,,an ,,outline ,,of ,,the ,,history ,,of
 ,,christian ,,thought ,,since ,,kant   
,,by  ,,edward ,,caldwell ,,moore       
,,parkman ,,professor ,,of ,,theology   
,,in ,,harvard ,,university    ,,new    
,,york ,,charles ,,scribner',s ,,sons   
#aiab  ,,to ,,adolf ,,harnack ,,on ,,his
 ,,sixtieth ,,birthday ,,by ,,his       
,,first ,,american ,,pupil              
,,prefatory ,,note   ,it is hoped that  
this book may serve as an outline for a 
larger work1 in which the ,judgments    
here expressed may be supported in      
detail4 ,especially1 the author desires 
to treat the literature of the social   
question and of the modernist movement  
with a fulness which has not been       
possible within the limits of this      
sketch4 ,the philosophy of religion and 
the history of religions should have    
place1 as also that estimate of the     
essence of ,christianity which is       
suggested by the contact of             
,christianity with the living religions 
of the ,orient4  ,,pasque ,,island1     

,,mass41 ,july #bh1 #aiaa4              
,,contents   ,,chapter ,i  ,a4          
,,introduction4 #a4 ,b4 ,,the           
,,background4 #bc4   ,,deism4 #bc4      
,,rationalism4 #be4   ,,pietism4 #cj4   
,,sthetic ,,idealism4 #cc4   ,,chapter  
,,ii   ,,idealistic ,,philosophy4 #ci4  
,,kant4 #ci4 ,,fichte4 #ee4 ,,schelling4
 #fj4 ,,hegel4 #ff4   ,,chapter ,,iii   
,,theological ,,reconstruction4 #gd4    
,,schleiermacher4 #gd4 ,,ritschl ,,and  
,,the ,,ritschlians4 #hi   ,,chapter    
,,iv   ,,the ,,critical ,,and           
,,historical ,,movement4 #aaj4          
,,strauss4 #aad4 ,,baur4 #aah4 ,,the    
,,canon4 #abc4 ,,the ,,life ,,of        
,,jesus4 #abg4 ,,the ,,old ,,testament4 
#acj4 ,,the ,,history ,,of ,,doctrine4  
#acf4 ,,harnack4 #adj4   ,,chapter ,v   
,,the ,,contribution ,,of ,,the         
,,sciences4 #aea4    ,,positivism4 #aef4
    ,,naturalism ,,and ,,agnosticism4   
#afb4    ,,evolution4 #agj4             
,,miracles4 #age4    ,,the ,,social     
,,sciences4 #agf4   ,,chapter ,,vi      

,,the ,,english-,,speaking ,,peoples2   
,,action ,,and ,,reaction4 #aia4        
,,the ,,poets4 #aie4    ,,coleridge4    
#aig4    ,,the ,,oriel ,,school4 #aii4  
,,ersine ,,and ,,campbell4 #bja4        
,,maurice4 #bjd4    ,,channing4 #bje4   
,,bushnell4 #bjg4    ,,the ,,catholic   
,,revival4 #baa4    ,,the ,,oxford      
,,movement4 #bab4    ,,newman4 #bad4    
,,modernism4 #bba4    ,,robertson4 #bbc4
    ,,phillips ,,brooks4 #bbd4    ,,the 
,,broad ,,church4 #bbd4    ,,carlyle4   
#bbh4    ,,emerson4 #bcj4    ,,arnold4  
#bcb4    ,,martineau4 #bcd4    ,,james4 
#bch4  ,,bibliography4 #bdc4            
,,chapter ,i  ,a4 ,,introduction   ,the 
,protestant ,reformation marked an era  
both in life and thought for the modern 
world4 ,it ushered in a revolution in   
,europe4 ,it established distinctions   
and initiated tendencies which are still
 significant4 ,these distinctions have  
been significant not for ,europe alone4 
,they have had influence also upon those
 continents which since the ,reformation

 have come under the dominion of        
,europeans4 ,yet few would now regard   
the ,reformation as epoch-making in the 
sense in which that pre-eminence has    
been claimed4 ,no one now esteems that  
it separates the modern from the medival
 and ancient world in the manner once   
supposed4 ,the perspective of history   
makes it evident that large areas of    
life and thought remained then untouched
 by the new spirit4 ,assumptions which  
had their origin in feudal or even in   
classical culture continued             
unquestioned4 ,more than this1 impulses 
in rational life and in the             
interpretation of religion1 which showed
 themselves with clearness in one and   
another of the reformers themselves1    
were lost sight of1 if not actually     
repudiated1 by their successors4 ,it is 
possible to view many things in the     
intellectual and religious life of the  
nineteenth century1 even some which     
,protestants have passionately          
reprobated1 as but the taking up again  

of clues which the reformers had let    
fall1 the carrying out of purposes of   
their movement which were partly hidden 
from themselves4  ,men have asserted    
that the ,renaissance inaugurated a     
period of paganism4 ,they have gloried  
that there supervened upon this paganism
 the religious revival which the        
,reformation was4 ,even these men will1 
however1 not deny that it was the       
intellectual rejuvenation which made the
 religious reformation possible or1 at  
all events1 effective4 ,nor can it be   
denied that after the ,revolution1 in   
the ,protestant communities the         
intellectual element was thrust into the
 background4 ,the practical and         
devotional prevailed4 ,humanism was for 
a time shut out4 ,there was more room   
for it in the ,roman ,church than among 
,protestants4 ,again1 the ,renaissance  
itself had been not so much an era of   
discovery of a new intellectual and     
spiritual world4 ,it had been1 rather1  
the rediscovery of valid principles of  

life in an ancient culture and          
civilisation4 ,that thorough-going      
review of the principles at the basis of
 all relations of the life of man1 which
 once seemed possible to ,renaissance   
and ,reformation1 was postponed to a    
much later date4 ,when it did take      
place1 it was under far different       
auspices4  ,there is a remarkable unity 
in the history of ,protestant thought in
 the period from the ,reformation to the
 end of the eighteenth century4 ,there  
is a still more surprising unity of     
,protestant thought in this period with 
the thought of the medival and ancient  
,church4 ,the basis and methods are the 
same4 ,upon many points the conclusions 
are identical4 ,there was nothing of    
which the ,protestant scholastics were  
more proud than of their agreement with 
the ,fathers of the early ,church4 ,they
 did not perceive in how large degree   
they were at one with ,christian        
thinkers of the ,roman communion as     
well4 ,few seem to have realised how    

largely ,catholic in principle          
,protestant thought has been4 ,the      
fundamental principles at the basis of  
the reasoning have been the same4 ,the  
notions of revelation and inspiration   
were identical4 ,the idea of authority  
was common to both1 only the instance in
 which that authority is lodged was     
different4 ,the thoughts of ,god and    
man1 of the world1 of creation1 of      
providence and prayer1 of the nature and
 means of salvation1 are similar4       
,newman was right in discovering that   
from the first he had thought1 only and 
always1 in what he called ,catholic     
terms4 ,it was veiled from him that many
 of those who ardently opposed him      
thought in those same terms4  ,it is    
impossible to write upon the theme which
 this book sets itself without using the
 terms ,catholic and ,protestant in the 
conventional sense4 ,the words stand for
 certain historic magnitudes4 ,it is    
equally impossible to conceal from      
ourselves how misleading the language   

often is4 ,the line between that which  
has been happily called the religion of 
authority and the religion of the spirit
 does not run between ,catholic and     
,protestant4 ,it runs through the middle
 of many ,protestant bodies1 through the
 border only of some1 and who will say  
that the ,roman ,church knows nothing of
 this contrast8 ,the sole use of        
recurrence here to the historic         
distinction is to emphasise the fact    
that this distinction stands for less   
than has commonly been supposed4 ,in a  
large way the history of ,christian     
thought1 from earliest times to the end 
of the eighteenth century1 presents a   
very striking unity4  ,in contrast with 
this1 that modern reflection which has  
taken the phenomenon known as religion  
and1 specifically1 that historic form of
 religion known as ,christianity1 as its
 object1 has indeed also slowly revealed
 the fact that it is in possession of   
certain principles4 ,furthermore1 these 
principles1 as they have emerged1 have  

been felt to be new and distinctive     
principles4 ,they are essentially modern
 principles4 ,they are the principles   
which1 taken together1 differentiate the
 thinker of the nineteenth century from 
all who have ever been before him4 ,they
 are principles which unite all thinkers
 at the end of the nineteenth and the   
beginning of the twentieth centuries1 in
 practically every portion of the world1
 as they think of all subjects except   
religion4 ,it comes more and more to be 
felt that these principles must be      
reckoned with in our thought concerning 
religion as well4  ,one of these        
principles is1 for example1 that of     
dealing in true critical fashion with   
problems of history and literature4     
,long before the end of the age of      
rationalism1 this principle had been    
applied to literature and history1 other
 than those called sacred4 ,the thorough
 going application of this scientific   
method to the literatures and history of
 the ,old and ,new ,testaments is almost

 wholly an achievement of the nineteenth
 century4 ,it has completely altered the
 view of revelation and inspiration4    
,the altered view of the nature of the  
documents of revelation has had         
immeasurable consequences for dogma4    
,another of these elements is the new   
view of nature and of man's relation to 
nature4 ,certain notable discoveries in 
physics and astronomy had proved        
possible of combination with traditional
 religion1 as in the case of ,newton4   
,or again1 they had proved impossible of
 combination with any religion1 as in   
the case of ,laplace4 ,the review of the
 religious and ,christian problem in the
 light of the ever increasing volume of 
scientific discoveries--this is the new 
thing in the period which we have       
undertaken to describe4 ,a theory of    
nature as a totality1 in which man1 not 
merely as physical1 but even also as    
social and moral and religious being1   
has place in a series which suggests no 
break1 has affected the doctrines of    

,god and of man in a way which neither  
those who revered nor those who         
repudiated religion at the beginning of 
the nineteenth century could have       
imagined4  ,another leading principle   
grows out of ,kant's distinction of two 
worlds and two orders of reason4 ,that  
distinction issued in a new theory of   
knowledge4 ,it laid a new foundation for
 an idealistic construing of the        
universe4 ,in one way it was the answer 
of a profoundly religious nature to the 
triviality and effrontery into which the
 great rationalistic movement had run   
out4 ,by it the philosopher gave        
standing forever to much that prophets  
and mystics in every age had felt to be 
true1 yet had never been able to prove  
by any method which the ordered         
reasoning of man had provided4 ,religion
 as feeling regained its place4 ,ethics 
was set once more in the light of the   
eternal4 ,the soul of man became the    
object of a scientific study4  ,there   
have been thus indicated three1 at      

least1 of the larger factors which enter
 into an interpretation of ,christianity
 which may fairly be said to be new in  
the nineteenth century4 ,they are new in
 a sense in which the intellectual      
elements entering into the              
reconsideration of ,christianity in the 
age of the ,reformation were not new4   
,they are characteristic of the         
nineteenth century4 ,they would         
naturally issue in an interpretation of 
,christianity in the general context of 
the life and thought of that century4   
,the philosophical revolution           
inaugurated by ,kant1 with the general  
drift toward monism in the              
interpretation of the universe1         
separates from their forebears men who  
have lived since ,kant1 by a greater    
interval than that which divided ,kant  
from ,plato4 ,the evolutionary view of  
nature1 as developed from ,schelling and
 ,comte through ,darwin to ,bergson1    
divides men now living from the         
contemporaries of ,kant in his youthful 

studies of nature1 as those men were not
 divided from the followers of          
,aristotle4  ,of purpose1 the phrase    
,christian thought has been interpreted 
as thought concerning ,christianity4    
,the problem which this book essays is  
that of an outline of the history of the
 thought which has been devoted1 during 
this period of marvellous progress1 to  
that particular object in consciousness 
and history which is known as           
,christianity4 ,christianity1 as object 
of the philosophical1 critical1 and     
scientific reflection of the age--this  
it is which we propose to consider4 ,our
 religion as affected in its            
interpretation by principles of thought 
which are already widespread1 and bid   
fair to become universal among educated 
men--this it is which in this little    
volume we aim to discuss4 ,the term     
religious thought has not always had    
this significance4 ,philosophy of       
religion has signified1 often1 a        
philosophising of which religion was1 so

 to say1 the atmosphere4 ,we cannot     
wonder if1 in these circumstances1 to   
the minds of some1 the atmosphere has   
seemed to hinder clearness of vision4   
,the whole subject of the philosophy of 
religion has within the last few decades
 undergone a revival1 since it has been 
accepted that the aim is not to         
philosophise upon things in general in a
 religious spirit4 ,on the contrary1 the
 aim is to consider religion itself1    
with the best aid which current         
philosophy and science afford4 ,in this 
sense only can we give the study of     
religion and ,christianity a place among
 the sciences4  ,it remains true1 now as
 always1 that the majority1 at all      
events1 of those who have thought       
profoundly concerning ,christianity will
 be found to have been ,christian men4  
,religion is a form of consciousness4   
,it will be those who have had          
experience to which that consciousness  
corresponds1 whose judgments can be     
supposed to have weight4 ,that remark is

 true1 for example1 of sthetic matters  
as well4 ,to be a good judge of music   
one must have musical feeling and       
experience4 ,to speak with any deeper   
reasonableness concerning faith1 one    
must have faith4 ,to think profoundly   
concerning ,christianity one needs to   
have had the ,christian experience4 ,but
 this is very different from saying that
 to speak worthily of the ,christian    
religion1 one must needs have made his  
own the statements of religion which men
 of a former generation may have found  
serviceable4 ,the distinction between   
religion itself1 on the one hand1 and   
the expression of religion in doctrines 
and rites1 or the application of        
religion through institutions1 on the   
other hand1 is in itself one of the     
great achievements of the nineteenth    
century4 ,it is one which separates us  
from ,christian men in previous         
centuries as markedly as it does any    
other4 ,it is a simple implication of   
the ,kantian theory of knowledge4 ,the  

evidence for its validity has come      
through the application of historical   
criticism to all the creeds4 ,mystics of
 all ages have seen the truth from far4 
,the fact that we may assume the        
prevalence of this distinction among    
,christian men1 and lay it at the base  
of the discussion we propose1 is        
assuredly one of the gains which the    
nineteenth century has to record4  ,it  
follows that not all of the thinkers    
with whom we have to deal will have     
been1 in their own time1 of the number  
of avowedly ,christian men4 ,some who   
have greatly furthered movements which  
in the end proved fruitful for          
,christian thought1 have been men who in
 their own time alienated from professed
 and official religion4 ,in the         
retrospect we must often feel that their
 opposition to that which they took to  
be religion was justifiable4 ,yet their 
identification of that with religion    
itself1 and their frank declaration of  
what they called their own irreligion1  

was often a mistake4 ,it was a mistake  
to which both they and their opponents  
in due proportion contributed4 ,a still 
larger class of those with whom we have 
to do have indeed asserted for          
themselves a personal adherence to      
,christianity4 ,but their identification
 with ,christianity1 or with a          
particular ,christian ,church1 has been 
often bitterly denied by those who bore 
official responsibility in the ,church4 
,the heresy of one generation is the    
orthodoxy of the next4 ,there is        
something perverse in ,gottfried        
,arnold's maxim1 that the true ,church1 
in any age1 is to be found with those   
who have just been excommunicated from  
the actual ,church4 ,however1 the maxim 
points in the direction of a truth4 ,by 
far the larger part of those with whom  
we have to do have had acknowledged     
relation to the ,christian tradition and
 institution4 ,they were ,christians    
and1 at the same time1 true children of 
the intellectual life of their own age4 

,they esteemed it not merely their      
privilege1 but also their duty1 to      
endeavour to ponder anew the religious  
and ,christian problem1 and to state    
that which they thought in a manner     
congruous with the thoughts which the   
men of the age would naturally have     
concerning other themes4  ,it has been  
to most of these men axiomatic that     
doctrine has only relative truth4       
,doctrine is but a composite of the     
content of the religious consciousness  
with materials which the intellect of a 
given man or age or nation in the total 
view of life affords4 ,as such1 doctrine
 is necessary and inevitable for all    
those who in any measure live the life  
of the mind4 ,but the condition of      
doctrine is its mobile1 its fluid and   
changing character4 ,it is the          
combination of a more or less stable and
 characteristic experience1 with a      
reflection which1 exactly in proportion 
as it is genuine1 is transformed from   
age to age1 is modified by qualities of 

race and1 in the last analysis1 differs 
with individual men4 ,dogma is that     
portion of doctrine which has been      
elevated by decree of ecclesiastical    
authority1 or even only by common       
consent1 into an absoluteness which is  
altogether foreign to its nature4 ,it is
 that part of doctrine concerning which 
men have forgotten that it had a        
history1 and have decided that it shall 
have no more4 ,in its very notion dogma 
confounds a statement of truth1 which   
must of necessity be human1 with the    
truth itself1 which is divine4 ,in its  
identification of statement and truth it
 demands credence instead of faith4 ,men
 have confounded doctrine and dogma2    
they have been taught so to do4 ,they   
have felt the history of ,christian     
doctrine to be an unfruitful and        
uninteresting theme4 ,but the history of
 ,christian thought would seek to set   
forth the series of interpretations put1
 by successive generations1 upon the    
greatest of all human experiences1 the  

experience of the communion of men with 
,god4 ,these interpretations ray out at 
all edges into the general intellectual 
life of the age4 ,they draw one whole   
set of their formative impulses from the
 general intellectual life of the age4  
,it is this relation of the progress of 
doctrine to the general history of      
thought in the nineteenth century1 which
 the writer designed to emphasise in    
choosing the title of this work4  ,as   
was indicated in the closing paragraphs 
of the preceding volume of this series1 
the issue of the age of rationalism had 
been for the cause of religion on the   
whole a distressing one4 ,the majority  
of those who were resolved to follow    
reason were agreed in abjuring religion4
 ,that they had1 as it seems to us1 but 
a meagre understanding of what religion 
is1 made little difference in their     
conclusion4 ,bishop ,butler complains in
 his ,analogy that religion was in his  
time hardly considered a subject for    
discussion among reasonable men4        

,schleiermacher in the very title of his
 ,discourses makes it plain that in     
,germany the situation was not          
different4 ,if the reasonable eschewed  
religious protests in ,germany1         
evangelicals in ,england1 the men of the
 great revivals in ,america1 many of    
them1 took up a corresponding position  
as towards the life of reason1          
especially toward the use of reason in  
religion4 ,the sinister cast which the  
word rationalism bears in much of the   
popular speech is evidence of this fact4
 ,to many minds it appeared as if one   
could not be an adherent both of reason 
and of faith4 ,that was a contradiction 
which ,kant1 first of all in his own    
experience1 and then through his system 
of thought1 did much to transcend4 ,the 
deliverance which he wrought has been   
compared to the deliverance which       
,luther in his time achieved for those  
who had been in bondage to scholasticism
 in the ,roman ,church4 ,although ,kant 
has been dead a hundred years1 both the 

defence of religion and the assertion of
 the right of reason are still1 with    
many1 on the ancient lines4 ,there is no
 such strife between rationality and    
belief as has been supposed4 ,but the   
confidence of that fact is still far    
from being shared by all ,christians at 
the beginning of the twentieth century4 
,the course in reinterpretation and     
readjustment of ,christianity1 which    
that calm conviction would imply1 is    
still far from being the one taken by   
all of those who bear the ,christian    
name4 ,if it is permissible in the      
writing of a book like this to have an  
aim besides that of the most objective  
delineation1 the author may perhaps be  
permitted to say that he writes with the
 earnest hope that in some measure he   
may contribute also to the establishment
 of an understanding upon which so much 
both for the ,church and the world      
depends4  ,we should say a word at this 
point as to the general relation of     
religion and philosophy4 ,we realise the

 evil which ,kant first in clearness    
pointed out4 ,it was the evil of an     
apprehension which made the study of    
religion a department of metaphysics4   
,the tendency of that apprehension was  
to do but scant justice to the          
historical content of ,christianity4    
,religion is an historical phenomenon4  
,especially is this true of             
,christianity4 ,it is a fact1 or rather1
 a vast complex of facts4 ,it is a      
positive religion4 ,it is connected with
 personalities1 above all with one      
transcendent personality1 that of       
,jesus4 ,it sprang out of another       
religion which had already emerged into 
the light of world-history4 ,it has been
 associated for two thousand years with 
portions of the race which have made    
achievements in culture and left record 
of those achievements4 ,it is the       
function of speculation to interpret    
this phenomenon4 ,when speculation is   
tempted to spin by its own processes    
something which it would set beside this

 historic magnitude or put in place of  
it1 and still call that ,christianity1  
we must disallow the claim4 ,it was the 
licence of its speculative endeavour1   
and the identification of these         
endeavours with ,christianity1 which    
finally discredited ,hegelianism with   
religious men4 ,nor can it be denied    
that theologians themselves have been   
sinners in this respect4 ,the           
disposition to regard ,christianity as a
 revealed and divinely authoritative    
metaphysic began early and continued    
long4 ,when the theologians also set out
 to interpret ,christianity and end in  
offering us a substitute1 which1 if it  
were acknowledged as absolute truth1    
would do away with ,christianity as     
historic fact1 as little can we allow   
the claim4  ,again1 ,christianity exists
 not merely as a matter of history4 ,it 
exists also as a fact in living         
consciousness4 ,it is the function of   
psychology to investigate that          
consciousness4 ,we must say that1       

accurately speaking1 there is no such   
thing as ,christian philosophy4 ,there  
are philosophies1 good or bad1 current  
or obsolete4 ,these are ,christian only 
in being applied to the history of      
,christianity and the content of the    
,christian consciousness4 ,there is1    
strictly speaking1 no such thing as     
,christian consciousness4 ,there is the 
human consciousness1 operating with and 
operated upon by the impulse of         
,christianity4 ,it is the great human   
experience from which we single out for 
investigation that part which is        
concerned with religion1 and call that  
the religious experience4 ,it is        
essential1 therefore1 that those general
 investigations of human consciousness  
and experience1 as such1 which are being
 carried on all about us should be      
reckoned with1 if our ,christian life   
and thought are not altogether to fall  
out of touch with advancing knowledge4  
,for this reason we have misgiving about
 the position of some followers of      

,ritschl4 ,their opinion1 pushed to the 
limit1 seems to mean that we have       
nothing to do with philosophy1 or with  
the advance of science4 ,religion is a  
feeling of which he alone who possesses 
it can give account4 ,he alone who has  
it can appreciate such an account when  
given4 ,we acknowledge that religion is 
in part a feeling4 ,but that feeling    
must have rational justification4 ,it   
must also have rational guidance if it  
is to be saved from degenerating into   
fanaticism4  ,to say that we have       
nothing to do with philosophy ends in   
our having to do with a bad philosophy4 
,in that case we have a philosophy with 
which we operate without having         
investigated it1 instead of having one  
with which we operate because we have   
investigated it4 ,the philosophy of     
which we are aware we have4 ,the        
philosophy of which we are not aware has
 us4 ,no doubt1 we may have religion    
without philosophy1 but we cannot       
formulate it even in the rudest way to  

ourselves1 we cannot communicate it in  
any way whatsoever to others1 except in 
the terms of a philosophy4 ,in the      
general sense in which every man has a  
philosophy1 this is merely the deposit  
of the regnant notions of the time4 ,it 
may be amended or superseded1 and our   
theology with it4 ,yet while it lasts it
 is our one possible vehicle of         
expression4 ,it is the interpreter and  
the critique of what we have            
experienced4 ,it is not open to a man to
 retreat within himself and say1 ,i am a
 ,christian1 ,i feel thus1 ,i think so1 
these thoughts are the content of       
,christianity4 ,the consequence of that 
position is that we make the religious  
experience to be no part of the normal  
human experience4 ,if we contend that   
the being a ,christian is the great     
human experience1 that the religious    
life is the true human life1 we must    
pursue the opposite course4 ,we must    
make the religious life coherent with   
all the other phases and elements of    

life4 ,if we would contend that         
religious thought is the truest and     
deepest thought1 we must begin at this  
very point4 ,we must make it conform    
absolutely to the laws of all other     
thought4 ,to contend for its isolation1 
as an area by itself and a process      
subject only to its own laws1 is to     
court the judgment of men1 that in its  
zeal to be ,christian it has ceased to  
be thought4  ,our most profitable mode  
of procedure would seem to be this4 ,we 
shall seek to follow1 as we may1 those  
few main movements of thought marking   
the nineteenth century which have       
immediate bearing upon our theme4 ,we   
shall try to register the effect which  
these movements have had upon religious 
conceptions4 ,it will not be possible at
 any point to do more than to select    
typical examples4 ,perhaps the true     
method is that we should go back to the 
beginnings of each one of these         
movements4 ,we should mark the emergence
 of a few great ideas4 ,it is the       

emergence of an idea which is           
dramatically interesting4 ,it is the    
moment of emergence in which that which 
is characteristic appears4 ,our subject 
is far too complicated to permit that   
the ramifications of these influences   
should be followed in detail4           
,modifications1 subtractions1 additions1
 the reader must make for himself4      
,these main movements of thought are1 as
 has been said1 three in number4 ,we    
shall take them in their chronological  
order4 ,there is first the philosophical
 revolution which is commonly associated
 with the name of ,kant4 ,if we were to 
seek with arbitrary exactitude to fix a 
date for the beginning of this movement1
 this might be the year of the          
publication of his first great work1    
,kritik der reinen ,vernunft1 in #agha4a
 ,kant was indeed himself1 both         
intellectually and spiritually1 the     
product of tendencies which had long    
been gathering strength4 ,he was the    
exponent of ideas which in fragmentary  

way had been expressed by others1 but he
 gathered into himself in amazing       
fashion the impulses of his age4 ,out   
from some portion of his works lead     
almost all the paths which philosophical
 thinkers since his time have trod4 ,one
 cannot say even of his work1 ,der      
,religion innerhalb der ,grenzen der    
blossen ,vernunft1 #agic1 that it is the
 sole source1 or even the greatest      
source1 of his influence upon religious 
thinking4 ,but from the body of his work
 as a whole1 there came a new theory of 
knowledge which has changed completely  
the notion of revelation4 ,there came   
also a view of the universe as an ideal 
unity which1 especially as elaborated by
 ,fichte1 ,schelling and ,hegel1 has    
radically altered the traditional ideas 
of ,god1 of man1 of nature and of their 
relations1 the one to the other4        
,footnote #a3 ,in the text the titles of
 books which are discussed are given for
 the first time in the language in which
 they are written4 ,books which are     

merely alluded to are mentioned in      
,english4  ,we shall have then1         
secondly1 to note the historical and    
critical movement4 ,it is the effort to 
apply consistently and without fear the 
maxims of historical and literary       
criticism to the documents of the ,old  
and ,new ,testaments4 ,with still       
greater arbitrariness1 and yet with     
appreciation of the significance of     
,strauss' endeavour1 we might set as the
 date of the full impact of this        
movement upon cherished religious       
convictions1 that of the publication of 
his ,leben ,jesu1 #ahce4 ,this movement 
has supported with abundant evidence the
 insight of the philosophers as to the  
nature of revelation4 ,it has shown that
 that which we actually have in the     
,scriptures is just that which ,kant1   
with his reverence for the freedom of   
the human mind1 had indicated that we   
must have1 if revelation is to be       
believed in at all4 ,with this changed  
view has come an altered attitude toward

 many statements which devout men had   
held that they must accept as true1     
because these were found in ,scripture4 
,with this changed view the whole       
history1 whether of the ,jewish people  
or of ,jesus and the origins of the     
,christian ,church1 has been set in a   
new light4  ,in the third place1 we     
shall have to deal with the influence of
 the sciences of nature and of society1 
as these have been developed throughout 
the whole course of the nineteenth      
century4 ,if one must have a date for an
 outstanding event in this portion of   
the history1 perhaps that of the        
publication of ,darwin's ,origin of     
,species1 #ahei1 would serve as well as 
any other4 ,the principles of these     
sciences have come to underlie in a     
great measure all the reflection of     
cultivated men in our time4 ,in amazing 
degree they have percolated1 through    
elementary instruction1 through popular 
literature1 and through the newspapers1 
to the masses of mankind4 ,they are     

recognised as the basis of a triumphant 
material civilisation1 which has made   
everything pertaining to the inner and  
spiritual life seem remote4 ,through the
 social sciences there has come an      
impulse to the transfer of emphasis from
 the individual to society1 the         
disposition to see everything in its    
social bearing1 to do everything in the 
light of its social antecedents and of  
its social consequences4 ,here again we 
have to note the profoundest influence  
upon religious conceptions4 ,the very   
notion connected with the words         
redemption and salvation appears to have
 been changed4  ,in the case of each of 
these particular movements the church1  
as the organ of ,christianity1 has      
passed through a period of antagonism to
 these influences1 of fear of their     
consequences1 of resistance to their    
progress4 ,in large portions of the     
church at the present moment the protest
 is renewed4 ,the substance of these    
modern teachings1 which yet seem to be  

the very warp and woof of the           
intellectual life of the modern man1 is 
repudiated and denounced4 ,it is held to
 imperil the salvation of the soul4 ,it 
is pronounced impossible of combination 
with belief in a divinely revealed truth
 concerning the universe and a saving   
faith for men4 ,in other churches1      
outside the churches1 the forms in which
 men hold their ,christianity have been 
in large measure adjusted to the results
 of these great movements of thought4   
,they have1 as these men themselves     
believe1 been immensely strengthened and
 made sure by those very influences     
which were once considered dangerous4   
,in connection with this indication of  
the nature of our materials1 we have    
sought to say something of the time of  
emergence of the salient elements4 ,it  
may be in point also to give some       
intimation of the place of their        
origins1 that is to say1 of the         
participation of the various            
nationalities in this common task of the

 modern ,christian world4 ,that         
international quality of scholarship    
which seems to us natural1 is a thing of
 very recent date4 ,that a discovery    
should within a reasonable interval     
become the property of all educated men1
 that scholars of one nation should     
profit by that which the learned of     
another land have done1 appears to us a 
thing to be assumed4 ,it has not always 
been so1 especially not in matters of   
religious faith4 ,the ,roman ,church and
 the ,latin language gave to medieval   
,christian thought a certain            
international character4 ,again the     
,renaissance and ,reformation had a     
certain world wide quality4 ,the        
relations of the ,english ,church in the
 reigns of the last ,tudors to ,germany1
 ,switzerland1 and ,france are not to be
 forgotten4 ,but the life of the        
,protestant national churches in the    
eighteenth century shows little of this 
trait4 ,the barriers of language counted
 for something4 ,the provincialism of   

national churches and denominational    
predilections counted for more4  ,in the
 philosophical movement we must begin   
with the ,germans4 ,the movement of     
,english thought known as deism was a   
distinct forerunner of the rationalist  
movement1 within the particular area of 
the discussion of religion4 ,however1 it
 ran into the sand4 ,the rationalist    
movement1 considered in its other       
aspects1 never attained in ,england in  
the eighteenth century the proportions  
which it assumed in ,france and         
,germany4 ,in ,france that movement ran 
its full course1 both among the learned 
and1 equally1 as a radical and          
revolutionary influence among the       
unlearned4 ,it had momentous practical  
consequences4 ,in no sphere was it more 
radical than in that of religion4 ,not  
in vain had ,voltaire for years cried1  
'crasez l'infme1' and ,rousseau preached
 that the youth would all be wise and   
pure1 if only the kind of education     
which he had had in the religious       

schools were made impossible4 ,there was
 for many minds no alternative between  
clericalism and atheism4 ,quite         
logically1 therefore1 after the downfall
 of the ,republic and of the ,empire    
there set in a great reaction4 ,still it
 was simply a reversion to the absolute 
religion of the ,roman ,catholic ,church
 as set forth by the ,jesuit party4     
,there was no real transcending of the  
rationalist movement in ,france in the  
interest of religion4 ,there has been no
 great constructive movement in         
religious thought in ,france in the     
nineteenth century4 ,there is relatively
 little literature of our subject in the
 ,french language until recent years4   
,in ,germany1 on the other hand1 the    
rationalist movement had always had over
 against it the great foil and          
counterpoise of the pietist movement4   
,rationalism ran a much soberer course  
than in ,france4 ,it was never a        
revolutionary and destructive movement  
as in ,france4 ,it was not a dilettante 

and aristocratic movement as deism had  
been in ,england4 ,it was far more      
creative and constructive than          
elsewhere4 ,here also before the end of 
the century it had run its course4 ,yet 
here the men who transcended the        
rationalist movement and shaped the     
spiritual revival in the beginning of   
the nineteenth century were men who had 
themselves been trained in the bosom of 
the rationalist movement4 ,they had     
appropriated the benefits of it4 ,they  
did not represent a violent reaction    
against it1 but a natural and inevitable
 progress within and beyond it4 ,this it
 was which gave to the ,germans their   
leadership at the beginning of the      
nineteenth century in the sphere of the 
intellectual life4 ,it is worthy of note
 that the great heroes of the           
intellectual life in ,germany1 in the   
period of which we speak1 were most of  
them deeply interested in the problem of
 religion4 ,the first man to bring to   
,england the leaven of this new spirit1 

and therewith to transcend the old      
philosophical standpoint of ,locke and  
,hume1 was ,coleridge with his ,aids to 
,reflection1 published in #ahbe4 ,but   
even after this impulse of ,coleridge   
the movement remained in ,england a     
sporadic and uncertain one4 ,it had     
nothing of the volume and               
conservativeness which belonged to it in
 ,germany4  ,coleridge left among his   
literary remains a work published in    
#ahdj under the title of ,confessions of
 an ,enquiring ,spirit4 ,what is here   
written is largely upon the basis of    
intuition and forecast like that of     
,remarus and ,lessing a half-century    
earlier in ,germany4 ,strauss and others
 were already at work in ,germany upon  
the problem of the ,new ,testament1     
,vatke and ,reuss upon that of the ,old4
 ,this was a different kind of labour1  
and destined to have immeasurably       
greater significance4 ,george ,eliot's  
maiden literary labour was the          
translation into ,english of ,strauss'  

first edition4 ,but the results of that 
criticism were only slowly appropriated 
by the ,english4 ,the ostensible results
 were at first radical and subversive in
 the extreme4 ,they were fiercely       
repudiated in ,strauss' own country4    
,yet in the main there was              
acknowledgement of the correctness of   
the principle for which ,strauss had    
stood4 ,hardly before the decade of the 
sixties was that method accepted in     
,england in any wider way1 and hardly   
before the decade of the seventies in   
,america4 ,ronan was the first to set   
forth1 in #ahfc1 the historical and     
critical problem in the new spirit1 in a
 way that the wide public which read    
,french understood4  ,when we come to   
speak of the scientific movement it is  
not easy to say where the leadership    
lay4 ,many ,englishmen were in the first
 rank of investigators and accumulators 
of material4 ,the first attempt at a    
systematisation of the results of the   
modern sciences was that of ,auguste    

,comte in his ,philosophie ,positive4   
,this philosophy1 however1 under its    
name of ,positivism1 exerted a far      
greater influence1 both in ,comte's time
 and subsequently1 in ,england than it  
did in ,france4 ,herbert ,spencer1 after
 the middle of the decade of the        
sixties1 essayed to do something of the 
sort which ,comte had attempted4 ,he had
 far greater advantages for the solution
 of the problem4 ,comte's foil in all of
 his discussions of religion was the    
,catholicism of the south of ,france4   
,none the less1 the religion which in   
his later years he created1 bears       
striking resemblance to that which in   
his earlier years he had sought to      
destroy4 ,spencer's attitude toward     
religion was in his earlier work one of 
more pronounced antagonism or1 at least1
 of more complete agnosticism than in   
later days he found requisite to the    
maintenance of his scientific freedom   
and conscientiousness4 ,both of these   
men represent the effort to construe the

 world1 including man1 from the point of
 view of the natural and also of the    
social sciences1 and to define the place
 of religion in that view of the world  
which is thus set forth4 ,the fact that 
there had been no such philosophical    
readjustment in ,great ,britain as in   
,germany1 made the acceptance of the    
evolutionary theory of the universe1    
which more and more the sciences        
enforced1 slower and more difficult4    
,the period of resistance on the part of
 those interested in religion extended  
far into the decade of the seventies4   
,a word may be added concerning         
,america4 ,the early settlers had been  
proud of their connection with the      
,english universities4 ,an extraordinary
 number of them1 in ,massachusetts at   
least1 had been ,cambridge men4 ,yet a  
tradition of learning was later         
developed1 which was not without the    
traits of isolation natural in the      
circumstances4 ,the residence1 for a    
time1 even of a man like ,berkeley in   

this country1 altered that but little4  
,the clergy remained in singular degree 
the educated and highly influential     
class4 ,the churches had developed1 in  
consonance with their ,puritan          
character1 a theology and philosophy so 
portentous in their conclusions1 that we
 can without difficulty understand the  
reaction which was brought about4       
,wesleyanism had modified it in some    
portions of the country1 but intensified
 it in others4 ,deism apparently had had
 no great influence4 ,when the          
rationalist movement of the old world   
began to make itself felt1 it was at    
first largely through the influence of  
,france4 ,the religious life of the     
country at the beginning of the         
nineteenth century was at a low ebb4    
,men like ,belaham and ,priestley were  
known as apostles of a freer spirit in  
the treatment of the problem of         
religion4 ,priestley came to            
,pennsylvania in his exile4 ,in the     
large1 however1 one may say that the    

,new ,england liberal movement1 which   
came by and by to be called ,unitarian1 
was as truly ,american as was the       
orthodoxy to which it was opposed4      
,channing reminds one often of          
,schleiermacher4 ,there is no evidence  
that he had learned from                
,schleiermacher4 ,the liberal movement  
by its very impetuosity gave a new lease
 of life to an orthodoxy which1 without 
that antagonism1 would sooner have      
waned4 ,the great revivals1 which were a
 benediction to the life of the country1
 were thought to have closer relation to
 the theology of those who participated 
in them than they had4 ,the breach      
between the liberal and conservative    
tendencies of religious thought in this 
country came at a time when the         
philosophical reconstruction was already
 well under way in ,europe4 ,the debate 
continued until long after the          
biblical-critical movement was in       
progress4 ,the controversy was conducted
 upon both sides in practically total   

ignorance of these facts4 ,there are    
traces upon both sides of that insight  
which makes the mystic a discoverer in  
religion1 before the logic known to him 
will sustain the conclusion which he    
draws4 ,there will always be interest in
 the literature of a discussion         
conducted by reverent and1 in their own 
way1 learned and original men4 ,yet     
there is a pathos about the sturdy      
originality of good men expended upon a 
problem which had been already solved4  
,the men in either camp proceeded from  
assumptions which are now impossible to 
the men of both4 ,it was not until after
 the ,civil ,war that ,american students
 of theology began in numbers to study  
in ,germany4 ,it is a much more recent  
thing that one may assume the immediate 
reading of foreign books1 or boast of   
current contribution from ,american     
scholars to the labour of the world's   
thought upon these themes4  ,we should  
make a great mistake if we supposed that
 the progress has been an unceasing     

forward movement4 ,quite the contrary1  
in every aspect of it the life of the   
early part of the nineteenth century    
presents the spectacle of a great       
reaction4 ,the resurgence of old ideas  
and forces seems almost incredible4 ,in 
the political world we are wont to      
attribute this fact to the              
disillusionment which the ,french       
,revolution had wrought1 and the        
suffering which the ,napoleonic ,empire 
had entailed4 ,the reaction in the world
 of thought1 and particularly of        
religious thought1 was1 moreover1 as    
marked as that in the world of deeds4   
,the ,roman ,church profited by this    
swing of the pendulum in the minds of   
men as much as did the absolute ,state4 
,almost the first act of ,pius ,,vii4   
after his return to ,rome in #ahad1 was 
the revival of the ,society of ,jesus1  
which had been after long agony in #aggc
 dissolved by the papacy itself4 ',altar
 and throne' became the watchword of an 
ardent attempt at restoration of all of 

that which millions had given their     
lives to do away4 ,all too easily1 one  
who writes in sympathy with that which  
is conventionally called progress may   
give the impression that our period is  
one in which movement has been all in   
one direction4 ,that is far from being  
true4 ,one whose very ideal of progress 
is that of movement in directions       
opposite to those we have described may 
well say that the nineteenth century has
 had its gifts for him as well4 ,the    
life of mankind is too complex that one 
should write of it with one exclusive   
standard as to loss and gain4 ,and      
whatever be one's standard the facts    
cannot be ignored4  ,the ,france of the 
thirties and the forties saw a liberal  
movement within the ,roman ,church4 ,the
 names of ,lamennais1 of ,lacordaire1 of
 ,montalembert and ,ozanam1 the title   
l',avenir occur to men's minds at once4 
,perhaps there has never been in ,france
 a party more truly ,catholic1 more     
devout1 refined and tolerant1 more      

fitted to heal the breach between the   
cultivated and the ,church4 ,however1   
before the ,second ,empire1 an end had  
been made of that4 ,it cannot be said   
that the ,french ,church exactly        
favoured the infallibility4 ,it         
certainly did not stand against the     
decree as in the old days it would have 
done4 ,the decree of infallibility is   
itself the greatest witness of the      
steady progress of reaction in the      
,roman ,church4 ,that action1           
theoretically at least1 does away with  
even that measure of popular            
constitution in the ,church to which the
 end of the ,middle ,age had held fast  
without wavering1 which the mightiest of
 popes had not been able to abolish and 
the council of ,trent had not dared     
earnestly to debate4 ,whether the decree
 of #ahgj is viewed in the light of the 
,syllabus of ,errors of #ahfd1 and again
 of the ,encyclical of #aijg1 or whether
 the encyclicals are viewed in the light
 of the decree1 the fact remains that a 

power has been given to the ,curia      
against what has come to be called      
,modernism such as ,innocent never      
wielded against the heresies of his day4
 ,meantime1 so hostile are exactly those
 peoples among whom ,roman ,catholicism 
has had full sway1 that it would almost 
appear that the hope of the ,roman      
,church is in those countries in which1 
in the sequence of the ,reformation1 a  
religious tolerance obtains1 which the  
,roman ,church would have done          
everything in its power to prevent4     
,again1 we should deceive ourselves if  
we supposed that the reaction had been  
felt only in ,roman ,catholic lands4 ,a 
minister of ,prussia forbade ,kant to   
speak concerning religion4 ,the ,prussia
 of ,frederick ,william ,,iii4 and of   
,frederick ,william ,,iv4 was almost as 
reactionary as if ,metternich had ruled 
in ,berlin as well as in ,vienna4 ,the  
history of the censorship of the press  
and of the repression of free thought in
 ,germany until the year #ahdh is a sad 

chapter4 ,the ruling influences in the  
,lutheran ,church in that era1          
practically throughout ,germany1 were   
reactionary4 ,the universities did      
indeed in large measure retain their    
ancient freedom4 ,but the church in     
which ,hengstenberg could be a leader1  
and in which staunch seventeenth-century
 ,lutheranism could be effectively      
sustained1 was almost doomed to further 
that alienation between the life of     
piety and the life of learning which is 
so much to be deplored4 ,in the ,church 
the conservatives have to this moment   
largely triumphed4 ,in the theological  
faculties of the universities the       
liberals in the main have held their    
own4 ,the fact that both ,church and    
faculties are functionaries of the      
,state is often cited as sure in the end
 to bring about a solution of this      
unhappy state of things4 ,for such a    
solution1 it must be owned1 we wait4    
,the ,england of the period after #ahae 
had indeed no such cause for reaction as

 obtained in ,france or even in         
,germany4 ,the nation having had its    
,revolution in the seventeenth century  
escaped that of the eighteenth4 ,still  
the country was exhausted in the        
conflict against ,napoleon4 ,commercial1
 industrial and social problems agitated
 it4 ,the ,church slumbered4 ,for a time
 the liberal thought of ,england found  
utterance mainly through the poets4 ,by 
the decade of the thirties movement had 
begun4 ,the opinions of the ,noetics in 
,oriel ,college1 ,oxford1 now seem      
distinctly mild4 ,they were sufficient  
to awaken ,newman and ,pusey1 ,froude1  
,keble1 and the rest4 ,then followed the
 most significant ecclesiastical        
movement which the ,church of ,england  
in the nineteenth century has seen1 the 
,oxford or ,tractarian movement1 as it  
has been called4 ,there was conscious   
recurrence of a mind like that of       
,newman to the ,catholic position4 ,he  
had never been able to conceive religion
 in any other terms than those of dogma1

 or the ,christian assurance on any     
other basis than that of external       
authority4 ,nothing could be franker    
than the antagonism of the movement1    
from its inception1 to the liberal      
spirit of the age4 ,by inner logic      
,newman found himself at last in the    
,roman ,church4 ,yet the                
,anglo-,catholic movement is to-day     
overwhelmingly in the ascendant in the  
,english ,church4 ,the ,broad ,churchmen
 of the middle of the century have had  
few successors4 ,it is the ,high ,church
 which stands over against the great    
mass of the dissenting churches which1  
taken in the large1 can hardly be said  
to be theologically more liberal than   
itself4 ,it is the ,high ,church which  
has showed ,franciscanlike devotion in  
the problems of social readjustment     
which ,england to-day presents4 ,it has 
shown in some part of its constituency a
 power of assimilation of new           
philosophical1 critical and scientific  
views1 which makes all comparison of it 

with the ,roman ,church misleading4 ,and
 yet it remains in its own consciousness
 ,catholic to the core4  ,in ,america   
also the vigour of onset of the         
liberalising forces at the beginning of 
this century tended to provoke reaction4
 ,the alarm with which the defection of 
so considerable a portion of the        
,puritan ,church was viewed gave        
coherence to the opposition4 ,there were
 those who devoutly held that the hope  
of religion lay in its further          
liberalisation4 ,equally there were     
those who deeply felt that the          
deliverance lay in resistance to        
liberalisation4 ,one of the concrete    
effects of the division of the churches 
was the separation of the education of  
the clergy from the universities1 the   
entrusting it to isolated theological   
schools under denominational control4   
,the system has done less harm than     
might have been expected4 ,yet at       
present there would appear to be a      
general movement of recurrence to the   

elder tradition4 ,the maintenance of the
 religious life is to some extent a     
matter of nurture and observances1 of   
religious habit and practice4 ,this     
truth is one which liberals1 in their   
emphasis upon liberty and the           
individual1 are always in danger of     
overlooking4 ,the great revivals of     
religion in this century1 like those of 
the century previous1 have been         
connected with a form of religious      
thought pronouncedly pietistic4 ,the    
building up of religious institutions in
 the new regions of the ,west1 and the  
participation of the churches of the    
country in missions1 wear predominantly 
this cast4 ,antecedently1 one might have
 said that the lack of ecclesiastical   
cohesion among the ,christians of the   
land1 the ease with which a small group 
might split off for the furtherance of  
its own particular view1 would tend to  
liberalisation4 ,it is doubtful whether 
this is true4 ,isolation is not         
necessarily a condition of progress4    

,the emphasis upon trivial differences  
becomes rather a condition of their     
permanence4 ,the middle of the          
nineteenth century in the ,united       
,states was a period of intense         
denominationalism4 ,that is synonymous  
with a period of the stagnation of      
,christian thought4 ,the religion of a  
people absorbed in the practical is     
likely to be one which they at least    
suppose to be a practical religion4 ,in 
one age the most practical thing will   
appear to men to be to escape hell1 in  
another to further socialism4 ,the need 
of adjustment of religion to the great  
intellectual life of the world comes    
with contact with that life4 ,what      
strikes one in the survey of the        
religious thought of the country1 by and
 large1 for a century and a quarter1 is 
not so much that it has been            
reactionary1 as that it has been        
stationary4 ,almost every other aspect  
of the life of our country1 including   
even that of religious life as          

distinguished from religious thought1   
has gone ahead by leaps and bounds4     
,this it is which in a measure has      
created the tension which we feel4   ,b4
 ,,the ,,background  ,deism   ,in       
,england before the end of the ,civil   
,war a movement for the rationalisation 
of religion had begun to make itself    
felt4 ,it was in full force in the time 
of the ,revolution of #afhh4 ,it had not
 altogether spent itself by the middle  
of the eighteenth century4 ,the movement
 has borne the name of ,deism4 ,in so   
far as it had one watchword1 this came  
to be 'natural religion4' ,the          
antithesis had in mind was that to      
revealed religion1 as this had been set 
forth in the tradition of the ,church1  
and particularly under the bibliolatry  
of the ,puritans4 ,it is a witness to   
the liberty of speech enjoyed by        
,englishmen in that day and to their    
interest in religion1 that such a       
movement could have arisen largely among
 laymen who were often men of rank4 ,it 

is an honour to the ,english race that1 
in the period of the rising might of the
 rational spirit throughout the western 
world1 men should have sought at once to
 utilise that force for the restatement 
of religion4 ,yet one may say quite     
simply that this undertaking of the     
deists was premature4 ,the time was not 
ripe for the endeavour4 ,the rationalist
 movement itself needed greater breadth 
and deeper understanding of itself4     
,above all1 it needed the salutary      
correction of opposing principles before
 it could avail for this delicate and   
difficult task4 ,religion is the most   
conservative of human interests4        
,rationalism would be successful in     
establishing a new interpretation of    
religion only after it had been         
successful in many other fields4 ,the   
arguments of the deists were never      
successfully refuted4 ,on the contrary1 
the striking thing is that their        
opponents1 the militant divines and     
writings of numberless volumes of       

',evidences for ,christianity1' had come
 to the same rational basis with the    
deists4 ,they referred even the most    
subtle questions to the pure reason1 as 
no one now would do4 ,the deistical     
movement was not really defeated4 ,it   
largely compelled its opponents to adopt
 its methods4 ,it left a deposit which  
is more nearly rated at its worth at the
 present than it was in its own time4   
,but it ceased to command confidence1 or
 even interest4 ,samuel ,johnson said1  
as to the publication of ,bolingbroke's 
work by his executor1 three years after 
the author's death3 ',it was a rusty old
 blunderbuss1 which he need not have    
been afraid to discharge himself1       
instead of leaving a half-crown to a    
,scotchman to let it off after his      
death4'  ,it is a great mistake1        
however1 in describing the influence of 
rationalism upon ,christian thought to  
deal mainly with deism4 ,english deism  
made itself felt in ,france1 as one may 
see in the case of ,voltaire4 ,kant was 

at one time deeply moved by some        
,english writers who would be assigned  
to this class4 ,in a sense ,kant showed 
traces of the deistical view to the     
last4 ,the centre of the rationalistic  
movement had1 however1 long since passed
 from ,england to the ,continent4 ,the  
religious problem was no longer its     
central problem4 ,we quite fail to      
appreciate what the nineteenth century  
owes to the eighteenth and to the       
rationalist movement in general1 unless 
we view this latter in a far greater    
way4   ,rationalism   ,in #aghd ,kant   
wrote a tractate entitled1 ,was ist     
,aufklrung8 ,he said3 ',aufklrung is the
 advance of man beyond the stage of     
voluntary immaturity4 ,by immaturity is 
meant a man's inability to use his      
understanding except under the guidance 
of another4 ,the immaturity is voluntary
 when the cause is not want of          
intelligence but of resolution4 ,sapere 
aude6 ,dare to use thine own            
understanding1 is therefore the motto of

 free thought4 ,if it be asked1 ,do we  
live in a free-thinking age8 the answer 
is1 ,no1 but we live in an age of free  
thought4 ,as things are at present1 men 
in general are very far from possessing1
 or even from being able to acquire1 the
 power of making a sure and right use of
 their own understanding without the    
guidance of others4 ,on the other hand1 
we have clear indications that the field
 now lies1 nevertheless1 open before    
them1 to which they can freely make     
their way and that the hindrances to    
general freedom of thought are gradually
 becoming less4 ,and again he says3 ',if
 we wish to insure the true use of the  
understanding by a method which is      
universally valid1 we must first        
critically examine the laws which are   
involved in the very nature of the      
understanding itself4 ,for the knowledge
 of a truth which is valid for everyone 
is possible only when based on laws     
which are involved in the nature of the 
human mind1 as such1 and have not been  

imported into it from without through   
facts of experience1 which must always  
be accidental and conditional4'  ,there 
speaks1 of course1 the prophet of the   
new age which was to transcend the old  
rationalist movement4 ,men had come to  
harp in complacency upon reason4 ,they  
had never inquired into the nature and  
laws of action of the reason itself4    
,kant1 though in fullest sympathy with  
its fundamental principles1 was yet     
aware of the excesses and weaknesses in 
which the rationalist movement was      
running out4 ,no man was ever more truly
 a child of rationalism4 ,no man has    
ever written1 to whom the human reason  
was more divine and inviolable4 ,yet no 
man ever had greater reserves within    
himself which rationalism1 as it had    
been1 had never touched4 ,it was he1    
therefore1 who could lay the foundations
 for a new and nobler philosophy for the
 future4 ,the word ,aufklrung1 which the
 speech of the ,fatherland furnished    
him1 is a better word than ours4 ,it is 

a better word than the ,french          
l',illuminisme1 the ,enlightenment4     
,still we are apparently committed to   
the term ,rationalism1 although it is   
not an altogether fortunate designation 
which the ,english-speaking race has    
given to a tendency practically         
universal in the thinking of ,europe1   
from about #afej to the beginning of the
 nineteenth century4 ,historically1 the 
rationalistic movement was the necessary
 preliminary for the modern period of   
,european civilization as distinguished 
from the ecclesiastically and           
theologically determined culture which  
had prevailed up to that time4 ,it marks
 the great cleft between the ancient and
 medival world of culture on the one    
hand and the modern world on the other4 
,the ,reformation had but pushed ajar   
the door to the modern world and then   
seemed in surprise and fear about to    
close it again4 ,the thread of the      
,renaissance was taken up again only in 
the ,enlightenment4 ,the stream flowed  

underground which was yet to fertilise  
the modern world4  ,we are here mainly  
concerned to note the breadth and       
universality of the movement4 ,it was a 
transformation of culture1 a change in  
the principles underlying civilisation1 
in all departments of life4 ,it had     
indeed1 as one of its most general      
traits1 the antagonism to ecclesiastical
 and theological authority4 ,whatever it
 was doing1 it was never without a      
sidelong glance at religion4 ,that was  
because the alleged divine right of     
churches and states was the one might   
which it seemed everywhere necessary to 
break4 ,the conflict with               
ecclesiasticism1 however1 was taken up  
also by ,pietism1 the other great       
spiritual force of the age4 ,this was in
 spite of the fact that the ,pietists'  
view of religion was the opposite of the
 rationalist view4 ,rationalism was     
characterised by thorough-going         
antagonism to supernaturalism with all  
its consequences4 ,this arose from its  

zeal for the natural and the human1 in a
 day when all men1 defenders and        
assailants of religion alike1 accepted  
the dictum that what was human could not
 be divine1 the divine must necessarily 
be the opposite of the human4 ,in       
reality this general trait of opposition
 to religion deceives us4 ,it is        
superficial4 ,in large part the         
rationalists were willing to leave the  
question of religion on one side if the 
ecclesiastics would let them alone4     
,this is true in spite of the fact that 
the pot-house rationalism of ,germany   
and ,france in the eighteenth century   
found the main butt of its ridicule in  
the priesthood and the ,church4 ,on its 
sober side1 in the studies of scholars1 
in the bureaux of statesmen1 in the     
laboratories of discoverers1 it found   
more solid work4 ,it accomplished       
results which that other trivial aspect 
must not hide from us4  ,troeltsch first
 in our own day has given us a          
satisfactory account of the vast        

achievement of the movement in every    
department of human life4#b ,it         
annihilated the theological notion of   
the ,state4 ,in the period after the    
,thirty ,years' ,war men began to       
question what had been the purpose of it
 all4 ,diplomacy freed itself from      
,jesuitical and papal notions4 ,it      
turned preponderantly to commercial and 
economic aims4 ,a secular view of the   
purpose of ,god in history began to     
prevail in all classes of society4 ,the 
,grand ,monarque was ready to proclaim  
the divine right of the ,state which was
 himself4 ,still1 not until the period  
of his dotage did that claim bear any   
relation to what even he would have     
called religion4 ,publicists1 both      
,catholic and ,protestant1 sought to    
recur to the lex natur in               
contradistinction with the old lex      
divina4 ,the natural rights of man1 the 
rights of the people1 the rationally    
conditioned rights of the ,state1 a     
natural1 prudential1 utilitarian        

morality interested men4 ,one of the    
consequences of this theory of the      
,state was a complete alteration in the 
thought of the relation of ,state and   
,church4 ,the nature of the ,church     
itself as an empirical institution in   
the midst of human society was subjected
 to the same criticism with the ,state4 
,men saw the ,church in a new light4 ,as
 the ,state was viewed as a kind of     
contract in men's social interest1 so   
the ,church was regarded as but a       
voluntary association to care for their 
religious interests4 ,it was to be      
judged according to the practical       
success with which it performed this    
function4  ,footnote #b3 ,troeltsch1    
,art4 ',aufklrung' in ,herzog-,hauck1   
,realencylopdie1 #c ,aufl41 ,bd4 ii41 s4
 #bbe f4  ,then also1 in the economic   
and social field the rational spirit    
made itself felt4 ,commerce and the     
growth of colonies1 the extension of the
 middle class1 the redistribution of    
wealth1 the growth of cities1 the       

dependence in relations of trade of one 
nation upon another1 all these things   
shook the ancient organisation of       
society4 ,the industrial system grew up 
upon the basis of a naturalistic theory 
of all economic relations4 ,unlimited   
freedom in labour and in the use of     
capital were claimed4 ,there came a     
great revolution in public opinion upon 
all matters of morals4 ,the ferocity of 
religious wars1 the cruelty of religious
 controversies1 the bigotry of the      
confessional1 these all1 which1 only a  
generation earlier1 had been taken by   
long-suffering humanity as if they had  
been matters of course1 were now viewed 
with contrition by the more exalted     
spirits and with contempt and           
embitterment by the rest4 ,men said1 if 
religion can give us not better morality
 than this1 it is high time we looked to
 the natural basis of morality4 ,natural
 morality came to be the phrase ever on 
the lips of the leading spirits4 ,too   
frequently they had come to look askance

 at the morality of those who alleged a 
supernatural sanction for that which    
they at least enjoined upon others4 ,we 
come in this field also1 as in others1  
upon the assertion of the human as      
nobler and more beautiful than that     
which had by the theologians been       
alleged to be divine4 ,the assertion    
came indeed to be made in ribald and    
blasphemous forms1 but it was not       
without a great measure of provocation4 
,then there was the altered view of     
nature which came through the scientific
 discoveries of the age4 ,bacon1        
,copernicus1 ,kepler1 ,galileo1         
,gassendi1 ,newton1 are the fathers of  
the modern sciences4 ,these are the men 
who brought new worlds to our knowledge 
and new methods to our use4 ,that the   
sun does not move about the earth1 that 
the earth is but a speck in space1 that 
heaven cannot be above nor hell beneath1
 these are thoughts which have          
consequences4 ,instead of the old       
deductive method1 that of the medival   

,aristotelianism1 which had been worse  
than fruitless in the study of nature1  
men now set out with a great enthusiasm 
to study facts1 and to observe their    
laws4 ,modern optics1 acoustics1        
chemistry1 geology1 zoology1 psychology 
and medicine1 took their rises within   
the period of which we speak4 ,the      
influence was indescribable4 ,newton    
might maintain his own simple piety side
 by side1 so to say1 with his character1
 as a scientific man1 though even he did
 not escape the accusation of being a   
,unitarian4 ,in the resistance which    
official religion offered at every step 
to the advance of the sciences1 it is   
small wonder if natures less placid     
found the maintenance of their ancestral
 faith too difficult4 ,natural science  
was deistic with ,locke and ,voltaire1  
it was pantheistic in the antique sense 
with ,shaftesbury1 it was               
pantheistic-mystical with ,spinoza1     
spiritualistic with ,descartes1 theistic
 with ,leibnitz1 materialistic with the 

men of the ,encyclopdia4 ,it was        
orthodox with nobody4 ,the miracle as   
traditionally defined became impossible4
 ,at all events it became the millstone 
around the neck of the apologists4 ,the 
movement went to an extreme4 ,all the   
evils of excess upon this side from     
which we since have suffered were       
forecast4 ,they were in a measure called
 out by the evils and errors which had  
so long reigned upon the other side4    
,again1 in the field of the writing of  
history and of the critique of ancient  
literatures1 the principles of rational 
criticism were worked out and applied in
 all seriousness4 ,then these maxims    
began to be applied1 sometimes timidly  
and sometimes in scorn and shallowness1 
to the sacred history and literature as 
well4 ,to claim1 as the defenders of the
 faith were fain to do1 that this one   
department of history was exempt1 was   
only to tempt historians to say that    
this was equivalent to confession that  
we have not here to do with history at  

all4  ,nor can we overlook the fact that
 the seventeenth and eighteenth         
centuries witnessed a great             
philosophical revival4 ,here again it is
 the rationalist principle which is     
everywhere at work4 ,the observations   
upon nature1 the new feeling concerning 
man1 the vast complex of facts and      
impulses which we have been able in     
these few words to suggest1 demanded a  
new philosophical treatment4 ,the       
philosophy which now took its rise was  
no longer the servant of theology4 ,it  
was1 at most1 the friend1 and even      
possibly the enemy1 of theology4 ,before
 the end of the rationalist period it   
was the master of theology1 though often
 wholly indifferent to theology1 exactly
 because of its sense of mastery4 ,the  
great philosophers of the eighteenth    
century1 ,hume1 ,berkeley1 and ,kant1   
belong with a part only of their work   
and tendency to the rationalist         
movement4 ,still their work rested upon 
that which had already been done by     

