第8章

anditisthisscepticismwhichcausesthatdreadofinquiryshownbyReligion

whenfacetofacewithScience。Obligedtoabandononebyonethesuperstitions

itoncetenaciouslyheld，anddailyfindingothercherishedbeliefsmore

andmoreshaken，Religionsecretlyfearsthatallthingsmaysomedaybe

explained;andthusitselfbetraysalurkingdoubtwhetherthatIncomprehensibleCauseofwhichitisconscious，isreallyincomprehensible。OfReligionthen，wemustalwaysremember，thatamiditsmanyerrorsand

corruptionsithasassertedanddiffusedasupremeverity。Fromthefirst，

therecognitionofthissupremeverity，inhoweverimperfectamanner，has

beenitsvitalelement;anditschiefdefects，onceextremebutgradually

diminishing，havebeenitsfailurestorecognizeinfullthatwhichitrecognized

inpart。ThetrulyreligiouselementofReligionhasalwaysbeengood;that

whichhasproveduntenableindoctrineandviciousinpractice，hasbeenitsirreligiouselement;andfromthisithasbeenundergoingpurification。§29。Andnowobservethattheagentwhichhaseffectedthepurification

hasbeenScience。Onbothsidesthisfactisoverlooked。Religionignores

itsimmensedebttoScience;andScienceisscarcelyatallconscioushow

muchReligionowesit。YetitisdemonstrablethateverystepbywhichReligion

hasprogressedfromitsfirstlowconceptiontothecomparativelyhighone

nowreached，Sciencehashelpedit，orratherforcedit，totake;andthatevennow，Scienceisurgingfurtherstepsinthesamedirection。WhenweincludeunderthenameSciencealldefiniteknowledgeoftheorder

existingamongphenomena，itbecomesmanifestthatfromtheoutset，thediscovery

ofanestablishedorderhasmodifiedthatconceptionofdisorderorundetermined

order，whichunderlieseverysuperstition。Asfastasexperienceprovesthat

certainfamiliarchangesalwayspresentthesamesequences，therebegins

tofadefromthemindtheconceptionofspecialpersonalitiestowhosevariable

willstheywerebeforeascribed。Andwhen，stepbystep，accumulatingobservations

dothelikewiththelessfamiliarchanges，asimilarmodificationofbelieftakesplacerespectingthem。Whilethisprocessseemstothosewhoeffectit，andthosewhoundergo

