Henceitisthattheprophetsoneandallprefacetheiraddressessoconfidently，’TheWordoftheLord，’or’ThussaiththeLord。’
Theyhaveeventheaudacitytospeakinthefirstperson，asifJehovahhimselfwerespeaking。AsinIsaiah：’Hearkenuntome，OJacob，andIsraelmycalled；IamHe，IamtheFirst，Ialsoamthelast，’——andsoon。Thepersonalityoftheprophetsinksentirelyintothebackground；hefeelshimselfforthetimebeingthemouthpieceoftheAlmighty。”[325]
[325]W。Sanday：TheOraclesofGod，London，1892，pp。49-56，abridged。
“Weneedtorememberthatprophecywasaprofession，andthattheprophetsformedaprofessionalclass。Therewereschoolsoftheprophets，inwhichthegiftwasregularlycultivated。Agroupofyoungmenwouldgatherroundsomecommandingfigure——aSamueloranElisha——andwouldnotonlyrecordorspreadtheknowledgeofhissayingsanddoings，butseektocatchthemselvessomethingofhisinspiration。Itseemsthatmusicplayeditspartintheirexercises……ItisperfectlyclearthatbynomeansalloftheseSonsoftheprophetseversucceededinacquiringmorethanaverysmallshareinthegiftwhichtheysought。Itwasclearlypossibleto’counterfeit’prophecy。Sometimesthiswasdonedeliberately……Butitbynomeansfollowsthatinallcaseswhereafalsemessagewasgiven，thegiverofitwasaltogetherconsciousofwhathewasdoing。[326]
[326]Op。cit。，p。91。ThisauthoralsocitesMoses’sandIsaiah’scommissions，asgiveninExodus，chaps。iii。andiv。，andIsaiah，chap。vi。
Here，totakeanotherJewishcase，isthewayinwhichPhiloofAlexandriadescribeshisinspiration：——
“Sometimes，whenIhavecometomyworkempty，Ihavesuddenlybecomefull；ideasbeinginaninvisiblemannershowereduponme，andimplantedinmefromonhigh；sothatthroughtheinfluenceofdivineinspiration，Ihavebecomegreatlyexcited，andhaveknownneithertheplaceinwhichIwas，northosewhowerepresent，normyself，norwhatIwassaying，norwhatIwaswriting，forthenIhavebeenconsciousofarichnessofinterpretation，anenjoymentoflight，amostpenetratinginsight，amostmanifestenergyinallthatwastobedone；
havingsucheffectonmymindastheclearestoculardemonstrationwouldhaveontheeyes。”
QuotedbyAugustusClissold：ThePropheticSpiritinGeniusandMadness，1870，p。67。Mr。ClissoldisaSwedenborgian。Swedenborg’scaseisofcoursethepalmaryoneofauditaetvisa，servingasabasisofreligiousrevelation。
IfweturntoIslam，wefindthatMohammed’srevelationsallcamefromthesubconscioussphere。Tothequestioninwhatwayhegotthem——
“Mohammedissaidtohaveansweredthatsometimesheheardaknellasfromabell，andthatthishadthestrongesteffectonhim；andwhentheangelwentaway，hehadreceivedtherevelation。Sometimesagainheheldconversewiththeangelaswithaman，soaseasilytounderstandhiswords。Thelaterauthorities，however，……distinguishstillotherkinds。IntheItgan103thefollowingareenumerated：1，revelationswithsoundofbell，2，byinspirationoftheholyspiritinM。’sheart，3，byGabrielinhumanform，4，byGodimmediately，eitherwhenawakeasinhisjourneytoheavenorindream……InAlmawahiballaduniyathekindsarethusgiven：1，Dream，2，InspirationofGabrielintheProphet’sheart，3，GabrieltakingDahya’sform，4，withthebell-sound，etc。，5，Gabrielinpropriapersonaonlytwice，6，revelationinheaven，7，Godappearinginperson，butveiled，8，Godrevealinghimselfimmediatelywithoutveil。Othersaddtwootherstages，namely：1，Gabrielintheformofstillanotherman，2，Godshowinghimselfpersonallyindream。”[328]
[328]Noldeke，GeschichtedesQorans，1860，p。16。ComparethefulleraccountinSirWilliamMuir’s：LifeofMahomet，3ded。，1894，ch。iii。
Innoneofthesecasesistherevelationdistinctlymotor。InthecaseofJosephSmithwhohadpropheticrevelationsinnumerableinadditiontotherevealedtranslationofthegoldplateswhichresultedintheBookofMormon，althoughtheremayhavebeenamotorelement，theinspirationseemstohavebeenpredominantlysensorial。Hebeganhistranslationbytheaidofthe“peep-stones“whichhefound，orthoughtorsaidthathefound，withthegoldplates——apparentlyacaseof“crystalgazing。”Forsomeoftheotherrevelationsheusedthepeep-stones，butseemsgenerallytohaveaskedtheLordformoredirectinstruction。[329]