,spinoza and ,malebranche1 by ,hobbes   
and ,leibnitz1 by ,descartes and ,bayle1
 by ,locke and ,wolff1 by ,voltaire and 
the ,encyclopdists4 ,with all of the    
contrasts among these men there are     
common elements4 ,there is an ever      
increasing antipathy to the thought of  
original sin and of supernatural        
revelation1 there is the confidence of  
human reason1 the trust in the will of  
man1 the enthusiasm for the simple1 the 
natural1 the intelligible and practical1
 the hatred of what was scholastic and1 
above all1 the repudiation of authority4
  ,all these elements led1 toward the   
end of the period1 to the effort at the 
construction of a really rational       
theology4 ,leibnitz and ,lessing both   
worked at that problem4 ,however1 not   
until after the labours of ,kant was it 
possible to utilise the results of the  
rationalist movement for the            
reconstruction of theology4 ,if evidence
 for this statement were wanting1 it    
could be abundantly given from the work 

of ,herder4 ,he was younger than ,kant1 
yet the latter seems to have exerted but
 slight influence upon him4 ,he         
earnestly desired to reinterpret        
,christianity in the new light of his   
time1 yet perhaps no part of his work is
 so futile4   ,pietism   ,allusion has  
been made to pietism4 ,we have no need  
to set forth its own achievements4 ,we  
must recur to it merely as one of the   
influences which made the transition    
from the century of rationalism to bear1
 in ,germany1 an aspect different from  
that which it bore in any other land4   
,pietism had at first much in common    
with rationalism4 ,it shared with the   
latter its opposition to the whole      
administration of religion established  
by the ,state1 its antagonism to the    
social distinctions which prevailed1 its
 individualism1 its emphasis upon the   
practical4 ,it was part of a general    
religious reaction against              
ecclesiasticism1 as were also ,jansenism
 in ,france1 and ,methodism in ,england1

 and the ,whitefieldian revival in      
,america4 ,but1 through the character of
 ,spener1 and through the peculiarity of
 ,german social relations1 it gained an 
influence over the educated classes1    
such as ,methodism never had in         
,england1 nor1 on the whole1 the ,great 
,awakening in ,america4 ,in virtue of   
this1 ,german pietism was able1 among   
influential persons1 to present         
victorious opposition to the merely     
secular tendencies of the rationalistic 
movement4 ,in no small measure it       
breathed into that movement a religious 
quality which in other lands was utterly
 lacking4 ,it gave to it an ethical     
seriousness from which in other places  
it had too often set itself free4  ,in  
,england there had followed upon the age
 of the great religious conflict one of 
astounding ebb of spiritual interest4   
,men turned with all energy to the      
political and economic interests of a   
wholly modern civilisation4 ,they       
retained1 after a short period of       

friction1 a smug and latitudinarian     
orthodoxy1 which ,methodism did little  
to change4 ,in ,france not only was the 
,huguenot ,church annihilated1 but the  
,jansenist movement was savagely        
suppressed4 ,the tyranny of the ,bourbon
 ,state and the corruption of the       
,gallican ,church which was so deeply   
identified with it caused the           
rationalist movement to bear the trait  
of a passionate opposition to religion4 
,in the time of ,pascal1 ,jansenism had 
a moment when it bade fair to be to     
,france what pietism was to ,germany4   
,later1 in the anguish and isolation of 
the conflict the movement lost its poise
 and intellectual quality4 ,in ,germany1
 even after the temporary alliance of   
pietism and rationalism against the     
,church had been transcended1 and the   
length and breadth of their mutual      
antagonism had been revealed1 there     
remained a deep mutual respect and      
salutary interaction4 ,obscurantists and
 sentimentalists might denounce         

rationalism4 ,vulgar ranters like       
,dippel and ,barth might defame         
religion4 ,that had little weight as    
compared with the fact that ,klopstock1 
,hamann and ,herder1 ,jacobi1 ,goethe   
and ,jean ,paul1 had all passed at some 
time under the influence of pietism4    
,lessing learned from the ,moravians the
 undogmatic essence of religion4        
,schleiermacher was bred among the      
devoted followers of ,zinzendorf4 ,even 
the radicalism of ,kant retained from   
the teaching of his pietistic youth the 
stringency of its ethic1 the sense of   
the radical evil of human nature and of 
the categorical imperative of duty4 ,it 
would be hard to find anything to       
surpass his testimony to the purity of  
character and spirit of his parents1 or 
the beauty of the home life in which he 
was bred4 ,such facts as these made     
themselves felt both in the philosophy  
and in the poetry of the age4 ,the      
rationalist movement itself came to have
 an ethical and spiritual trait4 ,the   

triviality1 the morbidness and          
superstition of pietism received their  
just condemnation4 ,but among the       
leaders of the nation in every walk of  
life were some who felt the drawing to  
deal with ethical and religious problems
 in the untrammelled fashion which the  
century had taught4  ,we may be         
permitted to try to show the meaning of 
pietism by a concrete example4 ,no one  
can read the correspondence between the 
youthful ,schleiermacher and his loving 
but mistaken father1 or again1 the      
lifelong correspondence of              
,schleiermacher with his sister1 without
 receiving1 if he has any religion of   
his own1 a touching impression of what  
the pietistic religion meant4 ,the      
father had long before1 unknown to the  
son1 passed through the torments of the 
rational assault upon a faith which was 
sacred to him4 ,he had preached1 through
 years1 in the misery of contradiction  
with himself4 ,he had rescued his       
drowning soul in the ark of the most    

intolerant confessional orthodoxy4 ,in  
the crisis of his son's life he pitiably
 concealed these facts4 ,they should    
have been the bond of sympathy4 ,the    
son1 a sorrowful little motherless boy1 
was sent to the ,moravian school at     
,niesky1 and then to ,barby4 ,he was to 
escape the contamination of the         
universities1 and the woes through which
 his father had passed4 ,even there the 
spirit of the age pursued him4 ,the     
precocious lad1 in his loneliness1      
raised every question which the race was
 wrestling with4 ,he long concealed     
these facts1 dreading to wound the man  
he so revered4 ,then in a burst of      
filial candour1 he threw himself upon   
his father's mercy1 only to be abused   
and measurelessly condemned4 ,he had his
 way4 ,he resorted to ,halle1 turned his
 back on sacred things1 worked in       
titanic fashion at everything but the   
problem of religion4 ,at least he kept  
his life clean and his soul sensitive   
among the flagrantly immoral who were   

all about him1 even in the pietists' own
 university4 ,he laid the foundations   
for his future philosophical            
construction4 ,he bathed in the         
sentiments and sympathies1 poetic1      
artistic and humanitarian1 of the       
romanticist movement4 ,in his early     
,berlin period he was almost swept from 
his feet by its flood4 ,he rescued      
himself1 however1 by his rationalism and
 romanticism into a breadth and power of
 faith which made him the prophet of the
 new age4 ,by him1 for a generation1 men
 like-minded saved their souls4 ,as one 
reads1 one realises that it was the     
pietists' religion which saved him1 and 
which1 in another sense1 he saved4 ,his 
recollections of his instruction among  
the ,herrnhuter are full of beauty and  
pathos4 ,his sister never advanced a    
step upon the long road which he        
travelled4 ,yet his sympathy with her   
remained unimpaired4 ,the two poles of  
the life of the age are visible here4   
,the episode1 full of exquisite personal

 charm1 is a veritable miniature of the 
first fifty years of the movement which 
we have to record4 ,no one did for      
,england or for ,france what            
,schleiermacher had done for the        
,fatherland4   sthetic ,idealism        
,besides pietism1 the ,germany of the   
end of the eighteenth century possessed 
still another foil and counterpoise to  
its decadent rationalism4 ,this was the 
so-called sthetic-idealistic movement1  
which shades off into romanticism4 ,the 
debt of ,schleiermacher to that movement
 has been already hinted at4 ,it was the
 revolt of those who had this in common 
with the pietists1 that they hated and  
despised the outworn rationalism4 ,they 
thought they wanted no religion4 ,it is 
open to us to say that they             
misunderstood religion4 ,it was this    
misunderstanding which ,schleiermacher  
sought to bring home to them4 ,what     
religion they understood1               
ecclesiasticism1 ,roman or ,lutheran1 or
 again1 the banalities and fanaticisms  

of middle-class pietism1 they despised4 
,their war with rationalism was not     
because it had deprived man of religion4
 ,it had been equally destructive of    
another side of the life of feeling1 the
 sthetic4 ,their war was not on behalf  
of the good1 it was in the name of the  
beautiful4 ,rationalism had starved the 
soul1 it had minimised and derided      
feeling4 ,it had suppressed emotion4 ,it
 had been fatal to art4 ,it was barren  
of poetry4 ,it had had no sympathy with 
history and no understanding of history4
 ,it had reduced everything to the      
process by which two and two make four4 
,the pietists said that the frenzy for  
reason had made man oblivious of the    
element of the divine4 ,the sthetic     
idealists said that it had been fatal to
 the element of the human4 ,from this   
point of view their movement has been   
called the new humanism4 ,the glamour of
 life was gone1 they said4 ,mystery had 
vanished4 ,and mystery is the womb of   
every art4 ,rationalism had been        

absolutely uncreative1 only and always  
destructive4 ,rousseau had earlier      
uttered this wail in ,france1 and had   
greatly influenced certain minds in     
,germany4 ,shelley and ,keats were      
saying something of the sort in         
,england4 ,even as to ,wordsworth1 it   
may be an open question if his religion 
was not mainly romanticism4 ,all these  
men used language which had been        
conventionally associated with religion1
 to describe this other emotion4        
,rationalism had ended in proving deadly
 to ideals4 ,this was true4 ,but men    
forgot for the moment how glorious an   
ideal it had once been to be rational   
and to assert the rationality of the    
universe4 ,still the time had come when1
 in ,germany at all events1 the great   
cry was1 'back to the ideal4' ,it is    
curious that men always cry 'back' when 
they mean 'forward4' ,for it was not the
 old idealism1 either religious or      
sthetic1 which they were seeking4 ,it   
was a new one in which the sober fruits 

of rationalism should find place4       
,still1 for the moment1 as we have seen1
 the air was full of the cry1 'back to  
the ,state by divine right1 back to the 
,church1 back to the ,middle ,age1 back 
to the beauty of classical antiquity4'  
,the poetry1 the romance1 the artistic  
criticism of this movement set          
themselves free at a stroke from        
theological bondage and from the        
externality of conventional ethics4 ,it 
shook off the dust of the doctrinaires4 
,it ridiculed the petty utilitarianism  
which had been the vogue4 ,it had such  
an horizon as men had never dreamed     
before4 ,it owed that horizon to the    
rationalism it despised4 ,from its new  
elevation it surveyed all the great     
elements of the life of man4 ,it saw    
morals and religion1 language and       
society1 along with art and itself1 as  
the free and unconscious product through
 the ages1 of the vitality of the human 
spirit4 ,it must be said that it neither
 solved nor put away the ancient        

questions4 ,especially through its      
one-sided stheticism it veiled that     
element of dualism in the world which   
,kant clearly saw1 and we now see again1
 after a century which has sometimes    
leaned to easy pantheism4 ,however1 it  
led to a study of the human soul and of 
all its activities1 which came closer to
 living nature than anything which the  
world had yet seen4  ,to this group of  
sthetic idealists belong1 not to mention
 lesser names1 ,lessing and ,hamann and 
,winckelmann1 but above all ,herder and 
,goethe4 ,herder was surely the finest  
spirit among the elder contemporaries of
 ,goethe4 ,bitterly hostile to the      
rationalists1 he had been moved by      
,rousseau to enthusiasm for the free    
creative life of the human spirit4 ,with
 ,lessing he felt the worth of every art
 in and for itself1 and the greatness of
 life in its own fulfilment4 ,he sets   
out from the analysis of the poetic and 
artistic powers1 the appreciation of    
which seemed to him to be the key to the

 understanding of the spiritual world4  
,then first he approaches the analysis  
of the ethical and religious feeling4   
,all the knowledge and insight thus     
gained he gathers together into a       
history of the spiritual life of        
mankind4 ,this life of the human spirit 
comes forth everywhere from nature1 is  
bound to nature4 ,it constitutes one    
whole with a nature which the devout    
soul calls ,god1 and apprehends within  
itself as the secret of all that it is  
and does4 ,even in the period in which  
he had become passionately ,christian1  
,herder never was able to attain to a   
scientific establishing of his          
,christianity1 or to any sense of the   
specific aim of its development4 ,he    
felt himself to be separated from ,kant 
by an impassable gulf4 ,all the sharp   
antinomies among which ,kant moved1     
contrasts of that which is sensuous with
 that which is reasonable1 of experience
 with pure conception1 of substance and 
form in thought1 of nature and freedom1 

of inclination and duty1 seemed to      
,herder grossly exaggerated1 if not     
absolutely false4 ,sometimes ,herder    
speaks as if the end of life were simply
 the happiness which a man gets out of  
the use of all his powers and out of the
 mere fact of existence4 ,deeper is     
,kant's contention1 that the true aim of
 life can be only moral culture1 even   
independent of happiness1 or rather one 
must find his noblest happiness in that 
moral culture4  ,at a period in his life
 when ,herder had undergone conversion  
to court orthodoxy at ,bckeburg and     
threatened to throw away that for which 
his life had stood1 he was greatly      
helped by ,goethe4 ,the identification  
of ,herder with ,christianity continued 
to be more deep and direct than that of 
,goethe ever became1 yet ,goethe has    
also his measure of significance for our
 theme4 ,if he steadied ,herder in his  
religious experience1 he steadied others
 in their poetical emotionalism and     
artistic sentimentality1 which were fast

 becoming vices of the time4 ,the       
classic repose of his spirit1 his       
apparently unconscious illustration of  
the ancient maxim1 'nothing too much1'  
was the more remarkable1 because there  
were few influences in the whole gamut  
of human life to which he did not sooner
 or later surrender himself1 few        
experiences which he did not seek1 few  
areas of thought upon which he did not  
enter4 ,systems and theories were never 
much to his mind4 ,a fact1 even if it   
were inexplicable1 interested him much  
more4 ,to the evolution of formal       
thought in his age he held himself      
receptive rather than directing4 ,he    
kept1 to the last1 his own manner of    
brooding and creating1 within the limits
 of a poetic impressionableness which   
instinctively viewed the material world 
and the life of the soul in             
substantially similar fashion4 ,there is
 something almost humorous in the way in
 which he eagerly appropriated the      
results of the philosophising of his    

time1 in so far as he could use these to
 sustain his own positions1 and         
caustically rejected those which he     
could not thus use4 ,he soon got by     
heart the negative lessons of ,voltaire 
and found1 to use the words which he    
puts into the mouth of ,faust1 that     
while it freed him from his             
superstitions1 at the same time it made 
the world empty and dismal beyond       
endurance4 ,in the mechanical philosophy
 which presented itself in the ,systme  
de la ,nature as a positive substitute  
for his lost faith1 he found only that  
which filled his poet's soul with       
horror4 ',it appeared to us1' he says1  
'so grey1 so cimmerian and so dead that 
we shuddered at it as at a ghost4 ,we   
thought it the very quintessence of old 
age4 ,all was said to be necessary1 and 
therefore there was no ,god4 ,why not a 
necessity for a ,god to take its place  
among the other necessities6' ,on the   
other hand1 the ordinary teleological   
theology1 with its external architect of

 the world and its externally determined
 designs1 could not seem to ,goethe more
 satisfactory than the mechanical       
philosophy4 ,he joined for a time in    
,rousseau's cry for the return to       
nature4 ,but ,goethe was far too well   
balanced not to perceive that such a cry
 may be the expression of a very        
artificial and sophisticated state of   
mind4 ,it begins indeed in the desire to
 throw off that which is really         
oppressive4 ,it ends in a fretful and   
reckless revolt against the most        
necessary conditions of human life4     
,goethe lived long enough to see in     
,france that dissolution of all         
authority1 whether of ,state or ,church1
 for which ,rousseau had pined4 ,he saw 
it result in the return of a portion of 
mankind to what we now believe to have  
been their primitive state1 a state in  
which they were 'red in tooth and claw4'
 ,it was not that paradisaic state of   
love and innocence1 which1 curiously    
enough1 both ,rousseau and the          

theologians seem to have imagined was   
the primitive state4  ,the thought of   
the discipline and renunciation of our  
lower nature in order to the realisation
 of a higher nature of mankind is       
written upon the very face of the second
 part of ,faust4 ,certain passages in   
,dichtung and ,wahrheit are even more   
familiar4 ',our physical as well as our 
social life1 morality1 custom1 knowledge
 of the world1 philosophy1 religion1    
even many an accidental occurrence in   
our daily life1 all tell us that we must
 renounce4' ',renunciation1 once for    
all1 in view of the eternal1' that was  
the lesson which he said made him feel  
an atmosphere of peace breathed upon    
him4 ,he perceived the supreme moral    
prominence of certain ,christian ideas1 
especially that of the atonement as he  
interpreted it4 ',it is altogether      
strange to me1' he writes to ,jacobi1   
'that ,i1 an old heathen1 should see the
 cross planted in my own garden1 and    
hear ,christ's blood preached without   

its offending me4'  ,goethe's quarrel   
with ,christianity was due to two       
causes4 ,in the first place1 it was due 
to his viewing ,christianity as mainly1 
if not exclusively1 a religion of the   
other world1 as it has been called1 a   
religion whose ,god is not the principle
 of all life and nature and for which   
nature and life are not divine4 ,in the 
second place1 it was due to the         
prominence of the negative or ascetic   
element in ,christianity as commonly    
presented1 to the fact that in that     
presentation the law of self-sacrifice  
bore no relation to the law of          
self-realisation4 ,in both of these     
respects he would have found himself    
much more at home with the apprehension 
of ,christianity which we have inherited
 from the nineteenth century4 ,the      
programme of charity which he outlines  
in the ,wanderjahre as a substitute for 
religion would be taken to-day1 so far  
as it goes1 as a rather moderate        
expression of the very spirit of the    

,christian religion4     ,,chapter ,,ii 
,,idealistic ,,philosophy   ,the causes 
which we have named1 religious and      
sthetic1 as well as purely speculative1 
led to such a revision of philosophical 
principles in ,germany as took place in 
no other land4 ,the new idealistic      
philosophy1 as it took shape primarily  
at the hands of ,kant1 completed the    
dissolution of the old rationalism4 ,it 
laid the foundation for the speculative 
thought of the western world for the    
century which was to come4 ,the answers 
which stheticism and pietism gave to    
rationalism were incomplete4 ,they      
consisted largely in calling attention  
to that which rationalism had           
overlooked4 ,kant's idealism1 however1  
met the intellectual movement on its own
 grounds4 ,it triumphed over it with its
 own weapons4 ,the others set feeling   
over against thought4 ,he taught men a  
new method in thinking4 ,the others put 
emotion over against reason4 ,he        
criticised in drastic fashion the use   

which had been made of reason4 ,he      
inquired into the nature of reason4 ,he 
vindicated the reasonableness of some   
truths which men had indeed felt to be  
indefeasibly true1 but which they had   
not been able to establish by reasoning4
   ,,kant   ,immanuel ,kant was born in 
#agbd in ,knigsberg1 possibly of remoter
 ,scottish ancestry4 ,his father was a  
saddler1 as ,melanchthon's had been an  
armourer and ,wolff's a tanner4 ,his    
native city with its university was the 
scene of his whole life and labour4 ,he 
was never outside of ,prussia except for
 a brief interval when ,knigsberg       
belonged to ,russia4 ,he was a ,german  
professor of the old style4 ,studying1  
teaching1 writing books1 these were his 
whole existence4 ,he was the fourth of  
nine children of a devoted pietist      
household4 ,two of his sisters served in
 the houses of friends4 ,the            
consistorial-rath opened the way to the 
university4 ,an uncle aided him to      
publish his first books4 ,his earlier   

interest was in the natural sciences4   
,he was slow in coming to promotion4    
,only after #aggj was he full professor 
of logic and metaphysics4 ,in #agha he  
published the first of the books upon   
which rests his world-wide fame4        
,nevertheless1 he lived to see the      
triumph of his philosophy in most of the
 ,german universities4 ,his subjects are
 abstruse1 his style involved4 ,it never
 occurred to him to make the treatment  
of his themes easier by use of the      
imagination4 ,he had but a modicum of   
that quality4 ,he was hostile to the    
pride of intellect often manifested by  
petty rationalists4 ,he was almost      
equally hostile to excessive enthusiasm 
in religion4 ,the note of his life1     
apart from his intellectual power1 was  
his ethical seriousness4 ,he was in     
conflict with ecclesiastical personages 
and out of sympathy with much of        
institutional religion4 ,none the less1 
he was in his own way one of the most   
religious of men4 ,his brief conflict   

with ,wllner's government was the only  
instance in which his peace and public  
honour were disturbed4 ,he never        
married4 ,he died in ,knigsberg in      
#ahjd4 ,he had been for ten years so    
much enfeebled that his death was a     
merciful release4  ,kant used the word  
'critique' so often that his philosophy 
has been called the 'critical           
philosophy4' ,the word therefore needs  
an explanation4 ,kant himself           
distinguished two types of philosophy1  
which he called the dogmatic and        
critical types4 ,the essence of a       
dogmatic philosophy is that it makes    
belief to rest upon knowledge4 ,its     
endeavour is to demonstrate that which  
is believed4 ,it brings out as its foil 
the characteristically sceptical        
philosophy4 ,this esteems that the      
proofs advanced in the interest of      
belief are inadequate4 ,the belief      
itself is therefore an illusion4 ,the   
essence of a critical philosophy1 on the
 other hand1 consists in this1 that it  

makes a distinction between the         
functions of knowing and believing4 ,it 
distinguishes between the perception of 
that which is in accordance with natural
 law and the understanding of the moral 
meaning of things4#c ,kant thus uses his
 word critique in accordance with the   
strict etymological meaning of the root4
 ,he seeks to make a clear separation   
between the provinces of belief and     
knowledge1 and thus to find an          
adjustment of their claims4 ,of an      
object of belief we may indeed say that 
we know it4 ,yet we must make clear to  
ourselves that we know it in a different
 sense from that in which we know       
physical fact4 ,faith1 since it does not
 spring from the pure reason1 cannot    
indeed1 as the old dogmatisms1 both     
philosophical and theological1 have     
united in asserting1 be demonstrated by 
the reason4 ,equally it cannot1 as      
scepticism has declared1 be overthrown  
by the pure reason4  ,the ancient       
positive dogmatism had been the         

idealistic philosophy of ,plato and     
,aristotle4 ,the old negative dogmatism 
had been the materialism of the         
,epicureans4 ,to ,plato the world was   
the realisation of ideas4 ,ideas1       
spiritual entities1 were the            
counterparts and necessary antecedents  
of the natural objects and actual facts 
of life4 ,to the ,epicureans1 on the    
other hand1 there are only material     
bodies and natural laws4 ,there are no  
ideas or purposes4 ,in the footsteps of 
the former moved all the scholastics of 
the ,middle ,age1 and again1 even ,locke
 and ,leibnitz in their so-called       
'natural theology4' ,in the footsteps of
 the latter moved the men who had made  
materialism and scepticism to be the    
dominant philosophy of ,france in the   
latter half of the eighteenth century4  
,the aim of ,kant was to resolve this   
age-long contradiction4 ,free1          
unprejudiced investigation of the facts 
and laws of the phenomenal world can    
never touch the foundations of faith4   

,natural science can lead in the        
knowledge only of the realm of the laws 
of things4 ,it cannot give us the inner 
moral sense of those things4 ,to speak  
of the purposes of nature as men had    
done was absurd4 ,natural theology1 as  
men had talked of it1 was impossible4   
,what science can give is a knowledge of
 the facts about us in the world1 of the
 growth of the cosmos1 of the           
development of life1 of the course of   
history1 all viewed as necessary        
sequences of cause and effect4          
,footnote #c3 ,paulsen1 ,kant1 a4 #b4   
,on the other hand1 with the idealists1 
,kant is fully persuaded that there is a
 meaning in things and that we can know 
it4 ,there is a sense in life4 ,with    
immediate certainty we set moral good as
 the absolute aim in life4 ,this is     
done1 however1 not through the pure     
reason or by scientific thinking1 but   
primarily through the will1 or as ,kant 
prefers to call it1 the practical       
reason4 ,what is meant by the practical 

reason is the intelligence1 the will and
 the affections operating together2 that
 is to say1 the whole man and not merely
 his intellect1 directed to those       
problems upon which1 in sympathy and    
moral reaction1 the whole man must be   
directed and upon which the pure reason1
 the mere faculty of ratiocination1 does
 not adequately operate4 ,in the        
practical reason the will is the central
 thing4 ,the will is that faculty of man
 to which moral magnitudes appeal4 ,it  
is with moral magnitudes that the will  
is primarily concerned4 ,the pure reason
 may operate without the will and the   
affections4 ,the will1 as a source of   
knowledge1 never works without the      
intelligence and the affections4 ,but it
 is the will which alone judges         
according to the predicates good and    
evil4 ,the pure reason judges according 
to the predicates true and false4 ,it is
 the practical reason which ventures the
 credence that moral worth is the       
supreme worth in life4 ,it then confirms

 this ventured credence in a manifold   
experience that yields a certainty with 
which no certainty of objects given in  
the senses is for a moment to be        
compared4 ,we know that which we have   
believed4 ,we know it as well as that   
two and two make four4 ,still we do not 
know it in the same way4 ,nor can we    
bring knowledge of it to others save    
through an act of freedom on their part1
 which is parallel to the original act  
of freedom on our own part4  ,how can   
these two modes of thought stand related
 the one to the other8 ,kant's answer is
 that they correspond to the distinction
 between two worlds1 the world of sense 
and the transcendental or supersensible 
world4 ,the pure and the practical      
reason are the faculties of man for     
dealing with these two worlds           
respectively1 the phenomenal and the    
noumenal4 ,the world which is the object
 of scientific investigation is not the 
actuality itself4 ,this is true in spite
 of the fact that to the common man the 

material and sensible is always1 as he  
would say1 the real4 ,on the contrary1  
in ,kant's opinion the material world is
 only the presentation to our senses of 
something deeper1 of which our senses   
are no judge4 ,the reality lies behind  
this sensible presentation and          
appearance4 ,the world of religious     
belief is the world of this transcendent
 reality4 ,the spirit of man1 which is  
not pure reason only1 but moral will as 
well1 recognises itself also as part of 
this reality4 ,it expresses the essence 
of that mysterious reality in terms of  
its own essence4 ,its own essence as    
free spirit is the highest aspect of    
reality of which it is aware4 ,it may be
 unconscious of the symbolic nature of  
its language in describing that which is
 higher than anything which we know1 by 
the highest which we do know4 ,yet1     
granting that1 and supposing that it is 
not a contradiction to attempt a        
description of the transcendent at all1 
there is no description which carries us

 so far4  ,this series of ideas was     
perhaps that which gave to ,kant's      
philosophy its immediate and immense    
effect upon the minds of men wearied    
with the endless strife and insoluble   
contradiction of the dogmatic and       
sceptical spirits4 ,we may disagree with
 much else in the ,kantian system4 ,even
 here we may say that we have not two   
reasons1 but only two functionings of   
one4 ,we have not two worlds4 ,the      
philosophical myth of two worlds has no 
better standing than the religious myth 
of two worlds4 ,we have two             
characteristic aspects of one and the   
same world4 ,these perfectly            
interpenetrate the one the other1 if we 
may help ourselves with the language of 
space4 ,each is everywhere present4     
,furthermore1 these actions of reason   
and aspects of world shade into one     
another by imperceptible degrees4       
,almost all functionings of reason have 
something of the qualities of both4     
,however1 when all is said1 it was of   

greatest worth to have had these two    
opposite poles of thought brought       
clearly to mind4 ,the dogmatists1 in the
 interest of faith1 were resisting at   
every step the progress of the sciences1
 feeling that that progress was inimical
 to faith4 ,the devotees of science were
 saying that its processes were of      
universal validity1 its conclusions     
irresistible1 the gradual dissolution of
 faith was certain4 ,kant made plain    
that neither party had the right to such
 conclusions4 ,each was attempting to   
apply the processes appropriate to one  
form of rational activity within the    
sphere which belonged to the other4     
,nothing but confusion could result4    
,the religious man has no reason to be  
jealous of the advance of the sciences4 
,the interests of faith itself are      
furthered by such investigation4        
,illusions as to fact which have been   
mistakenly identified with faith are    
thus done away4 ,nevertheless1 its own  
eternal right is assured to faith4 ,with

 it lies the interpretation of the facts
 of nature and of history1 whatever     
those facts may be found to be4 ,with   
the practical reason is the             
interpretation of these facts according 
to their moral worth1 a worth of which  
the pure reason knows nothing and       
scientific investigation reveals        
nothing4  ,here was a deliverance not   
unlike that which the ,reformation had  
brought4 ,the mingling of               
,aristotelianism and religion in the    
scholastic theology ,luther had         
assailed4 ,instead of assent to human   
dogmas ,luther had the immediate        
assurance of the heart that ,god was on 
his side4 ,and what is that but a       
judgment of the practical reason1 the   
response of the heart in man to the     
spiritual universe8 ,it is given in     
experience4 ,it is not mediated by      
argument4 ,it cannot be destroyed by    
syllogism4 ,it needs no confirmation    
from science4 ,it is capable of         
combination with any of the changing    

interpretations which science may put   
upon the outward universe4 ,the         
,reformation had1 however1 not held fast
 to its great truth4 ,it had gone back  
to the old scholastic position4 ,it had 
rested faith in an essentially          
rationalistic manner upon supposed facts
 in nature and alleged events of history
 in connection with the revelation4 ,it 
had thus jeopardised the whole content  
of faith1 should these supposed facts of
 nature or events in history be at any  
time disproved4 ,men had made faith to  
rest upon statements of ,scripture1     
alleging such and such acts and events4 
,they did not recognise these as the    
nave and childlike assumptions          
concerning nature and history which the 
authors of ,scripture would naturally   
have4 ,when1 therefore1 these statements
 began with the progress of the sciences
 to be disproved1 the defenders of the  
faith presented always the feeble       
spectacle of being driven from one form 
of evidence to another1 as the old were 

in turn destroyed4 ,the assumption was  
rife at the end of the eighteenth       
century that ,christianity was          
discredited in the minds of all free and
 reasonable men4 ,its tenets were       
incompatible with that which enlightened
 men infallibly knew to be true4 ,it    
could be no long time until the         
hollowness and sham would be patent to  
all4 ,even the interested and the       
ignorant would be compelled to give it  
up4 ,of course1 the invincibly devout in
 every nation felt of instinct that this
 was not true4 ,they felt that there is 
an inexpugnable truth of religion4      
,still that was merely an intuition of  
their hearts4 ,they were right4 ,but    
they were unable to prove that they were
 right1 or even to get a hearing with   
many of the cultivated of their age4 ,to
 ,kant we owe the debt1 that he put an  
end to this state of things4 ,he made   
the real evidence for religion that of  
the moral sense1 of the nonscience and  
hearts of men themselves4 ,the real     

ground of religious conviction is the   
religious experience4 ,he thus set free 
both science and religion from an       
embarrassment under which both laboured1
 and by which both had been injured4    
,kant parted company with the empirical 
philosophy which had held that all      
knowledge arises from without1 comes    
from experienced sensations1 is         
essentially perception4 ,this theory had
 not been able to explain the fact that 
human experience always conforms to     
certain laws4 ,on the other hand1 the   
philosophy of so-called innate ideas had
 sought to derive all knowledge from the
 constitution of the mind itself4 ,it   
left out of consideration the dependence
 of the mind upon experience4 ,it tended
 to confound the creations of its own   
speculation with reality1 or rather1 to 
claim correspondence with fact for      
statements which had no warrant in      
experience4 ,there was no limit to which
 this speculative process might not be  
pushed4 ,by this process the medieval   

theologians1 with all gravity1          
propounded the most absurd speculations 
concerning nature4 ,by this process men 
made the most astonishing declarations  
upon the basis1 as they supposed1 of    
revelation4 ,they made allegations      
concerning history and the religious    
experience which the most rudimentary   
knowledge of history or reflection upon 
consciousness proved to be quite        
contrary to fact4  ,both empiricism and 
the theory of innate ideas had agreed in
 regarding all knowledge as something   
given1 from without or from within4 ,the
 knowing mind was only a passive        
recipient of impressions thus imparted  
to it4 ,it was as wax under the stylus1 
tabula rasa1 clean paper waiting to be  
written upon4 ,kant departed from this  
radically4 ,he declared that all        
cognition rests upon the union of the   
mind's activity with its receptivity4   
,the material of thought1 or at least   
some of the materials of thought1 must  
be given us in the multiformity of our  

perceptions1 through what we call       
experience from the outer world4 ,on the
 other hand1 the formation of this      
material into knowledge is the work of  
the activity of our own minds4          
,knowledge is the result of the         
systematising of experience and of      
reflection upon it4 ,this activity of   
the mind takes place always in          
accordance with the mind's own laws4    
,kant held them to the absolute         
dependence of knowledge upon material   
applied in experience4 ,he compared     
himself to ,copernicus who had taught   
men that they themselves revolved around
 a central fact of the universe4 ,they  
had supposed that the facts revolved    
about them4 ,the central fact of the    
intellectual world is experience4 ,this 
experience seems to be given us in the  
forms of time and space and cause4      
,these are merely forms of the mind's   
own activity4 ,it is not possible for us
 to know 'the thing in itself1' the     
,ding an sich in ,kant's phrase1 which  

is the external factor in any sensation 
or perception4 ,we cannot distinguish   
that external factor from the           
contribution to it1 as it stands in our 
perception1 which our own minds have    
made4 ,if we cannot do that even for    
ourselves1 how much less can we do it   
for others6 ,it is the subject1 the     
thinking being who says ',i1' which1 by 
means of its characteristic and         
necessary active processes1 in the      
perception of things under the forms of 
time and space1 converts the chaotic    
material of knowledge into a regular and
 ordered world of reasoned experience4  
,in this sense the understanding itself 
imposes laws1 if not upon nature1 yet1  
at least1 upon nature as we can ever    
know it4 ,there is thus in ,kant's      
philosophy a sceptical aspect4          
,knowledge is limited to phenomena4 ,we 
cannot by pure reason know anything of  
the world which lies beyond experience4 
,this thought had been put forth by     
,locke and ,berkeley1 and by ,hume also1

 in a different way4 ,but with ,kant    
this scepticism was not the gist of his 
philosophy4 ,it was urged rather as the 
basis of the unconditioned character    
which he proposed to assert for the     
practical reason4 ,kant's scepticism is 
therefore very different from that of   
,hume4 ,it does not militate against the
 profoundest religious conviction4 ,yet 
it prepared the way for some of the just
 claims of modern agnosticism4          
,according to ,kant1 it is as much the  
province of the practical reason to lay 
down laws for action as it is the       
province of pure reason to determine the
 conditions of thought1 though the      
practical reason can define only the    
form of action which shall be in the    
spirit of duty4 ,it cannot present duty 
to us as an object of desire4 ,desire   
can be only a form of self-love4 ,in the
 end it reckons with the advantage of   
having done one's duty4 ,it thus becomes
 selfish and degraded4 ,the             
identification of duty and interest was 

particularly offensive to ,kant4 ,he was
 at war with every form of hedonism4 ,to
 do one's duty because one expects to   
reap advantage is not to have done one's
 duty4 ,the doing of duty in this spirit
 simply resolves itself into a subtler  
and more pervasive form of selfishness4 
,he castigates the popular presentation 
of religion as fostering this same      
fault4 ,on the other hand1 there is a   
trait of rigorism in ,kant1 a survival  
of the ancient dualism1 which was not   
altogether consistent with the          
implications of his own philosophy4     
,this philosophy afforded1 as we have   
seen1 the basis for a monistic view of  
the universe4 ,but to his mind the      
natural inclinations of man are opposed 
to good conscience and sound reason4 ,he
 had contempt for the shallow optimism  
of his time1 according to which the     
nature of man was all good1 and needed  
only to be allowed to run its natural   
course to produce highest ethical       
results4 ,he does not seem to have      

penetrated to the root of ,rousseau's   
fallacy1 the double sense in which he   
constantly used the words 'nature' and  
'natural4' ,otherwise1 ,kant would have 
been able to repudiate the preposterous 
doctrine of ,rousseau1 without himself  
falling back upon the doctrine of the   
radical evil of human nature4 ,in this  
doctrine he is practically at one with  
the popular teaching of his own         
pietistic background1 and with          
,calvinism as it prevailed with many of 
the religiously-minded of his day4 ,in  
its extreme statements the latter       
reminds one of the pagan and oriental   
dualisms which so long ran parallel to  
the development of ,christian thought   
and so profoundly influenced it4        
,kant's system is not at one with itself
 at this point4 ,according to him the   
natural inclinations of men are such as 
to produce a never-ending struggle      
between duty and desire4 ,to desire to  
do a thing made him suspicious that he  
was not actuated by the pure spirit of  

duty in doing it4 ,the sense in which   
man may be in his nature both a child of
 ,god1 and1 at the same time1 part of   
the great complex of nature1 was not yet
 clear either to ,kant or to his        
opponents4 ,his pessimism was a         
reflection of his moral seriousness4    
,yet it failed to reckon with that which
 is yet a glorious fact4 ,one of the    
chief results of doing one's duty is the
 gradual escape from the desire to do   
the contrary4 ,it is the gradual        
fostering by us1 the ultimate dominance 
in us1 of the desire to do that duty4   
,even to have seen one's duty is the    
dawning in us of this high desire4 ,in  
the lowest man there is indeed the      
superficial desire to indulge his       
passions4 ,there is also the latent     
longing to be conformed to the good4    
,there is the sense that he fulfils     
himself then only when he is obedient to
 the good4 ,one of the great facts of   
spiritual experience is this gradual1 or
 even sudden1 inversion of standard     

within us4 ,we do really cease to desire
 the things which are against right     
reason and conscience4 ,we come to      
desire the good1 even if it shall cost  
us pain and sacrifice to do it4 ,paul   
could write3 ',when ,i would do good1   
evil is present with me4' ,but1 in the  
vividness of his identification of his  
willing self with his better self       
against his sinning self1 he could also 
write3 ',so then it is no more ,i that  
do the sin4' ,das radicale ,bse of human
 nature is less radical than ,kant      
supposed1 and 'the categorical          
imperative' of duty less externally     
categorical than he alleged4 ,still it  
is the great merit of ,kant's philosophy
 to have brought out with all possible  
emphasis1 not merely as against the     
optimism of the shallow1 but as against 
the hedonism of soberer people1 that our
 life is a conflict between inclination 
and duty4 ,the claims of duty are the   
higher ones4 ,they are mandatory1       
absolute4 ,we do our duty whether or not

 we superficially desire to do it4 ,we  
do our duty whether or not we foresee   
advantage in having done it4 ,we should 
do it if we foresaw with clearness      
disadvantage4 ,we should find our       
satisfaction in having done it1 even at 
the cost of all our other satisfactions4
 ,there is a must which is over and     
above all our desires4 ,this is what    
,kant really means by the categorical   
imperative4 ,nevertheless1 his statement
 comes in conflict with the principle of
 freedom1 which is one of the most      
fundamental in his system4 ,the phrases 
above used only eddy about the one point
 which is to be held fast4 ,there may be
 that in the universe which destroys the
 man who does not conform to it1 but in 
the last analysis he is self-destroyed1 
that is1 he chooses not to conform4 ,if 
he is saved1 it is because he chooses   
thus to conform4 ,man would be then most
 truly man in resisting that which would
 merely overpower him1 even if it were  
goodness4 ,of course1 there can be no   

goodness which overpowers4 ,there can be
 no goodness which is not willed4       
,nothing can be a motive except through 
awakening our desire4 ,that which one   
desires is never wholly external to     
oneself4  ,according to ,kant1 morality 
becomes religion when that which the    
former shows to be the end of man is    
conceived also to be the end of the     
supreme law-giver1 ,god4 ,religion is   
the recognition of our duties as divine 
commands4 ,the distinction between      
revealed and natural religion is stated 
thus3 ,in the former we know a thing to 
be a divine command before we recognise 
it as our duty4 ,in the latter we know  
it to be our duty before we recognise it
 as a divine command4 ,religion may be  
both natural and revealed4 ,its tenets  
may be such that man can be conceived as
 arriving at them by unaided reason4    
,but he would thus have arrived at them 
at a later period in the evolution of   
the race4 ,hence revelation might be    
salutary or even necessary for certain  

times and places without being essential
 at all times or1 for that matter1 a    
permanent guarantee of the truth of     
religion4 ,there is nothing here which  
is new or original with ,kant4 ,this    
line of reasoning was one by which men  
since ,lessing had helped themselves    
over certain difficulties4 ,it is cited 
only to show how ,kant1 too1 failed to  
transcend his age in some matters1      
although he so splendidly transcended it
 in others4  ,the orthodox had          
immemorially asserted that revelation   
imparted information not otherwise      
attainable1 or not then attainable4 ,the
 rationalists here allege the same4     
,kant is held fast in this view4        
,assuredly what revelation imparts is   
not information of any sort whatsoever1 
not even information concerning ,god4   
,what revelation imparts is ,god        
himself1 through the will and the       
affection1 the practical reason4        
,revelation is experience1 not          
instruction4 ,the revealers are those   

who have experienced ,god1 ,jesus the   
foremost among them4 ,they have         
experienced ,god1 whom then they have   
manifested as best they could1 but far  
more significantly in what they were    
than in what they said4 ,there is surely
 the gravest exaggeration of what is    
statutory and external in that which    
,kant says of the relation of ethics and
 religion4 ,how can we know that to be a
 command of ,god1 which does not commend
 itself in our own heart and conscience8
 ,the traditionalist would have said1 by
 documents miraculously confirmed4 ,it  
was not in consonance with his noblest  
ideas for ,kant to say that4 ,on the    
other hand1 that which ,i perceive to be
 my duty ,i1 as religious man1 feel to  
be a command of ,god1 whether or not a  
mandate of ,god to that effect can be   
adduced4 ,whether an alleged revelation 
from ,god inculcates such a truth or    
duty may be incidental4 ,in a sense it  
is accidental4 ,the content of all      
historic revelation is conditioned in   

the circumstances of the man to whom the
 revelation is addressed4 ,it is clear  
that the whole matter of revelation is  
thus apprehended by ,kant with more     
externality than we should have         
believed4 ,his thought is still         
essentially archaic and dualistic4 ,he  
is1 therefore1 now and then upon the    
point of denying that such a thing as   
revelation is possible4 ,the very idea  
of revelation1 in this form1 does       
violence to his fundamental principle of
 the autonomy of the human reason and   
will4 ,at many points in his reflection 
it is transparently clear that nothing  
can ever come to a man1 or be given     
forth by him1 which is not creatively   
shaped by himself4 ,as regards          
revelation1 however1 ,kant never frankly
 took that step4 ,the implications of   
his own system would have led him to    
that step4 ,they led to an idea of      
revelation which was psychologically in 
harmony with the assumptions of his     
system1 and historically could be       

conceived as taking place without the   
interjection of the miraculous in the   
ordinary sense4 ,if the divine          
revelation is to be thought as taking   
place within the human spirit1 and in   
consonance with the laws of all other   
experience1 then the human spirit must  
itself be conceived as standing in such 
relation to the divine that the eternal 
reason may express and reveal itself in 
the regular course of the mind's own    
activity4 ,then the manifold moral and  
religious ideals of mankind in all      
history must take their place as        
integral factors also in the progress of
 the divine revelation4  ,when we come  
to the more specific topics of his      
religious teaching1 freedom1            
immortality1 ,god1 ,kant is prompt to   
assert that these cannot be objects of  
theoretical knowledge4 ,insoluble       
contradictions arise whenever a proof of
 them is attempted4 ,if an object of    
faith could be demonstrated it would    
cease to be an object of faith4 ,it     

would have been brought down out of the 
transcendental world4 ,were ,god to us  
an object among other objects1 he would 
cease to be a ,god4 ,were the soul a    
demonstrable object like any other      
object1 it would cease to be the        
transcendental aspect of ourselves4     
,kant makes short work of the so-called 
proofs for the existence of ,god which  
had done duty in the scholastic         
theology4 ,with subtilty1 sometimes also
 with bitter irony1 he shows that they  
one and all assume that which they set  
out to prove4 ,they are theoretically   
insufficient and practically            
unnecessary4 ,they have such            
high-sounding names--the ontological    
argument1 the cosmological1 the         
physico-theological--that almost in     
spite of ourselves we bring a           
reverential mood to them4 ,they have    
been set forth with solemnity by such   
redoubtable thinkers that there is      
something almost startling in the way   
that ,kant knocks them about4 ,the fact 

that the ordinary man among us easily   
perceives that ,kant was right shows    
only how the climate of the intellectual
 world has changed4 ,freedom1           
immortality1 ,god1 are not indeed       
provable4 ,if given at all1 they can be 
given only in the practical reason4     
,still they are postulates in the moral 
order which makes man the citizen of an 
intelligible world4 ,there can be no    
'ought' for a being who is necessitated4
 ,we can perceive1 and do perceive1 that
 we ought to do a thing4 ,it follows    
that we can do it4 ,however1 the        
hindrances to the realisation of the    
moral ideal are such that it cannot be  
realised in a finite time4 ,hence the   
postulate of eternal life for the       
individual4 ,finally1 reason demands    
realisation of a supreme good1 both a   
perfect virtue and a corresponding      
happiness4 ,man is a final end only as a
 moral subject4 ,there must be ,one who 
is not only a law-giver1 but in himself 
also the realisation of the law of the  

moral world4  ,kant's moral argument    
thus steps off the line of the others4  
,it is not a proof at all in the sense  
in which they attempted to be proofs4   
,the existence of ,god appears as a     
necessary assumption1 if the highest    
good and value in the world are to be   
fulfilled4 ,but the conception and      
possibility of realisation of a highest 
good is itself something which cannot be
 concluded with theoretical             
evidentiality4 ,it is the object of a   
belief which in entire freedom is       
directed to that end4 ,kant lays stress 
upon the fact that among the practical  
ideas of reason1 that of freedom is the 
one whose reality admits most nearly of 
being proved by the laws of pure reason1
 as well as in conduct and experience4  
,upon an act of freedom1 then1 belief   
rests4 ',it is the free holding that to 
be true1 which for the fulfilment of a  
purpose we find necessary4' ,now1 as    
object of this 'free holding something  
to be true1' he sets forth the          

conception of the highest good in the   
world1 to be realised through freedom4  
,it is clear that before this argument  
would prove that a ,god is necessary to 
the realisation of the moral order1 it  
would have to be shown that there are no
 adequate forces immanent within society
 itself for the establishment and       
fulfilment of that order4 ,as a matter  
of fact1 reflexion in the nineteenth    
century1 devoted as it has been to the  
evolution of society1 has busied itself 
with hardly anything more than with the 
study of those immanent elements which  
make for morality4 ,it is therefore not 
an external guarantor of morals1 such as
 ,kant thought1 which is here given4 ,it
 is the immanent ,god who is revealed in
 the history and life of the race1 even 
as also it is the immanent ,god who is  
revealed in the consciousness of the    
individual soul4 ,even the moral        
argument1 therefore1 in the form in     
which ,kant puts it1 sounds remote and  
strange to us4 ,his reasoning strains   

and creaks almost as if he were still   
trying to do that which he had just     
declared could not be done4 ,what       
remains of significance for us1 is this4
 ,all the debate about first causes1    
absolute beings1 and the rest1 gives us 
no ,god such as our souls need4 ,if a   
man is to find the witness for soul1    
immortality and ,god at all1 he must    
find it within himself and in the       
spiritual history of his fellows4 ,he   
must venture1 in freedom1 the belief in 
these things1 and find their            
corroboration in the contribution which 
they make to the solution of the mystery
 of life4 ,one must venture to win them4
 ,one must continue to venture1 to keep 
them4 ,if it were not so1 they would not
 be objects of faith4  ,the source of   
the radical evil in man is an           
intelligible act of human freedom not   
further to be explained4 ,moral evil is 
not1 as such1 transmitted4 ,moral       
qualities are inseparable from the      
responsibility of the person who commits

 the deeds4 ,yet this radical           
disposition to evil is to be changed    
into a good one1 not altogether by a    
process of moral reformation4 ,there is 
such a thing as a fundamental revolution
 of a man's habit of thought1 a         
conscious and voluntary transference of 
a man's intention to obey1 from the     
superficial and selfish desires which he
 has followed1 to the deep and spiritual
 ones which he will henceforth allow4   
,there is an epoch in a man's life when 
he makes the transition4 ,he probably   
does it under the spell of personal     
influence1 by the power of example1     
through the beauty of another           
personality4 ,to ,kant salvation was    
character4 ,it was of and in and by     
character4 ,to no thinker has the moral 
participation of a man in the           
regeneration of his own character been  
more certain and necessary than to      
,kant4 ,yet1 the change in direction of 
the will generally comes by an impulse  
from without4 ,it comes by the impress  

of a noble personality4 ,it is sustained
 by enthusiasm for that personality4    
,kant has therefore a perfectly rational
 and ethical and vital meaning for the  
phrase 'new birth4'  ,for the purpose of
 this impulse to goodness1 nothing is so
 effective as the contemplation of an   
historical example of such surpassing   
moral grandeur as that which we behold  
in ,jesus4 ,for this reason we may look 
to ,jesus as the ideal of goodness      
presented to us in flesh and blood4 ,yet
 the assertion that ,jesus' historical  
personality altogether corresponds with 
the complete and eternal ethical ideal  
is one which we have no need to make4   
,we do not possess in our own minds the 
absolute ideal with which in that       
assertion we compare him4  ,the ethical 
ideal of the race is still in process of
 development4 ,jesus has been the       
greatest factor urging forward that     
development4 ,we ourselves stand at a   
certain point in that development4 ,we  
have the ideals which we have because we

 stand at that point at which we do4    
,the men who come after us will have a  
worthier ideal than we do4 ,again1 to   
say that ,jesus in his words and conduct
 expressed in its totality the eternal  
ethical ideal1 would make of his life   
something different from the real1 human
 life4 ,every real1 human life is lived 
within certain actual antitheses which  
call out certain qualities and do not   
call out others4 ,they demand certain   
reactions and not others4 ,this is the  
concrete element without which nothing  
historical can be conceived4 ,to say    
that ,jesus lived in entire conformity  
to the ethical ideal so far as we are   
able to conceive it1 and within the     
circumstances which his own time and    
place imposed1 is the most that we can  
say4 ,but in any case1 ,kant insists1   
the real object of our religious faith  
is not the historic man1 but the ideal  
of humanity well-pleasing to ,god4      
,since this ideal is not of our own     
creation1 but is given us in our        

super-sensible nature1 it may be        
conceived as the ,son of ,god come down 
from heaven4  ,the turn of this last    
phrase is an absolutely characteristic  
one1 and brings out another quality of  
,kant's mind in dealing with the        
,christian doctrines4 ,they are to him  
but symbols1 forms into which a variety 
of meanings may be run4 ,he had no great
 appreciation of the historical element 
in doctrine4 ,he had no deep sense of   
the social element and of that for which
 ,christian institutions stand4 ,we may 
illustrate with that which he says      
concerning ,christ's vicarious          
sacrifice4 ,substitution cannot take    
place in the moral world4 ,ethical      
salvation could not be conferred through
 such a substitution1 even if this could
 take place4 ,still1 the conception of  
the vicarious suffering of ,christ may  
be taken as a symbolical expression of  
the idea that in the pain of            
self-discipline1 of obedience and       
patience1 the new man in us suffers1 as 

it were vicariously1 for the old4 ,the  
atonement is a continual ethical process
 in the heart of the religious man4 ,it 
is a grave defect of ,kant's religious  
philosophy1 that it was so absolutely   
individualistic4 ,had he realised more  
deeply than he did the social character 
of religion and the meaning of these    
doctrines1 not alone as between man and 
,god1 but as between man and man1 he    
surely would have drawn nearer to that  
interpretation of the doctrine of the   
atonement which has come more and more  
to prevail4 ,this is the solution which 
finds in the atonement of ,christ the   
last and most glorious example of a     
universal law of human life and history4
 ,that law is that no redemptive good   
for men is ever secured without the     
suffering and sacrifice of those who    
seek to confer that good upon their     
fellows4 ,kant was disposed to regard   
the traditional forms of ,christian     
doctrine1 not as the old rationalism had
 done1 as impositions of a priesthood or

 inherently absurd4 ,he sought to divest
 them indeed of that which was          
speculatively untrue1 though he saw in  
them only symbols of the great moral    
truths which lie at the heart of        
religion4 ,the historical spirit of the 
next fifty years was to teach men a very
 different way of dealing with these    
same doctrines4         99       99     
99       99       99  ,kant had said    
that the primary condition1 fundamental 
not merely to knowledge1 but to all     
connected experience1 is the knowing1   
experiencing1 thinking1 acting self4 ,it
 is that which says ',i1' the ego1 the  
permanent subject4 ,but that is not     
enough4 ,the knowing self demands in    
turn a knowable world4 ,it must have    
something outside of itself to which it 
yet stands related1 the object of       
knowledge4 ,knowledge is somehow the    
combination of those two1 the result of 
their co-operation4 ,how have we to     
think of this co-operation8 ,both ,hume 
and ,berkeley had ended in scepticism as

 to the reality of knowledge4 ,hume was 
in doubt as to the reality of the       
subject1 ,berkeley as to that of the    
object4 ,kant dissented from both4 ,he  
vindicated the undoubted reality of the 
impression which we have concerning a   
thing4 ,yet how far that impression is  
the reproduction of the thing as it is  
in itself1 we can never perfectly know4 
,what we have in our minds is not the   
object4 ,it is a notion of that object1 
although we may be assured that we could
 have no such notion were there no      
object4 ,equally1 the notion is what it 
is because the subject is what it is4   
,we can never get outside the processes 
of our own thought4 ,we cannot know the 
thing as it is1 the ,ding-an-sich1 in   
,kant's phrase4 ,we know only that there
 must be a 'thing in itself4'   ,,fichte
   ,fichte asked1 ,why8 ,why must there 
be a ,ding-an-sich8 ,why is not that    
also the result of the activity of the  
ego8 ,why is not the ego1 the thinking  
subject1 all that is1 the creator of the

 world1 according to the laws of        
thought8 ,if so much is reduced to idea1
 why not all8 ,this was ,fichte's rather
 forced resolution of the old dualism of
 thought and thing4 ,it is not the      
denial of the reality of things1 but the
 assertion that their ideal element1    
that part of them which is not mere     
'thing1' the action and subject of the  
action1 is their underlying reality4    
,according to ,kant things exist in a   
world beyond us4 ,man has no faculty by 
which he can penetrate into that world4 
,still1 the farther we follow ,kant in  
his analysis the more does the          
contribution to knowledge from the side 
of the mind tend to increase1 and the   
more does the factor in our impressions 
from the side of things tend to fade    
away4 ,this basis of impression being   
wholly unknowable is as good as         
non-existent for us4 ,yet it never      
actually disappears4 ,there would seem  
to be inevitable a sort of kernel of    
matter or prick of sense about which all

 our thoughts are generated4 ,yet this  
residue is a vanishing quantity4 ,this  
seemed to ,fichte to be a               
self-contradiction and a half-way       
measure4 ,only two positions appeared to
 him thorough-going and consequent4     
,either one posits as fundamental the   
thing itself1 matter1 independent of any
 consciousness of it4 ,so ,spinoza had  
taught4 ,or else one takes              
consciousness1 the conscious subject1   
independent of any matter or thing as   
fundamental4 ,this last ,fichte claimed 
to be the real issue of ,kant's thought4
 ,he asserts that from the point of view
 of the thing in itself we can never    
explain knowledge4 ,we may be as skilful
 as possible in placing one thing behind
 another in the relation of cause to    
effect4 ,it is1 however1 an unending    
series4 ,it is like the cosmogony of the
 ,eastern people which fabled that the  
earth rests upon the back of an         
elephant4 ,the elephant stands upon a   
tortoise4 ,the question is1 upon what   

does the tortoise stand8 ,so here1 we   
may say1 in the conclusive manner in    
which men have always said1 that ,god   
made the world4 ,yet sooner or later we 
come to the child's question3 ,who made 
,god8 ,fichte rightly replied3 ',if ,god
 is for us only an object of knowledge1 
the ,ding-an-sich at the end of the     
series1 there is no escape from the     
answer that man1 the thinker1 in        
thinking ,god made him4' ,all the world1
 including man1 is but the reflexion1   
the revelation in forms of the finite1  
of an unceasing action of thought of    
which the ego is the object4 ,nothing   
more paradoxical than this conclusion   
can be imagined4 ,it seems to make the  
human subject1 the man myself1 the      
creator of the universe1 and the        
universe only that which ,i happen to   
think it to be4  ,this interpretation   
was at first put upon ,fichte's         
reasoning with such vigour that he was  
accused of atheism4 ,he was driven from 
his chair in ,jena4 ,only after several 

years was he called to a corresponding  
post in ,berlin4 ,later1 in his         
,vocation of ,man1 he brought his       
thought to clearness in this form3 ',if 
,god be only the object of thought1 it  
remains true that he is then but the    
creation of man's thought4 ,god is1     
however1 to be understood as subject1 as
 the real subject1 the transcendent     
thinking and knowing subject1 indwelling
 in the world and making the world what 
it is1 indwelling in us and making us   
what we are4 ,we ourselves are subjects 
only in so far as we are parts of ,god4 
,we think and know only in so far as    
,god thinks and knows and acts and lives
 in us4 ,the world1 including ourselves1
 is but the reflection of the thought of
 ,god1 who thus only has existence4     
,neither the world nor we have existence
 apart from him4'  ,johann ,gottlieb    
,fichte was born at ,rammenau in #agfb4 
,his father was a ribbon weaver4 ,he    
came of a family distinguished for piety
 and uprightness4 ,he studied at ,jena1 

and became an instructor there in #agic4
 ,he was at first a devout disciple of  
,kant1 but gradually separated himself  
from his master4 ,there is a humorous   
tale as to one of his early books which 
was1 through mistake of the publisher1  
put forth without the author's name4    
,for a brief time it was hailed as a    
work of ,kant--his ,critique of         
,revelation4 ,fichte was a man of high  
moral enthusiasm1 very uncompromising1  
unable to put himself in the place of an
 opponent1 in incessant strife4 ,the    
great work of his ,jena period was his  
,wissenschaftslehre1 #agid4 ,his popular
 ,works1 ,die ,bestimmung des ,menschen 
and ,anweisung zum seligen ,leben1      
belong to his ,berlin period4 ,the      
disasters of #ahjf drove him out of     
,berlin4 ,amidst the dangers and        
discouragements of the next few years he
 wrote his famous ,reden an die deutsche
 ,nation4 ,he drew up the plan for the  
founding of the ,university of ,berlin4 
,in #ahaj he was called to be rector of 

the newly established university4 ,he   
was1 perhaps1 the chief adviser of      
,frederick ,william ,,iii in the laying 
of the foundations of the university1   
which was surely a notable venture for  
those trying years4 ,in the autumn of   
#ahab and again in #ahac1 when the      
hospitals were full of sick and wounded 
after the ,russian and ,leipzig         
campaigns1 ,fichte and his wife were    
unceasing in their care of the          
sufferers4 ,he died of fever contracted 
in the hospital in ,january #ahad4      
,according to ,fichte1 as we have seen1 
the world of sense is the reflection of 
our own inner activity4 ,it exists for  
us as the sphere and material of our    
duty4 ,the moral order only is divine4  
,we1 the finite intelligences1 exist    
only in and through the infinite        
intelligence4 ,all our life is thus     
,god's life4 ,we are immortal because he
 is immortal4 ,our consciousness is his 
consciousness4 ,our life and moral force
 is his1 the reflection and             

manifestation of his being1             
individuation of the infinite reason    
which is everywhere present in the      
finite4 ,in ,god we see the world also  
in a new light4 ,there is no longer any 
nature which is external to ourselves   
and unrelated to ourselves4 ,there is   
only ,god manifesting himself in nature4
 ,even the evil is only a means to good 
and1 therefore1 only an apparent evil4  
,we are ,god's immediate manifestation1 
being spirit like himself4 ,the world is
 his mediate manifestation4 ,the world  
of dead matter1 as men have called it1  
does not exist4 ,god is the reality     
within the forms of nature and within   
ourselves1 by which alone we have       
reality4 ,the duty to which a ,god      
outside of ourselves could only command 
us1 becomes a privilege to which we need
 no commandment1 but to the fulfilment  
of which1 rather1 we are drawn in joy by
 the forces of our own being4 ,how a man
 could1 even in the immature stages of  
these thoughts1 have been persecuted for

 atheism1 it is not easy to see1        
although we may admit that his earlier  
forms of statement were bewildering4    
,when we have his whole thought before  
us we should say rather that it borders 
on acosmic pantheism1 for which         
everything is ,god and the world does   
not exist4  ,we have no need to follow  
,fichte farther4 ,suffice it to say1    
with reference to the theory of         
knowledge1 that he had discovered that  
one could not stand still with ,kant4   
,one must either go back toward the     
position of the old empiricism which    
assumed the reality of the world exactly
 as it appeared1 or else one must go    
forward to an idealism more             
thorough-going than ,kant had planned4  
,of the two paths which1 with all the   
vast advance of the natural sciences1   
the thought of the nineteenth century   
might traverse1 that of the denial of   
everything except the mechanism of      
nature1 and that of the assertion that  
nature is but the organ of spirit and is

 instinct with reason1 ,fichte chose the
 latter and blazed out the path along   
which all the idealists have followed   
him4 ,in reference to the philosophy of 
religion1 we must say that1 with all the
 extravagance1 the pantheism and        
mysticism of his phrases1 ,fichte's     
great contribution was his breaking down
 of the old dualism between ,god and man
 which was still fundamental to ,kant4  
,it was his assertion of the unity of   
man and ,god and of the life of ,god in 
man4 ,this thought has been appropriated
 in all of modern theology4             
,,schelling   ,it was the meagreness of 
,fichte's treatment of nature which     
impelled ,schelling to what he called   
his outbreak into reality4 ,nature will 
not be dismissed1 as simply that which  
is not ,i4 ,you cannot say that nature  
is only the sphere of my                
self-realisation4 ,individuals are in   
their way the children of nature4 ,they 
are this in respect of their souls as   
much as of their bodies4 ,nature was    

before they were4 ,nature is1 moreover1 
not alien to intelligence4 ,on the      
contrary1 it is a treasure-house of     
intelligible forms which demand to be   
treated as such4 ,it appeared to        
,schelling1 therefore1 a truer idealism 
to work out an intelligible system of   
nature1 exhibiting its essential oneness
 with personality4  ,friedrich ,wilhelm 
,joseph von ,schelling was born in #agge
 at ,leonberg in ,wrttemberg4 ,his      
father was a clergyman4 ,he was         
precocious in his intellectual          
development and much spoiled by vanity4 
,before he was twenty years old he had  
published three works upon problems     
suggested by ,fichte4 ,at twenty-three  
he was extraordinarius at ,jena4 ,he had
 apparently a brilliant career before   
him4 ,he published his ,erster ,entwurf 
eines ,systems der ,naturphilosophe1    
#agii1 and also his ,system des         
transcendentalen ,idealismus1 #ahjj4    
,even his short residence at ,jena was  
troubled by violent conflicts with his  

colleagues4 ,it was brought to an end by
 his marriage with the wife of ,augustus
 von ,schlegel1 who had been divorced   
for the purpose4 ,from #ahjf to #ahda he
 lived in ,munich in retirement4 ,the   
long-expected books which were to fulfil
 his early promise never appeared4      
,hegel's stricture was just4 ,schelling 
had no taste for the prolonged and      
intense labour which his brilliant early
 works marked out4 ,he died in #ahed1   
having reached the age of seventy-nine  
years1 of which at least fifty were as  
melancholy and fruitless as could well  
be imagined4  ,the dominating idea of   
,schelling's philosophy of nature may be
 said to be the exhibition of nature as 
the progress of intelligence toward     
consciousness and personality4 ,nature  
is the ego in evolution1 personality in 
the making4 ,all natural objects are    
visible analogues and counterparts of   
mind4 ,the intelligence which their     
structure reveals1 men had interpreted  
as residing in the mind of a maker of   

the world4 ,nature had been spoken of as
 if it were a watch4 ,god was its great 
artificer4 ,no one asserted that its    
intelligence and power of development   
lay within itself4 ,on the contrary1    
nature is always in the process of      
advance from lower1 less highly         
organised and less intelligible forms1  
to those which are more highly          
organised1 more nearly the counterpart  
of the active intelligence in man       
himself4 ,the personality of man had    
been viewed as standing over against    
nature1 this last being thought of as   
static and permanent4 ,on the contrary1 
the personality of man1 with all of its 
intelligence and free will1 is but the  
climax and fulfilment of a long         
succession of intelligible forms in     
nature1 passing upward from the         
inorganic to the organic1 from the      
unconscious to the conscious1 from the  
non-moral to the moral1 as these are at 
last seen in man4 ,of course1 it was the
 life of organic nature which first     

suggested this notion to ,schelling4 ,an
 organism is a self-moving1             
self-producing whole4 ,it is an idea in 
process of self-realisation4 ,what was  
observed in the organism was then made  
by ,schelling the root idea of universal
 nature4 ,nature is in all its parts    
living1 self-moving along the lines of  
its development1 productivity and       
product both in one4 ,empirical science 
may deal with separate products of      
nature4 ,it may treat them as objects of
 analysis and investigation4 ,it may    
even take the whole of nature as an     
object4 ,but nature is not mere object4 
,philosophy has to treat of the inner   
life which moves the whole of nature as 
intelligible productivity1 as subject1  
no longer as object4 ,personality has   
slowly arisen out of nature4 ,nature was
 going through this process of          
self-development before there were any  
men to contemplate it4 ,it would go     
through this process were there no      
longer men to contemplate it4           