it，ananti—religiousone，itisreallythereverse。Insteadofthespecific

comprehensibleagencybeforeassigned，thereissubstitutedalessspecific

andlesscomprehensibleagency;andthoughthis，standinginoppositionto

thepreviousone，cannotatfirstcallforththesamefeeling，yet，asbeing

lesscomprehensible，itmusteventuallycallforththisfeelingmorefully。

Takeaninstance。OfoldtheSunwasregardedasthechariotofagod，drawn

byhorses。Howfartheideathusgrosslyexpressedwasidealized，weneed

notinquire。Itsufficestoremarkthatthisaccountingfortheapparent

motionoftheSunbyanagencylikecertainvisibleterrestrialagencies，

reducedadailywondertothelevelofthecommonestintellect。When，many

centuriesafter，Copernicushavingenunciatedtheheliocentrictheoryof

thesolarsystem，Keplerdiscoveredthattheorbitsoftheplanetsareellipses，

andthattheplanetsdescribeequalareasinequaltimes，heconcludedthat

ineachofthemtheremustexistaspirittoguideitsmovements。Herewe

seethatwiththeprogressofScience，therehaddisappearedtheideaof

agrossmechanicaltraction，suchaswasfirstassignedinthecaseofthe

Sun;butthatwhileforthecelestialmotionstherewassubstitutedaless—easily

conceivableforce，itwasstillthoughtneedfultoassumepersonalagents

ascausesoftheregularirregularityofthemotions。When，finallyitwas

provedthattheseplanetaryrevolutionswithalltheirvariationsanddisturbances，

conformtooneuniversallaw——whenthepresidingspiritswhichKeplerconceived

weresetaside，andtheforceofgravitationputintheirplaces;thechange

wasreallytheabolitionofanimaginableagency，andthesubstitutionof

anunimaginableone。Forthoughthelawofgravitationiswithinourmental

grasp，itisimpossibletorealizeinthoughttheforceofgravitation。Newton

himselfconfessedtheforceofgravitationtobeincomprehensiblewithout

theintermediationofanether;and，aswehavealreadyseen，（§18），

theassumptionofanetherdoesnothelpus。ThusitiswithScienceingeneral。

Itsprogressingroupingparticularrelationsofphenomenaunderlaws，and

thesespeciallawsunderlawsmoreandmoregeneral，isofnecessityaprogress

tocausesmoreandmoreabstract。Andcausesmoreandmoreabstract，are

ofnecessitycauseslessandlessconceivable;sincetheformationofan

abstractconceptioninvolvesthedroppingofcertainconcreteelementsof

thought。Hencethemostabstractconception，towhichScienceisslowlyapproaching，

isonethatmergesintotheinconceivableorunthinkable，bythedropping

ofallconcreteelementsofthought。Andsoisjustifiedtheassertionthat

thebeliefswhichSciencehasforceduponReligion，havebeenintrinsicallymorereligiousthanthosewhichtheysupplanted。Science，however，likeReligion，hasbutveryincompletelyfulfilledits

office。AsReligionhasfallenshortofitsfunctioninsofarasithas

beenirreligious;sohasSciencefallenshortofitsfunctioninsofaras

ithasbeenunscientific。Letusnotetheseveralparallelisms。Initsearlier

stagesScience，whileitbegantoteachtheconstantrelationsofphenomena，

andthusdiscreditedthebeliefinseparatepersonalitiesasthecausesof

them，itselfsubstitutedthebeliefincasualagencieswhich，ifnotpersonal，

wereyetconcrete。Whencertainfactsweresaidtoshow"Nature\'sabhorrence

ofavacuum，"whenthepropertiesofgoldwereexplainedasduetosome

entitycalled"aureity，"andwhenthephenomenaoflifewereattributed

to"avitalprinciple;"therewassetupamodeofinterpreting

thefactswhich，whileantagonistictothereligiousmode，becauseassigning

otheragencies，wasalsounscientific，becauseitassumedaknowledgeof

thataboutwhichnothingwasknown。Havingabandonedthesemetaphysicalagencies

——havingseenthattheyarenotindependentexistences，butmerelyspecial

combinationsofgeneralcauses，Sciencehasmorerecentlyascribedextensive

groupsofphenomenatoelectricity，chemicalaffinity，andotherlikegeneral

powers。Butinspeakingoftheseasultimateandindependententities，Science

haspreservedsubstantiallythesameattitudeasbefore。Accountingthus

forallphenomena，ithasnotonlymaintaineditsseemingantagonismtoReligion，

byallegingagenciesofaradicallyunlikekind;but，insofarasithas

tacitlyimplieditscomprehensionoftheseagencies，ithascontinuedunscientific。

Atthepresenttime，however，themostadvancedmenofscienceareabandoning

theselaterconceptions，astheirpredecessorsabandonedtheearlierones。

Magnetism，heat，light，etc。，whichwereearlyinthecenturyspokenofas

somanydistinctimponderables，physicistsnowregardasdifferentmodes

ofmanifestationofsomeoneuniversalforce;andinsoregardingthemare

ceasingtothinkofthisforceascomprehensible。Ineachphaseofitsprogress，

Sciencehasthusstoppedshortwithsuperficialsolutions——hasunscientifically

neglectedtoaskwhatwerethenaturesoftheagentsitfamiliarlyinvoked。

Thoughineachsucceedingphaseithasgonealittledeeper，andmergedits

supposedagentsinmoregeneralandabstractones，ithasstill，asbefore，

restedcontentwiththeseaSiftheywereascertainedrealities。Andthis，

whichhasallalongbeenanunscientificcharacteristicofScience，hasallalongbeenapart—causeofitsconflictwithReligion。§30。ThusfromtheoutsetthefaultsofbothReligionandScience

