第9章

Nomentalrevolutioncanbeaccomplishedwithoutmoreorless

laceration。Beitachangeofhabitorachangeofconviction，itmust，if

thehabitorconvictionbestrong，doviolencetosomeofthefeelings;and

thesemustofcourseopposeit。Forlong—experienced，andthereforedefinite，

sourcesofsatisfaction，havetobesubstitutedsourcesofsatisfactionthat

havenotbeenexperienced，andarethereforeindefinite。Thatwhichisrelatively

wellknownandreal，hastobegivenupforthatwhichisrelativelyunknown

andideal。Andofcoursesuchanexchangecannotbemadewithoutaconflict

involvingpain。Especially，then，mustthereariseastrongantagonismto

anyalterationinsodeepandvitalaconceptionasthatwithwhichweare

heredealing。Underlying，asthisconceptiondoes，allideasconcedingthe

establishedorderofthings，amodificationofitthreatenstoreducethe

superstructuretoruins。Ortochangethemetaphor——beingtherootwith

whichareconnectedourideasofgoodness，rectitude，orduty，itappears

impossiblethatitshouldbetransformedwithoutcausingthesetowither

awayanddie。Thewholehigherpartofthenaturetakesuparmsagainstachangewhichseemstoeradicatemorality。Thisisbynomeansallthathastobesaidforsuchprotests。Thereis

adeepermeaninginthem。Theydonotsimplyexpressthenaturalrepugnance

toarevolutionofbelief，heremadespeciallyintensebythevitalimportance

ofthebelieftoberevolutionized;buttheyalsoexpressaninstinctive

adhesiontoabeliefthatisinonesensethebest——thebestforthose

whothusclingtoit，thoughnotabstractedlythebest。Forhereitisto

beremarkedthatwhatwereabovespokenofastheimperfectionsofReligion，

atfirstgreatbutgraduallydiminishing，havebeenimperfectionsasmeasured

byanabsolutestandard，andnotasmeasuredbyarelativeone。Speaking

generally，thereligioncurrentineachageandamongeachpeople，hasbeen

asnearanapproximationtothetruthasitwasthenandtherepossiblefor

mentoreceive。Theconcreteformsinwhichithasembodiedthetruth，have

beenthemeansofmakingthinkablewhatwouldotherwisehavebeenunthinkable;

andsohaveforthetimebeingservedtoincreaseitsimpressiveness。If

weconsidertheconditionsofthecase，weshallfindthistobeanunavoidable

conclusion。Duringeachstageofprogressmenmustthinkinsuchtermsof

thoughtastheypossess。Whilealltheconspicuouschangesofwhichthey

canobservetheorigins，havemenandanimalsasantecedents，theyareunable

tothinkofantecedentsingeneralunderanyothershapes;andhencecreative

agenciesarealmostofnecessityconceivedbythemintheseshapes。If，during

thisphase，theseconcreteconceptionsweretakenfromthem，andtheattempt

madetogivethemcomparativelyabstractconceptions，theresultwouldbe

toleavetheirmindswithnoneatall;sincethesubstitutedonescouldnot

bementallyrepresented。Similarlywitheverysuccessivestageofreligious

belief，downtothelast。Though，asaccumulatingexperiencesslowlymodify

theearliestideasofcausalpersonalities，theregrowupmoregeneraland

vagueideasofthem;yetthesecannotbeatoncereplacedbyothersstill

moregeneralandvague。Furtherexperiencesmustsupplytheneedfulfurther

abstractions，beforethementalvoidleftbythedestructionofsuchinferior

ideascanbefilledbyideasofasuperiororder。Andatthepresenttime，

therefusaltoabandonarelativelyconcreteconsciousnessforarelatively

abstractone，impliestheinabilitytoframetherelativelyabstractone;