,schelling has here rounded out the     
theory of absolute idealism which       
,fichte had carried through in a        
one-sided way4 ,he has given us also a  
wonderful anticipation of certain modern
 ideas concerning nature's preparation  
for the doctrine of evolution1 which was
 a stroke of genius in its way4 ,he     
attempted to arrange the realm of       
unconscious intelligences in an         
ascending series which should bridge the
 gulf between the lowest of natural     
forms and the fully equipped organism in
 which self consciousness1 with the     
intellectual1 the emotional1 and moral  
life1 at last integrated4 ,inadequate   
material and a fondness for analogies   
led ,schelling into vagaries in         
following out this scheme4              
,nevertheless1 it is only in detail that
 we can look askance at his attempt4 ,in
 principle our own conception of the    
universe is the same4 ,it is the dynamic
 view of nature and an application of   
the principle of evolution in the widest

 sense4 ,his errors were those into     
which a man was bound to fall who       
undertook to forestall by a sweep of the
 imagination that which has been the    
result of the detailed and patient      
investigation of three generations4     
,what ,schelling attempted was to take  
nature as we know it and to exhibit it  
as in reality a function of             
intelligence1 pointing1 through all the 
gradations of its varied forms1 towards 
its necessary goal in self-conscious    
personality4 ,instead1 therefore1 of our
 having in nature and personality two   
things which cannot be brought together1
 these become members of one great      
organism of intelligence of which the   
immanent ,god is the source and the     
sustaining power4 ,these ideas          
constitute ,schelling's contribution to 
an idealistic and1 of course1 an        
essentially monistic view of the        
universe4 ,the unity of man with ,god1  
,fichte had asserted4 ,schelling set    
forth the oneness of ,god and nature1   

and again of man and nature4 ,the circle
 was complete4         99       99      
99       99       99  ,if we have       
succeeded in conveying a clear idea of  
the movement of thought from ,kant to   
,hegel1 that idea might be stated thus4 
,there are but three possible objects   
which can engage the thought of man4    
,these are nature and man and ,god4     
,there is the universe1 of which we     
become aware through experience from our
 earliest childhood4 ,then there is man1
 the man given in self-consciousness1   
primarily the man myself4 ,in this sense
 man seems to stand over against nature4
 ,then1 as the third possible object of 
thought1 we have ,god4 ,upon the thought
 of ,god we usually come from the point 
of view of the category of cause4 ,god  
is the name which men give to that which
 lies behind nature and man as the      
origin and explanation of both4 ,plato's
 chief interest was in man4 ,he talked  
much concerning a ,god who was somehow  
the speculative postulate of the        

spiritual nature in man4 ,aristotle     
began a real observation of nature4 ,but
 the ancient and1 still more1 the       
medival study of nature was dominated by
 abstract and theological assumptions4  
,these prevented any real study of that 
nature in the midst of which man lives1 
in reaction against which he develops   
his powers1 and to which1 on one whole  
side of his nature1 he belongs4 ,even in
 respect of that which men reverently   
took to be thought concerning ,god1 they
 seem to have been unaware how much of  
their material was imaginative and      
poetic symbolism drawn from the         
experience of man4 ,the traditional idea
 of revelation proved a disturbing      
factor4 ,assuming that revelation gave  
information concerning ,god1 and not    
rather the religious experience of      
communion with ,god himself1 men        
accepted statements of the documents of 
revelation as if they had been          
definitions graciously given from out   
the realm of the unseen4 ,in reality1   

they were but fetches from out the world
 of the known into the world of the     
unknown4  ,the point of interest is     
this3--,in all possible combinations in 
which1 throughout the history of        
thought1 these three objects had been   
set1 the one with the others1 they had  
always remained three objects4 ,there   
was no essential relation of the one to 
the other4 ,they were like the points of
 a triangle of which any one stood over 
against the other two4 ,god stood over  
against the man whom he had fashioned1  
man over against the ,god to whom he was
 responsible4 ,the consequences for     
theology are evident4 ,when men wished  
to describe1 for example1 ,jesus as the 
,son of ,god1 they laid emphasis upon   
every quality which he had1 or was      
supposed to have1 which was not common  
to him with other men4 ,they lost sight 
of that profound interest of religion   
which has always claimed that1 in some  
sense1 all men are sons of ,god and     
,jesus was the son of man4 ,jesus was   

then only truly honoured as divine when 
every trait of his humanity was ignored4
 ,similarly1 when men spoke of          
revelation they laid emphasis upon those
 particulars in which this supposed     
method of coming by information was     
unlike all other methods4 ,knowledge    
derived directly from ,god through      
revelation was in no sense the parallel 
of knowledge derived by men in any other
 way4 ,so also ,god stood over against  
nature4 ,god was indeed declared to have
 made nature4 ,he had1 however1 but     
given it1 so to say1 an original        
impulse4 ,that impulse also it had in   
some strange way lost or perverted1 so  
that the world1 though it had been made 
by ,god1 was not good4 ,for the most    
part it moved itself1 although ,god's   
sovereignty was evidenced in that he    
could still supervene upon it1 if he    
chose4 ,the supernatural was the realm  
of ,god4 ,natural and supernatural were 
mutually exclusive terms1 just as we saw
 that divine and human were exclusive   

terms4 ,so also1 on the third side of   
our triangle1 man stood over against    
nature4 ,nature was to primitive men the
 realm of caprice1 in which they        
imagined demons1 spirits and the like4  
,these were antagonistic to men1 as also
 hostile to ,god4 ,then1 when with the  
advance of reflexion these spirits1 and 
equally their counterparts1 the good    
genii and angels1 had all died1 nature  
became the realm of iron necessity1 of  
regardless law1 of all-destroying force1
 of cruel and indifferent fate4 ,from   
this men took refuge in the thought of a
 compassionate ,god1 though they could  
not withdraw themselves or those whom   
they loved from the inexorable laws of  
nature4 ,they could not see that ,god   
always1 or even often1 intervened on    
their behalf4 ,it cannot be denied that 
these ideas prevail to some extent in   
the popular theology at the present     
moment4 ,much of our popular religious  
language is an inheritance from a time  
when they universally prevailed4 ,the   

religious intuition even of psalmists   
and prophets opposed many of these      
notions4 ,the pure religious intuition  
of ,jesus opposed almost every one of   
them4 ,mystics in every religion have   
had1 at times1 insight into an          
altogether different scheme of things4  
,the philosophy1 however1 even of the   
learned1 would1 in the main1 have       
supported the views above described1    
from the dawn of reflexion almost to our
 own time4  ,it was ,kant who first     
began the resolution of this            
three-cornered difficulty4 ,when he     
pointed out that into the world1 as we  
know it1 an element of spirit goes1 that
 in it an element of the ideal inheres1 
he began a movement which has issued in 
modern monism4 ,he affirmed that that   
element from my thought which enters    
into the world1 as ,i know it1 may be so
 great that only just a point of matter 
and a prick of sense remains4 ,fichte   
said3 ',why do we put it all in so      
perverse a way8 ,why reduce the world of

 matter to just a point8 ,why is it not 
taken for what it is1 and yet understood
 to be all alive with ,god and we able  
to think of it1 because we are parts of 
the great thinker ,god8' ,still ,fichte 
had busied himself almost wholly with   
consciousness4 ,schelling endeavoured to
 correct that4 ,nature lives and moves  
in ,god1 just as truly in one way as    
does man in another4 ,men arise out of  
nature4 ,a circle has been drawn through
 the points of our triangle4 ,nature and
 man are in a new and deeper sense      
revelations of ,god4 ,in fact1          
supplementing one another1 they         
constitute the only possible channels   
for the manifestation of ,god4 ,it      
hardly needs to be said that these      
thoughts are widely appropriated in our 
modern world4 ,these once novel         
speculations of the kings of thought    
have made their way slowly to all strata
 of society4 ,remote and difficult in   
their first expression in the language  
of the schools1 their implications are  

to-day on everybody's lips4 ,it is this 
unitary view of the universe which has  
made difficult the acceptance of a      
theology1 the understandlng of a        
religion1 which are still largely       
phrased in the language of a philosophy 
to which these ideas did not belong4    
,there is not an historic creed1 there  
is hardly a greater system of theology1 
which is not stated in terms of a       
philosophy and science which no longer  
reign4 ,men are asking3 'cannot         
,christianity be so stated and          
interpreted that it shall meet the needs
 of men of the twentieth century1 as    
truly as it met those of men of the     
first or of the sixteenth8' ,hegel1 the 
last of this great group of idealistic  
philosophers whom we shall name1        
enthusiastically believed in this new   
interpretation of the faith which was   
profoundly dear to him4 ,he made        
important contribution to that          
interpretation4   ,,hegel   ,georg      
,wilhelm ,friedrich ,hegel was born in  

,stuttgart in #aggj4 ,his father was in 
the fiscal service of the ,king of      
,wrttemberg4 ,he studied in ,tbingen4   
,he was heavy and slow of development1  
in striking contrast with ,schelling4   
,he served as tutor in ,bern and        
,frankfort1 and began to lecture in     
,jena in #ahja4 ,he was much            
overshadowed by ,schelling4 ,the victory
 of ,napoleon at ,jena in #ahjf closed  
the university for a time4 ,in #ahah he 
was called to ,fichte's old chair in    
,berlin4 ,never on very good terms with 
the ,prussian ,government1 he yet showed
 his large sympathy with life in every  
way4 ,after #ahbj a school of           
philosophical thinkers began to gather  
about him4 ,his first great book1 his   
,phenomenologie des ,geistes #ahjg      
7translated1 ,baillie1 ,london1 #aiaj71 
was published at the end of his ,jena   
period4 ,his ,philosophie der ,religion 
and ,philosophie der ,geschichte were   
edited after his death4 ,they are mainly
 in the form which his notes took       

between #ahbc and #ahbg4 ,he died during
 an epidemic of cholera in ,berlin in   
#ahca4  ,besides his deep interest in   
history the most striking feature of    
,hegel's preliminary training was his   
profound study of ,christianity4 ,he    
might almost be said to have turned to  
philosophy as a means of formulating the
 ideas which he had conceived concerning
 the development of the religious       
consciousness1 which seemed to him to   
have been the bearer of all human       
culture4 ,no one could fail to see that 
the idea of the relation of ,god and    
man1 of which we have been speaking1 was
 bound to make itself felt in the       
interpretation of the doctrine of the   
incarnation and of all the dogmas1 like 
that of the trinity1 which are connected
 with it4 ,characteristically1 ,hegel   
had pure joy in the speculative aspects 
of the problem4 ,if one may speak in all
 reverence1 and1 at the same time1 not  
without a shade of humour1 ,hegel       
rejoiced to find himself able1 as he    

supposed1 to rehabilitate the dogma of  
the trinity1 rationalised in approved   
fashion4 ,it is as if the dogma had been
 a revered form or mould1 which was for 
him indeed emptied of its original      
content4 ,he felt bound to fill it anew4
 ,or to speak more justly1 he was really
 convinced that the new meaning which he
 poured into the dogma was the true     
meaning which the ,church ,fathers had  
been seeking all the while4 ,in the     
light of two generations of sober       
dealing1 as historians1 with such       
problems1 we can but view his solution  
in a manner very different from that    
which he indulged4 ,he was even disposed
 mildly to censure the professional     
theologians for leaving the defence of  
the doctrine of the trinity to the      
philosophers4 ,there were then1 and have
 since been1 defenders of the doctrine  
who have thought that ,hegel tendered   
them great aid4 ,as a matter of fact1   
despite his own utter seriousness and   
reverent desire1 his solution was a     

complete dissolution of the doctrine and
 of much else besides4 ,his view would  
have been fatal1 not merely to that     
particular form of orthodox thought1    
but1 what is much more serious1 to the  
religious meaning for which it stood4   
,sooner or later men have seen that the 
whole drift of ,hegelianism was to      
transform religion into intellectualism4
 ,one might say that it was exactly this
 which the ancient metaphysicians1 in   
the classic doctrine of the trinity1 had
 done4 ,they had transformed religion   
into metaphysics4 ,the matter would not 
have been remedied by having a modern   
metaphysician do the same thing in      
another way4  ,hegel was weary of       
,fichte's endless discussion of the ego 
and ,schelling's of the absolute4 ,it   
was not the abyss of the unknowable from
 which things said to come1 or that into
 which they go1 which interested ,hegel4
 ,it was their process and progress     
which we can know4 ,it was that part of 
their movement which is observable      

within actual experience1 with which he 
was concerned4 ,now one of the laws of  
the movement of all things1 he said1 is 
that by which every thought suggests1   
and every force tends directly to       
produce1 its opposite4 ,nothing stands  
alone4 ,everything exists by the balance
 and friction of opposing tendencies4   
,we have the universal contrasts of heat
 and cold1 of light and darkness1 of    
inward and outward1 of static and       
dynamic1 of yes and no4 ,there are two  
sides to every case1 democratic         
government and absolutism1 freedom of   
religion and authority1 the             
individualistic and the social          
principles1 a materialistic and a       
spiritual interpretation of the         
universe4 ,only things which are dead   
have ceased to have this tide and       
alternation4 ,christ is for living      
religion now a man1 now ,god1 revelation
 now natural1 now supernatural4         
,religion in the eternal conflict       
between reason and faith1 morals the    

struggle of good and evil1 ,god now     
mysterious and now manifest4  ,fichte   
had said3 ,the essence of the universe  
is spirit4 ,hegel said3 ,yes1 but the   
true notion of spirit is that of the    
resolution of contradiction1 of the     
exhibition of opposites as held together
 in their unity4 ,this is the meaning of
 the trinity4 ,in the trinity we have   
,god who wills to manifest himself1     
,jesus in whom he is manifest1 and the  
spirit common to them both4 ,god's      
existence is not static1 it is dynamic4 
,it is motion1 not rest4 ,god is        
revealer1 recipient1 and revelation all 
in one4 ,the trinity was for ,hegel the 
central doctrine of ,christianity4      
,popular orthodoxy had drawn near to the
 assertion of three ,gods4 ,the revolt1 
however1 in asserting the unity of ,god1
 had made of ,god a meaningless absolute
 as foundation of the universe4 ,the    
orthodox1 in respect to the person of   
,christ1 had always indeed asserted in  
laboured way that ,jesus was both ,god  

and man4 ,starting from their own       
abstract conception of ,god1 and        
attributing to ,jesus the qualities of  
that abstraction1 they had ended in     
making of the humanity of ,jesus a      
perfectly unreal thing4 ,on the other   
hand1 those who had set out from        
,jesus's real humanity had been unable  
to see that he was anything more than a 
mere man1 as their phrase was4 ,on their
 own assumption of the mutual           
exclusiveness of the conceptions of ,god
 and man1 they could not do otherwise4  
,hegel saw clearly that ,god can be     
known to us only in and through         
manifestation4 ,we can certainly make no
 predication as to how ,god exists1 in  
himself1 as men say1 and apart from our 
knowledge4 ,he exists for our knowledge 
only as manifest in nature and man4 ,man
 is for ,hegel part of nature and ,jesus
 is the highest point which the nature  
of ,god as manifest in man has reached4 
,in this sense ,hegel sometimes even    
calls nature the ,son of ,god1 and      

mankind and ,jesus are thought of as    
parts of this one manifestation of ,god4
 ,if the ,scripture asserts1 as it      
seemed to the framers of the creeds to  
do1 that ,god manifested himself from   
before all worlds in and to a           
self-conscious personality like his own1
 ,hegel would answer3 ,but the          
,scripture is no third source of        
knowledge1 besides nature and man4      
,scripture is only the record of ,god's 
revelation of himself in and to men4 ,if
 these men framed their profoundest     
thought in this way1 that is only       
because they lived in an age when men   
had all their thoughts of this sort in a
 form which we can historically trace4  
,for ,platonists and ,neoplatonists1    
such as the makers of the creeds--and   
some portions of the ,scripture show    
this influence1 as well--the divine1 the
 ideal1 was always thought of as        
eternal4 ,it always existed as pure     
archetype before it ever existed as     
historic fact4 ,the rabbins had a       

speculation to the same effect4 ,the    
divine which exists must have           
pre-existed4 ,jesus as ,son of ,god     
could not be thought of by the ancient  
world in any terms but these4 ,the      
divine was static1 changelessly perfect4
 ,for the modern man the divinest of all
 things is the mystery of growth4 ,the  
perfect man is not at the beginning1 but
 far down the immeasurable series of    
approaches to perfection4 ,the          
perfection of other men is the work of  
still other ages1 in which this         
extraordinary and inexplicable moral    
magnitude which ,jesus is1 has had its  
influence1 and conferred upon them power
 to aid them in the fulfilment of ,god's
 intent for themselves1 which is like   
that intent for himself which ,jesus has
 fulfilled4  ,surely enough has been    
said to show that what we have here is  
only the absorption of even the         
profoundest religious meanings into the 
vortex of an all-dissolving metaphysical
 system4 ,the most obvious meaning of   

the phrase ',son of ,god1' its moral and
 spiritual1 its real religious meaning1 
is dwelt on1 here in ,hegel1 as little  
as ,hegel claimed that the ,nicene      
trinitarians had dwelt upon it4 ,nothing
 marks more clearly the distance we have
 travelled since ,hegel than does the   
general recognition that his attempted  
solution does not even lie in the right 
direction4 ,it is an attempt within the 
same area as that of the ,nicene        
,council and the creeds1 namely1 the    
metaphysical area4 ,what is at stake is 
not the pre-existence or the two        
natures4 ,hegel was right in what he    
said concerning these4 ,the             
pre-existence cannot be thought of      
except as ideal4 ,the two natures we    
assert for every man1 only not in such a
 manner as to destroy unity in the      
personality4 ,the heart of the dogma is 
not in these4 ,it is the oneness of ,god
 and man1 a moral and spiritual oneness1
 oneness in conduct and consciousness1  
the presence and realisation of ,god1   

who is spirit1 in a real man1 the       
divineness of ,jesus1 in a sense which  
sees no meaning any longer in the old   
debate as between his divinity and his  
deity4  ,in the light of the new theory 
of the universe which we have reviewed1 
it flashes upon us that both defenders  
and assailants of the doctrine of the   
incarnation1 in the age-long debate1    
have proceeded from the assumption that 
,god and man are opposites4 ,men        
contended for the divineness of ,jesus  
in terms which by definition shut out   
his true humanity4 ,they asserted the   
identity of a real man1 a true historic 
personage1 with an abstract notion of   
,god which had actually been framed by  
the denial of all human qualities4      
,their opponents with a like            
helplessness merely reversed the        
situation4 ,to admit the deity of ,jesus
 would have been for them1 in all       
candour and clear-sightedness1          
absolutely impossible1 because the      
admission would have shut out his true  

humanity4 ,on the old definitions we    
cannot wonder that the struggle was a   
bitter one4 ,each party was on its own  
terms right4 ,if ,god is by definition  
other than man1 and man the opposite of 
,god1 then it is not surprising that the
 attempt to say that ,jesus of ,nazareth
 was both1 remained mysticism to the one
 and seemed folly to the other4  ,now1  
within the area of the philosophy which 
begins with ,kant this old antinomy has 
been resolved4 ,an actual circle of     
clear relations joins the points of the 
old hopeless triangle4 ,men are men     
because of ,god indwelling in them1     
working through them4 ,the phrase 'mere 
man' is seen to be a mere phrase4 ,to   
say that the ,nazarene1 in some way not 
genetically to be explained1 but which  
is hidden within the recesses of his own
 personality1 shows forth in            
incomparable fulness that relation of   
,god and man which is the ideal for us  
all1 seems only to be saying over again 
what ,jesus said when he proclaimed3 ',i

 and ,my ,father are one4' ,that ,jesus 
actualised1 not absolutely in the sense 
that he stood out of relation to        
history1 but still perfectly within his 
relation to history1 that which in us   
and for us is potential1 the sonship of 
,god--that seems a very simple and      
intelligible assertion4 ,it certainly   
makes a large part of the debate of ages
 seem remote from us4 ,it brings home to
 us that we live in a new world4        
,interesting and fruitful is ,hegel's   
expansion of the idea of redemption     
beyond that of the individual to that of
 the whole humanity1 and in every aspect
 of its life4 ,in my relation to the    
world are given my duties4 ,the         
renunciation of outward duty makes the  
inward life barren4 ,the principle which
 is to transform the world wears an     
aspect very different from that of      
stoicism1 of asceticism or even of the  
individualism which has sought          
soul-salvation4 ,in the midst of        
unworthiness and helplessness there     

springs up the consciousness of         
reconciliation4 ,man1 with all his      
imperfections1 becomes aware that he is 
the object of the loving purpose of     
,god4 ,still this redemption of a man is
 something which is to be worked out1 in
 the individual life and on the stage of
 universal history4 ,the first step     
beyond the individual life is that of   
the ,church4 ,it is from within this    
community of believers that men1 in the 
rule1 receive the impulse to the good4  
,the community is1 in its idea1 a       
society in which the conquest of evil is
 already being achieved1 where the      
individual is spared much bitter        
conflict and loneliness4 ,nevertheless1 
so long as this unity of the life of man
 with ,god is realised in the ,church   
alone there remains a false and harmful 
opposition between the ,church and the  
world4 ,religion is faced by a hostile  
power to which its principles have no   
application4 ,the world is denounced as 
unholy4 ,with this stigma cast upon it1 

it may be unholy4 ,yet the retribution  
falls also upon the ,church1 in that it 
becomes artificial1 clerical1           
pharisaical4 ,the end is never that what
 have been called the standards of the  
,church shall prevail4 ,the end is that 
the ,church shall be the shrine and     
centre of an influence by virtue of     
which the standard of truth and goodness
 which naturally belongs to any relation
 of life shall prevail4 ,the distinction
 between religion and secular life must 
be abandoned4 ,nothing is less sacred   
than a ,church set on its own           
aggrandisement4 ,the relations of family
 and of the ,state1 of business and     
social life1 are to be restored to the  
divineness which belongs to them1 or    
rather1 the divineness which is         
inalienable from them is to be          
recognised4 ,in the laws and customs of 
a true ,state1 ,christianity first      
penetrates with its principles the real 
world4 ,one sees how large a portion of 
these thoughts have been taken up into  

the programme of modern social          
movements4 ,they are the basis of what  
men call a social theology4 ,a book like
 ,fremantle's ,world as the ,subject of 
,redemption is their thorough-going     
exposition in the ,english tongue4  ,we 
have no cause to pursue the             
philosophical movement beyond this      
point4 ,its exponents are not without   
interest4 ,especially is this true of   
,schopenhauer4 ,but the deposit from    
their work is for our particular purpose
 not great4 ,the wonderful impulse had  
spent itself4 ,these four brilliant men 
stand together1 almost as much isolated 
from the generation which followed them 
as from that which went before4 ,the    
historian of ,christian thought in the  
nineteenth century cannot overestimate  
the significance of their personal      
interest in religion4     ,,chapter     
,,iii  ,,theological ,,reconstruction   
,the outstanding trait of ,kant's       
reflection upon religion is its supreme 
interest in morals and conduct4         

,metaphysician that he was1 ,kant saw   
the evil which intellectualism had done 
to religion4 ,religion was a profoundly 
real thing to him in his own life4      
,religion is a life4 ,it is a system of 
thought only because life is a whole4   
,it is a system of thought only in the  
way of deposit from a vivid and vigorous
 life4 ,a man normally reflects on the  
conditions and aims of what he does4    
,religion is conduct4 ,ends in character
 are supreme4 ,religions and the many   
interpretations of ,christianity have   
been good or bad1 according as they     
ministered to character4 ,so strong was 
this ethical trait in ,kant that it     
dwarfed all else4 ,he was not himself a 
man of great breadth or richness of     
feeling4 ,he was not a man of           
imagination4 ,his religion was austere1 
not to say arid4 ,hegel was before all  
things an intellectualist4 ,speculation 
was the breath of life to him4 ,he had  
metaphysical genius4 ,he tended to      
transform in this direction everything  

which he touched4 ,religion is thought4 
,he criticised the rationalist movement 
from the height of vantage which        
idealism had reached4 ,but as pure      
intellectualist he would put most       
rationalists to shame4 ,we owe to this  
temperament his zeal for an             
interpretation of the universe 'all in  
one piece4' ,its highest quality would  
be its abstract truth4 ,his             
understanding of religion had the glory 
and the limitations which attend this   
view4   ,,schleiermacher   ,between     
,kant and ,hegel came another1          
,schleiermacher4 ,he too was no mean    
philosopher4 ,but he was essentially a  
theologian1 the founder of modern       
theology4 ,he served in the same faculty
 with ,hegel and was overshadowed by    
him4 ,his influence upon religious      
thought was less immediate4 ,it has been
 more permanent4 ,it was                
characteristically upon the side which  
,kant and ,hegel had neglected4 ,that   
was the side of feeling4 ,his theology  

has been called the theology of feeling4
 ,he defined religion as feeling4       
,christianity is for him a specific     
feeling4 ,because he made so much of    
feeling1 his name has been made a       
theological household word by many who  
appropriated little else of all he had  
to teach4 ,his warmth and passion1 his  
enthusiasm for ,christ1 the central     
place of ,christ in his system1 made him
 loved by many who1 had they understood 
him better1 might have loved him less4  
,for his real greatness lay1 not in the 
fact that he possessed these qualities  
alone1 but that he possessed them in a  
singularly beautiful combination with   
other qualities4 ,the emphasis is1      
however1 correct4 ,he was the prophet of
 feeling1 as ,kant had been of ethical  
religion and ,hegel of the              
intellectuality of faith4 ,the entire   
,protestant theology of the nineteenth  
century has felt his influence4 ,the    
,english-speaking race is almost as much
 his debtor as is his own4 ,the ,french 

,huguenots of the revival felt him to be
 one of themselves4 ,even to ,amiel and 
,scherer he was a kindred spirit4  ,it  
is a true remark of ,dilthey that in    
unusual degree an understanding of the  
man's personality and career is         
necessary to the appreciation of his    
thought4 ,friedrich ,ernst ,daniel      
,schleiermacher was born in #agfh in    
,breslau1 the son of a chaplain in the  
,reformed ,church4 ,he never connected  
himself officially with the ,lutheran   
,church4 ,we have alluded to an episode 
broadly characteristic of his youth4 ,he
 was tutor in the house of one of the   
landed nobility of ,prussia1 curate in a
 country parish1 preacher at the ,charit
 in ,berlin in #agie1 professor         
extraordinarius at ,halle in #ahjd1     
preacher at the ,church of the          
,dreifaltigkeit in ,berlin in #ahjg1    
professor of theology and organiser of  
that faculty in the newly-founded       
,university of ,berlin in #ahaj4 ,he    
never gave up his position as pastor and

 preacher1 maintaining this activity    
along with his unusual labours as       
teacher1 executive and author4 ,he died 
in #ahcd4 ,in his earlier years in      
,berlin he belonged to the circle of    
brilliant men and women who made ,berlin
 famous in those years4 ,it was a       
fashionable society composed of persons 
more or less of the rationalistic       
school4 ,not a few of them1 like the    
,schlegels1 were deeply tinged with     
romanticism4 ,there were also among them
 ,jews of the house of the elder        
,mendelssohn4 ,morally it was a society 
not altogether above reproach4 ,its     
opposition to religion was a by-word4   
,an affection of the susceptible youth  
for a woman unhappily married brought   
him to the verge of despair4 ,it was an 
affection which his passing pride as    
romanticist would have made him think it
 prudish to discard1 while the deep1    
underlying elements of his nature made  
it inconceivable that he should indulge4
 ,only in later years did he heal his   

wound in a happy married life4  ,the    
episode was typical of the experience he
 was passing through4 ,he understood the
 public with which his first book dealt4
 ,that book bears the striking title1   
,reden ber die ,religion1 an die        
,gebildeten unter ihren ,verchtern      
7translated1 ,oman1 ,oxford1 #ahic74    
,his public understood him4 ,he could   
reach them as perhaps no other man could
 do4 ,if he had ever concealed what     
religion was to him1 he now paid the    
price4 ,if they had made light of him1  
he now made war on them4 ,this meed they
 could hardly withhold from him1 that he
 understood most other things quite as  
well as they1 and religion much better  
than they4 ,the rhetorical form is a    
fiction4 ,the addresses were never      
delivered4 ,their tension and straining 
after effect is palpable4 ,they are a   
cry of pain on the part of one who sees 
that assailed which is sacred to him1 of
 triumph as he feels himself able to    
repel the assault1 of brooding          

persuasiveness lest any should fail to  
be won for his truth4 ,he concedes      
everything4 ,it is part of his art to go
 further than his detractors4 ,he is so 
well versed in his subject that he can  
do that with consummate mastery1 where  
they are clumsy or dilettante4 ,it is   
but a pale ghost of religion that he has
 left4 ,but he has attained his purpose4
 ,he has vindicated the place of        
religion in the life of culture4 ,he has
 shown the relation of religion to every
 great thing in civilisation1 its       
affinity with art1 its common quality   
with poetry1 its identity with all      
profound activities of the soul4 ,these 
all are religion1 though their votaries 
know it not4 ,these are reverence for   
the highest1 dependence on the highest1 
self-surrender to the highest4 ,no great
 man ever lived1 no great work was ever 
done1 save in an attitude toward the    
universe1 which is identical with that  
of the religious man toward ,god4 ,the  
universe is ,god4 ,god is the universe4 

,that religionists have obscured this   
simple truth and denied this grand      
relation is true1 and nothing to the    
point4 ,the cultivated should be ashamed
 not to know this4 ,then1 with a        
sympathy with institutional religion and
 a knowledge of history in which he     
stood almost alone1 he retracts much    
that he has yielded1 he rebuilds much   
that he has thrown down1 proclaims much 
which they must now concede4 ,the book  
was published in #agii4 ,twenty years   
later he said sadly that if he were     
rewriting it1 its shafts would be       
directed against some very different    
persons1 against glib and smug people   
who boasted the form of godliness1      
conventional1 even fashionable          
religionists and loveless ecclesiastics4
 ,vast and various influences in the    
,germany of the first two decades of the
 century had wrought for the revival of 
religion4 ,of those influences1 not the 
least had been that of ,schleiermacher's
 book4 ,among the greatest had been     

,schleiermacher himself4  ,the religion 
of feeling1 as advocated in the ,reden1 
had left much on the ethical side to be 
desired4 ,this defect the author sought 
to remedy in his ,monologen1 published  
in #ahjj4 ,the programme of theological 
studies for the new ,university of      
,berlin1 ,kurze ,darstellung des        
,theologischen ,studiums1 #ahaa1 shows  
his theological system already in large 
part matured4 ,his ,der christliche     
,glaube1 published in #ahba1 revised    
three years before his death in #ahcd1  
is his monumental work4 ,his ,ethik1 his
 lectures upon many subjects1 numerous  
volumes of sermons1 all published after 
his death1 witness his versatility4 ,his
 sermons have the rare note which one   
finds in ,robertson and ,brooks4  ,all  
of the immediacy of religion1 its       
independence of rational argument1 of   
historical tradition or institutional   
forms1 which was characteristic of      
,schleiermacher to his latest day1 is   
felt in the ,reden4 ,by it he thrilled  

the hearts of men as they have rarely   
been thrilled4 ,it is not forms and     
traditions which create religion4 ,it is
 religion which creates these4 ,they    
cannot exist without it4 ,it may exist  
without them1 though not so well or so  
effectively4 ,religion is the sense of  
,god4 ,that sense we have1 though many  
call it by another name4 ,it would be   
more true to say that that sense has us4
 ,it is inescapable4 ,all who have it   
are the religious4 ,those who hold to   
dogmas1 rites1 institutions in such a   
way as to obscure and overlay this sense
 of ,god1 those who hold those as       
substitute for that sense1 are the      
nearest to being irreligious4 ,any form1
 the most outr1 bizarre and             
unconventional1 is good1 so only that it
 helps a man to ,god4 ,all forms are    
evil1 the most accredited the most evil1
 if they come between a man and ,god4   
,the pantheism of the thought of ,god in
 all of ,schleiermacher's early work is 
undeniable4 ,he never wholly put it     

aside4 ,the personality of ,god seemed  
to him a limitation4 ,language is here  
only symbolical1 a mere expression from 
an environment which we know1 flung out 
into the depths of that we cannot see4  
,if the language of personal relations  
helps men in living with their          
truth--well and good4 ,it hinders also4 
,for himself he felt that it hindered   
more than helped4 ,his definition of    
religion as the feeling of dependence   
upon ,god1 is cited as evidence of the  
effect upon him of his contention       
against the personalness of ,god4       
,religion is also1 it is alleged1 the   
sentiment of fellowship with ,god4      
,fellowship implies persons4 ,but to no 
man was the fellowship with the soul of 
his own soul and of all the universe    
more real than was that fellowship to   
,schleiermacher4 ,this was the more true
 in his maturer years1 the years of the 
magnificent rounding out of his thought4
 ,god was to him indeed not 'a man in   
the next street4' ,what he says about   

the problem of the personalness of ,god 
is true4 ,we see1 perhaps1 more clearly 
than did he that the debate is largely  
about words4 ,similarly1 we may say that
 ,schleiermacher's passing denial of the
 immortality of the soul was directed1  
in the first instance1 against the      
crass1 unsocial and immoral view which  
has disfigured much of the teaching of  
religion4 ,his contention was directed  
toward that losing of oneself in ,god   
through ideals and service now1 which in
 more modern phrase we call the entrance
 upon the immortal life here1 the being 
in eternity now4 ,for a soul so         
disposed1 for a life thus inspired1     
death is but an episode4 ,for himself he
 rejoices to declare it one to the issue
 of which he is indifferent4 ,if he may 
thus live with ,god now1 he cares little
 whether or not he shall live by and by4
  ,in his ,monologues ,schleiermacher   
first sets forth his ethical thought4   
,as it is religion that a man feels     
himself dependent upon ,god1 so is it   

the beginning of morality that a man    
feels his dependence upon his fellows   
and their dependence on him4 ,slaves of 
their own time and circumstance1 men    
live out their lives in superficiality  
and isolation4 ,they are a prey to their
 own selfishness4 ,they never come into 
those relations with their fellows in   
which the moral ideal can be realised4  
,man in his isolation from his fellows  
is nothing and accomplishes nothing4    
,the interests of the whole humanity are
 his private interests4 ,his own        
happiness and welfare are not possible  
to be secured save through his          
co-operation with others1 his work and  
service for others4 ,the happiness and  
welfare of others not merely react upon 
his own4 ,they are in a large sense     
identical with his own4 ,this oneness of
 a man with all men is the basis of     
morality1 just as the oneness of man    
with ,god is the basis of religion4 ,in 
both cases the oneness exists whether or
 not we know it4 ,the contradictions and

 miseries into which immoral or unmoral 
conduct plunges us1 are the witness of  
the fact that this inviolable unity of a
 man with humanity is operative1 even if
 he ignores it4 ,often it is his        
ignoring of this relation which brings  
him through misery to consciousness of  
it4 ,man as moral being is but an       
individuation of humanity1 just as1     
again1 as religious being he is but an  
individuation of ,god4 ,the goal of the 
moral life is the absorption of self1   
the elimination of self1 which is at the
 same time the realisation of self1     
through the life and service for others4
 ,the goal of religion is the           
elimination of self1 the swallowing up  
of self1 in the service of ,god4 ,in    
truth1 the unity of man with man is at  
bottom only another form of his unity   
with ,god1 and the service of humanity  
is the identical service of ,god4 ,other
 so-called services of ,god are a means 
to this1 or else an illusion4 ,this     
parallel of religion and morals is to be

 set over against other passages1 easily
 to be cited1 in which ,schleiermacher  
speaks of passivity and contemplation as
 the means of the realisation of the    
unity of man and ,god1 as if the        
elimination of self meant a sort of     
,nirvana4 ,schleiermacher was a         
pantheist and mystic4 ,no philosopher   
save ,kant ever influenced him half so  
much as did ,spinoza4 ,there is         
something almost oriental in his mood at
 times4 ,an occasional fragment of      
description of religion might pass as a 
better delineation of ,buddhism than of 
,christianity4 ,this universality of his
 mind is interesting4 ,these elements   
have not been unattractive to some      
portions of his following4 ,one wearied 
with the ,philistinism of the modern    
popular urgency upon practicality turns 
to ,schleiermacher1 as indeed sometimes 
to ,spinoza1 and says1 here is a man who
 at least knows what religion is4 ,yet  
nothing is further from the truth than  
to say that ,schleiermacher had no sense

 for the meaning of religion in the     
outward life and present world4  ,in the
 ,reden ,schleiermacher had contended   
that religion is a condition of devout  
feeling1 specifically the feeling of    
dependence upon ,god4 ,this view        
dominates his treatment of              
,christianity4 ,it gives him his point  
of departure4 ,a ,christian is possessed
 of the devout feeling of dependence    
upon ,god through ,jesus ,christ or1 as 
again he phrases it1 of dependence upon 
,christ4 ,christianity is a positive    
religion in the sense that it has direct
 relation to certain facts in the       
history of the race1 most of all to the 
person of ,jesus of ,nazareth4 ,but it  
does not consist in any positive        
propositions whatsoever4 ,these have    
arisen in the process of interpretation 
of the faith4 ,the substance of the     
faith is the experience of renewal in   
,christ1 of redemption through ,christ4 
,this inward experience is neither      
produced by pure thought nor dependent  

upon it4 ,like all other experience it  
is simply an object to be described and 
reckoned with4 ,orthodox dogmatists had 
held that the content of the ,christian 
faith is a doctrine given in revelation4
 ,schleiermacher held that it is a      
consciousness inspired primarily by the 
personality of ,jesus4 ,it must be      
connected with the other data and acta  
of our consciousness under the general  
laws of the operation of the mind4      
,against rationalism and much so-called 
liberal ,christianity1 ,schleiermacher  
contended that ,christianity is not a   
new set of propositions periodically    
brought up to date and proclaimed as if 
these alone were true4 ,new propositions
 can have only the same relativity of   
truth which belonged to the old ones in 
their day4 ,they may stand between men  
and religion as seriously as the others 
had done4  ,the condition of the heart1 
which is religion1 the experience       
through ,jesus which is ,christianity1  
is primarily an individual matter4 ,but 

it is not solely such4 ,it is a common  
experience also4 ,schleiermacher        
recognises the common element in the    
,christian consciousness1 the element   
which shows itself in the ,christian    
experience of all ages1 of different    
races and of countless numbers of men4  
,by this recognition of the ,christian  
,church in its deep and spiritual sense1
 ,schleiermacher hopes to escape the    
vagaries and eccentricities1 and again  
the narrowness and bigotries of pure    
individualism4 ,no liberal theologian   
until ,schleiermacher had had any       
similar sense of the meaning of the     
,christian ,church1 and of the privilege
 and duty of ,christian thought to      
contribute to the welfare of that body  
of men believing in ,god and following  
,christ which is meant by the ,church4  
,this is in marked contrast with the    
individualism of ,kant4 ,of course1     
,schleiermacher would never have        
recognised as the ,church that part of  
humanity which is held together by      

adherence to particular dogmas1 since1  
for him1 ,christianity is not dogma4    
,still less could he recognise as the   
,church that part of mankind which is   
held together by a common tradition of  
worship1 or by a given theory of        
organisation1 since these also are      
historical and incidental4 ,he meant by 
the ,church that part of humanity1 in   
all places and at all times1 which has  
been held together by the common        
possession of the ,christian            
consciousness and the ,christian        
experience4 ,the outline of this        
experience1 the content of this         
consciousness1 can never be so defined  
as to make it legislatively operative4  
,if it were so defined we should have   
dogma and not ,christianity4            
,nevertheless1 it may be practically    
potent4 ,the degree in which a given man
 may justly identify his own            
consciousness and experience with that  
of the ,christian world is              
problematical4 ,in ,schleiermacher's own

 case1 the identification of some of his
 contentions as1 for example1 the       
thought that ,god is not personal with  
the great ,christian consciousness of   
the past1 is more than problematical4   
,to this ,schleiermacher would reply    
that if these contentions were true1    
they would become the possession of     
spiritual ,christendom with the lapse of
 time4 ,advance always originated with  
one or a few4 ,if1 however1 in the end1 
a given portion found no place in the   
consciousness of generation truly       
evidencing their ,christian life1 that  
position would be adjudged an           
idiosyncrasy1 a negligible quantity4    
,this view of ,schleiermacher's as to   
the ,church is suggestive4 ,it is the   
undertone of a view which widely        
prevails in our own time4 ,it is        
somewhat difficult of practical         
combination with the traditional marks  
of the churches1 as these have been     
inherited even in ,protestantism from   
the ,catholic age4  ,in a very real     

sense ,jesus occupied the central place 
in ,schleiermacher's system4 ,the       
centralness of ,jesus ,christ he himself
 was never weary of emphasising4 ,it    
became in the next generation a favorite
 phrase of some who followed            
,schleiermacher's pure and bounteous    
spirit afar off4 ,too much of a mystic  
to assert that it is through ,jesus     
alone that we know ,god1 he yet accords 
to ,jesus an absolutely unique place in 
revelation4 ,it is through the character
 and personality of ,jesus that the     
change in the character of man1 which is
 redemption1 is marshalled and          
sustained4 ,redemption is a man's being 
brought out of the condition in which   
all higher self consciousness was dimmed
 and enfeebled1 into one in which this  
higher consciousness is vivid and strong
 and the power of self-determination    
toward the good has been restored4      
,salvation is thus moral and spiritual1 
present as well as future4 ,it is       
possible in the future only because     

actual in the present4 ,it is the       
reconstruction of a man's nature and    
life by the action of the spirit of     
,god1 conjointly with that of man's own 
free spirit4  ,it is intelligible in    
,schleiermacher's context that ,jesus   
should be spoken of as the sole redeemer
 of men1 their only hope1 and that the  
,christian's dependence upon him should 
be described as absolute4 ,as a matter  
of fact1 however1 the idea of dependence
 upon ,christ alone has been often1     
indeed1 one may say generally1          
associated with a conception of         
salvation widely different from that of 
,schleiermacher4 ,it has been oftenest  
associated with the notion of something 
purely external1 forensic1 even magical4
 ,it is connected1 even down to our own 
time1 with reliance upon the blood of   
,christ1 almost as if this were         
externally applied4 ,it has postulated a
 propitiatory sacrifice1 a vicarious    
atonement1 a completed transaction1     
something which was laid up for all and 

waiting to be availed of by some4 ,now  
every external1 forensic1 magical notion
 of salvation1 as something purchased   
for us1 imputed to us1 conferred upon   
us1 would have been utterly impossible  
to ,schleiermacher4 ,it is within the   
soul of man that redemption takes place4
 ,conferment from the side of ,god and  
,christ1 or from ,god through ,christ1  
can be nothing more1 as also it can be  
nothing less1 than the imparting of     
wisdom and grace and spiritual power    
from the personality of ,jesus1 which a 
man then freely takes up within himself 
and gives forth as from himself4 ,the   
,christian consciousness contains1 along
 with the sense of dependence upon      
,jesus1 the sense of moral alliance and 
spiritual sympathy with him1 of a free  
relation of the will of man to the will 
of ,god as revealed in ,jesus4 ,the will
 of man is set upon the reproduction    
within himself1 so far as possible1 of  
the consciousness1 experience and       
character of ,jesus4  ,the sin from     

which man is to be delivered is         
described by ,schleiermacher thus3 ,it  
is the dominance of the lower nature in 
us1 of the sense-consciousness4 ,it is  
the determination of our course of life 
by the senses4 ,this preponderance of   
the senses over the consciousness of    
,god is the secret of unhappiness1 of   
the feeling of defeat and misery in men1
 of the need of salvation4 ,one has to  
read ,schleiermacher's phrase1 'the     
senses' here1 as we read ,paul's phrase1
 'the flesh4' ,on the other hand1 the   
preponderance of the consciousness of   
,god1 the willing obedience to it in    
every act of life1 becomes to us the    
secret of strength and of blessedness in
 life4 ,this is the special experience  
of the ,christian4 ,it is the effect of 
the impulse and influence of ,christ4   
,we receive this impulse in a manner    
wholly consistent with the laws of our  
psychological and moral being4 ,we carry
 forward this impulse with varying      
fortunes and by free will4 ,it comes to 

us1 however1 from without and from      
above1 through one who was indeed true  
man1 but who is also1 in a manner not   
further explicable1 to be identified    
with the moral ideal of humanity4 ,this 
identification of ,jesus with the moral 
ideal is complete and unquestioning with
 ,schleiermacher4 ,it is visible in the 
interchangeable use of the titles ,jesus
 and ,christ4 ,our saving consciousness 
of ,god could proceed from the person of
 ,jesus only if that consciousness were 
actually present in ,jesus in an        
absolute measure4 ,ideal and person in  
him perfectly coincide4  ,as typical and
 ideal man1 according to                
,schleiermacher1 ,jesus was             
distinguished from all other founders of
 religions4 ,these come before us as men
 chosen from the number of their        
fellows1 receiving1 quite as much for   
themselves as for others1 that which    
they received from ,god4 ,it is nowhere 
implied that ,jesus himself was in need 
of redemption1 but rather that he alone 

possessed from earliest years the       
fulness of redemptive power4 ,he was    
distinguished from other men by his     
absolute moral perfection4 ,this        
excluded not merely actual sin1 but all 
possibility of sin and1 accordingly1 all
 real moral struggle4 ,this perfection  
was characterised also by his freedom   
from error4 ,he never originated an     
erroneous notion nor adopted one from   
others as a conviction of his own4 ,in  
this respect his person was a moral     
miracle in the midst of the common life 
of our humanity1 of an order to be      
explained only by a new spiritually     
creative act of ,god4 ,on the other     
hand1 ,schleiermacher says squarely that
 the absence of the natural paternal    
participation in the origin of the      
physical life of ,jesus1 according to   
the account in the first and third      
,gospels1 would add nothing to the moral
 miracle if it could be proved and      
detract nothing if it should be taken   
away4 ,singular is this ability on the  

part of ,schleiermacher to believe in   
the moral miracle1 not upon its own     
terms1 of which we shall speak later1   
but upon terms upon which the outward   
and physical miracle1 commonly          
so-called1 had become1 we need not say  
incredible1 but unnecessary to          
,schleiermacher himself4 ,singular is   
this whole part of ,schleiermacher's    
construction1 with its lapse into       
abstraction of the familiar sort1 of    
which1 in general1 the working of his   
mind had been so free4 ,for surely what 
we here have is abstraction4 ,it is an  
undissolved fragment of metaphysical    
theology4 ,it is impossible of          
combination with the historical4 ,it is 
wholly unnecessary for the religious    
view of salvation which ,schleiermacher 
had distinctly taken4 ,it is surprising 
how slow men have been to learn that the
 absolute cannot be historic nor the    
historic absolute4  ,surely the claim   
that ,jesus was free from error in      
intellectual conception is unnecessary1 

from the point of view of the saving    
influence upon character which          
,schleiermacher had asserted4 ,it is in 
contradiction with the view of          
revelation to which ,schleiermacher had 
already advanced4 ,it is to be accounted
 for only from the point of view of the 
mistaken assumption that the divine1    
even in manifestation1 must be perfect1 
in the sense of that which is static and
 not of that which is dynamic4 ,the     
assertion is not sustained from the     
,gospel itself4 ,it reduces many aspects
 of the life of ,jesus to mere          
semblance4 ,that also which is claimed  
in regard to the abstract impossibility 
of sin upon the part of ,jesus is in    
hopeless contradiction with that which  
,schleiermacher had said as to the      
normal and actual development of ,jesus1
 in moral as also in all other ways4    
,such development is impossible without 
struggle4 ,struggle is not real when    
failure is impossible4 ,so far as we    
know1 it is in struggle only that       

character is made4 ,even as to the      
actual commission of sin on ,jesus'     
part1 the assertion of the abstract     
necessity of his sinlessness1 for the   
work of moral redemption1 goes beyond   
anything which we know4 ,the question of
 the sinlessness of ,jesus is not an a  
priori question4 ,to say that he was by 
conception free from sin is to beg the  
question4 ,we thus form a conception and
 then read the ,gospels to find evidence
 to sustain it4 ,to say that he did1    
though tempted in all points like as we 
are1 yet so conduct himself in the      
mystery of life as to remain unstained1 
is indeed to allege that he achieved    
that which1 so far us we know1 is       
without parallel in the history of the  
race4 ,but it is to leave him true man1 
and so the moral redeemer of men who    
would be true4 ,to say that1 if he were 
true man1 he must have sinned1 is again 
to beg the question4 ,let us repeat that
 the question is one of evidence4 ,to   
say that he was1 though true man1 so far

 as we have any evidence in fact1 free  
from sin1 is only to say that his       
humanity was uniquely penetrated by the 
spirit of ,god for the purposes of the  
life which he had to live4 ,that        
heart-broken recollection of his own sin
 which one hears in ,the ,scarlet       
,letter1 giving power to the preacher   
who would reach men in their sins1 has  
not the remotest parallel in any        
reminiscence of ,jesus which we possess4
 ,there is every evidence of the purity 
of ,jesus' consciousness4 ,there is no  
evidence of the consciousness of sin4   
,there is a passage in the ,discourses1 
in which ,schleiermacher himself        
declared that the identification of the 
fundamental idea of religion with the   
historical fact in which that religion  
had its rise1 was a mistake4 ,surely it 
is exactly this mistake which           
,schleiermacher has here made4  ,it will
 be evident from all that has been said 
that to ,schleiermacher the ,scripture  
was not the foundation of faith4 ,as    

such it was almost universally regarded 
in his time4 ,the ,new ,testament1 he   
declared1 is itself but a product of the
 ,christian consciousness4 ,it is a     
record of the ,christian experience of  
the men of the earlier time4 ,to us it  
is a means of grace because it is the   
vivid and original register of that     
experience4 ,the ,scriptures can be     
regarded as the work of the ,holy       
,spirit only in so far as this was this 
common spirit of the early ,church4     
,this spirit has borne witness to       
,christ in these writings not           
essentially otherwise than in later     
writings1 only more at first hand1 more 
under the impression of intercourse with
 ,jesus4 ,least of all may we base the  
authority of ,scripture upon a theory of
 inspiration such as that generally     
current in ,schleiermacher's time4 ,it  
is the personality of ,jesus which is   
the inspiration of the ,new ,testament4 
,christian faith1 including the faith in
 the ,scriptures1 can rest only upon the

 total impression of the character of   
,jesus4  ,in the same manner            
,schleiermacher speaks of miracles4     
,these cannot be regarded in the        
conventional manner as supports of      
religion1 for the simplest of all       
reasons4 ,they presuppose religion and  
faith and must be understood by means of
 those4 ,the accounts of external       
miracles contained in the ,gospels are  
matters for unhesitating criticism4 ,the
 ,christian finds1 for moral reasons and
 because of the response of his own     
heart1 the highest revelation of ,god in
 ,jesus ,christ4 ,extraordinary events  
may be expected in ,jesus' career4 ,yet 
these can be called miracles only       
relatively1 as containing something     
extraordinary for contemporary          
knowledge4 ,they may remain to us events
 wholly inexplicable1 illustrating a law
 higher than any which we yet know4     
,therewith they are not taken out of the
 realm of the orderly phenomena of      
nature4 ,in other words1 the notion of  

the miraculous is purely subjective4    
,what is a miracle for one age may be no
 miracle in the view of the next4       
,whatever the deeds of ,jesus may have  
been1 however inexplicable all ages may 
find them1 we can but regard them as    
merely natural consequences of the      
personality of ,jesus1 unique because he
 was unique4 ',in the interests of      
religion the necessity can never arise  
of regarding an event as taken out of   
its connection with nature1 in          
consequence of its dependence upon      
,god4'  ,it is not possible within the  
compass of this book to do more than    
deal with typical and representative    
persons4 ,schleiermacher was            
epoch-making4 ,he gathered in himself   
the creative impulses of the preceding  
period4 ,the characteristic theological 
tendencies of the two succeeding        
generations may be traced back to him4  
,many men worked in seriousness upon the
 theological problem4 ,no one of them   
marks an era again until we come to     

,ritschl4 ,the theologians of the       
interval between ,schleiermacher and    
,ritschl have been divided into three   
groups4 ,the first group is of          
distinctly philosophical tendency4 ,the 
influence of ,hegel was felt upon them  
all4 ,to this group belong ,schweitzer1 
,biedermann1 ,lipsius1 and ,pfleiderer4 
,the influence of ,hegel was greatest   
upon ,biedermann1 least upon ,lipsius4  
,an estimate of the influence of        
,schleiermacher would reverse that      
order4 ,especially did ,lipsius seek to 
lay at the foundation of his work that  
exact psychological study of the        
phenomena of religion which             
,schleiermacher had declared requisite4 
,it is possible that ,lipsius will more 
nearly come to his own when the         
enthusiasm for ,ritschl has waned4 ,the 
second group of ,schleiermacher's       
followers took the direction opposite to
 that which we have named4 ,they were   
the confessional theologians4 ,hoffmann 
shows himself learned1 acute and full of

 power4 ,one does not see1 however1 why 
his method should not prove anything    
which any confession ever claimed4 ,he  
sets out from ,schleiermacher's         
declaration concerning the content of   
the ,christian consciousness4 ,in       
,hoffmann's own devout consciousness    
there had been response1 since his      
childhood1 to every item which the creed
 alleged4 ,therefore these items must   
have objective truth4 ,one is reminded  
of an ,english parallel in ,newman's    
,grammar of ,assent4 ,yet another group1
 that of the so-called mediating        
theologians1 contains some well-known   
names4 ,here belong ,nitzsch1 ,rothe1   
,mller1 ,dorner4 ,the name had          
originally described the effort to find1
 in the ,union1 common ground between   
,lutherans and ,reformed4 ,in the fact  
that it made the creeds of little       
importance and fell back on             
,schleiermacher's emphasis upon feeling1
 the movement came to have the character
 also of an attempt to find a middle way

 between confessionalists and           
rationalists4 ,its representatives had  
often the kind of breadth of sympathy   
which goes with lack of insight1 rather 
than that breadth of sympathy which is  
due to the possession of insight4 ,yet  
,rothe rises to real distinction1       
especially in his forecast of the social
 interpretation of religion4 ,with the  
men of this group arose a speculation   
concerning the person of ,christ which  
for a time had some currency4 ,it was   
called the theory of the kenosis4 ,jesus
 is spoken of in a famous passage of the
 letter to the ,philippians2 as having  
emptied himself of divine qualities that
 he might be found in fashion as a man4 
,in this speculation the divine         
attributes were divided into two        
classes4 ,of the one class it was held  
,christ had emptied himself in becoming 
flesh1 or at least he had them in       
abeyance4 ,he had them1 but did not use 
them4 ,what we have here is but a       
despairing effort to be just to ,jesus' 

humanity and yet to assert his deity in 
the ancient metaphysical terms4 ,it is  
but saying yes and no in the same       
breath4 ,biedermann said sadly of the   
speculation that it represented the     
kenosis1 not of the divine nature1 but  
of the human understanding4   ,,ritschl 
,,and ,,the ,,ritschlians   ,if any man 
in the department of theology in the    
latter half of the nineteenth century   
attained a position such as to entitle  
him to be compared with ,schleiermacher1
 it was ,ritschl4 ,he was long the most 
conspicuous figure in any chair of      
dogmatic theology in ,germany4 ,he      
established a school of theological     
thinkers in a sense in which            
,schleiermacher never desired to gain a 
following4 ,he exerted ecclesiastical   
influence of a kind which               
,schleiermacher never sought4 ,he was   
involved in controversy in a degree to  
which the life of ,schleiermacher       
presents no parallel4 ,he was not a     
preacher1 he was no philosopher4 ,he was

 not a man of ,schleiermacher's breadth 
of interest4 ,his intellectual history  
presents more than one breach within    
itself1 as that of ,schleiermacher      
presented none1 despite the wide arc    
which he traversed4 ,of ,ritschl1 as of 
,schleiermacher1 it may be said that he 
exerted a great influence over many who 
have only in part agreed with him4      
,albrecht ,ritschl was born in #ahbb in 
,berlin1 the son of a bishop in the     
,lutheran ,church4 ,he was educated at  
,bonn and at ,tbingen4 ,he established  
himself at ,bonn1 where1 in #ahec1 he   
became professor extraordinarius and in 
#ahfj ordinaries4 ,in #ahfd he was      
called to ,gttingen4 ,in #ahgd he became
 consistorialrath in the new ,prussian  
establishment for the ,hanoverian       
,church4 ,he died in #ahhh4 ,these are  
the simple outward facts of a somewhat  
stormy professional career4 ,there was  
pietistic influence in ,ritschl's       
ancestry1 as also in ,schleiermacher's4 
,ritschl had1 however1 reacted violently

 against it4 ,his attitude was that of  
repudiation of everything mystical4 ,he 
had strong aversion to the type of piety
 which rested its assurance solely upon 
inward experience4 ,this aversion is one
 root of the historic positivism which  
makes him1 at the last1 assert the      
worthlessness of all supposed           
revelations outside of the ,bible and of
 all supposed ,christian experience     
apart from the influence of the         
historical ,christ4 ,he began his career
 under the influence of ,hegel4 ,he came
 to the position in which he felt that  
the sole hope for theology was in the   
elimination from it of all metaphysical 
elements4 ,he felt that none of his     
predecessors had carried out            
,schleiermacher's dictum1 that religion 
is not thought1 but religious thought   
only one of the functions of religion4  
,yet1 of course1 he was not able to     
discuss fundamental theological         
questions without philosophical basis1  
particularly an explicit theory of      

knowledge4 ,his theory of knowledge he  
had derived eclectically and somewhat   
eccentrically1 from ,lotze and ,kant4   
,to this day not all1 either of his     
friends or foes1 are quite certain what 
it was4 ,it is open to doubt whether    
,ritschl really arrived at his theory of
 cognition and then made it one of the  
bases of his theology4 ,it is           
conceivable that he made his theology   
and then propounded his theory of       
cognition in its defence4 ,in a word1   
the basis of distinction between        
religious and scientific knowledge is   
not to be sought in its object4 ,it is  
to be found in the sphere of the        
subject1 in the difference of attitude  
of the subject toward the object4       
,religion is concerned with what he     
calls ,werthurtheile1 judgments of      
value1 considerations of our relation to
 the world1 which are of moment solely  
in accordance with their value in       
awakening feelings of pleasure or of    
pain4 ,the thought of ,god1 for example1

 must be treated solely as a judgment of
 value4 ,it is a conception which is of 
worth for the attainment of good1 for   
our spiritual peace and victory over the
 world4 ,what ,god is in himself we     
cannot know1 an existential ,judgment we
 cannot form without going over to the  
metaphysicians4 ,what ,god is to us we  
can know simply as religious men and    
solely upon the basis of religious      
experience4 ,god is holy love4 ,that is 
a religious value-judgment4 ,but what   
sort of a being ,god must be in order   
that we may assign to him these         
attributes1 we cannot say without       
leaving the basis of experience4 ,this  
is pragmatism indeed4 ,it opens up      
boundless possibilities of subjectivism 
in a man who was apparently only too    
matter-of-fact4  ,there was a time in   
his career when ,ritschl was popular    
with both conservatives and liberals4   
,there were long years in which he was  
bitterly denounced by both4 ,yet there  
was something in the man and in his     

teaching which went beyond all the      
antagonisms of the schools4 ,there can  
be no doubt that it was the intention of
 ,ritschl to build his theology solely  
upon the gospel of ,jesus ,christ4 ,the 
joy and confidence with which this      
theology could be preached1 ,ritschl    
awakened in his pupils in a degree which
 had not been equalled by any theologian
 since ,schleiermacher himself4 ,numbers
 who1 in the time of philosophical and  
scientific uncertainty1 had lost their  
courage1 regained it in contact with his
 confident and deeply religious spirit4 
,a wholesome nature1 eminently objective
 in temper1 concentrated with all his   
force upon his task1 of rare dialectical
 gifts1 he had a great sense of humour  
and occasionally also the faculty of    
bitterly sarcastic speech4 ,his very    
figure radiated the delight of conflict 
as he walked the ,gttingen wall4  ,a    
devoted pupil1 writing immediately after
 ,ritschl's death1 used concerning      
,schleiermacher a phrase which we may   

transfer to ,ritschl himself4 ',one     
wonders whether such a theology ever    
existed as a connected whole1 except in 
the mind of its originator4 ,neither by 
those about him1 nor by those after him1
 has it been reproduced in its entirety 
or free from glaring contradictions4'   
,it was not free from contradictions in 
,ritschl's own mind4 ,his pupils divided
 his inheritance among them4 ,each      
appropriated that which accorded with   
his own way of looking at things and    
viewed the remainder as something which 
might be left out of the account4 ,it is
 long since one could properly speak of 
a ,ritschlian school4 ,it will be long  
until we shall cease to reckon with a   
,ritschlian influence4 ,he did yeoman   
service in breaking down the high       
,lutheran confessionalism which had been
 the order of the day4 ,in his          
recognition of the excesses of the      
,tbingen school all would now agree4 ,in
 his feeling against mere               
sentimentalities of piety many          

sympathise4 ,in his emphasis upon the   
ethical and practical1 in his urgency   
upon the actual problem of a man's      
vocation in the world1 he meets in      
striking manner the temper of our age4  
,in his emphasis upon the social factor 
in religion1 he represents a popular    
phase of thought4 ,with all of this1 it 
is strange to find a man of so much     
learning who had so little sympathy with
 the comparative study of religions1 who
 was such a dogmatist on behalf of his  
own inadequate notion of revelation1 the
 logical effect of whose teaching       
concerning the ,church would be the     
revival of an institutionalism and      
externalism such as ,protestantism has  
hardly known4  ,since ,schleiermacher   
the ,german theologians had made the    
problem of the person of ,christ the    
centre of discussion4 ,in the same      
period the problem of the person of     
,christ had been the central point of   
debate in ,america4 ,here1 as there1 all
 the other points arranged themselves   

about this one4 ,the new movement which 
went out from ,ritschl took as its      
centre the work of ,christ in           
redemption4 ,this is obvious from the   
very title of ,ritschl's great book1    
,die ,christliche ,lehre von der        
,rechtfertigung und ,vershnung4 ,of this
 work the first edition of the third and
 significant volume was published in    
#ahgd4 ,before that time the formal     
treatises on theology had followed a    
traditional order of topics4 ,it had    
been assumed as self-evident that one   
should speak of a person before one     
talked of his work4 ,it did not occur to
 the theologians that in the case of the
 divine person1 at all events1 we can   
securely say that we know something as  
to his work4 ,much concerning his person
 must remain a mystery to us1 exactly   
because he is divine4 ,our safest       
course1 therefore1 would be to infer the
 unknown qualities of his person from   
the known traits of his work4 ,certainly
 this would be true as to the work of   

