,transcriber's notes   ,page numbers in 
this book are indicated by numbers      
enclosed in curly   braces1 e4g4 #ii4   
,they have been located where page      
breaks occurred   in the original book4 
,obvious spelling or typographical      
errors have been corrected4   ,inventive
 and contemporary spelling is unchanged4
    ,the book ,the ,preliminaries       
mentioned on page #bda is available     
,end transcriber's notes   ,,the ,,bross
 ,,library   ,the ,problem of the ,old  
,testament1 by ,james ,orr1 ,d4,d4      
7,bross ,prize1 #aije7 net #a4ej  ,the  
,bible3 ,its ,origin and ,nature1 by    
,marcus ,dods1 ,d4,d4 4 4 net #a4jj     
,the ,bible of ,nature1 by ,j4 ,arthur  
,thomson1 ,m4,a net #a4jj  ,the         
,religions of ,modern ,syria and        
,palestine1 by ,frederick ,jones ,bliss1
 ,ph4,d net #a4ej  ,the ,sources of     
,religious ,insight1 by ,josiah ,royce1 
,ph4,d41 ,,ll4,d4 net #a4be    ,,the    
,,bross ,,library  ,,volume ,,vi        
,,the ,,bross ,,lectures 4 4 #aiaa      

,,the ,,sources ,,of ,,religious        
,,insight   ,,lectures ,,delivered      
,,before ,,lake ,,forest ,,college ,,on 
,,the ,,foundation ,,of ,,the ,,late    
,,william ,,bross  ,,by  ,,josiah       
,,royce1 ,ph4,d41 ,,ll4,d4  ,,professor 
,,of ,,the ,,history ,,of ,,philosophy  
,,in ,,harvard ,,university    ,,charles
 ,,scribner',s ,,sons ,,new ,,york 4444 
#aiab    ,copyright1 #aiab1 by ,,the    
,,trustees ,,of ,,lake ,,forest         
,,university  ,published ,april4 #aiab  
v  ,,the ,,bross ,,foundation  ,the     
,bross ,lectures are an outgrowth of a  
fund established in #ahgi by the late   
,william ,bross1 ,lieutenant-,governor  
of ,illinois from #ahff to #ahgj4       
,desiring some memorial of his son1     
,nathaniel ,bross1 who died in #ahef1   
,mr4 ,bross entered into an agreement   
with the ,trustees of ,lake ,forest     
,university1 whereby there was finally  
transferred to them the sum of forty    
thousand dollars1 the income of which   
was to accumulate in perpetuity for     

successive periods of ten years1 the    
accumulations of one decade to be spent 
in the following decade1 for the purpose
 of stimulating the best books or       
treatises on the connection1 relation1  
and mutual bearing of any practical     
science1 the history of our race1 or the
 facts in any department of knowledge1  
with and upon the ,christian ,religion4 
,the object of the donor was to call out
 the best efforts of the highest talent 
and the ripest scholarship of the world 
to illustrate from science1 or from any 
department of knowledge1 and to         
demonstrate the divine origin and the   
authority of the ,christian ,scriptures2
 and1 further1 to show how both science 
and revelation coincide and prove the   
existence1 vi the providence1 or any or 
all of the attributes of the only living
 and true ,god1 'infinite1 eternal1 and 
unchangeable in ,his being1 wisdom1     
power1 holiness1 justice1 goodness1 and 
truth4'  ,the gift contemplated in the  
original agreement of #ahgi was finally 

consummated in #ahij4 ,the first decade 
of the accumulation of interest having  
closed in #aijj1 the ,trustees of the   
,bross ,fund began at this time to carry
 out the provisions of the deed of gift4
 ,it was determined to give the general 
title of ,the ,bross ,library to the    
series of books purchased and published 
with the proceeds of the ,bross ,fund4  
,in accordance with the express wish of 
the donor1 that the ,evidences of       
,christianity of his very dear friend   
and teacher1 ,mark ,hopkins1 ,d4,d41 be 
purchased and ever numbered and known as
 ,no4 #a of the series1 the ,trustees   
secured the copyright of this work1     
which has been republished in a         
presentation edition as ,volume ,i of   
the ,bross ,library4  ,the trust        
agreement prescribed two methods by     
which the production of books and       
treatises of the nature contemplated by 
the donor was to be stimulated3  #a4    
,the ,trustees were empowered to offer  
one or more prizes during each decade1  

the competition for which was to be     
thrown open to the scientific men1 the  
,christian philosophers and historians  
of all vii nations4 ,in accordance with 
this provision1 a prize of #f1jjj was   
offered in #aijb for the best book      
fulfilling the conditions of the deed of
 gift1 the competing manuscripts to be  
presented on or before ,june #a1 #aije4 
,the prize was awarded to the ,reverend 
,james ,orr1 ,d4,d41 ,professor of      
,apologetics and ,systematic ,theology  
in the ,united ,free ,church ,college1  
,glasgow1 for his treatise on ,the      
,problem of the ,old ,testament1 which  
was published in #aijf as ,volume ,,iii 
of the ,bross ,library4 ,the next       
decennial prize will be awarded in      
#aiae1 and the announcement of the      
conditions may be obtained from the     
,president of ,lake ,forest ,college4   
#b4 ,the ,trustees were also empowered  
to select and designate any particular  
scientific man or ,christian philosopher
 and the subject on which he shall      

write1 and to agree with him as to the  
sum he shall receive for the book or    
treatise to be written4 ,under this     
provision the ,trustees have1 from time 
to time1 invited eminent scholars to    
deliver courses of lectures before ,lake
 ,forest ,college1 such courses to be   
subsequently published as volumes in the
 ,bross ,library4 ,the first course of  
lectures1 on ,obligatory ,morality1 was 
delivered in ,may1 #aijc1 by the        
,reverend ,francis ,landey ,patton1     
,d4,d41 ,,ll4,d41 ,president of         
,princeton ,theological ,seminary4 ,the 
copyright of the lectures is now the    
property of the ,trustees of the ,bross 
,fund4 ,the second course of viii       
lectures1 on ,the ,bible3 ,its ,origin  
and ,nature1 was delivered in ,may1     
#aijd1 by the ,reverend ,marcus ,dods1  
,d4,d41 ,professor of ,exegetical       
,theology in ,new ,college1 ,edinburgh4 
,these lectures were published in #aije 
as ,volume ,,ii of the ,bross ,library4 
,the third course of lectures1 on ,the  

,bible of ,nature1 was delivered in     
,september and ,october1 #aijg1 by ,mr4 
,j4 ,arthur ,thomson1 ,m4,a41 ,regius   
,professor of ,natural ,history in the  
,university of ,aberdeen4 ,these        
lectures were published in #aijh as     
,volume ,,iv of the ,bross ,library4    
,the fourth course of lectures1 on ,the 
,religions of ,modern ,syria and        
,palestine1 was delivered in ,november  
and ,december1 #aijh1 by ,frederick     
,jones ,bliss1 ,ph4,d41 of ,beirut1     
,syria4 ,these lectures are in process  
of publication as ,volume ,v of the     
,bross ,library4 ,the fifth course of   
lectures1 on ,the ,sources of ,religious
 ,insight1 was delivered ,november #ac  
to #ai1 #aiaa1 by ,professor ,josiah    
,royce1 ,ph4,d41 of ,harvard            
,university4 ,these lectures are        
embodied in the present volume4         
,,john ,,scholte ,,nollen1   ,president 
of ,lake ,forest ,college4    ,lake     
,forest1 ,illinois1   ,march1 #aiab4    
ix  ,,summary ,,of ,,contents           

,i        ,,the ,,religious ,,problem   
,,and ,,the ,,human ,,individual        
,,page ,introductory statement3         
,limitations of the undertaking         
#c  ,i4   ,definition of ,insight1 and  
of ,religious ,insight4 ,arbitrary      
limitation of the definition of religion
 here in question4      ,the problem    
traditionally called that of the        
salvation      of man as the main       
problem upon which the sources of       
insight here in question are to throw   
light                  #e  ,,ii4        
,generalised conception of salvation4   
,variety of forms      in which this    
conception has been defined and used4   
,resulting problem regarding the meaning
 of human life        #i  ,,iii4        
,outline of the programme to be followed
 in the      subsequent discussion      
#ag  ,,iv4  ,the concept of revelation1 
and the religious paradox4      ,first  
statement of this paradox               
#ai  ,v4   ,individual experience and   
the inner light4 ,what sort      of     

religious insight is thus to be gained4 
,its limitations4      ,prospect of an  
appeal to other sources for aid         
#bf  x                                  
,,ii            ,,individual            
,,experience ,,and ,,social ,,experience
           ,,as ,,sources ,,of          
,,religious ,,insight  ,i4   ,the       
definition of the religious problem1 as 
given in the      former lecture1       
simplifies our undertaking in certain   
respects1 but seems to complicate it in 
others4 ,review of      the situation4  
,outlook for further study              
#cg  ,,ii4  ,outline of the undertaking 
of the present lecture           #da    
,,iii4 ,the motives that lead to        
religion are natural and      human4    
,reasons why the objects of religious   
insight are      nevertheless conceived 
as superhuman1 and1 as1 for our         
individual experience1 mysterious       
#dd  ,,iv4  ,can these objects be       
defined as realities or as values       
that our social experience sufficiently 

brings to our      knowledge8 ,social   
experience as a source of religious     
insight4 ,its scope and importance      
#ed  ,v4   ,the inadequacy of social    
experience as a source of      religious
 insight4 ,objections urged by          
tradition1 by      recent individualism1
 and by ,william ,james                 
#eh  ,,vi4  ,the social consciousness as
 an indispensable factor in             
religion4 ,the consciousness of guilt as
 a sense of      loneliness4 ,love as a 
glimpse of something saving and         
divine4 ,the mystical aspect of our     
social consciousness4      ,despite this
 mystical aspect of all our better      
social life1      our literal social    
relations are never sufficient to meet  
the religious need4 ,the resulting      
outlook toward still      further       
sources of enlightenment                
#fe   xi                                
,,iii                    ,,the ,,office 
,,of ,,the ,,reason  ,i4   ,current     
objections to the ,reason as a source of

 insight4      ,intuition vs4 ,reason4  
,reason vs4 ,experience4 ,usual         
view of the reason as abstract and as   
analytic in      its procedure          
#hj  ,,ii4  ,but1 in common usage1 the  
words reason and reasonable      often  
refer to something which does not wholly
      depend upon abstract thinking and 
mere analysis4      ,the rule of reason4
 ,the concrete use of the reason4       
,reason as a survey of the connections  
of experience1 as      synthetic1 and as
 involving broader intuitions4 ,the     
alternative3 ,either inarticulate       
intuition or else barren      abstract  
reasoning1 is falsely stated4 ,the      
antithesis3      ,either experience or  
else reason1 also involves failure      
to see how both may be combined4        
,abstract thinking      as a means to an
 end4 ,this end is the attainment of a  
new and broader intuition4 ,relation    
between becoming      as a little child 
and putting away childish things        
#hd  ,,iii4 ,examples of the synthetic  

use of the reason4 ,the      fecundity  
of deductive reasoning4 ,novelties      
discovered by      the purely deductive 
sciences4 ,reason and insight in        
their general relations                 
#ic  ,,iv4  ,the reason and the         
religious paradox4 ,the paradox      as 
not peculiar to religion4 ,common sense 
as an      appeal to standards which are
 in some sense superhuman4      ,no     
human individual personally experiences 
or verifies      what human experience1 
in its conceived character as      an   
integral whole1 is supposed to confirm4 
,the concepts      xii      of truth and
 error are dependent upon the concept of
 an      appeal to an insight which no  
human individual ever      possesses4   
,this latter concept cannot be limited  
to the      mere world of common sense1 
but must be universalised4      ,the    
whole real world as the object of an    
all-seeing      comprehension of facts  
as they are4 ,otherwise our             
opinions about the world cannot even be 

false4 ,resulting      synthetic insight
 of the reason4 ,the world as the object
      present to the divine wisdom      
#ajb                                    
,,iv                     ,,the ,,world  
,,and ,,the ,,will   ,i4   ,historical  
relations of philosophical idealism4    
,general      bearing of this doctrine  
upon the religious interest1 and        
upon the history of religion            
#abj  ,,ii4  ,objections to our doctrine
 of the reason as having no      value  
for life1 and as failing to help toward 
solving the      problem of salvation   
#abi  ,,iii4 ,first answer to these     
objections4 ,reports of religious       
experience that show some relations of  
our doctrine to      the problem in     
question                                
#aca  ,,iv4  ,relations of knowledge and
 will in general4 ,statement      of the
 position of ,pragmatism4 ,resulting    
objections to      our whole doctrine of
 the reason4 ,truth as tested           
through workings4 ,absolute truth as    

indefinable4      ,pragmatism as taught 
by ,james has defined its own      forms
 and tests of religious insight4 ,these 
forms and      tests of insight are     
asserted to be superior to our own4     
,religious insight as saving1 but as    
also empirical1 in      ,james's sense  
of that term1 and as never absolute     
#ace  xiii  ,v4   ,answer to pragmatism4
 ,our agreement with some of its        
principal positions4 ,our intelligence  
as the counsellor of      our actions4  
,the point where we are at issue with   
pragmatism4 ,reason and will1 their     
general relations4      ,vindication of 
the position taken in the former lecture
    #add  ,,vi4  ,the problem as to the 
absoluteness of truth4 ,the close       
relations of knowledge and action do not
 throw doubt      upon1 but rather      
emphasise this absoluteness4 ,for all   
action is expressed in individual and   
absolutely      irrevocable deeds4      
,these deeds1 if the practical issues   
of life are sharply defined1 remain     

irrevocably on the      score of life as
 hits or misses4 ,this irrevocable      
character of our deeds insures the fact 
that the      counsels or ideas of the  
intellect1 which guide our              
individual deeds1 are as absolutely hits
 or misses      as are the deeds which  
they counsel4 ,resulting definition     
of absolute truth1 which is something   
perfectly concrete1      and as         
accessible as life itself               
#aea  ,,vii4 ,application of this view  
to the definition of reality4      ,the 
real world as a life of counsels and of 
deeds4 ,the      divine wisdom and the  
divine will as inseparable4 ,the        
eternal as1 not the timeless1 but the   
time-inclusive      insight and survey  
of life                                 
#aeh                                 ,v 
,,the ,,religion ,,of ,,loyalty  ,i4    
,objections to all the foregoing sources
 of insight as      inadequate1--if     
considered as separate sources1--to     
furnish a basis for a vital and positive

 religion4 ,need      of a new source4  
,appeal to life to furnish such a       
source4      ,the new source is due to  
men's efforts to solve the      problem 
of duty1 and results from the relations 
between      the religious and the moral
 motives                        #aff    
xiv  ,,ii4  ,the historical conflicts   
between religion and morality4      ,the
 relations between faith and works1     
divine grace and      moral             
strenuousness4 ,review of these         
conflicts4 ,need      of some unifying  
motive                                  
#agj  ,,iii4 ,analysis of the bases of  
morals4 ,individual and social          
elements in the idea of duty4 ,resulting
 first statement      of the search for 
a moral principle4 ,incompleteness of   
this first statement                    
#ahb  ,,iv4  ,the contribution of the   
reason to the definition of a      moral
 principle4 ,practical inadequacy of the
 result thus      far attained          
#ahf  ,v4   ,the loyal spirit           

illustrated                             
#aij  ,,vi4  ,the motives of ,loyalty   
analysed4 ,definition of what      is   
meant by a ,cause to which one is loyal4
 ,the principal      of ,loyalty1 stated
 and developed4 ,the religious          
aspect of the loyal spirit4 ,the finding
 of the cause is      not due to the    
will of the loyal being2 his service of 
the      cause is due to his will4      
,resulting reconciliation of the        
moral and religious motives4 ,the cause 
as a free gift of      grace4 ,the      
service as one's own4 ,the absoluteness 
of      the principle of loyalty4 ,the  
solution of the religious      paradox  
#aig                                ,,vi
                 ,,the ,,religious      
,,mission ,,of ,,sorrow  ,i4   ,the     
consideration of ,loyalty leads over to 
a new problem4      ,tribulation as a   
hindrance to religious insight4         
,reasons why this is the case1          
introduced by a statement      regarding
 our experience of evil4 ,the principle 

that ,evil      ought to be altogether  
put out of existence stated1 and      xv
      the reasons therefore indicated4  
,man as in intent a      destroyer of   
evil4 ,our natural interest in          
destructive      prowess                
#bae  ,,ii4  ,resulting situation in    
which religion seems to be placed4      
,religion appears 7#a7 ,to presuppose as
 well as to experience      a vast range
 of evils in the real world2 7#b7 ,to   
depend      upon the assurance that the 
ruling principle of the      real world 
is good2 and 7#c7 ,to agree with        
morality in      making use of the      
principle that ,evil ought to be        
altogether put out of existence4        
,resulting apparent      dilemma3       
,religion seems either superfluous or   
else doomed      to failure             
#bai  ,,iii4 ,illustrations of the      
dilemma as it appears in practical      
life1 and as a barrier in the way of the
 religious life4      ,need of an       
abstract statement of the dilemma as a  

means      of discounting our emotional 
confusions                    #bbg      
,,iv4  ,reconsideration of the principle
 that has led to the      dilemma4 ,not 
all evils equally worthy of abolition4  
,idealised ills4 ,definition of ,sorrow4
 ,the process and      the results of   
idealisation4 ,creative synthesis vs4   
mere      destruction4 ,the winning over
 and conquest of ill4      ,strength of 
spirit involved in such creative        
synthesis1      which1 in its turn1 is  
never passive1 but always morally       
active4 ,suggestions toward a solution  
of the dilemma4      ,sorrow as a source
 of religious insight                   
#bcb  ,v4   ,a recent literary instance 
of such insight                 #bda    
,,vi4  ,summary and suggestion of       
possible results of such      insight   
#bej  xvi                               
,,vii       ,,the ,,unity ,,of ,,the    
,,spirit ,,and ,,the ,,invisible        
,,church  ,i4   ,the sense in which the 
religious objects are      superhuman   

and supernatural4 ,our present form of  
consciousness and the form of           
consciousness that      belongs to the  
,spirit in the sense in which that term 
is here used                            
#beg  ,,ii4  ,the ,church1 visible and  
invisible                          #bgb 
,,iii4 ,the membership of the invisible 
church                     #bhb  ,,iv4  
,communion with the invisible church    
#bia  ,v4   ,the ,spiritual ,gifts of   
the invisible church4 ,charity1         
,tolerance and ,loyalty as the ,fruits  
of the ,spirit4 ,the      work of the   
invisible church                        
#bic  #a                              ,i
          ,,the ,,religious ,,problem   
,,and ,,the ,,human ,,individual #b  #c 
,i          ,,the ,,religious ,,problem 
,,and ,,the ,,human ,,individual   ,my  
first task must be to forestall possible
 disappointments regarding the scope of 
our inquiry4 ,in seven lectures upon a  
vast topic very little can at best be   
accomplished4 ,i want to tell you at the

 outset what are some of the limitations
 to which ,i propose to subject my      
undertakings4  ,i come before you as a  
philosophical inquirer addressing a     
general audience of thoughtful people4  
,this definition of my office implies   
from the outset very notable            
limitations4 ,as a philosophical        
inquirer ,i am not here to preach to    
you1 but to appeal to your own          
thoughtfulness4 ,again1 since my inquiry
 concerns the ,sources of ,religious    
,insight1 you will understand1 ,i hope1 
that ,i shall not undertake to present  
to you any extended system of religious 
doctrine4 ,upon sources of insight we   
are to concentrate our attention4 ,what 
insight may be obtained from those      
sources we shall only attempt to        
indicate in the most general way1 not at
 length to expound4 ,what theologians   
would call a system of dogmas1 ,i shall 
not undertake to define4 ,what #d       
philosophers would regard as a          
comprehensive philosophy of religion ,i 

shall have no time to develop within our
 limits4 ,i am to make some comments    
upon the ways in which religious truths 
can become accessible to men4 ,what     
truths thus become accessible you must  
in large measure discover by your own   
appeal to the sources of which ,i shall 
try to tell you4  ,these somewhat narrow
 limitations may have1 as ,i hope1 their
 correlative advantages4 ,since ,i am to
 speak of sources1 rather than of creeds
 or of philosophies1 ,i may be able to  
appeal to people of decidedly various   
opinions without directing undue        
attention to the motives that divide    
them4 ,i need not presuppose that my    
hearers are of the company of believers 
or of the company of doubters2 and if   
they are believers1 it matters little1  
for my present purpose1 to what         
household of the faith they belong4 ,i  
am not here to set people right as to   
matters of doctrine1 but rather to point
 out the way that1 if patiently         
followed1 may tend to lead us all toward

 light and unity of doctrine4 ,if you   
listen to my later lectures you may1    
indeed1 be led to ask various questions 
about my own creed1 which1 in these     
lectures1 ,i shall not attempt to       
answer4 ,but ,i shall be content if what
 ,i say helps any of you1 however       
little1 toward finding for yourselves   
answers to your own religious questions4
  #e  ,the limitations of my task1 thus 
indicated1 will become still clearer if 
,i next try to define the term          
,religious ,insight as ,i intend it to  
be here understood4  ,and first ,i must 
speak briefly of the word ,insight4 ,by 
insight1 whatever the object of insight 
may be1 one means some kind of          
knowledge4 ,but the word insight has a  
certain richness of significance whereby
 we distinguish what we call insight    
from knowledge in general4 ,a man knows 
the way to the office where he does his 
business4 ,but if he is a successful    
man1 he has insight into the nature and 
rules of his business and into the means

 whereby success is attained4 ,a man    
knows the names and the faces of his    
acquaintances4 ,but he has some sort of 
insight into the characters of his      
familiar friends4 ,as these examples    
suggest1 insight is a name for a special
 sort and degree of knowledge4 ,insight 
is knowledge that unites a certain      
breadth of range1 a certain wealth of   
acquaintance together with a certain    
unity and coherence of grasp1 and with a
 certain closeness of intimacy whereby  
the one who has insight is brought into 
near touch with the objects of his      
insight4 ,to repeat3 ,insight is        
knowledge that makes us aware of the    
unity of many facts in one whole1 and   
that at the same time brings us into    
intimate personal contact with these    
facts #f and with the whole wherein they
 are united4 ,the three marks of insight
 are breadth of range1 coherence and    
unity of view1 and closeness of personal
 touch4 ,a man may get some sort of     
sight of as many things as you please4  

,but if we have insight1 we view some   
connected whole of things1 be this whole
 a landscape as an artist sees it1 or as
 a wanderer surveys it from a mountain  
top1 or be this whole an organic process
 as a student of the sciences of life   
aims to comprehend it1 or a human       
character as an appreciative biographer 
tries to portray it4 ,again1 we have    
insight when1 as ,i insist1 our         
acquaintance with our object is not only
 coherent but close and personal4       
,insight you cannot obtain at second    
hand4 ,you can learn by rote and by     
hearsay many things2 but if you have won
 insight1 you have won it not without   
the aid of your own individual          
experience4 ,yet experience is not by   
itself sufficient to produce insight    
unless the coherence and the breadth of 
range which ,i have just mentioned be   
added4  ,insight may belong to the most 
various sorts of people and may be      
concerned with the most diverse kinds of
 objects4 ,many very unlearned people   

have won a great deal of insight into   
the matters that intimately concern     
them4 ,many very learned people have    
attained almost no insight into         
anything4 ,insight is no peculiar       
possession of the students of any       
technical specialty or of any one       
calling4 ,men of science aim to reach   
insight into #g the objects of their    
researches2 men of affairs1 or men of   
practical efficiency1 however plain or  
humble their calling1 may show insight  
of a very high type1 whenever they      
possess knowledge that bears the marks  
indicated1 knowledge that is intimate   
and personal and that involves a wide   
survey of the unity of many things4     
,such1 then1 is insight in general4 ,but
 ,i am to speak of ,religious ,insight4 
,religious insight must be distinguished
 from other sorts of insight by its     
object1 or by its various characteristic
 objects4 ,now1 ,i have no time to      
undertake1 in this opening discourse1   
any adequate definition of the term     

,religion or of the features that make  
an object a religious object4 ,religion 
has a long and complex history1 and a   
tragic variety of forms and of objects  
of belief4 ,and so religion varies      
prodigiously in its characteristics from
 age to age1 from one portion of the    
human race to another1 from one         
individual to another4 ,if we permitted 
ourselves to define religion so as      
merely to insist upon what is common to 
all its forms1 civilised and savage1 our
 definition would tend to become so     
inclusive and so attenuated as to be    
almost useless for the purposes of the  
present brief inquiry4 ,if1 on the other
 hand1 we defined religion so as to make
 the term denote merely what the        
believer in this or in that creed thinks
 of as his own religion1 we should from 
the start cut ourselves off from the    
very breadth of view which ,i myself    
suppose to be essential to the highest  
sort of #h religious ,insight4 ,nobody  
fully comprehends what religion is who  

imagines that his own religion is the   
only genuine religion4 ,as a fact1 ,i   
shall therefore abandon at present the  
effort to give a technically finished   
definition of what constitutes religion1
 or of the nature of the religious      
objects4 ,i shall here limit myself to a
 practically useful preliminary mention 
of a certain feature that1 for my       
present purpose1 shall be viewed as the 
essential characteristic of religion1   
and of religious objects1 so far as     
these lectures propose to discuss       
religion4  ,the higher religions of     
mankind--religions such as ,buddhism and
 ,christianity--have had in common this 
notable feature1 namely1 that they have 
been concerned with the problem of the  
,salvation of ,man4 ,this is sometimes  
expressed by saying that they are       
redemptive religions--religions         
interested in freeing mankind from some 
vast and universal burden1 of           
imperfection1 of unreasonableness1 of   
evil1 of misery1 of fate1 of            

unworthiness1 or of sin4 ,now1 for my   
present purposes1 this interest in the  
salvation of man shall be made1 in these
 lectures1 the essential feature of     
religion in so far as religion shall    
here be dealt with4 ,the religious      
objects1 whatever they otherwise may    
prove to be1 shall be defined as objects
 such that1 when we know them1 and in   
case we can know them1 this knowledge of
 them helps to show us the way of       
salvation4 ,the central and essential   
postulate of whatever religion we1 in   
these lectures1 are to consider1 is the 
postulate that man #i needs to be saved4
 ,and religious insight shall for us    
mean insight into the way of salvation  
and into those objects whereof the      
knowledge conduces to salvation4  ,this 
preliminary definition1 thus somewhat   
abruptly stated1 will arouse in the     
minds of many of you serious doubts and 
questions4 ,and only the whole course of
 our study can serve to furnish such    
answer to these doubts and questions as 

,i can hope to supply to you4 ,yet a    
further word or two of purely           
preliminary explanation may help to     
prevent your thoughts1 at this point1   
from being turned in a wrong direction4 
,i have defined religious insight as    
insight into the way of salvation4 ,but 
what1 you may ask1 do ,i mean by the    
salvation of man or by man's need of    
salvation8 ,to this question ,i still   
owe you a brief preliminary answer4     
,,ii  ,the word salvation naturally     
first suggests to your own mind certain 
familiar traditions which have played a 
great part in the history of            
,christianity4 ,i do not mean to make   
light of those traditions nor yet of the
 significance of the historical         
,christianity to which they belong4     
,yet1 as ,i have already told you1 these
 lectures will have no dogmatic         
religious system to expound1 and1 for   
that very reason1 will not attempt the  
grave task of any extended discussion of
 ,christianity4 ,i propose at #aj some  

future time1 not in these lectures1 but 
upon a wholly different occasion1 to    
attempt an application of some of the   
principles that underlie the present    
lectures to the special problems which  
,christianity offers to the student of  
religion4 ,but these lectures are not to
 be directly concerned with this special
 task of expounding or interpreting or  
estimating ,christian doctrines4 ,i     
repeat3 ,my limited undertaking is to   
consider in company with you the sources
 of religious insight1 not the contents 
of any one religion4 ,you will          
understand1 therefore1 that when ,i     
define religious insight as insight into
 the way of salvation1 ,i use the word  
salvation in a sense that ,i wish you to
 conceive in terms much more general    
than those which certain ,christian     
traditions have made familiar to you4   
,i have already said that both ,buddhism
 and ,christianity are interested in the
 problem of the salvation of mankind1   
and share in common the postulate that  

man needs saving4 ,i could have named   
still other of the world's higher       
religions which are characterised by the
 same great interest4 ,had ,i the time  
and the technical knowledge1 ,i could   
show you how far backward in time1 how  
deep down into the very essence of some 
of the religions that seem to us        
extremely primitive1 this concern for   
man's salvation1 and for a knowledge of 
the way of salvation1 extends4 ,but the 
history of religion does not fall within
 my present scope4 ,and to the varieties
 of religious doctrine ,i can only      
allude by #aa way of illustration4 ,yet 
the mere mention of such varieties may  
serve1 ,i hope1 to show you that whole  
nations and races1 and that countless   
millions of men1 have conceived of their
 need for salvation1 and have sought the
 way thereto1 while they have known     
nothing of ,christian doctrine1 and     
while they have not in the least been   
influenced by those dogmas regarding the
 fall of man1 the process of redemption1

 or the future destiny of the soul of   
man which are brought to your minds when
 you hear the word salvation4  ,be      
willing1 then1 to generalise our term   
and to dissociate the idea of salvation 
from some of the settings in which you  
usually have conceived it4 ,since there 
is thus far in our discussion no        
question as to whose view of the way of 
salvation is the true view1 you can only
 gain by such a dissociation1 even if it
 be but a temporary effort at           
generalisation4 ,the cry of humanity for
 salvation is not a matter of any one   
time or faith4 ,the pathos of that cry  
will become only the deeper when you    
learn to see why it is so universal a   
cry4 ,the truth1 if there be any        
accessible truth1 regarding the genuine 
way of salvation will become only the   
more precious to you when you know by   
how widely sundered paths the wanderers 
in the darkness of this world have      
sought for the saving light4  ,so let me
 next attempt to define salvation in a  

sufficiently general sense4 ,man is an  
infinitely needy creature4 ,he wants    
endlessly numerous #ab special          
things--food1 sleep1 pleasure1          
fellowship1 power in all its ,protean   
shapes1 peace in all its elusive forms1 
love in its countless disguises--in     
brief1 all the objects of desire4 ,but  
amongst these infinitely manifold needs1
 the need for salvation stands out1 in  
the minds of those who feel it1 as a    
need that is peculiarly paramount1 so   
that1 according to their view of life1  
to desire salvation is to long for some 
pearl of great price1 for the sake of   
which one would be ready to sell all    
that one has4 ,the idea that man needs  
salvation depends1 in fact1 upon two    
simpler ideas whereof the main idea is  
constituted4 ,the first is the idea that
 there is some end or aim of human life 
which is more important than all other  
aims1 so that1 by comparison with this  
aim all else is secondary and           
subsidiary1 and perhaps relatively      

unimportant1 or even vain and empty4    
,the other idea is this3 ,that man as he
 now is1 or as he naturally is1 is in   
great danger of so missing this highest 
aim as to render his whole life a       
senseless failure by virtue of thus     
coming short of his true goal4 ,whoever 
has been led to conceive human life in  
these terms1 namely1 to think that there
 is for man some sort of highest good1  
by contrast with which all other goods  
are relatively trivial1 and that man1 as
 he is1 is in great danger of losing    
this highest good1 so that his greatest 
need is of escape from this             
danger--whoever1 ,i say1 thus views our 
life1 holds that man needs salvation4   
,now1 ,i beg you to observe that such a 
view of #ac life as this is in no wise  
dependent upon any one dogma as to a    
future state of reward and punishment1  
as to heaven and hell1 as to the fall of
 man1 or as to any point of the         
traditional doctrine of this or of that 
special religion4 ,philosophers and     

prophets1 and even cynics1 learned and  
unlearned men1 saints and sinners1 sages
 and fanatics1 ,christians and          
non-,christians1 believers in           
immortality and believers that death    
ends all1 may agree1 yes1 have agreed1  
in viewing human life in the general    
spirit just characterised4 ,a very few  
examples may serve to show how          
wide-spread this longing for salvation  
has been and how manifold have also been
 its guises4  ,i have already mentioned 
,buddhism as a religion that seeks the  
salvation of man4 ,the central idea of  
the original southern ,buddhism1 as you 
know1 is pessimistic4 ,man1 so the      
,buddha and his earlier followers       
taught1 is naturally doomed to misery4  
,this doom is so pervasive and so fatal 
that you in vain would seek to escape   
from it through any luxuries1 or1 so to 
speak1 excesses1 of good fortune4 ,on   
the throne or in the dungeon1 wealthy or
 a beggar1 man is always 7so the        
,buddhist insists7 the prisoner of      

desire1 a creature of longing1 consumed 
by the fires of passion--and therefore  
miserable4 ,for man's will is           
insatiable1 and hence always            
disappointed4 ,now we are here not in   
the least concerned with estimating this
 pessimism4 ,this gloomy ancient ,indian
 view of existence may be as false as   
#ad you please4 ,enough--millions of men
 have held it1 and therefore have longed
 for salvation4 ,for if1 as the early   
,buddhists held1 the evil of human life 
is thus pervasive and paramount1 then   
the aim of escaping from such fatal ill 
must be deeper and more important than  
any economic aim or than any intent to  
satisfy this or that special desire4 ,if
 man is naturally doomed to misery1 the 
escape from this natural doom must be at
 once the hardest and the highest of    
human tasks4 ,the older ,buddhism       
undertakes to accomplish this task by   
teaching the way to the extinction of   
desire and by thus striking at the root 
of all misery4 ,in ,nirvana1 those who  

have attained the goal have won their   
way beyond all desire4 ,they return not4
 ,they are free from the burden of human
 existence4 ,such is one view of the    
need and the way of salvation4  ,if we  
turn in a wholly different direction1 we
 find ,plato1 in the great myth of the  
,phaedrus1 in the arguments and myths of
 the ,republic1 and in various other    
famous passages1 defining what he       
regards as the true goal of the human   
soul1 portraying how far we have        
naturally come short of that goal1 and  
pointing out a way of salvation4 ,and1  
in another age1 ,marcus ,aurelius writes
 his ,thoughts in the interest of       
defining the end for which it is worth  
while to live1 the bondage and failure  
in which the foolish man actually lives1
 and the way out of our foolishness4    
,but are the partisans of ways of       
salvation #ae confined to such serious  
and unworldly souls as were the early   
,buddhists and the ancient moralists8   
,no2 turn to modern times4 ,read the    

stanzas into which ,fitzgerald1 in a    
highly modern spirit1 very freely       
translated the expressions of an old    
,persian poet--,omar ,khayyam2 or1      
again1 read the great programme of      
,nietzsche's ethical and religious      
revolt as set forth only a few years    
since in his ,zarathustra2 or recall    
,goethe's ,faust2 remember even ,byron's
 ,manfred2 and these few instances from 
amongst a vast wealth of more or less   
recent literary examples will show you  
that the idea of salvation and the      
search for salvation are matters that   
belong to no one type of piety or of    
poetry or of philosophy4 ,cynics and    
rebels1 ancient sages and men who are in
 our foremost rank of time1 can agree1  
and have agreed1 in maintaining that    
there is some goal of life1 conceivable1
 or at least capable of being1 however  
dimly1 appreciated--some goal that1 if  
accessible1 would fulfil and surpass our
 lesser desires1 or would save us from  
our bondage to lesser ills1 while this  

goal is something that we naturally     
miss1 or that we are in great danger of 
missing--so that1 whatever else we need1
 we need to be saved from this pervasive
 and overmastering danger of failure4   
,oh love1 could thou and ,i with fate   
conspire   ,to grasp this sorry scheme  
of things entire1     ,would we not     
shatter it to bits and then1   ,remould 
it nearer to the heart's desire8  #af   
,thus ,fitzgerald's ,omar expresses1 in 
rebellious speech1 the need of          
salvation4 ,what is your greatest       
hour8--so begins ,nietzsche's           
,zarathustra in his opening address to  
the people4 ,and he replies3 ,it is the 
hour of your great contempt--the hour1  
so he goes on to explain1 when you      
despise all the conventional values and 
trivial maxims of a morality and a      
religion that have become for you merely
 traditional1 conventional1 respectable1
 but infinitely petty4 ,now1 if you     
observe that ,st4 ,paul's epistle to the
 ,romans1 despite its utterly different 

religious ideas1 begins with an         
analogous condemnation of the social    
world as it was1 or as it always        
naturally is1 you may learn to          
appreciate the universal forms in which 
the need for salvation comes to men's   
consciousness1 however various their    
creed4 ,swinburne's well-known chorus   
sums up man's life as it is1 thus3      
,he weaves and is clothed with derision1
     ,sows1 and he shall not reap2      
,his life is a watch or a vision        
,between a sleep and a sleep4  ,such1   
then1 is man's need4 ,here we have no   
continuing city1 we seek a city out of  
sight--such is another expression of    
this same need4 ,what ,i ask you to do1 
just here1 is to catch a glimpse of this
 universal form of the need for         
salvation4 ,as you see1 there is always 
a certain element of gloom and tragedy  
involved in the first conception of this
 need4 #ag ,all depends1 for the further
 fortunes of one's religious            
consciousness1 upon whether or not one  

can get insight into the true nature of 
this need and into the way toward the   
needed salvation4                       
,,iii  ,religious ,insight means then1  
for my present purposes1 insight into   
the need and into the way of salvation4 
,if the problem of human salvation has  
never come home to your mind1 as a      
genuine problem of life and of          
experience1 you will feel no interest in
 religion in the sense to which the     
present lectures will arbitrarily       
confine the term4 ,if1 on the other     
hand1 your live personal experience has 
made you intimate with any form or phase
 of this problem of the pathetic need   
and cry of man for salvation1 then ,i   
care not1 at least at the outset of     
these discourses1 whether you have      
thought of this problem in theological  
or in secular1 in reverent or in        
rebellious1 or in cynical terms1 whether
 you have tried to solve it by          
scientific or by sentimental or by      
traditional means1 or whether the       

problem now takes shape in your mind as 
a problem to be dealt with in a spirit  
of revolt or of conformity1 of sceptical
 criticism or of intuitive faith1 of    
hope or of despair4 ,what we want is    
insight1 if insight be possible1 into   
the way of salvation4 ,the problem with 
which these lectures are to deal is3    
,what are the sources of such insight8  
#ah  ,at the outset of our effort to    
deal with this problem1 ,i shall try to 
show how the experience of the          
individual human being is related to the
 issues that are before us4 ,that is1 in
 this and in part of our next lecture1  
,i shall discuss the sense in which the 
individual experience of any one of us  
is a source of insight into the need and
 the way of salvation4 ,hereby we shall 
erelong be led to our social experience 
as a source of still richer religious   
insight4 ,and from these beginnings we  
shall go on to a study of sources which 
are at once developments from these     
first mentioned sources1 and sources    

that are much more significant than     
these first ones would be if they could 
be isolated from such developments4 ,i  
ask you to follow my discourse in the   
same spirit of tolerance for various    
opinions and with the same effort to    
understand the great common features and
 origins of the religious               
consciousness--with the same spirit and 
effort1 ,i say1 by which ,i have tried  
to be guided in what ,i have already    
said to you in this introduction4 ,it is
 always easy to see that1 in religion1  
one man thinks thus and another man     
thinks otherwise1 and that no man knows 
as much as we all wish to know4 ,but ,i 
want to lay stress upon those perennial 
sources from which human insight has    
flowed and for ages in the future will  
continue to flow4 ,to understand what   
these sources are will help us1 ,i      
believe1 toward unity of spirit1 toward 
co-operation in the midst of all our    
varieties of faith1 and toward insight  
itself and the fruits of insight4  #ai  

,,iv  ,i can best undertake my brief    
initial study of the way in which the   
experience of the individual human being
 is a source of religious insight by    
meeting an objection that a reading of  
my printed programme may have aroused in
 the minds of some of you4 ,my list of  
the sources of religious insight1 as    
contained in the titles of these        
lectures1 makes no express reference to 
a source which some of you will be      
disposed to regard as the principal     
source1 namely1 ,revelation4 ,here1 some
 of you will already have said1 is a    
very grave omission4 ,man's principal   
insight into the need and the way of    
salvation comes1 and must come1 you will
 say1 from without1 from the revelation 
that the divine power which saves1 makes
 of itself1 through ,scripture or       
through the ,church4 ,now1 so far as    
this thesis forms part of the doctrine  
of a particular religion1 namely1 in    
your own case1 of ,christianity1 ,i     
shall in these lectures omit any direct 

discussion of that thesis4 ,the reason  
for the omission ,i have already pointed
 out4 ,these lectures undertake a       
limited task1 and must be judged by     
their chosen limitations4 ,but in so far
 as revelation is a general term1       
meaning whatever intercourse there may  
be between the divine and the human1 all
 these lectures1 in dealing with sources
 of religious insight1 will be dealing  
with processes of revelation4 ,and in   
what sense this #bj assertion is true we
 shall see as we go on with our         
undertaking4 ,this first mention of     
revelation enables me1 however1 both to 
state and to answer the objection to my 
programme which ,i have just mentioned1 
and in doing so to vindicate for the    
experience of any religiously disposed  
individual its true significance as a   
source of insight4 ,hereby1 as ,i hope1 
,i can forthwith show that even the     
present deliberately limited undertaking
 of these lectures has an importance    
which you ought to recognise1 whatever  

your own views about revelation may be4 
,let me suppose1 then1 that an objector1
 speaking on behalf of revelation as the
 main source of religious insight1      
states his case briefly thus3 ,man      
learns of his need for salvation chiefly
 through learning what ,god's will is1  
and through a consequent discovery that 
his own natural will is not in          
conformity with ,god's will4 ,he learns 
about the way of salvation by finding   
out by what process ,god is willing to  
save him4 ,both sorts of knowledge must 
be principally mediated through ,god's  
revelation of himself1 of his will1 and 
of his plan of salvation4 ,for1 left to 
himself1 man cannot find out these      
things4 ,apart from revelation1 they are
 divine secrets4 ,hence the principal   
source of religious insight must be     
revelation4  ,whoever states his case   
thus brings to our attention at this    
point what ,i may venture to name3 ,the 
,religious ,paradox1 or1 to use other   
terms4 ,the ,paradox of ,revelation4 ,i 

call attention to this #ba paradox in no
 spirit of mere cavilling or quibbling4 
,the importance of the matter the whole 
course of these lectures will show4 ,the
 religious paradox1 as we shall define  
it1 is one of the deepest facts in all  
religious history and experience4 ,it   
will meet us everywhere2 and every      
devout soul daily faces it4 ,moreover1  
as we shall see1 it is a special case of
 a paradox regarding our human insight  
which is as universal and pervasive1 in 
its significance for us1 as is our human
 intelligence itself4 ,i call it here   
the religious paradox4 ,i shall later   
show you that it might be called1 just  
as correctly1 the paradox of            
common-sense1 the paradox of reason1 the
 paradox of knowledge1 yes1 the paradox 
of being thoughtfully alive in any sense
 whatever4  ,the religious paradox1     
viewed as it first comes to us1 may be  
stated thus3 ,let a man say3 ,i have    
this or this religious insight because  
,god has revealed to me1 thus and thus1 

his will about me and his plans2 has    
taught me my need of salvation and the  
divine way of salvation4    ',man is    
blind because of sin2     ,revelation   
makes him sure2   ,without that who     
looks within1     ,looks in vain2 for   
all's obscure4'  ,let a man say this4   
,at once1 addressing this believer in a 
revelation1 we must ask1 in no jesting  
spirit1 but with the fullest sense of   
the tragic gravity of the issue3 ,by    
what marks do you personally #bb        
distinguish a divine revelation from any
 other sort of report8  ,consider for an
 instant what this question implies4 ,a 
depositor at a bank1 in signing a       
cheque1 reveals to his bank his will    
that such and such funds1 which he      
already has on deposit at the bank1     
shall be paid to the order of a certain 
person4 ,how is the bank able to        
recognise this revelation of the        
depositor's will8 ,the answer is3 ,the  
bank1 acting in the usual order of      
business1 regards this revelation as    

genuine because its officers already    
know1 with sufficient assurance1 the    
depositor's signature1 and can therefore
 recognise it at sight1 subject1 of     
course1 to a certain usually negligible 
risk of forgery4 ,apply the principle   
here involved to the case of the one who
 acknowledges the genuineness of a      
divine revelation4 ,in asserting3 ,i    
know that this revelation is from ,god1 
the believer in the revelation asserts1 
in substance1 that in some sense and by 
some means he personally knows1 as it   
were1 the divine signature2 knows by    
what marks the divine being reveals     
himself4 ,this is the vast presumption1 
if you will1 upon which the believer in 
revelation depends for his assurance4   
,he knows ,god's autograph4 ,now1 how   
shall such a knowledge of the divine    
autograph have arisen in the mind of the
 individual believer8 ,has this believer
 first wandered through all the worlds  
to learn how the various orders of      
beings express themselves1 what marks of

 their wisdom and of their interest in  
humanity #bc they show1 and who amongst 
them are1 or who alone is1 actually     
divine8  ,i repeat--the stupendous      
question thus suggested is one which ,i 
mention not in any spirit of cavil1 but 
solely for the sake of directing us on  
our further way1 and of calling         
attention at the outset to a fact upon  
which all that is most vital in the     
religious consciousness has in every age
 depended4 ,every acceptance of a       
revelation1 ,i say1 depends upon        
something that1 in the individual's     
mind1 must be prior to this acceptance4 
,and this something is an assurance that
 the believer already knows the         
essential marks by which a divine       
revelation is to be distinguished from  
any other sort of report4 ,in other     
words1 a revelation can be viewed by you
 as a divine revelation only in case you
 hold1 for whatever reason1 or for no   
reason1 that you already are acquainted 
with the signature which the divine will

 attaches to its documents1 that you    
know the marks of any authentic         
revelation by which a divine will can   
make itself known to you4 ,unless1 then1
 you are to make one supposed revelation
 depend for its warrant upon another in 
an endless series1 you must presuppose  
that somewhere there is found a         
revelation that proves its genuineness  
by appealing to what your own interior  
light1 your personal acquaintance with  
the nature of a divine being1 enables   
you to know as the basis of all your    
further insight into the divine4 ,the   
one who appeals to revelation for       
guidance cannot then escape from basing 
his appeal #bd upon something which     
involves a personal and individual      
experience of what the need and the way 
of salvation is and of what the divine  
nature and expression essentially       
involves4  ,nor is this remark merely   
the unsympathetic comment of a          
philosophical critic of what passes for 
revelation4 ,the truth of the remark is 

acknowledged by all those who have in   
one way or another insisted that1       
without the witness of the spirit in the
 heart1 no external revelation could    
enlighten those who are in darkness2    
that miracles by themselves are         
inadequate1 because signs and wonders   
cannot teach the divine will to those   
whom grace1 working inwardly1 does not  
prepare for enlightenment2 and that1 in 
brief1 if there is any religious insight
 whatever accessible1 it cannot come to 
us without our individual experience as 
its personal foundation4  ,now1 the     
religious paradox is this3 ,what one    
pretends or at least hopes to know1 when
 there is any question of religious     
insight1 is something which has to do   
with the whole nature and destiny and   
duty and fate of man4 ,for just such    
matters are in question when we talk1   
not of how to earn our living or of how 
to get this or that worldly prosperity1 
but about our need of salvation and     
about how to be saved4 ,so deep and so  

weighty are these matters1 that to      
pretend to know about them seems to     
involve knowing about the whole nature  
of things4 ,and when we conceive of the 
whole nature #be of things as somehow   
interested in us and in our salvation1  
as the religiously minded very generally
 do1 we call this nature of things      
divine1 in a very familiar sense of that
 word4 ,hence the higher religions      
generally undertake to know1 as they    
say1 the divine4 ,and by the divine they
 mean some real power or principle or   
being that saves us or that may save us4
 ,but how is this divine to be known8   
,by revelation8 ,but knowledge through  
revelation can enlighten only the one in
 whose personal experience there is     
somewhere an adequate interior light1   
which shines in the darkness1 and which 
permits him to test all revelations by a
 prior acquaintance with the nature and 
marks and1 so to speak1 signature of the
 divine will4 ,hereupon arises the      
question3 ,how should ,i1 weak of wit as

