,outlines of a ,philosophy   of         
,religion based on   ,psychology and    
,history   ,by ,auguste ,sabatier       
,author of the ,apostle ,paul etc4      
,,new ,,york  ,,james ,,pott  ,,company 
#aai-aba ,,west #bc;,d ,,street4  #aiaj 
,,contents   ,,preface    ,,book        
,i4--,,religion   ,,chapter ,i  ,,the   
,,psychological ,,origin ,,and ,,the    
,,nature ,,of ,,religion    #a4 ,first  
,critical ,reflections   #b4 ,initial   
,contradiction of the ,psychological    
,consciousness   #c4 ,religion the      
,prayer of the ,heart   ,,chapter ,,ii  
,,religion ,,and ,,revelation    #a4    
,the ,mystery of the ,religious ,life   
#b4 ,mythological ,notion of ,revelation
   #c4 ,dogmatic ,notion   #d4          
,psychological ,notion   #e4 ,conclusion
   ,,chapter ,,iii  ,,miracle ,,and     
,,inspiration    #a4 ,the ,notion of    
,miracle in ,antiquity   #b4 ,miracle   
and ,science3 ,miracle and ,piety   #c4 
,religious ,inspiration   ,,chapter ,,iv
  ,,the ,,religious ,,development ,,of  

,,humanity    #a4 ,the ,social ,element 
in ,religion   #b4 ,progress in the     
,outward ,forms of ,religion   #c4      
,progress in the ,representation of the 
,divine   #d4 ,the ,history of ,prayer  
#e4 ,conclusion    ,,book               
,,ii4--,,christianity   ,,chapter ,i    
,,hebraism1 ,,or ,,the ,,origins ,,of   
,,the ,,gospel    #a4 ,prophetism   #b4 
,the ,dawn of the ,gospel   ,,chapter   
,,ii  ,,the ,,essence ,,of              
,,christianity    #a4 ,the ,problem     
#b4 ,the ,christian ,principle   #c4    
,the ,gospel of ,jesus   #d4 ,a         
,necessary ,distinction   #e4 ,the      
,corruptions of the ,christian          
,principle   ,,chapter ,,iii  ,,the     
,,great ,,historical ,,forms ,,of       
,,christianity    #a4 ,the ,evolution of
 the ,christian ,principle   #b4 ,jewish
 or ,messianic ,christianity   #c4      
,catholic ,christianity   #d4           
,protestant ,christianity   #e4         
,conclusion    ,,book ,,iii4--,,dogma   
,,chapter ,i  ,,what ,,is ,a ,,dogma8   

#a4 ,definition   #b4 ,genesis of ,dogma
   #c4 ,the ,role and the ,religious    
,value of ,dogma   ,,chapter ,,ii  ,,the
 ,,life ,,of ,,dogmas ,,and ,,their     
,,historical ,,evolution    #a4 ,three  
,prejudices   #b4 ,the ,two ,elements in
 ,dogma   #c4 ,the ,crisis of ,dogma    
,,chapter ,,iii  ,,the ,,science ,,of   
,,dogmas    #a4 ,mixed ,character of the
 ,science of ,dogmas   #b4 ,the ,science
 of ,dogmas and the ,church   #c4 ,the  
,science of ,dogmas and ,philosophy     
,,chapter ,,iv  ,,critical ,,theory ,,of
 ,,religious ,,knowledge    #a4         
,antiquated ,theories   #b4 ,the        
,kantian ,theory of ,knowledge   #c4    
,the ,two ,orders of ,knowledge   #d4   
,subjectivity of ,religious ,knowledge  
#e4 ,teleology   #f4 ,symbolism   #g4   
,conclusion   ,,appendix  ,reply to     
,criticisms     ,,preface  ,this volume 
contains three parts which are related  
to each other as the three stories of   
one and the same edifice4  ,the first   
treats of religion and its origin2 the  

second of ,christianity and its essence2
 the third of ,dogma and its nature4    
,proceeding thus from the general to the
 particular1 from the elementary forms  
of religion to its highest form1 passing
 afterwards from religious phenomena to 
religious doctrines1 ,i have endeavoured
 to develop a series of connected and   
progressive views which ,i do not wish  
to be regarded as a system1 but as the  
rigid application and the first results 
of the method of strictly psychological 
and historical observation that for     
years ,i have applied to this species of
 studies4 ,in no domain is there a      
greater incoherence of ideas1 a sharper 
conflict of feeling1 or data more       
contradictory or1 at all events1 more   
difficult to reconcile4  ,in no other is
 it more urgent to introduce a little   
sequence1 clearness1 harmony4  ,our     
century1 from the beginning1 has had two
 great passions which still inflame and 
agitate its closing years4  ,it has     
driven abreast the twofold worship of   

the scientific method and of the moral  
ideal2 but1 so far from being able to   
unite them1 it has pushed them to a     
point where they seem to contradict and 
exclude each other4  ,every serious soul
 feels itself to be inwardly divided2 it
 would fain conciliate its most generous
 aspirations1 the two last motives for  
living and acting that still remain to  
it4  ,where but in a renovated          
conception of religion will this needed 
reconciliation be found8  ,no one       
nowadays underestimates the social      
importance of the religious question4   
,philosophers1 moralists1 politicians1  
show themselves to be alive to it2 they 
see it dominating all others1 whose     
solution1 in the end1 it may prevent or 
decide4  ,but1 singular contradiction6  
the more zeal and the more decision     
these men manifest in handling the      
religious question in the social order1 
the more indifference or impotence they 
show in solving it for themselves both  
in their inner and their family life444 

,no one has the right to impose a       
doctrine or the presumption1 surely1 to 
dictate to others how they must direct  
their thought2 but a sincere and        
persuaded mind may tell how it has      
directed its own1 and may set forth as  
an experience and a document the views  
at which it has arrived4444  ,the       
solidarity of minds has now become so   
great1 the currents of ideas1 like the  
currents in the atmosphere1 move so     
quickly and create1 in circumstances so 
different and so far apart1 states of   
soul so similar that many who read these
 studies1 and who are struggling with   
the same difficulties as those which    
have so long engaged the author's       
thoughts1 may find both interest and    
profit in seeing how he has succeeded in
 satisfying himself4  ,those even who   
have never reflected on these questions1
 or have lightly turned from them       
because they deemed them insoluble1 will
 not perhaps object to be directed to   
them by one who wishes1 not to check    

their freedom of thought1 but to        
stimulate them to exercise it4  ,who1 at
 the close of his secret meditations1 on
 the confines of his knowledge1 at the  
end of his affections1 of the joys he   
has tasted1 of the trials he has        
endured1 has not seen rising before him 
the religious question--,i mean the     
mysterious problem of his destiny8  ,of 
all questions it is the most vital4     
,men may be turned from it for a time by
 manifold distractions and by a sense of
 powerlessness to solve the question1   
but it is impossible that they should   
not return to it4  ,has life a meaning8 
,is it worth living8  ,our efforts1 have
 they an end8  ,our works and our       
thoughts1 have they any permanent value 
to the universe8  ,this problem1 which  
one generation may evade1 returns with  
the next4  ,each new recruit to the     
human race brings the problem along with
 him1 because he wishes to live1 and to 
live is to act1 and all action requires 
a faith4  ,it is of the young that ,i   

have thought while preparing these      
pages1 and it is to them that ,i        
dedicate them4  ,to a generation that   
believed it could repose in ,positivism 
in philosophy1 utilitarianism in morals1
 and naturalism in art and poetry1 has  
succeeded a generation that torments    
itself more than ever with the mystery  
of things1 that is attracted by the     
ideal1 that dreams of social fraternity1
 of self-renunciation1 of devotion to   
the little1 to the miserable1 to the    
oppressed--devotion like the heroism of 
,christian love4  ,hence what has been  
called the renaissance of ,idealism1 the
 return1 i4e41 to general ideas1 to     
faith in the invisible1 to the taste for
 symbols1 and to those longings1 as     
confused as they are ardent1 to discover
 a religion or to return to the religion
 their fathers have disdained4  ,our    
young people1 it seems to me1 are       
pushing bravely forward1 marching       
between two high walls3 on the one side 
modern science with its rigorous methods

 which it is no longer possible to      
ignore or to avoid2 on the other1 the   
dogmas and the customs of the religious 
institutions in which they were reared1 
and to which they would1 but cannot1    
sincerely return4  ,the sages who have  
led them hitherto point to the impasse  
they have reached1 and bid them take a  
part1--either for science against       
religion1 or for religion against       
science4  ,they hesitate1 with reason1  
in face of this alarming alternative4   
,must we then choose between pious      
ignorance and bare knowledge8  ,must we 
either continue to live a moral life    
belied by science1 or set up a theory of
 things which our consciences condemn8  
,is there no issue to the dark and      
narrow valley which our anxious youth   
traverse8  ,i think there is4  ,i think 
,i have caught glimpses of a steep and  
narrow path that leads to wide and      
shining table-lands above4 ,indeed ,i   
have ascended in the footsteps of some  
others1 and ,i signal in my turn to     

younger1 braver pioneers who1 in course 
of time1 will make a broader1 safer     
road1 along which all the caravan may   
pass4     ,,book ,,first  ,,religion    
,,chapter ,i  ,,on ,,the ,,psychological
 ,,origin1 ,,and ,,on ,,the ,,nature    
,,of ,,religion  #a4 ,first ,critical   
,reflections  ,why am ,i religious8     
,because ,i cannot help it3 it is a     
moral necessity of my being4  ,they tell
 me it is a matter of heredity1 of      
education1 of temperament4  ,i have     
often said so to myself4  ,but that     
explanation simply puts the problem     
further back2 it does not solve it  ,the
 necessity which ,i experience in my    
individual life ,i find to be still more
 invincible in the collective life of   
humanity4  ,humanity is not less        
incurably religious than ,i am4  ,the   
cults it has espoused and abandoned have
 deceived it in vain2 in vain has the   
criticism of savants and philosophers   
shattered its dogmas and mythologies2 in
 vain has religion left such tracks of  

blood and fire throughout the annals of 
humanity2 it has survived all change1   
all revolution1 all stages of culture   
and progress4  ,cut down a thousand     
times1 the ancient stem has always sent 
new branches forth4  ,whence comes this 
indestructible vitality8  ,what is the  
cause of the universality and perpetuity
 of religion8  ,before entering upon    
this question it will be necessary to   
remove a fruitful cause of error with   
respect to the essence and origin of the
 religious sense1 especially among the  
peoples of ,latin extraction4 ,this     
cause lies in the very word religion4   
,it very badly designates the           
psychological phenomenon to be studied2 
it envelops it in accessory and even in 
alien ideas1 which blind and mislead    
half-educated men4 ,the word comes to us
 from the least religious of the peoples
 of the world4  ,it has no synonym or   
equivalent in the language of the       
ancient ,hebrews1 or in that of the     
,greeks1 the ,germans1 the ,celts1 or   

the ,hindus1 the human families which1  
in the religious order1 have been the   
most original and the most creative4    
,it was ,rome that imposed the word upon
 us along with her language1 her genius1
 and her institutions4  ,the first      
,christians were not acquainted with it4
  ,it is absent from the ,new           
,testament4  ,when1 in the third        
century1 it enters into ,christian      
speech1 it no doubt undergoes a sort of 
baptism1 and seems to cover a meaning   
more in conformity with the spirit of   
the ,gospel4 ,lactantius defines        
religion as the link which unites man to
 ,god4  ,but in the ancient ,roman      
writers the word never had this profound
 and mystical meaning4  ,instead of     
marking the inward and subjective side  
of religion1 and signalising it as a    
phenomenon of the life of the soul1 it  
defined religion by the outside1 as a   
tradition of rites1 and as a social     
institution bequeathed by ancestors4    
,the ,christian baptism through which   

the word passed did not efface this     
ancient ,roman stamp4 ,to the majority1 
even now1 religion is hardly anything   
more than a series of traditional rites1
 supernatural beliefs1 political        
institutions2 it is a ,church in        
possession of divine sacraments1        
constituted by a sacerdotal hierarchy1  
for the discipline and government of    
souls4  ,such is the form under which   
the genius of ,rome conceived and       
realised ,christianity in the ,western  
world2 and the fascination that this    
political and social conception of      
religion still exercises is so great    
that minds the most enlightened know no 
better than to agree with ,m4           
,brunetiere1 who1 when wishing to set   
forth the superiority of ,catholicism to
 ,protestantism1 confines himself1 like 
,bossuet1 to praising it as a perfect   
model of government4  ,by a sort of     
logical necessity1 whenever and wherever
 this political conception of religion  
has predominated1 an analogous          

explanation of its origin has always    
arisen4  ,it is natural that men should 
have applied to it the ancient juridical
 adage3 is fecit cui prodest4 ,religion 
admirably serves to govern the peoples2 
therefore it was originally invented for
 that purpose4  ,it was the work of     
priests and chiefs who wished by means  
of it to strengthen and to ratify their 
authority4  ,so reason the ,romans in   
the days of ,cicero and the philosophers
 of the eighteenth century4  ,and there 
is some foundation for their arguments4 
,religion has often been utilised by    
politics3 pious frauds are to be found  
in all the cults4  ,but what then8      
,what do the facts prove8  ,it is not   
the pious fraud that produces the       
religion2 it is the religion that gives 
occasion and opportunity to pious       
frauds4 ,without religion there would   
have been no pious frauds4  ,when ,i    
hear it said1 ,priests made religion1 ,i
 simply ask1 ,and who1 pray1 made the   
priests8  ,in order to create a         

priesthood1 and in order that that      
invention should find general acceptance
 with the people that were to be subject
 to it1 must there not have been already
 in the hearts of men a religious       
sentiment that would clothe the         
institution with a sacred character8    
,the terms must be reversed3 it is not  
priesthood that explains religion1 but  
religion that explains priesthood4  ,the
 theory propounded by ,positivism is    
profounder and more serious4 ,religion1 
which dates from the earliest ages1 can 
only have been a first attempt at an    
explanation of the extraordinary        
phenomena by which man in his ignorance 
was astonished and frightened4  ,it is  
the beginning of the childish form of   
science1 which1 in course of time1 would
 naturally give place to higher and more
 rigorous forms4  ,children and savages 
animate all things round about them with
 a psychical life2 they see particular  
wills behind every phenomenon that      
excites their hope or fear4  ,thus the  

imagination of primitive man peopled the
 universe with an infinite number of    
spirits1 good and evil1 whose mysterious
 action made itself felt at every moment
 of their destiny4  ,a while ago we had 
the explanation of religion by          
priesthood2 now we have the explanation 
by mythology4  ,but it is the same      
vicious circle3 it is an insufficient   
psychology once more mistaking the      
effect for the cause4  ,to conceive of  
religion as a species of knowledge is an
 error not less grave than to represent 
it as a sort of political institution4  
,no doubt religious faith is always     
accompanied by knowledge1 but this      
intellectual element1 however           
indispensable1 so far from being the    
basis and the substance of religion1    
varies continually at all the epochs of 
religious evolution4  ,doctrinal        
formulas and liturgies are means of     
expression and of education1 of which   
religion avails itself1 but which it can
 exchange for others after each         

philosophical crisis4 ,rites and beliefs
 become obliterated or die out2 religion
 possesses a power of perpetual         
resurrection1 whose principle cannot be 
exhausted in any external form or in any
 dogmatic idea4  ,comte's theory of the 
three stages through which human thought
 has passed is well known3 the          
theological stage of primitive times1   
the metaphysical stage in the ,middle   
,ages1 the positive or scientific stage 
of modern times4  ,if knowledge were the
 essence of religion1 one could easily  
understand the logical course of this   
evolution1 an inferior form of knowledge
 being condemned to disappear before a  
superior form4 ,the proof that it is    
nothing of the kind is the fact that    
religion does not cease to reappear at  
all epochs and in the most widely       
different conditions of culture4  ,the  
three stages are not successive but     
simultaneous2 they do not correspond to 
three periods of history1 but to three  
permanent needs of the human soul4  ,you

 find them combined in various degrees  
in antiquity1 in ,socrates1 ,plato1 and 
,aristotle2 in modern times1 in         
,descartes1 ,pascal1 ,leibniz1 ,kant1   
,claude ,bernard1 and ,pasteur4  ,the   
more science progresses and becomes     
conscious of its true method and of its 
limits1 the more does it become         
distinguished from philosophy and       
religion4  ,scientific research1        
exclusively devoted to the determination
 of phenomena and of their conditions in
 time and space1 is one thing2 the      
philosophic need of comprehending the   
universe as an intelligible whole1 and  
of explaining all that exists by a      
principle of sufficient reason1 is      
another and a different thing2 and1     
lastly1 differing from both1 is the     
religious need which1 rightly           
understood1 is but a manifestation1 in  
the moral order1 of the instinct of     
every being to persevere in being4  ,why
 may not these divers tendencies of     
soul1 coexisting always and everywhere1 

manifest themselves simultaneously and  
on parallel lines8  ,we need not go     
beyond the ,positivists themselves for  
examples and proofs of this persistence 
of the religious sentiment4  ,comte1    
,spencer1 and ,littre may be called as  
witnesses4  ,the founder of ,positivism1
 who had predicted the fatal extinction 
of the disposition to religion in the   
human soul1 crowned his system and ended
 his career by founding a new religion1 
clumsily copied from the sacerdotal     
organisation and the ritual practices of
 ,roman ,catholicism4  ,there actually  
exists a ,positivist ,church1 with a    
calendar of saints1 with relics and     
anniversaries1 with a catechism1 and    
with a high priest not less infallible  
than the one at ,rome4  ,a few          
disciples1 scandalised by this supreme  
temptation of the master1 desired to    
excuse him by declaring that he had gone
 mad4  ,it was a mistake4  ,the fact is 
that1 arriving at the construction of a 
,positive ,sociology1 ,comte            

comprehended the role of the religious  
instinct and of religious feeling in the
 life of peoples1 and he believed that  
he would only be able to cement the     
edifice of society in the future by     
religion4  ,it is said that those who   
have been amputated sometimes feel sharp
 twitches in the limbs they have lost4  
,comte and his disciples have           
experienced something similar4 ,nature1 
with her usual irony1 has avenged       
herself on them for the violence they   
have done to her4  ,of ,herbert ,spencer
 not much need be said2 everybody knows 
that the ,unknowable in his system has  
become a sort of undetermined and       
unconscious force1 eluding every effort 
of the mind to grasp it1 but remaining1 
none the less1 the cause explaining     
evolution1 and the source profound      
whence all things flow4  ,under         
different names1 do we not recognise the
 ,first ,cause of the philosophers1 and 
the image1 half-effaced1 of the ,god of 
believers8  ,need we be surprised that  

the ,english thinker pronounces religion
 to be eternal8 that he finally reduces 
the mental life of man to these two     
essential and primordial activities--the
 scientific activity which pursues the  
knowledge of phenomena and their        
transformation1 and religious activity  
delivering itself up to mystical        
contemplation and to silent adoration of
 universal being8  ,the example of      
,littre is more touching still4  ,i     
remember reading a sublime page in one  
of his works1 in which the savant1 after
 running through the terra firma of     
positive knowledge1 reaches its utmost  
limit1 and1 seating himself on the      
extremest promontory1 sees himself      
surrounded by the mystery of the        
unknowable1 as by an infinite ocean4 ,he
 has neither barque1 nor sails1 nor     
compass wherewith to explore this       
boundless sea2 nevertheless1 he stands  
there gazing into it2 he contemplates   
it2 he meditates in presence of this    
vast unknown1 and finally abandons      

himself to a movement of adoration and  
of confidence which renews his mental   
vigour and which fills his heart with   
peace4 ,what is this1 ,i ask1 but a     
sudden outburst of religious feeling    
which positive science1 so far from     
extinguishing1 has only served to deepen
 and accentuate8  ,and since we have    
here the religion of the unknowable1 is 
it not evident that religion is not     
necessarily knowledge8  ,i now come to a
 third explanation which1 older than    
either of the others1 will bring us     
nearer to the end at which we aim4  ,it 
is fear1 says a ,latin poet1 that       
engenders the gods4  ,there is a sense  
in which this is true4  ,it cannot be   
doubted that religion was at first      
awakened in the heart of man under the  
impress of the terror caused by the     
disordered and destructive forces of    
primitive ,nature4  ,thrown naked and   
disarmed on the barely-cooled planet1   
walking tremblingly upon a soil that    
quaked beneath his tread1 his would be a

 state of misery and distress which     
filled his heart with an infinite       
terror4 ,but the explanation needs      
completing4  ,in itself and of itself1  
fear is not religious2 it paralyses1    
crushes1 stuns4  ,in order that it may  
become religiously fruitful1 it is      
necessary that1 from the outset1 it     
should be mixed with an opposite        
sentiment1 an impulse of hope2 it is    
necessary that man1 the prey of fear1   
should conceive1 in some way or other1  
the possibility of surmounting it--that 
is to say that he should find above him 
some help1 some succour1 by which to    
confront the dangers which threaten him4
  ,fear only gives birth to religion in 
man because it awakens hope and calls   
forth prayer--prayer that opens an issue
 to human distress4  ,there is that     
amount of truth in the ancient          
hypothesis4  ,it brings us near the     
source we are seeking1 for it places us 
on the practical arena of life1 and not 
in the theoretical region of science4   

,the question man puts to himself in    
religion is always a question of        
salvation1 and if he seems sometimes to 
be pursuing in it the enigma of the     
universe1 it is only that he may solve  
the enigma of his life4  ,and now we    
must press nearer to the problem4  ,we  
must ascertain out of what fundamental  
contradiction the religious feeling     
arises4  ,we may reach it by a mental   
analysis that every one can follow1 and 
verify the more easily inasmuch as it is
 always in course of reconstruction1 by 
noting our own experiences4   #b4       
,initial ,contradiction of the          
,psychological ,consciousness  ,what is 
man8  ,externally he does not differ    
much from the higher animals1 the series
 of which seems to have been closed by  
his appearance on our planet4  ,his     
physical organism is composed of the    
same elements1 acting according to the  
same laws2 and of the same organs1      
performing analogous functions4  ,it is 
by the incomparable development of his  

mental life that man is distinguished1  
and little by little disengages himself 
from animality4  ,phenomena and laws of 
a new kind now make their appearance4   
,the mysterious life of the spirit1     
emerging from the physical life1 unfolds
 itself gradually like a divine flower1 
and gives the world1 for us1 its meaning
 and its loveliness4 ,the region of the 
true1 the beautiful1 the good1 is opened
 up to consciousness2 the moral world is
 constituted as a higher order to which 
man belongs4  ,it is these moral laws1  
capable of dominating physical laws and 
bending them to higher ends that1 in the
 human animal1 realise and constitute   
humanity4  ,man is only man in so far as
 he obeys them1 and such is the point of
 transition that he occupies between two
 worlds1 such the necessity of the      
crisis by which he must disengage       
himself from material animality1 that1  
if he does not rise above the brute1 he 
necessarily1 by the very perversion of  
his higher life1 falls beneath him4     

,from the beginning1 physical life      
implies a double movement3 a movement   
inward from the outside to the centre of
 the ego1 and a movement outward from   
the centre to the circumference4  ,the  
first represents the action of external 
things upon the ego by sensation        
7passivity72 the second1 the reaction of
 the ego upon things by the will        
7activity74 ,this internal flux and     
reflux is the whole mental life4  ,from 
this point we shall soon perceive the   
initial contradiction in which this life
 is formed1 and in which it goes on     
developing itself continually4 ,the     
passive side and the active side of the 
life of the mind are not harmonious4    
,sensation crushes the will4  ,the      
activity1 the free expansion of the ego1
 its desires to extend and aggrandise   
itself are checked and crushed by the   
weight of the world1 which on every side
 is pressing in upon it4  ,springing up 
from the centre1 the wave of life breaks
 itself inevitably on the rocks of      

outward things4  ,this perpetual        
collision1 this conflict of the ego and 
the universe1--this is the primary cause
 and origin of all pain4  ,thus thrown  
back upon itself1 the activity of the   
ego returns upon the centre and heats it
 like the axle of a wheel in motion4    
,sparks soon fly1 and the inner life of 
the ego is lit up4  ,this is            
consciousness4  ,brought back by painful
 sensations and by repeated failure of  
its efforts from the outside1 the ego   
begins to reflect upon itself2 it       
doubles itself and knows itself2 soon it
 judges itself2 it separates itself from
 the organism with which at first it    
confounded itself2 it opposes itself to 
itself1 as if there were really in      
itself two beings1 an ideal ego and an  
empirical ego4  ,hence comes its        
torment1 its struggles1 its remorse1 but
 also the impulse ever renewed1 the     
indefinite progress of its spiritual    
life1 of which each moment seems to be  
but a degree from which it ought to rise

 to a stage still higher4  ,may we not  
here foresee the divine purpose of pain8
  ,without it1 it would seem as if the  
life of the spirit could not have arisen
 out of physical life4  ,all births are 
painful4  ,consciousness1 like every    
other child1 was born in tears4  ,the   
child of pain1 it can only be developed 
by pain4  ,where do you find            
intelligence the most refined1          
consciousness the keenest1 inner life   
the most intense1 if not amongst the    
human beings whose external activities  
have been repressed by sickness or by   
some limitation in their social         
position8  ,how else will you explain   
the ,pensees of ,pascal or of ,maine de 
,biran1 or the ,journal of ,amiel8      
,whence comes that extraordinary        
development of consciousness of which we
 are all aware in men like these1 unless
 it be that they feel more profoundly   
than others that radical contradiction  
which constitutes at once the misery and
 the grandeur of human destiny8         

,continue this observation2 follow each 
of our faculties in its progressive     
expansion4  ,starting from a            
contradiction without which they would  
not exist1 you see them all end in a    
contradiction in which they seem to     
perish1 so that that which has          
engendered consciousness seems as if it 
must destroy it4  ,everywhere the same  
discouraging antinomy4  ,man cannot know
 himself without knowing himself to be  
limited4  ,but he cannot feel these     
fatal limitations without going beyond  
them in thought and by desire1 so that  
he is never satisfied with what he      
possesses1 and cannot be happy except   
with that which he cannot attain4  ,i   
desire to know2 my labouring intellect  
is athirst to comprehend and understand1
 and its first discoveries enchant it4  
,but1 alas1 my head soon runs itself    
against the wall of mystery4  ,not only 
are there things it does not know1 but  
there are things which it knows for a   
certainty that it will never be able to 

know4  ,how can a man jump off his own  
shadow1 or stand on his own shoulders1  
to look over the impassable wall8  ,that
 all which is intelligible to us is     
real1 ,i grant2 but is all that is real 
intelligible to us8  ,and then what     
becomes my knowledge save a melancholy  
feeling of ignorance that knows itself  
to be such8  ,the same contradiction in 
my faculty for enjoyment4 ,as my seeming
 knowledge changed into its opposite1 so
 now ,i see pleasure and happiness      
changing into pain and sorrow4  ,let the
 superficial and the vulgar lay on fate 
or things the blame of their deceptions 
and of their inability to be happy2 as  
for me1 ,i can only blame the inner     
constitution of my being4  ,it is as the
 result of that very constitution that  
enjoyment bears within itself the cause 
of its own exhaustion1 that pleasure is 
changed into disgust1 and that pain is  
born of all voluptuousness4  ,pessimism 
is in the right2 for it is proved by an 
experience only too long-lived that the 

only result of happiness exclusively    
pursued is an increase of the capacity  
for suffering4  ,need ,i speak of moral 
activity8  ,i desire to do good1 but    
evil is present with me4  ,i do not do  
that which ,i approve1 and ,i do not    
approve that which ,i do3 ,i feel myself
 free in my will1 and ,i am enslaved in 
action4  ,the more effort ,i make       
towards an ideal righteousness1 the more
 that ideal1 which ,i never reach1      
constitutes me a sinner and strengthens 
in me the consciousness of sin2 so that 
here again1 and here especially1 the    
final result of my search is the        
opposite of that which ,i set out to    
seek4  ,whence shall deliverance come8  
,how shall ,i solve this contradiction  
of my being which makes me at the same  
time live and die8  ,to free man from   
the miseries and limitations of his     
nature men count upon the progress of   
science and the amelioration of the     
conditions of his life4 ,but who does   
not see that here is a new source of    

despair8  ,how can we forget that1 so   
far from attenuating it1 science in its 
progress aggravates and renders mortal  
the original condition of life8  ,to    
make a discovery1 to explain a new      
phenomenon1 what is this but to add     
another link to the causal and necessary
 network which science weaves and       
spreads over things8  ,to put sequence1 
order1 and stability into the world1 is 
not this1 for science1 to put necessity 
into it1 and to make necessity the      
sovereign ruler of the world8  ,science1
 in the strict sense of the word1 is    
determinist4  ,but then1 prolong this   
progress of science indefinitely2       
multiply it by ten1 by a hundred1 a     
thousand2 what do you do but multiply   
proportionately the weight of universal 
determinism beneath which our soul      
groans and ceases to strive8  ,we should
 then end in the still more tragic      
contradiction--between science and      
conscience1 physical laws and moral     
laws1 action and reflection4  ,the more 

the one enlarges and triumphs the vainer
 seems the other4  ,hence that          
philosophical dualism in which modern   
thought ends--a science which cannot    
engender an acknowledged morality1 and a
 morality which cannot be the object of 
positive science4  ,we touch the cause  
of that strange malady le mal du siecle1
 a sort of internal consumption by which
 all cultivated minds are more or less  
affected4  ,it is an intestine war which
 arms the human ego against itself and  
dries up all the springs of life4  ,the 
more one reflects on the reasons that   
may be urged in favour of living and    
acting1 the less capable one is of      
effort and of action4  ,clearness of    
thought is in inverse proportion to the 
energy of the will4  ,the ,pessimists   
tell us that if we were fully and       
perfectly conscious we should lose the  
will to act1 and even the desire to be4 
,and which of us is not more or less of 
a ,pessimist nowadays8  ,who does not   
complain of the weary weight of all this

 unintelligible world8  ,who does not   
feel his weakness and the pressure of   
external things8  ,who has not marked   
that union now become almost habitual of
 frivolity of character and intellectual
 culture the most perfect and refined8  
,that sad monotone which comes to us on 
every wind1 from the latest volume of   
philosophy1 from the most popular novel1
 from the most successful play1--what is
 it but the melancholy sigh of a life   
that seems to be ready to expire1 of a  
world that seems about to disappear4    
,must one give up thinking then if he   
would retain the courage to live1 and   
resign himself to death in order to     
preserve the right to think8  ,from this
 feeling of distress1 from this initial 
contradiction of the inner life of man1 
religion springs4  ,it is the rent in   
the rock through which the living and   
life-giving waters flow4  ,not that     
religion brings a theoretical solution  
to the problem4  ,the issue it opens and
 proposes to us is pre-eminently        

practical4  ,it does not save us by     
adding to our knowledge1 but by a return
 to the very principle on which our     
being depends1 and by a moral act of    
confidence in the origin and aim of     
life4  ,at the same time this saving act
 is not an arbitrary one2 it springs    
from a necessity4  ,faith in life both  
is and acts like the instinct of        
conservation in the physical world4  ,it
 is a higher form of that instinct      
,blind and fatal in organisms1 in the   
moral life it is accompanied by         
consciousness and by reflective will1   
and1 thus transformed1 it appears under 
the guise of religion4  ,nor is this    
life-impulse 7elan de la vie7 produced  
in the void1 or objectless4  ,it rests  
upon a feeling inherent in every        
conscious individual1 the feeling of    
dependence which every man experiences  
with respect to universal being4  ,which
 of us can escape this feeling of       
absolute dependence8  ,not only is our  
destiny1 in principle1 decided outside  

ourselves and apart from ourselves      
according to the general laws of        
cosmical evolution1 in the course of    
which we appear at a given time and     
place with a heritage of forces which we
 have not chosen or produced1 but1 not  
being able to discover in ourselves or  
in any series of individuals the        
sufficient reason of our existence1 we  
are obliged to seek outside ourselves1  
in universal being1 the first cause and 
ultimate aim of our existence and our   
life4  ,to be religious is1 at first1 to
 recognise1 to accept with confidence1  
with simplicity and humility1 this      
subjection of our individual            
consciousness2 it is to bring this back 
and bind it to its eternal principle2 it
 is to will to be in the order and the  
harmony of life4  ,this feeling of our  
subordination thus furnishes the        
experimental and indestructible basis of
 the idea of ,god4  ,this idea may      
possibly remain more or less            
indetermined1 and may indeed never be   

perfected in our mind2 but its object   
does not on that account elude our      
consciousness4  ,before all reflection1 
and before all rational determination1  
it is given to us and1 as it were1      
imposed on us in the very fact of our   
absolute dependence2 without fear we may
 establish this equation3 the feeling of
 our dependence is that of the          
mysterious presence of ,god in us4      
,such is the deep source from which the 
idea of the divine springs up within us 
irresistibly4  ,but it springs at once  
as religion and as an effect of         
religion4  ,at the same time1 it is well
 to note at what a cost the mind of man 
accepts this subordination in relation  
to the principle of universal life4  ,we
 have seen this mind in conflict with   
external things4  ,the mind revolts     
against them because they are of a      
different nature to itself1 and because 
it is the proud prerogative of mind to  
comprehend1 to dominate1 to rule things 
and not to be subordinate to them4      

,pascal's phrase is to the point3 ,man  
is but a reed1 the feeblest thing in    
nature2 but he is a thinking reed4      
,were the universe to crush him1 man    
would still be nobler than the universe 
that killed him1 for he would be        
conscious of the calamity1 and the      
universe would know nothing of the      
advantage it possessed4  ,that is why   
the material universe is not the        
principle of sovereignty to which it is 
possible for man to submit4  ,the       
superior dignity of spirit to the       
totality of things can only be preserved
 in our precarious individuality by an  
act of confidence and communion with the
 universal ,spirit4  ,it is only on a   
spiritual power that my consciousness   
does actually make both me and the      
universe to depend1 and in making us    
both to depend on the same spiritual    
power1 it reconciles us to each other1  
because1 in that universal being        
conceived as spirit1 both ,i and the    
universe have a common principle and a  

common aim4  ,descartes was right3 the  
first step of the human mind desirous of
 confirming to itself the sense of its  
own worth and dignity is an essentially 
religious act4  ,the circle of my mental
 life1 which opens with the conflict of 
these two terms--consciousness of the   
ego1 experience of the world--is        
completed by a third in which the other 
terms are harmonised3 the sense of their
 common dependence upon ,god4  ,but is  
not this account of the genesis of      
religion too philosophic and too        
abstract to be capable of universal     
application8  ,if it explains the       
persistence of the religious sentiment  
in epochs of high culture1 can it also  
explain its appearance in the           
pre-historic ages of humanity8  ,those  
who raise this objection have not       
sufficiently marked the permanent nature
 of the initial contradiction which     
constitutes1 at the beginning as at the 
end1 the empirical life of man1 and     
which renders it in all degrees so      

precarious and so miserable4  ,it is not
 a contradiction created by logic4  ,to 
experience it and to suffer from it man 
did not need to wait until he became a  
philosopher4  ,it manifested itself in  
the terrors of the savage in presence of
 the cataclysms of nature1 in the midst 
of the perils of the primeval forest not
 less than in our troubled thought in   
presence of the enigma of the universe  
and the mystery of death4  ,the         
expression of human misery and the      
consciousness thereof are different     
things2 the religious thrill which      
brings relief1 at bottom is the same4   
,pascal1 with all his knowledge1 did not
 experience less distress than primitive
 man1 when he exclaimed3 ,the eternal   
silence of the infinite spaces terrifies
 me4  ,the disciple of ,kant1 shutting  
himself up in despair within the        
impassable limits of phenomenal         
knowledge1 or the disciple of           
,schopenhauer ending in the internecine 
conflict between intellect and will1 are

 they not smitten with a feeling of     
impotence still more painful1 and1 when 
they cease to reason in order to decide 
to live1 do they not feel forming within
 themselves1 and in spite of themselves1
 a sigh which is the beginning of a     
prayer8  ,religion1 therefore1 is       
immortal4  ,far from drying up with     
time1 the spring from whence it flows in
 the human soul enlarges1 deepens1 and  
becomes more rich under the twofold     
action of philosophic reflection and of 
the painful experiences of life4  ,those
 who predict its approaching end mistake
 for religion that which is only its    
outward and fleeting expression4  ,the  
periodical crises in which it seems as  
if it must perish1 renew its traditions 
and its forms1 and1 so far from proving 
its weakness1 demonstrate its fecundity 
and its faculty of rejuvenescence4      
,never1 in all history1 has the human   
soul been seen entirely naked4  ,on this
 tree1 in which the sap divine mounts   
ever1 the leaves of one season only     

fall1 however dry they may be1 under the
 pressure of new leaves4  ,religious    
beliefs do not die2 they are simply     
transformed4  ,let the friends of       
religion then cease to be alarmed and   
its enemies to rejoice4  ,the hopes of  
the one and the fears of the other show 
an equal misconception of that which is 
its essence and its principle4  ,if they
 seek it in themselves1 they will find  
it all the more living in their inner   
life1 the more its traditional forms    
outside themselves seem menaced4  ,the  
sigh1 the impulse1 or the melancholy of 
the soul in distress are more religious 
than an interested or mechanical        
devotion4  ,there are hours when the    
heresy which suffers1 and which seeks   
and prays1 is much nearer the source of 
life than the intellectual obstinacy of 
an orthodoxy incapable1 as it would     
seem1 of comprehending the dogmas that  
it keeps embalmed4  ,let the men who    
despise religion learn first to know it2
 let them see it as it is--the inward   

happy crisis by which human life is     
transformed and an issue opened up to it
 towards the ideal life4  ,all human    
development springs from it and ends in 
it4  ,art1 morals1 science itself fade  
and waste away if this supreme          
inspiration be wanting to them2 the     
irreligious soul expires as if from lack
 of breath4  ,man is not2 he has to make
 himself2 and in order to this he must  
mount from the darkness and bondage of  
earth to light and liberty4  ,it is by  
religion that humanity begins in him1   
and it is by religion that it is        
established and completed4   #c4        
,religion is the ,prayer of the ,heart  
,we shall now be able to define the     
essence of religion4  ,it is a commerce1
 a conscious and willed relation into   
which the soul in distress enters with  
the mysterious power on which it feels  
that it and its destiny depend4  ,this  
commerce with ,god is realised by       
prayer4 ,prayer is religion in act--that
 is to say1 real religion4  ,it is      

prayer which distinguishes religious    
phenomena from all those which resemble 
them or lie near to them1 from the moral
 sense1 for instance1 or aesthetic      
feeling4  ,if religion is a practical   
need1 the response to it can only be a  
practical action4  ,no theory would     
suffice4  ,religion is nothing if it is 
not the vital act by which the whole    
spirit seeks to save itself by attaching
 itself to its principle4  ,this act is 
prayer1 by which ,i mean1 not an empty  
utterance of words1 not the repetition  
of certain sacred formulas1 but the     
movement of the soul putting itself into
 personal relation and contact with the 
mysterious power whose presence it feels
 even before it is able to give it a    
name4  ,where this inward prayer is     
wanting there is no religion2 on the    
other hand1 wherever this prayer springs
 up in the soul and moves it1 even in   
the absence of all form and doctrine    
clearly defined1 there is true religion1
 living piety4  ,from this point of     

view1 perhaps a history of prayer would 
be the best history of the religious    
development of mankind4  ,that history  
would be seen to commence in the crudest
 cry for help and to complete itself in 
perfect prayer which1 on the lips of    
,christ1 is simply submission to and    
confidence in the ,father's will4  ,this
 concrete definition of religion has the
 advantage of correcting by completing  
that of ,schleiermacher4  ,it reconciles
 the two antithetic elements which      
constitute the religious sentiment3 the 
passive and the active elements1 the    
feeling of dependence and the movement  
of liberty4 ,prayer1 springing up out of
 our state of misery and oppression1    
delivers us from it4  ,there is in it   
both submission and faith4 ,submission  
makes us recognise and accept our       
dependence1 faith transforms that       
dependence into liberty4  ,these two    
elements correspond to the two poles of 
the religious life2 for in all true     
piety man prostrates himself before the 

omnipotence that encompasses him1 and he
 rises with a feeling of deliverance and
 of concord with his ,god4              
,schleiermacher erred in insisting only 
upon resignation4  ,thenceforth he could
 neither escape ,pantheism in order to  
arrive at liberty1 nor find any link    
between the religious and the moral     
life4  ,religion1 then1 is a free act as
 well as a feeling of dependence4  ,and 
such is the character and the virtue of 
the act of prayer that everything is    
transformed by it4  ,the crushing       
feeling of my defeat becomes the joyful 
and triumphant feeling of my victory4   
,each of these states is changed into   
its opposite1 so that the truly         
religious man lives at once in a free   
obedience and in an obedient liberty4   
,if religion has often been an          
oppressive power and an instrument of   
servitude1 it has been at least as often
 the mother of all the liberties4  ,the 
force which bows me down is that which  
also lifts me up1 for it passes into my 

soul4  ,the ,god that ,i adore comes in 
the end to be an inward ,god whose      
presence drives away all fear and places
 me beyond the reach of all the menaces 
of things4  ,the conscious realisation  
of this presence of ,god1--that is the  
true salvation of my being and my life4 
,i now understand why natural religion  
is not a religion4  ,it deprives man of 
prayer2 it leaves ,god and man at a     
distance from each other4  ,no intimate 
commerce1 no interior dialogue1 no      
exchange between them1 no action of ,god
 in man1 no return of man to ,god4  ,at 
bottom1 this pretended religion is      
nothing but philosophy4  ,it arises in  
periods of rationalism1 of criticism1 of
 impersonal reason1 and has never been  
anything but an abstraction4  ,the three
 dogmas in which it is summed up--the   
existence of ,god1 the immortality of   
the soul1 and the obligation of         
duty--are but the inorganic residue1 the
 caput mortuum1 found at the bottom of  
the crucible in which all positive      

religions are dissolved4  ,this natural 
religion1 so called1 is not found in    
,nature2 it is no more natural than it  
is religious4  ,a lifeless1 artificial  
creation1 it shows hardly any of the    
characteristic marks of a religion4     
,for the moment1 it may seem to have the
 advantage of escaping the attacks of   
scientific criticism4  ,on trial1 it is 
found to be less resistant than any     
other4  ,the self-same reason that      
constructed it destroys it1 and its     
dogmas are perhaps more compromised     
to-day in face of modern thought than   
those it professes to replace4          
,religion then is inward prayer and     
deliverance4  ,it is inherent in man and
 could only be torn from his heart by   
separating man from himself1 if ,i may  
so say1 and destroying that which       
constitutes humanity in him4 ,i am      
religious1 ,i repeat1 because ,i am a   
man1 and neither have the wish nor the  
power to separate myself from my kind4  
,,chapter ,,ii  ,,religion ,,and        

,,revelation  #a4 ,the ,mystery of the  
,religious ,life  ,thou wouldst not seek
 me hadst thou not already found me4    
,in this word that ,pascal heard amid   
his restless search1 the whole mystery  
of piety is disclosed4  ,if religion is 
the prayer of man1 it may be said that  
revelation is the response of ,god1 but 
only on condition that we add that this 
response is always1 in germ at least1 in
 the prayer itself4  ,this thought      
struck me like a flash of light4  ,it   
was the solution of a problem that had  
long appeared to me to be insoluble4  ,i
 had never read without a certain amount
 of doubt1 and as an oratorical         
exaggeration1 that promise made by      
,jesus to ,his disciples with so strange
 an assurance3 ,ask1 and it shall be    
given you3 seek1 and ye shall find3     
knock1 and it shall be opened unto you4 
,for every one that asketh1 receiveth3  
and he that seeketh findeth2 and to him 
that knocketh it shall be opened 7,matt 
vii4 #g1 #h74  ,jesus had experienced a 

truth of which ,i am only beginning to  
catch sight3 no prayer remains          
unanswered1 because ,god to whom it is  
addressed is the ,one who has already   
inspired it4  ,the search for ,god      
cannot be fruitless3 for1 the moment ,i 
set out to seek ,him1 ,he finds me and  
lays hold of me4  ,allow me to reflect a
 little longer on this mystery4  ,i seem
 as if ,i were listening to these gospel
 words and promises for the first time4 
,they sound in my ears like deep and    
solemn music which1 bearing to me the   
echo of the religiously active soul of  
,jesus1 brings succour to my own4  ,the 
religious life1 then1 is not a fixed    
state2 it is a movement of the soul1 it 
is a desire1 a need4  ,the love of      
truth1 is it not the principle of       
science8  ,to love truth above all      
things1 is not that in some way to be   
already in the truth8  ,the point of    
departure1 the inward beginning of a    
real righteousness1 is not this         
repentance1 that is to say the pain of  

not being righteous8  ,i understand now 
why the ,christ has made humility and   
confidence the sole conditions of       
entrance to ,his kingdom1 why ,his ,word
 has made riches spring from poverty1   
health from sickness1 and satisfaction  
from the very intensity of need4 ,secret
 of the gospel1 mysterious laws of      
spirit1 pure moral essence of the       
kingdom of ,god1 paradoxes which        
disconcert the man immersed in the ideas
 of the life of sense and self1 but     
which contain the highest realities of  
moral life1 reveal yourselves with      
ever-growing clearness to my            
consciousness1 since1 for me1 on this   
first revelation all the rest depend6   
,i turn to another thought of ,pascal4  
,piety1 he says1 is ,god sensible to the
 heart4  ,if so1 it is evident that in  
all piety there is some positive        
manifestation of ,god4  ,the ideas of   
religion and revelation are therefore   
correlative and religiously inseparable4
 ,religion is simply the subjective     

revelation of ,god in man1 and          
revelation is religion objective in     
,god4  ,it is the relation of subject   
and object1 of effect and cause1        
organically united2 it is one and the   
same psychological phenomenon1 which can
 neither subsist nor be produced save by
 their conjunction4  ,it is as          
impossible to isolate as it is to       
confound them4  ,i conceive therefore   
that revelation is as universal as      
religion itself1 that it descends as    
low1 goes as far1 ascends as high1 and  
accompanies it always4  ,no form of     
piety is empty2 no religion is          
absolutely false2 no prayer is vain4    
,once more1 revelation is in prayer and 
progresses with prayer4  ,from a        
revelation obtained in a first prayer is
 born a purer prayer1 and from this a   
higher revelation4 ,thus light grows    
with life1 truth with piety4  ,this     
makes it possible for me to enter into  
communion and sympathy with all         
sincerely religious souls1 however      

simple and however crude or gross their 
worship and their faith2 but if ,i can  
comprehend them1 ,i cannot always speak 
their language or share their ideas4    
,all religions are not equally good1 nor
 are all prayers acceptable to my       
consciousness4  ,to return to exploded  
superstitions or to beliefs now         
recognised to be illusory is as much a  
moral impossibility as it would be for a
 full-grown man to return to the        
puerilities of his childhood4           
,revelation therefore is not a          
communication once for all of immutable 
doctrines which only need to be held    
fast4  ,the object of the revelation of 
,god can only be ,god ,himself1 and if a
 definition must be given of it1 it may 
be said to consist of the creation1 the 
purification1 and the progressive       
clearness of the consciousness of ,god  
in man1--in the individual and in the   
race4  ,from this point of view1 ,i see 
very clearly that the revelation of ,god
 never needs to be proved to any one4   

,the attempt would be as contradictory  
as it is superfluous4  ,two things are  
equally impossible3 for an irreligious  
man to discover a divine revelation in a
 faith he does not share1 or for a truly
 pious man not to find one in the       
religion he has espoused and which lives
 in his heart4  ,with what1 moreover1   
and how could it be proved that light   
shines except by forcing those who are  
asleep to awake and open their eyes8    
,all serious ,apologetics must insist as
 a necessary starting-point on the      
awakening and conversion of the soul4   
,having always been religious1 mankind  
has never been destitute of revelation1 
that is to say of witness more or less  
obscure1 more or less correctly         
interpreted1 of the presence in it and  
the action of ,god4  ,but if men have   
always maintained some relation and some
 commerce with the deity1 they have not 
always represented in the same manner   
the mode in which communications have   
been received from ,him4  ,the notion of

 revelation has progressed with the     
growth of mental enlightenment and with 
the nature of the piety4  ,it is        
therefore necessary to criticise that   
notion and to see what it has now become
 for us4  ,it is to this examination    
that ,i shall devote this second        
meditation4  ,the idea of revelation has
 passed through three phases in the     
course of history3 the mythological1 the
 dogmatic1 and the critical4   #b4 ,the 
,mythological ,notion of ,revelation    
,among the faculties of man1 the first  
to awaken in the mental life of the     
child and of the savage is the          
imagination4  ,all literatures begin    
with chants1 all histories with legends1
 and all religions with myths or        
symbols4  ,poetry always makes its      
appearance before prose4  ,one can only 
see the effect of an inveterate         
rationalism in the promptitude with     
which men are scandalised at any attempt
 to point out in the ,bible or around   
the cradle of ,christianity legends and 

myths serving as sacred vehicles for the
 purest and sublimest religious         
revelations1 as if the divine ,spirit1  
in order to be intelligible to the      
simple and the ignorant1 could not as   
well avail ,himself of the fictions of  
poetry as of logical reasonings1 of the 
chants of the angels at ,bethlehem as of
 the rabbinical exegesis and            
argumentations of the ,apostle ,paul4   
,a myth is false in appearance only4    
,when the heart was pure and sincere the
 veils of fable always allowed the face 
of truth to shine through4  ,and why so 
much disdain8  ,does not childhood run  
on into maturity and old age8  ,what are
 our most abstract ideas but primitive  
metaphors which have been worn and      
thinned by usage and reflection8  ,it is
 none the less true1 as ,st4 ,paul says1
 that in advancing in age we have left  
behind the speech and thought of        
infancy4  ,the first men did not know   
how to distinguish between the substance
 and the form of their beliefs4  ,this  

distinction has become easy to us4  ,the
 most conservative minds can no longer  
read the stories or the monuments of the
 ancient religions without criticising  
and translating them4  ,the men of other
 times1 timid and ingenuous as children1
 saw everywhere material signs by which 
they believed the will of the gods was  
manifested4  ,they early formed the art 
of divination--an essentially religious 
art4  ,it is found among all peoples1   
the ancient ,hebrews not excepted4  ,the
 thunder was to them the voice of ,god4 
,they consulted ,him by the ,urim and   
,thummim1 and by the sacred ephod4      
,they did not doubt1 any more than the  
,greeks1 either the divine origin or the
 prophetic sense of dreams4  ,elsewhere 
they evoked the dead1 they interrogated 
the flight of birds1 they listened to   
the sound of the wind in the foliage of 
the oaks1 or to the noise of waters in  
sonorous caverns4  ,that was an external
 and1 in some sort1 physical conception 
of revelation1 from which modern peoples

 have escaped1 but with which all set   
out4  ,in the oldest traditions of      
,hebraism1 ,god speaks to ,adam1 to     
,noah1 to ,abraham1 to ,moses1 as one   
man speaks to another1 by articulate    
sounds perceived by the ear4  ,the      
sacred formula1 ,thus saith the ,lord1  
serves as the uniform introduction to   
civil1 political1 and ritual1 as well as
 to moral and religious1 laws4          
,religion then embraced and regulated   
all the life4  ,the great empires of    
antiquity all claim a divine origin4    
,as to ancient legislations1 there is   
not one that is not said to have come   
from heaven4  ,the ,egyptians refer     
theirs to the god ,thoth or ,hermes2    
,minos1 in ,crete1 is said to have      
received his laws from ,jupiter2        
,lycurgus1 in ,sparta1 from ,apollo2    
,zoroaster1 in ,persia1 from ,ahura     
,mazda2 ,numa ,pompilius1 at ,rome1 from
 the nymph ,egeria4 ,moses does not     
stand alone4  ,i am not here comparing  
the value of the things2 ,i am simply   

pointing out the identity of the        
representations4  ,nor was it only      
religious and political institutions    
that they referred to the will of the   
gods2 they referred to it all kinds of  
decisions and enterprises2 declarations 
of war1 raids to make1 the order of     
battle1 the extermination of the        
vanquished1 the sharing of the spoils1  
conditions of peace1 expiations to be   
made2 everything was done in obedience  
to supernatural orders the authenticity 
of which no one thought of discussing4  
,in the same way1 a divine inspiration  
explained the gift of predicting the    
future1 the eloquence of orators1 the   
sagacity of statesmen1 the genius of    
great soldiers1 the verve of poets1 and 
even the skill of the more famous       
artisans4  ,legends6 it is said4  ,no   
doubt4  ,but these legends are          
universal4  ,men speak everywhere the   
same language1 because everywhere they  
think in the same fashion4  ,a great    
progress1 however1 is accomplished in   

