nd and has exalted
himself with a living purpose which illuminates and concentrates his
being. I think that this spirit and attitude is coming to be called
religious, no matter to what objects it attaches itself. Have we not
here a mark of identity which justifies the retention of the age-old
word? Morality is too cold a word in the ears of most men. Besides,
moral values are only a part of the immense throng of appreciations to
which man responds. There is need of a comprehensive term, able to
take in all those interests and activities which give life its variety
and glory. Is there a better term than religion?

But there must be no mistake about the new setting of the term; no
casuistic ambiguity must be encouraged. We must be firm in our
negations of the old as {222} well as constructive in our affirmation
of the new. I have tried to show that the belief in superhuman spirits
arose in primitive times when man knew little about the world in which
he found himself. Investigators in the history of religion trace the
steps from polydemonism to polytheism and thence to henotheism and
monotheism. Along with this evolution, which reflected changes in
social organization, went a corresponding moral transformation of these
divine beings. Yet the setting of the outlook was largely the same as
in earlier days. Social relations were supposed to control the
universe as a whole. Nature recognized her master in God much as the
subjects of a king greeted him as their lord. His was the might,
majesty, dominion and glory. There is a pathetic incident related of
Carlyle which has meaning in this connection. Mr. Froude told Carlyle,
not long before the latter's death, that he could believe only in a God
who did something. With a cry of pain, Carlyle answered, "He does
nothing." How can we harmonize this cry with his earlier faith in an
Everlasting Will and a Providential Government of the world? It is
impossible to do so. Romantic spiritualism must give way to a
humanistic naturalism which sees clearly the place of man in the world.
Morality, science and art are man's creation and distinctive
possession. What he needs is a stable, law-abiding environment within
which to work. He has this, and has gained some mastery of it. The
further necessary step is mastery of himself and of those huge
institutions which have grown up and now threaten to make him circle
within their orbits. Man has battles still to fight.

T