 ,i am1 ignorant1 fallible1 a creature  
of a day1 come to possess that intimate 
acquaintance with the plan of all       
things1 and with the meaning of life1   
and with the divine1 which ,i must      
obtain in case ,i am to pass upon the   
marks whereby any revelation that can   
save me is to be tested8 ,the paradox is
 that a being who is so ignorant of his 
duty and of his destiny as to need      
guidance at every point1 so weak as to  
need saving1 should still hope1 in his  
fallible experience1 to get into touch  
with anything divine4 ,the question is1 
how is this possible8 ,what light can my
 individual experience throw upon vast  
problems such as this8  #bf             
,v  ,i have stated what ,i call the     
religious paradox4 ,the whole of what ,i
 have hereafter to tell you is needed in
 order to throw such light as ,i can    
here attempt to throw upon the solution 
of the paradox4 ,you will not expect1   
then1 an immediate answer to the        
question thus brought before you4 ,yet  

you see our present situation3 ,unless  
there is something in our individual    
experience which at least begins to     
bring us into a genuine touch1 both with
 the fact that we need salvation and    
with the marks whereby we may recognise 
the way of salvation1 and the           
essentially divine process1 if such     
there be1 which alone can save--unless1 
,i say1 there is within each of us      
something of this interior light by     
which saving divine truth is to be      
discerned1 religious insight is         
impossible1 and then no merely external 
revelation can help us4 ,let us then1   
without further delay1 turn directly to 
the inner light1 if such light there be1
 and ask what1 apart from tradition1    
apart from external revelation1 apart   
from explicit theories or reports       
concerning the universe1 apart from all 
other sources1 our own individual       
experience can tell us as to the need   
and the way of salvation1 and as to the 
marks by which we may recognise whatever

 real influences1 or divine beings1 can 
intervene to help us in our need4 ,we   
shall not upon this occasion answer the 
question2 but we may do something to    
clarify the issue4  #bg  ,my dear       
friend1 the late ,william ,james1 in his
 book called ,the ,varieties of         
,religious ,experience1 defined1 for his
 own purposes1 religious experience as  
the experience of individuals who regard
 themselves as alone with the divine4   
,in portraying what he meant by the     
divine1 ,james emphasised1 although in  
language different from what ,i am      
using1 the very features about the      
objects of religious experience which ,i
 have just been trying to characterise  
in my own way4 ,those who have religious
 experience1 according to ,james1 get   
into touch with something which1 as he  
says1 gives a new dimension to their    
life4 ,as a result of their better and  
more exalted religious experience1 they 
win a sense of unity with higher powers1
 whose presence seems to them to secure 

a needed but otherwise unattainable     
spiritual unity1 peace1 power in their  
lives4 ,this divine thus accomplishes   
inwardly what the individual alone with 
the divine feels to be saving1 to be    
needed1 to be his pearl of great price4 
,this is ,james's way of defining the   
objects of religious experience4  ,now  
,james's whole view of religious        
experience differs in many ways from    
mine4 ,but just at the present point in 
our inquiry1 where it is a question of  
what ,i should call the most elementary 
and intimate1 but also the crudest and  
most capricious source of religious     
insight1 namely1 the experience of the  
individual alone with the divine1 ,i    
feel my own account to be most dependent
 upon that of #bh ,james and my own     
position to be most nearly in agreement 
with his4  ,let me refer you1 then1 at  
this stage1 to ,james's great collection
 and analysis of the facts of individual
 religious experience4 ,let me          
presuppose some personal acquaintance1  

on your part1 with individual           
experiences of the various types that   
,james so wonderfully portrays4 ,and    
then1 in my own way1 and as             
independently of ,james's special       
theories as possible1 let me tell you   
what1 to my mind1 is the essential      
substance of these elementary religious 
experiences which may come to the       
individual when he is alone with the    
problem of his own salvation and alone  
with his efforts to know the divine that
 can save4 ,let me try to show you that 
the individual1 thus isolated1 is indeed
 in touch with a genuine source of      
insight4 ,let me try to indicate both   
the value and the limitations of that   
source in such wise as to prepare us to 
view this first source in its needed    
relation to the sources hereafter to be 
studied4  ,the religious experience of  
the individual may concern three        
objects3 ,first1 his ,ideal1 that is1   
the standard in terms of which he       
estimates the sense and the value of his

 own personal life2 secondly1 his ,need 
of salvation1 that is1 the degree to    
which he falls short of attaining his   
ideal and is sundered from it by evil   
fortune1 or by his own paralysis of     
will1 or by his inward baseness2        
thirdly1 the presence or the coming or  
the longing for1 or the #bi communion   
with something which he comes to view as
 the power that may save him from his   
need1 or as the light that may dispel   
his darkness1 or as the truth that shows
 him the way out1 or as the great       
companion who helps him--in a word1 as  
his ,deliverer4 ,the ,ideal1 the ,need1 
the ,deliverer--these are the three     
objects which the individual experience1
 as a source of religious insight1 has  
always undertaken to reveal4 ,james's   
collection of the facts of religious    
experience richly illustrates what ,i   
here have in mind4 ,to that collection1 
and to your own individual experience1  
,i appeal as my warrant for thus        
characterising our first source of      

insight4 ,can we say that this source   
gives us genuine insight and is         
trustworthy8 ,does it teach us about    
anything that is real2 and if this be   
so1 how far does this source of insight 
go8 ,what is the extent1 what are the   
limitations of the truth that one can   
hope in this way to gain8  ,as to the   
first two objects of the individual     
religious experience1 namely1 the       
individual's own personal ideal and his 
sense of his need1 you will readily     
agree that one's private experience is1 
indeed1 a source of genuine insight4    
,you will1 however1 find it hard at     
first to define just how far that       
insight extends4 ,for the world of a    
man's private ideals and estimates is a 
world of precious caprices1 because not 
only does one man's private feelings or 
intuitions about ideals and values      
differ from another man's1 but every    
man's own ideals1 and his sense of #cj  
need1 tend to alter endlessly with the  
play of his passions1 with the waxing   

and waning of all his natural powers1   
with his health1 with his age4 ,one form
 of the religious paradox may1 in fact1 
be stated thus3 ,without intense and    
intimate personal feeling1 you never    
learn any valuable truths whatever about
 life1 about its ideals1 or about its   
problems2 but1 on the other hand1 what  
you know only through your feelings is1 
like the foam of the sea1 unstable--    
like the passing hour1 doomed to pass   
away4  ,james1 as a psychologist1 well  
knew this truth about the value and the 
limitations of private experience2 yet  
it was characteristic of his            
enterprising soul that he was always    
looking1 in his pluralistic universe1   
for the strange1 new religious          
experiences of other and still other    
individuals1 without being able thereby 
even to define what all these ardent    
souls were seeking1 namely1 some genuine
 home land of the spirit1 some place or 
experience or insight in which is to be 
revealed that for the sake of which all 

the feelings1 the caprices1 the         
longings1 the efforts of individuals are
 justified--and fulfilled4  ,now the    
best way of defining what it is which   
our inner experience of our ideal and of
 our need shows us is1 ,i think1 this3  
,we are indeed1 and so far just as the  
,buddhists said1 naturally the creatures
 of transient feelings1 of passing      
caprices1 of various and wilful         
longings4 ,but1 just because of this    
fact1 we can get an insight1 as intimate
 as it is fragmentary1 into one         
absolutely valuable ideal4 ,i do not #ca
 think that the ,buddhists best         
expressed our ideal by the words the    
extinction of desire4 ,it is rather the 
ideal of triumph over our unreason4 ,it 
is the ideal that the reign of caprice  
ought to be ended1 that the wounds of   
the spirit ought to be healed4 ,in the  
midst of all our caprices1 yes1 because 
of our caprices1 we learn the value of  
one great spiritual ideal1 the ideal of 
spiritual unity and self-possession4    

,and both our ideal and our need come to
 consciousness at once4 ,we need to     
bring our caprices into some sort of    
harmony2 to bind up the wounds of what  
,james calls the divided self2 to change
 the wanderings of chance passion into  
something that shall bring the home land
 of the spirit1 the united goal of life 
into sight4 ,and so much all the great  
cynics1 and the nobler rebels1 and the  
prophets and the saints and the martyrs 
and the sages have in common taught us4 
,so much ,socrates and ,plato and       
,marcus ,aurelius1 and our modern       
teachers of the wisdom of life1 and1 in 
his noblest words1 the ,buddha also1 and
 ,jesus1 have agreed in proclaiming as  
the ideal and the need revealed to us by
 all that is deepest about our          
individual experience3 ,we need to give 
life sense1 to know and to control our  
own selves1 to end the natural chaos1 to
 bring order and light into our deeds1  
to make the warfare of natural passion  
subordinate to the peace and the power  

of the spirit4 ,this is our need4 ,to   
live thus is our ideal4 ,and because    
this need is pressing and this ideal is 
far off from the natural man1 we need   
salvation4  #cb  ,so much1 ,i say1 our  
individual experience can bring before  
us4 ,this ideal and this need can become
 the objects of an insight that is as   
intimate as it is1 by itself1           
unsatisfying4 ,this need1 ,i think1 all 
the devout share1 however unlearned     
their speech1 however simple their      
minds1 however various their creeds4    
,unity of ,spirit1 conformity to an     
universal ,will1 peace with power--this 
is our need4  ,it remains for the       
individual experience to show to us1 if 
it can1 the presence of our ,deliverer1 
the coming of that which we shall       
recognise as divine1 just because it    
truly and authoritatively reveals to the
 ,self the fulfilment that we need1 by  
bringing us into touch with the real    
nature of things4 ,we need to find the  
presence that can give this unity and   

self-possession to the soul4 ,this      
presence is what all the higher         
religions seek to reveal4 ,but if we are
 to learn of such an object of insight  
we must1 indeed1 come into touch with a 
,power or a ,spirit that is in some true
 sense not-,ourselves4 ,and so we must  
be able somehow to transcend the        
boundaries of any merely individual     
experience4 ,our individual experience  
must become some sort of intercourse    
with ,another4 ,and this ,other must be 
in some sense the ,master of ,life1 the 
,might that overcometh the world1 the   
revealer of final truth4 ,without       
ceasing to be personal and intimate1 our
 experience must in some way come into  
direct touch with the very nature of    
reality4  ,is such a direct touch with  
the divine possible8 ,the mystics of all
 ages have maintained that it is #cc    
possible4 ,are they right8 ,to answer   
this question adequately would be to    
solve the religious paradox4 ,it would  
be to show whether and how the          

individual1 even in his isolation1 alone
 with the divine1 can come to be        
nevertheless in unity with all other    
spirits1 in touch with all that lies    
beneath and above himself1 and with all 
that constitutes the essence of reality4
 ,perhaps this is indeed possible4      
,unless it is possible1 revelation1 as  
we have seen1 loses precisely its most  
intimate significance1 as an appeal of  
the divine spirit directly to the       
interior light4 ,but1 on the other hand1
 all the mystics confess that1 if this  
is possible1 and if it happens in their 
own cases1 they alone1 viewing their    
experience merely as an individual      
experience1 know not how it happens1 but
 must accept their revelation as an     
insight without knowing in what precise 
sense it is insight4  ,it follows that  
individual experience remains a source  
of religious insight as indispensable   
and as fundamental as it is1 by itself1 
inadequate and in need of supplement4   
,unless you have inwardly felt the need 

of salvation1 and have learned to hunger
 and thirst after spiritual unity and   
self-possession1 all the rest of        
religious insight is to you a sealed    
book4 ,and unless1 in moments of peace1 
of illumination1 of hope1 of devotion1  
of inward vision1 you have seemed to    
feel the presence of your ,deliverer1   
unless it has sometimes seemed to you as
 if the way to the home land of the     
spirit were opened to your sight by a   
revelation as from the divine1 unless   
this #cd privilege has been yours1 the  
way to a higher growth in insight will  
be slow and uncertain to you4 ,but1 on  
the other hand1 no one who remains      
content with his merely individual      
experience of the presence of the divine
 and of his deliverer1 has won the whole
 of any true insight4 ,for1 as a fact1  
we are all members one of another2 and  
,i can have no insight into the way of  
my salvation unless ,i thereby learn of 
the way of salvation for all my         
brethren4 ,and there is no unity of the 

spirit unless all men are privileged to 
enter it whenever they see it and know  
it and love it4  ,individual            
,experience1 therefore1 must abide with 
us to the very end of our quest1 as one 
principal and fundamental source of     
insight4 ,but it is one aspect only of  
,religious ,experience4 ,we shall learn 
to understand and to estimate it        
properly only when we have found its    
deeper relations with our ,social       
,experience4 ,in passing to our social  
experience1 however1 we shall not leave 
our individual experience behind4 ,on   
the contrary1 through thus passing to   
our social experience as a source of    
religious insight1 we shall for the     
first time begin to see what our        
individual experience means4  #ce       
,,ii            ,,individual            
,,experience ,,and ,,social ,,experience
  #cf  #cg                              
,,ii            ,,individual            
,,experience ,,and ,,social ,,experience
   ,the results of our first lecture    

appear to have brought the religious    
problems1 so far as we shall attempt to 
consider them1 into a position which in 
one respect simplifies1 in another      
respect greatly complicates our         
undertaking4                            
,i  ,in one way1 ,i say1 our undertaking
 is simplified4 ,for1 as we have defined
 religion1 the main concern of any      
religion that we are to recognise is    
with the salvation of man1 and with     
whatever objects or truths it is        
important to know if we are to find the 
way of salvation4 ,now the experiences  
which teach us that we need what ,i have
 ventured to call by the traditional    
name salvation1 are1 from my point of   
view1 experiences common to a very large
 portion of mankind4 ,they are great    
and1 in certain respects at least1      
simple experiences4 ,you can have them  
and estimate them without being         
committed to any one form of religious  
faith1 without accepting any special    
creed about supernatural #ch things1 and

 even without hoping to find out any way
 of salvation whatever4 ,the essential  
conditions for discovering that man     
needs salvation are these3 ,you must    
find that human life has some highest   
end2 and you must also find that man1 as
 he naturally is1 is in great danger of 
failing to attain this supreme goal4 ,if
 you discover these two facts 7and ,i   
personally hold them to be facts whose  
reality you can experience71 then the   
quest for the salvation of man interests
 you1 and is defined for you in         
genuinely empirical terms4 ,given the   
problem1 you may or you may not see how 
to solve it4 ,you may or you may not    
appeal to what you suppose to be a      
revelation to guide you on the way4 ,but
 in any case1 granted these conditions1 
granted that your experience has shown  
you your need of salvation--then the    
problem of religion is upon your hands4 
,soluble or insoluble1 the topic of a   
revelation from above1 or of a          
scientific inquiry1 or of a philosophy1 

or of a haphazard series of efforts to  
better your condition1 this problem1 if 
it once comes to hold your attention1   
will make of you a religious inquirer4  
,and so long as this is the case1 no    
degree of cynicism or of despair        
regarding the finding of the way to     
salvation1 will deprive you of genuinely
 religious interest4 ,the issue will be 
one regarding facts of live experience4 
,the concerns that for you will seem to 
be at stake will be perfectly human1 and
 will be in close touch with every      
interest of daily life4  #ci  ,to       
conceive the business of religion in    
this way simplifies our undertaking1 in 
so far as it connects religion not      
merely with doubtful dogmas and         
recondite speculations1 but rather with 
personal and practical interests and    
with the spirit of all serious          
endeavour4  ,upon the other hand1 this  
way of defining religion does1 indeed1  
also complicate certain aspects of our  
present task4 ,for if1 from our point of

 view1 religion thus becomes1 in one way
 or another1 the concern of everybody   
who has once seen that life has a       
highest goal1 and that we are all       
naturally in great danger of missing    
this goal--still any effort to study the
 nature of religious insight seems to   
require us to be somehow just to all the
 endless varieties of human opinion     
regarding what the highest goal of human
 life is1 and regarding the way to      
attain that goal after we have once     
defined it4 ,in some sense1 in our      
further inquiry1 nothing human can be   
alien to us1 in case it involves any    
deep experience of man's purpose in     
living1 or of man's peril as a seeker   
after the attainment of his purpose2 or 
any assurance regarding the presence or 
the power which1 entering into some sort
 of union with any man's own spiritual  
life1 seems to that man an apt          
,deliverer from his evil plight1 a      
genuinely saving principle in his life4 
,how great the resulting complications  

that threaten our investigation seem to 
be the conclusion of our former lecture 
showed us4 ,countless #dj souls1        
trusting to their individual experience1
 have learned1 as we at the last time   
indicated1 to define their ideal1 and   
their need1 and1 upon occasion1 to      
discover the power that they took to be 
their saving principle--their deliverer4
 ,who amongst all these were right1     
either in their judgment as to their    
need or in their consciousness that they
 had found the way that leads to peace1 
to triumph1 to union with the goal of   
human life8 ,were all of them more or   
less right8 ,were any of them wholly    
deluded8 ,are there as many supreme aims
 of life as there are individuals8 ,are 
there as many ways of salvation as there
 are religions that men follow8 ,and by 
what means shall we decide such         
questions8 ,grave and infinitely        
complicated seem the issues which these 
queries arouse4  ,upon one side1 then1  
our problem is pathetically simple1     

human1 practical1 even commonplace4     
,daily experience1 in serious-minded    
people1 illustrates it4 ,the plainest   
facts of our life exemplify it4 ,it     
concerns nothing more recondite than    
that tragedy of natural human failure   
which you may constantly witness all    
about you1 if not within you4 ,upon the 
other side1 no questions more bring you 
into contact with the chaotic variety of
 human opinion1 and with the            
complexities of the whole universe1 than
 do the religious questions1 when thus  
defined in terms of men's deepest needs 
and of men's hopes and faiths regarding 
the possible escape from their most     
pressing peril of failure4  #da  ,our   
first lecture gave us a glimpse of this 
simplicity of the main definition of our
 problem and of this complication with  
regard to the conflicting proposals that
 are made toward its special formulation
 and toward its solution4 ,we have now  
to study further the sources of insight 
upon which every solution of our problem

 must depend4                           
,,ii  ,our present lecture will be      
devoted to three tasks4 ,first1 we shall
 try to show that the religious         
consciousness of mankind1 when it is    
concerned with the need and with the way
 of salvation1 must needs appear in many
 various and apparently conflicting     
forms1 but that1 nevertheless1 these    
conflicts need not discourage us4 ,for1 
as we shall attempt still further to    
explain1 the underlying motives of the  
higher religions are1 after all1 much   
more in agreement than the diversities  
of creeds and the apparent chaos of     
religious experiences would lead us to  
imagine4 ,in order to make this deeper  
unity of the higher religious life of   
mankind plain1 we shall try to show1    
more fully than we did in the last      
lecture1 how the consciousness of the   
ideal of life1 and of the need of       
salvation1 naturally arises in the      
experience of the individual man4 ,the  
religious paradox1 as1 in our former    

lecture1 we defined that paradox1       
depends upon the fact that the principal
 religious motives are indeed perfectly 
natural and #db human motives1 which    
need no mysterious movings from another 
world to explain their presence in our  
lives2 while1 on the other hand1 these  
very motives1 when once they appear1    
force us to seek for relief from        
spiritual sources that cannot satisfy   
unless they are far above our natural   
human level of life--that is1 unless    
they are in some definable sense        
superhuman4 ,but about superhuman       
matters it is not surprising that       
ignorant mortals should widely differ1  
despite the deeper unity that underlies 
all our nobler religious needs4  ,thus  
the unity of the religious concerns of  
mankind is perfectly compatible with the
 fact that men differ so widely in      
faith4 ,the mysteries of religion belong
 to our natural failure to conceive     
readily and to grasp adequately the     
religious objects4 ,but our religious   

need is not a mystery2 and our religious
 interests are as natural as is our     
ignorance4 ,the higher forms of the     
religious consciousness are due to      
perfectly human motives but lead to a   
stubborn quest for the superhuman4 ,to  
understand whence the higher religions  
get their moving principle1 you have    
only to survey our natural life as it   
is1 in all its pathetic and needy       
fallibility4 ,but if the higher         
religions are to find what they seek1   
they call for sources of insight which  
you cannot define1 unless we are able to
 know a reality that transcends human   
nature as it is--unless we can come into
 genuine intercourse with a spiritual   
realm that is above man4 ,this          
naturalness of the religious #dc        
motives1 this supernatural and naturally
 baffling character of the religious    
objects1 ,i am1 then1 first to          
illustrate still further than ,i at the 
last time was able to do4  ,i shall thus
 be led1 in the second place1 to the    

mention of that source of religious     
insight to which1 at the close of the   
former lecture1 ,i directed your        
attention1 namely1 to our social        
experience4 ,society1 in a certain      
sense1 both includes and transcends the 
individual man4 ,perhaps1 then1         
something can be done toward solving the
 problem of the religious paradox1 and  
toward harmonising the varieties of     
religious opinion1 by considering the   
religious meaning of our social         
consciousness4 ,the religious paradox is
 that the needy and ignorant natural man
 must somehow obtain the spiritual power
 to get into a genuine touch with a real
 life that is above his own level4 ,if  
he is to be saved1 something that is    
divine must come to be born in the      
humble manger of his poor natural lie4  
,how is this apparition of the divine in
 the human1 of the supernatural in the  
natural1 conceivable8 ,it is that       
question which most of all divides men  
into various religious sects4 ,perhaps a

 study of our social experience1 which1 
indeed1 often tends to mould our        
naturally narrow selfishness into nobler
 spiritual forms1 may throw light upon  
this problem4 ,and so ,i shall1 in this 
second part of the present discourse1   
state the case for our social experience
 as a source of religious insight4  #dd 
,we shall1 however1 no sooner state this
 case than we shall begin to see how    
inadequate our ordinary social          
experience is to give us full religious 
insight4 ,therefore1 in the third place1
 ,i shall try to estimate more          
critically both the merits and the      
imperfections of this second source of  
religious light1 and thus ,i shall be   
led1 as ,i close1 to the mention of a   
third source1 from which1 as ,i hold1 we
 can learn what neither our unaided     
private experience nor our ordinary     
social experience ever adequately shows4
                                ,,iii   
,let me proceed at once to the first of 
these three undertakings4 ,i am further 

to illustrate1 on the one hand1 the     
unity and the naturalness of the        
religious motives2 on the other hand1 ,i
 am to emphasise the mysterious seeming 
of the religious objects4 ,and ,i am    
thus to show the reason why the faiths  
of men are so diverse but their         
religious needs so nearly common4  ,at  
the last time ,i tried to define for    
you1 in my own terms1 what the supreme  
purpose of human life is1 or1 in other  
words1 what that highest good is which  
we are all in such peril of missing that
 we need salvation from this peril4 ,my 
definition was this3 ,we are naturally  
creatures of wavering and conflicting   
motives1 passions1 desires4 ,the supreme
 aim of life is to triumph over this    
natural chaos1 to set some one plan of  
life above all the others1 to give #de  
unity to our desires1 to organise our   
activities1 to win1 not1 indeed1 the    
passionless peace of ,nirvana1 but the  
strength of spirit which is above the   
narrowness of each one of our separate  

passions4 ,we need to conceive of such a
 triumphant and unified life1 and       
successfully to live it4 ,that is our   
goal3 ,self-possession1 unity1 peace1   
and spiritual power through and yet     
beyond all the turmoil of life--the     
victory that overcometh in the world4   
,now this definition of the ideal life  
will have seemed to some of you too much
 a merely philosophical formula4 ,you   
will say that this is not what plain men
 have in mind when they ask ,god's help1
 or lament their sins1 or look to       
religion for consolation4  ,i grant you 
that1 since ,i am here concerned with   
philosophy and not with preaching1 ,i1  
of course1 prefer1 for my present       
purpose1 a formulation of the ideal of  
life in reflective1 in thoughtful terms4
 ,but ,i cannot admit that plain men1 in
 their religious moods1 are not         
concerned with the ideal of life which  
,i thus reflectively formulate4 ,i am   
trying to formulate the ideal of life   
that seems to me to underlie all the    

higher religions4 ,it is one thing1     
however1 to feel an interest and another
 thing to become conscious of the       
meaning of the interest4 ,no matter how 
inarticulate may be a man's sense of his
 need1 that sense1 if deep and genuine1 
may imply a view of life which a whole  
system of ethics and of metaphysics may 
be needed to expound4 #df ,philosophy   
ought to be considerate1 and to use more
 or less technical speech1 but it need  
not be on that account inhuman4 ,its    
concern is with what common-sense means 
but does not express in clearly         
conscious terms4 ,it does not want to   
substitute its formulas for life4 ,it   
does desire to add its thoughtfulness to
 the intensity of life's great concerns 
and to enlighten us regarding what aims 
life has always really intended to      
pursue4  ,my own effort to formulate the
 supreme end of life does not seem to me
 to be foreign to common-sense4 ,i think
 that this way of stating the purpose of
 life may help us to see through many of

 the apparently hopeless diversities of 
human opinion regarding what the highest
 good is4  ,it is customary to describe 
that longing for salvation which is1    
from the point of view of these         
lectures1 the foundation of religion1 by
 saying that the man who begins to get  
religious interest discovers that when  
left to himself he is out of harmony    
with what ,james calls the higher       
powers1 that is1 with what a ,christian 
calls ,god4 ,in other words1 as a       
customary formula states the case1 the  
religiously disposed man begins by      
learning that the chief end of his      
existence is to come into harmony with  
,god's will4 ,and this discovery1 as    
such a view supposes1 teaches him1 for  
the first time1 what his ideal of life  
ought to be4 ,and therefore1 as many    
say1 something that is of the nature of 
a mysterious revelation from without is 
needed to #dg initiate the religious    
process and to show us our goal4 ,on the
 other hand1 writers like ,james1 who   

insist upon interpreting religion1 so   
far as that is possible1 in terms of    
personal experience rather than in terms
 of external revelation1 have           
nevertheless been led to agree with many
 of the partisans of revelation in      
regarding this sense of our disharmony  
with the higher powers as something that
 must have an essentially superhuman    
source4 ,for ,james1 our sense of       
religious need is an experience which   
mysteriously wells up from the          
subliminal self1 from the soundless     
depths of our own subconsciousness4     
,james1 therefore1 conceives it probable
 that1 through the subliminal or        
subconscious self1 we are actually      
aroused to religious interest by        
spiritual beings whose level is higher  
than our own1 and whose will1 expressed 
to us through the vague but often       
intense sense of need which the         
religiously minded feel1 does set for us
 an ideal task which is of greater worth
 than our natural desires1 and which1   

when we can get into harmony with these 
powers through the aid of their         
subliminal influences1 does give a new  
sense to life4  ,now in contrast with   
such views regarding the origin of that 
deeper sense of need which is indeed the
 beginning of religion1 ,i have to      
insist that the basis of the religious  
interest is something much less         
mysterious than ,james's supposed       
workings of the higher powers through   
our subliminal selves1 and is also      
something much more universally human   
#dh than is the opportunity to come     
under the influence of any one          
revelation4 ,men who never heard of     
,christianity1 and men who have never   
felt conscious of any external          
revelation from above1 as well as men   
who have had no such sudden uprushes    
from their own subconscious natures as  
,james's religious geniuses have        
reported1 are able to win a genuine     
religious interest1 to be aware of an   
intense need for salvation1 and to set  

before themselves1 in however           
inarticulate a fashion1 the very ideal  
of life which ,i have been trying in my 
own way to formulate4 ,the need and the 
ideal can come into sight in a manner   
that indeed does not in the least either
 exclude or require a belief in one or  
in another reported revelation1 but that
 links both the need and the ideal to   
our ordinary personal experience by ties
 which are not at all mysterious4 ,let  
me show you1 then1 better than my time  
permitted in the former lecture1 how an 
individual may naturally experience what
 ,i have called his need of salvation4  
,nothing is more obvious about the      
natural course of our lives than is the 
narrowness of view to which we are      
usually subject4 ,we are not only the   
victims of conflicting motives1 but we  
are often too narrow to know that this  
is true4 ,for we see our various life   
interests1 so to speak1 one at a time4  
,we forget one while we are living out  
another4 ,and so we are prone to live   

many lives1 seldom noting how ill       
harmonised they are4 ,home life1 for    
instance1 may #di be one thing2 business
 life in principle another2 sport or    
social ambition another4 ,and these     
various lives may be lived upon mutually
 inconsistent plans4 ,we forget one part
 of ourselves in our temporary          
absorption in some other part4 ,and if1 
as our naturally complex and often      
conflicting motives determine1 these our
 various lives are out of harmony with  
one another1 we constantly do           
irrevocable deeds that emphasise and    
perpetuate the results of this          
disharmony4 ,and as we grow older our   
motives alter2 yet because of our       
natural narrowness of interest1 we often
 do not recognise the change4 ,our youth
 consequently lays a poor foundation for
 our age2 or perhaps our mature life    
makes naught of the aspirations of our  
youth4 ,we thus come to spend a great   
part of our days thwarting ourselves    
through the results of our fickleness1  

yet without knowing who it is that      
thwarts us4 ,we love1 and1 like         
,siegfried1 forget our former beloved1  
and perhaps live to feel the fatal      
spear-thrust that avenges our treason to
 our own past4 ,the deeper tragedies of 
life largely result from this our       
narrowness of view4  ,but over against  
this narrowness of our ordinary         
activities there1 indeed1 stand certain 
moments when we get a wider vision of   
ourselves1 when we review life1 or      
foresee it with a broad outlook4 ,these 
are1 indeed1 moments of insight4 ,we all
 know how tragic they often are1 because
 they show us at a glance how with the  
left hand we have undone the #ej right  
hand's work1 how we have loved and      
forgotten1 how we have sworn fealty to  
many masters1 and have cheated one while
 we served another1 how absorption in   
business has made us unworthy of home1  
or how we have wantonly sacrificed a    
friend in order to win a game1 or gained
 our bit of the world through what1 upon

 review1 we have to call the loss of our
 souls4 ,such moments of insight come to
 us sometimes when our friends die1 and 
when memory reminds us of our neglected 
debts of love or of gratitude to them1  
or when worldly defeat reawakens the    
long-forgotten unworldly aspirations    
that we abandoned in order to do what   
has ended in earning the defeat4 ,these 
are1 ,i repeat1 often tragic moments4   
,but they enlighten4 ,and they show us  
our need4 ,and they arise as naturally  
as does any other incident of a         
reasonable life4  ,what need do they    
show8 ,i answer1 the need to possess    
what by mere nature we never come to    
possess1 namely1 the power to see life  
steadily and see it whole1 and then to  
live triumphantly in the light of this  
vision4 ,can a plain man who is no      
philosopher feel this need8 ,i answer1  
,yes1 whenever he has his moments of    
vision2 whenever he feels the longing   
for the clean1 straight1 unswerving     
will1 for the hearty whole life2        

whenever he sees and regrets his        
fickleness1 just because it means       
self-defeat2 whenever he seeks to be    
true to himself4 ,at such moment his    
highest aim is the aim that there should
 be a highest aim in life1 and that #ea 
this aim should win what it seeks4 ,he  
has the longing1 however inarticulate1  
for integrity of spirit and for success 
in winning the fruits of integrity4     
,when the plain man feels what ,i       
venture thus to formulate1 how will he  
express his longing8 ,he will1 of       
course1 not use my present formulas4 ,he
 will seize upon whatever expressions   
the creed or the language of his tribe  
may suggest to him4 ,he may say1 and    
perhaps truthfully3 ,this is the ideal  
that ,god sets before me4 ,this is the  
divine will regarding my life4 ,for at  
such times he conceives of ,god as the  
being who has widest vision and who     
knows him best4 ,therefore he conceives 
of ,god's plan as the fulfilment of his 
own rational plan4 ,but the interior    

source of the plain man's view regarding
 the divine will is simply his better   
vision of the meaning of his life1 the  
vision that comes at moments when he is 
not forgetful of the whole2 when he does
 not want to swear fidelity to one      
beloved1 and then1 like ,siegfried1     
pursue and win another2 when he wants to
 be true to the whole of himself4 ,no   
wonder that he1 indeed1 conceives this  
supreme goal of life as the goal set for
 him by some will higher than his own   
private will4 ,he is right4 ,for1 as we 
shall see1 throughout our later study1  
we are1 indeed1 helpless either to hold 
before us this our personal vision of   
the triumphant life and of the unity of 
the spirit1 or to turn the vision into a
 practical reality1 unless we come into 
touch and keep in touch with an order of
 spiritual existence which is #eb in a  
perfectly genuine sense superhuman1 and 
in the same sense supernatural1 and     
which certainly is not our natural      
selves4  ,but in any case the plain man 

must needs interpret his vision of the  
ideal in terms of whatever conception of
 ,god1 or of the triumphant life1 or of 
spiritual power1 his traditions and his 
stage of personal development may       
suggest to him4 ,hence the endless      
varieties in the formulation of the     
religious ideal4 ,whatever is suggested 
to a man1 at his moments of wider       
vision1 as a law or as a motive which1  
if it were the ruling motive or the     
supreme law would make life a consistent
 whole--this he takes to be ,god's will1
 or the truth that is to save him if1   
indeed1 salvation is possible4  ,if this
 account of the sources of the religious
 motive is right1 we need not view the  
religious interest as the result of an  
arbitrary intrusion from above--as if   
the gods loved to disturb us and to     
trouble our peace4 ,nor need we1 with   
,james1 speak of a marvellous and       
capricious uprush from below the level  
of our natural consciousness4 ,yet just 
as little need we think of religion as  

having no concern with what is1 indeed1 
superhuman4 ,religion is1 indeed1 our   
own affair2 for it grows out of our     
personal vision of the transformation   
that a divinely enlarged power to       
comprehend1 to survey1 to harmonise1 to 
triumph over our natural life would     
give4 ,this vision comes to us at       
moments1 in glimpses--and is seen       
through a glass darkly4 ,our #ec need is
 to see face to face and to live in the 
light thus to be discovered4 ,and so to 
live would be salvation4 ,the word      
salvation is fitting1 because the need  
is so great and because the             
transformation would be so profound4    
,the endlessly various interpretations  
of this one ideal and of the nature of  
the saving process are due to the wealth
 of life and to the imposing multitude  
of motives and of experiences that the  
religious consciousness has to consider4
 ,but beneath and above all the         
varieties of religious experience lies  
the effort to win in reality what the   

vision of the harmonious and triumphant 
life suggests to us in our moments of   
clearness4 ,since our own natures leave 
us hopelessly remote from this goal1    
while our glimpses of spiritual harmony 
and power reveal to us its preciousness1
 our religious need is supreme1 and is  
accompanied with the perfectly          
well-warranted assurance that we cannot 
attain the goal unless we can get into  
some sort of communion with a real life 
infinitely richer than our own--a life  
that is guided by a perfect and         
unwavering vision1 and that somehow     
conquers and annuls all fickleness1     
conflict1 and estrangement4 ,such a life
 rightly seems to us to be superhuman in
 its breadth of view and in its         
spiritual power1 if indeed there be such
 a life at all4 ,if there is no such    
life1 none the less we need it1 and so  
need salvation4 ,if salvation is        
possible1 then there is in the universe 
some being that knows us1 and that is   
the master of life4 ,and we seek        

ourselves to know #ed even as we are    
known and to live as the wise one would 
have us live4  ,thus simple and1 for all
 to whom even the occasional moments of 
wider vision come1 universal are the    
religious motives4 ,james was wrong when
 he sought them in any capricious       
interference of the subliminal self1 or 
of its superhuman controls1 with our    
natural selves4 ,it is we who in our    
natural lives are capricious and        
narrowly interfere with our own freedom4
 ,it is we who are the disturbers of our
 own peace4 ,the religious ideal grows  
out of the vision of a spiritual freedom
 and peace which are not naturally ours4
 ,no two of us get that vision in quite 
the same way4 ,but all its forms show us
 the same far-off shining light4 ,the   
problem of religious insight is the     
problem whether that light is a mirage4 
,no wonder1 then1 that men differ as to 
their special efforts to solve such a   
problem4 ,but it is now our task to seek
 for further sources of insight4        

,,iv  ,the foregoing discussion may seem
 to have led us far from the study of   
our social experience as a source of    
religious insight4 ,but in fact it is a 
necessary preliminary to that study and 
leads us very near to it4  ,if one      
principal source of our need of         
salvation is the natural narrowness of  
our view of the meaning #ee of our own  
purposes and motives1 and the consequent
 fickleness and the forgetful           
inconsistency with which we usually live
 out our days1 it seems right1 in       
searching for a way that may lead toward
 salvation1 to get such help as we can  
by looking to our normal social         
experience for whatever guidance it can 
give4 ,the social world is wide1 even if
 it is still full of conflict4 ,it      
broadens our outlook at every turn4 ,a  
man corrects his own narrowness by      
trying to share his fellow's point of   
view4 ,our social responsibilities tend 
to set limits to our fickleness4 ,social
 discipline removes some of our inner   

conflicts1 by teaching us not to indulge
 caprices4 ,human companionship may     
calm1 may steady our vision1 may bring  
us into intercourse with what is in     
general much better than a man's        
subliminal self1 namely1 his public1 his
 humane1 his greater social self1       
wherein he finds his soul and its       
interests writ large4 ,perhaps1 then1   
whatever the ultimate goal1 the way out 
of the distractions of the natural self1
 the way toward the divine insight and  
power that we need1 lies through our    
social experience4  ,no wonder1 then1   
that in the religious discussions of    
to-day our social experience is that    
source of insight upon which a great    
number of our teachers1 whether they are
 professional religious teachers or not1
 most frequently insist4 ,our present   
time is an age of great concern with    
social problems and reforms4 ,no wonder1
 then1 that we have all learned to widen
 our vision1 and to control our #ef     
waywardness1 by remembering that man is 

a being who can be neither understood   
nor directed in case you try to view him
 in isolation4 ,as for salvation1 many  
of our most influential leaders now     
teach us that the problem of our day is 
the problem of saving1 not the          
individual as an individual1 but the    
social order as a whole4 ,the two       
tendencies which seem to be most potent 
in the political realm are the general  
tendencies known by the admittedly vague
 names of democracy and socialism4      
,solidarity1 collectivism1 the common   
life--these are the watchwords of some  
of the most widely influential movements
 of our time4  ,and these watchwords    
have1 for many of us1 not only a        
political1 but a religious meaning4 ,i  
need not remind you of the popular      
influence of such dramas as ,the        
,servant in the ,house1 or of the       
numbers of clergymen to whom the        
preaching of religion has come to mean1 
in the main1 the preaching of beneficent
 social reforms4 ,if teachers who thus  

view religion as1 on the whole1 a       
movement toward the increase of social  
welfare are asked what their counsel is 
to the individual regarding the         
salvation of his soul1 they will reply3 
,if you want to be saved1 come out of   
yourself4 ,some of them would add3      
,forget yourself4 ,but whether they use 
this latter extremely ambiguous and     
doubtful form of advice1 they very      
generally agree that to seek to save    
your own soul by any merely or mainly   
inward and non-social process is to     
secure perdition4 ,it is love that      
saves1 they are fond of #eg telling us4 
,and in this doctrine1 as interpreted in
 the light of our modern social         
movements1 many see the entire essence  
of ,christianity adapted to our present 
situation4  ,nor is the tendency here in
 question limited to the practical      
counsels of which ,i have just reminded 
you4 ,there are those students of the   
psychology and the philosophy of        
religion who are disposed to conceive   

that the whole essence of the religion  
of all times1 the entire meaning of     
religious beliefs and practices1 can be 
exhaustively and accurately described in
 the purely human and social terms which
 these practical counsels attempt to    
embody4 ,a recent writer on the         
psychology of religion defines religion 
as man's consciousness of his highest   
social values1 and maintains that all   
religious beliefs are attempts to       
express this consciousness in whatever  
terms a given stage of civilisation     
makes natural and possible4  ,one can   
easily suggest to any student of general
 history some of the facts which such a 
writer has in mind4 ,have not the gods  
often been conceived as tribal deities1 
and so simply as representatives of the 
welfare and of the will of the community
 over against the waywardness and the   
capriciousness of the individual8 ,was  
not the transition from polytheism to   
the various forms of pantheism and of   
monotheism determined by the social     

processes that formed kingdoms or       
empires1 and that finally led over to   
the modern appreciation of the value of 
the #eh common interest of an ideally   
united humanity8 ,were not the prophets 
of ,israel social reformers8 ,was not   
the work of ,jesus an anticipation and a
 prophecy of the coming consciousness of
 the brotherhood of man1 as the lovers  
of mankind now conceive that            
brotherhood8 ,what has religion had to  
teach us1 some will insistently ask1    
more saving1 unifying1 sustaining1 than 
this love of man for man8  ,from such a 
point of view1 as you see1 our social   
experience is our principal source of   
religious insight4 ,and the salvation   
that this insight brings to our         
knowledge is salvation through the      
fostering of human brotherhood4 ,such   
salvation accrues to the individual so  
far as he gives himself over to the     
service of man1 and to mankind in so far
 as men can only be saved together and  
not separately4  ,i am just now         

depicting1 not judging1 a view          
concerning the solution of religious    
problems which you know to be1 in our   
day1 as potent as it is varied and      
problematic in its teaching4 ,can this  
view satisfy8 ,does this way of stating 
the case really indicate to us any      
adequate source of religious insight1   
any way in which we can define the true 
salvation of man8                       
,v  ,we cannot answer this question     
without taking account of the views of  
those of our recent teachers to whom    
this purely social theory of the        
religious #ei objects and values is     
indeed profoundly unsatisfactory4 ,that 
such opponents of the adequacy of the   
interpretation of religion just         
suggested are to be found amongst the   
believers in familiar religious         
traditions1 we need not at any length   
set forth4 ,the traditions of the great 
religions of the world do not interpret 
the old faiths in this way1 just because
 these religious traditions all agree in

 regarding the human social order as    
something which exists for the sake of  
an essentially superhuman order4 ,as    
these various faiths assert1 man can    
never be saved by purely human means1   
whether you call these means preventive 
medicine1 or socialism1 or universal    
brotherhood1 or even love1 so long as   
love means simply human love4 ,as for   
,christianity1 in all its older forms1  
it has emphasised the love of man1 but  
always in a certain union with the love 
of ,god which tradition could never     
conceive as adequately expressible in   
terms of our recent social movements4   
,the ,servant in the ,house is supposed 
to be a modern apparition of the        
,christ2 but he is explicitly a heretic 
regarding the old faith of the church4  
,but with tradition as tradition1 these 
lectures have to do only by way of      
occasional illustration4 ,what interests
 us more1 for our present purpose1 is   
the fact that1 despite the predominance 
of the social interpretations of        

religion of which ,i have just reminded 
you1 there are still some of our recent 
teachers who stoutly insist that our    
social #fj experience does not          
adequately show us any way of salvation 
whatever4  ,and here first ,i must call 
attention to certain of the most modern 
and least theologically disposed of our 
leaders1 namely1 to those who emphasise 
the most characteristic recent forms of 
individualism4 ,i have mentioned        
,nietzsche in my former lecture4 ,surely
 he stands for opposition to tradition  
and he expresses tendencies that are    
potent to-day4 ,but while he lived and  
wrote1 he aspired to be a sort of       
,antichrist1 and preached the doctrine  
that a religion of love can never save1 
because1 as he insists1 what the self   
needs is power1 and power is not to be  
won by attempting to please a world of  
slaves4 ,nietzsche may seem to you1 as  
he has seemed to so many1 a hopeless    
abnormity2 but his ,titanism is in fact 
a wayward modern expression of a motive 

that has always played its notable part 
in the search for salvation1 ever since 
heroism and the resolute will were first
 discovered by man4 ,nietzsche's insight
 too1 such as it is1 is a social        
insight4 ,it comes through noting that1 
even if the individual needs his social 
world as a means of grace and a gateway 
to salvation1 the social order1 in its  
turn1 needs individuals that are worth  
saving1 and can never be saved unless it
 expresses itself through the deeds and 
the inner life of souls deeply conscious
 of the dignity of selfhood1 of the     
infinite worth of unique and intensely  
conscious personal life4  #fa  ,as a    
fact1 individualism is as potent an     
ethical motive in the life of to-day as 
is the collectivism just characterised4 
,each of these tendencies1 in our       
present social order1 feeds upon and    
intensifies the other4 ,socialism       
opposes1 and yet inevitably encourages1 
the purposes of the very individual who 
feels his social ties as a galling      

restraint4 ,it preaches solidarity and  
brotherhood and love2 but wins a ready  
hearing from those who view all these   
tendencies mainly as means whereby they 
may hope to have their own way1 and to  
become1 as ,nietzsche's ,superman1      
beyond good and evil--masters in the    
coming world of triumphant democracy4   
,the social experience of our time is   
full of ambiguous lessons4 ,its way     
toward salvation leads not only over the
 ,hill of ,difficulty1 but both ways    
around the hill2 and it shows us no one 
straight and narrow road to peace4      
,whoever would traverse its wilderness  
and reach salvation needs to supplement 
his social insight by a use of other and
 deeper sources4  ,and as to what these 
deeper sources of insight are1 the      
teacher whom ,i have already repeatedly 
cited--,william ,james--asserts a       
doctrine that1 as you already know1 ,i  
do not regard as adequate1 but that ,i  
must again here emphasise1 because its  
contrast with that social theory of     

religion which ,i just characterised is 
so instructive4  ,james1 in his         
,varieties of ,religious ,experience1   
shows the utmost liberality toward      
differences of #fb faith1 and insists in
 the opening chapters of his book that  
religious experience is a field where   
one must beware of defining sharp       
boundary lines or of showing a false    
exclusiveness4 ,yet one boundary line he
 himself defines with the greatest      
sharpness2 and in respect of one matter 
he is rigidly exclusive4 ,religious     
experience1 he insists1 is1 as you will 
remember from our first lecture1 the    
experience of an individual who feels   
himself to be alone with the divine4    
,and the social types of religious      
experience ,james rigidly excludes from 
the varieties whereof he takes account4 
,and ,james's reason for this procedure 
is explicit4 ,in its social aspects     
religion1 so he insists1 always becomes1
 or has already become1 conventional4   
,james no longer finds in the religious 

life of communities the novelty and     
independence of vision which he prizes4 
,the essence of true religious          
experience lies1 for him1 in its        
originality1 in its spontaneity1 and so 
in the very solitude which is a         
condition1 to ,james's mind1 for the    
discovery of that which saves4  ,the    
words originality and spontaneity       
emphasise the features which1 as ,i     
think1 ,james most meant to emphasise4  
,the problem of salvation1 for ,james1  
must be an essentially individual       
problem2 for nobody else ever faced your
 need of salvation1 or had your personal
 issues to meet4 ,if you win religious  
insight1 you will have to win it very   
much as you will have to die--alone4 ,of
 course ,james does not hesitate to test
 the value of religious #fc experience1 
in his pragmatic fashion1 by its social 
as well as by its individual            
consequences4 ,the fruits of the spirit 
accrue to the general advantage2 and the
 saint1 in ,james's opinion1 must indeed

 undertake to edify1 not only himself1  
but also his brethren4 ,but the effects 
of religious insight must not be        
confused with the sources4 ,james       
insists that the sources are mainly from
 within the individual and are only     
incidentally social4 ,a religious       
discovery has in common with a poetic   
creation the fact that the religious    
genius1 like the artist1 sees his       
vision1 and produces his spiritual      
miracle1 in solitude4  ,if you ask      
whether this position which ,james      
assumes is anything more than his own   
private opinion1 and if you want to know
 his grounds for it1 a closer           
examination of his book will show you   
why he thus deliberately turns his back 
upon the favourite recent interpretation
 of religion as an essentially social   
phenomenon4 ,james1 in common with the  
traditional faiths1 although not in     
conformity with their formulas1 always  
conceived religious experience as an    
intercourse with objects and with powers

 that1 whatever their deeper bases in   
our subliminal nature1 do not adequately
 express themselves in our everyday1    
worldly1 overt human nature4 ,and in our
 social life1 where the conventional    
reigns1 where man imitates man or       
contends with man1 where crowds bustle  
and the small-talk or the passionate    
struggle of the day fill the mind1 where
 lovers pursue their beloved and are    
jealous #fd of their rivals1 and        
laborers toil and sweat1 and worldly    
authorities display their pomp1 you meet
 not the solution1 but the problem of   
life4 ,james1 as man1 was full of social
 interests1 and1 as psychologist1 was   
fond of studying social processes4 ,but 
when a man wants peace and spiritual    
triumph1 ,james observes that1 as an    
empirical fact1 he does not readily find
 them in the market-place1 or on the    
battle-field1 or in the law courts1     
unless1 indeed1 he comes to these places
 already full of the light that the     
saintly souls have often found in the   

wilderness or in their meditations4 ,in 
brief1 ,james always emphasises the     
mystical element in religious experience
 and is full of the assurance that      
religion cannot find its food in the    
commonplace2 while our social life is a 
realm where the commonplace holds sway4 
,or again1 ,james holds that when the   
faithful have thought of their religious
 experience as an intercourse with      
beings of a level wholly superhuman1    
they may1 indeed1 have been wrong in    
their creeds1 but were right in holding 
that man as he lives in his social world
 can never save man4 ,our social        
consciousness is too barefaced and open 
in its union of triviality and pathos4  
,what we want as the saving power is1   
for a teacher such as ,james1 something 
more mysterious1 deep1 subconscious or  
superconscious1 and in this sense1      
indeed1 superhuman4  ,still ,i am only  
depicting1 not yet judging4 ,i have now 
briefly stated opinions that favour and 
opinions #fe that oppose an             

interpretation of religious insight in  
terms of our social experience4 ,but    
what are the merits of the case8 ,in    
what sense can there be a religion of   
the social consciousness8               
,,vi  ,the answer to this question      
involves1 ,i think1 two considerations1 
both of them exemplified by the various 
views here in question1 both of them    
familiar1 both of them easily           
misinterpreted4 ,the first is the very  
consideration upon which our popular    
teachers of salvation through love most 
insist4 ,we ourselves came upon that    
consideration at the close of our first 
lecture4 ,man is1 indeed1 a being who   
cannot be saved alone1 however much     
solitude may help him1 at times1 toward 
insight4 ,for he is bound to his        
brethren by spiritual links that cannot 
be broken4 ,the second consideration is 
this3 ,so long as man views his         
fellow-man merely as fellow-man1 he only
 complicates his problem1 for both he   
and his fellow equally need salvation4  