,israel4  ,the notion of revelation     
gradually becomes interior and moral4   
,among the prophets1 revelation is      
conceived of as the action of the       
,spirit of ,jehovah entering and acting 
in the spirit of man4  ,it is true that 
the mythical conception still persists  
and betrays itself in this3 divine      
inspiration is represented as the       
invasion of a human being by another    
being alien to him1--as a sort of mental
 alienation or possession4  ,the divine 
,spirit is represented as a force which 
comes from without1 a wind from above   
which no one can resist1 of which the   
elect are as much the victims as the    
organs4  ,its action is measured by the 
agitation and commotion of the inspired1
 by the disorder of their faculties1 by 
the incoherence of their gestures and   
their speech4  ,the delirium of man     
becomes the sign of the presence of     
,god4  ,madmen1 valetudinarians1        
epileptics1 are regarded almost         
everywhere as the favourites of ,heaven4

 ,their strange words or acts men       
believe to be divine oracles delivered  
unconsciously and against the will4     
,this violent opposition between the    
supernatural action of the divine       
,spirit and the normal exercise of      
rational faculties is gradually         
attenuated in the course of the ages4   
,it is easy to see that in the great    
prophets of ,israel the formula ,thus   
saith the ,lord1 while still frequent   
and still expressing the same subjective
 certitude of inspiration1 has become a 
simple rhetorical form4  ,god speaks    
henceforth to ,his people by their      
eloquence1 by their faith1 by their     
genius4  ,the ,spirit of the ,lord ,god 
is upon me1 cries the second ,isaiah2   
because the ,lord hath anointed me to   
preach good tidings to the meek1 etc4   
7,is4 lxi4 #a-c74  ,this evolution      
appears to have been completed in the   
soul of ,christ4 ,here inspiration      
ceases to be miraculous without ceasing 
to be supernatural4  ,it is no longer   

produced by fits and starts or          
intermittently4  ,an ancient gospel     
7,the ,gospel of the ,hebrews7 admirably
 marks this change4  ,at the moment of  
,his baptism the ,holy ,spirit says to  
,jesus3 ,mi fili1 te exspectabam in     
omnibus prophetis1 ut venires et        
requiescerem in te4  ,tu enim es requies
 mea4  7,my ,son1 in all the prophets ,i
 awaited ,thy coming in order that ,i   
might repose in ,thee4  ,thou art indeed
 my rest47  ,being continuous1 the      
inspiration becomes normal4  ,the       
ancient conflict between the divine     
,spirit and the human vanishes4  ,the   
immanent and constant action of the one 
manifests itself in the regular and     
fruitful action of the other4  ,god     
lives and works in man1 man lives and   
works in ,god4  ,religion and ,nature1  
the voice divine and the voice of       
conscience1 the subject and the object  
of revelation1 penetrate each other and 
become one4  ,the supreme revelation of 
,god shines forth in the highest of all 

consciousnesses and the loveliest of    
human lives4  ,this progress1 is it not 
admirable8  ,should it not strike the   
attention all the more inasmuch as1     
instead of being the effect of rational 
criticism1 it is1 in ,christianity1     
exclusively the work of piety8 ,this1   
become more profound1 has conquered the 
ancient antithesis created by the       
ignorance of early times4  ,divesting   
itself more and more of foreign and     
inferior elements1 the idea of          
revelation has been found to be more    
human as it has become more inward1 more
 constant1 more strictly moral and      
religious4  ,christ has not given us a  
critical theory of revelation2 ,he has  
done what is better2 ,he has given us   
revelation itself--a perfect and        
permanent revelation2 ,he presents ,god 
and man to us so intimately united in   
all the acts and moments of ,his inner  
life1 that they become inseparable4     
,the ,father acts in ,his ,son1 and the 
,son reveals the ,father to all who wish

 to know ,him4  ,though he still        
retained many remnants of the ancient   
mythological notion 7visions1 dreams1   
ecstasies1 delirium of tongues71 the    
,apostle ,paul seized with energy the   
distinguishing characteristic of the    
,christian revelation1 and propounded   
the theory of it with a sacred boldness4
  ,that theory consists in the effusion 
and habitation of the ,holy ,spirit in  
the souls of ,christians who1 in their  
turn1 become children of ,god1 and      
enjoy1 by this ,spirit1 the same direct 
and permanent communion with the        
,father4  ,this ,spirit is no longer an 
alien guest or a perturbing force2 ,he  
becomes in us a second nature4  ,that is
 why the ,christian is set free from all
 the old tutelages2 he judges everything
 and is judged by nothing2 he has his   
law within himself1 so that from this   
inspiration springs his autonomy and his
 liberty4  ,but neither this spiritual  
piety nor the lofty conception which    
flows from it could long be sustained4  

,preoccupied in founding its authority1 
and only being able to succeed in it by 
returning to the idea of an external    
revelation1 the ,catholic ,church made  
it to consist chiefly in rules and      
dogmas1 and1 by this change1 it         
naturally transformed the mythological  
notion of revelation into a dogmatic    
notion not essentially different4   #c4 
,dogmatic ,notion  ,the ,greeks1 said   
,paul1 seek philosophy2 the ,jews demand
 miracles4 ,from these two tendencies   
combined1 from ,greek rationalism and   
,hebrew supernaturalism1 sprang the new 
notion that may be summed up and defined
 thus3 a divine doctrine legitimated by 
divine signs or miracles4  ,these two   
elements of the theory are mutually     
dependent1 and form an indivisible      
whole4  ,given to man in a supernatural 
way1 the doctrine surpasses the reach of
 the human understanding2 hence it must 
not be imposed upon the mind by its own 
evidence or examined by natural reason4 
,the supernatural doctrine demands      

supernatural proof4  ,this proof can    
only be found in the miracles which have
 accompanied the doctrine from its      
birth4  ,thus mysteries1                
incomprehensible in the order of reason1
 will necessarily be established by     
inexplicable events in the order of     
,nature4  ,the theory1 in this way1     
becomes coherent1 but it is not         
complete4  ,a third term must be added4 
,the divine doctrine must be embodied in
 a form which distinguishes it from all 
others1 and placed under an authority   
that guarantees it4  ,for               
,protestantism1 the form and the        
authority of revelation is--the ,bible2 
for ,catholicism1 it is the ,bible      
sovereignly interpreted by the ,church4 
,the scholastic notion of revelation is 
now complete4  ,the doctors teach us to 
distinguish three things in it3 the     
object1 which is dogma2 the form1 which 
is ,scripture2 and the proof or         
criterion1 which is miracle4  ,this     
construction appears to be compact in   

all its parts2 in reality it is so      
fragile and so artificial that it       
crumbles at a touch4  ,to make of dogma1
 that is to say of an intellectual      
datum1 the object of revelation is1 in  
the first place1 to eliminate from it   
its religious character by separating it
 from piety1 and in the next place it is
 to place it in permanent and           
irreconcilable conflict with the reason1
 which is always progressing4  ,in vain 
do they appear to deduce this scholastic
 theory from the ,bible2 it is simply an
 unfaithful translation of the ,biblical
 notion4  ,they tear up from the soil of
 the religious life the revelation of   
,god in order to constitute it into a   
body of supernatural verities1          
subsisting by itself1 to which they make
 it an obligation and a merit to adhere1
 silencing1 if needs be1 both the       
judgment and the conscience4  ,faith1   
which1 in the ,bible1 was an act of     
confidence and consecration to ,god1    
becomes an intellectual adherence to an 

historical testimony or to a doctrinal  
formula4  ,a mortal dualism starts up in
 religion4  ,it is admitted that        
orthodoxy may exist apart from piety1   
that a man may obtain and possess the   
object of faith apart from the          
conditions that faith presupposes1 and1 
at a push1 serve divine truth while     
inwardly an unbeliever and a reprobate4 
,get rid of this illusion1 frivolous and
 irreligious man6 ,whatever your        
authorities in earth or heaven1 you are 
not in the truth1 because you are not in
 piety4  ,god has not spoken anything to
 you4  ,to the prophets ,he has spoken1 
doubtless1 and to ,christ and the       
apostles and the saints2 to you ,he     
still remains a stranger and unknown4   
,his revelation has not been to you a   
light1 for you are walking in darkness4 
,you are like the ,jews who built the   
tombs of the prophets and crowned their 
memory with empty honours4  ,had you    
been living in the time of the men of   
,god1 you would have been the first to  

stone them4  ,this idea of revelation is
 at bottom entirely pagan4  ,in the     
region of authentic ,christianity you   
cannot separate the revealing act of    
,god from ,his redeeming and sanctifying
 action4  ,god does not enlighten1 on   
the contrary ,he blinds those whom ,he  
does not save or sanctify4  ,let us     
boldly conclude1 therefore1 against all 
traditional orthodoxies1 that the object
 of the revelation of ,god could only be
 ,god ,himself1 that is to say the sense
 of ,his presence in us1 awakening our  
soul to the life of righteousness and   
love4  ,when the word of ,god does not  
give us life1 it gives us nothing4  ,it 
is true that that presence and that     
action of the divine ,spirit in our     
hearts become in them a light whose rays
 illumine all the faculties of the soul4
  ,but do not hope to enjoy that light  
apart from the central sun from which it
 flows4  ,the scholastic notion is not  
only irreligious2 it is                 
anti-psychological4  ,in entering the   

human understanding this supernatural   
knowledge introduces into it a hopeless 
dualism4  ,the sacred sciences are set  
up alongside the profane sciences       
without its being possible to organise  
them together into a coherent and       
harmonious body1 for they are not of the
 same nature1 they do not proceed from  
the same method1 they do not accept the 
same control4  ,you have thus a sacred  
cosmogony and a profane cosmogony1 a    
sacred history of the origins of man and
 a purely human history of his          
beginnings1 and of his first adventures1
 a divine metaphysic and another purely 
rational4  ,how to make them live       
together and unite them8  ,if1 by a     
subtle theology1 you succeed in         
rationalising dogma1 do you not see that
 you destroy it in its very essence8    
,if you demonstrate that it is          
essentially irrational1 do you not feel 
that you are instituting an endless     
warfare between the authority of dogma  
and the authority of reason8  ,one      

remembers the generous attempt of       
mediaeval scholasticism1 taken up again 
by the ,protestant theologians of the   
seventeenth century1 and one has not    
forgotten its twice fatal issue4  ,one  
would need to have no notion of the laws
 of human thought to be astonished at   
it4  ,nominalism in the fifteenth       
century and rationalism in the          
eighteenth were the two natural heirs of
 orthodoxy4  ,the intervention of       
miracle as a criterion or proof of      
doctrine does not remove the            
difficulties of the theory2 it          
multiplies and aggravates them4  ,in    
consequence of the lapse of time1 the   
incertitude of the documents1 and the   
demands of modern thought1 miracle1     
which formerly established the truth of 
religion1 has become much more difficult
 to demonstrate than religion itself4   
,the relation between the two has been  
reversed4  ,the foundation of the       
edifice has become more ruinous than the
 building4  ,examples8  ,consider1 then1

 on the one hand1 the ,decalogue1 and on
 the other the thunders and lightnings  
of ,sinai4 ,peals of thunder may have   
served to convince the ,hebrews that the
 law of ,moses came from the ,eternal2  
for they looked upon thunder as         
revealing the presence1 in some sort    
material and local1 of their ,god4 ,but 
who does not see that it is much easier 
to-day to prove the excellence and the  
truth of the ,ten ,words of the ,law    
than the divine character of the most   
terrible of tempests8  ,make the        
opposite experiment3 you are familiar   
with the ,books of ,joshua1 ,judges1    
,kings4 ,you have read in them those    
orders issued by ,jehovah for the total 
extermination of peoples whose crime was
 the defence of their country against   
the invaders4  ,prodigies abound in     
them3 the walls of ,jericho fall down at
 the sound of trumpets1 etc41 etc4  ,are
 these events sufficient to warrant us  
in admitting the affirmation of the     
,hebrew historian that these terrible   

reprisals1 these crimes and violences1  
which were then common in all the       
,semitic tribes1 were commanded either  
by the heavenly ,father of ,jesus       
,christ or by the impartial ,god of the 
universe8  ,our conscience resists and  
protests4  ,prodigies the most brilliant
 cannot make it do violence to itself or
 bend the law of righteousness and love 
beneath any manifestation1 however      
striking1 of brute force4  ,let us go   
further2 let us come to the miracles of 
,christ4 ,let us interrogate the best   
,christians of our time3 let us ask     
ourselves1 ,is it the cures that ,jesus 
wrought which make us believe to-day in 
the divine truth of ,his word or which  
give authority to the ,sermon on the    
,mount8  ,is it not rather the ,gospel  
that helps us to believe in the miracles
 by persuading us that a man who spake  
like this man must have been able to do 
things and work works as beautiful and  
as wonderful as the words which ,he     
spoke8  ,the most conservative          

,apologists of the traditional school   
confess to-day that miracle has lost its
 evidential force2 it might move those  
who witnessed it1 but its action and its
 prestige have necessarily been         
diminishing day by day for the          
generations which have followed them4   
,what if we were to press the idea of   
miracle itself which is in process of   
vanishing in proportion as the idea of  
,nature is transformed8  ,what is       
,nature8  ,who knows its secrets and its
 limits8  ,the theory of the evolution  
of things and beings1 does it not show  
,nature to us as in travail1 and as if  
perpetually giving birth to marvels8    
,and if this creative energy which is in
 it can only religiously be referred to 
the constant activity of ,god in the    
universe and in history1 how can we     
still oppose the laws of ,nature to the 
will of ,god8  ,moreover1 nothing is    
to-day more indeterminate1 more         
impossible to define than the notion of 
miracle2 it floats without ever being   

able to fix itself1 between the idea of 
an absolute violation of the laws of    
,nature now no longer witnessed         
anywhere1 to that entirely relative one 
of an extraordinary event1 which1 seeing
 that it may be encountered everywhere1 
no longer proves anything4  ,lastly1 if 
from the object and the criterion of    
revelation1 we pass to the form which   
conserves and warrants it1 i4e4 to the  
,bible1 questions become still more     
numerous and insoluble4  ,in the        
seventeenth century the notion of the   
,bible and that of revelation were      
coincident and commensurate4  ,but this 
identity depended upon two dogmas much  
impaired to-day4  ,the one was the      
divine origin of the two ,biblical      
,canons1 i4e4 of the ,old and ,new      
,testaments3 the other1 the verbal      
inspiration of all holy ,scripture1     
considered as divinely dictated4        
,history and exegesis have dissipated   
the illusions and the ignorance on which
 these two strange affirmations rested4 

,the ,bible appears to us as the work1  
slowly and laboriously constructed1 of  
the ancient ,jewish ,synagogue1 and of  
the ,early ,christian ,church4  ,it     
needed more than four centuries to      
establish and to delimitate the ,new    
,testament4  ,the books which compose it
 were still in the time of ,eusebius    
divided into two classes3 books admitted
 everywhere and books contested4  ,why  
then should we not have the same liberty
 as ,origen of doubting the authenticity
 of #b ,peter1 e4g41 or as ,denis of    
,alexandria in discussing the apostolic 
origin of the ,apocalypse8  ,as to the  
theory of verbal inspiration1 which     
makes the sacred writers ,god's penmen  
merely1 no savant nowadays can defend   
it1 so thoroughly have biblical studies 
set forth the personal originality of   
each of them1 and the merits or the     
imperfections of their works4           
,moreover1 the distinction clearly made 
in all the schools between the sacred   
writings and revelation must be         

considered as an inalienable conquest of
 modern theology4  ,there is no one now 
who does not admit this truth1 which    
would have seemed intolerable to our    
fathers1 namely1 that the word of ,god  
is in the ,bible1 but that all the      
,bible is not the word of ,god4  ,if    
this be so one sees new questions       
surging up and awaiting solution4 ,what 
is the relation of the word of ,god to  
the ,bible8  ,by what sign may we       
recognise the first and distinguish the 
second8  ,further1 if there be any word 
of ,god outside the ,bible1 if there has
 been any revelation of ,god beyond the 
limits of the ,hebrew people and        
primitive ,christianity--and how can we 
deny this without denying the worth of  
religion8--what relation is there to    
establish1 and what synthesis to make1  
between the biblical revelation and the 
other revelations suited to the various 
human families8  ,lastly1 what place    
does the religion of ,jesus occupy in   
the religious evolution of humanity8    

,modern theology seems deaf to these    
questions4  ,despairing of a solution1  
it hesitates to approach them4  ,but    
they must be answered4  ,contemporary   
philosophy presses them upon the        
conscience of ,christians4  ,the        
scholastic theory1 it is clear1 cannot  
bring any solution to these new         
problems4  ,as soon as the distinction  
is made in our consciousness between the
 word of ,god and the letter of holy    
,scripture1 the first becomes           
independent of all human form and of all
 external guarantee4  ,it is with it as 
with the light of the sun4  ,it is only 
recognised by the brightness with which 
it floods us4  ,but take care to        
introduce this criterion of religious   
and moral evidence into the scholastic  
theory is to deposit an explosive in the
 heart of it which shatters it to       
atoms4444  ,i leave to others the task  
of masking or repairing the ruins4  ,a  
task more urgent and more fruitful      
awaits us4  ,we must build up1 on a new 

principle1 a new theory of revelation1 a
 theory that will at once bear the test 
of criticism and give satisfaction to   
piety4   #d4 ,psychological ,notion  ,to
 return to psychology4  ,in all piety   
there is some positive manifestation of 
,god4  ,otherwise1 one might question   
the value of religious phenomena4       
,three consequences follow3 the         
revelation of ,god will be evident1     
interior1 progressive4  ,it will be     
interior1 because ,god1 not having      
phenomenal existence1 can only reveal   
,himself to spirit1 and in the piety    
that ,he ,himself inspires4  ,if        
revealers and prophets believed they    
heard the voice of ,god outside         
themselves they were the victims of a   
psychological illusion that analysis    
discerns and dissipates4  ,the old      
theologian was right who said3  ,nulla  
fides si non primum ,deus ipse loquitur2
 ,nulla que verba ,dei nisi quae in     
penetralibus audit ,ipsa fides4#a  ,this
 interior revelation is only made1 it is

 true1 in connection with some external 
event of ,nature or of ,history4  ,if   
wonder is the beginning of philosophy it
 is also the commencement of piety4     
,religious emotion does not spring up by
 chance and unconditionally4  ,but      
external signs are only revealers for   
those who know how to comprehend them1  
and who are able to interpret them in a 
religious sense4  ,that is why the      
distinction sometimes made between the  
manifestation of ,god in things and     
divine inspiration in consciousness1    
between the sign or external miracle and
 the inward word1 is of little worth    
except for pedagogic purposes4  ,the    
manifestation of ,god in ,nature or in  
,history is always a matter of faith4   
,it would only appear to be such in the 
light on the hearth of consciousness4   
,put out that inner light and everything
 speedily becomes obscure3 ,if the light
 that is in thee be darkness1 there will
 be darkness round about thee1 says     
,jesus4  ,to the deaf man the universe  

is mute4  ,the starry heavens which bent
 the pensive brows of ,newton and of    
,kant before the majesty of ,god1 said  
nothing to ,laplace4 ,lit up within1 the
 soul of ,christ saw everywhere the     
signs of ,god4 ,caiaphas saw none4  ,in 
the cross of ,jesus1 where ,st4 ,paul   
discerned the manifestation of the      
wisdom and the power of ,god1 the       
,pharisees had only seen the crushing   
proof that this ,messiah was a mere     
impostor4   #a ,there is no faith save  
in the heart where ,god has first made  
,himself heard1 and there are no divine 
words except those which faith hears in 
the inmost sanctuary of the soul4       
,this inward revelation will be also    
evident4  ,the contrary would imply a   
contradiction4  ,he who says revelation 
says the veil withdrawn1 the light come4
  ,true1 the word mystery is often on   
the lips of ,jesus1 and in the writings 
of the ,new ,testament2 but1 when       
applied to the essence of the ,gospel it
 never has the meaning which is given to

 it later in the language of theology4  
,the mystery of which ,jesus1 ,paul1 and
 the ,apostles speak is a revealed      
mystery1 i4e4 a mystery which has become
 evident to pure hearts and pious souls 
through the public preaching of it4     
,the ,gospel is not obscurity2 it is    
daylight1 and it is nonsense to demand a
 criterion of evangelical revelation    
other than itself1 any other evidence1  
i4e41 than its own truth1 beauty1 and   
efficiency4  ,lastly1 this revelation   
will be progressive4  ,it will be       
developed with the progress of the moral
 and religious life which ,god begets   
and nourishes in the bosom of humanity4 
,the word of ,god is not that of a poor 
human founder who formulates in abstract
 terms ideas which are but the pale     
shadows of things4  ,it is essentially  
creative4  ,it carries with it all the  
substance of being and all the potency  
of life4  ,it realises that which it    
proclaims1 and never manifests itself   
except by its works4  ,when ,god wished 

to give the ,decalogue to ,israel1 ,he  
did not write with ,his finger on tables
 of stone2 ,he raised up ,moses1 and    
from the consciousness of ,moses the    
,decalogue sprang4  ,in order that we   
might have the ,epistle to the ,romans1 
there was no need to dictate it to the  
,apostle2 ,god had only to create the   
powerful individuality of ,saul of      
,tarsus1 well knowing that when once the
 tree was made the fruit would follow in
 due course4  ,the same with the        
,gospel2 ,he did not drop it from the   
sky2 ,he did not send it by an angel2   
,he caused ,jesus to be born from the   
very bosom of the human race1 and ,jesus
 gave us the ,gospel that had blossomed 
in ,his inmost heart4  ,thus ,god       
reveals ,himself in the great           
consciousnesses that ,his ,spirit       
raises1 fills1 illumines one by one2    
they form a sacred theory through the   
ages and leave on history a track of    
light which brightens1 broadens to the  
perfect day4  ,a new and graver problem 

here arises4  ,this revelation1 made in 
the depths of the human soul1 remains   
individual and subjective4  ,how will it
 become objective and concrete8  ,how   
will it be made an educating1 saving    
power8  ,this problem would be insoluble
 if ,leibniz was right1 if human souls  
were independent monads1 closed against 
and impenetrable to one another1 if it  
had been necessary1 in a word1 to regard
 them as absolute entities1 posited from
 the beginning by the ,creator4  ,but   
they are nothing of the kind4  ,social  
philosophy has sufficiently demonstrated
 that no individual exists either by    
himself or for himself alone4  ,in each 
man it is humanity that is              
realised--that is to say1 a moral life  
common to all4  ,moral goods are in     
essence universal4  ,they do not exist1 
doubtless1 apart from the consciousness 
of the individual2 but no consciousness 
acquires them without acquiring them1 in
 principle at least1 for all others4    
,whence comes that religious kinship of 

souls1 that facility of communion       
between them1 and that infinite         
extension and prolongation of one and   
the same inspiration1 if not from the   
presence in each of the same indwelling 
,god8  ,men are only divided by their   
external idols4  ,in proportion as they 
plumb their being and descend into the  
depths of their spiritual nature1 they  
discover the same altar1 recite the same
 prayer1 aspire to the same end4  ,it is
 for this profound reason that          
individual revelations become universal4
  ,there are only prophets chosen of    
,god because there is a general vocation
 and election of all men4  ,if humanity 
were not potentially and in some degree 
an ,immanuel 7,god with us71 there would
 never have issued from its bosom ,him  
who bore and revealed this blessed name4
  ,the religious experience ,he passed  
through1 ,he passed through for us2 the 
victory ,he won was for our advantage   
and is repeated indefinitely in every   
sincere soul that joins itself to ,him  

to live ,his life4  ,thus the revelation
 of ,god given at one point and in one  
consciousness infallibly shines forth1  
perpetuates and multiplies itself4  ,a  
vibration set up in a soul resounds in  
kindred souls4  ,an illumined           
consciousness illuminates in turn4      
,there are religious filiations1 just as
 there are historical genealogies4      
,thus the inner revelation becomes      
consistent and objective in history2 it 
forms a chain1 a continuous tradition1  
and becoming incarnate in each human    
generation1 remains not only the richest
 of heritages1 but the most fecund of   
historical powers4  ,one step more4     
,let us follow this historical          
incarnation of religious tradition into 
its most material form4  ,the inner     
experiences of men of ,god and the      
witness of them that they give to the   
world1 express themselves naturally in  
speech1 and this in its turn is         
transformed into ,scripture4  ,it is in 
this way that in all civilised religions

 divine revelation is presented to man  
in the form of a sacred writing2        
everywhere it is gathered into          
collections of sacred books which have  
been called the bibles of humanity4     
,while all these have been born         
according to the same psychological and 
historical laws1 it does not follow that
 they have all the same value1 or that  
an unintelligent syncretism has the     
right to mix together the various       
elements in them to make of them one    
common and characterless ,bible4  ,no2  
each of them naturally belongs to a     
particular stage in the ladder of divine
 revelations1 and there we must leave   
them4  ,the highest will always be that 
which contains the deepest and purest   
expression of inward religion1 and      
consequently offers to man the most     
precious treasure4 ,the rank of the     
,hebrew and ,christian ,bible is thus   
found to be logically determined by the 
moral worth of the ,hebrew and the      
,christian religions4  ,but in leaving  

historical criticism and religious      
experience to make here the necessary   
demonstration and render it daily more  
evident1 we must once more call to mind 
the always human conditions of these    
written collections1 of those at the top
 as well as those at the bottom of the  
ladder1 conditions which forbid us ever 
to identify the letter and the spirit1  
the divine inspiration and the          
particular form in which it has been    
clothed4  ,god1 wishing to speak to us1 
has never chosen any but human organs4  
,with whatever inspiration ,he has      
endowed them1 that inspiration has      
always therefore passed through human   
subjectivity2 it has only been able     
either to express or to translate itself
 in the language and the turn of mind of
 a particular individual and of a       
particular time4  ,now1 no individual   
and historical form can be absolute4    
,if the contents are divine1 the vessel 
is always earthen4  ,the organ of the   
revelation of ,god necessarily limits   

it4  ,it must of necessity accommodate  
itself to the limits of human           
receptivity4  ,how could it possibly    
enter and mingle with the changing waves
 of the intellectual and moral life of  
humanity unless it flowed in the bed of 
the river and between its banks8        
,however incontestable this historical  
complexity of the divine and human      
elements in religion1 most men seem     
incapable of comprehending it1 and of   
frankly accepting it4  ,men of little   
faith1 we feel ourselves lost the moment
 men take from us the illusion that we  
ever have before us and outside of us   
the divine revelation in an objective   
and unadulterated form1 when alongside  
authority and tradition they make a     
place for the freedom and the           
interpretation of consciousness4 ,is    
there then some chemistry by which we   
can separate that which ,god has joined 
so indissolubly8  ,has life ever been   
seen apart from living beings or light  
apart from luminous vibrations8  ,why   

not make an effort to see that the      
wisdom of ,god is infinitely greater    
than our own1 and that what ,he has     
given us is better than that of which we
 dreamed4 ,life and light1 even if they 
are not absolute1 propagate themselves  
with none the less force4  ,lastly1 what
 is the criterion by which you may      
recognise an authentic revelation of    
,god in the books you read1 in the      
things you are taught8 ,listen3 only one
 criterion is sufficient and infallible3
 every divine revelation1 every         
religious experience fit to nourish and 
sustain your soul1 must be able to      
repeat and continue itself as an actual 
revelation and an individual experience 
in your own consciousness4 ,what cannot 
enter thus as a permanent and           
constituent element into the woof of    
your inner life1 to enrich1 enfranchise1
 and transform it into a higher life1   
cannot be for you a light1 or1          
consequently1 a divine revelation4  ,the
 spirit of life is not there4  ,do not  

believe that the prophets and founders  
have transmitted to you their experience
 in order to make yours needless1 or    
that their revelation has been brought  
to you in a book for you to receive     
passively and as if it were an alien    
thing4  ,religious truth cannot be      
borrowed like money1 or1 rather1 if you 
do so borrow it you are none the richer4
  ,remember what the ,samaritans said to
 the woman3 ,now we believe1 not because
 of thy saying3 for we have heard ,him  
ourselves1 and know that this is indeed 
the ,christ1 the ,saviour of the world  
7,john iv4 #db74  ,thus the divine      
revelation which is not realised in us1 
and does not become immediate1 does not 
exist for us4  ,and ,i admire the       
counsel of ,god1 ,who1 wishing to raise 
man into liberty1 did not give to him an
 objective revelation which would have  
become to him a yoke of bondage4  ,the  
aim of tradition is liberty1 and liberty
 returns lovingly to tradition when1    
instead of finding it a yoke1 it sees in

 it only a help1 an aliment1 a guide4   
#e4 ,conclusion  ,such1 in its          
principle1 and with all its             
consequences1 is the new idea of        
revelation given to us by psychology and
 history4  ,before it vanish the        
insoluble antitheses and conflicts      
raised by scholasticism between         
supernatural and natural revelation1    
between what the theologians call       
immediate and mediate1 between a        
universal and a special revelation4     
,synthesis is made1 and peace is        
re-established4  ,there is not and could
 never have been two revelations        
different in nature and opposed to each 
other4  ,revelation is one1 in different
 forms and various degrees4  ,it is at  
once supernatural and natural3          
supernatural by the cause which         
engenders it in souls1 and which1 always
 remaining invisible and transcendent1  
never exhausts or imprisons itself in   
the phenomena it produces2 natural1 by  
its effects1 because1 realising itself  

in history1 it always appears therein   
conditioned by the historical           
environment and by the common laws which
 regulate the human mind4  ,this        
revelation also is immediate for all1   
for the least in the kingdom of heaven1 
as for the greatest of the prophets2 for
 ,god desires to admit them all into    
direct and personal communion with      
,himself2 and it is equally mediate for 
all2 for it comes to none1 whether      
prophets or their disciples1            
unconditionally1 and without previous   
preparation4  ,lastly1 it is not less   
false and futile to oppose universal    
revelation to particular revelations as 
two exclusive quantities4  ,particular  
revelations enter into general          
revelation as varieties into species4   
,every special revelation1 if it be     
really from ,god1 is human1 and tends to
 become universal2 every general        
revelation was once individual1 for it  
could only have been made in an         
individuality4  ,among the men and      

peoples chosen by ,god as organs there  
is inequality in gifts but solidarity in
 the common work4  ,we must not mistake 
the one or the other4  ,the religious   
vocation of humanity does not           
exclude--it prepares and supports--the  
particular vocation of ,israel4  ,in    
this national vocation there is a place 
for that of the prophets1 and1 among the
 prophets1 for the vocation of ,him who 
was their heir1 and in ,whom the        
revelation of ,god was completed1       
because in ,his consciousness was       
realised perfectly the very idea of     
piety4  ,is everything explained in     
religion1 then1 and nothing left        
obscure8 ,far from that6  ,there remains
 the ground from which emerges the      
conscious and moral life of the soul2   
there remains that initial mystery1 the 
relation in our consciousness between   
the individual and the universal        
element1 between the finite and the     
infinite1 between ,god and man4  ,how   
can we comprehend their co-existence and

 their union1 and yet how can we doubt  
it8  ,where is the thoughtful man to-day
 who has not broken the thin crust of   
his daily life1 and caught a glimpse of 
those profound and obscure waters on    
which floats our consciousness8 ,who has
 not felt within himself a veiled       
presence and a force much greater than  
his own8  ,what worker in a lofty cause 
has not perceived within his own        
personal activity1 and saluted with a   
feeling of veneration1 the mysterious   
activity of a universal and eternal     
power8 ,in ,deo vivimus1 movemur et     
sumus4  ,there is perhaps no other      
mystery in religion2 at all events all  
others are but particular forms of this4
 ,but this mystery cannot be dissipated1
 for1 without it1 religion itself would 
no longer exist4     ,,chapter ,,iii    
,,miracle ,,and ,,inspiration  ,in      
speaking of revelation we have already  
touched on the doctrines of inspiration 
and of miracle1 which are dependencies  
of it1 and1 as it were1 constituent     

parts4  ,but these two notions are still
 so obscure in the public mind1 and give
 rise to so many and such lively        
controversies1 that it may be well to   
return to them and study them by        
themselves and in some detail4  ,in this
 matter there are two causes of dispute 
and misunderstanding4 ,the first is that
 everybody believes he ought to begin by
 giving his own personal and arbitrary  
definition of miracle1 and afterwards   
explain by way of deduction why he      
believes or does not believe in it4 ,the
 debate thus turns on a question of     
terminology--that is to say1 on a vain  
and barren logomachy4  ,the second cause
 is that the defenders of miracle always
 keep to abstractions1 instead of       
following their contradictors on to the 
ground of criticism of miraculous       
stories and placing themselves in       
presence of the facts which alone make  
up the matter of the discussion4  ,they 
believe they have gained everything when
 they have proved that ,god1 according  

to the very definition of the idea that 
we have of ,him1 can do                 
everything--which no one denies--while  
the problem consists not in knowing what
 ,god can do in abstracto1 but what ,he 
has done in concreto1 in ,nature and in 
,history4  ,now1 in order to know what  
is really done1 and whether there are or
 ever have been produced phenomena which
 must be referred to the immediate      
intervention1 and to a particular       
volition of ,god1 independently of the  
concurrence of second causes1 this is   
evidently something that only the       
critical observation of facts1 past or  
present1 can teach us4  ,every other    
method of research and discussion is    
illusory4  ,faithful to our own1 we here
 place ourselves at the historical point
 of view4  ,convinced that ideas have a 
history1 and are most clearly and surely
 defined by their very evolution1 we    
shall confine ourselves to following and
 describing that evolution4  ,we shall  
seek in the first place to ascertain the

 notion of miracle that was current in  
antiquity2 after that we shall see what 
became of it in mediaeval theology2 and 
lastly we shall see into what elements  
it has resolved itself in modern times1 
as much at the point of view of science 
as of piety4  ,as religious inspiration1
 properly speaking1 is but a particular 
miracle1 a miracle of the psychological 
order1 the solution available for the   
one will apply to the other4   #a4 ,the 
,notion of ,miracle in ,antiquity  ,the 
primitive conception of ,nature was     
animistic4  ,in everything astonishing1 
extraordinary1 men used to see the      
action of spirits like themselves1 with 
whom their religious imagination peopled
 the heavens1 the earth1 the seas4      
,they lived in miracle4  ,it would be   
easier to enumerate the things that were
 not than the things that were to them  
miraculous4  ,the word ,nature1 which   
has become so familiar and so           
indispensable to designate the regular  
course of things1 does not exist in     

primitive languages4  ,one does not meet
 with it even in the language of the    
,old ,testament4  ,this is because the  
conception it represents only came into 
existence later1 and by a slow and      
laborious process1 in the philosophy of 
the ,greeks4  ,the cosmos1 ordered and  
harmonious and fixed1 is the sublime    
creation of ,hellenic reason4           
,elsewhere1 no doubt1 with experience of
 life and the daily return of phenomena1
 a certain order1 the effect of custom1 
would exist around man and be           
established in his mind4  ,he learned to
 distinguish between the habitual course
 of things and the prodigies which      
caused him wonder1 fear1 or hope1 and in
 which he always saw the effect either  
of the favour or the anger of a demon or
 a god4  ,his imagination1 to which his 
ignorance gave free play1 and his       
credulity1 which religious terror held  
open to all impressions1 stories1       
legends1 wrapped his life in an         
atmosphere of marvel1 gentle or         

terrible1 but incessant4  ,eclipses1    
earthquakes1 thunder1 lightning1        
rainbows1 deluges1 accidents1 maladies1 
etc4--these were the work of particular 
actors1 personal1 impassioned like man1 
hidden behind the scenes4  ,add to this 
the inventions of sorcerers and priests2
 444 transport yourself into this first 
effervescence of the human faculties1   
into this luxuriant vegetation of       
poetical creation in the early human    
mind1 and you will have some idea of    
what1 for centuries on centuries1 must  
have been the mental state of primitive 
historic humanity4  ,such1 however1 is  
the comparative poverty of human        
conceptions1 that1 when you come to     
catalogue these marvels1 you see them   
reduced to a small number of miracles   
which turn up everywhere and again and  
again among all peoples4  ,their        
similarity approaches to monotony4444   
,the question for the moment is not     
whether these miraculous facts are real 
or not1 but how the men who have        

transmitted them to us represented them4
  ,there is no doubt on this point4  ,to
 them they were not simply astonishing  
facts that admitted of a natural        
explanation4  ,modern theologians and   
savants who seek and find for them      
explanations of this kind do not        
perceive that they contradict           
themselves1 and that to explain miracle 
in this way is to destroy it4  ,no2 that
 which is miraculous in these events--to
 the contemporaries of ,tarquin in      
,rome1 of ,joshua in ,palestine1 to the 
people in our own day--is this1 that    
they are produced1 contrary to the      
natural course of things1 solely by a   
special intervention of the divine will4
  ,that is the mark and characteristic  
of ancient miracle4 ,efface it1 for any 
reason whatever1 and miracle disappears4
  ,that which makes it possible is      
ignorance of ,nature and its laws3 that 
which supports it is the religious      
belief in the existence of these        
supernatural wills and in their         

unexpected invasion of the succession of
 accustomed things4  ,without this      
belief1 as ,m4 ,menegoz remarks1#a the  
birth of a myth or of a legend could not
 be explained4  ,st4 ,denis1            
decapitated1 would not have been able to
 carry his head4  ,in fact1 the miracles
 you find in the apocryphal legends are 
exactly of the same nature as those     
which are met with in narratives held to
 be more historical4   #a ,la notion    
biblique du miracle 7,lecon             
d'ouverture71 #ahid4   ,i must add that 
this notion of miracle is absolutely the
 same in ,biblical as in profane        
literature4  ,in a general way1 no      
doubt1 the supernatural in the history  
of ,israel and in the early days of     
,christianity is of a more sober1 more  
profoundly moral and religious character
 than it is everywhere else4  ,but the  
sacred writers do not represent miracles
 differently4  ,without exception1 they 
also conceive of them as a violation1 by
 a particular volition of ,god1 of the  

ordinary course of things4444  ,still1  
so far from being more striking or more 
numerous1 miracles and prodigies in the 
,bible are rarer than elsewhere1        
clearer1 less fantastic1 more under law 
to conscience and to common sense4  ,the
 worship of one ,god1 invisible1        
spiritual1 in whom centres the ideal of 
wisdom1 reason1 righteousness1 conceived
 by the prophets1 joined to the lack of 
imagination in the ,hebrew race1 has    
freed the ,bible from the luxuriant     
growths of oriental mythologies and     
theogonies1 as of the marvellous in the 
poesy of ,greece4  ,nothing purifies the
 mind like a great moral idea around    
which all the rest organises itself4    
,it is very remarkable that the great   
prophets1 ,isaiah1 ,amos1 ,micah1       
,jeremiah1 ,john the ,baptist1 work     
hardly any miracles4  ,if prodigy has   
penetrated into the life of ,jesus at   
two or three points1 the explanation is 
to be found in the mistakes or the      
legendary corruptions for which ,his    

biographers are alone responsible1 and  
which criticism may eliminate without   
violence4  ,prodigy1 properly so called1
 is quite foreign to the wholly moral   
conduct of ,his life1 and to the        
strictly religious conception of ,his   
work4  ,he did not found ,his religion  
on miracle1 but on the light1 the       
consolation1 the pardon and the joy     
which ,his gospel1 issuing from ,his    
holy1 loving heart1 brought to broken   
and repentant souls4  ,his works        
proceeded only from ,his charity4  ,far 
from wishing to impose belief in ,his   
miracles1 ,he often forbids men to      
divulge them4  ,it is to the faith of   
the afflicted that ,he refers their     
cure4  ,he turns away from the seductive
 invitations of miraculous ,messianism  
as from the distrust or the curiosity of
 an incredulous wisdom4  ,to those who  
demanded of ,him an indubitable prodigy 
come from heaven1 ,he answers that no   
sign shall be given them save the       
preaching of repentance by the prophet  

,jonah4  ,the whole temptation in the   
wilderness is simply a victory of the   
moral consciousness over the religion of
 physical prodigy4  ,his filial piety to
 the ,father raised ,him above miracle  
itself and above the dualism that       
miracle supposes in ,nature and in the  
divine action4  ,he discovers in        
everything the signs of the presence1   
the will1 the affection1 of ,his        
,father4  ,he accepts them1 submits to  
them1 celebrates them1 without          
preoccupying ,himself with the ordinary 
or the extraordinary manner in which    
they may be manifested4  ,this absolute 
piety1 absolutely pure and confident1   
succeeds in realising the unity of the  
world and the universal and continuous  
action of ,god1 quite as well as the    
dialectic of a ,scotus ,eriginus or a   
,spinoza or a ,hegel2 for it suppresses 
still more radically the old and mortal 
antithesis of the natural and the       
supernatural4  ,nature in its expansion 
and its evolution--what is it but the   

very expression of the ,will of the     
,father8  ,how can you imagine then that
 there could ever be conflict in it     
between the order which reigns in it and
 the action of ,him by whom that order  
is maintained day by day and moment by  
moment8  ,if the thought of ,jesus was  
bounded by the ancient notion of        
miracle1 it must be acknowledged that   
,his piety was not imprisoned in it1 but
 went beyond it4  ,not having come into 
the world to teach science1 ,he         
contented ,himself with the opinions ,he
 had inherited with the rest of ,his    
people1 and which constituted the       
science of ,nature of ,his little       
popular environment1 without concerning 
,himself as to whether these opinions   
were erroneous or correct4 ,miracle was 
not then something essentially religious
 as it is to-day4 ,belief in miracles   
was not a sign of piety4  ,everybody    
shared in it1 men of the world as well  
as men of ,god4  ,herod believed in them
 not less than the apostles4  ,the      

,pharisees did not doubt them2 they only
 denied the miracles of ,jesus2 they    
attributed them to ,beelzebub4 ,christ  
did not doubt any more than they did    
that ,satan and the demons wrought as   
many and perhaps more miracles than the 
messengers of ,god4 ,he did not wish    
them to believe the doctrine because of 
the prodigy1 but in the prodigy because 
of the doctrine4  ,it will be seen how  
far they were at that time from the     
dualism of our day1 and from the        
conflict created by scholasticism       
between science and piety4  ,when we    
examine this ancient notion of miracle1 
especially in the superior expression it
 receives in the ,bible1 we discover in 
it two things3 it is made up of two     
judgments of a very different order3 of 
an intellectual and scientific order1   
disclosing that which then existed in   
point of fact1 a naif and perfect       
ignorance of the nature and the laws of 
things2 and of a judgment of a religious
 order1 implying an absolute confidence 

in an all-good ,god who is almighty to  
respond to the cry of ,his children and 
to deliver them4  ,these two judgments  
are so thoroughly blended in the        
biblical notion of miracle that orthodox
 theologians and irreligious            
philosophers agree in declaring them to 
be inseparable1 and they would compel us
 to choose between a piety hostile to   
the elementary results of science1 and a
 science radically hostile to piety4    
,the dilemma is specious but false4  ,to
 see it vanish it is only necessary to  
perceive that these two judgments1 not  
being of the same nature1 cannot be     
eternally solidaire4  ,the settlement of
 the controversy in which ,christian    
thought has been engaged for the last   
three centuries will consist in         
separating them4        99      99      
99      99      99   #b4 ,the ,notion of
 ,miracle in the ,face of ,modern       
,science and of ,piety  ,modern science 
neither affirms nor denies miracle2 it  
ignores it1 necessarily4  ,it is1 for   

it1 as if it did not exist4  ,religious 
persons1 who often look towards science 
to ascertain what their faith may hope  
or fear from it1 only consider its      
results1 and as these are never         
definitive1 but always variable1 always 
being revised1 enlarged1 enriched1 they 
secretly indulge the hope that a moment 
may come when science1 which has not yet
 welcomed miracle1 will welcome it2 that
 such a fact1 supported by such and such
 testimony1 will in the end conquer its 
resistances and obtain a place in the   
category or the catalogue of scientific 
facts4  ,they would quickly lose this   
illusion1 if1 turning away from the net 
results of science1 they would fix their
 attention on its processes and methods 
of investigation4  ,what is it1         
according to science1 to know a         
phenomenon8  ,it is to place it in a    
necessary link of succession1           
concomitance1 and causality with other  
phenomena which explain it by analogy4  
,suppose a mysterious phenomenon without

 analogy and connection with any other2 
savants brought into its presence will  
declare themselves simply in a state of 
ignorance with respect to it4  ,they    
will say they have not discovered the   
cause of it1 that they cannot explain   
it2 they will study it on every side a  
thousand times if necessary until they  
have torn out the heart of the mystery4 
,either they will succeed1 or on this   
point there will never be science made  
or explanation established4  ,savants1  
it is true1 are the first to recognise  
and to proclaim1 in all domains1 the    
limitations of their knowledge4  ,the   
most advanced are the most modest4      
,they all have the feeling that their   
discoveries are but a beginning1 and    
that the part of ,nature they have      
explored is as nothing to that of which 
they are ignorant4  ,they hold          
themselves in readiness to modify the   
laws they have established1 to enlarge  
their hypotheses1 to make new ones1 to  
record all facts which observation may  

supply4  ,that many facts astonish them 
and disconcert them1 we see every day4  
,but mark the attitude of the true      
savant in face of these new phenomena4  
,does he doubt a single moment that they
 obey laws1 unknown perhaps1 but        
certain8 444 ,there can only be science 
of that which is general and constant4  
,it is therefore absolutely chimerical  
to expect of science the establishment  
of any miracle whatever4444  ,miracle1  
according to the only tenable           
definition1 and this is the ancient and 
traditional one1 is a positive          
intervention of ,god in the phenomenal  
order and at a particular point4  ,now  
science knows only second causes4  ,how 
could it ever seize in the course of    
these causes the immediate action of the
 ,first ,cause8  ,is ,god a phenomenon  
that the eye of man can ever perceive in
 any phenomenal series8  ,and is not    
this the reason why science despairs of 
ever proving scientifically the         
existence of ,god8  ,it recognises      

itself to be impotent to step out of the
 relative1 to resolve anything outside  
space and time1 and it has removed from 
its domain all questions as to origin   
and aim1 because it has no means of     
reaching them4  ,to perceive ,god and   
the action of ,god in the human soul and
 in the course of things is the business
 of the pious heart 7,matt4 v4 #h74     
,the affirmation of piety is essentially
 different from scientific explanation4 
,it places us in the subjective and     
moral order of life1 which no more      
depends on the order of science than the
 scientific order depends on piety4     
,there cannot be conflict between these 
two orders1 because they move on        
different planes and never meet4        
,science1 which knows its limits1 cannot
 forbid the act of confidence and       
adoration of piety4  ,piety1 in its     
turn1 conscious of its proper nature1   
will not encroach on science2 its       
affirmations can neither enrich1        
impoverish1 nor embarrass science1 for  

they bear on different points and answer
 different ends4  ,my child is ill2 ,i  
procure for it the best advice and the  
best remedies2 but confiding in ,god's  
mercy1 ,i beg of ,him to spare me my    
child1 or1 in any case1 to help me to   
accept ,his will4  ,the child recovers4 
,what savant will forbid me to thank my 
heavenly ,father8 ,will this be because 
my thanksgiving will be a denial of the 
science of the physician8  ,certainly   
not1 for my gratitude will include the  
fact of the doctor1 the medicine1 the   
care bestowed1 the whole series of      
second causes that have contributed to  
the recovery of my child4  ,was not this
 the piety of ,jesus when ,he taught us 
to pray3 ,our ,father which art in      
,heaven3 ,thy will be done3 ,give us our
 daily bread8  ,was ,he ignorant of the 
fact that in order to have bread we must
 sow wheat8 ,no2 but none the less ,he  
asked ,his food from ,god1 because ,he  
knew also that1 in the last resort1 it  
is the will of ,god that makes the      

substance and the order of things1 that 
it is ,he who clothes the lilies of the 
field1 feeds the fowls of the air1 makes
 ,his sun to shine upon the evil and the
 good1 and sends upon the labourer's    
soil the early and the latter rain4     
,reduced to its religious and moral     
significance1 miracle1 for ,jesus1 was  
the answer to prayer1 as ,m4 ,menegoz   
7pp4 cit4 pp4 #ai-bi7 has clearly shown1
 and this altogether apart from the     
phenomenal mode in which the answer was 
produced4  ,god only manifests ,himself 
in extraordinary events in order that we
 may learn to recognise ,him in ordinary
 ones4  ,the child asks1 the father     
grants2 but the child does not trouble  
himself about the means by which his    
wishes are gratified4 ,the pious man    
adores the ways he cannot comprehend4   
,this confidence in the love and justice
 of ,god may be accompanied in the mind 
of the apostles and of ,jesus ,himself  
by imperfect or erroneous scientific    
ideas as to the mode of divine action in

