| The Reaction. Tone in England. Clericalism in Italy and Spain. Movement in France and Germany | 386 |
| The Forces of Renascence. International movement. Summary of critical forces. Developments of science. Lines of resistance | 389 |
| Section 1.—Popular Propaganda and Culture | |
| 1. | Democracy. Paine. Translations from the French | 391 |
| 2. | Huttman. Houston. Wedderburn | 393 |
| 3. | Pietist persecution. Richard Carlile. John Clarke. Robert Taylor. Charles Southwell. G. J. Holyoake. Women helpers | 393 |
| 4. | Hetherington. Operation of blasphemy law | 395 |
| 5. | Robert Owen | 395 |
| 6. | The reign of bigotry. Influence of Gibbon | 398 |
| 7. | Charles Bradlaugh and Secularism. Imprisonment of G. W. Foote. Treatment of Bradlaugh by Parliament. Resultant energy of secularist attack | 399 |
| 8. | New literary developments. Lecky. Conway. Winwood Reade. Spencer. Arnold. Mill. Clifford. Stephen. Amberley. New apologetics | 402 |
| 9. | Freethought in France. Social schemes. Fourier. Saint-Simon. Comte. Duruy and Sainte-Beuve | 404 |
| 10. | Bigotry in Spain. Popular freethought in Catholic countries. Journalism | 406 |
| 11. | Fluctuations in Germany. Persistence of religious liberalism. Marx and Socialism. Official orthodoxy | 409 |
| 12. | The Scandinavian States and Russia | 412 |
| 13. | “Free-religious” societies | 413 |
| 14. | Unitarianism in England and America | 414 |
| 15. | Clerical rationalism in Protestant countries. Switzerland. Holland. Dutch South Africa | 415 |
| 16. | Developments in Sweden | 417 |
| 17. | The United States. Ingersoll. Lincoln. Stephen Douglas. Frederick Douglass. Academic persecution. Changes of front | 419 |
| Section 2.—Biblical Criticism | |
| 1. | Rationalism in Germany. The Schleiermacher reaction: its heretical character. Orthodox hostility | 420 |
| 2. | Progress in both camps. Strauss’s critical syncretism | 423 |
| 3. | Criticism of the Fourth Gospel | 425 |
| 4. | Strauss’s achievement | 425 |
| 5. | Official reaction | 426 |
| 6. | Fresh advance. Schwegler. Bruno Bauer | 426 |
| 7. | Strauss’s second Life of Jesus. His politics. His Voltaire and Old and New Faith. His total influence | 428 |
| 8. | Fluctuating progress of criticism. Important issues passed-by. Nork. Ghillany. Daumer. Ewerbeck. Colenso. Kuenen. Kalisch. Wellhausen | 431 |
| 9. | New Testament criticism. Baur. Zeller. Van Manen | 434 |
| 10. | Falling-off in German candidates for the ministry as in congregations. Official orthodox pressures | 435 |
| 11. | Attack and defence in England. The Tractarian reaction. Progress of criticism. Hennell. The United States: Parker. English publicists: F. W. Newman; R. W. Mackay; W. R. Greg. Translations. E. P. Meredith; Thomas Scott; W. R. Cassels | 437 |
| 12. | New Testament criticism in France. Renan and Havet | 439 |
| Section 3.—Poetry and General Literature | |
| 1. | The French literary reaction. Chateaubriand | 440 |
| 2. | Predominance of freethought in later belles lettres | 441 |
| 3. | BÉranger. De Musset. Victor Hugo. Leconte de Lisle. The critics. The reactionists | 442 |
| 4. | Poetry in England. Shelley. Coleridge. The romantic movement. Scott. Byron. Keats | 443 |
| 5. | Charles Lamb | 445 |
| 6. | Carlyle. Mill. Froude | 447 |
| 7. | Orthodoxy and conformity. Bain’s view of Carlyle, Macaulay, and Lyell | 448 |
| 8. | The literary influence. Ruskin. Arnold. Intellectual preponderance of rationalism | 450 |
| 9. | English fiction from Miss Edgeworth to the present time | 451 |
| 10. | Richard Jefferies | 452 |
| 11. | Poetry since Shelley | 452 |
| 12. | American belles lettres | 453 |
| 13. | Leopardi. Carducci. Kleist. Heine | 454 |
| 14. | Russian belles lettres | 456 |
| 15. | The Scandinavian States | 457 |
| Section 4.—The Natural Sciences | |
| 1. | Progress in cosmology. Laplace and modern astronomy. Orthodox resistance. Leslie | 457 |
| 2. | Physiology in France. Cabanis | 459 |
| 3. | Physiology in England. Lawrence. Morgan | 461 |
| 4. | Geology after Hutton. Hugh Miller. Baden Powell | 462 |
| 5. | Darwin | 464 |
| 6. | Robert Chambers | 464 |
| 7. | Orthodox resistance. General advance | 465 |
| 8. | Triumph of evolutionism. Spencer. Clifford. Huxley | 466 |
| Section 5.—The Sociological Sciences | |
| 1. | Eighteenth-century sociology. Salverte. Charles Comte. Auguste Comte | 468 |
| 2. | Progress in England. Orthodoxy of Hallam. Carlyle. Grote. Thirlwall. Long | 468 |
| 3. | Sociology proper. Orthodox hostility | 469 |
| 4. | Mythology and anthropology. Tylor. Spencer. Avebury. Frazer | 470 |
| Section 6.—Philosophy and Ethics | |
| 1. | Fichte. Schelling. Hegel | 471 |
| 2. | Germany after Hegel. Schopenhauer. Hartmann | 474 |
| 3. | Feuerbach. Stirner | 475 |
| 4. | Arnold Ruge | 478 |
| 5. | BÜchner | 478 |
| 6. | Philosophy in France. Maine de Biran. Cousin. Jouffroy | 479 |
| 7. | Movement of Lamennais | 480 |
| 8. | Comte and Comtism | 483 |
| 9. | Philosophy in Britain. Bentham. James Mill. Grote. Political rationalism | 484 |
| 10. | Hamilton. Mansel. Spencer | 485 |
| 11. | Semi-rationalism in the churches | 487 |
| 12. | J. S. Mill | 489 |
| Section 7.—Modern Jewry | |
| | Jewish influence in philosophy since Spinoza. Modern balance of tendencies | 489 |
| Section 8.—The Oriental Civilizations | |
| | Asiatic intellectual life. Japan. Discussions on Japanese psychosis. Fukuzawa. The recent Cult of the Emperor. China. India. Turkey. Greece | 490 |