LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. ©Jjjtp. - G mujt ' Igljl f o— Shelf. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. ;* V i/ Copyright, 1887, By THOMAS E. BARR. RAND AVERY COMPANY, BLECTROTYPERS AND PRINTERS, BOSTON. Co iHp JFatJer, EDWARD BARE, IN FILIAL RECOGNITION OF HIS WISE COUNSEL, FAITHFUL INSTRUCTION AND TRAINING, CONSISTENT EXAMPLE, RARELY SYMPATHETIC AND HELPFUL COMPAN- IONSHIP, AND LIFE OF PATIENT SELF- SACRIFICE IN EARNEST DEFENSE AND ADVOCACY OF THE BLESSED GOSPEL; &nto ta Jlp iftotjjer, MILLJA BARR, A SLIGHT TRIBUTE TO THE INFLUENCE AND INSPIRATION OF HER TENDERNESS, HER- HOPEFULNESS, HER GUIDANCE, HER LIFE OF CHRISTIAN SELF- DENIAL AND EARNESTNESS: 2H)fe Uolume IS, WITHOUT THEIR KNOWLEDGE, AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED. PEEFAOE. This little volume originated primarily in the author's efforts to find for himself sure footing in the shifting, conflicting, phases of modern thought, and determine a satisfactory explanation and scheme of life-activity. Reaching, at length, through long and sometimes bitter struggle, settled convictions regarding the true solution of the life-problem, the right basis, method, and end, of life-effort, he found many, especially among young people, who felt private and public presentation of these conclu- sions to be helpful in their own like endeavors to settle the same questions. At the suggestion of numerous friends, permanent form is here given the discussion. The question is the old but ever-new one, with which the minds of all thinking men and women are more or less occupied. The material used in the argument has been gathered from many sources, and is largely of the " com- mon fund " of such discussions; but where the author was under special obligation to some individual writer, proper credit has been given. It is hoped that there may be found sufficient freshness in the grouping and clothing of the ideas, to attract and hold the reader's thoughtful vi PREFACE. attention. Of him the author would make one request. The treatise is an argument, organized throughout as such, and all its parts are determined in their form and statement by their place and relation as elements of one thought-system. It is therefore asked that the book be read, not in detached portions, but continuously and as a whole. Great care has been taken to divest the pre- sentation of all technicalities, and make the progress of thought direct and clear. The detailed analysis which precedes the argument, with the cross-references scattered throughout the treatise, will, it is hoped, assist in making clear the connection of thought. For general reference an index is added at the close. Gratitude and affection prompt a fuller statement here than space permits of the many friends who have aided and encouraged the preparation of this treatise. Special acknowledgment is due and is gladly made to my father, Rev. E. Barr, Lafayette, Ind. ; to Dr. A. T. Ormond, Professor of Mental Science and Logic, Princeton College ; and to Rev. Dr. D. S. Gregory, Ex-President of Lake For- est University, — all of whom have shown marked kindness in the revision, though at considerable sacrifice of their time, of the manuscript of the work. To Dr. Gregory unusual tribute must be paid. He generously granted the use of material presented by him in college ; and hence the discussions in psychology and ethics (Part I. chaps, i. and v.) are taken mainly from that source, some- times more literally than the quotation-marks indicate. His self-sacrificing friendship and helpfulness, in days of PREFA CE. vii difficulty and discouragement, even more than his faith- ful and admirable scholastic discipline, call increasingly for grateful remembrance. The book has been written with direct reference to our own land and time, wherein, despite much of danger and foreboding, unparalleled opportunities for achievement in character-building and influence are offered. If it shall prove helpful to any one seeking to solve the momentous questions of life-action, these guides and helpers will feel that their interest has not been wholly unavailing, and the author's purpose will be fully realized. THOS. E. BARR. Beloit, Wis., November, 1887. CONTENTS PAGE Introductory Note, by Rev. Dr. D. S. Gregory . xiii Analysis of Argument xvii ARGUMENT. INTRODUCTION. Nature and Divisions of the Inquiry DISCUSSION. THE FACTS OF LIFE AND THEIR INTERPRETATION. PART I. TEE FACTS OF LIFE. CHAPTER I. What am I? 5 Section J. —The Spirit Mechanism 6 Section IL — The Physical Mechanism .... 45 ix X CONTENTS. CHAPTER II. page Where am I? 52 Section J. —Place in Space 53 Section II. — Place in Time 55 Section III. — Place in the Scheme of Nature . 67 Section IV. — Place in the Unfolding of the Thought-Life of the Race . . 84 CHAPTER III. Whence am I ? 94 Section J.— Matter . 101 SECTION II.— Force . 122 SECTION III.— Pantheism 131 SECTION IV.— Theism 145 CHAPTER IV. Whither am I going? 165 Section J.— Life 166 SECTION II.— Death 185 SECTION III.— Immortality 189 CHAPTER V. What is my Relation to my Situation, my Origin, my Future? 225 SECTION J. — Relation to Situation 226 Individual Duties 227 Social Duties 244 Duties in the Use of Nature . . . 249 SECTION II. — Relation to Origin. — Duties to- ward God 260 Section III. — Relation to Future ...... 278 CONTENTS. Xi PART II. TEE INTERPRETATION OF TEE FACTS. CHAPTEK I. Fundamental Requisites 284 CHAPTER II. Proposed Schemes 292 Section J. —Pleasure 292 Section II.— Wealth 295 Section III. — F Ame 298 Section IV.— Power 302 SECTION V. — Self-secured Perfection .... 316 CHAPTER III. The Problem Solved 318 APPENDIX. The Logic of the Theistic Argument 331 INDEX 343 INTRODUCTORY NOTE. A book should never go out to the public unless it can furnish some satisfactory reason for its being and publi- cation. This volume, on "The Gist of It," is designed to meet an imperative need of a certain class of readers to which it is specially addressed. There are ages in which scepticism is in the air in such a way as to affect all who breathe that air. The present is generally ad- mitted to be such an age. It is characterized not so much by a coarse and blatant infidelity, like that of a century ago, as by a subtle and scientific agnosticism. The old unbelief long ago condemned itself to the final rejection of all finer natures by its brutality ; the new has commended itself to the nobler and more refined circles by its real polish of diction, and by the apparent profundity of its matter. As a result of this peculiar character, the scepticism of the age exerts its most subtle and powerful influence upon the more intelligent and highly educated young men, and thereby often intrenches itself in our great centres of higher learning. It carries the ingenuous youth irresistibly into sensationalism in psychology, into hedonism or utilitarianism in ethics, into materialism in cosmology, into pessimism or atheism in religion, — in short, into godlessness, selfishness, and hopelessness in life. In this way it poisons the minds of those who XIV INTRODUCTORY NOTE. are destined to become the leaders of the next generation, in morals, politics, and religion. That these youth are generous hearted, broad minded, and brilliantly endowed, only adds so much the more to the dangers that threaten the future of the church and society. The writer of this volume is a young man who has found it necessary to look carefully into all the present questions of scepticism for himself, to ply with inquiries the guides who thus in the name of culture and science led him into the darkness, to test and sift the arguments by which they attempted to convince him that their dark- ness was the true light ; and he now comes forward to lend a helping hand to those who are passing through like perplexities under like false guidance. He unfolds clearly and logically the elements of the great problem of human life as it presents itself before intelligent and educated youth, and ably and conclusively urges the Christian solution of that problem. The writer of this brief introduction has known the author in all the stages of his development from the beginnings of the preparatory school to the theological seminary. He has watched, with an interest approaching the paternal, the unfolding of his views in the class room, has heard the germinal thought of this volume presented at the College Commencement as the Valedictory Oration of his class, and has gone over the manuscript of the completed work with care. He earnestly commends the treatise to those who are endeavoring to settle, — as all intelligent men and women of this generation should settle, — on a sound and stable logical basis, the great practical questions of life that demand personal answers from each and all. They will find the book unique. There is no other with which we are acquainted that attempts to cover its ground. There is therefore a INTRODUCTORY NOTE. XV sufficient reason for its being. It will not be found to be the toying of an unsophisticated youth with matters beyond his grasp ; but a connected and sustained argu- ment throughout, organized into a complete whole of thought. It can hardly fail to prove a mental discipline to those who read it ; while it will greatly enlarge their views of the factors and forces of human life, elevate their conceptions of its intellectual and moral aims, en- hance their estimate of the possibilities of an immortal destiny, and strengthen their faith in God and the Chris- tian system and religion, — in short, will help to lead them out of the shadows of the scepticism of the age, into the clear light of the Sun of Righteousness. DANIEL S. GREGORY. Halliday Grange, Morgan, Minn. November, 1887. ANALYSIS. INTRODUCTION. -NATURE AND DIVISIONS OP THE INQUIRY (pp. 1-4). 1. Necessity of considering all the facts in any proposed enterprise. 2. Distinction of essential facts. 3. Application of principle to life. Statement of theme. 4. Divisions of inquiry. Five questions. DISCUSSION. -THE PACTS OP LIFE AND THEIR INTERPRETATION (pp. 4-330). PART I.— THE FACTS OF LIFE (pp. 4-283). Chapter I. What am I? or, the mechanism of life-action (pp. 5-51). Introduction. — 1. Interest and intricacy of the inquiry. 2. Statement of theme. The spirit in the body. Section I. — The spirit mechanism (pp. 6-44). Introduction. — Fundamental propositions of consciousness. 1. The testimony of consciousness must never be questioned. 2. Consciousness gives infallible witness to the self- activity, freedom, and unity, of the spirit. Discussion of these points (pp. 7-9). Topic I. — Examination of the simple powers. I. The knowing-power. 1. Simple knowledge (p. 10). a. Sense-perception. Gives knowledge of matter and its properties. xvii XVlll ANALYSIS. Chapter I. Section I. — Continued. 6. Consciousness. Gives knowledge of spirit and its activities. c. Intuition. Gives knowledge of underlying and conditioning facts, being, cause, space, time, etc. 2. Memory (pp. 12, 13). a. Eetention. Keeps acquired knowledges out of consciousness. 6. Reproduction. Brings back acquired knowledges into consciousness. c. Representation. Vividly presents knowledges in consciousness. d. Recognition. Recognizes knowledges. 3. Comparison. Works out relations of knowledges (p. 14). a. Conception. Grasps simple knowledges in bundles. Concepts. b. Judgment. Compares two concepts with each other. c. Reasoning. Compares two concepts with a third in the syllogism (p. 15). 4. Construction. Constructs knowledges in system (p. 16). a. Proof of such a power. 6. Phases of the power. (a) Scientific construction. Works on the basis of the true (p. 17). (6) Artistic construction. Works on the basis of the beautiful, (c) Practical construction. Works on the basis of the good (p. 18). II. The power of emotion. 1. Relation to knowing-power. a. Elements of emotion (p. 19). (a) Craving of spirit, (b) Knowledge of satisfaction, (c) Gen- eral rousing of spirit. (d) Focalizing of emotion in part of mechanism where craving is manifested. b. Illustration of hunger. 2. Modes of manifestation. ANALYSIS. xix Chapter I. Section I. — Continued. a. Animal feelings (p. 20). (a) Sensations, {b) In- stinctive feelings, (c) Appetites. b. Rational sentiments (p. 22). ( < Josh : Emotions, pp. 1-4. 20 THE GIST OF IT. of the need which the good presented is fitted to satisfy. A single illustration will show this. Man's body must have frequent supplies of food if it is to be preserved in vigor. He has a capacity for recogniz- ing this fact, and a desire to give the body what it needs. When, now, the supply of food in the body is exhausted, a sensation goes up the nerves of the body to the brain. The attention of the spirit is arrested. The sensation is not clearly defined. The spirit, tracing back along the lines of the sensation, ascertains its cause, — the exhausted condition of the body, — and then the desire for food is called forth. This desire is the real feeling, the emotion. These being the elements of emotion, the conclu- sion is unquestionable that this power of emotion is second in order of exercise, and is dependent upon the prior action of the knowing-power for its own activity. It cannot, therefore, be itself the funda- mental element of knowledge. There are two general ways in which this power is exercised. 1. The spirit dwells in a material body, which, as will be shown later, is a part of the physical world, and subject to all its laws. Hence arise, through this physical organism, one class of feelings, which may be termed the animal feelings. The simplest form of these animal feelings is that of sensations ; i.e., a feeling which arises as a necessary accompaniment of the activity of the physical organism. It is either pleasurable or painful, — the former, if the activity is normal and uninterrupted ; the latter, if the THE FACTS OF LIFE. 21 activity is unnatural or impeded : and it may be diffused over the entire body, as the warmth aroused in running ; or be confined to some organ, as when the dyspeptic's stomach rebels ; or to some one of the special senses, as hearing or sight, which have connected with them special feelings. Even in this lowest form, it is the spirit, the " I," that feels. Above this form is that of the instinctive feelings. In common with the animals, man has many pure instincts, though their number in him is limited by the wider sphere of intelligence. These instincts are inwrought into the organism itself, and on occa- sion they come into action without any conscious control. They include the desires to preserve and develop the being, and provide for the future, both of one's self and one's fellows : e.g., closing the eyes, or dodging, when some danger is near, without special thought of what one is doing ; the disposition to exert the powers of the body in running and play, and other such movements, — all are the outgrowth of instincts. When these instincts operate, certain feelings arise, which always accompany them ; and these are the instinctive feelings. The highest and most important form of these animal feelings is that known as the appetites. These have for their object the preservation and upbuilding of the body. In the case of the indi- vidual the work is accomplished through the desires for rest and sleep, health and reereat ion, food, drink, and air; while the work is achieved for the race through such desires as the attraction of the sexes, 22 THE GIST OF IT. the care of the young, and humanity toward the unfortunate and wretched. 2. But forms of good may be presented to the spirit, which deal not at all, or only indirectly, with the physical make-up ; and, when so presented, feel- ings arise which may be called the rational senti- ments. These have their occasion in the presentation of some personal or impersonal good, or object, and are of two kinds, — affections, or a giving-out of the powers of the spirit toward some object ; and desires, or a craving of the spirit for the possession and use of some object. In the case of the personal sentiments, the affec- tions may go out toward one's self, toward others, or toward God (or a Supreme Power), because per- ceived to be capable of enjoyment, or benevolent, excellent, or righteous ; and here are manifested all the various forms of self-love and selfishness, self- respect and egotism, gratitude and approbation, com- placency, esteem, and reverence, or the reverse, reaching out from one's own nature toward the family, the country, the world, and then toward that which is above and beyond the world — toward God. The personal desires regard only the individual and his fellows : they are the cravings for happiness, as shown in the desires to provide for the health, con- tinuance, and pleasure of the spirit ; for perfection, seen in the desires to develop the powers of the spirit of one's self and of others, to attain ideal excellence of manhood and womanhood, and to plan for the economizing of the energies and their direc- tion toward the working out of some life purpose ; THE FACTS OF LIFE. 23 and the cravings for virtue, or Tightness, which are shown in the recognition of personal responsibility and obligation, and in the disposition to teach others, by precept and law, their duty, and bind them to its execution by reward and punishment. When the good is presented in the form of some impersonal object, the impersonal sentiments are awakened. These impersonal objects may embody some form of scientific truth, when the love of truth, and desire to possess it, are evoked ; or some phase of artistic or beautiful idea, when the love of the beautiful, the craving for it, all the aasthetic emo- tions, are aroused ; or some variety of practical or beneficial truth may be presented, when various feel- ings are excited, as the form of the truth is that of happiness, advantage, rightness, or infinite good- ness and rectitude. In contemplating some intricate machinery, as the exact adaptation and adjustment of all the parts is seen, the spirit feels a satisfaction in that exactness ; and profound mathematicians find an enjoyment in the study of the most abstruse formulae. The statue, the rose, the mountain view, arouse deep and varied emotions; while in the con- sideration of actions and situations as wise, right, happy, or the opposite, appropriate feelings spring into operation. Such is the working of the second power, emotion : it always presupposes some action of the knowing- power, and consists in a rousing, or excitement, of the spirit, manifested in some affection or desire. Tims, by tin- successive action of these two powers, of knowing and of emotion, tiie spirit acquires 24 THE GIST OF IT. knowledge of things fitted to satisfy its needs, and is roused by this knowledge toward action. Here comes in the operation of the third great power, the will. III. This is the power of action, or endeavor. The knowing-power presents to the spirit some form of good as an end of action: the emotions are awak- ened to an appreciation of the good, and, reaching out toward it for satisfaction, they act as the springs of action, and incite the will to execution. The will- power may, therefore, be defined as " that power of the human spirit by which it freely exerts itself for the attainment of some good presented as an end of action by the intellect (or knowing-power), and made a spring of action by the emotions." In the operation of the will, three successive steps are to be considered: — 1. The first of these is the power of choice. One or more objects or ends of action are presented to the spirit, and are held for a time under considera- tion. It may be but one end that is offered; and then all the reasons for moving to secure it must be duly weighed, and over against them put all the reasons for refraining from the exertion. If a num- ber of objects are presented, the process is by so much made more intricate ; and all the conflicting reasons for and against this or that action, or any at all, are deliberated upon. When the objects have thus been held for a time in examination, the spirit freely chooses out one form of action from the others, prefers it to the others. If the consideration is very slight and superficial, the choice may be THE FACTS OF LIFE. 25 known as spontaneous choice. This is the case in so-called thoughtless, or impulsive, actions, where "I didn't think " does not mean that the spirit acted without choice, but that the choice was careless or hasty. When, however, the consideration is appro- priately long and careful, the choice may be termed rational preference. In both cases it is noticeable that the spirit is free, and knows itself to be free, in its action ; but while, in spontaneous choice, the individual may suffer himself to be carried away by a rush of feeling, in rational preference the selection of some one of the different ends of action proposed is because of reasons preponderating in favor of that action. For example, a drunken bully insults two men on a crowded street in a large city ; both men feel the natural impulse to knock the rascal down ; one man yields to the impulse, and replies to the insult with a blow ; the other, considering the char- acter and condition of the ruffian, and that to engage in a quarrel with him will make a public disturbance, and result in arrest and a fine for himself as well as the bully, quietly turns aside, and passes on. Both men were free in their action ; but while the latter was rational in choosing his course, on the basis of sound reasons, the oilier suffered his impulses to lead him, and so made a foolish and unreasonable choice. 2. When the choice has been made, the spirit next, by the power of volition, forms a purpose to Becure the end which lias been chosen. This purpose may be of some chosen end which is immediately attainable; or it may be for the achieving some result far in the future ; or, in its highest form, it 26 THE GIST OF IT. may embrace the entire life, becoming then the grand life-purpose, ill the execution of which all the ener- gies and powers of the being find employment. A simple illustration will make clear the relation of this power of volition to the preceding power of choice and to the following power of exertion. A young man is considering his surroundings and capa- bilities, in order to fix upon some line of work for his life-employment. Various professions and trades are open to him. Carefully considering them all, and finding that he is especially adapted for mechan- ical pursuits, and that his circumstances are favorable for such labor, he deliberately, on this basis of sound reason, chooses to devote himself to this work. This is followed by the formation of a definite purpose to engage in that sphere of activity. As yet he has not formed a specific plan for action ; but his resolu- tion is, that in some way and by some means yet to be determined, he will engage in this chosen form of labor. Now follows the final step in the entire spirit-activity, the power of exertion. 3. This power of exertion, or executive act, is the culmination of all the previous processes in the working of the spirit-life. Without it the largest knowledge, the deepest feelings, the clearest choice, and the grandest purpose, would avail nothing for the work of the world ; and the individual would drift, a mere dreamer, through life, with no putting forth of energy, and no achievement. Some plan must be formed, all necessary means must be gath- ered up and arranged, and then the whole power of the spirit must be exerted in the actual use of the THE FACTS OF LIFE. 27 means for the execution of the purpose, or all pre- vious forms of activity will remain fruitless. Here the power of execution is fully exercised. The spirit first, in this process, forms a plan ; that is, " fixes upon the series of efforts by which the man con- ceives that the end desired, chosen, and determined upon, may be reached." Every practical plan is a " series," or system, of means and ends ; and for successful achievement, all the means must be under proper control. This control is given by this same power of will. Then, when all the means are fully in hand, and all is ready for action, the will, by a decisive effort, exerts its force in actually achieving the purpose. All the powers of the being, all means available, are brought into action, under the perfect control and constant direction of -the will, and the purpose is accomplished. The will is thus the su- preme ruler and the directive power in all spirit- activity. It is known and recognized in conscious- ness as the cause, the efficient agency, of action, but is itself under the control, as shown above, of the reason, purposing and performing on the basis of rational preference. Much confusion of thought often arises over the question of the working of conscience, the moral nature. When consciousness is investigated, we find certain facts in each greal mode of spirit-act ivitv, which all combine in the working of conscience. 1 The action of the intellect on moral questi( us is the Bame as on questions of any other ki . An action 1 For fuller discussion, sec Gregory, Christian Ethics, pp. 80-92. 28 THE GIST OF IT. is presented to the intellect ; and trying the action by the standard, or norm, of right, 1 it passes judgment upon it as right or wrong. These judgments assume five specific forms: — First. When we witness any moral action, we judge it to be right or wrong. For example, a man who cannot swim falls overboard from a ship, and is drowning. A strong sailor, skilled in swimming, plunges in after him, and rescues him at the risk of his own life. We pronounce that a right action. Here is the familiar judgment of moral approbation. A strong man, armed, falls upon another man, feeble and unarmed, and maltreats and kills him in order to take from him his purse. We pronounce that act wrong. Here is the familiar judgment of moral disapprobation. Second. When we consider any such moral action, we judge that there is an obligation to perform it as right, or to refrain from it as wrong. If it is right to rescue the drowning man, then it ought to be done ; and the sailor who is able to do it, is under obligation to do it. If it is wrong to rob and murder a man, then the strong man armed is morally bound not to do it. Here is the familiar judgment of moral obligation. Third. We say of the action of the sailor, it is meritorious, and ought to be rewarded : and we say of the action of the murderer, it has demerit; he is guilty, and ought to be punished. Here is the familiar judgment of moral merit and demerit in its various forms. i P. 12. THE FACTS OF LIFE. 29 Fourth. We judge that the agent is free to choose or to reject the morally good or evil. The sailor may or may not attempt the rescue of the drowning man, as he pleases : the murderer may or may not murder and rob a man, as he pleases. This freedom of choice in action is that by which the agent makes the action his own, and becomes responsible for it. Here is the familiar judgment of moral freedom, which lies at the basis of responsibility. Fifth. We go farther, and judge the agent to be under, and amenable to, the moral law, and hence accountable to some supreme law-giver for his action. Here is the familiar judgment of accountability or responsibility to a Supreme Being. Following the action of the knowing-power in these moral judgments, is that of the power of emotion in the moral feelings. These feelings, as all others, arise only on presentation of the appropri- ate object, and so correspond to the moral judgments. There are two classes of these feelings, having refer- ence to both right and wrong action. When the judgment pronounces action right, obligatory, or meritorious, it awakens in the agent, if it be his own act, a feeling of moral approval and satisfaction : if it be another's act, a feeling of moral approval and esteem. When the judgment decides that an action is wrong, — one that ought not to be done, or one deserving of punishment, — there arises, if the action be the agent's own, a feeling of moral disapproval and shame, or self-reproach, often deepening into remorse; if it be another's act, a feeling of moral disapproval and indignation, often deepening into 30 THE GIST OF IT. moral aversion, or into moral vinclictiveness, or a feeling which would lead to the avenging of the wrong. After these facts of moral feelings, certain specific moral facts in the action of the will come to light. In general, the normal tendency of the will is to im- pel the agent to adopt, and attempt to realize, the morally good in his own conduct and that of others, and to reject and prevent the morally evil. These moral facts of will are of two classes. When the action contemplated by the intellect, and appealing to the moral feelings, is something that may be done by ourselves, there arises, as has been seen, — when the will has free play, — first, the choice, or preference, to do it ; then the volition, or purpose, to do it ; and, finally, the effort, resulting in the completed action. In the case of the failure of the man to move, by the will, his powers to the performance of that which is right and obligatory, there arises a moral protest of the agent against his own course, which often leads to a perpetual moral strife in his soul, and, when suf- fered to continue, ends in despair of achieving the moral task of life, and in utter moral wreck. When the action contemplated, and inciting to feeling, per- tains to some one else than the agent contemplating it, there arises the wish to see, or not to see, it accom- plished, as it is right or wrong, and the purpose to aid or hinder its accomplishment. If it be already accomplished, there arises the impulse to reward or punish the agent, as the case may require. All the above are facts of experience, which every one finds when lie examines the working of his own THE FACTS OF LIFE. 31 spirit-activity in regard to moral questions. Closer scrutiny of consciousness reveals certain other facts of intuition, which lie art the basis of moral experience. Intuitive moral ideas are revealed in experience. The ideas of right, wrong, duty, responsibility, obligation, and others like them, are among these. Consciousness affirms that these are not mere words, but that they represent veritable ideas of the spirit. These ideas are found in all men ; for, though all do not consciously recognize them, yet even the lowest savages act upon them. Man cannot divest himself of these ideas. They arise naturally and necessarily in the spontaneous working of his nature, and are as- sumed in all his moral experience. It is not possible to resolve " these moral ideas ... by any process of thought into any more ultimate ideas on which they depend, or into any simpler elements of which they are made up/' They are, in the fullest sense of the term, original and independent ideas. There also arise, in experience, certain intuitive moral judgments. These may be all resolved into two: first, one is bound to do the best in all the re- lations in which lie may be placed ; second, one is bound to consider the right as supreme in its claims upon him, and so to put lightness above perfection or happiness in his actions. The first of these fur- nishes the germ-thoughts for all duties, the second determines what the standard and guide of duty shall 14 These moral judgments are not mere uncertain ralizations from experience, but intuitive and ividenl principles. The moral agent, in his nor- mal condition, immediately and intuitively discerns 32 THE GIST OF IT. the Tightness of them, and their binding force on him- self and all other like agents, now and always, in this world and in all worlds. . . . This may be shown by subjecting any one of them to the test of . . . con- sciousness. For example, take the love of our neighbor. Is it right, or wrong? If right, is it right necessarily, immutably, and universally, or only con- tingently, changeably, and in some cases only? Is it right for one man, and wrong for another ? right in America, and wrong in Asia or the far-distant parts of the universe ? right two thousand years ago, and wrong now? To all such questioning, the response of consciousness is clear and emphatic." It is true, further, that these moral judgments are made clearer as the individual is morally elevated. The moral en- lightenment of the Stoics was vastly superior to that of the Sophists of the time of Socrates, and in the writings of such men as Seneca and Marcus Aurelius Antoninus these moral judgments are found much more clearly recognized. In the system of Jesus of Nazareth, confessedly the noblest and most perfect of all moral teachers, " all these moral principles are at once fully and consciously recognized, and clearly and completely stated." These moral judgments are combined into an inner law, stamped upon the make-up of man's spirit, which constitutes both a rule in his action, and an expres- sion of the true performance of that action. That there is such a law in man's spirit-activity is not dis- proven by the fact that the conduct of men is often at variance with these principles. Every man's con- sciousness testifies that, for some reason, his nature THE FACTS OF LIFE. 33 is not in its proper condition. Conscious of the fact of moral weakness and wickedness, he is also con- scious that this state is not normal. As Pascal puts it, " There is a schism in the very soul itself. Two facts here present themselves, — the one, that man, by the very constitution of his mind, approves of moral good, and disapproves of moral evil ; the other, that he neglects the good, and commits the evil." All the great thinkers of the world who have examined con- sciousness in relation to this matter, agree in their belief in the existence and binding force of this inner moral law, or standard of action. The great German philosopher, Kant, says of it, " Two things there are, which, the oftener and the more steadfastly we consider them, fill the mind with an ever-new and ever-rising admiration and rever- ence, — the STARRY HEAVEN above, the MORAL LAW within. Of neither am I compelled to seek out its reality, as veiled in darkness, or only to conjecture its possibility, as beyond the sphere of my knowledge. Both I contemplate lying clear before me, and con- nect both immediately with the consciousness of my own existence. ... In the former, the first view of a countless multitude of worlds annihilates, as it were, my importance as an animal creation, which, after a brief and incomprehensible endowment with the powers of life, is compelled to refund its constituent matter to the planet — itself an atom in the universe — on which it grew. The other, on the contrary, immeasurably elevates my worth as an intelligence, and this through my personality, in which the moral law reveals to me a life independent of the animal 34 THE GIST OF IT. kingdom, nay, of the whole material world ; at least, if it be permitted to infer as much from the regulation of my being exacted by a conformity with that law, which is not restricted by the conditions and limits of this life, but stretches out to eternity." Kant's belief in the binding force of this inner law is thus expressed by Professor Bowen : 1 "It is obvious that the moral law is purely a priori. It discards all reference to experience ; it is of absolute and intrinsic obligation, prior to all command ; and it is universal, for it admits no exceptions, makes no compromises, and assumes authority over all intelligent beings, whether human or divine. Kant appropriately de- nominates it the categorical imperative. This fun- damental law of the practical reason bears the form of an ' imperative,' — that is to say, a command, — because man is not purely rational, but also a sensu- ous being, and the senses are generally in active op- position to the reason. It is not, like the maxims of prudence or utility, merely a hypothetical or condi- tioned command. It does not, like them, say, w Do this if you would avoid a whipping, do it if you would go to heaven, if you would be happy, if you would have wealth or honor with your fellow-men,' etc. But it is a l categorical imperative,' an absolute com- mand. It says, ' Do this, though the heavens should fall ; do it, though thereby you should lose every thing in this world, and should even forfeit all hope in the world which is to come ; DO IT, and think not at all of the consequences. Be just, and fear not.' This law operates upon conduct, because it is instinctively i Modem Philosophy, p. 248. TEE FACTS OF LIFE. 35 regarded, not merely with approbation, but with reverence and awe : we cannot disobey its behests, except with a feeling of shame and self-humiliation." Conclusive proof of the existence of this inner law, or standard, is found in the examination of conscious- ness when some moral action is brought before it for consideration. " The moral conclusions are reached by the comparison of the particular case to be tested with some general principle involved in this standard. For example, one sees a strong man take away the money of a weaker for no other reason than that he covets it. The act appeals to the spectator's sense of justice. But what is justice ? What decides it? There must be some principle or standard at the basis, by which to decide what man's just rights are. The spectator tries it by the principle that every man has a right to his own property. By this fundamental law he judges the act, and when he decides that it actually comes under this law, and violates it, he pronounces it wrong and unjust. There is evident reference to a moral standard, and the wrongness consists in the want of conformity to that standard. Chinese parents often murder their own female chil- dren. They do not immediately and intuitively decide this course to be right. There is reasoning somewhat on this wise: 'Is it right to destroy our child? Parents are bound to consult the best inter- of their offspring. The destruction of this child will save it from the incalculable evils of this present world, and will be for it 3 bet i interests: therefore it is right to destroy it ! ' Dr. Archibald Alexander teaches that the matter is referred to the general principle that 86 THE GIST OF IT. 'parents should consult the best interests of their offspring.' . . . That is, each case is referred to some principle or standard, by agreement or disagreement with which it is decided to be right or the opposite."' Thus this inner law becomes the rale of the spirit- activity. It is not meant that all men everywhere and always consciously recognize these principles. A moral agent may make application of these princi- ples in the concrete for a lifetime without ever com- ing to a conscious recognition of them as abstract principles or rules. A man may see intuitively that any particular act of violence against his neighbor is wrong, without ever having distinctly stated to himself the moral principle which requires a due regard to all his neighbor's interests. The moral decisions are made at the first intuitively ; but in the course of observation and experience, the intelligent man lays hold of the principle thus involved as an intuition, consciously states it to himself as a princi- ple of conduct, and intelligently applies it in regu- lating his life. The inner law is thus the rule for man's guidance in his separate moral acts. But a man's life is not simply a succession of separate acts. All his acts are related to each other in a connected series, and so the whole life may be regarded as one complete act. Hence this inner law becomes the expression to him of the true performance of his life- achievement. The question of the freedom of the will 1 is capa- ble, in view of these facts, of intelligent solution. 1 For these distinctions, tlie author is indebted to Dr. Ormond. THE FACTS OF LIFE. 37 All action of the will involves a choice of some kind. In spontaneous choice the action of the will is deter- mined by some impulse, a passion or desire of some kind, seeking its gratification, and suffered to move unchecked. In rational preference a new element is introduced. It is not a question of the gratification of an impulse, but of the attainment of an end, as in the case above referred to, of the young man deter- mining on mechanical pursuits. Hence the great matter is, what end to choose, and what means as best adapted to secure that end. There may be vari- ous ways open to the young man, as a course in an industrial school, or a training as apprentice in a machine-shop. When an end is chosen, the individ- ual sets it before himself as the goal of his efforts; and it also becomes a motive principle within him, inciting and guiding his exertion. But the end which is chosen is one among alternatives. At the least, it is a question whether to choose that specific end or not; or it may be which of various ends to choose. Thus, the young man might have to choose simply whether or not he would be a mechanic ; or the ques- tion might be whether to be a mechanic, or a doctor, a lawyer, or engage in some other occupation. There is thus involved a process of judgment, 1 or compari- son of the various ends presented, to learn their rela- tive importance and make choice intelligent. It is not a matter of indifference which end is chosen. In the whole process of judging, there is present the categorical imperative, conscience, insisting that cer- tain ends ought to be chosen, and certain means for I Pp 1!, 15. 38 THE GIST OF IT. the attainment of those ends ought to be fixed upon. No effort can divest the mind of this sense of ouglit- ness in its choice of ends, and so all ends are distin- guished on this basis ; and the choice of any one, resulting from this whole process of judgment, is a moral decision. The test of ends is thus worth ; of means, their fitness to secure the ends ; and so the supreme principle of choice, the law of the will, is moral design. Responsibility in choice is a fact of consciousness. It is dependent on two conditions : the choice must be free, and the one choosing must know what he is doing. The man who is compelled to sign a docu- ment giving away all his property, and one who is ignorantly betrayed into such an act, are not in either case held responsible for their action. What is meant by freedom of choice? It must be consistent with moral obligation, for this categorical imperative cannot be put away, with responsibility, for consciousness unhesitatingly affirms that man is responsible ; and with the law of motives, for con- sciousness emphatically asserts that all choice is by reason and in view of certain motives. The choice is self-determined. No outside agency compels the person to choose as he does. It is determined by the law of motives. A choice on the ground of no motive is inconceivable. But this law of motive is a law of the spirit's own nature, and so this is an essential idea in self-determination. The choice of an end involves the possession of power to reach that end. Choice is meaningless if the person have no inherent power to put forth in the realization of the THE FACTS OF LIFE. 39 end fixed upon. Freedom may then be defined as the power of self-determination according to the law of motive. Freedom is not a condition of obligation. Obliga- tion springs from the binding of the moral law, the categorical imperative. Man is weak and imperfect. But this law is perfect and absolute. It presses upon him, and demands compliance with its behests, regard- less of the efficiency of the individual. I ought does not include / can. On the contrary, when obligation appears, it creates the conditions of its own action ; so that I ought becomes a condition of I can. Freedom is thus not absolute and lawless. It is self-determination. No external force compels the action of the will. But the spirit is governed by a law arising from its own nature, requiring it to choose on the basis of knowledges secured by the knowing-power, and made motives by the power of emotion, testing all ends by their moral worth, and all means by their fitness to attain those ends. While much has been written regarding the aesthetic nature, — the beautiful, the sublime, the per- fect, taste and sentiment, have been discussed and re-discussed with great exhibition of aesthetic power, or in the baldest philosophical hair-splitting; yet, no such elaboration of the workings of this part of man's spirit-activity as in the realm of the ethical nature has ever been produced. This is, doubtless, due to the fact that tin.' ethical nature deals with action, and forces its operations upon the attention whether one will or no ; while the aesthetic nature, dealing only 40 THE GIST OF IT. with appearances, may be, sometimes must be, dis- regarded. A man may gaze upon Niagara, and be stirred by no feeling save a regret that so much water-power should run to waste ; the fair face of a beautiful maiden, mantling with the heavenly light of woman's purest, deepest, love, may fail utterly to arouse in his calloused spirit aught above the merest animalism : but the necessities of life force upon him the consideration of moral issues, and the recognition of ethical standards and distinctions. It is to be hoped that some one will supply this deficiency, and furnish art and literary criticism and construction a scientific basis and method, by carefully developing the psycho- logical steps and principles involved in this depart- ment of activity. Here the following may be stated as established. 1 That which is called the aesthetic nature is a com- plex operation of the simple powers of the spirit, analogous to the ethical nature. Knowledges are com- pared with an inner standard of the knowing-power ; and appropriate emotions, correspondent exactly to the result of the comparison, are then excited. The subject-matter of aesthetics is beauty, — the beautiful. This is rightly defined as "ideal perfec- tion revealed to the reason in some particular concrete object or combination of objects." 2 In other words, when, in the contemplation of any object or combi- nation of objects, the observer perceives that they embody some ideal of perfection, and that such em- 1 Ruskin: Modern Painters, vol. i. chap. i. Harris: Philosophical Basis of Theism, chap. x. McCosh: Emotions. ? Harris: Philosophical Basis of Theism, p. 230. TEE FACTS OF LIFE. 41 bodiment is complete, the feelings are quickened toward it as beautiful. The standard of comparison is the norm of the perfect, 1 the intuitive idea of per- fection. A thing is perfect which is constituted exactly in accordance with the laws and conditions of its being. The spirit's power of perceiving this exact realization is its power of comparison. Beauty is " ideal perfection revealed to the reason." It is, then, incorrect to affirm that beauty is created in the mind of the observer. The ideal of perfection must be embodied, or it could never be perceived by the observer ; and it would exist just as certainly if he were not beholding it. Sublime mountain scenerj r , as of Mont Blanc, could never be imagined if it had never been in some way embodied ; while the vener- able peak, rearing above the clouds its lofty head, white with eternal snows, under the varying play of shadows and ice-reflected hues, retains its majestic grandeur though no delighted eye gazes upon it with wondering admiration. Neither is it true to say that beauty results from a chance arrangement of parts or objects. The Venus de Milo is beautiful because it is an exact reproduction in marble of an ideally perfect human form. But it is the product of the highest genius, the embodiment of the ideal of some ancient sculptor. Liszt's Second Rhapsody, exqui- sitely beautiful, is the concrete expression, through a combinatioD of musical tones, of the composer's perfect ideal. The beautiful thus is not only a pos- sible means of communication from mind to mind. but necessarily is produced when the thought of 1 P. 12. 42 THE GIST OF IT. one spirit — a thought ideally complete — is perfectly embodied in such form that another intelligence can grasp it. Evidently, this revelation may be in varying de- grees. The revealing mind may not be exact and complete in its conception of the ideal, or the material of the embodiment may not be able to give the ideal adequate expression. In either case the effect will be varied. A young artist's ideas may not be clear, and his first etchings may be imperfect ; yet, while this would forbid their being called beauti- ful, they may be pretty. Where the ideal is not of a high order, and is too easily grasped by the ob- server, but, revealing itself in a landscape, adds to the picture-like grouping and position of the various objects the elements of quiet harmony and peace, it rises to the picturesque ; as in an ordinary country landscape, with its waving fields of golden grain, patches of woodland here and there, green meadows in which cattle are grazing, and, perchance, a brook winding like a silver thread across the scene. An ideal of' a higher order, perfectly embodied and exactly suited to the observer's power of perception and comparison, rises to the beautiful. Unusual manifestations of the aurora borealis — when the heavens are hung with heavy folds of richly colored drapery, flashing resplendent with ever-changing shades of silver and crimson, pink and blue, and fully exercising the mind in their contemplation — give to the beautiful an exquisite expression. In the electric storm, amidst the continuous blaze of lightning and incessant thunder-peal, the mind cannot take in the THE FACTS OF LIFE. 43 full meaning of the scene : immeasurable power in tremendous exercise, mysteriously wielded, overawes the spirit, and fills it with the idea of the sublime. The elements in which the ideal is embodied may be infinitely varied in their combination, and thus give rise to complex emotions. " The smoke curling from the cottage, in the sweet vales, say, of Wicklow or Kilkenny, in Ireland, deepens the sentiment of quiet and peacefulness as we cherish the idea of happy dwellers within. The Scotch and Swiss lakes are seen to sleep so quietly in scenes of terror. The deep gorges in the fiords of Norway, and of the Saginaw in Canada, guarded so strongly on both sides, are relieved by the living streams in their bosoms. The awfulness of the cataract is often illu- minated by the sheen and sparkle of the waters, which may be illuminated, as at Niagara and the Staubbach, by the rainbow on its spray, compared by Byron to love and madness. Often is there life communicated to a scene in Nature, which would otherwise be hard or dull, by a tree, or a plant, or a little flower clinging to the rocks, or coming out of the crevices modestly to show its beauties, and timidly to look for a brief season upon the da)' and the scene around it. These fleecy clouds lying on our hills and dales add to their loveliness as our day- dreams give a freshness to our dull habitual life. Scenes of terror are often softened by the leafy foli- age in which they are embosomed. The beauties of the Rhine are greatly enhanced by the antiquated towers associated with adventure, and the vineyards on its banks. In all such cases, the sentiment is 44 THE GIST OF IT. intensified by the unexpectedness of the object, by the dissimilarity and contrast. In other cases, all the objects conspire to produce one effect: the mountains in deep shadow, the steep precipice, the turreted rock, may all be before us, and in one view. The howling wind, the agitated wave, the ship driven helplessly, all enhance our idea of the power of these moving elements. It has to be added, that there may be associations which completely counteract and sup- press the aesthetic feeling. The man weighed down with earthly cares, or with sorrow, cannot appreciate beauty. Solomon tells us how vain it is to 4 sing songs to a heavy heart.' " x Thus is completed the view of the spirit-activity. Is it not a wonderful mechanism? It is the function of the man as knowing-power to gather knowledges, and present them to the spirit as ends of action ; the function of the man in the power of feeling to rouse himself in appropriate response to these ends of action, furnishing in turn the springs of action for the will ; and the business of the man in the power of will to choose among these ends, and incite and direct the spirit-powers toward the attainment of the one preferred. In its normal condition, working naturally and freely, the knowing-power would truthfully gather up knowledges, and work them into faultless systems ; the feelings would respond appropriately and powerfully to the various knowledges ; and the power of will would be exerted in rational, noble, plans, accomplishing great and effective purposes. i McCosh: Emotions, pp. 17G, 177. THE FACTS OF LIFE. 45 II. This spirit is to live and develop in a material universe. It must, therefore, have some means of communication which will enable it to operate in the physical world. Hence we find it enclosed in a body, and manifesting itself through it. Now, just as it was found -that the delicate and curiously involved constitution of the spirit is exactly adapted to the work which it must perforin; so, in this second mem- ber of the combination which, in its complex unity, we call man, the same wonderful suiting of parts and marvellous fitness of the entire mechanism for its purposes is noticeable. There Ls no mechanism in the world of living nature, or in the contrivances of man's inventive genius, which so unites as does the body of man, in small compass and with little weight, so many and such various appliances for work of as many different kinds, and involving such an expenditure of energy. The most superficial knowledge of anatomy and physiology awakens ad- miration and wonder, as the perfect appropriateness of each part, and the beautiful, mysterious, combi- nation of all the parts, are observed. The familiarity of these facts renders superfluous any discussion of them here, save in so far as is necessary for our main inquiry, — How is the body fitted for the needs and use of the spirit? The spirit must have a place in which to live and work in this material world. A bodiless spirit, wan- dering through the earth without "a local habita- tion," w ul I be in a pitiable condition for the work of 46 THE GIST OF IT. life. It must have some permanent and fixed home, where it can retire, and, as the strong man in his citadel, work out its purposes, and carry on its activ- ity, secluded from the world. Then, too, if the spirit is to have any communication with the material world, it must have some material medium of inter- course. Furthermore, it is in the physical world, and by means of physical forces and elements, that the work of the spirit is to be accomplished ; and it must, in consequence, be provided with a substantial, material instrument, through which it can affect and mould the physical world. All these purposes the body perfectly subserves. The basis of the body is the bony skeleton, fur- nishing a strong and substantial, but yet compact, graceful, and light, framework for the entire make- up. Upon this skeleton is placed the muscular sys- tem, which is the instrument of power, moving the parts of the skeleton, capable of sudden, great, and long-continued, exertion, and adapting the body to many employments. It is the same hand, and the same muscles, that use the pen, the scissors, the ball, the oar, and the needle ; that talk to the deaf, and read for the blind ; that draw beautiful strains of music from the piano and violin, and set the type for the printed page ; that give the clasp of friendship, and smooth the pillow of the dying : and all is gathered up in a form of lightness, grace, and beauty, unsurpassed in the intricacy and elegance of its combination. The spirit, dwelling in this body, must have some means of instant communication with every part, so THE FACTS OF LIFE. 47 as to know at once and direct all the physical activ- ity. For this purpose a wonderful telegraph, the nervous system, is inwoven throughout the entire organism, connecting all the organs of the five senses with the brain, so putting the spirit in communica- tion with the outside world, and transmitting infor- mation back and forth from every part of the body. It is true that this nervous system, culminating in the brain especially, is the direct machinery by which the spirit controls and uses the body ; it is also cer- tain that in this use, there is waste and exhaustion of the nervous force ; and it is very probable that the amount of exhaustion, of wear and tear, of consump- tion of nervous force, is proportioned to the use made of the nervous system by the spirit: but it does not follow that therefore the nervous system, or any part of it, is the spirit, or that nervous force and spirit force, nerve action and spirit action, are iden- tical. Without entering into detailed argument, the soundness of this conclusion is obvious from two considerations : — First, all movements in the physical world are determined by necessary laws, and may be predicted when those laws are known : to this fact the nervous system is no exception. But in no case is it pos- sible to determine with absolute certainty, from the condition of the nervous system, how much or what kind of spirit-action will be manifested. Second, spirit-activity, in both form and amount, is frequently out of all proportion to nervous action. If thought, Tccling. volition, are functions of the brain, then they must be governed exactly by the laws of 48 THE GIST OF IT. matter which rule the brain, and must, of necessity, be proportionate in both form and amount to the brain or nerve action, and necessarily consequent upon it. Then it unavoidably results that the best and most spirit-action will be found in connection with the most and best nerve or brain organization, and vice versa. Instead of this, however, every one is familiar with the instances of fine plrysical organi- zation, perfect nervous systems, in connection with moderate or ineffective spirit-activity; and likewise, some of the greatest manifestations of spirit-action, by some of the greatest thinkers among men, have been through weak and diseased nervous systems. These facts are wholly inexplicable if the spirit, the mind, be either a function of the nervous system, or a still more refined organization, but yet the same in nature as the material body. The theory of the spirit as a separate and different existence, operating through the body as its material mechanism, explains all the facts, and is, therefore, still to be maintained. The fact that no one can explain how the spirit or soul of man affects the physical organization, or can unfold the nature and mysterious workings of the connection of nerve- and mind-action, does in no way make against the truth of this theory. If we are to disbelieve all that is not and cannot be explained, blank and universal scepticism is the only and inevitable result. This wonderful machinery must be protected from the action of the outer world, must not be exposed to its direct influence; so a system of coverings, the various layers of the skin, is wound about the entire THE FACTS OF LIFE. 49 surface of the body, forming a safe defence against all the ordinary attacks of external influences. One thing more is needed. The use of any force or element results in consumption and waste of that used. Hence there must be some way of supplying this waste in the body, some means of preparing, and carrying to every part of the organization, fresh ele- ments to take the place of those consumed. The re- spiratory and digestive systems thus supply the body with fresh materials for its use, and expel worn-out and useless elements ; while the circulatory system carries throughout the body the supplies thus provided. It is, finally, needful that there be some directive force to rule and guide in the operation of these various systems ; something to give and preserve plan and organization in the body, to so control the distribution of supplies as to carry just what is needed to each part, and to then weave into every part the new product ; so that from the common supply furnished by the digestive sj'stem are woven here a muscle, there a nerve or bone, just as occasion requires. This work is performed by the mysterious agent known as life, 1 or vital force, which, from all the materials furnished, weaves, organizes, and renews, the body ; and in order that the time and energy of the spirit may be reserved for higher pur- poses, all this work of preparing and using the sup- plies needed for the renewal of the body is carried on through the respiratory, digestive, and circulatory systems, and under the guidance of the life-force, without the conscious control of the spirit. i Pp. 4.1, 4l* its sphere and material. 52 THE GIST OF IT. CHAPTER II. WHERE AM I? The general of an army must have his head- quarters, where he can receive all reports and infor- mation concerning his forces, the enemy, or the country, and whence he can issue his orders. Even if the army be in motion, the place of the general must be known to the commanders of the various divisions, and to the orderlies, so that communication with him may be rapid and sure. The workman must have his shop and tools, and they must be ready to his hand. It will not do for there to be constant uncertainty as to either the place or the material of his work. The scientist must know the progress of thought and discovery in his line of investigation, and the statesman must understand at what point in the development of national and race life his people are: otherwise, both alike risk failure and disappointment. It is essential for man likewise, if he is to accom- plish any life-work worth the doing, that he should know his situation, and the materials with which he is to carry out his purposes. He must be able to localize himself in space, in time, in the scheme of THE FACTS OF LIFE. 53 Nature, and in the unfolding of race-life. Tn thus finding where he is, the means with which he is to work will also become known. I. Only a few years have passed since a well-known NeAV-Engiand character made much sport for the "funny men " of the newspapers, by terming himself a " citizen of the universe." At first sight, it seems indeed absurd that a man should think of defining his situation with reference to the mighty universe of worlds which sweep with inconceivable rapidity and indescribable majesty through the limitless ex- panses of space. Modern science, however, demon- strates not only the possibility, but the absolute certainty, that at every instant of his life a man's exact location may be determined, with perfect accu- racy, from any portion of the material universe. Through the ether " this earth is in actual rigid contact with the most distant worlds in space, — in rigid contact, that is to sa}% through a medium which touches and envelops all, and which is inces- santly communicating from one world to another the minutest vibrations it receives." * By means of cer- tain of these vibrations, giving rise to the sensation of light, the distances of many of these worlds have been, within the limits of error, accurately measured ; and through the combined agency of light and gravi- tation- their size and density and weight are known. 