,god in nature4 ,this was not the way1  
however1 in which the minds of          
theologians worked4 ,the habit of       
dealing with conceptions as if they were
 facts had too deep hold upon them4 ,so 
long as men believed in revelation as   
giving them1 not primarily ,god and the 
transcendental world itself1 but        
information about ,god and the          
transcendental1 they naturally held that
 they knew as much of the persons of    
,god and ,christ as of their works4     
,schleiermacher had opened men's eyes to
 the fact that the great work of ,christ
 in redemption is an inward one1 an     
ethical and spiritual work1 the         
transformation of character4 ,he had    
said1 not merely that the transformation
 of man's character follows upon the    
work of redemption4 ,it is the work of  
redemption4 ,the primary witness to the 
work of ,christ is1 therefore1 in the   
facts of consciousness and history4     
,these are capable of empirical         
scrutiny4 ,they demand psychological    

investigation4 ,when thus investigated  
they yield our primary material for any 
assertion we may make concerning ,god4  
,above all1 it is the nature of ,jesus1 
as learned on the evidence of his work  
in the hearts of men1 which is our great
 revelation and source of inference     
concerning the nature of ,god4 ,instead 
of saying in the famous phrase1 that the
 ,christians think of ,christ as ,god1  
we say that we are able to think of     
,god1 as a religious magnitude1 in no   
other terms than in those of his        
manifestation and redemptive activity in
 ,jesus4  ,none since ,kant1 except     
extreme confessionalists1 and those in  
diminishing degree1 have held that the  
great effect of the work of ,christ was 
upon the mind and attitude of ,god4     
,less and less have men thought of      
justification as forensic and judicial1 
a declaring sinners righteous in the eye
 of the divine law1 the attribution of  
,christ's righteousness to men1 so far  
at least as to relieve these last of    

penalty4 ,this was the ,anselmic scheme4
 ,indeed1 it had been ,tertullian's4    
,less and less have men thought of      
reconciliation as that of an angry ,god 
to men1 more and more as of alienated   
men with ,god4 ,the phrases of the      
orthodoxy of the seventeenth century1   
,lutheran as well as ,calvinistic1      
survive4 ,more and more new meaning1 not
 always consistent1 is injected into    
them4 ,no one would deny that the       
loftiest moral enthusiasm1 the noblest  
sense of duty1 animated the hearts of   
many who thought in the terms of        
,calvinism4 ,the delineation of ,god as 
unreconciled1 of the work and sufferings
 of ,christ as a substitution1 of       
salvation as a conferment1 caused       
gratitude1 tender devotion1 heroic      
allegiance in some4 ,it worked revulsion
 in others4 ,it was protested against   
most radically by ,kant1 as indeed it   
had been condemned by many before him4  
,for ,kant the renovation of character  
was the essential salvation4 ,yet the   

development of his doctrine was         
deficient through the individualistic   
form which it took4 ,salvation was      
essentially a change in the individual  
mind1 brought about through the         
practical reason1 and having its ideal  
in ,jesus4 ,yet for ,kant our salvation 
had no closer relation to the historic  
revelation in ,jesus4 ,furthermore1 so  
much was this change an individual issue
 that we may say that the actualisation 
of redemption would be the same for a   
given man1 were he the only man in the  
universe4 ,to hold fast to the ethical  
idealism of ,kant1 and to overcome its  
subjectivity and individualism1 was the 
problem4  ,the reference to experience  
which underlies all that was said above 
was particularly congruous with the mood
 of an age grown weary of ,hegelianism  
and much impressed with the value of the
 empirical method in all the sciences4  
,another great contention of our age is 
for the recognition of the value of what
 is social4 ,its emphasis is upon that  

which binds men together4 ,salvation is 
not normally achieved except in the life
 of a man among and for his fellows4 ,it
 is by doing one's duty that one becomes
 good4 ,one is saved1 not in order to   
become a citizen of heaven by and by1   
but in order to be an active citizen of 
a kingdom of real human goodness here   
and now4 ,in reality no man is being    
saved1 except as he does actively and   
devotedly belong to that kingdom4 ,the  
individual would hardly be in ,god's    
eyes worth the saving1 except in order  
that he might be the instrumentality of 
the realisation of the kingdom4 ,those  
are ideas which it is possible to       
exaggerate in statement or1 at least1 to
 set forth in all the isolation of their
 quality as half-truths4 ,but it is     
hardly possible to exaggerate their     
significance as a reversal of the       
immemorial one-sidedness1 inadequacy1   
and artificiality both of the official  
statement and of the popular            
apprehension of ,christianity4 ,these   

ideas appeal to men in our time4 ,they  
are popular because men think them      
already4 ,men are pleased1 even when    
somewhat incredulous1 to learn that     
,christianity will bear this social     
interpretation4 ,most ,christians are in
 our time overwhelmingly convinced that 
in this direction lies the              
interpretation which ,christianity must 
bear1 if it is to do the work and meet  
the needs of the age4 ,its consonance   
with some of the truths underlying      
socialism may account1 in a measure1 for
 the influence which the ,ritschlian    
theology has had4  ,as was indicated1   
,ritschl's epoch-making book bears the  
title1 ,the ,christian ,doctrine of     
,justification and ,reconciliation4 ,the
 book might be described in the language
 of the schools as a monograph upon one 
great dogma of the ,christian faith1    
around which1 as the author treats it1  
all the other doctrines are arranged4   
,the familiar topic of justification1 of
 which ,luther made so much1 was thus   

given again the central place4 ,what the
 book really offered was something quite
 different from this4 ,it was a complete
 system of theology1 but it differed    
from the traditional systems of         
theology4 ,these had followed helplessly
 a logical scheme which begins with ,god
 as he is in himself and apart from any 
knowledge which we have of him4 ,they   
then slowly proceeded to man and sin and
 redemption1 one empirical object and   
two concrete experiences which we may   
know something about4 ,ritschl reversed 
the process4 ,he aimed to begin with    
certain facts of life4 ,such facts are  
sin and the consciousness of            
forgiveness1 awareness of restoration to
 the will and power of goodness1 the    
gift of love and of a spirit which can  
feel itself victorious even in the midst
 of ills in life1 confidence that this  
life is not all4 ,these phrases1 taken  
together1 would describe the            
consciousness of salvation4 ,this       
consciousness of sin and salvation is a 

fact in individual men4 ,it has         
evidently been a fact in the life of    
masses of men for many generations4 ,the
 facts have thus a psychology and a     
history from which reflection on the    
phenomenon of faith must take its       
departure4 ,there is no reason why1 upon
 this basis1 and until it departs from  
the scientific methods which are given  
with the nature of its object1 theology 
should not be as truly a science as is  
any other known among men4  ,this       
science starts with man1 who in the     
object of many other sciences4 ,it      
confines itself to man in this one      
aspect of his relation to moral life and
 to the transcendent meaning of the     
universe4 ,it notes the fact that men1  
when awakened1 usually have the sense of
 not being in harmony with the life of  
the universe or on the way to           
realisation of its meaning4 ,it notes   
the fact that many men have had the     
consciousness of progressive restoration
 to that harmony4 ,it inquires as to the

 process of that restoration4 ,it asks  
as to the power of it4 ,it discovers    
that that power is a personal one4 ,men 
have believed that this power has been  
exerted over them1 either in personal   
contact1 or across the ages and through 
generations of believers1 by one ,jesus1
 whom they call ,saviour4 ,they have    
believed that it was ,god who through   
,jesus saved them4 ,jesus' consciousness
 thus became to them a revelation of    
,god4 ,the thought leads on to the      
consideration of that which a saved man 
does1 or ought to do1 in the life of the
 world and among his fellows1 of the    
institution in which this attitude of   
mind is cherished and of the sum total  
of human institutions and relations of  
which the saved life should be the      
inward force4 ,there is room even for a 
clause in which to compress the little  
that we know of anything beyond this    
life4 ,we have written in unconventional
 words4 ,there is no one place1 either  
in ,ritschl's work or elsewhere1 where  

this grand and simple scheme stands     
together in one context4 ,this is       
unfortunate4 ,were this the case1 even  
wayfaring men might have understood     
somewhat better than they have what     
,ritschl was aiming at4  ,it is a still 
greater pity that the execution of the  
scheme should have left so much to be   
desired4 ,that this execution would     
prove difficult needs hardly to be said4
 ,that it could never be the work of one
 man is certainly true4 ,to have had so 
great an insight is title enough to     
fame4 ,ritschl falls off from his       
endeavour as often as did               
,schleiermacher--more often and with    
less excuse4 ,the might of the past is  
great4 ,the lumber which he meekly      
carries along with him is surprising1 as
 one feels his lack of meekness in the  
handling of the lumber which he         
recognised as such4 ,the putting of new 
wine into old bottles is so often       
reprobated by ,ritschl that the reader  
is justly surprised when he nevertheless

 recognises the bottles4 ,the system is 
not 'all of one piece'--distinctly not4 
,there are places where the rent is     
certainly made worse by the old cloth on
 the new garment4 ,the work taken as a  
whole is so bewildering that one finds  
himself asking1 ',what is ,ritschl's    
method8' ,if what is meant is not a     
question of detail1 but of the total    
apprehension of the problem to be       
solved1 the apprehension which we strove
 to outline above1 then ,ritschl's      
courageous and complete inversion of the
 ancient method1 his demand that we     
proceed from the known to the unknown1  
is a contribution so great that all     
shortcomings in the execution of it are 
insignificant4 ,his first volume deals  
with the history of the doctrine of     
justification1 beginning with ,anselm   
and ,abelard4 ,in it ,ritschl's eminent 
qualities as historian come out4 ,in it 
also his prejudices have their play4    
,the second volume deals with the       
,biblical foundations for the doctrine4 

,ritschl was bred in the ,tbingen       
school4 ,yet here is much forced        
exegesis4 ,ritschl's positivistic view  
of the ,scripture and of the whole      
question of revelation1 was not         
congruous with his well-learned biblical
 criticism4 ,the third volume is the    
constructive one4 ,it is of immeasurably
 greater value than the other two4 ,it  
is this third volume which has          
frequently been translated4  ,in respect
 of his contention against metaphysics  
it is hardly necessary that we should go
 into detail4 ,with his empirical and   
psychological point of departure1 given 
above1 most men will find themselves in 
entire sympathy4 ,the confusion of      
religion1 which is an experience1 with  
dogma which is reasoning about it1 and  
the acceptance of statements in         
,scripture which are metaphysical in    
nature1 as if they were religious       
truths--these two things have1 in time  
past1 prevented many earnest thinkers   
from following the true road4 ,when it  

comes to the constructive portion of his
 work1 it is1 of course1 impossible for 
,ritschl to build without the           
theoretical supports which philosophy   
gives1 or to follow up certain of the   
characteristic magnitudes of religion   
without following them into the realm of
 metaphysics1 to which1 quite as truly  
as to that of religion1 they belong4 ,it
 would be unjust to ,ritschl to suppose 
that these facts were hidden from him4  
,as to his attitude toward mysticism1   
there is a word to say4 ,in the long    
history of religious thought those who  
have revolted against metaphysical      
interpretation1 orthodox or unorthodox1 
have usually taken refuge in mysticism4 
,hither the prophet ,augustine takes    
refuge when he would flee the           
ecclesiastic ,augustine1 himself4 ,the  
,brethren of the ,free ,spirit1 ,tauler1
  ,kempis1 ,suso1 the author of the     
,theologia ,germanica1 ,molinos1 ,madame
 ,gayon1 illustrate the thing we mean4  
,ritschl had seen much of mysticism in  

pietist circles4 ,he knew the history of
 the movement well4 ,what impressed his 
sane mind was the fact that unhealthy   
minds have often claimed1 as their      
revelation from ,god1 an experience     
which might1 with more truth1 be        
assigned to almost any other source4 ,he
 desired to cut off the possibility of  
what seemed to him often a tragic       
delusion4 ,the margin of any mystical   
movement stretches out toward           
monstrosities and absurdities4 ,for that
 matter1 what prevents a ,buddhist from 
declaring his thoughts and feelings to  
be ,christianity8 ,indeed1 ,ritschl     
asks1 why is not ,buddhism as good as   
such ,christianity8 ,he is1 therefore1  
suspicious of revelations which have    
nothing by which they can be measured   
and checked4  ,the claim of mystics that
 they came1 in communion with ,god1 to  
the point where they have no need of    
,christ1 seemed to him impious4 ,there  
is no way of knowing that we are in     
fellowship with ,god1 except by         

comparing what we feel that this        
fellowship has given us1 with that which
 we historically learn that the         
fellowship with ,god gave to ,christ4   
,this is the sense and this the         
connexion in which ,ritschl says that we
 cannot come to ,god save in and through
 the historic ,christ as he is given us 
in the ,gospels4 ,the inner life1 at    
least1 which is there depicted for us   
is1 in this outward and authoritative   
sense1 our norm and guide4  ,large      
difficulties loom upon the horizon of   
this positivistic insistence upon       
history4 ,can we know the inner life of 
,christ well enough to use it thus as   
test in every1 or even in any case8     
,does not the use of such a test1 or of 
any test in this external way1 take us  
out of the realm of the religion of the 
spirit8 ,men once said that the ,church 
was their guide4 ,others said the       
,scripture was their guide4 ,now1 in the
 sense of the outwardness of its        
authority1 we repudiate even this4 ,it  

rings devoutly if we say ,christ is our 
guide4 ,yet1 as ,ritschl describes this 
guidance1 in the exigency of his        
contention against mysticism1 have we   
anything different8 ,what becomes of    
,confucianists and ,shintoists1 who have
 never heard of the historic ,christ8   
,and all the while we have the sense of 
a query in our minds4 ,is it open to any
 man to repudiate mysticism absolutely  
and with contumely1 and then leave us to
 discover that he does not mean         
mysticism as historians of every faith  
have understood it1 but only the margin 
of evil which is apparently inseparable 
from it8 ,that margin of evil others see
 and deplore4 ,against it other remedies
 have been suggested1 as1 for example1  
intelligence4 ,some would feel that in  
,ritschl's remedy the loss is greater   
than the gain4  ,this historical        
character of revelation is so truly one 
of the fountain heads of the theology   
which takes its rise in ,ritschl1 that  
it deserves to be considered somewhat   

more at length4 ,the ,ritschlian        
movement has engaged a generation of    
more or less notable thinkers in the    
period since ,ritschl's death4 ,these   
have dissented at many points from      
,ritschl's views1 diverged from his path
 and marked out courses of their own4   
,we shall do well in the remainder of   
this chapter to attempt the delineation 
in terms1 not exclusively of ,ritschl1  
but of that which may with some laxity  
be styled ,ritschlianism4 ,the value    
judgments of religion indicate only the 
subjective form of religious knowledge1 
as the ,ritschlians understand it4      
,faith1 however1 does not invent its own
 contents4 ,historical facts1 composing 
the revelation1 actually exist1 quite   
independent of the use which the        
believer makes of them4 ,no group of    
thinkers have more truly sought to draw 
near to the person of the historic      
,jesus4 ,the historical person1 ,jesus  
of ,nazareth1 is the divine revelation4 
,that sums up this aspect of the        

,ritschlian position4 ,some negative    
consequences of this position we have   
already noted4 ,let us turn to its      
positive significance4  ,herrmann is the
 one of the ,ritschlians who has dealt  
with this matter not only with great    
clearness1 but also with deep ,christian
 feeling in his ,verkehr des ,christen  
mit ,gott1 #ahhf1 and notably in his    
address1 ,der ,begriff der ,offenbarung1
 #ahhg4 ,if the motive of religion were 
an intellectual curiosity1 a verbal     
communication would suffice4 ,as it is a
 practical necessity1 this must be met  
by actual impulse in life4 ,that passing
 out of the unhappiness of sin1 into the
 peace and larger life which is         
salvation1 does indeed imply the        
movement of ,god's spirit on our hearts1
 in conversion and thereafter4 ,this is 
essentially mediated to us through the  
,scriptures1 especially through those of
 the ,new ,testament1 because the ,new  
,testament contains the record of the   
personality of ,jesus4 ,in that our     

personality is filled with the spirit   
which breathes in him1 our salvation is 
achieved4 ,the image of ,jesus which we 
receive acts upon us as something       
indubitably real4 ,it vindicates itself 
as real1 in that it takes hold upon our 
manhood4 ,of course1 this assumes that  
the ,church has been right in accepting 
the ,gospels as historical4 ,herrmann   
candidly faces this question4 ,not every
 word or deed1 he says1 which is        
recorded concerning ,jesus1 belongs to  
this central and dynamic revelation of  
which we speak4 ,we do not help men to  
see ,jesus in a saving way if1 on the   
strength of accounts in the ,new        
,testament1 we insist concerning ,jesus 
that he was born of a virgin1 that he   
raised the dead1 that he himself rose   
from the dead4 ,we should not put these 
things before men with the declaration  
that they must assent to them4 ,we must 
not try to persuade ourselves that that 
which acted upon the disciples as       
indubitably real must of necessity act  

similarly upon us4 ,we are to allow     
ourselves to be seized and uplifted by  
that which1 in our position1 touches us 
as indubitably real4 ,this is1 in the   
first place1 the moral character of     
,jesus4 ,it is his inner life which1 on 
the testimony of the disciples1 meets us
 as something real and active in the    
world1 as truly now as then4 ,what are  
some facts of this inner life8 ,the     
,jesus of the ,new ,testament shows a   
firmness of religious conviction1 a     
clearness of moral judgment1 a purity   
and force of will1 such as are not found
 united in any other figure in history4 
,we have the image of a man who is      
conscious that he does not fall short of
 the ideal for which he offers himself4 
,it is this consciousness which is yet  
united in him with the most perfect     
humility4 ,he lives out his life and    
faces death in a confidence and         
independence which have never been      
approached4 ,he has confidence that he  
can lift men to such a height that they 

also will partake with him in the       
highest good1 through their full        
surrender to ,god and their life of love
 for their fellows4  ,it is clear that  
,herrmann aims to bring to the front    
only those elements in the life of      
,jesus which are likely to prove most   
effectual in meeting the need and       
winning the faith of the men of our age4
 ,he would cast into the background     
those elements which are likely to      
awaken doubt and to hinder the approach 
of men's souls to ,god4 ,for ,herrmann  
himself the virgin birth has the        
significance that the spiritual life of 
,jesus did not proceed from the sinful  
race4 ,but ,herrmann admits that a man  
could hold even that without needing to 
allege that the physical life of ,jesus 
did not come into being in the ordinary 
way4 ,the distinction between the inner 
and outward life of ,jesus1 and the     
declaration that belief in the former   
alone is necessary1 has the result of   
thus ridding us of questions which can  

scarcely fail to be present to the mind 
of every modern man4 ,yet it would be   
unjust to imply that this is the        
purpose4 ,quite the contrary1 the       
distinction is logical for this         
theology4 ,redemption is an affair of   
the inner life of a man4 ,it is the     
force of the inner life of the ,redeemer
 which avails for it4 ,it is from the   
belief that such an inner and spiritual 
life was once realised here on earth1   
that our own faith gathers strength1 and
 gets guidance in the conflict for the  
salvation of our souls4 ,the belief in  
the historicity of such an inner life is
 necessary4 ,so ,harnack also declares  
in his ,wesen des ,christenthums1 #aijj4
 ,it is noteworthy that in this         
connexion neither of these writers      
advances to a form of speculation       
concerning the exalted ,christ1 which in
 recent years has had some currency4    
,according to this doctrine1 there is   
ascribed to the risen and ascended      
,jesus an existence with ,god which is  

thought of in terms different from those
 which we associate with the idea of    
immortality4 ,in other words1 this      
continued existence of ,christ as ,god  
is a counterpart of that existence      
before the incarnation1 which the       
doctrine of the pre-existence alleged4  
,but surely this speculation can have no
 better standing than that of the       
pre-existence4  ,sin in the language of 
religion is defection from the law of   
,god4 ,it is the transgression of the   
divine command4 ,in what measure1       
therefore1 the life of man can be       
thought of as sinful1 depends upon his  
knowledge of the will of ,god4 ,in      
,scripture1 as in the legends of the    
early history of the race1 this         
knowledge stands in intimate connexion  
with the witness to a primitive         
revelation4 ,this thought has had a     
curious history4 ,the ideas of mankind  
concerning ,god and his will have grown 
and changed as much as have any other   
ideas4 ,the rudimentary idea of the good

 is probably of social origin4 ,it first
 emerges in the conflict of men one with
 another4 ,as the personalised ideal of 
conduct1 the god then reacts upon       
conduct1 as the conduct reacts upon the 
notion of the god4 ,only slowly has the 
ideal of the good been clarified4 ,only 
slowly have the gods been ethicised4    
',an honest ,god is the noblest work of 
man4' ,the moralising and spiritualising
 of the idea of ,jahve lies right upon  
the face of the ,old ,testament4 ,the   
ascent of man on his ethical and        
spiritual side is as certain as is that 
on his physical side4 ,long struggle    
upward through ignorance1 weakness1 sin1
 gradual elevating of the standard of   
what ought to he1 growingly successful  
effort to conform to that standard--this
 is what the history of the race has    
seen4  ,athwart this lies the           
traditional dogma4 ,the dogma took up   
into itself a legend of the childhood of
 the world4 ,it elaborated that which in
 ,genesis is vague and poetic into a    

vast scheme which has passed as a sacred
 philosophy of history4 ,it postulated  
an original revelation4 ,it affirmed the
 created state of man as one of holiness
 before a fall4 ,to the framers of the  
dogma1 if sin is the transgression of   
,god's will1 then it must be in light of
 a revelation of that will4 ,in the     
,scriptures we have vague intimations   
concerning ,god's will1 growingly       
clearer knowledge of that will1 evolving
 through history to ,jesus4 ,in the     
dogma we have this grand assumption of a
 paradisaic state of perfectness in     
which the will of ,god was from the     
beginning perfectly known4  ,in the     
,platonic1 as in the rabbinic1          
speculation the idea must precede the   
fact4 ,every step of progress is a      
defection from that idea4 ,the dogma    
suffers from an insoluble contradiction 
within itself4 ,it aims to give us the  
point of departure by which we are to   
recognise the nature of sin4 ,at the    
same moment it would describe the       

perfection of man at which ,god has     
willed that by age-long struggle he     
should arrive4 ,now1 if we place this   
perfection at the beginning of human    
history1 before all human               
self-determination1 we divest it of     
ethical quality4 ,whatever else it may  
be1 it is not character4 ,on the other  
hand1 if we would make this perfection  
really that of moral character1 then we 
cannot place it at the beginning of     
human history1 but far down the course  
of the evolution of the higher human    
traits1 of the consciousness of sin and 
of the struggle for redemption4 ,it is  
not revelation from ,god1 but nave      
imagination1 later giving place to      
adventurous speculation concerning the  
origin of the universe1 which we have in
 the doctrine of the primeval perfection
 of man4 ,we do not really make earnest 
with our ,christian claim that in ,jesus
 we have our paramount revelation1 until
 we admit this4 ,it is through ,jesus1  
and not from ,adam that we know sin4    

,so we might go on to say that the dogma
 of inherited guilt is a contradiction  
in terms4 ,disadvantage may be          
inherited1 weakness1 proclivity to sin1 
but not guilt1 not sin in the sense of  
that which entails guilt4 ,what entails 
guilt is action counter to the will of  
,god which we know4 ,that is always the 
act of the individual man myself4 ,it   
cannot by any possibility be the act of 
another4 ,it may be the consequence of  
the sins of my ancestors that ,i do     
moral evil without knowing it to be     
such4 ,even my fellows view this as a   
mitigation1 if not as an exculpation4   
,the very same act1 however1 which up to
 this point has been only an occasion   
for pity1 becomes sin and entails guilt1
 when it passes through my own mind and 
will as a defection from a will of ,god 
in which ,i believe1 and as a           
righteousness which ,i refuse4 ,the     
confusion of guilt and sin in order to  
the inclusion of all under the need of  
salvation1 as in the ,augustinian       

scheme1 ended in bewilderment and       
stultification of the moral sense4 ,it  
caused men to despair of themselves and 
gravely to misrepresent ,god4 ,it is no 
wonder if in the age of rationalism this
 dogma was largely done away with4 ,the 
religious sense of sin was declared to  
be an hallucination4 ,nothing is more   
evident in the rationalist theology than
 its lack of the sense of sin4 ,this    
alone is sufficient explanation of the  
impotency and inadequacy of that        
theology4 ,kant's doctrine of radical   
evil testifies to his deep sense that   
the rationalists were wrong4 ,he could  
see also the impossibility of the       
ancient view4 ,but he had no substitute4
 ,hegel1 much as he prided himself upon 
the restoration of dogma1 viewed evil as
 only relative1 good in the making4     
,schleiermacher made a beginning of     
construing the thought of sin from the  
point of view of the ,christian         
consciousness4 ,ritschl was the first   
consistently to carry out               

,schleiermacher's idea1 placing the     
,christian consciousness in the centre  
and claiming that the revelation of the 
righteousness of ,god and of the        
perfection of man is in ,jesus4 ,all men
 being sinners1 there is a vast         
solidarity1 which he describes as the   
,kingdom of ,evil and sets over against 
the ,kingdom of ,god1 yet not so that   
the freedom or responsibility of man is 
impaired4 ,god forgives all sin save    
that of wilful resistance to the spirit 
of the good4 ,that is1 ,ritschl regards 
all sin1 short of this last1 as mainly  
ignorance and weakness4 ,it is from     
,ritschl1 and more particularly from    
,kaftan1 that the phrases have been     
mainly taken which served as            
introduction to this paragraph4  ,for   
the work of ,god through ,christ1 in the
 salvation of men from the guilt and    
power of sin1 various terms have been   
used4 ,different aspects of the work    
have been described by different names4 
,redemption1 regeneration1              

justification1 reconciliation and       
election or predestination--these are   
the familiar words4 ,this is the order  
in which the conceptions stand1 if we   
take them as they occur in              
consciousness4 ,election then means     
nothing more than the ultimate reference
 to ,god of the mystery of an experience
 in which the believer already rejoices4
 ,on the other hand1 in the dogma the   
order is reversed4 ,election must come  
first1 since it is the decree of ,god   
upon which all depends4 ,redemption and 
reconciliation have1 in ,christian      
doctrine1 been traditionally regarded as
 completed transactions1 waiting indeed 
to be applied to the individual or      
appropriated by him through faith1 but  
of themselves without relation to faith4
 ,reconciliation was long thought of as 
that of an angry ,god to man4           
,especially was this last the           
characteristic view of the ,west1 where 
juristic notions prevailed4 ,origen     
talked of a right of the devil over the 

soul of man until bought off by the     
sacrifice of ,christ4 ,this is pure     
paganism1 of course4 ,the doctrine of   
,anselm marks a great advance4 ,it runs 
somewhat thus3 ,the divine honour is    
offended in the sin of man4             
,satisfaction corresponding to the      
greatness of the guilt must be rendered4
 ,man is under obligation to render this
 satisfaction2 yet he is unable so to   
do4 ,a sin against ,god is an infinite  
offence4 ,it demands an infinite        
satisfaction4 ,man can render no        
satisfaction which is not finite4 ,the  
way out of this dilemma is the          
incarnation of the divine ,logos4 ,for  
the god-man1 as man1 is entitled to     
bring this satisfaction for men4 ,on the
 other hand1 as ,god he is able so to   
do4 ,in his death this satisfaction is  
embodied4 ,he gave his life freely4 ,god
 having received satisfaction through   
him demands nothing more from us4       
,abelard had1 almost at the same time   
with ,anselm1 interpreted the death of  

,christ in far different fashion4 ,it   
was a revelation of the love of ,god    
which wins men to love in turn4 ,this   
notion of ,abelard was far too subtle4  
,the crass objective dogma of ,anselm   
prevailed4 ,the death of ,christ was a  
sacrifice4 ,the purpose was the         
propitiation of an angry ,god4 ,the     
effect was that1 on the side of ,god1 a 
hindrance to man's salvation was        
removed4 ,the doctrine accurately       
reflects the feudal ideas of the time   
which produced it4 ,in ,grotius was done
 away the notion of private right1 which
 lies at the basis of the theory of     
,anselm4 ,that of public duty took its  
place4 ,a sovereign need not stand upon 
his offended honour1 as in ,anselm's    
thought4 ,still1 he cannot1 like a      
private citizen1 freely forgive4 ,he    
must maintain the dignity of his office1
 in order not to demoralise the world4  
,the sufferings of ,christ did not      
effect a necessary private satisfaction4
 ,they were an example which satisfied  

the moral order of the world4 ,apart    
from this change1 the conception remains
 the same4  ,as ,kaftan argues1 we can  
escape the dreadful externality and     
artificiality of this scheme1 only as   
redemption and regeneration are brought 
back to their primary place in          
consciousness4 ,these are the initial   
experiences in which we become aware of 
,god's work through ,christ in us and   
for us4 ,the reconciliation is of us4   
,the redemption is from our sins4 ,the  
regeneration is to a new moral life4    
,through the influence of ,jesus1       
reconciled on our part to ,god and      
believing in ,his unchanging love to us1
 we are translated into ,god's kingdom  
and live for the eternal in our present 
existence4 ,redemption is indeed the    
work of ,god through ,christ1 but it has
 intelligible parallel in the awakening 
of the life of the mind1 or again of the
 spirit of self-sacrifice1 through the  
personal influence of the wise and good4
 ,salvation begins in such an awakening 

through the personal influence of the   
wisest and best4 ,it is transformation  
of our personality through the          
personality of ,jesus1 by the personal  
,god of truth1 of goodness and of love4 
,all that which ,god through ,jesus has 
done for us is futile1 save as we make  
the actualisation of our deliverance    
from sin our continuous and unceasing   
task4 ,when this connexion of thought is
 broken through1 we transfer the whole  
matter of salvation from the inner to   
the outer world and make of it a        
transaction independent of the moral    
life of man4  ,justification and        
reconciliation also are primarily acts  
and gifts of ,god4 ,justification is a  
forensic act4 ,the sense is not that in 
justification we are made just4 ,we are1
 so to say1 temporarily thus regarded1  
not that leniency may become the        
occasion of a new offence1 but that in  
grateful love we may make it the        
starting point of a new life4 ,we must  
justify our justification4 ,it is easy  

to see the objections to such a course  
on the part of a civil judge4 ,he must  
consider the rights of others4 ,it was  
this which brought ,grotius and the     
rest1 with the ,new ,england theologians
 down to ,park1 to feel that forgiveness
 could not be quite free4 ,if we        
acknowledge that this symbolism of ,god 
as judge or sovereign is all symbolism1 
mere figure of speech1 not fact at all1 
then that objection--and much           
else--falls away4 ,if we assert that    
another figure of speech1 that of ,god  
as ,father1 more perfectly suggests the 
relation of ,god and man1 then          
forgiveness may be free4 ,then          
justification and forgiveness are only  
two words for one and the same idea4    
,then the nightmare of a ,god who would 
forgive and cannot1 of a ,god who will  
forgive but may not justify until       
something further happens1 is all done  
away4 ,then the relation of the death of
 ,jesus to the forgiveness of our sins  
cannot be other than the relation of his

 life to that forgiveness4 ,both the one
 and the other are a revelation of the  
forgiving love of ,god4 ,we may say that
 in his death the whole meaning of his  
life was gathered4 ,we may say that his 
death was the consummation of his life1 
that without it his life would not have 
been what it is4 ,this is1 however1 very
 far from being the ordinary statement  
of the relation of ,jesus' death1 either
 to his own life or to the forgiveness  
of our sins4  ,the doctrinal tradition  
made much also of the deliverance from  
punishment which follows after the      
forgiveness of sin4 ,in fact1 in many   
forms of the dogma1 it has been the     
escape from punishment which was chiefly
 had in mind4 ,along with the forensic  
notion of salvation we largely or wholly
 discard the notion of punishment4 ,we  
retain only the sense that the          
consequence of continuing in sin is to  
become more sinful4 ,god himself is     
powerless to prevent that4 ,punishment  
is immanent1 vital1 necessary4 ,the     

penalty is gradually taken away if the  
sin itself is taken away--not otherwise4
 ,it returns with the sin1 it continues 
in the sin1 it is inseparable from the  
sin4 ,punishment is no longer the right 
word4 ,reward is not the true           
description of that growing better which
 is the consequence of being good4      
,reward or punishment as quid pro quo1  
as arbitrary assignments1 as external   
equivalents1 do not so much as belong to
 the world of ideas in which we move4   
,for this view the idea that ,god laid  
upon ,jesus penalties due to us1 fades  
into thin air4 ,jesus could by no       
possibility have met the punishment of  
sin1 except he himself had been a       
sinner4 ,then he must have met the      
punishment of his own sin and not that  
of others4 ,that portion which one may  
gladly bear of the consequences of      
another's sin may rightfully be called  
by almost any other name4 ,it cannot be 
called punishment since punishment is   
immanent4 ,even eternal death is not a  

judicial assignment for our obstinate   
sinfulness4 ,eternal death is the       
obstinate sinfulness1 and the sinfulness
 the death4  ,it must be evident that   
reconciliation can have1 in this scheme1
 no meaning save that man's being       
reconciled to ,god4 ,jesus reveals a    
,god who has no need to be reconciled to
 us4 ,the alienation is not on the side 
of ,god4 ,that1 being alienated from    
,god1 man may imagine that ,god is      
hostile to him1 is only the working of a
 familiar law of the human mind4 ,the   
fiction of an angry ,god is the most    
awful survival among us of primitive    
paganism4 ,that which ,jesus by his     
revelation of ,god brought to pass was a
 true 'at-one-ment1' a causing of ,god  
and man to be at one again4 ,to the word
 atonement1 as currently pronounced1 and
 as1 until a half century ago1 almost   
universally apprehended1 the notion of  
that which is sacrificial attached4 ,to 
the life and death of ,jesus1 as        
revelation of ,god and ,saviour of men1 

we can no longer attach any sacrificial 
meaning whatsoever4 ,there is indeed the
 perfectly general sense in which so    
beautiful a life and so heroic a death  
were1 of course1 a grand exemplification
 of self-sacrifice4 ,yet this is a sense
 so different from the other and in     
itself so obvious1 that one hesitates to
 use the same word in the immediate     
context with that other1 lest it should 
appear that the intention was to obscure
 rather than to make clear the meaning4 
,for atonement in a sense different from
 that of reconciliation1 we have no     
significance whatever4 ,reconciliation  
and atonement describe one and the same 
fact4 ,in the dogma the words were as   
far as possible from being synonyms4    
,they referred to two facts1 the one of 
which was the means and essential       
prerequisite of the other4 ,the         
vicarious sacrifice was the antecedent  
condition of the reconciling of ,god4   
,in our thought it is not a             
reconciliation of ,god which is aimed   

at4 ,no sacrifice is necessary4 ,no     
sacrifice such as that postulated is    
possible4 ,of the reconciliation of man 
to ,god the only condition is the       
revelation of the love of ,god in the   
life and death of ,jesus and the        
obedient acceptance of that revelation  
on the part of men4     ,,chapter ,,iv  
,,the ,,critical ,,and ,,historical     
,,movement   ,it has been said that in  
,christian times the relation of        
philosophy and religion may be          
determined by the attitude of reason    
toward a single matter1 namely1 the     
churchly doctrine of revelation4#d      
,there are three possible relations of  
reason to this doctrine4 ,first1 it may 
be affirmed that the content of religion
 and theology is matter communicated to 
man in extraordinary fashion1 truth     
otherwise unattainable1 on which it is  
beyond the competence of reason to sit  
in judgment4 ,we have then the two      
spheres arbitrarily separated4 ,as      
regards their relation1 theology is at  

first supreme4 ,reason is the handmaiden
 of faith4 ,it is occupied in applying  
the principles which it receives at the 
hands of theology4 ,these are the       
so-called ,ages of ,faith4 ,notably was 
this the attitude of the ,middle ,age4  
,but in the long run either             
authoritative revelation1 thus          
conceived1 must extinguish reason       
altogether1 or else reason must claim   
the whole man4 ,after all1 it is in     
virtue of his having some reason that   
man is the subject of revelation4 ,he is
 continually asked to exercise his      
reason upon certain parts of the        
revelation1 even by those who maintain  
that he must do so only within limits4  
,it is only because there in a certain  
reasonableness in the conceptions of    
revealed religion that man has ever been
 able to make them his own or to find in
 them meaning and edification4 ,this    
external relation of reason to          
revelation cannot continue4 ,nor can the
 encroachments of reason be met by      

temporary distinctions such as that     
between the natural and the             
supernatural4 ,the antithesis to the    
natural is not the supernatural1 but the
 unnatural4 ,the antithesis to reason is
 not faith1 but irrationality4 ,the     
antithesis to human truth is not the    
divine truth4 ,it is falsehood4         
,footnote #d3 ,seth ,pringle-,pattison1 
,the ,philosophical ,radicals1 p4 #baf4 
,when men have made this discovery1 a   
revulsion carries their minds to the    
second position of which we spoke4 ,this
 is1 namely1 the position of extreme    
denial4 ,it is an attitude of negation  
toward revelation1 such as prevailed in 
the barren and trivial rationalism of   
the end of the eighteenth century4 ,the 
reason having been long repressed       
revenges itself1 usurping everything4   
,the explanation of the rise of positive
 religion and of the claim of revelation
 is sought in the hypothesis of deceit1 
of ambitious priestcraft and incurable  
credulity4 ,the religion of those who   

thus argue1 in so far as they claim any 
religion1 is merely the current         
morality4 ,their explanation of the     
religion of others is that it is merely 
the current morality plus certain       
unprovable assumptions4 ,indeed1 they   
may think it to be but the obstinate    
adherence to these assumptions minus the
 current morality4 ,it is impossible    
that this shallow view should prevail4  
,to overcome it1 however1 there is need 
of a philosophy which shall give not    
less1 but greater scope to reason and at
 the same time an inward meaning to     
revelation4  ,this brings us to the     
third possible position1 to which the   
best thinkers of the nineteenth century 
have advanced4 ,so long as deistic views
 of the relation of ,god to man and the 
world held the field1 revelation meant  
something interjected ab extra into the 
established order of things4 ,the       
popular theology which so abhorred deism
 was yet essentially deistic in its     
notion of ,god and of his separation    

from the world4 ,men did not perceive   
that by thus separating ,god from the   
world they set up alongside of him a    
sphere and an activity to which his     
relations were transient and accidental4
 ,no wonder that other men1 finding     
their satisfying activity within the    
sphere which was thus separated from    
,god1 came to think of this absentee    
,god as an appendage to the scheme of   
things4 ,but if man himself be          
inexplicable1 save as sharing in the    
wider life of universal reason1 if the  
process of history be realised as but   
the working out of an inherent divine   
purpose1 the manifestation of an        
indwelling divine force1 then revelation
 denotes no longer an interference with 
that evolution4 ,it is a factor in that 
evolution4 ,it is but the normal        
relation of the immanent spirit of ,god 
to the children of men at the crises of 
their fate4 ,then revelation is an      
experience of men precisely in the line 
and according to the method of all their

 nobler experiences4 ,it is itself      
reasonable and moral4 ,inspiration is   
the normal and continuous effect of the 
contact of the ,god who is spirit with  
man who is spirit too4 ,the relation is 
never broken4 ,but there are times in   
which it has been more particularly     
felt4 ,there have been personalities to 
whom in eminent degree this depth of    
communion with ,god has been vouchsafed4
 ,to such persons and eras the religious
 sense of mankind1 by a true instinct1  
has tended to restrict the words        
'revelation' and 'inspiration4' ,this   
restriction1 however1 signifies the     
separation of the grand experience from 
the ordinary1 only in degree and not in 
kind4 ,such an experience was that of   
prophets and law-givers under the       
ancient covenant4 ,such an experience1  
in immeasurably greater degree1 was that
 of ,jesus himself4 ,such a             
turning-point in the life of the race   
was the advent of ,christianity4 ,the   
world has not been wrong in calling the 

documents of these revelations sacred   
books and in attributing to them divine 
authority4 ,it has been largely wrong in
 the manner in which it construed their 
authority4 ,it has been wholly wrong in 
imagining that the documents themselves 
were the revelation4 ,they are merely   
the record of a personal communion with 
the transcendent4 ,it was ,lessing who  
first cast these fertile ideas into the 
soil of modern thought4 ,they were never
 heartily taken up by ,kant4 ,one can   
think1 however1 with what enthusiasm men
 recurred to them after their postulates
 had been verified and the idea of ,god1
 of man and of the world which they     
implied1 had been confirmed by ,fichte  
and ,schelling4  ,in the philosophical  
movement1 the outline of which we have  
suggested1 what one may call the nidus  
of a new faith in ,scripture had been   
prepared4 ,the quality had been forecast
 which the ,scripture must be found to  
possess1 if it were to retain its       
character as document of revelation4 ,in

 those very same years the great        
movement of biblical criticism was      
gathering force which1 in the course of 
the nineteenth century1 was to prove by 
stringent literary and historical       
methods1 what qualities the documents   
which we know as ,scripture do possess4 
,it was to prove in the most objective  
fashion that the ,scripture does not    
possess those qualities which men had   
long assigned to it4 ,it was to prove   
that1 as a matter of fact1 the          
literature does possess the qualities   
which the philosophic forecast1 above   
hinted1 required4 ,it was thus actually 
to restore the ,bible to an age in which
 many reasonable men had lost their     
faith in it4 ,it was to give a genetic  
reconstruction of the literature and    
show the progress of the history which  
the ,scripture enshrines4 ,after a      
contest in which the very foundations of
 faith seemed to be removed1 it was to  
afford a basis for a belief in          
,scripture and revelation as positive   

and secure as any which men ever        
enjoyed1 with the advantage that it is a
 foundation upon which the modern man   
can and does securely build4 ,the       
synchronism of the two endeavours is    
remarkable4 ,the convergence upon one   
point1 of studies starting1 so to say1  
from opposite poles and having no       
apparent interest in common1 is         
instructive4 ,it is an illustration of  
that which ,comte said1 that all the    
great intellectual movements of a given 
time are but the manifestation of a     
common impulse1 which pervades and      
possesses the minds of the men of that  
time4  ,the attempt to rationalise the  
narrative of ,scripture was no new one4 
,it grew in intensity in the early years
 of the nineteenth century4 ,the        
conflict which was presently            
precipitated concerned primarily the    
,gospels4 ,it was natural that it should
 do so4 ,these contain the most         
important ,scripture narrative1 that of 
the life of ,jesus4 ,strauss had in good

 faith turned his attention to the      
,gospels1 precisely because he felt     
their central importance4 ,his          
generation was to learn that they       
presented also the greatest             
difficulties4 ,the old rationalistic    
interpretation had started from the     
assumption that what we have in the     
gospel narrative is fact4 ,yet1 of      
course1 for the rationalists1 the facts 
must be natural4 ,they had the          
appearance of being supernatural only   
through the erroneous judgment of the   
narrators4 ,it was for the interpreter  
to reduce everything which is related to
 its simple1 natural cause4 ,the water  
at ,cana was certainly not turned into  
wine4 ,it must have been brought by     
,jesus as a present and opened thus in  
jest4 ,jesus was1 of course1 begotten in
 the natural manner4 ,a simple maiden   
must have been deceived4 ,the execution 
of this task of the rationalising of the
 narratives by one ,dr4 ,paulus1 was the
 reductio ad absurdum of the claim4 ,the

 most spiritual of the narratives1 the  
finest flower of religious poetry1 was  
thus turned into the meanest and most   
trivial incident without any religious  
significance whatsoever4 ,the obtuseness
 of the procedure was exceeded only by  
its vulgarity4   ,,strauss   ,on the    
other hand1 as ,pfleiderer has said1 we 
must remember the difficulty which beset
 the men of that age4 ,their general    
culture made it difficult for them to   
accept the miraculous element in the    
gospel narrative as it stood4 ,yet their
 theory of ,scripture gave them no      
notion as to any other way in which the 
narratives might be understood4 ,the men
 had never asked themselves how the     
narratives arose4 ,in the preface to his
 ,leben ,jesu1 ,strauss said3 ',orthodox
 and rationalists alike proceed from the
 false assumption that we have always in
 the ,gospels testimony1 sometimes even 
that of eye-witnesses1 to fact4 ,they   
are1 therefore1 reduced to asking       
themselves what can have been the real  

and natural fact which is here witnessed
 to in such extraordinary way4 ,we have 
to realise1' ,strauss proceeds1 'that   
the narrators testify sometimes1 not to 
outward facts1 but to ideas1 often most 
poetical and beautiful ideas1           
constructions which even eye-witnesses  
had unconsciously put upon facts1       
imagination concerning them1 reflexions 
upon them1 reflexions and imaginings    
such as were natural to the time and at 
the author's level of culture4 ,what we 
have here is not falsehood1 not         
misrepresentation of the truth4 ,it is a
 plastic1 nave1 and1 at the same time1  
often most profound apprehension of     
truth1 within the area of religious     
feeling and poetic insight4 ,it results 
in narrative1 legendary1 mythical in    
nature1 illustrative often of spiritual 
truth in a manner more perfect than any 
hard1 prosaic statement could achieve4' 
,before ,strauss men had appreciated    
that particular episodes1 like the      
virgin birth and the bodily             

resurrection1 might have some such      
explanation as this4 ,no one had ever   
undertaken to apply this method         
consistently1 from one end to the other 
of the gospel narrative4 ,what was of   
more significance1 no one had clearly   
defined the conception of legend4       
,strauss was sure that in the           
application of this notion to certain   
portions of the ,scripture no           
irreverence was shown4 ,no moral taint  
was involved4 ,nothing which could      
detract from the reverence in which we  
hold the ,scripture was implied4        
,rather1 in his view1 the history of    
,jesus is more wonderful than ever1 when
 some1 at least1 of its elements are    
viewed in this way1 when they are seen  
as the product of the poetic spirit1    
working all unconsciously at a certain  
level of culture and under the impulse  
of a great enthusiasm4  ,there is no    
doubt that ,strauss1 who was at that    
time an earnest ,christian1 felt the    
relief from certain difficulties in the 

biography of ,jesus which this theory   
affords4 ,he put it forth in all        
sincerity as affording to others like   
relief4 ,he said that while rationalists
 and supernaturalists alike1 by their   
methods1 sacrificed the divine content  
of the story and clung only to its form1
 his hypothesis sacrificed the          
historicity of the narrative form1 but  
kept the eternal and spiritual truth4   
,in his opinion1 the lapse of a single  
generation was enough to give room for  
this process of the growth of the       
legendary elements which have found     
place in the written ,gospels which we  
have4 ,ideas entertained by primitive   
,christians relative to their lost      
,master1 have been1 all unwittingly1    
transformed into facts and woven into   
the tale of his career4 ,the legends of 
a people are in their basal elements    
never the work of a single individual4  
,they are never intentionally produced4 
,the imperceptible growth of a joint    
creative work of this kind was possible1

 however1 only on the supposition that  
oral tradition was1 for a time1 the     
means of transmission of the            
reminiscences of ,jesus4 ,strauss'      
explanation of his theory has been given
 above1 to some extent in his own words4
 ,we may see how he understood himself4 
,we may appreciate also the genuineness 
of the religious spirit of his work4 ,at
 the same time the thorough-going way in
 which he applied his principle1 the    
relentless march of his argument1 the   
character of his results1 must sometimes
 have been startling even to himself4   
,they certainly startled others4 ,the   
effect of his work was instantaneous and
 immense4 ,it was not at all the effect 
which he anticipated4 ,the issue of the 
furious controversy which broke out was 
disastrous both to ,strauss'            
professional career and to his whole    
temperament and character4  ,david      
,friedrich ,strauss was born in #ahjh in
 ,ludwigsburg in ,wrttemberg4 ,he       
studied in ,tbingen and in ,berlin4 ,he 

became an instructor in the theological 
faculty in ,tbingen in #ahcb4 ,he       
published his ,leben ,jesu in #ahce4 ,he
 was almost at once removed from his    
portion4 ,in #ahcf he withdrew          
altogether from the professorial career4
 ,his answer to his critics1 written in 
#ahcg1 was in bitter tone4 ,more        
conciliatory was his book1 ber          
,vergngliches und ,bleibendes im        
,christenthum1 published in #ahci4      
,indeed there were some concessions in  
the third edition of his ,leben ,jesu in
 #ahch1 but these were all repudiated in
 #ahdj4 ,his ,leben ,jesu fr das        
deutsche ,volk1 published in #ahff was  
the effort to popularise that which he  
had done4 ,it is1 however1 in point of  
method1 superior to his earlier work1   
,comments were met with even greater    
bitterness4 ,finally1 not long before   
his death in #ahgd1 he published ,der   
,alte und der ,neue ,glaube1 in which he
 definitely broke with ,christianity    
altogether and went over to materialism 

and pessimism4  ,pfleiderer1 who had    
personal acquaintance with ,strauss and 
held him in regard1 once wrote3         
',strauss' error did not lie in his     
regarding some of the gospel stories as 
legends1 and some of the narratives of  
the miraculous as symbols of ideal      
truths4 ,so far ,strauss was right4 ,the
 contribution which he made is one which
 we have all appropriated and built     
upon4 ,his error lay in his looking for 
those religious truths which are thus   
symbolised1 outside of religion itself1 
in adventurous metaphysical             
speculations4 ,he did not seek them in  
the facts of the devout heart and moral 
will1 as these are illustrated in the   
actual life of ,jesus4' ,if ,strauss1   
after the disintegration in criticism of
 certain elements in the biography of   
,jesus1 had given us a positive picture 
of ,jesus as the ideal of religious     
character and ethical force1 his work   
would indeed have been attacked4 ,but it
 would have outlived the attack and     

conferred a very great benefit4 ,it     
conferred a great benefit as it was1    
although not the benefit which ,strauss 
supposed4 ,the benefit which it really  
conferred was in its critical method1   
and not at all in its results4  ,of the 
mass of polemic and apologetic          
literature which ,strauss' ,leben ,jesu 
called forth1 little is at this distance
 worth the mentioning4 ,ullmann1 who was
 far more appreciative than most of his 
adversaries1 points out the real        
weakness of ,strauss' work4 ,that       
weakness lay in the failure to draw any 
distinction between the historical and  
the mythical4 ,he threatened to dissolve
 the whole history into myth4 ,he had no
 sense for the ethical element in the   
personality and teaching of ,jesus nor  
of the creative force which this must   
have exerted4 ,ullmann says with cogency
 that1 according to ,strauss1 the       
,church created its ,christ virtually   
out of pure imagination4 ,but we are    
then left with the query3 ,what created 

the ,church8 ,to this query ,strauss has
 absolutely no answer to give4 ,the     
answer is1 says ,ullmann1 that the      
ethical personality of ,jesus created   
the ,church4 ,this ethical personality  
is thus a supreme historic fact and a   
sublime historic cause1 to which we must
 endeavour to penetrate1 if need be     
through the veil of legend4 ,the old    
rationalists had made themselves        
ridiculous by their effort to explain   
everything in some natural way4 ,strauss
 and his followers often appeared       
frivolous1 since1 according to them1    
there was little left to be explained4  
,if a portion of the narrative presented
 a difficulty1 it was declared mythical4
 ,what was needed was such a            
discrimination between the legendary and
 historical elements in the ,gospels as 
could be reached only by patient1       
painstaking study of the actual         
historical quality and standing of the  
documents4 ,no adequate study of this   
kind had ever been undertaken4 ,strauss 

did not undertake it1 nor even perceive 
that it was to be undertaken4 ,there had
 been many men of vast learning in      
textual and philological criticism4     
,here1 however1 a new sort of critique  
was applied to a problem which had but  
just now been revealed in all its length
 and breadth4 ,the establishing of the  
principles of this historical           
criticism--the so-called ,higher        
,criticism--was the herculean task of   
the generation following ,strauss4 ,to  
the development of that science another 
,tbingen professor1 ,baur1 made         
permanent contribution4 ,with ,strauss  
himself1 sadder than the ruin of his    
career1 was the tragedy of the uprooting
 of his faith4 ,this tragedy followed in
 many places in the wake of the         
recognition of ,strauss' fatal          
half-truth4   ,,baur   ,baur1 ,strauss' 
own teacher in ,tbingen1 afterward      
famous as biblical critic and           
church-historian1 said of ,strauss'     
book1 that through it was revealed in   

startling fashion to that generation of 
scholars1 how little real knowledge they
 had of the problem which the ,gospels  
present4 ,to ,baur it was clear that if 
advance was to be made beyond ,strauss' 
negative results1 the criticism of the  
gospel history must wait upon an        
adequate criticism of the documents     
which are our sources for that history4 
,strauss' failure had brought home to   
the minds of men the fact that there    
were certain preliminary studies which  
must needs be taken up4 ,meantime the   
other work must wait4 ,as one surveys   
the literature of the next thirty years 
this fact stands out4 ,many apologetic  
lives of ,jesus had to be written in    
reply to ,strauss4 ,but they are almost 
completely negligible4 ,no constructive 
work was done in this field until nearly
 a generation had passed4  ,since all   
history1 said ,baur1 before it reaches  
us must pass through the medium of a    
narrator1 our first question as to the  
gospel history is not1 what objective   

reality can be accorded to the narrative
 itself4 ,there is a previous question4 
,this concerns the relation of the      
narrative to the narrator4 ,it might be 
very difficult for us to make up our    
minds as to what it was that1 in a given
 case1 the witness saw4 ,we have not    
material for such a judgment4 ,we have  
probably much evidence1 up and down his 
writings1 as to what sort of man the    
witness was1 in what manner he would be 
likely to see anything and with what    
personal equation he would relate that  
which he saw4 ,baur would seem to have  
been the first vigorously and           
consistently to apply this principle to 
the gospel narratives4 ,before we can   
penetrate deeply into the meaning of an 
author we must know1 if we may1 his     
purpose in writing4 ,every author       
belongs to the time in which he lives4  
,the greater the importance of his      
subject for the parties and struggles of
 his day1 the safer is the assumption   
that both he and his work will bear the 

impress of these struggles4 ,he will    
represent the interests of one or       
another of the parties4 ,his work will  
have a tendency of some kind4 ,this was 
one of ,baur's oft-used words--the      
tendency of a writer and of his work4   
,we must ascertain that tendency4 ,the  
explanation of many things both in the  
form and substance of a writing would be
 given could we but know that4 ,the     
letters of ,paul1 for example1 are      
written in palpable advocacy of opinions
 which were bitterly opposed by other   
apostles4 ,the biographies of ,jesus    
suggest that they also represent1 the   
one this tendency1 the other that4 ,we  
have no cause to assert that this trait 
of which we speak implies conscious     
distortion of the facts which the author
 would relate4 ,the simple-minded are   
generally those least aware of the bias 
in the working of their own minds4 ,it  
is obvious that until we have reckoned  
with such elements as these1 we cannot  
truly judge of that which the ,gospels  

say4 ,to the elaboration of the         
principles of this historical criticism 
,baur gave the labour of his life4 ,his 
biblical work alone would have been     
epoch-making4  ,ferdinand ,christian    
,baur was born in #agic in ,schmieden1  
near ,stuttgart4 ,he became a professor 
in ,tbingen in #ahbf and died there in  
#ahfj4 ,he was an ardent disciple of    
,hegel4 ,his greatest work was surely in
 the field of the history of dogma4 ,his
 works1 ,die ,christliche ,lehre von der
 ,verehnung1 #ahch1 ,die ,christliche   
,lehre von der ,dreieinigkeit und       
,menschwerdung ,gottes1 #ahda-ahdc1 his 
,lehrbuch der ,christlichen             
,dogmengeschichte1 #ahdg1 together      
constitute a contribution to which      
,harnack's work in our own time alone   
furnishes a parallel4 ,baur had begun   
his thorough biblical studies before the
 publication of ,strauss' book4 ,the    
direction of those studies was more than
 ever confirmed by his insight of the   
shortcomings of ,strauss' work4 ,very   

characteristically also he had begun his
 investigations1 not at the most        
difficult point1 that of the ,gospels1  
as ,strauss had done1 but at the easiest
 point1 the ,epistles of ,paul4 ,as     
early as #ahca he had published a       
tractate1 ,die ,christus-,partei in der 
,corinthischen ,gemeinde4 ,in that book 
he had delineated the bitter contest    
between ,paul and the ,judaising element
 in the ,apostolic ,church which opposed
 ,paul whithersoever he went4 ,in #ahce 
his disquisition1 ,die sogenannten      
,pastoral-,briefe1 appeared4 ,in the    
teachings of these letters he discovered
 the antithesis to the gnostic heresies 
of the second century4 ,he thought also 
that the stage of organisation of the   
,church which they imply1 accorded      
better with this supposition than with  
that of their apostolic authorship4 ,the
 same general theme is treated in a much
 larger way in ,baur's ,paulus1 der     
,apostel ,jesu ,christi1 in #ahde4 ,here
 the results of his study of the book of

 the ,acts are combined with those of   
his inquiries as to the ,pauline        
,epistles4 ,in the history of the       
apostolic age men had been accustomed to
 see the evidence only of peace and     
harmony4 ,baur sought to show that the  
period had been one of fierce struggle1 
between the narrow ,judaic and          
legalistic form of faith in the ,messiah
 and that conception1 introduced by     
,paul1 of a world-religion free from the
 law4 ,out of this conflict1 which      
lasted a hundred and fifty years1 went  
forth the ,catholic ,church4 ,the       
monuments of this struggle and witnesses
 of this process of growth are the ,new 
,testament writings1 most of which were 
produced in the second century4 ,the    
only documents which we have which were 
written before ,a4,d4 #gj1 were the four
 great ,epistles of ,paul1 those to the 
,galatians1 to the ,romans1 and to the  
,corinthians1 together with the         
,apocalypse4  ,many details in ,baur's  
view are now seen to have been          

overstated and others false4 ,yet this  
was the first time that a true          
historical method had been applied to   
the ,new ,testament literature as a     
whole4 ,baur's contribution lay in the  
originality of his conception of        
,christianity1 in his emphasis upon     
,paul1 in his realisation of the        
magnitude of the struggle which ,paul   
inaugurated against ,jewish prejudices  
in the primitive ,church4 ,in his idea1 
the issue of that struggle was1 on the  
one hand1 the freeing of ,christianity  
from ,judaism and on the other1 the     
developing of ,christian thought into a 
system of dogma and of the scattered    
,christian communities into an organised
 ,church4 ,the ,fourth ,gospel contains1
 according to ,baur1 a ,christian gnosis
 parallel to the gnosis which was more  
and more repudiated by the ,church as   
heresy4 ,the ,logos1 the divine         
principle of life and light1 appears    
bodily in the phenomenal world in the   
person of ,jesus4 ,it enters into       

conflict with the darkness and evil of  
the world4 ,this speculation is but     
thinly clothed in the form of a         
biography of ,jesus4 ,that an account   
completely dominated by speculative     
motives gives but slight guarantee of   
historical truth1 was for ,baur         
self-evident4 ,the author remains       
unknown1 the age uncertain4 ,the book1  
however1 can hardly have appeared before
 the time of the ,montanist movement1   
that is1 toward the end of the second   
century4 ,scholars now rate far more    
highly than did ,baur the element of    
genuine ,johannine tradition which may  
lie behind the ,fourth ,gospel and      
account for its name4 ,they do not find 
traces of ,montanism or of paschal      
controversies4 ,but the main contention 
stands4 ,the ,fourth ,gospel represents 
the beginning of elaborate reflexion    
upon the life and work of ,jesus4 ,it is
 what it is because of the fusion of the
 ethical and spiritual content of the   
revelation in the personality of ,jesus1

 with metaphysical abstractions and     
philosophical interpretation4  ,baur was
 by no means so fortunate in the        
solution which he offered of the problem
 which the synoptic ,gospels present4   
,his opinions are of no interest except 
as showing that he too worked diligently
 upon a question which for a long time  
seemed only to grow in complexity and   
which has busied scholars practically   
from ,baur's day to our own4 ,his zeal  
here also to discover dogmatic purposes 
led him astray4 ,the ,tendenzkritik had 
its own tendencies4 ,the chief was to   
exaggeration and one-sidedness4 ,baur   
had the kind of ear which hears grass   
grow4 ,there is much overstrained       
acumen4 ,many radically false           
conclusions are reached by prejudiced   
operation with an historical formula1   
which in the last analysis is that of   
,hegel4 ,everything is to be explained  
on the principle of antithesis4 ,again1 
the assumption of conscious purpose in  
everything which men do or write is a   

grave exaggeration4 ,it is often in     
contradiction of that wonderful         
unconsciousness with which men and      
institutions move to the fulfilment of a
 purpose for the good1 the purpose of   
,god1 into which their own life is      
grandly taken up4 ,to make each phase of
 such a movement the contribution of    
some one man's scheme or endeavour is1  
as was once said1 to make ,god act like 
a professor4         99       99        
99       99       99  ,the method of    
this book is that it seeks to deal only 
with men who have inaugurated movements1
 or marked some turning-point in their  
course which has proved of more than    
usual significance4 ,the compass of the 
book demands such a limitation4 ,but by 
this method whole chapters in the life  
of learning are passed over1 in which   
the substance of achievement has been   
the carrying out of a plan of which we  
have been able to note only the         
inception4 ,there is a sense in which   
the carrying out of a plan is both more 

difficult and more worthy than the mere 
setting it in motion4 ,when one thinks  
of the labour and patience which have   
been expended1 for example1 upon the    
problem of the ,gospels in the past     
seventy years1 those truths come home to
 us4 ,when one reminds himself of the   
hypotheses which have been made but to  
be abandoned1 which have yet had the    
value that they at least indicated the  
area within which solutions do not      
lie1--when one thinks of the wellnigh   
immeasurable toil by which we have been 
led to large results which now seem     
secure1 one is made to realise that the 
conditions of the advance of science    
are1 for theologians1 not different from
 those which obtain for scholars who1 in
 any other field1 would establish truth 
and lead men4 ,in a general way1        
however1 it may be said that the course 
of opinion in these two generations1 in 
reference to such questions as those of 
the dates and authorship of the ,new    
,testament writings1 has been one of    

rather noteworthy retrogression from    
many of the ,tbingen positions4         
,harnack's ,geschichte der              
altchristlichen ,literatur1 #ahic1 and  
his ,chronologie der altchristlichen    
,literatur1 #ahig1 present a marked     
contrast to ,baur's scheme4   ,,the     
,,canon   ,the minds of ,new ,testament 
scholars in the last generation have    
been engaged with a question which1 in  
its full significance1 was hardly       
present to the attention of ,baur's     
school4 ,it is the question of the ,new 
,testament as a whole4 ,it is the       
question as to the time and manner and  
motives of the gathering together of the
 separate writings into a canon of      
,scripture which1 despite the diversity 
of its elements1 exerted its influence  
as a unit and to which an authority was 
ascribed1 which the particular writings 
cannot originally have had4 ,when and   
how did the ,christians come to have a  
sacred book which they placed on an     
equality with the ,old ,testament1 which

 last they had taken over from the      
synagogue8 ,how did they choose the     
writings which were to belong to this   
new collection8 ,why did they reject    
books which we know were read for       
edification in the early churches8      
,deeper even than the question of the   
growth of the collection is that of the 
growth of the apprehension concerning   
it4 ,this apprehension of these         
twenty-seven different writings as      
constituting the sole document of       
,christian revelation1 given by the     
,holy ,spirit1 the identical holy book  
of the ,christian ,church1 gave to the  
book a significance altogether different
 from that which its constituent        
elements must have had for men to whom  
they had appeared as but the natural    
literary deposit of the religious       
movement of the apostolic age4 ,this    
apprehension took possession of the mind
 of the ,christian community4 ,it was   
made the subject of deliverances by     
councils of the ,church4 ,how did this  

great transformation take place8 ,was it
 an isolated achievement1 or was it part
 of a general movement8 ,did not this   
development of life in the ,christian   
communities which gave them a ,new      
,testament belong to an evolution which 
gave them also the so-called ,apostles' 
,creed and a monarchical organisation of
 the ,church and the beginnings of a    
ritual of worship8  ,it is clear that we
 have here a question of greatest       
moment4 ,with the rise of this idea of  
the canon1 with the assigning to this   
body of literature the character of     
,scripture1 we have the beginning of the
 larger mastery which the ,new          
,testament has exerted over the minds   
and life of men4 ,compared with this    
question1 investigations as to the      
authorship and as to the time1 place and
 circumstance of the production of      
particular books1 came1 for the time1 to
 occupy a secondary rank4 ,as they have 
emerged again1 they wear a new aspect   
and are approached in a different       

spirit4 ,the writings are revealed as   
belonging to a far larger context1 that 
of the whole body of the ,christian     
literature of the age4 ,it in no way    
follows from that which we have said    
that the body of documents1 which       
ultimately found themselves together in 
the ,new ,testament1 have not a unity   
other than the outward one which was by 
consensus of opinion or conciliar decree
 imposed upon them4 ,they do represent1 
in the large and in varying degrees1 an 
inward and spiritual unity4 ,there was  
an inspiration of the main body of these
 writings1 the outward condition of     
which1 at all events1 was the nearness  
of their writers to ,jesus or to his    
eye-witnesses1 and the consequence of   
which was the unique relation which the 
more important of these documents       
historically bore to the formation of   
the ,christian ,church4 ,there was a    
heaven which lay about the infancy of   
,christianity which only slowly faded   
into the common light of day4 ,that     

