,,outspoken ,,essays ,,by ,,william ,,ralph ,,inge1 ,c4,v4,o41 ,d4,d4 ,,dean ,,of ,,st4 ,,paul',s ,,fifth ,,impression ,,longmans1 ,,green1 ,,and ,,co #ci ,,paternoster ,,row1 ,,london ,,fourth ,,avenue #cj,,th ,,street1 ,,new ,,york ,,bombay1 ,,calcutta1 ,,and ,,madras #aibj ,,preface ,all the ,essays in this volume1 except the first1 have appeared in the ,edinburgh ,review1 the ,quarterly ,review1 or the ,hibbert ,journal4 ,i have to thank the ,publishers and ,editors of those ,reviews for their courtesy in permitting me to reprint them4 ,the articles on ,the ,birth-,rate1 ,the ,future of the ,english ,race1 ,bishop ,gore and the ,church of ,england1 and ,cardinal ,newman are from the ,edinburgh ,review2 those on ,patriotism1 ,catholic ,modernism1 ,st4 ,paul1 and ,the ,indictment against ,christianity are from the ,quarterly ,review2 those on ,institutionalism and ,mysticism and ,survival and ,immortality from the ,hibbert ,journal4 ,i have not attempted to remove all traces of overlapping1 which ,i hope may be pardoned in essays written independently of each other2 but a few repetitions have been excised4 ,,contents ,,page ,i4 ,,our ,,present ,,discontents #a ,,ii4 ,,patriotism #ce ,,iii4 ,,the ,,birth-,,rate #ei ,,iv4 ,,the ,,future ,,of ,,the ,,english ,,race #hb ,v4 ,,bishop ,,gore ,,and ,,the ,,church ,,of ,,england #ajf ,,vi4 ,,roman ,,catholic ,,modernism #acg ,,vii4 ,,cardinal ,,newman #agb ,,viii4 ,,st4 ,,paul #bje ,,ix4 ,,institutionalism ,,and ,,mysticism #bcj ,x4 ,,the ,,indictment ,,against ,,christianity #bdc ,,xi4 ,,survival ,,and ,,immortality #bff ,photera theleist soi malthaka pseydh lheg1 h sklhr' althh2 phrhaze1 sh gar h krhisist4 ,euripides4 ,the case of historical writers is hard2 for if they tell the truth they provoke man1 and if they write what is false they offend ,god4--,matthew ,paris4 ,quattuor sunt maxime comprehendendae veritatis offendicula2 videlicet1 fragilis et indignae auctoritatis exemplum1 consuetudinis diuturnitas1 vulgi sensus imperiti1 et propriae ignorantiae occultatio cum ostentatione sapientiae superioris4--,roger ,bacon4 ,iudicio perpende2 et si tibi vera videntur1 ,dede manus2 aut si falsum est1 accingere contra4 ,lucretius4 ,eventu rerum stolidi didicere magistro4 ,claudian4 ',all' h toi men tahyta thehn en gohynasi kehitai4 ,homer4 ,i ,,our ,,present ,,discontents 7,,august1 #aiai7 ,the ,essays in this volume were written at various times before and during the ,great ,war4 ,in reading them through for republication1 ,i have to ask myself whether my opinions on social science and on the state of religion1 the two subjects which are mainly dealt with in this collection1 have been modified by the greatest calamity which has ever befallen the civilised world1 or by the issue of the struggle4 ,i find very little that ,i should now wish to alter4 ,the war has caused events to move faster1 but in the same direction as before4 ,the social revolution has been hurried on2 the inevitable counter-revolution has equally been brought nearer4 ,for if there is one safe generalisation in human affairs1 it is that revolutions always destroy themselves4 ,how often have fanatics proclaimed 'the year one'6 ,but no revolutionary era has yet reached 'year twenty-five4' ,as regards the national character1 there is no sign1 ,i fear1 that much wisdom has been learnt4 ,we are more wasteful and reckless than ever4 ,the doctrinaire democrat still vapours about democracy1 though representative government has obviously lost both its power and its prestige4 ,the labour party still hugs its comprehensive assortment of economic heresies4 ,organised religion remains as impotent as it was before the war4 ,but one fact has emerged with startling clearness4 ,human nature has not been changed by civilisation4 ,it has neither been levelled up nor levelled down to an average mediocrity4 ,beneath the dingy uniformity of international fashions in dress1 man remains what he has always been--a splendid fighting animal1 a self-sacrificing hero1 and a bloodthirsty savage4 ,human nature is at once sublime and horrible1 holy and satanic4 ,apart from the accumulation of knowledge and experience1 which are external and precarious acquisitions1 there is no proof that we have changed much since the first stone age4 ,the war itself1 as we shall soon be compelled to recognise1 had its roots deep in the political and social structure of ,europe4 ,the growth of wealth and population1 and the law of diminishing returns1 led to a scramble for unappropriated lands producing the raw materials of industry4 ,it was1 in a sense1 a war of capital2 but capitalism is no accretion upon the body politic2 it is the creator of the modern world and an essential part of a living organism4 ,the ,germans unquestionably made a deep-laid plot to capture all markets and cripple or ruin all competitors4 ,their aims and methods were very like those of the ,standard ,oil ,trust on a still larger scale4 ,the other nations had not followed the logic of competition in the same ruthless manner2 there were several things which they were not willing to do4 ,but war to the knife cannot be confined to one of the combatants2 the alternative1 ,weltmacht oder ,niedergang1 was thrust by ,germany upon the ,allies when she chose that motto for herself4 ,if the modern man were as much dominated by economic motives as is sometimes supposed1 the suicidal results of such a conflict would have been apparent to all2 but the poetry and idealism of human nature1 no longer centred1 as formerly1 in religion1 had gathered round a romantic patriotism1 for which the belligerents were willing to sacrifice their all without counting the cost4 ,like other idealisms1 patriotism varies from a noble devotion to a moral lunacy4 ,but there was another cause which led to the war4 ,germany was a curious combination of seventeenth century theory and very modern practice4 ,an ,emperor ruling by divine right was the head of the most scientific state that the world has seen4 ,in many ways ,germany1 with an intelligent1 economical1 and uncorrupt ,government1 was a model to the rest of the world4 ,but the whole structure was menaced by that form of individualistic materialism which calls itself social democracy1 and which in practice is at once the copy of organic materialism and the reaction against it4 ,the motives for drilling a whole nation in the pursuit of purely national and purely materialistic aims are not strong enough to prevent disintegration4 ,the ,german ,kriegsstaat was falling to pieces through internal fissures4 ,a successful war might give the empire a new lease of life2 otherwise1 the rising tide of revolution was certain to sweep it away4 ,as ,sir ,charles ,walston has shown1 it was for some years doubtful whether the democratic movement would obtain control before the bureaucracy and army chiefs succeeded in precipitating a war4 ,there was a kind of race between the two forces4 ,this was the situation which ,lord ,haldane found still existing in his famous visit to ,germany4 ,in the event1 the conservative powers were able to strike and to rush public opinion4 ,perhaps the bureaucracy was carried along by its own momentum4 ,two or three years before the war a ,german publicist1 replying to an eminent ,englishman1 who asked him who really directed the policy of ,germany1 answered3 ',it is a difficult question4 ,nominally1 of course1 the ,emperor is responsible2 but he is a man of moods1 not a strong man4 ,in reality1 the machine runs itself4 ,whither it is carrying us we none of us know2 ,i fear towards some great disaster4' ,this seems to be the truth of the matter4 ,no doubt1 a romantic imperialism1 with dreams of restoring the empire of ,charlemagne1 was a factor in the criminal enterprise4 ,no doubt the natural ambitions of officers1 and the greed of contractors and speculators1 played their part in promoting it4 ,but when we consider that ,germany held all the winning cards in a game of peaceful penetration and economic competition1 we should attribute to the ,imperial ,government a strange recklessness if we did not conclude that the political condition of ,germany itself1 and the automatic working of the machine1 were the main causes why the attack was made4 ,there is1 in fact1 abundant evidence that it was so4 ,the scheme failed only because ,germany was foolish enough to threaten ,england before settling accounts with ,russia4 ,but this1 again1 was the result of internal pressure4 ,hamburg1 and all the interests which the name stands for1 cared less for expansion in the ,east than for the capture of markets overseas4 ,for this important section of conservative ,germany1 ,england was the enemy4 ,so the gauntlet was thrown down to the whole civilised world at once1 and the odds against ,germany were too great4 ,for the time being1 the world has no example of a strong monarchy4 ,the three great ,european empires are1 at the time of writing1 in a state of septic dissolution4 ,the victors have sprung to the welcome conclusion that democracy is everywhere triumphant1 and that before long no other type of civilised state will exist4 ,the amazing provincialism of ,american political thought accepts this conclusion without demur2 and our public men1 some of whom doubtless know better1 have served the needs of the moment by effusions of political nonsense which almost surpass the orations delivered every year on the ,fourth of ,july4 ,but no historian can suppose that one of the most widespread and successful forms of human association has been permanently extinguished because the ,central ,empires were not quite strong enough to conquer ,europe1 an attempt which has always failed1 and probably will always fail4 ,the issue is not fully decided1 even for our own generation4 ,the ascendancy will belong to that nation which is the best organised1 the most strenuous1 the most intelligent1 the most united4 ,before the war none would have hesitated to name ,germany as holding this position2 and until the downfall of the ,empire the nation seemed to possess those qualities unimpaired4 ,the three ,empires collapsed in hideous chaos as soon as they deposed their monarchs4 ,in the case of ,russia1 it is difficult to imagine any recovery until the monarchy is restored2 and ,germany would probably be well-advised to choose some member of the imperial family as a constitutional sovereign4 ,a monarch frequently represents his subjects better than an elected assembly2 and if he is a good judge of character he is likely to have more capable and loyal advisers4 ,president ,wilson's declaration that 'a steadfast concert for peace can never be maintained except by a partnership of democratic nations2 for no autocratic government could ever be trusted to keep faith within it1' is one of the most childish exhibitions of doctrinaire navet which ever proceeded from the mouth of a public man4 ,history gives no countenance to the theory that popular governments are either more moral or more pacific than strong monarchies4 ,the late ,lord ,salisbury1 in one of his articles in the ,quarterly ,review1 spoke the truth on this subject4 ',moderation1 especially in the matter of territory1 has never been a characteristic of democracy4 ,wherever it has had free play1 in the ancient world or the modern1 in the old hemisphere or the new1 a thirst for empire and a readiness for aggressive war has always marked it4 ,though governments may have an appearance and even a reality of pacific intent1 their action is always liable to be superseded by the violent and vehement operations of mere ignorance4' ,the ,united ,states are no exception to this rule4 ,they have extended their dominion by much the same means as the empire of the ,tsars or our own4 ,texas and ,upper ,california1 the ,philippines and ,porto ,rico1 were annexed forcibly2 ,new ,mexico1 ,alaska1 and ,louisiana were bought2 ,florida was acquired by treaty2 ,maine filched from ,canada4 ,in no case were the wishes of the inhabitants consulted4 ,our own experience of republicanism is the same4 ,it was during the short period when ,great ,britain had no king that ,cromwell's court-poet1 ,andrew ,marvell1 urged him to complete his glorious career by demolishing our present allies3 ,a ,csar he1 ere long1 to ,gaul1 ,to ,italy an ,hannibal4 ,on the other hand1 none of the 'autocrats' wanted this war4 ,the ,kaiser was certainly pushed into it4 ,democracy is a form of government which may be rationally defended1 not as being good1 but as being less bad than any other4 ,its strongest merits seem to be3 first1 that the citizens of a democracy have a sense of proprietorship and responsibility in public affairs1 which in times of crisis may add to their tenacity and endurance4 ,the determination of the ,federals in the ,american ,civil ,war1 and of the ,french and ,british in the four years' struggle against ,germany1 may be legitimately adduced as arguments for democracy4 ,when ,de ,tocqueville says that 'it is hard for a democracy to begin or to end a war1' the second is truer than the first4 ,and1 secondly1 the educational value of democracy is so great that it may be held to counterbalance many defects4 ,mill decides in favour of democracy mainly on the ground that 'it promotes a better and higher form of national character than any other polity1' since government by authority stunts the intellect1 narrows the sympathies1 and destroys the power of initiative4 ',the perfect commonwealth1' says ,mr4 ,zimmern1' is a society of free men and women1 each at once ruling and being ruled1' ,it is also fair to argue that monarchies do not escape the worst evils of democracies4 ,an autocracy is often obliged to oppress the educated classes and to propitiate the mob4 ,domitian massacred senators with impunity1 and only fell 'postquam cerdonibus esse timendus coeperat4' ,if an autocracy does not rest on the army1 which leads to the chaos of praetorianism1 it must rely on 'panem et circenses4' ,hence it has some of the worst faults of democracy1 without its advantages4 ,as ,mr4 ,graham ,wallas says3 ',when a ,tsar or a bureaucracy finds itself forced to govern in opposition to a vague national feeling which may at any moment create an overwhelming national purpose1 the autocrat becomes the most unscrupulous of demagogues1 and stirs up racial or religious or social hatred1 or the lust for foreign war1 with less scruple than a newspaper proprietor under a democracy1' ,the autocrat1 in fact1 is often a slave1 as the demagogue is often a tyrant4 ,lastly1 the democrat may urge that one of the commonest accusations against democracy--that the populace chooses its rulers badly--is not true in times of great national danger4 ,on the contrary1 it often shows a sound instinct in finding the strongest man to carry it through a crisis4 ,at such times the parrots and monkeys are discarded1 and a ,napoleon or a ,kitchener is given a free hand1 though he may have despised all the demagogic arts4 ,in other words1 a democracy sometimes knows when to abdicate4 ,the excesses of revolutionists are not an argument against democracy1 since revolutions are anything rather than democratic4 ,nevertheless1 the indictment against democracy is a very heavy one1 and it is worth while to state the main items in the charge4 #a4 ,whatever may be truly said about the good sense of a democracy during a great crisis1 at ordinary times it does not bring the best men to the top4 ,professor ,hearnshaw1 in his admirable ',democracy at the ,crossroads1' collects a number of weighty opinions confirming this judgment4 ,carlyle1 who proclaimed the merits of silence in some thirty volumes1 blames democracy for ignoring the 'noble1 silent men' who could serve it best1 and placing power in the hands of windbags4 ,ruskin1 ,matthew ,arnold1 ,sir ,james ,stephen1 ,sir ,henry ,maine1 and ,lecky1 all agree that 'the people have for the most part neither the will nor the power to find out the best men to lead them4' ,in ,france the denunciations of democratic politicians are so general that it would be tedious to enumerate the writers who have uttered them4 ,one example will suffice2 the words are the words of ,anatole ,beaulieu in #ahhe3 ,the wider the circle from which politicians and state-functionaries are recruited1 the lower seems their intellectual level to have sunk4 ,this deterioration in the personnel of government has been yet more striking from the moral point of view4 ,politics have tended to become more corrupt1 more debased1 and to soil the hands of those who take part in them and the men who get their living by them4 ,political battles have become too bitter and too vulgar not to have inspired aversion in the noblest and most upright natures by their violence and their intrigues4 ,the lite of the nation in more than one country are showing a tendency to have nothing to do with them4 ,politics is an industry in which a man1 to prosper1 requires less intelligence and knowledge than boldness and capacity for intrigue4 ,it has already become in some states the most ignominious of careers4 ,parties are syndicates for exploitation1 and its forms become ever more shameless4 ,a later account of ,french politics1 drawn from inside knowledge and experience1 is the remarkable novel1 ',les ,morts qui parlent1' by the ,vicomte ,le ,vogu4 ,readers of this book will not forget the description of the bain de haine in which a new deputy at once finds himself plunged1 and the canker of corruption which eats into the whole system4 ,it is no wonder that the majority of ,frenchmen do not care to record their votes4 ,in #aijf1 #e1bji1fjf votes were given1 #f1chc1heb electors did not go to the poll4 ,the record of democracy in the new countries is no better4 ,we must regretfully admit that ,louis ,simond was right when he said1 ',few people take the trouble to persuade the people1 except those who see their interest in deceiving them4' #b4 ,the democracy is a ready victim to shibboleths and catchwords1 as all demagogues know too well4 ',the abstract idea1' as ,schrer says1 'is the national aliment of popular rhetoric1 the fatal form of thought which1 for want of solid knowledge1 operates in a vacuum4' ,the politician has only to find a fascinating formula2 facts and arguments are powerless against it4 ,the art of the demagogue is the art of the parrot2 he must utter some senseless catchword again and again1 working on the suggestibility of the crowd4 ,archbishop ,trench1 ',on the ,study of ,words1' notices this fact of psychology and the use which is commonly made of it4 ,if ,i wanted any further evidence of the moral atmosphere which words diffuse1 ,i would ask you to observe how the first thing men do1 when engaged in controversy with others1 is ever to assume some honourable name to themselves1 such as1 if possible1 shall beg the whole subject in dispute1 and at the same time to affix on their adversaries a name which shall place them in a ridiculous or contemptible or odious light4 ,a deep instinct1 deeper perhaps than men give any account of to themselves1 tells them how far this will go2 that multitudes1 utterly unable to weigh the arguments on one side or the other1 will yet be receptive of the influences which these words are evermore1 however imperceptibly1 diffusing4 ,by argument they might hope to gain over the reason of a few1 but by help of these nicknames the prejudices and passions of the many4 ,the chief instrument of this base art is no longer the public speech but the newspaper4 ,the psychology of the crowd has been much studied lately1 by ,le ,bon and other writers in ,france1 by ,mr4 ,graham ,wallas in ,england4 ,i think that ,le ,bon is in danger of making ,the ,crowd a mystical1 superhuman entity4 ,of course1 a crowd is made up of individuals1 who remain individuals still4 ,we must not accept the stuffed idol of ,rousseau and the socialists1 ',the ,general ,will1' and turn it into an evil spirit4 ,there is no ,general ,will4 ,all we have a right to say is that individuals are occasionally guided by reason1 crowds never4 #c4 ,several critics of democracy have accused it not only of rash iconoclasm1 but of obstinate conservatism and obstructiveness4 ,it seems unreasonable to charge the same persons with two opposite faults2 but it is true that where the popular emotions are not touched1 the masses will cling to old abuses from mere force of habit4 ,as ,maine says1 universal suffrage would have prohibited the spinning-jenny and the power-loom1 the threshing-machine and the ,gregorian calendar2 and it would have restored the ,stuarts4 ,the theory of democracy--vox populi vox dei--is a pure superstition1 a belief in a divine or natural sanction which does not exist4 ,and superstition is usually obstructive4 ',we erect the temporary watchwords of evanescent politics into eternal truths2 and having accepted as platitudes the paradoxes of our fathers1 we perpetuate them as obstacles to the progress of our children4'#a #d4 ,a more serious danger is that of vexatious and inquisitive tyranny4 ,this is exercised partly through public opinion1 a vulgar1 impertinent1 anonymous tyrant who deliberately makes life unpleasant for anyone who is not content to be the average man4 ,but partly it is seen in constant interference with the legislature and the executive4 ,no one can govern who cannot afford to be unpopular1 and no democratic official can afford to be unpopular4 ,sometimes he has to wink at flagrant injustice and oppression2 at other times a fanatical agitation compels him to pass laws which forbid the citizen to indulge perfectly harmless tastes1 or tax him to contribute to the pleasures of the majority4 ,in many ways a ,russian under the ,tsars was far less interfered with than an ,englishman or ,american or ,australian4 #e4 ,but the two diseases which are likely to be fatal to democracy are anarchy and corruption4 ,a democratic government is almost necessarily weak and timid4 ,a democracy cannot tolerate a strong executive for fear of seeing the control pass out of the hands of the mob4 ,the executive must be unarmed and defenceless4 ,the result is that it is at the mercy of any violent and anti-social faction4 ,no civilised government has ever given a more ludicrous and humiliating object-lesson than the ,cabinet and ,house of ,commons in the years before the war1 in face of the outrages committed by a small gang of female anarchists4 ,the legalisation of terrorism by the trade-unions was too tragic a surrender to be ludicrous1 but it was even more disgraceful4 ,none could be surprised when1 during the war1 the ,government shrank from dealing with treasonable conspiracy in the same quarter4 ,the ,times for ,may #bd1 #aiag1 contained a noteworthy example of justice influenced by pressure1 and therefore applied with flagrant inequality4 ,in parallel columns appeared reports of 'sugar-sellers fined' and 'strike leaders released4' ,the former paid the full penalty of their misdeeds because no body of outside opinion maintained them4 ,the latter1 who were stated to have committed offences for which the maximum penalty was penal servitude for life1 got off scot-free because they were members of a powerful organisation which was able to bring immense weight to bear on the ,government4#b ,the 'immense weight' was1 of course1 the threat of virtually betraying the country to the ,germans4 ,the country is at this moment at the mercy of any lawless faction which may choose either to hold the community to ransom by paralysing our trade and channels of supply1 or by organised violence against life and property4 ,democracy is powerless against sectional anarchism2 and when such movements break out there is no remedy except by substituting for democracy a government of a very different type4 ,democracy is1 in fact1 a disintegrating force4 ,it is strong in destruction1 and tends to fall to pieces when the work of demolition 7which may of course be a necessary task7 is over4 ,democracy dissolves communities into individuals and collects them again into mobs4 ,it pulls up by the roots the social order which civilisation has gradually evolved1 and leaves men dracins1 as ,bourget says in one of his best novels1 homeless and friendless1 with no place ready for them to fill4 ,it is the opposite extreme to the caste system of ,india1 which1 with all its faults1 does not seem to breed the ,european type of enrag1 the enemy of society as such4 #f4 ,the corruption of democracies proceeds directly from the fact that one class imposes the taxes and another class pays them4 ,the constitutional principle1 ',no taxation without representation1' is utterly set at nought under a system which leaves certain classes without any effective representation at all4 ,at the present time it is said that one-tenth of the population pays five-sixths of the taxes4 ,the class which imposes the taxes has refused to touch the burden of the war with one of its fingers2 and every month new doles at the public expense are distributed under the camouflage of 'social reform4' ,at every election the worldly goods of the minority are put up to auction4 ,this is far more immoral than the old-fashioned election bribery1 which was a comparatively honest deal between two persons2 and in its effects it is far more ruinous4 ,democracy is likely to perish1 like the monarchy of ,louis ,,xvi1 through national bankruptcy4 ,besides these defects1 the democracy has ethical standards of its own1 which differ widely from those of the educated classes4 ,among the poor1 'generosity ranks far before justice1 sympathy before truth1 love before chastity1 a pliant and obliging disposition before a rigidly honest one4 ,in brief1 the less admixture of intellect required for the practice of any virtue1 the higher it stands in popular estimation4#c ,in this country1 at any rate1 democracy means a victory of sentiment over reason4 ,some may prefer the softer type of character1 and may hope that it will make civilisation more humane and compassionate than it has been in the past4 ,unfortunately1 experience shows that none is so cruel as the disillusioned sentimentalist4 ,he thinks that he can break or ignore nature's laws with impunity2 and then1 when he finds that nature has no sentiment1 he rages like a mad dog1 and combines with his theoretical objection to capital punishment a lust to murder all who disagree with him4 ,this is the genesis of ,jacobinism and ,bolshevism4 ,but whether we think that the bad in democracy predominates over the good1 or the good over the bad1 a question which ,i shall not attempt to decide1 the popular balderdash about it corresponds to no real conviction4 ,the upper class has never believed in it2 the middle class has the strongest reasons to hate and fear it4 ,but how about the lower class1 in whose interests the whole machine is supposed to have been set going8 ,the working man has no respect for either democracy or liberty4 ,his whole interest is in transferring the wealth of the minority to his own pocket4 ,there was a time when he thought that universal suffrage would get for him what he desires2 but he has lost all faith in constitutional methods4 ,to levy blackmail on the community1 under threats of civil war1 seems to him a more expeditious way of gaining his object4 ,monopolies are to be established by pitiless coercion of those who wish to keep their freedom4 ,the trade unions are large capitalists2 they are well able to start factories for themselves and work them for their own exclusive profit4 ,but they find it more profitable to hold the nation to ransom by blockading the supply of the necessaries of life4 ,the new labourer despises productivity for the same reason that the old robber barons did3 it is less trouble to take money than to make it4 ,the most outspoken popular leaders no longer conceal their contempt for and rejection of democracy4 ,the socialists perceive the irreconcilable contradiction between the two ideas1#d and they are right4 ,democracy postulates community of interest or loyal patriotism4 ,when these are absent it cannot long exist4 ,syndicalism1 which seems to be growing1 is the antipodes of socialism1 but1 like socialism1 it can make no terms with democracy4 ',if syndicalism triumphs1' says its chief prophet ,sorel1 'the parliamentary rgime1 so dear to the intellectuals1 will be at an end4' ',the syndicalist has a contempt for the vulgar idea of democracy2 the vast unconscious mass is not to be taken into account when the minority wishes to act so as to benefit it4'#e ',the effect of political majorities1' says ,mr4 ,levine1 'is to hinder advance1' ,accordingly1 political methods are rejected with contempt4 ,the anarchists go one step further4 ,bakunin proclaims that 'we reject all legislation1 all authority1 and all influence1 even when it has proceeded from universal suffrage4' ,these powerful movements1 opposed as they are to each other1 agree in spurning the very idea of democracy1 which ,lord ,morley defines as government by public opinion1 and which may be defined with more precision as direct government by the votes of the majority among the adult members of a nation4 ,even a political philosopher like ,mr4 ,lowes ,dickinson says1 ',for my part1 ,i am no democrat4' ,who then are the friends of this curieux ftiche1 as ,quinet called democracy8 ,it appears to have none1 though it has been the subject of fatuous laudation ever since the time of ,rousseau4 ,the ,americans burn incense before it1 but they are themselves ruled by the ,boss and the ,trust4 ,the attempt to justify the labour movement as a legitimate development of the old democratic ,liberalism is futile4 ,freedom to form combinations is no doubt a logical application of laisser faire2 and the anarchic possibilities latent in laisser faire have been made plain in the anti-democratic movements of labour4 ,but ,liberalism rested on a too favourable estimate of human nature and on a belief in the law of progress4 ,as there is no law of progress1 and as civilised society is being destroyed by the evil passions of men1 ,liberalism is1 for the time1 quite discredited4 ,it would also be true to say that there is a fundamental contradiction between the two dogmas of ,liberalism4 ,these were1 that unlimited competition is stimulating to the competitors and good for the country1 and that every individual is an end1 not a means4 ,both are anarchical2 but the first logically issues in individualistic anarchy1 the last in communistic anarchy4 ,the economic and the ethical theory of ,liberalism cannot be harmonised4 ,the result--cruel competition tempered by an artificial process of counter-selection in favour of the unfittest--was by no means satisfactory4 ,but it was better than what we are now threatened with4 ,that the labour movement is economically rotten it is easy to prove4 ,in the words of ,professor ,hearnshaw1 'the government has ceased to govern in the world of labour1 and has been compelled1 instead of governing1 to bribe1 to cajole1 to beg1 to grovel4 ,it has purchased brief truces at the cost of increasing levies of ,danegeld drawn from the diminishing resources of the patient community4 ,it has embarked on a course of payment of blackmail which must end either in national bankruptcy or in the social revolution which the anarchists seek4' ,the powerful trade-unions are now plundering both the owners of their 'plant1' and the general public4 ,it is easy to show that their members already get much more than their share of the national wealth4 ,professor ,bowley#f has estimated that an equal division of the national income would give about #afj a year to each family1 free of taxes4 ,but even this estimate1 discouraging as it is1 seems not to allow sufficiently for the fact that under the present system much of the income of the richer classes is counted twice or three times over4 ,abolish large incomes1 and jewels1 pictures1 wines1 furs1 special and rare skill like that of the operating surgeon and fashionable portrait painter1 lose all or most of their money value4 ,all the large professional incomes1 except those of the low comedian and his like1 are made out of the rich1 and are counted at least twice for income-tax4 ,it is certain that a large part of the national income could not be 'redistributed1' and that in the attempt to do so credit would be destroyed and wealth would melt like a snow man4 ,the miners1 therefore1 are not seeking justice2 they are blackmailing rich and poor alike by their monopoly of one of the necessaries of life4 ,and now they strike against paying income-tax6 ,it is not necessary or just to bring railing accusations against any class as a body4 ,power is always abused1 and in this case there is much honest ignorance1 stimulated by agitators who are seldom honest4 ,in a recent number of the ,edinburgh ,review ,sir ,lynden ,macassey speaks of the widespread1 almost universal1 fallacies to which the hand-worker has fallen a victim4 ,they believe that all their aspirations can be satisfied out of present-day profits and production4 ,they believe that in restricting output they are performing a moral duty to their class4 ,they do not believe that the prosperity of the country depends upon its production1 and are opposed to all labour-saving devices4 ,they refuse co-operation because they desire the continuance of the class-war4 ,such perversity would seem hardly credible if it were not attested by overwhelming evidence4 ,the ,government remedy is first to create unemployment and then to endow it--the shortest and maddest road to ruin since the downfall of the ,roman ,empire4 ,we may have a faint hope that some of these fallacies will be abandoned by the workmen when their destructive results can no longer be concealed4 ,but sentimentalism seems to be incurable4 ,it erects irrationality into an act of religious faith1 gives free rein to the emotion of pity1 and thinks that it is imitating the ,good ,samaritan by robbing the ,priest and ,levite for the benefit of the man by the road-side4 ,the sentimentalist shows a bitter hatred against those who wish to cure an evil by removing its causes4 ,a good example is the language of writers like ,mr4 ,chesterton about eugenics and population4 ,if social maladies were treated scientifically1 the trade of the emotional rhetorician would be gone4 ,we have seen that democracy--the rule of majorities--has been discredited and abandoned in action1 though officially we all bow down before it4 ,another popular delusion is that the chief change in the last fifty years has been a conversion of the world from individualism to socialism4 ,in the language of the ,christian socialists1 who wish to combine the militant spirit and organisation of medieval ,catholicism with a bid for the popular vote1 we have 'rediscovered the ,corporate ,idea4' ,but if we take socialism1 not in the narrower sense of collectivism1 which would be an economic experiment1 but in the wider sense of a keen consciousness of the solidarity of the community as an organic whole1 there is very little truth in the commonly held notion that we have become more socialistic4 ,it is easy to see how the idea has arisen4 ,it became necessary to find some theoretical justification for raising taxes1 no longer for national needs1 but for the benefit of the class which imposed them2 and this justification was found in the theory that all wealth belongs to 'the ,state1' and may be justly divided up as 'the ,state'--that is to say1 the majority of the voters--may determine4 ,whenever the question arises of voting new doles to the dominant section of the people at the expense of the minority1 our new political philosophers profess themselves fervent socialists4 ,but true socialism1 which is almost synonymous with patriotism1 is as conspicuously absent in those who call themselves socialists as it is strong in those who repudiate the title4 ,this paradox can be easily proved4 ,the most socialistic enterprise in which a nation ever engages is a great war4 ,a nation at war is conscious of its corporate unity and its common interests1 as it is at no other time4 ,the nation then calls upon every citizen to surrender all his personal rights and to offer his life and limbs in the service of the community4 ,and what has been the record of the 'socialists' in the struggle for national existence in which we have been engaged8 ,in the years preceding the war they ridiculed the idea that the country was in danger of being attacked1 and used all their power to prevent us from preparing against attack4 ,they steadily opposed the teaching of patriotism in the schools4 ,when the war began1 they prevented the ,government from introducing compulsory service until our ,french ,allies1 who were left to bear the brunt1 were on the point of collapse2 they1 in very many cases1 refused to serve themselves1 thereby avowing that1 as far as they were concerned1 they were willing to see their country conquered by a horde of cruel barbarians2 and they nearly handed over our armies to destruction by fomenting strikes at the most critical periods of the war4 ,this attitude cannot be accounted for by any conscientious objection to violence1 which is in fact their favourite weapon1 except against the enemies of their country4 ,their socialism is1 in truth1 individualism run mad2 it is the very antithesis to the consciousness of organic unity in a nation1 which is the spiritual basis of socialism4 ,in this sense1 the nation as a whole has shown a fine socialistic temper2 but the disgraceful exception has been the socialist party4 ,the intense and perverted individualism of the so-called socialist is shown in another way4 ,whatever liberties a ,state may permit to its citizens1 it is certain that no nation can be in a healthy condition unless the government keeps in its own hands the keys of birth and of death4 ,the ,state has the right of the farmer to decide how many cows should be allowed to graze upon ten acres of grass2 the right of the forester to decide how many square feet are required for each tree in a wood4 ,it has also the right and the duty of the gardener to pull up noxious weeds in his flower-beds4 ,but the socialist vehemently repudiates both these rights4 ,being an ultra-individualist1 he is in favour of laisser faire1 where laisser faire is most indefensible and most disastrous4 ,it would be easy to maintain that the organic idea was more potent1 both under medieval feudalism and under nineteenth-century industrialism1 than it is now4 ,in former days1 economic and social equality were not even aimed at1 because it was thought inevitable that in a social organism there must be subordination and a hierarchy of functions4 ,essentially1 and in the sight of ,god1 all are equal1 or1 rather1 the essential differences between man and man are absolutely independent of social status4 ,in a few years ,lazarus may be in heaven and ,dives in hell4 ,beside this equality of moral opportunity and tremendous inequality in self-chosen destiny1 the status of master and servant seemed of small importance2 it was a temporary and trivial accident4 ,accordingly1 in feudal times1 as to-day in really ,catholic communities1 feelings of injustice and social bitterness were seldom aroused and class differences take on a more genial colour4 ,in spite of the lawlessness and brutality of the ,middle ,ages it is probable that men were happier then than they are now4 ,the ,french ,revolution1 which was a disintegrating solvent1 pulverised society1 and was impotent to reconstruct it4 ,yet under the industrial rgime which followed it in this country1 the nation was conscious of its unity4 ,the system was the best that could have been devised for increasing the population and aggregate wealth of the country2 and even those who suffered most under it were not without pride in its results4 ,the ill-paid workman of the last century would have thought it a poor thing to do a deliberately bad day's work4 ,i am not praising either the age of feudalism or the 'hungry forties' of the nineteenth century4 ,in the latter case especially the sacrifice exacted from the poor was too great for the rather vulgar success of which it was the condition4 ,but to call that age the period of individualism1 and our own generation the period of socialism1 is in my opinion a profound mistake4 ,in ,germany1 too1 the real socialists are not the ',spartacist' scoundrels who have betrayed and ruined their country1 but the bureaucracy with their ,deutschland ber ,alles4 ,if ,i were a little more of a socialist1 ,i could almost admire them1 in spite of all their crimes4 ,the landed gentry 7and in honesty ,i must add the endowed clergy7 are a survival of feudalism1 as the capitalist is a survival of industrialism4 ,both have to a large extent survived their functions4 ,the mailclad baron1 round whose fortified castle the peasants and others gathered for protection1 has become the country gentleman1 against whom the indictment is not so much that his only pursuit is pleasure1 as that his only pleasure is pursuit4 ',the rich man in his castle1 the poor man at his gate' were intelligible while the rich man protected the poor man from being plundered and killed by marauders2 but in our times nobody wants a castle or to live under the shadow of a castle4 ,the clerical profession was a necessity when most people could neither read nor write4 ,but to-day our best prophets and preachers are laymen4 ,as at ancient ,athens1 in the time of ,aristophanes1 'the young learn from the schoolmaster1 the mature from the poets4' ,similarly1 the captain of industry cannot hold the same autocratic position as formerly1 in view of the growing intelligence and capacity of the workmen2 and the capitalist who is not a captain of industry is a debtor to the community to an extent which he does not always realise4 ,this class is becoming painfully conscious of its vulnerability4 ,there are1 therefore1 irrational survivals in our social order2 and though it may be proved that they are not a severe burden on the community1 it is natural that popular bitterness and discontent should fasten upon them and exaggerate their evil results4 ,it cannot be disputed that this bitterness and discontent were becoming very acute in the years before the war4 ,an increasing number of persons saw no meaning and no value in our civilisation4 ,this feeling was common in all classes1 including the so-called leisured class2 and was so strong that many welcomed with joy the clear call to a plain duty1 though it was the duty of facing all the horrors of war4 ,what is the cause of this discontent8 ,there are few more important questions for us to answer4 ,those who find the cause in the existence of the survivals which we have mentioned are certainly mistaken4 ,it is no new thing that there should be a small class more or less parasitic on the community4 ,the whole number of persons who pay income-tax on #ejjj a year and upwards is only #ac1jjj out of #df millions1 and their wealth1 if it could be divided up1 would make no appreciable difference to the working man4 ,the wage-earners are better off than they have ever been before in our history1 and the danger of revolution comes not from the poor1 but from the privileged artisans who already have incomes above the family average4 ,we must look elsewhere for an explanation of social unrest4 ,if we consider what are the chief centres of discontent throughout the civilised world1 we shall find that they are the great aggregations of population in wealthy industrial countries4 ,social unrest is a disease of town-life4 ,wherever the conditions which create the great modern city exist1 we find revolutionary agitation4 ,it has spread to ,barcelona1 to ,buenos ,ayres1 and to ,osaka1 in the wake of the factory4 ,the inhabitants of the large town do not envy the countryman and would not change with him4 ,but1 unknown to themselves1 they are leading an unnatural life1 cut off from the kindly and wholesome influences of nature1 surrounded by vulgarity and ugliness1 with no traditions1 no loyalties1 no culture1 and no religion4 ,we seldom reflect on the strangeness of the fact that the modern working-man has few or no superstitions4 ,at other times the masses have evolved for themselves some picturesque nature-religion1 some pious ancestor-worship1 some cult of saints or heroes1 some stories of fairies1 ghosts1 or demons1 and a mass of quaint superstitions1 genial or frightening4 ,the modern town-dweller has no ,god and no ,devil2 he lives without awe1 without admiration1 without fear4 ,whatever we may think about these beliefs1 it is not natural for men and women to be without them4 ,the life of the town artisan who works in a factory is a life to which the human organism has not adapted itself2 it is an unwholesome and unnatural condition4 ,hence1 probably1 comes the malaise which makes him think that any radical change must be for the better4 ,whatever the cause of the disease may be 7and ,i do not pretend that the conditions of urban life are an adequate explanation7 the malady is there1 and will probably prove fatal to our civilisation4 ,i have given my views on this subject in the essay called ,the ,future of the ,english ,race4 ,and yet there is a remedy within the reach of all if we would only try it4 ,the essence of the ,christian revelation is the proclamation of a standard of absolute values1 which contradicts at every point the estimates of good and evil current in 'the world4' ,it is not necessary1 in such an essay as this1 to write out the ,beatitudes1 or the very numerous passages in the ,gospels and ,epistles in which the same lessons are enforced4 ,it is not necessary to remind the reader that in ,christianity all the paraphernalia of life are valued very lightly2 that all the good and all the evil which exalt or defile a man have their seat within him1 in his own character2 that we are sent into the world to suffer and to conquer suffering2 that it is more blessed to give than to receive2 that love is the great revealer of the mysteries of life2 that we have here no continuing city1 and must therefore set our affections and lay up our treasures in heaven2 that the things that are seen are temporal1 and the things that are not seen are eternal4 ,this is the ,christian religion4 ,it is a form of idealism2 and idealism means a belief in absolute or spiritual values4 ,when applied to human life1 it introduces1 as it were1 a new currency1 which demonetises the old2 or gives us a new scale of prices1 in which the cheapest things are the dearest1 and the dearest the cheapest4 ,the world's standards are quantitative2 those of ,christianity are qualitative4 ,and being qualitative1 spiritual goods are unlimited in amount2 they are increased by being shared2 and we rob nobody by taking them4 ,secularists ask impatiently what ,christianity has done or proposes to do to make mankind happier1 by which they mean more comfortable4 ,the answer is 7to put it in a form intelligible to the questioner7 that ,christianity increases the wealth of the world by creating new values4 ,wealth depends on human valuation4 ,for example1 if women were sufficiently well educated not to care about diamonds1 the ,kimberley mines would pay no dividends1 and the rents in ,park ,lane would go down4 ,the prices of paintings by old masters would decline if millionaires preferred to collect another kind of scalps to decorate their wigwams4 ,bookmakers and company-promoters live on the widespread passion for acquiring money without working for it4 ,it is hardly possible to estimate the increase of real wealth1 and the stoppage of waste1 which would result from the adoption of a rational1 still more of a ,christian1 valuation of the good things of life4 ,i have dealt with this subject in the essay on ,the ,indictment against ,christianity1 and have emphasised the importance of taking into consideration1 in all economic questions1 the human costs of production1 the factors which make work pleasant or irksome1 and especially the moral condition of the worker4 ,good-will diminishes the toll which labour takes of the labourer2 envy and hatred vastly increase it while they diminish its product4 ,it is1 of course1 impossible that the worker should not resent having to devote his life to making what is useless or mischievous1 and to ministering to the irrational wastefulness of luxury4 ,christianity1 in condemning the selfish and irresponsible use of money1 seeks to remove one of the chief causes of social bitterness4 ,senseless extravagance is the best friend of revolution4 ,the abuse poured upon 'the old political economy1' as it is called1 is only half deserved4 ,as compared with the insane doctrines now in favour with the working-man1 the old political economy was sound and sensible4 ,hard work1 thrift1 and economy in production are1 in truth1 as we used to be told1 the only ways to increase the national wealth1 and the contrary practices can only lead to economic ruin4 ,there is not much fault to find with the old economists so long as they recognised that their science was an abstract science1 which for its own purposes dealt with an unreal abstraction--the 'economic man4' ,every science is obliged to isolate one aspect of reality in this way4 ,but when political economy was treated as a philosophy of life it began to be mischievous4 ,a book on 'the science of the stomach1' without knowledge of physiology or the working of other organs1 would not be of much use4 ,man has never been a merely acquisitive being2 for example1 he is also a fighting and a praying being4 ,if our dominant motives were changed1 the whole conditions dealt with by political economy would change with them4 ,there have been civilisations in which the passion for accumulation was comparatively weak2 and notoriously there are many persons in whom it is wholly absent4 ,devotion to art1 to scientific investigation1 and to religion is strong enough1 where it exists1 to kill 'the economic man' in human nature4 ,a civilised nation honours its idealists1 and recognises the immense benefit which they confer on the community by creating or revealing new and inexhaustible values2 in an uncivilised country they can hardly live4 ,ruskin and ,william ,morris saw1 and doubtless exaggerated1 the danger to which spiritual values were exposed at the hands of the dominant economism4 ,our danger now is that neglect of the simplest economic laws may plunge the nation into such misery that the people will no longer be willing to support art1 science1 learning1 and philosophy4 ,a large section of the labour party has the same standard of values as the hated 'capitalist1' and detests those whom it calls intellectuals and sky-pilots because they depreciate the currency which their class1 no less than the capitalist1 believes to be the only sound money4 ,it may be asked whether there is any reason to think that there is now less regard for the higher1 the qualitative values of life1 than at other periods4 ,my opinion is that ever since the time of ,rousseau and his contemporaries1 we have been led astray by a will-of-the-wisp akin to the apocalyptic dreams of the ,jews in the last two centuries before ,christ1 dreams which also filled the minds of the first generation of ,christians4 ,the ,greeks never made the mistake of throwing their ideals into the future1 a practice which1 as ,dr4 ,bosanquet has said1 'is the death of all sane idealism4' ,the belief in 'a good time coming' is a ,jewish delusion4 ,it nourished the ,jews in their amazing obstinacy1 and led to the annihilation of their ,state which1 to the very end1 they saw in their dreams bruising all other nations with a rod of iron1 and breaking them in pieces like a potter's vessel4 ,but1 as any idealism is better than none1 the ,hebrew race has won remarkable triumphs1 though of a kind which it never desired4 ,the myth of progress is our form of apocalyptism4 ,in ,france it began with sentimentalism1 developing normally into homicidal mania4 ,in ,england it took the form of a kind of ,deuteronomic religion4 ,as a reward for our national virtues1 our population expanded1 our exports and imports went up by leaps and bounds1 and our empire received additions every decade4 ,it was plain that when ,christ said ',blessed are the meek1 for they shall inherit the earth1' ,he was thinking of the ,british ,empire4 ,the whole structure of our social order encouraged the measurement of everything by quantitative standards4 ,everyone could understand that a generation which travels sixty miles an hour must be five times as civilised as one which only travelled twelve4 ,thus the beneficent 'law of progress' was exemplified in that nation which had best deserved to be its exponent4 ,the myth in question is that there is a natural law of improvement1 manifested by greater complexity of structure1 by increase of wants and the means to satisfy them4 ,a nation advances in civilisation by increasing in wealth and population1 and by multiplying the accessories and paraphernalia of life4 ,belief in this alleged law has vitiated our natural science1 our political science1 our history1 our philosophy1 and even our religion4 ,science declared that 'the survival of the fittest' was a law of nature1 though nature has condemned to extinction the majestic animals of the saurian era1 and has carefully preserved the bug1 the louse1 and the spirochaeta pallida4 ,we dined as a rule on each other2 ,what matter8 the toughest survived1 is a fair parody of this doctrine4 ,in political science1 by a portentous snobbery1 the actual evolution of ,european government was assumed to be in the line of upward progress4 ,our histories contrasted the benighted condition of past ages with the high morality and general enlightenment of the present4 ,in philosophy1 the problem of evil was met by the theory that though the ,deity is not omnipotent yet1 ,he is on ,his way to become so4 ,he means well1 and if we give ,him time1 ,he will make a real success of ,his creation4 ,human beings1 too1 commonly make a very poor thing of their lives here4 ,but continue their training after they are dead and they will all come to perfection4 ,we have been living on this secularised idealism for a hundred and fifty years4 ,it has driven out the true idealism1 of which it is a caricature1 and has made the deeper and higher kind of religious faith abnormally difficult4 ,even the hope of immortality has degenerated into a belief in apparitions and voices from the dead4 ,nature knows nothing of this precious law4 ,her figure is not the vertical line1 nor even the spiral1 but the circle--the vicious circle1 according to ,samuel ,butler4 ',men eat birds1 birds eat worms1 worms eat men again4' ,some stars are getting hotter1 others cooler4 ,life appears at a certain temperature and is extinguished at another temperature4 ,evolution and involution balance each other and go on concurrently4 ,the normal condition of every species on this planet is not progress but stationariness4 ',progress1' so-called1 is an incident of adaptation to new conditions4 ,bees and ants must have spent millennia in perfecting their organisation2 now that they have reached a stable equilibrium1 no more changes are perceptible4 ,the 'progress' of humanity has consisted almost entirely in the transformation of the wild man of the woods1 not into homo sapiens but into homo faber1 man the tool-maker1 a process of which nature expresses her partial disapproval by plaguing us with diverse diseases and taking away our teeth and claws4 ,it is not certain that there has been much change in our intellectual and moral endowments since pithecanthropus dropped the first half of his name4 ,i should be sorry to have to maintain that the ,germans of to-day are morally superior to the army which defeated ,quintilius ,varus1 or that the modern ,turks are more humane than the hordes of ,timour the ,tartar4 ,if there is to be any improvement in human nature itself we must look to the infant science of eugenics to help us4 ,it is not easy to say how this myth of progress came to take hold of the imagination1 in the teeth of science and experience4 ,quinet speaks of the 'fatalistic optimism' of historians1 of which there have certainly been some strange examples4 ,we can only say that secularism1 like other religions1 needs an eschatology1 and has produced one4 ,a more energetic generation than ours looked forward to a gradual extension of busy industrialism over the whole planet2 the present ideal of the masses seems to be the greatest idleness of the greatest number1 or a ,fabian farm-yard of tame fowls1 or 7in ,america7 an ice-water-drinking gyncocracy4 ,but the superstition cannot flourish much longer4 ,the period of expansion is over1 and we must adjust our view of earthly providence to a state of decline4 ,for no nation can flourish when it is the ambition of the large majority to put in fourpence and take out ninepence4 ,the middle-class will be the first victims2 then the privileged aristocracy of labour will exploit the poor4 ,but trade will take wings and migrate to some other country where labour is good and comparatively cheap4 ,the dethronement of a fetish may give a sounder faith its chance4 ,in the time of decay and disintegration which lies before us1 more persons will seek consolation where it can be found4 ',happiness and unhappiness1' says ,spinoza1 'depend on the nature of the object which we love4 ,when a thing is not loved1 no quarrels will arise concerning it1 no sadness will be felt if it perishes1 no envy if it is possessed by another2 no fear1 no hatred1 no disturbance of the mind4 ,all these things arise from the love of the perishable4 ,but love for a thing eternal and infinite feeds the mind wholly with joy1 and is itself untainted with any sadness2 wherefore it is greatly to be desired and sought for with our whole strength4' ,it is well known that these noble words were not only sincere1 but the expression of the working faith of the philosopher2 and we may hope that many who are doomed to suffer hardship and spoliation in the evil days that are coming will find the same path to a happiness which cannot be taken from them4 ,spinoza's words1 of course1 do not point only to religious exercises and meditation4 ,the spiritual world includes art and science in all their branches1 when these are studied with a genuine devotion to the ,good1 the ,true1 and the ,beautiful for their own sakes4 ,we shall need 'a remnant' to save ,europe from relapsing into barbarism2 for the new forces are almost wholly cut off from the precious traditions which link our civilisation with the great eras of the past4 ,the possibility of another dark age is not remote2 but there must be enough who value our best traditions to preserve them till the next spring-time of civilisation4 ,we must take long views1 and think of our great-grandchildren4 ,it is tempting to dream of a new ,renaissance1 under which the life of reason will at last be the life of mankind4 ,though there is little sign of improvement in human nature1 a favourable conjunction of circumstances may bring about a civilisation very much better than ours to-day4 ,for a time1 at any rate1 war may be practically abolished1 and the military qualities may find another and a less pernicious outlet4 ',sport1' as ,santayana says1 'is a liberal form of war stripped of its compulsions and malignity2 a rational art and the expression of a civilised instinct4' ,the art of living may be taken in hand seriously4 ,some of the ingenuity which has lately been lavished on engines of destruction may be devoted to improvements in our houses1 which should be easily and cheaply put together and able to be carried about in sections2 on labour-saving devices which would make servants unnecessary2 and on international campaigns against diseases1 some of the worst of which could be extinguished for ever by twenty years of concerted effort4 ,a scientific civilisation is not impossible1 though we are not likely to live to see it4 ,and1 if science and humanism can work together1 it will be a great age for mankind4 ,such hopes as these must be allowed to float before our minds3 they are not unreasonable1 and they will help us to get through the twentieth century1 which is not likely to be a pleasant time to live in4 ,some writers1 like ,mr4 ,h4,g4 ,wells1 recognising the danger which threatens civilisation1 have suggested the formation of a society for mutual encouragement in the higher life4 ,mr4 ,wells developed this idea in his ',modern ,utopia4' ,he contemplated a brotherhood1 like the ,japanese ,samurai1 living by a ,rule1 a kind of lay monastic order1 who should endeavour to live in a perfectly rational and wholesome manner1 so as to be the nucleus of whatever was best in the society of the time4 ,the scheme is interesting to a ,platonist1 because of its resemblance to the ,order of ,guardians in the ',republic4' ,a very good case may be made out for having an ascetic ,order of moral and physical aristocrats1 and entrusting them with the government of the country4 ,plato forbade his guardians to own wealth1 and thus secured an uncorrupt administration1 one of the rarest and best of virtues in a government4 ,but political events are not moving in this direction at present2 and the question for us is whether those who believe in science and humanism should attempt to form a society1 not to rule the country1 but to protect themselves and the ideas which they wish to preserve4 ,but ,i agree with ,mr4 ,wells' second thoughts1 that the time is not ripe for such a scheme4#g ,christianity1 'the greatest new beginning in the world's history1' appeared1 as he says1 in an age of disintegration1 and 'we are in a synthetic rather than a disintegrating phase4444 ,only a very vast and terrible war-explosion can1 ,i think1 change this state of affairs4' ,the vast explosion has occurred1 and the stage of disintegration1 which ,mr4 ,wells ought perhaps to have seen approaching even eleven years ago1 has clearly begun4 ,but it will have to go further before the need of such a society is felt4 ,the time may come when the educated classes1 and those who desire freedom to live as they think right1 will find themselves oppressed1 not only in their home-life by the tyranny of the trade-unions1 but in their souls by the pulpy and mawkish emotionalism of herd-morality4 ,then a league for mutual protection may be formed4 ,if such a society ever comes into being1 the following principles are1 ,i think1 necessary for its success4 ,first1 it must be on a religious basis1 since religion has a cohesive force greater than any other bond4 ,the religious basis will be a blend of ,christian ,platonism and ,christian ,stoicism1 since it must be founded on that faith in absolute spiritual values which is common to ,christianity and ,platonism1 with that sturdy defiance of tyranny and popular folly which was the strength of ,stoicism4 ,next1 it must not be affiliated to any religious organisation2 otherwise it will certainly be exploited in denominational interests4 ,thirdly1 it must include some purely disciplinary asceticism1 such as abstinence from alcohol and tobacco for men1 and from costly dresses and jewellery for women4 ,this is necessary1 because it is more important to keep out the half-hearted than to increase the number of members4 ,fourthly1 it must prescribe a simple life of duty and discipline1 since frugality will be a condition of enjoying self-respect and freedom4 ,fifthly1 it will enjoin the choice of an open-air life in the country1 where possible4 ,a whole group of ,french writers1 such as ,proudhon1 ,delacroix1 ,leconte de ,lisle1 ,flaubert1 ,leblond1 and ,faguet agree in attributing our social malaise to life in great towns4 ,the lower death-rates of country districts are a hint from nature that they are right4 ,sixthly1 every member must pledge himself to give his best work4 ,as ,dr4 ,jacks says1 ',producers of good articles respect each other2 producers of bad despise each other and hate their work4' ,it may be necessary for those who recognise the right of the labourer to preserve his self-respect1 to combine in order to satisfy each other's needs in resistance to the trade-unions4 ,seventhly1 there must be provision for community-life1 like that of the old monasteries1 for both sexes4 ,the members of the society should be encouraged to spend some part of their lives in these institutions1 without retiring from the world altogether4 ,temporary 'retreats' might be of great value4 ,intellectual work1 including scientific research1 could be carried on under very favourable conditions in these lay monasteries and convents1 which should contain good libraries and laboratories4 ,lastly1 a distinctive dress1 not merely a badge1 would probably be essential for members of both sexes4 ,this last provision tempts me to add that the ,government would do well to appoint at once a ,royal ,commission1 or1 rather1 two ,commissions1 to decide on a compulsory national uniform for both sexes4 ,experts should recommend the most comfortable1 becoming1 and economical dress that could be devised1 with considerable variety for the different trades and professions4 ,such a law would do more for social equality than any readjustment of taxation4 ,it has been often noticed that every man looks a gentleman in khaki2 and it is to be feared that many war brides have suffered a painful surprise on seeing their husbands for the first time in civilian garb4 ,there need be no suggestion of militarism about the new costume2 but a man's calling might be recorded1 like the name of his regiment1 on his shoulder-straps1 and the absence of such a badge would be regarded as a disgrace1 whether the subject was a tramp or one of the idle rich4 ,this suggestion may seem trivial1 or even ludicrous2 and ,i may be reminded of my dislike of meddling legislation2 but the importance of the philosophy of clothes has not diminished since ',sartor ,resartus4' ,clerical dignitaries might be trusted to vote for this mitigation of their lot4 ,some may wonder why ,i have not expressed a hope that the guardianship of our intellectual and spiritual birthright may pass into the hands of the ,national ,church4 ,i heartily wish that ,i could cherish this hope4 ,but organised religion has been a failure ever since the first concordat between ,church and ,state under ,constantine the ,great4 ,the ,church of ,england in its corporate capacity has never seemed to respect anything but organised force4 ,in the sixteenth century it proclaimed ,henry ,,viii the ,supreme ,head of the ,church2 in the seventeenth century it passionately upheld the 'right divine of kings to govern wrong'2 in the eighteenth and nineteenth it was the obsequious supporter of the squirearchy and plutocracy2 and now it grovels before the working-man1 and supports every scheme of plundering the minority4 ,in fact1 we must distinguish sharply between ecclesiasticism1 theology1 and religion4 ,the future of ecclesiasticism is a political question4 ,in the opinion of some good judges1 the acute nationalism now dominant in ,europe will quickly pass away1 and a duel will supervene between the ',black ,international' and the ',red4' ,catholicism1 it is supposed1 will shelter all who dread revolution and all who value traditional civilisation2 its unrivalled organisation will make it the one possible centre of resistance to anarchy and barbarism1 and the conflict will go on till one side or the other is overthrown4 ,this prediction1 which opens a truly appalling prospect for civilisation1 might be less terrible if the ,church were to open its arms to a new ,renaissance1 and become once more1 as in the beginning of the modern period1 the home of learning and the patroness of the arts4 ,but we must not overlook the new and growing power of science2 and science can no more make terms with ,catholic ecclesiasticism than with the ,revolution4 ,the ,jacobins guillotined ,lavoisier1 'having no need of chemists'2 but the ,church burnt ,bruno and imprisoned ,galileo4 ,science1 too strong to be victimised again1 may come between the two enemies of civilisation1 the ,bolshevik and the ,ultramontane2 it is1 ,i think1 our best hope4 ,i am conscious that ,i have spoken with too little sympathy in one or two of these essays about the ,ritualist party4 ,i was more afraid of it a few years ago than ,i am now4 ,the ,oxford movement began as a late wave of the ,romantic movement1 with wistful eyes bent upon the past4 ,but ,romanticism1 which dotes on ruins1 shrinks from real restoration4 ,medievalism is attractive only when seen from a short distance4 ,so the movement is ceasing to be either medieval or ,catholic or ,anglican2 it is becoming definitely ,latin4 ,but a ,latin ,church in ,england which disowns the ,pope is an absurdity4 ,many of the shrewder ,high ,churchmen are1 as ,i have said in this volume1 throwing themselves into political agitation and intrigue1 for which ,catholics always have a great aptitude2 but this involves them in another inconsistency4 ,for ,catholicism is essentially hierarchical and undemocratic1 though it keeps a 'career open to the talents4' ,the spirit of ,catholicism breathes in the ,third ,canto of the ',paradiso1' where ,dante asks the soul of a friend whom he finds in the lowest circle of ,paradise1 whether he does not desire to go higher4 ,the friend replies3 ',brother1 the force of charity quiets our will1 making us wish only for what we have and thirst for nothing more4 ,if we desired to be in a sublimer sphere1 our desires would be discordant with the will of ,him who here allots us our diverse stations4444 ,the manner in which we are ranged from step to step in this kingdom pleases the whole kingdom1 as it does the ,king who gives us the power to will as ,he wills4' ,accordingly1 these ecclesiastical votaries of democracy cut a strange figure when they seek to legislate for the ,church4 ,the ,high ,church scheme 7defeated the other day by a small majority7 for drawing up a constitution for the ,church1 consisted in disfranchising the large majority of the electorate and reserving the initiative and veto for the ,house of ,lords 7the ,bishops74 ,in fact1 the constitution which our ,catholic democrats would like best for the ,church closely resembles that of ,great ,britain before the first ,reform ,bill4 ,in the same way the ritualistic clergy1 while professing a superstitious reverence for the episcopal office1 make a point of flouting the authority of their own bishop4 ,the movement1 in my opinion1 is beginning to break up1 and ,rome will be the chief gainer4 ,but many of its leaders have been among the glories of the ,church of ,england1 and ,i could never speak of them with disrespect4 ,catholicism1 whether ,roman or ,anglican1 stands to lose heavily by the decay of institutionalism as an article of faith4 ,it is becoming impossible for those who mix at all with their fellow-men to believe that the grace of ,god is distributed denominationally4 ,the ,christian virtues1 so far as we can see1 flower impartially in the souls of ,catholic and ,protestant1 of ,churchman and ,schismatic1 of ,orthodox and ,heretic4 ,and the test1 'by their fruits ye shall know them1' cannot be openly rejected by any ,christian4 ,but fanatical institutionalism has been the driving force of ,catholicism as a power in the world1 from the very first4 ,the ,church has lived by its monopolies and conquered by its intolerance4 ,the war has given a further impetus to the fall of this belief1 which1 with its dogma1 ,extra ecclesiam nulla salus1 was tottering before the crisis came4 ,the prospects of ,christian theology are very difficult to estimate2 and ,i am so convinced myself of the superiority of the ,catholic theology based on ,neoplatonism1 that ,i cannot view the matter with impartial detachment4 ,we all tend to predict the triumph of our own opinions4 ,but miracles must1 ,i am convinced1 be relegated to the sphere of pious opinion4 ,it is not likely1 perhaps1 that the progress of science will increase the difficulty of believing them2 but it can never again be possible to make the truths of religion depend on physical portents having taken place as recorded4 ,the ,christian revelation can stand without them1 and the rulers of the ,church will soon have to recognise that in very many minds it does stand without them4 ,i have already indicated what ,i believe to be the essential parts of that revelation4 ,whether it will be believed by a larger number of persons a hundred years hence than to-day depends1 ,i suppose1 on whether the nation will be in a more healthy condition than it is now4 ,the chief rival to ,christianity is secularism2 and this creed has some bitter disappointments in store for its worshippers4 ,i cannot help hoping that the human race1 having taken in succession every path except the right one1 may pay more attention to the narrow way that leadeth unto life4 ,in morals1 the ,church will undoubtedly have a hard battle to fight4 ,the younger generation has discarded all tabus1 and in matters of sex we must be prepared for a period of unbridled license4 ,but such lawlessness brings about its own cure by arousing disgust and shame2 and the institution of marriage is far too deeply rooted to be in any danger from the revolution4 ,i have1 ,i suppose1 made it clear that ,i do not consider myself specially fortunate in having been born in #ahfj1 and that ,i look forward with great anxiety to the journey through life which my children will have to make4 ,but1 after all1 we judge our generation mainly by its surface currents4 ,there may be in progress a storage of beneficent forces which we cannot see4 ,there are ages of sowing and ages of reaping3 the brilliant epochs may be those in which spiritual wealth is squandered1 the epochs of apparent decline may be those in which the race is recuperating after an exhausting effort4 ,to all appearance1 man has still a great part of his long lease before him1 and there is no reason to suppose that the future will be less productive of moral and spiritual triumphs than the past4 ,the source of all good is like an inexhaustible river2 the ,creator pours forth new treasures of goodness1 truth1 and beauty for all who will love them and take them4 ',nothing that truly is can ever perish1' as ,plotinus says2 whatever has value in ,god's sight is safe for evermore4 ,our half-real world is the factory of souls1 in which we are tried1 as in a furnace4 ,we are not to set our hopes upon it1 but to learn such wisdom as it can teach us while we pass through it4 ,i will therefore end these thoughts on our present discontents with two messages of courage and confidence1 one from ,chaucer1 the other from ,blake4 ,that thee is sent1 receyve in buxomnesse1 ,the wrastling for this worlde axeth a fall4 ,her is non hoom1 her nis but wildernesse3 ,forth1 pilgrim1 forth6 ,forth1 beste1 out of thy stall6 ,know thy contree1 look up1 thank ,god of all3 ,weyve thy lust1 and let thy gost thee lede2 ,and trouthe shall delivere1 it is no drede4 ,and this3-- ,joy and woe are woven fine1 ,a clothing for the soul divine2 ,under every grief and pine ,runs a joy with silken twine4 ,it is right it should be so2 ,man was made for joy and woe2 ,and when this we rightly know ,safely through the world we go4 ,,footnotes3 #a ,times ,literary ,supplement1 ,july #ah1 #aiah4 #b ,hearnshaw1 ,democracy at the ,crossroads1 p4 #fc4 #c ,miss ,m4 ,loane4 ,mr4 ,stephen ,reynolds has said the same4 #d ,professor ,hearnshaw quotes3 ',il y a opposition vidente et irrductible entre les principes socialistes et les principes dmocratiques4 ,il n'y a pas de conceptions politiques qui soient spares par des abmes plus profonds que la dmocratie et le socialisme' 7,le ,bon74 ',socialism must be built on ideas and institutions totally different from the ideas and institutions of democracy' 7,levine74 ',la democratic tend la conciliation des classes1 tandis que le socialisme organise la lutte de classe' 7,lagardelle74 #e ,a4,d4 ,lewis1 ,syndicalism and the ,general ,strike4 #f ,the ,division of the ,product of ,industry4 #g ,first and ,last ,things 7pp4 #adh-i4 ,published in #aijh74 ,,patriotism 7#aiae7 ,the sentiment of patriotism has seemed to many to mark an arrest of development in the psychical expansion of the individual1 a half-way house between mere self-centredness and full human sympathy4 ,some moralists have condemned it as pure egoism1 magnified and disguised4 ',patriotism1' says ,ruskin1 'is an absurd prejudice founded on an extended selfishness4' ,mr4 ,grant ,allen calls it 'a vulgar vice--the national or collective form of the monopolist instinct4' ,mr4 ,havelock ,ellis allows it to be 'a virtue--among barbarians4' ,for ,herbert ,spencer it is 'reflex egoism--extended selfishness4' ,these critics have made the very common mistake of judging human emotions and sentiments by their roots instead of by their fruits4 ,they have forgotten the ,aristotelian canon that the 'nature' of anything is its completed development 7h phusis telos estin74 ,the human self1 as we know it1 is a transitional form4 ,it had a humble origin1 and is capable of indefinite enhancement4 ,ultimately1 we are what we love and care for1 and no limit has been set to what we may become without ceasing to be ourselves4 ,the case is the same with our love of country4 ,no limit has been set to what our country may come to mean for us1 without ceasing to be our country4 ,marcus ,aurelius exhorted himself--',the poet says1 ,dear city of ,cecrops2 shall not ,i pay1 ,dear city of ,god8' ,but the city of ,god in which he wished to be was a city in which he would still live as 'a ,roman and an ,antonine4' ,the citizen of heaven knew that it was his duty to 'hunt ,sarmatians' on earth1 though he was not obliged to imbrue his hands with ',csarism4' ,patriotism has two roots1 the love of clan and the love of home4 ,in migratory tribes the former alone counts2 in settled communities diversities of origin are often forgotten4 ,but the love of home1 as we know it1 is a gentler and more spiritual bond than clanship4 ,the word home is associated with all that makes life beautiful and sacred1 with tender memories of joy and sorrow1 and especially with the first eager outlook of the young mind upon a wonderful world4 ,a man does not as a rule feel much sentiment about his ,london house1 still less about his office or factory4 ,it is for the home of his childhood1 or of his ancestors1 that a man will fight most readily1 because he is bound to it by a spiritual and poetic tie4 ,expanding from this centre1 the sentiment of patriotism embraces one's country as a whole4 ,both forms of patriotism--the local and the racial1 are frequently alloyed with absurd1 unworthy or barbarous motives4 ,the local patriot thinks that ,peebles1 and not ,paris1 is the place for pleasure1 or asks whether any good thing can come out of ,nazareth4 ,to the ,chinaman all aliens are 'outer barbarians' or 'foreign devils4' ,admiration for ourselves and our institutions is too often measured by our contempt and dislike for foreigners4 ,our own nation has a peculiarly bad record in this respect4 ,in the reign of ,james ,i the ,spanish ambassador was frequently insulted by the ,london crowd1 as was the ,russian ambassador in #affb2 not1 apparently1 because we had a burning grievance against either of those nations1 but because ,spaniards and ,russians are very unlike ,englishmen4 ,that at least is the opinion of the sagacious ,pepys on the later of these incidents4 ',lord6 to see the absurd nature of ,englishmen1 that cannot forbear laughing and jeering at anything that looks strange4' ,defoe says that the ,english are 'the most churlish people alive' to foreigners1 with the result that 'all men think an ,englishman the devil4' ,in the #agth and #ahth centuries ,scotland seems to have ranked as a foreign country1 and the presence of ,scots in ,london was much resented4 ,cleveland thought it witty to write3-- ,had ,cain been ,scot1 ,god would have changed his doom2 ,not forced him wander1 but confined him home4 ,and we all remember ,dr4 ,johnson's gibes4 ,british patriotic arrogance culminated in the #ahth and in the first half of the #aith century2 in ,lord ,palmerston it found a champion at the head of the government4 ,goldsmith describes the bearing of the ,englishman of his day3-- ,pride in their port1 defiance in their eye1 ,i see the lords of human kind pass by4 ,michelet found in ,england 'human pride personified in a people1' at a time when the characteristic of ,germany was 'a profound impersonality4' ,it may be doubted whether even the arrogant brutality of the modern ,prussian is more offensive to foreigners than was the calm and haughty assumption of superiority by our countrymen at this time4 ,our grandfathers and great-grandfathers were quite of ,milton's opinion1 that1 when the ,almighty wishes something unusually great and difficult to be done1 ,he entrusts it to ,his ,englishmen4 ,this unamiable characteristic was probably much more the result of insular ignorance than of a deep-seated pride4 ',a generation or two ago1' said ,mr4 ,asquith lately1 'patriotism was largely fed and fostered upon reciprocal ignorance and contempt4' ,the ,englishman seriously believed that the ,french subsisted mainly upon frogs1 while the ,frenchman was equally convinced that the sale of wives at ,smithfield was one of our national institutions4 ,this fruitful source of international misunderstanding has become less dangerous since the facilities of foreign travel have been increased4 ,but in the relations of ,europe with alien and independent civilisations1 such as that of ,china1 we still see brutal arrogance and vulgar ignorance producing their natural results4 ,another cause of perverted patriotism is the inborn pugnacity of the bte humaine4 ,our species is the most cruel and destructive of all that inhabit this planet4 ,if the lower animals1 as we call them1 were able to formulate a religion1 they might differ greatly as to the shape of the beneficent ,creator1 but they would nearly all agree that the devil must be very like a big white man4 ,mr4 ,mc,dougall#h has lately raised the question whether civilised man is less pugnacious than the savage2 and he answers it in the negative4 ,the ,europeans1 he thinks1 are among the most combative of the human race4 ,we are not allowed to knock each other on the head during peace2 but our civilisation is based on cut-throat competition2 our favourite games are mimic battles1 which ,i suppose effect for us a 'purgation of the emotions' similar to that which ,aristotle attributed to witnessing the performance of a tragedy3 and1 when the fit seizes us1 we are ready to engage in wars which cannot fail to be disastrous to both combatants4 ,mr4 ,mc,dougall does not regret this disposition1 irrational though it is4 ,he thinks that it tends to the survival of the fittest1 and that1 if we substitute emulation for pugnacity1 which on other grounds might seem an unmixed advantage1 we shall have to call in the science of eugenics to save us from becoming as sheeplike as the ,chinese4 ,there is1 however1 another side to this question1 as we shall see presently4 ,another instinct which has supplied fuel to patriotism of the baser sort is that of acquisitiveness4 ,this tendency1 without which even the most rudimentary civilisation would be impossible1 began when the female of the species1 instead of carrying her baby on her back and following the male to his hunting-grounds1 made some sort of a lair for herself and her family1 where primitive implements and stores of food could be kept4 ,there are still tribes in ,brazil which have not reached this first step towards humanisation4 ,but the instinct of hoarding1 like all other instincts1 tends to become hypertrophied and perverted2 and with the institution of private property comes another institution--that of plunder and brigandage4 ,in private life1 no motive of action is at present so powerful and so persistent as acquisitiveness1 which1 unlike most other desires1 knows no satiety4 ,the average man is rich enough when he has a little more than he has got1 and not till then4 ,the acquisition and possession of land satisfies this desire in a high degree1 since land is a visible and indestructible form of property4 ,consequently1 as soon as the instincts of the individual are transferred to the group1 territorial aggrandisement becomes a main preoccupation of the state4 ,this desire was the chief cause of wars1 while kings and nobles regarded the territories over which they ruled as their private estates4 ,wherever despotic or feudal conditions survive1 such ideas are likely still to be found1 and to cause dangers to other states4 ,the greatest ambition of a modern emperor is still to be commemorated as a ',mehrer des ,reichs4' ,capitalism1 by separating the idea of property from any necessary connection with landed estate1 and democracy1 by denying the whole theory on which dynastic wars of conquest are based1 have both contributed to check this1 perhaps the worst kind of war4 ,it would1 however1 be a great error to suppose that the instinct of acquisitiveness1 in its old and barbarous form1 has lost its hold upon even the most civilised nations4 ,when an old-fashioned brigand appears1 and puts himself at the head of his nation1 he becomes at once a popular hero4 ,by any rational standard of morality1 few greater scoundrels have lived than ,frederick the ,great and ,napoleon ,i4 ,but they are still names to conjure with4 ,both were men of singularly lucid intellect and entirely medieval ambitions4 ,their great achievement was to show how under modern conditions aggressive war may be carried on without much loss 7except in human life7 to the aggressor4 ,they tore up all the conventions which regulated the conduct of warfare1 and reduced it to sheer brigandage and terrorism4 ,and now1 after a hundred years1 we see these methods deliberately revived by the greatest military power in the world1 and applied with the same ruthlessness and with an added pedantry which makes them more inhuman4 ,the perpetrators of the crime calculated quite correctly that they need fear no reluctance on the part of the nation1 no qualms of conscience1 no compassionate shrinking1 no remorse4 ,it must1 indeed1 be a bad cause that cannot count on the support of the large majority of the people at the beginning of a war4 ,pugnacity1 greed1 mere excitement1 the contagion of a crowd1 will fill the streets of almost any capital with a shouting and jubilant mob on the day after a war has been declared4 ,and yet the motives which we have enumerated are plainly atavistic and pathological4 ,they belong to a mental condition which would conduct an individual to the prison or the gallows4 ,we do not argue seriously whether the career of the highwayman or burglar is legitimate and desirable2 and it is impossible to maintain that what is disgraceful for the individual is creditable for the state4 ,and apart from the consideration that predatory patriotism deforms its own idol and makes it hateful in the eyes of the world1 subsequent history has fully confirmed the moral instinct of the ancient ,greeks1 that national insolence or injustice 7hybrist7 brings its own severe punishment4 ,the imaginary dialogue which ,thucydides puts into the mouth of the ,athenian and ,melian envoys1 and the debate in the ,athenian ,assembly about the punishment of revolted ,mitylene1 are intended to prepare the reader for the tragic fate of the ,sicilian expedition4 ,the same writer describes the break-up of all social morality during the civil war in words which seem to herald the destruction not only of ,athens but of ,greek freedom4 ,machiavelli's ',prince' shows how history can repeat itself1 reiterating its lesson that a nation which gives itself to immoral aggrandisement is far on the road to disintegration4 ,seneca's rebuke to his slave-holding countrymen1 ',can you complain that you have been robbed of the liberty which you have yourselves abolished in your own homes8' applies equally to nations which have enslaved or exploited the inhabitants of subject lands4 ,if the ,roman ,empire had a long and glorious life1 it was because its methods were liberal1 by the standard of ancient times4 ,in so far as ,rome abused her power1 she suffered the doom of all tyrants4 ,the illusions of imperialism have been made clearer than ever by the course of modern history4 ,attempts to destroy a nationality by overthrowing its government1 proscribing its language1 and maltreating its citizens1 are never successful4 ,the experiment has been tried with great thoroughness in ,poland2 and the ,poles are now more of a nation than they were under the oppressive feudal system which existed before the partitions4 ,our own empire would be a ludicrous failure if it were any part of our ambition to ,anglicise other races4 ,the only ,english parts of the empire were waste lands which we have peopled with our own emigrants4 ,we hauled down the ,french flag in ,canada1 with the result that ,eastern ,canada is now the only flourishing ,french colony1 and the only part of the world where the ,french race increases rapidly4 ,we have helped the ,dutch to multiply with almost equal rapidity in ,south ,africa4 ,we have added several millions to the native population of ,egypt1 and over a hundred millions to the population of ,india4 ,similarly1 the ,americans have made ,cuba for the first time a really ,spanish island1 by driving out its incompetent ,spanish governors and so attracting immigrants from ,spain4 ,on the whole1 in imperialism nothing fails like success4 ,if the conqueror oppresses his subjects1 they will become fanatical patriots1 and sooner or later have their revenge2 if he treats them well1 and 'governs them for their good1' they will multiply faster than their rulers1 till they claim their independence4 ,the ,englishman now says1 ',i am quite content to have it so'2 but that is not the old imperialism4 ,the notion that frequent war is a healthy tonic for a nation is scarcely tenable4 ,its dysgenic effect1 by eliminating the strongest and healthiest of the population1 while leaving the weaklings at home to be the fathers of the next generation1 is no new discovery4 ,it has been supported by a succession of men1 such as ,tenon1 ,dufau1 ,foissac1 de ,lapouge1 and ,richet in ,france2 ,tiedemann and ,seeck in ,germany2 ,guerrini in ,italy2 ,kellogg and ,starr ,jordan in ,america4 ,the case is indeed overwhelming4 ,the lives destroyed in war are nearly all males1 thus disturbing the sex equilibrium of the population2 they are in the prime of life1 at the age of greatest fecundity2 and they are picked from a list out of which from #bj to #cj per cent4 have been rejected for physical unfitness4 ,it seems to be proved that the children born in ,france during the ,napoleonic wars were poor and undersized--#cj millimetres below the normal height4 ,war combined with religious celibacy to ruin ,spain4 ',castile makes men and wastes them1' said a ,spanish writer4 ',this sublime and terrible phrase sums up the whole of ,spanish history4' ,schiller was right2 ',immer der ,krieg verschlingt die besten4' ,we in ,england have suffered from this drain in the past2 we shall suffer much more in the next generation4 ,we have fed our sea for a thousand years1 ,and she calls us1 still unfed1 ,though there's never a wave of all her waves ,but marks our ,english dead4 ,we have strawed our best to the weed's unrest1 ,to the shark and the sheering gull1 ,if blood be the price of admiralty1 ,lord ,god1 we ha' paid in full4 ,aggressive patriotism is thus condemned by common sense and the verdict of history no less than by morality4 ,we are entitled to say to the militarists what ,socrates said to ,polus3 ,this doctrine of yours has now been examined and found wanting4 ,and this doctrine alone has stood the test--that we ought to be more afraid of doing than of suffering wrong2 and that the prime business of every man and nation is not to seem good1 but to be good1 in all private and public dealings4 ,if the nations would render something more than lip-service to this principle1 the abolition of war would be within sight2 for1 as ,ruskin says1 echoing the judgment of the ,epistle of ,st4 ,james1 ',the first reason for all wars1 and for the necessity of national defences1 is that the majority of persons1 high and low1 in all ,european countries1 are thieves4' ,but it must be remembered that1 in spite of the proverb1 it takes in reality only one to make a quarrel4 ,it is useless for the sheep to pass resolutions in favour of vegetarianism1 while the wolf remains of a different opinion4 ,our own conversion to pacificism1 though sincere1 is somewhat recent4 ,our literature does not reflect it4 ,bacon is frankly militarist3 ,above all1 for empire and greatness1 it importeth most1 that a nation do profess arms1 as their principal honour1 study1 and occupation4 ,for the things which we formerly have spoken of are but habilitations towards arms2 and what is habitation without intention and act8444 ,it is so plain that a man profiteth in that he most intendeth1 that it needeth not to be stood upon4 ,it is enough to point at it2 that no nation1 which doth not directly profess arms1 may look to have greatness fall into their mouths4 ,a state1 therefore1 'ought to have those laws or customs1 which may reach forth unto them just occasions of war4' ,shakespeare's ',henry ,v' has been not unreasonably recommended by the ,germans as 'good war-reading4' ,it would be easy to compile a catena of bellicose maxims from our literature1 reaching down to the end of the #aith century4 ,the change is perhaps due less to progress in morality than to that political good sense which has again and again steered our ship through dangerous rocks4 ,but there has been some real advance1 in all civilised countries4 ,we do not find that men talked about the 'bankruptcy of ,christianity' during the ,napoleonic campaigns4 ,even the ,germans think it necessary to tell each other that it was ,belgium who began this war4 ,but1 though pugnacity and acquisitiveness have been the real foundation of much miscalled patriotism1 better motives are generally mingled with these primitive instincts4 ,it is the subtle blend of noble and ignoble sentiment which makes patriotism such a difficult problem for the moralist4 ,the patriot nearly always believes1 or thinks he believes1 that he desires the greatness of his country because his country stands for something intrinsically great and valuable4 ,where this conviction is absent we cannot speak of patriotism1 but only of the cohesion of a wolf-pack4 ,the ,greeks1 who at last perished because they could not combine1 had nevertheless a consciousness that they were the trustees of civilisation against barbarism2 and in their day of triumph over the ,persians they were filled1 for a time1 with an almost ,jewish awe in presence of the righteous judgment of ,god4 ,the ',pers' of schylus is one of the noblest of patriotic poems4 ,the ,romans1 a harder and coarser race1 had their ideal of virtus and gravitas1 which included simplicity of life1 dignity and self-restraint1 honesty and industry1 and devotion to the state4 ,they rightly felt that these qualities constituted a vocation to empire4 ,there was much harshness and injustice in ,roman imperialism2 but what nobler epitaph could even the ,british empire desire than the tribute of ,claudian1 when the weary ,titan was at last stricken and dying3 ,hc est1 in gremium victos qu sola recepit1 humanumque genus communi nomine fovit matris non domin ritu1 civesque vocavit quos domuit1 nexuque pio longinqua revinxit8 ,jewish patriotism was of a different kind4 ,a federation of fierce ,bedouin tribes1 encamped amid hostile populations1 and set in the cockpit of rival empires against which it was impossible to stand1 the ,israelites were hammered by misfortune into the most indestructible of all organisms1 a theocracy4 ,their religion was to them what1 in a minor degree1 ,roman ,catholicism has been to ,ireland and ,poland1 a consecration of patriotic faith and hope4 ,westphal says the ,jews failed because they hated foreigners more than they loved ,god4 ,they have had good reason to hate foreigners4 ,but undoubtedly the effect of their hatred has been that the great gifts which their nation had to give to humanity have come through other hands1 and so have evoked no gratitude4 ,in the first century of our era they were called to an almost superhuman abnegation of their inveterate nationalism1 and they could not rise to it4 ,as almost every other nation would have done1 they chose the lower patriotism instead of the higher2 and it was against their will that the religion of civilised humanity grew out of ,hebrew soil4 ,but they gained this by their choice1 tragic though it was1 that they have stood by the graves of all the empires that oppressed them1 and have preserved their racial integrity and traditions in the most adverse circumstances4 ,the history of the ,jews also shows that oppression and persecution are far more efficacious in binding a nation together than community of interest and national prosperity4 ,increase of wealth divides rather than unites a people2 but suffering shared in common binds it together with hoops of steel4 ,the ,jews were the only race whose spiritual independence was not crushed by the ,roman steam-roller4 ,it would be unfair to say that ,rome destroyed nations2 for her subjects in the ,west were barbarous tribes1 and in the ,east she displaced monarchies no less alien to their subjects than her own rule4 ,but she prevented the growth of nationalities1 as it is to be feared we have done in ,india2 and the absence of sturdy independence in the countries round the ,mediterranean1 especially in the ,greek-speaking provinces1 made the final downfall inevitable4 ,the lesson has its warning for modern theorists who wish to obliterate the sentiment of nationality1 the revival of which1 after a long eclipse1 has been one of the achievements of modern civilisation4 ,for it was not till long after the destruction of the ,western ,roman ,empire that nationality began to assume its present importance in ,europe4 ,the transition from medieval to modern history is most strongly marked by the emergence of this principle1 with all that it involves4 ,at the end of the ,middle ,ages ,europe was at last compelled to admit that the grand idea of an universal state and an universal church had definitely broken down4 ,hitherto it had been assumed that behind all national disputes lay a ius gentium by which all were bound1 and that behind all religious questions lay the authority of the ,roman ,catholic ,church1 from which there was no appeal4 ,the modern period which certainly does not represent the last word of civilisation1 has witnessed the abandonment of these ideas4 ,the change took place gradually4 ,france became a nation when the ,english raids ceased in the middle of the #aeth century4 ,spain achieved unity a generation later by the union of ,castile and ,aragon and the expulsion of the ,moors from the peninsula4 ,holland found herself in the heroic struggle against ,spain in the #afth century4 ,but the practice of conducting wars by hiring foreign mercenaries1 a sure sign that the nationalist spirit is weak1 continued till much later4 ,and the dynastic principle1 which is the very negation of nationalism1 actually culminated in the #ahth century2 and this is the true explanation of the feeble resistance which ,europe offered to the ,french revolutionary armies1 until ,napoleon stirred up the dormant spirit of nationalism in the peoples whom he plundered4 ',in the old ,european system1' says ,lord ,acton1 'the rights of nationalities were neither recognised by governments nor asserted by the people4 ,the interests of the reigning families1 not those of the nations1 regulated the frontiers2 and the administration was conducted generally without any reference to popular desires4' ,marriage or conquest might unite the most diverse nations under one sovereign1 such as ,charles ,v4 ,while such ideas prevailed1 the suppression of a nation did not seem hateful2 the partition of ,poland evoked few protests at the time1 though perhaps few acts of injustice have recoiled with greater force on the heads of their perpetrators than this is likely to do4 ,poles have been and are among the bitterest enemies of autocracy1 and the strongest advocates of republicanism and racialism1 in all parts of the world4 ,the ,french ,revolution opened a new era for nationalism1 both directly and indirectly4 ,the deposition of the ,bourbons was a national act which might be a precedent for other oppressed peoples4 ,and when the ,revolution itself began to trample on the rights of other nations1 an uprising took place1 first in ,spain and then in ,prussia1 which proved too strong for the tyrant4 ,the apostasy of ,france from her own ideals of liberty proved the futility of mere doctrines1 like those of ,rousseau1 and compelled the peoples to arm themselves and win their freedom by the sword4 ,the national militarism of ,prussia was the direct consequence of her humiliation at ,jena and ,auerstdt1 and of the harsh terms imposed upon her at ,tilsit4 ,it is true that the ,congress of ,vienna attempted to revive the old dynastic system4 ,but for the steady opposition of ,england1 the clique of despots might have reimposed the old yoke upon their subjects4 ,the settlement of #ahae also left the entire centre of ,europe in a state of chaos2 and it was only by slow degrees that ,italy and ,germany attained national unity4 ,poland1 the ,austrian ,empire1 and the ,balkan ,states still remain in a condition to trouble the peace of the world4 ,in ,austria-,hungary the clash of the dynastic and the nationalist ideas is strident2 and every citizen of that empire has to choose between a wider and a narrower allegiance4 ,europeans are1 in fact1 far from having made up their minds as to what is the organic whole towards which patriotic sentiment ought to be directed4 ,socialism agrees with despotism in saying1 ',it is the political aggregate1 the state1' however much they may differ as to how the state should be administered4 ,for this reason militarism and state-socialism might at any time come to terms4 ,they are at one in exaggerating the 'organic' unity of a political or geographical enclave2 and they are at one in depreciating the value of individual liberty4 ,loyalty to 'the state' instead of to 'king and country' is not an easy or a natural emotion4 ,the state is a bloodless abstraction1 which as a rule only materialises as a drill-sergeant or a tax-collector4 ,enthusiasm for it1 and not only for what can be got out of it1 does not extend much beyond the ,fabian ,society4 ,csarism has the great advantage of a visible head1 as well as of its appeal to very old and strong thought-habits2 and accordingly1 in any national crisis1 loyalty to the ,war-lord is likely to show unexpected strength1 and doctrinaire socialism unexpected weakness4 ,but devotion to the head of the state in his representative capacity is a different thing from the old feudal loyalty4 ,it is far more impersonal2 the ruler1 whether an individual or a council1 is reverenced as a non-human and non-moral embodiment of the national power1 a sort of ,platonic idea of coercive authority4 ,this kind of loyalty may very easily be carried too far4 ,in reality1 we are members of a great many 'social organisms1' each of which has indefeasible claims upon us4 ,our family1 our circle of acquaintance1 our business or profession1 our church1 our country1 the comity of civilised nations1 humanity at large1 are all social organisms2 and some of the chief problems of ethics are concerned with the adjustment of their conflicting claims4 ,to make any one of these absolute is destructive of morality4 ,but militarism and socialism deliberately make the state absolute4 ,in internal affairs this may lead to the ruthless oppression of individuals or whole classes2 in external relations it produces wars waged with 'methods of barbarism4' ,the whole idea of the state as an organism1 which has been emphasised by social reformers as a theoretical refutation of selfish individualism1 rests on the abuse of a metaphor4 ,the bond between the dwellers in the same political area is far less close than that between the organs of a living body4 ,every man has a life of his own1 and some purely personal rights2 he has1 moreover1 moral links with other human associations1 outside his own country1 and important moral duties towards them4 ,no one who reflects on the solidarity of interests among capitalists1 among hand-workers1 or1 in a different way1 among scholars and artists1 all over the world1 can fail to see that the apotheosis of the state1 whether in the interest of war or of revolution1 is an anachronism and an absurdity4 ,a very different basis for patriotic sentiment is furnished by the scientific or pseudo-scientific theories about race1 which have become very popular in our time4 ,when the history of ideas in the #bjth century comes to be written1 it is certain that among the causes of this great war will be named the belief of the ,germans in the superiority of their own race1 based on certain historical and ethnological theories which have acted like a heady wine in stimulating the spirit of aggression among them4 ,the theory1 stated briefly1 is that the shores of the ,baltic are the home of the finest human type that has yet existed1 a type distinguished by blond hair1 great physical strength1 unequalled mental vigour and ability1 superior morality1 and an innate aptitude for governing and improving inferior races4 ,unfortunately for the world1 this noble stock cannot flourish for very long in climates unlike its own2 but from the earliest historical times it has 'swarmed' periodically1 subjugating the feebler peoples of the south1 and elevating them for a time above the level which they were naturally fitted to reach4 ,wherever we find marked energy and nobleness of character1 we may suspect ,aryan blood2 and history will usually support our surmise4 ,among the great men who were certainly or probably ,germans were ,agamemnon1 ,julius ,csar1 the ,founder of ,christianity1 ,dante1 and ,shakespeare4 ,the blond ,nordic giant is fulfilling his mission by conquering and imposing his culture upon other races4 ,they ought to be grateful to him for the service1 especially as it has a sacrificial aspect1 the lower types having1 at least in their own climates1 greater power of survival4 ,this fantastic theory has been defended in a large number of ,german books1 of which the ',foundations of the ,nineteenth ,century1' by the renegade ,englishman ,houston ,chamberlain1 is the most widely known4 ,the objections to it are numerous4 ,it is notorious that until the invention of gunpowder the settled and civilised peoples of ,europe were in frequent danger from bands of hardier mountaineers1 forest-dwellers1 or pastoral nomads1 who generally came from the north4 ,but the formidable fighting powers of these marauders were no proof of intrinsic superiority4 ,in fact1 the most successful of these conquerors1 if success is measured by the amount of territory overrun and subdued1 were not the 'great blond beasts' of ,nietzsche1 but yellow monsters with black hair1 the ,huns and ,tartars4#i ,the causes of ,tartar ascendancy had not the remotest connection with any moral or intellectual qualities which we can be expected to admire4 ,nor can the ,nordic race1 well endowed by nature as it undoubtedly is1 prove such a superiority as this theory claims for it4 ,some of the largest brains yet measured have been those of ,japanese2 and the ,jews have probably a higher average of ability than the ,teutons4 ,again1 the ,germans are not descended from a pure ,nordic stock4 ,the ,northern type can be best studied in ,scandinavia1 where the people share with the ,irish the distinction of being the handsomest race in the world4 ,the ,german is a mixture of various anatomical types1 including1 in some parts1 distinct traces of ,mongolian blood1 which indicate that the raiding ,huns meddled1 according to their custom1 with the ,german women1 and bequeathed to a section of the nation the ,turanian cheek-bones1 as well as certain moral characteristics4 ,lastly1 the ,german race has never shown much aptitude for governing and assimilating other peoples4 ,the ,french1 by virtue of their greater sympathy1 are far more successful4 ,the ,french have their own form of this pseudo-science in their doctrine of the persistence of national characteristics4 ,each nation may be summed up in a formula3 ,england1 for example1 is 'the country of will4' ,a few instances may1 no doubt1 be quoted in support of this theory4 ,julius ,csar said3 ',duas res plerasque ,gallia industriosissime prosequitur1 rem militarem et argute loqui'2 and these are still the characteristics of our gallant allies4 ,and ,madame de ,stal may be thought to have hit off the ,german character very cleverly about the time when ,bismarck first saw the light4 ',the ,germans are vigorously submissive4 ,they employ philosophical reasonings to explain what is the least philosophic thing in the world1 respect for force and the fear which transforms that respect into admiration4' ,but the fact remains that the characters of nations frequently change1 or rather that what we call national character is usually only the policy of the governing class1 forced upon it by circumstances1 or the manner of living which climate1 geographical position1 and other external causes have made necessary for the inhabitants of a country4 ,to found patriotism on homogeneity of race is no wiser than to bound it by frontier lines4 ,as the ,abb ,nol has lately written about his own country1 ,belgium1 the race is not the nation4 ,the nation is not a physiological fact2 it is a moral fact4 ,what constitutes a nation is the community of sentiments and ideals which results from a common history and education4 ,the variations of the cephalic index are here of no great importance4 ,the essential factor of the national consciousness resides in a certain common mode of conceiving the conditions of the social life4 ,belgium1 the ,abb maintains1 has found this national consciousness amid her sufferings2 there are no longer any distinctions between ,french-speaking ,belgians and ,walloons or ,flemings4 ,this is in truth the real base of patriotism4 ,it is the basis of our own love for our country4 ,what ,britain stands for is what ,britain is4 ,we have long known in our hearts what ,britain stands for2 but we have now been driven to search our thoughts and make our ideals explicit to ourselves and others4 ,the ,englishman has become a philosopher malgr lui1 ',whatever the world thinks1' writes ,bishop ,berkeley4 'he who hath not much meditated upon ,god1 the human soul1 and the summum bonum1 may possibly make a thriving earthworm1 but will most indubitably make a sorry patriot and a sorry statesman4' ,these words1 which were quoted by ,mr4 ,arthur ,balfour a few years ago1 may seem to make a large demand on the average citizen2 but in our quiet way we have all been meditating on these things since last ,august1 and we know pretty well what our summum bonum is for our country4 ,we believe in chivalry and fair play and kindliness--these things first and foremost2 and we believe1 if not exactly in democracy1 yet in a government under which a man may think and speak the thing he wills4 ,we do not believe in war1 and we do not believe in bullying4 ,we do not flatter ourselves that we are the supermen2 but we are convinced that the ideas which we stand for1 and which we have on the whole tried to carry out1 are essential to the peaceful progress and happiness of humanity2 and for these ideas we have drawn the sword4 ,the great words of ,abraham ,lincoln have been on the lips of many and in the hearts of all since the beginning of the great contest3 ',with malice towards none2 with charity for all3 with firmness in the right as ,god gives us to see the right--let us strive on to finish the work we are in4' ,patriotism thus spiritualised and moralised is the true patriotism4 ,when the emotion is once set in its right relations to the whole of human life and to all that makes human life worth living1 it cannot become an immoral obsession4 ,it is certain to become an immoral obsession if it is isolated and made absolute4 ,we have seen the appalling perversion--the methodical diabolism--which this obsession has produced in ,germany4 ,it has startled us because we thought that the civilised world had got beyond such insanity2 but it is of course no new thing4 ,machiavelli said1 ',i prefer my country to the salvation of my soul'--a sentiment which sounds noble but is not2 it has only a superficial resemblance to ,st4 ,paul's willingness to be 'accursed' for the sake of his countrymen4 ,devil-worship remains what it was1 even when the idol is draped in the national flag4 ,this obsession may be in part a survival from savage conditions1 when all was at stake in every feud2 but chiefly it is an example of the idealising and universalising power of the imagination1 which turns every unchecked passion into a monomania4 ,the only remedy is1 as ,lowell's ,hosea ,biglow reminds us1 to bear in mind that our true country is that ideal realm which we represent to ourselves under the names of religion1 duty1 and the like4 ,our terrestrial organisations are but far-off approaches to so fair a model2 and all they are verily traitors who resist not any attempt to divert them from this their original intendment4 ,our true country is bounded on the north and the south1 on the east and west1 by ,justice1 and when she oversteps that invisible boundary-line by so much as a hair's breadth1 she ceases to be our mother1 and chooses rather to be looked upon quasi noverca4 ,so ,socrates said that the wise man will be a citizen of his true city1 of which the type is laid up in heaven1 and only conditionally of his earthly country4 ,the obsession of patriotism is not the only evil which we have to consider4 ,we may err by defect as well as by excess4 ,herbert ,spencer speaks of an 'anti-patriotic bias'2 and it can hardly be disputed that many ,englishmen who pride themselves on their lofty morality are suffering from this mental twist4 ,the malady seems to belong to the ,anglo-,saxon constitution1 for it is rarely encountered in other countries1 while we had a noisy pro-,napoleonic faction a hundred years ago1 and the ,americans had their ',copperheads' in the ,northern ,states during the civil war4 ,in our own day1 every enemy of ,england1 from the mad ,mullah to the mad ,kaiser1 has had his advocates at home2 and the champions of ,boer and ,boxer1 of ,afridi and ,afrikander1 of the ,mahdi and the ,matabele1 have been usually the same persons4 ,the ,english1 it would appear1 differ from other misguided rascals in never being right even by accident4 ,but the idiosyncrasy of a few persons is far less important than the comparative insensibility of whole classes to the patriotic appeal1 except when war is actually raging4 ,this is not specially characteristic of our own country4 ,the ,german ,emperor has complained of his ,social ,democrats as 'people without a fatherland'2 and the cry ' bas la patrie' has been heard in ,france4 ,it is usual to explain this attitude by the fact that the manual workers 'have no stake in the country1' and might not find their condition altered for the worse by subjection to a foreign power4 ,a few of our working-men have given colour to this charge by exclaiming petulantly that they could not be worse off under the ,germans2 but in this they have done themselves and their class less than justice4 ,the anti-militarism and cosmopolitanism of the masses in every country is a profoundly interesting fact1 a problem which demands no superficial investigation4 ,it is one result of that emancipation from traditional ideas1 which makes the most important difference between the upper and middle classes on the one side and the lower on the other4 ,we lament that the working-man takes but little interest in ,christianity1 and rack our brains to discover what we have done to discredit our religion in his eyes4 ,the truth is that ,christianity1 as a dogmatic and ecclesiastical system1 is unintelligible without a very considerable knowledge of the conditions under which it took shape4 ,but what are the ancient ,hebrews1 and the ,greeks and ,romans1 to the working-man8 ,he is simply cut off from the means of reading intelligently any book of the ,bible1 or of understanding how the institution called the ,catholic ,church1 and its offshoots1 came to exist4 ,as our staple education becomes more 'modern' and less literary1 the custodians of organised religion will find their difficulties increasing4 ,but the same is true about patriotism4 ,love of country means pride in the past and ambition for the future4 ,those who live only in the present are incapable of it4 ,but our working-man knows next to nothing about the past history of ,england2 he has scarcely heard of our great men1 and has read few of our great books4 ,it is not surprising that the appeal to patriotism leaves him cold4 ,this is an evil that has its proper remedy4 ,there is no reason why a sane and elevated love of country should not be stimulated by appropriate teaching in our schools4 ,in ,america this is done--rather hysterically2 and in ,germany--rather brutally4 ,the ,jews have always made their national history a large part of their education1 and even of their religion4 ,nothing has helped them more to retain their self-consciousness as a nation4 ,ignorance of the past and indifference to the future usually go together4 ,those who most value our historical heritage will be most desirous to transmit it unimpaired4 ,but the absence of traditional ideas is by no means an unmixed evil4 ,the working-man sees more clearly than the majority of educated persons the absurdity of international hatred and jealousy4 ,he is conscious of greater solidarity with his own class in other ,european countries than with the wealthier class in his own2 and as he approaches the whole question without prejudice1 he cannot fail to realise how large a part of the product of labour is diverted from useful purposes by modern militarism4 ,international rivalry is in his eyes one of the most serious obstacles to the abolition of want and misery4 ,tolstoy hardly exaggerates when he says3 ',patriotism to the peoples represents only a frightful future2 the fraternity of nations seems an ideal more and more accessible to humanity1 and one which humanity desires4' ,military glory has very little attraction for the working-man4 ,his humanitarian instincts appear to be actually stronger than those of the sheltered classes4 ,to take life in any circumstances seems to him a shocking thing2 and the harsh procedure of martial law and military custom is abhorrent to him4 ,he sees no advantage and no credit in territorial aggrandisement1 which he suspects to be prompted mainly by the desire to make money unjustly4 ,he is therefore a convinced pacificist2 though his doctrine of human brotherhood breaks down ignominiously when he finds his economic position threatened by the competition of cheap foreign labour4 ,if an armed struggle ever takes place between the nations of ,europe 7or their colonists7 and the yellow races1 it will be a working-man's war4 ,but on the whole1 the best hope of getting rid of militarism may lie in the growing power of the working class4 ,the poor1 being intensely gregarious and very susceptible to all collective emotions1 are still liable to fits of warlike excitement4 ,but their real minds are at present set against an aggressive foreign policy1 without being shut against the appeals of a higher patriotism4 ,and yet the irritation which is felt against preachers of the brotherhood of man is not without justification4 ,some persons who condemn patriotism are simply lacking in public spirit1 or their loyalty is monopolised by some fad or 'cause1' which is a poor substitute for love of country4 ,the man who has no prejudices in favour of his own family and his own country is generally an unamiable creature4 ,so we need not condemn ,molire for saying1 ',l'ami du genre humain n'est pas du tout mon fait1' nor ,brunetire for declaring that ',ni la nature ni l'histoire n'ont en effet voulu que les hommes fussent tous frres4' ,but ,french ,neo-catholicism1 a bourgeois movement directed against all the 'ideas of #aghi1' seems to have adopted the most ferocious kind of chauvinism4 ,m4 ,paul ,bourget wrote the other day in the cho de ,paris1 ',this war must be the first of many1 since we cannot exterminate sixty-five million ,germans in a single campaign6' ,the women and children too6 ,this is not the way to revive the religion of ,christ in ,france4 ,the practical question for the future is whether there is any prospect of returning1 under more favourable auspices1 to the unrealised ideal of the ,middle ,ages--an agreement among the nations of ,europe to live amicably under one system of international law and right1 binding upon all1 and with the consciousness of an intellectual and spiritual unity deeper than political divisions4 ',the nations are the citizens of humanity1' said ,mazzini2 and so they ought to be4 ,some of the omens are favourable4 ,militarism has dug its own grave4 ,the great powers increased their armaments till the burden became insupportable1 and have now rushed into bankruptcy in the hope of shaking it off4 ,in prehistoric times the lords of creation were certain gigantic lizards1 protected by massive armour-plates which could only be carried by a creature thirty to sixty feet long4 ,then they died1 when neither earth1 air1 nor water could support them any longer4 ,such must be the end of the ,european nations1 unless they learn wisdom4 ,the lesson will be brought home to them by ,transatlantic competition4 ,the ,united ,states of ,america had already1 before this war1 an initial advantage over the disunited states of ,europe1 amounting to at least #aj per cent4 on every contract2 after the war this advantage will be doubled4 ,it remains to be seen whether the next generation will honour the debts which we are piling up4 ,disraeli used to complain of what he called ',dutch finance1' which consists in 'mortgaging the industry of the future to protect property in the present4' ,pitt paid for the great war of a hundred years ago in this manner2 after a century we are still groaning under the burden of his loans4 ,we may hear more of the iniquity of ',dutch finance' when the democracies of the next generation have a chance of repudiating obligations which1 as they will say1 they did not contract4 ,however that may be1 international rivalry is plainly very bad business2 and there are great possibilities in the ,hague ,tribunal1 if1 and only if1 the signatories to the conference bind themselves to use force against a recalcitrant member4 ,the conduct of ,germany in this war has shown that public opinion is powerless to restrain a nation which feels strong enough to defy it4 ,another cause which may give patriots leisure to turn their thoughts away from war's alarms is that the 'swarming' period of the ,european races is coming to an end4 ,the unparalleled increase of population in the first three quarters of the #aith century has been followed by a progressive decrease in the birth-rate1 which will begin to tell upon social conditions when the reduction in the death-rate1 which has hitherto kept pace with it1 shall have reached its natural limit4 ,europe with a stationary population will be in a much happier condition2 and problems of social reform can then be tackled with some hope of success4 ,honourable emulation in the arts of life may then take the place of desperate competition and antagonism4 ,human lives will begin to have a positive value1 and we may even think it fair to honour our saviours more than our destroyers4 ,the effects of past follies will then soon be effaced2 for nations recover much more quickly from wars than from internal disorders4 ,external injuries are rapidly cured2 but 'those wounds heal ill that men do give themselves4' ,the greatest obstacle to progress is not man's inherited pugnacity1 but his incorrigible tendency to parasitism4 ,the true patriot will keep his eye fixed on this1 and will dread as the state's worst enemies those citizens who at the top and bottom of the social scale have no other ambition than to hang on and suck the life-blood of the nation4 ,great things may be hoped from the new science of eugenics1 when it has passed out of its tentative and experimental stage4 ,in the distant future we may reasonably hope that patriotism will be a sentiment like the loyalty which binds a man to his public school and university1 an affection purged of all rancour and jealousy1 a stimulus to all honourable conduct and noble effort1 a part of the poetry of life4 ,it is so already to many of us1 and has been so to the noblest ,englishmen since we have had a literature4 ,if ,henry ,v's speech at ,agincourt is the splendid gasconade of a royal freebooter1 there is no false ring in the scene where ,john of ,gaunt takes leave of his banished son2 nor in ,sir ,walter ,scott's ',breathes there a man with soul so dead1' etc4 ',if ,i forget thee1 ,o ,jerusalem1 let my right hand forget her cunning4' ,we cannot quite manage to substitute ,london for ,zion in singing psalms1 though there are some in ,england--,eton1 ,winchester1 ,oxford1 ,cambridge--which do evoke these feelings4 ,these emotions of loyalty and devotion are by no means to be checked or despised4 ,they have an infinite potency for good4 ,in spiritual things there is no conflict between intensity and expansion4 ,the deepest sympathy is1 potentially1 also the widest4 ,he who loves not his home and country which he has seen1 how shall he love humanity in general which he has not seen8 ,there are1 after all1 few emotions of which one has less reason to be ashamed than the little lump in the throat which the ,englishman feels when he first catches sight of the white cliffs of ,dover4 ,,footnotes3 #h ,in his ,introduction to ,social ,psychology4 #i ,the reasons of their irresistible strength have been explained in a most brilliant manner by ,dr4 ,peisker in the first volume of the ',cambridge ,medieval ,history4' ,,the ,,birth-,,rate 7#aiag7 ,the numbers of every species are determined1 not by the procreative power of its members1 which always greatly exceeds the capacity of the earth to support a progeny increasing in geometrical progression1 but by two factors1 the activity of its enemies and the available supply of food4 ,those species which survive owe their success in the struggle for existence mainly to one of two qualities1 enormous fertility or parental care4 ,the female cod spawns about #f1jjj1jjj eggs at a time1 of which at most one-third--perhaps much less--are afterwards fertilised4 ,an infinitesimal proportion of these escapes being devoured by fish or fowl4 ,an insect-eating bird is said to require for its support about #bej1jjj insects a year1 and the number of such birds must amount to thousands of millions4 ,as a rule there is a kind of equilibrium between the forces of destruction and of reproduction4 ,if a species is nearly exterminated by its enemies1 those enemies lose their food-supply and perish themselves4 ,in some sheltered spot the survivors of the victims remain and increase till they begin to send out colonies again4 ,in some species1 such as the mice in ,la ,plata1 and the beasts and birds which devour them1 there is an alternation of increase and decrease1 to be accounted for in this way4 ,but permanent disturbances of equilibrium sometimes occur4 ,the rabbit in ,australia1 having found a virgin soil1 multiplied for some time almost up to the limit of its natural fertility and is firmly established on that continent4 ,the brown rat 7some say7 has exterminated our black rat and the ,maori rat in ,new ,zealand4 ,the microbe of the terrible disease which the crews of ,columbus brought back to ,europe1 after causing a devastating epidemic at the end of the fifteenth century1 established a kind of modus vivendi with its hosts1 and has remained as a permanent scourge in ,europe4 ,other microbes1 like those of cholera and plague1 emigrate from the lands where they are endemic1 like a horde of ,tartars1 and after slaying all who are susceptible disappear from inanition4 ,the draining of the fens has driven the anopheles mosquito from ,england1 and our countrymen no longer suffer from 'ague4' ,cleanlier habits are banishing the louse and its accompaniment typhus fever4 ,fertility and care for offspring seem as a rule to vary inversely4 ,the latter is the path of biological progress1 and is characteristic of all viviparous animals4 ,that any degree of parental attention is incompatible with the immense fecundity of the lower organisms needs no demonstration4 ,such fertility is not necessary to keep up the numbers of the higher species1 which find abundant food in the swarming progeny of the lower types1 and are not themselves exposed to wholesale slaughter4 ,speaking of fishes1 ,sutherland says3 ,of species that exhibit no sort of parental care1 the average of forty-nine gives #a1jdj1jjj eggs to a female each year2 while among those which make nests or any apology for nests the number is only about #aj1jjj4 ,among those which have any protective tricks1 such as carrying the eggs in pouches or attached to the body1 or in the mouth1 the average number is under #ajjj2 while among those whose care takes the form of uterine or quasi-uterine gestation which brings the young into the world alive1 an average of #ef eggs is quite sufficient4 ,man is no exception to these laws4 ,his evolution has been steadily in the direction of diminishing fertility and increasing parental care4 ,this does not necessarily imply that the modern ,european loves his children better than the savage loves his4 ,it is grim necessity1 not want of affection1 which determines the treatment of children by their parents over a great part of the world1 and through the greater part of human history4 ,the homeless hunters1 who represent the lowest stage of savagery1 are now almost extinct4 ,in these tribes the woman has to follow the man carrying her baby4 ,under such conditions the chances of rearing a large family are small indeed4 ,very different is the life of the grassland nomads1 who roam over the ,arabian plateau and the steppes of ,central ,asia4 ,these tribes1 who really live as the parasites of their flocks and herds1 depending on them entirely for subsistence1 often multiply rapidly4 ,their typical unit is the great patriarchal family1 in which the sheikh may have scores of children by different mothers4 ,these children soon begin to earn their keep1 and are taken care of4 ,if1 however1 the patriarch so chooses1 ,hagar with her child is cast adrift1 to find her way back to her own people1 if she can4 ,the grasslands are usually almost as full as they can hold4 ,a period of drought1 or pressure by rivals1 in former times sent a horde of these hardy shepherds on a raid into the nearest settled province2 and if1 like the ,tartars1 they were mounted1 they usually killed1 plundered1 and conquered wherever they went1 until the discovery of gunpowder saved civilisation from the recurrent peril of barbarian inroads4 ,barbarians of another type1 hunters with fixed homes1 seldom increase rapidly1 partly because the dangers of forest-life for young children are much greater than on the steppe4 ,in the primitive river-valley civilisations1 such as ,egypt and ,babylonia1 the conditions of increase were so favourable that a dense population soon began to press upon the means of subsistence4 ,in ,egypt the remedy was a centralised government which could undertake great irrigation works and intensive cultivation4 ,in ,babylonia1 for the first time in history1 foreign trade was made to support a larger population than the land itself could maintain4 ,there was little or no infanticide in ,babylonia1 but the death-rate in these steaming alluvial plains has always been very high4 ,when we turn to poor and mountainous countries like ,greece1 the conditions are very different4 ,it was an old belief among the ,hellenes that in the days before the ,trojan ,war 'the world was too full of people4' ,the increase was doubtless made possible by the trade which developed in the ,minoan period1 but the sources of food-supply were liable to be interfered with4 ,hence came the necessity for active colonisation1 which lasted from the eighth to the sixth century ,b4,c4 ,this period of expansion came to an end when all the available sites were occupied4 ,in the sixth century the ,greeks found themselves headed off1 in the west by ,phoenicians and ,etruscans1 in the east by the ,persian ,empire4 ,the problem of over-population was again pressing upon them4 ,incessant civil wars between ,hellenes kept the numbers down to some extent2 but ,greek battles were not as a rule very bloody1 and every healthy nation has a surprising capacity of making good the losses caused by war4 ,the first effect of the check to emigration was that the old ideal of the 'self-sufficient life1' which meant the practice of mixed farming1 had to be partially abandoned4 ,the most flourishing ,states1 and especially ,athens1 had to take to manufactures1 which they exchanged for the food-products of the ,balkan ,states and ,south ,russia4 ,the result was an increasing urbanisation1 and a new population of free 'resident aliens4' ,conservatives hated this change and wished to revive the old ideal of a small self-supporting ,state1 with a maximum of #bj1jjj or #cj1jjj citizens4 ,plato1 in his latest work1 the ',laws1' wishes his model city to be not too near the sea1 the proximity of which 'fills the streets with merchants and shopkeepers1 and begets dishonesty in the souls of men4' ,on the other side ,isocrates1 the most far-seeing of ,athenian politicians1 realised that the day of small city-states was over1 and that the limited1 'self-sufficient' community would not long maintain its independence4 ,he urged his countrymen to pursue a policy of peaceful penetration in ,western ,asia1 as the ,greeks were soon to do under the successors of ,alexander4 ,but the prejudice against industrialism was very strong4 ,greece in the fifth century remained a poor country2 her exports were not more than enough to pay for the food of her existing population2 and that population had to be artificially restricted4 ,the ,greeks were an exceptionally healthy and long-lived race2 their great men for the most part lived to ages which have no parallel until the nineteenth century4 ,the infant death-rate from natural causes may have been rather high1 as it is in modern ,greece1 but it was augmented by systematic infanticide4 ,the ,greek father had an absolute right to decide whether a new-comer was to be admitted to the family4 ,in ,ephesus alone of ,greek cities a parent was compelled to prove that he was too poor to rear a child before he was allowed to get rid of it4#aj ,even ,hesiod1 centuries earlier1 advises a father not to bring up more than one son1 and daughters were sacrificed more frequently than sons4 ,the usual practice was to expose the infant in a jar2 anyone who thought it worth while might rescue the baby and bring it up as a slave4 ,but this was not often done4 ,at ,gela1 in ,sicily1 there are #bcc 'potted' burials in an excavated graveyard1 out of a total of #egj4aa ,the proportion of female infants exposed must have been very large4 ,the evidence of literature is supported by such letters as this from a husband at ,oxyrhynchus3 ',when--good luck to you--your child is born1 if it is a male1 let it live2 if a female1 expose it4'#ab ,besides infanticide1 abortion was freely practised1 and without blame4#ac ,the ,greek citizen married rather late2 but as his bride was usually in her 'teens this would not affect the birth-rate4 ,nor need we attach much importance1 as a factor in checking population1 to the characteristic ,greek vice1 nor to prostitution1 which throughout antiquity was incredibly cheap and visited by no physical penalty4 ,as for slaves1 ,xenophon recommends that they should be allowed to have children as a reward for good conduct4#ad ,a rapid decline in population set in under the successors of ,alexander4 ,polybius ascribes it to selfishness and a high standard of comfort1 which is doubtless true of the upper and middle classes2#ae but the depopulation of rural ,greece can hardly be so accounted for4 ,perhaps the forests were cut down1 and the rainfall diminished4 ,it was the general impression that the soil was far less productive than formerly4 ,the decay of the ,hellenic race was accelerated after the ,roman conquest1 until the old stock became almost extinct4 ,this disappearance of the most gifted race that ever inhabited our planet is one of the strangest catastrophes of history1 and is full of warnings for the modern sociologist4 ,industrial slavery1 indifference to parenthood1 and addiction to club-life were certainly three of the main causes1 unless we prefer to regard the two last as symptoms of hopelessness about the future4 ,the same disease fell upon ,italy1 and was coincident not with the murderous war against ,hannibal and the subsequent campaigns1 costly though they were1 in ,spain1 ,syria1 and ,macedonia1 but with the ,hellenisation of social life4 ,lucan1 under ,nero1 complains that the towns have lost more than half their inhabitants1 and that the country-side lies waste4 ,under ,titus it was estimated that1 whereas ,italy under the ,republic could raise nearly #hjj1jjj soldiers1 that number was now reduced by one-half4 ,marcus ,aurelius planted a large tribe of ,marcomanni on unoccupied land in ,italy4 ,in the fourth century ,bologna1 ,modena1 ,piacenza1 and many other towns in ,north ,italy were in ruins4 ,the land of the ,volscians and ,aequians1 once densely populated1 was a desert even in ,livy's time4 ,samnium remained the wilderness that ,sulla had left it2 and ,apulia was a lonely sheep-walk4 ,the causes of this depopulation have been often discussed1 both in antiquity and in our own day4 ,slavery1 infanticide1 celibacy1 wars and massacres1 large estates1 and pestilence have all been named as causes2 but ,i am inclined to think that all these influences together are insufficient to account for so rapid a decline4 ,the toll of war was lighter by far than in periods when the population was rising2 infectious disease 7unless we suppose1 as some have suggested1 that malaria became for the first time endemic under the ,roman domination7 invaded the empire in occasional and destructive epidemics1 but a healthy population recovers from pestilence1 as from war1 with great rapidity4 ,the large grazing ranches displaced farms because corn-growing in ,italy was unprofitable1 but there was a large supply of grain from ,sicily1 ,africa1 and other districts4 ,slavery undoubtedly accounts for a great deal4 ,this institution is excessively wasteful of human life2 it is never possible to keep up the numbers of slaves without slave-hunting in the countries from which they come4 ,and we must remember that ancient civilisation was almost entirely urban4 ,the barbarians found ample waste lands between the towns1 which they did not as a rule care to visit1 probably because those who did so soon fell victims to microbic diseases4 ,the sanitary condition of ancient cities was better than in the ,middle ,ages2 but the death-rate was probably too high to permit of any increase in the population4 ,but after admitting that all these causes were operative1 it may be that we shall be obliged to acknowledge also a psychological factor4 ,if a nation has no hopes for the future1 if it is even doubtful whether life is worth living1 if it is disposed to withdraw from the struggle for existence and to meet the problems of life in a temper of passive resignation1 it will not regard children as a heritage and gift that cometh from the ,lord1 but rather as an encumbrance4 ,that such was the temper of the later ,roman ,empire may be gathered not only from the literature1 which is singularly devoid of hopefulness and enterprise1 but from the rapid spread of monasticism and eremitism in this period4 ,the prevalence of this world-weariness of course needs explanation1 and the cause is rather obscure4 ,it does not seem to be connected with unfavourable external conditions1 but rather with a racial exhaustion akin to senile decay in the individual4 ,but there is no real analogy between the life of an individual and that of a nation1 and it would be very rash to insist on the hypothesis of racial decay1 which perhaps has no biological basis4 ,the influence of ,christianity on population is very difficult to estimate4 ,nothing is more unscientific than to collect the ethical precepts and practices of nations which profess the ,christian religion1 and to label them as 'the results of ,christianity4' ,the historian of religion would indeed be faced by a strange task if he were compelled to trace the moral ideals of ,simeon ,stylites and of ,howard the philanthropist1 of ,francis of ,assisi and ,oliver ,cromwell1 of ,thomas ,aquinas and ,thomas ,becket1 to a common source4 ,the only ethical and social principles which can properly be called ,christian are those which can be proved to have their root in the teaching and example of the ,founder of ,christianity4 ,but the ,gospel of ,christ was a product of ,jewish soil4 ,it is historically connected with the ,jewish prophetic tradition1 which it carried to its fullest development and presented in an universalised and spiritualised form4 ,its social teaching consists chiefly of general principles which have to be applied to conditions unlike those contemplated by its first disciples1 who were under the influence of the apocalyptic expectations prevalent at the time4 ,jewish morality was in its origin the morality of a tribe of nomad ,bedouins2 and we have seen that infant life is held sacred by these peoples4 ,marriage is regarded as a duty1 and childlessness as a misfortune or a disgrace4 ,the forward look1 characteristic of the ,hebrews from the first1 made every ,jew desirous to leave descendants who might witness happier times1 and one of whom might even be the promised ,deliverer of his people4 ,no ,hebrew of either sex was allowed to be a servant of vice2 abnormal practices1 though screened by ,canaanite religion1 were far less common than in ,greece or ,italy4 ,to this wholesome morality ,christianity added the doctrines of the value1 in the sight of ,god1 of every human life1 and of the sanctity of the body as the 'temple of ,god4' ,to the ,pagans1 the continence of the ,christians was1 next to their affection for each other1 their most remarkable characteristic4 ,from the first1 the new religion set itself firmly against infanticide and abortion1 and won one of its most signal moral triumphs in driving underground and greatly diminishing homosexual vice4 ,its encouragement of celibacy1 especially for those who followed the 'religious' vocation1 was an offset to its healthy influence on family life1 and ultimately1 as ,galton has shown1 worked great mischief by sterilising for centuries many of the gentlest and noblest in each generation2 but this tendency was adventitious to ,christianity1 and would never have taken root on ,palestinian soil4 ,the cult of virginity has lasted on1 with much else that belongs to the later ,hellenistic age1 in ,catholicism4 ,in the ,middle ,ages the population question slumbered4 ,the miserable chaos into which the old civilisation sank after the barbarian invasions1 the orgies of massacre and plunder1 the almost total oblivion of medical science1 and the pestiferous condition of the medieval walled town1 which could be smelt miles away1 averted any risk of over-population4 ,families were very large1 but the majority of the children died4 ,millions were swept away by the ,black ,death2 millions more by the ,crusades4 ,such books as that of ,luchaire1 on ,france in the reign of ,philip ,augustus1 bring vividly before us the horrible condition of society in feudal times1 and explain amply the sparsity of the population4 ,the early modern period contains another notable example of a sudden and unaccountable decline in population4 ,the scene is ,spain1 which1 after playing an active and very prominent part in the world's history1 sank quickly into the lethargy from which it has never recovered4 ,it may be noted that here1 as in the case of ,rome1 the decay of population and energy followed a great influx of plundered wealth4 ,on the other hand1 the increase of population in our newly-planted ,north ,american colonies must have been extremely rapid for two or three generations4 ,the enormous multiplication of the ,european races since the middle of the eighteenth century is a phenomenon quite unique in history1 and never likely to be repeated4#af ,it was rendered possible by the new labour-saving inventions which immensely increased the exports which could be exchanged for food1 and by the opening up of vast new food-producing areas4 ,the chief method by which the increase was effected1 especially in the later period1 has been the lengthening of human life by improved sanitation and medical science4#ag ,since #ahfe the average duration of life in ,england and ,wales has been raised by a little more than one-third4 ,other ,european countries show the same ratio of improvement4 ,this astonishing result1 so little known and so seldom referred to1 was bound to have a great effect on the birth-rate4 ,so long as the swarming period continued at its height1 a net annual increase of #ae or even #bj per thousand could be sustained2 but the expansion of the ,european peoples has now passed its zenith1 and a tendency to revert to more normal conditions is almost everywhere observable4 ,one of the most advanced nations1 ,france1 has already reached the equilibrium towards which other civilised nations are moving4 ,the old-established families in the ,united ,states are believed to be actually dwindling4 ,the student of international vital statistics will be struck first by the very wide differences in the birth-rate of different countries4 ,he will then notice that the more backward countries have on the whole a considerably higher birth-rate than the more advanced4 ,thirdly1 he will observe the parallelism between the birth-rate and death-rate1 which makes the net increase in countries with a high birth-rate very little larger than that of countries with a low birth-rate4 ,the following figures will illustrate these points2 they are taken from the ,registrar-,general's ,blue ,book for #aiab4 ,birth-rate ,death-rate ,net rate of increase ,united ,kingdom #bc4i #ac4h #aj4a ,australia #bh4g #aa4b #ag4e ,austria #ca4c #bj4e #aj4h ,belgium #bb4i #af4d #f4e ,france #ai4j #ag4e #a4e ,germany #bh4f #ag4c #aa4c ,italy #cb4d #ah4b #ad4b ,new ,zealand #bf4e #h4i #ag4f ,norway #be4d #ac4d #ab4j ,roumania #dc4d #bb4i #bj4e ,russia #dd4j #bh4i #ae4a ,it will be seen that ,australia and ,new ,zealand1 with low birth-rates and the lowest death-rates in the world increase more rapidly than ,russia with an enormous birth-rate and proportionately high death-rate4 ,no one can doubt that our colonies achieve their increase with far less friction and misery than the prolific but short-lived ,slavs4 ,civilisation in a high form is incompatible with such conditions as these figures disclose in ,russia4 ,the figures for ,egypt and ,india are similar to the ,russian1 but in ,india1 which is overfull1 the mortality is greater than even in ,russia1 and the same is true of ,china1 in which we are told that seven out of ten children die in infancy4 ,it has been suggested that the fairest measure of a country's well-being1 as regards its actual vitality1 is the square of the death-rate divided by the birth-rate4 ,it is well known that a decline in the birth-rate set in about forty years ago in this country1 and has gone on steadily ever since1 till the fall now amounts to about one-third of the total births4 ,it thus corresponds very nearly to the fall in the death-rate during the same period4 ,it is also well known that this decline is not evenly distributed among different classes of the people4 ,until the decline began1 large families were the rule in all classes1 and the slightly larger families of the poor were compensated by their somewhat higher mortality4 ,but since #ahgg large families have become increasingly rare in the upper and middle classes1 and among the skilled artisans4 ,they are frequent in the thriftless ranks of unskilled labour1 and in one section of well-paid workmen--the miners4 ,the highest birth-rates at present are in the mining districts and in the slums4 ,the lowest are in some of the learned professions4 ,in the ,rhondda ,valley the birth-rate is still about forty1 which is double the rate in the prosperous residential suburbs of ,london4 ,in the seats of the textile industry the decline has been very severe1 although wages are fairly good2 among the agricultural labourers the rate is also low4 ,it will be found that in all trades where the women work for wages the birth-rate has fallen sharply2 the miner's wife does not earn money1 and has therefore less inducement to restrict her family4 ,in agricultural districts the housing difficulty is mainly responsible2 in the upper and middle classes the heavy expense of education and the burden of rates and taxes are probably the main reasons why larger families are not desired4 ,we may add that in almost all the professions old men are overpaid and young men under-paid4 ,mr4 and ,mrs4 ,whetham#ah have found that1 before #ahgj1 #adc marriages of men whose names appear in ',who's ,who' resulted in #gdc children1 an average of #e4b each2 after #ahgj the average is only #c4jh4 ,celibacy also is commoner among the educated4 ',from the reports issued by two ,women's ,colleges1 it appears that1 excluding those who have left college within three years or less1 out of #cjjj women only #bb per cent4 have married1 and the number of children born to each marriage is undoubtedly very small4' ,the writers consider that this state of things is extremely dangerous for the country1 inasmuch as we are now breeding mainly from our worst stocks 7the feeble-minded are very prolific71 while our best families are stationary or dwindling4 ,without denying the general truth of this pessimistic conclusion1#ai it may be pointed out that the miners are1 physically at least1 above the average of the whole population1 and that the very low birth-rate of residential districts is partly due to the presence in large numbers of unmarried domestic servants4 ,the death-rate of the slums is also very high4 ,the fears of the eugenist about the quality of the population are far more reasonable than the invectives of the fanatic about its defective quantity4 ,of the latter class we may say with ,havelock ,ellis that 'those who seek to restore the birth-rate of half a century ago are engaged in a task which would be criminal if it were not based on ignorance1 and which is in any case fatuous4' ,and yet ,i hope to show before the close of this article that for two or three generations the ,british ,empire could absorb a considerable increase1 and that the ,government might with advantage stimulate this by schemes of colonisation4 ,the lament of the eugenist resounds in all countries alike4 ,the ,german complains that the ,poles1 whom he considers an inferior race1 breed like rabbits1 while the gifted exponents of ,kultur only breed like hares4 ,the ,american is nervous about the numbers of the negro2 he has more reason to be nervous about the fecundity of the ,slav and ,south ,italian immigrant4 ,everywhere the tendency is for the superior stock to dwindle till it becomes a small aristocracy4 ,the ,americans of ,british descent are threatened with this fate4 ,pride and a high standard of living are not biological virtues4 ,the man who needs and spends little is the ultimate inheritor of the earth4 ,i know of no instance in history in which a ruling race has not ultimately been ousted or absorbed by its subjects4 ,complete extermination or expropriation is the only successful method of conquest4 ,the ,anglo-,saxon race has thus established itself in the greater part of ,britain1 and in ,australasia4 ,in ,north ,america it has destroyed the ,indian hunter1 who could not be used for industrial purposes2 but the temptation to exploit the negro and