 ,nature4  ,but it is not solidaire1    
with them1 and may easily be detached in
 order to bring it into harmony with the
 views of our present science1 as in the
 mind of ,jesus and the apostles it was 
in harmony with the science of their    
time4  ,for piety1 the laws of ,nature  
which have since then been revealed to  
us in their sovereign constancy1 become 
the immediate expression of the will of 
,god4  ,the ,christian submits to them  
instinctively1 saying3 ,thy will be     
done4  ,which is only saying that these 
laws1 which are sometimes spoken of with
 a sort of horror1 as of a blind and    
brutal fate1 become religious and are   
consecrated in the eyes of piety by a   
divine authority4  ,why then should not 
piety offer to science and its          
revelations of ,nature the same frank   
and joyous welcome as that accorded to  
them by scientists themselves8  ,the    
opposition established by scholasticism 
between faith and science1 is it not as 
irreligious as it is irrational1 and has

 it not been one of the chief causes of 
the death of theology in the ,church and
 of the triumph of incredulity in the   
present age8  ,while developing         
themselves on parallel lines1 can       
science and faith remain isolated8  ,man
 is one1 and his scientific activity1   
like his religious activity1 tends to a 
synthesis4  ,the synthesis will be found
 in a teleological consideration of the 
universe4  ,this universal teleology1   
faith predicts it1 science labours to   
realise it4  ,it can only be established
 by this twofold concurrence4  ,without 
faith1 knowledge of the universe is     
impossible2 without phenomenal science  
all interpretation of the universe      
becomes illusory4  ,faith1 therefore1   
must become more and more an act of     
confidence in ,god1 and the scientific  
study of phenomena ever more profound   
and rigorous4  ,of course the           
teleological synthesis will never be    
completed here below1 but it will always
 find a provisional and satisfying      

conclusion in the act of confidence and 
adoration towards ,god4  ,science is    
perpetually becoming4  ,if at times it  
closes to piety dear and familiar       
prospects1 it necessarily and constantly
 opens new ones4 ,if it takes away its  
crutches1 it gives it wings4  ,the      
contemplation of the harmony of the     
worlds which moves us religiously is1 it
 seems to me1 worth more to modern      
thought than the fatidical oracle1 or   
the cry of the crow that frightened the 
good old woman of ,rome4  ,the more     
science progresses the more it puts into
 things the order and harmony of        
thought4  ,it can only create a ,cosmos 
more and more intelligible and1         
consequently1 susceptible of an         
increasingly religious interpretation4  
,at the same time as science instituted 
its severest methods1 it radically      
transformed its primary notion of       
,nature4  ,this was conceived by the    
,cartesian ,rationalism as a finished   
and coherent whole1 a system of         

identical movements and phenomena which 
were produced by virtue of the same     
springs acting in the same circle 7the  
vortices of ,descartes74 ,the familiar  
image under which they loved to         
represent it was that of a watch1       
constructed and wound up by the divine  
artificer once for all4 ,now1 we see    
this dogma of the immutability of       
,nature going to join the other dogmas  
of the past4  ,the theory of the        
ascensional evolution of beings1 which  
renders miracle useless1 shows ,nature  
to us in the course of constant         
transformation and perpetual travail4   
,nothing in it is stable or final4      
,everything is preparatory to something 
else2 each form of life is the preface  
to a higher form4  ,what then is the    
hidden mystery which ferments in the    
bosom of this painful nature and        
endeavours to expand8  ,the more cannot 
issue from the less1 said the schoolmen1
 and no doubt in abstract logic they    
were right4  ,but reality smiles at     

logic4  ,it shows us everywhere the     
triumph of the opposite maxim4          
,perfection is at the beginning of      
nothing4  ,cosmic evolution proceeds    
always from that which is poorer to that
 which is richer1 from the simple to the
 complex1 from the homogeneous to the   
heterogeneous1 from dead matter to      
living matter1 from physical to mental  
life4  ,at each stage ,nature surpasses 
itself by a mysterious creation that    
resembles a true miracle in relation to 
an inferior stage4  ,what then shall we 
conclude from these observations except 
that in ,nature there is a hidden force1
 an incommensurable potential energy1 an
 ever open1 never exhausted fount of    
apparitions at once magnificent and     
unexpected8  ,how can such a universe   
escape the teleological interpretation  
of religious faith8 ,for the moment1    
science may accord nothing more to      
piety2 but piety has no need to ask more
 from it2 for it has already in this way
 found safeguarded the three things     

which the old notion of miracle         
guaranteed to it3 the real and active   
presence of ,god1 the answer to prayer1 
and liberty to hope4        99      99  
99      99      99   #c4 ,religious     
,inspiration  ,passing by the subject of
 prophecy1 which is a species of        
miracle1 and admits of the same kind of 
explanation1 it may be well to touch    
upon the subject of prophetic           
inspiration4  ,the ancients represent it
 as a veritable state of possession4    
,the spirit of the god or demon         
violently entered into the body of a man
 or woman1 sometimes of an animal1 and  
made of it an organ the more faithful in
 proportion as it was unconscious4      
,everybody knows the description given  
by ,virgil of the ,cumaean sybil at the 
moment of vaticination3 ,the god1 the   
god1 she cried1 etc4  7,aeneid ,,vi4 v4 
#de et #gg47b  ,it was a sort of frenzy 
or sacred delirium in which divine words
 involuntarily and sometimes            
unconsciously proceeded from the mouth  

of the possessed4  ,madmen1 epileptics1 
idiots1 hysterical persons1 were        
regarded almost everywhere as sacred    
beings1 friends and confidants of       
superior spirits4  ,their strange malady
 only seems explicable by the presence  
in them of one of these spirits4   #b   
,cf4 ,plato1 ,meno4 ,timaeus1           
#de4--;,cicero1 ,de ,divin #a4 #b4 #ah4 
#ca4 ,aristotle1 ,problem1 xxx4 p4 #dgd4
   ,the same ideas were current among   
the ,hebrews1 and are to be found both  
in the ,old and in the ,new ,testament4 
,the prophets of ,ramah1 disciples of   
,samuel1 and ,saul himself1 putting     
themselves by contagion into a state of 
delirium and prophecy1 are in a physical
 and mental state identical with that of
 the sybil of ,cumae4  ,the demons in   
possession of the man who was healed by 
,jesus were the first to divine and to  
salute ,his messianic dignity4  ,the    
poor woman whom ,paul healed at         
,philippi was haunted by a spirit1 a    
,python4  ,the speakers with tongues at 

,corinth were thought by those present  
to be mad1 and those at ,jerusalem on   
the day of ,pentecost looked like       
drunken men 7#a ,sam4 x4 #e-g3 ,mark i4 
#bd3 ,acts xvi4 #af-bj3 #a ,cor4 xiv3   
,acts ii4 #ac74  ,all these             
manifestations1 formerly held to be     
supernatural1 are now recognised as     
morbid phenomena1 of which mental       
pathology describes the physiological   
causes1 the natural course1 the fatal   
issue4  ,even in frightful disorders    
order has been discovered2 laws and     
remedies have been found for many of    
these sad afflictions4  ,formerly they  
deified these demented and tormented    
souls2 in the ,middle ,ages1 and up to  
the eighteenth century1 they burned     
them2 we pity them and care for them4   
,this is much the best for all          
concerned4  ,preoccupied with           
guaranteeing the infallibility of the   
sacred writings1 the theology of the    
,fathers1 of the scholastic doctors1 and
 of the ,protestant doctors of the      

seventeenth century1 drew from this     
ancient notion of religious inspiration 
a dogmatic theory applicable to the     
divine oracles contained in the ,bible4 
,it seemed to them that the more passive
 the personal spirit of the writers was1
 the purer would be the word of ,god    
that they were charged to deliver when  
it reached us4  ,at this point of view1 
the most faithful organ of ,god1 the one
 that ought to inspire us with the      
greatest confidence1 would be ,balaam's 
ass4 ,the writer might be stupid1       
exclaims ,gaussen1 but that which came  
from his hands would always be the      
,bible4  ,some have gone further by way 
of inventing images borrowed from the   
material order1 such as1 the strings of 
a lyre1 sounding beneath the divine bow1
 the quills or pens of the ,holy        
,spirit1 etc41 etc4  ,the theory is     
familiar4  ,it was developed throughout 
the ,middle ,ages until they came to say
 that ,god was the author and is alone  
responsible for the ,bible1 and for     

everything that is found in it2 not only
 for the things and thoughts1 but also  
for the words and style2 not only for   
each word1 but also for the vowels and  
the consonants4  ,it only remained that 
they should have added the punctuation1 
not the least important matter in a     
connected discourse4  ,unhappily1 the   
punctuation is absent from the oldest   
manuscripts4  ,let us remind ourselves1 
however1 that ,st4 ,paul1 and ,jesus    
,christ before him1 had deposited the   
germ of a conception of religious       
inspiration more human1 more            
psychological1 and1 at the same time1   
more real4  ,paul1 who had ecstasies1   
visions1 tongues1 always spoke of these 
doubtful privileges with a certain      
modesty1 and that only when he was      
constrained to it1 as if he had the     
feeling that there was something        
abnormal and morbid in these phenomena4 
,on the other hand1 he opposes to them a
 theory of true ,christian prophecy     
conceived as a forcible1 eloquent1      

irresistible proclamation of the mercy  
and justice of ,god2 prophecy on the    
lips of the apostle1 the poet1 or the   
orator1 springing from the assurance    
given him by the inward witness of the  
,holy ,spirit that he is in perfect     
harmony with the divine thought4  ,the  
force of this inspired prophecy comes   
from the luminous evidence which springs
 up within1 which warms and kindles up  
the spirit like an inward fire4  ,under 
the influence of this illumination the  
apostle feels his strength increase     
tenfold2 he rises at a mighty bound     
above himself4 ,his faculties are       
carried to their maximum of energy and  
power4  ,so far from being an inert1    
passive instrument1 his intellect has   
never been intenser1 richer2 his        
thoughts more clear and more coherent2  
his words more fluent1 more abundant1   
more pictorial and expressive2 his voice
 more firm and resonant2 his gestures   
more imperious4  ,it is the hour when he
 is most himself1 when his particular   

genius has freest play1 when his moral  
originality is greatest1 when he is most
 certainly the organ of eternal truth4  
,thus understood1 religious inspiration 
does not differ psychologically from    
poetic inspiration4  ,it presents the   
same mystery1 but it is not more        
miraculous4  ,it is not produced like a 
trouble violently introduced into the   
psychical life from without1 but as a   
really fruitful force1 acting from      
within1 in harmony with all the laws and
 forces of the mind4  ,does not         
experience establish and piety confirm  
this8  ,when does an ,amos1 an ,isaiah1 
a ,jeremiah1 a ,st4 ,paul1 or a ,st4    
,john1 appear to us as the most         
authentic bearer of the word of truth   
and life1 but in their most eloquent    
pages1 where their personal genius1     
their faith1 their thought1 shine forth 
most freely8  ,religious inspiration is 
simply the organic penetration of man by
 ,god2 but1 ,i repeat1 by an interior   
and indwelling ,god1 and in such wise   

that when that penetration is complete1 
the man finds himself to be more really 
and fully himself than ever4  ,it is    
with this mysterious action of the      
,spirit in the bosom of humanity as it  
is with the solar heat upon the plants  
that spring up from the soil4  ,in      
regions where the heat is greatest and  
the other conditions favourable1 plants 
which elsewhere are stunted attain their
 richest development and their greatest 
fecundity4  ,the inner root of this     
inspiration is only found in the piety  
common to religious men4  ,it differs   
from it not in nature1 but simply in    
intensity and energy4  ,prophetic       
inspiration is piety raised to the      
second power4  ,there is no other       
mystery in it than the religious mystery
 par excellence4  ,that is why this     
inspiration is essential to and promotes
 effectually the progress of the moral  
and religious life4 ,they advance       
together through the ages as we now     
shall see4     ,,chapter ,,iv  ,,the    

,,religious ,,development ,,of          
,,humanity  #a4 ,the ,social ,element in
 ,religion  ,religion is not merely a   
phenomenon of the individual and inner  
life3 it is also a social and historical
 phenomenon4  ,psychology lays bare its 
root1 but history alone reveals its     
power and range4  ,this social action of
 religion springs from its very essence4
  ,the phrase communion of souls is of  
religious origin and hue4  ,the thing   
expressed by it--one of the most        
wonderful phenomena of collective moral 
life--is never perfectly realised save  
in religion and by religion4  ,an       
identic faith1 a common act of          
adoration1 not merely brings souls      
together3 it makes them live in each    
other1 blends them into one soul in     
which each of them finds itself1        
multiplied1 as it were1 by all the rest4
  ,that is what is properly called      
edification1 by which ,i mean that      
feeling of joy1 of force1 of fulness of 
life1 produced by the common act of     

worship in those who sincerely take part
 in it4  ,that is the reason why men of 
the same religion have no more imperious
 need than that of praying and          
worshipping together4  ,state police    
have always failed to confine growing   
religious sects within the sanctuary or 
the home4  ,their members have never    
been resigned to this comparatively     
solitary life2 they have braved all     
interdicts and persecutions in order to 
turn it into social life and fraternal  
communion4  ,god1 it is said1 is the    
place where spirits blend4  ,in rising  
towards ,him man of necessity passes    
beyond the limits of his own            
individuality4 ,he feels instinctively  
that the principle of his being is also 
the principle of the life of his        
brethren2 that that which gives him     
safety must give it to all4  ,in the    
same ,religion1 souls the most diverse1 
being affected in the same manner1      
become related to each other1 and form a
 real family1 united by closer1 stronger

 bonds than those of blood4  ,the       
religious life is a higher region4      
,those who rise into it feel the        
barriers fall which hemmed in their     
existence4  ,they become free2 they     
penetrate the souls of their neighbours 
and feel themselves to be penetrated by 
them2 and all live one life1 which1     
although it be larger and almost        
universal1 is none the less very        
personal and very intense4  ,have you   
ever been present in a crowd excited and
 exalted by religious enthusiasm8  ,have
 you felt the contagion8  ,then you can 
never forget it4  ,it is said the early 
,christians were of one heart and one   
soul4  ,their community of faith1 of    
hope1 of love1 went so far as to make   
them forget the idea of property and put
 their goods in common4 ,in how many    
monastic orders or mystic sects has not 
this same need of equality and unity    
gone to the point of identity in costume
 and deportment1 and even of the loss of
 name and personal individuality8  ,it  

is not surprising therefore that        
religion1 capable of creating in modern 
times those moral societies called      
,churches1 should1 in all ages1 have    
been the strongest bond of natural      
societies1 primitive families1 savage   
tribes1 great empires1 civilised        
peoples4  ,the first stone of every     
hearth was a sacred stone4  ,the first  
tombstone was a monument of piety1 and  
burial is an essentially religious      
ceremony4 ,before they were regarded as 
protectors without1 tribal gods were the
 internal bonds of the tribe itself4    
,all the individuals of the tribe saw in
 the god a father and an ever present   
head1 so that religion came to double by
 this moral kinship their blood         
relationship4  ,in this matter the great
 civilisations do not differ from the   
rest4  ,all have a religious soul that  
differentiates and explains them4  ,it  
is not merely morals and philosophy that
 are affected by religion1 but          
literature1 art1 politics1 social       

economy1 and in a general way the whole 
destiny of men4  ,the secret of a race  
is hidden in its religion4  ,it is there
 that the forces of life and resistance 
to the causes of dissolution are        
concentrated4444  ,let us enter with    
deep piety therefore on the history of  
religion on the earth4444  ,that history
 is still in embryo4  ,the comparative  
study of religions has arisen within our
 time2 it is still at its beginnings4444
  ,the idea of religious progress is a  
great and luminous idea1 but it is not  
possible to apply it to all the details 
of history4  ,progress has not taken    
place along a single or continuous      
line4444  ,on four or five points the   
progress is undeniable2 it must suffice 
to point them out and mark their        
direction in order that we may foresee  
the supreme end to which this faltering 
and laborious march is tending4  ,in    
religions there are differences of      
degree and differences of kind3 the one 
mark in the scale of evolution the      

successive movements of the religious   
consciousness in time2 the others       
express the diversity and simultaneity  
of religions in space4  ,the first are  
explained by inequalities of moral      
development2 the second by variety of   
races1 climates1 civilisations4  ,take1 
for example1 the ,hebrew tradition2     
follow it in broad outline1 and you will
 note religious forms which give birth  
one to another and constitute an        
historical development--the religion of 
the ancient ,beni-,israel1 prophetism1  
rabbinical pharisaism1 ,christianity1   
,mohammedanism3 there1 in a continuous  
evolution1 you have what may be called  
differences of degree4  ,but1 on the    
other hand1 consider the ,mongolian or  
,chinese religions1 those of ancient    
,mexico1 of ,india1 ,egypt1 or ,greece3 
you have differences of kind which you  
cannot classify in a single scale4      
,and1 as some of these peoples have     
disappeared1 and others been arrested in
 their growth1 and as they have never   

marched abreast1 it is impossible to    
compare them or to put into one category
 the religious forms which their history
 presents4  ,but some attempt must be   
made to trace them out4   #b4 ,progress 
in the ,outward ,forms of ,religion  ,in
 this universal religious evolution the 
progress that is most apparent because  
most outward is the enlargement of the  
form of religion itself1 the movement1  
often interrupted but never stopped1    
from the narrowest particularism to the 
most human universalism4444  ,it is     
characteristic of all religion to       
propagate itself3 that is the implicit  
affirmation that it is made for all men4
  ,even when it is abased to the level  
of a recipe and of a magical secret that
 is hidden with a jealous selfishness1  
or even from a ferocious patriotism1    
there is the avowal that it might be    
serviceable to others4444  ,but we must 
see how this passage from the particular
 to the universal is effected4  ,the    
beginnings of religion are everywhere   

the same4  ,the number of cults at first
 is almost endless1 but they vary very  
little from each other4  ,it is         
impossible to write the history of      
barbarous religions1 and it is useless  
to enumerate them4  ,nothing is more    
monotonous than the descriptions that   
have been attempted of them4  ,their    
most characteristic feature is1 that at 
first they are confined to the family4  
,religion at this stage is a matter of  
instinct1 and instinctive matters are   
always uniform4  ,in mental life1       
diversity only appears with reflection  
and consciousness4  ,to the domestic and
 tribal succeeds the national stage of  
religion4 ,political federations are    
formed1 and the religious as well as the
 social consciousness of the people is  
enlarged4  ,this phenomenon is seen in  
,greece in its most interesting form4   
,the religion of ,greece1 as witness the
 ,homeric poems1 was a confederation of 
local cults and deities1 just as ,hellas
 was a federation of previously         

unconnected tribes4  ,the conquests of  
,alexander and the extension of the     
,roman ,empire greatly enlarged the     
horizon of ancient thought4  ,the       
philosophers in the time of ,cicero and 
,seneca had already risen from the      
national idea to that of the human race4
  ,it must not be supposed1 however1    
that the universal religion sprang from 
the philosophic or religious syncretism 
of the later ages of ,graeco-,roman     
civilisation4  ,the dissolution of the  
national religions had preceded that of 
political nationalities1 and1 so far    
from creating anything universal1 the   
morbid curiosity of minds denuded of all
 national tradition abandoned itself to 
individual superstitions the most exotic
 and monstrous4  ,christianity was born1
 not in ,greece1 in the schools1 nor in 
,rome1 at the foot of the throne of the 
,caesars1 but in a race the narrowest1  
the most fanatical and intolerant that  
ever existed1 and in the heart of a ,son
 of ,israel whom no extra-,palestinian  

influence seems ever to have reached4   
,nowhere is a universal religion the    
fruit of an unconscious evolution1      
produced by the action of fatal and     
external laws4  ,it presents itself     
everywhere as an individual creation1 as
 the free and moral work of a few elect 
souls1 in whom tradition by a profound  
crisis is purified and enlarged4  ,this 
was the role of ,confucius1 of ,buddha1 
of ,socrates1 of the prophets of        
,israel1 of ,mohammed in ,arabia4  ,all 
of them were reformers of the religion  
of their ancestors4444  ,they did not   
discover the universal religion outside 
themselves1 but in their consciousness  
and personal piety4  ,passing through   
their souls as through a filter1 the    
traditional religion of their race was  
gradually clarified and freed from      
foreign or material elements1 and it was
 found that1 in the end1 the new faith  
appeared the more human and universal as
 it had become more strictly religious1 
more inward1 and more pure4444  ,not    

that all the ancient cults were capable 
of transformation or all the prophets   
equally inspired4  ,often the revelation
 would appear uncertain or incomplete4  
,on only one point and in only one      
consciousness would it be seen to end in
 a clear and definitive conclusion4     
,progress implies selection4  ,as we    
rise from one stage to another in the   
history of religious evolution we see   
the ranks enlightened and the number    
diminished of concurrent religions4  ,at
 the lowest stage1 the savage cults are 
almost innumerable4  ,the great national
 or ethnic religions were much fewer4   
,only three are frankly universalist3   
,buddhism1 ,mohammedanism1 and          
,christianity4  ,and these three are    
universalist1 if ,i may so say1 in a    
very unequal degree4  ,mohammedanism was
 far from being an original religion4   
,the element which gives to it a higher 
moral and religious value came to it    
from ,judaism and ,christianity4  ,its  
monotheism1 its horror of idolatry1 the 

comparative purity of its ethics1 have  
no other source1 and1 without paradox1  
it has been possible to represent it as 
an inferior form of ,christianity       
accommodated to the needs and to the    
stature of semi-civilised ,semitic      
peoples4  ,but1 alongside this          
,christian spiritualism it has conserved
 naturalistic elements1 gross remnants  
of old ,arab cults which1 having made   
its fortune1 perhaps1 in its early days1
 now embarrass it and paralyse it4      
,moreover1 in spite of its conquests1 it
 has always remained an ,oriental       
religion with ,mecca as its centre and  
its head4  ,if it would survive1 it must
 reform itself2 it must enter into the  
path of moral and intellectual progress1
 free itself from local superstitions1  
from its gross hopes1 its hatred of the 
infidel1 its doctrine of good works2 in 
other words1 it will have to cast off   
its old nature1 and receive a new       
effusion of the ,christian spirit4  ,it 
can only become universal in so far as  

it approaches the moral principle of    
,christianity1 in order1 in the end1 to 
become one with it4  ,buddhism has a    
more profound originality1 but it also  
is afflicted with an inward dualism     
which will ruin it4  ,from the beginning
 there have been two ,buddhisms3 the one
 an esoteric philosophy for the use of  
sages convinced by experience of the    
vanity of all things1 suffering from the
 essential evil of existence and        
aspiring to ,nirvana4  ,it is an        
unfruitful mysticism because it is      
,atheistic4  ,the other is popular      
,buddhism1 which sinks and dies into    
puerile superstitions and into the      
grossest polytheism4  ,from which we may
 conclude that ,buddhism only becomes   
universalist when it ceases to be a     
positive religion1 and that where it    
still remains a religion it is anything 
but universalist4  ,with ,christianity  
it is altogether different4  ,the terms 
universal religion and ,christian       
religion coincide so exactly that if a  

form of ,christianity is not            
universalist on any side1 on that       
particular side it ceases to be         
,christian4  ,in fact there cannot here 
be either division or esoterism1 nor    
consequently limitation or narrowness4  
,we are here in the absolute freedom of 
spirit4  ,christ did not propound the   
theory of the unity of the human race2  
but ,he did something quite different   
and much better3 ,he gave us the gospel4
  ,between ,his gospel and the          
humanitarian philosophy there is all the
 difference that there is between       
abstraction and life1 between idea and  
love4  ,all men enter into the kingdom  
of ,god by the same door1 and that door 
cannot be shut by any one2 for it is the
 door of humility1 of confidence1 of    
self-renunciation1 of the higher        
righteousness fulfilling itself by      
fraternal charity4  ,rank in that       
kingdom is determined by the measure of 
devotedness4  ,the greatest is the one  
that humbles himself the most1 and the  

only way of being master is to serve4   
,in the religion of ,jesus there is     
nothing religious but that which is     
authentically moral1 and nothing moral  
in human life that is not truly         
religious4  ,the perfect religion       
coincides with the absolute morality1   
and this naturally extends to and is    
obligatory on all mankind4  ,jesus not  
only proclaimed the only ,god1 or even  
the ,god who is spirit1 whose worship   
could not thenceforth be confined to    
anything material or particular in time 
and space3 ,he showed us the ,father who
 loves all ,his children with an equal  
affection1 and desires to dwell in the  
humblest as well as in the highest      
consciousness4  ,this divine            
,fatherhood1 in proportion as it is     
realised in our hearts1 produces in them
 human brotherhood4  ,the religious and 
the human ideals here join1 no more to  
be separated4 ,having begun in the      
animal man1 with the grossest form of   
religion1 humanity finds itself         

completed in the perfect religion4   #c4
 ,progress in ,representations of the   
,divine  ,to represent the divine1 man  
has never had any but the resources     
which are in himself4  ,these           
representations have varied therefore   
with the general progress of experience 
and of thought4444  ,from beginning to  
end the evolution of religious images   
and notions is based on the idea of     
spirit4  ,it is in this idea that the   
resemblance and the kinship of man to   
his ,god is based2 only by this can     
there be understanding1 converse1       
harmony between them4  ,primitive       
religions1 doubtless1 are neither       
spiritualist nor materialist2 they are  
animistic4  ,a simple animism gives to  
men their first conceptions4  ,the child
 projects the life which animates him2  
he endows the things around him with a  
personality similar to his own4  ,for   
him there is nothing dead or inert2 the 
world is peopled with living beings with
 which he contends1 and talks1 and is   

angry1 to which he gives his love and   
his caresses4 ,do not let us smile too  
much at this simplicity4  ,the latest   
steps of philosophy are rejoining our   
earliest thoughts4  ,we are coming to   
see that in sum we know nothing but     
ourselves1 that our science is but the  
projection of our consciousness without1
 and that it is solely on this condition
 that the world becomes intelligible to 
us4  ,man never worships anything purely
 material1 anything that cannot hear and
 answer him4  ,when he perceives that   
the object of his worship is inanimate1 
he thinks his god has deserted him1 and 
he sets himself to pursue him4  ,he     
usually finds him and retains him under 
other names and forms4  ,by faith in    
ghosts1 and by the memory of his dreams1
 he has learnt to double himself1 and to
 oppose his will to his thought1 his    
interior ego to his body1 which he calls
 his house4  ,he may easily quit this   
for another4  ,nothing is more ancient  
than the idea of the transmigration of  

souls4  ,but at the same time he doubles
 the being of his gods2 he distinguishes
 between the god and the object in which
 he habitually resides4  ,this is the   
period at which idolatry begins4  ,it   
will only be completed when the         
spirit-god has broken the bonds which   
bind him to its visible prison and its  
material image2 when ,he shall speak who
 says that ,god is a ,spirit1 and they  
that worship ,him must worship ,him in  
spirit and in truth4  ,from that moment1
 mythology transforms itself into       
theology1 and external rites into inward
 piety4  ,necessarily polytheistic in   
its origins1 religion tended            
nevertheless towards monotheism4  ,the  
subordination which disciplined the     
heads of the tribes on earth also ranged
 the divinities under the authority of a
 supreme head4  ,force at first gave    
this supremacy4  ,zeus was the king of  
gods and men because he was stronger    
than all of them put together4 ,this is 
the natural order of ideas4  ,force     

first imposed itself on weakness2 then  
intelligence conquered force2 lastly1   
justice and love1 which is the supreme  
form and flower of righteousness1 obtain
 supremacy over intelligence itself4    
,the highest and the chiefest is no     
longer the strongest1 or the wisest1 but
 the best4  ,in becoming moral1 man has 
moralised his gods1 who1 in their turn1 
becoming models and authorities1 have   
greatly helped to moralise the race4    
,it is very surprising that this        
evolution in the direction of moral     
monotheism did not complete itself in   
the ,indo-,european family4  ,but the   
fact is that that family encountered an 
invincible barrier in the very nature of
 its primitive mythology4  ,the ,greek  
and ,hindu philosophers1 no doubt1      
pushed the notion of ,god to that of    
,his spirituality and unity1 but they   
did not succeed in transforming the     
religion of their race4  ,their rational
 criticism had power to dissolve1 but   
not to change4  ,their monotheism       

remained always an object of speculation
 more or less esoteric4  ,when1 in the  
second and third centuries of our era1  
in competition with ,christianity1      
,graeco-,roman polytheism endeavoured to
 reach a sort of monotheism1 it could   
only return to the most glorious mythus 
of its infancy1 to the worship of the   
,sun1 and raise it to supremacy among   
the symbols of their faith4  ,the       
transition from polytheism to monotheism
 was only made in ,palestine and in the 
tradition of the ,hebrews4  ,there were 
two reasons for this1 both of which bear
 witness to the divine vocation of that 
people3 its religious predispositions   
and the powerful action of its prophets1
 of those men of ,god raised up in it   
from ,moses to ,christ4  ,the desert is 
not monotheistic1 as ,m4 ,renan was     
pleased at first to say1 nor are nomads1
 shepherds1 or freebooters nearer to the
 only ,god than sedentary and           
agricultural peoples4  ,but1 owing to   
the special turn of mind of the ,hebrew 

family1 its primitive polytheism1 of    
which the plural1 elohim1 still reminds 
us1 had an abstract character1 and was  
reduced to a sort of anonymous plurality
 from which no divine genealogy could   
spring4  ,all these elementary spirits1 
these elohim of the air1 the earth1 the 
waters1 were so similar to each other   
that the thought of the ,semite never   
succeeded in discerning and             
discriminating them4  ,they entered into
 one another1 and ended by forming a    
sort of collective and abstract power1  
analagous to that which is represented  
in our language by the word divinity4   
,add to this that1 by the idea of       
holiness1 ,jehovah1 the national elohim1
 was equally separated from ,nature1 and
 that1 gradually divested of all        
corporeal form1 ,he was predestined to  
become the ,god of conscience1 the      
invisible ,creator of all things1 the   
,judge and the rewarder of all human    
actions4  ,neither these original       
predispositions1 however1 nor these     

general causes1 account for the         
marvellous progress of the religion of  
,israel4 ,the faith of the prophets is a
 creation of the moral order2 it is the 
work of individual consciousnesses1 of  
the religious heroes whom the divine    
,spirit raised up in succession for more
 than a thousand years4 ,we shall       
explain elsewhere this heroic and       
age-long struggle of the prophets of    
,jehovah against the customs1 the       
tendencies1 and even the temperament of 
their people4  ,suffice it here to      
indicate the constant direction of their
 efforts1 the precision and the         
fixedness of their ideal1 the power of  
the common inspiration that animated    
them1 the vigorous and vivacious feeling
 in each one of them that makes their   
work divine and carries them beyond     
their individual thoughts and hopes4    
,like us they laboured on an infinitely 
vaster plane than they conceived4  ,but 
their conception of a divine ideal of   
righteousness still left ,god outside   

the consciousness4  ,the image of ,his  
sanctity awakened in their souls the    
sense of sin and raised a tragic        
conflict between the human will enslaved
 by evil and the essentially inflexible 
law of ,god4  ,god and man were found to
 be more profoundly separated by this   
moral antithesis of righteousness and   
sin than they had before been by the    
antithesis of strength and feebleness4  
,how was this hostility to cease8  ,a   
supreme revelation is about to respond  
to this cry of distress4  ,god will     
become internal to the consciousness2   
,he will manifest ,himself1 in man      
himself1 as the principle of            
justification and salvation4  ,he who   
was called ,el1 ,allah1 the ,mighty     
,god1 in patriarchal days1--,he who from
 the times of ,moses had been named     
,jehovah1 the living ,god1 the vigilant 
guardian of the ,covenant1--will reveal 
,himself as the ,father in the filial   
consciousness of ,jesus ,christ4  ,the  
revelation of love comes to crown the   

revelation of force and righteousness4  
,god desires to dwell in human souls4   
,the ,heavenly ,father lives within the 
,son of ,man1 and the dogma of the      
,god-,man1 interpreted by the piety of  
each ,christian1 not by the subtle      
metaphysics of the doctors and the      
schools1 becomes the central and        
distinguishing dogma of ,christianity4  
,do not spoil its religious meaning1    
leave the mystery intact1 see what is   
wrapped up in it3 the sin of man        
effaced1 the ancient conflicts ended1   
harmony restored1 the whole moral and   
spiritual life enrooted in the eternal  
life of ,god1 the ,divine ,life shed    
abroad in the heart of man4  ,try to    
comprehend this consummation of the     
religious unity of the ,divine and the  
human sought for1 cried for1 in the dim 
desire of consciousness1 and you will   
also comprehend that1 at this point of  
view1 as at all the others1 the         
precedent religious evolution found its 
raison d'etre and its final aim in the  

soul and in the work of ,christ4  ,the  
orphaned human soul and the distant     
unknown ,god are re-united and embraced 
in filial love1 to be no more divided or
 estranged4   #d4 ,the ,history of      
,prayer  ,the living expression of the  
relations of man to his ,god1 prayer is 
the very soul of religion4  ,it brings  
to ,god the miseries of man1 and brings 
back to man the communion and the help  
of ,god4  ,nothing better reveals the   
worth and moral dignity of a religion   
than the kind of prayer it puts into the
 lips of its adherents4  ,now1 progress 
is more apparent here than anywhere     
else4  ,the savage beats his fetish when
 it is not complacent enough4  ,the     
,christian in his greatest distresses   
repeats the prayer of ,jesus in the     
,garden3 ,father1 not my will1 but      
,thine be done6  ,what a long road man  
has travelled between these two extreme 
points of religion6  ,at the outset1    
prayer would seem to have had nothing   
religious in it except the vague trust  

which men placed in its efficiency4  ,it
 was almost everywhere conceived and    
practised as a sort of constraint put by
 the worshipper on the will that he     
wished to master4  ,there were          
mysterious syllables1 which1 pronounced 
correctly1 would produce an irresistible
 effect4  ,to the voice were added rites
 and ceremonies1 i4e4 gestures menacing 
or wheedling1 whose object was to move  
the god and bind his will to that of    
man4  ,primitive stories and legends are
 full of this idea4  ,out of it sprang  
magic1 sorcery1 necromancy4  ,with the  
supernatural beings around him man does 
as with other neighbours4  ,he seeks to 
induce them to help him1 and that by the
 self-same means4  ,there is very little
 respect in these primary relations4    
,ruse1 violence1 seduction by bribes or 
threats1--these are the forms of that   
strange supplication4  ,it is human     
selfishness addressing itself naively to
 the selfishness of the gods4  ,regular 
contracts are made between these two    

egoisms1 each of which arms itself      
against the other with the ,do ut des4  
,the god who fails in his promise       
deserves to be chastised1 and           
privations1 and even blows1 do not fail 
to follow and punish his felony4        
,sacrifice at first was merely a form of
 prayer4  ,man never approaches his     
superior or his master with empty hands4
  ,to secure his favour or appease his  
wrath he brings the offerings he        
believes to be the most agreeable4  ,the
 gods1 like mortals1 e4g41 have need of 
nourishment4 ,for them1 therefore1 are  
reserved the first-fruits of the human  
repast2 libations1 presents of honey and
 fine flour1 the most luscious fruits1  
the most delicious viands4  ,what       
difficulty man has had in believing in  
the goodness of his gods6  ,he saw the  
effects of their anger in the evils     
which befell him1 and if good fortune   
came to him he felt obliged to offer a  
sacrifice to turn aside the jealousy of 
higher powers4  ,was a god supposed to  

have been offended8  ,they trembled for 
years beneath the strokes of his wrath2 
they offered in expiatory sacrifices all
 possible equivalents2 they invented    
penances1 humiliations1 tortures1       
without being sure that the divine      
vengeance ever was appeased4  ,these are
 universal religious phenomena4  ,the   
religious is so different from the moral
 sense that1 at the outset1 it exists by
 itself1 and expresses itself in the    
most selfish and ferocious manner4  ,how
 many crimes have been committed in the 
name of religion6 with what baseness and
 sordidness has it not been sincerely   
connected6  ,but here also we must note 
the new revelation made in the souls of 
prophets and of sages in order to raise 
the religion of naturalism to morality4 
,confucius1 ,buddha1 the prophets of    
,israel1 the philosophers of ,greece1   
came simultaneously to feel that the    
true relation of man to ,god must be a  
moral relation1 that righteousness is   
the only link which binds earth to      

heaven1 that sacred words1 rites1       
interested offerings1 outward           
compensations1 can do nothing1 and mean 
nothing1 the moment the religious man   
rises above the law of ,nature and      
enters upon the higher life of the      
spirit4  ,if ,god be righteous1 there is
 only one means henceforth of putting   
one's self into harmony and peace with  
,him--to become like ,him4  ,thus       
religion and morality were destined to  
approach each other and to penetrate    
each other more and more1 until the     
perfect religion should be recognised by
 this sign3 the highest piety under the 
form of the ideal morality4  ,at bottom1
 ,christianity has no other principle1  
and it is for this reason more than for 
any other that it is not only the       
highest form of religion1 but the       
universal and final religion4  ,the     
absolute religion and the absolute moral
 life are identical terms4  ,the ancient
 dualism is surmounted in the unity of  
,christian consciousness4  ,it is not   

surprising1 therefore1 that prayer      
should1 in its turn1 be transformed1 and
 that1 having at first been the most    
violently interested act of life1 it    
should come in the end to be a pure act 
of trust and self-abandonment1 of       
disinterestedness the most religious and
 complete4 ,is there need of many words 
for a child to make its father          
understand8 ,it is the heathen1 says    
,jesus1 who make many prayers4  ,the    
,father knows your needs before you ask 
,him4  ,it is a mark of unbelief to be  
anxious about food and raiment and the  
future4  ,the essential thing is not to 
multiply petitions1 but to live near    
,him and feel ,him ever near4  ,is ,he  
not ,almighty and all-good8  ,does ,he  
not love you better than you love       
yourselves8  ,does ,he not make all     
things work together for the good of    
,his children8  ,if trials come1 or     
dangers threaten1 what ought we to do8  
,submit to ,god1 as ,jesus did4  ,what  
is such prayer as ,his but the defeat of

 egoism and the perfect liberation of   
the individual spirit in the feeling of 
its plenary union with ,god8  ,such was 
the prayer of ,jesus4  ,it did not      
consist in an outward flow of words1 but
 in a constant1 silent state of soul    
which made ,him say in turning towards  
,his ,father3 ,i know that ,thou hearest
 me always4 ,confidence increases with  
renunciation4  ,admirable progress of   
religion6  ,sublime reversal of roles6  
,at the beginning the ambition of the   
pious man was to bend the ,divine will  
to his own2 at the end his peace1 his   
happiness1 is to subordinate his wishes 
and desires to the will of a ,father who
 knows how to be gracious1 righteous1   
perfect6  ,there is another aspect of   
this progress4  ,in all religions there 
is a double gamut of feeling3 the one1  
which rules in primitive religions1 and 
whose dominant note is fear and sadness2
 the other1 which prevails in the end1  
in which the dominant note is confidence
 and joy4  ,it is a natural effect of   

the progressive victory of the religious
 consciousness gradually surmounting the
 contradictions in the midst of which it
 is born and developed4  ,at the outset1
 man1 alone and defenceless1 finds no   
fewer enemies in heaven than on earth4  
,he feels as if surrounded by hostile   
and mysterious powers before which he   
cringes in fear1 awaiting their         
decisions with respect to him4  ,but    
everything changes when there rises     
within his soul the luminous dawn of the
 moral revelation of ,god4  ,with the   
darkness1 vanish all the frightful      
phantoms of the night4  ,in the ,god    
whom he adores he sees his own interior 
law glorified and become henceforth the 
supreme law of things4  ,that law of    
righteousness is1 at bottom1 a law of   
love4 ,nothing can trouble me any more  
except the sense of my own failure--that
 is1 of my own sin1 which alone can     
separate me from the very principle of  
righteousness and life4  ,but1 see1     
justice manifests itself as justifying  

grace6  ,god gives it as ,he gives life 
to those who thirst for it4             
,reconciliation is complete4  ,the      
orphan has found his ,father2 the       
,father1 ,his child4  ,the sinner1      
trembling1 begins his prayer1           
prostrated2 he ends it upright1 with the
 confidence and freedom of a child that 
feels itself at home within the         
,father's house4  ,the ,gospel bids us  
to rejoice2 it makes of joy an          
obligation1 while distrust and sadness  
are the marks of selfishness and        
unbelief4   #e4 ,conclusion  ,such has  
been the course of religion through the 
centuries of human history1 and amid the
 complex and confused development of    
particular faiths4  ,the progress has   
not been on a straight line and by      
successive additions1 as in the         
scientific sphere4  ,religious evolution
 is more like the evolution of art1 in  
which the experience of the past is only
 fruitful when translated by a higher   
inspiration and a mightier creative     

force4  ,there are periods of           
recrudescence of the religious sentiment
 in which the passions of a past that   
seemed to have been abolished are       
revived4  ,these are the times of       
superstition4  ,there are also periods  
of religious inertia1 when the soul     
seems to empty itself of its eternal    
content1 and divert itself into a       
frivolous activity and a superficial    
wisdom4  ,these are the ages of         
incredulity4  ,lastly1 there are epochs 
of crisis and confusion1 in which mingle
 religious traditions the most diverse1 
and currents of thought the most        
contrary4 ,we must pass over all these  
accidents and vicissitudes4  ,in the    
religious evolution of humanity there is
 a sequence1 an order1 a progress which1
 in spite of all interruptions and      
reactions1 manifest themselves as soon  
as we rise high enough to embrace it in 
its vast entirety4        99      99    
99      99      99  ,a few years ago    
there assembled in ,chicago what the    

,americans called the ,parliament of    
,religions4  ,the official              
representatives of all the principal    
religions of the new world and the old  
met together under a common feeling of  
religious brotherhood4  ,they did not   
discuss the value of their rites or     
dogmas2 their object was to approach    
each other1 to edify each other1 and1   
for the first time in the world's       
history1 to present the spectacle of a  
universal religious communion4 ,when it 
came to the point1 three things became  
clear3 first1 the common name under     
which they were able to call upon       
,god--the ,father2 secondly1 the ,lord's
 ,prayer was adopted and recited by all2
 thirdly1 ,christ ,himself1 apart from  
all theological definition1 was         
unanimously recognised and venerated as 
the ,master and ,initiator of the higher
 religious life4  ,in my own            
consciousness1 this practical           
demonstration is completed4  ,i can     
hardly help being religious2 but if ,i  

am seriously to be religious ,i can only
 be so under the ,christian form4  ,i   
can hardly help praying2 but if ,i      
desire to pray1 if moral anguish or     
intellectual doubt constrain me to seek 
some form of prayer that ,i can use in  
all sincerity1 ,i never find but these  
words3 ,our ,father which art in heaven4
  ,lastly1 ,i may disdain the inner life
 of the soul1 and divert myself from it 
by the distractions of science1 art1 and
 social life2 but if1 wearied by the    
world of pleasure or of toil1 ,i wish to
 find my soul again and live a deeper   
life1 ,i can accept no other guide and  
master than ,jesus ,christ1 because1 in 
,him alone1 optimism is without         
frivolity1 and seriousness without      
despair4     ,,book ,,second            
,,christianity     ,,chapter ,i         
,,hebraism1 ,,or ,,the ,,origins ,,of   
,,the ,,gospel  ,to understand          
,christianity we should need to see     
clearly and in one view the link which  
connects it with the religious evolution

 of mankind1 the living originality by  
which it is distinguished1 the          
succession and the character of the     
forms it has assumed4  ,such are the    
three points which we shall take up in  
turn4  ,we must begin with its origins4 
,there is never a complete break in the 
chain of history4  ,every phenomenon    
arises in its place and at its time4    
,it has its antecedents1 which prepare  
it and condition it4  ,however new      
,christianity may have been1 it is no   
exception to the rule4  ,it springs from
 the tradition of ,israel by an evident 
affiliation4  ,the old theology did not 
dissimulate this kinship of origin2 it  
rather exaggerated it4  ,the ,christian 
,church made the ,bible of the ,jews the
 first part of its own4  ,the writings  
of the prophets were placed in the      
sacred volume before those of the       
apostles1 as if to intimate that the one
 could not be understood without the    
other4  ,novum ,testamentum in ,vetere  
latet2 ,vetus in ,novo patet4  ,at      

bottom1 this old adage of the schoolmen 
is true4  ,it is an excellent rule of   
biblical exegesis to trace the primary  
,christian ideas to their ,hebraic root1
 and to regard as foreign and           
adventitious those which are not        
attached to it4  ,if there is nothing   
essential in the ,new ,testament the    
germ of which is not to be found in the 
,old1 there is nothing truly fruitful in
 the ,old which has not passed into the 
,new4  ,such is the historical sequence 
and connection that we must respect and 
follow4  ,the study of the religion of  
,israel is the natural introduction to  
the study of ,christianity4 ,the only   
point to be considered here is how the  
one was preparatory to the other4#a   #a
 ,two non-essential sections have here  
been omitted1 one on ,the ,sacred       
,history1 the other on ,the             
,nation4--,trans4    #a4 ,prophetism    
,the miracle of the history of ,israel  
is ,prophetism4  ,in this is to be found
 the incomparable force by which the    

religious evolution we may trace in its 
annals was effected4  ,but first let me 
explain what ,i understand by this word 
evolution1 and let me eliminate from it 
the fatalistic sense too often given to 
it4 ,if by evolution you mean a         
necessary and unconscious process1 a    
mechanical and continuous movement1     
which1 without either effort or danger1 
causes light to spring out of darkness1 
good from evil1 and raises a people or a
 race from a lower to a higher form of  
life1 you incur the reproach of         
confounding the laws of the moral world 
with those of the physical order2 you   
will be condemned to falsify history in 
general and to understand nothing of the
 history of ,israel in particular4  ,in 
the moral and religious progress which  
constitutes the singular originality of 
that history1 there is nothing facile1  
nothing that can be logically deduced   
from the natural predispositions of the 
nation4  ,no doubt the prophets were the
 children of the nation and intimately  

connected with it2 but the inspiration  
which breathes in them1 raises them and 
animates them1 is something entirely    
different from the ethnic genius of     
their race4  ,the contrast is so great  
that it amounts to contradiction4  ,the 
race1 in ,israel1 as in ,moab1 or among 
the ,edomites or ,philistines1 had its  
interpreters and prophets4  ,but these  
were not the prophets of conscience4    
,they flatter the people2 they do not   
elevate them4  ,they are found to be    
false prophets4  ,the others1 the       
witnesses for the righteous1 holy ,god1 
only brought ,hebraism to the           
consciousness of its religious vocation 
by a saecular and painful struggle      
against hereditary idolatry and         
immorality4  ,this was not a collective 
evolution1 but an essentially           
individualist reform2 it was a moral    
creation continually interrupted and    
compromised2 it was a work of faith and 
will4  ,each prophet enters into the    
conflict and utters his cry of battle   

and reform as if he were alone1         
responsible only to the ,god who has    
sent him1 and yet all of them succeed   
each other and pursue the same design1  
because they are all obedient to the    
same identic inspiration4  ,they fight  
against all2 against the multitude that 
cannot break away from custom and from  
prejudice2 against the priests who have 
always from the beginning made of the   
priesthood a metier and of oracles a    
merchandise2 against kings whose vanity1
 whose crimes1 and whose exactions they 
denounce2 against the great and rich    
oppressors of the weak and poor4  ,they 
speak in the name of ,jehovah1 because  
,jehovah speaks in their consciousness4 
,that is the origin of the prophetic    
spirit4  ,it is a divine ferment which1 
perpetuating itself1 becoming clearer1  
stronger1 from generation to generation1
 gradually raises and transmutes the    
heavy mass of primitive ,semitism4  ,no1
 this is not the work of time and       
,nature1 unless you see ,god at work in 

time1 and1 beneath this word ,nature1 by
 the side of realised and manifested    
forces you perceive the hidden and      
immeasurable virtualities which ferment 
in it and carry it beyond itself into   
the higher life of liberty and love4    
,in the apparition of these prophets1 in
 the energy of their faith1 in the      
boldness of their words1 there is a     
positive revelation of a new world1 the 
revelation of a religious ideal which1  
after divesting itself1 in the gospel of
 ,christ1 of every national element1    
will naturally become the faith and     
consolation of humanity4        99      
99      99      99      99  ,the        
education of the people of ,god had been
 a long and laborious work2 besides the 
preaching of the prophets1 it had needed
 repeated catastrophes in which the     
nationality of ,israel had perished1 as 
if the spirit could not free itself save
 by the annihilation of the matter that 
had from the outset grossly closed it   
in4  ,when in the age of ,cyrus we see  

the poor remnants of ,benjamin and      
,judah return from ,babylon1 they are no
 longer a people2 they are already      
almost a ,church4 ,the religious ,law is
 now fixed4  ,it enshrines the life1 the
 ideas1 the ethics and the ritual1 the  
minute practices and precautions1 which 
will for ever separate the ,jew from all
 the other nations1 and maintain him in 
a state of legal purity and high        
morality in the midst of universal      
corruption4  ,it is the beginning of    
,pharisaism4  ,in it the spirit of      
prophetic piety deteriorates1 hardens1  
freezes4  ,nevertheless1 when we think  
of the progress that had been           
accomplished1 when we think of the      
distance that separates this rigid      
monotheism and this rigorous law from   
the old hard1 cruel1 sometimes impure   
,semitic cults1 the prophets' work in   
,israel will appear to us in its immense
 proportions and immortal worth4   #b4  
,the ,dawn of the ,gospel  ,but         
,prophetism was not to end in the       

,talmud4  ,the ,isaiahs and ,jeremiahs  
were to have other heirs and successors 
than the ,pharisees and the sons of the 
,synagogue4  ,prophetism had in it the  
promise and the germ of a higher and    
more human religion4  ,the prophets had 
accents which their immediate successors
 in history seem never to have heard4   
,they attacked nothing with more        
vehemence than formalistic piety or     
practical religion divorced from        
righteousness4  ,listen to ,amos1 as he 
makes ,jehovah utter words like these3  
,i hate1 ,i despise your feast days1    
etc4  7,amos v4 #ba et seq472 or to     
,isaiah on the same theme in his first  
chapter4  ,hosea declares that          
heart-piety and mercy are better than   
sacrifices4  ,jeremiah predicts the time
 when ,god will make a new ,covenant    
with ,his people1 and write ,his laws in
 their hearts1 instead of on tables of  
stone4  ,or think of ,elijah in the cave
 of ,horeb4  ,fatigued with fighting1   
almost in despair1 the terrible         

adversary of ,baal1 who had just had    
#dej of the priests of ,baal put to     
death1 has retired to the mountains and 
is asleep in a cave4  ,you know the     
narrative 7#a ,kings xix4 #i-ac74  ,the 
still small voice6  ,is there in all the
 ,bible a finer image containing a      
profounder thought8  ,what is this      
supreme revelation of the ,god of       
,israel but an apparition by            
anticipation of the ,god of the ,gospel8
  ,and the still1 small voice1 the sound
 of gentle stillness1 what is it but the
 first faint accents of the gracious1   
tender words3 ,come unto ,me1 all ye    
that labour and are heavy laden1 and ,i 
will give you rest4  ,take ,my yoke upon
 you1 and learn of ,me2 for ,i am meek  
and lowly in heart3 and ye shall find   
rest unto your souls4  ,for ,my yoke is 
easy1 and ,my burden is light 7,matt4   
xi4 #bh-cj74  ,beneath the breathings of
 this creative inspiration the religion 
of legal righteousness and rigorous     
retributions is softened into the       

religion of love4  ,the ,god who        
punishes becomes the ,god who pardons   
and restores4  ,beneath the tears of the
 poor1 the vanquished1 the afflicted in 
,israel the gospel of divine compassion 
germinated and sprang up4 ,what tones of
 tenderness are heard in the later      
prophets1 the prophets of consolation1  
properly so called4  ,comfort ye1       
comfort ye ,my people4 ,speak ye        
comfortably to ,jerusalem4  ,say unto   
her that her warfare is accomplished1   
that her iniquity is pardoned4  ,read   
the chapter through 7,is4 xl471 and the 
forty-second and the sixty-sixth1 and   
,psalms xxiii4 and ciii4  ,such words as
 these announce and prepare the way for 
the great religious revolution called by
 ,jesus the ,new ,covenant4  ,the       
relations between ,god and the human    
soul are in course of being changed4    
,from the beginning1 a pact existed     
between ,jehovah and ,his people2 a     
compact expressed and guaranteed in a   
,law on which depended the destiny of   

the nation and of the individual4  ,the 
,covenant has become more inward and    
profound4  ,to the law of strict        
remunerations is now joined a bond of   
love4  ,between ,god and ,his people the
 relations are those of ,husband and    
wife4  ,the wife has proved unfaithful  
to ,him who had loved her1 who had found
 her poor and naked in the desert1 and  
had been desirous to enrich her4  ,she  
has followed other gods4 ,jehovah1 by   
the mouth of ,his messengers1 covers her
 with reproaches1 in order to excite her
 to repentance2 but ,he has learnt to   
pity1 and1 in the end1 ,he pardons4     
,the more the nation's miseries are     
multiplied1 the more its tears flow on  
the soil of alien lands1 the more ,his  
heart is melted in ,him and the tenderer
 become ,his words4  ,can a woman forget
 her sucking child1 that she should not 
have compassion on the son of her womb8 
yea1 she may forget1 yet will not ,i    
forget thee 7,is4 xlix4 #ae74  ,the idea
 beneath these words is the ,christian  

idea4  ,god loves ,his people with a    
boundless love4  ,his mercy extends     
infinitely beyond the sins of the       
children of men4  ,in the consciousness 
of the great unknown prophet whom we    
call the second ,isaiah1 we see         
sketched1 five centuries beforehand1 the
 drama of repentance and forgiveness1   
which ,jesus1 in profounder and yet     
simpler words1 sums up for all mankind  
in the ,parable of the ,prodigal ,son4  
,the long period of affliction and of   
misery between the ,captivity and the   
,advent of the ,christ is like a time of
 painful gestation1 during which1 in the
 bosom of the ,hebraic tradition1       
fecundated by the spirit of the         
prophets1 was prepared in obscurity the 
gospel of the ,beatitudes and of the    
,parables4  ,what a revolution6  ,the   
ancient theocratic law promised to the  
righteous length of days and great      
abundance of material goods4  ,the      
friends of ,job regarded him as criminal
 because they saw him in adversity4     

