,,the ,,hearts ,,of ,,men               
,,by ,h4 ,,fielding                     
,,author ,,of ,,the ,,soul ,,of ,a      
,,people1 ,,etc4       ,,new ,,york     
,,the ,,macmillan ,,company     #aija   
,,printed ,,by ,,kelly',s ,,directories 
,,limited1     ,,london ,,and           
,,kingston4     ,,dedication4  ,to ,f4  
,w4 ,,foster4   ,as my first book1 ,the 
,soul of a ,people1 would probably never
 have been completed or published       
without your encouragement and          
assistance1 so the latter part of this  
book would not have been written without
 your suggestion4 ,this dedication is a 
slight acknowledgment of my indebtedness
 to you1 but ,i hope that you will      
accept it1 not as any equivalent for    
your unvarying kindness1 but as a token 
that ,i have not forgotten4             
,,contents4    ,,definitions ,,of       
,,religion #a  ,,introduction #d        
,,part ,i4  ,i4 ,,of ,,what ,,use ,,is  
,,religion8 #ac  ,,ii4 ,,early ,,beliefs
 #ba  ,,iii4 ,,ideal ,,and ,,practice   

#bh  ,,iv4 ,,scientific ,,theology--,i  
#cg  ,v4 ,,scientific ,,theology--,,ii  
#de  ,,vi4 ,,whence ,,faiths ,,come #ee 
,,vii4 ,,the ,,wisdom ,,of ,,books #fd  
,,viii4 ,,god #gb  ,,ix4 ,,law #hd  ,x4 
,,the ,,way ,,of ,,life #ib  ,,xi4      
,,heaven #aja   ,,part ,,ii4  ,,xii4    
,,theories ,,and ,,facts #aac  ,,xiii4  
,,creed ,,and ,,instinct #abd  ,,xiv4   
,,religious ,,people #acf  ,,xv4        
,,enthusiasm #ade  ,,xvi4 ,,strength    
,,and ,,weakness #aee  ,,xvii4 ,,mind   
,,and ,,body #afe  ,,xviii4             
,,personality #agc  ,,xix4 ,,god ,,the  
,,sacrifice #ahe  ,,xx4 ,,god ,,the     
,,mother #aif  ,,xxi4 ,,conduct #bjb    
,,xxii4 ,,men',s ,,faith ,,and          
,,women',s ,,faith #bab  ,,xxiii4       
,,prayer ,,and ,,confession #bba        
,,xxiv4 ,,sunday ,,and ,,sabbath #bcc   
,,xxv4 ,,miracle #bdb  ,,xxvi4          
,,religion ,,and ,,art #bed  ,,xxvii4   
,,what ,,is ,,evidence8 #bff  ,,xxviii4 
,,the ,,after ,,death #bgg  ,,xxix4     
,,optimism ,,and ,,pessimism #bhg       

,,xxx4 ,,was ,,it ,,reason8 #bih        
,,xxxi4 ,,what ,,religion ,,is #cjh     
,,xxxii4 ,,the ,,use ,,of ,,religion    
#caf     ,,the ,,hearts ,,of ,,men4     
,,religion4   ,the difficulty of framing
 a correct definition of religion is    
very great4 ,such a definition should   
apply to nothing but religion1 and      
should differentiate religion from      
anything else--as1 for example1 from    
imaginative idealisation1 art1 morality1
 philosophy4 ,it should apply to        
everything which is naturally and       
commonly called religion3 to religion as
 a subjective spiritual state1 and to   
all religions1 high or low1 true or     
false1 which have obtained objective    
historical realisation4--,anon4  ,the   
principle of morality is the root of    
religion4--,peochal4  ,it is the        
perception of the infinite4--,max       
,mueller4  ,a religious creed is        
definable as a theory of original       
causation4--,herbert ,spencer4  ,virtue1
 as founded on a reverence for ,god and 

expectation of future rewards and       
punishment4--,johnson4  ,the worship of 
a ,deity4--,bailey4  ,it has its origin 
in fear4--,lucretius and others4  ,a    
desire to secure life and its goods     
amidst the uncertainty and evils of     
earth4--,retsche4  ,a feeling of        
absolute dependence1 of pure and entire 
passiveness4--,schleiermacher4          
,religious feeling is either a distinct 
primary feeling or a peculiar compound  
feeling4--,neuman ,smyth4  ,a sanction  
for duty4--,kant4  ,a morality tinged by
 emotion4--,matthew ,arnold4  ,by       
religion ,i mean that general habit of  
reverence towards the divine nature     
whereby we are enabled to worship and   
serve ,god4--,wilkins4  ,a propitiation 
or conciliation of powers superior to   
man1 which are supposed to control the  
course of nature and of human life4--,j4
 ,g4 ,frazer4  ,the modes of divine     
worship proper to different             
tribes4--,anon4  ,the performance of    
duty to ,god and man4  ,it is to be     

noted that all the above are of         
,europeans acquainted practically with  
only ,christianity4         99       99 
99       99       99  ,the following are
 some that have been given me by        
,orientals3  ,the worship of            
,allah4--,mahommedan4  ,a knowledge of  
the laws of life that lead to           
happiness4--,buddhist4  ,doing right4   
,other-worldliness4     ,,introduction4 
,some time ago ,i wrote ,the ,soul of a 
,people4 ,it was an attempt to          
understand a people1 the ,burmese2 to   
understand a religion1 that of ,buddha4 
,it was not an attempt to find abstract 
truth1 to discuss what may be true or   
not in the tenets of that faith1 to     
discover the secret of all religions4   
,it was only intended to show what      
,buddhism in ,burma is to the people who
 believe in it1 and how it comes into   
their lives4  ,yet it was impossible    
always to confine the view to one point4
 ,it is natural--nay1 it is             
inevitable--that when a man studies one 

faith1 comparison with other faiths     
should intrude themselves4 ,the world1  
even the ,east and ,west1 is so bound   
together that you cannot treat of part  
and quite ignore the rest4 ,and so      
thoughts arose and questions came       
forward that lay outside the scope of   
that book4 ,i could not write of them   
there fully4 ,whatever question arose ,i
 was content then to give only the      
,buddhist answer1 ,i had to leave on one
 side all the many answers different    
faiths may have propounded4 ,i could not
 discuss even where truth was likely to 
be found4 ,i was bound by my subject4   
,but in this book ,i have gone further4 
,this is a book1 not of one religion nor
 of several religions1 but of religion4 
,mainly1 it is true1 it treats of       
,christianity and ,buddhism1 because    
these are the two great representative  
faiths1 but it is not confined to them4 
,man asks1 and has always asked1 certain
 questions4 ,religions have given many  
answers4 ,are these answers true8 ,which

 is true8 ,are any of them true8 ,it is 
in a way a continuation of ,the ,soul of
 a ,people1 but wider4 ,it is of ,the   
,hearts of ,men4         99       99    
99       99       99  ,before beginning 
this book ,i have a word to say on the  
meanings that ,i attach to the word     
,christianity and a few other words1 so 
that ,i may be more clearly understood4 
,there was a man who wrote to me once   
explaining why he was a ,christian1 and 
wondering how anyone could fail to be   
so4  ,i look about me1 he said1 at      
,christian nations1 and ,i see that they
 are the leaders of the world4 ,pagan   
nations are far behind them in wealth1  
in happiness1 in social order4 ,i look  
at our ,courts and ,i find justice      
administered to all alike1 pure and     
without prejudice4 ,our crime decreases1
 our education increases1 and our wealth
 increases even faster2 the artisan now 
is where the middle class was a hundred 
years ago1 the middle class now lives   
better than the rich did4 ,our science  

advances from marvel to marvel4 ,our    
country is a network of railroads1 our  
ships cover the seas1 our prosperity is 
unbounded1 and in a greater or less     
degree all ,christian nations share it4 
,but when we turn to ,pagan nations1    
what do we see8 ,anarchy and injustice1 
wars and rebellions1 ignorance and      
poverty4 ,to me no greater proof of the 
truth of ,christianity can be than this 
difference4 ,in fact1 it is             
,christianity4  ,i am not concerned here
 to follow the writer into his          
arguments4 ,he is probably one of those 
who thinks that all our civilisation is 
due to a peculiar form of ,christianity4
 ,there are others who hold that all our
 advance has been made in spite of      
,christianity4 ,i am only concerned now 
with the meaning of the word4 ,the way  
,i use the word is to denote the cult of
 ,christ4 ,a ,christian to me means a   
man who follows1 or who professes to    
follow1 the example of ,christ and to   
accept all ,his teaching2 to be a member

 of a ,church that calls itself         
,christian4 ,i use it irrespective of   
sects to apply to ,catholic and ,greek  
,church1 ,quaker and ,skopek alike4 ,i  
am aware that in ,christianity1 as in   
all religions1 there has been a strong  
tendency of the greater emotions to     
attract the lesser1 and of the          
professors of any religion to assume to 
themselves all that is good and         
repudiate all that is evil in the       
national life4 ,i have no quarrel here  
with them on the subject4 ,nor do ,i    
wish to use the word in any             
unnecessarily narrow sense4 ,are there  
not also ,st4 ,paul and the ,apostles1  
the ,early ,fathers8 ,so be it4 ,but    
surely the essence of ,christianity must
 be the teaching and example of ,christ8
 ,i do not gather that any subsequent   
teacher has had authority to abrogate or
 modify either that teaching or example4
 ,as to addition1 is it maintained      
anywhere that the teaching and example  
are inadequate8 ,i do not think so4 ,and

 therefore ,i have defined my meaning as
 above4 ,let us be sure of our words1   
that we may know what we are talking    
about4  ,in the word religion ,i have   
more difficulty4 ,it does not carry any 
meaning on its face as ,christianity    
does4 ,it is an almost impossible word  
to define1 or to discover the meaning   
of4 ,it is so difficult that practically
 all the book is an attempt to discover 
what religion does mean4 ,i nearly      
called the book1 ,what is the ,meaning  
of ,religion8  ,in the beginning ,i have
 given a few of the numerous meanings   
that have been applied to the word4 ,it 
will be seen how vague they are4 ,and at
 the end ,i have a definition of my own 
to give which differs from all4 ,but as 
,i have frequently to use the word from 
the beginning of the book1 ,i will try  
to define how ,i use it4  ,by religion1 
then1 generally ,i mean a scheme of the 
world with some theory of how man got   
into it and the influences1 mostly      
supernatural1 which affect him here4 ,it

 usually1 though not always1 includes   
some code of morality for use here and  
some account of what happens after      
death4  ,this is1 ,i think1 more or less
 the accepted meaning4  ,and there are  
the words ,spirit and ,soul4  ,i note   
that in considering origins of religion 
the great first difficulty has been how 
the savage evolved the idea of ,god or  
,spirit as opposed to man4 ,various     
theories have been proposed1 such as    
that it evolved from reasoning on       
dreams4 ,to me the question is whether  
such an idea exists at all4 ,it may be  
possible that men trained in abstract   
thought without reference to fact1 the  
successors of many generations of men   
equally so trained1 do consider         
themselves to have such a conception4 ,i
 have met men who declared they had a   
clear idea of the fourth dimension in   
,mathematics and of unending space4     
,there may be people who can realise a  
,spirit which has other qualities than  
man4 ,in some creeds the idea is assumed

 as existing4 ,but personally ,i have   
never found it among those who make     
religion as distinguished from those who
 theorise upon it4 ,the gods of the     
simpler religious people ,i have met1   
whether ,east or ,west1 have been       
frankly only enlarged men1 with the     
appetites and appearances and the powers
 of men4 ,they differ from men only in  
degree1 never in kind4 ,they require    
food and offerings1 they have passions1 
sometimes they have wives4 ,the early   
gods are but men4 ,if they are          
invisible1 so can man be2 if they are   
powerful1 so are kings4 ,it is only a   
question of degree1 never of kind4 ,i do
 not find that the ,god that the ,boers 
appeal to so passionately has any       
different qualities in their thoughts   
from a marvellous man4 ,truly they will 
say1 ,no1 ,god is a ,spirit4 ,then if   
you reply1 ,so be it2 tell me how a     
,spirit differs from a man1 what        
qualities a ,spirit has that are        
inconceivable in man1 they cannot go on2

 and the qualities they appeal to in    
their ,god are always very human        
qualities--partiality1 forgiveness1     
help1 and the like4  ,many men will say 
they believe things which they do not   
understand4 ,i enter into the subject so
 fully later ,i do not want to write    
more now4 ,i only wish to define that   
the word ,god1 as ,i use it1 in no wise 
means more than the ,personality who    
causes things4  ,and again about soul4  
,what is soul8 ,the theologian gets up  
and answers at once that soul exists    
independent of the body4 ,so be it4     
,then who has the conception8 ,and what 
is it like when you have got it8 ,have  
,christians it8 ,then why can they not  
understand resurrection of the soul     
without also the resurrection of the    
body8 ,they cannot4 ,look at the facts4 
,it is such a fact it has actually      
forced itself into the creeds4 ,angels  
have bodies and also wings4 ,ghosts have
 bodies and also clothes4 ,they are     
recognisable4 ,i know a ghost who likes 

pork for supper4 ,they sometimes have   
horses and all sorts of additions4 ,the 
body may be filmy1 but it is a body4    
,gas is filmy and quite as transparent  
as a ghost4  ,perhaps the people who    
have put the transmigration of souls as 
one of their religious tenets really    
have the conception of a soul apart from
 any body4 ,i doubt it even here4 ,but  
this also will come later4  ,meanwhile1 
when ,i use the word soul or spirit1 ,i 
do not infer that it is separable from  
the body or inseparable4 ,i mean simply 
the essence of that which is man2 the   
identity1 the ego existing in man as he 
is4 ,i think1 indeed1 this is the       
correct meaning4 ,we say that a city has
 fifty thousand souls4 ,have they no    
bodies8 ,when ,i wrote ,the ,soul of a  
,people ,i certainly did not omit their 
bodies or ignore them4 ,on the contrary4
 ,and no one supposed ,i did4 ,i do not 
either mean to postulate the            
inseparability of body and soul4 ,soul  
means essence4  ,finally1 there is the  

word reason4 ,what is that8 ,by reason  
,i mean the faculty of arranging and    
grouping facts4 ,it is the power of     
perspective which sees facts in their   
proper relation to other facts4 ,the    
facts themselves are supplied as regards
 the outer world by the senses of sight 
and hearing and taste1 of touch and     
sympathy2 and as regards the inner world
 of sensations1 such as hate1 and love1 
and fear by the ability to feel those   
sensations4  ,reason itself cannot      
supply facts4 ,it can but arrange them4 
,by placing a series of facts in due    
order the existence of other facts may  
be suspected1 as the existence of       
,neptune was deduced from certain known 
aberrations4 ,the observation of        
,neptune by the telescope followed4  ,in
 other words1 reason may be called the  
science of facts4         99       99   
99       99       99  ,i offer no       
apology for this introduction4 ,most of 
the confusion of thought1 most of the   
mistiness of argument1 is due to the    

fact that people habitually use words   
without any clear idea of their meaning4
 ,a reviewer of ,the ,soul of a ,people 
declared that ,buddhism was a           
philosophy1 not a religion4 ,i asked him
 to give me a list of what he accepted  
as religions1 and then to furnish a     
definition of religion that would       
include all these and exclude ,buddhism4
 ,i am still waiting4 ,no doubt he had  
never tried to really define what he    
meant by his words4 ,instead of using   
words as counters of a fixed value he   
threw them about as blank cheques1      
meaning anything or nothing4  ,when you 
find confusion of argument in a book1   
want of clearness of expression1 when   
you see men arguing and misunderstanding
 each other1 there is nearly always one 
reason4 ,either they are using words in 
different senses or they have no clear  
idea themselves of what they mean by    
their words4 ,ask ten men what they mean
 when they say1 ,art1 beauty1           
civilisation1 right1 wrong1 or any other

 abstract term1 and see if one can give 
a satisfactory explanation4  ,this is an
 error ,i am trying to avoid4           
,,chapter ,i4  ,,of ,,what ,,use ,,is   
,,religion8   ,of what use is religion8 
,all nations1 almost all men1 have a    
religion4 ,from the savage in the woods 
who has his traditions of how the world 
began1 who has his ghosts and his devils
 to fear or to worship1 to the          
,christian and the ,buddhist with their 
religion full of beautiful conceptions  
and ideas--all people have a religion4  
,and the religion of men is determined  
for them by their birth4 ,they are born 
into it1 as they are into their         
complexions1 their habits1 their        
language4 ,the ,continental and ,irish  
,celt is a ,roman ,catholic1 the ,teuton
 is a follower of ,luther1 the ,slav a  
member of the ,greek ,church4 ,the      
,anglo-,saxon1 who is a compromise of   
races1 has a creed which is a compromise
 also1 and the ,celt of ,england has his
 peculiar form of dissent1 more akin    

perhaps in some ways to ,romanism than  
to ,lutheranism4 ,a ,jew is and has been
 a ,jew1 a ,hindu is a ,hindu1 ,arabs   
and ,turks are ,mahommedans4  ,it is so 
with all races of men4 ,a man's religion
 to-day is that into which he is born1  
and those of the higher and older races 
who change are few1 so very few they but
 serve strongly to emphasize the rule4  
,there have been1 it is true1 periods   
when this has not been so4 ,there have  
been times of change1 of conversions1 of
 rapid religious evolution when the     
greater faiths have gathered their      
harvests of men1 when beliefs have      
spread as a flood threatening to engulf 
a world4 ,no one has ever done so4 ,each
 has found its own boundary and stayed  
there4 ,their spring tide once passed   
they have ceased to spread4 ,they have  
become1 indeed1 many of them1 but       
tideless oceans1 dead seas of habit     
ceasing even to beat upon their shores4 
,many of them no longer even try to     
proselytise1 having found their         

inability to stretch beyond their       
boundaries2 others still labour1 but    
their gains are few--how few only those 
who have watched can know4  ,some       
savages are drawn away here or there1   
but that is all4 ,the greater faiths and
 forms of faith1 ,catholicism1          
,lutheranism1 the ,greek ,church1       
,mahommedanism1 ,buddhism1 ,hinduism1   
and many others1 remain as they were4   
,their believers are neither converted  
nor convert4 ,men born into them remain 
as they were born4 ,they do not change1 
they are satisfied with what they have4 
,they are more than satisfied2 they are 
often1 almost always1 passionately      
attached to their faith4  ,there is     
nothing men value more than their       
religion4 ,there is nothing so          
unbearable to them as an attack upon it4
 ,no one will allow it4 ,even the savage
 clings to his fetish in the mountain   
top and will not permit of insult to it4
 ,men will brave all kinds of disaster  
and death rather than deny their faith1 

that which their fathers believed4 ,it  
is to all their highest possession4 ,the
 ,catholic1 the ,chinese ancestor       
worshipper1 the ,hindu1 the ,calvinist1 
the ,buddhist1 the ,jew--their names are
 too numerous to mention--none yields to
 any other in this4 ,it is true of all  
faiths4 ,no one faith has any monopoly  
of this enthusiasm4 ,it is common to    
all4  ,but wherein lies the spell that  
religion has cast upon the souls of men8
 ,the influence is the same4 ,what is   
the secret of it8  ,can it be that there
 is some secret common to all religions1
 some belief1 some doctrine that is the 
cause of this8 ,if so1 what is it8 ,if  
there is such a common secret1 why is it
 so hidden8  ,for hidden it certainly   
is4  ,nothing can be more certain than  
that no one religion recognises any such
 secret in the others4 ,it is the very  
reverse4 ,the more a man clings to his  
own religion the more he scorns all     
others4 ,far from acknowledging any     
common truth1 he denounces all other    

faiths as mistaken1 as untrue2 nay1     
more1 they are to him false1            
deliberately false2 the enthusiast      
believes them wicked1 the fanatic in his
 own faith calls all others devilish4   
,the more a man loves his religion the  
more he abominates all others4 ,a       
,christian would scorn the idea of the  
essence of his faith being common to all
 others1 or any other4 ,if there be any 
common truth it is a very secret truth4 
,is there any secret truth8 ,if so1 what
 is it8  ,there is a further question4  
,there is probably no one thing that we 
learn with more certainty than this1    
that whatever exists1 whatever persists1
 does so because it fulfils a want1     
because it's of use4 ,it is immaterial  
where we look1 the rule is absolute4 ,in
 the material world ,darwin and others  
have shewn it to us over and over again4
 ,when anything is useless it atrophies4
 ,so have the snake and the whale lost  
their legs1 and man his hairy skin and  
sense of scent4 ,males have lost their  

power of suckling their young2 with     
females this power has increased4 ,need 
developes any thing or any quality2 when
 it becomes needless it dies4 ,where we 
find anything flourishing and persistent
 we are sure always that it is so       
because it is wanted1 because it fills a
 need4  ,religion in some form or       
another has always existed1 has         
increased and developed1 has grown and  
gained strength4  ,therefore religion1  
all religions that have existed have    
filled some need1 all religions that now
 exist do so because they fulfil some   
present use4 ,from the way their        
believers cherish them the need is a    
great and urgent one4 ,these religions  
are of vital use to their believers4    
,what is this great common need and     
yearning that all men have1 and which1  
to men in sympathy with it1 every       
religion fulfils8  ,can it be that all  
men have a like need and that all       
religions have a common quality which   
serves that need8  ,can it be possible  

that all races1 the ,englishman1 the    
,negro1 the ,italian1 the ,russian1 the 
,arab1 the ,chinaman1 and the ,pathan1  
have the same urgent necessity1 and that
 their urgent necessity is answered by  
so many varying religions8 ,if so1 what 
is this necessity which religion alone  
can fill1 what is this succour that     
religion alone can give8 ,what is the   
use of religion8  ,these are some of the
 questions ,i ask1 other men have asked 
the same--not many4 ,the majority of men
 never ask themselves anything of the   
sort4 ,they are born into a religion1   
they live in it more or less1 they die  
in it4 ,they may question its accuracy  
in one point or another1 for each man to
 some extent makes his own faith2 but   
nearly all men take their faith much as 
they find it and make the best of it4   
,it does not occur to them to say1 ,why 
should ,i want a religion at all8 ,why  
not go without8 ,they feel the necessity
 of it4 ,even the very few who reject   
their own faith almost always try for   

some other1 something they hope will    
meet their necessity4 ,they will prefer 
one faith to another4 ,but they do not  
first consider why they want a faith at 
all4 ,they do not ask1 ,of what use is  
any religion8  ,yet this is in the main 
the subject of this book1 these         
questions are the ones ,i ask1 the      
questions to which ,i seek an answer4 ,i
 will repeat them4  ,why are all        
peoples1 all men religious8 ,is the     
necessity a common necessity8 ,if so1   
what is it8  ,why does one form of      
religion appeal to one people and       
another to another people1 while        
remaining hateful to all the rest8      
,notwithstanding their common hate1 have
 all religions a common secret8 ,and if 
so1 what is that8  ,this book of mine is
 in part the story of a boy who was born
 into a faith and who lost it2 it tries 
to explain why he lost it4  ,it is the  
story of a man who searched for a new   
faith and who did not find it1 because  
he knew not what he sought4 ,he knew not

 what religion was nor why he wanted it4
 ,he knew not his need4 ,he sought in   
religion for things no religion         
possesses4 ,he was ill yet he knew not  
his disease1 and so he could find no    
remedy4 ,and finally it is an attempt to
 discern what religion really means1    
what it is1 what is the use of it1 what 
men require of it4  ,there may be among 
my readers some who will read the early 
chapters and will then stop4 ,they will 
feel hurt perhaps1 they will think that 
there is here an attack upon their      
religion1 upon all they hold as the     
,truth of ,god4 ,so they will close the 
book and read no more4 ,i would beg of  
my readers not to judge me thus4 ,i     
would ask them if they read at all to   
read to the end4 ,it may be that then   
they will understand4 ,even if it be not
 so1 that the early chapters still seem 
to be hard1 is it not better to hear    
such things from a friend than from an  
enemy8 ,be sure there are very many who 
say and who feel very much harder things

 than this boy did4 ,is it not as well  
to know them8  ,these early chapters are
 of a boy's life2 they may be1 they     
should be if truly written1 full of the 
hardness of youth1 its revolt from what 
it conceives to be untrue1 its intense  
desire to know1 its stern rejection of  
all that is not clear and cannot be     
known4 ,yet they must be written1 for   
only by knowing the thoughts of the boy 
can the later thoughts of the man be    
understood8  ,and ,i am sure that those 
who read me to the end1 though they may 
disagree with what ,i say1 will admit   
this3 that1 thinking as ,i do of        
religion1 ,i would not unnecessarily    
throw a stone at any faith1 ,i would not
 thoughtlessly hurt the belief of any   
believer1 no matter what his religion2  
because ,i think ,i have learnt not only
 what his faith is to him1 but why it is
 so1 because ,i have found the use of   
all religion4     ,,chapter ,,ii4       
,,early ,,beliefs4   ,the boy of whom ,i
 am about to write was brought up until 

he was twelve entirely by women4 ,he had
 masters1 it is true1 who taught him the
 usual things that are taught to boys1  
and he had playfellows1 other boys2 but 
the masters were with him but an hour or
 two each day for lessons1 and of the   
boys he was always the eldest4  ,those  
who have studied how it is that children
 form their ideas of the world1 of what 
it is1 of what has to be done in it1 of 
how to do it1 will recognise all that   
this means2 for children obtain their   
ideas of everything1 not from their     
lessons nor their books nor their       
teachers1 but from their associates4 ,a 
teacher may teach1 but a boy does not   
believe4 ,he believes not what he is    
told1 but what he sees4 ,he forms to    
himself rules of conduct modelled on the
 observed conduct of other people4      
,their ideas penetrate his1 and he      
absorbs and adapts them to his own      
wants4 ,in a school with other boys1 or 
where a boy has as playfellows boys     
older than himself1 this works out      

right4 ,the knowledge and ideas of the  
great world filter gradually down4      
,young men gain it from older men1 the  
young men pass it to the elder boys1 and
 the bigger to the smaller1 each        
adapting it as he takes4 ,thus is wisdom
 made digestible by the many processes  
it passes through1 and the child can    
take it and find it agree with him4     
,but with a child brought up with adults
 and children younger than himself this 
is not so4 ,from the latter he can learn
 nothing2 he therefore adapts himself to
 the former4 ,he listens to them1 he    
watches them1 unconsciously it is true1 
but with that terrible penetrative power
 children possess4 ,he learns their     
ideas1 and1 tough as they may prove to  
him1 he has to absorb them1 and he has  
not the digestive juice1 the experience 
that is required to assimilate them4    
,they are unfit for his tender years1   
they do not yield the nourishment he    
requires4 ,he suffers terribly4 ,a man's
 ideas and knowledge are not fit for a  

boy4  ,and if a man's1 how much less a  
woman's8 ,a boy will become a man2 what 
he has learnt of men is knowledge of the
 right kind1 though of the wrong degree4
 ,but what he learns from women is      
almost entirely unsuitable in kind and  
in degree4 ,the ideas1 the knowledge1   
the codes of conduct1 the outlook on    
life that suit a woman are entirely     
unfitted for a boy4 ,consider and you   
must see how true it is4  ,this boy1    
too1 was often ill and unable to play1  
to go out at all sometimes for weeks in 
the winter4 ,he seemed always ailing4   
,thus he had to spend much of his time  
alone1 and when he was tired of reading 
or of wood carving1 or colouring plates 
in a book1 he thought4 ,he had often so 
much time to think that he grew sick of 
thought4 ,he hated it4 ,he would have   
given very much to be able to get out   
and run about and play so as not to     
think1 to be enabled to forget that he  
had a brain which would keep on passing 
phantoms before his inner eyes4 ,there  

was nothing he hated so much1 nothing he
 dreaded so deeply as having nothing to 
do but think4 ,in later years he took   
this terror to his heart and made it    
into an exceedingly great pleasure1 but 
to the child it was not so4  ,therefore1
 when he was twelve and was sent at last
 to a large school1 he was different to 
most boys at that age2 for his view of  
the world1 his knowledge of it1 his     
judgment of it1 were all obtained from  
women4 ,he saw life much as they did1   
through the same glasses1 though with   
different sight4 ,his ideas of conduct  
were a woman's ideas1 his religion was a
 woman's religion4  ,are not a woman's  
ideas of conduct the same as a man's8   
,is not a woman's ,christianity the same
 as a man's ,christianity1 if both be   
,christianity8 ,and ,i reply1 ,no6 ,a   
thousand times no6 ,there is all the    
world between them1 all that world that 
is between woman and a man4  ,as to     
man's religion ,i will speak of it      
later4 ,the woman's ideas of conduct and

 religion which this child had absorbed 
were these4 ,he believed in the ,new    
,testament4 ,i do not mean he           
disbelieved the ,old ,testament1 but he 
did not think of it4 ,religion to him   
meant the teaching of ,christ1 that very
 simple teaching that is in the ,gospel4
 ,conduct to him meant the imitation of 
,christ and the observance of the       
,sermon on the ,mount4 ,he thought this 
was accepted by all the world--the      
,christian world at least--as true1 that
 everyone1 men as well as women1        
accepted this teaching not as a mere    
pious aspiration1 not as an altruistic  
ideal1 but as a real working theory4    
,war was bad1 all war4 ,soldiers        
apparently were not all bad--he had been
 told of ,christian soldiers1 though he 
had no idea how such a contradiction    
could occur--but at least they were a   
dreadful necessity4 ,wealth and the     
pursuit of wealth were bad1 wicked even1
 though here again there were           
exceptions4 ,learning was apt to be a   

snare4 ,the world was very wicked1      
consciously wicked1 which accounted for 
the present state of affairs1 and most  
people would certainly go to hell4 ,the 
ideal life was that of a very poor      
curate in the ,east ,end of ,london1    
hard working and unhappy4 ,these are    
some of the ideas he learnt1 for this is
 the religion of all the religious women
 of ,england2 of all those who are in   
their way the very salt of the nation4  
,their belief is the teaching of        
,christ1 and that is what this boy      
learnt4 ,this is what conduct and       
religion meant to him4  ,i must not be  
misunderstood4 ,i do not intend to      
suggest that this boy was any better    
than other boys1 that his life was less 
marked by the peccadilloes of childhood4
 ,he was probably much as other boys are
 as far as badness or goodness is       
concerned4 ,his acts1 ,i doubt not1 did 
not very much differ from theirs4 ,after
 all1 neither boys nor men are very much
 guided either by any theoretical ,rule 

of ,life1 nor by any view of what is the
 true ,religion4 ,he acted according to 
his instincts1 but having so acted the  
difference between him and other boys   
came in4 ,other boys' instincts led them
 to poach a trout out of a stream1 and  
rejoice in their success if they were   
not caught4 ,this boy's instinct also   
led him to poach a trout if he could1   
but he did not rejoice over it4         
,poaching was stealing1 and that was a  
deadly sin4 ,he was aware of that and   
was afraid4  ,other boys' instincts made
 them fight on occasions and be proud of
 it1 whether victor or vanquished1 to   
boast of it publicly perhaps2 anyhow1   
not to keep it a secret or be ashamed of
 it4 ,this boy's instincts also led him 
several times into fights2 but whether  
victor or not--it was usually not--he   
could not appear to be proud of it4 ,the
 ,sermon on the ,mount told him he ought
 not to have fought that boy who struck 
him1 but should have turned the other   
cheek1 and he knew very well that it    

would be regarded as a sin4 ,it must be 
kept secret and he must be ashamed of   
it1 and so with many things4 ,it never  
occurred to him then to doubt that the  
,sermon on the ,mount did really contain
 the correct rule of life for him1 and  
that any breach of it must be a deadly  
sin4 ,among other results this friction 
between the natural boy and the rule of 
conduct he was taught he ought to adopt1
 gave the boy a continual sensation of  
being wrong4 ,he knew he was continually
 breaking the ,sermon on the ,mount and 
also other rules of the ,new ,testament4
 ,he was perfectly sure he did not live 
at all like ,christ1 and he had a       
strong1 but never then acknowledged     
certainty1 that he didn't want to4 ,all 
this1 with the continual reproof of     
those around him1 gave him an incessant 
feeling of being wicked4 ,he could not  
live up to these rules1 and he was a    
very wicked little boy bound for hell1  
so he thought of himself4  ,it is       
difficult to imagine anything worse for 

a boy than this4 ,tell a boy he is bad1 
lead him to believe he is bad1 make much
 of his little sins1 reprove him1 mourn 
over him as one of wicked tendencies1   
and you will make him wicked4 ,perpetual
 struggle to attain an impossible and   
unnatural ideal is destructive to any   
moral fibre4 ,for the boy soon begins to
 distrust himself1 his own efforts1 his 
own good intentions4 ,he fails and      
fails1 and he loses heart and begins to 
count on failure as certain4 ,then later
 he abandons effort as useless4 ,what is
 the good of trying without any hope of 
success8 ,it is useless and foolish4 ,to
 save appearances he must pretend1 and  
that is all4 ,but at the time he went to
 school he had not quite come to that1  
for the stress of the world had not yet 
fallen upon him4 ,he still believed in  
what he was taught was the ideal of     
life1 and tried1 in a childish1         
uncertain way1 to act up to it4         
,,chapter ,,iii4  ,,ideal ,,and         
,,practice4   ,such was the boy who went

 to school1 and such was the mental and 
moral equipment with which he started4  
,he found himself in a new world4 ,he   
had stepped out of a woman's world into 
a man's1 out of the ,new ,testament into
 the ,old1 out of dreams into reality4  
,for the ideas and beliefs1 the         
knowledge and understanding1 the code of
 morality and conduct1 in a big school1 
are those of the world4 ,this filters   
down from the world of men to the world 
of little boys1 and the latter is the   
echo of the former4 ,it is an echo of   
the great world sounded by childish     
hearts1 but still a true echo4 ,then    
this boy began to learn new things1 a   
new morality vastly different from the  
old4 ,and this is what he learnt3 that  
it is not wrong to fight1 but right4    
,fighting is not evil but good1 all     
kinds of fighting4 ,the profession of a 
soldier is a great and worthy one1      
perhaps the highest4 ,to fight men1 to  
kill them and subdue them1 is not bad   
but good--provided1 of course1 it is in 

a good cause4 ,a war is not a           
regrettable necessity1 but a very       
glorious opportunity4 ,both men and boys
 rejoice to know of battles greatly     
fought1 of blood and wounds1 of death   
and victory4 ,it makes the heart bound  
to hear of such things4 ,everyone should
 wish to be able to do them--in a good  
cause4 ,is not the cause of our country 
always a good cause8 ,when this boy     
arrived at school he learnt suddenly    
that a war was going on4 ,it was a small
 frontier war such as we often have4 ,he
 had not heard of it at home4 ,now he   
heard of it all day4 ,masters announced 
publicly any victory1 holidays were     
given for them1 out of school hours the 
boys talked of little else4 ,the        
illustrated papers were full of sketches
 of the war1 and the weekly papers of   
accounts of marches and battles4 ,boys  
who had relations1 fathers1 or uncles1  
or elder brothers1 at the front rose    
into sudden fame4 ,big boys who were    
hoping to pass into ,sandhurst or       

,woolwich were heroes2 the school was   
full of the enthusiasm of the success of
 our armies4 ,parties were formed and   
generals were appointed2 hillocks in the
 play green were defended and assaulted1
 and many grievous blows were given in  
these mimic fights4 ,one boy nearly lost
 his eye4 ,to the boy of which ,i am    
writing all this was new1 it was new and
 delightful1 and extraordinarily wicked4
  ,this was not his only awakening1 this
 was not the only subject on which he   
learnt new rules4 ,soldiers must fight1 
and so must boys1 if necessary1 in a    
good cause4 ,to a soldier all causes are
 good when his country bids2 to a boy   
all causes are good when his school code
 tells him4 ,turn the other cheek8 ,be  
called a funk and a coward1 be derided  
and scorned by all the school1 be told  
to be ashamed1 and1 worse than all1 feel
 that he ought to be and was ashamed8   
,not so4 ,not so4 ,a boy must fight1    
too1 when his schoolboy honour bids4 ,he
 even learnt more still than this4      

,battle was not always a disagreeable   
necessity1 it was in itself often a     
pleasure4 ,to drink delight of battle   
with his peers is no poet's rhetorical  
phrase2 it is a truth4 ,there is a sheer
 muscular physical pleasure in fighting1
 as all boys know4 ,true blows hurt1 but
 the blows that hurt most are not on the
 body1 and there is1 too1 a moral       
strength1 a moral pleasure1 that comes  
from battles4 ,it is not disgraceful to 
fight1 it is not even disgraceful to be 
beaten1 but it would often be very      
disgraceful not to fight1 to turn the   
other cheek4 ,all wars are not bad      
things4 ,they are the storms of ,god    
stirring up the stagnant natures to new 
purity and life4 ,the people that cannot
 fight shall die4 ,he learnt this       
lesson1 not as ,i have written it4 ,he  
did not realise it1 he did not put it   
into words as ,i have done4 ,it sank    
into him unconsciously as the previous  
teaching had done--and sorely they      
disagreed with each other4 ,he learnt   

other lessons1 many of them1 in the same
 way4 ,he learnt that money is not an   
evil but a good4 ,when he found his     
pocket-money short this soon dawned upon
 him1 and the lesson did not end there4 
,he found that wealth was almost        
worshipped1 that it had very great      
power4 ,he found everyone engaged in the
 race for wealth1 everyone4 ,his        
spiritual pastors and masters were no   
more exempt than anyone else4 ,they     
encouraged the race4 ,a boy's schooling 
was looked upon as his preparation for  
the battle of life in which he was to   
struggle for money and honours4 ,men who
 had attained them were held up to his  
admiration4 ,not the pale-faced curates 
of the ,east ,end1 but the great        
statesman and soldier1 the bishops1 the 
lawyers1 the writers1 the successful    
merchants who had once been at the      
school1 were emblazoned on the wall4 ,no
 meek1 struggling curate would find a   
niche there4 ,the race was to the       
strong1 not the weak4 ,he was learning  

the law of the survival of the fittest1 
and he was further learning that the    
,sermon on the ,mount is not a guide to 
be the fittest1 in this world at any    
rate4  ,i must try again and guard      
against misconception4 ,the school was a
 good school1 the tone was good1 the    
masters were all men of high character1 
of considerable learning4 ,no school    
could have been better taught2 but this 
was the teaching of the school1 as it is
 and must be of all schools that are    
worth anything3 a boy must be brought up
 on truths1 not imaginings2 he must     
learn laws1 not aspirations2 he must be 
prepared for the world as it is1 not as 
a visionary might see it4  ,therefore   
this boy learnt at school the great code
 of conduct which obtains in the world4 
,shortly1 it is this3 not to be         
quarrelsome1 but to be ready always to  
fight for a good cause1 be the fighting 
with sword or fist1 with pen or tongue1 
by word or deed1 and when fighting to   
hit hard and spare not4 ,he learnt to   

desire and strive for wealth and honour1
 which are good things1 not in          
immoderate excess1 which injures other  
forms of happiness1 but in due and      
proper amount4 ,he learnt that he should
 speak the truth in most things1 but not
 in all4 ,there are worse things than   
some lies4 ,there are some lies that are
 not a disgrace1 but an honour4 ,he     
learnt that learning was not a snare1   
but a very necessary and very admirable 
thing also1 and of all learning that    
knowledge of the world1 the wicked      
world1 the flesh and the devil1 was the 
most necessary4 ,such in broad lines    
were what he learnt from his            
schoolfellows1 the code filtered down   
from above1 the code of a public school4
 ,a very admirable code1 but how        
different from what he had first learnt4
 ,there were worlds between them1 the   
immensity that lies between fact and    
ideal4  ,and yet all this time1 while   
this public school code was being driven
 into him by precept and example1 by    

coercion and by blows1 all this while1  
every morning at prayers and every      
,sunday thrice1 he heard the other code 
taught in the school chapel4 ,the       
masters taught it1 and the boys were    
supposed to accept and believe          
it--during chapel hours4 ,once chapel   
was over1 once ,monday morning came1 and
 the other code ruled4 ,no one          
remembered the theoretic code of        
,christ4 ,boys who brought it forward in
 daily life were disliked4 ,they were   
not bullied1 no6 but they were left     
alone4 ,the tone of the school would    
never have allowed bullying for such a  
cause1 but there was an instinctive     
repulsion to those boys who talked      
religion4 ,the others inwardly accused  
them of cant4 ,boys who alleged         
religious reasons for refusing to fight1
 to poach1 to smoke occasionally1 to    
commit other little breaches of         
discipline1 were suspected of bringing  
forth religion as a cloak to hide the   
fact that they were afraid to fight and 

poach and that smoking made them sick4  
,that they were very often rightly      
suspected this boy had no doubt4 ,it was
 his first introduction to cant1 and it 
surprised him4 ,was1 then1 the attempt  
to realise the precepts of ,christ in   
daily life either a folly or an         
hypocrisy8 ,as far as he could see it   
was both4  ,it must not1 of course1 be  
imagined that he thus faced the problem 
and gave this answer4 ,he no more faced 
the problem than any other boy does1    
than the great majority of men do4 ,he  
simply grew up according to his         
surroundings1 agreeing with them1       
accepting the rule he found accepted1   
developing as his environments made him4
 ,but although he did not mentally face 
and enumerate his difficulties1 he was  
aware of them just the same4 ,he was    
clearly conscious of a conflict between 
fact and theory1 between teaching and   
example1 between reality and dreams4 ,he
 became year after year also more       
clearly aware of a repugnance rising    

within him to religion and to religious 
teaching4 ,he shrank from it without    
realising why4 ,he supposed it was just 
his natural sin4 ,it was1 of course1    
that he was proving its unreality as a  
guide to life4 ,he began to shrink1 too1
 from all religious topics1 from        
religious services and religious books4 
,they jarred on him4 ,he found himself  
also losing his reverence for his       
religious teachers--for all his         
teachers1 in fact--for they all         
professed religion4 ,their words had    
grated on him first1 the difference     
between what they professed to believe  
and what he knew they did believe4      
,unaware of the reason till much later1 
almost unconsciously there grew up in   
him a contempt towards all his teachers 
and masters1 a sense that they must be  
and were hypocrites and impostors4 ,he  
found himself at eighteen far adrift    
from all guidance and counsel1 shunning 
religion because he saw that the        
teachings of ,christ were quite         

unadapted for the world he had to live  
in1 scornful of and contemning his      
teachers for what seemed to him         
hypocrisy4  ,it was not a satisfactory  
state for a boy1 and the less so because
 it was still almost unconscious4 ,he   
felt all that ,i have said1 the         
avoidance1 the dislike1 but he had not  
yet faced it to himself and said1 ,why  
does ,christianity jar upon me and seem 
unreal1 what are its difficulties8 ,nor1
 ,what is it that causes my dislike and 
contempt of my teachers8 ,they are      
better men in all ways than ,i am4 ,they
 are good men4 ,i shall never be as     
good4 ,i honour them in their lives4 ,i 
admit that4 ,what is the difficulty8 ,he
 was adrift without compass or pilot1   
and he did not know it4 ,yet he was     
already far from the safe harbour of    
trust and belief4 ,the storms and       
darkness of the sea of life were before 
him1 and there was no star by which he  
could steer4 ,he made no effort1 raised 
as yet no alarm1 for he knew not that   

his anchor had dragged1 that he had lost
 hold1 perhaps never to regain it4      
,,chapter ,,iv4  ,,scientific           
,,theology--,i4   ,about this time he   
read the ,origin of ,species and ,the   
,descent of ,man4 ,this surprised him4  
,it was not only that this was his first
 introduction to the science of biology1
 his first peep behind the curtain of   
modern forms into the coulisses of the  
world that interested him1 but there was
 here contained a complete refutation1 a
 disastrous overthrow1 of all that      
system of the ,creation which he had    
been taught4  ,if ,darwin was right1 and
 he seemed to be right--nay1 even his   
once adversaries now admitted he was    
right1 if not in his details yet in his 
broad outline--if he was right then was 
,genesis all wrong4 ,there was never any
 garden of ,eden1 never any seven days' 
creation1 never any making of woman out 
of a rib2 the world was not six thousand
 years old1 but millions4 ,man himself  
could count his pedigree back tens of   

thousands of years4 ,it was a fable2 and
 not only was it a fable1 but this fable
 contained as a kernel not a truth--then
 it would be understood--but a          
falsehood4 ,the theory of the whole     
story was that man had fallen1 that he  
used to be perfect1 that he walked with 
,god1 but that he fell4 ,such was the   
idea4 ,and the continuation was that    
,christ was required to atone to ,god   
for man's disobedience1 to lead man     
slowly back to the ,paradise he had     
lost4  ,and now it was clear that the   
garden of ,eden was all a fable1 that   
man had never been perfect1 that he had 
evolved slowly out of the beast4 ,he had
 risen1 not fallen1 and stood now higher
 than ever before4 ,the first part was  
false1 and if so1 must not the sequence 
be false also8 ,as a whole the fable    
held together2 destroy the foundation   
and the superstructure must come        
crashing into ruin4 ,oh6 it was all     
false1 the whole of it1 ,old and ,new   
,testament together1 an old woman's     

tale4 ,and then suddenly his eyes were  
opened4 ,he saw many things4 ,his       
instincts that he had not understood    
were now clear4 ,yes1 of course1 the    
supernatural part was all a fable1 a    
mistake2 nay1 more1 it taught the       
reverse of truth1 and the moral part of 
it was all wrong too4 ,the morality of  
the ,old ,testament was that of a       
savage1 the morality of the ,new a      
remarkable ideal totally unfit for the  
world as it is now or ever has been4    
,the man who followed it would commit a 
terrible error4 ,it was therefore untrue
 also2 more than merely untrue1 it was  
dangerous1 as a false teacher must be4  
,for long he had instinctively seen that
 this was so1 now he knew why4 ,at the  
touch of science the whole fabric of    
religion fell into dust4 ,christianity  
was a fraud1 and there was an end of it4
  ,but still the church bells rang and  
the people went there4 ,priests preached
 this belief and people held to it4     
,darwin had written more than ten years 

before and his book had been accepted1  
but still religion had not fallen4 ,men 
and women1 as far as he could see nearly
 all men and women1 still professed     
themselves ,christians4 ,how was all    
this possible8 ,how could it be that    
this disproved ,jewish fable still held 
together8 ,it was wonderful4 ,there must
 be a reason4 ,what is it8  ,can it be  
possible1 he thought1 that there is an  
explanation1 that religion can justify  
itself1 that it may still have reason8  
,there are people who call themselves   
scientific theologians4 ,they write     
books and they preach1 and they can be  
asked questions4 ,what have they to say8
 ,so this boy collected some of his     
difficulties and tried to find out what 
scientific theology thought of them4    
,let me name briefly some of them3--    
,the ,fall of ,man4--,theology says he  
fell1 science says he rose4 ,what does  
,scientific ,theology say8  ,the        
,character of ,god4--,in the ,old       
,testament ,god is represented          

frequently as bloodthirsty1 as partial  
to the ,jews1 as unjust1 as given to    
anger1 as changeable4 ,how is this8     
,again1 ,god is represented as the only 
,almighty1 the only ,all-present1       
,all-seeing1 ,all-powerful2 yet without 
a doubt the facts detailed show the     
,devil to be certainly ,all-present1    
and1 as far as man here is concerned1   
has considerably more power and         
influence than ,god4 ,god made the      
world1 but the ,devil possesses it4     
,why8  ,prayer4--,how can this be       
necessary8 ,if ,god knows best what is  
good for us1 why pray to ,him8 ,can ,he 
be influenced8 ,the ,bible says yes4    
,then is not this a very extraordinary  
thing1 that if ,god knows what is best  
for us1 ,he should have to be asked to  
do it--that ,he won't do it unless      
asked8  ,about ,christ4 ,he was ,god1   
yet ,he died to atone to ,himself for   
the sin of man4 ,what is the meaning of 
all this8 ,why did ,god allow man to    
crucify ,himself in order to atone to   