havebeenthefaultsofimperfectdevelopment。Originallyamererudiment，

eachhasbeengrowingmorecomplete;theviceofeachhasinalltimesbeen

itsincompleteness;thedisagreementsbetweenthemhavebeenconsequences

oftheirincompleteness;andastheyreachtheirfinalformstheycomeintoharmony。Theprogressofintelligencehasthroughoutbeendual。Thoughithasnot

seemedsotothosewhomadeit，everystepinadvancehasbeenasteptowards

boththenaturalandthesupernatural。Thebetterinterpretationofeach

phenomenonhasbeen，ontheonehand，therejectionofacausethatwasrelatively

conceivableinitsnaturebutunknownintheorderofitsactions，and，on

theotherhand，theadoptionofacausethatwasknownintheorderofits

actionsbutrelativelyinconceivableinitsnature。Thefirstadvanceinvolved

theconceptionofagencieslessassimilabletothefamiliaragenciesofmen

andanimals，andthereforelessunderstood;while，atthesametime，such

newly—conceivedagencies，insofarastheyweredistinguishedbytheiruniform

effects，werebetterunderstoodthanthosetheyreplaced。Allsubsequent

advancesdisplaythesameresult;andthustheprogresshasbeenasmuch

towardstheestablishmentofapositivelyunknownastowardstheestablishment

ofapositivelyknown。Thoughasknowledgeadvances，unaccountableandseemingly

supernaturalfactsarebroughtintothecategoryoffactsthatareaccountable

ornatural;yet，atthesametime，allaccountableornaturalfactsareproved

tobeintheirultimategenesisunaccountableandsupernatural。Andsothere

arisetwoantitheticalstatesofmind，answeringtotheoppositesidesof

thatexistenceaboutwhichwethink。WhileourconsciousnessofNatureunder

theoneaspectconstitutesScience，ourconsciousnessofitundertheotheraspectconstitutesReligion。Inotherwords，ReligionandSciencehavebeenundergoingaslowdifferentiation，

andtheirconflictshavebeenduetotheimperfectseparationoftheirspheres

andfunctions。Religionhas，fromthefirst，struggledtounitemoreorless

sciencewithitsnescience;Sciencehas，fromthefirst，keptholdofmore

orlessnescienceasthoughitwereapartofscience。Solongastheprocess

ofdifferentiationisincomplete，moreorlessofantagonismmustcontinue。

Graduallyasthelimitsofpossiblecognitionareestablished，thecauses

ofconflictwilldiminish。AndapermanentpeacewillbereachedwhenScience

becomesfullyconvincedthatitsexplanationsareproximateandrelative，

whileReligionbecomesfullyconvincedthatthemysteryitcontemplatesisultimateandabsolute。ReligionandSciencearethereforenecessarycorrelatives。Tocarryfurther

ametaphorbeforeused，theyarethepositiveandnegativepolesofthought;

ofwhichneithercangaininintensitywithoutincreasingtheintensityoftheother。§31。SomedoindeedallegethatthoughtheUltimateCauseofthings

cannotreallybeconceivedbyusashavingspecifiedattributes，itisyet

incumbentuponustoassertthoseattributes。Thoughtheformsofourconsciousness

aresuchthattheAbsolutecannotinanymannerordegreebebroughtwithin

them，weareneverthelesstoldthatwemustrepresenttheAbsolutetoourselves

ashavingcertaincharacters。AswritesMr。Mansel，intheworkfromwhich

Ihavealreadyquotedlargely——"Itisourduty，then，tothinkofGodaspersonal;anditisourdutytobelievethatHeisinfinite。"Nowiftherebeanymeaningintheforegoingarguments，dutyrequires

usneithertoaffirmnordenypersonality。Ourdutyistosubmitourselves

totheestablishedlimitsofourintelligence，andnotperverselytorebel

againstthem。Letthosewhocan，believethatthereiseternalwarsetbetween

ourintellectualfacultiesandourmoralobligations。I，forone，admitnosuchradicalviceintheconstitutionofthings。Thiswhichtomostwillseemanessentiallyirreligiousposition，isan