1 Duke of Argyle: Unity <>f Nature, p. 9. 2 This term is used to include both centrifugal and centripetal forces. 54 THE GIST OF IT. Yet more. By the agency of this force l of gravi- tation, whose nature is wrapped in a mystery still baffling the closest scrutiny, the entire material universe, in all its parts, is combined into one vast mechanism. So delicate is the adjustment of the parts of this intricate machinery, and so rapid the action of the force controlling all, that the slightest movement of the smallest particle of matter in any part of the universe is instantly felt throughout all other portions ; while such is the all-comprehensive and powerful influence of this mysterious force, that it at once holds in their orbits with iron grasp the mighty worlds wheeling in their mazy combinations, and forms and balances the tiny dewdrop, sparkling on the grass-tip in the morning sunshine. Of this curiously involved machinery, man's body is a part; and thus, through the action of these physical forces, he is forever localized. Every movement of any part of the body is instantly photographed by the light, and borne away through space, or telegraphed by the force of gravitation to every particle of mat- ter in the most distant worlds. From this fixing of his situation, there is no escape, while man is in con- nection with the material universe. He may flit incessantly from place to place, scale the loftiest mountains, hide himself in the darkest caverns of the earth, traverse the trackless ocean or the more trackless air, or enshroud himself in the profoundest depths of the fathomless sea: yet at every instant of his various course his exact location has been 1 If it be a force at all. "The physical causes of gravitation are absolutely unknowu " (Unity of Nature, p. 124). THE FACTS OF LIFE. 55 necessarily fixed; and so perfect a record of his movements does he leave, through the action of these forces, combined with chemical agencies, that no great effort of the imagination is necessary to conceive, that, by some higher mathematics than man can use, every vibration can be traced back to its origin, and the place and nature of every action shown. Thus, at every moment of time, the relative posi- tion of each person in the entire universe is accu- rately and definitely fixed and known : and even lie who disbelieves in a personal supreme Deity, to whom he can say, "Thou, God, seest me!" — even he is driven, by the conclusive evidence of literal scientific fact, to the unwavering belief, the unques- tionable knowledge, that his position and movements in space are measured and fixed unerringly from the remotest bounds of the material creation. II. To fix one's date is an easy and seemingly a simple task ; e.g., June 1, 1887, A.D. Let us see, however, what is involved in this brief statement. A.I), is contrasted with and suggests B.C., bringing up at once the birth of Christ as the point from which, forward to the present, and backward to the beginning, all our reckonings run. From that date to the present we count with certainty. But how far back must we go to "the beginning"? To the time when man first appeared on this planet, and began his race-life? Later scientific progress vitiates the wild guesses of older enthusiasts, and modern 56 THE GIST OF IT. opinion is in favor of a comparatively recent date. But who will get a full conception of even these shorter chronologies ? The habit of some scientific speculators, of dealing with only enormous numbers, — "millions of years," "cycles of centuries," — lias generated the idea that any lesser concepts of time are too paltry for consideration. Let one, however, try to realize what is involved in the flight of time for simply six thousand or ten thousand years, and he will materially modify his opinions. Yet, if this be the date of man's beginning, and you succeed in picturing it vividly to yourself, you are still only on the outskirts of the measureless stretches of time in the history of the earth. Long, long ages before man appeared, the earth was teeming with life, animal and vegetable, preparing it for his use ; and still farther back, beyond abysses of time which mock the wildest imagination, the earth was being formed and fitted as the throne of life : and, while of much of that duration we are ignorant, while, had we the data to calculate it, its mathe- matical statement would be meaningless to our finite comprehension, yet every second has been measured off and reckoned, and, could we unravel the secrets of Nature, we could unerringly determine the exact date of every event, from the beginning of the for- mation of the earth until now. The scope of the content of time will probably give a more satisfactory conception. Dig down into the earth beneath your feet. Perchance you live on the drift, — a few hundred feet of unstratified dirt scattered over a large part of the face of America THE FACTS OF LIFE. 57 and Europe. If so, pass that by as one of the unsolved mysteries of science, unless you can accept the ice-sheet hypothesis, with its yet irreconcilable anomalies, or Donnelly's curious hypothesis, that all this was deposited by a comet with which our little planet came into collision. 1 Perhaps you may quickly find crystalline rocks, granites and schists. All these were once stratified, but have been changed in structure by various natural agencies. It would be an impossible task to attempt to penetrate directly through these layers of rock; but just as one may tilt, or set on edge, a pile of nicely folded papers, so, by the action of natural forces, these la} T ers of rock have been thrown up from the horizontal, and accu- rate measurements can be taken across their edges. Here measure : twenty thousand, thirty thousand, and — supplying by rigid mathematical calculations parts evidently worn away — forty thousand feet of stratified rock are found. Now, go to the lake or the river, and watch the deposit of earthy materials by the waters. Come back, and, intensifying largely, if you will, the action of those forces in past times, calculate the ages necessary for the deposit of those rocks, forty thou- sand feet in thickness. Yet this is not all of one deposit. Time and again during the process, deluge and earthquake have changed the surface of the globe, and interrupted the growth of rocky deposits ; while all the time the habitable portions were swarm- ing with life in increasingly complex and useful forms, and the remains of plant and animal alike 1 Ignatius Donnelly: Ragnarok; or, The Age of Fire and Gravel. 58 THE GIST OF IT. are part of the material of these rocks on which we move. Behind all this stretch the countless ages when — if the nebular hypothesis be true — the earth, torn from the sun, of which it had been a part, whirled in its orbit, a ball of fiery mist, and by long stages was condensed and cooled, until its outer surface hardened, and the first land was formed. All this is a history in time. It had a definite beginning, though we cannot fix the date, and has proceeded in time up to the perfecting of our present fair earth. The sweep of time may be viewed within a smaller sphere, — the history of man. Note here its com- prehensiveness. Man's life is a highly complex prod- uct. The inner spirit-life works out through the body in word and action, and embodies itself in the manners and customs of private, social, business, and public life ; in language, the vehicle of the mutual communication of a nation's ideas, and the surest means of their transmission to posterity ; in literature, with all its forms, so true an index of a people's life ; in religious systems and ceremonies, whether the crude fetichism of the African, the coarse sensuality of the Mohammedan, or the pure morality and ennobling worship of the Christian ; in law and philosophy, in invention and discovery, in all the numberless wuys which make up civilization, this life is manifested : and all this is contained in Time. Not, however, of only one class or nation of peo- ple is this true. The lordly merchant-prince contri- butes to Time the record of his gigantic commercial schemes, and the losses and gains of his golden mil- TUE FACTS OF LIFE. 59 lions ; with equal fidelity the day-laborer, who hauls the bales, or piles the brick, of the merchant, yields to the safe-keeping of Time the daily record of his work : and with equal exactness and integrity Time receives and treasures both. The stunted Eskimo, hunting, in an arctic atmosphere, the seal and wal- rus, and living on their uncooked oil and blubber, has no thought of the record of Time ; the half- naked African, fleeing from the savage lion or the more cruel slave-driver, or hunting, through forest and jungle, his daily food, dreams not that his actions are ever included in Time ; the cultured, learned, European savant, versed in the lore of all ages, studies, with the absorbing zeal of a scientist, both Eskimo and African, and is too busy to remember that he, too, is adding to the wonderful record of Time : but, indifferent alike to learning and ignorance, to wealth and poverty, to culture and savagery, exactly portraying each in his truo light and proper surroundings, Time gathers and preserves them all in his all-comprehensive, his infinite embrace. Contemplate the earth at any instant, with its hun- dreds of millions of inhabitants, each in his place, and all in ceaseless activity : of them, and of all their surroundings, Time is forming his truthful record. Such has been the process during all the thousands of years since man began to be ; and, as we slowly and with difficulty turn the leaves of this marvellous book of Time, we find that in it have been carefully garnered and carried all the life of all men from the beginning until now. Take another point of view. Measure Time by 60 THE GIST OF IT. what has been accomplished in it. The ruins of Western Asia reveal mighty civilizations, which grew and perished thousands of years ago. In the Tigro- Euphrates valley the succeeding nations of the Chal- daeans, Babylonians, Persians, built great walled cities, whose remains are marvellous in their extent and grandeur. They had thoroughly organized govern- ments, admirable military establishments, elaborately arranged religious observances, the greatest luxuries of civilized life. But twenty-two hundred years ago they were a decaying people. All our modern civilization looks back to Greece and Rome for the inspiration of its laws, philosophy, and literature ; to Judsea, for the sources of its reli- gion ; and to the ancient Teuton, for its spirit of individual liberty. Grecian arms held brief sway over almost all the ancient world ; for centuries Rome was the sole ruler of the race known to antiquity : but twenty-eight hundred years ago the Greeks were petty tribes, the place of many of whom cannot be fixed with certainty ; the Romans had no historic existence for two hundred and fifty years afterward, and nine hundred years later both civilizations were almost overwhelmed by the inrush of Northers bar- barians. Twelve hundred years ago, Mohammed, an outlawed enthusiast, with scanty followers, made his Hegira ;* but for four hundred years his vast reli- gious empire has been waning. Less than four hundred years ago Columbus started out westward over the Atlantic, to find a short route 1 The Hegira, or flight of Mohammed from Mecca, occurred Sept. 20, G22 A.D. THE FACTS OF LIFE. 61 to India, and roused all Europe to the consciousness of a new world beyond the sea. How marvellous the achievements of the race since then ! The entire earth, save the frigid poles, and some of the fast- nesses of the Dark Continent, has been traversed by scientific discoverers ; and its fauna and flora, its climate, all the phenomena of land, air, and water, have been observed, classified, interpreted. Every people in Christendom has been reconstructed ; and on this Western Continent, within three hundred years, the mightiest civilization of the world has been developed. Meanwhile the world of Nature has been wondrously studied and mastered, espe- cially in the last century. The cotton-gin, the loom, and the sewing-machine, have multiplied and cheap- ened all kinds of wearing material, greatly to the health and comfort of millions ; the printing-press has forever unfettered human thought, and diffused intelligence among all classes of the people ; while the railroad, the telegraph, and the telephone, have almost annihilated space and time, and brought the most distant lands into immediate communication with each other. Add to this the results of chemi- cal, mechanical, astronomical, biological, investiga- tion, — the sum is astounding. No department of human activity, in the home, the counting-room, or the school, but is impelled by .these natural agencies, and makes use of them for its purposes ; while, by the patient labors of scholars, all the treasures of antiquity are being poured at our feet, ready for our service. Yet all this is a work accomplished in time, — in how brief a time! 62 THE GIST OF IT. Another method, akin to this last, may be taken to increase the vividness of the conception of the vast content of time. Consider, in three great spheres, the means of power which have been accu- mulated. First, in relation to the physical world, note how greatly the achievement of man is increased by the many material forces at his command. Steam, me- chanics, electricity, are the mightiest agencies in the hand of modern man. Two hundred and fifty years ago the fastest vessels were weeks in crossing the Atlantic, and when the American colonies sent to the mother-country for supplies, if storms of even a moderate character interfered, they might starve in their wild home before the fresh food reached them. Now the merchant, sitting in his office in New York, flashes across the ocean his orders for goods, and in six days they are laid at his door. Within a century past a six-column folio, with an edition of a few hundred copies, toilfully worked off on the old Franklin press, was a marvel of news- paper enterprise. Every morning now, our great city dailies issue scores of thousands of copies of papers, containing a bulk of fresh matter equal to half, or sometimes all, the New Testament. When, five years ago, the revised New Testament was issued in New York, our leading dailies gave in their columns the next morning a complete reproduction of it. Twenty- five years ago the North-West was covered with heavy forests, and a mill which cut a few million feet of lumber in a season was rare ; now the great mills of Michigan cut a million and a half feet of lumber THE FACTS OF LIFE. 63 a week, besides enormous quantities of lath and shingles : and it is easy to look forward to the date near at hand when those vast regions will be so stripped of their timber, that some substitute for lumber in our civilization must needs be devised. The results of mechanical invention are surprising in the extreme. What would Franklin have said of such an invention as the Scott Railroad Press, which prints, cuts, and folds fifty thousand news- papers an hour? or of the duplex telegraph instru- ments, whereby eight messages can be sent, and eight received, simultaneously, "at one point, over the same wire ? or of the pin-making machine, which cuts, heads, and points them at the rate of two hundred and fifty a minute? or of the new railroad telegraph, whereby, using the inductive power of the earth it- self, messages can be sent from the trains at any point on the road? The possibilities of achieve- ment in manufactures and commerce have been multiplied a thousand-fold by these agencies, and their application is being constantly increased. In the higher sphere of the mental life, in' litera- ture, law, philosophy, government, art, the thought and experience of the race have developed vast re- sources of power. The thought-products of all times and peoples have been made accessible, and their critical and comparative study has given birth to a whole company of sciences. The essential and acci- dental ideas and principles of the thinking of many nations have been distinguished and classified, and ideal models and systems scientifically constructed. So now we have schools for the education of men 64 THE GIST OF IT. in statesmanship, in the fundamental principles and varying forms of all government, and of international law and intercourse. Literature and philosophy have been enriched by the products of past ages, and the principles developed for the (coming) ideal and per- fect work in these lines. All these are means of power for the exertion of tremendous influence in the thinking world. The man who grasps and un- derstands the philosophic thinking of the race since the days of Thales, Anaxagoras, Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle ; or the literature of the Hindoo, Greek, Latin, and Teutonic peoples, in its growth and de- velopment, its sources and influence ; or the develop- ment of governments, from the old despotisms of Asia and Europe, the republicanism of Judaea, the beginnings of federation in Greece three hundred years before the Christian era, Roman citizenship and centralization and mediaeval feudalism, down to modern liberty as exemplified in England and our own country ; or the outworking of aesthetic genius in the unrivalled painting and sculpture of Zeuxis and Parrhasius, Phidias and Praxiteles, Michael Angelo, Titian, Rembrandt, and Landseer, and the music of Beethoven, Mozart, and Mendelssohn, — the man who is master of any one or more of these, or numerous other, departments of the thought-life of the race, has it in his power to change and mould the life of men to an almost unlimited extent. In the moral and religious life of men, there has been the same immense growth of powerful agencies. In this sense the present is one of the most intensely moral and religious ages of the world's history, THE FACTS OF LIFE. 65 namely, that men's minds are very busy with the problems presented in this sphere of life. Theolo- gian, philosopher, scientist, merchant, mechanic, all are greatly exercised over the complicated questions of man's nature, his relation to the future world and to God — the meaning, consequences, and cure of sin, the moral elevation of the race. Whatever the final result shall be, certain it is that never in the history of the world have moral issues been the focus of such a tremendous array of opposing forces. Many scientists, some of the leading ones, authorities in their own departments, and powerful, attractive writers, assert, on the basis of modern science, the eternity of matter, and its all-sufficiency to account fur the universe without the existence or interven- tion of a Deity. Scholars join them in refined and cultured agnosticism. The masses, particularly those who in densely crowded countries are ground under the heel of remorseless competition and wicked social and governmental tyranny, find in these teachings a release from patient endurance of legal wrong, and rush, whether logically or not, into misguided social- ism, insane communism, and suicidal anarchy, threat- ening to overthrow the civilizations of Christendom, and revolutionize society to its foundations. The liberty of conscience, of thought and of speech, which forms the bulwarks of modern governments, and all the enginery of modern life, which enables men so quickly and widely to influence their fellows, make rapid and threatening the rise and spread of these ideas. Opposed to tins combination of agencies, enjoying the same freedom, and using the same 66 THE GIST OF IT. means, stands Christianity in its various forms. Christian scientists, the full equals in recognized ability and authority of their opponents, affirm that modern science necessitates the existence and work- ing in and through Nature of a Deity ; and Christian scholars and philosophers strive with them to beat back the rising tide of materialism. While the social- istic tendencies among the masses are met and con- tested by the equally powerful influences which pervade all society, favoring settled Christian gov- ernment. Verily, it is a battle of the giants. By means of this diffusion of knowledge, and all this complicated machinery of effort, a swiftness and a sweep of influence such as never before possible is brought within the reach of man. All this, however, all this accumulation of energy, of means of power, in all these spheres, has been accomplished in time. Such, then, is the content of time, and such its vital unity in all its hurrying flight. How it exalts our present position ! How it magnifies and illumines the future ! How it inspires to effort ! " Heirs of all the ages," we need not go into life to try all ex- periments, and make all tools for ourselves. Many questions, even of those about which multitudes are troubled to-day, were settled by the experience of hu- manity long ago ; and the effort of generations has discovered and produced agencies of all kinds for work. Let the young man, therefore, measuring his life by the meaning of all past time, remembering that he is living under the eye of the ages of past history, and acting for all future time, gather up all available products of past experience, and with lofty THE FACTS OF LIFE. 61 ideals, settled purpose, unwearying toil, bend all his powers toward the greatest, the noblest, possible achievement. III. On page 9 the statement was made that " the uni- verse of existence in which man is placed is an accordant thought-system." This is one of the mas- terly developments of modern investigation. All science is based upon and confirms the truth. No matter how the fact be accounted for, it remains un- questioned that the entire scheme of existence is com- bined into one organic whole; and all science has for its object the discovery and use of the component elements of this whole, as thus mutually related. At the basis of all, in what is termed the inorganic world, are the simple elements and forces of matter. All matter is composed of (at least) sixty-four ele- ments ; i.e., parts which as yet defy all attempts to analyze them into simpler parts. Oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, carbon, gold, iron, zinc, are a few of these elements. The entire physical world, and — so far as can yet be determined — all the material universe, are built up by combinations of these elements. Now, it is found that these elements are governed by exact and unchangeable laws 1 in their working and com- 1 It is well to define lure exactly what is meant by the term " law," in this discussion, as it will frequently oceur. There is much loose talk about the "reign of law," as though law were a separate existence imposing its rule on matters This is a grave con- fusion of ideas, and Leads to much mischief. There are several ways in which the term "law" may be used. First, a mere sequence of events. Certain events are found to occur always in a specific order, or under definite conditions; and that sequence is the " law " of the 68 THE GIST OF IT. bination. Each has certain inherent properties, which it always manifests under given conditions : e.g., ni- trogen will not support combustion; a flame put into a jar of it is almost instantly quenched. Again, in their combination each element has a fixed ratio and power of combination. In some instances an element will have several different powers of combination, but they are all multiples of one basal * power : e.g., com- mon ammonia, H 3 N, is the product of the combination of three molecules of hydrogen and one molecule of nitrogen ; the combining weight of nitrogen is 14.01 times that of hydrogen, and so, in forming the com- pound, the parts are taken, by weight, in this propor- tion. Nitric acid, HN0 3 , is composed of one molecule of hydrogen, one of nitrogen, and three of oxygen , or, by weight, 1 part of hydrogen, 14.01 parts nitro- gen, 44.88 parts oxygen. Nitrous anhydride, N 2 3 , is made up of two molecules of nitrogen and three of oxygen ; by weight, 28.02 parts of nitrogen and 44.88 parts of oxygen. events. Second, this uniformity in the occurrence of the events must have its cause in the action of some force or forces: this cause, though not understood, may be called the "law" of the events. Third, "law" may mean the exact measure and definition of the controlling force, as when gravitation is shown to be attraction be- tween bodies, exerted directly as the mass, and inversely as the square of the distance. Fourth, " law " may signify the relation he- tween several forces, which are combined with each other, and fitted to each other for special ends. Fifth, " law " may be used of some ahstract idea, necessarily derived from known facts, but itself a pure conception; e.g , the first law of motion. Here the term is used in the third sense: at a later stage in the treatise, the fourth meaning is also made use of. (This distinction of the meanings of " law " is admirably treated in the Duke of Argyll's Reign of Law, chap. 2.) 1 Basal = primary, fundamental. TUE FACTS OF LIFE. 69 This disposition to form compounds, and all its attendant phenomena, are embraced in the law of chemism, — chemical affinity. There are some very curious, unexplained problems in the operation of these elements. One of these is isomerism, — the fact that two compounds may have the same ele- ments in the same proportions, and yet manifest dif- ferent properties, as gum, cellulose, and starch, each C 12 H 10 O 10 , — twelve molecules of carbon, ten of hydrogen, and ten of oxygen. The difference is supposed to be due to a different arrangement of the particles. Allotropy is the manifestation of different properties by molecules of the same substance : thus, common oxygen is spoken of as 2 ; i.e., two atoms to the molecule. But ozone is also the pure gas oxygen, and its peculiar properties are explained by supposing that in it the molecule is 3 . Another very strange phenomenon is catalysis, — a case in which, in order to produce a certain chemi- cal change in a compound, another substance must be present in the operation ; and yet the work of that other substance is in no way perceptible, and when the operation is over, and it is removed, it is abso- lutely unchanged. When magnesium dioxide, Mn0 2 , and potassium chlorate, KC10 3 , are heated together, the oxygen is entirely removed from the potassium chlorate. But, although the action will not take place without the presence of the magnesium dioxide, it remains unchanged. Again, each element lias its preferences among the others, — will unite with Borne more readily than with Others, and with some, perhaps, not at all. Oxygen 70 THE GIST OF IT. will unite with almost all the other elements. Ar- senic unites only with oxygen, hydrogen, chlorine, bromine, and iodine. None of these problems, how- ever, affect the primary statement, — that all the movements and combinations of these elements take place under fixed laws and specific conditions ; and, when the conditions are fulfilled for the production of any effect in their working, that effect necessarily follows, and may be accurately predicted. The forces of matter, or which operate in matter, are likewise subject to established laws and condi- tions, under which only, but under which always, they manifest themselves. The force of chemism, or chemical attraction, has been already referred to. Sound, heat, light, electricity, all are produced by vibrations in some transmitting medium. Sound is produced by the vibrations of the air or any other material substance through which it may pass, as water, wood, or iron, the vibration being car- ried from molecule to molecule in the medium. The amount of force necessary to produce a certain amount of vibration in a given medium, and the rate with which the vibration will travel through that medium, are fixed, and have been ascertained. Sound is car- ried more easily and rapidly through water than through the air, and through iron with greater ease and swiftness than through either air or water. The writer stood, one bright, calm summer morning, on the shore of Lake Michigan. Half a mile away a youth was seated on the end of a pier running fifty yards out into the water, fishing. His movements were only partially perceptible ; but through the water THE FACTS OF LIFE. 71 tli ere was borne, with great clearness, the sound of a mouth-organ which the boy was manipulating to the tune of "Home, Sweet Home," — probably to attract the fishes to his bait. The same amount of force which failed to carry the vibration through the air bore it easily through the water, and the proportion of this force is easily measured and fixed. Heat, Jight, and electricity, are produced outside our atmosphere by vibrations in the ether, — a highly at- tenuated form of matter filling the space between all worlds. 1 Whether the vibrations are in the same medium in our world is unknown ; but it is conjec- tured that the ether may permeate all other forms of matter, and be the universal medium of the trans- mission of vibratory force. However that may be, these forces are under necessary laws. Heat and light are produced by vibrations at right angles to the direction in which the force is moving. The two forces differ in the length of their vibrations, those of light being longer than those of heat; and the various colors are due to the rapidity of the light vibrations. Both these forces move in straight lines. In passing from a looser to a denser medium, or vice versa, they are deflected in direction in exact proportion to the difference of density in the two media and the angle at which the force enters the second medium, thus giving rise to the phenomena of refraction. When they meet a substance which will not admit of their passage, at all or only in part, the force is absorbed by the substance, or reflected back from it ; and here the same fact of necessity rules, for while all sub- 1 P. 63. 72 THE GIST OF IT. stances have not the same transmitting, absorbing, or reflecting power, yet in the case of each substance these powers or properties are unchangeable, and, in many instances, are definitely known. Electricity, while perhaps most obedient and adapt- able for man's use, is the least understood of all the forces. Enough is known, however, to demonstrate that it, too, is under the same rigid rule. It can be produced in any required amount, and in any specific form, by observance of the proper conditions. The telegraph, telephone, electric light, electroplating, electrotyping, all are applications of this force, wherein it is made to accomplish a definite and predicted work. So with the forces usually known as mechanical forces : the cohesion of particles of matter, either as the parts of one substance, like the particles of iron, or as of different substances, as the cohesion between the particles of glue and those of the substances it binds together ; the elasticity of substances, resulting from their cohesion, and manifested in various differ- ent forms, so that it is known just how much force must be applied, and at just what angle, to bring a certain quantity of a definite kind of matter into a specific position, as, to lengthen half an inch a rod of steel three feet long and half an inch in diameter ; the resistance offered to forces acting externally, — all these and other such forces are known to oper- ate under unvarying laws. Even gravitation, that strange influence 1 which we hardly dare term a force at all, acts between bodies on the certain law 1 P. 54. THE FACTS OF LIFE. 73 "directly proportionate to the mass, and inversely proportionate to the square of the distance." All the organization of the universe depends on the absolute immutability and inexorableness of these laws. If the force of gravitation were for an instant to be relaxed, the stars would rush from their orbits, every thing on their surfaces would be thrown into confusion, and wreck would result throughout all space. If iron and steel were sometimes solid, and again, under the same conditions exactly, would run like water, what use could be made of them ? Un- certainty in the operation of heat or electricity would stop all machinery, and silence all telegraphs. It is, of course, from one point of view, unfortunate, that when the pressure of steam in a boiler passes a cer- tain fixed point, depending on the condition of the metal, the resistance of the boiler is overcome, and it is hurled in fragments, carrying wreck and death in its course ; but, on the other hand, it is exceedingly fortunate, that, so long as the pressure does not reach that limit, the boiler will certainly not explode, and that the limit of resistance in any given case is so easily ascertained. All mechanical industry proceeds on this latter truth, and is possible only because of it. The building of houses, farming, and even pre- paring of food, all assume the absolute changelessness and certainty of the operation of these physical forces. Another principle is involved, which accounts for the great diversity, and oftentimes apparent freedom, of the operations of Nature. All results in Nature are produced by the adjustment of these necessary 74 THE GIST OF IT. laws. For example, a suspension bridge is swung over Niagara. All the weight of the bridge — which is simply another term for the attraction of its parti- cles toward the earth's centre — is exerted to throw the bridge to the bottom of the river; and this is increased by the passage of objects over it, or the force of the wind. The cohesion of the particles with each other, and with the fastenings on each shore, operates to hold it in position. The bridge remains in place because of the counterbalancing of the two sets of forces. Again, hydrogen will not support life if inhaled , oxygen is the cause of all the combustion in the uni- verse, and would, if free to act, wrap the earth and air in a sheet of flame ; but the two, when combined in proper ratio, form water, which is essential to the life of the body, and is the deadly enemy of fire. Gravitation is a name for the action of two oppos- ing forces, — the centrifugal force, which, alone, would hurl all bodies away into the depths of space ; and the centripetal force, which, alone, would dash all bodies against the centre about which they are re- volving. The system of the universe is kept in equilibrium by the constant and perfect balancing of the two forces. The " Modoc " locomotive is made of ninety tons of metal, — iron, steel, and brass, — a weight which no known human contrivance could lift or move as " dead weight." But by the adjustment of parts, balancing of wheels and rods, and direction through it all of the force of steam, the engine flies over the rails at the rate of fifty miles an hour, dragging with THE FACTS OF LIFE. 75 it many times its own weight in loaded cars. All new inventions, as well as all present operations, are due to the discovery of new ways in which these forces can be adjusted. Yet it is to be remembered that all these adjust- ments are likewise in the region of certainty, though not of necessity. That is to say, there is no reason which makes it necessary for a man to combine and adjust physical materials and forces in such a way as to produce a locomotive ; or when it is produced, there is no inexorable compulsion which obliges him to open the valves for the movement of the steam, and start the engine on its journey. But when the adjustment is made, it is absolutely certain that the locomotive will be the result ; and it will move over the rails when the track is clear, just as certainly as the valves are opened, and the steam given free course through the parts of the machinery. While, if the adjustment be in any way varied, the result is changed. The locomotive cannot print newspapers, nor can the press weave cloth. A striking instance which illustrates the reign of necessity in these adjustments of physical elements, occurred some years ago at Revere, Mass. The Ban- gor express ran into the Beverly accommodation, as it stood at the station, passing half-way through one car before it stopped. The engineer was arrested, and tried for manslaughter. He affirmed that he was running on the schedule time, fifteen miles an hour: the prosecution charged that he was running thirty miles an hour. The weight of the express was furnished one of the professors in the Massachusetts 76 THE GIST OF IT. Institute of Technology, who calculated the momen- tum of the train and the inertia of the car, and found that the momentum at fifteen miles an hour would be just enough to carry the express half-way through the car. At thirty miles an hour, the momentum would have carried it four times as far. The engineer was, of course, at once released. This furnishes the mechanism of the universe. These physical elements and forces, governed by necessary and unchangeable laws, but so related that they can be combined and adjusted to counterbalance and work with each other in the accomplishment of a great variety of results, are at the basis of all the operations of Nature, and give the material and con- ditions for all further activity. Now, other princi- ples are introduced to make use of this material. What, in its essence, life, 1 or vital force, is, human science has so far failed to discover. Its presence in a body, or disappearance from it, makes no perceptible difference in the weight of the body ; and all chemi- cal analysis fails to reveal it. But it is that some- thing, — force, energy, if you will, — which takes these elements and forces of the inorganic world, and weaves them into an organized whole, according to a definite and complete plan, so that, because of their 1 " All the forces which build up a tree, or which are employed in the growth of an animal, or which move his limbs in obedience to his will, are without any exception the same physical forces which operate in the inorganic world. What is called life is simply a di- rective, architectonic influence which guides the physical forces in their action." (A. A. Hodge, D.D., Presbyterian Review, January, 1886, p. 185.) For convenience of language, we shall speak of this influence, whatever it be, as the life-force. THE FACTS OF LIFE. 77 adjustments, new and diverse operations are possible ; and which, further, builds the organism up to matu- rity, — following again a methodical plan, — removes from it all worn-out particles of matter, and replaces them with new, thus preserving it in perfect condition and working. When this life, this vital force, disap- pears, all the powers of the organism as such vanish; and it is resolved, under the operation of natural laws, into its component material elements, — this process being known as death. Two other facts must be noticed regarding the operation of life : — First, Life always is produced by life. Any mani- festation of life in a new organism, is the result of the action of life in some other organism. Many attempts have been made to develop life from dead matter; i.e., matter in which no life was present. But all such efforts have failed, and modern science is agreed that life can be produced only from pre- existing life. Second, Life manifests itself in different forms, and these forms are not interchangeable. All forms of organized matter — i.e., matter organized by life — can be reduced to a simple form, called protoplasm. All efforts to detect the differences in* the various forms of protoplasm have been unavailing. Yet it is unquestionably demonstrated that some difference exists. The protoplasm of the oyster always weaves an oyster, and nothing else; the protoplasm of the moss-rose produces invariably a moss-rose; while that of the white-oak just as certainly makes a white-oak, and, with no less precision, that of the 78 THE GIST OF IT. lion and the man organize respectively a lion and a man. The first great form in which life manifests itself is that known as plant or vegetable life. Of this there are many different forms, there being over a hundred and twenty thousand distinct species of plant life now known, but all are united in one complete system. 1 From the lichens which veil the rugged bareness of the mountain rocks, the mosses which carpet the forests and shroud the prostrate forms 6f fallen trees, to the spreading banyan under whose leafy shade an army can find shelter, the towering palm whose fruit and sap furnish food and drink to the Indian, — all are combined into one accordant and progressive whole. Now, all this vegetable life serves a threefold pur- pose in the scale of life : — First, It preserves the condition of the air which is necessary for the support of the higher form of animal life. The air is a mixture of oxygen and nitrogen, in the proportion of twenty parts of the former to eighty of the latter, with some other gases present in minute quantities. This proportion is the one best adapted to animal life, and is found to be everywhere * the same, except when purely local causes vary it: specimens of air have been tested from Chimborazo, Mont Blanc, the deserts of Africa, the middle of the ocean, and from a height of twenty- two thousand feet above the earth's surface ; and in every instance the same proportion is found. But 1 C. Dresser: Unity in Variety. McCosh : Typical Forms and Special Ends in Creation. E. H. Balfour: Class-Book in Botany. Etc. THE FACTS OF LIFE. 79 all the countless multitudes of animals on the earth are constantly, as they breathe, changing this propor- tion ; for, when they inhale the air, the oxygen is taken from it, purifies the blood, and is carried along in it to all parts of the body; and, when the air is exhaled from the lungs, it goes out, not only robbed of its due proportion of oxygen, but also laden with various impurities, especially carbonic-acid gas — a deadly poison to all animal life. So rapid and so great is the change thus produced, that, if there were no counteracting influence, in a very little time the entire atmosphere of the earth would become so polluted that all animal life would be destroyed. Here comes in the work of the vegetable life. Plants, as well as animals, breathe oxygen, though in very small quantities. But, by a peculiar digestive process, they absorb from the air the carbonic-acid gas, and thus restore the equilibrium of the elements of the atmosphere. 1 In the second place, vegetable life furnishes the bulk of food for animal life. All animals must have some inorganic materials for their support, which they take directly from the inorganic world : this is true especially of salt, air, and water. But in gen- eral, it is true, that while animal and plant organisms are both built up from inorganic, physical elements, yet the animal organism can assimilate those ele- ments only when they have first been wrought over in the vegetable life. The human body is composed 1 There is an opportunity here for tho scientifically curious to determine whether, in the present condition <>f the air, plant and animal life are distributed in a necessary equality over the earth. 80 THE GIST OF IT. of inorganic elements few in number, — oxygen, hy- drogen, nitrogen, carbon, calcium, silicon, magnesium, iron, and some others. 1 But, if it be attempted to support the human organism by feeding to it these elements directly, decay and death quickly ensue. These elements must be taken up by the plant life, and wrought over into wheat, corn, potatoes, rice, apples, grapes, and such fruits ; and then the animal can feed on these products of vegetable chemistry, and weave the elements into its own physical being. The fact that many animals, like the lion, are wholly carnivorous, and others, like man, partially . so, does not affect the proposition. For, in these instances, the proof is only that there is a still higher complex- ity of organization, so that the inorganic elements must be worked over in both the vegetable and the animal life before these creatures can make use of them. A third great purpose served by the vegetable life is in providing additional material for the work of animal life. The rocky cave, hollowed out by the action of physical forces, of heat or water, furnishes the lion a den. The mole burrows through the soil, and constructs in the earth a home of wonderful in- tricacjr and beauty of architectural design. But the bird weaves its nest of grasses, straws, and other materials, produced by vegetable life. The beaver constructs its dams and homes from the wood given by the trees of the forest. Human civilization has been absolutely dependent on the timber which was 1 Sulphur, phosphorus, chlorine, fluorine, potassium, sodium, lithium. (Carpenter: Physiology, p. 80.) THE FACTS OF LIFE. 81 fashioned into the ships of commerce, the bridges of highways, the buildings for trade and home life, and the furniture with which these are filled. Above the vegetable stands the higher form of animal life. Recent investigation shows that the two great departments shade almost imperceptibly into each other ; but yet the distinction is clear and unmistakable. No one would think of calling a horse a vegetable, or a cabbage an animal. A few considerations will show the superiority of this form of life. As has been shown, the work of all vegetable life is preparatory to that of animal life, and its products are used by the animals for their purposes. But, further, the plant is fixed in position. It cannot move from its place, either to gather food or to com- plete its own functions. It can only make use of what elements are brought within its reach ; and for the performance of some functions, like the fertiliza- tion of many plants, it is dependent on the action of the wind or of insects, birds, and other animals. Connected with this, is the fact of a much simpler mode of existence. The change of surroundings and habits, the building of homes, and all such operations which are common enough among animals, are, from the nature of the case, denied to the plant. The entire sphere of its development and occupation, though complete in itself, is on a lower plane than that of the animal. There are, to be sure, a few animals of the lowest forms, which are likewise stationary in position. Hut, in almost the whole animal world, there is this freedom of movement; 82 THE GIST OF IT. and how marvellously it multiplies and enriches the play of life ! All Nature is brightened and made glad by the free movements of the living animals. The gambols of deer and lambs, the flight and sport of birds, are among the beautiful pictures of the world, and, besides their own enjoyment, have much to do with increasing the pleasure of man. Like the vegetable world, the animal world is also organized into one whole. 1 At the bottom are the protozoans, the forms of life which are on the border- line between the vegetable and animal, such as the present infusoria ; and, in geologic times, the nummu- lites, a microscopic form of life which so abounded that in some places limestone ridges ten thousand feet in thickness are formed, almost wholly of its remains, and from these comes the admirable nummu- lite limestone of commerce. Above this, the first distinctly marked form of animal life, are the radi- ates, so called because the organism radiates in structure from a common centre : the starfish and the coral polyps are instances of these. A higher form is that of the mollusks, animals like the snail and oyster, which have soft, inarticulated bodies. With the articulates, the next form in ascent, greater complexity of structure is developed. This includes the crustaceans, or animals with hard shells fitted to an articulated body, like the crab and lobster ; and insects, as bees, wasps, and dragon-flies. Highest of all are the vertebrates, animals that have a jointed backbone, which encloses the spinal cord, and about 1 Professor L. Agassiz: Contributions to the Natural History of the United States, vol. i., Essay on Classification, etc. THE FACTS OF LIFE. 83 which all the structure is formed. Fishes, frogs, birds, and all forms of mammals, as dogs, elephants, and monkeys, are specimens of the kinds of life embraced in this class. This completes the organization of the physical world. Through it all runs a connecting-line, from the simple elements and forces of matter up to the highest form of animal life. Each step prepares the way for the next higher ; and it, in turn, while using all below it, is itself preparatory to that which is above it. At the very summit of this system, man is placed. Living and working in a material universe, he must be in such connection with it as to enable him to accomplish proper results. 1 The body of man is, therefore, at the culmination of the physical organization of the world, and is so linked with every step in it as to be able to exert influence upon it. Composed of physical elements and forces, elabo- rately combined and delicately adjusted, it is subject to the laws of those forces and elements. As life weaves out of lifeless matter the cedar and the bear, so likewise from matter devoid of life it constructs the body of man. But no other living organism is so complex in its structure, so exquisite in its adjust- ments, or adapted to so great a variety of uses. Thus, the rule of man over Nature is rendered possi- ble;; and his richly gifted spirit, dwelling in, and operating through, a body which is perfectly adapted to its use, ;md i> the culmination of the organization of the materia] world, touches all parts of that world, and moulds them to its own purposes. i p. iff. 84 THE GIST OF IT. IV. The philosophy of history is based upon the con- ception of development in national and race life ; that the race as a whole is working out some pur- pose, in which every nation of all times has a part. It becomes, then, a matter of importance to inquire at what point in this progress we are living. The ancient Oriental civilizations, as the Egyp- tian, Babylonian, and Persian, were, speaking roughly, absolute despotisms, in which the life of the nation was concentrated in the government and religion, — which were closely united, — and the interests of the individual were wholly merged in the national, or governmental, development. At one time they threatened to overrun Europe, and mould that into the same form of life ; but Grecian heroism, in this first great contest of civilizations, beat back and baffled the Asiatic. Grecian life developed the individual, and in all forms of culture, in physical development, language, philosophy, and the arts, reached the highest attain- ments known to unaided human powers. Human reason, working alone, never has excelled the achieve- ments of Grecian philosophy. No language, dead or living, in the world, can compare with Greek in richness, finish, and beauty. In sculpture the Greeks furnished the models for all subsequent time. In government they developed the idea of the integrity of the city, and, in large measure, the principle of federal union. Lacking, however, a true moral basis, having a religion whose inconsistencies and follies THE FACTS OF LIFE. 85 invited the sneer of the sceptic, and abashed the truly devout, it failed to attain permanency. Ere it fell, however, it was gathered up by Alexander the Great, and carried over all Western Asia to India, permeating and modifying all forms of social life. Like Greece, the Roman Government was founded on the individual, and its solid growth was due to the free equality of its sturdy farming-citizens. Rome was essentially a conquering nation, with a genius for government and law, both of which she marvellously developed; but, as her sovereignty ex- tended, the value of the individual declined. The ruler of Greece and the Orient, she was swayed by their ideas, and that in a debased form. Hence, with all the products of the life of the world at her com- mand, she concentrated all the nation's vitality into a demotic centralized government, which crushed the people into insignificance, and plunged herself into unutterable corruption. Meanwhile, in the little country of Palestine, there was being developed the religion which was destined to be so important an element in modern civilization. Jt was perfected just as the Roman Empire reached its highest grandeur: at a time when all the known world was under one settled government, when com- munication between all its parts was easy and safe, Greek was the prevailing language of the world, Jews and Jewish ideas were dispersed through all the nations, and the old national faiths had every- where lost their hold, and men were either seeking some new religion or settling into stolid scepticism. Taking advantage of all these circumstances, it 8b THE GIST OF IT. quickly overspread the empire, becoming the state religion, and was thenceforward a potent factor in civilization. But society was not to be regenerated under the weight of its accumulated abuses. Another element was needed. Overthrow must prepare the way for new and better construction. Away in the North of Europe were the Teutonic peoples, the chief ancestors of the English, and the direct forefathers of the Germans and Dutch. With a rude civilization, they were remarkable for their honor, heroism, chivalry to woman, and for their dauntless spirit of individual liberty. From their overcrowded homes, pressed by the inrush of nations from North- ern Asia, they swept in multitudes over Roman Europe, subverting the old civilization, and occupy- ing the territory. Out of this confusion, modern civilization has been developed. The Christian Church lived through the struggle, subjecting the conquering nations to her sway. She unfortunately inherited and developed the same heartless spirit of centralization which ruined the Roman Empire ; and under her leadership the great fabric of feudalism was gradually built up, and was in turn replaced by despotisms, temporal and spiritual, as absolute as any of ancient times. This reached its climax in the darkness of the Middle Ages, when ignorance, superstition, cruelty, and wickedness, ran riot throughout all Europe, and man- kind seemed to have gone back to the worst days of even Babylonian corruption. All this time, however, the various elements of society were being worked over and assimilated. THE FACTS OF LIFE. 87 Here and there were indications of better things. The Crusades brought Europe into contact with the East, and caused an influx of ideas and trade which awakened and broadened life. In Switzerland and Holland the battle for civil liberty was begun. When, at length, the revival of letters and the reformation of religion in the fifteenth century began, all Europe was roused to a new existence ; and, out of the protracted struggle and bloodshed that fol- lowed, our modern society has been evolved. In the last three hundred years, under the stimulus of dis- covery and invention, of commercial and philan- thropic enterprises, of social and political move- ments, the nations of Christendom have advanced with mighty strides, and are now powerfully im- pelling all heathen peoples along the same lines of progress. The problems yet unsolved in the unfolding of the race-life are many and various. Some of them, as socialism in politics, and pessimism 1 in philosophy, are dark and ominous in the prospect. The activity of the age is intense : and in every department of work, men are pressing forward with increasing energy, until, as has been strikingly said, the race of life is become so swift, that the runners tread on each other's heels ; and if a man stop but to lace his shoe, lie is trampled down and beaten in the contest. 1 Pessimism is, in brief, the assertion that the world is a faihuv; evil, sin, and Buffering are predominant ami unavoidable; the prog- of events develops only increasing pain and sorrow; there .s no hope for humanity, and the only thing for man is to escape from life as quickly as possible. Sheer animalism and snieide are its results. 88 THE GIST OF IT. Yet, in all this rush of conflicting ideas and pur- poses, the race is developing two great thoughts. The first of these is the brotherhood of man. The ancient Greeks regarded the rest of the world as barbarians, of an essentially inferior quality of make- up. Even among themselves the Spartan and the Theban disdained each other, and were both con- temned by the Athenian. This lack of brotherly feeling was universal. Every tribe or city or coun- try enclosed itself with a wall of exclusiveness, regarding itself as the salt of the earth, while the rest of men were despised as a race of inferior beings. As contrasted with this, the modern spirit is essentially cosmopolitan. Distinctions of national- ity, color, rank, sect, are being obliterated. The equality of all men in religious and civil life has been established, and the same idea is being applied in all the other relations of society. The natives of America, England, Spain, Turkey, India, South Africa, all meet on the recognized basis of a com- mon humanity. Commerce, religion, education, are everywhere battling the self-centered prejudices of men, broadening their conceptions, and developing their sympathies, as members of a united brother- hood. The almost complete extinction of slavery, and the great spread of missionary effort, are alike outgrowths of this idea. A similar result is the growth of such studies as comparative philology, mythology, religion, and law, wherein the aim is to discover and systematize the common elements which, under different conditions, have issued so THE FACTS OF LIFE. 89 variously. International alliances and organizations of all kinds are multiplying. Much yet remains to be done. It would be haz- ardous to assert the impossibility of a return of national seclusion and consequent barbarism. The feeling that wealth, education, social or political position, make their possessor superior to his fel- lows, and ruler over them, is still strong enough in many relations to work much injustice, and seri- ously retard individual and race development. But wonderful changes in this regard have been produced in the thought and life of men. The progress of civilization has lessened the apparent size of the earth, brought all its parts nearer together and into quick communication with each other, and made all men more and more mutually dependent. Out of this are necessarily generated a greater breadth of conception and fullness of sympathy, so that, consciously or unconsciously, the fact of the essential brotherhood of mankind is now everywhere recognized; and the thoughtful readily discern in its operation one of the great aids toward an ultimate abolition of all wrong distinctions, and the develop- ment of a universal spirit of equality and mutual helpfulness. ■ The second dominant thought of our modern life is the value of the individual. The brotherhood of man is a brotherhood of individuals. This, and not brotherhood, is the feature which constitutes the most striking contrast between the ancients and the moderns. There was a kind of brotherhood among the ancients; but with them all, the state rather 90 THE GIST OF IT. than the individual man was the supreme idea. The rights and interests of the individual were absorbed in the state, and all his personal develop- ment was shaped with reference to its welfare. So completely did this idea dominate the minds of men, that the Spartans placed the whole life of the citir zens, even marriage, and the rearing and education of children, under the control of the government. Plato even, in his ideal state, goes so far as to advoT cate the abolition of family life, and the regulation of all the relations of the sexes by the civil author- ity. Hence, the development of individual life, the growth and expansion of men as particular identities, was impossible, unless they could in some way become identified with the state, as factors in its working. Except for a little time among the Greek cities which developed the idea of federation, in the earliest days of Rome, and in the opening history of the Jews, the mass of the people were regarded simply as a mass : the thought that each one of the population was a distinct identity, essentially equal to any other, and capable, under proper conditions, of limitless development, never was grasped. In these instances it was but crudely and partially understood. Now all is changed. The tendency of modern life is toward the development of the individual as such. A variety of causes operate to produce this result. The spirit of individual liberty is inherent in the Teutonic peoples. Protestant Christianity individu- alizes men, bringing each for himself to face and decide, on his personal responsibility, all moral issues. THE FACTS OF LIFE. 91 As free political institutions have spread, this idea of individuality has grown with them. Liberty of thought, of speech, of conscience, trial by jury, the right of trial — couched in the rio-ht of habeas cor- pm — as opposed to unjust imprisonment, are all at the foundation of free government ; but they are all individual rights. The fact also, that office under a free government is open to all, and can be secured only by the suffrages of one's equals, has great influence in the same direction. In education, in scientific, mercantile, and professional pursuits, the tendency is all toward specialization. The scope of human knowledge has become so great that the mas- tery of it all is impossible ; while in all lines, the rewards offered to the accomplished specialist are increasingly inviting. All these and other influences work together for the perfection and elevation of men as individuals. While in this there is much danger, lest growth be unsymmetrical, or lest the tendency to individual- ization overcome the restrictive force of unified government and so produce anarchy ; yet these are but the unavoidable risks of all progressive activity, and in the fact of the development and culture of the individual lies the hope of the ultimate perfection of the race. The degradation of one man tends to degrade all, but just as truly the elevation of one raises others to a higher level ,* while in that eleva- tion is found a better and surer basis for that genuine and permanent brotherhood which enables many to work together for the betterment of all. We thus have found tin: answer to our second 92 THE GIST OF IT. question. The sphere of man's activity is the earth, not merely in itself considered, but in its relations to the vast mechanism of the universe of which it forms a part ; the present, unrolling before each one con- tinually ; the system of material and animated earthly existence, which culminates in his own physical organization; and the unfolding of the life of the race to which he belongs, now moving toward the grand formation of a brotherhood of equal and equally developed individuals. 