[329]TheMormontheocracyhasalwaysbeengovernedbydirectrevelationsaccordedtothePresidentoftheChurchanditsApostles。Fromanobligingletterwrittentomein1899byaneminentMormon，Iquotethefollowingextract：——
“ItmaybeveryinterestingforyoutoknowthatthePresident[Mr。Snow]oftheMormonChurchclaimstohavehadanumberofrevelationsveryrecentlyfromheaven。Toexplainfullywhattheserevelationsare，itisnecessarytoknowthatwe，asapeople，believethattheChurchofJesusChristhasagainbeenestablishedthroughmessengerssentfromheaven。ThisChurchhasatitsheadaprophetseer，andrevelator，whogivestomanGod’sholywill。RevelationisthemeansthroughwhichthewillofGodisdeclareddirectlyandinfullnesstoman。Theserevelationsaregotthroughdreamsofsleeporinwakingvisionsofthemind，byvoiceswithoutvisionalappearanceorbyactualmanifestationsoftheHolyPresencebeforetheeye。WebelievethatGodhascomeinpersonandspokentoourprophetandrevelator。”
Otherrevelationsaredescribedas“openings“——Fox’s，forexample，wereevidentlyofthekindknowninspiritisticcirclesofto-dayas“impressions。”Asalleffectiveinitiatorsofchangemustneedslivetosomedegreeuponthispsychopathiclevelofsuddenperceptionorconvictionofnewtruth，orofimpulsetoactionsoobsessivethatitmustbeworkedoff，Iwillsaynothingmoreaboutsoverycommonaphenomenon。
When，inadditiontothesephenomenaofinspiration，wetakereligiousmysticismintotheaccount，whenwerecallthestrikingandsuddenunificationsofadiscordantselfwhichwesawinconversion，andwhenwereviewtheextravagantobsessionsoftenderness，purity，andself-severitymetwithinsaintliness，wecannot，Ithink，avoidtheconclusionthatinreligionwehaveadepartmentofhumannaturewithunusuallycloserelationstothetransmarginalorsubliminalregion。Iftheword“subliminal“isoffensivetoanyofyou，assmellingtoomuchofpsychicalresearchorotheraberrations，callitbyanyothernameyouplease，todistinguishitfromtheleveloffullsunlitconsciousness。CallthislattertheA-regionofpersonality，ifyoucareto，andcalltheothertheB-region。TheB-region，then，isobviouslythelargerpartofeachofus，foritistheabodeofeverythingthatislatentandthereservoirofeverythingthatpassesunrecordedorunobserved。Itcontains，forexample，suchthingsasallourmomentarilyinactivememories，anditharborsthespringsofallourobscurelymotivedpassions，impulses，likes，dislikes，andprejudices。Ourintuitions，hypotheses，fancies，superstitions，persuasions，convictions，andingeneralallournon-rationaloperations，comefromit。Itisthesourceofourdreams，andapparentlytheymayreturntoit。Initarisewhatevermysticalexperienceswemayhave，andourautomatisms，sensoryormotor；ourlifeinhypnoticand“hypnoid“conditions，ifwearesubjectstosuchconditions；
ourdelusions，fixedideas，andhystericalaccidents，ifwearehystericsubjects；oursupra-normalcognitions，ifsuchtherebe，andifwearetelepathicsubjects。Itisalsothefountain-headofmuchthatfeedsourreligion。Inpersonsdeepinthereligiouslife，aswehavenowabundantlyseen——andthisismyconclusion——thedoorintothisregionseemsunusuallywideopen；
atanyrate，experiencesmakingtheirentrancethroughthatdoorhavehademphaticinfluenceinshapingreligioushistory。
WiththisconclusionIturnbackandclosethecirclewhichI
openedinmyfirstlecture，terminatingthusthereviewwhichI
thenannouncedofinnerreligiousphenomenaaswefindthemindevelopedandarticulatehumanindividuals。Imighteasily，ifthetimeallowed，multiplybothmydocumentsandmydiscriminations，butabroadtreatmentis，Ibelieve，initselfbetter，andthemostimportantcharacteristicsofthesubjectlie，Ithink，beforeusalready。Inthenextlecture，whichisalsothelastone，wemusttrytodrawthecriticalconclusionswhichsomuchmaterialmaysuggest。