essentiallyreligiousone——nayisthereligiousone，towhich，asalready

shown，allothersarebutapproximations。Intheestimateitimpliesofthe

UltimateCause，itdoesnotfallshortofthealternativeposition，butexceeds

it。Thosewhoespousethisalternativeposition，assumethatthechoiceis

betweenpersonalityandsomethinglowerthanpersonality;whereasthechoice

isratherbetweenpersonalityandsomethingthatmaybehigher。Isitnot

possiblethatthereisamodeofbeingasmuchtranscendingIntelligence

andWill，asthesetranscendmechanicalmotion？Doubtlesswearetotally

unabletoimagineanysuchhighermodeofbeing。Butthisisnotareason

forquestioningitsexistence;itisratherthereverse。Havewenotseen

howutterlyunableourmindsaretoformevenanapproachtoaconception

ofthatwhichunderliesallphenomena？Isitnotprovedthatwefailbecause

oftheincompetencyoftheConditionedtograsptheUnconditioned？Does

itnotfollowthattheUltimateCausecannotinanyrespectbeconceived

becauseitisineveryrespectgreaterthancanbeconceived？Andmaywe

notthereforerightlyrefrainfromassigningtoitanyattributeswhatever，

onthegroundthatsuchattributes，derivedastheymustbefromourown

natures，arenotelevationsbutdegradations？Indeeditseemsstrangethat

menshouldSupposethehighestworshiptolieinassimilatingtheobject

oftheirworshiptothemselves。Notinassertingatranscendentdifference，

butinassertingacertainlikeness，consiststheelementoftheircreed

whichtheythinkessential。Itistruethatfromthetimewhentherudest

savagesimaginedthecausesofthingstobepersonslikethemselvesbutinvisible，

downtoourowntime，thedegreeofassumedlikenesshasbeendiminishing。

Butthoughabodilyformandsubstancesimilartothatofman，haslongsince

ceased，amongcultivatedraces，tobealiterally—conceivedattributeof

theUltimateCause——thoughthegrosserhumandesireshavebeenalsorejected

asunfitelementsoftheconception——thoughthereissomehesitationin

ascribingeventhehigherhumanfeelings，saveinidealizedshapes;yetit

isstillthoughtnotonlyproper，butimperative，toascribethemostabstract

qualitiesofournature。TothinkoftheCreativePowerasinallrespects

anthropomorphous，isnowconsideredimpiousbymenwhoyetholdthemselves

boundtothinkoftheCreative。Powerasinsomerespectsanthropomorphous;

andwhodonotseethattheoneproceedingisbutanevanescentformofthe

other。Andthen，mostmarvellousofall，thiscourseispersistedineven

bythosewhocontendthatwearewhollyunabletoframeanyconceptionwhatever

oftheCreativePower。Afterithasbeenshownthateverysuppositionrespecting

thegenesisoftheUniversecommitsustoalternativeimpossibilitiesof

thought——afterithasbeenshownwhybytheveryconstitutionofourminds，

wearedebarredfromthinkingoftheAbsolute;itisstillassertedthat

weoughttothinkoftheAbsolutethusandthus。Inallwayswefindthrust

onusthetruth，thatwearenotpermittedtoknow——nayarenotevenpermitted

toconceivethatRealitywhichisbehindtheveilofAppearance;andyet

itissaidtobeourdutytobelieve（andinsofartoconceive）thatthis

Realityexistsinacertaindefinedmanner。Shallwecallthisreverence？orshallwecallitthereverse？Volumesmightbewrittenupontheimpietyofthepious。Throughtheprinted

