WCP5482

[1]¹

Parkstone, Dorset

Nov[embe]^r 22nd. 1891

My dear Mrs. Besant

As one who admires your boldness, your honesty, and the excellent work you have done for humanity, I take the liberty of addressing you on a very important subject — that of the value of the philosophy you have recently adopted. I am not going to argue at all on the question of Theosophy, but merely to urge upon you — before finally and irrevocably committing yourself to it as founded in truth & the facts of nature — to read a book which seems to me to [2] throw far more light on the nature of the universe & of man, and to offer a surer foundation for morals & religion, than are to [be] found in the purely speculative teachings of the Theosophists. The author of this work was, like yourself, an agnostic. Being a man of powerful intellect and great literary ability he determined to see if all the actual knowledge now attained of organised beings, through the sciences of morphology Embryology & physiology, could lead, by systematic reasoning on the ^facts, to any rational conceptions [3] of the nature & origin of life & of the material universe, — & of the mental & moral nature of man. After devoting many years to the study he has given his results in two volumes, — the first — "Whence comes Man" — the 2nd, — "Why does Man Exist."⁴ — If my judgement is worth anything this 2nd. work is one of the most remarkable that has yet appeared, since, by a train of logical & acute reasoning, on facts, it leads to a conception of the nature of man & God which offers a sound foundation for morality and religion, and throws much [4] light upon, if it does not wholly solve, some of the most difficult problems of philosophy.

Now, as I know that you seek after truth — & truth only, and are moreover a student who can read, and assimilate what you read, I write to ask you whether you will read carefully and studiously Mr. Bell’s book. If so I will ask him to send you a copy, which I am sure he will be most pleased to do. Having read it I ask you to compare the two methods of arriving at some knowledge of man and the universe, — (1) that of Mr. Bell, ² which is, to [5]⁴ reason, carefully, cautiously, but unflinchingly on the marvellous facts as to life revealed by modern science; and, in every case boldly to follow out our reasonings to their legitimate conclusions; — or (2) that of the Theosophists, which is to accept the dicta of various old teachers, who were absolutely ignorant of that ^exact knowledge of nature laboriously attained by modern research, and the truth of which ^{whose dogmas} we have no possible means of verifying. On the [6] one hand we can test the facts, we can follow the arguments, and can adopt the conclusion just so far as it seems to be justified. On the other hand we have doctrines given us whose truth we have no means whatever of testing either as to fact or reasoning., — but [illeg. letter scribbled out] solely by their supposed [illeg. letters scribbled out] power of explaining a few of the phenomena of human nature and the amount of inherent probability they may have for each of us — a method that has failed again and again in the history of science.³ you [sic], I am sure will admit, that we shall be [7] better able to judge of that inherent probability if we make ourselves acquainted ^first with what can be learnt from the facts of our organisation & ^our mental faculties, by means of those faculties; and I therefore on this ground hope that you will at least read this one book.

It seems to me that the whole history of human progress warns us against accepting beliefs on authority instead of ^{founding them} on fact and reasoning. The acceptance of the Aristotelian philosophy barred the way to all advance in knowledge for more than a thousand years. [8] The dogmas of St. Paul & St. John accepted by theologians ^{as truths,} have for[? Word obscured by paperclip tear] a longer period blinded the human intellect. The metaphysicians have argued & spun their theories in vain from the earliest epoch to this day. Should we not therefore beware of again accepting theories or beliefs the rational ground for which we can not ourselves test and examine? Only when we have exhausted the knowledge gained by patient study of nature, and all that is to be derived from it, should we accept teachings that claim to be from higher minds than ours; & only then so far as they are consistent with what we have learnt by more legitimate modes of study.

Believe me | Yours very truly | Alfred R. Wallace [signature]