A Short History of Freethought Ancient and Modern, Volume 2 of 2 by J. M. Robertson

English sense of the term), which, beginning to take shape in the eighteenth century, came to new life in the latter part of the nineteenth; and is now one of the most widely cultivated of all the sciences--especially on the side of religious creed and psychology. On the other hand, we may group somewhat as follows the general forces of retardation of freethought operating throughout the century:--