,himself for a former sin of man1 and   
what is the meaning of all this8 ,has it
 any8  ,most important of all1 as to the
 example and teaching of ,christ        
regarding conduct4 ,what did it mean1   
and why did everyone profess it and no  
one believe it8  ,these1 of course1 were
 not all his difficulties4 ,there were  
hundreds of them4 ,there is not a verse 
in the ,old or ,new ,testament1 not a   
dogma1 not a belief of ,christianity1   
that does not furnish ground for        
question4 ,these ,i have mentioned are  
but some of the most prominent4 ,they   
will serve as examples of what he sought
 to learn4  ,and these were the answers 
he received4  ,the ,history of the      
,creation is an allegory4 ,it is not in 
conflict with science1 but in accordance
 with it4 ,there is no difficulty4 ,the 
seven days of creation mean seven       
periods2 we do not know how long these  
were4 ,the chronology of ,archbishop    
,usher was1 of course1 in error4 ,it is 
a wonderful testimony to the inspiration

 of the ,bible1 the accuracy with which 
the account of ,creation therein fits in
 with the facts we have recently learnt4
  ,the story of ,adam and ,eve is an    
allegory of life4 ,a child is born      
innocent and pure1 and he falls4 ,the   
knowledge therein referred to1 the      
fruit1 means useless questions into the 
secrets of ,god1 such questions as you  
are now engaged in4 ,had you accepted   
,christianity as a child does you would 
never have fallen into the slough of    
infidelity in which you are now4 ,you1  
like ,eve1 have been tempted by the     
,devil with the fruit of the knowledge  
of good and evil1 and have fallen4 ,but 
the help of ,christ1 the knowledge that 
he died for you1 can now save you4 ,that
 is the answer4  ,you ask of the        
character of ,god in the ,old           
,testament4 ,you say that ,he is        
represented by ,his acts as revengeful1 
as unjust1 as hasty1 as very partial4   
,man cannot criticise the acts of ,god4 
,he may seem to you so1 but are you sure

 you can judge rightly8 ,god cannot be  
all these4 ,his injustice1 ,his         
revengefulness1 ,his partiality were    
merely effects produced in your mind4   
,they do not exist4 ,he is all-merciful1
 and all-seeing1 and all-powerful4 ,if  
the ,devil seems to have more power in  
the world than ,god1 it is simply       
because ,god allows him4 ,if the ,devil 
seems all-present it is because he has  
legions of demons to do his will4 ,god  
is all-merciful1 all-powerful1 all-just2
 believe this and you will do well4 ,the
 answers to your difficulties about     
prayer are also very simple4 ,god is not
 influenced by prayer4 ,he is merciful  
and will always do what ,he knows to be 
best for you1 whether you pray or not2  
but ,he has ordained prayer for you1 not
 because of its effect on ,him1 but     
because of its effect upon yourself4    
,prayer1 humiliation1 softens the heart 
of the suppliant4 ,his cry to ,god will 
not change ,god1 but will change him4   
,this is the explanation4 ,it is very   

simple1 is it not8  ,the doctrine of the
 ,trinity can be best understood from an
 analogy of man4 ,consider how a man can
 be a father1 a husband1 and a son all  
at once4 ,there is no difficulty here4  
,where1 then1 is the difficulty with    
,god8 ,god as the ,father of man1 the   
righteous ,judge who punishes man for   
his wickedness1 ,he vindicated ,his law2
 but ,god the ,son1 the pitying nature  
of ,god1 had compassion on man1 and     
therefore gave ,himself as a sacrifice  
for man2 ,god the ,holy ,ghost1 the     
,spirit of ,god1 entered into man's     
heart and sanctified it4 ,cannot you    
thus understand the manifold nature of  
,god8  ,the teaching of ,christ8 ,his   
example8 ,you do not understand that8   
,was not ,his life the perfect life1    
,his teaching the perfect teaching8 ,you
 say that this teaching cannot be       
followed now in its entirety4 ,is it not
 the wickedness of man that prevents it8
 ,did each man act up to this teaching1 
to this example1 would it not be a      

perfect world8 ,let each man try his    
best and the world will improve4 ,such  
as ,i have written were the answers he  
found to his questions4 ,i do not say   
that these are always the answers that  
are given4 ,it may be there are others4 
,it may be that in the years that have  
passed since then new explanations have 
been evolved4  ,although ,i do not think
 that is so1 as only a year ago ,i saw  
some of these very replies written in a 
well-known ,review as the authoritative 
answer of scientific theology to these  
difficulties4 ,however that may be1     
these are the answers the boy received1 
such were the guides given to lead him  
out of the darkness of scepticism into  
the light of faith4     ,,chapter ,v4   
,,scientific ,,theology--,,ii4   ,what  
thought the boy of these explanations8  
,do you think they helped him at all8   
,do you think he was able to accept them
 as real8 ,did they throw any light into
 the darkness of his doubts8  ,the boy  
took them and considered them4 ,he      

considered them fairly1 ,i am sure2 he  
would have accepted them if he could4   
,for what he was looking for was simply 
guidance and light4 ,he had no desire   
for aught but this4 ,if he revolted now 
from the faith of his people it was     
because he found there neither teaching 
he could accept nor help4 ,if the       
scientific theologian shewed him that   
the error was in him and not in the     
faith the boy would1 ,i think1 have been
 glad4 ,so he took these explanations   
and considered them1 and this is what he
 thought4  ,they tell me that the seven 
days of creation are seven epochs4 ,i   
did not ask that4 ,to my question       
whether man has fallen1 as the ,bible   
says1 or risen1 as science declares1 no 
reply has been given4  ,there is only a 
specious likening of a man's life1      
saying that man falls from the innocence
 of his childhood to sin through the    
knowledge of evil1 and requires         
redemption4 ,my question is avoided1 and
 a new sophism given me which is also   

untrue4 ,a child is not innocent4 ,it is
 only ignorant and weak4 ,its natural   
impulses are those of a savage4 ,it     
requires to learn the knowledge of good 
and evil to subdue these instincts4     
,this symbolism of the child is utterly 
false4 ,a child is to us a very         
beautiful thing because its tenderness1 
its helplessness1 its clinging affection
 awaken in us feelings of love1 of      
protection1 which we feel are beautiful4
 ,all men should1 all men ,i think do1  
love children1 but the beauty is in the 
man's emotions that are awakened1 not in
 those qualities of the children that   
awaken them4  ,to go beyond this and say
 that a child should be a model to man  
is to display ignorance of what children
 are1 to mistake effect for cause1 to   
exalt childishness into a virtue4       
,theologians use this argument1 which is
 merely a play upon our affection for   
children1 to try and induce us to accept
 their theology with the same ignorant  
confidence that a child accepts all it  

is told by its parents4 ,it would suit  
theologians for all men to be babes in  
this sense1 in their senselessness4 ,but
 if theology will bear the light of     
reason1 why ask us to accept it blindly8
 ,why8 ,is it because it will not bear  
scrutiny8  ,and surely of all the       
answers1 this answer about the character
 of ,god is the most extraordinary4 ,god
 is not really unjust or partial1 or    
revengeful4 ,that is merely the         
impression ,his acts make on us4 ,truly 
here is an argument4 ,how can anyone1   
even ,god1 be judged except in ,his     
acts8 ,if ,his acts are revengeful1 is  
not ,he revengeful8 ,no6 says the       
theological scientist1 that is merely   
your ignorance4 ,events make a wrong    
impression on you4  ,how1 then1 am ,i to
 judge which are wrong and which are    
right impressions8 ,god acts1 as it     
seems to me1 angrily2 ,he is not angry4 
,on other occasions ,he acts1 as it     
seems1 mercifully4 ,how am ,i to know   
that this impression of mercy is not an 

error8 ,how1 in fact1 am ,i to know that
 anything exists at all8 ,if ,god's     
anger and partiality and changeableness 
are merely impressions of my mind1 are  
not all ,his attributes merely          
impressions also1 and do not exist8 ,in 
fact1 is not ,god ,himself merely an    
impression and ,he does not exist8      
,where are you going to stop8 ,the      
theologian will doubtless say1 ,when ,i 
tell you4 ,but then he is unfortunately 
arrogating to himself an authority which
 does not exist1 an authority to twist  
and turn the ,bible to suit his own     
sophisms1 an authority to bind your mind
 which no one has given him4            
,impressions forsooth4 ,what impressions
 can any candid mind have of the        
scientific theologian8 ,and when the boy
 read the explanation of the difference 
between the all-presence of ,god and the
 all-presence of ,satan1 ,i am afraid he
 laughed4  ,but prayer is a serious     
matter4 ,no one can feel anything but   
sorrow to see the explanation of ,god   

and prayer4 ,the theological scientist  
again repeats the ,bible words and has  
his own explanation4 ,no1 ,god is not   
moved by prayer4 ,this is merely another
 wrong impression of ours1 an impression
 taken from the ,bible words4 ,the      
action of prayer is not objective1 but  
subjective2 its effect is not on ,god1  
but on you4  ,now mark what he has led  
himself into4 ,prayer will purify a man4
 ,to ask ,god for what he wants won't   
make the slightest difference in ,god's 
acts1 but will in your own feelings4    
,nevertheless1 as of course no one would
 or could pray unless he hoped to be    
answered1 man must be told that ,god    
does listen4 ,but this is not true4     
,therefore1 according to theological    
science1 the ,bible directly tells us a 
falsehood in order to lead us into a    
good action4 ,is there any escape from  
this8 ,there is none4 ,the whole meaning
 and reason of prayer is that ,god does 
listen1 that ,he does forgive if asked1 
that ,he does help us and save us4      

,unless a man held this belief firmly he
 would not pray4 ,try and you will see4 
,imagine to yourself1 as the theologian 
declares1 that ,god is quite unmoved by 
prayer1 and that the action of prayer is
 subjective1 and see if you can get up  
any prayer at all4 ,it is impossible4   
,how much fervency will there be in a   
request you know will not be granted or 
attended to8 ,how much subjective action
 will follow that prayer8 ,the          
subjective action is absolutely         
dependent on your belief that ,god does 
listen and is influenced by your prayer4
 ,but the scientific theologian says    
your premise is false4  ,can you imagine
 this theologian's prayer8 ,can you see 
him kneeling and uttering supplications 
to a god whom he knows he cannot affect 
or influence1 and pausing now and then  
to see how the subjective effect on     
himself was getting on8 ,but it is not  
even a subject to be bitter over1 only  
to be sad4 ,truly1 if ,i wanted to make 
a man an atheist and a scoffer1 a railer

 at all religion1 at all religious      
emotions1 at all that is best in our    
natures1 ,i would take him to a         
scientific theologian and have him      
taught the scientific theological theory
 of prayer4  ,and again1 though the boy 
understood how a man could be the son of
 his father1 the husband of his wife1   
the father of his son1 three different  
relations to three people1 it did not   
help him to understand how he could be  
so to one person4 ,a man cannot be his  
own son and his own father1 and have    
proceeding from him a third person      
different and yet the same4 ,the        
argument seemed to him childish4  ,as to
 the teaching of ,christ1 of what use is
 a teaching that is suitable only to an 
ideal state of things8 ,is it any use to
 me to tell me that if everyone agreed  
at once to follow this teaching the     
world would be perfect8 ,even if this   
were true1 what would be the use8 ,the  
world never has accepted it and does not
 do so now4 ,no one does except a few   

people who are called visionaries or    
fanatics4 ,even the ,quakers only accept
 a part1 and it is well for them that   
their fellow citizens do not accept even
 that part1 or these ,quakers would soon
 be robbed of their wealth4 ,a nation of
 ,quakers would be a nation of slaves4  
,all this talk of what would happen if  
at a given signal all the world became  
perfect is useless dream talk4 ,i want  
realities4 ,this code of ,christ is not 
a reality4 ,no quicker way of destroying
 civilization and all that it means     
could be desired than by attempting to  
follow it4 ,we must be ready and        
prepared to fight other nations1 we must
 have armies and navies1 and we must    
honour them4 ,we must have magistrates1 
and police1 and prisons1 and gallows4   
,i went1 thought the boy1 to these      
theological scientists1 for help in my  
everyday life1 for clear directions and 
explanations1 and what do they give me8 
,a mass of words meaning nothing1 words 
and words1 and tangled thoughts2 evasion

 and misrepresentation1 misty dreams and
 cloud-hidden ideals4 ,they cannot      
explain1 and therefore the whole thing  
is false4 ,there is no truth anywhere in
 it4 ,the whole teaching of the ,bible1 
from the ,creation down to the          
incarnation of ,christ and ,his second  
coming1 is one huge mistake4 ,why people
 keep on believing it ,i cannot say4    
,but anyhow ,i have found out its       
falseness1 and ,i will not4 ,let it all 
go4 ,it will make no difference and be  
rather an advantage4 ,what use have ,i  
ever had from this religion that has    
been dinned into me8 ,it gave me false  
ideas of the world and nature which ,i  
have had to unlearn4 ,it gave me an     
unworkable code of conduct which ,i     
never tried to follow1 but ,i got into  
trouble for it4 ,to call oneself a      
,christian is merely a way of talking4  
,no one is so really1 and the only      
difference between me and the others    
will be that while they are not         
,christians but think they are1 ,i am   

not a ,christian and know ,i am not4    
,was the boy glad or sorry8 ,i do not   
know4 ,i think perhaps he was both4 ,he 
felt like a man who has shaken off a    
burden1 a load that contained mere      
weight and no useful thing4 ,he would   
step more lightly in future4  ,but he   
felt1 too1 like a man who has skirted a 
precipice1 secure in that a railing     
fenced him in from danger1 when he      
suddenly discovers that the railing is  
decayed to the core and will vanish at a
 touch4 ,he felt dizzy and afraid1 and  
the feeling grew upon him4  ,may be1 he 
thought1 it is a good thing to have a   
religion4 ,people of all faiths1 of all 
nations1 seem to cling to theirs very   
strongly4 ,it is the one thing they     
cannot bear to lose4 ,yet ,i do not know
 what they get from it4 ,at least ,i do 
not know what people get from           
,christianity4 ,what ,i look for in a   
faith are these three things4  ,i wish  
an explanation of my origin1 of the     
origin of man and his relation to this  

world1 and to what there may be beyond  
this world4 ,i want an explanation ,i   
can accept1 and that is not contradicted
 by the knowledge we acquire from other 
sources than religion4  ,and ,i want a  
guide to life4 ,i want a guide to life  
as it is4 ,for ,i have to live in the   
world as it exists1 and ,i would have   
help and direction to do so well4 ,i    
want a teaching and an example ,i can   
refer to in my everyday troubles4       
,finally1 ,i would know something of the
 ,hereafter4 ,i would desire to hear of 
the after death4 ,i cannot believe that 
all non-,christians1 including myself   
and the majority of ,christians1 go to  
hell4 ,that is repulsive4 ,nor can ,i   
believe in the heavens they tell us of4 
,if all be true that they tell us1 it   
has no attraction this ,christian       
heaven4 ,to be for ever singing praises 
is not life but monotony4 ,did any man  
in health1 and strength1 and sanity ever
 yearn to die in order to reach this    
,heaven they tell us of8 ,did not       

,aucassin say long ago that if he were  
to believe the monks ,heaven was a place
 for the poor and maimed1 the foolish1  
the childish and silly1 the stupid1 the 
cowards1 the ugly1 the undesirable1 the 
failures of earth1 and that he cared not
 for it8 ,whoever was unfit for earth   
was the more fit for heaven4 ,no6 ,if   
there is another world it must be       
different from the conceptions of       
,heaven and ,hell as are taught4 ,and ,i
 would know4 ,these seem to me the      
essentials of religion4 ,they are the   
three things ,i want4 ,i have not found 
them4 ,it may be that in the other      
greater faiths that hold the world ,i   
may find what ,i seek4 ,i cannot say4   
,but meanwhile ,i must do without4 ,it  
is better to have no compass than a     
faulty one4 ,it is better to watch for  
the stars1 even if the night be thick   
and it be hard to see4  ,such1 ,i think1
 was what he thought4 ,whether he ever  
found what he sought1 whether any faith 
can give what he asks1 whether indeed   

these three things are essentials of    
religion at all1 will be found in the   
latter part of the book4 ,this part is  
but the introduction to explain why and 
by whom the search was made1 and what   
was sought4     ,,chapter ,,vi4         
,,whence ,,faiths ,,come4   ,from the   
,east has come all our light4 ,all world
 religions have begun there1 have grown 
there1 have mostly spread there4        
,brahminism and ,buddhism1 ,judaism and 
,christianity1 ,mahommedanism and       
,parseeism1 the cult of the ,taoists and
 ,confucians1 every belief that has been
 a great belief1 that has led man       
captive1 has come from the ,east4 ,even 
the ,mythologies of ,greece and ,rome   
were from ,asiatic sources1 from        
,babylon and ,chaldea4 ,in the ,north we
 have originated only ,thor and ,odin1  
,balder and the ,valkyries4  ,i do not  
think anyone who has lived in the ,east 
can doubt why this has been so4 ,where  
is it man's thoughts are deepest and    
strongest1 where is it that his heart   

responds to the heart of the world until
 they beat throb for throb8  ,it is     
never in the ,north2 for the cold winds 
and dreary skies1 the rain and cloud and
 gloom1 do not draw a man out from      
himself1 but drive him in4 ,every keen  
breeze that blows1 every shower1 every  
grey day1 reminds him not of his soul   
but of his body4 ,it must be kept warm1 
it must be fed1 it must be housed4 ,he  
cannot forget that the outside world    
must be guarded against1 is an enemy to 
be feared4  ,and man must live in houses
 with other people4 ,he cannot be alone1
 he cannot ever feel alone with just    
himself and the world4 ,yet it is only  
in solitude1 when alone with ,nature1   
that she will talk to you4 ,for her     
voice is very low1 and there must be a  
great silence before she will tell her  
secrets4  ,but there in the ,east it is 
not so4 ,for weeks and months1 for half 
the year may be1 one perfect day is     
joined to another by more perfect       
nights4  ,only there can man be alone4  

,only there1 in the limitless silence of
 the desert1 in the unending forests1   
can you live and forget all other men1  
and yourself almost1 and be alone with  
,him who is ,god4  ,you want but little1
 no house to shelter you1 no fire1 but  
very little food and drink and clothes4 
,you do not feel that restless desire to
 do something born of cold winds and    
skies4 ,your roof by day is the palm or 
tamarind1 by night you watch the stars  
wheeling over your head4 ,there is no   
one to commune with but ,nature1 and if 
you love her as she should be loved2 if 
you woo her as she would be wooed2 if   
you can send out your soul to lose      
itself with her in the wonders of the   
infinite1 then shall you hear the music 
of the stars4  ,thus has all religion   
come from the land of the sun3 light is 
the fount of faith4  ,never till you    
have been to the ,east can you know what
 faith is4 ,have we not religion1 nay   
religions1 in the ,north8 ,yes1 but not 
as they have there4 ,do we not believe  

in the ,west8 ,yes1 but not as they     
believe4 ,faith lies there in the great 
distances1 in the dawn1 the noon1 the   
sunset1 in the holiness of the dark4 ,it
 has sunk into the heart of man4        
,consider1 what do you see when you land
 anywhere in the ,east1 what strikes you
 most1 what is most prominent1 not in   
the landscape1 but in the people8  ,it  
is their religion4  ,you watch the      
people in the streets and you ask1 ,why 
has the merchant in that shop trident   
marks on his forehead8 ,because he is a 
,hindu and follows ,vishnu4 ,and that   
clerk who gave me money in the bank1 why
 has he those other marks8 ,because he  
is a ,brahmin4 ,and that money-lender   
seems to have rubbed his forehead with  
ashes8 ,he is a ,chetty4  ,they carry   
their religion about with them1 they are
 proud of it1 they desire all men to    
know it4 ,see that man's beard1 he is a 
,mahommedan2 and yonder man with a green
 turban1 he is a ,seyid4 ,they would not
 desire you to doubt it4  ,did you ever 

see ,englishmen praying in the streets8 
,perhaps never4 ,certainly if ever you  
have seen it you condemned it as        
unnatural4 ,let him pray at home1 you   
have thought4 ,he is parading his piety4
 ,but here in the ,east it is different4
  ,go by the morning train1 leave       
,rangoon ,station when the sun is       
shining on the great pagoda1 and you    
will see men and women and children lean
 out of the carriage windows to salute  
it1 to murmur a prayer4 ,the ,mahommedan
 spreads his cloth and turns to ,mecca1 
and prays no matter where he may be4 ,he
 is not ashamed4 ,it does not seem to   
him strange4 ,he does it absolutely     
naturally1 as all these people do all   
the things that pertain to their faiths4
 ,neither his fellow-believers nor the  
adherents of other faiths wonder4  ,the 
,hindu may hate the ,mahommedan for     
social reasons1 and the ,buddhist may   
hate both1 but they do not despise each 
other for being religious4  ,it would   
never occur to a ,hindu to despise or   

jeer at a ,mahommedan for spreading his 
cloth at the street corner and praying4 
,he thinks the faith a mistaken faith1  
he would not have it4 ,but if a man is a
 ,mahommedan it is right of him to pray1
 of course4  ,i have never heard1 no one
 has ever heard1 one ,oriental jeer at  
another for being religious1 for obeying
 the commands of his faith4 ,but ,i have
 heard ,christians and teachers of      
,christianity do so very often4 ,we will
 jeer at a ,mahommedan for praying1 at a
 ,hindu for observing his caste1 at a   
,buddhist for raising his hands in      
honour to his pagoda1 at a ,chinaman for
 protecting the graves of his fathers4  
,for in the ,west we have never known   
what real religion is4 ,we have it not  
ourselves1 and so we cannot recognise   
and honour it in others4 ,no brave man  
will mock at another brave man1 though  
an enemy2 no one who has loved mocks at 
another lover1 though he love strange   
things4 ,only those jeer who do not     
know1 and the ,christians of the ,west  

jeer at the faiths of the ,east1 at the 
simple natural religion of the people1  
because they know not what religion of  
the heart can be4  ,in ,europe1 what    
difference does a man's faith make8     
,none4 ,he may live a lifetime with     
other men and no one know or care what  
his faith may be4 ,unless he is a poor  
man and in need of mission1 it is       
considered impertinence to ask4 ,but    
here in the ,east a man's faith is      
everything4 ,you cannot get away from it
 even for a moment4 ,it is an essential 
part of him4  ,there is another thing   
that strikes one very soon4 ,these      
,oriental religions have little or no   
organisation4 ,here in ,europe there is 
nothing so organised as religion4       
,consider the ,catholic faith and the   
organisation of ,rome4 ,it is a marvel  
of government1 of very strict government
 indeed4 ,and the other forms of        
,western ,christianity are not much     
behind4 ,the ,greek ,church is organised
 as a branch of ,government4 ,so1 too1  

to a lesser extent is the ,anglican     
,church1 and if the ,dissenting bodies1 
as we call them1 are not connected with 
the ,state1 they have nevertheless a    
strong system of government4  ,these    
organisations are not now1 of course1 so
 strong as they were4 ,they used to drag
 the men into religion by force1 by     
,state aid1 they used to insist on      
conformity and punish laxity of         
observance4 ,that is now gone1 but a    
strong and continuous pressure still    
exists1 exerted by the ,churches in many
 ways4 ,all ,churches in ,europe are    
always having missions4 ,our great      
cities are full of them1 and the country
 is not free of them4 ,there has to be a
 continual shepherding of the flock or  
the ,church might dwindle sadly4 ,men   
have to be preached at and caught one   
way or another4 ,all through ,europe    
immense sums are spent yearly in        
,christianising the poor4  ,in the ,east
 nothing of this exists4 ,there is no   
head of ,hinduism2 that of the ,sultan  

in ,mahommedanism is merely nominal2 how
 slight the organisation is of ,buddhism
 those who have read my former book will
 know4  ,hindus are guided by the race  
of ,brahmins1 who in turn are guided by 
no one4 ,they are a great community     
themselves1 without any organisation or 
binding authority4 ,they need no ,pope1 
no ,acts of ,uniformity4 ,they are      
,brahmins because they are so4 ,and so  
it may be said in general4 ,faiths in   
the ,east require no strong             
organisations to hold them together4    
,religion is innate in the believers4   
,it seems wonderful4 ,and they have no  
missions4 ,if a man feels the need of   
faith he will seek it and obtain it4 ,it
 is there for him if he will come4 ,and 
all do come4 ,how many millions in      
,europe1 even in ,england1 have no      
religious usages8 ,can you in the ,east 
find one man8  ,when you think of       
,europe and its faiths you seem to be in
 a garden where the hedges are carefully
 clipped and the flowers are trained and

 pruned1 and where you may not walk on  
the grass4 ,it is all order1 and method1
 and restriction1 for the flowers are   
exotics and would die without the       
tending1 they would vary if they were   
not kept true to type4 ,but the ,east is
 ,nature's garden1 where the flowers    
grow wild everywhere2 no one tends them 
or cares for them1 but each grows his   
own way1 developes his own power and    
strength1 from the lowest grasses to the
 gorgeous orchid or the poison lily4    
,therefore it may be that in this ,east1
 this country whence all religions have 
come1 where the whole air breathes of   
faiths and all life is full of them1 the
 man who has lost his early beliefs may 
learn new ones4 ,there is so much to    
choose from1 so many varieties of       
thought and emotion4  ,in this ,empire  
of ours are all the great religions4 ,it
 is the home of ,brahminism1 of the     
mystical forms of ,hinduism1 beyond     
which it has never spread4 ,there are   
more ,mahommedans here than under the   

,sultan of ,roum4 ,there are the        
,parsees here1 fugitives long ago from  
,persia on account of their faith1 the  
only sun worshippers who are left4      
,there are ,jews who came here no one   
can tell how long ago1 there are        
,christians who date back may be        
eighteen centuries1 there are ,armenians
 and ,arabs4 ,within this ,empire live  
the only race professing a ,buddhism    
that is pure and without superstition2  
and beside these there are a hundred    
other cults1 superstitions1 or          
religions1 call them what you will4     
,from the spirit worship of the ,shan   
plateau to the dignified philosophic    
theories of the ,brahmo ,somaj is a     
space as wide as the world can show1 yet
 may it be bridged with religions that  
differ but by small degrees till the    
whole be passed4  ,if anyone want a     
faith here are enough and to spare4     
,therefore1 thought the boy1 who had now
 become a man1 ,i will seek here for    
what ,i want4 ,i know what ,i want4 ,i  

have it clearly before me4 ,i have even 
written it down4 ,it is not as if ,i was
 undertaking a blind search for         
something of which ,i was not sure4     
,these are my three essentials3 a       
reasonable theory of the universe1 a    
workable and working code of conduct1 a 
promise in the after life that gives me 
something to really desire1 to really   
hope for1 to be a haven towards which ,i
 may steer4 ,i will take each subject1  
each section of a subject1 separately   
and read it up4 ,i will read up these   
faiths from books1 ,i will study them as
 ,i can from the people1 and ,i will see
 what they are4 ,surely somewhere can be
 found what ,i desire1 what ,i desire so
 greatly to find4     ,,chapter ,,vii4  
,,the ,,wisdom ,,of ,,books4            
,therefore the man got books and read   
them4 ,he read books on ,hinduism1 many 
of them2 he read the ,vedas and the     
sacred hymns4 ,he learnt of ,vishnu and 
,siva1 of ,krishna and the milkmaids4   
,he found books on caste and read them1 

of how these were originally four castes
 which subdivided4 ,he read of suttee   
and the car of ,juggernauth4 ,he then   
turned to ,mahommedanism and the life of
 ,mahommed4 ,he read the ,koran4 ,he    
learned the early history of the faith1 
of its rise1 of the glory of its result1
 of the fall of its great ,empire4 ,he  
saw it had much to do with ,judaism1    
there were great similarities1 there    
were also differences4 ,he read of      
,parseeism1 that taught by ,zoroaster   
which they call fire worship2 he read of
 ,jainism1 of the cult of the ,sikhs1 of
 many another strange faith2 he learned 
of the spirit worship of the aboriginal 
tribes among the mountains1 of ,phallic 
worship and its monstrosities4  ,he read
 of ,confucius and his teachings1 of    
,laotze and his doctrines1 of ancestor  
worship among the ,chinese1 of          
,shintoism in ,japan4  ,most of all he  
read about ,buddhism4 ,there was        
something here that attracted him more  
than in all the rest4 ,in the life of   

,gaudama the ,buddha he found a beauty  
that came to him as a charm1 in the     
teachings of the ,great ,teacher there  
seemed to him a light such as he had not
 seen4 ,mystery and miracle and the     
supernatural had always jarred on him1  
they had an unpleasant savour1 as of    
appeals to the lowest elements in the   
minds of the credulous and ignorant4    
,truth he thought should not need such  
meretricious attractions4 ,here was a   
faith that needed none of these things4 
,it could exist without them4 ,it       
contained explanations1 not dogmas4 ,it 
was reasonableness instead of hysteria1 
it denounced mysticism and the cult of  
the supernatural4  ,it took the man     
several years to read these books1 and  
he lived those years much alone4 ,his   
house lay half up a mountain side4      
,below him lay tangled masses of hills  
clothed with dense forest1 with here and
 there a clearing4 ,before him was a    
jagged mountain wall1 behind a great    
bare dome of rock4 ,it was always       

wonderful to sit and watch1 to see the  
sun rise in gold and crimson behind the 
peaks1 while all below lay in a white   
mist2 to watch the sun rays fall and the
 mist grow thinner1 showing faint       
outlines of tree clump and hill contour1
 till all the mist was gone and the     
world was full of golden light4 ,daily  
he saw the marvel of the dawn4 ,he      
learnt to love it as the most beautiful 
of things1 most beautiful because full  
of the promise of untold glory4 ,for the
 most part his life was very lonely4    
,there were the labourers who worked for
 him1 the black1 half-nude people who   
came in gangs in ,may and left in       
,february of each year4 ,they were not  
of his world4 ,he directed their work1  
he paid them1 but he did not know them4 
,he wondered at them1 that was all1 and 
there were scattered here and there     
throughout the hills other ,europeans1  
who lived much the same life as he did1 
and whom he met occasionally at their   
houses or his1 or at the club ten miles 

away4 ,he liked them1 some of them were 
his best friends1 a great part of his   
life was theirs also4  ,but there was1  
aside from his friends1 aside from the  
merry meetings1 the games1 the chaff1   
the laughter1 another life apart4 ,there
 was a life he lived to himself1 in     
another world it seemed4 ,his world was 
of the mountain and the fell1 of the    
brooks that laughed down the precipice1 
of the giant trees1 the tangled         
creepers1 the delicate orchid far above4
 ,his thoughts were with them and with  
his books1 for they should be brothers4 
,he read and he watched1 and he tried to
 understand2 he asked of nature the     
meaning of these religions1 to tell him 
the secret that he would know4 ,what is 
the truth of things--what do you mean8  
,and ,i----,what do ,i mean8 ,what is   
the secret of it all8  ,the mountains   
and the trees answered him and told him 
secrets1 the secrets of their hearts1   
but not the secret he would know4 ,they 
murmured to him of many things1 of      

beauty1 of love1 of peace1 of           
forgetfulness4 ,they sang the world's   
slumber song4  ,but of whence1 of how1  
of whither they told him nothing1 only  
they ceased talking when he asked1 they 
ceased their song and there was silence4
 ,they could not tell4  ,so he lay upon 
the rocks and read1 and the hills and   
trees wondered because they knew not of 
what he read4 ,take care1 they          
whispered2 why trouble8 ,life is so     
short1 surely it were wise to make the  
best of it2 for no one can answer what  
you ask4 ,we die and fall and new trees 
grow again1 the hills are newly clad    
each year4 ,the old return in new forms4
 ,we can tell of ourselves1 we are not  
afraid4 ,our lives are full of delight4 
,death has no terror for us4 ,but you8  
,of you we know nothing4 ,we have no    
echo to your words4  ,yet the man read  
on4 ,he dreamed and read and dreamed    
again4  ,i have three wants1 he said4 ,i
 would know whence ,i came1 ,i would    
have some rule to live by1 ,i would know

 whither ,i am going4 ,religions1 many  
religions profess to tell men these     
things1 surely somewhere there will be  
truth4 ,nearly all men are satisfied    
with their religion1 cannot ,i find one 
that satisfies me8 ,it is so little that
 ,i ask1 ,i have here so many answers4  
,amongst them ,i will be able to find   
what ,i want4 ,therefore he read on4    
,but in the thoughts of many teachers   
there is not clearness1 but confusion4  
,in a multitude of counsellors there is 
not wisdom1 only mist1 only the strange 
shadows made by many lights4 ,he found  
that he did not gain4 ,sometimes1 he    
said1 ,i agree with one1 sometimes with 
another4 ,no one seems to be altogether 
true4 ,there is ,truth1 perhaps1 but not
 the whole ,truth4 ,this will not do4   
,at last he said to himself that he     
would make a system4 ,he would take     
certain ideas from various faiths1 he   
would put them together1 he would       
compare them one by one and see what he 
learnt4  ,there is1 he said1 the ,first 

,cause4 ,what do religions say about    
this ,first ,cause8 ,there is ,brahma1  
and ,jehovah1 and ,ahriman1 with ,ormuz2
 there is the ,buddhist doctrine of     
,law1 there is the ,christian ,trinity4 
,these are some of the chief ideas4     
,what can be made of them8 ,have they a 
common truth8 ,are the great religions  
utterly at variance about this ,first   
,cause1 or can they agree8 ,i will take 
this point and consider it first4 ,what 
is the ,first ,cause8 ,then ,i will pass
 to another4 ,what does life mean8 ,why 
are we here8 ,is there any explanation  
of this8 ,for what object does man      
exist8 ,to what end8 ,he did not mean   
what is the end of man1 but what is the 
object of man1 of life8 ,to whom is it a
 benefit that man exists8 ,to ,god--if  
there be a ,god8 ,if not1 to whom8 ,it  
cannot be that existence is an aimless  
freak1 that it has no object4 ,but what 
can this object be8 ,what was to be     
gained by creating man at all8 ,that was
 question number two4 ,there is no      

answer to this question4  ,there were   
many other questions that he asked4 ,and
 when he had framed a question he sat   
down to his books to find the answer4   
,he worked at them as problems to be    
solved4 ,he sought in the various faiths
 described in his books the answers to  
these problems4 ,what he found will be  
shown in the next few chapters2 but let 
it be understood again how and why he   
sought4  ,he had been born in a faith   
and brought up in it1 and had abandoned 
it4 ,he left it because he sought in it 
certain helps to thought and to life    
that it seemed to him religion ought to 
give4 ,more1 it seemed to him that these
 answers were of the very essence of    
religion4 ,his fathers' faith gave him  
answers he could not accept1 it gave him
 a rule of life he could not follow1    
that seemed to him untrue4 ,yet would he
 not be satisfied with ignorance1 he    
would search further4 ,he wanted a      
religion1 a belief1 and he would find   
it4  ,for ,i want it to be understood   

very clearly that he was no scoffer1 no 
denier of religion4 ,it was the very    
reverse4 ,he so much wanted a faith1 it 
seemed to him such an eminently         
necessary thing1 that he would not be   
content till he had one that he could   
really accept and believe4 ,he hated    
doubt and half acceptance4 ,he wanted a 
truth that appealed to him as a whole   
truth1 that held no room for doubt4     
,all men1 he said1 have religion4 ,they 
love their faiths1 they find in them    
help and consolation and guidance1 at   
least they tell me so4 ,why am ,i to be 
left out8 ,men say that religion is a   
treasure beyond words4 ,then ,i1 too1   
would share in the treasure4 ,but ,i    
cannot take what has been offered me4   
,it does not seem to me to be true4 ,i  
cannot believe it4 ,this religion repels
 me4 ,i cannot say how greatly it repels
 me4 ,they say it is beautiful4 ,it must
 be so to some4 ,it is not so to me4    
,its music to me is not music1 but      
harshest discord4 ,it is not surely that

 ,i have no desire for religion1 no eye 
for beauty1 no ear for harmony1 ,i know 
it is not that4 ,no man loves beauty    
more than ,i do4 ,there are things in   
this faith ,i have rejected that appeal 
to me4 ,i see in other faiths1 too1     
ideas that are beautiful4 ,but no one   
seems all true1 and none answers my     
three questions4 ,yet will ,i look till 
,i find4  ,and meanwhile there are the  
hills and the woods4 ,these are my      
dreams4  ,but surely in my scheme ,i    
shall discover something4     ,,chapter 
,,viii4  ,,god4   ,sitting on the       
hillside when the hot season was coming 
near its end he saw the thunderstorms   
come across the hills4 ,from far away   
they came1 black shadows in the         
distance1 and the thunder like far off  
surf upon the shore4 ,nearer they would 
grow and nearer1 passing from ridge to  
ridge1 their long white skirts trailing 
upon the mountain sides1 until they came
 right overhead and the lightning       
flashed blindingly1 while the thunder   

roared in great trumpet tones that      
shuddered through the gorges4 ,the man  
watched them and he saw how gods were   
born4 ,it was ,thor come back           
again--,thor with his hammer1 ,thor with
 his giant voice4 ,thus were born the   
gods1 ,thor and ,odin1 ,balder ,god of  
the ,summer ,sun1 ,apollo and ,vulcan1  
,ahriman and ,ormuz1 night and day4  ,so
 were born all the gods4 ,you can read  
of it in ,indian1 in ,greek1 in ,roman1 
in ,norwegian mythology1 in any         
mythology you like4 ,you can see the    
belief living still among the ,chins1   
the ,shans1 the ,moopers2 for them the  
storm-wind and earthquake1 the great    
rivers and the giant hills1 all these   
have causes1 and they who cause them are
 gods4 ,from these have grown all the   
ideas of ,god that the peoples hold now4
 ,they were originally local1 local to  
the place1 local to the people1 and as  
the people progressed so did their ideas
 of ,god4  ,it seemed to the man lying  
on his hillside easy to follow how it   

all arose2 for1 indeed1 was it not going
 on about him8 ,did not the forest      
people speak of a god in the great bare 
rock behind him8 ,were there not gods in
 the ravines1 gods in the hidden places 
of the hills8 ,it was so easy to realise
 as he watched the storm-cloud bursting 
before him1 as the lightning flashed and
 the thunder trumpet sounded in the     
hills1 that men should personify these4 
,nay1 more1 he saw the wild men about   
him actually personifying them4 ,he     
could understand4  ,god was the answer  
to a question2 as the question grew so  
did the reply4  ,the savage asks but    
little4 ,he does not ask ,who am ,i8    
,who made the world1 and why8 ,such     
questioning comes but in later years4   
,he fears the thunder2 it is to him a   
great and wonderful and overpowering    
thing4 ,it forces itself upon his       
notice1 and he explains it as the voice 
of a greater man1 a ,god4 ,he lives in  
the heavens1 for ,his voice comes from  
thence4 ,the giant peaks that swathe    

themselves in clouds1 the volcano and   
the earthquake1 the great river flowing 
for ever to the sea1 with its strange   
floods1 its eddies1 its deadly undertow1
 in these too must be gods4 ,these are  
the first things that force themselves  
upon his dim observance4 ,he wonders1   
and from his wonder is born a god4 ,but 
as he grows in mental stature1 in power 
of seeing1 in power of feeling1 he      
observes other forces4 ,how is the      
heaven held up1 the great heavy dome as 
he imagines it8 ,it is ,atlas who does  
so4 ,there is a god of the ,autumn and  
,spring1 of the ,summer and ,winter4 ,so
 he personifies all forces he perceives 
but does not understand4 ,for he has no 
idea of force except as emanating from a
 ,person1 of life which is not embodied 
in some form like his own or that of    
some animal4 ,whenever anything is done 
it must be ,some ,one who does it1 and  
that ,some ,one is like himself1 only   
greater and stronger4  ,there is not in 
the savage god any conception differing 

from that of man4 ,there is not in any  
god any realisable conception different 
from that of man4 ,the savage god is    
hungry and thirsty1 requires clothes and
 houses1 has in all things passions and 
wants like a man4 ,that makes the god   
near to the man4 ,with later gods is it 
different8 ,god can be realised only by 
means of the qualities ,he shares with  
man4 ,deduct from your idea of ,god all 
human passions1 love and forgiveness1   
and mercy1 and revenge1 and punishment1 
and what is left8 ,only words and       
abstractions which appeal to no one1 and
 are realisable by no one4 ,declare that
 ,god requires neither ears to hear nor 
eyes to see1 nor legs to walk with1 nor 
a body1 and what is left8 ,nothing is   
left4 ,when anyone1 savage or           
,christian1 realises ,god he does so by 
qualities ,god shares with man4 ,god is 
the ,big ,man who causes things4 ,that  
is all4 ,to say that ,god is a spirit   
and then to declare that a spirit       
differs in essence from a man is playing

 with words4 ,no realisable conception  
does or can differ4  ,the conception of 
force by itself is but a very late idea4
 ,as one by one the phenomena of nature 
attract man's observation he personifies
 them4 ,it will be noticed that unless a
 force intrudes itself on him he does   
not personify it4 ,what people ever     
personified gravity8 ,and why not8      
,surely gravity is evident enough4      
,every time a savage dropped a stone on 
his toes he would recognise gravity4    
,but no4 ,that a stone falls to the     
ground because a force draws it is an   
idea very late to enter man's brain4 ,it
 seems to him1 as he would say1 the     
nature of a stone to fall4 ,and then    
gravity acts always in the same way4 ,it
 is not intermittent--like lightning1   
for instance4 ,therefore he never       
conceives of gravity as a force at all4 
,when men had come to perceive that it  
was a force1 they had passed the        
personifying stage4 ,but the savage     
personified each force as he perceived  

it4 ,first the sun and storm1 till at   
last he came to himself and began to    
study his own life4 ,he had good and bad
 luck2 that was ,fortune4 ,evil deeds   
are done1 and good2 he is beginning to  
classify and generalise2 there are gods 
of ,good and ,evil4 ,he has come to     
,ormuz and ,ahriman little by little2 as
 his power of generalising progresses1  
he drops the smaller gods4 ,they        
disappear1 they are but attributes of   
greater gods4 ,and as he grows in mental
 grasp and makes himself the centre of  
his world1 so does the ,god of ,man     
become the ,god of ,nature too4 ,the    
greater absorbs the lesser4  ,the ,god  
who cared for man1 the ,god of his past1
 of his present1 of his future1 is      
become the great ,god4 ,he rules all the
 gods until he alone is ,god4  ,so it   
seemed to the man that ,god arose1 never
 out of reason1 always out of instinct4 
,there was no difference4 ,it is all the
 same story4 ,there is innate in all men
 a tendency to personify the forces they

 cannot understand4 ,because they want  
an explanation1 and personality is the  
only one that offers at first4 ,to      
attribute effects to persons is         
aboriginal science4 ,to attribute them  
to natural laws is later science4 ,each 
is the answer to the same question4 ,men
 personify forces in different ways     
according to their mental and emotional 
stature1 to their capacity for          
generalising4 ,they express their ideas 
in different ways according to their    
race and their country4 ,the ,hindu     
began with a god in each force1 to      
represent each idea1 and so the lower   
people still remain1 afraid of many     
gods4 ,but those of mental stature      
gradually generalised1 till at last they
 came to one ,god1 ,brahm1 and the      
lesser gods as emanating from him4 ,this
 was a hierarchy2 and then finally the  
greatest thinkers came to one ,god only1
 and the idea that the lesser gods are  
but representatives of ,his manifold    
nature4 ,you can see all the stages     

before you now4 ,it is simply a question
 of brain power1 and the sequence       
remains the same4 ,first the lesser1    
then the greater4 ,it is never the other
 way on4  ,so does ,christian mythology 
personify three ideas of ,god1 as a     
,trinity1 as three ,persons in ,one1 and
 a ,devil4 ,the ,hindu would express    
such a conception of ,god by a god with 
three heads4 ,christianity1 rejecting   
such crude symbolism1 does so by a      
mystical creed4 ,the ,devil is being    
dropped4 ,but the ,jew and the          
,mahommedan have only one ,god4 ,all    
force emanates from ,him4 ,he is the    
,cause of all things4 ,he is ,one4  ,and
 yet it is not a reasoned answer1 but an
 instinctive one4 ,the savage1 no more  
than the ,christian1 does not reason out
 his ,god4 ,the feeling1 the            
understanding of ,god is innate1        
abiding--never the result of a mental   
process4 ,the idea of ,god is a thing in
 itself2 it grows with the brain1 but it
 is not the result of any process of the

 brain2 just as a forest tree grows the 
greater in richer soil4  ,as the idea of
 gods increased in majesty1 as the      
numbers decreased and became merged in  
three1 in two1 or in one1 so did their  
power increase4 ,the gods were at first 
but local1 local to the place1 local to 
the tribe4 ,so was the ,god of ,abraham1
 ,isaac1 and ,jacob1 who was jealous of 
the other gods4 ,and gradually their    
local god or gods grew into the ,god of 
the whole world4 ,it was only a question
 of mental development1 of the power of 
generalisation in conception4 ,man      
conceived a ruler of the world in the   
,roman ,emperor before he conceived an  
all-powerful ,god4 ,the man as he       
meditated1 as he watched1 would see the 
stages before his eyes4 ,there was the  
savage1 the ,kurumba and ,moopa with his
 many gods in the hills all about2 there
 were the ,hindus1 the traders whose    
temples shewed white in the groves      
beneath1 many steps higher in           
civilisation with their supreme ,brahm  

and minor gods emanating from him2 there
 was the ,moslem with his ,god is ,god4 
,he had the stages before his eyes4     
,therefore when he came to consider this
 question of ,god he found in           
,god-worship in ,hinduism1 ,parseeism1  
,mahommedanism1 ,judaism1 ,christianity1
 no differing conception4 ,they held all
 the same idea in different shapes4     
,there was nothing new4 ,god1 one or    
multiple1 made the world according to   
,his own good pleasure1 ruled it        
according to ,his will4 ,the savage knew
 most of ,god1 because his god was but a
 man enlarged and the nearer to him for 
that4 ,with greater contemplation the   
crudities have been removed1 the manlike
 qualities disappear one by one1 until  
with the few greatest thinkers they are 
all gone4 ,god has become a ,spirit1 an 
abstraction1 an unthinkable1            
incomprehensible ,god that is of no use 
to anyone2 for ,he cannot be influenced 
by prayer1 ,he has no passions to be    
roused1 ,he has become lost in the      

heavens1 an inscrutable force4 ,such was
 the evolution of ,god4  ,only when he  
came to ,buddhism was there a new thing4
 ,he found no longer ,god or gods1 but  
,law4 ,that was indeed new1 that was    
indeed very different from the other    
faiths4 ,the world came into being under
 ,law1 it progressed under ,law1 it     
would end1 if it ever did end1 under    
,law4 ,and this ,law was unchanged1     
unchangeable for ever4 ,let me consider1
 he said1 these two conceptions1        
,personality and ,law4  ,what is this   
world to the ,buddhist8 ,it is a place  
that has evolved and is evolving under  
,law4 ,he does not speak of ,god        
creating one thing or another1 but of a 
sequence of events4 ,the ,buddhist was  
,darwin two thousand years before       
,darwin4 ,he saw the rule of ,law long  
before our scientific men found it in   
the stars4 ,i do not think it is so easy
 to follow the origin of this idea as it
 is of the idea of ,god4 ,with the      
latter we have the stages before our    

eyes1 but how the ,buddhist idea of law 
arose we can only conjecture4 ,it is    
not1 ,i think1 an instinct like the     
knowledge of ,god4 ,it is more of a     
mental process1 like the reasoning of   
science4 ,it is a negation as opposed to
 an assertion4 ,it is the negative pole4
 ,it must surely have arisen like modern
 science from the observation of facts4 
,i do not say that the idea of law is   
absent from other faiths4 ,you see it in
 the ,commandments4 ,certain sequences  
were recognised1 but with ,judaism they 
were ascribed to the order of a         
,personality4 ,buddhism1 like science1  
knows of no ,personality4 ,the laws of a
 ,theocracy were always liable to change
 and correction4 ,the laws of the       
,buddhist are inviolable4 ,the          
,christian thinks laws can be violated1 
the ,buddhist knows they are inviolable4
  ,you cannot break a law4 ,it is true  
that many declare otherwise1 that       
,charles ,kingsley in a famous lecture  
declared you could break the law of     

gravity4 ,the law is1 says he1 that a   
stone should fall to the earth2 but by  
stretching out your hand you can prevent
 the stone falling4 ,thus you can break 
the law4 ,so argued ,charles ,kingsley1 
so think mistily many men because they  
have never troubled to define the words 
they use4 ,there is no law that a stone 
should fall to the earth4 ,the law of   
gravity is that bodies attract each     
other directly as their mass1 and       
inversely as the square of the distance4
 ,you do not break this law by holding a
 stone in your hand4 ,nay1 you can feel 
it acting all the time you do so4 ,you  
cannot break this law4 ,you cannot break
 any law4 ,law is another word for the  
inevitable4 ,whom did the ,greeks put   
above all the gods8 ,it was ,greek3     
anachke1 ,necessity4 ,did1 then1 the    
,greeks see that behind all their       
personification of forces ,law ruled8   
,it may be so4 ,they have the two ideas1
 ,god and ,law4 ,it is perhaps the old  
battle of free will and destination4    

