,,natural ,,law ,,in ,,the ,,spiritual ,,world4 ,,by ,,henry ,,drummond4 ,f4,r4,s4,e43 ,f4,g4,s4 ,,new ,,york3 ,,hurst ,,co41 ,,publishers1 #abb ,,nassau ,,st4 ,,argyle ,,press ,,printing ,,and ,,bookbinding1 #bd #bf ,,wooster ,,st41 ,n4 ,y4 ,transcriber's ,note3 ,minor typographical errors have been corrected without note4 ,greek text has been transliterated and is shown between braces4 ,the oe ligature has been transcribed as oe4 ,,contents4 ,,page ,,preface1 #e ,,introduction1 #ba ,,biogenesis1 #ei ,,degeneration1 #hc ,,growth1 #ii ,,death1 #aaa ,,mortification1 #acc ,,eternal ,,life1 #adi ,,environment1 #aha ,,conformity ,,to ,,type1 #bjc ,,semi-,,parasitism1 #bbc ,,parasitism1 #bcg ,,classification1 #bee ,,preface4 ,no class of works is received with more suspicion1 ,i had almost said derision1 than those which deal with ,science and ,religion4 ,science is tired of reconciliations between two things which never should have been contrasted2 ,religion is offended by the patronage of an ally which it professes not to need2 and the critics have rightly discovered that1 in most cases where ,science is either pitted against ,religion or fused with it1 there is some fatal misconception to begin with as to the scope and province of either4 ,but although no initial protest1 probably1 will save this work from the unhappy reputation of its class1 the thoughtful mind will perceive that the fact of its subject-matter being ,law--a property peculiar neither to ,science nor to ,religion--at once places it on a somewhat different footing4 ,the real problem ,i have set myself may be stated in a sentence4 ,is there not reason to believe that many of the ,laws of the ,spiritual ,world1 hitherto regarded as occupying an entirely separate province1 are simply the ,laws of the ,natural ,world8 ,can we identify the ,natural ,laws1 or any one of them1 in the ,spiritual sphere8 ,that vague lines everywhere run through the ,spiritual ,world is already beginning to be recognized4 ,is it possible to link them with those great lines running through the visible universe which we call the ,natural ,laws1 or are they fundamentally distinct8 ,in a word1 ,is the ,supernatural natural or unnatural8 ,i may1 perhaps1 be allowed to answer these questions in the form in which they have answered themselves to myself4 ,and ,i must apologize at the outset for personal references which1 but for the clearness they may lend to the statement1 ,i would surely avoid4 ,it has been my privilege for some years to address regularly two very different audiences on two very different themes4 ,on week days ,i have lectured to a class of students on the ,natural ,sciences1 and on ,sundays to an audience consisting for the most part of working men on subjects of a moral and religious character4 ,i cannot say that this collocation ever appeared as a difficulty to myself1 but to certain of my friends it was more than a problem4 ,it was solved to me1 however1 at first1 by what then seemed the necessities of the case--,i must keep the two departments entirely by themselves4 ,they lay at opposite poles of thought2 and for a time ,i succeeded in keeping the ,science and the ,religion shut off from one another in two separate compartments of my mind4 ,but gradually the wall of partition showed symptoms of giving way4 ,the two fountains of knowledge also slowly began to overflow1 and finally their waters met and mingled4 ,the great change was in the compartment which held the ,religion4 ,it was not that the well there was dried2 still less that the fermenting waters were washed away by the flood of ,science4 ,the actual contents remained the same4 ,but the crystals of former doctrine were dissolved2 and as they precipitated themselves once more in definite forms1 ,i observed that the ,crystalline ,system was changed4 ,new channels also for outward expression opened1 and some of the old closed up2 and ,i found the truth running out to my audience on the ,sundays by the week-day outlets4 ,in other words1 the subject-matter ,religion had taken on the method of expression of ,science1 and ,i discovered myself enunciating ,spiritual ,law in the exact terms of ,biology and ,physics4 ,now this was not simply a scientific coloring given to ,religion1 the mere freshening of the theological air with natural facts and illustrations4 ,it was an entire re-casting of truth4 ,and when ,i came seriously to consider what it involved1 ,i saw1 or seemed to see1 that it meant essentially the introduction of ,natural ,law into the ,spiritual ,world4 ,it was not1 ,i repeat1 that new and detailed analogies of ,phenomena rose into view--although material for ,parable lies unnoticed and unused on the field of recent ,science in inexhaustible profusion4 ,but ,law has a still grander function to discharge toward ,religion than ,parable4 ,there is a deeper unity between the two ,kingdoms than the analogy of their ,phenomena--a unity which the poet's vision1 more quick than the theologian's1 has already dimly seen3-- ,and verily many thinkers of this age1 ,aye1 many ,christian teachers1 half in heaven1 ,are wrong in just my sense1 who understood ,our natural world too insularly1 as if ,no spiritual counterpart completed it1 ,consummating its meaning1 rounding all ,to justice and perfection1 line by line1 ,form by form1 nothing single nor alone1 ,the great below clenched by the great above4#a ,the function of ,parable in religion is to exhibit form by form4 ,law undertakes the profounder task of comparing line by line4 ,thus ,natural ,phenomena serve mainly an illustrative function in ,religion4 ,natural ,law1 on the other hand1 could it be traced in the ,spiritual ,world1 would have an important scientific value--it would offer ,religion a new credential4 ,the effect of the introduction of ,law among the scattered ,phenomena of ,nature has simply been to make ,science1 to transform knowledge into eternal truth4 ,the same crystallizing touch is needed in ,religion4 ,can it be said that the ,phenomena of the ,spiritual ,world are other than scattered8 ,can we shut our eyes to the fact that the religious opinions of mankind are in a state of flux8 ,and when we regard the uncertainty of current beliefs1 the war of creeds1 the havoc of inevitable as well as of idle doubt1 the reluctant abandonment of early faith by those who would cherish it longer if they could1 is it not plain that the one thing thinking men are waiting for is the introduction of ,law among the ,phenomena of the ,spiritual ,world8 ,when that comes we shall offer to such men a truly scientific theology4 ,and the ,reign of ,law will transform the whole ,spiritual ,world as it has already transformed the ,natural ,world4 ,i confess that even when in the first dim vision1 the organizing hand of ,law moved among the unordered truths of my ,spiritual ,world1 poor and scantily-furnished as it was1 there seemed to come over it the beauty of a transfiguration4 ,the change was as great as from the old chaotic world of ,pythagoras to the symmetrical and harmonious universe of ,newton4 ,my ,spiritual ,world before was a chaos of facts2 my ,theology1 a ,pythagorean system trying to make the best of ,phenomena apart from the idea of ,law4 ,i make no charge against ,theology in general4 ,i speak of my own4 ,and ,i say that ,i saw it to be in many essential respects centuries behind every department of ,science ,i knew4 ,it was the one region still unpossessed by ,law4 ,i saw then why men of ,science distrust ,theology2 why those who have learned to look upon ,law as ,authority grow cold to it--it was the ,great ,exception4 ,i have alluded to the genesis of the idea in my own mind partly for another reason--to show its naturalness4 ,certainly ,i never premeditated anything to myself so objectionable and so unwarrantable in itself1 as either to read ,theology into ,science or ,science into ,theology4 ,nothing could be more artificial than to attempt this on the speculative side2 and it has been a substantial relief to me throughout that the idea rose up thus in the course of practical work and shaped itself day by day unconsciously4 ,it might be charged1 nevertheless1 that ,i was all the time1 whether consciously or unconsciously1 simply reading my ,theology into my ,science4 ,and as this would hopelessly vitiate the conclusions arrived at1 ,i must acquit myself at least of the intention4 ,of nothing have ,i been more fearful throughout than of making ,nature parallel with my own or with any creed4 ,the only legitimate questions one dare put to ,nature are those which concern universal human good and the ,divine interpretation of things4 ,these ,i conceive may be there actually studied at first-hand1 and before their purity is soiled by human touch4 ,we have ,truth in ,nature as it came from ,god4 ,and it has to be read with the same unbiased mind1 the same open eye1 the same faith1 and the same reverence as all other ,revelation4 ,all that is found there1 whatever its place in ,theology1 whatever its orthodoxy or heterodoxy1 whatever its narrowness or its breadth1 we are bound to accept as ,doctrine from which on the lines of ,science there is no escape4 ,when this presented itself to me as a method1 ,i felt it to be due to it--were it only to secure1 so far as that was possible1 that no former bias should interfere with the integrity of the results--to begin again at the beginning and reconstruct my ,spiritual ,world step by step4 ,the result of that inquiry1 so far as its expression in systematic form is concerned1 ,i have not given in this book4 ,to reconstruct a ,spiritual ,religion1 or a department of ,spiritual ,religion--for this is all the method can pretend to--on the lines of ,nature would be an attempt from which one better equipped in both directions might well be pardoned if he shrank4 ,my object at present is the humbler one of venturing a simple contribution to practical ,religion along the lines indicated4 ,what ,bacon predicates of the ,natural ,world1 ,natura enim non nisi parendo vincitur1 is also true1 as ,christ had already told us1 of the ,spiritual ,world4 ,and ,i present a few samples of the religious teaching referred to formerly as having been prepared under the influence of scientific ideas in the hope that they may be useful first of all in this direction4 ,i would1 however1 carefully point out that though their unsystematic arrangement here may create the impression that these papers are merely isolated readings in ,religion pointed by casual scientific truths1 they are organically connected by a single principle4 ,nothing could be more false both to ,science and to ,religion than attempts to adjust the two spheres by making out ingenious points of contact in detail4 ,the solution of this great question of conciliation1 if one may still refer to a problem so gratuitous1 must be general rather than particular4 ,the basis in a common principle--the ,continuity of ,law--can alone save specific applications from ranking as mere coincidences1 or exempt them from the reproach of being a hybrid between two things which must be related by the deepest affinities or remain forever separate4 ,to the objection that even a basis in ,law is no warrant for so great a trespass as the intrusion into another field of thought of the principles of ,natural ,science1 ,i would reply that in this ,i find ,i am following a lead which in other departments has not only been allowed but has achieved results as rich as they were unexpected4 ,what is the ,physical ,politic of ,mr4 ,walter ,bagehot but the extension of ,natural ,law to the ,political ,world8 ,what is the ,biological ,sociology of ,mr4 ,herbert ,spencer but the application of ,natural ,law to the ,social ,world8 ,will it be charged that the splendid achievements of such thinkers are hybrids between things which ,nature has meant to remain apart8 ,nature usually solves such problems for herself4 ,inappropriate hybridism is checked by the ,law of ,sterility4 ,judged by this great ,law these modern developments of our knowledge stand uncondemned4 ,within their own sphere the results of ,mr4 ,herbert ,spencer are far from sterile--the application of ,biology to ,political ,economy is already revolutionizing the ,science4 ,if the introduction of ,natural ,law into the ,social sphere is no violent contradiction but a genuine and permanent contribution1 shall its further extension to the ,spiritual sphere be counted an extravagance8 ,does not the ,principle of ,continuity demand its application in every direction8 ,to carry it as a working principle into so lofty a region may appear impracticable4 ,difficulties lie on the threshold which may seem1 at first sight1 insurmountable4 ,but obstacles to a true method only test its validity4 ,and he who honestly faces the task may find relief in feeling that whatever else of crudeness and imperfection mar it1 the attempt is at least in harmony with the thought and movement of his time4 ,that these papers were not designed to appear in a collective form1 or indeed to court the more public light at all1 needs no disclosure4 ,they are published out of regard to the wish of known and unknown friends by whom1 when in a fugitive form1 they were received with so curious an interest as to make one feel already that there are minds which such forms of truth may touch4 ,in making the present selection1 partly from manuscript1 and partly from articles already published1 ,i have been guided less by the wish to constitute the papers a connected series than to exhibit the application of the principle in various directions4 ,they will be found1 therefore1 of unequal interest and value1 according to the standpoint from which they are regarded4 ,thus some are designed with a directly practical and popular bearing1 others being more expository1 and slightly apologetic in tone4 ,the risk of combining two objects so very different is somewhat serious4 ,but1 for the reason named1 having taken this responsibility1 the only compensation ,i can offer is to indicate which of the papers incline to the one side or to the other4 ,degeneration1 ,growth1 ,mortification1 ,conformity to ,type1 ,semi-,parasitism1 and ,parasitism belong to the more practical order2 and while one or two are intermediate1 ,biogenesis1 ,death1 and ,eternal ,life may be offered to those who find the atmosphere of the former uncongenial4 ,it will not disguise itself1 however1 that1 owing to the circumstances in which they were prepared1 all the papers are more or less practical in their aim2 so that to the merely philosophical reader there is little to be offered except--and that only with the greatest diffidence--the ,introductory chapter4 ,in the ,introduction1 which the general reader may do well to ignore1 ,i have briefly stated the case for ,natural ,law in the ,spiritual ,world4 ,the extension of ,analogy to ,laws1 or rather the extension of the ,laws themselves so far as known to me1 is new2 and ,i cannot hope to have escaped the mistakes and misadventures of a first exploration in an unsurveyed land4 ,so general has been the survey that ,i have not even paused to define specially to what departments of the ,spiritual ,world exclusively the principle is to be applied4 ,the danger of making a new principle apply too widely inculcates here the utmost caution4 ,one thing is certain1 and ,i state it pointedly1 the application of ,natural ,law to the ,spiritual ,world has decided and necessary limits4 ,and if elsewhere with undue enthusiasm ,i seem to magnify the principle at stake1 the exaggeration--like the extreme amplification of the moon's disc when near the horizon--must be charged to that almost necessary aberration of light which distorts every new idea while it is yet slowly climbing to its zenith4 ,in what follows the ,introduction1 except in the setting there is nothing new4 ,i trust there is nothing new4 ,when ,i began to follow out these lines1 ,i had no idea where they would lead me4 ,i was prepared1 nevertheless1 at least for the time1 to be loyal to the method throughout1 and share with nature whatever consequences might ensue4 ,but in almost every case1 after stating what appeared to be the truth in words gathered directly from the lips of ,nature1 ,i was sooner or later startled by a certain similarity in the general idea to something ,i had heard before1 and this often developed in a moment1 and when ,i was least expecting it1 into recognition of some familiar article of faith4 ,i was not watching for this result4 ,i did not begin by tabulating the doctrines1 as ,i did the ,laws of ,nature1 and then proceed with the attempt to pair them4 ,the majority of them seemed at first too far removed from the natural world even to suggest this4 ,still less did ,i begin with doctrines and work downward to find their relations in the natural sphere4 ,it was the opposite process entirely4 ,i ran up the ,natural ,law as far as it would go1 and the appropriate doctrine seldom even loomed in sight till ,i had reached the top4 ,then it burst into view in a single moment4 ,i can scarcely now say whether in those moments ,i was more overcome with thankfulness that ,nature was so like ,revelation1 or more filled with wonder that ,revelation was so like ,nature4 ,nature1 it is true1 is a part of ,revelation--a much greater part doubtless than is yet believed--and one could have anticipated nothing but harmony here4 ,but that a derived ,theology1 in spite of the venerable verbiage which has gathered round it1 should be at bottom and in all cardinal respects so faithful a transcript of the truth as it is in ,nature came as a surprise and to me at least as a rebuke4 ,how1 under the rigid necessity of incorporating in its system much that seemed nearly unintelligible1 and much that was barely credible1 ,theology has succeeded so perfectly in adhering through good report and ill to what in the main are truly the lines of ,nature1 awakens a new admiration for those who constructed and kept this faith4 ,but however nobly it has held its ground1 ,theology must feel to-day that the modern world calls for a further proof4 ,nor will the best ,theology resent this demand2 it also demands it4 ,theology is searching on every hand for another echo of the ,voice of which ,revelation also is the echo1 that out of the mouths of two witnesses its truths should be established4 ,that other echo can only come from ,nature4 ,hitherto its voice has been muffled4 ,but now that ,science has made the world around articulate1 it speaks to ,religion with a twofold purpose4 ,in the first place it offers to corroborate ,theology1 in the second to purify it4 ,if the removal of suspicion from ,theology is of urgent moment1 not less important is the removal of its adulterations4 ,these suspicions1 many of them at least1 are new2 in a sense they mark progress4 ,but the adulterations are the artificial accumulations of centuries of uncontrolled speculation4 ,they are the necessary result of the old method and the warrant for its revision--they mark the impossibility of progress without the guiding and restraining hand of ,law4 ,the felt exhaustion of the former method1 the want of corroboration for the old evidence1 the protest of reason against the monstrous overgrowths which conceal the real lines of truth1 these summon us to the search for a surer and more scientific system4 ,with truths of the theological order1 with dogmas which often depend for their existence on a particular exegesis1 with propositions which rest for their evidence upon a balance of probabilities1 or upon the weight of authority2 with doctrines which every age and nation may make or unmake1 which each sect may tamper with1 and which even the individual may modify for himself1 a second court of appeal has become an imperative necessity4 ,science1 therefore1 may yet have to be called upon to arbitrate at some points between conflicting creeds4 ,and while there are some departments of ,theology where its jurisdiction cannot be sought1 there are others in which ,nature may yet have to define the contents as well as the limits of belief4 ,what ,i would desire especially is a thoughtful consideration of the method4 ,the applications ventured upon here may be successful or unsuccessful4 ,but they would more than satisfy me if they suggested a method to others whose less clumsy hands might work it out more profitably4 ,for ,i am convinced of the fertility of such a method at the present time4 ,it is recognized by all that the younger and abler minds of this age find the most serious difficulty in accepting or retaining the ordinary forms or belief4 ,especially is this true of those whose culture is scientific4 ,and the reason is palpable4 ,no man can study modern ,science without a change coming over his view of truth4 ,what impresses him about ,nature is its solidity4 ,he is there standing upon actual things1 among fixed laws4 ,and the integrity of the scientific method so seizes him that all other forms of truth begins to appear comparatively unstable4 ,he did not know before that any form of truth could so hold him2 and the immediate effect is to lessen his interest in all that stands on other bases4 ,this he feels in spite of himself2 he struggles against it in vain2 and he finds perhaps to his alarm that he is drifting fast into what looks at first like pure ,positivism4 ,this is an inevitable result of the scientific training4 ,it is quite erroneous to suppose that science ever overthrows ,faith1 if by that is implied that any natural truth can oppose successfully any single spiritual truth4 ,science cannot overthrow ,faith2 but it shakes it4 ,its own doctrines1 grounded in ,nature1 are so certain1 that the truths of ,religion1 resting to most men on ,authority1 are felt to be strangely insecure4 ,the difficulty1 therefore1 which men of ,science feel about ,religion is real and inevitable1 and in so far as ,doubt is a conscientious tribute to the inviolability of ,nature it is entitled to respect4 ,none but those who have passed through it can appreciate the radical nature of the change wrought by ,science in the whole mental attitude of its disciples4 ,what they really cry out for in ,religion is a new standpoint--a standpoint like their own4 ,the one hope1 therefore1 for ,science is more ,science4 ,again1 to quote ,bacon--we shall hear enough from the moderns by-and-by--,this ,i dare affirm in knowledge of ,nature1 that a little natural philosophy1 and the first entrance into it1 doth dispose the opinion to atheism2 but1 on the other side1 much natural philosophy1 and wading deep into it1 will bring about men's minds to religion4#b ,the application of similia similibus curantur was never more in point4 ,if this is a disease1 it is the disease of ,nature1 and the cure is more ,nature4 ,for what is this disquiet in the breasts of men but the loyal fear that ,nature is being violated8 ,men must oppose with every energy they possess what seems to them to oppose the eternal course of things4 ,and the first step in their deliverance must be not to reconcile ,nature and ,religion1 but to exhibit ,nature in ,religion4 ,even to convince them that there is no controversy between ,religion and ,science is insufficient4 ,a mere flag of truce1 in the nature of the case1 is here impossible2 at least1 it is only possible so long as neither party is sincere4 ,no man who knows the splendor of scientific achievement or cares for it1 no man who feels the solidity of its method or works with it1 can remain neutral with regard to ,religion4 ,he must either extend his method into it1 or1 if that is impossible1 oppose it to the knife4 ,on the other hand1 no one who knows the content of ,christianity1 or feels the universal need of a ,religion1 can stand idly by while the intellect of his age is slowly divorcing itself from it4 ,what is required1 therefore1 to draw ,science and ,religion together again--for they began the centuries hand in hand--is the disclosure of the naturalness of the supernatural4 ,then1 and not till then1 will men see how true it is1 that to be loyal to all of ,nature1 they must be loyal to the part defined as ,spiritual4 ,no science contributes to another without receiving a reciprocal benefit4 ,and even as the contribution of ,science to ,religion is the vindication of the naturalness of the ,supernatural1 so the gift of ,religion to ,science is the demonstration of the supernaturalness of the ,natural4 ,thus1 as the ,supernatural becomes slowly ,natural1 will also the ,natural become slowly ,supernatural1 until in the impersonal authority of ,law men everywhere recognize the ,authority of ,god4 ,to those who already find themselves fully nourished on the older forms of truth1 ,i do not commend these pages4 ,they will find them superfluous4 ,nor is there any reason why they should mingle with light which is already clear the distorting rays of a foreign expression4 ,but to those who are feeling their way to a ,christian life1 haunted now by a sense of instability in the foundation of their faith1 now brought to bay by specific doubt at one point raising1 as all doubt does1 the question for the whole1 ,i would hold up a light which has often been kind to me4 ,there is a sense of solidity about a ,law of ,nature which belongs to nothing else in the world4 ,here1 at last1 amid all that is shifting1 is one thing sure2 one thing outside ourselves1 unbiased1 unprejudiced1 uninfluenced by like or dislike1 by doubt or fear2 one thing that holds on its way to me eternally1 incorruptible1 and undefiled4 ,this more than anything else1 makes one eager to see the ,reign of ,law traced in the ,spiritual ,sphere4 ,and should this seem to some to offer only a surer1 but not a higher ,faith2 should the better ordering of the ,spiritual ,world appear to satisfy the intellect at the sacrifice of reverence1 simplicity1 or love2 especially should it seem to substitute a ,reign of ,law and a ,lawgiver for a ,kingdom of ,grace and a ,personal ,god1 ,i will say1 with ,browning1-- ,i spoke as ,i saw4 ,i report1 as a man may of ,god's work--all's love1 yet all's ,law4 ,now ,i lay down the judgeship ,he lent me4 ,each faculty tasked1 ,to perceive ,him1 has gained an abyss where a dewdrop was asked4 ,,footnotes3 #a ,aurora ,leigh4 #b ,meditationes ,sacrae1 x4 ,,analysis ,,of ,,introduction4 ,for the sake of the general reader who may desire to pass at once to the practical applications1 the following outline of the ,introduction--devoted rather to general principles--is here presented4 ,,part ,i4 ,,natural ,,law ,,in ,,the ,,spiritual ,,sphere4 #a4 ,the growth of the ,idea of ,law4 #b4 ,its gradual extension throughout every department of ,knowledge4 #c4 ,except one4 ,religion hitherto the ,great ,exception4 ,why so8 #d4 ,previous attempts to trace analogies between the ,natural and ,spiritual spheres4 ,these have been limited to analogies between ,phenomena2 and are useful mainly as illustrations4 ,analogies of ,law would also have a ,scientific value4 #e4 ,wherein that value would consist4 7#a7 ,the ,scientific demand of the age would be met2 7#b7 ,greater clearness would be introduced into ,religion practically2 7#c7 ,theology1 instead of resting on ,authority1 would rest equally on ,nature4 ,,part ,,ii4 ,,the ,,law ,,of ,,continuity4 ,a priori argument for ,natural ,law in the spiritual world4 #a4 ,the ,law ,discovered4 #b4 ,defined4 #c4 ,applied4 #d4 ,the objection answered that the material of the ,natural and ,spiritual worlds being different they must be under different ,laws4 #e4 ,the existence of ,laws in the ,spiritual world other than the ,natural ,laws 7#a7 improbable1 7#b7 unnecessary1 7#c7 unknown4 ,qualification4 #f4 ,the ,spiritual not the projection upward of the ,natural2 but the ,natural the projection downward of the ,spiritual4 ,,introduction4 ,this method turns aside from hypotheses not to be tested by any known logical canon familiar to science1 whether the hypothesis claims support from intuition1 aspiration or general plausibility4 ,and1 again1 this method turns aside from ideal standards which avow themselves to be lawless1 which profess to transcend the field of law4 ,we say1 life and conduct shall stand for us wholly on a basis of law1 and must rest entirely in that region of science 7not physical1 but moral and social science71 where we are free to use our intelligence in the methods known to us as intelligible logic1 methods which the intellect can analyze4 ,when you confront us with hypotheses1 however sublime and however affecting1 if they cannot be stated in terms of the rest of our knowledge1 if they are disparate to that world of sequence and sensation which to us is the ultimate base of all our real knowledge1 then we shake our heads and turn aside4--,frederick ,harrison4 ,ethical science is already forever completed1 so far as her general outline and main principles are concerned1 and has been1 as it were1 waiting for physical science to come up with her4--,paradoxical ,philosophy4 ,,part ,i4 ,natural ,law is a new word4 ,it is the last and the most magnificent discovery of science4 ,no more telling proof is open to the modern world of the greatness of the idea than the greatness of the attempts which have always been made to justify it4 ,in the earlier centuries1 before the birth of science1 ,phenomena were studied alone4 ,the world then was a chaos1 a collection of single1 isolated1 and independent facts4 ,deeper thinkers saw1 indeed1 that relations must subsist between these facts1 but the ,reign of ,law was never more to the ancients than a far-off vision4 ,their philosophies1 conspicuously those of the ,stoics and ,pythagoreans1 heroically sought to marshal the discrete materials of the universe into thinkable form1 but from these artificial and fantastic systems nothing remains to us now but an ancient testimony to the grandeur of that harmony which they failed to reach4 ,with ,copernicus1 ,galileo1 and ,kepler the first regular lines of the universe began to be discerned4 ,when ,nature yielded to ,newton her great secret1 ,gravitation was felt to be not greater as a fact in itself than as a revelation that ,law was fact4 ,and thenceforth the search for individual ,phenomena gave way before the larger study of their relations4 ,the pursuit of ,law became the passion of science4 ,what that discovery of ,law has done for ,nature1 it is impossible to estimate4 ,as a mere spectacle the universe to-day discloses a beauty so transcendent that he who disciplines himself by scientific work finds it an overwhelming reward simply to behold it4 ,in these ,laws one stands face to face with truth1 solid and unchangeable4 ,each single ,law is an instrument of scientific research1 simple in its adjustments1 universal in its application1 infallible in its results4 ,and despite the limitations of its sphere on every side ,law is still the largest1 richest1 and surest source of human knowledge4 ,it is not necessary for the present to more than lightly touch on definitions of ,natural ,law4 ,the ,duke of ,argyll#c indicates five senses in which the word is used1 but we may content ourselves here by taking it in its most simple and obvious significance4 ,the fundamental conception of ,law is an ascertained working sequence or constant order among the ,phenomena of ,nature4 ,this impression of ,law as order it is important to receive in its simplicity1 for the idea is often corrupted by having attached to it erroneous views of cause and effect4 ,in its true sense ,natural ,law predicates nothing of causes4 ,the ,laws of ,nature are simply statements of the orderly condition of things in ,nature1 what is found in ,nature by a sufficient number of competent observers4 ,what these ,laws are in themselves is not agreed4 ,that they have any absolute existence even is far from certain4 ,they are relative to man in his many limitations1 and represent for him the constant expression of what he may always expect to find in the world around him4 ,but that they have any causal connection with the things around him is not to be conceived4 ,the ,natural ,laws originate nothing1 sustain nothing2 they are merely responsible for uniformity in sustaining what has been originated and what is being sustained4 ,they are modes of operation1 therefore1 not operators2 processes1 not powers4 ,the ,law of ,gravitation1 for instance1 speaks to science only of process4 ,it has no light to offer as to itself4 ,newton did not discover ,gravity--that is not discovered yet4 ,he discovered its ,law1 which is ,gravitation1 but tells us nothing of its origin1 of its nature or of its cause4 ,the ,natural ,laws then are great lines running not only through the world1 but1 as we now know1 through the universe1 reducing it like parallels of latitude to intelligent order4 ,in themselves1 be it once more repeated1 they may have no more absolute existence than parallels of latitude4 ,but they exist for us4 ,they are drawn for us to understand the part by some ,hand that drew the whole2 so drawn1 perhaps1 that1 understanding the part1 we too in time may learn to understand the whole4 ,now the inquiry we propose to ourselves resolves itself into the simple question1 ,do these lines stop with what we call the ,natural sphere8 ,is it not possible that they may lead further8 ,is it probable that the ,hand which ruled them gave up the work where most of all they were required8 ,did that ,hand divide the world into two1 a cosmos and a chaos1 the higher being the chaos8 ,with ,nature as the symbol of all of harmony and beauty that is known to man1 must we still talk of the super-natural1 not as a convenient word1 but as a different order of world1 an unintelligible world1 where the ,reign of ,mystery supersedes the ,reign of ,law8 ,this question1 let it be carefully observed1 applies to ,laws not to ,phenomena4 ,that the ,phenomena of the ,spiritual ,world are in analogy with the ,phenomena of the ,natural ,world requires no restatement4 ,since ,plato enunciated his doctrine of the ,cave or of the twice-divided line2 since ,christ spake in parables2 since ,plotinus wrote of the world as an image2 since the mysticism of ,swedenborg2 since ,bacon and ,pascal2 since ,sartor ,resartus and ,in ,memoriam1 it has been all but a commonplace with thinkers that the invisible things of ,god from the creation of the world are clearly seen1 being understood by the things that are made4 ,milton's question-- ,what if earth ,be but the shadow of heaven1 and things therein ,each to other like more than on earth is thought8 is now superfluous4 ,in our doctrine of representations and correspondences1 says ,swedenborg1 we shall treat of both these symbolical and typical resemblances1 and of the astonishing things that occur1 ,i will not say in the living body only1 but throughout ,nature1 and which correspond so entirely to supreme and spiritual things1 that one would swear that the physical world was purely symbolical of the spiritual world4#d ,and ,carlyle3 ,all visible things are emblems4 ,what thou seest is not there on its own account2 strictly speaking is not there at all4 ,matter exists only spiritually1 and to represent some idea and body it forth4#e ,but the analogies of ,law are a totally different thing from the analogies of ,phenomena and have a very different value4 ,to say generally1 with ,pascal1 that--,la nature est une image de la grace1 is merely to be poetical4 ,the function of ,hervey's ,meditations in a ,flower ,garden1 or1 ,flavel's ,husbandry ,spiritualized1 is mainly homiletical4 ,that such works have an interest is not to be denied4 ,the place of parable in teaching1 and especially after the sanction of the greatest of ,teachers1 must always be recognized4 ,the very necessities of language indeed demand this method of presenting truth4 ,the temporal is the husk and framework of the eternal1 and thoughts can be uttered only through things4#f ,but analogies between ,phenomena bear the same relation to analogies of ,law that ,phenomena themselves bear to ,law4 ,the light of ,law on truth1 as we have seen1 is an immense advance upon the light of ,phenomena4 ,the discovery of ,law is simply the discovery of ,science4 ,and if the analogies of ,natural ,law can be extended to the ,spiritual ,world1 that whole region at once falls within the domain of science and secures a basis as well as an illumination in the constitution and course of ,nature4 ,all1 therefore1 that has been claimed for parable can be predicated a fortiori of this--with the addition that a proof on the basis of ,law would want no criterion possessed by the most advanced science4 ,that the validity of analogy generally has been seriously questioned one must frankly own4 ,doubtless there is much difficulty and even liability to gross error in attempting to establish analogy in specific cases4 ,the value of the likeness appears differently to different minds1 and in discussing an individual instance questions of relevancy will invariably crop up4 ,of course1 in the language of ,john ,stuart ,mill1 when the analogy can be proved1 the argument founded upon it cannot be resisted4#g ,but so great is the difficulty of proof that many are compelled to attach the most inferior weight to analogy as a method of reasoning4 ,analogical evidence is generally more successful in silencing objections than in evincing truth4 ,though it rarely refutes it frequently repels refutation2 like those weapons which though they cannot kill the enemy1 will ward his blows4444 ,it must be allowed that analogical evidence is at least but a feeble support1 and is hardly ever honored with the name of proof4#h ,other authorities on the other hand1 such as ,sir ,william ,hamilton1 admit analogy to a primary place in logic and regard it as the very basis of induction4 ,but1 fortunately1 we are spared all discussion on this worn subject1 for two cogent reasons4 ,for one thing1 we do not demand of ,nature directly to prove ,religion4 ,that was never its function4 ,its function is to interpret4 ,and this1 after all1 is possibly the most fruitful proof4 ,the best proof of a thing is that we see it2 if we do not see it1 perhaps proof will not convince us of it4 ,it is the want of the discerning faculty1 the clairvoyant power of seeing the eternal in the temporal1 rather than the failure of the reason1 that begets the sceptic4 ,but secondly1 and more particularly1 a significant circumstance has to be taken into account1 which1 though it will appear more clearly afterward1 may be stated here at once4 ,the position we have been led to take up is not that the ,spiritual ,laws are analogous to the ,natural ,laws1 but that they are the same ,laws4 ,it is not a question of analogy but of ,identity4 ,the ,natural ,laws are not the shadows or images of the ,spiritual in the same sense as autumn is emblematical of ,decay1 or the falling leaf of ,death4 ,the ,natural ,laws1 as the ,law of ,continuity might well warn us1 do not stop with the visible and then give place to a new set of ,laws bearing a strong similitude to them4 ,the ,laws of the invisible are the same ,laws1 projections of the natural not supernatural4 ,analogous ,phenomena are not the fruit of parallel ,laws1 but of the same ,laws--,laws which at one end1 as it were1 may be dealing with ,matter1 at the other end with ,spirit4 ,as there will be some inconvenience1 however1 in dispensing with the word analogy1 we shall continue occasionally to employ it4 ,those who apprehend the real relation will mentally substitute the larger term4 ,let us now look for a moment at the present state of the question4 ,can it be said that the ,laws of the ,spiritual ,world are in any sense considered even to have analogies with the ,natural ,world8 ,here and there certainly one finds an attempt1 and a successful attempt1 to exhibit on a rational basis one or two of the great ,moral ,principles of the ,spiritual ,world4 ,but the ,physical ,world has not been appealed to4 ,its magnificent system of ,laws remains outside1 and its contribution meanwhile is either silently ignored or purposely set aside4 ,the ,physical1 it is said1 is too remote from the ,spiritual4 ,the ,moral ,world may afford a basis for religious truth1 but even this is often the baldest concession2 while the appeal to the ,physical universe is everywhere dismissed as1 on the face of it1 irrelevant and unfruitful4 ,from the scientific side1 again1 nothing has been done to court a closer fellowship4 ,science has taken theology at its own estimate4 ,it is a thing apart4 ,the ,spiritual ,world is not only a different world1 but a different kind of world1 a world arranged on a totally different principle1 under a different governmental scheme4 ,the ,reign of ,law has gradually crept into every department of ,nature1 transforming knowledge everywhere into ,science4 ,the process goes on1 and ,nature slowly appears to us as one great unity1 until the borders of the ,spiritual ,world are reached4 ,there the ,law of ,continuity ceases1 and the harmony breaks down4 ,and men who have learned their elementary lessons truly from the alphabet of the lower ,laws1 going on to seek a higher knowledge1 are suddenly confronted with the ,great ,exception4 ,even those who have examined most carefully the relations of the ,natural and the ,spiritual1 seem to have committed themselves deliberately to a final separation in matters of ,law4 ,it is a surprise to find such a writer as ,horace ,bushnell1 for instance1 describing the ,spiritual ,world as another system of nature incommunicably separate from ours1 and further defining it thus3 ,god has1 in fact1 erected another and higher system1 that of spiritual being and government for which nature exists2 a system not under the law of cause and effect1 but ruled and marshaled under other kinds of laws4#i ,few men have shown more insight than ,bushnell in illustrating ,spiritual truth from the ,natural ,world2 but he has not only failed to perceive the analogy with regard to ,law1 but emphatically denies it4 ,in the recent literature of this whole region there nowhere seems any advance upon the position of ,nature and the ,supernatural4 ,all are agreed in speaking of ,nature and the ,supernatural4 ,nature in the ,supernatural1 so far as ,laws are concerned1 is still an unknown truth4 ,the ,scientific ,basis of ,faith is a suggestive title4 ,the accomplished author announces that the object of his investigation is to show that the world of nature and mind1 as made known by science1 constitute a basis and a preparation for that highest moral and spiritual life of man1 which is evoked by the self-revelation of ,god4#aj ,on the whole1 ,mr4 ,murphy seems to be more philosophical and more profound in his view of the relation of science and religion than any writer of modern times4 ,his conception of religion is broad and lofty1 his acquaintance with science adequate4 ,he makes constant1 admirable1 and often original use of analogy2 and yet1 in spite of the promise of this quotation1 he has failed to find any analogy in that department of ,law where surely1 of all others1 it might most reasonably be looked for4 ,in the broad subject even of the analogies of what he defines as evangelical religion with ,nature1 ,mr4 ,murphy discovers nothing4 ,nor can this be traced either to short-sight or over-sight4 ,the subject occurs to him more than once1 and he deliberately dismisses it--dismisses it not merely as unfruitful1 but with a distinct denial of its relevancy4 ,the memorable paragraph from ,origen which forms the text of ,butler's ,analogy1 he calls this shallow and false saying4#aa ,he says3 ,the designation of ,butler's scheme of religious philosophy ought then to be the analogy of religion1 legal and evangelical1 to the constitution of nature4 ,but does this give altogether a true meaning8 ,does this double analogy really exist8 ,if justice is natural law among beings having a moral nature1 there is the closest analogy between the constitution of nature and merely legal religion4 ,legal religion is only the extension of natural justice into a future life4444 ,but is this true of evangelical religion8 ,have the doctrines of ,divine grace any similar support in the analogies of nature8 ,i trow not4#ab ,and with reference to a specific question1 speaking of immortality1 he asserts that the analogies of mere nature are opposed to the doctrine of immortality4#ac ,with regard to ,butler's great work in this department1 it is needless at this time of day to point out that his aims did not lie exactly in this direction4 ,he did not seek to indicate analogies between religion and the constitution and course of ,nature4 ,his theme was1 ,the ,analogy of ,religion to the constitution and course of ,nature4 ,and although he pointed out direct analogies of ,phenomena1 such as those between the metamorphoses of insects and the doctrine of a future state2 and although he showed that the natural and moral constitution and government of the world are so connected as to make up together but one scheme1#ad his real intention was not so much to construct arguments as to repel objections4 ,his emphasis accordingly was laid upon the difficulties of the two schemes rather than on their positive lines2 and so thoroughly has he made out this point that as is well known1 the effect upon many has been1 not to lead them to accept the ,spiritual ,world on the ground of the ,natural1 but to make them despair of both4 ,butler lived at a time when defence was more necessary than construction1 when the materials for construction were scarce and insecure1 and when1 besides1 some of the things to be defended were quite incapable of defence4 ,notwithstanding this1 his influence over the whole field since has been unparalleled4 ,after all1 then1 the ,spiritual ,world1 as it appears at this moment1 is outside ,natural ,law4 ,theology continues to be considered1 as it has always been1 a thing apart4 ,it remains still a stupendous and splendid construction1 but on lines altogether its own4 ,nor is ,theology to be blamed for this4 ,nature has been long in speaking2 even yet its voice is low1 sometimes inaudible4 ,science is the true defaulter1 for ,theology had to wait patiently for its development4 ,as the highest of the sciences1 ,theology in the order of evolution should be the last to fall into rank4 ,it is reserved for it to perfect the final harmony4 ,still1 if it continues longer to remain a thing apart1 with increasing reason will be such protests as this of the ,unseen ,universe1 when1 in speaking of a view of miracles held by an older ,theology1 it declares3--,if he submits to be guided by such interpreters1 each intelligent being will forever continue to be baffled in any attempt to explain these phenomena1 because they are said to have no physical relation to anything that went before or that followed after2 in fine1 they are made to form a universe within a universe1 a portion cut off by an insurmountable barrier from the domain of scientific inquiry4#ae ,this is the secret of the present decadence of ,religion in the world of ,science4 ,for ,science can hear nothing of a ,great ,exception4 ,constructions on unique lines1 portions cut off by an insurmountable barrier from the domain of scientific inquiry1 it dare not recognize4 ,nature has taught it this lesson1 and ,nature is right4 ,it is the province of ,science to vindicate ,nature here at any hazard4 ,but in blaming ,theology for its intolerance1 it has been betrayed into an intolerance less excusable4 ,it has pronounced upon it too soon4 ,what if ,religion be yet brought within the sphere of ,law8 ,law is the revelation of time4 ,one by one slowly through the centuries the ,sciences have crystallized into geometrical form1 each form not only perfect in itself1 but perfect in its relation to all other forms4 ,many forms had to be perfected before the form of the ,spiritual4 ,the ,inorganic has to be worked out before the ,organic1 the ,natural before the ,spiritual4 ,theology at present has merely an ancient and provisional philosophic form4 ,by-and-by it will be seen whether it be not susceptible of another4 ,for ,theology must pass through the necessary stages of progress1 like any other science4 ,the method of science-making is now fully established4 ,in almost all cases the natural history and development are the same4 ,take1 for example1 the case of ,geology4 ,a century ago there was none4 ,science went out to look for it1 and brought back a ,geology which1 if ,nature were a harmony1 had falsehood written almost on its face4 ,it was the ,geology of ,catastrophism1 a ,geology so out of line with ,nature as revealed by the other sciences1 that on a priori grounds a thoughtful mind might have been justified in dismissing it as a final form of any science4 ,and its fallacy was soon and thoroughly exposed4 ,the advent of modified uniformitarian principles all but banished the word catastrophe from science1 and marked the birth of ,geology as we know it now4 ,geology1 that is to say1 had fallen at last into the great scheme of ,law4 ,religious doctrines1 many of them at least1 have been up to this time all but as catastrophic as the old ,geology4 ,they are not on the lines of ,nature as we have learned to decipher her4 ,if any one feel1 as ,science complains that it feels1 that the lie of things in the ,spiritual ,world as arranged by ,theology is not in harmony with the world around1 is not1 in short1 scientific1 he is entitled to raise the question whether this be really the final form of those departments of ,theology to which his complaint refers4 ,he is justified1 moreover1 in demanding a new investigation with all modern methods and resources2 and ,science is bound by its principles not less than by the lessons of its own past1 to suspend judgment till the last attempt is made4 ,the success of such an attempt will be looked forward to with hopefulness or fearfulness just in proportion to one's confidence in ,nature--in proportion to one's belief in the divinity of man and in the divinity of things4 ,if there is any truth in the unity of ,nature1 in that supreme principle of ,continuity which is growing in splendor with every discovery of science1 the conclusion is foregone4 ,if there is any foundation for ,theology1 if the phenomena of the ,spiritual ,world are real1 in the nature of things they ought to come into the sphere of ,law4 ,such is at once the demand of ,science upon ,religion and the prophecy that it can and shall be fulfilled4 ,the ,botany of ,linnaeus1 a purely artificial system1 was a splendid contribution to human knowledge1 and did more in its day to enlarge the view of the vegetable kingdom than all that had gone before4 ,but all artificial systems must pass away4 ,none knew better than the great ,swedish naturalist himself that his system1 being artificial1 was but provisional4 ,nature must be read in its own light4 ,and as the botanical field became more luminous1 the system of ,jussieu and ,de ,candolle slowly emerged as a native growth1 unfolded itself as naturally as the petals of one of its own flowers1 and forcing itself upon men's intelligence as the very voice of ,nature1 banished the ,linnaean system forever4 ,it were unjust to say that the present ,theology is as artificial as the system of ,linnaeus2 in many particulars it wants but a fresh expression to make it in the most modern sense scientific4 ,but if it has a basis in the constitution and course of ,nature1 that basis has never been adequately shown4 ,it has depended on ,authority rather than on ,law2 and a new basis must be sought and found if it is to be presented to those with whom ,law alone is ,authority4 ,it is not of course to be inferred that the scientific method will ever abolish the radical distinctions of the ,spiritual ,world4 ,true science proposes to itself no such general leveling in any department4 ,within the unity of the whole there must always be room for the characteristic differences of the parts1 and those tendencies of thought at the present time which ignore such distinctions1 in their zeal for simplicity really create confusion4 ,as has been well said by ,mr4 ,hutton3 ,any attempt to merge the distinctive characteristic of a higher science in a lower--of chemical changes in mechanical--of physiological in chemical--above all1 of mental changes in physiological--is a neglect of the radical assumption of all science1 because it is an attempt to deduce representations--or rather misrepresentations--of one kind of phenomena from a conception of another kind which does not contain it1 and must have it implicitly and illicitly smuggled in before it can be extracted out of it4 ,hence1 instead of increasing our means of representing the universe to ourselves without the detailed examination of particulars1 such a procedure leads to misconstructions of fact on the basis of an imported theory1 and generally ends in forcibly perverting the least-known science to the type of the better known4#af ,what is wanted is simply a unity of conception1 but not such a unity of conception as should be founded on an absolute identity of phenomena4 ,this latter might indeed be a unity1 but it would be a very tame one4 ,the perfection of unity is attained where there is infinite variety of phenomena1 infinite complexity of relation1 but great simplicity of ,law4 ,science will be complete when all known phenomena can be arranged in one vast circle in which a few well known ,laws shall form the radii--these radii at once separating and uniting1 separating into particular groups1 yet uniting all to a common center4 ,to show that the radii for some of the most characteristic phenomena of the ,spiritual ,world are already drawn within that circle by science is the main object of the papers which follow4 ,there will be found an attempt to restate a few of the more elementary facts of the ,spiritual ,life in terms of ,biology4 ,any argument for ,natural ,law in the ,spiritual ,world may be best tested in the a posteriori form4 ,and although the succeeding pages are not designed in the first instance to prove a principle1 they may yet be entered here as evidence4 ,the practical test is a severe one1 but on that account all the more satisfactory4 ,and what will be gained if the point be made out8 ,not a few things4 ,for one1 as partly indicated already1 the scientific demand of the age will be satisfied4 ,that demand is that all that concerns life and conduct shall be placed on a scientific basis4 ,the only great attempt to meet that at present is ,positivism4 ,but what again is a scientific basis8 ,what exactly is this demand of the age8 ,by ,science ,i understand1 says ,huxley1 all knowledge which rests upon evidence and reasoning of a like character to that which claims our assent to ordinary scientific propositions2 and if any one is able to make good the assertion that his theology rests upon valid evidence and sound reasoning1 then it appears to me that such theology must take its place as a part of science4 ,that the assertion has been already made good is claimed by many who deserve to be heard on questions of scientific evidence4 ,but if more is wanted by some minds1 more not perhaps of a higher kind but of a different kind1 at least the attempt can be made to gratify them4 ,mr4 ,frederick ,harrison1#ag in name of the ,positive method of thought1 turns aside from ideal standards which avow themselves to be lawless the italics are ,mr4 ,harrison's1 which profess to transcend the field of law4 ,we say1 life and conduct shall stand for us wholly on a basis of law1 and must rest entirely in that region of science 7not physical1 but moral and social science7 where we are free to use our intelligence1 in the methods known to us as intelligible logic1 methods which the intellect can analyze4 ,when you confront us with hypotheses1 however sublime and however affecting1 if they cannot be stated in terms of the rest of our knowledge1 if they are disparate to that world of sequence and sensation which to us is the ultimate base of all our real knowledge1 then we shake our heads and turn aside4 ,this is a most reasonable demand1 and we humbly accept the challenge4 ,we think religious truth1 or at all events certain of the largest facts of the ,spiritual ,life1 can be stated in terms of the rest of our knowledge4 ,we do not say1 as already hinted1 that the proposal includes an attempt to prove the existence of the ,spiritual ,world4 ,does that need proof8 ,and if so1 what sort of evidence would be considered in court8 ,the facts of the ,spiritual ,world are as real to thousands as the facts of the ,natural ,world--and more real to hundreds4 ,but were one asked to prove that the ,spiritual ,world can be discerned by the appropriate faculties1 one would do it precisely as one would attempt to prove the ,natural ,world to be an object of recognition to the senses--and with as much or as little success4 ,in either instance probably the fact would be found incapable of demonstration1 but not more in the one case than in the other4 ,were one asked to prove the existence of ,spiritual ,life1 one would also do it exactly as one would seek to prove ,natural ,life4 ,and this perhaps might be attempted with more hope4 ,but this is not on the immediate programme4 ,science deals with known facts2 and accepting certain known facts in the ,spiritual ,world we proceed to arrange them1 to discover their ,laws1 to inquire if they can be stated in terms of the rest of our knowledge4 ,at the same time1 although attempting no philosophical proof of the existence of a ,spiritual ,life and a ,spiritual ,world1 we are not without hope that the general line of thought here may be useful to some who are honestly inquiring in these directions4 ,the stumbling-block to most minds is perhaps less the mere existence of the unseen than the want of definition1 the apparently hopeless vagueness1 and not least1 the delight in this vagueness as mere vagueness by some who look upon this as the mark of quality in ,spiritual things4 ,it will be at least something to tell earnest seekers that the ,spiritual ,world is not a castle in the air1 of an architecture unknown to earth or heaven1 but a fair ordered realm furnished with many familiar things and ruled by well-remembered ,laws4 ,it is scarcely necessary to emphasize under a second head the gain in clearness4 ,the ,spiritual ,world as it stands is full of perplexity4 ,one can escape doubt only by escaping thought4 ,with regard to many important articles of religion perhaps the best and the worst course at present open to a doubter is simple credulity4 ,who is to answer for this state of things8 ,it comes as a necessary tax for improvement on the age in which we live4 ,the old ground of faith1 ,authority1 is given up2 the new1 ,science1 has not yet taken its place4 ,men did not require to see truth before2 they only needed to believe it4 ,truth1 therefore1 had not been put by ,theology in a seeing form--which1 however1 was its original form4 ,but now they ask to see it4 ,and when it is shown them they start back in despair4 ,we shall not say what they see4 ,but we shall say what they might see4 ,if the ,natural ,laws were run through the ,spiritual ,world1 they might see the great lines of religious truth as clearly and simply as the broad lines of science4 ,as they gazed into that ,natural-,spiritual ,world they would say to themselves1 ,we have seen something like this before4 ,this order is known to us4 ,it is not arbitrary4 ,this ,law here is that old ,law there1 and this ,phenomenon here1 what can it be but that which stood in precisely the same relation to that ,law yonder8 ,and so gradually from the new form everything assumes new meaning4 ,so the ,spiritual ,world becomes slowly ,natural2 and1 what is of all but equal moment1 the ,natural ,world becomes slowly ,spiritual4 ,nature is not a mere image or emblem of the ,spiritual4 ,it is a working model of the ,spiritual4 ,in the ,spiritual ,world the same wheels revolve--but without the iron4 ,the same figures flit across the stage1 the same processes of growth go on1 the same functions are discharged1 the same biological laws prevail--only with a different quality of bios4 ,plato's prisoner1 if not out of the ,cave1 has at least his face to the light4 ,the earth is cram'd with heaven1 ,and every common bush afire with ,god4 ,how much of the ,spiritual ,world is covered by ,natural law we do not propose at present to inquire4 ,it is certain1 at least1 that the whole is not covered4 ,and nothing more lends confidence to the method than this4 ,for one thing1 room is still left for mystery4 ,had no place remained for mystery it had proved itself both unscientific and irreligious4 ,a ,science without mystery is unknown2 a ,religion without mystery is absurd4 ,this is no attempt to reduce ,religion to a question of mathematics1 or demonstrate ,god in biological formulae4 ,the elimination of mystery from the universe is the elimination of ,religion4 ,however far the scientific method may penetrate the ,spiritual ,world1 there will always remain a region to be explored by a scientific faith4 ,i shall never rise to the point of view which wishes to 'raise' faith to knowledge4 ,to me1 the way of truth is to come through the knowledge of my ignorance to the submissiveness of faith1 and then1 making that my starting place1 to raise my knowledge into faith4#ah ,lest this proclamation of mystery should seem alarming1 let us add that this mystery also is scientific4 ,the one subject on which all scientific men are agreed1 the one theme on which all alike become eloquent1 the one strain of pathos in all their writing and speaking and thinking1 concerns that final uncertainty1 that utter blackness of darkness bounding their work on every side4 ,if the light of ,nature is to illuminate for us the ,spiritual ,sphere1 there may well be a black ,unknown1 corresponding1 at least at some points1 to this zone of darkness round the ,natural ,world4 ,but the final gain would appear in the department of ,theology4 ,the establishment of the ,spiritual ,laws on the solid ground of ,nature1 to which the mind trusts which builds for aye1 would offer a new basis for certainty in ,religion4 ,it has been indicated that the authority of ,authority is waning4 ,this is a plain fact4 ,and it was inevitable4 ,authority--man's ,authority1 that is--is for children4 ,and there necessarily comes a time when they add to the question1 ,what shall ,i do8 or1 ,what shall ,i believe8 the adult's interrogation--,why8 ,now this question is sacred1 and must be answered4 ,how truly its central position is impregnable1 ,herbert ,spencer has well discerned1 religion has never adequately realized4 ,in the devoutest faith1 as we habitually see it1 there lies hidden an innermost core of scepticism2 and it is this scepticism which causes that dread of inquiry displayed by religion when face to face with science4#ai ,true indeed2 ,religion has never realized how impregnable are many of its positions4 ,it has not yet been placed on that basis which would make them impregnable4 ,and in a transition period like the present1 holding ,authority with one hand1 the other feeling all around in the darkness for some strong new support1 ,theology is surely to be pitied4 ,whence this dread when brought face to face with ,science8 ,it cannot be dread of scientific fact4 ,no single fact in ,science has ever discredited a fact in ,religion4 ,the theologian knows that1 and admits that he has no fear of facts4 ,what then has ,science done to make ,theology tremble8 ,it is its method4 ,it is its system4 ,it is its ,reign of ,law4 ,it is its harmony and continuity4 ,the attack is not specific4 ,no one point is assailed4 ,it is the whole system which when compared with the other and weighed in its balance is found wanting4 ,an eye which has looked at the first cannot look upon this4 ,to do that1 and rest in the contemplation1 it has first to uncentury itself4 ,herbert ,spencer points out further1 with how much truth need not now be discussed1 that the purification of ,religion has always come from ,science4 ,it is very apparent at all events that an immense debt must soon be contracted4 ,the shifting of the furnishings will be a work of time4 ,but it must be accomplished4 ,and not the least result of the process will be the effect upon ,science itself4 ,no department of knowledge ever contributes to another without receiving its own again with usury--witness the reciprocal favors of ,biology and ,sociology4 ,from the time that ,comte defined the analogy between the phenomena exhibited by aggregations of associated men and those of animal colonies1 the ,science of ,life and the ,science of ,society have been so contributing to one another that their progress since has been all but hand-in-hand4 ,a conception borrowed by the one has been observed in time finding its way back1 and always in an enlarged form1 to further illuminate and enrich the field it left4 ,so must it be with ,science and ,religion4 ,if the purification of ,religion comes from ,science1 the purification of ,science1 in a deeper sense1 shall come from ,religion4 ,the true ministry of ,nature must at last be honored1 and ,science take its place as the great expositor4 ,to ,men of ,science1 not less than to ,theologians1 ,science then ,shall be a precious visitant2 and then1 ,and only then1 be worthy of her name2 ,for then her heart shall kindle1 her dull eye1 ,dull and inanimate1 no more shall hang ,chained to its object in brute slavery2 ,but taught with patient interest to watch ,the process of things1 and serve the cause ,of order and distinctness1 not for this ,shall it forget that its most noble use1 ,its most illustrious province1 must be found ,in furnishing clear guidance1 a support1 ,not treacherous1 to the mind's excursive power4#bj ,but the gift of ,science to ,theology shall be not less rich4 ,with the inspiration of ,nature to illuminate what the inspiration of ,revelation has left obscure1 heresy in certain whole departments shall become impossible4 ,with the demonstration of the naturalness of the supernatural1 scepticism even may come to be regarded as unscientific4 ,and those who have wrestled long for a few bare truths to ennoble life and rest their souls in thinking of the future will not be left in doubt4 ,it is impossible to believe that the amazing succession of revelations in the domain of ,nature during the last few centuries1 at which the world has all but grown tired wondering1 are to yield nothing for the higher life4 ,if the development of doctrine is to have any meaning for the future1 ,theology must draw upon the further revelation of the seen for the further revelation of the unseen4 ,it need1 and can1 add nothing to fact2 but as the vision of ,newton rested on a clearer and richer world than that of ,plato1 so1 though seeing the same things in the ,spiritual ,world as our fathers1 we may see them clearer and richer4 ,with the work of the centuries upon it1 the mental eye is a finer instrument1 and demands a more ordered world4 ,had the revelation of ,law been given sooner1 it had been unintelligible4 ,revelation never volunteers anything that man could discover for himself--on the principle1 probably1 that it is only when he is capable of discovering it that he is capable of appreciating it4 ,besides1 children do not need ,laws1 except ,laws in the sense of commandments4 ,they repose with simplicity on authority1 and ask no questions4 ,but there comes a time1 as the world reaches its manhood1 when they will ask questions1 and stake1 moreover1 everything on the answers4 ,that time is now4 ,hence we must