O U R " EW R EL I G I O " S .

R AL " H W AL D O EM ER S O " ;

WRITI" G S A"D O "I" I O " S

A L ECT U R E

B " J O H " C . G E I KI E .

e d l e pe ed
el —
I n hi s m i n d a l l c r a t i o n i s u y r s c t
p
As a r t s of h i m s f "us t a i t t l le p e ed
r o" c t
p
e —
An d h e ’ s w i in g t o w o r s h i t h e s t a r s a n d t h e sun ,
ll
A con v r t t o n o t h i n g b ut Em r son e .

e e
e
L i f , " a t ur , L ov , G o d , a n d a ffa i r s o f t h a t sor t ,
e el d e
He l o o k s a t a s m r y i a s i n s h o r t
e ee l e
A s i f t h y w r fossi s s t uck r oun i n a c a b i n t ,
d
e e e ee
O f s uc h v a s t x t n t t h a t our a r t h s a m r d a b i n i t ;
’

p ed l ed
Com os "us t a s h e is i n c in e e t o con " c t ur h e r ,
el
" am y , on ep p ee a rt ure e p p e le
ar t , n i
h n t y n in
-
a r t s ur e
ct ur r
.
"

J AM ES RUS S EL L L ow un
.

p us m s n s n B" REQ U ES T .

T O RO "TO

J O H " C . G E I K I E
6 1, KI " G S T R EET .

1859 .
 TO RO " T O ,
2 8th J an ua r y , 1 8 5 9 .

J O H" C G EI KI E, ES Q
. .

De a r S ir ,

Be l i e vi n g tha t t he p ub l i c a t i o n of the Le ct u re y ou l a t e ly

d e li ve r e d i n the T e m pe ra n c e Ha ll , w o ul d b e p r o d uct i ve of m uc h g o o d ,

we re s p e ct full y re q ue st y ou to a ll o w the sa m e to b e p ub l i sh e d .

We a re , De a r S ir ,

" ou r s t ruly ,

A D AM WI L S O " Q ,
. O .
( M a yor .
"
A . L I L L I E, D . D .

J O H" J E" " I" G S, n . D .

R A F " F E,
. . D . D .

J . M CM U R RI CH ,
An d ot h er s .
 R AL" H WAL D O EM ER S O "
"

its Writings amt Organism .

w .

R AL " H W AL D O E M ERS O " is the s o n of a U n itarian Clergyman

of B oston an d wa s born about 1 8 03
,
After graduating at Howard
.

College he became the pastor of a Unitarian Congregation in his

,

native c ity But the state of the religious body to which he

.

belong ed was at that time as now so unsettled after the movemen t

, , , ,

induced by the separation from it of the orthodox Chur c hes i n

Massac husetts a few years before that uninquiring ease was
,

impossible in any of its ministers who h a d ambition or earnestness .

There are two doors opening from the chambers of d o ubt on e ,

towards still darker and wider doubt ; the other towards the peac eful ,

landscape of Faith and the choice of either determi n es t h e future

,

life Like Blanco Whi t e o r Francis Newm a n M r Emerson um

.
,
.
,

happily for himself and others chose the wron g o n e and passi n g
, , ,

o ut int o a sky in which all his Old marks and certainties had become

confused and bewildering succeedi n g years have found him still

,

further from th a t only horizon of trust a n d love where the spirit

finds both earth a n d heaven alike inviting its repose A connection .

of seven or eight years was sufi ci e n t to m a ke his hearers a n d him

self alike willi n g to dissolve their relations t h e received worship and
,

creed grad ually falling far behind Mr Emerson s continual shiftings

.
’
.