,the problem of human destiny appeared  
to the later prophets as less simple and
 more tragic4  ,why do the wicked       
prosper8 is the question ever on their  
lips4  ,why do the righteous suffer8    
,this spectacle has become so constant  
that the correlation of the words has   
been reversed4  ,rich and wicked in the 
,psalmists1 and in the second ,isaiah1  
are equivalent terms4  ,poor and        
afflicted are synonymous with the       
righteous and the friends of ,god4      
,riches and high looks are the signs of 
malediction2 humility1 poverty1         
persecution1 tears1 are the marks of    
piety and the pledges of divine         
affection4  ,it was at this time that   
the words were born that edified the    
early ,christians3 ,god resisteth the   
proud1 but giveth grace to the humble4  
,gather together in a common hope this  
family of little ones1 of the defeated  
and unhappy ones whose hearts were      
crushed and whose eyes were filled with 
tears1 and you have the true people of  

,god1 the heirs of all the promises1 the
 little flock to whom it is the         
,father's pleasure to give the kingdom4 
,it was from their ranks that was to    
come the ,man of ,sorrows1 who should be
 scourged and put to death for the sins 
of ,his people4  ,the religion of       
suffering is born4 ,for the suffering of
 the ,servant of ,jehovah1 in whom is no
 iniquity1 cannot be the chastisement of
 ,his own crimes2 it will henceforth be 
accepted as the necessary part that     
fraternal solidarity imposes on the best
 for the redemption of the rest4  ,a    
tender1 fragile flower1 a bud as yet    
scarce opened in the writings of the    
prophets1 this thought will expand into 
the ,gospel and become the religion of  
mankind4  ,pity joined to a severe ideal
 of righteousness in the notion of ,god2
 morality introduced into religion by   
the subordination of rites to rectitude 
of heart and will2 hope of a future of  
peace and happiness by the realisation  
of righteousness3 these are the three   

great ideas bequeathed by ,prophetism to
 the ,gospel4  ,this heritage is a rich 
and lovely one1 but it must not be      
over-estimated or misunderstood4  ,we   
are still a long way off the ,gospel4   
,the thought of the prophets did not go 
beyond the narrow limits of a national  
,messianism2 it remained ,jewish1 not   
only by its forms and symbols1 but also 
by the religious privilege which is to  
guard the people of ,israel in the      
future as in the past4  ,the destiny of 
humanity is still bound up with the     
destiny of ,jerusalem1 and the triumph  
of the ,jews implies the partial or     
total defeat and subjection of the      
,gentiles in the days of the ,messiah   
and after they are admitted into the    
kingdom of ,god4  ,the saints of ,israel
 are the children of the household2 the 
heathen may enter1 and even share in the
 felicity which fills them1 but only as 
servants and tributaries4  ,it should   
also be noted that1 in the theology of  
the prophets1 the object of ,jehovah's  

love is not the individual as a moral   
being1 but the chosen people4  ,only the
 nation counts in the eyes of the       
,eternal4 ,in its deliverance and       
triumph the citizens find salvation4444 
,there is something great and thrilling 
in this ,messianic doctrine4  ,it       
elevated the soul of a people and of a  
religion to the point of the sublime4   
,it is something to have given hope to a
 defeated people and a dying world4  ,in
 this doctrine also we may note this    
admirable trait3 this national triumph  
is identified with the advent of        
righteousness to all the earth4  ,nor   
have the hopes of ,israel been belied4  
,the dream of the prophets was realised 
in ways of which they did not think1 but
 in a manner not less marvellous4  ,the 
descendants of ,japhet lodge to-day     
beneath the tents of the children of    
,shem1 and our eyes may see the day     
approaching when the ancient promise    
made to ,abraham and his seed shall be  
fulfilled1 and all the families of the  

earth be blessed in ,him4  ,between the 
religion of the prophets and the        
religion of ,jesus1 however1 there is   
one more barrier to be broken down4  ,in
 the ,kingdom of ,god1 the idea of the  
nation must give place to the idea of   
humanity4  ,the universal ,god must be  
represented as the immanent ,god1 as    
present in every human soul4  ,his seat 
and temple could not be in ,jerusalem or
 in ,palestine2 it could only be in pure
 and humble hearts4 ,a supreme crisis   
was necessary4  ,the ,hebrew nation must
 perish in order to free the human      
conscience from its ,jewish yoke4  ,a   
divine flower had been formed in the    
heart of ,prophetism2 but it would have 
been a barren ornament1 had there not   
been deposited in its calix a living and
 a fruitful germ4  ,the transformation  
of the piety of the prophets into a     
purely moral creation and a ,covenant   
really new with ,god1 this was the work 
of ,jesus ,christ4  ,that is why ,jesus 
is ,he that should come1 ,he whom the   

prophets half unconsciously desired1 ,he
 in whom1 to the profit of all mankind1 
was completed the religious development 
of ,israel4  ,its whole history ends in 
,jesus4  ,apart from ,him the           
inspiration of the prophets dies into   
rabbinical ,talmudism or wanders into   
the vagaries and delirium of the        
apocalypses4  ,after giving birth to the
 ,gospel1 ,judaism dries up and withers 
like a tree that has borne its fruit and
 whose season is past4     ,,chapter    
,,ii  ,,the ,,essence ,,of              
,,christianity  #a4 ,the ,problem  ,we  
come at last to ,christianity4  ,what is
 its principle or essence8 ,this        
question must be answered or we cannot  
judge of it aright4  ,now1 during the   
eighteen centuries of its history1      
,christianity has taken so many and such
 various forms1 it has received so many 
developments in every sense1 it has     
become a thing so rich and luxuriant1   
that it is far from easy to discover    
beneath this thick growth of            

institutions1 dogmas1 ceremonies1 and   
devotions the tap-root of the tree from 
which it all has sprung1 and from which 
it still derives its nutriment4  ,it    
would be next to useless to interrogate 
the ,churches4  ,they would each answer 
according to their official theologies  
and ,confessions of ,faith4  ,this1 they
 would say1 is the essence of           
,christianity4  ,the ,catholics would   
say it is the institution and infallible
 authority of the ,church1 because      
everything rests on this first          
foundation1 and because no one can be in
 ,christian truth who is outside the    
,church4  ,the ,protestants would not be
 agreed3 one would propose the dogma of 
,justification by ,faith2 another the   
authority of ,scripture2 a third the    
metaphysical divinity and the eternal   
pre-existence of ,jesus ,christ1 under  
the pretext that they could not conceive
 the possibility of the subsistence of  
,christianity without these dogmas4  ,in
 entering on this examination we enter  

on an interminable dispute4  ,the       
problem1 happily1 is simplified for the 
historian and the psychologist4  ,in    
asking what is the principle of         
,christianity1 what do we wish to know8 
,simply what it is that makes a         
,christian a ,christian4 ,we desire to  
ascertain what is the inward element1   
present in the soul1 which compensates1 
at need1 for the absence or defect of   
all the rest1 and which1 being wanting1 
cannot be supplied or compensated for by
 anything else4  ,in short1 we want to  
get at the religious experience which   
determines and marks out the            
consciousness of all ,christians1 which 
makes them members of one moral family1 
and which makes them to be recognised as
 such in spite of differences of times  
and place1 of language and of culture1  
of rites and even of beliefs4  ,to seize
 this common feature there is no need of
 polemics2 all we need is a little      
history and psychology4  ,in history1   
,christianity offers itself to us as the

 term and crown of the religious        
evolution of humanity4  ,in the         
consciousness of the ,christian it is   
something more2 it there reveals itself 
as the perfect religion4  ,how must we  
understand this perfection8  ,is it the 
perfection of a complete system of      
supernatural knowledge1 of a religious  
science which would have been strange to
 former generations1 and which was      
shared by ,christians alone8  ,in no    
wise4  ,if there are enlightened        
,christians1 there are many who are very
 ignorant4  ,and yet they are all       
,christians by one and the same         
principle1 which is entirely independent
 of degrees of culture4  ,no ,christian 
will maintain that his knowledge is     
perfect4  ,they all agree with ,st4     
,paul that at present it is very        
imperfect4  ,we see divine things dimly4
  ,what1 then1 do they affirm who say   
with so much assurance that             
,christianity is the perfect religion8  
,they affirm that1 religion not being an

 idea but a relation to ,god1 the       
perfect religion is the perfect         
realisation of their relation to ,god   
and of ,god's relation to them4  ,and   
this is not1 on their part1 a           
theoretical speculation2 it is the      
immediate and practical result of their 
inward experience4  ,they feel that     
their religious need is entirely        
satisfied1 that ,god has entered with   
them1 and they with ,him1 into a        
relation so intimate and so happy that1 
in the matter of practical religion1 not
 only can they imagine nothing1 but that
 they can desire nothing above it or    
beyond4  ,they simply set themselves to 
realise more fully and more effectually 
in themselves this supreme relation1    
this piety whose principle is immanent  
to themselves2 they know that in it they
 have the germ of perfect spiritual     
development and eternal life4  ,this is 
why they affirm without the slightest   
doubt that ,christianity is the ideal   
and perfect religion1 the definitive    

religion of humanity4  ,such is the     
first affirmation of the ,christian     
consciousness4  ,here is the second4    
,this perfect relation between ,god and 
my soul1 this supreme religious good1   
this kind of piety which constitutes my 
joy and strength1 which enlightens1     
renovates1 sustains my whole inner life1
 does not date from myself1 and ,i well 
know that it is not my own virtue that  
has created it4  ,nor can ,i refer the  
origin of it to my parents1 although ,i 
may perhaps have received it through    
them or through my teachers2 nor to my  
,church1 although ,i still remain its   
catechumen2 for parents1 teachers1      
churches1 will acknowledge1 with myself1
 that they have only transmitted that   
which they themselves received4         
,remounting thus the living chain of    
,christian experiences1 ,i reach a first
 experience1 a creative and inaugural   
experience1 which has made possible and 
engendered all the rest4  ,that         
experience was realised in the          

consciousness of ,jesus ,christ4  ,i    
affirm1 then1 not only that ,christ was 
the author of ,christianity1 but that   
the first germ of it was formed in ,his 
inner life1 and that in that life1 first
 of all1 that divine revelation was made
 which1 repeating and multiplying       
itself1 has enlightened and quickened   
all mankind4  ,christianity is therefore
 not only the ideal1 but an historical  
religion1 inseparably connected not only
 with the maxims of morality and with   
the doctrines of ,jesus1 but with ,his  
person itself1 and with the permanent   
action of the new spirit which animated 
,him1 and which lives from generation to
 generation in ,his disciples4  ,these  
are the two affirmations1 equally       
immediate and equally essential1 of     
every ,christian consciousness4  ,now1  
the whole theological problem is how to 
reconcile the two4  ,how can that which 
is ideal and perfect be realised in     
history8  ,how can that which is        
historical be held to be ideal and      

eternal8  ,does it not seem as if these 
attributes were contradictory and       
exclusive of each other1 and that       
,christianity could not become an ideal 
religion without severing all its links 
with a particular history1 or that if it
 would remain an historical religion it 
must renounce all pretensions to        
absolute perfection8  ,on the other     
hand1 these two attributes1 are they not
 equally necessary to it8  ,how can it  
subsist if it obeys the formal and      
summary logic which summons us to choose
 between them8  ,will it be anything    
more than a speculative philosophy if   
cut off from its historic tradition8    
,will it continue to inspire me with    
confidence1 will it place me in         
security1 if it ceases to appear to me  
to be the perfect and definitive        
religion8  ,theology1 from the          
beginning1 has had no other task2 at all
 events1 it has had no task more arduous
 or pressing than that of reconciling   
these two data4  ,there have always been

 two tendencies amongst theologians     
corresponding to two families of minds3 
the ,idealist tendency--that of ,origen 
and his emulators1 which puts the       
emphasis en ideas and constructs a      
religious metaphysic or gnosis1 which of
 necessity rationalises dogma1 and for  
which history is but a temporary        
envelope1 a sort of external and        
sensible illustration2 and the ,realist 
tendency1 represented by the genius of  
,tertullian1 which1 obeying an opposite 
instinct1 materialises ideas1 gives an  
anthropomorphic body to everything1 even
 to ,god1 deifies phenomena1 and changes
 contingent history into an eternal     
metaphysic4  ,from these two tendencies1
 perpetual and parallel1 have issued the
 two solutions given by ,rationalism and
 by ,orthodoxy to the problem as to the 
essence of ,christianity4  ,the first   
finds that essence in a few simple      
truths of reason or of consciousness1   
which are of all time and all lands1 and
 which impose themselves on every man by

 their own natural evidence4  ,jesus of 
,nazareth was the preacher and the      
martyr of these truths2 but it is clear 
that ,his personality is no more        
essential to ,christianity than that of 
,plato is to his philosophy4  ,only1    
mind1 in thus severing itself from      
,christ the ,christian ,religion ceases 
to be positive and becomes an abstract  
and dead doctrine2 it loses its         
religious pith and power4  ,orthodoxy1  
whether ,catholic or ,protestant1 avoids
 this reef but strikes upon another4    
,in making of ,christ the ,second       
,person of the ,eternal ,trinity1 the   
,son of the ,father1 consubstantial and 
equal1 it removes ,him from history and 
transports ,him into metaphysics4  ,but 
thus to deify history is also in a      
fashion to destroy it4  ,the dogma      
annuls the limited1 contingent1 and     
human character of the appearance of    
,jesus of ,nazareth4  ,his life loses   
all reality4  ,we have no longer a man  
before our eyes1 although the ,church1  

theoretically1 maintains the humanity of
 ,christ alongside ,his divinity4  ,this
 fatally absorbs everything4  ,we have  
only a deity walking in the midst of    
,his contemporaries1 hidden beneath a   
human figure4  ,the traditional         
,christology has been so incurably      
,docetic that it has been practically   
impossible1 from this point of view1 to 
write a serious ,life of ,jesus without 
falling into the heresy at once modern  
and semi-pagan of ,kenosis1 the theory  
according to which the pre-existent and 
eternal deity commits suicide by        
incarnating ,himself in order gradually 
to be re-born and find ,himself ,god    
again at the end of ,his human life4    
,can this strait be crossed8  ,is there 
a passage between ,scylla and           
,charybdis8  ,not so long as you cling  
to the intellectualist conception which 
forms the error common to both          
,rationalism and ,orthodoxy1 and ensures
 their final failure4  ,if the essence  
of ,christianity lies in the revelation 

of natural truths or supernatural       
dogmas1 the problem is insoluble4  ,all 
,apologetics will inevitably dash       
themselves to pieces against the        
insurmountable contradiction that they  
will soon encounter4  ,strauss's        
argumentation1 which the philosophers do
 not cease to repeat1 and which the     
theologians pretend not to hear1 springs
 into one's mind4  ,so far from         
weakening it1 the historical studies of 
the past half century have only added   
sharpness to its edge4  ,the idea does  
not pour all its riches into a single   
individual4  ,the ,absolute does not    
descend into history4  ,it is against   
all analogy that the fulness of         
perfection should be met with at the    
outset of any evolution whatsoever2     
those who place it at the origin of     
,christianity are victims of the same   
illusion as the ancients1 who placed the
 ,golden ,age at the beginning of human 
history4  ,before going further it may  
be convenient to estimate the strength  

and weakness of this famous dilemma1 and
 to inquire how we may escape from it4  
,the traditional theology succumbs to   
it4  ,but this only proves that that    
theology needs reforming4  ,let us place
 ourselves at a different point of view1
 and examine for a moment the idea of   
perfection which serves as the premise  
to ,strauss's reasoning4  ,when he      
speaks of the total or plenary          
perfection which cannot be found in the 
first link of an historical chain1 he   
doubtless means a quantitative          
perfection--that is to say1 a complete  
collection of virtues1 merits1 and      
faculties the numerical addition of     
which makes the notion entire4 ,now1    
from this point of view1 ,strauss's     
observation is incontestable4 ,neither  
the perfection of science comprising all
 scientific discoveries1 nor the        
perfection of civilisation embracing all
 the progress and all the forms of human
 life1 are ever found or could be found 
at the beginning or at any given moment 

in the course of history4 ,one          
individual1 however great1 could not    
exhaust the life or labour of the       
species so as to render evolution       
useless4  ,but have you noticed that    
this idea of perfection is              
contradictory1 and therefore chimerical8
  ,under the category of quantity or of 
extension there could be no real        
perfection either for the individual or 
for the species4  ,no sooner is anything
 that can be counted or measured        
conceived than the mind instantly       
conceives something greater4  ,there is 
no such thing as perfect number4  ,here 
therefore it is needful to make an      
essential distinction4  ,we must        
distinguish between the quantity and the
 quality1 or rather1 the intensity1 of  
being4  ,now1 between the degrees of    
both these things there is not the      
slightest relation1 nor consequently any
 common measure4  ,and that which is    
true in the one becomes false in the    
other4  ,take a cubic metre of stone1   

multiply it by a thousand or a million1 
you will still have the same stone--that
 is to say1 there is not more true      
reality in a million cubic metres of    
stone than there is in one4  ,but let a 
bit of moss spring up in a fissure in   
that stone2 in that bit of living moss  
there is more being1 or1 if you will1   
being of a higher quality than that of a
 whole mass of rocks4  ,still1 do not   
forget that it needed a germ to produce 
it1 and that this germ was a sort of    
positive perfection in relation to all  
inorganic matter1 whose last end is     
life4  ,this is why we may boldly say   
that evolution is not the cause of      
anything2 that no development ever gives
 more than what is hidden in the new    
germ which engenders it2 that a hundred 
thousand imbeciles do not make a man of 
genius1 and that if man descended from a
 monkey all the monkeys in creation put 
together do not make up one human       
consciousness4  ,from this synthetic    
point of view1 it will no longer seem   

contradictory1 but natural1 and in full 
accordance with the analogies of        
history1 that we should meet in the     
person of the ,founder of ,christianity 
that perfect relation to ,god1 that     
perfection of piety which every         
,christian still experiences within     
himself1 and which he declares he has   
drawn from communion with ,him4         
,lastly1 let us fortify ourselves1 and  
finish this brief statement of this     
somewhat novel view with ,pascal's      
pregnant words4  ,there are1 he says1   
three orders of greatness4  ,from all   
bodies put together you could not       
extract one thought1 if there were not  
first a mind to conceive it4  ,from all 
thoughts you could not draw a single    
movement of charity1 if there were not  
there a heart to produce and feel it ,so
 far from needing to manifest themselves
 by the same attributes1 these various  
kinds of greatness are absolutely       
independent of each other and even      
incommensurable4  ,that which makes one 

shine forth would diminish or obscure   
the others4  ,alexander came with a pomp
 which dazzled the eyes and astonished  
the imaginations of mere carnal men4    
,archimedes had no need of the pomp of  
,alexander in order to impress the minds
 of men2 his greatness1 purely          
intellectual1 was of an altogether      
different order4  ,and1 so1 the ,christ 
did not come with the eclat of          
,alexander or ,archimedes4  ,his        
greatness is of another order still4    
,it is in fact so different that neither
 the glory of the conqueror nor the     
potency of genius would add anything to 
it1 and that it had need1 the better to 
shine forth to all1 to appear in        
lowliness and humiliation4  ,therefore  
,he was humble1 patient1 gentle1 holy   
towards ,god1 merciful towards man1     
terrible to all the hosts of darkness4  
,without sin1 without external goods1   
without the productions of science1 ,he 
was in ,his own order4 ,oh1 with what   
pomp1 with what transcendent            

magnificence1 did ,he appear to the eyes
 of the heart that discerns true wisdom6
   #b4 ,the ,christian ,principle  ,we  
must therefore come to the religious    
consciousness of ,jesus ,christ as to   
the fountainhead from which the         
,christian stream has flowed4  ,it is   
certain that we shall find in it the    
principle and essence of ,christianity  
itself1 for it would be too paradoxical 
to maintain that the ,master alone was  
excluded from the benefit of the        
religion that ,he has bequeathed to all 
,his disciples4  ,no2 we may affirm in  
all security that the principle of      
,christianity was at first the very     
principle of the consciousness of       
,christ4  ,to determine the one will be 
to define the other4  ,what we call the 
religious consciousness of a man is the 
feeling of the relation in which he     
stands1 and wills to stand1 to the      
universal principle on which he knows   
himself to depend1 and with the universe
 in which he sees himself to be a part  

of one great whole4  ,if then we would  
know exactly what was the essential     
element in the consciousness of ,jesus1 
what was the distinctive characteristic 
of ,his piety1 we must ask in what      
relation did ,he feel ,himself to stand 
towards ,god and towards the universe4  
,the answer will be neither difficult   
nor uncertain4  ,if there are matters on
 which the true thought of the ,master  
remains obscure1 nothing shines out with
 more evidence and continuity through   
all ,his teaching and ,his life than the
 religious attitude of ,his soul towards
 ,god and man4  ,he felt ,himself to be 
in a filial relation towards ,god1 and  
,he felt that ,god was in a paternal    
relation towards ,him4  ,the name of    
,father that ,he gives to ,god          
continually1 exclusively1 uniquely2 the 
name of ,son that ,he takes to ,himself2
 the nature of ,his adoration2 the form 
of ,his prayer2 the motive of ,his      
devoted obedience even unto death2 the  
way in which ,he works ,his cures1 hails

 ,his first successes1 accepts the      
apparent failure of ,his work1 and      
explains the incredulity of ,his        
people1--all announce1 manifest1 and    
confirm that intimate relation1 that    
communion and union of spirit1 by which 
a father prolongs his life in the life  
of his child1 and the child feels       
himself to live by the life of his      
father4  ,this was clearly the essential
 element in ,his consciousness1 the     
distinctive and original feature of ,his
 piety2 it is also the principle and    
essence of ,christianity4  ,that which  
we observe in the consciousness of      
,jesus we find in the experience of all 
,christians4  ,they are ,christians     
exactly in proportion as the filial     
piety of ,jesus is reproduced in them4  
,they are recognised by this unique but 
sufficient sign1 by the confidence with 
which they call ,god their ,father1     
abandoning themselves to ,his love for  
all that regards their present or future
 destiny1 and living a life of          

self-renunciation and of devotion to the
 good of others4  ,all whose inner life 
has been raised from the region of      
selfishness and pride to the higher     
realm of love and life in ,god1--who    
have found in that profound conversion1 
together with the pardon and oblivion of
 their past1 the germ of a higher       
life1--of the perfect1 and1 by          
consequence1 eternal life1 are the true 
religious posterity of ,christ2 they    
reproduce ,his spirit1 continue ,his    
work1 and are as dependent upon ,him and
 as like ,him religiously as are the    
descendants of an ancestor whose blood  
and whose life have not ceased for an   
instant to flow in their veins4  ,this  
feeling1 filial in regard to ,god1      
fraternal in regard to man1 is that     
which makes a ,christian1 and           
consequently it is the common trait of  
all ,christians4  ,it should be added   
that this principle of ,christianity    
admirably corresponds to the two        
fundamental affirmations of the         

,christian consciousness already        
established4  ,the contradiction that   
appeared to us so menacing is thus      
resolved and reconciled4  ,on the one   
hand1 ,christianity1 by this filial     
union with ,god1 is seen to be the ideal
 and perfect religion2 on the other1 it 
appears as a real fact in the           
consciousness of ,jesus ,christ1 so that
 this religious reality comes to us with
 the imperative character of the ideal4 
,through prejudice men may neglect      
religion1 but if they desire to have one
 they can neither desire nor imagine a  
relation at once closer and more moral1 
more sacred and more joyous1 freer and  
more trustful1 than that which was      
inaugurated in the filial consciousness 
of ,jesus ,christ4 ,what can they have  
in the shape of life superior to the    
life of perfect and reciprocal          
affection1--,god giving ,himself to man 
and realising in him ,his paternity1 man
 giving himself to ,god without fear1   
and realising in ,him his humanity8  ,is

 not religious evolution accomplished   
when these two terms1 ,god and man1     
opposed to each other at the origin of  
conscious life on earth1 interpenetrate 
each other till they reach the moral    
unity of love1 in which ,god becomes    
interior to man and lives in him1 in    
which man becomes interior to ,god and  
finds in ,god the full expansion of his 
being8  ,christianity is therefore the  
absolute and final religion of mankind4 
,at the same time1 this filial piety in 
the person of ,jesus and ,his followers 
is an observable phenomenon2 so that the
 ideally perfect religion has manifested
 itself from the beginning as an        
historical and positive religion4  ,it  
is not an abstract ideal1 a theoretical 
doctrine1 floating above humanity1 but a
 principle and a tradition of new life1 
an inexhaustibly fruitful germ inserted 
in human life to raise it1 not in idea  
but in fact1 to a higher form4  ,that   
which the first human consciousness was 
on earth1 separating itself from its    

maternal animality1 and bringing with it
 the kingdom of man1 the initiative     
consciousness of ,christ1 issuing from  
the bosom of antique humanity1 has been1
 and it has founded on our humble planet
 the kingdom of ,god1 the kingdom1 i4e41
 of free1 pure spirit1 of righteousness 
and love4  ,we are no longer therefore  
in face of a rational doctrine or a     
speculative view1 but of a positive     
force1 of a power of life with which no 
one can break 7,i do not say in form and
 from without1 but in fact and in the   
inner man7 without at the same time     
breaking with the higher life of spirit 
as well as with all hope and joy1 and   
health of soul4        99      99       
99      99      99   #c4 ,the ,gospel of
 ,jesus  ,the ,christian principle      
appears in its simple and naked form1 in
 the form of feeling and of inspiration1
 in the soul of ,jesus4  ,it is         
described1 explained1 expanded1 in ,his 
,gospel4  ,the ,gospel in fact is merely
 the popular translation and the        

immediate application of the principle  
of the piety of ,jesus in the social    
milieu in which ,he lived4  ,everything 
springs from ,his filial consciousness  
as a natural and wonderful              
efflorescence3 ,his messianic vocation1 
,his twofold ministry of preaching and  
healing1 ,his deeds and ,his discourses1
 ,his ethics and ,his doctrine1 the     
absolute gift of ,himself in life and   
death4  ,we must place ourselves at this
 luminous centre if we would see the    
rest dart forth like rays4  ,in it is   
found the inner1 living unity of ,his   
teaching and ,his destination4  ,he     
promulgates no law or dogma2 ,he founds 
no official institution4  ,his intention
 is quite different3 ,he wishes1 before 
everything else1 to awaken the moral    
life1 to rouse the soul from its        
inertia1 to break its chains1 to lighten
 its burden1 to make it active1 free1   
and fruitful4  ,he regards ,his work as 
finished when ,he has communicated ,his 
life1 ,his piety1 to a few poor         

consciousnesses that ,he found asleep   
and dead4  ,never man spake like this   
man1 because never had man less concern 
about what we call orthodoxy--that is1  
about abstract and accurate formulas4   
,he prefers the language of the people  
to the language of the schools2 ,he     
makes use of images1 parables1          
paradoxes1 of current and traditional   
ideas1 of every form of expression      
which1 taken literally1 is the most     
inadequate in the world1 but which1 on  
the other hand1 is the most living and  
stimulating4  ,each of ,his sentences or
 parables is enclosed in a hard shell   
that has to be broken before you can get
 at the kernel4  ,jesus wished to force 
,his hearers to interpret ,his words1   
because ,he called them to an inward1   
personal1 autonomous activity1 because  
,he wished to put an end to the religion
 of the letter and of rites1 and to     
found the religion of the spirit4  ,even
 now1 he that does not give himself to  
this labour of interpretation and       

assimilation in reading the ,gospel1--he
 who does not penetrate through the     
letter and the form to the inspiration  
and the inmost consciousness of the     
,master1--cannot understand or profit by
 ,his teaching4  ,he who does not       
collaborate with ,him while listening to
 ,him1 who does not pierce through ,his 
words to ,his soul1 will come away      
empty4  ,he only gives to those who     
have1 or at least desire to have4  ,he  
only leads the seeker to the truth4  ,he
 only pardons those who repent1 or      
comforts those who mourn1 or fills the  
hungerers and the thirsters after       
righteousness4  ,such is the character  
of ,his ,gospel4  ,we cannot here set   
forth its contents2 we can only note the
 religious attitude of ,jesus with      
regard to things and men1 to ,nature and
 ,society4  ,at peace with ,god1 ,jesus 
found ,himself at peace with the        
universe4  ,the idea of ,nature1 that   
formidable screen erected between       
ourselves and ,god1 destroying hope and 

quenching prayer1 did not exist for     
,him4 ,nature--that was the ,will of    
,his ,father4  ,he submitted to it with 
confidence and joy1 whereas we submit to
 it with desperate resignation4 ,he did 
not feel ,himself to be an orphan or an 
exile in the world2 ,he conducted       
,himself in it with ease and in         
security1 not as a slave1 but as a son  
in the house which the ,father filled   
with ,his presence4  ,it is the ,father 
that directs all things2 ,he makes ,his 
sun to shine upon the evil and the good2
 ,he watches over the sparrows2 ,he     
clothes the lilies of the field2 ,he    
gives life and food1 the body and       
raiment2 ,he notices the work we have to
 do1 the trials we must bear4  ,he never
 leaves us to ourselves4  ,his spirit   
vivifies and fortifies our own4  ,he is 
at the origin of our life and at the    
end4  ,we are ever in the ,father's     
hands4  ,the outlook of ,jesus1 it is   
true1 is not our own4  ,he shared the   
outlook of ,his race and time4444  ,but 

,his filial piety did not depend upon   
,his knowledge of the universe4  ,the   
amount of culture does not count in this
 order of feelings4  ,irreligion was not
 less easy or less frequent then than   
now1 and if ,his outlook on the universe
 was narrower1 it must not be imagined  
that it was less full of scandalous     
fatalities1 of moral difficulties1 of   
rude shocks to piety and faith4 ,the    
world of the apocalypses1 which was the 
world in which ,jesus had to live and   
act1 was not less full of mysteries and 
terrors than our own4 ,his filial piety 
alone gave ,him the means and strength  
by which to overcome them4  ,the duty of
 man1 ,he considered1 was to change his 
heart rather than to change the order of
 things1 i4e4 the will of ,god4 ,there  
is no trace of sorcery or magic or the  
appetite for miracles in the prayer ,he 
taught to ,his disciples4  ,at bottom it
 amounts to this3 ,our ,father1 let ,thy
 will be done6  ,his heart-obedience was
 composed half of childlike confidence1 

half of heroic renunciation4  ,in face  
of ,his trials ,he submitted without    
weakness and without complaint1 and in  
face of death ,he breathed the prayer of
 faith1 the only one that still remains 
to us3 ,father1 into ,thy hands ,i      
commend my spirit4  ,in face of the     
universe and its laws the individual ego
 is necessarily called on to submit and 
to renounce itself4  ,the only matter of
 importance is to know upon what altar  
we shall make this sacrifice4 ,those who
 offer it on the altar of that blind    
divinity1 the nature of things1 remain  
still unconsoled4  ,those who1 with     
,jesus1 make it in the arms of the      
,heavenly ,father1 accomplish it with   
strength and joy4 ,from the awakening of
 consciousness to its highest point of  
development1 man carries within him this
 radical contradiction3 he feels that   
there is a mortal conflict between the  
idea that he gradually forms of the     
world and the idea he forms of himself4 
,the ego wishes to conquer and does     

actually conquer the world2 it even goes
 beyond it by thought2 but the world has
 its revenge2 it dominates the ego1 it  
crushes it beneath the weight of its    
invincible laws1 and it swallows it     
up1--itself1 its efforts1 its works1 its
 thought1--like an ephemeral nonentity4 
,jesus felt this opposition2 ,he        
suffered from this conflict4  ,he       
resolved the antithesis by a third term1
 in which was realised the other two3   
the notion of the ,father1 whose        
beneficent will is equally sovereign in 
man and in the universe4  ,and it is    
this happy solution of the enigma of    
life that still renders the religion of 
,jesus the religion of hope4  ,amongst  
men1 in the midst of society1 ,jesus    
felt other relations and new obligations
 formed in ,his heart4  ,his filial     
piety became a fraternal piety4  ,the   
first commandment1 ,thou shalt love the 
,lord thy ,god with all thine heart1    
necessarily gave birth to the second3   
,and thy neighbour as thyself4  ,the    

,father who lives in me lives equally in
 my neighbour2 ,he loves him as much as 
,he loves me4  ,i ought therefore to    
love ,him in my neighbour as well as in 
myself4  ,this paternal presence of ,god
 in all human souls creates in them not 
only a link but a substantial and moral 
unity which makes them members of one   
body1 whatever may be the external and  
contingent differences which separate   
them4  ,from the ,fatherhood in heaven  
flows the brotherhood on earth4 ,from a 
relation of righteousness and love      
towards ,god springs a similar relation 
between men4  ,in thus defining the     
religious connection of ,jesus with ,his
 brethren ,i am afraid of weakening it4 
,for ,him it was not a matter of theory2
 for ,he never constructed any theory or
 formulated any doctrine of human       
fraternity2 it was with ,him a          
passionate sentiment1 a deep-felt       
solidarity and kinship1 a true family   
life1 in which this ,elder ,brother's   
heart reverberated on the one hand with 

the love and pity of the ,father1 and1  
on the other1 with the miseries and     
distresses of ,his brethren4  ,in ,his  
parables ,jesus does not say ,the       
,father simply2 ,he habitually says the 
father of the family1 the head of the   
house4 ,it is because the father does   
not exist without his children1 and     
because humanity1 on earth at least1 is 
the family1 by means of which the       
paternity of ,god is realised4  ,but in 
the society of men ,jesus encountered   
sin with all its effects in the shape of
 moral deformity and physical suffering4
  ,from the contact of ,his filial piety
 with this enormous human misery sprang 
a twofold appeal3 the voice of ,his     
,father in ,his soul1 the plaint of ,his
 brethren all around2 and to this double
 cry the answer was--,his ministry of   
relief1 of consolation1 and salvation3  
,the ,spirit of the ,lord is upon ,me1  
because ,he hath anointed ,me to preach 
good tidings to the poor2 ,he hath sent 
,me to proclaim release to the captives1

 and recovering of sight to the blind1  
to set at liberty them that are bruised1
 to proclaim the acceptable year of the 
,lord 7,luke iv4 #ah1 #ai1 ,r4,v474  ,it
 all flows from the same source4  ,it   
was not only individuals who needed to  
be healed and saved4  ,the family of    
,god was not less broken down1          
oppressed1 disorganised1 by all the     
powers of evil1 a prey to hatred1       
selfish ambition1 intestine wars4       
,would it not be necessary here also to 
effect a work of restoration1 to        
reconstruct this family so              
highly-favoured of the ,father for the  
salvation of the world1 to inaugurate   
the kingdom of ,god announced by so many
 of the prophets1 and expected so       
impatiently by all pious souls and all  
the victims of unrighteousness8  ,this  
was ,his messianic vocation4  ,but how  
would this victory of the ,messiah be   
realised8  ,would it be the work of     
,divine power1 flashing forth and       
executing its pitiless reprisals8       

,since the paternal heart of ,god had   
been opened and poured into ,his own1   
,jesus had perceived another law and    
another force1 the law and force of     
love1 which triumphs by self-sacrifice4 
,soon there arose in ,his consciousness 
a new image of the ,messiah1 that of the
 ,servant of ,jehovah1 bearing the sins 
and miseries of ,his people1 bruised1   
humiliated1 dying to procure them life  
and healing4  ,it was the gospel of the 
,cross4  ,the further ,he advanced in   
this emptying of self1 and in this work 
of love and pain1 the larger and more   
luminous became the revelation of the   
,father in ,his soul4  ,when at last ,he
 had the clear and perfect consciousness
 that ,he had no longer any will to do  
but the will of ,god1 no other plan to  
follow than ,his mysterious designs1 no 
other cause to serve and to defend but  
,his1 ,he did not doubt the final       
victory2 ,his faith shone forth         
triumphantly1 appropriating to itself1  
to express itself in perfect freedom1   

the boldest promises of the ,ancient    
,testament and of the contemporary      
apocalyptic seers4  ,by ,his union with 
the ,father1 the heir of the past felt  
,himself master of the future4  ,on the 
throne of immolated love ,he has founded
 a kingdom that will never end4  ,such  
is the inner secret of ,his hope1 such  
the moral and religious meaning of ,his 
prophecies of speedy victory1 and of    
,his return upon the clouds of heaven4  
,jesus was fond of saying that a wise   
man knew how to bring forth from the    
treasury of his heart things new and    
old4  ,it was in this way that ,he      
accomplished the most radical of        
religious revolutions while seeming only
 to fulfil the law and the prophets4    
,what was there then that was so new and
 potent in the least of ,his discourses8
  ,the treasure of ,his filial          
consciousness4  ,the inner inspiration  
springing up in them incessantly gives  
to every detail of ,his teaching1 the   
oldest words1 the most familiar         

metaphors1 a meaning altogether new1 a  
reach and bearing infinite4  ,his speech
 confines itself to the antithesis that 
had become traditional with all the     
prophets1 of man's weakness and ,god's  
strength1 of sin and pardon1 of         
repentance and confidence1 of sickness  
and healing1 of humility and exaltation4
  ,but ,he had a way of looking at them1
 and even of making them spring out of  
each other1 that entirely renovated     
them4  ,blessed are the poor in spirit1 
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven6    
,blessed are they that mourn1 for they  
shall be comforted6  ,blessed are they  
that hunger and thirst after            
righteousness1 for they shall be filled6
  ,to press thus and to stimulate the   
sense of need1 of misery and sin1 so far
 that it changes into its opposite2 to  
draw riches out of poverty1 comfort out 
of sorrow1 victorious strength from     
weakness2 to find in sorrow for sin the 
germ of saintly life and in hunger and  
thirst the very source of satisfaction2 

to make every human soul thus pass      
through this inward drama of repentance 
and conversion in which it is           
regenerated and renewed1--such is the   
unique but admirable and all potent     
mystery of the ,gospel4  ,christ did not
 construct a theory of man1 of his moral
 life1 any more than ,he constructed a  
theory with respect to ,god and the     
universe4  ,he was content to place     
,himself at the centre of the human     
consciousness1 and to dig down to the   
source of life4  ,he takes man as he is 
in all climates and in all conditions4  
,he does not declare him to be radically
 impotent for good1 but neither does ,he
 flatter him by veiling his natural     
misery4  ,he knows him to be ardent and 
feeble1 full of needs and of illusions1 
capable of conversion1 subject to all   
passions1 the victim of all slaveries4  
,he treats him as diseased1 which is the
 truth1 and ,he does not think ,he can  
make him find the principle of a serious
 cure1 save in the very sense of his    

malady4  ,so far from blunting the edge 
of the moral law1 ,he sharpens it as one
 sharpens a dissecting knife in order   
the better to pierce the living flesh   
and penetrate to the very joints and    
marrow2 ,he infinitely enhances the     
demands of the traditional ideal2 from  
the outward act ,he descends to the     
inward feeling2 ,he makes lust equal to 
adultery1 and anger or hatred to murder 
itself4  ,he tells ,his disciples to    
love their enemies1 to pray for those   
who persecute them1 to answer violence  
by gentleness1 and injuries by love4    
,he speaks thus not to weaken the vigour
 of righteousness1 but because ,he sees 
in love and gentleness a higher         
righteousness and the sole means of     
securing the final triumph of good over 
evil4  ,that is why the righteousness of
 ,his friends exceeds the righteousness 
of the ,scribes and ,pharisees4  ,it is 
no longer dictated by an outward letter1
 but it has1 for soul1 the very spirit  
of the ,father1 and1 for inward rule1   

the ideal the ,master has lit up in the 
conscience3 ,be ye perfect1 even as your
 ,father in heaven is perfect4  ,this   
morality would easily become ascetic and
 appear impossible if it were not       
blended with an opposite element which  
renders it human and fruitful without   
either lowering or destroying it4  ,that
 element is mercy and forgiveness2 it is
 pure1 unconditional grace which in     
misery makes room for hope1 and in      
repentance opens the door to faith and  
to the work of faith4  ,these two       
elements1 inexorable law and            
unconditional grace1 are so intimately  
blended in the ,gospel of ,christ that  
the ,gospel only subsists in its        
originality and with its power by their 
perfect fusion and reciprocal and       
constant action4  ,without the          
inflexible rigours of the moral ideal1  
repentance would not be possible--at    
least it would never be profound enough 
to produce the renovation of the heart2 
but1 without faith in the divine mercy1 

repentance itself1 changing into        
despair1 would be barren and            
ineffectual4  ,these two elements of the
 ,christian life are as fruitful by     
their union as they are impotent and    
liable to degeneration when isolated or 
opposed4  ,what does ,christian law     
become without the sentiment of love1   
without the impulse of mercy1 but a sort
 of moral ,stoicism1 rigid and severe8  
,and what would be the doctrine of grace
 apart from the sacred obligation of the
 law but the theory of a mischievous    
indulgence or a ,pagan mysticism8  ,to  
decompose the ,gospel salt is to destroy
 its savour4        99      99      99  
99      99   #d4 ,a ,necessary          
,distinction  ,at the close of this long
 meditation1 one thing seems to me very 
clear1 the necessity1 or rather the     
obligation under which ,i stand         
henceforth of distinguishing between the
 purely moral essence of ,christianity  
and all its historical expressions or   
realisations1 even the highest and most 

faithful of them4  ,if religion is an   
inward life1 a real and felt relation   
between ,god and man1 and if            
,christianity is that life carried to a 
higher degree1 it is certain that       
religion in general1 and ,christianity  
in particular1 must have the two        
characteristics of all living things4   
,life is a force1 ideal in its essence1 
real in its manifestations4  ,it can    
only manifest itself in the organisms   
that it creates and animates4  ,but1    
while incarnating itself in its works1  
it does not exhaust itself or remain    
imprisoned in any of them4  ,jesus was  
well aware of this when ,he compared    
,his gospel to the leaven which raises  
the dough and to the seed which         
germinates in the soil into which it    
falls4  ,this necessary distinction will
 neither be made nor admitted by        
everybody4  ,many who concede it in     
theory deny it in practice4 ,protestants
 smile at the ,catholics1 who identify  
,christianity with the ,church4  ,but   

while admitting and making the          
distinction1 when it comes to particular
 churches and particular systems of     
dogmas1 they resist and protest in their
 turn1 if it becomes necessary to apply 
it to the ,bible1 and to distinguish    
between the ,word and its human and     
historical expression4  ,should we go   
further still8  ,may we1 ought we in all
 fidelity to apply the distinction to   
the ,gospel of ,christ itself and to the
 primitive form in which it has come    
down to us8  ,most of those who have    
accompanied us thus far will now recoil 
and leave us4  ,they will employ against
 us the very same arguments which appear
 to them so pitiful when used with      
respect to the ,church and to the       
,bible4  ,for my part1 ,i cannot        
comprehend this fear of the freedom left
 to criticism4  ,it seems to me         
impossible to deny that in the teaching 
of ,jesus there are parts which are     
uncertain1 things which have been either
 badly understood or badly reported1 an 

oriental and contingent form which needs
 to be translated into our modern       
languages4  ,who does not see that      
neither in ,his language nor in ,his    
thought is there anything absolute8     
,both of them are constantly determined 
by the generally received ideas of ,his 
time1 the state of mind of ,his         
interlocutors2 and unless you desire to 
deny that ,jesus was a man of ,his age  
and of ,his race1 how can you abstract  
,him from ,his environment and attribute
 to ,him ideas which have neither date  
nor place8  ,i have already compared    
,christianity to an oak which has lived 
and grown for eighteen centuries1 and   
the ,gospel to the acorn from which it  
sprang4  ,but in that acorn itself1 as  
in the tree1 it is manifest that there  
are two things3 a principle of life1 and
 some matter borrowed from the ,hebraic 
soil1 with which the creating principle 
was obliged to amalgamate itself in     
order to enter into history and to      
become fruitful4  ,the characteristic of

 life is to render possible and to      
institute the constant exchange of the  
materials with which it builds up its   
works4  ,when this exchange has ceased1 
life has disappeared4  ,if the ,gospel  
of ,jesus were something fixed and      
finished like a code of laws or a       
collection of formulas1 it would no     
longer be a power of life4  ,his words  
defy the centuries and never wither2    
they are truly eternal1 because they    
leave free and do not imprison in a     
rigid and immutable letter the spirit of
 life which animates them4  ,arrived at 
this point of view1 ,i see the relations
 between ,christianity and historical   
criticism change completely1 and find   
myself once more in the greatest        
religious security4  ,criticism will    
always be a just cause of alarm to those
 who elevate any historical and         
contingent form whatever into the       
absolute1 for the excellent reason that 
an historical phenomenon1 being always  
conditioned1 can never have the         

characteristics of the absolute4  ,but  
criticism can do nothing against the    
,christian principle1 which1 brought    
back to the consciousness1 always       
disengages itself from the relative and 
fleeting expressions in which it has    
clothed itself by the way4  ,criticism  
makes it to appear again in its ideal   
purity and eternal worth4  ,far from    
being injurious1 it becomes necessary to
 it4  ,it is not doubtful that the      
teaching and the work of ,christ1 having
 been preserved in the simple oral      
tradition for half a century1 have not  
been transmitted to us without some     
corruptions and some legendary elements4
  ,what then does historical criticism1 
with all its rigour1 do8  ,nothing but  
purify this uncertain tradition1 remove 
the veils1 set forth more certainly the 
authentic soul of ,christ1 and1         
consequently1 place the ,christian      
principle in its surest1 clearest light4
  ,what has been said of the ,master's  
teaching is still more true of that of  

,his disciples4  ,the ,christian plants 
have all sprung from the same seed2 but 
they vary according to the soil in which
 they grow4  ,they are all of the same  
species1 but in that species there are  
innumerable varieties4  ,how could the  
external result possibly have been the  
same whether the divine seed fell into  
the heart of a simple fisherman of      
,galilee1 or a rabbi of genius1 or a    
thinker brought up in the school of     
,alexandria8  ,could you possibly have  
the same ,church1 the same theology1 the
 same ritual in ,arabia and in ,greece1 
among a savage race and in the          
university circles of ,germany1 at ,rome
 or in ,england1 in the ,middle ,ages in
 a feudal society1 and in our           
democracies in a time of emancipated    
reason and free government8  ,and here  
it will be convenient to pause and      
reflect a moment on that wonderful      
variety in the historical forms of      
,christianity1 none of which are perfect
 and none contemptible4  ,a superficial 

examination may draw from this spectacle
 a lesson of indifference2 a more       
conscientious and attentive study finds 
in it an opposite lesson1 the lesson of 
an ever-pressing obligation on both     
individuals and churches never to repose
 in a deceitful satisfaction1 but to    
progress unceasingly2 for ,christianity 
is nothing if it is not in us at once an
 ideal which is never reached and an    
inner force which ever urges us beyond  
ourselves4   #e4 ,the ,corruptions of   
the ,christian ,principle  ,the         
differences which separate the          
historical forms of ,christianity are1  
like those of religion in general1 of   
two kinds3 there are differences of kind
 and differences of degree4  ,the       
differences of kind are those which     
arise from diversity of races1          
languages1 civilisations1 temperaments1 
genius4  ,the differences of degree are 
those connected with the very intensity 
and purity of the ,christian faith and  
life4  ,churches and peoples are        

diversified at once by their            
constitution and by their degree of     
culture and of moral life4  ,it goes    
without saying that these two classes of
 differences are not juxtaposed2 they   
are mixed incessantly and complicated   
endlessly4  ,it remains none the less   
true that they provoke and legitimate   
two sorts of judgment4  ,the first are  
accepted with tolerance and sympathy1   
since it would not be reasonable to     
blame a man for the colour of his skin4 
,but the second may and should be       
discussed and analysed1 for they imply  
intellectual errors or moral defects1   
the corruption or the weakness of the   
,christian principle1 and they can only 
be corrected and remedied by discussion 
and criticism4  ,the ,christian seed is 
never sown in a neutral and empty soil4 
,no soul1 no social state1 is a tabula  
rasa4  ,the place is always occupied by 
anterior traditions of ideas1 rites1 or 
customs1 by institutions in possession4 
,christianity cannot therefore root     

itself anywhere without entering into   
conflict with the regnant powers1       
without giving battle to prejudices1    
manners1 and superstitions which        
naturally resist1 and which1 when       
conquered1 spring up again in other     
forms in the victorious religion4  ,take
 the ,ebionite ,christianity of the     
first centuries3 what is it but a       
mixture1 a compromise between ,jewish   
and ,christian elements8  ,what shall we
 say of the ,catholic ,church after     
,constantine8 ,is it not true that1 in  
the religious transformation at that    
time effected1 there was a double and   
mutual conversion1 and that it is hard  
to say whether the pagan world was more 
modified by ,christianity or            
,christianity more deeply penetrated and
 invaded by the manners and the religion
 that it was supposed to replace8  ,in  
this order the most striking victories  
are never complete4  ,even after the    
most radical conversion1 the old man    
survives1 at least by its roots1 in the 

new man4  ,the ,pharisee long survived  
in ,st4 ,paul after he became an        
,apostle of ,christ4  ,the same in human
 societies3 political or moral          
revolutions never abolish the past4     
,after those great battles in which     
passions and interests have often as    
much weight as noble ideas and generous 
sentiments1 there is always established 
a sort of equilibrium by mutual         
concessions and spontaneous alliances   
between the vanquished and the          
victorious tendencies4  ,hence come what
 we have named the corruptions of the   
,christian principle in the course of   
historical ,christianity1 for which     
alone should be reserved the name of    
heresies4  ,it must not be imagined1    
however1 that these corruptions or      
heresies1 against which it is the duty  
of ,christian criticism ceaselessly to  
protest1 are arbitrary things1 or that  
their number is unlimited4  ,on the     
contrary1 they fall1 and must           
necessarily fall1 into two categories4  