exhibit our doctrines1 not lying athwart the lines of the world's thinking1 in a place reserved1 and therefore shunned1 for the ,great ,exception2 but in their kinship to all truth and in their ,law-relation to the whole of ,nature4 ,this is1 indeed1 simply following out the system of teaching begun by ,christ ,himself4 ,and what is the search for spiritual truth in the ,laws of ,nature but an attempt to utter the parables which have been hid so long in the world around without a preacher1 and to tell men at once more that the ,kingdom of ,heaven is like unto this and to that8 ,,part ,,ii4 ,the ,law of ,continuity having been referred to already as a prominent factor in this inquiry1 it may not be out of place to sustain the plea for ,natural ,law in the ,spiritual ,sphere by a brief statement and application of this great principle4 ,the ,law of ,continuity furnishes an a priori argument for the position we are attempting to establish of the most convincing kind--of such a kind1 indeed1 as to seem to our mind final4 ,briefly indicated1 the ground taken up is this1 that if ,nature be a harmony1 ,man in all his relations--physical1 mental1 moral1 and spiritual--falls to be included within its circle4 ,it is altogether unlikely that man spiritual should be violently separated in all the conditions of growth1 development1 and life1 from man physical4 ,it is indeed difficult to conceive that one set of principles should guide the natural life1 and these at a certain period--the very point where they are needed--suddenly give place to another set of principles altogether new and unrelated4 ,nature has never taught us to expect such a catastrophe4 ,she has nowhere prepared us for it4 ,and ,man cannot in the nature of things1 in the nature of thought1 in the nature of language1 be separated into two such incoherent halves4 ,the spiritual man1 it is true1 is to be studied in a different department of science from the natural man4 ,but the harmony established by science is not a harmony within specific departments4 ,it is the universe that is the harmony1 the universe of which these are but parts4 ,and the harmonies of the parts depend for all their weight and interest on the harmony of the whole4 ,while1 therefore1 there are many harmonies1 there is but one harmony4 ,the breaking up of the phenomena of the universe into carefully guarded groups1 and the allocation of certain prominent ,laws to each1 it must never be forgotten1 and however much ,nature lends herself to it1 are artificial4 ,we find an evolution in ,botany1 another in ,geology1 and another in ,astronomy1 and the effect is to lead one insensibly to look upon these as three distinct evolutions4 ,but these sciences1 of course1 are mere departments created by ourselves to facilitate knowledge--reductions of ,nature to the scale of our own intelligence4 ,and we must beware of breaking up ,nature except for this purpose4 ,science has so dissected everything1 that it becomes a mental difficulty to put the puzzle together again2 and we must keep ourselves in practice by constantly thinking of ,nature as a whole1 if science is not to be spoiled by its own refinements4 ,evolution being found in so many different sciences1 the likelihood is that it is a universal principle4 ,and there is no presumption whatever against this ,law and many others being excluded from the domain of the spiritual life4 ,on the other hand1 there are very convincing reasons why the ,natural ,laws should be continuous through the ,spiritual ,sphere--not changed in any way to meet the new circumstances1 but continuous as they stand4 ,but to the exposition4 ,one of the most striking generalizations of recent science is that even ,laws have their ,law4 ,phenomena first1 in the progress of knowledge1 were grouped together1 and ,nature shortly presented the spectacle of a cosmos1 the lines of beauty being the great ,natural ,laws4 ,so long1 however1 as these ,laws were merely great lines running through ,nature1 so long as they remained isolated from one another1 the system of ,nature was still incomplete4 ,the principle which sought ,law among phenomena had to go further and seek a ,law among the ,laws4 ,laws themselves accordingly came to be treated as they treated phenomena1 and found themselves finally grouped in a still narrower circle4 ,that inmost circle is governed by one great ,law1 the ,law of ,continuity4 ,it is the ,law for ,laws4 ,it is perhaps significant that few exact definitions of ,continuity are to be found4 ,even in ,sir ,w4 ,r4 ,grove's famous paper1#ba the fountain-head of the modern form of this far from modern truth1 there is no attempt at definition4 ,in point of fact1 its sweep is so magnificent1 it appeals so much more to the imagination than to the reason1 that men have preferred to exhibit rather than to define it4 ,its true greatness consists in the final impression it leaves on the mind with regard to the uniformity of ,nature4 ,for it was reserved for the ,law of ,continuity to put the finishing touch to the harmony of the universe4 ,probably the most satisfactory way to secure for one's self a just appreciation of the ,principle of ,continuity is to try to conceive the universe without it4 ,the opposite of a continuous universe would be a discontinuous universe1 an incoherent and irrelevant universe--as irrelevant in all its ways of doing things as an irrelevant person4 ,in effect1 to withdraw ,continuity from the universe would be the same as to withdraw reason from an individual4 ,the universe would run deranged2 the world would be a mad world4 ,there used to be a children's book which bore the fascinating title of ,the ,chance ,world4 ,it described a world in which everything happened by chance4 ,the sun might rise or it might not2 or it might appear at any hour1 or the moon might come up instead4 ,when children were born they might have one head or a dozen heads1 and those heads might not be on their shoulders--there might be no shoulders--but arranged about the limbs4 ,if one jumped up in the air it was impossible to predict whether he would ever come down again4 ,that he came down yesterday was no guarantee that he would do it next time4 ,for every day antecedent and consequent varied1 and gravitation and everything else changed from hour to hour4 ,to-day a child's body might be so light that it was impossible for it to descend from its chair to the floor2 but to-morrow1 in attempting the experiment again1 the impetus might drive it through a three-story house and dash it to pieces somewhere near the center of the earth4 ,in this chance world cause and effect were abolished4 ,law was annihilated4 ,and the result to the inhabitants of such a world could only be that reason would be impossible4 ,it would be a lunatic world with a population of lunatics4 ,now this is no more than a real picture of what the world would be without ,law1 or the universe without ,continuity4 ,and hence we come in sight of the necessity of some principle of ,law according to which ,laws shall be1 and be continuous throughout the system4 ,man as a rational and moral being demands a pledge that if he depends on ,nature for any given result on the ground that ,nature has previously led him to expect such a result1 his intellect shall not be insulted1 nor his confidence in her abused4 ,if he is to trust ,nature1 in short1 it must be guaranteed to him that in doing so he will never be put to confusion4 ,the authors of the ,unseen ,universe conclude their examination of this principle by saying that assuming the existence of a supreme ,governor of the universe1 the ,principle of ,continuity may be said to be the definite expression in words of our trust that ,he will not put us to permanent intellectual confusion1 and we can easily conceive similar expressions of trust with reference to the other faculties of man4#bb ,or1 as it has been well put elsewhere1 ,continuity is the expression of the ,divine ,veracity in ,nature4#bc ,the most striking examples of the continuousness of ,law are perhaps those furnished by ,astronomy1 especially in connection with the more recent applications of spectrum analysis4 ,but even in the case of the simpler ,laws the demonstration is complete4 ,there is no reason apart from ,continuity to expect that gravitation for instance should prevail outside our world4 ,but wherever matter has been detected throughout the entire universe1 whether in the form of star or planet1 comet or meteorite1 it is found to obey that ,law4 ,if there were no other indication of unity than this1 it would be almost enough4 ,for the unity which is implied in the mechanism of the heavens is indeed a unity which is all-embracing and complete4 ,the structure of our own bodies1 with all that depends upon it1 is a structure governed by1 and therefore adapted to1 the same force of gravitation which has determined the form and the movements of myriads of worlds4 ,every part of the human organism is fitted to conditions which would all be destroyed in a moment if the forces of gravitation were to change or fail4#bd ,but it is unnecessary to multiply illustrations4 ,having defined the principle we may proceed at once to apply it4 ,and the argument may be summed up in a sentence4 ,as the ,natural ,laws are continuous through the universe of matter and of space1 so will they be continuous through the universe of spirit4 ,if this be denied1 what then8 ,those who deny it must furnish the disproof4 ,the argument is founded on a principle which is now acknowledged to be universal2 and the onus of disproof must lie with those who may be bold enough to take up the position that a region exists where at last the ,principle of ,continuity fails4 ,to do this one would first have to overturn ,nature1 then science1 and last1 the human mind4 ,it may seem an obvious objection that many of the ,natural ,laws have no connection whatever with the ,spiritual ,world1 and as a matter of fact are not continued through it4 ,gravitation for instance--what direct application has that in the ,spiritual ,world8 ,the reply is threefold4 ,first1 there is no proof that it does not hold there4 ,if the spirit be in any sense material it certainly must hold4 ,in the second place1 gravitation may hold for the ,spiritual ,sphere although it cannot be directly proved4 ,the spirit may be armed with powers which enable it to rise superior to gravity4 ,during the action of these powers gravity need be no more suspended than in the case of a plant which rises in the air during the process of growth4 ,it does this in virtue of a higher ,law and in apparent defiance of the lower4 ,thirdly1 if the spiritual be not material it still cannot be said that gravitation ceases at that point to be continuous4 ,it is not gravitation that ceases--it is matter4 ,this point1 however1 will require development for another reason4 ,in the case of the plant just referred to1 there is a principle of growth or vitality at work superseding the attraction of gravity4 ,why is there no trace of that ,law in the ,inorganic world8 ,is not this another instance of the discontinuousness of ,law8 ,if the ,law of vitality has so little connection with the ,inorganic kingdom--less even than gravitation with the ,spiritual1 what becomes of ,continuity8 ,is it not evident that each kingdom of ,nature has its own set of ,laws which continue possibly untouched for the specific kingdom but never extend beyond it8 ,it is quite true that when we pass from the ,inorganic to the ,organic1 we come upon a new set of ,laws4 ,but the reason why the lower set do not seem to act in the higher sphere is not that they are annihilated1 but that they are overruled4 ,and the reason why the higher ,laws are not found operating in the lower is not because they are not continuous downward1 but because there is nothing for them there to act upon4 ,it is not ,law that fails1 but opportunity4 ,the biological ,laws are continuous for life4 ,wherever there is life1 that is to say1 they will be found acting1 just as gravitation acts wherever there is matter4 ,we have purposely1 in the last paragraph1 indulged in a fallacy4 ,we have said that the biological ,laws would certainly be continuous in the lower or mineral sphere were there anything there for them to act upon4 ,now ,laws do not act upon anything4 ,it has been stated already1 although apparently it cannot be too abundantly emphasized1 that ,laws are only modes of operation1 not themselves operators4 ,the accurate statement1 therefore1 would be that the biological ,laws would be continuous in the lower sphere were there anything there for them1 not to act upon1 but to keep in order4 ,if there is no acting going on1 if there is nothing being kept in order1 the responsibility does not lie with ,continuity4 ,the ,law will always be at its post1 not only when its services are required1 but wherever they are possible4 ,attention is drawn to this1 for it is a correction one will find one's self compelled often to make in his thinking4 ,it is so difficult to keep out of mind the idea of substance in connection with the ,natural ,laws1 the idea that they are the movers1 the essences1 the energies1 that one is constantly on the verge of falling into false conclusions4 ,thus a hasty glance at the present argument on the part of any one ill-furnished enough to confound ,law with substance or with cause would probably lead to its immediate rejection4 ,for1 to continue the same line of illustration1 it might next be urged that such a ,law as ,biogenesis1 which1 as we hope to show afterward1 is the fundamental ,law of life for both the natural and spiritual worlds1 can have no application whatsoever in the latter sphere4 ,the life with which it deals in the ,natural ,world does not enter at all into the ,spiritual ,world1 and therefore1 it might be argued1 the ,law of ,biogenesis cannot be capable of extension into it4 ,the ,law of ,continuity seems to be snapped at the point where the natural passes into the spiritual4 ,the vital principle of the body is a different thing from the vital principle of the spiritual life4 ,biogenesis deals with bios1 with the natural life1 with cells and germs1 and as there are no exactly similar cells and germs in the ,spiritual ,world1 the ,law cannot therefore apply4 ,all which is as true as if one were to say that the fifth proposition of the ,first ,book of ,euclid applies when the figures are drawn with chalk upon a blackboard1 but fails with regard to structures of wood or stone4 ,the proposition is continuous for the whole world1 and1 doubtless1 likewise for the sun and moon and stars4 ,the same universality may be predicated likewise for the ,law of life4 ,wherever there is life we may expect to find it arranged1 ordered1 governed according to the same ,law4 ,at the beginning of the natural life we find the ,law that natural life can only come from preexisting natural life2 and at the beginning of the spiritual life we find that the spiritual life can only come from preexisting spiritual life4 ,but there are not two ,laws2 there is one--,biogenesis4 ,at one end the ,law is dealing with matter1 at the other with spirit4 ,the qualitative terms natural and spiritual make no difference4 ,biogenesis is the ,law for all life and for all kinds of life1 and the particular substance with which it is associated is as indifferent to ,biogenesis as it is to ,gravitation4 ,gravitation will act whether the substance be suns and stars1 or grains of sand1 or raindrops4 ,biogenesis1 in like manner1 will act wherever there is life4 ,the conclusion finally is1 that from the nature of ,law in general1 and from the scope of the ,principle of ,continuity in particular1 the ,laws of the natural life must be those of the spiritual life4 ,this does not exclude1 observe1 the possibility of there being new ,laws in addition within the ,spiritual ,sphere2 nor does it even include the supposition that the old ,laws will be the conspicuous ,laws of the ,spiritual ,world1 both which points will be dealt with presently4 ,it simply asserts that whatever else may be found1 these must be found there2 that they must be there though they may not be seen there2 and that they must project beyond there if there be anything beyond there4 ,if the ,law of ,continuity is true1 the only way to escape the conclusion that the ,laws of the natural life are the ,laws1 or at least are ,laws1 of the spiritual life1 is to say that there is no spiritual life4 ,it is really easier to give up the phenomena than to give up the ,law4 ,two questions now remain for further consideration--one bearing on the possibility of new ,law in the spiritual2 the other1 on the assumed invisibility or inconspicuousness of the old ,laws on account of their subordination to the new4 ,let us begin by conceding that there may be new ,laws4 ,the argument might then be advanced that since1 in ,nature generally1 we come upon new ,laws as we pass from lower to higher kingdoms1 the old still remaining in force1 the newer ,laws which one would expect to meet in the ,spiritual ,world would so transcend and overwhelm the older as to make the analogy or identity1 even if traced1 of no practical use4 ,the new ,laws would represent operations and energies so different1 and so much more elevated1 that they would afford the true keys to the ,spiritual ,world4 ,as ,gravitation is practically lost sight of when we pass into the domain of life1 so ,biogenesis would be lost sight of as we enter the ,spiritual ,sphere4 ,we must first separate in this statement the old confusion of ,law and energy4 ,gravitation is not lost sight of in the organic world4 ,gravity may be1 to a certain extent1 but not ,gravitation2 and gravity only where a higher power counteracts its action4 ,at the same time it is not to be denied that the conspicuous thing in ,organic ,nature is not the great ,inorganic ,law4 ,but the objection turns upon the statement that reasoning from analogy we should expect1 in turn1 to lose sight of ,biogenesis as we enter the ,spiritual ,sphere4 ,one answer to which is that1 as a matter of fact1 we do not lose sight of it4 ,so far from being invisible1 it lies across the very threshold of the ,spiritual ,world1 and1 as we shall see1 pervades it everywhere4 ,what we lose sight of1 to a certain extent1 is the natural bios4 ,in the ,spiritual ,world that is not the conspicuous thing1 and it is obscure there just as gravity becomes obscure in the ,organic1 because something higher1 more potent1 more characteristic of the higher plane1 comes in4 ,that there are higher energies1 so to speak1 in the ,spiritual ,world is1 of course1 to be affirmed alike on the ground of analogy and of experience2 but it does not follow that these necessitate other ,laws4 ,a ,law has nothing to do with potency4 ,we may lose sight of a substance1 or of an energy1 but it is an abuse of language to talk of losing sight of ,laws4 ,are there1 then1 no other ,laws in the ,spiritual ,world except those which are the projections or extensions of ,natural ,laws8 ,from the number of ,natural ,laws which are found in the higher sphere1 from the large territory actually embraced by them1 and from their special prominence throughout the whole region1 it may at least be answered that the margin left for them is small4 ,but if the objection is pressed that it is contrary to the analogy1 and unreasonable in itself1 that there should not be new ,laws for this higher sphere1 the reply is obvious4 ,let these ,laws be produced4 ,if the spiritual nature1 in inception1 growth1 and development1 does not follow natural principles1 let the true principles be stated and explained4 ,we have not denied that there may be new ,laws4 ,one would almost be surprised if there were not4 ,the mass of material handed over from the natural to the spiritual1 continuous1 apparently1 from the natural to the spiritual1 is so great that till that is worked out it will be impossible to say what space is still left unembraced by ,laws that are known4 ,at present it is impossible even approximately to estimate the size of that supposed terra incognita4 ,from one point of view it ought to be vast1 from another extremely small4 ,but however large the region governed by the suspected new ,laws may be that cannot diminish by a hair's-breadth the size of the territory where the old ,laws still prevail4 ,that territory itself1 relatively to us though perhaps not absolutely1 must be of great extent4 ,the size of the key which is to open it1 that is1 the size of all the ,natural ,laws which can be found to apply1 is a guarantee that the region of the knowable in the ,spiritual ,world is at least as wide as these regions of the ,natural ,world which by the help of these ,laws have been explored4 ,no doubt also there yet remain some ,natural ,laws to be discovered1 and these in time may have a further light to shed on the spiritual field4 ,then we may know all that is8 ,by no means4 ,we may only know all that may be known4 ,and that may be very little4 ,the ,sovereign ,will which sways the scepter of that invisible empire must be granted a right of freedom--that freedom which by putting it into our wills ,he surely teaches us to honor in ,his4 ,in much of ,his dealing with us also1 in what may be called the paternal relation1 there may seem no special ,law--no ,law except the highest of all1 that ,law of which all other ,laws are parts1 that ,law which neither ,nature can wholly reflect nor the mind begin to fathom--the ,law of ,love4 ,he adds nothing to that1 however1 who loses sight of all other ,laws in that1 nor does he take from it who finds specific ,laws everywhere radiating from it4 ,with regard to the supposed new ,laws of the ,spiritual ,world--those ,laws1 that is1 which are found for the first time in the ,spiritual ,world1 and have no analogies lower down--there is this to be said1 that there is one strong reason against exaggerating either their number or importance--their importance at least for our immediate needs4 ,the connection between language and the ,law of ,continuity has been referred to incidentally already4 ,it is clear that we can only express the ,spiritual ,laws in language borrowed from the visible universe4 ,being dependent for our vocabulary on images1 if an altogether new and foreign set of ,laws existed in the ,spiritual ,world1 they could never take shape as definite ideas from mere want of words4 ,the hypothetical new ,laws which may remain to be discovered in the domain of ,natural or ,mental ,science may afford some index of these hypothetical higher ,laws1 but this would of course mean that the latter were no longer foreign but in analogy1 or1 likelier still1 identical4 ,if1 on the other hand1 the ,natural ,laws of the future have nothing to say of these higher ,laws1 what can be said of them8 ,where is the language to come from in which to frame them8 ,if their disclosure could be of any practical use to us1 we may be sure the clue to them1 the revelation of them1 in some way would have been put into ,nature4 ,if1 on the contrary1 they are not to be of immediate use to man1 it is better they should not embarrass him4 ,after all1 then1 our knowledge of higher ,law must be limited by our knowledge of the lower4 ,the ,natural ,laws as at present known1 whatever additions may yet be made to them1 give a fair rendering of the facts of ,nature4 ,and their analogies or their projections in the ,spiritual sphere may also be said to offer a fair account of that sphere1 or of one or two conspicuous departments of it4 ,the time has come for that account to be given4 ,the greatest among the theological ,laws are the ,laws of ,nature in disguise4 ,it will be the splendid task of the theology of the future to take off the mask and disclose to a waning scepticism the naturalness of the supernatural4 ,it is almost singular that the identification of the ,laws of the ,spiritual ,world with the ,laws of ,nature should so long have escaped recognition4 ,for apart from the probability on a priori grounds1 it is involved in the whole structure of ,parable4 ,when any two ,phenomena in the two spheres are seen to be analogous1 the parallelism must depend upon the fact that the ,laws governing them are not analogous but identical4 ,and yet this basis for ,parable seems to have been overlooked4 ,thus ,principal ,shairp3--,this seeing of ,spiritual truths mirrored in the face of ,nature rests not on any fancied1 but in a real analogy between the natural and the spiritual worlds4 ,they are in some sense which science has not ascertained1 but which the vital and religious imagination can perceive1 counterparts one of the other4#be ,but is not this the explanation1 that parallel ,phenomena depend upon identical ,laws8 ,it is a question indeed whether one can speak of ,laws at all as being analogous4 ,phenomena are parallel1 ,laws which make them so are themselves one4 ,in discussing the relations of the ,natural and ,spiritual kingdom1 it has been all but implied hitherto that the ,spiritual ,laws were framed originally on the plan of the ,natural2 and the impression one might receive in studying the two worlds for the first time from the side of analogy would naturally be that the lower world was formed first1 as a kind of scaffolding on which the higher and ,spiritual should be afterward raised4 ,now the exact opposite has been the case4 ,the first in the field was the ,spiritual ,world4 ,it is not necessary to reproduce here in detail the argument which has been stated recently with so much force in the ,unseen ,universe4 ,the conclusion of that work remains still unassailed1 that the visible universe has been developed from the unseen4 ,apart from the general proof from the ,law of ,continuity1 the more special grounds of such a conclusion are1 first1 the fact insisted upon by ,herschel and ,clerk-,maxwell that the atoms of which the visible universe is built up bear distinct marks of being manufactured articles2 and1 secondly1 the origin in time of the visible universe is implied from known facts with regard to the dissipation of energy4 ,with the gradual aggregation of mass the energy of the universe has been slowly disappearing1 and this loss of energy must go on until none remains4 ,there is1 therefore1 a point in time when the energy of the universe must come to an end2 and that which has its end in time cannot be infinite1 it must also have had a beginning in time4 ,hence the unseen existed before the seen4 ,there is nothing so especially exalted therefore in the ,natural ,laws in themselves as to make one anxious to find them blood relations of the ,spiritual4 ,it is not only because these ,laws are on the ground1 more accessible therefore to us who are but groundlings2 not only1 as the ,unseen ,universe points out in another connection1 because they are at the bottom of the list--are in fact the simplest and lowest--that they are capable of being most readily grasped by the finite intelligences of the universe4#bf ,but their true significance lies in the fact that they are on the list at all1 and especially in that the list is the same list4 ,their dignity is not as ,natural ,laws1 but as ,spiritual ,laws1 ,laws which1 as already said1 at one end are dealing with ,matter1 and at the other with ,spirit4 ,the physical properties of matter form the alphabet which is put into our hands by ,god1 the study of which1 if properly conducted1 will enable us more perfectly to read that great book which we call the ',universe4'#bg ,but1 over and above this1 the ,natural ,laws will enable us to read that great duplicate which we call the ,unseen ,universe1 and to think and live in fuller harmony with it4 ,after all1 the true greatness of ,law lies in its vision of the ,unseen4 ,law in the visible is the ,invisible in the visible4 ,and to speak of ,laws as ,natural is to define them in their application to a part of the universe1 the sense-part1 whereas a wider survey would lead us to regard all ,law as essentially ,spiritual4 ,to magnify the ,laws of ,nature1 as ,laws of this small world of ours1 is to take a provincial view of the universe4 ,law is great not because the phenomenal world is great1 but because these vanishing lines are the avenues into the eternal ,order4 ,it is less reverent to regard the universe as an illimitable avenue which leads up to ,god1 than to look upon it as a limited area bounded by an impenetrable wall1 which1 if we could only pierce it would admit us at once into the presence of the ,eternal8#bh ,indeed the authors of the ,unseen ,universe demur even to the expression material universe1 since1 as they tell us ,matter is 7though it may seem paradoxical to say so7 the less important half of the material of the physical universe4#bi ,and even ,mr4 ,huxley1 though in a different sense1 assures us1 with ,descartes1 that we know more of mind than we do of body2 that the immaterial world is a firmer reality than the material4#cj ,how the priority of the ,spiritual improves the strength and meaning of the whole argument will be seen at once4 ,the lines of the ,spiritual existed first1 and it was natural to expect that when the ,intelligence resident in the ',unseen' proceeded to frame the material universe ,he should go upon the lines already laid down4 ,he would1 in short1 simply project the higher ,laws downward1 so that the ,natural ,world would become an incarnation1 a visible representation1 a working model of the spiritual4 ,the whole function of the material world lies here4 ,the world is only a thing that is2 it is not4 ,it is a thing that teaches1 yet not even a thing--a show that shows1 a teaching shadow4 ,however useless the demonstration otherwise1 philosophy does well in proving that matter is a non-entity4 ,we work with it as the mathematician with an x4 ,the reality is alone the ,spiritual4 ,it is very well for physicists to speak of 'matter1' but for men generally to call this 'a material world' is an absurdity4 ,should we call it an x-world it would mean as much1 viz41 that we do not know what it is4#ca ,when shall we learn the true mysticism of one who was yet far from being a mystic--,we look not at the things which are seen1 but at the things which are not seen2 for the things which are seen are temporal1 but the things which are not seen are eternal8#cb ,the visible is the ladder up to the invisible2 the temporal is but the scaffolding of the eternal4 ,and when the last immaterial souls have climbed through this material to ,god1 the scaffolding shall be taken down1 and the earth dissolved with fervent heat--not because it was base1 but because its work is done4 ,,footnotes3 #c ,reign of ,law1 chap4 ii4 #d ,animal ,kingdom4 #e ,sartor ,resartus1 #aheh ,ed41 p4 #dc4 #f ,even parable1 however1 has always been considered to have attached to it a measure of evidential as well as of illustrative value4 ,thus3 ,the parable or other analogy to spiritual truth appropriated from the world of nature or man1 is not merely illustrative1 but also in some sort proof4 ,it is not merely that these analogies assist to make the truth intelligible or1 if intelligible before1 present it more vividly to the mind1 which is all that some will allow them4 ,their power lies deeper than this1 in the harmony unconsciously felt by all men1 and which all deeper minds have delighted to trace1 between the natural and spiritual worlds1 so that analogies from the first are felt to be something more than illustrations happily but yet arbitrarily chosen4 ,they are arguments1 and may be alleged as witnesses2 the world of nature being throughout a witness for the world of spirit1 proceeding from the same hand1 growing out of the same root1 and being constituted for that very end4--7,archbishop ,trench3 ,parables1 pp4 #ab1 #ac47 #g ,mill's ,logic1 vol4 ii4 p4 #if4 #h ,campbell's ,rhetoric1 vol4 i4 p4 #aad4 #i ,nature and the ,supernatural1 p4 #ai4 #aj ,the ,scientific ,basis of ,faith4 ,by ,j4 ,j4 ,murphy1 p4 #dff4 #aa ,op4 cit41 p4 #ccc4 #ab ,ibid41 p4 #ccc4 #ac ,ibid41 p4 #cca4 #ad ,analogy1 chap4 vii4 #ae ,unseen ,universe1 #fth ,ed41 pp4 #hi1 #ij4 #af ,essays1 vol4 i4 p4 #dj4 #ag ,a ,modern ,symposium4--,nineteenth ,century1 vol4 i4 p4 #fbe4 #ah ,beck3 ,bib4 ,psychol41 ,clark's ,tr41 ,pref41 #b;d ,ed41 p4 xiii4 #ai ,first ,principles1 p4 #afa4 #bj ,wordsworth's ,excursion1 ,book iv4 #ba ,the ,correlation of ,physical ,forces1 #fth ,ed41 p4 #aha et seq4 #bb ,unseen ,universe1 #fth ,ed41 p4 #hh4 #bc ,old ,faiths in ,new ,light1 by ,newman ,smith4 ,unwin's ,english edition1 p4 #beb4 #bd ,the ,duke of ,argyll3 ,contemporary ,review1 ,sept41 #ahhj1 p4 #ceh4 #be ,poetic ,interpretation of ,nature1 p4 #aae4 #bf #fth edition1 p4 #bce4 #bg ,ibid41 p4 #bhf4 #bh ,unseen ,universe1 p4 #if4 #bi ,unseen ,universe1 p4 #ajj4 #cj ,science and ,culture1 p4 #bei4 #ca ,hinton's ,philosophy and ,religion1 p4 #dj4 #cb #b ,cor4 iv4 #ah4 ,,biogenesis4 ,what we require is no new ,revelation1 but simply an adequate conception of the true essence of ,christianity4 ,and ,i believe that1 as time goes on1 the work of the ,holy ,spirit will be continuously shown in the gradual insight which the human race will attain into the true essence of the ,christian religion4 ,i am thus of opinion that a standing miracle exists1 and that it has ever existed--a direct and continued influence exerted by the supernatural on the natural4--,paradoxical ,philosophy4 ,he that hath the ,son hath ,life1 and he that hath not the ,son of ,god hath not ,life4--,john4 ,omne vivum ex vivo4--,harvey4 ,for two hundred years the scientific world has been rent with discussions upon the ,origin of ,life4 ,two great schools have defended exactly opposite views--one that matter can spontaneously generate life1 the other that life can only come from preexisting life4 ,the doctrine of ,spontaneous ,generation1 as the first is called1 has been revived within recent years by ,dr4 ,bastian1 after a series of elaborate experiments on the ,beginnings of ,life4 ,stated in his own words1 his conclusion is this3 ,both observation and experiment unmistakably testify to the fact that living matter is constantly being formed de novo1 in obedience to the same laws and tendencies which determined all the more simple chemical combinations4#cc ,life1 that is to say1 is not the ,gift of ,life4 ,it is capable of springing into being of itself4 ,it can be ,spontaneously ,generated4 ,this announcement called into the field a phalanx of observers1 and the highest authorities in biological science engaged themselves afresh upon the problem4 ,the experiments necessary to test the matter can be followed or repeated by any one possessing the slightest manipulative skill4 ,glass vessels are three-parts filled with infusions of hay or any organic matter4 ,they are boiled to kill all germs of life1 and hermetically sealed to exclude the outer air4 ,the air inside1 having been exposed to the boiling temperature for many hours1 is supposed to be likewise dead2 so that any life which may subsequently appear in the closed flasks must have sprung into being of itself4 ,in ,bastian's experiments1 after every expedient to secure sterility1 life did appear inside in myriad quantity4 ,therefore1 he argued1 it was spontaneously generated4 ,but the phalanx of observers found two errors in this calculation4 ,professor ,tyndall repeated the same experiment1 only with a precaution to insure absolute sterility suggested by the most recent science--a discovery of his own4 ,after every care1 he conceived there might still be undestroyed germs in the air inside the flasks4 ,if the air were absolutely germless and pure1 would the myriad-life appear8 ,he manipulated his experimental vessels in an atmosphere which under the high test of optical purity--the most delicate known test--was absolutely germless4 ,here not a vestige of life appeared4 ,he varied the experiment in every direction1 but matter in the germless air never yielded life4 ,the other error was detected by ,mr4 ,dallinger4 ,he found among the lower forms of life the most surprising and indestructible vitality4 ,many animals could survive much higher temperatures than ,dr4 ,bastian had applied to annihilate them4 ,some germs almost refused to be annihilated--they were all but fire-proof4 ,these experiments have practically closed the question4 ,a decided and authoritative conclusion has now taken its place in science4 ,so far as science can settle anything1 this question is settled4 ,the attempt to get the living out of the dead has failed4 ,spontaneous ,generation has had to be given up4 ,and it is now recognized on every hand that ,life can only come from the touch of ,life4 ,huxley categorically announces that the doctrine of ,biogenesis1 or life only from life1 is victorious along the whole line at the present day4#cd ,and even while confessing that he wishes the evidence were the other way1 ,tyndall is compelled to say1 ,i affirm that no shred of trustworthy experimental testimony exists to prove that life in our day has ever appeared independently of antecedent life4#ce ,for much more than two hundred years a similar discussion has dragged its length through the religious world4 ,two great schools here also have defended exactly opposite views--one that the ,spiritual ,life in man can only come from preexisting ,life1 the other that it can ,spontaneously ,generate itself4 ,taking its stand upon the initial statement of the ,author of the ,spiritual ,life1 one small school1 in the face of derision and opposition1 has persistently maintained the doctrine of ,biogenesis4 ,another1 larger and with greater pretension to philosophic form1 has defended ,spontaneous ,generation4 ,the weakness of the former school consists--though this has been much exaggerated--in its more or less general adherence to the extreme view that religion had nothing to do with the natural life2 the weakness of the latter lay in yielding to the more fatal extreme that it had nothing to do with anything else4 ,that man1 being a worshiping animal by nature1 ought to maintain certain relations to the ,supreme ,being1 was indeed to some extent conceded by the naturalistic school1 but religion itself we looked upon as a thing to be spontaneously generated by the evolution of character in the laboratory of common life4 ,the difference between the two positions is radical4 ,translating from the language of ,science into that of ,religion1 the theory of ,spontaneous ,generation is simply that a man may become gradually better and better until in course of the process he reaches that quantity of religious nature known as ,spiritual ,life4 ,this ,life is not something added ab extra to the natural man2 it is the normal and appropriate development of the natural man4 ,biogenesis opposes to this the whole doctrine of ,regeneration4 ,the ,spiritual ,life is the gift of the ,living ,spirit4 ,the spiritual man is no mere development of the natural man4 ,he is a ,new ,creation born from ,above4 ,as well expect a hay infusion to become gradually more and more living until in course of the process it reached ,vitality1 as expect a man by becoming better and better to attain the ,eternal ,life4 ,the advocates of ,biogenesis in ,religion have founded their argument hitherto all but exclusively on ,scripture4 ,the relation of the doctrine to the constitution and course of ,nature was not disclosed4 ,its importance1 therefore1 was solely as a dogma2 and being directly concerned with the ,supernatural1 it was valid for those alone who chose to accept the ,supernatural4 ,yet it has been keenly felt by those who attempt to defend this doctrine of the origin of the ,spiritual ,life1 that they have nothing more to oppose to the rationalistic view than the ipse dixit of ,revelation4 ,the argument from experience1 in the nature of the case1 is seldom easy to apply1 and ,christianity has always found at this point a genuine difficulty in meeting the challenge of ,natural ,religions4 ,the direct authority of ,nature1 using ,nature in its limited sense1 was not here to be sought for4 ,on such a question its voice was necessarily silent2 and all that the apologist could look for lower down was a distant echo or analogy4 ,all that is really possible1 indeed1 is such an analogy2 and if that can now be found in ,biogenesis1 ,christianity in its most central position secures at length a support and basis in the ,laws of ,nature4 ,up to the present time the analogy required has not been forthcoming4 ,there was no known parallel in ,nature for the spiritual phenomena in question4 ,but now the case is altered4 ,with the elevation of ,biogenesis to the rank of a scientific fact1 all problems concerning the ,origin of ,life are placed on a different footing4 ,and it remains to be seen whether ,religion cannot at once reaffirm and re-shape its argument in the light of this modern truth4 ,if the doctrine of the ,spontaneous ,generation of ,spiritual ,life can be met on scientific grounds1 it will mean the removal of the most serious enemy ,christianity has to deal with1 and especially within its own borders1 at the present day4 ,the religion of ,jesus has probably always suffered more from those who have misunderstood than from those who have opposed it4 ,of the multitudes who confess ,christianity at this hour how many have clear in their minds the cardinal distinction established by its ,founder between born of the flesh and born of the ,spirit8 ,by how many teachers of ,christianity even is not this fundamental postulate persistently ignored8 ,a thousand modern pulpits every seventh day are preaching the doctrine of ,spontaneous ,generation4 ,the finest and best of recent poetry is colored with this same error4 ,spontaneous ,generation is the leading theology of the modern religious or irreligious novel2 and much of the most serious and cultured writing of the day devotes itself to earnest preaching of this impossible gospel4 ,the current conception of the ,christian religion in short--the conception which is held not only popularly but by men of culture--is founded upon a view of its origin which1 if it were true1 would render the whole scheme abortive4 ,let us first place vividly in our imagination the picture of the two great ,kingdoms of ,nature1 the inorganic and organic1 as these now stand in the light of the ,law of ,biogenesis4 ,what essentially is involved in saying that there is no ,spontaneous ,generation of ,life8 ,it is meant that the passage from the mineral world to the plant or animal world is hermetically sealed on the mineral side4 ,this inorganic world is staked off from the living world by barriers which have never yet been crossed from within4 ,no change of substance1 no modification of environment1 no chemistry1 no electricity1 nor any form of energy1 nor any evolution can endow any single atom of the mineral world with the attribute of ,life4 ,only by the bending down into this dead world of some living form can these dead atoms be gifted with the properties of vitality1 without this preliminary contact with ,life they remain fixed in the inorganic sphere forever4 ,it is a very mysterious ,law which guards in this way the portals of the living world4 ,and if there is one thing in ,nature more worth pondering for its strangeness it is the spectacle of this vast helpless world of the dead cut off from the living by the ,law of ,biogenesis and denied forever the possibility of resurrection within itself4 ,so very strange a thing1 indeed1 is this broad line in ,nature1 that ,science has long and urgently sought to obliterate it4 ,biogenesis stands in the way of some forms of ,evolution with such stern persistency that the assaults upon this ,law for number and thoroughness have been unparalleled4 ,but1 as we have seen1 it has stood the test4 ,nature1 to the modern eye1 stands broken in two4 ,the physical ,laws may explain the inorganic world2 the biological ,laws may account for the development of the organic4 ,but of the point where they meet1 of that strange borderland between the dead and the living1 ,science is silent4 ,it is as if ,god had placed everything in earth and heaven in the hands of ,nature1 but reserved a point at the genesis of ,life for ,his direct appearing4 ,the power of the analogy1 for which we are laying the foundations1 to seize and impress the mind1 will largely depend on the vividness with which one realizes the gulf which ,nature places between the living and the dead4#cf ,but those who1 in contemplating ,nature1 have found their attention arrested by this extraordinary dividing-line severing the visible universe eternally into two2 those who in watching the progress of science have seen barrier after barrier disappear--barrier between plant and plant1 between animal and animal1 and even between animal and plant--but this gulf yawn more hopelessly wide with every advance of knowledge1 will be prepared to attach a significance to the ,law of ,biogenesis and its analogies more profound perhaps than to any other fact or law in ,nature4 ,if1 as ,pascal says1 ,nature is an image of grace2 if the things that are seen are in any sense the images of the unseen1 there must lie in this great gulf fixed1 this most unique and startling of all natural phenomena1 a meaning of peculiar moment4 ,where now in the ,spiritual spheres shall we meet a companion phenomena to this8 ,what in the ,unseen shall be likened to this deep dividing-line1 or where in human experience is another barrier which never can be crossed8 ,there is such a barrier4 ,in the dim but not inadequate vision of the ,spiritual ,world presented in the ,word of ,god1 the first thing that strikes the eye is a great gulf fixed4 ,the passage from the ,natural ,world to the ,spiritual ,world is hermetically sealed on the natural side4 ,the door from the inorganic to the organic is shut1 no mineral can open it2 so the door from the natural to the spiritual is shut1 and no man can open it4 ,this world of natural men is staked off from the ,spiritual ,world by barriers which have never yet been crossed from within4 ,no organic change1 no modification of environment1 no mental energy1 no moral effort1 no evolution of character1 no progress of civilization can endow any single human soul with the attribute of ,spiritual ,life4 ,the ,spiritual ,world is guarded from the world next in order beneath it by a law of ,biogenesis--except a man be born again 444 except a man be born of water and of the ,spirit1 he cannot enter the ,kingdom of ,god4 ,it is not said1 in this enunciation of the law1 that if the condition be not fulfilled the natural man will not enter the ,kingdom of ,god4 ,the word is cannot4 ,for the exclusion of the spiritually inorganic from the ,kingdom of the spiritually organic is not arbitrary4 ,nor is the natural man refused admission on unexplained grounds4 ,his admission is a scientific impossibility4 ,except a mineral be born from above--from the ,kingdom just above it--it cannot enter the ,kingdom just above it4 ,and except a man be born from above1 by the same law1 he cannot enter the ,kingdom just above him4 ,there being no passage from one ,kingdom to another1 whether from inorganic to organic1 or from organic to spiritual1 the intervention of ,life is a scientific necessity if a stone or a plant or an animal or a man is to pass from a lower to a higher sphere4 ,the plant stretches down to the dead world beneath it1 touches its minerals and gases with its mystery of ,life1 and brings them up ennobled and transformed to the living sphere4 ,the breath of ,god1 blowing where it listeth1 touches with its mystery of ,life the dead souls of men1 bears them across the bridgeless gulf between the natural and the spiritual1 between the spiritually inorganic and the spiritually organic1 endows them with its own high qualities1 and develops within them these new and secret faculties1 by which those who are born again are said to see the ,kingdom of ,god4 ,what is the evidence for this great gulf fixed at the portals of the ,spiritual ,world8 ,does ,science close this gate1 or ,reason1 or ,experience1 or ,revelation8 ,we reply1 all four4 ,the initial statement1 it is not to be denied1 reaches us from ,revelation4 ,but is not this evidence here in court8 ,or shall it be said that any argument deduced from this is a transparent circle--that after all we simply come back to the unsubstantiality of the ipse dixit8 ,not altogether1 for the analogy lends an altogether new authority to the ipse dixit4 ,how substantial that argument really is1 is seldom realized4 ,we yield the point here much too easily4 ,the right of the ,spiritual ,world to speak of its own phenomena is as secure as the right of the ,natural ,world to speak of itself4 ,what is ,science but what the ,natural ,world has said to natural men8 ,what is ,revelation but what the ,spiritual ,world has said to ,spiritual men8 ,let us at least ask what ,revelation has announced with reference to this ,spiritual ,law of ,biogenesis2 afterward we shall inquire whether ,science1 while indorsing the verdict1 may not also have some further vindication of its title to be heard4 ,the words of ,scripture which preface this inquiry contain an explicit and original statement of the ,law of ,biogenesis for the ,spiritual ,life4 ,he that hath the ,son hath ,life1 and he that hath not the ,son of ,god hath not ,life4 ,life1 that is to say1 depends upon contact with ,life4 ,it cannot spring up of itself4 ,it cannot develop out of anything that is not ,life4 ,there is no ,spontaneous ,generation in religion any more than in ,nature4 ,christ is the source of ,life in the ,spiritual ,world2 and he that hath the ,son hath ,life1 and he that hath not the ,son1 whatever else he may have1 hath not ,life4 ,here1 in short1 is the categorical denial of ,abiogenesis and the establishment in this high field of the classical formula ,omne vivum ex vivo--no ,life without antecedent ,life4 ,in this mystical theory of the ,origin of ,life the whole of the ,new ,testament writers are agreed4 ,and1 as we have already seen1 ,christ ,himself founds ,christianity upon ,biogenesis stated in its most literal form4 ,except a man be born of water and of the ,spirit he cannot enter into the ,kingdom of ,god4 ,that which is born of the flesh is flesh2 and that which is born of the ,spirit is ,spirit4 ,marvel not that ,i said unto you1 ye must be born again4#cg ,why did ,he add ,marvel not8 ,did ,he seek to allay the fear in the bewildered ruler's mind that there was more in this novel doctrine than a simple analogy from the first to the second birth8 ,the attitude of the natural man1 again1 with reference to the ,spiritual1 is a subject on which the ,new ,testament is equally pronounced4 ,not only in his relation to the spiritual man1 but to the whole ,spiritual ,world1 the natural man is regarded as dead4 ,he is as a crystal to an organism4 ,the natural world is to the ,spiritual as the inorganic to the organic4 ,to be carnally minded is ,death4#ch ,thou hast a name to live1 but art ,dead4#ci ,she that liveth in pleasure is ,dead while she liveth4#dj ,to you he ,hath given ,life which were ,dead in trespasses and sins4#da ,it is clear that a remarkable harmony exists here between the ,organic ,world as arranged by ,science and the ,spiritual ,world as arranged by ,scripture4 ,we find one great ,law guarding the thresholds of both worlds1 securing that entrance from a lower sphere shall only take place by a direct regenerating act1 and that emanating from the world next in order above4 ,there are not two laws of ,biogenesis1 one for the natural1 the other for the ,spiritual2 one law is for both4 ,wherever there is ,life1 ,life of any kind1 this same law holds4 ,the analogy1 therefore1 is only among the phenomena2 between laws there is no analogy--there is ,continuity4 ,in either case1 the first step in peopling these worlds with the appropriate living forms is virtually miracle4 ,nor in one case is there less of mystery in the act than in the other4 ,the second birth is scarcely less perplexing to the theologian than the first to the embryologist4 ,a moment's reflection ought now to make it clear why in the ,spiritual ,world there had to be added to this mystery the further mystery of its proclamation through the medium of ,revelation4 ,this is the point at which the scientific man is apt to part company with the theologian4 ,he insists on having all things materialized before his eyes in ,nature4 ,if ,nature cannot discuss this with him1 there is nothing to discuss4 ,but ,nature can discuss this with him--only she cannot open the discussion or supply all the material to begin with4 ,if ,science averred that she could do this1 the theologian this time must part company with such ,science4 ,for any ,science which makes such a demand is false to the doctrines of ,biogenesis4 ,what is this but the demand that a lower world1 hermetically sealed against all communication with a world above it1 should have a mature and intelligent acquaintance with its phenomena and laws8 ,can the mineral discourse to me of animal ,life8 ,can it tell me what lies beyond the narrow boundary of its inert being8 ,knowing nothing of other than the chemical and physical laws1 what is its criticism worth of the principles of ,biology8 ,and even when some visitor from the upper world1 for example some root from a living tree1 penetrating its dark recess1 honors it with a touch1 will it presume to define the form and purpose of its patron1 or until the bioplasm has done its gracious work can it even know that it is being touched8 ,the barrier which separates ,kingdoms from one another restricts mind not less than matter4 ,any information of the ,kingdoms above it that could come to the mineral world could only come by a communication from above4 ,an analogy from the lower world might make such communication intelligible as well as credible1 but the information in the first instance must be vouchsafed as a revelation4 ,similarly if those in the organic ,kingdom are to know anything of the ,spiritual ,world1 that knowledge must at least begin as ,revelation4 ,men who reject this source of information1 by the ,law of ,biogenesis1 can have no other4 ,it is no spell of ignorance arbitrarily laid upon certain members of the ,organic ,kingdom that prevents them reading the secrets of the ,spiritual ,world4 ,it is a scientific necessity4 ,no exposition of the case could be more truly scientific than this3 ,the natural man receiveth not the things of the ,spirit of ,god2 for they are foolishness unto him3 neither can he know them1 because they are spiritually discerned4#db ,the verb here1 it will be again observed1 is potential4 ,this is not a dogma of theology1 but a necessity of ,science4 ,and ,science1 for the most part1 has consistently accepted the situation4 ,it has always proclaimed its ignorance of the ,spiritual ,world4 ,when ,mr4 ,herbert ,spencer affirms1 ,regarding ,science as a gradually increasing sphere we may say that every addition to its surface does but bring it into wider contact with surrounding nescience1#dc from his standpoint he is quite correct4 ,the endeavors of well-meaning persons to show that the ,agnostic's position1 when he asserts his ignorance of the ,spiritual ,world1 is only a pretence2 the attempts to prove that he really knows a great deal about it if he would only admit it1 are quite misplaced4 ,he really does not know4 ,the verdict that the natural man receiveth not the things of the ,spirit of ,god1 that they are foolishness unto him1 that neither can he know them1 is final as a statement of scientific truth--a statement on which the entire ,agnostic literature is simply one long commentary4 ,we are now in a better position to follow out the more practical bearings of ,biogenesis4 ,there is an immense region surrounding ,regeneration1 a dark and perplexing region where men would be thankful for any light4 ,it may well be that ,biogenesis in its many ramifications may yet reach down to some of the deeper mysteries of the ,spiritual ,life4 ,but meantime there is much to define even on the surface4 ,and for the present we shall content ourselves by turning its light upon one or two points of current interest4 ,it must long ago have appeared how decisive is the answer of ,science to the practical question with which we set out as to the possibility of a ,spontaneous ,development of ,spiritual ,life in the individual soul4 ,the inquiry into the ,origin of ,life is the fundamental question alike of ,biology and ,christianity4 ,we can afford to enlarge upon it1 therefore1 even at the risk of repetition4 ,when men are offering us a ,christianity without a living ,spirit1 and a personal religion without conversion1 no emphasis or reiteration can be extreme4 ,besides1 the clearness as well as the definiteness of the ,testimony of ,nature to any ,spiritual truth is of immense importance4 ,regeneration has not merely been an outstanding difficulty1 but an overwhelming obscurity4 ,even to earnest minds the difficulty of grasping the truth at all has always proved extreme4 ,philosophically one scarcely sees either the necessity or the possibility of being born again4 ,why a virtuous man should not simply grow better and better until in his own right he enter the ,kingdom of ,god is what thousands honestly and seriously fail to understand4 ,now ,philosophy cannot help us here4 ,her arguments are1 if anything1 against us4 ,but ,science answers to the appeal at once4 ,if it be simply pointed out that this is the same absurdity as to ask why a stone should not grow more and more living till it enters the ,organic ,world1 the point is clear in an instant4 ,what now1 let us ask specifically1 distinguishes a ,christian man from a non-,christian man8 ,is it that he has certain mental characteristics not possessed by the other8 ,is it that certain faculties have been trained in him1 that morality assumes special and higher manifestations1 and character a nobler form8 ,is the ,christian merely an ordinary man who happens from birth to have been surrounded with a peculiar set of ideas8 ,is his religion merely that peculiar quality of the moral life defined by ,mr4 ,matthew ,arnold as morality touched by emotion8 ,and does the possession of a high ideal1 benevolent sympathies1 a reverent spirit1 and a favorable environment account for what men call his ,spiritual ,life8 ,the distinction between them is the same as that between the ,organic and the ,inorganic1 the living and the dead4 ,what is the difference between a crystal and an organism1 a stone and a plant8 ,they have much in common4 ,both are made of the same atoms4 ,both display the same properties of matter4 ,both are subject to the ,physical ,laws4 ,both may be very beautiful4 ,but besides possessing all that the crystal has1 the plant possesses something more--a mysterious something called ,life4 ,this ,life is not something which existed in the crystal only in a less developed form4 ,there is nothing at all like it in the crystal4 ,there is nothing like the first beginning of it in the crystal1 not a trace or symptom of it4 ,this plant is tenanted by something new1 an original and unique possession added over and above all the properties common to both4 ,when from vegetable ,life we rise to animal ,life1 here again we find something original and unique--unique at least as compared with the mineral4 ,from animal ,life we ascend again to ,spiritual ,life4 ,and here also is something new1 something still more unique4 ,he who lives the ,spiritual ,life has a distinct kind of ,life added to all the other phases of ,life which he manifests--a kind of ,life infinitely more distinct than is the active ,life of a plant from the inertia of a stone4 ,the ,spiritual man is more distinct in point of fact than is the plant from the stone4 ,this is the one possible comparison in ,nature1 for it is the widest distinction in ,nature2 but compared with the difference between the ,natural and the ,spiritual the gulf which divides the organic from the inorganic is a hair's-breadth4 ,the natural man belongs essentially to this present order of things4 ,he is endowed simply with a high quality of the natural animal ,life4 ,but it is ,life of so poor a quality that it is not ,life at all4 ,he that hath not the ,son hath not ,life2 but he that hath the ,son hath ,life--a new and distinct and supernatural endowment4 ,he is not of this world4 ,he is of the timeless state1 of ,eternity4 ,it doth not yet appear what he shall be4 ,the difference between the ,spiritual man and the ,natural man is not a difference of development1 but of generation4 ,it is a distinction of quality not of quantity4 ,a man cannot rise by any natural development from morality touched by emotion1 to morality touched by ,life4 ,were we to construct a scientific classification1 ,science would compel us to arrange all natural men1 moral or immoral1 educated or vulgar1 as one family4 ,one might be high in the family group1 another low2 yet1 practically1 they are marked by the same set of characteristics--they eat1 sleep1 work1 think1 live1 die4 ,but the ,spiritual man is removed from this family so utterly by the possession of an additional characteristic that a biologist1 fully informed of the whole circumstances1 would not hesitate a moment to classify him elsewhere4 ,and if he really entered into these circumstances it would not be in another family but in another ,kingdom4 ,it is an old-fashioned theology which divides the world in this way--which speaks of men as ,living and ,dead1 ,lost and ,saved--a stern theology all but fallen into disuse4 ,this difference between the ,living and the ,dead in souls is so unproved by casual observation1 so impalpable in itself1 so startling as a doctrine1 that schools of culture have ridiculed or denied the grim distinction4 ,nevertheless the grim distinction must be retained4 ,it is a scientific distinction4 ,he that hath not the ,son hath not ,life4 ,now it is this great ,law which finally distinguishes ,christianity from all other religions4 ,it places the religion of ,christ upon a footing altogether unique4 ,there is no analogy between the ,christian religion and1 say1 ,buddhism or the ,mohammedan religion4 ,there is no true sense in which a man can say1 ,he that hath ,buddha hath ,life4 ,buddha has nothing to do with ,life4 ,he may have something to do with morality4 ,he may stimulate1 impress1 teach1 guide1 but there is no distinct new thing added to the souls of those who profess ,buddhism4 ,these religions may be developments of the natural1 mental1 or moral man4 ,but ,christianity professes to be more4 ,it is the mental or moral man plus something else or some ,one else4 ,it is the infusion into the ,spiritual man of a ,new ,life1 of a quality unlike anything else in ,nature4 ,this constitutes the separate ,kingdom of ,christ1 and gives to ,christianity alone of all the religions of mankind the strange mark of ,divinity4 ,shall we next inquire more precisely what is this something extra which constitutes ,spiritual ,life8 ,what is this strange and new endowment in its nature and vital essence8 ,and the answer is brief--it is ,christ4 ,he that hath the ,son hath ,life4 ,are we forsaking the lines of ,science in saying so8 ,yes and ,no4 ,science has drawn for us the distinction4 ,it has no voice as to the nature of the distinction except this--that the new endowment is a something different from anything else with which it deals4 ,it is not ordinary ,vitality1 it is not intellectual1 it is not moral1 but something beyond4 ,and ,revelation steps in and names what it is--it is ,christ4 ,out of the multitude of sentences where this announcement is made1 these few may be selected3 ,know ye not your own selves how that ,jesus ,christ is in you8#dd ,your bodies are the members of ,christ4#de ,at that day ye shall know that ,i am in the ,father1 and ye in ,me1 and ,i in you4#df ,we will come unto him and make our abode with him4#dg ,i am the ,vine1 ye are the branches4#dh ,i am crucified with ,christ1 nevertheless ,i live1 yet not ,i1 but ,christ liveth in me4#di ,three things are clear from these statements3 ,first1 they are not mere figures of rhetoric4 ,they are explicit declarations4 ,if language means anything these words announce a literal fact4 ,in some of ,christ's own statements the literalism is if possible still more impressive4 ,for instance1 ,except ye eat the flesh of the ,son of man and drink ,his blood1 ye have no life in you4 ,whoso eateth ,my flesh and drinketh ,my blood hath eternal life2 and ,i will raise him up at the last day4 ,for ,my flesh is meat indeed1 and ,my blood is drink indeed4 ,he that eateth ,my flesh and drinketh ,my blood dwelleth in ,me and ,i in him4 ,in the second place1 ,spiritual ,life is not something outside ourselves4 ,the idea is not that ,christ is in heaven and that we can stretch out some mysterious faculty and deal with ,him there4 ,this is the vague form in which many conceive the truth1 but it is contrary to ,christ's teaching and to the analogy of nature4 ,vegetable ,life is not contained in a reservoir somewhere in the skies1 and measured out spasmodically at certain seasons4 ,the ,life is in every plant and tree1 inside its own substance and tissue1 and continues there until it dies4 ,this localization of ,life in the individual is precisely the point where ,vitality differs from the other forces of nature1 such as magnetism and electricity4 ,vitality has much in common with such forces as magnetism and electricity1 but there is one inviolable distinction between them--that ,life is permanently fixed and rooted in the organism4 ,the doctrines of conservation and transformation of energy1 that is to say1 do not hold for ,vitality4 ,the electrician can demagnetize a bar of iron1 that is1 he can transform its energy of magnetism into something else--heat1 or motion1 or light--and then re-form these back into magnetism4 ,for magnetism has no root1 no individuality1 no fixed indwelling4 ,but the biologist cannot devitalize a plant or an animal and revivify it again4#ej ,life is not one of the homeless forces which promiscuously inhabit space1 or which can be gathered like electricity from the clouds and dissipated back again into space4 ,life is definite and resident2 and ,spiritual ,life is not a visit from a force1 but a resident tenant in the soul4 ,this is1 however1 to formulate the statement of the third point1 that ,spiritual ,life is not an ordinary form of energy or force4 ,the analogy from ,nature indorses this1 but here ,nature stops4 ,it cannot say what ,spiritual ,life is4 ,indeed what natural ,life is remains unknown1 and the word ,life still wanders through ,science without a definition4 ,nature is silent1 therefore1 and must be as to ,spiritual ,life4 ,but in the absence of natural light we fall back upon that complementary revelation which always shines1 when truth is necessary and where ,nature fails4 ,we ask with ,paul when this ,life first visited him on the ,damascus road1 ,what is this8 ,who art ,thou1 ,lord8 ,and we hear1 ,i am ,jesus4#ea ,we must expect to find this denied4 ,besides a proof from ,revelation1 this is an argument from experience4 ,and yet we shall still be told that this ,spiritual ,life is a force4 ,but let it be remembered what this means in ,science1 it means the heresy of confounding ,force with ,vitality4 ,we must also expect to be told that this ,spiritual ,life is simply a development of ordinary ,life--just as ,dr4 ,bastian tells us that natural ,life is formed according to the same laws which determine the more simple chemical combinations4 ,but remember what