heaven was the spirit of the ,master    
himself4 ,the chief of these writings do
 centrally enshrine the first pure      
illumination of that spirit4 ,but the   
churchmen who made the canon and the    
,fathers who argued about it very often 
gave mistaken reasons for facts in      
respect of which they nevertheless were 
right4 ,they gave what they considered  
sound external reasons4 ,they alleged   
apostolic authorship4 ,they should have 
been content with internal evidence and 
spiritual effectiveness4 ,the apostles  
had come1 in the mind of the early      
,church1 to occupy a place of unique    
distinction4 ,writings long enshrined in
 affection for their potent influence1  
but whose origin had not been much      
considered1 were now assigned to        
apostles1 that they might have authority
 and distinction4 ,the theory of the    
canon came after the fact4 ,the theory  
was often wrong4 ,the canon had been1 in
 the main and in its inward principle1  
soundly constituted4 ,modern critics    

reversed the process4 ,they began where 
the ,church ,fathers left off4 ,they    
tore down first that which had been last
 built up4 ,modern criticism1 too1      
passed through a period in which points 
like those of authorship and date of    
,gospels and ,epistles seemed the only  
ones to be considered4 ,the results     
being here often negative1 complete     
disintegration of the canon seemed      
threatened1 through discovery of errors 
in the processes by which the canon had 
been outwardly built up4 ,men realise   
now that that was a mistake4  ,two      
things have been gained in this         
discussion4 ,there is first the         
recognition that the canon is a growth4 
,the holy book and the conception of its
 holiness1 as well1 were evolved4       
,christianity was not primarily a       
book-religion save in the sense that    
almost all ,christians revered the ,old 
,testament4 ,other writings than those  
which we esteem canonical were long used
 in churches4 ,some of those afterward  

canonical were not used in all the      
churches4 ,in similar fashion we have   
learned that identical statements of    
faith were not current in the earliest  
churches4 ,nor was there one uniform    
system of organisation and government4  
,there was a time concerning which we   
cannot accurately use the word ,church4 
,there were churches1 very simple1      
worshipping communities4 ,but the       
,church1 as outward magnitude1 as       
triumphant organisation1 grew4 ,so there
 were many creeds or1 at least1         
informally accredited and current       
beginnings of doctrine4 ,by and by there
 was a formally accepted creed4 ,so     
there were first dearly loved memorials 
of ,jesus and letters of apostolic men4 
,only by and by was there a ,new        
,testament4 ,the first gain is the      
recognition of this state of things4    
,the second follows4 ,it is the         
recognition that1 despite a sense in    
which this literature is unique1 there  
is also a sense in which it is but a    

part of the whole body of early         
,christian literature4 ,from the exact  
and exhaustive study of the early       
,christian literature as a whole1 we are
 to expect a clearer understanding and a
 juster estimate of the canonical part  
of it4 ,it is not easy to say to whom we
 have to ascribe the discovery and      
elaboration of these truths4 ,the       
historians of dogma have done much for  
this body of opinion4 ,the historians of
 ,christian literature have perhaps done
 more4 ,students of institutions and of 
the canon law have had their share4     
,baur had more than an inkling of the   
true state of things4 ,but by far the   
most conspicuous teacher of our         
generation1 in two at least of these    
particular fields1 has been ,harnack4   
,in his lifelong labour upon the sources
 of ,christian history1 he had come upon
 this question of the canon again and   
again4 ,in his ,lehrbuch der            
,dogmengeschichte1 #ahhg-ahij1 #dte4    
,aufl41 #aiaj1 the view of the canon1   

which was given above1 is absolutely    
fundamental4 ,in his ,geschichte der    
altchristlichen ,literatur bis          
,eusebius1 #ahic1 and ,chronologic der  
allchristlichen ,literatur1 #ahig-aijd1 
the evidence is offered in rich detail4 
,it was in his tractate1 ,das ,neue     
,testament um das ,jahr #bjj1 #ahhi1    
that he contended for the later date    
against ,zahn1 who had urged that the   
outline of the ,new ,testament was      
established and the conception of it as 
,scripture present1 by the end of the   
first century4 ,harnack argues that the 
decision practically shaped itself      
between the time of ,justin ,martyr1 c4 
,a4,d4 #aej1 and that of ,irenus1 c4    
,a4,d4 #ahj4 ,the studies of the last   
twenty years have more and more         
confirmed this view4   ,,life ,,of      
,,jesus   ,we said that the work of     
,strauss revealed nothing so clearly as 
the ignorance of his time concerning the
 documents of the early ,christian      
movement4 ,the labours of ,baur and of  

his followers were directed toward      
overcoming this difficulty4 ,suddenly   
the public interest was stirred1 and the
 earlier excitement recalled by the     
publication of a new life of ,jesus4    
,the author was a ,frenchman1 ,ernest   
,renan1 at one time a candidate for the 
priesthood in the ,roman ,church4 ,he   
was a man of learning and literary      
skill1 who made his ,vie de ,jsus1 which
 appeared in #ahfc1 the starting-point  
for a series of historical works under  
the general title1 ,les ,origines de    
,christianisme4 ,in the next year       
appeared ,strauss' popular work1 ,leben 
,jesu fr das deutsche ,volk4 ,in #ahfd  
was published also ,weizscker's         
contribution to the life of ,christ1 his
 ,untersuchungen ber die evangelische   
,geschichte4 ,to the same year belonged 
,schenkel's ,charakterbild ,jesu4 ,in   
the years from #ahfg-ahgb appeared      
,keim's ,geschichte ,jesu von ,nazara4  
,there is something very striking in    
this recurrence to the topic4 ,after    

ail1 this was the point for the sake of 
which those laborious investigations had
 been undertaken4 ,this was and is the  
theme of undying religious interest1 the
 character and career of the ,nazarene4 
,renan's philosophical studies had been 
mainly in ,english1 studies of ,locke   
and ,hume4 ,but ,herder also had been   
his beloved guide4 ,for his biblical and
 oriental studies he had turned almost  
exclusively to the ,germans4 ,there is a
 deep religious spirit in the work of   
the period of his conflict with the     
,church4 ,the enthusiasm for ,christ    
sustained him in his struggle4 ,of the  
days before he withdrew from the ,church
 he wrote3 ',for two months ,i was a    
,protestant like a professor in ,halle  
or ,tbingen4' ,french was at that time a
 language much better known in the world
 at large1 particularly the             
,english-speaking world1 than was       
,german4 ,renan's book had great art and
 charm4 ,it took a place almost at once 
as a bit of world-literature4 ,the      

number of editions in ,french and of    
translations into other languages is    
amazing4 ,beyond question1 the critical 
position was made known through ,renan  
to multitudes who would never have been 
reached by the ,german works which were 
really ,renan's authorities4 ,it is idle
 to say with ,pfleiderer that it is a   
pity that1 having possessed so much     
learning1 ,renan had not possessed more4
 ,that is not quite the point4 ,the book
 has much breadth and solidity of       
learning4 ,yet ,renan has scarcely the  
historian's quality4 ,his work is a work
 of art4 ,it has the halo of romance4   
,imagination and poetical feeling make  
it in a measure what it is4  ,renan was 
born in #ahbc in ,treguier in ,brittany4
 ,he set out for the priesthood1 but    
turned aside to the study of oriental   
languages and history4 ,he made long    
sojourn in the ,east4 ,he spoke of      
,palestine as having been to him a fifth
 ,gospel4 ,he became ,professor of      
,hebrew in the ,college de ,france4 ,he 

was suspended from his office in #ahfc1 
and permitted to read again only in     
#ahga4 ,he had formally separated       
himself from the ,roman ,church in      
#ahde4 ,he was a member of the ,academy4
 ,his diction is unsurpassed4 ,he died  
in #ahid4 ,in his own phrase1 he sought 
to bring ,jesus forth from the darkness 
of dogma into the midst of the life of  
his people4 ,he paints him first as an  
idyllic national leader1 then as a      
struggling and erring hero1 always      
aiming at the highest1 but doomed to    
tragic failure through the resistance   
offered by reality to his ideal4 ,he    
calls the traditional ,christ an        
abstract being who never was alive4 ,he 
would bring the marvellous human figure 
before our eyes4 ,he heightens the      
brilliancy of his delineation by the    
deep shadows of mistakes and            
indiscretion upon ,jesus' part4 ,in some
 respects an epic or an historical      
romance1 without teaching us history in 
detail1 may yet enable us by means of   

the artist's intuition to realise an    
event or period1 or make presentation to
 ourselves of a personality1 better than
 the scant records acknowledged by the  
strict historian could ever do4  ,our   
materials for a real biography of ,jesus
 are inadequate4 ,this was the fact     
which1 by all these biographies of      
,jesus1 was brought home to men's minds4
 ,keim's book1 the most learned of those
 mentioned1 is hardly more than a vast  
collection of material for the history  
of ,jesus' age1 which has now been      
largely superseded by ,schrer's         
,geschichte des ,judischen ,volkes im   
,zeitalier ,jesu ,christi1 #b ,bde41    
#ahhf-ahij4 ,there have been again1     
since the decade of the sixties1 periods
 of approach to the great problem4      
,weiss and ,beyschlag published at the  
end of the eighties lives of ,jesus     
which1 especially the former1 are       
noteworthy in their treatment of the    
critical material4 ,they do not for a   
moment face the question of the person  

of ,christ4 ,the same remark might be   
made1 almost without exception1 as to   
those lives of ,jesus which have        
appeared in numbers in ,england and     
,america4 ,the best books of recent     
years are ,albert ,reville's ,jesus de  
,nazareth1 #ahig1 and ,oscar            
,holtzmann's ,leben ,jesu1 #aija4 ,so   
great are the difficulties and in such  
disheartening fashion are they urged    
from all sides1 that one cannot withhold
 enthusiastic recognition of the service
 which ,holtzmann particularly has here 
rendered1 in a calm1 objective1 and     
withal deeply devout handling of his    
theme4 ,meantime new questions have     
arisen1 questions of the relation of    
,jesus to ,messianism1 like those       
touched upon by ,wrede in his ,das      
,messias ,geheimniss in den ,evangelien1
 #aija1 and questions as to the         
eschatological trait in ,jesus' own     
teaching4 ,schweitzer's book1 ,von      
,reimarus zu ,wrede3 eine ,geschichte   
der ,leben ,jesu-,forschung1 #aijf1 not 

merely sets forth this deeply           
interesting chapter in the history of   
the thought of modern men1 but has also 
serious interpretative value in itself4 
,for ,english readers ,sanday's ,life of
 ,christ in ,recent ,research1 #aijg1   
follows the descriptive aspect1 at      
least1 of the same purpose with         
,schweitzer's book1 covering1 however1  
only the last twenty years4  ,it is     
characteristic that ,ritschl1           
notwithstanding his emphasis upon the   
historical ,jesus1 asserted the         
impossibility of a biography of ,jesus4 
,the understanding of ,jesus is through 
faith4 ,for ,wrede1 on the other hand1  
such a biography is impossible because  
of the nature of our sources4 ,not alone
 are they scant1 but they are not       
biographical4 ,they are apologetic1     
propagandist1 interested in everything  
except those problems which a biographer
 must raise4 ,the last few years have   
even conjured up the question whether   
,jesus ever lived4 ,one may say with all

 simplicity1 that the question has1 of  
course1 as much rightfulness as has any 
other question any man could raise4 ,the
 somewhat extended discussion has1      
however1 done nothing to make evident   
how it could arise1 save in minds       
unfamiliar with the materials and       
unskilled in historical research4 ,the  
conditions which beset us when we ask   
for a biography of ,jesus that shall    
answer scientific requirement are not   
essentially different from those which  
meet us in the case of any other        
personage equally remote in point of    
time1 and equally woven about--if any   
such have been--by the love and devotion
 of men4 ,bousset's little book1 ,was   
,wissen wir von ,jesus8 #aijd1 convinces
 a quiet mind that we know a good deal4 
,qualities in the personality of ,jesus 
obviously worked in transcendent measure
 to call out devotion4 ,no understanding
 of history is adequate which has no    
place for the unfathomed in personality4
 ,exactly because we ourselves share    

this devotion1 we could earnestly wish  
that the situation as to the biography  
of ,jesus were other than it is4   ,,the
 ,,old ,,testament   ,we have spoken    
thus far as if the whole                
biblical-critical problem had been that 
of the ,new ,testament4 ,in reality the 
same impulses which had opened up that  
question to the minds of men had set    
them working upon the problem of the    
,old ,testament as well4 ,we have seen  
how the ,christians made for themselves 
a canon of the ,new ,testament4 ,by the 
force of that conception of the canon1  
and through the belief that1 almost in a
 literal sense1 ,god was the author of  
the whole book1 the obvious differences 
among the writings had been obscured4   
,men forgot the evolution through which 
the writings had passed4 ,the same thing
 had happened for the ,old ,testament in
 the ,jewish synagogues and for the     
rabbis before the ,christian movement4  
,when the ,christians took over the ,old
 ,testament they took it over in this   

sense4 ,it was a closed book wherein all
 appreciation of the long road which the
 religion of ,israel had traversed in   
its evolution had been lost4 ,the       
relation of the old covenant to the new 
was obscured4 ,the ,old ,testament      
became a ,christian book4 ,not merely   
were the ,christian facts prophesied in 
the ,old ,testament1 but its doctrines  
also were implied4 ,almost down to      
modern times texts have been drawn      
indifferently from either ,testament to 
prove doctrine and sustain theology4    
,moses and ,jesus1 prophets and ,paul1  
are cited to support an argument1       
without any sense of difference4 ,what  
we have said is hardly more true of     
,augustine or ,anselm than of the       
classic ,puritan divines4 ,this was the 
state of things which the critics faced4
  ,the ,old ,testament critical movement
 is a parallel at all points of the one 
which we have described in reference to 
the ,new4 ,of course1 elder scholars1   
even ,spinoza1 had raised the question  

as to the ,mosaic authorship of certain 
portions of the ,pentateuch4 ,roman     
,catholic scholars in the seventeenth   
century1 for whom the stringent theory  
of inspiration had less significance    
than for ,protestants1 had set forth    
views which showed an awakening to the  
real condition4 ,yet1 at the beginning  
of the nineteenth century1 no one would 
have forecast a revolution in opinion   
which would recognise the legendary     
quality of considerable portions of the 
,pentateuch and historical books1 which 
would leave but little that is of       
undisputed ,mosaic authorship1 which    
would place the prophets before the law1
 which would concede the growth of the  
,jewish canon1 which would perceive the 
relation of ,judaism to the religions of
 the other ,semite peoples and would    
seek to establish the true relation of  
,judaism to ,christianity4  ,in the year
 #ahce1 the same year in which ,strauss'
 ,leben ,jesu saw the light1 ,wilhelm   
,vatke published his ,religion des      

,alten ,testaments4 ,vatke was born in  
#ahjf1 began to teach in ,berlin in     
#ahcj1 was professor extraordinarius    
there in #ahcg and died in #ahhb1 not   
yet holding a full professorship4 ,his  
book was obscurely written and          
scholastic4 ,public attention was       
largely occupied by the conflict which  
,strauss' work had caused4 ,reuss in    
,strassburg was working on the same     
lines1 but published the main body of   
his results much later4  ,the truth for 
which these scholars and others like    
them argued1 worked its way slowly by   
force of its own merit4 ,perhaps it was 
due to this fact that the development of
 ,old ,testament critical views was     
subject to a fluctuation less marked    
than that which characterised the case  
of the ,new ,testament4 ,it is not      
necessary to describe the earlier stages
 of the discussion in ,vatke's own      
terms4 ,to his honour be it said that   
the views which he thus early enunciated
 were in no small degree identical with 

those which were in masterful fashion   
substantiated in ,holland by ,kuenen    
about #ahgj1 in ,germany by ,wellhausen 
after #ahgh1 and made known to ,english 
readers by ,robertson ,smith ,in #ahha4 
,budde has shown in his ,kanon des      
,alten ,testaments1 #aijj1 that the ,old
 ,testament which lies before us        
finished and complete1 assumed its      
present form only as the result of the  
growth of several centuries4 ,at the    
beginning of this process of the        
canonisation stands that strange event1 
the sudden appearance of a holy book of 
the law under ,king ,josiah1 in #fba    
,b4,c4 ,the end of the process1 through 
the decisions of the scribes1 falls     
after the destruction of ,jerusalem1    
possibly even in the second century4    
,lagarde seems to have proved that the  
rabbis of the second century succeeded  
in destroying all copies of the         
,scripture which differed from the      
standard then set up4 ,this state of    
things has enormously increased a       

difficulty which was already great      
enough1 that of the detection and       
separation of the various elements of   
which many of the books in this ancient 
literature are made up4 ,certain books  
of the ,new ,testament also present the 
problem of the discrimination of        
elements of different ages1 which have  
been wrought together into the documents
 as we now have them1 in a way that     
almost defies our skill to disengage4   
,the synoptic ,gospels are1 of course1  
the great example4 ,the book of the     
,acts presents a problem of the same    
kind4 ,but the ,pentateuch1 or rather   
,hexateuch1 the historical books in less
 degree1 the writings even of some of   
the prophets1 the codes which formulate 
the law and ritual1 are composites which
 have been whole centuries in the making
 and remaking4 ,there was no such thing 
as right of authorship in ancient       
,israel1 little of it in the ancient    
world at all4 ,what was once written was
 popular or priestly property4          

,histories were newly narrated1 laws    
enlarged and rearranged1 prophecies     
attributed to conspicuous persons4 ,all 
this took place not in deliberate       
intention to pervert historic truth1 but
 because there was no interest in       
historic truth and no conception of it4 
,the rewriting of a nation's history    
from the point of view of its priesthood
 bore1 to the ancient ,israelite1 beyond
 question1 an aspect altogether         
different from that which the same      
transaction would bear to us4 ,the      
difficulty of the separation of these   
materials1 great in any case1 is        
enhanced by the fact alluded to1 that we
 have none but internal evidence4 ,the  
success of the achievement1 and the     
unanimity attained with reference to the
 most significant questions1 is one of  
the marvels of the life of learning of  
our age4  ,in the ,jewish tradition it  
had been assumed that the ,mosaic law   
was written down in the wilderness4     
,then1 in the times of the ,judges and  

of the ,kings1 the historical books took
 shape1 with ,david's ,psalms and the   
wise words of ,solomon4 ,at the end of  
the period of the ,kings we have the    
prophetic literature and finally ,ezra  
and ,nehemiah4 ,de ,wette had disputed  
this order1 but ,wellhausen in his      
,prolegomena zur ,geshichte ,israels1   
#ahhc1 may be said to have proved that  
this view was no longer tenable4 ,men   
ask1 could the law1 or even any greater 
part of it1 have been given to nomads in
 the wilderness8 ,do not all parts of it
 assume a settled state of society and  
an agricultural life8 ,do the historical
 books from ,judges to the ,,ii4 ,kings 
know anything about the law8 ,are the   
practices of worship which they imply   
consonant with the supposition that the 
law was in force8 ,how is it that that  
law appears both under ,josiah and again
 under ,ezra1 as something new1 thus far
 unknown1 and yet as ruling the         
religious life of the people from that  
day forth8 ,it seems impossible to      

escape the conclusion that only after   
,josiah's reformation1 more completely  
after the restoration under ,ezra1 did  
the religion of the law exist4 ,the     
centralisation of worship at one point1 
such as the book of ,deuteronomy        
demands1 seems to have been the thing   
achieved by the reform under ,josiah4   
,the establishment of the priestly      
hierarchy such as the code ordains was  
the issue of the religious revolution   
wrought in ,ezra's time4 ,to put it     
differently1 the so-called ,book of the 
,covenant1 the nucleus of the           
law-giving1 itself implies the          
multiplicity of the places of worship4  
,deuteronomy demands the centralisation 
of the worship as something which is yet
 to take place4 ,the priestly ,code     
declares that the limitation of worship 
to one place was a fact already in the  
time of the journeys of ,israel in the  
wilderness4 ,it is assumed that the     
,hebrews in the time of ,moses shared   
the almost universal worship of the     

stars4 ,moses may indeed have concluded 
a covenant between his people and       
,jahve1 their ,god1 hallowing the       
judicial and moral life of the people1  
bringing these into relation to the     
divine will4 ,jahve was a holy ,god     
whose will was to guide the people      
coming up out of the degradation of     
nature-worship4 ,that part of the people
 held to the old nature-worship is      
evident in the time of ,elijah4 ,the    
history of ,israel is not that of       
defection from a pure revelation4 ,it is
 the history of a gradual attainment of 
purer revelation1 of enlargement in the 
application of it1 of discovery of new  
principles contained in it4 ,it is the  
history also of the decline of spiritual
 religion4 ,the zeal of the prophets    
against the ceremonial worship shows    
that4 ,their protest reveals at that    
early date the beginning of that        
antithesis which had become so sharp in 
,jesus' time4  ,this determination of   
the relative positions of law and       

prophets was the first step in the      
reconstruction of the history1 both of  
the nation of ,israel and of its        
literature4 ,at the beginning1 as in    
every literature1 are songs of war and  
victory1 of praise and grief1 hymns1    
even riddles and phrases of magic4      
,everywhere poetry precedes prose4 ,then
 come myths relating to the worship and 
tales of the fathers and heroes4        
,elements of both these sorts are       
embedded in the simple chronicles which 
began now to be written1 primitive      
historical works1 such as those of the  
,jahvist and ,elohist1 of the narrators 
of the deeds of the judges and of ,david
 and of ,saul4 ,perhaps at this point   
belong the earliest attempts at fixing  
the tradition of family and clan rights1
 and of the regulation of personal      
conduct1 as in the ,book of the         
,covenant4 ,then comes the great        
outburst of the prophetic spirit1 the   
preaching of an age of great religious  
revival4 ,then follows the law1 with its

 minute regulation of all details of    
life upon which would depend the favour 
of the ,god who had brought punishment  
upon the people in the exile4 ,the      
prophecy runs on into apocalyptic like  
that of the book of ,daniel4 ,the       
contact with the outside world makes    
possible a phase of literature such as  
that to which the books of ,job and     
,ecclesiastes belong4 ,the deepening of 
the inner life gave the world the lyric 
of the ,psalms1 some of which are       
credibly assigned to a period so late as
 that of the ,maccabees4  ,in this which
 has been said of the literature we have
 the clue also for the reconstruction of
 the nation's history4 ,the nave        
assumption in the writing of all history
 had once been that one must begin with 
the beginning4 ,but to ,wellhausen1     
,stade1 ,eduard ,meyer and ,kittel and  
,cornill1 it has been clear that the    
history of the earliest times is the    
most uncertain4 ,it is the least adapted
 to furnish a secure point of departure 

for historical inquiry4 ,there exist for
 it usually no contemporary authorities1
 or only such as are of problematical   
worth4 ,this earliest period constitutes
 a problem1 the solution of which1 so   
far as any solution is possible1 can be 
hoped for only through approach from the
 side of ascertained facts4 ,we must    
start from a period which is            
historically known4 ,for the history of 
the ,hebrews1 this is the time of the   
first prophets of whom we have written  
records1 or from whom we have written   
prophecies4 ,we get from these1 as also 
from the earliest direct attempts at    
history writing1 only that conception of
 ,israel's pre-historic life which was  
entertained in prophetic circles in the 
eighth century4 ,we learn the heroic    
legends in the interpretation which the 
prophets put upon them4 ,we have still  
to seek to interpret them for ourselves4
 ,we must begin in the middle and work  
both backward and forward4 ,such a view 
of the history of ,israel affords every 

opportunity for the connecting of the   
history and religion of ,israel with    
those of the other ,semite stocks4 ,some
 of these have in recent years been     
discovered to offer extraordinary       
parallels to that which the ,old        
,testament relates4   ,,the ,,history   
,,of ,,doctrine   ,when speaking of     
,baur's contribution to ,new ,testament 
criticism1 we alluded to his historical 
works4 ,he was in a distinct sense a    
reformer of the method of the writing of
 church history4 ,to us the notions of  
the historical and of that which is     
genetic are identical4 ,of course1 nave 
religious chronicles do not meet that   
test4 ,a glance at the histories        
produced by the age of rationalism will 
show that these also fall short of it4  
,the perception of the relativity of    
institutions like the papacy is here    
wholly wanting4 ,men and things are     
brought summarily to the bar of the     
wisdom of the author's year of grace4   
,they are approved or condemned by this 

criterion4 ,for ,baur1 all things had   
come to pass in the process of the great
 life of the world4 ,there must have    
been a rationale of their becoming4 ,it 
is for the historian with sympathy and  
imagination to find out what their      
inherent reason was4 ,one other thing   
distinguishes ,baur as church historian 
from his predecessors4 ,he realised that
 before one can delineate one must      
investigate4 ,one must go to the        
sources4 ,one must estimate the value of
 those sources4 ,one must have ground in
 the sources for every judgment4 ,baur  
was himself a great investigator4 ,yet  
the movement for the investigation of   
the sources of biblical and             
ecclesiastical history which his        
generation initialed has gone on to such
 achievements that1 in some respects1 we
 can but view the foundations of ,baur's
 own work as precarious1 the results at 
which he arrived as unwarranted4 ,new   
documents have come to light since his  
day4 ,forgeries have been proved to be  

such1 ,the whole state of learning as to
 the literature of the ,christian       
origins has been vastly changed4 ,there 
is still another other thing to say     
concerning ,baur4 ,he was a ,hegelian4  
,he has the disposition always to       
interpret the movements of the religious
 spirit in the sense of philosophical   
ideas4 ,he frankly says that without    
speculation every historical            
investigation remains but a play upon   
the surface of things4 ,baur's fault was
 that in his search for1 or rather in   
his confident discovery of1 the great   
connecting forces of history1 the       
biographical element1 the significance  
of personality1 threatened altogether to
 disappear4 ,the force in the history   
was the absolute1 the immanent divine   
will4 ,the method everywhere was that of
 advance by contrasts and antagonisms4  
,one gets an impression1 for example1   
that the ,nicene dogma became what it   
did by the might of the idea1 that it   
could not by any possibility have had   

any other issue4  ,the foil to much of  
this in ,baur's own age was represented 
in the work of ,neander1 a converted    
,jew1 professor of church history in    
,berlin1 who exerted great influence    
upon a generation of ,english and       
,american scholars4 ,he was not an      
investigator of sources4 ,he had no     
talent for the task4 ,he was a          
delineator1 one of the last of the great
 painters of history1 if one may so     
describe the type4 ,he had imagination1 
sympathy1 a devout spirit4 ,his great   
trait was his insight into personality4 
,he wrote history with the biographical 
interest4 ,he almost resolves history   
into a series of biographical types4 ,he
 has too little sense for the connexion 
of things1 for the laws of the evolution
 of the religious spirit4 ,the great    
dramatic elements tend to disappear     
behind the emotions of individuals4 ,the
 old delineators were before the age of 
investigation4 ,since that impulse      
became masterful1 some historians have  

been completely absorbed in the effort  
to make contribution to this            
investigation4 ,others1 with a sense of 
the impossibility of mastering the      
results of investigation in all fields1 
have lost the zeal for the writing of   
church history on a great scale4 ,they  
have contented themselves with producing
 monographs upon some particular        
subject1 in which1 at the most1 they may
 hope to embody all that is known as to 
some specific question4  ,we spoke above
 of the new conception of the relation  
of the canonical literature of the ,new 
,testament to the extracanonical4 ,we   
alluded to the new sense of the         
continuity of the history of the        
apostolic churches with that of the     
,church of the succeeding age4 ,the     
influence of these ideas has been to set
 all problems here involved in a new    
light4 ,until #ahhf it might have been  
said with truth that we had no good     
history of the apostolic age4 ,in that  
year ,weizscker's book1 ,das            

,apostolische ,zeitalter der            
,christlichen ,kirche1 admirably filled 
the place4 ,a part of the problem of the
 historian of the apostolic age is      
difficult for the same reason which was 
given when we were speaking of the      
biography of ,jesus4 ,our materials are 
inadequate4 ,first with the beginning of
 the activities of ,paul have we sources
 of the first rank4 ,the relation of    
statements in the ,pauline letters to   
data in the book of the ,acts was one of
 the earliest problems which the        
,tbingen school set itself4 ,an attempt 
to write the biography of ,paul reminds 
us sharply of our limitations4 ,we know 
almost nothing of ,paul prior to his    
conversion1 or subsequent to the        
enigmatical breaking off of the account 
of the beginnings of his work at ,rome4 
,harnack's ,mission und ,ausbreitung des
 ,christenthums1 #aijb 7translated1     
,moffatt1 #aijh71 takes up the work of  
,paul's successors in that cardinal     
activity4 ,it offers1 strange as it may 

seem1 the first discussion of the       
dissemination of ,christianity which has
 dealt adequately with the sources4 ,it 
gives also a picture of the world into  
which the ,christian movement went4 ,it 
emphasises anew the truth which has for 
a generation past grown in men's        
apprehension that there is no           
possibility of understanding            
,christianity1 except against the       
background of the religious life and    
thought of the world into which it came4
 ,christianity had vital relation1 at   
every step of its progress1 to the      
religious movements and impulses of the 
ancient world1 especially in those      
centres of civilisation which ,paul     
singled out for his endeavour and which 
remained the centres of the ,christian  
growth4 ,it was an age which has often  
been summarily described as corrupt4    
,despite its corruption1 or possibly    
because it was corrupt1 it gives        
evidence1 however1 of religious         
stirring1 of strong ethical reaction1 of

 spiritual endeavour rarely paralleled4 
,in the ,roman ,empire everything       
travelled4 ,religions travelled4 ,in the
 centres of civilisation there was      
scarcely a faith of mankind which had   
not its votaries4  ,it was an age of    
religious syncretism1 of hospitality to 
diverse religious ideas1 of the         
commingling of those ideas4 ,these      
things facilitated the progress of      
,christianity4 ,they made certain that  
if the ,christian movement had in it the
 divine vitality which men claimed1 it  
would one day conquer the world4        
,equally1 they made certain that1 as the
 very condition of this conquest1       
,christianity would be itself           
transformed4 ,this it is which has      
happened in the evolution of            
,christianity from its very earliest    
stages and in all phases of its life4   
,of any given rite1 opinion or          
institution1 of the many which have     
passed for almost two millenniums       
unchallenged under the ,christian name1 

men about us are now asking3 ,but how   
much of it is ,christian8 ,in what      
measure have we to think of it as       
derived from some other source1 and     
representing the accommodation and      
assimilation of ,christianity to its    
environment in process of its work8     
,what is ,christianity8 ,not unnaturally
 the ancient ,church looked with        
satisfaction upon the great change which
 passed over ,christianity when         
,constantine suddenly made that which   
had been the faith of a despised and    
persecuted sect1 the religion of the    
world4 ,the ,fathers can have thought   
thus only because their minds rested    
upon that which was outward and         
spectacular4 ,not unnaturally the       
metamorphosis in the inward nature of   
,christianity which had taken place a   
century and a quarter earlier was hidden
 from their eyes4 ,in truth1 by that    
earlier and subtler transformation      
,christianity had passed permanently    
beyond the stage in which it had been   

preponderantly a moral and spiritual    
enthusiasm1 with its centre and         
authority in the person of ,jesus4 ,it  
became a system and an institution1 with
 a canon of ,new ,testament ,scripture1 
a monarchical organisation and a rule of
 faith which was formulated in the      
,apostles' ,creed4  ,to ,baur the truth 
as to the conflict of ,paul with the    
,judaisers had meant much4 ,he thought1 
therefore1 with reference to the rise of
 priesthood and ritual among the        
,christians1 to the emphasis on         
,scripture in the fashion of the        
scribes1 to the insistence upon rules   
and dogmas after the manner of the      
,pharisees1 that they were but the      
evidence of the decline and defeat of   
,paul's free spirit and of the          
resurgence of ,judaism in ,christianity4
 ,he sought to explain the rise of the  
episcopal organisation by the example of
 the synagogue4 ,ritschl in his         
,entstehung der alt-catholischen        
,kirche1 #aheg1 had seen that ,baur's   

theory could not be true4 ,christianity 
did not fall back into ,judaism4 ,it    
went forward to embrace the ,hellenic   
and ,roman world4 ,the institutions1    
dogmas1 practices of that which1 after  
,a4,d4 #bjj1 may with propriety be      
called the ,catholic ,church1 are the   
fruit of that embrace4 ,there was here a
 falling off from primitive and         
spiritual ,christianity4 ,but it was not
 a falling back into ,judaism4 ,there   
were priests and scribes and ,pharisees 
with other names elsewhere4 ,the        
phenomenon of the waning of the original
 enthusiasm of a period of religious    
revelation has been a frequent one4     
,christianity on a grand scale          
illustrated this phenomenon anew4       
,harnack has elaborated this thesis with
 unexampled brilliancy and power4 ,he   
has supported it with a learning in     
which he has no rival and with a        
religious interest which not even       
hostile critics would deny4 ,the phrase1
 'the ,hellenisation of ,christianity1' 

might almost be taken as the motto of   
the work to which he owes his fame4     
,,harnack   ,adolf ,harnack was born in 
#ahea in ,dorpat1 in one of the ,baltic 
provinces of ,russia4 ,his father1      
,theodosius ,harnack1 was professor of  
pastoral theology in the ,university of 
,dorpat4 ,harnack studied in ,leipzig   
and began to teach there in #ahgd4 ,he  
was called to the chair of church       
history in ,giessen in #ahgi4 ,in #ahhf 
he removed to ,marburg and in #ahhi to  
,berlin4 ,harnack's earlier published   
work was almost entirely in the field of
 the study of the sources and materials 
of early church history4 ,his first     
book1 published in #ahgc1 was an inquiry
 as to the sources for the history of   
,gnosticism4 ,his ,patrum ,apostolicorum
 ,opera1 #ahgf1 prepared by him jointly 
with von ,gehhardt and ,zahn1 was in a  
way only a forecast of the great        
collection1 ,texte und ,untersuchungen  
zur ,geschickte der alt-christlichen    
,literatur1 begun in #ahhb1 upon which  

numbers of scholars have worked together
 with him4 ,the collection has already  
more than thirty-five volumes4 ,in his  
own two works1 ,die ,geschichte der     
alt-christlichen ,literatur bis         
,eusebius1 #ahic1 and ,die ,chronologie 
der alt-christlichen ,literatur bis     
,eusebius1 #ahig1 are deposited the     
results of his reflexion on the mass of 
this material4 ,his ,beitrage zur       
,einleitung in das ,neue ,testament1    
#aijf1 etc41 should not be overlooked4  
,he has had the good fortune to be among
 those who have discovered manuscripts  
of importance4 ,he has had to do with   
the ,prussian ,academy's edition of the 
,greek ,fathers4 ,a list of his         
published works1 which was prepared in  
connexion with the celebration of his   
sixtieth birthday in #aiaa1 bears       
witness to his amazing diligence and    
fertility4 ,he was for thirty-five years
 associated with ,schurer in the        
publication of the ,theologische        
,literaturzeitung4 ,he has filled       

important posts in the ,church and under
 the government4 ,to this must be added 
an activity as a teacher which has      
placed a whole generation of students   
from every portion of the world under   
undying obligation4 ,one speaks with    
reserve of the living1 but surely no man
 of our generation has done more to make
 the history of which we write4         
,harnack's epoch-making work was his    
,lehrbuch der ,dogmengeschichte1        
#ahhf-hh1 fourth edition1 #aiaj4 ,the   
book met1 almost from the moment of its 
appearance1 with the realisation of the 
magnitude of that which had been        
achieved4 ,it rested upon a fresh and   
independent study of the sources4 ,it   
departed from the mechanism which had   
made the old treatises upon the history 
of doctrine formal and lifeless4        
,harnack realised to the full how many  
influences other than theological had   
had part in the development of doctrine4
 ,he recognised the reaction of modes of
 life and practice1 and of external     

circumstances on the history of thought4
 ,his history of doctrine has thus a    
breadth and human quality never before  
attained4 ,philosophy1 worship1 morals1 
the development of ,church government   
and of the canon1 the common interests  
and passions of the age and those of the
 individual participants1 are all made  
tributary to his delineation4  ,harnack 
cannot share ,baur's view that the      
triumph of the ,logos-,christology at   
,nica and ,chalcedon was inevitable4 ,a 
certain historic naturalness of the     
movement he would concede1 the world on 
which ,christianity entered being what  
it was4 ,he is aware1 however1 that many
 elements other than ,christian have    
entered into the development4 ,he has   
phrased his apprehension thus4 ,that    
,hellenisation of ,christianity which   
,gnosticism represented1 and against    
which1 in this1 its acute form1 the     
,church contended was1 after all1 the   
same thing which1 by slower process and 
more unconsciously1 befell the ,church  

itself4 ,that pure moral enthusiasm and 
inspiration which had been the gist of  
the ,christian movement1 in its         
endeavour to appropriate the world1 had 
been appropriated by the world in far   
greater measure than its adherents knew4
 ,it had taken up its mission to change 
the world4 ,it had dreamed that while   
changing the world it had itself        
remained unchanged4 ,the world was      
changed1 the world of life1 of feeling  
and of thought4 ,but ,christianity was  
also changed4 ,it had conquered the     
world4 ,it had no perception of the fact
 that it illustrated the old law that   
the conquered give laws to the          
conquerors4 ,it had fused the ancient   
culture with the flame of its           
inspiration4 ,it did not appreciate the 
degree in which the elements of that    
ancient culture now coloured its        
far-shining flame4 ,it had been a maker 
of history4 ,meantime it had been unmade
 and remade by its own history4 ,it     
confidently carried back its canon1     

dogma1 organisation1 to ,christ and the 
apostles4 ,it did not realise that the  
very fact that it could find these      
things natural and declare them ancient1
 proved with conclusiveness that it had 
itself departed from the standard of    
,christ and the apostles4 ,it esteemed  
that these were its defences against the
 world4 ,it little dreamed that they    
were1 by their very existence1 the      
evidence of the fact that the ,church   
had not defended itself against the     
world4 ,its dogma was the ,hellenisation
 of its thought4 ,its organisation was  
the ,romanising of its life4 ,its canon 
and ritual were the externalising1 and  
conventionalising of its spirit and     
enthusiasm4 ,these are positive and     
constructive statements of ,harnack's   
main position4  ,when1 however1 they are
 turned about and stated negatively1    
these statements all convey1 more or    
less1 the impression that the advance of
 ,christianity had been its destruction1
 and the evolution of dogma had been a  

defection from ,christ4 ,this is the    
aspect of the contention which gave     
hostile critics opportunity to say that 
we have before us the history of the    
loss of ,christianity4 ,harnack himself 
has many sentences which superficially  
will bear that construction4 ,hatch had 
said in his brilliant book1 ,the        
,influence of ,greek ,ideas and ,usages 
upon the ,christian ,church1 #ahia1 that
 the domestication of ,greek philosophy 
in the ,church signified a defection    
from the ,sermon on the ,mount4 ,the    
centre of gravity of the ,gospel was    
changed from life to doctrine1 from     
morals to metaphysics1 from goodness to 
orthodoxy4 ,the change was portentous4  
,the aspect of pessimism is1 however1   
removed when one recognises the         
inevitableness of some such process1 if 
,christianity was ever to wield an      
influence in the world at all4 ,again1  
one must consider that the process of   
the recovery of pure ,christianity must 
begin at exactly this point1 namely1    

with the recognition of how much in     
current ,christianity is extraneous4 ,it
 must begin with the sloughing off of   
these extraneous elements1 with the     
recovery of the sense for that which    
original ,christianity was4 ,such a     
recovery would be the setting free again
 of the power of the religion itself4   
,the constant touchstone and point of   
reference for every stage of the history
 of the ,church must be the gospel of   
,jesus4 ,but what was the gospel of     
,jesus8 ,in what way did the very       
earliest ,christians apprehend that     
gospel8 ,this question is far more      
difficult for us to answer than it was  
for those to whom the ,new ,testament   
was a closed body of literature1        
externally differentiated from all      
other1 and with a miraculous inspiration
 extending uniformly to every phrase in 
any book4 ,these men would have said    
that they had but to find the proper    
combination of the sacred phrases4 ,but 
we acknowledge that the central         

inspiration was the personality of      
,jesus4 ,the books possess this         
inspiration in varying degree4 ,certain 
of the books have distinctly begun the  
fusion of ,christian with other         
elements4 ,they themselves represent the
 first stages of the history of         
doctrine4 ,we acknowledge that those    
utterances of ,jesus which have been    
preserved for us1 shaped themselves by  
the antitheses in which ,jesus stood4   
,there is much about them that is       
palpably incidental1 practically        
relevant and unquestionably only        
relative4 ,in a large sense1 much of the
 meaning of the gospel has to be        
gathered out of the evidence of the     
operation of its spirit in subsequent   
ages of the ,christian ,church1 and from
 remoter aspects of the influence of    
,jesus on the world4 ,thus the very     
conception of the gospel of ,jesus      
becomes inevitably more or less         
subjective4 ,it becomes an ideal        
construction4 ,the identification of    

this ideal with the original gospel     
proclamation becomes precarious4 ,we    
seem to move in a circle4 ,we derive the
 ideal from the history1 and then judge 
the history by the ideal4  ,is there any
 escape from this situation1 short of   
the return to the authority of ,church  
or ,scripture in the ancient sense8     
,furthermore1 even the men to whom the  
gospel was in the strictest sense a     
letter1 identified the gospel with their
 own private interpretation of this     
letter4 ,certainly the followers of     
,ritschl who will acknowledge no traits 
of the gospel save those of which they  
find direct witness in the ,gospels1    
thus ignore that the ,gospels are       
themselves interpretations4 ,this undue 
stress upon the documents which we are  
fortunate enough to possess1 makes us   
forget the limitations of these         
documents4 ,we tend thus to exaggerate  
that which must be only incidental1 as1 
for example1 the ,jewish element1 in the
 teaching of ,jesus4 ,we thus underrate 

phases of ,jesus' teaching which1 no    
doubt1 a man like ,paul would have      
apprehended better than did the         
evangelists themselves4 ,in truth1 in   
,harnack's own delineation of the       
teaching of ,jesus1 those elements of it
 which found their way to expression in 
,paul1 or again in the fourth ,gospel1  
are rather underrated than overstated1  
in the author's anxiety to exclude      
elements which are acknowledged to be   
interpretative in their nature4 ,we are 
driven1 in some measure1 to seek to find
 out what the gospel was from the way in
 which the earliest ,christians took it 
up4 ,we return ever afresh to questions 
nearly unanswerable from the materials  
at hand4 ,what was the central principle
 in the shaping of the earliest stages  
of the new community1 both as to its    
thought and life8 ,was it the longing   
for the coming of the ,kingdom of ,god1 
the striving after the righteousness of 
the ,sermon on the ,mount8 ,or was it   
the faith of the ,messiah1 the reverence

 for the ,messiah1 directed to the      
person of ,jesus8 ,what word dominated  
the preaching8 ,was it that the ,kingdom
 of ,god was near1 that the ,son of ,man
 would come8 ,or was it that in ,jesus  
,messiah has come8 ,what was the demand 
upon the hearer8 ,was it1 ,repent1 or   
was it1 ,believe on the ,lord ,jesus1 or
 was it both1 and which had the greater 
emphasis8 ,was the name of ,jesus used  
in the formulas of worship before the   
time of ,paul8 ,what do we know about   
prayer in the name of ,jesus1 or baptism
 in that name1 or miracles in the name  
of ,jesus1 or of the ,lord's ,supper and
 the conception of the ,lord as present 
with his disciples in the rite8 ,was    
this revering of ,jesus1 which was fast 
moving toward a worship of him1 the     
inner motive force of the whole         
construction of the dogma of his person 
and of the trinity8  ,in the second     
volume ,harnack treats of the           
development primarily of the            
,christological and trinitarian dogma1  

from the fourth to the seventh          
centuries4 ,the dramatic interest of the
 narrative exceeds anything which has   
been written on this theme4 ,a debate   
which to most modern men is remote and  
abstruse almost to the point of         
unintelligibility1 and of which many of 
the external aspects are disheartening  
in the extreme1 is here brought before  
us in something of the reasonableness   
which it must have had for those who    
took part in it4 ,tertullian shaped the 
problem and established the nomenclature
 for the ,christological solution which 
the ,orient two hundred years later made
 its own4 ,it was he who1 from the point
 of view of the ,jurist1 rather than of 
the philosopher1 gave the words 'person'
 and 'substance1' which continually     
occur in this discussion1 the meaning   
which in the ,nicene ,creed they bear4  
,most brilliant is ,harnack's           
characterisation of ,arius and          
,athanasius4 ,in ,arius the notion of   
the ,son of ,god is altogether done     

away4 ,only the name remains4 ,the      
victory of ,arianism would have resolved
 ,christianity into cosmology and formal
 ethics4 ,it would have destroyed it as 
religion4 ,yet the perverse situation   
into which the long and fierce          
controversy had drifted cannot be better
 illustrated than by one undisputed     
fact4 ,athanasius1 who assured for      
,christianity its character as a        
religion of the living communion of ,god
 with man1 is yet the theologian in     
whose ,christology almost every possible
 trace of the recollection of the       
historic ,jesus has disappeared4 ,the   
purpose of the redemption is to bring   
men into community of life with ,god4   
,but ,athanasius apprehended this       
redemption as a conferment1 from without
 and from above1 of a divine nature4 ,he
 subordinated everything to this idea4  
,the whole narrative concerning ,jesus  
falls under the interpretation that the 
only quality requisite for the ,redeemer
 in his work was the possession in all  

fulness of the divine nature4 ,his      
incarnation1 his manifestation in real  
human life1 held fast to in word1 is    
reduced to a mere semblance4 ,salvation 
is not an ethical process1 but a        
miraculous endowment4 ,the ,christ1 who 
was ,god1 lifts men up to godhood4 ,they
 become ,god4 ,these phrases are of     
course capable of ethical and           
intelligible meaning4 ,the development  
of the doctrine1 however1 threw the     
emphasis upon the metaphysical and      
miraculous aspects of the work4 ,it     
gloried in the fact that the presence of
 divine and human1 two natures in one   
person forever1 was unintelligible4 ,in 
the end it came to pass that the        
enthusiastic assent to that which defied
 explanation became the very mark of a  
humble and submissive faith4 ,one reads 
the so-called ,athanasian ,creed1 and   
hears the ring of its determination to  
exact assent4 ,it had long since been   
clear to these ,catholics and churchmen 
that1 with the mere authority of        

,scripture1 it was not possible to      
defend ,christianity against the        
heretics4 ,the heresies read their      
heresies out of the ,bible4 ,the        
orthodox read orthodoxy from the same   
page4 ,marcion had proved that1 in the  
very days when the canon took its shape4
 ,there must be an authority to define  
the interpretation of the ,scripture4   
,those who would share the benefits     
which the ,church dispensed must assent 
unconditionally to the terms of         
membership4  ,all these questions were  
veiled for the early ,christians behind 
the question of the kind of ,christ in  
whom their hearts believed4 ,with all   
that we have said about the             
reprehensible admixture of the          
metaphysical element in the dogma1 with 
all the accusation which we bring       
concerning acute or gradual             
,hellenisation1 secularisation and      
defection from the ,christ1 we ought not
 to hide from ourselves that in this    
gigantic struggle there were real       

religious interests at stake1 and that  
for the men of both parties4 ,dimly1 or 
perhaps vividly1 the man of either party
 felt that the conception of the ,christ
 which he was fighting for was congruous
 with the conception of religion which  
he had1 or felt that he must have4 ,it  
is this religious issue1 everywhere     
present1 which gives dignity to a       
struggle which otherwise does often     
sadly lack it4 ,there are two religious 
views of the person of ,christ which    
have stood1 from the beginning1 the one 
over against the other4#e ,the one saw  
in ,jesus of ,nazareth a man1           
distinguished by his special calling as 
the ,messianic ,king1 endued with       
special powers1 lifted above all men    
ever known1 yet a man1 completely       
subject to ,god in faith1 obedience and 
prayer4 ,this view is surely sustained  
by many of ,jesus' own words and deeds4 
,it shines through the testimony of the 
men who followed him4 ,even the belief  
in his resurrection and his second      

coming did not altogether do away with  
it4 ,the other view saw in him a new    
,god who1 descending from ,god1 brought 
mysterious powers for the redemption of 
mankind into the world1 and after short 
obscuring of his glory1 returned to the 
abode of ,god1 where he had been before4
 ,from this belief come all the hymns   
and prayers to ,jesus as to ,god1 all   
miracles and exorcisms in his name4     
,footnote #e3 ,wernle1 ,einfzhrung in   
das ,theologische ,studium1 #aijh1 v4   
#bjd4  ,in the long run1 the simpler    
view did not maintain itself4 ,if false 
gods and demons were expelled1 it was   
the ,god ,jesus who expelled them4 ,the 
more modest faith believed that in the  
man ,jesus1 being such an one as he was1
 men had received the greatest gift     
which the love of ,god had to bestow4   
,in turn the believer felt the assurance
 that he also was a child of ,god1 and  
in the spirit of ,jesus was to realise  
that sonship4 ,syncretist religions     
suggested other thoughts4 ,we see that  

already even in the synoptic tradition  
the calling upon the name of ,jesus had 
found place4 ,one wonders whether that  
first apprehension ever stood alone in  
its purity4 ,the ,gentile ,churches     
founded by ,paul1 at all events1 had no 
such simple trust4 ,equally1 the second 
form of faith seems never to have been  
able to stand alone in its peculiar     
quality4 ,some of the gnostic sects had 
it4 ,marcion again is our example4 ,the 
new ,god ,jesus had nothing to do with  
the cruel ,god of the ,old ,testament4  
,he supplanted the old ,god and became  
the only ,god4 ,in the ,church the new  
,god1 come down from heaven1 must be set
 in relation with the long-known ,god of
 ,israel4 ,no less1 must he stand in    
relation to the simple hero of the      
,gospels with his human traits4 ,the    
problem of theological reflexion was to 
find the right middle course1 to keep   
the divine ,christ in harmony1 on the   
one side1 with monotheism1 and on the   
other1 with the picture which the       

,gospels gave4 ,belief knew nothing of  
these contradictions4 ,the same simple  
soul thanked ,god for ,jesus with his   
sorrows and his sympathy1 as man's guide
 and helper1 and again prayed to ,jesus 
because he seemed too wonderful to be a 
man4 ,the same kind of faith achieves   
the same wondering and touching         
combination to-day1 after two thousand  
years4 ,with thought comes trouble4     
,reflexion wears itself out upon the    
insoluble difficulty1 the impossible    
combination1 the flat contradiction1    
which the two views present1 so soon as 
they are clearly seen4  ,in the earliest
 ,christian writings the fruit of this  
reflexion lies before us in this        
form3--,the ,creator of worlds1 the     
mediator1 the lord of angels and demons1
 the ,logos which was ,god and is our   
,saviour1 was yet a humble son of man1  
undergoing suffering and death1 having  
laid aside his divine glory4 ,this      
picture is made with materials which the
 canonical writings themselves afford4  

,theological study had henceforth       
nothing to do but to avoid extremes and 
seek to make this image1 which reflexion
 upon two polar opposites had yielded1  
as nearly thinkable as possible4 ,it has
 been said that the trinitarian doctrine
 is not in the ,new ,testament1 that it 
was later elaborated by a different kind
 of mind4 ,this is not true4 ,but the   
inference is precisely the contrary of  
that which defenders of the dogma would 
formerly have drawn from this           
concession4 ,the same kind of mind1 or  
rather the same two kinds of mind1 are  
at work in the ,new ,testament4 ,both of
 the religious elements above suggested 
are in the ,gospels and ,epistles4 ,the 
,new ,testament presents attempts at    
their combination4 ,either form may be  
found in the literature of the later    
age4 ,if we ask ourselves1 ,what is that
 in ,jesus which gives us the sense of  
redemption1 surely we should answer1 ,it
 is his glad and confident resting in   
the love of ,god the ,father4 ,it is his

 courage1 his faith in men1 which       
becomes our faith in ourselves4 ,it is  
his wonderful mingling of purity and    
love of righteousness with love of those
 who have sinned4 ,you may find this in 
the ancient literature1 as the ,fathers 
describe that to which their souls      
cling4 ,but this is not the point of    
view from which the dogma is organised4 
,the ,nicene ,christology is not to be  
understood from this approach4 ,the cry 
of a dying civilisation after power and 
light and life1 the feeling that these  
might come to it1 streaming down as it  
were1 from above1 as a physical1 a      
mechanical1 a magical deliverance1 this 
is the frame within which is set what is
 here said of the help and redemption   
wrought by ,christ4 ,the resurrection   
and the incarnation are the points at   
which this streaming in of the divine   
light and power upon a darkened world is
 felt4  ,that religion seemed the       
highest1 that interpretation of         
,christianity the truest1 the absolute  

one1 which could boast that it possessed
 the power of the ,almighty through his 
physical union with men4 ,he who        
contended that ,jesus was ,god1         
contended therewith for a power which   
could come upon men and make them in    
some sense one with ,god4 ,this is the  
view which has been almost exclusively  
held in the ,greek ,church4 ,it is the  
view which has run under and through and
 around the other conception in the     
,roman and ,protestant ,churches4 ,the  
sense that salvation is inward1 moral1  
spiritual1 has rarely indeed been absent
 from ,christendom4 ,it would be        
preposterous to allege that it had4 ,yet
 this sense has been overlaid and       
underrun and shot through with that     
other and disparate idea of salvation1  
as of a pure bestowment1 something      
achieved apart from us1 or1 if one may  
so say1 some alteration of ourselves    
upon other than moral and spiritual     
terms4 ,the conception of the person    
,christ shows the same uncertainty4 ,or 

rather1 with a given view of the nature 
of religion and salvation1 the          
corresponding view of ,christ is        
certain4 ,in the age-long and world-wide
 contest over the trinitarian formula1  
with all that is saddening in the       
struggle and all that was misleading in 
the issue1 it is because we see men     
struggling to come into the clear as to 
these two meanings of religion1 that the
 contest has such absorbing interest4   
,men have been right in declining to    
call that religion in which a man saves 
himself4 ,they have been wrong in       
esteeming that they were then only saved
 of ,god or ,christ when they were saved
 by an obviously external process4 ,even
 this antinomy is softened when one no  
longer holds that ,god and men are      
mutually exclusive conceptions4 ,it is  
,god working within us who saves1 the   
,god who in ,jesus worked such a wonder 
of righteousness and love as else the   
world has never seen4     ,,chapter ,v  
,,the ,,contribution ,,of ,,the         

,,natural ,,and ,,social ,,sciences     
,by the middle of the nineteenth century
 the empirical sciences had undergone   
vast expansion in the study of detail   
and in the discovery of principles4 ,men
 felt the necessity of some adequate    
discussion of the relation of these     
sciences one to another and of their    
unity4 ,there was need of the           
organisation of the mass of knowledge1  
largely new and ever increasing1 which  
the sciences furnished4 ,it lay in the  
logic of the case that some of these    
attempts should advance the bold claim  
to deal with all knowledge whatsoever   
and to offer a theory of the universe as
 a whole4 ,religion1 both in its        
mythological and in its theological     
stages1 had offered a theory of the     
universe as a whole4 ,the great         
metaphysical systems had offered        
theories of the universe as a whole4    
,both had professed to include all      
facts4 ,notoriously both theology and   
metaphysics had dealt in most inadequate

 fashion with the material world1 in the
 study of which the sciences were now   
achieving great results4 ,indeed1 the   
methods current and authoritative with  
theologians and metaphysicians had      
actually prevented study of the physical
 universe4 ,both of these had invaded   
areas of fact to which their methods had
 no application and uttered dicta which 
had no relation to truth4 ,the very life
 of the sciences depended upon          
deliverance from this bondage4 ,the     
record of that deliverance is one of the
 most dramatic chapters in the history  
of thought4 ,could one be surprised if1 
in the resentment which long oppression 
had engendered and in the joy which     
overwhelming victory had brought1       
scientific men now invaded the fields of
 their opponents8 ,they repaid their    
enemies in their own coin4 ,there was   
with some a disposition to deny that    
there exists an area of knowledge to    
which the methods of metaphysicians and 
theologians might apply4 ,this was      

,comte's contention4 ,others conceded   
that there might be such an area1 but   
claimed that we can have no knowledge of
 it4 ,even the theologians1 after their 
first shock1 were disposed to concede   
that1 concerning the magnitudes in which
 they were most interested1 as for      
example1 ,god and soul1 we have no      
knowledge of the sort which the method  
of the physical sciences would give4    
,they fell back upon ,kant's distinction
 of the two reasons and two worlds4     
,they exaggerated the sharpness of that 
distinction4 ,they learned that the     
claim of agnosticism was capable of     
being viewed as a line of defence1      
behind which the transcendental         
magnitudes might be secure4 ,indeed1 if 
one may take ,spencer as an example1 it 
is not certain that this was not the    
intent of some of the scientists in     
their strong assertion of agnosticism4  
,spencer's later work reveals that he   
had no disposition to deny that there   
are foundations for belief in a world   

lying behind the phenomenal1 and from   
which the latter gets its meaning4      
,meantime1 after positivism was buried  
and agnosticism dead1 a thing was       
achieved for which ,comte himself laid  
the foundation and in which ,spencer as 
he grew older was ever more deeply      
interested4 ,this was the great         
development of the social sciences4     
,every aspect of the life of man1       
including religion itself1 has been     
drawn within the area of the social     
sciences4 ,to all these subjects1       
including religion1 there have been     
applied empirical methods which have the
 closest analogy with those which have  
reigned in the physical sciences4       
,psychology has been made a science of  
experiment1 and the psychology of       
religion has been given a place within  
the area of its observations and        
generalizations4 ,the ethical1 and again
 the religious consciousness has been   
subjected to the same kind of           
investigation to which all other aspects

 of consciousness are subjected4 ,effort
 has been made to ascertain and classify
 the phenomena of the religious life of 
the race in all lands and in all ages4  
,a science of religions is taking its   
place among the other sciences4 ,it is  
as purely an inductive science as is any
 other4 ,the history of religions and   
the philosophy of religion are being    
rewritten from this point of view4  ,in 
the first lines of this chapter we spoke
 of the empirical sciences1 meaning the 
sciences of the material world4 ,it is  
clear1 however1 that the sciences of    
mind1 of morals and of religion have now
 become empirical sciences4 ,they have  
their basis in experience1 the          
experience of individuals and the       
experience of masses of men1 of ages of 
observable human life4 ,they all proceed
 by the method of observation and       
inference1 of hypothesis and            
verification4 ,there is a unity of      
method as between the natural and social
 and psychical sciences1 the reach of   

which is startling to reflect upon4     
,indeed1 the physiological aspects of   
psychology1 the investigations of the   
relation of adolescence to conversion1  
suggest that the distinction between the
 physical and the psychical is a        
vanishing distinction4 ,science comes   
nearer to offering an interpretation of 
the universe as a whole than the opening
 paragraphs of this chapter would imply4
 ,but it does so by including religion1 
not by excluding it4 ,no one would any  
longer think of citing ,kant's          
distinction of two reasons and two      
worlds in the sense of establishing a   
city of refuge into which the persecuted
 might flee4 ,kant rendered incomparable
 service by making clear two poles of   
thought4 ,yet we must realise how the   
space between is filled with the        
gradations of an absolute continuity of 
activity4 ,man has but one reason4 ,this
 may conceivably operate upon           
appropriate material in one or the other
 of these polar fashions4 ,it does      

operate in infinite variations of       
degree1 in unity with itself1 after both
 fashions1 at all times and upon all    
materials4  ,positivism was a system4   
,agnosticism was at least a phase of    
thought4 ,the broadening of the         
conception of science and the invasion  
of every area of life by a science thus 
broadly conceived1 has been an influence
 less tangible than those others but    
not1 therefore1 less effective4         
,positivism was bitterly hostile to     
,christianity1 though1 in the mind of   
,comte himself and of a few others1 it  
produced a curious substitute1          
possessing many of the marks of ,roman  
,catholicism4 ,the name 'agnostic' was  
so loosely used that one must say that  
the contention was hostile to religion  
in the minds of some and not of others4 
,the new movement for an inclusive      
science is not hostile to religion4 ,yet
 it will transform current conceptions  
of religion as those others never did4  
,in proportion as it is scientific1 it  

cannot be hostile4 ,it may at most be   
indifferent4 ,nevertheless1 in the long 
run1 few will choose the theme of       
religion for the scientific labour of   
life who have not some interest in      
religion4 ,men of these three classes   
have accepted the doctrine of evolution4
 ,comte thought he had discovered it4   
,spencer and those for whom we have     
taken him as type1 did service in the   
elaboration of it4 ,to the men of our   
third group1 the truth of evolution     
seems no longer debatable4 ,here too1 in
 the word 'evolution1' we have a term   
which has been used with laxity4 ,it    
corresponds to a notion which has only  
gradually been evolved4 ,its            
implications were at first by no means  
understood4 ,it was associated with a   
mechanical view of the universe which   
was diametrically opposed to its truth4 
,still1 there could not be a doubt that 
the doctrine contravened those ideas as 
to the origin of the world1 and more    
particularly of man1 of the relations of

 species1 and especially of the human   
species to other forms of animal life1  
which had immemorially prevailed in     
,christian circles and which had the    
witness of the ,scriptures on their     
behalf4 ,if we were to attempt1 with    
acknowledged latitude1 to name a book   
whose import might be said to be        
cardinal for the whole movement treated 
of in this chapter1 that book would be  
,darwin's ,origin of ,species1 which was
 published in #ahei4  ,long before      
,darwin the creation legend had been    
recognised as such4 ,the astronomy of   
the seventeenth century had removed the 
earth from its central position4 ,the   
geology of the eighteenth had shown how 
long must have been the ages of the     
laying down of the earth's strata4 ,the 
question of the descent of man1 however1
 brought home the significance of       
evolution for religion more forcibly    
than any other aspect of the debate had 
done4 ,there were scientific men of     
distinction who were not convinced of   

the truth of the evolutionary           
hypothesis4 ,to most ,christian men the 
theory seemed to leave no unique        
distinction or spiritual quality for    
man4 ,it seemed to render impossible    
faith in the ,scriptures as revelation4 
,to many it seemed that the whole issue 
as between a spiritual and a purely     
materialistic view of the universe was  
involved4 ,particularly was this true of
 the ,english-speaking peoples4  ,one   
other factor in the transformation of   
the ,christian view needs to be dwelt   
upon4 ,it is less theoretical than those
 upon which we have dwelt4 ,it is the   
influence of socialism1 taking that word
 in its largest sense4 ,an industrial   
civilisation has developed both the good
 and the evil of individualism in       
incredible degree4 ,the unity of society
 which the feudal system and the ,church
 gave to ,europe in the ,middle ,age had
 been destroyed4 ,the individualism and 
democracy which were essential to       
,protestantism notoriously aided the    

civil and social revolution1 but the    
centrifugal forces were too great4      
,initiative has been wonderful1 but     
cohesion is lacking4 ,democracy is yet  
far from being realised4 ,the civil     
liberations which were the great crises 
of the western world from #afdj to #ahcj
 appear now to many as deprived of their
 fruit4 ,governments undertake on behalf
 of subjects that which formerly no     
government would have dreamed of doing4 
,the demand is that the ,church1 too1   
become a factor in the furtherance of   
the outward and present welfare of      
mankind4 ,if that meant the call to love
 and charity it would be an old refrain4
 ,that is exactly what it does not mean4
 ,it means the attack upon evils which  
make charity necessary4 ,it means the   
taking up into the idealisation of      
religion the endeavour to redress all   
wrongs1 to do away with all evils1 to   
confer all goods1 to create a new world 
and not1 as heretofore1 mainly at least1
 a new soul in the midst of the old     

world4 ,no one can deny either the      
magnitude of the evils which it is      
sought to remedy1 or the greatness of   
the goal which is thus set before       
religion4 ,the volume of religious and  
,christian literature devoted to these  
social questions is immense4 ,it is     
revolutionary in its effect4 ,for1 after
 all1 the very gist of religion has been
 held to be that it deals primarily with
 the inner life and the transcendent    
world4 ,that it has dealt with the      
problem of the inner life and           
transcendent world in such a manner as  
to retard1 or even only not to further1 
the other aspects of man's life is      
indeed a grave indictment4 ,that it     
should1 however1 see ends in the outer  
life and present world as ends fully    
sufficient in themselves1 that it should
 cease to set these in the light of the 
eternal1 is that it should cease to be  
religion4 ,the physical and social      
sciences have given to men an outward   
setting in the world1 a basis of power  

and happiness such as men never have    
enjoyed4 ,yet the tragic failure of our 
civilisation to give to vast multitudes 
that power and happiness1 is the proof  
that something more than the outward    
basis is needed4 ,the success of our    
civilisation is its failure4  ,this is  
by no means a recurrence to the old     
antithesis of religion and civilisation1
 as if these were contradictory         
elements4 ,on the contrary1 it is but to
 show that the present world of religion
 and of economics are not two worlds1   
but merely different aspects of the same
 world4 ,therewith it is not alleged    
that religion has not a specific        
contribution to make4   ,,positivism    
,the permanent influence of that phase  
of thought which called itself          
,positivism has not been great4 ,but a  
school of thought which numbered among  
its adherents such men and women as     
,john ,stuart ,mill1 ,george ,henry     
,lewes1 ,george ,eliot1 ,frederic       
,harrison1 and ,matthew ,arnold1 cannot 

be said to have been without            
significance4 ,a book upon the          
translation of which ,harriet ,martinean
 worked with sustained enthusiasm cannot
 be dismissed as if it were merely a    
curiosity4 ,comte's work1 ,coura de     
,philosophie ,positive1 appeared between
 the years #ahcj and #ahdb4 ,littr was  
his chief ,french interpreter4 ,but the 
history of the positivist movement      
belongs to the history of ,english      
philosophical and religious thought1    
rather than to that of ,france4  ,comte 
was born at ,montpellier in #agih1 of a 
family of intense ,roman ,catholic      
piety4 ,he showed at school a precocity 
which might bear comparison with        
,mill's4 ,expelled from school1 cast off
 by his parents1 dismissed by the elder 
,casimir ,perier1 whose secretary he had
 been1 he eked out a living by tutoring 
in mathematics4 ,friends of his         
philosophy rallied to his support4 ,he  
never occupied a post comparable with   
his genius4 ,he was unhappy in his      

marriage4 ,he passed through a period of
 mental aberration1 due1 perhaps1 to the
 strain under which he worked4 ,he did  
not regain his liberty without an       
experience which embittered him against 
the ,church4 ,during the fourteen years 
of the production of his book he cut    
himself off from any reading save that  
of current scientific discovery4 ,he    
came under the influence of ,madame     
,vaux1 whom1 after her death1 he        
idolised even more than before4 ,for the
 problem which1 in the earlier portion  
of his work1 he set himself1 that       
namely1 of the organising of the        
sciences into a compact body of         
doctrine1 he possessed extraordinary    
gifts4 ,later1 he took on rather the air
 of a high priest of humanity1          
legislating concerning a new religion4  
,it is but fair to say that at this     
point ,littr and many others parted     
company with ,comte4 ,he developed a    
habit and practice ascetic in its rigour
 and mystic in its devotion to the      

positivists' religion--the worship of   
humanity4 ,he was the friend and        
counsellor of working-men and agitators1
 of little children1 of the poor and    
miserable4 ,he ended his rather pathetic
 and turbulent career in #aheg1         
gathering a few disciples about his bed 
as he remembered that ,socrates had     
done4  ,comte begins with the natural   
sciences and postulates the doctrine of 
evolution4 ,to the definition of this   
doctrine he makes some interesting      
approaches4 ,the discussion of the order
 and arrangement of the various sciences
 and of their characteristic differences
 is wonderful in its insight and        
suggestiveness4 ,he asserts that in the 
study of nature we are concerned solely 
with the facts before us and the        
relations which connect those facts4 ,we
 have nothing to do with the supposed   
essence or hidden nature and meaning of 
those facts4 ,facts and the invariable  
laws which govern them are the only     
legitimate objects of pursuit4 ,comte   

infers that because we can know1 in this
 sense1 only phenomena and their        
relations1 we should in consequence     
guard against illusions which creep in  
again if we so much as use the words    
principle1 or cause1 or will1 or force4 
,by phenomena must be understood objects
 of perception1 to the exclusion1 for   
example1 of psychological changes       
reputed to be known in                  
self-consciousness4 ,that there is no   
knowledge but of the physical1 that     
there is no knowing except by           
perception--this is ever reiterated as  
self-evident4 ,even psychology1 resting 
as it does largely upon the observation 
of the self by the self1 must be        
illusive4 ,physiology1 or even          
phrenology1 with the value of which     
,comte was much impressed1 must take its
 place4 ,every object of knowledge is   
other than the knowing subject4         
,whatever else the mind knows1 it can   
never know itself4 ,by invincible       
necessity the human mind can observe all

 phenomena except its own4 ,commenting  
upon this1 ,james ,martineau observed3  
',we have had in the history of thought 
numerous forms of idealism which        
construed all outward phenomena as mere 
appearances within the mind4 ,we have   
hitherto had no strictly corresponding  
materialism1 which claimed certainty for
 the outer world precisely because it   
was foreign to ourselves4' ,man is the  
highest product of nature1 the highest  
stage of nature's most mature and       
complex form4 ,man as individual is     
nothing more4 ,physiology gives us not  
merely his external constitution and one
 set of relations4 ,it is the whole     
science of man4 ,there is no study of   
mind in which its actions and states can
 be contemplated apart from the physical
 basis in conjunction with which mind   
exists4  ,thus far man has been treated 
only biologically1 as individual4 ,we   
must advance to man in society4 ,almost 
one half of ,comte's bulky work is      
devoted to this side of the inquiry4    

