and 'By their fruits ye shall know them.'

Therefore it is as absurd to say that the religious consciousness of
minds other than our own can be barred antecedently as evidence, as it
is to say that testimony to the miraculous is similarly barred. The pure
agnostic must always carefully avoid the 'high _priori_ road.' But, on
the other hand, he must be all the more assiduous in estimating fairly
the character, both as to quantity and quality, of evidence _a
posteriori_. Now this evidence in the present case is twofold, positive
and negative. It will be convenient to consider the negative first.

The negative evidence is furnished by the nature of man without God. It
is thoroughly miserable, as is well shown by Pascal, who has devoted the
whole of the first part of his treatise to this subject. I need not go
over the ground which he has already so well traversed.

Some men are not conscious of the cause of this misery: this, however,
does not prevent the fact of their being miserable. For the most part
they conceal the fact as well as possible from themselves, by occupying
their minds with society, sport, frivolity of all kinds, or, if
intellectually disposed, with science, art, literature, business, &c.
This however is but to fill the starving belly with husks. I know from
experience the intellectual distractions of scientific research,
philosophical speculation, and artistic pleasures; but am also well
aware that even when all are taken together and well sweetened to taste,
in respect of consequent reputation, means, social position, &c., the
whole concoction is but as high confectionery to a starving man. He may
cheat himself for a time--especially if he be a strong man--into the
belief that he is nourishing himself by denying his natural appetite;
but soon finds he was made for some altogether different kind of food,