this means in ,science4 ,it is the heresy of ,spontaneous ,generation1 a heresy so thoroughly discredited now that scarcely an authority in ,europe will lend his name to it4 ,who art ,thou1 ,lord8 ,unless we are to be allowed to hold ,spontaneous ,generation there is no alternative3 ,life can only come from ,life3 ,i am ,jesus4 ,a hundred other questions now rush into the mind about this ,life3 ,how does it come8 ,why does it come8 ,how is it manifested8 ,what faculty does it employ8 ,where does it reside8 ,is it communicable8 ,what are its conditions8 ,one or two of these questions may be vaguely answered1 the rest bring us face to face with mystery4 ,let it not be thought that the scientific treatment of a ,spiritual subject has reduced religion to a problem of physics1 or demonstrated ,god by the laws of biology4 ,a religion without mystery is an absurdity4 ,even ,science has its mysteries1 none more inscrutable than around this ,science of ,life4 ,it taught us sooner or later to expect mystery1 and now we enter its domain4 ,let it be carefully marked1 however1 that the cloud does not fall and cover us till we have ascertained the most momentous truth of ,religion--that ,christ is in the ,christian4 ,not that there is anything new in this4 ,the ,churches have always held that ,christ was the source of ,life4 ,no spiritual man ever claims that his spirituality is his own4 ,i live1 he will tell you2 nevertheless it is not ,i1 but ,christ liveth in me4 ,christ our ,life has indeed been the only doctrine in the ,christian ,church from ,paul to ,augustine1 from ,calvin to ,newman4 ,yet1 when the ,spiritual man is cross-examined upon this confession it is astonishing to find what uncertain hold it has upon his mind4 ,doctrinally he states it adequately and holds it unhesitatingly4 ,but when pressed with the literal question he shrinks from the answer4 ,we do not really believe that the ,living ,christ has touched us1 that ,he makes ,his abode in us4 ,spiritual ,life is not as real to us as natural ,life4 ,and we cover our retreat into unbelieving vagueness with a plea of reverence1 justified1 as we think1 by the ,thus far and no farther of ancient ,scriptures4 ,there is often a great deal of intellectual sin concealed under this old aphorism4 ,when men do not really wish to go farther they find it an honorable convenience sometimes to sit down on the outermost edge of the ,holy ,ground on the pretext of taking off their shoes4 ,yet we must be certain that1 making a virtue of reverence1 we are not merely excusing ignorance2 or1 under the plea of mystery1 evading a truth which has been stated in the ,new ,testament a hundred times1 in the most literal form1 and with all but monotonous repetition4 ,the greatest truths are always the most loosely held4 ,and not the least of the advantages of taking up this question from the present standpoint is that we may see how a confused doctrine can really bear the luminous definition of ,science and force itself upon us with all the weight of ,natural ,law4 ,what is mystery to many men1 what feeds their worship1 and at the same time spoils it1 is that area round all great truth which is really capable of illumination1 and into which every earnest mind is permitted and commanded to go with a light4 ,we cry mystery long before the region of mystery comes4 ,true mystery casts no shadows around4 ,it is a sudden and awful gulf yawning across the field of knowledge2 its form is irregular1 but its lips are clean cut and sharp1 and the mind can go to the very verge and look down the precipice into the dim abyss-- ,where writhing clouds unroll1 ,striving to utter themselves in shapes4 ,we have gone with a light to the very verge of this truth4 ,we have seen that the ,spiritual ,life is an endowment from the ,spiritual ,world1 and that the ,living ,spirit of ,christ dwells in the ,christian4 ,but now the gulf yawns black before us4 ,what more does ,science know of life8 ,nothing4 ,it knows nothing further about its origin in detail4 ,it knows nothing about its ultimate nature4 ,it cannot even define it4 ,there is a helplessness in scientific books here1 and a continual confession of it which to thoughtful minds is almost touching4 ,science1 therefore1 has not eliminated the true mysteries from our faith1 but only the false4 ,and it has done more4 ,it has made true mystery scientific4 ,religion in having mystery is in analogy with all around it4 ,where there is exceptional mystery in the ,spiritual world it will generally be found that there is a corresponding mystery in the natural world4 ,and1 as ,origen centuries ago insisted1 the difficulties of ,religion are simply the difficulties of ,nature4 ,one question more we may look at for a moment4 ,what can be gathered on the surface as to the process of ,regeneration in the individual soul8 ,from the analogies of ,biology we should expect three things3 ,first1 that the ,new ,life should dawn suddenly2 ,second1 that it should come without observation2 ,third1 that it should develop gradually4 ,on two of these points there can be little controversy4 ,the gradualness of growth is a characteristic which strikes the simplest observer4 ,long before the word ,evolution was coined ,christ applied it in this very connection--,first the blade1 then the ear1 then the full corn in the ear4 ,it is well known also to those who study the parables of ,nature that there is an ascending scale of slowness as we rise in the scale of ,life4 ,growth is most gradual in the highest forms4 ,man attains his maturity after a score of years2 the monad completes its humble cycle in a day4 ,what wonder if development be tardy in the ,creature of ,eternity8 ,a ,christian's sun has sometimes set1 and a critical world has seen as yet no corn in the ear4 ,as yet8 ,as yet1 in this long ,life1 has not begun4 ,grant him the years proportionate to his place in the scale of ,life4 ,the time of harvest is not yet4 ,again1 in addition to being slow1 the phenomena of growth are secret4 ,life is invisible4 ,when the ,new ,life manifests itself it is a surprise4 ,thou canst not tell whence it cometh or whither it goeth4 ,when the plant lives whence has the ,life come8 ,when it dies whither has it gone8 ,thou canst not tell 444 so is every one that is born of the ,spirit4 ,for the kingdom of ,god cometh without observation4 ,yet once more--and this is a point of strange and frivolous dispute--this ,life comes suddenly4 ,this is the only way in which ,life can come4 ,life cannot come gradually--health can1 structure can1 but not ,life4 ,a new theology has laughed at the ,doctrine of ,conversion4 ,sudden ,conversion especially has been ridiculed as untrue to philosophy and impossible to human nature4 ,we may not be concerned in buttressing any theology because it is old4 ,but we find that this old theology is scientific4 ,there may be cases--they are probably in the majority--where the moment of contact with the ,living ,spirit though sudden has been obscure4 ,but the real moment and the conscious moment are two different things4 ,science pronounces nothing as to the conscious moment4 ,if it did it would probably say that that was seldom the real moment--just as in the natural ,life the conscious moment is not the real moment4 ,the moment of birth in the natural world is not a conscious moment--we do not know we are born till long afterward4 ,yet there are men to whom the ,origin of the ,new ,life in time has been no difficulty4 ,to ,paul1 for instance1 ,christ seems to have come at a definite period of time1 the exact moment and second of which could have been known4 ,and this is certainly1 in theory at least1 the normal ,origin of ,life1 according to the principles of ,biology4 ,the line between the living and the dead is a sharp line4 ,when the dead atoms of ,carbon1 ,hydrogen1 ,oxygen1 ,nitrogen1 are seized upon by ,life1 the organism at first is very lowly4 ,it possesses few functions4 ,it has little beauty4 ,growth is the work of time4 ,but ,life is not4 ,that comes in a moment4 ,at one moment it was dead2 the next it lived4 ,this is conversion1 the passing1 as the ,bible calls it1 from ,death unto ,life4 ,those who have stood by another's side at the solemn hour of this dread possession have been conscious sometimes of an experience which words are not allowed to utter--a something like the sudden snapping of a chain1 the waking from a dream4 ,,footnotes3 #cc ,beginnings of ,life4 ,by ,h4 ,c4 ,bastian1 ,m4,a41 ,m4,d41 ,f4,r4,s4 ,macmillan1 vol4 ii4 p4 #fcc4 #cd ,critiques and ,addresses4 ,t4 ,h4 ,huxley4 ,f4,r4,s41 p4 #bci4 #ce ,nineteenth ,century1 #ahgh1 p4 #ejg4 #cf ,this being the crucial point it may not be inappropriate to supplement the quotations already given in the text with the following3-- ,we are in the presence of the one incommunicable gulf--the gulf of all gulfs--that gulf which ,mr4 ,huxley's protoplasm is as powerless to efface as any other material expedient that has ever been suggested since the eyes of men first looked into it--the mighty gulf between death and life4--,as ,regards ,protoplasm4 ,by ,j4 ,hutchinson ,stirling1 ,,ll4,d41 p4 #db4 ,the present state of knowledge furnishes us with no link between the living and the not-living4--,huxley1 ,encyclopaedia ,britannica 7new ,ed474 ,art4 ,biology4 ,whoever recalls to mind the lamentable failure of all the attempts made very recently to discover a decided support for the generatio aequivoca in the lower forms of transition from the inorganic to the organic world1 will feel it doubly serious to demand that this theory1 so utterly discredited1 should be in any way accepted as the basis of all our views of life4--,virchow3 ,the ,freedom of ,science in the ,modern ,state4 ,all really scientific experience tells us that life can be produced from a living antecedent only4--,the ,unseen ,universe1 #fth ,ed41 p4 #bbi4 #cg ,john iii4 #ch ,rom4 viii4 #f4 #ci ,rev4 iii4 #a4 #dj #a ,tim4 v4 #f4 #da ,eph4 ii4 #a1 #e4 #db #a ,cor4 ii4 #ad4 #dc ,first ,principles1 #b;d ,ed41 p4 #ag4 #dd #b ,cor4 xii4 #e4 #de #a ,cor4 vi4 #ae4 #df ,john xiv4 #bj4 #dg ,john xiv4 #ba-bc4 #dh ,john xv4 #d4 #di ,gal4 ii4 #bj4 #ej ,one must not be misled by popular statements in this connection1 such as this of ,professor ,owen's3 ,there are organisms which we can devitalize and revitalize--devive and revive--many times4 7,monthly ,microscopical ,journal1 ,may1 #ahfi1 p4 #bid47 ,the reference is of course to the extraordinary capacity for resuscitation possessed by many of the ,protozoa and other low forms of life4 #ea ,acts ix4 #e4 ,,degeneration4 ,i went by the field of the slothful1 and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding2 and lo1 it was all grown over with thorns1 and nettles had covered the face thereof1 and the stone wall thereof was broken down4 ,then ,i saw and considered it well2 ,i looked upon it and received instruction4--,solomon4 ,how shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation8--,hebrews4 ,we have as possibilities either ,balance1 or ,elaboration1 or ,degeneration4--,e4 ,ray ,lankester4 ,in one of his best known books1 ,mr4 ,darwin brings out a fact which may be illustrated in some such way as this3 ,suppose a bird fancier collects a flock of tame pigeons distinguished by all the infinite ornamentations of their race4 ,they are of all kinds1 of every shade of color1 and adorned with every variety of marking4 ,he takes them to an uninhabited island and allows them to fly off wild into the woods4 ,they found a colony there1 and after the lapse of many years the owner returns to the spot4 ,he will find that a remarkable change has taken place in the interval4 ,the birds1 or their descendants rather1 have all become changed into the same color4 ,the black1 the white and the dun1 the striped1 the spotted1 and the ringed1 are all metamorphosed into one--a dark slaty blue4 ,two plain black bands monotonously repeat themselves upon the wings of each1 and the loins beneath are white2 but all the variety1 all the beautiful colors1 all the old graces of form it may be1 have disappeared4 ,these improvements were the result of care and nature1 of domestication1 of civilization2 and now that these influences are removed1 the birds themselves undo the past and lose what they had gained4 ,the attempt to elevate the race has been mysteriously thwarted4 ,it is as if the original bird1 the far remote ancestor of all doves1 had been blue1 and these had been compelled by some strange law to discard the badges of their civilization and conform to the ruder image of the first4 ,the natural law by which such a change occurs is called ,the ,principle of ,reversion to ,type4 ,it is a proof of the universality of this law that the same thing will happen with a plant4 ,a garden is planted1 let us say1 with strawberries and roses1 and for a number of years is left alone4 ,in process of time it will run to waste4 ,but this does not mean that the plants will really waste away1 but that they will change into something else1 and1 as it invariably appears1 into something worse2 in the one case1 namely1 into the small1 wild strawberry of the woods1 and in the other into the primitive dog-rose of the hedges4 ,if we neglect a garden plant1 then1 a natural principle of deterioration comes in1 and changes it into a worse plant4 ,and if we neglect a bird1 by the same imperious law it will be gradually changed into an uglier bird4 ,or if we neglect almost any of the domestic animals1 they will rapidly revert to wild and worthless forms again4 ,now the same thing exactly would happen in the case of you or me4 ,why should ,man be an exception to any of the laws of ,nature8 ,nature knows him simply as an animal--,sub-kingdom ,vertebrata1 ,class ,mammalia1 ,order ,bimana4 ,and the law of ,reversion to ,type runs through all creation4 ,if a man neglect himself for a few years he will change into a worse man and a lower man4 ,if it is his body that he neglects1 he will deteriorate into a wild and bestial savage--like the de-humanized men who are discovered sometimes upon desert islands4 ,if it is his mind1 it will degenerate into imbecility and madness--solitary confinement has the power to unmake men's minds and leave them idiots4 ,if he neglect his conscience1 it will run off into lawlessness and vice4 ,or1 lastly1 if it is his soul1 it must inevitably atrophy1 drop off in ruin and decay4 ,we have here1 then1 a thoroughly natural basis for the question before us4 ,if we neglect1 with this universal principle staring us in the face1 how shall we escape8 ,if we neglect the ordinary means of keeping a garden in order1 how shall it escape running to weeds and waste8 ,or1 if we neglect the opportunities for cultivating the mind1 how shall it escape ignorance and feebleness8 ,so1 if we neglect the soul1 how shall it escape the natural retrograde movement1 the inevitable relapse into barrenness and death8 ,it is not necessary1 surely1 to pause for proof that there is such a retrograde principle in the being of every man4 ,it is demonstrated by facts1 and by the analogy of all ,nature4 ,three possibilities of life1 according to ,science1 are open to all living organisms--,balance1 ,evolution1 and ,degeneration4 ,the first denotes the precarious persistence of a life along what looks like a level path1 a character which seems to hold its own alike against the attacks of evil and the appeals of good4 ,it implies a set of circumstances so balanced by choice or fortune that they neither influence for better nor for worse4 ,but except in theory this state of equilibrium1 normal in the inorganic kingdom1 is really foreign to the world of life2 and what seems inertia may be a true ,evolution unnoticed from its slowness1 or likelier still a movement of ,degeneration subtly obliterating as it falls the very traces of its former height4 ,from this state of apparent ,balance1 ,evolution is the escape in the upward direction1 ,degeneration in the lower4 ,but ,degeneration1 rather than ,balance or ,elaboration1 is the possibility of life embraced by the majority of mankind4 ,and the choice is determined by man's own nature4 ,the life of ,balance is difficult4 ,it lies on the verge of continual temptation1 its perpetual adjustments become fatiguing1 its measured virtue is monotonous and uninspiring4 ,more difficult still1 apparently1 is the life of ever upward growth4 ,most men attempt it for a time1 but growth is slow2 and despair overtakes them while the goal is far away4 ,yet none of these reasons fully explains the fact that the alternative which remains is adopted by the majority of men4 ,that ,degeneration is easy only half accounts for it4 ,why is it easy8 ,why but that already in each man's very nature this principle is supreme8 ,he feels within his soul a silent drifting motion impelling him downward with irresistible force4 ,instead of aspiring to ,conversion to a higher ,type he submits by a law of his nature to ,reversion to a lower4 ,this is ,degeneration--that principle by which the organism1 failing to develop itself1 failing even to keep what it has got1 deteriorates1 and becomes more and more adapted to a degraded form of life4 ,all men who know themselves are conscious that this tendency1 deep-rooted and active1 exists within their nature4 ,theologically it is described as a gravitation1 a bias toward evil4 ,the ,bible view is that man is conceived in sin and shapen in iniquity4 ,and experience tells him that he will shape himself into further sin and ever deepening iniquity without the smallest effort1 without in the least intending it1 and in the most natural way in the world if he simply let his life run4 ,it is on this principle that1 completing the conception1 the wicked are said further in the ,bible to be lost4 ,they are not really lost as yet1 but they are on the sure way to it4 ,the bias of their lives is in full action4 ,there is no drag on anywhere4 ,the natural tendencies are having it all their own way2 and although the victims may be quite unconscious that all this is going on1 it is patent to every one who considers even the natural bearings of the case that the end of these things is ,death4 ,when we see a man fall from the top of a five-story house1 we say the man is lost4 ,we say that before he has fallen a foot2 for the same principle that made him fall the one foot will undoubtedly make him complete the descent by falling another eighty or ninety feet4 ,so that he is a dead man1 or a lost man from the very first4 ,the gravitation of sin in a human soul acts precisely in the same way4 ,gradually1 with gathering momentum it sinks a man further and further from ,god and righteousness1 and lands him1 by the sheer action of a natural law1 in the hell of a neglected life4 ,but the lesson is not less clear from analogy4 ,apart even from the law of ,degeneration1 apart from ,reversion to ,type1 there is in every living organism a law of ,death4 ,we are wont to imagine that ,nature is full of ,life4 ,in reality it is full of ,death4 ,one cannot say it is natural for a plant to live4 ,examine its nature fully1 and you have to admit that its natural tendency is to die4 ,it is kept from dying by a mere temporary endowment which gives it an ephemeral dominion over the elements--gives it power to utilize for a brief span the rain1 the sunshine1 and the air4 ,withdraw this temporary endowment for a moment and its true nature is revealed4 ,instead of overcoming ,nature it is overcome4 ,the very things which appeared to minister to its growth and beauty now turn against it and make it decay and die4 ,the sun which warmed it1 withers it2 the air and rain which nourished it1 rot it4 ,it is the very forces which we associate with life which1 when their true nature appears1 are discovered to be really the ministers of death4 ,this law1 which is true for the whole plant-world1 is also valid for the animal and for man4 ,air is not life1 but corruption--so literally corruption that the only way to keep out corruption1 when life has ebbed1 is to keep out air4 ,life is merely a temporary suspension of these destructive powers2 and this is truly one of the most accurate definitions of life we have yet received--the sum total of the functions which resist death4 ,spiritual life1 in like manner1 is the sum total of the functions which resist sin4 ,the soul's atmosphere is the daily trial1 circumstance1 and temptation of the world4 ,and as it is life alone which gives the plant power to utilize the elements1 and as1 without it1 they utilize it1 so it is the spiritual life alone which gives the soul power to utilize temptation and trial2 and without it they destroy the soul4 ,how shall we escape if we refuse to exercise these functions--in other words1 if we neglect8 ,this destroying process1 observe1 goes on quite independently of ,god's judgment on sin4 ,god's judgment on sin is another and a more awful fact of which this may be a part4 ,but it is a distinct fact by itself1 which we can hold and examine separately1 that on purely natural principles the soul that is left to itself unwatched1 uncultivated1 unredeemed1 must fall away into death by its own nature4 ,the soul that sinneth it shall die4 ,it shall die1 not necessarily because ,god passes sentence of death upon it1 but because it cannot help dying4 ,it has neglected the functions which resist death and has always been dying4 ,the punishment is in its very nature1 and the sentence is being gradually carried out all along the path of life by ordinary processes which enforce the verdict with the appalling faithfulness of law4 ,there is an affectation that religious truths lie beyond the sphere of the comprehension which serves men in ordinary things4 ,this question at least must be an exception4 ,it lies as near the natural as the spiritual4 ,if it makes no impression on a man to know that ,god will visit his iniquities upon him1 he cannot blind himself to the fact that ,nature will4 ,do we not all know what it is to be punished by ,nature for disobeying her8 ,we have looked round the wards of a hospital1 a prison1 or a madhouse1 and seen there ,nature at work squaring her accounts with sin4 ,and we knew as we looked that if no ,judge sat on the throne of heaven at all there was a ,judgment there1 where an inexorable ,nature was crying aloud for justice1 and carrying out her heavy sentences for violated laws4 ,when ,god gave ,nature the law into her own hands in this way1 ,he seems to have given her two rules upon which her sentences were to be based4 ,the one is formally enunciated in this sentence1 ,,whatsoever ,a ,,man ,,soweth ,,that ,,shall ,,he ,,also ,,reap4 ,the other is informally expressed in this1 ,,if ,,we ,,neglect ,,how ,,shall ,,we ,,escape8 ,the first is the positive law1 and deals with sins of commission4 ,the other1 which we are now discussing1 is the negative1 and deals with sins of omission4 ,it does not say anything about sowing but about not sowing4 ,it takes up the case of souls which are lying fallow4 ,it does not say1 if we sow corruption we shall reap corruption4 ,perhaps we would not be so unwise1 so regardless of ourselves1 of public opinion1 as to sow corruption4 ,it does not say1 if we sow tares we shall reap tares4 ,we might never do anything so foolish as sow tares4 ,but if we sow nothing1 it says1 we shall reap nothing4 ,if we put nothing into the field1 we shall take nothing out4 ,if we neglect to cultivate in summer1 how shall we escape starving in winter8 ,now the ,bible raises this question1 but does not answer it--because it is too obvious to need answering4 ,how shall we escape if we neglect8 ,the answer is1 we cannot4 ,in the nature of things we cannot4 ,we cannot escape any more than a man can escape drowning who falls into the sea and has neglected to learn to swim4 ,in the nature of things he cannot escape--nor can he escape who has neglected the great salvation4 ,now why should such fatal consequences follow a simple process like neglect8 ,the popular impression is that a man1 to be what is called lost1 must be an open and notorious sinner4 ,he must be one who has abandoned all that is good and pure in life1 and sown to the flesh with all his might and main4 ,but this principle goes further4 ,it says simply1 ,if we neglect4 ,any one may see the reason why a notoriously wicked person should not escape2 but why should not all the rest of us escape8 ,what is to hinder people who are not notoriously wicked escaping--people who never sowed anything in particular8 ,why is it such a sin to sow nothing in particular8 ,there must be some hidden and vital relation between these three words1 ,salvation1 ,neglect1 and ,escape--some reasonable1 essential1 and indissoluble connection4 ,why are these words so linked together as to weight this clause with all the authority and solemnity of a sentence of death8 ,the explanation has partly been given already4 ,it lies still further1 however1 in the meaning of the word ,salvation4 ,and this1 of course1 is not at all ,salvation in the ordinary sense of forgiveness of sin4 ,this is one great meaning of ,salvation1 the first and the greatest4 ,but this is spoken to people who are supposed to have had this4 ,it is the broader word1 therefore1 and includes not only forgiveness of sin but salvation or deliverance from the downward bias of the soul4 ,it takes in that whole process of rescue from the power of sin and selfishness that should be going on from day to day in every human life4 ,we have seen that there is a natural principle in man lowering him1 deadening him1 pulling him down by inches to the mere animal plane1 blinding reason1 searing conscience1 paralyzing will4 ,this is the active destroying principle1 or ,sin4 ,now to counteract this1 ,god has discovered to us another principle which will stop this drifting process in the soul1 steer it round1 and make it drift the other way4 ,this is the active saving principle1 or ,salvation4 ,if a man find the first of these powers furiously at work within him1 dragging his whole life downward to destruction1 there is only one way to escape his fate--to take resolute hold of the upward power1 and be borne by it to the opposite goal4 ,and as this second power is the only one in the universe which has the slightest real effect upon the first1 how shall a man escape if he neglect it8 ,to neglect it is to cut off the only possible chance of escape4 ,in declining this he is simply abandoning himself with his eyes open to that other and terrible energy which is already there1 and which1 in the natural course of things1 is bearing him every moment further and further from escape4 ,from the very nature of ,salvation1 therefore1 it is plain that the only thing necessary to make it of no effect is neglect4 ,hence the ,bible could not fail to lay strong emphasis on a word so vital4 ,it was not necessary for it to say1 how shall we escape if we trample upon the great salvation1 or doubt1 or despise1 or reject it4 ,a man who has been poisoned only need neglect the antidote and he will die4 ,it makes no difference whether he dashes it on the ground1 or pours it out of the window1 or sets it down by his bedside1 and stares at it all the time he is dying4 ,he will die just the same1 whether he destroys it in a passion1 or coolly refuses to have anything to do with it4 ,and as a matter of fact probably most deaths1 spiritually1 are gradual dissolutions of the last class rather than rash suicides of the first4 ,this1 then1 is the effect of neglecting salvation from the side of salvation itself2 and the conclusion is that from the very nature of salvation escape is out of the question4 ,salvation is a definite process4 ,if a man refuse to submit himself to that process1 clearly he cannot have the benefits of it4 ,as many as received ,him to them gave ,he power to become the sons of ,god4 ,he does not avail himself of this power4 ,it may be mere carelessness or apathy4 ,nevertheless the neglect is fatal4 ,he cannot escape because he will not4 ,turn now to another aspect of the case--to the effect upon the soul itself4 ,neglect does more for the soul than make it miss salvation4 ,it despoils it of its capacity for salvation4 ,degeneration in the spiritual sphere involves primarily the impairing of the faculties of salvation and ultimately the loss of them4 ,it really means that the very soul itself becomes piecemeal destroyed until the very capacity for ,god and righteousness is gone4 ,the soul1 in its highest sense1 is a vast capacity for ,god4 ,it is like a curious chamber added on to being1 and somehow involving being1 a chamber with elastic and contractile walls1 which can be expanded1 with ,god as its guest1 illimitably1 but which without ,god shrinks and shrivels until every vestige of the ,divine is gone1 and ,god's image is left without ,god's ,spirit4 ,one cannot call what is left a soul2 it is a shrunken1 useless organ1 a capacity sentenced to death by disuse1 which droops as a withered hand by the side1 and cumbers nature like a rotted branch4 ,nature has her revenge upon neglect as well as upon extravagance4 ,misuse1 with her1 is as mortal a sin as abuse4 ,there are certain burrowing animals--the mole for instance--which have taken to spending their lives beneath the surface of the ground4 ,and ,nature has taken her revenge upon them in a thoroughly natural way--she has closed up their eyes4 ,if they mean to live in darkness1 she argues1 eyes are obviously a superfluous function4 ,by neglecting them these animals made it clear they do not want them4 ,and as one of ,nature's fixed principles is that nothing shall exist in vain1 the eyes are presently taken away1 or reduced to a rudimentary state4 ,there are fishes also which have had to pay the same terrible forfeit for having made their abode in dark caverns where eyes can never be required4 ,and in exactly the same way the spiritual eye must die and lose its power by purely natural law if the soul choose to walk in darkness rather than in light4 ,this is the meaning of the favorite paradox of ,christ1 ,from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath2 take therefore the talent from him4 ,the religious faculty is a talent1 the most splendid and sacred talent we possess4 ,yet it is subject to the natural conditions and laws4 ,if any man take his talent and hide it in a napkin1 although it is doing him neither harm nor good apparently1 ,god will not allow him to have it4 ,although it is lying there rolled up in the darkness1 not conspicuously affecting any one1 still ,god will not allow him to keep it4 ,he will not allow him to keep it any more than ,nature would allow the fish to keep their eyes4 ,therefore1 ,he says1 take the talent from him4 ,and ,nature does it4 ,this man's crime was simply neglect--thou wicked and slothful servant4 ,it was a wasted life--a life which failed in the holy stewardship of itself4 ,such a life is a peril to all who cross its path4 ,degeneration compasses ,degeneration4 ,it is only a character which is itself developing that can aid the ,evolution of the world and so fulfill the end of life4 ,for this high usury each of our lives1 however small may seem our capital1 was given us by ,god4 ,and it is just the men whose capital seems small who need to choose the best investments4 ,it is significant that it was the man who had only one talent who was guilty of neglecting it4 ,men with ten talents1 men of large gifts and burning energies1 either direct their powers nobly and usefully1 or misdirect them irretrievably4 ,it is those who belong to the rank and file of life who need this warning most4 ,others have an abundant store and sow to the spirit or the flesh with a lavish hand4 ,but we1 with our small gift1 what boots our sowing8 ,our temptation as ordinary men is to neglect to sow at all4 ,the interest on our talent would be so small that we excuse ourselves with the reflection that it is not worth while4 ,it is no objection to all this to say that we are unconscious of this neglect or misdirection of our powers4 ,that is the darkest feature in the case4 ,if there were uneasiness there might be hope4 ,if there were1 somewhere about our soul1 a something which was not gone to sleep like all the rest2 if there were a contending force anywhere2 if we would let even that work instead of neglecting it1 it would gain strength from hour to hour1 and waken up one at a time each torpid and dishonored faculty till our whole nature became alive with strivings against self1 and every avenue was open wide for ,god4 ,but the apathy1 the numbness of the soul1 what can be said of such a symptom but that it means the creeping on of death8 ,there are accidents in which the victims feel no pain4 ,they are well and strong they think4 ,but they are dying4 ,and if you ask the surgeon by their side what makes him give this verdict1 he will say it is this numbness over the frame which tells how some of the parts have lost already the very capacity for life4 ,nor is it the least tragic accompaniment of this process that its effects may even be concealed from others4 ,the soul undergoing ,degeneration1 surely by some arrangement with ,temptation planned in the uttermost hell1 possesses the power of absolute secrecy4 ,when all within is festering decay and rottenness1 a ,judas1 without anomaly1 may kiss his ,lord4 ,this invisible consumption1 like its fell analogue in the natural world1 may even keep its victim beautiful while slowly slaying it4 ,when one examines the little ,crustacea which have inhabited for centuries the lakes of the ,mammoth ,cave of ,kentucky1 one is at first astonished to find these animals apparently endowed with perfect eyes4 ,the pallor of the head is broken by two black pigment specks1 conspicuous indeed as the only bits of color on the whole blanched body2 and these1 even to the casual observer1 certainly represent well-defined organs of vision4 ,but what do they with eyes in these ,stygian waters8 ,there reigns an everlasting night4 ,is the law for once at fault8 ,a swift incision with the scalpel1 a glance with a lens1 and their secret is betrayed4 ,the eyes are a mockery4 ,externally they are organs of vision--the front of the eye is perfect2 behind1 there is nothing but a mass of ruins4 ,the optic nerve is a shrunken1 atrophied and insensate thread4 ,these animals have organs of vision1 and yet they have no vision4 ,they have eyes1 but they see not4 ,exactly what ,christ said of men3 ,they had eyes1 but no vision4 ,and the reason is the same4 ,it is the simplest problem of natural history4 ,the ,crustacea of the ,mammoth ,cave have chosen to abide in darkness4 ,therefore they have become fitted for it4 ,by refusing to see they have waived the right to see4 ,and ,nature has grimly humored them4 ,nature had to do it by her very constitution4 ,it is her defence against waste that decay of faculty should immediately follow disuse of function4 ,he that hath ears to hear1 he whose ears have not degenerated1 let him hear4 ,men tell us sometimes there is no such thing as an atheist4 ,there must be4 ,there are some men to whom it is true that there is no ,god4 ,they cannot see ,god because they have no eye4 ,they have only an abortive organ1 atrophied by neglect4 ,all this1 it is commonplace again to insist1 is not the effect of neglect when we die1 but while we live4 ,the process is in full career and operation now4 ,it is useless projecting consequences into the future when the effects may be measured now4 ,we are always practicing these little deceptions upon ourselves1 postponing the consequences of our misdeeds as if they were to culminate some other day about the time of death4 ,it makes us sin with a lighter hand to run an account with retribution1 as it were1 and delay the reckoning time with ,god4 ,but every day is a reckoning day4 ,every soul is a ,book of ,judgment and ,nature1 as a recording angel1 marks there every sin4 ,as all will be judged by the great ,judge some day1 all are judged by ,nature now4 ,the sin of yesterday1 as part of its penalty1 has the sin of to-day4 ,all follow us in silent retribution on our past1 and go with us to the grave4 ,we cannot cheat ,nature4 ,no sleight-of-heart can rob religion of a present1 the immortal nature of a now4 ,the poet sings-- ,i looked behind to find my past1 ,and lo1 it had gone before4 ,but no1 not all4 ,the unforgiven sins are not away in keeping somewhere to be let loose upon us when we die2 they are here1 within us1 now4 ,to-day brings the resurrection of their past1 to-morrow of to-day4 ,and the powers of sin1 to the exact strength that we have developed them1 nearing their dreadful culmination with every breath we draw1 are here1 within us1 now4 ,the souls of some men are already honey-combed through and through with the eternal consequences of neglect1 so that taking the natural and rational view of their case just now1 it is simply inconceivable that there is any escape just now4 ,what a fearful thing it is to fall into the hands of the living ,god6 ,a fearful thing even if1 as the philosopher tells us1 the hands of the ,living ,god are the ,laws of ,nature4 ,whatever hopes of a heaven a neglected soul may have1 can be shown to be an ignorant and delusive dream4 ,how is the soul to escape to heaven if it has neglected for a lifetime the means of escape from the world and self8 ,and where is the capacity for heaven to come from if it be not developed on earth8 ,where1 indeed1 is even the smallest spiritual appreciation of ,god and heaven to come from when so little of spirituality has ever been known or manifested here8 ,if every ,godward aspiration of the soul has been allowed to become extinct1 and every inlet that was open to heaven to be choked1 and every talent for religious love and trust to have been persistently neglected and ignored1 where are the faculties to come from that would ever find the faintest relish in such things as ,god and heaven give8 ,these three words1 ,salvation1 ,escape1 and ,neglect1 then1 are not casually1 but organically and necessarily connected4 ,their doctrine is scientific1 not arbitrary4 ,escape means nothing more than the gradual emergence of the higher being from the lower1 and nothing less4 ,it means the gradual putting off of all that cannot enter the higher state1 or heaven1 and simultaneously the putting on of ,christ4 ,it involves the slow completing of the soul and the development of the capacity for ,god4 ,should any one object that from this scientific standpoint the opposite of salvation is annihilation1 the answer is at hand4 ,from this standpoint there is no such word4 ,if1 then1 escape is to be open to us1 it is not to come to us somehow1 vaguely4 ,we are not to hope for anything startling or mysterious4 ,it is a definite opening along certain lines which are definitely marked by ,god1 which begin at the ,cross of ,christ1 and lead direct to ,him4 ,each man in the silence of his own soul must work out this salvation for himself with fear and trembling--with fear1 realizing the momentous issues of his task2 with trembling1 lest before the tardy work be done the voice of ,death should summon him to stop4 ,what these lines are may1 in closing1 be indicated in a word4 ,the true problem of the spiritual life may be said to be1 do the opposite of ,neglect4 ,whatever this is1 do it1 and you shall escape4 ,it will just mean that you are so to cultivate the soul that all its powers will open out to ,god1 and in beholding ,god be drawn away from sin4 ,the idea really is to develop among the ruins of the old a new creature--a new creature which1 while the old is suffering ,degeneration from ,neglect1 is gradually to unfold1 to escape away and develop on spiritual lines to spiritual beauty and strength4 ,and as our conception of spiritual being must be taken simply from natural being1 our ideas of the lines along which the new religious nature is to run must be borrowed from the known lines of the old4 ,there is1 for example1 a ,sense of ,sight in the religious nature4 ,neglect this1 leave it undeveloped and you never miss it4 ,you simply see nothing4 ,but develop it and you see ,god4 ,and the line along which to develop it is known to us4 ,become pure in heart4 ,the pure in heart shall see ,god4 ,here1 then1 is one opening for soul-culture--the avenue through purity of heart to the spiritual seeing of ,god4 ,then there is a ,sense of ,sound4 ,neglect this1 leave it undeveloped1 and you never miss it4 ,you simply hear nothing4 ,develop it1 and you hear ,god4 ,and the line along which to develop it is known to us4 ,obey ,christ4 ,become one of ,christ's flock4 ,the sheep hear ,his voice1 and ,he calleth them by name4 ,here1 then1 is another opportunity for the culture of the soul--a gateway through the ,shepherd's fold to hear the ,shepherd's voice4 ,and there is a ,sense of ,touch to be acquired--such a sense as the woman had who touched the hem of ,christ's garment1 that wonderful electric touch called faith1 which moves the very heart of ,god4 ,and there is a ,sense of ,taste--a spiritual hunger after ,god2 a something within which tastes and sees that ,he is good4 ,and there is the ,talent for ,inspiration4 ,neglect that1 and all the scenery of the spiritual world is flat and frozen4 ,but cultivate it1 and it penetrates the whole soul with sacred fire1 and illuminates creation with ,god4 ,and last of all there is the great capacity for ,love1 even for the love of ,god--the expanding capacity for feeling more and more its height and depth1 its length and breadth4 ,till that is felt no man can really understand that word1 so great salvation1 for what is its measure but that other so of ,christ--,god so loved the world that ,he gave ,his only begotten ,son8 ,verily1 how shall we escape if we neglect that8#eb ,,footnotes3 #eb ,for the scientific basis of this spiritual law the following works may be consulted3-- ,the ,origin of ,species4 ,by ,charles ,darwin1 ,f4,r4,s4 ,london3 ,john ,murray4 #ahgb4 ,degeneration4 ,by ,e4 ,ray ,lankester1 ,f4,r4,s4 ,london3 ,macmillan4 #ahhj4 ,der ,ursprung der ,wirbelthiere und das ,princip des ,functions ,wechsels4 ,dr4 ,a4 ,dorhn4 ,leipzig3 #ahge4 ,lessons from ,nature4 ,by ,st4 ,george ,mivart1 ,f4,r4,s4 ,london3 ,john ,murray4 #ahgf4 ,the ,natural ,conditions of ,existence as they ,affect ,animal ,life4 ,karl ,semper4 ,london3 ,c4 ,kegan ,paul ,co4 #ahha4 ,,growth4 ,is not the evidence of ,ease on the very front of all the greatest works in existence8 ,do they not say plainly to us1 not 'there has been a great effort here1' but 'there has been a great power here8' ,it is not the weariness of mortality but the strength of divinity1 which we have to recognize in all mighty things2 and that is just what we now never recognize1 but think that we are to do great things by help of iron bars and perspiration2 alas6 we shall do nothing that way1 but lose some pounds of our own weight4--,ruskin4 ,consider the lilies of the field how they grow4--,the ,sermon on the ,mount4 ,nunquam aliud natura1 aliud sapientia dicit4--,juvenal4 ,what gives the peculiar point to this object-lesson from the lips of ,jesus is1 that ,he not only made the illustration1 but made the lilies4 ,it is like an inventor describing his own machine4 ,he made the lilies and ,he made me--both on the same broad principle4 ,both together1 man and flower1 ,he planted deep in the ,providence of ,god2 but as men are dull at studying themselves ,he points to this companion-phenomenon to teach us how to live a free and natural life1 a life which ,god will unfold for us1 without our anxiety1 as ,he unfolds the flower4 ,for ,christ's words are not a general appeal to consider nature4 ,men are not to consider the lilies simply to admire their beauty1 to dream over the delicate strength and grace of stem and leaf4 ,the point they were to consider was how they grew--how without anxiety or care the flower woke into loveliness1 how without weaving these leaves were woven1 how without toiling these complex tissues spun themselves1 and how without any effort or friction the whole slowly came ready-made from the loom of ,god in its more than ,solomon-like glory4 ,so1 ,he says1 making the application beyond dispute1 you care-worn1 anxious men must grow4 ,you1 too1 need take no thought for your life1 what ye shall eat or what ye shall drink or what ye shall put on4 ,for if ,god so clothe the grass of the field1 which to-day is1 and to-morrow is cast into the oven1 shall ,he not much more clothe you1 ,o ye of little faith8 ,this nature-lesson was a great novelty in its day2 but all men now who have even a little faith have learned this ,christian secret of a composed life4 ,apart even from the parable of the lily1 the failures of the past have taught most of us the folly of disquieting ourselves in vain1 and we have given up the idea that by taking thought we can add a cubit to our stature4 ,but no sooner has our life settled down to this calm trust in ,god than a new and graver anxiety begins4 ,this time it is not for the body we are in travail1 but for the soul4 ,for the temporal life we have considered the lilies1 but how is the spiritual life to grow4 ,how are we to become better men8 ,how are we to grow in grace8 ,by what thought shall we add the cubits to the spiritual stature and reach the fullness of the ,perfect ,man8 ,and because we know ill how to do this1 the old anxiety comes back again and our inner life is once more an agony of conflict and remorse4 ,after all1 we have but transferred our anxious thoughts from the body to the soul4 ,our efforts after ,christian growth seem only a succession of failures1 and instead of rising into the beauty of holiness our life is a daily heartbreak and humiliation4 ,now the reason of this is very plain4 ,we have forgotten the parable of the lily4 ,violent efforts to grow are right in earnestness1 but wholly wrong in principle4 ,there is but one principle of growth both for the natural and spiritual1 for animal and plant1 for body and soul4 ,for all growth is an organic thing4 ,and the principle of growing in grace is once more this1 ,consider the lilies how they grow4 ,in seeking to extend the analogy from the body to the soul there are two things about the lilies' growth1 two characteristics of all growth1 on which one must fix attention4 ,these are-- ,first1 ,spontaneousness4 ,second1 ,mysteriousness4 ,i4 ,spontaneousness4 ,there are three lines along which one may seek for evidence of the spontaneousness of growth4 ,the first is ,science4 ,and the argument here could not be summed up better than in the words of ,jesus4 ,the lilies grow1 ,he says1 of themselves2 they toil not1 neither do they spin4 ,they grow1 that is1 automatically1 spontaneously1 without trying1 without fretting1 without thinking4 ,applied in any direction1 to plant1 to animal1 to the body or to the soul this law holds4 ,a boy grows1 for example1 without trying4 ,one or two simple conditions are fulfilled1 and the growth goes on4 ,he thinks probably as little about the condition as about the result2 he fulfills the conditions by habit1 the result follows by nature4 ,both processes go steadily on from year to year apart from himself and all but in spite of himself4 ,one would never think of telling a boy to grow4 ,a doctor has no prescription for growth4 ,he can tell me how growth may be stunted or impaired1 but the process itself is recognized as beyond control--one of the few1 and therefore very significant1 things which ,nature keeps in her own hands4 ,no physician of souls1 in like manner1 has any prescription for spiritual growth4 ,it is the question he is most often asked and most often answers wrongly4 ,he may prescribe more earnestness1 more prayer1 more self-denial1 or more ,christian work4 ,these are prescriptions for something1 but not for growth4 ,not that they may not encourage growth2 but the soul grows as the lily grows1 without trying1 without fretting1 without ever thinking4 ,manuals of devotion1 with complicated rules for getting on in the ,christian life1 would do well sometimes to return to the simplicity of nature2 and earnest souls who are attempting sanctification by struggle instead of sanctification by faith might be spared much humiliation by learning the botany of the ,sermon on the ,mount4 ,there can indeed be no other principle of growth than this4 ,it is a vital act4 ,and to try to make a thing grow is as absurd as to help the tide to come in or the sun rise4 ,another argument for the spontaneousness of growth is universal experience4 ,a boy not only grows without trying1 but he cannot grow if he tries4 ,no man by taking thought has ever added a cubit to his stature2 nor has any man by mere working at his soul ever approached nearer to the stature of the ,lord ,jesus4 ,the stature of the ,lord ,jesus was not itself reached by work1 and he who thinks to approach its mystical height by anxious effort is really receding from it4 ,christ's life unfolded itself from a divine germ1 planted centrally in ,his nature1 which grew as naturally as a flower from a bud4 ,this flower may be imitated2 but one can always tell an artificial flower4 ,the human form may be copied in wax1 yet somehow one never fails to detect the difference4 ,and this precisely is the difference between a native growth of ,christian principle and the moral copy of it4 ,the one is natural1 the other mechanical4 ,the one is a growth1 the other an accretion4 ,now this1 according to modern biology1 is the fundamental distinction between the living and the not living1 between an organism and a crystal4 ,the living organism grows1 the dead crystal increases4 ,the first grows vitally from within1 the last adds new particles from the outside4 ,the whole difference between the ,christian and the moralist lies here4 ,the ,christian works from the center1 the moralist from the circumference4 ,the one is an organism1 in the center of which is planted by the living ,god a living germ4 ,the other is a crystal1 very beautiful it may be2 but only a crystal--it wants the vital principle of growth4 ,and one sees here also1 what is sometimes very difficult to see1 why salvation in the first instance is never connected directly with morality4 ,the reason is not that salvation does not demand morality1 but that it demands so much of it that the moralist can never reach up to it4 ,the end of ,salvation is perfection1 the ,christ-like mind1 character and life4 ,morality is on the way to this perfection2 it may go a considerable distance toward it1 but it can never reach it4 ,only ,life can do that4 ,it requires something with enormous power of movement1 of growth1 of overcoming obstacles1 to attain the perfect4 ,therefore the man who has within himself this great formative agent1 ,life1 is nearer the end than the man who has morality alone4 ,the latter can never reach perfection2 the former must4 ,for the ,life must develop out according to its type2 and being a germ of the ,christ-life1 it must unfold into a ,christ4 ,morality1 at the utmost1 only develops the character in one or two directions4 ,it may perfect a single virtue here and there1 but it cannot perfect all4 ,and especially it fails always to give that rounded harmony of parts1 that perfect tune to the whole orchestra1 which is the marked characteristic of life4 ,perfect life is not merely the possessing of perfect functions1 but of perfect functions perfectly adjusted to each other and all conspiring to a single result1 the perfect working of the whole organism4 ,it is not said that the character will develop in all its fullness in this life4 ,that were a time too short for an ,evolution so magnificent4 ,in this world only the cornless ear is seen2 sometimes only the small yet still prophetic blade4 ,the sneer at the godly man for his imperfections is ill-judged4 ,a blade is a small thing4 ,at first it grows very near the earth4 ,it is often soiled and crushed and downtrodden4 ,but it is a living thing4 ,that great dead stone beside it is more imposing2 only it will never be anything else than a stone4 ,but this small blade--it doth not yet appear what it shall be4 ,seeing now that ,growth can only be synonymous with a living automatic process1 it is all but superfluous to seek a third line of argument from ,scripture4 ,growth there is always described in the language of physiology4 ,the regenerate soul is a new creature4 ,the ,christian is a new man in ,christ ,jesus4 ,he adds the cubits to his stature just as the old man does4 ,he is rooted and built up in ,christ2 he abides in the vine1 and so abiding1 not toiling or spinning1 brings forth fruit4 ,the ,christian in short1 like the poet1 is born not made2 and the fruits of his character are not manufactured things but living things1 things which have grown from the secret germ1 the fruits of the living ,spirit4 ,they are not the produce of this climate1 but exotics from a sunnier land4 ,,ii4 ,but1 secondly1 besides this ,spontaneousness there is this other great characteristic of ,growth--,mysteriousness4 ,upon this quality depends the fact1 probably1 that so few men ever fathom its real character4 ,we are most unspiritual always in dealing with the simplest spiritual things4 ,a lily grows mysteriously1 pushing up its solid weight of stem and leaf in the teeth of gravity4 ,shaped into beauty by secret and invisible fingers1 the flower develops we know not how4 ,but we do not wonder at it4 ,every day the thing is done2 it is ,nature1 it is ,god4 ,we are spiritual enough at least to understand that4 ,but when the soul rises slowly above the world1 pushing up its delicate virtues in the teeth of sin1 shaping itself mysteriously into the image of ,christ1 we deny that the power is not of man4 ,a strong will1 we say1 a high ideal1 the reward of virtue1 ,christian influence--these will account for it4 ,spiritual character is merely the product of anxious work1 self-command1 and self-denial4 ,we allow1 that is to say1 a miracle to the lily1 but none to the man4 ,the lily may grow2 the man must fret and toil and spin4 ,now grant for a moment that by hard work and self-restraint a man may attain to a very high character4 ,it is not denied that this can be done4 ,but what is denied is that this is growth1 and that this process is ,christianity4 ,the fact that you can account for it proves that it is not growth4 ,for growth is mysterious2 the peculiarity of it is that you cannot account for it4 ,mysteriousness1 as ,mozley has well observed1 is the test of spiritual birth4 ,and this was ,christ's test4 ,the wind bloweth where it listeth4 ,thou hearest the sound thereof1 but canst not tell whence it cometh or whither it goeth1 so is every one that is born of the ,spirit4 ,the test of spirituality is that you cannot tell whence it cometh or whither it goeth4 ,if you can tell1 if you can account for it on philosophical principles1 on the doctrine of influence1 on strength of will1 on a favorable environment1 it is not growth4 ,it may be so far a success1 it may be a perfectly honest1 even remarkable1 and praiseworthy imitation1 but it is not the real thing4 ,the fruits are wax1 the flowers artificial--you can tell whence it cometh and whither it goeth4 ,the conclusion is1 then1 that the ,christian is a unique phenomenon4 ,you cannot account for him4 ,and if you could he would not be a ,christian4 ,mozley has drawn the two characters for us in graphic words3 ,take an ordinary man of the world--what he thinks and what he does1 his whole standard of duty is taken from the society in which he lives4 ,it is a borrowed standard3 he is as good as other people are2 he does1 in the way of duty1 what is generally considered proper and becoming among those with whom his lot is thrown4 ,he reflects established opinion on such points4 ,he follows its lead4 ,his aims and objects in life again are taken from the world around him1 and from its dictation4 ,what it considers honorable1 worth having1 advantageous and good1 he thinks so too and pursues it4 ,his motives all come from a visible quarter4 ,it would be absurd to say that there is any mystery in such a character as this1 because it is formed from a known external influence--the influence of social opinion and the voice of the world4 ',whence such a character cometh' we see2 we venture to say that the source and origin of it is open and palpable1 and we know it just as we know the physical causes of many common facts4 ,then there is the other4 ,there is a certain character and disposition of mind of which it is true to say that 'thou canst not tell whence it cometh or whither it goeth4' 444 ,there are those who stand out from among the crowd1 which reflects merely the atmosphere of feeling and standard of society around it1 with an impress upon them which bespeaks a heavenly birth4444 ,now1 when we see one of those characters1 it is a question which we ask ourselves4 ,how has the person become possessed of it8 ,has he caught it from society around him8 ,that cannot be1 because it is wholly different from that of the world around him4 ,has he caught it from the inoculation of crowds and masses1 as the mere religious zealot catches his character8 ,that cannot be either1 for the type is altogether different from that which masses of men1 under enthusiastic impulses1 exhibit4 ,there is nothing gregarious in this character2 it is the individual's own2 it is not borrowed1 it is not a reflection of any fashion or tone of the world outside2 it rises up from some fount within1 and it is a creation of which the text says1 ,we know not whence it cometh4#ec ,now we have all met these two characters--the one eminently respectable1 upright1 virtuous1 a trifle cold perhaps1 and generally1 when critically examined1 revealing somehow the mark of the tool2 the other with ,god's breath still upon it1 an inspiration2 not more virtuous1 but differently virtuous2 not more humble1 but different1 wearing the meek and quiet spirit artlessly as to the manner born4 ,the other-worldliness of such a character is the thing that strikes you2 you are not prepared for what it will do or say or become next1 for it moves from a far-off center1 and in spite of its transparency and sweetness that presence fills you always with awe4 ,a man never feels the discord of his own life1 never hears the jar of the machinery by which he tries to manufacture his own good points1 till he has stood in the stillness of such a presence4 ,then he discerns the difference between growth and work4 ,he has considered the lilies1 how they grow4 ,we have now seen that spiritual growth is a process maintained and secured by a spontaneous and mysterious inward principle4 ,it is a spontaneous principle even in its origin1 for it bloweth where it listeth2 mysterious in its operation1 for we can never tell whence it cometh2 obscure in its destination1 for we cannot tell whence it goeth4 ,the whole process therefore transcends us2 we do not work1 we are taken in hand--it is ,god which worketh in us1 both to will and to do of ,his good pleasure4 ,we do not plan--we are created in ,christ ,jesus unto good works1 which ,god hath before ordained that we should walk in them4 ,there may be an obvious objection to all this4 ,it takes away all conflict from the ,christian life8 ,it makes man1 does it not1 mere clay in the hands of the potter8 ,it crushes the old character to make a new one1 and destroys man's responsibility for his own soul8 ,now we are not concerned here in once more striking the time-honored balance between faith and works4 ,we are considering how lilies grow1 and in a specific connection1 namely1 to discover the attitude of mind which the ,christian should preserve regarding his spiritual growth4 ,that attitude1 primarily1 is to be free from care4 ,we are not lodging a plea for inactivity of the spiritual energies1 but for the tranquillity of the spiritual mind4 ,christ's protest is not against work1 but against anxious thought2 and rather1 therefore1 than complement the lesson by showing the other side1 we take the risk of still further extending the plea in the original direction4 ,what is the relation1 to recur again to analogy1 between growth and work in a boy8 ,consciously1 there is no relation at all4 ,the boy never thinks of connecting his work with his growth4 ,work in fact is one thing and growth another1 and it is so in the spiritual life4 ,if it be asked therefore1 ,is the ,christian wrong in these ceaseless and agonizing efforts after growth8 the answer is1 ,yes1 he is quite wrong1 or at least1 he is quite mistaken4 ,when a boy takes a meal or denies himself indigestible things1 he does not say1 ,all this will minister to my growth2 or when he runs a race he does not say1 ,this will help the next cubit of my stature4 ,it may or it may not be true that these things will help his stature1 but1 if he thinks of this1 his idea of growth is morbid4 ,and this is the point we are dealing with4 ,his anxiety here is altogether irrelevant and superfluous4 ,nature is far more bountiful than we think4 ,when she gives us energy she asks none of it back to expend on our own growth4 ,she will attend to that4 ,give your work1 she says1 and your anxiety to others2 trust me to add the cubits to your stature4 ,if ,god is adding to our spiritual stature1 unfolding the new nature within us1 it is a mistake to keep twitching at the petals with our coarse fingers4 ,we must seek to let the ,creative ,hand alone4 ,it is ,god which giveth the increase4 ,yet we never know how little we have learned of the fundamental principle of ,christianity till we discover how much we are all bent on supplementing ,god's free grace4 ,if ,god is spending work upon a ,christian1 let him be still and know that it is ,god4 ,and if he wants work1 he will find it there--in the being still4 ,not that there is no work for him who would grow1 to do4 ,there is work1 and severe work--work so great that the worker deserves to have himself relieved of all that is superfluous during his task4 ,if the amount of energy lost in trying to grow were spent in fulfilling rather the conditions of growth1 we should have many more cubits to show for our stature4 ,it is with these conditions that the personal work of the ,christian is chiefly concerned4 ,observe for a moment what they are1 and their exact relation4 ,for its growth the plant needs heat1 light1 air1 and moisture4 ,a man1 therefore1 must go in search of these1 or their spiritual equivalents1 and this is his work8 ,by no means4 ,the ,christian's work is not yet4 ,does the plant go in search of its conditions8 ,nay1 the conditions come to the plant4 ,it no more manufactures the heat1 light1 air1 and moisture1 than it manufactures its own stem4 ,it finds them all around it in ,nature4 ,it simply stands still with its leaves spread out in unconscious prayer1 and ,nature lavishes upon it these and all other bounties1 bathing it in sunshine1 pouring the nourishing air over and over it1 reviving it graciously with its nightly dew4 ,grace1 too1 is as free as the air4 ,the ,lord ,god is a ,sun4 ,he is as the ,dew to ,israel4 ,a man has no more to manufacture these than he has to manufacture his own soul4 ,he stands surrounded by them1 bathed in them1 beset behind and before by them4 ,he lives and moves and has his being in them4 ,how then shall he go in search of them8 ,do not they rather go in search of him8 ,does he not feel how they press themselves upon him8 ,does he not know how unweariedly they appeal to him8 ,has he not heard how they are sorrowful when he will not have them8 ,his work1 therefore1 is not yet4 ,the voice still says1 ,be still4 ,the conditions of growth1 then1 and the inward principle of growth being both supplied by ,nature1 the thing man has to do1 the little junction left for him to complete1 is to apply the one to the other4 ,he manufactures nothing2 he earns nothing2 he need be anxious for nothing2 his one duty is to be in these conditions1 to abide in them1 to allow grace to play over him1 to be still therein and know that this is ,god4 ,the conflict begins and prevails in all its life-long agony the moment a man forgets this4 ,he struggles to grow himself instead of struggling to get back again into position4 ,he makes the church into a workshop when ,god meant it to be a beautiful garden4 ,and even in his closet1 where only should reign silence--a silence as of the mountains whereon the lilies grow--is heard the roar and tumult of machinery4 ,true1 a man will often have to wrestle with his ,god--but not for growth4 ,the ,christian life is a composed life4 ,the ,gospel is ,peace4 ,yet the most anxious people in the world are ,christians--,christians who misunderstand the nature of growth4 ,life is a perpetual self-condemning because they are not growing4 ,and the effect is not only the loss of tranquillity to the individual4 ,the energies which are meant to be spent on the work of ,christ are consumed in the soul's own fever4 ,so long as the ,church's activities are spent on growing there is nothing to spare for the world4 ,a soldier's time is not spent in earning the money to buy his armor1 in finding food and raiment1 in seeking shelter4 ,his king provides these things that he may be the more at liberty to fight his battles4 ,so1 for the soldier of the ,cross all is provided4 ,his ,government has planned to leave him free for the ,kingdom's work4 ,the problem of the ,christian life finally is simplified to this--man has but to preserve the right attitude4 ,to abide in ,christ1 to be in position1 that is all4 ,much work is done on board a ship crossing the ,atlantic4 ,yet none of it is spent on making the ship go4 ,the sailor but harnesses his vessel to the wind4 ,he puts his sail and rudder in position1 and lo1 the miracle is wrought4 ,so everywhere ,god creates1 man utilizes4 ,all the work of the world is merely a taking advantage of energies already there4#ed ,god gives the wind1 and the water1 and the heat2 man but puts himself in the way of the wind1 fixes his water-wheel in the way of the river1 puts his piston in the way of the steam2 and so holding himself in position before ,god's ,spirit1 all the energies of ,omnipotence course within his soul4 ,he is like a tree planted by a river whose leaf is green and whose fruits fail not4 ,such is the deeper lesson to be learned from considering the lily4 ,it is the voice of ,nature echoing the whole evangel of ,jesus1 ,come unto ,me1 and ,i will give you rest4 ,,footnotes3 #ec ,university ,sermons1 pp4 #bcd-bda4 #ed ,see ,bushnell's ,new ,life4 ,,death4 ,what could be easier than to form a catena of the most philosophical defenders of ,christianity1 who have exhausted language in declaring the impotence of the unassisted intellect8 ,comte has not more explicitly enounced the incapacity of man to deal with the ,absolute and the ,infinite than the whole series of orthodox writers4 ,trust your reason1 we have been told till we are tired of the phrase1 and you will become ,atheists or ,agnostics4 ,we take you at your word2 we become ,agnostics4--,leslie ,stephen4 ,to be carnally minded is ,death4--,paul4 ,i do not wonder at what men suffer1 but ,i wonder often at what they lose4--,ruskin4 ,death1 wrote ,faber1 is an unsurveyed land1 an unarranged ,science4 ,poetry draws near ,death only to hover over it for a moment and withdraw in terror4 ,history knows it simply as a universal fact4 ,philosophy finds it among the mysteries of being1 the one great mystery of being not4 ,all contributions to this dead theme are marked by an essential vagueness1 and every avenue of approach seems darkened by impenetrable shadow4 ,but modern ,biology has found it part of its work to push its way into this