andsoimpliesthatthechangewouldbeprematureandinjurious。Stillmore

clearlyshallweseetheinjuriousnessofanysuchprematurechange，onobserving

thattheeffectsofabeliefuponconductmustbediminishedinproportion

asthevividnesswithwhichitisrealizedbecomesless。Evilsandbenefits

akintothosewhichthesavagehaspersonallyfelt，orlearnedfromthose

whohavefeltthem，aretheonlyevilsandbenefitshecanunderstand;and

thesemustbelookedforascominginwayslikethoseofwhichhehashad

experience。Hisdeitiesmustbeimaginedtohavelikemotivesandpassions

andmethodswiththebeingsaroundhim;formotivesandpassionsandmethods

ofahighercharacterbeingunknowntohim，andingreatmeasureunthinkable

byhim，cannotbesorepresentedinthoughtastoinfluencehisdeeds。During

everyphaseofcivilization，theactionsoftheUnseenReality，aswellas

theresultingrewardsandpunishments，beingconceivableonlyinsuchforms

asexperiencefurnishes，tosupplantthembyhigheronesbeforewiderexperiences

havemadehigheronesconceivable，istosetupvagueanduninfluentialmotives

fordefiniteandinfluentialones。Evennowforthegreatmassofmen，unable

totraceoutwithclearnessthosegoodandbadconsequenceswhichconduct

bringsroundthroughtheestablishedorderofthings，itiswellthatthere

shouldbedepictedfuturepunishmentsandfuturejoys——painsandpleasures

ofdefinitekinds，producedinwaysdirectandsimpleenoughtobeclearly

imagined。Naystillmoremustbeconceded。Fewareasyetwhollyfittedto

dispensewithsuchconceptionsasarecurrent。Thehighestabstractionstake

sogreatamentalpowertorealizewithanyvividness，andaresoinoperative

onconductunlesstheyarevividlyrealized，thattheirregulativeeffects

mustforalongperiodtocomebeappreciableonbutasmallminority。To

seeclearlyhowarightorwrongactgeneratesconsequences，internaland

external，thatgoonbranchingoutmorewidelyasyearsprogress，requires

ararepowerofanalysis。Andtoestimatetheseconsequencesintheirtotality

requiresagraspofthoughtpossessedbynone。Wereitnotthatthroughout

theprogressoftherace，men\'sexperiencesoftheeffectsofconducthave

beenslowlygeneralizedintoprinciples——wereitnotthattheseprinciples

havebeenfromgenerationtogenerationinsistedonbyparents，upheldby

publicopinion，sanctifiedbyreligion，andenforcedbythreatsofeternal

damnationfordisobedience——wereitnotthatunderthesepotentinfluences

habitshavebeenmodified，andthefeelingspropertothemmadeinnate;disastrous

resultswouldfollowtheremovalofthosestronganddistinctmotiveswhich

thecurrentbeliefsupplies。Evenasitis，thosewhorelinquishthefaith

inwhichtheyhavebeenbroughtup，forthismostabstractfaithinwhich

ScienceandReligionunite，maynotuncommonlyfailtoactuptotheirconvictions。

Lefttotheirorganicmorality，enforcedonlybygeneralreasoningsdifficult

tokeepbeforethemind，theirdefectsofnaturewilloftencomeoutmore

stronglythantheywouldhavedoneundertheirpreviouscreed。Thesubstituted

creedcanbecomeadequatelyoperativeonlywhenitbecomes，likethepresent

one，anelementinearlyeducation，andhasthesupportofastrongsocial

sanction。Norwillmenbequitereadyforituntil，throughthecontinuance

ofadisciplinewhichhaspartiallymouldedthemtotheconditionsofsocialexistence，theyarecompletelymouldedtothoseconditions。Wemustthereforerecognizetheresistanceofachangeoftheological