1 , For materials with which to work, there are laid before him all the con- tents of past time, its records of the thought and activity of the men who have preceded him, of their achievements, and of the means of power which they have accumulated; the scheme of Nature, whether as the elements and forces of the inorganic world, or the various forms of vegetable and animal life, with all of which he is brought into such connection as to be able to govern and fashion it to his will ; and his own race, striving, like himself, for some end, and responsive to his influence. Thus, with the universe of time and space in which to move, and the universe of matter and of mind with which to operate, there is boundless opportunity for his accomplishment. Up to the measure of his capabilities, nothing but his own will puts restraint on his efforts, or limits his attainments. The whole field is open before him ; and, if he but wills to per- form, no one can tell what even the humblest may find himself able to do. From this point of view, the grandest type of man is he who aims to secure the i Sorley: Ethics of Naturalism, p. 290. THE FACTS OF LIFE. 93 largest and best knowledge and control of all the factors involved in his situation, of all facts of history and science in every region of truth, and uses them all for the exertion of the widest possible influence, and the achievement of the greatest possi- ble purposes, in the evolution of the noblest individual and race life. We must now consider the origin of man and his surroundings. 94 THE GIST OF IT. CHAPTER III. WHENCE AM I ? The disposition to attribute all observed facts and events to some cause, and to seek to know that cause, is inherent in the human mind, and rises spontane- ously whenever occasion offers. When examining any curious piece of machinery, or rare bit of en- graving or sculpture, the question inevitably comes up, Who contrived this machinery? who made the engraving? and we speculate and dream as to the character, habits, methods, and all other characteris- tics, of the artist or inventor. We know, and cannot be reasoned out of our con- viction, that every thing bearing marks which we have learned to recognize as indications of human workmanship, is, in fact, the product of human power. A book goes from the press, and is read by many who never have seen the author, or even, perhaps, known one who has looked upon him ; but every one believes the book to be the product of a human mind, and each forms his opinion of the writer. The scientist finds, scores of feet under the surface of the earth, a few pieces of broken pottery, a stone hatchet, or an almost illegible tablet, and instantly forms the conclusion that man has been about that THE FACTS OF LIFE. 95 place ; that these are man's work ; and he falls to imagining who made these relics, and how long ago that worker lived. The same principle holds in dealing with criminals. In man}' instances hardly a trace is left of the mur- derer or robber ; but, because some one must have done the deed, the skilled detective or lawyer follows the smallest clues, until the villain is detected and punished. In the material world the same thing is to be observed : for when in the woods we find a curious nest or cocoon, we at once consider what bird could have woven the one, or by what cater- pillar the other was constructed ; and if we find some new growth, or strange piece of workmanship, our desire is aroused to learn by what animal or by what form of plant life it could have been made. In the inorganic world, the principle is even more visible. One of the most striking instances of this is in the case of our modern Signal Service, whereby the courses, velocities, and force, of storm-currents are watched and determined, and timely notice given so that precautions against them may be taken. The idea of causation existing in the mind leads to the grasp of the fact of causation in the outer world, and so even these seemingly chance occurrences are understood and classified. In all thought and action of the child or mature man, the idea is constantly acted upon that every event must have a cause. Now, a few further characteristics of this idea must here be noted. It has been spoken of as uni- versal and spontaneous. It arises naturally in the mind, and all men act upon it. This, however, is 96 THE GIST OF IT. not all. It is to be also observed that our idea of cause or causation arises from our observation of change. If there were no movement or action in the world, if both within and without us a dead stagnation reigned, no thought of causes would ever arise. But all things are in constant change. Day and night, cloud and sunshine, cold and heat, seeding and harvest, follow each other continually ; and we look for the causes of these changes. Because of these changing events we are roused to look for some cause, something to which we may attribute the change. It is, then, incorrect to say that we are sure that every thing must have a cause. If, in the entire field of existence, any thing can be found which is wholly changeless, and unaffected by any outside agency, we could not tell, and should hesitate to say, whether it might not have been its own cause. When, now, we state the proposition in this way, — Every thing that begins to be, must have a cause, — we are on safe ground; for we are no surer of our own existence than we are that every thing which comes into being, every effect which is produced, every event which takes place, is preceded by something upon the action of which its own being is vitally dependent, and without which it could not be. The rain falls be- cause the atmosphere is laden with moisture and its temperature is so lowered that the moisture is pre- cipitated. Iron is hard because the attraction of its molecules for one another packs them very closely together : it melts and runs because great heat over- comes the mutual attraction of the molecules, and THE FACTS OF LIFE. 97 separates them. That rain should fall, or iron be hard or fluid, for no reason, with no cause, is incon- ceivable. The essential thing in this idea of causation is power, efficiency. The stone lying in the street could not be the cause of Mozart's melodies, for it pos- sesses no power which could produce such an effect. The same stone may be sent by a boy crashing through a window-glass ; but the power that drives it through the air, against and through the glass, is in the arm of the boy who throws it, and not in the stone, whose causal efficiency consists in its being harder than the glass, and so better able to withstand the effect of the collision. Hence, we rightly con- sider the boy the cause of the accident, say that he broke the glass, and punish him accordingly ; al- though the full cause was the action of the boy plus the superior hardness of the stone plus the force with which the stone struck the glass. When we seek the cause of any event, certain guiding principles must be remembered : — First, The explanation must supply a real cause ; i.e., something that possesses power, efficiency, so as to be capable of producing an effect. Day always follows night, but night is not therefore the cause of day. It is equally true that night always follows day. The real cause of their succession is found in the rotation cf the earth on its axis. Second, The explanation must supply an adequate cause, — one that is sufficient in its working to pro- duce the effect. To attribute " Paradise Lost" to a boy of ten years would be absurd. That sublime 98 THE GIST OF IT. poem can be ascribed only to a mature and rarely gifted mind. Third, The explanation must supply an appropri- ate cause. The man who should ascribe the Wash- ington Monument to volcanic action would be as certainly judged a lunatic as he who asserted that the massive domes and glittering spires of the majes- tic Alps were shaped and erected by the hand of man. Fourth, If possible, the explanation should supply a known cause. It is conceivable that the pottery found seventy-two feet below the surface of the Nile Valley in 1854 was made on that level, and after- wards covered up by the action of natural forces. But since it is known that such articles will sink in loose mud, and that during the time of overflow the soil in the valley is of that character, it is better to assume this as the cause of the pottery being at such a depth. That this explanation is the true one was shown, when, at a greater depth in the same valley, a brick was found bearing the stamp of Mohammed Ali, who reigned in A.D. 1808. Fifth, The explanation must supply a cause whicji will account for all the facts. The effect may be due to a combined action of several causes ; as in the case of the breaking of the window-glass, which resulted from the operation of three distinct causes. Or, one great cause may operate through a number of second causes : as in a great machine-shop, where many different pieces of machinery are kept in motion by a system of revolving belts, pulleys, and shafts; but they are all kept in motion by the steam THE FACTS OF LIFE. 99 generated from the water in the boiler by the fire underneath it. With these preliminaries in mind, we come to the problem of this chapter : Given, man, with his mar- vellous nature, and the universe in which he lives, with all its wonderful resources and adaptations; 1 what is the cause of man and the universe of which he forms a part? How did it come into its present condition? Had it an origin? If so, what or Who is its Originator? Previous to the rise of modern science, it was some- times claimed that the universe had existed in its present form eternally. That notion, however, is now wholly exploded. Not only has geology proved and unfolded the development of the earth from a time when it was unfit for any kind of life, but astro- nomical chemistry, physics, and mathematics, have shown that the universe itself had a beginning, and will have an end. All tenable theories of the uni- verse now found on these conclusions: and dark pictures are drawn by men of science, of the final destruction of all the vast scheme of worlds floating in space ; while some even attempt to calculate the date of the yet far-off catastrophe. Some would fain make us believe that though this universe is not eternal, yet it is the outgrowth of one preceding, and that in time it will be resolved into its elements, and another evolved from those parts. We are told that this process has been eternal, — that for cycles upon cycles of ages one universe after another has developed from the state of nebulous fire-mist, 1 Chaps, i. and ii. 100 THE GIST OF IT. reached perfection, and through myriads of years re- turned to its original condition. But when did the process begin? To asbert an endless succession of events, with no great fundamental cause upon which they all rest, is so unphilosophical as to be inconceiv- able. It violates the essential idea of causation ; namely, that every thing which begins to be, must have a cause. That which produces an effect, but is itself the effect of something which preceded it, does not and can not satisfy the mind's idea of causation. Sup- pose this present universe is the successor of one be- fore it, and that that one followed on another which preceded it, and so on. Each universe is simply one in a chain of successive and equally dependent phe- nomena, and the entire chain hangs on — itself. The constitution of the human mind is such that it refuses to rest in such an explanation. The chain must have a beginning, and must depend on something ; while that basal something must be itself eternal, — the effect of no cause, but self-existent, and so the origi- nal cause of all effects. It is therefore settled, as a positive conclusion of modern science, that the universe had a beginning, and owes its existence to some eternal, self-existent cause. Another fact is equally a deliverance of sci- ence, — the cause of the universe is one. The uni- verse is, from every part, bound and organized into one rational and complete system, and bears through- out the evident marks of unity, or oneness, of origin. Its cause, then, whatever it be, must be one, self- existent, and eternal. Four hypotheses arc advanced regarding the nature THE FACTS OF LIFE. 101 of this one, self-existent, eternal cause of the universe. It is, first, asserted that matter is, in its essential nature, eternal, and competent to evolve the entire mechanism of existence. Again, force is affirmed to be the only true solution of the problem. A further hypothesis is that of pantheism, which claims the belief in a God, but identifies Him with the universe, so that, u All Existence = God." Lastly, theism in- sists that the only true explanation is found in the idea " that the universe owes its existence, and con- tinuance in existence, to the reason and will of a self- existent Being, Who is infinitely powerful, wise, and good." * Each of these must be briefly considered. Matter is everywhere the most obvious form of existence to the ordinary observer ; and hence it is natural that it should be supposed to contain the ex- planation of all things, — a cause able to produce all the phenomena of the universe. The earliest Greek speculations about the origin of the universe were based on this supposition. Thales, the father of Greek philosophy, who lived about 600 B.C., endeav- ored to show that water is the original element, and that all forms of existence are produced by its rare- faction into steam and air, or condensation into mud and rock. A little later, Anaximenes undertook to account for all things by a like process in the changes of air. Heraclitus assumed fire as the original ele- ment, from which all oilier things are formed. Em- pedocles claimed that earth, water, air, and fire are i Flint: Theism, p. 18. 102 THE GIST OF IT. all original and fundamental elements. Democritus went farther, and claimed that matter is composed of an infinite number of minute, indivisible, eternal, parts, or atoms, alike in quality, but differing in size and form, by whose combination the entire universe was made. These atoms were supposed to be falling through space in straight lines, when, by some neces- sary law of their being, they swerved from the per- pendicular, struck against each other, and formed a multitude of chance combinations, out of which the present phases of existence gradually developed. Modern science agrees with Democritus in affirm- ing the existence of the atom as the ultimate form of matter, so far as can now be determined. Modern materialism agrees with him in the claim that, from these original atoms, acting simply under laws inher- ent in their own nature, without any intervention of any outside agency, all forms of existence were wrought out. But, in this assertion, modern materi- alism is utterly unscientific, as the following consid- erations will abundantly show. The materialistic hypothesis rests upon three prop- ositions, whose united truth is vital to the entire system. These are, that matter is self-existent and eternal ; that matter has one ultimate, basal form ; that matter possesses potencies such as to produce, in their development, the entire sphere of existences. The failure to substantiate any one of these positions vitiates the hypothesis. See, then, if they will stand the test of scientific discovery. Is matter eternal? All forms of matter can be resolved, by chemical analysis, into minute parts THE FACTS OF LIFE. 103 known as molecules; 1 and observed phenomena show unquestionably that these are composed of smaller parts, to which the name of atoms is given. The atom is, so far as can be determined, the smallest, the ultimate, form of matter. Is, then, the atom eter- nal ? All speculation as to the nature of the atom is exceedingly vague. It is claimed that the atom is eternal, and in all its characteristics unchangeable. But no chemist can put his hand on the atom. It eludes all analysis ; and its existence is known only by certain changes in molecules, which can be ex- plained only on the assumption of such an ultimate part. There are two hypotheses concerning the na- ture of the atom. One of these — Boscovitch's — . needs no mention at this point, for it explains the atom as merely a center of force, a mathematical point ; and, as such a supposition changes entirely all conceptions of matter as distinguished from force, the truth of the hypothesis would at once end the notion of the eternity of matter. It is hence irrele- vant here. The other hypothesis is the one proposed by the late Sir William Thomson, one of the greatest of modern physicists and mathematicians. He supposes that the ether filling all space is a perfect fluid, is absolutely devoid of friction in all its parts, is homo- geneous throughout, and cannot be compressed. The atoms are minute vortex-rings, such as compose the rings of smoke sometimes thrown out by a locomo- tive ; and these vortex-rings, once in motion, would continue whirling in a frictionless fluid forever. The i P. 68. 104 THE GIST OF IT. difficulty with this hypothesis, when one attempts to use it to substantiate the eternity of matter, is, that, in such a fluid, there is no reason for the commence- ment of the rotation. It may be granted that, when once t in motion, the rings would continue whirling for- ever ; but, unless some outside agency started the movement, the rotation never could begin. To meet this difficulty, it is sometimes claimed that the ether is not a frictionless fluid ; that its parts are not perfectly homogeneous, and so cause friction among themselves. This would account for the origin of the vortex-rings ; for in such a fluid, there must be movement, and this movement might gen- erate such rotating rings. But now another trouble arises. Such an atom, whirling in such a fluid, would be subjected to friction. The smallest conceivable amount of friction in the fluid necessary to generate the whirling motion, would continue after the motion was started, and, in fact, be intensified by it. But all friction means waste ; and so, in process of time, the atom would be actually worn away by the fric- tion, and would return to the fluid. The hypothesis, then, fails in both forms. If the fluid is frictionless, some outside agency must set the atom in rotation : if the fluid is a friction-fluid, the atom will wear out, and be re-absorbed in the fluid. Either result is disastrous to the eternity of matter as composed of vortex-atoms. 1 1 It is to be remembered, to avoid misunderstanding, that Sir William Thomson proposed his hypothesis as an explanation of the nature of the atom, without any reference to the idea of the eternity of matter. THE FACTS OF LIFE. 105 Add to this the statement of prominent physicists, that the nature of matter proves it to have been con- structed. There is no higher authority on such questions than the late Professor Clerk-Maxwell ; and he says, " None of the processes of Nature, since the time when Nature began, have produced the slightest difference in the properties of any molecule. We are therefore unable to ascribe either the exist- ence of the molecules, or the identity of their proper- ties, to the operation of any of the causes which we call natural. On the other hand, the exact quality of the molecule to all others of the same kind gives it, as Sir John Herschel has well said, the essential character of a manufactured article, and precludes the idea of its being eternal and self-existent. Thus, we have been led, along a strictly scientific path, very near to the point at which science must stop. Not that science is debarred from studying the external mechanism of a molecule which she cannot take to pieces, any more than from investigating an organism which she cannot put together. But, in tracing back the history of matter, science is arrested when she assures herself, on the one hand, that the molecule has been made; and, on the other, that it has not been made by any of the processes we call natural." Professor Flint, who quotes this passage, 1 concludes, "I believe that no reply to these words of ProfessoT Clerk-Maxwell is possible from any one who holds the ordinary view of scientific men as to the ultimate constitution of matter. They must suppose every atom, every molecule, to be of such a nature, to be i Theism, pp. 113, 114. 106 THE GIST OF IT. so related to the others and to the universe generally, that things may be such as we see them to be ; but this their fitness to be built up into the structure of the universe, is a proof that they have been made fit, and, since natural forces could not have acted on them while not yet existent, a supernatural power must have created them, and created them with a view to their manifold uses." The Duke of Argyll puts the case clearly when he says, 1 " In the light of Chemistr} r the Atom comes out as the centre and focus of energies and powers the most complicated and the most subtle that exist in Nature, — so complicated and so subtle indeed, that the utmost resources of chemical and physical re- search are unable as yet to give of them any thing like a complete or even an intelligible account. In the first place, the Atom is not one thing, but many things. Each of the elementary substances has its own separate Atom, with its own separate size, its own separate weight, and its own separate properties. In the second place, these properties are not abso- lute, but strictly relative to the corresponding prop- erties of the Atoms of other substances which may be contiguous. Thus, the Atom of oxygen is totally different from the Atom of carbon, and the nature of the difference consists, in so far as we can under- stand it at all, not only in differences of size and weight, but even more essentially in different dynamic relations of attraction which these elements bear to each other, and to the Atoms of other substances." To all this it is replied that such argument proves i Unity of Nature, p. 129. THE FACTS OF LIFE. 107 simply the non-eternity of matter in its present form ; that it does not affect the claim that the atom itself is developed from some primitive form, as the ether ; and that this primitive form is eternal and self-exist- ent. For proof of this sweeping assertion, we are pointed to the doctrine of the indestructibility of matter, which is interpreted to mean that a certain amount of matter has existed in the universe of space from all eternity, and that no part of this matter can by any means whatever be totally destroyed. The form may be changed, as when ice melts into water, and vanishes in steam ; but no particle of the matter can by any possibility be blotted out of existence. Now, this is an illegitimate extension of an estab- lished scientific theory. Indestructibility of matter means, and means only, that matter, as at present constituted, cannot be destroyed by any means which man can use, and is not destroyed in any of the pro- cesses of Nature. But it is evident that the entire universe of matter might have been created just as it is, with its present constitution. If this was done, then it inevitably follows, that, while this produced matter cannot be destroyed by any of its own ener- gies or processes, yet the power which gave it being can annihilate it at will. To affirm the development of matter in its present form from some more ele- mentary state, is to build on pure conjecture. Whether matter be atomic or dynamic, it is, and it is of definite characteristics. We have no knowledge of it in any oilier form, and no basis on which to reason regarding its character or existence outside of its present constitution. To assume such a priini- 108 THE GIST OF IT. tive condition of matter, only puts the question a step farther back ; for that form, be it ether or what not, equally demands some explanation of its being. To assert the indestructibility of this supposed prior form as a proof of its eternity, is to beg the whole question ; and this is, of course, inadmissible in scien- tific thinking. Further, an eternal being must be independent, self-existent, the one ultimate cause and ground of all being. The assumption of more than one eternal being is in violation of the law of parcimony of causes. But a self-existent being must be self-active and free, originating and exerting power by virtue of its own inherent spontaneity. Matter is utterly devoid of these properties, and manifests the contra- dictory properties of inertia and necessity. Matter, therefore, cannot be self-existent. But these two ideas of eternity and self-existence of being are in- separably connected. They stand or fall together. The idea of a self-existent being which is not also eternal, is inconceivable. If there ever was a time when it did not exist, it must have brought itself into existence, have created itself. Such a statement is obviously absurd. A nonentity could never be- come an actual existence. Any affirmation about power in a non-existent thing is self-contradictory in the very statement. If there be any power in it, even in potency and not in action, it is thereby proven to belong to the sphere of actual existences. The conclusion, therefore, unavoidably results, that the claim of the eternity of matter is not only un- proven by modern science, but is also in direct oppo- THE FACTS OF LIFE. 109 sition to the greatest discovery and best thought of the scientific world. What about the unity of matter? Some men insist that all forms of matter are derived from one basal form, as hydrogen. There is, of course, no objection to a man's imagining any explanation of things he pleases, provided he distinctly presents and uses it as simply imagination. But when men are reasoning on scientific principles, and publishing what they esteem scientific truths, it is right and necessary to hold them to the facts in the case. Now, the hypothesis of the oneness of all matter — i.e., that all forms are developed from some one original form — is pure conjecture to begin with, and is in direct opposition to the discoveries and tendencies of science. There are now recognized sixty-four fundamental elements, which defy all attempts to resolve them, and give evidence of being simple forms. The same elements make up the meteors and aerolites which fall upon the earth. Spectrum analysis shows that the distinctions of these forms exist in all the stars of space whose light can so far be analyzed. The distinguishing properties of these various forms are sharply defined. No common property which affords a basis for their unity appears in them all. Hydro- gen is taken as the basis in calculating their combin- ing weights; but the fractional and heterogeneous relations of the various weights forbid the inference that this basis is other than an arbitrary, though use- ful, assumption. Worst of all, — for the hypothesis, the tendency is t<> increase the number of elements: 110 THE GIST OF IT ♦ five or six substances, additional to the sixty-four, seem now likely to win a place in the list of primary forms. How soon, at that rate, shall we reach the one original form ? A man may indulge the dream of the ultimate resolution of all the elements into one ; but when he puts forth his dream as truth, or as an indication of future discovery, he is reasoning flatly athwart the facts, and immolating his scientific on the altar of his aesthetic genius. Professor TyndalFs poetic vision, uttered some years ago, and widely circulated since, in which he professed himself able to discern " in the atom the promise and potency of all terrestrial life," was suffi- ciently vitiated by the fact that the address, of which it formed the conclusion, was made to show that life never, in the whole range of scientific knowledge, has been produced from any thing but life; and that, in the veiy sentence in which the words quoted occur, he affirmed that there was no evidence which afforded the slightest ground to hope that science would ever be able in the future to develop life and organization from matter devoid of life. Still, the notion is in some respects an attractive one, and finds not a few followers. In its fully developed form, it becomes the materialistic evolution hypothe- sis, which is that matter possesses in potency all the properties manifested by all kinds of existences, and that out of the original nebulous condition of matter, whirling in space, all these potencies were gradually and successively evolved ; and that in the entire pro- cess, even in the constitution of the matter itself, no outside agency of any kind operated. This is a very THE FACTS OF LIFE. Ill different thing from the hypothesis that evolution is the name for a process or plan according to which an intelligent personality carried on a work of creation : with this form we have here nothing to do. The hypothesis is full of difficulties, and open to numerous objections. Its prevalence is, in large measure, due to the fact that it contains a grain of truth. There has undoubtedly been a process in the unfolding of the history of the universe ; and in that process there has been, on the whole, an orderly, suc- cessive, development. Yet this is a very different thing from the assertion that in the simple elements and forces of the inorganic world, all the universe exists in potency, and it is all developed under the operation of necessary laws which derive their exist- ence, not from some outside power which has stamped them upon these forces and elements, but from the elements and forces themselves. A few, only, of the more striking difficulties of this hypothesis can here be noted. In the first place, the hypothesis necessarily assumes the eternity and self-existence of matter. But these assumptions have been shown unscientific. If matter, in evolution, is the cause of the universe, it must be self-existent and eternal. If, however, it is neither eternal nor self-existent, it owes its own being to the action of some outside power, and so must waive its claim to be the first and fundamental cause. In the second place, the hypothesis attributes to matter properties which there is not a shadow of proof to show that it possesses. If life, intelligence, will, are evolved from matter, they must exist in 112 THE GIST OF IT. matter. In philosophic language, the involution must equal the evolution ; i.e., only that which is already in a thing can be developed out of it. This hypothesis asserts that all plant and animal life, even the human mind itself, with its powers of knowing, feeling, and willing, have been developed out of the physical elements and forces of the inorganic world ; that the essential nature of these forces and elements, oxygen, nitrogen, carbon, heat, light, electricity, and the rest, is such that they necessarily form the com- binations which develop all the phenomena of exist- ence. What proof, then, is there of the hypothesis ? The first step in the process is that of the develop- ment of life from not-living matter. How is this to be done ? No truth of modern science is more cer- tainly established than that life proceeds only from pre-existing life. 1 The chemist, in his laboratory, can combine all the elements in just the proportions in which they are in the protoplasm. But by no possi- ble means can he generate that action, that movement, in the protoplasm which shows the presence of life. So futile have been all attempts to do this, that the effort has been wholly abandoned ; and it is now accepted as a scientific axiom, that, for the production of life, there must be pre-existing life. It is not sup- posed, by men of scientific worth, that any combina- tion of purely inorganic, or not living, elements and forces, will ever be able, without the action of exist- ing life, to generate from itself a living entity. But if matter is now devoid of such properties, and if there is no reason to suppose that in the future it will i P. 77. THE FACTS OF LIFE. 113 become possessed of them, on what ground are we to believe that it has in the past had such powers ? The assertion that pure matter did some time in the past what it cannot now and never will be able to per- form, has not a shred of proof on which to rest, and is utterly unscientific. No evidence is adduced to show that matter has undergone any change by which it has been deprived of any of its properties ; and, while such proof would relieve the present difficulty, it would show that some external and superior power has acted upon matter, and thus overthrow the entire hypothesis. Nor is this all. The discoveries of geology testify that the matter of the earth was once in such a con- dition, under the action of intense heat, that life could not possibly exist in it. As the essential attri- butes of a substance are not changed by any trans- formation which the substance undergoes, so long as it retains its identity, and as all evidence goes to show that the prrysical forces and elements were identical then with what they are now, the assump- tion that matter could of itself develop life must be dismissed as without any foundation whatever. All hypotheses as to the introduction of life into the earth, when it reached a condition in which it could support life, are entirely foreign to the point at issue. Such explanations surrender the whole question ; and, besides, the nebular hypothesis necessarily involves tin; fact that all the matter in the universe has in its history passed through a stage wherein it was wholly incapable of sustaining life in even the simplest forms. It is evident, therefore, that at this first step 114 TBE GIST OF IT. the hypothesis of materialistic evolution is fatally defective. The hypothesis does not satisfactorily account for the adjustments of physical forces and elements whereby the universe is built up, 1 and is even more unfortunate in its attempt to explain those adjust- ments in the case of animated beings. Every living organism is composed of parts, or organs, distinct in structure and function, but mutually dependent, and combined into one whole. Each part, or organ, is adapted to the others, and to the general character of the entire structure ; and the whole organism is so suited to the sphere in which it lives, — earth, air, water, valley, mountain, — as to be able to live under those conditions. Thus, in the body of man the different parts and organs have each its own pecul- iar structure, exactly adapting it to a special func- tion. The trunk forms a large and convenient cavity for the vital organs ; the legs and feet are for support and locomotion ; the arms and hands for numberless uses ; the heart, to pump the blood through all the veins and arteries; the lungs, to admit oxygen to the blood, and throw off impurities ; the stomach, to digest food. In addition to this, each part, or organ, is constructed with reference to all the others, so that the whole constitutes one body, with a unity of structure and function. Lastly, the body is ex- actly adapted to the outside world, so that its exist- ence is rendered possible, and it is able to operate upon and with the material world. This is but a strik- ing instance of a fact common to all forms of life. i Pp. 73-75. THE FACTS OF LIFE. 115 Now, this hypothesis affirms that all these exact and marvellous adjustments, in so large a number of different beings, are produced in this way : that inorganic matter developed some most elementary form of life ; that this, under varying conditions, developed, by gradual changes, multitudes of other forms ; some of these forms were adapted to the conditions under which they lived, others were not; life was a battle, a struggle for existence, and in that struggle the forms best adapted to the conditions sur- vived, and became perpetuated. Aside from the fact that life is the cause of organization, not its result, there are three special obstacles to this hypothesis. First, It requires limitless time for its operation. The variations from the one original type were by very small gradations, and so almost endless ages were required for the development of the present diverse forms ; but the history of the earth written in the rocks, while affording time for great progress, forbids the conception of incalculable ages necessary to this hypothesis. 1 Second, According to the hypothesis, each organ and each part in a body were gradually developed through successive attempts to their present form ; and the inter-action of the function of the part, and the surroundings in which it was placed, so devel- oped it. But tins overlooks three facts. First, The parts and organs arc often so intimately connected, that any variation in one of them must 1 Accepted science allows but fifteen t<> twenty millions of years for tin: history of our present universe, — mueh too little for mate- rialistie evolution. 116 THE GIST OF IT. be accompanied by a corresponding variation in all of them, or the whole organism will perish. Second, Frequently the variation is necessary to enable the organism to live at all. Thus, the human stomach is lined with a membrane so sensitive to the action of the gastric juice as to be almost instantly destroyed by it when they are brought in contact ; but, as the gastric juice must work in the stomach in the digestion of food, this membrane is coated with a varnish which is unaffected by the gastric fluid. Now, this coating of varnish must have been in existence in the first stomach made, or it could not have continued in existence at all. Or, again, the human body is pre-eminently fitted to be the instrument of intelligence. If the hypothesis of evolution be true, this human body must have been gradually developed from a form akin to some of the present lower animals, and the development of intelligence in it was consequent upon its becom- ing fit for the use of intelligence. Yet this is directly opposed to the fact that the human body, in the very earliest forms no less than at present, is the least fitted of all the animal organisms to survive in the struggle for existence, unless from the first it was guided by intelligence. Therefore, the first develop- ments of delicacy, intricacy, and frailty, of construc- tion, which are so marked in the perfected human frame, must have been accompanied by the simulta- neous development of intelligence to direct and use the organism : but such a conclusion is contrary to the hypothesis. Third, The separate parts, the parts as mutually TIIE FACTS OF LIFE. 117 related, and the whole system of parts as related to the outer world, or surroundings, must vary simulta- neously. This involves a directive intelligence which is practically infinite and omniscient. But this, too, is contrary to the hypothesis, which denies any pre- determined unity in the process, and so necessitates the belief that it was all chance work. A very slight application of the doctrine of probabilities will show the utter baselessness of such a claim. 1 Third, the hypothesis is inconsistent with the gen- eral bearing of observed phenomena. There are over a hundred and twenty thousand species of plants in the world, and over forty thousand species of ani- mals. 2 Why do not these species shade off into each 1 " It has been calculated that a speck scarcely visible under the most powerful microscope may contain two million four hundred thousand molecules of protoplasm. If each of these molecules were a brick, there would be enough of them to build a terrace of twenty- five good dwelling-houses. But this is supposing them to be all alike: whereas we know that the molecules of albumen are capable of being of ver}- various kinds. Each of these molecules really contains eight hundred and eighty-two ultimate atoms — namely, four hundred of carbon, three hundred and ten of hydrogen, one hundred and twenty of oxygen, fifty of nitrogen, and two of sulphur and phosphorus. . . . Ix-t us try, then, to calculate of how many differences of arrangement the atoms of one molecule of protoplasm are susceptible, and then to calculate of how many changes these different assemblages are capable in a microscopic dot composed of two million four hundred thousand of them. . . . But Nature, in arranging all the parts of a complicated animal beforehand in an apparently structureless microscopic ovum, has all these vast num- todeal with in working out tie- exacl result ; and this not in one case merely, but in multitudes of cases involving the most varied combinations." — Dawson J Facts ami Fancies in Modern Science, pp. 199, 200. 2 The estimates of tin- number of species vary greatly, many forms being classed variously as speeies, varieties, 01 even BUD- varieties. These figures are very moderate. Herbert Spencer, in 118 THE GIST OF IT. other now, or develop new forms ? Why is it that the process has been discontinued for so many cen- turies ? Why is it, that, in the past record of life on the earth, there are very few indications of snch a progress ? Many remains of the intermediate steps in the development ought to have been preserved as fossils. They are not. Conjecture on these points has no place in scientific thinking, and the tendency of scientific progress is overwhelmingly against the hypothesis. Efforts have been made to show by experiment the possibility of the change of one spe- cies into another, or the development of some new species from an existing one. The attempts have all failed. Some species will cross, but the product is sterile. Changes can be produced in plants and animals by variation of food and surroundings ; but the changes are all morphological, never structural : and if the varieties thus produced be left to them- selves, or put under the old conditions, they quickly revert to the original type. If, however, the hypothesis fails in all these steps, how is it to account for the existence of intelligence and free-will ? It is claimed that these are but the highest forms in the one continuous development; that all the intricate flow of thought, the wonderful play of the feelings, and the exertion of the will- power, are but the culmination of the unfolding of Progress : Its Law and Cause, sect, iv., The Development Hypothe- sis, cites from Humboldt three hundred and twenty thousand spe- cies of plant life, and from Carpenter two million species of animal life. Increasing the number only renders more improbable the hypothesis in question. Spencer himself pronounces his belief in a power back of, and working through, matter. THE FACTS OF LIFE. 119 the potencies essentially inherent in the forces and elements of the inorganic world. This has been briefly touched upon, 1 and the facts shown that spirit-action is not governed by the same laws as material action, and is therefore not correlated with material action, or predictable from it. Further, it may be said, inorganic matter nowhere manifests the properties of thought, and it is assumption to so affirm of it. The properties of spirit-action are so different from those of matter, that the two cannot be said to be inherent in the same substance, and developed the one from the other. The special char- acteristics of spirit-action are unity, freedom, and self-activity. 2 The spirit is indivisible, save in imagi- nation : matter is capable of almost infinite separa- tion into parts. The elements and forces of matter are governed by fixed, unchangeable, laws. Spirit- action is characterized by freedom. Especially is this the case in the operation of the will-power. Every man's consciousness testifies to the fact of the ability to choose, and to be free in his choosing. When Mr. Smith decides to go to the club- room for an evening, he is perfectly conscious that his choice is free, taken on the basis of what seemed to him good reasons ; and that he could have chosen to remain at home, or go elsewhere than to the club- room. Physical elements and forces, on the contrary, have no choice in their working. When a magnet of known power is laid on the table within a certain distance of a pile of iron-filings, the attractive power in the magnet mutt exert itself; the filings must 1 Pp. 47, 48. a p p> 7 _9. 120 THE GIST OF IT. respond to the attraction, and move to the magnet ; and they must arrange themselves in definite, known positions about the magnet. There is no choice about it. A bar of iron must bend and break when the pressure on it exceeds a known amount, and can- not break until that limit is reached. But how are we to measure the strength of the will-power of Gen. Grant, who moved relentlessly and resistlessly for- ward in the accomplishment of his purposes, but. stopped to pet the children, and comfort the wounded soldiers, on his way ? Will-power cannot be ex- pressed in any terms of material existences. When we turn to the sphere of morals and aesthet- ics, the difficulties are only increased. What sense of duty or truth is there in carbon? How much shame can oxygen feel ? Is phosphorus able to appreciate the beautiful ? But, unless these poten- cies exist in these substances, their combination can- not develop them. The incongruity of the supposi- tion that in a brick are bound up the powers which, under proper conditions, will develop into a Bismarck or a Gladstone, is obvious, and sufficiently reveals the fallacy of the hypothesis. The case is not bet- tered by the fact that all material substances are inert, and receive their motion from outside them- selves ; but the spirit is an originating center of activity. Add to all the above the fact that the hypothesis offers no explanation for the unity of consciousness. President Garfield, lying on his bed in the cottage at Elberon, watching the swelling ocean-waves, whose ceaseless movement and continuous murmuring he THE FACTS OF LIFE. 121 was soon to see and hear no more, was the same identical person who, more than thirty years before, trudged along the tow-path of the canal, faithfully performing his humble duties, and resolving to be and do something in the world. Yet in those years, every particle of matter in President Garfield's body, save perhaps the enamel on the teeth, had been changed ; and this not once, but many times. How, then, could matter account for this continuance of his identity? Every individual knows himself to be the same in all his changing experiences; and, since the matter composing his body does not continue in it, the cause of this unity of consciousness must be looked for elsewhere. Du Bois Raymond says that this fact of the unity of consciousnesss is "the rock on which all materialistic systems split." Higher authority than he need not be sought for. It is thus evident, from the facts and tendencies of modern science, that matter is not one, self-existent, or eternal ; that it cannot account for life, organiza- tion, and adjustment ; that it is separated by an im- passable chasm from all spirit-action ; that it fails utterly to explain the phenomena of the oneness, freedom, and self-activity of spirit-action, or the unity of consciousness. The conclusion inevitably follows that the hypothesis must be rejected, and that we must look elsewhere for the cause of the existent universe. 122 THE GIST OF IT. II. Of the ultimate nature of force, 1 even more than of the ultimate nature of matter, nothing is known. Some speculators, as Boscovitch, would resolve all matter into force, making the atom itself merely a center of force ; so that the substance or essence of all existence is force. However these things may be, we are concerned here, as in the preceding section, simply with the hypothesis of force as accounting for the universe, as distinguished from, and opposed to, the other hypotheses. Thus viewed, it may be stated in some such way as this : The fundamental form of existence in the universe is physical force, which, operating under necessary law, without intel- ligence or will, wrought out and continues the entire scheme of existence. The hypothesis is sometimes so formulated as virtually to endow force with the attributes of infinity, omnipresence, omnipotence, omniscience, and volition ; but it is then simply the theist's God under another name. The statement here given is free from such objection, and affords a basis for study and comparison. Will it meet the needs of the case? Among the greatest scientific discoveries of the day are those of the conservation of energy and the cor- relation of the forces, which mean simply, that, in all the operations of Nature, no force (or energy) is ever destroyed, but merely changes its form ; and that several of the forces are apparently interchangeable. Like the doctrine of the indestructibility of matter, 1 Throughout this discussion, force is used as = energy. TIIE FACTS OF LIFE. 123 these truths are often much misunderstood and wrongly applied. Many affirm that force is, in the absolute sense, incapable of annihilation ; and some, as Professor Alexander Bain, claim that all the forces of Nature are mutually interchangeable, and that all spirit-action is but another manifestation of the one underlying force ; so that all thought and volition can be resolved into exact equivalents of heat, or gravitation, or some other form of energy. Imagination is a grand gift, whose proper exercise produces many good results. Operating under the guidance of the constructive power, it sometimes develops ideas which lead to great advancement in science. Yet, like all good gifts, it is liable to abuse, and nowhere more so than in the scientific world. Frequently a conclusion is promulgated as scientific truth, and in its discussion much valuable time and strength are wasted, prejudices aroused, bitter feel- ings engendered, even hard names called, — when, lo ! the " truth*' is found to be merely a conjecture, and in the light of further, cooler, investigation, van- ishes utterly away. The present instance is a notable one. It is assumed that purely physical force — i.e., the forces, energies, operating in the physical uni- verse, as light, chemism, gravitation, — is the ground and explanation of all phenomena. Forthwith this is proclaimed as a demonstration of science, and woe be to the luckless dunce who dares oppose or question the decree. It would be ;i curious study to examine the logic used by some of those philosophizers. But that is irrelevant to our purpose. Let us fairly subject the hypothesis to the tests of ascertain d 124 TEE GIST OF IT. scientific fact, and see the result. Our business and desire are simply to get at the truth. Did force originate matter? The Duke of Argyll says, 1 u Energy, like matter, of which indeed it is but an incident and attribute. . ." Dr. McCosh saj^s, " Energy is simply an attribute of matter, naturally inhering in it." Herbert Spencer affirms, " We can- not dissociate force from occupied extension, or oc- cupied extension from force, because we have never an immediate consciousness of either in the absence of the other." 2 Force is known to us only by its effects in matter. The ether, the limitless ocean investing all worlds, and forming the great medium and source of energy, is itself a form of matter. We have no knowledge of any of the physical forces save in connection with matter, and acting through and upon it. How, in such a case, force can be called the cause, the origin, of matter, is not visible, if correct principles of reasoning are adhered to. Is matter simply localized force? This is Bosco- vitch's hypothesis. The following, from the " Unseen Universe," 3 will show the attitude of the scientific world toward this view : " Here we get rid of the idea of substance entirely, but we preserve (all but inertia) those external relations by which alone the atom is capable of making known its presence. Even so great an experimental philosopher as Faraday may be quoted as, to some extent at least, agreeing with this notion. It seems to us, however, that this is the 1 Unity of Nature, p. 81. 2 First Principles, third edition, p. 223. 8 Unseen Universe, fifth edition, p. 138. THE FACTS OF LIFE. 125 embodiment of an over-refinement of speculation, surrounded on almost all sides by the greatest diffi- culties. It ma)- suffice merely to mention again the propert}^ of mass or inertia, which Faraday himself seemed to look upon as the one essential characteris- tic of matter, and which we can hardly bring our- selves to associate with the absence of what we call substance." Are all forces ultimately resolvable into one ? The confident tone of some writers would seem to make this question superfluous. But here again assertion is put for evidence. It is hardly possible to avoid quoting here at length a remarkable passage from a work already several times referred to, in which the facts of this case are stated with great clearness and elegance. The writer says, 1 — " There are a great many things in Nature to which we stand very close indeed without being able to see them clearly, or to understand them at all. And this is the case with that great Pentarchy of Physical Forces which is constituted by Heat, Light, Magnet- ic!). Electricity, and Chemical Affinity. The relations between them are as intimate as they are obscure. But the nature of those relations, in so far as they are known, is pre-eminently suggestive of a unity which is founded on the co-ordination of agencies not in themselves identical, but, on the contrary. separated from cadi other by distinctions as profound a- any which can prevail in physics. Writers and Lecturers on Science are very apt to speak of the Forces as capable of being i transmuted ' or 4 con- * Uuity of Nature, pp. Ml. 126 THE GIST OF IT. verted ' into each other. But this is a loose and inaccurate representation of the facts. Carbon can be converted or transmuted into a diamond under certain conditions by a process which, so far as we know, adds nothing to it, and takes nothing from it. Under both aspects, it is the same substance with no element subtracted, and no new element introduced. It has simply had its structure altered by a re- arrangement of its particles. But no such identity can be asserted of the five great Physical Forces of which we are speaking now. It is true, indeed, that each of them seems sometimes to pass into the other, but only as one thing may be said to pass into an- other when that other is produced by its antecedent. Mechanical Motion in the form of a blow struck against living flesh will inflict upon that flesh a wound. But it would hardly be correct to say that the motion of the blow is transmuted into extravasated blood. In like manner when a skilful Savage twirls one dry stick upon another in a particular manner, he pro- duces by the motion fire. But it would be an erro- neous description of the fact to say that the muscular strength of the Savage is transmuted into flame. " Yet this, or something like this, is the nature of the sequence between the Physical Forces which is commonly described as transmutation. In all these cases there are incidents necessary to the effect which are due to other elements than are to be found in the apparently producing cause. There is this peculiar- ity, however, in the connection between the Physical Forces — that they may all interchangeably be either the cause or the consequence of each other. Mechani- THE FACTS OF LIFE. 127 cal Motion is the most common antecedent of them all. It will give rise to Light and Heat, whilst Light and Heat will both give rise to mechanical motion. In like manner, Heat and Light will give rise to Elec- tricity, whilst, conversely, Electricity will give rise to Heat and Light. Again, Electricity will give rise to Magnetism ; and Magnetism, when accompanied — but only when accompanied — by mechanical movement, will generate powerful currents of Electricity. These currents, again, are so closely connected with Chemi- cal Force, that they are the most powerful of all agents in setting that Force free to exert its selective energy. So intimate is this connection, that Electri- city has been described as Chemical Force in motion — passing from one point of action to another through a chain of intervening substances. And yet the iden- tification of Voltaic Electrieity with Chemical Force eludes us again when it is considered that in itself it has no chemical effect (so far as is known) on the mat- ter through which it passes by conduction. The wires which complete the circuit in a Voltaic battery suffer no decomposition or chemical change, although such a change is the origin of the current at one end, and ia again the result of it at the other end. Chemical action will not arise except under special conditions. Hut when these conditions are present, it will pro- duce all the 'correlated' forces, Heat, Light, Mag- netism, and Electricity, whilst, conversely, all these forces either produce or stimulate or intensify chemi- cal action." It will be noted that gravitation is not included in the above list of forces. While it is a conditioning 128 TIIE GIST OF IT. factor in the action of all other forces, it is utterly unlike any of them. One fact will show this. All the others move with appreciable velocities. Light travels about one hundred and eighty-three thousand miles , a second. Electricity moves in the human body a hundred feet in a second, and will pass around the earth in eight minutes. Gravitation acts instan- taneously at infinite distances. So marked and entire is the difference between gravitation and the other forces, that Sir John Herschel says, 1 " It is but. reasonable to regard the force of gravitation as the direct or indirect result of a consciousness or will existing somewhere." Such statements, from so high authorities, are sufficient to clearly prove at least the extreme im- probability of the perfect correlation of all the forces. The attempt to show that all spirit-action is likewise a manifestation of force, perfectly correlated with the others, and so transformable into them, is hope- lessly vain. Its only show of evidence arises from the confusion of an accompaniment with a cause ; i.e., the assertion that because manifestations of physical force usually accompany spirit-action, there- fore they are spirit-action, and so a form of physical force = spirit. This has been sufficiently discussed in previous parts of this treatise. The existence of such a thing as mind-force, or will-force, correspond- ent to the idea of the physical forces, must first be demonstrated. Right here is a subtle sophistry in this hypothesis. The only idea of the physical forces 1 Outlines of Astronomy, fifth edition, p. 291. Quoted in Reign of Law, p. 73. THE FACTS OF LIFE. 129 is, that each is, in all its working and manifestations, the same force. When, now, this conception is ex- tended to the region of spirit-action, it necessarily follows that all different minds and wills — as we term them — are but manifestations of the one uni- versal mind- or will-force ; and so we are at once landed in the purest fatalistic pantheism. But the hypothesis of such a force is not to be accepted until proved. When that is done, it will still remain to be shown how the physical forces, acting under the law of necessity, can be correlated with, and transmutable into, the mind-force, — if such there be, — acting under the principle of freedom, spontaneity. All the physical forces operate under laws, fixed and definite, based on relations of space and time, and capable of mathematical expression. "Not even a drop of water can be formed except under rules which determine its weight, its volume, and its shape, with exact reference to the density of the fluid, to the structure of the surface on which it may be formed, and to the pressure of the surrounding atmosphere. M Until such necessity is found to rule in the sphere of spirit-activity, it is a waste of words to talk about the " correlation of physical and spiritual forces." Is it necessary to push the discussion of this ques- tion farther? The same line of argument followed in discussing materialism is equally valid here. If force be the cause of aU the universe, it must account for that universe. Now, it is evident that there is no ground to affirm either the eternity or self-existence of force, as distinct from and originating matter, but 130 THE GIST OF IT. yet governed by necessary law; and its assumed unity has been shown to be a misnomer. Life-force, which cannot be resolved into other forces, though it makes use of them all, exists, and must be accounted for. Intelligence, emotion, will, moral perceptions and judgments, sesthetic sentiments, freedom and responsibility, are facts, and must all find a place in the explanation of the existing scheme of things. But blind, senseless, unfeeling, necessarily-acting, physical forces are wholly incompetent to solve the problem. They do not possess the properties of these existences, and cannot develop them. To clothe physical force with the attributes of intelli- gence and freedom, of personality, in short, would explain the case. This, however, would sacrifice the hypothesis, and would be inconsistent with the dis- coveries of modern science, which declare that all physical forces are fixed and necessary in their action, and hence fitted to give permanency to the universe ; while, by their power of limitless mutual adjustment, they afford scope for the use of them by intelligence. This hypothesis thus fails to meet the scientific demands of the case : it presents a cause which is neither adequate nor appropriate to account for all the phenomena of the universe ; and it ignores, or tries to explain away, large and essential classes of facts. It follows that the hypothesis has no claim on our further attention, and can only be dismissed as vain. Some different, higher, and more comprehen- sive, cause must be found, or the phenomena must remain unexplained. THE FACTS OF LIFE. 131 III. The third hypothesis is more varied in its forms than either of the others. Any satisfactory discussion of it within onr limits here is, therefore, extremely difficult. The following statement, however, includes the essential characteristics of all the systems which properly come within the purposes of this treatise, and puts the question in a form in which it can be han- dled : There is but One Existence, which is self-ex- istent, infinite, eternal. It is not the Cause of all things, but It is all things. All the phenomena of matter and mind are but manifestations of this One Being. While possessing intelligence and will, It has no separate personality, and becomes conscious only in the mind of man. On this hypothesis the universe and its cause stand related as substance and attribute, or whole and part. Each of these would, it seems, furnish an explanation of the existing scheme of things. But they both viti- ate the causal judgment, — the affirmation of the 14 why " of things, which lies at the basis of all inves- tigation. The causal relation is, on either of these suppositions, wholly obliterated. The branches and leaves of a tree are parts of the tree ; but the tree is not the cause of the branches, nor are they the cause of the tree. The tree is the sum-total of all its parts, — roots, trunk, branches, leaves; but the cause of the tree and its parts is the life-force, which weaves all those parts into one organic whole. The brain, heart, lungs, are vital parts of the human body, but the body is neither the cause nor the effect of these parts. 