Preface to the Scottish Edition.

This pamphlet, which for the first time has been issued as a special edition in Scotland, requires but little to be said by way of introduction in the North. Like all honest and sincere work, it speaks for itself. Those who may disagree with its aims will credit it, at least, with sincerity; and those who may be farthest removed from its sentiments, may, nevertheless, find some thoughts in its pages, regarding the truth of which all thinking men and women will agree.

In Scotland, at the present time, the waves of religious reform have already begun to make headway. The "signs of the times" in religious matters may be read as we run in the North; and the awakening of the churches to more liberal views of life, science, and duty, is but part and parcel of a movement, which is begotten by a spirit of progress too powerful to be resisted. When the old foundations of belief are being destroyed, the safety of religion must lie in her availing herself of the new and higher culture which is abroad. It is the aim of these pages to show how such a culture may be made compatible with the true, simple, pure, and consistent service of God.