,and which is true8 ,to the ,greek      
,necessity was behind ,god1 to the      
,theist ,god is behind ,law4 ,the laws  
are but ,his orders4 ,he can break them 
and change them and modify them4 ,and   
yet1 it is so hard to see clearly how   
,theists can avoid the difficulty4 ,if  
,god's laws are perfect truths they     
cannot be alterable4 ,only the imperfect
 would be changed4 ,yet if ,god's laws  
are perfect1 is not ,he1 too1 bound by  
them8 ,and if ,he be bound1 is not ,his 
free will1 ,his omnipotence limited8    
,surely ,god cannot transgress ,his own 
laws of righteousness2 is there not     
necessity to ,him too8 ,but if this be  
so1 then where is the need of any       
knowledge beyond the knowledge of law8  
,if it be indeed eternal1 as the        
,buddhists say1 what need for more8 ,in 
the science of nature we need not go    
beyond1 we cannot4 ,in the science of   
man1 who is but part of nature1 why     
should we do so8 ,is it not better1     
truer1 more beautiful to believe in     

everlasting laws of righteousness that  
rule the world than to believe that a   
,personality has to be always arranging 
and interfering8 ,would we not in a     
state prefer perfect laws to a perfect  
king1 who1 however1 was imperfect in    
this that his laws were imperfect and   
had to be checked in their working8     
,which is the more perfect conception8  
,surely that of law4 ,if crime and      
ignorance1 if mistake and waywardness   
brought always inevitably their due     
punishment and correction1 where is a   
ruler needed8 ,it is imperfection that  
requires changing4     ,,chapter ,,ix4  
,,god ,,and ,,law4   ,think what a      
difference1 what an immense difference1 
it makes to a man which he believes1 how
 utterly it alters all his attitude to  
the ,unknown1 to the ,infinite1 whether 
he believes in ,god or in ,law4 ,for    
among all religions1 all faiths1 all    
theories of the unknown there are only  
these two ideas1 ,personality or ,law1  
free will or inevitableness4 ,and how   

different they are4  ,in the face of    
eternity there are two attitudes3 that  
of the ,theist1 whether ,christian or   
,jew1 ,hindu or spirit worshipper2 and  
that of the ,buddhist1 the believer in  
,law4 ,to the believer in ,god or in    
gods1 what is the world and what is man8
 ,they are playthings in the hands of   
the ,almighty4 ,god is responsible to no
 one1 ,he knows no right and wrong1 no  
necessity beyond ,himself1 all ,he does 
must be right4 ,he is ,all-powerful4    
,man must crouch before ,him in fear4   
,if man suffer he must not cry out      
against ,god2 he must say in due        
submissiveness1 ,thy will be done4 ,a   
man must even be thankful that matters  
are not worse4 ,if in a shipwreck many  
are drowned and few1 bereft of all but  
life1 are hardly saved1 what must they  
do8 ,they must render thanks to ,god    
that ,he didn't drown them too4 ,not    
because they are aware of being punished
 for any sin1 that does not come to man 
in calamity4 ,you cannot imagine a      

common sin that engulphs men and women1 
children and babes1 from all countries1 
of all professions1 of many religions1  
in one common disaster4 ,no6 ,god can be
 bribed1 not with presents perhaps now1 
but with reverence4 ,it is the cringe   
that deprecates uncontrollable ,power4  
,it is the same feeling that makes the  
savage lay a fruit or a flower before   
the ,spirit of the ,hills lest he too be
 killed by the falling rocks4  ,for what
 do men imagine ,god to be8 ,do you     
think that each man holds one wonderful 
conception of ,god8 ,not so4 ,the       
civilised man's idea of ,god is as the  
savage idea4 ,each man builds to himself
 his own ,god1 out of his ideals1       
civilised or savage4 ,truly1 if you ask 
a man to tell you his idea of ,god he   
will answer you vaguely out of his      
creeds or sacred books2 but if you watch
 that man's actions towards ,god1 you   
will soon discover that his ,god is but 
his ideal man glorified4  ,to a tender  
woman her ,god is but the extreme of the

 tenderness1 the beauty1 the compassion 
which she feels1 and the narrowness     
which she has but does not realise4 ,and
 cannot you see in your mind's eye the  
,german ,emperor's ,god clanking round  
the heavenly mansions wearing a ,german 
pickelhaube and swearing ,german oaths8 
,man's ,god is but what he admires most 
in himself4 ,he can be propitiated1 he  
can be bribed4 ,the savage does it with 
a bowl of milk or a honey cake1 the     
mediaeval man did it with a chapel or a 
painted window4 ,you say this idea has  
ceased4 ,have you ever prayed to ,god   
and said1 ,spare me this time and ,i    
will be good in future4 ,i will do this4
 ,i will do that4 ,or1 more beautifully1
 ,spare him that ,i love and let the    
punishment fall on me4 ,let me bear his 
sins4 ,is not the very idea of atonement
 expressed by ,christ's life8 ,a price  
has to be paid to ,god4 ,he must be     
bought off4 ,man's attitude before ,god 
must be that of the child1 submissive   
with downcast eyes1 full of praise1     

never daring to blame4 ,tell me and ,i  
will obey1 do not punish me or ,i       
perish4 ,then there is the attitude of  
the believer in eternal law4 ,for him   
the world holds no caprice1 no leaning  
to one side or another1 no revenge1 no  
mercy4 ,each act carries with it an     
inevitable result3 reward if the act be 
good1 punishment if it be bad4 ,you can 
break a command of ,god4 ,he may tell   
you to do a thing and you may refuse4   
,you cannot break a law4 ,it is the     
inevitable1 the everlasting4 ,you cannot
 rebel against law4 ,the sin is not     
rebellion1 but ignorance4 ,the attitude 
is not submission1 but inquiry1 the     
thirst for truth4 ,adam lost ,eden      
because he sought for the knowledge of  
good and evil4 ,but the law-believer    
says that only in wisdom1 only in truth1
 is there any hope4 ,he stands before   
the eternal verities with clear eyes to 
see them1 with a strong heart to bear   
what his ignorance may make him suffer4 
,out of his pain he will learn the      

sequences of life4 ,he has gained much4 
,what has he lost8 ,are not mercy and   
fatherly care1 forgiveness and love1    
beautiful things8 ,yet they1 too1 are of
 ,god4 ,if you know not of ,him1 only of
 ,law1 have you not lost out of your    
life some of the greatest thoughts8 ,how
 will you comfort your heart when it is 
sore if you have not ,god8 ,is prayer   
nothing8  ,truly1 said the man1 these   
are beautiful things4 ,if ,i could have 
them alone4 ,but ,i cannot4 ,i fear the 
other qualities more than ,i love these4
 ,i would have neither4 ,i would be a   
man and live under ,law4 ,it seems to me
 enough4 ,if ,law be absolute ,i see no 
room for ,god4  ,over against him were  
the long ridges of the hills where the  
rain-clouds gathered from the south4 ,he
 saw them come in great masses surging  
up the valleys and hiding the contours  
of the hills4 ,the lightning flashed    
across the peaks and the thunder echoed 
in long-drawn trumpet blasts4 ,the      
savage1 he said1 saw there only gods    

warring with one another4 ,now with     
wiser eyes we see the reign of ,law4 ,we
 do not know all the laws2 we cannot    
even yet tell how much rain will come1  
whether it will be famine or plenty4 ,we
 cannot see the ,law1 but we never doubt
 the ,law is there4 ,with man it is the 
same4 ,births and deaths1 suicides and  
murders1 are they too not all under     
,law8 ,why should not man's soul be so  
too8 ,where is the need of ,god8  ,as he
 came down the mountain side the rain   
was falling heavily1 as it can only in  
the tropics4 ,the dry hollows were      
already streams1 the streams were       
foaming torrents4 ,they act under ,law1 
he said4 ,their life is bounded all by  
,law4 ,and then of a sudden1 watching   
the foaming water1 he saw more clearly4 
,true1 the stream runs within its banks1
 but banks do not make the stream4      
,gravity1 that drags down these waters1 
acts in certain sequence1 but that      
sequence is not gravity4 ,gravity is a  
force4 ,when we enumerate the law we do 

not define1 or know1 or understand the  
force1 only the way it acts4 ,force is  
force1 and law is law4 ,they are not the
 same4 ,they do not explain each other4 
,what a dead thing would law be that had
 no force acting within it4 ,truly1 ,i  
must see more clearly4 ,law does not    
deny force2 nay1 but it predicates      
it--is1 in fact1 an outcome of it4 ,law 
is a sequence along which force acts2   
neither can exist without the other4    
,all force is ruled by law4 ,yes1 but   
what is force--what are any of the      
forces that exist3 gravity1 and         
electricity1 and heat1 and life8 ,forms 
of motion8 ,may be2 but whence the      
motion8  ,ah me6 said the man1 then am  
,i back again at the beginning4 ,have ,i
 learnt nothing8 ,i thought law might   
suffice1 but it will not4 ,if law is    
inevitable1 then are we but helpless    
atoms following the stream of necessity4
 ,then is freewill dead4 ,yet there is  
freewill4 ,there is force1 there is     
life1 whence come these forces8 ,and if 

one say that force is ,god1 what then8  
,perhaps there is this3 there are two   
truths--there is ,god and there is ,law4
 ,both are true1 as there is destiny and
 there is freewill4 ,but how can that   
be8 ,i see it is so1 that it must be so4
 ,but how8 ,is it that there are facets 
of some great truth behind which we can 
never know8  ,the man was weary4 ,what  
have ,i gained8 ,only that ,i have a    
truth1 which ,i cannot understand1 which
 gives me no help1 or but little8 ,have 
,i gained anything to help me in life8  
,i have gained this1 perhaps1 that if   
,law be not a full explanation1 it is   
true1 as far as it goes2 if not a whole 
truth1 yet it is a truth4 ,why go       
further8 ,the scientist cares for       
nothing more when he has learned the    
laws of gravity4 ,he is content to be   
ignorant of whence the force comes1     
because he can go no further4 ,in the   
battle of life is not this enough8 ,can 
we not1 too1 be as the scientist1       
denying nothing1 but searching only for 

that which we can know and which will be
 useful to us8 ,if force be ,god1 yet   
should ,his ways not be mysterious4 ,let
 us not shut our eyes and comfort       
ourselves in ignorance by saying1       
',there is no ,law2 ,god is inscrutable1
 ,god knows no ,law4 ,he is             
inexpressible1 changeable and           
uncertain4' ,but truly there is ,law4   
,behind the gods1 behind ,god1 there is 
,greek3 anachke1 there is ,necessity1   
there is an unfailing sequence of       
events1 which is righteousness4 ,let us 
learn then what righteousness is4 ,let  
us learn what is true in order to do    
what is right4         99       99      
99       99       99  ,but after all it 
is all speculation4 ,there is no        
evidence4 ,it is a theory built on      
nothing4 ,what is the value of it8      
,nothing at all4 ,what is to be gained  
by all this8 ,only barren words1 finely 
spun theories made of air4 ,where is the
 proof of ,god or of ,law8 ,there is    
none4     ,,chapter ,x4  ,,the ,,way    

,,of ,,life4   ,perhaps it does not     
matter4 ,it may be that all this        
speculation about the ,first ,cause1    
about the ,ruling ,power of the world1  
is unnecessary4 ,what matter if ,god be 
inscrutable1 if ,he has given us        
commands for our lives that are clear1  
if ,he has laid down for us ,his will   
that we should follow4 ,even if ,law be 
not a full explanation1 even if a       
knowledge of all ,law would not mean a  
knowledge of everything1 what would this
 signify if we can see enough of the    
laws that govern our lives so to order  
ourselves as to reach the goal8 ,whether
 the ,theist be right or the ,buddhist1 
in his theories of the world1 the main  
question with which we are concerned is 
ourselves4 ,has any religion a working  
code of life that is true1 that is      
adapted to us as we are1 that is not in 
conflict with facts and common sense8   
,what matters its name or its supposed  
origin8 ,is there such a thing8 ,so     
thought the man1 turning from abstract  

ideas to real necessities4 ,after all1  
what ,i and all men want is not abstract
 ideas1 whether of ,god or ,law1 but    
present help and guidance4 ,has any ,god
 taught any believer a perfect code of  
life1 has any ,buddhist searcher        
discovered the natural ,law of life8    
,for if so ,i would know them4 ,never   
mind the whence or how1 give me the     
facts4  ,it seemed to him1 looking back 
in the beginning of faiths1 that morals1
 that rules of life had no part there4  
,when the ,northman saw ,thor in the    
thunder there was no moral code there4  
,the ,greek gods were frankly not so    
much immoral1 which predicates a code of
 morals1 as unmoral4 ,they knew of no   
such thing4 ,it is the same with all the
 early gods1 with the ,hindu gods and   
those of all other early beliefs4 ,the  
,chin savage on the ,burmese frontier   
sees gods in the great peaks1 but these 
gods demand from him no moral           
observance1 they impress upon him no    
moral standard4 ,all that the early gods

 demanded was fear1 reverence1 worship4 
,even the ,jehovah of the ,jews asked at
 first only this4 ,it is not till you   
get to the third commandment that       
conduct comes in1 and the moral code was
 scanty4 ,the early gods of all kinds1  
of all faiths1 had no moral code either 
for themselves or man4 ,they demanded   
only obedience and fear and worship4    
,the moral code came later4  ,it seems  
unnecessary now to consider whence they 
came1 how they grew1 why they became    
added to the worship of the gods1 which 
was all that early religion meant4 ,some
 of that will come elsewhere4 ,it is    
immaterial here which is only the man's 
search after a code1 any code that would
 act4 ,for it remains that all faiths   
when once they had left the elementary  
stage did add a code of conduct as part 
of their religion1 saying it came from  
,god1 or was an immutable law1 and tried
 to induce men to follow it by declaring
 that it alone would lead to happiness  
hereafter4 ,all the greater faiths have 

these codes4 ,and ,i1 said the man to   
himself as he searched1 ,i care nothing 
whence the code is supposed to have     
come1 truly or falsely1 as long as ,i   
find it4 ,i want a guide to life as it  
is4 ,has any faith such a guide8 ,for   
each declare that it alone has4 ,show me
 these rules to life4  ,the books showed
 him4 ,they showed him codes of all     
degrees1 from the simplest to the most  
complex1 from the plain cult of courage1
 the very first and most necessary of   
all virtues1 to the immensely           
complicated code of observances of the  
,brahmin2 and outside religions there   
were the philosophies of ,greece and    
,rome1 of ,india and ,china1 of ,persia 
and ,germany1 and ,scotland4  ,now      
should man so order his life as to live 
righteously here1 and to be of good     
repute before man and his own           
conscience8 ,how shall a man so form    
himself here that if indeed there be a  
life hereafter he may enter it without  
fear8 ,what are these codes8  ,it seemed

 to him that there ran in some ways a   
great sameness through the creeds1 that 
up to a certain stage they differed but 
little4 ,courage against the foe1       
courage to face suffering1 truth and    
honesty1 and later mercy and compassion1
 charity of act and thought1 courtesy   
and beauty of mind2 these were the      
additions the faiths made1 little by    
little1 to the ground-work of reverence 
of the gods4 ,and so they grew1 adding  
bit by bit1 as civilisation increased   
and necessity dictated4 ,they added many
 of them sanitary rules1 observances for
 washing1 for cooking1 for choosing     
food1 incorporating with religion       
whatever practice found useful1 and     
thereby giving a sanctity which it would
 otherwise have lacked4 ,sometimes rules
 were added to preserve the race pure1  
as with the ,jews or the ,hindus1       
evolving in the latter religion into the
 vast system of caste that separates the
 different races1 all of whom call      
themselves ,hindus4 ,with the two faiths

 as just mentioned the tendency was to  
narrowness and restriction1 to the      
exclusion of other races2 with others1  
such as the ,mahommedan and ,buddhist1  
it was to expansion1 to the acceptance  
of other peoples1 until at last some    
great ,prophet arose to give coherence  
and form to the whole and include it in 
the sacred books4 ,so arose the codes1  
the man thought4 ,but this hardly       
matters4 ,what are the codes8  ,it      
seemed to him that out of all the faiths
 only two held codes that rose much     
above the level of savage conduct4 ,we  
cannot go back to the codes of ,moses or
 ,mahommed2 we cannot accept the narrow 
racial limitations of ,hinduism2 we have
 outgrown the simple ethics of          
,zoroaster and the ,egyptians4 ,the     
teachings of ,confucius and ,laotze are 
strange to us1 and the philosophies1 if 
they seem clear1 are so singularly      
unconvincing4 ,they lack so greatly all 
that appeals to mankind2 they are so    
much codes in the head and not for the  

heart2 they are as mathematical drawings
 compared to a work of art2 they do not 
ring true4 ,and so there were quickly   
left for him only two1 the codes of     
,christ and of ,buddha1 the examples of 
the two greatest prophets the world has 
known4  ,and between the teachings of   
the great ,teacher who lived two        
thousand and five hundred years ago1 and
 that of the man ,god of the ,christians
 six hundred years later1 what          
difference is there8 ,they start from   
different beginnings1 they work towards 
perhaps different ends2 but in the      
methods1 in the rules of life1 what     
difference is there8 ,that which was    
taught by the sea of ,galilee is but the
 echo of the words spoken long before   
below the ,himalayan ,hills4 ,they are  
the same1 read them4 ,the two greatest  
faiths the world has known1 the two     
greatest teachers that ever came to man 
to help him in his need1 have brought   
him the same message4 ,believe not in   
the world1 believe not in wealth1 in    

power1 in greatness1 in strength4 ,these
 are not what man should seek4 ,nay1 but
 leave the world behind you because it  
is all evil1 all very evil4 ,nothing of 
this world is of any value4 ,in a man's 
heart is his greatest treasure4 ,make   
therefore your heart pure from the      
world4 ,leave it all and turn to ,god1  
to righteousness4 ,cultivate your own   
soul apart from all the pleasures of    
life4 ,the other world can be gained    
only by abjuring this4 ,wealth and      
honour and ambition1 all the glories of 
the world1 are but traps to catch you4  
,even the loves we love are wrong4 ,the 
,buddha left his wife and child4 ,the   
,christ never married1 and denied even  
his mother any love beyond that of a    
disciple4 ,it is all the same4 ,their   
lives1 their teachings are the same4    
,the man sighed as he read4 ,surely1 he 
said1 these are hard things to believe1 
that the world is evil4 ,no1 but it is  
not evil4 ,that a man can only fit      
himself for heaven by being unfit for   

earth4 ,i cannot believe this4 ,i have  
not changed since ,i thought this over  
as a boy4 ,this is not a true code1 not 
a true rule1 not a true faith1 whether  
,christian or ,buddhist4 ,i did not     
believe then1 a boy2 ,i do not believe  
now1 a man4  ,the world is not evil4    
,there is evil there1 but so much of    
good4 ,there are stains there truly1 but
 so much of beauty4 ,do you think ,i can
 watch the sun rise1 the daily marvel   
which is beyond words1 and hate the     
world8 ,can ,i see the man ,i love1 the 
men who have helped me1 who have been   
with me1 the men who are my friends1 and
 say that they are of a world that is   
evil8 ,and the women1 the girls1 the    
children1 are their lives for us        
nothing8 ,are they of a world that we   
must abjure8 ,it is never so4 ,truly1   
there are in these teachings1 whether of
 the ,christ or of the ,buddha1 much    
that is of beauty1 much1 so much that   
touches our hearts1 ,i had at times fain
 believe4 ,but ,i find in the world     

beauty also1 beauty that comes as near1 
that comes nearer than they do4 ,when a 
man is honest and honourable and true1  
and rises to great position1 to be      
spoken well of by all men1 is that an   
evil thing8 ,is the wealth that comes of
 the keen brain1 the strong will1 a     
calamity8 ,are our loves1 our hopes1 our
 fears but evil8 ,yet they are of the   
world4 ,beautiful as is the teaching1   
there are in the world things far more  
beautiful4 ,i will never believe1 never1
 that the world and flesh are partners  
to the ,devil4 ,i will never believe    
that4  ,and more1 said the man slowly4  
,no one ever does believe it--none but a
 very few4 ,the world has rejected it   
always2 not from wickedness1 but because
 the teaching is never true4 ,they do   
not acknowledge their disbelief4 ,no6   
,the ,christians and the ,buddhists     
maintain their faith by words4 ,but in  
secret1 in their own hearts1 before the 
world1 in the action of their own hands1
 have they ever acknowledged these      

beliefs8  ,neither the ,christ nor the  
,buddha are the models men follow1      
because men are sure that1 though there 
be truth in their teachings yet it is   
not all the truth1 though there be      
beauty yet are there other beauties as  
great1 nay greater than these4 ,the     
world is never evil1 and if it were1 to 
follow these doctrines would not be the 
way to make it better4  ,then the man   
turned from his books again to the world
 beneath him1 he came to reality from   
dreams4 ,i have learnt nothing8 ,no1 but
 ,i have learnt something4 ,i have      
learned what ,i have yet to learn4 ,and 
,i have learned more4 ,i know why ,i    
disbelieve1 because ,i love the world as
 it is1 and because ,i will never       
believe that what calls to my heart from
 there is wrong4 ,the beauty of things  
is the truth of things4 ,and in truth   
and beauty is the voice of ,god as      
surely1 nay more surely than in the     
voice of any prophet of two thousand    
years ago4     ,,chapter ,,xi4          

,,heaven4   ,i am not getting on very   
well1 he thought4 ,i have looked for    
three things1 and two ,i am sure ,i have
 not found4 ,i have found nowhere any   
explanation of the ,universe1 of the    
,first ,cause2 ,i have found nowhere any
 true rule of life4 ,yet these are two  
of the three 'truths' that the faiths   
offer to me as inducements to believe4  
',we will give you1' they say1 'a theory
 of this world and of its origin which  
is true1 which will help you in this    
life because it will show you what you  
are and the world is1 and whence you    
came4 ,we will give you through this    
troublous life a guide that will never  
fail you1 a staff that will never break4
 ,and finally1 if you believe1 you shall
 attain after death the happiness that  
is without end4'  ,so they promise1 and 
of their promises ,i have tried two4    
,have ,i found that they give what they 
declare8 ,is there anywhere any belief  
of the ,first ,cause that is true1 that 
is the whole truth8 ,there is none4 ,and

 is there any guide to life that can be 
followed in sincerity and truth8 ,there 
is none4 ,there remains only heaven4    
,there remains only the bribe1 the      
promise of happiness1 if we will believe
 as they declare1 if we will do as they 
say4  ,it may be that here is the       
secret1 that ,i shall come now to the   
answer2 it may be that this is the key  
to all4 ,if there is in the heaven they 
promise us such a fulfilment of glory1  
such an appeal to our hearts that they  
cannot but answer1 what matter the rest8
 ,happiness is our end in life4 ,for    
what do we strive all our days but for  
happiness1 for truth1 for joy1 for the  
beauty of life8 ,what matter that in the
 theory of the ,first ,cause we can see 
no truth1 that in the rule of life ,i   
can find only a contradiction of beauty1
 if in the end in heaven these are      
attained8 ,the end1 if the end be       
perfect1 will reveal the truth and the  
beauty in the ways that are now hid4    
,what is this heaven8  ,when we think of

 heaven1 when with our eyes shut we try 
to recall all they have taught us of the
 ,christian heaven1 what are the images 
that come up8 ,it seems as if we went   
back all those years to when we were    
little lads beside our mothers1 and as  
the fire flickered across the unlit     
room1 full of strange shadows1 we said  
our childish prayers and leant our heads
 heavy with sleep upon her knee4 ,it is 
our mothers that tell us of the heaven1 
whither they would that we should go1   
that urge us with imaginings of beauty  
to come to be good4 ,it is a childish   
heaven of which we learn1 a heaven full 
of girl angels with white wings and     
floating dresses1 of golden harps1 of   
pearly gates1 of everlasting song4      
,there are1 ,i think1 no men there1 only
 girls2 no sheep1 but fleecy lambs4 ,it 
is a heaven that appeals only to them4  
,and is it very different when we grow  
up8 ,indeed ,i think not4 ,it is the    
same heaven always1 the same conception 
full of childish things4 ,did you ever  

hear a sermon on the heaven1 did you    
ever read a book1 did you ever listen to
 a discourse that did not take you back 
again in memory to that far-off         
fire-lightened room of childhood8       
,surely there is nothing in all the     
world so babyish as the general idea of 
the ,christian heaven4 ,can you imagine 
a man there1 a man with great deep voice
 and passion-laden eyes1 a man with the 
storms of life still beating on his soul
 amid these baby faces and white wings8 
,ah1 said the man1 they must make us    
into infants that we may enter their    
heaven4 ,when ,i revolted against it as 
a boy as but a kindergarten1 without    
even the distraction of being put in the
 corner1 was ,i wrong8  ,may be1 for    
there are things beyond this4 ,in my    
,father's house are many mansions4 ,i go
 to prepare a place for you4 ,eye hath  
not seen nor ear heard1 nor hath it     
entered into the heart of man to        
conceive4 ,the peace of ,god which      
passeth all understanding4 ,where ,god  

shall wipe away all tears from their    
eyes4 ,these are not childish things4   
,happiness that hath no sorrow1 light   
that knows no shadow1 glory that never  
ends4  ,i read a book long ago2 ,i have 
forgotten the name of it1 ,i have       
forgotten who wrote it1 and ,i remember 
that at the time ,i did not understand  
it4 ,the book was on the subject of     
perfect happiness1 on heaven1 which is  
postulated as the ideal peace4 ,and what
 this book tried to show--what1 indeed1 
it showed1 ,i think--was that happiness 
if perfect was near akin to             
annihilation4 ,the argument ran         
something like this4 ,you are happy in  
some particular employment1 say in      
singing a hymn1 in some particular      
attitude1 let us say in kneeling4 ,if   
your happiness in this act and attitude 
is perfect1 they will endure for ever4  
,you will pass eternity kneeling and    
singing the same hymn4 ,for consider1   
,why do you ever change your acts1 your 
attitudes8 ,because a particular act or 

a certain attitude has become wearisome4
 ,but if it be stated that your         
happiness is perfect you can never feel 
satiety1 never feel any desire for      
change4 ,the wish for change is born of 
the feeling of wearisomeness4 ,you have 
had enough of one thing1 you want       
another4 ,but if you are perfectly happy
 this cannot be4 ,life would become a   
monotony1 a satiety near akin to death4 
,and if indeed peace be the highest     
happiness1 then would this perfect peace
 be so near annihilation that the       
difference would only lie in that your  
consciousness of happiness still        
remained4 ,thus did this writer show    
that if the ,christian heaven be as     
declared1 perfect happiness1 so it must 
be almost indistinguishable from death4 
,i do not think this writer had ever    
read of the ,buddhist ,nirvana1 ,i do   
not remember that he ever even alluded  
to it4 ,he was thinking of the          
,christian heaven and trying to make out
 what it was like1 and that was what he 

found4 ,he1 taking the ,christian ideal 
and working it to its inevitable        
conclusion1 arrived at the same result  
as ,buddhist teachers starting from such
 widely different premises have arrived 
at3 the ,christian heaven and the       
,buddhist peace are the same4  ,readers 
of my former work1 ,the ,soul of a      
,people1 will remember how the          
,buddhists arrive at ,nirvana4 ,it is   
the ,great ,peace4 ,life is the enemy4  
,life is change1 and change is misery4  
,the ideal is to have done with life1 to
 be steeped in the ,great ,peace4 ,thus 
do the purer ideas of the ,christian    
heaven and the ,buddhist heaven agree4  
,it is the ,peace that passeth all      
understanding for each4  ,and yet       
perfect happiness1 sleep without waking1
 light without shadow1 joy without      
sorrow1 gaiety without eclipse4 ,can    
this ever be heaven8 ,let us look back  
on our lives1 we who have lived1 and let
 us think4 ,let us close our eyes that  
the past may come before us and we may  

remember4 ,what are the most beautiful  
memories that come before us1 that make 
our hearts beat again with the greatest 
music they have known1 that bring again 
to our eyes the tears that are the water
 of the well of ,god8 ,what have been   
the greatest emotions of our lives8     
,there has been struggle and effort1    
unceasing effort1 crowned maybe with    
success1 but maybe not1 effort that we  
know has brought out all that is best in
 us1 that we rejoice to remember4 ,there
 will be no effort in heaven1 only rest2
 there is no defeat1 and therefore no   
victory1 only peace4 ,therefore also1   
because we can have no enemies there we 
shall have no friends4 ,our friends6    
,how we can remember them4 ,we have     
loved them because we have hated others4
 ,but in heaven there is no hate1 only  
an equality of indifference4 ,heaven is 
nothing but joy4 ,but consider1 has joy 
been the most beautiful thing in your   
life1 is it joy that sounded the deepest
 harmonies8 ,remember how you have stood

 upon that faraway hillside and laid to 
rest your comrade beneath the forest    
shadows8 ,was it not beautiful what your
 heart sang to you while you said       
,farewell1 and tears came to your eyes8 
,there are no farewells in heaven4      
,there are women you have loved1 women  
whose eyes have grown large and soft as 
you have spoken to them in the dusk of  
evenings long ago4 ,you have loved them 
because they were women4 ,what will they
 be in heaven8  ,and the children6      
,think of that childless heaven4 ,think 
of the children who laugh and play1 and 
come to you to laugh with them1 who cry 
and come to you for comfort4 ,they will 
require no comfort from you in heaven1  
and how much will you lose8 ,the child  
angels are never naughty4 ,they can     
never come to you and hide their heads  
upon your shoulder and say ,i was wrong4
 ,i am very sorry4 ,please forgive me4  
,none of these notes shall ever sound in
 heaven4 ,there are no tears there4 ,but
 do you not know that the greater       

beauties can only be seen through tears1
 which are their dew8  ,what is it that 
sounds the deeper notes of our lives8   
,is it sunshine1 happiness1 gaiety8 ,is 
it any attribute of the heavens of the  
religions8 ,surely it is never so4 ,it  
is the troubles of life1 the mistakes1  
the sorrows1 the sin1 the shadow        
mysteries of the world1 that sound in   
our hearts the greater strings4  ,and   
are these to be mute in your heavens8   
,are we to fall to lesser notes of      
eternal praise1 of eternal thanksgiving8
 ,prophets of the faiths1 what are these
 heavens of yours8 ,is there in them    
anything to draw our hearts8 ,have you  
pointed to us what we really would have8
 ,your sacred books are full of your    
descriptions1 of your enticements2 you  
have beggared all the languages in words
 to describe what you would have us long
 for4 ,and what have you gained8 ,is    
there any one man1 one woman1 one child1
 not steeped in the uttermost incurable 
disease1 in feeble old age1 who would   

change the chances of his life here for 
any of your heavens8 ,there is no one4  
,or if you were to say to a man1        
,choose4 ,you shall be young again1 and 
strong1 or you shall go to heaven4      
,which would he choose8 ,therefore1 ye  
teachers of the faiths1 are your        
promises vain4 ,i do not believe in nor 
do ,i fear your hells1 those crude      
places of fire and pitch and little     
black devils4 ,i care not for your      
heavens2 ,i would not go there1 not to  
any of them1 neither to the happy       
hunting ground1 nor to heaven1 nor to   
the garden of the ,houris nor to        
,nirvana1 not if they be as you tell me 
they are4 ,nor do ,i want to merge my   
identity in the ,infinite4 ,this life is
 good enough for me1 while ,i retain    
health and strength4 ,i am not tempted4 
,nor is anyone tempted4 ,whom have you  
persuaded8 ,you know that you have      
enticed no one4 ,no one is deceived4    
,men will die for many things1 they will
 leap to accept death--but not for your 

heavens4 ,all men fear death and what is
 beyond1 the righteous who you say have 
earned heaven no less than the          
unrighteous4 ,all faiths have had their 
martyrs1 but that is different4 ,they   
have died to preserve their souls1 as   
soldiers die to preserve their honour1  
gladly4 ,even the godly do not believe4 
,they will have nothing of your heavens4
 ,i cannot understand how either        
,christian or ,buddhist came to imagine 
such unattractive1 unreasonable heavens4
  ,and so they have all failed4 ,no     
religion gives us an intelligible ,first
 ,cause1 no religion gives us a code of 
conduct we can follow1 no religion      
offers us a heaven we would care to     
attain4  ,there are many definitions of 
religion4 ,i have written some on my    
first page4 ,it will be seen that they  
all hinge on one of these ideas1 either 
that religion is a theory of causation1 
or it is a code of conduct1 or that it  
is concerned with future rewards and    
punishments4  ,but if indeed religion   

have any or all of these meanings1 then 
is religion false1 then are all         
religions false4 ,and more1 no one who  
thinks over the subject1 no one who     
takes it seriously would believe any one
 of them1 could take any as a           
satisfactory explanation4 ,no one       
accepts any code of religious conduct as
 absolutely workable1 no one is         
attracted by their heavens4 ,i am sure  
of these things4  ,then shall ,i sit    
down with ,omar ,khayyam and say3--     
,myself when young did eagerly frequent 
,doctor and ,saint1 and heard great     
argument     ,about it and about2 but   
evermore     ,came out by the same door 
where in ,i went4  ,shall ,i say all    
religion is but windy theory and no one 
cares for it8 ,neither do ,i4  ,the man 
put down his books and laughed4 ,no one 
believes8 ,but every man believes1 or   
would like to believe4 ,every man is at 
heart more or less religious4 ,i see    
that in daily life as ,i go4 ,why8 ,why8
 ,what is it he finds8 ,i will not give 

up4 ,i will not come out at that same   
door4 ,i will try again in a new line4  
,i must be on the wrong road4 ,let me   
try back and consider4 ,what is it in   
religion that we see and love and feel  
is true8 ,who are the people that we    
would be like8 ,is it the scientific    
theologian with his word-confusion about
 homoiousios8 ,is it the ,hindu sophist 
making theories of ,brahm8 ,is it the   
,buddhist word-refiner speculating on   
,karma8 ,surely it is not any of these  
people4 ,it is the street preacher      
crying to the crowd1 ,come and be saved2
 it is the peasant with bowed head in   
the sunset listening to the ,angelus2 it
 is the priest in his livelong lonely   
exile4 ,these are ,christians1 and their
 thoughts are the religion worth        
knowing4 ,it is they who are near ,god4 
,i care not for the intricate           
intellectual mazes a ,hindu can make    
with his brain1 but ,i care for the     
coolie4 ,i can see him now1 putting his 
little ghi before the god1 giving out of

 his poverty to the mendicant4 ,it is he
 who knows ,god1 even if his ,god be but
 the ,god of the hill above him4 ,and it
 is the woman crying at the pagoda foot 
for succour2 it is the reverent crowds  
that look upon the pagoda while their   
eyes fill with tears2 it is the         
,buddhist monk1 far away beneath the    
hills1 living his life of purity and    
example that ,i reverence4 ,they have   
religion4 ,i will go to them and ask    
them what it is4 ,i am sure it is not   
what the theologians of all creeds have 
told me4 ,what do these poor know of    
thought and speculation8 ,they do not   
think1 they know4 ,what is it that they 
know8 ,not certainly what the           
professional divines tell me4  ,i do not
 believe these thinkers or their        
thoughts4 ,if ,i believed that what they
 say is religion--is1 in fact1 so--,i   
would have done with it4 ,that is where 
most men end4 ,they ask the divines what
 religion is4 ,the divines produce their
 theories and creeds4 ,the enquirer     

looks and examines and reflects4 ,for he
 says1 ,if the professional men don't   
know what their own faith is1 who does8 
,but ,i will not end so4 ,i will know   
wherein the truth of religion lies4 ,i  
will now go to those who know1 because  
they know1 not because they think4 ,my  
books shall be the hearts of men4       
,,part ,,ii4     ,,chapter ,,xii4       
,,theories ,,and ,,facts4   ,there is a 
festival to-day among the coolies4 ,all 
night1 from down in the valley where    
their huts are1 has come the sound of   
tom-toms beating4 ,and this morning     
there has been no roll-call1 no telling 
off the men to making pits and the women
 to weeding4 ,the fields have been      
empty1 and the village which is usually 
so abandoned by day1 is full of people4 
,they have roamed lazily to and fro or  
sat before their doorways in the sun    
talking and waiting1 for the ceremony is
 not till noon4  ,it begins with a      
procession4 ,it is a long procession1   
all of men or boys1 for it seems that   

among these people women are not        
concerned in the acting of the          
ceremonies4 ,they are all men1 mostly   
the elders and the headsmen of gangs1   
and before them dances a man half naked1
 half mad1 who cries and throws his arms
 about4 ,he is possessed of the ,spirit4
 ,i do not know what the procession     
means1 and ,i ask4 ,no one can tell me2 
only it is the custom4 ,and so they pass
 up the main road near my house with    
tom-toms beating and flowers about their
 necks1 and the possessed priest dancing
 ever before them4 ,they go perhaps a   
mile about and then return1 and by the  
entrance to the village1 where are boys 
who carry rice and cocoanuts2 and as the
 priest approaches they throw this rice 
before him and break the cocoanuts at   
his feet4 ,so they enter the village4   
,in the centre is an open space and they
 stop1 the procession breaks1 for the   
priest goes to the centre still dancing1
 and the people form a great ring about 
him4 ,he dances more and more wildly as 

the tom-toms quicken their beat1 his    
eyes are bloodshot1 his hands are       
clenched1 there is foam upon his lips4  
,he has the ,spirit1 the people murmur  
with wonder4 ,then into the centre of   
this ring come two men dragging a goat4 
,it is a black goat with a white star on
 his forehead4 ,his horns are painted   
and there are flowers about his neck4   
,when the priest sees the goat he rushes
 forward4 ,he grips the goat by the     
ears1 the men let go and depart1 and the
 priest and goat are left alone4 ,he is 
about to sacrifice the goat1 ,i know    
that1 but ,i do not know how1 for he has
 no knife4 ,but ,i quickly understand4  
,he has seized the goat by both ears in 
a grip of steel4 ,then bending down he  
bares his teeth and catches the lower   
lip of the goat between them4 ,he tears 
and worries1 and the goat struggles     
ineffectually1 for with savage energy   
the priest has torn at the lip till it  
peels off in a long strip down the      
throat1 so that the veins and arteries  

are laid bare4 ,and then with a sudden  
jerk he lets go the torn skin and buries
 his teeth deep in the palpitating      
throat4 ,you see his jaw work1 you see  
the goat give a great convulsive        
struggle1 there is a sudden rush of     
blood from the torn arteries pouring    
over the priest in a great red stream4  
,for a minute there is stillness1 and   
then the goat's tense limbs relax4 ,they
 droop1 for he is dead2 and with a      
tremor in all his limbs the man stands  
for a second and then drops too         
senseless1 his face falling on the goat 
that he has slain4 ,for two1 three1 five
 minutes1 ,i know not how long1 there is
 a dead silence4 ,the sun is at its     
height and pours down upon the intense  
crowd1 upon the victim lying in its pool
 of blood1 upon the priest a huddled    
heap beside it4 ,and then with a great  
sigh the people awake4 ,there is a      
movement and a murmur4 ,some elders go  
and carry away the goat1 and the priest 
is supported to the little temple near  

by4 ,the blood is covered up with fresh 
earth1 the ceremony is over1 and the    
people break up4         99       99    
99       99       99  ,in the evening my
 writer ,antonio tells me all he knows4 
,what is the god who entered into the   
priest8 ,i ask1 and he shakes his head4 
,for sure1 he answers1 ,i do not know4  
,they only tell me ',sawmy1 ,sawmy'2    
that is1 ',god1 ,god4' ,they say he want
 sacrifice1 he want people to give him  
present4 ,i do not know why he want     
present1 except he big ,god and must be 
worship4 ,if he not get sacrifice he    
angry4 ,if he get sacrifice he pleased4 
,so ,antonio explains to me the scene4  
,he argues like my books do4 ,let me    
consider4 ,they would explain it some   
way like this4 ,they would say that the 
,sawmy was the ,sun ,god1 or some other 
idealisation2 that first of all the     
,indians imagined this ,sawmy out of    
ghosts or dreams2 that having done so   
they gave this ,god certain attributes  
and powers2 that subsequently they      

imagined the ,god angry and punishing   
the people1 and so they would proceed to
 a priest suffering from hysteria1 which
 they supposed to be the possession of  
this ,sawmy1 and finally arrive at the  
procession and sacrifice4 ,they would   
point out how the flesh of the goat was 
divided among the coolies1 thus bringing
 them into communion with their ,god4   
,and so they would come at last to the  
concrete fact1 as caused by a long      
process of imagination1 an explanation  
quite incredible to me4 ,i read the     
facts differently1 much more simply4 ,as
 to imagination the people have hardly  
any2 they are hopelessly incapable of   
such a train of thought4 ,the priest    
himself admits that not one in fifty has
 the least glimmering of any meaning in 
the ceremony4 ,nevertheless they like   
it1 they are awed by it1 they would by  
no means allow it to be omitted4 ,and as
 to this feast of communion with their  
divinity1 what are the facts8  ,the     
coolies are poor1 they live almost      

entirely on rice and vegetables4 ,meat  
can very rarely be afforded4 ,yet they  
long for it1 and a few times in the year
 they all subscribe and buy a goat for  
food as a very special luxury4  ,the    
goat being bought has to be killed4     
,now1 to people in this stage of        
civilisation1 to people in any stage of 
civilisation1 the taking of life is very
 attractive1 it is an awe and           
wonder-inspiring act4 ,these people are 
so poor they can seldom afford such a   
sight1 and therefore it must be made the
 most of4 ,you may note exactly the same
 passion in bull fights1 the execution  
of martyrs1 in public executions of all 
countries4 ,what greater treat can you  
offer a boy than to see a pig killed8   
,so the death of the goat is compassed  
with much show and in a peculiarly      
impressive way4 ,that done the meat is  
divided as already arranged1 and        
everyone is pleased4 ,they have got     
their food and their sensation4 ,the    
priest1 too1 is pleased1 and makes his  

little scientific theology to explain   
and apologise for this peculiar emotion4
 ,it has the further result of making   
him powerful and revered4 ,for he alone 
can see and tell the coolies the        
inwardness of it all2 and he can further
 claim the tit-bits as representative of
 the ,deity4  ,so arose sacrifice out of
 some inward hidden emotion of men's    
hearts4 ,do not say this emotion is     
purely savage4 ,it is allied often to   
the purest pity1 to awe1 to strange     
searchings of the heart4 ,to some it may
 be hardening1 but to most it is not so4
  ,how do ,i know8 ,i know by two ways1 
because ,i have watched the faces of    
this and many crowds to see how they    
felt1 and that is what ,i saw4 ,i have  
seen death inflicted so often1 on       
animals and on man1 that ,i know and    
have felt what the emotion is4 ,i cannot
 explain the emotion--who can explain   
any emotion8--but ,i know it is there4  
,and ,i know that1 if not witnessed too 
often or in wrong circumstances1 the    

sight of suffering and death1 rightfully
 inflicted1 is not brutalising1 but very
 much the reverse4  ,who are the most   
kind-hearted1 even soft-hearted1 of men8
 ,they are soldiers and doctors4 ,the   
sights they have seen1 the suffering and
 even death they may themselves have    
inflicted of necessity1 have never      
hardened them4 ,they have but made their
 sympathies the deeper and stronger4    
,look at the contemporary history of any
 war1 of that in ,burma fifteen years   
ago1 of that in the ,transvaal to-day4  
,who are they who call out for stringent
 measures1 for much shooting1 for plenty
 of hanging8 ,never the soldiers4 ,never
 those who know what these things are4  
,it is the civilians and journalists who
 know not what death is4 ,who wrote ,the
 ,drums of the ,fore and ,aft1 ,la      
,debacle1 ,the ,red ,badge of ,courage1 
with their delight in blood8 ,not men   
who had seen war4 ,nor is it they who   
read such books with pleasure4 ,men who 
have seen death and watched it could    

never make the telling an hour's        
diversion4 ,it is those who have never  
seen the reality1 who seek in art that  
stimulus which they know they require4  
,the sight and knowledge and            
understanding of unavoidable suffering  
and death is the greatest of all        
purifiers to the heart4 ,the weak cannot
 bear it4 ,women may avoid it because   
they know they are unable to sustain it1
 because they know it does brutalise    
them4 ,but with men it is never so4     
,suffering and death are facts2 they are
 part of the world1 and men must know   
them4 ,they are needed to strengthen and
 deepen the greatest emotions of men4   
,and therefore there is in man this     
instinct1 this attraction to the sight  
of suffering and death1 an instinct     
that1 rightly followed1 has in it       
nothing but good4  ,so ,i read the      
ceremony ,i had witnessed4 ,such is1 ,i 
am sure1 the meaning of all such        
ceremonies4 ,they never arise from      
mental theories1 always from inner      

emotion4 ,the scientific theologian of  
the tribe has explained them in his way1
 and when enquirers have tried to       
understand these ceremonies they have   
gone to the priest instead of the       
people4 ,hence the absolute futility of 
all that has been written on the origins
 of faiths4  ,men have begun at the     
wrong end3 they have argued down instead
 of up2 they have begun their pyramid at
 the top4 ,yet surely if there is any   
fact that ought to be impressed on us   
since ,darwin1 it is to begin at the    
bottom4 ,reason never produces facts or 
emotion4 ,it can but theorise on them4  
,and meditating on what ,i had seen1 ,i 
came to see at last all my mistakes4    
,instead of beginning with ideas of     
,god1 to find man ,i ought to have gone 
first to man1 to see how arise the ideas
 of the ,first ,cause4 ,instead of      
examining codes of conduct as           
supernaturally given and impossible1 ,i 
ought to have gone to man and tried to  
discover how he came to frame and to    

uphold these codes4 ,and so also with   
heaven and hell1 man has but imagined   
them to suit his needs3 and if so1 what 
needs8 ,i have tried all the creeds to  
find an explanation of man1 and there is
 none4 ,i begin now with man to find an 
explanation of the creeds4 ,man and his 
necessities are the eternal truth1 and  
all his religions are but framed by     
himself to minister to his needs4 ,this 
is the theory on which to work and try  
for results4  ,we have an authority for 
such a method in science1 for she       
proceeds not from the unknown to the    
known1 but from the observed to the     
imagined4 ,thus has she imagined the    
unimaginable ether to explain certain   
phenomena and to act as a working theory
 to proceed on4 ,scientific men did not 
invent ether and the laws of ether      
first1 and so descend to light and      
electricity4 ,they felt the light and   
heat1 and gradually worked inwards and  
upwards4  ,so perhaps has man felt      
certain needs1 certain emotions and     

certain impulses1 and has imagined his  
,first ,cause1 his ,law1 his codes1 his 
religious theories1 one and all1 to     
explain his needs and help himself4     
,the whole series of questions becomes  
altered4  ,it is no longer which is     
true1 the ,christian ,triune ,god1 the  
,hindu million of ,gods1 the ,mahommedan
 one ,god1 the ,buddhist ,law8 but from 
what facts did these arise1 and why do  
they persist to-day8  ,out of what      
necessity1 to justify what feeling1 does
 the ,christian require a ,triune ,god1 
the ,hindu many ,gods1 and the ,buddhist
 no ,god but ,law8 ,why does each reject
 the conception of the other8 ,it is not
 what code is the true code of life1 the
 ,jewish code1 the ,christian1 the      
,buddhist1 but why are these ,codes at  
all8  ,why had the ,jews their ruthless 
code8 ,why have the ,christians and     
,buddhists adopted codes they cannot act
 up to8 ,why have the ,hindus in caste  
the most elaborate codes we know4  ,why 
did the ,jews have no hereafter at all1 

the ,mahommedans a sensual paradise1 the
 ,greeks the ,shades1 the ,brahmins and 
,buddhists a transmigration of souls    
leading to ,nirvana8 ,these are very    
different ideas4 ,what necessities do   
they serve8 ,and so with the many facets
 of religions4 ,faiths do not explain   
man1 perhaps man can explain his faiths4
 ,that is my new standpoint from which  
,i shall see4     ,,chapter ,,xiii4     
,,creed ,,and ,,instinct4   ,i had six  
years of that life in ,india4 ,i passed 
six years living in a solitary bungalow 
miles away from any other ,european1    
meeting them but occasionally1 six years
 with practically no intercourse at all 
with the natives4 ,for the jungle people
 who lived in the hills were few1 and   
savage1 and shy2 and besides these1     
there were only a few ,hindu or         
,mahommedan shop-keepers in the main    
bazaar1 and the great crowd of          
coolie-folk who cultivate the estates4  
,it was not a life in which it was      
possible to learn much of any people4   