Thematerialofourstudyofhumannatureisnowspreadbeforeus；andinthispartinghour，setfreefromthedutyofdescription，wecandrawourtheoreticalandpracticalconclusions。Inmyfirstlecture，defendingtheempiricalmethod，Iforetoldthatwhateverconclusionswemightcometocouldbereachedbyspiritualjudgmentsonly，appreciationsofthesignificanceforlifeofreligion，taken“onthewhole。”
Ourconclusionscannotbeassharpasdogmaticconclusionswouldbe，butIwillformulatethem，whenthetimecomes，assharplyasIcan。
Summingupinthebroadestpossiblewaythecharacteristicsofthereligiouslife，aswehavefoundthem，itincludesthefollowingbeliefs：——
1。Thatthevisibleworldispartofamorespiritualuniversefromwhichitdrawsitschiefsignificance；
2。Thatunionorharmoniousrelationwiththathigheruniverseisourtrueend；
3。Thatprayerorinnercommunionwiththespiritthereof——bethatspirit“God“or“law“——isaprocesswhereinworkisreallydone，andspiritualenergyflowsinandproduceseffects，psychologicalormaterial，withinthephenomenalworld。
Religionincludesalsothefollowingpsychologicalcharacteristics：——
4。Anewzestwhichaddsitselflikeagifttolife，andtakestheformeitheroflyricalenchantmentorofappealtoearnestnessandheroism。
5。Anassuranceofsafetyandatemperofpeace，and，inrelationtoothers，apreponderanceoflovingaffections。
Inillustratingthesecharacteristicsbydocuments，wehavebeenliterallybathedinsentiment。Inre-readingmymanuscript，IamalmostappalledattheamountofemotionalitywhichIfindinit。
Aftersomuchofthis，wecanaffordtobedryerandlesssympatheticintherestoftheworkthatliesbeforeus。
ThesentimentalityofmanyofmydocumentsisaconsequenceofthefactthatIsoughtthemamongtheextravagancesofthesubject。Ifanyofyouareenemiesofwhatourancestorsusedtobrandasenthusiasm，andare，nevertheless，stilllisteningtomenow，youhaveprobablyfeltmyselectiontohavebeensometimesalmostperverse，andhavewishedImighthavestucktosobererexamples。IreplythatItooktheseextremerexamplesasyieldingtheprofounderinformation。Tolearnthesecretsofanyscience，wegotoexpertspecialists，eventhoughtheymaybeeccentricpersons，andnottocommonplacepupils。Wecombinewhattheytelluswiththerestofourwisdom，andformourfinaljudgmentindependently。Evensowithreligion。Wewhohavepursuedsuchradicalexpressionsofitmaynowbesurethatweknowitssecretsasauthenticallyasanyonecanknowthemwholearnsthemfromanother；andwehavenexttoanswer，eachofusforhimself，thepracticalquestion：whatarethedangersinthiselementoflife？andinwhatproportionmayitneedtoberestrainedbyotherelements，togivetheproperbalance？
ButthisquestionsuggestsanotheronewhichIwillanswerimmediatelyandgetitoutoftheway，forithasmorethanoncealreadyvexedus。[330]Oughtittobeassumedthatinallmenthemixtureofreligionwithotherelementsshouldbeidentical？
Oughtit，indeed，tobeassumedthatthelivesofallmenshouldshowidenticalreligiouselements？Inotherwords，istheexistenceofsomanyreligioustypesandsectsandcreedsregrettable？
[330]Forexample，onpages135，160，326above。
TothesequestionsIanswer“No“emphatically。AndmyreasonisthatIdonotseehowitispossiblethatcreaturesinsuchdifferentpositionsandwithsuchdifferentpowersashumanindividualsare，shouldhaveexactlythesamefunctionsandthesameduties。Notwoofushaveidenticaldifficulties，norshouldwebeexpectedtoworkoutidenticalsolutions。Each，fromhispeculiarangleofobservation，takesinacertainsphereoffactandtrouble，whicheachmustdealwithinauniquemanner。Oneofusmustsoftenhimself，anothermusthardenhimself；onemustyieldapoint，anothermuststandfirm——inorderthebettertodefendthepositionassignedhim。IfanEmersonwereforcedtobeaWesley，oraMoodyforcedtobeaWhitman，thetotalhumanconsciousnessofthedivinewouldsuffer。Thedivinecanmeannosinglequality，itmustmeanagroupofqualities，bybeingchampionsofwhichinalternation，differentmenmayallfindworthymissions。Eachattitudebeingasyllableinhumannature’stotalmessage，ittakesthewholeofustospellthemeaningoutcompletely。Soa“godofbattles“