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 -554 PSYCHOLOGY AND PREACHING

who are under its sway it is potent in forming the general mental attitude of the age. Its influence has become atmos pheric ; and even the most ignorant rustic s mode of thought has been profoundly modified by it, though he be innocent of its first principles. But the number of those who have no acquaintance with the general principles of science is rapidly diminishing. The natural sciences form a very im portant part of the curricula of all schools; and scientific method prevails in the study of all other subjects. Surely and rapidly the mental life of the rising generation is being cast in the scientific mould. Let us notice some of the par ticular aspects of the great mental change which has thus been brought about.

First, men are becoming accustomed to regard all things as open to scientific inquiry. There is no precinct, however sacred, which can successfully resist the entrance of the great questioner, investigator, tester Science. Conse quently every assumption of prejudice, every hope that springs from desire, every tenet of faith, every formulation of human experience, which has not been examined and es tablished scientifically, is felt to be wanting in suitable cre dentials for the men of this age. All the persuasions and convictions of men which are not certified by this great Guarantor of positive truth are felt by those whose minds have been cast in the scientific mould to be insecurely founded. Everything is open to question. It is therefore an age that really teems with unsolved problems. Doubt less the confidence in science is overweening, just as was the confidence in traditional authority which it has displaced. Science can speak with authority only within certain limits. But we are now stating the actual facts as to the mental attitude characteristic of the age, not justifying that attitude, and the statements made are none too strong. If science has its limitations, there is a feeling that those limits must be determined according to scientific method. In other words, there is a general conviction that no other authority can legitimately set the bounds beyond which science has

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