into a current only in so far
as norms and values are clearly perceived as the meaning and goal of
spiritual life. A _universal_ of meaning and value must be perceived,
however imperfectly it may be, before the individual can call his
deepest nature into activity. And what is such a _universal_ but
something beyond the flow of the moment and beyond the realm of ordinary
daily life? Such a _universal_, too, must have an existence of its
own--an existence and a value which are beyond the opinions of any
individual or of any group of individuals, even if such a group were to
include the whole human race. It is clear, then, why Eucken parts
company with Pragmatism.

If, finally, we view his attitude towards the _Religious_ Life-systems
of our generation, we find words of warning and of encouragement. His
whole work culminates in religion. But he teaches us that we have to
learn from the sides of knowledge already presented in this chapter. And
it may be said that the Christian Church (or any other Church) has yet
to learn this lesson. It still seeks to find its revelation in what
_was_, and in modes which come constantly into direct conflict with the
results of the various Life-systems already referred to. It wants the
fruits of religion without tilling [p.222] the ground and nurturing its
plants. Its insistence on placing the basis of religion in myth and
miracle dooms it to a greater disaster in the future than even in the
past. Eucken sees no hope for a "revival" of religion in the soul until
an inverted order of conceiving reality takes place. The religious
synthesis from the intellectual side is to be obtained by passing
through the grades of reality explicit in the various Life-systems, and
by abstaining from the imposition of barriers which forbid anyone
roaming and "ruminating" within these. If one condition is obeyed, this
is the most fruitful way to construct a new religious metaphysic which
will supplant traditional theology. That condition is that the various
Life-systems form a kind of scale which extends from Matter up to the
Godhead. The new religious metaphysic will then mean a real philosophy
of values.

Does this constitute an impossible task for the Christian Church? It
will remain impossible so long as we look upon the essence of
Christianity as something which descends upon us apart from the exertion
of our own spiritual potencies. It is a consolation to know that the
highest reality may be experienc