,the cause of the corruptions of the    
,christian principle in social life can 
only be found in the previous tradition1
 in one of the moral and religious      
tendencies that ,christianity aspires to
 conquer and replace4  ,now1 these      
tendencies may be reduced to two3 the   
tendencies of the religions of ,nature1 
or ,pagan2 and the tendency of the      
legal1 or ,jewish1 religion4  ,closely  
examine all that has disfigured or that 
still disfigures historical             
,christianity1 and you will see that    
each of these corruptions is connected1 
by its character1 with a ,jewish or a   
,pagan root4  ,the ,gospel as the       
religion of free spirit and pure        
morality has never had1 and could never 
have had1 any other enemies than        
,judaism or ,paganism1 ever ready to    
spring up in its bosom and transform it 
either into the religion of ,nature or  
into the religion of the ,law4          
,christianity1 for example1 in its pure 
essence1 implies the absoluteness of    

,god--that is to say1 ,his perfect      
spirituality and ,his perfect           
independence4  ,hence1 worship in spirit
 and in truth1 the only worship that can
 be universal1 the only one that        
corresponds to the ,christian idea of   
,god4  ,therefore every tendency1 even  
in ,christianity itself1 to shut up ,god
 in a phenomenal form1 to bind ,him to  
something material1 local1 or temporary1
 to blend the ,creator with the         
creature1 or to fill up the gap between 
them by a hierarchy of divine beings    
which1 under pretext of serving us as   
intermediaries1 interrupt our free and  
immediate communion with the ,father1   
is1 properly speaking1 a resurrection of
 ,paganism1 and a return to idolatry4   
,paganism and idolatry1 of which we     
pretend to have so much horror1 are     
simply the localisation and             
materialisation1 more or less conscious1
 of the divine spirit and of divine     
grace1 whatever may be the visible organ
 to which you bind them1 or on which you

 make their action to depend1--,pope of 
,rome or ,pythoness of ,delphi1 images  
of gods or images of virgin and of      
saints1 sacramental liturgies1 the      
deification of a church1 a priesthood1  
or a book4  ,take another example3      
,christianity is not only the liberty of
 ,god2 it is also ,his holiness2 it is  
pure morality placed above all the      
instincts of nature2 it is1 finally1 the
 unity of morality and religion4        
,hence1 all that tends to break this    
unity1 every blow at the divine law1    
every attempt to cultivate religious    
emotion apart from conscience1 all magic
 and mystagogy1 aesthetic piety1        
religious romanticism1 ,christianity a  
la ,chateaubriand1 sensuous             
mysticism1--these essays1 so numerous in
 our day1 at philosophic or at literary 
gnosis1 these new religions without     
repentance or conversion1 all these     
cults without any element of moral      
sanctification--these are so many       
corruptions of the ,christian principle1

 and consequences more or less immediate
 of the ,paganism always latent in the  
human heart4  ,by the side of this      
,pagan is the ,judaising heresy4        
,christianity is not only moral law and 
intransigeant holiness2 it is also      
unconditional love1 grace1 mercy1 the   
inward action of the ,spirit of ,god in 
the spirit of man in order to produce in
 it that which ,he desires to find1 and 
to realise that which ,his law commands2
 it is everything that scandalised      
,pharisaism in the teaching and conduct 
of ,jesus in regard to the sinful and   
the lost3 pardon without reproach1      
rehabilitation and salvation through    
repentance and affection1 the sincere   
impulse of the heart that has been      
raised above external works2 the very   
opposite of legal compacts1 meritorious 
and atoning virtue1 formalist religion  
and ritual piety4  ,all that tends to   
separate the ,father from the child2    
that places the liberty and virtue of   
man outside and apart from ,god as      

having some merit in ,his sight2 all    
,pelagianism1 every theory of salvation 
by works1 every condition laid down to  
divine grace except faith to receive it3
 adhesion to a doctrinal formula1       
sacramental usages1 priestly absolution1
 outward mortification1 asceticism      
whether monkish or puritanical1 which   
divides morality and1 in the name of a  
fantastic sanctity1 introduces dualism  
into the work of ,god1--all this should 
be called by its right name2 it should  
be taken for what it really is--a       
relapse into the legal and formalist    
spirit of ,jewish ,pharisaism4          
,finally1 ,i see on what condition      
,christianity may remain faithful to    
itself while realising itself in        
history4  ,it is only by an incessant   
struggle of the ,christian principle    
against all the elements of the past    
which find1 alas1 in human propensities1
 and in the inertia of the multitude1 a 
complicity so constant and effectual4   
,so far from religious indifference     

being permissible1 critical action and  
,christian prayer become1 in every      
church and every life1 permanent duties4
  ,i now understand the paradox of      
,christ3 ,i am not come to send peace on
 the earth1 but a sword4  ,for the      
,christian principle1 in fact1 war is   
life4  ,to cease to fight is to succumb2
 it is to allow yourself to be submerged
 by the rising tide of human            
superstitions2 it is to die4  ,who does 
not see the danger of allowing          
,christianity to become absorbed in one 
church form1 ,christian truth in one    
formula1 the ,christian principle in one
 of its particular realisations8  ,all  
these contingent expressions1 being     
imperfect1 must be reformed sooner or   
later4  ,how can they be unless the     
spirit of ,christianity disengages      
itself without ceasing and floats above 
them as an ideal8  ,for eighteen        
centuries a river of life has flowed    
through human history4  ,break down the 
barriers which fanaticism and           

superstition are always setting up      
athwart its course4  ,if the waters     
cease to flow they stagnate1 and corrupt
 and poison the very land it was their  
mission to fertilise4     ,,chapter     
,,iii  ,,the ,,great ,,historical       
,,forms ,,of ,,christianity  #a4 ,the   
,evolution of the ,christian ,principle 
,the distinction between the ,christian 
principle and its successive            
realisations renders it easy to resolve 
the question1 formerly so much debated1 
as to the perfectibility of             
,christianity4  ,it is perfect piety1   
plenary union with ,god1 consequently   
the absolute and definitive ,religion4  
,but1 regarded in its historical        
evolution1 not only is it perfectible1  
but it must ceaselessly progress1 since1
 for it1 to progress is to realise      
itself4  ,the germ could not be         
perfected in its essence1 as germ and   
ideal type of the tree that it          
potentially contains4  ,but the tree    
itself only comes into existence by the 

development of the germ4  ,no reform1 no
 progress1 no perfecting1 could raise   
,christianity above itself--that is to  
say1 above its principle2 for these     
reforms and this progress only bring it 
into closer conformity with that        
principle--that is1 make it more        
,christian4  ,on the other hand1 the    
principle itself must enter into        
evolution in history in order to        
manifest its originality and its force1 
to realise in individual and social     
life1 in the realm of thought and in the
 realm of action1 in a word in the whole
 of civilisation1 all its virtualities  
and all its consequences4  ,jesus saw   
this when ,he spoke the ,parable of the 
,mustard ,seed 7,matt4 xiii4 #ca-cb74   
,this distinction has another advantage4
  ,it alone permits the ,christian      
thinker to be equitable in his judgments
 in regard to all religious forms1 to   
place himself at a truly historical     
point of view1 and to reconcile1 without
 weakness and without violence1 what is 

due to truth and what to charity4       
,every sincere endeavour to express or  
to realise ,christianity in a system or 
in a church becomes respectable so soon 
as you know how to discover in it1 under
 formulas however strange and practices 
however gross1 some effects of the      
,christian principle or some signs of   
its presence4  ,if disdain and contempt 
are not permissible with regard to any  
type of ,christianity however different 
from our own1 neither is illusion to be 
tolerated with regard to our own church 
or to our personal piety4  ,perfection  
is nowhere to be found4  ,each community
 may repeat1 and the larger1 older1 and 
more numerous it becomes the more will  
it need to repeat1 the words of the     
,apostle ,paul3 ,brethren1 ,i count not 
myself to have apprehended1 etc4 7,phil4
 iii4 #ac1 #ad74  ,the habit we have got
 into of putting all the truth on our   
side and all error on the side of       
others1 of thus opposing light and      
darkness1 not only falsifies the        

judgment2 it sours the heart and poisons
 piety1 it dries up the feeling of      
fraternity1 and is the perpetual sign of
 individual or collective vanity4  ,let 
each examine himself1 let him judge his 
church without complacence in the light 
and spirit of ,christ2 he will soon     
attain to more humility and truth4  ,he 
will never identify any particular      
church or its dogma with ,christianity  
itself4  ,however pure its teaching1    
however generous its deeds1 he will     
reckon that this is1 after all1 but a   
commencement of ,christianity1 a mere   
nothing compared with what the          
,christian principle should have        
accomplished in the world in eighteen   
centuries4  ,such is the feeling with   
which we should approach the history of 
,christianity4  ,the field is vast2 the 
vegetation in it is infinite2 we must   
content ourselves with incompleteness4  
,being neither able nor desirous to say 
everything1 ,i have been obliged to seek
 a commanding point of view from which  

it would be possible to take in that    
history in its entirety1 and to take a  
bird's-eye view of the course it has    
followed4  ,faithful to this idea1      
namely1 that the ,christian principle is
 like leaven or a seed thrown into a    
gross1 heavy mass of anterior traditions
 which it was meant gradually to raise  
and to transform1 it is this struggle   
and this progress that ,i desire        
especially to describe4  ,i shall       
endeavour to show how ,christianity1    
always borrowing its forms from the     
environment in which it realises itself1
 after enduring them for a time1        
subsequently frees itself from and      
triumphs over the inferior and temporary
 elements which fetter it1 and manifests
 from age to age a greater independence 
and a purer and higher spirituality4    
,this progress is slow1 obscure1 oft    
interrupted1 hindered by reactions or by
 moments of arrest2 none the less       
striking1 however1 does it appear when1 
rising above these secondary            

complications1 one measures the distance
 between the points of departure and    
arrival4  ,not only has ,christianity   
never been better understood than in our
 own day1 but never were civilisation or
 the soul of humanity taken in their    
entirety more fundamentally ,christian4 
,when one follows the history of        
,christianity from this higher point of 
view1 one sees that it has passed       
through three very distinct phases and  
assumed three essentially different     
forms3 the ,jewish or ,messianic1 the   
,graeco-,roman or ,catholic1 the        
,protestant or modern1 form4  ,let us   
see how it has passed from the one to   
the other4   #b4 ,jewish1 or ,messianic 
,christianity  ,the first of these      
periods is usually omitted or           
suppressed4  ,being unable to admit that
 ,catholicism is not the work of ,christ
 and the apostles1 or that the ,church  
has varied its dogma or its             
institutions1 ,catholic theologians     
naively imagine that the first          

,christian communities of ,jerusalem and
 ,antioch resembled those of ,rome1     
,milan1 and ,lyons in the fourth        
century2 that ,peter was the first of   
the popes and exercised for             
five-and-twenty years the supreme       
pontificate2 that the apostles appointed
 bishops everywhere as their successors 
and the heirs of their power4  ,in this 
way the history of ,christianity became1
 in the ,catholic tradition1 a tissue of
 legends4  ,the theologians of          
,protestantism arrived by another road  
at an analagous conclusion4  ,under the 
influence of the dogma of the verbal    
inspiration of the ,new ,testament1 they
 were led to make of apostolic          
,christianity an ideal and abstract type
 which all the ages ought to force      
themselves to imitate and reproduce4    
,and1 as they profess to have returned  
to this type both in regard to ideas and
 to institutions and morals1 they have  
made of this apostolic period the first 
chapter of the history of               

,protestantism1 just as the ,catholics  
have made of it the first chapter of the
 history of ,catholicism4  ,in both     
cases1 it loses all distinct physiognomy
 and all reality4  ,by dissipating these
 prejudices1 historical criticism has   
completely resuscitated that first form 
of ,christianity4  ,it is no longer     
possible to confound it with any other4 
,it had its contrasts1 its passions1 its
 storms4  ,neither ,jesus nor the       
apostles lived in the ideal or in       
paradisiacal peace4  ,they quarrelled   
and were divided in the ,church of      
,jerusalem as in our own4  ,the subjects
 of the quarrels were different1 but    
they did not consider them less grave   
than those which vex and trouble us4    
,peter1 ,james1 and ,paul were not less 
divided in the first century over the   
question of circumcision and of the     
relations between ,jews and ,gentiles1  
than were ,luther1 ,zwingle1 and ,calvin
 in the sixteenth over the doctrine of  
the ,lord's ,supper4  ,from both camps1 

then as now1 they sent forth pamphlets  
and anathemas4  ,there were two opposite
 parties4  ,there were the stubborn     
holders of tradition and its authority1 
and there were the innovators1 or the   
partisans1 sometimes as rash as they1 of
 liberty of faith and individual        
inspiration2 and between the two there  
were the men of conciliation and the    
golden mean who were preoccupied        
especially in preventing schisms and    
arranging truces and treaties of peace1 
to be followed in their turn by new     
crises and fresh storms4  ,in this first
 form of ,christianity1 as in all that  
have followed it1 there was a certain   
dualism1 a mixture of heterogeneous and 
soon hostile elements4  ,the struggle   
was bound to arise between the          
,christian principle and ,jewish        
tradition4  ,the new seed sown in that  
ancient soil could not germinate without
 rising in it and in places breaking up 
the thick hard crust4  ,in the books of 
the ,new ,testament that have preserved 

to us the picture of that first and     
powerful germination1 side by side with 
the principle to which belongs the      
future we necessarily find old things   
which are on the way to death4 ,it will 
be seen what an error they commit and   
what a wrong they do themselves who1    
misconceiving this historical           
complexity1 sanctify and deify both     
these opposite elements1 and place on   
the same level the eternally fruitful   
grain1 and the chaff to-day dried up and
 utterly inert1 a mere remnant of the   
,jewish stalk that bore it4  ,conceived 
in this religious matrix of ,judaism1   
the ,christian principle1 if ,i may so  
speak1 could only take in it a body     
essentially ,jewish in structure1       
substance1 colour4  ,i only speak1 of   
course1 of the body of this primitive   
,christianity1 not of its soul1 which1  
as ,i have shown1 was altogether new4   
,now1 its body was ,jewish on two sides 
and in two aspects3 by the persistence  
of the authority of the ,law of ,moses1 

and the practical observance of its     
precepts1 from which the disciples of   
,jesus did not dream of detaching       
themselves2 and1 secondly1 by the       
apocalyptic ,messianism which dominated 
,jewish thought from the time of the    
,maccabees1 and with which the first    
,christians were perhaps more imbued and
 more possessed than all the rest of    
their people4  ,faith in the evangel of 
,jesus1 full and joyful communion with  
the ,father1 habits of ,jewish devotion1
 ,messianic hopes1--all this formed1 in 
the consciousness of the first          
disciples1 a mixture of various elements
 and of things of very unequal value4   
,these elements1 in gradually revealing 
their disparate nature1 could not fail  
to enter into contradiction and to      
engender conflicts in the very heart of 
apostolic ,christianity4  ,it was these 
contradictions and conflicts which set  
,christian thought in movement1 and     
produced the life and progress of that  
early age1 so that one may always       

rightly consider it as a creative and   
classic epoch1 and hold it up as a      
normal example to the churches of all   
time2 on condition1 however1 that it be 
not considered as an immutable mass of  
eternal verities1 but taken in its      
natural movement1 in its constant effort
 of progressive enfranchisement with    
regard to the past1 in its heroic ascent
 towards religious forms and ideas1     
freer1 more human1 more conformed to the
 universal character1 to the            
spirituality1 and to the pure morality  
of the religion of ,jesus4  ,what1 then1
 it will be said1 did not the ,christ   
set ,his disciples free at the outset   
from all the errors and superstitions of
 the past8 ,did ,he not at once give    
them perfect dogmas1 a completed form of
 worship1 an immutable and completed    
system of ethics8  ,no2 ,jesus did      
nothing of the kind4  ,so far from      
formally and systematically criticising 
the traditional religion of ,his people1
 so far from making ex cathedra that    

selection which the vulgar looked for1  
,jesus expressly refused it1 as a method
 essentially false and irreligious4 ,he 
did not wish to abolish anything by mere
 authority2 ,he preferred rather to     
confirm the tradition in its totality1  
of which ,he was the heir and not the   
executioner4  ,think not that ,i am come
 to destroy the ,law or the ,prophets3  
,i am not come to destroy1 but to fulfil
 7,matt4 v4 #ag74  ,his method was quite
 different4  ,it was the method of the  
sower to whom ,he loved to compare      
,himself4  ,in the furrow made by ,his  
word in the ancient soil of ,judaism1   
,he quietly and gently deposited new    
germs4  ,in the traditional and         
theocratic notions of ,his race ,he     
placed contents altogether different    
drawn from ,his own religious           
experience1 and from the sense of ,his  
filial relation to the ,father4  ,he    
then left time to do its work1 to       
develop one after another the           
consequences of the principles ,he had  

planted in human souls4  ,he sowed1 and 
,he and others reap from age to age the 
harvest ,he has sown4  ,consider ,his   
attitude towards the ,law of ,moses4    
,not a jot or tittle of it is to fail or
 be neglected4  ,he strengthens it      
rather than relaxes its claims2 ,he     
deepens it1 carries it inward1 makes it 
infinitely more spiritual and searching4
  ,he gathers it up into two great      
commandments1 and constrains the ,law   
itself1 if ,i may so speak1 to surpass  
itself and transform itself into pure   
evangelical morality4  ,that is what ,he
 meant by declaring that ,his work would
 be the fulfilment of the ,law4         
,nothing was less violent2 but nothing1 
at bottom1 was more revolutionary4444   
,it is easy now to see the consequences 
of this method2 history has revealed    
them4  ,but those who heard the words of
 ,jesus could not perceive these        
consequences4  ,they had no idea        
probably that the day would come when to
 be faithful to the ,master they would  

be obliged to break with ,moses4  ,they 
did not suddenly break with ,judaism4   
,indeed1 they had found in their new    
faith new motives for fervour and       
exactitude in their ,mosaic piety4  ,the
 first ,christians in ,jerusalem were   
honoured of all the people because of   
their assiduity in the ,temple worship  
and for their exemplary devotion4  ,they
 are therefore not enfranchised yet2    
they will have to free themselves from  
,judaism in the school of events into   
which they will be led by the ,spirit of
 ,jesus that is with them and dwells in 
them4  ,the ,christian principle will   
have to reconquer its independence of   
the ,judaism which dominates and hems   
them in on every side4  ,this will be   
the work of more than a century of      
conflict and controversy4  ,all         
,christians will not enter into the     
movement with the same decision2 they   
will not march abreast on the path of   
liberty4  ,many will be stupid and turn 
back4  ,progress would not have been    

made if the ,divine ,spirit that had    
raised up ,jesus had not raised up      
valiant men like ,stephen1 ,saul of     
,tarsus1 ,barnabas1 the author of the   
,epistle to the ,hebrews1 and that of   
the ,fourth ,gospel1 to carry on the    
struggle against the bondage of ,judaism
 and carry it to complete victory4      
,when you pass from the one to the      
other1 from the discourse of ,stephen to
 the ,epistle to the ,galatians1 from   
the ,epistle to the ,romans to the      
,johannean theology1 you clearly see the
 march of progress4  ,at the end of the 
first century ,christianity is so       
independent of national and traditional 
,judaism that the one treats the other1 
without any further scruple1 as an alien
 and hostile religion4  ,more adhesive  
still to the ,christian principle1 less 
easy to strip off1 was the second       
,jewish wrappage1 apocalyptic           
,messianism4  ,jesus had so thoroughly  
consecrated it by calling ,himself the  
,messiah and by inaugurating the kingdom

 of ,god1 that ,his ,gospel might be    
named a ,christian ,messianism4  ,in    
,his discourses ,he seems to have       
confirmed it still more expressly than  
the ,law of ,moses4  ,no doubt ,he      
proceeded in both cases alike4  ,in all 
the theocratic notions which constituted
 this popular ,messianism1 ,he lodged a 
new content1 a religious and moral      
element which must1 in the long run1    
make them burst their trammels and      
elevate ,messianism above itself4  ,but 
,he did not bring to it any negative and
 abstract criticism1 any more than ,he  
did to the divers parts of the ,mosaic  
tradition2 ,he never said either that it
 must be abandoned or that it must be   
retained2 ,he deposited in it the new   
principle2 but ,he left in it many      
obscurities1 abandoning to time and to  
the force of things the care of drawing 
forth the consequences and clearing up  
confusions4  ,for ,his own part ,he     
wished simply to maintain intact beneath
 these apocalyptic forms the principle  

and the inspiration of ,his inward      
piety4  ,it was in accordance with these
 that ,he interpreted the popular       
beliefs1 adapting them with a perfect   
sovereignty to the moral aim and nature 
of ,his work4  ,as with the ,mosaic     
,law1 so with ,messianism2 ,he is its   
,master1 not its slave4  ,he uses it1   
but does not abandon ,himself to it4    
,these hopes never trouble the clearness
 of ,his religious vision2 they do not  
take away ,his self-possession1 or alter
 the direction1 always exclusively      
moral1 of ,his acts4  ,he accepts the   
title of ,messiah1 but only after       
substituting the idea of the suffering  
and humiliated for the national and     
triumphant ,messiah4  ,if ,he preaches  
the kingdom of ,god1 ,he takes care to  
explain the conditions and the true     
goods of the kingdom--humility1         
repentance1 childlike confidence1       
righteousness1 disinterested love1 the  
joy of serving ,god and man4  ,he leaves
 to men of the flesh the pomp and       

splendour which dazzle the eyes of the  
flesh4  ,he admires the grandeur of     
,john the ,baptist more than that of    
,herod4  ,the kingdom of ,god will not  
come with ostentation4  ,it will begin  
like an unseen seed that a man puts into
 the ground4  ,at the outset of ,his    
work ,jesus encountered a mysterious    
temptation4 ,this was the conflict of   
,his consciousness with the seductions  
of the popular ,messianism4  ,he        
triumphed over it with difficulty2 but  
thenceforth ,he was always on ,his guard
 in that direction4  ,is it not         
remarkable that this very temptation    
returned to ,him through the mouth of   
,peter8  ,jesus treats as ,satan the    
first of ,his apostles1 and refers to   
the devil in person and the prince of   
darkness suggestions of this nature     
which tend to make ,him deviate from the
 road marked out by the inspiration of  
,his heart4  ,he avoids the title       
,messiah until the day when ,he is able 
to join with it the image of the ,cross4

  ,he disdains the title1 ,son of       
,david1 preferring to all others that of
 ,son of ,man1 a title that was not open
 to the same mistakes4  ,on this road of
 renunciation ,he must sacrifice not    
only ,his ease1 ,his joys1 and ,his     
repose1 but also1 at each step1 some of 
the beliefs of ,israel1 and some of the 
glories of the ,messiah4  ,he never     
hesitates4  ,his people reject ,him1 and
 ,he turns to ,his ,father and says to  
,him3 ,even so1 ,father1 for so it      
seemed good in ,thy sight4  ,he agonises
 in ,gethsemane1 the ,messiah agonises  
in ,him1 and ,he prays thus3 ,father1   
not ,my will1 but ,thine be done4       
,hence comes ,his freedom of spirit1 the
 elevation of ,his view in the          
interpretation of events1 as also ,his  
pious and trustful reserve in face of   
the enigmas and obscurities that ,his   
glance cannot penetrate4 ,john the      
,baptist is beheaded in prison3 singular
 destiny for that formidable ,elijah who
 was to inaugurate by thunder and       

lightning the ,messianic era1 the dream 
of all patriots6  ,is ,jesus offended by
 it8 ,does ,he hesitate to declare that 
,john at that very moment is the ,elias 
which was for to come8  ,what a defiance
 to the oracles of the popular          
,messianism6  ,when the sons of ,zebedee
 desire ,him to reserve for them the    
foremost places in ,his future kingdom1 
,he merely speaks to them of the baptism
 of martyrdom1 and teaches them that    
they must leave such things at the      
disposal of the ,father4  ,no doubt1 ,he
 never contradicts apocalyptic          
predictions2 on the contrary ,he applies
 to ,himself all the promises of glory  
and of triumph2 but always in subjection
 to the ,father's will4  ,asked as to   
the date of the ,messiah's advent1 ,he  
answers that ,he does not know1 that    
they must observe the blossoms on the   
fig-tree and the signs of the times     
around ,himself2 that they must watch   
and pray1 possess their souls in        
patience1 and abandon to the ,father the

 decisions of which ,he keeps the       
impenetrable secret4  ,i speak of       
freedom of interpretation and of pious  
reserve1 not of hypocritical and        
sceptical accommodation4  ,we cannot    
doubt that ,jesus accepted at the       
outset1 and shared1 at bottom1 the      
,messianic beliefs in which ,he had been
 trained like all the children of ,his  
race4  ,that ,his disciples1 in         
reporting ,his discourses on this point1
 exaggerated and materialised them1 need
 not be denied4  ,but1 on the other hand
 you can hardly explain the unanimity of
 the earliest ,christian tradition in   
expecting ,his return upon the clouds if
 ,jesus had professed entirely opposite 
ideas4  ,after all1 is there anything   
more astonishing in ,his sharing on this
 matter the hopes of ,his time than in  
the fact of ,his having explained       
certain mysterious maladies as ,his     
contemporaries did by demoniacal        
possession1 or of ,his attributing      
,psalm cx41 as did certain of the       

rabbis1 to ,king ,david2 to the first   
,isaiah the work of the second1 and to  
,moses the redaction of the ,pentateuch8
  ,these current and traditional ideas1 
however1 which came to ,him1 not from   
heaven1 but from ,his race and ,his     
environment1 never succeeded in         
corrupting the immutable purity of ,his 
inner piety or in falsifying the divine 
inspirations of ,his heart4  ,whenever  
there was contradiction between the     
,messianic beliefs or the ,law of       
,moses1 on the one hand1 and the        
consciousness of ,jesus1 on the other1  
it was not the latter but the former    
that gave way and were transformed4     
,the disciples were not so free as the  
,master4  ,their faith remained a long  
time bound to these hopes of the future4
  ,why had they left all and followed   
,him but because ,he had appeared to    
them to be the bearer and the depository
 of the divine promises8  ,his death1   
which seemed to belie their beliefs1    
only served to give them another turn4  

,they corrected prophecy4  ,instead of  
one ,advent of the ,messiah they        
imagined two1 the first in humiliation1 
the second in glory4  ,the one having   
been realised1 they expected the other  
with a more ardent confidence4 ,no one  
doubted it was near4  ,the apostle ,paul
 lived in this hope as well as the      
author of the ,apocalypse1 the compilers
 of the synoptic gospels1 and the       
editors of ,the ,teaching of the        
,apostles4  ,the time is short3 the     
,master comes3 ,maranatha4  ,this was   
the watchword of all the early          
,christians4  ,this faith in the        
imminent return of ,christ and of the   
end of the world dominates all the      
thoughts as well as the feelings of the 
apostles3 it determines and colours     
their ,christology1 their theory of     
,redemption1 their ethics1 their idea of
 salvation1 so that to expound their    
writings and estimate the worth of their
 reasonings1 the historian must always  
read them and explain them in this      

light4  ,it is for this reason that     
their ,christianity merits the name of  
,messianic1 and could not be1 in this   
,jewish form1 an absolute norm for all  
the ages4  ,the disciples of ,jesus1    
however1 found themselves in a school in
 which they could not perpetually       
mistake the lessons4  ,the ,christian   
principle had appeared to be at one with
 ,messianism2 it was something          
altogether different and could not      
continue for ever to be mixed up with   
it4  ,under the contradiction of events 
and the action of the spirit of ,jesus1 
they soon began to see the dawn of a    
process of spiritualisation in their    
apocalyptic beliefs4  ,this progress is 
manifest in the letters of ,st4 ,paul   
when read in their order and with       
attention4  ,in the first1 he hopes     
before he dies to witness the advent of 
the ,lord4  ,but1 from the ,second      
,epistle to the ,corinthians1 the image 
of death and martyrdom begins to        
interpose itself between his faith and  

that glorious ideal1 which evermore     
seems to recede into the future4  ,it   
never entirely disappears1 but this     
preoccupation with the return of ,jesus 
diminishes and occupies a smaller space 
in his later epistles4  ,on the         
contrary1 the work of ,jesus1 considered
 in the past and in its redemptive      
efficacy1 the ,christian life conceived 
as a life of faith and love1 as an      
imitation of ,jesus ,christ and an      
inheriting of ,his ,spirit1 receive     
ever-increasing developments4           
,insensibly1 the centre of gravity of   
apostolic ,christianity changes2 from   
the hypnotising contemplation of the    
,messianic future1 it passes to the     
sanctifying meditation on the passion of
 ,christ1 on ,his teaching1 and         
redeeming work4  ,this is best seen in  
the ,epistle to the ,hebrews1 and in the
 ,fourth ,gospel1 in which the ,jewish  
,messiah is transformed into the eternal
 ,logos1 the light of all men here      
below1 and the principle of the         

universal religion4  ,the work of       
emancipation that men alone could not   
accomplish1 ,god ,himself achieved4     
,the conquests of the ,church in the    
,empire1 and especially the double and  
irreparable ruin of ,jerusalem and the  
,jewish nation under ,titus and under   
,hadrian1 opened on the future other    
prospects4  ,the world continued4  ,it  
was necessary to settle down and live in
 it4  ,montanism was merely a last      
outburst of fever4  ,by the end of the  
second century1 ,jewish ,messianism was 
so nearly dead that its obstinate       
adherents were regarded as heretics by  
the ,church at large4 ,organised into a 
hierarchy1 the ,church substituted      
itself resolutely for the ancient people
 of ,israel1 and represented itself as  
heir to the ancient promises4  ,the     
advent of the kingdom of ,god becomes   
the advent and the victory of the       
,catholic ,church over all the other    
powers of earth4  ,the ,messianic       
,theocracy is transformed into a ,church

 ,theocracy4 ,messianism gives place to 
,catholicism4   #c4 ,catholic           
,christianity  ,transplanted from the   
poor and arid soil of ,hebraism into the
 rich and fruitful loam of              
,graeco-,roman civilisation1 the        
,christian plant was sure to grow apace 
and be transformed4  ,catholicism is as 
much ,pagan as ,apostolic ,messianism   
was ,jewish--from the same causes1 and  
according to the same law4  ,more ,greek
 in the ,east1 more ,roman in the ,west1
 it bears always and everywhere the     
traces of its origin4  ,study           
successively all the features of the    
,catholic ,church1 and you will find on 
each of them this indelible mark4  ,the 
dogmas of the ,councils and the theology
 of the ,fathers1 who does not see at   
the first glance their true character8  
,who does not see that the material is  
,greek in form1 in colour1 in every     
fibre of its tissue8  ,whence came those
 terms and notions1 of which ,hebraism  
knew nothing1 but which the theologians 

of all the schools will henceforth bandy
 to and fro--those abstract concepts1   
substance and hypostasis1 nature and    
person1 essence and accident1 matter and
 form8  ,whence came the science of the 
,fathers of the ,church1 their exegesis1
 their history1 their logic1 their      
psychology1 and that lofty metaphysic   
which has so completely transformed the 
,prophetic into a ,platonic firmament8  
,all this came from ,athens1 ,ephesus1  
,samos1 and ,miletus1 via ,alexandria   
and ,rome4  ,the ,justins1 the          
,athenagorases1 the ,clements and the   
,basils1 ,athanasius even more than     
,arius1 ,jerome as well as ,augustine1  
had been nourished from their childhood 
on ,greek and ,latin literature4  ,they 
had read ,plato1 ,heraclitus1 ,zeno1    
,philo1 ,cicero1 ,posidonius1 and       
,seneca as much and more perhaps than   
the ,old ,testament4 ,what is there     
astonishing in the fact that their      
theology should have followed step by   
step the theology of neo-,platonism     

until this latter1 for ,augustine1      
should have become the true introduction
 to the ,gospel1 and that in the ,middle
 ,ages the names of ,plato and          
,aristotle should have been invested    
with an authority not less than those of
 ,isaiah1 ,st4 ,paul1 and ,st4 ,john8   
,or shall we pass to the constitution of
 the ,church8  ,what is that but the    
exact counterpart of the constitution of
 the ,roman ,empire3 the parish         
modelling itself on the municipality1   
the diocese on the province1 the        
metropolitan regions on the great       
prefectures1 and1 at the top of the     
pyramid1 the bishop of ,rome and the    
papacy1 whose ideal dream is simply1 in 
the religious order1 the universal and  
absolute monarchy of which the ,caesars 
had first set the pattern8  ,or would   
you consider the moral life and the type
 of piety8  ,it is true that at the     
outset1 and so long as the persecutions 
continued1 there is a great contrast    
between ,jewish or ,christian morals and

 manners and those of ,roman or ,greek  
society4  ,but1 with time1 the contrast 
is singularly attenuated4  ,if the      
,church conquered the world1 the world  
had its revenge within the ,church4     
,what is that monkish asceticism        
imposing celibacy on the clergy1        
exalting virginity1 multiplying pious   
works of merit1 and replacing1 by       
factitious and sterile duties1 the      
duties dictated by nature and essential 
to society1--what are all these but     
survivals of a dualism and the imitation
 of an ideal which1 come from the ,east1
 seduced the feverish imagination of an 
expiring world8  ,the monks1 the        
anchorites and their theology of        
impotent celibates1 did they save       
,egypt1 ,syria1 and ,byzantium8  ,during
 this time1 what did worship1 adoration1
 religion1 properly speaking1 become8   
,between earth and heaven there         
reappeared the whole ancient hierarchy  
of gods and demi-gods1 of heroes1       
nymphs1 and goddesses1 replaced by the  

,virgin ,mother1 angels1 demons1 saints4
  ,each town1 each parish1 every        
fountain1 had its patron or its         
patroness1 its tutelary guardian1 to    
whom they addressed themselves more     
familiarly than to ,god in order to     
obtain temporal blessings and the grace 
for every day4  ,the saints have their  
specialities like the minor deities of  
former times4  ,some cured fevers1 some 
diseases of the skin4  ,this one had    
charge of travellers1 that of harvests1 
a third of articles that had been lost1 
a fourth of needed heirs in families in 
danger of decay4  ,with this mythology1 
all the superstitions were revived1 down
 to the grossest fetichism3 pilgrimages1
 chaplets1 litanies1 the veneration of  
images1 signs of the cross1 rites and   
sacraments conceived after the manner of
 the ancient mysteries4  ,and all this  
is done with a sort of unconsciousness1 
very gradually1 and as the effect of a  
zeal that was supposed to be ,christian4
  ,the heads of the ,church recommend   

missionaries not to destroy the temples 
of the false gods1 but to consecrate    
them to the true one1 and to replace    
their images by images of the saints1   
and the rites of the old cults by       
similar ceremonies4  ,names and         
etiquettes were thus changed1 but not   
the things themselves4  ,at ,rome1      
beneath the basilica of ,st4 ,peter1 a  
superb statue was erected to the ,prince
 of the ,apostles4  ,this was formerly a
 statue of ,jupiter4  ,its great toe has
 been worn down by the kisses of the    
faithful4  ,before ,christianity1 they  
kissed the foot of the master of the    
gods2 now they kiss the foot of ,peter4 
,is the cult of a different order and   
the devotion of a higher quality8       
,these1 however1 are but the forms of   
,catholicism2 let us go deeper and try  
to reach its generating principle4      
,this principle should be found in the  
central dogma of the ,catholic system1  
that in it which commands and regulates 
all the parts1 which constitutes its    

unity and strength4 ,to designate this  
central dogma is not difficult4  ,the   
catechism teaches us that it is the     
dogma of the ,church1 of its            
infallibility and traditional           
continuity1 of its divine origin and    
supernatural powers4 ,protestants affirm
 that they belong to the ,church because
 they belong to ,christ4  ,catholics    
reverse the terms3 no one is in         
communion with ,christ1 no one really   
belongs to ,him1 unless he belongs to   
the ,church4 ,thus faith in the ,church 
and submission to the ,church are put   
into the forefront and remain the one   
thing needful and essential4  ,one is a 
,catholic by the fact of his implicit   
acceptance of the sovereign authority of
 the ,church2 one ceases to be a        
,catholic when that submission ceases4  
,from which it is easy to conclude that 
the principle of ,catholicism is the    
realisation of the ,christian           
principle--that is to say1 of the reign 
of ,god and of ,christ1 in the form of a

 visible institution1 an organised      
social body1 an external power1         
exercising itself by means of that which
 is the very soul of the institution--a 
priesthood endowed with supernatural    
functions and attributes4  ,the         
immediate consequence of this first     
principle was the rupture of the organic
 union realised in the ,gospel of       
,christ between the religious element   
and the moral element4  ,nothing is more
 striking in the ,sermon on the ,mount  
and in all the ,parables of ,jesus1     
nothing better attests the superiority  
of ,christianity to anterior cults1     
nothing proves with greater force and   
clearness that it is the perfect and    
definitive ,religion1 than that mutual  
penetration1 that fusion1 that          
identification1 in a word1 of religion  
and morality1 till then separate and    
often opposed to each other4  ,the      
,christ did not desire in religion      
anything that was not in morality1 or in
 morality anything that was not         

religious4  ,thus did ,he bring back    
piety from without1 and made of it the  
inner inspiration which penetrates and  
transforms the whole life1 a hidden     
flame1 a ferment acting from the centre 
to the surface1 the soul in the body1   
ever invisible and everywhere present4  
,he thus founded the absolute autonomy  
of the religious and of the moral life  
which no longer are divided1 but appear 
simply as the two sides of              
consciousness2 the one interior and     
turned towards ,god1 the other exterior 
and turned towards the world4  ,in      
creating in us the sense of our sonship 
to ,god1 ,jesus did not admit the       
intervention of any external authority  
between the ,father and the child4  ,the
 universal priesthood1 with which1 by   
,his spirit1 ,he invests the least of   
,his disciples1 excludes in principle   
all supernatural priesthood4  ,call no  
man master on earth1 for one is your    
,master in heaven2 and all ye are       
brethren4  ,the children must have free 

access to the ,father4  ,but1 from the  
moment the ,christian principle1 instead
 of entering as divine inspiration into 
the consciousness1 sets itself up as a  
visible institution in society1 it is   
evident that this organic union is      
broken1 and the autonomy of the         
individual consciousness compromised4   
,the religious element affirms itself on
 its own account1 and imposes itself    
from without on the mind of the faithful
 as a divine authority4 ,the ancient    
dualism1 which the ,gospel surmounted1  
reappears in a profounder form2 it      
brings in its train a universal         
supernaturalism--that is to say1 a      
mechanical conception of the relations  
between ,god and the world4  ,instead of
 a penetration we have a superposition  
of two elements4  ,the clergy separates 
itself from the laity and superposes    
itself upon it as the necessary         
intermediary between earth and heaven4  
,religious society1 constituted under   
the form of a government1 superposes    

itself upon the civil society that it   
desires to rule2 grace superposes itself
 upon nature1 acting on it from above in
 the sacraments2 the morality of the    
,church1 in so far as it is a           
supernatural morality1 superposes itself
 upon the natural morality of           
conscience2 revelation upon reason2     
divine dogmas upon human science2 the   
spiritual power of the priest upon the  
temporal power of the family and of the 
,state4  ,everywhere1 within and        
without1 the division breaks out1 and   
you see arise in man and in society an  
intestine struggle which will never end2
 for these two original forces that it  
brings into conflict1 religion and      
nature1 are equally powerful and        
eternal4  ,catholicism began1 then1 in  
the ,church of the second century when1 
under the unconscious action of         
tradition and of pagan habits1 the need 
was felt of objectivising and           
materialising the ,christian principle  
in an external fact1 of imprisoning the 

kingdom of ,god in a visible            
institution1 the immanent revelation of 
the ,holy ,spirit in the decisions and  
acts of a priesthood4  ,this tendency1  
once born1 would be irresistible4       
,ideal and transcendent as it was at    
first1 the ,christian principle would   
become ever more external and political4
  ,absorbing all ,christianity1 and     
holding in its hands all the graces of  
,god1 the ,church would naturally       
present itself to the world as the      
permanent mediator and the grand        
magician4  ,it was its part to effect   
the salvation of sinners1 and1 for this1
 it would need1 like the ancient        
priests1 to offer daily to ,god an      
agreeable oblation1 an expiatory        
sacrifice of infinite value to atone for
 the infinite sins of the world4  ,thus 
the ,church transformed the             
commemoration of the death of ,christ   
into a real renewal of the sacrifice on 
,calvary2 the ,holy ,supper became the  
mass2 the fraternal table was turned    

into an altar2 the elder or presbyter   
was changed into a priest and pontiff1  
and the bread of the communion into a   
divine victim4  ,the dogma of           
transubstantiation was bound to follow2 
to the materialisation of ,christianity 
in the ,church corresponds the          
materialisation of ,god in the host4    
,by virtue of the same principle1       
,christian piety becomes devotion1 i4e4 
a ritual and meritorious practice1 as in
 the ancient cults4  ,but we must not be
 unjust and attribute something to      
,catholicism that it condemns4  ,it does
 not say that external practice is      
sufficient2 the ,church esteems it vain 
and even culpable unless accompanied by 
the affections and the will4        99  
99      99      99      99  ,the first  
and principal act of piety is submission
 to the ,church4  ,its dogmas may be    
irrational1 contradictory2 its          
commandments may seem arbitrary1 foreign
 to the natural conscience1 sometimes in
 contradiction with it2 no matter4      

,reason1 conscience1 all must abdicate1 
and all submit4444  ,in the ,church1 the
 ,christian state must always be a state
 of minority1 for the tutelage that it  
accepts will never cease4  ,and the     
authority of the ,church1 being on this 
point sovereign and indefectible1 could 
not remain invisible and indeterminate4 
,an imperious logic pushed it from the  
first to incarnate itself in its organs1
 more and more apparent and simplified4 
,first it was lodged in individual      
bishops1 then in councils1 until the    
,pope when speaking ex cathedra became  
the sole authority4  ,in #ahgj the      
,council of the ,vatican1 by            
promulgating the dogma of ,papal        
infallibility1 drew the irresistible    
conclusion from the premises laid down  
in previous centuries4  ,the evolution  
of ,catholicism was completed4  ,the    
transformation of ,christianity into a  
sacerdotal theocracy was achieved4  ,the
 first is realised and exhausted in the 
second1 and the distinction we          

established1 when speaking of the       
essence of ,christianity1 between the   
,christian principle and its historical 
realisations1 is not merely effaced2 it 
no longer has any meaning4  ,from which 
follow two consequences which every day 
become more clear and patent4  ,the     
first is that the ,catholic ,church1    
notwithstanding the desires of ,leo     
,,xiii41 is fatally condemned to be     
intolerant and intransigeant towards all
 others4  ,the second is that it is     
contradictory to expect any reform in   
that ,church1 or even to speak of it2   
for the ,church could not admit the     
necessity of reform without renouncing  
all its pretentions4  ,a river never    
turns back to its source4  ,catholicism 
can only exist by struggling for        
supremacy4  ,it must be all or nothing4 
,at the same time1 things are not so    
simple as our systems4  ,the logic of   
ideas does not exhaust the reality of   
life4  ,behind abstract principles there
 are pious souls4444  ,in ,catholicism  

there has always been a latent          
,protestantism1 by which ,i mean a      
protest1 mute or spoken1 direct or      
indirect1 of the ,christian principle   
against the oppressions of external and 
tyrannical authority4444  ,without the  
continuous presence of the ,christian   
spirit in the ,catholic ,church1 the    
,reformation would have been impossible4
  ,without the triumph of the sacerdotal
 spirit it would have been unnecessary4 
,protestantism sprang out of            
,catholicism because it was virtually   
contained in it4   #d4 ,protestant      
,christianity  ,it is strangely to      
mistake the nature of the ,protestant   
,reformation of the sixteenth century to
 see in it a sort of semi-rationalism1  
the inconsistent exercise of free       
examination1 or the revolutionary       
introduction of a foreign philosophical 
principle into the warp and woof of     
,christianity4  ,you have only to read  
the biography of the ,reformers and to  
make a slight analysis of their soul to 

form an entirely different idea of their
 work4  ,the first and almost the only  
question which preoccupies and troubles 
them is an exclusively religious and    
practical question3 ,what must we do in 
order to be justified before ,god8  ,how
 may we attain to peace of soul and to  
the assurance of pardon and of life     
eternal8  ,to find this peace1 this     
pardon and salvation1 which the ,church 
could not procure for them1 they        
determined to turn back and quench their
 thirst at the primitive sources of the 
,gospel4  ,they went back to the        
original documents because they were    
persuaded that ,christianity had been   
corrupted in the course of centuries2   
they wished to have it in its purity4   
,their whole reformation was to consist 
in this restoration of primitive truth4 
,but history never recommences4  ,this  
return to the past and this re-reading  
of the ,bible were accompanied by a     
religious experience and an act of      
consciousness which made of their       

enterprise something essentially new and
 original1 and which rendered it        
immeasurably fruitful4  ,it is          
unnecessary to seek elsewhere than in   
psychological experience the germ of    
,protestantism4  ,it was in the humble  
cell of a convent at ,erfurt and in the 
soul of a poor monk that the drama was  
first enacted from which sprang the     
revolution that has changed the face of 
the world4  ,luther entered the convent 
with a faith in the authority of the    
,church and in the efficacy of its rites
 as serious and entire as that of any   
monk4  ,if it was possible1 he said     
afterwards1 to reach ,heaven by monkery1
 ,i was resolved to reach it by that    
road4  ,for years he shrank from nothing
 that might render ,god propitious2 he  
multiplied his acts of devotion and his 
works of penance4  ,there is a striking 
analogy between the experiences of      
,luther under the monachal regime and   
those of ,saul of ,tarsus under the     
discipline of the ,pharisaic ,law4  ,the

 denoument was the same4  ,for the      
second time1 the system of pious works  
was found powerless to appease a        
conscience which roused against itself  
the rigour of its own ideal4  ,this     
struggle against an external law could  
only exasperate the sense of sin to the 
point of despair4 ,paul and ,luther1 in 
precisely the same manner1 experienced  
the inward emptiness and radical        
worthlessness of the religious system in
 which they had been trained4  ,the more
 they had tried to realise it in its    
perfection1 the more had they found it  
wanting4  ,catholicism1 considered as a 
means of salvation1 was rejected by the 
religious and moral consciousness of    
,luther1 before it was condemned by     
exegesis and by reasoning4  ,to reach   
this sentence without appeal the ,saxon 
monk had but to maintain inflexible the 
demands of the divine law and to        
measure1 without illusion1 the abyss    
that separated him from ,god1 and that  
no human works could fill4  ,it was in  

this way that he found himself shut up  
to the essence of the ,gospel of ,jesus 
,christ2 he found the peace that fled   
from him in the pure and simple         
acceptance of the glad tidings of the   
paternal love of ,god1 in the confidence
 that ,he gives gratuitously that which 
man can never conquer for himself1      
namely1 the remission of sins and the   
certitude of eternal life4  ,what then  
is faith8  ,is it still intellectual    
adhesion to dogmas or submission to an  
external authority8  ,no4  ,it is an act
 of confidence1 the act of a childlike  
heart1 which finds with joy the ,father 
whom it knew not1 and ,whom1 without    
presumption1 it is happy henceforth to  
hold with both its hands4  ,that is what
 ,luther found in ,paul's great words3  
,the just shall live by faith4  ,in this
 radical transformation of the notion of
 faith restored to its evangelical      
meaning is to be found the principle of 
the greatest religious revolution       
effected in the world since the         

preaching of ,jesus4  ,let us therefore 
here set forth the radical opposition   
between the ,catholic principle and the 
,protestant principle in order that we  
may thoroughly understand the           
internecine war that was henceforth to  
be waged between them4  ,in vain will   
eminent men in both camps1 with the most
 generous and conciliatory intentions1  
arise and endeavour to find some middle 
ground1 and effect a pacific reunion of 
the two halves of ,christendom4  ,all   
compromises1 all diplomatic             
negotiations1 will fail1 because each of
 the two principles can only subsist by 
the negation of the other4  ,having     
attained to salvation1 to full communion
 with ,god1 independently of and in     
collision with the authority and the    
discipline of the sacerdotal ,church1   
how could ,luther recognise them any    
longer as divine and submit to them with
 sincerity and confidence8  ,the ancient
 edifice had been the more thoroughly   
ruined1 inasmuch as it had become       

useless and had been replaced4  ,the    
originality of ,luther consisted in     
this3 his religious enfranchisement     
sprang from his own piety1 and he       
founded his freedom on his sense of     
sonship1 on the sense he had of his     
quality and titles as a child and heir  
of ,god4  ,how could such a             
consciousness submit itself to the yoke 
again without denying itself8           
,catholicism1 on the other hand1 cannot 
be less intransigeant4  ,to recognise in
 any degree whatever that it is possible
 to a ,christian to enjoy pardon and the
 sense of the divine fatherhood apart   
from its dogmas and its priesthood1     
would not this be to abdicate all its   
pretensions1 and to transform itself to 
the point of destruction8  ,no doubt1 in
 actual life1 this opposition is        
attenuated by the fact that in all      
,catholicism there is a latent          
,protestantism1 and in all              
,protestantism a latent ,catholicism4   
,between ,port-,royal and ,geneva1      

between ,bossuet and ,leibniz1 between  
,leo ,,xiii4 and the ,anglican ,church1 
the distance seems but little4  ,it is  
an illusion4  ,like two electricities of
 the same name1 no sooner do they come  
into contact than they repel each other 
and separate more widely than before4   
,in ,catholicism ,christianity tends to 
realise itself as a theocratic          
institution2 it becomes an external law1
 a supernatural power1 which1 from      
without1 imposes itself on individuals  
and on peoples4  ,in ,protestantism1 on 
the contrary1 ,christianity is brought  
back from the exterior to the interior2 
it plants itself in the soul as a       
principle of subjective inspiration     
which1 acting organically on individual 
and social life1 transforms it and      
elevates it progressively without       
denaturalising and doing violence to it4
  ,protestant subjectivity becomes      
spontaneity and liberty1 just as        
necessarily as ,catholic objectivity    
becomes supernaturalism and clerical    

