p and strength from what had been. But the greater the interval
between the occurrence [p.77] of that greatness and the contemplation of
it, the more difficult does it become to grasp and to possess something
of the true meaning, value, and significance of such greatness. The
greatness, as the interval grows, becomes something to be known,
something which is believed to fall upon us in an external, miraculous
manner; and finally it often becomes an object of wordy dispute and
strife. Certain periods in the history of the Christian Church give
abundant evidence of the truth of this statement. Eucken points out in
his _Problem of Human Life_ how barren in creative power, for instance,
was the fourth century. Why? An interval of nearly three centuries had
passed away since the Master and his followers had proclaimed truths and
experiences which were the burning convictions of their deepest being.
Gradually, and often unconsciously, men glided down an inclined plane,
until at last the spiritual nucleus of Christianity had largely
disappeared and little more than the husks remained. At the close of
such intervals religion becomes a number of conflicting intellectual
theories, and the worst passions are called to its support. Dogmatism
and intolerance prevail, and a blight comes over the choicest potencies
of the soul. All this happens because certain great events and
experiences of the past are conceived of as marking a terminus in the
history of the moral and spiritual evolution of the world. The [p.78]
soul is not stirred to its depth to preserve such experiences and, if
possible, enhance them. Thus the world leaves such a rich spiritual
content largely behind itself; and when this happens, it becomes a
matter of the greatest difficulty to recover it. And even when it is
recovered, something of infinite value has been for ever lost. The
present moment of the soul has to live on itself; and such a life
remains alien to depths of reality which have been plumbed by the great
personalities of history in the past. It is a want of conviction in
truth and reality that makes us seek finality in the past. It may be
that the highest personalities of our day are not able to scale such
spiritual heights as were scaled by the Christians of the primitive
Church; but unless they believe that the same power is present in their
souls they will never have courage even to make the attempt. It is a
vision of the nature of the reality which was