the cheaper ,european races was too strong to be resisted1 and ,nature's heaviest penalty is now being exacted against the descendants of our sturdy colonists4 ,we did not lose ,america in the eighteenth century2 we are losing it now4 ,as for ,south ,africa1 the ,kaffir can live like a gentleman 7according to his own ideas7 on six months' ill-paid work every year2 the ,englishman finds an income of #bjj too small4 ,there is only one end to this kind of colonisation4 ,the danger at home is that the larger part of the population is now beginning to insist upon a scale of remuneration and a standard of comfort which are incompatible with any survival-value4 ,we all wish to be privileged aristocrats1 with no serfs to work for us4 ,dame ,nature cares nothing for the babble of politicians and trade-union regulations4 ,she says to us what ,plotinus1 in a remarkable passage1 makes her say3 ',you should not ask questions2 you should try to understand4 ,i am not in the habit of talking4' ,in ,nature's school it is a word and a blow1 and the blow first4 ,before the close of this article ,i will return to the eugenic problem1 and will consider whether anything can be done to solve it4 ,at the present time1 when an apparently internecine conflict is raging between the ,british ,empire and ,germany1 a more detailed comparison of the vital statistics of the two countries will be read with interest4 ,in ,england and ,wales the birth-rate culminated in #ahgf at a little over #cf1 after slowly rising from #cc in #ahej4 ,from #ahgf the line of decline is almost straight1 down to the ante-war figure of about #bd4 ,in ,prussia1 owing partly to wars1 the fluctuations have been violent4 ,in #ahej the figure 7omitting decimals7 was #ci2 in #ahee1 #cd2 in #ahei1 #dj2 in #ahga1 #cd2 in #ahge1 nearly #da4 ,from this date1 as in ,england1 the steady decline began4 ,in #aijg the rate had fallen to #cc2 in #aiac 7,german ,empire7 to #bg4e4 ,here we may notice the abnormally high rate in the years following the great war of #ahgj1 a phenomenon which was marked also throughout ,europe after the ,napoleonic wars4 ,we may also notice that the decline has been of late slightly more rapid in ,germany1 falling from a high birth-rate1 than in ,england1 where the maximum was never so high4 ,another fact which comes out when the ,german figures are more carefully examined is that urbanisation in ,germany has a sterilising effect which is not operative in ,england4 ,prinzing gives the comparative figures of legitimate fertility for ,prussia as follows3 #ahgi-ahhb #ahid-ahig ,berlin #bc4h #af4ibj ,other great towns #bf4g #bc4e ,towns of #bj1jjj to #ajj1jjj #bf4h #be4g ,small towns #bg4h #be4i ,country districts #bh4h #bi4j ,now urbanisation is going on even more rapidly in ,germany than in ,england4 ,the death-rate in ,england and ,wales rose from #ba in #ahej to #bc4e in #ahed2 after sharp fluctuations it reached #bc4g in #ahfd2 since then it has declined to its present figure 7in normal times7 of #ad4 ,in ,prussia after the war of #ahgj and the small-pox epidemic of #ahga1 there has been a steady fall from #bf to #ag4c 7,german ,empire in #aiaa74 ,the net increase is only slightly larger 7in proportion to the population7 in ,germany than in ,england2 and the increase in our great colonies1 especially in ,australasia1 is much higher than in ,germany4 ,there is therefore no reason to suppose that a rapid alteration is going on to our disadvantage4 ,it is widely believed that the ,roman ,catholic ,church1 by sternly forbidding the artificial limitation of families1 is increasing its numbers at the expense of the non-,catholic populations4 ,to some extent this is true4 ,the ,prussian figures for #ahie-aijj give the number of children per marriage as3 ,both parents ,catholic #e ,both parents ,protestant #d ,both parents ,jews #c4g ,an examination of the entries in ',who's ,who' gives about the same proportion for well-to-do families in ,england4 ,the ,catholic birth-rate of the ,irish is nearly #dj4ba ,the ,french-,canadians are among the most prolific races in the world4 ,on the other hand1 their infant mortality is very high1 and it is said that ,french-,canadian parents take these losses philosophically4 ,it is quite a different question whether it is ultimately to the advantage of a nation which desires to increase its numbers to profess the ,roman ,catholic religion4 ,the high birth-rates are all in unprogressive ,catholic populations4 ,when a ,catholic people begins to be educated1 the priests apparently lose their influence upon the habits of the laity1 and a rapid decline in the births at once sets in4 ,the most advanced countries which did not accept the ,reformation1 ,france and ,belgium1 are precisely those in which parental prudence has been carried almost to excess4 ,we must also remember that the ,dutch ,boers1 who are ,protestants1 but who live under simple conditions not unlike those of the ,french-,canadians1 are equally prolific1 as were our own colonists in the ,united ,states before that country was industrialised4 ,the advantages in numbers gained by ,roman ,catholicism are likely to be confined to half-empty countries1 where there is really room for more citizens1 and where social ambition and the love of comfort are the chief motives for restricting the family4 ,the population of a settled country cannot be increased at will2 it depends on the supply of food4 ,the choice is between a high birth-rate combined with a high death-rate1 and a low birth-rate with a low death-rate4 ,the great saving of life which has been effected during the last fifty years carries with it the necessity of restricting the births4 ,the next question to be considered is how this restriction is to be brought about4 ,the oldest methods are deliberate neglect and infanticide4 ,in ,china1 where authorities differ as to the extent to which female infants are exposed1 the practice certainly prevails of feeding infants whom their mothers are unable to suckle on rice and water1 which soon terminates their existence4 ,such methods would happily find no advocates in ,europe4 ,the very ancient art of procuring miscarriage is a criminal act in most civilised countries1 but it is practised to an appalling extent4 ,hirsch1 who quotes his authorities1 estimates that #b1jjj1jjj births are so prevented annually in the ,united ,states1 #djj1jjj in ,germany1 #ej1jjj in ,paris1 and #ai1jjj in ,lyons4 ,in our own country it is exceedingly common in the northern towns1 and attempts are now being made to prohibit the sale of certain preparations of lead which are used for this purpose4 ,alike on grounds of public health and of morality1 it is most desirable that this mischievous practice should be checked4 ,its great prevalence in the ,united ,states is to be attributed mainly to the drastic legislation in that country against the sale and use of preventives1 to which many persons take objection on moral or sthetic grounds1 but which is surely on an entirely different level from the destruction of life that has already begun4 ,the ',comstock' legislation in ,america has done unmixed harm4 ,it is worse than useless to try to put down by law a practice which a very large number of people believes to be innocent1 and which must be left to the taste and conscience of the individual4 ,to the present writer it seems a pis aller which high-minded married persons should avoid if they can practise self-restraint4 ,whatever injures the feeling of 'sanctification and honour' with which ,st4 ,paul bids us to regard these intimacies of life1 whatever tends to profane or degrade the sacraments of wedded love1 is so far an evil4 ,but this is emphatically a matter in which every man and woman must judge for themselves1 and must refrain from judging others4 ,in every modern civilised country population is restricted partly by the deliberate postponement of marriage4 ,in many cases this does no harm whatever2 but in many others it gravely diminishes the happiness of young people1 and may even cause minor disturbances of health4 ,moreover1 it would not be so widely adopted but for the tolerance1 on the part of society1 of the 'great social evil1' the opprobrium of our civilisation4 ,in spite of the failure hitherto of priests1 moralists1 and legislators to root it out1 and in spite of the acceptance of it as inevitable by the majority of ,continental opinion1 ,i believe that this abomination will not long be tolerated by the conscience of the free and progressive nations4 ,it is notorious that the whole body of women deeply resents the wrong and contumely done by it to their sex1 and that1 if democracy is to be a reality1 the immolation of a considerable section of women drawn from the poorer classes cannot be suffered to continue4 ,it is also plain to all who have examined the subject that the campaign against certain diseases1 the malignity and wide diffusion of which are being more fully realised every year1 cannot be successful through medical methods alone4 ,if the institution in question were abolished1 medical science would soon reduce these scourges to manageable limits1 and might at last exterminate them altogether2 but while it continues there is no hope of doing this4 ,i believe then that the time will come when the trade in vice will cease2 and if ,i am right1 early marriages will become the rule in all classes4 ,this will render the population question more acute1 especially as the diseases which we hope to extirpate are the commonest cause both of sterility and of infant mortality4 ,under this pressure1 we must expect to see preventive methods widely accepted as the least of unavoidable evils4 ,when we reflect on the whole problem in its widest aspects1 we see that civilised humanity is confronted by a ,choice of ,hercules4 ,on the one side1 biological law seems to urge us forward to the struggle for existence and expansion4 ,the nation in that case will have to be organised on the lines of greatest efficiency4 ,a strong centralised government will occupy itself largely in preventing waste4 ,all the resources of the nation must be used to the uttermost4 ,parks must be cut up into allotments2 the unproductive labours of the scholar and thinker must be jealously controlled and limited4 ,inefficient citizens must be weeded out2 wages must be low and hours of work long4 ,moreover1 the ,state must be organised for war2 for its neighbours1 we must suppose1 are following the same policy4 ,then the fierce extra-group competition must come to its logical arbitrament in a life and death struggle4 ,and war between two over-peopled countries1 for both of which more elbow-room is a vital necessity1 must be a war of complete expropriation or extermination4 ,it must be so1 for no other kind of war can achieve its object4 ,the horrors of the present conflict will be as nothing compared with a struggle between two highly-organised ,state socialisms1 each of which knows that it must either colonise the territory of the other or starve4 ,it is idle to pretend that such a necessity will never arise4 ,another century of increase in ,europe like that of the nineteenth century would bring it very near4 ,if this policy is adopted1 we shall see all the principal ,states organising themselves with a perfection far greater than that of ,germany to-day1 but taking ,german methods as their model2 and the end will be the extermination of the smaller or looser organisations4 ,such a prospect may well fill us with horror2 and it is terrible to find some of the ablest thinkers of ,germany1 such as ,ernst ,troeltsch1 writing calm elegies over 'the death of ,liberalism' and predicting the advent of an era of cut-throat international competition4 ,juvenal speaks of the folly of propter vitam vivendi perdere causas2 and who would care to live in such a world8 ,but does ,nature care whether we enjoy our lives or not8 ,the other choice is that which ,france has made for herself2 it is on the lines of ,plato's ideal ,state4 ,each country is to be1 as far as possible1 self-sufficing4 ,if it cannot grow sufficient food for itself1 it must of course export its coal or its gold1 or the products of its industry and ingenuity4 ,but it must know approximately what 'the number of the ,state' 7as ,plato said7 should be4 ,it must limit its population to that number1 and the limit will be fixed1 not at the maximum number who can live there anyhow1 but at the maximum number who can 'live well4' ,the object aimed at will not be constant expansion1 but well-being4 ,the energies liberated from the pitiless struggle for existence will be devoted to making social life wiser1 happier1 more harmonious and more beautiful4 ,have we any reason to hope that this policy is not contrary to the hard laws which ,nature imposes on every species in the world8 ,in the first place1 would such a ,state escape being devoured by some brutal 'expanding' neighbour8 ,what would have happened to ,france if she had stood alone in this war8 ,the danger is real2 but we may answer that ,france1 as a matter of fact1 did not stand alone1 because other nations thought her too precious to be sacrificed4 ,and the completely organised competitive ,state which ,i have imagined would be a far more unlovely place than ,germany1 and more unpleasant to live in4 ,the spectacle of a saner and happier polity next door would break up the purely competitive ,state from within2 the strain would be too great for human nature4 ,we cannot argue confidently from the struggle for existence among the lower animals to our own species4 ,for a long time past1 human evolution has been directed1 not to living anyhow1 but to living in a certain way4 ,we are guided by ideals for the future1 by purposes winch we clearly set before ourselves1 in a way which is impossible to the brutes4 ,these purposes are common to the large majority of men4 ,no ,state can long maintain a rigid and oppressive organisation1 except under the threat of danger2 and a nation which aims only at perfecting its own culture is not dangerous to its neighbours4 ,it is probable that without the supposed menace of another military ,power on its eastern flank ,german militarism would have begun to crumble4 ,in the second place1 would the absence of sharp competition within the group lead to racial degeneration8 ,this is a difficult question to answer4 ,perhaps a diminution of pugnacity and of the means to gratify this instinct would not be a misfortune4 ,but it is certainly true that1 if the operation of natural selection is suspended1 rational selection must take its place4 ,failing this1 reversion to a lower type is inevitable4 ,the infant science of eugenics will have much to say on this subject hereafter2 at present we are only discovering how complex and obscure the laws of heredity are4 ,the ,state of the future will have to step in to prevent the propagation of undesirable variations1 whether physical or mental1 and will doubtless find means to encourage the increase of families that are well endowed by ,nature4 ,assuming that a nation as a whole prefers a policy of this kind1 and aims at such an equilibrium of births and deaths as will set free the energies of the people for the higher objects of civilised life1 how will it escape the cacogenic effects of family restriction in the better classes combined with reckless multiplication among the refuse which always exists in a large community8 ,this is a problem which has not yet been solved4 ,public opinion is not ready for legislation against the multiplication of the unfit1 and it is not easy to see what form such legislation could take4 ,many of the very poor are not undesirable parents2 we must not confound economic prosperity with biological fitness4 ,the 'submerged tenth' should be raised1 where it is possible1 into a condition of self-respect and responsibility2 but they must not be allowed to be a burden upon the efficient2 and the upper and middle classes should simplify their habits so far as to make marriage and parenthood possible for the young professional man4 ,special care should be taken that taxation is so adjusted as not to penalise parenthood in the socially valuable middle class4 ,for some time to come we are likely to see1 in all the leading nations1 a restricted birth-rate1 prompted by desire for social betterment1 combined1 however1 with concessions to the rival policy of commercial expansion1 growing numbers1 and military preparation4 ,the nations will not cease to fear and suspect each other in the twentieth century1 and any one nation which chooses to be a nuisance to ,europe will keep back the progress and happiness of the rest4 ,the prospect is not very bright2 a too generous confidence might betray some nation into irretrievable disaster4 ,but the bracing influence of national danger may perhaps be beneficial4 ,for we have to remember the pitiable decay of the ancient classical civilisation1 which was partly due1 as we have found1 to a desire for comfortable and easy living4 ,there have been signs that many of our countrymen no longer think the strenuous life worth while2 part of our resentment against ,germany resembles the annoyance of an old-fashioned firm1 disturbed in its comfortable security by the competition of a young and more vigorous rival4 ,it is even suggested that after the war we should protect ourselves against ,german competition by tariff walls4 ,this abandonment of the free trade policy on which our prosperity is built would soon bring our over-populated island to ruin4 ,in conclusion1 if we leave the distant future to fend for itself when the time comes1 what should be our policy with regard to population for the next fifty years8 ,i am led to an opinion which may seem to run counter to the general purport of this article4 ,for though the ,british ,isles are even dangerously full1 so that we are liable to be starved out if we lose the command of the sea1 the ,british ,empire is very far from being over-populated4 ,in ,canada and ,australasia there is probably room for nearly #bjj1jjj1jjj people4 ,these countries are remarkably healthy for ,northern ,europeans2 there is no reason why they should not be as rich and powerful as the ,united ,states are now4 ,we hope that we have saved the ,empire from ,german cupidity--for the time2 but we cannot tell how long we may be undisturbed4 ,it would be criminal folly not to make the most of the respite granted us1 by peopling our ,dominions with our own stock1 while yet there is time4 ,this1 however1 cannot be done by casual and undirected emigration of the old kind4 ,we need an ,imperial ,board of ,emigration1 the officials of which will work in co-operation with the ,governments of our ,dominions4 ,these ,governments1 it may be presumed1 will be anxious1 after the war1 to strengthen the colonies by increasing their population and developing their resources4 ,they1 like ourselves1 have had a severe fright1 and know that prompt action is necessary4 ,systematic plans of colonisation should be worked out1 and emigrants drafted off to the ,dominions as work can be found for them4 ,young women should be sent out in sufficient numbers to keep the sexes equal4 ,we know now that our young people who emigrate are by no means lost to the ,empire4 ,the ,dominions have shown that in time of need they are able and willing to defend the mother country with their full strength4 ,indeed1 a young couple who emigrate are likely to be of more value to the ,empire than if they had stayed at home2 and their chances of happiness are much increased if they find a home in a part of the world where more human beings are wanted4 ,but without official advice and help emigration is difficult4 ,parents do not know where to send their sons1 nor what training to give them4 ,mistakes are made1 money is wasted1 and bitter disappointment caused4 ,all this may be obviated if the ,government will take the matter up seriously4 ,the real issue of this war is whether our great colonies are to continue ,british2 and the question will be decided not only on the field of battle1 but by the action of our ,government and people after peace is declared4 ,the next fifty years will decide for all time whether those magnificent and still empty countries are to be the home of great nations speaking our language1 carrying on our institutions1 and valuing our traditions4 ,when the future of our ,dominions is secure1 the part of ,england as a ,world-,power will have been played to a successful issue1 and we may be content with a position more consonant with the small area of these islands4 ,i believe1 then1 that if facilities for migration are given by ,government action1 it will be not only possible but desirable for the increase in the population of the ,empire1 taken as a whole1 to be maintained during the twentieth century4 ,it is1 of course1 possible that chemical discoveries and other scientific improvements may greatly increase the yield of food from the soil1 and that in this way the final limit to the population of the earth may be further off than now seems probable4 ,but within a few centuries1 at most1 this limit must be reached2 and after that we may hope that the world will agree to maintain an equilibrium between births and deaths1 that being the most stable and the happiest condition in which human beings can live together4#bb ,,footnotes3 #aj ,myres1 ,eugenics ,review1 ,april1 #aiae4 #aa ,wilamowitz-,moellendorff1 ,kultur der ,gegenwart1 #b1 #d1 #a4 #ab ,cimon1 ,pericles1 and ,socrates all had three sons1 and apparently no daughters4--,zimmern1 ,the ,greek ,commonwealth1 p4 #cca4 #ac ,cf4 7e4g47 ,plato1 ,theaetetus1 #adi4 #ad ,we may suppose that the disproportion of the sexes1 caused by female infanticide1 was about rectified by the deaths of males in battle and civic strife4 ,we do not hear that the ,greek had any difficulty in finding a wife4 #ae ,families1 he says1 were limited to one or two 'in order to leave these rich4' #af ,the population of ,england and ,wales is said to have been #d1hjj1jjj in #afjj1 and #f1ejj1jjj in #agej4 ,it was #h1hij1jjj in #ahja1 #cb1ecj1jjj in #aija1 and approximately #cg1jjj1jjj in #aiad4 #ag ,statistics are wanting for the early part of the industrial revolution1 but my study of pedigrees leads me to think that the average duration of life was considerably increased in the eighteenth century4 #ah ,the ,family and the ,nation1 p4 #adc4 #ai ,the births per #ajjj married men under fifty-five in the different classes are3--,upper and middle class1 #aai2 ,intermediate1 #acb2 ,skilled workmen1 #aec2 ,intermediate1 #aeh2 ,unskilled workmen1 #bac4 #bj ,it must be remembered that the illegitimate birth-rate in ,berlin is scandalously high4 #ba ,the crude birth-rate of ,ireland is wholly misleading1 because so many young couples emigrate before the birth of their first child4 #bb ,the possible effect of the labour movement in diminishing the population is considered in the next ,essay4 ,the last two years have1 in my opinion1 made the outlook less favourable4 ,,the ,,future ,,of ,,the ,,english ,,race 7,,the ,,galton ,,lecture1 #aiai7 ,in the year #ahij ,sir ,charles ,dilke ended his survey of ',greater ,britain' and its problems with the prediction that 'the world's future belongs to the ,anglo-,saxon1 the ,russian1 and the ,chinese races4' ,this was in the heyday of ,british imperialism1 which was inaugurated by ,seeley's ',expansion of ,england' and ,froude's ',oceana1' and which inspired ,mr4 ,chamberlain to proclaim at ,toronto in #ahhg that the ',anglo-,saxon stock is infallibly destined to be the predominant force in the history and civilisation of the world4' ,it was an arrogant1 but not truculent1 mood1 which reached its climax at the #ahig ,jubilee1 and rapidly declined during and after the ,boer war4 ,these writers and statesmen were utterly blind to the ,german peril1 though the disciples of ,treitschke were already working out a theory about the future destinies of the world1 in which neither ,great ,britain nor ,russia nor ,china counted for very much4 ,there were illusions on both sides of the ,north ,sea1 which had to be paid for in blood4 ,in both countries imperialism was a sentiment curiously compounded of idealism and bombast1 and supported by very doubtful science4 ,in the case of ,germany the distortion of facts was deliberate and monstrous4 ,not only was every schoolboy brought up on cooked population statistics and falsified geography1 but the thick-set1 brachycephalous ,central ,european persuaded himself that he belonged to the pure ,nordic race1 the great blond beasts of ,nietzsche1 which1 as he was taught1 had already produced nearly all the great men in history1 and was now about to claim its proper place as master of the world4 ,political anthropology is no genuine science4 ,race and nationality are catchwords for which rulers find that their subjects are willing to fight1 as they fought for what they called religion four hundred years ago4 ,in reality1 if we want to find a pure race1 we must visit the ,esquimaux1 or the ,fuegians1 or the ,pygmies2 we shall certainly not find one in ,europe4 ,our own imperialists had their illusions too1 and we are not rid of them yet1 because we do not realise that the fate of races is decided1 not in the council-chamber or on the battle-field1 but by the same laws of nature which determine the distribution of the various plants and animals of the world4 ,it may be that by approaching our subject from this side we shall arrive at a more scientific1 if a more chastened1 anticipation of our national future than was acceptable to the enthusiasts of expansion in the last twenty years of ,queen ,victoria's reign4 ,the history of the world shows us that there have been three great human reservoirs which from time to time have burst their banks and flooded neighbouring countries4 ,these are the ,arabian peninsula1 the steppes of ,central ,asia1 and the lands round the ,baltic1 the original home of the ,germanic and ,anglo-,saxon peoples4 ,the invaders in each case were pastoral folk1 who were driven from their homes by over-population1 or drought and famine1 or the pressure of enemies behind them4 ,it is easy for nomads to 'trek1' even for great distances2 and till the discovery of gunpowder they were the most formidable of foes4 ,the ,arabs and ,northern ,europeans have founded great civilisations2 the ,mongol hordes have been an unmitigated curse to humanity4 ,the invaders never kept their blood pure4 ,the famous ,jewish nose is probably ,hittite1 and certainly not ,bedouin4 ,there are no pure ,turks in ,europe1 and the ,hungarians have lost all resemblance to ,mongols4 ,the modern ,germans seem to belong mainly to the round-headed ,alpine race1 which migrated into ,europe in early times from the ,asiatic highlands4 ,in ,england there is a larger proportion of ,nordic blood1 because the ,anglo-,saxons partially exterminated the natives2 but the old ,mediterranean race1 which had made its way up the warm western coasts1 still holds its own in ,cornwall1 ,wales1 ,ireland1 and the ,western ,highlands2 and within the last hundred years1 owing to frequent migrations1 has mixed so thoroughly with the ,anglo-,saxon stock that the ,english are becoming darker in each generation4 ,this is not the result of a racial decay of the blonds1 as the ,american1 ,dr4 ,charles ,woodruff1 supposes1 but is to be accounted for by the fact that dark eyes seem to be a ,mendelian dominant1 and dark hair a more potent character than light4 ,the inhabitants of these islands are nearly all long-headed1 this being a characteristic of both the ,nordic and ,mediterranean races4 ,the round-headed invaders1 who perhaps brought with them the so-called ,celtic languages at a remote period1 and imposed them upon the inhabitants1 seem to have left no other mark upon the population1 though their type of head is prevalent over a great part of ,france4 ,the ability of races to flourish in climates other than their own is a question of supreme importance to historians and statesmen1 and1 it need not be said1 to emigrants4 ,but it is only lately that it has been studied scientifically1 and the results are still tentative4 ,german ethnologists1 of what we may call the dicephalous school1 already referred to1 regard it as one of the tragedies of nature that the noble ,nordic race1 to which they think they belong1 dies out when it penetrates southwards4 ,in accordance with this law1 the yellow-haired ,achans decayed in ,greece1 the ,lombards in ,north ,italy1 the ,vandals in ,spain and ,africa4 ,after a few generations of life in a warm climate the ,aryan stock invariably disappears4 ,we shall show reasons for thinking that this theory is much exaggerated2 but there is undoubtedly some truth in it4 ,it has been found to be impossible for white men to colonise ,india1 ,burma1 tropical ,america1 and ,west ,africa4 ,it has been said that 'there is in ,india no third generation of pure ,english blood4' ,it is notoriously difficult to bring up even one generation of white children in ,india4 ,the ,french cannot maintain themselves without race admixture in ,martinique and ,guadaloupe1 nor the ,dutch in ,java1 though it is said that the expectation of life for a ,european in ,java is as good as in his own country4 ,it seems to be also true that the blond race suffers most in a hot climate4 ,in the ,philippines it was observed that the fair-haired soldiers in the ,american army succumbed most readily to disease4 ,in ,queensland the ,italian colonists are said to stand the heat better than the ,english1 and ,mr4 ,roosevelt1 among other items of good advice which he bestowed so liberally on the ,european nations1 advised us to populate the torrid parts of ,australia with immigrants from the ,latin races4 ,in ,natal the ,english families who are settled in the country are said to be enervated by the climate2 and on the high plateaux of the interior our countrymen find it necessary to pay periodical visits to the coast1 to be unbraced4 ,the early deaths and not infrequent suicides of ,rand magnates may indicate that the air of the ,transvaal is too stimulating for a life of high tension and excitement4 ,there are even signs that the same may be true in a minor degree of the ,united ,states of ,america4 ,both the capitalist and the working man1 if they come of ,english stock1 seem to wear out more quickly than at home2 and the sterility of marriages among the long settled ,american families is so pronounced that it can hardly be due entirely to voluntary restriction of parentage4 ,the effects of an unsuitable climate are especially shown in nervous disorders1 and are therefore likely to tell most heavily on those who engage in intellectual pursuits1 and perhaps on women rather more than on men4 ,the sterilising effects of women's higher education in ,america are incontrovertible1 though this inference is hotly denied in ,england4 ,at ,holyoake ,college it was found that only half the lady graduates afterwards married1 and the average family of those who did marry was less than two children4 ,at ,bryn ,mawr only #dc per cent1 married1 and had #j4hd children each2 the average family per graduate was therefore #j4cg4 ,if it be objected that new immigrants and their children are healthy and vigorous in ,america1 it may be truly answered that the effects of an unfavourable climate are manifested fully only in the third and later generations4 ,the argument may be further supported by the fate of black men who try to settle in ,europe4 ,their strongly pigmented skin1 which seems to protect them from the actinic rays of the tropical sun1 so noxious to ,europeans1 and their broad nostrils1 which inhale a larger number of tubercle bacilli than the narrow nose-slits of the ,northerner1 are disadvantages in a temperate climate4 ,in any case1 of the many thousands of negro servants who lived in ,england in the eighteenth century1 it would be difficult to find a single descendant4 ,but there are other factors in the problem which should make us beware of hasty generalisations4 ,it is obvious that since the ,american ,republic contains many climates in its vast area1 there may be parts of it which are perfectly healthy for ,anglo-,saxons1 and other parts where they cannot live without degenerating4 ,very few athletes1 we are told1 come from south of the fortieth parallel of latitude4 ,but the decline in the birth-rate is most marked in the older colonies1 the ,new ,england ,states1 where for a long period the ,english colonists1 living mainly on the land1 not only throve and developed a singularly virile type of humanity1 but multiplied with almost unexampled rapidity4 ,the same is true not only of the ,french ,canadian farmers1 but of the ,south ,african ,boers1 who rear enormous families in a climate very different from that of ,holland4 ,the inference is that ,europeans living on the land may flourish in any tolerably healthy climate which is not tropical4 ,there are1 in fact1 two other causes besides climate which may prevent immigrants from multiplying in a new country4 ,the first of these is the presence of microbic diseases to which the old inhabitants are wholly or partially immune1 but which find a virgin soil in the bodies of the newcomers4 ,the strongest example is the ,west ,coast of ,africa1 of which ,miss ,mary ,kingsley writes3 ',yet remember1 before you elect to cast your lot with the ,west ,coasters1 that #he per cent1 of them die of fever1 or return home with their health permanently wrecked4 ,also remember that there is no getting acclimatised to the ,coast4 ,there are1 it is true1 a few men out there who1 although they have been resident in ,west ,africa for years1 have never had fever1 but you can count them on the fingers of one hand4' ,there can be no acclimatisation where the weeding out is as drastic as this4 ,either the anopheles mosquito or the ,european must quit4 ,there are parts of tropical ,america where the natives have actually been protected by the malaria1 which keeps the white man at arm's length4 ,but more often the microbe is on the side of the civilised race1 killing off the natives who have not run the gauntlet of town-life4 ,the extreme reluctance of the barbarians who overran the ,roman ,empire to settle in the towns is easily accounted for if1 as is probable1 the towns killed them off whenever they attempted to live in them4 ,the difference is remarkable between the fate of a conquered race which has become accustomed to town-life1 and that of one which has not4 ,there are no 'native quarters' in the towns of any country where the aborigines were nomads or tillers of the soil4 ,to the ,north ,american ,indian1 residence in a town is a sentence of death4 ,the ,american ,indians were accustomed to none of our zymotic diseases except malaria4 ,in the north they were destroyed wholesale by tuberculosis2 in ,mexico and ,peru1 where large towns existed before the conquest1 they fared better4 ,fiji was devastated by measles2 other barbarians by small-pox4 ,negroes have acquired1 through severe natural selection1 a certain degree of immunisation in ,america2 but even now it is said that 'every other negro dies of consumption4' ,there are1 however1 two races1 both long accustomed to town-life under horribly insanitary conditions1 which have shown that they can live in almost any climate4 ,these are the ,jews and the ,chinese4 ,the medieval ,ghetto exterminated all who were not naturally resistant to every form of microbic disease2 the modern ,jew1 though often of poor physique1 is hard to kill4 ,the same may be said of the ,chinaman1 who1 when at home1 lives under conditions which would kill most ,europeans4 ,the other factor1 which is really promoting the gradual disappearance of the ,anglo-,saxons from the ,united ,states1 is of a very different character4 ,the descendants of the old immigrants are on the whole the aristocracy of the country4 ,now it is a law which hardly admits of exceptions1 that aristocracies do not maintain their numbers4 ,the ruling race rules itself out2 nothing fails like success4 ,gibbon has called attention to the extreme respect paid to long descent in the ,roman ,empire1 and to the strange fact that1 in the fourth century1 no ingenuity of pedigree makers could deny that all the great families of the ,republic were extinct1 so that the second-rate plebeian family of the ,anicii1 whose name did appear in the ,fasti1 enjoyed a prestige far greater than that of the ,howards and ,stanleys in this country4 ,our own peerage consists chiefly of parvenus4 ,only six of our noble families1 it is said1 can trace their descent in the male line without a break to the fifteenth century4 ,the peerage of ,sweden tells the same tale4 ,according to ,gallon1 the custom or law of primogeniture1 combined with the habit of marrying heiresses who1 as the last representatives of dwindling families1 tend to be barren1 is mainly responsible for this4 ,additional causes may be the greater danger which the officer-class incurs in war1 and1 in former times1 the executioner's axe4 ,in our own day the reluctance of rich and self-indulgent women to bear children is undoubtedly a factor in the infertility of the leisured class4 ,this brings us naturally to the second part of our discussion--the consideration of the causes which lead to the increase or decrease of population4 ,it is the most important part of our inquiry2 for it is usually assumed that the ,british ,isles will continue to send out colonists in large numbers1 as it did in the last century1 and the hopes of the imperialist that a large part of the world will speak ,english for all time depend on the untested assurance that the swarming-time of our race is not yet over4 ,our starting-point must be that the pressure of population upon the means of subsistence is a constant fact in the human race1 as in every other species of animals and plants4 ,there is no species in which the numbers are not kept down1 far below the natural capacity for increase1 by the limitation of available food4 ,it may not always be easy to trace the connection between the appearance of new lives and the passing away of old1 nor to say whether it is the birth-rate which determines the death-rate1 or the death-rate the birth-rate4 ,but it is well known that1 wherever statistics are kept1 the numbers of births and of deaths rise and fall in nearly parallel lines1 so that the net rate of increase hardly alters at all1 unless some change1 which can easily be traced1 occurs in the habits of the people or in the amount of the food supply4 ,in civilised countries the greater care taken of human life1 and its consequent prolongation1 has reduced the birth-rate1 just as in the higher mammals we find a greatly diminished fertility as compared with the lower1 and a much higher survival-rate among the offspring born4 ,the average duration of life in this country has increased by about one-third in the last sixty years1 and the birth-rate has fallen in almost exactly the same proportion4 ,the position of a nation in the scale of civilisation may almost be gauged by its births and deaths4 ,the order in ,europe1 beginning with the lowest birth-rate1 is ,france1 ,belgium1 ,sweden1 the ,united ,kingdom1 ,switzerland1 ,norway1 ,denmark1 ,holland1 ,germany1 ,spain1 ,austria1 ,italy1 ,hungary1 the ,balkan ,states1 ,russia4 ,the order of death-rates1 again beginning at the bottom1 is ,holland1 ,denmark1 ,norway1 ,sweden1 ,switzerland1 the ,united ,kingdom1 ,belgium1 ,germany1 ,france1 ,italy1 ,austria1 ,serbia1 ,spain1 ,bulgaria1 ,hungary1 ,roumania1 ,russia4 ,these two lists1 as will be seen1 correspond very nearly with the scale of descending civilisation1 the only notable exception being the low position of ,france in the second list4 ,this anomaly is explained by the fact that ,france having a stationary population1 the death-rate in that country corresponds nearly with the mean expectation of life1 whereas in countries where the population is increasing rapidly1 either by excess of births over deaths or by immigration1 the preponderance of young lives brings the death-rate down4 ,we must1 therefore1 be on our guard against supposing that countries with the lowest death-rates are necessarily the most healthy4 ,in ,new ,zealand1 for example1 the death-rate is under #aj per #ajjj1 the lowest in the world2 and though that country is undoubtedly healthy1 no one supposes that the average duration of life in ,new ,zealand is a hundred years4 ,to ascertain whether a nation is long-lived1 we must correct the crude death-rate by taking into account the average age of the population4 ,when this correction has been made1 a low death-rate1 and the low birth-rate which necessarily accompanies it1 is a sign that the doctors are doing their duty by keeping their patients alive4 ,if our physicians desire more maternity cases1 they must make more work for the undertaker4 ,large families almost always mean a high infant mortality2 and it is significant that a twelfth child has a very much poorer chance of survival than a first or second4 ,the agitation for the endowment of motherhood and the reduction of infant mortality is therefore futile1 because1 while other conditions remain the same1 every baby 'saved' sends another baby out of the world or prevents him from coming into it4 ,the number of the people is not determined by philanthropists or even by parents4 ,children will come somehow whenever there is room for them1 and go when there is none4 ,but other conditions do not remain the same1 and it is in these other conditions that we must seek the causes of expansion or contraction in the numbers of a community4 ,at the end of the sixteenth century the population of ,england and ,wales amounted to about five millions1 and a hundred years later to about six4 ,there is no reason to think that under the conditions then existing the country could have supported a larger number4 ,the birth-rate was kept high by the pestilential state of the towns1 and thus the pressure of numbers was less felt than it is now1 since it was possible to have1 though not to rear1 unlimited families4 ,occasionally1 from accidental circumstances1 ,england was for a short time under-populated1 and these were the periods when1 according to ,professor ,thorold ,rogers1 ,archdeacon ,cunningham1 and other authorities1 the labourer was well off4 ,the most striking example was in the half-century after the ,black ,death1 which carried off nearly half the population4 ,wages increased threefold1 and the ,government tried in vain to protect employers by enforcing pre-plague rates4 ,not only were wages high1 but food was so abundant that farmers often gave their men a square meal which was not in the contract4 ,the other period of prosperity for the working man1 according to our authorities1 was the second quarter of the eighteenth century4 ,it has not1 we think1 been noticed that this also followed a temporary set-back in the population4 ,in #afhh the population of ,england and ,wales was #e1ejj1ebj2 in #agaj it was more than a quarter of a million less4 ,the cause of this decline is obscure1 but its effects soon showed themselves in easier conditions of life1 especially for the poor4 ,such periods of under-saturation1 which some new countries are still enjoying1 are necessarily short4 ,population flows in as naturally as water finds its level4 ,it was not till the accession of ,george ,,iii that the increase in our numbers became rapid4 ,no one until then would have thought of singling out the ,englishman as the embodiment of the good apprentice4 ,meteren1 in the sixteenth century1 found our countrymen 'as lazy as ,spaniards'2 most foreigners were struck by our fondness for solid food and strong drink4 ,the industrial revolution came upon us suddenly2 it changed the whole face of the country and the apparent character of the people4 ,in the far future our descendants may look back upon the period in which we are living as a strange episode which disturbed the natural habits of our race4 ,the first impetus was given by the plunder of ,bengal1 which1 after the victories of ,clive1 flowed into the country in a broad stream for about thirty years4 ,this ill-gotten wealth played the same part in stimulating ,english industries as the 'five milliards1' extorted from ,france1 did for ,germany after #ahgj4 ,the half-century which followed was marked by a series of inventions1 which made ,england the workshop of the world4 ,but the basis of our industrial supremacy was1 and is1 our coal4 ,those who are in the habit of comparing the progressiveness of the ,north-,western ,european with the stagnation or decadence of the ,latin races1 forget the fact1 which is obvious when it has once been pointed out1 that the progressive nations are those which happen to have valuable coal fields4 ,countries which have no coal are obliged to import it paying the freight1 or to smelt their iron with charcoal ,this process makes excellent steel--the superiority of ,swedish razors is due to wood-smelting--but it is so wasteful of wood that the ,mediterranean peoples very early in history injured their climate by cutting down their scanty forests1 thereby diminishing their rainfall1 and allowing the soil to be washed off the hillsides4 ,the coasts of the ,mediterranean are1 in consequence1 far less productive than they were two thousand years ago4 ,but in ,england1 when the start was once made1 all circumstances conspired to turn our once beautiful island into a chaos of factories and mean streets1 reeking of smoke1 millionaires1 and paupers4 ,we were no longer able to grow our own food2 but we made masses of goods which the manufacturers ware eager to exchange for it2 and the population grew like crops on a newly-irrigated desert4 ,during the nineteenth century the numbers were nearly quadrupled4 ,let those who think that the population of a country can be increased at will1 reflect whether it is likely that any physical1 moral1 or psychological change came over the nation coincidently with the inventions of the spinning-jenny and the steam-engine4 ,it is too obvious for dispute that it was the possession of capital wanting employment1 and of natural advantages for using it1 that called these multitudes of human beings into existence1 to eat the food which they paid for by their labour4 ,and it should be equally obvious that the existence of forty-six millions of people upon #aba1jjj square miles of territory depends entirely upon our finding a market for our manufactures abroad1 for so only are we able to pay for the food of the people4 ,it is most unfortunate that these exports must1 with our present population1 include coal1 which1 if we had any thought for posterity1 we should guard jealously and use sparingly2 for in five hundred years at the outside our stock will be gone1 and we shall sink to a third-rate ,power at once4 ,we are sacrificing the future in order to provide for an excessive and discontented population in the present4 ,during the present century we have begun to be conscious that our foreign trade is threatened2 and so sensitive is the birth-rate to economic conditions that it has begun to curve very slightly downward in relation to the death-rate1 instead of descending with it in parallel lines4#bc ,this may be partly due to the curtailment of facilities for emigration1 owing to the filling up of the new countries4 ,for emigration does not diminish the population of the country which the emigrants leave2 it only increases its birth-rate4 ,we are now in a position to enumerate the causes which actually lead to an increase in the population of a country4 ,the first is an increase in the amount of food produced in the country itself4 ,if the parks and gardens of the gentry were ploughed up or turned into allotments1 a few hundred thousands would be added to the population of the ,united ,kingdom1 at the cost of one of the few remaining beauties which make our country attractive to the eye4 ,the introduction of the potato into ,ireland added several millions of squalid inhabitants to that ill-conditioned island1 and when the crop failed1 large numbers of them inflicted themselves on the ,united ,states1 to the detriment of that country4 ,the richest countries to-day are those which produce more food than they require1 such as the ,united ,states1 ,canada1 ,australia1 ,roumania1 and the ,argentine4 7,we need hardly say that throughout this survey we are using the statistics of the years immediately before the war47 ,but this state of things cannot last long1 for the net increase in such countries is invariably high1 either by reason of a very high birth-rate1 as in ,roumania1 or because newcomers flock in to enjoy a land of plenty4 ,another condition which leads to abnormally rapid increase is found when a civilised nation conquers and administers a backward country1 introducing better methods of agriculture1 and especially irrigation and the reclamation of waste lands4 ,the alien ,government also gives greater security1 without raising the standard of living among the natives1 since the dominant race usually monopolises the lucrative careers4 ,in this way we are directly responsible for increasing the population of ,egypt from seven millions in #ahhc to nine and three-quarter millions in #ahii1 an augmentation which1 in the absence of immigration1 illustrates the great natural fertility of the human race in the rare circumstances when unchecked increase is possible4 ,still more remarkable is the rise in the population of ,java from five millions in #ahbe to twenty-eight and a half millions in the first decade of this century4 ,the cause of this increase is the augmented supply of food combined with a very low standard of living1 a combination which is specially characteristic of ,asia1 where extreme supersaturation exists in ,india and ,china4 ,a third cause is production of goods which can be exchanged for food grown abroad4 ,this exchange1 as we have seen1 is stimulated by the presence of capital seeking employment4 ,our large towns are the creation of the capitalist1 much more than if he had populated their depressing streets with his own children4 ,fourthly1 a reduction in the standard of living of course makes a larger population possible4 ,the misery of the working class in the generation after the ,napoleonic ,wars was a condition of the prosperity of our export trade at this period2 and conversely1 the prosperity of our export trade was necessary to the existence of the new inhabitants4 ,capitalism is the cause of our dense population2 and the proletariat would infallibly cut their own throats by destroying it4 ,it is an important question whether a crowded population adds to the security of a nation or not4 ,numbers are undoubtedly of great importance in modern warfare4 ,the ,french would have been less able to resist the ,germans without allies in #aiad than they were in #ahgj4 ,but we must not suppose that ,france could support a much larger population without reducing her standard of living to the point of under-deeding2 and an under-fed nation is incapable of the endurance required of first-class soldiers4 ,a nation may be so much weakened in physique by under-feeding as to be impotent from a military point of view1 in spite of great numbers2 this is the case in ,india and ,china4 ,deficient nourishment also diminishes the day's work4 ,if ,european and ,american capital goes to ,china1 and provides proper food for the workmen1 we may have an early opportunity of discovering whether the supporters of the ,league of ,nations have any real conscientious objection to violence and bloodshed4 ,we may surmise that the ,european man1 the fiercest of all beasts of prey1 is not likely to abandon the weapons which have made him the lord and the bully of the planet4 ,he has no other superiority to the races which he arrogantly despises4 ,under a rgime of peace the ,asiatic would probably be his master4 ,to return from a short digression1 we must note further that a nation with a low standard has no reserve to fall back upon2 it lives on the margin of subsistence1 which may easily fail in war-time1 especially if much food is imported when conditions are normal4 ,it can hardly be an accident that in this war the nations with a high birth-rate broke up in the order of their fecundity1 while ,france stood like a rock4 ,the sacrifice of comfort to numbers1 which we have seen to be possible by maintaining a low standard of living1 not only diminishes the happiness of a nation1 and keeps it low in the scale of civilisation2 it may easily prove to be a source of weakness in war4 ,the expedients often advocated to encourage denser population--which those who urge them thoughtlessly assume to be a good thing--such as endowment of parenthood1 and better housing at the expense of the taxpayer--have no effect except to penalise and sterilise those who pay the doles1 for the benefit of those who receive them4 ,they are intensely dysgenic in their operation1 for they cripple and at last eliminate just those stocks which have shown themselves to be above the average in ability4 ,the process has already advanced a long way1 even without the reckless legislation which is now advocated4 ,the lowest birth-rates1 less than half that of the unskilled labourers1 are those of the doctors1 the teaching profession1 and ministers of religion4 ,the position of this class1 intellectually and often physically the finest in the kingdom1 is rapidly becoming intolerable1 and it is the wastrels who mainly benefit by their spoliation4 ,the causes of shrinkage in population are the opposites of those which we have found to promote its increase4 ,the production of food may be diminished by the exhaustion of the soil1 or by the progressive aridity caused by cutting down woods4 ,the manufacture of goods to be exchanged for food may fall off owing to foreign competition1 a result which is likely to follow from a rise in the standard of living1 for the labourer then demands higher wages1 and consumes more food per head1 which of itself must check fertility1 since the same amount of food will now support a smaller number4 ,the delusion shared by the whole working class that they can make work for each other1 at wages fixed by themselves1 is ludicrous2 a community cannot subsist 'by taking in each other's washing4' ,or the supply of importable food may fail by the peopling up of the countries which grow it4 ,any conditions which make it no longer worth while to invest capital in business1 or which destroy credit1 have the same effect4 ,one of the causes of the decay of the ,roman ,empire was the drain of specie to the ,east in exchange for perishable commodities4 ,when trade is declining a general listlessness comes over the industrial world1 and the output falls still further4 ,there have been alleged instances of peoples which have dwindled and even disappeared from taedium vitae4 ,this is said to have been the cause of the extinction of the ,guanches of the ,canary ,islands2 but the symptoms described rather suggest an outbreak of sleeping-sickness4 ,paradoxical as it may seem1 neither voluntary restriction of births1 nor famine1 nor pestilence1 nor war1 has much effect in reducing numbers4 ,birth-control instead of diminishing the population1 may only lower the death-rate4 ,france in #agha1 with a birth-rate of #ci1 had much the same net increase as in the years before the war with a birth-rate of #bj4 ,the parallel lines of the births and deaths in this country have already been mentioned4 ,famine and pestilence are followed at once by an increased number of births4 ,india and ,china1 though frequently ravaged by both these scourges1 remain super-saturated4 ,of course1 if the famine is chronic1 the population must fall to the point where the food is sufficient2 and a zymotic disease which has become endemic may be too strong for the natural fertility of the nation attacked1 as has happened to several barbarous races2 but an invasion of plague1 cholera1 or influenza has no permanent effect on the numbers of ,europeans4 ,war resembles plague in its action upon population4 ,when1 as in the late war1 nearly the whole of the able-bodied men are on active service1 the loss of population caused by cessation of births is greater than all the fatal casualties of the battle-field4 ,a rough calculation gives the result that twelve million lives have been lost to the belligerent nations by the separation of husbands and wives during the war4 ,and yet it may be predicted that these losses1 added to the eight millions or so who have been killed1 would be made good in a very few years but for the destruction of capital and credit which the war has caused4 ,if we study the vital statistics of a country like ,germany1 which has engaged in several severe wars since births and deaths began to be registered1 we shall find that the contour-line representing the fluctuations of the birth-rate indicates a steep ravine in the year or years while the war lasted1 followed by a hump or high table-land for several years after4 ,in a short time1 as far as numbers are concerned1 the war is as if it had never been4 ,when we remember that the number of possible fathers is much reduced by casualties1 this rise in the birth-rate after a war offers a strong confirmation of the thesis which we have been maintaining1 that the ebb and flow of population are not affected by conscious intention1 but by increased or diminished pressure of numbers upon subsistence4 ,if the ,german people1 who before the war consumed more food than was good for them1 have been habituated by our blockade to a reasonable abstemiousness1 we shall have contributed to the eventual increase of the ,german people1 in spite of all their soldiers whom we killed in ,france1 and the civilians whom we starved in ,germany4 ,and if our success leads to a greater consumption by our working class1 our population will show a corresponding decline4 ,emigration1 as we have seen1 does not diminish the home population by a single unit2 and so1 while there are empty lands available for colonisation1 it is by far the best method of adding to the numbers of our race4 ,it should now be possible to form a judgment on the prospects of the ,anglo-,saxon race in various parts of the world4 ,in ,india1 ,burma1 ,new ,guinea1 the ,west ,indian ,islands1 and tropical ,africa there is no possibility of ever planting a healthy ,european population4 ,these dependencies may grow food for us1 or send us articles which we can exchange for food1 but they are not1 and never can be1 colonies of ,anglo-,saxons4 ,the prospects of ,south ,africa are very dubious4 ,the white man is there an aristocrat1 directing semi-servile labour4 ,the white population of the gold and diamond fields will stay there till the mines give out1 and no longer4 ,large tracts of the country may at last be occupied only by ,kaffirs4 ,the ,united ,states of ,america are becoming less ,anglo-,saxon every year1 and this process is likely to continue1 since in unskilled labour the ,italian and the ,pole seem to give better value for their wages than the ,englishman or born ,american1 with his high standard of comfort4 ,in ,canada1 the temperate part of ,australia1 ,new ,zealand1 and ,tasmania the chances for a large and flourishing ,english-speaking population seem to be very favourable1 though in these dominions the high standard of living is a check to population1 and in the case of ,australasia the possibility of foreign conquest1 while these priceless lands are still half empty1 cannot be altogether excluded4 ,even more interesting to most of us is the future of our race at home4 ,as regards quality1 the outlook for the present is bad4 ,we have seen that the destruction of the upper and professional classes by taxation directed expressly against them has already begun1 and this victimisation is certain to become more and more acute1 till these classes are practically extinguished4 ,the old aristocracy showed a tendency to decay even when they were unduly favoured by legislation1 and a little more pressure will drive them to voluntary sterility and extermination4 ,even more to be regretted is the doom of the professional aristocracy1 a caste almost peculiar to our country4 ,these families can often show longer1 and usually much better pedigrees than the peerage2 the persistence of marked ability in many of them1 for several generations1 is the delight of the eugenist4 ,they are perhaps the best specimens of humanity to be found in any country of the world4 ,yet they have no prospects except to be gradually harassed out of existence1 like the curiales of the later ,roman ,empire4 ,the power will apparently be grasped by a new highly privileged class1 the aristocracy of labour4 ,this class1 being intelligent1 energetic1 and intensely selfish1 may retain its domination for a considerable time4 ,it is a matter of course that1 having won its privilege of exploiting the community1 it will use all its efforts to preserve that privilege and to prevent others from sharing it4 ,in other words1 it will become an exclusive and strongly conservative class1 on a broader basis than the territorial and commercial aristocracies which preceded it4 ,it will probably be strong enough to discontinue the system of ,state doles which encourages the wastrel to multiply1 as he does multiply1 much faster than the valuable part of the population4 ,we are at present breeding a large parasitic class subsisting on the taxes and hampering the ,government4 ,the comparative fertility of the lowest class as compared with the better stocks has greatly increased1 and is still increasing4 ,the competent working-class families1 as well as the rich1 are far less fertile than the waste products of our civilisation4 ,dr4 ,tredgold found that #dc couples of the parasitic class averaged #g4d children per family1 while #ia respectable couples from the working class averaged only #c4g per family4 ,mr4 ,sidney ,webb examined the statistics of the ,hearts of ,oak ,benefit ,society1 which is patronised by the best type of mechanic1 and found that the birth-rate among its members has fallen #df per cent1 between #ahha and #aija2 or1 taking the whole period between #ahhj and #aijd1 the falling off is #eb per cent4 ,this decline proves that the period of industrial expansion in ,england is nearly over4 ,it would be far better if our birth-rate were as low as that of ,france1 as it would be but for the reckless propagation of the 'submerged tenth1' ,england being now a paradise for human refuse1 the offscourings of ,europe 7#agj1jjj in #aijh7 take the place of the better stocks1 whose position is made artificially unfavourable4 ,these doles are at present paid by the minority1 and this method may be expected to continue until the looting of the propertied classes comes to an enforced end4 ,this will not take long1 for it is certain that the amount of wealth available for plunder is very much smaller than is usually supposed4 ,it is easy to destroy capital values1 but very difficult to distribute them4 ,the time will soon arrive when the patient sheep will be found to have lost not only his fleece but his skin1 and the privileged workman will then have to choose between taxing himself and abandoning socialism4 ,there is little doubt which he will prefer4 ,the result will be that the festering sore of our slum-population will dry up1 and the gradual disappearance of this element will be some compensation1 from the eugenic point of view1 for the destruction of the intellectual class4 ,this process will considerably1 and beneficially1 diminish the population3 and there are several other factors which will operate in the same direction4 ,high wage industry can only maintain itself against the competition of cheaper labour abroad by introducing every kind of labour-saving device4 ,the number of hands employed in a factory must progressively diminish4 ,and as1 in spite of all that ingenuity can do1 the competition of the cheaper races is certain to cripple our foreign trade1 the trade unions will be obliged to provide for a shrinkage in their numbers4 ,we may expect that every unionist will be allowed to place one son1 and only one1 in the privileged corporation4 ,a man will become a miner or a railwayman 'by patrimony1' and it will be difficult to gain admission to a union in any other way4 ,the position of those who cannot find a place within the privileged circle will be so unhappy that most unionists will take care to have one son only4 ,another change which will tend to discourage families will be the increased employment of women as bread-winners4 ,nothing is more remarkable in the study of vital statistics than the comparative birth-rates of those districts in which women earn wages1 and of those in which they do not4 ,the rate of increase among the miners is as great as that of the reckless casual labourers1 and the obvious reason is that the miner's wife loses nothing by having children1 since she does not earn wages4 ,contrast with these high figures 7running up to #dj per thousand7 the very low birth-rates of towns like ,bradford1 where the women are engaged in the textile industry and earn regular wages in support of the family budget4 ,if the time comes when the majority of women are wage-earners1 we may even see the pressure of population entirely withdrawn4 ,thus in every class of the nation influences are at work tending to a progressive decrease in our national fertility4 ,it must be remembered1 however1 that at present the annual increase1 in peace time1 is #i or #aj per thousand1 so that it may be some time before an equilibrium is reached4 ,but if our predictions are sound1 a positive decrease1 and probably a rapid one1 is likely to follow4 ,for our ability to exchange our manufactures for food will grow steadily less1 as the self-indulgent and 'work-shy' labourer succeeds in gaining his wishes4 ,if the coal begins to give out1 the retreat will become a rout4 ,we are witnessing the decline and fall of the social order which began with the industrial revolution #afj years ago4 ,the cancer of industrialism has begun to mortify1 and the end is in sight4 ,within #bjj years1 it may be--for we must allow for backwashes and cross-currents which will retard the flow of the stream--the hideous new towns which disfigure our landscape may have disappeared1 and their sites may have been reclaimed for the plough4 ,humanitarian legislation1 so far from arresting this movement1 is more likely to accelerate it1 and the same may be said of the insatiate greed of our new masters4 ,it is indeed instructive to observe how cupidity and sentiment1 which 7with pugnacity7 are the only passions which the practical politician needs to consider1 usually defeat their own ends4 ,the working man is sawing at the branch on which he is seated4 ,he may benefit for a time a minority of his own class1 but only by sealing the doom of the rest4 ,a densely populated country1 which is unable to feed itself1 can never be a working-man's paradise1 a land of short hours and high wages4 ,and the sentimentalist1 kind only to be cruel1 unwittingly promotes precisely the results which he most deprecates1 though they are often much more beneficial than his own aims4 ,the evil that he would he does not2 and the good that he would not1 that he sometimes does4 ,for1 much as we must regret the apparently inevitable ruin of the upper and upper middle classes1 to which ,england in the past has owed the major part of her greatness1 we cannot regard the trend of events as an unmixed misfortune4 ,the industrial revolution has no doubt had some beneficial results4 ,it has founded the ,british ,empire1 the most interesting and perhaps the most successful experiment in government on a large scale that the world has yet seen4 ,it has foiled two formidable attempts to place ,europe under the heel of military monarchies4 ,it has brought order and material civilisation to many parts of the world which before were barbarous4 ,but these achievements have been counterbalanced by many evils1 and in any case they have done their work4 ,the aggregation of mankind in large towns is itself a misfortune2 the life of great cities is wholesome neither for body nor for mind4 ,the separation of classes has become more complete2 the country may even be divided into the picturesque counties where money is spent1 and the ugly counties where it is made4 ,except ,london and the sea-ports1 the whole of the ,south of ,england is more or less parasitic4 ,we must add that in the early days of the movement the workman and his children were exploited ruthlessly4 ,it is true that if they had not been exploited they would not have existed2 but a root of bitterness was planted which1 according to what seems to be the law in such cases1 sprang up and bore its poisonous fruit about two generations later4 ,it is a sinister fact that the worst trouble is now made by the youngest men4 ,the large fortunes which were made by the manufacturers were not1 on the whole1 well spent4 ,their luxury was not of a refined type2 literature and art were not intelligently encouraged2 and even science was most inadequately supported4 ,the great achievements of the nineteenth century in science and letters1 and to a less degree in art1 were independent of the industrial world1 and were chiefly the work of that class which is now sinking helplessly under the blows of predatory taxation4 ,capitalism itself has degenerated2 the typical millionaire is no longer the captain of industry1 but the international banker and company promoter4 ,it is more difficult than ever to find any rational justification for the accumulations which are in the hands of a few persons4 ,it is not to be expected that the working class should be less greedy and unscrupulous than the educated2 indeed it is plain that1 now that it realises its power1 it will be even more so4 ,in some ways the national character has stood the strain of these unnatural conditions very well4 ,those who feared that the modern ,englishman would make a poor soldier have had to own that they were entirely wrong4 ,but as long as industrialism continues1 we shall be in a state of thinly disguised civil war4 ,there can be no industrial peace while our urban population remains1 because the large towns are the creation of the system which their inhabitants now want to destroy4 ,they can and will destroy it1 but only by destroying themselves4 ,when the suicidal war is over we shall have a comparatively small population1 living mainly in the country and cultivating the fruits of the earth4 ,it will be more like the ,england of the eighteenth century than the ,england which we know4 ,there will be no very rich men2 and if the birth-rate is regulated there should be no paupers4 ,it will be a far pleasanter age to live in than the present1 and more favourable to the production of great intellectual work1 for life will be more leisurely1 and social conditions more stable4 ,we may hope that some of our best families will determine to survive1 cote que cote1 until these better times arrive4 ,we shall not attempt to prophesy what the political constitution will be4 ,every existing form of government is bad2 and our democracy can hardly survive the two diseases which generally kill democracies--reckless plunder of the national wealth1 and the impotence of the central government in face of revolutionary and predatory sectionalism4 ,meanwhile1 we must understand that although the consideration of mankind in the mass1 and the calculation of tendencies based on figures and averages1 must lead us to somewhat pessimistic and cynical views of human nature1 there is no reason why individuals1 unless they wish to make a career out of politics 7since it is the sad fate of politicians always to deal with human nature at its worst71 should conform themselves to the low standards of the world around them4 ,it is only 'in the loomp' that humanity1 whether poor or rich1 'is bad4' ,there are materials1 though far less abundant than we could wish1 for a spiritual reformation1 which would smooth the transition to a new social order1 and open to us unfailing sources of happiness and inspiration1 which would not only enable us to tide over the period of dissolution1 but might make the whole world our debtor4 ,no nation is better endowed by nature with a faculty for sane idealism than the ,english4 ,we were never intended to be a nation of shopkeepers1 if a shopkeeper is doomed to be merely a shopkeeper1 which of course he is not4 ,our brutal commercialism has been a temporary aberration2 the quintessential ,englishman is not the hero of ,smiles' ',self-help'2 he is ,raleigh1 ,drake1 ,shakespeare1 ,milton1 ,johnson1 or ,wordsworth1 with a pleasant spice of ,dickens4 ,he is1 in a word1 an idealist who has not quite forgotten that he is descended from an independent race of sea-rovers1 accustomed to think and act for themselves4 ,mr4 ,havelock ,ellis1 one of the wisest and most fearless of our prophets to-day1 quotes from an anonymous journalist a prediction which may come true3 ',london may yet be the spiritual capital of the world2 while ,asia--rich in all that gold can buy and guns can give1 lord of lands and bodies1 builder of railways and promulgator of police regulations1 glorious in all material glories--postures1 complacent and obtuse1 before a ,europe content in the possession of all that matters4' ,for1 as the ,greek poet says1 'the soul's wealth is the only real wealth4' ,the spirit creates values1 while the demagogue shrieks to transfer the dead symbols of them4 ',all that matters' is what the world can neither give nor take away4 ,the spiritual integration of society which we desire and behold afar off must be illuminated by the dry light of science1 and warmed by the rays of idealism1 a white light but not cold4 ,and idealism must be compacted as a religion1 for it is the function of religion to prevent the fruits of the flowering-times of the spirit from being lost4 ,science has not yet come to its own in forming the beliefs and practice of mankind1 because it has been so much excluded from higher education1 and so much repressed by sentimentalism under the wing of religion4 ,the nation that first finds a practical reconciliation between science and idealism is likely to take the front place among the peoples of the world4 ,in ,england we have to struggle not only against ignorance1 but against a deep-rooted intellectual insincerity1 which is our worst national fault4 ,the ,englishman hates an idea which he has never met before1 as he hates the disturber of his privacy in a steam-ship cabin2 and he takes opportunities of making things unpleasant for those who utter indiscreet truths4 ,as ,samuel ,butler says3 ',we hold it useful to have a certain number of melancholy examples whose notorious failure shall serve as a warning to those who do not cultivate a power of immoral self-control which shall prevent them from saying1 or even thinking1 anything that shall not be to their immediate and palpable advantage4' ,to do our countrymen justice1 it is often not self-interest1 but a tendency to deal with the concrete instance1 in disregard of the general law1 that blinds them to the larger aspects of great problems4 ,those who are able to trace causes and effects further than the majority must expect to be unpopular1 but they will not mind it1 if they can do good by speaking4 ,the logic of events will justify them1 and science has a new weapon in official statistics which will register at once the disastrous effects upon wealth and trade which the insane theories of the demagogue will bring about4 ,no agitator can explain away ascertained figures2 if we go down hill1 we shall do it with our eyes open4 ,it may be that reactions will be set up which will render the anticipations in this article erroneous4 ,things never turn out either so well or so badly as they logically ought to do4 ,prophecy is only an amusement2 what does concern us all deeply is that we should see in what direction we are now moving4 ,,footnotes3 #bc ,in the small islands round our coast increase has ceased for some decades4 ,the vital statistics of these islands furnish an excellent illustration of automatic adjustment to a state of supersaturation4 ,,bishop ,,gore ,,and ,,the ,,church ,,of ,,england 7#aijh7 ,the strength and the weakness of the ,anglican ,church lie in the fact that it is not the best representative of any well-defined type of ,christianity4 ,it is not strictly a ,protestant body2 for ,protestantism is the democracy of religion1 and the ,church of ,england retains a hierarchical organisation1 with an order of priests who claim a divine commission not conferred upon them by the congregation4 ,it is not a ,state ,church as the ,russian ,empire has#bd a ,state ,church4 ,that is a position which it has neither the will nor the power to regain4 ,still less could it ever justify a claim to separate existence as a purely ,catholic ,church1 independent of the ,church of ,rome4 ,a community of ,catholics whose claim to be a ,catholic and not a ,protestant ,church is denied by all other ,catholics1 by all ,protestants1 and by all who are neither ,catholics nor ,protestants1 could not long retain sufficient prestige to keep its adherents together4 ,the destiny of such a body is written in the history of the ',old ,catholics1' who seceded from ,rome because they would not accept the dogma of ,papal infallibility4 ,the seceders included many men of high character and intellect1 but in numbers and influence they are quite insignificant4 ,the ,church of ,england has only one title to exist1 and it is a strong one4 ,it may claim to represent the religion of the ,english people as no other body can represent it4 ',no ,church1' ,dllinger wrote in #ahgb1 'is so national1 so deeply rooted in popular affection1 so bound up with the institutions and manners of the country1 or so powerful in its influence on national character4' ,these words are still partly true1 though it is not possible to make the assertion with so much confidence as when ,dllinger wrote4 ,the ,english ,church represents1 on the religious side1 the convictions1 tastes1 and prejudices of the ,english gentleman1 that truly national ideal of character1 which has long since lost its adventitious connexion with heraldry and property in land4 ,a love of order1 seemliness1 and good taste has led the ,anglican ,church along a middle path between what a seventeenth-century divine called 'the meretricious gaudiness of the ,church of ,rome and the squalid sluttery of fanatic conventicles4' ,a keen sense of honour and respect for personal uprightness1 a hatred of cruelty and treachery1 created and long maintained in the ,english ,church an intense repugnance against the priestcraft of the ,roman hierarchy1 feelings which have only died down because the bitter memories of the sixteenth century have at last become dim4 ,a jealous love of liberty1 combined with contempt for theories of equality1 produced a system of graduated ranks in ,church government which left a large measure of freedom1 both in speech and thought1 even to the clergy1 and encouraged no respect for what ,catholics mean by authority4 ,the ,anglican ,church is also characteristically ,english in its dislike for logic and intellectual consistency and in its distrust of undisciplined emotionalism1 which in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries was known and dreaded under the name of 'enthusiasm4' ,this type is not essentially aristocratic4 ,it does not traverse the higher ideals of the working class1 which respects and admires the qualities of the 'gentleman1' though it resents the privileges long connected with the name4 ,but it has no attraction for what may be impolitely called the vulgar class1 whose religious feelings find a natural vent in an unctuous emotionalism and sentimental humanitarianism4 ,this class1 which forms the backbone of ,dissent and ,liberalism1 is instinctively antipathetic to ,anglicanism4 ,nor does the ,anglican type of ,christianity appeal at all to the ',celtic fringe1' whose temperament is curiously opposite to that of the ,english1 not only in religion but in most other matters4 ,the ,irish and the ,welsh are no more likely to become ,anglicans than the lowland ,scotch are to adopt ,roman ,catholicism4 ,whether ,dissent is a permanent necessity in ,england is a more difficult question1 in spite of the class differences of temperament above mentioned4 ,if the ,anglican organisation were elastic enough to permit the order of lay-readers to be developed on strongly ,evangelical lines1 the lower middle class might find within the ,church the mental food which it now seeks in ,nonconformist chapels1 and might gain in breadth and dignity by belonging once more to a great historic body4 ,the ,church of ,england1 then1 can justify its existence as ,english ,christianity1 and in no other way4 ,it began its separate career with a series of 7doubtless7 illogical compromises1 in the belief that there is an underlying unity1 though not uniformity1 in the religion as well as in the character of the ,english people1 which would be strong enough to hold a national ,church together4 ,the dissenters from the ,reformation settlement were numerically insignificant1 and their existence was not regarded as a peril to the ,church1 for it was recognised that in a free country absolute agreement cannot be secured4 ,the ,roman ,catholics1 after some futile persecution1 were allowed to remain loyal to their old allegiance in spiritual matters1 while the ,independents and similar bodies were anarchical on principle1 and upheld the 'dissidence of ,dissent' as a thing desirable in itself4 ,but the defection of the ,wesleyan ,methodists was another matter4 ,this was a blow to the ,church of ,england as irreparable as the loss of ,northern ,europe to the ,papacy4 ,it finally upset the balance of parties in the ,church1 by detaching from it the larger number of the ,evangelicals1 particularly in the tradesman class4 ,it gave a great stimulus to ,nonconformity1 which now became for the first time an important factor in the national life4 ,till the ,wesleyan secession1 the ,nonconformists in ,england had been a feeble folk4 ,from a return made to the ,crown in #agjj1 it appeared that the ,dissenters numbered about one in twenty of the population4 ,now they are as numerous as the ,anglicans4 ,their prestige has also been largely augmented by their dominating position in the ,united ,states1 where the ,episcopal ,church1 long viewed with disfavour as tainted with ,british sympathies1 has never recovered its lost ground1 and is a comparatively small1 though wealthy and influential sect4 ,within the ,anglican communion1 the inevitable religious revival of the nineteenth century began on ,evangelical lines1 but soon took a form determined by other influences than those which covered ,england with the ostentatiously hideous chapels of the ,wesleyans4 ,the extent of the revival has indeed been much exaggerated by the numerous apologists of the ,catholic movement4 ,the undoubted increase of professional zeal1 activity1 and efficiency among the clergy has been taken as proof of a corresponding access of enthusiasm among the laity1 for which there is not much evidence4 ,in spite of slovenly services and an easy standard of clerical duty1 the observances of religion held a larger place in the average ,english home before the ,oxford ,movement than is often supposed1 larger1 indeed1 than they do now1 when family prayers and ,bible reading have been abandoned in most households4 ,the ,oxford ,movement claimed to be1 and was1 a revival of the principles of ,anglo-,catholicism1 which had not been left without witness for any long period since the ,reformation4 ,the continuity is certain1 as is the continuity of the ,ritualism of our day with the ,tractarianism of seventy years ago2 but the development has been rapid1 especially in the last thirty years4 ,those who can remember the ,high ,churchmen of ,pusey's generation1 or their disciples who in many country parsonages preserved the faith of their ,tractarian teachers whole and undefiled1 must be struck by the divergence between the principles which they then heard passionately maintained1 and those which the younger generation1 who use their name and enjoy their credit1 avow to be their own4 ,in the ,tractarians the ,nonjurors seemed to have come to life again1 and one might easily find enthusiastic ,jacobites among them4 ,unlike their successors1 they showed no sympathy with political ,radicalism4 ,their love for and loyalty to the ,english ,church1 which found melodious expression in ,keble's poetry1 were intense4 ,they were not hostile to ,evangelicalism within the ,church1 until the ultra-,protestant party declared war against them2 but they viewed ,dissent with scorn and abhorrence4 ,they would gladly have excluded ,nonconformists from any status in the ,universities1 and opposed any measures intended to conciliate their prejudices or remove their disabilities4 ,archdeacon ,denison1 in his sturdy opposition to the 'conscience clause' in ,church schools1 was a typical representative of the old ,high ,church party4 ,but still more bitter was their animosity against religious ,liberalism4 ,even after the feud with the ,evangelicals had developed into open war1 ,pusey was ready to join with ,lord ,shaftesbury and his party in united anathemas against the authors of ',essays and ,reviews4' ,the beginnings of ,old ,testament criticism evoked an outburst of fury almost unparalleled4 ,when ,bishop ,gray1 of ,cape ,town1 solemnly 'excommunicated' ,bishop ,colenso1 of ,natal1 and enjoined the faithful to 'treat him as a heathen man and a publican1' for exposing the unhistorical character of portions of the ,pentateuch1 he became a hero with the whole ,high ,church party1 and even the more liberal among the bishops were cowed by the tempest of feeling which the case aroused4 ,in the same period1 many ,oxford men can remember ,bishop ,wilberforce's attack upon ,darwinism1 and1 somewhat later1 ,dean ,burgon's ,university sermon which ended with the stirring peroration3 ,leave me my ancestors in ,paradise1 and ,i leave you yours in the ,zoological ,gardens6' ,from the same pulpit ,liddon1 a little before his death1 uttered a pathetic remonstrance against the course which his younger disciples were taking about inspiration and tradition4 ,reverence for tradition was a very prominent feature in the theology of the older generation4 ,they spent an immense amount of time1 learning1 and ingenuity in establishing a catena of patristic and orthodox authority for their principles1 reaching back to the earliest times1 and handed down in this country by a series of ,anglo-,catholic divines4 ,this unbroken tradition was conceived of as purely static1 a 'mechanical unpacking1' as ,father ,tyrrell puts it1 of the doctrine once delivered to the ,apostles4 ,the ,church1 according to their theory1 was supernaturally guided by the ,holy ,ghost1 and its decisions were consequently infallible1 as long as the ,church remained undivided4 ,thus the earlier ,general ,councils1 before the schism between ,east and ,west1 may not be appealed against1 and the ,creeds drawn up by them can never be revised4 ,since the great schism1 the infallible inspiration of the ,church has been in abeyance1 like an old ,english peerage when a peer leaves two or more daughters and no sons4 ,this fantastic theory condemns all later developments1 and leaves the ,church under the weight of the dead hand4 ,on the question of the ,establishment the party was divided1 some of its members attaching great value to the union of ,church and ,state1 while others made claims for the ,church1 in the matter of self-government1 which were hardly compatible with ,establishment4 ,their bond of union was their conviction of 'the necessity of impressing on people that the ,church was more than a merely human institution2 that it had privileges1 sacraments1 a ministry1 ordained by ,christ ,himself2 that it was a matter of highest obligation to remain united to the ,church4'#be ,as compared with their successors1 the ,tractarians were academic and learned2 they preached thoughtful and carefully prepared sermons2 they cared little for ecclesiastical millinery1 and often acquiesced in very simple and 'backward' ceremonial4 ,their theory of the ,church1 their personal piety and self-discipline1 were of a thoroughly medieval type1 as may be seen from certain chapters in the life of ,pusey4 ,they fought the battle of ,anglo-,catholicism1 at ,oxford and elsewhere1 with a whole-hearted conviction that knew no misgivings or scruples4 ,oxford has not forgotten the election1 as late as #ahfb1 of an orthodox naval officer to a chair of history for which ,freeman was a candidate4 ,a change of tone was already noticeable1 according to ,dean ,church1 soon after ,newman's secession4 ,many ,high ,churchmen1 in speaking of the ,english ,church1 became apologetic or patronising or lukewarm4 ,progressive members of the party professed a distaste for the name ,anglican1 and wished to be styled ,catholics pure and simple4 ,the same men began to speak of their opponents in the ,church as ,protestants2 no longer as ultra-,protestants4 ,other changes soon manifested themselves4 ,the archaeological side of the movement lost its interest2 the appeal to antiquity became only a convenient argument to defend practices adopted on quite other grounds4 ,the epigoni of the ,catholic revival are not learned2 they know even less of the ,fathers than of their ,bibles4 ,their chief literature consists of a weekly penny newspaper1 which reflects only too well their prejudices and aspirations4 ,on the other hand1 they are far busier than the older generation4 ,the movement has become democratic2 it has passed from the quadrangles of ,oxford to the streets and lanes of our great cities1 where hundreds of devoted clergymen are working zealously1 without care for remuneration or thought of recognition1 among the poorest of the populace4 ,of late years1 the more energetic section of the party has not only abandoned the ',church and ,king' ,toryism of the old ,high ,church party1 but has plunged into socialism4 ,the ,mirfield community is said to be strongly imbued with collectivist ideas2 and the ,christian ,social ,union1 which is chiefly supported by ,high ,churchmen1 tends to become more and more a ,union of ,christian ,socialists1 instead of being1 as was intended by its founders1 a non-political association for the study of social duties and problems in the light of the ,sermon on the ,mount4 ,this attitude is partly the result of a close acquaintance with the sufferings of the urban proletariat1 which moves the priests who minister among them to a generous sympathy with their lot2 and1 partly1 it may be1 to an unavowed calculation that an alliance with the most rapidly growing political party may in time to come be useful to the ,church4 ,their methods of teaching are also more democratic1 though many of them make the fatal mistake of despising preaching4 ,they rely partly on what they call 'definite ,catholic teaching1' including frequent exhortations to the practice of confession2 and partly on appeals to the eye1 by symbolic ritual and elaborate ceremonial4 ,their more ornate services are often admirably performed from a spectacular point of view1 and are far superior to most ,roman ,catholic functions in reverence1 beauty1 and good taste4 ,the extreme section of the party is contemptuously lawless1 not only repudiating the authority of the ,judicial ,committee of the ,privy ,council1 but flouting the bishops with studied insolence4 ,a glaring instance is to be found in the correspondence between ,mr4 ,athelstan ,riley and the ,bishop of ,oxford1 which followed the ,report of the ,royal ,commission on ritual practices4 ,doctrinally1 the modern ,ritualist is prepared to surrender the old theory of inspiration4 ,he takes1 indeed1 but little interest in the ,bible2 his oracle is not the ,book1 but 'the ,church4' ,what he means by the ,church it is not easy to say4 ,the old ,anglican theory of the infallible undivided ,church is not repudiated by him1 but does not appeal to minds which look forward much more than backward2 he is not yet1 except in a few instances1 disposed to accept the modern ,roman ,church as the arbiter of doctrine2 and the ,english ,church has no living voice to which he pays the slightest respect4 ,the 'tradition of ,western ,catholicism' is a phrase which has a meaning for him1 and he probably hopes for a reunion1 at some distant date1 of the ,anglican ,church with a reformed ,rome4 ,it is therefore essential1 in his opinion1 that no alteration shall take place in the formularies which we share with ,rome2 the ,bible may be thrown to the critics1 but the ,creeds are inviolable4 ,the ,thirty-nine ,articles he passes by with silent disdain4 ,they are1 he thinks not unjustly1 a document to which no one1 ,high1 ,low1 or ,broad1 can now subscribe without mental reservations4 ,the theory of development in doctrine1 which1 in its latest application by ',modernists' like ,loisy and ,tyrell1 is now agitating the ,roman ,church1 is exciting interest in a few of the more thoughtful ,anglo-,catholics2 but the majority are blind to the difficulties for which the theory of two kinds of truth is a desperate remedy4 ,nor is it likely1 perhaps1 that the plain ,englishman will ever allow that an ostensibly historical proposition may be false as a matter of fact1 but true for faith4 ,this party in the ,church has a lay ,pope1 who represents the opinions of the more enterprising among the rank and file1 and is president of their society1 the ,english ,church ,union4 ,it has the ably conducted weekly newspaper above referred to1 and it has the general sympathy and support of the strongest man in the ,english ,church1 ,charles ,gore1 ,bishop of ,birmingham4 ,this prelate1 partly by his personal qualities--his eloquence1 high-minded disinterestedness1 and splendid generosity1 and partly by knowing exactly what he wants1 and having full courage of his opinions1 has at present an influence in the ,anglican ,church which is probably far greater than that of any other man4 ,it is therefore a matter of public interest to ascertain what his views and intentions are1 as an ecclesiastical statesman and reformer1 and as a theologian4 ,bishop ,gore exercised a strong influence over the younger men at ,oxford before the publication of ',lux ,mundi4' ,but it was his editorship of this book1 and his contribution to it1 which first brought his name into prominence as a leader of religious thought4 ,the religious public1 with rather more penetration than usual1 fastened on the pages about inspiration1 and the limitations of ,christ's human knowledge1 which are from the editor's own pen1 as the most significant part of the book4 ,the authors are believed to have been annoyed by the disproportionate attention paid to this short section4 ,but in truth these pages indicated a new departure among the ,high ,church party1 a change more important than the acceptance of the doctrine of evolution1 which was being made smoother for the religious public by the brilliant writings of ,aubrey ,moore4 ,the acceptance of the verdict of modern criticism as to the authorship of the #aajth ,psalm1 in the face of the recorded testimony of ,christ that it was written by ,david1 was a concession to ',modernism' which staggered the old-fashioned ,high ,churchman4 ,liddon did not conceal his distress that such doctrine should have come out of the ,pusey ,house4 ,but the manifesto was well timed2 it enabled the younger men to go forward more freely1 and sacrificed nothing that was in any way essential to the ,anglo-,catholic position4 ,since the appearance of ',lux ,mundi1' the ,high ,church clergy have been able without fear to avow their belief in the scientific theories associated with ,darwin's name1 and their rejection of the rigid doctrine of verbal inspiration1 while the ,evangelicals1 who have not been emancipated by their leaders1 labour under the reproach of extreme obscurantism in their attitude towards ,biblical studies4 ,as ,canon of ,westminster1 and then as ,bishop of ,worcester1 and of ,birmingham1 ,dr4 ,gore has written and spoken much1 and has defined his position more closely in relation to ,anglo-,catholicism1 to ,church ,reform1 and to the social question4 ,it will be convenient to take these three heads separately4 ,this ,bishop regards the excesses of the ,ritualists as a deplorable but probably inevitable incident in a great movement4 ,he quotes ,newman's remonstrance against some hot-headed members of his adopted ,church1 who1 'having done their best to set the house on fire1 leave to others the task of extinguishing the flames4'#bf ,but he reminds us that there has always been 'intemperate zeal' in the ,church1 from the time of ,st4 ,paul's letters to the ,church at ,corinth to our own day4 ',it must needs be that offences come1' wherever persons of limited wisdom are very much in earnest4 ,the remedy for extravagance is to give fair scope for the legitimate principle4 ,in the case of the so-called ,ritualist movement1 the inspiring principle or motive is easily found4 ,it is the idea of a visible ,church1 exercising lawful authority over its members4 ,this is the key to ,bishop ,gore's whole position4 ,it rests on the conviction that ,jesus ,christ founded1 and meant to found1 a visible ,church1 an organised society4 ,it is reasonable1 the ,bishop says1 to suppose that ,he did intend this1 for it is only by becoming embodied in the convictions of a society1 and informing its actions1 that ideas have reality and power4 ,christianity could never have lived if there had been no ,christian ,church4 ,and1 from the first1 ,christians believed that this society1 the ,catholic ,church1 was not left to organise itself on any model which from time to time might seem to promise the best results1 but was instituted from above1 as a ,divine ordinance1 by the authority of ,christ ,himself4#bg ,the witness of the early ,christian writers is unanimous that the conception of a visible ,church was a prominent feature in the ,christianity of the sub-apostolic age1 and it is plain that the civil power suspected the ,christians just because they were so well organised4 ,the ,roman ,empire was accustomed to tolerate superstitions1 but it was part of her policy to repress collegia illicita4 ,the witness of the ,new ,testament points in the same direction4 ,jesus ,christ committed ,his message1 not to writing1 but to a 'little flock' of devoted adherents4 ,he instituted the two great sacraments 7,bishop ,gore will admit no uncertainty on this point7 to be a token of membership and a bond of brotherhood4 ,he instituted a civitas ,dei which was to be wide enough to embrace all1 but which makes for itself an exclusive claim4 ,the 'heaven' of the first century was a city1 a new ,jerusalem2 ,christians are spoken of by ,st4 ,paul as citizens of a heavenly commonwealth4 ,the distinction between the universal invisible ,church and particular visible ,churches is 'utterly unscriptural1' and was overthrown long ago by ,william ,law in his controversy with ,hoadly4 ,as for the ',apostolical ,succession1' ,dr4 ,gore thinks that its principle is more important than the form in which it is embodied4 ,the succession would not be broken if all the presbyters in the ,church governed as a college of bishops2 and if something of this kind actually happened for a time in the early ,church no argument against the ,apostolical ,succession can be based thereon4#bh ,the principle is that no ministry is valid which is assumed1 which a man takes upon himself1 or which is delegated to him from below4 ,that this theory is ,sacerdotalism in a sense may be admitted4 ,but it does not imply a vicarious priesthood1 only a representative one4 ,it does not deny the priesthood which belongs to the ,church as a whole4 ,the true sacerdotalism means that ,christianity is the life of an organised society1 in which a graduated body of ordained ministers is made the instrument of unity4 ,it is no doubt true that in such a ,church unspiritual men are made to mediate spiritual gifts1 but happily we may distinguish character and office4 ,nor must we be deterred from asserting our convictions by the indignant protests which we are sure to hear1 that we are 'unchurching' the non-episcopal bodies1#bi ,we do not assert that ,god is tied to ,his covenant1 but only that we are so4 ,dr4 ,gore has no difficulty in proving that the sacerdotal theory of the ,christian ministry took shape at an early date1 and has been consistently maintained in the ,catholic ,church from ancient times to our own day4 ,it is much more difficult to trace it back to the ,apostolic age1 even if1 with ,dr4 ,gore1 we accept as certain the ,pauline authorship of the ,pastoral ,epistles1 which is still sub judice4 ,the ',didache' is a stumbling-block to those who wish to find ,catholic practice in the century after our ,lord's death2 but that document is dismissed as composed by a ,jewish ,christian for a ,jewish ,christian community4 ,after the second century1 the apologists for the priesthood are in smooth waters4 ,the conclusion is that 'the various presbyterian and congregationalist organisations1 in dispensing with the episcopal succession1 violated a fundamental law of the ,church's life4'#cj ',a ministry not episcopally received is invalid1 that is to say1 it falls outside the conditions of covenanted security1 and cannot justify its existence in terms of the covenant4'#ca ,the ,anglican ,church is not asking for the cause to be decided all her own way2 for she has much to do to recall herself to her true principles4 ',god's promise to ,judah was that she should remember her ways and should be ashamed1 when she should receive her sisters ,samaria and ,sodom1 and that ,he would give them to her for daughters1 but not by her covenant4'#cb ,the 'covenant' which the ,church is to be content to forgo in order to recover ,samaria and ,sodom 7the ',free ,churches' can hardly be expected to relish this method of opening negotiations7 is apparently the covenant between ,church and ,state4 ',in the future the ,anglican ,church must be content to act as1 first of all1 part and parcel of the ,catholic ,church1 ruled by her laws1 empowered by her spirit4' ,the bishops are to be ready to maintain1 at all cost1 the inherent spiritual independence which belongs to their office4 ,such a theory of the essentials of a true ,church necessarily requires1 as a corollary1 a refutation of the ,roman ,catholic theory of orders1 which reduces the ,anglican clergy to the same level as the ministers of schismatical sects4 ,bishop ,gore answers the objection that the ,roman ,church is the logical expression of his theory of the ministry1 by saying that ,roman ,catholicism is not the development of the whole of the ,church1 but only of a part of it2 and moreover1 that spiritually it does not represent the whole of ,christianity as it finds expression in the first ,christian age or in the ,new ,testament4#cc ,the ,roman ,church is a one-sided outgrowth of the religion of ,christ--a development of those qualities in ,christianity with which the ,latin genius has special affinity4 ,it has committed itself to unhistorical doctrines1 involving a deficient appreciation of the intellectual and moral claim of truth to be valued for its own sake no less than for its results4 ,much of its teaching can only be explained as the result of an 'over-reckless accommodation to the unregenerate natural instincts in religion4'#cd ,the fact that the largest section of ,christendom has become what ,rome now is1 is no proof that theirs is the line of true development4 ,we can see this clearly enough if we consider the case of ,buddhism4 ,the main existing developments of ,buddhism are a mere travesty of the spirit of ,sakya ,muni4#ce ,in this way ,dr4 ,gore anticipates and rejects the argument since then put forward by ,loisy1 and other ,liberal ,catholic apologists1 that history has proved ,roman ,catholicism to be the proper development of ,christ's religion4 ,in short1 the ,anglican ,church1 which indisputably possesses the ,apostolic ,succession1 has no reason to go humbly to ,borne to obtain recognition of her ,orders4 ,so far1 in reviewing ,bishop ,gore's published opinions1 we are on familiar ,high ,anglican ground4 ,but what is the ,bishop's seat of authority in doctrine8 ,he has shown himself willing1 within limits1 to apply critical methods to ,holy ,scripture4 ,he has very little respect for the infallible ,pope4 ,and he would be the last to trust to private judgment--the testimonium ,spiritus ,sancti as understood by some ,protestants4 ,where1 then1 is the ultimate ,court of ,appeal8 ,bishop ,gore finds it in the two earliest of the three ,creeds1 'in which ,catholic consent is especially expressed2' and in a half apologetic manner he adds that this ,catholic basis has been 'generally understood' to imply 'an unrealisable but not therefore unreal appeal to a ,general ,council4'#cf ,no revision1 therefore1 of the ,church's doctrinal formularies can be made except by the authority of a court which can never1 by any possibility1 be summoned6 ,the unique sanctity and obligation which ,bishop ,gore considers to attach to the ,creeds have been asserted by him again and again with a vehemence which proves that he regards the matter as of vital importance4 ',there must be no compromise as regards the ,creeds4444 ,if those who live in an atmosphere of intellectual criticism become incapable of such sincere public profession of belief as the ,creed contains1 the ,church must look to recruit her ministry from classes still capable of a more simple and unhesitating faith4'#cg ,and1 again1 in his most recent book3 ',i have taken occasion before now to make it evident that1 as far as ,i can secure it1 ,i will admit no one into this diocese1 or into ,holy ,orders1 to minister for the congregation1 who does not ex animo believe the ,creeds4'#ch ,dr4 ,gore has not spared to stigmatise as morally dishonest those who desire to serve the ,church as its ministers while harbouring doubts about the physical miracle known as the ,virgin ,birth1 and one of his clergy was a few years ago induced to resign his living by an aspersion of this kind1 to which the ,bishop gave publicity in the daily press4 ,now it has been generally supposed that the ,anglican clergy are bound to declare their adhesion not only to the ,creeds1 but to the ,thirty-nine ,articles1 and to the infallible truth of ,holy ,scripture4 ,bishop ,gore1 however1 holds that when a new deacon1 on the day of his ordination1 solemnly declares that he 'assents to the ,thirty-nine ,articles1' and that he 'believes the doctrine therein set forth to be agreeable to the word of ,god1' he 'can no longer fairly be regarded as bound to particular phrases or expressions in the ,articles4'#ci ,and further1 when the same new deacon expresses his 'unfeigned belief in all the canonical ,scriptures of the ,old and ,new ,testaments1' 'that expression of belief can be fairly and justly made by anyone who believes heartily that the ,bible1 as a whole1 records and contains the message of ,god to man in all its stages of delivery and that each one of the books contains some element or aspect of this revelation4'#dj ,the ,bishop himself has affirmed his personal belief that some narratives in the ,old ,testament are probably not historical4 ,it may fairly be asked on what principle he is prepared to evade the plain sense and intention of a doctrinal test in two cases while stigmatising as morally flagitious any attempts to do the same in a third4 ,for it is unquestionable that a general assent to the ,articles does not mean that the man who gives that assent is free to repudiate any 'particular phrases or expressions' which do not please him4 ,a witness who admitted having signed an affidavit with this intention would cut a poor figure in a law court4 ,and it is difficult to see how adhesion to the antiquated theory of inspiration could be demanded more stringently than by the form of words which was drawn up1 as none can doubt1 to secure it4 ,these things being so1 either the accusation of bad faith applies to the treatment which the ,bishop justifies in the case of the ,articles and the ,bible1 or it should not be brought against those who apply to one clause in their vows the principle which is admitted and used in two others4 ,there are some honourable men who have abstained from entering the service of the ,church on account of these requirements4 ,but there are many others who recognise that knowledge grows and opinions change1 while formularies for the most part remain unaltered2 and who consider that1 so long as their general position is understood by those among whom they work1 it would be overscrupulous to refuse an inward call to the ministry because they know that they will be asked to give a formal assent to unsuitably worded tests drawn up three centuries ago4 ,dr4 ,gore himself would probably have been refused ordination fifty years ago on the ground of his lax views on inspiration2 and the ,bishops who approved of the condemnation of ,colenso1 who condemned ',essays and ,reviews1' and who would have condemned ',lux ,mundi1' were more 'honest' to the tests than their successors4 ,but an obstinate persistence in that kind of honesty would have excluded from the ministry all except fools1 liars1 and bigots4 ,again1 it might have been supposed that the laity also1 who at their baptism and confirmation made the same declaration of belief in 'all the articles' of the ,apostles' ,creed1 and who are bidden by the ,church to repeat the same ,creed every week1 are in the same position as the clergy4 ,but the ,bishop again attempts to draw a distinction4 ',the responsibility of joining in the ,creed is left to the conscience of the layman1' but not to the conscience of the clergyman1 nor1 we suppose1 of the choir4#da ,this plea seems to us a very lame one4 ,the ,church of ,england has never thought of imposing severer doctrinal tests on the clergy than on the laity1 and assent to the ,creeds is as integral a part of the baptismal as of the ordination vows4 ,no loyal ,christian wishes to impugn a doctrine which touches so closely the life of the ,redeemer as the account of ,his miraculous conception1 which appears1 in our texts1 in two books of the ,new ,testament4 ,if the tradition is as old as the ,church1 which is very doubtful1 it must1 from the nature of the case1 rest on the unsupported assertion of ,mary1 the mother of ,jesus2 for ,joseph could only testify that the child was not his4 ,it is therefore useless to reinforce the ,gospel narrative by appealing to ',catholic tradition1'#db as if it could add anything to the evidence4 ,it is significant1 however1 of the ,bishop's own feelings about tradition1 that he quietly sets aside the plain statement of the ,synoptic ,gospels that ,joseph and ,mary had a large family of four sons and more than one daughter by their marriage4 ,this statement1 which is doubtless historical1 became intolerable to the conscience of the ,church during the long frenzy of asceticism1 when marital relations were regarded as impure and degrading2 and in consequence the perpetual virginity of ,mary1 though contradicted in the ,new ,testament1 became as much an article of faith as her conception of ,jesus by the ,holy ,ghost4 ,we have no wish to criticise the arguments for the ,virgin ,birth which ,dr4 ,gore has collected in his ',dissertations4' ,but when a strenuous effort is made to exclude from the ministry of the ,church all who cannot declare ex animo that they believe it to be a certain historical fact1 it becomes a duty to point out that1 on ordinary principles of evidence1 the story must share the uncertainty which hangs over other strange and unsupported narratives4 ,the ,bishop expresses his doubt whether those who regard this miracle as unproven can be convinced of the ,divinity of ,christ4 ,this only shows how difficult it is for an ecclesiastic in his high position to induce either clergy or laity to talk frankly to him4 ,to most educated men there would be no difficulty in believing that the ,son of ,god became incarnate through the agency of two earthly parents4 ,the analogy of hybrids in the animal world is not felt to apply to the union of the human and divine natures1 except by persons of very low intelligence4 ,we should have preferred to be silent on this delicate subject1 but for the fact that some men whom the ,church can ill spare have been advised officially not to apply for ordination1 on account of their views about this miracle4 ,fortunately1 the practice of demanding more specific declarations than the law requires has not been adopted in most dioceses4 ,the question of the miraculous element in religious truth has indeed reached an acute stage4 ,the ,catholic doctrine is and always has been that there are two 'orders'--the natural and the supernatural--on the same plane1 and distinguishable from each other4 ,the ,catholic theologian is prepared to define what occurrences in the lives of the ,saints are natural1 and what supernatural4 ,miracles are of frequent occurrence1 and are established by ordinary evidence4 ,three miracles have to be placed to the credit of each candidate for canonisation before he or she is entitled to bear the title of saint1 and the evidence for these miracles is sifted by a commission4 ,this theory has been practically abandoned in the ,english ,church4 ,there are few among our ecclesiastics and theologians who would spend five minutes in investigating any alleged supernatural occurrence in our own time4 ,it would be assumed that1 if true1 it must be ascribed to some obscure natural cause4 ,the result is that the miracles in the ,creeds1 or in the ,new ,testament1 are isolated as they have never been before4 ,they seem to form an order by themselves1 a class of fact belonging neither to the world of phenomena as we know it1 nor to the world of spirit as we know it4 ,from this situation has arisen the tendency1 increasingly prevalent both in the ,roman ,church and in ,protestant ,germany1 to distinguish 'truths of faith' from 'truths of fact1' ,the former1 it is said1 have a representative1 symbolic character1 and are only degraded by being placed in the same category as physical phenomena4 ,this contention is open to very serious objections1 but it at least indicates the actual state of the problem1 viz4 that to most educated men the miraculous element in ,christianity seems to float between earth and heaven1 no longer essentially connected with either1 while on the other hand the majority of religious people1 including a few men of high intelligence1 find it difficult to realise their faith without the help of the miraculous4 ,supernaturalism1 which from the scientific point of view is the most unsatisfactory of all theories1 traversing as it does the first article in the creed of science--the uniformity of nature--gives1 after all1 a kind of crude synthesis of the natural and the spiritual1 by which it is possible to live2 it is1 for many persons1 an indispensable bridge between the world of phenomena and the world of spirit4 ,but when the heavy-handed dogmatist requires a categorical assent to the literal truth of the miraculous1 in exactly the same sense in which physical facts are true1 a tension between faith and reason cannot be avoided4 ,and it is in this literal sense that ,bishop ,gore requires all his clergy to assent to the miracles in the ,creeds4 ,the fact is that the ,catholic party in the ,church are in a hopeless impasse with regard to dogma4 ,they cannot take any step which would divide them from 'the whole ,church1' and the whole ,church no longer exists except as an ideal--it has long ago been shivered into fragments4 ,the ,roman ,church is in a much better position4 ,the ,pope may at any time 'interpret' tradition in such a manner as to change it completely--there is no appeal from his authoritative pronouncements2 but for the ,high ,anglican there is no living authority1 only the dead hand1 and a ,council which can never meet4 ,it is much as if no important legislation could be passed in this country without a joint session of our ,parliament and the ,american ,congress4 ,it is difficult to see any way of escape1 except by accepting the principle of development in a sense which would repudiate the time-honoured 'appeal to antiquity4' ,we have next to consider ,bishop ,gore as a ,church ,reformer4 ,we have seen that he desires an autonomous ,church1 which can legislate for itself4 ,the dead hand1 which weighs so lightly upon him when it forbids any attempt to revise the formularies of the faith1 seems to him intolerably heavy when it obliges the ,church to conform to 'the laws1 canons1 and rubrics of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries1 which it cannot alter or add to4'#dc ,the only remedy1 he thinks1 is a really representative assembly1 of bishops1 presbyters1 and laymen4 ,in the early ,church1 as he points out1 the laity were always recognised as constituent members of the government of the ,church4 ,in a democratic age1 the laity as a body should exercise the powers which in the ,middle ,ages were delegated to1 or usurped by1 'emperors1 kings1 chiefs and lords4' ,the parish ought to have the real control of the ,church buildings1 except the chancel2 the ,church servants ought to be appointed and removed by the parish meeting4 ,it would be a step forward if these parish councils could be organised under diocesan regulation1 and invested with the control of the parish finances1 except the vicar's stipend2 the right to object to the appointment of an unfit pastor2 and some power of determining the ceremonial at the ,church services4 ,the diocesan synod should become a reality2 there should also be provincial synods1 which could become national by fusion4 ,but in the last resort the declaration of the mind of the ,church on matters of doctrine and morals ought to belong to the bishops4#dd ,but who are the laity8 ',by a layman1' he says1 ',i mean one who fulfils the duties of ,church membership--one who is baptised into the ,church1 who has been confirmed if he has reached years of discretion1 and who is a communicant4' ,a roll of ,church members1 he suggests1 should be kept in each parish1 on which should be entered the name of each confirmed person1 male or female4 ,the names of those who had passed 7say7 two years without communicating should be struck off the roll4 ,further1 names should be removable for any scandalous offences4#de ,it is easy to see that the 'communicant franchise' would work entirely in favour of that party in the ,church which attaches the greatest importance to that ,sacrament4 ,it would exclude a large number of ,protestant laymen who subscribe to ,church funds1 and who on any other franchise would have a share in its government4 ,but we need not suspect ,dr4 ,gore of any arrire pense of this kind4 ,his ideal of parochial life is one which must appeal to all who wish well to the ,church4 ,we will quote a few characteristic sentences3 ',are we to set to work to revive ,st4 ,paul's ideal of the life of a ,church8 ,if so1 what we need is not more ,christians1 but better ,christians4 ,we want to make the moral meaning of ,church membership understood and its conditions appreciated4 ,we want to make men understand that it costs something to be a ,christian2 that to be a ,christian1 that is1 a ,churchman1 is to be an intelligent participator in a corporate life consecrated to ,god1 and to concern oneself1 therefore1 as a matter of course1 in all that touches the corporate life1 its external as well as its spiritual conditions4444 ,we ,christians are fellow-citizens together in the commonwealth that is consecrated to ,god1 a commonwealth of mortal men with bodies as well as souls4'#df ,with regard to ritual1 he will not allow that the disputes are unimportant4 ,the vital question of self-government is at stake4 ,from this point of view1 a 'mere ceremony' may mean a great deal4 ,st4 ,paul1 who said ',circumcision is nothing1' also said1 ',if ye be circumcised ,christ shall profit you nothing1'#dg ,this is quite consistent with his hearty disapproval of the introduction of purely ,roman ceremonial4 ,does this ideal of a free ,church in a free ,state involve disestablishment8 ,not necessarily1 ,dr4 ,gore thinks4 ,why should not legal authority be entrusted to diocesan courts1 with a right of appeal to a court of bishops1 abolishing the jurisdiction of the ,judicial ,committee in spiritual cases8 ,it is the paralysis of spiritual authority1 in his opinion1 which pushes into prominence all extravagances1 and conceals the vast amount of agreement which exists in essentials4 ',we are weary of debating societies2 we want the healthy discipline of co-operative government4'#dh ,the policy of this self-governing ,church is to be ',liberal-,catholic1' a type which 'responds to the moral needs of our great race4' ,such is the scheme of ,church reform towards which the ,bishop is working2 and he has told us1 in the sentence last quoted1 what kind of ,church he looks forward to see4 ,but what kind of ,church would it actually be1 if his designs were carried out8 ,it would not be a national ,church2 for his belief that ,catholicism 'responds to the moral needs of our race' is contradicted by the whole history of modern ,england4 ,the laity of ,england may not be quite 'as ,protestant as ever they were1 though we often hear that they are so2 but they show no disposition to become ,catholics4 ,catholicism as we know it is ,latin ,christianity1 and even in the ,latin countries it is now a hothouse plant1 dependent on a special education in ,catholic schools and seminaries1 with an index librorum prohibitorum4 ,such a system is impossible in ,england4 ,seminaries for the early training of future clergymen may indeed be established2 but beds of exotics cannot be raised by keeping the gardeners in greenhouses while the young plants are in the open air4 ,the ',liberal ,catholic' ,church1 accordingly1 would shed1 by degrees1 the very large number of ,churchmen who still call themselves ,protestant4 ,nor would the adjective ',liberal' secure the adhesion of the 'intellectuals4' ,bishop ,gore's ,liberalism would exclude most of them as effectually as the most rigid ,conservatism4 ,it would also be a disestablished and disendowed ,church2 for surely it is building castles in the air to think of episcopal courts recognised by law4 ,the prospect of disestablishment does not alarm the ,bishop4 ,some of his utterances suggest that he would almost welcome it4 ,indeed1 disestablishment is viewed with complacency by an increasing number of ,high ,church clergy4 ,they feel that they can never carry out their plans for de-,protestantising the ,church while the ,crown has the appointment of the bishops4 ,for even if1 as has lately been the case1 their party gets more than its due share of preferment1 there will always1 under the existing system1 be a sufficient number of ,liberal and ,evangelical bishops on the bench to make a consistent policy of ,catholicising impossible4 ,and the ,catholic party are so admirably organised that they are confident in their power to carry their schemes under any form of self-government1 even though the mass of the laity are untouched by their views4 ,moreover1 the town clergy1 among whom are to be found advocates of disestablishment1 find in many places that the parochial idea has completely broken down4 ,the unit is the congregation1 no longer the parish1 and the clergy are supported by pew-rents and voluntary offerings1 not by endowments4 ,in such parishes1 disestablishment might1 they think1 give them greater liberty1 and would make little difference to them in other ways4 ,but in the country districts the case is very different4 ,thirty years after disestablishment1 the quiet country rectory1 nestling in its bower of trees and shrubs1 with all that it has meant for centuries in ,english rural life1 would in most villages be a thing of the past4 ,for these reasons1 the ,bishop's policy of reconstructing the ,church of ,england as a self-governing body1 professing definitely ,catholic principles and enjoining ,catholic practices1 seems to us an impossible one4 ,the chief gainer by it would be the ,church of ,rome1 which would gather in the most consistent and energetic of the ,anglo-,catholics1 who would be dissatisfied at the contrast between the pretensions of their own ,church and its isolated position4 ,the non-episcopal bodies would also gain numerous recruits from among the ruins of the ,evangelical and ,liberal parties in the ,church4 ,but1 it may be said1 this dismal forecast may be falsified if the ,anglican ,church can win the masses4 ,the ,english populace are at present neither ,protestant nor ,catholic2 they are1 if we count heads1 mainly heathen4 ,may not the working man1 who has no leaning to dissent1 unless it be the 'corybantic ,christianity' of the ,salvation ,army1 be brought into the ,church8 ,bishop ,gore has always shown an earnest sympathy with the aspirations of the working class to improve their material condition4 ,he is also profoundly impressed by the apparent discrepancy between the teachings of ,christ about wealth and the principles which ,his professed disciples wholly follow and in part avow4 ,these anxious questionings form the subject of a fine sermon which he preached at the ,church ,congress of #aijf1 on the text about the camel and the needle's eye4 ,jesus ,christ chose to be born of poor and humble parents1 in a land remote from the centre of political or intellectual influence1 and in the circle of labouring men4 ,he chose to belong to the class of the respectable artisan1 and most of the twelve ,apostles came from the same social level4 ,in ,his teaching ,he plainly associated blessedness with the lot of poverty1 and extreme danger with the lot of wealth4 ,all through the ,new ,testament the assumption is that ,god is on the side of the poor against the rich4 ,as ,jowett once said1 there is more in the ,new ,testament against being rich1 and in favour of being poor1 than we like to recognise4 ,and is not this the cause of our failure to win the masses8 ,is it not because we are the ,church of capital rather than of labour8 ,the ,church ought to be a community in which religion works upward from below4 ,the ,church of ,england expresses that point of view which is precisely not that which ,christ chose for ,his ,church4 ,the incomes of the bishops range them with the wealthier classes2 the clergy associate with the gentry and not with the artisans4 ,we must acknowledge with deep penitence that we are on wrong lines4 ,for himself1 the ,bishop admits that he has 'a permanently troubled conscience' in the matter4 ,then1 with that admirable courage and practicality which is the secret of much of his influence1 he proceeds to indicate four 'lines of hopeful recovery4' ,first1 the ,church must get rid of the administration of poor relief4 ,where the charity of the ,church is understood to mean the patronage of the rich1 it can do nothing without disaster4 ,all will be in vain till it has ceased to be a plausible taunt that a man or woman goes to church for what can be got4 ,secondly1 we must give the artisans their true place in ,church management1 and must consult their tastes in all non-essentials4 ,thirdly1 the clergy should 'concentrate themselves upon bringing out the social meaning of the sacraments1' and giving voice to the spirit of ,christian brotherhood4 ,lastly1 we ought to free the clerical profession entirely from any association of class4 ,the ,bishop is not a ,collectivist1 but he has great sympathy with some of the aims of ,socialism4 ,in a ',pan-,anglican ,paper' just issued1 he discusses the attitude of the ,church towards ,socialism4 ,christianity1 he says1 must remain independent of ,state-,socialism1 as of other organisations of society4 ,socialism would make a far deeper demand on character than most of its adherents realise4 ',an experiment in ,state-,socialism1 based on the average level of human character as it exists at present1 would be doomed to disastrous failure4' 7,bishop ,creighton said the same thing more epigrammatically4 ',socialism will only be possible when we are all perfect1 and then it will not be needed4'7 ,but what we have is no ,socialistic ,state1 but a great body of aspiration1 based on a great demand for justice in human life4 ,the indictment of our present social organisation is indeed overwhelming1 and with this indictment ,christianity ought to have the profoundest sympathy1 for it is substantially the indictment of the ,old ,testament prophets4 ,the prophets were on the side of the poor2 and so was our ,lord4 ,where is the prophetic spirit in the ,church to-day8 ,we need 'a tremendous act of penitence4' ,our charities have been mere ambulance-work2 but 'the ,christian ,church was not created to be an ambulance-corps4' ,we have followed the old school of political economy instead of the prophets and ,christ4 ,broadly1 we may contrast two ideals of society3 individualism1 which means in the long run the right of the strong2 and socialism1 which means that the society is supreme over the individual4 ',on the whole1 ,christianity is with ,socialism4' ,this ',pan-,anglican ,paper' is a fair representation of the views which are spreading rapidly among the ,high ,church clergy4 ,the party is in fact making a determined effort to enlist the sympathies of the working man with the ,church1 by offering him in return its sympathy and countenance in his struggle against capitalism4 ,this is a phase of the movement which it is very difficult to judge fairly4 ,dr4 ,gore's sermon was calculated to give any ,christian who heard it1 whether ,conservative or ,liberal1 'a troubled conscience2' and his practical suggestions are as convincing as any suggestions that are not platitudes are likely to be4 ,but in weaker hands this sympathy with the cause of ,labour is in great danger of becoming one of the most insidious temptations that can attack a religious body4 ,the ,church of ,england has been freely accused of too great complaisance to the powers that be1 when those powers were oligarchic4 ,some of the clergy are now trying to repeat1 rather than redress1 this error1 by an obsequious attitude to ,king ,working-man4 ,but the ,church ought to be equally proof against the vultus instantis tyranni and the civium ardor prava iubentium4 ,the position of a ,church which should sell itself to the ,labour party would be truly ignominious4 ,it would be used so long as the politicians of the party needed moral support and eloquent advocacy1 and spurned as soon as its services were no longer necessary4 ,the taunt of ,helen to ,aphrodite in the third book of the ',iliad' sounds very apposite when we read the speeches of some clerical ',christian ,socialists1' who find it more exciting to organise processions of the unemployed than to attend to their professional duties4 hso par' ahython hiohysa1 thehn d' haphoeike kelehythoy1 md' heti sohisi phodessin hypostrhepseiast ',holympon1 hall' ahiehi perhi kehinon hohizye kahi he phylasse1 ehist ho khe s' h halochon poihsetai1 h ho ge dohyln4#di ,it is as a slave1 not as an honoured help-mate1 that the ,social ,democrats would treat any ,christian body that helped them to overthrow our present civilisation4 ,and rightly2 for ,christ's only injunction in the sphere of economics was1 ',take heed and beware of all covetousness1' ,he refused pointedly to have anything to do with disputes about the distribution of property2 and in the parable of the ,prodigal ,son the demand1 ',give me the portion of goods that falleth to me1' is the prelude to a journey in that 'far country' which is forgetfulness of ,god 7terra longinqua est oblivio ,dei74 ,christ unquestionably meant ,his followers to think but little of the accessories of life4 ,he believed that if men could be induced to adopt the true standard of values1 economic relations would adjust themselves4 ,he promised ,his disciples that they should not want the necessaries of subsistence1 and for the rest1 ,he held that the freedom from anxiety1 covetousness1 and envy1 which ,he enjoined as a duty1 would also make their life happy4 ,this is a very different spirit from that which makes ,socialism a force in politics4 ,bishop ,gore1 we may be sure1 will not willingly allow the ,high ,church party to be entangled in corrupt alliances4 ,when he handles what may be called applied ,christianity1 he does so in a manner which makes us rejoice at the popularity of his books4 ,the little commentaries on the ,sermon on the ,mount1 and on the ,epistles to the ,romans and ,ephesians1 are admirable4 ,they are simple1 practical1 and profound4 ,we subjoin a short analysis of the notes on the first part of the ,sermon on the ,mount1 as an illustration of the teaching which runs all through the three commentaries4 ,the ,sermon on the ,mount is not the whole of ,christianity4 ,it is the climax of law1 of the letter that killeth4 ,the ,divine requirement is pressed home with unequalled force upon the conscience2 yet not in the form of mere laws of conduct1 but as a type of character4 ,it is promulgated not by an inaccessible ,god1 but by the ,divine ,love manifested in manhood4 ,the hard demand of the letter is closely connected with the promise of the ,spirit4 ,we are told that many of the precepts in the sermon were anticipated by ,pagan and ,jewish writers4 ,but this we might have expected1 since all men are rational and moral through fellowship with the ,word1 who is also the ,reason of ,god4 ,christ is the light which in conscience and reason lightens every man throughout the history of the race4 ,but the ,sermon is comprehensive where other summaries are fragmentary1 it is pure where they are mixed4 ,it is teaching for grown men1 who require principles1 not rules4 ,and it is authoritative1 reinforced by the mysterious ,person of the speaker4 ,the ,beatitudes are a description of character4 ,christ requires us1 not to do such and such things1 but to be such and such people4 444 ,true blessedness consists in membership of the kingdom of heaven1 which is a life of perfect relationship with man and nature based on perfect fellowship with ,god4444 ,the ,beatitudes describe the ,christian character in detail2 in particular1 they describe it as contrasted with the character of the world1 which1 in the religious sense1 may be defined as human society as it organises itself apart from ,god4 ,the first ,beatitude enjoins detachment1 such as ,his who emptied ,himself1 as having nothing and yet possessing all things4 ,we are all to be detached2 there are some whom our ,lord counsels to be literally poor4 ',blessed are they that mourn' means that we are not to screen ourselves from the common lot of pain4 ,we must distinguish 'godly sorrow' from the peevish discontent and slothfulness which ,st4 ,paul calls the sorrow of the world1 and which in medieval casuistry is named acedia4 ',blessed are the meek' means that we are not to assert ourselves unless it is our duty to do so4 ,the true ,christian is a man who in his private capacity cannot be provoked4 ,on a general view of life1 though not always in particular cases1 we must allow that we are not treated worse than we deserve4 ,the fourth ,beatitude tells us that if we want righteousness seriously1 we can have it4 ,the fifth proclaims the reward of mercy1 that is1 compassion in action4 ,pity which does nothing is only hypocrisy or emotional self-indulgence4 ,on the whole1 we can determine men's attitude to us by our attitude to them2 the merciful do obtain mercy4 ',purity of heart' means singleness of purpose2 but in the narrower sense of purity it is worth while to say that those who profess to find it 'impossible' to lead a pure life might overcome their fault if they would try to be ,christlike altogether1 instead of struggling with that one fault separately4 ',sincerum est nisi vas1 quodcunque infundis acescit4' ,on the seventh--there are many kinds of false peace1 which ,christ came to break up2 but fierce1 relentless competition is an offence in a ,christian nation4 ,the last shows what our reward is likely to be in this world1 if we follow these counsels4 ,where the ,christ-character is not welcomed1 it is hated4 ,from the later sections a few characteristic comments may be given in an abridged form4 ,we are apt to have rather free and easy notions of the ,divine fatherhood4 ,to call ,god our ,father1 we must ourselves be sons2 and it is only those who are led by the ,spirit of ,god who are the sons of ,god4444 ,ask for great things1 and small things will be given to you4 ,this is exactly the spirit of the ,lord's ,prayer4444 ,act for ,god4 ,direct your thoughts and intentions ,godward1 and your intelligence and affections will gradually follow along the line of your action4444 ,you must put ,god first1 or nowhere4444 ,it is a perilous error to say that we have only to follow our conscience2 we have to enlighten our conscience and keep it enlightened4444 ,there is no greater plague of our generation than the nervous anxiety which characterises all its efforts4 ,we ought to be reasonably careful1 and then go boldly forward in the peace of ,god4444 ,our ,lord did not mean to make of ,his disciples a new kind of ,pharisee4 4444',judge not1' means1 ,do not be critical4 ,the condemnation of one who is always finding fault carries no moral weight4 ,it is those who have the lowest and vaguest standards of what is right who are often the most critical in judgment of other people4444 ,we ought so to limit our desires that what we want for ourselves we can reasonably expect also for others4444 ,a man who wants to do his duty must always be prepared to stand alone4444 ,christianity is not so much a statement of the true end or ideal of human life1 as a great spiritual instrument for realising the end4 ,these extracts will be sufficient to show what are the characteristics of these little commentaries4 ,they exhibit extreme honesty of purpose1 fearless acceptance of ,christ's teaching honestly interpreted1 scorn of unreality and empty words1 and a determination never to allow preaching to be divorced from practice4 ,no more stimulating ,christian teaching has been given in our generation4 ,the valuable treatise on the ,holy ,communion1 called ',the ,body of ,christ1' is too theological for detailed discussion in these pages4 ,the points in which the ,roman ,church has perverted and degraded the really ,catholic sacramental doctrine are forcibly exposed1 and the true nature of the sacrament is unfolded in a masterly and beautiful manner4 ,a study of the whole body of theological writings from the pen of this remarkable man leaves us with the conviction that he is one of the most powerful spiritual forces in our generation4 ,it is the more to be regretted that in certain points he seems to be hampered by false presuppositions and misled by unattainable ideals4 ,his loyalty to ',catholic truth1' as understood by the party in the ,church to which he consents to belong1 prevents him from understanding where the shoe really pinches among those of the younger generation who are both thoughtful and devout4 ,he makes a fetish of the ,creeds1 documents which only represent the opinions of a majority at a meeting2 and what manner of meetings ,church ,councils sometimes were1 is known to history4 ,he is still impressed with the grandeur of the ,catholic idea1 as embodied in the ,roman ,church1 and will do nothing to preclude reunion1 should a more enlightened policy ever prevail at the ,vatican4 ,but this country has done with the ,roman ,empire1 in its spiritual as well as its temporal form4 ,the dimensions of that proud dominion have shrunk with the expansion of knowledge2 new worlds have been opened out1 geographical and mental1 which never owned its sway2 the caput orbis has become provincial1 and her authority is spurned even within her own borders4 ,there is no likelihood of the ,english people ever again accepting ',catholicism1' if ,catholicism is the thing which history calls by that name4 ,the movement which the ,bishop hopes to lead to victory will remain1 as it has been hitherto1 a theory of the ministry rather than of the ,church1 and its strength will be confined1 as it is now1 mainly to clerical circles4 ,catholicism and ,protestantism 7in so far as they are more than names for institutionalism and mysticism1 which are permanent types7 are both obsolescent phases in the evolution of the ,christian religion4 ',the time cometh when neither in this mountain nor yet at ,jerusalem shall men worship the ,father4' ,a profound reconstruction is demanded1 and for those who have eyes to see has been already for some time in progress4 ,the new type of ,christianity will be more ,christian than the old1 because it will be more moral4 ,a number of unworthy beliefs about ,god are being tacitly dropped1 and they are so treated because they are unworthy of ,him4 ,the realm of nature is being claimed for ,him once more2 the distinction between natural and supernatural is repudiated2 we hear less frequent complaints that ,god 'does nothing' because ,he does not assert ,himself by breaking one of ,his own laws4 ,the divinity of ,christ implies--one might almost say it means--the eternal supremacy of those moral qualities which ,he exhibited in their perfection4 ',conversio fit ad ,dominum ut ,spiritum1' as ,bengel said4 ,the visible or ,catholic ,church is not the name of an institution which has the privilege of being governed by bishops4 ,it is 'dispersed throughout the whole world1' under many banners and many disguises4 ,its political reunion is 7,plato would say7 an hen mhyth ehych1 and is at present neither to be expected nor desired4 ,among those who are by right citizens of the spiritual kingdom1 those only are in danger of exclusion from it who entrench themselves in a little fort of their own and erect barriers1 which may make them their own prisoners1 but which will not hinder the great commonwealth of seekers after truth from working out modern problems by modern lights1 until the whole of our new and rich inheritance1 intellectual1 moral1 and sthetic1 shall be brought again under the obedience of ,christ4 ,,footnotes3 #bd ,in #aijh4 #be ,palmer's ,narrative1 p #bj4 #bf ,contemporary ,review1 ,april #ahii4 #bg ,the ,church and the ,ministry1 pp4 #i1 #aj4 #bh ,ibid41 p4 #gd4 #bi ,the ,church and the ,ministry1 p4 #aaj4 #cj ,ibid41 p4 #cdd4 #ca ,ibid41 p4 #cde4 #cb ,ibid41 p4 #cdh4 #cc ,the ,mission of the ,church1 p4 #cb4 #cd ,church ,congress ,report1 #ahif1 p4 #adc4 #ce ,ibid41 p4 #adb4 #cf ,church ,congress ,report1 #aijc1 p4 #ae4 #cg ,ibid41 p4 #ag4 #ch ,the ,new ,theology and the ,old ,religion1 p4 #afb4 #ci ,church ,congress ,report1 #aijc1 p4 #af4 #dj ,ibid4 #da ,the ,new ,theology and the ,old ,religion1 p4 #afc4 #db ,dissertations1 pp4 #da-di4 #dc ,church ,congress ,report1 #ahii1 p4 #fc4 #dd ,church ,congress ,report1 #ahii1 pp4 #fe-fg4 #de ,ibid41 #ahif1 pp4 #cdb-cdf4 #df ,epistle to the ,ephesians1 pp4 #aac1 #aad4 #dg ,contemporary ,review1 ,april #ahii4 #dh ,ibid4 #di ',go and sit thou by his side1 and depart from the way of the gods2 neither let thy feet ever bear thee back to ,olympus2 but still be vexed for his sake and guard him1 till he make thee his wife--or rather his slave4' ,,roman ,,catholic ,,modernism 7#aiji7 ,the ,liberal movement in the ,roman ,church is viewed by most ,protestants with much the same mixture of sympathy and misgiving with which ,englishmen regard the ambition of ,russian reformers to establish a constitutional government in their country4 ,freedom of thought and freedom of speech are almost always desirable2 but how1 without a violent revolution1 can they be established in a ,state which exists only as a centralised autocracy1 held together by authority and obedience8 ,this sympathy1 and these fears1 are likely to be strongest in those who have studied the history of ,western ,catholicism with most intelligence4 ,from the ,edict of ,milan to the ,encyclical of ,pius ,x1 the evolution which ended in papal absolutism has proceeded in accordance with what looks like an inner necessity of growth and decay4 ,the task of predicting the policy of the ,vatican is surely not so difficult as ,m4 ,renan suggested1 when he remarked to a friend of the present writer1 ',the ,church is a woman2 it is impossible to say what she will do next4' ,for where is the evidence of caprice in the history of the ,roman ,church8 ,if any ,state has been guided by a fixed policy1 which has imposed itself inexorably on its successive rulers1 in spite of the utmost divergences in their personal characters and aims1 that ,state is the ,papacy4 ,beneath all the eddies which have broken the surface1 the great stream has flowed on1 and has flowed in one direction4 ,the same logic of events which transformed the constitutional principate of ,augustus into the sultanate of ,diocletian and ,valentinian1 has brought about a parallel development in the ,church which inherited the traditions1 the policy1 and the territorial sphere of the dead ,empire4 ,the second ,world-,state which had its seat on the ,seven ,hills has followed closely in the footsteps of the first4 ,it is not too fanciful to trace1 as ,harnack has done1 the resemblance in detail--,peter and ,paul in the place of ,romulus and ,remus2 the bishops and arch-bishops instead of the proconsuls2 the troops of priests and monks as the legionaries2 while the ,jesuits are the ,imperial bodyguard1 the protectors and sometimes the masters of the sovereign4 ,one might carry the parallel further by comparing the schism between the ,eastern and ,western ,churches1 and the later defection of northern ,europe1 with the disruption of the ,roman ,empire in the fourth century2 and in the sphere of thought1 by comparing the scholastic philosophy and casuistry with the ,summa of ,roman law in the ,digest4#ej ,the fundamental principles of such a government are imposed upon it by necessity4 ,in the first place1 progressive centralisation1 and the substitution of a graduated hierarchy for popular government1 came about as inevitably in the ,catholic ,church as in the ,mediterranean ,empire of the ,caesars4 ,the primitive colleges of presbyters soon fell under the rule of the bishops1 the bishops under the patriarchs2 and then ,rome suffered her first great defeat in losing the ,eastern patriarchates1 which she could not subjugate4 ,the truncated ,church1 no longer 'universal1' found itself obliged to continue the same policy of centralisation1 and with such success that1 under ,innocent ,,iii1 the triumph of the theocracy seemed complete4 ,the ,papacy dominated ,europe de facto1 and claimed to rule the world de jure4 ,boniface ,,viii1 when the clouds were already gathering1 issued the famous ,bull ',unam sanctam1' in which he said3 ',subesse ,romano pontifici omnes humanas creaturas declaramus1 definimus1 et pronuntiamus omnino esse de necessitate salutis4' ,the claim is logical4 ,a theocracy 7when religion is truly monotheistic7#ea must claim to be universal de jure2 and its ruler must be the infallibly inspired and autocratic vicegerent of the ,almighty4 ,he is the rightful lord of the world1 whether he gives a continent to the ,king of ,spain by a stroke of the pen1 or whether his secular jurisdiction is limited by the walls of his palace4 ,in the fourteenth century the ,pope is already called 'dominus deus noster'--precisely the style in which ,martial adulates ,domitian4 ,in the ,bull of ,pius ,v 7#aegj7 the claim of universal dominion is reiterated2 it is asserted that the ,almighty1 'cui data est omnis in caelo et in terra potestas1 unam sanctam catholicam et apostolicam ecclesiam1 extra quam nulla est salus1 uni soli in terris1 videlicet apostolorum principi ,petro ,petrique successori ,romano pontifici in potestatis plenitudine tradidit gubernandam4' ,but the final victory of infallibilism was the achievement of the nineteenth-century ,jesuits1 who completed the dogmatic apotheosis of the ,pope at the moment when the last vestiges of his temporal power were being snatched from him4 ,now a government of this type is always in want of money4 ,the spiritual ,roman ,empire was as costly an institution as the court and the bureaucracy of ,diocletian and his successors4 ,the same necessity which suppressed democracy in the ,church drove it to elaborate an oppressive system of taxation1 in which every weakness of human nature was systematically exploited for gain1 and every morsel of divine grace placed on a tariff4 ,but this method of raising revenue is only possible while the priests can persuade the people that they really control a treasury of grace1 from which they can make or withhold grants at their pleasure4 ,it stands or falls with a non-ethical and magical view of the divine economy which is hardly compatible with a high level of culture or morality4 ,the ,catholic ,church has thus been obliged1 for purely fiscal reasons1 to discourage secular education1 particularly of a scientific kind1 and to keep the people1 so far as possible1 in the mental and moral condition most favourable to such transactions as the purchase of indulgences and the payment of various insurances against hell and purgatory4 ,another necessity of absolute government is the repression of free criticism directed against itself4 ,heresy and schism in an autocratic ,church take the place of treason against the sovereign4 ,cyprian1 in the third century1 had already laid down the principles by which alone the central authority could be maintained4 ',ab arbore frange ramum2 fractus germinare non poterit4 ,a fonte praecide rivum2 praecisus arescit4444 ,quisquis ab ecclesia separatus adulterae iungitur1 a promissis ecclesiae separatur4 ,alienus est1 hostis est4 ,habere non potest ,deum patrem1 qui ecclesiam non habet matrem4' ,schismatics are therefore rebels1 whose lives are forfeit under the laws of treason4 ,heretics are in no better case2 for the ,church is the only infallible interpreter both of ,scripture and of tradition2 and to differ from her teaching is as disloyal as to secede from her jurisdiction4 ,even ,augustine could say1 ',i should not believe the ,gospel1 if the authority of the ,church did not determine me to do so'2 a statement which a modern ultra-montane has capped by saying1 ',without the authority of the ,pope1 ,i should not place the ,bible higher than the ,koran4' ,bellarmine claims an absolute monopoly of inspiration for the ,roman ,church on the ground that ,rome alone has preserved the apostolic succession beyond dispute4#eb ,as for the treatment which heretics deserve1 the same authority is very explicit4 ',in the first place1 heretics do more mischief than any pirate or brigand1 because they slay souls2 nay more1 they subvert the foundations of all good and fill the commonwealth with the disturbances which necessarily follow religious differences4 ,in the second place1 capital punishment inflicted on them has a good effect on very many persons4 ,many whom impunity was making indifferent are roused by these executions to consider what is the nature of the heresy which attracts them1 and to take care not to end their earthly lives in misery and lose their future happiness4 ,thirdly1 it is a kindness to obstinate heretics to remove them from this life4 ,for the longer they live1 the more errors they devise1 the more men they pervert1 and the greater damnation they acquire for themselves4'#ec ,in all matters which are not essential for the safety of the autocracy1 an absolutist ,church will consult the average tastes of its subjects4 ,if the populace are at heart pagan1 and hanker after sensuous ritual1 dramatic magic1 and a rich mythology1 these must be provided4 ,the 'intellectuals1' being few and weak1 may be safely rebuffed or disregarded until their discoveries are thoroughly popularised4 ,the pronouncements of the ,roman ,inquisition in the case of ,galileo are typical4 ',the theory that the sun is in the centre of the world1 and stationary1 is absurd1 false in philosophy1 and formally heretical1 because it is contrary to the express language of ,holy ,scripture4 ,the theory that the earth is not the centre of the world1 nor stationary1 but that it moves with a daily motion1 is also absurd and false in philosophy1 and1 theologically considered1 it is1 to say the least1 