Natural religion : the Gifford lectures delivered before the University of Glasgow in 1888 / by F. Max Müller.

  • Friedrich Max Müller
Date:
1898
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Natural religion : the Gifford lectures delivered before the University of Glasgow in 1888 / by F. Max Müller. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    invested securely upon or in the purchase of lands or heritages which are likely to continue of the same value, or increase in value, or in such other way as Statute may permit, merely the annual proceeds or interest shall be expended in maintaining the respective lectureships. Second, The ‘patrons may delay the institution of the lectureships, and may from time to time intermit the appointment of lecturers and the delivery ot lectures for one or more years for the purpose of accumulating the income or enlarging capital. Third, The lecturers shall be appointed from time to time each for a period of only two years and no longer, but the same lecturer may be reappointed for other two periods of 1 wo years each, provided that no one person shall hold the office of lecturer in the same city for more than six years in all, it being desirable that the subject be promoted and illus- trated by different minds. Fourth, The lecturers appointed shall be subjected to no test of any kind, and shall not be i equired to take any oath, or to emit or subscribe any declai ation of belief, or to make any promise of any kind : they may be of any denomination whatever, or of no de- nomination at all (and many earnest and high-minded men prefer to belong to no ecclesiastical denomination); they may be of any religion or way of thinking, or, as is sometimes said, they may be of no religion, or they may be so-called sceptics or agnostics or freethinkers, provided only that the ‘ patrons ’ will use diligence to secure that they be able reveient men, true thinkers, sincere lovers of and earnest inquirers after truth. Fifth, I wish the lecturers to treat their subject as a strictly natural science, the greatest of all jioss ble sciences, indeed, in one sense, the only science, that ol Infinite being, without reference to or reliance upon any supposed special exceptional or so-called miraculous revela- tion. I wish it considered just as astronomy or chemistry is. I have intentionally indicated, in describing the subject of the lectures, the general aspect which personally I would expect the lecturers to bear, but the lecturers shall be under no restra:nt whatever in their treatment of their theme ; for example, they may freely discuss (and it may be well to do so) all questions about man’s conceptions of God or the Infinite, their origin, nature, anil truth, whether he can Capi tal preserved entire. Patrons may delay institu- tion of chair, &c. Lecturers appointed for two years. Qualifica- tions of lecturtrs. Subject to be treated as a Natu- ral Science.