第29章
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  Youwillreadilyadmitthatnodescriptionofthephenomenaofthereligiousconsciousnesscouldbebetterthanthesewordsofyourlamentedpreacherandphilosopher。Theyreproducetheveryraptureofthosecrisesofconversionofwhichwehavebeenhearing;theyutterwhatthemysticfeltbutwasunabletocommunicate;andthesaint,inhearingthem,recognizeshisownexperience。Itisindeedgratifyingtofindthecontentofreligionreportedsounanimously。Butwhenallissaidanddone,hasPrincipalCaird——andIonlyusehimasanexampleofthatwholemodeofthinking——transcendedthesphereoffeelingandofthedirectexperienceoftheindividual,andlaidthefoundationsofreligioninimpartialreason?Hashemadereligionuniversalbycoercivereasoning,transformeditfromaprivatefaithintoapubliccertainty?Hasherescueditsaffirmationsfromobscurityandmystery?

  Ibelievethathehasdonenothingofthekind,butthathehassimplyreaffirmedtheindividual’sexperiencesinamoregeneralizedvocabulary。Andagain,Icanbeexcusedfromprovingtechnicallythatthetranscendentalistreasoningsfailtomakereligionuniversal,forIcanpointtotheplainfactthatamajorityofscholars,evenreligiouslydisposedones,stubbornlyrefusetotreatthemasconvincing。ThewholeofGermany,onemaysay,haspositivelyrejectedtheHegelianargumentation。AsforScotland,IneedonlymentionProfessorFraser’sandProfessorPringle-Pattison’smemorablecriticisms,withwhichsomanyofyouarefamiliar。[300]Oncemore,Iask,iftranscendentalidealismwereasobjectivelyandabsolutelyrationalasitpretendstobe,coulditpossiblyfailsoegregiouslytobepersuasive?

  [300]A。C。Fraser:PhilosophyofTheism,secondedition,EdinburghandLondon,1899,especiallypartii,chaps。vii。andviii。A。Seth[Pringle-Pattison]:HegelianismandPersonality,Ibid。,1890,passim。

  ThemostpersuasiveargumentsinfavorofaconcreteindividualSouloftheworld,withwhichIamacquainted,arethoseofmycolleague,JosiahRoyce,inhisReligiousAspectofPhilosophy,Boston,1885;inhisConceptionofGod,NewYorkandLondon,1897;andlatelyinhisAberdeenGiffordLectures,TheWorldandtheIndividual,2vols。,NewYorkandLondon,1901-02。I

  doubtlessseemtosomeofmyreaderstoevadethephilosophicdutywhichmythesisinthislectureimposesonme,bynotevenattemptingtomeetProfessorRoyce’sargumentsarticulately。I

  admitthemomentaryevasion。Inthepresentlectures,whicharecastthroughoutinapopularmould,thereseemednoroomforsubtlemetaphysicaldiscussion,andfortacticalpurposesitwassufficientthecontentionofphilosophybeingwhatitisnamely,thatreligioncanbetransformedintoauniversallyconvincingscience,topointtothefactthatnoreligiousphilosophyhasactuallyconvincedthemassofthinkers。MeanwhileletmesaythatIhopethatthepresentvolumemaybefollowedbyanother,ifIamsparedtowriteit,inwhichnotonlyProfessorRoyce’sarguments,butothersformonisticabsolutismshallbeconsideredwithallthetechnicalfullnesswhichtheirgreatimportancecallsfor。AtpresentIresignmyselftolyingpassiveunderthereproachofsuperficiality。

  Whatreligionreports,youmustremember,alwayspurportstobeafactofexperience:thedivineisactuallypresent,religionsays,andbetweenitandourselvesrelationsofgiveandtakeareactual。Ifdefiniteperceptionsoffactlikethiscannotstandupontheirownfeet,surelyabstractreasoningcannotgivethemthesupporttheyareinneedof。Conceptualprocessescanclassfacts,definethem,interpretthem;buttheydonotproducethem,norcantheyreproducetheirindividuality。ThereisalwaysaPLUS,aTHISNESS,whichfeelingalonecananswerfor。Philosophyinthissphereisthusasecondaryfunction,unabletowarrantfaith’sveracity,andsoIreverttothethesiswhichIannouncedatthebeginningofthislecture。

  InallsadsincerityIthinkwemustconcludethattheattempttodemonstratebypurelyintellectualprocessesthetruthofthedeliverancesofdirectreligiousexperienceisabsolutelyhopeless。

  Itwouldbeunfairtophilosophy,however,toleaveherunderthisnegativesentence。Letmeclose,then,bybrieflyenumeratingwhatsheCANdoforreligion。Ifshewillabandonmetaphysicsanddeductionforcriticismandinduction,andfranklytransformherselffromtheologyintoscienceofreligions,shecanmakeherselfenormouslyuseful。