silent land1 and at last the world is confronted with a scientific treatment of ,death4 ,not that much is added to the old conception1 or much taken from it4 ,what it is1 this certain ,death with its uncertain issues1 we know as little as before4 ,but we can define more clearly and attach a narrower meaning to the momentous symbol4 ,the interest of the investigation here lies in the fact that ,death is one of the outstanding things in ,nature which has an acknowledged spiritual equivalent4 ,the prominence of the word in the vocabulary of ,revelation cannot be exaggerated4 ,next to ,life the most pregnant symbol in religion is its antithesis1 ,death4 ,and from the time that ,if thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die was heard in ,paradise1 this solemn word has been linked with human interests of eternal moment4 ,notwithstanding the unparalleled emphasis upon this term in the ,christian system1 there is none more feebly expressive to the ordinary mind4 ,that mystery which surrounds the word in the natural world shrouds only too completely its spiritual import4 ,the reluctance which prevents men from investigating the secrets of the ,king of ,terrors is for a certain length entitled to respect4 ,but it has left theology with only the vaguest materials to construct a doctrine which1 intelligently enforced1 ought to appeal to all men with convincing power and lend the most effective argument to ,christianity4 ,whatever may have been its influence in the past1 its threat is gone for the modern world4 ,the word has grown weak4 ,ignorance has robbed the ,grave of all its terror1 and platitude despoiled ,death of its sting4 ,death itself is ethically dead4 ,which of us1 for example1 enters fully into the meaning of words like these3 ,she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth8 ,who allows adequate weight to the metaphor in the ,pauline phrase1 ,to be carnally minded is ,death2 or in this1 ,the wages of sin is ,death8 ,or what theology has translated into the language of human life the terrific practical import of ,dead in trespasses and sins8 ,to seek to make these phrases once more real and burning2 to clothe time-worn formulae with living truth2 to put the deepest ethical meaning into the gravest symbol of ,nature1 and fill up with its full consequence the darkest threat of ,revelation--these are the objects before us now4 ,what1 then1 is ,death8 ,is it possible to define it and embody its essential meaning in an intelligible proposition8 ,the most recent and the most scientific attempt to investigate ,death we owe to the biological studies of ,mr4 ,herbert ,spencer4 ,in his search for the meaning of ,life the word ,death crosses his path1 and he turns aside for a moment to define it4 ,of course what ,death is depends upon what ,life is4 ,mr4 ,herbert ,spencer's definition of ,life1 it is well known1 has been subjected to serious criticism4 ,while it has shed much light on many of the phenomena of ,life1 it cannot be affirmed that it has taken its place in science as the final solution of the fundamental problem of biology4 ,no definition of ,life1 indeed1 that has yet appeared can be said to be even approximately correct4 ,its mysterious quality evades us2 and we have to be content with outward characteristics and accompaniments1 leaving the thing itself an unsolved riddle4 ,at the same time ,mr4 ,herbert ,spencer's masterly elucidation of the chief phenomena of ,life has placed philosophy and science under many obligations1 and in the paragraphs which follow we shall have to incur a further debt on behalf of religion4 ,the meaning of ,death depending1 as has been said1 on the meaning of ,life1 we must first set ourselves to grasp the leading characteristics which distinguish living things4 ,to a physiologist the living organism is distinguished from the not-living by the performance of certain functions4 ,these functions are four in number--,assimilation1 ,waste1 ,reproduction1 and ,growth4 ,nothing could be a more interesting task than to point out the co-relatives of these in the spiritual sphere1 to show in what ways the discharge of these functions represent the true manifestations of spiritual life1 and how the failure to perform them constitutes spiritual ,death4 ,but it will bring us more directly to the specific subject before us if we follow rather the newer biological lines of ,mr4 ,herbert ,spencer4 ,according to his definition1 ,life is ,the definite combination of heterogeneous changes1 both simultaneous and successive1 in correspondence with external co-existences and sequences1#ee or more shortly ,the continuous adjustment of internal relations to external relations4#ef ,an example or two will render these important statements at once intelligible4 ,the essential characteristic of a living organism1 according to these definitions1 is that it is in vital connection with its general surroundings4 ,a human being1 for instance1 is in direct contact with the earth and air1 with all surrounding things1 with the warmth of the sun1 with the music of birds1 with the countless influences and activities of nature and of his fellow-men4 ,in biological language he is said thus to be in correspondence with his environment4 ,he is1 that is to say1 in active and vital connection with them1 influencing them possibly1 but especially being influenced by them4 ,now it is in virtue of this correspondence that he is entitled to be called alive4 ,so long as he is in correspondence with any given point of his environment1 he lives4 ,to keep up this correspondence is to keep up life4 ,if his environment changes he must instantly adjust himself to the change4 ,and he continues living only as long as he succeeds in adjusting himself to the simultaneous and successive changes in his environment as these occur4 ,what is meant by a change in his environment may be understood from an example1 which will at the same time define more clearly the intimacy of the relation between environment and organism4 ,let us take the case of a civil-servant whose environment is a district in ,india4 ,it is a region subject to occasional and prolonged droughts resulting in periodical famines4 ,when such a period of scarcity arises1 he proceeds immediately to adjust himself to this external change4 ,having the power of locomotion1 he may remove himself to a more fertile district1 or1 possessing the means of purchase1 he may add to his old environment by importation the external relations necessary to continued life4 ,but if from any cause he fails to adjust himself to the altered circumstances1 his body is thrown out of correspondence with his environment1 his internal relations are no longer adjusted to his external relations1 and his life must cease4 ,in ordinary circumstances1 and in health1 the human organism is in thorough correspondence with its surroundings2 but when any part of the organism by disease or accident is thrown out of correspondence1 it is in that relation dead4 ,this ,death1 this want of correspondence1 may be either partial or complete4 ,part of the organism may be dead to a part of the environment1 or the whole to the whole4 ,thus the victim of famine may have a certain number of his correspondences arrested by the change in his environment1 but not all4 ,luxuries which he once enjoyed no longer enter the country1 animals which once furnished his table are driven from it4 ,these still exist1 but they are beyond the limit of his correspondence4 ,in relation to these things therefore he is dead4 ,in one sense it might be said that it was the environment which played him false2 in another1 that it was his own organization--that he was unable to adjust himself1 or did not4 ,but1 however caused1 he pays the penalty with partial ,death4 ,suppose next the case of a man who is thrown out of correspondence with a part of his environment by some physical infirmity4 ,let it be that by disease or accident he has been deprived of the use of his ears4 ,the deaf man1 in virtue of this imperfection1 is thrown out of rapport with a large and well-defined part of the environment1 namely1 its sounds4 ,with regard to that external relation1 therefore1 he is no longer living4 ,part of him may truly be held to be insensible or ,dead4 ,a man who is also blind is thrown out of correspondence with another large part of his environment4 ,the beauty of sea and sky1 the forms of cloud and mountain1 the features and gestures of friends1 are to him as if they were not4 ,they are there1 solid and real1 but not to him2 he is still further ,dead4 ,next1 let it be conceived1 the subtle finger of cerebral disease lays hold of him4 ,his whole brain is affected1 and the sensory nerves1 the medium of communication with the environment1 cease altogether to acquaint him with what is doing in the outside world4 ,the outside world is still there1 but not to him2 he is still further ,dead4 ,and so the death of parts goes on4 ,he becomes less and less alive4 ,were the animal frame not the complicated machine we have seen it to be1 death might come as a simple and gradual dissolution1 the 'sans everything' being the last stage of the successive loss of fundamental powers4#eg ,but finally some important part of the mere animal framework that remains breaks down4 ,the correlation with the other parts is very intimate1 and the stoppage of correspondence with one means an interference with the work of the rest4 ,something central has snapped1 and all are thrown out of work4 ,the lungs refuse to correspond with the air1 the heart with the blood4 ,there is now no correspondence whatever with environment--the thing1 for it is now a thing1 is ,dead4 ,this then is ,death2 part of the framework breaks down1 something has snapped--these phrases by which we describe the phases of death yield their full meaning4 ,they are different ways of saying that correspondence has ceased4 ,and the scientific meaning of ,death now becomes clearly intelligible4 ,dying is that breakdown in an organism which throws it out of correspondence with some necessary part of the environment4 ,death is the result produced1 the want of correspondence4 ,we do not say that this is all that is involved4 ,but this is the root idea of ,death--,failure to adjust internal relations to external relations1 failure to repair the broken inward connection sufficiently to enable it to correspond again with the old surroundings4 ,these preliminary statements may be fitly closed with the words of ,mr4 ,herbert ,spencer3 ,death by natural decay occurs because in old age the relations between assimilation1 oxidation1 and genesis of force going on in the organism gradually fall out of correspondence with the relations between oxygen and food and absorption of heat by the environment4 ,death from disease arises either when the organism is congenitally defective in its power to balance the ordinary external actions by the ordinary internal actions1 or when there has taken place some unusual external action to which there was no answering internal action4 ,death by accident implies some neighboring mechanical changes of which the causes are either unnoticed from inattention1 or are so intricate that their results cannot be foreseen1 and consequently certain relations in the organism are not adjusted to the relations in the environment4#eh ,with the help of these plain biological terms we may now proceed to examine the parallel phenomenon of ,death in the spiritual world4 ,the factors with which we have to deal are two in number as before--,organism and ,environment4 ,the relation between them may once more be denominated by correspondence4 ,and the truth to be emphasized resolves itself into this1 that ,spiritual ,death is a want of correspondence between the organism and the spiritual environment4 ,what is the spiritual environment8 ,this term obviously demands some further definition4 ,for ,death is a relative term4 ,and before we can define ,death in the spiritual world we must first apprehend the particular relation with reference to which the expression is to be employed4 ,we shall best reach the nature of this relation by considering for a moment the subject of environment generally4 ,by the natural environment we mean the entire surroundings of the natural man1 the entire external world in which he lives and moves and has his being4 ,it is not involved in the idea that either with all or part of the environment he is in immediate correspondence4 ,whether he correspond with it or not1 it is there4 ,there is in fact a conscious environment and an environment of which he is not conscious2 and it must be borne in mind that the conscious environment is not all the environment that is4 ,all that surrounds him1 all that environs him1 conscious or unconscious1 is environment4 ,the moon and stars are part of it1 though in the daytime he may not see them4 ,the polar regions are parts of it1 though he is seldom aware of their influence4 ,in its widest sense environment simply means all else that is4 ,now it will next be manifest that different organisms correspond with this environment in varying degrees of completeness or incompleteness4 ,at the bottom of the biological scale we find organisms which have only the most limited correspondence with their surroundings4 ,a tree1 for example1 corresponds with the soil about its stem1 with the sunlight1 and with the air in contact with its leaves4 ,but it is shut off by its comparatively low development from a whole world to which higher forms of life have additional access4 ,the want of locomotion alone circumscribes most seriously its area of correspondence1 so that to a large part of surrounding nature it may truly be said to be dead4 ,so far as consciousness is concerned1 we should be justified indeed in saying that it was not alive at all4 ,the murmur of the stream which bathes its roots affects it not4 ,the marvelous insect-life beneath its shadow excites in it no wonder4 ,the tender maternity of the bird which has its nest among its leaves stirs no responsive sympathy4 ,it cannot correspond with those things4 ,to stream and insect and bird it is insensible1 torpid1 dead4 ,for this is ,death1 this irresponsiveness4 ,the bird1 again1 which is higher in the scale of life1 corresponds with a wider environment4 ,the stream is real to it1 and the insect4 ,it knows what lies behind the hill2 it listens to the love-song of its mate4 ,and to much besides beyond the simple world of the tree this higher organism is alive4 ,the bird we should say is more living than the tree2 it has a correspondence with a larger area of environment4 ,but this bird-life is not yet the highest life4 ,even within the immediate bird-environment there is much to which the bird must still be held to be dead4 ,introduce a higher organism1 place man himself within this same environment1 and see how much more living he is4 ,a hundred things which the bird never saw in insect1 stream1 and tree appeal to him4 ,each single sense has something to correspond with4 ,each faculty finds an appropriate exercise4 ,man is a mass of correspondences1 and because of these1 because he is alive to countless objects and influences to which lower organisms are dead1 he is the most living of all creatures4 ,the relativity of ,death will now have become sufficiently obvious4 ,man being left out of account1 all organisms are seen as it were to be partly living and partly dead4 ,the tree1 in correspondence with a narrow area of environment1 is to that extent alive2 to all beyond1 to the all but infinite area beyond1 it is dead4 ,a still wider portion of this vast area is the possession of the insect and the bird4 ,their's also1 nevertheless1 is but a little world1 and to an immense further area insect and bird are dead4 ,all organisms likewise are living and dead--living to all within the circumference of their correspondences1 dead to all beyond4 ,as we rise in the scale of life1 however1 it will be observed that the sway of ,death is gradually weakened4 ,more and more of the environment becomes accessible as we ascend1 and the domain of life in this way slowly extends in ever-widening circles4 ,but until man appears there is no organism to correspond with the whole environment4 ,till then the outermost circles have no correspondents4 ,to the inhabitants of the innermost spheres they are as if they were not4 ,now follows a momentous question4 ,is man in correspondence with the whole environment8 ,when we reach the highest living organism1 is the final blow dealt to the kingdom of ,death8 ,has the last acre of the infinite area been taken in by his finite faculties8 ,is his conscious environment the whole environment8 ,or is there1 among these outermost circles1 one which with his multitudinous correspondences he fails to reach8 ,if so1 this is ,death4 ,the question of ,life or ,death to him is the question of the amount of remaining environment he is able to compass4 ,if there be one circle or one segment of a circle which he yet fails to reach1 to correspond with1 to know1 to be influenced by1 he is1 with regard to that circle or segment1 dead4 ,what then1 practically1 is the state of the case8 ,is man in correspondence with the whole environment or is he not8 ,there is but one answer4 ,he is not4 ,of men generally it cannot be said that they are in living contact with that part of the environment which is called the spiritual world4 ,in introducing this new term spiritual world1 observe1 we are not interpolating a new factor4 ,this is an essential part of the old idea4 ,we have been following out an ever-widening environment from point to point1 and now we reach the outermost zones4 ,the spiritual world is simply the outermost segment1 circle1 or circles of the natural world4 ,for purposes of convenience we separate the two just as we separate the animal world from the plant4 ,but the animal world and the plant world are the same world4 ,they are different parts of one environment4 ,and the natural and spiritual are likewise one4 ,the inner circles are called the natural1 the outer the spiritual4 ,and we call them spiritual simply because they are beyond us or beyond a part of us4 ,what we have correspondence with1 that we call natural2 what we have little or no correspondence with1 that we call spiritual4 ,but when the appropriate corresponding organism appears1 the organism1 that is1 which can freely communicate with these outer circles1 the distinction necessarily disappears4 ,the spiritual to it becomes the outer circle of the natural4 ,now of the great mass of living organisms1 of the great mass of men1 is it not to be affirmed that they are out of correspondence with this outer circle8 ,suppose1 to make the final issue more real1 we give this outermost circle of environment a name4 ,suppose we call it ,god4 ,suppose also we substitute a word for correspondence to express more intimately the personal relation4 ,let us call it ,communion4 ,we can now determine accurately the spiritual relation of different sections of mankind4 ,those who are in communion with ,god live1 those who are not are dead4 ,the extent or depth of this communion1 the varying degrees of correspondence in different individuals1 and the less or more abundant life which these result in1 need not concern us for the present4 ,the task we have set ourselves is to investigate the essential nature of ,spiritual ,death4 ,and we have found it to consist in a want of communion with ,god4 ,the unspiritual man is he who lives in the circumscribed environment of this present world4 ,she that liveth in pleasure is ,dead while she liveth4 ,to be carnally minded is ,death4 ,to be carnally minded1 translated into the language of science1 is to be limited in one's correspondences to the environment of the natural man4 ,it is no necessary part of the conception that the mind should be either purposely irreligious1 or directly vicious4 ,the mind of the flesh1 phronema tes sarkos1 by its very nature1 limited capacity1 and time-ward tendency1 is thanatos1 ,death4 ,this earthly mind may be of noble caliber1 enriched by culture1 high toned1 virtuous and pure4 ,but if it know not ,god8 ,what though its correspondences reach to the stars of heaven or grasp the magnitudes of ,time and ,space8 ,the stars of heaven are not heaven4 ,space is not ,god4 ,this mind certainly1 has life1 life up to its level4 ,there is no trace of ,death4 ,possibly1 too1 it carries its deprivation lightly1 and1 up to its level1 lies content4 ,we do not picture the possessor of this carnal mind as in any sense a monster4 ,we have said he may be high-toned1 virtuous1 and pure4 ,the plant is not a monster because it is dead to the voice of the bird2 nor is he a monster who is dead to the voice of ,god4 ,the contention at present simply is that he is ,dead4 ,we do not need to go to ,revelation for the proof of this4 ,that has been rendered unnecessary by the testimony of the ,dead themselves4 ,thousands have uttered themselves upon their relation to the ,spiritual ,world1 and from their own lips we have the proclamation of their ,death4 ,the language of theology in describing the state of the natural man is often regarded as severe4 ,the ,pauline anthropology has been challenged as an insult to human nature4 ,culture has opposed the doctrine that ,the natural man receiveth not the things of the ,spirit of ,god1 for they are foolishness unto him3 neither can he know them1 because they are spiritually discerned4 ,and even some modern theologies have refused to accept the most plain of the aphorisms of ,jesus1 that ,except a man be born again he cannot see the ,kingdom of ,god4 ,but this stern doctrine of the spiritual deadness of humanity is no mere dogma of a past theology4 ,the history of thought during the present century proves that the world has come round spontaneously to the position of the first4 ,one of the ablest philosophical schools of the day erects a whole antichristian system on this very doctrine4 ,seeking by means of it to sap the foundation of spiritual religion1 it stands unconsciously as the most significant witness for its truth4 ,what is the creed of the ,agnostic1 but the confession of the spiritual numbness of humanity8 ,the negative doctrine which it reiterates with such sad persistency1 what is it but the echo of the oldest of scientific and religious truths8 ,and what are all these gloomy and rebellious infidelities1 these touching1 and too sincere confessions of universal nescience1 but a protest against this ancient law of ,death8 ,the ,christian apologist never further misses the mark than when he refuses the testimony of the ,agnostic to himself4 ,when the ,agnostic tells me he is blind and deaf1 dumb1 torpid and dead to the spiritual world1 ,i must believe him4 ,jesus tells me that4 ,paul tells me that4 ,science tells me that4 ,he knows nothing of this outermost circle2 and we are compelled to trust his sincerity as readily when he deplores it as if1 being a man without an ear1 he professed to know nothing of a musical world1 or being without taste1 of a world of art4 ,the nescience of the ,agnostic philosophy is the proof from experience that to be carnally minded is ,death4 ,let the theological value of the concession be duly recognized4 ,it brings no solace to the unspiritual man to be told he is mistaken4 ,to say he is self-deceived is neither to compliment him nor ,christianity4 ,he builds in all sincerity who raises his altar to the ,unknown ,god4 ,he does not know ,god4 ,with all his marvelous and complex correspondences1 he is still one correspondence short4 ,it is a point worthy of special note that the proclamation of this truth has always come from science rather than from religion4 ,its general acceptance by thinkers is based upon the universal failure of a universal experiment4 ,the statement1 therefore1 that the natural man discerneth not the things of the spirit1 is never to be charged against the intolerance of theology4 ,there is no point at which theology has been more modest than here4 ,it has left the preaching of a great fundamental truth almost entirely to philosophy and science4 ,and so very moderate has been its tone1 so slight has been the emphasis placed upon the paralysis of the natural with regard to the spiritual1 that it may seem to some to have been intolerant4 ,no harm certainly could come now1 no offence could be given to science1 if religion asserted more clearly its right to the spiritual world4 ,science has paved the way for the reception of one of the most revolutionary doctrines of ,christianity2 and if ,christianity refuses to take advantage of the opening it will manifest a culpable want of confidence in itself4 ,there never was a time when its fundamental doctrines could more boldly be proclaimed1 or when they could better secure the respect and arrest the interest of ,science4 ,to all this1 and apparently with force1 it may1 however1 be objected that to every man who truly studies ,nature there is a ,god4 ,call ,him by whatever name--a ,creator1 a ,supreme ,being1 a ,great ,first ,cause1 a ,power that makes for ,righteousness--,science has a ,god2 and he who believes in this1 in spite of all protest1 possesses a theology4 ,if we will look at things1 and not merely at words1 we shall soon see that the scientific man has a theology and a ,god1 a most impressive theology1 a most awful and glorious ,god4 ,i say that man believes in a ,god who feels himself in the presence of a ,power which is not himself1 and is immeasurably above himself1 a ,power in the contemplation of which he is absorbed1 in the knowledge of which he finds safety and happiness4 ,and such now is ,nature to the scientific man4#ei ,such now1 we humbly submit1 is ,nature to the very few4 ,their own confession is against it4 ,that they are absorbed in the contemplation we can well believe4 ,that they might find safety and happiness in the knowledge of ,him is also possible--if they had it4 ,but this is just what they tell us they have not4 ,what they deny is not a ,god4 ,it is the correspondence4 ,the very confession of the ,unknowable is itself the dull recognition of an ,environment beyond themselves1 and for which they feel they lack the correspondence4 ,it is this want that makes their ,god the ,unknown ,god4 ,and it is this that makes them dead4 ,we have not said1 or implied1 that there is not a ,god of ,nature4 ,we have not affirmed that there is no ,natural ,religion4 ,we are assured there is4 ,we are even assured that without a ,religion of ,nature ,religion is only half complete2 that without a ,god of ,nature the ,god of ,revelation is only half intelligible and only partially known4 ,god is not confined to the outermost circle of environment1 ,he lives and moves and has ,his being in the whole4 ,those who only seek ,him in the further zone can only find a part4 ,the ,christian who knows not ,god in ,nature1 who does not1 that is to say1 correspond with the whole environment1 most certainly is partially dead4 ,the author of ,ecce ,homo may be partially right when he says3 ,i think a bystander would say that though ,christianity had in it something far higher and deeper and more ennobling1 yet the average scientific man worships just at present a more awful1 and1 as it were1 a greater ,deity than the average ,christian4 ,in so many ,christians the idea of ,god has been degraded by childish and little-minded teaching2 the ,eternal and the ,infinite and the ,all-embracing has been represented as the head of the clerical interest1 as a sort of clergyman1 as a sort of schoolmaster1 as a sort of philanthropist4 ,but the scientific man knows ,him to be eternal2 in astronomy1 in geology1 he becomes familiar with the countless millenniums of ,his lifetime4 ,the scientific man strains his mind actually to realize ,god's infinity4 ,as far off as the fixed stars he traces ,him1 'distance inexpressible by numbers that have name4' ,meanwhile1 to the theologian1 infinity and eternity are very much of empty words when applied to the object of his worship4 ,he does not realize them in actual facts and definite computations4#fj ,let us accept this rebuke4 ,the principle that want of correspondence is ,death applies all round4 ,he who knows not ,god in ,nature only partially lives4 ,the converse of this1 however1 is not true2 and that is the point we are insisting on4 ,he who knows ,god only in ,nature lives not4 ,there is no correspondence with an ,unknown ,god1 no continuous adjustment to a fixed ,first ,cause4 ,there is no assimilation of ,natural ,law2 no growth in the ,image of the ,all-embracing4 ,to correspond with the ,god of ,science assuredly is not to live4 ,this is ,life ,eternal1 to know ,thee1 the true ,god1 and ,jesus ,christ ,whom ,thou hast sent4 ,from the service we have tried to make natural science render to our religion1 we might be expected possibly to take up the position that the absolute contribution of ,science to ,revelation was very great4 ,on the contrary1 it is very small4 ,the absolute contribution1 that is1 is very small4 ,the contribution on the whole is immense1 vaster than we have yet any idea of4 ,but without the aid of the higher ,revelation this many-toned and far-reaching voice had been forever dumb4 ,the light of ,nature1 say the most for it1 is dim--how dim we ourselves1 with the glare of other ,light upon the modern world1 can only realize when we seek among the pagan records of the past for the groupings after truth of those whose only light was this4 ,powerfully significant and touching as these efforts were in their success1 they are far more significant and touching in their failure4 ,for they did fail4 ,it requires no philosophy now to speculate on the adequacy or inadequacy of the ,religion of ,nature4 ,for us who could never weigh it rightly in the scales of ,truth it has been tried in the balance of experience and found wanting4 ,theism is the easiest of all religions to get1 but the most difficult to keep4 ,individuals have kept it1 but nations never4 ,socrates and ,aristotle1 ,cicero and ,epictetus had a theistic religion2 ,greece and ,rome had none4 ,and even after getting what seems like a firm place in the minds of men1 its unstable equilibrium sooner or later betrays itself4 ,on the one hand theism has always fallen into the wildest polytheism1 or on the other into the blankest atheism4 ,it is an indubitable historical fact that1 outside of the sphere of special revelation1 man has never obtained such a knowledge of ,god as a responsible and religious being plainly requires4 ,the wisdom of the heathen world1 at its very best1 was utterly inadequate to the accomplishment of such a task as creating a due abhorrence of sin1 controlling the passions1 purifying the heart1 and ennobling the conduct4#fa ,what is the inference8 ,that this poor rush-light by itself was never meant to lend the ray by which man should read the riddle of the universe4 ,the mystery is too impenetrable and remote for its uncertain flicker to more than make the darkness deeper4 ,what indeed if this were not a light at all1 but only part of a light--the carbon point1 the fragment of calcium1 the reflector in the great ,lantern which contains the ,light of the ,world8 ,this is one inference4 ,but the most important is that the absence of the true ,light means moral ,death4 ,the darkness of the natural world to the intellect is not all4 ,what history testifies to is1 first the partial1 and then the total eclipse of virtue that always follows the abandonment of belief in a personal ,god4 ,it is not1 as has been pointed out a hundred times1 that morality in the abstract disappears1 but the motive and sanction are gone4 ,there is nothing to raise it from the dead4 ,man's attitude to it is left to himself4 ,grant that morals have their own base in human life2 grant that ,nature has a ,religion whose creed is ,science2 there is yet nothing apart from ,god to save the world from moral ,death4 ,morality has the power to dictate but none to move4 ,nature directs but cannot control4 ,as was wisely expressed in one of many pregnant utterances during a recent ,symposium1 ,though the decay of religion may leave the institutes of morality intact1 it drains off their inward power4 ,the devout faith of men expresses and measures the intensity of their moral nature1 and it cannot be lost without a remission of enthusiasm1 and under this low pressure1 the successful reentrance of importunate desires and clamorous passions which had been driven back4 ,to believe in an ever-living and perfect ,mind1 supreme over the universe1 is to invest moral distinctions with immensity and eternity1 and lift them from the provincial stage of human society to the imperishable theater of all being4 ,when planted thus in the very substance of things1 they justify and support the ideal estimates of the conscience2 they deepen every guilty shame2 they guarantee every righteous hope2 and they help the will with a ,divine casting-vote in every balance of temptation4#fb ,that morality has a basis in human society1 that ,nature has a ,religion1 surely makes the ,death of the soul when left to itself all the more appalling4 ,it means that1 between them1 ,nature and morality provide all for virtue--except the ,life to live it4 ,it is at this point accordingly that our subject comes into intimate contact with ,religion4 ,the proposition that to be carnally minded is ,death even the moralist will assent to4 ,but when it is further announced that the carnal mind is enmity against ,god we find ourselves in a different region4 ,and when we find it also stated that the wages of sin is ,death1 we are in the heart of the profoundest questions of theology4 ,what before was merely enmity against society becomes enmity against ,god2 and what was vice is sin4 ,the conception of a ,god gives an altogether new color to worldliness and vice4 ,worldliness it changes into heathenism1 vice into blasphemy4 ,the carnal mind1 the mind which is turned away from ,god1 which will not correspond with ,god--this is not moral only but spiritual ,death4 ,and ,sin1 that which separates from ,god1 which disobeys ,god1 which can not in that state correspond with ,god--this is hell4 ,to the estrangement of the soul from ,god the best of theology traces the ultimate cause of sin4 ,sin is simply apostasy from ,god1 unbelief in ,god4 ,sin is manifest in its true character when the demand of holiness in the conscience1 presenting itself to the man as one of loving submission to ,god1 is put from him with aversion4 ,here sin appears as it really is1 a turning away from ,god2 and while the man's guilt is enhanced1 there ensues a benumbing of the heart resulting from the crushing of those higher impulses4 ,this is what is meant by the reprobate state of those who reject ,christ and will not believe the ,gospel1 so often spoken of in the ,new ,testament2 this unbelief is just the closing of the heart against the highest love4#fc ,the other view of sin1 probably the more popular at present1 that sin consists in selfishness1 is merely this from another aspect4 ,obviously if the mind turns away from one part of the environment it will only do so under some temptation to correspond with another4 ,this temptation1 at bottom1 can only come from one source--the love of self4 ,the irreligious man's correspondences are concentrated upon himself4 ,he worships himself4 ,self-gratification rather than self-denial2 independence rather than submission--these are the rules of life4 ,and this is at once the poorest and the commonest form of idolatry4 ,but whichever of these views of sin we emphasize1 we find both equally connected with ,death4 ,if sin is estrangement from ,god1 this very estrangement is ,death4 ,it is a want of correspondence4 ,if sin is selfishness1 it is conducted at the expense of life4 ,its wages are ,death--he that loveth his life1 said ,christ1 shall lose it4 ,yet the paralysis of the moral nature apart from ,god does not only depend for its evidence upon theology or even upon history4 ,from the analogies of ,nature one would expect this result as a necessary consequence4 ,the development of any organism in any direction is dependent on its environment4 ,a living cell cut off from air will die4 ,a seed-germ apart from moisture and an appropriate temperature will make the ground its grave for centuries4 ,human nature1 likewise1 is subject to similar conditions4 ,it can only develop in presence of its environment4 ,no matter what its possibilities may be1 no matter what seeds of thought or virtue1 what germs of genius or of art1 lie latent in its breast1 until the appropriate environment present itself the correspondence is denied1 the development discouraged1 the most splendid possibilities of life remain unrealized1 and thought and virtue1 genius and art1 are dead4 ,the true environment of the moral life is ,god4 ,here conscience wakes4 ,here kindles love4 ,duty here becomes heroic2 and that righteousness begins to live which alone is to live forever4 ,but if this ,atmosphere is not1 the dwarfed soul must perish for mere want of its native air4 ,and its ,death is a strictly natural ,death4 ,it is not an exceptional judgment upon ,atheism4 ,in the same circumstances1 in the same averted relation to their environment1 the poet1 the musician1 the artist1 would alike perish to poetry1 to music1 and to art4 ,every environment is a cause4 ,its effect upon me is exactly proportionate to my correspondence with it4 ,if ,i correspond with part of it1 part of myself is influenced4 ,if ,i correspond with more1 more of myself is influenced2 if with all1 all is influenced4 ,if ,i correspond with the world1 ,i become worldly2 if with ,god1 ,i become ,divine4 ,as without correspondence of the scientific man with the natural environment there could be no ,science and no action founded on the knowledge of ,nature1 so without communion with the spiritual ,environment there can be no ,religion4 ,to refuse to cultivate the religious relation is to deny to the soul its highest right--the right to a further evolution4#fd ,we have already admitted that he who knows not ,god may not be a monster2 we cannot say he will not be a dwarf4 ,this precisely1 and on perfectly natural principles1 is what he must be4 ,you can dwarf a soul just as you can dwarf a plant1 by depriving it of a full environment4 ,such a soul for a time may have a name to live4 ,its character may betray no sign of atrophy4 ,but its very virtue somehow has the pallor of a flower that is grown in darkness1 or as the herb which has never seen the sun1 no fragrance breathes from its spirit4 ,to morality1 possibly1 this organism offers the example of an irreproachable life2 but to science it is an instance of arrested development2 and to religion it presents the spectacle of a corpse--a living ,death4 ,with ,ruskin1 ,i do not wonder at what men suffer1 but ,i wonder often at what they lose4 ,,footnotes3 #ee ,principles of ,biology1 vol4 i1 p4 #gd4 #ef ,ibid4 #eg ,foster's ,physiology1 p4 #fdb4 #eh ,op4 cit41 pp4 #hh1 #hi4 #ei ,natural ,religion1 p4 #ai4 #fj ,natural ,religion1 p4 #bj4 #fa ,prof4 ,flint1 ,theism1 p4 #hje4 #fb ,martineau4 ,vide the whole ,symposium on ,the ,influences upon ,morality of a ,decline in ,religious ,belief4--,nineteenth ,century1 vol4 i4 pp4 #cca1 #eca4 #fc ,mueller3 ,christian ,doctrine of ,sin4 #b;d ,ed41 vol i4 p #aca4 #fd ,it would not be difficult to show1 were this the immediate subject1 that it is not only a right but a duty to exercise the spiritual faculties1 a duty demanded not by religion merely1 but by science4 ,upon biological principles man owes his full development to himself1 to nature1 and to his fellow-men4 ,thus ,mr4 ,herbert ,spencer affirms1 ,the performance of every function is1 in a sense1 a moral obligation4 ,it is usually thought that morality requires us only to restrain such vital activities as1 in our present state1 are often pushed to excess1 or such as conflict with average welfare1 special or general3 but it also requires us to carry on these vital activities up to their normal limits4 ,all the animal functions1 in common with all the higher functions1 have1 as thus understood1 their imperativeness4--,the ,data of ,ethics1 #b;d ,ed41 p4 #gf4 ,,mortification4 ,if1 by tying its main artery1 we stop most of the blood going to a limb1 then1 for as long as the limb performs its functions1 those parts which are called into play must be wasted faster than they are repaired3 whence eventual disablement4 ,the relation between due receipt of nutritive matters through its arteries1 and due discharge of its duties by the limb1 is a part of the physical order4 ,if instead of cutting off the supply to a particular limb1 we bleed the patient largely1 so drafting away the materials needed for repairing not one limb but all limbs1 and not limbs only but viscera1 there results both a muscular debility and an enfeeblement of the vital functions4 ,here1 again1 cause and effect are necessarily related4444 ,pass now to those actions more commonly thought of as the occasions for rules of conduct4--,herbert ,spencer4 ,mortify therefore your members which are upon earth4--,paul4 ,o ,star-eyed ,science6 hast thou wandered there ,to waft us home the message of despair8--,campbell4 ,the definition of ,death which science has given us is this3 ,a falling out of correspondence with environment4 ,when1 for example1 a man loses the sight of his eyes1 his correspondence with the environing world is curtailed4 ,his life is limited in an important direction2 he is less living than he was before4 ,if1 in addition1 he loses the senses of touch and hearing1 his correspondences are still further limited2 he is therefore still further dead4 ,and when all possible correspondences have ceased1 when the nerves decline to respond to any stimulus1 when the lungs close their gates against the air1 when the heart refuses to correspond with the blood by so much as another beat1 the insensate corpse is wholly and forever dead4 ,the soul1 in like manner1 which has no correspondence with the spiritual environment is spiritually dead4 ,it may be that it never possessed the spiritual eye or the spiritual ear1 or a heart which throbbed in response to the love of ,god4 ,if so1 having never lived1 it cannot be said to have died4 ,but not to have these correspondences is to be in the state of ,death4 ,to the spiritual world1 to the ,divine ,environment1 it is dead--as a stone which has never lived is dead to the environment of the organic world4 ,having already abundantly illustrated this use of the symbol ,death1 we may proceed to deal with another class of expressions where the same term is employed in an exactly opposite connection4 ,it is a proof of the radical nature of religion that a word so extreme should have to be used again and again in ,christian teaching1 to define in different directions the true spiritual relations of mankind4 ,hitherto we have concerned ourselves with the condition of the natural man with regard to the spiritual world4 ,we have now to speak of the relations of the spiritual man with regard to the natural world4 ,carrying with us the same essential principle--want of correspondence--underlying the meaning of ,death1 we shall find that the relation of the spiritual man to the natural world1 or at least to part of it1 is to be that of ,death4 ,when the natural man becomes the spiritual man1 the great change is described by ,christ as a passing from ,death unto ,life4 ,before the transition occurred1 the practical difficulty was this1 how to get into correspondence with the new ,environment8 ,but no sooner is this correspondence established than the problem is reversed4 ,the question now is1 how to get out of correspondence with the old environment8 ,the moment the new life is begun there comes a genuine anxiety to break with the old4 ,for the former environment has now become embarrassing4 ,it refuses its dismissal from consciousness4 ,it competes doggedly with the new ,environment for a share of the correspondences4 ,and in a hundred ways the former traditions1 the memories and passions of the past1 the fixed associations and habits of the earlier life1 now complicate the new relation4 ,the complex and bewildered soul1 in fact1 finds itself in correspondence with two environments1 each with urgent but yet incompatible claims4 ,it is a dual soul living in a double world1 a world whose inhabitants are deadly enemies1 and engaged in perpetual civil-war4 ,the position of things is perplexing4 ,it is clear that no man can attempt to live both lives4 ,to walk both in the flesh and in the spirit is morally impossible4 ,no man1 as ,christ so often emphasized1 can serve two masters4 ,and yet1 as matter of fact1 here is the new-born being in communication with both environments8 ,with sin and purity1 light and darkness1 time and ,eternity1 ,god and ,devil1 the confused and undecided soul is now in correspondence4 ,what is to be done in such an emergency8 ,how can the ,new ,life deliver itself from the still-persistent past8 ,a ready solution of the difficulty would be to die4 ,were one to die organically1 to die and go to heaven1 all correspondence with the lower environment would be arrested at a stroke4 ,for ,physical ,death of course simply means the final stoppage of all natural correspondences with this sinful world4 ,but this alternative1 fortunately or unfortunately1 is not open4 ,the detention here of body and spirit for a given period is determined for us1 and we are morally bound to accept the situation4 ,we must look then for a further alternative4 ,actual ,death being denied us1 we must ask ourselves if there is nothing else resembling it--no artificial relation1 no imitation or semblance of ,death which would serve our purpose4 ,if we cannot yet die absolutely1 surely the next best thing will be to find a temporary substitute4 ,if we cannot die altogether1 in short1 the most we can do is to die as much as we can4 ,and we now know this is open to us1 and how4 ,to die to any environment is to withdraw correspondence with it1 to cut ourselves off1 so far as possible1 from all communication with it4 ,so that the solution of the problem will simply be this1 for the spiritual life to reverse continuously the processes of the natural life4 ,the spiritual man having passed from ,death unto ,life1 the natural man must next proceed to pass from ,life unto ,death4 ,having opened the new set of correspondences1 he must deliberately close up the old4 ,regeneration in short must be accompanied by ,degeneration4 ,now it is no surprise to find that this is the process everywhere described and recommended by the founders of the ,christian system4 ,their proposal to the natural man1 or rather to the natural part of the spiritual man1 with regard to a whole series of inimical relations1 is precisely this4 ,if he cannot really die1 he must make an adequate approach to it by reckoning himself dead4 ,seeing that1 until the cycle of his organic life is complete he cannot die physically1 he must meantime die morally1 reckoning himself morally dead to that environment which1 by competing for his correspondences1 has now become an obstacle to his spiritual life4 ,the variety of ways in which the ,new ,testament writers insist upon this somewhat extraordinary method is sufficiently remarkable4 ,and although the idea involved is essentially the same throughout1 it will clearly illustrate the nature of the act if we examine separately three different modes of expression employed in the later ,scriptures in this connection4 ,the methods by which the spiritual man is to withdraw himself from the old environment--or from that part of it which will directly hinder the spiritual life--are three in number3-- ,first1 ,suicide4 ,second1 ,mortification4 ,third1 ,limitation4 ,it will be found in practice that these different methods are adapted1 respectively1 to meet three different forms of temptation2 so that we possess a sufficient warrant for giving a brief separate treatment to each4 ,first1 ,suicide4 ,stated in undisguised phraseology1 the advice of ,paul to the ,christian1 with regard to a part of his nature1 is to commit suicide4 ,if the ,christian is to live unto ,god1 he must die unto sin4 ,if he does not kill sin1 sin will inevitably kill him4 ,recognizing this1 he must set himself to reduce the number of his correspondences--retaining and developing those which lead to a fuller life1 unconditionally withdrawing those which in any way tend in an opposite direction4 ,this stoppage of correspondences is a voluntary act1 a crucifixion of the flesh1 a suicide4 ,now the least experience of life will make it evident that a large class of sins can only be met1 as it were1 by ,suicide4 ,the peculiar feature of ,death by ,suicide is that it is not only self-inflicted but sudden4 ,and there are many sins which must either be dealt with suddenly or not at all4 ,under this category1 for instance1 are to be included generally all sins of the appetites and passions4 ,other sins1 from their peculiar nature1 can only be treated by methods less abrupt1 but the sudden operation of the knife is the only successful means of dealing with fleshly sins4 ,for example1 the correspondence of the drunkard with his wine is a thing which can be broken off by degrees only in the rarest cases4 ,to attempt it gradually may in an isolated case succeed1 but even then the slightly prolonged gratification is no compensation for the slow torture of a gradually diminishing indulgence4 ,if thine appetite offend thee cut it off1 may seem at first but a harsh remedy2 but when we contemplate on the one hand the lingering pain of the gradual process1 on the other its constant peril1 we are compelled to admit that the principle is as kind as it is wise4 ,the expression total abstinence in such a case is a strictly biological formula4 ,it implies the sudden destruction of a definite portion of environment by the total withdrawal of all the connecting links4 ,obviously of course total abstinence ought thus to be allowed a much wider application than to cases of intemperance4 ,it's the only decisive method of dealing with any sin of the flesh2 ,the very nature of the relations makes it absolutely imperative that every victim of unlawful appetite1 in whatever direction1 shall totally abstain4 ,hence ,christ's apparently extreme and peremptory language defines the only possible1 as well as the only charitable1 expedient3 ,if thy right eye offend thee1 pluck it out1 and cast it from thee4 ,and if thy right hand offend thee1 cut it off1 and cast it from thee4 ,the humanity of what is called sudden conversion has never been insisted on as it deserves4 ,in discussing ,biogenesis#fe it has been already pointed out that while growth is a slow and gradual process1 the change from ,death to ,life alike in the natural and spiritual spheres is the work of a moment4 ,whatever the conscious hour of the second birth may be--in the case of an adult it is probably defined by the first real victory over sin--it is certain that on biological principles the real turning-point is literally a moment4 ,but on moral and humane grounds this misunderstood1 perverted1 and therefore despised doctrine is equally capable of defence4 ,were any reformer1 with an adequate knowledge of human life1 to sit down and plan a scheme for the salvation of sinful men1 he would probably come to the conclusion that the best way after all1 perhaps indeed the only way1 to turn a sinner from the error of his ways would be to do it suddenly4 ,suppose a drunkard were advised to take off one portion from his usual allowance the first week1 another the second1 and so on6 ,or suppose at first1 he only allowed himself to become intoxicated in the evenings1 then every second evening1 then only on ,saturday nights1 and finally only every ,christmas8 ,how would a thief be reformed if he slowly reduced the number of his burglaries1 or a wife-beater by gradually diminishing the number of his blows8 ,the argument ends with an ad absurdum4 ,let him that stole steal no more1 is the only feasible1 the only moral1 and the only humane way4 ,this may not apply to every case1 but when any part of man's sinful life can be dealt with by immediate ,suicide1 to make him reach the end1 even were it possible1 by a lingering death1 would be a monstrous cruelty4 ,and yet it is this very thing in sudden conversion1 that men object to--the sudden change1 the decisive stand1 the uncompromising rupture with the past1 the precipitate flight from sin as of one escaping for his life4 ,men surely forget that this is an escaping for one's life4 ,let the poor prisoner run--madly and blindly if he like1 for the terror of ,death is upon him4 ,god knows1 when the pause comes1 how the chains will gall him still4 ,it is a peculiarity of the sinful state1 that as a general rule men are linked to evil mainly by a single correspondence4 ,few men break the whole law4 ,our natures1 fortunately1 are not large enough to make us guilty of all1 and the restraints of circumstances are usually such as to leave a loophole in the life of each individual for only a single habitual sin4 ,but it is very easy to see how this reduction of our intercourse with evil to a single correspondence blinds us to our true position4 ,our correspondences1 as a whole1 are not with evil1 and in our calculations as to our spiritual condition we emphasize the many negatives rather than the single positive4 ,one little weakness1 we are apt to fancy1 all men must be allowed1 and we even claim a certain indulgence for that apparent necessity of nature which we call our besetting sin4 ,yet to break with the lower environment at all1 to many1 is to break at this single point4 ,it is the only important point at which they touch it1 circumstances or natural disposition making habitual contact at other places impossible4 ,the sinful environment1 in short1 to them means a small but well-defined area4 ,now if contact at this point be not broken off1 they are virtually in contact still with the whole environment4 ,there may be only one avenue between the new life and the old1 it may be but a small and subterranean passage1 but this is sufficient to keep the old life in4 ,so long as that remains the victim is not dead unto sin1 and therefore he cannot live unto ,god4 ,hence the reasonableness of the words1 ,whatsoever shall keep the whole law1 and yet offend at one point1 he is guilty of all4 ,in the natural world it only requires a single vital correspondence of the body to be out of order to insure ,death4 ,it is not necessary to have consumption1 diabetes1 and an aneurism to bring the body to the grave if it have heart-disease4 ,he who is fatally diseased in one organ necessarily pays the penalty with his life1 though all the others be in perfect health4 ,and such1 likewise1 are the mysterious unity and correlation of functions in the spiritual organism that the disease of one member may involve the ruin of the whole4 ,the reason1 therefore1 with which ,christ follows up the announcement of ,his ,doctrine of ,mutilation1 or local ,suicide1 finds here at once its justification and interpretation3 ,if thy right eye offend thee1 pluck it out1 and cast it from thee3 for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish1 and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell4 ,and if thy right hand offend thee1 cut it off1 and cast it from thee3 for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish1 and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell4 ,secondly1 ,mortification4 ,the warrant for the use of this expression is found in the well-known phrases of ,paul1 ,if ye through the ,spirit do mortify the deeds of the body ye shall live1 and ,mortify therefore your members which are upon earth4 ,the word mortify here is1 literally1 to make to die4 ,it is used1 of course1 in no specially technical sense2 and to attempt to draw a detailed moral from the pathology of mortification would be equally fantastic and irrelevant4 ,but without in any way straining the meaning it is obvious that we have here a slight addition to our conception of dying to sin4 ,in contrast with ,suicide1 ,mortification implies a gradual rather than a sudden process4 ,the contexts in which the passages occur will make this meaning so clear1 and are otherwise so instructive in the general connection1 that we may quote them1 from the ,new ,version1 at length3 ,they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh2 but they that are after the ,spirit the things of the ,spirit4 ,for the mind of the flesh is death2 but the mind of the ,spirit is life and peace3 because the mind of the flesh is enmity against ,god2 for it is not subject to the law of ,god1 neither indeed can it be3 and they that are in the flesh cannot please ,god4 ,but ye are not in the flesh1 but in the ,spirit1 if so be that the ,spirit of ,god dwell in you4 ,but if any man hath not the ,spirit of ,christ1 he is none of ,his4 ,and if ,christ is in you1 the body is dead because of sin2 but the ,spirit is life because of righteousness4 ,but if the ,spirit of ,him that raised up ,jesus from the dead dwelleth in you1 ,he that raised up ,christ ,jesus from the dead shall quicken also your mortal bodies through ,his ,spirit that dwelleth in you4 ,so then1 brethren1 we are debtors not to the flesh1 to live after the flesh3 for if ye live after the flesh ye must die2 but if by the ,spirit ye mortify the doings 7marg47 of the body1 ye shall live4#ff ,and again1 ,if then ye were raised together with ,christ1 seek the things that are above1 where ,christ is seated on the right hand of ,god4 ,set your mind on the things that are above1 not on the things that are upon the earth4 ,for ye died1 and your life is hid with ,christ in ,god4 ,when ,christ1 who is our life1 shall be manifested1 then shall ye also with ,him be manifested in glory4 ,mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth2 fornication1 uncleanness1 passion1 evil desire1 and covetousness1 the which is idolatry2 for which things' sake cometh the wrath of ,god upon the sons of disobedience2 in the which ye also walked aforetime1 when ye lived in these things4 ,but now put ye also away all these2 anger1 wrath1 malice1 railing1 shameful speaking out of your mouth3 lie not one to another2 seeing that ye have put off the old man with his doings1 and have put on the new man1 which is being renewed unto knowledge after the image of ,him that created him4#fg ,from the nature of the case as here stated it is evident that no sudden process could entirely transfer a man from the old into the new relation4 ,to break altogether1 and at every point1 with the old environment1 is a simple impossibility4 ,so long as the regenerate man is kept in this world1 he must find the old environment at many points a severe temptation4 ,power over very many of the commonest temptations is only to be won by degrees1 and however anxious one might be to apply the summary method to every case1 he soon finds it impossible in practice4 ,the difficulty in these cases arises from a peculiar feature of the temptation4 ,the difference between a sin of drunkenness1 and1 let us say1 a sin of temper1 is that in the former case the victim who would reform has mainly to deal with the environment1 but in the latter with the correspondence4 ,the drunkard's temptation is a known and definite quantity4 ,his safety lies in avoiding some external and material substance4 ,of course1 at bottom1 he is really dealing with the correspondence every time he resists2 he is distinctly controlling appetite4 ,nevertheless it is less the appetite that absorbs his mind than the environment4 ,and so long as he can keep himself clear of the external relation1 to use ,mr4 ,herbert ,spencer's phraseology1 he has much less difficulty with the internal relation4 ,the ill-tempered person1 on the other hand1 can make very little of his environment4 ,however he may attempt to circumscribe it in certain directions1 there will always remain a wide and ever-changing area to stimulate his irascibility4 ,his environment1 in short1 is an inconstant quantity1 and his most elaborate calculations and precautions must often and suddenly fail him4 ,what he has to deal with1 then1 mainly is the correspondence1 the temper itself4 ,and that1 he well knows1 involves a long and humiliating discipline4 ,the case now is not at all a surgical but a medical one1 and the knife is here of no more use than in a fever4 ,a specific irritant has poisoned his veins4 ,and the acrid humors that are breaking out all over the surface of his life are only to be subdued by a gradual sweetening of the inward spirit4 ,it is now known that the human body acts toward certain fever-germs as a sort of soil4 ,the man whose blood is pure has nothing to fear4 ,so he whose spirit is purified and sweetened becomes proof against these germs of sin4 ,anger1 wrath1 malice and railing in such a soil can find no root4 ,the difference between this and the former method of dealing with sin may be illustrated by another analogy4 ,the two processes depend upon two different natural principles4 ,the ,mutilation of a member1 for instance1 finds its analogue in the horticultural operation of pruning1 where the object is to divert life from a useless into a useful channel4 ,a part of a plant which previously monopolized a large share of the vigor of the total organism1 but without yielding any adequate return1 is suddenly cut off1 so that the vital processes may proceed more actively in some fruitful parts4 ,christ's use of this figure is well-known3 ,every branch in ,me that beareth not fruit ,he purgeth it that it may bring forth more fruit4 ,the strength of the plant1 that is1 being given to the formation of mere wood1 a number of useless correspondences have to be abruptly closed while the useful connections are allowed to remain4 ,the ,mortification of a member1 again1 is based on the ,law of ,degeneration4 ,the useless member here is not cut off1 but simply relieved as much as possible of all exercise4 ,this encourages the gradual decay of the parts1 and as it is more and more neglected it ceases to be a channel for life at all4 ,so an organism mortifies its members4 ,thirdly1 ,limitation4 ,while a large number of correspondences between man and his environment can be stopped in these ways1 there are many more which neither can be reduced by a gradual ,mortification nor cut short by sudden ,death4 ,one reason for this is that to tamper with these correspondences might involve injury to closely related vital parts4 ,or1 again1 there are organs which are really essential to the normal life of the organism1 and which therefore the organism cannot afford to lose even though at times they act prejudicially4 ,not a few correspondences1 for instance1 are not wrong in themselves but only in their extremes4 ,up to a certain point they are lawful and necessary2 beyond that point they may become not only unnecessary but sinful4 ,the appropriate treatment in these and similar cases consists in a process of ,limitation4 ,the performance of this operation1 it must be confessed1 requires a most delicate hand4 ,it is an art1 moreover1 which no one can teach another4 ,and yet1 if it is not learned by all who are trying to lead the ,christian life1 it cannot be for want of practice4 ,for1 as we shall see1 the ,christian is called upon to exercise few things more frequently4 ,an easy illustration of a correspondence which is only wrong when carried to an extreme1 is the love of money4 ,the love of money up to a certain point is a necessity2 beyond that it may become one of the worst of sins4 ,christ said3 ,ye cannot serve ,god and ,mammon4 ,the two services1 at a definite point1 become incompatible1 and hence correspondence with one must cease4 ,at what point1 however1 it must cease each man has to determine for himself4 ,and in this consists at once the difficulty and the dignity of ,limitation4 ,there is another class of cases where the adjustments are still more difficult to determine4 ,innumerable points exist in our surroundings with which it is perfectly legitimate to enjoy1 and even to cultivate1 correspondence1 but which privilege1 at the same time1 it were better on the whole that we did not use4 ,circumstances are occasionally such--the demands of others upon us1 for example1 may be so clamant--that we have voluntarily to reduce the area of legitimate pleasure4 ,or1 instead of it coming from others1 the claim may come from a still higher direction4 ,man's spiritual life consists in the number and fullness of his correspondences with ,god4 ,in order to develop these he may be constrained to insulate them1 to inclose them from the other correspondences1 to shut himself in with them4 ,in many ways the limitation of the natural life is the necessary condition of the full enjoyment of the spiritual life4 ,in this principle lies the true philosophy of self-denial4 ,no man is called to a life of self-denial for its own sake4 ,it is in order to a compensation which1 though sometimes difficult to see1 is always real and always proportionate4 ,no truth1 perhaps1 in practical religion is more lost sight of4 ,we cherish somehow a lingering rebellion against the doctrine of self-denial--as if our nature1 or our circumstances1 or our conscience1 dealt with us severely in loading us with the daily cross4 ,but is it not plain after all that the life of self-denial is the more abundant life--more abundant just in proportion to the ampler crucifixion of the narrower life8 ,is it not a clear case of exchange--an exchange however where the advantage is entirely on our side8 ,we give up a correspondence in which there is a little life to enjoy a correspondence in which there is an abundant life4 ,what though we sacrifice a hundred such correspondences8 ,we make but the more room for the great one that is left4 ,the lesson of self-denial1 that is to say of ,limitation1 is concentration4 ,do not spoil your life1 it says1 at the outset with unworthy and impoverishing correspondences2 and if it is growing truly rich and abundant1 be very jealous of ever diluting its high eternal quality with anything of earth4 ,to concentrate upon a few great correspondences1 to oppose to the death the perpetual petty larceny of our life by trifles--these are the conditions for the highest and happiest life4 ,it is only ,limitation which can secure the ,illimitable4 ,the penalty of evading self-denial also is just that we get the lesser instead of the larger good4 ,the punishment of sin is inseparably bound up with itself4 ,to refuse to deny one's self is just to be left with the self undenied4 ,when the balance of life is struck1 the self will be found still there4 ,the discipline of life was meant to destroy this self1 but that discipline having been evaded--and we all to some extent have opportunities1 and too often exercise them1 of taking the narrow path by the shortest cuts--its purpose is balked4 ,but the soul is the loser4 ,in seeking to gain its life it has really lost it4 ,this is what ,christ meant when ,he said3 ,he that loveth his life shall lose it1 and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal4 ,why does ,christ say3 ,hate ,life8 ,does ,he mean that life is a sin8 ,no4 ,life is not a sin4 ,still1 ,he says we must hate it4 ,but we must live4 ,why should we hate what we must do8 ,for this reason3 ,life is not a sin1 but the love of life may be a sin4 ,and the best way not to love life is to hate it4 ,is it a sin then to love life8 ,not a sin exactly1 but a mistake4 ,it is a sin to love some