nd possibilities of life, and that the
success of this enterprise is conditioned, in the end, on the compliance
of the universe. A summing up of the situation as involving these two
factors is morally inevitable. Some solution of the problem, assimilated
and enacted, in other words, some form of piety, is no more than the last
stage of moral growth.

The value of religious belief, in this generic moral sense, consists in
the enlargement of the circle of life. Man knows the best and the worst;
he walks in the open, apprehending the world in its full sweep and just
proportions. An inclusive view of the universe, whatever it may reveal,
throws into relief the lot of man. Religion promulgates the idea of life
as a whole, and composes and proportions its activities with reference to
their ultimate end. Religion advocates not the virtues in their
severalty, but the whole moral enterprise. With this it affiliates all
the sundry activities of life, thus bringing both action and thought
under the form of service of the ideal. At the same time it offers a
supreme object for the passions, which are otherwise divided against
{254} themselves, or vented upon unworthy and fantastical objects.
Through being thus economized and guided, these moving energies may be
brought to support moral endeavor and bear it with them in their current.

Piety carries with it also that sense of high resolve without which life
must be haunted with a sense of ignominy. This is the immediate value of
the good-will: the full deliverance of one's self to the cause of
goodness. This value is independent of attainment. It is that _doing of
one's best_, which is the least that one can do. Having sped one's
action with good-will, one can only leave the outcome to the confluence
and summing of like forces. But such service is blessed both in the
eventualities and in a present harmony as well. The good of
participation in the greatest and most worthy enterprise is proved in its
lending fruitfulness, dignity, and momentousness to action; but also in
its infusing the individual life with that ardor and tenderness which is
called the love of humanity and of God, and which is the only form of
happiness that fully measures up to the awakened moral consciousness.

Since religion emphasizes the unity of life and supplies it with meaning
and dignity, it is the function of religion to kindle moral enthusiasm in
society at large. Religion is responsible for