tyranny4  ,the religious element is no  
longer separated from the moral element2
 it no longer asserts itself as a truth 
or a morality superior to human truth   
and human morality4  ,the intensity of  
the religious life is no longer measured
 by the number or the fervour of pious  
works or ritual practices1 but by the   
sincerity and elevation of the life of  
the spirit4  ,all asceticism is         
radically suppressed4  ,science is set  
free along with conscience2 the         
political life of the peoples1 as well  
as the inner life of the ,christian4    
,man escapes from tutelage1 and in all  
departments comes into possession of    
himself1 into the full and free         
development of his being1 into his      
majority4  ,this subjective character of
 a religion strictly moral stamps itself
 with energy on all the specific        
doctrines of ,protestantism4  ,it would 
be superfluous to dwell upon the        
doctrine of justification by faith2 its 
subjective character is evident4  ,no   

doubt the term justification has a legal
 colour and awakens the idea of a       
tribunal4  ,but it must not be forgotten
 that this tribunal is nothing but the  
inner court where man and ,god meet each
 other face to face1 where man is       
accused by his own conscience1 and where
 the sentence which absolves him is the 
inward witness of the ,holy ,spirit1    
heard by him alone4  ,the doctrine of   
the sovereign authority of ,scripture in
 matters of faith might seem at first   
sight to set up an external authority4  
,and it is very true that certain       
,protestants have often understood it in
 the ,catholic sense1 and have employed 
it to exercise some violence on their   
own conscience or on the conscience of  
their brethren4  ,but they never succeed
 for long2 they soon fall into a too    
flagrant contradiction4  ,the authority 
of the ,bible is never separated in     
,protestantism from the right of the    
individual to interpret it freely1 and  
from the personal duty of assimilating  

the truths he discovers in it4  ,what   
therefore are those ,protestants doing  
who attempt to set up a confession of   
faith as absolute and obligatory truth  
but imposing on their brethren their own
 subjective interpretation1 and1        
consequently1 denying to others the     
right which they exercise themselves8   
,nor let it be forgotten1 on the other  
hand1 that the obligation laid on each  
,christian to read the ,bible and draw  
from it his faith is a perpetual and    
fruitful appeal to the energy of thought
 and to the autonomy of the inner life4 
,the authority of ,scripture1 so far    
from being a menace to ,christian       
liberty1 is its invincible rampart4     
,not only has the ,protestant ,christian
 in the name of the ,bible triumphed    
over eighteen centuries of tradition1   
but it is the ,bible1 an appeal to the  
,bible ever better understood1 which has
 saved ,protestant theology from        
scholasticism1 which has prevented it   
from congealing in a confession of      

faith1 and which1 leaving the principle 
of the ,gospel in an ideal transcendence
 in relation to all its historical      
expressions or realisations1 has        
maintained1 and still maintains1 the    
spirit of reform in the ,churches of the
 ,reformation4  ,the doctrines of grace 
and of predestination1 which are at the 
centre of ,calvinism1 have no other     
meaning4  ,souls religiously inert see  
in these doctrines nothing but an abuse 
of blind power1 a sort of divine fatum1 
breaking every spring in the human soul4
  ,nothing appears to be more oppressive
 or more immoral4  ,but this is only an 
appearance4 ,there is really no         
predestination for irreligious souls4   
,this doctrine is but the expression of 
the inner basis of all true piety1 which
 is nothing if it is not the sense1 the 
feeling1 of the presence and the        
sovereign and continuous action of ,god 
in each soul and in all the universe4   
,no other sentiment gives so much spring
 and vigour to the human will1 nothing  

raises it to such a height or makes it  
so invincible to all assaults from      
within and without4  ,if ,god be for us1
 who can be against us8 etc4 7,rom4     
viii4 #ca-ci74  ,how is it that the     
,calvinistic ,puritans of ,new ,england 
were the founders of modern liberty1 and
 the ,jesuits1 those admirable          
theorisers on freewill1 the precursors  
of all the servitudes8  ,it is with     
predestination as it is with religion   
itself4  ,conceived as exterior to the  
life of the soul1 it gives birth1 no    
doubt1 to a crushing despotism2         
conceived as an inward inspiration1     
sustaining the initiative and even the  
liberty of the individual1 it becomes1  
in the ,christian soul1 the source of a 
force which nothing can break or subdue4
  ,but the point at which the antithesis
 between ,protestantism and ,catholicism
 becomes most patent is the doctrine of 
the natural priesthood of all           
,christians as opposed to that of the   
supernatural priesthood of a privileged 

clergy4  ,the free and perpetual        
communion of believing souls with the   
,father is the foundation of the        
independence of each and of the         
fraternal equality of all4  ,the        
tap-root of clericalism is cut4  ,the   
individual is a priest before the       
interior altar of his conscience2 the   
father is a priest in his household2 the
 citizen1 if so he wills1 in the city4  
,the ,catholic notion of dogma vanishes 
with all the rest4  ,to speak of an     
immutable and infallible dogma1 in      
,protestantism1 is nonsense2 that is to 
say1 if we accept the dictionary        
definition of dogma--the promulgation by
 the ,church of an absolute formula4    
,the decision of a ,church cannot have  
more authority than that ,church itself4
  ,now1 no ,protestant ,church holds    
itself1 or can hold itself without      
denying itself1 to be infallible4  ,how 
then could it communicate to its        
definitions an infallibility that it did
 not itself possess8 ,protestant        

confessions of faith are always         
conditioned in time1 and can never be   
definitive2 they are always revisable1  
consequently they are always liable to  
criticism and to reform4  ,thus ceases  
the solidification of traditional dogma4
  ,the old ice melts beneath the breath 
of knowledge and of piety4  ,the river  
takes again its natural course1 and     
evolution1 under the control of a       
perpetual criticism1 becomes the law of 
religious thought1 as of all other human
 activities4  ,from these observations  
and analyses 7necessarily abridged7 the 
true nature of ,protestantism will have 
become sufficiently clear4  ,it is not a
 dogma set up in the face of another    
dogma1 a ,church in competition with a  
rival ,church1 a purified ,catholicism  
opposed to a traditional ,catholicism4  
,it is more and better than a doctrine1 
it is a method2 more and better than a  
better ,church1 it is a new form of     
piety2 it is a different spirit1        
creating a new world and inaugurating   

for religious souls a new regime4  ,it  
is equally evident that ,protestantism  
cannot be imprisoned in any definitive  
form4  ,it leads to variety of formulas1
 rites1 and associations as necessarily 
as the ,catholic principle leads to     
unity4  ,no limit can be set to its     
development4  ,always interior1         
invisible1 ideal1 the religious         
principle that it represents accompanies
 the life and activity of the spirit    
into all the paths that man may pursue  
and in all the progress he may make4    
,nothing human is alien to it2 nor is it
 alien to anything that is human4  ,it  
solves the problem of liberty and       
authority as it is solved by free and   
ordered governments2 it does not        
suppress either of the terms1 but       
conciliates them by reducing authority  
to its pedagogic role1 and by making the
 ,christian spirit the soul and inner   
rule of liberty4  ,by very reason of its
 superiority1 and of the conditions of  
general culture that it presupposes1    

this form of ,christianity could only   
appear after all the others4  ,the      
spirit can only become self-conscious by
 distinguishing itself from the body in 
which at first it seems as if diffused1 
and by opposing to it an energetic moral
 protest4  ,that is not first which is  
spiritual1 but that which is natural2   
and afterwards that which is spiritual  
7#a ,cor4 xv4 #df4  ,cf4 ,gal4 iv4      
#a-e74  ,this divine plan1 which the    
apostle discovered in the ancient       
history of humanity1 is repeated in the 
history of ,christianity4  ,the         
,messianic form corresponds to infancy1 
to that brief1 happy age in which the   
impatient imagination nourishes itself  
on dreams and illusions which the       
experience of life soon dissipates      
without killing or even enfeebling the  
immortal hope at the heart of it4  ,the 
,catholic form1 which succeeds it1      
endures longer and corresponds to the   
age of adolescence1 in which education  
is painfully prosecuted1 and it demands 

a strict external discipline and masters
 whose authority must not be questioned 
or discussed4  ,it was in this way that 
,catholic discipline and authority      
conducted the slow1 laborious education 
of the pagan and barbarian world up to  
the sixteenth century4  ,but a moment   
must arrive when the work of education  
had succeeded1 when the leading strings 
essential to childhood began to be a    
bondage and a hindrance4  ,the pedagogic
 mission of the ,church1 like that of   
the family itself1 had its limit and its
 term in the very function it fulfilled4
  ,that function was to make adult      
,christians and free men1 not men       
without rule1 but ,christians having in 
themselves1 in their conscience and     
their inner life1 the supreme rule of   
their thought and conduct4  ,this new   
age of autonomy1 of firm possession of  
self1 and of internal self-government1  
is that which ,protestantism represents1
 and it could only commence in modern   
times--that is to say1 with that general

 movement which1 since the end of the   
,middle ,ages1 is leading humanity to an
 ever completer enfranchisement1 and    
rendering it more universally and more  
individually responsible for its        
destinies4  ,it may be remarked that by 
this evolution1 and under its           
,protestant form1 the ,christian        
principle was only returning to its pure
 essence and its primitive expression4  
,it could only recognise itself1 take   
cognisance of its true nature1 separate 
itself from that which was not itself2  
it could only disencumber itself of     
every material1 temporary1 or local     
element1 of all by which it had become  
surcharged in the course of ages1 and   
which was neither religious nor moral1  
by remounting to its source1 and by     
renewing its strength1 through          
reflection and criticism1 at its        
original springs4  ,that is why         
,protestantism has taken the form of    
this return to the past1 for in it      
,christianity does not surpass itself2  

it simply tries to know itself better   
and to become more faithful to its      
principle4  ,in the consciousness of    
,christ1 what did we find was the       
essence of the perfect and eternal      
piety8  ,nothing more than moral        
repentance1 confidence in the love of   
the ,father and the filial sense of ,his
 immediate1 active presence in the      
heart3 the indestructible foundation of 
our liberty1 of our moral dignity1 of   
our security1 in face of the enigmas of 
the universe and the mysteries of death4
  ,is it not to this eternal gospel that
 we must always return8  ,to finish its 
course and complete its work1 will      
humanity ever discover another viaticum 
that will better renew its courage and  
its hope8   #e4 ,conclusion  ,here ,i   
must stop4  ,at the outset ,i spoke of a
 personal confession1 and it seems to me
 as if it were nearly complete4  ,in    
sketching the broad outlines of the     
religious history of humanity1 ,i have  
had but one object2 ,i have wished to   

show the men of my generation why ,i    
remain religious1 ,christian1 and       
,protestant4  ,i am religious because ,i
 am a man and do not desire to be less  
than human1 and because humanity1 in me 
and in my race1 commences and completes 
itself in religion and by religion4  ,i 
am ,christian because ,i cannot be      
religious in any other way1 and because 
,christianity is the perfect and supreme
 form of religion in this world4        
,lastly1 ,i am ,protestant1 not from any
 confessional zeal1 nor from racial     
attachment to the family of ,huguenots1 
although ,i thank ,god daily that ,i was
 born in that family1 but because in    
,protestantism alone can ,i enjoy the   
heritage of ,christ--that is to say1    
because in it ,i can be a ,christian    
without placing my conscience under any 
external yoke1 and because ,i can       
fortify myself in communion with and in 
adoration of an immanent ,deity by      
consecrating to ,him the activity of my 
intellect1 the natural affections of my 

heart1 and find in this moral           
consecration the free expansion and     
development of my whole being4  ,under  
this new form1 divested of the          
swaddling-clothes by which at first it  
was bound1 ,christianity always seems to
 me to be best as it is1 a spiritual and
 eternal principle1 which brings peace  
to the soul1 and which alone can give   
harmony and unity to the world4         
,nothing can contradict it except evil  
and error2 everything serves and        
strengthens it4  ,it is this principle  
which to my eyes manifests itself with  
ever-growing clearness in that heroic   
love of ,science which1 in our time1 has
 created so many marvels and made so    
many martyrs2 this it is which reveals  
itself to me in the works of all the    
great artists1 in that ideal of beauty  
which enraptures them and brings such   
generous tears into our eyes2 it is this
 which ,i honour and bless in the       
efforts of men who interest themselves  
in the future of humanity1 and who in   

the political direction of their country
 or in the work of social education seek
 and find some means of raising and     
ameliorating the condition of the       
people3 ,i salute it in the illustrious 
apostles of all great causes and in the 
obscure workers at all humble tasks1    
from the mother who teaches her children
 to join their hands and bend their     
knees before the ,father in ,heaven1 to 
the preacher and the missionary who     
faithfully distribute to the hungry soul
 the bread of the ,gospel1 from the     
sister of charity who devotes her life  
to the solace of the sick and suffering1
 to the thinker who fathoms the         
mysteries of the heart and of the       
universe in order that he may shed on   
the paths of erring humanity some rays  
of light and joy4  ,amid the twilight   
that envelopes us you predict the       
threatening night2 ,i see the day that  
is about to dawn with a new century4    
,where you see nothing but discords1    
conflicts1 and confusion1 ,i see a      

concourse of forces which1 coming from  
all points of the horizon1 are still    
ignorant of each other1 and1 because    
ignorant1 conflicting1 but which1 by    
these very conflicts and collisions1 are
 labouring together in the common work  
of elevation and salvation3 the         
mysterious work whose nature ,christ    
defined in ,his ,gospel1 and whose      
motive-power he created by breathing    
into the human heart ,his own fraternal 
love4  ,since then there has been a     
secret inquietude at the heart of all   
egoisms1 a sentence of condemnation on  
the brow of all abuses and all          
tyrannies4 ,the modern world can never  
settle down again into repose1 or fall  
asleep in evil and in slavery2 it has   
had a vision it cannot forget2 it has   
been touched with a flame that cannot be
 quenched4  ,many who are often the best
 collaborators in this work of          
redemption know not whence it comes and 
whither it tends2 they even blaspheme   
the ,christ who inspires it and the ,god

 who maintains it4  ,they know not what 
they do1 nor what they say3 in their    
ignorance they calumniate that which is 
best both in their life and in          
themselves4     ,,book ,,third  ,,dogma 
,,chapter ,i  ,,what ,,is ,a ,,dogma8   
#a4 ,definition  ,dogma1 in the         
strictest sense1 is one or more         
doctrinal propositions which1 in a      
religious society1 and as the result of 
the decisions of the competent          
authority1 have become the object of    
faith1 and the rule of belief and       
practice4  ,it would not be enough to   
say that a religious society has dogmas 
as a political society has laws4  ,for  
the first1 it is a much greater         
necessity4  ,moral societies not only   
need to be governed2 they need to define
 themselves and to explain their raison 
d'etre4  ,now1 they can only do this in 
their dogma4  ,dogma therefore is a     
phenomenon of social life4  ,one cannot 
conceive either dogma without a ,church1
 or a ,church without dogma4  ,the two  

notions are correlative and inseparable4
  ,there are three elements in dogma3 a 
religious element1 which springs from   
piety2 an intellectual or philosophic   
element1 which supposes reflection and  
discussion2 and an element of authority1
 which comes from the ,church4  ,dogma  
is a doctrine of which the ,church has  
made a law4  ,all the peoples of        
antiquity believed that their           
legislation came from heaven4  ,in like 
manner all the ,churches have believed1 
and many of them still believe1 that    
their dogmas1 in their official form1   
have been directly given to them by ,god
 ,himself4  ,the history of evolution1  
political and religious1 has dissipated 
these illusions4  ,every law of         
righteousness and truth should1         
doubtless1 be referred to the mysterious
 action of the ,divine ,spirit which    
works incessantly in the spirits of men2
 but1 in its historical form1 it bears1 
nevertheless1 the stamp of the          
contingent conditions in which it is    

born4  ,the genius of a people is       
nowhere more manifest than in its       
constitution and its laws1 nor the soul 
and the original inspiration of a       
,church than in its dogmatic creations4 
,the work always bears the moral impress
 of the workman4  ,it follows that a    
,church cannot claim for its dogma more 
authority than it possesses itself4     
,only a ,church which is infallible can 
issue immutable dogmas4  ,when          
,protestantism sets up such a           
pretension1 it falls into a radical     
contradiction with its own principle1   
and that contradiction ruins all        
attempts of this kind4  ,in ,catholicism
 the theory of the immutability of      
dogmas is opposed to history2 in        
,protestantism it is opposed to logic4  
,in both cases the affirmation is shown 
to be illusory4  ,it is with dogmas1 so 
long as they are alive1 as it is with   
all living things2 they are in a        
perpetual state of transformation4      
,they only become immutable when they   

are dead1 and they begin to die when    
they cease to be studied for their own  
sakes--that is1 to be discussed4        
,dogma1 therefore1 which serves as a law
 and visible bond to the ,church1 is    
neither the principle nor the foundation
 of religion4  ,it is not primitive2 it 
never appears until late in the history 
of religious evolution4  ,there were    
poets and orators1 says ,voltaire1      
before there was a grammar and a        
rhetoric4  ,man chanted before he       
reasoned4 ,everywhere the prophet       
preceded the rabbi1 and religion        
theology4  ,it may be said1 no doubt1   
that dogma is in religion1 since it     
comes out of it2 but it is in it as the 
fruits of ,autumn are in the blossoms of
 ,spring4  ,dogmas and fruits1 in order 
to form and ripen1 need long summers and
 much sunshine4  ,the best way to       
describe their nature will be to trace  
their genesis4   #b4 ,the ,genesis of   
,dogma  ,dogma has its tap-root in      
religion4  ,in every positive ,religion 

there is an internal and an external    
element1 a soul and a body4  ,the soul  
is inward piety1 the movement of        
adoration and of prayer1 the divine     
sensibility of the heart2 the body      
consists of external forms1 of rites and
 dogmas1 institutions and codes4  ,life 
consists in the organic union of these  
two elements4  ,without the soul1       
religion is but an empty form1 a mere   
corpse4  ,without the body1 which is the
 expression and the instrument of the   
soul1 religion is indiscernible1        
unconscious1 and unrealised4  ,which of 
these two elements is primitive and     
generative8  ,the answer is not         
doubtful4  ,modern psychology has learnt
 it in a manner never to be forgotten   
from ,schleiermacher1 ,benjamin         
,constant1 and ,alexander ,vinet4 ,the  
principle of all religion is in piety1  
just as the principle of language is in 
thought1 although it is not possible now
 to conceive of them as being separate4 
,consider a moment4  ,that religion     

which time and custom have transformed1 
perhaps1 into a mechanical round of     
ceremonies1 or into a system of         
abstractions and metaphysical theories1 
what was it at first8  ,trace it to its 
source1 and you will find that these    
cold blocks of lava once came burning   
hot from an interior fire4  ,but this is
 the parting of the ways4  ,this is the 
point at which religious minds separate 
into widely different groups4           
,regarding religion as a saving         
institution in the form of a visible    
organised ,church maintained by ,god and
 provided with all the means of grace1  
,catholicism was bound to end in a sort 
of mechanical psychology1 and to explain
 the sentiment of piety as the inward   
effect of the outward and supernatural  
institution4  ,this is done by          
,bellarmine and de ,bonald1 the most    
consistent of the ,catholic theologians4
 ,protestantism1 on the contrary1 which 
makes of the faith of the heart1 of the 
immediate and personal relation of the  

soul to ,god1 the very principle of     
justification1 and of all religious     
life1 was bound none the less logically 
to end1 by analysis1 in a more profound 
psychology1 and to refer to an inward   
principle all the forms and             
manifestations of religion4  ,religious 
history thus becomes homogeneous1 and   
runs parallel with that of all the other
 activities of the human mind4  ,none   
the less1 this subjectivity of the      
religious principle frightens many good 
men4  ,persons devoted to practice1 and 
unconsciously dominated by the habits   
and necessities of ecclesiastical       
government and religious teaching1      
hesitate to enter upon a road so        
naturally opened4  ,as1 from generation 
to generation1 religion has been taught 
and propagated externally by the        
,church1 the family1 or special agents1 
it is impossible for them to imagine    
that it was not always so1 and not to   
trace back to ,god ,himself that chain  
or tradition of external instruction4   

,in which they are certainly right4     
,their only error1 but it is a grave    
one1 is to represent ,god as an ordinary
 teacher1 the first of a series1 who    
once acted1 like the rest of them1 upon 
,his pupils from without2 whereas ,god  
works in all souls1 acts and teaches    
without ceasing through all human       
masters1 and is present throughout the  
whole religious education of humanity4  
,who does not see that to represent     
things otherwise is to remain in the    
crudest and least religious of          
anthropomorphisms8  ,at bottom1 these   
men are afraid of losing revelation1    
which they rightly judge to be          
inseparable from the very idea of       
religion4  ,they object that piety and  
the awakening of the religious sentiment
 must have an objective cause1 and that 
that cause can only be a revelation of  
,god ,himself4  ,nothing is more true2  
but this revelation which is effected   
without1 in the events of ,nature or of 
,history1 is only known within1 in and  

by the human consciousness4  ,this      
inward inspiration alone enables        
religious men to interpret ,nature and  
,history religiously4  ,now1 this       
interpretation is made by their         
intellect and according to the laws and 
conditions which regulate it4  ,the     
religious phenomenon therefore has not  
two moments only1 the objective         
revelation as a cause and the subjective
 piety as an effect2 it has three1 which
 always follow each other in the same   
order3 the inner revelation of ,god1    
which produces the subjective piety of  
man1 which1 in its turn1 engenders the  
historical religious forms1 rites1      
formularies of faith1 sacred books1     
social creations1 which we can know and 
describe as external facts4  ,it will be
 seen what an error they commit1 what a 
mistake they make1 who identify the     
third term with the first1 suppressing  
the second1 which is the necessary link 
and forms the transition between the    
other two4 ,whoever will fathom this    

little problem in psychology1 and       
reflect upon it with a little attention1
 will see that all religious revelation 
of ,god must necessarily pass through   
human subjectivity before arriving at   
historical objectivity4        99       
99      99      99      99  ,passing now
 from the intellectual interpretation to
 the intellectual expression of         
religion1 and noting the successive     
stages through which it must necessarily
 advance towards dogma1 ,i remark once  
more that man's first language is that  
of the imagination4  ,the imagination of
 the child or of the savage animates1   
dramatises1 and transfigures everything4
  ,it spontaneously engenders vivid and 
poetic images4  ,at the beginning1      
religion1 consisting chiefly of         
emotions1 presentiments1 movements of   
the heart1 clothed itself in mythologic 
forms4444  ,but the age of individual   
reflection comes4  ,the image tends to  
change into the idea4  ,men interpret1  
define1 translate it4  ,the religious   

myth is replaced by the religious       
doctrine4  ,these are at first entirely 
personal interpretations4               
,nevertheless1 these opinions desire to 
propagate themselves1 to become general1
 and1 as they are imperfect and diverse1
 they engender conflicts which threaten 
to become schisms4 ,myths1 appealing to 
the imagination merely1 and only        
professing to translate the common      
emotion1 draw souls together and fuse   
them into a real unity2 individual      
reason1 private exegesis1 inevitably    
separates them4  ,but the consciousness 
of the community1 thus menaced1         
naturally reacts by the instincts of    
conservation4  ,there is therefore a    
struggle between the two1 and out of    
this conflict dogma is born4  ,a new    
element must intervene4  ,there must be 
a ,church4  ,now1 all religions do not  
form churches4  ,the phenomenon is only 
produced in the universalist and moral  
religions4  ,strictly speaking1 there is
 no ,church except in ,christianity2 and

 no dogmas save ,christian dogmas4  ,in 
ancient societies1 where religion was   
confounded either with the ,state1 or   
with the nationality1 the religious     
unity was maintained and guaranteed by  
the same means as the political unity4  
,there were no dogmas1 because dogmas   
were of no use4  ,as much may be said of
 ,hebraism and of ,islam3 in them there 
were rites1 external signs and seals1   
which sufficed to weld and to maintain  
the religious bond4  ,dogma only arises 
when the religious society1             
distinguishing itself from the civil1   
becomes a moral society1 recruiting     
itself by voluntary adherents4  ,this   
society1 like every other1 gives to     
itself what it needs in order to live1  
to defend itself1 and propagate itself4 
,doctrine necessarily becomes for it an 
essential thing2 for in its doctrine it 
expresses its soul1 its mission1 its    
faith4  ,it is necessary also that it   
should carry its doctrine to a degree at
 once of generality and precision high  

enough to embrace and to translate all  
the moments of its religious experience 
and to eliminate all alien and hostile  
elements4  ,controversy springs up and  
threatens to rend it4 ,the ,church then 
chooses and formulates a definition of  
the point contested3 it enacts it as the
 adequate expression of its faith1 and  
sanctions it with all its objective     
authority3 dogma is born4  ,from that   
moment also the two correlative notions 
of orthodoxy and heresy are formed4     
,orthodoxy is official and collective   
doctrine2 heresy is individual doctrine 
or interpretation4444  ,by and by       
symbols or confessions of faith are     
formed1 and these become the standards  
of faith and practice in the various    
churches that adopt them4  ,this long   
evolution is fully justified in the eyes
 of reason4  ,it is a movement of the   
mind as legitimate as it is necessary4  
,the germ must become a tree1 the child 
grow to manhood1 the image be           
transformed into the idea1 and poetry   

give place to prose4  ,it is possible to
 be mistaken as to the nature1 origin1  
and value of dogma1 but not as to its   
necessity4  ,the ,church may make a     
different use of it in the future1 but  
it will not be able to dispense with it1
 for the doctrinal form of religion     
answers to an imperative need of the    
epoch of intellectual growth at which we
 have arrived4  ,no one can either      
reverse or arrest its development4444   
,the word dogma is anterior to          
,catholicism4  ,it had two senses in    
,greek antiquity3 a political and       
authoritarian sense1 designating the    
decrees of popular assemblies and of    
kings2 this is the meaning which        
dominates and characterises the         
,catholic notion of dogma4  ,but the    
word had also in the schools of ,greece 
an essentially philosophical and        
doctrinal meaning2 it designated the    
characteristic doctrine of each school4 
,the ,protestant ,churches have         
inherited this latter sense of the word3

 it is in perfect harmony with the      
spirit and the principle of             
,protestantism4 ,dogma1 in the          
,protestant sense1 means the doctrinal  
type generally received in a ,church1   
and publicly expressed in its liturgy1  
its catechisms1 its official teaching1  
and especially in its ,confession of    
,faith4#a   #a ,originally the word     
dogma signified a command1 a precept1   
and not a truth 7,luke ii4 #a1 and the  
,septuagint of ,dan4 ii4 #ac2 vi4 #h2   
,esther iii4 #i2 #b ,maccab4 x4 #h1     
etc474  ,ignatius of ,antioch still uses
 the word in this sense4  ,it is not    
until towards the time of ,athanasius or
 of ,augustine that it begins to be used
 of the doctrinal decisions of the      
,fathers1 the ,councils1 and the ,pope4 
7,cf4 also ,acts xv4 #bh1 #bi4  ,this is
 afterwards called a dogma1 the only    
time it is used in the ,n4,t4 with      
reference to a decision of the ,church47
    #c4  ,the ,religious ,value of      
,dogma  ,the intolerance of ,catholic   

dogmatism has had consequences so       
revolting1 and1 in ,protestantism1      
wherever this dogmatism has revived1 it 
has given rise to conflicts so sterile  
and so lamentable1 that certain minds   
have gone so far as to deny the utility 
of dogma in the largest sense of the    
word1 and have wished to suppress all   
doctrinal definition of the ,christian  
,faith4  ,to call dogma either divine in
 itself or evil in itself is to go to an
 unwarrantable extreme4  ,in religious  
development1 whether individual or      
social1 it has an organic place that    
cannot be taken away from it1 and a     
practical importance that cannot be     
contested4  ,religious faith is a       
phenomenon of consciousness4  ,god      
,himself is its author and its cause2   
but it has for psychological factors all
 the elements of consciousness--feeling1
 volition1 idea4  ,it must never be     
forgotten that these verbal distinctions
 are pure abstractions2 that these      
elements co-exist1 and are enveloped and

 implicated with each other in the unity
 of the ego4  ,in the living reality    
there has never existed feeling which   
did not carry within it some embryo of  
an idea and translate itself into some  
voluntary movement4444  ,as it is       
impossible for thought not to manifest  
itself organically by gesture or        
language1 so it is impossible for       
religion not to express itself in rites 
and doctrines4  ,no doubt1 in the first 
period of physical life1 sensation      
dominates1 and at the debut of religious
 life1 feeling and imagination4  ,but as
 science springs from sensation1 so     
religious doctrine springs from piety4  
,to say that ,christianity is a life1   
therefore it is not a doctrine is to    
reason very badly4  ,we should rather   
say1 ,christianity is a life and        
therefore it engenders doctrine2 for man
 cannot live his life without thinking  
it4  ,the two things are not hostile2   
they go together4  ,in apostolic times  
the greatest of missionaries was the    

greatest of theologians4  ,st4          
,augustine at the end of the old world1 
,calvin1 ,luther1 ,zwingle1 at the      
beginning of the modern world1 followed 
the example of ,st4 ,paul4  ,when the   
sap of piety fails1 theology withers4   
,protestant scholasticism corresponds to
 a decline of religious life4  ,spencer1
 by re-opening the springs of piety1    
renewed the streams of theology4        
,without ,pietism ,germany would have   
had no ,schleiermacher2 without the     
religious revival at the beginning of   
this century we should have had neither 
,samuel ,vincent nor ,alexander ,vinet4 
,if the life of a ,church be compared to
 that of a plant1 doctrine holds in it  
the place of the seed4  ,like the seed1 
doctrine is the last to be formed2 it   
crowns and closes the annual cycle of   
vegetation2 but it is necessary that it 
should form and ripen2 for it carries   
within it the power of life and the germ
 of a new development4  ,a ,church      
without dogmas would be a sterile plant4

  ,but let not the partisans of dogmatic
 immutability triumph3 let them pursue  
the comparison to the end3 ,except a    
grain of wheat fall into the ground and 
die1 said ,jesus1 it bears no fruit4    
,to be fruitful1 dogma must be          
decomposed--that is to say1 it must mix 
itself unceasingly with the evolution of
 human thought and die in it2 it is the 
condition of perpetual resurrection4    
,without being either absolute1 or      
perfect in itself1 then1 dogma is       
absolutely necessary to the propagation 
and edification of the religious life4  
,the ,church has a pedagogic mission    
that could not be fulfilled without it4 
,it bears souls1 nourishes them and     
brings them up4  ,its role is that of a 
mother4  ,in that educative mission1 we 
may add1 the mother finds the principle 
and aim of her authority1 the reason and
 the limit of her tutelage4  ,in this   
sense1 dogma is never without authority4
  ,but this same pedagogic authority is 
neither absolute nor eternal2 it has a  

double limit1 in the nature of the      
pupil's soul1 which it ought to respect1
 and in the end it would attain1 the    
making of free men1 adult ,christians1  
sons of ,god in the image of ,christ and
 in immediate relationship to the       
,father4  ,if dogma is the heritage of  
the past transmitted by the ,church1 it 
is the children's duty first to receive 
it1 and then to add to its value by     
continually reforming it1 since that is 
the only way to keep it alive and to    
render it truly useful and fruitful in  
the moral development of humanity4  ,it 
is therefore to this idea of necessary  
dogma1 but of dogma necessarily         
historical and changing1 that we must   
henceforth accustom ourselves2 and we   
shall most easily habituate ourselves to
 it by tracing its evolution in the     
past4     ,,chapter ,,ii  ,,the ,,life  
,,of ,,dogmas ,,and ,,their ,,historical
 ,,evolution  #a4 ,three ,prejudices  ,i
 here encounter three prejudices which  
are1 ,i think1 the most inveterate in   

the world4  ,the first is that dogmas   
are immutable2 the second1 that they die
 fatally the moment they are touched by 
criticism2 the third1 that they form the
 essence of religion1 which rises or    
falls with them4  ,i wish to show that  
dogmas have neither this pretended      
immobility nor this delicate fragility2 
that they live by an inner life         
extraordinarily resistant and fecund1   
and that the criticism of dogmas1 so far
 from injuring the ,christian religion1 
frees it from the chains of the past and
 permits it to manifest its marvellous  
gift of rejuvenescence and adaptation to
 circumstances4  ,the proof that dogmas 
are not immutable lies in the fact that 
they have a history4  ,that history is  
as full of conflicts1 controversies1    
revolutions1 as the history of          
philosophy4444  ,one ,church has said of
 its dogmas what a ,jesuit ,general said
 of his ,order3 sint ut sunt aut non    
sint6  ,it is an illusion4  ,momentarily
 arrested at one point1 the movement    

begins again at another4  ,in one half  
of ,christendom1 and certainly the most 
living half1 criticism of dogma has     
never ceased since the sixteenth        
century4  ,even in the bosom of the     
,catholic ,church1 its most skilful     
advocates1 the ,moehlers and the        
,newmans1 unable to deny that           
,catholicism is not to-day what it was  
in the first centuries1 have made this  
strange concession to history2 they have
 applied to dogmas the theory of        
development4  ,at ,paris in #afhb the   
dogma of the infallibility of the       
,bishop of ,rome would have been        
condemned as an error4  ,since #ahgj the
 orthodoxy of #afhb has become the      
gravest of heresies4  ,there is no      
fiction more evident than that of the   
immutability of dogmas1 whether in the  
,catholic or in the ,protestant         
,churches4  ,like all other             
manifestations of life1 they have an    
evolution as natural as it is           
inevitable4  ,the proof that dogmas are 

not religion1 and that criticism does   
not kill them but transforms them1 will 
appear in what ,i now proceed to say4   
#b4 ,the ,two ,elements in ,dogma2 and  
its ,historical ,evolution  ,dogma is   
the language spoken by faith4  ,in it   
there are two elements3 a mystical and  
practical element1 the properly         
religious element2 this is the living   
and fruitful principle of dogma3 then   
there is an intellectual or theoretical 
element1 a judgment of mind1 a          
philosophical proposition serving at    
once as an envelope and as an expression
 of religion4  ,now1 it is not an       
arbitrary relation which unites and     
amalgamates these two elements in dogma2
 it is an organic and necessary         
relation4  ,go back for a moment to the 
origin of religious phenomena1 and to   
the formation of the first and simplest 
doctrinal formulas4  ,in presence of one
 of the great spectacles of ,nature1    
man1 feeling his weakness and dependence
 with respect to the mysterious power   

revealed in it1 trembled with fear and  
hope4  ,this is primitive religious     
emotion4  ,but this emotion necessarily 
implies1 for thought1 a relation between
 the subject which experiences it and   
the object that has caused it4  ,now1   
thought1 once awakened1 will necessarily
 translate this relation into an        
intellectual judgment4  ,thus1 wishing  
to express this relation1 the believer  
will exclaim1 e4g4 ,god is great6       
marking the infinite disproportion      
between his being and the universal     
being which made him tremble4#a  ,he    
obeys the same necessity which makes him
 ordinarily express his thought in      
language4  ,religious emotion then is   
transformed in the mind into the notion 
of a relation1 i4e4 into an intellectual
 notion which becomes the expressive    
image or representation of the emotion4 
,but the notion and the emotion are     
essentially different in nature4  ,in   
expressing it1 and thanks to the        
imagination1 the notion may renew or    

fortify the emotion1 and dogma may      
awaken piety2 but the two must not be   
confounded4  ,the notion is like an     
algebraic expression which ideally      
represents a given quantity1 but it is  
not the quantity itself4  ,this must be 
clearly kept in mind if we are to avoid 
the most disastrous confusions4  ,in    
religion and in dogma the intellectual  
element is simply the expression or     
envelope of the religious experience4444
   #a ,it might be supposed that ,i make
 of this elementary experience the      
primary root whence all dogmas1         
including the ,christian1 have sprung by
 a process of evolution4  ,nothing of   
the kind4  ,this is but a particular    
example4  ,the revelation of ,nature is 
the principle of the dogmas of the      
,religions of ,nature4  ,christianity   
has behind it another revelation and    
other experiences3 the revelation of    
,god and of a higher life1 in the       
historical appearance of ,jesus ,christ4
  ,let a man morally prepared to hear   

the ,gospel begin to follow ,him1 listen
 to ,his words1 penetrate ,his soul1    
comprehend ,his death1 and he will cry  
out3 ,god is ,love6 as the spectator of 
,nature was supposed to exclaim3 ,god is
 great6  ,and this new proposition1     
translating a new  religious relation1  
will1 in its turn1 become the principle 
of all ,christian dogmas4   ,the        
intellectual will therefore be the      
variable element in dogma4  ,it is the  
matter united to the germ1 and it is    
ceaselessly transformed by the very     
effect of the movement of life4  ,the   
reason of this is simple4 ,we said just 
now that a religious emotion1 like every
 other1 translates itself into a notion 
which fixes the relation of the subject 
to the object1 implied in the emotion   
itself4  ,but what will this notion be8 
,with what materials1 with what         
concepts1 will the religious man        
construct it8  ,clearly with those at   
his disposal4  ,his religious formula   
will depend on his state of intellectual

 culture4  ,a child1 he will think and  
speak religiously as a child4           
,religious reason and language have     
followed the same steps as the general  
reason4444  ,i am well aware that many  
,christians imagine that ,god has       
revealed to us dogmas in the ,bible1 and
 that they will accuse me of denying    
revelation4  ,god forbid6  ,we believe  
with all our soul in ,divine ,revelation
 and in its particular action in the    
souls of prophets and apostles1 and     
especially in ,jesus ,christ4  ,only1   
the question is whether the revelation  
of ,god has consisted of doctrines and  
dogmatic formulas4  ,no4  ,god does     
nothing needless1 and since these       
doctrines and formulas can be and have  
been conceived by human intelligence1   
,he has left to it the care of          
elaborating them4  ,god1 entering into  
commerce and contact with a human soul1 
has produced in him a certain religious 
experience whence1 afterwards1 by       
reflection1 the dogma has sprung4  ,that

 therefore which constitutes revelation1
 that which ought to be the norm of our 
life1 is the creative and fruitful      
religious experience which first arose  
in the souls of the prophets1 of        
,christ1 and of ,his apostles4  ,we may 
be tranquil4  ,so long as this          
experience shall be renewed in          
,christian souls1 ,christian dogmas may 
be modified1 but they will never die4   
,but why should we retain dogmas which1 
in the nature of things1 must always be 
imperfect8  ,why not have religion pure 
and simple without dogmas8  ,what would 
happen if we listened to this cry for   
pure unmixed religion8  ,by suppressing 
,christian dogma you would suppress     
,christianity2 by discarding all        
religious doctrine you would destroy    
religion4  ,how many great and eternal  
things there are which never exist1 for 
us1 in a pure and isolated state6  ,all 
the forces of ,nature are in this case4 
,thought1 in order to exist1 must       
incarnate itself in language4  ,words   

cannot be identified with thought1 but  
they are necessary to it4  ,the hero in 
the romance1 who was said to be unable  
to think without speaking was not so    
ridiculous as was once supposed1 for    
that hero is everybody4  ,the soul only 
reveals itself to us by the body to     
which it is united4  ,who has ever seen 
life apart from living matter8  ,it is  
the same with the religious life and the
 doctrines and rites in which it        
manifests itself4  ,a religious life    
which did not express itself would      
neither know itself nor communicate     
itself4  ,it is therefore perfectly     
irrational to talk of a religion without
 dogma and without worship4  ,orthodoxy 
is a thousand times right as against    
rationalism or mysticism1 when it       
proclaims the necessity for a ,church of
 formulating its faith into a doctrine1 
without which religious consciousnesses 
remain confused and undiscernible4  ,the
 mistake that orthodoxy sometimes makes 
is in denying or desiring to arrest the 

constant metamorphosis to which dogma1  
like all living things1 is subject4  ,so
 long as they are alive1 dogmas have the
 faculty of changing and evolving4  ,how
 is their evolution effected8  ,the     
analogy between dogma and language will 
help us to the answer4  ,a language is  
modified in three ways3 7#a7 ,by disuse1
 i4e4 by the disappearance of words     
whose contents have vanished2 7#b7 by   
intussusception1 i4e4 by the faculty    
which words have1 without changing their
 form1 of acquiring new significations2 
7#c7 by the renaissance of old or the   
creation of new words1 i4e4 by          
neologisms4  ,nothing is easier than to 
establish these three kinds of          
variations in the history of dogmas4    
,some religious formulas perish from    
disuse2 others acquire a new content2   
while still others are themselves       
renewed4  ,many doctrines that were once
 alive and prevalent are seldom heard of
 now2 they gradually passed out of use4 
,there is hardly a dogma dating from the

 seventeenth or the sixteenth century   
that has now the same signification that
 it had at the beginning4  ,the new wine
 that has been put into them has        
modified the old skins4  ,there are     
limits1 however1 to the elasticity of   
words and formulas4  ,there comes a     
moment when the new wine bursts the old 
skins1 and when the ,church has to      
construct other vessels to receive it4  
,in this way neologisms spring up in    
languages1 and new dogmas in theology4  
,in the sixteenth century the dogmas of 
,justification by ,faith and of the     
universal priesthood were resuscitated  
with a new energy4  ,the verses of      
,horace1 on which ,i might appear to    
have been commenting1 are eternally     
true3    ,ut silvae foliis pronos       
mutantur in annos1   99     99     99   
99     99   ,multa renascentur quae jam 
cecidere cadentque   ,quae nunc sunt in 
honore1 vocabula444   99     99     99  
99     99   ,the evolution of dogma is  
possible2 why is it necessary8  ,simply 

because the material of which it is     
composed is in a state of constant flux 
and evolution4444  ,we do not mean to   
say that everything in the old formulas 
should be condemned4  ,there are to be  
found in them many great and excellent  
ideas which still retain their truth and
 power4  ,we simply say that there is   
nothing absolute in them1 nothing that  
may be imposed by authority on          
,christian thought4  ,it is always with 
notions borrowed from current science   
and philosophy that the ,church         
constructs her dogmas4  ,but science and
 philosophy are continually evolving and
 carrying dogma in their train4         
,everything changes1 even our manner of 
thinking4  ,why do certain things appear
 absurd or grotesque in the imaginations
 of the past8  ,because we have lost the
 faculty for comprehending them4  ,it is
 as impossible for us to think in ,greek
 as to speak in ,greek4  ,since the end 
of the ,middle ,ages two or three       
intellectual revolutions have occurred  

which have profoundly separated us from 
antiquity and changed the inner and the 
outer world in which we live4  ,it will 
suffice to recall them in a few words in
 order to deepen our sense of the       
decadence of ,graeco-,roman dogmatic    
,christianity1 and of the necessity     
incumbent upon us to reform and renovate
 it1 if only we are strong enough to    
answer to the call of ,god4   #c4 ,the  
,crisis of ,dogma  ,the first of these  
revolutions was a religious one4  ,our  
specific consciousness as ,protestant   
,christians dates from the ,reformation4
 ,now1 the ,evangelical ,reformation of 
the sixteenth century was the rupture of
 the tradition of the ,church1 of which 
the ,dogmatics of the great ,councils   
was the framework and the centre4  ,in  
breaking the authority of the ,church1  
the ,reformers broke up the basis on    
which those ancient dogmas had been     
built4  ,in appealing to the ,word of   
,god against traditional doctrines1 they
 at least called in question the        

,dogmatics of the ,councils4  ,after    
protesting against all the infiltrations
 of pagan manners and superstitions into
 the morals of the ,church1 into its    
organisation and its hierarchy into its 
worship and its rites1 why should they  
regard as sacrosanct the ancient        
philosophy which had entered into the   
construction of its dogmas8  ,on the    
other hand1 the ,reformation renewed the
 ,christian consciousness by its        
fundamental doctrine of ,justification  
by ,faith4  ,until then salvation had   
come through adhesion to the ,symbols of
 the ,church and obedience to its       
commands4  ,justification by ,faith 7and
 faith here means the trust of the      
heart7 freed the ,christian from the    
tutelage of the priesthood and the      
bondage of ,symbols4  ,to maintain that 
you can only be saved by believing      
certain theological doctrines1 is the   
same as to say that you can only be     
saved by doing certain works2 it is to  
add to or to substitute for faith some  

other condition of salvation4 ,the      
second principle of the ,reformation    
therefore also shook the ancient        
edifice2 in ,dogmatics it substituted   
the internal principle of ,christian    
experience for the external principle of
 authority2 it made of ,christianity a  
moral life and no longer a metaphysic4  
,is it not right and necessary to give  
the new principles of the ,reformation a
 new theological expression8  ,this     
process has been going on ever since the
 sixteenth century and can never cease4 
,the ,reformation displaced the centre  
of the ,christian consciousness4 ,at the
 same time there began a scientific     
revolution which displaced the centre of
 the universe4  ,i speak of that which  
is connected with the names of          
,copernicus and ,kepler1 and which was  
continued by such men as ,galileo1      
,newton1 and ,laplace4  ,modern         
astronomy1 geology1 biology1 etc41 have 
completely changed the outlines and the 
horizon of our philosophy1 and rendered 

for ever impossible the popular         
cosmogonies which1 until then1 had      
reigned supreme4  ,and who does not see 
the bearing of this revolution on our   
views of ,scripture1 on its cosmography 
in particular1 and on many of its minor 
teachings8  ,the traditional doctrines  
of creation have been greatly modified1 
as also the doctrines as to the origin  
of evil1 suffering1 and death4  ,these  
discoveries1 it is said1 have ruined    
religion1 and are destroying ,christian 
faith4  ,not so4  ,what is being        
destroyed is the debris of an ancient   
philosophy4  ,but they do compel us1    
absolutely1 if we would remain in touch 
with the thought of our age1 to modify  
the formulas by which the ,church has   
hitherto believed that she might render 
an account of the origin and evolution  
of the universe4  ,a third intellectual 
evolution has been effected in our own  
time by the advent of the ,historical   
,method4  ,this has completely upset the
 traditional view of the history of     

mankind4  ,floods of new light have been
 poured upon the prehistoric and        
historic races of man4  ,modern         
criticism and exegesis have given us an 
entirely new view of the origin and     
contents of many parts of the ,old and  
,new ,testaments4  ,in every department 
of knowledge the historic method has    
made the point of view of evolution     
possible and victorious4  ,it is in vain
 to oppose it1 for it is the law of     
life4  ,those who cling to the doctrine 
of dogmatic immutability1 whether in the
 ,catholic or the ,protestant ,churches1
 are exactly in the position of the     
,romish cardinals who covered ,galileo  
with anathemas and protested            
energetically against the rotation of   
the earth4  ,neither their protests nor 
their anathemas prevented the earth from
 turning round1 and the cardinals along 
with it4  ,in ,protestantism1 a         
resistance so blind would be the        
grossest of inconsistencies4 ,dogmatic  
revision is always alive1 both in       

principle and in fact1 in the ,churches 
of the ,reformation3 in principle1      
because all ,confessions of ,faith are  
relative1 and subordinate to the ,word  
of ,god2 in fact1 because the spirit of 
research1 of criticism1 and free        
discussion has never ceased to breathe  
in ,protestant ,theology1 and breathes  
to-day more ardently than ever4  ,the   
work will therefore be completed2 ,i am 
sure of it4  ,we may lack the faith and 
courage to carry it on1 but1 failing us1
 ,god will not fail to raise up other   
fellow-workers with ,himself in this    
great enterprise4  ,christianity cannot 
perish2 it has never failed to adapt    
itself to the state of mind of ages     
past2 in the future1 it will find and   
make new forms in which to express and  
propagate itself1 forms adapted to the  
coming times4444  ,one day1 the monk    
,sarapion1 a man of deep piety and      
ardent zeal1 was told by the priest     
,paphnutius and the deacon ,photinus    
that ,god1 in whose image man had been  

created1 was a purely spiritual being1  
without body1 without external figure1  
without sensible organs4  ,serapion was 
convinced by the ascendancy of ,catholic
 tradition and by the arguments that had
 been employed4  ,the assistants rose to
 render thanks to ,god for having       
rescued so holy a man from the wicked   
heresy of the anthropomorphists4  ,but1 
in the midst of their devotions1 the    
unhappy old man1 feeling the image of   
the ,god to whom he had been accustomed 
to pray vanishing from his heart1 was   
deeply moved1 and bursting into sobs and
 tears1 he threw himself upon the       
ground1 and cried out3 ',woe is me6     
,unhappy man6  ,they have taken away my 
,god4  ,i have no one now to cling to   
and invoke4'#b   #b ,j4 ,cassanius1 abb4
 ,massil43 ,collatio1 ,x4 c4 ,,iii4     
,touching image of our own experience   
and of the experience of humanity6 ,we  
are always making to ourselves some idol
 or other4  ,it is very difficult for us
 to realise that ,god is spirit3 we     

attach ourselves therefore to some      
fetish of human fabrication4  ,and then1
 when science comes and takes it away   
from us1 we are troubled and perplexed1 
as if they had taken from us ,god       
,himself4  ,the study of dogmas and     
their evolution1 were it wider spread1  
would relieve us of our illusions and   
calm our inquietude4  ,it would teach us
 that our religious life depends on our 
faith alone1 and that the ,god ,who is  
its source and end is independent of all
 theory or representation1 because ,he  
is infinitely above all human           
conceptions1 and because1 in order never
 to be separated from ,him1 it suffices 
that we worship ,him in spirit and in   
truth4     ,,chapter ,,iii  ,,the       
,,science ,,of ,,dogmas  #a4 ,the ,mixed
 ,character of ,dogmatics  ,we have     
shown the necessity of a free criticism 
of dogmas4  ,this criticism1 if it is   
religious1 will at the same time be     
positive2 it will tend not to destroy1  
but to distinguish1 in each dogma1 that 

which is truly religious and permanent  
from that which is philosophical and    
fleeting4  ,such is the object of the   
discipline that1 in the schools1 is     
called ,dogmatics1 or the ,science of   
,dogmas4  ,it remains to define its task
 and to point out the resources which it
 has at its disposal4 ,both points are  
connected with its relation to the      
,church and to ,philosophy4  ,the       
science of dogmas has always necessarily
 followed the life of the one and the   
vicissitudes of the other4  ,in the     
religious experiences of the ,church it 
finds the material that it elaborates2  
from philosophy it borrows the methods  
according to which it treats this       
material and the form in which it       
organises it4 ,this science is1         
therefore1 a mixed science3 positive and
 practical in its object1 speculative   
and theoretical in its procedure1 it    
seeks to connect the religious and moral
 experience with the rest of the        
experience of humanity1 and to effect   

the synthesis claimed1 in order to their
 full vigour1 by the scientific order of
 thought and by the moral order of      
practical life4  ,this intermediate     
position of our science1 between the    
,church and philosophy1 constitutes its 
independence and its originality4  ,if1 
as in ,catholicism1 it were absolutely  
subjected to the authority of the       
,church1 and were limited to receiving1 
without critical examination1 its       
successive decisions and traditions1 it 
would be confounded with the history of 
dogmas1 and would be merely a survival  
of scholasticism4 ,on the other hand1 if
 it did not start from the data         
furnished by history and by the personal
 and collective experience of piety1--if
 it did not study the ,christian life in
 its objectivity and in its historic    
continuity1 but abandoned itself to     
purely subjective and general           
speculations--it would be fatally       
confounded with philosophy4  ,it escapes
 this double peril1 first1 by taking as 

its object the study of the doctrinal   
tradition of the ,church1 tracing it    
back to its generative principle1       
following it in its successive forms and
 necessary evolution2 and1 secondly1 by 
freely applying to this objective       
material the principles and rules of a  
truly rational method1 a method that may
 be avowed as such by philosophers4  ,it
 thus constitutes the philosophy of     
religion in general and of ,christianity
 in particular1 setting itself to       
connect the consciousness of the ,church
 with the general consciousness of      
humanity1 and establishing or           
maintaining between them communications 
equally profitable to both4  ,it follows
 that our discipline1 in studying the   
tradition of the ,church1 is independent
 of philosophy4  ,on the other hand1 the
 fact that it borrows its methods and   
processes from philosophy1 renders it   
independent with regard to the ,church4 
,its freedom springs from its twofold   
subjection4  ,such a little             

principality1 placed between two great  
rival ,powers without whose help it     
could not live1 maintains its           
independence of them both by virtue of  
their very rivalry1 and may become an   
arbiter1 an element of pacification and 
good understanding1 between forces which
 are only hostile because they either do
 not know or do not understand each     
other4  ,thus the science of dogmas will
 be free1 pacific1 fruitful1 on         
condition that it does not break its    
connection on either hand1 but remains  
in close communication with the two     
sources of its life1 without which it   
would be liable either to die of        
inanition for want of food1 or of       
impotence for lack of liberty4   #b4    
,the ,science of ,dogmas and the ,church
  ,a religious society cannot dispense  
either with doctrines or doctrinal      
teaching4  ,the more moral it is in its 
character1 the more it needs a dogmatic 
symbol which defines it and explains its
 raison d'etre4  ,it will have its      

teachers as well as its pastors and     
missionaries4  ,the apostle ,paul       
compares the ,church to an organism in  
which each member has its necessary     
function1 according to the special gift 
it has received4  ,god1 says he1 gave   
some1 apostles2 some1 prophets2 some1   
teachers 7#a ,cor4 xii4 #bh2 ,rom4 xii4 
#f-h4  ,teaching of the ,apostles1 #ac  
and #ae74  ,in passing through different
 lips the ,gospel takes different forms4
  ,it creates divers types of doctrine1 
divers schools or parties 7#a ,cor4 i4  
#aj-ad74  ,it is necessary to instruct  
the ignorant1 to refute heretics1 to    
heal schisms1 to administer reproofs1 to
 correct the interpretation of texts4   
,this could only be done by means of    
discussion1 reasoning1 exegesis1        
speculation4  ,it was not an effort of  
pure science1 but of practical science1 
in the interest of the ,church itself1  
with a view to its inner edification and
 to the continuous reform of its worship
 and its faith4  ,the labour of         

dogmatics thus sprang up spontaneously  
in the bosom of the ,church itself1 and 
it has continued its work1 not from     
without1 but from within1 through an    
office which is an essential ministry1  
an organ of the ,church4  ,it could not 
be done well in any other way4444  ,a   
religious society1 by the very fact that
 it endures1 creates a doctrinal        
tradition1 and this tradition soon      
assumes a divine character and tends to 
become an absolute authority4  ,this is 
the effect of a psychological illusion  
characteristic of the religious         
consciousness so long as reflection does
 not put it on its guard against itself4
  ,the object of our faith being divine1
 we ingenuously transport this quality  
into the formula by which it has been   
transmitted to us1 and we hold this     
formula to be divine before we have     
learnt to distinguish between the       
essence of faith and its historical     
manifestations1 between the religious   
substance of the doctrine and its       

traditional expression4 ,add to the     
prestige of the past the necessity of   
educating the new generations4  ,every  
,christian begins as a catechumen1 and1 
in certain respects1 he is and ought to 
be a learner all his life1 for he cannot
 fail to see that the collective        
consciousness is always richer and more 
stable than his own4  ,but1 if the aim  
of ,christian education is to produce   
adult ,christians--that is1 ,christians 
who1 having received the ,holy ,spirit1 
have entered into a direct and permanent
 relation to the common ,father1 and    
into personal and living piety1 they    
possess an inward rule of conduct1 and  
along with this a principle of free     
judgment4  ,as ,st4 ,paul says1 our     
tutelage ends when we have attained to  
our majority4  ,the spiritual man judges
 all1 but is judged of none4  ,he       
becomes independent of the authority    
under which he has grown up1 as the     
full-grown man becomes free from the    
mother who has borne and nourished him4 