,their plight is common2 their very need
 of salvation chains them together in   
the prison of human sorrow4 ,if1 to     
adapt the symbolism of ancient stories  
to our case1 the angel of love is to    
appear in their prison1 is to loosen    
their chains1 is to open the doors1 it  
must be1 in some wise1 as an angel1 not 
as a merely human presence1 that love   
must appear4  ,perhaps the best way to  
indicate wherein lies the #ff strength  
and the weakness1 the irresistible      
authority and the pathetic limitation of
 our social experience as a religious   
guide1 and the best way also to indicate
 its true relations to the religious    
experience of the human individual1 is  
to remind ourselves of a very few       
familiar cases in which an individual   
finds that his own way toward salvation1
 if any such way is to exist for him at 
all1 lies through his social world1 so  
that he cannot be saved without the help
 of his fellows4  ,our first instance   
shall be an extreme one1 in which the   

sense of need is intense and the longing
 for salvation acute1 but where there is
 little or no hope of finding the way1  
although one knows that if the way could
 be found it would bring one into touch 
with a new type of human companionship4 
,we all know how the sense of guilt may 
take the form of a feeling of           
overwhelming loneliness4 ,now the sense 
of guilt1 if deep and pervasive and     
passionate1 involves at least a dim     
recognition that there is some central  
aim of life and that one has come       
hopelessly short of that aim4 ,i may    
regret a blunder1 and yet have no hint  
that there is any unified and supreme   
ideal of life4 ,for a blunder is a      
special affair involving the missing of 
some particular aim4 ,i may even        
bitterly repent a fault1 and still think
 of that fault as a refusal to pursue   
some one separate moral purpose--a      
violation of this or of that maxim of   
conduct4 ,but the true sense of guilt in
 its greater manifestation involves a   

confession that the #fg whole self is   
somehow tainted1 the whole life1 for the
 time being1 wrecked4 ,but the          
bankruptcy of the self implies that     
there is one highest purpose which gives
 the self its value2 the sense of total 
failure is itself a revelation of the   
value of what was lost4 ,hence the      
highly idealising tendency of the great 
experiences of moral suffering4 ,they   
lead us to think not of this or of that 
special good1 but of salvation and      
perdition in their general bearing upon 
life4 ,the depth of the despair shows   
the grandeur of what has been missed2   
and it is therefore not surprising that 
experiences of this sort have been1 for 
so many1 the beginnings of religious    
insight4 ,to believe that one is cut off
 from salvation may be the very crisis  
that in the end saves4  ,now some of    
those who feel this overmastering might 
of their guilt lay most stress upon     
their assurance that ,god has condemned 
them4 ,and religious tradition has of   

course emphasised this way of stating   
the case4 ,but it is perfectly natural1 
and is surely a humane experience1 to   
feel the sense of guilt primarily in the
 form of a belief that one is an outcast
 from human sympathy and is hopelessly  
alone4 ,the more abnormal types of the  
sense of guilt1 in nervous patients1    
frequently exemplify this terror of the 
lonely soul1 this inner grief over the  
homelessness of the remorseful outcast4 
,but actual guilt may be present with or
 without the more abnormal nervous      
conditions just mentioned1 and1 when    
present1 may bring home to the rueful   
mind #fh the despair of the awakened but
 forsaken sinner1 and may bring it in   
the form of the feeling of guilty       
solitude4  ,a well-known expression of  
such a mood you find in ,kipling's lyric
 of the ,poor little sheep that have    
gone astray4 ,in these verses the       
outcast sons of good families1 the      
gentlemen-rankers1 dwell together in an 
agonised companionship of common        

loneliness4 ,their guilt and their lost 
homes are for them inseparably          
associated4  ,or again3 ,beneath all the
 fantastic imagery of ,coleridge's      
,ancient ,mariner1 the poet uses a      
perfectly recognisable type of the sense
 of guilt as the means to make his tale 
of wonders seem1 despite all its        
impossibilities1 human and even         
plausible4 ,the incidents are the       
miracles of a magic dream2 but the human
 nature depicted is as real as is the   
torment of any guilty conscience4       
,somehow--no matter how1 or under how   
arbitrary conditions--the hero has      
committed a crime without precisely     
intending it to be a crime4 ,his tale is
 one of a young man's adventurous       
insolence4 ,his deed has all the too    
familiar characters of the typical sins 
of wayward youth4 ,and that is why the  
gay young wedding guest must hear his   
tale4 ,he--the mariner--in his own      
youth1 had consciously meant to be only 
a little wanton and cruel4 ,he awakened1

 as many a light-minded youth later     
awakes1 to find that1 as a fact1 he had 
somehow struck at the very centre of    
life1 at the heart of love1 at the laws 
that bind the #fi world together1 at the
 spirit of the universe4 ,when one thus 
awakes1 he sees that nature and ,god are
 against him4 ,but1 worst of all1 he has
 become a curse to his fellows2 and in  
turn they curse him2 and then they leave
 him alone with the nightmare life in   
death of utter solitude4 ,to his mind   
there are no living men4 ,he sees about 
him only the curse in a dead man's eye4 
,what life he can still see is no       
longer1 to his morbid eyes1 really      
human3    ,the many men1 so beautiful6  
,and they all dead did lie2   ,and a    
thousand1 thousand slimy things         
,lived on2 and so did ,i4  ,the ,ancient
 ,mariner's escape from the horrors of  
this despair1 the beginnings of his     
salvation1 date from the first movings  
of love in his heart toward all living  
beings4 ,his salvation is won when1 at  

the end1 he finds ,god along with the   
goodly company at the kirk4 ,in brief1  
the curse of his guilt is to be alone on
 a wide1 wide sea4 ,his salvation comes 
in preaching love and companionship1 and
 in uniting himself hereby to the ,god  
who loves all things both great and     
small4  ,now one does not often think of
 the ,ancient ,mariner as a poem of     
religious experience2 but apart from its
 brilliant play with natural magic1 its 
human charm actually depends upon this  
well-founded picture of the loneliness  
of guilt and of the escape through      
loving union with one's kind4 ,and #gj  
the poet deliberately gives to this     
picture the form and the sense of a     
religious process of salvation4  ,if you
 turn from the dreamy product of        
,coleridge's youthful fancy to the      
opposite pole of modern literature1 you 
find an instance of almost the same     
motives at the basis of that most       
impressive romance of the ,russian      
,dostoieffsky3 ,crime and ,punishment4  

,dostoieffsky had himself lived long in 
what he called ,the ,house of the ,dead1
 in ,siberia1 before he learned how to  
write this masterpiece4 ,he had been    
forced to sojourn amongst the guilty of 
the most various grades4 ,he had come to
 universalise their experiences and to  
struggle himself with one form of the   
problem of salvation4 ,those who1 like  
,dante1 have looked upon hell1 sometimes
 have1 indeed1 wonders to tell us4      
,dostoieffsky condenses the whole       
problem of salvation from guilt in this 
picture of an individual4 ,raskolnikow1 
the hero1 after his thoughtfully        
conceived crime1 and after his laborious
 effort at self-justification1 finds    
himself the prey of a simply            
overwhelming sense that he walks alone  
amongst men1 and that1 in the crowded   
streets of the city1 he is as one dead  
amongst spectres4 ,there is nowhere1 ,i 
think1 a more persuasive picture of the 
loneliness of great guilt4 ,raskolnikow 
could not be more the victim of         

supernatural forces if he were          
,coleridge's ,ancient ,mariner4 ,like   
the ,ancient ,mariner1 ,raskolnikow in  
the end finds the way to salvation      
through love--the love which the        
martyred ,sonia teaches him--herself1   
#ga as our ,russian most persuasively   
pictures her1 at once outcast and saint4
 ,the author uses religious conceptions 
which are both ancient and1 in his use  
of them1 unconventional4 ,but the       
central one of these is the familiar    
conception that salvation involves a    
reconciliation both with the social and 
with the divine order1 a reconciliation 
through love and suffering--an escape   
from the wilderness of lonely guilt to  
the realm where men can understand one  
another4  ,in such elemental ways the   
process of salvation can be made to     
appear as essentially a social process1 
just because its opposite1 perdition1   
seems to mean banishment from amongst   
men4  ,another group of cases presents  
to us the same need for human           

companionship as a means to salvation1  
but presents it in the winning guise of 
salvation beginning through love1       
without the main stress being laid upon 
the previous despair4 ,in such cases the
 despair may be mentioned but at once   
relieved4 ,the religion of friendship   
and of love is a familiar human         
experience4 ,james1 in his fear of      
debasing religion by romantic or by     
grosser associations1 unjustly neglects 
it in his study of varieties4 ,in fact1 
to seem to find the divine in the person
 of your idealised friend or beloved is 
a perfectly normal way of beginning your
 acquaintance with the means of grace4  
,you meet1 you love1 and--you seem to be
 finding ,god4 ,or1 to use our present  
interpretation of what reveals the #gb  
divine1 love seems to furnish you with a
 vision of a perfect life1 to give you a
 total survey of the sense of your own  
life1 and to begin to show you how to   
triumph4 ,if there be any divine life1  
you say1 this is my vision of its beauty

 and its harmony4 ,so the divine appears
 in one of ,browning's later lyrics3    
,such a starved bank of moss4     ,till1
 that ,may morn4   ,blue ran the flash  
across2     ,violets were born6         
,sky--what a scowl of cloud     ,till1  
near and far1   ,ray on ray split the   
shroud     ,splendid6 a star6           
,world--how it walled about     ,life   
with disgrace1   ,till ,god's own smile 
came out2     ,that was thy face6  ,in  
the sonnets of ,shakespeare this        
religion of friendship has found some of
 its most perfect expressions4    ,haply
 ,i think of thee1 and then my state4   
,like to the lark's1 at break of day    
arising   ,from sullen earth1 sings     
hymns at heaven's gate4  ,and again1 in 
,mrs4 ,browning's ,sonnets from the     
,portuguese1 the religion of love not   
only uses speech intensely personal1    
fond1 intimate1 but also1 #gc and       
deliberately1 accompanies all this with 
words derived from reflective           
metaphysics1 or from theology1 and      

intended to express the miracle that the
 nearest movings of affection are also a
 revelation of the highest powers of the
 spiritual world4    ,how do ,i love    
thee8 ,let me count the ways4     ,i    
love thee to the depth and breadth and  
height     ,my soul can reach1 when     
feeling out of sight   ,for the ends of 
,being1 and ,ideal ,grace4   ,i love    
thee to the level of everyday's         
,most quiet need1 by sun and candle     
light4     ,i love thee freely1 as men  
strive for ,right2   ,i love thee       
purely1 as they turn from ,praise2      
,i love thee with the passion put to use
   ,in my old griefs1 and with my       
childhood's faith2     ,i love thee with
 a love ,i seemed to lose   ,with my    
lost saints1--,i love thee with the     
breath4     ,smiles1 tears1 of all my   
life6--and1 if ,god choose1   ,i shall  
but love thee better after death4       
,surely one could not better express1   
than this sonnet does1 the naturalness  
of the religious motive--the mystery of 

the religious object4  ,and finally1    
turning from these cases to those which 
are social in the larger sense1 every   
patriotic song which deifies one's      
country1 every other form of the        
religion of patriotism1 exemplifies the 
experience of the devoted lover of his  
country by teaching that it is man's    
perdition to be safe in case his social 
world calls for the sacrifice of his    
life1 and that salvation comes through  
service4  #gd  ,james is indeed wrong   
then to neglect the social roads that   
lead toward the experience of what one  
takes to be divine4 ,there is no love so
 simple-minded that1 if it be true love1
 the way of salvation may not seem to be
 opened through it to the lover4  ,but  
observe that1 as we review these        
instances1 they show us how the social  
world wherein they bid us seek our      
salvation is a world whose very essence 
is transformed by love and by its vision
 into something that seems to the lover 
mystical1 superhuman1 and more than our 

literal and commonplace social life     
directly exemplifies4 ,those who have   
failed to find in their actual social   
life such inspirations may1 indeed1 have
 to look1 as the typical mystics have   
generally done1 elsewhere1 for their    
vision of the divine1 than in so much of
 the social world as they know4 ,and    
such will1 indeed1 seek their vision of 
salvation in solitude4 ,when they tell  
us of their experience1 they may well   
remind the social enthusiast1 as well as
 the lover1 that the religion of love is
 no religion at all1 unless it conceives
 its human object not only as this      
creature1 or as this collection of needy
 men and women1 but as a hint1 or       
revelation1 or incarnation of a divine  
process--of a process which is not only 
human but superhuman1 and which can     
never be comprehended in the mart and   
the crowded street unless by the soul   
that is either mystical enough to meet  
,god also in the bush1 or rationally    
enlightened enough to know that human   

#ge life is indeed a revelation of      
something that is also superhuman4  ,i  
conclude1 then1 for the moment1 thus3   
,social experience seems to lie on the  
way to salvation4 ,normally the way to  
salvation1 if there be any such way1    
must lead through social experience4    
,but when our social experience shows us
 any such way upward it does so1 if it  
truly does so1 because human social life
 is the hint1 the likeness1 or the      
incarnation of a life that lies beyond  
and above our present human existence4  
,for human society as it now is1 in this
 world of care1 is a chaos of needs2 and
 the whole social order groans and      
travails together in pain until now1    
longing for salvation4 ,it can be saved1
 as the individual can be saved1 only in
 case there is some way that leads      
upward1 through all our turmoil and our 
social bickerings1 to a realm where that
 vision of unity and self-possession    
which our clearest moments bring to us  
becomes not merely vision1 but          

fulfilment1 where love finds its own1   
and where the power of the spirit       
triumphs4 ,of such a realm the lovers   
dream and the religions tell4 ,let us   
appeal to a further source of insight4  
,concerning the realities that we need1 
let us next consult our ,reason4  #gf   
#gg                               ,,iii 
,,the ,,office ,,of ,,the ,,reason  #gh 
#gi                               ,,iii 
,,the ,,office ,,of ,,the ,,reason      
,thus far we have dealt with sources of 
religious insight which are             
indispensable1 but which confess their  
own inadequacy so soon as you question  
them closely4 ,individual experience can
 show us1 in its moments of wider       
vision1 our ideal1 and its times of     
despair1 of aspiration1 or of           
self-examination1 our need4 ,but        
whenever it attempts to acquaint us with
 the way of salvation1 its deliveries   
are clouded by the mists of private     
caprice and of personal emotion4 ,social
 experience1 in its religious aspects1  

helps the individual to win the wider   
outlook1 helps him also to find his way 
out of the loneliness of guilt and of   
failure toward wholeness of life1 and   
promises salvation through love4 ,but1  
like individual experience1 it is beset 
by what we have called the religious    
paradox4 ,and it does not solve that    
paradox4 ,confessing its own defects1 it
 still undertakes to discern how to     
overcome them4 ,in so far as it is      
merely social experience it deals with  
the world of weak mortals1 of futile    
bickerings1 and of love that1 in this   
world1 deifies but never quite finds its
 true beloved4 ,by virtue of this       
transforming love it indeed gives #hj us
 the hint that our social world may be  
an apparition or an incarnation of some 
diviner life than any mortal now        
experiences4 ,yet how can mortals thus  
ignorant pretend to get insight into    
anything that is divinely exalted8      
,thus1 both the sources of insight that 
we have thus far consulted point beyond 

themselves4 ,each says1 ,if salvation is
 possible1 then human life must be able 
to come into touch with a life whose    
meaning is superhuman4 ,our question is3
 ,is there1 indeed1 such a diviner life8
 ,in order to deal with this question1  
we have resolved to consult still       
another source of insight1 namely1 our  
,reason4 ,the present lecture must deal 
with this source of insight4            
,i  ,what does one mean by the ,reason8 
,as ,i attempt to answer this question1 
with an especial effort to show the     
relations of reason and religion1 ,i    
shall be aided by reminding you at the  
outset that1 at the present time1 there 
is a widespread tendency to discredit   
the reason as a source of any notable   
insight into life or into the universe4 
,and this tendency depends upon so      
defining the business of the reason as  
sharply to oppose1 on the one hand1     
intuition and reason1 and1 on the other 
hand1 reason and common-sense           
experience4 ,that is1 some of our recent

 teachers tell us that the only sort of 
insight which can be of any use in      
religion must be #ha won by intuitions  
and cannot be obtained by what these    
teachers call the abstract reason4 ,by  
intuition1 at least in the religious    
field1 such men mean some sort of direct
 feeling of the nature of things1 some  
experience such as the mystics have     
reported1 or such as many religious     
people1 whether technical mystics or    
not1 call illumination through faith4   
,intuitions of this sort1 they say1 are 
our only guides in the religious field4 
,as opposed to such direct apprehension1
 the use of reason would mean the effort
 to be guided by formulas1 by explicitly
 stated abstract principles1 by         
processes of inference1 by calculations1
 or by logical demonstrations4 ,james is
 prominent amongst those who thus oppose
 the abstract reason to the revelations 
of intuition2 and1 especially in his    
later works1 he is never weary of       
emphasising the inarticulate character  

of all our deepest sources of religious 
insight4 ,when we get true religious    
insight1 so he teaches1 we simply feel  
convinced that these things are so4 ,if 
we try to give reasons for our beliefs1 
,james holds that the reasons are inapt 
afterthoughts1 the outcome of           
sophistication1 or are at best useful   
only in putting our convictions into    
convenient order for purposes of record 
or of teaching4 ,james's favourite      
statement of the contrast here in       
question identifies the partisans of    
reason with the defenders of what he    
calls barren intellectualism4 ,he       
maintains that religion is hindered     
rather than helped by such people4 ,you 
attain conviction by processes of #hb   
which the barren intellect can give no  
adequate account4 ,conviction1 in       
religious matters1 emanates1 according  
to ,james1 from those mysterious depths 
of the subconscious about which ,i said 
something in the last lecture4 ,and     
convictions thus resulting feel         

overwhelming to the persons who have    
them4 ,such convictions are what many   
denote by the word intuitions4 ,the     
effort to define abstract principles1 as
 grounds for holding your convictions to
 be true1 constitutes the only effort of
 the reason in religious matters which  
,james recognises4 ,according to ,james1
 such reasoning processes are inevitably
 bad4 ,and as a fact1 so he insists1    
nobody seriously believes in ,god       
because some theologian or philosopher  
pretends to have demonstrated his       
existence4 ,on the contrary1 he says1   
belief in ,god is intuitive or is       
nothing of value4 ,and reason is        
employed in such matters merely because 
of a frequent overfondness for abstract 
conceptions1 or at best because formulas
 are useful for the teachers of         
religious traditions4  ,another form of 
contrast1 and one upon which ,james also
 often insists1 while many other recent 
writers1 whose interests are not those  
of ,james1 emphasise the same matter1   

depends upon opposing reason to         
experience in general1 including under  
the latter term not only the intuitions 
of the devout1 but whatever goes by the 
name experience in ordinary speech4 ,we 
see and hear and touch1 and by such     
means get experience4 ,but we make      
hypotheses and #hc deduce their         
consequences2 we assume premises and    
demonstrate conclusions2 and1 according 
to such writers1 what we then do        
constitutes the typical work of our     
reason4 ,the characteristic of the      
reason is that it attempts either to    
elucidate the meaning of an assertion1  
or to prove some proposition to be true1
 without appealing to experience to     
verify the proposition in question4 ,and
 such work of the reason1 as these      
writers tell us1 is of very limited use1
 in comparison to the use of our direct 
experience as a guide4 ,what is found to
 be true through empirical tests is     
rightly tested4 ,what is supposed to be 
proved true by abstract reasoning is    

thus at best made dependent for its     
explicit warrant upon the presupposed   
truth of the premises used in the       
reasoning process4 ,or1 as is sometimes 
said1 the reason can discover nothing   
essentially new4 ,it turns its premises 
over and over1 and gets out of them only
 what has already been put into them4   
,experience1 on the other hand1 is full 
of countless novelties2 for what you can
 find through observation and experiment
 depends not upon previous assumptions1 
but upon the skill and the good fortune 
of the inquirer1 and upon the wealth of 
life and of the real world4  ,in brief1 
for those who look at reason in this    
way1 to use your reason is simply to    
draw necessary inferences from assumed  
premises4 ,and no premises1 as such     
writers insist1 can warrant any         
inference except the inference of a     
conclusion which is already hidden away1
 so to speak1 in the premises           
themselves4 #hd ,thus reasoning1 as they
 tell us1 is a process which1 in the    

conclusion inferred1 merely lets out of 
the bag the cat which was concealed in  
that bag1 namely1 in the premises4      
,reason1 therefore1 is indeed 7so such  
writers assert7 barren wherever novelty 
is sought4 ,it is useful only for       
purposes of formulation1 and in certain 
parts of the abstract sciences1 where   
deduction has a technical place1 as a   
means for preparing the way for         
experimental tests4 ,in life1 experience
 is the guide to true novelty4 ,and     
therefore1 if religious insight can be  
attained at all1 it must be due not to  
the reason1 but to some sort of         
religious experience4  ,such objections 
to the use of reason in the religious   
field depend1 as you see1 upon          
identifying the reasoning process with  
the combination of two well-known mental
 processes2 first1 the process of       
forming and using abstract conceptions2 
secondly1 the process of analysing      
assertions1 or combinations of          
assertions1 to make more explicit what  

is already contained in their meaning4  
,our next question may well be this3 ,is
 such an account of the work of reason  
just to the actual usage that           
common-sense is accustomed to make of   
this familiar name8                     
,,ii  ,to this question ,i must at once 
answer that we all of us daily use the  
word reason as the name for a process1  
or a set of processes1 which certainly  
#he cannot be reduced to the mere power 
to form and to use abstract ideas1 and  
to analyse the already predetermined    
meaning of statements4 ,when we speak of
 an ill-tempered or of a prejudiced man 
as unreasonable1 we do not merely mean  
that he is unable to form or to define  
abstract ideas1 or that he cannot       
analyse the meaning of his own          
statements4 ,for sometimes such a man is
 contentiously thoughtful1 and fond of  
using too many one-sided abstractions1  
and eager to argue altogether too       
vehemently4 ,no1 when we call him       
unreasonable1 we mean that he takes a   

narrow view of his life1 or of his      
duties1 or of the interests of his      
fellow-men4 ,we mean1 in brief1 that he 
lacks vision for the true relations and 
for the total values of things4 ,when we
 try to correct this sort of            
unreasonableness1 we do not say to the  
petulant or to the one-sided man3 ,go to
 the dictionary1 and learn how to define
 your abstract terms4 ,sometimes        
contentiously prejudiced men are        
altogether too fond of the dictionary4  
,nor do we merely urge him to form the  
habit of analysis4 ,no1 we may indeed   
say to him3 ,be reasonable2 but we mean3
 ,take a wider outlook2 see things not  
one at a time1 but many at once2 be     
broad2 consider more than one side2     
bring your ideas together2 in a word1   
get insight4 ,for precisely what ,i     
defined in my opening lecture as insight
 is what we have in mind when1 in such  
cases1 we counsel a man to be           
reasonable4 ,so1 in such uses of the    
word reason1 reason is not opposed to   

intuition1 as the power to #hf form     
abstract ideas is supposed by ,james to 
be opposed to the power to see things by
 direct vision4 ,no1 reason1 in such    
cases1 means simply broader intuition1  
the sort of seeing that grasps many     
views in one1 that surveys life as it   
were from above1 that sees1 as the      
wanderer views the larger landscape from
 a mountain top4  ,when1 not long since1
 in a famous decision1 the ,supreme     
,court of the ,united ,states called    
attention to what it called ,the rule of
 reason1 and declared its intention to  
judge the workings of well-known modern 
business methods by that rule1 the court
 certainly did not mean by the rule of  
reason the requirement that acts said to
 be in restraint of trade must be judged
 merely through a process of forming    
abstract ideas or of analysing the      
signification of assertions4 ,no1 the   
court was explicitly opposing certain   
methods of estimate which it regarded as
 falsely abstract2 and it proposed to   

substitute for these false abstractions 
a mode of judging the workings of       
certain trade combinations which was to 
involve taking as wide and concrete and 
practical a view as possible of their   
total effects4 ,everybody who read the  
court's words understood that1 in this  
case1 it was precisely the merely       
abstract conception of something        
technically defined as a restraint of   
trade which the court wished1 not to    
make sovereign1 but to subordinate to   
the wider intuition of a fair-minded    
observer of the whole result1 of a given
 sort of corporate combination4 ,the #hg
 rule of reason was intended to bring   
the whole question out of the realm of  
barren abstractions and of mere         
analysis1 and nearer to the realm where 
the trained observation of the fair     
minded man would decide the             
case--nearer1 in fact1 to the realm of  
intuition4 ,only1 the decisive intuition
 must be something broad1 and           
far-seeing1 and synthetic1 and fair4    

,now ,i submit that this meaning of the 
word reason is perfectly familiar to all
 of you4 ,reason1 from this point of    
view1 is the power to see widely and    
steadily and connectedly4 ,its true     
opponent is not intuition1 but whatever 
makes us narrow in outlook1 and         
consequently the prey of our own        
caprices4 ,the unreasonable person is   
the person who can see but one thing at 
a time1 when he ought to see two or many
 things together2 who can grasp but one 
idea1 when a synthesis of ideas is      
required4 ,the reasonable man is capable
 of synopsis1 of viewing both or many   
sides of a question1 of comparing       
various motives1 of taking interest in a
 totality rather than in a scattered    
multiplicity4  ,you may1 of course1     
admit that this use of the word reason  
is familiar2 and still you may say that 
,james's contention is nevertheless     
sound4 ,for1 as you may declare1 the    
real issue is not regarding the meanings
 that chance to be linked with the word 

reason1 but regarding the relative      
impotence of that process which ,james  
chose to call by this name4 ,as a fact1 
so you may assert1 there exists the     
familiar process of forming abstract #hh
 conceptions2 and there also exists the 
process of drawing conclusions through  
an analysis of what is already contained
 in the meaning of the assumed premises4
 ,whether or no one calls these two     
processes1 in their usual combination1  
by the name reasoning1 ,james is right  
in saying that abstractions1 and that   
such sorts of purely analytic abstract  
reasoning as he has in mind1 are        
incapable of giving us religious        
insight4 ,and both ,james and the others
 who oppose reason to concrete          
experience are right in asserting that  
you get no novel insight whatever       
through mere abstractions1 or through   
mere analysis1 but are dependent for    
your advances in knowledge upon         
experience4 ,therefore1 as you may      
continue1 the issue which ,james and    

other empiricists raise must not be     
evaded by any appeal to vaguer uses of  
the word reason1 whether common-sense or
 the ,supreme ,court chances to         
authorise such special forms of         
expression4  ,i fully agree to the      
importance of this comment and of the   
issue as thus stated4 ,i am ready to    
consider the issue4 ,but ,i also insist 
upon estimating the whole use of reason 
in its proper context4 ,james1 in common
 with countless other partisans of      
intuition in religious matters1 is fond 
of insisting that all our nobler        
intuitions and all our deeper faiths    
are1 in their foundations1 inwardly     
compelling1 but inarticulate1 and that  
we degrade them rather than help them   
when we define their meaning in abstract
 terms or employ processes of explicit  
#hi demonstration in their defence4     
,james1 in common with many empiricists1
 also opposes experience in general to  
all processes of reasoning1 and asserts 
that the latter never teach us anything 

novel4 ,the issue1 fairly viewed1 is    
therefore not a perfectly simple one4   
,it involves the question whether the   
two modes of getting knowledge between  
which we are asked to choose are the    
only modes actually in use4 ,intuition1 
and experience in general1 are by ,james
 and by others sharply contrasted with  
certain processes of abstraction and of 
analysis4 ,it is then pointed out that  
since these latter processes1 taken by  
themselves1 never give us any           
essentially novel insights1 you must on 
the whole cease to use your powers of   
abstraction and of analysis1 except for 
the mere purpose of record or of        
teaching1 or of some other such         
technical end--computation1 analysis of 
hypotheses1 and the like4 ,you must1 at 
least in religious matters1 depend upon 
the uprushes from your subconscious self
 or upon whatever else is persuasively  
inarticulate4 ,in the ultimate decisions
 of life1 inarticulate intuition1 mere  
faith1 and that alone1 can save you4    

,hereupon the perfectly fair question   
arises whether the alternatives are thus
 exhaustively stated4 ,must one choose  
between inarticulate faith and barren   
abstractions8 ,must one face the        
alternative3 ,either intuition without  
reasoning1 or else relatively fruitless 
analysis without intuition8 ,perhaps    
there is a third possibility4 ,perhaps  
one may use one's process of abstraction
 #ij as a sort of preparation for       
certain articulate and noble intuitions 
that cannot be approached1 by our human 
sort of consciousness1 through any other
 way4 ,perhaps analysis is not the whole
 process which determines               
demonstrations4 ,perhaps synthesis--the 
viewing of many facts or principles or  
relations in some sort of unity and     
wholeness--perhaps a synoptic survey of 
various articulate truths1 can lead us  
to novel insights4 ,in that case        
inarticulate intuitions and barren      
abstractions are not the only           
instruments between which we must       

choose4 ,for in that case there will be 
another sort of aid1 a more explicit    
sort of intuition1 a more considerate   
view of our life and its meaning1 which 
we may adopt1 and which may lead us to  
novel results4 ,and these results may be
 not only articulate but saving4  ,or1  
to state the issue more generally3 ,in  
seeking for any sort of novel truth1    
have we only the choice between the     
experience of the data of sense or of   
feeling on the one hand and the analysis
 of abstract ideas and assertions upon  
the other8 ,may there not be another    
source of knowledge8 ,may not this      
source consist in the synthetic view of 
many facts in their unity--in the       
grasping of a complex of relations in   
their total significance8 ,and may not  
just this be a source of insight which  
is employed in many of the processes    
ordinarily known as reasoning processes8
 ,may not the formation of abstract     
ideas1 when wisely used1 be merely a    
means of helping us toward an easier    

view of larger unities of fact than #ia 
our present sort of human consciousness 
could grasp except for this auxiliary   
device8 ,may not analysis be merely an  
aspect1 a part of our live thinking8    
,may not all genuine demonstration      
involve synthesis as well as analysis1  
the making of new constructions as well 
as the dissection of old assertions8 ,if
 so1 then the issue as presented by     
,james and his allies is not rightly    
stated1 because an essential part of its
 context is neglected4 ,abstract        
conceptions are1 in fact1 in the live   
and serious work of thought1 a mere     
preparation for intuitions and          
experiences that lie on higher levels   
than those which1 apart from abstract   
conceptions1 we men can reach4          
,reasoning processes are fruitful       
because they involve sorts of           
experience1 forms of intuition1 that you
 cannot reach without them4 ,in brief1  
reason and experience are not opposed4  
,there is an opposition between         

inarticulate intuition and articulate   
insight4 ,there is also an opposition   
between relatively blind experience of  
any sort and relatively rational        
experience4 ,and1 in view of such       
oppositions1 it will be perfectly fair  
to define reason as the power to get    
articulate insight--insight into wholes 
rather than fragments4 ,it will also be 
fair to define the reasoning process as 
the process of getting connected        
experience on a large scale4  ,whoever  
views the matter thus will indeed not be
 forced to be a one-sided partisan of   
the reasoning process as thus defined4  
,he will1 first1 fully admit that the   
formation of abstract ideas is but a    
means #ib to an end1 and that this end  
is the enlargement of the range of our  
view of the connections of our          
experience4 ,he will secondly admit     
that1 as soon as the process of forming 
abstract ideas is pursued as an end in  
itself1 pedantry and formalism result1  
whether the topic be one of religion1 or

 of science1 or of the world's daily    
work4 ,he will further agree with       
,james1 and with the empiricists        
generally1 that merely analytic         
reasoning1 if such were1 in its         
isolation1 a possible thing1 would be   
indeed barren intellectualism4 ,and     
finally1 if he is wise1 he will go still
 further4 ,he will not despise instinct1
 and feeling1 and the movings of faith1 
and the inarticulate intuitions4 ,for he
 will know that all these things are    
human1 are indispensable1 and are the   
basis upon which the genuine work of the
 reason1 the wider view of life1 must be
 carried toward its fulfilment4 ,for    
whoever is to comprehend the unities of 
life must first live4 ,whoever is to be 
best able to survey the landscape from  
the mountain top must first have        
wandered in its paths and its byways1   
and must have grown familiar with its   
valleys and its recesses4 ,whoever is to
 get the mature insight must first have 
become a little child4  ,but whoever1   

remembering the ,new ,testament word    
about becoming as a little child1       
one-sidedly defends the inarticulate    
intuitions1 as the only source of       
religious insight1 should remember also 
the word of ,st4 ,paul3 ,when ,i was a  
child1 ,i spake as a child1 ,i thought  
as a child1 ,i understood as a #ic      
child2 but when ,i became a man ,i put  
away childish things4  ,it is the       
business of reason not to make naught of
 the indispensable intuitions of the    
childlike and of the faithful1 but to   
work toward the insight such that1 if we
 possessed it1 we should know even as we
 are known4 ,that which is weak in this 
world may indeed confound many who are  
called wise2 but there is no objection  
to its becoming also truly wise itself4 
,for then it would all the better know  
why it had been able to confound false  
wisdom4                                 
,,ii  ,all such considerations will seem
 to many of you hopelessly general4 ,you
 will have missed1 thus far in my       

account1 concrete instances to          
illustrate how what ,i have now called  
the reason actually works1 how it is    
related to experience1 how it helps us  
toward the broader view of things1 how  
it makes the connections of life more   
obvious1 how it raises our intuitions to
 higher levels4 ,and unfortunately1     
since ,i have no time to discourse to   
you upon the science called ,logic--the 
science part of whose proper duty it is 
to define the nature and the office of  
what ,i have now called the reason--,i  
must indeed fail1 in this brief summary1
 to give you any adequate account of    
what can be accomplished through the    
appeal to this source of insight4 ,all  
that ,i shall try to do1 on this        
occasion1 is to mention #id to you a    
very few instances1 some of them        
relatively trivial1 wherein1 through    
reasoning processes1 we actually get    
these larger intuitions on higher       
levels1 these higher modes of grasping  
the unity of things4 ,having thus very  

imperfectly exemplified what ,i mean by 
the synthetic processes of reasoning1 ,i
 shall be ready barely to suggest to    
you1 as ,i close1 how the reason can be1
 and is1 a source of religious insight4 
,in some recent logical discussions1 and
 in particular in my colleague          
,professor ,hibben's text-book of logic1
 there has been used an example1 trivial
 in itself1 but in its own way          
typical--an example which is meant to   
show how there exists a mental process  
which is surely worthy of the name      
reasoning1 and which is1 nevertheless1  
no mere process of forming abstract     
ideas and no mere analysis of the       
meaning of assumed premises1 although1  
of course1 both abstraction and analysis
 have their subordinate places in this  
process4 ,the reasoning involved in this
 example is of the very simplest sort4  
,it is expressed in an old story which  
many of you will have heard4  ,according
 to this story1 an aged ecclesiastic1   
garrulous and reminiscent1 was once1 in 

a social company1 commenting upon the   
experiences that had come to him in his 
long and devoted life4 ,fully meaning to
 keep sacred the secrets of the         
confessional1 the old man was           
nevertheless led to say3 ,ah--it is     
strange1 and sometimes terrible1 what1  
in my profession1 one may have to face  
and consider4 #ie ,you must know1 my    
friends1 my very first penitent was--a  
murderer6 ,i was appalled4 ,the old     
priest had hardly spoken when the       
company was joined by an aged and       
prominent nobleman of the region1 whom  
all present greeted with great respect4 
,saluting his priestly friend with no   
little reverence1 the nobleman turned to
 the company and said1 with calm        
unconsciousness3 ,you must know1 my     
friends1 in my youth ,i was the very    
first person whom my honored friend here
 ever confessed4  ,now observe4 ,the    
priest had not said who the murderer    
was4 ,the nobleman in his contribution  
to the conversation had not confessed to

 the company the murder4 ,he had not    
mentioned it in any way4 ,and the priest
 had scrupulously avoided mentioning    
him4 ,but all present drew at once the  
reasonable conclusion that1 granting the
 correctness of the two assertions1 the 
nobleman was a murderer4 ,we1 of course1
 must all agree in this conclusion4 ,now
 is this conclusion the result of a mere
 analysis of either of the two          
assertions made8 ,and does the          
conclusion merely result from our power 
to form abstract ideas8 ,plainly1 the   
conclusion is due to the power of all   
present to make a synthesis1 or1 as one 
sometimes says1 to put two and two      
together4 ,plainly1 whatever abstract   
ideas are here used1 it is not these    
which constitute the main work of a     
reasonable being who views the situation
 in which the nobleman is placed by the 
whole sense of the conversation4 ,reason
 here discovers a novel fact which #if  
neither the priest nor the nobleman had 
stated4 ,this discovery is as much an   

experience as if it were the observation
 of an actual killing of one man by     
another4 ,only it is the discovery of   
the relations involved in a synthesis of
 meanings4 ,this discovery is at once   
empirical 7yes1 in the broader sense of 
the word intuitive71 and it is a        
discovery of a necessary connection4 ,it
 is not due to mere analysis4 ,it is not
 a bit of barren intellectualism4 ,it is
 not an unpractical comment4 ,it is a   
discovery that might wreck the          
nobleman's reputation1 and that might   
more or less indirectly lead to his     
ultimate conviction upon a capital      
charge4 ,now1 that is an example1       
trivial enough if viewed as a mere      
anecdote1 but a typical example1 of the 
synthetic and constructive use of reason
 as a source of insight4  ,let me turn  
to another also at first sight seemingly
 trivial case4 ,an ,english logician1   
,de ,morgan1 long ago called attention  
to a form of reasoning which1 up to his 
time1 the logicians had unduly          

neglected4 ,if you assume that a horse  
is an animal1 you can reasonably        
conclude that the owner of a horse is   
the owner of an animal2 that whoever    
loves a horse loves an animal1 and so on
 indefinitely4 ,in brief1 as you at once
 see1 from the one assertion1 ,a horse  
is an animal1 there rationally follow a 
limitless number of possible inferences 
of the form3 ,whatever is in any        
relation ,r to a horse is in that same  
relation ,r to an animal4 ,now you may  
indeed at first1 as ,i just said1 #ig   
imagine such reasonings to be           
comparatively trivial4 ,whether they    
prove to be so1 however1 depends wholly 
upon the objects in question1 upon our  
own interests in these objects1 and upon
 circumstances4 ,they might be vastly   
important4 ,from the assertion1 ,mr4    
,taft is ,president of the ,united      
,states1 there follows1 by this sort of 
reasoning1 the assertion1 ,whoever is a 
personal friend of ,mr4 ,taft is a      
personal friend of the ,president of the

 ,united ,states4 ,and such a conclusion
 some people might be very glad to have 
you draw4 ,so1 too1 whoever is a member 
of ,mr4 ,taft's family1 or household1 or
 club1 or of the university whose       
degrees he holds1 or whoever is a       
fellow-townsman1 or fellow-countryman1  
or partisan1 or opponent1 or enemy of   
,mr4 ,taft1 whoever agrees with what he 
says in his speeches1 whoever plays golf
 with him1 or whoever hopes or fears for
 his re-election1 stands in just that   
relation1 whatever it may be1 to the    
,president of the ,united ,states4 ,and 
how important such rational inferences  
might appear for the comprehension of   
somebody's actual situation and         
prospects and acts depends upon the     
persons and the interests that may be in
 question4 ,to some people just such    
inferences1 at one moment or another1   
will not seem trivial1 will be worth    
making1 and will be anything but feats  
of barren intellectualism4 ,that they   
are easy inferences to make is beside   

the mark4 ,i have no time to ask you    
here to study with me the harder        
inferences upon topics that do not      
concern our main purpose4 ,what ,i #ih  
need1 however1 is to illustrate to you  
that such reasoning processes go beyond 
mere analysis1 and do involve a rational
 and articulate intuition of a novel    
aspect of experience4 ,for ,i defy you  
to find by any mere analysis of the     
assertion1 ,mr4 ,taft is ,president1 the
 innumerable assertions about friends1  
about family1 about speeches1 and       
policies1 and so on1 which as a fact    
rationally follow1 in the indicated way1
 from that first assertion4 ,you find   
these new results by taking a broader   
view of the unity of experience4 ,what1 
then1 ,i need to have you see is that   
the reason which1 even in its lightest  
deeds1 can accomplish such syntheses1   
and which can lead to such ordered      
intuitions1 and can be the endless      
source of such novelties1 is not merely 
the reason of whose powers as a source  

of insight ,james gives so discouraging 
a picture4  ,having thus barely         
illustrated the thesis that reason can  
be both productive of new insight and   
constructively synthetic in its grasp of
 wider ranges of experience than we     
could observe without it1 let me add    
that1 in the exact sciences1 and in     
particular in mathematics1 the reasoning
 process1 using just such forms of      
synthesis as ,i have now illustrated1 is
 constantly leading investigators to the
 most varied and novel discoveries4     
,these discoveries are not due to mere  
analysis4 ,they are reports of facts and
 the results of synthetic construction4 
,as ,mr4 ,charles ,peirce loves to point
 out1 the new discoveries made in       
mathematics1 and by purely rational     
processes1 #ii are so numerous that for 
each year a volume of many hundreds of  
closely printed pages is needed to give1
 with strictly technical brevity1 even  
the barest outline of the contents of   
the papers containing the novel results 

of that one year's researches4 ,in their
 union with other sciences1 the         
mathematical researches constantly lead 
to still vaster ranges of novel         
discovery4 ,reason1 then1 is not merely 
barren1 is not mainly concerned with    
unproductive analysis1 but does enrich  
our survey of experience1 of its unity  
and of its meaning4  ,perhaps some of   
you may still object that1 if ,i define 
reason in the terms suggested by these  
instances1 there seems to be danger of  
making the word reason mean simply the  
same as the word insight4 ,for insight1 
as ,i defined it in my opening lecture1 
means a coherent view of many facts in  
some sort of unity4 ,and in this case1  
as you may now say1 why use two words at
 all8 ,i reply that1 in fact1 all true  
insight is1 to my mind1 rational        
insight1 upon one or another level of   
the development of our power to become  
rational beings4 ,but you will remember 
that insight1 as ,i defined it1 also    
means knowledge which is intimate and   

manifold1 as well as knowledge which    
views facts and relations in their      
unity4 ,the words intuition and         
experience are often used to lay stress 
upon that aspect of our insight which   
either makes it intimate or else brings 
it into touch with many and various     
facts4 ,and such usage is convenient4   
,the word reason1 as ,i have just #ajj  
exemplified its more synthetic meaning1 
calls our attention precisely to that   
aspect of our better insight which is   
involved in our power to grasp many     
facts in their unity1 to see the        
coherence1 the inter-relationship1 the  
totality of a set of experiences4 ,now  
when insight reaches higher levels1     
these various aspects of our knowledge  
are never sundered4 ,but as we grow     
toward higher insight1 we know in part  
and prophesy in part and are child-like 
in so far as that which is perfect has  
not yet come4  ,in these1 our imperfect 
stages of growth1 sometimes our         
knowledge possesses intimacy1 but still 

has to remain content1 for the moment1  
with a more inarticulate grasp of deeper
 meanings4 ,in such cases ,james's sort 
of intuition1 or what is often called   
blind faith1 is mainly in question4 ,and
 this is indeed a stage on the way to   
insight4 ,we feel unities but do not see
 them4 ,sometimes1 however1 as in much  
of our ordinary experience1 the state of
 our minds is different2 our knowledge  
revels in1 or else contends with1 the   
endless variety and multiplicity of the 
facts of life1 and lacks a grasp of     
their unity4 ,in that case our insight  
is often called merely empirical4 ,we   
have experience2 and so far our         
knowledge prospers4 ,but we neither feel
 vaguely nor see clearly the total sense
 of things4 ,and in such cases our sight
 is too busy to give us time for higher 
insight4 ,as the ,germans say1 we do not
 see the wood because of the trees4  ,in
 a third stage of partial insight we may
 stand #aja where1 for instance1 the    
masters of the exact sciences stand4 ,we

 then grasp1 with clearness1 larger     
unities of controllable experience4 ,we 
create objects1 as the mathematicians   
create1 in an ideal world of our own    
contemplation2 and we then come to see  
that these ideal creations of ours do1  
indeed1 reveal the eternal truth        
regarding a world of seemingly          
impersonal or superpersonal reality4 ,we
 learn of this reality through the      
coherent synthesis of our ideal         
constructions4 ,our intuition is in this
 case at once empirical1 articulate1 and
 such as to survey the broad landscape  
of the genuine relations of things4 ,but
 alas6 in most such cases our objects1  
although they are indeed presented to   
our rational intuition1 are often       
abstract enough in their seeming4 ,they 
are objects such as numbers1 and series1
 and ordered arrays of highly ideal     
entities4 ,in such cases the reason does
 its typical work2 but often the objects
 of our insight fail to meet the more   
intense needs of life4  ,thus1 then1    

inarticulate intuitions1 ordinary or    
sometimes more scientific observations  
of the details of life1 and mathematical
 reasonings concerning the unity and the
 connections of highly ideal objects    
such as numbers1 come to stand in our   
experience as more or less sharply      
sundered grades of imperfect insight4   
,thus we naturally come to view the     
typical achievements of our reason as a 
thing apart1 and the rational or exact  
sciences as remote both from the        
intuitive faith of the little ones and  
from #ajb the wealthy experience of the 
men of common-sense and of the men of   
natural science4 ,as a fact1 all these  
stages of insight are hints of what the 
,supreme ,court meant when it appealed  
to the rule of reason4 ,true insight1 if
 fulfilled1 would be empirical1 for it  
would face facts2 intuitive1 for it     
would survey them and grasp them1 and be
 intimate with them2 rational1 for it   
would view them in their unity4         
,,iv  ,our lengthy effort to define the 

work and the place of the reason has    
brought us to the threshold of an       
appreciation of its relation to the     
religious insight which we are seeking4 
,in looking for salvation1 we discover  
that our task is defined for us by those
 aspects of individual and social       
experience upon which our two previous  
lectures have dwelt4 ,we have learned   
from the study of these two sorts of    
experience that1 whatever else we need  
for our salvation1 one of our needs is  
to come into touch with a life that in  
its unity1 in its meaning1 in its       
perfection1 is vastly superior to our   
present human type of life4 ,and so the 
question has presented itself3 ,have we 
any evidence that such a superhuman type
 of life is a real fact in the world8   
,the mystics1 and many of the faithful1 
answer this question by saying3 ,yes4   
,we have such evidence4 ,it is the      
assurance that we get through intuition1
 through feeling1 through the light     
revealed to us #ajc in certain moments  

when thought ceases1 and the proud      
intellect is dumb1 and when the divine  
speaks quite directly to the passive and
 humbled soul4 ,now when we calmly      
consider the evidence of such moments of
 inarticulate conviction1 they strongly 
impress upon us what we have called the 
religious paradox4 ,faith1 and the      
passive and mysterious intuitions of the
 devout1 seem to depend on first        
admitting that we are naturally blind   
and helpless and ignorant1 and worthless
 to know1 of ourselves1 any saving      
truth2 and upon nevertheless insisting  
that we are quite capable of one very   
lofty type of knowledge--that we are    
capable1 namely1 of knowing ,god's voice
 when we hear it1 of distinguishing a   
divine revelation from all other        
reports1 of being sure1 despite all our 
worthless ignorance1 that the divine    
higher life which seems to speak to us  
in our moments of intuition is what it  
declares itself to be4 ,if1 then1 there 
is a pride of intellect1 does there not 

seem to be an equal pride of faith1 an  
equal pretentiousness involved in       
undertaking to judge that certain of our
 least articulate intuitions are        
infallible8 ,surely here is a genuine   
problem1 and it is a problem for the    
reason4 ,we know that men differ in     
faith4 ,we know that one man's intuition
 regarding the way of salvation may seem
 to another man to be a mere delusion1 a
 deceitful dream4 ,we know1 from the    
reports of religious experience1 that at
 times even the saints of greatest      
renown have doubted whether some of     
their most persuasive visions of the    
#ajd divine were not1 after all1 due to 
the cunning deceit of an enemy of souls 
whom they more or less superstitiously  
feared4 ,we know that to common-sense1  
despite its interest in salvation1 the  
reports of the mystics and of the       
faithful have often appeared to be but  
the tale of private and vain imaginings4
 ,it is fair to ask what are the        
criteria whereby the true spiritual     

gifts1 the genuine revelations1 are to  
be distinguished4 ,and this1 ,i insist1 
is a question for the reason1 for that  
aspect of our nature which has to do    
with forming estimates of wholes rather 
than of fragments--estimates of life in 
its entirety rather than of this or that
 feeling or moment of ecstasy in its    
isolation4  ,if1 hereupon1 without for  
the moment attempting to discuss how    
others1 as1 for instance1 ,james        
himself1 deal with the problem of the   
reasonable estimate of the value of our 
religious intuitions1 ,i sketch for you 
my own opinion as to how reason does    
throw light upon the religious paradox1 
,i must again emphasise a matter that ,i
 mentioned in my opening lecture and    
that is much neglected4 ,religious faith
 does1 indeed1 involve a seemingly      
paradoxical attempt to transcend the    
admitted ignorance of the needy human   
being1 to admit that of himself this    
being knows almost nothing about the way
 of salvation1 and nevertheless to      

insist that he is able to recognise his 
,deliverer's voice as the voice of a    
real master of life when he hears that  
voice1 or--apart from metaphor--that he 
is able to be sure what revelation of a 
divine life1 not #aje his own1 is the   
true one when he happens to get it4 ,but
 religion is not alone in this          
paradoxical pride of humility4 ,science 
and common-sense alike involve a similar
 admission of the depths of our human   
fallibility and ignorance1 on the one   
hand1 and an analogous assurance that1  
despite this our fragmentariness of     
experience1 despite our liability to be 
deceived1 we nevertheless can recognise 
truth when experience once has not      
wholly verified it1 but has sufficiently
 helped us to get it4 ,for1 as          
individuals1 we are constantly confident
 beyond what our present experience1    
taken by itself1 clearly reveals to us4 
,we1 for instance1 trust our individual 
memory in the single case1 while        
admitting its pervasive fallibility in  

general4 ,we persistently view ourselves
 as in reasonably close touch with the  
general and common results of human     
experience1 even at the moment when we  
have to admit how little we know about  
the mind or the experience of any one   
fellow-man1 even our nearest friend4 ,we
 say that some of our opinions1 for     
instance1 are warranted by the          
common-sense of mankind4 ,that is1 we   
pretend once for all to know a good deal
 about what the common experience of    
mankind is4 ,and yet1 if we look closer1
 we see that we do not directly see or  
experience the genuine inner life of any
 one of mankind except the private self 
which each one of us regards as his own1
 while1 if we still further consider the
 matter1 we can readily observe how     
little each one of us really knows even 
about himself4 ,when #ajf we appeal then
 to what we call common-sense1 we       
pretend to know what it is that1 as we  
say1 the mind of mankind finds to be    
true4 ,but if we are asked to estimate  

the real state of mind of any individual
 man1 how mysterious that state is6 ,in 
brief1 the paradox of feeling confidence
 in our own judgment1 even while        
regarding all human opinion as          
profoundly fallible1 is not merely a    
religious paradox1 but also pervades our
 whole social and personal and even our 
scientific types of opinion4 ,not to    
have what is called a reasonable        
confidence in our own individual        
opinions is the mark of a weakling4 ,but
 usually1 if our personal opinions      
relate to important matters1 they bring 
us into more or less serious conflict   
with at least some of the opinions of   
other men4 ,conflict is one mark that   
your opinions are worth having4 ,when   
the conflict arises1 we are usually led 
to consider how fallible other men are4 
,they are fallible1 we say1 because they
 are human4 ,how little any poor man    
knows6 ,yes1 but if this principle holds
 true1 how doubtful are my own opinions6
 ,yet if ,i fill my mind with that      

reflection1 to the exclusion of all     
other reasonable considerations1 ,i     
condemn myself not to mere fallibility1 
but to certain failure4  ,the paradox is
 universal4 ,it pervades all forms and  
activities of human inquiry4 ,that is   
the first synthetic observation of the  
reason1 when it surveys the field of    
human opinion4 ,everywhere we live by   
undertaking to transcend in opinion what
 the #ajg evidence before us1 at any one
 moment1 directly and infallibly        
warrants4 ,but is it rational to do     
this8 ,and if so1 why is it rational8   
,the answer is that while there is much 
irrational presumption and              
overconfidence in our human world1 there
 is also a perfectly rational principle 
which warrants certain forms and methods
 of thus transcending in our opinions   
the immediately presented evidence of   
the moment when we judge4 ,this         
principle is as universal as it is      
generally neglected4 ,rightly           
understood1 it simply transforms for you

 your whole view of the real universe in
 which you live4  ,an opinion of yours  
may be true or false4 ,but when you form
 an opinion1 what are you trying to do8 
,you are trying to anticipate1 in some  
fashion1 what a wider view1 a larger    
experience of your present situation1 a 
fuller insight into your present ideas1 
and into what they mean1 would show you1
 if you now had that wider view and     
larger experience4 ,such an effort to   
anticipate what the wider view would    
even now show1 if you were possessed of 
that view1 involves both what are       
usually called theoretical interests and
 what pragmatists1 such as ,james       
himself1 have often characterised as    
practical interests4 ,one can express   
the matter by saying1 that you are      
trying1 through your opinions1 to       
predict what a larger insight1 if it    
were present to you1 would show or would
 find1 that is1 would experience4 ,you  
can also say that you are trying to     
define what #ajh a fuller apprehension  

and a fairer estimate of your present   
purposes1 and intentions1 and interests1
 and deeds1 and of their outcome1 and of
 their place in life1 would bring before
 your vision4 ,in brief 7whether you lay
 more stress upon deeds and their       
outcome1 or upon experiences and their  
contents71 any expression of opinion1   
made at any time1 is an appeal of the   
self of the moment to the verdict1 to   
the estimate1 to the experience of a    
larger and better informed insight1 in  
the light of which the self of the      
moment proposes to be judged4 ,the      
special criteria by which your momentary
 opinion is tested1 at the time when you
 form that opinion1 vary endlessly with 
your mood and your training and your    
feelings1 and with the topics and tasks 
in which you happen to be interested4   
,but the universal form in which any    
opinion comes to your consciousness1 and
 gets its definition for your own mind1 
is this form of an appeal to an insight 
that is superior in grasp1 in unity1 in 

coherence1 in reasonableness to your    
momentary insight4  ,now you can indeed 
say3 ,when ,i form and express an       
opinion1 ,i appeal from my present      
experiences to some wider insight that  
,i view as if it were possible4 ,my     
opinion asserts that if ,i were         
permitted to see what ,i just now do not
 directly experience1 ,i should find the
 facts to be so and so4 ,but no such    
account of the matter is quite complete4
 ,everything that you regard as possible
 has to be conceived as somehow based   
upon what you regard #aji as actual4    
,and so1 in fact1 your opinions are     
always appeals to some form of wider or 
larger or deeper or richer insight that1
 in the act of appealing to it1 you     
regard as a present or as a past or as a
 future reality--in brief1 as a live and
 perfectly concrete insight to whose    
verdict you appeal4 ,philosophers often 
express this by saying that all opinions
 are nothing but efforts to formulate   
the real contents of experience4 ,this  

view ,i accept4  ,so then1 as ,i insist1
 whatever your opinions1 your expression
 of them is an appeal to some wider     
insight that you regard as real1 and    
that you view as a live insight which   
comprehends your ideas1 and which sees  
how they are related to genuine         
experience4 ,this1 ,i affirm1 is the    
universal form which all opinion takes4 
,a true opinion is true1 because in fact
 it expresses what the wider insight    
confirms4 ,a false opinion is false1    
because it is refuted by the light of   
this same wider view4 ,apart from such a
 confirmation or refutation in the light
 of such a larger view1 the very        
concepts of truth and error1 as applied 
to opinions which are not wholly        
confirmed or set aside by the           
instantaneous evidence of the moment    
when the opinions are formed or uttered1
 have no meaning4 ,true is the judgment 
that is confirmed by the larger view to 
which it appeals4 ,false is the         
assertion that is not thus confirmed4   