Free at last Mr E merson abandoned a profession which tramel

, ,
.

l ed in a den o m ination so liber a l t o the vtews of its teac hers ,

 2

an d turning alt ogether fro m t he pulp it retire d t o the vi llage of ,

Conc o rd where he gave himself up to the i nvestigation of theology

, ,

“
m o rals and philosophy Articles in the North American Review
,
.
"

on the great writers a n d artists of Europe and lectures d uring the ,

winter in B oston were in these y ears his principal c ommunications

, , ,

with the world of letters I n 1 8 3 6 however he c ame upon a larger

.
, ,

s tage b y the publication of an E ssay on Nature i n which the Pan ,

theistic doctri nes were urge d to their extreme results and a religion ,

o f Nature was sought to be substituted for revelatio n I ts novelty .

a n d auda c ity no less than a c ertain air of greatness in t h e style a n d

,

an ora c ular c ertai nty assumed in its statements attra c ted attention ,
.

He ha d now taken groun d openly as the Apostle of a n apparently

new faith an d as such se c ured the position an d prestige whi c h a r e
,

al ways con c eded to those who thus force on us their o wn individu

ality It is in the nature of men to follow rather than to lea d a n d
.
,

t o pay deference an d in a measure yiel d to whatever assert s itself

, , , ,

with sufli cie n t force and persisten cy

Sin c e his su cc essful deb ut i n his native c ountry Mr E merson has ,
.

had the benefit of an introd uction to the B ritish public in c onne c tion
with t w o c ourses of lectures —the latter of which o n E nglish Traits , ,

is the latest of his publi c at ions of a n y note so far as I am aware , .

His published work s comprise si x volumes—one o u Representat ive

'

— — —
Men w o of E ssay s one of Miscellanies one of Poems and his
t ,

boo k on E ngland I n the merely artisti c aspect of his writings

.
,

Mr E mers o n h a s var ious excellen c ies and no less various de fe c ts

.
,
.

His langua e is pure and idiomatic and his expressi o n has often a
g
,

v igour and a happy turn which are strikin

g and f orcible A side from .

his peculiar opinions he criti c ises at o n c e with a breadth of view

and penetration of the spirit of his s ubj e c t But he mars his best .

pages with an e ffor t at epigram matic point which often fails ; he

cloaks in oracular words very ordinary fa c ts and deals in undefined ,

hints and vag ue obscurities through whi c h no meaning looms t o even

,
.

the most attentive His reputation I apprehen d rests as mu c h on

.
, ,

these defe c ts as o n his merits for the stan d ar d of criti c ism whi c h
,

S i r T hom as More t e lls us p revaile d in U t opia i s n ot les s in vogue ,

 3

elsewhere to thin k an author original and profound i n proportion a s

, ,

he is incomprehensible .

Mr E merson is eminently a religious a uthor that is religious

.
, ,

as he reads religion It is this characteristic which leads me to

.

address you to n ight for as his ze a l is in my Opinion altogether mis

, , ,

directed an d is c a lculated i n proportion to its success to do lasting

,

inj ury a review of his doctrines separated from the decking of words
, ,

in which they are set forth and an e x amination of their tenden c ies , ,

is desirable There is a fashion in the scepticisms of each genera

.

tion as i n its literature and dress and t hat which Mr Emerson ,

.

represents is at present i n vogue He has transplanted to this conti .

nent a religion of sentiment and man worship whi ch was dyi n g out in
,
-

its native soil and seeks with the aid of some fellow workers to get it
, ,
-
,

ac c limated amongst us and in a measure has suc c eeded for a time

, , , ,
.

The Pantheisti c tendencies of the present day have beco m e a topic

for the platform and pulpit From their head quarters in Boston .
-
,

its Apostles in c luding Mr E merson seek to pervade our literature

,
.
,

with its spirit ; and by introdu c ing it mildly in their p ublic a p

e ar a n ce s as le c turers or preachers where they thus address the
p ,

public to float off its influences through the public mind Di ffering
,
.

in the le n gth to whi c h they push their views these philosophi c pro ,

pg a a n d i st s are united in the desire to overthrow Revelation O ld .

