to
moral qualities, but to judgment, knowledge, skill, habit, or perhaps
pecuniary ability; a thoroughly _trustworthy_ person might not be
_reliable_ as a witness on account of unconscious sympathy, or as a
security by reason of insufficient means. A _reliable_ messenger is one
who may be depended on to do his errand correctly and promptly; a
_trusty_ or _trustworthy_ messenger is one who may be admitted to
knowledge of the views and purposes of those who employ him, and who
will be faithful beyond the mere letter of his commission. We can speak
of a railroad-train as _reliable_ when it can be depended on to arrive
on time; but to speak of a _reliable_ friend would be cold, and to speak
of a warrior girding on his _reliable_ sword would be ludicrous.

* * * * *

RELIGION.

Synonyms:

devotion, godliness, morality, piety, theology,
faith, holiness, pietism, righteousness, worship.

_Piety_ is primarily filial duty, as of children to parents, and hence,
in its highest sense, a loving obedience and service to God as the
Heavenly Father; _pietism_ often denotes a mystical, sometimes an
affected _piety_; _religion_ is the reverent acknowledgment both in
heart and in act of a divine being. _Religion_, in the fullest and
highest sense, includes all the other words of this group. _Worship_ may
be external and formal, or it may be the adoring reverence of the human
spirit for the divine, seeking outward expression. _Devotion_, which in
its fullest sense is self-consecration, is often used to denote an act
of _worship_, especially prayer or adoration; as, he is engaged in his
_devotions_. _Morality_ is the system and practise of duty as required
by the moral law, consisting chiefly in outward acts, and thus may be
observed without spiritual rectitude of heart; _morality_ is of
necessity included in all true _religion_, which involves both outward
act and spiritual service. _Godliness_ (primarily godlikeness) is a
character and spirit like that of God. _Holiness_ is the highest,
sinless perfection of any spirit, whether divine or human, tho often
used for purity or for consecration. _Theology_ is the science of
_religion_, or the study and scientific statement of all that the human
mind can know of God. _Faith_, strictly the belief and trust which the
soul exercises toward God, is often used as a comprehensive word for a
whole system of _religion_ considered as the obj