,upon such a conception the very ideas  
of truth and error depend4 ,without such
 a conception truth and error have no   
sense4 ,if such a conception is not     
itself #aaj a true view of our          
situation1 that is1 if there is no wider
 insight1 our opinions have neither     
truth nor error1 and are all of them    
alike merely meaningless4 ,when you are 
ignorant1 you are ignorant of what the  
wider view makes clear to its own       
insight4 ,if you blunder or are deluded1
 your blunder is due to a defective     
apprehension which the wider view       
confirms4 ,and thus1 whether you are    
ignorant or blundering1 wise or foolish1
 whether the truth or the falsity of    
your present opinion is supposed to be  
actual1 one actuality is equally and    
rationally presupposed1 as the actuality
 to which all your opinions refer1 and  
in the light of which they possess      
sense4 ,this is the actuality of some   
wider insight with reference to which   
your own opinion gets its truth or its  

falsity4  ,to this wider insight1 to    
this always presupposed vision of       
experience as it is1 of the facts as    
they are1 you are always appealing4     
,your every act of assertion displays   
the genuineness of the appeal and       
exemplifies the absolute rational       
necessity of asserting that the appeal  
is made to an insight that is itself    
real4  ,frequently you do1 indeed1 call 
this insight merely the common-sense of 
mankind4 ,but1 strange to say1 this     
common-sense of mankind is always and   
inevitably conceived by you in terms    
that distinguish it from the fleeting   
momentary views of any or of all merely 
individual men4 ,men--if ,i may judge   
them by my own case1 and by what ,i hear
 other #aaa men confess--men1 when taken
 merely as individuals1 always live from
 moment to moment in a flickering way1  
normally confident1 indeed1 but clearly 
seeing at any one instant very little at
 a time4 ,they are narrow in the span of
 the more direct insight4 ,they grasp   

data bit by bit1 and comprehend1 in     
their instantaneous flashes of insight1 
only little scraps and tiny bundles of  
ideas4 ,i who now speak to you cannot   
hold clearly and momentarily before my  
mind at once even all of the meaning    
that ,i try to express in two or three  
of my successive sentences4 ,i live     
looking before and after1 and pining for
 what is not1 and grasping after unity2 
and ,i find each moment crumbling as it 
flies2 and each thought and each        
sentence of my discourse drops into     
momentary forgetfulness so soon as ,i   
have carefully built up its passing     
structure4 ,in our life all thus flows4 
,we fly from one flash of insight to    
another4  ,but nevertheless our         
opinions1 so we say1 reflect sometimes  
the common-sense of mankind4 ,they      
conform to the verdict of humanity4 ,but
 who amongst us ever goes beyond thus   
confidently holding that he reflects the
 common-sense of mankind8 ,who amongst  
us personally and individually          

experiences1 at any moment1 the         
confirmation said to be given by the    
verdict of humanity8 ,the verdict of    
humanity8 ,what man ever finds          
immediately presented to his own        
personal insight that totality of data  
upon which this verdict is said to      
depend8 #aab ,the common-sense of       
mankind8 ,what mortal man is there who  
ever finds incorporated in his          
flickering1 fleeting1 crumbling1 narrow 
moments of personal experience the calm 
and secure insight which this           
common-sense of mankind1 or of          
enlightened mankind1 is said to possess8
  ,no1 the common-sense of mankind is1  
for us all1 a sort of super-individual  
insight1 to which we appeal without     
ourselves fully possessing it4 ,this    
common-sense of mankind is just the     
sense which no man of us all ever       
individually possesses4 ,for us all it  
is1 indeed1 something superhuman4 ,we   
spend part of our busy little lives in  
somewhat pretentiously undertaking to   

report its dicta4 ,but it is simply one 
of the countless forms in which we      
conceive the wider insight to be        
incorporated4 ,the true rational warrant
 for this confidence of ours lies in the
 fact that whatever else is real1 some  
form of such a wider insight1 some      
essentially super-individual and        
superhuman insight is real4 ,for unless 
it is real our opinions1 including any  
opinion that we may have that doubts or 
questions or denies its reality1 are all
 equally meaningless4 ,thus even when we
 appeal to common-sense we really appeal
 to a genuine but super-human insight4  
,let us not here spend time1 however1   
upon analysing this or that special form
 in which we are accustomed1 for one    
special purpose or another1 to conceive 
the wider insight4 ,what is clear is    
that we constantly1 and in every        
opinion1 in every confession of #aac    
ignorance appeal to such an insight4    
,that such an insight is real1 must be  
presupposed even in order to assert that

 our present opinions are errors4 ,what 
interests us most at this point is1     
however1 this1 that whatever else the   
whole real universe is1 the real        
universe exists only in case it is the  
object1 and the very being1 of such an  
insight1 of such an inclusive           
experience1 of such a view of what is4  
,for1 when you hold any opinions        
whatever about the real world1 or about 
any of its contents1 characters1 or     
values1 your opinions are either true or
 false1 and are true or false by virtue 
of their actual conformity to the live  
insight which experiences what makes    
them true or false1 and which therefore 
ipso facto experiences what the real    
world is4 ,if there is no such          
world-possessing insight1 then1 once    
more1 your opinions about the world are 
neither true nor false4 ,or1 otherwise  
stated1 if there is no such inclusive   
insight there is no world4 ,to the real 
world1 then1 this insight which         
comprehends the world1 and which knows  

whatever is true to be true1 and        
whatever is false about the world to be 
false--to the real world this insight1  
,i say1 belongs4 ,and the whole world   
belongs to it and is its object and     
essence4 ,whatever is real is real for  
that insight1 and is in its experience1 
and exists as its possession1 and as its
 well-known and well-comprehended       
content1 and as its image and expression
 and meaning4  ,all this ,i say1 as you 
may note1 not because ,i hold in high   
esteem any of our private human #aad    
opinions1 but only because1 except in   
the light of such an all-seeing         
comprehension of facts as they are1 our 
individual opinions about the world     
cannot even be false4 ,for opinion1 in  
all its fleeting blindness and in its   
human chaos of caprices1 is ceaselessly 
an appeal to the judge1 to the seer1 to 
the standard experience1 to the knower  
of facts as they are1 to the wider view1
 to the decisive insight4 ,and opinions 
about reality in its wholeness1 about   

the world1 about the all1 are appeals to
 the all-judging insight1 to the        
all-seeing view1 to the knowledge and   
experience that grasps the totality of  
facts1 to the widest outlook1 to the    
deepest insight1 to the absolute        
rational decision4 ,if this be so1 then 
an opinion to the effect that there     
exists no such widest and deepest       
insight1 and no such final view1 is     
itself just such an appeal to the final 
insight1 simply because it is an opinion
 about reality4 ,to assert then that    
there is no largest view1 no final      
insight1 no experience that is absolute1
 is to assert that the largest view     
observes that there is no largest view1 
that the final insight sees that there  
is no such insight1 that the ultimate   
experience is aware that there is no    
ultimate experience4 ,and such an       
assertion is indeed a                   
self-contradiction4  ,this1 ,i assert1  
is the only rational way of stating the 
nature of opinion1 of truth or error1   

and consequently of reality4 ,this is   
the synthesis which reason inevitably   
accomplishes whenever it rightly views  
the nature and the implications of even 
our most flickering and erroneous and   
uncertain #aae opinions4 ,we can err    
about what you will4 ,but if we err1 we 
simply come short of the insight to     
which we are aiming to conform1 and in  
the light of which our ideas get        
absolutely all of their meaning4 ,in    
every error1 in every blunder1 in all   
our darkness1 in all our ignorance1 we  
are still in touch with the eternal     
insight4 ,we are always seeking to know 
even as we are known4   ,i have sought  
in this sketch to vindicate the general 
rights of rational insight as against   
mere momentary or fragmentary intuition4
 ,i have also tried to show you what    
synthesis of reason gives us a genuinely
 religious insight4  ,my first penitent1
 said the priest of our story1 was a    
murderer4 ,and ,i1 said the nobleman1   
was this priest's first penitent4  ,i am

 ignorant of the vast and mysterious    
real world--thus says our sense of human
 fallibility and weakness when we are   
first awakened to our need of rational  
guidance4 ,the saying is true4 ,the     
mystery is appalling4 ,i am ignorant of 
the real world4 ,yes2 but reason1       
reflecting upon the nature and the      
essential meaning of opinion1 of truth1 
of error1 and of ignorance1 points out  
to us this thesis3 ,that of which ,i am 
ignorant is that about which ,i can err4
 ,but error is failure to conform my    
momentary opinion to the very insight   
which ,i mean and to which ,i am all the
 while appealing4 ,error is failure to  
conform to the inclusive insight which  
#aaf overarches my errors with the      
heaven of its rational clearness4 ,error
 is failure to grasp the very light     
which shines in my darkness1 even while 
my darkness comprehends it not4 ,that of
 which ,i am ignorant is then           
essentially the object of a super-human 
and divine insight4  ,i am ignorant of  

the world4 ,to be ignorant is to fail to
 grasp the object of the all-inclusive  
and divine insight4 ,that is the        
expression of our situation4 ,reason    
easily makes the fitting synthesis when 
it considers the priest and the         
nobleman4 ,i ask you to make the        
analogous synthesis regarding the world 
and the divine insight4 ,this synthesis 
here takes form in concluding that the  
world is the object of an all-inclusive 
and divine insight1 which is thus the   
supreme reality4  ,i have but sketched  
for you the contribution of reason to   
our quest4 ,this contribution will seem 
to many of you too abstract and too     
contemplative to meet vital religious   
needs4 ,in fact1 what ,i have said will 
mean little to you unless you come to   
see how it can be translated into an    
adequate expression in our active life4 
,to this task of such a further         
interpretation of the mission of the    
reason as a guide of life my next       
lecture shall be devoted4  #aag         

,,iv                     ,,the ,,world  
,,and ,,the ,,will  #aah  #aai          
,,iv                     ,,the ,,world  
,,and ,,the ,,will  ,i could not        
discuss1 in my last lecture1 the office 
of the reason as a source of religious  
insight without sketching for you what  
insight ,i personally regard as the most
 important result of the right use of   
reason4 ,this sketch was of course1 in  
my own mind1 a part of an extended body 
of philosophical doctrine4 ,it does not 
lie within the intent of these lectures 
to present a system of philosophy4 ,i   
ought1 nevertheless1 to begin this      
lecture by saying a few words about the 
relation of my last discussion to       
certain religious and philosophical     
opinions of which you have all heard1   
and by indicating why it has seemed to  
me worth while to call your attention to
 the mere hint of a philosophy with     
which the last discussion closed4       
,having thus indicated the setting in   
which ,i want you to see the brief      

exposition of a general theory which ,i 
find to be indispensable for our main   
purpose1 ,i shall devote the rest of    
this lecture to the task of connecting  
the insight which reason gives to us    
with the main purpose of our inquiry1   
namely1 with the undertaking to know the
 nature and the way of salvation4       
,reason is of importance in so #abj far 
as what it shows us enables us to direct
 our will and to come into closer touch 
with truths which are not only          
theoretical1 but also practical4  ,we   
shall therefore discuss at some length  
the relation of our rational knowledge  
to our active life1 and the relation of 
our rational will to the world in which 
we are to work out our salvation if we  
can4                                ,i  
,the nature and the teachings of the    
human reason have interested            
philosophers from very nearly the       
beginning of philosophical inquiry4     
,what ,i told you about the subject in  
our former discussion reports a         

decidedly modern version of a very old  
opinion--an opinion which has been      
repeatedly examined1 revised1 assailed1 
and defended4 ,let me say a word as to  
its history4  ,plato held that1 through 
our reason1 we are able to rise beyond  
the world of sense and to hold communion
 with a realm of ideally significant and
 eternal being4 ,what ,plato really     
meant by his ideal realm1 and in what   
sense the world of what ,plato called   
the eternal realities1 the forms or     
ideas1 could be1 as ,plato held it to   
be1 a divine world1 in its worth and    
dignity1 later philosophy repeatedly    
attempted to grasp4  ,the results of    
such philosophical thinking have deeply 
affected the history of religion and    
still influence the religious interest  
of all of you4 ,one #aba version of that
 philosophical tradition whose origin is
 in the thought of ,plato--a late       
version1 and also one greatly           
transformed by motives of which ,plato  
had known in his day nothing1 is the    

familiar version to which1 in the last  
lecture1 ,i in passing alluded--the     
prologue to our ,fourth ,gospel4 ,you   
will all agree that this prologue       
attempts to state a religious insight4  
,the relation of this ,new ,testament   
view of the world of the reason to the  
doctrine which still later came to be   
formulated by the theologians of the    
,christian ,church ,i have here not time
 to discuss4 ,it is enough now to say   
that an opinion according to which our  
articulate reason1 as well as the more  
inarticulate intuition of faith1 has    
some sort of access to the world of the 
,logos1 and some sort of participation  
in a genuine apprehension of the divine 
life1 has come to form part of the      
religion in which you all have been     
trained4 ,in so far1 then1 it is surely 
right to say that the reason1 as the    
philosophers have defined it1 has been  
an actual source of religious opinion   
and experience4  ,in modern times1 and  
especially since ,kant1 philosophy has  

been led to see the older doctrines of  
the human reason1 and of its knowledge  
of the divine1 from various decidedly   
novel points of view4 ,the sketch of a  
theory of the reason as a source of     
insight1 which ,i gave1 was influenced  
by ,kant's famous teaching about the    
nature and unity of human experience4   
,kant stated this theory as the doctrine
 that all our human knowledge involves  
an #abb interpretation of the data of   
our senses in the light of what he      
called the unity of apperception4 ,in   
less technical terms1 ,kant's meaning is
 that all facts of which a human        
experience can obtain knowledge are     
known to us as the possible objects of  
an insight which we conceive to be      
virtually one1 as the insight of our own
 truly knowing ,self1 and as the insight
 without reference to which no opinion  
of ours has any sense whatever4 ,this   
one cognitive ,self is1 according to    
,kant1 the conceived virtual subject or 
possessor of all that we view as our    

experience4 ,and this presupposed unity 
is the condition of all our knowledge4  
,but ,kant's doctrine1 as he stated it1 
is in many ways problematic and         
dissatisfying4 ,the form of             
philosophical idealism which ,i myself  
defend goes in certain respects far     
beyond ,kant's position4 ,the one       
experience1 in which1 according to him1 
we find a place for any fact which we   
conceive as knowable at all1 is defined 
by ,kant as a virtual insight1 not1 so  
to speak1 a live and concrete           
consciousness4 ,he regards it also as   
purely human1 as a knowledge of         
appearances--not of any ultimate        
realities4 ,the form of philosophical   
idealism which1 at the last time1 ,i    
outlined depends1 however1 upon simply  
universalising1 and rendering live and  
concrete1 ,kant's conception of the     
,self1 of the united experience1 to     
which we appeal1 and in the light of    
which our opinions get all their        
sense--all their character and value as 

true or as false opinions4 #abc ,this   
one ,self1 this unity of experience1 to 
which we always appeal1 cannot          
consistently be viewed by us as merely  
our own individual or private self1 or  
as merely human2 and its insight cannot 
rationally be interpreted merely as an  
insight into what is apparent1 that is  
into what is not really real4 ,nor can  
it be viewed merely as something        
virtual--a possible unity of experience1
 to which we would appeal if we could4  
,in my opinion it must be conceived as  
more live and real and concrete and     
conscious and genuine than are any of   
our passing moments of fleeting human   
experience4 ,it must be viewed as an    
actual and inclusive and divinely       
rational knowledge of all facts in their
 unity4 ,and the very nature of facts1  
their very being as facts1 must be      
determined by their presence as objects 
in the experience of this               
world-embracing insight4 ,this was the  
philosophical theory that ,i sketched in

 my former lecture4 ,this is my view of 
what reason teaches4  ,now this thesis1 
this somewhat remote descendant of the  
,platonic doctrine of the function of   
reason1 this modern version of the      
concept of the ,logos as the light that 
shineth in the darkness of our ordinary 
human experience1 this revision and     
transformation of the ,kantian theory of
 knowledge1 has1 by virtue of the long  
history of the doctrine in question1 and
 by virtue of the difficult             
considerations upon which1 as a         
philosophical thesis1 it rests1 a highly
 technical character4 ,this technical   
aspect of the teaching in question      
forbids1 in these lectures4 #abd any    
adequate exposition1 or criticism1 or   
defence of its problems and of its      
merits as a basis for a system of       
philosophy4 ,and you will surely not    
find unnatural the fact that a study of 
the function of the reason should indeed
 involve such technical and complex     
issues4 ,i mention these issues only to 

say at once how and how far1 in the     
present lectures1 we are concerned with 
them4  ,we are seeking a way of         
salvation4 ,and in these discussions we 
are mainly concerned with the sources of
 insight into what that way is4 ,i am   
not attempting to work out1 in your     
presence1 a systematic philosophy4 ,why1
 then1 have ,i introduced this mere     
sketch of philosophical idealism into   
our inevitably crowded programme8 ,i    
answer3 ,i have done so because ,i have 
wanted to illustrate the office of      
reason by telling you in my own way how 
,i view the matter4 ,the reason is1 in  
fact1 a source of religious insight to  
many people who do not reflect upon its 
deliverances as philosophers seek to    
reflect1 and who may not agree with me  
in what little ,i have time to expound  
of my own philosophical opinions4 ,my   
effort has been to tell in philosophical
 terms what such people really mean4    
,in such people reason very often shows 
itself indirectly and concretely1 by its

 fruits1 through their deeds1 through   
their purpose1 in a word1 through their 
will4 ,we shall ere long see how this   
can be and is the case4 ,reason is      
present in such lives and inspires them4
 ,a genuine relation to some #abe spirit
 of all truth1 a perfectly sincere touch
 with an articulate and universal       
insight1 a translation of the lesson and
 the meaning of the synthetic reason    
into a definite practical postulate that
 life shall be and is an essentially    
reasonable and therefore an essentially 
divine enterprise--such ,i find to be   
the essence of the religious insight of 
many serious minds4 ,beside the earnest 
devotion of such people to the business 
which life assigns to them1 the mere    
theories of a philosopher may seem      
shadowy enough4 ,and if such people     
comment upon what they hear of my       
philosophy by saying that they do not   
understand it1 and doubt whether they   
agree with it1 ,i am not on that account
 at all disposed to complain of them1 or

 to assert that reason is to them no    
source of religious insight4 ,i take    
pleasure1 however1 in observing that1 in
 my opinion1 they agree with my doctrine
 in the concrete1 and express it in     
their religious life far better than ,i 
can express it in my technical terms1   
however much these people may fail to   
grasp what my terms mean or to accept my
 formulations4 ,the best expression of  
your reason is your life1 if you live as
 one enlightened from above ought to    
live4 ,you are not obliged to accept a  
technical formula in order to embody the
 spirit of that formula in your daily   
work4 ,i know many men who are far more 
the servants and ministers of the true  
rational insight than1 in my present    
human life1 ,i shall ever succeed in    
becoming1 and who1 nevertheless1 either 
are impatient of every #abf             
philosophical theory1 or1 if            
philosophically trained1 are opposed to 
me in my philosophy4  ,nevertheless1 ,i 
need to express1 in my own way1 what is 

the insight that is really at the heart 
of the lives of just such people4 ,what 
,i am first interested in emphasising is
 of course this1 that1 in my opinion1 my
 interpretation of the insight of which 
reason is the source1 actually expresses
 one important aspect of the spirit in  
which those live whom ,i regard as the  
true servants of the divine reason4 ,but
 my interest in the matter does not     
cease here4 ,i can1 of course1 express  
my opinions only in the terms that      
appeal to me4 ,but whatever you think of
 my formulas1 ,i am very anxious to have
 you see that1 as the life of such      
people convincingly shows1 reason has   
been1 and is1 a source of religious     
insight to them1 and that our           
philosophical differences relate simply 
to the way in which we formulate our    
interpretation of the meaning of this   
source4  ,reason has been such a source 
of insight4 ,that is true as an         
historical fact4 ,if you can find       
anything in the ,platonic dialogues     

which appeals to you as involving an    
insight that has religious value1 you   
must recognise this truth4 ,it is a mere
 matter of history that ,christian      
doctrine as it has come down to us is1  
in one aspect1 profoundly affected by   
,plato's influence4 ,the myth of the men
 in the cave1 in the ,platonic          
,republic1 the myth in ,plato's         
,phaedrus1 which tells about the        
banishment of the soul from its heavenly
 life and from its intercourse with the 
#abg ideal world1 and which interprets  
all our loftier human loves as a longing
 of the soul for its divine home        
land--these myths are allegories which  
,plato intended to illustrate his own   
view of what reason teaches us4 ,these  
myths express in figurative speech a    
philosophy that actually affects to-day 
your own religious interests4 ,for      
instance1 this philosophy influences    
your traditional conception of ,god1 and
 your ideas about the immortal life of  
the soul4 ,and if the prologue of the   

,fourth ,gospel seems to you to contain 
any truth1 your religious ideas are     
again moulded by a form of ancient      
philosophy which dealt with the nature  
and with the insight of the reason4 ,my 
own sketch of modern philosophy is but a
 reinterpretation of the very truth     
which that ancient doctrine attempted to
 portray4 ,historically1 then1 some of  
your religious opinions are actually due
 to the work of the reason4 ,my         
philosophy simply tries to interpret to 
you this work4  ,and reason not only has
 been1 but now is1 such a source of     
insight4 ,and this is the case whenever 
you try to apply the rule of reason to  
any problem of your life1 and hereby    
gain a confidence that1 by being as     
reasonable and fair as you can1 you are 
learning to conform your life to the    
view which1 as you suppose1 an all-wise 
,god takes of its meaning4 ,my          
philosophy simply tries to tell you why 
you have a right to hold that an        
all-wise being is real4  ,i am anxious1 

,i say1 to have such facts about the    
#abh office of reason recognised1       
whatever you may think of my philosophy4
 ,and this is my purpose when ,i use my 
philosophy merely to illustrate the     
office of reason4 ,for indispensable as 
individual religious experience is1 in  
all the capriciousness of its           
feelings--indispensable also as social  
religious experience is1 with all its   
insistence upon human love and also upon
 human religious convention--the        
synthetic use of the reason1 that is1   
the systematic effort to see life       
steadily and see it whole1 is also      
indispensable4 ,the recent efforts to   
make light of the work of               
reason--efforts to which1 at the last   
lecture1 ,i directed your attention1    
would tend1 if taken by themselves1 to  
result in basing religion upon an       
inarticulate occultism1 upon a sort of  
psychical research that would regard    
whatever witch may peep and mutter1     
whatever mystic may be unable to tell   

what he means1 whatever dumb cry of the 
soul may remain stubbornly inarticulate1
 as a more promising religious guide    
than is any form of serious and         
far-seeing devotion to the wider        
insight1 which ought to survey life and 
to light our path4  ,let my own appeal  
to philosophy1 then1 even if you do not 
agree with my formulas1 stand as my     
protest against occultism and against   
the exclusive devotion to the           
inarticulate sources of religious       
insight4 ,that ,i also prize the        
perfectly indispensable office of the   
more child-like intuitions1 when they   
occupy their true place1 you already    
know from my first two lectures4 ,we    
cannot in our present life #abi do      
without these child-like intuitions4 ,we
 cannot be just to them without aiming  
to live beyond them and to put away     
childish things4                        
,,ii  ,if my interpretation of the      
reason thus gets its worth from the fact
 that it attempts by a formula simply to

 illustrate the view which the servants 
of the divine reason actually and       
practically translate into life1 and    
express through their spirit and through
 their deeds1 you may hereupon object   
that my view of the reason as a source  
of religious insight still seems to you 
to be one which it is not easy to       
translate into life at all4 ,what does  
it profit a man1 you will say1 to view  
the whole world as the object present to
 an all-embracing and divine insight8   
,how does such a view give a man the    
power to live more reasonably than he   
otherwise would live8 ,is a             
world-embracing reason that sees all    
things in their unity really that master
 of life whom our simpler religious     
intuitions call upon us to seek as our  
,deliverer from our natural chaos of    
desires8 ,i have just asserted that     
there are people who devote their lives 
to the service of such a divine reason4 
,but if the divine reason is eternal and
 perfect1 and if it sees all reality as 

an unity1 and if this is its only       
function1 how can any one serve it at   
all8 ,the eternal needs no help1 you may
 insist1 and apparently has no concern  
for us4 ,we need1 for our #acj          
salvation1 something1 or some personal  
deliverer1 that can teach us not merely 
to utter true assertions1 but to live   
worthy lives4 ,how does the insight of  
the reason enlighten us in this respect8
 ,what would one do for a divine ,logos1
 for an all-observant and               
all-comprehending seer8 ,could one love 
such a being1 or devoutly commune with  
his perfect but motionless wisdom8 ,is  
it true then1 as ,i have just maintained
 it to be true1 that the insight of the 
reason1 as ,i have expounded it in my   
sketch of a philosophy1 does really     
inspire the earnest and devoted souls   
whose spirit ,i have attempted to       
express8 ,whatever they may think of my 
philosophy1 have ,i been just to their  
practical fervour and to their energetic
 devotion8 ,do they merely say3 ,god is 

omniscient1 therefore our life has its  
purpose defined1 and we are saved8  ,in 
brief1 the insight of the reason1 as ,i 
have been stating its dicta1 may seem to
 you1 at best1 to show us a sort of     
heaven which1 as ,i said1 overarches our
 unwisdom with its starry clearness1 but
 which as you may now add we can neither
 reach1 nor use1 nor regard as a        
rational inspiration of our active life4
 ,if it is real1 it can observe us1 as  
it observes all reality4 ,but can it    
save us8 ,it can rise above us4 ,but can
 it enter into our will and give us a   
plan of life8 ,granting the validity of 
the argument sketched in our last       
lecture1 what has the all-wise knower of
 truth to do with our salvation8  ,these
 are familiar objections to such a view 
as #aca mine4 ,james repeatedly urged   
them in his comment upon what he        
regarded as not merely the fallibility1 
but the futility1 or1 as he said1 the   
thinness of the idealistic              
interpretation of the world of the      

reason4 ,similar objections have been   
urged by many of the critics of any     
doctrine similar to mine4 ,are these    
objections just8                        
,,iii  ,i can answer such questions only
 through a certain gradual approach to  
their complications4 ,i want to show you
 how the insight of the reason not only 
points out a heaven that overarches us1 
but also reveals an influence that can  
inwardly transform us4 ,to this end ,i  
shall next illustrate1 by instances     
taken from life1 how some people        
actually view their own personal        
relations to what they take to be the   
divine reason4 ,i shall thus indicate in
 what way such people connect this      
divine reason with personal needs of    
their own which they regard as vital4   
,then ,i shall show why this not only is
 so in the lives of some people1 but    
ought to be so for all of us4 ,as a     
result we shall soon find that1 just as 
our first statement of the insight of   
reason1 if indeed it is a true          

statement1 transforms our view of the   
sense in which the world is real1 so a  
deeper study of the relations of insight
 to action transforms our first cruder  
notion of the reason itself1 of its     
office in life1 and of the truth that it
 reveals4  #acb  ,i begin with          
illustrations taken from life4 ,a former
 college student of mine1 some of whose 
papers upon his own religious experience
 ,i was not very long ago privileged to 
read1 undertook1 in one of these papers1
 to explain how1 at the time1 he viewed 
the place of prayer in his own life4 ,he
 was a man capable1 upon the one hand1  
of deep emotion and of rich inner life1 
but on the other hand highly            
self-critical and disposed to doubt4    
,after a somewhat plentiful early       
interest in religion1 the result of home
 training and of personal experience1 he
 had come1 as he studied more1 and      
looked about his world more critically1 
to part company almost altogether with  
positive faiths about religious matters4

 ,his childhood beliefs had dropped     
away4 ,doubts and disbeliefs had taken  
their place4 ,in opinion1 when he wrote 
his papers for me1 he was mainly        
disposed to a pure naturalism4 ,the gods
 of the past had vanished from his life 
almost altogether4  ,but1 said he1 in   
his account 7,i follow not his exact    
words but their general sense71 one old 
religious exercise ,i have never quite  
given up4 ,that was and is prayer4 ,a   
good while ago ,i dropped all           
conventional forms of prayer4 ,i did not
 say my prayers in the old way4 ,and    
when ,i prayed ,i no longer fancied that
 the course of nature or of my luck was 
going to be altered for my sake1 or that
 my prayers would help me to avoid any  
consequences of my folly or my          
ignorance4 ,i did not pray to get       
anybody to mix in my affairs1 so as to  
get me things #acc that ,i wanted4 ,but 
this was1 and is1 my feeling about      
prayer3 ,when things are too much for   
me1 and ,i am down on my luck1 and      

everything is dark1 ,i go alone by      
myself1 and ,i bury my head in my hands1
 and ,i think hard that ,god must know  
it all and will see how matters really  
are1 and understands me1 and in just    
that way alone1 by understanding me1    
will help me4 ,and so ,i try to get     
myself together4 ,and that1 for me1 is  
prayer4  ,i cannot repeat my student's  
precise form of expression4 ,i think    
that ,i express to you the spirit of    
what he wrote4 ,in any case1 this form  
of prayer is not peculiar to that man4  
,you see in what way the thought of the 
divine wisdom became a practical thought
 for him--a thought at once rational    
and1 as far as it went1 saving4 ,when   
life shattered his little human         
plans--well1 he lifted up his eyes unto 
the hills4 ,he won a sort of conscious  
and reasonable union with the all-seeing
 life4 ,he did not ask its aid as a     
giver of good fortunes4 ,he waited      
patiently for the light4 ,now ,i do not 
think that to be an expression of the   

whole insight of reason2 but1 so far as 
it went1 that sort of prayer was an     
essentially religious act4 ,and for that
 youth it was also a very practical act4
  ,let me turn to another case4 ,many   
years ago ,i well knew a man1 much older
 than myself1 who has long since died4  
,a highly intelligent man1 ambitious for
 the things of the spirit1 he was also  
beset with some defects of health and   
with many worldly #acd cares4 ,his      
defects of health made him sensitive to 
the sort of observation that his        
physical weaknesses often attracted4 ,in
 addition1 he had enemies1 and once had 
to endure the long-continued trial of a 
public attack upon his reputation--an   
attack from which he at length came     
forth triumphant1 but not without long  
suffering4 ,once ,i heard him telling   
about his own religion1 which was the   
faith of a highly independent mind4     
,what ,i most value about my thought of 
,god1 he in effect said1 is that ,i     
conceive ,god as the one who knows us   

through and through1 and who estimates  
us not as we seem1 but as we are1 and   
who is absolutely fair in his judgment  
of us4 ,my friend had no concern for    
future rewards and punishments4 ,the    
judgment of ,god to which he appealed1  
and in which1 without any vanity1 he    
delighted1 was simply the fair and true 
judgment1 the divine knowing of us all  
just as we are4  ,now do you not know   
people whose religion is of this sort8  
,and are not all such forms of religion1
 as far as they go1 practical8 ,is the  
recognition of an all-seeing insight1 as
 something real1 not in itself calming1 
sustaining1 rationalising8 ,does it not 
at the very least awaken in us the ideal
 which ,i repeatedly mentioned in our   
last lecture1 the ideal of knowing      
ourselves even as we are known1 and of  
guiding our lives in the light of such a
 view of ourselves8 ,can such an ideal  
remain wholly a matter of theory8 ,is it
 not from its very essence an appeal to 
the will8 #ace ,was not my elder friend 

finding a guiding principle of action in
 a world where he was often             
misunderstood8 ,could one steadily      
conceive ,god in these terms without    
constantly renewing one's power to face 
the world with courage8  ,surely you all
 know many people who value the divine  
as they define the divine1 mainly       
because they conceive ,god as what they 
call the ,great ,companion4 ,and1 for   
many such1 it is the intimately perfect 
insight of this companion that they seem
 to themselves most to value4 ,the ways 
of this companion are to them           
mysterious4 ,but he knows them4 ,they   
repeat the word3 ,he knoweth the way    
that ,i take4 ,he sees them4 ,he is     
close to them4 ,he estimates them4 ,so  
they view the matter4 ,is not such a    
conception a vitally important spring of
 action for those who possess it8       
,these illustrations suggest that one   
ill appreciates the insight of reason1  
even as so imperfectly and one-sidedly  
sketched by me at the last lecture1 who 

does not see that this insight has an   
extremely close connection with the     
will4                                   
,,iv  ,our illustrations have now       
prepared the way for a general review of
 the relations between our reason and   
our will4 ,we are ready at length to ask
 whether any insight of reason1 whether 
any general view of the nature and of   
the unity of the world or of life1 #acf 
could possibly be a merely theoretical  
insight4 ,and if we rightly answer this 
question1 we shall be prepared to reply 
to the objection that1 according to the 
doctrine of the last lecture1 the divine
 insight which overarches our ignorance1
 and which has all reality for its      
object1 is a lifeless1 or an            
unpractical1 or a merely remote type of 
pure knowledge4  ,our attempt to deal   
with this new question can best be made 
by taking a direct advantage of what    
some of you may suppose to be the most  
formidable of all objections to the     
whole argument of the last lecture4 ,in 

my sketch of a philosophy of the reason1
 ,i have so far deliberately avoided    
mentioning what many of you will have   
had in mind as you have listened to me1 
namely1 that doctrine about our         
knowledge1 and about truth1 and about   
our mode of access to truth1 which      
to-day goes by the name of ,pragmatism4 
,here we have to do1 once more1 with    
some of the favourite theses of ,james's
 later years4 ,we have also to do with a
 view with which my present audience is 
likely to be familiar1 at least so far  
as concerns both the name pragmatism and
 the best-known fundamental theses of   
the pragmatist4 ,for ,i speak in the    
immediate neighbourhood of one of the   
most famous strongholds of the recent   
pragmatic movement4 ,i can give but a   
comparatively small portion of our      
limited time to the task of explaining  
to you how ,i view those aspects of     
pragmatism which here concern our       
enterprise4 ,yet this summary discussion
 will go far1 ,i hope1 to show how #acg 

,i view the relations between the reason
 and the will1 and in how far our will  
also seems to me to be a source of      
religious insight4  ,that human         
knowledge is confined to the range      
furnished by human experience1 and      
cannot be used to transcend that        
experience1 is an opinion widely        
represented in all modern discussion1   
and especially in the most recent times4
 ,my own account of the insight which ,i
 refer to the reason depends not upon   
simply ignoring this general doctrine   
about the limitations of our human      
knowledge1 but upon an effort to get a  
rational view of what it is that we mean
 by human experience4 ,my result1 as ,i 
have stated it1 may have seemed         
paradoxical2 and ,i am far from         
supposing that my brief sketch could    
remove this paradoxical seeming1 or     
could answer all objections4 ,my thesis 
is essentially this1 that you cannot    
rationally conceive what human          
experience is1 and means1 except by     

regarding it as the fragment of an      
experience that is infinitely richer    
than ours1 and that possesses a         
world-embracing unity and completeness  
of constitution4 ,my argument for this  
thesis has been dependent on an         
assertion about the sense in which any  
opinion whatever can be either true or  
false1 and upon a doctrine regarding    
that insight to which we appeal whenever
 we make any significant assertion4     
,now this argument will seem to some of 
you to have been wholly set aside by    
that account of the nature of judgments1
 of assertions1 and of their truth or   
falsity1 which pragmatism has recently  
#ach maintained4 ,a new definition of   
truth1 you will say--or1 an old         
definition revived and revised2 a new   
clearness also as to the ancient issues 
of philosophy2 an equally novel recent  
assimilation of philosophical methods to
 those that have long been prominent in 
natural science--these things have      
combined1 at the present moment1 to     

render the ,platonic tradition in       
philosophy and the laborious deductions 
of ,kant1 as well as the speculations of
 the post-,kantian idealists1 no longer 
interesting4 ,i ought1 you may insist1  
to have taken note of this fact before  
presenting my now antiquated version of 
the idealistic doctrine of the reason4  
,i ought to have considered fairly the  
pragmatist's theory of truth4 ,i should 
then have seen that our human experience
 may safely be left and must rationally 
be left1 to fight its own way to        
salvation without any aid from the idea 
of an universal or all-embracing or     
divine insight4  ,how does pragmatism   
view the very problem about the truth   
and error of our human opinions which   
has led me to such far-reaching         
consequences8 ,for the first1 it is the 
boast of pragmatists that they deal1 by 
preference1 with what they call concrete
 situations1 and our concrete situation 
as human beings dealing with reality is1
 as they maintain1 something much more  

readily comprehensible than is the      
idealistic theory of a divine insight4  
,truth and error are characters that    
belong to our assertions for reasons    
which need no overarching heavenly      
insight to make them clear4 ,in brief1  
as the #aci pragmatists tell us1 the    
story of the nature of truth and of     
error is this3  ,an assertion1 a        
judgment1 is always an active attitude  
of a man1 whereby1 at the moment when he
 makes this assertion he directs the    
course of his further activities4 ,to   
say ,my best way out of the woods lies  
in that direction is1 for a wanderer    
lost in the forest1 simply to point out 
a rule or plan of action and to expect  
certain results from following out that 
plan4 ,this illustration of the man in  
the woods is due to ,james4 ,an         
analogous principle1 according to       
pragmatism1 holds for any assertion4 ,to
 judge is to expect some concrete       
consequence to follow from some form of 
activity4 ,an assertion has meaning only

 in so far as it refers to some object  
that can be defined in empirical terms  
and that can be subjected to further    
direct or indirect tests1 whereby its   
relations to our own activities can     
become determinate4 ,thus1 then1 a      
judgment1 an opinion1 if it means       
anything concrete1 is always an appeal  
to more or less accessible human        
experience--and is not1 as ,i have been 
asserting1 an appeal to an overarching  
higher insight4 ,when you make any      
significant assertion1 you appeal to    
whatever concrete human observations1   
experiments1 or other findings of data1 
actual or possible1 can furnish the test
 that the opinion calls for4 ,if ,i     
assert3 ,it will rain to-morrow1 the    
assertion is to be verified or refuted  
by the experience of men just as they   
live1 from moment to moment4  #adj  ,it 
remains to define1 a little more        
precisely1 wherein consists this        
empirical verification or refutation for
 which a human opinion calls4 ,an       

opinion is a definite one1 as has just  
been said1 because it guides the will of
 the person who holds the opinion to    
some definite course of action4 ,an     
opinion then1 if sincere and            
significant1 has consequences1 leads to 
deeds1 modifies conduct1 and is thus the
 source of the experiences which one    
gets as a result of holding that opinion
 and of acting upon it4 ,in brief1 an   
opinion has what the pragmatists love to
 call its workings4 ,now when the       
workings of a given opinion1 the        
empirical results to which1 through our 
actions1 it leads1 agree with the       
expectations of the one who holds the   
opinion1 the opinion is to be called    
true4 ,or1 in the now well-known phrase1
 ,an idea 7or opinion7 is true if it    
works4 ,to use the repeated example of  
,professor ,moore1 an opinion that a    
certain toothache is due to a condition 
present in a given tooth is true1 when  
an operation performed upon that tooth1 
and performed as a consequence of that  

opinion1 and with the expectation of    
curing the toothache works as expected4 
,for the operation is itself one of the 
workings of the opinion in question4    
,to assert an opinion1 then1 is not to  
appeal to an essentially superior       
insight1 but is to appeal to the        
workings that follow from this opinion  
when you act upon it in concrete life4  
,no other sort of truth is knowable4    
#ada  ,a consequence of these views1    
often insisted upon by pragmatists1 is  
that truth is relative to the various   
concrete situations which arise2 so that
 absolute or final truth is indefinable 
by us mortals4 ,hence an opinion may be 
true for a given purpose1 or in one     
situation 7because in that situation its
 workings prove to be as expected71     
although it is relatively false when    
applied to some other situation1 or to  
some wider range of experience4         
,absolute truth is as unobservable by us
 in our experience as is absolute       
position or absolute motion in the      

physical world4 ,every truth is         
definable with reference to somebody's  
intentions1 actions1 and successes or   
failures4 ,these things change from     
person to person1 from time to time1    
from plan to plan4 ,what is true from   
the point of view of my plans need not  
be so from your point of view4 ,the     
workings of an opinion vary in their    
significance with the expectations of   
those concerned4 ,truth absolute is at  
best a mere ideal1 which for us throws  
no light upon the nature of the real    
world4  ,thus1 at a stroke1 pragmatism1 
as understood by its chief              
representatives at the present time1 is 
supposed to make naught of the subtle1  
and1 as the pragmatists say1 airy and   
fantastic considerations upon which my  
sketch of a philosophical idealism at   
the last lecture depended4 ,truth1 they 
insist1 is a perfectly human and for us 
mortals not in the least a supernatural 
affair4 ,we test it as we can1 by       
following the experienced workings to   

which our #adb ideas lead4 ,if these    
workings are what we meant them to be1  
our opinions are just in so far proven  
true4 ,if no human and empirical tests  
of the workings of an opinion are       
accessible to us1 the opinion remains in
 so far meaningless4 ,if concrete tests 
lead to workings that disappoint our    
human expectations1 our opinions are in 
so far false4 ,moreover 7and upon this  
all the pragmatists lay great stress71  
truth is for us a temporal affair4 ,it  
changes1 it flows1 it grows1 it decays4 
,it can be made eternal only by tying   
ourselves1 for a given purpose1 to      
abstract ideas which we arbitrarily     
require to remain1 like mathematical    
definitions1 unchanged4 ,even such ideas
 have no sense apart from the uses to   
which they can be put4 ,concrete truth  
grows or diminishes as our successes in 
controlling our experience1 through     
acting upon our beliefs1 wax or wane4   
,truth is subject to all the processes  
of the evolution of our concrete lives4 