life1 a mistake to love the rest4 ,because that love is lost4 ,all that is lavished on it is lost4 ,christ does not say it is wrong to love life4 ,he simply says it is loss4 ,each man has only a certain amount of life1 of time1 of attention--a definite measurable quantity4 ,if he gives any of it to this life solely it is wasted4 ,therefore ,christ says1 ,hate life1 limit life1 lest you steal your love for it from something that deserves it more4 ,now this does not apply to all life4 ,it is life in this world that is to be hated4 ,for life in this world implies conformity to this world4 ,it may not mean pursuing worldly pleasures1 or mixing with worldly sets2 but a subtler thing than that--a silent deference to worldly opinion2 an almost unconscious lowering of religious tone to the level of the worldly-religious world around2 a subdued resistance to the soul's delicate promptings to greater consecration1 out of deference to breadth or fear of ridicule4 ,these1 and such things1 are what ,christ tells us we must hate4 ,for these things are of the very essence of worldliness4 ,if any man love the world1 even in this sense1 the love of the ,father is not in him4 ,there are two ways of hating life1 a true and a false4 ,some men hate life because it hates them4 ,they have seen through it1 and it has turned round upon them4 ,they have drunk it1 and come to the dregs2 therefore they hate it4 ,this is one of the ways in which the man who loves his life literally loses it4 ,he loves it till he loses it1 then he hates it because it has fooled him4 ,the other way is the religious4 ,for religious reasons a man deliberately braces himself to the systematic hating of his life4 ,no man can serve two masters1 for either he must hate the one and love the other1 or else he must hold to the one and despise the other4 ,despising the other--this is hating life1 limiting life4 ,it is not misanthropy1 but ,christianity4 ,this principle1 as has been said1 contains the true philosophy of self-denial4 ,it also holds the secret by which self-denial may be most easily borne4 ,a common conception of self-denial is that there are a multitude of things about life which are to be put down with a high hand the moment they make their appearance4 ,they are temptations which are not to be tolerated1 but must be instantly crushed out of being with pang and effort4 ,so life comes to be a constant and sore cutting off of things which we love as our right hand4 ,but now suppose one tried boldly to hate these things8 ,suppose we deliberately made up our minds as to what things we were henceforth to allow to become our life8 ,suppose we selected a given area of our environment and determined once for all that our correspondences should go to that alone1 fencing in this area all round with a morally impassable wall8 ,true1 to others1 we should seem to live a poorer life2 they would see that our environment was circumscribed1 and call us narrow because it was narrow4 ,but1 well-chosen1 this limited life would be really the fullest life2 it would be rich in the highest and worthiest1 and poor in the smallest and basest correspondences4 ,the well-defined spiritual life is not only the highest life1 but it is also the most easily lived4 ,the whole cross is more easily carried than the half4 ,it is the man who tries to make the best of both worlds who makes nothing of either4 ,and he who seeks to serve two masters misses the benediction of both4 ,but he who has taken his stand1 who has drawn a boundary line1 sharp and deep about his religious life1 who has marked off all beyond as forever forbidden ground to him1 finds the yoke easy and the burden light4 ,for this forbidden environment comes to be as if it were not4 ,his faculties falling out of correspondence1 slowly lose their sensibilities4 ,and the balm of ,death numbing his lower nature releases him for the scarce disturbed communion of a higher life4 ,so even here to die is gain4 ,,footnotes3 #fe ,page #hj4 #ff ,rom4 viii4 #e-ac4 #fg ,col4 iii4 #a-aj4 ,,eternal ,,life4 ,supposing that man1 in some form1 is permitted to remain on the earth for a long series of years1 we merely lengthen out the period1 but we cannot escape the final catastrophe4 ,the earth will gradually lose its energy of relation1 as well as that of revolution round the sun4 ,the sun himself will wax dim and become useless as a source of energy1 until at last the favorable conditions of the present solar system will have quite disappeared4 ,but what happens to our system will happen likewise to the whole visible universe1 which will1 if finite1 become a lifeless mass1 if indeed it be not doomed to utter dissolution4 ,in fine1 it will become old and effete1 no less truly than the individual4 ,it is a glorious garment1 this visible universe1 but not an immortal one4 ,we must look elsewhere if we are to be clothed with immortality as with a garment4--,the ,unseen ,universe4 ,this is ,life ,eternal--that they might know ,thee1 the ,true ,god1 and ,jesus ,christ whom ,thou hast sent4--,jesus ,christ4 ,perfect correspondence would be perfect life4 ,were there no changes in the environment but such as the organism had adapted changes to meet1 and were it never to fail in the efficiency with which it met them1 there would be eternal existence and eternal knowledge4--,herbert ,spencer4 ,one of the most startling achievements of recent science is a definition of ,eternal ,life4 ,to the religious mind this is a contribution of immense moment4 ,for eighteen hundred years only one definition of ,life ,eternal was before the world4 ,now there are two4 ,through all these centuries revealed religion had this doctrine to itself4 ,ethics had a voice1 as well as ,christianity1 on the question of the summum bonum2 ,philosophy ventured to speculate on the ,being of a ,god4 ,but no source outside ,christianity contributed anything to the doctrine of ,eternal ,life4 ,apart from ,revelation1 this great truth was unguaranteed4 ,it was the one thing in the ,christian system that most needed verification from without1 yet none was forthcoming4 ,and never has any further light been thrown upon the question why in its very nature the ,christian ,life should be ,eternal4 ,christianity itself even upon this point has been obscure4 ,its decision upon the bare fact is authoritative and specific4 ,but as to what there is in the ,spiritual ,life necessarily endowing it with the element of ,eternity1 the maturest theology is all but silent4 ,it has been reserved for modern biology at once to defend and illuminate this central truth of the ,christian faith4 ,and hence in the interests of religion1 practical and evidential1 this second and scientific definition of ,eternal ,life is to be hailed as an announcement of commanding interest4 ,why it should not yet have received the recognition of religious thinkers--for already it has lain some years unnoticed--is not difficult to understand4 ,the belief in ,science as an aid to faith is not yet ripe enough to warrant men in searching there for witnesses to the highest ,christian truths4 ,the inspiration of ,nature1 it is thought1 extends to the humbler doctrines alone4 ,and yet the reverent inquirer who guides his steps in the right direction may find even now in the still dim twilight of the scientific world much that will illuminate and intensify his sublimest faith4 ,here1 at least1 comes1 and comes unbidden1 the opportunity of testing the most vital point of the ,christian system4 ,hitherto the ,christian philosopher has remained content with the scientific evidence against ,annihilation4 ,or1 with ,butler1 he has reasoned from the ,metamorphoses of ,insects to a future life4 ,or again1 with the authors of ,the ,unseen ,universe1 the apologist has constructed elaborate1 and certainly impressive1 arguments upon the ,law of ,continuity4 ,but now we may draw nearer4 ,for the first time ,science touches ,christianity positively on the doctrine of ,immortality4 ,it confronts us with an actual definition of an ,eternal ,life1 based on a full and rigidly accurate examination of the necessary conditions4 ,science does not pretend that it can fulfill these conditions4 ,its votaries make no claim to possess the ,eternal ,life4 ,it simply postulates the requisite conditions without concerning itself whether any organism should ever appear1 or does now exist1 which might fulfill them4 ,the claim of religion1 on the other hand1 is that there are organisms which possess ,eternal ,life4 ,and the problem for us to solve is this3 ,do those who profess to possess ,eternal ,life fulfill the conditions required by ,science1 or are they different conditions8 ,in a word1 ,is the ,christian conception of ,eternal ,life scientific8 ,it may be unnecessary to notice at the outset that the definition of ,eternal ,life drawn up by ,science was framed without reference to religion4 ,it must indeed have been the last thought with the thinker to whom we chiefly owe it1 that in unfolding the conception of a ,life in its very nature necessarily eternal1 he was contributing to ,theology4 ,mr4 ,herbert ,spencer--for it is to him we owe it--would be the first to admit the impartiality of his definition2 and from the connection in which it occurs in his writings1 it is obvious that religion was not even present to his mind4 ,he is analyzing with minute care the relations between ,environment and ,life4 ,he unfolds the principle according to which ,life is high or low1 long or short4 ,he shows why organisms live and why they die4 ,and finally he defines a condition of things in which an organism would never die--in which it would enjoy a perpetual and perfect ,life4 ,this to him is1 of course1 but a speculation4 ,life ,eternal is a biological conceit4 ,the conditions necessary to an ,eternal ,life do not exist in the natural world4 ,so that the definition is altogether impartial and independent4 ,a ,perfect ,life1 to ,science1 is simply a thing which is theoretically possible--like a ,perfect ,vacuum4 ,before giving1 in so many words1 the definition of ,mr4 ,herbert ,spencer1 it will render it fully intelligible if we gradually lead up to it by a brief rehearsal of the few and simple biological facts on which it is based4 ,in considering the subject of ,death1 we have formerly seen that there are degrees of ,life4 ,by this is meant that some lives have more and fuller correspondence with ,environment than others4 ,the amount of correspondence1 again1 is determined by the greater or less complexity of the organism4 ,thus a simple organism like the ,amoeba is possessed of very few correspondences4 ,it is a mere sac of transparent structureless jelly for which organization has done almost nothing1 and hence it can only communicate with the smallest possible area of ,environment4 ,an insect1 in virtue of its more complex structure1 corresponds with a wider area4 ,nature has endowed it with special faculties for reaching out to the ,environment on many sides2 it has more life than the ,amoeba4 ,in other words1 it is a higher animal4 ,man again1 whose body is still further differentiated1 or broken up into different correspondences1 finds himself en rapport with his surroundings to a further extent4 ,and therefore he is higher still1 more living still4 ,and this law1 that the degree of ,life varies with the degree of correspondence1 holds to the minutest detail throughout the entire range of living things4 ,life becomes fuller and fuller1 richer and richer1 more and more sensitive and responsive to an ever-widening ,environment as we arise in the chain of being4 ,now it will speedily appear that a distinct relation exists1 and must exist1 between complexity and longevity4 ,death being brought about by the failure of an organism to adjust itself to some change in the ,environment1 it follows that those organisms which are able to adjust themselves most readily and successfully will live the longest4 ,they will continue time after time to effect the appropriate adjustment1 and their power of doing so will be exactly proportionate to their complexity--that is1 to the amount of ,environment they can control with their correspondences4 ,there are1 for example1 in the ,environment of every animal certain things which are directly or indirectly dangerous to ,life4 ,if its equipment of correspondences is not complete enough to enable it to avoid these dangers in all possible circumstances1 it must sooner or later succumb4 ,the organism then with the most perfect set of correspondences1 that is1 the highest and most complex organism1 has an obvious advantage over less complex forms4 ,it can adjust itself more perfectly and frequently4 ,but this is just the biological way of saying that it can live the longest4 ,and hence the relation between complexity and longevity may be expressed thus--the most complex organisms are the longest lived4 ,to state and illustrate the proposition conversely may the point still further clear4 ,the less highly organized an animal is1 the less will be its chance of remaining in lengthened correspondence with its ,environment4 ,at some time or other in its career circumstances are sure to occur to which the comparatively immobile organism finds itself structurally unable to respond4 ,thus a ,medusa tossed ashore by a wave1 finds itself so out of correspondence with its new surroundings that its life must pay the forfeit4 ,had it been able by internal change to adapt itself to external change--to correspond sufficiently with the new environment1 as for example to crawl1 as an eel would have done1 back into that environment with which it had completer correspondence--its life might have been spared4 ,but had this happened it would continue to live henceforth only so long as it could continue in correspondence with all the circumstances in which it might find itself4 ,even if1 however1 it became complex enough to resist the ordinary and direct dangers of its environment1 it might still be out of correspondence with others4 ,a naturalist for instance1 might take advantage of its want of correspondence with particular sights and sounds to capture it for his cabinet1 or the sudden dropping of a yacht's anchor or the turn of a screw might cause its untimely death4 ,again1 in the case of a bird1 in virtue of its more complex organization1 there is command over a much larger area of environment4 ,it can take precautions such as the ,medusa could not2 it has increased facilities for securing food2 its adjustments all round are more complex2 and therefore it ought to be able to maintain its ,life for a longer period4 ,there is still a large area1 however1 over which it has no control4 ,its power of internal change is not complete enough to afford it perfect correspondence with all external changes1 and its tenure of ,life is to that extent insecure4 ,its correspondence1 moreover1 is limited even with regard to those external conditions with which it has been partially established4 ,thus a bird in ordinary circumstances has no difficulty in adapting itself to changes of temperature1 but if these are varied beyond the point at which its capacity of adjustment begins to fail--for example1 during an extreme winter--the organism being unable to meet the condition must perish4 ,the human organism1 on the other hand1 can respond to this external condition1 as well as to countless other vicissitudes under which lower forms would inevitably succumb4 ,man's adjustments are to the largest known area of ,environment1 and hence he ought to be able furthest to prolong his ,life4 ,it becomes evident1 then1 that as we ascend in the scale of ,life we rise also in the scale of longevity4 ,the lowest organisms are1 as a rule1 short-lived1 and the rate of mortality diminishes more or less regularly as we ascend in the animal scale4 ,so extraordinary indeed is the mortality among lowly-organized forms that in most cases a compensation is actually provided1 nature endowing them with a marvelously increased fertility in order to guard against absolute extinction4 ,almost all lower forms are furnished not only with great reproductive powers1 but with different methods of propagation1 by which1 in various circumstances1 and in an incredibly short time1 the species can be indefinitely multiplied4 ,ehrenberg found that by the repeated subdivisions of a single ,paramecium1 no fewer than #bfh1jjj1jjj similar organisms might be produced in one month4 ,this power steadily decreases as we rise higher in the scale1 until forms are reached in which one1 two1 or at most three1 come into being at a birth4 ,it decreases1 however1 because it is no longer needed4 ,these forms have a much longer lease of ,life4 ,and it may be taken as a rule1 although it has exceptions1 that complexity in animal organisms is always associated with longevity4 ,it may be objected that these illustrations are taken merely from morbid conditions4 ,but whether the ,life be cut short by accident or by disease the principle is the same4 ,all dissolution is brought about practically in the same way4 ,a certain condition in the ,environment fails to be met by a corresponding condition in the organism1 and this is death4 ,and conversely the more an organism in virtue of its complexity can adapt itself to all the parts of its ,environment1 the longer it will live4 ,it is manifest a priori1 says ,mr4 ,herbert ,spencer1 that since changes in the physical state of the environment1 as also those mechanical actions and those variations of available food which occur in it1 are liable to stop the processes going on in the organism2 and since the adaptive changes in the organism have the effects of directly or indirectly counterbalancing these changes in the environment1 it follows that the life of the organism will be short or long1 low or high1 according to the extent to which changes in the environment are met by corresponding changes in the organism4 ,allowing a margin for perturbations1 the life will continue only while the correspondence continues2 the completeness of the life will be proportionate to the completeness of the correspondence2 and the life will be perfect only when the correspondence is perfect4#fh ,we are now all but in sight of our scientific definitions of ,eternal ,life4 ,the desideratum is an organism with a correspondence of a very exceptional kind4 ,it must lie beyond the reach of those mechanical actions and those variations of available food1 which are liable to stop the processes going on in the organism4 ,before we reach an ,eternal ,life we must pass beyond that point at which all ordinary correspondences inevitably cease4 ,we must find an organism so high and complex1 that at some point in its development it shall have added a correspondence which organic death is powerless to arrest4 ,we must in short pass beyond that definite region where the correspondences depend on evanescent and material media1 and enter a further region where the ,environment corresponded with is itself ,eternal4 ,such an ,environment exists4 ,the ,environment of the ,spiritual world is outside the influence of these mechanical actions1 which sooner or later interrupt the processes going on in all finite organisms4 ,if then we can find an organism which has established a correspondence with the spiritual world1 that correspondence will possess the elements of eternity--provided only one other condition be fulfilled4 ,that condition is that the ,environment be perfect4 ,if it is not perfect1 if it is not the highest1 if it is endowed with the finite quality of change1 there can be no guarantee that the ,life of its correspondents will be eternal4 ,some change might occur in it which the correspondents had no adaptive changes to meet1 and ,life would cease4 ,but grant a spiritual organism in perfect correspondence with a perfect spiritual ,environment1 and the conditions necessary to ,eternal ,life are satisfied4 ,the exact terms of ,mr4 ,herbert ,spencer's definition of ,eternal ,life may now be given4 ,and it will be seen that they include essentially the conditions here laid down4 ,perfect correspondence would be perfect life4 ,were there no changes in the environment but such as the organism had adapted changes to meet1 and were it never to fail in the efficiency with which it met them1 there would be eternal existence and eternal knowledge4#fi ,reserving the question as to the possible fulfillment of these conditions1 let us turn for a moment to the definition of ,eternal ,life laid down by ,christ4 ,let us place it alongside the definition of ,science1 and mark the points of contact4 ,uninterrupted correspondence with a perfect ,environment is ,eternal ,life according to ,science4 ,this is ,life ,eternal1 said ,christ1 that they may know ,thee1 the only true ,god1 and ,jesus ,christ whom ,thou hast sent4#gj ,life ,eternal is to know ,god4 ,to know ,god is to correspond with ,god4 ,to correspond with ,god is to correspond with a ,perfect ,environment4 ,and the organism which attains to this1 in the nature of things must live forever4 ,here is eternal existence and eternal knowledge4 ,the main point of agreement between the scientific and the religious definition is that ,life consists in a peculiar and personal relation defined as a correspondence4 ,this conception1 that ,life consists in correspondences1 has been so abundantly illustrated already that it is now unnecessary to discuss it further4 ,all ,life indeed consists essentially in correspondences with various ,environments4 ,the artist's life is a correspondence with art2 the musician's with music4 ,to cut them off from these ,environments is in that relation to cut off their ,life4 ,to be cut off from all ,environment is death4 ,to find a new ,environment again and cultivate relation with it is to find a new ,life4 ,to live is to correspond1 and to correspond is to live4 ,so much is true in ,science4 ,but it is also true in ,religion4 ,and it is of great importance to observe that to ,religion also the conception of ,life is a correspondence4 ,no truth of ,christianity has been more ignorantly or willfully travestied than the doctrine of ,immortality4 ,the popular idea1 in spite of a hundred protests1 is that ,eternal ,life is to live forever4 ,a single glance at the locus classicus might have made this error impossible4 ,there we are told that ,life ,eternal is not to live4 ,this is ,life ,eternal--to know4 ,and yet--and it is a notorious instance of the fact that men who are opposed to ,religion will take their conceptions of its profoundest truths from mere vulgar perversions--this view still represents to many cultivated men the ,scriptural doctrine of ,eternal ,life4 ,from time to time the taunt is thrown at ,religion1 not unseldom from lips which ,science ought to have taught more caution1 that the ,future ,life of ,christianity is simply a prolonged existence1 an eternal monotony1 a blind and indefinite continuance of being4 ,the ,bible never could commit itself to any such empty platitudes2 nor could ,christianity ever offer to the world a hope so colorless4 ,not that ,eternal ,life has nothing to do with everlastingness4 ,that is part of the conception4 ,and it is this aspect of the question that first arrests us in the field of ,science4 ,but even ,science has more in its definition than longevity4 ,it has a correspondence and an ,environment2 and although it cannot fill up these terms for ,religion1 it can indicate at least the nature of the relation1 the kind of thing that is meant by ,life4 ,science speaks to us indeed of much more than numbers of years4 ,it defines degrees of ,life4 ,it explains a widening ,environment4 ,it unfolds the relation between a widening ,environment and increasing complexity in organisms4 ,and if it has no absolute contribution to the content of ,religion1 its analogies are not limited to a point4 ,it yields to ,immortality1 and this is the most that ,science can do in any case1 the board framework for a doctrine4 ,the further definition1 moreover1 of this correspondence as knowing is in the highest degree significant4 ,is not this the precise quality in an ,eternal correspondence which the analogies of ,science would prepare us to look for8 ,longevity is associated with complexity4 ,and complexity in organisms is manifested by the successive addition of correspondences1 each richer and larger than those which have gone before4 ,the differentiation1 therefore1 of the spiritual organism ought to be signalized by the addition of the highest possible correspondence4 ,it is not essential to the idea that the correspondence should be altogether novel2 it is necessary rather that it should not4 ,an altogether new correspondence appearing suddenly without shadow or prophecy would be a violation of continuity4 ,what we should expect would be something new1 and yet something that we were already prepared for4 ,we should look for a further development in harmony with current developments2 the extension of the last and highest correspondence in a new and higher direction4 ,and this is exactly what we have4 ,in the world with which biology deals1 ,evolution culminates in ,knowledge4 ,at whatever point in the zoological scale this correspondence1 or set of correspondences1 begins1 it is certain there is nothing higher4 ,in its stunted infancy merely1 when we meet with its rudest beginnings in animal intelligence1 it is a thing so wonderful1 as to strike every thoughtful and reverent observer with awe4 ,even among the invertebrates so marvelously are these or kindred powers displayed1 that naturalists do not hesitate now1 on the ground of intelligence at least1 to classify some of the humblest creatures next to man himself4#ga ,nothing in nature1 indeed1 is so unlike the rest of nature1 so prophetic of what is beyond it1 so supernatural4 ,and as manifested in ,man who crowns creation with his all-embracing consciousness1 there is but one word to describe his knowledge3 it is ,divine4 ,if then from this point there is to be any further ,evolution1 this surely must be the correspondence in which it shall take place8 ,this correspondence is great enough to demand development2 and yet it is little enough to need it4 ,the magnificence of what it has achieved relatively1 is the pledge of the possibility of more2 the insignificance of its conquest absolutely involves the probability of still richer triumphs4 ,if anything1 in short1 in humanity is to go on it must be this4 ,other correspondences may continue likewise2 others1 again1 we can well afford to leave behind4 ,but this cannot cease4 ,this correspondence--or this set of correspondences1 for it is very complex--is it not that to which men with one consent would attach ,eternal ,life8 ,is there anything else to which they would attach it8 ,is anything better conceivable1 anything worthier1 fuller1 nobler1 anything which would represent a higher form of ,evolution or offer a more perfect ideal for an ,eternal ,life8 ,but these are questions of quality2 and the moment we pass from quantity to quality we leave ,science behind4 ,in the vocabulary of ,science1 ,eternity is only the fraction of a word4 ,it means mere everlastingness4 ,to ,religion1 on the other hand1 ,eternity has little to do with time4 ,to correspond with the ,god of ,science1 the ,eternal ,unknowable1 would be everlasting existence2 to correspond with the true ,god and ,jesus ,christ1 is ,eternal ,life4 ,the quality of the ,eternal ,life alone makes the heaven2 mere everlastingness might be no boon4 ,even the brief span of the temporal life is too long for those who spend its years in sorrow4 ,time itself1 let alone ,eternity1 is all but excruciating to ,doubt4 ,and many besides ,schopenhauer have secretly regarded consciousness as the hideous mistake and malady of ,nature4 ,therefore we must not only have quantity of years1 to speak in the language of the present1 but quality of correspondence4 ,when we leave ,science behind1 this correspondence also receives a higher name4 ,it becomes communion4 ,other names there are for it1 religious and theological4 ,it may be included in a general expression1 ,faith2 or we may call it by a personal and specific term1 ,love4 ,for the knowing of a ,whole so great involves the co-operation of many parts4 ,communion with ,god--can it be demonstrated in terms of ,science that this is a correspondence which will never break8 ,we do not appeal to ,science for such a testimony4 ,we have asked for its conception of an ,eternal ,life2 and we have received for answer that ,eternal ,life would consist in a correspondence which should never cease1 with an ,environment which should never pass away4 ,and yet what would ,science demand of a perfect correspondence that is not met by this1 the knowing of ,god8 ,there is no other correspondence which could satisfy one at least of the conditions4 ,not one could be named which would not bear on the face of it the mark and pledge of its mortality4 ,but this1 to know ,god1 stands alone4 ,to know ,god1 to be linked with ,god1 to be linked with ,eternity--if this is not the eternal existence of biology1 what can more nearly approach it8 ,and yet we are still a great way off--to establish a communication with the ,eternal is not to secure ,eternal ,life4 ,it must be assumed that the communication could be sustained4 ,and to assume this would be to beg the question4 ,so that we have still to prove ,eternal ,life4 ,but let it be again repeated1 we are not here seeking proofs4 ,we are seeking light4 ,we are merely reconnoitring from the furthest promontory of ,science if so be that through the haze we may discern the outline of a distant coast and come to some conclusion as to the possibility of landing4 ,but1 it may be replied1 it is not open to any one handling the question of ,immortality from the side of ,science to remain neutral as to the question of fact4 ,it is not enough to announce that he has no addition to make to the positive argument4 ,this may be permitted with reference to other points of contact between ,science and ,religion1 but not with this4 ,we are told this question is settled--that there is no positive side4 ,science meets the entire conception of ,immortality with a direct negative4 ,in the face of a powerful consensus against even the possibility of a ,future ,life1 to content one's self with saying that ,science pretended to no argument in favor of it would be at once impertinent and dishonest4 ,we must therefore devote ourselves for a moment to the question of possibility4 ,the problem is1 with a material body and a mental organization inseparably connected with it1 to bridge the grave4 ,emotion1 volition1 thought itself1 are functions of the brain4 ,when the brain is impaired1 they are impaired4 ,when the brain is not1 they are not4 ,everything ceases with the dissolution of the material fabric2 muscular activity and mental activity perish alike4 ,with the pronounced positive statements on this point from many departments of modern ,science we are all familiar4 ,the fatal verdict is recorded by a hundred hands and with scarcely a shadow of qualification4 ,unprejudiced philosophy is compelled to reject the idea of an individual immortality and of a personal continuance after death4 ,with the decay and dissolution of its material substratum1 through which alone it has acquired a conscious existence and become a person1 and upon which it was dependent1 the spirit must cease to exist4#gb ,to the same effect ,vogt3 ,physiology decides definitely and categorically against individual immortality1 as against any special existence of the soul4 ,the soul does not enter the foetus like the evil spirit into persons possessed1 but is a product of the development of the brain1 just as muscular activity is a product of muscular development1 and secretion a product of glandular development4 ,after a careful review of the position of recent ,science with regard to the whole doctrine1 ,mr4 ,graham sums up thus3 ,such is the argument of ,science1 seemingly decisive against a future life4 ,as we listen to her array of syllogisms1 our hearts die within us4 ,the hopes of men1 placed in one scale to be weighed1 seem to fly up against the massive weight of her evidence1 placed in the other4 ,it seems as if all our arguments were vain and unsubstantial1 as if our future expectations were the foolish dreams of children1 as if there could not be any other possible verdict arrived at upon the evidence brought forward4#gc ,can we go on in the teeth of so real an obstruction8 ,has not our own weapon turned against us1 ,science abolishing with authoritative hand the very truth we are asking it to define8 ,what the philosopher has to throw into the other scale can be easily indicated4 ,generally speaking1 he demurs to the dogmatism of the conclusion4 ,that mind and brain react1 that the mental and the physiological processes are related1 and very intimately related1 is beyond controversy4 ,but how they are related1 he submits1 is still altogether unknown4 ,the correlation of mind and brain do not involve their identity4 ,and not a few authorities accordingly have consistently hesitated to draw any conclusion at all4 ,even ,buechner's statement turns out1 on close examination1 to be tentative in the extreme4 ,in prefacing his chapter on ,personal ,continuance1 after a single sentence on the dependence of the soul and its manifestations upon a material substratum1 he remarks1 ,though we are unable to form a definite idea as to the how of this connection1 we are still by these facts justified in asserting1 that the mode of this connection renders it apparently impossible that they should continue to exist separately4#gd ,there is1 therefore1 a flaw at this point in the argument for materialism4 ,it may not help the spiritualist in the least degree positively4 ,he may be as far as ever from a theory of how consciousness could continue without the material tissue4 ,but his contention secures for him the right of speculation4 ,the path beyond may lie in hopeless gloom2 but it is not barred4 ,he may bring forward his theory if he will4 ,and this is something4 ,for a permission to go on is often the most that ,science can grant to ,religion4 ,men have taken advantage of this loophole in various ways4 ,and though it cannot be said that these speculations offer us more than a probability1 this is still enough to combine with the deep-seated expectation in the bosom of mankind and give fresh luster to the hope of a future life4 ,whether we find relief in the theory of a simple dualism2 whether with ,ulrici we further define the soul as an invisible enswathement of the body1 material yet non-atomic2 whether1 with the ,unseen ,universe1 we are helped by the spectacle of known forms of matter shading off into an ever-growing subtilty1 mobility1 and immateriality2 or whether1 with ,wundt1 we regard the soul as the ordered unity of many elements1 it is certain that shapes can be given to the conception of a correspondence which shall bridge the grave such as to satisfy minds too much accustomed to weigh evidence to put themselves off with fancies4 ,but whether the possibilities of physiology or the theories of philosophy do or do not substantially assist us in realizing ,immortality1 is to ,religion1 to ,religion at least regarded from the present point of view1 of inferior moment4 ,the fact of ,immortality rests for us on a different basis4 ,probably1 indeed1 after all the ,christian philosopher never engaged himself in a more superfluous task than in seeking along physiological lines to find room for a soul4 ,the theory of ,christianity has only to be fairly stated to make manifest its thorough independence of all the usual speculations on ,immortality4 ,the theory is not that thought1 volition1 or emotion1 as such are to survive the grave4 ,the difficulty of holding a doctrine in this form1 in spite of what has been advanced to the contrary1 in spite of the hopes and wishes of mankind1 in spite of all the scientific and philosophical attempts to make it tenable1 is still profound4 ,no secular theory of personal continuance1 as even ,butler acknowledged1 does not equally demand the eternity of the brute4 ,no secular theory defines the point in the chain of ,evolution at which organisms became endowed with ,immortality4 ,no secular theory explains the condition of the endowment1 nor indicates its goal4 ,and if we have nothing more to fan hope than the unexplored mystery of the whole region1 or the unknown remainders among the potencies of ,life1 then1 as those who have hope only in this world1 we are of all men the most miserable4 ,when we turn1 on the other hand1 to the doctrine as it came from the lips of ,christ1 we find ourselves in an entirely different region4 ,he makes no attempt to project the material into the immaterial4 ,the old elements1 however refined and subtle as to their matter1 are not in themselves to inherit the ,kingdom of ,god4 ,that which is flesh is flesh4 ,instead of attaching ,immortality to the natural organism1 ,he introduces a new and original factor which none of the secular1 and few even of the theological theories1 seem to take sufficiently into account4 ,to ,christianity1 he that hath the ,son of ,god hath ,life1 and he that hath not the ,son hath not ,life4 ,this1 as we take it1 defines the correspondence which is to bridge the grave4 ,this is the clue to the nature of the ,life that lies at the back of the spiritual organism4 ,and this is the true solution of the mystery of ,eternal ,life4 ,there lies a something at the back of the correspondences of the spiritual organism--just as there lies a something at the back of the natural correspondences4 ,to say that ,life is a correspondence is only to express the partial truth4 ,there is something behind4 ,life manifests itself in correspondences4 ,but what determines them8 ,the organism exhibits a variety of correspondences4 ,what organizes them8 ,as in the natural1 so in the spiritual1 there is a ,principle of ,life4 ,we cannot get rid of that term4 ,however clumsy1 however provisional1 however much a mere cloak for ignorance1 ,science as yet is unable to dispense with the idea of a ,principle of ,life4 ,we must work with the word till we get a better4 ,now that which determines the correspondence of the spiritual organism is a ,principle of ,spiritual ,life4 ,it is a new and ,divine ,possession4 ,he that hath the ,son hath ,life2 conversely1 he that hath ,life hath the ,son4 ,and this indicates at once the quality and the quantity of the correspondence which is to bridge the grave4 ,he that hath ,life hath the ,son4 ,he possesses the ,spirit of a ,son4 ,that spirit is1 so to speak1 organized within him by the ,son4 ,it is the manifestation of the new nature--of which more anon4 ,the fact to note at present is that this is not an organic correspondence1 but a spiritual correspondence4 ,it comes not from generation1 but from regeneration4 ,the relation between the spiritual man and his ,environment is1 in theological language1 a filial relation4 ,with the new ,spirit1 the filial correspondence1 he knows the ,father--and this is ,life ,eternal4 ,this is not only the real relation1 but the only possible relation3 ,neither knoweth any man the ,father save the ,son1 and he to whomsoever the ,son will reveal ,him4 ,and this on purely natural grounds4 ,it takes the ,divine to know the ,divine--but in no more mysterious sense than it takes the human to understand the human4 ,the analogy1 indeed1 for the whole field here has been finely expressed already by ,paul3 ,what man1 he asks1 knoweth the things of a man1 save the spirit of man which is in him8 even so the things of ,god knoweth no man1 but the ,spirit of ,god4 ,now we have received1 not the spirit of the world1 but the ,spirit which is of ,god2 that we might know the things that are freely given to us of ,god4#ge ,it were idle1 such being the quality of the new relation1 to add that this also contains the guarantee of its eternity4 ,here at last is a correspondence which will never cease4 ,its powers in bridging the grave have been tried4 ,the correspondence of the spiritual man possesses the supernatural virtues of the ,resurrection and the ,life4 ,it is known by former experiment to have survived the changes in the physical state of the environment1 and those mechanical actions and variations of available food1 which ,mr4 ,herbert ,spencer tells us are liable to stop the processes going on in the organism4 ,in short1 this is a correspondence which at once satisfies the demands of ,science and ,religion4 ,in mere quantity it is different from every other correspondence known4 ,setting aside everything else in ,religion1 everything adventitious1 local1 and provisional2 dissecting in to the bone and marrow we find this--a correspondence which can never break with an ,environment which can never change4 ,here is a relation established with ,eternity4 ,the passing years lay no limiting hand on it4 ,corruption injures it not4 ,it survives ,death4 ,it1 and it only1 will stretch beyond the grave and be found inviolate-- ,when the moon is old1 ,and the stars are cold1 ,and the books of the ,judgment-day unfold4 ,the misgiving which will creep sometimes over the brightest faith has already received its expression and its rebuke3 ,who shall separate us from the love of ,christ8 ,shall tribulation1 or distress1 or persecution1 or famine1 or nakedness1 or peril1 or sword8 ,shall these changes in the physical state of the environment which threaten death to the natural man destroy the spiritual8 ,shall death1 or life1 or angels1 or principalities1 or powers1 arrest or tamper with his eternal correspondences8 ,nay1 in all these things we are more than conquerors through ,him that loved us4 ,for ,i am persuaded that neither death1 nor life1 nor angels1 nor principalities1 nor powers1 nor things present1 nor things to come1 nor height1 nor depth1 nor any other creature1 shall be able to separate us from the love of ,god1 which is in ,christ ,jesus our ,lord4#gf ,it may seem an objection to some that the perfect correspondence should come to man in so extraordinary a way4 ,the earlier stages in the doctrine are promising enough2 they are entirely in line with ,nature4 ,and if ,nature had also furnished the perfect correspondence demanded for an ,eternal ,life the position might be unassailable4 ,but this sudden reference to a something outside the natural ,environment destroys the continuity1 and discovers a permanent weakness in the whole theory8 ,to which there is a twofold reply4 ,in the first place1 to go outside what we call ,nature is not to go outside ,environment4 ,nature1 the natural ,environment1 is only a part of ,environment4 ,there is another large part which1 though some profess to have no correspondence with it1 is not on that account unreal1 or even unnatural4 ,the mental and moral world is unknown to the plant4 ,but it is real4 ,it cannot be affirmed either that it is unnatural to the plant2 although it might be said that from the point of view of the ,vegetable ,kingdom it was supernatural4 ,things are natural or supernatural simply according to where one stands4 ,man is supernatural to the mineral2 ,god is supernatural to the man4 ,when a mineral is seized upon by the living plant and elevated to the organic kingdom1 no trespass against ,nature is committed4 ,it merely enters a larger ,environment1 which before was supernatural to it1 but which now is entirely natural4 ,when the heart of a man1 again1 is seized upon by the quickening ,spirit of ,god1 no further violence is done to natural law4 ,it is another case of the inorganic1 so to speak1 passing into the organic4 ,but in the second place1 it is complained as if it were an enormity in itself that the spiritual correspondence should be furnished from the spiritual world4 ,and to this the answer lies in the same direction4 ,correspondence in any case is the gift of ,environment4 ,the natural ,environment gives men their natural faculties2 the spiritual affords them their spiritual faculties4 ,it is natural for the spiritual ,environment to supply the spiritual faculties2 it would be quite unnatural for the natural ,environment to do it4 ,the natural law of ,biogenesis forbids it2 the moral fact that the finite cannot comprehend the ,infinite is against it2 the spiritual principle that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of ,god renders it absurd4 ,not1 however1 that the spiritual faculties are1 as it were1 manufactured in the spiritual world and supplied ready-made to the spiritual organism--forced upon it as an external equipment4 ,this certainly is not involved in saying that the spiritual faculties are furnished by the spiritual world4 ,organisms are not added to by accretion1 as in the case of minerals1 but by growth4 ,and the spiritual faculties are organized in the spiritual protoplasm of the soul1 just as other faculties are organized in the protoplasm of the body4 ,the plant is made of materials which have once been inorganic4 ,an organizing principle not belonging to their kingdom lays hold of them and elaborates them until they have correspondences with the kingdom to which the organizing principle belonged4 ,their original organizing principle1 if it can be called by this name1 was ,crystallization2 so that we have now a distinctly foreign power organizing in totally new and higher directions4 ,in the spiritual world1 similarly1 we find an organizing principle at work among the materials of the organic kingdom1 performing a further miracle1 but not a different kind of miracle1 producing organizations of a novel kind1 but not by a novel method4 ,the second process1 in fact1 is simply what an enlightened evolutionist would have expected from the first4 ,it marks the natural and legitimate progress of the development4 ,and this in the line of the true ,evolution--not the linear ,evolution1 which would look for the development of the natural man through powers already inherent1 as if one were to look to ,crystallization to accomplish the development of the mineral into the plant--but that larger form of ,evolution which includes among its factors the double ,law of ,biogenesis and the immense further truth that this involves4 ,what is further included in this complex correspondence we shall have opportunity to illustrate afterward4#gg ,meantime let it be noted on what the ,christian argument for ,immortality really rests4 ,it stands upon the pedestal on which the theologian rests the whole of historical ,christianity--the ,resurrection of ,jesus ,christ4 ,it ought to be placed in the forefront of all ,christian teaching that ,christ's mission on earth was to give men ,life4 ,i am come1 ,he said1 that ye might have ,life1 and that ye might have it more abundantly4 ,and that ,he meant literal ,life1 literal spiritual and ,eternal ,life1 is clear from the whole course of ,his teaching and acting4 ,to impose a metaphorical meaning on the commonest word of the ,new ,testament is to violate every canon of interpretation1 and at the same time to charge the greatest of teachers with persistently mystifying ,his hearers by an unusual use of so exact a vehicle for expressing definite thought as the ,greek language1 and that on the most momentous subject of which ,he ever spoke to men4 ,it is a canon of interpretation1 according to ,alford1 that a figurative sense of words is never admissible except when required by the context4 ,the context1 in most cases1 is not only directly unfavorable to a figurative meaning1 but in innumerable instances in ,christ's teaching ,life is broadly contrasted with ,death4 ,in the teaching of the apostles1 again1 we find that1 without exception1 they accepted the term in its simple literal sense4 ,reuss defines the apostolic belief with his usual impartiality when--and the quotation is doubly pertinent here--he discovers in the apostle's conception of ,life1 first1 the idea of a real existence1 an existence such as is proper to ,god and to the ,word2 an imperishable existence--that is to say1 not subject to the vicissitudes and imperfections of the finite world4 ,this primary idea is repeatedly expressed1 at least in a negative form2 it leads to a doctrine of immortality1 or1 to speak more correctly1 of life1 far surpassing any that had been expressed in the formulas of the current philosophy or theology1 and resting upon premises and conceptions altogether different4 ,in fact1 it can dispense both with the philosophical thesis of the immateriality or indestructibility of the human soul1 and with the theological thesis of a miraculous corporeal reconstruction of our person2 theses1 the first of which is altogether foreign to the religion of the ,bible1 and the second absolutely opposed to reason4 ,second1 the idea of life1 as it is conceived in this system1 implies the idea of a power1 an operation1 a communication1 since this life no longer remains1 so to speak1 latent or passive in ,god and in the ,word1 but through them reaches the believer4 ,it is not a mental somnolent thing2 it is not a plant without fruit2 it is a germ which is to find fullest development4#gh ,if we are asked to define more clearly what is meant by this mysterious endowment of ,life1 we again hand over the difficulty to ,science4 ,when ,science can define the ,natural ,life and the ,physical ,force we may hope for further clearness on the nature and action of the ,spiritual ,powers4 ,the effort to detect the living ,spirit must be at least as idle as the attempt to subject protoplasm to microscopic examination in the hope of discovering ,life4 ,we are warned1 also1 not to expect too much4 ,thou canst not tell whence it cometh or whither it goeth4 ,this being its quality1 when the ,spiritual ,life is discovered in the laboratory it will possibly be time to give it up altogether4 ,it may say1 as ,socrates of his soul1 ,you may bury me--if you can catch me4 ,science never corroborates a spiritual truth without illuminating it4 ,the threshold of ,eternity is a place where many shadows meet4 ,and the light of ,science here1 where everything is so dark1 is welcome a thousand times4 ,many men would be religious if they knew where to begin2 many would be more religious if they were sure where it would end4 ,it is not indifference that keeps some men from ,god1 but ignorance4 ,good ,master1 what must ,i do to inherit ,eternal ,life8 is still the deepest question of the age4 ,what is ,religion8 ,what am ,i to believe8 ,what seek with all my heart and soul and mind8--this is the imperious question sent up to consciousness from the depths of being in all earnest hours2 sent down again1 alas1 with many of us1 time after time1 unanswered4 ,into all our thought and work and reading this question pursues us4 ,but the theories are rejected one by one2 the great books are returned sadly to their shelves1 the years pass1 and the problem remains unsolved4 ,the confusion of tongues here is terrible4 ,every day a new authority announces himself4 ,poets1 philosophers1 preachers try their hand on us in turn4 ,new prophets arise1 and beseech us for our soul's sake to give ear to them--at last in an hour of inspiration they have discovered the final truth4 ,yet the doctrine of yesterday is challenged by a fresh philosophy to-day3 and the creed of to-day will fall in turn before the criticism of to-morrow4 ,increase of knowledge increaseth sorrow4 ,and at length the conflicting truths1 like the beams of light in the laboratory experiment1 combine in the mind to make total darkness4 ,but here are two outstanding authorities agreed--not men1 not philosophers1 not creeds4 ,here is the voice of ,god and the voice of ,nature4 ,i cannot be wrong if ,i listen to them4 ,sometimes when uncertain of a voice from its very loudness1 we catch the missing syllable in the echo4 ,in ,god and ,nature we have ,voice and ,echo4 ,when ,i hear both1 ,i am assured4 ,my sense of hearing does not betray me twice4 ,i recognize the ,voice in the ,echo1 the ,echo makes me certain of the ,voice2 ,i listen and ,i know4 ,the question of a ,future ,life is a biological question4 ,nature may be silent on other problems of ,religion2 but here she has a right to speak4 ,the whole confusion around the doctrine of ,eternal ,life has arisen from making it a question of ,philosophy4 ,we shall do ill to refuse a hearing to any speculation of ,philosophy2 the ethical relations here especially are intimate and real4 ,but in the first instance ,eternal ,life1 as a question of ,life1 is a problem for ,biology4 ,the soul is a living organism4 ,and for any question as to the soul's ,life we must appeal to ,life-science4 ,and what does the ,life-science teach8 ,that if ,i am to inherit ,eternal ,life1 ,i must cultivate a correspondence with the ,eternal4 ,this is a simple proposition1 for ,nature is always simple4 ,i take this proposition1 and1 leaving ,nature1 proceed to fill it in4 ,i search everywhere for a clue to the ,eternal4 ,i ransack literature for a definition of a correspondence between man and ,god4 ,obviously that can only come from one source4 ,and the analogies of ,science permits us to apply to it4 ,all knowledge lies in ,environment4 ,when ,i want to know about minerals ,i go to minerals4 ,when ,i want to know about flowers ,i go to flowers4 ,and they tell me4 ,in their own way they speak to me1 each in its own way1 and each for itself--not the mineral for the flower1 which is impossible1 nor the flower for the mineral1 which is also impossible4 ,so if ,i want to know about ,man1 ,i go to his part of the ,environment4 ,and he tells me about himself1 not as the plant or the mineral1 for he is neither1 but in his own way4 ,and if ,i want to know about ,god1 ,i go to ,his part of the ,environment4 ,and ,he tells me about ,himself1 not as a ,man1 for ,he is not ,man1 but in ,his own way4 ,and just as naturally as the flower and the mineral and the ,man1 each in their own way1 tell me about themselves1 ,he tells me about ,himself4 ,he very strangely condescends indeed in making things plain to me1 actually assuming for a time the ,form of a ,man that ,i at my poor level may better see ,him4 ,this is my opportunity to know ,him4 ,this incarnation is ,god making ,himself accessible to human thought--,god opening to man the possibility of correspondence through ,jesus ,christ4 ,and this correspondence and this ,environment are those ,i seek4 ,he ,himself assures me1 ,this is ,life ,eternal1 that they might know ,thee1 the only true ,god1 and ,jesus ,christ whom ,thou hast sent4 ,do ,i not now discern the deeper meaning in ,jesus ,christ whom ,thou hast sent8 ,do ,i not better understand with what vision and rapture the profoundest of the disciples exclaims1 ,the ,son of ,god is come1 and hath given us an understanding that we might know ,him that is ,true8#gi ,having opened correspondence with the ,eternal ,environment1 the subsequent stages are in the line of all other normal development4 ,we have but to continue1 to deepen1 to extend1 and to enrich the correspondence that has been begun4 ,and we shall soon find to our surprise that this is accompanied by another and parallel process4 ,the action is not all upon our side4 ,the ,environment also will be found to correspond4 ,the influence of ,environment is one of the greatest and most substantial of modern biological doctrines4 ,of the power of ,environment to form or transform organisms1 of its ability to develop or suppress function1 of its potency in determining growth1 and generally of its immense influence in ,evolution1 there is no need now to speak4 ,but ,environment is now acknowledged to be one of the most potent factors in the ,evolution of ,life4 ,the influence of ,environment too seems to increase rather than diminish as we approach the higher forms of being4 ,the highest forms are the most mobile2 their capacity of change is the greatest2 they are1 in short1 most easily acted on by ,environment4 ,and not only are the highest organisms the most mobile1 but the highest part of the highest organisms are more mobile than the lower4 ,environment can do little1 comparatively1 in the direction of inducing variation in the body of a child3 but how plastic is its mind6 ,how infinitely sensitive is its soul6 ,how infallibly can it be turned to music or to dissonance by the moral harmony or discord of its outward lot6 ,how decisively indeed are we not all formed and moulded1 made or unmade1 by external circumstance6 ,might we not all confess with ,ulysses-- ,i am a part of all that ,i have met4 ,much more1 then1 shall we look for the influence of ,environment on the spiritual nature of him who has opened correspondence with ,god4 ,reaching out his eager and quickened faculties to the spiritual world around him1 shall he not become spiritual8 ,in vital contact with ,holiness1 shall he not become holy8 ,breathing now an atmosphere of ineffable ,purity1 shall he miss becoming pure8 ,walking with ,god from day to day1 shall he fail to be taught of ,god8 ,growth in grace is sometimes described as a strange1 mystical1 and unintelligible process4 ,it is mystical1 but neither strange nor unintelligible4 ,it proceeds according to ,natural ,law1 and the leading factor in sanctification is ,influence of ,environment4 ,the possibility of it depends upon the mobility of the organism2 the result1 on the extent and frequency of certain correspondences4 ,these facts insensibly lead on to a further suggestion4 ,is it not possible that these biological truths may carry with them the clue to still profounder philosophy--even that of ,regeneration8 ,evolutionists tell us that by the influence of environment certain aquatic animals have become adapted to a terrestrial mode of life4 ,breathing normally by gills1 as the result and reward of a continued effort carried on from generation to generation to inspire the air of heaven direct1 they have slowly acquired the lung-function4 ,in the young organism1 true to the ancestral type1 the gill still persists--as in the tadpole of the common frog4 ,but as maturity approaches the true lung appears2 the gill gradually transfers its task to the higher organ4 ,it then becomes atrophied and disappears1 and finally respiration in the adult is conducted by lungs alone4#hj ,we may be far1 in the meantime1 from saying that this is proved4 ,it is for those who accept it to deny the justice of the spiritual analogy4 ,is religion to them unscientific in its doctrine of ,regeneration8 ,will the evolutionist who admits the regeneration of the frog under the modifying influence of a continued correspondence with a new environment1 care to question the possibility of the soul acquiring such a faculty as that of ,prayer1 the marvelous breathing-function of the new creature1 when in contact with the atmosphere of a besetting ,god8 ,is the change from the earthly to the heavenly more mysterious than the change from the aquatic to the terrestrial mode of life8 ,is ,evolution to stop with the organic8 ,if it be objected that it has taken ages to perfect the function in the batrachian1 the reply is1 that it will take ages to perfect the function in the ,christian4 ,for every thousand years the natural evolution will allow for the development of its organism1 the ,higher ,biology will grant its product millions4 ,we have indeed spoken of the spiritual correspondence as already perfect--but it is perfect only as the bud is perfect4 ,it doth not yet appear what it shall be1 any more than it appeared a million years ago what the evolving batrachian would be4 ,but to return4 ,we have been dealing with the scientific aspects of communion with ,god4 ,insensibly1 from quantity we have been led to speak of quality4 ,and enough has now been advanced to indicate generally the nature of that correspondence with which is necessarily associated ,eternal ,life4 ,there remain but one or two details to which we must lastly1 and very briefly1 address ourselves4 ,the quality of everlastingness belongs1 as we have seen1 to a single correspondence1 or rather to a single set of correspondences4 ,but it is apparent that before this correspondence can take full and final effect a further process is necessary4 ,by some means it must be separated from all the other correspondences of the organism which do not share its peculiar quality4 ,in this life it is restrained by these other correspondences4 ,they may contribute to it1 or hinder it2 but they are essentially of a different order4 ,they belong not to ,eternity but to ,time1 and to this present world2 and1 unless some provision is made for dealing with them1 they will detain the aspiring organism in this present world till ,time is ended4 ,of course1 in a sense1 all that belongs to ,time belongs also to ,eternity2 but these lower correspondences are in their nature unfitted for an ,eternal ,life4 ,even if they were perfect in their relation to their ,environment1 they would still not be ,eternal4 ,however opposed1 apparently1 to the scientific definition of ,eternal ,life1 it is yet true that perfect correspondence with ,environment is not ,eternal ,life4 ,a very important word in the complete definition is1 in this sentence1 omitted4 ,on that word it has not been necessary hitherto1 and for obvious reasons1 to place any emphasis1 but when we come to deal with false pretenders to ,immortality we must return to it4 ,were the definition complete as it stands1 it might1 with the permission of the psycho-physiologist1 guarantee the ,immortality of every living thing4 ,in the dog1 for instance1 the material framework giving way at death might leave the released canine spirit still free to inhabit the old ,environment4 ,and so with every creature which had ever established a conscious relation with surrounding things4 ,now the difficulty in framing a theory of ,eternal ,life has been to construct one which will exclude the brute creation1 drawing the line rigidly at man1 or at least1 somewhere within the human race4 ,not that we need object to the ,immortality of the dog1 or of the whole inferior creation4 ,nor that we need refuse a place to any intelligible speculation which would people the earth to-day with the invisible forms of all things that have ever lived4 ,only we still insist that this is not ,eternal ,life4 ,and why8 ,because their ,environment is not ,eternal4 ,their correspondence1 however firmly established1 is established with that which shall pass away4 ,an ,eternal ,life demands an ,eternal ,environment4 ,the demand for a perfect ,environment as well as for a perfect correspondence is less clear in ,mr4 ,herbert ,spencer's definition than it might be4 ,but it is an essential factor4 ,an organism might remain true to its ,environment1 but what if the ,environment played it false8 ,if the organism possessed the power to change1 it could adapt itself to successive changes in the ,environment4 ,and if this were guaranteed we should also have the conditions for ,eternal ,life fulfilled4 ,but what if the ,environment passed away altogether8 ,what if the earth swept suddenly into the sun8 ,this is a change of ,environment against which there could be no precaution and for which there could be as little provision4 ,with a changing ,environment even1 there must always remain the dread and possibility of a falling out of correspondence4 ,at the best1 ,life would be uncertain4 ,but with a changeless ,environment--such as that possessed by the spiritual organism--the perpetuity of the correspondence1 so far as the external relation is concerned1 is guaranteed4 ,this quality of permanence in the ,environment distinguishes the religious relation from every other4 ,why should not the musician's life be an ,eternal ,life8 ,because1 for one thing1 the musical world1 the ,environment with which he corresponds1 is not eternal4 ,even if his correspondence in itself could last1 eternally1 the environing material things with which he corresponds must pass away4 ,his soul might last forever--but not his violin4 ,so the man of the world might last forever--but not the world4 ,his ,environment is not eternal2 nor are even his correspondences--the world passeth away and the lust thereof4 ,we find then that man1 or the spiritual man1 is equipped with two sets of correspondences4 ,one set possesses the quality of everlastingness1 the other is temporal4 ,but unless these are separated by some means the temporal will continue to impair and hinder the eternal4 ,the final preparation1 therefore1 for the inheriting of ,eternal ,life must consist in the abandonment of the non-eternal elements4 ,these must be unloosed and dissociated from the higher elements4 ,and this is effected by a closing catastrophe--,death4 ,death ensues because certain relations in the organism are not adjusted to certain relations in the ,environment4 ,there will come a time in each history when the imperfect correspondences of the organism will betray themselves by a failure to compass some necessary adjustment4 ,this is why ,death is associated with ,imperfection4 ,death is the necessary result of ,imperfection1 and the necessary end of it4 ,imperfect correspondence gives imperfect and uncertain ,life4 ,perfect correspondence1 on the other hand1 according to ,mr4 ,herbert ,spencer1 would be perfect ,life4 ,to abolish ,death1 therefore1 all that would be necessary would be to abolish ,imperfection4 ,but it is the claim of ,christianity that it can abolish ,death4 ,and it is significant to notice that it does so by meeting this very demand of ,science--it abolishes ,imperfection4 ,the part of the organism which begins to get out of correspondence with the ,organic ,environment is the only part which is in vital correspondence with it4 ,though a fatal disadvantage to the natural man to be thrown out of correspondence with this ,environment1 it is of inestimable importance to the spiritual man4 ,for so long as it is maintained the way is barred for a further ,evolution4 ,and hence the condition necessary for the further ,evolution is that the spiritual be released from the natural4 ,that is to say1 the condition of the further ,evolution is ,death4 ,mors janua ,vitae1 therefore1 becomes a scientific formula4 ,death1 being the final shifting of all the correspondences1 is the indispensable factor of the higher ,life4 ,in the language of ,science1 not less than of ,scripture1 ,to die is gain4 ,the shifting of the correspondences is done by ,nature4 ,this is its last and greatest contribution to mankind4 ,over the mouth of the grave the perfect and the imperfect submit to their final separation4 ,each goes to its own--earth to earth1 ashes to ashes1 dust to dust1 ,spirit to ,spirit4 ,the dust shall return to the earth as it was2 and the ,spirit shall return unto ,god who gave it4 ,,footnotes3 #fh ,principles of ,biology1 p4 #hb4 #fi ,principles of ,biology1 p4 #hh4 #gj ,john xvii4 #ga ,vide ,sir ,john ,lubbock's ,ants1 ,bees1 and ,wasps1 pp4 #a-aha4 #gb ,buechner3 ,force and ,matter1 #c;d ,ed41 p4 #bcb4 #gc ,the ,creed of ,science1 p4 #afi4 #gd ,force and ,matter1 p4 #bca4 #ge #a ,cor4 ii4 #aa1 #ab4 #gf ,rom4 viii4 #ce-ci4 #gg ,vide ,conformity to ,type1 page #bhg4 #gh ,history of ,christian ,theology in the ,apostolic ,age1 vol4 ii4 p4 #dif4 #gi #a ,john v4 #bj4 #hj ,vide also the remarkable experiments of ,fraeulein v4 ,chauvin on the ,transformation of the ,mexican ,axolotl into ,amblystoma4--,weismann's ,studies in the ,theory of ,descent1 vol4 ii4 pt4 iii4 ,,environment4 ,when ,i talked with an ardent missionary and pointed out to him that his creed found no support in my experience1 he replied3 ',it is not so in your experience1 