,he will1 doubtless1 always gratefully  
welcome the tradition of the past2 but  
he feels within himself a higher        
principle which gives him the right to  
amend and the power to increase1 in some
 degree1 the inheritance he has received
 from his fathers4  ,no one is either a 
man or a ,christian on any other        
condition4  ,the solution of the problem
 named above is to be found in these    
considerations4  ,a tradition which     
desires to be absolute1 which           
misunderstands and stifles individual   
inspiration1 is not only an usurper--it 
also fails in its mission1 which is to  
make adult ,christians1 ,christians who 
are inwardly inspired and autonomous4   
,it is like those tyrannical mothers    
who1 if they could1 would keep their    
sons in a perpetual minority4  ,on the  
other hand1 the children1 even when they
 have attained their majority1 should   
not despise their parents and disdain   
the counsels of experience and of age4  
,individual inspiration is apt to lead  

to self-sufficiency and sectarianism2 it
 loses sight of the link of solidarity  
which unites the generations1 and the   
social continuity in which alone        
progress is made in the religious life1 
as in the life of civilisation4  ,the   
first defect1 the tyrannical usurpation 
of tradition1 predominates in the       
,catholic ,church2 the opposite defect1 
that of the intransigeance of individual
 convictions and of ,illuminism1 is the 
plague of ,protestant communities4  ,the
 truth would be found in a middle       
course1 and in the organisation of a    
traditional ,church stable enough to    
receive and keep the heritage of the    
past1 large and flexible enough to      
permit in it the legitimate expansion of
 the ,christian consciousness and the   
acquisition of new treasure4  ,to this  
ideal1 ,catholicism cannot resign itself
 without succumbing to death4           
,protestantism aspires to it without    
reaching it2 and yet nothing is more    
really in the logic of its principle4   

,no ,protestant ,church professes to be 
infallible4  ,its most solemn           
,confessions of ,faith have only a      
provisional value4  ,the spirit of      
reform breathes in it without truce1    
continually4  ,the principal task of the
 community1 as of the individual1 is to 
amend itself1 to advance in knowledge   
and in virtue4  ,a ,church which should 
exclude this spirit of reform would     
cease to be a ,protestant ,church4      
,and1 of course1 the duty of reform     
implies the legitimacy of criticism1 of 
an appeal to the ,gospel better         
understood1 of a constant effort to     
bring the real up to the ideal4 ,the    
only matter of importance is to decide  
aright on the principle or criterion    
according to which this criticism shall 
be made4  ,shall it be another dogma8   
,no2 not even if it be called a         
fundamental one such as the authority of
 ,scripture4  ,for this very dogma1     
formulated by tradition1 is therefore   
human and contingent1 and is open to    

criticism like all the rest4  ,with what
 then1 or in the name of what1 shall    
dogma be criticised8  ,shall we1 with   
,rationalism1 take a moral or           
philosophical axiom as the criterion8   
,we should then violate the autonomy of 
the religious consciousness2 we should  
denaturalise religion itself1 by        
subjecting it to an external rule2 and  
,dogmatics1 basing its fabric on an     
alien principle1 would produce a hybrid 
structure that would be rejected by     
believers and philosophers with equal   
disdain4  ,the principle of criticism of
 ,christian dogmas can only be the      
principle of ,christianity itself1 which
 is anterior to all dogmas1 and which it
 is the aim of dogmas to manifest and to
 apply4  ,now the principle of          
,christianity is not a theoretical      
doctrine3 it is a religious             
experience--the experience of ,christ   
and ,his disciples through the          
centuries4  ,it is the ,gospel of       
salvation by the faith of the heart1 the

 revelation of a moral relation1 of a   
new relation1 of a filial relation1     
created and realised between the man who
 is sinful and lost1 and the ,father who
 calls and pardons him4  ,such is the   
initial germ from which the whole       
,christian development has sprung1 and  
by which consequently that development  
should and can be judged4  ,this        
generative principle of the life and of 
all the dogmas of the ,church being laid
 down1 and the distinction established  
between the ideal principle and its     
successive realisations1 all of them    
necessarily incomplete1 the criticism of
 dogmas will be effected automatically1 
without violence1 and with fruit4  ,it  
will be enough to tell the story of the 
genesis and evolution of each of them4  
,it will then be seen what contingent   
and perishing elements have entered into
 it in the course of history4           
,christianity is an organism whose soul 
is immortal1 but whose body is renewed  
unceasingly by the fact that its        

materials are in constant movement1 and 
that they are gathered from the various 
environments through which it has to    
pass4  ,the philosophical notions which 
have served it as a temporary           
expression1 and which are doubly dead   
to-day1 either because civilisation has 
advanced1 or because they were without  
vital connection with the initial       
,christian experience1 fall from the    
tree like withered leaves or lifeless   
branches4  ,as to the others1 in which  
the sap still rises from the mother     
root1 they will be seen to be           
transformed1 to grow and flower from    
year to year under the same salubrious  
breath of criticism4  ,our discipline1  
religiously faithful to the principle of
 ,christian piety1 may often find itself
 in conflict with the administrative    
powers of the ,church1 but never really 
with the ,church itself4   #c4 ,the     
,science of ,dogmas and ,philosophy  ,if
 less burning1 the problem of the       
relations of dogmatics to philosophy is 

perhaps more difficult to solve than the
 problem just discussed4  ,it has given 
rise to quite as many controversies4    
,the danger is twofold4  ,on the one    
hand1 there is the pretension of        
scholasticism1 the attempt to absorb    
philosophy in theology and make it      
subservient4  ,it is still the          
pretension of a certain simple          
,protestant orthodoxy1 for which there  
is no philosophy outside the ,christian 
faith4  ,at the other extreme is the    
attempt of rationalism to include the   
,christian religion in general ethics   
and philosophy4  ,in the first case it  
is dogmatics which absorbs philosophy2  
in the second it is philosophy which    
absorbs dogmatics4  ,but1 in both cases1
 the specifically religious phenomena   
are lost sight of1 the original         
character of ,christian piety is        
misconceived1 and theology1 no longer   
having any special domain1 succumbs and 
vanishes4  ,it is the merit of the      
,reformation of ,luther1 in the         

sixteenth1 and of the thought of        
,schleiermacher and ,vinet in the       
nineteenth century1 to have brought out 
and rendered manifest1 among all other  
psychological phenomena1 the character  
sui generis of ,christian faith and     
life1 and thus to have assigned to      
theology an object of study1 eminent no 
doubt1 but very special and very        
circumscribed4  ,a task was thus marked 
out for theology widely different from  
that of philosophy--a task which        
consists1 not in explaining everything  
in heaven and earth1 but1 more modestly 
and usefully1 in giving an account of   
the religious experience of the         
,christian ,church4  ,saved at once from
 scholasticism and rationalism1 dogmatic
 theology may therefore build itself up 
in its own domain by the side of the    
other sciences without menacing or      
fearing any of them4  ,its relations to 
philosophy will become clear if we call 
to mind a very simple distinction4      
,philosophy to-day comprises two parts  

very different in nature3 a study of the
 thinking subject1 or1 as it is         
sometimes called1 a critique of reason1 
or a theory of knowledge2 in the second 
place1 a doctrine on the essence and the
 necessary relations of beings1 a       
metaphysic1 or a theory of the universe4
  ,it is easy to see that all the       
positive sciences are differently       
related to these two parts of           
philosophy4  ,none of them1 for         
instance1 can dispense with the first1  
with the criticism of our faculty of    
knowing and of our means of reasoning1  
under penalty of mistaking the worth of 
its own hypotheses1 and even the        
regularity of its processes4 ,it is     
clear that a physicist cannot dispense  
with correct syllogisms or with         
vigilance against illusions of the      
senses and other errors of method4      
,but1 on the other hand1 no savant would
 accept the yoke of any metaphysic      
whatever which should come to him a     
priori to dictate to him its            

conclusions4  ,upon indications of this 
nature he desires to form hypotheses and
 make new experiments2 but1 as a savant1
 he will never pronounce before that    
supreme and decisive consultation of    
facts4  ,it is exactly the same with the
 relations of dogmatics to philosophy4  
,it will have recourse to it for all    
that regards the theory of knowledge in 
general and the theory of religious     
knowledge in particular4  ,like every   
other science it needs to ascertain the 
scope of its instrument in order that it
 may be under no illusion as to the     
worth of the work it accomplishes4  ,but
 also1 like every other science1 it has 
the right and the duty to challenge and 
neglect all general metaphysic which1   
flowing from another principle than that
 of the ,christian religion1 would      
dictate to it articles of faith or rules
 of morality4  ,let it not be said that 
every theory of knowledge soon begets a 
metaphysic in its own image4  ,we know  
theories which deny the very possibility

 of metaphysics1 and it is a question   
whether a truly ,christian dogmatic     
accommodates itself to it better than   
any other theory4  ,it may be maintained
 in fact that the act of faith which is 
the expression of the conservating      
energy of the ego and the principle of  
all religion is accomplished all the    
more freely when there is no knowledge1 
properly speaking1 there to hinder it4  
,a common prejudice requires that we    
should have metaphysics as a support to 
religion4  ,it is on religion1 on the   
contrary1 that metaphysics and ethics   
rest4  ,man did not become religious    
when he heard that there were gods2 he  
only had the idea of ,god and believed  
in ,him because he was religious4       
,mystery was the natural cradle of      
piety4  ,faith is much less an          
acquisition of knowledge than a means of
 salvation and a source of strength and 
life4  ,it is one thing to speculate on 
the universal problem2 it is another to 
place one's self by the heart in a      

living relation of trust1 of fear1 or of
 love to the mysterious ,being on whom  
all other beings depend4  ,religion may 
possibly be under the necessity of      
ending in a metaphysic1 but a metaphysic
 does not necessarily end in religion1  
for there are some kinds of metaphysic  
which either exclude religion or render 
it impossible4  ,a theory of religion1  
dogmatics can have no other starting    
point than religious phenomena          
themselves4  ,from this concrete and    
experimental principle1 from this state 
of soul produced by the immediate       
feeling of a necessary relation to ,god1
 the entire system should spring and    
develop4  ,what is not in religious     
experience should find no place in      
religious science1 and should be        
banished from it4  ,it would only be to 
its detriment1 then1 that the science of
 dogmas should throw away its liberty by
 espousing beforehand metaphysical      
theses or the final conclusions of any  
philosophy whatsoever4  ,these theses1  

springing from another source than      
religion1 have no right1 in that        
religion1 to become articles of faith4  
,rational truths not born of religious  
feeling would be in dogmatics so many   
dead weights and heterogeneous elements1
 which would lead to the greatest       
incoherence4 ,to build up a professedly 
revealed theology on a professedly      
natural one is to construct a system    
without either unity or profound        
connection4  ,such a dualism of         
principles is as intolerable to science 
as to piety4  ,instead of dogmatics     
subordinating itself to metaphysics1    
metaphysics ought to include dogmatics  
as well as the results of all the other 
sciences4  ,it is altogether different  
with the criticism of our means of      
knowing4 ,in every order of science it  
is mere levity of mind to commence or to
 conclude researches a little general   
without having first determined the     
precise conditions of real knowledge4   
,the absence of a philosophical critique

 of this nature explains why savants1 so
 rigorous in their special studies1 show
 a philosophical naivety so great in the
 conclusions that they draw from them1  
and so readily crown their discoveries  
by a pseudo-metaphysic that they impose 
upon the multitude with all the         
authority and prestige of science4      
,more than any others1 theologians are  
guilty of this abuse when they wish to  
make their science the sum of universal 
knowledge4  ,they would be more soundly 
religious were they more modest and more
 reserved4  ,an excellent means of      
putting ourselves on our guard against  
this illusion and its deplorable        
consequences will be to institute1      
without further delay1 a rigorous       
criticism of religious knowledge4  ,this
 task1 ,i believe1 has never been       
seriously attempted in ,france4  ,it is1
 however1 as indispensable to the right 
conduct of the mind as it is fitted     
radically to cure us of our dogmatic    
pride and to inspire us with tolerance  

and humility4  ,this will be the object 
of the following chapter4     ,,chapter 
,,iv  ,,critical ,,theory ,,of          
,,religious ,,knowledge  ,he who says   
consciousness says science1 or at least1
 the beginning of science4              
,consciousness implies a representation4
  ,in other words1 no modification of   
the ego becomes conscious except by     
awakening in the mind a representative  
image of the object that has produced it
 and of the relation of that object to  
the ego4  ,all our sensations and all   
our feelings are accompanied by images4 
,the religious sentiment does not attain
 to the light of consciousness in any   
other way4  ,it is because it is a state
 or conscious movement of the soul that 
it becomes1 it also1 a principle of     
knowledge4  ,no kind of mental life     
begins with clear and abstract ideas4   
,an idea is derived from an image1 and1 
in order to produce the image1 an       
external or an internal impression is   
necessary4  ,it is true that the idea or

 the image has1 in its turn1 the        
mysterious power of reproducing and     
renewing the sensation or the feeling   
from which it sprang4  ,on this is based
 the art of teaching and the power of   
tradition4  ,but this must not be       
allowed to produce in us the illusion   
that originally the idea preceded the   
sensation4  ,the development of the     
mental life of children is proof of the 
contrary4  ,we only know that by which  
we or our kind have been in some degree 
affected4  ,our ideas are simply the    
algebraic notation of our impressions   
and movements4  ,that which is outside  
our life is outside our view4  ,without 
the external sensations which represent 
the action of the world on the ego1 we  
should have no knowledge of the world4  
,without the subjective reaction of the 
ego against that action of the world1 a 
reaction which manifests itself in the  
moral1 aesthetic1 and religious life of 
the soul1 we should have no moral or    
religious idea1 no notion of the good or

 the beautiful4  ,all our metaphysical  
ideas come from that source4  ,it       
remains1 of course1 to inquire what is  
the worth of ideas of this order4  ,it  
is the particularly complex and delicate
 question that we here approach4  ,there
 is no serious philosophy to-day that   
does not start with a theory of         
knowledge4  ,religious knowledge cannot 
escape by any special privilege4  ,the  
criticism of it is all the more         
necessary1 because illusion1 in this    
matter1 is so easy1 and because it      
clothes itself in a sacred character4   
,the theologian who undertakes the      
scientific treatment of dogmas without  
first measuring the scope of the        
instrument he employs1 and estimating   
the worth of the materials he uses1     
knows not what he is doing4   #a4       
,obsolete ,theories of ,knowledge       
,formerly three explanations of our     
knowledge prevailed in philosophy3 the  
hypothesis of a primitive revelation2   
the idealist theory2 and the sensualist 

theory4  ,the first was revived three   
quarters of a century ago by de ,bonald 
and ,joseph de ,maistre4  ,it no longer 
needs to be refuted4  ,according to this
 hypothesis1 our ideas came to us1 not  
from within1 from the naturally         
productive force of the mind1 but from  
without1 by way of supernatural         
communication4  ,this communication from
 ,god consisted at the outset in the    
gift to man of a perfect language4  ,the
 exact word brought with it the right   
idea4  ,man1 said de ,bonald1 thought   
his speech before speaking his thought4 
,if errors have crept in and reigned    
among men1 it is because they were not  
able to preserve without corruption the 
sacred deposit of that primitive        
language and philosophy4  ,is it        
necessary to show how thoroughly this   
theory is contradicted by psychology and
 history8  ,it is said that in certain  
countries there still exists a ,botany1 
according to which the ,great ,spirit1  
having created the trees of the forest1 

comes in the night each ,spring to stick
 the leaves and blossoms on the         
branches4  ,the immediate communication 
of right ideas and supernatural virtues 
to man in his infancy implies a         
contradiction2 it forces us to imagine  
in him thoughts prior to the action of  
his intellect and virtues previous to   
the action of his will4  ,lastly1 it is 
to misconceive the nature of the mind to
 make of it something passive and inert4
  ,the mind is the thinking and willing 
force--that is to say1 a force          
productive of thoughts and volitions4   
,if it is not this1 it is nothing4  ,we 
must affirm1 no doubt1 that ,god creates
 this force and directs its evolution1  
but it is a contradiction to say at once
 that ,he creates it and that it is     
unproductive4  ,it cannot exist without 
being productive4 ,it is of its very    
essence to produce4  ,mind is only mind 
in so far as it is a force that produces
 thought and volition4  ,the aim of this
 hypothesis1 moreover1 was to found the 

divine authority of an infallible       
tradition by making it go back to the   
earliest times4 ,these revealed ideas1  
by the very fact that they are the ideas
 of ,god1 have an absolute and eternal  
value4  ,man finds them guaranteed in   
the religious caste1 to which the       
deposit has been confided1 and which has
 preserved them intact4  ,thus arose the
 idea of an infallible authority4 ,so   
they say4  ,but the idea of dogmatic    
authority never appears in early times2 
it is of very late date2 it is          
elaborated very slowly1 according to a  
psychological law that we have already  
discovered4  ,everywhere1 and in the    
traditions of all religions and         
,churches1 it appears after all other   
doctrines as the keystone which closes  
and binds together the arch4  ,it is an 
ultimate dogma logically derived from   
other dogmas1 and afterwards used as a  
warrant for them4  ,such was the dogma  
of ,papal ,infallibility promulgated at 
the ,vatican ,council of #ahgj2 such1 in

 ,protestantism1 was the dogma of       
,biblical infallibility1 completed by   
the theologians of the seventeenth      
century4  ,to base the value of         
religious notions on a supernatural     
authority1 with a view to rendering them
 indisputable1 is a vicious circle2 the 
authority1 it is evident1 is the product
 of these notions themselves4  ,all     
systems of authority end by shutting    
themselves up in this circle and        
perishing in it4  ,the idealist theory  
of the origin of ideas is but the       
philosophical form of the preceding one4
  ,it also is an endeavour to trace back
 our general ideas to the divine        
understanding as their primary source4  
,pure ideas1 type-ideas1 according to   
,plato1 constitute the intelligible     
,cosmos of which material phenomena are 
but the unreal and ephemeral shadows4   
,clearly to conceive these divine ideas 
is to reach the transcendent reality of 
things--it is to possess true knowledge4
  ,from ,platonism to the realism of    

scholasticism1 from this to the geometry
 of ,spinoza and the dialectic of       
,hegel1 the form of the theory has      
varied constantly2 the substance of it  
has remained the same4  ,hegel always   
said3 ,the rational is the real1 and1   
for him1 as for ,plato1 absolute        
knowledge resolved itself into perfect  
logic4  ,psychology has long since      
dispelled the scientific illusion of    
idealism4  ,we do not wish to recall the
 pitiful failure of all the attempts    
formerly made1 and even in our own      
times1 to deduce a priori the laws of   
the physical world4  ,everywhere1 in    
this domain1 the method of observation  
has superseded the deductive method4    
,the reason of it is simple4  ,an idea1 
however lofty1 can only give out what it
 contains1 i4e4 other ideas4  ,we know  
very well that our ideas are in our     
mind1 but they are only in it in the    
state of ideas4  ,how do we know that   
the objects which they represent exist  
outside ourselves8  ,only by logic can  

we pass from the idea of a thing to the 
external reality of that thing4         
,experience is necessary4  ,without it  
our ideas are empty forms4 ,one may     
conjure with them for ever without ever 
reaching anything objective4  ,they are 
shells without kernels4  ,pure idealism1
 so far from furnishing a solid theory  
of knowledge1 ends in scepticism1 i4e4  
in the negation of knowledge4  ,the     
excesses and failures of idealist       
theories of knowledge have always given 
rise in history to the opposite theory  
of sensualist nominalism1 according to  
which our ideas are simply transformed  
sensations4 ,unhappily1 sensualism1 in  
laying down this axiom1 never explained 
the nature and still less the cause of  
that marvellous transformation4 ,there  
is nothing in the understanding1 said   
,locke1 that was not previously in the  
senses4  ,to which ,leibniz rightly     
replied3 ,except the understanding      
itself2 that is to say1 the force which 
from sensation draws knowledge4  ,by    

suppressing this ideal principle1 you   
remove from science all element of      
necessity--that is to say1 all general  
worth4  ,with ,hume1 the sensualist     
theory1 so far from giving an account of
 knowledge1 ended in pure phenomenalism1
 i4e4 once more1 in scepticism4  ,it is1
 in fact1 with isolated sensation as    
with pure idea2 you may press it as much
 as you will1 you will never get out of 
it anything but what it contains--that  
is to say1 contingencies without any    
connection between each other4          
,materialism is still more embarrassed  
to furnish any theory whatever of       
knowledge1 for it does not even succeed 
in explaining sensation4  ,between a    
mechanical movement and a phenomenon of 
consciousness there is an impassable    
abyss4  ,one of the most evident marks  
of the inferiority of the philosophy of 
,french positivism is that it has not   
even approached this problem of         
knowledge1 and that it has been able to 
constitute itself without any other than

 the popular psychology4   #b4 ,the     
,kantian ,theory of ,knowledge          
,thinkers may to-day be divided into two
 classes3 those who date from before    
,kant1 and those who have received the  
initiation and1 so to speak1 the        
philosophical baptism of his critique4  
,these two classes of minds will always 
have much ado to understand each other4 
,the first are dogmatists or            
,pyrrhonists4  ,the second no longer    
comprehend either dogmatism or          
,pyrrhonism4  ,for them1 the point of   
view has been displaced4  ,thanks to    
,kant1 we judge both our knowledge and  
our faculty of knowing2 we give an      
account to ourselves of the conditions  
in which it performs its functions1 of  
the forms which determine it1 and of the
 limits that it cannot pass4  ,kant     
compared1 without exaggeration1 the     
revolution which he effected in         
philosophy to that which the discovery  
of ,copernicus effected in the system of
 the world4  ,in philosophy also the sun

 has ceased to move round the earth1 and
 the ancient illusion has been          
vanquished and dispersed4  ,the idea and
 the reality no longer coincide2 they   
are disjoined4  ,the intelligible no    
doubt is real2 but it is not certain    
that all the real is intelligible4      
,reality appears to us now as surpassing
 not only our knowledge1 but our means  
of knowing4  ,the religious notion of   
mystery has entered into consciousness4 
,man has attained to intellectual       
humility4  ,like his body1 his mind is a
 mean between the infinitely great and  
the infinitely little1 between nothing  
and everything4  ,the deductive         
philosophy of the unity and necessary   
and continuous unfolding of an eternal  
substance1 gives place to the philosophy
 of observation1 which will be found to 
be that of the antinomies whose         
permanent conflict produces the         
ascensional progress of the world and of
 life4  ,to make ,kantism end in        
scepticism shows a lack of intelligence4

  ,his system enables us1 on the        
contrary1 to form the scientific theory 
of science4  ,the truth is to be found  
neither in dogmatism nor in ,pyrrhonism1
 both of which ,pascal combated with    
equal vigour4  ,in modern science there 
is a certitude invincible to the        
subtlest ,pyrrhonism2 but there is also 
in it a sense of the limits of our      
knowing faculty and of the relative     
character of our most solid             
constructions which forbids man ever to 
be puffed up to the point of believing  
himself to be ,god4 ,to be in this mean 
is to be in the truth4  ,the same       
critique which establishes the validity 
of human knowledge lays down the limits 
beyond which it cannot go4  ,we have    
come to know ourselves better1 and that 
is the mark of all true progress in     
philosophy4  ,know thyself is always its
 first rule and its final fruit4  ,the  
,kantian theory of knowledge1 while     
satisfying the mind1 at the same time   
sets forth the essential antinomies     

whose normal play constitutes the very  
life of the ego and explains its        
multiple manifestations4  ,there are two
 elements in all knowledge3 an a        
posteriori element which comes from     
experience1 and an a priori element     
which comes from the thinking subject4  
,the first is the matter of knowledge2  
the second is the form4  ,separate1     
these two elements are unproductive4    
,with the first alone we have but a     
reality not known2 with the second alone
 we have but a knowing without reality4 
,their union renders them mutually      
fruitful by organising the data of      
experience into the necessary forms of  
thought4  ,the principle of causation1  
e4g41 is not in things2 it is in the    
mind1 and it is the mind which          
spontaneously connects all phenomena4   
,science1 at bottom1 consists in nothing
 but the causal connection of things4   
,where the chain breaks1 positive       
knowledge ends4  ,this clear sense of   
ignorance on points on which we really  

are ignorant is still a part of science 
and one of its principal forces1 for it 
proves that it knows itself very well1  
and also knows the conditions apart from
 which it no longer exists4  ,but1      
whether triumphant or held in check1    
positive science can neither renounce   
its task and method nor modify their    
nature4  ,it can only seek to complete1 
or rather to lengthen1 the chain of     
phenomena4  ,the success of this        
ever-identical effort1 an effort always 
in the same direction1 is what is called
 its conquests and its progress4  ,it   
follows that the irresistible tendency  
of science will be to extend over the   
whole of the phenomena the ever-tighter 
network of an invincible necessity4     
,determinism is its last word4  ,on the 
other hand1 the ego which knows is an   
acting ego4  ,its thought itself1       
properly speaking1 and this display of  
science1 are only one of the forms of   
its inner activity4  ,it wills1 and it  
must will4  ,if the world acts on it by 

sensation1 it acts incessantly on the   
world by its volitions4  ,and let it not
 be said that the will simply represents
 a mechanical reaction of the ego1      
exactly equivalent to the action of the 
external world upon it1--that it is a   
simple transformation of energy1--for   
this is not true4  ,without here raising
 the question of liberty1 it is certain 
that ,i do not give back in will simply 
what ,i have received under the form of 
sensation4  ,i deliberate on the motives
 which urge me to act2 ,i choose between
 them2 ,i feel myself under obligation2 
,i feel that ,i should will the good4   
,it is impossible to conceive of moral  
action without the idea of end4  ,i     
conceive it1 therefore1 under a         
different form from that of mechanical  
action4 ,responsibility and obligation  
are not less the necessary forms of will
 than logical necessity is the necessary
 form of thought4  ,but soon there      
arises in man the most tragical of      
conflicts4  ,scientific determinism     

renders moral activity unintelligible1  
and moral activity comes into collision 
with the determinism of science4  ,if   
mechanical determinism be absolutely    
true1 my will is null2 ,i am simply an  
automaton4  ,if my responsibility is    
real1 if my personal energy is not an   
illusion1 there is in the world         
something besides matter1 and1 for man1 
there are other than mechanical laws4   
,thus divided in myself1 ,i ought not to
 practise what ,i know1 and ,i cannot do
 what ,i ought4  ,i remain floating     
between a science which is not moral and
 a morality that ,i feel to be          
unscientific4  ,my intellect destroys my
 will4  ,as the one develops the other  
dies4  ,the better ,i know the laws of  
the world the less reason ,i have for   
living and acting4  ,my morality1 at    
each act1 gives the lie to my science1  
and my science1 at each affirmation1    
refutes my morality4  ,such is the deep 
malady1 the spiritual misery1 of the    
best of our contemporaries4  ,they feel 

that1 with them1 vital energy is in     
inverse proportion to the extent and    
penetration of thought4  ,it is then    
that they declare that pessimism1 a     
radical pessimism1 is the truth2 that   
existence1 will1 desire1 are the chief  
evils1 and that the supreme effort of   
science should be to cure us of them by 
delivering us from all our illusions2   
after which1 in its turn1 it will be    
extinguished itself1 like a flame that  
has consumed the food on which it fed4  
,still1 the conscious subject is one4   
,you cannot proclaim it vain without at 
the same time proclaiming the vanity of 
its ideas as well as of its efforts4    
,the ruin of morality draws after it the
 ruin of science4  ,moreover1 the       
conflict of which we speak is different 
from a theoretical contradiction whose  
solution may be indefinitely postponed4 
,the conflict is practical2 it is of the
 vital not of the intellectual order4   
,it is an internal dissolution of the   
being itself1 a struggle between its    

elementary faculties1 in which the mind 
is weakened1 droops1 and dies4  ,the    
solution1 therefore1 if there be one1   
can only be a practical one1 a solution 
springing from the will4  ,what is      
needed is to give the mind confidence in
 itself4  ,it is necessary to increase  
the energy of its inner life in order   
that it may find the strength to believe
 and to affirm in face of the universe  
the sovereignty of spirit4  ,this is the
 same as saying that the solution of the
 conflict is religion2 not an external  
religion1 doubtless1 in whose hands the 
thought and will of man should          
abdicate--that would in no wise         
re-establish their inner and living     
harmony--but an inward religion1 an     
activity of spirit which grasps in      
itself the supremacy of the universal   
spirit1 and by an act of intimate       
confidence1 an instinctive impulse of   
the being ready to perish1 affirms to   
itself its own dignity1 and makes to    
spring up out of its own substance the  

irresistible religion of spirit4  ,thus 
the conflict of the theoretic reason and
 the practical reason eternally         
engenders religion in the heart of man4 
,let us show more clearly still this    
necessary genesis of religion4  ,in     
observing1 in reasoning1 in             
generalising1 ,i arrive at a certain    
knowledge of that which surrounds me2   
this knowledge of external objects forms
 within me the contents of what ,i call 
my knowledge of the world4  ,on the     
other hand1 in acting1 in living1 in    
exercising my will1 is formed what ,i   
call my knowledge of myself4            
,consciousness of self1 and             
consciousness of the world1 condition   
and determine each other1 and cannot    
exist without each other4  ,but1 at the 
same time1 they enter into mortal       
conflict4  ,the ego desires to master   
the world1 and the world1 in the end1   
devours the ego4  ,thought triumphs over
 ,nature and contemns it2 ,nature takes 
its revenge and swallows up thought in  

its abyss4  ,the consciousness of self  
wishes to bring over to itself the      
knowledge of the world2 and this absorbs
 and devours the consciousness of self4 
,the synthesis and reconciliation can   
only be found in the consciousness of   
something superior to self and the world
 on which both of them absolutely       
depend4  ,this synthetic and            
pacificatory consciousness is the       
consciousness of universal and sovereign
 ,being2 it is the sense of the presence
 of ,god4  ,to escape from his distress1
 man has never had any but this means of
 salvation4  ,the savage has recourse to
 it1 according to his degree of         
intellectual life1 when1 under terror of
 the phenomena of ,nature1 and of       
ever-threatening death1 he calls to his 
aid the obscure power of his gods4  ,the
 philosopher1 nourished on speculation1 
and arrived at the dualistic and divided
 consciousness of the disciples of      
,kant1 obeys the same instinctive       
impulse and the same vital necessity    

when he seeks in the notion of ,god the 
conciliation of the conflict which he   
feels between the ego and the world1    
between pure reason and the practical   
reason4  ,he needs a universal ,being on
 whom he feels himself to depend1 and on
 whom he may equally make to depend the 
whole universe4  ,in uniting himself to 
,him1 he affirms and confirms his own   
life2 he feels ,god to be active and    
present1 in his thought under the form  
of logical law1 in his will under the   
form of moral law4  ,he is saved by     
faith in the interior ,god1 in whom is  
realised the unity of his being4  ,it is
 therefore true to say that the human   
mind cannot believe in itself without   
believing in ,god1 and that1 on the     
other hand1 it cannot believe in ,god   
without finding ,him within itself4     
,that is a salto mortale1 some          
superficial spirits will say1 astonished
 at an apparent deduction which thus    
makes the religious activity of the ego 
spring from the depths of its own       

distress and despair4  ,to which we     
respond3 it is1 on the contrary1 a salto
 vitale1 the instinctive and at the same
 time reflective act which moves the    
mind to affirm to itself the absolute   
value of spirit4 ,considered at this    
first psychological moment of its birth1
 the religious faith of spirit in itself
 and in its sovereignty is only the     
higher form1 and1 as it were1 the       
prolongation of the instinct of         
conservation which reigns in all        
,nature4  ,the mind1 crushed beneath the
 weight of things1 stands up and        
triumphs in the feeling of the eternal  
dignity of spirit4  ,inward religion1   
sacred instinct of life1 divine1        
immortal force which necessarily appears
 at the first movement of spirit1 how   
they misunderstand thee who only see in 
thee the slavery of man6  ,on the       
contrary1 it is thou alone that breakest
 all the chains that ,nature binds on   
him1 that savest him from death and from
 extinction1 and that openest out to his

 beneficent activity an infinite career 
by associating him with the work of     
,god3 it is thou that renderest his     
spontaneity creative1 that renewest his 
forces1 and that1 plunging him into the 
fountain whence he issued1 maintainest  
in him an eternal youth6  ,this issue to
 the conflict of our faculties is       
exclusively of the practical order2 it  
is an act of trust1 not a demonstration2
 an affirmation which presupposes1 not  
scientific proofs1 but an act of moral  
energy4  ,this act must be performed1 or
 we must die4  ,there is no constraint  
except the desire to live1 but this is  
irresistible1 if not for each individual
 in particular1 at least for mankind in 
general4 ,the individual may commit     
suicide2 humanity desires to live1 and  
its life is a perpetual act of faith4   
,nevertheless1 this practical solution  
implies the possibility and the hope of 
a theoretical one2 and this in two ways3
 in the first place1 psychologically1   
because the ego of pure reason is also  

that of the practical reason and feels  
itself to be one and the same knowing   
and acting subject2 then1 speculatively1
 because in believing in the sovereignty
 of spirit in ourselves and in the world
 we affirm that man and the world have  
in spirit the principle and the aim of  
their being4 ,in ,god present in us1 are
 reconciled1 at least in hope1 the ego  
and the world4  ,this religious faith of
 spirit in itself permits us to         
anticipate the future solution1 and to  
affirm that at the summit of their      
complete development1 and in their      
entire perfection1 science and the moral
 life will rejoin and penetrate each    
other4  ,mathematicians tell us that two
 parallel lines meet in infinity4  ,so  
in ,god are reconciled the pure reason  
and the practical reason1 which here    
seem to us to develop themselves on     
parallel lines without ever being able  
to meet and to unite4  ,let us never    
forget that we spring out of            
nothingness1 or1 if you will1 out of    

unconsciousness1 and that we slowly     
emerge into the light of consciousness4 
,man is in course of being made spirit4 
,if it be well considered1 it will be   
seen that this irreducible antithesis   
that fills us with despair is the very  
condition of our spiritual development4 
,the mind only disengages itself from   
the bonds of its mother1 ,nature1 by an 
incessant struggle4  ,struggle means    
opposition and victory4  ,experience    
demonstrates that nothing spiritualises1
 deepens1 or purifies morality more than
 the contradictions of science2 and     
finally1 that nothing helps science more
 than a high and disinterested morality4
  ,these two sisters1 enemies in        
appearance1 are twins1 and they are seen
 to grow and triumph together by the    
exercise they give to each other through
 their constant contradictions4         
99      99      99      99      99   #c4
 ,the ,two ,orders of ,knowledge  444   
,the ego can only be conscious of itself
 and of its modifications4 ,that which  

does not touch it in any way remains    
unknown4  ,now1 the modifications of the
 ego may be reduced to two groups4  ,the
 one comes to it from without1          
representing the action of things upon  
it2 these are sensations4  ,the other   
springs up within1 representing the     
action of the ego on things1 its        
spontaneous energy1 its volitions1 and  
its acts4  ,thence come the two         
constituent elements of every           
consciousness1 the distinction between  
object and subject1 the ego and the     
non-ego1 thought and the object of      
thought4  ,we call objective every idea 
or quality that it is possible to refer 
to the object alone1 independently of   
the action or disposition of the        
subject4  ,we call subjective all       
knowledge implying identity of subject  
and object1 all discipline bearing on   
the rules of the spontaneous activity of
 the ego1 since without that activity   
the rules which should direct it would  
not exist4 ,in the first case we are    

conscious of a distinction and even of a
 radical opposition between the object  
and the subject of knowledge2 in the    
second1 we are conscious of their       
fundamental identity in this sense1 that
 the thinking and willing subject       
presents itself to itself as an object  
of thought and study4  ,in order that   
the two orders of knowledge1 engendered 
by this duality of origin1 may be       
brought into logical unity1 it is       
necessary either that the subject should
 enter into the object1 that the ego    
should be absorbed by the non-ego1 so   
that the laws of the non-ego should     
become the laws of the ego--and that    
would be materialism2 or that the object
 should enter into the subject so that  
the laws of the subject should become   
the law of things--and that would be    
idealism4  ,outside these two systems1  
equally violent and absolute1 the two   
orders of knowledge are irreducible1    
because in us the consciousness of the  
ego and the consciousness of the world  

are at present in conflict4  ,morality  
is neither reconciled to science1 nor   
science to morality4  ,in their         
rapprochement1 progressive to infinity1 
a hiatus always subsists4  ,one would be
 greatly deceived if he reduced this    
difference to the ordinary opposition   
between the physical and the spiritual1 
between external and internal phenomena4
  ,sensation1 the foundation and the    
starting point of the objective order of
 knowledge1 is just as internal as      
volition4  ,on the other hand1 man is a 
part of what we call ,nature2 and1 as   
such1 he is the theatre of a crowd of   
internal and external phenomena which1  
so far as that is possible1 should be   
observed1 described1 explained1 by the  
principle of causality1 like all the    
other phenomena of the physical order4  
,for example1 the mechanism of memory   
and that of logic1 the correlation      
between mental activities and the       
physiological modifications of the      
cerebro-spinal system1 the laws of      

association of ideas1 the stable forms  
of the human understanding1 all that    
psychology that is now called scientific
 psychology1 rightfully enters into the 
domain of the sciences of ,nature4  ,it 
is a province that may be explored like 
all the others4  ,the psychological     
observations made in it are objective   
not less than those of physiology1 for  
the reason that the phenomena that are  
observed1 while occurring in the ego1   
are nevertheless produced in it without 
the voluntary intervention of the ego1  
and even without its express consent4   
,moreover1 they do not imply or provoke 
on the part of the ego any moral        
judgment properly so called4  ,on the   
other hand1 take the sciences of ,nature
 which deal with the objects most widely
 removed from man1 with astronomy or    
geology1 e4g42 no longer consider the   
bare external results2 consider rather  
that spiritual force which we call      
thought1 and which has the virtue of    
producing these sciences2 what are they 

but the external revelation of the      
creative and organising energy of the   
thinking subject1 the revelation of     
spirit to spirit8  ,the work1 seen from 
this subjective side1 serves simply to  
set forth the worth of the worker4  ,you
 speak then of the ordinary savant or of
 the intellectual genius1 of the good or
 bad scientific workman4  ,the          
philosophy of science becomes a         
necessarily subjective discipline4      
,science1 in fact1 is simply an         
abstraction4  ,in the reality there are 
only minds more or less ignorant1       
conscious1 at each step1 of their       
strength and of their impotence1 of     
their defeats and victories1--minds     
condemned to a perpetual effort to      
struggle out of the night from which    
they slowly mount4  ,when you think of  
this most disinterested side of the     
scientific life you ask yourself what is
 the basis1 in the last resort1 of this 
confidence of mind in itself--the       
foundation of all the rest4 ,you see    

clearly that this activity of pure      
intellect demands1 like all other human 
activity1 attention1 forgetfulness of   
self1 a heroism1 in short1 going to the 
point of contempt of common enjoyments1 
and of the sacrifice of life itself4    
,you have then left the domain of the   
sciences of ,nature and have entered the
 realms of spirit1 and there rise around
 you the problems which form the object 
of the moral disciplines4  ,such is the 
intimate complexity of the two orders of
 knowledge that a persevering reflection
 discovers them to be everywhere        
mingled1 and it is with difficulty that 
they are disentangled4  ,all knowledge  
is an aggregate 7ensemble7 of judgments2
 but the judgments which constitute     
physical knowledge and those that       
constitute moral science are not of the 
same nature4  ,the first are judgments  
of existence1 bearing solely on the     
causality1 the succession1 the          
distribution of phenomena1 i4e4 on the  
relations of objects to each other1     

apart from the subject4  ,the basis on  
which they rest is sensation1 and1 as   
sensation has for necessary forms time  
and space1 time and space will also be  
the forms and limits of these judgments4
  ,forming homogeneous quantities1 time 
and space give the notion of figure and 
of number1 so that mathematics is the   
foundation and the necessary framework  
of all the physical sciences4  ,they    
rise above this abstract science of the 
forms of sensibility in the order of    
their complexity1 and form a hierarchy  
from rational mechanics to sociology1 of
 which ,comte and so many others vainly 
endeavour to make a simple social       
mechanics4  ,the destiny of this        
universal objective science is to       
progress for ever without ever being    
completed2 for it is of the same nature 
as number--that is to say1 essentially  
indefinite and imperfect4  ,it not only 
finds an inexhaustible subject of study 
in the external world2 it encounters a  
mystery impenetrable to its methods and 

analyses in the very subject that       
creates it1 and which1 in creating it1  
remains outside the mechanism it sets in
 motion4  ,in fact1 when the thinking   
subject considers itself1 or considers  
things in relation to itself1 it brings 
to bear upon itself and them a second   
series of judgments of an altogether    
different character4  ,it estimates them
 and it estimates itself according to a 
norm which is in itself4  ,it declares  
them to be good or bad1 beautiful or    
ugly1 rich or poor in life1 harmonious  
or discordant4  ,in other words1 it is  
no longer the idea of number--it is the 
category of the good which becomes the  
necessary form of these new judgments1  
which1 for this reason1 are called      
judgments of estimation or of dignity1  
and it is clear that between these two  
kinds of judgments there is no common   
measure4  ,they can no more encounter   
each other than two balls rolled on     
different planes4  ,will it be said that
 the judgments founded on the concept of

 the good are insignificant and         
worthless because neither man nor the   
good of man can be the measure of       
things8  ,if this remark is useful for  
abating human pride and preventing      
childish illusions1 it does not efface  
the primordial distinction between good 
and evil inherent to the human mind1 nor
 would one wish to deduce from it the   
vanity of all morality1 and the equal   
worth of all the manifestations of life4
  ,the proof1 moreover1 that the rule of
 the good is above man is that it judges
 and condemns him pitilessly2 it is that
 consciousness1 independently of the    
painful or agreeable sensations that it 
receives from things1 establishes       
between them a fitness 7convenance71 a  
hierarchy1 and constitutes the          
harmonious unity of the universe itself 
in the supreme idea of the sovereign    
good4  ,if the legitimacy of the        
confidence which the conscience has in  
its rule is to be contested1 ,i do not  
see why we should not contest that of   

the confidence of pure thought in       
itself4 ,then everything crumbles to    
pieces1 both science and conscience1 in 
the same abyss4  ,in reality1 the good1 
the beautiful1 the relations of fitness 
and of harmony1 are so many principles  
of knowledge1 which progress1 like      
physical knowledge1 by the culture of   
the mind4  ,the form of the moral       
judgments is universal1 and identical in
 every man2 it is this form alone which 
constitutes man as a moral being2 but   
the contents of this form vary          
unceasingly in history1 according to    
times and places4 ,everywhere and always
 man has sought the good1 but he has not
 always placed it in the same things2 he
 has formed different ideas of it1 and  
these ideas have become more and more   
noble and pure in proportion as his life
 itself has been ennobled and purified4 
,that is why there is a history of      
morality1 of religion1 of aesthetics1 as
 there is a history of the natural      
sciences1 although progress in these two

 classes has been of an opposite nature 
and accomplished according to different 
laws4  ,however this may be1 we may     
conclude that if mathematics1 by the    
concept of number1 the abstract form of 
sensation1 is the mould and framework of
 the sciences of ,nature1 ethics1 by the
 categorical imperative1 the abstract   
form of the activity of spirit1 is the  
foundation of the moral sciences1 which 
are as diverse as the various activities
 of the ego1 each having special rules  
and criteria1 no doubt1 but always      
falling under the common form of        
obligation4  ,distinct and often in     
conflict1 these two orders of knowledge 
are none the less solidaire2 they are   
always developed by their action the one
 upon the other1 and tend to a higher   
unity1 the need for which gives rise to 
attempts1 renewed from age to age1 at a 
metaphysical synthesis4 ,if you take the
 disciplines as taught in the schools   
to-day1 you will find that they are     
almost all mixed sciences such as       

history1 social economy1 politics1      
philosophy1 etc4  ,so soon as the savant
 rises above the simple description of  
phenomena1 and wishes to organise his   
cosmos by formulating the unity and     
harmony of it1 he necessarily borrows   
this principle of organisation and of   
harmony from the experience of his      
subjective life4  ,on the contrary1     
religion1 art1 morality1 can only be    
realised in the conditions prescribed to
 them by science properly so called1 and
 the last problem always propounded to  
human thought at each stage of its      
development is the conciliation of the  
moral idea acquired by the exercise of  
the will1 and the scientific idea       
furnished by its experience of the      
world4  ,there is no question1 then1 of 
separating the two orders of knowledge1 
but of referring each of them to its    
true source1 and preventing a confusion 
which1 mixing everything up1 renders    
everything uncertain4 ,it is impossible 
in good psychology to trace to one      

centre the divergent manifestations of  
our spiritual life1 and to drive the    
moral into the physical or the physical 
into the moral4  ,our spiritual life is 
like an ellipse with two centres of     
light3 on the one side1 the centre of   
receptive life1 where all the sensations
 received are elaborated into phenomenal
 knowledge2 on the other1 the centre of 
active life1 at which are concentrated  
all the revelations of the mind's own   
inner energy4  ,the line of the ellipse 
described by the relation and the       
distance of these two centres is the    
approximate but never perfect synthesis 
of the two kinds of data which thus     
arrive in consciousness4  ,he who does  
not distinguish these two centres1 and  
transforms the ellipse into a           
circumference with equal rays and an    
unique centre1 necessarily remains in   
chaos and old night4  ,from these       
general considerations is naturally     
deduced the specific character of       
religious knowledge1 its inward nature  

and its range4   #d4 ,the ,subjectivity 
of ,religious ,knowledge  ,the first    
contrast that we have seen to arise     
between the knowledge of ,nature and    
religious knowledge is that the first is
 objective1 and that the second can     
never pass out of subjectivity4  ,this  
does not mean that the second is less   
certain1 but that it is of another      
order1 and is produced in another way   
and with other characteristics4  ,in one
 sense1 the knowledge of ,nature is     
subjective1 for it depends on our mental
 constitution1 and on the laws of our   
knowing faculty4  ,but religious and    
moral knowledge is subjective in a      
different manner and for a deeper       
reason4  ,the object of scientific      
knowledge is always outside the ego1 and
 it is in knowing it as an object       
outside the ego that the objectivity of 
that knowledge consists4  ,but the      
object of religious or moral            
knowledge--,god1 the ,good1 the         
,beautiful--these are not phenomena that

 may be grasped outside the ego and     
independently of it4  ,god only reveals 
,himself in and by piety2 the ,good1 in 
the consciousness of the good man2 the  
,beautiful1 in the creative activity of 
the artist4  ,this is only saying that  
the object of these kinds of knowledge  
is immanent in the subject himself1 and 
only reveals itself by the personal     
activity of that subject4  ,absolutely  
eliminate the religious and moral       
subject1 or rather take from him all    
personal activity1 and you suppress1 for
 him1 the object of morality and        
religion4  ,let us take up again that   
striking antithesis of the two orders of
 knowledge4  ,what is at once the basis 
and the sign of the objectivity of the  
natural sciences8  ,one may             
theoretically ask whether the world of  
science1 the world that appears to us1  
is exactly the real world1 existing     
outside of us4  ,it is thus that in the 
philosophy of ,kant the famous question 
as to the thing in itself is stated4    

