Year: 1878

While the immense energy OF the


sentiment Of duty and the awe Of the


supernatural exert Incompatible in


anence on the mind, yet it is often
perverted, and the tradition received


with awe, but without correspondent


action of the receiver. Then you find


so many mel infatuated on that topic!


Wise on all other, they lose their head


the moment they talk OF religion. 1t
is the sturdiest prejudice in the pub
lie mind that religion is something by
itself; department distinct from all
other experiences, and to which the


tests and judgment of men are ready
enough to show on other things do
not apply. You may sometimes talk


with the gravest and best citizen,
and, the moment the topic of religion


is broached, he runs into a childest
superstition. His face looks infatua


ted, and his conversation is. When


talked with an ardent missionary, and
pointed out to him that his creed


found no support in my experience, he


replied, at is not so in your experi.
ence, but it is so in the other world"


| answer: Other world! there is no
other world. God is one and omni-
present; here or nowhere is the whole
fact. The one miracle which God


works evermole is in nature, aud i'm


parting himself to the mind. When
we ask simply, What is true in
thought? What is Just in action?9 it
is the yielding Of the private heart to
the divine mind, and all personal pref.
ercnces, and al requiring of wonders,
are profduc. The word miracle, as it
is used, only indicates the ignorance
OF the devotcc. staring with wonder 10
see water turned into wine, needless
of the stnpcndous fact of his own per-
sonality. Here he stands, lonely
thought tremendously organized into
correspondence of the universe of
mind and maker. What narrative of
wonders coming down from q thou
sand years ought to charm his attcn-
tion like this? Certainly it is human
to value general consent, a fraterni-
ty of believers, q crowded church; but
as the sentiment purilies and rises,
it saves crowds. 1t makes churches
Of two, churches of one. A fatal dis
service does this Swedenborg, or 9th
er who offers to do my thinking for
me. 1t seems as if, when the spirit
Of God speaks SO plainly to each soul,
it were an impiety 10 be listening TO
one or another saint. Jesus was bet
ter than others because he refused to
listen to others and listened at home.
You are really interested in your
thought. You have meditated in si-
lent wonder on your existence in this
world You have perceived in the
first fact of your conscious lite here q
miracle so astounding--a miracle
comprehending all the universe OF mir
acles to which your intelligent life
gives access-as to exhaust wonder,
and leave you no need of hunting here
or there for any particular exhibitions
Of power. Then up comes man
with text of First John ": I, or a
knotty sentence Of st. Paul, which he
considers as the AK at the root of your
tree. You cannot bring yourself to
care for it. You say: "Cut away;
my tree is Ygdrasil--the,tree of life."
lie interrupts for the moment your
peaceful trust In the Divine Plovi-
dence. Let him know by your secu-
rity that your conviction is clear and
sufficient, and if we hear Paul himself
you also are here, and with your Gre