erroneous in faith4' ,the exigencies of despotic government thus supply the key to the whole policy and history of the ,papacy4 ',the worst form of ,state' can only be bolstered up by the worst form of government4 ,there should therefore be no difficulty in distinguishing between the official policy of the ,roman ,see--which has been almost uniformly odious--and the history of the ,christian religion in the ,latin countries1 which has added new lustre to human nature4 ,the ,catholic saints did not fly through the air1 nor were their hearts pierced with supernatural darts1 as the mendacious hagiology of their ,church would have us believe2 but they have a better title to be remembered by mankind1 as the best examples of a beautiful and precious kind of human excellence4 ,the papal autocracy has now reached its ,byzantine period of decadence4 ,during the ,middle ,ages ,catholicism suited the ,latin races very well on the whole4 ,their ancestral paganism was allowed to remain substantially unchanged--the nomina1 but not the numina were altered2 their awe and reverence for the caput orbis1 ingrained in the populations of ,europe by the history of a thousand years1 made submission to ,rome natural and easy2 a host of myths 'abounding in points of attachment to human experience and in genial interpretations of life1 yet lifted beyond visible nature and filling a reported world believed in on faith1'#ed adorned religion with an artistic and poetical embroidery very congenial to the nations of the ,south4 ,but a monarchy essentially ,oriental in its constitution is unsuited to modern ,europe4 ,its whole scheme is based on keeping the laity in contented ignorance and subservience2 and the laity have emancipated themselves ,the ,teutonic nations broke the yoke as soon as they attained a national self-consciousness4 ,they escaped from a system which had educated1 but never suited them4 ,nor has the shrinkage been merely territorial4 ,the ,pyrrhic victories over ,gallicanism1 ,jansenism1 ,catholic democracy 7,lamennais71 historical theology 7,dllinger and the ,old ,catholics71 each alienated a section of thinking men in the ,catholic countries4 ,the ,roman ,church can no longer be called ,catholic1 except in the sense in which the kingdom of ,francis ,,ii remained the ,holy ,roman ,empire4 ,it is an exclusive sect1 which preserves much more political power than its numbers entitle it to exert1 by means of its excellent discipline1 and by the sinister policy of fomenting political disaffection4 ,examples of this last are furnished by the contemporary history of ,ireland1 of ,france1 and of ,poland4 ,these considerations are of primary importance when we try to answer the questions3 ,to what extent is the ,roman ,church fettered by her own past8 ,is there any insuperable obstacle to a modification of policy which might give her a new lease of life8 ,we have seen how much importance is attached to the ,church's title-deeds4 ,is tradition a fatal obstacle to reform8 ,theoretically1 the tradition which she traces back to the apostles gives her a fixed constitution4 ,so the ,catholic ,church has always maintained4 ',regula quidem fidei una omnino est1 sola immobilis et irreformabilis4'#ee ,the rule of faith may be better understood by a later age than an earlier1 but there can be no additions1 only a sort of unpacking of a treasure which was given whole and entire in the first century4 ,in reality1 of course1 there has been a steady evolution in conformity to type1 the type being not the 'little flock' of ,christ or the ,church of the ,apostles1 but the absolute monarchy above described4 ,it has long been the crux of ,catholic apologetics to reconcile the theoretical immobility of dogma with the actual facts4 ,the older method was to rewrite history4 ,it was convenient1 for example1 to forget that ,pope ,honorius ,i had been anathematised by three ecumenical councils4 ,the forged ,decretals gave a more positive sanction to absolutist claims2 and interpolations in the ,greek ,fathers deceived ,st4 ,thomas ,aquinas into giving his powerful authority to infallibilism4 ,this method cannot be called obsolete1 for the present ,pope recently informed the faithful that 'the ,hebrew patriarchs were familiar with the doctrine of the ,immaculate ,conception1 and found consolation in the thought of ,mary in the solemn moments of their life4'#ef ,but such simple devices are hardly practicable in an age when history is scientifically studied4 ,moreover1 other considerations1 besides controversial straits1 have suggested a new theory of tradition4 ,a ,csar who1 like the kings of the ,medes and ,persians1 is bound by the laws of his predecessors1 is not absolute4 ,acceptance of the theory of development in dogma would relieve the ,pope from the weight of the dead hand4 ,the new apologetic is generally said to have been inaugurated by ,cardinal ,newman4 ,his work ',the ,development of ,christian ,doctrine1' is no doubt an epoch-making book1 though the idea of tradition as the product of the living spirit of a religious society1 preserving its moral identity while expressing itself1 from time to time1 in new forms1 was already familiar to readers of ,schleiermacher4 ,newman gives us several 'tests' of true development4 ,these are--preservation of type2 continuity of principles2 power of assimilation2 logical sequence2 anticipation of results2 tendency to conserve the old2 chronic vigour4 ,these tests1 he considered1 differentiate the ,roman ,church from all other ,christian bodies1 and prove its superiority4 ,the ,church has its own genius1 which yes and works in it4 ,this is indeed the ,holy ,spirit of ,god1 promised by ,jesus ,christ4 ,through the operation of this spirit1 old things become new1 and fresh light is shed from the sacred pages of ,scripture4 ,catholic tradition is1 in fact1 the glorified but ever-present ,christ ,himself1 reincarnating ,himself1 generation after generation1 in the historical ,church4 ,it is unnecessary to enquire whether there is apostolic authority for every new dogma1 for the ,church is the mouthpiece of the living ,christ4 ,this theory marks1 on one side1 the complete and final apotheosis of the ,pope and the hierarchy1 who are thereby made independent even of the past history of the ,church4 ,pius ,,ix was not slow to realise that the only court of appeal against his decisions was closed in #ahgj4 ',la tradizione sono io1' he said1 in the manner of ,louis ,,xiv4 ,the ,pope is henceforth not the interpreter of a closed cycle of tradition1 but the pilot who guides its course always in the direction of the truth4 ,this is to destroy the old doctrine of tradition4 ,the ,church becomes the source of revelation instead of its custodian4 ,on the other side1 it is a perilous concession to modern ideas4 ,there is an obvious danger that1 as the result of this doctrine1 the dogmas of the ,church may seem to have only a relative and provisional truth2 for1 if each pronouncement were absolutely true1 there would be no real development1 and the appearance of it in history would become inexplicable4 ,this new and1 in appearance1 more liberal attitude towards modern ideas of progress has raised the hopes of many in the ,roman ,church whose minds and consciences are troubled by the ever-widening chasm which separates traditional dogma from secular knowledge4 ,while dogma was stationary--immobilis et irreformabilis--there seemed to be no prospect except that the progress of human knowledge would leave theology further and further behind1 till the rupture between ,catholicism and civilisation became absolute4 ,the idea that the ,church would ever modify her teaching to bring it into harmony with modern science seemed utterly chimerical4 ,but if the static theory of revelation is abandoned1 and a dynamic theory substituted for it2 if the divine part of ,christianity resides1 not in the theoretical formulations of revealed fact1 but in the living and energising spirit of the ,church2 why should not dogmatic theology become elastic1 changing periodically in correspondence with the development of human knowledge1 and no longer stand in irreconcilable contradiction with the ascertained laws of nature8 ,thus the dethronement of tradition by the ,pope contributed to make the ,modernist movement possible4 ,the ,modernists have even claimed ,newman as on their side4 ,this appeal cannot be sustained4 ',the ,development of ,christian ,doctrine' is mainly a polemic against the high ,anglican position1 and an answer to attacks upon ,roman ,catholicism from this side4 ,anglicanism at that time had committed itself to a thoroughly stationary view of revelation4 ,its 'appeal to antiquity'--a period which1 in accordance with a convenient theory1 it limited to the councils of the 'undivided ,church'--was intended to prove the catholicity and orthodoxy of the ,english ,church1 as the faithful guardian of apostolic tradition1 and to condemn the medieval and modern accretions sanctioned by the ,church of ,rome4 ,the earlier theory of tradition left the ,roman ,church open to damaging criticism on this side2 no ingenuity could prove that all her doctrines were 'primitive4' ,even in those early days of historical criticism1 it must have been plain to any candid student of ,christian 'origins' that the ,pauline ,churches were far more ,protestant than ,catholic in type4 ,but ,newman had set himself to prove that 'the ,christianity of history is not ,protestantism2 if ever there were a safe truth1 it is this1' ,accordingly1 he argues that ',christianity came into the world as an idea rather than an institution1 and had to fit itself with armour of its own providing4' ,such expressions sound very like the arguments of the ,modernists2 but ,newman assuredly never contemplated that they would be turned against the policy of his own ,church1 in the interests of the critical rationalism which he abhorred4 ,his attitude towards dogma is after all not very different from that of the older school4 ',time was needed' 7he says7 'for the elucidation of doctrines communicated once for all through inspired persons'2 his examples are purgatory and the papal supremacy4 ,he insists that his 'tests' of true development are only controversial1 'instruments rather than warrants of right decisions4' ,the only real 'warrant' is the authority of the infallible ,church4 ,it is highly significant that one of the features in ,roman ,catholicism to which he appeals as proving its unblemished descent from antiquity is its exclusiveness and intolerance4 ',the ,fathers 7he says complacently7 anathematised doctrines1 not because they were old1 but because they were new2 for the very characteristic of heresy is novelty and originality of manifestation4 ,such was the exclusiveness of the ,christianity of old4 ,i need not insist on the steadiness with which that principle has been maintained ever since4' ,the ,cardinal is right2 it is quite unnecessary to insist upon it2 but1 when the ,modernists claim ,newman as their prophet1 it is fair to reply that1 if we may judge from his writings1 he would gladly have sent some of them to the stake4 ,the ,modernist movement1 properly so called1 belongs to the last twenty years1 and most of the literature dates from the present century4 ,it began in the region of ecclesiastical history1 and soon passed to biblical exegesis1 where the new heresy was at first called 'concessionism1' ,the scope of the debate was enlarged with the stir produced by ,loisy's ',l'vangile et l'glise' and ',autour d'un ,petit ,livre'2 it spread over the field of ,christian origins generally1 and problems connected with them1 such as the growth of ecclesiastical power and the evolution of dogma4 ,for a few years the orthodox in ,france generally spoke of the new tendency as loisysme4 ,it was not till #aije that ,edouard ,le ,roy published his ',qu'est-ce qu'un dogme8' which carried the discussion into the domain of pure philosophy1 though the studies of ,blondel and ,laberthonnire in the psychology of religion may be said to involve a metaphysic closely resembling that of ,le ,roy4 ,mr4 ,tyrrell's able works have a very similar philosophical basis1 which is also assumed by the group of ,italian priests who have remonstrated with the ,pope4#eg ,m4 ,loisy protests against the classification made in the papal ,encyclical which connects biblical critics1 metaphysicians1 psychologists1 and ,church reformers1 as if they were all partners in the same enterprise4 ,but in reality the same presuppositions1 the same philosophical principles1 are found in all the writers named2 and the differences which may easily be detected in their writings are comparatively superficial4 ,the movement appears to be strongest in ,france1 where the policy of the ,vatican has been uniformly unfortunate of recent years1 and has brought many humiliations upon ,french ,catholics4 ,italy has also been moved1 though from slightly different causes4 ,in the protests from that country we find a tone of disgust at the constitution of the ,roman hierarchy and the character of the papal entourage1 about which ,italians are in a position to know more than other ,catholics4 ,catholic ,germany has been almost silent2 and ,mr4 ,tyrrell is the only ,englishman whose name has come prominently forward4 ,it will be convenient to consider the position of the ,modernists under three heads3 their attitude towards ,new ,testament criticism1 especially in relation to the life of ,christ2 their philosophy2 and their position in the ,roman ,catholic ,church4 ,the ,modernists themselves desire1 for the most part1 that criticism rather than philosophy should be regarded as the starting-point of the movement4 ',so far from our philosophy dictating our critical method1 it is the critical method that has of its own accord forced us to a very tentative and uncertain formulation of various philosophical conclusions4444 ,this independence of our criticism is evident in many ways4'#eh ,the writers of this manifesto1 and ,m4 ,loisy himself1 appear not to perceive that their critical position rests on certain very important philosophical presuppositions2 nor indeed is any criticism of religious origins possible without presuppositions which involve metaphysics4 ,the results of their critical studies1 as bearing on the life of ,christ1 we shall proceed to summarise1 departing as little as possible from the actual language of the writers1 and giving references in all cases4 ,it must1 however1 be remembered that some of the group1 such as ,mr4 ,tyrrell1 have not committed themselves to the more extreme critical views1 while others1 such as the ,abb ,laberthonnire1 the most brilliant and attractive writer of them all1 hold a moderate position on the historical side4 ,it is perhaps significant that those who are specialists in biblical criticism are the most radical members of the school4 ,the ,gospels1 says ,m4 ,loisy1 are for ,christianity what the ,pentateuch is for ,judaism4 ,like the ,pentateuch1 they are a patchwork and a compound of history and legend4 ,the differences between them amount in many cases to unmistakable contradictions4 ,in ,mark the life of ,jesus follows a progressive development4 ,the first to infer ,his ,messiahship is ,simon ,peter at ,csarea ,philippi2 and ,jesus ,himself first declares it openly in ,his trial before the ,sanhedrin4 ,in ,matthew and ,luke1 on the contrary1 ,jesus is presented to the public as the ,son of ,god from the beginning of ,his ministry2 ,he comes forward at once as the supreme ,lawgiver1 the ,judge1 the anointed of ,god4 ,the ,fourth ,gospel goes much further still4 ,his heavenly origin1 ,his priority to the world1 ,his co-operation in the work of creation and salvation1 are ideas which are foreign to the other ,gospels1 but which the author of the ,fourth ,gospel has set forth in his prologue1 and1 in part1 put into the mouth of ,john the ,baptist4#ei ,the difference between the ,christ of the ,synoptic ,gospels and the ,christ of ,john may be summed up by saying that 'the ,christ of the ,synoptics is historical1 but is not ,god2 the ,johannine ,christ is divine1 but not historical4'#fj ,but even ,mark 7according to ,m4 ,loisy7 probably only incorporates the document of an eye-witness2 his ,gospel betrays ,pauline influence4#fa ,the ,gospel which bears his name is later than the destruction of ,jerusalem1 and was issued1 probably about ,a4,d4 #ge1 by an unknown ,christian1 not a native of ,palestine1 who wished to write a book of evangelical instruction in conformity with the ideas of the ,hellenic-,christian community to which he belonged4#fb ,the tradition connecting it with ,peter may indicate that it was composed at ,rome1 but has no other historical value4#fc ,the ,gospel of ,matthew was probably written about the beginning of the second century by a non-,palestinian ,jew residing in ,asia ,minor or ,syria4 ,he is before all things a ,catholic ecclesiastic1 and may well have been one of the presbyters or bishops of the churches in which the institution of a monarchical episcopate took root4#fd ,the narratives peculiar to ,matthew have the character rather of legendary developments than of genuine reminiscences4 ,the historical value of these additions is nil4 ,as a witness to fact1 ,matthew ranks below ,mark1 and even below ,luke4#fe ,in particular1 the chapters about the birth of ,christ seem not to have the slightest historical foundation4 ,the fictitious character of the genealogy is proved by the fact that ,jesus seems not to have known of ,his descent from ,david4 ,the story of the virgin birth turns on a text from ,isaiah4 ,of this part of the ,gospel1 ,loisy says1 'rien n'est plus arbitraire comme exgse1 ni plus faible comme narration fictive4'#ff ,luke has taken more pains to compose a literary treatise than ,mark or ,matthew4 ,the authorities which he follows seem to be--the source of our ,mark1 the so-called ,matthew logia1 and some other source or sources4 ,but he treats his material more freely than ,matthew4 ',the lament of ,christ over the holy city1 ,his words to the women of ,jerusalem1 ,his prayer for ,his executioners1 ,his promise to the penitent thief1 ,his last words1 are very touching traits1 which may be in conformity with the spirit of ,jesus1 but which have no traditional basis4'#fg ',the fictitious character of the narratives of the infancy is less apparent in the ,third ,gospel than in the ,first1 because the stories are much better constructed as legend1 and do not resemble a midrash upon ,messianic prophecies4 ,le merveilleux en est moins banal et moins enfantin4 ,,ii parat cependant impossible de leur reconnatre une plus grande valeur de fond4'#fh ,the ,gospel of ,luke was probably written 7not by a disciple of ,st4 ,paul7 between #ij and #ajj ,a4,d42 but the earliest redaction1 which traced the descent of ,jesus from ,david through ,joseph1 has been interpolated in the interests of the later idea of a virgin birth4 ,the first two chapters are interesting for the history of ,christian beliefs1 not for the history of ,christ4 ,as for the ,fourth ,gospel1 it is enough to say that the author had nothing to do with the son of ,zebedee1 and that he is in no sense a biographer of ,christ1 but the first and greatest of the ,christian mystics4#fi ,the result of this drastic treatment of the sources may be realised by perusing chapter vii of ,loisy's ',les vangiles ,synoptiques1' ,the following is a brief analysis of this chapter1 entitled ',la ,carrire de ,jsus4' ,jesus was born at ,nazareth about four years before the ,christian era4 ,his family were certainly pious1 but none of ,his relatives seems to have accepted the ,gospel during ,his lifetime4 ,like many others1 the young ,jesus was attracted by the terrifying preaching of ,john the ,baptist1 from whom ,he received ,baptism4 ,when ,john was imprisoned ,he at once attempted to take his place4 ,he began to preach round the lake of ,galilee1 and was compelled by the persistent demands of the crowd to 'work miracles4' ,this mission only lasted a few months2 but it was long enough for ,jesus to enrol twelve auxiliaries1 who prepared the villages of ,galilee for ,his coming1 travelling two and two through the north of ,palestine4 ,jesus found ,his audience rather among the dclasss of ,judaism than among the ,puritans4 ,the staple of ,his teaching was the advent of the 'kingdom of ,god'--the sudden and speedy coming of the promised ,messiah4 ,this teaching was acceptable neither to ,herod ,antipas nor to the ,pharisees2 and their hostility obliged ,jesus to fly for a short time to the ,phoenician territory north of ,galilee4 ,but a conference between the ,master and ,his disciples at ,csarea ,philippi ended in a determination to visit the capital and there proclaim ,jesus as the promised ,messiah4 ,as they approached ,jerusalem1 even the ignorant disciples were frightened at the risks they were running1 but ,jesus calmed their fears by promising that they should soon be set on twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of ,israel4 ',jsus n'allait pas ,jrusalem pour y mourir4'#gj ,the doomed prophet made his public entry into ,jerusalem as ,messiah1 and1 as a first act of authority1 cleared the temple courts by an act of violence1 in which ,he was doubtless assisted by ,his disciples4 ,for some days after this ,he preached daily about the coming of the kingdom1 and foiled with great dexterity the traps which ,his enemies laid for ,him4 ',but the situation could only end in a miracle or a catastrophe1 and it was the catastrophe which happened4'#ga ,jesus was arrested1 after a brief scuffle between the satellites of the ,high ,priest and the disciples2 and the latter1 without waiting to see the end1 fled northwards towards their homes4 ,when brought before ,pilate1 ,jesus probably answered ',yes' to the question whether ,he claimed to be a king2 but 'la parole du ,christ johannique1 ,mon royaume n'est pas de ce monde1 n'aurait jamais pu tre dite par le ,christ d'histoire4' ,this confession led naturally to ,his immediate execution2 after which 'on peut supposer que les soldats dtachrent le corps de la croix avant le soir et le mirent dans quelque fosse commune1 o l'on jetait ple-mle les restes des supplicis4 ,les conditions de spulture furent telles qu'au bout de quelques jours il aurait t impossible de reconnatre la dpouille du ,sauveur1 quand mme on l'aurait cherche4'#gb ,the disciples1 however1 had been too profoundly stirred by hope to accept defeat4 ,none of them had seen ,jesus die2 and though they knew that ,he was dead1 they hardly realised it4 ,besides1 they were fellow-countrymen of those who had asked whether ,jesus was not ,elijah1 or even ,john the ,baptist1 come to life again4 ,what more natural than that ,peter should see the ,master one day while fishing on the lake8 ',the impulse once given1 this belief grew by the very need which it had to strengthen itself4' ,christ 'appeared also to the eleven1' ,so it was that their faith brought them back to ,jerusalem1 and ,christianity was born4 ',the supernatural life of ,christ in the faithful and in the ,church has been clothed in an historical form1 which has given birth to what we might somewhat loosely call the ,christ of legend4' ,so the ,italian manifesto sums up the result of this reconstruction or denudation of the ,gospel history4#gc ',such a criticism1' say the authors not less frankly than truly1 'does away with the possibility of finding in ,christ's teaching even the embryonic form of the ,church's later theological teaching4'#gd ,readers unfamiliar with ,modernist literature will probably have read the foregoing extracts with utter amazement4 ,it seems hardly credible that such views should be propounded by ,catholic priests1 who claim to remain in the ,catholic ,church1 to repeat her creeds1 minister at her altars1 and share her faith4 ,what more1 it may well be asked1 have rationalist opponents of ,christianity ever said1 in their efforts to tear up the ,christian religion by the roots1 than we find here admitted by ,catholic apologists8 ,what is left of the object of the ,church's worship if the ,christ of history was but an enthusiastic ,jewish peasant whose pathetic ignorance of the forces opposed to ,him led ,him to the absurd enterprise of attempting a coup d'tat at ,jerusalem8 ,is not ,jesus reduced by this criticism to the same level as ,theudas or ,judas of ,galilee8 and1 if this is the true account1 what sentiment can we feel1 when we read ,his tragic story1 but compassion tinged with contempt8 ,and on what principles are such liberties taken with our authorities8 ,what is the criterion by which it is decided that ,christ said1 ',i am a king1' but not ',my kingdom is not of this world'8 ,why must the resurrection have been only a subjective hallucination in the minds of the disciples8 ,to these questions there is a plain answer4 ,the non-intervention of ,god in history is an axiom with the ,modernists4 ',l'historien1' says ,m4 ,loisy1 'n'a pas s'inspirer de l'agnosticisme pour carter ,dieu de l'histoire2 il ne l'y rencontre jamais4'#ge ,it would be more accurate to say that1 whenever the meeting takes place1 'the historian' gives the ,other the cut direct4 ,but now comes in the peculiar philosophy by which the ,modernists claim to rehabilitate themselves as loyal and orthodox ,catholics1 and to turn the flank of the rationalist position1 which they have seemed to occupy themselves4 ,the reaction against ,absolutism in philosophy has long since established itself in ,germany and ,france4 ,in ,england and ,scotland the battle still rages2 in ,america the rebound has been so violent that an extreme form of anti-intellectualism is now the dominant fashion in philosophy4 ,it would have been easy to predict--and in fact the prediction was made--that the new world-construction in terms of will and action1 which disparages speculative or theoretical truth and gives the primacy to what ,kant called the practical reason1 would be eagerly welcomed by ,christian apologists1 hard-pressed by the discoveries of science and biblical criticism4 ,protestants1 in fact1 had recourse to this method of apologetic before the ,modernist movement arose4 ,the ,ritschlian theology in ,germany 7in spite of its 'static' view of revelation71 and the ,symbolo-fidisme of ,sabatier and ,mngoz1 have many affinities with the position of ,tyrrell1 ,laberthonnire1 and ,le ,roy4 ,it is exceedingly difficult to compress into a few pages a fair and intelligible statement of a ,weltansicht which affects the whole conception of reality1 and which has many ramifications4 ,there is an additional difficulty in the fact that few of the ,modernists are more than amateurs in philosophy4 ,they are quick to see the strategic possibilities of a theory which separates faith and knowledge1 and declares that truths of faith can never come into collision with truths of fact1 because they 'belong to different orders4' ,it suits them to follow the pragmatists in talking about 'freely chosen beliefs1' and 'voluntary certainty '2 ,mr4 ,tyrrell even maintains that 'the great mass of our beliefs are reversible1 and depend for their stability on the action or permission of the will4' ,but philosophy is for them mainly a controversial weapon4 ,it gives them the means of justifying their position as ,catholics who wish to remain loyal to their ,church and her formularies1 but no longer believe in the miracles which the ,church has always regarded as matters of fact4 ,nevertheless1 an attempt must be made to explain a point of view which1 to the plain man1 is very strange and unfamiliar4 ,two words are constantly in the mouth of ,modernist controversialists in speaking of their opponents4 ,the adherents of the traditional theology are 'intellectualists1' and their conception of reality is 'static4' ,the meaning of the latter charge may perhaps be best explained from ,laberthonnire's brilliantly written essay1 ',le ,ralisme ,chrtien et l',idalisme ,grec4' ,the ,greeks1 he says1 were insatiable in their desire to see1 like children4 ,blessedness1 for them1 consisted in a complete vision of reality2 and1 since thought is the highest kind of vision1 salvation was conceived of by them as the unbroken contemplation of the perfectly true1 good1 and beautiful4 ,hence arose the philosophy of 'concepts'2 they idealised nature by considering it sub specie ternitatis4 ,reality resided in the unchanging ideas2 the mutable1 the particular1 the individual was for them an embarrassment1 a 'scandal of thought4' ,the sage always tries to escape from the moving world of becoming into the static world of being4 ,but an ideal world1 so conceived1 can only be an abstraction1 an impoverishment of reality4 ,such an idealism gives us neither a science of origins nor a science of ends4 ,greek wisdom sought eternity and forgot time2 it sought that which never dies1 and found that which never lives4 ',an abstract doctrine1 like that of ,greek philosophy or of ,spinoza1 consists always in substituting for reality1 by simplification1 ideas or concepts which they think statically in their logical relations1 regarding them at the same time as adequate representations and as essences immovably defined4'#gf ,hellenised ,christianity1 proceeds our critic1 regarded the incarnation statically1 as a fact in past history4 ,but the real ,christ is an object of faith4 ',he introduces into us the principles of that which we ought to be4 ,that which ,he reveals1 ,he makes in revealing it4' ,in other words1 ,christ1 and the ,god whom ,he reveals1 are a power or force rather than a fact4 ',a ,god who has nothing to become has nothing to do4' ,god is not the idea of ideas1 but the being of beings and the life of our life4 ,he is not a supreme notion1 but a supreme life and an immanent action4 ,he is not the 'unmoved mover1' but ,he is in the movement itself as its principle and end4 ,while the ,greeks conceived the world sub specie ternitatis1 ,god is conceived by modern thought sub specie temporis4 ,god's eternity is not a sort of arrested time in which there is no more life2 it is1 on the contrary1 the maximum of life4 ,it is plain that we have here a one-sided emphasis on the dynamic aspect of reality no less fatal to sound philosophy than the exclusively static view which has been falsely attributed to the ,greeks4 ,a little clear thinking ought to be enough to convince anyone that the two aspects of reality which the ,greeks called sthasist and khinsist are correlative and necessary to each other4 ,a ,god who is merely the principle of movement and change is an absurdity4 ,time is always hurling its own products into nothingness4 ,unless there is a being who can say1 ',i am the ,lord1 ,i change not1' the 'sons of ,jacob' cannot flatter themselves that they are 'not consumed4'#gg ,but ,laberthonnire and his friends are not much concerned with the ultimate problems of metaphysics2 what they desire is to shake themselves free from 'brute facts' in the past1 to be at liberty to deny them as facts1 while retaining them as representative ideas of faith4 ,if reality is defined to consist only in life and action1 it is a meaningless abstraction to snip off a moment in the process1 and ask1 ',did it ever really take place8' ,this awkward question may therefore be ignored as meaningless and irrelevant1 except from the 'abstract' standpoint of physical science4 ,the crusade against 'intellectualism' serves the same end4 ,m4 ,le ,roy and the other ,christian pragmatists have returned to the ,nominalism of ,duns ,scotus4 ,the following words of ,frassen1 one of ,scotus' disciples1 might serve as a motto for the whole school3 ',theologia nostra non est scientia4 ,nullatenus speculativa est1 sed simpliciter practica4 ,theologiae obiectum non est speculabile1 sed operabile4 ,quidquid in ,deo est practicum est respectu nostri4' ,m4 ,le ,roy also seems to know only these two categories4 ,whatever is not 'practical'--having an immediate and obvious bearing on conduct--is stigmatised as 'theoretical' or 'speculative4' ,but the whole field of scientific study lies outside this classification1 which pretends to be exhaustive4 ,science has no 'practical' aim1 in the narrow sense of that which may serve as a guide to moral action2 nor does it deal with 'theoretical' or 'speculative' ideas1 except provisionally1 until they can be verified4 ,the aim of science is to determine the laws which prevail in the physical universe2 and its motive is that purely disinterested curiosity which is such an embarrassing phenomenon to pragmatists4 ,and since the faith which lies behind natural science is at least as strong as any other faith now active in the world1 it is useless to frame categories in such a way as to exclude the question1 ',did this or that occurrence1 which is presented as an event in the physical order1 actually happen1 or not8' ,the question has a very definite meaning for the man of science1 as it has for the man in the street4 ,to call it 'theoretical' is ridiculous4 ,what ,m4 ,le ,roy means by 'interpreting dogmas in the language of practical action' may be gathered from his own illustrations4 ,the dogma1 ',god is our ,father1' does not define a 'theoretical relation' between ,him and us4 ,it signifies that we are to behave to ,him as sons behave to their father4 ',god is personal' means that we are to behave to ,him as if ,he were a human person4 ',jesus is risen' means that we are to think of ,him as if ,he were our contemporary4 ,the dogma of the ,real ,presence means that we ought to have1 in the presence of the consecrated ,host1 the same feelings which we should have had in the presence of the visible ,christ4 ',let the dogmas be interpreted in this way1 and no one will dispute them4'#gh ,the same treatment of dogma is advocated in ,mr4 ,tyrrell's very able book ',lex ,orandi4' ,the test of truth for a dogma is not its correspondence with phenomenal fact1 but its 'prayer-value4' ,this writer1 at any rate before his suspension by the ,society of ,jesus1 to which he belonged1 is less subversive in his treatment of history than the ,french critics whom we have quoted4 ,although in apologetics the criterion for the acceptance of dogmas must1 he thinks1 be a moral and practical one1 he sometimes speaks as if the 'prayer-value' of an ostensibly historical proposition carried with it the necessity of its truth as matter of fact4 ',between the inward and the outward1 the world of reality and the world of appearances1 the relation is not merely one of symbolic correspondence4 ,the distinction that is demanded by the dualism of our mind implies and presupposes a causal and dynamic unity of the two4 ,we should look upon the outward world as being an effectual symbol of the inward1 in consequence of its natural and causal connection therewith4'#gi ,but ,mr4 ,tyrrell does not seem to mean all that these sentences might imply4 ,he speaks repeatedly1 in the ',lex ,orandi1' of the 'will-world' as the only real world4 ',the will 7he says7 cannot make that true which in itself is not true4 ,but it can make that a fact relatively to our mind and action which is not a fact relative to our understanding4444 ,it rests with each of us by an act of will to create the sort of world to which we shall accommodate our thought and action4 4444,it does not follow that harmony of faith with the truths of reason and facts of experience is the best or essential condition of its credibility4444 ,abstractions 7he refers to the world as known to science7 are simple only because they are barren forms created by the mind itself4 ,faith and doubt have a common element in the deep sense of the insufficiency of the human mind to grasp ultimate truths4444 ,the world given to our outward senses is shadowy and dreamy1 except so far as we ascribe to it some of the characteristics of will and spirit4444 ,the world of appearance is simply subordinate to the real world of our will and affections4' ,because the 'abstract' sciences cannot and do not attempt to reach ultimate truth1 it is assumed that they are altogether 'barren forms1' ,this is the error of much ,oriental mysticism1 which denies all value to what it regards as the lower categories4 ,in his later writings ,mr4 ,tyrrell objects to being classed with the ,american and ,english pragmatists--the school of ,mr4 ,william ,james4 ,but the doctrine of these passages is ultra-pragmatist4 ,the will1 which is illegitimately stretched to include feeling1#hj is treated as the creator as well as the discerner of reality4 ,the 'world of appearance' is plastic in its grasp4 ,it is this metaphysical pragmatism which is really serviceable to ,modernism4 ,if the categories of the understanding can be so disparaged as to be allowed no independent truth1 value1 or importance1 all collisions between faith and fact may be avoided by discrediting in advance any conclusions at which science may arrive4 ,assertions about 'brute fact' which are scientifically false may thus not be untrue when taken out of the scientific plane1 because outside that plane they are harmless word-pictures1 soap-bubbles blown off by the poetical creativeness of faith ,any assertion about fact which commends itself to the will and affections and which is proved by experience to furnish nutriment to the spiritual life1 may be adhered to without scruple4 ,it is not only useful1 but true1 in the only sense in which truth can be predicated of anything in the higher sphere4 ,the obvious criticism on this notion of religious truth as purely moral and practical is that it is itself abstract and one-sided4 ,the universe as it appears to discursive thought1 with its vast system of seemingly uniform laws1 which operate without much consideration for our wishes or feelings1 must be at least an image of the real universe4 ,we cannot accept the irreconcilable dualism between the will-world and the world of phenomena which the philosophical ,modernists assume4 ,the dualism1 or rather the contradiction1 is not in the nature of things1 nor in the constitution of our minds1 but in the consciousness of the unhappy men who are trying to combine two wholly incompatible theories4 ,on the critical side they are pure rationalists1 much as they dislike the name4 ,they claim1 as we have seen1 to have advanced to philosophy through criticism4 ,but the ,modernist critics start with very well-defined presuppositions4 ,they ridicule the notion that ',god is a personage in history'2 they assume that for the historian ',he cannot be found anywhere'2 that ,he is as though ,he did not exist4 ,on the strength of this presupposition1 and for no other reason1 they proceed to rule out1 without further investigation1 all alleged instances of divine intervention in history4 ,unhampered by any of the misgivings which predispose the ordinary believer to conservatism1 they follow the rationalist argument to its logical conclusions with startling ruthlessness4 ,and then1 when the whole edifice of historical religion seems to have been overthrown to the very foundations1 they turn round suddenly and say that all their critical labours mean nothing for faith1 and that we may go on repeating the old formulas as if nothing had happened4 ,the ,modernists pour scorn on the scholastic 'faculty-psychology1' which resolves human personality into a syndicate of partially independent agents2 but1 in truth1 their attempt to blow hot and cold with the same mouth seems to have involved them in a more disastrous self-disruption than has been witnessed in the history of thought since the fall of the ,nominalists4 ,in a sceptical and disillusioned age their disparagement of 'intellectualism' or rather of discursive thought in all its operations1 might find a response4 ,but in the twentieth century the science which1 as critics1 they follow so unswervingly will not submit to be bowed out of the room as soon as matters of faith come into question4 ,our contemporaries believe that matters of fact are important1 and they insist1 with ever-increasing emphasis1 that they shall not be called upon to believe1 as part of their religious faith1 anything which as a matter of fact1 is not true4 ,the ,modernist critic1 when pressed on this side1 says that it is natural for faith to represent its ideas in the form of historical facts1 and that it is this inevitable tendency which causes the difficulties between religion and science4 ,a sane criticism will allow that this is very largely true1 but will not1 we are convinced1 be constrained to believe with ,m4 ,loisy that the historical original of the ,christian ,redeemer was the poor deluded enthusiast whom he portrays in ',les vangiles ,synoptiques4' ,however this may be--and it must remain a matter of opinion--the very serious question arises1 whether it is really natural for faith to represent its ideas in the form of historical facts when it knows that these facts have no historical basis4 ,the writers with whom we are dealing evidently think it is natural and inevitable1 and we must assume that they speak from their own spiritual experience4 ,but this state of mind does not seem to be a very common one4 ,those who believe in the divinity of ,christ1 but not in ,his supernatural birth and bodily resurrection1 do not1 as a rule1 make those miracles the subject of their meditations1 but find their spiritual sustenance in communion with the ',christ who is the same yesterday1 to-day1 and for ever4 ,those who regard ,jesus only as a prophet sent by ,god to reveal the ,father1 generally pray only to the ,god whom ,he revealed1 and cherish the memory of ,jesus with no other feelings than supreme gratitude and veneration4 ,those1 lastly1 who worship in ,god only the ,great ,unknown who makes for righteousness1 find myths and anthropomorphic symbols merely disturbing in such devotions as they are still able to practise4 ,in dealing with convinced ,voluntarists it is perhaps not disrespectful to suggest that the difficult position in which they find themselves has produced a peculiar activity of the will1 such as is seldom found under normal conditions4 ,we pass to the position of the ,modernists in the ,roman ,catholic ,church4 ,it is well known that the advisers of ,pius ,x have committed the ,papacy to a wholesale condemnation of the new movement4 ,the reasons for this condemnation are thus summed up by a distinguished ecclesiastic of that ,church#ha3 ',why has the ,pope condemned the ,modernists8 7#a7 ,because the ,modernists have denied that the divine facts related in the ,gospel are historically true4 7#b7 ,because they have denied that ,christ for most of ,his life knew that ,he was ,god1 and that ,he ever knew that ,he was the ,saviour of the world4 7#c7 ,because they have denied the divine sanction and the perpetuity of the great dogmas which enter into the ,christian creed4 7#d7 ,because they have denied that ,christ ,himself personally ever founded the ,church or instituted the ,sacraments4 7#e7 ,because they deny and subvert the divine constitution of the ,church1 by teaching that the ,pope and the bishops derive their powers1 not directly from ,christ and ,his ,apostles1 but from the ,christian people4' ,the official condemnation is contained in two documents--the decree of the ,holy ,inquisition1 ',lamentabili sane exitu1' ,july #c1 #aijg1 and the ,encyclical1 ',pascendi dominici gregis1' ,september #h1 #aijg4 ,these pronouncements are intended for ,catholics2 and their tone is that of authoritative denunciation rather than of argument4 ,in the main1 the summary which they give of ,modernist doctrines is as fair as could be expected from a judge who is passing sentence2 but the papal theologians have not always resisted the temptation to arouse prejudice by misrepresenting the views which they condemn4 ,we have not space to analyse these documents1 nor is it necessary to do so4 ,it will be more to the purpose to consider whether1 in spite of their official condemnation1 the ,modernists are likely in the future to make good their footing in the ,roman ,church4 ,even before the ,encyclical the ,modernists had used very bold language about the authority of the ,church4 ',the visible ,church 7writes ,mr4 ,tyrrell in his ,much-abused ,letter7 is but a means1 a way1 a creature1 to be used where it helps1 to be left where it hinders4444 ,who have taught us that the consensus of theologians cannot err1 but the theologians themselves8 ,mortal1 fallible1 ignorant men like ourselves6 444 ,their present domination is but a passing episode in the ,church's history4444 ,may not history repeat itself8 as in the transition from ,judaism to ,christianity4 ,is ,god's arm shortened that ,he should not again out of the very stones raise up seed to ,abraham8 ,may not ,catholicism1 like ,judaism1 have to die in order that it may live again in a greater and grander form8 ,has not every organism got its limits of development1 after which it must decay and be content to survive in its progeny8 ,wine-skins stretch1 but only within measure2 for there comes at last a bursting-point when new ones must be provided4' ,in a note he explains3 ',the ,church of the ,catacombs became the ,church of the ,vatican2 who can tell what the ,church of the ,vatican may not turn into8' ,it is thus on a very elastic theory of development that the ,modernists rely4 ',the differences between the larval and final stages of many an insect are often far greater than those which separate kind from kind4' ,and so this ,proteus of a ,church1 which has changed its form so completely since the ,gospel was first preached in the subterranean galleries of ,rome1 may undergo another equally startling metamorphosis and come to believe in a ,god who never intervenes in history4 ,we may here remind our readers of ,newman's tests of true development1 and mark the enormous difference4 ,mr4 ,tyrrell's ',much-abused ,letter' reaches1 perhaps1 the high-water mark of ,modernist claims4 ,not all the writers whom we have quoted would view with complacency the prospect of the ,catholic ,church dying to live again1 or being content to live only in its progeny4 ,the proverb about the new wine-skins is one of sinister augury in such a connection4 ,if the ,catholic ,church is really in such an advanced stage of decay that it must die before it can live1 why do those who grasp the situation wish to keep it alive8 ,are they not precisely pouring their new wine into old bottles8 ,mr4 ,tyrrell himself draws the parallel with ,judaism in the first century4 ,paul1 he says1 'did not feel that he had broken with ,judaism1' ,but the ,synagogue did feel that he had done so1 and history proved that the ,synagogue was right4 ,development1 however great the changes which it exhibits1 can only follow certain laws2 and the development of the ,church of ,rome has steadily followed a direction opposite to that which the ,modernists demand that it shall take4 ,newman might plausibly claim that the doctrines of purgatory and of the papal supremacy are logically involved in the early claims of the ,roman ,church4 ,the claim is true at least in this sense1 that1 given a political ,church organised as an autocracy1 these useful doctrines were sure1 in the interests of the government1 to be promulgated sooner or later4 ,but there is not the slightest reason to suppose that the next development will be in the direction of that peculiar kind of ,liberalism favoured by the ,modernists4 ,it is difficult to see how the ,vatican could even meet the reformers half-way without making ruinous concessions4' ,this supernatural mechanism1' ,m4 ,loisy says in his last book1 ',modernism tends to ruin completely1' ,just so2 but the ,roman ,church lives entirely on the faith in supernatural mechanism4 ,her sacramental and sacerdotal system is based on supernatural mechanism--on divine interventions in the physical world conditioned by human agency2 her theology and books of devotion are full of supernatural mechanism2 the lives of her saints1 her relics and holy places1 the whole literature of ,catholic mysticism1 the living piety and devotion of the faithful1 wherever it is still to be found1 are based entirely on that very theory of supernaturalistic dualism which the ,modernist1 when he acts as critic1 begins by ruling out as devoid of any historical or scientific actuality4 ,the attractiveness of ,catholicism as a cult depends almost wholly on its frank admission of the miraculous as a matter of daily occurrence4 ,to rationalise even contemporary history as ,m4 ,loisy has rationalised the ,gospels would be suicide for ,catholicism4 ,it is tempting to give a concrete instance by way of illustrating the impassable chasm which divides ,catholicism as a working system from the academic scheme of transformation which we have been considering4 ',the ,french ,catholics 7writes the ,times correspondent in ,paris on ,june #be1 #aijh7 are awaiting with concern the report of a special commission on a mysterious affair known as the ,miraculous ,hailstones of ,remiremont4 ,on ,sunday1 ,may #bf1 #aijg1 during a violent storm that swept over that region of the ,vosges1 among the great quantity of hailstones that fell at the time a certain number were found split in two4 ,on the inner face of each of the halves1 according to the local papers that appeared the next day1 was the image of the ,madonna venerated at ,remiremont and known as ,notre ,dame du ,trsor4 ,the local ,catholics regarded it as a reply to the municipal council's veto of the procession in honour of the ,virgin4 ,so many people testified to having seen the miraculous hailstones that the bishop of ,saint-,di instituted an inquiry2 #ajg men1 women1 and children were heard by the parish priest1 and certain well-known men of science names given were consulted4 ,the report has just been published in the ,semaine ,religieuse1 and concludes in favour of the absolute authenticity of the fact under inquiry4 4444,the last word rests with the bishop1 who will decide according to the conclusions of the report of the special commission4' ,this is ,catholicism in practice4 ,those who think to reform it by their contention that supernatural interventions can never be matters of fact1 are liable to the reproach which they most dislike--that of scholastic intellectualism1 and neglect of concrete experience4 ,this denial of the supernatural as a factor in the physical world seems to us alone sufficient to make the position of the ,modernists in the ,roman ,church untenable4 ,that form of ,christianity stands or falls with belief in miracles4 ,it has always sought to bring the divine into human life by intercalating acts of ,god among facts of nature4 ,its whole sacred literature1 as we have said1 is penetrated through and through by the belief that ,god continually intervenes to change the course of events4 ,what would become of the cult of ,mary and the saints if it were recognised that ,god does not so interfere1 and that the saints1 if criticism allows that they ever existed1 can do nothing by their intercessions to avert calamity or bring blessing8 ,the ,modernist priest1 it appears1 can still say ',ora pro nobis' to a ,mary whose biography he believes to be purely mythical4 ,at any rate1 he can tell his consultants with a good conscience that if they pray to ,mary for grace they will receive it4 ,but what is the good of this make-believe8 ,and1 if it is part of a transaction in which the worshipper pays money for assistance which he believes to be miraculous and only obtainable through the good offices of the ,church1 is it even morally honest8 ,the worshipper may be helped by his subjective conviction that his cheque on the treasury of merit has been honoured2 but if1 apart from the natural effects of suggestion1 nothing has been given him but a mere placebo1 is the sacerdotal office one which an honourable man would wish to fill8 ,we have no wish whatever to make any imputation against the motives of the brave men who have withstood the thunders of the ,vatican1 and who in some cases have been professionally ruined by their courageous avowal of their opinions4 ,perhaps none but a ,catholic priest can understand how great the sacrifice is when one in his position breaks away from the authority of those who speak in the name of the ,church1 and deliberately incurs the charge1 still so terrible in ,catholic ears1 of being a heretic and a teacher of heresy4 ,not one man in twenty would dare to face the storm of obloquy1 hatred1 and calumny which is always ready to fall on the head of a heretical priest4 ,the ,encyclical indicates the measures which are to be taken officially against ,modernists4 ,pius ,x ordains that all the young professors suspected of ,modernism are to be driven from their chairs in the seminaries2 that infected books are to be condemned indiscriminately1 even though they may have received an imprimatur2 that a committee of censors is to be established in every diocese for the revision of books2 that meetings of liberal priests or laymen are to be forbidden2 that every diocese is to have a vigilance committee to discover and inform against ,modernists2 and that young clerical ,modernists are to be put 'in the lowest places1' and held up to the contempt of their more orthodox or obsequious comrades4 ,but this persecution is as nothing compared with the crushing condemnation with which the religious world1 which is his only world1 visits this kind of contumacy2 the loss of friendships1 the grief and shame of loved relatives1 and the haunting dread that an authority so august as that which has condemned him cannot have spoken in vain4 ,assuredly all lovers of truth must do homage to the courage and self-sacrifice of these men4 ,the doubt which may be reasonably felt and expressed as to the consistency of their attitude reflects no discredit on them personally4 ,nevertheless1 the alternative must be faced1 that a 'modernised' ,catholicism must either descend to deliberate quackery1 or proclaim that the bank from which the main part of her revenues is derived has stopped payment4 ,what will be the end of the struggle1 and in what condition will it leave the greatest ,church in ,christendom8 ,there are some who think that the ,church will grow tired of the attitude of ,canute1 and will retreat to the chair which ,modernism proffers1 well above high-water mark4 ,but the policy of ,rome has never been concession1 but repression1 even at the cost of alienating large bodies of her supporters2 and we believe that in the present instance1 as on former occasions1 the ,vatican will continue to proscribe ,modernism until the movement within her body is crushed4 ,she can hardly do otherwise1 for the alternative offered is not a gradual reform of her dogmas1 but a sweeping revolution4 ,this we have made abundantly clear by quotations from the ,modernists themselves4 ,if the ,vatican once proclaimed that such views about supernaturalism as those which we have quoted are permissible1 a deadly wound would be inflicted on the faith of simple ,catholics all over the world4 ,the ,vicar of ,christ would seem to them to have apostatised4 ,the whole machinery of piety1 as practised in ,catholic countries1 would be thrown out of gear4 ,nor is there any strong body of educated laymen1 such as exists in the ,protestant ,churches1 who could influence the ,papacy in the direction of ,liberalism4 ,not only are the laity taught that their province is to obey1 and never to call in question the decisions of ecclesiastics1 but the large majority of thoughtful laymen have already severed their connection with the ,church1 and take no interest in projects for its reform4 ,everything points to a complete victory for the ,jesuits and the orthodox party2 and1 much as we may regret the stifling of free discussion1 and the expulsion of earnest and conscientious thinkers from the ,church which they love1 it is difficult to see how any other policy could be adopted4 ,of the ,modernists1 a few will secede1 others will remain in the ,church1 though in open revolt against the ,vatican2 but the majority will be silenced1 and will make a lip-submission to authority4 ,the disastrous results of the rebellion1 and of the means taken to crush it1 will be apparent in the deterioration of the priesthood4 ,modern thought1 it will be said1 has now been definitely condemned by the ,church2 war has been openly declared against progress4 ,many who1 before the crisis of the last few years1 believed it possible to enter the ,roman ,catholic priesthood without any sacrifice of intellectual honesty1 will in the future find it impossible to do so4 ,we may expect to see this result most palpable in ,france1 where men think logically1 and are but little influenced by custom and prejudice4 ,unless the ,republican ,government blows the dying embers into a blaze by unjust persecution1 it is to be feared that ,catholicism in that country may soon become 'une quantit ngligeable4' ,the prospects of the ,church in ,italy and ,spain do not seem very much better4 ,in fact the only comfort which we can suggest to those who regret the decline of an august institution1 is that decadent autocracies have often shown an astonishing toughness4 ,but as head of the universal ,church1 in any true sense of the word1 ,rome has finished her life4 ,a more vital question1 for those at least who are ,christians1 but not ,roman ,catholics1 is in what shape the ,christian religion will emerge from the assaults upon traditional beliefs which science and historical criticism are pressing home4 ,we have given our reasons for rejecting the ,modernist attempt at reconstruction4 ,in the first place1 we do not feel that we are required by sane criticism to surrender nearly all that ,m4 ,loisy has surrendered4 ,we believe that the kingdom of ,god which ,christ preached was something much more than a patriotic dream4 ,we believe that ,he did speak as never man spake1 so that those who heard ,him were convinced that ,he was more than man4 ,we believe1 in short1 that the object of our worship was a historical figure4 ,nothing has yet come to light1 or is likely to come to light1 which prevents us from identifying the ,christ of history with the ,christ of faith1 or the ,christ of experience4 ,but1 if too much is surrendered on one side1 too much is taken back on the other4 ,the contention that the progress of knowledge has left the traditional beliefs and cultus of ,catholics untouched is untenable4 ,it is not too much to say that the whole edifice of supernaturalistic dualism under which ,catholic piety has sheltered itself for fifteen hundred years has fallen in ruins to the ground4 ,there is still enough superstition left to win a certain vogue for miraculous cures at ,lourdes1 and split hailstones at ,remiremont4 ,but that kind of religion is doomed1 and will not survive three generations of sound secular education given equally to both sexes4 ,the craving for signs and wonders--that broad road which attracts so many converts and wins so rapid a success--leads religion at last to its destruction1 as ,christ seems to have warned ,his own disciples4 ,science has been the slowly advancing ,nemesis which has overtaken a barbarised and paganised ,christianity4 ,she has come with a winnowing fan in her hand1 and she will not stop till she has thoroughly purged her floor4 ,she has left us the divine ,christ1 whatever may be the truth about certain mysterious events in ,his human life4 ,but assuredly she has not left us the right to offer wheedling prayers to a mythical ,queen of ,heaven2 she has not left us the right to believe in such puerile stories as the ,madonna-stamp on hailstones1 in order to induce a comfortably pious state of mind4 ,the dualism alleged to exist between faith and knowledge will not serve4 ,man is one1 and reality is one2 there can no more be two 'orders of reality' not affecting each other than there can be two faculties in the human mind working independently of each other4 ,the universe which is interpreted to us by our understanding is not unreal1 nor are its laws pliant to our wills1 as the pragmatists do vainly talk4 ,it is a divinely ordered system1 which includes man1 the roof and crown of things1 and ,christ1 in whom is revealed to us its inner character and meaning4 ,it is not the province of faith either to flout scientific knowledge1 or to contaminate the material on which science works by intercalating what ,m4 ,le ,roy calls 'transhistorical symbols'--myths in fact--which do not become true by being recognised as false1 as the new apologetic seems to suggest4 ,faith is not the born storyteller of ,modernist theology4 ,faith is1 on the practical side1 just the resolution to stand or fall by the noblest hypothesis2 and1 on the intellectual side1 it is a progressive initiation1 by experiment which ends in experience1 into the unity of the good1 the true1 and the beautiful1 founded on the inner assurance that these three attributes of the divine nature have one source and conduct to one goal4 ,the ,modernists are right in finding the primary principle of faith in the depths of our undivided personality4 ,they are right in teaching that faith develops and comes into its own only through the activity of the whole man4 ,they are right in denying the name of faith to correct opinion1 which may leave the character untouched4 ,as ,hartley ,coleridge says3 ',think not the faith by which the just shall live ,is a dead creed1 a map correct of heaven1 ,far less a feeling fond and fugitive1 ,a thoughtless gift1 withdrawn as soon as given4 ,it is an affirmation and an act ,that bids eternal truth be present fact4' ,for all this we are grateful to them4 ,but we maintain that the future of ,christianity is in the hands of those who insist that faith and knowledge must be confronted with each other till they have made up their quarrel4 ,the crisis of faith cannot be dealt with by establishing a modus vivendi between scepticism and superstition4 ,that is all that ,modernism offers us2 and it will not do4 ,rather we will believe1 with ,clement of ,alexandria1 that pist h gnhsist1 gnsth de h phistist4 ,if this confidence in the reality of things hoped for and the hopefulness of things real be well-founded1 we must wait in patience for the coming of the wise master-builders who will construct a more truly ,catholic ,church out of the fragments of the old1 with the help of the material now being collected by philosophers1 psychologists1 historians1 and scientists of all creeds and countries4 ,when the time comes for this building to rise1 the contributions of the ,modernists will not be described as wood1 hay1 or stubble4 ,they have done valuable service to biblical criticism1 and in other branches1 which will be always recognised4 ,but the building will not 7we venture to prophesy7 be erected on their plan1 nor by their ,church4 ,history shows few examples of the rejuvenescence of decayed autocracies4 ,nor is our generation likely to see much of the reconstruction4 ,the churches1 as institutions1 will continue for some time to show apparent weakness2 and other moralising and civilising agencies will do much of their work4 ,but1 since there never has been a time when the character of ,christ and the ethics which he taught have been held in higher honour than the present1 there is every reason to expect that the next ',age of ,faith1' when it comes1 will be of a more genuinely ,christian type than the last4 ,,footnotes3 #ej ,bishop ,creighton always emphasised this view of ,roman ,catholicism4 ',the ,roman ,church1' he wrote1 'is the most complete expression of ,erastianism1 for it is not a ,church at all1 but a state in its organisation2 and the worst form of state--an autocracy4' 7,life and ,letters1 ii4 #cge47 #ea ,in contrast with 'henotheism' or 'monolatry1' such as the worship of the early ,hebrews4 #eb ',nunc defecit certa successio in omnibus ecclesiis apostolicis1 praeterquam in ,romana1 et ideo ex testimonio huius solius ecclesiae sumi potest certum argumentum ad probandas apostolicas traditiones4' ,bellarmine1 ,de ,verbo ,dei scripto et non scripto1 ,,iv1 ix1 #aj4 #ec ,bellarmine1 ,de ,laicis1 ,,iii1 xxi1 #bb4 #ed3 ,santayana1 ,return in ,religion1 p4 #ajh4 #ee ,tertullian1 ,de ,virg4 ,vel41 #a4 #ef ,encyclical of ,october #bg1 #aija4 #eg ,in ,the ,programme of ,modernism1 and ,quello che vogliamo4 #eh ,the ,programme of ,modernism1 p4 #af4 #ei ,the ,programme of ,modernism1 pp4 #ej-ed4 #fj ,loisy1 ,simples ,rflexions1 p4 #afh4 #fa ,ibid4 ,l'vangile et l'glise1 pp4 #c-e4 #fb ,ibid4 ,les vangiles ,synoptiques1 p4 #aai4 #fc ,ibid4 #fd ,ibid4 p4 #adc4 #fe ,ibid4 pp4 #ach1 #aci4 #ff ,ibid4 p4 #ajd4 #fg ,loisy1 ,les vangiles ,synoptiques1 p4 #aff4 #fh ,ibid4 p4 #afi4 #fi ,ibid4 ,le ,quatrime vangile1 passim4 #gj ,loisy1 ,les vangiles ,synoptiques1 p4 #bad4 #ga ,ibid4 p4 #bah4 #gb ,loisy1 ,les vangiles ,synoptiques1 p4 #bbc4 #gc ,the ,programme of ,modernism1 pp4 #hb1 #hc4 #gd ,ibid4 p4 #ij4 #ge ,loisy1 ,simples ,rflexions1 p4 #baa4 #gf ,laberthonnire1 ,le ,ralisme ,chrtien et l',idalisme ,grec1 pp4 #dd1 #de4 #gg ,malachi1 ii4 #f4 #gh ,le ,roy1 ,dogme et ,critique1 p4 #bf4 #gi ,lex ,orandi1 p4 #afe 7abridged74 #hj ,this is not carelessness on the part of the writer4 ,paulsen also says 7,introduction to ,philosophy1 p4 #aab71 #d ,it is impossible to separate feeling and willing from each other4444 ,only in the highest stage of psychical life1 in man1 does a partial separation of feeling from willing occur4' ,but it is the highest stage of psychical life1 the human1 with which we are alone concerned2 and in this stage it is both possible and necessary to distinguish between feeling and willing4 ,some ,voluntarists1 hard pressed by facts1 try to make 'will' cover the whole of conscious and subconscious life1 with the exception of logical reasoning1 which is excluded as a sort of pariah6 #ha ,mgr4 ,moyes1 in ,the ,nineteenth ,century1 ,december1 #aijg4 ,,cardinal ,,newman 7#aiab7 ,the life of ,newman was divided into two nearly equal portions by his change of religion in ,october #ahde4 ,for the earlier half of his career we have long had his own narrative2 and ,newman is a prince of autobiographers4 ,it was his wish that the ',apologia' should be the final and authoritative account of his life in the ,church of ,england1 and of the steps by which he was led to transfer his allegiance to another communion4 ,the voluminous literature of the ,tractarian movement1 which includes large collections of ,newman's own letters1 has confirmed the accuracy of his narrative1 and has made any further description of that strange episode in ,english ,university life superfluous4 ,with the ',apologia' and ,dean ,church's ',oxford ,movement' before him1 the reader needs no more4 ,mr4 ,wilfrid ,ward has therefore been well advised to adhere loyally to the ,cardinal's wishes1 by confining himself to the last half of ,newman's life1 after a brief summary of his childhood1 youth1 and middle age till #ahde4 ,nevertheless1 it is misleading to give the title ',the ,life of ,cardinal ,newman' to a work which is only1 as it were1 the second volume of a biography4 ,there are very few men1 however long-lived1 who have not done much of their best work before the age of forty-five1 and ,newman was certainly not one of the exceptions4 ,from every point of view1 except that of the ,roman ,catholic ecclesiastical historian1 ,newman's ,anglican career was far more interesting and important than his residence at ,birmingham4 ,he will live in history1 not as the recluse of ,edgbaston1 nor as the wearer of the ,cardinal's hat which fell to his lot1 almost too late to save the credit of the ,vatican1 when he had passed the normal limit of human life1 but as the real founder and leader of nineteenth century ,anglo-,catholicism1 the movement which he created and then tried in vain to destroy4 ,the projects and failures and successes of his later life seem very pale and almost petty when compared with the activities of the years while he was making a chapter of ,english history4 ,his greatest book1 though it was written many years after his secession1 is the record of a drama which ended in the interview with ,father ,dominic the ,passionist4 ,it is ',the ,history of my ,religious ,opinions'2 and after #ahde his religious opinions had1 as he says himself1 no further history4 ,the incomparable style which will give him a permanent place among the masters of ,english prose was the product of his life at ,oxford1 where he lived in a society of highly cultivated men1 whose writings show many of the same excellences as his own4 ,newman's ,english is only the ,oriel manner at its best4 ,such an instrument could hardly have been forged at the ,birmingham ,oratory1 where his associates1 who had followed him from ,littlemore1 were of such an inferior type that ,mark ,pattison1 who knew them1 was surprised that he could be satisfied with their company4 ,his best sermons and his best poetry belong to his ,anglican period4 ',the ,dream of ,gerontius1' with all its tender grace1 is far less virile than ',lead1 kindly ,light1' and other short poems of his youth4 ,moreover1 his record as a ,roman ecclesiastic is one of almost unrelieved failure4 ,if he had died eighteen years after his secession1 when he already looked upon himself as an old man whose course was nearly run1 he would have been regarded as one who had sacrificed a great career in the ,church of ,england for neglect and obscurity4 ,from the first he was distrusted by the ',old ,catholics' 7the old ,roman ,catholic families in ,england71 and suspected at the ,vatican1 where ,talbot assiduously represented him as 'the most dangerous man in ,england4' ,when ,manning1 ,archdeacon of ,chichester1 followed his example and joined the ,roman ,church1 ,newman was confronted with a still more subtle and relentless opponent1 whose hostility was never relaxed till the accession of a ,liberal ,pope made it no longer possible to resist the bestowal of tardy honours upon a feeble octogenarian4 ,the recognition came in time to soothe his decline1 but too late to enable him to leave his mark upon the administration of the ,roman ,church4 ,the main events in a very uneventful career are narrated at length in ,mr4 ,ward's volumes4 ,after his 'conversion' ,newman first resided in a small community at ,maryvale 7,oscott7 but soon left it on a journey to ,rome1 where he spent some time at the ,collegio di ,propaganda1 and had a foretaste of the distrust with which ,pius ,,ix and his advisers always regarded him4 ,his plan at this time was to found a theological seminary at ,maryvale2 and in this scheme he had the support of ,wiseman1 the ablest ,roman ecclesiastic in the ,united ,kingdom4 ,but the ',essay on ,development1' with its unscholastic language and unfamiliar line of apologetic1 seriously alarmed the theologians at ,rome2 and ,newman1 accepting the first of many rebuffs1 abandoned this project in favour of another4 ,he resolved to join the ,oratorians1 an order founded by ,st4 ,philip ,neri1 and obtained permission to modify1 in his projected establishment1 the rules of the ,order1 which1 among other things1 prescribed frequent floggings in public4 ,he visited ,naples1 and came back a believer in the liquefaction of the saint's blood4 ,the amazing letter to ,henry ,wilberforce1 writter from ,santa ,croce1 shows that he was the most docile and credulous of converts4 ,even the ,holy ,house at ,loreto caused him no difficulty4 ',he who floated the ark on the surges of a world-wide sea1 and inclosed in it all living things1 who has hidden the terrestrial paradise1 who said that faith might remove mountains 444 could do this wonder also4' ,it 'may have been'2 'everybody believes it in ,rome'2 therefore ,newman 'has no doubt'6 ,the new ,oratory was placed by ,papal brief at ,birmingham4 ,the first members of it were his friends who had left the ,english ,church with him4 ,recruits soon came in1 and branch houses were talked of4 ,but for many years ,newman had reason to complain of neglect and want of sympathy4 ,he even found empty churches when he preached in ,london4 ,in conjunction with ,faber1 he next started a series of ',lives of the ,saints1' in which the most absurd 'miracles' were accepted without question as true4 ,the ',old ,catholics1' who had no stomach for such food1 protested2 and ,newman1 this time thoroughly irritated1 had to admit another failure4 ,the ,oratory1 however1 and its ,london offshoot under ,faber were prosperous1 and the churches where ,newman preached were not long empty4 ,in #ahej we find him in better spirits4 ,he employed his energies in a series of clever lectures on ',anglican ,difficulties1' in which he ridiculed the ,church of his earlier vows with all the refined cruelty of which he was a master4 ,but he was soon in trouble again4 ,one ,dr4 ,giacinto ,achilli1 formerly a ,dominican friar1 gave lectures in ,london upon the scandals of the ,roman ,inquisition1 which had imprisoned him for attacking the ,catholic faith and fomenting sedition4 ,the temper of the ,british public at this time made it ready to believe anything to the discredit of the ,roman ,church1 and ,achilli became a popular hero4 ,wiseman published a libellous article upon him in the ,dublin ,review1 which passed unnoticed4 ,but when ,newman repeated the charges of profligacy in a public lecture1 ,achilli brought an action for libel1 which in costs and expenses cost ,newman #ab1jjj4 ,the money however was paid1 and much more than paid1 by his co-religionists4 ,this trial was quickly followed by the inauguration of a scheme for founding a ,catholic ,university in ,ireland1 the avowed object of which was to withdraw young ,catholics from the liberalising influences of mixed education4 ,this scheme was sure to appeal strongly to ,newman4 ,liberalism had come in with a rush at ,oxford1 after the dissipation of the 'long nightmare' 7as ,mark ,pattison calls it7 while the ,university was dominated by religious medievalism4 ,the ,oxford of ,newman had become the ,oxford of ,jowett4 ,the ablest of ,newman's young friends and disciples1 such as ,mark ,pattison and ,j4,a4 ,froude1 were now in the opposite camp1 full of anger and disgust at the seductive influences from which they had just escaped4 ,newman1 as might be expected1 was anxious to protect ,catholic students from similar dangers1 and accepted the post of ,rector of the proposed ,catholic ,university4 ,he intended it to provide 'philosophical defences of ,catholicity and ,revelation1 and create a ,catholic literature4' ,the lectures in which he expounded his ideals at ,dublin were a great success1 and he returned to ,england full of hope4 ,with a curious inability to read the character of one who was to be his worst enemy1 he offered ,manning the post of ,vice-,rector4 ,manning's refusal was followed by his failure to obtain the support of ,ward1 ,henry ,wilberforce1 and others2 and ,catholic opinion in ,ireland was much divided4 ,for three or four years ,newman was engaged in ineffectual efforts to push his scheme forward4 ,at last1 in #ahee1 he was installed as ,rector1 and began his work at ,dublin4 ,a fine church was built at ,st4 ,stephen's ,green with the surplus of the ,achilli subscriptions1 and ,newman produced some excellent literary work in the form of ,university lectures and sermons4 ,but the whole movement was viewed with distrust by the ,irish ecclesiastics1 who1 as he said in a moment of impatience1 'regard any intellectual man as being on the road to perdition4' ,there was a cloud over his work from first to last4 ,he had been promised a bishopric1 without which he was made to feel himself in an inferior position by the ,irish prelates2 but the promise was not fulfilled4 ,the ,irish objected to one or two ,english professors on his staff1 because they were ,english4 ,dr4 ,cullen1 the ruling spirit in the ,irish hierarchy1 was a narrow conservative1 who wished to use ,newman merely as an instrument against progressive tendencies in ,church and ,state4 ,in #aheg he resigned an impossible task1 and returned to ,birmingham4 ,new undertakings followed1 no more successful than the abortive university scheme4 ,there was to be a new translation of the ,bible1 and a new ,catholic magazine called the ,rambler4 ,the former enterprise was already well advanced when the general indifference of the ,catholic public caused it to be abandoned4 ,the ,rambler1 the contributors to which