,social phenomena are a class complex   
beyond any which have yet been          
investigated4 ,so much is this the case 
and so difficult is the problem         
presented1 that ,comte felt constrained 
in some degree to change his method4 ,we
 proceed from experience1 from data in  
fact1 as before4 ,but the facts are not 
mere illustrations of the so called laws
 of individual human nature4 ,social    
facts are the results also of situations
 which represent the accumulated        
influence of past generations4 ,in this1
 as against ,bentham1 for example1 with 
his endless recurrence to human nature1 
as he called it1 ,comte was right4      
,comte thus first gave the study of     
history its place in sociology4 ,in this
 study of history and sociology1 the    
collective phenomena are more accessible
 to us and better known by us1 than are 
the parts of which they are composed4   
,we therefore proceed here from the     
general to the particular1 not from the 
particular to the general1 as in        

research of the kinds previously named4 
,the state of every part of the social  
organisation is ultimately connected    
with the contemporaneous state of all   
the other parts4 ,philosophy1 science1  
the fine arts1 commerce1 navigation1    
government1 are all in close mutual     
dependence4 ,when any considerable      
change takes place in one1 we may know  
that a parallel change has preceded or  
will follow in the others4 ,the progress
 of society is not the aggregate of     
partial changes1 but the product of a   
single impulse acting through all the   
partial agencies4 ,it can therefore be  
most easily traced by studying all      
together4 ,these are the main principles
 of sociological investigation as set   
forth by ,comte1 some of them as they   
have been phrased by ,mill4  ,the most  
sweeping exemplification of the axiom   
last alluded to1 as to parallel changes1
 is ,comte's so-called law of the three 
states of civilisation4 ,under this law1
 he asserts1 the whole historical       

evolution can be summed up4 ,it is as   
certain as the law of gravitation4      
,everything in human society has passed1
 as has the individual man1 through the 
theological and then through the        
metaphysical stage1 and so arrives at   
the positive stage4 ,in this last stage 
of thought nothing either of            
superstition or of speculation will     
survive4 ,theology and metaphysics      
,comte repeatedly characterises as the  
two successive stages of nescience1     
unavoidable as preludes to science4     
,equally unavoidable is it that science 
shall ultimately prevail in their place4
 ,the advance of science having once    
begun1 there is no possibility but that 
it will ultimately possess itself of    
all4 ,one hears the echo of this        
confidence in ,haeckel also4 ,there is a
 persistence about the denial of any    
knowledge whatsoever that goes beyond   
external facts1 which ill comports with 
the pretensions of positivism to be a   
philosophy4 ,for its final claim is not 

that it is content to rest in           
experimental science4 ,on the contrary1 
it would transform this science into a  
homogeneous doctrine which is able to   
explain everything in the universe4     
,this is but a tour de force4 ,the      
promise is fulfilled through the denial 
of the reality of everything which      
science cannot explain4 ,comte was never
 willing to face the fact that the very 
existence of knowledge has a noumenal as
 well as a phenomenal side4 ,the        
reasonableness of the universe is       
certainly a conception which we bring to
 the observation of nature4 ,if we did  
not thus bring it with us1 no mere      
observation of nature would ever give it
 to us4 ,it is impossible for science to
 get rid of the conception of force1 and
 ultimately of cause4 ,there can be no  
phenomenon which is not a manifestation 
of something4 ,the very nomenclature    
falls into hopeless confusion without   
these conceptions4 ,yet the moment we   
touch them we transcend science and pass

 into the realm of philosophy4 ,it is   
mere juggling with words to say that our
 science has now become a philosophy4   
,the adjective 'positive' contains the  
same fallacy4 ,apparently ,comte meant  
by the choice of it to convey the sense 
that he would limit research to         
phenomena in their orders of            
resemblance1 co-existence and           
succession4 ,but to call the inquiry    
into phenomena positive1 in the sense   
that it alone deals with reality1 to    
imply that the inquiry into causes deals
 with that which has no reality1 is to  
beg the question4 ,this is not a premise
 with which he may set out in the       
evolution of his system4  ,comte denied 
the accusation of materialism and       
atheism4 ,he did the first only by      
changing the meaning of the term        
materialism4 ,materialism the world has 
supposed to be the view of man's        
condition and destiny which makes these 
to begin and end in nature4 ,that       
certainly was ,comte's view4 ,the       

accusation of atheism also he avoids by 
a mere play on words4 ,he is not without
 a ,god4 ,humanity is ,god4 ,mankind is 
the positivist's ,supreme4 ,altruism    
takes the place of devotion4 ,the       
devotion so long wasted upon a mere     
creature of the imagination1 to whom it 
could do no good1 he would now give to  
men who sorely need it and can obviously
 profit by it4 ,surely the antithesis   
between nature and the supernatural1 in 
the form in which ,comte argues against 
it1 is now abandoned by thoughtful      
people4 ,equally the antithesis of      
altruism to the service of ,god is      
perverse4 ,it arouses one's pity that   
,comte should not have seen how1 in true
 religion these two things coalesce4    
,moreover1 this deification of mankind1 
in so far as it is not a sounding       
phrase1 is an absurdity4 ,when ,comte   
says1 for example1 that the authority of
 humanity must take the place of that of
 ,god1 he has recognised that religion  
must have authority4 ,indeed1 the whole 

social order must have authority4       
,however1 this is not for him1 as we are
 accustomed to say1 the authority of the
 truth and of the right4 ,there is no   
such abstraction as the truth1 coming to
 various manifestations4 ,there is no   
such thing as right1 apart from         
relatively right concrete measures4     
,there is no larger being indwelling in 
men4 ,society1 humanity in its          
collective capacity1 must1 if need be1  
override the individual4 ,yet ,comte    
despises the mere rule of majorities4   
,the majority which he would have rule  
is that of those who have the scientific
 mind4 ,we may admit that in this he    
aims at the supremacy of truth4 ,but1 in
 fact1 he prepares the way for a        
doctrinaire tyranny which1 of all forms 
of government1 might easily turn out to 
be the worst which a long-suffering     
humanity has yet endured4  ,in the end1 
we are told1 love is to take the place  
of force4 ,humanity is present to us    
first in our mothers1 wives and         

daughters4 ,for these it is present in  
their fathers1 husbands1 sons4 ,from    
this primary circle love widens and     
worship extends as hearts enlarge4 ,it  
is the prayer to humanity which first   
rises above the mere selfishness of the 
sort to get something out of ,god4      
,remembrance in the hearts of those who 
loved us and owe something to us is the 
only worthy form of immortality4        
,clearly it is only the caricature of   
prayer or of the desire of immortality  
which rises before ,comte's mind as the 
thing to be escaped4 ,for this          
caricature religious men1 both ,catholic
 and ,protestant1 without doubt1 gave   
him cause4 ,there were to be seven      
sacraments1 corresponding to seven      
significant epochs in a man's career4   
,there were to be priests for the       
performance of these sacraments and for 
the inculcation of the doctrines of     
positivism4 ,there were to be temples of
 humanity1 affording opportunity for and
 reminder of this worship4 ,in each     

temple there was to be set up the symbol
 of the positivist religion1 a woman of 
thirty years with her little son in her 
arms4 ,littr spoke bitterly of the      
positivist religion as a lapse of the   
author into his old aberration4 ,this   
religion was certainly regarded as      
negligible by many to whom his system as
 a whole meant a great deal4 ,at least1 
it is an interesting example1 as is also
 his transformation of science into a   
philosophy1 of the resurgence of valid  
elements in life1 even in the case of a 
man who has made it his boast to do away
 with them4   ,,naturalism ,,and        
,,agnosticism   ,we may take ,spencer as
 representative of a group of men who1  
after the middle of the nineteenth      
century1 laboured enthusiastically to   
set forth evolutionary and naturalistic 
theories of the universe4 ,these        
theories had also1 for the most part1   
the common trait that they professed    
agnosticism as to all that lay beyond   
the reach of the natural-scientific     

methods1 in which the authors were      
adept4 ,both ,ward and ,boutroux accept 
,spencer as such a type4 ,agnosticism   
for obvious reasons could be no system4 
,naturalism is a tendency in            
interpretation of the universe which has
 many ramifications4 ,there is no       
intention of making the reference to one
 man's work do more than serve as       
introduction to the field4  ,spencer was
 eager in denial that he had been       
influenced by ,comte4 ,yet there is a   
certain reminder of ,comte in ,spencer's
 monumental endeavour to systematise the
 whole mass of modern scientific        
knowledge1 under the general title of   
',a ,synthetic ,philosophy4' ,he would  
show the unity of the sciences and their
 common principles or1 rather1 the one  
great common principle which they all   
illustrate1 the doctrine of evolution1  
as this had taken shape since the time  
of ,darwin4 ,since #aijd we have an     
autobiography of ,herbert ,spencer1     
which1 to be sure1 seems largely to have

 been written prior to #ahhi4 ,the book 
is interesting1 as well in the light    
which it throws upon the expansion of   
the sciences and the development of the 
doctrine of evolution in those years1 as
 in the revelation of the personal      
traits of the man himself4 ,concerning  
these ,tolstoi wrote to a friend1       
apropos of a gift of the book3 ',in     
autobiographies the most important      
psychological phenomena are often       
revealed quite independently of the     
author's will4'  ,spencer was born in   
#ahbj in ,derby1 the son of a           
schoolmaster4 ,he came of ,nonconformist
 ancestry of most marked individuality4 
,his early education was irregular and  
inadequate4 ,before he reached the age  
of seventeen his reading had been       
immense4 ,he worked with an engineer in 
the period of the building of the       
railways in the ,midlands4 ,he always   
retained his interest in inventions4 ,he
 wrote for the newspapers and magazines 
and definitely launched upon a literary 

career4 ,at the age of thirty he        
published his first book1 on ,social    
,statics4 ,he made friends among the    
most notable men and women of his age4  
,so early as #ahee he was the victim of 
a disease of the heart which never left 
him4 ,it was on his recovery from his   
first grave attack that he shaped the   
plan which henceforth held him1 of      
organising the modern sciences and      
incorporating them into what he called a
 synthetic philosophy4 ,there was       
immense increase in actual knowledge and
 in the power of his reflection on that 
knowledge1 as the years went by4 ,a     
generation elapsed between the          
publication of his ,first ,principles   
and the conclusion of his more formal   
literary labours4 ,there is something   
captivating about a man's life1 the     
energy of which remains so little       
impaired that he esteems it better to   
write a new book1 covering some         
untouched portion of his scheme1 than to
 give to an earlier volume the revision 

which in the light of his matured       
convictions it may need4 ,his           
philosophical limitations he never      
transcended4 ,he does not so navely     
offer a substitute for philosophy as    
does ,comte4 ,but he was no master in   
philosophy4 ,there is a reflexion of the
 consciousness of this fact in his      
agnosticism4  ,that the effort of the   
agnostic contention has been great1 and 
on the whole salutary1 few would deny4  
,spencer's own later work shows that his
 declaration1 that the absolute which   
lies behind the universe is unknowable1 
is to be taken with considerable        
qualification4 ,it is only a relative   
unknowableness which he predicates4     
,moreover1 before ,spencer's death1 the 
doctrine of evolution had made itself   
profoundly felt in the discussion of all
 aspects of life1 including that of     
religion4 ,there seemed no longer any   
reason for the barrier between science  
and religion which ,spencer had once    
thought requisite4  ,the epithet        

agnostic1 as applied to a certain       
attitude of scientific mind1 is just1 as
 over against excessive claims to valid 
knowledge made1 now by theology and now 
by speculative philosophy4 ,it is hardly
 descriptive in any absolute sense4     
,spencer had coined the rather fortunate
 illustration which describes science as
 a gradually increasing sphere1 such    
that every addition to its surface does 
but bring us into more extensive contact
 with surrounding nescience4 ,even upon 
this illustration ,ward has commented   
that the metaphor is misleading4 ,the   
continent of our knowledge is not merely
 bounded by an ocean of ignorance4 ,it  
is intersected and cut up by straits and
 seas of ignorance4 ,the author of ,ecce
 ,coelum has declared3 ',things die out 
under the microscope into the same      
unfathomed and1 so far as we can see1   
unfathomable mystery1 into which they   
die off beyond the range of our most    
powerful telescope4' ,this sense of the 
circumambient unknown has become        

cardinal with the best spirits of the   
age4 ,men have a more rigorous sense of 
what constitutes knowledge4  ,they have 
reckoned more strictly with the methods 
by which alone secure and solid         
knowledge may be attained4 ,they have   
undisguised scepticism as to alleged    
knowledge not arrived at in those ways4 
,it was the working of these motives    
which gave to the labours of the middle 
of the nineteenth century so            
prevailingly the aspect of denial1 the  
character which ,carlyle described as an
 everlasting ,no4 ,this was but a       
preparatory stage1 a retrogression for a
 new and firmer advance4  ,in the sense 
of the recognition of our ignorance and 
of a becoming modesty of affirmation1   
over against the mystery into which all 
our thought runs out1 we cannot reject  
the correction which agnosticism has    
administered4 ,it is a fact which has   
had disastrous consequences1 that       
precisely the department of thought1    
namely the religious1 which one might   

suppose would most have reminded men of 
the outlying mystery1 that phase of life
 whose very atmosphere is mystery1 has  
most often been guilty of arrant        
dogmatism4 ,it has been thus guilty upon
 the basis of the claim that it         
possessed a revelation4 ,it has allowed 
itself unlimited licence of affirmation 
concerning the most remote and difficult
 matters4 ,it has alleged miraculously  
communicated information concerning     
those matters4 ,it has clothed with a   
divine authoritativeness1 overriding the
 mature reflexion and laborious         
investigation of learned men1 that which
 was1 after all1 nothing but the        
innocent imaginings of the childhood of 
the race4 ,in this good sense of a      
parallel to that agnosticism which      
scientists profess for themselves within
 their own appointed realm1 there is a  
religious agnosticism which is one of   
the best fruits of the labour of the    
age4 ,it is not that religious men have 
abandoned the thought of revelation4    

,they apprehended more justly the nature
 of revelation4 ,they confess that there
 is much ignorance which revelation does
 not mitigate4 ,exeunt omnia in         
mysterium4 ,they are prepared to say    
concerning many of the dicta of         
religiosity1 that they cannot affirm    
their truth4 ,they are prepared to say  
concerning the experience of ,god and   
the soul1 that they know these with an  
indefeasible certitude4 ,this just and  
wholesome attitude toward religious     
truth is only a corollary of the        
attitude which science has taught us    
toward all truth whatsoever4  ,the      
strictly philosophic term phenomenon1 to
 which science has taken so kindly1 is  
in itself an explicit avowal of         
something beyond the phenomenal4        
,spencer is careful to insist upon this 
relation of the phenomenal to the       
noumenal4 ,his ,synthetic ,philosophy   
opens with an exposition of this        
non-relative or absolute1 without which 
the relative itself becomes             

contradictory4 ,it is an essential part 
of ,spencer's doctrine to maintain that 
our consciousness of the absolute1      
indefinite as it is1 is positive and not
 negative4 ',though the absolute cannot 
in any manner or degree be known1 in the
 strict sense of knowing1 yet we find   
that its positive existence is a        
necessary datum of consciousness4 ,the  
belief which this datum of consciousness
 constitutes has a higher warrant than  
any other belief whatsoever4' ,in short1
 the absolute or noumenal1 according to 
,spencer1 though not known as the       
phenomenal or relative is known1 is so  
far from being for knowledge a pure     
blank1 that the phenomenal1 which is    
said to be known1 is in the strict sense
 inconceivable without it4 ,this        
actuality behind appearances1 without   
which appearances are unthinkable1 is by
 ,spencer identified with that ultimate 
verity upon which religion ever insists4
 ,religion itself is a phenomenon1 and  
the source and secret of most complex   

and interesting phenomena4 ,it has      
always been of the greatest importance  
in the history of mankind4 ,it has been 
able to hold its own in face of the     
attacks of science4 ,it must contain an 
element of truth4 ,all religions1       
however1 assert that their ,god is for  
us not altogether cognisable1 that ,god 
is a great mystery4 ,the higher their   
rank1 the more do they acknowledge this4
 ,it is by the flippant invasion of this
 mystery that the popular religiosity   
offends4 ,it talks of ,god as if he were
 a man in the next street4 ,it does not 
distinguish between merely imaginative  
fetches into the truth1 and presumably  
accurate definition of that truth4      
,equally1 the attempts which are        
logically possible at metaphysical      
solutions of the problem1 namely1       
theism1 pantheism1 and atheism1 if they 
are consistently carried out1 assert1   
each of them1 more than we know and are 
involved in contradiction with          
themselves4 ,but the results of modern  

physics and chemistry reveal1 as the    
constant element in all phenomena1      
force4 ,this manifests itself in various
 forms which are interchangeable1 while 
amid all these changes the force remains
 the same4 ,this latter must be regarded
 as the reality1 and basis of all that  
is relative and phenomenal4 ,the entire 
universe is to be explained from the    
movements of this absolute force4 ,the  
phenomena of nature and of mental life  
come under the same general laws of     
matter1 motion1 and force4  ,spencer's  
doctrine1 as here stated1 is not        
adequate to account for the world of    
mental life or adapted to serve as the  
basis of a reconciliation of science and
 religion4 ,it does not carry us beyond 
materialism4 ,spencer's real intention  
was directed to something higher than   
that4 ,if the absolute is to be         
conceived at all1 it is as a necessary  
correlative of our self-consciousness4  
,if we get the idea of force from the   
experience of our own power of volition1

 is it not natural to think of          
mind-force as the prius of physical     
force1 and not the reverse8             
,accordingly1 the absolute force1 basis 
of all specific forces1 would be mind   
and will4 ,the doctrine of evolution    
would harmonise perfectly with these    
inferences4 ,but it would have to become
 idealistic evolution1 as in ,schelling1
 instead of materialistic1 as in ,comte4
 ,we are obliged1 ,spencer owns1 to     
refer the phenomenal world of law and   
order to a first cause4 ,he says that   
this first cause is incomprehensible4   
,yet he further says1 when the question 
of attributing personality to this first
 cause is raised1 that the choice is not
 between personality and something      
lower4 ,it is between personality and   
something higher4 ,to this may belong a 
mode of being as much transcending      
intelligence and will as these transcend
 mechanical motion4 ,it is strange1 he  
says1 that men should suppose the       
highest worship to lie in assimilating  

the object of worship to themselves4    
,and yet1 again1 in one of the latest of
 his works he writes3 ',unexpected as it
 will be to most of my readers1 ,i must 
assert that the power which manifests   
itself in consciousness is but a        
differently conditioned form of the     
power which manifests itself beyond     
consciousness4 ,the conception to which 
the exploration of nature everywhere    
tends is much less that of a universe of
 dead matter than that of a universe    
everywhere alive4'  ,similar is the     
issue in the reflexion of ,huxley4      
,agnosticism had at first been asserted 
in relation to the spiritual and the    
teleological4 ,it ended in fastening    
upon the material and mechanical4 ,after
 all1 says ,huxley1 in one of his       
essays3--',what do we know of this      
terrible matter1 except as a name for an
 unknown and hypothetical cause of      
states of our own consciousness8 ,again1
 what do we know of that spirit over    
whose threatened extinction by matter so

 great lamentation has now arisen1      
except that it is also a name for an    
unknown and hypothetical cause of states
 of our consciousness8' ,he concedes    
that matter is inconceivable apart from 
mind1 but that mind is not inconceivable
 apart from matter4 ,he concedes that   
the conception of universal and         
necessary law is an ideal4 ,it is an    
invention of the mind's own devising4   
,it is not a physical fact4 ,in brief1  
taking agnostic naturalism just as it   
seemed disposed a generation ago to     
present itself1 it now appears as if it 
had been turned exactly inside out4     
,instead of the physical world being    
primary and fundamental and the mental  
world secondary1 if not altogether      
problematical1 the precise converse is  
true4  ,nature1 as science regards it1  
may be described as a system whose      
parts1 be they simple or complex1 are   
wholly governed by universal laws4      
,knowledge of these laws is an          
indispensable condition of that control 

of nature upon which human welfare in so
 large degree depends4 ,but this reign  
of law is an hypothesis4 ,it is not an  
axiom which it would be absurd to deny4 
,it is not an obvious fact1 thrust upon 
us whether we will or no4 ,experiences  
are possible without the conception of  
law and order4 ,the fruit of experience 
in knowledge is not possible without it4
 ,that is only to say that the reason   
why we assume that nature is a connected
 system of uniform laws1 lies in the    
fact that we ourselves are              
self-conscious personalities4 ,when the 
naturalists say that the notion of cause
 is a fetish1 an anthropomorphic        
superstition which we must eliminate1 we
 have to answer3 'from the realm of     
empirical science perhaps1 but not from 
experience as a whole4' ,indeed1 a      
glance at the history1 and particularly 
at the popular literature1 of science   
affords the interesting spectacle of the
 rise of an hallucination1 the growth of
 a habit of mythological speech1 which  

is truly surprising4 ,we begin to hear  
of self-existent laws which reign       
supreme and bind nature fast in fact4   
,by this learned substitution for ,god1 
it was once confidently assumed that the
 race was to emerge from mythical dawn  
and metaphysical shadows into the       
noon-day of positive knowledge4 ,rather1
 it would appear that at this point a   
part of the human race plunged into a   
new era of myth-making and fetish       
worship--the homage to the fetish of    
law4 ,even the great minds do not       
altogether escape4 ',fact ,i know and   
law ,i know1' says ,huxley1 with a faint
 suggestion of sacred rhetoric4 ,but    
surely we do not know law in the same   
sense in which we know fact4 ,if there  
are no causes among our facts1 then we  
do not know anything about the laws4 ,if
 we do know laws it is because we assume
 causes4 ,if1 in the language of        
rational beings1 laws of nature are to  
be spoken of as self-existent and       
independent of the phenomena which they 

are said to govern1 such language must  
be merely analogous to the manner in    
which we often speak of the civil law4  
,we say the law does that which we know 
the executive does4 ,but the            
thorough-going naturalist cast off these
 implications as the last rags of a     
creed outworn4 ,physicists were fond of 
talking of the movement of molecules1   
just as the ancient astrologers imagined
 that the planets had souls and guided  
their own courses4 ,we had supposed that
 this was anthropomorphism4 ,in truth1  
this would-be scientific mode of speech 
is as anthropomorphic as is the         
cosmogony of ,hesiod1 only on a smaller 
scale4 ,primitive religion ascribed life
 to everything of which it talked4      
,polytheism in religion and independent 
forces and self-existent laws in science
 are thus upon a par4 ,the gods many and
 lords many1 so amenable to concrete    
presentation in poetry and art1 have    
given place to one ,supreme ,being4 ,so 
also light1 heat1 and other natural     

agencies1 palpable and ready to hand for
 the explanation of everything1 in the  
myth-making period of science which     
living men can still remember1 have by  
this time paled4 ,they have become      
simply various manifestations of one    
underlying spiritual energy1 which is   
indeed beyond our perception4#f ,when   
,comte said that the universe could not 
rest upon will1 because then it would be
 arbitrary1 incalculable1 subject to    
caprice1 one feels the humour and pathos
 of it4 ,comte's experience with will1  
his own and that of others1 had         
evidently been too largely of that sad  
sort4 ,real freedom consists in         
conformity to what ought to be4 ,in     
,god1 whom we conceive as perfect1 this 
conformity is complete4 ,with us it     
remains an ideal4 ,were we the creatures
 of a blind mechanical necessity there  
could be no talk of ideal standards and 
no meaning in reason at all4  ,footnote 
#f3 ,ward1 ,naturalism and ,agnosticism1
 vol4 ii4 p4 #bdh4   ,,evolution   ,in  

the progress of the thought of the      
generation1 say1 from #ahgj to the      
present day1 the conception of evolution
 has been much changed4 ,the doctrine of
 evolution has itself been largely      
evolved within that period4 ,the        
application of it has become familiar in
 fields of which there was at first no  
thought4 ,the bearing of the acceptance 
of it upon religion has been seen to be 
quite different from that which was at  
first supposed4 ,the advocacy of the    
doctrine was at first associated with   
the claims of naturalism or positivism4 
,wider applications of the doctrine and 
deeper insight into its meaning have    
done away with this misunderstanding4   
,evolution1 as originally understood1   
was as far as possible from suggesting  
anything mechanical4 ,by the term was   
meant primarily the gradual unfolding of
 a living germ from its embryonic       
beginning to its mature and final stage4
 ,this adult form was regarded not      
merely as the goal actually reached     

through successive stages of growth4 ,it
 was conceived as the end aimed at1 and 
achieved through the force of some vital
 or ideal principle shaping the plastic 
material and directing the process of   
growth4 ,in short1 evolution implied    
ideal ends controlling physical means4  
,yet we find with ,spencer1 as          
prevailingly also with others in the    
study of the natural sciences1 the ideas
 of end and of cause looked at askance4 
,they are regarded an outside the pale  
of the natural sciences4 ,in a very     
definite sense that is true4 ,the       
logical consequence of this admission   
should be merely the recognition that   
the idea of evolution as developed in   
the natural sciences cannot be the whole
 idea4  ,the entire history of anything1
 ,spencer tells us1 must include its    
appearance out of the imperceptible1 and
 its disappearance again into the       
imperceptible4 ,be it a single object1  
or the whole universe1 an account which 
begins with it in a concrete form1 or   

leaves off with its concrete form1 is   
incomplete4 ,he uses a familiar         
instance1 that of a cloud appearing when
 vapour drifts over a cold mountain top1
 and again disappearing when it emerges 
into warmer air4 ,the cloud emerges from
 the imperceptible as heat is           
dissipated4 ,it is dissolved again as   
heat is absorbed and the watery         
particles evaporate4 ,spencer esteems   
this an analogue of the appearance of   
the universe itself1 according to the   
nebular hypothesis4 ,yet assuredly1 as  
the cloud presupposes vapours which had 
previously condensed1 and the vapour    
clouds that had previously evaporated1  
and as clouds dissolve in one place even
 at the moment that they are forming in 
another1 so we are told of nebul which  
are in every phase of advance or of     
decline4 ,to ask which was first1 solid 
masses or nebulous haze1 is much like   
recurring to the riddle of the hen and  
the egg4 ,still1 we are told1 we have   
but to extend our thought beyond this   

emergence and subsidence of sidereal    
systems1 of continents1 nations1 men1 to
 find a permanent totality made up of   
transient individuals in every stage of 
change4 ,the physical assumption with   
which ,spencer sets out is that the mass
 of the universe and its energy are     
fixed in quantity4 ,all the phenomena of
 evolution are included in the          
conservation of this matter and force4  
,besides the criticism which was offered
 above1 that the mere law of the        
persistence of force does not initiate  
our series1 there is a further          
objection4 ,even within the series1 once
 it has been started1 this law of the   
persistence of force is solely a        
quantitative law4 ,when energy is       
transformed there is an equivalence     
between the new form and the old4 ,of   
the reasons for the direction evolution 
takes1 for the permanence of that       
direction once it has been taken1 so    
that the sequence of forms is a         
progression1 the explication of a latent

 nature--of all this1 the mere law of   
the persistence of force gives us no    
explanation whatever4 ,the change at    
random from one form of manifestation to
 another might be a striking            
illustration of the law of the          
persistence of force1 but it would be   
the contradiction of evolution4 ,the    
very notion of evolution is that of the 
sequence of forms1 so that something is 
expressed or achieved4 ,that achievement
 implies more than the mere force4 ,or  
rather1 it involves a quality of the    
force with which the language of        
mechanism does not reckon4 ,it assumes  
the idea which gives direction to the   
force1 an ideal quality of the force4   
,unquestionably that which men sought to
 be rid of was the idea of purpose in   
nature1 in the old sense of design in   
the mind of ,god1 external to the       
material universe1 of force exerted upon
 nature from without1 so as to cause    
nature to conform to the design of its  
',great ,original1' in ,addison's high  

phrase4 ,in this effort1 however1 the   
reducing of all to mere force and       
permutation of force1 not merely        
explains nothing1 but contradicts facts 
which stare us in the face4 ,it deprives
 evolution of the quality which makes it
 evolution4 ,to put in this incongruous 
quality at the beginning1 because we    
find it necessary at the end1 is1 to say
 the least1 nave4 ,to deny that we have 
put it in1 to insist that in the        
marvellous sequence we have only an     
illustration of mechanism and of        
conservation of force1 is perverse4 ,we 
passed through an era in which some said
 that they did not believe in ,god2     
everything was accounted for by         
evolution4 ,in so far as they meant that
 they did not believe in the ,god of    
deism and of much traditional theology1 
they did not stand alone in this claim4 
,in so far as they meant by evolution   
mere mechanism1 they explained nothing  
and destroyed the notion of evolution   
besides4 ,in so far as they meant more  

than mere mechanism1 they lapsed into   
the company of the scientific           
myth-makers to whom we alluded above4   
,they attributed to their abstraction1  
evolution1 qualities which other people 
found in the forms of the universe      
viewed as the manifestation of an       
immanent ,god4 ,only by so doing were   
they able to ascribe to evolution that  
which other people describe as the work 
of ,god4 ,at this level the controversy 
becomes one simply about words4  ,of    
course1 the great illumination as to the
 meaning of evolution has come with its 
application to many fields besides the  
physical4 ,darwin was certainly the     
great inaugurator of the evolutionary   
movement in ,england4 ,still1 ,darwin's 
problem was strictly limited4 ,the      
impression is widespread that the       
biological evolutionary theories were   
first developed1 and furnished the basis
 for the others4 ,yet both ,hegel and   
,comte1 not to speak of ,schelling1 were
 far more interested in the intellectual

 and historical1 the ethical and social 
aspects of the question4 ,both ,hegel   
and ,comte were1 whether rightly or     
wrongly1 rather contemptuous of the     
appeal to biology and organic life4     
,both had the sense that they used a    
great figure of speech when they spoke  
of society as an organism1 and compared 
the working of institutions to          
biological functions4 ,this is indeed   
the question4 ,it is a question over    
which ,spencer sets himself lightly4 ,he
 passes back and forth between organic  
evolution and the ethical1 economic1 and
 social movements which are described by
 the same term1 as if we were in        
possession of a perfectly safe analogy1 
or rather as if we were assured of an   
identical principle4 ,much that is      
already archaic in ,spencer's economic  
and social1 his historical and ethical1 
not to say his religious1 chapters is   
due to the influence of this fact4 ,of  
his own mind it was true that he had    
come to the doctrine of evolution from  

the physical side4 ,he brought to his   
other subjects a more or less developed 
method of operating with the conception4
 ,he never fully realised how new       
subjects would alter the method and     
transform the conception4 ,spencerian   
evolution is an assertion of the        
all-sufficiency of natural law4 ,the    
authority of conscience is but the      
experience of law-abiding and dutiful   
generations flowing in our veins4 ,the  
public weal has hold over us1 because   
the happiness and misery of past ages   
are inherited by us4  ,it marked a great
 departure when ,huxley began vigorously
 to dissent from these views4 ,according
 to him evolutionary science has done   
nothing for ethics4 ,men become ethical 
only as they set themselves against the 
principles embodied in the evolutionary 
process of the world4 ,evolution is the 
struggle for existence4 ,it is          
preposterous to say that man became good
 by succeeding in the struggle for      
existence4 ,instead of the old single   

movement1 as in ,spencer1 straight from 
the nebula to the saint1 ,huxley has    
place for suffering4 ,suffering is most 
intense in man precisely under          
conditions most essential to the        
evolution of his nobler powers4 ,the    
loss of ease or money may be gain in    
character4 ,the cosmical process is not 
only full of pain4 ,it is full of       
mercilessness and of wickedness4 ,good  
has been evolved1 but so has evil4 ,the 
fittest may have survived4 ,there is no 
guarantee that they are the best4 ,the  
continual struggle against our fellows  
poisons our higher life4 ,it will hardly
 do to say with ,huxley that the ethical
 struggle is the reverse of the cosmical
 process4 ,nevertheless1 we have here a 
most interesting transformation in      
thought4  ,these ideas and principles1  
as is well known1 were elaborated and   
advanced upon in a very popular book1   
,drummond's ,ascent of ,man1 #ahid4     
,even the title was a happy and         
suggestive one4 ,struggle for life is a 

fact1 but it is not the whole fact4 ,it 
is balanced by the struggle for the life
 of others4 ,this latter reaches far    
down into the levels of what we call    
brute life4 ,its divinest reach is only 
the fulfilment of the real nature of    
humanity4 ,it is the living with men    
which develops the moral in man4 ,the   
prolongation of infancy in the higher   
species has had to do with the          
development of moral nature4 ,so only   
that we hold a sufficiently deep view of
 reason1 provided we see clearly that   
reason transforms1 perfects1 makes new  
what we inherit from the beast1 we need 
not fear for morality1 though it should 
universally be taught that morality came
 into being by the slow and gradual     
fashioning of brute impulse4  ,benjamin 
,kidd in his ,social ,evolution1 #ahie1 
has reverted again to extreme ,darwinism
 in morals and sociology4 ,the law is   
that of unceasing struggle4 ,reason does
 not teach us to moderate the struggle4 
,it but sharpens the conflict4 ,all     

religions are prter-rational1           
,christianity most of all1 in being the 
most altruistic4 ,kidd1 not without     
reason1 comments bitterly upon          
,spencer's ,utopia1 the passage of      
militarism into industrialism4 ,the     
struggle in industrialism is fiercer    
than ever4 ,reason affects the animal   
nature of man for the worse4 ,clearly   
conscious of what he is doing1 man      
objects to sacrificing himself for his  
family or tribe4 ,instinct might lead an
 ape to do that4 ,intelligence warns a  
man against it4 ,reason is cruel beyond 
anything dreamed of in the beast4 ,that 
portion of the community which loves to 
hear the abuse of reason1 rejoiced to   
hear this phrase4 ,they rejoiced when   
they heard that religion was the only   
remedy1 and that religion was           
ultra-rational1 contra-rational1        
supernatural1 in this new sense4 ,how   
one comes by it1 or how one can         
rationally justify the yielding of      
allegiance to it1 is not clear4 ,one    

must indeed have the will to believe if 
one believes on these terms4  ,these    
again are but examples4 ,they convey but
 a superficial impression of the effort 
to apply the conception of evolution to 
the moral and religious life of man4    
,all this has taken place1 of course1 in
 a far larger setting that of the       
endeavour to elaborate the evolutionary 
view of politics and of the state1 of   
economics and of trade1 of social life  
and institutions1 of culture and        
civilisation in every aspect4 ,this     
elaboration and reiteration of the      
doctrine of evolution sometimes wearies 
us4 ,it is but the unwearied following  
of the main clue to the riddle of the   
universe which the age has given us4 ,it
 is nothing more and nothing less than  
the endeavour to apprehend the ideal    
life1 no longer as something held out to
 us1 set up before us1 but also as      
something working within us1 realising  
itself through us and among us4 ,to deny
 the affinity of this with religion     

would be fatuous and also futile4       
,temporarily1 at least1 and to many     
interests of religion1 it would be      
fatal4   ,,miracles   ,it must be       
evident that the total view of the      
universe which the acceptance of the    
doctrine of evolution implies1 has had  
effect in the diminution of the         
acuteness of the question concerning    
miracles4 ,it certainly gives to that   
question a new form4 ,a philosophy which
 asserts the constant presence of ,god  
in nature and the whole life of the     
world1 a criticism which has given us a 
truer notion of the documents which     
record the biblical miracles1 the       
reverent sense of ignorance which our   
increasing knowledge affords1 have      
tended to diminish the dogmatism of men 
on either side of the debate4 ,the      
contention on behalf of the miracle1 in 
the traditional sense of the word1 once 
seemed the bulwark of positive religion1
 the distinction between the man who was
 satisfied with a naturalistic          

explanation of the universe and one     
whose devout soul asked for something   
more4 ,on the other hand1 the contention
 against the miracle appeared to be a   
necessary corollary of the notion of a  
law and order which are inviolable      
throughout the universe4 ,furthermore1  
many men have come of themselves to the 
conclusion for which ,schleiermacher    
long ago contended4 ,whatever may be    
theoretically determined concerning     
miracles1 yet the miracle can never     
again be regarded as among the          
foundations of faith4 ,this is for the  
simplest of reasons4 ,the belief in a   
miracle presupposes faith4 ,it is the   
faith which sustains the miracle1 and   
not the miracle the faith4 ,jesus is to 
men the incomparable moral and spiritual
 magnitude which he is1 not on the      
evidence of some unparalleled things    
physical which it is alleged he did4    
,quite the contrary1 it is the immediate
 impression of the moral and spiritual  
wonder which ,jesus is1 that prepares   

what credence we can gather for the     
wonders which it is declared he did4    
,this is a transfer of emphasis1 a      
redistribution of weight in the         
structure of our thought1 the relief of 
which many appreciate who have not      
reasoned the matter through for         
themselves4  ,schleiermacher had said1  
and ,herrmann and others repeat the     
thought1 that1 as the ,christian faith  
finds in ,christ the highest revelation1
 miracles may reasonably be expected of 
him4 ,nevertheless1 he adds1 these deeds
 can be called miracles or esteemed     
extraordinary1 only as containing       
something which was beyond contemporary 
knowledge of the regular and orderly    
connexion between physical and spiritual
 life4 ,therewith1 it must be evident1  
that the notion of the miraculous is    
fundamentally changed4 ,so it comes to  
pass that we have a book like           
,mackintosh's ,natural ,history of the  
,christian ,religion1 #ahid1 whose      
avowed purpose is to do away with the   

miraculous altogether4 ,of course1 the  
author means the traditional notion of  
the miraculous1 according to which it is
 the essence of arbitrariness and the   
negation of law4 ,it is not that he has 
less sense for the divine life of the   
world1 or for the quality of            
,christianity as revelation4 ,on the    
other hand1 we have a book like ,percy  
,gardner's ,exploratio ,evangelica1     
#ahii4 ,with the most searching         
criticism of the narratives of some     
miracles1 there is reverent confession1 
on the author's part1 that he is baffled
 by the reports of others4 ,there is    
recognition of unknown possibilities in 
the case of a character like that of    
,jesus4 ,it is not that ,gardner has a  
less stringent sense of fact and of the 
inexorableness of law than has          
,mackintosh or an ardent physicist4 ,the
 problem is reduced to that of the      
choice of expression4 ,we are not able  
to withhold a justification of the      
scholar who declares3 ,we must not say  

that we believe in the miraculous4 ,this
 language is sure to be appropriated by 
those who still take their departure    
from the old dualism1 now hopelessly    
obsolete1 for which a breach of the law 
of nature was the crowning evidence of  
the love of ,god4 ,on the other hand1   
the assertion that we do not believe in 
the miraculous will easily be taken by  
some to mean the denial of the whole    
sense of the nearness and power and love
 of ,god1 and of the unimagined         
possibilities of such a moral nature as 
was that of ,christ4 ,it is to be       
repeated that we have here a mere       
difference as to terms4 ,the debate is  
no longer about ideas4  ,the traditional
 notion of the miracle arose out of the 
confusion of two series of ideas which1 
in the last analysis1 have nothing to do
 with each other4 ,on the one hand1     
there is the conception of law and      
order1 of cause and effect1 of the      
unbroken connexion of nature4 ,on the   
other hand is the thought of the divine 

purpose in the life of the world and of 
the individual4 ,by the aid of that     
first sequence of thoughts we find      
ourselves in the universe and interpret 
the world of fact to ourselves4 ,yet in 
the other sequence lies the essence of  
religion4 ,the two sequences may        
perfectly well coexist in the same mind4
 ,out of the attempt to combine them    
nothing clear or satisfying can issue4  
,if one should be1 to-day1 brought face 
to face with a fact which was alleged to
 be a miracle1 his instinctive effort   
would be1 nevertheless1 to seek to find 
its cause1 to establish for it a        
connexion in the natural order4 ,in the 
ancient world men did not argue thus1   
nor in the modern world until less than 
two hundred years ago4 ,the presumption 
of the order of nature had not assumed  
for them the proportions which it has   
for us4 ,for us it is overwhelming1     
self-evident4 ,therewith is not involved
 that we lack belief in a divine purpose
 for the world and for the individual   

life4  ,we do not deny that there are   
laws of nature of which we have no      
experience1 facts which we do not       
understand1 events which1 if they should
 occur1 would stand before us as unique4
 ,still1 the decisive thing is1 that in 
face of such an event1 instead of       
viewing it quite simply as a divine     
intervention1 as men used to do1 we1    
with equal simplicity and no less       
devoutness1 conceive that same event as 
only an illustration of a connexion in  
nature which we do not understand4      
,there is no inherent reason why we may 
not understand it4 ,when we do          
understand it1 there will be nothing    
more about it that is conceivably       
miraculous4 ,there will be then no      
longer a unique quality attaching to the
 event4 ,therewith ends the possible    
significance of such an event as proof  
of divine intervention for our especial 
help4 ,we have but a connexion in nature
 such that1 whether understood or not1  
if it were to recur1 the event would    

recur4  ,the miracles which are related 
in the ,scripture may be divided for our
 consideration into three classes4 ,to  
the first class belong most of those    
which are related in the ,old           
,testament1 but some also which are     
conspicuous in the ,new ,testament4     
,they are1 in some cases1 the poetical  
and imaginative representation of the   
profoundest religious ideas4 ,so soon as
 one openly concedes this1 when there is
 no longer any necessity either to      
attack or to defend the miracle in      
question1 one is in a position to       
acknowledge how deep and wonderful the  
thoughts often are and how beautiful the
 form in which they are conveyed4 ,it is
 through imagination and symbolism that 
we are able to convey the subtlest      
meanings which we have4 ,still more was 
this the case with men of an earlier    
age4 ,in the second place1 the          
narratives of miracles are1 some of     
them1 of such a sort that we may say    
that an event or circumstance in nature 

has been obviously apprehended in nave  
fashion4 ,this by no means forbids us to
 interpret that same event in quite a   
different way4 ,the men of former time1 
exactly in proportion as they had less  
sense of the order of nature than have  
we1 so were they also far readier to    
assume the immediate forthputting of the
 power of ,god4 ,this was true not      
merely of the uneducated4 ,it is        
difficult1 or even impossible1 for us to
 find out what the event was4 ,fact and 
apprehension are inextricably           
interwoven4 ,that which really happened 
is concealed from us by the tale which  
had intended to reveal it4 ,in the third
 place1 there are many cases in the     
history of ,jesus1 and some in that of  
the apostles and prophets1 in which that
 which is related moves in the          
borderland between body and soul1 spirit
 and matter1 the region of the influence
 of will1 one's own or that of another1 
over physical conditions4 ,concerning   
such cases we are disposed1 far more    

than were men even a few years ago1 to  
concede that there is much that is by no
 means yet investigated1 and the        
soundest judgment we can form is far    
from being sure4 ,even if we recognise  
to the full the lamentable resurgence of
 outworn superstitions and stupidities1 
which again pass current among us for an
 unhappy moment1 if we detect the       
questionable or manifestly evil         
consequences of certain uses made or    
alleged of psychic influence1 yet still 
we are not always in a position to say1 
with certainty1 what is true in tales of
 healing which we hear in our own day4  
,there are certain of the statements    
concerning ,jesus' healing power and    
action which are absolutely baffling4   
,they can be eliminated from the        
narrative only by a procedure which     
might just as well eliminate the        
narrative4 ,in many of the narratives   
there may be much that is true4 ,in some
 all may be as related4 ,in ,jesus'     
time1 on the witness of the ,scripture  

itself1 it was assumed as something no  
one questioned1 that miraculous deeds   
were performed1 not alone by ,jesus and 
the apostles1 but by many others1 and   
not always even by the good4 ,such deeds
 were performed through the power of    
evil spirits as well as by the power of 
,god4 ,to imagine that the working of   
miracles proved that ,jesus came from   
,god1 is the most patent importation of 
a modern apologetic notion into the area
 of ancient thought4 ,we must remember  
that ,jesus himself laid no great weight
 upon the miracles which we assume that 
he believed he wrought1 and some of     
which we may believe that he did work4  
,many he performed with hesitation and  
desired so far as possible to conceal4  
,even if we were in a position at one   
point or another in the life of ,jesus  
to defend the traditional assumptions   
concerning the miraculous1 yet it must  
be evident how opposed it is to right   
reason1 to lay stress on the abstract   
necessity of belief in the miraculous4  

,the traditional conception of the      
miraculous is done away for us4 ,this is
 not at all by the fact that we are in a
 position to say with ,matthew ,arnold3 
',the trouble with miracles is that they
 never happen4' ,we do not know enough  
to say that4 ,to stake all on the       
assertion of the impossibility of       
so-called miracles is as foolish as to  
stake much on the affirmation of their  
actuality4 ,the connexion of nature is  
only an induction4 ,this can never be   
complete4 ,the real question is both    
more complex and also more simple4 ,the 
question is whether1 even if an event1  
the most unparalleled of those related  
in the ,gospels or outside of them1     
should be proved before our very eyes to
 have taken place1 the question is      
whether we should believe it to have    
been a miracle in the traditional sense1
 an event in which the actual--not the  
known1 but the possible--order of nature
 had been broken through1 and in the old
 sense1 ,god had arbitrarily supervened4

  ,allowed that the event were1 in our  
own experience and in the known         
experience of the race1 unparalleled1   
yet it would never occur to us to       
suppose but that there was a law of this
 case1 also1 a connexion in nature in   
which1 as work of ,god1 it occurred1 and
 in which1 if the conditions were       
repeated1 it would recur4 ,we should    
unceasingly endeavour through           
observation1 reflexion1 and new         
knowledge1 to show how we might         
subordinate this event in the connexion 
of nature which we assume4 ,we should   
feel that we knew more1 and not less1 of
 ,god1 if we should succeed4 ,and if our
 effort should prove altogether futile1 
we should be no less sure that such     
natural connexion exists4 ,this is      
because nature is for us the revelation 
of the divine4 ,the divine1 we assume1  
has a natural order of working4 ,its    
inviolability is the divinest thing     
about it4 ,it is through this sequence  
of ideas that we are in a position to   

deny1 not facts which may be            
inexplicable1 but the traditional       
conception of the miracle4 ,for surely  
no one needs to be told that this is not
 the conception of the miracle which has
 existed in the minds of the devout1 and
 equally of the undevout1 from the      
beginning of thought until the present  
day4  ,however1 there is nothing in all 
of this which hinders us from believing 
with a full heart in the love and grace 
and care of ,god1 in his holy and       
redeeming purpose for mankind and for   
the individual4 ,it is true that this   
belief cannot any longer retain its nave
 and childish form4 ,it is true that it 
demands of a man far more of moral      
force1 of ethical and spiritual mastery1
 of insight and firm will1 to sustain   
the belief in the purpose of ,god for   
himself and for all men1 when a man     
believes that he sees and feels ,god    
only in and through nature and history1 
through personal consciousness and the  
personal consciousness of ,jesus4 ,it is

 true that it has1 apparently1 been     
easier for men to think of ,god as      
outside and above his world1 and of     
themselves as separated from their      
fellows by his special providence4 ,it  
is more difficult1 through glad and     
intelligent subjection to all laws of   
nature and of history1 to achieve the   
education of one's spirit1 to make good 
one's inner deliverance from the world1 
to aid others in the same struggle and  
to set them on their way to ,god4 ,men  
grow uncertain within themselves1       
because they say that traditional       
religion has apprehended the matter in a
 different way4 ,this is true4 ,it is   
also misleading4 ,whatever miracles     
,jesus may have performed1 no one can   
say that he performed them to make life 
easier for himself1 to escape the common
 lot1 to avoid struggle1 to evade       
suffering and disgraceful death4 ,on the
 contrary1 in genuine human             
self-distrust1 but also in genuine      
heroism1 he gave himself to his         

vocation1 accepting all that went       
therewith1 and finished the work of ,god
 which he had made his own4 ,this is the
 more wonderful because it lay so much  
nearer to him than it can lie to us1 to 
pray for special evidence of the love of
 ,god and to set his faith on the       
receiving of it4 ,he had not the        
conception of the relation of ,god to   
nature and history which we have4  ,we  
may well view the modern tendency to    
belief in healings through prayer1      
suggestion and faith1 as an             
intelligible1 an interesting1 and in    
part1 a touching manifestation4 ,of     
course there is mingled with it much    
dense ignorance1 some superstition and  
even deception4 ,yet behind such a      
phenomenon there is meaning4 ,men of    
this mind make earnest with the thought 
that ,god cares for them4 ,without that 
thought there is no religion4 ,they have
 been taught to find the evidence of    
,god's love and care in the unusual4    
,they are quite logical4 ,it has been a 

weak point of the traditional belief    
that men have said that in the time of  
,christ there were miracles1 but since  
that time1 no more4 ,why not1 if we can 
only in spirit come near to ,christ and 
,god8 ,they are quite logical also in   
that they have repudiated modern        
science4 ,to be sure1 no inconsiderable 
part of them use the word science       
continually4  ,but the very esoteric    
quality of their science is that it     
means something which no one else ever  
understood that it meant4 ,in reality   
their breach with science is more       
radical than their breach with          
,christianity4 ,they feel the           
contradiction in which most men are     
bound fast1 who will let science have   
its way1 up to a certain point1 but who 
beyond that1 would retain the miracle4  
,dimly the former appreciate that this  
position is impossible4 ,they leave it  
to other men to become altogether       
scientific if they wish4 ,for themselves
 they prefer to remain religious4 ,what 

a revival of ancient superstitions they 
have brought to pass1 is obvious4 ,still
 we shall never get beyond such         
adventurous and preposterous endeavours 
to rescue that which is inestimably     
precious in religion1 until the false   
antithesis between reason and faith1 the
 lying contradiction between the        
providence of ,god and the order of     
nature1 is overcome4 ,some science      
mankind apparently must have4           
,altogether without religion the        
majority1 it would seem1 will never be4 
,how these are related1 the one to the  
other1 not every one sees4 ,many attempt
 their admixture in unhappy ways4 ,they 
might try letting them stand in peace as
 complement and supplement the one to   
the other4 ,still better1 they may      
perhaps some day see how each           
penetrates1 permeates and glorifies the 
other4   ,,the ,,social ,,sciences   ,we
 said that the last generation had been 
characterised by an unexampled          
concentration of intellectual interest  

upon problems presented by the social   
sciences4 ,with this has gone an        
unrivalled earnestness in the           
interpretation of religion as a social  
force4 ,the great religious enthusiasm  
has been that of the application of     
,christianity to the social aspects of  
life4 ,this effort has furnished most of
 the watchwords of religious teaching4  
,it has laid vigorous1 not to say       
violent1 hands on religious             
institutions4 ,it has given a new       
perspective to effort and a new impulse 
to devotion4 ,the revival of religion in
 our age has taken this direction1 with 
an exclusiveness which has had both good
 and evil consequences4 ,yet1 before    
all1 it should be made clear that it    
constitutes a religious revival4 ,some  
are deploring the prostrate condition of
 spiritual interests4 ,if one judged    
only by conventional standards1 they    
have much evidence upon their side4     
,some are seeking to galvanise religious
 life by recurrence to evangelistic     

methods successfully operative half a   
century ago4 ,the outstanding fact is   
that the age shows immense religious    
vitality1 so soon as one concedes that  
it must be allowed to show its vitality 
in its own way4 ,it is the age of the   
social question4 ,one must be ignorant  
indeed of the activity of the churches  
and of the productivity of religious    
thinkers1 if he does not own that in    
,christian circles also no questions are
 so rife as these4 ,whether the panaceas
 have been all wise or profitable may be
 questioned4 ,whether the interest has  
not been even excessive and one-sided1  
whether the accusation has not been     
occasionally unjust and the             
self-accusation morbid1 these are       
questions which it might be possible in 
some quarters to ask4 ,this is1 however1
 only another form of proof of what we  
say4 ,the religious interest in social  
questions has not been aroused primarily
 by intellectual and scientific         
impulses1 nor fostered mainly by        

doctrinaire discussion4 ,on the         
contrary1 the initiative has been from  
the practical side4 ,it has been a      
question of life and service4 ,if       
anything1 one often misses the          
scientific note in the flood of         
semi-religious literature relating to   
this theme1 the realisation that1 to do 
well1 it is often profitable to think4  
,yet there is effort to mediate the best
 results of social-scientific thinking1 
through clerical education and directly 
to the laity4 ,on the other hand1 a deep
 sense of ethical and spiritual         
responsibility is prevalent among       
thinkers upon social topics4  ,often    
indeed has the quality of ,christianity 
been observed which is here exemplified4
 ,each succeeding age has read into     
,christ's teachings1 or drawn out from  
his example1 the special meaning which  
that generation1 or that social level1  
or that individual man had need to draw4
 ,to them in their enthusiasm it has    
often seemed as if this were the only   

lesson reasonable men could draw4       
,nothing could be more enlightening than
 is reflexion upon this reading of the  
ever-changing ideals of man's life into 
,christianity1 or of ,christianity into 
the ever-advancing ideals of man's life4
 ,this chameleonlike quality of         
,christianity is the farthest possible  
remove from the changelessness which men
 love to attribute to religion4 ,it is  
the most wonderful quality which        
,christianity possesses4 ,it is         
precisely because of the recognition of 
this capacity for change that one may   
safely argue the continuance of         
,christianity in the world4 ,yet also   
because of this recognition1 one is put 
upon his guard against joining too      
easily in the clamour that a past       
apprehension of religion was altogether 
wrong1 or that a new and urgent one1 in 
its exclusive emphasis and its entirety1
 is right4 ,our age is haunted by the   
sense of terrific social and economic   
inequalities which prevail4 ,it has set 

its heart upon the elimination of those 
inequalities4 ,it is an age whose       
disrespect for religion is in some part 
due to the fact that religion has not   
done away with these inequalities4 ,it  
is an age which is immediately          
interested in an interpretation of      
religion which will make central the    
contention that1 before all things else1
 these inequalities must be done away4  
,if religion can be made a means of     
every man's getting his share of the    
blessings of this world1 well and good4 
,if not1 there are many men and women to
 whom religion seems utterly            
meaningless4  ,this sentence hardly     
overstates the case4 ,it is the         
challenge of the age to religion to do  
something which the age profoundly      
needs1 and which religion under its     
age-long dominant apprehension has not  
conspicuously done1 nor even on a great 
scale attempted4 ,it is the challenge to
 religion to undertake a work of        
surpassing grandeur--nothing less than  

the actualisation of the whole ideal of 
the life of man4 ,religious men respond 
with the quickened and conscientious    
conviction1 not indeed that they have   
laid too great an emphasis upon the     
spiritual1 but that under a dualistic   
conception of ,god and man and world1   
they have never sufficiently realised   
that the spiritual is to be realised in 
the material1 the ideal in and not apart
 from the actual1 the eternal in and not
 after the temporal4 ,yet with that     
oscillatory quality which belongs to    
human movements1 especially where old   
wrongs and errors have come deeply to be
 felt1 a part of the literature of the  
contention shows marked tendency to     
extremes4 ,a religion in the body must  
become a religion of the body4 ,a       
,christianity of the social state runs  
risk of being apprehended as merely one 
more means for compassing outward and   
material ends4 ,religion does stand for 
the inner life and the transcendent     
world1 only not an inner life through   

the neglect of the outer1 or a          
transcendent world in some far-off star 
or after an on or two4 ,there might be  
meaning in the argument that1 exactly   
because so many other forces in our age 
do make for the realisation of the outer
 life and present world with an         
effectiveness and success which no      
previous age has ever dreamed1 there is 
the more reason1 and not the less1 why  
religion should still be religion4      
,exactly this is the contention of      
,eueken in one of the most significant  
contributions of recent years to the    
philosophy of religion1 his             
,wahrheitsgehalt der ,religion1 #aija1  
transl4 ,jones1 #aiaa4 ,the very source 
and cause of the sure recovery of       
religion in our age will be the         
experience of the futility1 the         
bankruptcy1 of a civilisation without   
faith4 ,no nobler argument has been     
heard in our time for the spiritual     
meaning of religion1 with the fullest   
recognition of all its other meanings4  

,the modern emphasis on the social      
aspects of religion may be said to have 
been first clearly expressed in         
,seeley's ,ecce ,homo1 #ahfg4 ,the pith 
of the book is in this phrase3 ',to     
reorganise society and to bind the      
members of it together by the closest   
ties was the business of ,jesus' life4' 
,allusion has been made to ,fremantle's 
,the ,world as the ,subject of          
,redemption1 #ahhe4 ,worthy of note is  
also ,fairbairn's ,religion in ,history 
and ,modern ,life1 #ahid2 pre-eminently 
so is ,bosanquet's ,the ,civilisation of
 ,christendom1 #ahic4 ,westcott's       
,incarnation and ,common ,life1 #ahic1  
contains utterances of weight4 ,peabody1
 in his book1 ,jesus ,christ and the    
,social ,question1 #aije1 has given1 on 
the whole1 the best rsum of the         
discussion4 ,he conveys incidentally an 
impression of the body of literature    
produced in recent years1 in which it is
 assumed1 sometimes with embitterment1  
that the centre of gravity of           