opinion，asingreatmeasuresalutary。Formsofreligion，likeformsofgovernment，

mustbefitforthosewholiveunderthem;andintheonecaseasinthe

other，theformwhichisfittestisthatforwhichthereisaninstinctive

preference。Asabarbarousraceneedsaharshterrestrialrule，andshows

attachmenttoadespotismcapableofthenecessaryrigour;sodoessucha

raceneedabeliefinacelestialrulethatissimilarlyharsh，andshows

attachmenttosuchabelief。Andasthesuddensubstitutionoffreeinstitutions

fordespoticones，issuretobefollowedbyareaction;so，ifacreedfull

ofdreadfulidealpenaltiesisallatoncereplacedbyonepresentingideal

penaltiesthatarecomparativelygentle，therewillinevitablybeareturn

tosomemodificationoftheoldbelief。Theparallelismholdsyetfurther。

Duringthoseearlystagesinwhichthereisextremeincongruitybetweenthe

relativelybestandtheabsolutelybest，bothpoliticalandreligiouschanges，

whenatrareintervalstheyoccur，areviolent;andtheyentailviolentretrogressions。

Butastheincongruitybetweenthatwhichisandthatwhichshouldbe，diminishes，

thechangesbecomemoremoderate，andaresucceededbymoremoderatecounter—movements;

until，asthesemovementsandcounter—movementsdecreaseinamountandincrease

infrequency，theymergeintoanalmostcontinuousgrowth。Thisholdstrue

ofreligiouscreedsandforms，asofcivilones。Andsowelearnthattheologicalconservatism，likepoliticalconservatism，hasanimportantfunction。§33。Thatspiritoftolerationwhichissomarkedatraitofmodern

times，hasthusadeepermeaningthanissupposed。Whatwecommonlyregard

simplyasaduerespectfortherightofprivatejudgment，isreallyanecessary

conditiontothebalancingoftheprogressiveandconservativetendencies

——isameansofmaintainingtheadaptationbetweenmen\'sbeliefsandtheir

natures。Itisthereforeaspirittobefostered;andespeciallybythecatholic

thinker，whoperceivesthefunctionsoftheseconflictingcreeds。Doubtless

whoeverfeelsthegreatnessoftheerrorhisfellowsclingtoandthegreatness

ofthetruththeyreject，willfindithardtoshowaduepatience。Itis

hardtolistencalmlytothefutileargumentsusedinsupportofirrational

doctrines，andtothemisrepresentationsofantagonistdoctrines。Itishard

tobearthedisplayofthatprideofignorancewhichsofarexceedsthepride

ofscience。Naturallysuchaonewillbeindignantwhenchargedwithirreligion

becausehedeclinestoacceptthecarpenter—theoryofcreationasthemost

worthyone。Hemaythinkitneedless，asitisdifficult，toconcealhis

repugnancetoacreedwhichtacitlyascribestoTheUnknowablealoveof

adulationsuchaswouldbedespisedinahumanbeing。Convincedasheis

thatpain，asweseeitintheorderofnature，isanaidtotheaverage

welfare，therewillperhapsescapefromhimanangrycondemnationofthe

beliefthatpunishmentisadivinevengeance，andthatdivinevengeanceis

eternal。Hemaybetemptedtoshowhiscontemptwhenheistoldthatactions

instigatedbyanunselfishsympathyorbyapureloveofrectitude，areintrinsically

sinful;andthatconductistrulygoodonlywhenitisduetoafaithwhose

openly—professedmotiveisother—worldliness。Buthemustrestrainsuchfeelings。

Thoughhemaybeunabletodothisduringtheexcitementofcontroversy，

hemustyetqualifyhisantagonismincalmermoments;sothathismaturejudgmentandresultingconductmaybewithoutbias。Tothisendlethimbearinmindthreecardinalfacts——twoofthemalready