,solitary planters living unnatural     
lives in isolated bungalows do not      
usually offer much of interest to an    
observer4 ,the wild tribes were mere    
savages4 ,the coolies came in gangs and 
worked for a few months and went home4  
,it was a life of almost complete       
solitude1 a life where for days and     
weeks perhaps1 except for a few orders  
in the native tongues to headmen of     
gangs1 or a short discussion about the  
work1 no word was spoken4 ,it was1 may  
be1 a time for reflection and thought1  
for reading and meditation1 for such a  
search as was made4 ,but it was no life 
for observation1 for collection of      
facts1 for seeing and understanding4    
,even had one tried to know the coolies 
or the jungle people1 it had been       
impossible2 for they too have the       
inaccessability of the ,indian1 and are 
not to be approached too near4  ,but    
after these six years there came a      
change4 ,of the reasons1 the methods of 
that change there is no necessity to    

write4 ,it was a great change4 ,from a  
country of mountains to a great plain1  
from forests to vast open spaces1 widely
 cultivated2 from a life of stagnation  
to a life full of the excitement of war 
and danger1 from a life of books and    
dreams to a life of acts almost without 
books2 from a people sulky and savage   
and unapproachable to a nation of the   
widest hospitality1 where caste was     
unknown1 where the women were free1 a   
people with whom intimacy was not only  
easy but very pleasant2 and1 finally1   
from the life of a private person       
pursuing private ends to the working    
life of an official1 where              
responsibility was piled on             
responsibility1 and the necessity of    
knowing the language and the people was 
obvious if they were to be discharged   
even decently4 ,yet still it was a life 
of solitude4 ,true1 in the cold weather 
there were columns and expeditions made 
with troops1 when there was pleasant    
companionship of my own people4 ,but    

there were great stretches of solitude1 
months and months together1 with no     
,englishman1 and especially no          
,englishwoman1 near4 ,for four years ,i 
saw never an ,english girl or woman4    
,and there were no books4 ,what few ,i  
had were burnt one night with all my    
possessions1 and thereafter ,i had      
hardly any4 ,they were years of         
hardship1 of scanty lodging1 little     
better than the natives1 ill-cooked1    
unvaried food1 a life that had in it    
none of the delights of civilisation4   
,and yet ,i can look back to it with    
pleasure4 ,for there were always the    
people to talk to1 the people to study1 
to try and understand1 their religion to
 observe and try to understand4  ,i have
 written in ,the ,soul of a ,people     
about that religion1 of the things ,i   
learned about it1 of what it taught me4 
,i tried to understand it not from      
without but from within1 to see it as   
they saw it1 not to criticise but to    
believe4 ,if ,i am to credit my         

reviewers ,i have done this1 for the    
thoughts in the book are all considered 
to be my own also4  ,that may not be so1
 and yet ,i may have learnt much that ,i
 could only have learnt by adopting the 
attitude ,i did4 ,it is possible to     
understand if not always to accept1 and 
out of understanding to reach something 
needful4 ,a critic can never understand2
 he destroys but does not create4 ,so ,i
 learnt many things4 ,i learnt among    
others these4  ,that the religion of the
 ,burman is a religion of his heart1    
never of his head4 ,it is spontaneous1  
as much as the forest on the hillside4  
,he has in his heart many instincts1    
that have come there who knows how1 and 
out of these he has made his faith4     
,what that faith is ,i have told in my  
first book4 ,it is not pure ,buddhism4  
,but because ,buddhism has come nearest 
to what his heart tells him is true1    
because its tenets appeal to him as do  
none others1 because they explain the   
facts he feels1 therefore he professes  

the faith of the ,buddha and calls      
himself a ,buddhist4 ,that is what ,i   
learnt to be sure of4 ,and what ,i heard
 from others1 what ,i read in many books
 ,i learned absolutely to disbelieve4 ,i
 was told1 for instance1 that a ,burman 
villager far away in the hills thought  
he could remember his former lives      
because the doctrine of the             
transmigration of souls had been        
introduced by ,buddhist monks4 ,but ,i1 
looking into his heart1 was sure that   
the villager was a ,buddhist because the
 ,buddhist doctrine of transmigration   
resembled the instinct and knowledge of 
his own soul4 ,it is not the same4 ,the 
,buddhist faith recognises no ego4 ,the 
,burman does4 ,but in some sort or other
 he could fit the imported theory to his
 facts1 and he therefore was a          
,buddhist4  ,communities of ,christians 
and ,mahommedans1 ,jews and ,hindus1    
have lived among the ,burmans for       
hundreds of years2 there have been no   
converts to any of these faiths4 ,burma 

now is full of ,christian missions and  
there are converts--a few--but never1 ,i
 believe1 pure ,burmans2 they have      
always some other blood in their veins1 
usually ,mahommedan4 ,and why8 ,because 
,buddhism accords with the instincts of 
the ,burman and no other faiths do4     
,yet pure ,buddhism knows no prayer1 and
 the ,burman prays4 ,why8 ,ah6 again it 
is the instinct of the heart4 ,he wants 
to pray1 and pray he will1 let his      
adopted faith say what it will4  ,but on
 the whole the beliefs of his heart are 
nearer akin to the theories of ,buddhism
 than the theories of any other faith1  
and therefore he is a ,buddhist4 ,that  
was one thing ,i learnt1 that religious 
systems are one thing and a man's       
religion another4 ,the former proceeds  
from the latter and never the reverse1  
and men profess creeds because the      
creeds agree more or less with their    
religious feelings2 they do not have    
religious feelings because they have    
adopted a creed1 whatever that creed may

 be4  ,i had at last come down from     
creeds1 which are theories1 to          
religions1 which are feelings and       
instincts2 ,i had left books1 which are 
of the intellect1 and come to the hearts
 of men4  ,from these facts was born a  
large distrust4 ,i had learnt what the  
,burman's faith was4 ,i learnt that his 
beliefs came from his heart1 were       
innate1 that they agreed only partially 
with his creed4 ,i found that so much   
stronger were they that where possible  
the observance of the faith had been    
altered to suit him1 that where the     
rigidity of the creed forbade1 he simply
 put the creed aside--as with prayer4 ,i
 found also that to begin with the      
theory of ,buddhism and reason down     
landed me nowhere1 but to begin with the
 ,burman and reason up explained        
everything that at first ,i could not   
understand4  ,clearly the way to arrive 
at things was to begin with facts4 ,what
 were the ,burman's instincts1 not only 
as referred to religion2 but generally8 

,what were his peculiarities8  ,i found 
many of them4 ,to take one as instance4 
,the ,burman has a very strong objection
 to authority4 ,there is nothing he     
dislikes so much1 not only as submitting
 to an interfering authority1 but to    
exercising it4 ,thus he has never       
developed any aristocracy1 nor any      
feudal system4 ,his ,government was of  
the slightest1 his villages were almost 
entirely self-directed4 ,no other people
 in the same stage of civilisation can  
show so much local freedom4 ,he would   
never serve another if he could help it4
 ,he liked freedom even if accompanied  
by poverty4 ,the ideas of obedience and 
of reverence for authority did not      
appeal to him as the highest emotions4  
,he dislikes interference4 ,he will not 
give advice often even if sought4  ,now 
,i said if this be one of his greatest  
instincts1 and if my theory be true1    
this instinct will be exhibited in his  
religion4 ,either ,buddhism must accept 
it1 or ,i shall find that the ,burman in

 this case ignores his creed4 ,so ,i    
looked1 and ,i found that ,buddhism was 
the very thing to assist such a feeling4
 ,buddhism knew no ,god1 no one to be   
always directing and interfering1 no one
 to demand obedience and reverence4     
,there was only ,law4 ,buddhism was the 
very ideal faith for such a man4 ,but in
 other matters it was not so4 ,the      
instinct of prayer is in the ,burman as 
in all people1 though perhaps less with 
him than others4 ,the ,buddhist theory  
allows of no prayer4 ,then does the     
,burman not follow his instinct8 ,my    
observation told me that here the       
,burman ignored his creed and satisfied 
his instinct despite of all4 ,but his   
instinct of prayer is slight1 of dislike
 to authority very great2 therefore he  
remains a ,buddhist4 ,had it been the   
other way he would probably have been a 
,hindu4 ,and so with many other things4 
,the ,burman might fairly be called a   
,buddhist1 not because he so dubbed     
himself1 but because his religious      

instincts were mainly in accordance more
 or less with the ,buddhist theory4     
,further1 ,i thought if this is true    
with the ,burman1 is it not likely to be
 true of all people8 ,i know that a     
creed1 a religious theory1 is no guide  
to the belief of a people4 ,if it were1 
would not all ,christian nations believe
 much the same1 have the same ideals1   
the same outcome of their beliefs8 ,but 
they do not4 ,they vary in a most       
extraordinary way4 ,each people has its 
own beliefs1 and no one agrees with     
another on more than one or two points4 
,and not one at all agrees with the     
theories they profess4 ,now as every    
,european nation has the same holy book1
 the same ,teacher1 the same ,example1  
how is this8 ,can it be explained by    
arguing from the creed down8 ,no4 ,but  
may be it can by reasoning from the     
people up4 ,it may be that ,i shall find
 elsewhere what ,i have found here1 that
 creeds do not influence people1 but    
people their creeds1 and that where the 

creed will not give way the people      
simply ignore it4 ,each people may have 
its own instinctive beliefs from within 
differing from all others4 ,and because 
they require a theory to explain1 and as
 it were codify1 these instincts1 they  
adopt nominally some great creed1 but   
with the reservation that in practice   
they will follow that creed only where  
it meets or can be made to meet their   
necessities1 and ignore it where it does
 not4 ,that may work out4 ,let me study 
mankind to find what they believe4      
,this ,i have tried to do1 and what ,i  
have found comes in the next chapters1  
but no one who has not tried knows how  
difficult it has been2 for ,i have found
 no one to help me1 no facts hardly1    
except what ,i myself might gather to go
 on4 ,books on religion and on folk-lore
 there are in plenty4 ,they have been of
 little use to me4 ,they all begin at   
the wrong end4 ,they all assume as facts
 what ,i do not think exist at all4     
,they talk1 for instance1 of            

,christianity as if in practice there is
 now or ever has been any such clear or 
definite thing4 ,there is ,roman        
,catholicism of different forms1 the    
ideas of the ,latin races2 there are the
 many religions of the ,slavs1 of the   
,teutons1 of the ,anglo-,saxons1 of the 
,iberians1 of the western ,celts1 all   
differing enormously1 all calling       
themselves ,christian4 ,there is the    
religion of the ,boers1 of the ,quakers1
 of the ,abyssinians1 of the            
,unitarians4 ,there used to be the      
,puritans1 the ,fifth ,monarchy men1 the
 ,arians1 and many another heresy4 ,they
 call themselves ,christians4 ,what are 
their real beliefs8 ,whence do they     
come8  ,it is the same with ,buddhism4  
,there are the ,burmese1 ,ceylon1       
,chinese1 ,japanese1 ,jain1 ,thibetan1  
and many another people that call       
themselves ,buddhist4 ,what are the real
 beliefs of these people8 ,i have found 
the ,burmese beliefs2 who has found the 
others8 ,the answer is1 no one has even 

looked for them4 ,they have started at  
the very end and reasoned down2 they    
have coloured the facts with their      
theories till they are worthless4  ,and 
the religions of ,greece and ,rome1 of  
,egypt1 of ,chaldea1 of many an ancient 
people1 out of what instincts did these 
people form their creeds8  ,as in       
tracing the ,burmese religion1 so in    
this further and wide attempt ,i have   
had practically only my own observation 
of facts to go on4 ,how narrow one man's
 observation must be can quickly be     
judged4 ,some knowledge of the ,burmese1
 a very little of ,mahommedans and      
,hindus1 a little of the wild tribes1   
and in ,europe some little knowledge of 
my own people and their history1 of     
,anglicanism and ,puritanism and        
,lutheranism1 some observation of the   
,latin peoples and their beliefs4 ,yet  
still1 narrow as the range is1 ,i think 
my theory works out4 ,i think that even 
in my narrow circle1 with my own limited
 knowledge and sympathies1 ,i have found

 enough to prove my case4 ,the evidences
 in the next chapter are1 it is true1   
few1 and the discussion of the subject  
must be greatly condensed4 ,still1      
wherever ,i have been able to           
investigate a point ,i have always found
 that my theory does prove true and the 
old theory false4 ,out of my theory is  
explained at once the divergences of the
 ,latins and ,teutons1 why one          
,christian people worship the ,madonna  
and another not1 why one has confession 
and another not4 ,i have never applied  
my key but the lock has turned4 ,i have 
never tried to reason the other way     
without coming to a full stop1 and ,i   
have never met anyone else or read any  
book that did not do the same4  ,for my 
belief is that religion is not a creed  
and does not come from creeds4 ,there   
are in men certain religious instincts1 
existing always1 modified from time to  
time by circumstances and brain         
developments4 ,out of these instincts   
grows religion1 and when a creed1 which 

is a theory of religion1 comes along and
 agrees with the main instincts of the  
people they adopt the name of the creed1
 they use it to codify and organise     
their instincts1 but they keep and      
develope their instincts nevertheless1  
regardless of the creed4 ,it is a       
fundamental error to talk of            
,christianity or ,buddhism4 ,we ought to
 speak of ,latinism1 ,teutonism1        
,burmanism1 ,tartarism1 ,quakerism4 ,in 
all essentials the ,quaker is infinitely
 nearer the ,burman than he is to the   
,puritan4     ,,chapter ,,xiv4          
,,religious ,,people4   ,it will not be 
denied1 ,i think1 that even in ,england1
 where we pride ourselves so much upon  
our religiousness1 where we have a      
hundred religions and only one sauce1   
the only country except ,russia where   
the head of the ,state is also the head 
of the ,national ,church1 that even in  
,england religion is unevenly divided4  
,men do not take to it so much as women1
 some men are attracted by it more than 

others1 some women more than the rest of
 women4 ,we find it in all qualities1 in
 all depths1 from the thin veil above   
the scepticism of many men of science to
 the deep emotional feeling of the      
enthusiast1 and it is nowhere a question
 of class1 of education1 or of          
occupation4 ,it would be very difficult1
 ,i think1 to assert1 and quite         
impossible to prove1 that religion      
affects any one class more than another2
 for it must not be forgotten that1     
although more perhaps of certain classes
 go to religious services than of       
others1 the explanation may not be any  
comparative excess of religious feeling4
 ,in a class where the women greatly    
exceed the men in numbers1 there will be
 apparently comparatively more religion1
 and the rank of society also influences
 the result4 ,for some it is easier and 
pleasanter to attend church or chapel   
than for others1 and a class which is   
not hardly worked during the week can   
more easily spare the leisure for       

religious exercises than others to whom 
the need for air1 for exercise1 for     
change1 appeals more strongly4 ,there   
may also be other factors at work4 ,but 
indeed it is unnecessary to press the   
matter closely1 for it will hardly be   
asserted1 ,i think1 that religion is    
ever a question of class4 ,one religion 
may be so1 but not religion broadly     
speaking1 not the religious temperament 
as it is called4 ,to whom1 then1 does   
religion appeal most1 and to what side  
of their nature does it appeal8         
,generally speaking1 ,i think1 to the   
more emotional and less intellectual4   
,that this is but a general rule1 with  
many exceptions of which ,i will speak  
later1 ,i admit4 ,but ,i think it will  
be admitted that it is a general rule4  
,intellect1 reason1 whether cultivated  
or not1 hard-headed common sense1       
whether in the great thinker or the     
artisan1 is seldom strongly religious4  
,faith of a kind they may retain1 but   
they usually restrain it to such a      

degree that it is not conspicuous4      
,hard-headed thinkers are rarely deeply 
religious4 ,but as you leave the domain 
which is the more dominated by thought1 
and descend or ascend--,i have no wish  
to infer inferiority or the reverse1--to
 the natures more accessible to         
sentiment1 more governed by the         
emotions1 religiosity increases4 ,till  
finally you arrive at the fanatic1 where
 reason has disappeared and emotion is  
the sole guide4  ,they are easily       
recognised1 these enthusiasts1 by their 
lined faces1 by their nervous speech1   
but above all by their eyes4 ,you can   
see there the emotional strain1 the too 
highly strung system which has abandoned
 itself to the excesses of religion4    
,but there seems to be another rule2    
religion varies according to the        
interests a person has in life4 ,a man1 
or a woman1 with many interests1 with   
much work1 living a full life in the    
world1 has but little time usually for  
religion2 he can devote but a small part

 of his life to it4 ,its call is to him 
less imperative1 less alluring2 it is   
but one among many notes4 ,but as the   
absorption in daily life decreases1 as  
the demands from without are less1 so   
does the devotion to religion increase4 
,until at last among these rural people1
 who with strong feelings have but      
little to gratify them1 whose lives are 
the dreary monotony of a daily routine  
into which excitement or novelty never  
enters1 we find often the greatest1 the 
strongest1 and narrowest faith4 ,so too 
among those many women of our middle    
classes whose lives1 from the want of   
mankind or of children1 fall into narrow
 ways1 whose lives are dull1 whose      
natural affections and desires are too  
often thwarted1 there lives the purest  
and strongest1 if often1 too1 the       
narrowest religion4 ,it comes to them as
 a help where there is none other1 it   
brings to them emotions when the world  
holds for them none1 it contains in     
itself beauty and love and interest when

 the world has refused them4 ,how much1 
how very much of the deeper religious   
feeling is due to the want of other     
pleasure in life1 to the forced         
introspection of solitude1 to the desire
 to feel emotion when there is nothing  
without to raise it4  ,the old and      
disappointed turn almost always to      
religion4 ,thus it seems as if the      
quality of religion in mankind were due 
to two causes2 to temperament1 according
 to the emotional necessity1 the desire 
for stimulation and the absence of      
mental restriction2 and to environment1 
according as the life led furnishes     
excitement and interest or is dull1     
leading to a search within for that     
which does not come from without4 ,of   
such are the ultra religious4         99
       99       99       99       99    
,and the irreligious1 those who say     
openly that they have no religion1      
amongst whom are they to be found8 ,they
 can1 ,i think1 be divided into three   
classes4  ,there are first of all those 

who are very low down in the scale of   
humanity1 who are wanting in all the    
finer instincts of mankind4 ,you will   
find them usually in cities1 amongst the
 dregs of the people2 for in the country
 it is difficult to find any who are    
quite without the finer emotions4 ,the  
air and land and sky1 the sunset and the
 sunrise1 the myriad beauties of the    
world1 do not leave them quite unmoved4 
,and then solitude1 which gives men time
 to think1 not to reason but to think2  
which gives their hearts peace to hear  
the echoes of nature1 is a great        
refiner4 ,countrymen are often stupid1  
they are rarely brutalised4  ,then there
 are the sensualists of all classes in  
life4 ,it is a strange thing to notice  
that of all the commands of religions1  
of all laws of conduct they have given  
forth1 but one only is almost invariably
 kept4 ,there is but one crime that the 
religious rarely commit1 and that is    
sensuality4 ,it is true the rule is not 
absolute4 ,there are the                

,swedenborgians1 if theirs can be called
 a religion4 ,i doubt myself if it be   
so1 if this one fact did not oust it    
from the family of faiths4 ,but however 
that may be1 sensuality in all history  
has been almost always allied to        
irreligion4 ,not as a consequence1 but  
because ,i think both proceed from the  
same cause1 a nerve weakness and        
irritability arising from deficient     
vitality1 a want of the finer emotions1 
which are religion4  ,finally1 there are
 the philosophers4 ,in all history1 in  
all countries1 in all faiths there have 
been the thinkers1 the reasoners1 the   
lovers of wisdom1 and they have rejected
 the religion of their people4  ,of what
 sort are these philosophers8 ,are they1
 as they claim to be1 the cream of      
mankind1 those who have the pure reason8
 ,are they such as the world admires8 ,i
 think not4 ,for pure reason does not   
appeal to mankind4 ,it is too cold1 too 
hard1 too arid4 ,it is barren and       
produces nothing4 ,what has philosophy  

given the world but unending words8 ,it 
is the denial of emotion1 and emotion is
 life4 ,it is the reduction of living to
 the formula of mathematics--a grey     
world4 ,those who1 rejecting religion1  
rely on pure reason1 are those who have 
lost the stronger emotions1 who have    
heads but no hearts1 while the          
enthusiasts have hearts but no heads4   
,and in between these lie the great mass
 of men who are religious but not       
fanatics1 who reason but who do not look
 to reason to prove their religion1 the 
men and women who live large lives1 and 
are lost neither in the tumult of       
unrestrained emotion1 nor bound in the  
iron limits of a mental syllogism4  ,do 
you infer1 it will be asked1 that       
religion is in inverse ratio to reason8 
,but it is not so4 ,many men1 most men  
of the highest intellectual attainments1
 have been deeply religious1 great      
soldiers1 sailors1 statesmen1           
discoverers2 the great men are on our   
side1 the thinkers have been with us4 ,i

 am not sure of that4 ,the great doers  
have always been religious1 the great   
thinkers rarely so4 ,no man has ever1 ,i
 think1 sat down calmly unbiassed to    
reason out his religion and not ended by
 rejecting it4 ,the great men who have  
also been religious do not invalidate   
what ,i say4 ,newton was a great        
thinker1 perhaps one of the greatest    
thinkers of all time4 ,he could follow  
natural laws and occurrences with the   
keenest eye for flaws1 for mistakes1 for
 rash assumption4 ,he could never accept
 until he had proved4 ,but did he ever  
apply this acumen to religion8 ,not so2 
he accepted at once the chronology of   
the ,old ,testament unhesitatingly1     
blindly1 and worked out a chronology of 
the ,fall much as did ,archbishop       
,usher4  ,indeed1 ,i think it is always 
so4 ,there is no assumption more        
fallacious than that because a man is a 
keen reasoner on one subject he is also 
on another1 that because one thing is   
fair ground for controversy other things

 are so also4 ,men who are really       
religious1 who believe in their faith   
whatever that faith may be1 consider it 
above proof1 beyond argument4 ,it is    
strange at first1 it is to later        
thoughts one of the most illuminating   
things1 to hear a keen reasoner who is  
also a religious man talk1 to note the  
change of mental attitude as the subject
 changes4 ,in ordinary matters          
everything is subject to challenge1 to  
discussion1 to rules of logic4 ,but when
 it is religion that comes up1 note the 
dropped voice1 the softened face1 the   
gentle light in the eye4 ,it is emotion 
now1 not reason2 feeling1 not induction4
 ,it is a subject few religious men care
 to discuss at all1 because they know it
 is not a matter of pure reason4 ,true  
religion1 therefore1 that beautiful     
restrained emotion which all who have it
 treasure1 which those who have not envy
 and hate1 lives among the men who are  
between these extremes4 ,those who with 
strong emotions have but narrow outlets 

for it become unduly religious1 narrow  
sectarians4  ,those with uncontrolled   
religious emotions become fanatics1     
those with none but brute emotions      
remain brutes4 ,those whom the cult of  
sensual desires has overcome follow     
,horace and ,omar ,khayyam4 ,those in   
whom reason has overpowered and killed  
the emotions become those most arid of  
people1 philosophers4 ,true and         
beautiful faith is to be found only     
amongst those who lie between all these 
extremes4 ,they have many and keen      
emotions1 but they find many outlets for
 them all1 so that the stream of feeling
 is not directed into one narrow        
channel4 ,and they employ reason not as 
a murdering dissecting power1 but as an 
equaliser and balancer of the living4   
,reason is not concerned with what      
religion is1 but only with the relative 
position religious emotions shall occupy
 in life4 ,too little lets it run wild1 
too much kills it4  ,but religion is    
never reason4 ,it is a cult of certain  

of the emotions4 ,what these emotions   
are ,i hope to explain further on4      
,,chapter ,,xv4  ,,enthusiasm4   ,such  
are the qualities and such the          
circumstances that increase and nourish 
religious feeling1 of such are the more 
religious of all peoples4 ,what is the  
result in their lives8 ,does their      
religion cause them to live more worthy 
lives8 ,are the more deeply religious   
those whom the world at large most      
deeply respects8 ,what is the effect of 
their religion in their lives8  ,i am   
not speaking here of professors of      
religion1 of priests or monks1 of fakirs
 or yogis1 of any whose lives are       
directly devoted to the practice of the 
teaching of religion4 ,they are a class 
apart1 and are judged by standards other
 than ordinary men4 ,their world is     
another than that of ordinary folk4 ,i  
speak now of the religion of those who  
still live the lives of ordinary people4
 ,what effect has religion upon them1   
and how are they ordinarily regarded in 

the world8  ,it is strange that if      
indeed religion be the truth of truths  
it should be regarded with such         
impatience1 with such suspicion1 if     
brought into ordinary life4 ,for so it  
is4 ,every class has its own rules1 its 
own conventions2 every profession1 every
 teacher1 every form of society has its 
own rules1 which are not founded at all 
upon religion4 ,in every walk of life it
 is assumed that1 subject to the special
 etiquette of that trade or profession  
and to the observance of what is        
considered honourable conduct therein1  
every man's actions are governed by     
self-interest alone4 ,if a man allege   
any reasons but this he is regarded with
 doubt and suspicion4 ,he is avoided4 ,i
 will give an instance in point4 ,there 
was a doctor once whom ,i knew who      
practised a certain cure for disease--it
 is quite immaterial what the system    
was2 it was especially good for tropical
 diseases--and as some of us were       
conversing with him on the subject1 and 

recalling with gratitude and pleasure   
the benefit we had derived1 it was      
suggested to him that he might do well  
in ,india4 ,if in a hill station1 we    
said1 you were to establish yourself and
 practise your treatment1 you would have
 a large clientele4 ,many ,englishmen   
who could not afford the time to come   
home would come to you1 and there would 
be natives also4 ,such treatment as     
yours would hurt no one's caste4 ,no    
doubt you would do well1 you would make 
a name and be rich4 ,this was his       
answer3 ,i would not care about that if 
,i could only do those poor natives some
 good4 ,it was sincerely uttered1 ,i    
doubt not4 ,there was no conscious cant1
 but it fell upon his hearers as a      
chill4 ,the conversation dropped1 it    
changed1 and gradually we went away4    
,the remark pained4 ,why8 ,it is always 
so4 ,trade is trade and professions are 
professions1 but religion is apart4 ,it 
is not to be intruded into daily life2  
it is to be kept sedulously away4 ,not  

because its introduction suggests       
something higher and shames or          
discountenances the observances of life4
 ,the feeling is the very reverse4 ,we  
suspect it4 ,it does not suggest a      
higher code of morality at all4 ,no man 
of experience but would instinctively   
avoid doing business with anyone who    
brought his religious motives into daily
 intercourse4 ,let a man be as          
honourable1 as scrupulous1 as           
high-minded as he can4 ,we honour him   
for it4 ,but religious6 ,no4 ,to say    
that we suspect the speaker of cant is  
not always correct4 ,it may in cases be 
so1 but not always1 not generally4 ,it  
is not the reason of the instinctive    
withdrawal4 ,to say that religious      
feeling is a handicap in the struggle   
for life is also incorrect4 ,it is not a
 handicap at all4 ,let a man be as      
religious as he likes provided he       
tempers it with common sense and keeps  
the expression of it for home           
consumption4 ,to say that a man is      

highly religious in his private life is 
praise1 and creates confidence4 ,to say 
that a man intrudes religious principles
 into his business or profession or     
daily intercourse is enough to make men 
shun him at once4 ,he becomes an        
impossible person4 ,this is a strange   
commentary on the theory of religion1   
that what is supposed to elevate life   
is1 when introduced into everyday       
affairs1 almost always a sign of        
incompetence or fraud4 ,yet it may be   
so4 ,some years ago all ,britain was    
alarmed by a terrible bank failure4 ,it 
was colossal1 the biggest perhaps that  
has ever occurred4 ,there were no       
assets1 and there were liabilities of   
over ten million pounds4 ,the shares    
were unlimited1 and the shareholders    
liable for all this great sum of money  
made away with by dishonesty and crime4 
,it brought ruin1 absolutely blank ruin1
 to many thousands of people4  ,the     
directors of this bank were known in the
 city as religious men4 ,they were kirk 

elders1 ,sunday school teachers1        
preachers--,i know not what4 ,they were 
steeped in religion and iniquity to the 
lips4 ,they were tried1 and some went to
 penal servitude4  ,there was again some
 years later another terrible failure4  
,it was a building society and its      
allied concerns4 ,and again the chief   
managers were known as intensely        
religious men4 ,they too1 were prominent
 members of the religious community to  
which they belonged2 they gave freely to
 charity2 they held1 it was stated1     
prayer meetings before each consultation
 of the ,board4 ,they were steeped in   
lying and fraud also4 ,and again quite  
recently a solicitor absconded with     
great sums of trust money4 ,the same    
story4 ,it has been the same story over 
and over and over again4  ,the writer   
can remember being concerned in the     
trial of a similar case in the ,east4   
,it is useless to assert that all these 
men were hypocrites1 that they shammed  
religion1 that they used it as a bait to

 catch the unwary4 ,it may be true in   
one case or two1 but not in the         
majority4 ,it is useless to assert that 
their assumption of religion was false4 
,who discovered it to be false until the
 catastrophe8 ,no one4 ,they lived among
 religious men1 their lives were to a   
great extent open4 ,was there any doubt 
about the truth of their religion then8 
,no one has suggested such a thing4     
,these men were religious from boys1    
they lived among religious people all   
their lives4 ,they were honoured and    
respected for that religion4 ,no man    
could sham such a thing4 ,it is easy to 
talk of deceit2 but a life of such      
deceit1 such sham is impossible4 ,it is 
quite absolutely impossible4 ,that the  
religion of these men was and is as good
 and as real as that of other men it is 
impossible to doubt4 ,criminals are     
often very religious4 ,what is the      
explanation of this8  ,well1 ,christians
 when presented with these facts have   
two answers4 ,one is that these men are 

all shams--an impossible explanation4   
,the other is a mournful shake of the   
head1 and the statement that such a     
connection ought not to be2 religion    
should always purify a man4 ,should and 
ought6 ,what answers are these8 ,who can
 tell what should and what ought to     
happen8 ,the question is what does      
happen8 ,and all history tells us that  
there is nothing so deplorable1 nothing 
that results in such certain            
catastrophe1 nothing that ends by so    
outraging all our better feelings1 as   
the bringing of religion into affairs4  
,let us recall at random the greatest   
abominations we can remember4 ,the      
,thirty ,years' ,war1 the ,dragonnades1 
,st4 ,bartholomew1 the ,witch ,trials1  
the fires of ,smithfield1 the           
persecution of the ,catholic priests in 
,elizabeth's time1 the ,irish ,penal    
,laws4 ,all these were done by religious
 people in the name of religion4 ,no    
faith is free from the stain4 ,can      
anyone possibly say that the men        

responsible for these were shams8 ,was  
,cortez a sham1 was ,cromwell1 were all 
the ,catholics in ,france shams8 ,were  
the ,crusaders1 who celebrated the      
victory that gave back the city of the  
,prince of ,peace to ,his believers by  
an indiscriminate massacre1 shams8 ,did 
not the ,german ,emperor in one breath  
tell his army that their model was      
,christ1 and then in the next to show no
 quarter in ,china8 ,who were the most  
ruthless suppressers of the ,mutiny8    
,did not blood-thirstiness and religion 
go together8 ,is the ,boer religion     
sham8 ,yet they lie and rob as well as  
any other man1 or better4 ,is it not a  
maxim that a fanatic in any religion is 
simply blind1 not only to his own code1 
but to all morality8 ,does not the      
religious press of all countries furnish
 examples of the deplorable lengths to  
which religion1 unrestrained by worldly 
common sense and worldly decency and    
honour1 will go8 ,i do not wish to press
 the point2 it is a very unpleasant one4

 ,no one who honours religion can touch 
it without sorrow2 no one who is trying 
clearly to see what religions are can   
overlook it4 ,religion requires to be   
tempered with common sense1 with worldly
 moderation and restraint2 taken by     
itself it is simply a calamity4 ,but if 
religion has its failures1 has it not   
its successes8 ,have not great and      
beautiful things been done in its name8 
,are not almost all the great heroisms  
outcomes of religion8 ,yes1 that is     
true1 too4 ,if religion has much to be  
ashamed of it has very much to be proud 
of4 ,in its name has been done much of  
which we are proud4 ,no one will deny   
that4 ,more than enough to set off the  
evil8 ,well1 that is hardly what ,i am  
seeking4 ,i am trying to find out what  
is the effect of religion--or1 rather1  
of an excess of religion--when imported 
into life4 ,is the influence all for    
good8 ,i think in face of history we    
cannot say that4 ,has it been all for   
evil8 ,that answer is also impossible4  

,then what effect has it had8 ,and ,i   
think the reply is this4  ,when religion
 7any religion1 for it is as true of the
 ,east as the ,west7 is brought out or  
into daily life and used as a guide or a
 weapon in the world it has no effect   
either for good or evil4 ,its effect is 
simply in strengthening the heart1 in   
blinding the eyes1 in deafening the     
ears4 ,it is an intensive force1 an     
intoxicant4 ,it doubles or trebles a    
man's powers4 ,it is an impulsive force 
sending him headlong down the path of   
emotion1 whether that path lead to glory
 or to infamy4 ,it is a tremendous      
stimulant1 that is all4 ,it overwhelms  
the reason in a wave of feeling2 and    
therefore all men rightly distrust it1  
and the tendency grows daily stronger to
 keep it away from affairs4 ,for the    
people who are most apt to bring        
religious motives into daily use are not
 the clearest and the steadiest2 they   
are the more emotional1 the least       
self-controlled1 those who are fondest  

of sensation4 ,and the want of          
self-control1 the thirst for emotion1   
when it passes a certain point is1 we   
know1 always allied to immorality1 is   
very frequently a form of incipient     
insanity1 and not seldom results in     
crime4  ,it is not probable any believer
 will think the above true of his own   
faith1 but he will do so of every other4
 ,if you are an ,european1 think of     
,mahommedanism1 of some forms of        
,hinduism1 of the ,boxers1 who are a    
religious sect4 ,you will admit it to be
 true of them certainly1 as they will of
 you4 ,and to come nearer1 if you are a 
,catholic1 you will see how true it is  
of ,protestantism2 if you are a         
,protestant1 of ,catholicism4 ,and that 
is enough4 ,each believer must and will 
defend his own faith2 that is the       
exception1 the one absolute ,truth4 ,so 
we will suppose this chapter to refer   
only to others1 the false faiths4       
,everyone will admit it to be true of   
them4  ,it must not be forgotten that   

this chapter is not of the general      
effect or the ordinary results of       
religion4 ,it applies only to the excess
 when brought into public or business   
life4 ,do not let us have any mistake4  
,of the ordinary effect of religion in  
an ordinary person there is here no word
 at all4 ,the general effect of religion
 on private natural life is quite       
another subject1 a very different       
subject indeed4 ,therefore let us have  
no misunderstanding4     ,,chapter      
,,xvi4  ,,strength ,,and ,,weakness4    
,has1 then1 a force1 or a teaching that 
is capable of excess1 no use8  ,if you  
look back at the histories of peoples1  
at the histories of their great wars1   
their movements1 their enthusiasms1 you 
will find that on one side or another1  
usually on both1 religion has been      
invoked to their aid4 ,for one side or  
for both the enthusiasm has been        
declared to be a religious enthusiasm1  
the war a religious war1 the awakening  
of thought a religious awakening4 ,the  

gods fought for the ,greeks before ,troy
 as the saints did for the ,spaniards   
against the ,huns1 as the ,boers        
expected the ,almighty to fight in      
,south ,africa to-day4 ,the intellectual
 revolt of the ,teuton against the      
mental leading-strings of the ,latins   
became a conflict of religion1 as did   
the political conflict of the ,puritans 
against the ,stuart ,kings4 ,it has been
 religion always1 if possible1 that has 
been called on to lend strength and     
enthusiasm to the fighters to attempt   
forlorn hopes1 to carry out far-reaching
 reforms1 to dare everything for the    
end4  ,there is one great exception4    
,in the conflict that broke out in      
,france at the end of the last century1 
that storm which swept before it the    
breakwaters of a world and changed      
mediaeval ,europe into that of to-day1  
religion was not the motive power4      
,those six hundred men of ,marseilles   
who knew how to die were sustained by no
 religious belief4 ,those armies which  

affronted the world in arms had no      
celestial champions in their ranks4     
,those iconoclasts1 who broke down the  
barriers that made the good things of   
the world a forbidden city to all but a 
caste1 had no religious doctrine to work
 by4  ,indeed1 it may be said that it   
was quite the reverse1 that the war of  
the ,revolution was against religion2   
but ,i doubt if that is quite the truth4
 ,that the war was against the priests  
is in great measure true1 but it was    
because of their support to the nobles1 
because of their connection with worldly
 abuses1 because of their irreligion1   
that they were attacked4 ,religion1 too1
 suffered1 it is true1 but only         
incidentally and for a time4 ,and       
anyhow1 you cannot get force out of a   
negation4 ,but however this may be1 the 
point as far as ,i am now concerned is  
not material2 for all ,i want here to   
assert is that the enthusiasm which     
acted as a breath of life to the        
half-dead millions of ,france was not a 

religious enthusiasm4 ,it never even    
assumed at any time a religious basis4  
,it was not an enthusiasm of ,god1 but  
of ,humanity1 and the war cry was       
,liberty1 ,equality1 ,fraternity4 ,it   
was a revolt of the bond against the    
gaoler1 of the spoiled against the      
ravishers2 it was the assertion of the  
absolute equality and liberty of man4   
,looking back at that turmoil now from  
the security of a hundred years it is   
easy to scorn these enthusiasts4 ,we can
 point to their excesses1 to the        
horrible crimes that were committed1 and
 ask where was ,liberty then2 to their  
wars1 and ask in vain for the           
,fraternity2 to their proscription of   
whole classes made in the name of       
,equality4 ,the excesses are so black1  
so prominent1 that it is even possible  
sometimes to forget the great vitalising
 and regenerating effect of that        
enthusiasm4  ,it is easy1 too1 now that 
all is past1 to criticise the very war  
cry itself4 ,liberty1 we say6 ,yes1     

liberty is good--in moderation and      
according to circumstances4 ,all liberty
 is not good4 ,children must be under   
government1 they cannot be quite free4  
,they have to be directed in the right  
way4 ,and peoples1 too1 and classes who 
have fallen behind in the race1 who are 
unable to live up to the higher         
standards of greater nations1 they      
cannot be free4 ,then the citizen of a  
great nation must in many matters resign
 his liberty for better things4 ,liberty
 is good1 in moderation1 and so are     
,equality and ,fraternity1 but they are 
not absolute truths4 ,to cry them aloud1
 as did the ,revolutionists of ,france1 
to insist upon them in season and out of
 season1 is to fall into an error almost
 as great as their opponents'4 ,we have 
little doubt now that in every          
well-ordered state there must be        
inequality1 submission to masters as    
well as freedom1 and that there are many
 people it is quite undesirable to      
fraternise with4 ,truth lies in the     

mean4  ,and yet consider1 does truth    
always lie in the mean8 ,there were the 
peasants of ,france ground into the very
 earth1 denied any sort of equality with
 the nobles1 any sort of liberty at all1
 hopelessly unable to fraternise with   
anyone4 ,to breathe into them the breath
 of life1 to rouse them from their      
deadly lethargy to a furious enthusiasm1
 to fill their hearts so full that they 
would go forward and never cease till   
they had won1 that was the eminent      
necessity4 ,the difficulties were so    
immense1 the arms of the people so weak1
 the chains so rivetted into their souls
 that only from a furious and           
uncontrollable impulse could any help be
 obtained4 ,if the philosopher had gone 
to these dry bones of men1 thrashing the
 ponds all night to prevent the frogs   
annoying their seigneur by croaking1    
sowing for others to reap1 raising up   
sons to be slaves1 and daughters to be  
worse than slaves--if he had gone to    
them and said1 ,my friends1 you are     

ground down too much2 you want a little 
more freedom--not too much1 but some2   
you require more equality--not complete1
 for the perfect state requires certain 
inequalities1 but more than you have2   
you require also a modicum of           
fraternity1 what would he have effected8
 ,that level-headed philosopher would be
 saying the truth doubtless1 and        
,liberty1 ,equality1 ,fraternity1 as the
 ,revolutionists understood it1 were    
impossibilities1 therefore untruths2 but
 what would he have effected8 ,would his
 truth have freed the slaves1 have burst
 their chains2 have restored sunlight to
 a continent1 as the exaggeration did8  
,never imagine it4 ,it may be that in   
the mean lies truth1 but in exaggeration
 lies motive power4 ,it was in the      
glorious dreams1 the beautiful          
imaginings1 the surgings of the heart   
that arose from that war cry ,liberte1  
,egalite1 ,fraternite1 that the strength
 lay4 ,there is no strength in the mean4
 ,it is the enthusiasts that make the   

world move4 ,if they have been guilty of
 half the misery1 they have achieved    
half the joy of the world4 ,and         
therefore consider again1 before you    
brand beliefs and the teachings and     
enthusiasms as untruths1 because they   
are exaggerations1 because they are     
unworkable as they stand4 ,what is      
,truth and ,untruth8 ,is not truth also 
to be judged by its results8 ,may not   
what is an untruth now have been a      
living truth then8 ,have we reduced     
truth to measure8 ,if1 therefore1 this  
which is an exaggeration now was then a 
necessary revivifying truth may there   
not be others like it8 ,consider the    
conditions of the world into which the  
,buddha preached first the teaching of  
peace1 of purity1 of calm1 of holiness4 
,it was a world of unrest1 of fierce    
striving1 of savage passions1 expressed 
to their full4 ,it was a world wherein  
these were virtues worshipped to        
exaggeration4 ,it was a world without   
balance1 and to redress this balance    

there came the ,buddha with his teaching
 of the rejection of all the glories of 
the world1 the teaching of the cult of  
the soul1 the aspiration after peace1   
and beauty1 and rest4  ,as was the world
 to whom the ,buddha preached so was the
 world to whom the ,christ preached six 
hundred years later4 ,their codes of    
conduct were the same4 ,against violence
 they taught resignation1 against the   
search for glory they taught            
renunciation2 they opposed pride with   
meekness1 struggle with calm1 success in
 this world by happiness in the next4   
,they came to redress the balance of the
 world2 they came to make men hope4 ,and
 therefore it is impossible to take     
their codes by themselves and consider  
them1 to reject them because they do not
 express the exact truth4 ,what is to be
 considered is not that code alone1 but 
the purpose it came to fulfil4 ,the     
codes of ,buddha and of ,christ are     
exaggerations1 that is true2 they cannot
 be lived up to in their entirety1 that 

is also true4 ,taken alone they are     
impossible2 that is true4 ,are they then
 untrue1 useless1 valueless guides to   
conduct8  ,not quite so4 ,for man is so 
built that he requires an exaggeration4 
,if you would persuade him to go with   
you a mile you must urge him to come    
two2 if you would have him acquire a    
reasonable freedom you must create in   
him an enthusiasm for unreasonable      
freedom2 if you would have him moderate 
his passions he must be adjured to      
wholly suppress them4  ,and therefore1  
it may be1 do these codes of ,buddha and
 ,christ live4 ,not because they are    
absolutely true1 not because they       
furnish an ideal mode of life1 not in   
order to be fully accepted1 but because 
they are exaggerations that balance     
exaggerations2 and out of the mean has  
come what is worth having2 because they 
have an effect which the exact truth    
would not have in the masses of men4    
,they have been truth1 because their    
results were true4         99       99  