132 THE GIST OF IT. Here, too, the cause of both parts and body is the organizing life-force. Again, extension is an attri- bute of matter, but it cannot be said that matter is the cause of its own extension. Matter occupies space, and so is extended, because it is made that way, and cannot be what it is without the attribute of ex- tension. Thought-power is a manifestation of mind. Mind, however, is not in causal relation to its power of thought. 1 Thought-power is an attribute of mind, inhering essentially in its nature. Mind would not be mind, could not exist, devoid of its thought-power. Hence, both mind and its power of thought have their common cause in that which brought mind into be- ing, and endowed it with the power of thought. It is clear that to adopt either of these hypotheses is to obliterate the causal relation, and to sacrifice the causal judgment, on which alone any rational inves- tigation of the origin of the universe is possible. There is thus a suicidal weakness at the basis of the' hypothesis. There are, in the scheme of the universe, evident and innumerable tokens of intelligence. The entire material world is built up of forces and elements governed by fixed laws, which are combined, under the action of life and mind, into forms of limitless variety, changing on the slightest alteration of the exact adjustment of their components. 2 The combi- nations found in the world of Nature have been the 1 Three things should here he carefully distinguished: the mind's power of thought, which is its ability to act in that way; the actual process of thinking; and the product of that process, —thought. 2 Pp. 73-75. THE FACTS OF LIFE. 133 study of mankind for ages, and we are now only be- ginning to understand some of them ; while there is seemingly boundless scope for all future investiga- tion along the still-opening lines of scientific research. Now, it is the baldest assumption to say that the adaptations in Nature, which it requires mind to understand, in even a small degree, are not the prod- ucts of mind. The pantheist is not chargeable with this error. He admits, and even claims, the existence of Mind in the universe; but he mistakes the relation of Mind to the universe, and divests mind of some of its properties, asserting that the Mind in the universe, while possessed of intelligence and will, is devoid of separate personality, and attains self-consciousness only in the mind of man. The error in the relation of Mind to the universe has been spoken of, and its weakness — if it be con- sidered as that of whole and part, or substance and attribute, — shown. It is here, however, that the ele- ment of truth which pantheism contains, is found ; and, therefore, a further statement is necessary. The forces and elements of the world of Nature, in their operation perform rational work. Yet they are them- selves blind, senseless, incapable of rational action, save as under the control of intelligence. How, then, is the character of their working to be explained? Two answers may be given. First, It may be said that the creative Mind has established these forces in fixed orders of action; and hence, while never able to vary from their pre- established methods of operation, in those methods they execute the work of intelligence. Here a 134 TUB GIST OF IT. difficulty arises. All the work of these forces is performed by their mutual adjustment, — their co- ordination. If the combination be in the slightest degree varied, the result is changed. All the activ- ity in the inorganic world, — the sweep of the ocean- billows, as sea and air mingle in the furious storm ; the changes in a molecule of carbon, through which it passes from black coal to brilliant diamond ; all the ceaselessly changing effects produced in Nature by the play of life in animal and plant : soft green leaf, modest blue violet, flashing plumage, exquisite song, — all these are produced by the continual ad- justment and re-adjustment of these physical ele- ments and forces. In the sphere of human action this is easily understood, for we freely and volun- tarily produce and modify these adjustments to suit our purposes. In living Nature the matter is par- tially explicable, for we find the life-force, a compe- tent co-ordinating power within a certain sphere. But outside this sphere of activity, which is ac- counted for by life, and in the inorganic world, in what way can we explain this continuous and mar- vellously complex co-ordination of activities ? These forces and elements have no power of self-adjust- ment, self-co-ordination. Second, We must, therefore, conclude that all along the line of their activity these forces and elements are under the immediate, personal, direction and con- trol of the immanent creative Mind. The creative Mind is thus not only the cause and ultimate ground 1 1 Cause, in the strict scientific sense, refers to the efficiency ope- rating in a series of antecedents and consequents, as when a hullet, THE FACTS OF LIFE. 135 of the universe, but also its ever-present, omnipresent, Support and Director; and it is His image and reflec- tion, — the immediate expression of His will. This is the truth involved in pantheism. Its error con- sists in its denial of the transcendence of the creative Mind, and its identification of that Mind and the uni- verse — on the basis of the above-mentioned relations — as one. The second error of pantheism lies in its definition of the creative Mind. The pantheist affirms that this Mind possesses intelligence and will, but is destitute of separate personality, and becomes self-conscious only in the mind of man. Now, all our knowledge of mind outside ourselves is necessarily founded on the analogy of mind within us. We infer the exist- ence of mind, intelligence, free-will, personalit}', in human beings about us, because, although we cannot penetrate their consciousness, we perceive in them manifestations winch, in ourselves, we know to be the ontworkings of mind. So the pantheist, in con- sidering the universe, and finding therein signs of the presence of mind like the manifestations of the minds of himself and other human beings, only on a most stupendous scale, concludes that mind exists in the universe. But he further assumes that Mine) in the universe is inseparable from the universe, and in so doing he breaks entirely away from the analogy. To be consistent, he should affirm that mind, and its Bred from a pistol, enters the brain, ami causes hemorrhage, and thru death, in a wider sense cause ** ground, — no! the efficiency which operates In the series, but that which underlies and conditions the aejriey at> S who!.:. 136 THE GIST OF IT. manifestations in his fellow-men, are not distinguish- able ; and that, in his own being, the same indications of mind which he observes in those about him, and all others, are the same thing as his mind. The testimony of self-consciousness, however, con- vinces every man that not only are there manifesta- tions of mind in himself different from, or additional to, such as he observes in others, but also that his mind is separate and distinct from its manifestations. This testimony is unimpeachable, and the pantheist makes no attempt to question it. Just like common folks, he recognizes in his language this basal distinc- tion. He moves his ringers in writing ; but he will not affirm that the movement of his fingers, although an indication of directive intelligence, is that intelli- gence. "I move my fingers," is his statement, like that of any one else. Moreover, he recognizes in himself indications of mind which are not perceptible to the outside ob- server. Thoughts flit through his brain which, it may be, are never uttered ; his soul is deeply stirred by some powerful emotion, but his countenance re- mains impassive ; in light, genial conversation with his friends, he is at the same time maturing some great purpose, and summoning all his energies to its execution. On the basis of this knowledge of him- self he attributes to those about him a mind like his own, in its inner, as well as outer, manifestations, though only the latter are observable by him, and in all his intercourse with them never finds occasion to change his- opinion. When, now, he comes to consider the manifesto- THE FACTS OF LIFE. 137 tions of Mind in the universe, which, though im- measurably grander than the manifestations of mind which lie observes in men about him, are exactly analogous thereto, he ought, in sound reason, to con- sider these manifestations as the outworkings of a Mind incomparably superior to his own, but like it, and just as certainly distinct from the manifestations, and in causal relation thereto, as his own mind, or that of any of his friends, is distinct from, and the cause of, the indications which reveal its presence and activity. On the contrary, he here departs from the analogy, and affirms that these manifestations are proofs of the existence of a Mind totally different in its nature from any other of which he has any knowledge : that, whereas indications precisely simi- lar to these, in himself and others, are proofs of a mind which is self-conscious and separate from its manifestations, therefore these indications are evi- dences of a Mind which is not self-conscious, and is inseparable from its manifestations ! because, when he wishes to construct a house, he must be thor- oughly awake, and constantly and carefully direct all his own actions in his work; therefore, this vast mechanism of the universe was constructed by a Mind whose capacity is to that of man as the ocean to the dewdrop, but which had no consciousness of its activity; an Intelligence, which elaborated a thought-system of measureless comprehension, in which even man, and all the conditions and possibili- ties of his action, are included, but knew not that it was thinking; a Will, which realized in execution the thought-system of the Intelligence, and sustains 138 THE GIST OF IT. through endless ages the universe thus constructed, but never is aware of its putting-forth of energy ! Nay, more, he insists that this Mind is inseparable from the universe, which is its attribute, a necessary mode of its activity. In our own selves, intelligence and will are insepa- rably connected with a self-conscious personality, which is, and knows itself to be, separate in exist- ence from all others. It is an Ego ; it can say " I ; " from it all the outer world is distinct. On what ground, of fact or logic, does the pantheist rend asunder these attributes ? All the positive proof obtainable shows that intelligence and will have no existence apart from separate self-conscious person- ality. The assertion, therefore, of an unconscious, impersonal Intelligence and Will, is without evidence on which to rest, and, to all minds except pantheists, is, in the full sense of the word, inconceivable. There is no analogy of any kind between it and any known form of existence, and it violently contra- dicts all the facts concerning mind of which we have knowledge. The conception can, of course, be ex- pressed in words ; but the language does not repre- sent a thinkable idea. Now, how can such a concept be the cause of the universe ? Granting the conceivability of the idea, by what process of evolution are personality and self-consciousness to be evolved out of an existence in which they are utterly lacking? Or, in what manner do impersonal, unconscious intelligence and will take on personality and self-consciousness, and so blend with them as to form one indivisible unity ? The THE FACTS OF LIFE. 139 hypothesis affords no room for causation. Whence, then, the ineradicable idea of causation in the mind, and the irresistible conviction that a causal rela- tion exists in the external world ? The hypothesis destroys all distinctions between subjective and ob- jective existence. Whence, then, the unquestioning belief in the mind that such distinctions exist ; that it is separate from other forms of being, which, again, are distinct from each other? The hypothesis de- rives all its material from consciousness ; but its conclusions set at naught the most fundamental deliverances of consciousness, and necessarily lead to absolute scepticism. 1 The above considerations would seem sufficient to set aside the hypothesis of pantheism. Nevertheless, the treatment would be incomplete without a pre- sentation of some other objections. There is a sphere of existence, as has been more than once stated in this discussion, in which the law of necessity rules. All the forces and elements of the inorganic world are under the domination of fixed and unchangeable laws. There is another sphere, in which the principle of freedom governs. However metaphysicians may wrangle over the question of the freedom of the will, and becloud their own and others' minds by intricate and hazy disquisitions, the fact remains, as one of the most unimpeachable declarations of consciousness, that the spirit is essen- tially free in its activity. The two spheres in which these incongruous principles of necessity and free- dom operate, are usually regarded as distinct, sepa- I Pp. 7-i). 140 THE GIST OF IT. rated from each other by the totality of their diameters. Pantheism does away with the distinc- tion of these two spheres, making them one, but does not disprove the fact of the existence of these two principles. Yet, how can they both operate in the same substance ? It is conceivable, that, if some outside Power created both mind and matter, that Power might impress upon matter the law of neces- sity, and upon mind the principle of freedom. But if there be no distinction between mind and matter, if intelligence and will, carbon and electricity, are all simply manifestations of one common substance, it is incumbent on pantheism to explain the fact of the presence and operation in that substance of these two contradictory principles. The hypothesis makes man the culmination of the universe. It is strange and pitiful that man should look out into all this universe, so full of tokens of wonderful intelligence, and of which he forms so infinitesimal and frail a part, and find in it no other evidence than that he is its highest and last develop- ment. Man is, by the hypothesis, nothing but a transitory manifestation of the one substance ; yet, by the hypothesis, he is possessed of the highest attributes ofc existence, which are lacking in that substance ; that is, a passing form in which the sub- stance appears, is superior to the substance itself ! Self-conscious personality is the crown of existence : yet this hypothesis supposes that nowhere in the entire infinity of space and time is this to be found, save in man, who is u but a vitalized speck, charged with a fraction of . . . intelligence, crawling over THE FACTS OF LIFE. 141 the face of an egg-shell full of fire, whirling madly through infinite space, a target for all the bombs of the universe." The statement of such a conclusion is its refutation. This hypothesis makes no provision for man's religious nature. The practice of worship seems co-extensive with the race. It is certain, at least, that no people have yet been found who were with- out religious observances of some kind. 1 Worship is essentially objective, is directed toward some per- son external to the worshipper, and believed to be superior to him, "inaccessible to his senses, but not indifferent to his actions," and able to help or injure him. Pantheism makes no provision for this dispo- sition to worship. A man would recoil from the idea of bowing in worship before himself. But how is this different from worship paid to a something of which he is an essential part ? The desire to worship is satisfied only when it terminates upon some personality. Pantheism finds no personality in the universe but that of man. Worship involves the exercise of the noblest feelings of human nature : reverence, adoration, love, in their highest forms, find scope in, and only in, it. But what place do these find in a system which provides no Person to be reverenced and loved, before Whom men can bow in adoration ? The sense <>f responsibility is innate in the human mind. "Ought" is a term whose meaning is clear in every one, and whose binding force is instinctively recognized by all. hi it lies the full force of con- 1 Flint, Anti-Tlicistic Theories, Lecture 7. 142 THE GIST OF IT. science, which " doth make cowards of us all." The criminal who is absolutely safe from detection and punishment by his fellow-men, shudders and cowers under the racking tortures of an aroused conscience, painting vividly before him his past violence, and thundering in his ears its predictions of vengeance. What meaning has such experience, if pantheism be true ? If it has any signification whatever, it must be that there is some Being somewhere, superior to man, to Whom he is responsible. To say that this Being is simply " the eternal principles of truth and righteousness," does not lessen the difficulty. Here the strange feature of the universal phenomenon of sin appears. The feelings with which one contem- plates his performance of a mean action are totally different from those which arise when he meets with an accident, as when he falls and breaks his arm. If the Being toward Whom the sense of obligation looks is simply a principle, as gravitation is a prin- ciple, this difference is inexplicable ; but it can be understood when we admit, as the history of every religion shows, the consciousness of every man tes- tifies, that this sense of ought, of right and wrong, is directed ultimately toward a Person. This fact of the universal occurrence of wrong- doing affords a strong argument against the pan- theistic hypothesis. From the consciousness and observation of every one, it appears that in number- less instances men deliberately refuse to do that which they know and admit to be right and best for them, and deliberately choose that which they con- fess to be wrong and disastrous. There is no other THE FACTS OF LIFE. 143 being in the animate world, no plant or animal, that does not properly exercise its functions, and fulfil the purpose of its being. Why is it that man, if — as the pantheist declares — he is the highest develop- ment, not alone of all earthly existences, but of the whole scheme of originated and unoriginated being, is thus perverse and failing? Pantheism answers only by ignoring, explaining away, or denying, the fact. Such, then, is the third hypothesis as to the origin of the universe. It starts with contradicting the testimony of consciousness as to the essential unity of the spirit, and thus impeaches at the beginning the witness whose evidence is necessary to furnish the data for the hypothesis, and whose truthfulness is vital to all knowledge. It vitiates the idea oi causation, and arbitrarily posits, in language, an illogical and inconceivable substance, which = its manifestations, and these = all phenomena. It denies personality and self-consciousness to this sub- stance, and thereby cuts away all ground for its affirming these attributes of man. It offers no ex- planation of the facts of the religious nature, of worship, duty, right and wrong, and provides no sphere for their action. It offers no hope to bur- dened, Buffering humanity, and presents no motives for exertion. Its logical outcome is scepticism in the most absolute sense, perfect indifference and apathy, ultimate annihilation. It is obviously in- adequate to fulfil the conditions of the situation; and it, too, must 1"- passed by. The three hypotheses thus far discussed, of matter 144 THE GIST OF IT. of force, and of pantheism, though differing in many particulars, have, nevertheless, a common ground in their bearing on the nature of man. Matter and force are essentially fixed and necessary in their action. If, then, man is evolved from either of them, it is foolish to suppose that he is governed in his action by any thing else than fixed law ; and, if this be true, his boasted freedom and personality are the merest illusions. Pantheism reaches the same result, in that it denies personality to the substance of which man is but a manifestation, and virtually destroys the distinction of necessary and free action. This, it is evident, takes away all responsibility, and overturns the foundation of all society. To attempt to hold any man accountable for his actions is a contradiction in terms, if he is under the rule of necessary law, or is but a part in the One, All- embracing, Being. When this is done, all moral distinctions are wiped out. We cannot speak of an action as right or wrong, honorable or mean, brave or cowardly. All terms connected with "ought," and "right," and " truth," are at once rendered meaningless, and all action is made alike and incapable of expression in terms of commendation or reproof. All stimulus to exertion is likewise removed. Why should one put forth earnest effort, in the face of difficulty and discouragement, if he and his actions are in the grasp of unavoidable necessity, or the appearances of a Universal Being in which he is soon to be merged and lost ? Out of this process comes the destruction of all THE FACTS OF LIFE. 145 hope for humanity. Trial and difficulty, sin and suffering, are facts. Purposes are thwarted, ambi- tions crushed, lives darkened with sorrow, hearts rent and broken with anguish. Everywhere life is rendered tolerable only because of the hope that sometime and somewhere all wrongs will be righted, all sorrows relieved : multitudes of men patiently, cheerfully, endure the most bitter experiences, be- cause they believe they have found relief for bur- dened conscience, a sustaining power in all life. All this these hypotheses would take away, and leave poor humanity to grope on under the accumulating w r eight of unrighted wrong and increasing heart- anguish, until, passing through the black-robed, sepulchral portals of Pessimism, they are forever lost in the unending forgetfulness of complete anni- hilation. IV. The fourth and last hypothesis, in the choice lan- guage of Professor Flint, elsewhere quoted, 1 is " that the universe owes its existence, and continuance in existence, to the reason and will of a self-existent Being, who is infinitely powerful, wise, and good. . . . That Nature has a Creator and Preserver, the nations a Governor, men a heavenly Father and Judge." Is this the true explanation? It will be remembered that in the discussion of the foregoing hypotheses, their final rejection was not due to their failure to attain absolute certainty, as in a mathematical demonstration ; but, rather, they were > p. 101. 146 THE GIST OF IT. set aside on the grounds of lack of rational consist- ency and inability to account for the phenomena. We are throughout in the sphere of reason, and are therefore to weigh all evidence, consider all argu- ments, and form our conclusions as sound reason directs. Further, in the preceding hypotheses, many distinct lines of proof were taken up. These lines were often separate, so that the proof or disproof of one did not affect the validity of another : but yet they were, in the aggregate, cumulative ; the proof of each, while not of necessity involved in the pre- ceding, yet formed an additional strand in the com- plete cord of evidence ; which was, on the contrary, in so far weakened by the breaking of any one of the strands. The cumulative character of the reasoning on these hypotheses must not be overlooked. The different lines of proof do not form a chain, in which the strength of the whole is simply that of the weak- est link. But they form strands in a cord, whose strength is that of the entire combination. We pass, then, to the study of this last hypothesis. 1 The causal argument in its simplest form has been so often referred to in the other parts of this discus- sion, 2 that it needs but a re-statement here. Logic and science alike demonstrate and found upon the fact that there must be some eternal Being: for, if there ever was a time when there was no being, there never could be any, since it is impossible that some- thing should arise from nothing ; the fact of present 1 For synopsis of logical relations of parts of theistic argument, see Appendix 8. * Pp. 94-98. THE FACTS OF LIFE. 147 being proves an eternal Being. Again, that eternal Being must be self-existent; for, if not so, it is de- pendent for its own existence on some other being, and so cannot have been eternal. Further, this self- existent, eternal Being (or Cause) must be one ; for not only does the universe bear the evident marks of unity, but the constitution of the mind forbids its assumption of more than one Primal Cause ; and if there were a plurality of self-existent, eternal, causes, it is not conceivable how they could work together in the production of a common effect. This one, self-existent, eternal Cause must be able, as tried by the various tests, 1 to account for all the facts of the universe. First of these is the fact of dependent being itself. The jmi verse as a whole had an origin. Even if 1 the purely materialistic evolution hypothesis were true, and all has been developed from an original nebulous condition, yet that nebula could not have been eternally existent, else it would continue to be such ; and, besides, the principles by which it developed must have been stamped upon its con- stitution. The facts of certain special phenomena also point to an original First Cause. Life is not developer! from matter. It is not a link in the chain of the de- velopment of physical elements and forces, but is superimposed upon them, and uses them. Mind is not related to either matter or Life as effect to cause; but it is superior to both, and both are its servants and instruments. These facts all naturally l Pp. 97, 148 THE GIST OF IT. refer to some First Cause, which is their common source. The universe is orderly in its construction. Mathe- matical relations prevail everywhere throughout it. The weight, density, volume, and form of the heav- enly bodies are all expressible as numerical relations. Their rates and periods of movement, and distances from each other, are likewise based on ideas of num- bers and space. The action of all the physical forces is expressed in mathematical formulas, and the pri- mary elements are numerically and quantitatively constituted. It is a familiar fact that the orbits of the heavenly bodies are all conic sections, and that the most abstruse mathematics are constantly applied in their revolutions. It is an equally certain fact that the smallest particles of matter in the universe, in their mutual balancings, are at every instant passing through movements which involve mathematical cal- culations greater and more intricate than any of which we have any conception. This order can be explained only on the ground of intelligence in the Cause of the universe. Mathematical studies require the exercise of the highest type of intellect, and all forms of knowledge are found to In some way embrace mathematical ideas. It seems, then, only rational to attribute to the First Cause intelli- gence. The objection that this represents the First Cause as a mechanical contriver, and hence is degrading to the theist's conception, is of no weight ; for, if it be true, the men who have attained highest eminence in mathematical studies are by that fact shown most THE FACTS OF LIFE. 149 inefficient, and so Kepler, Sir Isaac Newton, and La Place, must be ranked as inferior in intelligence to the stupid boy who never can get beyond " twice one is two." The fact of order in the universe increases the probability of intelligence in its Author. Only an Intelligence of whose powers we can form no ade- quate idea could determine the weight, volume, den- sity, distance, and rate of revolution, of the vast number of worlds in the depths of space, — inter- lacing their orbits in manifold complications, and passing each other with marvellous rapidity at all combinations of angles and distances, — so that in all the ages of their history they should move on in harmony without destructive collision. The slightest change in the numerical relations of the elements of the universe — e.g., if gravitation should act in inverse ratio to the mass and as the cube of the distance — would wreck the entire mechanism. This fact is, therefore, a powerful testimony to the existence in the First Cause of most wonderful intelligence. This orderly arrangement of the universe forms the basis for another fact, which is a still stronger evidence in the same direction. The universe, as a whole and in its parts, is a system of adaptations of means to ends. Thus, the human body is a mosl complicated mechanism, in which specific means are combined for the accomplishmenl of definite ends. The bones of the hand and arm form a framework upon which the muscles are placed ; the muscles are capable of great contraction and expansion, and are 150 THE GIST OF IT. charged with electricity ; all through the muscles runs the telegraph - system of the nerves; when, then, any action is necessary, — as in taking a book from a shelf, — the nerves, under the direction of intelligence, let loose the electricity in the muscles, and the hand performs its appointed work. All the organs of the body are exactly adapted to a specific work necessary in the body. The heart must pump the blood throughout the entire system, regularly and rapidly, with no rest during life : no engine of human manufacture is equal to it in its compact and perfect structure. The wonders of the eye, the ear, the hand, the vocal organs, are too familiar to need more than allusion here. Some individuals have criticised this argument because the eye is not an ideally perfect optical instrument ; but they are suffi- ciently answered by the fact that an eye made as an ideally perfect optical instrument would be unfit for man's use, while these imperfections are the very things which adapt the eye to the needs of the con- ditions under which it is to be used. These are but illustrations. In all the organisms of Nature, there is found a perfect adaptation of parts, a fitting of means to ends for the welfare of the organism and the exercise of its functions. The teeth of the beaver are fitted for cutting wood, its tail is a perfect trowel, and its fur coat enables it to pass at ease through the water. These things are necessary if the beaver is to live and exercise itself as such. Beyond and above all the fitting together of means for the accomplishment of ends in the organism itself, THE FACTS OF LIFE. 151 there are other ends entirely outside the organism, for which provision is made in the organism. Thus, the combination of elements in wheat is essential to its being wheat; and that end would be fulfilled if every grain, as it ripened, fell upon the earth unno- ticed. But in the wheat are found the elements needed for the support of the human body, in the best form for easy assimilation. Thus, the combina- tion in the grain ministers to far higher purposes than simply its own perfection. The digestive pro- cess by which plants absorb carbon from the atmos- phere is essential to their own structure, in which carbon is the predominant element. But, if it were not for this arrangement, animal life would be impos- sible on the earth. The entire scheme of material existence has been so organized as to furnish opportunity and material for the work of intelligence. All this arrangement was made by the First Cause, and must have been planned for from the beginning. The whole round of created being is thus a complete thought-system, in which, from the atom of hydrogen to the body of man, each form is complete in itself, adapted to its own place and functions, and yet subserves the pur- poses of other forms higher than itself, until it all culminates in a stupendous contrivance for the end- operation of intelligence. Objectors to this argument for purpose, design, final cause, — however it may be termed, — lose sight of this grand system of adaptations, and confine their attention to some minute and obscure [nuts whose purpose is hard to discern. They are as sensible as 152 THE GIST OF IT. one would be who entered a brass-horn factory, and examining the little tubes and valves being made, but having no knowledge of their uses, stigmatized the entire factory as devoid of all purpose or plan. Everywhere, except in philosophic speculation, such a man would receive no hearing. Various answers may be made to such critics. 1 Some regard as conclusive evidence against the idea of design in creation, the fact that in some ani- mals rudimentary and apparently useless organs are found. To these it may be replied, — First, There is a peculiar air of egotism in the denial that an organ is useful simply because we do not see what purpose of utility it subserves. Human knowledge is partial and progressive, and it is not the part of wisdom to make our ignorance a ground of dogmatic decision. No one understands certainly the function of the spleen : are we, therefore, to say that it is of no use in the human system ? Second, The lack of adaptation in some cases is no argument against the fact of it in other in- stances. Here is an illustration of the way in which many speculators violate the simplest rules of reasoning. In syllogistic form the objection amounts to this : — Here is an organ in which is no evidence of useful purpose. This is one among all the organs in the scheme of living beings. Therefore all the organs of all living beings are devoid of useful purpose. 1 These answers are made, not as all a cumulative reply to one objection, but as different replies to various phases of criticism. THE FACTS OF LIFE. 153 How does such reasoning differ from the follow- ing? Arsenic is evidently not intended for food. Arsenic is one of the elements. Therefore, none of the elements are intended for food. One might as well assert, that because the ma- chinery in a rolling-mill makes a great noise, which subserves no purpose whatever, therefore there is no proof of purpose or plan in the rolling-mill ! Every one instantly perceives the foolishness of such reasoning. Yet it is infinitely more rational than the action of him who, finding a little appendix to the great intestine called the vermiform appendix, the representative of the caecum in the herbivorous ani- mals, 1 which is, as far as can be determined, useless in the human system, insists that, therefore, there is no evidence of reason and plan in all the beautiful and complicated mechanism of the human body. Third, If it be true that all species of animal exist- are organized on the basis of a few typical forms, these organs, which in all probability are useless in the organism in which they are found, are yet capable of explanation. The body of man is tin- realization of hints and attempts all through the scheme of animal existence below him; it is tin- per- fection of animal development; and the bodies of the bird, the fish, the quadruped, arc all formed dis- tinctively on the Bame plan as the human frame. The side-finS of the Beal, the wings of the bird, the forelegs of tin- dog, are representative of the arm of man. It i> obvious, that, If the First Cause operated 1 Janet : Pinal Causes, second edition, p. 102. 154 THE GIST OF IT. along these lines of great types in the work of crea- tion, there is no incongruity in the presence in cer- tain forms of useless organs, which are representative of fully developed organs playing an important part in the economy of other living beings. Fourth, It is unquestionably true that many organ- isms have a great power of adaptation to circum- stances. Great changes of temperature, food, and other conditions, are endured by animals as well as by men ; and, if the change of conditions be a per- manent one, the adaptation of the organism will assume an appropriate and lasting form. Writers on this subject frequently seem to suppose that the living organism is exactly like the machine which man constructs from physical materials ; that the watch, the oak, the eagle, are all machines in pre- cisely the same sense, with exactly the same powers of adaptation and varied action. They wholly over- look the fact of life. This disposition to slur over or deny the existence of a life-force has been produc- tive of immense mischief in these discussions. It is claimed that life is simply organization. But the watch is as certainly an organization as the oak or the eagle, yet it is not alive. Life is the cause of the organization, weaves the various elements into one whole, builds the organism into maturity, repairs its waste, preserves its integrity and vigor. This life-force has great endurance, and, in many cases, great latitude in its choice of materials for work. Evidently, then, when the conditions are greatly changed, the life-force may change the organism to correspond to its new circumstances. Hence, it is THE FACTS OF LIFE. 155 not strange that a bird living always on grains, fruits, and worms, but gradually trained to an exclusive fish-diet, should in time have its stomach changed so as most easily to work up the new kind of food. But the bird is just as much a bird, and a bird of the same species, afterwards as before. Now, clearly, in the constant change of circumstances resulting from the development of the earth, many demands have been made upon this power of adaptation in many organisms. Hence, some organs may gradually lose their power, become atrophied and useless, but yet remain as parts of the original mechanism. Fifth, There is neither necessity nor sound reason for concluding that, because there is a purpose of utility in the construction of most organs, therefore every part and property of every organ must be for some useful end. Men often confuse different forms of purpose. Every thing in the universe is not for the sole, narrow purpose of utility, or necessarily related to the use of other forms of being. The peach would be just as useful if its cheek were not mantled with an exquisite blush. The almost endless variety of form and color in the plumage of the hum- ming-birds cannot be shown to, in any way, minister to a purely useful end. The claim that these are "ministering servants to the great function of repro- duction" is a pretty conceit of the naturalist, but unfortunately lacks proof. It is a far less poetic and an offensive conceit which considers all these manifestations of beauty to be for man's aesthetic benefit. Besides, how is that to be reconciled with the facts that the ocean depths swarm with beautiful 156 THE GIST OF IT. creatures, whom man never sees save when occasion- ally he brings one up with his drag-net ; that micro- scopic organisms, as the diatoms, are exquisitely adorned with an infinite variety of engraved pat- terns ; that, long before man appeared upon the earth, it abounded with forms of delicate and mag- nificent beauty? Bird, beast, and man, each in accordance with its nature and capacity, are delighted by this display of beauty. But it is as true to say that they were created for beauty, as that it was created for them. Rather, it is best to conclude that beauty, ornament, varied perfection in color and form, is itself an end in creation, and entered into the plan of the original Thinker. Another class of persons think that the evolution hypothesis leaves no room for design. This depends entirely on what is meant by evolution. If the term signifies a pure work of chance, in which innumera- ble combinations were made, out of which the present happened to survive, but the whole process has been without any directive principle of any kind, it fol- lows that all design or plan in the process is impossi- ble. But this form of the hypothesis is without any basis, and does not merit consideration. If, on the contrary, there has been some governing principle in the development, if organ and function and conditions have all been involved in a mutual inter-action, and a law of natural selection has operated in determining the results ; if, in short, the evolution has proceeded according to some definite plan, — the argument for design is strength- ened thereby. The governing principle, or prin- THE FACTS OF LIFE. 157 ciples, must be related to the entire development, and must direct in the orderly succession of each step in the unfolding, with a view to the ultimate perfection of the whole scheme. But this means that a plan was formed before the process of evolu- tion began, in which every step in the process was provided for, and the whole arranged in an intricate system of means and ends culminating in some ultimate perfection. Stronger evidence than this of a shaping and designing Intelligence could not well be imagined ; so that in this form, which is virtually that of most evolutionists, the hypothesis is necessarily theistic. The nature of man furnishes a series of weighty arguments for the hypothesis. If the world of Na- ture necessitates intelligence in its Originator, what of the world of Mind ? The intricacy and delicacy of the human spirit, its wonderful powers of thought, emotion, and will, its limitless capacities, all are in- capable of explanation unless the Originator of the mind possessed the greatest conceivable intelligence. All the marvels of the outer world sink into insig- nificance beside the mysteries of the mind of a child, and are lost in comparison with the working of the spirit-life of a mature and gifted man. A being without intellect never could have planned the knowing-power of man; a being without any trace of thought could not have organized the power of emotion, whose activity is such an integral and important pari of the spirit-life ; nor could man's will-power be created by a being who could not plan for the action of thai will. In addition to this, 158 THE GIST OF IT. it is also necessary that this Being have will ; for all this plan can be executed and held in continuance only by the exercise of tremendous will. Matter and force and mind exist, because the First Cause planned for their being, and then willed that they should come into being ; i.e., put forth of Its own power in accomplishing in reality that which It had planned. From this it results that the First Cause is a Self-Conscious Personality, for these attributes of intelligence and will have been found to be in- separable from a self-conscious personality in whom they may inhere. At this point, two objections demand considera- tion : — First, It is affirmed that such a conception de- grades the Deity to a mere mechanical contriver, working out, by patient and painstaking effort, all the minutiae of created being, and, with penurious care, adapting part to part and all to the great end in infinitely complex " piece-work." The claim is made that unconscious intelligence is a higher form than conscious intelligence, and that artistic genius is of the latter form. But while it is true, and has been in this discussion strenuously urged, 1 that the creative Intelligence is essentially artistic, having regard to the beauty and richness of His designs, yet this is no proof of unconscious mental action. " The mechanical and artistic represent distinctions in the sphere of conscious intelligence. Art does not pertain to unconscious intelligence, so far as we can perceive, but to the highest conceivable form of con- scious intellect. The real distinction is between i Pp. 155, 156. THE FACTS OF LIFE. 159 ordinary talent and genius. Ordinary talent is mechanical. It mast painfully elaborate its plan, and it is obliged to economize means in order to realize it. There must be, therefore, a painstaking adaptation of means to the end, in order to avoid waste, and make every shred count. Genius is not bound by these limitations. Its plan or idea stands before it by a flash of creative inspiration. In realiz- ing its idea, genius differs from talent, — not in the accomplishment of its ends without means, but in its unlimited command over means, and the celerity and ease with which it attains its end. Its boundless resources free it from the law of economical contriv- ance. It may be prodigal, and lavish resources in beautifying which utility would condemn as waste. In. fact, the apparent waste will be simply a vent for exuberant resources. Genius is not unconscious, but its consciousness differs from that of ordinary talent. It is free from the feeling of limitation and the sense of drudgery which besets ordinary talent. We have no reason to suppose that Shakspere was less conscious of what he was doing when he wrote 'Macbeth' than the author of a dull Congressional speech." 1 Hence, though we cannot measure the thought-power of the creative Mind, nor comprehend that Mental Vision before which all the contents of all space and time are ever and fully present ; yet, when we conceive of the Primal Personality as always and vividly conscious of itself and all its works, though our minds falter and tire under the over- whelming grandeur and sublimity of the conception, 1 For this distinction t.he author is indebted to Dr. Oruioud. 160 THE GIST OF IT. still we are thinking in exact accordance with both fact and reason. 1 Second, The objection is made that such a con- ception of the Deity is anthropomorphic, that it is simply making the Deity an infinitely exalted man. But leading thinkers on the theistic problem now agree that the question is not whether or not shall human attributes be ascribed to the Deity? but, what attributes of man shall be thus ascribed, in what form, to what degree ? Any thing which would limit or degrade the Deity cannot, of course, be ascribed to Him : therefore, a material body, all im- perfection and sin, are denied Him. But the attri- butes of personality — self-consciousness, intelligence, emotion, will, moral and aesthetic powers, — are not essentially limited or limiting : their possession ele- vates, not degrades, their possessor. They may, therefore, be affirmed of the Deitj^. The facts of the moral nature are only to be ex- plained on the h} r pothesis of this one, self-existent, eternal, self-conscious, personal, Intelligence and Will. Duty grows out of the two ideas of oughtness, or obligation binding us to action, and right, or the standard to which we are bound to conform. These two ideas are ultimate ; i.e., are not resolvable into simpler ideas. Such a law as this cannot be self- imposed. It is inwrought into the very fiber of man's spirit constitution, and so results from the will of Him who made the spirit of man. An inherent sense of obligation is a feeling of obliga- tion to the will of some person. The standard i Pp. 137, 138. THE FACTS OF LIFE. 161 to determine the performance of that obligation is that of absolute rectitude, and, therefore, the Will from which it emanates must be an absolutely right- eous Will. The ultimate aim of duty is the attain- ment of moral perfection in character, and hence the Character of which the determining Will is the ex- pression must be one of absolute goodness. Closely connected with the ideas of duty and per- fection, is that of religion. This involves the exercise of all the powers of the spirit, and finds its full ex- pression in worship. Worship is possible only of some Personality, and that Personality One which can be loved and adored, reverenced and feared, and Who is responsive to this worship, and such that with Him the spirit of man can come into commun- ion. Thus this Primal Personality must be possessed of all moral perfections. When, now, to all this the idea of infinity is at- tached, which naturally and necessarily arises in the conception of an Eternal Being, self-existent, the sole Cause and Controller of all existence in all space and time, we find ourselves brought, by the cumula- tive evidence of science and reason, to the fact of the existence of one eternal, self-existent, infinite Being, essing all moral perfections, planning all things by I lis infinite intelligence, giving them reality and continuing their existence by the exercise of His infinite will ; and this Being is the theist's God. Additional testimony is furnished by the fact of sin. Sin is the one blot on the universe. Every- where its defiling, destructive influences are felt. Violence and treachery, grief and remorse, come in 162 THE GIST OF IT. some way in all men's experiences. This cannot be explained as resulting simply from " a failure to fulfil the law of one's being," when by that expres- sion it is intended to do away with all idea of a Supreme Person Whose will furnishes the ground of the law, and to Whom the individual is responsi- ble for his infraction of the law. The withering of the hand, and the practice of falsehood, are both "failures to fulfil the law of one's being." But, in the latter case, the failure is the outcome of the free volition of the individual ; and there results from it, not merely the wreck of the being, but the conscious- ness of guilt, of liability to punishment. It is not all to say that by indulgence in lying, a man's spirit be- comes perverted, and gradually all sense of truthful- ness within him is deadened, all trust in him by others is destroyed, and so his nature and activity are wrecked. In addition to this, there is in every indi- vidual under such circumstances, the feeling that he is liable to be called to an account, and visited with special punishment for his wrong-doing. This is the fearful element in the tortures of an accusing con- science, — the consciousness of the displeasure of a Supreme Person to Whom one is accountable. The history of all peoples shows the prevalence of these ideas. The inscriptions of ancient Babylonia and Egypt, and the hymns and myths of the oldest Sanskrit peoples, tell of efforts to appease the offended deities. The Druids, gathering about their m} r stic altar, and pouring upon it the fresh blood of inno- cent maidenhood ; the Aztecs, bowing in adoration before the sun, the representative of the Deity ; the THE FACTS OF LIFE. 163 sacrifices, festivals, and mysteries, of Grecian religion ; the tears and pleadings of a world of stricken human beings, — all witness the same truth. We come, then, to our conclusion. The cause of the universe is God, — an eternal, self-existent, infi- nite personality, possessing all power, and the fulness of moral perfections. His intelligence planned and directs the universe, His will brought it into being, and gives it permanency. Distinct from His creation, He- yet is the ever-present, continuous Support and Director of the universe. This hypothesis satisfies all the conditions. It sup- plies a true cause : for in God there is genuine effi- ciency. It presents an adequate cause: none of the effects in the universe can surmount the causal agency of the Deity. It provides an appropriate cause : the creative, directive will of the infinite Being is per- fectly fitted to produce all the effects of dependent being. It reveals a known cause : our own will is the only kind of real, originating power known to us, and in this hypothesis we find an answering, though infinite and independent, will. It gives an explana- tion of all the facts : such a Being could create the forces and elements of the inorganic world, establish- ing them in fixed modes of action, giving each its own character and function, and combining all into one complete mechanism. 1 Then, by a new creation, He could introduce life, and through it organize the per- fecl scheme of earthly, animated existences. At last, above all, lie could put the spirit of man — made in His own image, under the rule of the principle of 1 Or even developing all from one primal form. 164 THE GIST OF IT. freedom, — in such relation to the universe as to be able to move in and utilize it, and capable of com- munion with Himself. Such, then, is our theory. We trace our origin to God. The full bearing of this position will be shown later. It is now necessary to consider whither this gifted human nature, originating in the infinite God, and moving in this wonderful universe, is going. What, where, and how, is its future ? THE FACTS OF LIFE. 165 CHAPTER IV. WHITHER AM I GOING? When men of business start upon a journey, they determine beforehand their destination, route, con- nections, expenses, and all other matters which can be known before they leave home. Wise tourists adopt the same principle. Both find that in this way they save time and money, avoid annoyances, secure better results. In just the same way, since, as has so frequently and so beautifully been shown, all men are travellers in this world, moving constantly on- ward, the wise among men try to forecast the future, fix the point in it which will be the terminus of their efforts, and plan for the attainment of that which they perceive before them. It is a question for the tourist whether he will travel, or remain at home ; but it is not a question for us whether we will move on- ward or stand still in life. Whether we will or not, whether we even think of it or not, the days slip by OS one by one, month is added to month, year to year, and we glide, by imperceptible but sure and rapid transitions, from childhood, into youth, full maturity, declining age, and, before we arc aware life IS lin- ished, and we pass put from it ; while others, succeed- ing us, repeat the same routine. The fleetness of life 166 THE GIST OF IT. is nowhere more sweetly expressed than in the words of Homer, where Glaucus says, 1 — " O large-souled Diomed, Why ask my lineage ? Like the race of leaves Is that of humankind. Upon the ground The winds strew one year's leaves, the sprouting wood Puts forth another brood, that shoot and grow In the spring season. So it is with man : One generation grows while one decays." In this rapid and inevitable progress, it is not only a proper, but a necessary, inquiry, What is the desti- nation, the end, of life ? We need to stop for a mo- ment, in the rush and whirl of life, — which, in our hurried American society, affect even the children, and push them forward sometimes until all the joy and charm of childhood are crowded out of them, — and ask ourselves, Whither are we going? Is there any progressive unity in this mad race of life ? What lies before us, behind the heavy curtains which veil the secrets of the future ? I. We are going into life. No one, of course, can tell how long his life will be. Constantly the fact is brought home to us, sometimes to our personal sorrow in the death of some dear one, that no man's hold on life is sure, but that those whose prospects of life seemed fairest may be suddenly cut down. Yet no one knows how long his life may continue, for ripe old age may be reached by even those who in youth i Iliad, Bryant's trans., hook vi. 11. 185-191. THE FACTS OF LIFE. 167 seemed sickly, and apparently doomed to an early grave. Life-insurance statistics show that the ave- rage expectancy of life for the young man of twenty- two is forty-one l years ; which means, that many will die all along the way before reaching that age, and that some will pass far beyond it. With this proba- bility before us, it is highly important to know what is bound up in life. What facts are there concerning the future which can be known at the start, and which will form the basis for a life-plan? One of the most striking things in the unfolding of human life, is its possibilities. Here is a marked con- trast between man and all the animate creation below him. The future of the plant or animal is determined from the start, and is uniform with that of others of the same species. It is said sometimes that the vari- ety in unintelligent life is infinite, but the statement is true only in a limited sense. There is endless di- versity in the forms of life presented by Nature every- where ; and by patient cultivation some species may be, in certain lines, highly developed. The beautiful rose of the garden is developed from the wild brier- rose of the forest; our fleet and handsome horses have their ancestry in the wild mustangs; but the analogy is imperfect, even in the general application, and fails entirely for our purpose here. Take up a rosebud just showing its delicate, heaven- painted tints through the outer folds of green. Is there any uncertainty about the development of the bud ? Is it not a matter of positive knowledge, thai, if the bud live, it will develop into a specific form of i American expectancy tables. 168 TUE GIST OF IT. beauty, and that beyond a certain definite measure of unfolding it cannot go? Go to the forest, and from the beautifully woven bird's nest hanging on the outer branches of some lofty tree, rocked by every breeze that breathes through the quiet woods, dan- cing and coquetting with the green leaves and golden sunbeams ; or from the humbler structure of sticks and clay, or rudely interwoven grasses, put solidly in the fork of the branches of a low-growing shrub, — take the new-laid egg, and note its beautiful shad- ings and marking of bright colors, or its more modest dottings of white and gray and brown. If you have studied such things, you can tell just what kind of a bird will come from that egg. You can describe ex- actly its size and form, the color of its plumage, the notes of its song, its food, its habits, its power of flight, — all about it, in fact, almost as perfectly as though it were flying before your eyes, flashing its colors in the sunshine, and making the tree-tops vocal with its melodious song. Now go to the cradle, and look at the infant boy of three months, laughing and crowing in baby glee, or lying in careless sleep. Can you predict the future of that boy ? As Mrs. Browning says, 1 — " A solemn thing it is to me To look upon a babe that sleeps, Wearing in its spirit-deeps The undeveloped mystery Of our Adam's taint and woe, Which, when they developed be, Will not let it slumber so ; Lying new in life beneath i Isobel's Child, § ix. THE FACTS OF LIFE. 169 The shadow of the coming death, With that soft, low, quiet breath, As if it felt the sun ; Knowing all things by their blooms. Not their roots, yea, sun and sky Only by the warmth that comes Out of each ; earth only by The pleasant hues that o'er it run ; And human love by drops of sweet White nourishment still hanging round The little mouth so slumber-bound : All which broken sentiency And conclusion incomplete, Will gather and unite, and climb To an immortality Good or evil, each sublime, Through life and death to life again. O little lids, now folded fast, Must ye learn to drop at last Our large and burning tears? O warm quick body, must thou lie, When the time comes round to die, Still from all the whirl of years, Bare of all the joy and pain ? O small frail being, wilt thou stand At (rod's right hand, Lifting up those sleeping eyes Dilated by great destinies, To an endless waking? thrones and seraphim, Through the long ranks of their solemnities, Sunning thee with calm looks of Heaven's surprise, But thine alone, on Him ? Or else, self-willed, to tread the Godless place, (God keep thy will !) feel thine own energies Cold, Strong, objectless, like a dead man's clasp, Tin' sleepless, deathless life within thee grasp, While myriad faces, like oik; changeless face, With woe, not love's, shall glass thee everywhere, And overcome thee with thine own despair?" 