dwelton，andonestilltobepointedout。Thefirstisthatwithwhichwe

commenced;namely，theexistenceofafundamentalverityunderallforms

ofreligion，howeverdegraded。Ineachofthemthereisasouloftruth。

Thesecond，setforthatlengthintheforegoingsection，isthatwhilethose

concreteelementsinwhicheachcreedembodiesthissouloftruth，arebad

asmeasuredbyanabsolutestandard，theyaregoodasmeasuredbyarelative

standard。Theremainingoneisthatthesevariousbeliefsarepartsofthe

constitutedorderofthings，and，ifnotintheirspecialformsyetintheir

generalforms，necessaryparts。Seeinghowoneorotherofthemiseverywhere

present，isofperennialgrowth，andwhencutdownredevelopsinaformbut

slightlymodified，wecannotavoidtheinferencethattheyareneedfulaccompaniments

ofhumanlife，severallyfittedtothesocietiesinwhichtheyareindigenous。

Wemustrecognizethemaselementsinthatgreatevolutionofwhichthebeginning

andendarebeyondourknowledgeorconception——asmodesofmanifestationofTheUnknowable，andashavingthisfortheirwarrant。Ourtolerationthereforeshouldbethewidestpossible。Indealingwith

alienbeliefsourendeavourmustbe，notsimplytorefrainfrominjustice

ofwordordeed，butalsotodojusticebyanopenrecognitionofpositiveworth。Wemustqualifyourdisagreementwithasmuchasmaybeofsympathy。§34。Theseadmissionswillperhapsbeheldtoimplythatthecurrent

theologyshouldbepassivelyaccepted，or，atanyrate，shouldnotbeactively

opposed。"Why，"itmaybeasked，"ifcreedsareseverally

fitfortheirtimesandplaces，shouldwenotrestcontentwiththattowhich

weareborn？Iftheestablishedbeliefcontainsanessentialtruth——if

theformsunderwhichitpresentsthistruth，thoughintrinsicallybad，are

extrinsicallygood——iftheabolitionoftheseformswouldbeatpresent

detrimentaltothegreatmajority——nay，iftherearescarcelyanytowhom

theultimateandmostabstractbeliefcanfurnishanadequateruleoflife;

surelyitiswrong，forthepresentatleast，topropagatethisultimateandmostabstractbelief。"Thereplyisthatthoughexistingreligiousideasandinstitutionshave

anaverageadaptationtothecharactersofthepeoplewholiveunderthem，

yet，asthesecharactersareeverchanging，theadaptationiseverbecoming

imperfect。andtheideasandinstitutionsneedremodellingwithafrequency

proportionatetotherapidityofthechange。Hence，whileitisrequisite

thatfreeplayshouldbegiventoconservativethoughtandaction，progressive

thoughtandactionmustalsohavefreeplay。Withouttheagencyofboththerecannotbethosecontinualre—adaptationswhichorderlyprogressdemands。Whoeverhesitatestoutterthatwhichhethinksthehighesttruth，lest

itshouldbetoomuchinadvanceofthetime，mayreassurehimselfbylooking

athisactsfromanimpersonalpointofview。Lethimrememberthatopinion

istheagencythroughwhichcharacteradaptsexternalarrangementstoitself，

andthathisoptionrightlyformspartofthisagency——isaunitofforce

constitutingwithothersuchunits，thegeneralpowerwhichworksoutsocial

changes;andhewillperceivethathemayproperlygiveutterancetohis

innermostconviction:leavingittoproducewhateffectitmay。Itisnot

fornothingthathehasinhimthesesympathieswithsomeprinciplesand

repugnancetoothers。He，withallhiscapacities，andaspirations，andbeliefs，

isnotanaccidentbutaproductofthetime。Whileheisadescendantof

thepastheisaparentofthefuture;andhisthoughtsareaschildrenborn

tohim，whichhemaynotcarelesslyletdie。Likeeveryothermanhemay

properlyconsiderhimselfasoneofthemyriadagenciesthroughwhomworks

theUnknownCause;andwhentheUnknownCauseproducesinhimacertainbelief，

heistherebyauthorizedtoprofessandactoutthatbelief。For，torender

intheirhighestsensethewordsofthepoet——

Natureismadebetterbynomean，Butnaturemakesthatmean:overthatartWhichyousayaddstonature，isanartThatnaturemakes。