99       99       99  ,but the world is 
growing older1 it is learning many      
things4 ,never again can we hear that   
cry of ,liberte1 ,egalite1 ,fraternite1 
the enthusiasms of a nation for its     
ideals4 ,these ideals were true then1   
they were true because their work was   
true4 ,but their work is done2 men's    
eyes are open now1 we do not require    
such exaggerations to move us to our    
work4 ,they were in themselves but half 
truths4 ,it required the violent        
assertions of inequality1 of slavery1 to
 make up a whole truth4 ,with one has   
died the necessity for the other4  ,and 
so it may be with the codes of ,buddhism
 and ,christianity4 ,they were true in  
their day1 because they had their work  
to do4 ,to have any effect at all they  
had to be enormous exaggerations2 to    
earn any respect or attention they had  
to be proclaimed as perfect1 as divine4 
,but now1 with the dying of the old     
brutalities1 with the growth of         
civilisation1 of humanity1 and culture1 

the old savage exaggerations are dying  
out4 ,the world is more refined1 more   
effeminate1 more clear-sighted4 ,it says
 to itself1 ,these codes1 if divine and 
perfect1 must be capable of being       
implicitly obeyed2 but they cannot be   
obeyed1 and therefore they are not      
divine4  ,and in the increased          
civilisation we feel less the need of a 
teaching of gentleness2 our nature is no
 longer too coarse2 it may be it is     
going the other way1 that the softening 
process is going too far1 and that our  
need is a new savagery4 ,and above all  
we hate exaggeration4 ,to minds capable 
of thought1 of reason1 and of culture1  
exaggeration on one side is no excuse   
for exaggeration on the other4 ,we are  
changing from the older men who required
 enthusiasms to drive them and violent  
exaggerations to cause them to move4 ,we
 like exactitude4  ,these codes were    
made for rougher days than ours4 ,they  
were true then4 ,they are not true      
now--not true1 at least1 to the more    

thoughtful4 ,but that they were true    
once1 that the world owes to them its   
rescue from the exaggeration of the     
passions1 we must never forget4 ,they   
were truths while opposed4 ,when opposed
 no longer they become false and fall4  
,an exaggeration can only be useful as  
long as it is not perceived to be so4   
,set up two beams against each other1   
they are savagery and the purist codes4 
,while one stands so does the other1 and
 they make an equilibrium4 ,but take    
away one and straightway the other must 
fall too4 ,one cannot stand alone4      
,,chapter ,,xvii4  ,,mind ,,and ,,body4 
,i have been lent your book ',the ,soul 
of a ,people1' said a lady to me1 but ,i
 have only had time so far to read the  
dedication4 ,do you know what ,i        
exclaimed8  ,i cannot even guess1 ,i    
replied4  ,i said1 ',how very           
scientific4' ,do you know what ,i meant8
  ,as my dedication is to the ,burmese  
people1 and only says ,i have tried     
always to see their virtues and forget  

their faults1 as a friend should1 ,i was
 quite unable to see where the science  
came in1 and ,i said so4  ,it is        
,christian ,science1 she told me4  ,then
 she proceeded to tell me much about    
this ,christian science1 that it was the
 science of looking at the best side of 
things1 that it cured the body by mind1 
despair by hope1 darkness by light1     
solitude by a sense of the companionship
 of ,god 7good74 ,she had proof in her  
own family of what a change it can bring
 to the unhappy4 ,it was1 she said1 all 
new1 and discovered by ,mrs4 ,eddy4     
,this was not1 of course1 the first ,i  
had heard of this strange cult4 ,it has 
been in the air for some time past4     
,mostly it has been jeered at as an     
absurdity by those who have looked only 
at the extraordinary claims it makes1 at
 the intellectual fog it offers as      
thought1 at the childishness and        
inconsequence of whatever conceptions   
could be picked out of the maze of      
words2 and up till then it had seemed to

 me but another of those misty          
foolishnesses that amuse people who have
 nothing else to do4  ,but when a case  
of real benefit1 of benefit ,i could see
 and understand1 was offered me in proof
 of its value1 it seemed to me worth    
while to consider what there was in this
 teaching1 to see what sense lay in this
 apparent senselessness1 and to what    
want this new science appealed4  ,i have
 mentioned elsewhere in this book--it is
 a fact that comes to one who has been  
in the ,east many years very            
strongly--the aimless pessimism that is 
so prevalent in ,england and ,europe4 ,i
 am not here concerned with its cause4  
,mainly1 perhaps1 it is due to the rise 
of a great class of middle and          
upper-middle people who have no object  
in life4 ,they have by inheritance or   
acquirement enough money to live upon1  
and the struggle for life passes them   
by4 ,they have no necessity to work1 and
 they are not endowed with the brain or 
energy necessary to take to themselves  

some object or pursuit4 ,their minds and
 sympathies have never been trained by  
necessity4 ,they have fallen out of the 
great world of life and passion into    
eddies and backwaters4 ,they have become
 flabby1 both bodily1 mentally1 and     
emotionally1 and1 conscious of their own
 uselessness1 they have fallen into the 
saddest pessimism4 ,they are not blase1 
because they have never tasted the      
realities of life2 they have few        
friends1 because they have no common    
interest to bind them to others4 ,their 
lives are monotonies1 and their thoughts
 and speech are a prolonged whine4 ,they
 are perpetually searching and never    
finding1 because they know not what they
 seek4 ,most of them are women1 but     
there are men also4 ,i do not mean that 
all ,christian ,scientists are from the 
ranks of the unemployed4 ,it is         
recruited also from those who with      
larger needs for emotion find the       
circumstances of ordinary life too      
narrow for them1 from the over nervous  

and weak of all classes4 ,but the       
majority are1 ,i think1 of those who do 
nothing4  ,they turn to the established 
religions1 vaguely hoping for the       
emotional stimulus they need1 but they  
fail to find it4  ,i am not quite sure  
why4 ,one ,christian ,scientist assured 
me that ,mrs4 ,eddy had discovered1 all 
out of her own mind1 that ,god was      
,love1 and that was why ,christian      
,science was so successful4 ,this was a 
lady who had gone to church regularly   
all her life4 ,yet she supposed this a  
new discovery6 ,a strange but not at all
 solitary instance of what ,i have so   
often found1 that the immense majority  
who call themselves ,christians have    
never tried to realize what their       
religion is4 ,many others have told me  
that they are ,christian ,scientists for
 other allied reasons4 ,but no doubt the
 great attraction of ,christian ,science
 is in its doctrine1 that bodily ills   
can be cured by mental effort1 the      
assertion that evil exists only in the  

mind4 ,this is1 of course1 nothing new4 
,faith healing has been common in all   
stages of the world1 has allied itself  
to all religions4 ,there is the standing
 example of ,lourdes to-day1 there was  
the relic worship of the middle ages1   
the pilgrimages and washings in sacred  
pools4 ,it is common all over the world4
 ,the good effects attributed1 and often
 truly1 to charms and magic are but     
another instance of it4 ,a great deal of
 the sickness and unhappiness of the    
world has always been purely the result 
of a diseased thought acting upon the   
body4 ,the great antidote the world has 
always offered to this evil has been    
work4 ,in daily work1 in the necessity  
for daily effort1 in the forced         
detachment of mind it brings on1 in the 
interest that a worker is obliged to    
take in his work lest he fail1 or even  
starve1 lies the great tonic4 ,and to   
this has been always added the belief in
 some religious rite1 or in charms4     
,but these resources are closed to the  

unhappy class that ,i am writing of4    
,they need not work4 ,they never have   
worked at anything1 and know not how to 
do it4 ,even from childhood their brains
 have been relaxed and their interests  
narrowed4 ,yet a great interest is a    
necessity for all men and women4 ,but   
consider the lives of these people1     
especially of the women1 how terrible it
 is4 ,there is nothing they care for1   
nothing4 ,one day of monotony is added  
to another for ever4 ,marriage and      
children may dissipate it for a time1   
may give them the interest they require1
 but it does not last long4 ,love fades 
into indifference1 the children grow up4
 ,they no longer need care and thought1 
and there is nothing else4 ,dull1 blank 
misery descends upon them as a garment  
never to be lifted4  ,and if the love be
 a disappointment1 a tragedy1 then what 
help is there anywhere8 ,let me die1 she
 cries1 and be done with it4 ,life is   
not worth living4 ,the world is         
horrible1 because they see the world    

through glasses dimmed with their own   
misery4  ,to them comes ,mrs4 ,eddy and 
says1 ,all the evil you feel1 the mental
 sickness1 the bodily sickness1 is      
imaginary4 ,face your evils in the      
certainty that they are but bogies and  
they will flee before you4 ,you shall   
again become well and strong1 and life  
shall be worth living4  ,it is1 of      
course1 a wild exaggeration4 ,pain and  
sickness are real things1 and the empire
 of the mind over the body is very      
limited4 ,still1 there is an empire and 
it must never be forgotten4 ,the        
healthy-minded--those who work1 who live
 their lives1 who love and hate1 and    
fight1 and win and lose1 to whom the    
world is a great arena--will laugh at   
,mrs4 ,eddy4 ,they need not this        
teaching which is half a truth and half 
a lie4 ,they see the false half only    
because they need not the true half4    
,and the others1 the mental invalids1   
they see the true half and not the      
false4 ,it is all true to them1 and it  

must be all true to be of use1 for power
 lies in the exaggeration1 never in the 
mean4 ,this is the secret of ,christian 
,science4 ,we have in our midst a       
terrible disease1 growing daily worse1  
the disease of inutility1 which breeds  
pessimism1 and ,mrs4 ,eddy's doctrine of
 the imaginary nature of evil is good   
for this pessimism4 ,the sick seize it  
with avidity because they find it helps 
their symptoms1 and in the relief it    
affords to their unhappiness they are   
willing to swallow all the rest of the  
formless mist that is offered to them as
 part of their religion4  ,i do not know
 that ,christian ,scientists differ     
greatly from believers in other         
religions in this point4 ,it is an      
excellent instance of how one useful    
tenet will cause the acceptance of a    
whole mass of absurdities and even make 
them seem real and true4 ,christian     
,science has come as the quack medicine 
to cure a disease that is a terrible    
reality1 and it is of use because it    

contains in all its melange one         
ingredient1 morphia1 that dulls the     
pain4 ,but the cure of this disease lies
 elsewhere than in ,christian ,science1 
than1 indeed1 in any religion4  ,i have 
given a chapter to this ,science1 not   
because it appears to me that it is ever
 likely to become a real force or of    
real importance1 but because it         
illustrates1 ,i think1 the reason of the
 success or otherwise of all religions4 
,it exhibits in exaggerated form what is
 the nature of all religions4  ,they    
come to fulfil an emotional want1 or    
wants that are imperative and that call 
for relief4 ,and they succeed and       
persist exactly as they minister to     
these emotional wants4 ,the emotion that
 requires religion is always a pessimism
 of some form or other1 a weariness1 a  
hopelessness4 ,and the religion is      
accepted because it combats that        
helplessness and gives a hope4 ,all     
religions are optimisms to their        
believers4  ,a great deal of foolishness

 may be included in a faith without     
injury to its success4 ,doctrine1       
theory1 scientific theology1 may be as  
empty and meaningless as it is in       
,christian ,science1 and still the faith
 will live4 ,and the central idea must  
be exaggerated4 ,it must be so          
exaggerated that to outsiders it appears
 only an immense falsehood4 ,it is so in
 all the religions4 ,truth lies in the  
mean1 power in the extreme4 ,they are   
opposed as are freewill and destination1
 as are ,god and ,law4     ,,chapter    
,,xviii4  ,,personality4   ,there is one
 complaint that all ,europeans make of  
the ,burmese4 ,it matters not what the  
,european's duties may be1 what his     
profession1 or his trade1 or his        
calling--it is always the same1 the     
,burmans will not stand discipline4 ,it 
is1 says the ,european1 fatal to him in 
almost all walks of life4 ,for instance1
 the ,british ,government tried at one  
time in ,burma to raise ,burmese        
regiments officered by ,europeans1 after

 the pattern of the ,indian troops4     
,there seemed at first no reason why it 
should not succeed4 ,the ,burmans are   
not cowards4 ,although not endowed with 
the fury of the ,pathan or the          
bloodthirsty valour of the ,ghurka1 the 
,burman is brave4 ,he will do many      
things none but brave men can do2 kill  
panthers with sharpened sticks1 for     
instance1 and navigate the ,irrawaddy in
 flood in canoes1 with barely two inches
 free board4 ,he is1 in his natural     
state in the villages1 unaccustomed to  
any strict discipline4 ,but then1 so are
 most people2 and if the levies of the  
,burmese kings were but a mob1 why1 so  
are most native levies4 ,there seemed a 
priori no reason why ,burmese troops    
should not be fairly useful4 ,and the   
attempt was made4 ,it failed4  ,and so1 
to a greater or less extent1 all        
attempts to discipline the ,burmans in  
any walk of life have always failed4    
,amongst the police--which must1 of     
course1 be composed of natives of the   

country--discipline1 even the light     
discipline sought to be enforced1 is    
always wanting4 ,and good men will not  
join the force1 mostly because they     
dislike to be ruled4 ,in the mills in   
,rangoon labour has been imported from  
,india4 ,not that the ,burman is not a  
good workman--he is physically and      
mentally miles above the imported       
,telugu--but he will not stand          
discipline4 ,it is the same on the      
railways and on the roads1 and the      
private servants of almost all          
,europeans are ,indian4 ,the ,burman    
will not stand control1 daily control1  
daily order1 the feeling of subjection  
and the infliction of punishment4       
,especially the infliction of           
punishment4 ,he resents it1 even when he
 knows and admits he deserves it4  ,is1 
then1 the ,burman impatient of          
suffering8 ,he is the most patient1 the 
most cheerful of mortals4 ,i who have   
seen districts ruined by famine1        
families broken up and dissolved1 farms 

abandoned1 cattle dying by the thousand1
 ,i know this4 ,and in the famine camps1
 where tens of thousands lived and      
worked hard for a bare subsistence1 was 
there any inability to bear up1 any     
despondency1 any despair8 ,there was    
never any4 ,such an example of          
cheerfulness1 of courage under great    
suffering1 could not be surpassed4 ,yet 
if you fine your servant a few annas out
 of his good pay for a fault he will    
admit he made1 he will bitterly resent  
it and probably leave you4 ,it is       
,authority1 ,personality1 that the      
,burmans object to4 ,and the whole      
social life of the people1 the whole of 
their religion1 shows how deeply this   
distaste to ,personal ,authority enters 
into their lives4  ,there is no         
aristocracy in ,burma4 ,there has never 
been so4 ,there has1 it is true1 always 
been a ,king--that was a necessity2 and 
his authority1 nominally absolute1 was  
in fact very limited4 ,but beside him   
there was no one4 ,there were no lords  

of manors1 no feudalism1 no serfage of  
any kind4 ,there was a kind of slavery1 
the idea of which probably came into    
,burma with the code of ,manu1 as a     
redemption of debt4 ,at our conquest of 
,upper ,burma it disappeared without a  
sign1 but it was the lightest of its    
kind4 ,the slave was a domestic servant 
at most1 more usually a member of the   
family2 the authority exercised over him
 or her was of the gentlest1 for with   
the dislike to submit to personal       
authority there was an equally great    
dislike to exercising it4 ,the intense  
desire for power and authority over     
others which is so distinguishing a mark
 of western people does not obtain among
 the ,burmese4 ,it is one of our        
difficulties to make our subordinate    
,burmese magistrates and officers       
exercise sufficient authority in their  
charges4 ,this dislike1 both to         
exercising and submitting to authority1 
is instinctive and very strong4  ,in    
western nations1 more especially the    

,latin nations1 who made ,christianity1 
it is the very reverse4 ,there is in us 
both the desire and ability to govern   
and the power to submit readily to those
 who are above us4 ,we rejoice in       
aristocracies1 whether of the           
,government or of the ,church4 ,we      
organise all our institutions upon that 
basis4 ,we have a rigid ,government1    
such as no ,orientals have dreamt of1   
least of all the ,burmese4 ,we revere   
rank instinctively4 ,we like to have    
masters4 ,personal submissiveness is in 
our eyes an excellent quality4 ,we know 
that to declare a man to be a faithful  
servant is a great praise4 ,in our lives
 as in our religions1 lord and servant  
express a continued relationship4 ,and  
from this quality1 this instinct of     
discipline1 this innate power both of   
governing and submitting to governance1 
come the forms of government and our    
success in trade and in many other      
matters4  ,it would1 however1 be quite  
outside the point of this chapter to    

discuss all the results of these        
differences and their effect for good   
and bad4 ,to the ,european the ,burman1 
with his distaste for authority1 appears
 to be unfitted for the greater         
successes of life4 ,to the ,burman the  
,european's desire for authority appears
 to result in the slavery of the many to
 the few1 in the loss of individual     
liberty and the contraction of          
happiness4 ,either or both1 or neither1 
may be true4 ,it is here immaterial1 for
 all ,i wish to point out and to        
emphasise is that whereas the ,burman1  
who is a ,buddhist1 dislikes all        
personal authority instinctively1 the   
western ,christians1 more especially the
 ,latin peoples1 on the contrary crave  
after it4 ,the ,burman's ideal is to be 
independent of everyone1 even if poor1  
to have no one over him and no one under
 him1 to live among his equals4 ,but in 
western countries the tendency is all to
 divide the world into two classes1     
master and man1 to organise--which      

means1 of course1 authority and         
submission--and to make obedience one of
 the greatest of virtues4  ,now consider
 their faiths4 ,the ,christian has a    
personal ,god4 ,he owes to that ,god    
unquestioning obedience and submission4 
,man may praise ,god and thank ,him1 but
 not do the reverse4 ,man owes to ,god  
reverence1 one of the greatest of the   
virtues4 ,and the ,churches are all     
organised in the same way4 ,the         
authority of ,god becomes the authority 
of the ,pope1 the ,tsar1 the ,bishops1  
the priests4 ,the amount of submission  
and reverence due to the priests of     
,christianity may vary in different     
countries1 but it is always there1 and  
the reverence due to ,god never alters4 
,do you think such a system of religion 
would be bearable to a ,burman8 ,to him 
neither reverence nor submission to     
,personality1 whether ,god or priest or 
master1 is an instinctive beauty4 ,he   
acknowledges neither ,god nor priest1   
and he avoids masters as much as        

possible4 ,his nature does not lead him 
to it4 ,he revolts against ,personality4
 ,courage under the inevitable he has to
 the greatest extent4 ,if he suffer as  
the result of a law he has nothing but  
cheerful acceptance1 even if he do not  
understand it4 ,if he can see his       
suffering to be the result of his own   
mistakes he will bear it with           
resignation1 and note that in future he 
should be more careful4 ,but that he    
should be punished1 that rouses in him  
resentment1 revolt4 ,he would cry to    
,god1 ,why do you hurt me8 ,you need not
 if you do not like2 ,you are           
all-powerful4 ,cannot you manage        
otherwise than by causing so much pain  
to me and all the world8 ,there are     
other feelings caused by a ,personality1
 many other feelings than that of       
submission4 ,there is defiance1         
bitterness4 ,did not ,ajax defy the     
lightning8 ,if a man or a boy looking at
 the world discovers in it more misery  
than happiness1 more injustice than     

justice1 of what sort will be his       
feelings to the ,author of it all8  ,i  
fear that if the ,burman accepted a     
,personal ,all-powerful ,god and then   
looked at the state of the world1 his   
attitude towards that ,personality would
 not be all admiration and reverence4   
,indeed1 they have often told me so4    
,but before ,law1 before ,necessity4    
,you cannot revolt against the          
inevitable4 ,passion is useless4 ,the   
suffering which would be resented from a
 ,personality is borne with courage as  
an inevitable result4 ,you may be of    
good courage and say1 ,it is my fault1  
my ignorance2 ,i will learn not to put  
my hands in the fire and so not be      
burnt4 ,but if you suppose a ,god burnt 
you without telling you why1 without    
giving you a chance1 what then8 ,is this
 hard to understand8 ,i do not know1 but
 to me it is not so4 ,for ,i can        
remember a boy1 who was much as these   
,burmans are1 who found authority hard  
to bear1 punishment very difficult to   

accept2 who remembered always that the  
punishment might have been omitted1 who 
thought it was often mistaken and       
vindictive4 ,for if you are almost      
always ill1 and find for days and weeks 
and months that very little mental      
exertion is as much as you are capable  
of1 how much do you accept the justice  
of being called idle1 lazy1 indolent1   
and being kept in to waste what little  
mental strength you have left in writing
 meaningless impositions8 ,there is     
more4 ,it is a ,christian teaching1 a   
lesson that is frequently enforced in   
children1 that all their acts are       
watched by ,god4 ,he sees me now4 ,god  
is watching me4 ,how often are not these
 written in large words on nursery      
walls8 ,and do you think that there are 
not some natures who revolt from this8  
,to be watched--always watched4 ,cannot 
you imagine the intense oppression1 the 
irritation and revulsion1 such a        
doctrine may occasion8 ,cannot ,i be    
left alone8 ,and when he learns that    

there is another belief--that he is not 
being watched1 that he is not a child in
 a nursery1 but a man acting under laws 
he can learn--cannot you imagine the    
endless relief1 the joy as of           
emancipation from a prison8 ,that it is 
so to many people ,i know1 the feeling  
that law means freedom1 but ,i also know
 that to others it is not4 ,law1 this   
rigid law1 said the ,french missionary  
priest with a sigh when we were         
discussing the matter1 it makes me      
shudder4 ,it seems to me like an iron   
chain1 like a terrible destiny binding  
us in4 ,ah1 ,i never could believe that4
 ,but a ,god who watches over us1 who   
protects us1 who is our ,father1 that is
 to me true and beautiful4 ,who will    
help you if not ,god8 ,under ,law you   
must face the world alone4 ,no6 and he  
shuddered1 let us not think of it4 ,i   
cannot abide the idea4 ,and how many are
 like him8  ,do you think that such     
feelings can be changed8 ,do you think  
that he who thinks ,law to be freedom   

will ever be argued or converted into   
,theism8 ,it can never be4 ,such beliefs
 are innate1 they are instincts far     
beyond reason or discussion1 to be      
understood only by those who have felt  
them4  ,there is the instinct for ,god  
which rules almost all the ,west and    
,india4 ,there is the instinct against  
,god and for ,law which rules the far   
,east4 ,you cannot get away from either1
 you cannot prove either or disprove it4
 ,they are instincts1 and they influence
 not only the religious beliefs but the 
whole lives of the peoples4  ,it is easy
 to see how in ,europe the instinct for 
,personality has influenced all history4
 ,in moderation its effects have been   
all for good2 it binds people into      
nations1 it enables the weaker and more 
ignorant to accept willingly the        
leadership of the better4 ,it has       
manifested itself with us even to-day in
 the respect and reverence and affection
 we have all felt for our ,queen1 who   
has so lately left us4 ,and in its      

excess it has been wholly evil4 ,it has 
led us to irresponsible monarchs1 to the
 terrible tyranny of the ,french        
aristocracy1 that required the whirlwind
 of a ,revolution to efface4 ,in the    
blind worship for ,napoleon in his later
 days it drove the nation to terrible   
suffering4 ,this desire for ,personality
 has writ its effects large upon the    
history of the ,west1 more especially in
 ,latin nations4  ,and in ,burma the    
want of this instinct is also written   
deeply in the history4 ,there has been  
with them no enthusiasm for persons1 no 
idealisation of individuals4 ,there is  
no inborn desire for rulers and masters1
 for obedience and submission4  ,the    
effect of the instinct is writ largely  
in their history4 ,they have no         
aristocracy1 they have no feudality1    
there are neither masters nor men4 ,they
 cannot organise or combine4 ,the       
central ,government was incredibly weak4
 ,there is nothing that strikes the     
,burman with such surprise as the       

unvaried obedience of all officials to a
 faraway government4 ,but ,i am now     
concerned with effects1 only causes4 ,i 
have wished to show why a ,burman       
believes in ,law and not in ,god1 that  
it arises from an instinct against      
overpowering ,personality1 an innate    
dislike to the idea4 ,it is never to him
 ,truth4 ,it makes him unhappy even to  
hear of it4 ,he could never accept it as
 a truth1 for truth is that which is in 
accord with our hearts4  ,yet the       
,burman whose ideal is ,law is not quite
 without the instinct of ,personality4  
,he also prays sometimes1 and you cannot
 pray to nothing4 ,far down in his heart
 there is also the same instinct that   
rules the ,west1 but it is weak4 ,it    
finds its vent now and then despite his 
faith4 ,and in the ,west the idea of    
,law is rising4 ,it is new1 but not less
 true for that4 ,it rises steadily hand 
in hand with science1 and it1 too1 will 
find its vent despite the faith4  ,when 
the scientific theologian declares that 

,god is not variable1 that ,he has no   
passions1 no anger1 no vengeance1 that  
,he is bound by immovable righteousness 
and is not affected by prayer1 cannot   
you see the idea of ,law8 ,no one would 
have said this a hundred years ago4 ,it 
is growing in him2 it is there1 even if 
he do not recognise it as such1 and sore
 havoc it makes with the old theologies4
  ,the instinct of generalisation made  
many gods into one ,god2 the instinct of
 atonement obliged the sub-division of  
,god2 to be explained only by an        
incomprehensible formula4 ,and now there
 is arising a third instinct--that of   
,law4 ,it is weak yet1 but it is there4 
,when it becomes stronger either        
,personality must disappear or else a   
still more incomprehensible creed must  
be formulated to reconcile the three    
ideas4 ,but what is truth8 ,are they all
 true8     ,,chapter ,,xix4  ,,god ,,the
 ,,sacrifice4   ,it is ,sunday to-day in
 the little ,italian town1 and they have
 been holding a procession4 ,i do not   

know quite what was the reason of the   
procession2 it is the feast day of the  
patron of the ,church1 and it is        
connected in some way with him1 but     
quite how no one could tell me4 ,it was 
the custom1 and that sufficed4 ,it was  
not a very grand procession1 for the    
town is small1 but there was the town   
band playing at the head1 and there were
 girls in twos singing and priests1 also
 in pairs1 singing1 and there were      
banners and a crucifix4 ,this last was  
just like any other crucifix you may    
see2 there was the pale body of ,christ 
upon the cross1 with ,his wounds red    
with blood1 there was the tinsel crown  
over the head1 there was upon the face  
the look of suffering4 ,it was like any 
other crucifix in a ,catholic country1  
not a work of art at all4 ,it was       
gruesome1 and to the unbeliever         
repulsive and unpleasant4 ,but all the  
people uncovered as it passed1 and many 
looked to it with reverence and worship4
  ,but indeed ,catholic countries are   

full of such crucifixes4 ,they are upon 
the hills1 they are beside the          
roadsides1 they are in all the churches1
 they are in every ,catholic household1 
there is very often one worn upon the   
person4  ,throughout ,italy1 throughout 
all ,catholic countries1 there are only 
two representations of ,christ--as a    
babe with the ,virgin ,mary and         
crucified upon the cross4 ,it was in    
,italy that ,western ,christianity arose
 and grew1 it was in ,italy that it     
became a living power1 it was in ,italy 
that it acquired consistency1 that it   
was bound together by dogmas and        
crystallised in creeds4 ,and still1     
after nineteen hundred years1 it is     
,italy that remains the centre of the   
,christian world4 ,there is no          
,christian church so great1 so          
venerable1 so imposing as the ,church of
 ,rome4 ,it lasts unchanged amid the    
cataclasms of worlds4 ,and this people  
whose genius made ,christianity1 whose  
genius still rules the greater part of  

it1 what are their conceptions of       
,christ8 ,what part of ,his life is it  
that has caught their reverence and     
adoration1 what side is it of ,his      
character that appeals to them1 what is 
the emotion that the name of ,christ    
awakens in these believers8  ,of the    
,virgin ,mary and the infant ,christ ,i 
have written in another chapter4 ,it is 
of the crucifix ,i wish to write here4  
,why is it that of the life of ,christ  
this end of ,his is considered the most 
worthy to be in continual remembrance8  
,i confess that when ,i climb the hill  
and see the dead ,christs upon their    
crosses shining white against the olive 
gardens1 when ,i see ,his agony depicted
 in the churches1 when ,i see the people
 gaze upon ,him sacrificed1 my memory is
 taken back to other scenes4  ,there is 
a scene that ,i can remember in a       
village far away against the frontier in
 our farthest ,east4 ,it was a little   
village that was once a city1 but       
decayed2 it was walled with huge walls  

of brick1 but they are fallen into      
mounds2 it had gateways1 but they are   
now but gaps2 and a few huts are huddled
 in a corner where once a palace stood4 
,it is the custom in this village that  
every year at a certain season white    
cocks are to be sacrificed at the gates4
 ,there is as may be some legend to     
explain the custom1 but it is forgotten4
 ,and yet are the cocks sacrificed each 
year4  ,there is the memory1 too1 of the
 goat ,i saw killed in ,india years ago 
as ,i have described4 ,and there are    
other memories--memories of what ,i have
 seen1 of what ,i have read4 ,for this  
ceremony of sacrifice is the very oldest
 of all the beginnings of religion4 ,it 
is akin to prayer1 it is at the root of 
all faiths2 we can go no further back   
than sacrifice4 ,where it began religion
 had commenced4 ,far older than any     
creed1 arising from the dumb instincts  
of human kind1 it is one of the roots of
 faiths4  ,therefore1 when ,i see this  
image of ,god1 the ,son sacrificed to   

,god the ,father1 ,i seem to behold the 
highest development of this long story4 
,sacrifice1 it has always been          
sacrifice4 ,it has been small           
animals--goats and fowls and pigeons2 it
 has been greater and more valuable     
beasts--cattle and horses4 ,it has been 
man4 ,how often indeed has it been man3 
,abraham leading ,isaac to the          
sacrifice1 the ,aztecs sacrificing in   
,mexico1 the ,druids in ,britain1 the   
followers of ,odin1 the ,greeks1 the    
,egyptians1 the early ,hindus1 can you  
find a faith that has not sacrificed8   
,sometimes it has been single victims1  
sometimes hecatombs of slaughtered      
slaves4 ,it has been sacrifice by       
priests1 it has been self-sacrifice1 as 
,curtius or as those who threw          
themselves before the car of            
,juggernauth4 ,everywhere there has been
 sacrifice2 it is one of the roots of   
faiths1 it arouses the emotion that has 
helped to make all religions4 ,and in   
,christianity it has reached its zenith1

 for it is no longer an animal1 no      
longer even a man--it is a ,god1 the    
,son of ,god who is self-sacrificed to  
,god4 ,in what manner this awakens the  
emotions of man the following extract   
will show4 ,it is from ,the ,gospel of  
the ,atonement1 by the ,venerable ,j4   
,wilson4  ,the law that suffering is    
divine1 ,greek3 to kalon pathein1 is    
verified in the experience of the soul4 
,now ,christ's death is the supreme     
instance of that law4 ,the power of     
,gethsemane and ,calvary1 in the light  
of such a law1 needs no explanation4    
,they open the heart as nothing else    
ever did4 ,we know that whatever        
reservations we make for ourselves1     
whatever our own shrinking from utter   
self-sacrifice1 ,christ1 living in      
perfect accordance with the laws of     
spiritual health and perfection1 could  
not do other than die4 ,thus without any
 thought of payment or expiation1 with  
no vestige of separation of the ,son    
from the ,father1 we see that the death 

on the ,cross demonstrated that the     
human and divine know but one and the   
same law of life and being4 ,thus it is 
that the death of ,christ1 the shedding 
of ,his blood1 has been1 and ever will  
be1 regarded by theologians1 as well as 
by the simple believers1 as the way of  
the atonement4 ,via crucis via salutis4 
,the scientific theologians tell me when
 ,i ask that this parade of the         
sacrifice of ,christ is to recall to men
 how much they should love ,christ4     
,that ,he so loved them that ,he gave   
,himself a victim for their salvation4  
,the crucifix1 the incessant preaching  
of the death of ,christ1 the sacrament  
of the ,communion1 is to cause us to    
love ,him as to do what ,he taught us4  
,that it does have some such effect no  
one can doubt--on ,latin people4 ,but on
 others8  ,to some it seems that if you 
try to reason at all about it1 the      
emotion awakened might be1 nay should   
be1 otherwise4 ,in those not instinct   
with one emotion the first impression   

awakened is disgust at the parade of    
death and blood2 the second1 horror at  
the ,god who could demand such a        
sacrifice1 who could not be pacified but
 by the execution in circumstances of   
shame of ,his own ,son4 ,they shrink    
from it4 ,it is no matter of reason4 ,do
 you think one who felt so could be     
argued out of his horror or a ,christian
 out of his devotion8 ,they are         
instinctive feelings which nothing will 
change4 ,and yet in a very small way    
even the ,buddhist has the instinct of  
sacrifice4 ,for ,i remember that when   
the fowls were killed inside the city   
gate and their blood ran upon the ground
 the people looked just as these        
,italian people looked4 ,the emotion was
 the same in kind1 and it was not either
 love for the fowls or wonder at the    
demand of the spirits that moved them4  
,and so when the slaves were sacrificed 
beneath the oaks1 was it gratitude to   
the slaves that was evoked8 ,and in the 
self-sacrifice at the car of            

,juggernauth8 ,it may be sometimes that 
gratitude may be added1 but this is not 
the root emotion4 ,the instinct of      
sacrifice has its roots much deeper than
 this1 quite apart from this2 and1 with 
perhaps only one                        
exception--,buddhism--all religions have
 practised it4 ,christianity performs no
 more sacrifices now1 but all its       
churches1 in all their varieties weekly 
at the great sacrament of the           
,communion1 commemorate--nay1 it is     
claimed in a measure recreate--this     
sacrifice of the ,son to the ,father4   
,sacrifice is of the very root of this  
religion4 ,it is far older than any     
creed4 ,the ,jews knew of sacrifice two 
thousand years before the day of        
,christ1 the ,celts sacrificed slaves   
ages before that4  ,but it may be said  
these crosses1 these crucifixes1 are    
peculiar to ,catholic countries4 ,you do
 not see them in ,north ,germany1 in    
,england1 in ,america4 ,teutonic nations
 do not parade this sacrifice4 ,no1 they

 do not1 for it does not appeal to them 
so much as to the nations of ,southern  
,europe4 ,sacrifice was not unknown to  
the ,teutons and the ,northern people1  
but it never reached the height it did  
further ,south4 ,it has been the ,latin 
peoples who in this as in other matters 
went to extremes4 ,it was the ,greeks   
who sacrificed ,iphigenia1 who had the  
festival of the ,thargalia2 it was ,rome
 which produced ,curtius and others who 
sacrificed themselves4 ,it was the      
,romans who sacrificed thousands in the 
,coliseum4 ,it is in the tumuli of      
,celtic peoples where we find the cloven
 skulls of slaves4  ,sacrifice has      
appealed always more to the ,latin then 
and now2 and therefore you see the      
crucifix in ,latin countries1 but not   
with us4 ,still1 we are not free from   
the emotion4 ,we have the sacrament of  
,communion2 the ,atonement appeals to us
 also4 ,the passions that are strong in 
the ,latin peoples are weak with us1 yet
 they exist4 ,the instincts are the     

same4 ,when executions were public our  
people thronged to see them4 ,death has 
always a peculiar attraction1 quite     
apart from any idea connected with it4  
,it is such a wonderful thing the taking
 of life1 so awe-inspiring1 that it has 
appealed always to men2 especially in   
the west4  ,in the ,east that has       
accepted ,buddhism1 especially in       
,burma1 it is much less so4 ,they have1 
it is true1 the usual pleasure and      
curiosity in seeing blood and death4    
,and occasionally you come across some  
petty sacrifice like that of the fowls  
mentioned above2 but the instinct is    
comparatively weak4 ,it has never1 even 
before they were ,buddhists1 been       
general1 and never extended even to     
cattle4 ,the sacrifice of a man         
7remember1 ,i say sacrifice1 not        
execution71 would be absolutely         
abhorrent to them1 how much more so that
 of a ,god8 ,they have not the          
instinctive recognition of any beauty in
 it4 ,therefore1 for this amongst other 

reasons1 the ,burmese reject            
,christianity4  ,but to the ,western    
instinct this sacrifice and this        
atonement is wonderful and beautiful4   
,it appeals to us4 ,the old instinct is 
satisfied4         99       99       99 
99       99  ,therefore1 amongst other  
reasons1 ,christians cling to the       
,atonement1 and to make that sacrifice  
the greatest possible it must be the    
sacrifice of ,god1 and as ,god can only 
be sacrificed to ,god the ,christian    
,god must be a multiple one4 ,to        
postulate as the ,mahommedan does1 ,god 
is ,god1 would destroy the depth of the 
,atonement4 ,hence arises the creed1 the
 attempt to reconcile two opposed       
instincts4 ,there is one ,god--that is  
an instinct1 arising from our           
generalising power2 there must be at    
least two ,gods to explain the          
,atonement1 and so we have the ,father  
and the ,son4  ,for of the three        
,godheads only these two are real to    
most people4 ,there is ,god the ,ruler1 

the ,maker of the world1 and there is   
,christ4 ,these are both very real to   
all ,christians4 ,they are prayed to    
individually1 they are worshipped       
separately1 they are clear conceptions4 
,but is there any clear conception of   
the ,holy ,ghost as a distinct          
personality8 ,is ,he ever cited         
separately from the others8 ,has ,he any
 special characteristics8 ,there are1   
for instance1 many pictures of ,god1 and
 many more of ,christ--are there any of 
the ,holy ,ghost8 ,this ,third ,person  
of the ,trinity appeals to no instinct1 
and is only an abstraction in popular   
thought4 ,when the ,creed was framed it 
was necessary to include the ,holy      
,ghost because ,he is mentioned in the  
,new ,testament4 ,he has remained an    
abstraction only4 ,but the other two    
,godheads are realities1 because they   
appeal to feelings that are innate4     
,they are the explanation of these      
feelings4         99       99       99  
99       99  ,thus do creeds arise out  

of instincts4 ,it is never the reverse4 
,postulate ,god the ,father as          
,all-,powerful1 ,all-,merciful1 and see 
if by any possibility you can work out  
the ,atonement or see any beauty in it4 
,can anyone see aught but horror in this
 ,almighty demanding the sacrifice of   
,his ,son8 ,you cannot4 ,but granted    
that ,atonement and sacrifice have to   
you an innate beauty of their own1 and  
the dogma of a multiple ,godhead easily 
follows4 ,there are creeds built on     
ceremonies1 and ceremonies upon         
instincts3 ceremonies are never deduced 
from creeds4     ,,chapter ,,xx4  ,,god 
,,the ,,mother4   ,the only other form  
in which the ,christ is presented to    
popular adoration is as a baby in the   
,madonna's arms4 ,out of all the life of
 ,christ1 all the varied events of that 
career which has left such a great mark 
upon the ,western world1 only the       
beginning and the end are pictured4     
,christ the teacher1 ,christ the        
preacher1 the restorer of the dead to   

life1 the feeder of the hungry1 the     
newly arisen from the grave1 where is   
,he8 ,the great masters have painted    
,him1 but popular thought remembers     
nothing of all that4 ,there is ,christ  
the sacrificed and ,christ the infant   
with ,his mother4 ,to the ,latin people 
these two phases represent all that is  
worth daily remembrance4 ,there are     
crucifixes and ,madonnas in every hill  
side1 by every road1 at the street      
corners1 in every house1 and of the rest
 of the story not a sign4  ,what is the 
emotion to which the ,madonna appeals8  
,why do she and her ,child thus live in 
,latin thought8  ,there are historians  
who tell us that the worship of the     
,madonna was introduced from ,egypt4    
,she is ,astarte1 ,queen of ,heaven1 the
 ,phoenician goddess of married love or 
maternity1 she is the ,egyptian ,isis   
with her son ,horus4 ,it is a cult that 
was introduced through ,spain1 and took 
root among the ,latin people and grew4  
,there is no question here of ,christ1  

they say2 it is the goddess and her son4
  ,it has also absorbed the worship of  
,venus and ,aphrodite4 ,venus was the   
tutelary goddess of ,rome1 she was the  
goddess of maternity1 of production4 ,it
 was not till the ,greek idea of beauty 
in ,aphrodite came to ,rome and became  
confounded with the goddess ,venus that 
her status changed4 ,she was the goddess
 of married love1 she became later the  
emblem of lust4 ,but it was she who     
purified marriage to the old ,roman     
faith2 she was the purifier1 the        
justifier1 the goddess of motherhood1   
which is the sanction of love and       
marriage4  ,it may be that all this is  
true4 ,it may be possible to trace the  
worship back through the various changes
 to ,astarte1 ,ashtoreth1 to ,isis1 to  
older gods1 maybe1 than these4 ,all this
 may be true1 and yet be no explanation4
 ,the old gods are dead4 ,why does she  
alone survive8 ,what is the instinct    
that requires her1 that pictures her on 
the street corners1 that makes her      

worship a living worship to-day8  ,and  
why is it that she appeals not at all to
 the ,teutonic people8 ,where are her   
pictures in ,protestant ,germany1 in    
,england1 in ,scotland1 in ,america8 ,do
 you ever hear of her there8 ,do the    
preachers tell of her1 the picture      
makers paint her1 the people pray to    
her8 ,such a worship is impossible4 ,and
 why8 ,what is the answer that to-day   
gives to that question8 ,is the answer  
difficult8 ,i think not1 for it is      
written in the hearts of the people1 it 
is written in the laws they have made1  
in the customs they adhere to1 in the   
oaths they take1 in their daily lives4  
,consider the ,roman laws of two        
thousand and more years ago1 the ,french
 laws of to-day4 ,what is there most    
striking to us when we study them8 ,it  
is1 ,i think1 the cult of the family4   
,the ,roman son was his father's slave4 
,he could not own property apart from   
the father1 he could not marry without  
leave1 his father could execute him     

without any trial4 ,family life lay     
outside the law2 not ,senate1 nor       
,consul nor ,emperor could interfere    
there4 ,the unit in ,rome was not the   
man1 but the family4  ,as it was so it  
is4 ,the laws are less stringent1 but   
the idea remains4 ,a man belongs not to 
himself but to his people1 to his father
 and to his mother4 ,in ,france even now
 he has to ask their leave to marry4    
,the property is often family property1 
and his family may restrain a man from  
wasting it4  ,there is no bond anywhere 
stronger than the family bond of the    
,latin peoples4 ,in mediaeval ,rome1    
even often in ,rome of to-day1 all the  
sons live with their father and mother  
even if married4 ,it is the custom1 and1
 like all customs that live1 it lives   
because it is in accord with the        
feelings of those who obey it4  ,a man  
belongs to his family1 he clings to it2 
he is not an individual1 but part of an 
organism4  ,and although in law it is   
the father who is the head1 it is the   

father who is the lawgiver1 the ruler1  
is it really he who is that centre1 that
 lode-star1 that holds the family       
together8 ,i think it is not so4 ,it is 
the mother who is the centre of that    
affection which is stronger than        
gravity4 ,we laugh when a ,frenchman    
swears by his mother4 ,but he is        
swearing by all that he holds most      
sacred4 ,no ,latin would laugh at such a
 matter4 ,because he could understand1  
and we do not4 ,to everyone of ,latin   
race there comes next to ,god his       
mother1 next to ,christ the ,madonna1   
who is the emblem of motherhood4  ,the  
,latins do not emigrate4 ,they hate to  
leave their country4 ,and if they do1 if
 necessity drive them forth1 are they   
ever happy1 ever at rest till they can  
see their way to return8 ,the ,americans
 tell us that ,italians are the worst   
immigrants because they will not settle2
 because they send their pay to their   
parents in the old country1 and are     
never happy till they themselves can    

return4 ,we call it nostalgia1 we say it
 is a longing for their country4 ,it is 
that and more4 ,it is a longing for     
their family1 their blood4 ,they cling  
together in a way we have no idea of4   
,does an ,englishman ever swear by his  
mother1 does he yearn after her as the  
,latins do from a far country8 ,does the
 fear of separation keep our young men  
at home8 ,it is always the reverse4     
,they want to get away4 ,the home nest  
tires them1 and they would go2 and once 
gone they care not to return1 they can  
be happy far away4 ,the ties of         
relationship are light and are easily   
shaken off1 they are quickly forgotten4 
,italian labourers and servants give    
some of their pay always as a matter of 
course to their parents4 ,it is a       
natural duty4 ,and in ,latin countries  
there are no poorhouses4 ,they could not
 abide such a theory any more than could
 the ,indians4 ,it would seem to a      
,latin an impossibility that any child  
would leave his parents in a workhouse4 

,poor as they might be they would keep  
together4 ,the great bond that holds a  
family together is the mother1 always   
the mother4 ,we can see this in ,england
 too1 even with our weaker instinct4    
,the mother makes the home and not the  
father4  ,and now are we not finding    
that sanction we were searching for8 ,if
 the ,madonna1 the type of motherhood1  
appeals to all the people1 men and      
women1 is there not a reason8 ,it is an 
instinct4 ,these images and pictures of 
the ,madonna sound on their             
heart-strings a chord that is perhaps   
the loudest and sweetest2 if second to  
any1 second only to that of ,god4 ,god  
as father1 ,god as mother1 ,god as son  
and sacrifice1 here is the threefold    
real ,godhead of the ,latins4  ,but with
 us the family tie is slight1 the mother
 worship is faint4 ,our ,teutonic       
,trinity is ,god the ,father1 ,god the  
,son1 and now later ,god the ,law4      
,these are the realities4  ,for with us 
conduct is more and emotion is less than

 with the peoples of the ,south4        
,,chapter ,,xxi4  ,,conduct4   ,of all  
aspects of religion none is so difficult
 to understand as the relation of       
religion and conduct4 ,it is ever       
varying4 ,there seems to be nothing     
fixed about it4 ,what does conduct arise
 from8 ,it takes its origin in an       
instinct1 and this instinct is so       
strong1 so imperious1 so almost         
personal1 that of all the instincts it  
alone has a name4 ,it is conscience4    
,by conscience our acts are directed4   
,there are scientific men who tell us   
that our consciences are the result of  
experience1 partly our own1 but         
principally inherited4 ,that if         
conscience warns us against any course  
of action it is because that has been   
experienced to result in misfortune4 ,it
 is an unconscious memory of past       
experiences4 ,conscience is instinctive1
 and not affected by teaching to any    
great extent2 and that conscience is the
 main guide of life no one will deny4   