170 TUE GIST OF IT. Plato, Demosthenes, Julius Caesar, Luther, Shak- spere, Napoleon, Lincoln, — all were once like this child, with their future just as uncertain as his. Judas Iscariot, Nero, Benedict Arnold, Aaron Burr, John Wilkes Booth, Guiteau, were just as innocent and hopeful in their baby days as this little one. Will he grow up to be a wealthy merchant, an elo- quent orator, a great statesman, a man — whatever his station — of honor, integrity, and reliability ? or will he develop into an inefficient worker, an unsafe office-holder, a besotted drunkard, or a great criminal over whose last days the gloom of prison or the gal- lows will fall? What is his specific talent? Will he have a turn for machinery, and take his place among those to whom the world is indebted for the appliances which direct its use of Nature's forces? Will his taste be for scientific investigation, so that he will work in that long list of noble names who have thus far unravelled so much of the secret pro- cesses of Nature, and broadened and bettered life thereby ? Or will he be inclined to literary pursuits, and spend his energies by pen and voice in cheering, counselling, helping, his fellows, as so many of immor- tal memory have done, strengthening and sweetening all life by his truthful, attractive words ? How do you know? How can you tell? You may guess about it all day, but what are your guesses worth ? Heredity is something ; but Aaron Burr's parents were among the choice ones of the earth. Training is more ; but Burns had all the influences of an ideal Scotch Christian home about him until his twenty-first year, yet he wasted his THE FACTS OF LIFE. 171 talents, alienated those who would gladly have aided him, wrecked more than one innocent maiden's life, and, ere he had entered the prime of manly vigor, sank into his grave, where we would fain bury with him all of his life but his exquisite poetry. Circum- stance and opportunity have much to do with all men's future life ; but Lincoln was a rail-splitter, while Charles I. of England had the wealth and learning of his age about him, and was heir to the throne from which afterward he went to the block. Educational advantages are of great value ; but Elihu Burritt, studying his books while bending over the forge and anvil, acquired a scholarship which gave him world-wide renown. Many a college boy to-day, with the products of the research and learning of all ages at his hand, with earnest, schol- arly, energetic teachers to aid him, and with his time all his own to devote to study if he will, fritters away his time, and goes from the commencement exercises into the great, busy world, without a bit of solid acquisition to show for all his years of schooling, and finds the hard- working apprentice at whom lie, a- a student, sneered, rising in prominence and influ- ence, while he is merged in the crowd of those who must watch the active world rush by, careless even of their existence. All these outer influences are helpful ; but they are determined, in the measure of their efficiency, by the character of the free Bpiril of the individual, so that each truly makes his own future. All helps are useless in the hands of the sluggard and spendthrift : the man of true power will make lesser advantage 9 172 THE GIST OF IT. tell in producing immeasurably greater results. There is, then, good reason that the fond mother, bending lovingly over the cradle, should question and plan for her boy ; and her eyes brighten and her face mantles with honorable pride, as she pictures for him a bright, useful, noble future ; but her cheek blanches, and a sickening chill goes through her heart, when she remembers how dark and miserable and infamous that future may be, and she clasps him to her bosom wishing that she might ever keep him as safe and innocent as now. Some one has said, "We like the boys for what they promise to become, but we love the girls for what they are." An innocent maiden, just entering pure womanhood, is as an opening rose, on whose half-unfolded petals of cream-tinted velvet the morn- ing breath of balmy June scatters dewy pearls of glistening iridescence. But behind her lie the years of childhood, when training and education, heart- culture and watchful care, protected her from the infection of evil associations and the blight of inner corruption, and guided and disciplined her affectional nature and moral power in their rich unfolding. Before her stretch the years of maturity, in which Mrs. Browning and Jean Ingelow, George Eliot and Mrs. Burnett, Florence Nightingale and Rosa Bon- heur, Christine Nilsson and Jenny Lind, George Washington's mother and a host of others such as she, with the increasing number of those who in use- ful professions are helping and blessing the world, beckon to limitless scholarship, influence, and honor ; while Catherine de Medicis, "Bloody" Mary, the THE FACTS OF LIFE. 173 gossips and busybodies of every community, who so mar and hinder all that is good, and the unknown number of those pitiable unfortunates who wreck heart and soul in open shame, warn of the fearful depths into which anger and self-will, hatred and jealousy, passion and lack of self-control, lead both the stubborn and the unwary. The increasing recog- nition of the equality of the sexes, and the newly opening lines of employment for woman, give fresh and more intense interest to the problem, What is the possible measure, and what will be the character, of the development of the girls? Our American society needs to be awakened to the fact that in a cultured and ennobled, as well as pure, womanhood, the safety of the nation is vitally concerned. Life is full of duties. Some press daily, in an ever-recurring order, in home-life and in business occupations. Others come at rarer intervals, and, perchance, in combinations which are not repeated. Often conflicting demands and openings for employ- ment arise, and it becomes a task of great difficulty to determine t lie balance of opposing duties. The discussion of the nature, ground, and classification of these duties must be reserved for another chapter. Here only the fact is important. No moment of time, no phase of circumstances, in all life, is free from duty. At every instant, in every place, obli- gations crowd upon men, and the effort to rightly discharge them will tax the largest and noblest nature to the utmost. Many of the greatest men of the race have been so impressed with this con- 174 THE GIST OF IT. stant rush of obligation, that they have made " Duty " the watchword, of their lives. Words- worth gives exquisite expression to this sentiment in an " Ode to Duty," which culminates in these stanzas : — " Stern Lawgiver ! yet thou dost wear The Godhead's most benignant grace ; Nor know we any thing so fair As is the smile upon thy face. Flowers laugh before thee on their beds And fragrance in thy footing treads ; Thou dost preserve the stars from wrong ; And the most ancient heavens, through Thee, are fresh and To humbler functions, awful Power ! I call thee : I myself commend Unto thy guidance from this hour ; Oh, let my weakness have an end ! Give unto me, made lowly wise, The spirit of self-sacrifice ; The confidence of reason give ; And in the light of truth thy Bondman let me live! " A young man who wishes to obtain a government appointment as cadet in West Point or Annapolis, willingly devotes himself for months to preparation for the entrance examinations. The student who aspires to eminence in scholarship must frequently submit to tests of his acquisition and power. Such are regarded as exceptional cases, and )'oung people in ordinary life rejoice in their freedom from all examinations. Their notion is a pleasant one, but it is an egregious error. At no period in a person's TUE FACTS OF LIFE. 175 life can it be said that he is not being, in some way, and by some one, tested. . The young clerk, who, in the absence of his employer, assumes lordly airs, and forgets to be obliging to the humblest customers, may think he is thereby manifesting his manly dignity ; but, in reality, he is proving that there exists in himself a weakness which cannot endure even so slight a strain upon it, and judgments are being formed about him which will retard all his future advancement. The young woman, in her quiet routine of home and social life, is not aware that she is being tried. Often her tones would be gentler, and her manner more sober, if she knew that those for whose good will she most cares were watching her, and forming conclusions regarding her. It is in the little tilings of life, when one is uncon- scious of others, and acts with free spontaneity, that the real character is oftenest shown ; and hence, most people, without stopping to philosophize on the matter, make up their opinions of each other on this basis. These constantly occurring tests are, first, of one's abilities. It is a small tiling for a boy to be asked to direct a stranger on his way in a city: but the promptness and clearness of his answer show if his observation i> keen and accurate, Ids memory reten- tive, and his Ideas clean-cut; and these are basal qualities in business prosperity. The little annoy- ance- nt' life are trivial in themselves; but they reveal 0116*8 power to control himself, and another's weakness before even slight obstacles. Continually, in numberless ways, one's power of exertion, self- 176 THE GIST OF IT. control, fitness for specific kinds of employment, depth of feeling, strength of sympathy, are being tried ; and our recognition, and reception of confi- dence, are determined by the results of these tests. Besides the abilities, the resources, or acquired powers and stores, of a man are subjected to con- stant trial. The head of a machine-shop is suddenly called away, and puts one of his subordinates in charge. In the emergency, the success of the sub- ordinate's discharge of the greater responsibility will be settled by the measure of knowledge and efficiency which he- has acquired above the needs of his regular work. A great reserve force of energy and knowledge is essential in every life, for all are met by unexpected circumstances which demand more of them than their usual duties. Sick- ness of a serious form attacks a man : his recovery will largely depend on his own reserve power of nerve and will, and the resources of strength in his attendants, which enable both to endure un- wonted and long-continued strain. The teacher who knows no more of his subjects than can be learned from the text-books he uses, or who does not understand the relations of his own to other departments of study, is frequently mortified by the legitimate but unforeseen questions of his pupils. The Jesuits have a maxim, Give us the first six } r ears of a child's life, and we care not who has the remainder. Some writer has undertaken to demonstrate that half a man's actual knowledge is obtained in the first five years of life. Both state- ments are fallacious; but they imply what every TI1E FACTS OF LIFE. 177 parent's experience emphasizes, the breadth and certainty of information and accumulation of re- serve force, which every one who would best train even the little children must possess. Character is every day revealing itself, and being put to trial, in the most unimportant matters. Here is a striking instance : One afternoon recently, in a little Western city, a young lady and her escort were walking home from town, and met a company of laborers coming home from their work. The men had been boring a well, and naturally were covered with quite obvious marks of their toil. One of them, the roughest and muddiest of the entire number, was smoking a clay pipe. As every one knows, it is a point of honor among young men of fashion and cul- ture (?) to take particular pains always, when they are smoking on the street, to puff the smoke of their cigars into the face of every lady they meet. So general is this practice, that one is hardly " proper " who docs otherwise. But this toil-stained Irish laborer, whose' touch would be contamination to the dude, had a nubility of nature and a delicacy of sentiment better than all their wealth and learning ami polish. Before he met the young lady, without any apparent special thoughtfulness, he took the pipe from hi8 mouth, covered the bowl witli his hand, ami held it down at his side until he had passed by. A young woman is an.xiuus to retain the regard of one of her friends. Hut one day, when she is unaware that he is within hearing, Bhe sharply chides a youuger sister, or spitefully replies to her 178 THE GIST OF IT. mother, and wipes out in an instant the kindly im- pressions made by perhaps months of pleasant inter- course. Frequently a glance of the eye will reveal the true character, and flatly contradict the spoken sentiments. A man of high temper may suppose his infirmity mastered, when, in a moment of careless- ness, a slight annoyance meets him, and he finds the trouble as much alive as ever. In ways with- out number, we are every day subjected to experi- ences which develop and manifest the character; and he is a wise man who learns how best, from all such events, to mould and discipline his own nature into proper subjection and harmony. Besides these constant trials in every-day life, there is another form of test for which the young person must make preparation. There comes, once or oftener, in every life, a trial in which every parti- cle of strength in the entire nature is drawn out ; and, if the strain come upon a weak point in the character, the individual is wrecked. It may be in some business misfortune or family trouble, under the pressure of which the man loses heart and hope, and gives up all effort by leaving the country, or, it may be, taking his own life. Or, in some great emergency, a difficult duty may be laid upon a man in defending those who rightly look to him for pro- tection ; but he flinches from it, and ever after bears the reproach, in his own consciousness at least, which always follows a failure to meet unquestioned duty. Or, again, the great opportunity of a man's life may come to him ; but because he has wasted time, and not prepared himself for it, or has entangled himself THE FACTS OF LIFE. 179 in objectionable associations, he may be unable to improve it. It is no unknown thing for a merchant to say of one of his clerks, " He is just the man, in many respects, for this important work ; but I do not like the company he keeps ; or, this qualifica- tion — which he might have had — is lacking." Thus, almost always, in some concrete experience, each one is some time brought squarely to the de- termination of the strength, harmony, and rectitude of his character ; and the form and measure of all his after development and influence are settled by the issue of the trial. Not knowing when or where or how this test will come, he who would not make shipwreck of reputation and life, will use all means to guard and strengthen and enrich his nature, until it is ready for any contingency. Every person hopes for success in life. Whatever the phase of activity, each expects, with more or less certainty, to attain the object of his efforts. Were it not so, there would be no stimulus to exertion be- yond what the bare necessities of existence required, and all the productive energy everywhere manifested would be suffered to run to waste. Yet all are sometimes disappointed, and many find their most cherished plans defeated. People of pessimistic ten- dencies, out of the bitterness of sore personal disap- pointment and the observation of wide-spread sorrow. despite the joy and hopefulness of the prosperous, affirm the universal and necessary outcome of life to be failure and raiserj r . They point to the scholar of prominence and honor, 180 THE GIST OF IT. and tell of the hidden grief which has saddened all his life. The speculator has amassed wealth, but it has been at the expense of friends and health. The laborer is happy in his humble home, but is liable to all the privations and anxieties of small wages and uncertain employment. The political leader is ele- vated to high office, but his good name is at the mercy of every vile person in the nation : honorable office-holding may be followed by mean obscurity, or the bullet of the assassin may, while he is in the zenith of power, cut short his career. So in every life these philosophers find something, which, cancer- like, eats out the heart of all successes, and makes the appearance of prosperity but a sham. It is unquestionably true that failure and sorrow come to every one in some form and measure, and the world is full of those who have made utter ship- wreck of all hopes and purposes. The student who tries for a degree for which his abilities do not fit him, and the merchant who plans his business on a scale beyond the limit of his capital, both alike fail. The young lawyer who has neglected to read broadly, and familiarize himself with many spheres of fact and truth, is called upon to conduct an important case, wherein success means for him a rapid increase of reputation and practice, but, because of his scanty resources, cannot grapple with the questions involved, and, to his shame and irreparable injury, fails. The student for the ministry who is blinded to the conditions of future usefulness by present opportuni- ties for work and prominence, may be faithful to the letter of his class-room duties, but forgets, in the col- THE FACTS OF LIFE. 181 lege and seminary, to train himself to careful think- ing, and, by his own independent study, get a masterj- in all their relations, of the doctrines to whose proc- lamation and defence he expects to devote his life. Hebrew is too hard ; textual criticism is only for specialists ; church government is a bore ; theology is dry ; science, philosophy, and literature, require too much time for him — with his numerous invitations to preach, and frequent meetings, — to think of get- ting a grasp of them ; and careful study and analysis of his own and other's heart-life, in order to philo- sophically develop right life and moral power in him- self and those about him, is for those only who aspire to eminence as theologians ; practical efficiency re- quires no such erudition. By and by, however, in his settled work, he finds troublesome questions con- tinually put at him by the inquiring and sceptical ; points in translation and exegesis, the bearing on his teachings of scientific and literary thought and prog- ress, practical questions of church organization and law, arc pressed upon him ; phases of character of which he never dreamed present themselves, and he cannot analyze and deal with them aright. Lacking, thus, breadth, depth, and solidity, of learning, thor- ough, symmetrical, discipline of his powers, ready to fall a prey to any theological ign%8 fatun*, in the pressure of crowding duties he has no opportunity to make up his deficiencies, soon ceases to be a leader and moulder of thought, and, even though he fall into the snare of Sensationalism, and for a time secure, by his DOVelties, attention and notoriety, while still in the prime of life he passes the "dead line," and fails. 182 THE GIST OF IT. Most pitiable and most common are the failures in character. All about us are moral wrecks, — men who, in positions of trust and honor, could not resist the allurements of speculation and self-gratification, and, betraying the confidence reposed in them, failed ; women who, in the thrill of great temptation, fell and failed. These are but extreme, though sadly frequent, illustrations. The man who has acquired a reputa- tion for lying or petty meanness has failed ; and " failure " is branded on the woman in whom selfish- ness and envy have stifled sympathy and charity, developed backbiting and scandal. It is, then, a pertinent inquiry, What is meant by success in life ? Is there any thing worthy of the name which is entitled to a place in our summary of the facts of life ? Speaking broadly, the man succeeds who gets that for which he strives. If a man resolves to become an adept in gambling, and accomplishes his purpose, he succeeds, in this general sense, just as certainly as the man who determines to make him- self a master in some department of the law, and carries out his intention. Scarce any one, though, will question the proposi- tion that the real measure and value of success turn on the character of the object sought. The woman who, to gratify her wounded vanity, attempts to malign a rival in fashion, and does injure that one's reputation and influence, finds, by and by, her suc- cess recoiling on her in the sting of remorse or the shame of detection and exposure. Mean, miserly, mischievous, purposes do not, in their realization, bring true success. Any achievement which results TEE FACTS OF LIFE. 183 in the debasement of heart and will, or carries with it a reproach which poisons all the satisfaction of accomplishment, cannot be a true success. The man who fails in business in such a way as to cast reflec- tion on himself, may have succeeded in making money by the operation; but the loss of the respect of his fellows, and the sense of his own perfidy, mark his effort as really a failure. From all the preceding, it follows that success can only be affirmed of the man whose purpose has been to develop symmetrically his own nature, 1 and direct it in the working-out of plans in whose accomplish- ment his entire being will find employment and satis- faction. The man who has given himself absolutely to money-getting, and stifled all his sympathies, and denied himself all culture and comfort lest it inter- fere with his one object, succeeds in getting the for- tune, but loses the joy and sweetness of life, which money can neither buy nor supplant, and dwarfs and deadens the best parts of his being. On the other hand, eminent culture, acquired at the expense of health with which to use it, is only half a success; while letters of gold flash the tribute "successful" over the life of him who rounded his whole being into healthy completeness, and stood a "full man " in all his relationships, subduing nature, helping and ad- vancing men in all ways which offered to him. More than this, seeming defeats are often the means of the truest successes. A college student, :• for excellence and distinction, becomes ab- sorbed in intellectual culture until he forgets the i Pp. BO, 51. 184 THE GIST OF IT. need for sympathy and helpfulness in his associa- tions; but a crushing defeat, in the failure to obtain a prize on which his heart was set, takes away his self-centered ambition, and in the broadening and softening of his nature he learns the secret of an in- fluence greater and better than he had ever hoped to win. The life of a young married couple has gone on smoothly from the first. With ample means, pleasant surroundings, and unbroken mutual affec- tion, their happiness seems complete. Business re- verses come to the young man, and his disappointment is embittered by the thought of the privation to which he must subject his wife ; but in the development and manifestation of increased devotion, of a depth and tenderness of affection beyond their largest expecta- tions, they find not only a comfort in their trouble, but that which repays them immeasurably for it all, and fits them better to work anew for prosperity. There is, then, success attainable in life. In its apparent form it is the securing of some specific ob- ject. In its true form it is the right education of the individual, and the harmonious use of all his powers in the performance of duty, and prosecution of com- prehensive and unselfish purposes. Its attainment is possible and easy for those who carefully conserve the laws of their own nature and the conditions of their operation ; while those who disregard, or set themselves against, the principles of their own being and situation, may reach great results in specific lines, but, in the true signification of the word, must and do fail. TI1E FACTS OF LIFE. 18$ II. We are going into death. The love of life is in- stinctive and powerful, triumphing over poverty, disease, injustice, shame, and disgrace ; clinging fre- quently to the veriest shreds of existence, and dis- puting, inch by inch, and moment by moment, the conquering advance of the grim king of terrors. Yet the fact stands out in bold relief — draped with the somber emblems of myriads of past mourn- ers, made more intensely dark and black by the lambent flames of Greek and Hindoo funeral-pvres, and resounding in hollow echo the sad dirge and pitiful wail of sorrowing humanity — that man must die. Hark ! the church-bell's muffled tolling breaks upon the ear, its sweet tones trembling with the weight of human grief. Come: let us, witli the company of sympathizing friends, take our places in the house of God. The deep-voiced organ rolls and peals its d, majestic, quivering harmony, pouring forth in strain- of richest pathos the old, )et ever new, lament of bei irts anguished by the death of loved ones. Up the broad aisle, leading the bowed forms of stricken relatives and friends, is borne the long and narrow coffin, wherein repose the Last remains of him who late was in full strength. Hear those choked, heart- king sobs, and let Your own tears flow without rain! \ "in- was the only son of his mother, and she was a widow." Listen to the tender servi making more vivid, by its touching sympathy, the ,'• word- of comfort and help- 186 THE GIST OF IT. fulness, telling of hope and joy beyond the gloom of present separation. Now come to the city of the dead, and, in among its grassy mounds and stately monuments, stand be- side the new-made grave. It is a dark and narrow opening. Watch how the coffined corpse is lowered into the earth ; listen with reverent, uncovered head to the last words of farewell — and come away. Your heart is full of sadness for your dead and sorrowing acquaintance. But, my friend, you, too, must die. Sometime your beaming eyes will lose their light, your heart grow cold and still, and loving friends will bury from their sight your form, now full of life and joy. Certain, unavoidable, across your path the same dread pres- ence stands, and into its dark shadow every hour of time is speeding you. Many years may lie before you. Care and energy may enable you to pass in safety more than one crisis, but you cannot escape. The end will come. Resistless, relentless, remorseless, the great enemy stands athwart your way, and in the last inevitable contest with him you are doomed to fail. Death is the end of all things earthly for a man. One may for many years control a business in a city or country from which he is absent. But when he dies, all his connections and activities in this world cease. The business speculation which required his continued management to succeed falls to the ground. His long-estranged friend, hurrying to greet him, comes too late, and finds his words of reconciliation never oan be heard. Many times weeping friends THE FACTS OF LIFE. 187 may visit his tomb, storms may sweep over it, social strife, pestilence, and war, may rage about his old haunts, but he lias gone beyond the " Stream, whose narrow tide The known and unknown worlds divide, Where all must go. Its waveless waters, dark and deep, 'Mid sullen silence downward sweep, With noiseless flow." Go to the river, where its deep, swift current flows noiselessly and with placid surface in a smooth bed. Drop into the waters a stone. The water plashes, and a series of waves run circling across the stream. In a few moments all is quiet, and no evidence of the disturbance remains. Try the same experiment in turbulent water, and the resulting waves are almost instantly broken and absorbed by the on-rushing, noisy flood. Go to the mill, and from the hopper, level full of wheat, take out a grain: would you know its absence? but it had its specific place. Take out ;i handful. The moving grain fills up the vacancy, and no trace is left of the effect of your action. The wild pigeons are flying in solid pha- lanx over your head. With your gun you kill one, and it falls. The others fill up his place, and the line sweeps on. All arc fit symbols. A man may be high in sta- tion, and for months a nation may watch in anxious suspense beside his bed. When he is dead, and the ; antrv and excitemenl of burial arc over, his place La filled, his interests pa^.> into other hands, and 188 TUE GIST OF IT. the nation rushes on as before. His work as a man on earth is done. His record is complete. His influence continues, and may be of great and lasting power. But it is the influence of a past activity. His personal, voluntary, agency among men is forever ended. By long observation, statistics are gathered from which an average length of life is found. Yet who can say of any individual how long or short his life may be ? At any moment death may come, or it may delay for long years. " Of the day and hour of his death knoweth no man," is the world's experience. Nor can the place of death be foretold. One man dies in his bed, surrounded by friends gathered to bid him farewell. Schuyler Colfax dropped dead in a railroad-station as he came in from a train. Admiral Coligny was murdered by the hired assas- sins of Charles IX. of France in the massacre of St. Bartholomew. Stonewall Jackson was slain on the battle-field as he urged his troops in conflict. The means of death are no more certain than its place and time. It can ride on a bullet or a thunder- bolt, spring from the point of a knife or a rattle- snake's fangs, lie hidden in a cup of poison, or riot in the madness of fever, wear out its victim with lin- gering torture, or snatch his life so quickly from him that he has no consciousness of pain. No man can absolutely depend on an hour of life. At any mo- ment, in any place, by an}' means, expected or unlooked for, death may come, and summon him to join the innumerable caravan that moves TnE FACTS OF LIFE. 189 "To the pale realms of shade, where each shall take II is chamber in the silent halls of death." This is a world of living men. As each one vacates his place, it is filled, and he passes away from it for- . . Thus each must go ; and whatever he hopes to be and do among men, must be accomplished before his certain death. For then "man goeth to his long home. . . . The dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit to God Who gave it." III. We are going into — what, beyond the grave? '•If a man die, shall he live again?" has been the question of all ages. before us in our journey broods a mist upon the ground; Thither leads the path we walk in, blending with that gloomy bound. • hath pierced its shadows to the mystery they screen : Those, *.\ ho I within it, nevermore on earth are beside US, now at seeming distance lov. ii.it tempt us onward, bright with summer green nd I there our journey ends at last ; id ire enter, and arc gathered to tin- past." 1 On this ftide standing, as our friends go from us, . borne away on the bosom of the cold, chilled and drooping, strain our feeble Bight t<» piercethe mists, and learn their 1 Bryanl : Th< ol Death. 190 THE GIST OF IT. final fate. In vain ! No mortal vision can discern what lies beyond that dark, that dreadful, flood. Our friends were, but are not. We, too, shall soon — how soon? — slip from our loved ones, and be car- ried out beyond the verge of life. We are but human; and the human heart — broken, anguished, by the death of dear ones, trembling, shrinking, as it nears its own inevitable doom, — pleads, pleads, for knowledge, for some certain word concerning that which lies beyond the tomb. Does death end all? Or is it just the entrance to another life ? Through all the ages human reason, searching with the utmost care, presents two answers: Death ends all. Death is the black-robed gateway to another life. Which one of these stands best the tests of human thought? Modern materialism, like all its earlier forms, asserts that with the body the spirit is destroyed ; that the spirit can have no existence save in the body, and hence must perish with it. The positive statements of many writers on this subject would lead one to suppose that science has demonstrated, beyond all doubt, that in death man's existence wholly and forever ends ; that to hold a contrary opinion is to put one's self among the most unenlight- ened of men. It is, however, a peculiarit}^ of materi- alism, that, in every generation, it announces its conclusions as mathematically proven, absolutely certain. It is a strangely coincident peculiarity of mankind, that they persist in beliefs contrary to these "axioms" of materialism. Men may sometimes be slow in accepting scientific discoveries, but they do accept them. It is true that the assertion that the THE FACTS OF LIFE. 191 sun is the center of the solar system involved poor Galileo in serious difficulty with the Church and State authorities. But to-day, when some one, like Rev. Jasper a few years ago, still insists that the sun revolves around the earth, the world simply laughs at him. Despite the wide-spread influence of custom and prejudice, men will not always hold to that which is conclusively shown to be false. The controlling thought, the profound convictions, of the race will and do get hold of the truth. Why is it, then, if there is no evidence whatever of life beyond the grave, that men in all times and countries still believe in it? The Egyptians carefully embalmed their dead, and wound in with the corpse a statement of its life and deeds, to present before the great Judge in the world of shadows. The Persians tell us in their reli- gion of tin' abodes of good and bad men in the future. Many nations, like the Greeks and Romans, have had a form of ancestor-worship. The most enlight- ened people of the world to-day, the Anglo-Saxons, testify to their belief in a future life by all their religious rites and their treatment of the dead. Unless, therefore, we are to admit that the small percentage of humanity, who put forward this hy- pothesis, are the only ones who can fairly be termed rational, we must conclude that their claim of posi- tive demonstration i> unfounded, and that the hy- pothesis is, at the very Least, still on trial. This hypothesis rests on "tic of two assumptions: either the spirit is material, Like the body; or the spirit's vitally dependent on that of the body. 192 THE GIST OF IT. The first of these assumptions has been frequently referred to in this discussion. Granting its truth, the denial of a future life is scientifically impossible. On this hypothesis, man is simply the highest prod- uct of necessarily evolving Nature. The material universe is practically infinite. There are doubtless forces and phases of life in it of which we know nothing as yet. But how is it possible, unless our knowledge of the material universe be exhaustive, to dogmatically affirm that the development in it ceases with the present life of man ? Further, if a man's present existence is wholly due to the action of Nature, so that he is the result of a specific and natural combination of physical elements and forces, it follows that after his death Nature may repeat the same combination of forces and elements, and the same man will again come into being. An oak is the product of the organization of certain forces and elements, under the control of a specific life-force. Let the oak be cut down and burned, and its ashes scattered abroad. But suppose, in process of time, every particle of matter and force once in the oak is brought back to that place ; sup- pose the same life-force which once before organized them, again weaves them into one whole ; the result will necessarily be, not simply an oak, like the one destroyed, but the oak, precisely the same one which before stood in that spot, restored to the minutest detail. Even more : the identity of the oak resides in the life-force, not in the components which it organizes ; for these change constantly during the lifetime of THE FACTS OF LIFE. 193 the tree. Hence, it is not necessary that any thing be restored but the life-force ; and it, with materials similar to those used before, would weave anew the identical oak which before existed in that place. The probability of such an occurrence may be ques- tioned; but its possibility, on the assumed hypothesis, cannot be doubted. From this, however, another principle necessarily flows. Nature's power to cause man's existence at all is the essential point, not the specific form of his existence ; for that changes many times during life. It must be concluded, then, that the power of Nature, which causes a man to exist in this life, may cause him to exist in some other form ; just as, on the same hypothesis, the power of Nature preserves the exist- ence of wheat through all its changes of form, from the bare seed to the ripened head of grain. The hypothesis necessitates the idea of the possibility of a future life. Whether or not their exact idea be accepted, Stewart and Tait, in the " Unseen Uni- verse," have demonstrated that physical science affords no basis for the denial of a possible life beyond the grave. One step Fiirt her may be taken. If the hypothesis of the persistence of force be true, and the spirit is but a form of force, then its immortality is positively assured ; for oil this hypothesis no force can ever be destroyed. It. is objected that this does not insure ;i personal immortality; that it means simply an immortality of force, not of the form which thai force assumes. Hut this Loses Bight of the fact, that, if the hypothesis be true, if the entire universe of being 194 THE GIST OF IT. is reducible to matter, force, and gravitation, and explainable in terms of matter and motion, then present facts must be reconcilable with the hypothesis. The present fact is personality, the existence of mul- titudes of individuals, whose personal identity and distinctness are absolute. If this fact be accordant with the hypothesis, it is a needless fear, a gratui- tous assumption, which admits or claims that the hypothesis indicates, much less proves, the cessation of conscious personal existence at death. Material- ism in any form is open to this construction. Hence, Physicus' despair of a future life, on his own materi- alistic premises, is unnecessary. The assumption, however, that the spirit is mate- rial, or a function of matter, has been found invalid. Much confusion of thought often arises from the supposition that substance must of necessity be per- ceptible by the bodily senses, extended, heavy, — be, in short, material. Yet the only essential attributes of substance are existence, persistence, and energy. Spirit and matter both possess these. Both, there- fore, are substances. But their special properties show them to be substances of two wholly different kinds. Spirit is self-active, freely exerts its inherent energy : matter is without such power, and manifests its energy either in resistance or in forces which are the products of necessary conditions. Matter is extended, divisible, can be seen, touched, smelled, tasted : spirit is unextended, a unit, known only by consciousness. Matter is devoid of thought and will, of self-consciousness, — of personality: these are es- sential attributes of spirit, which, by means of them, THE FACTS OF LIFE. ' 195 rises superior to matter, and makes use of it as its instrument. We come, then, to the second assumption : the spirit is in such vital union with the bod} r , that, when the body dies, it also perishes. This at once involves us in difficulty. Shall we say that spirit is such in its essential nature that it cannot exist apart from matter? In Chapter III. we found that the Cause of the universe is an Infinite Spirit, Creator of both matter and mind, and, of necessity, such a Being as to have no forced connection with matter. Shall we say that the Creator has decreed that the spirit of man, though superior to matter, must perish with it? It will then be necessary to show where such a proc- lamation is found. Is the nature of the created human spirit such as to necessitate its destruction when the body dies? This is the crucial point. The death of the body is possible, because it is an organic whole, made up of many parts, all woven into one system. When the control of the organiz- ing force is broken, the system is dissolved, and the various parts are taken off by appropriate agencies. If the body were an indivisible, indestructible, 1 unit, like the atoms of which it is composed, it, like the atom, would persist through, all changes of condition, and could be destroyed only by the act of the Cre- ator Who gave it being. The spirit of eacli man is such a unit, — an indivisible whole. The early Greek iulators firs! developed this fact, and after-study bul strengthened the position. Consciousness is indissoluble. It is the whole man that thinks, the 1 Indestructible i.-> used In re .1 - //< condition of the spirit's existence 200 THE GIST OF IT. This hypothesis violates another test of inductive causation, — it fails to account for all the facts. It is admitted that man has the hope of a future life, and that, if that hope be vain, his nature is deprived of its full development, his best aspirations are dis- appointed : he is, in short, a failure. Every plant, and every animal save man, performs, in the ordi- nary course of Nature, its full round of functions, and perfects its existence. Man's life here is, for the vast majority of the race, cut short before it has fairly began ; and this not through the competitive struggle for existence, which holds in all earthly life, but by reason of causes centering ultimately in moral corruption. If he survives, his life is con- tinued through sorrow and misfortune, and goes out without its completeness being in any degree attained. If this materialistic hypothesis be true, man is a pitiable blunder. With a nature capable of limitless expansion, he is cut down before he has become fairly ready to develop himself. With mar- vellous powers of achievement, he is hampered by ignorance and disease, so that only at rarest inter- vals can he put forth his full strength. The crea- ture of a day, able to traverse the universe in his thought, yet forced to work out by miserably weak attempts all his knowledge ; lacking the numerous instincts which preserve the bodies of animals, yet feeble and uncertain in the use of that intellect on whose right exercise his very life depends ; sur- at all. The caterpillar body is a condition of the existence of the butterfly; but it is not the condition, for then the butterfly must remain a caterpillar until its death. THE GIST OF IT. 201 rounded on every hand by snares and pitfalls against which he must protect himself, but whose existence he must learn by painful experience ; longing for, yet dreading, a future life, the idea of which fills a large part of his thoughts, though for such a future he has not the slightest ground to hope ; — he goes moaning and groping through life, hurting himself at every turn, cheering his broken spii it with delusive fancies of rest and joy beyond the grave, torturing himself with needless fears of future retribution, until he falls into his tomb, — the culmination of the entire scheme of earthly existence, but the most lamentable miscarriage in the universe. " No more? A monster, then, a dream, A discord. Dragons of the prime, That tear each other in their slime, Were mellow music matched with him." 1 and reason, to say nothing of compassion and Belf-preservation, demands that any hypothesis leav- ing so large ami important a sphere of facts un- accounted for, and subjecting man to so grievous a pect, be not accepted until the whole round of ible causation is investigated, and no other expla- nation wliieh will better satisfy the case discovered. This hypothesis destroys all stimulus to self-denial rder to culture ami helpfulness, ami vitiates all I r morality. The Reign of Terror in Prance Bhows what men will become when convinced that this lit.- is all of their e\i>t« nee. There is then no i Tennyson: in Rfemorfam, § 55. 202 THE FACTS OF LIFE. stimulus to effort, save for purely selfish ends, and all restraint on passion and greed is removed. " Eat, drink, and be merry, for to-morrow we die," becomes then the profoundest wisdom. There is no such thing as crime. Any desire may be gratified by an}' means, provided one does not get caught, and visited with punishment and disgrace. Expediency is the only rational standard of action, and pleasure its only guide ; while the basis of all responsibility in all private and public relationships is taken away. To this it is replied, that, even though there be no future life, still one " ought " to strive for noble culture and usefulness, and be true to " right " and "duty." Very beautiful pictures are sometimes drawn of men wholly devoid of all faith in a future life, but vindicating their manhood by their fidelity to duty and truth, and their efforts to help the world about them. All such argument is subtly fallacious. The ideas of right and duty look back to the Infinite God, forward to the future ; while so inwoven with the fiber of man's being is the idea of a future life, that, when one thinks he has wholly eliminated it from his affirmation of fidelity to duty or truth, careful analysis will show that it still colors and shapes his conclusions. Its absolute removal tends to debase man below the level of the brutes. There is no need of further discussion to show that the materialistic hypothesis which asserts the death of the spirit with that of the body, i s logically defec- tive in numerous vital particulars. The claim that the spirit is material is wholly untenable. It cannot be shown that the decay of the body impairs the THE FACTS OF LIFE. 203 spirit, while the presumption that the spirit-activity continues unaffected is very strong. This answer to the question is thus found false. Set over against this hypothesis is that of the theist, who maintains that the spirit is unaffected by the death of the body, and passes, through death, into another and higher stage of existence. It is mere commonplace to repeat that this has been the belief of all peoples in all times and coun- tries. The belief is naturally suggested by the most common phenomena. Men develop great power, but in the height of their efficiency are suddenly cut down by death. The life of every animal is perfect. Man is capable of greatest accomplishment, but his life is most imperfect and unsatisfying. In every man's mind the ideas of absolute right and perfection arise, i though dimly and crudely ; but these are never attained in this life. The organization of society, with its various responsibilities and its natural work- ing toward just government; the innate ideas of duty and accountability to some Supreme Power: both point t<> a moral Governor and a future calling to Sin, wrong-doing, cruelty, vice, are anoma- lous i the earth, unknown among all animals, but the mosl prominent things in man. All these • naturally, and almost necessarily, suggest the idea that man's life will have another part beyond the gra re. This is strengthened by other phen< mena, equally apparent to the crudely developed mind. In full, iug action the Bpirit-activity is constantly mani- 204 THE GIST OF IT. fested. In sleep this is almost wholly withdrawn, and the body lies unconscious of any thing in its sur- roundings, unheeding the presence and conversation of friends. During this time the individual may dream, and be seemingly transported to scenes far different from those in which the body lies. Such things would attract the attention of a rude, simple people, even more than they do us to-day, and would lead them to suppose the real man to be something apart from the body, and capable of leaving it, — else how could he have been in those places which so vividly impressed him in his dreams? Frequently people sleep, and do not consciously dream ; but this would not, in the uncultivated mind, disprove the other experience, but only show that these journeys in sleep were special favors of some higher agencies, — good spirits of some kind. Many times people faint, or are stunned, or half drowned, when for a time all consciousness is lost, and all appearances of life disappear : again they are revived, and the full evidence of life is shown. Where could the spirit have been in the interval? Could it have been utterly destroyed ? It must have simply gone away. Is it not, then, only a further departure when the body crumbles in death ? The changes of the seasons add to the force of the conviction. The buds swell in spring-time, and the fresh young leaves open and push out, just as the chil- dren grow. In summer full strength and beauty of growth are reached by the plant, as by man. Autumn comes on, the ripe fruits are all gathered, and the leaves wither and fall, as the fruitage of man's labor THE FACTS OF LIFE. 205 is accomplished and his powers lose their bright ac- tivity. When winter closes in, the grass is dead, the trees stand stripped and lifeless, and man is borne to his grave. Why should not man again come into life, as plant and tree again in spring put forth their leaves, and push out in new growths? The seed is put in the earth and decays, but from it springs the stalk of growing grain. May not man thus, from the decay of the body, leap into a new and fuller life ? Like suggestions come from plants such as the anas- tasis, or " resurrection flower, of Eastern deserts, swept, withered, and almost crisped, by the consum- ing blasts, far away from its birthplace, and yet, at the touch of moisture in its new home, unfolding its shrivelled leaves, and shooting downward its withered roots, and putting on again all its lost beauty, till it triumphs in a transformation like a resurrection from the .l.-ad." 1 It is not meant that all men, everywhere, have care- fully followed out such a course of reasoning; though it must he .-aid that the disposition of some writers t<> deny all Buch thought-processes of peoples in early is of development is Btrangely at variance with the witness of our increasing knowledge of them. 2 i Glllet: God in Truman Thought, p. 788. - .1 Picton, 'l'i;'- M\ stery of Matter, p. 222, quotes from iin Lubbock a remarkable Instance Illustrating this. It is the words <>f a Kaffir, Sekese, to a French traveller, M. Arbrouseille, on the subject <i' \' i importance. It is a slight thing, at first . that the home of the English people should br tin; little group of islands lying off the nuri i>! of Prance. But the limited territory of the islands compelled tin- inhabitants to become tnercial ; their location made them the point from which, since the fall of Constantinople and the shut- ting up <>f th :.\\ ,i\ 8 to the Bast, all the world has lx-mi mo ible : and these two facts have in no small measure made the English the cosmopolitan nation il is to-day. 226 THE GIST OF IT. It is, then, the duty of the scientific seeker for truth, first, to gather up all the separate facts, or groups of facts, which have any connection with the subject of his study ; and, second, to learn the exact relations of all the facts to each other. After this is done, the work of interpretation of the facts — of learning just what they mean — is not difficult. In successive chapters we have gathered various groups of facts. Central of all is the being of man, — his curiously and beautifully complex nature, a perfectly embodied spirit. About this are the other facts of his location in space, in time, in the scheme of Nature, and in the unfolding of race-life ; of his origin in the creative intelligence and will of the infinite God, of his future in the life here, in death, and in a conscious existence beyond the grave. Now it is necessary to consider the relations of these groups of facts to each other, and thus complete the survey which prepares for the interpretation. I. Relation gives rise to obligation or duty. When a man is elected to office, he enters a new relation, and new duties devolve upon him. The relation of two young people in society is greatly changed when they marry each other, and their mutual duties are like- wise altered. It is evident, therefore, that one's duties may be classified on the ground of the distinc- tion of the relationships in which he is. It has been found that all knowledge starts from ourselves, and we must come back to our own self-consciousness for the basis of all certitude. In all duties, also, we THE FACTS OF LIFE. 227 radiate out from ourselves, and find in our own spirits that which gives force to all appeals to us on this basis. From this it is clear that, first, each one owes cer- tain duties toward himself. Each one is bound to du the best for himself; and so this marvellous union of spirit and body, in all its intricate combinations and wonderful possibilities, must be preserved, de- veloped, trained, controlled, and guided, in all its situations and activities, if the highest achievements are to be made. Yet no individual stands alone. The organization of human life groups men in families, in societies, in states and nations; while the large number of under- lying common elements bind the entire race into one whole. Out of all these associations obligations arise, and duties devolve upon the individual toward those with whom lie is thus connected. Lastly, man is in the realm of Nature, in manifold connection with all the animate and inanimate com- ponents of tin* mechanism of the entire universe. Hence will come cm-tain peculiar duties demanding fulfillment. These three spheres of duty must each be briefly considered. The first duty of man toward himself is to preserve his own being in its integrity. "Self-preservation is th»- first law of Nature/' and applies to man no less than to the lower creation. But, while the plant ami animal ai istructed that they instinctively avoid food and BUrrOUndiugS which Would be fatal to life, man is left to the use of his own reason in shunning 228 THE GIST OF IT. what would be poisonous to him. The bird never takes strychnine by mistake : man may swallow it, not knowing its nature, and be killed by it. It is essential that one should respect his body, and defend it from all peril. It is the mechanism of his activity in the universe ; 2 and so any impairment of its per- fection, or destruction of its existence, lessens or ends his achievement in the world. He is under obligation, therefore, to protect him- self from accident ; to refrain from all intentional in- jury of any parts of his body, — as in the case of the opium-eater : and under no circumstances is he to put an end to his own existence. Here is the ground for regarding suicide, — as it may justly be termed, — self- murder. Among the ancient Greeks suicide was held to be the worst of all crimes, and was punished in a way which, until their religion lost its power, was effective in preventing it in all but rare instances. The body of the suicide was buried in an out-of-the- way spot, with none of the usual funeral-rites, and all traces of the grave were carefully effaced. Hence the spirit was left without the fees to pay its way over the river Styx, and was cut off from all share in the ancestor-worship. Thus a disgrace was fastened upon the family, which could in no way be concealed or removed. No greater crime is possible than for a man deliberately to end his own life, and thus desert his sphere of duty, and fling back, unasked, the exist- ence here which God has given him. The disposition to regard ever} r suicide as insane is proof of the pres- ent horror of the crime. 1 P. 45, ct seq. THE FACTS OF LIFE. 229 It is equally wrong to suffer any one else to deprive us of life. Self-defence is a necessary duty; and when it is found possible to protect one's self onlj- by taking the life of another, all laws hold such action justifiable. Yet, " preservation of the bodily life is not the su- preme duty. There are higher interests of the spirit, of society, and of the individual, the preservation of which may require the sacrifice of the bodily life of the individual. The most heroic virtue may be reached through such perilling of life. Prompted by a desire to alleviate the moral and physical degra- dation of the prisoners and criminals of the world, John Howard plunged into the unwholesomeness of the dungeon and the infection of the prison-house, and met, himself, with the death from which he sought to save others. Florence Nightingale nearly lost her own life in her devotion to the wounded and dying soldiers. They exhibited a moral heroism worthy of all admiration." 2 Like dangers beset the spirit-life, and the same duty of self-preservation holds. Passion, malice, evil imaginations, BOrdidness, baseness, and all other forms of evil, deaden the spirit-activity, and unfit it for any grand and noble success in the world. All these are therefore to be constantly and earnestly watched ast. Here lies tin- first reason against indulgence in evil thoughts, or association with bad companions. I .• things iir" poison to the spirit, and render im- ible its I omplishment. Hence, as a man would shrink from drinking hemlock, or exposing 1 Gregory : Cbriitbui Ethics, pp. its, itu. 230 THE GIST OF IT. himself to the fury of a wild beast, so ought he to battle against all forms of wickedness in himself, and guard himself against the influence of vile men. Sickness and disease are all about us in the world, and prevent many from all effective work. These are to be avoided by careful observance of the laws of health. Food and drink in quality and quantity best adapted to the needs of the body, are to be regu- larly and properly taken. Pure air must be breathed, and the lungs developed to inhale as much of it as possible. To facilitate the throwing off of waste material through the millions of channels in the skin, the body must be kept clean. No muscle will acquire or retain strength without due and regular exercise, and this is to be sought. Activity means waste of the tissues of the body, and these must be renewed. For this purpose, rest and sleep must be taken. The young business-man, eager to advance his trade, and the student, ambitious for literary excel- lence, continue at their tasks until long past proper time for sleep. Both pay the penalty of ruined health and defeated ambitions. What gain was there to the man who, by allowing himself only four hours' sleep a night during his college course, attained extraordinary proficiency in many branches, but for four years after his graduation was unable to endure the slightest mental strain, and has never been more than a half-man in his work since ? The same duty holds in the spirit-life. The spirit- activity is governed by laws whose violation affects it just as the violation of the laws of physical health TUE FACTS OF LIFE. 231 does the body. Worry overstrains and paralyzes the self-activity of the spirit, and ought to be most carefully avoided. There are many emergencies in the lives of all, when the future is so dark and per- plexing that it seems almost impossible to keep from worrying. But worry never of itself solves a prob- lem, or performs a duty ; and its indulgence so im- pairs the self-activity of the spirit, that, when the opportunity for action comes, the man has not vigor enough to do what offers for him. The history of the lives of great generals, like the Duke of Welling- ton, or successful men of business, like A. T. Stew- art, shows that in hours of most extreme uncertainty, instead of fuming and fretting themselves into a fever over their perplexity, they held themselves quiet and composed, Watching the progress of events, and, when the way opened, were ready with full strength to at once take all advantage of the situation. all evil habits which tend to enslave the spirit are to be shunned. It is a man's right and duty to do his own thinking, and conduct all his spirit- activity under no bondage, whether those fetters be self-imposed in the growth of evil tendencies within himself, or be laid upon him by some external au- thority, which in church, state, society, or literature, BSSUn right to think and decide in matters pf common interest. This was the spring f the great claim of tin- Reformation, — the right of every man to read and interpret the Bible for himself, in the light of his own intelligence and c mscienc , It is further evident that a man ought to preserve the truth of hi> pature. Too frequently it Lb said 232 THE GIST OF IT. such an one is not honest with himself. This failure to be honest, true, in all one's spirit-activity, lies at the root of a vast amount of the sad wreck and gross wickedness in open life. The man is dimly conscious of a weakness in his character, or suspects that some habit is gaining undue control over him ; but he shuts his eyes to it, does not look fearlessly into the depths of his own nature, and demand of himself per- fect truth throughout every fiber of his being ; and so evil tendencies go unrestrained, his sense of right is blunted, and some morning those whose implicit confidence he had long enjoyed are startled and grieved by news of his fall, which forever brands his memory with the stigma of defalcation or some worse crime. The growth of prejudice is another fearful disease of the spirit-life, Man is a rational being : as such, it is his business, by means of the wonderful powers given him, 1 to quietly and carefully investigate and consider all facts that come before him, learn the exact truth involved in them, and determine his action on the basis, of the facts under the guidance of the principle of right. In short, a man's sole business in this world is to know the truth, and do the right. In so far as he fails of this, his achievement is limited, and his character marred. Hence, the man who makes a virtue of holding resolutely to his opinions because they are his opinions, regardless of the fact that important data have been brought out since he formed his conclusions; and the woman who is proud to be first in the fashion, and is almost out 1 Chap, i., esp. p. 44. THE FACTS OF LIFE. 233 of heart when by any mischance she is out of the latest mode, — both alike, instead of manifesting their freedom and independence, proclaim themselves the poor slaves of an unreasonable prejudice, or the caprice of some Paris milliner. Death, sickness, and disease, in all their forms, are thus to be watched against as foes of the life and health of both body and spirit. It is further neces- sary that provision be made for the due satisfaction of the many needs and cravings of the individual being. 1 In so far as these are not satisfied by right means, the efficiency of the nature is lessened ; and it is therefore essential that all proper efforts be made to lay hold of every thing in the world about us, which may be utilized in the full and rational exercise of all the powers of spirit and body. 2 All the above duties arise from the obligation to preserve the life and health and completeness of one's nature. This is but the basis for other obliga- tions. Man is essentially an active, developing being. There is no such tiling as entire stoppage in man's development. If care be exercised, and all proper means used, the promising boy will grow into a use- ful, honorable man: if, while no positive measures an- taken t<» injure him, he is Buffered simply to drift with no guidance and discipline, he will degen- into a loafer or a criminal. It is, then, incum- bent «»!i every one to make all possible efforts t<» rightly develop and train all the powers of lii> nature. Prom thi- obligation there is no escape. In this matter opportunity is obligation; and since oppor- • Pp. IS- Mi - For full diBctuftion of this point, see p 24Q t etseq. 