,the eternal is nothing that can be for 
us a live presence4 ,what we deal with  
is1 like ourselves1 fluent1 subject to  
growth and decay1 dynamic1 and never    
static4 ,the pragmatist recoils with a  
certain mixture of horror and amusement 
from the conception of an all-inclusive 
divine insight4 ,that1 he says1 would be
 something static4 ,its world of        
absolute reality would be a block       
universe and itself merely an aspect of 
a part1 or perhaps the whole1 of just   
this block4 ,its supposed truth would be
 static like itself1 and therefore dead4
  #adc  ,but does pragmatism forbid us  
to have religious insight8 ,no2 ,james1 
in ways which you have repeatedly heard 
me mention1 insists that pragmatism     
leaves open ample room for what he      
thinks to be the best sort of religion1 
namely1 for a religion suited to what he
 calls the dramatic temper of mind4     
,truth1 so far as we men can attain to  
it1 has indeed to be human enough4 ,but 
nothing forbids us to entertain the     

belief that there are superhuman and    
supernatural realities1 forms of being1 
living and spiritual personalities1 or  
superpersonalities1 as various and lofty
 as you please1 provided only that they 
be such as to make whatever evidence of 
their being is accessible to us capable 
of definition in a human and empirical  
way4 ,the truth1 namely1 of our belief  
about such beings1 has to be tested by  
us in terms of our own concrete         
religious experience4 ,such beliefs1    
like others1 must work in order to be   
true4 ,that is1 these beliefs1 however  
they arise1 must lead to conduct2 and   
the results of this conduct must tend to
 our religious comfort1 to our unity of 
feeling1 to our peace1 or power1 or     
saintliness1 or other form of spiritual 
perfection4 ,the fruits of the spirit   
are the empirical tests of a religious  
doctrine2 and1 apart from those uprushes
 of faith from the subconscious whereof 
we have spoken in previous lectures1    
there are for ,james no other tests of  

the truth of religious convictions than 
these4 ,the truth of religion consists  
in its successful workings4  ,hence1    
however1 religion depends upon an #add  
ever-renewed testing of its opinions    
through a carrying of them out in life4 
,insight would be barren were it not    
quickened and applied through our will4 
,to ,james1 as we already know1 reason1 
as such1 seems to be of little use in   
religion4 ,but action1 resolute living1 
testing of your faith through your works
 and through its own workings1 this is  
religion--an endlessly restless and     
dramatic process1 never an union with   
any absolute attainment of the goal4    
,v  ,now in what way can ,i hope1 you   
may ask1 to answer these impressive and 
to many recent writers decisive         
considerations of the pragmatists8 ,my  
answer1 like my foregoing statement of  
my own form of idealism1 depends upon   
extremely simple considerations4 ,their 
interest for our discussion lies in the 
fact that they have to do with the      

relation between reason and action1 and 
between the real world and the human    
will4 ,as a fact1 the will as well as   
the reason is a source of religious     
insight4 ,no truth is a saving          
truth--yes1 no truth is a truth at all  
unless it guides and directs life4      
,therein ,i heartily agree with current 
pragmatism and with ,james himself4 ,on 
the other hand1 the will is a collection
 of restless caprices unless it is      
unified by a rational ideal4 ,and no    
truth can have any workings at all1     
without even thereby showing itself to  
be1 just in so far as it actually works1
 an eternal #ade truth4 ,and1           
furthermore1 what ,i have asserted about
 the insight which the reason gives us  
is so far from being opposed to the     
pragmatist's facts1 that every rational 
consideration of the type of truth which
 they define leads us back to the       
consideration of absolute truth and to  
the assertion of an all-inclusive       
insight4 ,only1 when we view this       

all-inclusive insight from the point of 
view which the pragmatists now emphasise
 7and which ,i myself have emphasised   
from a period long antedating the recent
 pragmatist movement71 such a fair      
estimate of the insight of reason       
transforms our first and superficial    
opinion of its nature and of its        
meaning4 ,it becomes the insight of a   
rational will1 whose expression is the  
world1 and whose life is that in which  
we too live and move and have our being4
  ,let me briefly dwell on each of the  
considerations which ,i here have in    
mind4 ,to me1 as a philosophical        
student1 they are not new2 for1 as ,i   
repeat1 ,i insisted upon them years ago1
 before the modern pragmatistic         
controversy began4  ,first1 then1 there 
are certain respects in which ,i fully  
agree with recent pragmatism4 ,i agree  
that every opinion expresses an attitude
 of the will1 a preparedness for action1
 a determination to guide a plan of     
action in accordance with an idea4      

,whoever asserts anything about the way 
out of the woods1 or about the cause and
 possible cure of a toothache1 defines a
 course of action in accordance with    
some purpose1 and amongst other things  
predicts the #adf possible outcome of   
that course of action4 ,the outcome that
 he predicts is defined in terms of     
experience1 and1 so far as that is      
possible1 in terms of human experience4 
,and now this is true1 not only of      
assertions or opinions about toothaches4
 ,it is true also of assertions about   
all objects in heaven or earth4 ,there  
is no such thing as a purely            
intellectual form of assertion which has
 no element of action about it4 ,an     
opinion is a deed4 ,it is a deed        
intended to guide other deeds4 ,it      
proposes to have what the pragmatists   
call workings4 ,that is1 it undertakes  
to guide the life of the one who asserts
 the opinion4 ,in that sense1 all truth 
is practical4 ,if you assert a          
proposition in mathematics1 you propose 

to guide the computations1 or other     
synthetic processes1 of whoever is      
interested in certain mathematical      
objects4 ,if you say ,there is a ,god1  
and know what you mean by the term ,god1
 you lay down some sort of rule for such
 forms of action as involve a fitting   
acknowledgment of ,god's being and      
significance4 ,so far1 then1 ,i wholly  
side with the pragmatists4 ,there is no 
pure intellect4 ,there is no genuine    
insight which does not also exist as a  
guide to some sort of action4           
,furthermore1 the proper workings of an 
assertion1 the rational results of the  
application of this opinion to life1    
must1 if the assertion is true1 agree   
with the expectations of the one who    
defines the assertion4 ,and these       
workings belong1 indeed1 to the realm of
 actual and concrete experience1 be this
 #adg experience wholly human1 or be it1
 in some respect1 an experience which is
 higher and richer than any merely human
 experience4 ,opinions are active       

appeals to real life--a life to which we
 are always seeking to adjust ourselves1
 and in which we are always looking to  
find our place4 ,the quest for salvation
 itself is such an effort to adjust our 
own life to the world's life4 ,and if   
the world's life finds our efforts to   
define our relation to the world's      
actual and perfectly concrete experience
 inadequate1 then our assertions are in 
just so far false2 they lead in that    
case to blundering actions4 ,we fail4   
,and in such cases our opinions1 indeed1
 do not work4  ,all this ,i myself      
insist upon4 ,but next ,i ask you to    
note that the very significance of our  
human life depends upon the fact that we
 are always undertaking to adjust       
ourselves to a life1 and to a type of   
experience1 which1 concrete and real    
though it is1 is never reducible to the 
terms of any purely human experience4   
,were this not the case2 were not every 
significant assertion concerned with a  
type and form of life and of experience 

which no man ever gets2 were not all our
 actions guided by ideas and ideals that
 can never be adequately expressed in   
simply human terms2 were all this1 ,i   
say1 not the case1 then--neither science
 nor religion1 neither worldly prudence 
nor ideal morality1 neither natural     
common-sense nor the loftiest forms of  
spirituality would be possible4 ,here ,i
 can only repeat1 but now with explicit 
reference to the active aspect of our   
opinions #adh and of our experience1 the
 comments that ,i made in my former     
lecture4 ,man as he is experiences from 
moment to moment4 ,what is here and now1
 not future workings1 not past          
expectations1 but the present--this is  
what he more immediately gets and       
verifies4 ,these momentary experiences  
of his1 these pains and these data of   
perception1 are what he can personally  
verify for himself4 ,and to this life in
 each instant he is confined1 so far as 
his own personal and individual         
experience is concerned4 ,but man means1

 he intends1 he estimates1 he judges    
life1 not as it appears to him at any   
one instant1 but as in the long run1 or 
for the common-sense of mankind1 or as  
from a rational point of view he holds  
that it ought to be judged4 ,now ,i     
again insist--there is not one of us who
 ever directly observes in his own      
person what it is which even the        
so-called common-sense of mankind is    
said to verify and find to be true4 ,the
 experience which mankind is said to    
possess is not merely the mere          
collection of your momentary feelings or
 perceptions1 or mine4 ,it is a         
conceived integral experience which no  
individual man ever gets before him4    
,when we conceive it1 we first treat it 
as something impersonal4 ,if it is      
personal1 the person who gets it before 
him is greater than any man4 ,yet unless
 some such integral experience is as    
concrete and genuine a fact1 as real a  
life1 as any life that you and ,i from  
moment to moment lead1 then all         

so-called common-sense is meaningless4  
,but if such an integral experience #adi
 is real1 then that by which the        
pragmatic workings of our private and   
personal opinions are to be tested and  
are tested is a certain integral whole  
of life in which we all live and move   
and have our being1 but which is no more
 the mere heap and collection of our    
moments of fragmentary experience1 and  
of our vicissitudes of shifting moods1  
than a symphony is a mere collection of 
notes on paper1 or of scraped strings   
and quivering tubes1 or of air waves1 or
 even of the deeds of separate          
musicians4  ,the life1 then1 the        
experience1 the concrete whole1 wherein 
our assertions have their workings1 with
 which our active ideas are labouring to
 agree1 to which our will endlessly     
strives to adjust itself1 in which we   
are saved or lost1 is a life whose touch
 with our efforts is as close as its    
superiority to our merely human         
narrowness is concretely and actively   

triumphant whenever our pettiness gets  
moulded to a higher reasonableness4 ,and
 unless such a life above our individual
 level is real1 our human efforts have  
no sense whatever1 and chaos drowns out 
the meaning of the pragmatists and of   
the idealists alike4 ,if one asks1      
however1 by what workings our           
significant assertions propose to be    
judged1 ,i answer1 by their workings as 
experienced and estimated from the point
 of view of such a larger life1 as      
conforming to its will1 or falling short
 thereof1 as leading toward or away from
 our salvation4 ,for it is just such a  
larger life by which we all propose and 
intend to be judged1 whenever we make   
our active appeal to life take the #aej 
form of any serious assertion whatever4 
,if a man proposes to let his ideas be  
tested not by his momentary caprice1 and
 not by any momentary datum of          
experience1 but by what proves to be    
their workings in the long run1 then    
already he is appealing to an           

essentially superhuman type of empirical
 test and estimate4 ,for no man taken as
 this individual ever personally        
experiences the long run1 that is1 the  
integral course and meaning1 the right  
estimate and working of a long series of
 experiences and deeds4 ,for a man      
individually observes now this moment   
and now that--never their presupposed   
integration1 never their union in a     
single whole of significant life4  ,if a
 man says that the workings of his ideas
 are to be tested by scientific         
experience1 then again he appeals not to
 the verdict of any human observer1 but 
to the integrated and universalised and 
relatively impersonal and superpersonal 
synthesis of the results of countless   
observers4  ,and so1 whatever you regard
 as a genuine test of the workings of   
your ideas is some living whole of      
experience above the level of any one of
 our individual human lives4 ,to this   
whole you indeed actively appeal4 ,the  
appeal is an act of will4 ,and in turn  

you regard that to which you appeal as  
an experience which is just as live and 
concrete as your own1 and which carries 
out its own will in that it snubs or    
welcomes your efforts with a will as    
hearty as is your own4 ,for what        
estimates your deeds1 #aea and gives    
them their meaning1 is a life as genuine
 as yours and an activity as real as    
yours4 ,pragmatism is perfectly         
justified in regarding the whole process
 as no mere contemplation1 no merely    
restful or static conformity of passive 
idea to motionless insight1 but1 on the 
contrary1 as a significant interaction  
of life with life and of will with will4
 ,but the more vital the process1 the   
more pragmatic the test of our active   
opinions through the conformity or      
non-conformity of their purposes to the 
life wherein we dwell and have our      
being1 the more vital becomes the fact  
that1 whether we are saved or lost1 we  
belong to the world's life1 and are part
 thereof1 while1 unless this life is    

more than merely human in its rational  
wealth of concrete meaning1 we mortals  
have no meaning whatever1 and the       
assertions of common-sense as well as of
 religion lapse into absurdity4         
,,vi  ,in order fairly to estimate      
aright our relation to this larger life1
 we must briefly review the further     
thesis upon which recent pragmatism lays
 so much stress--the thesis that1 since 
the truth of an opinion consists in the 
agreement or disagreement of its        
empirical workings with their           
anticipated consequences1 all truth is  
both temporal and relative and cannot be
 either eternal or absolute4 ,let me    
then say a word as to the absoluteness  
of truth4  ,the thesis of pragmatism as 
to the active nature #aeb and the       
practical meaning of all opinions may be
 illustrated by a simile that1 as ,i    
think1 well brings out the sense in     
which1 as ,i hold1 pragmatism itself is 
a true doctrine4 ,any sincere opinion   
announces a plan of action whereby we   

are1 in some way1 to adjust ourselves   
for some purpose to a real object4 ,that
 is1 an opinion lays down1 in some form1
 a rule for some sort of conduct4 ,this 
rule is of course valid only for one who
 has some specific interest in the      
object in question4 ,for you can guide  
action only by appealing to the will of 
the one whom you guide4 ,this is the    
pragmatist's view of the nature of all  
assertions and opinions4 ,and so far1 as
 you already know1 ,i agree with the    
pragmatist4 ,this account is correct4   
,this being so1 we can1 for the sake of 
a simile1 compare any definite opinion  
to the counsel that a coach may give to 
a player whom he is directing4 ,the     
player wants to play the game4 ,he      
therefore accepts its rules1 and has his
 interests in what the pragmatists call 
the concrete situation4 ,the player1 at 
any point in his training or in his     
activities as a player1 may also accept 
the coach's guidance1 and put himself   
under the coach's directions4 ,if1      

hereupon1 the player acts in accordance 
with what the coach ordains1 the coach's
 directions have workings4 ,their       
workings are in so far the deeds of the 
player4 ,these deeds1 if the issues of  
the game are sharply defined1 are what  
we may call hits or misses4 ,that is1   
each one of them either is #aec what1   
for the purposes of the game and the    
player1 it ought to be1 or else it is   
not what it ought to be4 ,and each act  
of the player is a hit or a miss in a   
perfectly objective sense1 as a real    
deed belonging to a world whose         
relations are determined by the rules   
and events of the game and by the       
purposes of the whole body of players4  
,applying the simile to the case of     
assertions1 we may say3 ,an assertion is
 an act whereby our deeds are provided  
with a sort of coaching4 ,life itself is
 our game4 ,opinions coach the active   
will as to how to do its deed4 ,if the  
opinion is definite enough1 and if the  
active will obeys the coach1 the opinion

 has workings4 ,these workings are our  
intelligent deeds1 which translate our  
opinions into new life4 ,if our purposes
 are definite enough1 and if the issues 
of life are for us sharply defined1     
these deeds are1 with reference to our  
purposes1 either hits or misses1 either 
successful or unsuccessful acts1 either 
steps toward winning or steps toward    
failure4 ,all this is surely concrete   
enough4 ,and1 in real life1 this account
 applies equally to the practical       
situations of the workshop or of the    
market-place1 and to the ideas and deeds
 of a religious man seeking salvation4  
,but now one of the central facts about 
life is that every deed once done is    
ipso facto irrevocable4 ,that is1 at any
 moment you perform a given deed or you 
do not4 ,if you perform it1 it is done  
and cannot be undone4 ,this difference  
between what #aed is done and what is   
left undone is1 in the real and         
empirical world1 a perfectly absolute   
difference4 ,the opportunity for a given

 individual deed returns not2 for the   
moment when that individual deed can be 
done never recurs4 ,here is a case where
 the rational constitution of the whole 
universe gets into definite relation to 
our momentary experience4 ,and if any   
one wants to be in touch with the       
,absolute--with that reality which the  
pragmatists fancy to be peculiarly      
remote and abstract--let him simply do  
any individual deed whatever and then   
try to undo that deed4 ,let the         
experiment teach him what one means by  
calling reality absolute4 ,let the      
truths which that experience teaches any
 rational being show him also what is   
meant by absolute truth4  ,for this     
irrevocable and absolute character of   
the deed1 when once done1 rationally    
determines an equally irrevocable       
character about the truth or falsity of 
any act of judgment1 of any assertion or
 opinion1 which has actually called in a
 concrete situation for a given deed1   
and which therefore has had this        

individual deed for any part of its     
intended workings4 ,let us return to the
 simile of the game4 ,suppose the coach 
to counsel a given deed of the player4  
,suppose the player1 acting on the      
coach's advice1 to perform that deed1 to
 make that play4 ,suppose the play to be
 a misplay4 ,the play1 once made1 cannot
 be recalled4 ,it stands1 if the rules  
of the game require it so to stand1 on  
the score4 ,if it stands there1 then    
just that item of the score #aee can    
never be changed under the rules of the 
game4 ,the score is1 for the game1      
absolute and irrevocable4 ,if the coach 
counselled that misplay1 his counsel was
 an error4 ,and just as the player's    
score cannot be changed without simply  
abandoning the rules of the game1 so too
 the coach's record as a blunderer is1  
in respect of this one bit of counsel1  
unalterable4 ,analogous results hold for
 the player's successful hits and for   
the coaching that required them4 ,all   
this is no result of abstractions or of 

bare theory4 ,it is the result of having
 the will to play the game4 ,it is the  
absolute truth that results from joining
 definite practical issues4  ,returning 
to life1 we must say3 ,if our assertions
 have a determinate meaning1 they get   
their concrete workings through         
counselling determinate individual      
deeds4 ,each deed1 as an individual act1
 is irrevocable and is absolutely what  
it is4 ,our deeds1 judged in the light  
of a reasonable survey of life--a survey
 of life such as that to which1 when we 
form our opinions1 and when we act on   
our opinions1 we intend to appeal--are1 
for a determinate purpose1 either hits  
or misses4 ,if the issues of life in    
question when we act are definite       
enough1 our deeds1 under the rules of   
the game of life1 cannot avoid this     
character of being the right deeds or   
the wrong deeds for the purpose in      
question and in view of their actual    
place in real life4 ,whoever so acts    
that his deeds are done1 as a cant      

phrase has it1 with a string attached to
 them--that is1 whoever regards #aef his
 deeds as having only relative reality1 
as capable of being recalled if he      
chooses1 is not acting seriously4 ,he is
 not1 as they say1 really playing the   
game4 ,and1 as a fact1 he is trifling   
with absolute reality4 ,he is not only  
not serious2 he views real life as it   
absolutely is not4 ,for whatever        
individual deed he actually does is     
absolutely irrevocable1 whether he wants
 to recall it or not4 ,once done1 it    
stands eternally on the world's score4  
,now ,i insist1 whatever assertion1 or  
opinion1 regarded as itself an          
expression of one's will1 has for its   
intended working one of these           
irrevocable deeds1 is in so far forth   
true1 as the individual deed which it   
counsels is for the required purpose    
quite irrevocably a right deed when     
estimated with reference to this purpose
 and to the life into whose score it    
enters4 ,that is1 the opinion is true in

 so far as the working which it counsels
 is a deed that is in fact a hit in the 
chosen game of life under the rules of  
that game4 ,and whatever opinion        
counsels a deed that1 as the working of 
this opinion1 is a miss in the game of  
life1 is a false opinion4 ,and1 so ,i   
insist1 this distinction between the    
truth and falsity of an opinion that    
counsels an individual deed is as       
absolute and irrevocable as is the place
 of the deed when once done on the score
 of the game of life4  ,whoever denies  
this position simply trifles with the   
very nature of all individual facts of  
experience2 trifles also with life and  
with his own decisive will4 ,every      
serious man does his daily business with
 an #aeg assurance that1 since his deeds
 are irrevocable1 his guiding opinions1 
that counsel his individual deeds give1 
in an equally irrevocable way1 right or 
wrong guidance1 precisely in so far as  
they get their workings concretely      
presented in his deeds4 ,and this view  

about life is no philosopher's          
abstraction4 ,it is the only genuinely  
concrete view4 ,its contradiction is not
 merely illogical1 but practically      
inane4 ,i cannot do a deed and then undo
 it4 ,therefore ,i cannot declare it to 
be for a determinate purpose the right  
individual deed at this point in life1  
and then say that ,i did not really mean
 that counsel to be taken as simply and 
therefore absolutely true4 ,absolute    
reality 7namely1 the sort of reality    
that belongs to irrevocable deeds71     
absolute truth 7namely1 the sort of     
truth that belongs to those opinions    
which1 for a given purpose1 counsel     
individual deeds1 when the deeds in fact
 meet the purpose for which they were   
intended7--these two are not remote     
affairs invented by philosophers for the
 sake of barren intellectualism4 ,such  
absolute reality and absolute truth are 
the most concrete and practical and     
familiar of matters4 ,the pragmatist who
 denies that there is any absolute truth

 accessible has never rightly considered
 the very most characteristic feature of
 the reasonable will1 namely1 that it is
 always counselling irrevocable deeds1  
and therefore is always giving counsel  
that is for its own determinate purpose 
irrevocably right or wrong precisely in 
so far as it is definite counsel4  #aeh 
,one of the least encouraging features  
of recent discussion is the prominence  
and popularity of those philosophical   
opinions which are always proclaiming   
their concrete and practical character1 
while ignoring the most vital and       
concrete feature of all voluntary life4 
,for the very essence of the will is    
that1 at every moment of action1 it     
decides absolute issues1 because it does
 irrevocable deeds1 and therefore1 if   
intelligent at all1 is guided by        
opinions that are as absolutely true or 
false as their intended workings are    
irrevocable4 ,i repeat3 ,if you want to 
know what an absolute truth is1 and what
 an absolute falsity1 do anything       

whatever1 and then try to undo your     
deed4 ,you will find that the opinion   
which should counsel you to regard it as
 capable of being undone gives you      
simply and absolutely false coaching as 
to any game of life whatever4 ,every    
effort to undo your deed is a blunder4  
,every opinion that you can undo is a   
trivial and absolutely false absurdity4 
,just such triviality and absurdity     
belong to the thesis that absolute truth
 is an unpractical and inaccessible     
abstraction4                            
,,vii  ,if1 with such a view of the     
nature of absolute truth1 we turn back  
to estimate the sense in which our      
opinions about the world as a whole can 
be true or false1 we now see that our   
account both of the insight of the      
reason1 and of the nature of the world1 
#aei has become enriched by this whole  
analysis of the nature of opinion4      
,opinions about the universe are        
counsels as to how to adjust your deeds 
to the purposes and requirements which a

 survey of the whole of the life whereto
 your life belongs shows to be the      
genuinely rational purposes and         
requirements4 ,every such opinion then1 
whether true or false1 is an effort to  
adjust your will and your conduct to the
 intents of a supreme will which decides
 values1 establishes the rule of life1  
estimates purposes in the light of      
complete insight4 ,that is1 the insight 
to which your opinions appeal is indeed 
the insight of a real being who values1 
estimates1 establishes1 decides1 as     
concretely as you do1 and who is        
therefore not only all-wise1 but        
possessed of a will4 ,your search for   
salvation is a seeking to adjust        
yourself to this supreme will4 ,that    
such a will is real is as true as it is 
true that any opinion whatever which you
 can form with regard to the real world 
is either true or false4 ,however       
ignorant you are1 you are1 then1 in     
constant touch with the master of life2 
for you are constantly doing irrevocable

 deeds whose final value1 whose actual  
and total success or failure1 can only  
be real1 or be known1 from the point of 
view of the insight that faces the whole
 of real life1 and with reference to the
 purposes of the will whose expression  
is the entire universe4  ,if1 however1  
you say1 with the pragmatists3 ,there is
 no whole world1 there is no complete   
view1 there is no will that wills the   
world2 for all #afj is temporal1 and    
time flows1 and novelties constantly    
appear1 and the world is just now       
incomplete1 and therefore there is      
nothing eternal1 then my answer is      
perfectly definite4 ,of course there is1
 just at this point of time1 no complete
 world4 ,of course1 every new deed      
introduces novelties into the temporal  
world4 ,but1 on the other hand1 even to 
assert this is to assert that the       
future1 and in fact all the future1 in  
all its individual detail1 belongs to   
reality1 and forms part of its          
wholeness4 ,to admit this is to admit   

that the true insight1 and the divine   
will1 require1 and get1 the endless     
whole of future time1 as well as of past
 time1 before them in one1 not timeless1
 but time-inclusive survey1 which       
embraces the whole of real life4 ,and   
just such a survey1 and just such a     
life1 not timeless1 but time-inclusive1 
constitute the eternal1 which is real1  
not apart from time1 and from our lives1
 but in1 and through and above all our  
individual lives4 ,the divine will wills
 in us and in all this world1 with its  
endless past and its endless future1 at 
once4 ,the divine insight is not        
lifeless4 ,it includes and surveys all  
life4 ,all is temporal in its ceaseless 
flow and in its sequence of individual  
deeds4 ,all is eternal in the unity of  
its meaning4  ,to assert this1 ,i       
insist1 is not to deny our freedom and  
our initiative4 ,the divine will wills  
me1 precisely in so far as it wills     
that1 in each of my individual deeds1 ,i
 should then and there express my own   

unique1 and in so far free1 choice4 ,and
 to assert1 as ,i do1 that the divine   
will wills all at once #afa is not to   
assert that it wills all at any one     
moment of time1 but only that the divine
 will is expressed in the totality of   
its deeds that are done in all moments  
of time4  ,but this1 you will say1 is   
still philosophy1 not what the plain man
 needs for his religion4 ,the question  
remains3 ,through what source of insight
 are we able to adjust our daily lives  
to this divine wisdom and to this divine
 will8 ,i answer3 ,through a source of  
insight which is accessible to the      
plainest and simplest reasonable and    
sincere human being4 ,yet this source of
 insight1 not yet expressly named in our
 study1 includes in a beautiful and     
spiritual unity the true sense of our   
individual experience1 of our social    
experience1 of our reason1 and of our   
will1 and gives us at length a genuine  
religion4 ,this new source we are to    
study in our next lecture4  #afb  #afc  

,v                   ,,the ,,religion   
,,of ,,loyalty  #afd  #afe              
,v                   ,,the ,,religion   
,,of ,,loyalty  ,our first two lectures 
dealt with sources of religious insight 
well known to all of you1 however       
unsatisfactory you may have found them4 
,our third and fourth lectures have led 
us into philosophical discussions which 
many of you will have found neither     
satisfactory nor familiar4 ,and so1 in  
imagination1 ,i can hear you declaring  
that1 if the foregoing sources of       
insight are indeed all that we have1    
religious truth seems still very far    
away4 ,the saints1 ,i hear you saying1  
may comfort us when they tell us of     
their personal and private intuitions2  
but they perplex us with the conflicting
 variety of their experiences4 ,the     
social enthusiasts undertake to show us 
the way to salvation through love2 but  
the world of men in which they bid us   
seek the divine is a world that is by   
nature as much in need of salvation as  

we ourselves are4 ,the sages point to   
the starry heaven of reason which1 as   
they insist1 overarches us2 but this    
heaven seems cold2 and its stars appear 
far away from our needy life4 ,and if1  
replying to this very objection1 and1   
incidentally1 replying also to the      
doctrine of the pragmatists1 #aff       
somebody insists that this heavenly     
world of the reason is also an          
expression of the living divine will1 we
 still remember that our deepest need is
 to see how the divine will may be done 
on earth as it is in heaven4 ,and this  
is what we have not yet learned to see4 
,the foregoing sources then appear to   
leave us1 after all1 with no vital and  
positive religion4                      
,i  ,thus some of you may at this point 
express your discontent4 ,if you do1 ,i 
find this discontent justified4 ,if the 
foregoing lectures had indeed exhausted 
the account of the accessible sources of
 religious insight1 we should be        
hopeless of finding any religion that   

could satisfy at once the individual    
need for salvation1 the social          
requirement that we should seek for     
salvation through union with our        
brethren1 the rational demand for a     
coherent view of truth1 and the aim of  
the will to conform itself to the laws  
of the master of life with whom we need 
to be united4 ,in other words1 all of   
the foregoing sources of insight1       
considered as separate sources1 present 
to us problems which they do not solve1 
and leave the real nature of the saving 
process clouded by mists of ignorance4  
,what we most need at this point is some
 source of insight which shall show how 
to unite the lessons that the preceding 
sources have furnished4 ,the present    
lecture must be devoted to an account of
 such a source4 ,i should be quite #afg 
helpless to engage in this new          
undertaking were it not for the fact    
that the spiritual life of humanity's   
best servants and friends has long since
 shown us how to overcome the           

difficulties by which our present       
inquiry is1 at this point1 beset4 ,these
 friends and servants of mankind have   
used1 in fact1 that source of insight   
which ,i mentioned in the closing words 
of the last lecture1 a source by means  
of which the results and the moving     
principles of individual experience1 of 
social experience1 of reason1 and of    
will are brought into a certain creative
 unity to which the noblest spiritual   
attainments of our world are due4 ,we   
shall return1 therefore1 in this        
lecture1 from speculation to life2 and  
our guides will be1 not the             
philosophers1 nor yet the geniuses of   
the inarticulate religious intuitions1  
but those who1 while they indeed possess
 intuitions and thoughts1 also actually 
live in the spirit4  ,nevertheless1 for 
our purpose1 the foregoing method of    
approaching our topic has been1 ,i hope1
 justified4 ,we wish to know the sources
 and to see what each is worth4 ,we must
 therefore consider each source in its  

distinction from the others4 ,then only 
can we see what brings them together in 
the higher religious life4 ,we must     
reflect where religion itself wins its  
way without reflection4 ,had we begun   
our study where this lecture begins1    
with the effort to understand at once   
this new source of insight1 we should   
have been less able than we now are to  
discern the motives that enter into its 
#afh constitution and to appreciate its 
accomplishments4 ,we have had to        
emphasise difficulties in order to      
prepare the way for our study of that   
source of insight which1 in the history 
of humanity's struggles toward the      
light1 has best enabled men to triumph  
over these difficulties4  ,this new     
source has come into the lives of men in
 intimate connection with their efforts 
to solve the problem not merely of      
religion1 in our present sense of the   
word1 but also of duty4 ,i shall        
therefore first have to tell you how the
 problem of duty is distinguished from  

the problem of religion4 ,then ,i shall 
show you how the effort to solve each of
 these problems has thrown light upon   
the other4  ,duty and religion have1 in 
the minds of all of you1 close          
relations4 ,both have to do with our    
ideals1 with our needs1 with the        
conforming of our lives to our ideals1  
and with the attainment of some sort of 
good4 ,yet you also well know that these
 relations of duty and of morality on   
the one hand1 of religion and of        
salvation on the other1 are not         
relations easy to define with entire    
clearness4 ,some men in our age1 as you 
know1 tell you that they are unable1 in 
their present state of mind1 to get much
 help from religion4 ,and some men who  
insist that the religious problems have 
for them no solution whatever1 are      
ardently and sincerely dutiful in       
spirit4 ,on the other hand1 there are   
those who1 in their own minds1 are so   
sure of salvation that they actually    
make light of the call of duty1 or at   

least #afi see little that is saving in 
the thought of duty4 ,in the opinion of 
very many1 no effort to lead a dutiful  
life can lead to salvation unless some  
sort of divine grace1 which is a free   
gift from above1 intervenes to          
accomplish the saving process4          
,meanwhile1 there are those who declare 
not only that the dutiful life tends of 
itself to lead to salvation1 but that   
the persistent doing of our duty is     
precisely the whole of what constitutes 
salvation4  ,you will readily see that  
the plan of these lectures forbids any  
direct study of the ,pauline doctrine   
regarding the relation of faith to      
works1 of divine grace to human         
dutifulness4 ,the mere mention of ,st4  
,paul1 however1 side by side with the   
reminder that1 at many times in history1
 and especially to-day1 there are those 
for whom1 despite ,paul's teaching as to
 the vanity of mere works1 there is no  
religion but the religion of duty1 will 
serve to show that serious questions are

 here involved1 and that the true       
relations between religion and morality 
are by no means self-evident4  ,let me  
briefly distinguish between the         
religious interest and the moral        
interest4 ,then we may be able to       
recognise how closely they are related1 
and yet how far1 under certain          
conditions1 they may drift apart1 and   
how sharply they may sometimes come to  
be opposed4  #agj                       
,,ii  ,there is an obvious contrast     
between the points of view from which   
morality and religion consider the      
problem of life4 ,whatever may be your  
views as to what your duty is1 it is    
plain that the moral interest centres   
about this idea of duty4 ,that is1 the  
moral interest seeks to define right    
deeds and to insist that they shall be  
done4 ,it estimates the rightness of    
deeds with reference to some ideal of   
life4 ,but however it conceives this    
ideal1 it makes its main appeal to the  
active individual4 ,it says3 ,do this4  

,the religious interest1 on the other   
hand1 centres about the sense of need1  
or1 if it is successful in finding this 
need satisfied1 it centres about the    
knowledge of that which has delivered   
the needy from their danger4 ,it appeals
 for help1 or waits patiently for the   
,lord1 or rejoices in the presence of   
salvation4 ,it therefore may assume any 
one of many different attitudes toward  
the problem of duty4 ,it may seek       
salvation through deeds1 or again it may
 not1 in the minds of some men1 appeal  
to the active nature in any vigorous way
 whatever4 ,some religious moods are    
passive1 contemplative1 receptive1      
adoring rather than strenuous4 ,it is   
therefore quite consistent with the     
existence of a religious interest to    
feel suspicious of the dutiful          
restlessness of many ardent souls4      
,they also serve who only stand and     
wait4  #aga ,such is sometimes the      
comforting1 sometimes the warning word  
that seems to many to express the       

religious interest4  ,this general      
contrast between the two interests      
assumes many special forms when we      
consider how moralists--that is1        
teachers who especially emphasise the   
call of duty--may stand related to the  
two postulates upon which1 as we have   
seen1 the higher religions base their   
appeal4 ,religion1 in our sense of the  
word1 depends upon asserting3 7#a7 ,that
 there is some one highest end of       
existence1 some goal of life1 some chief
 good2 and 7#b7 ,that1 by nature1 man is
 in great danger of completely failing  
to attain this good1 so that he needs to
 be saved from this danger4  ,now the   
first of these two postulates religion  
has frequently1 although not always1    
shared with the moralists1 that is1 with
 those who devote themselves to teaching
 us how to act rightly4 ,aristotle1 for 
instance1 based his ethical doctrine    
7one of the most influential books in   
the history of morals7 upon the         
postulate that there is a highest good4 

,many others who have discussed or have 
preached morality1 have asserted that   
all obligations are subject to one      
ultimate obligation1 which is the       
requirement to act with reference to the
 highest good4 ,yet this agreement as to
 the highest good turns out to be not   
quite universal when one compares the   
opinions of the teachers of religion1 on
 the one hand1 and of the moralists on  
the other4 ,popular and traditional     
morality often takes the form of a      
little hoard of #agb maxims about right 
acts--maxims whose relations to one     
another1 and to any one highest goal of 
life1 remain obscure4 ,each maxim is    
supposed to define a duty4 ,of course it
 also tells us how to win some special  
good or how to avoid some particular    
evil4 ,but what this special duty has to
 do with winning any one highest good is
 not thus made explicit4 ,and since many
 who make traditional morality prominent
 in their minds and lives are unaware of
 the deeper spirit that indeed1 as ,i   

hold1 underlies every serious endeavour1
 these persons simply remain unconscious
 that their morality has any religious  
motive or that they are dealing with the
 problem of salvation4 ,even some       
professional teachers of duty are mere  
legalists who do not succeed in reducing
 the law which they teach to any        
rational unity4 ,and for such people the
 postulate which religion makes the head
 of the corner is rather a              
stumbling-stone4 ,they doubt or question
 whether there is any highest good      
whatever or any pearl of great price4   
,yet they illustrate the essential      
feature of morality by insisting that   
certain deeds must be done4  ,but1      
however it may be with the first of the 
religious postulates1 it is the second  
7the postulate that we are naturally in 
very great danger of missing the true   
goal of life7 which leaves open the     
greater room for differences of interest
 as between the religious teachers and  
the teachers of duty4 ,suppose that we  

are in agreement in holding that there  
is a highest #agc good4 ,nevertheless1  
the question3 ,how far is man naturally 
in danger of missing this supreme goal8 
is a question which1 since we are all   
fallible mortals1 leaves room for many  
varieties of opinion4 ,how ,i myself    
view the matter1 ,i told you in our     
first lecture4 ,and to me the religious 
need seems an insistent and clear need4 
,but many moralists are partisans of    
duty as a substitute for religion4 ,and 
they are often much more optimistic     
regarding human nature than ,i am4 ,in  
their opinion the goal can be reached1  
or at least steadily approached1 by     
simple dutifulness in conduct1 without  
any aid from other motives that should  
tend to our salvation4  ,there is1 then1
 a pearl of great price4 ,but--so such  
teachers hold--why sell all that you    
have to buy that pearl1 when by nature  
you are able to win it through a        
reasonable effort8 ,dutifulness is the  
name for the spirit that leads to such  

an effort4 ,and dutifulness1 say these  
teachers1 is as natural as any other    
normal function4 ,no general catastrophe
 threatens our destiny1 they insist4    
,why not do right8 ,that is in your own 
personal power and is sufficient for    
your deepest need4 ,you need cry out for
 no aid from above4 ,you can be saved if
 you choose4 ,there is no dark problem  
of salvation4  ,to such optimists the   
intensely religious often respond with  
that strange horror and1 repugnance     
which only very close agreement can make
 possible4 ,near spiritual kin can war  
together with a bitterness that mutual  
strangers cannot share4 ,in this case1  
#agd as you see1 the goal is the same   
for both parties to the controversy4    
,both want to reach some highest good4  
,the cheerful optimists simply feel sure
 of being able to reach1 through action1
 what the earnestly devout are          
passionately seeking by the aid of      
faith4 ,yet each side may regard the    
other with a deep sense of sacred       

aversion4 ,fanatic6 cries the partisan  
of duty to his religious brother4 ,mere 
moralist1 retorts the other1 and feels  
that no ill name could carry more       
well-founded opprobrium4 ,the issue     
involved is indeed both delicate and    
momentous4  ,the same issue may become  
only graver in its intensity when1 in a 
given case1 a religious man and a       
moralist agree as to both of the main   
postulates of religion1 so that for both
 there is a highest good to seek and a  
great peril to avoid4 ,for now the      
question arises3 ,what way leads to     
salvation8  ,suppose that the answer to 
this question seems1 at any point in the
 development of human insight1 simply   
doubtful4 ,suppose mystery overhangs the
 further path that lies before both the 
religious inquirer and the moralist4 ,in
 such a case the religious interest     
meets at least a temporary defeat4 ,the 
religious inquirer must acknowledge that
 he is baffled4 ,but just this defeat of
 the religious interest often seems to  

be the moralist's opportunity4 ,you     
cannot discover your needed superhuman  
truths1 he then says4 ,you cannot touch 
heaven4 ,you remain but a man4 ,but at  
all events you can #age do a man's work1
 however hard that work is1 however     
opposed it is to your natural sloth and 
degradation1 however great the danger of
 perdition4 ,perhaps nobody knows the   
way of salvation4 ,but a man can know   
and can daily do each day's duty4 ,he   
does not know how to attain the goal4   
,but he knows what the goal is1 and it  
is better to die striving for the goal  
than to live idly gazing up into heaven4
 ,in such a case1 even if the moralist  
fully recognises the depth of our need  
of salvation1 and the greatness of the  
danger1 still the strenuous pursuit of  
duty often seems to him to be a         
necessary substitute for religion4 ,and 
then the moralist may regard his own    
position as the only one that befits a  
truth-loving man2 and the religious     
interests1 which appear to fix the      

attention upon remote and hopeless      
mysteries1 may seem to him hindrances to
 the devoted moral life4 ,against all   
dangers and doubts he hurls his         
everlasting ,no4 ,his only solution lies
 in strenuousness4 ,he is far from the  
,father's house4 ,he knows not even     
whether there is any father or any home 
of the spirit4 ,but he proposes to face 
the truth as it is1 and to die as a     
warrior dies1 fighting for duty4  ,but  
of course quite a different outcome is1 
for many minds1 the true lesson of life4
 ,the religious man may come to feel    
sure that the way of salvation is indeed
 known to him2 but it may seem to him a 
way that is opened not through the      
efforts of moral individuals1 but only  
through the workings #agf of some divine
 power that1 of its own moving1 elects  
to save mankind4 ,in this case the      
classic doctrine that grace alone saves1
 and that1 without such grace1 works are
 but vanity1 is1 in one form or another1
 emphasised by religious teachers in    

their controversies with the moralists4 
,the history of ,christianity           
illustrates several types of doctrine   
according to which divine grace is      
necessary to salvation1 so that mere    
morality not only cannot save1 but of   
itself even tends to insure perdition4  
,and in the history of ,northern        
,buddhism there appear teachings closely
 analogous to these evangelical forms of
 ,christianity4 ,so the religious       
interests here in question are very     
human and wide-spread4 ,whoever thus    
views the way of salvation can in fact  
appeal to vast bodies of religious      
experience1 both individual and social1 
to support his opposition against those 
who see in the strenuous life the only  
honest mode of dealing with our problem4
 ,whoever has once felt1 under any      
circumstances1 his helplessness to do   
right knows what such religious         
experience of the need of grace means4  
,hence it is easy to see how the earnest
 followers of a religion may condemn    

those moralists who agree with them both
 as to the need and as to the dangers of
 the natural man4 ,in fact the two      
parties may condemn each other all the  
more because both accept the two        
postulates upon which the quest for     
salvation is based4  ,yet even these are
 not the only forms in which this tragic
 conflict amongst brethren often        
appears4 #agg ,i must mention still     
another form4 ,suppose that1 in the     
opinion of the followers of some        
religion1 not only the knowledge of the 
way of salvation is open1 but also the  
attainment of the goal1 the entering    
into rest1 the fruition1 is1 for the    
saints or for the enlightened1 an actual
 experience4 ,there is1 then1 such a    
thing as a complete winning of the      
highest good4 ,so the faithful may      
teach4 ,hereupon the moralists may adopt
 the phrase which ,james frequently used
 in opposing those who seemed to        
themselves to be in actual touch with   
some absolute ,being4 ,the only use of  

the opinion of such people1 ,james in   
substance said1 is that it gives them a 
sort of moral holiday4 ,for ,james1     
quite erroneously1 as ,i think1 supposed
 that whoever believed the highest good 
to be in any way realised in the actual 
world1 was thereby consciously released 
from the call of duty1 and need only    
say3    ,god's in his heaven1   ,all's  
right with the world4  ,in such a world1
 namely1 there would be1 as ,james      
supposed1 nothing for a righteous man to
 do4 ,the alternative that perhaps the  
only way whereby ,god can be in his     
heaven1 or all right with the world1 is 
the way that essentially includes the   
doing of strenuous deeds by righteous   
men1 ,james persistently ignored1 near  
as such an alternative was to the spirit
 of his own pragmatism4  ,nevertheless1 
it is true that there have indeed #agh  
been1 amongst the religiously minded1   
many who have conceived the highest good
 merely in the form of some restful     
communion with the master of life1      

merely as tranquillity in the presence  
of ,god1 or merely as a contemplative   
delight in some sort of beauty4 ,and it 
is true that some of these have said3   
,the saints1 or at all events the       
enlightened1 even in the present life1  
do enter into this rest4 ,and for them  
there is indeed nothing left to do4 ,to 
such1 of course1 the moralists may      
reply3 ,you enlightened ones seem to    
think yourselves entitled to a 'moral   
holiday4' ,we strenuous souls reject    
your idleness as unworthy of a man4     
,your religion is a barren aestheticism1
 and is so whether it takes the outward 
form of an ascetic and unworldly        
contemplation or assumes the behaviour  
of a company of highly cultivated       
pleasure-seekers who delight in art     
merely for art's sake and know nothing  
of duty4 ,to such believers in salvation
 through mere attainment of peace1      
,james's criticism rightly applies4 ,in 
these lectures1 as ,i ask you to note1  
,i have never defined salvation in such 

terms4 ,salvation includes triumph and  
peace1 but peace only in and through the
 power of the spirit and the life of    
strenuous activity4  ,but such partisans
 of the religion of spiritual idleness  
as ,i have mentioned may nevertheless   
return the moralist's scorn with scorn4 
,if they are advocates of art for art's 
sake1 of mere beauty as the highest     
good1 they find the restlessness of the 
#agi moralists hectic or barbarous4 ,if 
they are mystical quietists1 they regard
 mere moralism as the struggling of a   
soul that is not saved4 ,if moral       
endeavour were the last word1 they      
insist1 we should all of us be in the   
,hades of ,sisyphus4 ,and no doubt their
 scorn1 even if ill-founded1 deserves   
consideration4 ,for even the most       
one-sided emphasis upon any aspect of   
spiritual truth is instructive1 if only 
your eyes are open4  ,such are some of  
the ways in which1 in the course of     
human history1 the religiously minded   
and the moralists have been divided4 ,to

 sum up3 ,certain of the lovers of      
religion have1 upon occasion1 condemned 
moralists1 sometimes as legalists who do
 not know that there is any highest     
good1 sometimes as vain optimists who   
ignore the danger of perdition1         
sometimes as despisers of divine grace1 
sometimes as the barbarous troublers of 
spiritual peace4 ,certain moralists1 in 
their turn1 and according as they ignore
 or accept the postulates upon which the
 religious interest is based1 have      
condemned the devout1 sometimes as the  
slanderers of our healthy human nature1 
sometimes as seekers in the void for a  
light that does not shine1 sometimes as 
slavish souls who hope to get from grace
 gifts that they have not the courage to
 earn for themselves1 sometimes as      
idlers too fond of moral holidays4 ,and1
 as moralists1 their common cry has     
been1 ever since the times of ,amos3    
,woe unto those who are at ease in      
,zion4  #ahj  ,we have reviewed1 then1  
some of these conflicts4 ,i hope that   

you see upon what general issue they all
 alike turn4 ,the moralists are         
essentially the partisans of action4    
,they seek a good4 ,but their great     
postulate is that there is something    
right for us to do4 ,therefore the issue
 is that between our need of something  
not ourselves to save us and our power  
to win a greater or lesser good through 
our own moral activity4 ,whoever so     
exclusively emphasises the fact that the
 divine is not of our making1 and that  
its ways are not our ways1 and that its 
good is something beyond our power to   
create or attain of ourselves--whoever1 
,i say1 so exclusively emphasises these 
things that he makes light of our       
efforts to attain the good somewhere    
comes into conflict with moralists4     
,whoever1 as moralist1 so exclusively   
appeals to our own energies that he     
seems to hold that our duty would be    
just as much our duty1 ,if we were alone
 upon the earth and the gods blind1     
somewhere meets the religious opponent  

who mocks his pride1 or despises his    
restlessness1 or laments his contempt   
for the divine grace4  ,now these       
conflicts are1 ,i insist1 no merely     
speculative controversies4 ,they play a 
great part in history4 ,they have       
darkened countless lives4 ,and they grow
 out of motives deep in human nature4   
,what is here most important for us is  
that they point us toward our new source
 of insight4 ,what a narrower way of    
living can divide1 a deeper and #aha    
truer mode of living can unite4 ,our    
problem assumes a new form4 ,is there   
any mode of living that is just both to 
the moral and to the religious motives8 
,is there any way of reconciling our    
need1 of a grace that shall save with   
the call of the moral life that we shall
 be strenuous in the pursuit of our     
duty8  ,let us here approach this       
problem from the side of our moral      
consciousness4 ,for at this point we are
 already familiar with the religious    
need4 ,does there exist amongst men a   

type of morality that1 in and for       
itself1 is already essentially          
religious1 so that it knows nothing of  
this conflict between duty and religion8
 ,i reply1 there is such a type of      
morality4 ,there is a sort of           
consciousness which equally demands of  
those whom it inspires1 spiritual       
attainment and strenuousness1 serenity  
and activity1 resignation and vigour1   
life in the spirit and ceaseless        
enterprise in service4 ,is this form of 
consciousness something belonging only  
to highly and intellectually cultivated 
souls8 ,is it the fruit of abstract     
thinking alone8 ,is it the peculiar     
possession of the philosophers8 ,or1 on 
the other hand1 does it arise solely    
through dumb and inarticulate           
intuitions8 ,is it consistent only with 
a highly sensitive and mystical         
temperament8 ,does it belong only to the
 childhood of the spirit8 ,is it        
exclusively connected with the belief in
 some one creed8 ,to all these questions

