But，independentlyofanysuchgroundsofactiveresistance，thesubjectinvolvesinterestssodisproportionedtoitsintrinsicclaims，thatitisnomorethananactofhumanitytogiveitapublicexamination。Ifthenewdoctrineisnottruth，itisadangerous，adeadlyerror。Ifitisamereillusion，andacquiresthesamedegreeofinfluencethatwehaveoftenseenobtainedbyotherillusions，thereisnotoneofmyaudiencewhomaynothaveoccasiontodeplorethefatalcredulitywhichlistenedtoitspromises。
Ishallthereforeundertakeasoberexaminationofitsprinciples，itsfacts，andsomepointsofitshistory。ThelimitedtimeatmydisposalrequiresmetocondenseasmuchaspossiblewhatIhavetosay，butIshallendeavortobeplainanddirectinexpressingit。
Notonestatementshallbemadewhichcannotbesupportedbyunimpeachablereference：notonewordshallbeutteredwhichIamnotaswillingtoprintastospeak。Ihavenoquibblestoutter，andI
shallstooptoanswernone；but，withfullfaithinthesufficiencyofaplainstatementoffactsandreasons，Isubmitthesubjecttothediscernmentofmyaudience。
Thequestionmaybeaskedintheoutset，——Haveyousubmittedthedoctrinesyouareprofessingtoexaminetothetestoflong-repeatedandcarefulexperiment；haveyoutriedtoseewhethertheyweretrueornot？TothisIanswer，thatitisabundantlyevident，fromwhathasoftenhappened，thatitwouldbeofnomannerofuseformetoallegetheresultsofanyexperimentsImighthaveinstituted。Againandagainhavethemostexplicitstatementsbeenmadebythemostcompetentpersonsoftheutterfailureofalltheirtrials，andtherewerethesameabundantexplanationsofferedasusedtobefortheUnguentumArmariumaridtheMetallicTractors。Icouldbynopossibilityperformanyexperimentstheresultofwhichcouldnotbeeasilyexplainedawaysoastobeofnoconclusivesignificance。