Cato had for his burden C arthage must be destroyed and theirs is , ,
"

“ "
that Christianity must perish Theodore Parker Mr Emerso n a n d .
,
.
, ,
“
I am sorry to say the A tlantic Monthly as it seems are t he leaders
, ,
"
,

in this new Crusade An Am erican Clergym an j ust re turned from

.

I ndia e x pressed himself lately at a publ i c m eeting as shocked to find

,

the progress of Pantheis m in A m erica during his fourteen years a b ’

sen c e How far the c ontagi o n has affected Canada I cann o t say b ut I
.
,

feel bound to d o m y part in tearing off the mask o f attr a c tiveness from
the d eadly lie and in piercing it with t he I t hur ie l s Spear of Truth
,
’

that it m a y lose its fair d issimulations and start into all the horrors ,

of its n aked outline .

Most of y ou have perhaps heard or have otherwise l e arned that

, , , ,

Mr E merson is a repre sentative i n A merica of the Transcendental

.

"hil os oph y whi c h t ook it s ri s e , in later time s fr o m Immanue l Kant , ,

 4

and has since been d evelop ed to l engths of which he d id n o t d ream

, , , ,

by Fichte , Schelling and Hegel The name Transc e ndentalism

,
.
, ,

has in it the central idea of Kant s syst em In the termi nol ogy of ’
.

that philosopher it means that whi c h transcends or rises beyond ex

,

e n m e n t a l knowledge and 1 s d e t e r m 1n e d a r i on wit h ut arg m ent

p p , o u , ,

or proof 111 regard to the principles and subj ects of human knowledge
, .

His fundame n tal doctrine is that all o ur knowledge is from Within ,

out ; n ot from without i n to o ur minds " and that we kno w nothing

,

certainly except our own consciousnes s—that is that w e a re We

, , .

have i d e a s respe c ting the a ppe arances around us b ut our knowledge ,

of them is simply a knowledge of t he forms w i th which the mind itself

c lothes them O f the reality of the apparent Obje c ts the mselves we
.

c an know nothing We act according to the necessity of our consti

.

t ut i o n drawing certain conclusions and these only from t h e d ata

, , ,

nature affords But that these concl u

. sions that is that th e t esti , ,

mony of our senses agree with external truth cannot be proved If

, , .

the laws Of our mental action were changed we wo u ld ac c ording to , ,

Kant see everythi n g chan ged around us Man i s the Self complete
,
.
-

self dependent Unit amidst a universe of shado ws

-
,
.

T his principl e laid down Kant found himself open to impu t a tions
,

of atheism whi c h he repudiated It was urged that if we can k no w

,
.
, ,

nothing certainly outside O u rselves the r e r emain n omeans of proving ,

the e x istence of G od or any of the great do c trines of m a n s rela t idn to

'

Him It will be remembered that r evel ation has n o place in the

.

sources from which Kant would deri ve our knowledge for that of , ,

course must be from w i thout

,
Shrinking from the d es olatio
. n of
a universe in whi c h man alone existe d amidst illu s1on s and shadows , ,

with nothing possible to be pr o ved except his own exi sten c e he ,

s ought to s ave hi msel f by demanding th at the existenc e of God the ,

immortality of the soul and the freedom Of the will be a dmitted as

, ,

first truths as the existence Of man himself had been alre ady They
,
.

were t o be taken for granted as points whi ch must be concede d as a

necessary basis of a system o f morals But they coul d n O t by an y .

possibility be proved .

T he ac tive faculti e s of the min d b e clas s e d under two great d ivi

 5

si ons " the Un d erst an d i ng whi c h fin ds its fit ministry in in d uctive ,

stu dy as of the physi c al S c ien c es

,
as a far higher agen c y ,

"ure Reason that is in common words I magination or a p n o m

" ’ ’
-
, , ,

speculatio n which is to guide us intuitively into the knowledge of

,

“
absol ute tru t h Understanding Watch es and notes the pheno m ena
.
"

around us ; Pure Reas on c ombines its j udgments and draws general ,

conc lusions O ur conceptio ns are derived immediately from e xpe

“
.
"

r l e n ce a n d may be traced ba ck to some experimental reality

,
and ,

hen ce may be fit ly used 1n the elaboration of scientific knowledge .