but is so in the other world4' ,i answered3 ',other world6 ,there is no other world4 ,god is one and omnipresent2 here or nowhere is the whole fact4'--,emerson4 ,ye are complete in ,him4--,paul4 ,whatever amount of power an organism expends in any shape is the correlate and equivalent of a power that was taken into it from without4--,herbert ,spencer4 ,students of ,biography will observe that in all well-written ,lives attention is concentrated for the first few chapters upon two points4 ,we are first introduced to the family to which the subject of memoir belonged4 ,the grandparents1 or even the more remote ancestors1 are briefly sketched and their chief characteristics brought prominently into view4 ,then the parents themselves are photographed in detail4 ,their appearance and physique1 their character1 their disposition1 their mental qualities1 are set before us in a critical analysis4 ,and finally we are asked to observe how much the father and the mother respectively have transmitted of their peculiar nature to their offspring4 ,how faithfully the ancestral lines have met in the latest product1 how mysteriously the joint characteristics of body and mind have blended1 and how unexpected yet how entirely natural a recombination is the result--these points are elaborated with cumulative effect until we realize at last how little we are dealing with an independent unit1 how much with a survival and reorganization of what seemed buried in the grave4 ,in the second place1 we are invited to consider more external influences--schools and schoolmasters1 neighbors1 home1 pecuniary circumstances1 scenery1 and1 by-and-by1 the religious and political atmosphere of the time4 ,these also we are assured have played their part in making the individual what he is4 ,we can estimate these early influences in any particular case with but small imagination if we fail to see how powerfully they also have moulded mind and character1 and in what subtle ways they have determined the course of the future life4 ,this twofold relation of the individual1 first1 to his parents1 and second1 to his circumstances1 is not peculiar to human beings4 ,these two factors are responsible for making all living organisms what they are4 ,when a naturalist attempts to unfold the life-history of any animal1 he proceeds precisely on these same lines4 ,biography is really a branch of ,natural ,history2 and the biographer who discusses his hero as the resultant of these two tendencies1 follows the scientific method as rigidly as ,mr4 ,darwin in studying ,animals and ,plants under ,domestication4 ,mr4 ,darwin1 following ,weismann1 long ago pointed out that there are two main factors in all ,evolution--the nature of the organism and the nature of the conditions4 ,we have chosen our illustration from the highest or human species in order to define the meaning of these factors in the clearest way2 but it must be remembered that the development of man under these directive influences is essentially the same as that of any other organism in the hands of ,nature4 ,we are dealing therefore with universal ,law4 ,it will still further serve to complete the conception of the general principle if we now substitute for the casual phrases by which the factors have been described the more accurate terminology of ,science4 ,thus what ,biography describes as parental influences1 ,biology would speak of as ,heredity2 and all that is involved in the second factor--the action of external circumstances and surroundings--the naturalist would include under the single term ,environment4 ,these two1 ,heredity and ,environment1 are the master-influences of the organic world4 ,these have made all of us what we are4 ,these forces are still ceaselessly playing upon all our lives4 ,and he who truly understands these influences2 he who has decided how much to allow to each2 he who can regulate new forces as they arise1 or adjust them to the old1 so directing them as at one moment to make them cooeperate1 at another to counteract one another1 understands the rationale of personal development4 ,to seize continuously the opportunity of more and more perfect adjustment to better and higher conditions1 to balance some inward evil with some purer influence acting from without1 in a word to make our ,environment at the same time that it is making us--these are the secrets of a well-ordered and successful life4 ,in the spiritual world1 also1 the subtle influences which form and transform the soul are ,heredity and ,environment4 ,and here especially where all is invisible1 where much that we feel to be real is yet so ill-defined1 it becomes of vital practical moment to clarify the atmosphere as far as possible with conceptions borrowed from the natural life4 ,few things are less understood than the conditions of the spiritual life4 ,the distressing incompetence of which most of us are conscious in trying to work out our spiritual experience is due perhaps less to the diseased will which we commonly blame for it than to imperfect knowledge of the right conditions4 ,it does not occur to us how natural the spiritual is4 ,we still strive for some strange transcendent thing2 we seek to promote life by methods as unnatural as they prove unsuccessful2 and only the utter incomprehensibility of the whole region prevents us seeing fully--what we already half-suspect--how completely we are missing the road4 ,living in the spiritual world1 nevertheless1 is just as simple as living in the natural world2 and it is the same kind of simplicity4 ,it is the same kind of simplicity for it is the same kind of world--there are not two kinds of worlds4 ,the conditions of life in the one are the conditions of life in the other4 ,and till these conditions are sensibly grasped1 as the conditions of all life1 it is impossible that the personal effort after the highest life should be other than a blind struggle carried on in fruitless sorrow and humiliation4 ,of these two universal factors1 ,heredity and ,environment1 it is unnecessary to balance the relative importance here4 ,the main influence1 unquestionably1 must be assigned to the former4 ,in practice1 however1 and for an obvious reason1 we are chiefly concerned with the latter4 ,what ,heredity has to do for us is determined outside ourselves4 ,no man can select his own parents4 ,but every man to some extent can choose his own ,environment4 ,his relation to it1 however largely determined by ,heredity in the first instance1 is always open to alteration4 ,and so great is his control over ,environment and so radical its influence over him1 that he can so direct it as either to undo1 modify1 perpetuate or intensify the earlier hereditary influence within certain limits4 ,but the aspects of ,environment which we have now to consider do not involve us in questions of such complexity4 ,in what high and mystical sense1 also1 ,heredity applies to the spiritual organism we need not just now inquire4 ,in the simpler relations of the more external factor we shall find a large and fruitful field for study4 ,the influence of ,environment may be investigated in two main aspects4 ,first1 one might discuss the modern and very interesting question as to the power of ,environment to induce what is known to recent science as ,variation4 ,a change in the surroundings of any animal1 it is now well-known1 can so react upon it as to cause it to change4 ,by the attempt1 conscious or unconscious1 to adjust itself to the new conditions1 a true physiological change is gradually wrought within the organism4 ,hunter1 for example1 in a classical experiment1 so changed the ,environment of a sea-gull by keeping it in captivity that it could only secure a grain diet4 ,the effect was to modify the stomach of the bird1 normally adapted to a fish diet1 until in time it came to resemble in structure the gizzard of an ordinary grain-feeder such as the pigeon4 ,holmgren again reversed this experiment by feeding pigeons for a lengthened period on a meat-diet1 with the result that the gizzard became transformed into the carnivorous stomach4 ,mr4 ,alfred ,russel ,wallace mentions the case of a ,brazilian parrot which changes its color from green to red or yellow when fed on the fat of certain fishes4 ,not only changes of food1 however1 but changes of climate and of temperature1 changes in surrounding organisms1 in the case of marine animals even changes of pressure1 of ocean currents1 of light1 and of many other circumstances1 are known to exert a powerful modifying influence upon living organisms4 ,these relations are still being worked out in many directions1 but the influence of ,environment as a prime factor in ,variation is now a recognized doctrine of science4#ha ,even the popular mind has been struck with the curious adaptation of nearly all animals to their habitat1 for example in the matter of color4 ,the sandy hue of the sole and flounder1 the white of the polar bear with its suggestion of ,arctic snows1 the stripes of the ,bengal tiger--as if the actual reeds of its native jungle had nature-printed themselves on its hide2--these1 and a hundred others which will occur to every one1 are marked instances of adaptation to ,environment1 induced by ,natural ,selection or otherwise1 for the purpose1 obviously in these cases at least1 of protection4 ,to continue the investigation of the modifying action of ,environment into the moral and spiritual spheres1 would be to open a fascinating and suggestive inquiry4 ,one might show how the moral man is acted upon and changed continuously by the influences1 secret and open1 of his surroundings1 by the tone of society1 by the company he keeps1 by his occupation1 by the books he reads1 by ,nature1 by all1 in short1 that constitutes the habitual atmosphere of his thoughts and the little world of his daily choice4 ,or one might go deeper still and prove how the spiritual life also is modified from outside sources--its health or disease1 its growth or decay1 all its changes for better or for worse being determined by the varying and successive circumstances in which the religious habits are cultivated4 ,but we must rather transfer our attention to a second aspect of ,environment1 not perhaps so fascinating but yet more important4 ,so much of the modern discussion of ,environment revolves round the mere question of ,variation that one is apt to overlook a previous question4 ,environment as a factor in life is not exhausted when we have realized its modifying influence4 ,its significance is scarcely touched4 ,the great function of ,environment is not to modify but to sustain4 ,in sustaining life1 it is true1 it modifies4 ,but the latter influence is incidental1 the former essential4 ,our ,environment is that in which we live and move and have our being4 ,without it we should neither live or move nor have any being4 ,in the organism lies the principle of life2 in the ,environment are the conditions of life4 ,without the fulfillment of these conditions1 which are wholly supplied by ,environment1 there can be no life4 ,an organism in itself is but a part2 ,nature is its complement4 ,alone1 cut off from its surroundings1 it is not4 ,alone1 cut off from my surroundings1 ,i am not--physically ,i am not4 ,i am1 only as ,i am sustained4 ,i continue only as ,i receive4 ,my ,environment may modify me1 but it has first to keep me4 ,and all the time its secret transforming power is indirectly moulding body and mind it is directly active in the more open task of ministering to my myriad wants and from hour to hour sustaining life itself4 ,to understand the sustaining influence of ,environment in the animal world1 one has only to recall what the biologist terms the extrinsic or subsidiary conditions of vitality4 ,every living thing normally requires for its development an ,environment containing air1 light1 heat1 and water4 ,in addition to these1 if vitality is to be prolonged for any length of time1 and if it is to be accompanied with growth and the expenditure of energy1 there must be a constant supply of food4 ,when we simply remember how indispensable food is to growth and work1 and when we further bear in mind that the food-supply is solely contributed by the ,environment1 we shall realize at once the meaning and the truth of the proposition that without ,environment there can be no life4 ,seventy per cent4 at least of the human body is made of pure water1 the rest of gases and earth4 ,these have all come from ,environment4 ,through the secret pores of the skin two pounds of water are exhaled daily from every healthy adult4 ,the supply is kept up by ,environment4 ,the ,environment is really an unappropriated part of ourselves4 ,definite portions are continuously abstracted from it and added to the organism4 ,and so long as the organism continues to grow1 act1 think1 speak1 work1 or perform any other function demanding a supply of energy1 there is a constant1 simultaneous1 and proportionate drain upon its surroundings4 ,this is a truth in the physical1 and therefore in the spiritual1 world of so great importance that we shall not mis-spend time if we follow it1 for further confirmation1 into another department of nature4 ,its significance in ,biology is self-evident2 let us appeal to ,chemistry4 ,when a piece of coal is thrown on the fire1 we say that it will radiate into the room a certain quantity of heat4 ,this heat1 in the popular conception1 is supposed to reside in the coal and to be set free during the process of combustion4 ,in reality1 however1 the heat energy is only in part contained in the coal4 ,it is contained just as truly in the coal's ,environment--that is to say1 in the oxygen of the air4 ,the atoms of carbon which compose the coal have a powerful affinity for the oxygen of the air4 ,whenever they are made to approach within a certain distance of one another1 by the initial application of heat1 they rush together with inconceivable velocity4 ,the heat which appears at this moment1 comes neither from the carbon alone1 nor from the oxygen alone4 ,these two substances are really inconsumable1 and continue to exist1 after they meet in a combined form1 as carbonic acid gas4 ,the heat is due to the energy developed by the chemical embrace1 the precipitate rushing together of the molecules of carbon and the molecules of oxygen4 ,it comes1 therefore1 partly from the coal and partly from the ,environment4 ,coal alone never could produce heat1 neither alone could ,environment4 ,the two are mutually dependent4 ,and although in nearly all the arts we credit everything to the substance which we can weigh and handle1 it is certain that in the most cases the larger debt is due to an invisible ,environment4 ,this is one of those great commonplaces which slip out of general reckoning by reason of their very largeness and simplicity4 ,how profound1 nevertheless1 are the issues which hang on this elementary truth1 we shall discover immediately4 ,nothing in this age is more needed in every department of knowledge than the rejuvenescence of the commonplace4 ,in the spiritual world especially1 he will be wise who courts acquaintance with the most ordinary and transparent facts of ,nature2 and in laying the foundations for a religious life he will make no unworthy beginning who carries with him an impressive sense of so obvious a truth as that without ,environment there can be no life4 ,for what does this amount to in the spiritual world8 ,is it not merely the scientific re-statement of the reiterated aphorism of ,christ1 ,without ,me ye can do nothing8 ,there is in the spiritual organism a principle of life2 but that is not self-existent4 ,it requires a second factor1 a something in which to live and move and have its being1 an ,environment4 ,without this it cannot live or move or have any being4 ,without ,environment the soul is as the carbon without the oxygen1 as the fish without the water1 as the animal frame without the extrinsic conditions of vitality4 ,and what is the spiritual ,environment8 ,it is ,god4 ,without this1 therefore1 there is no life1 no thought1 no energy1 nothing--without ,me ye can do nothing4 ,the cardinal error in the religious life is to attempt to live without an ,environment4 ,spiritual experience occupies itself1 not too much1 but too exclusively1 with one factor--the soul4 ,we delight in dissecting this much tortured faculty1 from time to time1 in search of a certain something which we call our faith--forgetting that faith is but an attitude1 an empty hand for grasping an environing ,presence4 ,and when we feel the need of a power by which to overcome the world1 how often do we not seek to generate it within ourselves by some forced process1 some fresh girding of the will1 some strained activity which only leaves the soul in further exhaustion8 ,to examine ourselves is good2 but useless unless we also examine ,environment4 ,to bewail our weakness is right1 but not remedial4 ,the cause must be investigated as well as the result4 ,and yet1 because we never see the other half of the problem1 our failures even fail to instruct us4 ,after each new collapse we begin our life anew1 but on the old conditions2 and the attempt ends as usual in the repetition--in the circumstances the inevitable repetition--of the old disaster4 ,not that at times we do not obtain glimpses of the true state of the case4 ,after seasons of much discouragement1 with the sore sense upon us of our abject feebleness1 we do confer with ourselves1 insisting for the thousandth time1 ,my soul1 wait thou only upon ,god4 ,but the lesson is soon forgotten4 ,the strength supplied we speedily credit to our own achievement2 and even the temporary success is mistaken for a symptom of improved inward vitality4 ,once more we become self-existent4 ,once more we go on living without an ,environment4 ,and once more1 after days of wasting without repairing1 of spending without replenishing1 we begin to perish with hunger1 only returning to ,god again1 as a last resort1 when we have reached starvation point4 ,now why do we do this8 ,why do we seek to breathe without an atmosphere1 to drink without a well8 ,why this unscientific attempt to sustain life for weeks at a time without an ,environment8 ,it is because we have never truly seen the necessity for an ,environment4 ,we have not been working with a principle4 ,we are told to wait only upon ,god1 but we do not know why4 ,it has never been as clear to us that without ,god the soul will die as that without food the body will perish4 ,in short1 we have never comprehended the doctrine of the ,persistence of ,force4 ,instead of being content to transform energy we have tried to create it4 ,the ,law of ,nature here is as clear as ,science can make it4 ,in the words of ,mr4 ,herbert ,spencer1 ,it is a corollary from that primordial truth which1 as we have seen1 underlies all other truths1 that whatever amount of power an organism expends in any shape is the correlate and equivalent of a power that was taken into it from without1#hb ,we are dealing here with a simple question of dynamics4 ,whatever energy the soul expends must first be taken into it from without4 ,we are not ,creators1 but creatures2 ,god is our refuge and strength4 ,communion with ,god1 therefore1 is a scientific necessity2 and nothing will more help the defeated spirit which is struggling in the wreck of its religious life than a common-sense hold of this plain biological principle that without ,environment he can do nothing4 ,what he wants is not an occasional view1 but a principle--a basal principle like this1 broad as the universe1 solid as nature4 ,in the natural world we act upon this law unconsciously4 ,we absorb heat1 breathe air1 draw on ,environment all but automatically for meat and drink1 for the nourishment of the senses1 for mental stimulus1 for all that1 penetrating us from without1 can prolong1 enrich1 and elevate life4 ,but in the spiritual world we have all this to learn4 ,we are new creatures1 and even the bare living has to be acquired4 ,now the great point in learning to live is to live naturally4 ,as closely as possible we must follow the broad1 clear lines of the natural life4 ,and there are three things especially which it is necessary for us to keep continually in view4 ,the first is that the organism contains within itself only one-half of what is essential to life2 the second is that the other half is contained in the ,environment2 the third1 that the condition of receptivity is simple union between the organism and the ,environment4 ,translated into the language of religion these propositions yield1 and place on a scientific basis1 truths of immense practical interest4 ,to say1 first1 that the organism contains within itself only one-half of what is essential to life1 is to repeat the evangelical confession1 so worn and yet so true to universal experience1 of the utter helplessness of man4 ,who has not come to the conclusion that he is but a part1 a fraction of some larger whole8 ,who does not miss at every turn of his life an absent ,god8 ,that man is but a part1 he knows1 for there is room in him for more4 ,that ,god is the other part1 he feels1 because at times ,he satisfies his need4 ,who does not tremble often under that sicklier symptom of his incompleteness1 his want of spiritual energy1 his helplessness with sin8 ,but now he understands both--the void in his life1 the powerlessness of his will4 ,he understands that1 like all other energy1 spiritual power is contained in ,environment4 ,he finds here at last the true root of all human frailty1 emptiness1 nothingness1 sin4 ,this is why without ,me ye can do nothing4 ,powerlessness is the normal state not only of this but of every organism--of every organism apart from its ,environment4 ,the entire dependence of the soul upon ,god is not an exceptional mystery1 nor is man's helplessness an arbitrary and unprecedented phenomenon4 ,it is the law of all ,nature4 ,the spiritual man is not taxed beyond the natural4 ,he is not purposely handicapped by singular limitations or unusual incapacities4 ,god has not designedly made the religious life as hard as possible4 ,the arrangements for the spiritual life are the same as for the natural life4 ,when in their hours of unbelief men challenge their ,creator for placing the obstacle of human frailty in the way of their highest development1 their protest is against the order of nature4 ,they object to the sun for being the source of energy and not the engine1 to the carbonic acid being in the air and not in the plant4 ,they would equip each organism with a personal atmosphere1 each brain with a private store of energy2 they would grow corn in the interior of the body1 and make bread by a special apparatus in the digestive organs4 ,they must1 in short1 have the creature transformed into a ,creator4 ,the organism must either depend on his environment1 or be self-sufficient4 ,but who will not rather approve the arrangement by which man in his creatural life may have unbroken access to an ,infinite ,power8 ,what soul will seek to remain self-luminous when it knows that ,the ,lord ,god is a ,sun8 ,who will not willingly exchange his shallow vessel for ,christ's well of living water8 ,even if the organism1 launched into being like a ship putting out to sea1 possessed a full equipment1 its little store must soon come to an end4 ,but in contact with a large and bounteous ,environment its supply is limitless4 ,in every direction its resources are infinite4 ,there is a modern school which protests against the doctrine of man's inability as the heartless fiction of a past theology4 ,while some forms of that dogma1 to any one who knows man1 are incapable of defence1 there are others which1 to any one who knows ,nature1 are incapable of denial4 ,those who oppose it1 in their jealousy for humanity1 credit the organism with the properties of ,environment4 ,all true theology1 on the other hand1 has remained loyal to at least the root-idea in this truth4 ,the ,new ,testament is nowhere more impressive than where it insists on the fact of man's dependence4 ,in its view the first step in religion is for man to feel his helplessness4 ,christ's first beatitude is to the poor in spirit4 ,the condition of entrance into the spiritual kingdom is to possess the child-spirit--that state of mind combining at once the profoundest helplessness with the most artless feeling of dependence4 ,substantially the same idea underlies the countless passages in which ,christ affirms that ,he has not come to call the righteous1 but sinners to repentance4 ,and in that farewell discourse into which the ,great ,teacher poured the most burning convictions of ,his life1 ,he gives to this doctrine an ever increasing emphasis4 ,no words could be more solemn or arresting than the sentence in the last great allegory devoted to this theme1 ,as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself except it abide in the vine1 no more can ye except ye abide in ,me4 ,the word here1 it will be observed again1 is cannot4 ,it is the imperative of natural law4 ,fruit-bearing without ,christ is not an improbability1 but an impossibility4 ,as well expect the natural fruit to flourish without air and heat1 without soil and sunshine4 ,how thoroughly also ,paul grasped this truth is apparent from a hundred pregnant passages in which he echoes his ,master's teaching4 ,to him life was hid with ,christ in ,god4 ,and that he embraced this not as a theory but as an experimental truth we gather from his constant confession1 ,when ,i am weak1 then am ,i strong4 ,this leads by a natural transition to the second of the three points we are seeking to illustrate4 ,we have seen that the organism contains within itself only one half of what is essential to life4 ,we have next to observe1 as the complement of this1 how the second half is contained in the ,environment4 ,one result of the due apprehension of our personal helplessness will be that we shall no longer waste our time over the impossible task of manufacturing energy for ourselves4 ,our science will bring to an abrupt end the long series of severe experiments in which we have indulged in the hope of finding a perpetual motion4 ,and having decided upon this once for all1 our first step in seeking a more satisfactory state of things must be to find a new source of energy4 ,following ,nature1 only one course is open to us4 ,we must refer to ,environment4 ,the natural life owes all to ,environment1 so must the spiritual4 ,now the ,environment of the spiritual life is ,god4 ,as ,nature therefore forms the complement of the natural life1 ,god is the complement of the spiritual4 ,the proof of this8 ,that ,nature is not more natural to my body than ,god is to my soul4 ,every animal and plant has its own ,environment4 ,and the further one inquires into the relations of the one to the other1 the more one sees the marvelous intricacy and beauty of the adjustments4 ,these wonderful adaptations of each organism to its surroundings--of the fish to the water1 of the eagle to the air1 of the insect to the forest bed2 and of each part of every organism--the fish's swim-bladder1 the eagle's eye1 the insect's breathing tubes--which the old argument from design brought home to us with such enthusiasm1 inspire us still with a sense of the boundless resources and skill of ,nature in perfecting her arrangements for each single life4 ,down to the last detail the world is made for what is in it2 and by whatever process things are as they are1 all organisms find in surrounding ,nature the ample complement of themselves4 ,man1 too1 finds in his ,environment provision for all capacities1 scope for the exercise of every faculty1 room for the indulgence of each appetite1 a just supply for every want4 ,so the spiritual man at the apex of the pyramid of life finds in the vaster range of his ,environment a provision1 as much higher1 it is true1 as he is higher1 but as delicately adjusted to his varying needs4 ,and all this is supplied to him just as the lower organisms are ministered to by the lower environment1 in the same simple ways1 in the same constant sequence1 as appropriately and as lavishly4 ,we fail to praise the ceaseless ministry of the great inanimate world around us only because its kindness is unobtrusive4 ,nature is always noiseless4 ,all her greatest gifts are given in secret4 ,and we forget how truly every good and perfect gift comes from without1 and from above1 because no pause in her changeless beneficence teaches us the sad lesson of deprivation4 ,it is not a strange thing1 then1 for the soul to find its life in ,god4 ,this is its native air4 ,god as the ,environment of the soul has been from the remotest age the doctrine of all the deepest thinkers in religion4 ,how profoundly ,hebrew poetry is saturated with this high thought will appear when we try to conceive of it with this left out4 ,true poetry is only science in another form4 ,and long before it was possible for religion to give scientific expression to its greatest truths1 men of insight uttered themselves in psalms which could not have been truer to ,nature had the most modern light controlled the inspiration4 ,as the hart panteth after the water-brooks1 so panteth my soul after ,thee1 ,o ,god4 ,what fine sense of the analogy of the natural and the spiritual does not underlie these words4 ,as the hart after its ,environment1 so man after his2 as the water-brooks are fitly designed to meet the natural wants1 so fitly does ,god implement the spiritual need of man4 ,it will be noticed that in the ,hebrew poets the longing for ,god never strikes one as morbid1 or unnatural to the men who utter it4 ,it is as natural to them to long for ,god as for the swallow to seek her nest4 ,throughout all their images no suspicion rises within us that they are exaggerating4 ,we feel how truly they are reading themselves1 their deepest selves4 ,no false note occurs in all their aspiration4 ,there is no weariness even in their ceaseless sighing1 except the lover's weariness for the absent--if they would fly away1 it is only to be at rest4 ,men who have no soul can only wonder at this4 ,men who have a soul1 but with little faith1 can only envy it4 ,how joyous a thing it was to the ,hebrews to seek their ,god6 ,how artlessly they call upon ,him to entertain them in ,his pavilion1 to cover them with ,his feathers1 to hide them in ,his secret place1 to hold them in the hollow of ,his hand or stretch around them the everlasting arms6 ,these men were true children of ,nature4 ,as the humming-bird among its own palm-trees1 as the ephemera in the sunshine of a summer evening1 so they lived their joyous lives4 ,and even the full share of the sadder experience of life which came to all of them but drove them the further into the ,secret ,place1 and led them with more consecration to make1 as they expressed it1 the ,lord their portion4 ,all that has been said since from ,marcus ,aurelius to ,swedenborg1 from ,augustine to ,schleiermacher of a besetting ,god as the final complement of humanity is but a repetition of the ,hebrew poets' faith4 ,and even the ,new ,testament has nothing higher to offer man than this4 ,the psalmist's ,god is our refuge and strength is only the earlier form1 less defined1 less practicable1 but not less noble1 of ,christ's ,come unto ,me1 and ,i will give you rest4 ,there is a brief phrase of ,paul's which defines the relation with almost scientific accuracy--,ye are complete in ,him4 ,in this is summed up the whole of the ,bible anthropology--the completeness of man in ,god1 his incompleteness apart from ,god4 ,if it be asked1 ,in what is man incomplete1 or1 ,in what does ,god complete him8 the question is a wide one4 ,but it may serve to show at least the direction in which the ,divine ,environment forms the complement of human life if we ask ourselves once more what it is in life that needs complementing4 ,and to this question we receive the significant answer that it is in the higher departments alone1 or mainly1 that the incompleteness of our life appears4 ,the lower departments of ,nature are already complete enough4 ,the world itself is about as good a world as might be4 ,it has been long in the making1 its furniture is all in1 its laws are in perfect working order2 and although wise men at various times have suggested improvements1 there is on the whole a tolerably unanimous vote of confidence in things as they exist4 ,the ,divine ,environment has little more to do for this planet so far as we can see1 and so far as the existing generation is concerned4 ,then the lower organic life of the world is also so far complete4 ,god1 through ,evolution or otherwise1 may still have finishing touches to add here and there1 but already it is all very good4 ,it is difficult to conceive anything better of its kind than a lily or a cedar1 an ant or an ant-eater4 ,these organisms1 so far as we can judge1 lack nothing4 ,it might be said of them1 they are complete in ,nature4 ,of man also1 of man the animal1 it may be affirmed that his ,environment satisfies him4 ,he has food and drink1 and good food and good drink4 ,and there is in him no purely animal want which is not really provided for1 and that apparently in the happiest possible way4 ,but the moment we pass beyond the mere animal life we begin to come upon an incompleteness4 ,the symptoms at first are slight1 and betray themselves only by an unexplained restlessness or a dull sense of want4 ,then the feverishness increases1 becomes more defined1 and passes slowly into abiding pain4 ,to some come darker moments when the unrest deepens into a mental agony of which all the other woes of earth are mockeries--moments when the forsaken soul can only cry in terror for the ,living ,god4 ,up to a point the natural ,environment supplies man's wants1 beyond that it only derides him4 ,how much in man lies beyond that point8 ,very much--almost all1 all that makes man man4 ,the first suspicion of the terrible truth--so for the time let us call it--wakens with the dawn of the intellectual life4 ,it is a solemn moment when the slow-moving mind reaches at length the verge of its mental horizon1 and1 looking over1 sees nothing more4 ,its straining makes the abyss but more profound4 ,its cry comes back without an echo4 ,where is the ,environment to complete this rational soul8 ,men either find one--,one--or spend the rest of their days in trying to shut their eyes4 ,the alternatives of the intellectual life are ,christianity or ,agnosticism4 ,the ,agnostic is right when he trumpets his incompleteness4 ,he who is not complete in ,him must be forever incomplete4 ,still more grave becomes man's case when he begins further to explore his moral and social nature4 ,the problems of the heart and conscience are infinitely more perplexing than those of the intellect4 ,has love no future8 ,has right no triumph8 ,is the unfinished self to remain unfinished8 ,again1 the alternatives are two1 ,christianity or ,pessimism4 ,but when we ascend the further height of the religious nature1 the crisis comes4 ,there1 without ,environment1 the darkness is unutterable4 ,so maddening now becomes the mystery that men are compelled to construct an ,environment for themselves4 ,no ,environment here is unthinkable4 ,an altar of some sort men must have--,god1 or ,nature1 or ,law4 ,but the anguish of ,atheism is only a negative proof of man's incompleteness4 ,a witness more overwhelming is the prayer of the ,christian4 ,what a very strange thing1 is it not1 for man to pray8 ,it is the symbol at once of his littleness and of his greatness4 ,here the sense of imperfection1 controlled and silenced in the narrower reaches of his being1 becomes audible4 ,now he must utter himself4 ,the sense of need is so real1 and the sense of ,environment1 that he calls out to it1 addressing it articulately1 and imploring it to satisfy his need4 ,surely there is nothing more touching in ,nature than this8 ,man could never so expose himself1 so break through all constraint1 except from a dire necessity4 ,it is the suddenness and unpremeditatedness of ,prayer that gives it a unique value as an apologetic4 ,man has three questions to put to his ,environment1 three symbols of his incompleteness4 ,they come from three different centers of his being4 ,the first is the question of the intellect1 ,what is ,truth8 ,the natural ,environment answers1 ,increase of ,knowledge increaseth ,sorrow1 and much study is a ,weariness4 ,christ replies1 ,learn of ,me1 and ye shall find ,rest4 ,contrast the world's word ,weariness with ,christ's word ,rest4 ,no other teacher since the world began has ever associated learn with ,rest4 ,learn of me1 says the philosopher1 and you shall find ,restlessness4 ,learn of ,me1 says ,christ1 and ye shall find ,rest4 ,thought1 which the godless man has cursed1 that eternally starved yet ever living specter1 finds at last its imperishable glory2 ,thought is complete in ,him4 ,the second question is sent up from the moral nature1 ,who will show us any good8 ,and again we have a contrast3 the world's verdict1 ,there is none that doeth good1 no1 not one2 and ,christ's1 ,there is none good but ,god only4 ,and finally1 there is the lonely cry of the spirit1 most pathetic and most deep of all1 ,where is he whom my soul seeketh8 ,and the yearning is met as before1 ,i looked on my right hand1 and beheld1 but there was no man that would know me2 refuge failed me2 no man cared for my soul4 ,i cried unto ,thee1 ,o ,lord3 ,i said1 ,thou are my refuge and my portion in the land of the living4#hc ,are these the directions in which men in these days are seeking to complete their lives8 ,the completion of ,life is just now a supreme question4 ,it is important to observe how it is being answered4 ,if we ask ,science or ,philosophy they will refer us to ,evolution4 ,the struggle for ,life1 they assure us1 is steadily eliminating imperfect forms1 and as the fittest continue to survive we shall have a gradual perfecting of being4 ,that is to say1 that completeness is to be sought for in the organism--we are to be complete in ,nature and in ourselves4 ,to ,evolution1 certainly1 all men will look for a further perfecting of ,life4 ,but it must be an ,evolution which includes all the factors4 ,civilization1 it may be said1 will deal with the second factor4 ,it will improve the ,environment step by step as it improves the organism1 or the organism as it improves the ,environment4 ,this is well1 and it will perfect ,life up to a point4 ,but beyond that it cannot carry us4 ,as the possibilities of the natural ,life become more defined1 its impossibilities will become the more appalling4 ,the most perfect civilization would leave the best part of us still incomplete4 ,men will have to give up the experiment of attempting to live in half an ,environment4 ,half an ,environment will give but half a ,life4 ,half an ,environment8 ,he whose correspondences are with this world alone has only a thousandth part1 a fraction1 the mere rim and shade of an ,environment1 and only the fraction of a ,life4 ,how long will it take ,science to believe its own creed1 that the material universe we see around us is only a fragment of the universe we do not see8 ,the very retention of the phrase ,material ,universe1 we are told1 is the confession of our unbelief and ignorance2 since matter is the less important half of the material of the physical universe4#hd ,the thing to be aimed at is not an organism self-contained and self-sufficient1 however high in the scale of being1 but an organism complete in the whole ,environment4 ,it is open to any one to aim at a self-sufficient ,life1 but he will find no encouragement in ,nature4 ,the ,life of the body may complete itself in the physical world2 that is its legitimate ,environment4 ,the ,life of the senses1 high and low1 may perfect itself in ,nature4 ,even the ,life of thought may find a large complement in surrounding things4 ,but the higher thought1 and the conscience1 and the religious ,life1 can only perfect themselves in ,god4 ,to make the influence of ,environment stop with the natural world is to doom the spiritual nature to death4 ,for the soul1 like the body1 can never perfect itself in isolation4 ,the law for both is to be complete in the appropriate ,environment4 ,and the perfection to be sought in the spiritual world is a perfection of relation1 a perfect adjustment of that which is becoming perfect to that which is perfect4 ,the third problem1 now simplified to a point1 finally presents itself4 ,where do organism and ,environment meet8 ,how does that which is becoming perfect avail itself of its perfecting ,environment8 ,and the answer is1 just as in ,nature4 ,the condition is simple receptivity4 ,and yet this is perhaps the least simple of all conditions4 ,it is so simple that we will not act upon it4 ,but there is no other condition4 ,christ has condensed the whole truth into one memorable sentence1 ,as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself except it abide in the vine1 no more can ye except ye abide in ,me4 ,and on the positive side1 ,he that abideth in ,me the same bringeth forth much fruit4 ,,footnotes3 #ha ,vide ,karl ,semper's ,the ,natural ,conditions of ,existence as they affect ,animal ,life2 ,wallace's ,tropical ,nature2 ,weismann's ,studies in the ,theory of ,descent2 ,darwin's ,animals and ,plants under ,domestication4 #hb ,principles of ,biology1 p4 #eg4 #hc ,ps4 cxlii4 #d1 #e4 #hd ,the ,unseen ,universe1 #fth ,ed41 p4 #ajj4 ,,conformity ,,to ,,type4 ',so careful of the type8' but no4 ,from scarped cliff and quarried stone ,she cries1 ',a thousand types are gone3 ,i care for nothing1 all shall go4 ',thou makest thine appeal to me2 ,i bring to life1 ,i bring to death3 ,the spirit does but mean thy breath3 ,i know no more4' ,and he1 shall he1 ,man1 her last work1 who seem'd so fair1 ,such splendid purpose in his eyes1 ,who roll'd the psalm to wintry skies1 ,who built him fanes of fruitless prayer1 ,who trusted ,god was love indeed ,and love ,creation's final law-- ,tho' ,nature1 red in tooth and claw ,with ravine1 shriek'd against his creed-- ,who loved1 who suffer'd countless ills1 ,who battled for the ,true1 the ,just1 ,be blown about the desert dust ,or seal'd within the iron hills8 --,in ,memoriam4 ,until ,christ be formed in you4--,paul4 ,the one end to which1 in all living beings1 the formative impulse is tending--the one scheme which the ,archaeus of the old speculators strives to carry out1 seems to be to mould the offspring into the likeness of the parent4 ,it is the first great law of reproduction1 that the offspring tends to resemble its parent or parents more closely than anything else4--,huxley4 ,if a botanist be asked the difference between an oak1 a palm-tree and a lichen1 he will declare that they are separated from one another by the broadest line known to classification4 ,without taking into account the outward differences of size and form1 the variety of flower and fruit1 the peculiarities of leaf and branch1 he sees even in their general architecture types of structure as distinct as ,norman1 ,gothic and ,egyptian4 ,but if the first young germs of these three plants are placed before him and he is called upon to define the difference1 he finds it impossible4 ,he cannot even say which is which4 ,examined under the highest powers of the microscope they yield no clue4 ,analyzed by the chemist with all the appliances of his laboratory they keep their secret4 ,the same experiment can be tried with the embryos of animals4 ,take the ovule of the worm1 the eagle1 the elephant1 and of man himself4 ,let the most skilled observer apply the most searching tests to distinguish one from the other and he will fail4 ,but there is something more surprising still4 ,compare next the two sets of germs1 the vegetable and the animal4 ,and there is still no shade of difference4 ,oak and palm1 worm and man all start in life together4 ,no matter into what strangely different forms they may afterward develop1 no matter whether they are to live on sea or land1 creep or fly1 swim or walk1 think or vegetate1 in the embryo as it first meets the eye of ,science they are indistinguishable4 ,the apple which fell in ,newton's garden1 ,newton's dog ,diamond1 and ,newton himself1 began life at the same point4#he ,if we analyze this material point at which all life starts1 we shall find it to consist of a clear structureless jelly-like substance resembling albumen or white of egg4 ,it is made of ,carbon1 ,hydrogen1 ,oxygen and ,nitrogen4 ,its name is protoplasm4 ,and it is not only the structural unit with which all living bodies start in life1 but with which they are subsequently built up4 ,protoplasm1 says ,huxley1 simple or nucleated1 is the formal basis of all life4 ,it is the clay of the ,potter4 ,beast and fowl1 reptile and fish1 mollusk1 worm and polype are all composed of structural units of the same character1 namely1 masses of protoplasm with a nucleus4#hf ,what then determines the difference between different animals8 ,what makes one little speck of protoplasm grow into ,newton's dog ,diamond1 and another1 exactly the same1 into ,newton himself8 ,it is a mysterious something which has entered into this protoplasm4 ,no eye can see it4 ,no science can define it4 ,there is a different something for ,newton's dog and a different something for ,newton2 so that though both use the same matter they build it up in these widely different ways4 ,protoplasm being the clay1 this something is the ,potter4 ,and as there is only one clay and yet all these curious forms are developed out of it1 it follows necessarily that the difference lies in the potters4 ,there must in short be as many potters as there are forms4 ,there is the potter who segments the worm1 and the potter who builds up the form of the dog1 and the potter who moulds the man4 ,to understand unmistakably that it is really the potter who does the work1 let us follow for a moment a description of the process by a trained eye-witness4 ,the observer is ,mr4 ,huxley4 ,through the tube of his microscope he is watching the development1 out of a speck of protoplasm1 of one of the commonest animals3 ,strange possibilities1 he says1 lie dormant in that semi-fluid globule4 ,let a moderate supply of warmth reach its watery cradle and the plastic matter undergoes changes so rapid and yet so steady and purposelike in their succession that one can only compare them to those operated by a skilled modeler upon a formless lump of clay4 ,as with an invisible trowel the mass is divided and subdivided into smaller and smaller portions1 until it is reduced to an aggregation of granules not too large to build withal the finest fabrics of the nascent organism4 ,and1 then1 it is as if a delicate finger traced out the line to be occupied by the spinal column1 and moulded the contour of the body2 pinching up the head at one end1 the tail at the other1 and fashioning flank and limb into due proportions in so artistic a way1 that1 after watching the process hour by hour1 one is almost involuntarily possessed by the notion1 that some more subtle aid to vision than an achromatic would show the hidden artist1 with his plan before him1 striving with skillful manipulation to perfect his work4#hg ,besides the fact1 so luminously brought out here1 that the artist is distinct from the semi-fluid globule of protoplasm in which he works1 there is this other essential point to notice1 that in all his skillful manipulation the artist is not working at random1 but according to law4 ,he has his plan before him4 ,in the zoological laboratory of ,nature it is not as in a workshop where a skilled artisan can turn his hand to anything--where the same potter one day moulds a dog1 the next a bird1 and the next a man4 ,in ,nature one potter is set apart to make each4 ,it is a more complete system of division of labor4 ,one artist makes all the dogs1 another makes all the birds1 a third makes all the men4 ,moreover1 each artist confines himself exclusively to working out his own plan4 ,he appears to have his own plan somehow stamped upon himself1 and his work is rigidly to reproduce himself4 ,the ,scientific ,law by which this takes place is the ,law of ,conformity to ,type4 ,it is contained1 to a large extent1 in the ordinary ,law of ,inheritance2 or it may be considered as simply another way of stating what ,darwin calls the ,laws of ,unity of ,type4 ,darwin defines it thus3 ,by ,unity of ,type is meant that fundamental agreement in structure which we see in organic beings of the same class1 and which is quite independent of their habits of life4#hh ,according to this law every living thing that comes into the world is compelled to stamp upon its offspring the image of itself4 ,the dog1 according to its type1 produces a dog2 the bird a bird4 ,the artist who operates upon matter in this subtle way and carries out this law is ,life4 ,there are a great many different kinds of ,life4 ,if one might give the broader meaning to the words of the apostle3 ,all life is not the same life4 ,there is one kind of life of men1 another life of beasts1 another of fishes1 and another of birds4 ,there is the ,life1 or the ,artist1 or the ,potter who segments the worm1 the potter who forms the dog1 the potter who moulds the man4#hi ,what goes on then in the animal kingdom is this--the ,bird-,life seizes upon the bird-germ and builds it up into a bird1 the image of itself4 ,the ,reptile ,life seizes upon another germinal speck1 assimilates surrounding matter1 and fashions it into a reptile4 ,the ,reptile-,life thus simply makes an incarnation of itself4 ,the visible bird is simply an incarnation of the invisible ,bird-,life4 ,now we are nearing the point where the spiritual analogy appears4 ,it is a very wonderful analogy1 so wonderful that one almost hesitates to put it into words4 ,yet ,nature is reverent2 and it is her voice to which we listen4 ,these lower phenomena of life1 she says1 are but an allegory4 ,there is another kind of ,life of which ,science as yet has taken little cognizance4 ,it obeys the same laws4 ,it builds up an organism into its own form4 ,it is the ,christ-,life4 ,as the ,bird-,life builds up a bird1 the image of itself1 so the ,christ-,life builds up a ,christ1 the image of ,himself1 in the inward nature of man4 ,when a man becomes a ,christian the natural process is this3 ,the ,living ,christ enters into his soul4 ,development begins4 ,the quickening ,life seizes upon the soul1 assimilates surrounding elements1 and begins to fashion it4 ,according to the great ,law of ,conformity to ,type this fashioning takes a specific form4 ,it is that of the ,artist who fashions4 ,and all through ,life this wonderful1 mystical1 glorious1 yet perfectly definite process1 goes on until ,christ be formed in it4 ,the ,christian ,life is not a vague effort after righteousness--an ill-defined pointless struggle for an ill-defined pointless end4 ,religion is no dishevelled mass of aspiration1 prayer1 and faith4 ,there is no more mystery in ,religion as to its processes than in ,biology4 ,there is much mystery in ,biology4 ,we know all but nothing of ,life yet1 nothing of development4 ,there is the same mystery in the spiritual ,life4 ,but the great lines are the same1 as decided1 as luminous2 and the laws of natural and spiritual are the same1 as unerring1 as simple4 ,will everything else in the natural world unfold its order1 and yield to ,science more and more a vision of harmony1 and ,religion1 which should complement and perfect all1 remain a chaos8 ,from the standpoint of ,revelation no truth is more obscure than ,conformity to ,type4 ,if ,science can furnish a companion phenomenon from an every-day process of the natural life1 it may at least throw this most mystical doctrine of ,christianity into thinkable form4 ,is there any fallacy in speaking of the ,embryology of the ,new ,life8 ,is the analogy invalid8 ,are there not vital processes in the ,spiritual as well as in the ,natural world8 ,the ,bird being an incarnation of the ,bird-,life1 may not the ,christian be a spiritual incarnation of the ,christ-,life8 ,and is here not a real justification in the processes of the ,new-,birth for such a parallel8 ,let us appeal to the record of these processes4 ,in what terms does the ,new ,testament describe them8 ,the answer is sufficiently striking4 ,it uses everywhere the language of ,biology4 ,it is impossible that the ,new ,testament writers should have been familiar with these biological facts4 ,it is impossible that their views of this great truth should have been as clear as ,science can make them now4 ,but they had no alternative4 ,there was no other way of expressing this truth4 ,it was a biological question4 ,so they struck out unhesitatingly into the new fields of words1 and1 with an originality which commands both reverence and surprise1 stated their truth with such light1 or darkness1 as they had4 ,they did not mean to be scientific1 only to be accurate1 and their fearless accuracy has made them scientific4 ,what could be more original1 for instance1 than the ,apostle's reiteration that the ,christian was a new creature1 a new man1 a babe8#ij ,or that this new man was begotten of ,god1 ,god's workmanship8#ia ,and what could be a more accurate expression of the law of ,conformity to ,type than this3 ,put on the new man1 which is renewed in knowledge after the image of ,him that created him8#ib ,or this1 ,we are changed into the same image from glory to glory8#ic ,and elsewhere we are expressly told by the same writer that this ,conformity is the end and goal of the ,christian life4 ,to work this ,type in us is the whole purpose of ,god for man4 ,whom ,he did foreknow ,he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of ,his ,son4#id ,one must confess that the originality of this entire ,new ,testament conception is most startling4 ,even for the nineteenth century it is the most startling4 ,but when one remembers that such an idea took form in the first1 one cannot fail to be impressed with a deepening wonder at the system which begat and cherished it4 ,men seek the origin of ,christianity among philosophies of that age4 ,scholars contrast it still with these philosophies1 and scheme to fit it in to those of later growth4 ,has it never occurred to them how much more it is than a philosophy1 that it includes a science1 a ,biology pure and simple8 ,as well might naturalists contrast zoology with chemistry1 or seek to incorporate geology with botany--the living with the dead--as try to explain the spiritual life in terms of mind alone4 ,when will it be seen that the characteristic of the ,christian ,religion is its ,life1 that a true theology must begin with a ,biology8 ,theology is the ,science of ,god4 ,why will men treat ,god as inorganic8 ,if this analogy is capable of being worked out1 we should expect answers to at least three questions4 ,first3 ,what corresponds to the protoplasm in the spiritual sphere8 ,second3 ,what is the ,life1 the ,hidden ,artist who fashions it8 ,third3 ,what do we know of the process and the plan8 ,first3 ,the ,protoplasm4 ,we should be forsaking the lines of nature were we to imagine for a moment that the new creature was to be found out of nothing4 ,ex nihilo nihil--nothing can be made out of nothing4 ,matter is uncreatable and indestructible2 ,nature and man can only form and transform4 ,hence when a new animal is made1 no new clay is made4 ,life merely enters into already existing matter1 assimilates more of the same sort and re-builds it4 ,the spiritual ,artist works in the same way4 ,he must have a peculiar kind of protoplasm1 a basis of life1 and that must be already existing4 ,now we find this in the materials of character with which the natural man is previously provided4 ,mind and character1 the will and the affections1 the moral nature--these form the bases of spiritual life4 ,to look in this direction for the protoplasm of the spiritual life is consistent with all analogy4 ,the lowest or mineral world mainly supplies the material--and this is true even for insectivorous species--for the vegetable kingdom4 ,the vegetable supplies the material for the animal4 ,next in turn1 the animal furnishes material for the mental1 and lastly the mental for the spiritual4 ,each member of the series is complete only when the steps below it are complete2 the highest demands all4 ,it is not necessary for the immediate purpose to go so far into the psychology either of the new creature or of the old as to define more clearly what these moral bases are4 ,it is enough to discover that in this womb the new creature is to be born1 fashioned out of the mental and moral parts1 substance1 or essence of the natural man4 ,the only thing to be insisted upon is that in the natural man this mental and moral substance or basis is spiritually lifeless4 ,however active the intellectual or moral life may be1 from the point of view of this other ,life it is dead4 ,that which is flesh is flesh4 ,it wants1 that is to say1 the kind of ,life which constitutes the difference between the ,christian and the not-a-,christian4 ,it has not yet been born of the ,spirit4 ,to show further that this protoplasm possesses the necessary properties of a normal protoplasm it will be necessary to examine in passing what these properties are4 ,they are two in number1 the capacity for life and plasticity4 ,consider first the capacity for life4 ,it is not enough to find an adequate supply of material4 ,that must be of the right kind4 ,for all kinds of matter have not the power to be the vehicle of life--all kinds of matter are not even fitted to be the vehicle of electricity4 ,what peculiarity there is in ,carbon1 ,hydrogen1 ,oxygen1 and ,nitrogen1 when combined in a certain way1 to receive life1 we cannot tell4 ,we only know that life is always associated in ,nature with this particular physical basis and never with any other4 ,but we are not in the same darkness with regard to the moral protoplasm4 ,when we look at this complex combination which we have predicted as the basis of spiritual life1 we do find something which gives it a peculiar qualification for being the protoplasm of the ,christ-,life4 ,we discover one strong reason at least1 not only why this kind of life should be associated with this kind of protoplasm1 but why it should never be associated with other kinds which seem to resemble it--why1 for instance1 this spiritual life should not be engrafted upon the intelligence of a dog or the instincts of an ant4 ,the protoplasm in man has a something in addition to its instincts or its habits4 ,it has a capacity for ,god4 ,in this capacity for ,god lies its receptivity2 it is the very protoplasm that was necessary4 ,the chamber is not only ready to receive the new ,life1 but the ,guest is expected1 and1 till ,he comes1 is missed4 ,till then the soul longs and yearns1 wastes and pines1 waving its tentacles piteously in the empty air1 feeling after ,god if so be that it may find ,him4 ,this is not peculiar to the protoplasm of the ,christian's soul4 ,in every land and in every age there have been altars to the ,known or ,unknown ,god4 ,it is now agreed as a mere question of anthropology that the universal language of the human soul has always been ,i perish with hunger4 ,this is what fits it for ,christ4 ,there is a grandeur in this cry from the depths which makes its very unhappiness sublime4 ,the other quality we are to look for in the soul is mouldableness1 plasticity4 ,conformity demands conformability4 ,now plasticity is not only a marked characteristic of all forms of life1 but in a special sense of the highest forms4 ,it increases steadily as we rise in the scale4 ,the inorganic world1 to begin with1 is rigid4 ,a crystal of silica dissolved and redissolved a thousand times will never assume any other form than the hexagonal4 ,the plant next1 though plastic in its elements1 is comparatively insusceptible of change4 ,the very fixity of its sphere1 the imprisonment for life in a single spot of earth1 is the symbol of a certain degradation4 ,the animal in all parts is mobile1 sensitive1 free2 the highest animal1 man1 is the most mobile1 the most at leisure from routine1 the most impressionable1 the most open for change4 ,and when we reach the mind and soul1 this mobility is found in its most developed form4 ,whether we regard its susceptibility to impressions1 its lightning-like response even to influences the most impalpable and subtle1 its power of instantaneous adjustment1 or whether we regard the delicacy and variety of its moods1 or its vast powers of growth1 we are forced to recognize in this the most perfect capacity for change4 ,this marvellous plasticity of mind contains at once the possibility and prophecy of its transformation4 ,the soul1 in a word1 is made to be converted4 ,second3 ,the ,life4 ,the main reason for giving the ,life1 the agent of this change1 a separate treatment1 is to emphasize the distinction between it and the natural man on the one hand1 and the spiritual man on the other4 ,the natural man is its basis1 the spiritual man is its product1 the ,life itself is something different4 ,just as in an organism we have these three things--formative matter1 formed matter1 and the forming principle or life2 so in the soul we have the old nature1 the renewed nature1 and the transforming ,life4 ,this being made evident1 little remains here to be added4 ,no man has ever seen this ,life4 ,it cannot be analyzed1 or weighed1 or traced in its essential nature4 ,but this is just what we expected4 ,this invisibility is the same property which we found to be peculiar to the natural life4 ,we saw no life in the first embryos1 in oak1 in palm1 or in bird4 ,in the adult it likewise escapes us4 ,we shall not wonder if we cannot see it in the ,christian4 ,we shall not expect to see it4 ,a fortiori we shall not expect to see it1 for we are further removed from the coarser matter--moving now among ethereal and spiritual things4 ,it is because it conforms to the law of this analogy so well that men1 not seeing it1 have denied its being4 ,is it hopeless to point out that one of the most recognizable characteristics of life is its unrecognizableness1 and that the very token of its spiritual nature lies in its being beyond the grossness of our eyes8 ,we do not pretend that ,science can define this ,life to be ,christ4 ,it has no definition to give even of its own life1 much less of this4 ,but there are converging lines which point1 at least1 in the direction that it is ,christ4 ,there was ,one whom history acknowledges to have been the ,truth4 ,one of ,his claims was this1 ,i am the ,life4 ,according to the doctrine of ,biogenesis1 life can only come from life4 ,it was ,his additional claim that ,his function in the world was to give men ,life4 ,i am come that ye might have ,life1 and that ye might have it more abundantly4 ,this could not refer to the natural life1 for men had that already4 ,he that hath the ,son hath another ,life4 ,know ye not your own selves how that ,jesus ,christ is in you4 ,again1 there are men whose characters assume a strange resemblance to ,him who was the ,life4 ,when we see the bird-character appear in an organism we assume that the ,bird-,life has been there at work4 ,and when we behold ,conformity to ,type in a ,christian1 and know moreover that the type-organization can be produced by the type-life alone does this not lend support to the hypothesis that the ,type-,life also has been here at work8 ,if every effect demands a cause1 what other cause is there for the ,christian8 ,when we have a cause1 and an adequate cause1 and no other adequate cause2 when we have the express statement of that ,cause that he is that cause1 what more is possible8 ,let not ,science1 knowing nothing of its own life1 go further than to say it knows nothing of this ,life4 ,we shall not dissent from its silence4 ,but till it tells us what it is1 we wait for evidence that it is not this4 ,third3 ,the ,process4 ,it is impossible to enter at length into any details of the great miracle by which this protoplasm is to be conformed to the ,image of the ,son4 ,we enter that province now only so far as this ,law of ,conformity compels us4 ,nor is it so much the nature of the process we have to consider as its general direction and results4 ,we are dealing with a question of morphology rather than of physiology4 ,it must occur to one on reaching this point1 that a new element here comes in which compels us1 for the moment1 to part company with zoology4 ,that element is the conscious power of choice4 ,the animal in following the type is blind4 ,it does not only follow the type involuntarily and compulsorily1 but does not know that it is following it4 ,we might certainly have been made to conform to the ,type in the higher sphere with no more knowledge or power of choice than animals or automata4 ,but then we should not have been men4 ,it is a possible case1 but not possible to the kind of protoplasm with which men are furnished4 ,owing to the peculiar characteristics of this protoplasm an additional and exceptional provision is essential4 ,the first demand is that being conscious and having this power of choice1 the mind should have an adequate knowledge of what it is to choose4 ,some revelation of the ,type1 that is to say1 is necessary4 ,and as that revelation can only come from the ,type1 we must look there for it4 ,we are confronted at once with the ,incarnation4 ,there we find how the ,christ-,life has clothed ,himself with matter1 taken literal flesh1 and dwelt among us4 ,the ,incarnation is the ,life revealing the ,type4 ,men are long since agreed that this is the end of the ,incarnation--the revealing of ,god4 ,but why should ,god be revealed8 ,why1 indeed1 but for man8 ,why but that beholding as in a glass the glory of the only begotten we should be changed into the same image8 ,to meet the power of choice1 however1 something more was necessary than the mere revelation of the ,type--it was necessary that the ,type should be the highest conceivable ,type4 ,in other words1 the ,type must be an ,ideal4 ,for all true human growth1 effort1 and achievement1 an ideal is acknowledged to be indispensable4 ,and all men accordingly whose lives are based on principle1 have set themselves an ideal1 more or less perfect4 ,it is this which first deflects the will from what is based1 and turns the wayward life to what is holy4 ,so much is true as mere philosophy4 ,but philosophy failed to present men with their ideal4 ,it has never been suggested that ,christianity has failed4 ,believers and unbelievers have been compelled to acknowledge that ,christianity holds up to the world the missing ,type1 the ,perfect ,man4 ,the recognition of the ,ideal is the first step in the direction of ,conformity4 ,but let it be clearly observed that it is but a step4 ,there is no vital connection between merely seeing the ,ideal and being conformed to it4 ,thousands admire ,christ who never become ,christians4 ,but the great question still remains1 ,how is the ,christian to be conformed to the ,type1 or as we should now say1 dealing with consciousness1 to the ,ideal8 ,the mere knowledge of the ,ideal is no more than a motive4 ,how is the process to be practically accomplished8 ,who is to do it8 ,where1 when1 how8 ,this is the test question of ,christianity4 ,it is here that all theories of ,christianity1 all attempts to explain it on natural principles1 all reductions of it to philosophy1 inevitably break down4 ,it is here that all imitations of ,christianity perish4 ,it is here1 also1 that personal religion finds its most fatal obstacle4 ,men are all quite clear about the ,ideal4 ,we are all convinced of the duty of mankind regarding it4 ,but how to secure that willing men shall attain it--that is the problem of religion4 ,it is the failure to understand the dynamics of ,christianity that has most seriously and most pitifully hindered its growth both in the individual and in the race4 ,from the standpoint of biology this practical difficulty vanishes in a moment4 ,it is probably the very simplicity of the law regarding it that has made men stumble4 ,for nothing is so invisible to most men as transparency4 ,the law here is the same biological law that exists in the natural world4 ,for centuries men have striven to find out ways and means to conform themselves to this type4 ,impressive motives have been pictured1 the proper circumstances arranged1 the direction of effort defined1 and men have toiled1 struggled1 and agonized to conform themselves to the ,image of the ,son4 ,can the protoplasm conform itself to its type8 ,can the embryo fashion itself8 ,is ,conformity to ,type produced by the matter or by the life1 by the protoplasm or by the ,type8 ,is organization the cause of life or the effect of it8 ,it is the effect of it4 ,conformity to ,type1 therefore1 is secured by the type4 ,christ makes the ,christian4 ,men need only reflect on the automatic processes of their natural body to discover that this is the universal law of ,life4 ,what does any man consciously do1 for instance1 in the matter of breathing8 ,what part does he take in circulating the blood1 in keeping up the rhythm of his heart8 ,what control has he over growth8 ,what man by taking thought can add a cubit to his stature8 ,what part voluntarily does man take in secretion1 in digestion1 in the reflex actions8 ,in point of fact is he not after all the veriest automaton1 every organ of his body given him1 every function arranged for him1 brain and nerve1 thought and sensation1 will and conscience1 all provided for him ready made8 ,and yet he turns upon his soul and wishes to organize that himself6 ,o preposterous and vain man1 thou who couldest not make a finger-nail of thy body1 thinkest thou to fashion this wonderful1 mysterious1 subtle soul of thine after the ineffable ,image8 ,wilt thou ever permit thyself to be conformed to the ,image of the ,son8 ,wilt thou1 who canst not add a cubit to thy stature1 submit to be raised by the ,type-,life within thee to the perfect stature of ,christ8 ,this is a humbling conclusion4 ,and therefore men will resent it4 ,men will still experiment by works of righteousness which they have done to earn the ,ideal life4 ,the doctrine of ,human ,inability1 as the ,church calls it1 has always been objectionable to men who do not know themselves4 ,the doctrine itself1 perhaps1 has been partly to blame4 ,while it has been often affirmed in such language as rightly to humble men1 it has also been stated and cast in their teeth with words which could only insult them4 ,merely to assert dogmatically that man has no power to move hand or foot to help himself toward ,christ1 carries no real conviction4 ,the weight of human authority is always powerless1 and ought to be1 where the intelligence is denied a rationale4 ,in the light of modern science when men seek a reason for every thought of ,god or man1 this old doctrine with its severe and almost inhuman aspect--till rightly understood--must presently have succumbed4 ,but to the biologist it cannot die4 ,it stands to him on the solid ground of ,nature4 ,it has a reason in the laws of life which must resuscitate it and give it another lease of years4 ,bird-,life makes the ,bird4 ,christ-,life makes the ,christian4 ,no man by taking thought can add a cubit to his stature4 ,so much for the scientific evidence4 ,here is the corresponding statement of the truth from ,scripture4 ,observe the passive voice in these sentences3 ,begotten of ,god2 ,the new man which is renewed in knowledge after the ,image of ,him that created him2 or this1 ,we are changed into the same ,image2 or this1 ,predestinate to be conformed to the ,image of ,his ,son2 or again1 ,until ,christ be formed in you2 or ,except a man be born again he cannot see the ,kingdom of ,god2 ,except a man be born of water and of the ,spirit he cannot enter the ,kingdom of ,god4 ,there is one outstanding verse which seems at first sight on the other side3 ,work out your own salvation with fear and trembling2 but as one reads on he finds1 as if the writer dreaded the very misconception1 the complement1 ,for it is ,god which worketh in you both to will and to do of ,his good pleasure4 ,it will be noticed in these passages1 and in others which might be named1 that the process of transformation is referred indifferently to the agency of each ,person of the ,trinity in turn4 ,we are not concerned to take up this question of detail4 ,it is sufficient that the transformation is wrought4 ,theologians1 however1 distinguish thus3 the indirect agent is ,christ1 the direct influence is the ,holy ,spirit4 ,in other words1 ,christ by his ,spirit renews the souls of men4 ,is man1 then1 out of the arena altogether8 ,is he mere clay in the hands of the potter1 a machine1 a tool1 an automaton8 ,yes and ,no4 ,if he were a tool he would not be a man4 ,if he were a man he would have something to do4 ,one need not seek to balance what ,god does here1 and what man does4 ,but we shall attain to a sufficient measure of truth on a most delicate problem if we make a final appeal to the natural life4 ,we find that in maintaining this natural life ,nature has a share and man has a share4 ,by far the larger part is done for us--the breathing1 the secreting1 the circulating of the blood1 the building up of the organism4 ,and although the part which man plays is a minor part1 yet1 strange to say1 it is not less essential to the well being1 and even to the being1 of the whole4 ,for instance1 man has to take food4 ,he has nothing to do with it after he has once taken it1 for the moment it passes his lips it is taken in hand by reflex actions and handed on from one organ to another1 his control over it1 in the natural course of things1 being completely lost4 ,but the initial act was his4 ,and without that nothing could have been done4 ,now whether there be an exact analogy between the voluntary and involuntary functions in the body1 and the corresponding processes in the soul1 we do not at present inquire4 ,but this will indicate1 at least1 that man has his own part to play4 ,let him choose ,life2 let him daily nourish his soul2 let him forever starve the old life2 let him abide continuously as a living branch in the ,vine1 and the ,true-,vine ,life will flow into his soul1 assimilating1 renewing1 conforming to ,type1 till ,christ1 pledged by ,his own law1 be formed in him4 ,we have been dealing with ,christianity at its most mystical point4 ,mark here once more its absolute naturalness4 ,the pursuit of the ,type is just what all ,nature is engaged in4 ,plant and insect1 fish and reptile1 bird and mammal--these in their several spheres are striving after the ,type4 ,to prevent its extinction1 to ennoble it1 to people earth and sea and sky with it2 this is the meaning of the ,struggle for ,life4 ,and this is our life--to pursue the ,type1 to populate the world with it4 ,our religion is not all a mistake4 ,we are not visionaries4 ,we are not unpractical1 as men pronounce us1 when we worship4 ,to try to follow ,christ is not to be righteous overmuch4 ,true men are not rhapsodizing when they preach2 nor do those waste their lives who waste themselves in striving to extend the ,kingdom of ,god on earth4 ,this is what life is for4 ,the ,christian in his life-aim is in strict line with ,nature4 ,what men call his supernatural is quite natural4 ,mark well also the splendor of this idea of salvation4 ,it is not merely final safety1 to be forgiven sin1 to evade the curse4 ,it is not1 vaguely1 to get to heaven4 ,it is to be conformed to the ,image of the ,son4 ,it is for these poor elements to attain to the ,supreme ,beauty4 ,the organizing ,life being ,eternal1 so must this ,beauty be immortal4 ,its progress toward the ,immaculate is already guaranteed4 ,and more than all there is here fulfilled the sublimest of all prophecies2 not ,beauty alone but ,unity is secured by the ,type--,unity of man and man1 ,god and man1 ,god and ,christ and man till all shall be one4 ,could ,science in its most brilliant anticipations for the future of its highest organism ever have foreshadowed a development like this8 ,now that the revelation is made to it1 it surely recognizes it as the missing point in ,evolution1 the climax to which all ,creation tends4 ,hitherto ,evolution had no future4 ,it was a pillar with marvelous carving1 growing richer and finer toward the top1 but without a capital2 a pyramid1 the vast base buried in the inorganic1 towering higher and higher1 tier above tier1 life above life1 mind above mind1 ever more perfect in its workmanship1 more noble in its symmetry1 and yet withal so much the more mysterious in its aspiration4 ,the most curious eye1 following it upward1 saw nothing4 ,the cloud fell and covered it4 ,just what men wanted to see was hid4 ,the work of the ages had no apex4 ,but the work begun by ,nature is finished by the ,supernatural--as we are wont to call the higher natural4 ,and as the veil is lifted by ,christianity it strikes men dumb with wonder4 ,for the goal of ,evolution is ,jesus ,christ4 ,the ,christian life is the only life that will ever be completed4 ,apart from ,christ the life of man is a broken pillar1 the race of men an unfinished pyramid4 ,one by one in sight of ,eternity all human ,ideals fall short1 one by one before the open grave all human hopes dissolve4 ,the ,laureate sees a moment's light in ,nature's jealousy for the ,type2 but that too vanishes4 ',so careful of the type8' but no4 ,from scarped cliff and quarried stone ,she cries1 ',a thousand types are gone3 ,i care for nothing1 all shall go4' ,all shall go8 ,no1 one ,type remains4 ,whom ,he did foreknow ,he also did predestinate to be conformed to the ,image of ,his ,son4 ,and when ,christ who is our life shall appear1 then shall ye also appear with ,him in glory4 ,,footnotes3 #he ,there is1 indeed1 a period in the development of every tissue and every living thing known to us when there are actually no structural peculiarities whatever--when the whole organism consists of transparent1 structureless1 semi-fluid living bioplasm--when it would not be possible to distinguish the growing moving matter which was to evolve the oak from that which was the germ of a vertebrate animal4 ,nor can any difference be discerned between the bioplasm matter of the lowest1 simplest1 epithelial scale of man's organism and that from which the nerve cells of his brain are to be evolved4 ,neither by studying bioplasm under the microscope nor by any kind of physical or chemical investigation known1 can we form any notion of the nature of the substance which is to be formed by the bioplasm1 or what will be the ordinary results of the living4--,bioplasm1 ,lionel ,s4 ,beale1 ,f4,r4,s41 pp4 #ag1 #ah4 #hf ,huxley3 ,lay ,sermons1 #fth ,ed41 pp4 #abg1 #abi4 #hg ,huxley3 ,lay ,sermons1 #fth ,ed41 p4 #bfa4 #hh ,origin of ,species1 p4 #aff4 #hi ,there is no intention here to countenance the old doctrine of the permanence of species4 ,whether the word species represent a fixed quantity or the reverse does not affect the question4 ,the facts as stated are true in contemporary zoology if not in palaeontology4 ,it may also be added that the general conception of a definite ,vital ,principle is used here simply as a working hypothesis4 ,science may yet have to give up what the ,germans call the ontogenetic directive ,force4 ,but in the absence of any proof to the contrary1 and especially of any satisfactory alternative1 we are justified in working still with the old theory4 #ij #b ,cor4 v4 #ag4 #ia #a ,john v4 #ah2 #a ,pet4 i4 #c4 #ib ,col4 iii4 #i1 #aj4 #ic #b ,cor4 iii4 #ah4 #id ,rom4 viii4 #bi4 ,,semi-,,parasitism4 ,the ,situation that has not its ,duty1 its ,ideal1 was never yet occupied by man4 ,yes1 here1 in this poor1 miserable1 hampered1 despicable ,actual1 wherein thou even now standest1 here or nowhere is thy ,ideal3 work it out therefrom2 and working1 believe1 live1 be free4--,carlyle4 ,work out your own salvation4--,paul4 ,any new set of conditions occurring to an animal which render its food and safety very easily attained1 seem to lead as a rule to degeneration4--,e4 ,ray ,lankester4 ,parasites are the paupers of ,nature4 ,they are forms of life which will not take the trouble to find their own food1 but borrow or steal it from the more industrious4 ,so deep-rooted is this tendency in ,nature1 that plants may become parasitic--it is an acquired habit--as well as animals2 and both are found in every state of beggary1 some doing a little for themselves1 while others1 more abject1 refuse even to prepare their own food4 ,there are certain plants--the ,dodder1 for instance--which begin life with the best intentions1 strike true roots into the soil1 and really appear as if they meant to be independent for life4 ,but after supporting themselves for a brief period they fix curious sucking discs into the stem and branches of adjacent plants4 ,and after a little experimenting1 the epiphyte finally ceases to do anything for its own support1 thenceforth drawing all its supplies ready-made from the sap of its host4 ,in this parasitic state it has no need for organs of nutrition of its own1 and ,nature therefore takes them away4 ,henceforth1 to the botanist1 the adult ,dodder presents the degraded spectacle of a plant without a root1 without a twig1 without a leaf1 and having a stem so useless as to be inadequate to bear its own weight4 ,in the ,mistletoe the parasitic habit has reached a stage in some respects lower still4 ,it has persisted in the downward course for so many generations that the young forms even have acquired the habit and usually begin life at once as parasites4 ,the ,mistletoe berries1 which contain the seed of the future plant1 are developed especially to minister to this degeneracy1 for they glue themselves to the branches of some neighboring oak or apple1 and there the young ,mistletoe starts as a dependent from the first4 ,among animals these lazzaroni are more largely represented still4 ,almost every animal is a living poor-house1 and harbors one or more species of epizoa or entozoa1 supplying them gratis1 not only with a permanent home1 but with all the necessaries and luxuries of life4 ,why does the naturalist think hardly of the parasites8 ,why does he speak of them as degraded1 and despise them as the most ignoble creatures in ,nature8 ,what more can an animal do than eat1 drink1 and die to-morrow8 ,if under the fostering care and protection of a higher organism it can eat better1 drink more easily1 live more merrily1 and die1 perhaps1 not till the day after1 why should it not do so8 ,is parasitism1 after all1 not a somewhat clever ruse8 ,is it not an ingenious way of securing the benefits of life while evading its responsibilities8 ,and although this mode of livelihood is selfish1 and possibly undignified1 can it be said that it is immoral8 ,the naturalist's reply to this is brief4 ,parasitism1 he will say1 is one of the gravest crimes in ,nature4 ,it is a breach of the law of ,evolution4 ,thou shalt evolve1 thou shalt develop all thy faculties to the full1 thou shalt attain to the highest conceivable perfection of thy race--and so perfect thy race--this is the first and greatest commandment of nature4 ,but the parasite has no thought for its race1 or for perfection in any shape or form4 ,it wants two things--food and shelter4 ,how it gets them is of no moment4 ,each member lives exclusively on its own account1 an isolated1 indolent1 selfish1 and backsliding life4 ,the remarkable thing is that ,nature permits the community to be taxed in this way apparently without protest4 ,for the parasite is a consumer pure and simple4 ,and the ,perfect ,economy of ,nature is surely for once at fault when it encourages species numbered by thousands which produce nothing for their own or for the general good1 but live1 and live luxuriously1 at the expense of others8 ,now when we look into the matter1 we very soon perceive that instead of secretly countenancing this ingenious device by which parasitic animals and plants evade the great law of the ,struggle for ,life1 ,nature sets her face most sternly against it4 ,and1 instead of allowing the transgressors to slip through her fingers1 as one might at first suppose1 she visits upon them the most severe and terrible penalties4 ,the parasite1 she argues1 not only injures itself1 but wrongs others4 ,it disobeys the fundamental law of its own being1 and taxes the innocent to contribute to its disgrace4 ,so that if ,nature is just1 if ,nature has an avenging hand1 if she holds one vial of wrath more full and bitter than another1 it shall surely be poured out upon those who are guilty of this double sin4 ,let us see what form this punishment takes4 ,observant visitors to the sea-side1 or let us say to an aquarium1 are familiar with those curious little creatures known as ,hermit-crabs4 ,the peculiarity of the ,hermits is that they take up their abode in the cast-off shell of some other animal1 not unusually the whelk2 and here1 like ,diogenes in his tub1 the creature lives a solitary1 but by no means an inactive life4 ,the ,pagurus1 however1 is not a parasite4 ,and yet although in no sense of the word a parasite1 this way of inhabiting throughout life a house built by another animal approaches so closely the parasitic habit1 that we shall find it instructive as a preliminary illustration1 to consider the effect of this free-house policy on the occupant4 ,there is no doubt1 to begin with1 that1 as has been already indicated1 the habit is an acquired one4 ,in its general anatomy the ,hermit is essentially a crab4 ,now the crab is an animal which1 from the nature of its environment1 has to lead a somewhat rough and perilous life4 ,its days are spent among jagged rocks and boulders4 ,dashed about by every wave1 attacked on every side by monsters of the deep1 the crustacean has to protect itself by developing a strong and serviceable coat of mail4 ,how best to protect themselves has been the problem to which the whole crab family have addressed themselves2 and1 in considering the matter1 the ancestors of the ,hermit-crab hit on the happy device of re-utilizing the habitations of the molluscs which lay around them in plenty1 well-built1 and ready for immediate occupation4 ,for generations and generations accordingly1 the ,hermit-crab has ceased to exercise itself upon questions of safety1 and dwells in its little shell as proudly and securely as if its second-hand house were a fortress erected especially for its private use4 ,wherein1 then1 has the ,hermit suffered for this cheap1 but real solution of a practical difficulty8 ,whether its laziness costs it any moral qualms1 or whether its cleverness becomes to it a source of congratulation1 we do not know2 but judged from the appearance the animal makes under the searching gaze of the zoologist1 its expedient is certainly not one to be commended4 ,to the eye of ,science its sin is written in the plainest characters on its very organization4 ,it has suffered in its own anatomical structure just by as much as it has borrowed from an external source4 ,instead of being a perfect crustacean it has allowed certain important parts of its body to deteriorate4 ,and several vital organs are partially or wholly atrophied4 ,its sphere of life also is now seriously limited2 and by a cheap expedient to secure safety1 it has fatally lost its independence4 ,it is plain from its anatomy that the ,hermit-crab was not always a ,hermit-crab4 ,it was meant for higher things4 ,its ancestors doubtless were more or less perfect crustaceans1 though what exact stage of development was reached before the hermit habit became fixed in the species we cannot tell4 ,but from the moment the creature took to relying on an external source1 it began to fall4 ,it slowly lost in its own person all that it now draws from external aid4 ,as an important item in the day's work1 namely1 the securing of safety and shelter1 was now guaranteed to it1 one of the chief inducements to a life of high and vigilant effort was at the same time withdrawn4 ,a number of functions1 in fact1 struck work4 ,the whole of the parts1 therefore1 of the complex organism which ministered to these functions1 from lack of exercise1 or total disuse1 became gradually feeble2 and ultimately1 by the stern law that an unused organ must suffer a slow but inevitable atrophy1 the creature not only lost all power of motion in these parts1 but lost the parts themselves1 and otherwise sank into a relatively degenerate condition4 ,every normal crustacean1 on the other hand1 has the abdominal region of the body covered by a thick chitinous shell4 ,in the ,hermits this is represented only by a thin and delicate membrane--of which the sorry figure the creature cuts when drawn from its foreign hiding-place is sufficient evidence4 ,any one who now examines further this half-naked and woe-begone object1 will perceive also that the fourth and fifth pair of limbs are either so small and wasted as to be quite useless or altogether rudimentary2 and1 although certainly the additional development of the extremity of the tail into an organ for holding on to its extemporized retreat may be regarded as a slight compensation1 it is clear from the whole structure of the animal that it has allowed itself to undergo severe ,degeneration4 ,in dealing with the ,hermit-crab1 in short1 we are dealing with a case of physiological backsliding4 ,that the creature has lost anything by this process from a practical point of view is not now argued4 ,it might fairly be shown1 as already indicated1 that its freedom is impaired by its cumbrous exoskeleton1 and that1 in contrast with other crabs1 who lead a free and roving life1 its independence generally is greatly limited4 ,but from the physiological standpoint1 there is no question that the ,hermit tribe have neither discharged their responsibilities to ,nature nor to themselves4 ,if the end of life is merely to escape death1 and serve themselves1 possibly they have done well2 but if it is to attain an ever increasing perfection1 then are they backsliders indeed4 ,a zoologist's verdict would be that by this act they have forfeited to some extent their place in the animal scale4 ,an animal is classed as a low or high according as it is adapted to less or more complex conditions of life4 ,this is the true standpoint from which to judge all living organisms4 ,were perfection merely a matter of continual eating and drinking1 the ,amoeba--the lowest known organism--might take rank with the highest1 ,man1 for the one nourishes itself and saves its skin almost as completely as the other4 ,but judged by the higher standard of ,complexity1 that is1 by greater or lesser adaption to more or less complex conditions1 the gulf between them is infinite4 ,we have now received a preliminary idea1 although not from the study of a true parasite1 of the essential principles involved in parasitism4 ,and we may proceed to point out the correlative in the moral and spiritual spheres4 ,we confine ourselves for the present to one point4 ,the difference between the ,hermit-crab and a true parasite is1 that the former has acquired a semi-parasitic habit only with reference to safety4 ,it may be that the ,hermit devours as a preliminary the accommodating mollusc whose tenement it covets2 but it would become a real parasite only on the supposition that the whelk was of such size as to keep providing for it throughout life1 and that the external and internal organs of the crab should disappear1 while it lived henceforth1 by simple imbibition1 upon the elaborated juices of its host4 ,all the mollusc provides1 however1 for the crustacean in this instance is safety1 and1 accordingly in the meantime we limit our application to this4 ,the true parasite presents us with an organism so much more degraded in all its parts1 that its lessons may well be reserved until we have paved the way to understand the deeper bearings of the subject4 ,the spiritual principle to be illustrated in the meantime stands thus3 ,any principle which secures the safety of the individual without personal effort or the vital exercise of faculty is disastrous to moral character4 ,we do not begin by attempting to define words4 ,were we to define truly what is meant by safety or salvation1 we should be spared further elaboration1 and the law would stand out as a sententious common-place4 ,but we have to deal with the ideas of safety as these are popularly held1 and the chief purpose at this stage is to expose what may be called the ,parasitic ,doctrine of ,salvation4 ,the phases of religious experience about to be described may be unknown to many4 ,it remains for those who are familiar with the religious conceptions of the masses to determine whether or not we are wasting words4 ,what is meant by the ,parasitic ,doctrine of ,salvation one may1 perhaps1 best explain by sketching two of its leading types4 ,the first is the doctrine of the ,church of ,rome2 the second1 that represented by the narrower ,evangelical ,religion4 ,we take these religions1 however1 not in their ideal form1 with which possibly we should have little quarrel1 but in their practical working1 or in the form in which they are held especially by the rank and file of those who belong respectively to these communions4 ,for the strength or weakness of any religious system is best judged from the form in which it presents itself to1 and influences the common mind4 ,no more perfect or more sad example of semi-parasitism exists than in the case of those illiterate thousands who1 scattered everywhere throughout the habitable globe1 swell the lower ranks of the ,church of ,rome4 ,had an organization been specially designed1 indeed1 to induce the parasitic habit in the souls of men1 nothing better fitted to its disastrous end could be established than the system of ,roman ,catholicism4 ,roman ,catholicism offers to the masses a molluscan shell4 ,they have simply to shelter themselves within its pale1 and they are safe4 ,but what is this safe8 ,it is an external safety--the safety of an institution4 ,it is a salvation recommended to men by all that appeals to the motives in most common use with the vulgar and the superstitious1 but which has as little vital connection with the individual soul as the dead whelk's shell with the living ,hermit4 ,salvation is a relation at once vital1 personal1 and spiritual4 ,this is mechanical and purely external4 ,and this is of course the final secret of its marvelous success and world-wide power4 ,a cheap religion is the desideratum of the human heart2 and an assurance of salvation at the smallest possible cost forms the tempting bait held out to a conscience-stricken world by the ,romish ,church4 ,thousands1 therefore1 who have never been taught to use their faculties in working out their own salvation1 thousands who will not exercise themselves religiously1 and who yet cannot be without the exercise of religion1 intrust themselves in idle faith to that venerable house of refuge which for centuries has stood between ,god and man4 ,a ,church which has harbored generations of the elect1 whose archives enshrine the names of saints whose foundations are consecrated with martyrs' blood--shall it not afford a sure asylum still for any soul which would make its peace with ,god8 ,so1 as the ,hermit into the molluscan shell1 creeps the poor soul within the pale of ,rome1 seeking1 like ,adam in the garden1 to hide its nakedness from ,god4 ,why does the true lover of men restrain not his lips in warning his fellows against this and all other priestly religions8 ,it is not because he fails to see the prodigious energy of the ,papal ,see1 or to appreciate the many noble types of ,christian manhood nurtured within its pale4 ,nor is it because its teachers are often corrupt and its system of doctrine inadequate as a representation of the ,truth--charges which have to be made more or less against all religions4 ,but it is because it ministers falsely to the deepest need of man1 reduces the end of religion to selfishness1 and offers safety without spirituality4 ,that these1 theoretically1 are its pretensions1 we do not affirm2 but that its practical working is to induce in man1 and in its worst forms1 the parasitic habit1 is testified by results4 ,no one who has studied the religion of the ,continent upon the spot1 has failed to be impressed with the appalling spectacle of tens of thousands of unregenerated men sheltering themselves1 as they conceive it for ,eternity1 behind the ,sacraments of ,rome4 ,there is no stronger evidence of the inborn parasitic tendency in man in things religious than the absolute complacency with which even cultured men will hand over their eternal interests to the care of a ,church4 ,we can never dismiss from memory the sadness with which we once listened to the confession of a certain foreign professor3 ,i used to be concerned about religion1 he said in substance1 but religion is a great subject4 ,i was very busy2 there was little time to settle it for myself4 ,a protestant1 my attention was called to the ,roman ,catholic religion4 ,it suited my case4 ,and instead of dabbling in religion for myself ,i put myself in its hands4 ,once a year1 he concluded1 ,i go to mass4 ,these were the words of one whose work will live in the history of his country1 one1 too1 who knew all about parasitism4 ,yet1 though he thought it not1 this is parasitism in its worst and most degrading form4 ,nor1 in spite of its intellectual1 not to say moral sin1 is this an extreme or exceptional case4 ,it is a case1 which is being duplicated every day in our own country1 only here the confessing is expressed with a candor which is rare in company with actions betraying so signally the want of it4 ,the form of parasitism exhibited by a certain section of the narrower ,evangelical school is altogether different from that of the ,church of ,rome4 ,the parasite in this case seeks its shelter1 not in a ,church1 but in a ,doctrine or a ,creed4 ,let it be observed again that we are not dealing with the ,evangelical ,religion1 but only with one of its parasitic forms--a form which will at once be recognized by all who know the popular ,protestantism of this country4 ,we confine ourselves also at present to that form which finds its encouragement in a single doctrine1 that doctrine being the ,doctrine of the ,atonement--let us say1 rather1 a perverted form of this central truth4 ,the perverted ,doctrine of the ,atonement1 which tends to beget the parasitic habit1 may be defined in a single sentence--it is very much because it can be defined in a single sentence that it is a perversion4 ,let us state it in a concrete form4 ,it is put to the individual in the following syllogism3 ,you believe ,christ died for sinners2 you are a sinner2 therefore ,christ died for you2 and hence you are saved4 ,now what is this but another species of molluscan shell8 ,could any trap for a benighted soul be more ingeniously planned8 ,it is not superstition that is appealed to this time2 it is reason4 ,the agitated soul is invited to creep into the convolutions of a syllogism1 and entrench itself behind a ,doctrine more venerable even than the ,church4 ,but words are mere chitin4 ,doctrines may have no more vital contact with the soul than priest or sacrament1 no further influence on life and character than stone and lime4 ,and yet the apostles of parasitism pick a blackguard from the streets1 pass him through this plausible formula1 and turn him out a convert in the space of as many minutes as it takes to tell it4 ,the zeal of these men1 assuredly1 is not to be questioned3 their instincts are right1 and their work is often not in vain4 ,it is possible1 too1 up to a certain point1 to defend this ,salvation by ,formula4 ,are these not the very words of ,scripture8 ,did not ,christ ,himself say1 ,it is finished8 ,and is it not written1 ,by grace are ye saved through faith1 ,not of works1 lest any man should boast1 and ,he that believeth on the ,son hath everlasting life8 ,to which1 however1 one might also answer in the words of ,scripture1 ,the ,devils also believe1 and ,except a man be born again he cannot see the ,kingdom of ,god4 ,but without seeming to make text refute text1 let us ask rather what the supposed convert possesses at the end of the process4 ,that ,christ saves sinners1 even blackguards from the streets1 is a great fact2 and that the simple words of the street evangelist do sometimes bring this home to man with convincing power is also a fact4 ,but in ordinary circumstances1 when the inquirer's mind is rapidly urged through the various stages of the above piece of logic1 he is left to face the future and blot out the past with a formula of words4 ,to be sure these words may already convey a germ of truth1 they may yet be filled in with a wealth of meaning and become a life-long power4 ,but we would state the case against ,salvation by ,formula with ignorant and unwarranted clemency did we for a moment convey the idea that this is always the actual result4 ,the doctrine plays too well into the hands of the parasitic tendency to make it possible that in more than a minority of cases the result is anything but disastrous4 ,and it is disastrous not in that1 sooner or later1 after losing half their lives1 those who rely on the naked syllogism come to see their mistake1 but in that thousands never come to see it all4 ,are there not men who can prove to you and to the world1 by the irresistible logic of texts1 that they are saved1 whom you know to be not only unworthy of the ,kingdom of ,god--which we all are--but absolutely incapable of entering it8 ,the condition of membership in the ,kingdom of ,god is well known2 who fulfill this condition and who do not1 is not well known4 ,and yet the moral test1 in spite of the difficulty of its applications1 will always1 and rightly1 be preferred by the world to the theological4 ,nevertheless1 in spite of the world's verdict1 the parasite is content4 ,he is safe4 ,years ago his mind worked through a certain chain of phrases in which the words believe and saved were the conspicuous terms4 ,and from that moment1 by all ,scriptures1 by all logic1 and by all theology1 his future was guaranteed4 ,he took out1 in short1 an insurance policy1 by which he was infallibly secured eternal life at death4 ,this is not a matter to make light of4 ,we wish we were caricaturing instead of representing things as they are4 ,but we carry with us all who intimately know the spiritual condition of the ,narrow ,church in asserting that in some cases at least its members have nothing more to show for their religion than a formula1 a syllogism1 a cant phrase or an experience of some kind which happened long ago1 and which men told them at the time was called ,salvation4 ,need we proceed to formulate objections to the parasitism of ,evangelicism8 ,between it and the ,religion of the ,church of ,rome there is an affinity as real as it is unsuspected4 ,for one thing these religions are spiritually disastrous as well as theologically erroneous in propagating a false conception of ,christianity4 ,the fundamental idea alike of the extreme ,roman ,catholic and extreme ,evangelical ,religions is ,escape4 ,man's chief end is to get off4 ,and all factors in religion1 the highest and most sacred1 are degraded to this level4 ,god1 for example1 is a ,great ,lawyer4 ,or ,he is the ,almighty ,enemy2 it is from ,him we have to get off4 ,jesus ,christ is the ,one who gets us off--a theological figure who contrives so to adjust matters federally that the way is clear4 ,the ,church in the one instance is a kind of conveyancing office where the transaction is duly concluded1 each party accepting the others' terms2 in the other case1 a species of sheep-pen where the flock awaits impatiently and indolently the final consummation4 ,generally1 the means are mistaken for the end1 and the opening-up of the possibility of spiritual growth becomes the signal to stop growing4 ,second1 these being cheap religions1 are inevitably accompanied by a cheap life4 ,safety being guaranteed from the first1 there remains nothing else to be done4 ,the mechanical way in which the transaction is effected1 leaves the soul without stimulus1 and the character remains untouched by the moral aspects of the sacrifice of ,christ4 ,he who is unjust is unjust still2 he who is unholy is unholy still4 ,thus the whole scheme ministers to the ,degeneration of ,organs4 ,for here1 again1 by just as much as the organism borrows mechanically from an external source1 by so much exactly does it lose in its own organization4 ,whatever rest is provided by ,christianity for the children of ,god1 it is certainly never contemplated that it should supersede personal effort4 ,and any rest which ministers to indifference is immoral and unreal--it makes parasites and not men4 ,just because ,god worketh in him1 as the evidence and triumph of it1 the true child of ,god works out his own salvation--works it out having really received it--not as a light thing1 a superfluous labor1 but with fear and trembling as a reasonable and indispensable service4 ,if it be asked1 then1 shall the parasite be saved or shall he not1 the answer is that the idea of salvation conveyed by the question makes a reply all but hopeless4 ,but if by salvation is meant1 a trusting in ,christ in order to likeness to ,christ1 in order to that holiness without which no man shall see the ,lord1 the reply is that the parasite's hope is absolutely vain4 ,so far from ministering to growth1 parasitism ministers to decay4 ,so far from ministering to holiness1 that is to wholeness1 parasitism ministers to exactly the opposite4 ,one by one the spiritual faculties droop and die1 one by one from lack of exercise the muscles of the soul grow weak and flaccid1 one by one the moral activities cease4 ,so from him that hath not1 is taken away that which he hath1 and after a few years of parasitism there is nothing left to save4 ,if our meaning up to this point has been sufficiently obscure to make the objection now possible that this protest against ,parasitism is opposed to the doctrines of ,free ,grace1 we cannot hope in a closing sentence to free the argument from a suspicion so ill-judged4 ,the adjustment between ,faith and ,works does not fall within our province now4 ,salvation truly is the free gift of ,god1 but he who really knows how much this means knows--and just because it means so much--how much of consequent action it involves4 ,with the central doctrines of grace the whole scientific argument is in too wonderful harmony to be found wanting here4 ,the natural life1 not less than the eternal1 is the gift of ,god4 ,but life in either case is the beginning of growth and not the end of grace4 ,to pause where we should begin1 to retrograde where we should advance1 to seek a mechanical security that we may cover inertia and find a wholesale salvation in which there is no personal sanctification--this is ,parasitism4 ,,parasitism4 ,and so ,i live1 you see1 ,go through the world1 try1 prove1 reject1 ,prefer1 still struggling to effect ,my warfare2 happy that ,i can ,be crossed and thwarted as a man1 ,not left in ,god's contempt apart1 ,with ghastly smooth life1 dead at heart1 ,tame in earth's paddock as her prize4 444 444 444 444 444 ,thank ,god1 no paradise stands barred ,to entry1 and ,i find it hard ,to be a ,christian1 as ,i said4--,browning4 ,work out your own salvation4--,paul4 ,be no longer a chaos1 but a ,world1 or even ,worldkin4 ,produce6 ,produce6 ,were it but the pitifullest infinitesimal fraction of a ,product1 produce it1 in ,god's name6--,carlyle4 ,from a study of the habits and organization of the family of ,hermit-crabs we have already gained some insight into the nature and effects of parasitism4 ,but the ,hermit-crab1 be it remembered1 is in no real sense a parasite4 ,and before we can apply the general principle further we must address ourselves briefly to the examination of a true case of parasitism4 ,we have not far to seek4 ,within the body of the ,hermit-crab a minute organism may frequently be discovered resembling1 when magnified1 a miniature kidney-bean4 ,a bunch of root-like processes hangs from one side1 and the extremities of these are seen to ramify in delicate films through the living tissues of the crab4 ,this simple organism is known to the naturalist as a ,sacculina2 and though a full-grown animal1 it consists of no more parts than those just named4 ,not a trace of structure is to be detected within this rude and all but inanimate frame2 it possesses neither legs1 nor eyes1 nor mouth1 nor throat1 nor stomach1 nor any other organs1 external or internal4 ,this ,sacculina is a typical parasite4 ,by means of its twining and theftuous roots it imbibes automatically its nourishment ready-prepared from the body of the crab4 ,it boards indeed entirely at the expense of its host1 who supplies it liberally with food and shelter and everything else it wants4 ,so far as the result to itself is concerned this arrangement may seem at first sight satisfactory enough2 but when we inquire into the life history of this small creature we unearth a career of degeneracy all but unparalleled in nature4 ,the most certain clue to what nature meant any animal to become is to be learned from its embryology4 ,let us1 therefore1 examine for a moment the earliest positive stage in the development of the ,sacculina4 ,when the embryo first makes its appearance it bears not the remotest resemblance to the adult animal4 ,a different name even is given to it by the biologist1 who knows it at this period as a ,nauplius4 ,this minute organism has an oval body1 supplied with six well-jointed feet by means of which it paddles briskly through the water4 ,for a time it leads an active and independent life1 industriously securing its own food and escaping enemies by its own gallantry4 ,but soon a change takes place4 ,the hereditary taint of parasitism is in its blood1 and it proceeds to adapt itself to the pauper habits of its race4 ,the tiny body first doubles in upon itself1 and from the two front limbs elongated filaments protrude4 ,its four hind limbs entirely disappear1 and twelve short-forked swimming organs temporarily take their place4 ,thus strangely metamorphosed the ,sacculina sets out in search of a suitable host1 and in an evil hour1 by that fate which is always ready to accommodate the transgressor1 is thrown into the company of the ,hermit-crab4 ,with its two filamentary processes--which afterward develop into the root-like organs--it penetrates the body2 the sac-like form is gradually assumed2 the whole of the swimming feet drop off--they will never be needed again--and the animal settles down for the rest of its life as a parasite4 ,one reason which makes a zoologist certain that the ,sacculina is a degenerate type is1 that in almost all other instances of animals which begin life in the ,nauplius-form--and there are several--the ,nauplius develops through higher and higher stages1 and arrives finally at the high perfection displayed by the shrimp1 lobster1 crab1 and other crustaceans4 ,but instead of rising to its opportunities1 the sacculine ,nauplius having reached a certain point turned back4 ,it shrunk from the struggle for life1 and beginning probably by seeking shelter from its host went on to demand its food2 and so falling from bad to worse1 became in time an entire dependant4 ,in the eyes of ,nature this was a twofold crime4 ,it was first a disregard of evolution1 and second1 which is practically the same thing1 an evasion of the great law of work4 ,and the revenge of ,nature was therefore necessary4 ,it could not help punishing the ,sacculina for violated law1 and the punishment1 according to the strange and noteworthy way in which ,nature usually punishes1 was meted but by natural processes1 carried on within its own organization4 ,its punishment was simply that it was a ,sacculina--that it was a ,sacculina when it might have been a ,crustacean4 ,instead of being a free and independent organism high in structure1 original in action1 vital with energy1 it deteriorated into a torpid and all but amorphous sac confined to perpetual imprisonment and doomed to a living death4 ,any new set of conditions1 says ,ray ,lankester1 occurring to an animal which render its food and safety very easily attained1 seem to lead as a rule to degeneration2 just as an active healthy man sometimes degenerates when he becomes suddenly possessed of a fortune2 or as ,rome degenerated when possessed of the riches of the ancient world4 ,the habit of parasitism clearly acts upon animal organization in this way4 ,let the parasitic life once be secured1 and away go legs1 jaws1 eyes1 and ears2 the active1 highly-gifted crab1 insect or annelid may become a mere sac1 absorbing nourishment and laying eggs4#ie ,there could be no more impressive illustration than this of what with entire appropriateness one might call the physiology of backsliding4 ,we fail to appreciate the meaning of spiritual degeneration or detect the terrible nature of the consequences only because they evade the eye of sense4 ,but could we investigate the spirit as a living organism1 or study the soul of the backslider on principles of comparative anatomy1 we should have a revelation of the organic effects of sin1 even of the mere sin of carelessness as to growth and work1 which must revolutionize our ideas of practical religion4 ,there is no room for the doubt even that what goes on in the body does not with equal certainty take place in the spirit under the corresponding conditions4 ,the penalty of backsliding is not something unreal and vague1 some unknown quantity which may be measured out to us disproportionately1 or which perchance1 since ,god is good1 we may altogether evade4 ,the consequences are already marked within the structure of the soul4 ,so to speak1 they are physiological4 ,the thing affected by our indifference or by our indulgence is not the book of final judgment but the present fabric of the soul4 ,the punishment of degeneration is simply degeneration--the loss of functions1 the decay of organs1 the atrophy of the spiritual nature4 ,it is well known that the recovery of the backslider is one of the hardest problems in spiritual work4 ,to reinvigorate an old organ seems more difficult and hopeless than to develop a new one2 and the backslider's terrible lot is to have to retrace with enfeebled feet each step of the way along which he strayed2 to make up inch by inch the lee-way he has lost1 carrying with him a dead-weight of acquired reluctance1 and scarce knowing whether to be stimulated or discouraged by the oppressive memory of the previous fall4 ,we are not1 however1 to discuss at present the physiology of backsliding4 ,nor need we point out at greater length that parasitism is always and indissolubly accompanied by degeneration4 ,we wish rather to examine one or two leading tendencies of the modern religious life which directly or indirectly induce the parasitic habit and bring upon thousands of unsuspecting victims such secret and appalling penalties as have been named4 ,two main causes are known to the biologist as tending to induce the parasitic habit4 ,these are1 first1 the temptation to secure safety without the vital exercise of faculties1 and1 second1 the disposition to find food without earning it4 ,the first1 which we have formally considered1 is probably the preliminary stage in most cases4 ,the animal1 seeking shelter1 finds unexpectedly that it can also thereby gain a certain measure of food4 ,compelled in the first instance1 perhaps by stress of circumstances1 to rob its host of a meal or perish1 it gradually acquires the habit of drawing all its supplies from the same source1 and thus becomes in time a confirmed parasite4 ,whatever be its origin1 however1 it is certain that the main evil of parasitism is connected with the further question of food4 ,mere safety with ,nature is a secondary1 though by no means an insignificant1 consideration4 ,and while the organism forfeits a part of its organization by any method of evading enemies which demands no personal effort1 the most entire degeneration of the whole system follows the neglect or abuse of the functions of nutrition4 ,the direction in which we have to seek the wider application of the subject will now appear4 ,we have to look into those cases in the moral and spiritual sphere in which the functions of nutrition are either neglected or abused4 ,to sustain life1 physical1 mental1 moral1 or spiritual1 some sort of food is essential4 ,to secure an adequate supply each organism also is provided with special and appropriate faculties4 ,but the final gain to the organism does not depend so much on the actual amount of food procured as on the exercise required to obtain it4 ,in one sense the exercise is only a means to an end1 namely1 the finding food2 but in another and equally real sense1 the exercise is the end1 the food the means to attain that4 ,neither is of permanent use without the other1 but the correlation between them is so intimate that it were idle to say that one is more necessary than the other4 ,without food exercise is impossible1 but without exercise food is useless4 ,thus exercise is in order to food1 and food is in order to exercise--in order especially to that further progress and maturity which only ceaseless activity can promote4 ,now food too easily acquired means food without that accompaniment of discipline which is infinitely more valuable than the food itself4 ,it means the possibility of a life which is a mere existence4 ,it leaves the organism in statu quo1 undeveloped1 immature1 low in the scale of organization and with a growing tendency to pass from the state of equilibrium to that of increasing degeneration4 ,what an organism is depends upon what it does2 its activities make it4 ,and if the stimulus to the exercise of all the innumerable faculties concerned in nutrition be withdrawn by the conditions and circumstances of life becoming1 or being made to become1 too easy1 there is first an arrest of development1 and finally a loss of the parts themselves4 ,if1 in short1 an organism does nothing1 in that relation it is nothing4 ,we may1 therefore1 formulate the general principle thus3 ,any principle which secures food to the individual without the expenditure of work is injurious1 and accompanied by the degeneration and loss of parts4 ,the social and political analogies of this law1 which have been casually referred to already1 are sufficiently familiar to render any further development in these directions superfluous4 ,after the eloquent preaching of the ,gospel of ,work by ,thomas ,carlyle1 this century at least can never plead that one of the most important moral bearings of the subject has not been duly impressed upon it4 ,all that can be said of idleness generally might be fitly urged in support of this great practical truth4 ,all nations which have prematurely passed away1 buried in graves dug by their own effeminacy2 all those individuals who have secured a hasty wealth by the chances of speculation2 all children of fortune2 all victims of inheritance2 all social sponges2 all satellites of the court2 all beggars of the market-place--all these are living and unlying witness to the unalterable retributions of the law of parasitism4 ,but it is when we come to study the working of the principle in the religious sphere there we discover the full extent of the ravages which the parasitic habit can make on the souls of men4 ,we can only hope to indicate here one or two of the things in modern ,christianity which minister most subtly and widely to this as yet all but unnamed sin4 ,we begin in what may seem a somewhat unlooked-for quarter4 ,one of the things in the religious world which tends most strongly to induce the parasitic habit is ,going to ,church4 ,church-going itself every ,christian will rightly consider an invaluable aid to the ripe development of the spiritual life4 ,public worship has a place in the national religious life so firmly established that nothing is ever likely to shake its influence4 ,so supreme indeed1 is the ecclesiastical system in all ,christian countries that with thousands the religion of the ,church and the religion of the individual are one4 ,but just because of its high and unique place in religious regard1 does it become men from time to time to inquire how far the ,church is really ministering to the spiritual health of the immense religious community which looks to it as its foster-mother4 ,and if it falls to us here reluctantly to expose some secret abuses of this venerable system1 let it be well understood that these are abuses1 and not that the sacred institution itself is being violated by the attack of an impious hand4 ,the danger of church-going largely depends on the form of worship1 but it may be affirmed that even the most perfect ,church affords to all worshipers a greater or less temptation to parasitism4 ,it consists essentially in the deputy-work or deputy-worship inseparable from the church or chapel ministrations4 ,one man is set apart to prepare a certain amount of spiritual truth for the rest4 ,he1 if he is a true man1 gets all the benefits of original work4 ,he finds the truth1 digests it1 is nourished and enriched by it before he offers it to his flock4 ,to a large extent it will nourish and enrich in turn a number of his hearers4 ,but still they will lack something4 ,the faculty of selecting truth at first hand and appropriating it for one's self is a lawful possession to every ,christian4 ,rightly exercised it conveys to him truth in its freshest form2 it offers him the opportunity of verifying doctrines for himself2 it makes religion personal2 it deepens and intensifies the only convictions that are worth deepening1 those1 namely1 which are honest2 and it supplies the mind with a basis of certainty in religion4 ,but if all one's truth is derived by imbibition from the ,church1 the faculties for receiving truth are not only undeveloped but one's whole view of truth becomes distorted4 ,he who abandons the personal search for truth1 under whatever pretext1 abandons truth4 ,the very word truth1 by becoming the limited possession of a guild1 ceases to have any meaning2 and faith1 which can only be founded on truth1 gives way to credulity1 resting on mere opinion4 ,in those churches especially where all parts of the worship are subordinated to the sermon1 this species of parasitism is peculiarly encouraged4 ,what is meant to be a stimulus to thought becomes the substitute for it4 ,the hearer never really learns1 he only listens4 ,and while truth and knowledge seem to increase1 life and character are left in arrear4 ,such truth1 of course1 and such knowledge1 are a mere seeming4 ,having cost nothing1 they come to nothing4 ,the organism acquires a growing immobility1 and finally exists in a state of entire intellectual helplessness and inertia4 ,so the parasitic ,church-member1 the literal adherent1 comes not merely to live only within the circle of ideas of his minister1 but to be content that his minister has these ideas--like the literary parasite who fancies he knows everything because he has a good library4 ,where the worship1 again1 is largely liturgical the danger assumes an even more serious form1 and it acts in some such way as this4 ,every sincere man who sets out in the ,christian race begins by attempting to exercise the spiritual faculties for himself4 ,the young life throbs in his veins1 and he sets himself to the further progress with earnest purpose and resolute will4 ,for a time he bids fair to attain a high and original development4 ,but the temptation to relax the always difficult effort at spirituality is greater than he knows4 ,the carnal mind itself is enmity against ,god1 and the antipathy1 or the deadlier apathy within1 is unexpectedly encouraged from that very outside source from which he anticipates the greatest help4 ,connecting himself with a ,church he is no less interested than surprised to find how rich is the provision there for every part of his spiritual nature4 ,each service satisfies or surfeits4 ,twice1 or even three times a week1 this feast is spread for him4 ,the thoughts are deeper than his own1 the faith keener1 the worship loftier1 the whole ritual more reverent and splendid4 ,what more natural than that he should gradually exchange his personal religion for that of the congregation8 ,what more likely than that a public religion should by insensible stages supplant his individual faith8 ,what more simple than to content himself with the warmth of another's soul4 ,what more tempting than to give up private prayer for the easier worship of the liturgy or of the church8 ,what1 in short1 more natural than for the independent1 free-moving1 growing ,sacculina to degenerate into the listless1 useless1 pampered parasite of the pew8 ,the very means he takes to nurse his personal religion often come in time to wean him from it4 ,hanging admiringly1 or even enthusiastically1 on the lips of eloquence1 his senses now stirred by ceremony1 now soothed by music1 the parasite of the pew enjoys his weekly worship--his character untouched1 his will unbraced1 his crude soul unquickened and unimproved4 ,thus1 instead of ministering to the growth of individual members1 and very often just in proportion to the superior excellence of the provision made for them by another1 does this gigantic system of deputy-nutrition tend to destroy development and arrest the genuine culture of the soul4 ,our churches overflow with members who are mere consumers4 ,their interest in religion is purely parasitic4 ,their only spiritual exercise is the automatic one of imbibition1 the clergyman being the faithful ,hermit-crab who is to be depended on every ,sunday for at least a week's supply4 ,a physiologist would describe the organism resulting from such a progress as a case of arrested development4 ,instead of having learned to pray1 the ecclesiastical parasite becomes satisfied with being prayed for4 ,his transactions with the ,eternal are effected by commission4 ,his work for ,christ is done by a paid deputy4 ,his whole life is a prolonged indulgence in the bounties of the ,church2 and surely--in some cases at least the crowning irony--he sends for the minister when he lies down to die4 ,other signs and consequences of this species of parasitism soon become very apparent4 ,the first symptom is idleness4 ,when a ,church is off its true diet it is off its true work4 ,hence one explanation of the hundreds of large and influential congregations ministered to from week to week by men of eminent learning and earnestness1 which yet do little or nothing in the line of these special activities for which all churches exist4 ,an outstanding man at the head of a huge1 useless and torpid congregation is always a puzzle4 ,but is the reason not this1 that the congregation gets too good food too cheap8 ,providence has mercifully delivered the ,church from too many great men in her pulpits1 but there are enough in every country-side to play the host disastrously to a large circle of otherwise able-bodied ,christian people1 who1 thrown on their own resources1 might fatten themselves and help others4 ,there are compensations to a flock for a poor minister after all4 ,where the fare is indifferent those who are really hungry will exert themselves to procure their own supply4 ,that the ,church has indispensable functions to discharge to the individual is not denied2 but taking into consideration the universal tendency to parasitism in the human soul it is a grave question whether in some cases it does not really effect more harm than good4 ,a dead church certainly1 a church having no reaction on the community1 a church without propagative power in the world1 cannot be other than a calamity to all within its borders4 ,such a church is an institution1 first for making1 then for screening parasites2 and instead of representing to the world the ,kingdom of ,god on earth1 it is despised alike by godly and by godless men as the refuge for fear and formalism and the nursery of superstition4 ,and this suggests a second and not less practical evil of a parasitic piety--that it presents to the world a false conception of the religion of ,christ4 ,one notices with a frequency which may well excite alarm that the children of church-going parents often break away as they grow in intelligence1 not only from church-connection but from the whole system of family religion4 ,in some cases this is doubtless due to natural perversity1 but in others it certainly arises from the hollowness of the outward forms which pass current in society and at home for vital ,christianity4 ,these spurious forms1 fortunately or unfortunately1 soon betray themselves4 ,how little there is in them becomes gradually apparent4 ,and rather than indulge in a sham the budding sceptic1 as the first step1 parts with the form and in nine cases out of ten concerns himself no further to find a substitute4 ,quite deliberately1 quite honestly1 sometimes with real regret and even at personal sacrifice he takes up his position1 and to his parent's sorrow and his church's dishonor forsakes forever the faith and religion of his fathers4 ,who will deny that this is a true account of the natural history of much modern scepticism8 ,a formal religion can never hold its own in the nineteenth century4 ,it is better that it should not4 ,we must either be real or cease to be4 ,we must either give up our ,parasitism or our sons4 ,any one who will take the trouble to investigate a number of cases where whole families of outwardly godly parents have gone astray1 will probably find that the household religion had either some palpable defect1 or belonged essentially to the parasitic order4 ,the popular belief that the sons of clergymen turn out worse than those of the laity is1 of course1 without foundation2 but it may also probably be verified that in the instances where clergymen's sons notoriously discredit their father's ministry1 that ministry in a majority of cases1 will be found to be professional and theological rather than human and spiritual4 ,sequences in the moral and spiritual world follow more closely than we yet discern the great law of ,heredity4 ,the ,parasite begets the ,parasite--only in the second generation the offspring are sometimes sufficiently wise to make the discovery1 and honest enough to proclaim it4 ,we now pass on to the consideration of another form of ,parasitism which though closely related to that just discussed1 is of sufficient importance to justify a separate reference4 ,appealing to a somewhat smaller circle1 but affecting it not less disastrously1 is the ,parasitism induced by certain abuses of ,systems of ,theology4 ,in its own place1 of course1 ,theology is no more to be dispensed with than the ,church4 ,in every perfect religious system three great departments must always be represented--criticism1 dogmatism1 and evangelism4 ,without the first there is no guarantee of truth1 without the second no defence of truth1 and without the third no propagation of truth4 ,but when these departments become mixed up1 when their separate functions are forgotten1 when one is made to do duty for another1 or where either is developed by the church or the individual at the expense of the rest1 the result is fatal4 ,the particular abuse1 however1 of which we have now to speak1 concerns the tendency in orthodox communities1 first to exalt orthodoxy above all other elements in religion1 and secondly to make the possession of sound beliefs equivalent to the possession of truth4 ,doctrinal preaching1 fortunately1 as a constant practice is less in vogue than in a former age1 but there are still large numbers whose only contact with religion is through theological forms4 ,the method is supported by a plausible defence4 ,what is doctrine but a compressed form of truth1 systematized by able and pious men1 and sanctioned by the imprimatur of the ,church8 ,if the greatest minds of the ,church's past1 having exercised themselves profoundly upon the problems of religion1 formulated as with one voice a system of doctrine1 why should the humble inquirer not gratefully accept it8 ,why go over the ground again8 ,why with his dim light should he betake himself afresh to ,bible study and with so great a body of divinity already compiled1 presume himself to be still a seeker after truth8 ,does not ,theology give him ,bible truth in reliable1 convenient1 and moreover1 in logical propositions8 ,there it lies extended to the last detail in the tomes of the ,fathers1 or abridged in a hundred modern compendia1 ready-made to his hand1 all cut and dry1 guaranteed sound and wholesome1 why not use it8 ,just because it is all cut and dry4 ,just because it is ready-made4 ,just because it lies there in reliable1 convenient and logical propositions4 ,the moment you appropriate truth in such a shape you appropriate a form4 ,you cannot cut and dry truth4 ,you cannot accept truth ready-made without it ceasing to nourish the soul as the truth4 ,you cannot live on theological forms without becoming a ,parasite and ceasing to be a man4 ,there is no worse enemy to a living ,church than a propositional theology1 with the latter controlling the former by traditional authority4 ,for one does not then receive the truth for himself1 he accepts it bodily4 ,he begins the ,christian life set up by his ,church with a stock-in-trade which has cost him nothing1 and which1 though it may serve him all his life1 is just exactly worth as much his belief in his ,church4 ,this possession of truth1 moreover1 thus lightly won1 is given to him as infallible4 ,it is a system4 ,there is nothing to add to it4 ,at his peril let him question or take from it4 ,to start a convert in life with such a principle is unspeakably degrading4 ,all through life instead of working toward truth he must work from it4 ,an infallible standard is a temptation to a mechanical faith4 ,infallibility always paralyzes4 ,it gives rest2 but it is the rest of stagnation4 ,men perform one great act of faith at the beginning of their life1 then have done with it forever4 ,all moral1 intellectual and spiritual effort is over2 and a cheap theology ends in a cheap life4 ,the same thing that makes men take refuge in the ,church of ,rome makes them take refuge in a set of dogmas4 ,infallibility meets the deepest desire of man1 but meets it in the most fatal form4 ,men deal with the hunger after truth in two ways4 ,first by ,unbelief--which crushes it by blind force2 or1 secondly1 by resorting to some external source credited with ,infallibility--which lulls it to sleep by blind faith4 ,the effect of a doctrinal theology is the effect of ,infallibility4 ,and the wholesale belief in such a system1 however accurate it may be--grant even that it were infallible--is not ,faith though it always gets that name4 ,it is mere ,credulity4 ,it is a complacent and idle rest upon authority1 not a hard-earned1 self-obtained1 personal possession4 ,the moral responsibility here1 besides1 is reduced to nothing4 ,those who framed the ,thirty-nine ,articles or the ,westminster ,confession are responsible4 ,and anything