ch people saw life was just thus: as a series of rebirths and
transformations. (1) The most modern science, I need hardly say, in
biology as well as in chemistry and the field of inorganic Nature,
supports that view. The savage in earliest times FELT the truth of some
things which we to-day are only beginning intellectually to perceive and
analyze.

(1) The fervent and widespread belief in animal metamorphoses
among early peoples is well known.

Christianity adopted and absorbed--as it was bound to do--this
world-wide doctrine of the second birth. Passing over its physiological
and biological applications, it gave to it a fine spiritual
significance--or rather it insisted especially on its spiritual
significance, which (as we have seen) had been widely recognized before.
Only--as I suppose must happen with all local religions--it narrowed the
application and outlook of the doctrine down to a special case--"As
in Adam all die, so in CHRIST shall all be made alive." The Universal
Spirit which can give rebirth and salvation to EVERY child of man to
whom it comes, was offered only under a very special form--that of Jesus
Christ. (1) In this respect it was no better than the religions
which preceded it. In some respects--that is, where it was especially
fanatical, blinkered, and hostile to other sects--it was WORSE. But
to those who perceive that the Great Spirit may bring new birth and
salvation to some under the form of Osiris, equally well as to others
under the form of Jesus, or again to some under the form of a Siberian
totem-Bear equally as to others under the form of Osiris, these
questionings and narrowings fall away as of no importance. We in this
latter day can see the main thing, namely that Christianity was and is
just one phase of a world-old religion, slowly perhaps expanding its
scope, but whose chief attitudes and orientations have been the same
through the centuries.

(1) The same happened with regard to another great Pagan doctrine
(to which I have just alluded), the doctrine of transformations and
metamorphoses; and whereas the pagans believed in these things, as the
common and possible heritage of EVERY man, the Christians only allowed
themselves to entertain the idea in the special and unique instance of
the Transfiguration of Christ.

Many other illustrations might be taken of the truth of this view, but
I will confine myself to two or three more. There is the instance of the
Eucharist and it