,but do the voices of conscience and of 
,god1 as stated in the sacred books1    
agree8  ,when the savage sees a god in  
the precipice and is afraid of him1     
there is no question of right or wrong4 
,not that the savage has no code of     
morals4 ,he has a very elaborate one4   
,but it is usually distinct from his    
religion4 ,what virtue did ,odin teach8 
,none but courage in war4 ,yet the      
,northmen had codes of conduct fitted to
 their stage of civilisation4 ,the      
,greeks had many gods4 ,they had also   
codes of morals and an extensive        
philosophy1 but practically there was no
 connection4 ,in fact1 the gods were    
examples not of morality but of         
immorality4 ,it was the same with the   
,latins and with all the ,celts4 ,their 
religions were emotional religions1     
their codes of conduct were apart1      
although even here you see now and then 
an attempt to connect them4 ,and when   
the ,latin people took ,christianity and
 formed it1 they put into their creeds  

no question of conduct4 ,you believed1  
and therefore you were a ,christian4    
,the results of bad conduct would be    
annulled by confession1 and the sinner  
would receive absolution4 ,to a ,latin  
,christian a righteous unbeliever who   
had never done anything but good would  
in the end be damned1 whereas the       
murderer who repented at the last would 
be saved4 ,there is more joy in heaven  
over one sinner that repenteth1 than    
over ninety and nine just persons that  
need no repentance4  ,is the inference  
that the ,latin peoples were wickeder   
than others8 ,i doubt it4 ,they         
initiated all ,european civilisation1   
and trade and commerce1 and law and     
justice4 ,probably the highest examples 
of conduct the world has known have been
 ,latins4 ,they had and have the        
instinct of conduct1 they had and have  
consciences as good as other people1 but
 only they do not so much connect       
conduct and religion4 ,you can be saved 
without conduct4  ,the ,jews1 on the    

contrary1 had no instinct of conduct    
apart from religion4 ,in the ,ten       
,commandments conduct1 if it have the   
second place1 has yet the larger share4 
,righteousness was the keynote of their 
belief1 and if the only righteousness   
they knew was little better than a noble
 savagery1 it was the best they could   
do4 ,they included every form of conduct
 in their religion--sanitary matters1   
caste observances1 and business rules4  
,the ,hindu goes even further in the    
same line4 ,everything in life is       
included in his religion4  ,when in the 
,reformation the ,teutonic people threw 
off the yoke of ,rome1 a yoke which was 
not only religious but political and    
social1 one of their principal arguments
 against ,roman ,catholicism was the    
abominations that had crept in4 ,i think
 it would be difficult to assert that   
the people who revolted were in morals  
generally any better than those they    
seceded from4 ,good men in the ,latin   
,church saw equally the necessity for   

reformation4 ,but bad morals did not    
seem to them so destructive to faith as 
it did to the ,teutons4 ,there was this 
difference1 that whereas the ,latin     
could and did conceive of religion apart
 from conduct1 the ,teuton1 like the    
,jew1 could not do so4 ,with the ,latin 
they were distinct emotions1 with the   
,teuton they were connected4 ,one of the
 principal aspects of the ,reformation  
is the restoration of morality to       
religion1 the abolition of indulgences1 
of confession and absolution1 the       
insistence on conduct in religious      
teachers4  ,the morality of ,christ8    
,the remarkable fact is that it was not 
the morality of ,christ at all4 ,the    
,reformation was never in any way a     
revival of the code of the ,sermon on   
the ,mount or the imitation of ,christ4 
,to a certain extent it went further    
away from ,christ than the ,latins4 ,for
 instance1 the ,latin priests imitate   
,christ in being unmarried1 the         
,protestant pastors married4 ,when      

,calvin burnt ,servetus he was not      
returning to the tenets of the ,new     
,testament1 and what thought had the    
,puritans or the ,french ,huguenots1 the
 most masterful of men1 of turning the  
other cheek8  ,protestantism was a      
return of conduct to religion1 but it   
was not ,christ's conduct4 ,it was      
rather the ,old ,testament code softened
 by civilised influence that was        
revived4 ,it was a revolt against       
excessive emotionalism1 and was1 in     
fact1 a combination of two creeds       
tempered as to conduct by the conduct of
 the day4  ,so it continues to-day4 ,the
 ,latin's idea of religious conduct is  
the imitation of ,christ1 and when a    
,latin cultivates religious conduct that
 is what he does4 ,he becomes a priest  
or monk1 poor1 celibate1 self-denying   
and unworldly4 ,but conduct to him is   
not the great part of religion that it  
is to a ,teuton4 ,with us conduct is the
 greatest part2 the mystical and        
ceremonious part has decreased1 in      

certain sects almost disappeared4       
,confession disappeared1 and with it    
absolution from priests4 ,conduct is    
part of religion1 and the code of       
conduct to be followed is that which    
conscience bids1 and the code of        
conscience is1 scientific men tell us1  
the result of experience1 personal and  
inherited4 ,practically1 what conscience
 tells us to do is what suits the       
circumstances of the day4  ,therefore we
 may say that the religion of the       
,latins is mainly emotional1 that of the
 ,teutons half emotional and half       
conduct2 and then we come to the        
,buddhist1 which is nearly all conduct4 
,the ,latin would say of an unbeliever1 
,he cannot be saved2 faith is the       
absolute necessity1 and faith even at   
the last moment by itself is sufficient4
 ,the ,teuton would say1 ,i do not know4
 ,to be a good man1 even if an          
unbeliever1 is very much2 it may be that
 ,god will accept him4  ,and the        
,buddhist8 ,he has no doubt at all4     

,conduct is everything4 ,believe what   
you like as long as you act well4 ,to be
 a ,buddhist is best because there you  
have the way of life set clearly before 
you1 and it is easy for you to follow4  
,but any man can be saved if he act     
aright4 ,conduct is everything4 ,in     
fact1 ,buddhism in its inception was in 
one aspect a revolt against excessive   
emotionalism1 that of the ascetics1 and 
it maintains that attitude to-day4  ,or1
 to put it another way3 ,roman          
,catholicism is all emotion1            
,protestantism is half emotion1         
,buddhism is the suppression of emotion4
 ,these are the theories4 ,and the      
facts8 ,what effect does this difference
 make on the lives of the peoples8  ,it 
may have some effect4 ,there is         
sometimes action and reaction4 ,these   
different views of the relation of      
religion and conduct come from the      
instincts of the people1 and being held 
and taught they in turn affect the      
people4 ,but how much8 ,personally1 ,i  

believe very little4  ,a man's daily    
conduct is regulated by quite other     
factors4 ,if the effect was great we    
should find ,buddhists the least        
criminal of peoples1 the ,teutons a     
medium1 and the ,latins without any idea
 of conduct at all4 ,but this is        
certainly not true4 ,the ,burman is     
greatly given to certain crimes1 the    
outcome of his stage of civilisation4   
,and ,i have great doubts whether the   
,protestants generally can show any     
superiority over the ,latins when the   
circumstances are considered4 ,are the  
,english ,roman ,catholics less honest  
than ,protestants in the same class8    
,are sceptics more criminal than        
religious people8 ,the inclusion of     
conduct in religion is astonishingly    
varied4 ,some peoples cannot be born or 
come to maturity1 or marry1 or die      
without religion2 others do not allow   
religion to have any part in these      
matters4 ,but the fact remains that1    
though conduct may be included more or  

less in every religion1 no religion has 
a code of conduct for daily life4       
,priests and monks apart1 the codes of  
conduct are not taken from religion4    
,but it must not be forgotten that      
neither ,christianity nor ,buddhism     
professes to provide a code of conduct  
for this life4 ,judaism knew no future  
life1 and its aim was therefore to      
ensure success in this4 ,that is the    
reward offered to the righteous--success
 for them and their children4 ,there is 
no hint that this life is not good and  
worth living1 that love and wealth are  
not good things4 ,on the contrary1 they 
are held out as the reward of the godly4
 ,the ,judaic code was a good and       
workable one for its age4 ,but          
,christianity and ,buddhism declare that
 this life is not good2 that it is1 in  
fact1 absolutely wicked and unhappy1 and
 that therefore all worldly pleasures   
and successes are to be eschewed as     
snares4 ,the codes given are ways to    
reach heaven1 they are by no means codes

 for ordinary life4 ,followed to their  
meaning1 every ,christian ought to be a 
monk or nun and every ,buddhist the     
same4  ,but this teaching of the evil of
 life is one that no one but a few      
fanatics accept in its fulness1 and     
heaven or ,nirvana are ideas that do not
 appeal to most men4 ,in ,latin and     
,buddhist countries a few with their    
higher spiritual powers take their      
faiths very seriously1 but the majority 
try to make the best of both worlds4 ,in
 ,protestant countries no one at all    
accepts the doctrine of the             
worthlessness of life4 ,with the immense
 majority of men of all nations life is 
held to be a great and beautiful thing1 
to be used to its best advantage4 ,the  
,latins with their keener logic1 seeing 
that the code of ,christ is for the next
 world1 not for this1 and therefore fit 
only for monks and nuns and not for men 
of the world1 divorce conduct from      
religion4 ,protestants1 rejecting the   
code of ,christ for men of the world    

equally with the ,latins1 yet feeling a 
need for a code of conduct1 adopt the   
best current code of the day and call   
that ,christian conduct4 ,thus are      
working religions built up4 ,one        
religion is all conduct1 another half1  
another hardly at all--in theory4 ,but  
in fact1 for ordinary life1 is there any
 difference between the code of a       
,latin1 a ,teuton1 or a ,buddhist8      
,there is hardly any4 ,codes of life    
vary very little1 and that variation is 
due never to religious influences1 but  
always to the stage of civilisation and 
mental development and the environments4
 ,in ,scotland and ,north ,germany it is
 common for peasant girls to have a baby
 first and marry afterwards4 ,a ,hindu  
or a ,burman would be horrified at such 
a thing1 just as a better class         
,scotchman or ,german would be4 ,but to 
the people who do it there is no        
immorality4 ,how do you explain this    
from religion8  ,conduct is an instinct4
 ,it evolves according to the           

civilisation and idiosyncrasy of the    
people4 ,it is influenced by many       
causes4 ,people1 for instance1 who are  
not pleased by acting call theatres     
wrong1 and so on4 ,experience is also a 
factor4 ,and the connection of conduct  
with religion varies4 ,some people make 
it a great part of their religion just  
as sanitary and social measures are     
included1 other peoples make it less    
prominent4 ,but conduct does not proceed
 from religious creeds any more than    
prayer or confession does4 ,it may be   
slowly influenced by religious teaching1
 but it has its own existence1 and      
religious teaching is only one of many  
influences4     ,,chapter ,,xxii4       
,,men',s ,,faith ,,and ,,women',s       
,,faith4   ,there is a                  
faith--,judaism--which originated so far
 back that we have only a legendary     
account of it4 ,it was the cult of a    
warrior nation whose ideal was bravery  
and whose glory was war1 who considered 
the rest of the world as ,philistines   

and treated them ruthlessly1 who kept   
themselves as a nation apart4  ,nineteen
 hundred years ago there arose among    
them a prophet1 said to be of the       
ancient kingly house4 ,he preached a    
doctrine which prescribed as the rule of
 life mildness and self-denial1         
renunciation of this world2 who         
denounced war and conquest1 and held out
 as a goal for attainment heaven1 which 
is the peace of ,god4  ,this ,prophet1  
,the ,christ1 was executed1 but ,he left
 behind ,him disciples who spread ,his  
religion widely4 ,amongst ,his own      
people it never attained great strength1
 and in time it died away and           
disappeared4 ,there are no ,christians  
among the ,jews4 ,all ,semitic nations  
have rejected this faith4 ,but it spread
 far to the west1 and is now in one form
 or another the accepted faith of the   
half world to the west of ,palestine4   
,it never spread east4         99       
99       99       99       99  ,there is
 a faith--,brahminism--which originated 

so far back that we have but legendary  
accounts of it4 ,it was the cult of a   
warrior nation whose ideal was courage  
and whose glory was war1 who considered 
the rest of the world as outcasts and   
treated them ruthlessly1 who kept       
themselves as a nation apart4  ,two     
thousand five hundred years ago there   
arose among them a prophet1 the son of  
the ,royal ,house4 ,he preached a       
doctrine which prescribed as a rule of  
life meekness and self-denial1          
renunciation of the world4 ,he denounced
 war and conquest1 and held out as a    
goal for attainment the ,great ,peace4  
,this prophet1 the ,buddha1 was rejected
 by all the higher castes and he died1  
having made but little way4 ,but his    
disciples spread his religion widely4   
,amongst his own people it never        
attained great strength1 and in time it 
died away and disappeared4 ,there are no
 ,buddhists in ,oude1 and1 with perhaps 
a slight exception1 there are no        
,buddhists at all in ,india4 ,but it has

 spread far to the east1 and is now in  
one form or another the accepted faith  
of nearly all people east of the ,bay of
 ,bengal1 and also of ,ceylon4 ,it never
 spread west4         99       99       
99       99       99  ,i do not say that
 ,christianity and ,buddhism are the    
same1 for although in some ways1        
especially in conduct1 their teaching is
 almost identical1 and in others--such  
as ,heaven and ,nirvana--though         
differently expressed1 the idea is      
almost the same1 yet in certain theories
 they differ very greatly4 ,yet1 however
 they may differ1 the above parallel    
cannot but strike one as extraordinary4 
,indeed1 the parallel might have been   
very largely augmented1 but it suffices 
for the purpose of this chapter2 and    
that is to enquire why each teacher's   
doctrine was rejected by his own people 
and accepted by others4  ,it is no      
answer to say that no one is a prophet  
in his own country4 ,all the ,jewish    
prophets1 from ,moses to ,isaiah1 were  

prophets in their own country4 ,christ  
alone was not4 ,mahommed was a prophet  
to the ,arabs1 ,zoroaster to the        
,persians1 ,confucius and ,laotze to the
 ,chinese4 ,all teachers of ,hinduism   
have been native born ,hindus4 ,in      
,buddhist countries it is the same4     
,luther was a prophet to the ,germans1  
,loyola to the ,spaniards4 ,the rule is 
otherwise4 ,a prophet is never a prophet
 to any but his own people1 except the  
two greatest ,prophets in the world1    
,christ and ,buddha4 ,they alone were   
rejected by their own and accepted      
elsewhere4 ,they almost divide the world
 between them4 ,hinduism1 from which    
,buddhism arose1 still exists untouched 
by either2 ,judaism1 from which         
,christianity arose1 and its near kin   
,mahommedanism1 exist untouched by      
either2 but most of the rest of the     
world is either ,christian or ,buddhist4
 ,these are very astonishing facts1 and 
must have some very strong reasons to   
cause them4 ,the question is1 ,what are 

the reasons1 and are they the same in   
each case8 ,was it a similar cause that 
occasioned such similar effects8 ,what  
quality was it in the ,jews and ,hindus 
that led them to reject their prophets1 
and what are the qualities in the       
converted nations that led them to      
accept these prophets8  ,it might seem  
at first as if the clue was contained in
 the first sentence of each paragraph1  
that the reason was because both ,jews  
and ,hindus1 especially the higher caste
 ,hindus1 were warrior nations4 ,the    
rule of life preached by each teacher   
was absolutely against all that they had
 revered so far1 hence that each        
rejected it4 ,the fact1 of course1 is   
true4 ,each nation had up to the coming 
of the ,teacher learned a rule of life  
hopelessly in contrast to the new       
teaching4 ,the ideals of ,christ and    
,buddha were absolutely opposed to those
 a fierce1 warlike1 exclusive people    
could maintain4 ,they could not accept  
them without throwing to the winds all  

their past4 ,this is true1 but is it an 
explanation8 ,it is certainly not a full
 one4 ,the ,jews were warriors1 bitter1 
terrible1 ruthless fighters1 and they   
rejected ,christ4 ,but they are no      
longer a nation of warriors1 and they   
still reject ,him4  ,the world has never
 seen keener soldiers than those of     
western ,europe1 but these nations      
accept ,him4  ,the ,hindu warrior caste 
are warriors to the bitter end4 ,they   
rejected ,buddha1 but so did many       
peoples of ,india2 the ,bengalees1 for  
instance1 who are not fighters4  ,where 
can you find stronger warrior spirit    
than has always existed in ,japan8 ,yet 
,buddhism is the prevailing religion    
there4 ,it is evident1 ,i think1 that   
this explanation will not suffice4 ,it  
may in addition be asserted that the men
 of ,latin nations are usually frankly  
atheistic1 and the ,teutonic nations1   
though theoretically ,christian1 yet    
practically when they want to fight they
 forget ,christ and fall back to the    

,jehovah of the ,jews4 ,the ,puritans   
and the ,boers are cases in point4 ,they
 get their fighting faith out of the    
,old ,testament1 not the ,new4 ,but     
still they accept ,christ1 and though   
they may find it impossible1 like all   
nations1 to follow ,his teaching1 they  
do not reject it1 or deny it4 ,with     
,buddhism in the further ,east the      
parallel does not last1 because         
,buddhism in ethical teaching stands    
alone4 ,the ,buddhist who wants to fight
 cannot fall back on the original faith4
 ,he has simply to go without a faith at
 all4 ,he has not the advantage of a    
double set of conduct1 one of which can 
always be trusted to fit anything he    
wants to do ,he has to go without a     
faith when he fights4 ,still he does so4
  ,i confess that for a long time ,i    
seemed to find no answer1 and at length 
it came not through studying out this   
question1 but in observing other        
phenomena of religion altogether4  ,to  
one coming to ,europe after years in the

 ,east and visiting the churches nothing
 is more striking than the enormous     
preponderance of women there4 ,it is    
immaterial whether the church be in     
,england or in ,france1 whether it be   
,anglican or ,roman ,catholic or        
,dissenter4 ,the result is always the   
same4 ,women outnumber the men as two to
 one1 as three to one1 sometimes as ten 
to one4 ,even of the men that are there1
 how many go there from other motives   
than personal desire to hear the        
service8 ,men go because their wives    
take them1 boys go with their mothers or
 sisters1 old men with their daughters4 
,professional men are there because it  
would injure them among their women     
clients to be absent4 ,women go because 
they desire to do so2 nine out of ten   
even of these few men who do go are     
taken by their women folk4 ,they admit  
it readily4 ,and more1 when they are    
away from these women they do not enter 
the churches4 ,it is borne in upon an   
observer1 especially an observer who has

 been long enough away from ,europe to  
become depolarised1 to what an enormous 
extent the observance of religious duty 
in ,europe among ,christian nations is  
due to women4 ,it is they only who care 
for1 who are in full sympathy with the  
teaching of ,christ2 for men when they  
are religious1 and in certain cases they
 are so1 take their religion of conduct 
much more from the ,old ,testament than 
the ,new4  ,in ,burma it is not         
otherwise4 ,the deeper the tenets of    
,buddhism are observed1 the more the    
women are concerned in it4 ,who lights  
the candles at the pagoda1 who          
contribute the daily food to the monks1 
who attend the ,sunday meetings in the  
rest houses8 ,nearly all of them are    
women4 ,even in ,burma1 where the       
devotional instinct is so strong and so 
deeply held1 the immense influence of   
women is manifest4 ,in ,christian and   
,buddhist countries the women are free  
to attend the services2 they are free1  
to a greater or lesser extent1 in all   

matters1 and in religion they are       
conspicuous--they rule it1 they form it 
to suit themselves4  ,but in the races  
that rejected ,christianity1 that       
rejected ,buddhism1 it is otherwise4    
,the ,hindu women keep themselves in    
zenanas4 ,they are not allowed in the   
temples1 or only in special parts4 ,they
 can take no part in the public         
services4 ,they cannot combine to       
influence religious matters4 ,at the    
time the ,buddha lived women were very  
much freer than they are now1 and this  
accounts for its initial partial success
 at home4 ,but as waves of conquest1 the
 incessant rigorous struggle for        
existence deepened and circumstances    
contracted that liberty1 so as it       
contracted did ,buddhism die4 ,till at  
length the women remained immured1 and  
,buddhism fled to countries where women 
had still some freedom4  ,it is the same
 with ,christianity4 ,the ,jewish women1
 if not quite so secluded as ,hindu     
women1 were yet never openly allowed to 

join in the synagogues4 ,they1 too1 as  
the ,mahommedan even1 had their grille  
apart4 ,the ,jewish men and the         
,mahommedan men kept their religion for 
themselves1 a virile religion1 where    
women had little place4 ,it may be the  
fact--,i think in another chapter ,i    
have shewn that it is a fact--that women
 seek after religion far more than men  
,but they must have a religion to suit  
them4 ,the tenets of ,christ and of     
,buddha do appeal to them1 do come      
nearer to them than they do to the      
generality of men4 ,and so where women  
have been free to make their influence  
felt1 to impress their views upon the   
faith of a country1 the mild beliefs of 
non-resistance1 of peace1 of meekness   
and submission have obtained4 ,whereas  
in the countries and nations where for  
one cause or another women are not free 
to make their combined influence felt1  
where they remain under the greater     
dominance of man in all matters1 the    
faiths that retain the stronger and more

 virile codes of conduct have remained4 
,i am not sure that there have not been 
other influences also at work4 ,i can1  
,i think1 see another strong influence  
that has worked to the same end4 ,there 
may be many reasons4 ,but that would not
 alter the fact that the influence of   
women has been a main force1 that they  
have greatly been concerned in the      
change of faith4     ,,chapter ,,xxiii4 
,,prayer ,,and ,,confession4   ,what is 
the most general1 the most conspicuous  
form in which religion expresses itself8
 ,is it not in prayer8 ,where is the    
religion that is without prayer8 ,there 
is none4 ,and perhaps1 too1 it is the   
very first expression of religion1 that 
when the savage fell and prayed the     
lightning to spare him1 he was          
inaugurating the greatest religious form
 the world has known4  ,what a wonderful
 thing it is1 wonderful in every form1  
beautiful wherever you see it--from the 
glorious masses sung in the cathedrals  
to the ,mussulman spreading his mat upon

 the sand and bowing towards ,mecca4    
,there is nothing so beautiful1 nothing 
that so touches the heart of man as     
prayer4  ,i have said that it is common 
to all religions1 and so it is4         
,religions live not in creeds1 but in   
the believers4 ,pure ,buddhism knows not
 prayer1 but does not the ,buddhist know
 it8 ,go to any pagoda and see the women
 there praying to ,someone--,someone1   
they know not whom--and ask if          
,buddhists know not prayer8 ,i have     
written so fully of it in my other book 
that ,i will not repeat it here4        
,prayer is common to all believers2 it  
is the greatest1 as perhaps it is the   
only expression common to all religions4
 ,and whence comes this custom of       
prayer8 ,the ,jew and the ,mussulman and
 the ,christian will answer and say1 ,it
 comes from our belief in ,god1 it is an
 outcome of that belief4 ,our ,god has  
bade us pray to ,him4  ,and the ,hindu1 
how will he answer8 ,he will say1 ,our  
gods have power over us1 they deal with 

us as they will4 ,they listen to us if  
we pray4 ,and therefore it is right for 
us to beseech them in our trouble4 ,it  
comes from our belief in our gods4 ,and 
the savage will answer1 ,i fear the     
,devil1 so ,i pray to him4 ,but what    
will the ,buddhist answer8  ,for        
,buddhism knows no ,god4 ,the world is  
ruled by ,law1 unchangeable1 everlasting
 ,law4 ,no one can change that ,law4 ,if
 you suffer it is the meet and proper   
consequence of your sins4 ,the suffering
 is purifying you and teaching you how  
to live4 ,it would not be well for you  
to be relieved of it now if you could   
be4 ,therefore suffer and be silent4  ,a
 very beautiful belief4 ,and yet the    
people pray4 ,why8 ,when a ,buddhist    
prays it is not in consequence of his   
belief1 but in spite of it4 ,it cannot  
be traced as the result of any theory of
 causation4  ,therefore one doubts the  
,theist's explanation and one reflects4 
,was1 indeed1 prayer born of their      
beliefs8 ,and then the doubt increases4 

,are these creeds older than prayer1 or 
maybe is it not that prayer is older    
than the creeds8 ,did these creeds exist
 in men's minds first or did the        
necessity for prayer exist first8 ,which
 is nearer to man8  ,let us consider    
what prayer is4 ,it consists of three   
things mainly4 ,petition to be saved1 to
 be helped from imminent danger2 praise 
at being so saved2 and last1 probably   
last1 but surely greatest of all1       
confession4  ,when men pray they are    
always doing one or other of these      
things4 ,when the savage was caught in  
the thunderstorm or shaken in the       
earthquake and fell on his knees in     
fear1 babbling strange things1 do you   
think he had reasoned out a ,god behind 
the force first8 ,do you think his      
inarticulate cry for help was not       
involuntary8 ,that if he had not first  
reasoned out the ,god he would not so   
cry8 ,have you ever seen people in      
deadly fear1 how they will babble for   
help1 crying unto the unknown8 ,if there

 was ever anything that came forth      
absolutely spontaneously from the heart 
of man1 which needed no belief of any   
kind anterior to its birth1 it was      
prayer1 the prayer that comes from fear1
 the prayer for help4 ,it is the        
unconscious1 unreasoned cry of the      
heart4 ,if there is ,someone to whom to 
direct the cry1 well and good2 but if   
not1 the cry comes just the same4  ,when
 troubles fall upon the man1 what is his
 first impulse8 ,to tell someone4 ,if   
the confidant can help1 so much the     
better2 but if not1 still to tell4 ,to  
ease the pent up heart by telling1 that 
is what is wanted4 ,and with joy1 too4  
,have you not seen how1 when good news  
comes to a man1 he loves to rush forth  
and tell it8 ,to whom8 ,it does not     
matter4 ,tell it1 tell it4 ,cry it      
aloud1 if but the trees and rocks can   
hear4 ,to keep secret a great thing is  
very hard4 ,remember the courtier who   
discovered that ,king ,midas had asses' 
ears4 ,he could not keep the terrible   

deadly truth to himself4 ,he dared not  
tell it to man4 ,and so1 going softly to
 the river1 he confessed the dreadful   
knowledge to the reeds3 ,midas hath     
asses' ears4 ,can you trace here any    
cause and effect8 ,and there is         
confession1 to tell someone of our sins1
 to confess4 ,is that dependent upon any
 religious theory8 ,much has been       
written about confession1 this necessity
 of the laden spirit1 but never has     
anything been written like that study by
 ,dostoieffsky called ,crime and        
,punishment4 ,the ,crime was murder1 not
 an ordinary murder committed by a      
ruffian in passion or from sordid       
motives1 but a murder by a student      
intended to result in good4 ,the        
murderer is suspected--nay1 is known by 
a police officer--and the motive of the 
first half of the story is not to gain  
evidence1 not to unravel the story1 but 
it lies in the efforts of the detective 
to induce ,raskolnikoff to make a       
voluntary confession4 ,and why8 ,there  

was evidence enough1 the offender could 
have been arrested and convicted at any 
time4 ,but that would not do4           
,punishment alone will not always1 will 
indeed but seldom1 benefit the criminal4
 ,punishment is for the protection of   
society4 ,it is for the future1 not the 
past4 ,for the criminal to redeem       
himself he must confess4 ,in that lies  
the only medicine for a diseased soul4  
,it is a marvellous story1 and it holds 
the truth of truths4 ,confess4 ,there is
 no emotion of the human heart so strong
 as this1 the eminent necessity to tell 
someone4 ,no one who has had much to do 
with crime will doubt this4 ,there is in
 all natural men a burning desire1 an   
absolute necessity1 to tell of what has 
been done4 ,it comes out sometimes in   
confessions to the police or to the     
magistrate4 ,all criminal annals are    
full of such stories4 ,a crime is       
committed and there is no clue1 till the
 man confesses4 ,i have myself seen a   
great deal of this4 ,i have received    

many confessions4 ,but you will object  
that was amongst ,burmese2 and ,i reply1
 ,wherein is there any difference8      
,criminals of all countries frequently  
confess4 ,but as civilisation progresses
 the confession is not often to a       
magistrate4 ,the fear1 the terrible fear
 of punishment outweighs the natural    
impulse4 ,but still the confession is   
made4 ,if you read the cases in the     
papers you will see how often it is     
made4 ,to a wife1 to a companion1       
sometimes to a complete stranger4 ,the  
men who can hold their tongues1 who can 
stifle nature1 are very few4 ,with all  
but hardened criminals the tendency is  
always to confession1 and those whose   
work has laid among them know that the  
denial1 the defence1 except with        
hardened criminals1 is seldom theirs4   
,if there were no relations to urge     
them1 no lawyers to assist them1 five   
out of six first offenders would confess
 openly4  ,is it otherwise with our     
children8 ,what is it we teach them     

above all else8 ,never to do wrong8 ,no6
 ,for we know that is impossible4       
,children1 like men1 will err4 ,but1    
when you have done wrong confess1 for   
only so can you lift the weight from    
your heart4 ,confess1 confess4          
,everywhere it is the same4 ,if you have
 done wrong1 only by confession can you 
remove the stain4 ,but it must be       
voluntary4 ,it must not be forced4 ,such
 a confession is of no value4 ,even our 
courts reject it4  ,it is an instinct of
 the heart that comes who can tell      
whence1 that means who can tell what8   
,and from this have grown many things4  
,it has become part of all the greater  
religions1 and the forms it has taken   
are significant not so much of the      
faiths1 but of the people4  ,among the  
,jews and the ,mahommedans we hear      
little of it4 ,they were a hard people  
when their faiths were formed1 a strong 
people1 and little advanced in the      
gentler feelings4 ,they were warriors   
who lived greatly by the sword1 and it  

was necessary for them to stifle all    
that might weaken or even polish them4  
,for one man to humble himself to       
another is very hard1 for a proud man to
 confess to another is almost           
impossible4 ,and so into these ,theistic
 faiths the confession was to ,god4 ,if 
a man sinned it was to ,god alone he    
could confess4 ,but with ,christianity  
it has been different4 ,there is in     
,christianity what exists in no other   
faith in the same way1 an intermediary  
between ,god and man4  ,there are the   
priests4  ,this desire of the soul for  
confession1 the absolute necessity with 
strong emotional people to tell someone 
their sins and their truths1 has been   
one of the greatest cults of the ,church
 of ,rome4 ,man must confess1 let him   
confess to the priests4 ,their tongues  
are tied1 they will never reveal what   
they are told2 they are the ministers of
 ,god4 ,therefore let the innate desire 
for confession be directed towards the  
priests4 ,it is universal in ,catholic  

countries4 ,whatever may be its abuses  
it is the great safety valve1 the great 
help of the people1 that as they must   
confess they should have someone to     
confess to4  ,with the ,northern        
,teutonic nations it has been different4
 ,they got their ,christianity from     
,rome1 a ,christianity that was built on
 the needs of impulsive ,celtic natures4
 ,it suited not with the harder natures 
of the north4 ,they could not confess to
 men1 it galled them to be told to      
confess4 ,their natures were different4 
,had they no need of confession8 ,yes1  
but they were as the ,jews and          
,mahommedans4 ,they would not humble    
themselves to men4 ,and so1 for this and
 other similar reasons1 they revolted   
from ,rome and made their own church1   
where confession is only to ,god4 ,but  
the necessity of confession still       
remains2 our services are full of it4   
,it is strange how very often we find   
the ,christianity of ,teutonic people   
nearer in observed facts to the faiths  

of ,semitic peoples than to the         
,christianity of the ,celts4 ,all these 
peoples1 all these ,churches1 recognise 
the need of confession4 ,but1 it may be 
said1 all this is a difference of very  
slight detail4 ,all confession is to    
,god4 ,the ,roman priests are only      
representatives of ,god4 ,if you believe
 in ,god you must believe in confession1
 because ,god has always directed it4   
,confession is in all the ,churches     
because ,god ordered it4 ,the need comes
 from ,god1 who gives absolution4  ,then
 how about the ,buddhists8 ,they have no
 ,god1 but yet they confess4 ,the       
,buddha himself many times pointed out  
how needful confession was1 and how     
healing to the heart4 ,there is no ,god 
to confess to1 there is no              
representative of ,god4 ,but there is   
the head of the ,monastery4 ,let the    
younger monk who sins confess his sins  
to his superior4 ,there is no           
absolution4 ,man works out his future   
himself1 always by himself4 ,there is no

 absolution1 no help to be gained by    
confession4 ,but the ,buddha knew the   
hearts of man4 ,he knew that confession 
was good for the soul4 ,he knew that it 
needed no absolution from any priest to 
help the confesser1 no belief in any    
,god to pardon because of the           
confession4 ,confession1 if it be made  
honestly and truly1 brings with it      
always its own reward4 ,it may be       
objected1 that this is not general1 but 
only applies to those trying to live the
 holy life4 ,the ,buddha taught that all
 men should do so4 ,he meant it to be   
general4 ,it is true that it is not1 it 
cannot be general1 or the world would   
cease4 ,only a few are monks4 ,is1 then1
 the help of confession denied to the   
multitude8 ,perhaps by the stringent    
,buddhist faith it may not be urgently  
inculcated1 and men and women in outside
 life cannot confess to monks4 ,do they 
then go without8 ,not so4 ,go to any    
pagoda at any time and you will see     
there kneeling many people1 some men1   

but mostly women4 ,they are there       
confessing1 audibly sometimes1 their    
troubles1 their sins1 their joys also4  
,to whom8 ,ah6 then ,i cannot tell you4 
,someone will hear1 they say1 ,someone  
will hear4 ,religions are for the       
necessity of man1 and if the narrow     
creed will not suffice it must be       
enlarged4  ,it is a strange subject this
 of confession1 and its ally1 prayer4   
,it is strange to follow it to its roots
 in the human heart1 and to see that it 
is stronger1 is older1 is more          
persistent than creeds4 ,creeds come and
 go1 they change1 and man changes with  
them2 he may have any religion or have  
none1 but it makes no difference to     
this4 ,hindu and ,christian1 ,mahommedan
 and ,buddhist1 ,atheist and ,jew1 the  
heart of man is ever the same4 ,read    
that wonderful story of ,balzac's1 ,la  
,messe d',athee1 and you will see4      
99       99       99       99       99  
,if you postulate ,god or gods1 and try 
from that to deduce prayer and          

confession1 you find yourself very soon 
as the boy found himself long ago4 ,you 
are at an impasse4 ,if ,god be indeed as
 stated1 then can prayer and confession 
never be necessary4 ,you cannot get     
round it1 you can only hide yourself in 
mists of words like the scientific      
theologian4 ,if ,god be as postulated1  
then can prayer and confession not be   
necessary1 or even beautiful4  ,but you 
can see from daily life that they are   
so4 ,who can doubt it8 ,there is in life
 nothing so beautiful1 nothing so true1 
nothing that acts as balm to the heart  
like prayer and confession1 and they    
exist naturally4 ,they are there from   
the beginning2 they need no religious   
theory to bring them into life4 ,what1  
then1 is the inference8 ,not perhaps    
exactly what it at first sight would    
seem to be1 that ,god does not exist or 
has those qualities of prejudice1 of    
favour1 of partiality which religious   
books and religious people give to ,him4
 ,it is1 ,i think1 this3 ,that the      

truth1 the original truth1 is the       
necessity of confession and prayer1 and 
that to explain this the theory of the  
nature of ,god or gods have arisen4     
,prayer did not proceed from ,god1 but  
,god from prayer--i4e41 the theories of 
,god4  ,no strongly religious man can   
reason about his own faith4 ,christians 
will say that the idea of the ,true ,god
 is inherent in man also1 that if not   
earlier than prayer1 it is co-existent4 
,so be it4 ,but how about false         
gods--the savage praying to a mountain1 
the ,hindu to an image or a stone1      
representing who knows what8 the        
,buddhist woman praying by the pagoda8  
,their prayer is beautiful4 ,it is as   
beautiful as yours4 ,never doubt it4 ,go
 and see them pray4 ,you will learn that
 prayer is beautiful1 is true in itself4
 ,and can such a thing proceed from a   
false theology8 ,see men pray and hear  
them confess and you will be sure of    
this1 that prayer and confession1 no    
matter by whom1 no matter to whom1 are  

always true1 have always their effect   
upon the heart4 ,whatever is false1 they
 are not4 ,it is one absolute truth that
 all men will admit4     ,,chapter      
,,xxiv4  ,,sunday ,,and ,,sabbath4   ,i 
am not sure that in such an enquiry as  
this history is of much avail4 ,i do not
 find that those who search into the    
past to write the history of it ever    
discover much that is of use to-day4 ,it
 seems to me that in tracing an idea1 or
 a law1 or a custom1 historians are     
satisfied with giving an account of its 
growth or decay as if it were the life  
of a tree4 ,they do not enquire into the
 why of things4 ,they will tell you that
 an idea came1 say1 from the ,east and  
was accepted generally4 ,they do not say
 why it was accepted4 ,and to have      
traced a modern belief back into the far
 past is to them sufficient reason for  
its presence1 forgetful that whatever   
persists1 whether a law or an idea or a 
belief1 does so because it is of use4   
,living things require a sanction as    

well as a history1 and therein lies     
their interest4 ,and what ,i am writing 
now is of the sanctions of religions4   
,still1 there is sometimes an interest1 
if but a negative one1 in the history of
 an observance or belief4 ,it is useful 
sometimes to trace an observance back1  
if only to show that the reason         
generally given for its retention is not
 and cannot be the real one4 ,of such is
 the history of the observance of       
,sunday1 or the ,sabbath1 in ,england   
and ,scotland4  ,we have discovered from
 the inscriptions at ,accad1 upon the   
,euphrates1 that in the time of ,sargon1
 #c1hjj years ,b4,c41 the days were     
divided into weeks of seven days1 named 
after the sun and moon and the five     
planets1 as they are now in places4 ,and
 there were1 moreover1 ,sabbaths set    
apart as days of rest for the soul1 the 
completion of work4 ,there were five of 
these ,sabbaths in ,chaldea every lunar 
month1 occurring on the #gth1 the #adth1
 the #aith1 the #bast1 and #bhth of the 

month4 ,that is to say1 the new moon1   
the full moon1 and the days half way    
between were ,sabbaths1 with the        
addition of a fifth ,sabbath on the     
#aith day4 ,on these days it was not    
lawful to cook food1 to change one's    
dress1 to offer a sacrifice2 the king   
may not speak in public or ride in a    
chariot1 or perform any kind of military
 or civil duty2 even to take medicine   
was forbidden4 ,it was a day of rest4   
,and this was #c1hjj ,b4,c41 nearly     
#b1jjj years before ,abraham lived1     
#b1cjj years before ,moses and the ,ten 
,commandments1 almost contemporary1     
according to the ,bible records1 with   
,cain and ,abel4 ,the day was already   
called the ,sabbath4 ,it had existed    
already for no one knows how long1      
probably thousands of years2 it was a   
day of rest1 and it was observed much as
 was subsequently the ,jewish ,sabbath4 
,without doubt the ,jews only adopted a 
custom known to more civilised nations  
ages before1 and they gave to it the    

sanction of their religion1 as they and 
many other people have done to many     
matters4 ,there is everywhere a strong  
tendency1 if possible1 to give religious
 sanction to every observance4 ,the     
stronger emotions attract to themselves 
the lesser4 ,so have the ,jews and      
,mahommedans adopted sanitary           
precautions1 the ,hindus sanitary and   
marriage laws1 and ,christianity        
marriage laws also in their faiths4 ,so 
did my friend mentioned in the preface  
include all civilisation in his         
religion4  ,the observance of the       
,sabbath arose not from a religious     
command transmitted by ,moses1 but as   
the result of observation and custom    
thousands of years before1 that a day of
 rest was needed for man4  ,when they   
reached a certain standard of           
civilisation all peoples seem to have   
had such a day set apart4 ,it was a want
 that arose out of the keener struggle  
for existence1 a mutual truce to the war
 of competition4 ,but the day itself    

varied4 ,the ,greeks divided their lunar
 month into decades1 having thus three  
festival days in a month4 ,the ,romans1 
we are told1 divided it into periods of 
eight days1 though ,i do not know how   
they managed their arithmetic or got    
eight into twenty-nine without some     
awkward remainder4 ,and in the farther  
,east it was usual to celebrate the full
 moon and the new moon and the days half
 way between as days of rest4 ,a lunar  
month consisting of sometimes           
twenty-nine and sometimes thirty days1  
the period between rest days was        
sometimes six days as in a week1 and    
sometimes seven days4 ,thus among the   
,burmese1 although there are1 as usual1 
seven days named after the sun1 moon1   
and planets1 the rest day goes by the   
day of the month1 not by that of the    
week1 just as it did with the           
,accadians4 ,for in the ,east a month   
remains a month2 it is the life of a    
moon4 ,it begins with the new moon and  
ends with the fourth quarter1 and is    

easily reckoned by any villager4 ,with  
us in the ,north the age of the moon has
 ceased to be of any importance4 ,our   
life after dark is indoors1 where we    
have lights and the moon is of no use to
 us4 ,our houses are lit artificially1  
and very few ,europeans could tell at a 
moment's notice how old the moon is4    
,but in the ,east it is not so4 ,with   
them the night is the time for being out
 of doors1 and when they go to their    
houses it is only to sleep4 ,the nights 
are cool after the hot day1 and on the  
full moon nights the world is full of   
light4 ,the night of the full moon1 when
 the scent of flowers is on the still   
air and all about is full of magic1 is  
one of the great beauties of this world4
 ,but of it we know nothing in ,europe4 
,therefore in colder climates the month 
by the moon was abandoned1 and reckoning
 the year by the sun took its place4    
,and as civilisation progressed it was  
inconvenient to be uncertain about which
 was the day of rest1 so it became the  

custom to make it every seventh day1    
regardless of the moon4 ,this seems to  
have obtained first in ,egypt and to    
have spread over the civilised world1   
the seventh day being the ,sabbath4 ,but
 it still remained a day of rest1       
unassociated1 except by the ,jews1 with 
religion4  ,the early ,christians kept  
no ,sabbath4 ,they kept the first day of
 the week as a day of rejoicing1 to     
celebrate the rising of ,christ4        
,indeed1 the ,jewish ,sabbath was       
considered as abrogated1 and the first  
day of the week was kept1 much as it is 
now kept on the ,continent1 as a day of 
rest1 of rejoicing1 of relaxation after 
work4  ,so it was observed till the     
,reformation4  ,the ,reformers1 whatever
 they altered1 did not alter this4 ,they
 gave no command to return from         
,christian observance of the day to     
,jewish observance1 and all over the    
,continent1 among those of reformed     
churches as among those of the ,catholic
 church1 ,sunday is the day of rest1 of 

worship1 and of relaxation4  ,it was so1
 too1 in ,england and ,scotland4  ,the  
change back to the ,jewish ,sabbath     
seems to have come with the ,puritans   
and to have been introduced by them to  
,scotland4 ,and this is but one example 
of how ,puritanism was practically a    
rejection of ,christianity and a return 
to the codes of ,judaism1 which suited  
those iron warriors much better than    
,christian ethics4  ,in ,england the    
feeling has been tempered1 but among the
 ,scotch1 who are in so many ways like  
the old ,jews1 it took root1 it         
flourished1 and it is the ,jewish       
,sabbath both in name and observance    
that we see now there4  ,why was there  
this reversion8 ,for what reason has the
 ,jewish ,sabbath appealed more nearly  
to the ,scotch than the ,christian      
,sunday8 ,what feelings were those that 
caused this8  ,if you turn to the people
 who have done this and look into their 
characters you will note one strong and 
marked instinct4 ,it is the dislike to  

art of all kinds1 to painting and music1
 to dancing and acting1 their strong    
distrust of beauty and gaiety4 ,they are
 a sober people1 hard and stubborn and  
dour1 to whom art and amusement appeal1 
as a rule1 not at all2 and when they do 
appeal it is too strongly4 ,they would  
not have organs in their churches and   
cards were to them the devil's picture  
books4 ,they had in them then1 they have
 now1 no single fibre that responds to  
the lighter and brighter things of this 
world4 ,their very humour is grim4 ,have
 they1 then1 no idea of pleasure8 ,do   
they never enjoy themselves8 ,it would  
be a mistake of the greatest to suppose 
that4 ,they1 too1 as all other men1 have
 their times for relaxation1 for        
enjoyment1 for mental rest and          
refreshment4 ,only that what gives      
pleasure to them is different from what 
gives pleasure to other people4 ,they   
take their pleasures sadly2 the chords  
of their hearts are tuned to other keys 
than that of gaiety and art4 ,these     

latter they cannot understand1 they     
awaken either no echo or far too strong 
an echo2 and1 like all men when they    
cannot understand a thing1 they hate it4
 ,there is no medium in these matters   
that appeal to the emotions4 ,you must  
either like or hate4 ,you may see this  
always4 ,either you enjoy ,wagner's     
music or you abominate it1 either you   
appreciate old masters or they are to   
you daubs1 either you are in tune to    
laughter or it seems to you the veriest 
folly4  ,the ,scotch take their         
amusement and their relaxation on the   
,sabbath as other people do on the      
,sunday4 ,they rest from work1 they     
attend divine service1 and for          
relaxation they awaken those gloomy and 
fanatical thoughts which give them      
pleasure4 ,for these are to them        
pleasure1 just as much as gaiety is to  
other people4  ,do not doubt that it is 
real pleasure to them4 ,men's hearts are
 tuned to many keys1 and there is a     
minor as well as a major4 ,it is true   

that it is difficult for those who      
rejoice in light and sunshine1 in gaiety
 and humour1 who revolt from grey skies 
and shaded days1 from gloomy thoughts   
and dreams of hell1 to realise that     
there are men to whom these are in      
harmony4  ,most of us would forget hell 
if we could1 would banish the thought if
 it arose1 but some love to dwell upon  
it1 to repeat it1 to preach of it4 ,the 
idea thrills them as blood and massacre 
do others4 ,some men would go miles to  
avoid seeing an execution1 others would 
go as many miles to see it4 ,emotions   
are of all sorts1 and what to some is   
horrible is to others attractive4  ,will
 the doctrine of eternal punishment be  
preached there8 asked the owner of a    
large room suitable for meetings to one 
who would have hired it to preach there4
 ,and when the answer was that the      
subject would not be touched on the room
 was refused4 ,ay1 but ,i hold to that  
doctrine1 he repeated to every          
objection4  ,widely1 therefore1 as the  

,continental ,sunday and the ,scotch    
,sabbath differ in appearance1 they     
arise from the same causes1 they result 
in the same effects4  ,they are caused  
by the desire for bodily rest1 for soul 
nourishment1 for mental relaxation1     
necessities of mankind1 and each people 
so frames its conception of the proper  
way to keep the day as to attain those  
ends4 ,for the ,sabbath was made for    
man1 not man for the ,sabbath1 and men  
adapt their religious teaching to suit  
their necessities4     ,,chapter ,,xxv4 
,,miracle4   ,it is some years ago      
now--about twenty1 ,i think--that we    
first heard of the beginning of a new   
religion1 the arrival of a new          
prophetess who was to unfold to us the  
mystery of the world and teach us the   
truths of life4 ,and this religion began
 as other religions have been said to   
begin1 this prophetess claimed belief as
 other teachers are said to have done1  
by her miraculous powers4 ,she could do 
things that no one else could do3 she   

could divide a cigarette paper in       
halves1 and waft half through the air to
 great distances2 she could piece       
together broken teacups in an           
extraordinary way4 ,and because she     
could perform these feats she claimed   
for herself an authority in speaking of 
the hearts of men and of the before and 
after death1 an authority which was     
accorded to her by many4  ,i have       
expressly refrained from suggesting     
either the truth or the falsehood of    
these miracles4 ,i am aware that the    
whole process is said to have been fully
 exposed4 ,the question is immaterial1  
for they were1 true or false1 believed  
by many1 and it is this question of     
belief in miracle which ,i wish to      
discuss1 not the possibility of miracle 
or the reverse4  ,there is another point
 ,i wish to make clear4 ,i have said    
that other religions are said to have   
started in the same way1 other teachers 
to have claimed authority on the same   
ground4 ,this may or may not be true4   

