk"><span>Humanist Library and Archives</span></a><span>, is free of known copyright restrictions.</span>
Format
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application/pdf
Type
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Text
Language
A language of the resource
English
Conway Tracts
Islam
Koran