234 THE GIST OF IT. tunity, though in varying phases and degrees, comes to every one, all are under the same binding duty. Many a young man, with the opportunity for busi- ness-training or higher education, and many a young woman, before whom open lines of culture, excuse their failure to improve these chances on the ground that they have no special gifts to develop. "If," they say, " I had genius, then it might do ; but it isn't worth while to spend time and money on the culture of such ordinary ability as mine. 1 ' But, in the first place, the world is not composed, as a whole, of geniuses. They are a minute percent- age of the race, and on them special duties rest. The obligation binding each individual is to develop all the powers he has, no matter how few and poor they may be. It is not his business to consider whether he is equal or inferior to others in any kind of ability. Let them manage their own lives. He must attend to himself, and develop and train what- ever of talent he may possess. Then, secondly, no man knows what he is able to do until he tries. Goldsmith was so dull a scholar, that his teachers despaired of him, and he never was other than a dunce in conversation. But his name is among the bright ones in literature. Sir Isaac Newton was the stupidest boy in his classes, until, at the age of twelve, the head boy in the class sneered at and kicked him for his dullness. The insult stung him to exertion ; and, at the age of thirty, he was recognized as one of the leading scientific thinkers of his day. The duty is therefore universal. Each is bound THE FACTS OF LIFE. 2lo to develop all the powers of his nature to the fullest extent possible, and give them the broadest and most thorough training which his opportunities permit. All this, however, must be so directed as to secure a rounded, symmetrical development of all the being. The readers of u His Majesty, Myself," will remem- ber that Thirlmore prepared for his final failure by devoting himself in college and the theological semi- nary to athletics, rhetoric, and orator}', and failing to get a masterly grasp of any of the subjects he studied. Every college almost has the legend of some brilliant mind, like young Levering of Har- vard, recently, who became a wonderful scholar, athlete, and teacher, but overstrained his body, and sickness suddenly attacked him, and prematurely ended what seemed a rarely promising development. Body and spirit, intellect, feelings, and will, taste and conscience, must each be cultured, and all in one harmonious evolution. At the basis of all lies the obligation to culture the body. It is self-evident, that, other things being equal, the man who has the strongest and best- trained body will accomplish the most in life. Hor- ace Greeley said that the secret of success in journal- ism lay in the ability to do twenty-four hours' work in eighteen. That workman who can, without risk, llarly devote more time, with more intense exer- tion, to his work than his fellows, is always in a posi- tion to command the Labor-market. Hence, it becomes a duty to carefully observe all means for developing the body t<> the greatest possi- Btrength and dexterity. Every muscle should 236 TIIE GIST OF IT. be so exercised as to give it the greatest strength. The organs of sense should be disciplined to quick- ness and accuracy of operation ; and every portion of the entire mechanism brought into subjection to the will of the spirit, and made its ready and effi- cient instrument for work. Great success in boxing comes not from superior strength so much as from better training and command of the eye and arm. So a rapid type-setter, with perhaps less mere physi- cal strength than his associates in work, will accom- plish much more work than they with less fatigue to himself, because of more perfect control over the muscles of his fingers, and greater quickness of eye- sight. But this culture of the body must be determined in character and extent by the temperament, employ- ment, sex, and other characteristics, of the individual. If a man of highly nervous organization engages in violent exercise, he will probably kill himself. On the other hand, if the man of phlegmatic tempera- ment does not habituate himself to very great physi- cal exercise, he will become stupid and dull, and be incapable of any work involving even ordinary acute- ness and quickness of intellect. It is a great thing for a porter to be able to shoulder a three-hund red- pound trunk, and carry it to the fifth story of a building. But the teacher or author can accomplish as much, if not more, with much less physical devel- opment, provided his body has such health and endur- ance that it will support him in the strain of his mental activity. One needs muscle ; the other, nerve. In every case, the individual is bound to study him- THE FACTS OF LIFE. 237 self, and adopt that method of physical culture which will best fit his body for the specific work which he or she must do in life. The body must be carefully trained as the instru- ment of the spirit. How much more, then, is it a duty to culture the spirit itself! For this purpose the individual must first get a knowledge of his own spirit. By means of a system of psychology, 1 he can obtain a knowledge of the general facts and princi- ples of spirit-activity, which are the same in all men. But this is not sufficient. When he comes to study himself, he will find, that while in these main features he is exactly like other people, yet in many minor but highly important points he differs from them. One has a turn for science, another for mechanics, a third for business, a fourth for literature, and so on. One is quick and keen, but disposed to be narrow and hasty. Another is broad and compre- hensive, but lacking in practicality. One young woman is eminently endowed with teaching ability. Another, lacking this, is gifted with rare social powers and attractions, which fit her to lead and mould in Bociety. All such facts must be carefully studied out by each individual, and-given their due place in his system of culture. Willi all the facts in hand, the next step is the formation of a true theory of education, and its earnest, persistent application in actual life. Here a caution is necessary. .Many persons suppose that the best educated man is he who can show the 1 Ch;ii) i. sec. 1. 238 THE GIST OF IT. longest list of books which he has read, and whose memory is loaded with the greatest number and variety of facts. Such an opinion is a grave mis- take. Man's purpose in life is achievement. All our previous discussion has been based on this idea, and tended toward its establishment. It necessarily follows, therefore, that a man may be a walking library, an encyclopaedia of information, and } T et not be, in the true sense of the term, an educated man. He is truly educated, who, by his power of know- ing, operates freely and without bias, gathering con- tinually, from both the outer and the inner world, the largest measure of exact and truthful knowl- edges, working out unerringly their varied relations, and constructing them in perfect systems, according to the laws of the true, the beautiful, and the good ; who, by his power of emotion, responds immediately, and in due measure and appropriate form, to the knowledges thus presented, going out in affection and desire, most deeply and strongly, toward all that is seen to be pure and noble, right and lofty and true, and powerfully inciting the will to exer- tion in the accomplishment of these ends of action ; and who, by his power of will, freely acting under the guidance of reason and the standard of right, rationally prefers the best ends of action presented, and with resolute purpose, and far-reaching, all- comprehensive plan, bends and holds all powers of spirit and body, all available resources of the inner and the oyter world, in most decisive, persistent, united, tremendous, achievement: and whose body, developed and trained to the greatest possible TIIE FACTS OF LIFE. 239 strength, endurance, and dexterity, is the ready and willing instrument in executing the commands of the ruling spirit. 1 All systems of education which do not bring about such results, are, in so far, erroneous and defective. To attain this end, one must carefully study the principles of his own being, give constant exercise to the various powers, and discipline them into proper habits of operation. The spirit as a whole, each power in particular, and all in their mutual rela- tions, are to be carefully developed. The man whose head is full of Greek and Sanscrit roots, but who has no sympathy with the world about him, is not a truly educated man. Conversely, he whose sympa- thies are warm and quick, but who has not knowl- edge to guide his impulses, is sadly defective in education. Nor is he superior to either, in this particular, who has both wide information and generous impulses, but lias never trained his will to decisiveness and persistency in action. All this process is of necessity a growth. One acquires power in grasping knowledge, by wisely and systematically exercising what power he has. Depth and fervency of feeling are developed, not by wishing for them, and berating one's self for coldness and apathy, but by filling the mind with 3 and images — best it' gathered by actual con- with real lift — which arc fitted to rouse Buch emotion. Here is an all-important caution. It is a frequent experience to find a person whose emotions arc deeply stim-d by some imaginary scene of Buf- I P. 240 THE GIST OF IT. fering, but who is wholly unmoved when in the presence of real affliction. The reason is, that the feelings always look toward action. If, then, they are roused, but no action of the will ensues, they lose their normal tone, and become blunted ; so that persons much addicted to the reading of sensational literature are usually deficient in genuine sympathy. The will is to be cultured by frequent and steady putting forth of its power. Taste becomes acute, correct, and catholic, by the study of masterpieces of beauty in Nature and in art. Conscience is made tender, clear, true, and firm, by study of the princi- ples of right, and their careful application to one's own life. In all the process one is diligently to guard against ignorance and stupidity, credulity and scepticism of the knowing-power ; insensibility, or lack of feeling, and passion, or ungoverned feeling, in the power of emotion ; cringing servility, senseless independence, fickleness, and obstinacy of the power of will ; in- ability to respond to the beautiful, or erroneous con- ception of its importance, in the aesthetic nature ; error, scrupulousness and doubt of conscience ; and indifference, superstition, atheism, and godlessness in the religious nature. When all the powers of the spirit are thus devel- oped and trained, in perfect integrity and harmony, the individual is ready for action. But now it be- comes necessary for him to keep firm command of himself, lest, by the improper action of any power, the balance and effectiveness of the whole be dis- turbed. Passion and appetite must be rigidly con- THE FACTS OF LIFE. 241 trolled, or he will be swept away by them into the number of those whom intemperance and licentious- ness have wrecked. The desires for enjoyment, for wealth, for power, and the affections which go out toward these, must be constantly checked, or reck- dissipation, miserly covetousness, and inordinate ambition, will dwarf and fatally mar the whole development. He must cultivate an evenness of temper in all experiences, lest he be fretted and his work im- paired by slight annoyances ; and a greatness of spirit which will make him superior to all his sur- roundings, so that he can meet danger and difficulty with courage and fearlessness, success and flattery with humility and indifference, disappointment and Borrow with hopefulness and patience ; and, through it all, never lose the quiet, forceful manliness and dignity which are the marks of a truly noble nature. With himself thus perfectly in hand, he must direct all hid powers in the actual accomplishment of Borne definite purpose. To be true to himself, he musl evidently strive for the achievement of the greatest possible purposes in his own life. For this lie lini-t have a single aim iii all his efforts. At no time, in tli«' history of mankind, was it more true than now. that concentration is the fust secret of all Tin' scope of human knowledge is and competition so keen, that one must give himself wholly to his work if be hopes to attain great results. This aim musl he a true one, in accord with all the laws <>f one's entire being, or it will i'ail, and adividual be wrecked in bis endeavor to achieve 242 THE GIST OF IT. it. Napoleon I. thirsted for universal empire ; but the laws of human progress and the measures of his situation were athwart his purpose, and exile and a. lonely grave on rocky St. Helena completed his comet-like career. There is an old saying, that " the boy that aims at the sun, will certainly shoot above the fence." The truth is a profound one. Men's lives are shaped, their influence determined, and their destiny sealed, by the ideals that control them. Many men pass the " dead line," as it is called, while still in the prime of life, because they set their mark too low, and, having reached it, have nothing left to call forth further effort. It is, therefore, essential that one set before himself a grand ideal, toward the attainment of which he can bend all his energies throughout his entire life, and in which the perfec- tion of his being will be realized. It is not a matter of choice whether or not one will have an ideal. Every man has one, and upon every man presses especially the necessity of attaining a high moral ideal. This fact is a remarkable one. The history of the race shows men everywhere striving for an ideal of moral excellence, and the grandeur of the individual and the nation is determined by the loftiness of this standard. The individual must, therefore, seek to set before himself an ideal of per- fection in moral character. No two persons are exactly alike, and hence no one can choose a life-work for another. Each must for himself determine upon that line of employment in which he can best make use of all his powers for the best purposes. The notion that no work is THE FACTS OF LIFE. 243 honorable save that of the learned professions, is utterly false. A poor preacher or a briefless bar- rister is a disgrace to himself and his calling. The man who has a taste for farming or blacksmithing, and perfects himself in such lines, reflects honor on his nation, and performs a life-work of which he and his may well be proud. In the prosecution of his chosen work, all means must be used. The forces of Nature, now so largely under man's control, and such mighty aids in his accomplishment ; wealth, in all its forms, a curse in the hands of the miserly and self- ish, but a grand agency of advancement when held by the noble and public-spirited ; and time, whose cease- less, hurrying flight leaves the idler and dreamer no opportunity for the realization of their air-castles, but hastens the fruition of the purposes of the man of practical power, — all these must constantly be util- ize-! to the full limit of their efficiency. One thing remains to complete the duty of the individual toward himself, — he must bring the full, decisive, persistent power of his will to bear in actu- ally attaining his purposes. Here, in this final and ,, 'mating obligation, many men fail, and never ac- complish any thing worthy of their powers and oppor- tunities. No purpose of value is carried to completion without long and Bometimes bitter struggle. Diffi- of all kinds rise before and about one. In self. — physical or mental weakness, ignorance, In- competency, insubordination, to be strengthened, enlightened, rendered sufficient for duty, controlled. In circumstances, — lack of means, inopportune | tion in the social scale, overwhelming competition, 244 THE GIST OF IT. to be supplemented, obviated, overcome. In those we touch, — conflicting interests, varying spheres of knowledge and of power, changing phases and com- binations of prejudice and person alit} r , to be recon- ciled, adjusted, guided, and restrained. Nothing can surmount these and such obstacles, but an instantly- decisive, unflagging, unconquerable, will ; and a man owes it to himself to in this way give his manifold nature the legitimate reward of its activity. One who does this finds difficulty oftentimes the best agency for forwarding his plans. "It is wonderful how even the casualties of life seem to bow to a spirit that will not bow to them, and yield to sub- serve a design which they may, in their first apparent tendency, threaten to frustrate;" 1 and thus the sphere of duty toward one's self may be rounded into symmetrical perfection. Large space has been given to the discussion of this sphere of duty for a twofold reason : it lies first at each man's hand, and is of prime importance, for no man who fails in obligations due himself will be true in the highest measure in other relations; and its careful presentation renders possible a briefer survey of the duties involved in the second sphere. Men do not and can not stand alone. All are mutually dependent. The capitalist sometimes for- gets that he owes aught to his employees, and self- ishly grinds them, until strikes cut off his profits, and endanger his property. The foolish policy of the moneyed interests of this country to-day is 1 Foster: Essay on Time. THE FACTS OF LIFE. 245 developing a spirit in the working-classes which threatens at any time to wreck the entire nation. All the idea that one is and must be advanced only by the injury of another, is false and suicidal. In theories of political economy men now recog- nize the principle, that, in proper trade, both parties to the transaction make a profit, and one is not subjected to loss as the only condition of the other's gain ; but many miserably fail to act upon it. A man may separate himself from his fellows, and, as an Ishmaelite, deal with them only to enrich and advance himself, regardless of the injustice and suf- fering he causes them to undergo, and for a time deem himself wise and truly prosperous. But when the shadows of life fall over his pathway, and, with his heart yearning for sympathy and affection, he puts out his hand to touch a friend, and finds no one to respond to his appeal, no one who cares a whit for him apart from his wealth and influence, he is made bitterly aware of his dependence on his fellows whom he bo scorned. The revenge which society takes on a man who neglects his social nature and obligations i- terrible. If he closes his heart, and stifles his sympathies, all hearts are closed against him, all sympathy withdrawn from him; and in his selfish- ness he loses the only key which will open the store- house of other's Interest, which sometimes is shown to hi- so vital to all men. We arc so constituted that our individual perfection is impossible without regard fur others. It follows, then, that as the germ-thoughi of indi- vidual duty is, One La bound to do the best lor 246 TEE GIST OF IT. himself; so the germ of social duty is, One is bound to do the best for others. He must in all ways strive to preserve their being as his own ; to perfect them as he would himself, in true culture ; and to guide them in the prosecution and accomplishment of great and noble plans. Thus, in his general relations with men, he is bound to do all in his power to preserve their lives, defend- ing them against assault, warning them of danger, and avoiding any action which would threaten or destroy their bodily existence. He must seek to preserve the vigorous life of men, neither himself placing in their way any causes of injury or disease, nor suffering them to remain in such circumstances if he can prevent it. The wealthy manufacturer who permits his employees to be cooped in small, crowded, unhealthful homes, is guilty of positive wickedness ; and every cent of his profits which is made by cut- ting their wages below fair compensation, or failing to provide comfortably for them, is stolen money. One must, by all right means, seek to preserve the liberty of his fellow-men. The criminal and the in- sane may be confined, as the assailant and the delib- erate murderer may be deprived of life. But all slavery of the person of another, and all fettering of another's spirit-activity by restraint upon his thought and volition, are to be watched against and prevented. The teacher who cowes his pupils by brutal tyranny, the demagogue who pla} T s upon the passions of the people, and the church which restricts his free think- ing, all violate this duty. Pr. perty is one of the great aids to the individual, THE FACTS OF LIFE. 247 and is each man's own. The right to hold it origi- nates hi production. That which a man has made, by the exercise of his own power, is exclusively his ; and so that which lie acquires by gift or fair exchange belongs only to him, and he may use or dispose of it as he chooses. This right is to be carefully regarded by others. All cheating and monopolies, all robbery and communism, are violations of this duty. To make a man pay two prices for an article, is robbery; and the man who thus obtains money unjustly, even though he be a member of a great monopoly, is a thief. The communistic spirit which would take from men their rightful property, and share it among all, is equally wrong. It would rob those who have legitimately acquired wealth, only temporarily equal- ize its distribution, and destroy the impetus to the outlay of productive energy. An individual life is often wrecked by lack of truth in the man's own being, so society is shattered if truthfulness be not carefully observed among men. Afl one would wish to guard well his own good name, so musl lie- protect the reputation of others, abstain- sip, slander, and innuendo, and defending them against false charges. In all intercourse he is required to be strictly truthful, never indulging in exaggeration or partial statement, but always stating the matter just a- it is. Equivocation and decep- tion, in all their manifold forms, are always to 1> i avoided, if one i> to be faithful to his obligations. In promises and contracts, one musl be honest in forming, and diligent iu fulfilling, them. The sympathies must be cultivated, and court 248 THE GIST OF IT. generosity, compassion, and charity, given full exer- cise. As one would feel that those who had wronged him should repair that wrong, so ought he to make reparation for injury which he has done any ; and he should be ready to forgive all injury, and be grateful for all favors, just as he expects those whom he has benefited to be grateful to him therefor, and desires the forgiveness of those whom he has wronged. He is bound to make all efforts to improve their condition by right education and practical aid ; and to arouse them to the conception of lofty, pure, and generous purposes, and lead them in their accomplishment. In the more specific relations of life, the same prin- ciple applies. In the home, the husband and wife are bound by every tie to mutual fidelity, affection, and co-operation. The rule of selfishness in this relation brings forth its proper fruit in the divorce courts every day. Affection, training, and authority are properly exercised by parents toward their chil- dren, who, in turn, are bound to render affection, docility, and obedience. From their masters, ser- vants may rightly demand fair wages, promptly and fully paid, and wise and kindly control ; and are en- titled to the helpfulness of a noble influence: to their masters they must render faithful service and cheer- ful obedience, showing themselves true and noble even when not under direct supervision. In citizenship, the individual, being protected in the free exercise of his functions, is under every obligation to respect and honor the government under which he lives, denying himself for its sake, supporting and defending it in peril, and rendering THE FACTS OF LIFE. 249 entire and hearty obedience to its just laws. If he be called to take part in the government, as legisla- tor, judge, or executive, he is bound to inform him- self fully of the nature and duties of his office, and so exercise its functions as to preserve the integrity of the State, advance the welfare of the citizens, con- serve proper relations with all other governments. Thus, the entire sphere of social duties is but the extension of the obligations due from the individual toward himself. Every specific duty which his own nature lays upon him, is equally pertinent in his in- tercourse with others. When, in the exercise of the broad catholicity which marks a rightly developed nature, he comes to love others as he does himself, and to do to them as he would wish that they should do to him, he acquires fully the true spirit of gen- erous humanity, and his performance of duty is in these two spheres complete. The question of man's true relation to Nature is one of the greatest problems of this age, as of so many in the past; and its right solution is vitally connected with all noble and successful life. It has been well said that "this age tends to the deification of matter." 1 The great influx of population since the civil war, the opportunities for speculation and rapid accumulation of fortunes during and since that period, generated in the nation a feverish thirst, a mad rush, for wealth, whose sweeping force lias been of incalculable injur} to the Bolid prosperity of the land, and has hardly yet spent itself. The immense 1 Donnelly: Ragnarok. 250 TIIE GIST OF IT. advances of physical science in the last generation have brought the material, the tangible, so vividly be- fore men's minds, that all thought of any thing save the purely sensuous has been largely crowded out. The animal in man, the disposition to grasp and hold the things of sense for merely selfish and low ends, needs repression rather than culture. Effort is constantly necessary to curb the baser elements of man's being, and develop the qualities which are essential to even a moderate degree of manliness and social usefulness. Nor does this statement in- volve any morbidly pessimistic reflection on mankind as a whole, or in any of its specific components. It is a fact, though a sad and mortifying one, that every individual is disposed, unless made over by some right culture, to pervert the animal tendencies of his being, whose function is the upbuilding and per- fection in rational exercise of the physical organiza- tion which forms the base of his operations and instrument of his influence in the world, and make their gratification the ultimate purpose of his life. This selfish animalism shapes and colors the popu- lar conception of man's relation to Nature, and is itself, in turn, fostered by the outworking of that conception. Note, in proof of this, a case, which can be para- lelled in almost any part of the country, of a man who has made wealth the sole object of his life. Every particle of energy, every moment of time, has been concentrated on the one dominant pur- pose, and success has been achieved. The man is rich in houses and lands, in stocks and bonds: in all THE FACTS OF LIFE. 251 ways of material prosperity he has all that heart could wish. But he has been too busy to regard any tiling save the accumulation of mere wealth. Intellectual culture, development of heart and con- science by careful study and exercise, have been out of the question. The newspaper has been his only library, and in that scarce any thing save the market reports and elections have interested him. The thirst for money has blunted his moral perceptions, and stifled his sympathies, so that unwittingly he wounds and crushes the sensitive and unfortunate by his treatment of them. Even his own family have been shut out from him in his busy life: his wife has learned to do without the affection and sympathy of early days, and his children have been delivered over to hired governesses and tutors to get their life-training. In the satiety of success, when the Life-ambition is fully realized, and the man turns to seek tliu rest and enjoyment in which he had hoped to spend his closing days, — how pitiable his disappointment! His mind lias been trained to one round of ideas and processes, and cannot rest away from them. He is ignorant of the current of thought outside his own work, and lias lost all ability to (•lit-T into sympathy with others. The realm of mental and ethical culture is to him an unknown world. There Is left for him only to seek to drown his disappointment in the continuance of his tread- mill-routine until he grinds his life away. I' clear that any conception of man's relation to the material things of this life, which results in such wreck of all the nobler elements of character, 252 THE GIST OF IT. must be seriously defective. The " bread and butter question " is confessedly one of most vital impor- tance. The union of soul and body must be pre- served, and the body kept in condition for effective work ; and to do this, food, clothing, and shelter are necessary. Yet even the poor, in multitudes of cases, would be in better circumstances, with less grinding work, were it not for their vices and shift- lessness; while no one will claim that the whirl of business and fashion, in higher circles, is needful for the mere making of the physical organism a more serviceable instrument in the work of the spirit. How much better work will the young lawyer per- form by having his office carpeted with Brussels, and fitted up with richly upholstered furniture ; by spending a hundred dollars for a new suit of clothes every two months, and devoting a large part of his time to pleasure, riding, and travelling? How much better fitted for the duties of the home, and for social influence, is the young woman by having half a dozen trunks full of costly, elaborate dresses, and other of the mysterious paraphernalia of a woman's wardrobe ? Watch two women at a social gathering. One is clad in the softest and whitest of linen, the richest of silks and velvets, and adorned with all the ele- gance of gold and jewelry. The other is neatly and tastefully attired, but with half the display, and a fourth of the cost. The former must rely on her wealth and finery supplementing studied social graces for her recognition and influence. The other, while taking pains to be properly graceful THE FACTS OF LIFE. 253 and attractive in appearance and manner, has striven to secure mental culture by careful reading and study, and has developed warm sympathies and self-sacrificing interest in others. Which is the better prepared for the work of life ? Yet the great world, while it loves most the latter, bows in worship at the feet of the former, — Mrs. Half-a-Million. Nature is " the mechanism provided by God for the activity of intelligences." It is, therefore, man's servant, the material and tools of his work. What would we say of a man who kept a locomotive care- fully sheltered in his yard, and spent his time burnishing and adorning it? Let him perfect the locomotive, and then put it to work speeding over the rails, and increasing man's efficiency, and he is termed a wise man, a public benefactor. How dif- ferent from this is the man who seeks command of Nature's forces, only that he may minister to the comfort and ease of his physical make-up? Proper understanding of Nature renders possible due pro- vision for the well-being and operation of the body, and enlarges the sphere of its agency. The body is the instrument of thought. Nature is a large part of the material of thought, and is the means for ex- tending the reach and influence of thought. Through the telephone the voice is carried a thousand miles, and the thought flashes through the telegraph around the world. 1 'Hie painter's brush and canvas, the BCulptor's tools and marble, embodied for the delight and elevation of all succeeding generations Michael Angelo's Bublime conceptions of the beautiful. 254 THE GIST OF IT. Through the telegraph and printing-press the states- man addresses in one day fifty millions of people. There is, then, good reason for the careful study of Nature. Large place should be given, in college curriculums, to the natural sciences, and abundant time and means should be employed in pushing all scientific investigation. Every discovery in so far betters man's condition, and increases his possible power. This study, however, must be for the purpose of getting control over Nature. The florist investigates fully the nature and habits of plants, in order that he may better care for them, and develop them to greater perfection. Knowledge alone is of little value. The business of this world is work, — achievement. Hence the man who devotes himself to the mere accumulation of facts and ideas, which, when accu- mulated, will not in any wise extend the sway of mankind over Nature, is wasting his time. It is not meant by this to affirm that all Nature must be made to serve a purpose of narrow and sor- did utility, — that any study of Nature which does not increase man's ability to make money is to be discountenanced. Such a conclusion is at variance with the spirit of this entire discussion, wherein it has everywhere been urged that so low a basis leaves out all the nobler elements of the character and life. Does man's control over Nature accomplish nothing but the fruition of such purposes? What shall be said of the use of musical instruments? A violin is a machine constructed by man, — an instance of man's control over Nature. Men have come to un- THE FACTS OF LIFE. 255 derstand that certain natural materials, of a specific size, weight, and form, put together in a definite way, and operated upon in a special manner by another particular combination of natural materials, w T ill pro- duce a precise kind and range of harmonious sounds. So this compound machine is constructed, and called the violin and bow. When played upon by a master, people listen to its strains, and are delighted, en- chanted, with its varied melody. They are bene- fited by it, but in what exact way? Are they health- ier because of it? Does the music increase their muscular power? Will they consume less food, or drive sharper bargains next day, as the effect of the music? No: but the spirit-life is elevated, purified, ennobled, under the harmonious influence; sympathy is quickened, and the deepest emotions are called into action. Ah! is not this a purpose whose realization i- worthy of effort? Is not the study of Nature of value when, by control of it, such results may be achieved? Docs not this make it evident that all right study of Nature will have for its ultimate pur- pose an extension of man's dominion over it, — an increase of his ability to make it minister to all the needs and aims of his spirit? Tin- inference that all study of Nature must have in view an immediate control and use of it, does not necessarily flow from this conclusion. Many facts are at times learned about Nature whose purpose is nut understood until Long afterward. Many of the most important discoveries have been made while experiments ol no immediate value were being per- formed. r>ni ii must be assumed, in all such study, 256 THE GIST OF IT. that every fact in Nature has some meaning and value, and that, in the final outcome, the investi- gation will contribute to the further subjection of Nature to man. Hence is clear, also, the proper co-ordination of uses in the management of Nature. The body being the mechanism of the spirit, every thing which in- creases the health, strength, and effectiveness of the body adds to the efficient manifestation of the spirit, and is to be encouraged; while all cultivation of the body regardless or opposed to the use of it by the spirit is to be most carefully avoided. Then, it follows that all improvements of food, clothing, shel- ter, surroundings, which will enhance the value and power of the body as the instrument of intelligence, are to be diligently sought. It also and equally fol- lows that all ministering to the body by the forces of Nature which interferes with or impairs the spirit's management of the body, is to be with equal diligence avoided. Thus, effort to provide the workman with better diet and a pleasanter home is, in the full sense, obligatory and praiseworthy; but the attempt to secure elaborate clothing and furnishings, and the indulgence in rich diet, — which subserve no pur- pose in the spirit-life, but rather unfit the body for the spirit's use, — are wrong, and to be shunned. Throughout, absolute command over Nature is to be sought, and lower subordinated to higher pur- poses in the use of it, until it all culminates in ad- vancing the attainment of the supreme end of man's entire activity. Certain other specific duties follow from this rela- THE FACTS OF LIFE. 257 tion. Nature is for use, but not for abuse. The overloading and overdriving of beasts of burden, the wanton torture and killing of game, and other forms of positive misuse of the animate creation, are to be watched against as violations of obligation. The unnecessary destruction of trees, the laying waste of forest and arable lands by fire, the uncalled-for de- facing of landscapes, are all gross infringements of the rights of this sphere of duty. Man is, further, under obligation to seek to perfect and develop to greater effectiveness the powers and materials of Nature. If, by a specific form of ma- chinery, the same amount of force can be made to accomplish much greater results than before, it is a matter of duty to construct that machinery. The increased use of steam, in its application to more numerous departments of activit}', is in the fulfill- ment of this obligation. The forces of Nature are blind forces, incapable, of themselves, of the combi- nations and mutual adjustments through which their varied efficiency is exercised. In all the ordinary operations of Nature, these forces are under the con- trol oi* the immanent God. 1 Beyond this sphere of working, the agency of man is left to direct in the additional use and combination of the forces. Thus, the gold and the diamond are produced in t ho earth without man's assistance in any way ; but the beauti- ful ring on which the brilliantly cut gem flashes resplendent, is the result of the carefully guided effort of man. Latent possibilities of strength, speed, endurance, and varied action, ill the horse, are dcvel- 1 Pp. 134, 135. 258 THE GIST OF IT. oped only by man's control and direction. Every- where Nature is plastic under the moulding hand of man, and thence flows man's responsibility to fash- ion and unfold its powers into progressively greater perfection. It is obvious that this duty to perfect Nature may be for the purpose of beautifying it. The careful arrangement and pruning of trees and shrubbery in a landscape, which so rests and delights the spirit of man as he views it, realize the possibilities of beauty latent in the contour of the land-surface and the vegetation. It becomes a duty, though, of course, one of lesser importance, to seek in all such ways to bring out the capabilities of Nature for revealing the beautiful, to follow out the hints and attempts of the diverse forms in Nature to embody an idea of completeness, and aid in that development. Man's duty in his relation to Nature is completed when, in addition to the fulfillment of all the above- mentioned obligations, he protects and cares for the animate creation in so far as it is under his control. The man who owns horses and cattle is in duty bound to protect them from exposure and injury, and to give them proper food and rest. They minis- ter to, his comfort and happiness, and enlarge his sphere of activity ; they are in his power, and depend- ent upon him for the satisfaction of their natural desires: just compensation and compassion both require that these dumb, helpless, valuable servants be watched over and provided for in all the ways which are needful for their health and safety. The reflex influence on a man's own character of his THE FACTS OF LIFE. 259 treatment of animals is a matter of very great im- portance. Cruelty to them is very soon followed by meanness toward one's fellow-men. Kindness and gentleness in the control of them develop a like spirit in the vastly more important sphere of conduct toward human beings. England's philosophic genius struck a profound truth when, in his weird "Rime of the Ancient Mariner," he shows the spell of the curse broken by the natural outburst of appreciative tenderness toward the inferior animals. " Beyond the shadow of the ship, I watched the water-snakes : They moved in tracks of shining white; And when they reared, the elfish light Fell off in hoary flakes. Within the shadow of the ship, I watched their rich attire : Blue, glossy green, and velvet black; They coiled and swam ; and every track "Was a flash of golden fire. O happy living things ! no tongue Their beauty might declare : A spring of love gushed from my heart, And I blessed them unaware ! Sue my kind saint took pity on me, And 1 blessed them unaware. The Belf-same moment I could pray; And from my ueck bo free, The ali>. it rose fell off, and -auk Like lead into the 260 THE GIST OF IT. Man's duty of kindness and protection toward the animals is thus expressed in Cowper's well-known lines : — " I would not enter on my list of friends (Though graced with polished manners and fine sense, Yet wanting sensibility) the man Who needlessly set foot upon a worm. An inadvertent step may crush the snail That crawls at evening in the public path; But he that has humanity, forewarned, Will tread aside, and let the reptile live." In the closing stanzas of the strange poem above quoted, the close connection of this with all other duties, and yet its due subordination, find beautiful utterance when the Mariner says, — " Farewell, farewell ! but this I tell To thee, thou Wedding Guest 1 He prayeth well who loveth well Both man, and bird, and beast. He prayeth best who loveth best All things both great and small; For the dear God, who loveth us, He made and loveth all." II. Man's origin is in God, — one, self-existent, eter- nal, infinite, Personality, Creator and Upholder of all dependent beings. It is evident, then, that God has a property-right in man. The conviction that every man is the owner, and has, therefore, a right to the exclusive possession, use, and disposal, of that THE FACTS OF LIFE. 261 which, in the exercise of his personal power, he pro- duces, lies at the root of all those ideas of property which are essential to the continuance of society. This right also extends to the products of the powers of others, when he receives them in fair exchange or as gifts. In a much higher and more absolute sense, it follows from this that God, the Creator, is the Owner, and has a right to the exclusive possession, use, and disposal, of His creature, man. We can produce any thing only by contrivances among the materials furnished us. God is the absolute Creator of both our material and ourselves. Hence, His right over man is without any limitations or restrictions whatever, and no exceptions can be taken to any course He may pursue with man. This does not imply that He will exercise this right to man's injury; for He is a Being of infinite wisdom and love, and it is inconceivable that He should ever be foolish or unkind. An owner is always disposed to protect his prop- erty from injury, and perfect it as far as possible. By purity of reasoning, it is beyond doubt that God, the infinite Owner, will protect from harm, and seek to perfect, all tin.' universe of matter and mind which He has made. This relation between God and man is not that between the inventor and his machine ; bul rather that between the father and his child, with the farther fad that the All-Father is dependent on no one for His existence, but is Himself the Fount of all life, and ln-ncc is not the occasion, but the abso- lute Cause, "I" the life of the child. T<> suppose, then, that God will ever do or sutler evil to any of His ehil- 262 THE GIST OF IT. dren, is grossly irrational. The human father, with limited authority and scanty means, strives, so long as his children submit to his guidance and control, to preserve them from harm, and to perfect them in all right culture. Shall we not say, therefore, that our Father, God, with all authority and with infinite power, will ever guard His obedient children, and move toward their attainment of rational perfection ? This is not inconsistent with the spontaneity and freedom of man's activity. Both facts are true, and are reconciled by remembering that God is infinite, and so can create beings who, within a certain sphere, shall be self-determined in their activity, and yet can continue His right of ownership and protection over them. The father is the law-giver to his child. By nat- ural necessity he must exercise authority over his children, guiding their actions, and prescribing rules for them in all their movements while they are under his dominion. Nor is it to be thought a hard thing that the father should take advantage of this right to impose exact laws and restrain action when he sees it best for his children so to do. The trouble in the human relation is, that fathers are more or less defective in knowledge, judgment, sympathy, ability, or, in many cases, moral principle. Hence, they fail to enter into the spirit of their children, or do not fully comprehend their intentions or the bearing of their proposed actions, or are unable to do for them that which they desire, or even selfishly and meanly push their own aims and prejudices to the injury of the children. None of these difficulties appear in THE FACTS OF LIFE. 263 the higher relation. The divine Father has perfect knowledge of all the conditions and possibilities of human activity. His judgment as to what is best is always perfectly true and right. Infinite in power, what emergencies can outstrip the limit of His efficiency? Everywhere present, what danger or difficulty can escape His control ? Absolute in right- eousness, how is it possible for Him ever to have the slightest trace of selfish or mean purpose toward any of His children ? The Fount of all love, the infinite Heart of the universe, no troubled, suffering child of man, no one in the fulness of rejoicing, need fear to find Him unable to thoroughly appreciate and enter into their deepest and strongest emotions. That, therefore, God should give laws to all His wonderful creation, and direct even the spirit of man in its activity, is the eminently reasonable thing. That lie has done so, is apparent from all our previous discussion, where, in inorganic Nature, in the sphere of life, and in the world of mind, we found specific conditions imposed for all forms of activhVv, and an all-pervasive .Power upholding and controlling all. The child is responsible to the father for his actions, and on occasion the father must call him to account for what lie has done. In this is no element of neces- sary terror to the child. A dutiful son is glad to report to his father his conduct and achievements, and a wise and loving father is tenderly sympathetic and encouraging in his counsel and corrections. A Wicked, rebellions child fears the face of his father, hates his reproof and advice, strives to free himself from his natural authority. In such cases the father 264 THE GIST OF IT. is not blamed for using decided and even severe meas- ures in dealing with his children. On the contrary, should he, as so many in our land, fail to discipline his children, and suffer them to go unchecked and unpunished in their courses of wickedness, he is by common consent adjudged recreant to his obligations, not merely to his children, but to the state as well. In precisely the same way we are responsible to our great Father, God. In creating man such as he is, He has voluntarily assumed these obligations, and must, therefore, unless He violate His own nature, in justice both to each one of His children and to all His creatures, hold man to a strict accountability for his actions. Just as the human father must exercise this right and duty in full view of all the circum- stances and contingencies of the case, in order that his judgment may be in perfect equity and for the true welfare of all concerned, so God must and will exercise His government over man in perfect fairness to all, and with just reference to all the interests of the one directly involved. But men's lives are not completed in this world. They pass out, with the character acquired here, into another form of exist- ence, where their activity and development will be continuous throughout successive ages. Hence the government of God, the holding to account of all His creatures, must be with reference to all their future, as well as present, interests. These are not made fully apparent here ; and, besides, the comple- tion of the influence of some actions is impossible until after the individual has left this world. It fol- lows, then, that in the future, in such manner, place, THE FACTS OF LIFE. 205 and time as He, in His infinite wisdom, may see best, God will reckon with His children, and adjudicate in perfect equity all their activities. The child is dependent upon the parent for instruc- tion and helpfulness. The little, helpless babe must be cared for, and, as it grows in strength and intelli- gence, must be taught the right exercise of its func- tions, the true meaning of the various relationships in which it is placed, and the proper use of the agen- cies of all kinds put within its grasp. It will not do for the parent to tell the child every thing. One necessary element of education is the development and training of all the powers of the being; and if no room be left for the play of thought and effort in studying out and mastering questions, this purpose is entirely defeated. Much must, therefore, be left to the labor and research of the child, that thereby lie may gain perfect discipline of all his varied nature. But every thing essential to the safety, harmony, and development of his being must be told him, lest in his ignorance he permanently injure himself, and im- pair all his after-growth. It is evident, now, that it was in perfect accordance with our nature that God, our divine Father, did not give us all knowledge at the start, but has left the race to perfect itself in the study of the vast sphere of truth about it, stimulated both by necessity of circumstances and by the innate desire for knowledge and its natural product, power. Bui it is also evident, that in regard to all matters which man needs to understand in order that he may safely and rightly exercise his functions, and wherein he cannot, by the US€ of hi> natural powers, acquire 266 THE GIST OF IT. such knowledge in time for his necessities, God will give him information. Under normal conditions the rational perfection of the child is attained by its being in perfect harmony with its parents. Any influence which separates them to any extent in sympathy and purpose, in so far mars the happiness and injures the development and efficiency of the child. By as much as God is greater than man, by as much as the relation of man to God is more important and vital than to his earthly par- ents, by so much is it more important for his happi- ness and perfection that he keep in sympathy and harmony with God. It cannot but be that any thing which separates us finite children from the full sym- pathy and helpfulness of our infinite Father, is most lamentable and dangerous. The rational complete- ness of life necessitates the preservation of perfect accord between man and God, and any impairment of that harmony must inevitably tend to the seri- ous hinderance and vital injury of all man's truest interests. From all the foregoing it is evident that the duties arising from this relation take precedence of all others. Man's connection with God, and dependence upon Him, being so immeasurably more important than any other relationships, it must be that the duties toward God are paramount to all others. This does not mean that the true performance of duty toward God forbids or prevents the right fulfillment of obli- gations in other spheres. God is the Creator not onl^v of man, but also of the universe in which man is placed. Pie has organized the universe, man in- THE FACTS OF LIFE. 2:37 eluded, into an accordant thought-system, and estab- lished all the relations out of which man's obligations arise. To say, then, that in a rightly ordered life, there could ever be any conflict between the duties man owes to God, and those he owes in other spheres, is to charge imperfection and friction upon the crea- tion ; and this, as has been shown, would be extremely irrational. The conclusion is indubitable, that, if man's activities be properly conducted, there will be perfect harmony between all the spheres of obligation in which he is ; ancj at no time will the performance of an evident duty in one necessitate the neglect of a real duty in any other. Another conclusion of great importance results from these facts. If God has established all the conditions and relations of man's activity, it is clear that all the obligations arising therefrom rest back for their au- thority on God, and so all duty is in the fullest sense owed and performed to God. While, therefore, there is a special sphere of duties of which God is the direct object, yet, in addition to this, the right fulfillment of true obligation in any and all other relations not only may, but must, be considered an essential part of one complete whole of duty, all of which is established by God, and due ultimately to Him. As the germ-thought of individual and social duties Is, One is bound to do the best for himself and for others; ' so the germ-thought of duties toward God is, One is bound to do the best for God. 2 Man's relatiou i Pp. 227, M6 - A careful distinction musl here be made, In Individual and social duties tin- statement, One is bound to do thu beel for biuieulf 268 THE GIST OF IT. to God is the most intimate and vital conceivable. Made in the image of the Infinite, he draws from Him all his life and energy. His threefold spirit-activity is the likeness of the divine Spirit, and is the means whereby he comes into conscious relation with that Spirit. " God, the moral Governor, is the infinite in- tellect, heart, and will, and reveals Himself to man, the finite intellect, heart, and will, as the infinite thought, love, and power. It is the likeness of man to God that enables him to come into conscious moral relation to God. He has a nature in some degree responsive to the manifestations of the divine Being. He can read something of the thought of God, can feel something of the goodness of God, and can recog- nize, and in some measure respond to, the will of God as power and as law, and as an expression of justice.*' 1 As the natural outcome of all the above discussion, it results that man is bound to render to God the supreme devotion of his entire being. The body is merely the mechanism of the spirit. The spirit is threefold in its activity. Hence this duty of supreme devotion to God will take three forms, according as it is the devotion of the intellect, the heart, or the will. We have found 2 that in man's spirit-activity the knowing-power is always the first in order of exercise. and for others, means, that one is bound to do what will be for the best interest, the truest advantage, of himself and of others. It is impossible that man's actions should ever be for the advantage or profit of the creative God. Hence, in duties toward God the state- ment, One is bound to do the best for God, lmist be taken as mean- ing that one is bound to do the best to realize the end purposed by God in his being. i Christian Ethics, p. 313. 2 P. 9. THE FACTS OF LIFE. 269 No emotion can be aroused save by the presentation of some knowledge, and the action of the will always follows that of the emotions. We learned, 1 also, that the right culture of this power of knowing is the first and necessary step in all true education. Now, the grandeur, elevation, and efficiency of a man's charac- ter depend not alone on the scope of his knowledge, but as well on the depth and majesty of his ideas. Desires for the noblest form of manhood can only be aroused by the clear apprehension of a lofty ideal. It is evident, however, that the highest of all knowl- edge must be the knowledge of God. The Creator and Upholder of the universe, lie immeasurably transcends it all in the fullness and variety of His efficiency. To the attraction of infinite power He adds the charm of an infinite personality, of absolute perfection, thus becoming the loftiest, purest, most fascinating object of study that can be conceived. True manhood must therefore draw its ideals and inspirations from the study of the character of God. But it is claimed that man cannot know God; that it is impossible that the Infinite should ever be com- prehended by the finite. This is another of the mod- ern sophistries. It is certainly true that the finite never can thoroughly comprehend — i.e., knoiv all about — the Infinite. God will always be above and beyond the farthest reach of developing, finite man. The assertion, however, thai because man can never perfectly understand God, therefore he can have no knowledge of Him, and should not attempt to study Him, is shown to be grossly erroneous by the coin- 1 i\ -.is. 270 THE GIST OF IT. monest facts of life. Who understands completely the chemical make-up of our daily food, and the pro- cess by which it is assimilated in the body ? Who knows the exact nature of the atom about which sci- entists reason so confidently, and which is essential to all their theories? Who knows what light and heat and gravitation are? What merchant under- stands the exact working of every factor involved in his business, and can calculate perfectly the effect of any change in the operation of the slightest forces of trade ? Shall we, then, throw science to the winds, shut up our shops and manufactories, abstain from food, and doom ourselves to quick death by starvation? To this it is replied, that, while we know nothing of the exact nature of all these forces and elements, yet we do know a great deal, and are constantly learn- ing more, about them. We may never know what matter is, but our knowledge of its operations is con- stant^ increasing, and that knowledge will be un- changed by any discovery of the essential nature of matter. The facts of extension, weight, indestructi- bility, and so on, are certain, regardless of what it is that is extended, heavy, and indestructible ; and these facts are not changed by the knowledge that matter has very many other properties besides these mentioned. Very well : in just the same way knowledge of God is possible. We can learn constantly more and more of His operations, and can understand more and more of His character from them ; and though the exhaust- less complexity of His infinite perfection will ever be beyond our thorough comprehension, though we may never be admitted to the understanding of His THE FACTS OF LIFE. 271 nature in its essential make-up, yet our knowledge of Him may be certain and progressive, and will be as superior in elevation and attractiveness as His crea- tive personality is superior to the universe which He has made. The claim that man's thought-processes are es- sentially weak and faulty, when applied to the study of God, is equally fallacious. If true, it would de- stroy all knowledge. God is infinite ; and when we finite creatures study His character, we can but get bits of information here and there from which to form the premises of our reasoning. But this is likewise the case in our study of the world about us. Here lies the danger of faulty premises, which will vitiate all conclusions. But man's spirit-activity, in its normal condition, is governed by exact laws. Sound thinking, under the guidance of these laws, takes note of all possible causes of error in the for- mation of premises, and the process of reasoning from them, and modifies its conclusions in accord- ance with these contingencies. Hence, from partial premises we may reach true conclusions. But, further, the universe is an organic whole, all its parts being mutually related as elements in one complete system. The thorough understanding of any part involves its relation to all other parts, and to the germ-principle, the origin, of the whole. Tennyson expresses this, when he says, — '• Flower in the crannied wall, I pluck you out of tii'- crannies, — Hold you here, root and all, in my hand. Little flower — but it' I could understand Wli.it you are, root and all, and all in all, I .should liUOW what God ami man is. M 272 THE GIST OF IT. This origin is God. Thus, God is seen to be the Key to all knowledge of the universe, as He is the Origi- nator and Fashioner of it all. Out of this comes a test of the validity of systematic knowledge, par- ticularly in philosophic thinking. If all knowledges are thus related, and if the careful following out of the relations of any fact, or department of facts, leads up to the germ-principle, the origin, of the whole, then it results that any system of thought or interpreta- tion of facts which, when carried out to its logical conclusions in all its relations, leads away from God, is by that very fact shown to be fallacious ; and this failure may be used as a clue to the discovery of the fallacy. It is now clear that man is bound, in the exercise of his knowing-power, to strive above all things else to know God. The nobility of his own nature, and the right understanding of the possible sphere of knowledge, both demand this of him. He must study the physical system of the universe, because it is the creation of God, and is the expression, there- fore, of His wisdom, His power, and His beneficence. The increase of knowledge of the elements and forces, in all their combination and working, in the entire universe, enlarges the conception of the wis- dom needed to devise them, and the power necessary to hold them in control. The adaptation of parts, so that great ends may be secured without injury, and even with positive pleasure to the animate world, expands, as it is understood, our idea of the good will of God. The study of man's own nature, in ail its characteristics, surroundings, and possibili- THE FACTS OF LIFE. 273 ties, is in the highest sense obligatory. Man being at the summit of the creation of God, the under- standing of his nature in its completeness of make- up and purpose is of the greatest importance, and reveals most of the character of God. All facts, from whatever department of investigation, are to be dealt with as expressing the Divine character and purpose. Thus, all right knowledge is an appre- hension of the truth of God, and in all study the supreme devotion of the knowing-power is to be rendered to God as the Author and Key of all learning. The power of emotion has been found to be the spring of all will action. The depth and power of a man's feelings, other things being equal, determine the amount of his efficiency in the world. This power is cultivated by the contemplation of appro- priate objects. The study, therefore, of God, in Mis pci feci ion as the Infinite Person, develops most strongly all noble and true emotions. These emo- tion- one is bound to cultivate above all others. God is Infinite Perfection. Toward Him, as such, naturally go out, the feedings of delight and adora- tion. The Center and Sum of all excellence, the desires of man for perfection and affections toward the pure and good and beautiful find full satisfaction in I Iii n. God is Infinite Righteousness. Toward Him, as Buch, the feelings of reverence and godly fear are exercised. Considering God as Absolute Rectitude, man cannot bill be profoundly stirred with feel- IUgS of tic- awe. ** God is in heaven, and 274 THE GIST OF IT. thou upon the earth ; therefore let thy words be few." God is Infinite Goodness. He might have created this world far different from what it is. He has made it beautiful in all its parts, adapted to the life of all His creatures, full of devices for the comfort, happiness, and development of every living thing which He has made. The provisions for man's life are full of indications of His love. The exercise of all the functions, even the mere taking of food, is made a means of pleasurable sensations. The law of compensation which He has established is so wide-spread that no life, save of those who, by their own act, have wrecked every thing given them, is wholly devoid of pleasure. The course of history shows it His purpose to care for and bless the truly virtuous. Gratitude for the past and present, and trust for the future, are consequently His due. In such ways as these, by the contemplation of the character of God, in all modes of its expression, one is bound to cultivate and cherish the deepest and strongest possible emotions toward Him. The will power is the culmination of the spirit- activity of man. His duty toward God culminates, therefore, in the supreme devotion of his will to God. The universe is ordered by law : the inor- ganic elements and forces are governed by specific and necessary laws ; life, in all its forms in plant and animal, uses the material below it, but is guided and controlled in that use by definite laws ; man's spirit-activity, though freely exerted, yet is free THE FACTS OF LIFE. 275 under law, 1 the powers of knowing, emotion and will, all having certain principles for guidance in their action, culminating in the moral law. 2 All these laws are but expressions of the will of the Creative God. Man's first duty, in the devotion of his will to God, is, then, obedience to the laws of his being. This covers the entire scope of his activity. A man who diligently cultivates his knowing-power at the expense of his physical being, and he who becomes so absorbed in mere money-getting or political strife as to stifle and crush out all the nobier emotions of his nature, both fail in the performance of this duty of obedience to God. The entire being, in complete and harmonious perfection, is to be held under the constant control of the will, to the full and right per- formance, in continuous development, of all its func- tions. At times, in the exigencies of human life, it may be necessary to sacrifice the lower interests of the being to the higher; as when General Marion and his men, for the sake of American liberty, lived for months with the woods for a home, and sweet potatoes for food ; or as when the Waldenses yielded up their lives rather than give up the liberty of con- science, which was their natural right from God. This obedience must be intelligent. A man should recognize his obligations as imposed by God, espe- cially in the exercise of his activity with direct refer- ence to God, and should consciously and clearly render his obedience thereto. Sincerity, promptness, and completeness must he shown in this obedience. i r. 27. - P. '•*>. 