 ,i reply3 ,no4  ,this sort of          
consciousness is possessed in a very    
#ahb high degree by some of the humblest
 and least erudite of mankind4 ,those in
 whose lives it is a notable feature may
 be personally known only to a few near 
friends4 ,but the spirit in which they  
live is the most precious of humanity's 
possessions4 ,and such people may be    
found belonging to all the ages in which
 we can discover any genuinely humane   
activities1 and to all those peoples    
that have been able to do great work1   
and to all the faiths that contain any  
recognisable element of higher religious
 significance4                          
,,iii  ,i can best show you what ,i mean
 by next very briefly reviewing the     
motives upon which the idea of duty     
itself rests1 and by then showing to    
what1 upon the noblest level of human   
effort1 these motives lead4  ,our moral 
interests have a development which1 in  
all its higher phases1 runs at least    
parallel to the development of our      

religious interests1 even in cases where
 the two sorts of interests seem to     
clash4 ,the moral problems arise through
 certain interactions that take place   
between our individual and our social   
experience4 ,the reason reviews these   
interactions and takes interest in      
unifying our plan of life4 ,the will is 
always1 from the very nature of the     
case1 concerned in the questions that   
here arise4 ,for whatever else morality 
is1 it is certain that your morality has
 to do with your conduct1 and that #ahc 
moral goodness cannot be yours unless   
your will itself is good4 ,wealth might 
come to you as a mere gift of fortune4  
,pleasure might be brought to you from  
without1 so far as you have the mere    
capacity for pleasure4 ,the same might  
appear to be true even in case of       
salvation1 if1 indeed1 salvation is     
wholly due to saving grace4 ,but moral  
goodness1 if you can get it at all1     
requires your active cooperation4 ,you  
can earn it only in case you do         

something to possess it4 ,its motto     
reads3 ,erwirb es um es zu besitzen4    
,therefore the moral question always    
takes the form of asking3 ,what am ,i to
 do8 ,the first contribution to the     
answer is furnished1 upon all levels of 
our self-consciousness1 by our          
individual experience4 ,and one         
apparently simple teaching that we get  
from this source may be stated in a     
maxim which wayward people often insist 
upon1 but which only the very highest   
type of morality can rationally         
interpret3 ,i am to do what ,i choose1  
in case only ,i know what ,i choose and 
am able to do it4 ,from this point of   
view1 my only limitations1 at first     
sight1 seem to be those set for me by my
 physical weakness4 ,there are many     
things that1 if ,i had the power1 ,i    
should or might choose to do4 ,but since
 ,i frequently cannot accomplish my     
will1 ,i must learn to limit myself to  
what ,i can carry out4 ,so far1 ,i say1 
our individual experience1 if taken as  

our sole moral guide1 seems at first to 
point out the way4  #ahd  ,but this     
first teaching of our individual        
experience is by no means so simple as  
it seems4 ,for the question arises3     
,what is it1 on the whole1 that ,i      
choose to do8 ,and1 as we saw very early
 in these discussions1 each of us is by 
nature so full of caprices and of       
various aims1 that1 left to ourselves1  
we live not only narrowly but           
inconsistently4 ,hence we spend much of 
our lives in finding out1 after the     
fact1 that what we chose to do at one   
moment of our lives has hopelessly      
thwarted what we intended to do at some 
other moment4 ,self-will then1 left to  
itself1 means self-defeat4 ,that is the 
lesson of life4 ,and the question3 ,what
 is it that1 on the whole1 ,i would     
choose to do if ,i had the power8 is a  
question that individual experience1    
taken by itself1 never answers in any   
steadily consistent way4 ,therefore1 as 
we all sooner or later come to see1 one 

of our most persistent limitations is   
not our physical weakness to accomplish 
what we choose1 but our incapacity1 when
 left to ourselves1 to find out what it 
is that we propose and really choose to 
do4 ,therefore1 just because individual 
experience1 taken by itself1 never gives
 steady guidance1 we have to look       
elsewhere for a rule4  ,the question3   
,what am ,i to do8 is never in practice 
answered without consulting1 more or    
less persistently1 our social           
experience4 ,being what we are1         
naturally gregarious1 imitative1 and1   
when trained1 conventional creatures1   
who1 indeed1 often fight with our kind1 
but who also love our kind1 who not only
 #ahe cannot bear to be too much alone1 
but are simply helpless when wholly     
isolated from our fellows 7unless we    
have already learned in their company   
the very arts that we may be able to use
 while we are alone71 we can give no    
answer to the question3 ,what is to be  
my choice8 without pretty constantly    

consulting our social interests4 ,and   
these interests are indeed plentiful and
 absorbing4 ,but they too are naturally 
conflicting4 ,and so1 taken as they     
come1 they give us no rule of life4  ,to
 be sure1 the social will in general    
says to us3 ,live with your fellows1 for
 you cannot do without them4 ,learn from
 them how to live2 for you have to live 
more or less in their way4 ,imitate     
them1 co-operate with them1 at least    
enough to win such ideas as will help   
you to know what you want and such skill
 as will make you best able to          
accomplish whatever1 in view of your    
social training1 you are led to choose4 
,do not oppose them too much1 for they  
are many1 and1 if stirred up against    
you1 can easily destroy you4 ,conform1  
then1 to their will enough to get power 
to have your own way4 ,and so far our   
ordinary social will gives us more or   
less consistent counsel4 ,but beyond    
such really rather barren advice 7the   
counsel of an inane worldly prudence71  

our social experience1 as it daily comes
 to us1 has no single ideal to furnish1 
no actually universal rules to lay down4
 ,for1 as ,i go about in social         
relations1 sometimes ,i love my fellows 
and sometimes ,i feel antipathy for     
them4 ,sometimes #ahf ,i am full of pity
 for their woes and long to help them4  
,sometimes they are my rivals2 and ,i   
then naturally try to crush them4 ,there
 is thus no one social tendency that1 as
 it comes to us in the course of our    
ordinary social experience1 gives us    
sufficient guidance to tell us how to   
escape self-defeat4 ,for my love and    
pity war with my social greed and with  
my rivalries4 ,i am so far left to my   
chaos4  ,thus1 then1 if ,i sum up my    
position1 ,i indeed propose to do what  
,i choose1 in so far as ,i am able1 and 
in so far as ,i can find out what it is 
that ,i choose and can avoid thwarting  
myself by my own choices4 ,and the art  
of learning how to choose1 and what to  
choose1 and how to carry out my will1 is

 for me1 since ,i am gregarious1        
imitative1 and conventionalised1 a      
social art4 ,but1 on the other hand1 no 
social art that ,i ordinarily learn is  
sufficient either to teach me my whole  
purpose in life1 or to make a consistent
 self of me1 or to lead me out of that  
chaos of self-thwarting efforts wherein 
so many men pass their lives4           
,,iv  ,you already know1 from our former
 discussion1 how our reason views the   
situation thus created by this chaos of 
social and of individual interests4 ,how
 real and how confused this chaos is1   
the daily record of certain aspects of  
the ordinary social life of men which   
you see in each morning's newspaper #ahg
 may serve to illustrate4 ,these princes
 and peoples1 these rebels and          
executioners1 these strikers and        
employers1 these lovers and murderers1  
these traders and bankrupts1 these who  
seem for the moment to triumph and these
 who just now appear to be ground under 
the opponent's or the oppressor's heel1 

what arts of living were they and are   
they all following8 ,well1 each in his  
way appears to have been choosing to    
have his own will2 yet each1 being a    
social creature1 had learned from his   
fellows all his vain little arts of     
life4 ,each loved some of his fellows   
and was the rival of others4 ,each had  
his standards of living1 standards due  
to some more or less accidental and     
unstable union of all the motives thus  
barely suggested4 ,the news of the day  
tells you how some of these won their   
aims1 for the moment1 while others were 
thwarted4 ,what ,i ask you to note1 and 
what the reason of every man in his more
 enlightened moments shows him1 is that 
each of these who at any moment was     
thwarted1 precisely in so far as he had 
any will of his own at all1 was defeated
 not only by his fellows1 but by        
himself4 ,for this special will of his  
was some caprice not large enough to    
meet his own ends4 ,the career1 for     
instance1 of that man who failed in love

 or in business or in politics is       
wrecked4 ,his reputation is lost4 ,well1
 it was his will1 as a social being1 to 
aim at just such a career and to value  
just that sort of reputation4 ,had he   
chosen to be a hermit1 or a saint1 or a 
,stoic1 what would just such #ahh a     
career and such a reputation have been  
to him8 ,how could he have lost unless  
he had sought8 ,and his failure1 to what
 was it due8 ,no doubt to some choice of
 his own quite as much as to his rival's
 skill4 ,he wanted freedom to carry on  
his own speculations4 ,he got that      
freedom and lost his fortune4 ,he wanted
 to be free to choose whom and how to   
love4 ,he had his way and defeated his  
own aim4 ,he chose to follow his        
ambitions4 ,they have led him where he  
is4  ,such are perfectly reasonable     
reflections upon the course of ordinary 
social conflicts4 ,they suggest to our  
more considerate moments the very sort  
of reflection which1 at the outset of   
the present discussion1 led us to define

 the religious ideal of salvation4 ,only
 now this type of reflection appears as 
aiming to lead us to some practical rule
 for guiding our active life4 ,for our  
attention is now fixed1 not on a        
condition to be called salvation1 but on
 a rule for doing something in          
accordance with our own true will4 ,this
 rule is1 negatively stated1 the        
following3 ,do not seek1 either in your 
individual self as you are or in your   
social experience as it comes1 for the  
whole truth either about what your own  
will is or about how you can get your   
aims4 ,for if you confine yourself to   
such sources of moral insight1 you will 
go on thwarting yourself quite as       
genuinely1 even if by good luck1 not    
quite as scandalously1 as the bankrupt  
speculators and the strikers and the    
outcast oppressors1 and the politicians 
#ahi and the murderers1 and the deposed 
monarchs and the defeated               
revolutionists1 of whom you read in the 
newspapers1 have thwarted both their    

individual and their social will4 ,in   
brief3 ,put not your trust in caprices1 
either individual or social4 ,on the    
positive side1 the rule here in question
 is3 ,in order to find out what is your 
true choice1 and how you can live       
without thwarting yourself1 make your   
principle of life such that whatever    
fortune besets you1 you can inwardly    
say3 ,i have not really failed1 for ,i  
have acted as ,i intended1 and also as  
,i still intend to act1 and have had my 
will whatever the consequences that     
fortune has brought to me1 or however my
 momentary mood happens to change1 or   
however this or that social caprice     
leads men to love or to despise me4     
,such is the moral insight that the     
first use of your reason1 in thus       
reviewing life1 suggests4 ,or1 as the   
moral common-sense of the wise has often
 stated the rule here in question3 ,so  
act that1 upon any calm review of the   
sense of your individual and of your    
social life1 you shall never have ground

 to regret the principle of your action1
 never have ground to say3 ,by choosing 
thus ,i thwarted my own will4  ,as you  
hear these statements1 ,i hope that1    
reduced to their very lowest terms3 ,so 
act as never to have reason to regret   
the principle of your action1 they      
express a sort of counsel for life which
 is not strange to common-sense1 even if
 it has received an abstract expression 
in the famous ethical philosophy of     
,kant4 #aij ,only1 as you will rightly  
insist1 this counsel is indeed a        
seemingly hopeless counsel of perfection
 when it is addressed to the natural    
man1 who merely has taken his instincts 
as he found them developing1 and his    
social world as he has felt it          
fascinating or disturbing him1 and who  
has then stumbled on1 more or less      
prudently and obstinately trying to find
 out what it really is that he wants to 
do in life4 ,such a man will cry out3   
,but how shall ,i discover a principle  
of life such that1 if ,i hold thereto1  

,i shall never1 upon any reasonable     
survey of life1 regret following that   
principle8                              
,v  ,here at length let life itself     
answer the question4 ,as ,i was         
preparing these very words1 and thinking
 what new instance to choose1 in order  
to illustrate afresh the very principle 
that ,i have in mind1 the newspaper of  
the day1 side by side with its usual    
chronicle of unreason and of disaster1  
reported the approaching end of a public
 servant4 ,this public servant was ,ida 
,lewis1 who for fifty years was the     
official keeper of the ,lime ,rock      
lighthouse in ,narragansett ,bay4 ,she  
had been known for more than fifty years
 for her early and later often-repeated 
heroism as a life-saver4 ,and now she   
was at last on her death-bed4 ,she has  
since died4 ,i know nothing of her      
career but what public reports have     
told4 ,so far as her duty required her  
at her post1 #aia she kept her light    
burning through all the nights and the  

storms of those many years4 ,she saved1 
in all1 upon various occasions1 eighteen
 lives of those who were in danger from 
wreck4 ,her occupation thus had its     
perils4 ,it had1 what must have been    
much harder to endure1 its steady call  
upon daily fidelity4 ,it was1 on the    
whole1 an obscure and humble occupation2
 although by chance1 as well as by      
reason of her skill and devotion1 this  
particular lighthouse keeper was        
privileged to become in a sense famous4 
,but certainly it could have been no    
part of her original plan to pursue a   
famous career4 ,when we seek public     
prominence we do not select the calling 
of the lighthouse keeper4 ,i do not know
 how she came to find this calling4 ,she
 may not even have chosen it4 ,but she  
certainly chose how to live her life    
when she had found it4 ,what it means   
for the world to have such lives lived1 
a very little thought will show us4     
,what spirit is needed to live such     
lives as they should be lived1 we seldom

 consider1 until such a public servant1 
dying with the fruits of her years to   
some extent known to the public1 reminds
 us of our debt and of her devotion4    
,the newspaper in which ,i read of this 
case1 in commenting upon its            
significance1 also reported 7,i do not  
know how accurately71 this incident1 of 
which some of you may know more than ,i 
do4 ,i quote the words3 ,footnote3      
,boston ,evening ,transcript1 ,october  
#bc1 #aiaa4    ,forty-one years ago1    
,daniel ,williams1 keeper of #aib the   
light at   ,little ,traverse ,bay1 in   
,lake ,michigan1 went out in a boat for 
the   rescue of a ship's crew in        
distress1 and did not come back alive4  
,for three days the storm continued4    
,but his sorrowing widow did not        
forget other lives1 and each night      
climbed the winding stairs and   trimmed
 the lamp4 ,this duty she discharged    
until the government   learned the      
situation1 when it authorised her to    
continue4 ,and she   is still at her    

post4  ,lighthouse keepers are not the  
only people who live thus4 ,there are   
countless lights kept alive in homes    
where want or weariness or stormy sorrow
 have long since and often entered1 and 
have again and again seemed about to    
overwhelm1 but where1 after many years1 
faithful souls1 well known to many of   
you1 are1 despite fortune1 still at     
their post1 with the light burning4     
,and now1 ,i ask you1 ,what is the      
spirit which rules such lives8 ,it is a 
spirit which is familiar in song and    
story2 for men always love to tell about
 it when they meet with impressive      
examples of its workings4 ,what ,i      
regret is that1 when men repeat such    
songs and stories1 familiarity breeds1  
not indeed contempt 7for our whole      
nature rejoices to think of such deeds71
 but a certain tendency to false        
emphasis4 ,we notice the dramatic and   
heroic incidents of such lives1 and are 
charmed with the picturesque or with the
 thrilling features of the tale4 ,and so

 we seem to ourselves to be dealing     
mainly with anecdotes and with          
accidents4 ,we fail #aic sufficiently to
 consider that back of the exceptional  
show of heroism there has to be the     
personal character1 itself the result of
 years of devotion and of training-- the
 character that has made itself ready   
for these dramatic but1 after all1 not  
supremely significant opportunities4    
,only when we in mind run over series of
 such cases do we see that we are       
dealing with a spirit suited not only to
 great occasions1 but to every moment of
 reasonable life1 and not only to any   
one or two callings1 but to all sorts   
and conditions of men4  ,the spirit in  
question is the one which is often well 
illustrated in the lives of warriors who
 willingly face death for their flag--if
 only they face death not merely as     
brutes may also face it 7because their  
fighting blood is aroused71 but as      
reasonable men face death who clearly   
see what conditions make it man's       

perdition to be safe4 ,there are two    
tests by which we may know whether the  
warriors really have the spirit of which
 ,i am speaking1 namely1 the spirit that
 was also1 and quite equally1 present in
 the widow who1 in all the agony of a   
new grief1 and through the storm that   
had taken away her husband1 still       
climbed the lonely stairway and trimmed 
the lamp which he could never again     
tend4 ,the first test that the warrior  
and the lighthouse tender are moved by  
the same spirit is furnished by the fact
 that those warriors who are rightly    
filled with this spirit are as well able
 to live by it in peace as in war2 are1 
for instance1 able even to surrender to 
#aid the foe1 when fortune and duty     
require them to do so--to surrender1 ,i 
say1 with the same calm dignity and     
unbroken courage that ,lee showed in his
 interview with ,grant at ,appomattox1  
and that inspired him in the years of   
defeat and of new toils through which he
 had still to live after the war4 ,that 

is1 the warrior1 if rightly inspired1 is
 as ready for life as for death1 is as  
ready for peace as for war2 and despises
 defeat as much as danger--fearing only 
sloth and dishonour and abandonment of  
the service4 ,the other test is whether 
the warrior is ready to recognise and to
 honour1 with clear cordiality1 this    
same spirit when it is manifested in    
another calling1 or in another service1 
and1 in particular1 is manifested by his
 enemy4 ,for then the warrior knows that
 warfare itself is only the accident of 
fortune1 and that the true spirit of his
 own act is one which could be          
manifested without regard to the special
 occasion that has required him to face 
death just here or to fight on this     
side4 ,if the spirit of the warrior     
bears these tests1 his faithfulness is  
of the type that could be shown as well 
by the lonely light-tender in her grief 
as by the hero for whom glory waits4    
,and again1 this spirit is the very one 
that martyrs have shown when they died  

for their faith2 that patient mothers   
and fathers1 however obscure and humble1
 show when they toil1 in true devotion1 
for their homes2 that lovers mean to    
express when they utter such words as   
the ones which we earlier quoted from   
,mrs4 ,browning4 ,and lest all these    
#aie instances should impress you with  
the idea that the spirit in question has
 to do only with brilliant emotional    
colourings1 such as those which fill our
 imaginations when we think of war1 and 
of brave deaths1 and of heroic triumph  
over grief1 and of lovers' vows1 let me 
turn at once to what some of you may    
think to be the other extreme of life4  
,let me say that1 to my mind1 the calm  
and laborious devotion to a science     
which has made possible the life-work of
 a ,newton1 or of a ,maxwell1 or of a   
,darwin is still another example1 and a 
very great example1 of this same        
spirit--an example full of the same     
strenuousness1 the same fascinated love 
of an idealised object1 and1 best of    

all1 full of the willingness to face    
unknown fortunes1 however hard1 and to  
abandon1 when that is necessary1        
momentary joys1 however dear1 in a      
pursuit of one of the principal goods   
which humanity needs--namely1 an        
understanding of the wonderful world in 
which we mortals are required to work   
out our destiny4 ,it is not a           
superficial resemblance that the        
lighthouse tender and the scientific man
 both seek to keep and to spread light  
for the guidance of men4  ,the          
lighthouse tender1 the mother1 the      
warrior1 the patriot1 the martyr1 the   
true lover1 the scientific              
investigator--they all may show1 ,i     
insist1 this same essential spirit1     
,patient through the watches long1      
,serving most with none to see2  #aif   
superior to fortune because something   
that is worthier than any fortune seems 
to call them to their task4 ,such are   
undismayed in defeat4 ,so ,newton was   
undismayed when he looked for the needed

 confirmation of his theory in the      
motion of the moon and for the time     
failed4 ,he worked on steadily1 without 
any effort to win renown by hasty       
publication of possible explanations1   
until new advances of science showed why
 confirmation had so far been lacking   
and brought him what he needed4 ,so ,lee
 turned to the new life after the war4  
,so the widow climbed the lonely        
stairway1 despite her lost one1 and     
because of her lost one4 ,so the martyrs
 faced the lions4 ,these all were       
sustained through long toil1 or         
bewildering grief1 by a spirit that     
tended to make them masters of their own
 lives and to bring them into unity with
 the master of all life4  ,we have      
illustrated the spirit4 ,we now ask3    
,what is the principle which dominates  
such lives8 ,is it or is it not a       
principle such1 that one at any time    
wholly devoted to it could thereafter1  
upon a reasonable review of life1 wisely
 regret having chosen to live thus8 ,if 

it is not such a principle1 if on the   
contrary it is a principle such that any
 reasonable view of life approves it1   
let us know what it is1 let us detach it
 from the accidental conditions which at
 once adorn and disguise it for our     
imagination1 let us read it so as to see
 how it applies to every sort of        
reasonable life--and then we shall be in
 possession #aig of the solution of our 
moral problem4 ,then we shall know what 
it is that1 if we are indeed rational1  
we really choose to do so soon as we    
learn how to live4                      
,,vi  ,if we consider carefully any such
 faithful lives as ,i have just         
exemplified1 we see that1 however       
simple-minded and unreflective some of  
the people may be who learn to live in  
this way1 the motives that guide them   
are such as will bear a great deal of   
thoughtful reflection4  ,the people whom
 ,i have in mind1 and of whom such      
instances teach us something1 are1 in   
the first place1 individuals of         

considerable wealth and strength of     
personal character4 ,they certainly are 
resolute4 ,they have a will of their    
own4 ,they make choices4 ,and so the    
contribution of their individual        
experience to their moral purpose is    
large4 ,it would be wrong to say1 as    
some do1 that they are characterised by 
mere altruism1 by utter                 
self-forgetfulness1 by living solely for
 others4 ,if you were on a wreck in a   
storm1 and the lighthouse keeper were   
coming out to save you1 you would take  
little comfort in the belief1 if you had
 such a belief1 that1 since he was a man
 who had always lived for others1 he had
 never allowed himself the selfish      
delight of being fond of handling a boat
 with skill or of swimming for the mere 
love of the water4 ,no1 on the contrary1
 you would rejoice to believe1 if you   
#aih could1 that he had always delighted
 in boating and in swimming1 and was    
justly vain of his prowess on the water4
 ,the more of a self he had delightedly 

or with a just pride trained on the     
water1 the more of a self he might have 
to save you with4 ,when we are in       
desperate need1 we never wish beings    
who1 as some say1 have no thought of    
self to help us in our plight4 ,we want 
robust helpers who have been trained    
through their personal fondness for the 
skill and the prowess that they can now 
show in helping us4 ,so individual      
self-development belongs of necessity to
 the people whose faithfulness we are to
 prize in an emergency4 ,and if people  
resolve to become effectively faithful  
in some practical service1 their        
principle of action includes individual 
self-development4  ,in the second place1
 people of the type whom ,i here have in
 mind have strong social motives4 ,their
 faithfulness is a recognition of the   
significance1 in their eyes1 of some    
socially important call4 ,and this1 of  
course1 is too obvious a fact to need   
further mention4  ,but in the third     
place1 these people are guided by a     

motive which distinguishes their type of
 social consciousness from the chance   
and fickle interests in this or that    
form of personal and social success     
which ,i exemplified a short time since4
 ,a peculiar grace has been indeed      
granted to them--a free gift1 but one   
which they can only accept by being     
ready to earn it--a precious treasure   
that they cannot #aii possess without   
loving and serving the life that has    
thus endowed them--a talent which they  
cannot hide1 but must employ to earn new
 usury--a talent which seems to them not
 to belong to themselves1 but to their  
master1 who will require it of them1    
increased4 ,this grace1 this gift1 is   
what may be called their ,cause4        
,sometimes it appears to them in winning
 guise1 seen in the depths of the eyes  
of a beloved one1 or symbolised by a    
flag1 or expressed through a song4      
,sometimes they think of it more        
austerely1 and name it science1 or the  
service1 or the truth4 ,sometimes they  

conceive it expressly as a religious    
object1 and call it1 not unwisely1      
,god's will4 ,but however they conceive 
it1 or whatever name they give to it1 it
 has certain features by which you may  
easily know it4  ,the ,cause1 for people
 of this spirit1 is never one individual
 person alone1 even if1 as in the       
lover's case1 the devoted person centres
 it about the self of one beloved4 ,for 
even the lovers know that they          
transfigure the beloved being1 and speak
 of their love in terms that could not  
be true1 unless that which they really  
serve were much more than any one       
individual4 ,the ,cause for any such    
devoted servant of a cause as we have   
been describing is some conceived1 and  
yet also real1 spiritual unity which    
links many individual lives in one1 and 
which is therefore essentially          
superhuman1 in exactly the sense in     
which we found the realities of the     
world of the reason to be superhuman4   
,yet the cause is not1 on that #bjj     

account1 any mere abstraction4 ,it is a 
live something3 ,my home1 my family1 my 
country1 my service1 mankind1 the       
church1 my art1 my ,science1 the cause  
of humanity1 or1 once more1 ,god's      
will1--such are names for the cause4    
,one thinks of all these objects as     
living expressions of what perfectly    
concrete and needy people want and      
require4 ,but one also thinks of the    
cause as unifying many individuals in   
its service1 and as graciously          
furnishing to them what they need1      
namely1 the opportunity to be one in    
spirit4 ,the cause1 then1 is something  
based upon human needs1 and inclusive of
 human efforts1 and alive with all the  
warmth of human consciousness and of    
human love and desire and effort4 ,one  
also thinks of the cause as superhuman  
in the scope1 the wealth1 the unity1 and
 the reasonableness of its purposes and 
of its accomplishments4  ,such is the   
cause4 ,that the individual loves it is1
 in any one case1 due to the chances of 

his temperament and of his development4 
,that it can be conceived and served is 
a matter of social experience4 ,that it 
is more worthy to be served than are any
 passing whims1 individual or social1 is
 the insight which the individual gets  
whenever he surveys his life in its     
wider unities4 ,that to serve it        
requires creative effort2 that it cannot
 be served except by positive deeds is  
the result of all one's knowledge of it4
 ,that in such service one finds        
self-expression even in and through     
self-surrender1 and is more of a self   
even because one gives one's #bja self1 
is the daily experience of all who have 
found such a cause4 ,that such service  
enables one to face fortune with a new  
courage1 because1 whatever happens to   
the servant of the cause1 he is seeking 
not his own fortune1 but that of the    
cause1 and has therefore discounted his 
own personal defeats1 is the result of  
the whole spirit here in question4  ,for
 such a practical attitude toward such a

 cause ,i know no better name than the  
good old word ,loyalty4 ,and hereupon we
 are ready for a statement of the       
principle which dominates loyal lives4  
,all the foregoing cases were cases of  
loyalty4 ,in each some one had found a  
cause1 a live spiritual unity1 above his
 own individual level4 ,this cause is no
 mere heap or collection of other human 
beings2 it is a life of many brethren in
 unity4 ,the simplest statement of the  
principle of the loyal person was the   
maxim3 ,be loyal to your cause4         
,somewhat more fully stated this        
principle would read3 ,devote your whole
 self to your cause4 ,such a principle  
does not mean ,lose yourself1 or        
,abolish yourself1 or even simply       
,sacrifice yourself4 ,it means3 ,be as  
rich and full and strong a self as you  
can1 and then1 with all your heart and  
your soul and your mind and your        
strength1 devote yourself to this your  
cause1 to this spiritual unity in which 
individuals may be1 and 7when they are  

loyal7 actually are1 united in a life   
whose meaning is above the separate     
meanings of any or of all natural human 
beings4  #bjb  ,yet even thus the       
principle which actually inspires every 
thoroughly loyal action has not been    
fully stated4 ,for1 as we have seen1 the
 warriors1 despite the fact that their  
duty requires them to compass if they   
can the defeat of their foes1 best show 
their loyal spirit if they prize the    
loyalty of their foes and honour loyalty
 wherever they find it4 ,we call such a 
spirit that honours loyalty in the foe a
 spirit of chivalry4 ,you and ,i may    
remember that ,lee was the foe of that  
,union in whose triumph we now rejoice4 
,yet we may and should look upon him as1
 in his own personal intent1 a model of 
the spirit of true loyalty2 for he gave 
all that he had and was to what he found
 to be his cause4 ,such an insight into 
the meaning of the loyalty of the foe1  
chivalry requires4 ,therefore1 the true 
spirit of loyalty1 including1 as is     

reasonable1 this spirit of chivalry1    
also requires us to state the principle 
of loyalty in a still deeper and more   
universal form4 ,the true principle of  
loyalty is1 in fact1 an union of two    
principles4 ,the first is3 ,be loyal4   
,the second is3 ,so be loyal1 that is1  
so seek1 so accept1 so serve your cause 
that thereby the loyalty of all your    
brethren throughout all the world1      
through your example1 through your      
influence1 through your own love of     
loyalty wherever you find it1 as well as
 through the sort of loyalty which you  
exemplify in your deeds1 shall be aided1
 furthered1 increased so far as in you  
lies4  ,can this principle be acted out8
 ,can it direct life8 ,is it a barren   
abstraction8 ,let the life and #bjc the 
deed of the lonely lighthouse keeper    
give the reply4 ,who1 amongst us1       
whatever his own cause1 is not          
instructed and aided in his loyalty by  
the faithful deed of such a devoted     
soul8 ,such people are then1 in truth1  

not loyal merely to their own private   
cause4 ,they are loyal to the cause of  
all loyal people4 ,for1 to any          
enlightened survey of life1 all the     
loyal1 even when chance and human       
blindness force them at any moment to   
war with one another1 are1 in fact1     
spiritual brethren4 ,they have a common 
cause--the cause of furthering universal
 loyalty through their own choice and   
their own service4 ,the spirit of       
chivalry simply brings this fact to     
mind4 ,the loyal are inspired by the    
loyal1 are sustained by them4 ,every one
 of them finds in the loyal his kindred1
 his fellow-servants4 ,whoever is       
concretely loyal1 that is1 whoever      
wholly gives himself to some cause that 
binds many human souls in one superhuman
 unity1 is just in so far serving the   
cause not only of all mankind1 but of   
all the rational spiritual world4 ,i    
repeat then3 ,the true principle of all 
the loyal is3 ,so be loyal to your own  
cause as thereby to serve the           

advancement of the cause of universal   
loyalty4  ,now of the principle thus    
formulated ,i assert that it is a       
principle fit to be made the basis of an
 universal moral code4 ,there is no     
duty1 there is no virtue whose warrant  
and whose value you cannot deduce from  
this one principle4 ,charity1 justice1  
fidelity1 decisiveness1 strenuousness1  
truthfulness1 #bjd efficiency1 wise     
self-assertion1 watchful self-restraint1
 patience1 defiance of fortune1         
resignation in defeat1 your daily social
 duties1 your individual                
self-development1 your personal rights  
and dignity1 your obedience to the calls
 of duty1 your justified                
self-sacrifices1 your rational pride in 
the unique moral office to which you    
have individually been called--all      
these1 ,i assert1 can be rightly        
defined1 defended1 estimated1 and put   
into practice through an accurate       
understanding and development of the    
principle of loyalty just laid down4    

,since ,i am1 indeed1 speaking of       
sources of insight1 and am not          
portraying at any length their results1 
you will not expect of me a deduction of
 such a moral code here4 ,but this      
assertion of mine is no mere boast4 ,i  
have repeatedly endeavoured1 elsewhere1 
to portray loyalty and to apply its     
principles to life4 ,for the moment it  
suffices to ask you to consider the     
lives of the loyal1 in such examples as 
,i have suggested to you1 and to try for
 yourselves to see what they teach4 ,to 
help you in such a consideration1 ,i may
 here simply remind you that when one is
 not only loyal but enlightened1 one    
cannot finally approve or accept any    
cause or any mode of living that1 while 
seeming in itself to be a cause or a    
mode of living such as embodies the     
spirit of loyalty1 still depends upon or
 involves contempt for the loyalty of   
other men1 or a disposition to prey upon
 their loyalty and to deprive them of   
any cause to which they can be loyal4   

,no loyalty that lives by #bje          
destroying the loyalty of your neighbour
 is just to its own true intent4 ,and   
that is why charity and justice are     
fruits of the loyal spirit4 ,and that is
 why1 if your cause and your loyal      
action are rightly accepted and carried 
out1 the common interests of all        
rational beings are served by your      
loyalty precisely in so far as your     
powers permit4 ,whatever your special   
cause 7and your special personal        
cause--your love1 your home1 or your    
calling--you must have71 your true cause
 is the spiritual unity of all the world
 of reasonable beings4 ,this cause you  
further1 so far as in you lies1 by your 
every deed4  ,and that also is why the  
principle of loyalty1 once rightly      
defined and served by you--served with  
the whole energy and power of your      
personal self--is a principle that1 upon
 any enlightened survey of your life you
 can never regret having served4 ,this1 
then1 is what we were seeking--an       

absolute moral principle1 a guide for   
all action4  ,but even this is not the  
whole meaning of what the spirit of     
loyalty has to teach you4 ,your cause1  
thus concretely and yet universally     
defined1 is something of which you can  
always1 and now truthfully and without  
any pathetic fallacy1 say1 what         
,browning's lover said in the lyric that
 ,i quoted in our second lecture3       
,world1 how it walled about     ,life   
with disgrace1   ,till ,god's own smile 
came out     ,that was thy face4  #bjf  
,for your cause can only be revealed to 
you through some presence that first    
teaches you to love this unity of the   
spiritual life4 ,this presence will come
 to you in a beloved form1 as something 
human1 dear1 vitally fascinating4 ,it   
may be a person--a face--or a living    
community of human beings that first    
reveals it to you4 ,you can1 indeed1    
choose it as your cause4 ,your will is  
needed4 ,loyalty is no mere sentiment4  
,it is the willing and practical and    

thorough-going devotion of a self to a  
cause4 ,but you can never choose your   
cause until you have first found it4    
,and you must find it in human shape4   
,and you must love it before you can    
choose its service4  ,therefore1 however
 far you go in loyalty1 you will never  
regard your loyalty as a mere morality4 
,it will also be in essence a religion4 
,it will always be to you a finding of  
an object that comes to you from without
 and above1 as divine grace has always  
been said to come4 ,hence loyalty is a  
source not only of moral but of         
religious insight4 ,the spirit of true  
loyalty is of its very essence a        
complete synthesis of the moral and of  
the religious interests4 ,the cause is a
 religious object4 ,it finds you in your
 need4 ,it points out to you the way of 
salvation4 ,its presence in your world  
is to you a free gift from the realm of 
the spirit--a gift that you have not of 
yourself1 but through the willingness of
 the world to manifest to you the way of

 salvation4 ,this free gift first       
compels your love4 ,then you freely give
 yourself in return4  #bjg  ,therefore1 
the spirit of loyalty completely        
reconciles those bitter and tragic      
wrangles between the mere moralists and 
the partisans of divine grace4 ,it      
supplies in its unity also the way to   
define1 in harmonious fashion1 the ideal
 of what your individual experience     
seeks in its need1 of what your social  
world1 groaning and travailing in pain  
together1 longs for as our common       
salvation1 of what the reason conceives 
as the divine unity of the world's      
meaning1 of what the rational will      
requires you to serve as ,god's will4   
,through loyalty1 then1 not only the    
absolute moral insight1 but the absolute
 religious insight1 as you grow in grace
 and persist in service1 may be and will
 be gradually and truthfully revealed to
 you4  ,for loyalty1 though justifying  
no moral holidays1 shows you the will of
 the spiritual world1 the divine will1  

and so gives you rest in toil1 peace in 
the midst of care4 ,and loyalty also1   
though leaving you in no mystic trance1 
displays to you the law that holds the  
whole rational world together2 though   
showing you the divine grace1 calls upon
 you for the strenuous giving of your   
whole self to action2 though requiring  
of you no philosophical training1 tells 
you what the highest reason can but     
justify2 and1 though concerned with no  
mere signs and wonders1 shows you the   
gracious and eternal miracle of a       
spiritual realm where1 whatever fortunes
 and miracles and divine beings there   
may be1 you1 in so far as you are loyal1
 are and are to be always at home4  #bjh
  ,and all this is true because the     
spirit of loyalty at once expresses your
 own personal need and reason1 and      
defines for you the only purpose that   
could be justified from the point of    
view of one who surveyed all voluntary  
and rational life4 ,this is the purpose 
to further the unity of whatever        

spiritual life you can influence1 and to
 do this by your every rational deed1   
precisely in so far as your powers      
permit4 ,this is a law for all rational 
beings4 ,no angels could do more than   
this4  ,there is a famous word that     
,chaucer put into the mouth of his      
,griselda at the moment when her husband
 tried her patience with his last and   
utmost cruelty4 ,that word1 uttered by a
 woman to a mere individual human       
creature who happened to be her husband1
 seems helplessly pathetic and slavish  
enough4 ,yet ,chaucer himself warns us  
that the old tale1 truly interpreted1   
should be viewed as an allegory of the  
deeper relations between the soul and   
,god4 ,even so1 to many of our leading  
modern minds the allegory1 when         
interpreted in this way1 may seem harsh 
enough4 ,mere moralists may make light  
of it1 because it seems opposed to the  
dignity of the moral spirit of          
individual self-respect4 ,only the      
partisans of a divine grace1            

administered through inscrutable divine 
decrees1 would1 you might suppose1 still
 see any worth in so cruel an allegory4 
,nevertheless1 this judgment of the     
allegory is false4 ,let a truly loyal   
being--our lighthouse keeper1 for       
instance--our patriot or martyr1 let    
,lee or ,newton1 #bji let whoever is    
filled with the right spirit of         
loyalty--whoever1 through the light that
 he trims1 intends to lighten and to    
unify so much of the spiritual world as 
he can ever reach by his deed--let such 
a loyal being utter ,griselda's word4   
,let him utter it as in the presence of 
the master of life1 who offers to all   
the loyal the divine grace of finding   
themselves through their devotion to    
their cause4 ,let him address this word 
,as unto one that hears   ,a cry above  
the conquered years4  ,let him utter    
this word as the summary and confession 
of his whole life of loyalty4 ,and then 
,griselda's word is no longer slavish4  
,it is full of the resolute courage1 of 

the splendid contempt for mere fortune1 
of the unconquerable spiritual          
self-assertion1 yes1 it is full of the  
deathless will1 which are of the very   
essence of loyalty1 and which1 indeed1  
must overcome and1 in the eternal realm1
 do overcome the world4  ,griselda's    
word was this3    ,but certes1 ,lord1   
for none adversitie1   ,to dien in this 
case it shall not be   ,that ,i in herte
 and minde should aye repente1   ,that  
,i you gave my soul with whole intente4 
,whoever thus addresses his word1 not to
 a human individual1 but as unto the    
master of life1 and then4 #baj sincerely
 and persistently and lovingly1 lives   
that word out in his life1 has solved   
the religious paradox4 ,from out the    
lonely and darkened depths of his       
personal finitude1 from out the chaos of
 his social promptings and of his       
worldly ambitions1 amid all the storms  
of fortune1 midst of hell's laughter and
 noises appalling1 he has heard the     
voice of the ,spirit4 ,he has heard1    

and--however unlearned--he has          
understood4 ,his own lamp is burning1   
and through his deed the eternal light  
shines in the darkness of this world4   
#baa                               ,,vi 
,,the ,,religious ,,mission ,,of        
,,sorrow  #bab  #bac                    
,,vi                  ,,the ,,religious 
,,mission ,,of ,,sorrow  ,it very often 
happens to us that to reach any notable 
result1 either in life or in insight1 is
 even thereby to introduce ourselves to 
a new problem4 ,in the present state of 
the undertaking of these lectures such  
is our experience4 ,the religious       
insight whose source is the loyal spirit
 was our topic in the foregoing lecture4
 ,if my own view is correct1 this source
 is by far the most important that we   
have yet considered4 ,it unites the     
spirit and the meaning of all the       
foregoing sources4 ,rightly interpreted1
 it points the way to a true salvation4 
,yet the very last words of our sketch  
of the fruits of loyalty were of        

necessity grave words4 ,intending to    
show through what spirit man escapes    
from total failure1 we were brought face
 to face with the tragedies which still 
beset the higher life4 ,adversity--poor 
,griselda faced it in the tale4 ,we left
 the loyal spirit appearing to us--as it
 does appear in its strongest           
representatives1 able1 somehow1 in the  
power that is due to its insight1 to    
triumph over fortune4 ,but side by side 
with this suggestion #bad of the nature 
of that which overcomes the world stood 
the inevitable reminder of the word3 ,in
 this world ye shall have tribulation4  
,how is tribulation related to religious
 insight8 ,that is our present problem4 
,it has been forced upon our attention  
by the study of the place and the       
meaning of loyalty4 ,some understanding 
of this problem is necessary to any     
further comprehension of the lessons of 
all the foregoing sources of insight1   
and is of peculiar significance for any 
definition of the office of religion4   

,to nearly all of us1 at some time in   
our lives1 and to many of us at all     
times1 the tragic aspect of human life  
seems to be a profound hindrance to     
religious insight of any stable sort4 ,i
 must here first bring more fully to    
your minds why this is so--why the      
existence of tragedy in human existence 
appears to many moods1 and to many      
people1 destructive of faith in any     
religious truth and a barrier against   
rational assurance regarding the        
ultimate triumph of anything good4 ,then
 ,i want to devote the rest of this     
lecture to showing how sorrow1 how the  
whole burden of human tribulation1 has  
been1 and reasonably may be1 not merely 
a barrier in the way of insight1 but    
also a source of religious insight4 ,and
 this is the explanation of the title of
 the present lecture4  #bae             
,i  ,we approach our problem fully      
mindful of the limitations to which the 
purpose of these lectures confines us4  
,the problem of evil has many           

metaphysical1 theological1 moral1 and   
common-sense aspects upon which ,i can  
say nothing whatever in the present     
context4 ,human sorrow appears in our   
pathway in these lectures as a topic for
 us to consider1 first1 because whatever
 source of religious insight we have    
thus far consulted has shown us man     
struggling with some sort of ill1 and1  
secondly1 because there are aspects of  
this very struggle which will provide us
 with a new source of religious insight1
 and which will thus tend to throw new  
light upon the meaning of all the other 
sources4 ,a thorough-going study of the 
problem of evil would require of us a   
complete philosophy not only of religion
 but of reality4 ,but we are limiting   
ourselves1 in these discussions1 to a   
survey of certain sources4  ,the reasons
 why the existence and the prominence of
 evil in human life seem to all of us at
 some times1 and to many of us at all   
times1 a hindrance to the acceptance of 
any religious solution of the problems  

of life are familiar4 ,i need then only 
to remind you what they are4  ,without  
going into any subtleties regarding the 
definition of evil1 it is obvious that  
our first characteristic reaction when  
we meet with what we take #baf to be an 
evil is an effort to get rid of it1 to  
shun its presence1 or to remove it from 
existence4 ,pain1 cold1 burning heat1   
disease1 starvation1 death1 our enemies1
 our dangers1 these are facts that1     
precisely so far as we find them evil1  
we face with the determination to annul 
altogether their evil aspect4  ,a       
characteristic result of this tendency  
appears in the fact that man1 who of all
 animals is most clearly aware of the   
presence of evil in his world1 is for   
that very reason not only an ingenious  
deviser of new inventions for getting   
good things and for supplying his needs1
 but is also the most destructive of    
animals4 ,he wars with his natural      
surroundings1 and still more with his   
fellow-men1 in ways that show how the   

instinctive aversions upon which his    
estimates of evil are founded are       
reinforced by the habits which he forms 
in his contests with ill fortune4 ,man  
the destroyer of evil thus appears1 in  
much of his life1 as a destroyer who is 
also largely moved by a love of         
destruction for its own sake4 ,this love
 plays a great part in the formation of 
even very high levels of our social and 
moral consciousness4 ,the heroes of song
 and story1 and often of history as     
well1 are fascinating partly1 or        
chiefly1 because they could kill and did
 so4 ,we love victory over ill4 ,killing
 seems to involve such a victory4 ,so we
 love killing1 at least in the hero     
tales4 ,the result is often a certain   
inconsistency4 ,the gods offered        
,achilles the choice between a short    
life full of the glorious slaying of    
enemies and a long life of #bag harmless
 obscurity4 ,he chose the short life2   
and therefore he is to be remembered    
forever4 ,for even when he would not    

fight1 his destructive wrath sent the   
souls of many valiant heroes to ,hades1 
and left themselves a prey to the dogs  
and birds of the air4 ,and when he      
returned to battle1 what became of      
,hector8 ,the song of the ,nibelungs    
opens by assuring us that the old       
stories tell of many wonders1 and of    
heroes worthy of praise 7von ,helden    
lobebaeren71 and of great labours 7von  
grosser ,arebeit74 ,these great labours 
consisted mainly in the slaying of other
 men4 ,and this slaying was obviously   
worthy of praise2 for it gave us a model
 for all our own struggle with evil4 ,as
 for the heroes of history1 of course1  
we love to dwell upon their constructive
 labours4 ,but1 after all1 what sort of 
comparison is there in what the plain   
man1 apart from a higher enlightenment1 
usually calls glory1 between ,washington
 and ,napoleon8 ,no doubt there will    
always be admirers of ,napoleon who will
 think of him as a misunderstood        
reformer labouring for the building up  

of an ideal ,europe4 ,but even such     
admirers will join with the plain man in
 dwelling1 with especial fascination1   
upon the ,napoleon of ,austerlitz4 ,and 
they will not forget even ,borodino4 ,no
 doubt the lovers of ,washington find   
him glorious4 ,but where1 in his career1
 belongs the glory of having put an end 
to the ,holy ,roman ,empire1 or of      
having destroyed the polity of the      
,europe of the old maps8  #bah  ,man the
 destroyer thus glories in his prowess1 
and adores the heroes who were the      
ministers of death4 ,and since1 of      
course1 his warfare is always directed  
against something that he takes to be an
 evil1 the principle which directs his  
glorious conflicts seems to be one easy 
of general statement1 inconsistent as   
some of the reasonings founded upon it  
seem to be4 ,this principle is3 ,all    
evil ought to be destroyed4 ,there ought
 to be none4 ,it should be swept out of 
existence4  ,of course1 when the        
principle of the warfare with evil is   

thus abstractly stated1 it does not tell
 us what we are to regard as an evil4   
,it leaves the wise estimate of good and
 evil to be learned through a closer    
study of the facts of life4 ,no doubt1  
then1 ,achilles1 and the other heroes of
 song and story1 may have become as     
glorious as they are by reason of our   
excessive love of destruction due to    
some imperfect estimate of the true     
values of life4 ,and therefore the mere 
statement of the principle leaves open a
 very wide range for difference of      
opinion and for inconsistency of view as
 to what it is that ought to be         
destroyed4 ,the natural estimate of the 
plain man1 when he loves the heroes of  
old1 seems to imply that one of the     
chief ills that man ought to destroy    
usually takes the form of some other    
man4 ,and this way of estimating men in 
terms of their success in killing other 
men has its obvious inconsistencies4    
,but1 after all1 as one may insist1 much
 is gained when we have made up our     

minds as to what #bai ought to be done  
with evil1 whether evil is incorporated 
in our enemies1 in our pains1 or in our 
sins4 ,we may leave to advancing        
civilisation1 or perhaps to some triumph
 of religion1 the correction of our     
excessive fondness for the destruction  
of human life4 ,what is essentially     
important is that it is part of man's   
mission to destroy evil4 ,and about this
 general teaching the saints and the    
warriors1 so it seems1 may well agree4  
,religion1 it may be said1 can have     
nothing to urge against this fundamental
 axiom4 ,so far all appears clear4 ,evil
 ought to be driven out of the world4   
,common-sense says this4 ,every struggle
 with climate or with disease or with   
our foes is carried on in this spirit4  
,the search for salvation is itself--so 
one may insist--simply another instance 
of this destructive conflict with       
impending ills4 ,all that is most       
elemental in our hatreds thus agrees    
with whatever is loftiest in our souls1 

in facing evils with our everlasting    
,no4 ,all the differences of moral      
opinion are mere differences as to what 
to destroy4 ,man is always the destroyer
 of ill4                                
,,ii  ,but if you grant the general     
principle thus stated1 the presence of  
evil in this world1 in the forms that we
 all recognise1 and in the degree of    
importance that it attains in all our   
lives1 seems1 indeed1 a very serious    
hindrance in the way of religious       
insight4 #bbj ,and the reason is plain4 
,religion1 as we have said1 in seeking  
salvation1 seeks some form of communion 
with the master of life4 ,that is1 it   
seeks to come into touch with a power1 a
 principle1 or a mind1 or a heart1 that1
 on the one hand1 possesses1 or1 with   
approval1 surveys or controls the real  
nature of things1 and that1 on the other
 hand1 welcomes us in our conflicts with
 evil1 supports our efforts1 and secures
 our success4 ,i have made no effort1 in
 these lectures1 to define a theological

 creed4 ,such a creed forms a topic in  
which ,i take great interest but which  
lies beyond the limitations of this     
discourse4 ,yet our study of the        
historical relations between religion   
and morality1 our earlier analysis of   
the religious need1 have shown us that  
unless you are able to make some sort of
 effective appeal to principles that    
link you with the whole nature of       
things1 your religious need must remain 
unsatisfied1 and your last word will    
have to take1 at best1 the form of a    
moral1 not a religious doctrine4        
,religion does not require us to solve  
all mysteries2 but it does require for  
its stability some assurance that1 so   
far as concerns our need of salvation1  
and despite the dangers that imperil our
 salvation1 those that are with us1 when
 we are rightly enlightened1 are more   
than those that are against us4  ,in    
order to make this fact yet clearer1 let
 us suppose that all such assurance is  
taken away from us4 ,review the result4 

