Page:Eminent English liberals in and out of Parliament.djvu/174

 pains to spoil his own chances. All the great "interests"—royalty, aristocracy, plutocracy, church, chapel, public house—have arrayed themselves against him. Yet, excepting Mr. Gladstone, this man has per-, haps the most attached personal following of any politician in England. This unique position he has won by his daring, by his intellect, by his Titanic energy, and by his general thoroughness of character. If he is not a real hero, he is a surprisingly clever counterfeit. In his own way, and by his own example, he has inspired many thousands of the most abject of his countrymen with re-invigorated feelings of self-reliance and renewed hope on earth. He has taught them the inestimable lesson of self-help, of righteous indignation against oppression.

On the other hand, like nearly all atheists whom I have known, he is a consummate egotist. He who recognizes in nature no power greater than himself almost necessarily rises rapidly in self-esteem. There is very little room left for the Christian virtues of patience, humility, charity. Indeed, these are pretty much what Mr. Bradlaugh attributes to Christ as faults of character. There is no God, and Charles Bradlaugh is his prophet. This is the secret of his power. Not that I mean to affirm in the least that Bradlaugh's egotism is incompatible with the common weal. In a different way from Beesly or Spurgeon, he has arrived at certainty. That is all. He might say, like Faust, —

Hurrah for the "Everlasting No!" On this sure foundation let the edifice of human happiness be erected.