276 THE GIST OF IT. It must, of necessity, be a matter of the heart as well as the will. If not, while the will cannot act on its true principles, the feelings will be at variance with the laws of their activity, and so there will be a division and discord in the spirit-life. For the same reason it " must neither be hesitating nor partial. It must arise from the free, spontaneous, and prompt movings of an enlightened will, and must bend all the powers of man's being — none left out — to the fulfillment of his duty toward his Maker." The in- stant the will of God is manifested in any matter, the will of man should respond in hearty and entire obedience. God is a Personal Being, "the Infinite Thought, Love and Power." Man's second duty in the supreme devotion of his will to God, is, then, the direct ex- pression to Him of his sense of His Majesty and Per- fection. This duty takes shape in worship, which, as we have seen, is a spontaneous and universal act of man. The degraded, fetich worship of some tribes in Africa, the idolatrous rites of all heathen nations, the deification of reason by the French Revolution- ists and of humanity by Comte and the Positivists, and the elevated homage of the monotheist, all alike witness man's natural impulse to express his sense of the Divine Excellence. Worship is manifested especially in prayer, though many observances of days and ceremonies may be combined with it. Prayer is the natural and sponta- neous outgoing of the soul toward God. Its starting- point is in a feeling of dependence and helplessness. No man can entirely crush out this impulse. In THE FACTS OF LIFE. 277 times of sudden and great trial, the boldest atheists will cry out in prayer to God. This impulse works out iu various forms. In the contemplation of God's Infinite Perfection and Majesty, the spirit of man bows in reverence and adoration. When the abso- lute rectitude of God is considered, and contrasted with his own faulty character, man cries out in con- fession of his helplessness and failings, his sin and ill-desert. As the infinite love and goodness of God are vividly realized, man sends up his petitions for help and blessing, for comfort and communion, and his thanksgivings for mercies and kindnesses which have been extended to him. Were each man isolated, this form of worship would probably be the only one used. But man is in a network of relationships in the family and the state, and in all this impulse to worship God mani- fests itself. Thus arise the family worship, as in the patriarchal stage of civilization, when each man was priest in his own house ;. and then the public observances of worship by bodies of people associated together. In all these ways this common impulse strives to find expression. It grows out of the essential make- up of man's being. Even the sabbath is not a purely Christian institution, but is written in the liber of the being of man and all the animate creation. 1 The crowning act of the devotion of man to God 1 One of the ^Ycnt circus-owners of the country recognised this when, in a recent summer, in- refused t<> give entertainments an Sunday, saying that to do bo would be to quickly kill all his men and heists. 278 THE GIST OF IT. is thus reached in the conscious recognition and sub- mission to Him as his Creator and Governor, and the effort to come into communion with His Infinitely Intelligent and Loving Personality. III. In the general fund of adages and maxims which have lost force by reason of excessive use, none so strikingly voices the universal belief in the relation of present to future activity as " the boy is father to the man." Little by little in his development, the boy forms habits, and sets tendencies in operation ; and in time his character is fixed in accordance with those tendencies. Three elements work in this building of character: first, the influences from the external world of man and Nature ; second, the influences through the in- ternal spirit-life, in conscience and the impact of the Divine Personality ; third, the activity of the indi- vidual himself, yielding to, battling against, using, all influences in his own unfolding. Man's charac- ter is — to use a term from physics — the resultant of the combined action of these three factors in all his previous existence. Their interaction in its final product, determines what he is to-day ; and this plus their present operation fixes what he will be to-mor- row. This makes it evident that no man can pre- serve a neutral position in the matter of character- building. These influences from Nature, man, and God, are constantly plajdng upon him, and his own spontaneous activity is ceaselessly manifesting itself. Hence, results follow, whether he will or no ; and if THE FACTS OF LIFE. 279 he do not put forth some directive power in control- ling their operation, and determining his own course under them, he is liable to sad wreck of prospects, and the crushing incubus of a misshapen character. 1 Herein lies the danger of human life. Every influ- ence, from even the most trivial sources, has its effect upon the character; and untiring watchfulness is needed if any measure of symmetry and perfection of development is to be secured. Herein lies also the promise and power of the in- dividual under all circumstances. While he cannot wholly determine what influence shall bear upon him, yet it is open to him to settle his own course in the midst of these influences, suffering no one to operate unduly in manner or degree, and keeping his own activity always under control. This process, however, though endlessly continu- ous, is not such as to leave the question of the com- plexion of a man's character always uncertain and liable to change. On the contrary, it is by this specific operation that the formation and fixity of character is rendered possible. The single perform- ance of an act makes easier the repetition of that act under like recurring circumstances : continued repe- tition not only increases the ease of the performance, but also begets a tendency, and stimulates the desire, to that action whenever the opport unity for its execu- tion offers. In time these tendencies become set, and habits are fully formed. Further than this, it is one of the most startling but surest discoveries of modern psychology, that 1 I\ 182. 280 THE GIST OF IT. this process continues until the habits become un- alterably fixed, and the character is in those particu- lars unchangeable. Thus, a man may systematically and persistently train his body to a special mode of action, — e. g., stooped carriage, opium-eating, or tobacco-chewing, — until the habit of such action be- comes so fixed that only death will end its operation, and results alike from its discontinuance or perpetu- ation. In the spirit-activity the same law holds. A man may discipline himself to certain modes of think- ing, until not only his mind operates in those lines without conscious control, but also it is impossible for him to break away from those ways of thought- activity. Training to specific methods of feeling and volition results in the absolute fixity of those traits of character. This applies equally to the formation of good and bad character. The man who carefully conserves all the laws of his entire being, and guides his activity in careful accordance with those laws, finds by and by that his character has been unchange- ably fixed in its habits of natural and legitimate activity, and that thereby the extent and effective- ness of his agency is vastly increased. Just as cer- tainly, the man who carelessly or intentionally forms habits in violation of the principles of his nature, fixes his character in ways of action which necessi- tate constant and increasing friction, ultimate wreck. When this point is readied, the nature of all after- development is determined. So long as existence endures, the powers of the being will continue to unfold and grow in exercise. But it will all be along the lines of these settled habits. Hence, if THE FACTS OF LIFE. 281 the character-building has been rational and S)~m- metrical, the after-growth is sure to be one of con- tinuous progress and increase in intelligent and virtuous efficiency. 1 If, conversely, the character has been built foolishly and at hap-hazard, the after- growth is permanently fixed as one of incessant strife, cumulative ruin, — the man's powers more and more warring with each other and with his surround- ings, shattering themselves in vain battle against the fundamental principles of their own activity. Those who suffer passion and prejudice, vice, meanness, and self-will, to dominate them, may well tremble when they consider that they are binding upon themselves galling and crushing fetters from which they never can be freed. But hope and joy may rightfully in- spire him who is rationally striving for perfection of manhood, as he remembers that in this effort he is forming habits and starting tendencies which by and by will crystallize into unchangeable character, and furnish a mighty enginery for all further achieve- ment. Two of the particulars, in which the future is thus determined by the present, demand special notice. First, and most obvious, is that of moral complex- ion. This is every day apparent in all life. Men and women are everywhere met who have trained themselves in ways of patience, gentleness, decision, generosity, or in habits of lying, scandalmonging, double-dealing, fraud, until their character is beyond all possibility of ruin or reform. A second, though less regarded, fact is that the i Pp. 222, 239. 282 THE GIST OF IT. measure of all future development is determined by present activity. In childhood and early youth the powers of observation and memory are, in their spon- taneous operation, keener and more active than ever again in life, and may then be developed and disci- plined to very great capabilities. If this period be suffered to go by without their improvement, no amount of effort afterward will give them the fullness of efficiency which might have been attained if train- ing had been begun at the proper time. So, in the first awakening of philosophical inquiry in the mind, if diligent and careful effort be at once put forth and persistently carried on, a depth and scope of thought- activity may be developed which, if the process of training is long delayed, can never be secured. The man who has suffered the possibilities within him of moral power to lie dormant until he nears life's meridian, may, by a mighty struggle, grow into some- what of virtuous power and influence, but can never realize the perfection and plenitude of power which persistent trial throughout life would have given him. In all these and other such particulars, while the obligation of training and culture is constantly binding, yet " There is a tide in the affairs of men, Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune ; Omitted," — the golden opportunity is gone ; and, whatever rich- ness of knowledge and of power may be secured, the full perfection originally possible to those activities is forever unattainable. THE FACTS OF LIFE. 283 Man's existence is one continuous whole. 1 Child- hood, youth, maturity, declining age, are successive stages in one unbroken development ; and the future life, though its opening is clouded by the overhang- ing mists of death, is but a further movement in the same unfolding. Hence, these facts and principles of character-building hold uninterruptedly throughout the future as well as present sphere of existence, and immortal destinies are thus determined by, it may be, the least observed actions or omissions of daily life. The thought may well startle the most virtuous. We are building for eternity ; and the measure and color of all that endless growth will be settled by the form in which the character crystallizes here. The fifth and final of our questions is now an- swered. In a complicated network of relationships, binding him to varied duties toward himself, his fel- lows, the scheme of Nature, and his Creator, God, man is building a character, which, in its perfected condition, shapes and determines all his future activ- ities, his ultimate destiny. This ends our study of the facts of life. Of mar- vellous variety and complication, yet in correlated system, they compose a great, majestic unity. What does it all mean? What truth will properly inter- pret all these diverse facts, and solve the numerous, momentous queries inevitably suggested by them? 1 Pp. 221, 224. PART II. THE INTERPRETATION OF THE PACTS. CHAPTER I. FUNDAMENTAL REQUISITES. The fabled Sphinx proposed an ingenious riddle to the citizens of Thebes, and devoured one a day of those who failed rightly to guess its meaning. Life is an enigma infinitely more complex than that of the Sphinx ; and all along the course of human his- tory, broken, bleaching skeletons tell of the fate of those who have missed its true signification. There is, then, the greatest reason for most carefully seeking life's true interpretation. Three important conclusions follow from the pre- ceding discussion. The sphere of man's activity has been seen to be an organic and accordant whole. 1 Man's complex activity in both its scope and its dura- tion is one. All the varied play of thought and feel- ing, all the diverse action in all relationships, form one complete unity. 2 The endless progression of activity is continuous and unified in all its stages, each to each related in direct and vital connection. 3 i P. 92. 2 p. 2G7. 8 P. 224. 284 THE INTERPRETATION OF THE FACTS. 285 But all this activity is marred by the spirit's own lawlessness. Made to operate rightly and effectively in the outworking of true and noble purposes, it is debased and wrecked by its own internal and inces- sant strife and waywardness. 1 Hence, the fulfillment of the supreme purpose of man's existence in the attainment of rational perfection depends on the realization of two fundamental conditions. First, In some way this ruined condition of the spirit must be changed. So long as passion and prejudice, greed and deceitfulness, pride and self- will, dominate the spirit, its continued activity will but result in cumulative sorrow, disaster. Harmoni- ous exercise, symmetrical development, of the powers of the spirit is impossible, unless the causes and effects of friction and wreck in it are removed. The true interpretation of life must, therefore, provide some scheme for securing this result. Such a scheme must, of necessity, involve the following particulars : — It must provide a perfect model for imitation. We are all creatures of imitation; and while slavish copying of any model destroys the charm and force of individuality, yet, in all our activities, we need a pattern in which the governing principles involved given concrete form. If the model be in any wise defective, the most careful imitation cannot be a perfect realization of the original purpose. The scheme must present a motive for the imita- tion of the model; and this motive must be suffi- ciently powerful to incite and sustain the individual l P. SL 286 THE GIST OF IT. in the face of all difficulties and discouragements. All models of virtuous life are without effect on a man who is influenced toward such a life by no motives strong enough to counterbalance the hin- derances to such a course, and the allurements of wrong-doing. The scheme must give liberty for the movement under the influence of the motive toward the model. In this liberty two things are involved : First, free- dom, deliverance from every thing in the way of prejudice and evil habit, which fetters the spirit- activity, and so not only renders impossible any effort toward right living, but also causes friction and threatens death to the spirit powers. Second, power, ability to respond to the great motive and move toward the realization of the supreme model. Here is the fatal weakness in multitudes of charac- ters, — the lack of power to execute that which convinces and incites them toward action. 1 Finally, this scheme must furnish help for man in his struggle toward the full realization of the supreme model in his own life. Danger and disheartening defeat will often come ; and, in some way, counsel, encouragement, comfort, and support, must be given him in all times of need. Else he will fall, heart- broken and wrecked, long before he reaches the goal of his efforts. When in all these particulars this first condition is fulfilled, man is ready to prosecute his spirit-activ- ity. Now the second condition of all successful lifework must be met. Man must have a dominant, l Pp. 26, 243. THE INTERPRETATION OF THE FACTS. 287 supreme purpose in all his activity. This purpose must be one, and must be such that in its realization all the powers of the being will find complete and united exercise throughout the entire life. The reasons for this are obvious. Such a purpose will save time and strength in ex- ertion. Many people put forth constant and great energy all through life, but, because of the lack of unity in their actions, never accomplish any thing worth the doing. The man who endeavors to master half a dozen trades at once does not get control of any one as soon as he who devotes his undivided attention to that alone. A supreme purpose will concentrate effort. The obligations and possibilities of life are so great, es- pecially in these days of advancing civilization, that all a man's power must be exerted to the best advan- tage in their realization. No particle of serviceable energy can be spared from use in the life-accomplish- ment. The man whose life is dominated hy one all- controlling purpose unconsciously, as well as with deliberate plan, concentrates all his powers on the achievement of that purpose. A supreme purpose will correlate effort. Other things being equal, the man who has the best method will achieve the best and greatest success in life. Power is consequent upon organization. By right combination, in the new testing-machines, pieces of iron and steel weighing, in the aggregate, only a few hundred pounds, will exert in crushing and pulling apart various materials, a force of twenty-five tons. So a man, by proper arrangement of learning, sympa- 288 THE GIST OF IT. thy, and practical effort, may exercise a vast measure of causative agency. But all such combination is organization, which means the putting together of various elements, on the basis of some principle which pervades and controls the entire system. 1 Such an organizing principle in human activity is furnished by the one supreme purpose, which originates, groups, and guides all endeavor in relation to its own ultimate and perfect realization. A supreme purpose will quicken energy. Intensity of action is dependent upon unity of purpose. It is palpable that the man who is without any one defi- nite, all-comprehensive aim in life cannot have the stimulus to labor which spurs him whose complex activity is wholly shaped and directed by a single overruling purpose, toward whose achievement the entire movement trends. Besides, the continuous exercise of the powers in one direction increases their capabilities, 2 and thus the measure of efficiency is constantly being enlarged. A supreme purpose will prevent waste of material. An overmastering purpose, controlling and correlat- ing all effort, would relieve the embarrassment and misery of those learned unfortunates who are unable to make practical use of their hard-won acquisitions. Every form of knowledge is fitted for some specific use, and has its definite place in the general scheme of activity. The proper organization of that scheme finds place and play for every particle and every kind of information and productive energy, and that, too, in such mutual relation that every portion performs the most and best possible service. 1 P. 16, et seq. 2 P. 222. THE lyTERPRETATlON OF THE FACTS. 289 A supreme purpose will increase the measure and value of achievement. This is self-evident. A life- work which is the result of the intelligent and sys- tematic prosecution of one aim through all the years of activity will of necessity be, in both amount and worth, superior to one lacking such unity of purpose, endeavor, achievement. No man can, by spasmodic or scattered effort, perfect a life-work which will bear comparison with that which is the result of years of persistent and carefully organized endeavor for the realization of one grand purpose. These observations are sufficient to establish the necessity of a supreme purpose in life. But — what supreme purpose? No argument is needed to show that, if the foregoing positions be well taken, the greatest and grandest life-achievement will be effected in the unfolding of the true supreme purpose. Which is the true supreme purpose ? How can it be known ? Four tests may be mentioned as fitted to determine the answer to this question. The supreme purpose must furnish employment for the entire nature of man. The whole organism, spirit and body, is correlated as one unity, in which every j art and power has its place as a factor of a complete system. The life purpose must fit in with this fact of organization, and take advantage of it. Abundant and appropriate exercise for all the diverse activity of the truly (-(bleated man 1 must be provided for in the dominant purpose of life. All activity means development, — growth. The supreme purpose must take note of this, and arrange » P. 238. 290 THE GIST OF IT. for the largest possible and harmonious development of all the powers of the being. The obligation to se- cure the greatest measure of unfolding and advance- ment in all kinds of right culture, must be carefully met in the grand aim of life by appropriate stimulus and encouragement. Many people come short of what they might have attained in life, and are disappointed in later years, because the purpose of life-activity they formed in youth did not consider the increase of power conse- quent upon continued exercise. The fully matured man will accomplish, in the same time and with the same expenditure of energy, an amount of work very far beyond what was possible for him in the days of boyhood. The supreme purpose must be formed in view of this truth, and must be of such a character as to furnish full and suitable employment for the developing powers of man at every step of their con- tinuous unfolding. The longest life is progressive in development to its close. Nor does the growth stop at death. All through the future life the same prin- ciple of increase in power will hold. The grand aim of activity must therefore be such that, in the endless progression of existence, the growing powers of the being may find the sphere of their possible action equally enlarging, and so affording complete exercise for their evolving capabilities. What brush can paint, what tongue describe, the pitiable wreck of him whose character crystallizes in the pursuit of a dominant aim realized ere middle life is passed, and leaving all after-development without a motive and goal of endeavor? THE INTERPRETATION OF THE FACTS. 291 The supreme purpose must be such that, in its realization, man can attain the grand end of hL existence. This end is twofold. First, The rational completeness of man's being. 1 Man's body is an organized mechanism, the adjust- ment and control by life of physical elements and forces, all under the rule of necessary law. Man's spirit is a unit with diverse activities, all operating freely, but in their normal exercise governed by spe- cific principles, culminating in the moral law. The rational completeness of man's being is found in the harmonious development and training of all its varied parts and powers, to the greatest possible efficiency, in exact accordance with all the laws of their activity. Second, The exercise of the complete being in the greatest and grandest possible achievement. Wherein is this achievement to be found? The universe is an accordant thought-system, created by God, and mov- ing id ceaseless progression toward the fruition of some divinely conceived aim. As a part of the uni- verse, man has a place in the outworking of this all- comprehensive purpose. Hence, the greatest and grandest achievement possible to him must be the realization of that specific phase or portion of the divine plan allotted him by God. It is now necessary to Consider what scheme of life- activity will meet these conditions, providing for the ^ration of health to man's spirit-life furnishing the supreme purpose of all his effort, as determined by i 1 P. 50. 292 THE GIST OF IT. CHAPTER II. PROPOSED SCHEMES. The need of some solution of the life-problem has pressed upon men in all ages, and all have tried to find or make an interpretation which will satisfy the conditions. In the varying combinations of life- activity many diverse plans have been devised. They may all, however, be reduced to five. I. Multitudes of people make the pursuit of happi- ness their life-employment. This is not to be won- dered at. Happiness is an essential in the absolute completeness of man's existence, and the burden of wretchedness in the world quite naturally leads peo- ple to make its attainment the supreme end of their lives. Whether or not their course is wise, does not affect the fact. Three general forms of this aim may be distinguished. Many seek sensuous gratification, the enjoyment of the pleasurable sensations x which arise from the healthy and unimpeded exercise of the physical func- tions. This may be as mere amusement, in hunting, boating, lawn-tennis, and other games. Or it may 1 P. 81. THE INTERPRETATION OF THE FACTS. 293 degenerate through the " good time " of the society- mad maiden and youth, into the beastly rioting of the drunken and licentious of both sexes. Others strive for like experiences in the spirit-life. Some, in the sphere of a3sthetics, devote themselves to the study and development of the beautiful in Nature and in art, in order to gratify these desires and affections of their own being. 1 The waves of enthusiasm over sunflowers, crazy -quilts, decorative painting, and college costumes, and the excitement of fashion, — outside of that which is occasioned by mere rivalry and mean self-seeking, — are traceable to this cause. The third form is the aim of those who labor for the pleasure 2 which results in the spirit-life from the normal operation of the ethical nature. The press- ure upon men of the moral law, 3 their utter ina- bility to find perfect rest where its commands are not obeyed, and the delightful feelings accompany- ing the right performance of virtuous action, lead to the setting up, as the supreme purpose of life-en- deavor, of the continuous exercise of these emotions. While much is to be said as to the rightfulness of provisions for the happiness of men in these spheres, yet three tacts are fatal to any attempt to make the Becuring of happiness, in any or all these forms, the supreme purpose of Life-effort. The place of the power of emotion, in the exer- cise of the spirit power-, [a subordinate. It succeeds the action of the knowing-power, but precedes that of the will. 1 To make its operation the ultimate i Pp i P. 23. P. .a. < Pp. 18, 2 294 THE GIST OF IT. end of action, exalts it out of its proper correla- tion. Happiness is always simply the accompaniment of normal activity. The statement of the law of its production, formulated by Sir William Hamilton, is in the fullest sense correct. As he put it, happi- ness is the reflex of unimpeded energy. In less technical language this means, that when the powers of the man, body or spirit, are normally and per- fectly performing their functions, without hinderance of any kind, there result from and accompany such action the pleasurable sensations which we term happiness. Hence it is evident, that while supreme happiness will accompany the achievement of the supreme purpose, yet it is not the supreme purpose, and, if made so, is itself rendered incapable of realization. To this statement, concrete emphasis is given by the third fact. People who make happiness the supreme end of their activity never secure it. When pleasure is indulged in as a rest from labor, when it has been earned by hard work, and is needed for rec- reation, sensations of genuine happiness are experi- enced. But beyond the necessities of recreation, it palls upon the taste. The most truly miserable people in the world are the pleasure-seekers, whose main business is the prosecution of ways of amuse- ment. The hard worker with hand or brain finds a joy in the smooth, healthful play of his powers, in his daily tasks ; and when, wearied by the pressure of overcrowding duties, he turns for rest aside into the courses of pleasure, he enters into them with a THE INTERPRETATION OF THE FACTS. 295 keenness of enjoyment, and finds in them relaxation and renewing of his powers, which the sated pleas- ure-goer, though spending his life in search of it, never knows. From this it follows, that those who plan for the amusement of people beyond the requirements of recreation, are not true benefactors of humanity, but rather enemies of the race. For purposes of selfish gain, they take advantage of this restless, unhappy, unsatisfied feeling of their fellows, devise elaborate schemes of amusement, fit up at great cost gorgeous buildings, and attempt, by flaring posters, showy parades, and exquisite music, to attract the public to the places they have thus prepared. By these means, they rouse to abnormal activity the inherent longing for happiness, and generate the belief that in thus making it the supreme end of action, it may be perfectly realized ; and many an earnest soul is drawn into the wild whirl only to find, when time and strength and means are spent, that he has gone a vain quest, while the remorseless vampires who fed upon him have left him neither energy nor opportunity to try again his search in sonic other way. II. A second class of persons spend their lives in the Strife for wealth. 1 Canon Farrar spoke too truly when, in New York recently, he said, "The curse of this county is its worship of Mammon.' 1 All, how- ever, to whom this statement will apply, arc not to I P. 261. 296 THE GIST OF IT. be included in this class. Many consciously seek wealth as the means to the securing of some more ultimate end. Yet it is unquestionably the case, that with a very large number the dominant aim of their life-activity is the mere accumulation of wealth, regardless of the possibilities of use involved in its possession. Men join house to house, and multipty the number of their fields, and are content with the mere fact of increase. Students load their shelves with books, and crowd their memories with facts, but are stirred by no desire to avail themselves of the enlarged influence made possible by their growth in knowledge. In how far is their aim the true supreme purpose? and wherein, if at all, does it fail as the grand end of life-endeavor? As implied above, wealth may be in either of two general forms : It may consist in material, concrete, form, as houses and lands, flocks and herds, manu- factures, stocks and bonds ; or it may be the wealth of knowledge, of facts and ideas, acquired by study and research. The late William H. Vanderbilt was the richest man on the Continent in wealth of the first form. But the recently deceased Professor Joseph Henry, though his riches were of the second form, was as certainly a man of unsurpassed wealth. Whether of the first or second kind, wealth is of great value. It enlarges the sphere of man's causa- tive agency, increasing the means at his command, enabling him to put and keep his entire mechanism in better condition, and direct its action to greater advantage, and thus multiplying the amount and value of his achievement. Hence arises the duty of THE INTERPRETATION OF THE FACTS. 297 obtaining wealth, of getting the largest and best possible control over all the forces and elements of Nature, and the facts and principles of spirit-life. 1 The acquirement of wealth proceeds under the operation of a twofold law : productive energy is the first requisite. The idler and dreamer never put forth any effort in the actual making or produc- tion of any thing, and, of course, they never secure wealth. Hard work, manual or mental, lies at the basis. This hard work, though, must be in some productive manner. The maniac may wear himself out pounding a stone wall, or living over again some experiences of his past spirit-life, but he never gains wealth thereby. But, secondly, that which is thus acquired must not be at once consumed in some form of personal gratification. The hard-working mechanic who earns good wages, but spends them as rapidly as they are paid over to him, never obtains wealth. The student who is content to let his ac- quisitions rest in the satisfaction of his personal vanity or pleasure, finds they soon rust, and his wealth vanishes. A margin above the needs of immediate consumption must be reserved, and this must be used in further acquirement. There are, then, two particulars in which the claim that wealth may be considered the ultimate aim of life-effort is suicidally defective: — Wealth is simply the mechanism of achievement. To consider the ownership of ;i greal piece of ma- chinery the aim of life, is obviously absurd. Yet this is what is done by those who make the mere posses- « I'. 93. 298 THE GIST OF IT. sion of riches the final goal of their accomplishment. Wealth is valueless, except when, as in the cases above cited, it is made a means for the furthering of ends superior to itself. Still, wealth may be secured even in large measure, though sought wholly for itself. But, secondly, this scheme provides no ways in which wealth may, when obtained, be put to service. For this reason, people who attempt to work out this principle are often greatly distressed to know how to use their riches after they have been acquired. It is unreasonable to suppose that any kind or quantity of any form or combination of forms of wealth in all the universe of material and spirit existence with which we are connected, should be without some good use. When, therefore, this scheme fails to provide any method and object for turning to prac- tical service the wealth which may be obtained, it thereby proves itself unable to meet the tests of the supreme purpose. III. There is something strangely fascinating in the thought of fame. Men love to be known and spoken of by their fellows. Notice in the local newspaper has its reflex influence on the individual, usually far beyond its true importance. Few, indeed, are wholly indifferent to the commendation or sneer of the pet- tiest " man of the quill." Beyond this, the fact of national or world-wide and enduring reputation fur- nishes an incentive and a caution, often impercepti- ble when powerfully operating, to most men. He is THE INTERPRETATION OF THE FACTS. 299 a rare man who would not like to have his name, as that of Luther or Washington, go " ringing down the halls of Time," a comfort and inspiration to the race through centuries after his life is ended; while only the hardened criminal can coolly contemplate the prospect of his name becoming, like that of Judas or Benedict Arnold, a by-word and a warning through all future generations. This feeling is not without rational basis. The esteem in which we are held by our fellow-men has much to do with the harmony and successfulness of our lives. A good name not only insures respect and confidence, but increases and intensifies influ- ence. Under similar conditions Mr. Moody's mere affirmation would have more weight, even in the court-room, than an ordinary man's affidavit. Con- trariwise, an evil report destroys confidence, limits influence, and quickly produces social, financial, political, ruin. It is, then, both necessary and right that regard be had to the esteem in which one is held by others, — necessary, lest envious slanders go unchallenged until insurmountable prejudice is en- gendered; right, because thereby needless collision may be avoided, incipient faults corrected, and right- ful extension of influence secured. When, however, this is made an end, the end, of action, when the life-activity is throughout planned and directed by the all-mastering ambition for faint', difficulties at once arise. No reward of human effort is so uncertain, so independent of the person's own control, as fame. It is often produced by the most trivial causes. Beau Brumniel is still remembered 300 TEE GIST OF IT. for the inimitable grace with which he tied his cravat ; and one of the modern prima donnas is said to owe her unwonted popularity to the magical charm of her appearance and address when first meeting her audiences. One man is born son of a king or president, and though, perchance, incapable of inde- pendent action, yet, because of the accident of his birth, plays a prominent part in history. Another, far more worthy of eminence, is kept in obscurity by circumstances equally beyond his control. In no way is it possible to determine action so as certainly, to secure a place among the world's immortal names. When such fame, in cases where it rests on some basis of genuine worth, is obtained, the means by which it is acquired may be recognized, and the con- dition of their operation formulated into a law, as follows : Fame is the result of special hard work and sejf-denial for the benefit of others in matters of com- mon concern. Of this our national history affords no more forcible example than Gen. Grant. Greater fame can be given no man than was won by him ; and it all resulted from the tremendous energy, self- sacrificing endurance, and masterly skill, with which, in the hour of the nation's peril, he guided and gov- erned her vital interests. Yet no man can, by the application of this law, be sure of the result. No proper recognition has ever been made of Gen. Fre- mont's inestimable services to the nation in explor- ing the Pacific slope. While only a few persons even know that the Rev. Dr. Whitman, a home mis- sionary, was the chief agent in securing Oregon to this country. THE INTERPRETATION GF THE FACTS. 301 Additional to this fact of uncertainty of attainment are two other particulars, equally fatal to the claims of this to be the supreme purpose of life-action. In the nature of the case, great fame can only be obtained by a few. The circumstances of actions which produce it are of rare occurrence. It is true that circumstances do not make the man. Had Gen. Grant not been Grant, the opportunities of distinc- tion afforded by the war would have been of little benefit to him, for he could not have used them as he did. Yet, it is also true that the man's action is conditioned by the circumstances in which he is. Had the war not occurred, Grant's great military genius, so highly commended by the German soldier, Von Moltke, would never have found place for devel- opment. But we are endeavoring in this discussion to find something which will answer as supreme purpose, for not simply the favored few, but as well for the great unknown multitude. The influence in character-building of the con- scious effort for fame is lamentably disastrous. No reputation is always the same for two successive periods, or with all people in the same period. All men are therefore subjected to the friction of con- flicting opinions and changing judgments about them. This is abnormally excited in the case of the man who makes the popular good will his goal. He becomes the conscious focus of public sentiment; criticism and flattery play upon him with undue effect; unavoidable differences of opinion and petty censures chafe him ; and his happiness is at the mercy of vile and irresponsible persons, whose action is as 302 THE GIST OF IT. variable as the blowing of the wind. Out of this comes the abandonment in conduct of the principle of absolute rectitude laid down by the moral law, and the adoption of some relative and flexible stand- ard. The unmanly methods, shameful associations, and moral wreck, of the political demagogue, too plainly illustrate the final result of such action. It should be added, and the fact is intelligible from the last statement, that fame in all worthy forms comes to the individual in the performance of right and unselfish action. What conception had Washington of even the present grandeur of the country for whose freedom he so fought? He tried to do his duty, letting results take care of them- selves. His co-worker, General Gage, thirsted and labored for distinction, and is chiefly remembered for jealous actions little to his credit. IV. Wealth and fame are both sought, in many in- stances, as means for the obtaining of a further end — power. This is their legitimate use, and is a rightful possession of every human being. Man is an originating source of causal agency, adjusting and using forces in the spontaneous working of his free and intelligent will. He is thus not to be censured, but rather praised, when by lawful means, and in right form and measure, he extends the reach of his causal efficiency, his power. It is evident that this growth must follow the predetermined lines of man's possible activity, and assume certain corre- spondent forms. THE INTERPRETATION OF THE FACTS. 303 A man may increase the strength of his physical system, or combine natural materials in such ways as to enable his own physical force to accomplish greater results than before possible. Thus, prize- fighters, as Sullivan, and pedestrians, as Weston, have, by careful training, developed extraordinary muscular power. In the new testing-machines 1 the enormous pressure exercised is produced, through skillful combination of materials, by the expendi- ture on the part of the operator of an amount of force equivalent to only twenty pounds of pressure. This form, physical power, is itself dependent for increase on a higher form, — the power of knowledge. In a very wide sense, knowledge is power. 2 There is no more power in the forces of Nature now than they possessed thousands of years ago. Man's knowl- edge of them is vastly greater, and, in consequence, his power over them and their practical efficiency are many times multiplied. The human body is in do way different now, in composition or organization, from what it always has been. But men know more about it ; and because of the advancement of anat- omy, physiology, and hygiene, assisted by the products of some other departments of knowledge, training and medical science alike have been much enlarged in power. None have been added to the chemical prop- erties of matter since it came into being. The won- derful progress in man's chemical operations, as in various manufactures, is all Hue to increased knowl- edge of those properties. Human nature has not changed in its essential elements during the Cen- to o 1 P. 287. - Pp. 62 • 304 THE GIST OF IT. turies since it began its development. Yet, spirit- activity and character-building can now be prose- cuted with great saving of time and waste, and far greater effectiveness and symmetry than heretofore. Better psychology and consequent improved scien- tific method account for the change. In numberless such ways it is being everywhere proven, that, while knowledge is not, in the exact scientific sense, power, it is an indispensable condi- tion of all power ; and its growth increases in won- derful ratio the causal agency of man. In the emotions, also, there is power. 1 A man's own action is determined in amount and persistency by the depth and continuance of his emotions. A mighty passion will shape and affect a man's action all his life long. More than this, certain forms of feeling give power over others. Some people have a richness and fullness of sympathy and affection which gives them very great influence. The gener- ous, unselfish, man or woman, whose heart is brim- ming with love for others, exerts, from that very fact, an influence sometimes much in excess of what their real worth and wisdom justify. While ambition, jealousy, hatred, in extreme forms, are terrible forces of mischief in the life of both the individual and the nation. The will is the culmination of the spirit-activity and the expression of the spirit's power. 2 In this there are many natural differences among men. At one extreme is the man who is all action, and has no patience with any thing which cannot be immediately i P. 239. 2 P. 27. THE INTERPRETATION OF THE FACTS. 305 put into execution ; at the other, the weak, irresolute, unfortunate, who has almost no power of self-direc- tion, and is the spoil of all external influences. But this, just as certainly as any other of man's capabili- ties, may be cultivated, and immense growth made in promptness, decision, and persistency of will. In concrete embodiment the exercise of this form of power is manifested as authority, dominion. Under proper conditions, as in the family and constitutional governments, it becomes a valuable and helpful, as it is a necessary and powerful, element in social organ- ization. Operating unrestrained, it becomes absolute sovereignty, or " one-man power," and degenerates into despotism and tyranny. As the laws of man's complex nature culminate in the moral law, so his putting-forth of energy reaches its climax in moral power. This must not be con- fused with soul-power, a term which either is loosely used for strength of feeling, or refers to the native energy of the spirit itself — the capacity for exert- ing power inhering essentially in the spirit. Moral power is that form which is developed by clear perceptions of right and wrong, keen sensibility to moral issues, and decided, long-continued exercise of the will in obedience to the moral law. 1 It is this that determines the stature of the man's character. The highesl type of heroism is impossible without a grand moral ideal and moral courage. Instances are nu- merous of the control of large and infuriated masses of people by one man of great moral power. Years ago, in a penitentiary in one of the Eastern I Pp. 241,212. 306 THE GIST OF IT. States, the convicts, to the number of several hun- dred, mutinied one morning, 'and drove their keepers from the shop in which they were at work. The warden sent in affright to the adjacent city for aid. A United-States army officer was in the city with a mere handful of troops, — twenty-five or thirty, — and at once went to the prison. The convicts had all gathered at one end of the shop, a long building, armed with axes, hammers, chisels, and other tools of their work. Filing in at the opposite end of the building, the intrepid officer drew up his little com- pany in line, bade them load their muskets in full view of the prisoners, and take careful aim at the crowd ; then, taking out his watch, he said to the criminals, "The man that remains in this building at the end of three minutes shall be shot dead." What cared that throng of armed desperadoes, in the first flush of partial freedom, for the insignificant bunch of troops facing them ? But a minute is a long, long time to stand and look quietly into the muzzle of a loaded gun, with no sound save the tick- ing of the watch whose moving hands determine the instant when the falling hammer will speed the ball on its errand of death. Ere it elapsed, some of the convicts nearest the door dropped quietly out ; and, before half the allotted time had gone by, the entire number had left the shop, and returned to their cells. On the morning of April 15, 1865, when the nation was thrilling in anger and indefinable dread at the assassination of President Lincoln, a mass of fifty thousand men gathered in New- York City around the Exchange Building. General B. F. Butler addressed, THE INTERPRETATION OF THE FACTS. 307 but was not able to disperse, them. The crowd were armed, enraged. " Suddenly, from the extreme right wing of the crowd rose a cry, ' " The World ! " The office of " The World ! " " The World ! " ' and the mass began to. move, as one man, toward that office. Where would this end ? Destruction of property, loss of life, violence and anarchy, were in that move- ment, and apparently no human power could now check its progress. Then a man stepped to the front of the balcony, and held his arm aloft.' His command- ing attitude arrested universal attention. Perhaps he was going to give them the latest news. They waited. But while they listened, the voice — it was the voice of General Garfield — onl} r said, ' Fellow- citizens, clouds and darkness are round about Him. His pavilion is dark waters and thick clouds of the skies. Justice and judgment are the establishment of His throne. Mercy and truth shall go before His face. Fellow-citizens, God reigns, and the govern- ment at Washington still lives.' The tide of popular fury was stayed. The impossible had been accom- plished. u The World " was saved, but that was not much. The safety of a great city was secured, and that was much." x Such are the achievements of moral power, and well may one aspire to its possession and exercise. The law of the acquirement of power, which holds alike through all the forms, is fourfold. The individ- ual must carefully study the sources, elements, and Conditions of the form of power he wishes to obtain. Earnest and persistent effort must be put forth in the i Ridpatli: Life of Garfield, pp. 103, 104. 308 THE GIST OF IT. practical application of the knowledge thus secured. The capabilities of the individual exercised in this application must be subjected to careful training and curbing ; to, in fact, rigid discipline. Finally, the price demanded in every case is sacrifice of some kind. Take the simplest illustrations. 1 The would-be athlete must make a careful study of the nature and conditions of working of the muscles he wishes specially to develop, and devise a suitable method for their training. He must then persistently apply this method, restraining every impulse which would operate unfavorably, disciplining his powers to work regardless of disturbing influences, and mak- ing great sacrifices of time spent in pleasure and other employments, all of which will interfere with the accomplishment of his purpose. The aspirant to special thought-power must follow the same law. Forming a theory of education adapted to his special characteristics, circumstances, and pur- poses, he must steadily apply it in actual thinking. Severe discipline will be necessary ; for he must ac- quire the ability to pursue a connected train of thought uninterruptedly for hours at a time, and this means very strenuous effort. Sacrifice will also be demanded of him ; and, just as the goal of his labors is loftier and more difficult of attainment than that of the athlete, so the self-denial and deprivations made necessary are greater and harder to endure. 1 These illustrations may seem to some elahoratelj 7 wrought out, " spun too fine; " hut they must he made, in accordance with all the foregoing discussion, scientifically exact. THE INTERPRETATION OF THE FACTS. 309 In the culminating sphere of action, precisely the same law holds. The seeker for moral power must get a clear and comprehensive knowledge of the moral law, of his own nature as correlated in activity under that law, and of the surroundings which con- dition his movements. Devising, then, a method for the desired development suited to these facts, he must steadily and unwearyingly apply that method in the actual exercise of his ethical nature. The multi- tudinous impulsions and allurements to wrong, in thought and action, must be resisted, and the spirit- activities purposely, repeatedly, and persistently em- ployed in true moral action until disciplined into habitual obedience to absolute right. All this involves severe trial; for the effort must be continued through defeat and mortification, in the face of one's own weaknesses and evil tendencies. Hence, the sacrifices required will here be the greatest and most difficult to make. Sometimes a dearly loved friend or the cherished life-ambition must be given up, and the man racked and strained through every fiber of his being, ere the hoped-for power can be secured. It is evident, now, that power, in each and all these forms, is a right and necessary acquirement of man. As a causal agent his activity can manifest itself only in power, and the perfection of his agency demands the completeness of that manifestation. It is, there- fore, the most important and the culmination of all the purposes thus far considered. But — shall man set power, in any of these forms or in all combined, be- fore himself as the supreme purpose of his life-activity? As man's nature is a complex bill correlated unity, 310 TUE GIST OF IT. and as his varied activities are likewise organized into a complete and integral whole, so the perfection of his being requires the attainment and exercise, in harmonious combination and interdependence, of all these forms of power. No argument is necessary to show that, if any one of the kinds of power be not secured, or if any be developed too meageiiy or too strongly for the symmetry of the whole, the perfec- tion of the being is in so far marred. At this stage in our discussion it goes without saying that the man who is simply an athlete, simply a thinker, simply a man of warm impulses or of practical efficiency, simply a man of good moral action ; or who has a measure of these, but imperfectly and not in proper correlation, — such a man is not a complete being. The ques- tion, then, is, Shall power in the wide sense — the correlated, unified combination of all these diverse forms — be taken as the supreme purpose of life- endeavor ? At the outset a fatal objection presents itself. Power is essentiall} 7 a means to a more ultimate end. Achievement is the great aim of life, and achieve- ment is the result of the effective exercise of power. The greater the power, and the more skillful its ap- plication, the greater is the resulting achievement. The error of the man who aims at the perfection of his mechanism l is thus repeated, in a subtly refined form, by him whose ultimate purpose is simply the causal efficiency, the power, of that mechanism. The man who spends his time and thought in the perfec- tion of his body, and he whose life-ambition is the 1 Pp. 252, 253. THE INTERPRETATION OF THE FACTS. 311 acquirement of power with no thought and plan for using it in achievement, are at one in their mistake with him who accumulates and hoards, in the squalor of a wretched hovel, the bits of shining gold, which in wiser hands are so potent a factor in commercial life. If, however, this be taken as the supreme purpose, it then becomes a momentous question, how are the activities to be correlated in realizing the purpose ? It is obviously a task of very great magnitude to determine in just what manner, time, and amount, each form of activity shall be exerted. The problem involves a vast number of data, requiring more than the powers of a Newton for their comprehension. No model is furnished in which the exact correlation of all the activities is perfectly exemplified, and so each can determine therefrom how to regulate his own life. Worst of all, the combination of the data varies with each individual life, and hence the problem must be solved afresh for each. Shall each for himself attempt the determination of a course wherein harmonious working and devel- opment of all the activities shall result in this attain- ment of power ? This is obviously impossible, as well as unwise. The working out of a scheme for the development of any one form of power is the task of a lifetime. The elaboration of a comprehensive plan for the whole nature is far beyond the compass of any human life. Besides, few people have time for the organization of any scheme. The demands of immediate duty compel the attention of the vast majority of the race, and forbid their expenditure of time and strength in such thinking. Further, the 312 THE GIST OF IT. plan must be laid early in life, at the outset of char- acter-building, and must cover the entire future ac- tivity. If not, time may be spent in the development of some special form of power, which the unfolding future will show unsuited to the necessary activities of the individual ; while exigencies may arise demand- ing, to meet them, a kind of power to whose acquire- ment insufficient attention has been paid. 1 More than all, this process of development of power is, at the same time, one of character-building; and in this, as we have seen, 2 mistakes are dangerous. If the plan be defective, the most careful effort will only the more quickly and firmly crystallize the character in im- perfect form, and make the aim forever unattainable. Two further facts conclusively close the case against power as the supreme purpose of life-endeavor. The growth of power, in all its forms, is uncon- scious. If the conditions be supplied, and all adverse influences removed, the power will be naturally de- veloped. But the individual cannot at all determine, from time to time, the exact measure of his develop- ing power, save in the lowest form of physical power, and there imperfectly. Except in rare instances, one cannot tell whether he have enough power to do or endure some specific work or trial until the emergency comes, and the effort is actually made. Then, the reflex influence of the conscious en- deavor for power, in all the higher forms, defeats the purpose. There is no evidence of scientific value, that ever any man who deliberately put power before himself as the goal of his consciously directed ac- % Pp, 174-179, ? P. 251, THE INTERPRETATION OF THE FACTS. 313 tivity, succeeded in escaping the snares of inordinate ambition. In even the culminating form, moral power, the conscious effort for its attainment, as the supreme end of action, leads to morbid self-con- sciousness, self-righteousness, and selfishness, and so prevents the wished-for success. The foregoing discussion of pleasure, wealth, fame, and power, as proposed for the supreme purpose of life-action, has unfolded the specific defects in each which forbid its adoption. Certain other objections, which apply to them all, must now be considered. Each has its definite place and operation in human life, and completeness of being will necessarily in- volve them all. Happiness is the index of the free and healthful exercise of the various functions, and pleasurable activity may be indulged in for pur- poses of recreation. Wealth is a mighty instrument in the extension of man's causal agency, and, in some form and measure, is an essential means in all achievement. Fame enlarges the sphere of man's influence over his fellows; and while no effort will certainly secure it, and all attempts to obtain it are therefore wrong, yet care must be taken to avoid what may limit influence or afford ground for evil report. Power is the essential element in causal it}', and hence needful as the culmination and product of all man's preparation for activity. When, now, any one of these is made the supreme purpose of life, some or all of the others are at once rendered impossible of attainment in any appreciable degree. The pleasure/Seeker is the most unfortunate of the 314 THE GIST OF IT. number. Animal pleasure, when sought supremely, cuts out all higher enjoyment, to say nothing of other essentials of life ; while the higher forms of pleasure, when in this way striven for, leave no room for any advance in more important lines of develop- ment. Wealth demands, for its attainment as the ultimate end, the banishment of all thought of an}' thing else. Even more. The two forms of wealth are mutually exclusive. Each rules alone over its devotees, and jealously exiles all effort for the other. The thirst for fame, and the greed for power, alike dehumanize the individual, developing all that is grasping and selfish, marring all happiness, and making impossible their own perfect realization. No one of these purposes presents any adequate provision for repairing the wreck of man's spirit- activity. They thus fail in the fundamental condi- tion of their own attainment. Until the causes and effects of this marred condition of the spirit be re- moved, all its activity will, of necessity, be faulty, and without proper result. These purposes — save the last, which has been found to be beyond the sphere of man's self-pur- posed accomplishment — are defective, in that they only in part provide for the use of man's capabilities. His manifold nature can fully exert itself, only when all its diverse activities are given appropriate em- ployment. The attempt to turn all the energy of the being into one of its numerous channels of mani- festation fails, and from this there results waste of power. Man's achievements are, at best, so small, that he can afford no such prodigality. THE INTERPRETATION OF THE FACTS. 