MAN—WHENCE AND WHITHER?—Nebular Hypothesis—Formation of Earth’s
crust—Fossil remains in stratified rocks—Pedigree of Man—Pleistocene
and Neolithic Ages—Spontaneous evolution of life—Theories of existence
and ultimate causation—Man’s future state.
MAN’S ANTIQUITY.—Cave explorations—British and continental
discoveries—Glacial periods—Tertiary upheaval and submergence in
Europe—Tertiary fauna and flora—Pleistocene ice age—Palæolithic
age—Tropical origin of Man—Neolithic age—Shell-mounds and remains of
lake-dwellings—Bronze and Iron ages—Aryan invasion of Europe—Historic
era.
EVOLUTION OF MIND.—Universal life or motion—Protoplasmic life—Cell
life—Origin of organs of sense—Embryonic development—Dawn of
infantile intellect—Intellectual and emotional evolution in the
individual—Corresponding development in the race—Animals reflective
and emotional—Language in man and animals.
THE SPECIAL SENSES.—Evolution of.
EVOLUTION OF THE GOD IDEA.—Dawn of intellect—Earliest conception
of Deity—Sun worship—First human tribes—Aryan mythology—Vedic
system—Brahmanism—Hindu virgin and child-saviour—Boodhism—Western
Aryan mythology—Zeus, Apollo, Prometheus, Hercules, Dionysos, &
Yao—Central Aryan mythology—Mazdeism—Mithra—Egyptian mythology—Osiris,
Isis & Horus—Amen-Ra, Mises—Chinese mythology—Semitic
mythology—Akkadian and Chaldean myths—Adonis, El, Yahouh—Jewish
origin—Bible gods—Confucianism—Mohammedanism—Christianism.
ZODIACAL MYTHOLOGY.—Ancient and modern zodiacs—Precession of
equinoxes—Deification of zodiacal signs and other celestial
bodies—Savior-sun-god dramas—Sacred numbers & symbols—Ancient and
modern phallic worship—Dionysia, Adonia & Agapæ.
INTELLECTUAL PROGRESS IN EUROPE.—Egypto-Greek or classic
era—Alexander the Great—The Alexandrian Ptolemies—Essenian
revivalism—Destruction of the Serapion—Murder of Hypatia—Christian
annihilation of science—Birth of Mohammed—The Koran—Saracen
learning—Tenth century scare—Crusades—Averroism—Annihilation of
Saracen power—Establishment of Inquisition—Discovery of America—Martin
Luther—The Reformation—Copernicus—Revival of Arianism—Murder of
Servetus—Index Expurgatorius—First newspaper—Murder of Bruno—Kepler’s
laws—Galileo—Newton’s theory of gravitation—Discovery of Oxygen—First
locomotive engine and screw steamer—Telegraphy—Christian Church
opposed to progress.
THE BIBLE—Origin of Authorised Version—List of Bible books—Description
of MSS—Ancient Hebrew language—Invention of vowel-points—Dates of
earliest Hebrew and Greek MSS.
ANNALS OF TACITUS.—Abelard—Arnold of Brescia—Wicliffe’s heresy and
trials—Papal schism—Jerome of Prague—John Huss—Triple Popedom—Council
of Constance—Search for old MSS—Boggio Bracciolini, Niccolo Niccoli
& Lamberteschi—The forgery—Extracts from letters—Discovery of “The
Annals.”
CREATION AND FALL.—Faith and reason—Mosaic narratives—Creation
opposed to science—Genesis absurd and immoral—Authorship of
Pentateuch—Christianity a failure—The real trinity—Religious
hypocrites—Morality not Christianity.