used a freedom of discussion unpalatable to ,roman ecclesiastics1 struggled on amid a storm of criticism till #ahei1 when ,newman1 who was then himself editor1 resigned1 and one more humiliating failure was registered4 ,the management of the magazine passed into other hands4 ,the ,oratory ,school at ,birmingham1 a much less contentious undertaking1 was successfully launched in the same year4 ,in #ahfj came the emancipation of the ,states of the ,church by ,cavour and ,victor ,emmanuel4 ,newman referred to the ,piedmontese as 'sacrilegious robbers1' but his advocacy of the temporal power was not strong enough to please the ,vatican1 while the strength of ,manning's language left nothing to be desired4 ,newman became more unpopular than ever4 ,his reputation suffered by his former connection with the ,rambler and his supposed connection with the ,home and ,foreign ,review1 which ,acton intended to represent the views of progressive ,catholics1 till it also was snuffed out by the hierarchy4 ,the five years from #ahei to #ahfd are considered by ,mr4 ,ward to have been the saddest in ,newman's life4 ,he felt1 truly enough1 that the dominant party had no sympathy with his aims1 and that he was treated as 'some wild incomprehensible beast1 a spectacle for ,dr4 ,wiseman to exhibit to strangers1 as himself being the hunter who captured it4' ',all through my life ,i have been plucked1' he writes to an old ,oxford friend4 ,there was even in his mind at this time a wistful yearning after the friends and the ,church that he had left--a feeling1 doubtless transient1 but significant1 which his biographer has allowed to show itself in a few pages of his book4 ,after reminding himself1 in his diary1 of the warning against those who1 after putting their hand to the plough1 'look back1' he proceeds to look back1 because he cannot help it4 ',i live more and more in the past1 and in hopes that the past may revive in the future4444 ,i think1 as death comes on1 his cold breath is felt on soul as on body1 and that1 viewed naturally1 my soul is half dead now1 whereas then in his ,protestant days it was in the freshness and fervour of youth4444 ,i say the same of my state of mind from #ahcd to #ahde1 when ,i became a ,catholic4 ,it is a time past and gone--it relates to a work done and over4 ,quis mihi tribuat1 ut sim iuxta menses pristinos1 secundum dies1 quibus ,deus custodiebat me8 ,quando splendebat lucerna eius super caput meum1 et ad lumen eius ambulabam in tenebris8 444 ,i have no friend at ,rome2 ,i have laboured in ,england1 to be misrepresented1 backbitten and scorned4 ,i have laboured in ,ireland1 with a door ever shut in my face4444 ,contemporaneously with this neglect on the part of those for whom ,i laboured1 there has been a drawing towards me on the part of ,protestants4 ,those very books and labours which ,catholics did not understand1 ,protestants did4 ,i am under the temptation of looking out for1 if not courting1 ,protestant praise4444 ,what ,i wrote as a ,protestant has had far greater power1 force1 meaning1 success1 than my ,catholic works4' ,such reflections might seem to indicate a disposition to return to the ,anglican fold4 ,but a man must have vanquished pride in its most insidious form before he can leave the ,church of ,rome for any other4 ,the aristocratic hauteur of the civis ,romanus among barbarians lives on in the sentiment of the ,roman ,catholic towards ,protestants4 ,when ,newman was publicly charged with intending to return to ,anglicanism1 this spirit broke out in a disagreeable and insulting manner4 ,the bitterness of these five years of neglect1 in which he had been eating his heart in silence1 must be remembered in connexion with the famous ,kingsley controversy1 which in #ahfd roused him to put on his armour and fight for his reputation4 ,there had always been an element of combativeness in ,newman's disposition4 ',nescio quo pacto1 my spirits most happily rise at the prospect of danger1' he wrote early in life4 ,and when he could persuade himself that not only his honour but that of the ,church was at stake1 he could feel and show the true ,catholic ferocity1 the cruellest spirit on earth4 ',a heresiarch1' he had written even in his ,anglican days1 'should meet with no mercy4 ,he must be dealt with by the competent authority as if he were embodied evil4 ,to spare him is a false and dangerous pity4 ,it is to endanger the souls of thousands1 and it is uncharitable towards himself'6 ,this was the temper1 soured by defeat and not mellowed by age1 which ,charles ,kingsley in an evil moment for himself chose wantonly to provoke4 ,at ,christmas #ahfc there appeared in ,macmillan's ,magazine a review of ,froude's ',history of ,england1' in which ,kingsley wrote ',truth for its own sake has never been a virtue with the ,roman clergy4 ,father ,newman informs us that it need not be1 and on the whole ought not to be--that cunning is the weapon which ,heaven has given to the saints wherewith to withstand the brute male force of the wicked world4' ,this charge was in fact based on a careless reading1 or an imperfect recollection1 of the twentieth discourse in ',sermons on ,subjects of the ,day4' ,the discourse in question is a somewhat nauseous glorification of the servile temper1 but it only says that the meekness of the saints is 7by ,divine providence7 so successful that it is always mistaken for craft4 ,the imputation of cunning is therefore a note of sanctity in its victim4 ,kingsley ought to have read the sermon again1 and withdrawn unreservedly from an untenable position4 ,but he thought that something less than a complete apology would serve2 and so gave ,newman the opportunity of his life4 ,when the withdrawal which he offered was rejected1 ,kingsley made matters ten times worse for himself by an ill-considered pamphlet called ',what then does ,dr4 ,newman mean8' ,in this effusion he vents all his scorn and hatred for ,catholicism--for its tortuous tactics1 its monstrous credulity and appetite for miracles1 which must proceed1 according to him1 either from infantile folly or from deliberate imposture4 ,forgetting altogether that he has to defend himself against a specific charge of slander1 he offers his great opponent the choice between writing himself down a knave or a fool--a knave if he pretends to believe in the ,holy ,coat and the blood of ,st4 ,januarius1 a fool if he does believe in them4 ,the coarseness of this attack upon an elderly man of saintly character and acknowledged intellectual eminence1 who had to all appearance blighted a great career by honestly obeying his conscience1 offended the ,british public1 which was now fully disposed to give a respectful and favourable hearing to whatever ,newman might care to say in reply4 ,in a ,catholic country it would have been useless for a ,protestant1 however falsely attacked1 to appeal to ,catholic public opinion for justice2 but ,newman understood the ,english character1 and saw his splendid chance4 ,the famous defence was1 from every point of view except the highest1 a complete triumph4 ,and although ,hort was strictly accurate in describing the treatment of ,kingsley as 'horribly unchristian1' it is demanding too much of human nature to expect a master of fence1 when wantonly attacked with a bludgeon1 to abstain from the pleasure of pricking his adversary scientifically in the tender parts of his body4 ,the bitterest passages were excised in later editions2 and the ',apologia' remains a masterpiece of autobiography1 and a powerful defence of ,catholicism4 ,to ,newman this appeared to be the turning-point in his fortunes4 ,he felt strong enough to administer a severe snub to ,monsignor ,talbot1 his old enemy1 who1 hearing of the success the ',apologia1' invited him to preach at ,rome4 ,then at once he threw himself into a great scheme for founding an ,oratory at ,oxford4 ,eight and a half acres were bought between ,worcester ,college1 the ,clarendon ,press1 the ,observatory1 and ,beaumont ,street1 a magnificent site1 which the ,oratorians acquired for only #hdjj4 ,but here again he was thwarted4 ,w4,g4 ,ward opposed the scheme with all his might1 insisting on the necessity of 'preserving the purity of a ,catholic atmosphere throughout the whole course of education4' ,the whole tendency of the ,ultramontane movement was to secure1 before all other things1 a body of militant young ,catholics to fight the battles of the ,church4 ,newman was willing to support the ,english ,church in its warfare against unbelief2 to the ,ultramontane a ,protestant is as certainly damned as an atheist1 and is more mischievous as being less amenable to ,catholic influence4 ,manning and ,talbot seem to have given the project its coup de grce at ,rome1 and ,newman sold the land which he had bought4 ,he was bitterly disappointed2 but the growth of public esteem had given him self-confidence1 and he did not again fall into despondency1 though he had a strange presentiment of approaching death1 which prompted his last famous poem1 ',the ,dream of ,gerontius4' ,a second attempt to go to ,oxford was thwarted by enemies at ,home and in ,england in #ahff-g4 ,the extreme party1 with ,manning1 now ,archbishop1 at their head1 seemed to be victorious all along the line4 ,they were able to proceed to their supreme triumph in the ,vatican ,council which issued the dogma of ,papal ,infallibility4 ,newman1 while others were intriguing and haranguing1 was quietly engaged in preparing his subtlest and 7on one side7 his most characteristic work1 ',the ,grammar of ,assent1' an attempt at a ,catholic apologetic on a 'personalist1' as opposed to an 'intellectualist' basis4 ,he declined to take an active part in the theological conferences about infallibility1 being by this time well aware how little weight such arguments as he could bring were likely to have at ,rome4 ,he was disgusted at the insolent aggressiveness of the ,ultramontanes1 but he had no wish to combat it4 ,the situation was hopeless1 and he knew it4 ,the death of several friends increased the sense of isolation1 and during the years #ahge to #ahgi his silence and depression were very noticeable to those who lived with him4 ,his dearest friend1 ,ambrose ,st4 ,john1 was one of several who died about this time4 ,but ,trinity ,college1 ,oxford1 made him an honorary fellow in #ahgg1 an honour which seemed to prognosticate the far higher distinction which was soon to be conferred upon him4 ,the death of ,pius ,,ix in #ahgh brought to an end the long reign of obscurantism at the ,vatican1 and with the election of ,leo ,,xiii ,newman emerged from the cloud under which he had remained for more than a generation4 ,the new ,pope lost no time in making him a ,cardinal1 though even now the prize seemed to be on the point of slipping through his fingers4 ,he valued the honour immensely as setting the official seal of approbation on his life's work1 and the last ten years of his life were quietly happy4 ,he was able to mingle actively in affairs of public interest1 and to write long letters1 till near the end4 ,he died on ,august #aa1 #ahij1 in his ninetieth year1 and was buried1 by his own request1 in the same grave with his friend ,ambrose ,st4 ,john4 ,why is it that this sad1 isolated1 broken life1 in which the young man renounces the creed of the boy1 and the elder man pours scorn upon the loyalties of his prime2 which found its last haven in a society which wished to make a tool of him but distrusted him too much for even this pitiful service1 has still an absorbing interest for our generation8 ,for it is not only in ,england that ,newman's fame lives and grows4 ,in ,france there is a cult of ,newman1 which has produced biographies by ,bremond and ,faure1 as well as a history of the ,catholic ,revival in ,england by ,thureau-,dangin4 ,in ,england1 besides ,dean ,church's ',oxford ,movement1' we have biographies by ,r4,h4 ,hutton and ,w4 ,barry1 and appreciations or depreciations by ,e4 ,abbott1 ,leslie ,stephen1 ,froude1 ,mark ,pattison1 and several others4 ,the interest is mainly personal and psychological4 ,newman's writings1 and his life1 are a 'human document' in a very peculiar degree4 ,bremond is right in calling attention to the autocentrism of ,newman4 ',although 7he says7 the words ,i and me are relatively rare in ,newman's writings1 whether as preacher1 novelist1 controversialist1 philosopher1 or poet1 he always reveals and always describes himself4' ,even his historical portraits are reconstructed from his inner consciousness2 hence their historical falsity--all ages are mixed in his histories--and their philosophical truth4 ,in a sense he was the most reserved of men4 ,we do not know whether he had any ordinary temptations2 we do not know whether he ever fell in love4 ,but the texture of his mind and the growth of his opinions have been laid bare to us with the candour of a saint and the accuracy of a dissector or analyst4 ,he reminds us of ,de ,quincey1 who also could tell the story of his own life1 but no other1 and whose style1 like his own1 was modelled on the literary traditions of the eighteenth century4 ,he has left us1 in the ',apologia1' a picture of his precocious and dreamy boyhood1 when he lived in a world of his own1 peopled by angels and spirits1 a world in which the supernatural was the only nature4 ,he was lonely and reserved1 then as always4 ,it is not for nothing that in his sermons he expatiates so often on the impenetrability of the human soul4 ,a nature so self-centred has always something hard and inhuman about it2 he was loved1 but loved little in return4 ,and yet he craved for more affection than he could reciprocate4 ',i cannot ever realise to myself1' he wrote once1 'that anyone loves me4' ,it is a common feeling in imaginative1 withdrawn characters4 ,deepseated in his nature was a reverence for the hidden springs of thought1 action1 and belief4 ,when he spoke of 'conscience1' as he did continually1 he meant1 not the faculty which decides ethical problems1 but the undivided soul-nature which underlies the separate activities of thought1 will1 and feeling4 ,in this sense the epigrammatist was right who said that 'to ,newman his own nature was a revelation which he called conscience4' ,he 'followed the gleam1' uncertain whither it would lead him4 ,the poem ',lead1 kindly ,light' is the most intimate self-revelation that he ever made4 ,this mental attitude1 which he took early in life1 became the foundation of his 'personalist' philosophy1 and of the anti-intellectualism which was the negative side of it4 ,but this reliance on the inner light1 which nearly made a mystic of him1 was clouded by a haunting fear of ,god's wrath1 which imparts a gloomy tinge to his ,anglican sermons1 and which1 while he was halting between the ,english ,church and ,rome1 plied him with the very unmystical question ',where shall ,i be most safe8' an argument which he had used repeatedly and without scruple in his parochial sermons4#hb ,it is nevertheless true that this self-centred spirit was1 at least in early life1 impressionable and open to the influence of others4 ,his friendship with ,hurrell ,froude and ,keble affected his opinions considerably3 and still more potent was the pervading intangible influence of ,oxford--the academic atmosphere4 ,it cannot indeed be said that the ,university was at this time in a healthy condition4 ,mark ,pattison has described with caustic contempt the intellectual lethargy of the place1 and the miserable quality of the lectures4 ,oxford was still de facto a close clerical corporation1 and in most colleges 'clubbable men' rather than scholars were chosen for the fellowships4 ,oriel won its unique position by breaking through this tradition1 and also by making originality rather than success in the university examinations the main qualification for election4 ,but even at ,oriel1 and among the ablest men1 there was great ignorance of much that was being thought and written elsewhere4 ,knowledge of ,german was rare4 ,even the classics were not read in a humanistic spirit4 ',of the world of wisdom and sentiment--of poetry and philosophy1 of social and political experience1 contained in the ,latin and ,greek classics1 and of the true relation of the degenerate and semi-barbarous ,christian writers of the fourth century to that world--,oxford1 in #ahcj1 had never dreamt4#hc ,theological prejudice in fact distorted the whole outlook of the resident fellows1 and confounded all estimation of relative values4 ,newman never1 all through his life1 took a step towards overcoming this early prejudice4 ,he imagined a golden age of the ,church1 or several golden ages1 and found them in 'the first three centuries1' in the time of ,alfred the ,great or of ,edward the ,confessor1 or in the seventeenth century4 ,he was only sure that the sixteenth century was made of much baser metal4 ,this unhistorical idealisation of the past1 even of a barbarous past1 was very characteristic of ,newman and his friends4 ,they bequeathed to the ,anglican ,church the strange legend of an age of pure doctrine and heroic practice1 to which it should be our aim to 'return4' ,the real strength of this legend lies in the fact that it has no historical foundation4 ,the ideal which is presented as a return or a revival is nothing of the kind1 but a creation of our own time1 projected by the imagination into the past1 from which it comes back with a halo of authority4 ,newman had his full share of these illusions4 ,in his youth and prime he was more of an ,englishman than an ,anglican4 ,he despised foreigners1 unless they were ,catholic saints1 could not bear the sight of the tricolor1 and hated all the 'ideas of the ,revolution4' ,his dictum1 ',luther is dead1 but ,hildebrand and ,loyola are alive1' throws a flood of light upon the contents of his mind1 as does the truly ,british prejudice which caused him to be horrified at the sight of ships coaling at ,malta 'on a holy day4' ,his range of ideas was so much restricted that ,bremond1 a sincere admirer1 says that his imagination lived on 'une poigne de souvenirs d'enfant4' ,how tragic was the fate which caught this loyal ,englishman and more than loyal ,oxonian in the meshes of a cosmopolitan institution in which ,england counted for little and ,oxford for nothing at all6 ,the ,reform of #ahcb seemed to threaten the ,english ,church with destruction4 ,arnold in this year wrote ',the ,church1 as it now stands1 no human power can save4' ,the bishops were stunned and bewildered by the unexpected outbreak of popular hostility4 ,old methods of defence were plainly useless2 some new plan of campaign must be devised against the double assault of political radicalism and theological liberalism4 ,to ,newman both alike were of the devil2 theological liberalism especially was only specious infidelity4 ,he never had the slightest inkling that a deep religious earnestness and love of truth underlay the revolt against orthodox tradition4 ,his fighting instincts were aroused4 ,when ,keble attributed the scheme for suppressing some ,irish bishopries to 'national apostasy1' he rushed to arms in defence of ,church privileges and property4 ,in the first ,tract 7#ahcc7 he says3 ',a notion has gone abroad that the people can take away your power4 ,they think they have given it and can take it away4 ,they have been deluded into a notion that present palpable usefulness1 produceable results1 acceptableness to your flocks--that these and such-like are the tests of your ,divine commission4 ,enlighten them in this matter4 ,exalt our holy fathers the ,bishops1 as the representatives of the ,apostles1 and the ,angels of the ,churches1 and magnify your office1 as being ordained by them to take part in their ministry4' ,that was the keynote of the whole ,tractarian movement4 ,a weapon was needed to smite liberalism4 ,nothing but a compact and powerful organisation could repel the foe4 ,god must have provided such an organisation3 a ,divine society1 certain of ultimate victory1 must exist somewhere4 ,newman and his friends hoped to find it in the ,anglican ,church2 and such was the power of their contagious zeal and confident enthusiasm1 that the immediate danger was actually staved off1 and the ,establishment was allowed a new lease of life4 ,but the national ,church of ,england was not constituted to resist the national will1 and the attempt to reorganise it on ,catholic lines was fore-doomed to failure4 ,and so1 since the assumption that a great institutional fighting ,church must exist was never even questioned1 when ,anglicanism failed him there was no other refuge but ,rome4 ,he was certainly more logical than his friends who remained behind4 ,anglo-,catholicism has its theoretical basis in a definition of ,catholicity which is repudiated by all other ,catholics2 its traditions are largely legendary4 ,but it is an eclectic system well suited to the ,english character1 and the distorted view of history which ,newman bequeathed to the party has enabled it to borrow much that is good from different sides1 without any sense of inconsistency4 ,the idea of a ,divine society has been and is the inspiration of thousands of ardent workers in the ,anglican ,church4 ,it lifted the religion of many ,englishmen from the somewhat gross and bourgeois condition in which the movement found it1 to a pure and unworldly idealism4 ,and1 unlike most other religious revivals1 especially in this country1 it has remained remarkably free from unhealthy emotionalism and hysterics4 ,the social atmosphere of ,oxford1 always alien to mawkish sentiment1 penetrated the whole movement1 and maintained in it for many years a certain sanity and dignity which1 while they doubtless prevented it from spreading widely in the middle class1 made the ,tractarians respected by men of taste and education4 ,but these influences could not be permanent4 ,the goodwill of the ,tractarian firm 7if we may so express it7 has now been acquired by men with very different aims and methods4 ,the ablest members of the party are plunging violently into social politics1 while the rank and file in increasing numbers are fluttering round the ,roman candle1 into which many of them must ultimately fall4 ,the progress of the movement between #ahcc and #ahde was almost entirely in the direction of teaching the clergy to 'magnify their office4' ,the other part of the scheme1 the combat against theological liberalism1 fell quite into the background4 ,the main reason for this was that during those strange years the theologians so completely dominated ,oxford that liberalism could hardly raise its head1 and was despised as well as hated4 ,only after ,newman's secession could the regeneration of the ,university begin4 ,then indeed liberalism came in like a flood1 though it was a very shallow flood in some cases4 ,this was the day of the self-satisfied young rationalist1 'ecart par une plaisanterie des croyances dont la raison d'un ,pascal ne russit pas se dgager1' as ,renan says--an orgy of facile free thought which after a generation was chastised by another clerical reaction4 ,if ,newman could have foreseen the victory of his party in the ,english ,church1 he might perhaps have been content to remain in it4 ,we cannot tell4 ,but it is doubtful whether he would have taken ,pusey's place as leader of the party4 ,newman's influence was disturbing and subtly disintegrating to every cause for which he laboured4 ,his startling candour often seemed like treachery4 ,he could not work with others1 and broke with nearly all his friends1 retaining only his disciples4 ,he confessed himself a bad judge of character4 ,it is doubtful1 after all1 whether he was much injured by the jealousy and almost instinctive fear which he inspired among the ,roman ,catholic hierarchy4 ,if he had been allowed to take the place due to his abilities1 his character1 and his reputation1 what could he have done that he was unable to do at ,edgbaston8 ,we cannot fancy him plunged in crooked ecclesiastical intrigue1 like that ,inglese italianato1 ,cardinal ,manning4 ,still less can we fancy him haranguing strikers1 and stealing the credit of composing a trade dispute4 ,no doubt he suffered under the sense of injury2 but probably he did what was in him to do4 ,if the ,roman ,church would not use him as a tool1 it was probably because he would not have been a good tool4 ,there are some mistakes which that ,church seldom makes2 it knows how to choose its men4 ,what will be the verdict of history on the type of ,catholicism which ,newman represented8 ,he was kept out in the cold by a conservative ,pope1 and honoured by a liberal ,pope4 ,which was right1 from the point of view of ,catholic interests and policy8 ,this is perhaps the most important question which the life of ,newman raises2 for it affects our anticipations of the future even more than our judgments of the past4 ,is ,newman a safe or a possible guide for ,catholics in the twentieth century8 ,newman was no metaphysician2 he confesses it himself4 ',my turn of mind1' he says1 'has never led me towards metaphysics2 rather it has been logical1 ethical1 practical4'#hd ,for metaphysics requires an initial act of faith in human reason1 and ,newman had not this faith4 ,even in his ,anglican days he uttered many astonishing things in contempt of reason4 ',what is intellect itself 7he asks7 but a fruit of the ,fall1 not found in paradise or in heaven1 more than in little children1 and at the utmost but tolerated by the ,church1 and only not incompatible with the regenerate mind8444 ,reason is ,god's gift1 but so are the passions4444 ,eve was tempted to follow passion and reason1 and she fell4'#he ',faith does not regard degrees of evidence4'#hf ',faith and humility consist1 not in going about to prove1 but in the outset confiding in the testimony of others4' ',the more you set yourself to argue and prove1 in order to discover truth1 the less likely you are to reason correctly4'#hg ,the amazing crudity of this avowed obscurantism is likely to make the orthodox apologist writhe1 and to move the rationalist to contemptuous laughter4 ,in this and many other cases1 ,newman seems to love to caricature himself1 and to put his beliefs in that form in which they outrage common sense most completely4 ,we can imagine nothing more calculated to drive a young and ingenuous mind into flippant scepticism than a course of ,newman's sermons4 ,the reductio ad absurdum of his arguments is not left to the reader to make2 it is innocently provided by the preacher4 ,and yet ,newman's central position is not absurd1 or only becomes absurd when it is applied to justify belief in gross superstition4 ,he holds that what he calls 'reasoning' deals only with abstractions1 and is not the faculty on which we rely in forming 'judgments4' ,these judgments1 to which we give our 'assent1' and by which we regulate our conduct1 are affirmations of the basal personality4 ,and these have an authority far greater than can ever arise out of the logical manipulation of concepts4 ',there is no ultimate test of truth besides the testimony borne to the truth by the mind itself4' ,the 'mind itself1' the concrete personality1 is concerned with realities1 while the intellect1 which for him corresponds very nearly with the discursive reason 7dihanoia7 of the ,greek philosophers1 is at home only in mathematics and1 up to a certain point1 in logic4 ,the concepts of the intellect have no existence outside it4 ',the mind has the gift1 by an act of creation1 of bringing before it abstractions and generalisations which have no counterpart1 no existence1 out of it4'#hh ,parenthetically1 we may remark that passages like this show how wide of the truth ,mr4 ,barry is when he speaks of ,newman as a 'thorough ,alexandrine4' ,to deny the existence of universals1 to regard them as mere creations of the mind1 is rank blasphemy to a ,platonist2 and the ,alexandrines were ,christian ,platonists4 ,no more misleading statement could be made about ,newman's philosophy than to associate him with ,platonism of any kind1 whether ,pagan or ,christian4 ,newman adopts the sensationalist 7,lockian7 theory of knowledge4 ,ideas are copies or modifications of the data presented by the senses2 'first principles are abstractions from facts1 not elementary truths prior to reasoning4' ,this is pure nominalism1 in its crudest form4 ,it makes all arguments in favour of the great truths of religion valueless2 for if there are no universals1 rational theism is impossible4 ,it follows that the famous scholastic 'proofs of ,god's existence' have for ,newman no cogency whatever2 indeed it is difficult to see how he can have escaped condemning the whole philosophy of ,st4 ,thomas ,aquinas as a juggling with bloodless concepts4 ,newman himself pleaded that he had no wish to oppose the official dogmatics of his ,church4 ,but protestations are of no avail where the facts are so clear4 ',the natural theology of our schools1' says a writer in the ,tablet1 quoted by ,dr4 ,caldecott in his ',philosophy of ,religion1' 'is based frankly and wholly on the appeal to reason4' ,this is notoriously true2 and what ,newman thought of reason we have already seen4 ,his extreme disparagement of the intellect seems to preclude what he calls 'real assent' to the creeds and dogmas of ,catholicism2 for these clearly consist of 'notional' propositions4 ,but ,newman would answer that the ,church is a concrete fact1 to which 'real assent' can be given2 and the ,church has guaranteed the truth of the notional propositions in question4 ,but since reason is put out of court as a witness to truth1 on what faculty1 or on what evidence1 does ,newman rely8 ,feeling he distrusts2 that side of mysticism1 at any rate1 finds no sympathy from him4 ,nor does he1 like many ,kantians and others1 make the will supreme over the other faculties4 ,rather1 as we have seen1 he bases his reliance on the verdicts of the undivided personality1 which he often calls conscience4 ,this line of apologetic was at this very time being ably developed by ,julius ,hare4 ,it is in itself an argument which has no necessary connexion with obscurantism4 ',personalism1' as it is technically called1 reminds us that we do actually base our judgments on grounds which are nob purely rational2 that the intellect1 in forming concepts1 has to be content with an approximate resemblance to concrete reality2 and that the will and feelings have their rights and claims which cannot be ignored in a philosophy of religion4 ,but while it is compatible with a robust faith in the powers of the constructive intellect1 personalism is beyond question a self-sufficient1 independent1 individualistic doctrine4 ,when it is combined with a nominalist theory of knowledge1 it naturally suggests that every man may and should live by the creed which bests suits his idiosyncrasies4 ,now there was much in ,newman's temperament which made him turn in this direction4 ',lead1 kindly ,light' has been the favourite hymn of many an independent thinker1 to whom the authority of the ,church is less than nothing4 ,but on another side ,newman was all his life a fierce upholder of the principle of authority4 ,his reason for accepting the dogmas of the ,church1 and for wishing to destroy heresiarchs like wild beasts1 was certainly not that his basal personality testified to the truth and value of all ecclesiastical dogmas4 ,he believed them 'by confiding in the testimony of others'--in other words1 on the authority of the ,catholic ,church4 ,if we push back the enquiry one step further1 and ask on what grounds he chooses to prefer the authority of the ,catholic ,church to other authorities1 such as natural science or philosophy1 we are driven again to lay great stress on the almost political necessity which he felt that such a ,divine society should exist4 ,in accepting the authority of the ,church1 he accepted the authority of all that the ,church teaches1 in complete independence of human reason4 ,but the ,roman ,church never professes to be independent of human reason4 ,the official scholastic philosophy claims to be a demonstrative proof of theism4 ,newman1 then1 was only half a ,catholic4 ,he accepted with all the fervour of a neophyte the principle of submission to ,holy ,church4 ,but in place of the official intellectualist apologetic1 which an ,englishman may study to great advantage in the remarkably able series of manuals issued by the ,jesuits of ,stonyhurst1 he substituted a philosophy of experience which is certainly not ,catholic4 ,the authority claimed by the ,roman ,church rests on one side upon revelation1 on the other upon an elaborate structure of demonstrative reasoning1 which the simple folk are allowed to 'take as read1' only because they cannot be expected to understand it1 but which is declared to be of irresistible cogency to any properly instructed mind4 ,to deny the validity of reasoning upon ,divine things is to withdraw one of the supports on which ,catholicism rests4 ,subjectivism1 based on vital experience1 mixes no better with this system than oil with water4 ,scholasticism prides itself on clear-cut definitions1 on irrefragable logic1 on using words always in the same sense4 ,for ,newman1 as for his disciples the ,modernists1 theological terms are only symbols for varying values1 and he holds that the moment they are treated as having any fixed connotation1 error begins4 ,it is no wonder if learned ,catholics thought that ,newman did not play the game4 ,father ,perrone1 in spite of his friendship for the object of his criticism1 declared that ',newman miscet et confundit omnia4' ,the accusation of scepticism1 which was not unnaturally brought against him1 was hotly resented by ,newman1 and with some justice4 ,of the intensity of his personal conviction there can be no doubt whatever4 ,indeed1 it was just because his faith was in no danger that he cared so little for any intellectual defence of it4 ,he might have made his own the lines of ,wordsworth3 ',here then we rest2 not fearing for our creed ,the worst that human reasoning can achieve ,to unsettle or perplex it4' ,wordsworth too1 it may be remembered1 speaks of 'reason' with hardly more respect than ,newman himself as3 ',the inferior faculty that moulds ,with her minute and speculative pains ,opinion1 ever changing4' ,robert ,browning also1 especially in his later years1 uses anti-intellectualist language equally uncompromising4 ',wholly distrust thy reason1' he says in ',la ,saisiaz4' ,coleridge's distinction between 'understanding' and 'reason1' or ,westcott's distinction between 'reason' and 'reasoning1' might have saved these great writers from the appearance1 and perhaps more than the appearance1 of blaspheming against the highest and most divine faculty of human nature4 ,for the reason is something much higher than logic-chopping2 it can provide1 from its own resources1 a remedy for the intellectual error which is just now miscalled intellectualism2 it is the activity of the whole personality under the guidance of its highest part2 and because it is a real unification of our disordered nature1 it can bring us into real contact with the higher world of ,spirit4 ,newman's scepticism was not doubtfulness about matters of faith2 it was only a wholly unjustifiable contempt and distrust for the unaided activity of the human mind4 ,this activity1 as far as he could see1 produced only various forms of 'liberalism1' which he strangely enough regarded as a kind of scepticism4 ,thus he retorted1 with equal injustice1 the unjust charge brought against himself4 ,newman has often been suspected or accused of quibbling and intellectual dishonesty4 ,kingsley1 whose healthy but somewhat rough ,english morality and common sense were revolted by ,newman's whole attitude to life and conduct1 was unable to conceive how any educated man could believe in winking ,virgins and liquefying blood1 and thought that ,newman must be dishonest4 ,more recently ,dr4 ,abbott has accused him of being a philomythus4 ,judged by ordinary standards1 ,newman's criteria of belief do seem incompatible with intellectual honesty4 ,locke1 whom ,newman resembles in his theory of knowledge1 lays down a canon which condemns absolutely the ,cardinal's doctrine of assent4 ',there is one unerring mark1' he says1 'by which a man may know whether he is a lover of truth in earnest1 namely1 the not entertaining any proposition with greater assurance than the proofs it is built on will warrant4' ,newman himself quotes this dictum1 and argues against it that men do1 as a matter of fact1 form their judgments in a very different fashion4 ,to most people1 however1 the fact that opinions are so manufactured is no proof that they ought to be so4 ,to most people it seems plain that the practical necessity of making unverified assumptions1 and the habit of clinging to them because we have made them1 even after their falsity has been exposed1 is a satisfactory explanation of the prevalence of error1 but not a reason for acquiescing in it4 ,it is useful1 they hold1 to point out how assumption has a perilous tendency to pass for proof1 not that we may contentedly confuse assumption with proof1 but that we may be on our guard against doing so4 ,but such is ,newman's dislike of 'reason' that he rejoices to find that the majority of mankind are1 in fact1 not guided by it4 ,and then1 having made this discovery1 he is quite ready to 'reason' himself1 but not in the manner of an earnest seeker after truth4 ,reason1 for him1 is a serviceable weapon of attack or defence1 but he is like a man fighting with magic impenetrable armour4 ,he enjoys a bout of logical fence2 but it will decide nothing for him3 his 'certitude' is independent of it4 ,it is easy to see that such an attitude must appear profoundly dishonest to any man who accepts ,locke's maxim about truth-seeking4 ,it is equally easy to see that ,newman would spurn the charge of dishonesty as hotly as the charge of scepticism4 ,his principles made it easy for him to adopt the characteristic ,catholic habit of 'believing' anything that is pleasing to the religious imagination4 ,his sermons are full of such phrases as ',scripture seems to show us'2 'why should we not believe 444'2 'who knows whether 4441' and the like1 all introducing some fantastic superstition4 ,he deliberately accepts the insidious and deadly doctrine that 'no man is convinced of a thing who can endure the thought of its contradictory being true4' ,to which we may rejoin that1 on the contrary1 no man has a right to be convinced of anything until he has fairly faced the hypothesis of its contradictory being true4 ,so long as ,newman's method prevailed in ,europe1 every branch of practical knowledge was condemned to barrenness4 ,for what kind of knowledge is it which is acquired1 not by the exercise of the discursive intellect1 or by the evidence of our senses1 but by the affirmations of our basal personality8 ,surely the legitimate province of 'personalism' lies in the region of general ideas1 or rather in the ,weltanschauung as a whole4 ,our undivided personality protests against any philosophy which makes life irrational1 or base1 or incurably evil4 ,it claims that those pictures of reality which are provided by the intellect1 by the sthetic sense1 and by the moral sense1 shall all have justice done to them in any attempted synthesis4 ,it rejects materialism1 metaphysical dualism1 solipsism1 and pessimism1 on one or other of these grounds4 ,such a final interpretation of existence as any of these offers1 leaves out some fundamental and essential factor of experience1 and is therefore untenable4 ,if no metaphysical scheme can be constructed which is at once comprehensive and inwardly consistent1 personalism insists that we must acknowledge defeat for the time1 rather than take refuge in a logical system which may be free from inner contradictions but which does not satisfy the whole man as a living and active spiritual being4 ,this is a sound argument4 ,but it is absurd to suppose that our personality1 acting as an undivided whole1 can decide whether the institutional ,church1 or one branch of it1 is the ,body of ,christ and the receptacle of infallible revelation2 whether ,christ was born at ,bethlehem or ,nazareth2 or whether ,nestorius was a heretic4 ,we have no magical sword for cutting these knots1 and no miraculous guide to tell us that authority ,a is to be believed implicitly1 while the possibility of authority ,b being right is not to be entertained even in thought4 ,newman as usual supplies us with the best weapons against himself4 ,it startles us to find1 even in #aheb1 such a sentence as this3 ',revealed religion furnishes facts to other sciences1 which those sciences1 left to themselves1 would never reach4 ,thus1 in the science of history1 the preservation of our race in ,noah's ark is an historical fact1 which history never would arrive at without revelation4' ,the transition from belief on the purely internal ground of personal assent to belief on the purely external ground of ,church authority is certainly abrupt and hard to explain2 but ,newman makes it habitually1 without any consciousness of a salto mortale4 ,in the ',apologia' he even says that the argument from personality is 'one form of the argument from authority4' ,the argument seems to be--',there is no third alternative besides ,catholicism or ,rationalism4 ,but personality will not accept the dictation of reason2 therefore it must accept the authority of the ,church4' ,it is a strange argument4 ,all through his life he enormously exaggerated the moral and intellectual weight which should be attached to ,church tradition4 ',securus judicat orbis terrarum' were the words which rang in his ears at the supreme moment of his great decision4 ,his 'orbis terrarum' was the ,latin empire4 ,and when even in those countries the authority of the ,pope is rejected1 he condemns modern civilisation as an aberration4 ,this however is a complete abandonment of his own test4 ,he first says ',the judgment of the great world is final'2 and then ',if the world decides against ,rome1 so much the worse for the world4' ,after all1 ,newman had no right to complain if his opponents found his reasoning disingenuous4 ,to make up our minds first1 and to argue in favour of the decision afterwards1 is in truth to make the reason a hewer of wood and drawer of water to the irrational part of our nature4 ,it is precisely his sympathy with ,catholicism on the religious side1 and his alienation from its intellectual method1 which makes ,newman's apologetic such a two-edged weapon4 ,in attempting to defend ,catholicism1 he has gone far to explain it4 ,to the historian1 there is no great mystery about the growth and success of the ,western ,catholic ,church4 ,christianity was already a syncretistic religion in the second century4 ,like the other forms of worship with which it competed for the popular favour1 it contained the necessary elements of mystery-cult1 of ethical rule1 of social brotherhood1 and of personal devotion4 ,but besides many genuine points of superiority1 it had a decisive advantage over the religions of ,isis and ,mithra in the exclusiveness and intolerance which it derived from the ,jewish tradition4 ,when the failure of the last persecution forced the ,empire to make a concordat with the ,church1 the transformation of the federated but autonomous ,christian communities into a centralised theocratic despotism1 claiming secular as well as spiritual sovereignty1 was only a matter of time4 ,it was inevitable1 just as the principate of ,augustus and the sultanate of ,diocletian were inevitable2 but there is nothing specially divine or glorious about any of these phases of human evolution4 ,the revolt of ,northern ,europe in the sixteenth century was equally inevitable2 and so is the alienation of enlightened minds from the ,roman ,church at the present day4 ,newman shows with great force and ingenuity that all the developments in the ,roman system which ,protestantism rejects as later accretions were natural and necessary4 ,but this only means that the ,catholic ,church1 in order to live1 was compelled to adapt itself to the prevailing conditions of human culture in the countries where it desired to be supreme4 ,the argument1 so far as it goes1 tells against rather than in favour of any special supernatural character belonging to that institution4 ,and if the 'orbis terrarum1' which once gave its verdict in favour of ,latin ,catholicism1 is now disposed to reverse its decision1 how1 on ,newman's principle1 can its right to do so be denied8 ,the true reasons for the strength and vitality which the ,roman ,church still retains are not difficult to find4 ,its system possesses an inner consistency1 which is dearly purchased by neglecting much that should enter into a large and true view of the world1 but which guarantees to those who have once accepted it an untroubled calm and assurance very acceptable to those who have been tossed upon a sea of doubt4 ,it surrounds itself with an impenetrable armour by persuading its adherents that all moral and intellectual scruples1 in matters where ,holy ,church has pronounced its verdict1 are suggestions of the ,evil ,one1 to be spurned like the prickings of sensuality4 ,it has succeeded1 by long experience1 in providing satisfaction for nearly all the needs of the average man1 and for all the needs of the average woman4 ,in particular1 the sthetic tastes which1 in ,southern ,europe at any rate1 are closely connected with religious feeling1 are fully catered for2 and those superstitions which the majority of mankind still love in their hearts1 though they are somewhat ashamed of them1 are allowed to luxuriate unchecked4 ,further1 ,catholicism encourages and blesses that esprit de corps which has produced the brightest triumphs of self-abnegation as well as the darkest crimes of cruel bigotry in human history4 ,a ,church which unites these advantages is in no danger of falling into insignificance1 even if the best intellect and morality of the age are estranged from it4 ,it may even have a great future as the nucleus of a conservative resistance to the social revolution4 ,it is doubtful whether those who wish to preserve the traditions and civilisation of the past will be able to find anywhere1 except in the ,latin ,church1 an organisation sufficiently coherent and universal to provide a rallying ground for defence against the new barbarian invasion--proceeding this time not from the rude nations of the ,north1 but from the crowded alleys of our great towns--which threatens to plunge us into a new ,dark ,age4 ,the menace of the ,red ,peril will secure1 for a long time to come1 the survival of the ,black4 ,but the ,roman ,catholicism which has a future is probably that of ,manning1 and not that of ,newman4 ,a ,church which depends for its strength and prestige on the iron discipline of a centralised autocracy1 and on the fanatical devotion of soldiers who know no duty except obedience1 no cause except the interests of their society1 can make no terms with the disintegrating nominalism1 the uncertain subjectivism1 of a mind like ,newman's4 ,it has been the strange fate of this great man1 after driving a wedge deep into the ,anglican ,church1 which at this day is threatened with disruption through the movement which he helped to originate1 to have nearly succeeded in doing the same to the far more compact structure of ,roman ,catholicism4 ,the ,modernist movement has from the first appealed to ,newman as its founder1 and has sought to protect itself under his authority4 ,it is necessary to consider1 as the last topic of this article1 whether this affiliation can be allowed to be true4 ,no one who has read any of ,newman's works can doubt that he would have recoiled with horror from the destructive criticism of ,loisy1 the contempt for scholastic authority of ,tyrrell1 and the defiance hurled at the ,papacy in the manifesto of the ,italian ,modernists4 ,newman's doctrine of ,development was far removed from that of ,bergson's ',l'volution ,cratrice4' ,he defended the fact of development against the staticism of contemporary ,anglicanism2 but his notion of development was more like the unrolling of a scroll than the growth of a tree or the expansion and change of a human character4 ',every ,catholic holds1' he says1 'that the ,christian dogmas were in the ,church from the time of the ,apostles2 that they were ever in their substance what they are now4' ,compare this with the following words from the ,italian manifesto3 ',the supernatural life of ,christ in the faithful and in the ,church has been clothed in an historical form1 which has given birth to what we might somewhat loosely call the ,christ of legend4444 ,such a criticism does away with the possibility of finding in ,christ's ministry even the embryonic form of the ,church's later theological teaching4' ',a dogma1' says ,le ,roy1 one of the ablest philosophers of the school1 'proclaims1 above all1 a prescription of practical order2 it is the formula of a rule of practical conduct4 ,why then should we not bring theory into harmony with practice8' ,these extracts mark a much later phase of the revolt against ,catholic dogma and scholastic theology than can be found in ,newman's writings4 ,they are contemporary with the ,pragmatism of ,james and ,schiller1 and the ,activism of ,bergson4 ,so bold a defiance of tradition would have been impossible thirty years earlier4 ,and yet1 when ,newman pours scorn upon human reason1 and when he enthrones the 'conscience' as the supreme arbiter of truth1 is he not1 in fact1 preparing the way for these startling declarations1 which imply a complete rupture with ,catholic authority8 ,dogmas are indisputably 'notional' propositions2 that is to say1 they belong to that class of truths to which ,newman ascribes only a very subordinate importance4 ,we cannot1 in his sense1'assent' to an historical proposition as such1 but only to the authority which has ordered us to believe it4 ,and is there any justification for ,newman's confidence that this authority may make apparent innovations1 such as he admits to have been made throughout the history of the ,church1 but no real changes8 ,if he had been able to think out the implications of his doctrine of development with the help of such arguments as those of ,bergson1 would he not have seen that without change and real innovation there can be no true evolution8 ,do not the fluidity and pragmatic character of dogma1 so much insisted on by ,sabatier and ,le ,roy1 follow from the anti-intellectualist personalism which we have seen to be the foundation of ,newman's philosophy of religion8 ,the ,modernist might argue that he is only extending to the history of the ,church the doctrine of education by experience which ,newman found to be true in the life-history of the individual4 ,life itself1 with its experiences and its needs1 is the revealer of truth4 ,we cannot anticipate the wisdom of the future4 ',i do not ask to see ,the distant scene2 one step enough for me4' ,the kindly light leads a man on step by step2 it conducts him from experience to experience1 not without lapses into error2 it reproves him if he desires to 'choose and see his path4' ,if this is true in the history of the individual1 is it not probably also true in the history of the ,church8 ,and if it is true in the history of the ,church1 are not the dogmatists wrong who have tried to legislate not only for the present but the future1 and to bind the ,church for all time to the formulations which appeared satisfactory to themselves8 ,if ,providence is leading the ,church through varied experiences in order to teach it greater wisdom1 is it not clear that we must not rashly preclude the possibility of future revelation by stereotyping the results of some earlier stage of experience8 ,thus the empiricism of ,newman leads logically to consequences which he would have been among the first to reject4 ,some rather shallow thinkers in this country have expressed their surprise and regret that the ,vatican has refused to make any terms with ,modernism4 ,they have supposed that the fault lies with an ignorant and reactionary ,pope4 ,but there are many reasons why this dangerous and disintegrating tendency must be rigorously excluded from ,roman ,catholicism4 ,in the first place1 ,modernism destroys the historical basis of ,christianity1 and converts the ,incarnation and ,atonement into myths like those of other dying and rising saviour-gods1 which hardly pretend to be historical4 ,but it was this foundation in history which helped largely to secure the triumph of ,christianity over its rivals4 ,in the place of the historical ,god-,man1 ,modernism gives us the history of the ,church as an object of reverence4 ,we are bidden to contemplate an institution of amazingly tough vitality but great adaptability1 which in its determination to survive has not only changed colour like a chameleon but has from time to time put forth new organs and discovered new weapons of offence and defence4 ,we ask for evidence that the ,church has regenerated the world2 and we are shown how1 by hook or by crook1 it has succeeded in safeguarding its own interests4 ,ecclesiastical historians are ingenious and unscrupulous2 but it is impossible even for them to exhibit ,church history as the record of a continuous intervention of the ,spirit of ,christ in human affairs4 ,if any ,spirit has presided over the councils of popes1 cardinals1 and inquisitors it is not that of the ,founder of ,christianity4 ,further1 the religious philosophy of ,modernism is bad1 much worse than the scholasticism which it derides4 ,it is in essentials a revival of the sophistry of ,protagoras4 ,and if it were metaphysically more respectable than it is1 it is so widely opposed to the whole system of ,catholic apologetics1 that if it were accepted1 it would necessitate a complete reconstruction of ,catholic dogma4 ,let any man read the ,stonyhurst manuals1 and say whether the radical empiricism of the ,modernists could find a lodgment anywhere in such a system without disturbing the stability of the whole4 ,catholicism is one of the most compact structures in the world1 and it rests on presuppositions which are far removed from those of ,modernism4 ,it is one thing to admit that dogmas in many cases have a pragmatic origin1 and quite another to say that they may be invented or rejected with a pragmatic purpose4 ,the healthy human intellect will never believe that the same proposition may be true for faith and untrue in fact2 but this is the ,modernist contention4 ,lastly1 the subjectivism of ,newman and the ,modernists is fatal to that exclusiveness which is the corner-stone of ,catholic policy4 ,the analogy between the individual and the ,church suggests that ,god may 'fulfil ,himself in many ways1 lest one good custom should corrupt the world4' ,as there are many individuals1 each of whom is being guided separately by the 'kindly light1' so there may be many churches4 ,the pragmatic proof of the truth of a religion1 from the fact of its survival and successful working1 does not justify the ,roman claim to monopoly4 ,the ,protestant churches also display vitality1 and their members seem to exhibit the fruits of the ,spirit4 ,the condemnations of ,modernism published by the ,vatican show that the ,papal court is quite alive to this danger4 ,to the outsider1 indeed1 it might seem a happy solution of a long controversy if the ,roman ,church would be content to claim the gifts of grace which are really hers1 without denying the validity of the ,orders and ,sacraments of other bodies1 and the genuineness of the ,christian graces which they exhibit4 ,it would then be admitted on all hands that some temperaments are more suited to ,catholicism1 others to ,protestantism1 and that the character of each man develops most satisfactorily under the discipline which suits his nature4 ,but we must not expect any such concession from ,rome2 and in truth such an admission would be the beginning of the end for ,catholicism in its present form4 ,our conclusion then is that although ,newman was not a ,modernist1 but an exceedingly stiff conservative1 he did introduce into the ,roman ,church a very dangerous and essentially alien habit of thought1 which has since developed into ,modernism4 ,perhaps ,monsignor ,talbot was not far wrong1 from his own point of view1 when he called him 'the most dangerous man in ,england4' ,one side of his religion was based on principles which1 when logically drawn out1 must lead away from ,catholicism in the direction of an individualistic religion of experience1 and a substitution of history for dogma which makes all truth relative and all values fluid4 ,newman's writings have always made genuine ,catholics uneasy1 though they hardly know why4 ,it is probable that here is the solution4 ,the character of ,newman--for with this we must end--may seem to have been more admirable than lovable4 ,he was more apt to make disciples than friends4 ,yet he was loved and honoured by men whose love is an honour1 and he is admired by all who can appreciate a consistently unworldly life4 ,the ,roman ,church has been less unpopular in ,england since ,newman received from it the highest honour which it can bestow4 ,throughout his career he was a steadfast witness against tepid and insincere professions of religion1 and against any compromise with the shifting currents of popular opinion4 ,all cultivated readers1 who have formed their tastes on the masterpieces of good literature1 are attracted1 sometimes against their will1 by the dignity and reserve of his style1 qualities which belong to the man1 and not only to the writer4 ,like ,goethe1 he disdains the facile arts which make the commonplace reader laugh and weep4 ',ach die zrtlichen ,herzen6 ein ,pfuscher vermag sie zu rhren6' ,like ,wordsworth1 he might say ',to stir the blood ,i have no cunning art4' ,there are no cheap effects in any of ,newman's writings4 ,he is the most undemocratic of teachers4 ,such men do what can be done to save a nation from itself1 its natural enemy4 ,they are not indifferent to fame1 because they desire influence2 but they will do nothing to advertise themselves4 ,the public must come to them2 they will not go to the public4 ,there have been other great men who have been as indifferent as ,newman to the applause of the vulgar4 ,but they have been generally either pure intellectualists or pure artists1 in whom ',the intellectual power through words and things ,went sounding on a dim and perilous way4' ,newman's 'confidence towards ,god' was of a still nobler kind4 ,it rested on an unclouded faith in the ,divine guidance1 and on a very just estimate of the worthlessness of contemporary praise and blame4 ,there have been very few men who have been able to combine so strong a faith with a thorough distrust of both logic-chopping and emotional excitement1 and who1 while denying themselves these aids to conviction1 have been able to say1 calmly and without petulance1 that with them it is a very small thing to be judged of man's judgment4 ',what 7he asks7 can increase their peace who believe and trust in the ,son of ,god8 ,shall we add a drop to the ocean1 or grains to the sand of the sea8 ,we pay indeed our superiors full reverence1 and with cheerfulness as unto the ,lord2 and we honour eminent talents as deserving admiration and reward2 and the more readily act we thus1 because these are little things to pay4'#hi ,such unworldliness as this1 in the well-chosen words of ,r4,h4 ,hutton1 'stands out in strange and almost majestic contrast to the eager turmoil of confused passions1 hesitating ideals1 tentative virtues1 and groping philanthropies1 amidst which it was lived4' ,another mark of greatness is unbroken consistency and unity of aim in a long life4 ,there are few parallels to the neglect of his own literary reputation by ,newman4 ,higher interests1 he thought1 were at stake2 and so he had no dream of building for himself 'a monument more durable than brass1' and of claiming a pedestal among the great writers of ,english prose and verse4 ,he accepted long years of literary barrenness2 he wrote historical essays for which he had no special aptitude1 and dogmatic disquisitions which even his genius could not save from dulness2 he even descended into mere journalism4 ,the ',apologia' would probably not have been written but for the accident of ,kingsley's attack4 ,it has1 no doubt1 been said with truth that ,newman showed great dexterity in choosing opponents with whom to cross swords--,kingsley1 ,pusey1 ,gladstone1 and his old ,anglican self4 ,but this does not alter the fact that a man who must have been conscious of rare literary gifts made no attempt to immortalise himself by them4 ,it was for the ,church1 and not for himself1 that he wrote as well as lived4 ,that his life is for the most part a record of sadness and failure is no indication that he was not one of the great men of his time4 ,independence is no passport to success in a world where1 as ,swift said1 climbing and crawling are performed in much the same attitude4 ,and if we are right in our view that there was something in the composition of his mind which prevented him from being either a complete ,catholic or a complete ,protestant1 this too is no obstacle to our recognition of his greatness4 ,he has left an indelible mark upon two great religious bodies4 ,he has stirred movements which still agitate the ,church of ,england and the ,church of ,rome1 and the end of which is not yet in sight4 ,anglo-,catholicism and ,modernism are alien growths1 perhaps1 in the institutions where they have found a place2 but the man who beyond all others is responsible for grafting them upon the old stems is secure of his place in history4 ,,footnotes3 #hb ,cf4 e4 ,parochial and ,plain ,sermons1 vi4 #bei4 #hc ,mark ,pattison1 ,memoirs1 p4 #ig4 #hd ,stray ,essays1 p4 #id4 #he ,parochial and ,plain ,sermons1 v4 #aab4 #hf ,ibid4 vi4 #bei4 #hg ,ibid4 vi4 #cdj4 #hh ,grammar of ,assent1 part i4 c4 #a and #b4 #hi ,parochial and ,plain ,sermons1 vii4 #gc4 ,,st4 ,,paul 7#aiad7 ,among all the great men of antiquity there is none1 with the exception of ,cicero1 whom we may know so intimately as ,saul of ,tarsus4 ,the main facts of his career have been recorded by a contemporary1 who was probably his friend and travelling companion4 ,a collection of letters1 addressed to the little religious communities which he founded1 reveals the character of the writer no less than the nature of his work4 ,alone among the first preachers of ,christianity1 he stands before us as a living man4 ,ohiost phepnytai1 toi de skiai hahissoysi4 ,we know very little in reality of ,peter and ,james and ,john1 of ,apollos and ,barnabas4 ,and of our divine ,master no biography can ever be written4 ,with ,st4 ,paul it is quite different4 ,he is a saint without a luminous halo4 ,his personal characteristics are too distinct and too human to make idealisation easy4 ,for this reason he has never been the object of popular devotion4 ,shadowy figures like ,st4 ,joseph and ,st4 ,anne have been divinised and surrounded with picturesque legends2 but ,st4 ,paul has been spared the honour or the ignominy of being coaxed and wheedled by the piety of paganised ,christianity4 ,no tender fairy-tales are attached to his cult2 he remains for us what he was in the flesh4 ,it is even possible to feel an active dislike for him4 ,lagarde 7',deutsche ,schriften1' p4 #ga7 abuses him as a politician might vilify an opponent4 ',it is monstrous' 7says he7 'that men of any historical training should attach any importance to this ,paul4 ,this outsider was a ,pharisee from top to toe even after he became a ,christian'--and much more to the same effect4 ,nietzsche describes him as 'one of the most ambitious of men1 whose superstition was only equalled by his cunning4 ,a much tortured1 much to be pitied man1 an exceedingly unpleasant person both to himself and to others4444 ,he had a great deal on his conscience4 ,he alludes to enmity1 murder1 sorcery1 idolatry1 impurity1 drunkenness1 and the love of carousing4' ,renan1 who could never have made himself ridiculous by such ebullitions as these1 does not disguise his repugnance for the 'ugly little ,jew' whose character he can neither understand nor admire4 ,these outbursts of personal animosity1 so strange in modern critics dealing with a personage of ancient history1 show how vividly his figure stands out from the canvas4 ,there are very few historical characters who are alive enough to be hated4 ,it is1 however1 only in our own day that the personal characteristics of ,st4 ,paul have been intelligently studied2 and the most valuable books about him are later than the unbalanced tirades of ,lagarde and ,nietzsche1 and the carping estimate of ,renan4 ,in the nineteenth century1 ,paul was obscured behind ,paulinism4 ,his letters were studied as treatises on systematic theology4 ,elaborate theories of atonement1 justification1 and grace were expounded on his authority1 as if he had been a religious philosopher or theological professor like ,origen and ,thomas ,aquinas4 ,the name of the apostle came to be associated with angular and frigid disquisitions which were rapidly losing their connexion with vital religion4 ,it has been left for the scholars of the present century to give us a picture of ,st4 ,paul as he really was--a man much nearer to ,george ,fox or ,john ,wesley than to ,origen or ,calvin2 the greatest of missionaries and pioneers1 and only incidentally a great theologian4 ,the critical study of the ,new ,testament has opened our eyes to see this and many other things4 ,much new light has also been thrown by studies in the historical geography of ,asia ,minor1 a work in which ,british scholars have characteristically taken a prominent part4 ,the delightful books of ,sir ,w4,m4 ,ramsay have now been supplemented by the equally attractive volume of another travelling scholar1 ,professor ,deissmann4 ,a third source of new information is the mass of inscriptions and papyri which have been discovered in the last twenty years4 ,the social life of the middle and lower classes in the ,levant1 their religious beliefs and practices1 and the language which they spoke1 are now partially known to us1 as they never were before4 ,the human interest of the ,pauline ,epistles1 and of the ,acts1 is largely increased by these accessions to knowledge4 ,the ,epistles are real letters1 not treatises by a theological professor1 nor literary productions like the ,epistles of ,seneca4 ,each was written with reference to a definite situation2 they are messages which would have been delivered orally had the ,apostle been present4 ,several letters have certainly been lost2 and ,st4 ,paul would probably not have cared much to preserve them4 ,there is no evidence that he ever thought of adding to the ,canon of ,scripture by his correspondence4 ,the ,author of ,acts seems not to have read any of the letters4 ,this view of the ,epistles has rehabilitated some of them1 which were regarded as spurious by the ,tbingen school and their successors4 ,the question which we now ask when the authenticity of an ,epistle is doubted is1 ,do we find the same man8 not1 ,do we find the same system8 ,there is1 properly speaking1 no system in ,st4 ,paul's theology1 and there is a singularly rapid development of thought4 ,the ',pastoral ,epistles' are probably not genuine1 though the defence of them is not quite a desperate undertaking4 ,of the rest1 the weight of evidence is slightly against the ,pauline authorship of ,ephesians1 the vocabulary of which differs considerably from that of the undoubted ,epistles2 and the short letter called #b ,thessalonians is open to some suspicion4 ,the genuineness of ,ephesians is not of great importance to the student of ,pauline theology1 unless the closely allied ,epistle to the ,colossians is also rejected2 and there has been a remarkable return of confidence in the ,pauline authorship of this letter4 ,all the other ,epistles seem to be firmly established4 ,the other source of information about ,st4 ,paul's life is the ,acts of the ,apostles1 the value of which as a historical document is very variously estimated4 ,the doubts refer mainly to the earlier chapters1 before ,st4 ,paul appears on the scene4 ,sane criticism can hardly dispute that the 'we-passages1' in which the writer speaks of ,st4 ,paul and himself in the first person plural1 are the work of an eye-witness1 and that most of the important facts in the later chapters are from the same source4 ,the difficult problem is concerned with the relation of this writer to the editor1 who is responsible for the ',petrine' part of the book4 ,there is very much to be said in favour of the tradition that this editor1 who also compiled the ,third ,gospel1 was ,lucas or ,lucanus1 the physician and friend of ,st4 ,paul4 ,it does not necessarily follow that he was the fellow-traveller who in a few places speaks of himself in the first person4 ,luke 7if we may decide the question for ourselves by giving him this name7 must have been a man of very attractive character2 full of kindness1 loyalty1 and ,christian charity4 ,he is the most feminine 7not effeminate7 writer in the ,new ,testament1 and shows a marked partiality for the tender aspects of ,christianity4 ,he is attracted by miracles1 and by all that makes history picturesque and romantic4 ,his social sympathies are so keen that his gospel furnishes the ,christian socialist with nearly all his favourite texts4 ,above all1 he is a ,greek man of letters1 dominated by the conventions of ,greek historical composition4 ,for the ,greek1 history was a work of art1 written for edification1 and not merely a bald record of facts4 ,the ,greek historian invented speeches for his principal characters2 this was a conventional way of elucidating the situation for the benefit of his readers4 ,everyone knows how ,thucydides1 the most conscientious historian in antiquity1 habitually uses this device1 and how candidly he explains his method4 ,we can hardly doubt that the author of ,acts has used a similar freedom1 though the report of the address to the elders of ,ephesus reads like a summary of an actual speech4 ,the narrative is coloured in places by the historian's love for the miraculous4 ,critics have also suspected an eirenical purpose in his treatment of the relations between ,st4 ,paul and the ,jerusalem ,church4 ,saul of ,tarsus was a ,benjamite of pure ,israelite descent1 but also a ,roman citizen by birth4 ,his famous old ,jewish name was ,latinised or ,graecised as ,paulos 7,sahylost means 'waddling1' and would have been a ridiculous name72 he doubtless bore both names from boyhood4 ,tarsus is situated in the plain of ,cilicia1 and is now about ten miles from the sea4 ,it is backed by a range of hills1 on which the wealthier residents had villas1 while the high glens of ,taurus1 nine or ten miles further inland1 provided a summer residence for those who could afford it1 and a fortified acropolis in time of war4 ,the town on the plain must have been almost intolerable in the fierce ,anatolian summer-heat4 ,the harbour was a lake formed by the ,cydnus1 five or six miles below ,tarsus2 but light ships could sail up the river into the heart of the city4 ,thus ,tarsus had the advantages of a maritime town1 though far enough from the sea to be safe from pirates4 ,the famous pass called the ',cilician ,gates' was traversed by a high-road through the gorge into ,cappadocia4 ,ionian colonists came to ,tarsus in very early times2 and ,ramsay is confident that ,tarshish1 'the son of ,javan1' in ,gen4 x4 #d1 is none other than ,tarsus4 ,the ,greek settlers1 of course1 mixed with the natives1 and the ,oriental element gradually swamped the ,hellenic4 ,the coins of ,tarsus show ,greek figures and ,aramaic lettering4 ,the principal deity was ,baal-,tarz1 whose effigy appears on most of the coins4 ,under the successors of ,alexander1 ,greek influence revived1 but the administration continued to be of the ,oriental type2 and ,tarsus never became a ,greek city1 until in the first half of the second century ,b4,c4 it proclaimed its own autonomy1 and renamed itself ,antioch-on-,cydnus4 ,great privileges were granted it by ,antiochus ,epiphanes1 and it rapidly grew in wealth and importance4 ,besides the ,greeks1 there was a large colony of ,jews1 who always established themselves on the highways of the world's commerce4 ,since ,st4 ,paul was a 'citizen' of ,tarsus1 i4e4 a member of one of the ',tribes' into which the citizens were divided1 it is probable 7so ,ramsay argues7 that there was a large ',tribe' of ,jews at ,tarsus2 for no ,jew would have been admitted into1 or would have consented to join1 a ,greek ,tribe1 with its pagan cult4 ,so matters stood when ,cilicia became a ,roman ,province in #ajd ,b4,c4 ,the city fell into the hands of the barbarian ,tigranes twenty years later1 but ,gnaeus ,pompeius re-established the ,roman power1 and with it the dominance of ,hellenism1 in #fc4 ,augustus turned ,cilicia into a mere adjunct of ,syria2 and the pride of ,tarsus received a check4 ,nevertheless1 the ,emperor showed great favour to the ,tarsians1 who had sided with ,julius and himself in the civil wars4 ,tarsus was made a 'libera civitas1' with the right to live under its own laws4 ,the leading citizens were doubtless given the ,roman citizenship1 or allowed to purchase it4 ,among these would naturally be a number of ,jews1 for that nation loved ,julius ,csar and detested ,pompeius4 ,but ,hellenism could not retain its hold on ,tarsus4 ,dion ,chrysostom1 who visited it at the beginning of the second century ,a4,d41 found it a thoroughly ,oriental town1 and notes that the women were closely veiled in ,eastern fashion4 ,possibly this accounts for ,st4 ,paul's prejudice against unveiled women in church4 ,one ,greek institution1 however1 survived and flourished--a university under municipal patronage4 ,strabo speaks with high admiration of the zeal for learning displayed by the ,tarsians1 who formed the entire audience at the professors' lectures1 since no students came from outside4 ,this last fact shows1 perhaps1 that the lecturers were not men of wide reputation2 indeed1 it is not likely that ,tarsus was able to compete with ,athens and ,alexandria in attracting famous teachers4 ,the most eminent ,tarsians1 such as ,antipater the ,stoic1 went to ,europe and taught there4 ,what distinguished ,tarsus was its love of learning1 widely diffused in all classes of the population4 ,st4 ,paul did not belong to the upper class4 ,he was a working artisan1 a 'tent-maker1' who followed one of the regular trades of the place4 ,perhaps1 as ,deissmann thinks1 the 'large letters' of ,gal4 vi4 #aa imply that he wrote clumsily1 like a working man and not like a scribe4 ,the words indicate that he usually dictated his letters4 ,the ',acts of ,paul and ,thekla' describe him as short and bald1 with a hook-nose and beetling brows2 there is nothing improbable in this description4 ,but he was far better educated than the modern artisan4 ,not that a single quotation from ,menander 7#a ,cor4 xv4 #cc7 shows him to be a good ,greek scholar2 an ,englishman may quote ',one touch of nature makes the whole world kin' without being a ,shakespearean4 ,but he was well educated because he was the son of a strict ,jew4 ,a child in such a home would learn by heart large pieces of the ,old ,testament1 and1 at the ,synagogue school1 all the minuti of the ,jewish ,law4 ,the pupil was not allowed to write anything down2 all was committed to the memory1 which in consequence became extremely retentive4 ,the perfect pupil 'lost not a drop from his teacher's cistern4' ,at the age of about fourteen the boy would be sent to ,jerusalem1 to study under one of the great ,rabbis2 in ,st4 ,paul's case it was ,gamaliel4 ,under his tuition the young ,pharisee would learn to be a 'strong ,churchman4' ,the ,rabbis viewed everything from an ecclesiastical standpoint4 ,the interests of the ,priesthood1 the ,altar1 and the ,temple overshadowed everything else4 ,the ,priestly ,code1 says ,mr4 ,cohu1 practically resolves itself into one idea3 ,everything in ,israel belongs to ,god2 all places1 all times1 all persons1 and all property are ,his4 ,but ,god accepts a part of ,his due2 and1 if this part is scrupulously paid1 ,he will send ,his blessing upon the remainder4 ,besides the