Bu t the fan h i gher o ffice of the Reaso n 1 s to generali z e its concl usions

and creat e ideas which are the appointed means of regulating the "

Understandin g whi c h can never by itself c o n duct us to essentia l

, , ,

tru th Thus the

. Und erstandi ng is left to the dru d gery "

of life While thi s faculty c alled Reason reigns imperially over all i t s
,

higher in t erests It is not likely that this theory will be perfe c tly
.

clear t o you for Fi c hte himself the succ essor of Kant in the high
, ,

o m
“

G r a n S c e n d e n t a li sm
p riesth od of er an T declares that he holds the ,

writings of that philo s o ph e r to be altogether unintelligible to any

one wh o does n o t kn o w beforehand what they contain An accurate .

d e fin i t i O n of what i s meant by Pure Reaso n

"
it appears impossibl e
‘

t o O btain Mr C arlyle who cle aves to Kant with his whole soul in
. .
,

this particular tries his best to explain it i n his Mis c ellanies but all
, ,

even he c an d o is to vilify th e u nders t anding and e x alt this airy a t t r i

bute in vague and general terms The provin c e of the Understand .

ing he says i s of t h e earth earthy ; it has to do only wi th re a l

" “

prac t i cal a n d material knowledge—mathematic s physi c s political

, , , ,

, , ,

e c onomy an d such like but must n ot step beyond O n the other h and
, ,
.
,

it is the province of Reason to dis c er n virtue true poetry or that , ,

God exist s I ts domain lies in that higher regi o n whither logic and
.
,

argum ent cannot reach in that holier region where poetry virtue , , ,

and d i vinity abide ; in whose presence Understan ding wavers and

r ecoils daz zl e d int o utter d arkness by that sea Of li ght at once the
, ,

fou ntain an d the termination of all true k no wledge These are Mr . .

C arlyl e s Wo rds ( M i s I 1 0 2
’
a n d they st ate the cr eed O f h i s
. .
,

s c h o ol , o n t he fun d amen tal point o f t he tissu e o f our b el i e f b e yo nd a

‘

,
 6

cavil . Reason whatever i t be is alone to i nvestigate an d decide

, ,

o n all religious q uestions Man unaide d is to c limb the heave ns and

.
, ,

pierce their secrets and in so doing he is to discard all help from ,

logi c or argument from the testimon y of his senses and the accu
,
"

m ula t i o n of proof The in d u c tive principle whi c h alone has wrested

.

se c ular knowledge from the dreams of fa n cy and made progress possi ,

ble i s to be shunned in all q uestions of morals or religion "roofs from

,
.

any source are to be dis c arded Vague thoughts uncertain feelings .

, ,

i ntuitions an d impressi o ns are to decide without q uestion or appeal in

mor a ls and faith Su c h is Kant s system i n its practical bearings I ts
.
’
.

deadly opposition t o Revelation is on its forehead Man is hen c e .

forth acc o rding to this doctrine to make his own Religion by reve
, ,

l a t ion s of his own reas o n ; he is to hold out his flaring c andle into
the dark and deem it illumination Mr Emerson follows in the . .

footsteps of this theory with a z eal which his words can exp ress ,
“
appare n tly only feebly He speak s of the wintry light of the under
,
.