andspokenthoughtsofreligiousteachers，mayeverywherebetracedaprofessed

familiaritywiththeultimatemysteryofthings，which，tosaytheleast

ofit，isanythingbutcongruouswiththeaccompanyingexpressionsofhumility。

Theattitudethusassumedcanbefitlyrepresentedonlybyfurtherdeveloping

asimilelongcurrentintheologicalcontroversies——thesimileofthewatch。

Ifforamomentwemadethegrotesquesuppositionthatthetickingsandother

movementsofawatchconstitutedakindofconsciousness;andthatawatch

possessedofsuchaconsciousness，insistedonregardingthewatchmaker\'s

actionsasdeterminedlikeitsownbyspringsandescapements;weshould

simplycompleteaparallelofwhichreligiousteachersthinkmuch。Andwere

wetosupposethatawatchnotonlyformulatedthecauseofitsexistence

inthesemechanicalterms，butheldthatwatcheswereboundoutofreverence

sotoformulatethiscause，andevenvituperated，asatheisticwatches，any

thatdidnotventuresotoformulateit;weshouldmerelyillustratethe

presumptionoftheologiansbycarryingtheirownargumentastepfurther。

Afewextractswillbringhometothereaderthejusticeofthiscomparison。

Wearetold，forexample，byoneofhighreputeamongreligiousthinkers

thattheUniverseis"themanifestationandabodeofaFreeMind，like

ourown;embodyingHispersonalthoughtinitsadjustments，realizingHis

ownidealinitsphenomena，justasweexpressourinnerfacultyandcharacter

throughthenaturallanguageofanexternallife。Inthisview，weinterpret

NaturebyHumanity;wefindthekeytoheraspectsinsuchpurposesandaffections

asourownconsciousnessenablesustoconceive;welookeverywhereforphysical

signalsofanever—livingWill;anddeciphertheuniverseastheautobiography

ofanInfiniteSpirit，repeatingitselfinminiaturewithinourFiniteSpirit。"

Thesamewritergoesstillfurther。Henotonlythusparallelstheassimilation

ofthewatchmakertothewatch，——henotonlythinksthecreatedcan"decipher"

"theautobiography"oftheCreating;butheassertsthatthenecessary

limitstotheonearenecessarylimitstotheother。Theprimaryqualities

ofbodies，hesays，"belongeternallytothematerialdatumobjective

toGod"andcontrolhisacts;whilethesecondaryonesare"products

ofpureInventiveReasonandDeterminingWill"——constitute"the

realmofDivineoriginality。"***"WhileonthisSecondaryfield

HisMindandoursarethuscontrasted，theymeetinresemblanceagainupon

thePrimary;fortheevolutionsofdeductiveReasonthereisbutonetrack

possibletoallintelligences;nomerumarbitriumcaninterchangethefalse

andtrue，ormakemorethanonegeometry，oneschemeofpurePhysics，for

allworlds;andtheOmnipotentArchitectHimself，inrealizingtheKosmical

conception，inshapingtheorbitsoutofimmensityanddeterminingseasons

outofeternity，couldbutfollowthelawsofcurvature，measureandproportion。"

ThatistosaytheUltimateCauseislikeahumanmechanic，notonlyas"shaping"

the"materialdatumobjectiveto"Him，butalsoasbeingobliged

toconformtothenecessarypropertiesofthatdatum。Noristhisall。There

followssomeaccountof"theDivinepsychology，"totheextent

ofsayingthat"welearn""thecharacterofGod——theorder

ofaffectionsinHim"from"thedistributionofauthorityinthe

hierarchyofourimpulses。"Inotherwords，itisallegedthattheUltimate

Causehasdesiresthataretobeclassedashigherandlowerlikeourown。*

publishedintheNationalReviewforOctober，1860，byDr。Martineau。>

Everyonehasheardofthekingwhowishedhehadbeenpresentatthecreation

oftheworld，thathemighthavegivengoodadvice。Hewashumble，however，

comparedwiththosewhoprofesstounderstandnotonlytherelationofthe

Creatingtothecreated，butalsohowtheCreatingisconstituted。Andyet

thistranscendentaudacity，whichthinkstopenetratethesecretsofthe

Powermanifestedthroughallexistence——nay，eventostandbehindthat

Powerandnotetheconditionstoitsaction——thisitiswhichpassescurrent

aspiety！Maywenotaffirmthatasincererecognitionofthetruththat

ourownandallotherexistenceisamysteryabsolutelybeyondourcomprehension，containsmoreoftruereligionthanallthedogmatictheologyeverwritten？Meanwhileletusrecognizewhateverofpermanentgoodthereisinthese