  Thespontaneousintellectofmanalwaysdefinesthedivinewhichitfeelsinwaysthatharmonizewithitstemporaryintellectualprepossessions。Philosophycanbycomparisoneliminatethelocalandtheaccidentalfromthesedefinitions。Bothfromdogmaandfromworshipshecanremovehistoricincrustations。Byconfrontingthespontaneousreligiousconstructionswiththeresultsofnaturalscience,philosophycanalsoeliminatedoctrinesthatarenowknowntobescientificallyabsurdorincongruous。

  Siftingoutinthiswayunworthyformulations,shecanleavearesiduumofconceptionsthatatleastarepossible。WiththeseshecandealasHYPOTHESES,testingtheminallthemanners,whethernegativeorpositive,bywhichhypothesesareevertested。Shecanreducetheirnumber,assomearefoundmoreopentoobjection。Shecanperhapsbecomethechampionofonewhichshepicksoutasbeingthemostcloselyverifiedorverifiable。

  Shecanrefineuponthedefinitionofthishypothesis,distinguishingbetweenwhatisinnocentover-beliefandsymbolismintheexpressionofit,andwhatistobeliterallytaken。Asaresult,shecanoffermediationbetweendifferentbelievers,andhelptobringaboutconsensusofopinion。Shecandothisthemoresuccessfully,thebettershediscriminatesthecommonandessentialfromtheindividualandlocalelementsofthereligiousbeliefswhichshecompares。

  IdonotseewhyacriticalScienceofReligionsofthissortmightnoteventuallycommandasgeneralapublicadhesionasiscommandedbyaphysicalscience。Eventhepersonallynon-religiousmightacceptitsconclusionsontrust,muchasblindpersonsnowacceptthefactsofoptics——itmightappearasfoolishtorefusethem。Yetasthescienceofopticshastobefedinthefirstinstance,andcontinuallyverifiedlater,byfactsexperiencedbyseeingpersons;sothescienceofreligionswoulddependforitsoriginalmaterialonfactsofpersonalexperience,andwouldhavetosquareitselfwithpersonalexperiencethroughallitscriticalreconstructions。Itcouldnevergetawayfromconcretelife,orworkinaconceptualvacuum。Itwouldforeverhavetoconfess,aseveryscienceconfesses,thatthesubtletyofnaturefliesbeyondit,andthatitsformulasarebutapproximations。Philosophylivesinwords,buttruthandfactwellupintoourlivesinwaysthatexceedverbalformulation。Thereisinthelivingactofperceptionalwayssomethingthatglimmersandtwinklesandwillnotbecaught,andforwhichreflectioncomestoolate。Nooneknowsthisaswellasthephilosopher。Hemustfirehisvolleyofnewvocablesoutofhisconceptualshotgun,forhisprofessioncondemnshimtothisindustry,buthesecretlyknowsthehollownessandirrelevancy。Hisformulasarelikestereoscopicorkinetoscopicphotographsseenoutsidetheinstrument;theylackthedepth,themotion,thevitality。Inthereligioussphere,inparticular,beliefthatformulasaretruecanneverwhollytaketheplaceofpersonalexperience。

  InmynextlectureIwilltrytocompletemyroughdescriptionofreligiousexperience;andinthelectureafterthat,whichisthelastone,Iwilltrymyhandatformulatingconceptuallythetruthtowhichitisawitness。

  Wehavewoundourwayback,afterourexcursionthroughmysticismandphilosophy,towherewewerebefore:theusesofreligion,itsusestotheindividualwhohasit,andtheusesoftheindividualhimselftotheworld,arethebestargumentsthattruthisinit。Wereturntotheempiricalphilosophy:thetrueiswhatworkswell,eventhoughthequalification“onthewhole“

  mayalwayshavetobeadded。Inthislecturewemustreverttodescriptionagain,andfinishourpictureofthereligiousconsciousnessbyawordaboutsomeofitsothercharacteristicelements。Then,inafinallecture,weshallbefreetomakeageneralreviewanddrawourindependentconclusions。