“ C H
1 t s o fli ci ous activity is to
'

sta ndi n g the despotism o f the senses "

,
" (

“
be renounced and free a n d ample leave to be given to the spon t a
"

“
n e ous sentiment ( what does this mean if we would be great the
low views and utili t arian hardness of men are owing to their work ing
on the world with the understanding only We are to d iscard it .
"

henceforth if we would know the truth T he source of our know .

ledge of truth is thus metaphorically stated The do o rs of the t emple

“

stand Open day a n d night before every man and the oracles of the , ,

truth cease never ; yet it is guarded by one condition ; this n amely ; ,

it is an intuition T hat is we learn it on the 1n st a n t without

.
,

exam in ati o n or reflection ; we have an intuitive perception of its

being truth withou t the intervention of testimony or argument All .

the truths which it tak es a whole Bible to tell are thu s to flash from
the reason at a stro k e and light up the secrets of the Universe "
,

This intuiti o n is very commonly spo k en of b y M r E merson un d er

"
‘
.

the more familiar name of genius an epithet varied elsewhere by

“ “
the statement that the essence of all religion is the sentiment of "

"
virtue but this too is an intuition
, ,
a looking in t o it directly
,
-
,

with o ut a medium an d as by a la w of our being Kant tell s u s that the

,
.
 7

sp o ntaneo us in t ui t i o ns of positi ve reas o n are the sta n d a r d i n t he soul

b y whi c h we are to j udge the c laims of any obj e c t of adoration or
article of belief and I might put the words i n Mr Emerson s mouth
,
"
.
’

so e x actly do they state his co n stantly repeated sentiment But is it

true that reason is thus fit to create for man a Religion—that he can
.

make one for himself and will be under no obligation to his Maker for
any help in the matter I f so why is the doctrine so powerless on the
,

mass of man kind ? Why did we never see an example of its truth in
any nation Whence the sunken immorality of G ree c e with a ll its
philosophers ? I s there in t h e general consciousness a corroboration
of this doctrine ? Does not the history of the temples o fferings , ,

prayer s priesthoods literature public and private life of all ages

, , ,

give it the lie ? Everywhere from all the generations of our race
, ,

a n ee d o f help from above has been felt ; a n d c an the vain self suffi -

c i e n cy o f a few metaphysicians be set up to neutrali z e the sorrowing

'

confession of a world A re we prepared to abdicate our honours as

thin king beings thus ? Is the Baconian method to remain the glory
of the world and the only received basis of knowledge in all other
, ,

domains of the intellect but to be barred out if it a t tempt to lift a

,

foot step into the territory of morals ? A re we to return to the sand

'

wastes and mirage of a speculative theology as Coleridge aptly calls ,

"

them and instead of gathering an d collating the facts which G od

,

has strewn over the face of nat ure an d of human experience and of, ,

Revelation instead of usi n g these to deduce sure generalizations and

,

th us sound our w a y with patient toil towa rd the indisputable are ,

we to be flung back into misty hy potheses and a p r i o r i dreams ? ,

A re we to discard contemptuously without a hearing a Record pur , ,

porting to be a Revelation of the laws of our moral constitutio n a ,

record endorsed by the grate ful faith of the wise and good t hrough
untold ge n erations ; are we contem ptuously to rej ect it with out
e x amination without argument despising its proferred evidences
, , ,

and scouting the condescension of any criticism of its claims decidi n g ,

against it by t he easy process of an intuition vaulting o ver the ,

encircling hills into Paradise as Satan of ol d into E den by the won

, ,

drous s pring b o ar d of thi s men t al magi c ?

-
 8

J o hn Dryd en in his Religi o L ai c i put s the c lai m s o f r e aso n

, ,
in
a l igh t as beau t iful as it is stri king
Di m as b o rro w e d b e a m s o f m o o n a n d
the st a rs
T o l o n e l y w e a ry w a n d e r i n g tra v e ll e r s
, , ’ ,

I s r e a s o n t o t h e s o ul a n d a s o n h i g h , ,

T h o se r o lli n g fir e s d i s c o v e r b ut t h e sky ,

" o t li g h t us h e r e s o r e a so n s g l i m m e r i g
'
n ray ,

Wa s l e n t n o t t o a ssure o n e d o ub t ful w a y
, ,

But g ui d e us upw a r d s t o a b e t te r d a y .
"