persistentattemptstoframeconceptionsofthatwhichcannotbeconceived。

Fromthebeginningithasbeenonlythroughthesuccessivefailuresofsuch

conceptionstosatisfythemind，thathigherandhigheroneshavebeengradually

reached;anddoubtless，theconceptionsnowcurrentareindispensableas

transitionalmodesofthought。Evenmorethanthismaybewillinglyconceded。

Itispossible，nayprobable，thatundertheirmostabstractforms，ideas

ofthisorderwillalwayscontinuetooccupythebackgroundofourconsciousness。

Verylikelytherewilleverremainaneedtogiveashapetothatindefinite

senseofanUltimateExistence，whichformsthebasisofourintelligence。

Weshallalwaysbeunderthenecessityofcontemplatingitassomemodeof

being;thatis——ofrepresentingittoourselvesinsomeformofthought，

howevervague。Andweshallnoterrindoingthissolongaswetreatevery

notionwethusframeasmerelyasymbol。Perhapstheconstantformationof

suchsymbolsandconstantrejectionofthemasinadequate，maybehereafter，

asithashithertobeen，ameansofdiscipline。Perpetuallytoconstruct

ideasrequiringtheutmoststretchofourfaculties，andperpetuallytofind

thatsuchideasmustbeabandonedasfutileimaginations，mayrealizeto

usmorefullythananyothercourse，thegreatnessofthatwhichwevainly

strivetograsp。Bycontinuallyseekingtoknowandbeingcontinuallythrown

backwithadeepenedconvictionoftheimpossibilityofknowing，wemaykeep

alivetheconsciousnessthatitisalikeourhighestwisdomandourhighestdutytoregardthatthroughwhichallthingsexistasTheUnknowable。§32。Animmensemajoritywillrefuse，withmoreorlessofindignation，

abeliefseemingtothemsoshadowyandindefinite。"Youofferus，"

theywillsay，"anunthinkableabstractioninplaceofaBeingtowards

whomwemayentertaindefinitefeelings。ThoughwearetoldthattheAbsolute

istheonlyreality，yetsincewearenotallowedtoconceiveit，itmight

aswellbeapurenegation。InsteadofaPowerwhichwecanregardashaving

somesympathywithus，youwouldhaveuscontemplateaPowertowhichno

emotionwhatevercanbeascribed。Andsowearetobedeprivedofthevery

substanceofourfaith。"Thiskindofprotestofnecessityaccompanies

everychangefromalowercreedtoahigher。Thebeliefinacommunityof

naturebetweenhimselfandtheobjectofhisworship，hasalwaysbeento

Manasatisfactoryone;andhehasalwaysacceptedwithreluctancethose

successivelylessconcreteconceptionswhichhavebeenforceduponhim。Doubtless，

inalltimesandplaces，ithasconsoledthebarbariantothinkofhisdeities

aslikehimselfinnature，thattheymightbebribedbyofferingsoffood;

andtheassurancethatdeitiescouldnotbesopropitiatedmusthavebeen

repugnant，becauseitdeprivedhimofaneasymethodofgainingsupernatural

protection。TotheGreeksitwasmanifestlyasourceofcomfortthatonoccasions

ofdifficultytheycouldobtain，throughoracles，theadviceoftheirgods，

——naymightevengetthepersonalaidoftheirgodsinbattle;anditwas

probablyaverygenuineangerwhichtheyvisiteduponphilosopherswhocalled

inquestionthesegrossideasoftheirmythology。Areligionwhichteaches

theHindoothatisisimpossibletopurchaseeternalhappinessbyplacing

himselfunderthewheelofJuggernaut，canscarcelyfailtoseemacruel

onetohim;sinceitdepriveshimofthepleasurableconsciousnessthathe

canatwillexchangemiseriesforjoys。Norisitlessclearthattoour

Catholicancestors，thebeliefsthatcrimescouldbecompoundedforbythe

buildingofchurches，thattheirownpunishmentsandthoseoftheirrelatives

couldbeabridgedbythesayingofmasses，andthatdivineaidorforgiveness

mightbegainedthroughtheintercessionofsaints，werehighlysolacing

ones;andthatProtestantism，insubstitutingtheconceptionofaGodso

comparativelyunlikethemselvesasnottobeinfluencedbysuchmethods，

musthaveappearedhardandcold。Naturallytherefore，wemustexpectafurther

stepinthesamedirectiontomeetwithasimilarresistancefromoutraged

sentiments。