,let it be supposed that we need        
salvation4 ,let it be granted that1 as  
we naturally #bba are1 ,in our blindness
 and narrowness1 and in the caprices of 
our passions1 we cannot find the way out
 unless we can get into touch with some 
spiritual unity and reasonable life such
 as the loyal man's cause seems to      
reveal to him4 ,let it be further       
supposed1 however1 that all human causes
 are1 in their way and time1 as much    
subject to chance and to the capricious 
blows of fortune as we ourselves        
individually are4 ,let it be imagined   
that the cause of causes1 the unity of  
the whole spiritual world1 is1 in fact1 
a mere dream4 ,let the insight of the   
reason and of the will1 which1 when     
taken in their unity1 have been said by 
me to reveal to us that the universe is 
in its essence ,spirit1 and that the    
cause of the loyal is not only a        
reality1 but the reality--let this      
insight1 ,i say1 be regarded as an      
illusion4 ,let no other spiritual view  

of reality prove probable4 ,then1       
indeed1 we shall be left merely with    
ideals of life in our hands1 but with no
 assurance that real life1 in its       
wholeness1 approves or furthers these   
ideals4 ,our need of salvation will     
then1 to be sure1 still remain4 ,our    
definition of what salvation would be if
 it should become ours will be          
unchanged4 ,but1 having thus abandoned  
as illusory or as uncertain all the     
sources of insight which ,i have so far 
been defending1 we shall have upon our  
hands only the moral struggle for the   
good as our best resource4 ,we shall    
then hope for no assurance of salvation4
 ,we shall abandon religion to the realm
 of mythical consolations1 and shall    
face a grim world with only #bbb such   
moral courage as we can muster for the  
uncertain conflict4 ,our loyalty itself 
will lose its religious aspect4 ,for the
 objective goodness of our cause--the   
divine grace which its presence seems to
 offer to our life--will no longer mean 

anything but a faint and uncertain hope1
 which we shall keep or not according to
 the caprices of our personal           
resolutions4 ,such1 ,i say1 would be the
 outcome of rejecting all sources of    
religious insight into the real nature  
of things4  ,the result1 in the case now
 supposed1 will be one which any honest 
man will indeed accept if he must1 but  
which no one can regard as including any
 satisfactory religious insight         
whatever4 ,i certainly do not here      
present these considerations as in      
themselves any arguments for religion1  
or as in themselves furnishing support  
for our previous arguments regarding the
 nature and the merits of the sources of
 insight which we have been reviewing4  
,the case for which ,i have argued in   
the foregoing lectures must indeed stand
 or fall solely upon its own merits4    
,and if the reason and the will1 as the 
spirit of loyalty interprets and unifies
 their teachings1 do not really show us 
any truth about the whole nature of     

things1 ,i would not for a moment ask to
 have their teachings tolerated merely  
because1 without such teachings1 we     
should lose our grounds for holding to a
 religious interpretation of life4 ,if  
we must fall back upon mere moral       
resoluteness1 and abandon any assurance 
as to the religious objects1 and as to  
#bbc the way and the attainment of      
salvation1 ,i1 for one1 am quite ready  
to accept the call of life1 and to fight
 on for a good end so long as ,i can1   
without seeking for religious           
consolations that have once been shown  
to be mythical4 ,but ,i have indicated  
to you1 in general1 my grounds for      
holding that our previous sources       
actually do give us an insight which is 
not only moral but religious1 and do    
throw light upon our relations to a     
reason which moves in all things1 to a  
divine will which expresses itself in   
all the universe1 and to a genuine      
revelation of its purposes which this   
makes of itself when it inspires our    

loyalty4 ,my present purpose is1 not to 
reinforce these grounds by the mere     
threat that their rejection would       
involve an abandonment of any           
well-grounded religious assurance1 but  
to present to you the fact that religion
 is1 indeed1 a search for a really      
divine foundation for the saving        
process4  ,religion differs from        
morality in looking beyond our own      
active resoluteness for something--not  
ourselves--that gives a warrant1 founded
 in the whole nature of things--a       
warrant for holding that this           
resoluteness will succeed and will bring
 us into union with that which saves4   
,hence it is1 indeed1 true that if there
 is no master of life with whom we can  
come into touch1 no triumph of the good 
in the universe1 no real source of      
salvation--religion must result in      
disappointment4 ,and then our only      
recourse must1 indeed1 be the moral     
will4 ,this recourse is one that1 as we 
have seen1 #bbd many in our time are    

quite ready to accept4 ,and such1 in my 
own opinion1 are for reasons that they  
do not themselves admit actually well on
 their way toward real salvation4 ,only 
it is useless to attribute to them1 in  
their present stage of conviction1 any  
conscious and assured possession of     
religious insight4 ,to sum up1 then1    
religion demands the presence of the    
master of life as a real being1 and     
depends upon holding that the good      
triumphs4  ,but if we attempt to combine
 the two assertions1 ,all evil ought to 
be destroyed and ,in the universe as a  
whole the good triumphs1 and hereupon to
 face the facts of human life as        
religion finds them1 we are at once     
involved in familiar perplexities4 ,with
 many of these perplexities the         
limitations of the present discussion1  
as already explained1 forbid us to deal4
 ,i am merely trying to show1 for the   
moment1 why the presence of evil in our 
lives seems to be a hindrance in the way
 of religious insight4 ,and it is enough

 if ,i emphasise at this point what must
 readily come to the consciousness of   
all of you when you consider the        
situation in which our whole argument   
seems now to have placed us4  ,the very 
existence of the religious need itself  
presupposes not only the presence1 but  
the usual prevalence of very great evils
 in human life4 ,for unless man is in   
great danger of missing the pearl of    
great price1 he stands in no need of a  
saving process4 ,a religious man may    
come to possess an acquired             
optimism--the hard-won result of the    
religious #bbe process which seems to   
him to have pointed out the way of      
salvation4 ,but a man who begins with   
the assurance that all is ordinarily    
well with human nature is precluded from
 religion1 in our sense of the word     
religion1 by his very type of optimism4 
,such an optimist of the first          
intention1 such a believer that in the  
main it is well with human nature1 can  
be1 as we have seen1 a moralist1        

although he is usually a very           
simple-minded moralist1 as unaware of   
the graver moral problems as he is      
cheerfully indifferent to the hard case 
in which most of his brethren live4 ,but
 whoever sees the deep need of human    
salvation1 as the various cynics and    
rebels and sages and prophets whom we   
cited in our first lecture have seen it1
 has begun by recognising the bitterness
 of human loss and defeat--the gravity  
of the evil case of the natural man4    
,were not the world as it now is very   
evil1 what1 then1 were the call for     
religion8 ,religion takes its origin in 
our sense of deep need--in other words1 
in our recognition that evil has a very 
real place in life4 ,tempora            
pessima--,the times are very evil--is   
thus no phrase of a merely mediaeval    
type of world-hatred4 ,the woes of man  
are the presupposed basis of fact upon  
which the search for salvation rests4   
,and the further one goes in the pursuit
 of the sources of religious insight1   

the more1 as we have ourselves found1   
does one's original recognition of the  
ill of the human world become both      
deepened and varied4 ,from the solitude 
of one's individual #bbf sorrows one    
goes out to seek for religious relief in
 the social world1 only to find how much
 more manifold the chaos of ordinary    
social life is than is the conflict of  
one's private passions4 ,if one asks    
guidance from reason1 reason appears at 
first as a sort of spirit brooding upon 
the face of the depths of unreason4     
,when loyalty itself is created1 it     
finds itself beset by adversities4 ,if  
evil drives us to seek relief in        
religion1 religion thus teaches us to   
know1 better and better1 the tragedy of 
life4 ,its first word is1 thus1 about   
evil and about the escape from evil4    
,but its later words appear to have been
 a persistent discourse upon our        
tribulations4  ,but how can religion1   
thus presupposing the presence of evil  
in our life1 and illustrating this      

presence anew at every step1 undertake  
to lead us to any assurance of the      
triumph of a good principle in the real 
world1 in case1 as seems so far obvious1
 such a triumph of a good principle     
would mean that all evil is to be simply
 destroyed and wiped out of existence8  
,briefly restating the situation1 it is 
this3 ,if the evils of human life are   
indeed but transient and superficial    
incidents1 or if--to use a well-known   
extreme form of statement--evil is an   
unreality altogether--then religion is  
superfluous4 ,for there is no need of   
salvation unless man's ordinary case is1
 indeed1 very really a hard case1 that  
is1 unless evil is a reality1 and a     
deep-rooted one4 ,but1 on the other     
hand1 if evil is thus deep-rooted in the
 very #bbg conditions of human life as  
they are1 and if it persists upon higher
 levels even of the religious life1     
religion seems in danger of total       
failure4 ,for unless goodness is somehow
 at the real heart of things--is1 so to 

speak1 the core of reality--the hope of 
salvation is a dream1 and religion      
deceives us4 ,but goodness1 by the      
hypothesis that we are just now         
considering1 requires that evil should  
be wholly abolished4 ,how can that which
 should not exist at all1 namely1 evil1 
be in such wise the expression of the   
real nature of things that on the one   
hand religion is needed to save us from 
evil1 and yet is able to do so only by  
bringing us to know that the real nature
 of things is good8 ,here is our        
problem4 ,and it is a hard one4  ,in    
brief1 as you may say1 religion must    
take its choice4 ,either the evil in the
 world is of no great importance1 and   
then religion is useless2 or the need of
 salvation is great1 and the way is     
straight and narrow2 and then evil is   
deeply rooted in the very nature of     
reality1 and religion seems a failure4  
,,iii  ,i believe that there is some    
advantage in stating in this somewhat   
crabbed and dialectical fashion1 a      

problem which most of us usually        
approach through much more direct and   
pathetic experience4 ,one advantage in  
crabbedness and in fondness for         
dialectic is that it sometimes tends to 
clear away the clouds #bbh with which   
emotion from moment to moment surrounds 
certain great problems of life4 ,as ,i  
said earlier1 in speaking of the office 
of the reason1 abstract ideas are but   
means to an end4 ,their end is to help  
us to a clear and rational survey of the
 connections of things4 ,when you are to
 examine the landscape from a height1 in
 order to obtain a wide prospect1 you   
may have to use a glass1 or a compass1  
or some other instrument of abstraction1
 in order to define what the distance   
tends to render obscure1 or what the    
manifoldness of the scenery surveyed    
makes it hard rightly to view in its    
true relations4 ,and1 in such cases1 the
 glass or the compass is but an         
auxiliary1 intended to help in the end  
your whole outlook4 ,now the world of   

good and evil is a world of wide        
prospects1 of vast distances1 of        
manifold features4 ,a bit of dialectics1
 using abstract and one-sided           
considerations in succession1 may       
prepare the way for seeing the whole    
better4  ,the plain man well knows the  
problem that ,i have just been          
characterising4 ,he knows how it may    
enter his religious life4 ,only he does 
not usually think of it abstractly4 ,it 
pierces his heart4 ,stunned by a grief1 
he may say3 ,i have trusted ,god1 and   
now he forsakes me4 ,how can a good ,god
 permit this horror in my life8 ,yet the
 plain man1 if religiously minded1 also 
knows what is meant by saying1 ,out of  
the depths have ,i cried4 ,and he knows1
 too1 that part of the preciousness of  
his #bbi very idea of ,god depends upon 
the fact that there are depths1 and that
 out of them one can cry1 and that ,god 
is precisely a being who somehow hears  
the cry from the depths4 ,god1          
pragmatically viewed1 as some of our    

recent teachers express the matter1 is  
thus often defined for the plain man's  
religious experience as a helper in     
trouble4 ,were there no trouble1 there  
would be1 then1 it would seem1 no cry of
 the soul for such a being1 and very    
possibly no such being conceived by the 
soul that now cries4 ,yet this very     
,god--one cries to him because he is    
supposed to be all-powerful1 and to do  
all things well1 and therefore to be a  
very present help in time of trouble4   
,all this seems clear enough at the time
 when one is on the way up1 out of the  
depths1 or when one begins to praise    
,god in the ,psalmist's words1 because1 
as one now says3 ,he hath planted my    
feet upon a rock1 and hath established  
my goings4 ,but how does all this seem  
at the moment when one suddenly falls   
into the pit of sorrow1 and when one's  
eyes are turned downward2 when he who   
doeth all things well permits the utmost
 treachery of fortune1 and when the one 
who can hear every cry seems deaf to    

one's most heartrending pleadings8 ,the 
familiar explanation that all this is a 
penalty for one's sins may awaken an    
echo of ,job's protest in the mind of   
the man who knows not how he has        
deserved this woe1 or may arouse the    
deeper and now consciously dialectical  
comments on the mystery involved in the 
fact that ,god #bcj permits sin4 ,why   
was ,i made thus blind and sinful8 one  
may cry4 ,and hereupon religious insight
 becomes1 indeed1 confused enough1 and  
may turn for relief to that well-known  
type of defiance which1 if not          
religious1 is at least moral2 for it is 
a protest against evil4 ,if at such     
moments ,god is1 indeed1 to our darkened
 vision1 and1 for us1 who wait for his  
blessing1 as if he were sleeping or on a
 journey1 one can at least1 as moral    
agent1 utter this protest against ill1  
and wonder why his omnipotence does not 
make it effective4 ,one thus begins1 as 
it were1 to try heroically to do the    
absent ,god's work for him4  ,all these 

are familiar experiences4 ,they find us1
 too often1 unprepared4 ,they find us   
when emotion tends to cloud every       
insight4 ,they illustrate a certain     
dialectical process which belongs to all
 human life and which plays its part in 
the whole history of religion4 ,perhaps 
it is well to state an aspect of this   
dialectical process abstractly1         
crabbedly1 and unemotionally1 as we have
 just done1 in order that we may make   
ourselves the more ready to face the    
issue when life exemplifies it with     
crushing suddenness1 and when    ,the   
painful ploughshare of passion   ,grinds
 down to our uttermost rock4  ,the      
problem1 as just abstractly stated1 is  
this4 ,religion seems to face this      
dilemma3 ,either there are no great and 
essential ills about human life2 #bca   
and then there is no great danger of    
perdition1 and no great need of         
salvation1 and religion has no notable  
office2 or there are great and essential
 ills1 and man's life is in bitter need 

of salvation2 but in that case evil is  
deeply rooted in the very nature of the 
reality from which we have sprung2 and  
therefore religion has no right to      
assure us of communion with a real      
master of life who is able to do with   
evil what not only ought to be done with
 it1 but ought always to have been done 
with it by any being able to offer man  
any genuine salvation4 ,for 7as we are  
assuming7 what ought to be done1 yes1   
what ought to have been done with evil  
from the beginning1 is and was this3 ,to
 banish it altogether from existence4   
,this1 ,i say1 is1 when abstractly      
stated1 the dilemma in which religion   
seems to be placed4 ,of this dilemma the
 countless struggles of the human soul  
when1 in the spirit of some practical   
religion1 it seeks for salvation and    
faces its woes are examples4 ,these     
struggles are infinitely pathetic and in
 life are often confusing to insight4   
,is there any value in considering this 
abstract statement of the principles    

upon which this dilemma seems to be     
founded8 ,possibly there is1 if we can  
hereby be led also to consider--not     
indeed1 in this place1 the problems of  
theology1 or the metaphysics of evil1   
but a new source of insight4  #bcb      
,,iv  ,this new source of insight begins
 to come to us when we observe1 as we   
can often observe if we listen with     
closer attention to the voices of our   
own hearts1 that the general principle1 
,evil ought simply to be put out of     
existence1 does not express our whole   
attitude toward all evils1 and gives    
only an imperfect account either of our 
more common-place and elemental or of   
our more elevated1 heroic1 and          
reasonable estimates of life4  ,the     
principle3 ,evil ought to be simply     
abolished1 is1 indeed1 one that we      
unquestionably apply1 in our ordinary   
life1 to a vast range of natural ills4  
,but it is not universal4 ,let us first 
indicate its apparent range4 ,physical  
pain1 when sufficiently violent1 is an  

example of an ill that appears to us1 in
 all its greater manifestations1 plainly
 intolerable4 ,so it seems to us to     
illustrate the principle that ,evil     
ought to be put out of existence4 ,we   
desire1 with regard to it1 simply its   
abolition4 ,the same is true of what one
 may call unassimilated griefs of all   
levels--the shocks of calamity at the   
moment when they first strike1 the      
anguish of loss or of disappointment    
precisely when these things are new to  
us and appear to have no place in our   
life-plan4 ,these are typical ills4 ,and
 they all illustrate ills that seem to  
us to be worthy only of destruction4    
,the magnitude of such ills as factors  
in #bcc the individual and in the social
 world often appears to us immeasurable4
 ,pestilence1 famine1 the cruelties of  
oppressors1 the wrecks of innocent human
 lives by cruel fortunes--all these     
seem1 for our ordinary estimates1 facts 
that we can in no wise assimilate1      
justify1 or reasonably comprehend4 ,that

 is1 we can see1 in the single case1 no 
reason why such events should form part 
of human life--except that so it indeed 
is4 ,they seem1 to our natural          
understanding1 simply opaque data of    
experience1 to be annulled or removed if
 we can4 ,and to such ills1 from our    
human point of view1 the principle3     
,they ought to be simply driven out of  
existence1 is naturally applied without 
limitation4 ,the apparent range of this 
principle is therefore1 indeed1 very    
wide4  ,now it forms no part of our     
present discourse to consider in detail 
the possible theological or metaphysical
 basis for a possible explanation of    
such ills1 ,i have elsewhere written too
 much and too often about the problem of
 evil to be subject to the accusation of
 neglecting the pathos and the tragedy  
of these massive ills4 ,this1 however1  
,i can at once say4 ,in so far as ills  
appear to us thus1 they are1 indeed1 no 
sources of religious insight4 ,on the   
other hand1 even when thus viewed1 in   

all their blackness1 they can be1 and   
are1 sources of moral enthusiasm and    
earnestness4 ,man the destroyer1 when1  
awaking to the presence of such ills in 
his world1 he contends with them1 gets a
 perfectly #bcd definite moral content  
into his life4 ,and he has his right to 
do so4 ,whatever his religion1 he is    
morally authorised to labour against    
these unmediated evils with the         
heartiest intolerance4 ,when such labour
 takes on social forms1 it helps toward 
the loftiest humanity4 ,the war with    
pain and disease and oppression1 the    
effort to bind up wounds and to snatch  
souls from destruction--all these things
 constitute some of man's greatest      
opportunities for loyalty4              
,nevertheless1 when man loyally wars    
with the ills such as physical anguish  
and pestilence and famine and           
oppression1 he does not thereby tend to 
discover1 through his own loyal act1 why
 such individual ills are permitted in  
the world4 ,in so far as these evils    

give him opportunity for service1 they  
appeal to his loyalty as a warrior      
against them4 ,if his cause includes1   
for him1 activities that enter into this
 warfare with ills that are to be       
destroyed1 these ills have thus         
indirectly conduced to his religious    
life4 ,but it is his loyalty that in    
such cases is his source of religious   
insight4 ,the ills themselves that he   
thus destructively fights remain to him 
as opaque as before4 ,why they find     
their place in the world he does not    
see4 ,now that they are found there1 he 
knows what to do with them--namely1 to  
annul them1 to put them out of          
existence1 as a part of his loyal       
service4 ,but if he is religiously      
minded1 he does not for a moment        
conceive that the ills with which he    
wars are there simply to give him the   
opportunity for his service4 ,so far    
then it is1 indeed4 #bce true that the  
ills which we have simply to destroy    
offer us no source of religious insight4

  ,but now1 as ,i must insist1 not all  
the ills that we know are of this       
nature4 ,wide and deep and terrible as  
are those conflicts with the            
incomprehensible ills of fortune whose  
presence in the world we do not         
understand1 there are other ills4 ,and  
toward these other ills we take an      
attitude which is not wholly            
destructive4 ,we find them1 upon a      
closer view1 inseparably bound up with  
good--so closely bound up therewith that
 we could not conceive a life wherein   
this sort of good which is here bound up
 with this sort of ill could be         
separated therefrom4 ,in these cases the
 principle3 ,evil should be simply put  
out of existence1 proves to be a        
palpable falsity4 ,as our knowledge of  
such ills grows clearer1 we commonly    
find that there is1 indeed1 something   
about them1 as they at any one moment   
appear to us1 which ought1 indeed1 to be
 annulled1 set aside1 destroyed4 ,but   
this annulling of one momentary or at   

least transient aspect of the ill is but
 part1 in such cases1 of a constructive 
process1 which involves growth rather   
than destruction--a passage to a new    
life rather than a casting wholly out of
 life4 ,such ills we remove only in so  
far as we assimilate them1 idealise     
them1 take them up into the plan of our 
lives1 give them meaning1 set them in   
their place in the whole4  ,now such    
ills1 as ,i must insist1 play a very    
great part in life and especially in the
 higher life4 ,our #bcf attitude toward 
them constitutes1 above all1 on the very
 highest levels of our reasonableness1 a
 very great part of our attitude toward 
the whole problem of life4 ,in the      
presence of these idealised evils1 man  
the destroyer becomes transformed into  
man the creator4 ,and he does so without
 in the least abandoning his justified  
moral distinctions1 without indulging in
 any sort of moral holiday1 and without 
becoming unwilling to destroy when he   
cannot otherwise rationally face the    

facts before him than by destroying4 ,he
 is not less strenuous in his dealing   
with his moral situation because he has 
discovered how to substitute growth for 
destruction and creative assimilation   
for barren hostility4 ,he is all the    
more effectively loyal in the presence  
of such ills1 because he sees how they  
can become1 for his consciousness1 parts
 of a good whole4  ,ills of this sort   
may become1 and in the better cases do  
become1 sources of religious insight4   
,their presence in our world enables us 
the better to comprehend its spiritual  
unity4 ,and because they are often very 
deep and tragic ills1 which we face only
 with very deep and dear travail of     
spirit1 they hint to us how1 from the   
point of view of a world-embracing      
insight1 the countless and terrible ills
 of the other sort1 which we cannot now 
understand1 and which1 at present1      
appear to us merely as worthy of utter  
destruction1 may still also have their  
places1 as stages and phases of         

expression1 in the larger life to which 
we belong4 ,in our own power to         
assimilate #bcg and spiritualise our own
 ills1 we can get at times a hint of    
such larger spiritual processes4 ,in    
these very processes we also1 through   
our loyal endeavour1 can act our own    
real part2 although what the larger     
processes are we cannot expect at       
present to comprehend better than a     
sympathising dog1 whose master is       
devoting his life to furthering the     
highest spiritual welfare of a nation or
 of all mankind1 can know why his       
master's face is now grief-stricken and 
now joyous4  ,in other words1 the ills  
that we can spiritualise and idealise   
without merely destroying them hint to  
us that1 despite the uncomprehended     
chaos of seemingly hopeless tragedy with
 which for our present view human life  
seems to be beset1 the vision of the    
spiritual triumph of the good which     
reason and loyalty present to us need   
not be an illusion1 but is perfectly    

consistent with the facts4 ,the world is
 infinite4 ,with our present view we    
could not expect to grasp directly the  
unity of its meaning4 ,we have sources  
of insight which tend to our salvation  
by showing us1 in general1 although     
certainly not in detail1 the nature of  
the spiritual process which1 as these   
sources of insight persistently point   
out1 constitutes the essence of reality4
 ,whether these sources are themselves  
valid and trustworthy is a question to  
be considered upon its own merits4 ,i   
have stated my case so far as our brief 
review requires it to be stated4 ,i must
 leave to your own considerateness the  
further estimate of what these #bch     
sources teach1 both as to the reality of
 the master of life and as to the nature
 of the process of salvation4 ,my       
present concern is simply with the cloud
 that the presence of evil seems to     
cause to pass over the face of all these
 sources4 ,i cannot undertake wholly to 
dispel this cloud by showing you in     

detail why pestilences or why broken    
hearts are permitted to exist in this   
world4 ,but ,i can show you that there  
are1 indeed1 ills1 and very dark ills in
 life1 which not only are there1 but are
 essential to the highest life4 ,i do   
not exaggerate our power to solve       
mysteries when ,i insist that these ills
 constitute not an opaque hindrance to  
insight1 not a cloud over the sun of    
reason and of loyalty1 but rather a     
source of insight4 ,and1 as ,i insist1  
they constitute such a source without   
being in the least an excuse for any    
indolence in our moral struggle with    
precisely those aspects of such ills as 
we ought to destroy4 ,they show us how  
the triumph of the moral will over such 
adversities is perfectly consistent with
 the recognition that the most rational 
type of life demands the existence of   
just such adversities4 ,their presence  
in our world does not excuse sloth1 does
 not justify a moral holiday1 does not  
permit us to enjoy any mere luxury of   

mystical contemplation of the triumph of
 the divine in the world1 without       
ourselves taking our rational and       
strenuous part in the actual attainment 
of such triumph4 ,but what these forms  
of ill show us is that there are        
accessible cases in which if--but only  
if--one does the divine will--one #bci  
can know of the doctrine that teaches   
how the divine will can and does become 
perfect1 not through the mere abolition 
of evil1 but through suffering4 ,such   
cases of ill are true sources of        
insight4 ,they reveal to us some of the 
deepest truths about what loyalty1 and  
spiritual triumph1 and the good really  
are4 ,they make for salvation4 ,they    
drive away clouds and bring us face to  
face with the will of the world4  ,i    
have so far spoken of evil in general4  
,for the present purpose ,i need a name 
for the ills that one rationally faces  
only when one1 through some essentially 
active1 constructive1 moral process1    
creatively assimilates and idealise     

them1 and thus wins them over to be a   
part of good--not when one merely drives
 them out of existence4 ,one name for   
such ills is ,griselda's name3          
,adversities4 ,but ,i have chosen1 in   
the title of this lecture1 to use the   
vaguer untechnical name3 ,sorrow4 ,a    
great physical pain1 you in general     
cannot1 at least at the moment1         
idealise4 ,you then and there face it   
only as something intolerable1 and can  
see no good except through its mere     
abolition4 ,the same is true of any     
crushing blow of fortune1 precisely in  
so far as it crushes4 ,all such things  
you then and there view narrowly4 ,their
 mystery lies in the very fact that they
 are thus1 for the moment1 seen only    
narrowly4 ,hence1 they are ipso facto   
hindrances to insight4 ,but a           
sorrow--when you use the word you have  
already begun to assimilate and idealise
 the fact that you #bdj call a sorrow4  
,that you have begun to idealise it1 the
 very luxury of deep grief often vaguely

 hints1 sometimes clearly shows4 ,for   
sorrows may have already become         
tragically precious to you4 ,would you  
forget your lost love1 or your dead1 or 
your days that are no more1 even if you 
could8 ,is mere destruction1 then1 your 
only tendency in the presence of such   
sorrows4 ,a closer view of your attitude
 toward such sorrows shows that they are
 not only clouding but revealing4 ,they 
begin1 they may endlessly continue1 to  
show you the way into the spiritual     
realm and the nature of this realm4  ,by
 sorrow1 then1 ,i here mean an          
experience of ill which is not wholly an
 experience of that which as you then   
and there believe ought to be simply    
driven out of existence4 ,the insight of
 which sorrow is the source1 is an      
insight that tends to awaken within you 
a new view of what the spiritual realm  
is4 ,this view is not in the least what 
some recent writers have blindly        
proclaimed it to be--a philosopher's    
artificial abstraction--a cruel effort  

to substitute a soft doctrine of the    
study for a moral and humane facing of  
the hard facts of human life4 ,no1 this 
view is the soul of the teaching of all 
the world's noblest and most practical  
guides to the most concrete living4     
,this view faces hardness1 it endures   
and overcomes4 ,poets1 prophets1        
martyrs1 sages1 artists1 the heroes of  
spirituality of every land and clime1   
have found in it comfort1 resolution1   
and triumph4 ,the philosopher1 at best1 
can report what #bda these have seen4   
,and soft1 indeed1 is the type of       
thoughtful effort which declines to     
follow with its ideas what all these    
have learned to express in their lives  
and in their religion4                  
,v  ,because ,i am here not stating for 
you a merely speculative doctrine       
concerning the place of evil in a good  
and rational spiritual world1 ,i once   
more need1 at this point1 to appeal as  
directly as ,i can to life4 ,let me     
present to you1 from recent literature1 

a noteworthy instance of the use of our 
present source of insight4 ,the instance
 is confessedly one where no complete   
and determinate religious creed is      
defended as the result of the use of the
 insight in question4 ,and an actually  
eternal truth about the spiritual       
world--a very old truth in the lore of  
the wise1 but a deeply needed truth for 
our own day--is illustrated by the      
instance which the tale portrays4  ,i   
refer to a recent short story1 published
 in the ,atlantic ,monthly for          
,november1 #aiaj1 and written by        
,cornelia ,a4 ,p4 ,comer4 ,it is        
entitled ,the ,preliminaries4 ,it is1 to
 my mind1 an impressive union of a      
genuinely effective realism and a deep  
symbolism4 ,the characters are very real
 human beings4 ,their problem is one of 
the most familiar problems of daily     
life--the problem as to the advisability
 of the proposed marriage of two young  
lovers4 ,the #bdb conditions of the     
problem are hard facts1 of a general    

type that is unfortunately frequent     
enough under our confusing modern       
conditions4 ,these facts are viewed in  
the tale as such people might well view 
them4 ,and yet the issues involved are1 
like all the problems of young lovers1  
issues that are bound up with all the   
interests of religion and with the whole
 problem of the reality of a spiritual  
world4 ,these issues are treated as they
 truly are1 with a result that is fairly
 supernatural in its ancient but always 
new appeal to a source of insight that  
we can reach only through sorrow4       
,since the question inevitably concerns 
the prospects of the proposed marriage1 
the first statement of the problem is   
fully in harmony with the spirit of     
recent pragmatism4 ,the truth of the    
assertion3 ,we ought to marry1 is surely
 a truth that1 as the pragmatists would 
say1 the young lovers who make the      
assertion should regard as quite        
inseparable from the probable results to
 which this marriage will lead in       

concrete life4 ,such a truth then is1   
one would say1 wholly empirical4 ,a     
marriage proposal1 to use the favourite 
phrase of pragmatism1 is a working      
hypothesis4 ,such hypotheses must be    
submitted to the test of experience4 ,no
 such test1 it would seem1 would be     
absolute4 ,what does poor humanity know 
as to the real values of our destiny8   
,meanwhile the whole problem of good and
 evil is in question4 ,marriage1        
especially under certain conditions1    
will lead to one or another sorrow4 ,can
 one face #bdc sorrow with any really   
deeper trust in life8 ,is life really a 
good at all1 since there is so much     
sorrow in it8 ,must not any prudent     
person be afraid of life8 ,ought the    
lovers to defy fortune and to ignore    
obvious worldly prudence8  ,such is the 
first statement of the problem4 ,its    
treatment in this admirable sketch shows
 an insight into the nature of good and 
evil which ,i had myself come to regard 
as very little present to the minds of  

the story-tellers of to-day1 who are so 
often dominated by the recent love of   
power1 by the tedious blindness of      
modern individualism1 by false doctrines
 as to the merely temporal expediency of
 truth1 and by the merely glittering    
show of unspiritual worldly efficiency4 
,i rejoice to find that1 in a literature
 which has been1 of late1 so devastated 
by a popularly trivial interpretation of
 pragmatism1 and by an equally trivial  
disregard for the rule of reason1 there 
is still place for so straightforward   
and practical a recognition of eternal  
truth as the wise woman who has written 
this short story exemplifies4  ,the     
issue regarding this particular marriage
 proposal is stated at once in the      
opening words of the tale3  ,young      
,oliver ,pickersgill was in love with   
,peter ,lannithorne's daughter4 ,peter  
,lannithorne was serving a six-year term
 in the penitentiary for embezzlement4  
,the young hero is depicted as a        
high-minded youth of unquestionable and 

prosperous social #bdd position in his  
community4 ,his beloved is a loyal      
daughter who is convinced that her      
father's crime was due solely to a      
momentary and benevolent weakness1 and  
to a mind confused by care for the needs
 and too importunate requirements of his
 own family4 ,not unjustly attributing  
the father's final downfall to the      
impatience1 to the agonising discontent1
 and to the worldly ambition of her own 
mother1 the daughter with spirit replies
 to the lover's proposal by saying      
plainly3 ,i will never marry any one who
 doesn't respect my father as ,i do4    
,the lovers somewhat easily come to     
terms1 at least apparently1 as to this  
sole present ground for disagreement4   
,the youth1 not without inward          
difficulty1 is ready to accept the      
daughter's version of her father's      
misadventure4 ,in any case1 love makes  
him indifferent to merely worldly       
scruples1 and he has no fear of his own 
power to face his community as the      

loving husband of a convict's daughter2 
though there is1 indeed1 no doubt as to 
the father's actual guilt1 and although 
,lannithorne is known to have admitted  
the justice of his sentence4  ,but to   
love1 and to be magnanimously           
hopeful--this is not the same as to     
convince other people that such a       
marriage is prudent1 or is likely1 as   
the pragmatists would say1 to have      
expedient workings4 ,young ,oliver has  
to persuade ,ruth's mother on the one   
hand1 his own father on the other1 that 
such a marriage is reasonable4 ,both    
prove to be hard to convince4 ,to the   
ordinary scruples of worldly #bde       
prudence which young lovers generally   
have to answer1 they easily add         
seemingly unanswerable objections4 ,the 
mother--the convict's wife--now a       
brilliantly clear-witted but hopelessly 
narrow-minded invalid--a broken woman of
 the world--pragmatically enlightened1  
in a way1 by the bitter experience of   
sorrow1 but not in the least brought    

thereby to any deeper insight1 faces the
 lover as an intruder upon her          
daughter's peace and her own desolation4
 ,she has known1 she says1 what the     
bitterness of an unhappy marriage can be
 and is4 ,if she herself has had her    
share of blame for her husband's        
downfall1 that only the more shows her  
such truth as1 in this dark world1 she  
still can grasp4 ,i do not want my      
daughters to marry--this is1 to her1 the
 conclusion of the whole matter4 ,the   
bitterness of her own marriage has      
taught her this lesson1 which she       
expounds to the lover with all the      
passion of wounded pride and the        
dear-bought lore of life as she has     
learned it4 ,but of course1 as she      
admits1 she may be wrong4 ,let the lover
 consult her husband at the jail4       
,he--the convict--is a well-meaning man1
 after all4 ,he fell2 but he is not at  
heart a criminal4 ,let him say whether  
he wants his daughter to take up the    
burden of this new tragedy4 ,so the     

mother concludes her parable4  ,the     
lover1 baffled1 but still hopeful1 next 
turns to his own father for consent and 
encouragement4 ,but now he has to listen
 to the teachings of a loftier yet to   
him profoundly discouraging prudence4   
#bdf ,oliver's father is a truly        
high-minded man of the world1 with a    
genuinely religious feeling in the      
background of his mind1 and is intensely
 devoted to his son4 ,but from this     
proposed match he recoils with a natural
 horror4 ,the world is full of good     
girls4 ,why not choose one who brings no
 such sorrow with her8 ,peter           
,lannithorne was in his crime no worse1 
indeed1 than many other men who are not 
in jail4 ,he even meant on the whole    
well1 and blundered1 until at last from 
blunder he drifted into crime4 ,he then 
took his penalty like a man1 and owned  
that it was just4 ,but1 after all1 he   
was found out4 ,such a taint lasts4 ,it 
cannot be removed by repentance4 ,the   
proposed marriage can only lead to      

misery4 ,peter ,lannithorne himself1    
who1 after all1 knows what's what1 would
 be the first to admit this fact1 if one
 asked his advice4 ,if the son must     
persist in making light of a loving     
father's wisdom--well1 let him then     
consult ,peter ,lannithorne himself4    
,ask the convict in his prison what a   
man needs and expects in the family of  
the woman whom he is to marry4 ,this is 
the father's firm but kindly ultimatum4 
,terrified by the gravity of repeated   
warnings1 and dispirited by having to   
leave his dearest problem to the        
decision of the convict himself1 ,oliver
 determines to face the inevitable4 ,he 
arranges for the interview at the jail1 
and is left by the warden alone with the
 prisoner in the prison library4        
,suddenly1 as he faces his man1 the     
youth finds himself #bdg in the presence
 of one who has somehow been transformed
 as if by a supernatural power4 ,as for 
the convict's person--    ,his features 
were irregular and unnoticeable2 but the

 sum-total of   them gave the impression
 of force4 ,it was a strong face1 yet   
you   could see that it had once been a 
weak one4 ,it was a tremendously   human
 face1 a face like a battle-ground1     
scarred and seamed and   lined with the 
stress of invisible conflicts4444 ,not a
 triumphant   face at all1 and yet there
 was peace in it4 ,somehow1 the man had 
achieved something1 arrived somewhere1  
and the record of the journey   was     
piteous and terrible4 ,yet it drew the  
eyes in awe as much as in   wonder1 and 
in pity not at all4  ,oliver1 reassured 
by the new presence1 and glad to find   
himself at last facing a man who has    
nothing left to fear in life1 states as 
well as possible his main problem4 ,the 
father of his beloved listens1 first    
with surprise at the news1 then with    
seriousness4 ,oliver finds himself      
forced to cut deep when he repeats his  
own father's appeal to know the         
convict's opinion about what a man      
expects to meet in his future wife's    

family1 and then pauses with a keen     
sense of the cruelty of his own         
position4 ,but ,lannithorne1 who has    
long since become accustomed to feeling 
the ploughshare of passion grind down to
 his uttermost rock1 is perfectly ready 
with his response4 ,as the youth pauses 
and then begins a new appeal--    ,the  
man looked up and held up an arresting  
hand4 ,let me clear the   way for you a 
little1 he said4 ,it was a hard #bdh    
thing for you   to come and seek me out 
in this place4 ,i like your coming4     
,most   young men would have refused1 or
 come in a different spirit4 ,i want    
you to understand that if in ,ruth's    
eyes1 and my wife's1 and your           
father's1 my counsel has value1 it is   
because they think ,i see   things as   
they are4 ,and that means1 first of all1
 that ,i know myself   for a man who    
committed a crime and is paying the     
penalty4 ,i am   satisfied to be paying 
it4 ,as ,i see justice1 it is just4 ,so1
 if ,i   seem to wince at your necessary

 allusions to it1 that is part of the   
price4 ,i don't want you to feel that   
you are blundering or hurting   me more 
than is necessary4 ,you have got to lay 
the thing before me   as it is4         
,something in the words1 in the dry1    
patient manner1 in the endurance   of   
the man's face1 touched ,oliver to the  
quick and made him feel all   manner of 
new things3 such as a sense of the moral
 poise of the   universe1 acquiescence  
in its retributions1 and a curious      
pride1   akin to ,ruth's own1 in a man  
who could meet him after this fashion1  
in this place4  ,hereupon1 fully        
aroused1 the youth tells with freedom   
why the problem seems so hard for the   
young people1 and how their elders all  
insist upon such frightful              
discouragements1 and how much he longs  
to know the truth about life1 and       
whether all such doubts and scruples as 
those of his own father and of ,ruth's  
mother are well founded4 ,at last the   
prisoner begins his reply3    ,they     

haven't the point of view1 he said4 ,it 
is life that is the   great adventure4  
,not love1 not marriage1 not business4  
,they are just   chapters in the book4  
,the main thing is to take the road     
fearlessly--to have courage to live     
one's life4    ,courage8  #bdi          
,lannithorne nodded4    ,that is the    
great word4 ,don't you see what ails    
your father's point   of view1 and my   
wife's8 ,one wants absolute security in 
one way for   ,ruth2 the other wants    
absolute security in another way for    
you4 ,and   security--why1 it's just the
 one thing a human being can't have1 the
   thing that's the damnation of him if 
he gets it6 ,the reason it is so   hard 
for a rich man to enter the ,kingdom of 
,heaven is that he has   that false     
sense of security4 ,to demand it just   
disintegrates a man4   ,i don't know    
why4 ,it does4    ,oliver shook his head
 uncertainly4    ,i don't quite follow  
you1 sir4 ,oughtn't one to try to be    
safe8    ,one ought to try1 yes4 ,that  

is common prudence4 ,but the point is   
that1 whatever you do or get1 you aren't
 after all secure4 ,there is   no such  
condition1 and the harder you demand it1
 the more risk you   run4 ,so it is up  
to a man to take all reasonable         
precautions about   his money1 or his   
happiness1 or his life1 and trust the   
rest4 ,what   every man in the world is 
looking for is the sense of having the  
mastery over life4 ,but ,i tell you1    
boy1 there is only one thing that       
really gives it6    ,and that is8       
,lannithorne hesitated perceptibly4 ,for
 the thing he was about to   tell this  
undisciplined lad was his most precious 
possession2 it was   the price of wisdom
 for which he had paid with the years of
 his   life4 ,no man parts lightly with 
such knowledge4    ,it comes1 he said1  
with an effort1 with the knowledge of   
our   power to endure4 ,that's it4 ,you 
are safe only when you can stand        
everything that can happen to you4      
,then1 and then only6 ,endurance   is   

the measure of a man6 444 ,sometimes ,i 
think it is harder to   endure what we  
deserve1 like me1 said ,lannithorne1    
than what we   don't4 ,i was afraid1 you
 see1 afraid for my wife and all of     
them4   ,anyhow1 take my word for it4   
,courage is security4 ,there is no other
   kind4  #bej    ,then--,ruth and ,i-- 
,ruth is the core of my heart6 said     
,lannithorne thickly4 ,i would   rather 
die than have her suffer more than she  
must4 ,but she must   take her chances  
like the rest4 ,it is the law of things4
 ,if you know   yourself fit for her1   
and feel reasonably sure you can take   
care of   her1 you have a right to trust
 the future4 ,myself1 ,i believe there  
is some ,one to trust it to4  ,the      
speaker of this hard-won wisdom1 after  
this appeal to the eternal1 utters his  
last tremulous word as from a father's  
loving heart1 and then the interview    
must end4 ,the author concludes3        
,finding his way out of the prison yard 
a few minutes later1 ,oliver   looked1  

unseeing1 at the high walls that soared 
against the blue   spring sky4 ,he could
 not realise them1 there was such a     
sense of   light1 air1 space1 in his    
spirit4    ,apparently1 he was just     
where he had been an hour before1 with  
all   his battles still to fight1 but   
really he knew they were already   won1 
for his weapon had been forged and put  
in his hand4 ,he left his   boyhood     
behind him as he passed that stern      
threshold1 for the last   hour had made 
a man of him1 and a prisoner had given  
him the   master-key that opens every   
door4                                   
,,vi  ,now this1 ,i insist1 is insight4 
,it is no soft doctrine4 ,it is far     
beyond the sort of pragmatism that      
accepts the test of momentary results4  
,as far as it goes1 it is religious     
insight4 ,it is insight1 moreover1 into 
the nature of certain ills which cannot1
 yes1 which in principle1 and even by   
omnipotence1 #bea could not1 be simply  
removed from existence without          

abolishing the conditions which are     
logically necessary to the very highest 
good that we know4 ,life in the spirit  
simply presupposes the conditions that  
these ills exemplify4  ,what sorrow is  
deeper than the full recognition of     
one's own now irrevocable deed1 if one  
has1 hereupon1 fully to confess that    
this deed is1 from one's own present    
point of view1 a crime8 ,yet how could  
such ills be simply removed from        
existence if any range of individual    
expression1 of freedom1 of power to     
choose is to be left open at all8 ,how  
can one possess spiritual               
effectiveness--the privilege that youth 
most ardently demands--without assuming 
the risk involved in taking personal    
responsibility for some aspects of the  
lives of our fellows8 ,as for our       
blunders1 what more precious privilege  
do we all claim than the privilege of   
making our own blunders1 or at least a  
due proportion of them8 ,when we act1   
every act is done for eternity1 since it

 is irrevocable4 ,when we love1 we ask  
the privilege to bind up other destinies
 with our own4 ,the tragedies of such a 
world as ours are1 therefore1 not such  
as could be simply wiped out of         
existence1 unless one were ready to     
deprive every individual personality    
both of its range of free choice and of 
its effectiveness of action4 ,when we   
suffer1 then1 in such a world1 we know  
indeed that there need have been no such
 suffering had there been no world at   
all4 ,but precisely when our ills are   
most bound up with #beb our own personal
 wills1 we know that no mere removal of 
such ills could have occurred without   
the abolition of all the conditions     
which our spiritual freedom1 our longing
 for effectiveness1 and our love for    
union with other personalities make us  
regard as the conditions of the highest 
good4 ,no ,god could conceivably give   
you the good of self-expression without 
granting you the privilege1 not only of 
choosing wrongly1 but of involving your 

brethren in the results of your misdeed4
 ,for when you love your kind1 you aim  
to be a factor in their lives2 and to   
deprive you of this privilege would be  
to insure your total failure4 ,but if   
you possess this privilege1 you share in
 a life that1 in proportion to its      
importance and depth and range and      
richness of spiritual relations1 is full
 of the possibilities of tragedy4  ,face
 such tragedy1 however1 and what does it
 show you8 ,the possibility1 not of     
annulling an evil1 or of ceasing to     
regret it1 but of showing spiritual     
power1 first1 through idealising your   
grief1 by seeing even through this grief
 the depth of the significance of our   
relations as individuals to one another1
 to our social order1 and to the whole  
of life2 secondly1 through enduring your
 fortune2 and thirdly1 through          
conquering1 by the might of the spirit1 
those goods which can only be won       
through such sorrow4 ,what those goods  
are1 the convict has just1 if only in   

small part1 told us4 ,griselda told us  
something about them which is much      
deeper still4 ,for adversity and loyalty
 are1 indeed1 simply inseparable #bec   
companions4 ,there could not be loyalty 
in a world where the loyal being himself
 met no adversities that personally     
belonged to and entered his own inner   
life4 ,that this is true1 let every     
loyal experience bear witness4  ,now    
such sorrows1 such idealised evils1     
which are so interwoven with good that  
if the precious grief were wholly       
removed from existence1 the courage1 the
 fidelity1 the spiritual                
self-possession1 the peace through and  
in and beyond tribulation which such    
trials alone make possible1 would also  
be removed--they surely show us that the
 abstract principle3 ,evil ought to be  
abolished1 is false4 ,they show us that 
the divine will also must be made       
perfect through suffering4 ,since we can
 comprehend the meaning of such         
experiences only through resolute       

action1 through courage1 through        
loyalty1 through the power of the       
spirit1 they in no wise justify sloth1  
or mere passivity1 or mystical idleness4
 ,the active dealing with such sorrow   
gives1 as ,james himself once well      
asserts1 a new dimension to life4 ,no   
experiences go further than do these to 
show us how1 in our loyalty and in our  
courage1 we are becoming one with the   
master of life1 who through sorrow      
overcomes4  ,let man1 the destroyer1    
then remember that there is one ill     
which he could not destroy1 even if he  
were ,god1 without also destroying all  
the spiritual prowess in which all those
 rejoice who1 inspired by an ambition   
infinitely above that of ,achilles1 long
 #bed to be one with ,god through       
bearing and overcoming the sorrows of a 
world4  ,we have thus indicated a source
 of insight4 ,to tell more about what it
 reveals would at once lead me1 as you  
see1 close to the most vital of all     
,christian teachings1 the doctrine of   

the ,atonement4 ,but such a study       
belongs elsewhere4  #bee                
,,vii        ,,the ,,unity ,,of ,,the   
,,spirit ,,and ,,the ,,invisible        
,,church  #bef  #beg                    
,,vii        ,,the ,,unity ,,of ,,the   
,,spirit ,,and ,,the ,,invisible        
,,church   ,my present and concluding   
lecture must begin with some            
explanations of what ,i mean by the term
 ,the ,unity of the ,spirit4 ,then ,i   
shall have to define my use of the term 
,the ,invisible ,church4 ,thereafter1 we
 shall be free to devote ourselves to   
the consideration of a source of        
religious insight as omnipresent as it  
is variously interpreted by those who1  
throughout all the religious world1     
daily appeal to its guidance4 ,the      
outcome of our discussion may help some 
of you1 as ,i hope1 to turn your        
attention more toward the region where  
the greatest help is to be found in the 
cultivation of that true loyalty which1 
if ,i am right1 is the heart and core of

 every higher religion4                 
,i  ,in these lectures ,i have          
repeatedly called the religious objects1
 that is1 the objects whereof the       
knowledge tends to the salvation of man1
 superhuman and supernatural objects4 ,i
 have more or less fully explained1 as  
,i went1 the sense in which #beh ,i hold
 these objects to be both superhuman and
 supernatural4 ,but every use of        
familiar traditional terms is likely to 
arouse misunderstandings4 ,i have       
perfectly definite reasons for my choice
 of the traditional words in question as
 adjectives wherewith to characterise   
the religious objects4 ,but ,i do not   
want to leave in your minds any doubts  
as to what my usage is deliberately     
intended to imply4 ,i do not want to    
seem to make any wrong use of the vaguer
 associations which will be in your     
minds when something human is compared  
with something superhuman1 and when the 
natural and the supernatural are        
contrasted4 ,this closing lecture1 in   

which ,i am to deal with an aspect of   
spiritual life which we have everywhere 
in our discourse tacitly presupposed1   
but which now is to take its definitive 
place on our list of sources of         
religious insight1 gives me my best     
opportunity to forestall useless        
misunderstandings by putting myself upon
 record as to the precise sense in which
 both the new source itself and         
everything else superhuman and          
supernatural to which religion has a    
rational right to appeal is1 to my mind1
 a reality1 and is a source or an object
 of human insight4 ,i shall therefore   
explain the two adjectives just         
emphasised by giving you a somewhat     
fuller account of their sense than ,i   
have heretofore stated4 ,if the new     
account touches upon technical matters1 
,i hope that1 by our long list of       
illustrations of the superhuman and of  
the supernatural1 we have now           
sufficiently prepared the way4  #bei    
,in my general sketch of the            

characteristics of human nature which   
awaken in us the sense of our need for  
salvation1 ,i laid stress1 both in our  
first and in our second lectures1 upon  
our narrowness of outlook as one        
principal and pervasive defect of man as
 he naturally is constituted4 ,i        
illustrated this narrowness by some of  
its most practically noteworthy         
instances4 ,repeatedly ,i returned1 in  
later discussions1 to this same feature 
of our life4 ,now man's narrowness of   
natural outlook upon life is first of   
all due to something which ,i have to   
call the form of human consciousness4   
,what ,i mean by this form1 ,i have     
already illustrated to you freely by the
 very instances to which ,i have just   
referred4 ,but technical clearness as to
 such topics is hard to attain4 ,allow  
me1 then1 to insist with some care upon 
matters which are as influential in     
moulding our whole destiny as they are  
commonly neglected in our discussions of
 the problems of life and of reality4   