815 But partial exercise of the being means partial development, for this is the fruit of exercise. 1 The failure to put forth energy in any of the forms of activity, prevents the unfolding and growth of that form of action. As all the capabilities of the being are essential components, these purposes, providing no appropriate exercise for many of them, make vain all hope of that rational completeness which is the goal of man's character-building. Another grave difficulty arises from the fact that none of these purposes are certain of attainment. Man has not control over all the elements involved in the endeavor to realize any of them. " The best-laid schemes o' mice and men, Gang aft agley," And time and again crushing defeat and life-long sorrow come to men, when most carefully pursuing some of these purposes, by reason of the working of forces wholly beyond their control. What folly to present to men for the all-absorbed employment of their entire being, purposes which unavoidable disease, the midnight robber, or the cowardly slan- derer, may wholly defeat! The child of time, born lor eternity, man's actions must terminate on some aim whose realization is beyond the destructive touch of siicli influences. Should, however, these purposes be realized, their retention is, of necessity, but temporary. Pleasure is the mosl evanescent of all possessions. A breath of air will mar its perfection, a poisoned word or a i P, 222. 316 THE GIST OF IT. bitter experience will remove the conditions of its production. The others are subject to all the emer- gencies of life, which in a day consign the wealthy, famous, powerful, to poverty, ignominy, helplessness. If retained throughout this life, death comes at last to all, and only those acquirements which have been wrought into the fiber of permanent character can be taken into the unseen world. V. In view of all these facts, some persons set before themselves the purpose of rational perfection, com- pleteness, of being, as the ultimate end of their life- activity. In various ways they move toward this achievement. But, for reasons already given, no humanly devised scheme for attaining this end has ever succeeded. Time and again, in the course of human history, earnest effort has been made to for- mulate a plan by which man could reach the rational perfection of his developing being ; and, time and again, sorrowful defeat has marked each effort a failure. Ethics, philosophy, literature, science, each in turn, have attempted the problem, and all have met the same disastrous rebuff. The man who to- day puts forward any of these schemes, in old or new form, as fitted to realize the needs of man's situation, is inviting his fellow-men to a repetition of the wrecking disappointment of past struggles. The renewal of man's crippled nature, the formation of a plan covering the entire sphere of man's im- mortal activity and adapted to the particular cir- cumstances of each individual, and the provision of THE INTERPRETATION OF THE FACTS. 317 an impelling, sustaining, controlling, and guiding, power, sufficient to enable man to realize the pur- pose, are matters wholly beyond the reach of human power, and yet essential elements in right character- building and achievement. Matthew Arnold advocates, as the panacea for all man's woes, and satisfaction for all his desires, De- parture from iniquity. 1 But " there's the rub." Departure from iniquity is impossible without the fulfillment of the above conditions, and in regard to these Mr. Arnold is no more successful than many far abler men. The race has tried to do that thing for ages, and never has, by its own power, succeeded. All the factors of success are outside the limits of human ability. Besides, mere cessation of wrong- doing is but the beginning. Innocence is a negative element in character ; and for the positive develop- ment of symmetrical completeness of being provision must still be made. Some other solution must be found, or the great problem be forever undetermined, and wretched humanity left to the hopelessness of continuous and ever-darkening failure. i St. Paul and Protestantism, p. viii, et scq. 318 THE GIST OF IT. CHAPTER III. THE PBOBLEM SOLVED. The life-problem, made more complex by the dis- order of man's spirit-activity, would still, if that wreck were all repaired, be beyond the compass of human power. Man must, therefore, seek some solution from outside himself. Where shall this be found? To whom may he make successful appeal ? Shall he go to the forces and elements of Nature? Blind, unconscious exist- ences, they form the physical mechanism which is the visible sphere and material of intelligent action, but are necessarily determined in all their movement and combination by independent and controlling thought and will. Shall he turn to history for aid? It is but the recorded experience of his own race, and utters no word of hope. He has reason to think that the Creator has placed in the universe intelli- gences other than himself. But, if so, what succor can they afford ? He has no definite knowledge of them, no means of obtaining information ; he knows not how to come into communication with them ; 1 1 Modern spiritualism is scientifically one of the "flimsiest " delu- sions that ever influenced mankind. Strictly scientific tests are always avoided by its advocates. THE INTERPRETATION OF THE FACTS. 319 he is certain regarding them only that, if they exist, they must, like himself, as created beings, be in a network of relationships and duties requiring their whole attention. There is no being in the created universe to whom man can look. The infinite God, Creator of the uni- verse, is the only possible Source of help. God has perfect knowledge of the situation, for He created, organized, and controls the universe, of which man is a part. God has full opportunity to act, for He is independent of all save self-imposed relationships and obligations. God has all-sufficient power, for all causal agency in the universe proceeds primarily from His infinite efficiency. It is evident that God, and only He, can provide a solution of the problem. It is also clear that a scheme furnished by God will perfectly meet all the necessary conditions, and insure man's attainment of the supreme purpose. Bui it is asserted that God will not give any solution, and that, if He did provide one, He could not reveal it to man. The first of these claims is obviously absurd. No human being can read the mind of one of his fellows, and predict his action. How, then, can he know any thing whatever of the purposes of God, unless, and in >o far as, God reveals them to him? It becomes necessary, therefore, to show where God lias pro- claimed His purpose to withhold aid from man. The second claim is, if the foregoing argument be valid, utterly unphilosophical. If God be the ( rea- tor and Upholder of the universe, 1 if it be all orgau- i P. !<;;;. 320 THE GIST OF IT. ized and bound in mutual relation of parts by Him, 1 the conclusion is inevitable that it is possible for Him to reveal His purposes, and exert immediate agency, at any time in any portion of the universe. It is incredible that the Creator should produce any thing which should be or become outside His control ; and that He should be unable to make known His will to or through that which He has made and controls, is equally unworthy of belief. This position is strengthened by some other con- siderations. That the infinite Intelligence should be purposeless in action, is inconceivable. The care- fully articulated and progressively unfolding universe must, then, be working out some plan for the realiza- tion of a worthy, ultimate end. But this plan must be all-comprehensive, furnishing place and play for every constituent element in the universe. Hence, the entire activity of man, as a race and as individ- uals, forms an essential factor in the realization of the divine purpose. Yet here a difficulty arises. The unintelligent creation, being incapable of independent action, and always under the direct control of the Creator, is the immediate instrument and expression of His pur- poses. Man, however, has been created by God a free, spontaneously acting intelligence. His action, if perfect, is distinctively rational. If, then, he is to operate effectively in working out his allotted part in the divine plan, he must know what he is to do. 2 The entire plan, even in so far as it concerns his personal existence, need not be told each one at the i Pp. 266, 271. 2 P. 265. THE INTERPRETATION OF THE FACTS. 321 start. Obviously, this would be unwise : the incom- prehensible magnitude of the eternally extending plan would bewilder and dishearten. But so much knowledge as is needed to make his activity in the full sense rational, must be given him. Further, the relation of God and man is that of Father and child, — a relation whose harmonious and effective working is impossible without inter-communication of the members. From all this it follows that even if man's spirit- life were in perfect working order, free from all the present marks of wreck, yet communion with God, and revelation to man of God's purposes regarding him, would be necessary for him ; and, finally, if God chooses to provide a scheme for the renewal of man's nature, it is possible and easy for him, along some of the lines of communication established by Himself, to make that scheme known to man. Christianity claims to be this divinely originated and revealed solution of the life-problem. Does it meet the tests of that solution ? Christianity proposes a scheme for the renewal of man's spirit-activity. Christianity sets before man the only perfect Model of human character in history. In all the records of human life the character of Jesus of Nazareth stands in solitary grandeur, alone and unapproachable. The greatest triumphs of previous development fall far within the limits of human imperfection. The grand- esl products of after-effort and -unfolding do not pass that bound. Bu1 all down the ages, through storm after storm of scathing criticism and furious invec- 322 THE GIST OF IT. tive, the sublime challenge of Jesus to His persecut- ing countrymen, "Which of you convinceth Me of sin?" l remains unanswered. Nineteen centuries of rigorous search have failed to find a flaw in the spot- less life portrayed so fully in the simple memoirs of the Gospels. The whole round of human duty, as it came to Him, was perfectly fulfilled. His influence in the world, though with no ordinary means of advancement, has been increasingly powerful; and to-day, as often before, there are millions, who, swayed only by His moral power and love, would willingly give up their lives for Him. Christianity develops the supreme motive for imi- tation of the Model. All appeals to desires and affec- tions for right, for perfection, for power, are weakened or perverted in their effect by the condition of man's spirit-life. In the wreck of life, selfishness, in some form, dominates the entire activity: none of these motives are of sufficient power to overcome its bale- ful influence. The strongest motive in combating selfishness is love for a person. The affection of the lover for his sweetheart, the husband for his wife, the mother for her child, the one rescued from death for his deliverer, more powerfully than any other of human emotions, crush out undue self-love, and develop the truest elements of character. Chris- tianity, taking advantage of this fact, presents the perfect Model of completed duty, which every one ought to equal, in such form as to call forth, with most intense power, this feeling. "God so loved the world, that He gave His oidy-begotten /Son, that whoso- 1 Jolm viii. 46. THE INTERPRETATION OF THE FACTS. 323 ever believeth on Him should not perish, but have eter- nal life" l "Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitia- tion for our sins." 2 All the dreadful suffering of the innocent Jesus, in His life of opposition and calumny, His death of shame and torture, was but the unfold- ing of this love. " Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are My friends." 3 Out of the conviction of this great love of Jesus, the incarnate God, love for man in his suffering, his sinful, condition, love for the un- lovely, the wrecked, springs the responsive affection of the Christian, — "Whom having not seen, ye love." ^ " We love Him, because He first loved us." 5 Then obli- gation to duty receives new power, because of affec- tion for One Who says, " If ye love Me, keep My commandments." 6 The desires for rational perfection of being are embodied in the ambition to imitate the Model. "I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with Thy likeness" 7 and " We shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is." 8 ( hristianity gives liberty for the movement of man toward the realization of the Model in his own life. He must, if he is to attain completeness of being, be freed from the guilt, bondage, and pollution, of evil- doing. Violation of law necessitates penalty; and in the case of a free agent this moans, — beyond tin 4 mere necessary evolution of innate principles, — arraignment, sentence, positive; punishment. 9 Jesus i John iii. 16. 2 l John to. in. ■ John w. 13, n. • l Peter ■ l John to. 19. tin \i\\ LB ■ Pa. wii. 15. i John iii. •_'. » Pp. L42-145, L61, 162, 201-203, 221, 260-265. 324 THE GIST OF IT. Christ paid this penalty in man's stead, as it is writ- ten, " Behold the Lamb of God, Which taketh away the sins of the world! " l " Who His Own self bare our sins, in His Own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness." 2 Evil habits and ten- dencies rivet fetters which man cannot break, but from whose bondage he must be free if he is to attain the supreme purpose of life-activity. " Whosoever committeth sin is the servant (slave) of sin" But "if the Son . . . shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed" z This means a change in the man's char- acter so great that it is likened to a birth. Christ said to Nicodemus, "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." ' 4 The bursting of the bonds of evil habit, and waking the spirit to free and right activity, is a work possible only to Divine Agency, and makes the man a in Christ, a neiv crea- ture ." 5 As mud and slime defile the body, so do evil thoughts and practices pollute the spirit. This, too, is provided for in Christianity ; for " if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness ; " 6 and " the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin" 7 When, however, man is thus forgiven, freed, and cleansed, he must have power to continue in the life- movement toward the perfect imitation of the Model ; and Christ Himself has said, " Without Me ye can do nothing." 8 But He also said, " Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you;" 9 and the 1 John i. 29. 2 1 Peter ii. 24. 3 John viii. 34, 36. 4 John iii. 3. 5 2 Cor. v. 17. 6 1 j onn i. 9. 7 1 John i. 7. 8 John xv. 5. 9 Acts i. S. THE INTERPRETATION OF THE FACTS. 325 great apostle testifies, " I can do all things through Christ which strengthened me." l On the basis of the foregoing discussion, no one can rationally deny the possibility of new strength and vigor being given the spirit of man by the Creator ; and this is what is promised here, — that the Spirit of God will infuse power into the spirits of Christ's followers. Thus the man is prepared for life-action. He is now in full condition for the struggle toward the attainment of the true life aim. Life is a struggle ; and, even when man has thus started, danger and difficulty will constantly assail him. He must be continually comforted, cheered, and guided, in all his ways, or he will meet with dis- couragement and disaster. He is, therefore, promised the companionship of God, — not the mere visitation, but the actual companionship and intimate commun- ion of the Divine Being. " Behold, I stand at the door and knock : if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I to ill come in to him, and will sup ivith him, and he with Me." 2 " If a man love Me, he ivill keep My words : and My Father will love him, and We will come unto him, and make Our abode with him." 3 U I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever ; Even the Spirit of truth ; Whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Rim not, neither knoweth Him ; but ye know Him : for He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you" * Lest man should fret and worry in times of trouble, Jesus Bays, "Peace I leave with you, My i Phil. iv. 13. 2 Rev. iii. 20. « John xiv. 23. 4 John xiv. 15, 1(5. 326 THE GIST OF IT. peace I give unto you : not as the tvorld giveth, give 1 unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." 1 For, " I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand. My Father, Which gave them Me, is greater than all ; and no man is able to pluck them out of My Father s hand." 2 When man's nature is thus renewed, he is ready for activity, the help of the Divine Being is given him to aid and direct in his movements, then Christi- anity sets before him the supreme purpose for all his immortal endeavor. This purpose involves three elements. First, absolute redemption from sin, the removal of every trace of the working and effect of wrong-doing in the entire being. " For this is the ivill of God, even your sanctification" 3 " Ye shall be holy ; for I the Lord your God am holy."^ '-'•You . . . hath He reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and wire- proveable in His sight." 5 This complete deliverance from sin is to be not only of the individual; ulti- mately the principles of the gospel are to rule tri- umphant over the earth, all schisms and differences among men will disappear, and the redeemed will constitute the one harmonious race. " The earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord } as the waters cover the sea." 6 The second element in this purpose is the building of perfect character, the attainment of completeness of being. The conception of character presented by i Johii xiv. 27. 2 John x. 28, 29. 3 1 Thess. iv. 3. * Lev. xix. 2. 5 Col. i. 21, 22. 6 Hab. ii. 14. TUE INTERPRETATION OF THE FACTS. 327 Christianity is the grandest conceivable. " Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." l " Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father Which is in heaven is perfect" 2 The perfect and com- plete development of the entire being into the like- ness of God Himself, is the ultimate purpose of the Christian life. The third and final element is the realization of the kingdom of Christ. After the completion of the earthly life of the human race, when the subjection of Nature to man, and of man to Christ, has been fully accomplished, the dead will be raised, and all the redeemed from among men, with all other right- eous intelligences, are to be gathered into one people, to live throughout eternity under the direct govern- ment of Christ, and be guided by Him continually in the outworking of His purposes as He shall pro- gressively make them known. In its sweep this rule is to cover all the universe, and there will be ample scope for the full and best activity of all men through all coming ages. " When the Son of man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory : And before linn shall be gathered all nations : and He shall sepa- them one from another, as a shtphe-rd divideth his sheep from the goats: And He shall set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on (he lift. . . . And these shall go away into everlasting punishment : but the i Eph. iv. 31, 32. 2 Matt. v. 48. 828 THE GIST OF IT. righteous into life eternal.''' 1 " And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God ; . . . and the sea gave up the dead which were in it ; and death and hell 2 delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works." 3 "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away ; and there was no more sea. . . . And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any m.ore pain : for the former things are passed away." 4 " The throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and His servants shall serve Him : And they shall see His face; . . . and they shall reign for ever and ever" 5 Few and simple principles are to guide man in his working toward this purpose. The basis of all is faith. " Whosoever believeth" 6 shall be saved. Ab- solute trust in the Lord Jesus is the bond of union with Him. The life is to be directed by Christ. Not merely is the individual to seek to determine his actions according to the teachings of Christ, but also the direct guidance of Christ is to be sought. Therefore, constant communion with Him is to be maintained, and so the whole activity guided and moulded by His immediate influence. From this 1 Matt. xxv. 31, 32, 33, 46. 2 The unseen world, Hades. 3 Rev. xx. 12, 13. 4 Rev. xx. 1, 3, 4. 6 Rev. xxi. 3, 4, 5. 6 John iii. 16. THE INTERPRETATION OF THE FACTS. 329 indwelling of the spirit of Christ will result a regu- lation of the life by the principle of self-sacrifice. Not only is self-will to be broken, so that the indi- vidual is ready to do and accept whatever the Saviour directs ; but the love of self will be overcome, and each made ready, as his Saviour, to give of himself for the benefit of others. " He that findeth his life shall lose it ; and he that loseth his life for My sake shall find it" 1 — expresses a profound philosophical truth. All progress in true power, which is the cul- mination of all endeavor and issues in right achieve- ment, is through the abnegation of self and the growth of unselfish principles of action. Such, then, is the solution offered by Christianity. Fitting in perfectly with all the laws of man's being, it gives employment to all his activities, affords exercise, so as fully to develop them, yet always presents increasing opportunity for their use, and enables man to attain the supreme end of his exist- ence. Rationally, scientifically, Christianity must, therefore, be accepted as the true solution of the life- problem, the Divinely given scheme. What dignity, what joy, it gives to life ! This world is not a prison- house, nor yet man's permanent home. Here the foundations for an endless character-building are to be laid. The world of Nature is to be mastered and used. Mankind are to be cared for and helped. White-robed angels hover lovingly about us, and the blessed Christ walks with us in close hand-clasp, chiding when we wander, comforting when we mourn, counselling, leading, when our path is dark, beckon- 1 Matt. x. 39. 330 THE GIST OF IT. ing ever to the fuller knowledge and better imitation of His Own matchless perfection. u the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out ! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been His counsellor? Or who hath first given to Him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again ? For of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things : to Whom be glory for ever, Amen^ 1 l Rom. xi. 33-36. APPENDIX. THE LOGIC OF THE THEISTIC ARGUMENT. This theme, more fully stated, is the logical nature, consistency, cogency, and correlation, of the theistic proofs. Here is where the advance step in theistic dis- cussion is to be made, — in the synthesis of all the phases of the argument. This involves, of course, the thorough investigation of each step in itself and in its relations to other proofs aud to the whole. To present such elaborate treatment would require a large volume. The purpose of this brief appendix is merely to indicate the lines along which such further study must proceed, and to show more clearly, perhaps, than can be done in popular discourse, the exact logical relations mutually sustained by the vari- ous elements of the argument. Logic is the science of the laws of thought. What is thought? the power? the process? the product? The last is useful for our purpose only as it reveals the second. In the second all knowledge of the first is obtained. Hence, logic is the science of those mental processes which are called thought. "What processes are these? The exercise of merely the discursive faculties? Blather, all the processes concerned in the acquisition and elabo- ration of knowledge. Psychology shows tlial these pro- cesses always conform to certain principles, — follow 331 332 TIIE GIST OF IT. specific lines. They will, evidently, be best understood when carried on under the best possible conditions. Logic is, therefore, the science of the normal activity of the man thinking. The problem is to show, first, the nature of this thought- activity ; and, secondly, that this activity, when normally exercised, naturally and inevitably develops the theistic argument. We are foolish enough to think, despite the assertion of Physicus, that the theistic argument is now without any logical standing whatever, — that this is a live problem. Nothing is needed, in the first part of the inquiry, be- yond a brief summaiy, and the emphasis of a few special points. Notice the axioms on which the activity proceeds. 1. The principle of identity. In its positive form A = A. Every thing is what it is, and this may be affirmed of it. In its negative form A isn't not-A. livery thing is not what it is not, and this may be affirmed of it. 2. The principle of disjunction. A certain subject, S, must find its predicate somewhere among p*p 2 . . ., the specific forms of P, which is a universal mark of M. If there be several of these, p : p 2 p 3 p 4 . . ., the predicate may be of any one of them, and we have the principle of contrariety. If there be but two, p*p 2 , the predicate must be of one, not the other, and so arises the principle of contradiction, or excluded middle. "Thus," — to quote from Lotze, Logic, p. 76, — " for the line S, which must have some direction (P), straight (P 1 ) and crooked (P 2 ) are contradictory predicates ; and so for man, whose na- ture it is to have sex, are male and female : for any other subjects, of which it was not yet established whether their concepts contained the universal P at all, these predicates would be only contrary ; for such subjects the division of their possible predicates will be always threefold, they APPENDIX. 333 are either male, female, or sexless, either straight, crooked, or formless." 3. The principle of sufficient reason, A -f~ B = C. " All continuous thought must be rationallj- connected. Infer nothing without a ground or reason." " In virtue of this, thought is constituted into a series of acts all inclissolu- bly connected ; each necessarily inferring the other." A difference must be noted here. The principles of identity and disjunction rest directly on the intuitions. Their validity is not for an instant questionable, and arises from the impossibility of conceiving their opposites in thought. The principle of sufficient reason — Lotze, Logic, p. 71 — is "an assumption of mutual relatedness in thinkable matter, the truth of which is guaranteed by the concen- trated impression of all experience." The author contin- ues quaintly, " I wish not to be misunderstood in this last phrase. . . . I do not mean that it is a comparison of what we experience which first leads the mind to con- jecture such a principle ; the general tendency of the logi- cal spirit, to exhibit the co-existent as coherent, contains in itself the impulse, which, independently even of all experience, would lead to the assumption of a connection of reasons and consequences. But that this assumption is confirmed, that thought does come upon such identities or equivalences between different elements in the think- able matter which it does not make, but receives or finds, this is a fortunate fact, a fortunate trait in the organ- ization of the thinkable world, a trait which does really , but has not the same necessity for existing as the Principle of Identity. It is not impossible to conceive a world in winch every thing should be as incommensurable with every other thing as sweet is with triangular, and iu which therefore there would be no possibility of bo holding two different things together as to give ground for a third." 384 THE GIST OF IT. The special postulate of logic is, — there is such a thing as truth, which can be known, and on which all minds acting in accordance with the laws of thought must agree. From this flows a second, — the right to bring out explicitly in language what is implicitly contained in thought. Two things are obvious : first, no knowledge is possible if any of these axioms and postulates be denied ; it is sublime folly to talk about any thing as " truth for one and not for another " : second, all men, everywhere, naturally and necessarily, though unconsciously, act upon these axioms and postulates. Yet their clear recognition is essential to avoid self-contradiction. Proceeding upon this basis, the thought-activity oper- ates as follows : — First is the simple observation of facts. This is not usually considered a part of logic ; but its claim to treat- ment is evident, when one remembers how vital a part it plays in the fabric of knowledge. Observation may be but partial ; important particulars may be overlooked ; incongruous facts may be combined ; or, facts and in- ferences from facts may be confused. In such cases, the basal concepts of thought are marred, and, of course, all the work of the higher powers is impaired. These facts, or percepts, are grouped, on the basis of underlying thought-relations, into bundles — the object and the class concepts, expressed in the term. These concepts, or terms, have mutual relations ; and the relation existing between any two of them may be expressed, forming a judgment, the proposition. The connection of two con- cepts may be by means of a third, to which they are both related. Their connection with this third and consequent relation to each other is expressed in a series of proposi- tions, the syllogism. Finally, a complex of propositions and syllogisms may be organized, on the basis of some unifying principle, into a system of thought. APPENDIX. 335 For example, in studying self-consciousness a mass of distinct facts is revealed, — thinking, planning, craving, feeling, remembering, willing, incessant activity, and so on. The careful study of these percepts shows connec- tions which lead to their grouping as facts of knowing, feeling, willing. Interdependences appear and are noted, and presently arises the system of psychology. In all the process, the steps on which special emphasis must be laid are the first and last. The work of obser- vation is not easily made scientific. But its product determines the result of all higher activit} T . Says Dr. Ormond, u Tell me a man's fundamental concepts, and I will almost certainly construct his system of philosophy." God, Christ, man, are the basal concepts of theology. Settle them for a man, and you fix his religious belief. Yet, when the work of system-making is attempted, great care is necessary. When thinkers decry all metaphysics, and then, in the midst of a biological discussion, talk about spontaneous generation as a necessity of thought, they give neither sound science nor good metaphysics. In its entirety, logic takes cognizance of every step in the thought-activity, and of ever}' influence from feeling, ignorance, prejudice, or what not, and properly allows for them. When so conducted, its conclusions are irre- fragable. Language itself is but crystallized logic. The material of logic is knowledge. Here three points are to be considered: 1. The starting-point of knowl- edge. 2. The content of the knowledge given in self- consciousness. 3. The interpretation of the knowledge of the external world by the ke}* furnished in self- consciousness. Knowledge must, cvidentl}', start from self, as revealed in consciousness. The possibility of deception in the use of the Benscs is far greater than in the reading of con- 336 THE GIST OF IT. sciousness. The facts of the inner life are indubitable, are nearest each one's being, and necessarily underlie and condition all other knowledges. It is true that the facts of the inner life are not consciously recognized as soon as those of the external world. The child knows that two straight sticks will not enclose a space, long before it discovers, in its mind, the intuition on which its judg- ment is based. Yet the intuition is first, and renders possible the perception of the fact. Here, then, must be the starting-point and the basis of certainty for all knowledge. Self-consciousness reveals knowledge of three distinct spheres of activity. First is a sphere of intelligent activity, comprising the voluntary action of intellect, feelings, and will : the in- tellect, in its fourfold operation, simple knowledge, — through sense, consciousness, and intuition, — memoiy, comparison, and construction ; the feelings, responding to every phase of knowledge, and forming the motor- power of action ; and the will, through the successive steps of choice, purpose, and endeavor, directing and exercising the whole power of the being in achievement. Besides this simple activity, the complex operation of intellect, feeling, and will, in the ethical and aesthetic natures, is likewise included in this sphere. Below this is another sphere of activity, arising from the bodily life. It comprehends all the involuntary and unconscious or non-self-conscious operations connected with the life of the body ; and, too, the distinctively intel- lectual processes of sensation, perception, and association, all of which are spontaneous and involuntary. When the core of self-consciousness is reached, a third form of activity is found. It cannot be positively de- scribed. It exists. It resists. It is a center of energy, the enennzino: center of the entire bein<>-. APPENDIX. 337 Analogical reasoning is reasoning on the basis of re- semblances. The speculative analogy is that form in which, from resemblances of phenomena, we infer the character of unknown and inaccessible causes. By means of this speculative analogy, using the key given in self-consciousness, the phenomena of the external world are interpreted. In interpreting single phenomena I find, first, all about me, beings formed like myself, exhibiting phenomena exactly like those which, in myself, I know to be the outworkings of intelligent personality. Hence, I ascribe to them a personality such as my own ; and, though I cannot penetrate their bodily forms, yet ' k the concen- trated impression of all experience," *since the race began, guarantees the validity of my conclusion. Plants and animals are all around me ; and these, while not manifesting personality, do exhibit phenomena such as in myself accompany the bodily life. So I ascribe to them the possession of a life principle ; and again ''the concentrated impression of all experience'' guarantees the truth of my conclusion. The clod, the stone, the molecules of iron and hydro- gen, manifest neither personality nor life. They exist. They resist. Hence I term them centers of energy ; and here, too, the validity of my inference is guaranteed by " the concentrated impression of all experience." Here the limit of investigation of single phenomena is reached. Phenomena, however, are not, as we perceive them, mutually independent, but mutually related. Hence, the totality of phenomena demands interpretation; and in this interpretation the interpreting being musl itself be considered a link in the chain of phenomena, and itself, therefore, requires explanation. I am. There was a time when I was not. Whence 338 THE GIST OF IT. came I? My race, the earth on which we dwell, have not been always existent. Change is everywhere evi- dent. Yet, since something is, something must always have been. The self-generation of something out of nothing is an inconceivability, truly unthinkable. There must, therefore, be some eternal being as the ultimate ground and cause of changing phenomena. This eternal being must be self-existent : if not, it could not be eternal, for it would derive its being from some other independent being. It must, likewise, be self-active. Its effects show it possessed of power. But that power, residing in the eternal, self-existent being, could not be dependent on external agency for its operation. It must be self -exercised. The mere fact, therefore, of present being, necessitates the existence of some eternal, self- existent, self-active being. Order prevails throughout present being. I am a unit. But my unity is a unified complex of varied sets of agen- cies. So the totality of phenomena is a wonderful com- plex of varied agencies, but is organized into one whole. The reign of law is universal. Order and unity in dependent being necessitate unity in the independent being, and raise a presumption for intelligence in that being. Order implies purpose. Is there purpose evident in phenomenal existence? In the inorganic world, order and fixed law are for the sake of adjustment and correla- tion. The natural forces and elements operate with mathematical precision and certainty. When the condi- tions are supplied, they must operate, and the form of their activity is always the same. Yet all effects actually produced result from the combination of various forces. The adjustment may be varied : if so, the effect is changed. Inexorable necessity, infinite power of mutual APPENDIX.- 339 adjustment, characterize all inorganic being. The boiler will surely burst when the pressure of steam within ex- ceeds the metal's power of resistance. It cannot burst before. The slightest influence will vary the adjustment of opposing forces, and prevent or cause wreck. Here, then, is material for the work of intelligent, directive agency. Superimposed upon this inorganic being is the myste- rious, architectonic, influence of life. Vital force or not, something takes these forces and elements, weaves them into a specific organic whole, builds the organism to maturity, removes waste from it, repairs injury, preserves vigor, and reproduces its kind. Here, then, is a worker to use the material. This looks curiously like a plan. In all life, plant and animal, three facts successively appear: 1. Adaptation, — of organ to function, organ to organ, organism to environment. 2. Co-ordination, — of forces and functions, of organs and environment, of species — lower subordinated to higher, all culminating ID the body of man. 3. Development, — of the individ- ual, of the species, of the Life-sphere as a whole. In human life two facts are evident: 1. Co-ordination, — some Power shapes the life of each and all. " There's a divinity that shapes our ends, rough-hew them how we will." 2. Development, — individuals, nations, progres- sively unfold, and (it m as pints in the evolution of souk; comprehensive plan. Religion from the Jew; philosophy, culture, from the Greek; law and government from the Roman; Liberty and chivalry from the Teuton, — form the web of modern life. Each was developed in lime, . and circumstances, fixed, it seemed, by man's free activity; yet all were guided in unfolding for one end. The human body is pre-eminently the instrument of intelligence. The bony skeleton for framework. Light, 340 THE GIST OF IT. graceful, strong ; the muscles, instruments of power ; the nerves, for communication and control ; the skins and membranes, for protection ; the circulatory, respiratory, digestive, systems, to build and preserve. The human spirit is a unit, with complex activities : the intellect, to secure and elaborate knowledge ; the emotions, to make that knowledge ends of action ; the will, to respond to the impulse of feeling, and, on the basis of sound reason and right, — as determined by the intellect in judgment and conscience, — to let loose the powers of the whole being, and direct them in achievement. Here is wonder- ful unity in marvellous complexity : part and power of most diverse kind united in perfect mutual adaptation and correlation, unified throughout by the will — the real expression of personality and the type of causal power. The human spirit enunciates the ideas of oughtness and Tightness. Ultimate ethical atoms, they are propounded as absolute and universal in their application to intelli- gences. They necessarily imply a supreme authority and a perfect model of conduct. Consciousness enunciates likewise the idea of the good, equally authoritative, equally unresolvable. Duty must be done, whatever result. Yet the consideration of results is inevitable, and the desire for happiness irrepressible. In the life of virtue both ends are secured. Doing the right because it ought to be done brings with it, through some correlation not of man's devising, the perfection and pleasure of being. The spirit of man finds the highest exercise of its com- plex activity — intellect, emotions, will, — all combined in religion. Man universally worships. The noblest form of religion is Christianity, which, therefore, though itself presupposing theism, becomes an important factor in theistic argumentation. Can teleological proof go farther? The inference is APPENDIX. 341 unavoidable to an Intelligence, a Moral Personality, the Ultimate Ground and Cause, the Support aud Ruler, of all dependent being. But is this being, thus supreme, only an exaggerated man ? If so, gross anthropomorphism marks and mars the concept. By necessary sequence, the human spirit adds to this Being the attribute, derived from its own intuition, of infinity ; and we stand in the presence of God. This, says the objector, is an illegitimate procedure. Nothing can ever be predicated of the Infinite, for all predication is of necessity a limitation. But the one in- dependent Being must be infinite, or there is no infinite. The independent exists, it persists, it is in productive re- lation to the dependent. All this is true, even if it be infinite. Obviously, then, predication is not essentially limitation. Hence, non-limiting attributes may be predi- cated of the Infinite. Material body limits. This can- not be affirmed of the Infinite. Does intelligence limit its possessor? Are will power, moral perfections, essen- tially limited and limiting? Human intelligence, weaving its mazes of thought, finds, in all directions, barriers it cannot pass, yet against which it beats in vain battle, conscious of vast fields of knowledge just beyond, and conscious of power to explore those regions, were its re- strictions once removed. This is typical. The attributes, therefore, of moral personality, may be affirmed of the Infinite. The argument is thus, throughout, analogical. Phenom- enal being is dependent. Some independent cause must underlie it. This is the (Etiological argument. All the after-process is the characterization of that cause. The cosmological argumenl raises a presumption for intelli- gence in that cause. This is proven by the teleologi ■•■! iment : first, in the Bphere of objective being, — m v ,.i- 342 TUE GIST OF IT. ture and humanity ; second, in the sphere of subjective being, — in the complex unity of the being of man, in his ethical and religious activity. The ontological argument then purifies and completes the concept by adding the idea of infinity. In this process phenomena are to be most carefully observed and classified. The ke}* to their interpretation must come from self-consciousness. Every phase of the argument starts from self-consciousness, and finds therein its own correlative. The unified synthesis of man is the type of the unified synthesis of God. Grop- ing through his own physical envelopment, man touches and interprets the unfolding world, — the garment of God. The materialist either ignores the facts of self-conscious- ness, or tries to explain them in terms of matter. In either case his process is a vorrepov irpoTepov, and he throws away the only key to the problem. The pantheist denies the separate personality of man or of God, or severs the elements of personality and ascribes but some of them to the Deity. The agnostic daily belies his own professions by his im- plicit trust in the same facts of self-consciousness, whose inevitable logic he persistently contravenes. I believe in God, — in the living, personal God. I be- lieve that His creation is one perfect whole : that in man His matchless nature is truly, though faintly, typified ; that in the sphere of objective being the same divine Na- ture reveals itself ; and that, when freed from the domina- tion of passion, prejudice, and superstition, suffered to comport itself in normal activity, the human spirit natu- rally, necessarily, threads its way through the complex of life and being till it stands and communes, face to face, with the most real, the most concrete, of all beings, — the theist's, the Christian's, God. INDEX. Abercrombie, Dr., 211. Absorption, power of, 71. Achievement, the aim of life, de- fined, 291. Adjustment, principle of, in Na- ture, defined, illustrated, 74, 75. ^Esthetic nature, reason for un- developed treatment, 30; defi- nition, 40; cultivation of, 240. Affections, defined, 22. Africa, exploration of, 61. African, indifference to time, 59. Agnosticism, (55. Agreement of materialism (mat- ter or force) and pantheism in their effect on the nature and life of man, 144. Air, couiposition, this unvarying, 78. Alexander, Dr. Archibald, quot- ed, 35. Alexander, Dr. J. Addison, 212. Allotropy, defined, illustrated, 69. America, present state of, 51, 244; growth of civilization in, 61. American expectancy tables, 1G7. Ammonia, composition of, 68. Amusement providers, 294. Anastasis, 205. Anaxagoras, 64. Anaximenes, 101. Ancestor worship, 228. Anchj losis, 199. Ancient Oriental civilizations, despotism of, 60; ideas of, 84. AngelO, .Michael, 64j sonnet of, 221); artist, 253. Anglo-Saxons, belief In future life, 191. Animal life, close connection with plant life, 82; organization of, s -; ; possibilities, of, 108 ilyslSi p. .wii-j. Animals, abuse of, 258; duties toward, 259, 260. Animalism, tendency to, 250. Annihilation, rebellion of spirit against, 213. Anthropomorphism, necessity and limits of, 160, 341. Antoninus, Marcus Aurelius, 32. Appetencies, 19. Appetites, defined, 21. Arbrouseille, 205. Argyll, Duke of: Unity of Nature, quoted, 53, 54, 106, 124, 125-127; Reign of Law, quoted, 67. Aristotle, 64. Arnold, Benedict, 170, 299. Arnold, Matthew: St. Paul and Protestantism, 317. Arsenic, preferences in combina- tion, 70; poison, 153. Articulates, place in scale of life, 82. Astronomy, a thought-system, 16. Atom, 101-108; of protoplasm, 117. Aurora, beauty of, 42. Aztecs, sense of sin, 162. Babylonia, 162. Babylonians, 60. Bain, Professor Alex. A., 123. Balfour, E. H.: Class Book in Botany, 78. Bartholomew's, massacre of St.. 188. Beauty, defined and discussed, 40- -1 \ : an end in creation, illus- trated, 155. Beautiful, the, defined, 40. Beaver, adaptations of the, 150. Beethoven, 64. Biogenesis, 77, 1 12, 1 13. Bismarck, 120. Bonhenr, Rosa, 172. Boscovitch, in:;, [22, 124. 843 344 INDEX. Bowen: Modern Philosophy, 34; Metaphysics and Ethics, 199. Boxing, conditions of successful, 236. Booth, John Wilkes, 170. Brass-horn factory, 152. Bridginan, Laura, 210. Brotherhood of man, defined, 88; influence of idea, 89. Browning, Mrs. E. B.: Isohel's Child, 168, 169 ; rank, 172. Brummel, Beau, 299. Bryant, W. C: Iliad, 166; Thanatopsis, 189; Mystery of Death, 189. Burnett, Mrs. F. H., 172. Barns, 170, 221, 315. Burr, Aaron, 170. Burritt, Elihn, 171. Business of life, 232. Butler, Gen. B. F., 306. Cfesar, Julius, 170, 209. Capitalist, dependence on em- ployees, 244, 246. Carbon, example of transmuta- tion, 126. Carbonic-acid gas, 79. Carpenter, W. B.: Physiology, 80; Mental Physiology, 211. Catalysis, defined, illustrated, 69. Causal judgment, characteristics, 94-97. Cause, discussion, tests of, 97, 98; a and the cause distinguished, 199. Chaldeans, 60. Chalmers, Thomas: Natural The- ology, 215. Character-building, importance of, 282; elements in, 278 (analy- sis, p. sxx.); psychology in, 304; character, resultant of ele- ments, crystallization of, 278. Charles I. of England, 171; IX., of France, 188. Chemism, 69, 70, 125, 127. Chemistry, a thought-system, 16. Chinese, murder of female chil- dren, 35. Choice, defined, present in all will action, 24; freedom of, 36. Chronology, 56. Christianity, 58; present activity, 66; Sekese on, 205 (analysis, pp. xxvii., xxviii.); condition of world at advent of, 85. Cicero, 209. Citizen, of the universe, 53; du- ties of, 248. Clerk-Maxwell, Professor, quot- ed, 105. Cohesion, 72. Coleridge: Ancient Mariner, 259, 260. Colfax, Schuyler, death of, 188. Coligny, Admiral, death of, 188. Columbus, Christopher, 60. Comet hypothesis of drift, 57. Commerce, influence of, 88. Communism, 65, 246. Completeness of being, described, 50; defined, 291. Concentration, a secret of suc- cess, 241. Conciliency of proof, 146. Conscience, definition and dis- cussion, 27-3(5 (analysis, p. xix.); force of, against materialism, 120, 144; against pantheism, 142, 144; for theism, 160; in sense of obligation, 141 ; in re- lation to immortality, 215. Consciousness, definition and dis- cussion, 6; unity of, indissolu- hle, 121, 196; reveals person- ality, 135. Constantinople, 225. Constructive power, fact of a, 16; rational working of, "basis of sciences, 17. Cosmopolitanism, present spirit of, 88. Cotton-gin, a means of power, 61. Cow per, 260. Creation, scheme of, summarized, 163. Creative power, involves annihi- lating power, 107. Crusades, influence of, 87. Culture, obligation to, 233. Dawson: Facts and Fancies in Modern Science, 117. Dead line, the, 181. Death, defined, 76, 195; discussed, 185-189 (analvsis, xxvi.); stream of, 187; mystery of, 189. Demagogue, wreck of the, 302. Democritus, 102. Demosthenes, 170. Design, progressive, 153. Desires, defined, 22. INDEX. 345 Dewdrop, laws in formation of, 129. Development, law of, by exer- cise, 222; opportunities in, 282. Devotion, to God, crowning act of, 277. Donnelly, Ignatius: Ragnarok, or the Age of Fire and Gravel, 57. Dreams, suggestions of, on rela- tion of spirit and body, 204. Dresser, C: Unity in Variety, 78. Drift, 57. Druids, sense of sin, 162. Duality of created existence, 6, 194. Duty, idea of, ultimate, 160; arises from relation, 226 (analy- sis, p. xxviii.). Duties, to God, germ-th ought of, 267 (and foot-note). Earth, growth of strata, 57; part • of mechanism of universe, 92. Ecclesiastes, 189. Education, influence of, 88; pro- cesses of, 216; false ideas of, 237 ; true theory of, 238. Egypt, inscriptions of, 162; an- cient, belief in future life. 191. Elasticity, 72. Electricity, electroplating, -typ- ing, 72. Elements of matter, number, 67, 109; properties, combining weights, 68, 109; preferences in combination, 70; movements necessary and predictable, 70; properties irreconcilable, 109. Eliot, George, 172. Eliot, John, Indian missionary, 197. Emotion, place in order of spirit- activities, in, 20, 23: not basis of knowledge, 19; elements of, 19; defined, 23; relation to fu- ture life, 213; relation to effi- ciency of action, 273, 301; how cultivated, 273; effect on, ol study of Cod, 'J74. English, eff eel <>f location on, 225. Eternity, of universe, 99; and self-existence iuseparahl Ether, 62, 71. 103. 104, 107, 108. Evolution, distinction of materi- alistic and theistic, NO; mate- rialistic, stated and discussed, 111-121 (analysis, p, xxiii.); fun- damental weakness of, 121; as related to design, 156. Exclusiveness of ancient peoples, 88. Exertion, power of, culmination of spirit-activity, 26. Failure, 180. Fame, defined, 298 (analysis, p. xxxi.). Faraday, 124. Farrar, Canon, 295. Fetichism, 58, 276. Feudalism, 64. Fiske, Professor John: The Destinv of Man, 207. Flint: Tlieism, 101, 105, 145; Anti-Theistic Theories, 141. Forces, physical, discussed, 70- 73; under necessarv law, 70, 73, 122; adjustment of, 73, 114, 130; as Fir~t Cause, 122 (analy- sis, p. xxiv.); conservation and correlation of, 122-127; pen- tarchy of, 125-127; function in universe of, permanency and adjustment of, 130; rational work of, how explained, 134: persistence of, 193. Foster : Essay on Time, 244. Franklin, Benjamin, 63. Fre'mont, Gen. J. C, non-recog- nition of, 300. Future life, duration of, 223. Gage, Gen., ambition of, 302. Galileo, 191. Garfield, Gen. James A., personal identitv of, 120; moral power of, 307." Gauls, invasion of, 60. Genius, distinguished from tal- ent, 158, 159. Gcolog3 T , evidence of regarding life, 113. Gillett: God in Human Thought, 205. Gladstone, 120. God, relation to universe, 134, Hi:;, 257: wisdom, goodness, jus- tice, of, in proofs of future life, 219-221: property-right in man, 260; fatherhood of, 261-266 (analysis, p. xxix.); duties to- ward, paramount, 266; geiTO- thoughl of, 267; knowledge of. 269; Key to all knowledge. e\- 346 INDEX. istence of, fundamental postu- late, 272. Goldsmith, dullness of, 234. Grant, Gen. U. S., 120, 300, 301. Gravitation, work of, 54; law of, 72, 128; illustration of adjust- ment, 74, 123, 127, 128. Greece, 60; rule, 60; federation of, 64; ideas of, 84; individ- uality in, 00; religious sense of sin in, 163; language, 239. Gregory : Logic, 15 ; Christian Ethics, 27, 32, 229, 268. Ground and cause distinguished, 134. Greeley, Horace, 235. Guiteau, 170. Habeas corpus, 91. Habit, danger and value of, 281. Hamilton, Sir William, 211, 214, 294. Hand, wonders of, 46. Happiness, definition and discus- sion, 292 (analysis, p. xxxi.); law of, 294. Harris: Philosophical Basis of Theism, 40. Hawthorne: Scarlet Letter, 16. Heat, 71, 126, 127. Heavenly bodies, orbits of, 148; movements of, 149. Henry, Professor Joseph, 296. Heraclitus, 101. Herschel, Sir John, 105; Out- lines of Astronomy, 128. His Majesty, Myself, 235. Hindoo literature, 64. Hodge, Dr. A. A., quoted, 76. Home, duties in the, 248. Howard, John, 229. Human body, delicate structure, 45 (analysis, p. xx.); composi- tion, 80; culmination of organi- zation of Nature, 83, 92 ; evidence of adjustment, 114; instrument of thought, 116; design in, 149, 150; instrument of spirit, 228; a mechanism, 291. Human existence, continuous, 283. Human life, rleetness of, 165; pos- sibilities of, 167 (analysis, p. xxvi.); self the determining fac- tor in, 171; expectancy of, 167; tests of, 174; great test of, 178; wreck of, if no future life, 200; dignity of, if future, 218. Hunger, illustrating work of emotion, 20. Hypotheses of origin of universe, 101. Ice-sheet hypothesis, 57. Ideal man, pictured in himself, 50; as related to Nature, 92; as related to God, 269. Ignorance, egotism of, 152. Iliad, 166. Imagination, 13, 109, 123. Immanency of God, 134, 257. Immortality, assumptions of ma- terialism regarding, 191 (analy- sis, p. xxvi.). Indestructibility of matter, de- fined, 107; argument from, for immortality, 196, 210. Individual duties, germ-thought of, 227 (analysis, p. xxviii.). Individuality, lack of in ancient world, 89; development of in modern times, 91. Inertia, 124. Infinite regressus of universes, 99. Infusoria, 82. Ingelow, Jean, 172. Inner law, rule and model of ac- tion, 36. Instinct, 21. Intuition, defined, 8; classified, 11, 12. Ishmaelite, 245. Isomerism, defined and illustrat- ed, 69. Jackson, Stonewall, 188. Janet: Final Causes, 153. Jasper, Rev. John, 191. Jesuits, 176. Jesus, moral teachings of, 32; per- fect model of character, 321. Jews, republicanism of, 64; ideas of, 85; individuality among, 90; idea of holiness, how developed, 217. Judas Iscariot, 170, 299. Judgment, future, theism in re- gard to, 221; Christianity in regard to, 327. Justice, inner standard of, 35. Kant, Immanuel, view of the moral law, 33, 34. Kepler, 149. INDEX. 347 Kinnard, James, 190. Knowing-power, definition and phases, 9; trustworthiness of simple processes, 12. Knowledge, as affecting charac- ter, 269; of God, what atid how, 270; is apprehension of the truth of God, 272. Landseer, 64. Language, 58, 335. La Place, 149. Law, distinctions of term, 67. Laws, of matter, necessary and fixed, 67; immutable, inexor- able, so basis of organization of universe and mechanical indus- try, 73; adjustment of, 74. Levering, overstrain of, at Har- vard, 235. Life-force, function of, 49; defined, 76, 112, 154 ; power of adaptation, 154; identity in, 192. Life-problem, defined, 3, 284. Life-purpose, 26. Light, 5:i, 71, 125-127. Lincoln, Abraham, 170, 171. Lind, Jenny, 172. Literature, 58. Liszt, 41. Locomotive, product of construc- tive power, 16; example of ad- justment, 74. Louie, psychological basis of, 15. Lotze, 332, 333. \ uther, Martin, 170, 299. Magnet, 119. Man, localized, movements re- corded, 64 ; control over Nature, 83 (see Nature) ; pantheism makes culmination of universe, 140; effect on, of materialism (matter or force) and panthe- ism, 144; spirit nature, a proof of design, 157; belief of, in fu- ture life, 191, 200; is culmina- tion of Nature, 83, 92, 201, 20fi; mental processes of early, 205, 20fi distinctive charact: nstic, rationality, 232, 320. Manufacturer, obligation of, to employee, 246. Mary, Bloody, 172. Materialism, defined, 101; ethics of, 20] (analysis, p. xxvii ). Matter, eternity of, 102, 107; self- existence of, 108, 111; unity of, 109, 110; properties of, 119, 194, 210; properties unchanged, 113; elements of (see Elements). McCosh, James L., quoted, 124; Emotions, 19, 40, 43; Typical Forms and Special Ends in Cre- ation, 78. Means of power, 64. Mechanical, forces, 72; motion, 126, 127. Medicis, Catherine de, 172. Mendelssohn, (54. Mezzofanti, Cardinal, 212. Middle Ages, characterized, 86. Milton: Paradise Lost, 97. Mind, not effect of matter or life, 147; -force, 128. Missions', 88. Mithridates VL, 212. Modern civilization character- ized, 87. Mohammed, hegira of, 60. Mohammedanism, sensuality of, 58. Molecule, 103; manufactured, 105; of protoplasm, 117. Mollusks, 82. Moltke, Von, 301. Monopolies, 247. Moody, D. L., 299. Moral ideal, 213, 242; law, 31, 302, 305, 309; power, 305 et seq (analysis, p. xxxi.). Moscow, 212. Mozart, 64, 97. Napoleon I., 170; memory of, 212; mistake of, 242. Nature, growth of study of, 61 ; man's control of, how possible, 62, 83; system of, 92, 151 ; variety in, 155; a means of power, 20i>; man's relation to, 249 (analysis, p. xxix.); instrument of thought, 253; co-ordination of uses of, 256; beauty of, developed by man, 258. Nebular hypothesis, 58, 113, 147. Sity and certainty distin- guished, 75. Nero, 170. Nen <>u* system, 47; action not spirit-action, is. New Testament, revised, 02. 348 INDEX. Newton, Sir Isaac, 140; mental grasp of, 213; unpromising child- hood of, 234. Niagara, 40, 43. Nightingale, Florence, 172, 229. Nihilism, 65. Nile, pottery in valley of, 98. Nilsson, Christine, 172. Nitric acid, composition of, 68. Nitrous anhydride, composition of, 68. Nummulites, 82. Ohedience, sweep of, 275; charac- teristics of, 276. Obligation, basis of, 36. (Edipus, 214. Oregon, 300. Ormond, Dr. A. T., 36, 159, 335. Pantheism, 129; denned, 131 ; truth in, 133; concept of personality unthinkable, 135 (analysis,, p. xxiv.). Parcimony of causes, law of, 108. Parrhasius, (34. Pascal, 33. Past, value of, 66. Perfect, norm of the, in artistic construction, 17; in the aesthetic nature, 40. Persians, 60; belief in a future life, 191. Personal identity, 121, 194; rights, 91. Personality, indissoluble, 135-139; human, only type of the super- natural, 135. Pessimism, defined, 87 (foot- note) ; the result of materialism and pantheism, 145; views of life, 179. Phidias, 64. Philosophy of history, basis of, 84. Physics, psycho-, 207. Phvsicus: referred to, 194; Theism, 213. Picton, J. Allanson: The Mys- tery of Matter, 205. Picturesque, the, defined, 42. Plant life 78, (analysis, p. xxi.); sta- tionary, 81; digestion of, 79, 151. Plato, 64, 90, 170, 207. Pleasure, law of, 293. Political economy, 246. Power, of spirit, defined, 8; as su- preme end, defined, 302 (analy- sis, p. xxxi.); law of, 307; all forms right, 309. Praxiteles, 64. Prayer, basis and forms, 276. Prejudice, 232. Presbyterian Review, 76. Pretty, the, defined, 42. Printing-press, means of power, 61; Scott Railroad, 63; instru- ment of thought, 254. Probabilities, doctrine of, 117. Property, origin of right of, 247. Protestantism, individualizing tendency of, 91. Protoplasm, 112; composition of, 117. Psychology, physiological, 207; need for, 237. Public opinion, right treatment of, 299. Punishment, 323 (and references). Radiates, 82. Railroad, product of constructive power, 18; means of power, 61. Rational sentiments, definition and discussion, 22 (analysis, p. xix.). Reconstruction of spirit, need for, tests of scheme for, 285. Reflection, 71. Reformation, influence of, 87; ba- sis, 231. Refraction, 71. Religion, broadening influence of, 88. Rembrandt, 64. Resistance, 72. Responsibility, conditions of, 38. Resurrection, the, theism in re- gard to, 224; Christianity in regard to, 327. Revere, Mass., accident at, 75. Revival of letters, influence of, 87. Reymond, Du Bois, 121. Ridpath: Life of Garfield, 307. Right, an ultimate idea, 160. Rome, 60; rule, 60; literature, 64; ideas, 85; individuality among, 90. Revelation, possibility of, 320. Sabbath, the, 277. Saint Helena, 242. Sanscrit, hymns, 162; language, 239. INDEX. 349 Scarlet Letter, The, a thought- system, 16. Sciences, thought-systems, hased on constructive power, 17; study of relations, 225; growth of, 249; natural, value of, 254. Scientists, materialistic, 65; Christian, 66. Scripture references (see end of Index). Seasons, 204. Self-control, necessity of, 240. Sekese, words of, 205 (foot-note). Seneca, 32. Sensation, defined, 20. Sensational literature, effect of reading, 240. Shakspere, Hamlet, 16; Macbeth, 159. Signal service, 95. Sin, and pantheism, 142; and the- ism, 161; and a future life, 203. Slavery, cause of extinction of, 88. Social duties, extension of indi- vidual, 245 (analysis, p. xxix.). Socialism, 65. Society, revenge of, on recluse and stingy, 245. Socrates, 32, 64. Solidarity of race, 88. Solomon, 44. Sophists, 32. Sorley, W. B.: Ethics of Natu- ralism, 92. Soul-power, defined, 305. Sound, 70. Spartans, state control, 90. Specialization, necessity, re- wards, 91. Species, transmutation of, 77; number of, 117, 118 (foot-note). Spectrum analysis, 109. Spencer, Herbert, 118 (foot-note), 124. Sphere of human action, 92. Sphinx, the, 284. Spinal meningitis, case, of, 198. Spirit, self-activity, freedom,