which destroys responsibility1 or transfers it1 cannot be other than injurious in its moral tendency and useless in itself4 ,it may be objected perhaps that this statement of the paralysis spiritual and mental induced by ,infallibility applies also to the ,bible4 ,the answer is that though the ,bible is infallible1 the ,infallibility is not in such a form as to become a temptation4 ,there is the widest possible difference between the form of truth in the ,bible and the form in theology4 ,in theology truth is propositional--tied up in neat parcels1 systematized1 and arranged in logical order4 ,the ,trinity is an intricate doctrinal problem4 ,the ,supreme ,being is discussed in terms of philosophy4 ,the ,atonement is a formula which is to be demonstrated like a proposition in ,euclid4 ,and ,justification is to be worked out as a question of jurisprudence4 ,there is no necessary connection between these doctrines and the life of him who holds them4 ,they make him orthodox1 not necessarily righteous4 ,they satisfy the intellect but need not touch the heart4 ,it does not1 in short1 take a religious man to be a theologian4 ,it simply takes a man with fair reasoning powers4 ,this man happens to apply these powers to theological subjects--but in no other sense than he might apply them to astronomy or physics4 ,but truth in the ,bible is a fountain4 ,it is a diffused nutriment1 so diffused that no one can put himself off with the form4 ,it is reached not by thinking1 but by doing4 ,it is seen1 discerned1 not demonstrated4 ,it cannot be bolted whole1 but must be slowly absorbed into the system4 ,its vagueness to the mere intellect1 its refusal to be packed into portable phrases1 its satisfying unsatisfyingness1 its vast atmosphere1 its finding of us1 its mystical hold of us1 these are the tokens of its infinity4 ,nature never provides for man's wants in any direction1 bodily1 mental1 or spiritual1 in such a form as that he can simply accept her gifts automatically4 ,she puts all the mechanical powers at his disposal--but he must make his lever4 ,she gives him corn1 but he must grind it4 ,she elaborates coal1 but he must dig for it4 ,corn is perfect1 all the products of ,nature are perfect1 but he has everything to do to them before he can use them4 ,so with truth2 it is perfect1 infallible4 ,but he cannot use it as it stands4 ,he must work1 think1 separate1 dissolve1 absorb1 digest2 and most of these he must do for himself and within himself4 ,if it be replied that this is exactly what theology does1 we answer it is exactly what it does not4 ,it simply does what the green-grocer does when he arranges his apples and plums in his shop window4 ,he may tell me a magnum bonum from a ,victoria1 or a ,baldwin from a ,newtown ,pippin4 ,but he does not help me to eat it4 ,his information is useful1 and for scientific horticulture essential4 ,should a sceptical pomologist deny that there was such a thing as a ,baldwin1 or mistake it for a ,newtown ,pippin1 we should be glad to refer to him2 but if we were hungry1 and an orchard were handy1 we should not trouble him4 ,truth in the ,bible is an orchard rather than a museum4 ,dogmatism will be very valuable to us when scientific necessity makes us go to the museum4 ,criticism will be very useful in seeing that only fruit-bearers grow in the orchard4 ,but truth in the doctrinal form is not natural1 proper1 assimilable food for the soul of man4 ,is this a plea then for doubt8 ,yes1 for that philosophic doubt which is the evidence of a faculty doing its own work4 ,it is more necessary for us to be active than to be orthodox4 ,to be orthodox is what we wish to be1 but we can only truly reach it by being honest1 by being original1 by seeing with our own eyes1 by believing with our own heart4 ,an idle life1 says ,goethe1 is death anticipated4 ,better far be burned at the stake of ,public ,opinion than die the living death of ,parasitism4 ,better an aberrant theology than a suppressed organization4 ,better a little faith dearly won1 better launched alone on the infinite bewilderment of ,truth1 than perish on the splendid plenty of the richest creeds4 ,such ,doubt is no self-willed presumption4 ,nor1 truly exercised1 will it prove itself1 as much doubt does1 the synonym for sorrow4 ,it aims at a life-long learning1 prepared for any sacrifice of will yet for none of independence2 at that high progressive education which yields rest in work and work in rest1 and the development of immortal faculties in both2 at that deeper faith which believes in the vastness and variety of the revelations of ,god1 and their accessibility to all obedient hearts4 ,,footnotes3 #ie ,degeneration1 by ,e4 ,ray ,lankester1 p4 #cc4 ,,classification4 ,i judge of the order of the world1 although ,i know not its end1 because to judge of this order ,i only need mutually to compare the parts1 to study their functions1 their relations1 and to remark their concert4 ,i know not why the universe exists1 but ,i do not desist from seeing how it is modified2 ,i do not cease to see the intimate agreement by which the beings that compose it render a mutual help4 ,i am like a man who should see for the first time an open watch1 who should not cease to admire the workmanship of it1 although he knows not the use of the machine1 and had never seen dials4 ,i do not know1 he would say1 what all this is for1 but ,i see that each piece is made for the others2 ,i admire the worker in the detail of his work1 and ,i am very sure that all these wheelworks only go thus in concert for a common end which ,i cannot perceive4--,rousseau4 ,that which is born of the flesh is flesh2 and that which is born of the ,spirit is spirit4--,christ4 ,in early attempts to arrange organic beings in some systematic manner1 we see at first a guidance by conspicuous and simple characters1 and a tendency toward arrangement in linear order4 ,in successively later attempts1 we see more regard paid to combinations of character which are essential but often inconspicuous2 and a gradual abandonment of a linear arrangement4--,herbert ,spencer4 ,on one of the shelves in a certain museum lie two small boxes filled with earth4 ,a low mountain in ,arran has furnished the first2 the contents of the second came from the ,island of ,barbadoes4 ,when examined with a pocket lens1 the ,arran earth is found to be full of small objects1 clear as crystal1 fashioned by some mysterious geometry into forms of exquisite symmetry4 ,the substance is silica1 a natural glass2 and the prevailing shape is a six-sided prism capped at either end by little pyramids modeled with consummate grace4 ,when the second specimen is examined1 the revelation is1 if possible1 more surprising4 ,here1 also1 is a vast assemblage of small glassy or porcelaneous objects built up into curious forms4 ,the material1 chemically1 remains the same1 but the angles of pyramid and prism have given place to curved lines1 so that the contour is entirely different4 ,the appearance is that of a vast collection of microscopic urns1 goblets1 and vases1 each richly ornamented with small sculptured discs or perforations which are disposed over the pure white surface in regular belts and rows4 ,each tiny urn is chiseled into the most faultless proportion1 and the whole presents a vision of magic beauty4 ,judged by the standard of their loveliness there is little to choose between these two sets of objects4 ,yet there is one cardinal difference between them4 ,they belong to different worlds4 ,the last belong to the living world1 the former to the dead4 ,the first are crystals1 the last are shells4 ,no power on earth can make these little urns of the ,polycystina except ,life4 ,we can melt them down in the laboratory1 but no ingenuity of chemistry can reproduce their sculptured forms4 ,we are sure that ,life has formed them1 however1 for tiny creatures allied to those which made the ,barbadoes' earth are living still1 fashioning their fairy palaces of flint in the same mysterious way4 ,on the other hand1 chemistry has no difficulty in making these crystals4 ,we can melt down this ,arran earth and reproduce the pyramids and prisms in endless numbers4 ,nay1 if we do melt it down1 we cannot help reproducing the pyramid and the prism4 ,there is a six-sidedness1 as it were1 in the very nature of this substance which will infallibly manifest itself if the crystallizing substance only be allowed fair play4 ,this six-sided tendency is its ,law of ,crystallization--a law of its nature which it cannot resist4 ,but in the crystal there is nothing at all corresponding to ,life4 ,there is simply an inherent force which can be called into action at any moment1 and which cannot be separated from the particles in which it resides4 ,the crystal may be ground to pieces1 but this force remains intact4 ,and even after being reduced to powder1 and running the gauntlet of every process in the chemical laboratory1 the moment the substance is left to itself under possible conditions it will proceed to recrystallize anew4 ,but if the ,polycystine urn be broken1 no inorganic agency can build it up again4 ,so far as any inherent urn-building power1 analogous to the crystalline force1 is concerned1 it might lie there in a shapeless mass forever4 ,that which modeled it at first is gone from it4 ,it was ,vital2 while the force which built the crystal was only ,molecular4 ,from an artistic point of view this distinction is of small importance4 ,a,esthetically1 the ,law of ,crystallization is probably as useful in ministering to natural beauty as ,vitality4 ,what are more beautiful than the crystals of a snowflake8 ,or what frond of fern or feather of bird can vie with the tracery of the frost upon a window-pane8 ,can it be said that the lichen is more lovely than the striated crystals of the granite on which it grows1 or the moss on the mountain side more satisfying than the hidden amethyst and cairngorm in the rock beneath8 ,or is the botanist more astonished when his microscope reveals the architecture of spiral tissue in the stem of a plant1 or the mineralogist who beholds for the first time the chaos of beauty in the sliced specimen of some common stone8 ,so far as beauty goes the organic world and the inorganic are one4 ,to the man of science1 however1 this identity of beauty signifies nothing4 ,his concern1 in the first instance1 is not with the forms but with the natures of things4 ,it is no valid answer to him1 when he asks the difference between the moss and the cairngorm1 the frost-work and the fern1 to be assured that both are beautiful4 ,for no fundamental distinction in ,science depends upon beauty4 ,he wants an answer in terms of chemistry1 are they organic or inorganic8 or in terms of biology1 are they living or dead8 ,but when he is told that the one is living and the other dead1 he is in possession of a characteristic and fundamental scientific distinction4 ,from this point of view1 however much they may possess in common of material substance and beauty1 they are separated from one another by a wide and unbridged gulf4 ,the classification of these forms1 therefore1 depends upon the standpoint1 and we should pronounce them like or unlike1 related or unrelated1 according as we judged them from the point of view of ,art or of ,science4 ,the drift of these introductory paragraphs must already be apparent4 ,we propose to inquire whether among men1 clothed apparently with a common beauty of character1 there may not yet be distinctions as radical as between the crystal and the shell2 and1 further1 whether the current classification of men1 based upon ,moral ,beauty1 is wholly satisfactory either from the standpoint of ,science or of ,christianity4 ,here1 for example1 are two characters1 pure and elevated1 adorned with conspicuous virtues1 stirred by lofty impulses1 and commanding a spontaneous admiration from all who look on them--may not this similarity of outward form be accompanied by a total dissimilarity of inward nature8 ,is the external appearance the truest criterion of the ultimate nature8 ,or1 as in the crystal and the shell1 may there not exist distinctions more profound and basal8 ,the distinctions drawn between men1 in short1 are commonly based on the outward appearance of goodness or badness1 on the ground of moral beauty or moral deformity--is this classification scientific8 ,or is there a deeper distinction between the ,christian and the not-a-,christian as fundamental as that between the organic and the inorganic8 ,there can be little doubt1 to begin with1 that with the great majority of people religion is regarded as essentially one with morality4 ,whole schools of philosophy have treated the ,christian ,religion as a question of beauty1 and discussed its place among other systems of ethics4 ,even those systems of theology which profess to draw a deeper distinction have rarely succeeded in establishing it upon any valid basis1 or seem even to have made that distinction perceptible to others4 ,so little1 indeed1 has the rationale of the science of religion been understood that there is still no more unsatisfactory province in theology than where morality and religion are contrasted1 and the adjustment attempted between moral philosophy and what are known as the doctrines of grace4 ,examples of this confusion are so numerous that if one were to proceed to proof he would have to cite almost the entire ,european philosophy of the last three hundred years4 ,from ,spinoza downward through the whole naturalistic school1 ,moral ,beauty is persistently regarded as synonymous with religion and the spiritual life4 ,the most earnest thinking of the present day is steeped in the same confusion4 ,we have even the remarkable spectacle presented to us just now of a sublime ,morality-,religion divorced from ,christianity altogether1 and wedded to the baldest form of materialism4 ,it is claimed1 moreover1 that the moral scheme of this high atheism is loftier and more perfect than that of ,christianity1 and men are asked to take their choice as if the morality were everything1 the ,christianity or the atheism which nourished it being neither here nor there4 ,others1 again1 studying this moral beauty carefully1 have detected a something in its ,christian forms which has compelled them to declare that a distinction certainly exists4 ,but in scarcely a single instance is the gravity of the distinction more than dimly apprehended4 ,few conceive of it as other than a difference of degree1 or could give a more definite account of it than ,mr4 ,matthew ,arnold's ,religion is morality touched by ,emotion--an utterance significant mainly as the testimony of an acute mind that a distinction of some kind does exist4 ,in a recent ,symposium1 where the question as to ,the influence upon ,morality of a decline in ,religious ,belief1 was discussed at length by writers of whom this century is justly proud1 there appears scarcely so much as a recognition of the fathomless chasm separating the leading terms of debate4 ,if beauty is the criterion of religion1 this view of the relation of religion to morality is justified4 ,but what if there be the same difference in the beauty of two separate characters that there is between the mineral and the shell8 ,what if there be a moral beauty and a spiritual beauty8 ,what answer shall we get if we demand a more scientific distinction between characters than that based on mere outward form8 ,it is not enough from the standpoint of biological religion to say of two characters that both are beautiful4 ,for1 again1 no fundamental distinction in ,science depends upon beauty4 ,we ask an answer in terms of biology1 are they flesh or spirit2 are they living or dead8 ,if this is really a scientific question1 if it is a question not of moral philosophy only1 but of biology1 we are compelled to repudiate beauty as the criterion of spirituality4 ,it is not1 of course1 meant by this that spirituality is not morally beautiful4 ,spirituality must be morally very beautiful--so much so that popularly one is justified in judging of religion by its beauty4 ,nor is it meant that morality is not a criterion4 ,all that is contended for is that1 from the scientific standpoint1 it is not the criterion4 ,we can judge of the crystal and the shell from many other standpoints besides those named1 each classification having an importance in its own sphere4 ,thus we might class them according to their size and weight1 their percentage of silica1 their use in the arts1 or their commercial value4 ,each science or art is entitled to regard them from its own point of view2 and when the biologist announces his classification he does not interfere with those based on other grounds4 ,only1 having chosen his standpoint1 he is bound to frame his classification in terms of it4 ,it may be well to state emphatically1 that in proposing a new classification--or rather1 in reviving the primitive one--in the spiritual sphere we leave untouched1 as of supreme value in its own province1 the test of morality4 ,morality is certainly a test of religion--for most practical purposes the very best test4 ,and so far from tending to depreciate morality1 the bringing into prominence of the true basis is entirely in its interests--in the interests of a moral beauty1 indeed1 infinitely surpassing the highest attainable perfection on merely natural lines4 ,the warrant for seeking a further classification is twofold4 ,it is a principle in science that classification should rest on the most basal characteristics4 ,to determine what these are may not always be easy1 but it is at least evident that a classification framed on the ultimate nature of organisms must be more distinctive than one based on external characters4 ,before the principles of classification were understood1 organisms were invariably arranged according to some merely external resemblance4 ,thus plants were classed according to size as ,herbs1 ,shrubs1 and ,trees2 and animals according to their appearance as ,birds1 ,beasts1 and ,fishes4 ,the ,bat upon this principle was a bird1 the ,whale a fish2 and so thoroughly artificial were these early systems that animals were often tabulated among the plants1 and plants among the animals4 ,in early attempts1 says ,herbert ,spencer1 to arrange organic beings in some systematic matter1 we see at first a guidance by conspicuous and simple characters1 and a tendency toward arrangement in linear order4 ,in successively later attempts1 we see more regard paid to combinations of characters which are essential but often inconspicuous2 and a gradual abandonment of a linear arrangement for an arrangement in divergent groups and re-divergent sub-groups4#if ,almost all the natural sciences have already passed through these stages2 and one or two which rested entirely on external characters have all but ceased to exist--,conchology1 for example1 which has yielded its place to ,malacology4 ,following in the wake of the other sciences1 the classifications of ,theology may have to be remodeled in the same way4 ,the popular classification1 whatever its merits from a practical point of view1 is essentially a classification based on ,morphology4 ,the whole tendency of science now is to include along with morphological considerations the profounder generalizations of ,physiology and ,embryology4 ,and the contribution of the latter science especially has been found so important that biology henceforth must look for its classification largely to ,embryological characters4 ,but apart from the demand of modern scientific culture it is palpably foreign to ,christianity1 not merely as a ,philosophy but as a ,biology1 to classify men only in terms of the former4 ,and it is somewhat remarkable that the writers of both the ,old and ,new ,testaments seem to have recognized the deeper basis4 ,the favorite classification of the ,old ,testament was into the nations which knew ,god and the nations which knew not ,god--a distinction which we have formerly seen to be1 at bottom1 biological4 ,in the ,new ,testament again the ethical characters are more prominent1 but the cardinal distinctions based on regeneration1 if not always actually referred to1 are throughout kept in view1 both in the sayings of ,christ and in the ,epistles4 ,what then is the deeper distinction drawn by ,christianity8 ,what is the essential difference between the ,christian and the not-a-,christian1 between the spiritual beauty and the moral beauty8 ,it is the distinction between the ,organic and the ,inorganic4 ,moral beauty is the product of the natural man1 spiritual beauty of the spiritual man4 ,and these two1 according to the law of ,biogenesis1 are separated from one another by the deepest line known to ,science4 ,this ,law is at once the foundation of ,biology and of ,spiritual religion4 ,and the whole fabric of ,christianity falls into confusion if we attempt to ignore it4 ,the ,law of ,biogenesis1 in fact1 is to be regarded as the equivalent in biology of the ,first ,law of motion in physics3 ,every body continues in its state of rest or of uniform motion in a straight line1 except in so far as it is compelled by force to change that state4 ,the first ,law of biology is3 ,that which is ,mineral is ,mineral2 that which is ,flesh is ,flesh2 that which is ,spirit is ,spirit4 ,the mineral remains in the inorganic world until it is seized upon by a something called ,life outside the inorganic world2 the natural man remains the natural man1 until a ,spiritual ,life from without the natural life seizes upon him1 regenerates him1 changes him into a spiritual man4 ,the peril of the illustration from the law of motion will not be felt at least by those who appreciate the distinction between ,physics and biology1 between ,energy and ,life4 ,the change of state here is not as in physics a mere change of direction1 the affections directed to a new object1 the will into a new channel4 ,the change involves all this1 but is something deeper4 ,it is a change of nature1 a regeneration1 a passing from death into life4 ,hence relatively to this higher life the natural life is no longer ,life1 but ,death1 and the natural man from the standpoint of ,christianity is dead4 ,whatever assent the mind may give to this proposition1 however much it has been overlooked in the past1 however it compares with casual observation1 it is certain that the ,founder of the ,christian religion intended this to be the keystone of ,christianity4 ,in the proposition ,that which is flesh is flesh1 and that which is spirit is spirit1 ,christ formulates the first law of biological religion1 and lays the basis for a final classification4 ,he divides men into two classes1 the living and the not-living4 ,and ,paul afterward carries out the classification consistently1 making his entire system depend on it1 and throughout arranging men1 on the one hand as pneumatikos--spiritual1 on the other as psychikos--carnal1 in terms of ,christ's distinction4 ,suppose now it be granted for a moment that the character of the not-a-,christian is as beautiful as that of the ,christian4 ,this is simply to say that the crystal is as beautiful as the organism4 ,one is quite entitled to hold this2 but what he is not entitled to hold is that both in the same sense are living4 ,he that hath the ,son hath ,life1 and he that hath not the ,son of ,god hath not ,life4 ,and in the face of this law1 no other conclusion is possible than that that which is flesh remains flesh4 ,no matter how great the development of beauty1 that which is flesh is withal flesh4 ,the elaborateness or the perfection of the moral development in any given instance can do nothing to break down this distinction4 ,man is a moral animal1 and can1 and ought to1 arrive at great natural beauty of character4 ,but this is simply to obey the law of his nature--the law of his flesh2 and no progress along that line can project him into the spiritual sphere4 ,if any one choose to claim that the mineral beauty1 the fleshly beauty1 the natural moral beauty1 is all he covets1 he is entitled to his claim4 ,to be good and true1 pure and benevolent in the moral sphere1 are high and1 so far1 legitimate objects of life4 ,if he deliberately stop here1 he is at liberty to do so4 ,but what he is not entitled to do is to call himself a ,christian1 or to claim to discharge the functions peculiar to the ,christian life4 ,his morality is mere crystallization1 the crystallizing forces having had fair play in his development4 ,but these forces have no more touched the sphere of ,christianity than the frost on the window-pane can do more than simulate the external forms of life4 ,and if he considers that the high development to which he has reached may pass by an insensible transition into spirituality1 or that his moral nature of itself may flash into the flame of regenerate ,life1 he has to be reminded that in spite of the apparent connection of these things from one standpoint1 from another there is none at all1 or none discoverable by us4 ,on the one hand1 there being no such thing as ,spontaneous ,generation1 his moral nature1 however it may encourage it1 cannot generate ,life2 while1 on the other1 his high organization can never in itself result in ,life1 ,life being always the cause of organization and never the effect of it4 ,the practical question may now be asked1 is this distinction palpable8 ,is it a mere conceit of ,science1 or what human interests attach to it8 ,if it cannot be proved that the resulting moral or spiritual beauty is higher in the one case than in the other1 the biological distinction is useless4 ,and if the objection is pressed that the spiritual man has nothing further to effect in the direction of morality1 seeing that the natural man can successfully compete with him1 the questions thus raised become of serious significance4 ,that objection would certainly be fatal which could show that the spiritual world was not as high in its demand for a lofty morality as the natural2 and that biology would be equally false and dangerous which should in the least encourage the view that without holiness a man could see the ,lord4 ,these questions accordingly we must briefly consider4 ,it is necessary to premise1 however1 that the difficulty is not peculiar to the present position4 ,this is simply the old difficulty of distinguishing spirituality and morality4 ,in seeking whatever light ,science may have to offer as to the difference between the natural and the spiritual man1 we first submit the question to ,embryology4 ,and if its actual contribution is small1 we shall at least be indebted to it for an important reason why the difficulty should exist at all4 ,that there is grave difficulty in deciding between two given characters1 the one natural1 the other spiritual1 is conceded4 ,but if we can find a sufficient justification for so perplexing a circumstance1 the fact loses weight as an objection1 and the whole problem is placed on a different footing4 ,the difference on the score of beauty between the crystal and the shell1 let us say once more1 is imperceptible4 ,but fix attention for a moment1 not upon their appearance1 but upon their possibilities1 upon their relation to the future1 and upon their place in evolution4 ,the crystal has reached its ultimate stage of development4 ,it can never be more beautiful than it is now4 ,take it to pieces and give it the opportunity to beautify itself afresh1 and it will just do the same thing over again4 ,it will form itself into a six-sided pyramid1 and go on repeating this same form ad infinitum as often as it is dissolved and without ever improving by a hair's breadth4 ,its law of crystallization allows it to reach this limit1 and nothing else within its kingdom can do any more for it4 ,in dealing with the crystal1 in short1 we are dealing with the maximum beauty of the inorganic world4 ,but in dealing with the shell1 we are not dealing with the maximum achievement of the organic world4 ,in itself it is one of the humblest forms of the invertebrate sub-kingdom of the organic world2 and there are other forms within this kingdom so different from the shell in a hundred respects that to mistake them would simply be impossible4 ,in dealing with a man of fine moral character1 again1 we are dealing with the highest achievement of the organic kingdom4 ,but in dealing with a spiritual man we are dealing with the lowest form of life in the spiritual world4 ,to contrast the two1 therefore1 and marvel that the one is apparently so little better than the other1 is unscientific and unjust4 ,the spiritual man is a mere unformed embryo1 hidden as yet in his earthly chrysalis-case1 while the natural man has the breeding and evolution of ages represented in his character4 ,but what are the possibilities of this spiritual organism8 ,what is yet to emerge from this chrysalis-case8 ,the natural character finds its limits within the organic sphere4 ,but who is to define the limits of the spiritual8 ,even now it is very beautiful4 ,even as an embryo it contains some prophecy of its future glory4 ,but the point to mark is1 that it doth not yet appear what it shall be4 ,the want of organization1 thus1 does not surprise us4 ,all life begins at the ,amoeboid stage4 ,evolution is from the simple to the complex2 and in every case it is some time before organization is advanced enough to admit of exact classification4 ,a naturalist's only serious difficulty in classification is when he comes to deal with low or embryonic forms4 ,it is impossible1 for instance1 to mistake an oak for an elephant2 but at the bottom of the vegetable series1 and at the bottom of the animal series1 there are organisms of so doubtful a character that it is equally impossible to distinguish them4 ,so formidable1 indeed1 has been this difficulty that ,haeckel has had to propose an intermediate regnum protisticum to contain those forms the rudimentary character of which makes it impossible to apply to the determining tests4 ,we mention this merely to show the difficulty of classification and not for analogy2 for the proper analogy is not between vegetal and animal forms1 whether high or low1 but between the living and the dead4 ,and here the difficulty is certainly not so great4 ,by suitable tests it is generally possible to distinguish the organic from the inorganic4 ,the ordinary eye may fail to detect the difference1 and innumerable forms are assigned by the popular judgment to the inorganic world which are nevertheless undoubtedly alive4 ,and it is the same in the spiritual world4 ,to a cursory glance these rudimentary spiritual forms may not seem to exhibit the phenomena of ,life1 and therefore the living and the dead may be often classed as one4 ,but let the appropriate scientific tests be applied4 ,in the almost amorphous organism1 the physiologist ought already to be able to detect the symptoms of a dawning life4 ,and further research might even bring to light some faint indication of the lines along which the future development was to proceed4 ,now it is not impossible that among the tests for ,life there may be some which may fitly be applied to the spiritual organism4 ,we may therefore at this point hand over the problem to ,physiology4 ,the tests for ,life are of two kinds4 ,it is remarkable that one of them was proposed1 in the spiritual sphere1 by ,christ4 ,foreseeing the difficulty of determining the characters and functions of rudimentary organisms1 ,he suggested that the point be decided by a further evolution4 ,time for development was to be allowed1 during which the marks of ,life1 if any1 would become more pronounced1 while in the meantime judgment was to be suspended4 ,let both grow together1 ,he said1 until the harvest4 ,this is a thoroughly scientific test4 ,obviously1 however1 it cannot assist us for the present--except in the way of enforcing extreme caution in attempting any classification at all4 ,the second test is at least not so manifestly impracticable4 ,it is to apply the ordinary methods by which biology attempts to distinguish the organic from the inorganic4 ,the characteristics of ,life1 according to ,physiology1 are four in number--,assimilation1 ,waste1 ,reproduction1 and ,spontaneous ,action4 ,if an organism is found to exercise these functions1 it is said to be alive4 ,now these tests1 in a spiritual sense1 might fairly be applied to the spiritual man4 ,the experiment would be a delicate one4 ,it might not be open to every one to attempt it4 ,this is a scientific question2 and the experiment would have to be conducted under proper conditions and by competent persons4 ,but even on the first statement it will be plain to all who are familiar with spiritual diagnosis that the experiment could be made1 and especially on one's self1 with some hope of success4 ,biological considerations1 however1 would warn us not to expect too much4 ,whatever be the inadequacy of ,morphology1 ,physiology can never be studied apart from it2 and the investigation of function merely as function is a task of extreme difficulty4 ,mr4 ,herbert ,spencer affirms1 ,we have next to no power of tracing up the genesis of a function considered purely as a function--no opportunity of observing the progressively-increasing quantities of a given action that have arisen in any order of organisms4 ,in nearly all cases we are able only to establish the greater growth of the part which we have found performs the action1 and to infer that greater action of the part has accompanied greater growth of it4#ig ,such being the case1 it would serve no purpose to indicate the details of a barely possible experiment4 ,we are merely showing1 at the moment1 that the question ,how do ,i know that ,i am alive is not1 in the spiritual sphere1 incapable of solution4 ,one might1 nevertheless1 single out some distinctively spiritual function and ask himself if he consciously discharged it4 ,the discharging of that function is1 upon biological principles1 equivalent to being alive1 and therefore the subject of the experiment could certainly come to some conclusion as to his place on a biological scale4 ,the real significance of his actions on the moral scale might be less easy to determine1 but he could at least tell where he stood as tested by the standard of life--he would know whether he were living or dead4 ,after all1 the best test for ,life is just living4 ,and living consists1 as we have formerly seen1 in corresponding with ,environment4 ,those therefore who find within themselves1 and regularly exercise1 the faculties for corresponding with the ,divine ,environment1 may be said to live the ,spiritual ,life4 ,that this ,life also1 even in the embryonic organism1 ought already to betray itself to others1 is certainly what one would expect4 ,every organism has its own reaction upon ,nature1 and the reaction of the spiritual organism upon the community must be looked for4 ,in the absence of any such reactions in the absence of any token that it lived for a higher purpose1 or that its real interests were those of the ,kingdom to which it professed to belong1 we should be entitled to question its being in that ,kingdom4 ,it is obvious that each ,kingdom has its own ends and interests1 its own functions to discharge in ,nature4 ,it is also a law that every organism lives for its ,kingdom4 ,and man's place in ,nature1 or his position among the ,kingdoms1 is to be decided by the characteristic functions habitually discharged by him4 ,now when the habits of certain individuals are closely observed1 when the total effect of their life and work1 with regard to the community1 is gauged--as carefully observed and gauged as the influence of certain individuals in a colony of ants might be observed and gauged by ,sir ,john ,lubbock--there ought to be no difficulty in deciding whether they are living for the ,organic or for the ,spiritual2 in plainer language1 for the world or for ,god4 ,the question of ,kingdoms1 at least1 would be settled without mistake4 ,the place of any given individual in his own ,kingdom is a different matter4 ,that is a question possibly for ethics4 ,but from the biological standpoint1 if a man is living for the world it is immaterial how well he lives for it4 ,he ought to live well for it4 ,however important it is for his own ,kingdom1 it does not affect his biological relation to the other ,kingdom whether his character is perfect or imperfect4 ,he may even to some extent assume the outward form of organisms belonging to the higher ,kingdom2 but so long as his reaction upon the world is the reaction of his species1 he is to be classed with his species1 so long as the bent of his life is in the direction of the world1 he remains a worldling4 ,recent botanical and entomological researches have made ,science familiar with what is termed ,mimicry4 ,certain organisms in one ,kingdom assume1 for purposes of their own1 the outward form of organisms belonging to another4 ,this curious hypocrisy is practiced both by plants and animals1 the object being to secure some personal advantage1 usually safety1 which would be denied were the organism always to play its part in ,nature in propria persona4 ,thus the ,ceroxylus laceratus of ,borneo has assumed so perfectly the disguise of a moss-covered branch as to evade the attack of insectivorous birds2 and others of the walking-stick insects and leaf-butterflies practice similar deceptions with great effrontery and success4 ,it is a startling result of the indirect influence of ,christianity or of a spurious ,christianity1 that the religious world has come to be populated--how largely one can scarce venture to think--with mimetic species4 ,in few cases1 probably1 is this a conscious deception4 ,in many doubtless it is induced1 as in ,ceroxylus1 by the desire for safety4 ,but in a majority of instances it is the natural effect of the prestige of a great system upon those who1 coveting its benedictions1 yet fail to understand its true nature1 or decline to bear its profounder responsibilities4 ,it is here that the test of ,life becomes of supreme importance4 ,no classification on the ground of form can exclude mimetic species1 or discover them to themselves4 ,but if man's place among the ,kingdoms is determined by his functions1 a careful estimate of his life in itself and in its reaction upon surrounding lives1 ought at once to betray his real position4 ,no matter what may be the moral uprightness of his life1 the honorableness of his career1 or the orthodoxy of his creed1 if he exercises the function of loving the world1 that defines his world--he belongs to the ,organic ,kingdom4 ,he cannot in that case belong to the higher ,kingdom4 ,if any man love the world1 the love of the ,father is not in him4 ,after all1 it is by the general bent of a man's life1 by his heart-impulses and secret desires1 his spontaneous actions and abiding motives1 that his generation is declared4 ,the exclusiveness of ,christianity1 separation from the world1 uncompromising allegiance to the ,kingdom of ,god1 entire surrender of body1 soul1 and spirit to ,christ--these are truths which rise into prominence from time to time1 become the watch-words of insignificant parties1 rouse the church to attention and the world to opposition1 and die down ultimately for want of lives to live them4 ,the few enthusiasts who distinguish in these requirements the essential conditions of entrance into the ,kingdom of ,christ are overpowered by the weight of numbers1 who see nothing more in ,christianity than a mild religiousness1 and who demand nothing more in themselves or in their fellow-,christians than the participation in a conventional worship1 the acceptance of traditional beliefs1 and the living of an honest life4 ,yet nothing is more certain than that the enthusiasts are right4 ,any impartial survey--such as the unique analysis in ,ecce ,homo--of the claims of ,christ and of the nature of ,his society1 will convince any one who cares to make the inquiry of the outstanding difference between the system of ,christianity in the original contemplation and its representations in modern life4 ,christianity marks the advent of what is simply a new ,kingdom4 ,its distinctions from the ,kingdom below it are fundamental4 ,it demands from its members activities and responses of an altogether novel order4 ,it is1 in the conception of its ,founder1 a ,kingdom for which all its adherents must henceforth exclusively live and work1 and which opens its gates alone upon those who1 having counted the cost1 are prepared to follow it if need be to the death4 ,the surrender ,christ demanded was absolute4 ,every aspirant for membership must seek first the ,kingdom of ,god4 ,and in order to enforce the demand of allegiance1 or rather with an unconsciousness which contains the finest evidence for its justice1 ,he even assumed the title of ,king--a claim which in other circumstances1 and were these not the symbols of a higher royalty1 seems so strangely foreign to one who is meek and lowly in heart4 ,but this imperious claim of a ,kingdom upon its members is not peculiar to ,christianity4 ,it is the law in all departments of ,nature that every organism must live for its ,kingdom4 ,and in defining living for the higher ,kingdom as the condition of living in it1 ,christ enunciates a principle which all ,nature has prepared us to expect4 ,every province has its peculiar exactions1 every ,kingdom levies upon its subjects the tax of an exclusive obedience1 and punishes disloyalty always with death4 ,it was the neglect of this principle--that every organism must live for its ,kingdom if it is to live in it--which first slowly depopulated the spiritual world4 ,the example of its ,founder ceased to find imitators1 and the consecration of ,his early followers came to be regarded as a superfluous enthusiasm4 ,and it is this same misconception of the fundamental principle of all ,kingdoms that has deprived modern ,christianity of its vitality4 ,the failure to regard the exclusive claims of ,christ as more than accidental1 rhetorical1 or ideal2 the failure to discern the essential difference between ,his ,kingdom and all other systems based on the lines of natural religion1 and therefore merely ,organic2 in a word1 the general neglect of the claims of ,christ as the ,founder of a new and higher ,kingdom--these have taken the very heart from the religion of ,christ and left its evangel without power to impress or bless the world4 ,until even religious men see the uniqueness of ,christ's society1 until they acknowledge to the full extent its claim to be nothing less than a new ,kingdom1 they will continue the hopeless attempt to live for two ,kingdoms at once4 ,and hence the value of a more explicit ,classification4 ,for probably the most of the difficulties of trying to live the ,christian life arise from attempting to half-live it4 ,as a merely verbal matter1 this identification of the ,spiritual ,world with what are known to ,science as ,kingdoms1 necessitates an explanation4 ,the suggested relation of the ,kingdom of ,christ to the ,mineral and ,animal ,kingdoms does not1 of course1 depend upon the accident that the ,spiritual ,world is named in the sacred writings by the same word4 ,this certainly lends an appearance of fancy to the generalization2 and one feels tempted at first to dismiss it with a smile4 ,but1 in truth1 it is no mere play on the word ,kingdom4 ,science demands the classification of every organism4 ,and here is an organism of a unique kind1 a living energetic spirit1 a new creature which1 by an act of generation1 has been begotten of ,god4 ,starting from the point that the spiritual life is to be studied biologically1 we must at once proceed1 as the first step in the scientific examination of this organism1 to enter it in its appropriate class4 ,now two ,kingdoms1 at the present time1 are known to ,science--the ,inorganic and the ,organic4 ,it does not belong to the ,inorganic ,kingdom1 because it lives4 ,it does not belong to the ,organic ,kingdom1 because it is endowed with a kind of ,life infinitely removed from either the vegetal or animal4 ,where then shall it be classed8 ,we are left without an alternative4 ,there being no ,kingdom known to ,science which can contain it1 we must construct one4 ,or rather we must include in the programme of ,science a ,kingdom already constructed but the place of which in science has not yet been recognized4 ,that ,kingdom is the ,kingdom of ,god4 ,taking now this larger view of the content of science1 we may leave the case of the individual and pass on to outline the scheme of nature as a whole4 ,the general conception will be as follows3 ,first1 we find at the bottom of everything the ,mineral or ,inorganic ,kingdom4 ,its characteristics are1 first1 that so far as the sphere above it is concerned it is dead2 second1 that although dead it furnishes the physical basis of life to the ,kingdom next in order4 ,it is thus absolutely essential to the ,kingdom above it4 ,and the more minutely the detailed structure and ordering of the whole fabric are investigated it becomes increasingly apparent that the ,inorganic ,kingdom is the preparation for1 and the prophecy of1 the ,organic4 ,second1 we come to the world next in order1 the world containing plant1 and animal1 and man1 the ,organic ,kingdom4 ,its characteristics are1 first1 that so far as the sphere above it is concerned it is dead2 and1 second1 although dead it supplies in turn the basis of life to the ,kingdom next in order4 ,and the more minutely the detailed structure and ordering of the whole fabric are investigated1 it is obvious1 in turn1 that the ,organic ,kingdom is the preparation for1 and the prophecy of the ,spiritual4 ,third1 and highest1 we reach the ,spiritual ,kingdom1 or the ,kingdom of ,heaven4 ,what its characteristics are1 relatively to any hypothetical higher ,kingdom1 necessarily remain unknown4 ,that the ,spiritual1 in turn1 may be the preparation for1 and the prophecy of1 something still higher is not impossible4 ,but the very conception of a ,fourth ,kingdom transcends us1 and if it exists1 the ,spiritual organism1 by the analogy1 must remain at present wholly dead to it4 ,the warrant for adding this ,third ,kingdom consists1 as just stated1 in the fact that there are organisms which from their peculiar origin1 nature1 and destiny cannot be fitly entered in either of the two ,kingdoms now known to science4 ,the ,second ,kingdom is proclaimed by the advent upon the stage of the ,first1 of once-born organisms4 ,the ,third is ushered in by the appearance1 among these once-born organisms1 of forms of life which have been born again--twice-born organisms4 ,the classification1 therefore1 is based1 from the scientific side on certain facts of embryology and on the ,law of ,biogenesis2 and from the theological side on certain facts of experience and on the doctrine of ,regeneration4 ,to those who hold either to ,biogenesis or to ,regeneration1 there is no escape from a ,third ,kingdom4#ih ,there is in this conception of a high and spiritual organism rising out of the highest point of the ,organic ,kingdom1 in the hypothesis of the ,spiritual ,kingdom itself1 a ,third ,kingdom following the ,second in sequence as orderly as the ,second follows the ,first1 a ,kingdom utilizing the materials of both the ,kingdoms beneath it1 continuing their laws1 and1 above all1 accounting for these lower ,kingdoms in a legitimate way and complementing them in the only known way--there is in all this a suggestion of the greatest of modern scientific doctrines1 the ,evolution hypothesis1 too impressive to pass unnoticed4 ,the strength of the doctrine of ,evolution1 at least in its broader outlines1 is now such that its verdict on any biological question is a consideration of moment4 ,and if any further defence is needed for the idea of a ,third ,kingdom it may be found in the singular harmony of the whole conception with this great modern truth4 ,it might even be asked whether a complete and consistent theory of ,evolution does not really demand such a conception8 ,why should ,evolution stop with the ,organic8 ,it is surely obvious that the complement of ,evolution is ,advolution1 and the inquiry1 ,whence has all this system of things come1 is1 after all1 of minor importance compared with the question1 ,whither does all this tend8 ,science1 as such1 may have little to say on such a question4 ,and it is perhaps impossible1 with such faculties as we now possess1 to imagine an ,evolution with a future as great as its past4 ,so stupendous is the development from the atom to the man that no point can be fixed in the future as distant from what man is now as he is from the atom4 ,but it has been given to ,christianity to disclose the lines of a further ,evolution4 ,and if ,science also professes to offer a further ,evolution1 not the most sanguine evolutionist will venture to contrast it1 either as regards the dignity of its methods1 the magnificence of its aims1 or the certainty of its hopes1 with the prospects of the ,spiritual ,kingdom4 ,that ,science has a prospect of some sort to hold out to man1 is not denied4 ,but its limits are already marked4 ,mr4 ,herbert ,spencer1 after investigating its possibilities fully1 tells us1 ,evolution has an impassable limit4#ii ,it is the distinct claim of the ,third ,kingdom that this limit is not final4 ,christianity opens a way to a further development--a development apart from which the magnificent past of ,nature has been in vain1 and without which ,organic ,evolution1 in spite of the elaborateness of its processes and the vastness of its achievements1 is simply a stupendous cul de sac4 ,far as nature carries on the task1 vast as is the distance between the atom and the man1 she has to lay down her tools when the work is just begun4 ,man1 her most rich and finished product1 marvelous in his complexity1 all but ,divine in sensibility1 is to the ,third ,kingdom not even a shapeless embryo4 ,the old chain of processes must begin again on the higher plane if there is to be a further ,evolution4 ,the highest organism of the ,second ,kingdom--simple1 immobile1 dead as the inorganic crystal1 toward the sphere above--must be vitalized afresh4 ,then from a mass of all but homogeneous protoplasm the organism must pass through all the stages of differentiation and integration1 growing in perfectness and beauty under the unfolding of the higher ,evolution1 until it reaches the ,infinite ,complexity1 the ,infinite ,sensibility1 ,god4 ,so the spiritual carries on the marvelous process to which all lower ,nature ministers1 and perfects it when the ministry of lower ,nature fails4 ,this conception of a further ,evolution carries with it the final answer to the charge that1 as regards morality1 the ,spiritual world has nothing to offer man that is not already within his reach4 ,will it be contended that a perfect morality is already within the reach of the natural man8 ,what product of the organic creation has ever attained to the fullness of the stature of ,him who is the ,founder and ,type of the ,spiritual ,kingdom8 ,what do men know of the qualities enjoined in ,his ,beatitudes1 or at what value do they estimate them8 ,proved by results1 it is surely already decided that on merely natural lines moral perfection is unattainable4 ,and even ,science is beginning to awaken to the momentous truth that ,man1 the highest product of the ,organic ,kingdom1 is a disappointment4 ,but even were it otherwise1 if even in prospect the hopes of the ,organic ,kingdom could be justified1 its standard of beauty is not so high1 nor1 in spite of the dreams of ,evolution1 is its guarantee so certain4 ,the goal of the organisms of the ,spiritual ,world is nothing less than this--to be holy as ,he is holy1 and pure as ,he is pure4 ,and by the ,law of ,conformity to ,type1 their final perfection is secured4 ,the inward nature must develop out according to its ,type1 until the consummation of oneness with ,god is reached4 ,these proposals of the ,spiritual ,kingdom in the direction of ,evolution are at least entitled to be carefully considered by ,science4 ,christianity defines the highest conceivable future for mankind4 ,it satisfies the ,law of ,continuity4 ,it guarantees the necessary conditions for carrying on the organism successfully1 from stage to stage4 ,it provides against the tendency to ,degeneration4 ,and finally1 instead of limiting the yearning hope of final perfection to the organisms of a future age--an age so remote that the hope for thousands of years must still be hopeless--instead of inflicting this cruelty on intelligences mature enough to know perfection and earnest enough to wish it1 ,christianity puts the prize within immediate reach of man4 ,this attempt to incorporate the ,spiritual ,kingdom in the scheme of ,evolution1 may be met by what seems at first sight a fatal objection4 ,so far from the idea of a ,spiritual ,kingdom being in harmony with the doctrine of ,evolution1 it may be said that it is violently opposed to it4 ,it announces a new ,kingdom starting off suddenly on a different plane and in direct violation of the primary principle of development4 ,instead of carrying the organic evolution further on its own lines1 theology at a given point interposes a sudden and hopeless barrier--the barrier between the natural and the spiritual--and insists that the evolutionary process must begin again at the beginning4 ,at this point1 in fact1 ,nature acts per saltum4 ,this is no ,evolution1 but a ,catastrophe--such a ,catastrophe as must be fatal to any consistent development hypothesis4 ,on the surface this objection seems final--but it is only on the surface4 ,it arises from taking a too narrow view of what ,evolution is4 ,it takes evolution in zoology for ,evolution as a whole4 ,evolution began1 let us say1 with some primeval nebulous mass in which lay potentially all future worlds4 ,under the evolutionary hand1 the amorphous cloud broke up1 condensed1 took definite shape1 and in the line of true development assumed a gradually increasing complexity4 ,finally there emerged the cooled and finished earth1 highly differentiated1 so to speak1 complete and fully equipped4 ,and what followed8 ,let it be well observed--a ,catastrophe4 ,instead of carrying the process further1 the ,evolution1 if this is ,evolution1 here also abruptly stops4 ,a sudden and hopeless barrier--the barrier between the ,inorganic and the ,organic--interposes1 and the process has to begin again at the beginning with the creation of ,life4 ,here then is a barrier placed by ,science at the close of the ,inorganic similar to the barrier placed by ,theology at the close of the ,organic4 ,science has used every effort to abolish this first barrier1 but there it still stands challenging the attention of the modern world1 and no consistent theory of ,evolution can fail to reckon with it4 ,any objection1 then1 to the ,catastrophe introduced by ,christianity between the ,natural and ,spiritual ,kingdoms applies with equal force against the barrier which ,science places between the ,inorganic and the ,organic4 ,the reserve of ,life in either case is a fact1 and a fact of exceptional significance4 ,what then becomes of ,evolution8 ,do these two great barriers destroy it8 ,by no means4 ,but they make it necessary to frame a larger doctrine4 ,and the doctrine gains immeasurably by such an enlargement4 ,for now the case stands thus3 ,evolution1 in harmony with its own law that progress is from the simple to the complex1 begins itself to pass toward the complex4 ,the materialistic ,evolution1 so to speak1 is a straight line4 ,making all else complex1 it alone remains simple--unscientifically simple4 ,but1 as ,evolution unfolds everything else1 it is now seen to be itself slowly unfolding4 ,the straight line is coming out gradually in curves4 ,at a given point a new force appears deflecting it2 and at another given point a new force appears deflecting that4 ,these points are not unrelated points2 these forces are not unrelated forces4 ,the arrangement is still harmonious1 and the development throughout obeys the evolutionary law in being from the general to the special1 from the lower to the higher4 ,what we are reaching1 in short1 is nothing less than the evolution of ,evolution4 ,now to both ,science and ,christianity1 and especially to ,science1 this enrichment of ,evolution is important4 ,and1 on the part of ,christianity1 the contribution to the system of ,nature of a second barrier is of real scientific value4 ,at first it may seem merely to increase the difficulty4 ,but in reality it abolishes it4 ,however paradoxical it seems1 it is nevertheless the case that two barriers are more easy to understand than one--two mysteries are less mysterious than a single mystery4 ,for it requires two to constitute a harmony4 ,one by itself is a ,catastrophe4 ,but1 just as the recurrence of an eclipse at different periods makes an eclipse no breach of ,continuity2 just as the fact that the astronomical conditions necessary to cause a ,glacial ,period will in the remote future again be fulfilled constitutes the ,great ,ice ,age a normal phenomenon2 so the recurrence of two periods associated with special phenomena of ,life1 the second higher1 and by the law necessarily higher1 is no violation of the principle of ,evolution4 ,thus even in the matter of adding a second to the one barrier of ,nature1 the ,third ,kingdom may already claim to complement the ,science of the ,second4 ,the overthrow of ,spontaneous ,generation has left a break in ,continuity which continues to put ,science to confusion4 ,alone1 it is as abnormal and perplexing to the intellect as the first eclipse4 ,but if the ,spiritual ,kingdom can supply ,science with a companion-phenomenon1 the most exceptional thing in the scientific sphere falls within the domain of ,law4 ,this1 however1 is no more than might be expected from a ,third ,kingdom4 ,true to its place as the highest of the ,kingdoms1 it ought to embrace all that lies beneath and give to the ,first and ,second their final explanation4 ,how much more in the under-,kingdoms might be explained or illuminated upon this principle1 however tempting might be the inquiry1 we cannot turn aside to ask4 ,but the rank of the ,third ,kingdom in the order of ,evolution implies that it holds the key to much that is obscure in the world around--much that1 apart from it1 must always remain obscure4 ,a single obvious instance will serve to illustrate the fertility of the method4 ,what has this ,kingdom to contribute to ,science with regard to the ,problem of the origin of ,life itself8 ,taking this as an isolated phenomenon1 neither the ,second ,kingdom1 nor the ,third apart from revelation1 has anything to pronounce4 ,but when we observe the companion-phenomenon in the higher ,kingdom1 the question is simplified4 ,it will be disputed by none that the source of ,life in the ,spiritual ,world is ,god4 ,and as the same ,law of ,biogenesis prevails in both spheres1 we may reason from the higher to the lower and affirm it to be at least likely that the origin of life there has been the same4 ,there remains yet one other objection of a somewhat different order1 and which is only referred to because it is certain to be raised by those who fail to appreciate the distinctions of ,biology4 ,those whose sympathies are rather with ,philosophy than with ,science may incline to dispute the allocation of so high an organism as man to the merely vegetal and animal ,kingdom4 ,recognizing the immense moral and intellectual distinctions between him and even the highest animal1 they would introduce a third barrier between man and animal--a barrier even greater than that between the ,inorganic and the ,organic4 ,now1 no science can be blind to these distinctions4 ,the only question is whether they are of such a kind as to make it necessary to classify man in a separate ,kingdom4 ,and to this the answer of ,science is in the negative4 ,modern ,science knows only two ,kingdoms--the ,inorganic and the ,organic4 ,a barrier between man and animal there may be1 but it is a different barrier from that which separates ,inorganic from ,organic4 ,but even were this to be denied1 and in spite of all science it will be denied1 it would make no difference as regards the general question4 ,it would merely interpose another ,kingdom between the ,organic and the ,spiritual1 the other relations remaining as before4 ,any one1 therefore1 with a theory to support as to the exceptional creation of the ,human ,race will find the present classification elastic enough for his purpose4 ,philosophy1 of course1 may propose another arrangement of the ,kingdoms if it chooses4 ,it is only contended that this is the order demanded by ,biology4 ,to add another ,kingdom mid-way between the ,organic and the ,spiritual1 could that be justified at any future time on scientific grounds1 would be a mere question of further detail4 ,studies in ,classification1 beginning with considerations of quality1 usually end with a reference to quantity4 ,and though one would willingly terminate the inquiry on the threshold of such a subject1 the example of ,revelation not less than the analogies of ,nature press for at least a general statement4 ,the broad impression gathered from the utterances of the ,founder of the ,spiritual ,kingdom is that the number of organisms to be included in it is to be comparatively small4 ,the outstanding characteristic of the new ,society is to be its selectness4 ,many are called1 said ,christ1 but few are chosen4 ,and when one recalls1 on the one hand1 the conditions of membership1 and1 on the other1 observes the lives and aspirations of average men1 the force of the verdict becomes apparent4 ,in its bearing upon the general question1 such a conclusion is not without suggestiveness4 ,here again is another evidence of the radical nature of ,christianity4 ,that few are chosen indicates a deeper view of the relation of ,christ's ,kingdom to the world1 and stricter qualifications of membership1 than lie on the surface or are allowed for in the ordinary practice of religion4 ,the analogy of ,nature upon this point is not less striking--it may be added1 not less solemn4 ,it is an open secret1 to be read in a hundred analogies from the world around1 that of the millions of possible entrants for advancement in any department of ,nature the number ultimately selected for preferment is small4 ,here also many are called and few are chosen4 ,the analogies from the waste of seed1 of pollen1 of human lives1 are too familiar to be quoted4 ,in certain details1 possibly1 these comparisons are inappropriate4 ,but there are other analogies1 wider and more just1 which strike deeper into the system of ,nature4 ,a comprehensive view of the whole field of ,nature discloses the fact that the circle of the chosen slowly contracts as we rise in the scale of being4 ,some mineral1 but not all1 becomes vegetable2 some vegetable1 but not all1 becomes animal2 some animal1 but not all1 becomes human2 some human1 but not all1 becomes ,divine4 ,thus the area narrows4 ,at the base is the mineral1 most broad and simple2 the spiritual at the apex1 smallest1 but most highly differentiated4 ,so form rises above form1 ,kingdom above ,kingdom4 ,quantity decreases as quality increases4 ,the gravitation of the whole system of nature toward quality is surely a phenomenon of commanding interest4 ,and if among the more recent revelations of ,nature there is one thing more significant for religion than another1 it is the majestic spectacle of the rise of ,kingdoms toward scarcer yet nobler forms1 and simpler yet diviner ends4 ,of the early stage1 the first development of the earth from the nebulous matrix of space1 ,science speaks with reserve4 ,the second1 the evolution of each individual from the simple protoplasmic cell to the formed adult1 is proved4 ,the still wider evolution1 not of solitary individuals1 but of all the individuals within each province--in the vegetal world from the unicellular cryptogam to the highest phanerogam1 in the animal world from the amorphous amoeba to ,man--is at least suspected1 the gradual rise of types being at all events a fact4 ,but now1 at last1 we see the ,kingdoms themselves evolving4 ,and that supreme law which has guided the development from simple to complex in matter1 in individual1 in sub-,kingdom1 and in ,kingdom1 until only two or three great ,kingdoms remain1 now begins at the beginning again1 directing the evolution of these million-peopled worlds as if they were simple cells or organisms4 ,thus1 what applies to the individual applies to the family1 what applies to the family applies to the ,kingdom1 what applies to the ,kingdom applies to the ,kingdoms4 ,and so1 out of the infinite complexity there rises an infinite simplicity1 the foreshadowing of a final unity1 of that ,one ,god1 one law1 one element1 ,and one far-off divine event1 ,to which the whole creation moves4#ajj ,this is the final triumph of ,continuity1 the heart secret of ,creation1 the unspoken prophecy of ,christianity4 ,to ,science1 defining it as a working principle1 this mighty process of amelioration is simply ,evolution4 ,to ,christianity1 discerning the end through the means1 it is ,redemption4 ,these silent and patient processes1 elaborating1 eliminating1 developing all from the first of time1 conducting the evolution from millennium to millennium with unaltering purpose and unfaltering power1 are the early stages in the redemptive work--the unseen approach of that ,kingdom whose strange mark is that it cometh without observation4 ,and these ,kingdoms rising tier above tier in ever increasing sublimity and beauty1 their foundations visibly fixed in the past1 their progress1 and the direction of their progress1 being facts in ,nature still1 are the signs which1 since the ,magi saw ,his star in the ,east1 have never been wanting from the firmament of truth1 and which in every age with growing clearness to the wise1 and with ever-gathering mystery to the uninitiated1 proclaim that the ,kingdom of ,god is at hand4 ,,finis4 ,,footnotes3 #if ,principles of ,biology1 p4 #bid4 #ig ,principles of ,biology1 vol4 ii4 pp4 #bbb1 #bbc4 #ih ,philosophical classifications in this direction 7see for instance ,godet's ,old ,testament ,studies1 pp4 #b-dj71 owing to their neglect of the facts of ,biogenesis can never satisfy the biologist--any more than the above will wholly satisfy the philosopher4 ,both are needed4 ,rothe1 in his ,aphorisms1 strikingly notes one point3 ,es ist beachtenswerth1 wie in der ,schoepfung immer aus der ,aufloesung der naechst neideren ,stufe die naechst hoehere hervorgeht1 so dass jene immer das ,substrat zur ,erzeugung dieser ,kraft der schoepferischen ,einwirkung bildet4 7,wie es denn nicht anders sein kann bei einer ,entwicklung der ,kreatur aus sich selbst47 ,aus den zersetzten ,elementen erheben sich das ,mineral1 aus dem verwitterten ,material die ,pflanze1 aus der verwesten ,pflanze das ,thier4 ,so erhebt sich auch aus dem in die ,elemente zuruecksinkenden ,materiellen ,menschen der ,geist1 das geistige ,geschoepf4--,stille ,stunden1 p4 #fd4 #ii ,first ,principles1 p4 #ddj4 #ajj ,in ,memoriam4 ,transcriber's ,endnote3 ,two significant typographical errors have been corrected in the ,greek text on ,page #bfc4 ,the sentence originally read3 ,and ,paul afterward carries out the classification consistently1 making his entire system depend on it1 and throughout arranging men1 on the one hand as pyenmatikos--spiritual1 on the other as phychikos--carnal1 in terms of ,christ's distinction4 ,the amended text replaces pyenmatikos with pneumatikos1 whilst phychikos now reads as psychikos4