Mass hysteria is a phenomenon not confined to
human beings; it may be seen in any gregarious species. I once saw a photograph
of a large herd of wild elephants in Central Africa seeing an aeroplane
for the first time, and all in a state of wild collective terror. The elephant,
at most times, is a calm and sagacious beast, but this unprecedented phenomenon
of a noisy, unknown animal in the sky had thrown the whole herd completely
off its balance. Each separate animal was terrified, and its terror communicated
itself to the others, causing a vast multiplication of panic. As, however,
there were no journalists among them, the terror died down when the aeroplane
was out of sight. (23-24)
I do not understand where the
"beauty" and "harmony" of nature are supposed to be found. Throughout the
animal kingdom, animals ruthlessly prey upon each other. Most of them are
either cruelly killed by other animals or slowly die of hunger. For my
part, I am unable to see any very great beauty or harmony in the tapeworm.
Let it not be said that this creature is sent as a punishment for our sins,
for it is more prevalent among animals than among humans.
I suppose what is meant by this
"beauty" and "harmony" are such things as the beauty of the starry heavens.
But one should remember that the stars every now and again explode and
reduce everything in their neighborhood to a vague mist. (35)
For anybody not in the first division, especially for
a person accustomed to reading and writing, prison is a severe and terrible
punishment; but for me, thanks to Arthur Balfour, this was not so. I was
much cheered on my arrival by the warder at the gate, who had to take particulars
about me. He asked my religion, and I replied 'agnostic.' He asked how
to spell it, and remarked with a sigh: 'Well, there are many religions,
but I suppose they all worship the same God.' This remark kept me cheerful
for about a week. (44)
Catholic teaching . . . has a two-fold basis; it rests,
on the one hand, upon the asceticism which we already find in St. Paul,
on the other, upon the view that it is good to bring into the world as
many souls as possible, since every soul is capable of salvation. For some
reason which I do not understand, the fact that souls are equally capable
of damnation is not taken into account, and yet it seems quite as relevant.
Catholics, for example, use their political influence to prevent Protestants
from practising birth control, and yet they must hold that the great majority
of Protestant children whom their political action causes to exist will
endure eternal torment in the next world. This makes their action seem
somewhat unkind, but doubtless these are mysteries which the profance cannot
hope to understand. (54-55)
I am not myself in any degree ashamed of having changed
my opinions. What physicist who was already active in 1900 would dream
of boasting that his opinions had not changed during the last half century?
In science men change their opinions when new knowledge becomes available,
but philosophy in the minds of many is assimilated rather to theology than
to science. A theologian proclaims eternal truths, the creeds remain unchanged
since the Council of Nicaea. Where nobody knows anything, there is no point
in changing your mind. (65-66)
To modern educated people, it seems obvious that matters
of fact are to be ascertained by observation, not by consulting ancient
authorities. But this is an entirely modern conception, which hardly existed
before the seventeenth century. Aristotle maintained that women have fewer
teeth than men; although he was twice married, it never occurred to him
to verify this statement by examining his wives' mouths. (67)