t worth explaining. We
can only think them out entirely by regarding them as something not
worth thinking out at all.

CHAPTER XI.

THE HUMAN RACE AND REVELATION.

'_The scandal of the pious Christian, and the fallacious triumph of
the infidel, should cease as soon as they recollect not only_ by
whom, _but likewise to whom, the Divine Revelation was
given._'--Gibbon.[37]

And now let us suppose ourselves convinced, at least for the sake of
argument, that man will always believe in himself as a moral being, and
that he will, under no compulsion, let this belief go. Granting this,
from what we have just seen, thus much will be plain to us, that theism,
should it ever tend to reassert itself, can have no check to fear at the
hands of positive thought. Let us, therefore, suppose further, that such
a revival of faith is imminent, and that the enlightened world, with its
eyes wide open, is about to turn once again to religious desires and
aims. This brings us face to face with the second question, that we have
not as yet touched upon: will the religion thus turned to be a natural
religion only, or is it possible that some exclusive dogmatism may be
recognised as a supernatural re-statement of it?

Before going further with this question it will be well to say a few
words as to the exact position it occupies. This, with regard to the
needs of man, is somewhat different to the position of natural theism.
That a natural theism is essential to man's moral being is a proposition
that can be more or less rigidly demonstrated; but that a revelation is
essential as a supplement to natural theism can be impressed upon us
only in a much looser way. Indeed, many men who believe most firmly that
without religion human life will be dead, rest their hopes for the
future not on the revival and triumph of any one alleged revelation, but
on the gradual evanescence of the special claims of all. Nor can we find
any sharp and defined line of argument to convince them that they are
wrong. The objections, however, to which this position is open are, I
think, none the less cogent because they are somewhat general; and to
all practical men, conversant with life and history, it must be plain
that the necessity of doing God's will being granted, it is a most
anxious and earnest question whether that will has not been in some
special and articulate way revealed to us.

Take the mass of religious humanity, and giving it a