Nor is this at all dependent on any inherent logic
of truth. Very many of the errors of antiquity have re-appeared in our
times. If the Greek schools were infected with materialism, pantheism,
and atheism, the later progress of philosophy has shown the same
characters. To a certain extent, such doctrines will receive an
impression from the prevailing creeds, but the arguments which have been
appealed to in their favor have always been the same. The distinction
between these heresies in ancient and modern times lies chiefly in the
grosser characters which they formerly assumed, arising partly from
the reflected influence of the existing mythology, and partly from the
imperfections of exact knowledge. Even the errors of early antiquity are
venerable. We must judge our predecessors by the rules by which we
hope posterity will judge us, making a generous allowance for the
imperfections of reason, the infirmities of character, and especially
for the prejudices of the times. To have devoutly believed in the
existence of a human soul, to have looked forward to its continuing
after the death of the body, to have expected a future state of rewards
and punishments, and to have drawn therefrom, as a philosophical
conclusion, the necessity of leading a virtuous life--these, though
they may be enveloped in a cloud of errors, are noble results of the
intellect of man.
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