,but it is equally certain that in the  
name of that philosophy this question   
ought logically to be discarded4  ,one  
is astonished that the author of the    
,critique of ,pure ,reason did not      
immediately close that door opened to   
scientific scepticism4  ,after his      
critique1 in fact1 it is evident that   
that substratum which some are forced to
 imagine as a support to phenomena--that
 the indeterminate and indeterminable   
substance that they represent beneath   
the forms and qualities of things1--is  
both a non-being and nonsense4  ,das    
,ding an sich ist ein ,unding4  7,the   
thing in itself is an unthing47  ,it is 
a remnant of ancient metaphysics which  
ought to be eliminated from modern      
philosophy4  ,in allowing it to         
introduce itself into our theory of     
knowledge1 it overturns it as would a   
heterogeneous element4  ,he that        
persists in distinguishing between the  
thing in itself and the phenomenal thing
 will never be able to give an account  

of the objectivity of the sciences of   
,nature1 and of the kind of certitude   
that belongs to them4  ,that which      
appears to us from without is not       
doubtless all the reality of the world2 
but it is a real world4  ,by his        
calculations1 ,leverrier came first to  
suspect the existence of a large planet 
as yet unperceived2 then he came to     
measure its volume1 to trace its orbit1 
and finally to mark its place at a given
 time4  ,he said to his brother         
astronomers3 ,look there6 and the planet
 appeared at the end of their           
telescopes4  ,how explain1 moreover1    
without this reality of science1 the    
power that science gives to man over    
,nature8  ,his power1 is it not always  
exactly in proportion to his knowledge8 
,in what then does this objectivity of  
science consist if it is not founded on 
the pretended knowledge of the thing in 
itself8  ,in the necessary link that    
scientific thought establishes between  
phenomena4 ,this necessity does not come

 from experience1 for it is something   
ideal1 which our mind adds to all       
experience4  ,but1 as we can only think 
according to these necessary laws1 we   
necessarily objectivise in all          
scientific study4  ,we thus affirm1 of  
necessity1 the fundamental unity of the 
laws of thought and the laws of         
phenomena4  ,experience always confirms 
this immediate affirmation4  ,now this  
necessity1 it is objectivity itself2 it 
is the only noumenon that we are        
authorised to seek behind phenomena in  
,nature1 and behind the manifestations  
of pure reason in spirit4  ,the first   
effect of this objective necessity is to
 eliminate from the work of science the 
feelings and the subjective will of the 
ego4  ,a thinking and acting subject is 
no doubt necessary in making science2   
but the characteristic of science is to 
see what it studies apart from the      
subject1 apart even from the psychical  
phenomena that it observes in the ego   
itself4  ,posited outside the ego1 the  

laws that it promulgates appear to us   
therefore independent of it4  ,this     
elimination of the subject from the     
conclusions of science thus becomes the 
sign and the measure of their           
objectivity4  ,where the elimination is 
complete1 as in astronomy and physics1  
the objectivity is entire4  ,on the     
contrary1 history1 e4g4 where the       
elimination can never be absolute1      
always tends towards objectivity1 but   
never reaches it4  ,it is altogether    
otherwise with religious knowledge4     
,with it we enter at once into the      
subjective order--that is to say1 into  
an order of psychological facts1 of     
determinations and internal dispositions
 of the subject itself1 the succession  
of which constitutes his personal life4 
,to eliminate the ego would not here be 
possible2 for this would be both to     
eliminate the materials and to dry up   
the living spring of knowledge4  ,an    
ancient illusion pretended that we know 
,god1 as we know the phenomena of       

,nature1 and that the religious life    
springs from that objective knowledge as
 by a sort of practical application4    
,the very opposite is true4  ,god is not
 a phenomenon that we may observe apart 
from ourselves1 or a truth demonstrable 
by logical reasoning4  ,he who does not 
feel ,him inside his heart will never   
find ,him outside4  ,the object of      
religious knowledge only reveals itself 
in the subject1 by the religious        
phenomena themselves4  ,it is with the  
religious consciousness as with the     
moral consciousness4  ,in this the      
subject feels obliged1 and this         
obligation itself constitutes the       
revelation of the moral object which    
obliges us4  ,there is no good known    
outside that4  ,the same in religion3 we
 never become conscious of our piety    
without--at the same time that we feel  
religiously moved--perceiving1 more or  
less obscurely1 in that very emotion the
 object and the cause of religion1 i4e4 
,god4  ,observe the natural and         

spontaneous movement of piety3 a soul   
feels itself to be trusting1 that it is 
established in peace and light2 is it   
strong1 humble1 resigned1 obedient8  ,it
 immediately attributes its strength1   
its faith1 its humility1 its obedience1 
to the action of the ,divine ,spirit    
within itself4  ,anne ,doubourg1 dying  
at the stake1 prayed thus3 ,o ,god1 ,do 
not abandon me lest ,i should fall off  
from ,thee4  ,the prophet of ,israel    
said3 ,turn me1 ,o ,lord1 and ,i shall  
be turned4  ,and the father in the      
,gospels cried3 ,lord1 ,i believe2 help 
,thou mine unbelief4  ,to feel thus in  
our personal and empirical activity the 
action and the presence of the ,spirit  
of ,god within our own spirit1 is the   
mystery1 but it is also the source1 of  
religion4  ,it will be seen how much    
religious knowledge and the science of  
,nature differ by their very origin4    
,the one is the theory of the receptive 
and logical life of the ego2 the other  
is the theory of its active and         

spontaneous life4  ,as both the         
receptive and the active life are one1  
however1 the two orders of knowledge are
 neither isolated nor independent4  ,but
 they must never be confounded4  ,their 
results will always remain              
heterogeneous2 they are not of the same 
order1 and cannot supply the place of   
each other4  ,if you were to admit1     
e4g41 that philosophers may succeed 7as 
they have often been believed to do7 in 
establishing a veritable objective      
science of ,god1 and if they were thus  
to know ,god in ,himself and apart from 
the religious ego1 that scientific      
knowledge of ,god1 even if it were      
possible1 would not be religious        
knowledge2 for to know ,god religiously 
is to know ,him in ,his relation to     
us--that is to say1 in our              
consciousness1 in so far as ,he is      
present in it and determines it towards 
piety4  ,this is the sense in which it  
is permissible to maintain that religion
 is as independent of metaphysics as it 

is of cosmology4  ,it is the same with  
the knowledge of the world4  ,to know   
the world as an astronomer or a         
physicist is not to know it religiously4
  ,to know it religiously is1 while     
taking it as it is1 and in no wise      
contradicting the scientific laws       
according to which it is governed1 to   
determine its value in relation to the  
life of spirit2 it is to estimate it    
according as it is a means1 a hindrance1
 or a menace1 to the progress of that   
life4  ,in the same way1 to know        
ourselves religiously is not to         
construct scientific psychology2 but    
that psychology being once constructed1 
and properly constructed1 it is to      
realise ourselves in our relation both  
to ,god and to the world1 forcing       
ourselves to surmount the contradictions
 from which we suffer1 in order that we 
may attain to unity and peace of mind4  
,thus1 not only can religious knowledge 
never cast off its subjective character2
 it is in reality nothing but that very 

subjectivity of piety considered in its 
action and in its legitimate            
development4  ,the inner nature of these
 two orders of knowledge having been    
defined1 it becomes evident that each of
 them is valid in its own domain1 and   
that they cannot legitimately encroach  
upon each other4  ,to try to establish  
by religious faith the reality of any   
phenomenon whatsoever1 of which         
experimental science or intellectual    
criticism are the sole judges2 or to    
wish to formulate by means of objective 
science a moral judgment which springs  
from the subjective consciousness--these
 are two equivalent encroachments and   
abuses4  ,experimental science has the  
right to forbid the religious           
consciousness to do violence to it2 but 
the religious consciousness has an equal
 right to restrict science to its true  
limits4  ,we must prevent confusion if  
we would put an end to the conflicts    
between them4  ,to enclose ,god in any  
phenomenal form is1 properly speaking1  

superstition or idolatry2 to confine or 
dissipate the soul in external          
phenomenism1 and to deny the seriousness
 and value of its religious and moral   
activity1 is infidelity1 properly so    
called4  ,truths of the religious and   
moral order are known by a subjective   
act of what ,pascal calls the heart4    
,science can know nothing about them1   
for they are not in its order4  ,in the 
same way the phenomena of ,nature are   
only known and measured by observation  
and calculation4  ,neither the heart nor
 religious faith can decide with respect
 to them4  ,each order has its          
certitude4  ,we must not say that in the
 one the certitude is greater than in   
the other4  ,science is not more sure of
 its object than moral or religious     
faith is of its own2 but it is sure in a
 different way4  ,scientific certitude  
has at its basis intellectual evidence4 
,religious certitude has for its        
foundation the feeling of subjective    
life1 or moral evidence4  ,the first    

gives satisfaction to the intellect2 the
 second gives to the whole soul the     
sense of order re-established1 of health
 regained1 of force and peace4  ,it is  
the happy feeling of deliverance1 the   
inward assurance of salvation4  ,it is  
not surprising1 lastly1 that these two  
kinds of knowledge or of certitude      
should spring up and propagate          
themselves by different means4          
,objective science transmits itself by  
objective demonstration4  ,the          
subjective life of the savant has       
nothing to do with it4  ,to convince us 
of the reality of his discoveries1 an   
astronomer does not need to be a good   
man4  ,on the contrary1 a fundamentally 
immoral man will always be a detestable 
professor of ethics4  ,religion is only 
propagated by religious men4  ,it may   
also be added that1 in religious        
knowledge1 the intellectual             
demonstration or the idea has no value  
except in so far as it serves as the    
expression and the vehicle of the       

personal life of the subject4  ,this is 
the secret and the mystery of eloquence4
  ,the si vis me flere1 dolendum1 is    
true in all the moral disciplines1 as   
much and more than in aesthetics4  ,one 
gains nothing by attempting to          
demonstrate objectively the existence of
 ,god4  ,that demonstration is          
ineffective towards those who have no   
piety2 for those who have1 it is        
superfluous4 ,the true religious        
propaganda is effected by inward        
contagion4  ,ex vivo vivus nascitur4    
,accuracy in theology is much less      
important in religion than warmth of    
piety4  ,pitiful arguments have in all  
ages been followed by admirable         
conversions4  ,those who are scandalised
 at this have not yet penetrated into   
the essence of religious faith4  ,for   
want of this clear and frank separation 
between our two orders of knowledge1 one
 sees1 on the one hand1 philosophers    
pretending to transform ethics and      
philosophy into objective science1 and1 

on the other1 savants naively giving    
forth their objective science as a      
metaphysic and as a solution of the     
enigma of life4  ,two illusions1 in     
whose train everything is mixed up and  
founded4  ,objective ethics are         
everything you could wish--except       
ethics4  ,you might as well speak of a  
round square4  ,when an objective       
science transforms itself into          
metaphysics1 it ceases to be science and
 becomes subjective philosophy4 ,this   
goes without saying4  ,and yet1 in      
distinguishing the two orders we must   
not isolate them1 nor above all must we 
lose sight of their solidarity1 their   
close connection1 and correspondence4   
,the subject is one1 and has a clear    
consciousness of his unity2 that is why 
he always tends towards a synthesis4    
,phenomenal science cannot complete     
itself without borrowing from the       
subjective consciousness of the ego the 
ideas of unity1 of plan1 and of harmony4
  ,on the other hand1 the moral and     

religious consciousness1 in order to    
express itself1 needs to borrow from    
phenomenal science the data which it    
uses1 and1 consequently1 it should      
always avoid contradicting them4  ,thus 
we tend towards the synthetic harmony of
 a continuous effort and of an          
indefectible faith2 but we discard none 
the less resolutely the philosophy of   
logical unity4  ,we obstinately refuse  
to admit that the subjective order can  
ever be deduced1 by way of consequence  
and application1 from the objective     
order of knowledge3 that is the error of
 materialistic ,pantheism2 and1 vice    
versa1 that the objective order of      
phenomenal science can or ought to be   
deduced from the religious or moral     
order3 that is the opposite error of all
 the dogmatisms4  ,the mental cannot be 
simply reduced to the physical1 or the  
physical entirely to the mental4  ,we   
must respect the fruitful antinomies of 
life from which the necessary progress  
springs4  ,the tendency towards harmony 

is there1 not the harmony itself4  ,this
 is the reward promised1 the aim        
proposed1 to effort4  ,our philosophy   
ought to regard the spiritual life in   
its becoming--that is to say1 in its    
growth and in its conflicts1 without    
wishing1 like all idealist and          
materialist speculations1 to make of the
 actual and transient moment the eternal
 metaphysical reality4   #e4 ,teleology 
,subjective in essence and origin1      
religious knowledge is teleological in  
its procedure1 and this second          
characteristic springs from the first4  
,teleology is the form of all organic   
life and of all conscious activity4     
,now1 what is moral knowledge but the   
theory of the conscious life of spirit8 
,without the principle of causation1    
phenomena1 in science1 would not be     
connected2 without the idea of end1 or  
principle of direction1 biological and  
psychical facts could not be            
organised--that is to say1 hierarchised4
  ,mechanism and teleology3 these then  

are the two new terms for the antithesis
 formed by the knowledge of ,nature and 
religious knowledge4 ,but it is a       
prejudice to believe that the one form  
of explanation excludes the other or    
renders it superfluous4  ,we have       
examples to the contrary not only in the
 machines constructed by man1 but also  
in all living organisms1 in which1      
according to ,claude ,bernard1 the      
directive idea of life is realised in an
 absolute determinism4  ,the mechanical 
explanation of phenomena and the        
determinism of science only become      
exclusive of teleology when they are    
transformed into metaphysical           
materialism--that is to say1 when it is 
affirmed1 a priori1 and by a subjective 
act1 that there is nothing in the       
universe but matter and the movements of
 matter4  ,but then1 it is clear that   
materialism1 which believes itself to be
 scientific1 becomes a philosophy1 and  
like all other philosophies it falls    
under the jurisdiction not only of the  

objective science of the world1 but of  
the consciousness of the ego4  ,the     
ideas of cause and end spring from one  
and the same source4  ,the idea of cause
 awakens in us because the ego1 as soon 
as it knows itself1 has the clear sense 
of being the author of its acts2 it has 
this sense by that of the very effort   
that it has made4  ,but1 at the same    
time1 it knows that it made that effort 
with a view to an end which attracted   
it4  ,cause and end1 therefore1 are the 
two aspects of the same conscious act4  
,the one is the backward glance of the  
consciousness2 the other is its forward 
look4  ,as we only know the world by    
reflecting it in the mirror of our      
consciousness1 it follows that the two  
categories of cause and end impose      
themselves on our understanding with an 
equal necessity4  ,there is another     
consequence of this psychological       
observation4  ,the consciousness of the 
ego is one2 neither the idea of cause   
nor the idea of end1 by itself1 would   

suffice to explain the whole universe to
 me4 ,it is easy to see at a glance that
 the objective science of phenomena is  
not and never can be completed4  ,the   
chain into which it introduces each     
particular phenomenon as a new link is  
indefinitely lengthened by scientific   
progress1 in time and space1 but without
 the power to hang on anywhere4         
,outside space and time1 the principle  
of causation only engenders insoluble   
antinomies4  ,besides1 to explain one   
phenomenon by another is to explain it  
by a cause which itself needs           
explanation4 ,the mechanical reason of  
things is therefore never a sufficient  
reason4 ,it is an indefinite series of  
insufficient particular reasons4  ,the  
network of science1 however fine and    
firm it be1 does not cover1 and cannot  
cover all reality4  ,the ,cosmos that   
science builds is like the globe2 it    
floats in immensity4  ,where1 ,o ,lord1 
goes the earth through the heavens8  ,to
 this question teleology alone responds4

  ,but every teleological affirmation   
respecting the universe is a religious  
affirmation4 ,science1 studying only    
accomplished facts1 never establishes   
anything but phenomena and their        
antecedent or concomitant conditions4   
,once the phenomenon is integrated in   
the causal series1 the task of science  
is accomplished4  ,to ask it to go      
further is to ask it to go beyond its   
limits and to denaturalise itself4  ,you
 can only put teleology into the        
universe by affirming the sovereignty of
 spirit4  ,to say that there is reason1 
that there is thought1 in things--that  
they move towards an end or realise an  
order1 a harmony1 a good3 this is to say
 that matter is subordinate to spirit4  
,now1 to affirm this sovereignty of     
spirit is to commit that act of initial 
religious faith of which ,i spoke at the
 beginning2 it is to feel in one's self 
and in the world something besides      
matter1 the mysterious energy of spirit4
  ,this act of faith--legitimate because

 inevitable--belongs to the subjective  
order of religious life1 not to the     
objective order of science4  ,teleology 
and the theory of final causes have been
 compromised because their specific     
character has been mistaken2 they have  
sometimes been assimilated to1 and      
sometimes substituted for1 mechanical   
causes in the explanation of phenomena4 
,for an unknown scientific explanation  
has been substituted an appeal to a     
supernatural intention or volition of   
,god4  ,the savants rightly protested   
against this4  ,god1 who is the final   
reason of everything1 is the scientific 
explanation of nothing4 ,the object of  
science is to search for second causes2 
where these do not appear there is no   
science4  ,it is faith which replaces   
it4  ,to say that ,god created the      
world1 or that the world tends toward   
the sovereign good1 is not to advance   
positive science a single step4  ,on the
 other hand1 to explain the phenomena of
 rain1 or thunder1 or the fall of       

bodies1 is to dissipate some            
mythological conceptions2 but it is not 
to suppress the religious affirmation of
 spirit that the mechanism of the       
universe has an end1 and that the laws  
of gravitation and the material forces  
serve some purpose of which they are    
ignorant1 and which is of more value    
than themselves4  ,between the          
discoveries of science and the          
postulates of the religious and moral   
life there is always necessarily formed 
a synthesis which is destroyed at each  
step1 but which rises again higher and  
larger than before4  ,mechanism itself1 
in order to be intelligible1 calls for  
teleology4  ,the text of the material   
world awaits the interpretation that    
spirit gives of it4  ,by its discoveries
 positive science establishes the text4 
,without this rigorous establishment of 
the text1 the exegesis of consciousness 
remains a phantasy4  ,but1 without that 
exegesis1 the text itself signifies     
nothing2 it is almost as if it did not  

exist4  ,there is another reason1 a     
practical reason1 which makes of        
teleology the very essence of the       
religious consciousness4  ,we must never
 lose sight of the fact that what we    
seek in and by religion is the key to   
the enigma of life4  ,the enigma of the 
universe only torments us1 at the       
religious point of view1 because we     
believe that in this is the secret of   
that4  ,we are embarked in the vessel1  
and we see clearly enough that our      
destiny depends upon its own4  ,that is 
why religious faith1 perfectly          
indifferent to the architecture and to  
the ways and means of the construction  
of the vessel1 regards above all the    
direction in which the sails are set1   
and seeks to discover the route which is
 being followed4  ,has it a compass8    
,and is there some one at the helm8  ,in
 other words1 the religious instinct is 
the pressing need that spirit has to    
guarantee itself against the perpetual  
menaces of ,nature4  ,faith judges      

everything from the point of view of the
 sovereign good1 and the sovereign good1
 for spirit1 can only be the final and  
complete expansion of the life of the   
spirit4  ,therefore1 in every religious 
notion there will never1 at bottom1 be  
anything but a teleological judgment4   
,it is not the essence of things--it is 
their reciprocal value and their        
hierarchy which interest religious      
faith4  ,in the religious notion of ,god
 it is not the metaphysical nature--it  
is the will of ,god in regard to        
men--which is of most concern2 and in   
the religious notion of the world it is 
not the mechanical cause of             
phenomena--it is to know which way the  
world is going1 and whether it has any  
other end to serve than as the theatre  
and the organ of spirit4 ,what does     
faith itself desire to say when it      
defines ,god as the ,eternal and        
,almighty ,spirit1 except that man needs
 to affirm that his own individual      
spirit does not depend on any but a     

spiritual power like himself8  ,it is   
true that to determine this final cause 
of the world is also to determine its   
first cause4  ,it is the same thing in  
other terms2 and indeed it is to make   
metaphysics in the etymological sense of
 the word4  ,the important point is to  
know that this decisive step beyond the 
chain of visible phenomena1 whether it  
be taken by the philosopher or the      
theologian1 is always an act of         
subjective life1 an affirmation of      
spirit1 an act of faith1 and not a      
demonstration of science4   #f4         
,symbolism  ,thirdly1 and lastly1       
religious knowledge is symbolical4  ,all
 the notions it forms and organises1    
from the first metaphor created by      
religious feeling to the most abstract  
theological speculation1 are necessarily
 inadequate to their object4  ,they are 
never equivalent1 as in the case of the 
exact sciences4  ,the reason is easy to 
discover4  ,the object of religion is   
transcendent2 it is not a phenomenon4   

,now1 in order to express that object1  
our imagination has nothing at its      
disposal but phenomenal images1 and our 
understanding1 logical categories1 which
 do not go beyond space and time4       
,religious knowledge is therefore       
obliged to express the invisible by the 
visible1 the eternal by the temporary1  
spiritual realities by sensible images4 
,it can only speak in parables4 ,the    
theory of religious knowledge requires  
for its completion a theory of symbols  
and symbolism4  ,what is a symbol8  ,to 
express the invisible and spiritual by  
the sensible and material--such is its  
principal characteristic and its        
essential function4  ,it is a living    
organism1 in which we must distinguish  
between appearance and substance4  ,it  
is a soul in a body4 ,the body is the   
manifestation of the soul1 although it  
is not like it2 it makes the soul active
 and present4  ,the most perfect example
 of symbolism1 in this respect1 is found
 in language and writing--two           

incarnations of thought4  ,neither the  
characters formed by my pen1 nor the    
sound made by the air in my larynx1 have
 a positive resemblance to my thought4  
,but these letters and sounds become    
signs to those who have the key to them4
  ,they express the intangible thought2 
they make it present and living in the  
minds of those who read or hear4  ,this 
is still truer of the creations of art4 
,they also are mere symbols4  ,art might
 be defined as the effort to enshrine   
the ideal in the real1 and by a material
 form to express the inexpressible4     
,this is clearly taught by the word     
poesy1 which means creation4  ,the works
 of great artists really live2 for they 
have a soul1 a rich and intense life1   
which the material form at once conceals
 and reveals4  ,from architecture to    
music there is not an art that is not   
symbolical4 ,ethics1 religion1 all the  
disciplines relating to the subjective  
life of spirit1 have only this means of 
expression4  ,it is their peculiarity to

 become exterior and objective1 and to  
dominate the external things that       
science studies4  ,symbols1 much better 
than science1 attest the victory and the
 royalty of spirit4  ,if science reveals
 ,nature1 symbols make of ,nature1 of   
its transformations and its laws1 the   
glorified image of the inner life of    
spirit4  ,born in the artist's soul1 of 
the subjective activity of his ego1 the 
symbol addresses itself much less to the
 pure intellect than to the inner life  
and to the emotions of those who        
contemplate it4  ,it awakes and sets in 
motion the subjective activity of the   
ego2 it has produced its whole effect   
when it has produced in us the emotions1
 the transport1 the enthusiasm1 the     
faith1 that the poet himself experienced
 in engendering it4  ,such is the source
 and the explanation of the magic of    
art1 of eloquence1 of religious         
inspiration4  ,all the creators of      
living symbols pour their soul into our 
soul1 their life into our life4  ,they  

subjugate and ravish us4  ,by symbols1  
much better than by scientific notions1 
the community and fraternity of spirits 
is realised1 and the fusion of souls    
into a collective consciousness         
effected2 a consciousness which includes
 all individual minds and tunes them    
into harmony2 the consciousness of a    
nation1 of a church1 of humanity4  ,it  
is not science that rules the world--it 
is symbols4  ,inferior to the exact     
ideas of science in logical clearness1  
symbolic forms are superior to them in  
power and reach4  ,science is forcibly  
arrested at the surface of things1 at   
the appearances continually arising in  
the universe4  ,in it is found neither  
the principle of energy1 nor1           
consequently1 the secret of life1 or the
 key to our destiny4  ,you seek the     
meaning and the end of your action2 you 
ask for some sufficient reason for      
living2 do you not feel that it is      
contradictory to address yourself to the
 science of phenomena1 seeing that1 from

 the strictly scientific point of view1 
phenomena have not in themselves their  
own raison d'etre8  ,that which you seek
 is beyond phenomena1 and it is symbols 
alone that can1 not make you comprehend 
it1 but reveal it to you4  ,since       
,nature may become and does become1 in  
art and in religion1 the constant symbol
 of the inner life of spirit and of its 
normal development1--since it is        
susceptible of this perpetual and       
glorious transfiguration by spirit1--it 
is impossible not to admit the inner    
correspondence of the laws of ,nature   
and the laws of conscious life1 and to  
believe in their deep unity4  ,it is1 in
 fact1 secret and powerful analogies    
which rule and inspire symbolical       
creations4  ,art and religion are more  
than conventions2 they are revelations  
of that which is hidden at once in      
spirit and in ,nature1 of the principle 
of ,being itself1 of the absolute energy
 which is manifested1 parallelly1 in the
 unfolding of the physical universe and 

of the moral universe4 ,all things cover
 some mystery2 phenomena are simply     
veils4  ,that is why1 by their very     
destination1 they become symbols4  ,the 
idea of symbol and the idea of mystery  
are correlative4  ,who says symbol says 
at the same time occultation and        
revelation4  ,in becoming present and   
even sensible1 the living verity still  
remains veiled4  ,the same image that   
reveals it to the heart remains for the 
intellect an impassable barrier4  ,one  
may say of it what the poet says of the 
sense of the infinite1 for1 at bottom1  
it is the same thing4  ,we are restless 
because we see it but can never         
comprehend it4  ,this inquietude is     
soothed by a clear knowledge of the     
cause from which it springs4  ,symbols  
are the only language suited to         
religion4  ,we need to know that which  
we adore2 for no one adores that of     
which he has no perception2 but it is   
not less necessary that we should not   
comprehend it1 for one does not adore   

that which he comprehends too clearly1  
because to comprehend is to dominate4   
,such is the twofold and contradictory  
condition of piety1 to which symbols    
seem to be made expressly in order to   
respond4  ,piety has never had any other
 language4  ,in considerations of this  
kind might be found the explanation of  
the bond which in the beginning unites  
religion and art4  ,but we must confine 
ourselves to our special topic1 and     
proceed to inquire what it is that      
constitutes the life and power of       
religious symbols4  ,it would be an     
illusion to believe that a religious    
symbol represents ,god in ,himself1 and 
that its value1 therefore1 depends on   
the exactitude with which it represents 
,him4  ,the true content of the symbol  
is entirely subjective3 it is the       
conscious relation of the subject to    
,god1 or rather1 it is the way he feels 
himself affected by ,god4  ,thus when   
the ,psalmist exclaims3 ,the ,lord is my
 rock2 or ,god is a devouring fire2 when

 the ,christ teaches us to say1 ,our    
,father1--these are not scientific1 and 
in this case metaphysical1 definitions  
of ,god4  ,what these images simply     
translate is the relation of absolute   
confidence1 of awe1 of filial love1     
which1 by ,his mysterious action1 the   
,spirit of ,god creates in revealing    
,himself in the spirit of man4  ,from   
these divers feelings spring            
spontaneously the strong and simple     
images which translate them1 and which1 
if these subjective experiences are     
eliminated1 have no content and no      
truth4  ,from this point of view we may 
see in what religious inspiration       
psychologically consists4  ,neither its 
aim nor its effect is to communicate to 
men exact1 objective1 ready-made ideas  
on that which by its nature is          
unknowable under the scientific mode2   
but it consists in an enrichment and    
exaltation of the inner life of its     
subject2 it sets in motion his inward   
religious activity1 since it is in that 

that ,god reveals ,himself2 it excites  
new feelings1 constituting new concrete 
relations of ,god to man1 and by the    
fact of this creative activity it       
spontaneously engenders new images and  
new symbols1 of which the real content  
is precisely this revelation of the     
,god-spirit in the inner life of the    
spirit of man4  ,the greatest initiators
 in the religious order have been the   
greatest creators of symbols4           
,prophecy1 in the ,biblical sense of the
 word1 has never given divine revelation
 except in the form of images4  ,and    
whence spring these images but from the 
exaltation of the religious life of the 
prophet which spontaneously expresses   
itself without8  ,every other conception
 of inspiration is anti-psychological4  
,to the question1 ,whence come the life 
and power of symbols8 we reply3 ,from   
the primitive organic unity of the      
sentiment of piety1 and of the image    
which translates it first to            
consciousness4  ,it is the organic unity

 of soul and body4  ,the greater the    
creative force that engenders the       
symbol1 the stronger is this unity4  ,it
 constitutes its truth because it       
constitutes its life4  ,for a symbol1 to
 be living it suffices that it should be
 sincere1 that the feeling should not be
 separate from the image1 nor the image 
from the feeling4  ,to this cry of      
confidence in ,god1 ,the ,lord is my    
rock1 there is no objection1 so long as 
this confidence is really felt1 although
 a rock is a very poor image of ,god4   
,it follows that the value of a symbol  
must not be measured by the nature of   
the image employed1 but by the moral    
value1 in the scale of feeling1 of the  
relation in which it places us to ,god4 
,it is the moral value of this relation 
which alone makes the intrinsic value of
 a religion1 and which permits us to    
assign to it its true place in the      
development of humanity4  ,the time     
comes1 however1 when the image detaches 
itself from the feeling that produced   

it1 and when it fixes itself as such in 
the memory4  ,in considering it in      
itself1 reflection transforms the image 
into an idea more or less abstract1 and 
takes this idea for a representation of 
the object of religion4  ,but then      
arises the original discrepancy that we 
noted at the outset between the object  
of religion1 which is transcendent1 and 
the nature of the phenomenal image by   
which we attempt to represent it4       
,hence there is a latent contradiction  
in every symbolic idea4  ,to get rid of 
this contradiction the understanding is 
obliged to eliminate from these ideas   
the sensible element which remains in   
them and renders them inadequate to     
their object4  ,by progressive          
generalisation and abstraction1         
reasoning attenuates the primitive      
metaphor2 it wears it down as on a      
grindstone4  ,but1 when the metaphorical
 element has disappeared1 the notion    
itself vanishes in so far as it is a    
positive notion4  ,there are mysterious 

lamps which only burn under an alabaster
 globe4  ,you may thin away the solid   
envelope to make it more transparent4   
,but mind you do not break it2 for the  
flame inside will then go out and leave 
you in the dark4  ,so with all our      
general ideas of the object of religion4
  ,when every metaphorical element is   
eliminated from them1 they become simply
 negative1 contradictory1 and lose all  
real content4  ,such are our pure ideas 
of the infinite and the absolute4  ,if  
you would give them a positive          
character1 you must put into them some  
element of positive experience4  ,this  
is what is done when it is said that    
,god is the ultimate energy of things1  
that ,he is the creative cause of       
everything1 that ,he is ,justice1 that  
,he is ,spirit1 a ,judge1 a ,father4    
,born of the primitive symbols of       
religion1 all our religious ideas will  
therefore necessarily keep their        
symbolical character to the end4  ,as is
 the seed1 so is the plant4  ,dogmatics 

itself will never be for the religious  
soul anything but a higher              
symbolism--that is to say1 a form which1
 without the inward presence of active  
and living faith1 would be worthless4   
,if dogmas may sustain and produce      
faith1 it is still more true that1 at   
the outset1 it is faith which produces  
dogmas and afterwards revives them4     
,many good men withstand these          
conclusions from a rigorous analysis of 
religious knowledge and of its          
psychological genesis4  ,supposing you  
are right1 they say1 and that the mental
 constitution of our spiritual nature   
confines religious thought to symbolic  
forms1 cannot a supernatural revelation 
enable us to pass beyond these limits   
and bring to us religious ideas adequate
 to their object1 and consequently of a 
pure and absolute truth8  ,this seems to
 us a very strange desire--that a       
revelation of ,god should be effected   
apart from the conditions of            
knowledge--that is to say1 apart from   

the forms under which alone it can be   
accessible to us4  ,do they not see that
 the very idea of revelation soon       
becomes contradictory8  ,if ,god wished 
to make us a gift that we could receive1
 must ,he not have suited the form of it
 to that of our mind8  ,must ,he not    
have availed ,himself of our ideas and  
of our language in order to explain to  
us the nature of ,his benefits8  ,now1  
it is certain that our ideas1 as soon as
 they are transported outside space and 
time1 contradict and destroy themselves1
 and that we are reduced to the         
necessity of conceiving and expressing  
things invisible and eternal by images  
actual and terrestrial4  ,if ,god1 in   
speaking to us of ,his mysteries1 used  
other than these human means1 we should 
not understand ,him at all1 so that the 
revelation would no longer be a         
revelation4  ,and is it not for this    
reason that when ,god has desired to    
reveal ,himself to men ,he has never    
employed any but men as ,his organs1 and

 that ,he whom we name ,his ,son never  
spoke except in images and parables of  
the things of the kingdom of ,god8  ,no 
one in fact was fonder and more         
intelligently fond of this symbolical   
form than the ,christ2 ,he never wished 
to employ any other4 ,this preference   
did not arise1 as is supposed1 merely   
from the fact that ,he found it a happy 
means of popularity to adapt ,himself to
 all minds4  ,he also knew that no      
language was more natural or more       
conformed to the moral exigencies of    
piety4  ,he saw in it an institution    
ordained by ,god ,himself4  ,and it is  
the truth4  ,the ,parable addresses     
itself1 not to the pure understanding1  
but to the active faculty of the ego1 to
 the heart4  ,it appeals to our         
subjective life2 it awakens the         
religious need before satisfying it4    
,the soul which hears it meditates1 and 
experiences the living content that it  
contains4  ,on the contrary1 the soul   
that is inert and dead finds nothing in 

the symbol and receives nothing from it 
even theoretically1 so that it is       
literally true that the symbolic form1 a
 shining revelation unto some1 remains a
 dull and empty letter for others4  ,it 
is from this point of view alone that it
 is possible to understand that other   
saying of ,jesus1 so paradoxical to     
common sense1 so rich and just to the   
eyes of experience and of faith3 ,to him
 that hath shall be given2 from him that
 hath not shall be taken away that which
 he hath4 ,the gift of ,god comes only  
to the felt need and the active desire  
of man4   #g4 ,conclusion  ,the         
conclusion from all that has now been   
said is that religious knowledge is     
subject to the law of transformation    
which regulates all the manifestations  
of human life and thought4  ,as there is
 disproportion and disparity between the
 object of religion and its means of    
expression1 it will always be possible  
and necessary to distinguish1 in all its
 creations1 between the form and the    

substance1 the body and the soul4       
,religious symbolism will therefore     
always be very variable de facto1 but   
subject1 de jure1 to new                
interpretations4  ,this variability1    
however1 is not unlimited4  ,it is      
necessarily confined within limits      
which1 while not easy to define         
theoretically1 are none the less precise
 and fixed2 for the great religious     
creations are organisms1 and every      
organism carries in itself1 determined  
by its own nature1 the exact capacity of
 its metamorphoses4  ,in every living   
organism1 in fact1 there is a principle 
of stability and a principle of         
movement4  ,the identity of a human     
being persists through all the          
modifications1 internal and external1   
which he undergoes4  ,so with the       
language of a people2 and so with every 
historical religion4  ,its fundamental  
and regulative principle is the relation
 it establishes between the soul and    
,god4  ,the form or external realisation

 of this principle depends1 no doubt1 on
 the race1 the geographical environment1
 the historical period4  ,it will vary  
therefore with these circumstances4     
,but the religious type or organic      
principle remaining the same1 this      
religion will appear the same throughout
 the incessant movement of its dogmas1  
rites1 and symbols4 ,this is the very   
condition of its life4  ,forms which    
cannot bend1 symbols whose fresh and    
living interpretation is exhausted1 a   
rigid body that no longer assimilates or
 eliminates any external element1       
represent a state of sterility and      
death1 to be followed by a speedy       
dissolution4  ,pious men are right in   
clinging obstinately to the stability of
 their principle of piety1 but they     
ought to cling as tenaciously to the    
renewal of forms and ideas in their     
religion2 for this is the only proof    
that their treasure has kept its value1 
and their religious principle its       
organising virtue4  ,the life of a      

religion is measured by this power of   
adaptation and renovation4  ,if         
,christianity is the universal and      
eternal religion1 it is because its     
virtuality in this respect is infinite4 
99      99      99      99      99      
,before ,i close1 let me try to prevent 
two misunderstandings4  ,in saying that 
in dogmas we must distinguish the       
religious substance and the intellectual
 form1 ,i do not mean that we either can
 or ought to isolate them from each     
other1 or that we can ever hope to have 
them separately4 ,piety is only         
conscious for us and discernible by     
others when incarnate in its expression 
or intellectual image4  ,a religion     
without doctrine1 a piety without       
thought1 a feeling without expression1  
these are things essentially            
contradictory4  ,it is as vain to wish  
to seize pure piety1 as in philosophy it
 is to seek to define the thing in      
itself4  ,when we speak of the inward   
religious fact1 then1 of pious          

experience1 we do not speak of a bare   
experience2 we speak of a psychological 
phenomenon1 of a precise and1           
consequently1 formulated experience4    
,in the second place1 for religious     
science1 it is not a question of        
isolated experience1 of the experience  
of a single individual4  ,the material  
would be too precarious1 and the field  
of observation too limited4  ,the       
question refers to the individual life  
in its continuity1 and to the life of   
the religious society considered in its 
historical development4  ,a social and  
universal as much and even more than it 
is an individual fact1 it is in the     
social life of the species1 in organised
 religious societies1 in their          
institutions1 their common worship1     
their liturgy1 their rules of faith and 
discipline1 that religion objectively   
realises its fundamental principle1     
manifests its inner soul1 and develops  
all its power4  ,it is only as a social 
manifestation that it can become an     

object of scientific study1 and that it 
has need of explanation4 ,moreover1 a   
religious life which remains hidden in  
the individual consciousness1 which does
 not communicate itself1 which does not 
create any spiritual solidarity1 any    
fraternity of soul1 is as if it were    
not2 it is a mere film of feeling1 an   
ephemeral poetic flower1 which has no   
more effect on the individual himself   
than it has on the human race4  ,from   
these considerations springs a method4  
,the dogmatic treatment of religious    
knowledge will have for its subject the 
tradition of the religious society as it
 is fixed1 conserved1 and developed in  
its historic monuments4  ,it will       
consider that tradition from the        
symbolic point of view1 as the objective
 revelation of the inner life of the    
,church1 and of its piety4  ,the        
tradition will then appear not as       
something dead and immutable1 but as a  
power continuing in ourselves4 ,to grasp
 this soul in its fruitful continuity   

and in the perpetual renewal of the     
external organism2 to comprehend them in
 their living unity2 to tell the story  
of the genesis of dogmas and their      
endless metamorphoses as a constant and 
necessary incarnation of the principle  
that is manifested in them2 to follow   
this uninterrupted chain in history1 and
 prolong it into our own life1--such is 
the method1 at once critical and        
positive1 conservative and progressive1 
firm in piety and always deferential to 
science1 which critical symbolism       
enables us to apply to all religious    
creations4  ,the error of that form of  
religious knowledge called ,orthodoxy is
 that of forgetting the historically and
 psychologically conditioned character  
of all doctrines1 and of desiring to    
raise into the absolute that which is   
born in time1 and which must necessarily
 modify itself in order to live in time4
  ,impotent to arrest the current of    
ideas and the movement of minds1 it can 
only establish its rule by political    

measures1 by regulations enacted and    
applied like civil laws--decisions of   
popes1 bishops1 or synods1 trials for   
heresy1 dogmatic tribunals4 ,orthodoxy  
has lost the sense of the symbolical    
character of ,confessions of ,faith1    
which1 however1 it still names symbols4 
,its misfortune and its failing is to be
 anti-historical4  ,the error of        
,rationalism1 at once the brother and   
the enemy of orthodoxy1 is of the same  
nature1 but it is produced in an        
opposite sense4  ,it does not lose sight
 of the imperfect and precarious        
character of traditional dogmas and     
symbols2 it exaggerates it2 but it loses
 sight of their specifically religious  
contents4  ,orthodoxy is mistaken as to 
the nature of the body of religion2     
rationalism as to the nature of its     
soul4  ,beneath the old traditional     
ideas it seeks for other ideas1 moral or
 rational ideas1 freer from sensible    
elements1 and less contradictory1 which 
it mistakes for the essence of religion4

  ,it replaces dogmas by other dogmas   
which it believes to be more simple1 and
 which it regards as absolute truth4    
,but in giving to religion a rational or
 doctrinal content1 it empties it of its
 real content1 of specific religious    
experience2 it kills faith1 which no    
longer having an object of its own1 no  
longer has a raison d'etre4  ,it has    
less liking than orthodoxy for symbolism
 and for religious creations2 it is     
radically impossible for it to          
comprehend1 and consequently to         
interpret1 them4  ,the chief vice and   
the misfortune of rationalism is to be  
anti-religious4  ,the theory of         
,critical ,symbolism1 whose broad       
outlines we have traced1 will bring us  
out of this old antithesis4  ,it shows  
to us the kind of truth and the         
legitimacy possessed by symbolical      
ideas1 without ignoring the             
psychological and historical determinism
 which rules their form and their       
appearance4  ,it must not be imagined   

that1 from this point of view1          
everything becomes fluid and inconstant 
in religion--that nothing in it can be  
fixed or permanent4  ,in the progress of
 his life1 man is destined to realise   
his spiritual nature1 to attain to what 
,st4 ,paul calls the stature of ,christ1
 in which the religious and moral ideal 
is realised4  ,this moral stature is a  
reality1 the highest of all realities4  
,we tend towards it without ceasing1 and
 the value of each moment of our inner  
life is measured by the progress that it
 marks towards that supreme end4  ,for  
this inner life there is a norm which   
imposes itself on the consciousness with
 an imperative necessity1 and1          
consequently1 there may be religious    
symbols which are normal and normative  
in relation to others4  ,these are the  
symbols which represent with perfect    
simplicity and fitness either this ideal
 end of the ,christian life or some of  
the necessary moments through which the 
soul passes on the way to it4  ,there   

are symbols1 in a word1 such as that of 
the ,heavenly ,father1 the ,kingdom of  
,god1 the ,new ,birth1 the ,effusion of 
the ,holy ,spirit1 so intimately bound  
up with our religious life1 with its    
origin1 its progress1 or its end1 which 
one cannot conceive as disappearing1 so 
long as the spiritual life of humanity  
exists4  ,all the exclusively religious 
words of ,christ which bear directly on 
the consciousness are of this number4   
,and it is of them that ,he was able to 
say without being contradicted by the   
ages3 ,heaven and earth shall pass away1
 but ,my words shall not pass away4  ,on
 the other hand1 it is no less          
impossible to ignore the distinction we 
have made in symbol between substance   
and form4  ,now1 this distinction opens 
the door to criticism4  ,the most       
conservative of ,christians confess that
 men may adhere to a doctrine without   
having appropriated its religious       
content2 that they may be orthodox      
without being pious4  ,they therefore   

make it the duty of every member of the 
,church to assimilate the contents of   
the symbol4  ,but how can the duty of   
personal assimilation be imposed without
 the right arising to critically        
interpret the transmitted forms8  ,is it
 not a psychological necessity for each 
believer to bring his inner religious   
consciousness into harmony with his     
general culture8  ,what if these        
syntheses and conciliations are         
necessarily unstable and precarious     
because of the constant development of  
life and knowledge8  ,when a man is     
walking his equilibrium is destroyed and
 re-established at each step4  ,it is   
the very condition of walking4          
,symbolism1 which thus makes peace in   
the individual1 may also effect it in   
religious societies4  ,in ,catholicism  
the unity of the ,church is only        
maintained by a central infallible      
authority and by political means4 ,that 
authority creates peace by imposing     
silence4  ,dogmas only subsist because  

no one concerns himself with them4  ,can
 ,protestant communities maintain their 
unity by the same method8  ,the         
,catholic method ruins ,protestant      
communities1 inevitably1 by causing     
schisms frequent in proportion as their 
life and thought become intense4  ,the  
theory of symbolism offers them a more  
honourable issue4  ,it permits them to  
combine veneration for traditional      
symbols with perfect independence of    
spirit by leaving to believers1 on their
 own responsibility1 the right to       
assimilate them and adapt them to their 
experiences4  ,they will attach         
themselves to tradition with all the    
more sincerity and zeal as each one is  
able to find in it that of which his    
religious faith has need4  ,it will be a
 help and not a yoke4  ,men will love   
it2 they will defend it as the link     
between the generations1 as a family    
heritage1 as the place where souls of   
every race and age1 and stage of        
scientific culture1 meet and mingle and 

commune4     ,,appendix   ,,reply ,,to  
,,criticisms  ,before laying down the   
pen1 ,i ought perhaps to reply to one or
 two objections4  ,the first reproach   
that has been addressed to me is        
contained in the words1 ,naturalistic   
,evolutionism4  ,a conception more or   
less materialistic of the universe is   
thus attributed to me1 according to     
which1 like ,herbert ,spencer1 ,i should
 explain all things by the single law of
 evolution1 and end sooner or later by  
reducing the laws of the moral world to 
the laws of the physical world1 since ,i
 make of the first a simple             
transformation of the second4  ,need ,i 
say that this is the very opposite of my
 thought8  ,it is true that ,i like to  
use the word evolution1 and to consider 
all phenomena in their natural          
succession4  ,but this is not a         
metaphysical doctrine2 it is a process  
of study1 a method which consists in    
these two essential rules3 to observe   
each fact as it presents itself2 and to 

observe it in its order1 i4e4 in the    
conditions in which it presents itself1 
because a fact only possesses its truth 
and value in that order and succession4 
,on our planet1 moral life emerges      
slowly and painfully out of organic     
life4  ,must we therefore conclude that 
there is no more in the one than in the 
other1 and that they are of equal value8
  ,certainly not4  ,both these series of
 phenomena must be placed in their      
relations and connections2 but the      
method which makes them known to me     
gives me no more right to confound them 
than to separate them1 to ignore their  
differences than to forget their        
analogies4  ,it shows me1 on the        
contrary1 that there is advance1 real   
progress from the one to the other2 that
 the first in date has its end in the   
second2 that there is a sort of living  
and continuous creation1 each stage and 
degree of which reveals new riches and  
new glories4  ,this is so thoroughly the
 oasis of my religious philosophy that  

there would be more ground or1 at all   
events1 more excuse for accusing me of  
denying the reality of the world than   
the continuous action of the ,divine    
,creator4  ,it is true that the one     
reproach has not saved me from the      
other4  ,both have been addressed to me 
by persons who have not taken the       
trouble to reconcile them4  ,the        
accusation of ,pantheism1 contradictory 
as it may seem1 has been added to that  
of ,naturalistic ,evolutionism4  ,i have
 been made to appear the blind and      
docile disciple of an idealism more or  
less ,hegelian1 which would annihilate  
the reality of second causes in order to
 contemplate in the universe the flux   
and transformation of a first cause or  
substance1 of which one might either say
 that it is everything or that it is    
nothing4  ,but here1 again1 they lose   
sight of the character of the method    
that ,i follow4  ,it leads me to        
discover in my consciousness the        
mysterious and real co-existence of a   

particular cause1 which is myself1 and  
of a universal cause1 which is ,god4    
,that1 ,i repeat1 is a mystery          
impenetrable to analysis1 but undeniable
 by any man who examines himself and    
enters into the ultimate basis of his   
life4  ,it is the mystery out of which  
religion springs by an invincible       
necessity4  ,now1 as this mystery is    
posited by me at the very outset of my  
researches1 and maintained to the end1  
how can they legitimately reproach me   
with sacrificing either of the two terms
 which constitute it to the other--the  
first effect of which would be to       
dissipate and make impossible my theory 
of the psychological origin of religion8
  ,in me1 said ,charles ,secretan1 lives
 some one greater than me--a mysterious 
guest whose universal and eternal action
 ,i feel beneath the variable phenomena 
of my empirical activity1 to ,whom1 when
 ,i am good1 confiding1 humble1 brave1  
,i always attribute my goodness1 my     
faith1 my courage1 my humility1 as to   

,him ,i attribute my whole life4  ,i    
cannot comprehend the co-existence of   
the finite and the infinite2 but this   
duality is everywhere4  ,i observe that 
in the physical as in the moral world   
there is1 in each phenomenon1 a latent  
force1 a sort of potential energy1 which
 raises it and urges it beyond itself4  
,nature is perpetually becoming1 that is
 to say1 in perpetual travail4  ,it is  
not true that there is nothing new under
 the sun1 and that the future must      
simply repeat the past4  ,creation is   
not yet completed4  ,my ,father worketh 
hitherto1 said ,jesus4  ,it doth not yet
 appear what we shall be4  ,but the     
little that ,i perceive of the ,divine  
work demonstrates to me that it is      
progressive1 that it raises and enriches
 life at every step1 and that this      
progress accounts exactly for the       
essential antinomies amid which my      
reason loses itself and my heart adores4
  ,to wish to reduce everything to unity
 is to turn the kingdom of life into the

 domain of death4  ,for my part1 ,i have
 long since renounced what is justly    
called the philosophy of identity1 that 
abstract dialectic which1 throwing all  
things back to their point of logical   
departure1 renders perfectly            
incomprehensible and superfluous the    
ephemeral development which they have in
 our consciousness and in history4  ,the
 painful contradictions observed by     
,pascal in our moral life1 and the      
insoluble antinomies in our thought     
unveiled by ,kant1 always seem to me to 
go nearer to the bottom of things than  
the ontological deductions of ,plato1   
,spinoza1 and ,hegel4        99      99 
99      99      99  ,in this book ,i    
have hardly noted any but facts that    
have been verified in myself and by     
myself4  ,it is true that ,i suppose    
that every reflective reader is capable 
of finding them and tracing them out in 
his own personal experience4  ,those who
 are able and wishful to re-read my book
 in themselves1 and thus verify my      

analyses1 may perhaps draw some profit  
from it4  ,those who read me otherwise  
will not only lose their time and       
pains--they will misunderstand at every 
step the meaning of my phrases and the  
direction of my ideas4  ,beneath my     
reasonings or my images they will put   
other ideas and other intentions than   
mine1 and they may afterwards1 with an  
apparent good conscience1 deduce from   
them the most terrible consequences4444 
,philosophical language lends itself to 
all and permits all2 and the mischief of
 it is that it would be useless to      
desire to prevent these quarrels4  ,new 
explanations only give rise to new      
misunderstandings1 and simply serve to  
perpetuate a dispute without interest   
and without fruit4  ,we can only repeat 
the saying of the ancient sages of      
,arabia3 ,magna est veritas et          
praevalebit4     ,,the ,,end