ke place without a revolution in the man, for this
relation is the most potent influence that acts upon a human life.

Religion is the foundation of morality in the individual and in the
group of individuals. Materialists have attempted to build up a system
of morality upon the basis of enlightened self-interest. They would have
man figure out by mathematics that it pays him to abstain from
wrong-doing; they would even inject an element of selfishness into
altruism, but the moral system elaborated by the materialists has
several defects. First, its virtues are borrowed from moral systems
based upon religion. All those who are intelligent enough to discuss a
system of morality are so saturated with the morals derived from systems
resting upon religion that they cannot frame a system resting upon
reason alone. Second, as it rests upon argument rather than upon
authority, the young are not in a position to accept or reject. Our laws
do not permit a young man to dispose of real estate until he is
twenty-one. Why this restraint? Because his reason is not mature; and
yet a man's life is largely moulded by the environment of his youth.
Third, one never knows just how much of his decision is due to reason
and how much is due to passion or to selfish interest. Passion can
dethrone the reason--we recognize this in our criminal laws. We also
recognize the bias of self-interest when we exclude from the jury every
man, no matter how reasonable or upright he may be, who has a pecuniary
interest in the result of the trial. And, fourth, one whose morality
rests upon a nice calculation of benefits to be secured spends time
figuring that he should spend in action. Those who keep a book account
of their good deeds seldom do enough good to justify keeping books. A
noble life cannot be built upon an arithmetic; it must be rather like
the spring that pours forth constantly of that which refreshes and
invigorates.

Morality is the power of endurance in man; and a religion which teaches
personal responsibility to God gives strength to morality. There is a
powerful restraining influence in the belief that an all-seeing eye
scrutinizes every thought and word and act of the individual.

There is wide difference between the man who is trying to conform his
life to a standard of morality about him and the man who seeks to make
his life approximate to a divine standard. The former attempts to live
up to the standard, if it is above him, and down t