Notasadventitiousthereforewillthewisemanregardthefaithwhich

isinhim。Thehighesttruthheseeshewillfearlesslyutter:knowingthat，

letwhatmaycomeofit，heisthusplayinghisrightpartintheworld——

knowingthatifhecaneffectthechangeheaimsat——well;ifnot——well

also;thoughnotsowell。

PostscripttoPartIOFmultitudinouscriticismsmadeontheprecedingfivechapterssince

thepublicationofFirstPrinciplesin1862，itispracticabletonotice

onlythoseofchiefimportance。Eventodothiswouldbeimpracticablewere

itnotthatmostofthemareessentiallythesameandmaybemetbythesameanswers。Severalopponentshavecontendedthatitisillegitimatetoassertof

theUltimateRealitylyingbehindAppearance，thatitisunknownandunknowable。

Thestatementthatitisunknowableissaidtoassumeknowledgegreaterthan

wecanhave:alikeasputtinganarbitrarylimittopossiblehumanfaculty

andasassertingsomethingconcerningthatofwhichwearesaidtoknownothing:acontradiction。Tothefirstoftheseobjections，thatanarbitrarylimitisputtopossible

humanfacultyananswerhasalreadybeengivenin§24，whereithas

beenshownthatknowledgeinvolvesthethreeelements，Relation，Difference，

Likeness;andthatunconditionedexistence，ofwhichnooneofthesecan

beaffirmedwithoutcontradiction，consequentlydoesnotpresentasubject—matter

forknowledge。Further，inthenextsectionitwaspointedoutthatinthe

processofknowingthereisthesameimplication。Thinkingbeingrelationing，

nothoughtcanexpressmorethanrelations。Fromwhichtruthitisinferable

thathumanfacultymustbecomefundamentallyunlikewhatitis，andknowledge

mustbecomesomethingotherthanwhatwecallknowledge，beforeanythingcanbeknownabouttheUnconditioned。Thesecondobjectionisnotthuseasilymet。Itisdoubtlesstruethat

sayingwhatathingisnot，is，insomemeasure，sayingwhatitis;since

if，ofallpossibleassertionsrespectingit，oneiscancelled，thecancelling，

bydiminishingthenumberofpossibleassertions，impliesanincipientdefinition。

Aseriesofstatementsofwhatitisnot，excludingonepossibilityafter

another，becomeseventuallyalineofexclusionsdrawnroundit——adefinition

ofit。ThegameofTwentyQuestionsillustratesthis。Henceitcannotbe

deniedthattoaffirmoftheUltimateRealitythatitisunknowableis，inaremoteway，toassertsomeknowledgeofit，andthereforeinvolvesacontradiction。Thisextremecase，however，doesbutservetobringoutthetruththat，

limitedasourintelligenceistotherelative，andobligedasweareto

usewordswhichhavebeenmouldedtoit，wecannotsayanythingconcerning

thenon—relativewithoutcarryingintoourpropositionsmeaningsconnoted

bythosewords——meaningsforeigntoasubject—matterwhichtranscendsrelations。

Intellectbeingframedsimplybyandforconversewithphenomena，involves

usinnonsensewhenwetrytouseitforanythingbeyondphenomena。This

inabilityofthethinkingfacultyinpresenceoftheUnconditioned，isshown

notonlybytheself—contradictorynatureofitsproduct，butalsobythe

arrestofitsprocessbeforecompletion。Inattemptingtopassthelimit

itbreaksdownbeforeithasfinisheditsfirststep。Forsinceeverythought

expressesarelation——sincethinkingisrelationing——thinkingceases

whenoneofthetwotermsofarelationremainsblank。Astherelationis

incompletethereisnothoughtproperlysocalled:thoughtfails。Sothat

wecannotrightlyconceiveevenaconnexionbetweennoumenonandphenomenon。

WeareunableinanyconsistentwaytoassertaRealitystandinginsomerelationtotheApparent。Sucharelationisnottrulyimaginable。Andyetbytheverynatureofourintelligencewearecompelledcontinually