,christianity is outside the ,church4   
,sell1 in the very title of his         
illuminating little book1 ,christenthum 
und ,weltgeschichte seit der            
,reformation3 das ,christenthum in      
seiner ,entwickelung ber die ,kirche    
hinaus1 #aiaj1 records an impression1   
which is widespread and true1 that the  
characteristic mark of modern           
,christianity is that it has transcended
 the organs and agencies officially     
created for it4 ,it has become          
non-ecclesiastical1 if not actually     
hostile to the ,church4 ,it has         
permeated the world in unexpected       
fashion and does the deeds of           
,christianity1 though rather eager to   
avoid the name4 ,the anti-clericalism of
 the ,latin countries is not            
unintelligible1 the anti-ecclesiasticism
 of the ,teutonic not without a cause4  
,german socialism1 ever since ,karl     
,marx1 has been fundamentally           
antagonistic to any religion whatsoever4
 ,it is purely secularist in tone4 ,this

 is also a strained situation1 liable to
 become perverse4 ,that part of the     
,christian ,church which understands    
itself1 rejoices in nothing so much as  
in the fact that the spirit of ,christ  
is so widely disseminated1 his influence
 felt by many who do not know what      
influence it is which they feel1 his    
work done by vast numbers who would     
never call themselves his workers4 ,that
 part of the ,church is not therewith   
convinced but that there is need of the 
,church as institution1 and of those who
 are consciously disciples of ,jesus in 
the world4  ,by far the largest         
question1 however1 which is raised in   
this connexion1 is one different from   
any thus far intimated4 ,it is1 perhaps1
 the last question one would have       
expected the literature of the social   
movement to raise4 ,it is1 namely1 the  
question of the individual4 ,ever since 
the middle of the eighteenth century a  
sort of universalistic optimism1 to     
which the individual is sacrificed1 has 

obtained4 ,within the period of which   
this book treats the world has won an   
enlargement of horizon of which it never
 dreamed4 ,it has gained a forecast of  
the future of culture and civilisation  
which is beyond imagination4 ,the access
 of comfort makes men at home in the    
world as they never were at home4 ,there
 has been set a value on this life which
 life never had before4 ,the succession 
of discoveries and applications of      
discovery makes it seem as if there were
 to be no end in this direction4 ,from  
,rousseau to ,spencer men have          
elaborated the view that the historical 
process cannot really issue in anything 
else than in ever higher stages of      
perfection and of happiness4 ,they      
postulate a continuous enhancement of   
energy and a steady perfecting of       
intellectual and moral quality4 ,as the 
goal of evolution appears an ideal      
condition which is either indefinitely  
remote1 that is1 which gives room for   
the bliss of infinite progress in its   

direction1 or else a definitely         
attainable condition1 which would have  
within itself the conditions of         
perpetuity4  ,the resistlessness with   
which this new view of the life of      
civilisation has won acknowledgment from
 men of all classes is amazing4 ,it     
rests upon a belief in the              
self-sufficiency and the all-sufficiency
 of the life of this world1 of the      
bearings of which it may be assumed that
 few of its votaries are aware4 ,in     
reality this view cannot by any         
possibility be described as the result  
of knowledge4 ,on the contrary1 it is a 
venture of faith4 ,it is the peculiar1  
the very characteristic and suggestive  
form which the faith of our age takes4  
,men believe in this indefinite progress
 of the world and of mankind1 because   
without postulating such progress they  
do not see how they can assume the      
absolute worth of an activity which is  
yet the only thing which has any        
interest to most of them4 ,under this   

view one can assign to the individual   
life a definite significance1 only upon 
the supposition that the individual is  
the organ of realisation of a part of   
this progress of mankind4 ,all happiness
 and suffering1 all changes in knowledge
 and manner of conduct1 are supposed to 
have no worth each for itself or for the
 sake of the individual1 but only for   
their relation to the movement as a     
whole4 ,surely this is an illusion4     
,exactly that in which the              
characteristic quality of the world and 
of life is found1 the individual        
personalities1 the single generations1  
the concrete events--these lose1 in this
 view1 their own particular worth4 ,what
 can possibly be the worth of a whole of
 which the parts have no worth8 ,we have
 here but a parallel on a huge scale of 
that deadly trait in our own private    
lives1 according to which it makes no   
difference what we are doing1 so only   
that we are doing1 or whither we are    
going1 so only that we cease not to go1 

or what our noise is all about1 so only 
that there be no end of the noise4      
,certainly no one can establish the     
value of the evolutionary process in and
 of itself4  ,if the movement as a whole
 has no definite end that has absolute  
worth1 then it has no worth except as   
the stages1 the individual factors      
included in it1 attain to something     
within themselves which is of increasing
 worth4 ,if the movement achieves this1 
then it has worth1 not otherwise4 ,we   
may illustrate this question by asking  
ourselves concerning the existence and  
significance of suffering and of the    
evil and of the bad which are in the    
world1 in their relation to this        
tendency to indefinite progress which is
 supposed to be inherent in             
civilisation4 ,on this theory we have to
 say that the suffering of the          
individual is necessary for the         
development and perfecting of the whole4
 ,as over against the whole the         
individual has no right to make demands 

as to welfare or happiness4 ,the bad    
also becomes only relative4 ,in the     
movement taken as a whole1 it is        
probably unavoidable4 ,in any case it is
 negligible1 since the movement is      
irresistible4 ,all ethical values are   
absorbed in the dynamic ones1 all       
personal values in the collective ones4 
,surely the sole intelligent question   
about any civilisation is1 what sort of 
men does it produce4 ,if it produces    
worthless individuals1 it is so far     
forth a worthless civilisation4 ,if it  
has sacrificed many worthy men in order 
to produce this ignoble result1 then it 
is more obviously ignoble than ever4    
,furthermore1 this notion of an inherent
 necessity and an irresistible tendency 
to progress is a chimera4 ,the progress 
of mankind is a task4 ,it is something  
to which the worthy human spirit is     
called upon to make contribution4 ,the  
unworthy never hear the call4 ,progress 
is not a natural necessity4 ,it is an   
ethical obligation4 ,it is a task which 

has been fulfilled by previous          
generations in varying degrees of       
perfectness4 ,it will be participated in
 by succeeding generations with varying 
degrees of wisdom and success4 ,but as  
to there being anything autonomous about
 it1 this is sheer hallucination1       
myth-making again1 on the part of those 
who boast that they despise the myth1   
miracle-mongering on the part of those  
who have abjured the miracle1 nonsense  
on the part of those who boast that they
 alone are sane4 ,there is no ultimate  
source of civilisation but the          
individual1 as there is also no issue of
 civilisation but in individuals4 ,men1 
characters1 personalities1 are the      
makers of it4 ,men are the product which
 is made4 ,the higher stages and        
achievements of the life of society have
 come to pass always and only upon      
condition that single personalities have
 recognised the problem1 seen their     
individual duty and known how to inspire
 others with enthusiasm4 ,periods of    

decline are always those in which this  
personal element cannot make itself     
felt4 ,democracies and periods of the   
intensity of emphasis upon the social   
movement1 tend directly to the          
depression and suppression of           
personality4#g ,such reflexions will    
have served their purpose if they give  
us some clear sense of what we have to  
understand as the effect of the social  
movement on religion4 ,they may give    
also some forecast of the effect of real
 religion on the social movement4 ,for  
religion is the relation of ,god and    
personality4 ,it can be social only in  
the sense that society1 in all its      
normal relations1 is the sphere within  
which that relation of ,god and         
personality is to be wrought out4       
,footnote #g3 ,siebeck1                 
,religionsphilosophie1 #ahic1 s4 #djg4  
,,chapter ,,vi  ,,the                   
,,english-,,speaking ,,peoples3 ,,action
 ,,and ,,reaction   ,in those aspects of
 our subject with which we have thus far

 dealt1 leadership has been largely with
 the ,germans4 ,effort was indeed made  
in the chapter on the sciences to       
illustrate the progress of thought by   
reference to ,british writers4 ,in this 
department the original and creative    
contribution of ,british authors was    
great4 ,there were1 however1 also in the
 earlier portion of the nineteenth      
century movements of religious thought  
in ,great ,britain and ,america related 
to some of those which we have          
previously considered4 ,moreover1 one of
 the most influential movements of      
,english religious thought1 the         
so-called ,oxford ,movement1 with the   
,anglo-,catholic revival which it       
introduced1 was of a reactionary        
tendency4 ,it has seemed1 therefore1    
feasible to append to this chapter that 
which we must briefly say concerning the
 general movement of reaction which     
marked the century4 ,this reactionary   
movement has indeed everywhere run      
parallel to the one which we have       

endeavoured to record4 ,it has often    
with vigour run counter to our movement4
 ,it has revealed the working of earnest
 and sometimes anxious minds in         
directions opposed to those which we    
have been studying4 ,no one can fail to 
be aware that there has been a great    
,catholic revival in the nineteenth     
century4 ,that revival has had place in 
the ,roman ,catholic countries of the   
,continent as well4 ,it was in order to 
include the privilege of reference to   
these aspects of our subject that this  
chapter was given a double title4 ,yet  
in no country has the nineteenth century
 so favourably altered the position of  
the ,roman ,catholic ,church as in      
,england4 ,in no country has a ,church  
which has been esteemed to be           
,protestant been so much influenced by  
,catholic ideas4 ,this again is a reason
 for including our reference to the     
reaction here4  ,according to           
,pfleiderer1 a new movement in          
philosophy may be said to have begun in 

,great ,britain in the year #ahbe1 with 
the publication of ,coleridge's ,aids to
 ,reflection4 ,in ,coleridge's          
,confessions of an ,enquiring ,spirit1  
published six years after his death in  
#ahcd1 we have a suggestion of the      
biblical-critical movement which was    
beginning to shape itself in ,germany4  
,in the same years we have evidence in  
the works of ,erskine and the early     
writings of ,campbell1 that in ,scotland
 theologians were thinking on           
,schleiermacher's lines4 ,in those same 
years books of more or less marked      
rationalistic tendency were put forth by
 the ,oriel ,school4 ,finally1 with     
,pusey's ,assize ,sermon1 in #ahcc1     
,newman felt that the movement later to 
be called ,tractarian had begun4 ,we    
shall not be wrong1 therefore1 in saying
 that the decade following #ahbe saw the
 beginnings in ,britain of more formal  
reflexion upon all the aspects of the   
theme with which we are concerned4      
,what went before that1 however1 in the 

way of liberal religious thinking1      
though informal in its nature1 should   
not be ignored4 ,it was the work of the 
poets of the end of the eighteenth and  
of the beginning of the nineteenth      
centuries4 ,the culmination of the great
 revolt against the traditional in state
 and society and against the            
conventional in religion1 had been      
voiced in ,britain largely by the poets4
 ,so vigorous was this utterance and so 
effective1 that some have spoken of the 
contribution of the ,english poets to   
the theological reconstruction4 ,it is  
certain that the utterances of the poets
 tended greatly to the dissemination of 
the new ideas4 ,there was in ,great     
,britain no such unity as we have       
observed among the ,germans1 either of  
the movement as a whole or in its       
various parts4 ,there was a consecution 
nothing less than marvellous in the work
 of the philosophers from ,kant to      
,hegel4 ,there was a theological        
sequence from ,schleiermacher to        

,ritschl4 ,there was an unceasing       
critical advance from the days of       
,strauss4 ,there was nothing resembling 
this in the work of the                 
,english-speaking people4 ,the          
contributions were for a long time only 
sporadic4 ,the movement had no          
inclusiveness4 ,there was no aspect of a
 solid front in the advance4 ,in the    
department of the sciences only was the 
situation different4 ,in a way1         
therefore1 it will be necessary in this 
chapter merely to single out            
individuals1 to note points of conflict1
 one and another1 all along the great   
line of advance4 ,or1 to put it         
differently1 it will be possible to     
pursue a chronological arrangement which
 would have been bewildering in our     
study heretofore4 ,with the one great   
division between the progressive spirits
 and the men of the reaction1 it will be
 possible to speak of philosophers1     
critics and theologians together1 among 
their own contemporaries1 and so to     

follow the century as it advances4  ,in 
the closing years of the eighteenth     
century in ,england what claimed to be a
 rational supernaturalism prevailed4    
,men sought to combine faith in revealed
 religion with the empirical philosophy 
of ,locke4 ,they conceived ,god and his 
relation to the world under deistical   
forms4 ,the educated often lacked in    
singular degree all deeper religious    
feeling4 ,they were averse to mysticism 
and spurned enthusiasm4 ,utilitarian    
considerations1 which formed the        
practical side of the empirical         
philosophy1 played a prominent part also
 in orthodox belief4 ,the theory of the 
universe which obtained among the       
religious is seen at its worst in some  
of the volumes of the ,warburton        
,lectures1 and at its best perhaps in   
,butler's ,analogy of ,natural and      
,revealed ,religion4 ,the character and 
views of the clergy and of the ruling   
class among the laity of the ,church of 
,england1 early in the nineteenth       

century1 are pictured with love and     
humour in ,trollope's novels4 ,they form
 the background in many of ,george      
,eliot's books1 where1 in more mordant  
manner1 both their strength and         
weaknesses are shown4 ,even the remarks 
which introduce ,dean ,church's ,oxford 
,movement1 #ahia1 in which the churchly 
element is dealt with in deep affection1
 give anything but an inspiring view4   
,the contrast with this would-be        
rational and unemotional religious      
respectability of the upper classes was 
furnished1 for masses of the people1 in 
the quickening of the consciousness of  
sin and grace after the manner of the   
,methodists4 ,but the ,methodism of the 
earlier age had as good as no           
intellectual relations whatsoever4 ,the 
,wesleys and ,whitefield had indeed     
influenced a considerable portion of the
 ,anglican communion4 ,their pietistic  
trait1 combined1 for the most part1 with
 a ,calvinism which ,wesley abhorred and
 an old-fashioned low church feeling    

with which also ,wesley had no sympathy1
 shows itself in the so-called          
evangelical party which was strong      
before #ahcj4 ,this evangelical movement
 in the ,church of ,england manifested  
deep religious feeling1 it put forth    
zealous philanthropic effort1 it had    
among its representatives men and women 
of great beauty of personal character   
and piety4 ,yet it was completely cut   
off from any living relation to the     
thought of the age4 ,there was among its
 representatives no spirit of           
theological inquiry4 ,there was1 if     
anything1 less probability of           
theological reconstruction1 from this   
quarter1 than from the circles of the   
older ,german pietism1 with which this  
,english evangelicalism of the time of  
the later ,georges had not a little in  
common4 ,there had been a great         
enthusiasm for humanity at the opening  
of the period of the ,french            
,revolution1 but the excesses and       
atrocities of the ,revolution had       

profoundly shocked the ,english mind4   
,there was abroad something of the same 
sense for the return to nature1 and of  
the greatness of man1 which moved       
,schiller and ,goethe4 ,the exponents of
 it were1 however1 almost exclusively   
the poets1 ,wordsworth1 ,shelley1 ,keats
 and ,byron4 ,there was nothing which   
combined these various elements as parts
 of a great whole4 ,britain had stood   
outside the area of the ,revolution1 and
 yet had put forth stupendous efforts1  
ultimately successful1 to make an end of
 the revolutionary era and of the       
,napoleonic despotism4 ,this tended     
perhaps to give to ,britons some natural
 satisfaction in the ,british           
,constitution and the established       
,church which flourished under it4      
,finally1 while men on the ,continent   
were devising holy alliances and other  
chimeras of the sort1 ,england was      
precipitated into the earlier acute     
stages of the industrial revolution in  
which she has led the ,european nations 

and still leads4 ,this fact explains a  
certain preoccupation of the ,british   
mind with questions remote from         
theological reconstruction or religious 
speculation4   ,,the ,,poets   ,it may  
now sound like a contradiction if we    
assert that the years from #aghj to     
#ahcj constitute the era of the noblest 
,english poetry since the times of great
 ,elizabeth4 ,the social direction of   
the new theology of the present day1    
with its cry against every kind of      
injustice1 with its claim of an equal   
opportunity for a happy life for every  
man--this was the forecast of ,cowper1  
as it had been of ,blake4 ,to ,blake all
 outward infallible authority of books  
or churches was iniquitous4 ,he was at  
daggers drawn with every doctrine which 
set limit to the freedom of all men to  
love ,god1 or which could doubt that    
,god had loved all men4 ,jesus alone had
 seen the true thing4 ,god was a father1
 every man his child4 ,long before      
#aghi1 ,burns was filled with the new   

ideas of the freedom and brotherhood of 
man1 with zeal for the overthrow of     
unjust privilege4 ,he had spoken in     
imperishable words of the holiness of   
the common life4 ,he had come into      
contact with the most dreadful          
consequences of ,calvinism4 ,he has     
pilloried these mercilessly in his      
',holy ,tulzie' and in his ',holy       
,willie's ,prayer4' ,such poems must    
have shaken ,calvinism more than a      
thousand liberal sermons could have     
done4 ,what ,coleridge might have done  
in this field1 had he not so early      
turned to prose1 it is not easy to say4 
,the verse of his early days rests upon 
the conviction1 fundamental to his later
 philosophy1 that all the new ideas     
concerning men and the world are a      
revelation of ,god4 ,wordsworth seems   
never consciously to have broken with   
the current theology4 ,his view of the  
natural glory and goodness of humanity1 
especially among the poor and simple1   
has not much relation to that theology4 

,his view of nature1 not as created of  
,god4 in the conventional sense1 but as 
itself filled with ,god1 of ,god as     
conscious of himself at every point of  
nature's being1 has still less4 ,man and
 nature are but different manifestations
 of the one soul of all4 ,byron's       
contribution to ,christian thought1 we  
need hardly say1 was of a negative sort4
 ,it was destructive rather than        
constructive4 ,among the conventions and
 hypocrisies of society there were none 
which he more utterly despised than     
those of religion and the ,church as he 
saw these4 ,there is something volcanic1
 ,voltairean in his outbreaks4 ,but     
there is a difference4 ,both ,voltaire  
and ,byron knew that they had not the   
current religion4 ,voltaire thought1    
nevertheless1 that he had a religion4   
,posterity has esteemed that he had     
little4 ,byron thought he had none4     
,posterity has felt that he had much4   
,his attack was made in a reckless      
bitterness which lessened its effect4   

,yet the truth of many things which he  
said is now overwhelmingly obvious4     
,shelley began with being what he called
 an atheist4 ,he ended with being what  
we call an agnostic1 whose pure poetic  
spirit carried him far into the realm of
 the highest idealism4 ,the existence of
 a conscious will within the universe is
 not quite thinkable4 ,yet immortal love
 pervades the whole4 ,immortality is    
improbable1 but his highest flights     
continually imply it4 ,he is sure that  
when any theology violates the primary  
human affections1 it tramples into the  
dust all thoughts and feelings by which 
men may become good4 ,the men who1 about
 #ahdj1 stood paralysed between what    
,strauss later called 'the old faith and
 the new1' or1 as ,arnold phrased it1   
were 'between two worlds1 one dead1 the 
other powerless to be born1' found their
 inmost thoughts written broad for them 
in ,arthur ,clough4 ,from the time of   
the opening of ,tennyson's work1 the    
poets1 not by destruction but by        

construction1 not in opposition to      
religion but in harmony with it1 have   
built up new doctrines of ,god and man  
and aided incalculably in preparing the 
way for a new and nobler theology4 ,in  
the latter part of the nineteenth       
century there was perhaps no one man in 
,england who did more to read all of the
 vast advance of knowledge in the light 
of higher faith1 and to fill such a     
faith with the spirit of the glad       
advance of knowledge1 than did          
,browning4 ,even ,arnold has voiced in  
his poetry not a little of the noblest  
conviction of the age4 ,and what shall  
one say of ,mrs4 ,browning1 of the      
,rossettis and ,william ,morris1 of     
,emerson and ,lowell1 of ,lanier and    
,whitman1 who have spoken1 often with   
consummate power and beauty1 that which 
one never says at all without faith and 
rarely says well without art8           
,,coleridge   ,samuel ,taylor ,coleridge
 was born in #aggb at his father's      
vicarage1 ,ottery ,st4 ,mary's1         

,devonshire4 ,he was the tenth child of 
his parents1 weak in frame1 always      
suffering much4 ,he was a student at    
,christ's ,hospital1 ,london1 where he  
was properly bullied1 then at ,jesus    
,college1 ,cambridge1 where he did not  
take his degree4 ,for some happy years  
he lived in the ,lake region and was the
 friend of ,wordsworth and ,southey4 ,he
 studied in ,gttingen1 a thing almost   
unheard of in his time4 ,the years #agih
 to #ahac were indeed spent in utter    
misery1 through the opium habit which he
 had contracted while seeking relief    
from rheumatic pain4 ,he wrote and      
taught and talked in ,highgate from     
#ahad to #ahcd4 ,he had planned great   
works which never took shape4 ,for a    
brief period he severed his connexion   
with the ,english ,church1 coming under 
,unitarian influence4 ,he then reverted 
to the relation in which his            
ecclesiastical instincts were satisfied4
 ,we read his ,aids to ,reflection and  
his ,confessions of an ,enquiring       

,spirit1 and wonder how they can ever   
have exerted a great influence4         
,nevertheless1 they were fresh and      
stimulating in their time4 ,that        
,coleridge was a power1 we have         
testimony from men differing among      
themselves so widely as do ,hare1       
,sterling1 ,newman and ,john ,stuart    
,mill4 ,he was a master of style4 ,he   
had insight and breadth4 ,tulloch says  
of the ,aids1 that it is a book which   
none but a thinker upon divine things   
will ever like4 ,not all even of these  
have liked it4 ,inexcusably fragmentary 
it sometimes seems4 ,one is fain to ask3
 ,what right has any man to publish a   
scrap-book of his musings8 ,coleridge   
had the ambition to lay anew the        
foundations of spiritual philosophy4    
,the ,aids were but of the nature of    
prolegomena4 ,for substance his         
philosophy went back to ,locke and ,hume
 and to the ,cambridge ,platonists4 ,he 
had learned of ,kant and ,schleiermacher
 as well4 ,he was no metaphysician1 but 

a keen interpreter of spiritual facts1  
who himself had been quickened by a     
particularly painful experience4 ,he saw
 in ,christianity1 rightly conceived1 at
 once the true explanation of our       
spiritual being and the remedy for its  
disorder4 ,the evangelical tradition    
brought religion to a man from without4 
,it took no account of man's spiritual  
constitution1 beyond the fact that he   
was a sinner and in danger of hell4     
,coleridge set out1 not from sin alone1 
but from the whole deep basis of        
spiritual capacity and responsibility   
upon which sin rests4 ,he asserts       
experience4 ,we are as sure of the      
capacity for the good and of the        
experience of the good as we can be of  
the evil4 ,the case is similar as to the
 truth4 ,there are aspects of truth     
which transcend our powers4 ,we use     
words without meaning when we talk of   
the plans of a being who is neither an  
object for our senses nor a part of our 
self-consciousness4 ,all truth must be  

capable of being rendered into words    
conformable to reason4 ,theologians had 
declared their doctrines true or false  
without reference to the subjective     
standard of judgment4 ,coleridge        
contended that faith must rest not      
merely upon objective data1 but upon    
inward experience4 ,the authority of    
,scripture is in its truthfulness1 its  
answer to the highest aspirations of the
 human reason and the most urgent       
necessities of the moral life4 ,the     
doctrine of an atonement is intelligible
 only in so far as it too comes within  
the range of spiritual experience4 ,the 
apostolic language took colour from the 
traditions concerning sacrifice4 ,much  
has been taken by the ,church as literal
 dogmatic statement which should be     
taken as more figure of speech1 borrowed
 from ,jewish sources4  ,coleridge      
feared that his thoughts concerning     
,scripture might1 if published1 do more 
harm than good4 ,they were printed first
 in #ahdj4 ,their writing goes back into

 the period long before the conflict    
raised by ,strauss4 ,there is not much  
here that one might not have learned    
from ,herder and ,lessing4 ,utterances  
of ,whately and ,arnold showed that     
minds in ,england were waking4 ,but     
,coleridge's utterances rest            
consistently upon the philosophy of     
religion and theory of dogma which have 
been above implied4 ,they are more      
significant than are mere flashes of    
generous insight1 like those of the men 
named4 ,the notion of verbal inspiration
 or infallible dictation of the ,holy   
,scriptures could not possibly survive  
after the modern spirit of historical   
inquiry had made itself felt4 ,the      
rabbinical idea was bound to disappear4 
,a truer sense of the conditions        
attending the origins and progress of   
civilisation and of the immaturities    
through which religious as well as moral
 and social ideas advance1 brought of   
necessity a changed idea of the nature  
of ,scripture and revelation4 ,its      

literature must be read as literature1  
its history as history4 ,for the answer 
in our hearts to the spirit in the      
,book1 ,coleridge used the phrase3 ',it 
finds me4' ',whatever finds me bears    
witness to itself that it has proceeded 
from the ,holy ,ghost4 ,in the ,bible   
there is more that finds me than in all 
the other books which ,i have read4'    
,still1 there is much in the ,bible that
 does not find me4 ,it is full of       
contradictions1 both moral and          
historical4 ,are we to regard these as  
all equally inspired8 ,the ,scripture   
itself does not claim that4 ,besides1   
what good would it do us to claim that  
the original documents were inerrant1   
unless we could claim also that they had
 been inerrantly transmitted8           
,apparently ,coleridge thought that no  
one would ever claim that4 ,coleridge   
wrote also concerning the ,church4 ,his 
volume on ,the ,constitution of ,church 
and ,state appeared in #ahcj4 ,it is the
 least satisfactory of his works4 ,the  

vacillation of ,coleridge's own course  
showed that upon this point his mind was
 never clear4 ,arnold also1 though in a 
somewhat different way1 was zealous for 
the theory that ,church and ,state are  
really identical1 the ,church being     
merely the ,state in its educational and
 religious aspect and organisation4 ,if 
,thomas ,arnold's moral earnestness and 
his generous spirit could not save this 
theory from being chimerical1 no better 
result was to be expected from          
,coleridge4   ,,the ,,oriel ,,school    
,it has often happened in the history of
 the ,english universities that a given 
college has become1 through its body of 
tutors and students1 through its        
common-room talk and literary work1 the 
centre1 for the time1 of a movement of  
thought which gives leadership to the   
college4 ,in this manner it has been    
customary to speak of the group of men  
who1 before the rise of the ,oxford     
,movement1 gathered at ,oriel ,college1 
as the ,oriel ,school4 ,newman and      

,keble were both ,oriel tutors4 ,the    
,oriel men were of distinctly liberal   
tendency4 ,there were men of note among 
them4 ,there was ,whately1 ,archbishop  
of ,dublin after #ahca1 and ,copleston1 
from whom both ,keble and ,newman owned 
that they learned much4 ,there was      
,arnold1 subsequently ,headmaster of    
,rugby4 ,there was ,hampden1 ,professor 
of ,divinity after #ahcf4 ,the school   
was called from its liberalism the      
,noetic school4 ,whether this epithet   
contained more of satire or of          
complacency it is difficult to say4     
,these men arrested attention and filled
 some of the older academic and         
ecclesiastical heads with alarm4        
,without disrespect one may say that it 
is difficult now to understand the      
commotion which they made4 ,arnold had a
 truly beautiful character4 ,what he    
might have done as ,professor of        
,ecclesiastical ,history in ,oxford was 
never revealed1 for he died in #ahdb4   
,whately1 viewed as a noetic1 appears   

commonplace4  ,perhaps the only one of  
the group upon whom we need dwell was   
,hampden4 ,in his ,bampton ,lectures of 
#ahcb1 under the title of ,the          
,scholastic ,philosophy considered in   
its ,relation to ,christian ,theology1  
he assailed what had long been the very 
bulwark of traditionalism4 ,his idea was
 to show how the vast fabric of         
scholastic theology had grown up1       
particularly what contributions had been
 made to it in the ,middle ,age4 ,the   
traditional dogma is a structure reared 
upon the logical terminology of the     
patristic and medival schools4 ,it has  
little foundation in ,scripture and no  
response in the religious consciousness4
 ,we have here the application1 within  
set limits1 of the thesis which ,harnack
 in our own time has applied in a       
universal way4 ,hampden's opponents were
 not wrong in saying that his method    
would dissolve1 not merely that         
particular system of theology1 but all  
creeds and theologies whatsoever4       

,patristic1 medival ,catholic theology  
and scholastic ,protestantism1 no less1 
would go down before it4 ,a pamphlet    
attributed to ,newman1 published in     
#ahcf1 precipitated a discussion which1 
for bitterness1 has rarely been         
surpassed in the melancholy history of  
theological dispute4 ,the excitement    
went to almost unheard of lengths4 ,in  
the controversy the ,archbishop1 ,dr4   
,howley1 made but a poor figure4 ,the   
,duke of ,wellington did not add to his 
fame4 ,wilberforce and ,newman never    
cleared themselves of the suspicion of  
indirectness4 ,this was1 however1 after 
the opening of the ,oxford ,movement4   
,,erskine ,,and ,,campbell   ,the period
 from #ahbj to #ahej was one of         
religious and intellectual activity in  
,scotland as well4 ,tulloch depicts with
 a ,scotsman's patriotism the movement  
which centres about the names of        
,erskine and ,campbell4 ,pfleiderer also
 judges that their contribution was as  
significant as any made to dogmatic     

theology in ,great ,britain in the      
nineteenth century4 ,they achieved the  
same reconstruction of the doctrine of  
salvation which had been effected by    
,kant and ,schleiermacher4 ,at their    
hands the doctrine was rescued from that
 forensic externality into which        
,calvinism had degenerated4 ,it was     
given again its quality of ethical      
inwardness1 and based directly upon     
religious experience4 ,high ,lutheranism
 had issued in the same externality in  
,germany before ,kant and               
,schleiermacher1 and the ,new ,england  
theology before ,channing and ,bushnell4
 ,the merits of ,christ achieved an     
external salvation1 of which a man      
became participant practically upon     
condition of assent to certain          
propositions4 ,similarly1 in the        
,catholic revival1 salvation was        
conceived as an external and future     
good1 of which a man became participant 
through the sacraments applied to him by
 priests in apostolical succession4 ,in 

point of externality there was not much 
to choose between views which were felt 
to be radically opposed the one to the  
other4  ,erskine was not a man          
theologically educated4 ,he led a       
peculiarly secluded life4 ,he was an    
advocate by profession1 but1 withdrawing
 from that career1 virtually gave       
himself up to meditation4 ,campbell was 
a minister of the ,established ,church  
of ,scotland in a remote village1 ,row1 
upon the ,gare ,loch4 ,when he was      
convicted of heresy and driven from the 
ministry1 he also devoted himself to    
study and authorship4 ,both men seem to 
have come to their results largely from 
the application of their own sound      
religious sense to the ,scriptures4     
,that the ,scottish ,church should have 
rejected the truth for which these men  
contended was the heaviest blow which it
 could have inflicted on itself4        
,thereby it arrested its own healthy    
development4 ,it perpetuated its        
traditional view1 somewhat as ,new      

,england orthodoxy was given a new lease
 of life through the partisanship which 
the ,unitarian schism engendered4 ,the  
matter was not mended at the time of the
 great rupture of the ,scottish ,church 
in #ahdc4 ,that body which broke away   
from the ,establishment1 and achieved a 
purely ecclesiastical control of its own
 clergy1 won1 indeed1 by this means the 
name of the ,free ,church1 though1 in   
point of theological opinion1 it was far
 from representing the more free and    
progressive element4 ,tulloch pays a    
beautiful tribute to the character of   
,erskine1 whom he knew4 ,quiet1         
brooding1 introspective1 he read his    
,bible and his own soul1 and with       
singular purity of intuition generalised
 from his own experience4 ,therewith is 
described1 however1 both the power and  
the limitation of his work4 ,his first  
book was entitled ,remarks on the       
,internal ,evidence for the ,truth of   
,revealed ,religion1 #ahbj4 ,the title  
itself is suggestive of the revolution  

through which the mind both of ,erskine 
and of his age was passing4 ,his book1  
,the ,unconditional ,freeness of the    
,gospel1 appeared in #ahbh2 ,the ,brazen
 ,serpent in #ahca4 ,men have confounded
 forgiveness and pardon4 ,they have made
 pardon equivalent to salvation4 ,but   
salvation is character4 ,forgiveness is 
only one of the means of it4 ,salvation 
is not a future good4 ,it is a present  
fellowship with ,god4 ,it is            
sanctification of character by means of 
our labour and ,god's love4 ,the fall   
was the rise of the spirit of freedom4  
,fallen man can never be saved except   
through glad surrender of his childish  
independence to the truth and goodness  
of ,god4 ,yet that surrender is the     
preservation and enlargement of our     
independence4 ,it is the secret of true 
self-realisation4 ,the sufferings of    
,christ reveal ,god's holy love4 ,it is 
not as if ,god's love had been purchased
 by the sufferings of his ,son4 ,on the 
contrary1 it is man who needs to believe

 in ,god's love1 and so be reconciled to
 the ,god whom he has feared and hated4 
,christ overcomes sin by obediently     
enduring the suffering which sin        
naturally entails4 ,he endures it in    
pure love of his brethren4 ,man must    
overcome sin in the same way4  ,campbell
 published1 so late as #ahef1 his great 
work ,the ,nature of the ,atonement and 
its ,relation to the ,remission of ,sins
 and ,eternal ,life4 ,it was the matured
 result of the reflections of a quarter 
of a century1 spent partly in enforced  
retirement after #ahca4 ,campbell       
maintains unequivocally that the        
sacrifice of ,christ cannot be          
understood as a punishment due to man's 
sin1 meted out to ,christ in man's      
stead4 ,viewed retrospectively1         
,christ's work in the atonement is but  
the highest example of a law otherwise  
universally operative4 ,no man can work 
redemption for his fellows except by    
entering into their condition1 as if    
everything in that condition were his   

own1 though much of it may be in no     
sense his due4 ,it is freely borne by   
him because of his identification of    
himself with them4 ,campbell lingers in 
the myth of ,christ's being the federal 
head of the humanity4 ,there is         
something pathetic in the struggle of   
his mind to save phrases and the        
paraphernalia of an ancient view which1 
however1 his fundamental principle      
rendered obsolete1 ,he struggles to save
 the word satisfaction1 though it means 
nothing in his system save that ,god is 
satisfied as he contemplates the        
character of ,christ4 ,prospectively    
considered1 the sacrifice of ,christ    
effects salvation by its moral power    
over men in example and inspiration4    
,vicarious sacrifice1 the result of     
which was merely imputed1 would leave   
the sinner just where he was before4 ,it
 is an empty fiction4 ,but the spectacle
 of suffering freely undertaken for our 
sakes discovers the treasures of the    
divine image in man4 ,the love of ,god  

and a man's own resolve make him in the 
end1 in fact1 that which he has always  
been in capacity and destiny1 a child of
 ,god1 possessed of the secret of a     
growing righteousness1 which is itself  
salvation4   ,,maurice   ,scottish books
 seem to have been but little read in   
,england in that day4 ,it was ,maurice  
who first made the substance of         
,campbell's teaching known in ,england4 
,frederick ,denison ,maurice was the son
 of a ,unitarian minister1 educated at  
,trinity ,college1 ,cambridge1 at a time
 when it was impossible for a           
,nonconformist to obtain a degree4 ,he  
was ordained a priest of the ,church of 
,england in #ahcd1 even suffering       
himself to be baptised again4 ,he was   
chaplain of ,lincoln's ,inn and         
,professor of ,theology in ,king's      
,college1 ,london4 ,after #ahff he was  
,professor of ,moral ,philosophy in     
,cambridge1 though his life-work was    
over4 ,at the heart of ,maurice's       
theology lies the contention to which he

 gave the name of universal redemption4 
,christ's work is for every man4 ,every 
man is indeed in ,christ4 ,man's        
unhappiness lies only in the fact that  
he will not own this fact and live      
accordingly4 ,man as man is the child of
 ,god4 ,he cannot undo that fact or     
alter that relation if he would4 ,he    
does not need to become a child of ,god1
 as the phrase has been4 ,he needs only 
to recognise that he already is such a  
child4 ,he can never cease to bear this 
relationship4 ,he can only refuse to    
fulfil it4 ,with other words ,erskine   
and ,coleridge and ,schleiermacher had  
said this same thing4  ,for the rest1   
one may speak briefly of ,maurice4 ,he  
was animated by the strongest desire for
 ,church unity1 but at the back of his  
mind lay a conception of the ,church and
 an insistence upon uniformity which    
made unity impossible4 ,in the light of 
his own inheritance his ecclesiastical  
positivism seems strange4 ,perhaps it   
was the course of his experience which  

made this irrational positivism natural4
 ,few men in his generation suffered    
greater persecutions under the          
unwarranted supposition on the part of  
contemporaries that he had a liberal    
mind4 ,in reality1 few men in his       
generation had less of a quality which1 
had he possessed it1 would have given   
him peace and joy even in the midst of  
his persecutions4 ,the casual remark    
above made concerning ,campbell is true 
in enhanced degree of ,maurice4 ,a large
 part of the industry of a very         
industrious life was devoted to the     
effort to convince others and himself   
that those few really wonderful glimpses
 of spiritual truth which he had1 had no
 disastrous consequences for an         
inherited system of thought in which    
they certainly did not take their rise4 
,his name was connected with the social 
enthusiasm that inaugurated a new       
movement in ,england which will claim   
attention in another paragraph4         
,,channing   ,allusion has been made to 

a revision of traditional theology which
 took place in ,america also1 upon the  
same general lines which we have seen in
 ,schleiermacher and in ,campbell4 ,the 
typical figure here1 the protagonist of 
the movement1 is ,william ,ellery       
,channing4 ,it may be doubted whether   
there has ever been a civilisation more 
completely controlled by its ,church and
 ministers1 or a culture more entirely  
dominated by theology1 than were those  
of ,new ,england until the middle of the
 eighteenth century4 ,there had been    
indeed a marked decline in religious    
life4 ,the history of the ,great        
,awakening shows that4 ,remonstrances   
against the ,great ,awakening show also 
how men's minds were moving away from   
the theory of the universe which the    
theology of that movement implied4 ,one 
cannot say that in the preaching of     
,hopkins there is an appreciable        
relaxation of the ,edwardsian scheme4   
,interestingly enough1 it was in        
,newport that ,channing was born and    

with ,hopkins that he associated until  
the time of his licensure to preach in  
#ahjb4 ,many thought that ,channing     
would stand with the most stringent of  
the orthodox4 ,deism and rationalism had
 made themselves felt in ,america after 
the ,revolution4 ,channing1 during his  
years in ,harvard ,college1 can hardly  
have failed to come into contact with   
the criticism of religion from this     
side4 ,there is no such clear influence 
of current rationalism upon ,channing   
as1 for example1 upon ,schleiermacher4  
,yet here in the ,west1 which most      
,europeans thought of as a wilderness1  
circumstances brought about the         
launching of this man upon the career of
 a liberal religious thinker1 when as   
yet ,schleiermacher had hardly advanced 
beyond the position of the ,discourses1 
when ,erskine had not yet written a line
 and ,campbell was still a child4       
,channing became minister of the        
,federal ,street ,church in ,boston in  
#ahjc4 ,the appointment of ,ware as     

,hollis ,professor of ,divinity in      
,harvard ,college took place in #ahje4  
,that appointment was the first clear   
indication of the liberal party's       
strength4 ,channing's ,baltimore        
,address was delivered in #ahai4 ,he    
died in #ahdg4  ,in the schism among the
 ,congregational ,churches in ,new      
,england1 which before #ahai apparently 
had come to be regarded by both parties 
as remediless1 ,channing took the side  
of the opposition to ,calvinistic       
orthodoxy4 ,he developed qualities as   
controversialist and leader which the   
gentler aspect of his early years had   
hardly led men to suspect4 ,this        
,american liberal movement had been     
referred to by ,belsham as related to   
,english ,unitarianism4 ,after #ahae1 in
 this country1 by its opponents at      
least1 the movement was consistently    
called ,unitarian4 ,channing did with   
zeal contend against the traditional    
doctrine of the atonement and of the    
trinity4 ,on the other hand1 he saw in  

,christ the perfect revelation of ,god  
to humanity and at the same time the    
ideal of humanity4 ,he believed in      
,jesus' sinlessness and in his miracles1
 especially in his resurrection4 ,the   
keynote of ,channing's character and    
convictions is found in his sense of the
 inherent greatness of man4 ,of this    
feeling his entire system is but the    
unfolding4 ,it was early and            
deliberately adopted by him as a        
fundamental faith4 ,it remained the     
immovable centre of his reverence and   
trust amid all the inroads of doubt and 
sorrow4 ,political interest was as      
natural to ,channing's earlier manhood  
as it had been to ,fichte in the        
emergency of the ,fatherland4           
,similarly1 in the later years of his   
life1 when evils connected with slavery 
had made themselves felt1 his           
participation in the abolitionist       
agitation showed the same enthusiasm and
 practical bent4 ,he had his dream of   
communism1 his perception of the evils  

of our industrial system1 his contempt  
for charity in place of economic remedy4
 ,all was for man1 all rested upon      
supreme faith in man4 ,that man is      
endowed with knowledge of the right and 
with the power to realise it1 was a     
fundamental maxim4 ,hence arose         
,channing's assertion of free-will4 ,the
 denial of free-will renders the        
sentiment of duty but illusory4 ,in the 
conscience there is both a revelation   
and a type of ,god4 ,its suggestions1 by
 the very authority they carry with     
them1 declare themselves to be ,god's   
law4 ,god1 concurring with our highest  
nature1 present in its action1 can be   
thought of only after the pattern which 
he gives us in ourselves4 ,whatever     
revelation ,god makes of himself1 he    
must deal with us as with free beings   
living under natural laws4 ,revelation  
must be merely supplementary to those   
laws4 ,everything arbitrary and magical1
 everything which despairs of us or     
insults us as moral agents1 everything  

which does not address itself to us     
through reason and conscience1 must be  
excluded from the intercourse between   
,god and man4 ,what the doctrines of    
salvation and atonement1 of the person  
of ,christ and of the influence of the  
,holy ,spirit1 as construed from this   
centre would be1 may without difficulty 
be surmised4 ,the whole of ,channing's  
teaching is bathed in an atmosphere of  
the reverent love of ,god which is the  
very source of his enthusiasm for man4  
,,bushnell   ,a very different man was  
,horace ,bushnell1 born in the year of  
,channing's licensure1 #ahjb4 ,he was   
not bred under the influence of the     
strict ,calvinism of his day4 ,his      
father was an ,arminian4 ,edwards had   
made ,arminians detested in ,new        
,england4 ,his mother had been reared in
 the ,episcopal ,church4 ,she was of    
,huguenot origin4 ,when about seventeen1
 while tending a carding-machine1 he    
wrote a paper in which he endeavoured to
 bring ,calvinism into logical coherence

 and1 in the interest of sound reason1  
to correct ,st4 ,paul's willingness to  
be accursed for the sake of his         
brethren4 ,he graduated from ,yale      
,college in #ahbg4 ,he taught there     
while studying law after #ahbi4 ,he     
describes himself at this period as     
sound in ethics and sceptical in        
religion1 the soundness of his morals   
being due to nature and training1 the   
scepticism1 to the theology in which he 
was involved4 ,his law studies were     
complete1 yet he turned to the ministry4
 ,he had been born on the orthodox side 
of the great contention in which        
,channing was a leader of the liberals  
in the days of which we speak4 ,he never
 saw any reason to change this relation4
 ,his clerical colleagues1 for half a   
life-time1 sought to change it for him4 
,in #ahcc he was ordained and installed 
as minister of the ,north ,church in    
,hartford1 a pastorate which he never   
left4 ,the process of disintegration of 
the orthodox body was continuing4 ,there

 was almost as much rancour between the 
old and the new orthodoxy as between    
orthodox and ,unitarians themselves4    
,almost before his career was well begun
 an incurable disease fastened itself   
upon him4 ,not much later1 all the      
severity of theological strife befell   
him4 ,between these two we have to think
 of him doing his work and keeping his  
sense of humour4  ,his earliest book of 
consequence was on ,christian ,nurture1 
published in #ahdf4 ,consistent         
,calvinism presupposes in its converts  
mature years4 ,even an adult must pass  
through waters deep for him4 ,he is not 
a sinful child of the ,father4 ,he is a 
being totally depraved and damned to    
everlasting punishment4 ,god becomes his
 ,father only after he is redeemed4 ,the
 revivalists' theory ,bushnell bitterly 
opposed4 ,it made of religion a         
transcendental matter which belonged on 
the outside of life1 a kind of          
miraculous epidemic4 ,he repudiated the 
prevailing individualism4 ,he           

anticipated much that is now being said 
concerning heredity1 environment and    
subconsciousness4 ,he revived the sense 
of the ,church in which ,puritanism had 
been so sadly lacking4 ,the book is a   
classic1 one of the rich treasures which
 the nineteenth century offers to the   
twentieth4  ,bushnell1 so far as one can
 judge1 had no knowledge of ,kant4 ,he  
is1 nevertheless1 dealing with ,kant's  
own problem1 of the theory of knowledge1
 in his rather diffuse ',dissertation on
 ,language1' which is prefixed to the   
volume which bears the title ,god in    
,christ1 #ahdi4 ,he was following his   
living principle1 the reference of      
doctrine to conscience4 ,god must be a  
'right ,god4' ,dogma must make no       
assertion concerning ,god which will not
 stand this test4 ,not alone does the   
dogma make such assertions4 ,the        
,scripture makes them as well4 ,how can 
this be8 ,what is the relation of       
language to thought and of thought to   
fact8 ,how can the language of          

,scripture be explained1 and yet the    
reality of the revelation not be        
explained away8 ,there is a touching    
interest which attaches to this         
,hartford minister1 working out1 alone  
and clumsily1 a problem the solution of 
which the greatest minds of the age had 
been gradually bringing to perfection   
for three-quarters of a century4  ,in   
the year #ahdh ,bushnell was invited to 
give addresses at the ,commencements of 
three divinity schools3 that at         
,harvard1 then unqualifiedly ,unitarian2
 that at ,andover1 where the battle with
 ,unitarianism had been fought2 and that
 at ,yale1 where ,bushnell had been     
trained4 ,the address at ,cambridge was 
on the subject of the ,atonement2 the   
one at ,new ,haven on the ,divinity of  
,christ1 including ,bushnell's doctrine 
of the trinity2 the one at ,andover on  
,dogma and ,spirit1 a plea for the      
cessation of strife4 ,he says squarely  
of the old school theories of the       
atonement1 which represent ,christ as   

suffering the penalty of the law in our 
stead3 ',they are capable1 one and all  
of them1 of no light in which they do   
not offend some right sentiment of our  
moral being4 ,if the great ,redeemer1 in
 the excess of his goodness1 consents to
 receive the penal woes of the world in 
his person1 and if that offer is        
accepted1 what does it signify1 save    
that ,god will have his modicum of      
suffering somehow2 and if he lets the   
guilty go he will yet satisfy himself   
out of the innocent8' ,the vicariousness
 of love1 the identification of the     
sufferer with the sinner1 in the sense  
that the ,saviour is involved by his    
desire to help us in the woes which     
naturally follow sin1 this ,bushnell    
mightily affirmed4 ,yet there is no     
pretence that he used vicariousness or  
satisfaction in the same sense in which 
his adversaries did4 ,he is             
magnificently free from all such        
indirection4 ,in the ,new ,haven address
 there is this same combination of fire 

and light4 ,the chief theological value 
of the doctrine of the trinity1 as      
maintained by the ,new ,england         
,calvinistic teachers1 had been to      
furnish the dramatis person for the     
doctrine of the atonement4 ,in the      
speculation as to the negotiation of    
this substitutionary transaction1 the   
language of the theologians had         
degenerated into stark tritheism4       
,edwards1 describing the councils of the
 trinity1 spoke of the three persons as 
'they4' ,bushnell saw that any proper   
view of the unity of ,god made the      
forensic idea of the atonement          
incredible4 ,he sought to replace the   
ontological notion of the trinity by    
that of a trinity of revelation1 which  
held for him the practical truths by    
which his faith was nourished1 and yet  
avoided the contradictions which the    
other doctrine presented both to reason 
and faith4 ,bushnell would have been far
 from claiming that he was the first to 
make this fight4 ,the ,american         

,unitarians had been making it for more 
than a generation4 ,the ,unitarian      
protest was wholesome4 ,it was          
magnificent4 ,it was providential1 but  
it paused in negation4 ,it never        
advanced to construction4 ,bushnell's   
significance is not that he fought this 
battle1 but that he fought it from the  
ranks of the orthodox ,church4 ,he      
fought it with a personal equipment     
which ,channing had not had4 ,he was    
decades later in his work4 ,he took up  
the central religious problem when      
,channing's successors were following   
either ,emerson or ,parker4  ,the       
,andover address consisted in the       
statement of ,bushnell's views of the   
causes which had led to the schism in   
the ,new ,england ,church4 ,a single    
quotation may give the key-note of the  
discourse3--',we had on our side an     
article of the creed which asserted a   
metaphysical trinity4 ,that made the    
assertion of the metaphysical unity     
inevitable and desirable4 ,we had       

theories of atonement1 of depravity1 of 
original sin1 which required the        
appearance of antagonistic theories4 ,on
 our side1 theological culture was so   
limited that we took what was really    
only our own opinion for the unalterable
 truth of ,god4 ,on the other side1 it  
was so limited that men1 perceiving the 
insufficiency of dogma1 took the        
opposite contention with the same       
seriousness and totality of conviction4 
,they asserted liberty1 as indeed they  
must1 to vindicate their revolt4 ,they  
produced1 meantime1 the most intensely  
human and1 in that sense1 the most      
intensely opinionated religion ever     
invented4'   ,,the ,,catholic ,,revival 
,the ,oxford ,movement has been spoken  
of as a reaction against the so-called  
,oriel ,movement1 a conservative        
tendency over against an intellectualist
 and progressive one4 ,in a measure the 
personal animosities within the ,oxford 
circle may be accounted for in this way4
 ,the ,tractarian ,movement1 however1   

which issued1 on the one hand1 in the   
going over of ,newman to the ,church of 
,rome and1 on the other1 in a great     
revival of ,catholic principles within  
the ,anglican ,church itself1 stands in 
a far larger setting4 ,it was not merely
 an ,english or insular movement4 ,it   
was a wave from a continental flood4 ,on
 its own showing it was not merely an   
ecclesiastical movement4 ,it had        
political and social aims as well4      
,there was a universal ,european        
reaction against the ,enlightenment and 
the ,revolution4 ,that reaction was not 
simple1 but complex4 ,it was a revolt of
 the conservative spirit from the new   
ideals which had been suddenly          
translated into portentous realities4   
,it was marked everywhere by hatred of  
the eighteenth century with all its ways
 and works4 ,on the one side we have the
 revolutionary thesis1 the rights of    
man1 the authority of reason1 the       
watchwords liberty1 equality1           
fraternity4 ,on the other side stood    

forth those who were prepared to assert 
the meaning of community1 the continuity
 of history1 spiritual as well as civil 
authority as the basis of order1 and    
order as the condition of the highest   
good4 ,in literature the tendency       
appears as romanticism1 in politics as  
legitimism1 in religion as              
ultramontanism4 ,le ,maistre with his   
,l',eglise gallicane du ,pape2          
,chateaubriand with his ,gnie du        
,christianisme2 ,lamennais with his     
,essai sur l',indifference en ,matire1  
de ,religion1 were1 from #ahbj to #ahfj1
 the exponents of a view which has had  
prodigious consequences for ,france and 
,italy4 ,the romantic movement arose    
outside of ,catholicism4 ,it was        
impersonated in ,herder4 ,friedrich     
,schlegel1 ,werner and others went over 
to the ,roman ,church4 ,the political   
reaction was specifically ,latin and    
,catholic4 ,in the lurid light of       
anarchy ,rome seemed to have a mission  
again4 ,divine right in the ,state must 

be restored through the ,church4 ,the   
,catholic apologetic saw the ,revolution
 as only the logical conclusion of the  
premises of the ,reformation4 ,the      
religious revolt of the sixteenth       
century1 the philosophical revolt of the
 seventeenth1 the political revolt of   
the eighteenth1 the social revolt of the
 nineteenth1 are all parts of one       
dreadful sequence4 ,as the ,church      
lifted up the world after the first     
flood of the barbarians1 so must she    
again lift up the world after the       
devastations made by the more terrible  
barbarians of the eighteenth century4   
,england had indeed stood a little      
outside of the cyclone which had        
devastated the world from ,coronna to   
,moscow and from the ,channel to the    
,pyramids1 but she had been exhausted in
 putting down the revolution4 ,only     
,god's goodness had preserved ,england4 
,the logic of ,puritanism would have    
been the same4 ,indeed1 in ,england the 
,state was weaker and worse than were   

the states upon the ,continent4 ,for    
since #afhh it had been a popular and   
constitutional monarchy4 ,in ,frederick 
,william's phrase1 its sovereign took   
his crown from the gutter4 ,the ,church 
was through and through ,erastian1 a    
creature of the ,state4 ,bishops were   
made by party representatives4 ,acts    
like the ,reform ,bills1 the course of  
the ,government in the matter of the    
,irish ,church1 were steps which would  
surely bring ,england to the pass which 
,france had reached in #aghi4 ,the      
source of such acts was wrong4 ,it was  
with the people4 ,it was in men1 not in 
,god4 ,it was in reason1 not in         
authority4 ,it would be difficult to    
overstate the strength of this          
reactionary sentiment in important      
circles in ,england at the end of the   
third decade of the nineteenth century4 
,,the ,,oxford ,,movement   ,in so far  
as that complex of causes just alluded  
to made of the ,oxford ,movement or the 
,catholic revival a movement of life1   

ecclesiastical1 social and political as 
well1 its history falls outside the     
purpose of this book4 ,we proposed to   
deal with the history of thought4       
,reactionary movements have frequently  
got on without much thought4 ,they have 
left little deposit of their own in the 
realm of ideas4 ,their avowed principle 
has been that of recurrence to that     
which has already been thought1 of      
fidelity to ideas which have long       
prevailed4 ,this is the reason why the  
conservatives have not a large place in 
such a sketch as this4 ,it is not that  
their writings have not often been full 
of high learning and of the subtlest of 
reasoning4 ,it is only that the ideas   
about which they reason do not belong to
 the history of the nineteenth century4 
,they belong1 on the earnest contention 
of the conservatives themselves--those  
of ,protestants1 to the history of the  
,reformation--and of ,catholics1 both   
,anglican and ,roman1 to the history of 
the early or medival ,church4           

,nevertheless1 when with passionate     
conviction a great man1 taking the      
reactionary course1 thinks the problem  
through again from his own point of     
view1 then we have a real phenomenon in 
the history of contemporary thought4    
,when such an one wrestles before ,god  
to give reason to himself and to his    
fellows for the faith that is in him1   
then the reactionary's reasoning is as  
imposing and suggestive as is any other4
 ,he leaves in his work an intellectual 
deposit which must be considered4 ,he   
makes a contribution which must be      
reckoned with1 even more seriously1     
perhaps1 by those who dissent from it   
than by those who may agree with it4    
,such deposit ,newman and the           
,tractarian movement certainly did make4
 ,they offered a rationale of the       
reaction4 ,they gave to the ,catholic   
revival a standing in the world of      
ideas1 not merely in the world of       
action4 ,whether their reasoning has    
weight to-day1 is a question upon which 

opinion is divided4 ,yet ,newman and his
 compeers1 by their character and       
standing1 by their distinctively        
,english qualities and by the road of   
reason which they took in the defence of
 ,catholic principles1 made ,catholicism
 ,english again1 in a sense in which it 
had not been ,english for three hundred 
years4 ,yet though ,newman brought to   
the ,roman ,church in ,england1 on his  
conversion to it1 a prestige and        
qualities which in that communion were  
unequalled1 he was never persona grata  
in that ,church4 ,outwardly the ,roman  
,catholic revival in ,england was not in
 large measure due to ,newman and his   
arguments4 ,it was due far more to men  
like ,wiseman and ,manning1 who were not
 men of argument but of deeds4          
,,newman   ,john ,henry ,newman was born
 in #ahja1 the son of a ,london banker4 
,his mother was of ,huguenot descent4   
,he came under ,calvinistic influence4  
,through study especially1 of ,romaine  
,on ,faith he became the subject of an  

inward conversion1 of which in #ahfd he 
wrote3 ',i am still more certain of it  
than that ,i have hands and feet4'      
,thomas ,scott1 the evangelical1 moved  
him4 ,before he was sixteen he made a   
collection of ,scripture texts in proof 
of the doctrine of the trinity4 ,from   
,newton ,on the ,prophecies he learned  
to identify the ,pope with              
anti-,christ--a doctrine by which1 he   
adds1 his imagination was stained up to 
the year #ahdc4 ,in his ,apologia1      
#ahfe1 he declares3 ',from the age of   
fifteen1 dogma has been a fundamental   
principle of my religion4 ,i cannot     
enter into the idea of any other sort of
 religion4' ,at the age of twenty-one1  
two years after he had taken his degree1
 he came under very different           
influences4 ,he passed from ,trinity    
,college to a fellowship in ,oriel4 ,to 
use his own phrase1 he drifted in the   
direction of liberalism4 ,he was touched
 by ,whately4 ,he was too logical1 and  
also too dogmatic1 to be satisfied with 

,whately's position4 ,of the years from 
#ahbc to #ahbg ,mozley says3 ',probably 
no one who then knew ,newman could have 
told which way he would go4 ,it is not  
certain that he himself knew4' ,francis 
,w4 ,newman1 ,newman's brother1 who     
later became a ,unitarian1 remembering  
his own years of stress1 speaks with    
embitterment of his elder brother1 who  
was profoundly uncongenial to him4  ,the
 year #ahbg1 in which ,keble's          
,christian ,year was published1 saw     
another change in ,newman's views4      
,illness and bereavement came to him    
with awakening effect4 ,he made the     
acquaintance of ,hurrell ,froude4       
,froude brought ,newman and ,keble      
together4 ,henceforth ,newman bore no   
more traces either of evangelicalism or 
of liberalism4 ,of ,froude it is        
difficult to speak with confidence4 ,his
 brother1 ,james ,anthony ,froude1 the  
historian1 author of the ,nemesis of    
,faith1 #ahdh1 says that he was gifted1 
brilliant1 enthusiastic4 ,newman speaks 

of him with almost boundless praise4    
,two volumes of his sermons1 published  
after his death in #ahcf1 make the      
impression neither of learning nor      
judgment4 ,clearly he had charm4        
,possibly he talked himself into a      
common-room reputation4 ,newman says3   
',froude made me look with admiration   
toward the ,church of ,rome4' ,keble    
never had felt the liberalism through   
which ,newman had passed4 ,cradled as   
the ,church of ,england had been in     
,puritanism1 the latter was to him      
simply evil4 ,opinions differing from   
his own were not simply mistaken1 they  
were sinful4 ,he conceived no religious 
truth outside the ,church of ,england4  
,in the ,christian ,year one perceives  
an influence which ,newman strongly     
felt4 ,it was that of the idea of the   
sacramental significance of all natural 
objects or events4 ,pusey became        
professor of ,hebrew in #ahcj4 ,he lent 
the movement academic standing1 which   
the others could not give4 ,he had been 

in ,germany1 and had published an       
,inquiry into the ,rationalist          
,character of ,german ,theology1 #ahbe4 
,he hardly did more than expose the     
ignorance of ,rose4 ,he was himself     
denounced as a ,german rationalist who  
dared to speak of a new era in theology4
 ,pusey1 mourning the defection of      
,newman1 whom he deeply loved1 gathered 
in #ahdf the forces of the              
,anglo-,catholics and continued in some 
sense a leader to the end of his long   
life in #ahhb4  ,the course of political
 events was fretting the ,conservatives 
intolerably4 ,the agitation for the     
,reform ,bill was taking shape4 ,sir    
,robert ,peel1 the member for ,oxford1  
had introduced a ,bill for the          
emancipation of the ,roman ,catholics4  
,there was violent commotion in ,oxford4
 ,keble and ,newman strenuously opposed 
the measure4 ,in #ahcj there was        
revolution in ,france4 ,in ,england the 
,whigs had come into power4 ,newman's   
mind was excited in the last degree4    

',the vital question1' he says1 'is     
this1 how are we to keep the ,church of 
,england from being liberalised8' ,at   
the end of #ahcb ,newman and ,froude    
went abroad together4 ,on this journey1 
as he lay becalmed in the straits of    
,bonifacio1 he wrote his immortal hymn1 
',lead1 ,kindly ,light4' ,he came home  
assured that he had a work to do4       
,keble's ,assize ,sermon on the         
,national ,apostasy1 preached in ,july  
#ahcc1 on the ,sunday after ,newman's   
return to ,oxford1 kindled the          
conflagration which had been long       
preparing4 ,newman conceived the idea of
 the ,tracts for the ,times as a means  
of expressing the feelings and          
propagating the opinions which deeply   
moved him4 ',from the first1' he says1  
'my battle was with liberalism4 ,by     
liberalism ,i mean the anti-dogmatic    
principle4 ,secondly1 my aim was the    
assertion of the visible ,church with   
sacraments and rites and definite       
religious teaching on the foundation of 

dogma2 and thirdly1 the assertion of the
 ,anglican ,church as opposed to the    
,church of ,rome4' ,newman grew greatly 
in personal influence4 ,his afternoon   
sermons at ,st4 ,mary's exerted         
spiritual power4 ,they deserved so to   
do4 ,here he was at his best4 ,all of   
his strength and little of his weakness 
shows4 ,his insight1 his subtility1 his 
pathos1 his love of souls1 his          
marvellous play of dramatic as well as  
of spiritual faculty1 are in evidence4  
,keble and ,pusey were busying          
themselves with the historical aspects  
of the question4 ,pusey began the       
,library of the ,fathers1 the most      
elaborate literary monument of the      
movement4 ,nothing could be more amazing
 than the uncritical quality of the     
whole performance4 ,the first check to  
the movement came in #ahch1 when the    
,bishop of ,oxford animadverted upon the
 ,tracts4 ,newman professed his         
willingness to stop them4 ,the ,bishop  
did not insist4 ,newman's own thought   

moved rapidly onward in the only course 
which was still open to it4  ,newman had
 been bred in the deepest reverence for 
,scripture4 ,in a sense that reverence  
never left him1 though it changed its   
form4 ,he saw that it was absurd to     
appeal to the ,bible in the old way as  
an infallible source of doctrine4 ,how  
could truth be infallibly conveyed in   
defective and fallible expressions8     
,newman's own studies in criticism1 by  
no means profound1 led him to this      
correct conclusion4 ,this was the end   
for him of evangelical ,protestantism4  
,the recourse was then to the infallible
 ,church4 ,infallible guide and         
authority one must have4 ,without these 
there can be no religion4 ,to trust to  
reason and conscience as conveying      
something of the light of ,god is       
impossible4 ,to wait in patience and to 
labour in fortitude for the increase of 
that light is unendurable4 ,one must    
have certainty4 ,there can be no        
certainty by the processes of the mind  

from within4 ,this can come only by     
miraculous certification from without4  
,according to ,newman the authority of  
the ,church should never have been      
impaired in the ,reformation4 ,or       
rather1 in his view of that movement1   
this authority1 for truly ,christian    
men1 had never been impaired4 ,the      
intellect is aggressive1 capricious1    
untrustworthy4 ,its action in religious 
matters is corrosive1 dissolving1       
sceptical4 ',man's energy of intellect  
must be smitten hard and thrown back by 
infallible authority1 if religion is to 
be saved at all4' ,newman's philosophy  
was utterly sceptical1 although1 unlike 
most absolute philosophical sceptics1 he
 had a deep religious experience4 ,the  
most complete secularist1 in his        
negation of religion1 does not differ   
from ,newman in his low opinion of the  
value of the surmises of the mind as to 
the transcendental meaning of life and  
the world4 ,he differs from ,newman only
 in lacking that which to ,newman was   

the most indefeasible thing which he had
 at all1 namely1 religious experience4  
,newman was the child of his age1 though
 no one ever abused more fiercely the   
age of which he was the child4 ,he      
supposed that he believed in religion on
 the basis of authority4 ,quite the     
contrary1 he believed in religion       
because he had religion or1 as he says1 
in a magnificent passage in one of his  
parochial sermons1 because religion had 
him4 ,his scepticism forbade him to     
recognise that this was the basis of his
 belief4 ,his diremption of human nature
 was absolute4 ,the soul was of ,god4   
,the mind was of the devil4 ,he dare not
 trust his own intellect concerning this
 inestimable treasure of his experience4
 ,he dare not trust intellect at all4   
,he knew not whither it might lead him4 
,the mind cannot be broken to the belief
 of a power above it4 ,it must have its 
stiff neck bent to recognise its        
,creator4  ,his whole book1 ,the        
,grammar of ,assent1 #ahgj1 is pervaded 

by the intensest philosophical          
scepticism4 ,scepticism supplies its    
motives1 determines its problems1       
necessitates its distinctions1 rules    
over the succession and gradation of its
 arguments4 ,the whole aim of the work  
is to withdraw religion and the proofs  
of it1 from the region of reason into   
the realm of conscience and imagination1
 where the arguments which reign may    
satisfy personal experience without     
alleging objective validity or being    
able to bear the criticism which tests  
it4 ,again1 he is the perverse1         
unconscious child of the age which he   
curses4 ,had not ,kant and              
,schleiermacher1 ,coleridge and         
,channing sought1 does not ,ritschl     
seek1 to remove religion from the realm 
of metaphysics and to bring it within   
the realm of experience8 ,they had1     
however1 pursued the same end by        
different means4 ,one is reminded of    
that saying of ,gretchen concerning     
,mephistopheles3 ',he says the same     

thing with the pastor1 only in different
 words4' ,newman says the same words1   
but means a different thing4  ,assuming 
the reduction of religion to experience1
 in which ,kant and ,schleiermacher     
would have agreed1 and asserting the    
worthlessness of mentality1 which they  
would have denied1 we are not surprised 
to hear ,newman say that without        
,catholicism doubt is invincible4 ',the 
,church's infallibility is the provision
 adopted by the mercy of the ,creator to
 preserve religion in the world4        
,outside the ,catholic ,church all      
things tend to atheism4 ,the ,catholic  
,church is the one face to face         
antagonist1 able to withstand and baffle
 the fierce energy of passion and the   
all-dissolving scepticism of the mind4  
,i am a ,catholic by virtue of my belief
 in ,god4 ,if ,i should be asked why ,i 
believe in ,god1 ,i should answer1      
because ,i believe in myself4 ,i find it
 impossible to believe in myself1       
without believing also in the existence 

of him who lives as a personal1         
all-seeing1 all-judging being in my     
conscience4' ,these passages are mainly 
taken from the ,apologia1 written long  
after ,newman had gone over to the      
,roman ,church4 ,they perfectly describe
 the attitude of his mind toward the    
,anglican ,church1 so long as he        
believed this1 and not the ,roman1 to be
 the true ,church4 ,he had once thought 
that a man could hold a position midway 
between the ,protestantism which he     
repudiated and the ,romanism which he   
still resisted4 ,he stayed in the via   
media so long as he could4 ,but in #ahci
 he began to have doubts about the      
,anglican order of succession4 ,the     
catholicity of ,rome began to overshadow
 the apostolicity of ,anglicanism4 ,the 
,anglican formularies cannot be at      
variance with the teachings of the      
authoritative and universal ,church4    
,this is the problem which the last of  
the ,tracts1 ,tract ,ninety1 sets       
itself4 ,it is one of those which       