,the theory of ,buddhism is so          
essentially anti-miraculous that the    
miracles attributed to the ,buddha seem 
almost certainly outside additions1 as  
they are in direct variance with his    
known acts and beliefs4 ,and the words  
and acts of ,christ in ,his life seem   
all so at variance with the miracles    
attributed to ,him that they1 too1 may  
be later additions or contemporary      
exaggerations4 ,this has already been   
obvious to some1 and had not the        
absolute inspiration of the ,sacred     
,books been insisted on1 thus stifling  
criticism1 it would have been obvious to
 more4 ,all this is immaterial4 ,true or
 false1 all religions have an           
embroidery1 more or less deep1 of       
miracle1 and on these miracles their    
claim to truth was in the early days    
more or less pressed4 ,if ,madame       
,blavatsky performed miracles with      
teacups it was because she saw that     
there was an attraction to many people  
in miracle that nothing else could      

supply4 ,miracle to many is the proof of
 truth4 ,had ,madame ,blavatsky         
performed no miracles1 had there been no
 teacups1 were there now no ,mahatmas1  
who would have stopped to listen to her 
compote of ,brahmanism1 ,buddhism1 and  
truly western mysticism which she called
 ,theosophy8  ,how can miracle be the   
proof of supernatural knowledge8        
,suppose there arose to-morrow in       
,england a man who could make one loaf  
into five1 what should those of us who  
are without the instinct for miracle    
say8 ,merely that he knew some way of   
increasing bread which we did not know4 
,the inference would end there4 ,we     
should not suppose that he therefore    
knew anything more about the next world 
than we do4 ,where is the connection1 we
 would ask8 ,the telephone or the       
,roentgen rays would have been a miracle
 a hundred years ago4 ,two thousand     
years ago a phonograph would have been  
supposed to hold a devil1 and the       
proprietor would have been a prophet1 no

 doubt4 ,but we do not now go to ,edison
 or ,maxim for our religions4 ,still1   
,madame ,blavatsky started with         
miracles1 and was wise in her           
generation4 ,still1 all religions retain
 more or less of the miraculous1 because
 there are many to whom this appeals    
before everything1 because they are sure
 that miracle is the proof of truth4    
,again1 ,theosophy claims to be         
,esoteric ,buddhism4 ,the country par   
excellence of practical ,buddhism is    
,burma4 ,yet the ,burmans generally     
laugh at ,theosophy4 ,how is this8 ,the 
answer lies1 ,i think1 like the answer  
to all these questions of religion1 in  
the varying instincts of the people4 ,it
 is an idea with us in the ,west that   
the ,east is the land of enchantment1 of
 mystery1 of the unknown1 of miracle and
 all that is akin to it4 ,we are never  
tired of talking of the mysterious      
,east2 it seems to us one vast          
wonderland full of things we cannot     
understand1 full of marvels of the      

unknowable1 the very home of            
superstition2 while the ,west is matter 
of fact1 material and reasonable1 and   
easily understood4 ,and yet ,i think the
 very first thing a man learns when he  
goes to the people of the ,east1        
certainly to the ,burmese people1 and   
tries to see with their eyes and        
understand with their hearts1 that all  
this is the very reverse of the facts4  
,will anyone who wishes to see how very 
far they are from the cult of the       
mysterious1 of dreams1 of miracles1 of  
visions1 how very little such things    
appeal to them1 turn to my chapters on  
the ,buddhist monkhood in ,the ,soul of 
a ,people1 and read them8 ,i do not wish
 to repeat what ,i said there1 only that
 a monk who saw visions or performed    
miracles would be ejected from his      
monastery as unworthy of his faith4  ,i 
do not say that there are no            
superstitions among the people4 ,their  
stage of civilisation is as yet low1 as 
low perhaps as ours five hundred years  

ago4 ,they have their strange fancies   
here and there2 ,i have heard many of   
them4 ,they are amusing sometimes and   
curious4 ,i very much doubt1 however1 if
 the ,burman of to-day is as            
superstitious as an ordinary countryman 
in ,england4 ,i have heard ,english     
soldiers tell tales of old women        
changing into hares1 that they          
themselves had seen1 quite as seriously 
as any ,burman could4 ,and if you       
compare the ,burman of to-day with the  
,european peasant of even two hundred   
years ago1 there is no comparison at    
all4 ,the ,west simply reeks with       
superstition and all that is allied to  
it compared to the ,east4 7,i exclude   
the belief in ghosts1 which is1 ,i      
think1 a separate matter47  ,the        
delusion has1 ,i think1 arisen in many  
ways4 ,to begin with1 we are always     
looking out in the ,east for the        
mysterious4 ,it is the ,east1 and       
therefore mysterious4 ,we very seldom   
try to understand the people1 to see    

them from their standpoint4 ,we prefer  
generally to assume that they have no   
standpoint and to talk of the           
incomprehensible ,oriental mind1 because
 it is easier to do so and it sounds    
superior4 ,and again1 we are apt to make
 absurd comparisons and reason without  
remembrance4 ,an ,english officer will  
come across a ,burman from the back     
country of the hills who has a charm    
against bullet wounds1 and he will sit  
down and indite a letter to the paper on
 the incredibly foolish superstition of 
these people1 oblivious of the fact that
 he will find even now amongst his own  
countrymen quite as many people who     
believe in charms as among the ,burmese1
 that ,dr4 ,johnson touched various     
articles as charms1 and that he himself 
throws salt over his shoulder4 ,yet he  
is of the better class of a people five 
hundred years older in civilisation than
 the ,burman4  ,i confess that1         
personally1 ,i have found even to-day   
infinitely more superstition and leaning

 to the miraculous among my own people  
than among ,burmans4 ,there are classes 
of ,english people who are almost free  
from it1 there are other ,englishmen1   
and especially ,englishwomen1 who are   
steeped in it to a degree that would    
astound any ,oriental4 ,and what was it 
a few hundred years ago8 ,have there    
ever been witch trials in the ,east1    
have there ever been ordeals1 or casting
 lots for ,god to decide8 ,magicians    
have come to us from the ,east1 truly2  
they were made for export1 the use for  
them at home being limited4 ,theosophy  
was started in the ,east1 truly1 but not
 by ,orientals4 ,madame ,blavatsky is   
believed to have been a ,russian2 her   
supporters were ,english and ,american4 
,palmistry and fortune-telling appeal as
 serious matters to many people in      
,england and ,europe generally4 ,to the 
,burman they are matters of amusement4  
,do you think ,christian ,science would 
gain any foothold in the ,east8 or      
spiritualism or a hundred forms of      

superstition that cling to the civilised
 people of the ,west8  ,the ,east is the
 home of religion1 of emotion1 of       
asceticism1 of the victory of the mind  
over the body4 ,the ,west is the home of
 superstition1 of second sight1 of      
miracle1 of conjuring tricks of all     
kinds exalted into the supernatural4    
,you may search all the records of the  
,east and find no superstition--like    
touching for the ,king's evil1 for      
instance4 ,can anyone imagine ,joanna   
,southcote in ,india or in the further  
,east8 ,i have tried not to hear1 ,i    
could never repeat1 what the ,east says 
of the miraculous in ,christianity4     
,superstition there is1 of course1      
legend and miracle2 they are the        
outcomes always of a certain stage of   
pre-civilisation4 ,but even in ,india   
how scarce and faint they are compared  
to the ,west4 ,for one thing must be    
carefully remembered4 ,ignorance of the 
power of natural causes must not be put 
down to attribution of miraculous       

causes4 ,the peasant in the ,east will  
often attribute a property to a herb1 a 
mineral1 a ceremony that it has not got4
 ,that is their ignorance of natural    
law1 never their attribution of         
unnatural power4 ,if a ,burman peasant  
sometimes thinks a certain medicine can 
render his body lighter than water1 it  
is simply that he is unaware of the     
limited power of drugs1 not that he     
supposes there is anything miraculous in
 it4 ,the power of phenacetin on a      
feverish patient seems to him far more  
astonishing4 ,indeed1 from miracle as   
miracle he shrinks4 ,to miracle as      
miracle the average ,european is greatly
 attracted4 ,to the one it spells always
 charlatanism1 to the latter            
supernatural power4  ,and therefore1    
even in the religions of                
,hindustan--,hinduism in its myriad     
forms1 ,mahommedanism1 ,sihkism1        
,jainism1 and ,parseeism--miracle plays 
a very minor part4 ,i think there is no 
doubt that this repugnance to miracle is

 one reason why the ,semites eventually 
rejected ,christianity4 ,how very few   
and unaffecting the essence are the     
miracles in ,mahommedanism4 ,but in     
,christianity it plays the major part4  
,christ was born and lived and died and 
rose again in miracle4 ,in ,latin       
countries miracles are of daily         
occurrence--as at ,lourdes1 for         
instance4  ,and though in ,teutonic     
,christianity it is less than in ,latin 
countries1 it plays a great part also4  
,the miracles of ,christ's life are     
retained4 ,truly they say that now the  
age of miracle is past4 ,the ,church    
believes no more in prophecy1 in        
miraculous cures1 in risings from the   
dead4 ,the bulk of the people reject    
miracle4 ,but what a large minority is  
still left who absolutely crave for it1 
let the records of ,theosophy and many  
another miraculous religion show4       
,miracle satisfies a craving1 an        
instinct1 that nothing else will meet4  
,it is curious to note how the inclusion

 of miracle in religion varies inversely
 with the inclusion of conduct4 ,with   
the ,latins miracle is most1 the ,latin 
,christianity is the most miraculous of 
all religions1 and therein conduct is   
least4 ,with the ,teutons miracle and   
conduct are both accepted1 the former   
authoritatively of the past1 privately  
also of the present4 ,with the ,burmans 
miracle and the supernatural are        
rejected absolutely as part of the      
religion of to-day1 and conduct is all  
in all4 ,thus again do the instincts of 
the people find expression in their     
religion4  ,as to the growth of the     
instinct it is more difficult to reply4 
,instincts are very hard to account for4
 ,indeed1 in their origin all are quite 
beyond the scope of inquiry at all4 ,we 
can only see that they exist4 ,but with 
this instinct for miracle there is one  
cause that no doubt contributes to its  
increase or decrease4 ,it does not      
explain the instinct1 but it does show  
why in some cases it is greater than in 

others4  ,it is greater in the ,west    
than in the ,east because many people in
 the ,west1 with greater emotional      
power1 from better food and little work1
 live narrower lives than any in the    
,east4 ,it is astonishing to see the    
difference4 ,in the ,east every peasant 
lives surrounded by his relatives1 very 
many of them2 he is friends with all his
 village1 he has always his work1 his   
interests in life4 ,he is hardly ever   
alone among strangers1 with no work to  
occupy him4 ,but in the ,west1 how many 
there are who live alone1 their         
relations elsewhere1 with few friends1  
with no necessity for work1 with no     
interests in life8 ,it is terrible to   
see how many there are living lives     
empty of all emotion4 ,these are they   
who seek the miraculous as a relief from
 their daily monotony of stupidity4     
,these are they who run after new       
things4 ,it is      ,the desire of the  
moth for the star1       ,of the day for
 the morrow1     ,the longing for       

something afar       ,from the scene of 
our sorrow4  ,it is the result of high  
emotional power with no food to feed on4
 ,there are other factors1 for          
instance--that people who live in       
mountains are more superstitious than   
people of plains1 due again to narrower1
 more isolated lives1 ,i think2 and as a
 rule country people are more           
superstitious than town people1 due to  
the same reason4 ,nothing exists without
 its use1 and this is some of the use of
 the miraculous instinct in man4 ,it has
 played its part in the world1 a great  
part no doubt4 ,where it exists still it
 does so because it fills a necessity4  
,never doubt it4 ,those who live full   
lives find it so easy to laugh at this  
craving for the supernatural4 ,would you
 do away with it8 ,make1 then1 their    
lives such that they do not need it4    
,give to them the knowledge1 the        
sympathy1 the love1 the wider life that 
makes it unnecessary4  ,nurtured in     
narrowness on the ground that should    

grow other instincts1 it disappears in  
the sunshine of happiness1 when the     
heart is furrowed and tilled by the     
experiences of life and planted with the
 fruit of happiness4  ,if we cannot do  
that1 at least we can recognise that it1
 as all instincts1 has its uses1 and    
exists in and because of that use1 never
 because of any abuse4  ,and where the  
instinct exists it is attracted as are  
nearly all the instincts into that great
 bundle of emotions called religion4    
,but if those who support ,christian    
missions wonder why they are not more   
successful1 here is another reason4     
,what satisfies your instinct revolts   
theirs4 ,they do not require it4        
,orientals1 even peasants1 live such    
wide lives compared with many in the    
,west1 that they need not the stimulus1 
and their hard lives lessen the         
emotional powers4 ,and if ,christians   
are often unable to understand the charm
 of ,buddhism to its believers1 it is   
because western people seek and require 

the stimulus of miracle which is here   
wanting4 ,it is as if you offered them  
water while they cared only for wine4   
,but ,easterns care not for your strong 
emotions4 ,they are simpler and more    
easily pleased4     ,,chapter ,,xxvi4   
,,religion ,,and ,,art4       ,this is  
not the place1 nor have ,i space left   
here1 to explain      all ,i mean when  
,i say that art is a mode of religion1  
and can      flourish only under the    
inspiration of living and practical     
religion4--,frederic ,harrison4         
,no one indeed can successfully uphold  
the idea that the high      development 
of art in any shape is of necessity     
coincident with      a strong growth of 
religious or moral sentiment4 ,perugino 
made      no secret of being an atheist2
 ,leonardo da ,vinci was a              
scientific sceptic2 ,raphael was an     
amiable rake1 no better and      no     
worse than the majority of those gifted 
pupils to whom he      was at once a    
model of perfection and an example of   

free      living2 and those who maintain
 that art is always the      expression 
of a people's religion have but an      
imperfect      acquaintance with the age
 of ,praxiteles1 ,apelles1 and ,zeuxis4 
,yet the idea itself has a foundation1  
lying in something which      is as hard
 to define as it is impossible to       
ignore2 for if art      be not a growth 
out of faith1 it is always the result of
 a      faith that has been4--,marion   
,crawford4  ,quotation on both sides    
could be multiplied without end1 but    
there seems no reason to do so4 ,the    
question is the relation of religion to 
art1 and it has but the two sides4      
,indeed1 the subject seems difficult1   
for there is so much to be said on both 
sides4  ,on one side it may be          
said3--,art is the result of and the    
outcome of religion4 ,look at the       
greatest works of art the world has to  
show4 ,are they not all religious8      
,there are the ,parthenon1 the temples  
of ,karnac1 the cathedral at ,milan1    

,st4 ,peter's at ,rome1 and others too  
numerous to mention2 the ,mosque of ,st4
 ,sophia and the ,kutub ,minar1 the     
temples of ,humpi1 the ,shwe ,dagon     
pagoda1 the temples of ,china and       
,japan4 ,what has secular art to show to
 compare with these8 ,are not the ,venus
 de ,milo1 the statue of ,athena1 and   
all the famous ,greek sculptures those  
of gods8 ,what is the most famous       
painting in the world8 ,it is the       
,sistine ,madonna of ,raphael4 ,even in 
literature1 is there anything secular to
 compare with the sacred books of the   
world8 ,the oratorios and masses are the
 finest music4 ,what can be more certain
 than that only religion gives the      
necessary stimulus to art and furnishes 
the most inspiring subjects8 ,great art 
is born of great faiths1 great faiths   
produce great art4  ,to which there is  
the reply3--,many of the greatest ,greek
 statues were of gods truly1 but was it 
a religious age that produced them8     
,were ,phidias and ,zeuxis religious or 

moral men8  ,was the thirteenth century 
which saw the building of most of the   
best cathedrals1 a religious age8 ,is it
 not the fact that for many cathedrals  
the capital was borrowed from the ,jews1
 enemies of ,christ1 and the interest   
paid by the sweat of slaves2 and when   
the interest was too heavy1 religious   
bigotry was resorted to and the ,jews   
persecuted1 killed1 and banished4 ,it is
 probable that of all ages the          
thirteenth century was the worst4 ,were 
the painters of great pictures religious
 or moral8 ,raphael painted the most    
wonderful religious paintings the world 
has seen--how much religion had         
,raphael8 ,leonardo da ,vinci painted   
,the ,last ,supper2 he was a sceptic4   
,are not artistic people notoriously    
irreligious8 ,the pyramids of ,egypt and
 the ,taj at ,agra are not religious    
buildings2 they are tombs4 ,the         
sentiment that raised them was the      
emotion of death4 ,in music and         
literature secular art rivals religion4 

,and even if great art be allied to     
religion1 deep religious feeling does   
not necessarily produce art4 ,indeed1 it
 is the reverse4 ,the most serious forms
 of belief have not done so4 ,where is  
the art of the ,reformation8            
,protestants will be slow to admit that 
there was no deep religious feeling     
there4 ,yet their great cathedrals were 
all built by ,roman ,catholics4 ,were   
not the ,puritans religious8 ,they hated
 all art4 ,is there no religious feeling
 in the ,north of ,america8 ,where is   
its religious art8 ,in ,europe there is 
no religious art out of ,catholicism4   
,in that alone has it succeeded4 ,and   
again1 although some religious art is   
great1 such is the exception4 ,the bulk 
of religious art all over the world is  
bad--very bad--the worst4 ,what art is  
there in the crucifixes of the ,catholic
 world1 in the sacred pictures in their 
chapels1 in the eikons of ,russia1 in   
the gods of the ,hindus1 in the ,buddhas
 of ,buddhism1 and the popular religious

 pictures of ,england8 ,they are one and
 all as ,art simply deplorable4 ,there  
is grand religious literature1 but what 
of the bulk of it8 ,most of the hymns1  
the sermons1 the tracts1 the religious  
literature of ,england and other        
countries cannot be matched for badness 
in any secular work4 ,it is the same    
everywhere4 ,the ,salvation ,army had to
 borrow secular music to make its hymns 
attractive4 ,striking an average1 which 
is best--secular or religious           
literature1 art1 music1 and             
architecture8 ,without a doubt secular  
art is the best all round4  ,art may    
often be the representative of religion1
 it is never the outcome of religious   
people or a religious age4 ,the very    
contrary is the fact4  ,these are strong
 arguments1 and there are more4 ,but    
these will suffice4  ,what is the truth8
 ,what connection has art with religion8
  ,i do not think the answer is         
difficult4 ,the connection depends upon 
what you define religion and art        

respectively to be4 ,with the old       
definitions no answer is forthcoming4   
,but when you see religion as it really 
is1 when you understand its genesis and 
its growth1 the answer is clear4        
,religion1 as ,i have tried to show1    
arises from instincts4 ,the instincts of
 the savage are few1 the emotions he is 
capable of feeling are limited4 ,as his 
civilisation progresses his instinctive 
desires increase1 his emotions are more 
numerous4 ,and as the greater attracts  
the less1 the older and more established
 attract the newer1 so religion attracts
 to itself and incorporates all it can4 
,religions have varied in this matter2  
but of all1 ,catholicism has been the   
most wide-armed1 it has always justified
 its name4 ,where a new emotion arose   
and became strong the ,roman ,church    
always if possible attracted it into the
 fold4 ,i have already shown how this   
was done4 ,there is hardly an emotion of
 the human heart that ,roman            
,catholicism has not made its own4  ,now

 what is ,art8  ,art1 as ,tolstoi       
explains1 is also an expression of the  
emotions1 and therefore the difference  
between religion and art lies in the    
emotions expressed and the method of    
expression4  ,different peoples express 
in their religions different emotions4  
,what some of these emotions are ,i     
explain in ,chapter ,,xxx4 ,different   
people are also more or less susceptible
 to art1 and express in their art       
different emotions4 ,where a great      
religion has absorbed certain emotions1 
and a great art subsequently arises and 
wishes to express in art some of the    
same emotions1 then the art becomes     
religious art4 ,the two domains have    
overlapped4 ,but there is no distinction
 between secular and religious art4 ,nor
 is there any necessary connection      
between ,art and ,religion4 ,neither is 
dependent on the other4 ,they are quite 
distinct domains1 each existing to      
fulfil the necessities and desires of   
man4  ,how they came frequently to      

overlap is easily enough seen4          
,consider the religion of ,rome4 ,it    
came1 as ,i have said1 out of the       
necessity for expressing and cultivating
 certain emotions4 ,it is a very        
catholic religion1 the product of a     
highly emotional people who had many and
 strong feelings4 ,as much as possible  
these were accepted into the religion4  
,therefore1 when there came the great   
outbreak of art in the fourteenth       
century1 when there were great painters 
and sculptors desiring to paint pictures
 that appealed to the heart1 all the    
ground was occupied4  ,did they want to 
depict feminine beauty1 there was the   
,madonna accepted as the ideal4 ,did    
they want to awaken the emotion of      
maternity1 there was the ,madonna again2
 of pity1 there were the martyrs2 of    
sacrifice1 there was the ,christ4 ,long 
before these emotions had been          
crystallised by the ,church round       
religious ideals1 and a change would not
 be understood4  ,and with the          

,architects4 ,there is but one emotion  
common to a whole people--catholic1 so  
to speak--namely1 religion4 ,a town     
hall1 a palace1 a secular building would
 be provincial2 a church only is        
catholic4 ,in palaces only princes live1
 in municipal buildings only officials1 
in markets only the people1 but in      
churches all are gathered together1 and 
not only occasionally but frequently4   
,therefore1 given a great architect1    
what could he design that would give him
 scope1 and freedom1 and fame like a    
cathedral8 ,his feelings were           
immaterial1 it was a professional       
necessity that drove artists then to    
religious matters4 ,what was ,raphael1  
the free-liver1 thinking of when he drew
 his ,madonnas8 ,was it the ,jewess of  
,galilee over a thousand years before or
 the ripe warm beauty of the ,florentine
 girls he knew8  ,the ,roman ,catholic  
,church desired to attract to itself all
 that appealed to the emotions1 and     
included art of all kinds in its scope4 

,and all artists1 painters1 architects1 
even writers1 found in the ,church their
 greatest opportunities and greatest    
fame4 ,deep and real feelings in art of 
all kinds sought the companionship of   
the other great feelings that are in    
religion4 ,shallower art often shrinks  
from being put beside the greater       
emotions1 and so some of the shams of   
the ,renaissance4  ,but the deepest     
religious feeling is always averse to   
art4 ,no age full of great religious    
emotion has produced any art at all in  
any people4 ,the early ,christians1 the 
monks of the ,thebaid1 hated art1 as did
 the ,puritans4 ,they felt1 ,i think1 a 
competition4 ,when an emotion is raised 
to such a height as theirs was1 none    
other can live beside it4 ,such emotion 
becomes a flame that burns up all round4
 ,it cannot bear any rivalry4 ,it puts  
aside not only art but love1 reverence1 
fear1 every other emotion4 ,religion is 
before everything1 religion is          
everything4 ,there are ,christ's words  

refusing to recognise his mother and    
brethren4 ,it has been common to all    
forms of exalted religious fervour4 ,no 
emotion can live with it4 ,only when it 
has somewhat died away does art get a   
chance4 ,then only if an artistic wave  
arises can it be allied with religion4  
,but deep religious feeling is not      
always followed by an artistic wave4    
,there has been no such sequence in most
 countries4 ,this sequence in ,italy was
 an exception4 ,it was perchance4 ,there
 has never been an art wave connected   
with ,protestantism1 and only very      
slightly with ,buddhism4 ,i have shown  
in ,the ,soul of a ,people1 that art in 
,burma is only connected professionally 
with ,buddhism4 ,that is to say that    
wood-carving1 one of ,burma's two arts1 
is not religious in sentiment1 and is   
applied to monasteries because they are 
the only large buildings needed4 ,there 
is no other demand4 ,to depict the      
,buddha in any artistic way except that 
handed down by tradition would be       

considered profane4 ,would not the early
 ,christians have considered ,raphael's 
,madonna profane1 considering who he    
was1 and what probably his models were8 
,i think so4 ,i doubt if the deepest    
religious emotions would tolerate a     
crucifix or any picture of ,christ at   
all4 ,certainly not of the ,almighty4   
,the heat of belief must have cooled    
down a great deal before such things    
became possible4 ,so1 in fact1 it is as 
history tells us4 ,religion is a cult of
 the emotions4 ,art1 as ,tolstoi shows1 
is also a cult of the emotions4 ,very   
deep religious feeling leaves no room   
for any other emotion1 it brooks no     
rival in the hearts of men4 ,a deeply   
religious age has no art2 its religion  
kills art4 ,what were the feelings of   
the early ,christians towards ,greek    
art8 ,they were those of abhorrence4    
,what those of the ,puritans towards any
 art8 ,they were the same4  ,but when   
religious emotions have cooled1 and room
 is left for other feelings1 then art   

may arise4 ,and if it does so1 and is a 
great art1 it allies itself with        
religion1 if the religion permits of it4
 ,some forms of faith would never permit
 it4 ,which of the emotions of which    
,puritanism is composed could be        
expressed in art8 ,art is almost always 
the cult of emotions that are beautiful1
 are happy1 are joyous4 ,puritanism knew
 nothing of all these4 ,grand1 stern1   
rigid1 black1 never graceful or         
beautiful4 ,any art that followed       
,puritanism could but be grotesque and  
terrible4 ,there would be no ,madonnas1 
but there might be avenging angels2     
there would be no heaven1 but certainly 
a hell4 ,indeed1 in the literature of   
the religion we see that this is so4    
,religion and art are both cults of the 
emotions4 ,they may be rivals1 they may 
be allies1 in the way that art may      
depict religious subjects4 ,but great   
art1 like great faith1 brooks no rival4 
,and therefore great artists are not    
necessarily religious4 ,they may have   

scant emotion to spare outside their    
art4  ,this1 ,i think1 is the key to the
 relation between religion and art4 ,it 
is impossible to treat such a great     
subject adequately in a chapter4 ,most  
of my chapters should1 indeed1 have been
 volumes4 ,but the key once provided the
 rest follows4   ,illustration3         
,,catholic ,,religion3 ,,prayer1        
,,music1 ,,beauty1 ,,love1 ,,motherhood1
 ,,sacrifice1 ,,heaven1 ,,gaiety1       
,,collectiveness1 ,,dependance1         
,,lawlessness1 ,,hope1 ,,catholicity1   
,,mercy  ,illustration3 ,,puritanism3   
,,effort1 ,,hell1 ,,justification1      
,,justice1 ,,narrowness1 ,,vengeance1   
,,law1 ,,strength1 ,,righteousness1     
,,fear1 ,,individuality  ,illustration3 
,,art3 ,,music1 ,,beauty1 ,,love1       
,,motherhood1 ,,gaiety1 ,,passion1      
,,license     ,,chapter ,,xxvii4  ,,what
 ,,is ,,evidence8   ,if you go to any   
believer in any religion--in any of the 
greater religions1 ,i mean--and ask him 
why he believes in his religion1 he has 

always one answer3 ,because it is true4 
,and if you continue and say to him1    
,how do you know it is true8 he will    
reply1 ,because there is full evidence  
to prove it4 ,he imagines that he is    
guided by his reason1 that it is his    
logical faculty that is satisfied1 and  
his religion can be proved irrefragably4
 ,and yet it is strange that if any     
religion is based on ascertained fact1  
if any religion is demonstrably true1 no
 one can be brought to see this truth1  
to accept this proof1 except believers  
who do not require it4 ,the ,jew cannot 
be brought to admit the truth of        
,christianity1 let the ,christian argue 
ever so wisely2 nor will the ,christian 
accept ,mahommedanism or ,buddhism as   
containing any truth at all1 no matter  
how the adherents of these faiths may   
argue4  ,it is not so with most other   
matters4 ,if a problem in chemistry or  
physics be true at all it is altogether 
true for every one4 ,nationality makes  
no difference to your acknowledging the 

law of gravity1 the science of the      
stars1 the dynamics of steam1 or the    
secrets of metallurgy4 ,if an           
,englishman makes a discovery a         
,frenchman is able to follow the        
argument4 ,the ,japanese are not        
,christians1 but that does not in any   
way prevent them assimilating modern    
knowledge4 ,twice two are four all over 
the world1 except in matters of         
religion4  ,this is a somewhat          
remarkable phenomenon4 ,what is the     
reason of it8  ,i can remember not very 
long ago walking in a garden with a man 
and talking intermittently on religious 
topics4 ,he was a man of great          
education1 of wide knowledge of the     
world1 a man of no narrow sympathies or 
thoughts4 ,and as we went we came to a  
bed of roses in full bloom2 there were  
red and white and deep yellow roses in  
clusters of great beauty1 filling the   
air with their perfume4 ,to see a sight 
like that1 he said1 proves to me that   
there is a ,god4  ,proves6 ,there was   

the proof4  ,i did not ask him how such 
roses would be proof of a ,god4 ,i did  
not say that if beauty was proof of a   
,god1 ugliness would be proof of a      
,devil1 for ,i know there is no         
reasoning in matters like that4 ,the    
sight and scent awoke in his heart that 
echo that is called ,god4 ,not only     
,god1 nor was it any ,god1 nor any ,gods
 that the echo answered to4 ,it was his 
,god1 it was the ,god of ,abraham1      
,isaac and ,jacob1 that came to him4 ,he
 saw the roses1 and their beauty brought
 to his mind the idea of ,god4 ,that was
 enough for him4 ,he had1 as so many    
have1 an absolute instinctive           
understanding of ,god1 as clear to him  
as if he saw ,him at midday--unreasoning
 because known4  ,and for others1 he    
said1 is there not ample evidence8 ,how 
do you account for the world unless ,god
 made it8 ,have we not in the ,scripture
 a full account of how it was made out  
of chaos8 ,and has not ,he manifested   
,himself in ,his prophets8 ,the truth is

 proved over and over again1 by the     
prophecies and fulfilment1 by the birth 
and death of ,christ1 by the miracles of
 ,christ1 by endless matters4 ,it is so 
clear4 ,and so it is to him and those   
like him who have in themselves the idea
 of ,god4 ,they know4 ,it seems humorous
 to remember that scientific men have   
thought they traced this to a savage's  
speculations on dreams4 ,the speculation
 of a savage1 forsooth1 and this        
certainty of feeling4 ,the ,theist says3
 ,how can you answer the questions of   
who made the world other than by ,god8  
,it is a question that rises            
spontaneously4 ,do you remember         
,napoleon the ,great and the idealogues 
on the voyage to ,egypt8 ,they were     
ridiculing the idea of a ,creator4 ,and 
to them the ,emperor1 pointing to the   
stars above him1 replied1 ,it is all    
very well1 gentlemen1 but who made all  
those8 ,but the ,non-,theist replies    
that it would never occur to him to put 
such a question4 ,to ask ,who made the  

world8 is to beg the whole question4    
,that question which is always rising in
 your mind never does in ours4 ,we would
 ask how and from what has the world    
evolved1 and under what cause8 ,your    
evidence is good only to you4 ,the      
,hindu has perhaps the keenest mind in  
religious matters the world knows2 does 
he accept it8 ,do the ,buddhists accept 
it8 ,do keen thinkers in ,europe accept 
any of this evidence8 ,it is not so4 ,if
 you have the instinct of ,god1 then is 
evidence unnecessary2 and if you have   
not1 of what use is the evidence brought
 forward8 ,was anyone ever converted by 
reasoning8 ,i am sure no one ever was4  
,religions are not proved1 they are not 
matters of logic2 they are either above 
logic or beneath it4 ,to a man who      
believes1 anything is proof4 ,he will   
reason about religion in a way he would 
never do about other matters4 ,he will  
offer as evidence1 as absolute proof1   
what he who does not believe cannot     
accept as evidence at all4 ,the         

religions are always the same4 ,the     
believers know them to be true1 and they
 cannot understand why others also do   
not know it4 ,their truths seem to them 
absolutely clear1 capable of the        
clearest proof4 ,and as to this         
evidence1 this proof1 there is always   
plenty of it4 ,any faith can if pushed  
bring evidence on some points that not  
even unbelievers can disprove1 that is  
clearly not intentionally false1 that if
 the matter were a mundane concern would
 probably be accepted4 ,it is so1 ,i    
think1 in all religions1 but here is a  
case from ,buddhism4  ,in my book upon  
the religion of the ,burmese ,i have    
given a chapter to the belief of the    
people in reincarnation1 a belief that  
is to them not a belief but a knowledge4
 ,and ,i have given there a few of these
 strange stories of remembrance of      
previous lives so common among them4    
,for almost all children will tell you  
that they can remember their former     
lives4  ,there is a story there of a    

child who remembered nothing until one  
day he saw used as a curtain a man's    
loin-cloth1 that of a man who had died  
and whose clothes had1 as is the custom1
 been made into screens4 ,and the sight 
of that pattern awoke in him suddenly   
the knowledge that he had lived before1 
and that in that former life he had worn
 that very cloth4 ,his former life was  
proved to him1 and in consequence the   
fact that all men had former lives4     
,there was proof4  ,when ,i was writing 
,the ,soul of a ,people ,i went a great 
deal into this subject of the former    
life1 and ,i collected a great deal of  
evidence about it4 ,i not only saw a    
number of people who said they could    
recollect these lives1 but ,i came      
across a quantity of facts difficult of 
explanation on any other hypothesis4    
,the evidence was honestly given1 ,i    
know4 ,but did ,i believe this former   
life1 or has any ,european ever been    
convinced by that evidence8 ,i never    
heard of one4 ,why8 ,because we have not

 the instinct4 ,the ,burman has4  ,they 
have the idea as an instinct1 just as my
 friend held the idea of ,god as an     
instinct1 and there were certain matters
 that awakened these instincts4 ,they   
needed no more2 the facts were proved to
 them and to those of like thought to   
them4 ,but proof4 ,what is proof8       
,proof1 they will tell you1 is a matter 
of evidence1 it is a matter of cold     
logic1 it arises from facts4  ,if that  
is so1 why does not everyone believe in 
ghosts8 ,was there ever a subject on    
which there was more evidence than in   
the existence of ghosts8 ,we find the   
belief as far back as we can go--the    
witch of ,endor1 for instance4 ,we find 
the belief to-day4 ,not a year passes   
but numerous people assert that they    
have seen ghosts4 ,their evidence is    
honestly given2 no one doubts that4 ,the
 mass of evidence is overwhelming4 ,the 
fact that certain people do not see them
 in no way invalidates the direct       
evidence4 ,yet the belief in ghosts is a

 joke1 and a mark1 we say1 of           
feeble-minded folk4  ,i have myself     
lived in the midst of ghosts4 ,one of my
 houses in ,burma was full of them4     
,every ,burman who came in saw them4    
,not even my servants dared go upstairs 
after dark without me4 ,my servants are 
honest1 truth-telling boys1 and ,i would
 believe them in a matter of theft or   
murder without hesitation4 ,i would     
certainly hang a man if the evidence of 
his being a murderer was as clear as the
 evidence that my bedroom contained a   
ghost4 ,no absolutely impartial lawyer1 
judging the evidence of former life and 
of the existence of ghosts as a pure    
matter of law1 but would admit that they
 were conclusively proved4 ,the ,burmans
 firmly believe both1 considering them  
not only proved but beyond proof4 ,no   
,european believes in the former life1  
and with regard to ghosts the belief is 
relegated to those whom we stigmatise as
 the weak-minded and imaginative4  ,is  
the explanation difficult8 ,it does not 

seem to me so4 ,for it is simply this4  
,to believe and accept any matter it is 
not sufficient that there be enough     
evidence1 the subject itself must appeal
 to you1 must ring true1 must be good to
 be believed4 ,but with ghosts to most  
of us it is the reverse4 ,that our      
friends and those we love should after  
death behave as ghosts behave1 should be
 silly1 unreasonable1 drivelling in     
their ways1 imbecile in their           
performances1 should in fact act as if  
the next world was a ghostly lunatic    
asylum1 is not attractive but the       
reverse4 ,for a murdered man's spirit to
 go fooling about scaring innocent      
people into fits1 and unable to say     
right out that he wants his body buried1
 strikes the ordinary man as sheer      
idiocy4 ,and therefore men laugh and    
jeer4 ,people who see ghosts may believe
 them2 no one else will do so4 ,because 
they are not worthy of belief4 ,if these
 be indeed ghosts1 and they act as      
ghost-seers say1 it is a deplorable1 a  

most deplorable thing4 ,and if it is a  
choice of imbecilities1 we would prefer 
to believe in the lunacy of ghost-seers 
rather than in that of the dead1 our    
dead4  ,but it is not only in matters   
relating to religion as the idea of     
,god1 or to the supernatural as in      
ghosts1 that we reject evidence4 ,we can
 do so also in matters that have no     
connection with each4 ,for why do we    
refuse to accept the sea serpent8       
,numbers of absolutely reliable men     
declare they have seen it4 ,and yet we  
laugh1 or at best we say1 ,they were    
mistaken1 it was a trail of seaweed4    
,all men who have lived to a certain age
 have learnt that there are certain     
facts1 certain experiences not at all   
connected with the supernatural1 which  
they dare not tell of for fear of being 
put down as inventors4 ,they are curious
 coincidences1 narrow escapes1 shooting 
adventures1 and so on4 ,they have       
happened to us all4 ,who has not heard  
the tale of the general at a dinner     

party who related some such incident    
that had occurred to himself1 and was   
surprised to see amusement and disbelief
 depicted on the faces of all around    
him4 ,you do not believe me1 he said    
stiffly1 but my friend opposite was with
 me at the time and saw it too4 ,but the
 friend refused with a laugh to bear    
witness1 and the conversation changed4  
,general1 explained the friend          
subsequently to his irate companion1 ,i 
know1 of course1 all you said was true4 
,but what would you have8 ,if fifty men 
swore to it no one would believe them4  
,they would only have put me down as a  
liar too4  ,just as the old woman was   
ready to accept her travelled son's     
yarns of rivers of milk and islands of  
cheese2 but when he deviated into the   
truth she stopped4 ,na1 ,na6 she said1  
that the anchor fetched up one of       
,pharaoh's chariot wheels out of the    
,red ,sea1 ,i can believe2 but that fish
 fly6 ,na1 ,na6 dinna come any o' your  
lies over yer mither4  ,they are old    

stories1 but they illustrate my point4  
,on some matters we are ready to believe
 at once1 on others no amount of        
evidence will change our opinions4      
,indeed1 we are too apt to assume that  
reason is our great guide in life4 ,to  
think before you act may be             
wise--sometimes4 ,but if in matters of  
emergency you had to stop and think     
first1 you would not succeed very well4 
,the great men of action are those who  
act first and think afterwards1 and     
sometimes they even do the latter badly4
 ,there is the story of a man who was   
going abroad to be a ,chief ,justice1   
and who was addressed by the ,lord      
,chancellor in this way3 ,my friend1 be 
careful where you are going4 ,your      
judgments will be nearly always right1  
but beware of giving your reasons1 for  
they will almost invariably be wrong4   
,there are many such men4  ,what1 then1 
is religious proof8 ,if it is not       
founded on evidence that all can accept1
 on what is it founded8 ,why do men     

believe their own religion and accept   
the evidence of it as irrefragable1     
while scornfully rejecting that in      
favour of other religions8  ,the answer1
 ,i think1 is this4  ,if you will take  
two violins and will tune them together1
 and if while someone plays ever so     
lightly on one you will bend your ear to
 the other1 you will hear faintly but   
clearly repeated from its strings the   
melody of the first4 ,for they are in   
harmony4 ,but if they are not1 then     
there will be no echo1 play you never so
 loudly4  ,and so it is in matters of   
religion4 ,if you are in harmony with   
any thought there will come the echo in 
your heart's strings1 and you will know 
that it is true4 ,but if you are not in 
harmony1 then no matter how loudly the  
evidence be sounded there will be no    
echo there4 ,all these ideas on which   
religions are built are instincts4 ,they
 are of the heart1 never of the head4   
,reason affects them not at all4 ,these 
instincts are not the same with all4    

,they vary1 and so the religions that   
are based on them vary4 ,they have      
nothing to do with reason1 and therefore
 those of one religion cannot understand
 another4 ,and they are not fixed2 for  
the belief in the ,unity of ,god only   
evolved1 after many thousands of years1 
quite recently1 and the belief in       
ghosts1 universal among earlier people  
and now among the half-civilized1       
lingers with us only as a subject for   
amusement4 ,there is no evidence in     
religion2 you either believe or you     
don't4     ,,chapter ,,xxviii4  ,,the   
,,after ,,death4   ,it is two years and 
a half ago now that ,i passed through   
,westminster ,hall1 one of a great      
multitude4 ,they went in double file1   
thickly packed between barriers of rails
 on either side the hall1 and between   
where everyone looked there lay--what8  
,a plain oak coffin on a table4  ,within
 this coffin there lay the body of ,mr4 
,gladstone1 he who in his day had filled
 the public eye in ,england more than   

any other man4 ,his body lay there in   
state1 and the people came to see4      
,emerging into the street beyond and    
seeing the ceaseless stream of people   
that flowed past1 ,i wondered to myself4
 ,these people are ,christians4 ,if you 
ask them where ,mr4 ,gladstone is now1  
they will1 if they reply hurriedly1     
answer1 ,he is dead and in there2 but if
 they pause to reflect they will say1   
,he is in heaven4 ,his soul is with     
,god4  ,if1 then1 his soul1 if he be    
with ,god1 what are you come to see8    
,shortly there will be a funeral1 and   
what will it be called8 ,the funeral of 
,mr4 ,gladstone4 ,but ,mr4 ,gladstone is
 in heaven1 not here4 ,surely this is   
strange4         99       99       99   
99       99  ,if there is anything ,i   
can do for you be sure you tell me1 for 
your husband was my great friend4 ,so   
wrote the man4 ,and to him came her     
reply3 ,sometimes when you are near go  
and see his grave where he sleeps in    
that far land1 and put a flower upon it 

for your remembrance and for mine4  ,but
 if he1 too1 be in heaven and not there 
at all8 ,if it be1 as the ,burmans say1 
but the empty shell that lies there8    
,why should we visit graves if the soul 
be indeed separate from the body8 ,if he
 be far away in happiness1 why go to his
 grave8 ,to remember but the corruption 
that lies beneath8  ,men use words and  
phrases remembering what they ought to  
believe4 ,for very few are sincere and  
know what really they do believe4 ,you  
cannot tell from their professions1 only
 from their unconscious words and their 
acts4  ,what do these unconscious words1
 these acts1 tell us of the belief about
 the soul and body8 ,that they are      
separable and separate8 ,no1 but that   
they are inseparable4 ,no one in the    
,west1 ,i am sure--no one anywhere1 ,i  
think--has ever been able to conceive of
 the soul as apart from the body4 ,we   
cannot do so4 ,try1 try honestly1 and   
remember your dead friends4 ,what is it 
you recall and long for and miss so     

bitterly8 ,it was his voice that awoke  
echoes in you1 it was the clasp of his  
hand in yours1 it was his eyes looking  
back to you the love you felt for him4  
,it was his footfall on the stair1 his  
laugh1 the knowledge of his presence4   
,and are not these all of the body8     
,men talk glibly of the soul as apart   
from the body4 ,what do they mean8      
,nothing but words1 for the soul without
 a body is an incomprehensible thing1   
certainly to us4  ,and it is always the 
same body1 not another4 ,it is the old  
hand1 the face1 that we want4 ,not the  
soul1 if it could be possible1 looking  
at us out of other eyes4 ,no2 we want   
him we lost1 and not another4 ,it is the
 cry of our hearts4  ,and therefore1 ,i 
believe in the resurrection of the body 
and the life everlasting4 ,have you     
wondered how that came into the creed8  
,it came into religion as came all that 
we believe in1 never out of theory but  
out of instinct4  ,what is your feeling 
towards the dead8 ,is it envy that they 

have reached everlasting happiness8 ,is 
it gladness to reflect that they are no 
longer with us8 ,do we think of them as 
superior to us8 ,alas1 no4 ,the great   
and overpowering sentiment we have for  
them is pity4 ,the tears come to our    
eyes for them1 because they are dead4   
,they have left behind them light and   
life and gone into the everlasting      
forgetfulness4 ,the night hath come when
 no man can work4 ,that is our real     
instinct towards the dead4 ,poor fellow4
 ,and you will hear people say1 with    
tardy remembrance of their creeds1 ,but 
for his sake we ought to rejoice1       
because he is at peace4  ,we ought8 ,but
 do we8 ,surely we never do4 ,we are    
sorry for the dead4 ,all the compassion 
that is in us goes out to them1 because 
they are dead4  ,the ,catholic ,church  
has prayers for the dead4 ,there was    
never a ,church yet that knew the hearts
 of men as that ,church of ,rome4       
,prayers for the dead4 ,masses for the  
dead4  ,our ,protestant theories forbid 

such4 ,but tell me1 is there a woman who
 has lost those she loves to whom such  
prayers would not come home8 ,how narrow
 sometimes are the ,reformed ,creeds in 
their refusal to help the sorrow of     
their people4  ,in the sure and certain 
hope of a glorious resurrection4 ,what  
is to arise8 ,the disembodied soul8 ,but
 you say it is already with ,god4 ,what 
is to arise8 ,it is the body4 ,it is    
more4 ,it is he who is dead--who sleeps2
 he whom we have buried there4 ,whatever
 our creeds may say1 we do not1 we      
cannot ever understand the soul without 
the body4 ,not a body1 but the body4 ,we
 believe not in the life of a soul      
previous to the body4 ,they are born    
together1 and they die together4 ,if    
they live hereafter it must be together4
 ,for they are one4  ,never be deceived 
by theories or professions4 ,no one in  
the ,west has ever understood the soul  
without the body1 no one can do so4 ,the
 conception is wanting4 ,we play with   
the theory in words as we do with the   

fourth dimension4 ,but who ever realised
 either8  ,but with the ,oriental it is 
different4 ,he believes in the migration
 of souls4 ,they pass from body to body4
 ,he can realise this--somehow1 ,i know 
not--but he can4 ,those who have read my
 ,soul of a ,people will remember that  
they not only believe it but know it4   
,they are sure of it because it has     
happened to each one1 and he can        
remember his former lives4 ,this comes  
not from ,buddhism1 because ,buddhist   
theory denies the existence of soul at  
all1 nor from ,brahminism4 ,it is the   
,oriental's instinct4 ,he does not1 ,i  
think1 ever realise a soul apart from   
any body1 but he can and does realise a 
soul exhibited first in one body then in
 another1 as a lamp shining through     
different globes4  ,therefore1 when a   
,christian tells him of the resurrection
 of the body he cannot understand4      
,which body1 he asks1 for ,i have had so
 many8 ,neither can he understand a     
,christian heaven of bodies risen from  