toascribetheeffectsweknowtosomecausewedonotknow——toregard

themanifestationsweareconsciousofasimplyingsomethingmanifested。

Wefinditimpossibletothinkoftheworldasconstitutedofappearances，

andtoexcludeallthoughtofarealityofwhichtheyareappearances。The

inconsistenciesintheviewssetforthareinfactorganic。Intellectual

actionbeingaperpetualformingofrelationsbetweenthestatesfrommoment

tomomentpassing，andbeingincapableofarrestingitself，tendsirresistibly

toformthemwhenitreachesthelimitofintelligence。Theinevitableeffect

ofourmentalconstitutionisthatonreachingthelimitthoughtrushesout

toformanewrelationandcannotformit。Aconflicthencearisesbetween

anefforttopassintotheUnknowableandaninabilitytopass——aconflict

whichinvolvestheinconsistencyoffeelingobligedtothinksomethingandbeingunabletothinkit。Andherewecomeasbeforetotheconclusionthatwhileitisimpossible

forustohaveaconception，thereyeteverremainsaconsciousness——a

consciousnessofwhichnologicalaccountcanbegiven，butwhichisthe

necessaryresultofourmentalaction;sincetheperpetually—foiledendeavour

tothinktherelationbetweenAppearanceandReality，everleavesbehind

afeelingthatthoughasecondtermcannotbeframedinthoughtyetthere

isasecondterm。Thisdistinction，hereemphasizedasitwasemphasized

in§26，mycriticshaveignored。Theirargumentsaredirectedagainst

oneorotherelementsinaconceptionwhichtheyascribetome:forgetting

that，equallywiththem，Idenythepossibilityofanyconception，andaffirm

onlythatafterallourfutileattemptstoconceive，thereremainstheundefinable

substanceofaconception——aconsciousnesswhichcannotbeputintoanyshape。Butnowletitbeunderstoodthatthereaderisnotcalledontojudge

respectinganyoftheargumentsorconclusionscontainedintheforegoing

fivechaptersandintheaboveparagraphs。Thesubjectsonwhichweareabout

toenterareindependentofthesubjectsthusfardiscussed;andhemayreject

anyorallofthatwhichhasgonebefore，whileleavinghimselffreetoacceptanyorallofthatwhichisnowtocome。WhendrawinguptheprogrammeoftheSyntheticPhilosophy，itappeared

tomethat，intheabsenceofanystatementoftheologico—metaphysicalbeliefs，

thegeneraldoctrinesetforthmightbemisconstrued;andPartI，"The

Unknowable，"waswrittenforthepurposeofexcludingthepossiblemisconstructions。

UnfortunatelyIdidnotforeseethatPartIwouldberegardedasabasis

forPartII;withtheresultthattheacceptanceorrejectionoftheconclusions

inPartI，wouldbesupposedtodetermineacceptanceorrejectionofthose

inPartII。Verymanyhaveinconsequencebeenpreventedfromreadingbeyondthispoint。ButanaccountoftheTransformationofThings，giveninthepageswhich

follow，issimplyanorderlypresentationoffacts;andtheinterpretation

ofthefactsisnothingmorethanastatementoftheultimateuniformities

theypresent——thelawstowhichtheyconform。Isthereaderanatheist？

theexpositionofthesefactsandtheselawswillneitheryieldsupportto

hisbeliefnordestroyit。Isheapantheist？Thephenomenaandtheinferences

asnowtobesetforthwillnotforceonhimanyincongruousimplication。

DoeshethinkthatGodisimmanentthroughoutallthings，fromconcentrating

nebulaetothethoughtsofpoets？Thenthetheorytobeputbeforehimcontains

nodisproofofthatview。DoeshebelieveinaDeitywhohasgivenunchanging

lawstotheUniverse？Thenhewillfindnothingatvariancewithhisbelief

inanexpositionofthoselawsandanaccountoftheresults。

March，1899。