e must not neglect to put in the
other balance the tendency to dogmatism and the persecuting zeal which
accompanied it. There have been other than Christian martyrs.
Something was faulty with a movement which contained so much
obscurantism and bigotry. There was not enough of sweet reason in its
composition, and too much of the old terrors which accompanied
primitive ignorance and cruelty. It needed a saner and more wholesome
perspective and more trust in human reason. For instance, the
differences between the various sects, which have sprung up from period
to period with such clamor and death-defying energy, have been
differences of stress and of formulation whose importance was grossly
exaggerated. To the modern student nothing is more tragic and pitiful
than this zeal of ignorance. So much to be done in the world to make
it sweeter and more beautiful and more livable, so much need for sanity
and charity; and yet so much of human energy wasted and, more than
wasted, turned to evil results. The only way to overcome this
sectarian mal-adjustment is to know the past as it was and to cherish
no distorting and blinding illusions in regard to it. Man is so prone
to see the golden age in the past that it is necessary to have a
searchlight directed upon it. An historical approach is such a
searchlight.

There is another psychological advantage in an historical approach.
The reason is often unconsciously bound by the authority of a supposed
past. For the philosopher with his confidence in experimental reason,
{61} perhaps, this inhibition does not exist; but even people who have
every inclination to bring their total experience to bear, in a free
way, upon doctrines and beliefs are restrained by what they have been
taught, and lose audacity. The spirit of acquiescence is always at
work in the world, and nothing reenforces this spirit more powerfully
than a traditionally-accepted book of sacred writings. Confronted by
these with their unhesitating affirmations and claims, the minds of the
majority are intimidated, and such reflections as they allow themselves
work within the prescribed boundaries or wander little beyond them.
Nothing is better suited to unbind the mind and to lead it to think
boldly than a study of origins. The individual gains perspective as he
sees ideas and sentiments rise and fall and give way to others. He can
no longer be intimidated by the shadow of a compact and seemingly
impregnable trad