  ThefirstpointIwillspeakofisthepartwhichtheaestheticlifeplaysindeterminingone’schoiceofareligion。Men,I

  saidawhileago,involuntarilyintellectualizetheirreligiousexperience。Theyneedformulas,justastheyneedfellowshipinworship。Ispoke,therefore,toocontemptuouslyofthepragmaticuselessnessofthefamousscholasticlistofattributesofthedeity,fortheyhaveoneusewhichIneglectedtoconsider。TheeloquentpassageinwhichNewmanenumeratesthem[301]putsusonthetrackofit。Intoningthemashewouldintoneacathedralservice,heshowshowhighistheiraestheticvalue。Itenrichesourbarepietytocarrytheseexaltedandmysteriousverbaladditionsjustasitenrichesachurchtohaveanorganandoldbrasses,marblesandfrescoesandstainedwindows。Epithetslendanatmosphereandovertonestoourdevotion。Theyarelikeahymnofpraiseandserviceofglory,andmaysoundthemoresublimeforbeingincomprehensible。MindslikeNewman’s[302]

  growasjealousoftheircreditasheathenpriestsareofthatofthejewelryandornamentsthatblazeupontheiridols。

  [301]IdeaofaUniversity,DiscourseIII。Section7。

  [302]Newman’simaginationsoinnatelycravedanecclesiasticalsystemthathecanwrite:“Fromtheageoffifteen,dogmahasbeenthefundamentalprincipleofmyreligion:Iknownootherreligion;Icannotenterintotheideaofanyothersortofreligion。”Andagainspeakingofhimselfabouttheageofthirty,hewrites:“IlovedtoactasfeelingmyselfinmyBishop’ssight,asifitwerethesightofGod。”Apologia,1897,pp。48,50。

  Amongthebuildings-outofreligionwhichthemindspontaneouslyindulgesin,theaestheticmotivemustneverbeforgotten。I

  promisedtosaynothingofecclesiasticalsystemsintheselectures。Imaybeallowed,however,toputinawordatthispointonthewayinwhichtheirsatisfactionofcertainaestheticneedscontributestotheirholdonhumannature。Althoughsomepersonsaimmostatintellectualpurityandsimplification,forothersRICHNESSisthesupremeimaginativerequirement。[303]Whenone’smindisstronglyofthistype,anindividualreligionwillhardlyservethepurpose。Theinnerneedisratherofsomethinginstitutionalandcomplex,majesticinthehierarchicinterrelatednessofitsparts,withauthoritydescendingfromstagetostage,andateverystageobjectsforadjectivesofmysteryandsplendor,derivedinthelastresortfromtheGodheadwhoisthefountainandculminationofthesystem。Onefeelsthenasifinpresenceofsomevastincrustedworkofjewelryorarchitecture;onehearsthemultitudinousliturgicalappeal;onegetsthehonorificvibrationcomingfromeveryquarter。Comparedwithsuchanoblecomplexity,inwhichascendinganddescendingmovementsseeminnowaytojaruponstability,inwhichnosingleitem,howeverhumble,isinsignificant,becausesomanyaugustinstitutionsholditinitsplace,howflatdoesevangelicalProtestantismappear,howbaretheatmosphereofthoseisolatedreligiousliveswhoseboastitisthat“maninthebushwithGodmaymeet。”[304]Whatapulverizationandlevelingofwhatagloriouslypiled-upstructure!Toanimaginationusedtotheperspectivesofdignityandglory,thenakedgospelschemeseemstoofferanalmshouseforapalace。

  [303]Theintellectualdifferenceisquiteonaparinpracticalimportancewiththeanalogousdifferenceincharacter。Wesaw,undertheheadofSaintliness,howsomecharactersresentconfusionandmustliveinpurity,consistency,simplicityabove,p。275ff。。Forothers,onthecontrary,superabundance,over-pressure,stimulation,lotsofsuperficialrelations,areindispensable。Therearemenwhowouldsufferaverysyncopeifyoushouldpayalltheirdebts,bringitaboutthattheirengagementshadbeenkept,theirlettersansweredtheirperplexitiesrelieved,andtheirdutiesfulfilled,downtoonewhichlayonacleantableundertheireyeswithnothingtointerferewithitsimmediateperformance。Adaystrippedsostaringlybarewouldbeforthemappalling。Sowithease,elegance,tributesofaffection,socialrecognitions——someofusrequireamountsofthesethingswhichtootherswouldappearamassoflyingandsophistication。

  [304]InNewman’sLecturesonJustificationLectureVIII。

  Section6,thereisasplendidpassageexpressiveofthisaestheticwayoffeelingtheChristianscheme。Itisunfortunatelytoolongtoquote。

  Itismuchlikethepatrioticsentimentofthosebroughtupinancientempires。Howmanyemotionsmustbefrustratedoftheirobject,whenonegivesupthetitlesofdignity,thecrimsonlightsandblareofbrass,thegoldembroidery,theplumedtroops,thefearandtrembling,andputsupwithapresidentinablackcoatwhoshakeshandswithyou,andcomes,itmaybe,froma“home“uponaveldtorprairiewithonesitting-roomandaBibleonitscentre-table。Itpauperizesthemonarchicalimagination!

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