written law1 the ,pharisee had to take on himself the still heavier burden of the oral law1 which was equally binding4 ,it was a seminary education of the most rigorous kind4 ,st ,paul cannot reproach himself with any slackness during his novitiate4 ,he threw himself into the system with characteristic ardour4 ,probably he meant to be a ,jerusalem ,rabbi himself1 still practising his trade1 as the ,rabbis usually did4 ,for he was unmarried2 and every ,jew except a ,rabbi was expected to marry at or before the age of twenty-one4 ,he suffered from some obscure physical trouble1 the nature of which we can only guess4 ,it was probably epilepsy1 a disease which is compatible with great powers of endurance and great mental energy1 as is proved by the cases of ,julius ,csar and ,napoleon4 ,he was liable to mystical trances1 in which some have found a confirmation of the supposition that he was epileptic4 ,but these abnormal states were rare with him2 in writing to the ,galatians he has to go back fourteen years to the date when he was 'caught up into the third heaven1' ,the visions and voices which attended his active ministry prove nothing about his health4 ,at that time anyone who underwent a psychical experience for which he could not account believed that he was possessed by a spirit1 good or bad4 ,it is significant that ,tertullian1 at the end of the second century1 says that 'almost the majority of mankind derive their knowledge of ,god from visions4' ,the impression that ,st4 ,paul makes upon us is that of a man full of nervous energy and able to endure an exceptional amount of privation and hardship4 ,a curious indication1 which has not been noticed1 is that1 as he tells us himself1 he five times received the maximum number of lashes from ,jewish tribunals4 ,these floggings in the ,synagogues were very severe1 the operator being required to lay on with his full strength4 ,there is evidence that in most cases a much smaller number of strokes than the full thirty-nine was inflicted1 so as not to endanger the life of the culprit4 ,the other trials which he mentions--three ,roman scourgings1 one stoning1 a day and night spent in battling with the waves after shipwreck1 would have worn out any constitution not exceptionally tough4 ,we must bear in mind this terrible record of suffering if we wish to estimate fairly the character of the man4 ,during his whole life after his conversion he was exposed not only to the hardships of travel1 sometimes in half-civilised districts1 but to 'all the cruelty of the fanaticism which rages like a consuming fire through the religious history of the ,east from the slaughter of ,baal's priests to the slaughter of ,st4 ,stephen1 and from the butcheries of ,jews at ,alexandria under ,caligula to the massacres of ,christians at ,adana1 ,tarsus1 and ,antioch in the year #aiji'--7;,deissmann74 ,it is one evil result of such furious bigotry that it kindles hatred and resentment in its victims1 and tempts them to reprisals4 ,st4 ,paul does speak bitterly of his opponents1 though chiefly when he finds that they have injured his converts1 as in the letter to the ,galatians4 ,modern critics have exaggerated this element in a character which does not seem to have been fierce or implacable4 ,he writes like a man engaged in a stern conflict against enemies who will give no quarter1 and who shrink from no treachery4 ,but the sharpest expression that can be laid to his charge is the impatient1 perhaps half humorous wish that the ,judaisers who want to circumcise the ,galatians might be subjected to a severer operation themselves 7,gal4 v4 #ab74 ,the dominant impression that he makes upon us is that he was cast in a heroic mould4 ,he is serenely indifferent to criticism and calumny2 no power on earth can turn him from his purpose4 ,he has made once for all a complete sacrifice of all earthly joys and all earthly ties2 he has broken 7he1 the devout ,jewish ,catholic7 with his ,church and braved her thunders2 he has faced the opprobrium of being called traitor1 heretic1 and apostate2 he has 'withstood to the face' the ,palestinian apostles who were chosen by ,jesus and held ,his commission2 he has set his face to achieve1 almost single-handed1 the conquest of the ,roman ,empire1 a thing never dreamed of by the ,jerusalem ,church2 he is absolutely indifferent whether his mission will cost him his life1 or only involve a continuation of almost intolerable hardship4 ,it is this indomitable courage1 complete self-sacrifice1 and single-minded devotion to a magnificently audacious but not impracticable idea1 which constitute the greatness of ,st4 ,paul's character4 ,he was1 with all this1 a warm-hearted and affectionate man1 as he proves abundantly by the tone of his letters4 ,his personal religion was1 in essence1 a pure mysticism2 one worships a ,christ whom he has experienced as a living presence in his soul4 ,the mystic who is also a man of action1 and a man of action because he is a mystic1 wields a tremendous power over other men4 ,he is like an invulnerable knight1 fighting in magic armour4 ,it is an interesting and difficult question whether we should regard the intense moral dualism of the ,epistle to the ,romans as a confession that the writer has had an unusually severe personal battle with temptation4 ,the moral struggle certainly assumes a more tragic aspect in these passages than in the experience of many saintly characters4 ,we find something like it in ,augustine1 and again in ,luther2 it may even be suggested that these great men have stamped upon the ,christian tradition the idea of a harsher 'clash of yes and no' than the normal experience of the moral life can justify4 ,but it is not certain that the first person singular in such verses as ',o wretched man that ,i am6 who shall deliver me from this body of death8' is a personal confession at all4 ,it may be for human nature generally that he is speaking1 when he gives utterance to that consciousness of sin which was one of the most distinctive parts of the ,christian religion from the first4 ,it does not seem likely that a man of so lofty and heroic a character was ever seriously troubled with ignominious temptations4 ,that he yielded to them1 as ,nietzsche and others have suggested1 is in the highest degree improbable4 ,even if the self-reproaches were uttered in his own person1 we have many other instances of saints who have blamed themselves passionately for what ordinary men would consider slight transgressions4 ,of all the ,epistles1 the ,second to the ,corinthians is the one which contains the most intimate self-revelations1 and few can read it without loving as well as honouring its author4 ,we know nothing of the ,apostle's residence at ,jerusalem except the name of his teacher4 ,but it was at this time that he became steeped in the ,pharisaic doctrines which loamed the framework in which his earlier ,christian beliefs were set4 ,it is now recognised that ,pharisaism1 far from being the antipodes of ,christianity1 was rather the quarter where the ,gospel found its best recruits4 ,the ,pharisaic school contained the greater part of whatever faith1 loyalty and piety remained among the ,jewish people2 and its dogmatic system passed almost entire into the earliest ,christian ,church1 with the momentous addition that ,jesus was the ,messiah4 ,a few words on the ,pharisaic teaching which ,st4 ,paul must have imbibed from ,gamaliel are indispensable even in an article which deals with ,paul1 and not with ,paulinism4 ,the distinctive feature of the ,jewish religion is not1 as is often supposed1 its monotheism1 ,hebrew religion in its golden age was monolatry rather than monotheism2 and when ,jahveh became more strictly 'the only ,god1' the cult of intermediate beings came in1 and restored a quasi-polytheism4 ,the distinctive feature in ,jewish faith is its historical and teleological character4 ,the ,god of the ,jew is not natural law4 ,if the idea of necessary causation ever forced itself upon his mind1 he at once gave it the form of predestination4 ,the whole of history is an unfolding of the divine purpose2 and so history as a whole has for the ,jew an importance which it never had for a ,greek thinker1 nor for the ,hellenised ,jew ,philo4 ,the ,hebrew idea of ,god is dynamic and ethical2 it is therefore rooted in the idea of ,time4 ,the ,pharisaic school modified this prophetic teaching in two ways4 ,it became more spiritual2 anthropomorphisms were removed1 and the transcendence of ,god above the world was more strictly maintained4 ,on the other hand1 the religious relationship became in their hands narrower and more external4 ,the notion of a covenant was defined more rigorously2 the ,law was practically exalted above ,god1 so that the ,rabbis even represent the ,deity as studying the ,law4 ,with this legalism went a spirit of intense exclusiveness and narrow ecclesiasticism4 ,as ,god was raised above direct contact with men1 the old animistic belief in angels and demons1 which had lasted on in the popular mind by the side of the worship of ,jahveh1 was extended in a new way4 ,a celestial hierarchy was invented1 with names1 and an infernal hierarchy too2 the malevolent ghosts of animism became fallen angels4 ,satan1 who in ,job is the crown-prosecutor1 one of ,god's retinue1 becomes ,god's adversary2 and the angels1 formerly manifestations of ,god ,himself1 are now quite separated from ,him4 ,a supramundane physics or cosmology was evolved at the same time4 ,above ,zion1 the centre of the earth1 rise seven heavens1 in the highest of which the ,deity has ,his throne4 ,the underworld is now first divided into ,paradise and ,gehenna4 ,the doctrine of the fall of man1 through his participation in the representative guilt of his first parents1 is ,pharisaic2 as is the strange legend1 which ,st4 ,paul seems to have believed 7#b ,cor4 xi4 #c71 that the ,serpent carnally seduced ,eve1 and so infected the race with spiritual poison4 ,justification1 in ,pharisaism as for ,st4 ,paul1 means the verdict of acquittal4 ,the bad receive in this life the reward for any small merits which they may possess2 the sins of the good must be atoned for2 but merits1 as in ,roman ,catholicism1 may be stored and transferred4 ,martyrdoms especially augment the spiritual bank-balance of the whole nation4 ,there was no official ,messianic doctrine1 only a mass of vague fancies and beliefs1 grouped round the central idea of the appearance on earth of a supernatural ,being1 who should establish a theocracy of some kind at ,jerusalem4 ,the righteous dead will be raised to take part in this kingdom4 ,the course of the world is thus divided into two epochs--'this age' and 'the age to come4' ,a catastrophe will end the former and inaugurate the latter4 ,the promised deliverer is now waiting in heaven with ,god1 until his hour comes2 and it will come very soon4 ,all this ,st4 ,paul must have learned from ,gamaliel4 ,it formed the framework of his theology as a ,christian for many years after his conversion1 and was only partially thrown off1 under the influence of mystical experience and of ,greek ideas1 during the period covered by the letters4 ,the lore of good and bad spirits 7the latter are 'the princes of this world' in ,i ,cor4 ii4 #f1 #h7 pervades the ,epistles more than modern readers are willing to admit4 ,it is part of the heritage of the ,pharisaic school4 ,it is very unlikely 7in spite of ,johannes ,weiss7 that ,st4 ,paul ever saw ,jesus in the flesh4 ,but he did come in contact with the little ,christian community at ,jerusalem4 ,these disciples at first attempted to live as strict members of the ,jewish ,church4 ,they knew that the coming ,messiah was their crucified ,master1 but this belief involved no rupture with ,judaism4 ,so at least they thought themselves2 the ,sanhedrin saw more clearly what the new movement meant4 ,the crisis came when numerous ',hellenists' attached themselves to the ,church--,jews of the ,dispersion1 from ,syria1 ,egypt1 and elsewhere4 ,a threatened rupture between these and the ,palestinian ,christians was averted by the appointment of seven deacons or charity commissioners1 among whom ,stephen soon became prominent by the dangerously 'liberal' character of his teaching4 ,philo gives important testimony to the existence of a 'liberal' school among the ,jews of the ,dispersion1 who1 under pretext of spiritualising the traditional law1 left off keeping the ,sabbath and the great festivals1 and even dispensed with the rite of circumcision4 ,thus the admission of ,gentiles on very easy terms into the ,church was no new idea to the ,palestinian ,jews2 it was known to them as part of the shocking laxity which prevailed among their brethren of the ,dispersion4 ,with ,stephen1 this kind of liberalism seemed to have entered the group of 'disciples4' ,he was accused of saying that ,jesus was to destroy the temple and change the customs of ,moses4 ,in his bold defence he admitted that in his view the ,law was valid only for a limited period1 which would expire so soon as ,jesus returned as ,messiah4 ,this was quite enough for the ,sanhedrin4 ,they stoned ,stephen1 and compelled the 'disciples' to disperse and fly for their lives4 ,only the ,apostles1 whose devotion to the ,law was well known1 were allowed to remain4 ,this last fact1 briefly recorded in ,acts1 is important as an indication that the persecution was directed only against the liberalising ,christians1 and that these were the great majority4 ,saul1 it seems1 had no quarrel with the ,twelve2 his hatred and fanaticism were aroused against a sect of ,hellenist ,jews who openly proclaimed that the ,law had been abrogated in advance by their ,master1 who1 as ,saul observed with horror1 had incurred the curse of the ,law by dying on a gibbet4 ,all the ,pharisee in him was revolted2 and he led the savage heretic-hunt which followed the execution of ,stephen4 ,what caused the sudden change which so astonished the survivors among his victims8 ,to suppose that nothing prepared for the vision near ,damascus1 that the apparition in the sky was a mere 'bolt from the blue1' is an impossible theory4 ,the best explanation is furnished by a study of the ,apostle's character1 which we really know very well4 ,the author of the ,epistles was certainly not a man who could watch a young saint being battered to death by howling fanatics1 and feel no emotion4 ,stephen's speech may have made him indignant2 his heroic death1 the very ideal of a martyrdom1 must have awakened very different feelings4 ,an undercurrent of dissatisfaction1 almost of disgust1 at the arid and unspiritual seminary teaching of the ,pharisees now surged up and came very near the surface4 ,his bigotry sustained him as a persecutor for a few weeks more2 but how if he could himself see what the dying ,stephen said that he saw8 ,would not that be a welcome liberation8 ,the vision came in the desert1 where men see visions and hear voices to this day4 ,they were very common in the desert of ,gobi when ,marco ,polo traversed it4 ',the ,spirit of ,jesus1' as he came to call it1 spoke to his heart1 and the form of ,jesus flashed before his eyes4 ,stephen had been right2 the ,crucified was indeed the ,lord from heaven4 ,so ,saul became a ,christian2 and it was to the ,christianity of ,stephen1 not to that of ,james the ,lord's brother1 that he was converted4 ,the ,pharisee in him was killed4 ,the travelling missionary was as familiar a figure in the ,levant as the travelling lecturer on philosophy4 ,the ,greek language brought all nationalities together4 ,the ,hellenising of the ,east had gone on steadily since the conquests of ,alexander2 and ,greek was already as useful as ,latin in many parts of the ,west4 ,a century later1 ,marcus ,aurelius wrote his ,confessions in ,greek2 and even in the middle of the third century1 when the tide was beginning to turn in favour of ,latin1 ,plotinus lectured in ,greek at ,rome4 ,christianity1 within a few years after the ,crucifixion1 had allied itself definitely with the speech1 and therefore inevitably with the spirit1 of ,hellenism4 ,at no time since have travel and trade been so free between the ,west of ,europe and the ,west of ,asia4 ,a ,phrygian merchant 7according to the inscription on his tomb7 made seventy-two journeys to ,rome in the course of his business-life4 ,the decomposition of nationalities1 and the destruction of civic exclusiveness1 led naturally to the formation of voluntary associations of all kinds1 from religious sects to trade unions2 sometimes a single association combined these two functions4 ,the ,oriental religions appealed strongly to the unprivileged classes1 among which genuine religious faith was growing1 while the official cults of the ,roman ,empire were unsatisfying in themselves and associated with tyranny4 ,the attempt of ,augustus to resuscitate the old religion was artificial and unfruitful4 ,the living movement was towards a syncretism of religious ideas and practices1 all of which came from the ,eastern provinces and beyond them4 ,the prominent features in this new devotion were the removal of the supreme ,godhead from the world to a transcendental sphere2 contempt for the world and ascetic abnegation of 'the flesh'2 a longing for healing and redemption1 and a close identification of salvation with individual immortality2 and1 finally1 trust in sacraments 7'mysteries1' in ,greek7 as indispensable means of grace or redemption4 ,this was the ,paganism with which ,christianity had to reckon1 as well as with the official cult and its guardians4 ,the established church it conquered and destroyed2 the living syncretistic beliefs it cleansed1 simplified1 and disciplined1 but only absorbed by becoming itself a syncretistic religion4 ,but besides ,christians and ,pagans1 there were the ,jews1 dispersed over the whole ,empire4 ,there were at least a million in ,egypt1 a country which ,st4 ,paul1 for reasons unknown to us1 left severely alone2 there were still more in ,syria1 and perhaps five millions in the whole ,empire4 ,in spite of the fecundity of ,jewish women1 so much emphasised by ,seeck in his history of the ,downfall of the ,ancient ,world1 it is impossible that the ,hebrew stock should have multiplied to this extent4 ,there must have been a very large number of converts1 who were admitted1 sometimes without circumcision1 on their profession of monotheism and acceptance of the ,jewish moral code4 ,the majority of these remained in the class technically called ',god-fearers1' who never took upon themselves the whole yoke of the ,law4 ,these half-,jews were the most promising field for ,christian missionaries2 and nothing exasperated the ,jews more than to see ,st4 ,paul fishing so successfully in their waters4 ,the spirit of propagandism almost disappeared from ,judaism after the middle of the second century4 ,judaism shrank again into a purely ,eastern religion1 and renounced the dangerous compromise with ,western ideas4 ,the labours of ,st4 ,paul made an all-important parting of the ways4 ,their result was that ,christianity became a ,european religion1 while ,judaism fell back upon its old traditions4 ,it is very unfortunate that we have no thoroughly trustworthy records of the ,apostle's earlier mission preaching4 ,the ,epistles only cover a period of about ten years2 and the rapid development of thought which can be traced during this short time prevents us from assuming that his earlier teaching closely resembled that which we find in the ,letters4 ,but if1 during the earlier period1 he devoted his attention mainly to those who were already under ,jewish influence1 we may be sure that he spoke much of the ,messiahship of ,jesus1 and of ,his approaching return1 these being the chief articles of faith in ,judaic ,christianity4 ,this was1 however1 only the framework4 ,what attracted converts was really the historical picture of the life of ,jesus2 his message of love and brotherhood1 which they found realised in the little communities of believers2 and the abolition of all external barriers between human beings1 such as social position1 race1 and sex1 which had undoubtedly been proclaimed by the ,founder1 and contained implicitly the promise of an universal religion4 ,we can infer what the manner of his preaching was from the style of the letters1 which were probably dictated like extempore addresses1 without much preparation4 ,he was no trained orator1 and he thoroughly disdained the arts of the rhetorician4 ,his ,greek1 though vigorous and effective1 is neither correct nor elegant4 ,his eloquence is of the kind which proceeds from intense conviction1 and from a thorough knowledge of ,old ,testament prophecy and psalmody--no bad preparation for a religious teacher4 ,if at times he argued like a ,rabbi1 these frigid debates were as acceptable to ancient ,jews as they are to modern ,scotsmen4 ,and when he takes fire1 as he deals with some vital truth which he has lived as well as learned and taught1 he establishes his right to be called what he never aimed at being--a writer of genius4 ,such passages as #a ,cor4 xiii41 ,phil1 ii41 ,rom4 viii41 rank among the finest compositions in later ,greek literature4 ,regarded merely as a piece of poetical prose1 #a ,cor4 xiii4 is finer than anything that had been written in the ,greek language since the great ,attic prose-writers4 ,and if this was dictated impromptu1 similar outbursts of splendid eloquence were probably frequent in his mission-preaching4 ,their effect must have been overwhelming1 when reinforced by the flashing eye of the speaker1 and by the absolute sincerity which none could doubt who saw his face and figure1 furrowed by toil and scarred by torture4 ,in addressing the ,gentiles1 we may assume that he followed the customary ,jewish line of apologetic1 denouncing the folly of idolatry--an aid to worship which is quite innocent and natural in some peoples1 but which the ,jews never understood2 that he spoke much of judgment to come2 and especially that he contrasted the pure and affectionate social life of the ,christian brotherhood with the licentiousness1 cruelty1 injustice1 oppression1 and mutual suspicion of ,pagan society4 ,this argument probably struck home in very many ',gentile' hearts4 ,the old civilisation1 with all the brilliant qualities which make many moderns regret its destruction1 rested on too narrow a base4 ,the woman and the slave were left out1 the woman especially by the ,greeks1 and the slave by the ,romans4 ,acute social inequalities always create pride1 brutality1 and widespread sexual immorality4 ,and when the structure which maintained these inequalities is itself tottering1 the oppressed classes begin to feel that they are unnecessary1 and to hope for emancipation4 ,when ,st4 ,paul drew his lurid pictures of ,pagan society steeped in unnatural abominations1 without hope for the future1 'hateful and hating one another1' and then pointed to the little flock of ,christians--among whom no one was allowed to be idle and no one to starve1 and where family life was pure and mutual confidence full1 frank and seldom abused--the woman and the slave1 of whom ,aristotle had spoken so contemptuously1 flocked into his congregations1 and began to organise themselves for that victory which ,nietzsche thought so deplorable4 ,it is not necessary in this essay to traverse again the familiar field of ,st4 ,paul's missionary journeys4 ,the first epoch1 which embraces about fourteen years1 had its scene in ,syria and ,cilicia1 with the short tour in ,cyprus and other parts of ,asia ,minor4 ,the second period1 which ends with the imprisonment in ,a4,d4 #eh or #ei1 is far more important4 ,st4 ,paul crosses into ,europe2 he works in ,macedonia and ,greece4 ,churches are founded in two of the great towns of the ancient world1 ,corinth and ,ephesus4 ,according to his letters1 we must assume that he only once returned to ,jerusalem from the great tour in the ,west1 undertaken after the controversy with ,peter2 and that the object of this visit was to deliver the money which he had promised to collect for the poor 'saints' at ,jerusalem4 ,he intended after this to go to ,rome1 and thence to ,spain--a scheme worthy of the restless genius of an ,alexander4 ,he saw ,rome indeed1 but as a prisoner4 ,the rest of his life is lost in obscurity4 ,the writer of the ,acts does not say that the two years' imprisonment ended in his execution2 and if it was so1 it is difficult to see why such a fact should be suppressed4 ,if the charge against him was at last dismissed1 because the accusers did not think it worth while to come to ,rome to prosecute it1 ,st4 ,luke's silence is more explicable4 ,in any case1 we may regard it as almost certain that ,st4 ,paul ended his life under a ,roman axe during the reign of ,nero4 ',there is hardly any fact' 7says ,harnack7 'which deserves to be turned over and pondered so much as this1 that the religion of ,jesus has never been able to root itself in ,jewish or even upon ,semitic soil4' ,this extraordinary result is the judgment of history upon the life and work of ,st4 ,paul4 ,jewish ,christianity rapidly withered and died4 ,according to ,justin1 who must have known the facts1 ,jesus was rejected by the whole ,jewish nation 'with a few exceptions4' ,in ,galilee especially1 few1 if any1 ,christian ,churches existed4 ,there are other examples1 of which ,buddhism is the most notable1 of a religion gaining its widest acceptance outside the borders of the country which gave it birth4 ,but history oilers no parallel to the complete vindication of ,st4 ,paul's policy in carrying ,christianity over into the ,grco-,roman world1 where alone1 as the event proved1 it could live4 ,this is a complete answer to those who maintain that ,christ made no break with ,judaism4 ,such a statement is only tenable if it is made in the sense of ,harnack's words1 that 'what ,gentile ,christianity did was to carry out a process which had in fact commenced long before in ,judaism itself1 viz4 the process by which the ,jewish religion was inwardly emancipated and turned into a religion for the world4' ,but the true account would be that ,judaism1 like other great ideas1 had to 'die to live1' ,it died in its old form1 in giving birth to the religion of civilised humanity1 as the ,greek nation perished in giving birth to ,hellenism1 and the ,roman in creating the ,mediterranean empire of the ,caesars and the ,catholic ,church of the ,popes4 ,the ,jewish people were unable to make so great a sacrifice of their national hopes4 ,with the matchless tenacity which characterises their race they clung to their tribal ,god and their temporal and local millennium4 ,the disasters of ,a4,d4 #gj and of the revolt under ,hadrian destroyed a great part of the race1 and at last uprooted it from the soil of ,palestine4 ,but conservatism1 as usual1 has had its partial justification4 ,judaism has refused to acknowledge the religion of the civilised world as her legitimate child2 but the nation has refused also to surrender its life4 ,there are no more ,greeks and ,romans2 but the ,jews we have always with us4 ,st4 ,paul saw that the ,gospel was a far greater and more revolutionary scheme than the ,galilean apostles had dreamed of4 ,in principle he committed himself from the first to the complete emancipation of ,christianity from ,judaism4 ,but it was inevitable that he did not at first realise all that he had undertaken4 ,and1 fortunately for us1 the most rapid evolution in his thought took place daring the ten years to which his extant letters belong4 ,it is exceedingly interesting to trace his gradual progress away from ,apocalyptic ,messianism to a position very near that of the fourth ,gospel4 ,the evangelist whom we call ,st4 ,john is the best commentator on ,paulinism4 ,this is one of the most important discoveries of recent ,new ,testament criticism4 ,in the earliest ,epistles--those to the ,thessalonians--we have the nave picture of ,messiah coming on the clouds1 which1 as we now know1 was part of the ,pharisaic tradition4 ,in the central group the ,christology is far more complex4 ,besides the ,pharisaic ,messiah1 and the records of the historical ,jesus of ,nazareth1 we have now to reckon with the ,jewish-,alexandrian idea of the generic1 archetypal man1 which is unintelligible without reference to the ,platonic philosophy4 ,philo is here a great help towards understanding one of the most difficult parts of the ,apostle's teaching4 ,we have also1 fully developed1 the mystical doctrine of the ,spirit of ,christ immanent in the soul of the believer1 a conception which was the core of ,st4 ,paul's personal religion1 and more than anything else emancipated him from apocalyptic dreams of the future4 ,we have also a fourth conception1 quite distinct from the three which have been mentioned--that of ,christ as a cosmic principle1 the instrument in creation and the sustainer of all his in the universe4 ,we must again have recourse to ,philo and his doctrine of the ,logos1 to understand the genesis of this idea1 and to the ,fourth ,gospel to find it stated in clear philosophical form4 ,in this second period1 these theories about the ,person of ,christ are held concurrently1 without any attempt to reconcile or systematise them4 ,the eschatology is being seriously modified by the conception of a 'spiritual body1' which is prepared for us so soon as our 'outward man' decays in death4 ,the resurrection of the flesh is explicitly denied 7#a ,cor4 xv4 #ej72 but a new and incorruptible 'clothing' will be given to the soul in the future state4 ,already the fundamental ,pharisaic doctrine of the two ages--the present age and that which is to come--is in danger4 ,st4 ,paul can now1 like a true ,greek1 contrast the things that are seen1 which are temporal1 with the things that are not seen1 which are eternal4 ,the doctrine of the ,spirit as a present possession of ,christians brings down heaven to earth and exalts earth to heaven2 the ',parousia' is now only the end of the existing world-order1 and has but little significance for the individual4 ,these ideas have not displaced the earlier apocalyptic language2 but it is easy to see that the one or the other must recede into the background1 and that the ,pharisaic tradition will be the one to fade4 ,the third group of ,epistles--,philippians1 ,colossians1 and ,ephesians--are steeped in ideas which belong to ,greek philosophy and the ,greek mystery-religions4 ,it would be impossible to translate them into any ,eastern language4 ,the ,rabbinical disputes with the ,jews about justification and election have disappeared2 the danger ahead is now from theosophy and the barbarised ,platonism which was afterwards matured in ,gnosticism4 ,the teaching is even more ,christocentric than before2 and the ,catholic doctrine of the ,church as the body of ,christ is more prominent than individualistic mysticism4 ,the cosmology is thoroughly ,johannine1 and only awaits the name of the ,logos4 ,this receptiveness to new ideas is one of the most remarkable features in ,st4 ,paul's mind4 ,few indeed are the religious prophets and preachers whose convictions are still malleable after they have begun to govern the minds of others4 ,st4 ,paul had already proved that he was a man who would 'follow the gleam1' even when it called him to a complete breach with his past4 ,and the further development of his thought was made much easier by the fact that he was no systematic philosopher1 but a great missionary who was willing to be all things to all men1 while his own faith was unified by his strength of purpose1 and by the steady glow of the light within4 ,it is difficult for us to realise the life of his little communities without importing into the picture features which belong to a later time4 ,the organisation1 such as it was1 was democratic4 ,the congregation as a whole exercised a censorship over the morals of its members1 and penalties were inflicted 'by vote of the majority' 7#b ,cor4 ii4 #f74 ,the family formed a group for religious purposes1 and remained the recognised unit till the second century4 ,in ,ignatius and ,hermas we find the campaign against family churches in full swing4 ,the meetings were like those of modern revivalists1 and sometimes became disorderly4 ,but of the moral beauty which pervaded the whole life of the brotherhoods there can be no doubt4 ,many of the converts had formerly led disreputable lives2 but these were the most likely to appreciate the gain of being no longer outlaws1 but members of a true family4 ,the heathen were amazed at the kind of people whom the ,christians admitted and treated like brethren2 but in the first century scandals do not seem to have been frequent4 ,women1 who were probably always the majority1 enjoyed a consideration unknown by them before4 ,the extreme importance attached by the early ,church to sexual purity made it possible for them to mix freely with ,christian men2 indeed1 the strange and perilous practice of a 'brother' and a virgin sharing the same house seems to have already begun1 if this is the meaning of the obscure passage in ,i ,cor4 vii4 #cf4 ,chastity and indifference to death were the two qualities in ,christians which made the greatest impression on their neighbours4 ,galen is especially interesting on the former topic4 ,but we must add a third characteristic--the cheerfulness and happiness which marked the early ,christian communities4 ',joy' as a moral quality is a ,christian invention1 as a study of the usage of charha in ,greek will show4 ,even in ,augustine's time the temper of the ,christians1 'serena et non dissolute hilaris' was one of the things which attracted him to the ,church4 ,the secret of this happy social life was an intense realisation of corporate unity among the members of the confraternity1 which they represented to themselves as a 'mystery'--a mystical union between the ,head and members of a 'body4' ,it is in this conception1 and not in ritual details1 that we are justified in finding a real and deep influence of the mystery-cults upon ,christianity4 ,the ,catholic conception of sacraments as bonds uniting religious communities1 and as channels of grace flowing from a corporate treasury1 was as certainly part of the ,greek mystery-religion as it was foreign to ,judaism4 ,the mysteries had their bad side1 as might be expected in private and half-secret societies2 but their influence as a whole was certainly good4 ,the three chief characteristics of mystery-religion were1 first1 rites of purification1 both moral and ceremonial2 second1 the promise of spiritual communion with some deity1 who through them enters into his worshippers2 third1 the hope of immortality1 which the ,greeks often called 'deification1' and which was secured to those who were initiated4 ,it is useless to deny that ,st4 ,paul regarded ,christianity as1 at least on one side1 a mystery-religion4 ,why else should he have used a number of technical terms which his readers would recognise at once as belonging to the mysteries8 ,why else should he repeatedly use the word 'mystery' itself1 applying it to doctrines distinctive of ,christianity1 such as the resurrection with a 'spiritual body1' the relation of the ,jewish people to ,god1 and1 above all1 the mystical union between ,christ and ,christians8 ,the great' mystery' is ',christ in you1 the hope of glory' 7,col i4 #bg74 ,it was as a mystery-religion that ,europe accepted ,christianity4 ,just as the ,jewish ,christians took with them the whole framework of apocalyptic ,messianism1 and set the figure of ,jesus within it1 so the ,greeks took with them the whole scheme of the mysteries1 with their sacraments1 their purifications and fasts1 their idea of a mystical brotherhood1 and their doctrine of 'salvation' 7strhia is essentially a mystery word7 through membership in a divine society1 worshipping ,christ as the patronal deity of their mysteries4 ,historically1 this type of ,christianity was the origin of ,catholicism1 both ,western and ,eastern2 though it is only recently that this character of the ,pauline churches has been recognised4 ,and students of the ,new ,testament have not yet realised the importance of the fact that ,st4 ,paul1 who was ready to fight to the death against the ,judaising of ,christianity1 was willing to take the first step1 and a long one1 towards the ,paganising of it4 ,it does not appear that his personal religion was of this type4 ,he speaks with contempt of some doctrines and practices of the ,pagan mysteries1 and will allow no rapprochement with what he regards as devil-worship4 ,in this he remains a pure ,hebrew4 ,but he does not appear to see any danger in allowing his ,hellenistic churches to assimilate the worship of ,christ to the honours paid to the gods of the mysteries1 and to set their whole religion in this framework1 provided only that they have no part nor lot with those who sit at 'the table of demons'--the sacramental love-feasts of the heathen mysteries4 ,the dangers which he does see1 and against which he issues warnings1 are1 besides ,judaism1 antinomianism and disorder on the one hand1 and dualistic asceticism on the other4 ,he dislikes or mistrusts 'the speaking with tongues' 7glssolalhia71 which was the favourite exhibition of religious enthusiasm at ,corinth4 7,on this subject ,prof4 ,lake's excursus is the most instructive discussion that has yet appeared4 ,the ',testament of ,job' and the magical papyri show that gibberish uttered in a state of spiritual excitement was supposed to be the language of angels and spirits1 understood by them and acting upon them as a charm47 ,he urges his converts to do all things 'decently and in order4' ,he is alarmed at signs of moral laxity on the part of self-styled 'spiritual persons'--a great danger in all times of ecstatic enthusiasm4 ,he is also alive to the dangers connected with that kind of asceticism which is based on theories of the impurity of the body--the typical ,oriental form of world-renunciation4 ,but he does not appear to have foreseen the unethical and polytheistic developments of sacramental institutionalism4 ,in this particular his ,judaising opponents had a little more justification than he is willing to allow them4 ,,st4 ,,paul ,there is something transitional about all ,st4 ,paul's teaching4 ,we cannot take him out of his historical setting1 as so many of his commentators in the nineteenth century tried to do4 ,this is only another way of saying that he was1 to use his own expression1 a wise master-builder1 not a detached thinker1 an arm-chair philosopher4 ,to the historian1 there must always be something astounding in the magnitude of the task which he set himself1 and in his enormous success4 ,the future history of the civilised world for two thousand years1 perhaps for all time1 was determined by his missionary journeys and hurried writings4 ,it is impossible to guess what would have become of ,christianity if he had never lived2 we cannot even be sure that the religion of ,europe would be called by the name of ,christ4 ,this stupendous achievement seems to have been due to an almost unique practical insight into the essential factors of a very difficult and complex situation4 ,we watch him1 with breathless interest1 steering the vessel which carried the ,christian ,church and its fortunes through a narrow channel full of sunken rocks and shoals4 ,with unerring instinct he avoids them all1 and brings the ship1 not into smooth water1 but into the open sea1 out of that perilous strait4 ,and so far was his masterly policy from mere opportunism1 that his correspondence has been ',holy ,scripture' for fifty generations of ,christians1 and there has been no religious revival within ,christianity that has not been1 on one side at least1 a return to ,st4 ,paul4 ,protestants have always felt their affinity with this institutionalist1 mystics with this disciplinarian4 ,the reason1 put shortly1 is that ,st4 ,paul understood what most ,christians never realise1 namely1 that the ,gospel of ,christ is not a religion1 but religion itself1 in its most universal and deepest significance4 ,,institutionalism ,,and ,,mysticism 7#aiad7 ,it happens sometimes that two opposite tendencies flourish together1 deriving strength from a sense of the danger with which each is threatened by the popularity of the other4 ,where the antagonism is not absolute1 each may gain by being compelled to recognise the strong points in the rival position4 ,in a serious controversy the right is seldom or never all on one side2 and in the normal course of events both theories undergo some modification through the influence of their opponents1 until a compromise1 not always logically defensible1 brings to an end the acute stage of the controversy4 ,such a tension of rival movements is very apparent in the religious thought of our day4 ,the quickening of spiritual life in our generation has taken two forms1 which appear to be1 and to a large extent are1 sharply opposed to each other4 ,on the one side1 there has been a great revival of mysticism4 ,mysticism means an immediate communion1 real or supposed1 between the human soul and the ,soul of the ,world or the ,divine ,spirit4 ,the hypothesis on which it rests is that there is a real affinity between the individual soul and the great immanent ,spirit1 who in ,christian theology is identified with the ,logos-,christ4 ,he was the instrument in creation1 and through the ,incarnation and the gift of the ,holy ,spirit1 in which the ,incarnation is continued1 has entered into the most intimate relation with the inner life of the believer4 ,this revived belief in the inspiration of the individual has immensely strengthened the position of ,christian apologists1 who find their old fortifications no longer tenable against the assaults of natural science and historical criticism4 ,it has given to faith a new independence1 and has vindicated for the spiritual life the right to stand on its own feet and rest on its own evidence4 ,spiritual things1 we now realise1 are spiritually discerned4 ,the enlightened soul can see the invisible1 and live its true life in the suprasensible sphere4 ,the primary evidence for the truth of religion is religious experience1 which in persons of religious genius--those whom the ,church calls saints and prophets--includes a clear perception of an eternal world of truth1 beauty1 and goodness1 surrounding us and penetrating us at every point4 ,it is the unanimous testimony of these favoured spirits that the obstacles in the way of realising this transcendental world are purely subjective and to a large extent removable by the appropriate training and discipline4 ,nor is there any serious discrepancy among them either as to the nature of the vision which is the highest reward of human effort1 or as to the course of preparation which makes us able to receive it4 ,the ,christian mystic must begin with the punctual and conscientious discharge of his duties to society2 he must next purify his desires from all worldly and carnal lusts1 for only the pure in heart can see ,god2 and he may thus fit himself for 'illumination'--the stage in which the glory and beauty of the spiritual life1 now clearly discerned1 are themselves the motive of action and the incentive to contemplation2 while the possibility of a yet more immediate and ineffable vision of the ,godhead is not denied1 even in this life4 ,there is reason to think that this conception of religion appeals more and more strongly to the younger generation to-day4 ,it brings an intense feeling of relief to many who have been distressed by being told that religion is bound up with certain events in antiquity1 the historicity of which it is in some cases difficult to establish2 with a cosmology which has been definitely disproved2 and with a philosophy which they cannot make their own4 ,it allows us what ,george ,meredith calls 'the rapture of the forward view4' ,it brings home to us the meaning of the promise made by the ,johannine ,christ that there are many things as yet hid from humanity which will in the future be revealed by the ,spirit of ,truth4 ,it encourages us to hope that for each individual who is trying to live the right life the venture of faith will be progressively justified in experience4 ,it breaks down the denominational barriers which divide men and women who worship the ,father in spirit and in truth--barriers which become more senseless in each generation1 since they no longer correspond even approximately with real differences of belief or of religious temperament4 ,it makes the whole world kin by offering a pure religion which is substantially the same in all climates and in all ages--a religion too divine to be fettered by any man-made formulas1 too nobly human to be readily acceptable to men in whom the ape and tiger are still alive1 but which finds a congenial home in the purified spirit which is the 'throne of the ,godhead4' ,such is the type of faith which is astir among us4 ,it makes no imposing show in ,church conferences2 it does not fill our churches and chapels2 it has no organisation1 no propaganda2 it is for the most part passively loyal1 without much enthusiasm1 to the institutions among which it finds itself4 ,but in reality it has overleapt all barriers2 it knows its true spiritual kin2 and amid the strifes and perplexities of a sad and troublous time it can always recover its hope and confidence by ascending in heart and mind to the heaven which is closer to it than breathing1 and nearer than hands and feet4 ,but on the other side we see a tendency1 even more manifest if we look for external signs1 to emphasise the institutional side of religion1 that which prompts men and women to combine in sacred societies1 to cherish enthusiastic loyalties for the ,church of their early education or of their later choice1 to find their chief satisfaction in acts of corporate worship1 and to subordinate their individual tastes and beliefs to the common tradition and discipline of a historical body4 ,it is now about eighty years since this tendency began to manifest itself as a new phenomenon in the ,anglican ,church4 ,since then1 it has spread to other organisations4 ,it has prompted a new degree of denominational loyalty in several ,protestant bodies on the ,continent1 in ,america1 and in our own country2 and it has arrested the decline of the ,roman ,catholic ,church in countries where the outlook seemed least hopeful from the ecclesiastical point of view4 ,such a movement1 so widespread and so powerful in its results1 is clearly a thing to be reckoned with by all who desire to estimate rightly the signs of the times4 ,it is a current running in the opposite direction to the mystical tendency1 which regards unity as a spiritual1 not a political ideal4 ,fortunately1 the theory of institutionalism has lately been defended and expounded by several able writers belonging to different denominations2 so that we may hope1 by comparing their utterances1 to understand the attractions of the theory and its meaning for those who so highly value it4 ,aubrey ,moore1 writing in #ahhi1 connected the ,catholic revival with the abandonment of atomism in natural philosophy and of ,baconian metaphysics4 ,these were1 he thought1 the counterpart of individualism in politics and ,calvinism in religion4 ,the adherents of mid-,victorian science and philosophy were bewildered by the phenomenon of 'men in the nineteenth century actually expressing a belief in a divine society and a supernatural presence in our midst1 a brotherhood in which men become members of an organic whole by sharing in a common life1 a service of man which is the natural and spontaneous outcome of the service of ,god4'#ij ,in the view of this learned and acute thinker1 ,catholicism1 or institutionalism1 is destined to supplant ,protestantism1 as the organic theory is destined to displace the atomic4 ,more recently ,troeltsch1 writing as a ,protestant1 has emphasised the institutional side of religion in the most uncompromising way4 ',one of the clearest results of all religious history and religious psychology is that the essence of all religion is not dogma and idea1 but cultus and communion1 the living intercourse with the ,deity--an intercourse of the entire community1 having its vital roots in religion and deriving its ultimate power of thus uniting individuals1 from its faith in ,god4444 ,whatever the future may bring us1 we cannot expect a certainty and force of the knowledge of ,god and of ,his redemptive power to subsist without communion and cultus4 ,and so long as a ,christianity of any kind shall subsist at all1 it will be united with a cultus1 and with ,christ holding a central position in the cultus4'#ia ,from ,america1 the last refuge of individualism1 there has come a pronouncement not less drastic4 ,professor ,royce1 the author of the admirable metaphysical treatise entitled ',the ,world and the ,individual1' has recently published a double series of ,hibbert ,lectures on ',the ,problem of ,christianity1' in which he affirms the institutionalist theory with a surprising absence of qualification4 ,the whole book is dominated by one idea1 advocated with a navet which would hardly have been possible to a theologian--the idea that churchmanship is the essential part of the ,christian religion4 ',the salvation of the individual man is determined by some sort of membership in a certain spiritual community--a religious community1 and in its inmost nature a divine community1 in whose life the ,christian virtues are to reach their highest expression and the spirit of the ,master is to obtain its earthly fulfilment4 ,in other words1 there is a certain universal and divine spiritual community4 ,membership in that community is necessary to the salvation of man4444 ,such a community exists1 is needed1 and is an indispensable means of salvation for the individual man1 and is the fitting realm wherein alone the kingdom of heaven which the ,master preached can find its expression1 and wherein alone the ,christian virtues can be effectively preached4'#ib ,these statements1 which in vigour and rigour would satisfy the most extreme curialist in the ,society of ,jesus1 are not a little startling in an ,american philosopher1 who1 as far as the present writer knows1 does not belong to any ',catholic' ,church4 ,the thesis thus enunciated is the argument of the whole book1 in which 'loyalty to the beloved community' is declared to be the characteristic ,christian virtue4 ,it is true that the satisfaction of ,professor ,royce's ,catholic readers is destined to be damped in the second volume1 where he forbids us to look for the ideal divine community in any existing ,church1 and expresses his conviction that great changes must come over the dogmatic teaching of ,christianity4 ,but for our purpose the significant fact is that throughout the book he insists that ,christianity is essentially an institutional religion1 the most completely institutional of all religions4 ,for ,professor ,royce to be a ,christian is to be a ,churchman4 ,our last witness shall be the learned ,roman ,catholic layman1 ,baron ,friedrich von ,hgel1 the deepest thinker1 perhaps1 of all living theologians in this country4 ',it is now ever increasingly clear to all deep impartial students that religion has ever primarily expressed and formed itself in cultus1 in social organisation1 social worship1 intercourse between soul and soul and between soul and ,god2 and in symbols and sacraments1 in contacts between spirit and matter4' ,he proceeds to discuss the strength and weakness of institutionalism in a perfectly candid spirit1 but with too particular reference to the present conditions within the ,roman ,church to help us much in our more general survey4 ,he mentions the drawbacks of an official philosophy1 prescribed by authority2 'only in #ahce did the ,congregation of the ,index withdraw heliocentric books from its list4' ,he emphasises the necessity of historical dogmas1 but admits that orthodoxy cherishes1 along with them1 'fact-like historical pictures' which 'cannot be taken as directly1 simply factual4' ,he vindicates the orthodoxy of religious toleration1 and refuses to consign all non-,catholics to perdition1 lamenting the tendency to identify absolutely the visible and invisible ,church1 which prevails among 'some of the 7now dominant7 ,italian and ,german ,jesuit ,canonists4' ,lastly1 he boldly recommends the frank abandonment of the ,papal claim to exercise temporal power in ,italy4 ,this is not so much a critique of institutionalism as the plea of a ,liberal ,catholic that the logic of institutionalism should not be allowed to override all other considerations4 ,the ,baron is1 indeed1 himself a mystic1 though also a strong believer in the necessity of institutional religion4 ,we have then a considerable body of very competent opinion1 that a man cannot be a ,christian unless he is a ,churchman4 ,to the mystic pure and simple1 such a statement seems monstrous4 ,did not even ,augustine say1 ',i want to know ,god and my own soul2 these two things1 and no third whatever'8 ,what intermediary can there be1 he will ask1 between the soul and ,god8 ,what sacredness is there in an organisation8 ,is it not a matter of common experience that the morality of an institution1 a society1 a state1 is inferior to that of the individuals who compose it8 ,and is organised ,catholicism an exception to this rule8 ,and yet we must admit the glamour of the idea of a divine society4 ,it arouses that esprit de corps which is the strongest appeal that can be made to some noble minds4 ,it calls for self-sacrifice and devoted labour in a cause which is higher than private interest4 ,it demands discipline and co-operation1 through which alone great things can be done on the field of history4 ,it holds out a prospect of really influencing the course of events4 ,and if there has been a historical ,incarnation1 it follows that ,god has actually intervened on the stage of history1 and that it is ,his will to carry out some great and divine purpose in and by means of the course of history4 ,with this object1 as the ,catholic believes1 ,he established an institutional ,church1 pledged to the highest of all causes2 and what greater privilege can there be than to take part in this work1 as a soldier in the army of ,god in ,his long campaign against the spiritual powers of evil8 ,the ,christian institutionalist is the servant of a grand idea4 ,there are1 however1 a few questions which we are bound to ask him4 ,first1 is his idea of the ,church ,christian8 ,did the ,founder of ,christianity contemplate or even implicitly sanction the establishment of a semi-political international society1 such as the ,catholic ,church has actually been8 ,orthodox ,catholicism maintains that ,he did4 ,modernism admits that ,he did not1 but adds that if ,he had known that the ,messianic expectation was illusory1 and that the existing world-order was to continue for thousands of years1 ,he would certainly have wished that a ,catholic ,church should exist4 ,and1 argues the ,modernist1 if it is a good thing that a ,catholic ,church should exist1 it is useless to quarrel with the conditions under which alone it can maintain its existence4 ,the philosophical historian must admit that all the changes which the ,catholic ,church has undergone--its concessions to ,pagan superstition1 its secular power1 its ruthless extirpation of rebels against its authority1 its steadily growing centralisation and autocracy--were forced upon it in the struggle for existence4 ,those who wish that ,church history had been different are wishing the impossible1 or wishing that the ,church had perished4 ,but this argument is not valid as a defence of a divine institution4 ,it is rather a merciless exposure of what happens1 and must happen1 to a great idea when it is enslaved by an institution of its own creation4 ,the political organisation which has grown up round the idea ends by strangling it1 and continues to fight for its own preservation by the methods which govern the policy of all other political organisations--force1 fraud1 and accommodation4 ,there is nothing in the political history of ,catholicism which suggests in the slightest degree that the spirit of ,christ has been the guiding principle in its councils4 ,its methods have1 on the contrary1 been more cruel1 more fraudulent1 more unscrupulous1 than those of most secular powers4 ,if the ,founder of ,christianity had appeared again on earth during the so-called ages of faith1 it is hardly possible to doubt that ,he would1 have been burnt alive or crucified again4 ,what the ,latin ,church preserved was not the religion of ,christ1 which lived on by its inherent indestructibility1 but parts of the ,aristotelian and ,platonic philosophies1 distorted and petrified by scholasticism1 a vast quantity of purely ,pagan superstitions1 and the arcana imperii of ,roman ,csarism4 ,the normal end of ,scholasticism is a mummified philosophy of authority1 in which there are no problems to solve1 but a great many dead pundits to consult4 ,the normal end of a policy which exploits the superstitions of the peasant is a desperate warfare against education4 ,the normal end of ,roman ,imperialism is a sultanate like that of ,diocletian4 ,it is difficult to find a proof of infallible and supernatural wisdom in the evolution of which these are the last terms4 ,we read with the utmost sympathy and admiration ,baron von ,hgel's loyal and reverent appeals to the authorities of his ,church1 that they may draw out the strong and beneficent powers of institutionalism1 and avoid its insidious dangers4 ,but it may be doubted whether such a policy is possible4 ,the future of ,roman ,catholicism is1 ,i fear1 with the ,ultramontanes4 ,they1 and not the ,modernists1 are in the line of development which ,catholicism as an institution has consistently followed1 and must continue to follow to the end4 ,i can see no other fate in store for the soma of ,catholicism2 the germ-cells of true ,christianity live their own life within it1 and are transmitted without taint to those who are born of the ,spirit4 ,we must further ask the institutionalist what are his grounds for identifying the ,church of ,god with the particular institution to which he belongs4 ,on the institutionalist hypothesis1 it might have been expected either that there would have been no divisions in ,christendom1 or that all seceding bodies would have shown such manifest inferiority in wisdom1 morality1 and sanctity1 that the exclusive claims of the ,great ,church would have been ratified at the bar of history4 ,this is1 in fact1 the claim which ,roman ,catholics make4 ,but it can only be upheld by writing history in the spirit of an advocate1 or by giving a preference1 not in accordance with modern ethical views1 to certain types of character which are produced by the monastic life of the ,catholic 'religious1' ,it is increasingly difficult to find1 in the lives of those who belong to any one denomination1 proofs of marked superiority over other ,christians4 ,of course1 we know little of the real character of our neighbours as they appear in the eyes of ,god2 but in considering a theory which lays so much stress on history as ,catholic institutionalism does1 we are bound to make use of such evidence as we have4 ,and the evidence does not support the theory that we cannot be ,christians unless we are ,catholics4 ,nor does it even countenance the view that we cannot be ,christians unless we are enthusiastic members of some religious corporation4 ,professor ,royce seems to have been carried away by the idea which prompted him to write his book2 but a little thought about the characters of his acquaintances might have given him pause4 ,the mechanical theory of devolution which assumes so much importance in some fashionable ,anglican teaching about the ,church need not detain us long4 ,the logical choice must ultimately be between the great international ,catholic ,church and what ,auguste ,sabatier called the religion of the ,spirit4 ,the religion of all ,protestants1 when it is not secularised1 as it too often is1 belongs to this latter type1 even when they lay most stress on the idea of brotherhood and corporate action4 ,for with them institutions are never much more than associations for mutual help and edification4 ,the ,protestant always hopes to be saved qua ,christian1 not qua ,churchman4 ,a third question which must be asked is whether institutionalism in practice makes for unity among ,christians1 or for division4 ,too often the chief visible sign of the 'corporate idea' of which so much is said1 is the rigidity of the spikes which it erects round its own particular fold4 ,the obstacles to acts of reunion 7which in no way carry with them the necessity of formal amalgamation7 are raised almost exclusively by stiff institutionalists4 ,the much-discussed ,kikuyu case has brought this home to everybody4 ,but for these uncompromising ,churchmen1 ,christians of all denominations would be glad enough to meet together at the ,lord's table on special occasions like the service which gave rise to this controversy4 ,anglicans are well aware that the differences of opinion within their body are far greater than those which separate some of them from ,protestant ,nonconformity1 and others of them from ,home4 ,allegiance to this or that denomination is generally an accident of early surroundings4 ,to make these external classifications into barriers which cannot be crossed is either an absurdity or a confession that a ,church is a political aggregate4 ,a ,roman ,monsignor explained1 propos of the ,kikuyu service1 that no ,roman ,catholic could ever communicate in a ,protestant church1 because in so doing he would be guilty of an act of apostasy1 and would be no longer a ,roman ,catholic4 ,the attitude is consistent with the ,roman claim to universal jurisdiction2 for any other body it would be absurd4 ,the stiff institutionalist is debarred by his theory from fraternising with many who should be his friends1 while he is bound to others with whom he has no sympathy4 ,his theory is once more found to conflict with the facts4 ,lastly1 we must ask whether institutionalism is really a spiritual and moral force4 ,of the advantages of esprit de corps ,i have spoken already4 ,no one can doubt that unity is strength1 or that ,catholicism has an immense advantage over its rivals in the efficiency of its organisation4 ,but is not this advantage dearly purchased8 ,party loyalty is notoriously unscrupulous4 ,the idealised institution becomes itself the object of worship1 and it is entirely forgotten that a ,christian ,church ought to have no 'interests' except the highest welfare of humanity4 ,the substitution of military for civil ethics has worked disastrously on the conduct of ,churchmen4 ,theoretically it is admitted by ,roman casuists that an immoral order ought not to be obeyed2 but it is not for a layman to pronounce immoral any order received from a priest2 if the order is really immoral1 'obedience' exonerates him who executes it2 in all other cases disobedience is a deadly sin4 ,the result of this submission of private judgment is that the voice of conscience is often stifled1 and unscrupulous policies are carried through by ,churchmen1 which secular public opinion would have condemned decisively and rejected4 ,the persecution of ,dreyfus is a recent and strong instance4 ,if all ,france had been ,catholic1 the victim of this shocking injustice would certainly have died in prison4 ,it is extremely doubtful whether the presence of a highly organised ,church is conducive to moral and social reform in a country4 ,the temptation to play a political game seems to be always too strong4 ,in ,ireland the priesthood has probably helped to maintain a comparatively high standard of sexual morality1 but it cannot be said that the ,irish ,catholic population is in other respects a model of civilisation and good citizenship4 ,in education especially the influence of ecclesiasticism has been almost uniformly pernicious1 so that it seems impossible for any country where the children are left under priestly influence to rise above a certain rather low level of civilisation4 ,the strongest claim of institutionalism to our respect is probably the beneficial restraint which it exercises upon many persons who need moral and intellectual guidance4 ,it is the fashion to disparage the scholastic theology1 and it has certainly suffered by being congealed1 like everything else that ,rome touches1 into a hard system2 but it is immeasurably superior to the theosophies and fancy religions which run riot in the superficially cultivated classes of ,protestant countries4 ,the undisciplined mystic1 in his reliance on the inner light1 may fall into various kinds of ,schwrmerei and superstition4 ,in some cases he may even lose his sanity for want of a wise restraining influence4 ,it is not an accident that ,america1 where institutionalism is weakest1 is the happy hunting-ground of religious quacks and cranks4 ,individualists are too prone to undervalue the steadying influence of ancient and consecrated tradition1 which is kept up mainly by ecclesiastical institutions4 ,these probably prevent many rash experiments from being tried1 especially in the field of morals4 ,even writers like ,dr4 ,frazer insist on the immense services which consecrated tradition still renders to humanity4 ,these claims may be admitted2 but they come very far short of the glorification of institutionalism which we found in the authors quoted a few pages back4 ,the institutionalist1 however1 may reply that he by no means admits the validity of ,sabatier's antithesis between religions of authority and the religion of the ,spirit4 ,his own religion1 he believes1 is quite as spiritual as that of the ,protestant individualist4 ,he may quote the fine saying of a medieval mystic that he who can see the inward in the outward is more spiritual than he who can only see the inward in the inward4 ,we may1 indeed1 be thankful that we have not to choose between two mutually exclusive types of religion4 ,the ,quaker1 whom we may take as the type of anti-institutional mysticism1 has a brotherhood to which he is proud to belong1 and for which he feels loyalty and affection4 ,and ,catholicism has been rich in contemplative saints who have lived in the light of the ,divine presence4 ,the question raised in this essay is rather of the relative importance of these two elements in the religious life1 than of choosing one and rejecting the other4 ,i will conclude by saying that our preference of one of these types to the other will be largely determined by our attitude towards history4 ,i am glad to see that ,professor ,bosanquet1 in his fine ,gifford ,lectures1 has the courage to expose the limitations of the 'historical method1' now so popular4 ,he protests against ,professor ,ward's dictum that 'the actual is wholly historical1' as a view little better than nave realism4 ,history1 he says1 is a hybrid form of experience1 incapable of any considerable degree of being or trueness4 ,it is a fragmentary diorama of finite life-processes seen from the outside1 and very imperfectly known4 ,it consists largely of assigning parts in some great world-experience to particular actors--a highly speculative enterprise4 ,to set these contingent and dubious constructions above the operations of pure thought and pure insight is indeed a return to the philosophy of the man in the street4 ',social morality1 art1 philosophy1 and religion take us far beyond the spatio-temporal externality of history2 these are concrete and necessary living worlds1 and in them the finite mind begins to experience something of what individuality must ultimately mean4' ,our inquiry has thus led us to the threshold of one of the fundamental problems of philosophy--the value and reality of time4 ,for the institutionalist1 happenings in time have a meaning and importance far greater than the mystic is willing to allow to them4 ,like most other great philosophical problems1 this question is largely one of temperament4 ,christianity has found room for both types4 ,i believe1 however1 that the aberrations or exaggerations of institutionalism have been1 and are1 more dangerous1 and further removed from the spirit of ,christianity than those of mysticism1 and that we must look to the latter type1 rather than to the former1 to give life to the next religious revival4 ,,footnotes3 #ij ,moore1 ,science and the ,faith1 ,introduction4 #ia ,troeltsch1 ,die ,bedeutung der ,geschichtlichkeit ,jesu fr den ,glauben1 pp4 #be sq4 #ib ,royce1 ,the ,problem of ,christianity1 vol4 i4 #ci4 ,,the ,,indictment ,,against ,,christianity 7#aiag7 ,no thinking man can deny that this war has grievously stained the reputation of ,europe4 ,even if the verdict of history confirms the opinion that the conspiracy which threw the torch into the powder-magazine was laid by a few persons in one or two countries1 and that the unparalleled outrages which have accompanied the conflict were ordered by a small coterie of brutal officers1 we cannot forget that these crimes have been committed by the responsible representatives of a civilised ,european power1 and that the nation which they represent has shown no qualms of conscience4 ,that such a calamity1 the permanent results of which include a holocaust of ,european wealth and credit1 accumulated during a century of unprecedented industry and ingenuity1 the loss of innumerable lives1 and the destruction of all the old and honourable conventions which have hitherto regulated the intercourse of civilised nations with each other1 in war as well as in peace1 should have been possible1 is justly felt to be a reproach to the whole continent1 and especially to the nations which have taken the lead in its civilisation and culture4 ,the ancient races of ,asia1 which have never admitted the moral superiority of the ,west1 are keenly interested spectators of our suicidal frenzy4 ,a ,japanese is reported to have said1 ',we have only to wait a little longer1 till ,europe has completed her hara kiri4' ,this is1 indeed1 what any intelligent observer must think about the present struggle4 ,just as the feudal barons of ,england destroyed each other and brought the feudal system to an end in the ,wars of the ,roses1 so the great industrial nations are rending to pieces the whole fabric of modern industrialism1 which can never be reconstructed4 ,mr4 ,norman ,angell was perfectly right in his argument that a ,european war would be ruinous to both sides4 ,the material objects at stake1 such as the control of the ,turkish ,empire and the ,african continent1 are not worth more than an insignificant fraction of the war-bill4 ,we are witnessing the suicide of a social order1 and our descendants will marvel at our madness1 as we marvel at the senseless wars of the past4 ,there has1 it is plain1 been something fundamentally wrong with ,european civilisation1 and the disease appears to be a moral one4 ,with this conviction it is natural that men should turn upon the official custodians of religion and morality1 and ask them whether they have been unfaithful to their trust1 or whether it is not rather proved that the faith which they profess is itself bankrupt and incapable of exerting any salutary influence upon human character and action4 ,christianity stands arraigned at the bar of public opinion4 ,but it is not without significance that the indictment should now be urged with a vehemence which we do not find in the records of former convulsions4 ,it was not generally felt to be a scandal to ,christianity that ,england was at war for #fi years out of the #abj which preceded the battle of ,waterloo4 ,either our generation expected more from ,christianity1 or it was far more shocked by the sudden outbreak of this fierce war than our ancestors were by the almost chronic condition of desultory campaigning to which they were accustomed4 ,the latter is probably the true reason4 ,the belief in progress1 which at the beginning of the industrial revolution was an article of faith1 had become a tacitly accepted presupposition of all serious thought2 and even those who were dubious about the moral improvement of mankind in other directions1 seldom denied that we were more humane and peaceable than our forefathers4 ,the disillusion has struck our self-complacency in its most vital spot4 ,nothing in our own experience had prepared us for the hideous savagery and vandalism of ,german warfare1 the first accounts of which we received with blank amazement and incredulity4 ,then1 when disbelief was no longer possible1 there awoke within us a sense of fear for our homes and women and children--feeling to which modern civilised man had long been a stranger4 ,we had not supposed that the non-combatant population of any ,european country would ever again be exposed to the horrors of savage warfare4 ,this1 much more than the war itself1 has made thousands feel that the house of civilisation is built upon the sand1 and that ,christianity has failed to subdue the most barbarous instincts of human nature4 ,christians cannot regret that the flagrant contradiction between the principles of their creed and the scenes that have been enacted during the last three years is fully recognised4 ,but the often repeated statement that ',christianity has failed' needs more examination than it usually receives from those who utter it4 ,history acquaints us with two kinds of religion1 which1 though they are not entirely separate from each other1 differ very widely in their effects upon conduct and morality4 ,the religio which ,lucretius hated1 and from which he strangely hoped that the atomistic materialism of ,epicurus had finally delivered mankind1 has its roots in the sombre and confused superstitions of the savage4 ,fear1 as ,statius and ,petronius tell us1 created the gods of this religion4 ,these deities are mysterious and capricious powers1 who exact vengeance for the transgression of arbitrary laws which they have not revealed1 and who must be propitiated by public sacrifice1 lest some collective punishment fall on the tribe1 blighting its crops and smiting its herds with murrain1 or giving it over into the hand of its enemies4 ,this religion makes very little attempt to correct the current standard of values4 ,its rewards are wealth and prosperity2 its punishments are calamity in this world and perhaps torture in the next4 ,it is not1 however1 incapable of moralisation4 ,the wrath of heaven may visit not the innocent violation of some tabu1 but cruelty and injustice4 ,in the historical books of the ,old ,testament1 though ,uzzah is stricken dead for touching the ark1 and the subjects of ,king ,david afflicted with pestilence because their ruler took a census of his people1 ,jehovah is above all things a righteous ,god1 who punishes bloodshed1 adultery1 and social oppression4 ,so in ,greece the ,furies pursue the homicide and the perjurer1 till the name of his family is clean put out4 ,herodotus tells us how the family of ,glaucus was extinguished because he consulted the oracle of ,delphi about an act of embezzlement which he was meditating4 ,international law was protected by the same fear of divine vengeance4 ,the murder of heralds must by all means be expiated4 ,when the ,romans repudiate their 'scrap of paper' with the ,samnites1 they deliver up to the enemy the officers who signed it1 though 7with characteristic 'slimness'7 not the army which the mountaineers had captured and liberated under the agreement4 ,to destroy the temples in an enemy's country was an act of wanton impiety2 ,herodotus cannot understand the religious intolerance which led the ,persians to burn the shrines of ,greek gods4 ,thus religion had a restraining influence in war throughout antiquity1 and in the ,middle ,ages4 ,the ,pope1 who was believed to hold the keys of future bliss and torment1 was frequently1 though by no means always1 obeyed by the turbulent feudal lords1 and often enforced the sanctity of a contract by the threat or the imposition of excommunication and interdict4 ,in order to make these penalties more terrible1 the torments of those who died under the displeasure of the ,church were painted in the most vivid colours4 ,but in the official and popular ,christian eschatology1 as in the terrestrial theodicy of the ,old ,testament1 there is little or no moral idealism4 ,the joys or pains of the future life are made to depend1 in part at least1 on the observance or violation of the moral law1 but they are themselves of a kind which the natural man would desire or dread4 ,they are an enhanced1 because a deferred1 retribution of the same kind which in more primitive religions promises earthly prosperity to the righteous1 and earthly calamities to the wicked4 ,values1 positive and negative1 are taken nearly as they stand in the estimation of the average man4 ,but there is another religious tradition1 which in ,greece was almost separated from the official and national cults1 and among the ,hebrews was often in opposition to them4 ,the ,hebrew prophets certainly proclaimed that 'the history of the world is the judgment of the world1' and often assumed1 too crudely as it seems to us1 that national calamities are a proof of national transgression2 but the whole course of development in prophecy was towards an autonomous morality based on a spiritual valuation of life4 ,its quarrel with sacerdotalism was mainly directed against the unethical tabu-morality of the priesthood2 the revolt was grounded in a lofty moral idealism1 which found expression in a half-symbolic vision of a coming state in which might and right should coincide4 ,the apocalyptic prophecies of post-exilic ,judaism1 which were not based1 like some political predictions of the earlier prophets1 on a statesmanlike view of the international situation1 but on hopes of supernatural intervention1 had their roots in visions of a new and better world-order4 ,this aspiration1 which had to disentangle itself by degrees from the patriotic dreams of a stubborn and unfortunate race1 was projected into the near future1 and was mixed with less worthy political ambitions which had a different origin4 ,the prophet always foreshortens his revelation1 and generally blends the city of ,god with a vision of his own country transfigured4 ,we see him doing this even to-day1 in his ,utopian dreams of social reconstruction4 ,and so it has always been4 ,we remember ,condorcet foretelling a reign of truth and peace just before he was compelled to flee from the storm of calumny to die in a damp cell at ,bourg la ,reine2 and ,kant hailing the approach of a peaceful international republic while ,napoleon was preparing to drown ,europe in blood4 ,apocalyptism is a compromise between the religion of rewards and punishments and the religion of spiritual deliverance4 ,it calls a new world into existence to redress the balance of the old2 but its discontent with the old is mainly the result of a moral and spiritual valuation of life4 ,greek philosophy has really much in common with ,hebrew prophecy1 though the ,greek envisaged his ideal world as the eternal background of reality1 and not under the form of history4 ,in its maturest form1 it is a transvaluation of all values in accordance with an absolute ideal standard--that of the ,good1 the ,true1 and the ,beautiful4 ,this idealism appears in a still more drastic form in the religions of ,asia1 which preach deliverance by demonetising at a stroke all the world's currency4 ,spiritual values are alone accepted2 man wins peace and freedom by renouncing in advance all of which fortune may deprive him4 ,we are apt to assume1 in deference to our theories of human progress1 that the evolution of religion is normally from a lower to a higher type4 ,it would1 indeed1 be absurd to question that the religion of a civilised people is usually more spiritual and more rational than that of barbarians4 ,but none the less1 the history of religions is generally a history of decline4 ,in ,judaism the prophets came before the ,scribes and the ,pharisees4 ,brahmanism and ,buddhism were both degraded by superstitions and unethical rites4 ,christianity1 which began as a republication of the purest prophetic teaching1 has suffered the same fate4 ,in each case1 when the revelation has lost its freshness1 and the enthusiasm which it evoked has begun to cool1 a reversion to older habits of thought and customs takes place2 and sometimes it may be said that the old religion has really conquered the new4 ,christianity1 as taught by its ,founder1 is based on a transvaluation of values even more complete than that of ,stoicism and the later ,platonism1 because1 while it regards the objects of ordinary ambition as a positive hindrance to the higher life1 it accepts and gives value to those pains of sympathy which ,greek thought dreaded1 as detracting from the calm enjoyment of the philosophic life4 ,this acceptance of the world's suffering1 from which every other spiritual religion and philosophy promise a way of escape1 is perhaps the most distinctive feature of ,christian ethics4 ,in practice1 it thus achieves a more complete conquest of evil than any other system2 and by bringing sorrow and sympathy into the ,divine life1 it not only presents the character and nature of the ,deity in a new light1 but opens out a new ideal of moral perfection4 ,this is not the place for a discussion of the main characteristics of the ,gospel of ,christ1 and they are familiar to us all4 ,but1 since we are now considering the charge of failure brought against ,christianity in connexion with the present world-war1 it seems necessary to emphasise two points which are not always remembered4 ,the first is that there is no evidence that the historical ,christ ever intended to found a new institutional religion4 ,he neither attempted to make a schism in the ,jewish ,church nor to substitute a new system for it4 ,he placed ,himself deliberately in the prophetic line1 only claiming to sum up the series in ,himself4 ,the whole manner of ,his life and teaching was prophetic4 ,the differences which undoubtedly may be found between ,his style and that of the older prophets do not remove ,him from the company in which ,he clearly wished to stand4 ,he treated the institutional religion of ,his people with the independence and indifference of the prophet and mystic2 and the hierarchy1 which1 like other hierarchies1 had a sure instinct in discerning a dangerous enemy1 was not slow to declare war to the knife against ,him4 ,such1 ,he reminded ,his enemies1 was the treatment which all the prophets had met with from the class to which those enemies belonged4 ,this1 then1 is the first fact to remember4 ,institutional ,christianity may be a legitimate and necessary historical development from the original ,gospel1 but it is something alien to the ,gospel itself4 ,the first disciples believed that they had the ,master's authority for expecting the end of the existing world-order in their own lifetime4 ,they believed that ,he had come forward with the cry of ',hora novissima6' ,whether they misunderstood ,him or not1 they clearly could not have held this opinion if they had received instructions for the constitution of a ,church4 ,the second point on which it is necessary to insist is that ,christ never expected1 or taught ,his disciples to expect1 that ,his teaching would meet with wide acceptance1 or exercise political influence4 ',the world'--organised human society--was the enemy and was to continue the enemy4 ,his message1 ,he foresaw1 would be scorned and rejected by the majority2 and those who preached it were to expect persecution4 ,this warning is repeated so often in the ,gospels that it would be superfluous to give quotations4 ,he made it quite plain that the big battalions are never likely to be gathered before the narrow gate4 ,he declared that only false prophets are well spoken of by the majority4 ,when we consider the revolutionary character of the ,christian idealism1 its indifference to nearly all that passes for 'religion' with the vulgar1 and its reversal of all current valuations1 it is plain that it is never likely to be a popular creed4 ,as surely as the presence of high spiritual instincts in the human mind guarantees its indestructibility1 so surely the deeply-rooted prejudices which keep the majority on a lower level must prevent the ,gospel of ,christ from dominating mundane politics or social life4 ,moreover1 the actual extent of its influence cannot be estimated4 ,the inwardness and individualism of its teaching make its apparent effectiveness smaller than its real power1 which works secretly and unobserved4 ,the vices which ,christ regarded with abhorrence are perversions of character--hypocrisy1 hard-heartedness1 and worldliness or secularity2 and who can say what degree of success the ,gospel has achieved in combating these8 ,the method of ,christianity is alien to all externalism and machinery2 it does not lend itself to those accommodations and compromises without which nothing can be done in politics4 ,as ,harnack says1 the ,gospel is not one of social improvement1 but of spiritual redemption4 ,its influence upon social and political life is indirect and obscure1 operating through a subtle modification of current valuations1 and curbing the competitive and acquisitive instincts1 which nearly correspond with what ,christ called ',mammon' and ,st4 ,paul 'the flesh4' ,christianity is a spiritual dynamic1 which has very little to do directly with the mechanism of social life4 ,it is1 therefore1 certain that when we speak of ,christianity as a factor in human life1 we must not identify it with the opinions or actions of the multitudes who are nominally ,christians4 ,we must not even identify it1 without qualification1 with the types of character exhibited by those who try to frame their lives in accordance with its precepts4 ,for these types are very largely determined by the ideals which belong to the stage through which the life of the race is passing2 and these differ so widely in different ages and countries that the historian of religion might well despair if he was compelled to regard them all as typical manifestations of the same idea4 ,there are times when the disciple of ,christ seems to turn his back upon society2 he is occupied solely with the relation of the individual soul to ,god4 ,these are periods when the opportunities for social service are much restricted by a faulty structure of the body politic2 periods when secular civilisation is so brutal1 or so servile1 that the religious life can only be led in seclusion from it4 ,at another time the typical ,christian seems to be the active and valiant soldier of a militant corporation4 ,at another1 again1 he is a philanthropist1 who devotes his life to the redress of some great wrong1 such as slavery1 or the promotion of a more righteous system of production and distribution4 ,in all these types we can trace the operation of the genius of ,christianity1 but they are partial manifestations of it1 with much alien admixture4 ,the spirit of the age1 as well as the spirit of ,christ1 has moulded the various types of ,christian piety4 ,if there has ever been a time when organised ,christianity was a concrete embodiment of the pure principles of the ,gospel1 we must look for it in the era of the persecutions1 when the ,church had already gained coherence and discipline and a corporate self-consciousness1 and was still preserved from the corrupting influence of secularity by the danger which attended the profession of an illicit creed4 ,a vivid picture of the ,christian communities at this period has been given by ,dobschtz1 whose learning and impartiality are unimpeachable4 ,the ,church at this time demanded from its followers an unreserved confession1 even when this meant death4 ,it was a brotherhood within which there was no privileged class4 ,men and women1 the free and the slave1 had an equal share in it4 ,it abolished the fundamental ,greek distinction of civilised and barbarian4 ,it looked with contempt on none4 ,its great organisation was spread by purely voluntary means1 till it gained a firm footing throughout the ,empire and beyond it4 ,to a large extent it was an association for mutual aid4 ,wherever anyone was in need1 help was at hand4 ,the tangible advantages of belonging to such a guild were so great that the ,church had to enforce labour on all who could work1 as a condition of sharing in the benefits of membership4 ,social distinctions1 such as those of rich and poor1 master and slave1 were not abolished1 but they had lost their sting1 because genuine affection1 loyalty and sympathy neutralised these inequalities4 ,great importance was laid on truth1 integrity in business1 and sexual purity4 ,a complete rupture with pagan standards of morality was insisted on from new members4 ,the human body must be kept holy1 as the temple of ,god4 ,revenge was forbidden1 and injustice was endured with meekness and pardon4 ,this is no imaginary picture4 ,in that brief golden age of the ,church1 such were indeed the characteristics of the ,christian society4 ,in the opinion of ,dobschtz the moral condition of the ,church in the second century was much higher than among ,st4 ,paul's converts in the first4 ,the paucity of references to sins of the flesh1 and to fraud1 is to be accounted for by the actual rarity of such offences4 ,for a short time1 then1 the artificial selection effected by the persecutions kept the ,church pure2 and from the happy pictures which we can reconstruct of this period we can judge what a really ,christian society would be like4 ,the history of institutional ,catholicism must be approached from a different side4 ,troeltsch argues with much cogency that the ,catholic ,church must be regarded rather as the last creative achievement of classical antiquity than as the beginning of the ,middle ,ages4 ,its growth belongs mainly to the political history of ,europe2 the strictly religious element in it is quite subordinate4 ,there is1 as ,modernist critics have seen1 a real break between the ,palestinian ,gospel and the elaborate mystery-religion1 with its graded hierarchy1 its ,roman organisation1 its ,hellenistic speculative theology1 which achieved the conquest of the ,empire in the fourth century4 ,the ,church1 as ,loisy says1 determined to survive and to conquer1 and adapted itself to the demands of the time4 ,it has travelled far from the simple teaching of the earthly ,christ2 though we may1 if we choose1 hold that ,his spirit continued to direct the growing and changing institution which1 as a matter of history1 had its source in the ,galilean ministry4 ,in truth1 however1 the extremely efficient organisation of the ,roman ,church began in self-defence and was continued for conquest4 ,it is one of the strongest of all human institutions1 so that it was said before the war that it is one of the 'three invincibles1' the other two being the ,german ,army and the ,standard ,oil ,trust4 ,but our admiration for the subtle and tenacious power of this corporation must not blind us to its essentially political character4 ,its policy has been always directed to self-preservation and aggrandisement2 it is an imperium in imperio1 which has only checked fanatical nationalism by the competing influence of a still more fanatical partisanship4 ,in the present war1 the problem before the ,pope's councillors was whether the friendship of the ,central ,powers or that of the ,entente was best worth cultivating2 and the unshaken loyalty of ,austria to the ,church1 together with a natural preference for ,german methods of governing as compared with democracy1 turned the scale against us4 ,in ,ireland1 in ,canada and in ,spain the ,catholic priests have been formidable enemies of our cause4 ,as for the other ,churches1 they have not the same power of arbitrating in national quarrels4 ,the ,russian ,church has never been independent of the secular government2 and the ,anglican and ,lutheran ,churches can hardly be expected to be impartial when the vital interests of ,england or ,germany are at stake4 ,lovers of peace have not much to hope for from organised religion4 ,national ,christianity1 as ,mr4 ,bernard ,shaw says1 will only be possible when we have a nation of ,christs4 ,the downfall of the medieval ,european system1 though in truth it was a theory rather than a fact1 has removed some of the restraints upon war4 ,the determining principle of the medieval political theory was the conception of a 'lex ,dei1' which included the 'lex ,mosis1' the 'lex ,christi1' and the 'lex ecclesiae1' but which also1 as 'lex natur1' comprised the law1 science1 and ethics of antiquity4 ,these laws were super-national1 and no nation dared explicitly to repudiate them4 ,they formed the basis of a real system of international law1 resting1 like everything else in the ,middle ,ages1 on supposed divine authority4 ,this theory1 with its sanctions1 was shattered at the ,renaissance2 and the ,machiavellian doctrine of the absolute ,state1 accepted by ,bacon and put into practice by ,frederick the ,great1 has prevailed ever since1 though not without frequent protests4 ,the rise of nationalities1 each with an intense self-consciousness1 has facilitated the adoption of a theory too grossly immoral to have found favour except in the peculiar circumstances of modern civilisation4 ,the emergence of nationalities was often connected with a legitimate struggle for freedom2 and at such times esprit de corps seems to be almost the sum of morality1 the substitute for all other virtues4 ,loyalty is one of the most attractive of moral qualities1 and it necessarily inhibits criticism of its own objects1 which has the appearance of treason4 ,but1 unless the aims of the corporate body which claims our absolute allegiance are right and reasonable1 loyalty may be1 and often has been1 the parent of hideous crimes1 and a social evil of the first magnitude4 ,the perversion of esprit de corps does incalculable harm in every direction1 destroying all sense of honour and justice1 of chivalry and generosity1 of sympathy and humanity4 ,it involves a complete repudiation of ,christianity1 which breaks down all barriers by ignoring them1 and insists on love and justice towards all mankind without distinction4 ,the worship of the ,state has during the last half-century been sedulously and artificially fostered in ,germany1 until it has produced a kind of moral insanity4 ,even philosophical historians like ,troeltsch seem unable to see the monstrosity of a political doctrine which has caused his country to be justly regarded as the enemy of the whole human race4 ,eucken1 writing some years before the war1 in a rather gingerly manner deprecates ,politismus as a national danger2 but he does not dare to grasp the nettle firmly4 ,it is possible that this deification of the ,state in ,germany may be in part due to an unsatisfied instinct of worship4 ,in ,roman ,catholic countries1 where there must be a divided allegiance1 patriotism never1 perhaps1 assumes such sinister and fanatical forms4 ,but we shall not understand the attraction which this naked immoralism in international affairs exercises over the minds of many who are not otherwise ignoble1 if we do not remember that the repudiation of the ,christian ethical standard has been equally thorough in commercial competition4 ,the ,german officer believes himself to have chosen a morally nobler profession than that of the business-man2 he serves 7he thinks7 a larger cause1 and he is content with much less personal reward4 ,socialist assailants of our industrial system1 much as they dislike war1 would probably agree with him4 ,it is not necessary to condemn all competition4 ,the desire to excel others is not reprehensible1 when the rivalry is in rendering useful social service4 ,but it cannot be denied that the present condition of industry is such that a heavy premium is offered to mere cupidity2 that the fraternal social life which ,christianity enjoins is often literally impossible1 except at the cost of economic suicide2 and that in a competitive system a business man is1 by the very force of circumstances1 a warrior1 though war is an enemy of love and destructive of ,christian society4 ,when the object of bargaining is to give as little and gain as much as possible1 the ,christian standard of values has been rejected as completely as it was by ,machiavelli himself4 ,the competition between two parties to a bargain is often a competition in unserviceableness4 ,money is very frequently made by creating a local and temporary monopoly1 which enables the vendor to squeeze the purchaser4 ,in all such transactions one man's gain is another man's loss4 ,this state of things1 the evils of which are almost universally recognised and deplored1 marks the end of the glorification of productive industry which was one result of the ,reformation4 ,hardly anything distinguishes modern from medieval ethics more sharply than the emphasis laid by ,protestant morality on the duty of making and producing something tangible4 ,theoretically the ,protestant may hold that 'doing ends in death1' and he may sing these words on ,sunday2 but his whole life on week days is occupied in strenuous 'doing4' ,we find in ,calvinism and ,quakerism the genuinely religious basis of the modern business life1 which1 however1 has degenerated sadly1 now that the largest fortunes are made by dealing in money rather than in commodities4 ,in the books of ,samuel ,smiles1 and in ,clough's poem beginning ',hope ever more and believe1 ,o ,man1' we find the ,gospel of productive work preached with fervour4 ,it is out of favour now in ,england2 but in ,america we still see quaint attempts to make business a religion1 as in the ,middle ,ages religion was a business4 ,in these circles1 it is productive activity as such to which value is attached1 without much enquiry as to the utility of the product4 ,the result has been an immense accumulation of the apparatus of life1 without any corresponding elevation in moral standards4 ,the mischiefs wrought by modern commercialism are largely the fruit of the purely irrational production which it encourages4 ,there are1 says ,professor ,santayana1 ,nibelungen who toil underground over a gold which they will never use1 and in their obsession with production begrudge themselves all inclinations to recreation1 to merriment1 to fancy4 ,visible signs of such unreason appear in the relentless and hideous aspect which life puts on2 for those instruments which emancipate themselves from their uses soon become hateful4 ',a barbaric civilisation1 built on blind impulse and ambition1 should fear to awaken a deeper detestation than could ever be aroused by those more beautiful tyrannies1 chivalrous or religious1 against which past revolutions have been directed4' ,we cannot1 indeed1 be surprised that this ideal of productive work as a means of grace1 precious for its own sake1 has no attraction for the masses1 and that independent thinkers like ,edward ,carpenter should write books on ',civilisation1 its ,cause and ,cure4' ,this ,puritan ideal is not so much unchristian as narrow and unintelligent2 but the money-making life has of late become more and more frankly predatory and anti-social4 ,the great trusts1 and the arts of the company-promoter1 can hardly be said to perform any social service2 they exist to levy tribute on the public4 ,we may say therefore that1 though war between the leading nations of the world had become a strange idea and a far-off memory1 we had by no means risen above the principles and practices of war in our internal life4 ,the immunity from militarism hitherto enjoyed by ,britain and the ,united ,states was a fortunate accident1 not a proof of higher morality4 ,our fleet protected both ourselves and the ,americans from the necessity of maintaining a conscript army2 but we had drifted into a condition in which civil war seemed not to be far off1 and in which violence and lawlessness were increasing4 ,by a strange inconsistency1 many who on moral or religious grounds condemned wars between nations were found to condone or justify acts of war against the ,state1 organised by discontented factions of its citizens4 ,revolutionary strikes1 prepared long in advance by forced levies of money which were candidly called war-funds1 had as their avowed aim the paralysis of the industries of the country and the reduction of the population to distress by withholding the necessaries of life4 ,these acts of civil war1 and disgraceful outbreaks of criminal anarchism1 were justified by persons who professed a conscientious objection to defending their homes and families against a foreign invader4 ,this state of mind proves how little essential connexion there is between democracy and peace4 ,it discloses a confusion of ideas even greater than the antithesis between industrialism and militarism in the writings of ,herbert ,spencer4 ,on this latter fallacy it is enough to quote the words of ,admiral ,mahan2 ',as far as the advocacy of peace rests on material motives like economy and prosperity1 it is the service of ,mammon2 and the bottom of the platform will drop out when ,mammon thinks that war will pay better4' ,this is notoriously what has happened in ,germany4 ,a short war1 with huge indemnities1 seemed to ,german financiers a promising speculation4 ,if such were the rotten foundations upon which anti-militarism in this country was based1 the ,churches cannot be blamed for giving the peace-movement a rather lukewarm support4 ,in ,germany there was no internal anarchy1 such as prevailed in ,england2 there was also no illusion about the imminence of war4 ,our politicians ought to have read the signs of the times better2 but they were too intent on feeling the pulse of the electorate at home to attend to disturbing and unwelcome symptoms abroad4 ,the causes of the war are not difficult to determine4 ,war has long been a national industry of ,germany1 and the idea of it evoked no moral repugnance4 ,the military virtues were extolled2 the military profession enjoyed an astonishing social prestige2 the learned class proclaimed the biological necessity of international conflicts4 ,the army believed itself to be invincible1 and it had begun to control the policy of the country2 where these two conditions exist1 no diplomacy can avert war4 ,professionalism always has a selfish and anti-social element in its code1 and the professionalism of the soldier is always prone to override the rights and disdain the scruples of civilians4 ,the dominant classes in ,germany also found that their power was being undermined by the growing industrialisation4 ,the steady increase in the social-democratic vote was a portent not to be disregarded4 ,a letter from a ,german officer to a friend in ,roumania1 which found its way into the newspapers1 tells a great deal of truth in a few words4 ',you cannot conceive1' he wrote1 'what difficulty we had in persuading our ,emperor that it was necessary to let loose this war4 ,but it has been done2 and ,i hope that for a long time to come we shall hear no more in ,germany of pacifism1 internationalism1 democracy1 and similar pestilent doctrines4' ,sir ,charles ,walston1 in his thoughtful book ',aristodemocracy1' lays great stress on this4 ',it appeared to me1' he says1 'ever since #aije1 that in the immediate future it was all a question as to whether the labour-men1 the practical pacifists1 would arrive at the realisation of their power before the militarists had forced a war upon us1 or whether the military powers would anticipate this result1 and within the next few years force a war upon the world4' ,to the influence of the military was added the cupidity of the commercial and financial class4 ,the law of diminishing returns was driving capital further and further afield2 and large profits1 it was hoped1 might be made by the exploitation of backward countries and the reduction of their inhabitants to serfdom4 ,to a predatory and parasitic class war seems only a logical extension of the principles upon which it habitually acts2 and for this reason privileged orders seldom feel much moral compunction about a war-policy4 ,lastly1 among the causes of the war must be reckoned one which has received far too little attention from social and political philosophers--the tenacious and half-unconscious memories of a race4 ,injustice comes home to roost1 sometimes after an astonishingly long interval4 ,the disaffection of ,catholic ,ireland would be quite unintelligible without the massacres of the sixteenth century and the unjust trade-legislation of the seventeenth and eighteenth4 ,the bitterness of the working class in ,england has its roots in the earlier period of the industrial revolution 7about #agfj-ahcb71 when the labourer1 with his wife and children1 was treated as the 'cannon-fodder' of industry4 ,similarly1 the seeds of ,prussian brutality and aggressiveness were sown at ,jena and in the raiding of ,prussia for recruits before the ,moscow expedition4 ,if such were the causes of the great world-war1 how little can be hoped from courts of international arbitration6 ,these considerations have1 perhaps1 made it clear that the main causes of international conflicts are what the ,epistle of ,st4 ,james declares them to be--'the lusts that war in your members1' the pugnacious and acquisitive instincts which pervade our social life in times of peace1 and not least in those nations which pride themselves on having advanced beyond the militant stage4 ,there are some who accept this state of things as natural and necessary1 and who blame ,christianity for carrying on a futile campaign against human nature4 ,this is a very different indictment from that which condemns ,christianity for tolerating a preventible evil2 and it is1 in our opinion1 even less justified4 ,the argument that1 because war has always existed1 it must always continue to exist1 is justly ridiculed by ,mr4 ,norman ,angell4 ',it is commonly asserted that old habits of thought can never be shaken2 that1 as men have been1 so they will be4 ,that1 of course1 is why we now eat our enemies1 enslave their children1 examine witnesses with the thumbscrew1 and burn those who do not attend the same church4' ,the long history of war as a racial habit explains why a ruinous and insane anachronism shows such tenacity2 for the conditions which established the habit among primitive tribes demonstrably no longer exist4 ,it is probably true1 as ,william ,james says1 that 'militarist writers without exception regard war as a biological or sociological necessity'2 lawyers might say the same about litigation4 ,but laws of nature 'are not efficient causes1 and it is open to any one to prove that they are not laws1 if he can break them with impunity4 ,it would be the height of pessimistic fatalism to hold that men must always go on doing that which they hate1 and which brings them to misery and ruin4 ,man is not bound for ever by habits contracted during his racial nonage2 his moral1 rational1 and spiritual instincts are as natural as his physical appetites2 and against them1 as ,st4 ,paul says1 'there is no law1' ,huxley's ,romanes ,lecture gave an unfortunate support to the mischievous notion that the 'cosmic process' is the enemy of morality4 ,the truth seems to be that ,nature presents to us not a categorical imperative1 but a choice4 ,do we prefer to pay our way in the world1 or to be parasites8 ,war1 with very few exceptions1 is a mode of parasitism4 ,its object is to exploit the labour of other nations1 to make them pay tribute1 or to plunder them openly1 as the ,germans have plundered the cities of ,belgium4 ,war is a parasitic industry2 and ,christianity forbids parasitism4 ,nature has her own penalties for the lower animals which make this choice1 and they strike with equal severity 'the peoples that delight in war1' ,the bellicose nations have nearly all perished4 ,there remains1 however1 a class of wars which escapes this condemnation2 and about them difficult moral problems may be raised4 ,we can hardly deny to a growing and civilised nation the right to expand at the expense of barbarous hunters and nomads4 ,no one would suggest that the ,americans ought to give back their country to the ,indians1 or that ,australia should be abandoned to the aborigines4 ,but were the ,anglo-,saxons justified in expropriating the ,britons1 and the ,spaniards the ,aztecs8 ,there is room for differences of opinion in these cases2 and a very serious problem may arise in the future1 as to whether the ,european races are morally justified in using armed force to restrict ,asiatic competition4 ,as a general principle1 we must condemn the expropriation of any nation which is in effective occupation of the soil4 ,the popular estimate of superior and inferior races is thoroughly unchristian and unscientific1 as is the prejudice against a dark skin4 ,the opinion that a nation which is increasing in population has a right to expel the inhabitants of another country to make room for its own emigrants is surely untenable4 ,if it justifies war at all1 it sanctions a war of extermination1 which would attain its objects most completely by massacring girls and young women4 ,the pressure of population is a real cause of war2 but the moral is1 not that war is right1 but that a nation must cut its coat according to its cloth1 and limit its numbers4 ,unless we justify wars of extermination1 war has no biological sanction1 and ,christianity is not flying in the face of nature by condemning it4 ,on the contrary1 by condemning every form of parasitism1 it indicates the true path of evolution4 ,it is equally right in rejecting the purely economic valuation of human goods4 ,the 'economic man' does not exist in nature2 he is a fictitious creature who is responsible for a great deal of social injustice4 ,some modern economists1 like ,mr4 ,hobson1 would substitute for the old monetary standards of production and distribution an attempt to estimate the 'human costs' of labour4 ,creative work involving ingenuity and artistic qualities is not 'costly' at all1 unless the hours of labour1 or the nervous strain1 exceed the powers of the worker4 ,more monotonous work is not costly to the worker if the day's labour is fairly short1 or if some variety can be introduced4 ,the human cost is greatly increased if the worker thinks that his labour is useless1 or that it will only benefit those who do not deserve the enjoyment of its fruits4 ,work which only produces frivolous luxuries is and ought to be unwelcome to the producer1 even if he is well paid4 ,it must also be emphasised that worry and anxiety take the heart out of a man more than anything else4 ,security of employment greatly reduces the 'human cost' of labour4 ,these considerations are comparatively new in political economy4 ,they change it from a highly abstract science into a study of the conditions of human welfare as affected by social organisation4 ,the change is a victory for the ideas of ,buskin and ,morris1 though not necessarily for the practical remedies for social maladjustments which they propounded4 ,it brings political economy into close relations with ethics and religion1 and should induce economists to consider carefully the contribution which ,christianity makes to the solution of the whole problem4 ,for ,christianity has its remedy to propose1 and it is a solution of the problem of war1 not less than of industrial evils4 ,christianity gives the world a new and characteristic standard of values4 ,it diminishes greatly the values which can accrue from competition1 and enhances immeasurably the non-competitive values4 ',a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth4' ',is not the life more than meat1 and the body than raiment8' ',the ,kingdom of ,god is not meat and drink1 but righteousness and peace and joy in the ,holy ,ghost4' ,passages like these are found in every part of the ,new ,testament4 ,this ,christian idealism has a direct bearing on the doctrine of 'human costs4' ,work is irksome1 not only when it is excessive or ill-paid1 but when the worker is lazy1 selfish1 envious or discontented4 ,there is one thing which can make almost any work welcome4 ,if it is done from love or unselfish affection1 the human cost is almost nil1 because it is not counted or consciously felt4 ,this is no exaggeration when it is applied to the devoted labour of the mother and the nurse1 or to that of the evangelist conscious of a divine vocation4 ,but in all useful work the keen desire to render social service1 or to do ,god's will1 diminishes to an incalculable extent the 'human cost' of labour4 ,this principle introduces a deep cleavage between the ,christian remedy and that of political socialism1 which fosters discontent and indignation as a lever for social amelioration4 ,men are made unhappy in order that they may be urged to claim a larger share of the world's wealth4 ,christianity considers that1 measured by human costs1 the remedy is worse than the disease4 ,the adoption of a truer standard of value would tear up the lust of accumulation by the roots1 and would thus effect a real cure4 ,it would also stop the grudging and deliberately bad work which at present seriously diminishes the national wealth4 ,the ,christian cure is the only real cure4 ,it is the fashion to assume that militarism and cupidity are vices of the privileged classes1 and that democracies may be trusted neither to plunder the minority at home nor to seek foreign adventures by unjust wars4 ,there is not the slightest reason to accept either of these views4 ,political power is always abused2 an unrepresented class is always plundered4 ,nor are democracies pacific1 except by accident4 ,at present they do not wish to see the capital which they regard as their prospective prey dissipated in war2 and for this reason their influence in our time will probably be on the side of peace4 ,but1 as soon as the competition of cheap ,asiatic labour becomes acute1 we may expect to see the democracies bellicose and the employing class pacific4 ,this is not guess-work2 we already see how the democracies of ,california and ,australia behave towards immigrants from ,asia4 ,readers of ,anatole ,france will remember his description of the economic wars decreed by the ,senate of the great republic1 at the end of ',l'le des ,pingouins4' ,it would1 indeed1 be difficult to prove that the expansion of the ,united ,states has differed much1 in methods and morals1 from that of the ,european monarchies2 and the methods of trade-unions are the methods of pitiless belligerency4 ,democracy and socialism are broken reeds for the lover of peace to lean upon4 ,in conclusion1 our answer to the indictment against ,christianity is that institutional religion does not represent the ,gospel of ,christ1 but the opinions of a mass of nominal ,christians4 ,it cannot be expected to do much more than look after its own interests and reflect the moral ideas of its supporters4 ,the real ,gospel1 if it were accepted1 would pull up by the roots not only militarism but its analogue in civil life1 the desire to exploit other people for private gain4 ,but it is not accepted4 ,we have seen that the ,founder of ,christianity had no illusions as to the reception which ,his message of redemption would meet with4 ,the ',prince of this ,world' is not ,christ1 but the ,devil4 ,nevertheless1 ,he did speak of the 'whole lump' being gradually leavened1 and we shall not exceed the limits of a reasonable and justifiable optimism if we hope that the accumulated experience of humanity1 and perhaps a real though very slow modification for the better of human nature itself1 may at last eliminate the wickedest and most insane of our maleficent institutions4 ,the human race has probably hundreds of thousands of years to live1 whereas our so-called civilisation cannot be traced back for more than a few thousand years4 ,the time when 'nation shall not lift up sword against nation1 neither shall they learn war any more1' will probably come at last1 though no one can predict what the conditions will be which will make such a change possible4 ,the signs are not very favourable at present for internationalism4 ,the great nations1 bankrupt and honey-combed with social unrest1 will be obliged after the war to organise themselves as units1 with governments strong enough to put down revolutions1 and directed by men of the highest mercantile ability1 whose main function will be to increase productiveness and stop waste4 ,we may even see ,germany mobilised as one gigantic trust for capturing markets and regulating prices4 ,a combination so formidable would compel other nations1 and our own certainly among the number1 to adopt a similar organisation4 ,this would1 of course1 mean a complete victory for bureaucratic state-socialism1 and the defeat of democracy and trade-union syndicalism4 ,such a change1 which few would just now welcome1 will occur if no other form of state is able to survive2 and this is what we may live to see4 ,but there is no finality about any experiments in government4 ,a period of internationalism may follow the intense nationalism which historical critics foresee for the twentieth century4 ,or perhaps the international labour-organisations may be too strong for the centralising forces4 ,it is just possible that ,labour1 by a concerted movement during the violent reaction against militarism which will probably follow the war1 will forbid any further military or naval preparations to be made4 ,whatever forms reconstruction may take1 ,christianity will have its part to play in making the new ,europe4 ,it will be able to point to the terrible vindication of its doctrines in the misery and ruin which have overtaken a world which has rejected its valuations and scorned its precepts4 ,it is not ,christianity which has been judged and condemned at the bar of civilisation2 it is civilisation which has destroyed itself because it has honoured ,christ with its lips1 while its heart has been far from ,him4 ,but a spiritual religion can win a victory only within its own sphere4 ,it can promise no ,deuteronomic catalogue of blessings and cursings to those who obey or disobey its principles4 ,social happiness and peace would certainly follow a whole-hearted acceptance of ,christian principles2 but they would not certainly bring wealth or empire4 ',philosophy1' said ,hegel1 'will bake no man's bread'2 and it is only in a spiritual sense that the meek-spirited can expect to possess the earth4 ,nevertheless1 it is a mistake to suppose that a ,christian nation would be unable to hold its own in the struggle for existence4 ,a nation in which every citizen endeavoured to pay his way and to help his neighbour would be in no danger of servitude or extinction4 ,the mills of ,god grind slowly1 but the future does not belong to lawless violence4 ,in the long run1 the wisdom that is from above will be justified in her children4 ,,survival ,,and ,,immortality 7#aiag7 ,the recrudescence of superstition in ,england was plain to all observers many years before the war2 it was perhaps most noticeable among the half-educated rich4 ,several causes contributed to this phenomenon4 ,the craving for the supernatural1 a very ancient and deeply rooted thought-habit1 had been suppressed and driven underground by the arrogant dominance of a materialistic philosophy1 and by the absorption of society in the pursuit of gain and pleasure4 ,modern miracles were laughed out of court4 ,but materialism has supernaturalism for its nemesis4 ,an abstract science1 erecting itself into a false philosophy1 leaves half our nature unsatisfied1 and becomes morally bankrupt before its intellectual errors are exposed4 ,supernaturalism is the refuge of the materialist who wishes to make room for ideal values without abandoning the presuppositions of materialism4 ,by dovetailing acts of ,god into the order of nature1 he materialises the spiritual1 but brings the ,divine will into the world of experience1 from which it had been expelled1 and produces a rough scheme of providential government1 by which he can live4 ,the revolt against scientific materialism was made much easier by the disintegration of the mechanical theory itself4 ,biology found itself cramped by the categories of inorganic science1 and claimed its autonomy4 ,the result was a fatal breach in the defences of materialism1 for biology is being driven to accept final causes1 and would be glad to adopt some theory of vitalism1 if it could do so without falling back into the old error of a mysterious 'vital force4' ,biological truth1 it is plain1 cannot be reduced to the purely quantitative categories of mathematics and physics4 ,then psychology aspired to be a philosophy of real existence1 and attacked both absolutism and materialism4 ,the pretensions of psychology rehabilitated subjectivism and founded pragmatism1 till reactionary theology took heart of grace and defended crude supernaturalism1 with the whole apparatus of sacerdotal magic1 as the ',gospel for human needs4' ,all protection against the grossest superstitions was thus swept away4 ,with no fixed standard of reference to distinguish fact from fiction1 it was possible to argue that 'whatever suits souls is true4' ,in this atmosphere many old habits of thought reasserted themselves4 ,while we enjoyed peace and prosperity1 the credulity of the public found its chief outlet in various systems of faith-healing and in the time-honoured pretensions of priest-craft4 ,but the devastation which the war has brought into countless loving families has turned the current of superstition strongly towards necromancy4 ,the 'will to believe1' no longer inhibited and suspected as a reason for doubt1 has been allowed to create its own logic4 ,a few highly educated men1 who have long been playing with occultism and gratifying their intellectual curiosity by exploring the dark places of perverted mysticism1 have been swept off their feet by it1 and their authority1 as 'men of science1' has dispelled the hesitation of many more to accept what they dearly wished to believe4 ,the longing of the bereaved has created for itself a spurious and dreary satisfaction4 ,one cause of this strange movement cannot be emphasised too strongly4 ,it proves that the ,christian hope of immortality burns very dimly among us4 ,those who study the utterances of our religious guides must admit that it is so4 ,references to the future life had1 before the war1 become rare even in the pulpit4 ,the topic was mainly reserved for letters of condolence1 and was then handled gingerly1 as if it would not bear much pressure4 ,working-class audiences and congregations listened eagerly to the wildest promises of an earthly utopia the day after tomorrow1 but cooled down at once when they were reminded that 'if in this life only we have hope in ,christ1 we are of all men most miserable4' ,accordingly1 the clerical demagogue showed more interest in the unemployed than in the unconverted4 ,christianity1 which began as a revolutionary idealism1 had sunk into heralding materialistic revolution4 ,such teachers have no message of hope and comfort for those who have lost their dearest4 ,and they have1 in fact1 been deserted4 ,their secularised ,christianity was received with half-contemptuous approval by trade unions1 but far deeper hopes1 fears1 and longings have now been stirred1 which concern all men and women alike1 and on the answers to which the whole value of existence is now seen to depend4 ,christianity can answer them1 but not the ,churches through the mouths of their accredited representatives4 ,and so1 instead of 'the blessed hope of everlasting life1' the bereaved have been driven to this pathetic and miserable substitute1 the barbaric belief in ghosts and dmons1 which was old before ,christianity was young4 ,and what a starveling hope it is that necromancy offers us6 ,an existence as poor and unsubstantial as that of ,homer's ,hades1 which the shade of ,achilles would have been glad to exchange for serfdom to the poorest farmer1 and with no guarantee of permanence1 even if the power of comforting or terrifying surviving relations is supposed to persist for a few years4 ,such a prospect would add a new terror to death2 and none would desire it for himself4 ,it is plainly the dream of an aching heart1 which cannot bear to be left alone4 ,but1 it will be said1 there is scientific evidence for survival4 ,this claim is now made4 ,cases are reported1 with much parade of scientific language and method1 and those who reject the stories with contemptuous incredulity are accused of mere prejudice4 ,nevertheless1 ,i cannot help being convinced that if communications between the dead and the living were part of the nature of things1 they would have been established long ago beyond cavil4 ,for there are few things which men have wished more eagerly to believe4 ,it is no doubt just possible that among the vibrations of the fundamental ingredients of our world--those attenuated forms of matter which are said to be not even 'material1' there may be some which act as vehicles for psychical interchange4 ,if such psychic waves exist1 the discovery is wholly in favour of materialism4 ,it would tend to rehabilitate those notions of spirit as the most rarefied form of matter--an ultra-gaseous condition of it--which ,stoicism and the ,christian ,stoic ,tertullian postulated4 ,the meaning of ',god is ,spirit' could not be understood till this insidious residue of materialism had been got rid of4 ,it is a retrograde theory which we are asked to re-examine and perhaps accept4 ,the moment we are asked to accept 'scientific evidence' for spiritual truth1 the alleged spiritual truth becomes for us neither spiritual nor true4 ,it is degraded into an event in the phenomenal world1 and when so degraded it cannot be substantiated4 ,psychical research is trying to prove that eternal values are temporal facts1 which they can never be4 ,the case for necromancy is no better if we leave 'scientific proof' alone1 and appeal to the relativist metaphysics of the psychological school4 ,intercourse with the dead is1 we are told1 a real psychical experience1 and we need not worry ourselves with the question whether it has any 'objective truth4' ,but we cannot allow psychology to have the last word in determining the truth or falsehood of religious or spiritual experience4 ,the extravagant claims of this science to take the place of philosophy must be abated4 ,psychology is the science which describes mental states1 as physical science describes the behaviour of matter in motion4 ,both are abstract sciences4 ,physical science treats nature as the totality of things conceived of as independent of any subject2 psychology treats inner experience as independent of any object4 ,both are outside any idea of value1 though it is needless to say that the votaries of both sciences trespass habitually1 and often unconsciously4 ,both are dualisms with one side ignored or suppressed4 ,when psychology meddles with ontological problems--when1 for instance it denies the existence of an ,absolute1 or says that reality cannot be known--it is taking too much upon itself1 and has fallen into the same error as the materialism of the last century4 ,on such questions as the immortality of the soul it must remain silent4 ,faith in human immortality stands or falls with the belief in absolute values4 ,the interest of consciousness1 as ,professor ,pringle-,pattison has said in his admirable ,gifford ,lectures1 lies in the ideal values of which it is the bearer1 not in its mere existence as a more refined kind of fact4 ,idealism is most satisfactorily defined as the interpretation of the world according to a scale of value1 or1 in ,plato's phrase1 by the ,idea of the ,good4 ,the highest values in this scale are absolute1 eternal1 and super-individual1 and lower values are assigned their place in virtue of their correspondence to or participation in these absolute values4 ,i agree with ,mnsterberg that the conditional and subjective values of the pragmatist have no meaning unless we have acknowledged beforehand the independent value of truth4 ,if the proof of the merely individual significance of truth has itself only individual importance1 it cannot claim any general meaning4 ,if1 on the other hand1 it demands to be taken as generally valid1 the possibility of a general truth is acknowledged from the start4 ,if this one exception is granted1 the whole illusory universe of relativism is overthrown4 ,to deny any thought which is more than relative is to deprive even scepticism itself of the presuppositions on which it rests4 ,the logical sceptic has no ego to doubt with4 ',every doubt of absolute values destroys itself4 ,as thought it contradicts itself2 as doubt it denies itself2 as belief it despairs of itself4' ,it is not necessary or desirable to follow ,mnsterberg in identifying valuation with will4 ,he talks of the will judging2 but the will cannot judge4 ,in contemplating existence we use our will to fix our attention1 and then try conscientiously to prevent it from influencing the verdict4 ,but this illegitimate use of the word 'will' does not impair the force of the argument for absolute values4 ,now1 valuation arranges experience in a different manner from natural science4 ,the attributes of reality1 in our world of values1 are ,goodness1 ,truth1 and ,beauty4 ,and we assert that we have as good reason to claim objective reality for these ,ideas as for anything in the world revealed to our senses4 ',all claims on man's behalf1' says ,professor ,pringle-,pattison1 'must be based on the objectivity of the values revealed in his experience1 and brokenly realised there4 ,man does not make values any more than he makes reality4' ,our contention is that the world of values1 which forms the content of idealistic thought and aspiration1 is the real world2 and in this world we find our own immortality4 ,but there could be no greater error than to leave the two worlds1 or the two 'judgments1' that of existence and that of value1 contrasted with each other1 or treated as unrelated in our experience4 ,a value-judgment which is not also a judgment of existence is in the air2 it is the baseless fabric of a vision4 ,existence is itself a value1 and an ingredient in every valuation2 that which has no existence has no value4 ,and1 on the other side1 it is a delusion to suppose that any science can dispense with valuation4 ,even mathematics admits that there is a right and a wrong way of solving a problem1 though by confining itself to quantitative measurements it can assert no more than a hypothetical reality for its world4 ,it is quite certain that we can think of no existing world without valuation4 ',the ultimate identity of existence and value is the venture of faith to which mysticism and speculative idealism are committed4'#ic ,it is indeed the presupposition of all philosophy and all religion2 without this faith there can1 properly speaking1 be no belief in ,god4 ,but the difference between naturalism and idealism may1 ,i think1 be better stated otherwise than by emphasising the contrast between existence and value1 which it is impossible for either side to maintain4 ,naturalism seeks to interpret the world by investigation of origins2 idealism by investigation of ends4 ,the one finds the explanation of evolution in that from which it started1 the other in that to which it tends4 ,the one explains the higher by the lower2 the other the lower by the higher4 ,this is a plain issue2 either the world shows a teleology or it does not4 ,if it does1 the philosophy based on the inorganic sciences is wrong4 ,and the attempt to explain the higher by the lower becomes mischievous or impossible when we pass from one order to another4 ,in speaking of different 'orders1' we do not commit ourselves to any sudden breaks or leaps in evolution4 ,the organic may be linked to the inorganic1 soul to the lower forms of life1 spirit to soul4 ,but whether the 'scale of perfection' is a ladder or an inclined plane1 new categories are necessary as we ascend it4 ,and unless we admit an inner teleology as a determining factor in growth1 many facts even in physiology are hard to explain4 ,if the basis of our faith in the world-order is the conviction that the ,ideas of the ,good1 the ,true1 and the ,beautiful are fully real and fully operative1 we must try to form some clear notion of what these ,ideas mean1 and how they are related to each other4 ,the goal of ,truth1 as an absolute value1 is unity1 which in the outer world means harmony1 in the intercourse of spirit with spirit1 love2 and in the inner world1 peace or happiness4 ,the goal of ,goodness as an absolute value is the realisation of the ought-to-be in victorious moral effort4 ,beauty is the self-recognition of creative ,spirit in its own works2 it is the expression of ,nature's own deepest character4 ,beauty gives neither information nor advice2 but it satisfies a part of our nature which is not less ,divine than that which pays homage to ,truth and ,goodness4 ,now1 these absolute values are supra-temporal4 ,if the soul were in time1 no value could arise2 for time is always hurling its own products into nothingness1 and the present is an unextended point1 dividing an unreal past from an unreal future4 ,the soul is not in time2 time is rather in the soul4 ,values are eternal and indestructible4 ,when ,plotinus says that 'nothing that really is can ever perish' 7hapolehitai ohyden thn hontn71 and when ,hffding says that 'no value perishes out of the world1' they are saying the same thing4 ,in so far as we can identify ourselves in thought and mind with the absolute values1 we are sure of our immortality4 ,but it will be said that in the first place this promise of immortality carries with it no guarantee of survival in time1 and in the second place that it offers us1 at last1 only an impersonal immortality4 ,let us take these two objections in turn1 though they are in reality closely connected4 ,we must not regard time as an external1 inhuman1 unconscious process4 ,time is the frame of soul-life2 outside this it has no existence4 ,the entire cosmic process is the life-frame of the universal ,soul1 the ,divine ,logos4 ,with this life we are vitally connected1 however brief and unimportant the span and the task of an individual career may seem to us4 ,if my particular life-meaning passes out of activity1 it will be because the larger life1 to which ,i belong1 no longer needs that form of expression4 ,my death1 like my birth1 will have a teleological justification1 to which my supra-temporal self will consent4 ,when a good man's work in this world is done1 when he is able to say1 without forgetting his many failures1 ',i have finished the work that ,thou gavest me to do1' surely his last word will be1 ',lord1 now lettest ,thou ,thy servant depart in peace'2 not1 ',grant that ,i may flit for a while over my former home1 and hear what is happening to my country and my family4' ,we may leave it to our misguided necromancers to describe the adventures of the disembodied ghost-- ',quo cursu deserta petiverit1 et quibus ante ,infelix sua tecta supervolitaverit alis4' ,the most respectable motive which leads men to desire a continuance of active participation in the affairs of time is that which ,tennyson expresses in the often-quoted line1 ',give her the wages of going on1 and not to die4' ,we may feel that we have it in us to do more for ,god and our fellow-men than we shall be able to accomplish in this life1 even if it be prolonged to old age4 ,is not this a desire which we may prefer as a claim8 ,and in any case1 it is admitted that time is the form of the will4 ,are we to have no more will after death8 ,further1 is our probation over when we die8 ,what is to be the fate of that large majority who1 so far as we can see1 are equally undeserving of heaven and of hell8 ,to these questions no answer is possible1 because we are confronted with a blank wall of ignorance4 ,we do not know whether there will be any future probation4 ,we do not know whether ,robert ,browning's expectation of 'other tasks in other lives1 ,god willing1' will be fulfilled4 ',and ,i shall thereupon ,take rest1 ere ,i be gone ,once more on my adventure brave and new4' ,the question here raised is whether there is such a thing as reincarnation4 ,this belief1 so widely held at all times by eminent thinkers1 and sanctioned by some of the higher religions1 cannot be dismissed as obsolete or impossible4 ,but if it is put in the form1 ',will the same self live again on earth under different conditions8' it may be that no answer can be given1 not only because we do not know1 but because the question itself is meaningless4 ,the psycho-physical organism which was born at a certain date and which will die on another date is compacted of idiosyncrasies1 inherited and acquired1 which seem to be inseparable from its history as born of certain parents and living under certain conditions4 ,it is not easy to say what part of such an organism could be said to maintain its identity1 if it were housed in another body and set down in another time and place1 when all recollection of a previous state has been 7as we must admit7 cut off4 ,the only continuity1 it seems to me1 would be that of the racial self1 if there is such a thing1 or of the directing intelligence and will of the higher ,power which sends human beings into the world to perform their allotted tasks4 ,the second objection1 which1 as ,i have said1 is closely connected with the first1 is that idealism offers us a merely impersonal immortality4 ,but what is personality8 ,the notion of a world of spiritual atoms1 'solida pollentia simplicitate1' as ,lucretius says1 seems to be attractive to some minds4 ,there are thinkers of repute who even picture the ,deity as the constitutional ,president of a collegium of souls4 ,this kind of pluralism is of course fundamentally incompatible with the presuppositions of my paper4 ,the idea of the 'self' seems to me to be an arbitrary fixation of our average state of mind1 a half-way house which belongs to no order of real existence4 ,the conception of an abstract ego seems to involve three assumptions1 none of which is true4 ,the first is that there is a sharp line separating subject from object and from other subjects4 ,the second is that the subject1 thus sundered from the object1 remains identical through time4 ,the third is that this indiscerptible entity is in some mysterious way both myself and my property4 ,in opposition to the first1 ,i maintain that the foci of consciousness flow freely into each other even on the psychical plane1 while in the eternal world there are probably no barriers at all4 ,in opposition to the second1 it is certain that the empirical self is by no means identical throughout1 and that the spiritual life1 in which we may be said to attain real personality for the first time1 is only 'ours' potentially4 ,in opposition to the third1 ,i repeat that the question whether it is 'my' soul that will live in the eternal world seems to have no meaning at all4 ,in philosophy as in religion1 we had better follow the advice of the ,theologia ,germanica and banish1 as far as possible1 the words 'me and mine' from our vocabulary4 ,for personality is not something given to start with4 ,it does not belong to the world of claims and counter-claims in which we chiefly live4 ,we must be willing to lose our soul on this level of experience1 before we can find it unto life eternal4 ,personality is a teleological fact2 it is here in the making1 elsewhere in fact and power4 ,so in the case of our friends4 ,the man whom we love is not the changing psycho-physical organism2 it is the ,christ in him that we love1 the perfect man who is struggling into existence in his life and growth4 ,if we ask what a man is1 the answer may be either1 ',he is what he loves1' or ',he is what he is worth4' ,the two are not very different4 ,thus ,i cannot agree with ,keyserling1 who in criticising this type of thought 7with which1 none the less1 he has great sympathy7 says that 'mysticism1 whether it likes it or not1 ends in an impersonal immortality4' ,for impersonality is a purely negative conception1 like timelessness4 ,what is negated in 'timelessness' is not the reality of the present1 but the unreality of the past and future4 ,so the 'impersonality' which is here 7not without warrant from the mystics themselves7 said to belong to eternal life is really the liberation of the idea of personality4 ,personality is allowed to expand as far as it can1 and only so can it come into its own4 ,when ,keyserling adds1 ',the instinct of immortality really affirms that the individual is not ultimate1' ,i entirely agree with him4 ,the question1 however1 is not whether in heaven the circumference of the soul's life is indefinitely enlarged1 but whether the centre remains4 ,these centres are centres of consciousness2 and consciousness apparently belongs to the world of will4 ,it comes into existence when the will has some work to do4 ,it is not conterminous with life2 there is a life which is below consciousness1 and there may be a life above consciousness1 or what we mean by consciousness4 ,we must remind ourselves that we are using a spatial metaphor when we speak of a centre of consciousness1 and a temporal one when we ask about a continuing state of consciousness2 and space and time do not belong to the eternal world4 ,the question therefore needs to be transformed before any answer can be given to it4 ,spiritual life1 we are justified in saying1 must have a richness of content2 it is1 potentially at least1 all embracing4 ,but this enhancement of life is exhibited not only in extension but in intensity4 ,eternal life is no diffusion or dilution of personality1 but its consummation4 ,it seems certain that in such a state of existence individuality must be maintained4 ,if every life in this world represents an unique purpose in the ,divine mind1 and if the end or meaning of soul-life1 though striven for in time1 has both its source and its achievement in eternity1 this1 the value and reality of the individual life1 must remain as a distinct fact in the spiritual world4 ,we are sometimes inclined to think1 with a natural regret1 that the conditions of life in the eternal world are so utterly unlike those of the world which we know1 that we must either leave our mental picture of that life in the barest outline1 or fill it in with the colours which we know on earth1 but which1 as we are well aware1 cannot portray truly the life of blessed spirits4 ,to some extent this is true2 and whereas a bare and colourless sketch of the richest of all facts is as far from the truth as possible1 we may allow ourselves to fill in the picture as best we can1 if we remember the risks which we run in doing so4 ,there are1 it seems to me1 two chief risks in allowing our imagination to create images of the bliss of heaven4 ,one is that the eternal world1 thus drawn and painted with the forms and colours of earth1 takes substance in our minds as a second physical world1 either supposed to exist somewhere in space1 or expected to come into existence somewhen in time4 ,this is the heaven of popular religion2 and being a geographical or historical expression1 it is open to attacks which cannot be met4 ,hence in the minds of many persons the whole fact of human immortality seems to belong to dreamland4 ,the other danger is that1 since a geographical and historical heaven is found to have no actuality1 the hope of eternal life1 with all that the spiritual world contains1 should be relegated to the sphere of the 'ideal4' ,this seems to be the position of ,hffding1 and is quite clearly the view of thinkers like ,santayana4 ,they accept the dualism of value and existence1 and place the highest hopes of humanity in a world which has value only and no existence4 ,this seems to me to be offering mankind a stone for bread4 ,martineau's protest against this philosophy is surely justified3 ',amid all the sickly talk about ideals1 it is well to remember that as long as they are a mere self-painting of the yearning spirit1 they have no more solidity than floating air-bubbles1 gay in the sunshine and broken by the passing wind4 ,you do not so much as touch the threshold of religion1 so long as you are detained by the phantoms of your thought2 the very gate of entrance to religion1 the moment of its new birth1 is the discovery that your gleaming ideal is the everlasting real4'#id ,but though our knowledge of the eternal world is much less than we could desire1 it is much greater than many thinkers allow4 ,we are by no means shut off from realisation and possession of the eternal values while we live here4 ,we are not confined to local and temporal experience4 ,we know what ,truth and ,beauty mean1 not only for ourselves but for all souls throughout the universe1 and for ,god ,himself4 ,above all1 we know what ,love means4 ,now ,love1 which is the realisation in experience of spiritual existence1 has an unique value as a hierophant of the highest mysteries4 ,and ,love guarantees personality1 for it needs what has been called otherness4 ,in all love there must be a subject and an object1 and a bond between them which transcends without annulling their separateness4 ,what this means for personal immortality has been seen by many great minds4 ,as an example ,i will quote from ,plotinus' picture of life in the spiritual world4 ,this writer is certainly not inclined to overestimate the claims of separate individuality1 and he is under no obligation to make his doctrine conform to the dogmas of any creed4 ',spirits yonder see themselves in others4 ,for there all things are transparent1 and there is nothing dark or resisting1 but everyone is manifest to everyone internally1 and all things are manifest2 for light is manifest to light4 ,for everyone has all things in himself and sees all things in another1 so that all things are everywhere and all is all and each is all1 and infinite the glory4'#ie ,this eternal world is about us and within us while we live here4 ',heaven is nearer to our souls than the earth is to our bodies4' ,the world which we ordinarily think of as real is an arbitrary selection from experience1 corresponding roughly to the average reaction of life upon the average man4 ,some values1 such as existence1 persistence1 and rationality1 are assumed to be 'real'2 others are relegated to the 'ideal' ,under the influence of natural science1 special emphasis is laid on those values with which that science is engaged4 ,but our world changes with us4 ,it rises as we rise1 and falls as we fall4 ,it puts on immortality as we do4 ',such as men themselves are1 such will ,god appear to them to be4'#if ,spinoza rightly says that all true knowledge takes place sub specie ternitatis4 ,for the pneymatikost the whole of life is spiritual1 and1 as ,eucken says1 he recognises the whole of the spiritual life as his own life-being4 ,he learns1 as ,plotinus declares in a profound sentence1 that 'all things that are ,yonder are also ,here below4' ,is it then the conclusion of the whole matter that eternal life is merely the true reading of temporal life8 ,is earth1 when seen with purged vision1 not merely the shadow of heaven1 but heaven itself8 ,if we could fuse past1 present1 and future into a totum simul1 an ',eternal ,now1' would that be eternity8 ,this ,i do not believe4 ,a full understanding of the values of our life in time would indeed give us a good picture of the eternal world2 but that world itself1 the abode of ,god and of blessed spirits1 is a state higher and purer than can be fully expressed in the order of nature4 ,the perpetuity of natural laws as they operate through endless ages is only a ,platonic 'image' of eternity4 ,that all values are perpetual is true2 but they are something more than perpetual3 they are eternal4 ,these laws are the creative forces which shape our lives from within2 but all the creatures1 as ,st4 ,augustine says in a well-known passage1 declare their inferiority to their ,creator4 ',we are lower than ,he1 for ,he made us4' ,scholastic theologians interposed an intermediary which they called vum between time and eternity4 vum is perpetuity1 which they rightly distinguished from true eternity4 ,christianity is philosophically right in insisting that our true home1 our patria1 is 'not here4' ,nor is it in any place3 it is with ,god1'whose centre is everywhere and ,his circumference nowhere4' ,there remaineth a rest for the people of ,god1 when their warfare on earth is accomplished4 ,a ,christian must feel that the absence of any clear revelation about a future state is an indication that we are not meant to make it a principal subject of our thoughts4 ,on the other hand1 the more we think about the eternal values the happier we shall be4 ,as ,spinoza says1 ',love directed towards the eternal and infinite fills the mind with pure joy1 and is free from all sadness4 ,wherefore it is greatly to be desired1 and sought after with our whole might4' ,but he also says1 and ,i think wisely1 that there are few subjects on which the 'free' man will ponder less often1 than on death4 ,the end of life is as right and natural as its beginning2 we must not rebel against the common lot1 either for ourselves or for our friends4 ,we are to live in the present though not for the present4 ,the two lines of ,goethe which ,lewis ,nettleship was so fond of quoting convey a valuable lesson3 ',nur we du bist1 sei alles1 immer kindlich3 ,so bist du alles1 bist unberwindlich4' ',death does not count1' as ,nettleship used to say2 and he met his own fate on the ,alps with a cheerfulness which showed that he believed it4 ,the craving for mere survival1 no matter under what conditions1 is natural to some persons1 and those who have it not must not claim any superiority over those who shudder at the idea of resigning this 'pleasing1 anxious being4' ,some brave and loyal men1 like ,samuel ,johnson1 have feared death all their lives long2 while others1 even when fortune smiles upon them1 'have a desire to depart and to be with ,christ1 which is far better4' ,but the longing for survival1 and the anxious search for evidence which may satisfy it1 have undoubtedly the effect of binding us to earth and earthly conditions2 they come between us and faith in true immortality4 ,they cannot restore to us what death takes away4 ,they cannot lay the spectre which made ,claudio a craven4 ',ay1 but to die and go we know not where2 ,to lie in cold obstruction and to rot2 ,this sensible warm motion to become ,a kneaded clod2 and the delighted spirit ,to bathe in fiery floods1 or to reside ,in thrilling regions of thick-ribbed ice2 ,to be imprisoned in the viewless winds1 ,and blown with restless violence round about ,the pendent world2 or to be worse than worst ,of those that lawless and uncertain thoughts ,imagine howling6 'tis too horrible6 ,the weariest and most loathed earthly life ,that age1 ache1 penury1 and imprisonment ,can lay on nature1 is a paradise ,to what we fear of death4' ,we know now1 if we did not know it three years ago1 that the average man can face death1 and does face it in the majority of cases1 with a serenity which would be incomprehensible if he did not know in his heart of hearts that it does not matter much4 ,he may have no articulated faith in immortality1 but1 like ,spinoza1 he has 'felt and experienced that he is eternal4' ,perhaps he only says to himself1 ',who dies if ,england lives8' ,but the ,england that lives is his own larger self1 the life that is more his own life than the beating of his heart1 which a bullet may still for ever4 ,and if the exaltation of noble patriotism can 'abolish death1 and bring life and immortality to light' for almost any unthinking lad from our factories and hedgerows1 should not religion be able to do as much for us all8 ,and may it not be that some touch of heroic self-abnegation is necessary before we can have a soul which death cannot touch8 ,when ,christ said that those who are willing to lose their souls shall save them1 is not this what ,he meant8 ,we must accustom ourselves to breathe the air of the eternal values1 if we desire to live for ever4 ,and a strong faith is not curious about details4 ',beloved1 now are we sons of ,god2 and it doth not yet appear what we shall be4 ,but we know that when ,he is made manifest we shall be like ,him1 for we shall see ,him as ,he is4' ,,footnotes3 #ic ,quoted by ,professor ,pringle-,pattison from an article by me in the ,times ,literary ,supplement4 #id ,study of ,religion1 vol4 i4 #ab4 #ie ,ennead1 v4 #h1 #d4 #if ,from ,john ,smith1 the ,cambridge ,platonist4 ,,the ,,end