the earth4 ,his heaven is immaterial4   
,it is the ,great ,peace1 where life has
 passed away4 ,that he can understand4  
,for neither can he conceive a life of  
the soul without some body4 ,when       
perfection is reached and the last weary
 body done with1 then life1 too1 is     
gone--life and all passion1 all love1   
all happiness1 all fear1 all the        
emotions that are life4 ,they are gone1 
and there is left only the ,great       
,peace4  ,our heaven grows out of our   
instincts as his does out of his        
instincts4 ,our dead without their      
bodies would not be those we love1 and  
hence our heaven1 where we shall        
recognise each other and love them as we
 did4 ,i did not understand heaven when 
,i read books1 but out of men have ,i   
learned what ,i wished to know4 ,reason 
alone can tell you nothing1 but sympathy
 will tell you all things4  ,it would be
 interesting1 it is very interesting1 to
 look back into our past histories and  
see these instincts grow and wane1 to   

mark how they have influenced not only  
our religious theories1 but our lives2  
to trace in other people like or opposed
 instincts4 ,the ,mahommedans refuse    
amputation because they will not appear 
maimed in the next world4 ,for they1    
too1 cannot distinguish soul from one   
body4 ,the ,jews had no idea of soul at 
all as existing after death1 whether    
with or without a body4 ,as a man dies  
so will he be1 all through the ages of  
eternity4 ,they learned the idea of     
immortality from ,egypt1 but it never   
took root because they had no           
instinctive feeling of soul4 ,their     
witches were foreigners4 ,you shall not 
suffer a witch to live4 ,the incantation
 of ghosts was utterly forbidden by them
 as a foreign wickedness4 ,it has so    
been forbidden by all religions4 ,yet   
there are people who think religions    
arise from ideas of ghosts4  ,the       
,african negroes have no idea of life   
after death1 as witness the story of    
,dr4 ,livingstone and the negro king    

about the seed4 ,it is a very curious   
history this of the longing for         
immortality1 the belief in a life beyond
 the grave4  ,but ,i am not now         
concerned with the past only with the   
present4 ,the history of instincts is   
never the explanation of them4 ,if we   
could unravel clearly all the history of
 the instincts of all peoples as regards
 the after death1 we should be no nearer
 an explanation of why the instinct     
exists at all1 why it grows or decays1  
why it takes one form or another4 ,but  
we might1 as so many do1 blind ourselves
 to the fact that instincts exist now   
quite apart from reason1 either now or  
previously4 ,no reasoning can explain   
the absolute clinging of the ,european  
peoples to the resurrection of the body4
 ,no reasoning can possibly explain the 
,burman's remembrance of previous lives4
 ,reasoning would deny both4            
,observation and sympathy know that both
 exist4  ,and which is true8 ,no one can
 tell4      ,not one returns to tell us 

of the ,road     ,which to discover we  
must travel too4  ,for some years now   
there has been a movement in ,england to
 introduce cremation as a method of     
disposing of the dead4 ,there can be no 
doubt of its sanitary superiority to    
burial2 there can be no doubt that1 as  
far as reason and argument go1 cremation
 should be preferred to the grave4      
,there seems to be absolutely no good   
reason to bring forward in favour of the
 latter4 ,and yet cremation makes no    
way4 ,men die and they are buried1 and  
if over their tombs we do not now write 
,hic jacet1 but ,in memory of1 our ideas
 have suffered no change4  ,we cannot   
bear to burn the bodies of the dead     
because we cannot disassociate the body 
from the soul4 ,the body is to rise1 and
 if we burn it1 what then8 ,what will   
there be to rise8 ,man has but one body 
and one soul dwelling therein1 and if   
you destroy the body the soul is dead   
too4  ,only people who believe in the   
transmigration of souls burn their      

dead--the ,hindus and1 in ,burma1 the   
monks of ,buddha4 ,they see no objection
 to the destruction of the body because 
the soul is migratory1 and has passed   
into another4 ,what is left after death 
is but the empty shell4  ,therefore do  
,hindus and ,buddhists cremate1 whereas 
,christians and ,mahommedans bury4 ,nor 
does rejection of creed alter this      
instinct4 ,intellectual ,france boasts  
of its freedom from religion4 ,but is it
 free8 ,has it outgrown the instincts   
that are the root of religion8 ,one     
certainly it has not yet done1 for      
secularists are buried just as believers
 are1 usually with the same rites4 ,and 
even if the funeral be secular1 the body
 is buried1 not burnt4 ,why do they     
shrink from cremation if reason is to be
 the only guide8 ,the creed is outworn  
but the roots of faith are never dead4  
,,chapter ,,xxix4  ,,optimism ,,and     
,,pessimism4   ,thus are the heavens of 
all religions explanations to           
materialise1 as it were1 the vague      

instincts of men's hearts4 ,the         
,mahommedan's absolutely material garden
 of the houris1 the ,christian          
semi-material heaven1 the ,buddhist     
absolutely immaterial ,nirvana1 are all 
outcomes of the people's capability of  
separating soul from body4 ,these       
heavens are just as the dogmas of       
,godhead1 or ,law1 or ,atonement1 but   
the theory to explain the fact1 which is
 in this case the desire for            
immortality4 ,and in exactly the same   
way as the theories of other matters are
 unsatisfying1 so are these theories of 
heaven4 ,the desire for immortality is  
there1 one of the strongest of all the  
emotions2 but the ideal which the       
theologian offers to the believer to    
fulfil his desire has no attraction4    
,the more it is defined the less anyone 
wants it4 ,heaven we would all go to1   
but not that heaven4 ,the instinct is   
true1 but the theory which would        
materialise the aim of that desire is   
false4 ,no heaven that has been pictured

 to any believer is desirable4  ,it is  
strange to see in this but another      
instance of the invincible pessimism of 
the human reason4 ,no matter to what it 
turns itself it is always the same4  ,i 
have read all the ,utopias1 from        
,plato's ,new ,republic to ,bellamy's1  
from the ,anarchist's ,paradise to that 
of the ,socialists1 and ,i confess that 
,i have always risen from them with one 
strong emotion4 ,and that was1 the      
relief and delight that never in my     
time--never1 ,i am sure1 in any         
time--can any one of them be realised4  
,this world as it exists1 as it has     
existed1 may have its drawbacks4 ,there 
is crime1 and misfortune1 and           
unhappiness1 more than need be4 ,there  
are tears far more than enough4 ,but    
there is sunshine too2 and if there be  
hate there is love1 if there is sorrow  
there is joy4 ,here there is life4 ,but 
in these drab ,utopias of the reason1   
what is there8 ,that which is the worst 
of all to bear--monotony tending towards

 death4  ,no one1 ,i think1 can study   
philosophy1 that grey web of the reason1
 without being oppressed by its utter   
pessimism4 ,no matter what the          
philosophy be1 whether it be professedly
 a pessimism as ,schopenhauer's or not1 
there is no difference4 ,it is all dull1
 weary barrenness1 with none of the     
light of hope there4 ,hope and beauty   
and happiness are strangers to that     
twilight country4 ,they could not live  
there4 ,like all that is beautiful and  
worth having1 they require light and    
shadow1 sunshine and the dark4  ,and the
 lives of philosophers1 what do they    
gain from the reason alone8 ,is there   
anyone who1 after reading the life of   
any philosopher1 would not say1 ,god    
help me from such4 ,what did his unaided
 reason give him8 ,pessimism1 and       
pessimism1 and again pessimism4 ,no     
matter who your philosopher is--,horace 
or ,omar ,khayyam1 or ,carlyle or       
,nietsche3--where is the difference8    
,see how ,huxley even could not stifle  

his desire for immortality that no      
reason could justify4 ,what has reason  
to offer me8 ,only this1 resignation to 
the worst in the world1 and of it knows 
nothing4  ,to which it would be replied3
  ,and religion1 what has that to offer 
either here or in the next world8 ,for  
in this world they declare--at least    
,christianity and ,buddhism both        
declare--that nothing is worth having4  
,it is all vanity and vexation1 fraud   
and error and wickedness1 to be quickly 
done with4 ,the philosopher has ,utopias
 of sorts here1 but these two religions 
have no ,utopia1 no happiness at all    
here to offer4 ,all this life is        
denounced as a continued misery4  ,and  
you say that neither heaven nor ,nirvana
 appeal to men1 that men shrink from    
them4 ,if philosophy be pessimism1 what 
then is religion8 ,do you consider the  
,christian theory of the fall of man1   
the sacrifice of ,god to ,god1 the      
declaration that the vast majority of   
men are doomed to everlasting fire1 a   

cheerful theory8  ,do you consider the  
,buddhist theory that life is itself an 
evil to be done with1 that no           
consciousness survives death1 but only  
the effects of a man's actions1 an      
optimism8  ,philosophies may not be very
 cheerful1 but what are religions8      
,whatever charge you may bring against  
philosophy1 it can be ten times repeated
 of any religion4 ,compared with any    
religious theory1 even ,schopenhauer's  
philosophy is a glaring optimism4  ,to  
which ,i would answer1 ,no6  ,i do not  
agree1 because what you call religion ,i
 call only a reasoning about religion4  
,the dogmas and creeds are not religion4
 ,they are summaries of the reasons that
 men give to explain those facts of life
 which are religion1 just as            
philosophies are summaries of the       
theories men make to explain other facts
 of life4 ,both creeds and philosophies 
come from the reason4 ,they are         
speculations1 not facts4 ,they are      
pessimistic twins of the brain4         

,religion is a different matter4 ,it is 
a series of facts4 ,what facts these are
 ,i have tried to shew chapter by       
chapter1 and they are summarised in     
,chapter ,,xxx41 at the end4 ,i will not
 anticipate it4 ,what ,i am concerned   
with is whether religion is pessimistic 
or not4 ,never mind the dogmas and      
creeds2 come to facts4 ,when you read   
books written by men who are really     
religious1 what is their tone8 ,you may 
never agree with what is urged in them1 
but can you assert that they are        
pessimistic8 ,it seems to me1 on the    
contrary1 that they are the reverse4    
,and when you know people who are       
religious--not fanatics1 but those men  
and women of sober minds who take their 
faith honestly and sincerely as a part  
of life1 but not the whole--are they    
pessimistic8 ,i am not speaking of any  
religion in particular1 but of all      
religions4 ,can you see religious       
people1 and live with them and hear them
 talk1 and watch their lives1 and not   

recognise that religion is to them a    
strength1 a comfort1 and resource       
against the evils of life8 ,never mind  
what the creeds say2 watch what the     
believers do4 ,is life to them a sorry  
march to be made with downcast eyes of  
thought1 to be trod with weary steps1 to
 be regarded with contempt8 ,the men who
 act thus are philosophers1 not         
religious people4  ,to those who are    
really religious1 life is beautiful4 ,it
 is a triumphal march made to music that
 fills their ears1 that brightens their 
eyes1 that lightens their steps1 now    
quicker1 now slower1 now sad1 now       
joyous1 always beautiful4 ,who are the  
happy men and women in this world8 ,let 
no one ever doubt--no one who has       
observed the world will ever doubt2 they
 are the people who have religion4 ,no  
matter what the religion is1 no matter  
what the theory or dogma or creed1 no   
matter the colour or climate1 there is  
no difference4 ,if you doubt1 go and    
see4 ,never sit in your closet and study

 creeds and declare ,no man can be happy
 who believes such1 but go and see      
whether they are happy4 ,go to all the  
peoples of the world1 and having put    
aside your prejudices1 having tuned your
 heart-strings to theirs1 listen and you
 will know4 ,watch and you will see4    
,what is the keynote of the life of him 
who truly believes8 ,is it disgust1     
weariness1 pessimism8 ,is it not courage
 and a strange triumph that marks his   
way in life8 ,and who are those who go  
through life sadly1 who find it terrible
 in its monotony1 who have lost all     
savour for beauty1 whom the sunlight    
cannot gladden1 who neither love nor    
hate1 neither fear nor rejoice1 neither 
laugh nor cry8 ,i will tell you who they
 are4 ,there are two kinds1 who think   
they are different1 but are the same4   
,first1 there are those who call        
themselves philosophers1 men who have   
abandoned all religion and accepted     
barren reason4 ,for reason cannot make  
you love or hate1 or laugh or weep4     

,there is no beauty there1 no light and 
shadow1 no colour1 only the greyness of 
unliving outline4  ,and there are those 
who mistake what religion is4 ,they     
think it consists of creeds4 ,they do   
not know it consists of emotions4 ,and  
so they take their creeds to their      
hearts1 and see what they make of them6 
,or they1 abandoning their creeds1      
search all through the world to find new
 creeds4 ,they speculate on ,nirvana1 on
 ,brahm1 on the doctrine of ,averroes4  
,they are for ever digging out some     
abstruse problem from the sacred books  
of the world to make themselves         
miserable over4  ,they1 too1 are the    
victims of a barren reason4  ,but       
religion is not reason2 it is fact4 ,it 
is beyond and before all reason4        
,religion is not what you say1 but what 
you feel2 not what you think1 but what  
you know4 ,religions are the great      
optimisms4 ,each is to its believers the
 light of the world4  ,i cannot think   
how this has not been evident long ago  

to everyone4 ,have men no eyes1 no ears1
 no understanding8 ,yes1 perhaps they   
have all these things4 ,but what they   
have not got is sympathy1 and without   
this of what use are the rest8 ,for what
 men see and hear in any matter are the 
things they are in sympathy with4 ,if   
your heart is out of tune1 there is     
never any echo of the melody that is    
about you4  ,to this chapter on optimism
 and pessimism ,i would add a small     
postscript4 ,i would fain have made it a
 chapter or many chapters1 but ,i have  
not the room4 ,it is the strong         
connection between religion and optimism
 as evinced in a high birth rate1       
between irreligion and pessimism as     
shown in a falling off in the           
population4 ,for that is the great      
complaint in ,france to-day4 ,it is     
noticeable especially amongst the       
cultured classes1 who are absolutely    
irreligious1 and who are absolutely     
pessimistic3 the birth rate is falling  
so rapidly that ,france ceases to       

increase4 ,only in ,normandy1 where     
religion yet retains power1 does the    
birth rate keep up4 ,this is not a      
solitary instance4 ,all history repeats 
it4 ,do you remember ,matthew ,arnold's 
lines3      ,on that hard ,pagan world  
disgust and secret loathing fell1       
,deep weariness1 and sated lust made    
human life a hell4     ,in his cool hall
 with haggard eyes the ,roman noble lay2
     ,he drove abroad in furious guise  
along the ,appian way4          99      
99       99       99       99       99  
99     ,no easier nor no quicker passed 
the impracticable hours4  ,the ,roman   
,empire fell because there were no more 
,romans left4 ,they had died out and    
left no children to succeed them4 ,where
 is the highest birth rate to-day in    
,europe8 ,it is in priest-ridden        
,russia1 where the people are without   
doubt more deeply imbued with their     
faith than any other people of the ,west
 now4 ,in ,burma1 where religion has    
such a hold on the people as the world  

has never known1 the birth rate is very 
high indeed4 ,the ,turks in the heyday  
of their religious enthusiasm increased 
very rapidly1 but now and for long they 
seem to be stationary1 and in the ,boers
 we see again a high birth rate and very
 strong religious convictions4 ,our     
birth rate1 on the contrary1 is falling 
with the growing irreligion in certain  
classes4 ,not that ,i wish for a moment 
to infer that religious feeling causes  
more children to be born4 ,i have no    
belief whatever in the usual theories   
that the fall in birth rates is due to  
preventive measures1 which religion     
disallows1 or to debauchery1 which      
religion controls4 ,the supporters of   
such a theory admit that they cannot    
prove it4 ,and there is very much       
against such an idea4 ,when religion in 
the early ages of ,christianity         
discouraged marriage and did all in its 
power to encourage celibacy1 it never   
succeeded in the end4 ,men and women    
might go into convents for certain      

reasons--not1 ,i think1 mainly          
religious--the birth of children from   
those outside did not alter4 ,and during
 the priestly rule in ,paraguay         
population disappeared so rapidly the   
monks were alarmed1 and took stringent  
and strange methods to stop the decay1  
but in vain--the people had lost heart4 
,why are the ,maories and many other    
people disappearing8 ,from disease8     
,that is not a reason4 ,it is a fact    
that with a virile people a plague or   
famine is followed by an increase in the
 birth rate4 ,this is proved in ,india4 
,the ,maories1 too1 have lost heart4    
,they may have acquired ,christianity1  
but that is no help4 ,no2 the adoption  
of a religion does not affect the       
question4  ,but still they go together1 
and the answer seems to be here3 ,a     
nation that is virile1 that is full of  
vitality1 finds an outlet for that      
vitality in children1 an expression of  
it in religion4 ,a virile people is     
optimistic always4 ,pessimism1 whether  

in nations or individuals1 comes from a 
deficiency of nerve strength4 ,but why  
peoples lose their vitality no one yet  
knows4 ,there is a tribe on the ,shan   
frontier of ,burma that twenty years ago
 was a people of active hunters1 always 
gun or bow in hand1 scouring the forests
 for game1 fearing nothing4 ,and now    
they have lost their energy4 ,their     
nerve is gone4 ,they are listless and   
depressed4 ,for a gun they substitute a 
hoe and do a little feeble gardening4   
,their children are few1 and shortly the
 tribe will be dead4  ,no one knows why4
  ,religion1 deep and true1 and strong  
faith is possible only to strong        
natures2 it is the outcome of strong    
feeling4 ,it is a companion always to   
that virility that is optimism1 that    
does not fear the future2 it knows not  
what may come1 but faces the future with
 confidence4 ,it takes each day as it   
comes4 ,such are the nations that       
replenish the earth4 ,the world is the  
heritage of the godly4 ,the ,old        

,testament is full of that truth1 and it
 is no less true now than then4 ,but one
 does not proceed from the other4 ,they 
both come from that fount whence springs
 the life of the world4     ,,chapter   
,,xxx4  ,,was ,,it ,,reason8   ,reason  
and religion have but little in common4 
,they come from different sources1 they 
pursue different ways4 ,they are never  
related in this order as cause and      
effect4 ,no one was ever reasoned into a
 religion1 no one was ever reasoned out 
of his religion4 ,faith exists or does  
not exist in man without any reference  
to his reason4 ,reason may follow faith1
 does follow faith2 never does faith    
follow reason4  ,is it indeed always so8
 ,then how about the boy told of in the 
earlier chapters8 ,he was born into a   
religion1 he was educated in it1 and he 
rejected it4 ,why8 ,he himself tells why
 he did so1 because his reason drove him
 away from it4 ,his reason1 looking at  
the world as he found it1 could not     
accept the way of life inculcated by his

 faith4 ,he found it impossible1        
unworkable1 and therefore not beautiful4
 ,his reason told him it was            
impracticable1 not in accordance with   
facts1 and therefore he would have none 
of it4  ,his reason1 too1 following     
,darwin1 told him that the earlier part 
of the ,old ,testament could not be     
correct4 ,man has risen1 not fallen2 he 
had his origin not six thousand years   
ago1 but perhaps sixty thousand1 perhaps
 much more4 ,in many ways his reason    
fought with his religion1 and it        
prevailed4 ,was no one ever reasoned out
 of a faith8 ,surely this boy was1      
surely many boys and men equally with   
him have so been deprived by reason of  
their faiths4 ,reason is the enemy of   
faith4 ,is not this so8  ,when that boy 
was fighting his battle long ago ,i am  
sure he thought so4 ,certainly he said  
so to himself4 ,was he insincere or     
mistaken8 ,surely he should know best of
 what was going on in his mind4 ,he     
tells how reason drove him from his     

faith4 ,was he not right8  ,i think that
 he had not then learned to look at the 
roots of things4 ,if there is one truth 
which grows upon us in life as we go on1
 as we watch men and what they say and  
do1 as we watch ourselves and what we   
say or do1 it is this1 that men do not  
do things nor feel things because they  
think them1 but the reverse4 ,men think 
things because they want to do them2    
their reason follows their instincts4   
,no man seeks to disprove what he likes 
and feels to be good1 no man seeks to   
prove what he instinctively dislikes and
 rejects4 ,you cannot argue yourself    
into a liking or a distaste4 ,if1 then1 
you find a man seeking reasons to       
disprove his faith1 it is because his   
faith irks him1 because he would fain   
shake it off and be done with it4 ,if he
 were happy in it and it suited him1    
reasons disproving any part of it would 
pass by him harmlessly4 ,you cannot     
shake a man's conviction of what he     
feels to be useful and beautiful4  ,to  

the man1 therefore1 looking back it     
seems that all the boy's thoughts1 his  
arguments1 his reasoning1 arise from    
this1 that his religion did not suit4   
,it galled him somewhere1 perhaps in    
many places2 it was a burden1 and       
instead of being beautiful it was the   
reverse4 ,so to rid himself of what he  
could not abide he sought refuge in his 
reason4 ,and his reason going1 as reason
 has always done1 to the theories of    
faith instead of to the facts1 he found 
that the creeds and beliefs had no      
foundation in fact1 were but formulae   
thrown upon an ignorant world1 and      
should be rejected4 ,so he left them4   
,but it was never his reason that made  
him do so2 reason came in but as the    
judge1 openly justifying what had       
happened silently and unnoticed in his  
heart4  ,what was it1 then1 that drove  
the boy from his faith8 ,what were his  
instincts that remained unfulfilled1    
roused against his religion till they   
drove him to find reasons for leaving   

it8 ,what was it that galled him till he
 revolted8 ,there were1 ,i think1 mainly
 two things--the rise of an intense     
revolt to the continual exercise of     
authority1 and the greater effect of the
 code of ,christ upon him4  ,when a boy 
is frequently ill1 when his constitution
 is delicate and easily upset1 it is    
necessary that he should be very careful
 what he does1 how he exposes himself to
 damp or cold1 how he over-exerts       
himself at work or play4 ,but for a boy 
to exercise this care is very difficult4
 ,he feels fairly well1 and the other   
boys are going skating or boating1 why  
should he not do so8 ,the day is not    
very cold1 and the other boys do not    
wear comforters2 they laugh at him if he
 does so4 ,he will not admit that he    
cannot do what other boys can do4 ,so he
 has to be looked after and guarded1 and
 cared for and watched1 and made to do  
things he dislikes4 ,if1 too1 the       
supervision becomes unnecessarily close1
 if there is a tendency to interfere not

 only where he is wrong and wants       
correction1 but in many details where it
 is not required1 is it not natural8 ,if
 in time it so comes1 or the boy thinks 
it so comes1 that he cannot move hand or
 foot1 cannot go in or out1 cannot think
 or read1 or even rest1 without         
perpetual correction1 is it so very     
unnatural8 ,mistake8 ,who shall say     
where the mistake lay8 ,who shall say if
 there was any mistake at all1 unless   
great affection be a mistake8 ,maybe it 
was the inevitable result of            
circumstances4 ,but still there it was4 
,and though a small boy may accept such 
rule without question1 yet as he grows  
up it irks him more and more1 until at  
last it may become a daily and hourly   
irritation growing steadily more        
unbearable1 more exasperating1 month by 
month4  ,there is1 too1 in many         
people--women1 ,i think1 mostly1 and    
with women chiefly in reverse proportion
 to their knowledge--a tendency to give 
advice4 ,few are without the desire1    

maybe a kindly desire in its inception1 
to advise others4 ,the world at large   
does not take to it kindly1 so the      
advice has to be bottled up1 to be      
expended in its fulness where it can4   
,this boy got it all4 ,he received      
advice from innumerable people1 enough  
to have furnished a universe4 ,most of  
it he felt to be worthless1 almost all  
of it he was sure was impertinence4 ,yet
 he could not resent it1 because he was 
under authority4  ,and now perhaps you  
may see how there grew up slowly in him 
an utter loathing of authority1 a hatred
 to being checked and supervised1 and   
advised and lectured for ever4          
,sometimes he would revolt and say1     
,can't you leave me alone8 and this was 
insubordination4 ,he would have given   
all he could1 everything1 for liberty4  
,i would sooner1 he said to himself1    
catch cold and die than be worried daily
 not to forget my comforter4 ,i would   
sooner grow up a fool and earn my living
 by breaking stones in the road than be 

supervised into my lessons like this1   
that ,i may be learned4 ,but when ,i am 
grown up it must cease4 ,it ,,shall     
cease4 ,then ,i shall be free to go my  
own way1 and do wrong and suffer for it4
  ,and now imagine a boy in a state of  
mind like this told that he would never 
be free4 ,a boy's authorities might     
pass1 school and home might be left     
behind1 but ,god would remain4 ,masters 
can be avoided and deceived1 ,god cannot
 be deceived4 ,his eye is always on you4
 ,he sees everything you do4 ,his hand  
is always guiding and directing and     
checking you4 ,it seems to him that the 
exasperation was never to end1 was to   
last even into the next life1 if this be
 true4 ,then you may understand how his 
instincts drove his reason to find good 
and sufficient cause for rejecting this 
,god and for seeking freedom4 ,give me  
freedom1 he cried1 freedom even to do   
wrong and suffer for it4 ,i will not    
complain4 ,only let me alone4 ,do not   
interfere4 ,i will not have a ,god who  

interferes4 ,his reason helped him and  
showed him the emptiness of the creeds1 
and he went on his way without4  ,then  
there was the ,sermon on the ,mount4 ,to
 most boys this does not appeal at all4 
,they hear it read4 ,it is to them part 
of religion--that is1 for consumption on
 ,sunday4 ,it is not of any consequence1
 only words4 ,they do not think twice of
 it4 ,but with this boy it was          
different4 ,the ,sermon on the ,mount   
did appeal to him4 ,he thought it very  
beautiful as a little boy4 ,it seemed   
worth remembering4 ,he did remember it4 
,it seemed worth acting up to as much as
 possible4  ,but as he grew older and   
learned life as it is1 he became able to
 see that it was not applicable at all  
to life1 that life was much rougher and 
harder than he supposed1 and required   
very different rules4 ,he slowly grew   
disillusioned4 ,and with the disillusion
 came bitterness4 ,if you have never    
believed in any certain thing1 never    
taken it to yourself1 you can go on     

theoretically admiring it1 and1 if that 
becomes impossible1 you can eventually  
let it go without trouble4 ,but if you  
have believed1 if you have strongly     
believed and desired to accept1 when you
 find that your belief and acceptance   
have been misplaced1 there comes a      
revulsion4 ,if it cannot be all1 it must
 be none4 ,love turns to hate1 never to 
indifference4 ,belief changes to        
absolute rejection1 never to toleration4
  ,this code of ,christ could not be    
absolutely followed in daily life1      
therefore it was absolutely untrue4 ,and
 being untrue he could not bear to hear 
it preached every ,sunday as a teaching 
from on ,high4 ,he shrank from it       
unconsciously as from a theory he had   
loved and which had deceived him3 the   
love remained1 the confidence was gone4 
,he was betrayed4 ,but he never reasoned
 about it till he had rejected it4 ,then
 he sought to justify by reason what he 
had already accomplished in fact4  ,so  
do men think things1 because they have  

done or wish to do them2 never the      
reverse4         99       99       99   
99       99  ,it seems trivial after the
 above to recall a minor point wherein  
instinct has had much to say4  ,i can   
remember as a boy how ,i disliked to    
hear the church bells ringing for       
service4 ,i hated them4 ,they made me   
shudder4 ,and ,i used to think to myself
 that ,i must be naturally wicked and   
irreligious to be so affected4 ,they    
ring for ,god's service and you shudder4
 ,you must be indeed the wicked boy they
 say4 ,so ,i thought many a time4  ,and 
now ,i know that ,i disliked the bells  
then1 as ,i dislike them now1 because of
 all sounds that of bells is to me the  
harshest and noisiest4 ,i dislike not   
only church bells1 but all bells4 ,i    
have no prejudice against dinner1 yet ,i
 would willingly wait in some houses    
half an hour1 or even have it half-cold 
if it could be announced without a bell4
 ,and church bells6 ,very few are in    
tune1 none are sweet toned1 all are rung

 far louder and faster than they should 
be1 so that their notes1 which might be 
bearable1 become a wrangling            
abomination4  ,but ,i love the monastery
 gongs in ,burma because they are       
delicately tuned1 and they are rung     
softly and with such proper intervals   
between each note that there is no jar1 
none of that hideous conflict of the    
dying vibrations with the new note that 
is maddening to the brain4  ,it is      
trivial1 maybe1 but it is real4 ,and out
 of such trivialities is life made4 ,out
 of such are our recollections built4 ,i
 shall never remember the call to       
,christian prayer without a shudder of  
dislike1 a putting of my fingers in my  
ears4 ,i shall never recall the         
,buddhist gongs ringing down the evening
 air across the misty river without     
there rising within me some of that     
beauty1 that gentleness and harmony1 to 
which they seem such a perfect echo4    
,,chapter ,,xxxi4  ,,what ,,religion    
,,is4   ,what1 then1 is religion8 ,do   

any of the definitions given at the     
beginning explain what it really is8 ,is
 it a theory of the universe1 is it     
morality1 is it future rewards and      
punishments8 ,it may be all or none of  
these things4 ,is it creeds1 dogmas1    
speculations1 or theories of any kind8  
,it is none of these things4  ,religion 
is the recognition and cultivation of   
our highest emotions1 of our more       
beautiful instincts1 of all that we know
 is best in us4  ,what these emotions   
may be varies in each people according  
to their natures1 their circumstances1  
their stage of civilisation4 ,in the    
,latins some emotions predominate1 in   
the ,teutons others1 in the ,hindus yet 
others4 ,each race of men has its own   
garden wherein grow flowers that are not
 found elsewhere1 and of these they make
 their faiths4  ,some of these emotions 
,i have tried to show in this book4 ,for
 the ,latins they are the emotions of   
fatherhood1 of prayer1 and confession1  
of sacrifice and atonement1 of          

motherhood1 of art and beauty1 of       
obedience1 of rule1 of mercy1 of        
forgiveness1 of the resurrection of the 
body1 of prayer for the dead1 of strong 
self-denial and asceticism1 of many     
others2 but those1 ,i think1 are the    
chief4  ,for the ,protestant1 the more  
rigid ,protestant1 it is the cultivation
 of the emotions of force1 grandeur1    
prayer1 justice1 conduct1 punishment of 
evil1 austerity1 and also many others4  
,with the ,burman ,buddhist it is the   
recognition and cultivation of the      
beauties of freedom1 peace1 calm1 rigid 
self-denial1 charity in thought and deed
 to all the world1 pity to animals1 the 
existence of the soul before and after  
death1 with no reference to any         
particular body4 ,the ,mahommedan has   
for one of his principal emotions       
courage in battle1 and the ,hindu       
cleanliness of body and purity of race4 
,these things are religions4 ,out of his
 strongest feelings has man built up his
 faiths4  ,and the creeds are but the   

theories of the keener intellects of the
 race to explain1 and codify1 and       
organise the cultivation of these       
feelings4  ,creeds are not religions1   
nor are religions proved by miracle or  
by prophecy1 by evidence1 or any        
reasoning of any kind4 ,the instincts   
are innate or do not exist at all4 ,like
 all emotions and feelings1 they cannot 
be created or destroyed by reason4  ,why
 does a man fall in love8 ,no one knows4
 ,and if he fall in love1 can you cure  
him of it by argument8 ,would it be any 
use to say to him8 ,the girl you love is
 not beautiful1 is not clever2 she would
 be of no use to you1 she does not      
return your love at all4 ,you cannot    
really love her4 ,he would only laugh   
and say1 ,all that may be true1 and yet 
the fact remains unaltered4 ,she is the 
woman ,i love4 ,my reason may prevent my
 marrying her1 it cannot prevent my     
love4 ,and you may be right that this   
other woman has all the virtues1 but ,i 
have no love for her4 ,so it is with all

 the emotions4 ,you either have them or 
have not4 ,you do not reason about them4
 ,reason is of things we doubt1 not of  
things we know4 ,therefore are the      
beliefs of one religion incomprehensible
 to the believers in another4 ,nothing  
is so difficult to understand as an     
emotion you have not felt4 ,what is     
perfect beauty to one man is stark      
ugliness to another4 ,so it is with     
religion4 ,to understand well the faith 
you must have in you all the chords that
 these faiths draw music from1 and how  
many have that8  ,religion is of the    
heart1 not of the reason4 ,theologians  
of all creeds warn the believer against 
reason as a snare of the devil4 ,a      
freethinker must be an ,atheist4        
,history is one long conflict between   
religion and science4 ,but why is this1 
if they have no concern one with        
another8 ,why fight1 why not exist      
together8  ,because all men1            
freethinkers as well as theologians1    
have failed to see what religion really 

consists in4 ,they think it is in the   
theories of creation1 of ,god1 of       
salvation1 of heaven and hell4 ,they    
look one and all to the creeds and      
dogmas as religion4  ,and none of these 
creeds and dogmas will1 as a whole1     
stand criticism4 ,they fall before the  
thinker into irretrievable ruin1 and    
therefore the freethinker imagines he   
has destroyed religion4 ,but religion   
lives on1 and he wonders why4 ,he puts  
it down to the blindness of men4 ,the   
theologian rejoices because the         
continued life of religion seems to him 
the vindication of the creeds4 ,yet are 
they both wrong4 ,men are not fools1 nor
 does religion live by the truth of its 
creeds4 ,the whole initial idea has been
 mistaken4 ,the creeds are but theories 
to explain religion4 ,scientific men    
have invented the ether and theories    
connected with it to explain heat and   
light and electricity4 ,these theories  
are good now1 and are universally       
accepted1 but they are not proved4      

,supposing a hundred years hence wider  
perception and new facts should throw   
great doubts on whether ether exists at 
all as supposed1 or on the present      
theories of heat and electricity8       
,suppose1 too1 that the old school      
scientists are stubborn and refuse to   
meet these new thoughts8 ,what will the 
sensible man do8 ,will he say1 ,this    
theory of ether waves is untenable1     
exploded1 foolish1 and therefore ,i will
 believe it no longer2 and as the theory
 is wrong1 so too the phenomena of the  
theory are all imaginations4 ,there are 
no such things as heat and light1 and ,i
 will not warm myself in the sun4 ,would
 that be sense8 ,i think reason would   
reply1 ,i am sorry the old theories are 
gone4 ,they were true while they lasted4
 ,but now they are dead1 and we have not
 found new ones4 ,yet if the theory be  
dead1 the facts are still there4 ,the   
sun still shines1 and we have heat and  
light4 ,these things are true4 ,no man  
shall frighten me and say1 ',if you will

 not believe our science you shall not  
warm yourself at our sun4 ,you shall not
 light your fire or your lamp unless you
 admit ether waves4' ,perhaps a new     
theory may arise4 ,but anyhow ,i have   
the sun yet1 and my lamp is not broken4 
,they are facts still4  ,that is exactly
 the present position as regards many   
faiths4 ,the creeds are theories to     
explain facts4 ,the theories are very   
old and we have grown out of them4 ,the 
theologians will not surrender them1    
clinging to them in the imagination that
 they really are religion1 and that     
without them religion will fall1        
conjuring with words to try and support 
them4  ,what should reason say in the   
face of this8 ,i do not believe in your 
theories of ,god and the future state1  
and the resurrection of the body1 and so
 on1 and therefore ,i won't have        
anything to do with any religion4 ,would
 that be reason8 ,yes1 if you believe   
the creeds are religion2 no1 if you     
believe that religion lies far deeper   

than creeds4 ,or to use another simile3 
the creeds are the grammar of religion1 
they are to religion what grammar is to 
speech4 ,words are the expression of our
 wants2 grammar is the theory formed    
afterwards4 ,speech never proceeded from
 grammar1 but the reverse4 ,as speech   
progresses and changes from unknown     
causes1 grammar must follow4 ,but if    
not8 ,if grammarians are hide-bound1 are
 we to refuse to talk8 ,in this latter  
case1 if the reason were mine1 ,i think 
reason would say1 ,bother these         
theologians1 their dogmas and creeds1   
their theories and grammars1 what do    
they matter8 ,the instinct of prayer    
remains1 of confession1 of sacrifice4   
,they appeal to me still4 ,they fill my 
heart with beauty4 ,shall ,i refuse to  
accept the glories of life1 shall ,i    
refuse to cultivate my soul because some
 people who claim authority have        
theories about these things with which  
,i don't agree8 ,not all the creeds nor 
theologians in the world shall prevent  

my making the best of myself4 ,the      
garden of the soul is no close preserve 
of theirs4  ,religion is the            
satisfaction of some of the wants of the
 souls of men4 ,it is a cult of some of 
the emotions1 never of all4 ,for the    
emotions are so varied1 so              
contradictory1 that all cannot live     
together4 ,i do not quite know why one  
people includes one emotion in religion 
and another rejects it out of religion1 
while still maintaining its beauty and  
truth4 ,but no religion includes more   
than one side of life4 ,there are       
others4 ,i1 too1 will cultivate these   
emotions which ,i need4 ,but this ,i    
will not forget1 that life has many     
sides4 ,life has many emotions1 and all 
are good1 though all may not come into  
religion4 ,there is ambition1 there is  
love of gaiety1 of humour1 of laughter1 
there is courage and pride1 the glory of
 success4 ,to live life whole none must 
be neglected4 ,they are planted in our  
hearts for some good purpose4 ,i will   

not weed them out4 ,my garden shall grow
 all the flowers it can1 and reason     
shall be the gardener to see that none  
grow rank and choke the others4         
,whatever things are beautiful1 that    
make the heart to beat and the eye grow 
dim1 whatever ,i know to be good1 that  
shall ,i have4 ',for that which toucheth
 the heart is beautiful to the eye4'    
,,chapter ,,xxxii4  ,,the ,,use ,,of    
,,religion4   ,but granted1 people may  
say1 that religion is what you say1 a   
cult of the emotions1 of what use is it8
 ,why should these emotions be          
cultivated at all8 ,you say that they   
are beautiful because they are true1 and
 that they are true because they are of 
use4 ,of what use are they8 ,some can be
 explained perhaps1 but not most--not   
the instinct of ,god1 for instance1 nor 
of ,law1 nor the instinct of prayer4 ,it
 seems to me that unless you can prove  
that they are true1 essentially true    
conceptions1 they cannot be beautiful4  
,and this you say you cannot prove4 ,no 

one can prove ,god1 you say1 and prayer1
 surely that is against reason1 and     
demonstrably a weakness4 ,certainly not 
a good emotion to cultivate4 ,you say it
 is beautiful4 ,how can you prove that8 
99       99       99       99       99  
,travelling on the ,continent among     
those places where there are little     
colonies of ,english people who for one 
reason or another have left their own   
country1 there crops up occasionally a  
man of peculiar kind1 hardly ever to be 
met elsewhere4 ,he is a man who has left
 ,england1 we will suppose1 for         
economy's sake1 who has settled abroad1 
perhaps in one place1 perhaps roaming   
from place to place1 who has no work1 no
 interest in life4 ,he has drifted away 
from the current of our national life1  
he has entered no other1 but he exists1 
he would say1 as a student of man and a 
philosopher on motives4  ,one such1     
meeting me one day1 turned his          
conversation upon wars and upon         
patriotism4 ,the former horrified him1  

the latter revolted him4 ,patriotism1 he
 said1 can you defend such a feeling8   
,have you any reasoning to support it8  
,patriotism is a narrowness1 a          
blindness4 ,it is little better than a  
baseness founded on ignorance4 ,how can 
it be defended8 ,you say it is          
beautiful4 ,prove to me that it is so4  
,i deny it4  ,to whom1 and to men like  
this1 it seems that there is only one   
answer to be made4  ,my friend1 the love
 of your own people and your own        
country1 if it ever existed within you1 
is long dead or you would never ask such
 a question4 ,i cannot reason with you  
on the subject1 because it would be like
 reasoning with a blind man on the      
beauty of being able to see4 ,he who    
sees knows2 but if a man be blind1 how  
can it be explained to him8 ,neither ,i 
nor my fellows can talk to you about    
patriotism1 because it is a feeling we  
have1 but of which you are ignorant4 ,it
 is not a question of reason4 ,but if   
you would know whether patriotism be    

beautiful or the ignorant foolishness   
you suppose1 ,i can show you the road to
 learn4  ,go back to that ,england you  
have forgotten1 and in your             
forgetfulness begun to despise4 ,go back
 there on the eve of a great victory1 or
 a great deliverance1 such a day as that
 on which ,ladysmith was relieved4 ,and 
go not into the streets if the loud     
rejoicings hurt your philosophic ear1   
but go into the homes of the people4 ,go
 to the rich1 to the middle class1 to   
the artisan1 to the labourer1 and mark  
their glowing faces1 their glad eyes1   
the look of glory1 of thanksgiving that 
our people have been rescued1 that our  
flag has escaped a disaster4 ,look at   
the faces of these men and women and    
children1 whose hearts are full at the  
news4 ,and then ask them1 ',is          
patriotism a mean and debasing passion8'
 ,they know4 ,or do better even than    
this1 go yourself to ,africa1 to ,india1
 to the thousand league frontiers where 
men die daily for their flag1 for their 

own honour1 and that of their country4  
,take rifle yourself and beat back those
 who would destroy our peace1 take up   
your pen and give some of your life to  
the people whom we rule4 ,you will find 
it a better life1 perhaps1 than at a    
foreign spa4 ,give yourself freely for  
your country and those your country     
gives in charge to you4 ,i think you    
will learn1 maybe1 what patriotism      
means4 ,but argument1 reason8 ,i think  
you exaggerate the power of reason4 ,it 
can argue only from facts4 ,it is       
necessary to know the facts first4 ,and 
you are ignorant of your facts1 because 
you have never felt them4 ,only those   
who feel them know4 ,go and give your   
life1 and before it be gone you will    
have learnt what neither ,i nor any man 
who ever lived can tell you4 ,you will  
have learnt the realities of life4  ,for
 you and those like you mistake the     
power of reason1 you have forgotten its 
limitations4 ,reason is but the power of
 arranging facts1 it cannot provide     

them4 ,your eyes will give you the facts
 they can see1 your ears what they can  
hear1 your sympathies will give you the 
realities of men's lives4 ,if you have  
no emotions1 no sympathies1 how can you 
get on8 ,you are like mariners afloat   
upon the sea vainly waggling your       
rudders and boasting that you are at the
 mercy of no erratic winds1 while the   
ships pass you under full sail4 ,where  
will reason alone take you8 ,it cannot  
take you anywhere4 ,a rudder is only    
useful to a ship that has motive power4 
,what motive power have you8 ,so you    
float and work your rudders and turn    
round and round1 and are very bitter4   
,why are all philosophers so bitter1 so 
hard to bear with1 so useless8 ,because 
you are conscious unconsciously of your 
futility1 that the world passes you by  
and laughs4  ,the functions of reason   
are very narrow4 ,you forget them4 ,you 
exalt reason into the whole of life1    
committing the mistake for which you    
rail on others4 ,unbridled emotion is1  

as you say1 terrible4 ,so is unbridled  
reason4 ,where has reason alone ever led
 anyone save into the dreariest1 driest 
pessimism8 ,was a philosopher ever a    
happy man8 ,even your ,utopias1 from    
,plato's to ,bellamy's1 who would desire
 them8 ,hell would be a pleasant        
relaxation after any of them4 ,the      
functions of the senses1 of which       
sympathy is the greatest1 are to give   
you facts1 the function of reason is to 
arrange them4 ,the emotions drive man   
forward1 reason directs and controls    
them4 ,that is all4  ,you say religions 
are founded on errors1 on what are your 
reasonings founded8 ,they are founded on
 nothings4  ,of what use is patriotism8 
,is it beautiful or no8 ,of what use is 
religion8 ,is it beautiful or no8 ,prove
 to me that it is necessary or          
beautiful4 ,show me why it should be so4
  ,is it not the same answer in each    
case8 ,it is so easy to point out the   
evils of exaggeration in each4 ,anyone  
can do it4 ,but the mean4 ,prove to me  

the use and beauty of the mean4  ,the   
answer is always the same4 ,if you have 
religion in you1 such a question would  
never occur to you1 for you would feel  
its use1 you would know its beauty4 ,and
 if you have not1 who shall prove it to 
you8 ,who shall provide you with the    
facts on which to reason1 who shall open
 your eyes8 ,but if anyone doubts that  
religion is useful and is beautiful to  
its believers1 go and watch them4  ,it  
matters not where you go1 ,east or      
,west1 it is always the same4 ,in       
,england1 or ,france1 or ,russia1 among 
the ,hindus1 the ,chinese1 the          
,japanese1 the ,parsees4 ,it makes no   
matter if you will but look aright4 ,for
 you must know how to look and where4   
,you must learn what to read4 ,it is    
never books ,i would ask you to read1   
never creeds1 never theologies1 never   
reasons1 nor arguments4 ,you will not   
find what you search in libraries nor   
yet in places of worship1 in ceremonies1
 in temples1 great and beautiful as they

 may be4 ,not in even their inmost      
recesses is the secret hid1 the secret  
of all religions4 ,i would have you     
listen to no preachers1 to no           
theologians4 ,they are the last to know4
 ,but ,i would have you go to the temple
 of the heart of man and read what is   
written there1 written not in words1 but
 in the inarticulate emotions of the    
heart4 ,i would have you go and kneel   
beside the ,mahommedan as he prays at   
the sunset hour1 and put your heart to  
his and wait for the echo that will     
surely come4 ,yes1 surely1 if you be as 
a man who would learn1 who can learn4 ,i
 would have you go to the hillman       
smearing the stone with butter that his 
god may be pleased1 to the woman crying 
to the forest god for her sick child1 to
 the boy before his monks learning to be
 good4 ,no matter where you go1 no      
matter what the faith is called1 if you 
have the hearing ear1 if your heart is  
in unison with the heart of the world1  
you will hear always the same song4 ,far

 down below the noises of the warring   
creeds1 the clash of words and forms1   
the differences of peoples1 of climes1  
of civilisations1 of ideals1 far down   
below all this lies that which you would
 hear4 ,i know not what you would call  
it4 ,maybe it is the ,voice of ,god     
telling us for ever the secret of the   
world1 but in unknown tongue4 ,for me it
 is like the unceasing surge of a       
shoreless sea answering to the night1 a 
melody beyond words4  ,the creeds and   
faiths are the words that men have set  
to that melody2 they are the            
interpretations of that wordless song4  
,each is true to him whom it suits4     
,every nation has translated it into his
 own tongue4 ,but never forget that     
those are only your own interpretations4
 ,whatever your faith may be1 you have  
no monopoly of religion4 ,i confess that
 to me there is nothing so repellent as 
the hate of faith for faith4 ,to hear   
their professors malign and abuse each  
other1 as if each had the monopoly of   

truth1 is terrible4 ,it is as a strife  
in families where brother is killing    
brother1 and the younger trying to      
disinherit the elder4 ,i doubt if in all
 this warfare they can listen for the   
voice that is for ever telling the      
secret of the world4 ,whence came all   
the faiths but from that inexplicable   
feeling of the heart1 that surge and    
swell arising we know not whence8 ,if   
you would malign another's faith        
remember your own4 ,if you cannot       
understand his belief stop and consider4
 ,can you understand your own8 ,do you  
know whence came these emotions that    
have risen and made your faith8  ,the   
faiths are all brothers1 all born of the
 same mystery4 ,there are older and     
younger1 stronger and weaker1 some      
babble in strange tongues maybe1        
different from your finer speech4 ,but  
what of that8 ,are they the less        
children of the ,great ,father for that8
 ,surely if there be the unforgivable   
offence1 the sin against the ,holy      

,ghost1 it is this1 to deny the truth   
that lies in all the faiths4         99 
99       99       99       99  ,religion
 is the music of the infinite echoed    
from the hearts of men4   ,,the ,,end4