,newman wrote4 ,one must find the sense 
of the ,roman ,church in the            
,thirty-,nine ,articles4 ,this tract is 
prefaced by an extraordinary            
disquisition upon reserve in the        
communication of religious knowledge4   
,god's revelations of himself to mankind
 have always been a kind of veil4 ,truth
 is the reward of holiness4 ,the        
,fathers were holy men4 ,therefore what 
the ,fathers said must be true4 ,the    
principle of reserve the ,articles      
illustrate4 ,they do not mean what they 
say4 ,they were written in an uncatholic
 age1 that is1 in the age of the        
,reformation4 ,they were written by     
,catholic men4 ,else how can the ,church
 of ,england be now a ,catholic ,church8
 ,through their reserve they were       
acceptable in an uncatholic age4 ,they  
cannot be uncatholic in spirit1 else how
 should they be identical in meaning    
with the great ,catholic creeds8 ,then  
follows an exposition of every important
 article of the thirty-nine1 an effort  

to interpret each in the sense of the   
,roman ,catholic ,church of to-day4     
,four tutors published a protest against
 the tract4 ,formal censure was passed  
upon it4 ,it was now evident to ,newman 
that his place in the leadership of the 
,oxford ,movement was gone4 ,from this  
time1 the spring of #ahda1 he says he   
was on his deathbed as regards the      
,church of ,england4 ,he withdrew to    
,littlemore and established a           
brotherhood there4 ,in the autumn of    
#ahdc he resigned the parochial charge  
of ,st4 ,mary's at ,oxford4 ,on the #ith
 of ,october #ahde he was formally      
admitted to the ,roman ,church4 ,on the 
#fth of ,october ,ernest ,renan had     
formally severed his connexion with that
 ,church4  ,it is a strange thing that  
in his ,essay on the ,development of    
,christian ,doctrine1 written in #ahde1 
,newman himself should have advanced    
substantially ,hampden's contention4    
,here are written many things concerning
 the development of doctrine which      

commend themselves to minds conversant  
with the application of historical      
criticism to the whole dogmatic         
structure of the ,christian ages4 ,the  
purpose is with ,newman entirely        
polemical1 the issue exactly that which 
one would not have foreseen4 ,precisely 
because the development of doctrine is  
so obvious1 because no historical point 
can be found at which the growth of     
doctrine ceased and the rule of faith   
was once for all settled1 therefore an  
infallible authority outside of the     
development must have existed from the  
beginning1 to provide a means of        
distinguishing true development from    
false4 ,this infallible guide is1 of    
course1 the ,church4 ,it seems          
incredible that ,newman could escape    
applying to the ,church the same        
argument which he had so skilfully      
applied to ,scripture and dogmatic      
history4 ,similar is the case with the  
argument of the ,grammar of ,assent4    
',no man is certain of a truth who can  

endure the thought of its contrary4' ,if
 the reason why ,i cannot endure the    
thought of the contradictory of a belief
 which ,i have made my own1 is that so  
to think brings me pain and darkness1   
this does not prove my truth4 ,if my    
belief ever had its origin in reason1 it
 must be ever refutable by reason4 ,it  
is not corroborated by the fact that ,i 
do not wish to see anything that would  
refute it4#h ,this last fact may be in  
the highest degree an act of            
arbitrariness4 ,to make the             
impossibility of thinking the opposite1 
the test of truth1 and then to shut     
one's eyes to those evidences which     
might compel one to think the opposite1 
is the essence of irrationality4 ,one   
attains by this method indefinite       
assertiveness1 but not certainty4       
,newman lived in some seclusion in the  
,oratory of ,st4 ,philip ,neri in       
,birmingham for many years4 ,a few      
distinguished men1 and a number of his  
followers1 in all not more than a       

hundred and fifty1 went over to the     
,roman ,church after him4 ,the defection
 was never so great as1 in the first    
shock1 it was supposed that it would be4
 ,the outward influence of ,newman upon 
the ,anglican ,church then ceased4 ,but 
the ideas which he put forth have       
certainly been of great influence in    
that ,church to this day4 ,most men know
 the portrait of the great cardinal1 the
 wide forehead1 ploughed deep with      
horizontal furrows1 the pale cheek1 down
 which 'long lines of shadow slope1     
which years and anxious thought and     
suffering give4' ,one looks into the    
wonderful face of those last            
days--,newman lived to his ninetieth    
year--and wonders if he found in the    
infallible ,church the peace which he so
 earnestly sought4  ,footnote #h3       
,fairbairn1 ,catholicism1 ,roman and    
,anglican1 p4 #aeg4   ,,modernism   ,it 
was said that the ,oxford ,movement     
furnished the rationale of the reaction4
 ,many causes1 of course1 combine to    

make the situation of the ,roman ,church
 and the status of religion in the      
,latin countries of the ,continent the  
lamentable one that it is4 ,that        
position is worst in those countries    
where the ,roman ,church has most nearly
 had free play4 ,the alienation both of 
the intellectual and civil life from    
organised religion is grave4 ,that the  
,roman ,church occupies in ,england     
to-day a position more favourable than  
in almost any nation on the ,continent1 
and better than it occupied in ,england 
at the beginning of the nineteenth      
century1 is due in large measure to the 
general influence of the movement with  
which we have been dealing4 ,the        
,anglican ,church was at the beginning  
of the nineteenth century preponderantly
 evangelical1 low-church and conscious  
of itself as ,protestant4 ,at the       
beginning of the twentieth it is        
dominantly ritualistic and disposed to  
minimise its relation to the            
,reformation4 ,this resurgence of       

,catholic principles is another effect  
of the movement of which we speak4      
,other factors must have wrought for    
this result besides the body of         
arguments which ,newman and his compeers
 offered4 ,the argument itself1 the mere
 intellectual factor1 is not adequate4  
,there is an inherent contradiction in  
the effort to ground in reason an       
authority which is to take the place of 
reason4 ,yet round and round this circle
 all the labours of ,john ,henry ,newman
 go4 ,cardinal ,manning felt this4 ,the 
victory of the ,church was not to be won
 by argument4 ,it is well known that    
,newman opposed the decree of           
infallibility4 ,it cannot be said that  
upon this point his arguments had great 
weight4 ,if one assumes that truth comes
 to us externally through               
representatives of ,god1 and if the     
truth is that which they assert1 then in
 the last analysis what they assert is  
truth4 ,if one has given in to such     
authority because one distrusts his     

reason1 then it is querulous to complain
 that the deliverances of authority do  
not comport with reason4 ,there may be1 
of course1 the greatest interest in the 
struggle as to the instance in which    
this authority is to be lodged4 ,this   
interest attaches to the age-long       
struggle between ,pope and ,council4 ,it
 attaches to the dramatic struggle of   
,dllinger1 ,dupanloup1 ,lord ,acton and 
the rest1 in #ahgj4 ,once the ,church   
has spoken there is1 for the advocate of
 authoritative religion1 no logic but to
 submit4  ,similarly as to the          
,encyclical and ,syllabus of ,errors of 
#ahfd1 which forecast the present       
conflict concerning ,modernism4 ,the    
,syllabus had a different atmosphere    
from that which any ,englishman in the  
sixties would have given it4 ,had not   
,newman1 however1 made passionate       
warfare on the liberalism of the modern 
world8 ,was it not merely a question of 
degrees8 ,was ,gladstone's attitude     
intelligible8 ,the contrast of two      

principles in life and religion1 the    
principles of authority and of the      
spirit1 is being brought home to men's  
consciousness as it has never been      
before4 ,one reads ,il ,santo and learns
 concerning the death of ,fogazzaro1 one
 looks into the literature relating to  
,tyrrell1 one sees the fate of ,loisy1  
comparing the really majestic           
achievement in his works and the spirit 
of his ,simple ,reflections with the    
,encyclical ,pascendi1 #aijg4 ,one      
understands why these men have done what
 they could to remain within the ,roman 
,church4 ,one recalls the attitude of   
,dllinger to the inauguration of the    
,old ,catholic ,movement1 reflects upon 
the relative futility of the ,old       
,catholic ,church1 and upon the position
 of ,hyacinthe ,loyson4 ,one appreciates
 the feeling of these men that it is    
impossible1 from without1 to influence  
as they would the ,church which they    
have loved4 ,the present difficulty of  
influencing it from within seems almost 

insuperable4 ,the history of ,modernism 
as an effective contention in the world 
of ,christian thought seems scarcely    
begun4 ,the opposition to ,modernism is 
not yet a part of the history of        
thought4   ,,robertson   ,in no life are
 reflected more perfectly the spiritual 
conflicts of the fifth decade of the    
nineteenth century than in that of      
,frederick ,w4 ,robertson4 ,no mind     
worked itself more triumphantly out of  
these difficulties4 ,descended from a   
family of ,scottish soldiers1           
evangelical in piety1 a student in      
,oxford in #ahcg1 repelled by the       
,oxford ,movement1 he undertook his     
ministry under a morbid sense of        
responsibility4 ,he reacted violently   
against his evangelicalism4 ,he         
travelled abroad1 read enormously1 was  
plunged into an agony which threatened  
mentally to undo him4 ,he took his      
charge at ,brighton in #ahdg1 still only
 thirty-one years old1 and at once shone
 forth in the splendour of his genius4  

,a martyr to disease and petty          
persecution1 dying at thirty-seven1 he  
yet left the impress of one of the      
greatest preachers whom the ,church of  
,england has produced4 ,he left no      
formal literary work such as he had     
designed4 ,of his sermons we have almost
 none from his own manuscripts4 ,yet his
 influence is to-day almost as intense  
as when the sermons were delivered4 ,it 
is1 before all1 the wealth and depth of 
his thought1 the reality of the content 
of the sermons1 which commands          
admiration4 ,they are a classic         
refutation of the remark that one cannot
 preach theology4 ,out of them1 even in 
their fragmentary state1 a              
well-articulated system might be made4  
,he brought to his age the living       
message of a man upon whom the best     
light of his age had shone4   ,,phillips
 ,,brooks   ,something of the same sort 
may be said concerning ,phillips        
,brooks4 ,he inherited on his father's  
side the sober rationalism and the      

humane and secular interest of the      
earlier ,unitarianism1 on his mother's  
side the intensity of evangelical       
pietism with the ,calvinistic form of   
thought4 ,the conflict of these opposing
 tendencies in ,new ,england was at that
 time so great that ,brooks's parents   
sought refuge with the low-church       
element in the ,episcopal ,church4      
,brooks's education at ,harvard         
,college1 where he took his degree in   
#ahee1 as also at ,alexandria1 and still
 more1 his reading and experience1 made 
him sympathetic with that which1 in     
,england in those years1 was called the 
,broad ,church party4 ,he was deeply    
influenced by ,campbell and ,maurice4   
,later well known in ,england1 he was   
the compeer of the best spirits of his  
generation there4 ,deepened by the      
experience of the great war1 he held in 
succession two pulpits of large         
influence1 dying as ,bishop of          
,massachusetts in #ahic4 ,there is a    
theological note about his preaching1 as

 in the case of ,robertson4 ,often it is
 the same note4 ,brooks had passed      
through no such crisis as had           
,robertson4 ,he had flowered into the   
greatness of rational belief4 ,his      
sermons are a contribution to the       
thinking of his age4 ,we have much      
finished material of this kind from his 
own hand1 and a book or two besides4    
,his service through many years as      
preacher to his university was of       
inestimable worth4 ,the presentation of 
ever-advancing thought to a great public
 constituency is one of the most        
difficult of tasks4 ,it is also one of  
the most necessary4 ,the fusion of such 
thoughtfulness with spiritual impulse   
has rarely been more perfectly achieved 
than in the preaching of ,phillips      
,brooks4   ,,the ,,broad ,,church   ,we 
have used the phrase1 the ,broad ,church
 party4 ,stanley had employed the       
adjective to describe the real character
 of the ,english ,church1 over against  
the antithesis of the ,low ,church and  

the ,high4 ,the designation adhered to a
 group of which ,stanley was himself a  
type4 ,they were not bound together in a
 party4 ,they had no ecclesiastical end 
in view4 ,they were of a common spirit4 
,it was not the spirit of               
evangelicalism4 ,still less was it that 
of the ,tractarians4 ,it was that which 
,robertson had manifested4 ,it aimed to 
hold the faith with an open mind in all 
the intellectual movement of the age4   
,maurice should be enumerated here1 with
 reservations4 ,kingsley beyond question
 belonged to this group4 ,there was     
great ardour among them for the         
improvement of social conditions1 a     
sense of the social mission of          
,christianity4 ,there grew up what was  
called a ,christian ,socialist movement1
 which1 however1 never attained or      
sought a political standing4 ,the ,broad
 ,church movement seemed1 at one time1  
assured of ascendancy in the ,church of 
,england4 ,its aims appeared congruous  
with the spirit of the times4 ,yet ,dean

 ,fremantle esteems himself perhaps the 
last survivor of an illustrious company4
  ,the men who in #ahfj published the   
volume known as ,essays and ,reviews    
would be classed with the ,broad        
,church4 ,in its authorship were        
associated seven scholars1 mostly       
,oxford men4 ,some one described ,essays
 and ,reviews as the ,tract ,ninety of  
the ,broad ,church4 ,it stirred public  
sentiment and brought the authors into  
conflict with authority in a somewhat   
similar way4 ,the living antagonism of  
the ,broad ,church was surely with the  
,tractarians rather than with the       
evangelicals4 ,yet the most significant 
of the essays1 those on miracles and on 
prophecy1 touched opinions common to    
both these groups4 ,jowett1 later       
,master of ,balliol1 contributed an     
essay on the ',interpretation of        
,scripture4' ,it hardly belongs to      
,jowett's best work4 ,yet the           
controversy then precipitated may have  
had to do with ,jowett's adherence to   

,platonic studies instead of his        
devoting himself to theology4 ,the most 
decisive of the papers was that of      
,baden ,powell on the ',study of the    
,evidences of ,christianity4' ,it was   
mainly a discussion of the miracle4 ,it 
was radical and conclusive4 ,the essay  
closes with an allusion to ,darwin's    
,origin of ,species1 which had then just
 appeared4 ,baden ,powell died shortly  
after its publication4 ,the fight came  
on ,rowland ,williams's paper upon      
,bunson's ,biblical ,researches4 ,it was
 really upon the prophecies and their   
use in ',christian ,evidences4' ,baron  
,bunsen was not a great archologist1 but
 he brought to the attention of ,english
 readers that which was being done in   
,germany in this field4 ,williams used  
the archological material to rectify the
 current theological notions concerning 
ancient history4 ,a certain type of     
,english mind has always shown zeal for 
the interpretation of prophecy4         
,williams's thesis1 briefly put1 was    

this3 the ,bible does not always give   
the history of the past with accuracy2  
it does not give the history of the     
future at all2 prophecy means spiritual 
teaching1 not secular prognostication4  
,a reader of our day may naturally feel 
that ,wilson1 with his paper on the     
',national ,church1' made the greatest  
contribution4 ,he built indeed upon     
,coleridge1 but he had a larger horizon4
 ,he knew the arguments of the great    
,frenchmen of his day and of their      
,english imitators who1 in ,benn's      
phrase1 narrowed and perverted the ideal
 of a world-wide humanity into that of a
 ,church founded on dogmas and          
administered by clericals4 ,wilson      
argued that in ,jesus' teaching the     
basis of the religious community is     
ethical4 ,the ,church is but the        
instrument for carrying out the will of 
,god as manifest in the moral law4 ,the 
realisation of the will of ,god must    
extend beyond the limits of the         
,church's activity1 however widely these

 are drawn4 ,there arose a violent      
agitation4 ,williams and ,wilson were   
prosecuted4 ,the case was tried in the  
,court of ,arches4 ,williams was        
defended by no less a person than       
,fitzjames ,stephen4 ,the two divines   
were sentenced to a year's suspension4  
,this decision was reversed by the ,lord
 ,chancellor4 ,fitzjames ,stephen had   
argued that if the men most interested  
in the church1 namely1 its clergy1 are  
the only men who may be punished for    
serious discussion of the facts and     
truths of religion1 then respect on the 
part of the world for the ,church is at 
an end4 ,by this discussion the ,english
 clergy1 even if ,anglo-,catholic1 are  
in a very different position from the   
,roman priests1 over whom encyclicals1  
even if not executed1 are always        
suspended4  ,similar was the issue in   
the case of ,colenso1 ,bishop of ,natal4
 ,equipped mainly with ,cambridge       
mathematics added to purest             
self-devotion1 he had been sent out as a

 missionary bishop4 ,in the process of  
the translation of the ,pentateuch for  
his ,zulus1 he had come to reflect upon 
the problem which the ,old ,testament   
presents4 ,in a manner which is         
altogether marvellous he worked out     
critical conclusions parallel to those  
of ,old ,testament scholars on the      
,continent4 ,he was never really an     
expert1 but in his main contention he   
was right4 ,he adhered to his opinion   
despite severe pressure and was not     
removed from the episcopate4 ,with such 
guarantees it would be strange indeed if
 we could not say that biblical studies 
entered in ,great ,britain1 as also in  
,america1 on a development in which     
scholars of these nations are not behind
 the best scholars of the world4 ,the   
trials for heresy of ,robertson ,smith  
in ,edinburgh and of ,dr4 ,briggs in    
,new ,york have now little living       
interest4 ,yet biblical studies in      
,scotland and ,america were incalculably
 furthered by those discussions4 ,the   

publication of a book like ,supernatural
 ,religion1 #ahgb1 illustrates a        
proclivity not uncommon in              
self-conscious liberal circles1 for     
taking up a contention just when those  
who made it and have lived with it have 
decided to lay it down4 ,however1 the   
names of ,hatch and ,lightfoot alone1   
not to mention the living1 are          
sufficient to warrant the assertions    
above made4         99       99       99
       99       99  ,more than once in  
these chapters we have spoken of the    
service rendered to the progress of     
,christian thought by the criticism and 
interpretation of religion at the hands 
of literary men4 ,that country and age  
may be esteemed fortunate in which      
religion occupies a place such that it  
compels the attention of men of genius4 
,in the history of culture this has by  
no means always been the case4 ,that    
these men do not always speak the       
language of edification is of minor     
consequence4 ,what is of infinite worth 

is that the largest minds of the        
generation shall engage themselves with 
the topic of religion4 ,a history of    
thought concerning ,christianity cannot 
but reckon with the opinions1 for       
example1 of ,carlyle1 of ,emerson1 of   
,matthew ,arnold--to mention only types4
   ,,carlyle   ,carlyle has pictured for
 us his early home at ,ecclefechan on   
the ,border2 his father1 a stone mason  
of the highest character2 his mother    
with her frugal1 pious ways2 the        
minister1 from whom he learned ,latin1  
'the priestliest man ,i ever beheld in  
any ecclesiastical guise4' ,the picture 
of his mother never faded from his      
memory4 ,carlyle was destined for the   
,church4 ,such had been his mother's    
prayer4 ,he took his arts course in     
,edinburgh4 ,in the university1 he says1
 'there was much talk about progress of 
the species1 dark ages1 and the like1   
but the hungry young looked to their    
spiritual nurses and were bidden to eat 
the east wind4' ,he entered ,divinity   

,hall1 but already1 in #ahaf1           
prohibitive doubts had arisen in his    
mind4 ,irving sought to help him4       
,irving was not the man for the task4   
,the ,christianity of the ,church had   
become intellectually incredible to     
,carlyle4 ,for a time he was acutely    
miserable1 bordering upon despair4 ,he  
has described his spiritual deliverance3
 ',precisely that befel me which the    
,methodists call their conversion1 the  
deliverance of their souls from the     
devil and the pit4 ,there burst forth a 
sacred flame of joy in me4' ,with       
,sartor ,resartus his message to the    
world began4 ,it was printed in         
,fraser's ,magazine in #ahcc1 but not   
published separately until #ahch4 ,his  
difficulty in finding a publisher       
embittered him4 ,style had something to 
do with this1 the newness of his message
 had more4 ,then for twenty years he    
poured forth his message4 ,never did a  
man carry such a pair of eyes into the  
great world of ,london or set a more    

peremptory mark upon its notabilities4  
,his best work was done before #ahea4   
,his later years were darkened with much
 misery of body4 ,no one can allege that
 he ever had a happy mind4  ,he was a   
true prophet1 but1 ,elijah-like1 he     
seemed to himself to be alone4 ,his     
derision of the current religion seems  
sometimes needless4 ,yet even that has  
the grand note of sincerity4 ,what he   
desired he in no small measure          
achieved--that his readers should be    
arrested and feel themselves face to    
face with reality4 ,his startling       
intuition1 his intellectual uprightness1
 his grasp upon things as they are1 his 
passion for what ought to be1 made a    
great impression upon his age4 ,it was  
in itself a religious influence4 ,here  
was a mind of giant force1 of sternest  
truthfulness4 ,his untruths were those  
of exaggeration4 ,his injustices were   
those of prejudice4 ,he invested many   
questions of a social and moral1 of a   
political and religious sort with a     

nobler meaning than they had had before4
 ,his ,french ,revolution1 his papers on
 ,chartism1 his unceasing comment on the
 troubled life of the years from #ahcj  
to #ahfe1 are of highest moment for our 
understanding of the growth of that     
social feeling in the midst of which we 
live and work4 ,in his brooding sympathy
 with the downtrodden he was a great    
inaugurator of the social movement4 ,he 
felt the curse of an aristocratic       
society1 yet no one has told us with    
more drastic truthfulness the evils of  
our democratic institutions4 ,his word  
was a great corrective for much         
'rose-water' optimism which prevailed in
 his day4 ,the note of hope is1 however1
 often lacking4 ,the mythology of an    
absentee ,god had faded from him4 ,yet  
the ,god who was clear to his mature    
consciousness1 clear as the sun in the  
heavens1 was a ,god over the world1 to  
judge it inexorably4 ,again1 it is not  
difficult to accumulate evidence in his 
words which looks toward pantheism2 but 

what one may call the religious benefit 
of pantheism1 the sense that ,god is in 
his world1 ,carlyle often loses4        
,materialism is to-day so deeply        
discredited that we find it difficult to
 realise that sixty years ago the       
problem wore a different look4 ,carlyle 
was never weary of pouring out the vials
 of his contempt on 'mud-philosophies'  
and exalting the spirit as against      
matter4 ,never was a man more opposed to
 the idea of a godless world1 in which  
man is his own chief end1 and his       
sensual pleasures the main aims of his  
existence4 ,his insight into the        
consequences of our commercialism and   
luxury and absorption in the outward    
never fails4 ,man is ,god's son1 but the
 effort to realise that sonship in the  
joy and trust of a devout heart and in  
the humble round of daily life sometimes
 seems to him cant or superstition4 ,the
 humble life of godliness made an       
unspeakable appeal to him4 ,he had known
 those who lived that life4 ,his love   

for them was imperishable4 ,yet he had  
so recoiled from the superstitions and  
hypocrisies of others1 the ,eternal in  
his majesty was so ineffable1 all effort
 to approach him so unworthy1 that      
almost instinctively he would call upon 
the man who made the effort1 to desist4 
,so magnificent1 all his life long1 had 
been his protest against the credulity  
and stupidity of men1 against beliefs   
which assert the impossible and blink   
the facts1 that1 for himself1 the great 
objects of faith were held fast to1 so  
to say1 in their naked verity1 with a   
giant's strength4 ,they were            
half-querulously denied all garment and 
embodiment1 lest he also should be found
 credulous and self-deceived4 ,from this
 titan labouring at the foundations of  
the world1 this ,samson pulling down    
temples of the ,philistines on his head1
 this cyclops heaving hills at ships as 
they pass by1 it seems a long way to    
,emerson4 ,yet ,emerson was ,carlyle's  
friend4   ,,emerson   ,arnold said in   

one of his ,american addresses3         
',besides these voices--,newman1        
,carlyle1 ,goethe--there came to us in  
the ,oxford of my youth a voice also    
from this side of the ,atlantic1 a clear
 and pure voice which1 for my ear at any
 rate1 brought a strain as new and      
moving and unforgetable as those others4
 ,lowell has described the apparition of
 ,emerson to your young generation here4
 ,he was your ,newman1 your man of soul 
and genius1 speaking to your bodily     
ears1 a present object for your heart   
and imagination4' ,then he quotes as one
 of the most memorable passages in      
,english speech3 ',trust thyself4       
,accept the place which the divine      
providence has found for you1 the       
society of your contemporaries1 the     
connection of events4 ,great men have   
always done so1 confiding themselves    
childlike to the genius of their age1   
betraying a perception which was        
stirring in their hearts1 working       
through their hands1 dominating their   

whole being4' ,arnold speaks of         
,carlyle's grim insistence upon labour  
and righteousness but of his scorn of   
happiness1 and then says3 ',but ,emerson
 taught happiness in labour1 in         
righteousness and veracity4 ,in all the 
life of the spirit1 happiness and       
eternal hope1 that was ,emerson's       
gospel4 ,by his conviction that in the  
life of the spirit is happiness1 by his 
hope and expectation that this life of  
the spirit will more and more be        
understood and will prevail1 by this    
,emerson was great4'  ,seven of         
,emerson's ancestors were ministers of  
,new ,england churches4 ,he inherited   
qualities of self-reliance1 love of     
liberty1 strenuous virtue1 sincerity1   
sobriety and fearless loyalty to ideals4
 ,the form of his ideals was modified by
 the glow of transcendentalism which    
passed over parts of ,new ,england in   
the second quarter of the nineteenth    
century1 but the spirit in which        
,emerson conceived the laws of life1    

reverenced them and lived them1 was the 
,puritan spirit1 only elevated1 enlarged
 and beautified by the poetic           
temperament4 ,taking his degree from    
,harvard in #ahba1 despising school     
teaching1 stirred by the passion for    
spiritual leadership1 the ministry      
seemed to offer the fairest field for   
its satisfaction4 ,in #ahbe he entered  
the ,divinity ,school in ,harvard to    
prepare himself for the ,unitarian      
ministry4 ,in #ahbi he became associate 
minister of the ,second ,unitarian      
,church in ,boston4 ,he arrived at the  
conviction that the ,lord's ,supper was 
not intended by ,jesus to be a permanent
 sacrament4 ,he found his congregation1 
not unnaturally1 reluctant to agree with
 him4 ,he therefore retired from the    
pastoral office4 ,he was always a       
preacher1 though of a singular order4   
,his task was to befriend and guide the 
inner life of man4 ,the influences of   
this period in his life have been       
enumerated as the liberating philosophy 

of ,coleridge1 the mystical vision of   
,swedenborg1 the intimate poetry of     
,wordsworth1 the stimulating essays of  
,carlyle4 ,his address before the       
graduating class of the ,divinity       
,school at ,cambridge in #ahch was an   
impassioned protest against what he     
called the defects of historical        
,christianity1 its undue reliance upon  
the personal authority of ,jesus1 its   
failure to explore the moral nature of  
man4 ,he made a daring plea for absolute
 self-reliance and new inspiration in   
religion3 ',in the soul let redemption  
be sought4 ,refuse the good models1 even
 those which are sacred in the          
imagination of men4 ,cast conformity    
behind you4 ,acquaint men at first hand 
with deity4' ,he never could have been  
the power he was by the force of his    
negations4 ,his power lay in the wealth1
 the variety1 the beauty and insight    
with which he set forth the positive    
side of his doctrine of the greatness of
 man1 of the presence of ,god in man1 of

 the divineness of life1 of ,god's      
judgment and mercy in the order of the  
world4 ,one sees both the power and the 
limitation of ,emerson's religious      
teaching4 ,at the root of it lay a real 
philosophy4 ,he could not philosophise4 
,he was always passing from the         
principle to its application4 ,he could 
not systematise4 ,he speaks of his      
'formidable tendency to the lapidary    
style4' ,granting that one finds his    
philosophy in fragments1 just as one    
finds his interpretation of religion in 
flashes of marvellous insight1 both are 
worth searching for1 and either1 in     
,coleridge's phrase1 finds us1 whether  
we search for it or not4   ,,arnold     
,what shall we say of ,matthew ,arnold  
himself8 ,without doubt the twenty years
 by which ,arnold was ,newman's junior  
at ,oxford made a great difference in   
the intellectual atmosphere of that     
place1 and of the ,english world of     
letters1 at the time when ,arnold's mind
 was maturing4 ,he was not too late to  

feel the spell of ,newman4 ,his mind was
 hardly one to appreciate the whole     
force of that spell4 ,he was at ,oxford 
too early for the full understanding of 
the limits within which alone the       
scientific conception of the world can  
be said to be true4 ,arnold often       
boasted that he was no metaphysician4   
,he really need never have mentioned the
 fact4 ,the assumption that whatever is 
true can be verified in the sense of the
 precise kind of verification which     
science implies is a very serious       
mistake4 ,yet his whole intellectual    
strength was devoted to the sustaining1 
one cannot say exactly the cause of     
religion1 but certainly that of noble   
conduct1 and to the assertion of the    
elation of duty and the joy of          
righteousness4 ,with all the scorn that 
,arnold pours upon the trust which we   
place in ,god's love1 he yet holds to   
the conviction that 'the power without  
ourselves which makes for righteousness'
 is one upon which we may in rapture    

rely4  ,arnold had convinced himself    
that in an ago such as ours1 which will 
take nothing for granted1 but must      
verify everything1 ,christianity1 in the
 old form of authoritative belief in    
supernatural beings and miraculous      
events1 is no longer tenable4 ,we must  
confine ourselves to such ethical truths
 as can be verified by experience4 ,we  
must reject everything which goes beyond
 these4 ,religion has no more to do with
 supernatural dogma than with           
metaphysical philosophy4 ,it has nothing
 to do with either4 ,it has to do with  
conduct4 ,it is folly to make religion  
depend upon the conviction of the       
existence of an intelligent and moral   
governor of the universe1 as the        
theologians have done4 ,for the object  
of faith in the ethical sense ,arnold   
coined the phrase3 ',the ,eternal not   
ourselves which makes for               
righteousness4' ,so soon as we go beyond
 this1 we enter upon the region of      
fanciful anthropomorphism1 of extra     

belief1 aberglaube1 which always        
revenges itself4 ,these are the main    
contentions of his book1 ,literature and
 ,dogma1 #ahge4  ,one feels the value of
 ,arnold's recall to the sense of the   
literary character of the ,scriptural   
documents1 as urged in his book1 ,saint 
,paul and ,protestantism1 #ahgj1 and    
again to the sense of the influence     
which the imagination of mankind has had
 upon religion4 ,one feels the truth of 
his assertion of our ignorance4 ,one    
feels ,arnold's own deep earnestness4   
,it was his concern that reason and the 
will of ,god should prevail4 ,though he 
was primarily a literary man1 yet his   
great interest was in religion4 ,one    
feels so sincerely that his main        
conclusion is sound1 that it is the more
 trying that his statement of it should 
be often so perverse and his method of  
sustaining it so precarious4 ,it is     
quite certain that the idea of the      
,eternal not ourselves which makes for  
righteousness is far from being the     

clear idea which ,arnold claims4 ,it is 
far from being an idea derived from     
experience or verifiable in experience1 
in the sense which he asserts4 ,it seems
 positively incredible that ,arnold did 
not know that with this conception he   
passed the boundary of the realm of     
science and entered the realm of        
metaphysics1 which he so abhorred4  ,he 
was the eldest son of ,thomas ,arnold of
 ,rugby4 ,he was educated at ,winchester
 and ,rugby and at ,balliol ,college4   
,he was ,professor of ,poetry in ,oxford
 from #aheg to #ahfg4 ,he was an        
inspector of schools4 ,the years of his 
best literary labour were much taken up 
in ways which were wasteful of his rare 
powers4 ,he came by literary intuition  
to an idea of ,scripture which others   
had built up from the point of view of a
 theory of knowledge and by             
investigation of the facts4 ,he is the  
helpless personification of a view of   
the relation of science and religion    
which has absolutely passed away4 ,yet  

,arnold died only in #ahhh4 ,how much a 
distinguished inheritance may mean is   
gathered from the fact that a           
grand-daughter of ,thomas ,arnold and   
niece of ,matthew ,arnold1 ,mrs4        
,humphry ,ward1 in her novels1 has dealt
 largely with problems of religious     
life1 and more particularly of religious
 thoughtfulness4 ,she has done for her  
generation1 in her measure1 that which  
,george ,eliot did for hers4            
,,martineau  ,as the chapter and the    
book draw to their close we can think of
 no man whose life more nearly spanned  
the century1 or whose work touched more 
fruitfully almost every aspect of       
,christian thoughtfulness than did that 
of ,james ,martineau4 ,we can think of  
no man who gathered into himself more   
fully the significant theological       
tendencies of the age1 or whose         
utterance entitles him to be listened to
 more reverently as seer and saint4 ,he 
was born in #ahje4 ,he was bred as an   
engineer4 ,he fulfilled for years the   

calling of minister and preacher4 ,he   
gradually exchanged this for the        
activity of a professor4 ,he was a      
religious philosopher in the old sense1 
but he was also a critic and historian4 
,his position with reference to the ,new
 ,testament was partly antiquated before
 his ,seat of ,authority in ,religion1  
#ahij1 made its appearance4             
,evolutionism never became with him a   
coherent and consistent assumption4     
,ethics never altogether got rid of the 
innate ideas4 ,the social movement left 
him almost untouched4 ,yet1 despite all 
this1 he was in some sense a            
representative progressive theologian of
 the century4  ,there is a parallel     
between ,newman and ,martineau4 ,both   
busied themselves with the problem of   
authority4 ,criticism had been fatal to 
the apprehension which both had         
inherited concerning the authority of   
,scripture4 ,from that point onward they
 took divergent courses4 ,the arguments 
which touched the infallible and        

oracular authority of ,scripture1 for   
,newman established that of the ,church2
 for ,martineau they had destroyed that 
of the ,church four hundred years ago4  
,martineau's sense1 even of the         
authority of ,jesus1 reverent as it is1 
is yet no pietistic and mystical view4  
,the authority of ,jesus is that of the 
truth which he speaks1 of the goodness  
which dwells in him1 of ,god himself and
 ,god alone4 ,a real interest in the    
sciences and true learning in some of   
them made ,martineau able to write that 
wonderful chapter in his ,seat of       
,authority1 which he entitled ',god in  
,nature4' ,newman could see in nature1  
at most a sacramental suggestion1 a     
symbol of transcendental truth4  ,the   
,martineaus came of old ,huguenot stock1
 which in ,england belonged to the      
liberal ,presbyterianism out of which   
much of ,british ,unitarianism came4    
,the righteousness of a persecuted race 
had left an austere impress upon their  
domestic and social life4               

,intellectually they inherited the      
advanced liberalism of their day4       
,harriet ,martineau's earlier piety had 
been of the most fervent sort4 ,she     
reacted violently against it in later   
years4 ,she had little of the politic   
temper and gentleness of her brother4   
,she described one of her own later     
works as the last word of philosophic   
atheism4 ,james was1 and always         
remained1 of deepest sensitiveness and  
reverence and of a gentleness which     
stood in high contrast with his powers  
of conflict1 if necessity arose4 ,out of
 ,martineau's years as preacher in      
,liverpool and ,london came two books of
 rare devotional quality1 ,endeavours   
after the ,christian ,life1 #ahdc and   
#ahdg1 and ,hours of ,thought on ,sacred
 ,things1 #ahgc and #ahgi4 ,almost all  
his life he was identified with         
,manchester ,college1 as a student when 
the college was located at ,york1 as a  
teacher when it returned to ,manchester 
and again when it was removed to        

,london4 ,with its removal to ,oxford1  
accomplished in #ahhi1 he had not fully 
sympathised4 ,he believed that the      
university itself must some day do      
justice to the education of men for the 
ministry in other churches than the     
,anglican4 ,he was eighty years old when
 he published his ,types of ,ethical    
,theory1 eighty-two when he gave to the 
world his ,study of ,religion1          
eighty-five when his ,seat of ,authority
 saw the light4 ,the effect of this     
postponement of publication was not     
wholly good4 ,the books represented     
marvellous learning and ripeness of     
reflection4 ,but they belong to a period
 anterior to the dates they bear upon   
their title-pages4 ,martineau's         
education and his early professional    
experience put him in touch with the    
advancing sciences4 ,in the days when   
most men of progressive spirit were     
carried off their feet1 when materialism
 was flaunted in men's faces and the    
defence of religion was largely in the  

hands of those who knew nothing of the  
sciences1 ,martineau was not moved4 ,he 
saw the end from the beginning4 ,there  
is nothing finer in his latest work than
 his early essays--',nature and ,god1'  
',science1 ,nescience and ,faith1' and  
',religion as affected by ,modern       
,materialism4' ,he died in #aijj in his 
ninety-fifth year4  ,it is difficult to 
speak of the living in these pages4     
,personal relations enforce reserve and 
brevity4 ,nevertheless1 no one can think
 of ,manchester ,college and ,martineau 
without being reminded of ,mansfield    
,college and of ,fairbairn1 a           
,scotchman1 but of the ,independent     
,church4 ,he also was both teacher and  
preacher all his days1 leader of the    
movement which brought ,mansfield       
,college from ,birmingham to ,oxford1 by
 the confession both of ,anglicans and  
of ,non-conformists the most learned man
 in his subjects in the ,oxford of his  
time1 an historian1 touched by the      
social enthusiasm1 but a religious      

philosopher1 par excellence4 ,his       
,religion and ,modern ,life1 #ahid1 his 
,catholicism1 ,roman and ,anglican1     
#ahii1 his ,place of ,christ in ,modern 
,theology1 #ahic1 his ,philosophy of the
 ,christian ,religion1 #aijb1 and his   
,studies in ,religion and ,theology1    
#aiaj1 indicate the wideness of his     
sympathies and the scope of the         
application1 of his powers4 ,if         
imitation is homage1 grateful           
acknowledgment is here made of rich     
spoil taken from his books4  ,philosophy
 took a new turn in ,britain after the  
middle of the decade of the sixties4 ,it
 began to be conceded that ,locke and   
,hume were dead4 ,had ,mill really      
appreciated that fact he might have been
 a philosopher more fruitful and        
influential than he was4 ,sir ,william  
,hamilton was dead4 ,mansel's endeavour1
 out of agnosticism to conjure the most 
absurdly positivistic faith1 had left   
thinking men more exposed to scepticism1
 if possible1 than they had been before4

 ,when ,hegel was thought in ,germany to
 be obsolete1 and everywhere the cry was
 'back to ,kant1' some ,scotch and      
,english scholars1 the two ,cairds and  
,seth ,pringle-,pattison1 with ,thomas  
,hill ,green1 made a modified           
,hegelianism current in ,great ,britain4
 ,they led by this path in the          
introduction of their countrymen to     
later ,german idealism4 ,by this        
introduction philosophy in both ,britain
 and ,america has greatly gained4       
,despite these facts1 ,john ,caird's    
,introduction to the ,philosophy of     
,religion1 #ahhj1 is still only a       
religious philosophy4 ,it is not a      
philosophy of religion4 ,his            
,fundamental ,ideas of ,christianity1   
#ahif1 hardly escapes the old antitheses
 among which theological discussion     
moved1 say1 thirty years ago4 ,edward   
,caird's ,critical ,philosophy of ,kant1
 #ahhi1 and especially his ,evolution of
 ,religion1 #ahib1 marked the coming    
change more definitely than did any of  

the labours of his brother4 ,thomas     
,hill ,green gave great promise in his  
,introduction to ,hume1 #ahhe1 his      
,prolegomena to ,ethics1 #ahhc1 and     
still more in essays and papers         
scattered through the volumes edited by 
,nettleship after ,green's death4 ,his  
contribution to religious discussion was
 such as to make his untimely end to be 
deeply deplored4 ,seth                  
,pringle-,pattison's early work1 ,the   
,development from ,kant to ,hegel1      
#ahha1 still has great worth4 ,his      
,hegelianism and ,personality1 #ahic1   
deals with one aspect of the topic which
 needs ever again to be explored1       
because of the psychological basis which
 in religious discussion is now assumed4
   ,,james   ,the greatest contribution 
of ,america to religious discussion in  
recent years is surely ,william ,james's
 ,varieties of ,religious ,experience1  
#aijb4 ,the book is unreservedly        
acknowledged in ,britain1 and in        
,germany as well1 to be the best which  

we yet have upon the psychology of      
religion4 ,not only so1 it gives a new  
intimation as to what psychology of     
religion means4 ,it blazes a path along 
which investigators are eagerly         
following4 ,boyce1 in his ,phi ,beta    
,kappa address at ,harvard in #aiaa1    
declared ,james to be the third         
representative philosopher whom ,america
 has produced4 ,he had the form of      
philosophy as ,emerson never had4 ,he   
could realise whither he was going1 as  
,emerson in his intuitiveness never did4
 ,he criticised the dominant monism in  
most pregnant way4 ,he recurred to the  
problems which dualism owned but could  
not solve4 ,we cannot call the new      
scheme dualism4 ,the world does not go  
back4 ,yet ,james made an over-confident
 generation feel that the centuries to  
which dualism had seemed reasonable were
 not so completely without intelligence 
as has been supposed by some4 ,no       
philosophy may claim completeness as an 
interpretation of the universe4 ,no more

 conclusive proof of this judgment could
 be asked than is given quite           
unintentionally in ,haeckel's           
,weltrthsel4  ,at no point is this      
recall more earnest than in ,james's    
dealing with the antithesis of good and 
evil4 ,the reaction of the mind of the  
race1 and primarily of individuals1 upon
 the fact of evil1 men's consciousness  
of evil in themselves1 their desire to  
be rid of it1 their belief that there is
 a deliverance from it and that they    
have found that deliverance1 is for     
,james the point of departure for the   
study of the actual phenomena and the   
active principle of religion4 ,the      
truest psychological and philosophical  
instinct of the ago thus sets the       
experience of conversion in the centre  
of discussion4 ,apparently most men     
have1 at some time and in some way1 the 
consciousness of a capacity for ,god    
which is unfulfilled1 of a relation to  
,god unrealised1 which is broken and    
resumed1 or yet to be resumed4 ,they    

have the sense that their own effort    
must contribute to this recovery4 ,they 
have the sense also that something      
without themselves empowers them to     
attempt this recovery and to persevere  
in the attempt4 ,the psychology of      
religion is thus put in the forefront4  
,the vast masses of material of this    
sort which the religious world1 both    
past and present1 possesses1 have been  
either actually unexplored1 or else set 
forth in ways which distorted and       
obscured the facts4 ,the experience is  
the fact4 ,the best science the world   
knows is now to deal with it as it would
 deal with any other fact4 ,this is the 
epoch-making thing1 the contribution to 
method in ,james's book4 ,james was born
 in ,new ,york in #ahdb1 the son of a   
,swedenborgian theologian4 ,he took his 
medical degree at ,harvard in #ahgj4 ,he
 began to lecture there in anatomy in   
#ahgb and became ,professor of          
,philosophy in #ahhe4 ,he was a ,gifford
 and a ,hibbert ,lecturer4 ,he died in  

#aiaj4  ,when ,james's thesis shall have
 been fully worked out1 much supposed   
investigation of primitive religions1   
which is really nothing but imagination 
concerning primitive religions1 will be 
shown in its true worthlessness4 ,we    
know very little about primitive man4   
,what we learn as to primitive man1 on  
the side of his religion1 we must learn 
in part from the psychology of the      
matured and civilised1 the present      
living1 thinking1 feeling man in contact
 with his religion4 ,matured religion is
 not to be judged by the primitive1 but 
the reverse4 ,the real study of the     
history of religions1 the study of the  
objective phenomena1 from earliest to   
latest times1 has its place4 ,but the   
history of religions is perverted when  
it takes for fact in the life of        
primitive man that which never existed  
save in the imagination of twentieth    
century students4 ,early ,christianity1 
on its inner and spiritual side1 is to  
be judged by later ,christianity1 by    

present ,christianity1 by the ,christian
 experience which we see and know       
to-day1 and not conversely1 as men have 
always claimed4 ,the modern man is not  
to be converted after the pattern which 
it is alleged that his grandfather      
followed4 ,for1 first1 there is the     
question as to whether his grandfather  
did conform to this pattern4 ,and beyond
 that1 it is safer to try to understand 
the experience of the grandfather1 whom 
we do not know1 by the psychology and   
experience of the grandson1 whom we do  
know1 with1 of course1 a judicious      
admixture of knowledge of the history of
 the nineteenth century1 which would    
occasion characteristic differences4    
,the modern saint is not asked to be a  
saint like ,francis4 ,in the first      
place1 how do we know what ,francis was 
like8 ,in the second place1 the         
experience of ,francis may be most      
easily understood by the aid of modern  
experience of true revolt from          
worldliness and of consecration to      

self-sacrifice1 as these exist among us1
 with1 of course1 the proper background 
furnished by the history of the         
thirteenth century4 ,souls are one4 ,our
 souls may be1 at least in some measure1
 known to ourselves4 ,even the souls of 
some of our fellows may be measurably   
known to us4 ,what are the facts of the 
religious experience8 ,how do souls     
react in face of the eternal8 ,the      
experience of religion1 the experience  
of the fatherhood of ,god1 of the       
sonship of man1 of the moving of the    
spirit1 is surely one experience4 ,how  
did even ,christ's great soul react1    
experience1 work1 will1 and suffer8 ,by 
what possible means can we ever know how
 he reacted1 worked1 willed1 suffered8  
,in the literature we learn only how men
 thought that he reacted4 ,we must      
inquire of our own souls4 ,to be sure1  
,christ belonged to the first century1  
and we live in the twentieth4 ,it is    
possible for us to learn something of   
the first century and of the concrete   

outward conditions which caused his life
 to take the shape which it did4 ,we    
learn this by strict historical         
research4 ,assuredly the supreme measure
 in which the spirit of all truth and   
goodness once took possession of the    
,nazarene1 remains to us a mystery      
unfathomed and unfathomable4 ,dwelling  
in ,jesus1 that spirit made through him 
a revelation of the divine such as the  
world has never seen4 ,yet that mystery 
leads forth along the path of that which
 is intelligible4 ,and1 in another      
sense1 even such religious experience as
 we ourselves may have1 poor though it  
be and sadly limited1 leads back into   
the same mystery4  ,it was with this    
contention that religion is a fact of   
the inner life of man1 that it is to be 
understood through consciousness1 that  
it is essentially and absolutely        
reasonable and yet belongs to the       
transcendental world1 it was with this  
contention that1 in the person of       
,immanuel ,kant1 the history of modern  

religious thought began4 ,it is with    
this contention1 in one of its newest   
and most far-reaching applications in   
the work of ,william ,james1 that this  
history continues4 ,for no one can think
 of the number of questions which recent
 years have raised1 without realising   
that this history is by no means        
concluded4 ,it is conceivable that the  
changes which the twentieth century will
 bring may be as noteworthy as those    
which the nineteenth century has seen4  
,at least we may be grateful that so    
great and sure a foundation has been    
laid4     ,,bibliography   ,,chapter ,i 
,,wernle1 ,,paul4 ,einfhrung in das     
theologische ,studium4 ,tbingen1 #b4    
,aufl41 #aiaa4  ,,die ,,kultur ,,der    
,,gegenwart4 ,th4 ,i41 ,abth4 iv4 #a4   
,geschichte der ,christlichen ,religion1
 v4 ,wellhausen1 ,jlieber1 ,harnack u4  
,a41 #b4 ,aufl4 ,berlin1 #aiji4  ,,die  
,,kultur ,,der ,,gegenwart4 ,th4 ,i41   
,abth4 iv4 #b4 ,systematische           
,christliche ,religion1 v4 ,troeltsch1  

,herrmann1 ,holtzmann u4 ,a41 #b4 ,aufl4
 ,berlin1 #aiji4  ,,pfleiderer1 ,,otto4 
,the ,development of ,theology in       
,germany since ,kant1 and its ,progress 
in ,great ,britain since #ahbe4         
,transl41 ,j4 ,,frederick ,,smith4      
,london1 #ahic4  ,,lichtenberger1 ,f4   
,histoire des ,ides ,religieuses en     
,allemagne despuis le milieu du ,,xviii'
 sicle  nos jours4 ,paris1 #ahgc4       
,transl41 with notes1 ,w4 ,,hastie4     
,edinburgh1 #ahhi4  ,,adeney1 ,w4,f4 ,a 
,century of ,progress in ,religious     
,life and ,thought4 ,london1 #aija4     
,,harnack1 ,,adolf4 ,das ,wesen des     
,christenthums4 ,berlin1 #aijj4         
,transl41 ,what is ,christianity8 ,t4,b4
 ,,saunders4 ,london1 #aija4  ,,stephen1
 ,,leslie4 ,history of ,english ,thought
 in the ,eighteenth ,century4 #b vols4  
,london1 #crd ed41 #aijb4  ,,troeltsch1 
,,ernst4 ,art4 ',deismus' in            
,herzog-,hauck1 ,realencyclopdie fr     
,protestantische ,theologie und ,kirche4
 #c4 ,aufl4 ,leipzig1 #d4 ,bd41 #ahih1  

s4 #ecb f43 art4 ',aufklrung1' #b4 ,bd41
 #ahig1 s4 #bbe f43 art4 ',idealismus1  
deutscher1' #h4 ,bd41 #aijj1 s4 #fab f4 
,,mirbt1 ,,carl4 ,art4 ',pietiamus' in  
,herzog-,hauck1 ,realencydopdie1 #ae4   
,bd41 #aijd1 s4 #ggd f4  ,,ritschl1     
,,albrecht4 ,geschichte des ,pietismus1 
#c ,bde4 ,bonn1 #ahhj-ahhf4   ,,chapter 
,,ii   ,,windelband1 ,w4 ,die           
,geschichte der neueren ,philosophie in 
ihrem ,zusammenhang mit der allgemeinen 
,kultur und den besouderen              
,wissenschaften4 #b ,bde4 ,leipzig1     
#ahii4  ,h,,ffding1 ,,harold4           
,geschichte der neueren ,philosophie4   
,uebersetzt v4 ,bendixen4 #b ,bde4      
,leipzig1 #ahif4  ,,eucken1 ,,rudolf4   
,die ,lebensanschauungen der grossen    
,denker4 #h4 ,anfl4 ,leipzig1 #aiji4    
,transl41 ,the ,problem of ,human ,life 
as viewed by the ,great ,thinkers1 by   
,w4,s4 ,,hough and ,w4,r4 ,,boyce       
,,gibson4 ,new ,york1 #aiaj4            
,,pringle-,,pattison1 ,a4 ,,seth4 ,the  
,development from ,kant to ,hegel4      

,london1 #ahha4  ,,drews1 ,,arthur4 ,die
 ,deutsche ,spekulation seit ,kant #b   
,bde4 ,berlin1 #ahic4  ,,royce1         
,,josiah4 ,the ,spirit of ,modern       
,philosophy4 ,boston1 #ahic4 ,the       
,religious ,aspect of ,philosophy4      
,boston1 #ahhe4 ,the ,world and the     
,individual4 #b vols4 ,new ,york1 #aija 
and #aijd4  ,,paulsen1 ,,friedrich4     
,immanuel ,kant1 sein ,leben und seine  
,lehre4 ,stuttgart1 #c4 ,aufl41 #ahii4  
,transl41 ,,creighton ,,and ,,lefever4  
,new ,york1 #aijb4  ,,caird1 ,,edward4  
,a ,critical ,account of the ,philosophy
 of ,kant3 with an ,historical          
,introduction4 ,glasgow1 #ahgg4         
,,fischer1 ,,kuno4 ,hegels ,leben1      
,werke und ,lehre4 #b ,bde4 ,heidelberg1
 #aija4  ,,siebeck1 ,,hermann4 ,lehrbuch
 der ,religionsphilosophie4 ,freiburg1  
#ahic4  ,,eucken1 ,,rudolf4 ,der        
,wahrheitsgehalt der ,religion4         
,leipzig1 #d4 ,aufl41 #aijf4 ,transl41  
,,jones4 ,london1 #aiaa4  ,,tiele1      
,c4,p4 ,compendium der                  

,religionsgeschichte4 ,uebersetzt v4    
,weber4 #c4 ,aufl4 umgearbeitet v4      
,sderblom4 ,breslau1 #aijc4   ,,chapter 
,,iii   ,,von ,,frank1 ,h4,r4           
,geschichte und ,kritik der neueren     
,theologie insbesondere der             
systematischen seit ,schleiermacher4    
,hrsg1 v4 ,schaarschmidt4 ,eriangen1    
#ahih4  ,,schwarz1 ,,carl4 ,zur         
,gesehichte der neuiten ,theologie4     
,leipzig1 #d4 ,aufl41 #ahfi4            
,,kattenbusch1 ,,ferdinand4 ,von        
,schleiermacher zu ,ritschl4 ,giessen1  
#ahib4  ,,brown1 ,,william ,,adams4 ,the
 ,essence of ,christianity3 a ,study in 
the  ,history of ,definition4 ,new      
,york1 #aijb4  ,,dilthey1 ,,wilhelm4    
,leben ,schleiermachers1 #a4 ,bd4       
,berlin1 #ahgj4  ,,gass1 ,,wilhelm4     
,geschichte der ,protestantischen       
,dogmatik1 #d ,bde4 ,leipzig1 #ahed-fg4 
,,garvie1 ,,alfred4 ,the ,ritschlian    
,theology1 #bnd ed4 ,edinburgh1 #aijb4  
,,herrmann1 ,w4 ,der evangeliche ,glaube
 und die ,theologie ,albrecht ,ritschls4

 ,marburg1 #ahif4  ,,pfleiderer1 ,,otto4
 ,die ,ritschlche ,theologie kritiech   
beleuchtet4 ,braunschweig1 #ahia4       
,,kaftan1 ,,julius4 ,dogmatik4 ,tbingen1
 #d4 ,aufl41 #aija4  ,,stevens1 ,,george
 ,b4 ,the ,christian ,doctrine of       
,salvation4 ,new ,york1 #aije4          
,,chapter ,,iv   ,,carpenter1 ,j4       
,,estlin4 ,the ,bible in the ,nineteenth
 ,century4 ,london1 #aijc4  ,,gardner1  
,percy4 ,a ,historic ,view of the ,new  
,testament4 ,london1#aija4  ,j,,licher1 
,,adolf4 ,einleitung in das ,neue       
,testament4 ,freiliurg1 #f4 ,aufl41     
#aijf4 ,transl41 ,miss ,janet ,ward4    
#aijd4  ,,moore1 ,,edward ,,caldwell4   
,the ,new ,testament in the ,christian  
,church4 ,new ,york1 #aijd4             
,,liktzmann1 ,,hans4 ,wie wurden die    
,bcher des neuen ,testaments heilige    
,schrift8 ,tbingen1 #aijg4  ,,loisy1 ,a4
 ,l',ecangile el ,i',eglise4 ,paris1    
#bnd ed41 #aijc4 ,transl41 ,london1     
#aijd4  ,,wernle1 ,,paul4 ,die ,anfnge  
unserer ,religion4 ,tbingen1 #aija4     

,,schweitzer1 ,,albert4 ,von ,reimarus  
zu ,wrede1 eine ,geschichte der         
,leben-,jesu-,forschung4 ,tbingen1      
#aijf4  ,,sanday1 ,,william4 ,the ,life 
of ,christ in ,recent ,research4        
,oxford1 #aijg4  ,,holtzmann1 ,,oskar4  
,neu-,testamentliche ,zeitgeschichte4   
,freiburg1 #b4 ,aufl41 #aijf4  ,,driver1
 ,,samuel ,b4 ,introduction to the      
,literature of the ,old ,testament4     
,edinburgh1 #bnd ed41 #aiji4            
,,wellhausen1 ,,julius4 ,prolegomena sur
 ,geschichte ,israels4 ,berlin1 #e4     
,aufl41 #ahii4  ,,budde1 ,,karl4,the    
,religion of ,israel to the ,exile4 ,new
 ,york1 #ahii4  ,,kautsch1 ,e4 ,abriss  
der ,geschichte des alt-tentamentlichen 
,schriftthums in seiner ',heilige       
,schrift des ,alten ,testaments4'       
,freiburg1 #ahid4 ,transl41 ,j4,j4      
,,taylor1 and published separately1 ,new
 ,york1 #ahii4  ,,smith1 ,w4            
,,robertson4 ,the ,old ,testament in the
 ,jewish ,church4 ,glasgow1 #bnd ed41   
#ahib4 ,the ,prophets of ,israel1 #bnd  

ed41 #ahib4   ,,chapter ,v   ,,mehz1    
,,johh4 ,a ,history of ,european        
,thought in the ,nineteenth ,century4   
,vols4 #a and #b1 ,edinburgh1 #aijd and 
#aijc4  ,,white1 ,,andrew ,d4 ,the      
,history of the ,warfare of ,science    
with ,theology in ,christendom4 #b vols4
 ,new ,york1 #ahif4  ,,otto1 ,,rudolf4  
,naturalistisehe und religise           
,weltansicht4 ,tbingen1 #b4 ,aufl41     
#aiji4  ,,ward1 ,,james4 ,naturalism and
 ,agnosticism4 #b vols4 ,london1 #ahii4 
,,flint1 ,,robert4 ,agnosticism4        
,edinburgh1 #aijc4  ,,tulloch1 ,,john4  
,modern ,theories in ,philosophy and    
,religion4 ,edinburgh1 #ahhd4           
,,martineau1 ,,james4 ,essays1 ,reviews 
and ,addresses4 ,vols4 #a and #c        
,london1 #ahij4  ,,boutroux1 ,,emile4   
,science et ,religion dans la           
,philosophie contemporaine4 ,paris1     
#ajjh4 ,transl41 ,,nield4 ,london1      
#aiji4  ,,flint1 ,,robert4 ,socialism4  
,london1 #ahie4  ,,peabody1 ,,francis   
,g4 ,jesus ,christ and the ,social      

,question4 ,new ,york1 #aije4           
,,chapter ,,vi   ,,hunt1 ,,john4        
,religious ,thought in ,england in the  
,nineteenth ,century4 ,london1 #ahif4   
,,tulloch1 ,,john4 ,movements of        
,religious ,thought in ,britain during  
the ,nineteenth ,century4 ,london1      
#ahhe4  ,,benn1 ,,alfred ,,william4 ,the
 ,history of ,english ,rationalism in   
the ,nineteenth ,century4 #b vols4      
,london1 #aijf4  ,,hutton1 ,,richard ,h4
 ,essays on some of the ,modern ,guides 
to ,english ,thought in ,matters of     
,faith4 ,london1 #aijj4  ,,mellone1     
,,sidney ,h4 ,leaders of ,religious     
,thought in the ,nineteenth ,century4   
,edinburgh1 #aijb4  ,,brooke1 ,,stopford
 ,a4 ,theology in the ,english ,poets4  
,london1 #ahif4  ,,scudder1 ,,vida ,d4  
,the ,life of the ,spirit in the ,modern
 ,english ,poets4 ,boston1 #ahii4       
,,church1 ,r4,w4 ,the ,oxford ,movement3
 ,twelve ,years1 #ahcc-ahde4 ,london1   
#aijd4  ,,fairbairn1 ,,andrew ,m4       
,catholicism1 ,roman and ,anglican4 ,new

 ,york1 #ahii4  ,,ward1 ,,wilfrid4 ,life
 and ,times of ,cardinal ,newman4 #b    
vols4 #eth ed4 ,london1 #aijj4  ,,ward1 
,,wilfrid4 ,life of ,john ,henry1       
,cardinal ,newman4 #b vols4 ,london1    
#aiab4  ,,dollinger1 ,j4,j4 ,,ignaz     
,,von4 ,das ,papstthum2 ,neubearbeitung 
von ,janus3 ,der ,papst und das ,concil1
 von ,j4 ,friedrich4 ,mnchen1 #ahib4    
,,gout1 ,,raoul4 ,l',affaire ,tyrrell4  
,paris1 #aiaj4  ,,sabatier1 ,,paul4     
,modernism4 ,transl41 ,,miles4 ,new     
,york1 #aijh4  ,,stanley1 ,,arthur ,p4  
,the ,life and ,correspondence of       
,thomas ,arnold4 #b vols4 ,london1 #acth
 ed41 #ahhb4  ,,brooke1 ,,stopford ,a4  
,life and ,letters of ,frederick ,w4    
,robertson4 #b vols4 ,london1 #ahia4    
,,abbott1 ,,evelyn and ,,campbell1      
,,lewis4 ,life and ,letters of ,benjamin
 ,jowett4 #b vols4 ,london1 #ahig4      
,,drummond1 ,,james1 and ,,upton1 ,c4,b4
 ,life and ,letters of ,james           
,martineau4 #b vols4 ,london1 #aijb4    
,,allen1 ,,alexander ,v4,g4 ,life and   

,letters of ,phillips ,brooks4 #b vols4 
,new ,york1 #aijj4  ,,munger1 ,,theodore
 ,t4 ,horace ,bushnell1 ,preacher and   
,theologian4 ,boston1 #ahii4