,man can attend to but a very narrow    
range of facts at any one instant4      
,common-sense observation shows you     
this4 ,psychological experiment         
emphasises it in manifold ways4 ,listen 
to a rhythmic series of beats--drum     
beats--or the strokes of an engine1 or  
the feet of horses passing by in the    
street4 ,you cannot directly grasp with 
entire clearness more than a very brief 
sequence of these beats1 or other       
sounds1 or of rhythmic phrases of any   
kind4 ,if the rhythm of a regularly     
repeated set of sounds is too #bfj long1
 or too complex1 it becomes confused for
 you4 ,you cannot make out by your      
direct attention what it is at least    
until it has by repetition grown        
familiar4 ,let several objects be       
brought before you at once4 ,you can    
attend to one and then to another at    
pleasure if only they stay there to be  
attended to4 ,but only a very few       
distinct objects can be suddenly seen at
 once1 and at a single glance1 and      

recognised1 through that one            
instantaneous presentation1 for what    
they are4 ,if the objects are revealed  
to you in the darkness by an electric   
spark1 or are seen through a single slit
 in a screen that rapidly moves before  
your eyes--so that the objects are      
exposed to your observation only during 
the extremely brief time when the slit  
passes directly between them and your   
eyes--this limit of your power to grasp 
several distinct objects at once1 upon a
 single inspection1 can be              
experimentally tested4 ,the results of  
such experiments concern us here only in
 the most general way4 ,enough--as such 
tests show--what one may call the span  
of our consciousness1 its power to grasp
 many facts in any one individual moment
 of our lives1 is extremely limited4 ,it
 is limited as to the number of         
simultaneously presented facts that we  
can grasp at one view1 can distinguish1 
and recognise1 and hold clearly before  
us4 ,it is also limited with regard to  

the number and the duration of the      
successive facts that we can so face as 
directly to grasp the character of their
 succession1 rhythmic or otherwise4     
#bfa  ,now this limitation of the span  
of our consciousness is1 ,i repeat1 an  
ever-present defect of our human type of
 conscious life4 ,that is why ,i call it
 a defect in the form of our conscious  
life4 ,it is not a defect limited to the
 use of any one of our senses4 ,it is   
not a failure of eyes or of ears to     
furnish to us a sufficient variety of   
facts to observe4 ,on the contrary1 both
 our eyes and our ears almost constantly
 rain in upon us1 especially during our 
more desultory waking life1 an          
overwealth of impressions4 ,if we want  
to know facts1 and to attain clearness1 
we have to pick out a few of these      
impressions1 from instant to instant1   
for more careful direct inspection4 ,in 
any case1 then1 this limitation is not  
due to the defects of our senses4 ,it is
 our whole conscious make-up1 our       

characteristic way of becoming aware of 
things1 which is expressed by this      
limitation of our conscious span4 ,on   
this plan our human consciousness is    
formed4 ,thus our type of awareness is  
constituted4 ,in this way we are all    
doomed to live4 ,it is our human fate to
 grasp clearly only a few facts or ideas
 at any one instant4 ,and so1 being what
 we are1 we have to make the best of our
 human nature4  ,meanwhile1 it is of our
 very essence as reasonable beings that 
we are always contending with the       
consequences of this our natural        
narrowness of span4 ,we are always      
actively rebelling at our own form of   
consciousness1 so long as we are trying 
to know or to do anything significant4  
,we want to grasp #bfb many things at   
once1 not merely a few4 ,we want to     
survey life in long stretches1 not      
merely in instantaneous glimpses4 ,we   
are always like beings who have to see  
our universe through the cracks that our
 successive instants open before us1 and

 as quickly close again4 ,and we want to
 see things1 not through these          
instantaneous cracks1 but without       
intervening walls1 with wide outlook1   
and in all their true variety and unity4
 ,nor is this rebellion of ours against 
the mere form of consciousness any      
merely idle curiosity or peevish seeking
 for a barren wealth of varieties4      
,salvation itself is at stake in this   
struggle for a wider clearness of       
outlook4 ,the wisest souls1 as we have  
throughout seen1 agree with common-sense
 prudence in the desire to see at any   
one instant greater varieties of ideas  
and of objects than our form of         
consciousness permits us to grasp4 ,to  
escape from the limitations imposed upon
 us by the natural narrowness of our    
span of consciousness--by the form of   
consciousness in which we live--this is 
the common interest of science and of   
religion1 of the more contemplative and 
of the more active aspects of our higher
 nature4 ,our form of consciousness is  

one of our chief human sorrows4  ,by    
devices such as the rhythmic            
presentation of facts to our attention  
we can do something--not very much--to  
enlarge our span of consciousness4 ,but 
for most purposes we can make only an   
indirect1 not a direct1 escape from our 
limitations of span4 ,our salvation     
depends upon the winning of such #bfc   
indirect successes4 ,indirectly we      
escape1 in so far as we use our powers  
of habit-forming1 of memory1 and of     
abstraction1 to prepare for us objects  
of momentary experience such as have    
come to acquire for us a wide range of  
meaning1 so that1 when we get before our
 momentary attention but a few of these 
objects at once1 we still are able to   
comprehend1 after our human fashion1    
ranges and connections and unities of   
fact which the narrow form of our span  
of consciousness forbids us to grasp    
with directness4 ,thus1 the repetition  
of similar experiences forms habits such
 that each element of some new instant  

of passing experience comes to us       
saturated with the meaning that1 as we  
look back upon our past life1 we suppose
 to have resulted from the whole course 
of what has happened4 ,and through such 
endlessly varied processes of           
habit-forming1 we come to reach stages  
of insight in which the instantaneous   
presentation of a few facts gets for us1
 at a given moment1 the value of an     
indirect appreciation of what we never  
directly grasp--that is1 the value of a 
wide survey of life4 ,all that we       
usually call knowledge is due to such   
indirect grasping of what the instant   
can only hint to us1 although we usually
 feel as if this indirect presentation  
were itself a direct insight4 ,let me   
exemplify3 ,the odour of a flower may   
come to us burdened with a meaning that 
we regard as the total result of a whole
 summer of our life4 ,the wrinkled face 
of an old man reveals to us1 in its     
momentarily presented #bfd traces1 the  
signs of what we take to have been his  

lifetime's experience and slowly won    
personal character4 ,and1 in very much  
the same way1 almost any passing        
experience may seem to us to speak with 
the voice of years1 or even of ages1 of 
human life4 ,to take yet another        
instance3 a single musical chord        
epitomises the result of all our former 
hearings of the musical composition     
which it introduces4  ,in this way we   
live1 despite our narrowness1 as if we  
saw widely2 and we constantly view as if
 it were our actual experience1 a sense 
and connection of things which actually 
never gets fully translated in any      
moment of our lives1 but is always      
simply presupposed as the interpretation
 which a wider view of life would       
verify4 ,thus bounded in the nutshell of
 the passing instant1 we count ourselves
 7in one way or another1 and whatever   
our opinions71 kings of the infinite    
realm of experience1 or would do so were
 it not that1 like ,hamlet1 we have so  
many bad dreams1 which make us doubt the

 correctness of our interpretations1 and
 feel our need of an escape from this   
stubborn natural prison of our own form 
of consciousness4 ,we therefore appeal1 
in all our truth-seeking1 to a wider    
view than our own present view4  ,our   
most systematic mode of indirect escape 
from the consequences of our narrow span
 of consciousness1 is the mode which our
 thinking processes1 that is1 our       
dealings with abstract and general ideas
 exemplify4  #bfe  ,such abstract and   
general ideas1 as we earlier saw1 are   
means to ends--never ends in themselves4
 ,by means of generalisation or         
abstraction we can gradually come to    
choose signs which we can more or less  
successfully substitute for long series 
of presented objects of experience2 and 
we can also train ourselves into active 
ways of estimating or of describing     
things--ways such1 that by reminding    
ourselves of these our active attitudes 
toward the business of life1 we can seem
 to ourselves to epitomise in an instant

 the sense of years or even of ages of  
human experience4 ,such signs and       
symbols and attitudes constitute our    
store of general and abstract ideas4    
,our more or less systematic and        
voluntary thinking is a process of      
observing1 at one or another instant1   
the connections and the meanings of a   
very few of these our signs and         
attitudes at once4 ,we actively put     
together these ideas of ours1 and watch1
 at the instant1 the little connections 
that then and there are able to appear1 
despite the narrowness of our span of   
consciousness4 ,that1 for instance1 is  
what happens when we add up columns of  
figures1 or think out a problem1 or plan
 our practical lives4 ,but because each 
of the ideas used1 each of these signs  
or symbols or attitudes1 can be more or 
less safely substituted for some vast   
body of facts of experience1 what we    
observe only in and through our narrow  
span can indirectly help us to          
appreciate something whose real meaning 

only a very wide range of experience1 a 
consciousness whose #bff span is        
enormously vaster than ours1 could      
possibly present directly4  ,thus1      
confined to our own form and span of    
consciousness as we are1 we spend our   
lives in acquiring or devising ways to  
accomplish indirectly what we are       
forbidden directly to attain1 namely1   
the discovery of truth and of meaning   
such as only a consciousness of another 
form than ours can realise4 ,now1 as ,i 
maintained in our third and fourth      
lectures1 the whole validity and value  
of this indirect procedure of ours      
depends upon the principle that such a  
wider view of things1 such a larger     
unity of consciousness1 such a direct   
grasp of the meanings at which we       
indirectly but ceaselessly aim is a     
reality in the universe4 ,as ,i there   
maintained1 the whole reality of the    
universe itself must he defined1 in     
terms of the reality of such an         
inclusive and direct grasp of the whole 

sense of things4 ,i can here only repeat
 my opinion that this thesis is one     
which nobody can deny without           
self-contradiction4  ,now the difference
 between the narrow form of             
consciousness that we human beings      
possess and the wider and widest forms  
of consciousness whose reality every    
common-sense effort to give sense to    
life1 and every scientific effort to    
discover the total verdict of experience
 presupposes--the difference1 ,i say1   
between these two forms of consciousness
 is literally expressed by calling the  
one form 7the form that we all possess7 
human1 and by calling the other form    
7the form of a wider consciousness which
 views #bfg experience as it is7        
superhuman4 ,the wider conscious view of
 things that we share only indirectly1  
through the devices just pointed out1 is
 certainly not human2 for no mortal man 
ever directly possesses it4 ,it is real2
 for1 as we saw in our study of the     
reason1 if you deny this assertion in   

one shape1 you reaffirm it in another4  
,for you can define the truth and       
falsity of your own opinions only by    
presupposing a wider view that sees as a
 whole what you see in fragments4 ,that 
unity of consciousness which we         
presuppose in all our indirect efforts  
to get into touch with its direct view  
of truth is above our level4 ,it        
includes what we actually get before us 
in our form of consciousness4 ,it also  
includes all that we are trying to grasp
 indirectly4 ,now what is not human1 and
 is above our level1 and includes all of
 our insight1 but transcends and        
corrects our indirect efforts by its    
direct grasp of facts as they are1 can  
best be called superhuman4 ,the thesis  
that such a superhuman consciousness is 
a reality is a thesis precisely         
equivalent to the assertion that our    
experience has any real sense or        
connection whatever beyond the mere     
fragment of connectedness that1 at any  
one instant1 we directly grasp4         

,furthermore1 to call such a larger     
consciousness--inclusive of our own1 but
 differing from ours1 in form1 by the   
vastness of its span and the variety and
 completeness of the connections that it
 surveys--to call it1 ,i say1 a         
supernatural consciousness is to use a  
phraseology that can be very #bfh       
deliberately and1 if you choose1        
technically defended4 ,by natural we    
mean simply3 ,subject to the laws which 
hold for the sorts of beings whose      
character and behaviour our empirical   
sciences can study4 ,if you suddenly    
found that you could personally and     
individually and clearly grasp1 by an   
act of direct attention1 the sense and  
connection of thousands of experiences  
at once1 instead of the three or four   
presented facts of experience whose     
relations you can now directly observe  
in any one of your moments of           
consciousness1 you would indeed say that
 you had been miraculously transformed  
into another type of being whose insight

 had acquired an angelic sort of wealth 
and clearness4 ,but whenever you assert 
7as every scientific theory1 and every  
common-sense opinion1 regarding the real
 connections of the facts of human      
experience requires you to assert71 that
 not only thousands1 but a countless    
collection of data of human experience  
actually possess a perfectly coherent   
total sense and meaning1 such as no     
individual man ever directly observes1  
this your assertion1 which undertakes to
 be a report of facts1 and which        
explicitly relates to facts of          
experience1 implies the assertion that  
there exists such a superhuman survey of
 the real nature and connection of our  
own natural realm of conscious life4 ,we
 ourselves are strictly limited by the  
natural conditions that determine our   
own form of consciousness4 ,and no      
conditions can be regarded by us as more
 characteristically natural than are    
these4 ,for #bfi us human beings to     
transcend those conditions1 by surveying

 countless data at once1 would require  
an uttermost exception to the natural   
laws which are found to govern our human
 type of consciousness4 ,to believe that
 any man ever had accomplished the      
direct survey of the whole range of the 
physical connections of the solar and   
stellar systems at once--in other words1
 had grasped the whole range of         
astronomical experience in a single act 
of attention--would be to believe that a
 most incredible miracle had at some    
time taken place--an incredible miracle 
so far as any knowledge that we now     
possess enables us to foresee what the  
natural conditions under which man      
lives1 and is1 in human form1 conscious1
 permit4 ,but1 on the other hand1 to    
accept1 as we all do1 the validity of   
that scientific interpretation of the   
data of human experience which astronomy
 reports is to acknowledge that such an 
interpretation more or less completely  
records a system of facts which are     
nothing if they are not in some definite

 sense empirical1 although1 in their    
wholeness1 they are experienced by no   
man4 ,that is1 the acceptance of the    
substantial truth of astronomy involves 
the acknowledgment that some such1 to us
 simply superhuman1 consciousness is    
precisely as real as the stars are real1
 and as their courses1 and as all their 
relations are real4 ,yet1 of course1 we 
cannot undertake to investigate any     
process such as would enable us to      
define the natural conditions under     
which any such superhuman #bgj survey of
 astronomical facts would become        
psychologically possible4  ,the         
acceptance of our natural sciences1 as  
valid interpretations of connections of 
experience which our form of            
consciousness forbids us directly to    
verify1 logically presupposes1 at every 
step1 that such superhuman forms and    
unities of consciousness are real4 ,for 
the facts of science are indefinable    
except as facts in and for a real       
experience4 ,but1 on the other hand1 we 

can hope for no advance in physical or  
in psychological knowledge which would  
enable us to bring these higher forms of
 consciousness under what we call       
natural laws4 ,so the superhuman forms  
of consciousness remain for us also     
supernatural4 ,that they are1 we must   
acknowledge1 if any assertion whatever  
about our world is to be either true or 
false4 ,for all assertions are made     
about experience1 and about its real    
connections1 and about its systems4 ,but
 what conditions1 what natural causes1  
bring such superhuman forms of          
consciousness into existence we are     
unable to investigate4 ,for every       
assertion about nature or about natural 
laws presupposes that natural facts and 
laws are real only in so far as they are
 the objects known to such higher       
unities of consciousness4 ,the unities  
in question are themselves no natural   
objects2 while all natural facts are    
objects for them and are expressions of 
their meaning4  ,thus definite are my   

reasons for asserting that forms of     
consciousness superior to our own are   
real1 #bga and that they are all finally
 united in a single1 world-embracing    
insight1 which has also the character of
 expressing a world-will4 ,thus definite
 are also my grounds for calling such   
higher unities of consciousness both    
superhuman and supernatural4 ,by the    
term ,the unity of the spirit ,i name   
simply the unity of meaning which       
belongs to these superhuman forms of    
consciousness4 ,we ourselves partake of 
this unity1 and share it1 in so far as1 
in our lives also1 we discover and      
express1 in whatever way our own form of
 consciousness permits1 truth and life  
that bring us into touch and into       
harmony with the higher forms of        
consciousness1 that is1 with the spirit 
which1 in its wholeness1 knows and      
estimates the world1 and which expresses
 itself in the life of the world4  ,thus
 near are we1 in every exercise of our  
reasonable life1 to the superhuman and  

to the supernatural4 ,upon the other    
hand1 there is positively no need of    
magic1 or of miracle1 or of mysterious  
promptings from the subconscious1 to    
prove to us the reality of the human and
 of the supernatural1 or to define our  
reasonable relations with it4 ,and the  
essential difference between our own    
type of consciousness and this higher   
life is a difference of form1 and is    
also a difference of content precisely  
in so far as its wider and widest span  
of conscious insight implies that the   
superhuman type of consciousness        
possesses a depth of meaning1 a         
completeness of expression1 a wealth of 
facts1 a clearness of vision1 a         
successful #bgb embodiment of purpose   
which1 in view of the narrowness of our 
form of consciousness1 do not belong to 
us4  ,man needs no miracles to show him 
the supernatural and the superhuman4    
,you need no signs and wonders1 and no  
psychical research1 to prove that the   
unity of the spirit is a fact in the    

world4 ,common-sense tacitly presupposes
 the reality of the unity of the spirit4
 ,science studies the ways in which its 
life is expressed in the laws which     
govern the order of experience4 ,reason 
gives us insight into its real being4   
,loyalty serves it1 and repents not of  
the service4 ,salvation means our       
positive harmony with its purpose and   
with its manifestation4                 
,,ii  ,amongst the sources of insight   
which bring us into definite and        
practical relations with that spiritual 
world whose nature has now been again   
defined1 one of the most effective is   
the life and the word of other men who  
are minded to be loyal to genuine       
causes1 and who are already1 through the
 service of their common causes1 brought
 together in some form of spiritual     
brotherhood4 ,the real unity of the life
 of such fellow-servants of the ,spirit 
is itself an instance of a superhuman   
conscious reality2 and its members are  
devoted to bringing themselves into     

harmony with the purposes of the        
universe4 ,any #bgc brotherhood of men  
who thus loyally live in the ,spirit is1
 from my point of view1 a brotherhood   
essentially religious in its nature1    
precisely in proportion as it is        
practically moved by an effort to       
serve--not merely the special cause to  
which its members1 because of their     
training and their traditions1 happen to
 be devoted1 but also the common cause  
of all the loyal4 ,such a brotherhood1  
so far as it is indeed human1 and1      
therefore narrow1 may not very expressly
 define what this common cause of all   
the loyal is1 for its members may not be
 thoughtfully reflective people4 ,but   
if1 while rejoicing in their own        
perfectly real fraternal unity1 they are
 also practically guided by the love of 
furthering brotherhood amongst men in   
general2 if they respect the loyalty of 
other men so far as they understand that
 loyalty2 if they seek1 not to sow      
discord amongst the brethren of our     

communities1 but to be a city set on a  
hill1 that not only cannot be hid1 but  
is also a model for other cities--a     
centre for the spreading of the spirit  
of loyalty--then the members of such an 
essentially fruitful brotherhood are    
actually loyal to the cause of causes4  
,they are a source of insight to all who
 know of their life1 and who rightly    
appreciate its meaning4 ,and of such is 
the kingdom of loyalty4 ,and the        
communities which such men form and     
serve are essentially religious         
communities4 ,each one is an example of 
the unity of the ,spirit4 ,each one     
stands for a reality that belongs to the
 superhuman world4  #bgd  ,since the    
variety of social forms which appear    
under human conditions is an            
unpredictably vast variety1 and since   
the motives which guide men are         
endlessly complex1 different communities
 of loyal people may possess such a     
religious character and value in the    
most various degrees4 ,for it results   

from the narrowness of the human form of
 consciousness that men1 at any one     
moment1 know not the whole of what they 
mean4 ,no sharp line can be drawn       
sundering the brotherhoods and          
partnerships1 and other social          
organisations which men devise1 into    
those which for the men concerned are   
consciously religious1 and those which1 
by virtue of their absence of interest  
in the larger and deeper loyalties are  
secular4 ,the test whereby such a       
distinction should be made is in        
principle a definite test4 ,but to apply
 the test to every possible case        
requires a searching of human hearts and
 a just estimate of deeds and motives   
whereto1 in our ignorance1 we are very  
generally inadequate4  ,a business firm 
would seem to be1 in general1 no model  
of a religious organisation4 ,yet it    
justly demands loyalty from its members 
and its servants4 ,if it lives and acts 
merely for gain1 it is secular indeed4  
,but if its business is socially        

beneficent1 if its cause is honourable1 
if its dealings are honest1 if its      
treatment of its allies and rivals is   
such as makes for the confidence1 the   
cordiality1 and the stability of the    
whole commercial life of its community  
and 7when its influence extends so far7 
of the world1 if #bge public spirit and 
true patriotism inspire its doings1 if  
it is always ready on occasion to       
sacrifice gain for honour's sake--then  
there is no reason why it may not become
 and be a genuinely and fervently       
religious brotherhood4 ,certainly a     
family can become a religious           
organisation2 and some of the most      
ancient traditions of mankind have      
demanded that it should be one4 ,there  
is also1 and justly1 a religion of      
patriotism1 which regards the country as
 a divine institution4 ,such a religion 
serves the unity of the spirit in a     
perfectly genuine way4 ,some of the most
 momentous religious movements in the   
world's history have grown out of such  

an idealised patriotism4 ,christianity1 
in transferring local names from ,judea 
to a heavenly world1 has borne witness  
to the sacredness that patriotism1 upon 
its higher levels1 acquires4  ,in brief1
 the question whether a given human     
brotherhood is a religious institution  
or not is a question for that           
brotherhood to decide for itself1       
subject only to the truth about its real
 motives4 ,has its cause the characters 
that mark a fitting cause of loyalty8   
,does it so serve its cause as thereby  
to further the expression of the divine 
unity of the spirit in the form of      
devoted human lives1 not only within its
 own brotherhood1 but as widely as its  
influence extends8 ,then it is an       
essentially religious organisation4 ,nor
 does the extent of its worldly         
influence enable you to decide how far  
it meets these requirements4 ,nor yet   
does the #bgf number of persons in its  
membership form any essential criterion4
 ,wherever two or three are gathered    

together1 and are living as they can in 
the ,spirit that the divine will 7which 
wills the loyal union of all mankind7   
requires of them--there1 indeed1 the    
work of the ,spirit is done2 and the    
organisation in question is a religious 
brotherhood4 ,it needs no human sanction
 to make it such4 ,though it dwell on a 
desert island1 and though all its       
members soon die and are forgotten of   
men1 its loyal deeds are irrevocable    
facts of the eternal world2 and the     
universal life knows that here at least 
the divine will is expressed in human   
acts4  ,but so far as such communities  
both exist and are distinctly           
recognisable as religious in their life 
and intent1 they form a source of       
religious insight to all who come under 
their influence4 ,such a source acts as 
a means whereby any or all of our       
previous sources may be opened to us1   
may become effective1 may bear fruit4   
,hence1 in this new source1 we find the 
crowning source of religious insight4   

,this last statement is one which is    
accepted by many who would nevertheless 
limit its application to certain        
religious communities1 and to those     
only2 or who1 in some cases1 would limit
 its application to some one religious  
community4 ,there are1 for instance1    
many who say1 for various special       
reasons1 that the crowning source of    
religious insight is the visible church4
 ,by this term those who use it in any  
of its traditional senses1 mean one     
religious #bgg institution only1 or at  
most only a certain group of religious  
organisations4 ,the visible church is a 
religious organisation1 or group of such
 organisations1 which is characterised  
by certain traditions1 by a certain real
 or supposed history1 by a more or less 
well-defined creed1 and by further      
assertions concerning the divine        
revelation to which it owes its origin  
and authority4 ,with the doctrinal      
questions involved in the understanding 
of this definition1 these lectures1 as  

you now well know1 have no direct       
concern4 ,it is enough for our present  
purpose to say that the visible church  
thus defined is indeed1 and explicitly1 
and in our present sense1 a religious   
organisation4 ,in all those historical  
forms which here concern us1 the visible
 church has undertaken to show men the  
way to salvation4 ,it has carried out   
its task by uniting its members in a    
spiritual brotherhood4 ,it has in ideal 
extended its interest to all mankind4   
,it has aimed at universal brotherhood4 
,it has defined and called out loyalty4 
,it has conceived this loyalty as a     
service of ,god and as a loyalty to the 
cause of all mankind4 ,its traditions1  
the lives of its servants1 its services1
 its teachings1 have been and are an    
inexhaustible source of religious       
insight to the vast multitudes whom it  
has influenced and1 in its various forms
 and embodiments1 still influences4 ,not
 unnaturally1 therefore1 those who      
accept its own doctrines regarding its  

origin and history view such a visible  
church not only as by far the most      
important source of religious #bgh      
insight1 but also as a source occupying 
an entirely unique position4  ,the      
deliberate limitations of the           
undertaking of these lectures forbid me1
 as ,i have just reminded you1 to       
consider in any detail this supposed    
uniqueness of the position which so many
 of you will assign to some form of the 
historical ,christian church4 ,after    
what ,i have said as to the nature and  
the variety of the forms which the      
spiritual life has taken1 and still     
takes1 amongst men1 you will            
nevertheless not be surprised if1       
without attempting to judge the         
correctness of the traditions of the    
visible church1 ,i forthwith point out  
that1 to the higher religious life of   
mankind the life of the visible church  
stands related as part to whole2 and    
that very vast ranges of the higher     
religious life of mankind have grown and

 flourished outside of the influence of 
,christianity4 ,and when the religious  
life of mankind is viewed in its        
historical connections1 truth requires  
us to insist that ,christianity itself  
has been dependent for its insight and  
its power upon many different sources1  
some of which assumed human form not    
only long before ,christianity came into
 being1 but in nations and in           
civilisations which were not dependent  
for their own spiritual wealth upon the 
,jewish religious traditions that       
,christianity itself undertook to       
transform and to assimilate4            
,christianity is1 in its origins1 not   
only ,jewish but ,hellenic1 both as to  
its doctrines and as to its type of     
spirituality4 ,it is a synthesis of     
religious motives #bgi which had their  
sources widely spread throughout the    
pre-,christian world of ,hellenism4 ,its
 own insight is partly due to the       
non-,christian world4  ,as a fact1 then1
 the unity of the ,spirit1 the religious

 life which has been and is embodied in 
the form of human fraternities1 is the  
peculiar possession of no one time1 or  
nation1 and belongs to no unique and    
visible church4 ,yet such an unity is a 
source of religious insight4 ,we have a 
right to use it wherever we find it and 
however it becomes accessible to us4 ,as
 a fact1 we all use such insight without
 following any one principle as to the  
selection of the historical sources4    
,socrates and ,plato and ,sophocles are 
religious teachers from whom we have all
 directly or indirectly learned1 whether
 we know it or not4 ,our own ,germanic  
ancestors1 and the traditions of the    
,roman ,empire1 have influenced our type
 of loyalty and have taught us spiritual
 truth that we should not otherwise     
know4  ,moreover1 that which ,i have    
called the cause of all the loyal1 the  
real unity of the whole spiritual world1
 is not merely a moral ideal4 ,it is a  
religious reality4 ,its servants and    
ministers are present wherever religious

 brotherhood finds sincere and hearty   
manifestation4 ,in the sight of a       
perfectly real but superhuman knowledge 
of the real purposes and effective deeds
 of mankind1 all the loyal1 whether they
 individually know the fact or not1 are1
 and in all times have been1 one genuine
 and religious brotherhood4 ,human      
narrowness and the #bhj vicissitudes of 
the world of time have hidden1 and still
 hide1 the knowledge of this community  
of the loyal from human eyes4 ,but      
indirectly it comes to light whenever   
the loyalty of one visible spiritual    
community comes1 through any sort of    
tradition1 or custom1 or song or story1 
or wise word or noble deed1 to awaken   
new manifestations of the loyal life in 
faithful souls anywhere amongst men4  ,i
 call the community of all who have     
sought for salvation through loyalty the
 ,invisible ,church4 ,what makes it     
invisible to us is our ignorance of the 
facts of human history and1 still more1 
our narrowness in our appreciation of   

spiritual truth4 ,and ,i merely report  
the genuine facts1 human and superhuman1
 when ,i say that whatever any form of  
the visible church has done or will do  
for the religious life of mankind1 the  
crowning source of religious insight is1
 for us all1 the actual loyalty1        
service1 devotion1 suffering1           
accomplishment1 traditions1 example1    
teaching1 and triumphs of the invisible 
church of all the faithful4 ,and by the 
invisible church ,i mean the brotherhood
 consisting of all who1 in any clime or 
land1 live in the ,spirit4  ,our terms  
have now been1 so far as my time        
permits1 sharply defined4 ,i am here not
 appealing to vague sentiments about    
human brotherhood1 or to merely moral   
ideals about what we merely hope that   
man may yet come to be4 ,and ,i am not  
for a moment committing myself to any   
mere worship of humanity1 so long as one
 conceives humanity as the mere         
collection of those who are subject to  
the #bha natural laws that govern our   

present physical and mental existence4  
,humanity1 viewed as a mere product of  
nature1 is narrow-minded and degraded   
enough4 ,its life is full of            
uncomprehended evils and of mutual      
misunderstandings4 ,it is not a fitting 
object of any religious reverence4 ,but 
it needs salvation4 ,it has been finding
 salvation through loyalty4 ,and the    
true cause1 the genuine community1 the  
real spiritual brotherhood of the loyal 
is a superhuman and not merely a human  
reality4 ,it expresses itself in the    
lives of the loyal4 ,in so far as these 
expressions directly or indirectly      
inspire our own genuine loyalty1 they   
give us insight4 ,of such insight1      
whatever you may learn from communion   
with any form of the visible church1 is 
an instance--a special embodiment4 ,the 
invisible church1 then1 is no merely    
human and secular institution4 ,it is a 
real and superhuman organisation4 ,it   
includes and transcends every form of   
the visible church4 ,it is the actual   

subject to which belong all the         
spiritual gifts which we can hope to    
enjoy4 ,if your spiritual eyes were     
open1 no diversity of human tongues1 no 
strangeness of rites or of customs or of
 other forms of service1 no accidental  
quaintnesses of tradition or of symbols 
or of creeds1 would hide from your      
vision its perfections4 ,it believes    
everywhere in the unity of the ,spirit1 
and aims to save men through winning    
them over to the conscious service of   
its own unity4 ,and it grants you the   
free grace of whatever religious insight
 you can acquire from outside yourself4 
#bhb ,if you are truly religious1 you   
live in it and for it4 ,you conceive its
 life in your own way and1 no doubt1    
under the limitations of your own time  
and creed4 ,but you cannot flee from its
 presence4 ,and your salvation lies in  
its reality1 in your service1 and in    
your communion with its endlessly varied
 company of those who suffer and who in 
the might of the spirit overcome4  ,let 

me tell you something of this life of   
the invisible church4                   
,,iii  ,and first let me speak of its   
membership4 ,we have now repeatedly     
defined the test of such membership4    
,the invisible church is the spiritual  
brotherhood of the loyal4 ,only a       
searcher of hearts can quite certainly  
know who are the really loyal4 ,we can  
be sure regarding the nature of loyalty4
 ,that loyalty itself should come to    
men's consciousness in the most various 
forms and degrees1 and clouded by the   
most tragic misunderstandings1 the      
narrow form of human consciousness1 and 
the blindness and variety of human      
passion1 make necessary4  ,if one is    
loyal to a narrow and evil cause1 as the
 robber or the pirate may be loyal to   
his band or to his ship1 a conscious    
effort to serve the unity of the whole  
spiritual world may seem at first sight 
to be excluded by the nature of the     
loyalty in question4 ,but what makes a  
cause evil1 and unworthy of loyal #bhc  

service1 is the fact that its service is
 destructive of the causes of other men1
 so that the evil cause preys upon the  
loyalty of the spiritual brethren of    
those who serve it1 and so that thereby 
the servants of this cause do actual    
wrong to mankind4 ,but this very fact   
may not be understood by the individual 
robber or pirate4 ,he may be devoted    
with all his heart and soul and mind and
 strength to the best cause that he     
knows4 ,he may therefore sincerely      
conceive that the master of life        
authorises his cause4 ,in that case1 and
 so far as this belief is sincere1 the  
robber or pirate may be a genuinely     
religious man4  ,does this statement    
seem to you an absurd quibble8 ,then    
look over the past history of mankind4  
,some at least of the ,crusaders were   
genuinely religious4 ,that we all       
readily admit4 ,but they were obviously1
 for the most part1 robbers and         
murderers1 and sometimes pirates1 of    
what we should now think the least      

religious type if they were to-day      
sailing the ,mediterranean or           
devastating the lands4 ,read in         
,hakluyt's ,voyages the accounts of the 
spirit in which the ,english explorers  
and warriors of the ,elizabethan age    
accomplished their great work4 ,in these
 accounts a genuinely religious type of 
patriotism and of ,christianity often   
expresses itself side by side with a    
reckless hatred of the ,spaniard and a  
ferocity which tolerates the most       
obvious expressions of mere natural     
greed4 ,these heroes of the beginnings  
of the ,british ,empire often hardly    
knew whether they were rather the       
adventurous #bhd merchants1 or the loyal
 warriors for ,england1 or the defenders
 of the ,christian faith1 or simply     
pirates4 ,in fact they were all these   
things at once4 ,consider the ,scottish 
clans as they were up to the eighteenth 
century4 ,the spirit that they fostered 
has since found magnificent expression  
in the loyalty of the ,scottish people  

and in its later and far-reaching       
service of some of the noblest causes   
that men know4 ,yet these clans loved   
cattle-thieving and tortured their      
enemies4 ,when did they begin to be     
really patriots and servants of mankind8
 ,when did they begin to be truly and   
heartily religious8 ,who of us can tell8
  ,greed and blindness are natural to   
man4 ,his form of consciousness renders 
him unable1 in many cases1 to realise   
their unreasonableness1 even when he has
 already come into sincerely spiritual  
relations with the cause of all the     
loyal4 ,what we can know is that greed  
and blindness are never of themselves   
religious1 and that the way of salvation
 is the way of loyalty4 ,but ,i know not
 what degrees of greedy blindness are   
consistent with an actual membership in 
the invisible church1 as ,i have just   
defined its membership4 ,when ,i meet1  
however1 with the manifestations of the 
spirit of universal loyalty1 whether in 
clansman1 or in crusader1 or in         

,elizabethan and piratical ,english     
defender of his country's faith1 or in  
the ,spaniard whom he hated1 ,i hope    
that ,i may be able to use1 not the     
greed or the passions of these people1  
but their #bhe religious prowess1 their 
free surrender of themselves to their   
cause1 as a source of insight4          
,membership in the invisible church is  
therefore not to be determined by mere  
conventions1 but by the inward spirit of
 the faithful1 as expressed in their    
loyal life according to their lights4   
,yet of those who seem to us most       
clearly to belong to the service of the 
spirit1 it is easy to enumerate certain 
very potent groups1 to whose devotion we
 all owe an unspeakably great debt4 ,the
 sages1 the poets1 the prophets1 whose  
insight we consulted in our opening     
lecture1 and have used throughout these 
discourses1 form such groups4 ,it is    
indifferent to us to what clime or land 
or tongue or visible religious body they
 belonged or to-day belong4 ,they have  

sincerely served the cause of the       
spirit4 ,they are to us constant sources
 of religious insight4 ,even the cynics 
and the rebels1 whom we cited in our    
opening lecture1 have been1 in many     
individual cases1 devoutly religious    
souls who simply could not see the light
 as they consciously needed to see it1  
and who loyally refused to lie for      
convention's sake4 ,such have often     
served the cause of the spirit with a   
fervour that you ill understand so long 
as their words merely shock you4 ,they  
often seem as if they were hostile to   
the unity of the spirit4 ,but1 in many  
cases1 it is the narrowness of our      
nature1 the chaos of our unspiritual    
passions1 the barren formalism of our   
conventions that they assail4 ,and such 
assaults turn our eyes upward to the    
unity of #bhf the spirit from whence    
alone consolation and escape may come4  
,indirectly1 therefore1 such souls are  
often the misunderstood prophets of new 
ways of salvation for men4 ,when they   

are loyal1 when their very hardness is  
due to their resolute truthfulness1 they
 are often amongst the most effective   
friends of a deeper religious life4  ,a 
notable criterion whereby1 quite apart  
from mere conventions1 you may try the  
spirits that pretend or appear to be    
religious1 and may discern the members  
of the invisible church from those who  
are not members1 is the criterion of the
 prophet ,amos3 ,woe unto them that are 
at ease in ,zion4 ,this1 as ,i said     
earlier1 is one of the favourite tests  
applied by moralists for distinguishing 
those who serve from those who merely   
enjoy4 ,that it is also a religious     
test1 and why it is a religious test1   
our acquaintance with the spirit of     
loyalty has shown us4 ,religion1 when   
triumphant1 includes1 indeed1 the       
experience of inward peace2 but the     
peace which is not won through strenuous
 loyal service is deceitful and         
corrupting4 ,it is the conquest over and
 through tribulation which saves4       

,whoever conceives religion merely as a 
comfortable release from sorrows1 as an 
agreeable banishment of cares1 as a     
simple escape from pain1 knows not what 
evil is1 or what our human nature is1 or
 what our need of salvation means1 or   
what the will of the master of life     
demands4 ,therefore1 a visible church   
that appears simply in the form of a    
cure for worry1 or a #bhg preventive of 
trouble1 seems to me to be lacking in a 
full sense of what loyalty is4 ,worry is
 indeed1 in itself1 not a religious     
exercise4 ,but it is often an effective 
preliminary1 and is sometimes1 according
 to the vicissitudes of natural temper1 
a relatively harmless accompaniment1 to 
a deeply religious life4 ,certainly the 
mere absence of worry1 the mere         
attainment of a sensuous tranquillity1  
is no criterion of membership in the    
invisible church4 ,better a cynic or a  
rebel against conventional religious    
forms1 or a pessimist1 or a worrying    
soul1 if only such a being is           

strenuously loyal according to his      
lights1 than one to whom religion means 
simply a tranquil adoration without     
loyalty4 ,but1 of course1 many of the   
tranquil are also loyal4 ,when this is  
true we can only rejoice in their       
attainments4  ,if we look for other     
examples still of types of spirituality 
which seem to imply membership in the   
invisible church1 ,i myself know of few 
better instances of the genuinely       
religious spirit than those which are   
presented to us1 in recent times1 by the
 more devoted servants of the cause of  
any one of the advancing natural        
sciences4 ,and such instances are       
peculiarly instructive1 because many    
great men of science1 as a result of    
their personal temperament and training1
 are little interested in the forms of  
the visible church1 and very frequently 
are loath to admit that their calling   
has religious bearings4 ,but when the   
matter is rightly viewed1 one sees that 
the great scientific investigator is not

 only profoundly #bhh loyal1 but serves 
a cause which1 at the present time1     
probably does more to unify every sort  
of wholesome human activity1 to bind in 
one all the higher interests of         
humanity1 to bring men of various lands 
and races close together in spirit than 
does any other one special cause that   
modern men serve4 ,the cause of any     
serious scientific investigator is1 from
 my point of view1 a superhuman cause1  
for precisely the reasons which ,i have 
already explained to you4  ,the         
individual scientific worker1           
uninterested as he usually is in        
metaphysics1 and unconcerned as he often
 is about the relation of his task to   
the interests of the visible church1    
knows indeed that with all his heart1   
and soul1 and mind1 and strength he     
serves a cause that he conceives to be  
worthy4 ,he knows1 also1 that this cause
 is beneficent1 and that it plays a     
great part in the directing of human    
activities1 whether because his science 

already has practical applications1 or  
because the knowledge of nature is in   
itself an elevating and enlarging       
influence for mankind4 ,the scientific  
investigator knows also that1 while his 
individual experience is the source to  
which he personally looks for new       
observations of facts1 his private      
observations contribute to science only 
in so far as other investigators can    
verify his results4 ,hence his whole    
scientific life consists in submitting  
all his most prized discoveries to the  
rigid test of an estimate that belongs  
to no individual human experience1 but  
that is1 or that through loyal efforts  
tends to become1 the common possession  
#bhi of the organised experience of all 
the workers in his field4 ,so far the   
devoted investigator goes in his own    
consciousness as to his work4  ,beyond  
this point1 in estimating his ideals and
 his value1 he sometimes seems not to   
wish to go1 either because he is        
unreflective or because he is modest4   

,but when we remember that the unity of 
human experience1 in the light of which 
scientific results are tested1 and to   
whose growth and enrichment the         
scientific worker is devoted1 is indeed 
a superhuman reality of the type that we
 have now discussed2 when we also recall
 the profound values which the          
scientific ideal has for all departments
 of human life in our day2 when1        
further1 we see how resolutely the true 
investigator gives his all to contribute
 to what is really the unity of the     
spirit1 we may well wonder who is in    
essence more heartily religious than the
 completely devoted scientific          
investigator--such a man1 for instance1 
as was ,faraday4  ,when ,i have the     
fortune to hear of really great         
scientific workers who are as ready to  
die for their science 7if an experiment 
or an observation requires risk7 as to  
live for it through years of worldly    
privation and of rigid surrender of     
private interests to truth1 and when ,i 

then by chance also hear that some of   
them were called1 or perhaps even called
 themselves1 irreligious men1 ,i confess
 that ,i think of the little girl who   
walked by ,wordsworth's side on the     
beach at ,calais4 ,the poet estimated   
her #bij variety of religious experience
 in words that ,i feel moved to apply to
 the ardently loyal hero of science3    
,thou dwellest in ,abraham's bosom all  
the year1   ,and worship'st at the      
temple's inmost shrine1   ,god being    
with thee when we know it not4  ,there  
also exists a somewhat threadbare verse 
of the poet ,young which tells us how   
the undevout astronomer is mad4 ,i      
should prefer to say that the really    
loyal scientific man who imagines       
himself undevout is not indeed mad at   
all1 but1 like ,wordsworth's young      
companion at ,calais1 unobservant of    
himself and of the wondrous and         
beautiful love that inspires him4 ,for  
he is1 indeed1 inspired by a love for   
something much more divine than is that 

august assemblage of mechanical and     
physical phenomena called the starry    
heavens4 ,the soul of his work is the   
service of the unity of the spirit in   
one of its most exalted forms4  ,that   
all who1 belonging to any body of the   
visible church1 are seriously loyal to  
the divine according to their lights1   
are members also of the invisible       
church1 needs1 after what ,i have said1 
no further explanation4  ,but if1       
surveying this multitude that no man can
 number from every kindred1 and tribe1  
and nation1 and tongue1 you say that    
entrance to the invisible church is     
guarded by barriers that seem to you not
 high enough or strong enough1 ,i reply 
that this membership is indeed tested by
 the severest of rules4 #bia ,do you    
serve with all your heart1 and soul1 and
 mind1 and strength a cause that is     
superhuman and that is indeed divine8   
,this is the question which all have to 
answer who are to enter this the most   
spiritual of all human brotherhoods4    

,,iv  ,the invisible church is to be to 
us a source of insight4 ,this means that
 we must enter into some sort of        
communion with the faithful if we are to
 enjoy the fruits of their insight4     
,and1 apart from one's own life of loyal
 service itself1 the principal means of 
grace--that is1 the principal means of  
attaining instruction in the spirit of  
loyalty1 encouragement in its toils1    
solace in its sorrows1 and power to     
endure and to triumph--the principal    
means of grace1 ,i say1 which is open to
 any man lies in such communion with the
 faithful and with the unity of the     
spirit which they express in their      
lives4 ,it is natural that we should    
begin this process of communion through 
direct personal relations with the      
fellow-servants of our own special      
cause4 ,hence whatever is usually said  
by those who belong to any section of   
the visible church regarding the        
spiritual advantages which follow from  
entering the communion of their own body

 may be accepted1 from our present point
 of view1 as having whatever truth the  
devotion and the religious life of any  
one body of faithful servants of the    
unity of the spirit may give #bib to    
such statements when applied precisely  
to their own members4 ,but to us all    
alike the voice of the invisible church 
speaks--it sustains us all alike by its 
counsels1 not merely in so far as our   
own personal cause and our brethren of  
that service are known to us1 but in so 
far as we are ready to understand the   
loyal life1 and to be inspired by it1   
even when those who exemplify its       
intents and its values are far from us  
in their type of experience and in the  
manner of their service4  ,you remember 
the rule of loyalty3 ,so serve your     
cause that if possible through your     
service everybody whom you influence    
shall be rendered a more devoted servant
 of his own cause1 and thereby of the   
cause of causes--the unity of all the   
loyal4 ,now the rule for using the      

invisible church as a source of insight 
is this3 ,so be prepared to interpret1  
and sympathetically to comprehend1 the  
causes and the service of other men1    
that whoever serves the cause of causes1
 the unity of all the loyal1 may even   
thereby tend to help you in your        
personal service of your own special    
cause4 ,to cultivate the comprehension  
and the reverence for loyalty1 however1 
and wherever loyalty may be found1 is to
 prepare yourself for a fitting         
communion with the invisible church4    
,and in such communion ,i find the      
crowning source of religious insight4   
,what ,i say is wholly consistent then  
with the recognition of the preciousness
 of the visible church to its members4  
,once more1 #bic however1 ,i point out  
the fact that the visible church is as  
precious as it is because it is indeed  
devoted to the unity of the spirit1 that
 is1 because it is a part and an organ  
of the invisible church4                
,v  ,i cannot close this extremely      

imperfect sketch of our crowning source 
of insight without applying to our      
present doctrine of the invisible       
church1 the eternally true teaching of  
,st4 ,paul regarding spiritual gifts4   
,as ,paul's ,corinthians1 in their      
little community1 faced the problem of  
the diversity of the gifts and powers   
whereby their various members undertook 
to serve the common cause--as this      
diversity of gifts tended from the      
outset to doctrinal differences of      
opinion1 as the differences threatened  
to confuse loyalty by bringing brethren 
into conflict--even so1 but with        
immeasurably vaster complications1 the  
whole religious world1 the invisible    
community of the loyal1 has always      
faced1 and still faces1 a diversity of  
powers and of forms of insight1 a       
diversity due to the endlessly various  
temperaments1 capacities and sorts and  
conditions of men4 ,the ,corinthian     
church1 as ,paul sketched its situation1
 was a miniature of religious humanity4 

,all the ways that the loyal follow lead
 upward to the realm of the spirit1     
where reason is at once the overarching 
heaven and the all-vitalising devotion  
which binds #bid every loyal individual 
to the master of life4 ,but in our      
universe the one demands the many4 ,the 
infinite becomes incarnate through the  
finite4 ,the paths that lead the loyal  
to the knowledge of the eternal pass for
 our vision1 with manifold crossings and
 with perplexing wanderings1 through the
 wilderness of this present world4 ,the 
divine life is won through suffering4   
,and religious history is a tale of     
suffering--of mutual misunderstanding   
amongst brethren who have from moment to
 moment been able to remember ,god only 
by narrowly misreading the hearts of    
their brethren4 ,the diversity of       
spiritual gifts has developed1 in       
religious history1 an endless war of    
factions4 ,the invisible church has     
frequently come to consciousness in the 
form of sects that say3 ,ours alone is  

the true spiritual gift4 ,through our   
triumph alone is the world to be saved4 
,man will reach salvation only when our 
own ,jerusalem is the universally       
recognised holy city4  ,now it is       
useless to reduce the many to the one   
merely by wiping out the many4 ,it is   
useless to make some new sect whose     
creed shall be that there are to be no  
sects4 ,the unity of the visible church1
 under any one creed1 or with any one   
settled system of religious practices1  
is an unattainable and undesirable      
ideal4 ,the varieties of religious      
experience in ,james's sense of that    
term are endless4 ,the diversity of     
gifts is as great as is the diversity of
 strong and loyal personalities4 ,what  
,st4 ,paul saw1 in the miniature case   
presented to him by the #bie ,corinthian
 church1 was that all the real gifts1   
and all the consequently inevitable     
differences of approach to the religious
 problems1 and all the differences of   
individual religious insight were       

necessary to a wealthy religious life1  
and might serve the unity of the spirit1
 if only they were conceived and used   
subject to the spiritual gift which he  
defined as ,charity4  ,now the ,pauline 
,charity is simply that form of loyalty 
which should characterise a company of  
brethren who already have recognised    
their brotherhood1 who consciously know 
that their cause is one and that the    
spirit which they serve is one4 ,for    
such brethren1 loyalty naturally takes  
the form of a self-surrender that need  
not seek its own1 or assert itself      
vehemently1 because the visible unity of
 the community in question is already   
acknowledged by all the faithful        
present1 so that each intends to edify1 
not himself alone1 but his brethren1 and
 also intends not to convert his brother
 to a new faith1 but to establish him in
 a faith already recognised by the      
community4 ,yet since the ,corinthians1 
warring over their diversity of gifts1  
had come to lose sight of the common    

spirit1 ,paul simply recalls them to    
their flag1 by his poem of charity1     
which is also a technically true        
statement of how the principle of       
loyalty applies to a brotherhood fully  
conscious of its common aim4  ,but the  
very intimacy of the ,pauline picture of
 charity makes it hard to apply this    
account of the #bif loyalty that should 
reign within a religious family to the  
problems of a world where faith does not
 understand faith1 where the contrasts  
of opinion seem to the men in question  
to exclude community of the spirit1     
where the fighting blood even of saintly
 souls is stirred by persecutions or    
heated by a hatred of seemingly false   
creeds4 ,and ,paul himself could not    
speak in the language of charity1 either
 when he referred to those whom he      
called false brethren or characterised  
the ,hellenic-,roman spiritual world to 
whose thought and spirit he owed so     
much4 ,as the ,corinthians1 warring over
 the spiritual gifts1 were a miniature  

representation of the motives that have 
led to religious wars1 so ,st4 ,paul's  
own failure to speak with charity as    
soon as certain matters of controversy  
arose in his mind1 shows in miniature   
the difficulty that the visible church1 
in all its forms1 has had to unite loyal
 strenuousness of devotion to the truth 
that one sees with tolerance for the    
faiths whose meaning one cannot         
understand4  ,and yet1 what ,paul said  
about charity must be universalised if  
it is true4 ,when we universalise the   
,pauline ,charity1 it becomes once more 
the loyalty that1 as a fact1 is now     
justified in seeking her loyal own2 but 
that still1 like charity1 rejoices in   
the truth4 ,such loyalty loves loyalty  
even when race or creed distinctions    
make it hard or impossible for us to    
feel fond of the persons and practices  
and opinions whereby our more distant   
brethren #big embody their spiritual    
gifts4 ,such loyalty is tolerant4       
,tolerance is what charity becomes when 

we have to deal with those whose special
 cause we just now cannot understand4   
,loyalty is tolerant1 not as if truth   
were indifferent1 or as if there were no
 contrast between worldliness and       
spirituality1 but is tolerant precisely 
in so far as the best service of loyalty
 and of religion and of the unity of the
 spirit consists in helping our brethren
 not to our own1 but to their own4 ,such
 loyalty implies genuine faith in the   
abiding and supreme unity of the spirit4
  ,only by thus universalising the      
doctrine which ,paul preached to the    
,corinthians can we be prepared to use  
to the full this crowning source of     
insight--the doctrine1 the example1 the 
life1 the inspiration1 which is embodied
 in the countless forms and expressions 
of the invisible church4  ,the work of  
the invisible church--it is just that   
work to which all these lectures have   
been directing your attention4 ,the     
sources of insight are themselves the   
working of its spirit in our spirits4   

,if ,i have done anything 7however      
unworthy7 to open the minds of any of   
you to these workings1 my fragmentary   
efforts will not have been in vain4 ,i  
have no authority to determine your own 
insight4 ,seek insight where it is to be
 found4