Apar t fr o m the artless co nfe s sio n of the heart and t he lesso n s o f

experien c e the result s of the worship o f reas o n in Kant s own c ountry
,
’

are enou g h t o k eep us from t rusting t o o ur o wn S pe c ulations an d

s entimental fan c ies in morals an d religi o n T he o ld fable of Phaet o n .

attempting t o drive the c hariot of the sun has been r e a c ted an d ,

-
,
.

presumption has set the sphere of truth an d spiritual law a — blaz e a s

his erewhile did the material heavens We shall see before we c lose
, ,
.

what a dan c ing will of the wisp reason is in Mr E merson s own

- - -
.
’

cas e a n d how foolishly it has bemired himself

,
.

A s he h as a cc epted Kant s theory of Pure Reason so our author ’

h as no less fervently ad o pte d his tea c hings on t h e fundamental laws

“ “
of kn o wle d ge A noble doubt he tells us
. perpetually suggests ,

i tself ,
whether nature outwardly exists I t i s a snfii ci e n t a o .
‘

co un t f
o th a t a
pp e a r a n ce w e ca l l t he w or ld , t h a t G od w i ll t e a ch a

hum a n m in d , makes it the receiver o f a ce r t a l n n umber of

and SO

r ue n t se n sa t i o n s which we c all s un an d mo o n man and women

co
ng , ,

house an d trade I n my utter impoten c e to test t h e authenti c ity of

.

the report of my senses to k no w whether the 1m pr e ssion s they make

,

on me c orrespond with out lying obj ects what di fferen c e does it mak e-
,

whether O rion is up there in heaven o r some god paints the im a ge ,

in the fir m a m e n t of the soul ? “

Nature with him is a phe n om e "
,
"
,
"
non not a substance
,
the Universe is the great apparition shining
-

so peacefully on us Withou t troubling you with metaphysics I

.
"
,

leave common sense t o supply the c o rrective t o these e c h oe s of G er

mony I f you wish t o see them d emolished scientifically y o u m ay
.
,

turn t o Reid or Stewar t , or Hamilton

,
.

I leave yo u t o j u dge t he m ea s ure o f rel i an c e t o be pl ac e d on t he ,

 9

guidance of on e to w h o m his fellow men and the varied scenery of ,

the earth and heavens are o n ly so m a n y se n sation s and so many

,

apparitions .

After Kant came Fichte a s the n e x t hierarch of G erman philosophy .

Checked by no such fear of co n sequences as Ka n t h e at o n ce dis ,

'

c arded the fu n dame n tal truths that philosopher had assumed as

necessary while co n fessing their incapability of proof Fichte r e
,
.

d uc e d our only cert a in k n owledge to that o f o ur own e x istence which ,

he ad m itted as a fi r st truth requiri n g n o argume n t but the right ,

to assume anything further was given up The formula of Des .

Cartes Cog i t o e r g o sum I think therefore I am was virtually , ,

’7

the motto of Fichte B ut the absolute solitude of man in the .

u n iverse thus implied left its countless phe n omena une xpl ained The
, ,
.

e m pty I n finite around must be filled with at least the appearance Of i n

t e llige n t agency a n d for this the illusions o f Pantheism O ffered the
, ,

n ecessary aid Cherished for immemori a l ages a lo n g the an cient

.

rivers of the east they had travelled to the we st before the d a ys o f

,

Plato a n d had been through the history o f early lphi losophy the
, , ,

favourite doctrines of the educated few whe n Polytheism held sway ,

with the mass a n d Revelation was co n fined to the hills of Judea

,
.

Their dreamy vagueness and the scope it gives for poetic sensibility
has always made them a ttractive while their airy abstraction h a s no ,

less un fit t e d them for securing the i n terest o f man ki n d at l a rg e I n .

moder n ti m es they owe their reviv a l i n Western Europe m a inly t o

the dislike o f Spi n oz a t o Revelatio n a n d throug h h i m they have ,

gained their latest introdu ctio n a s the b a sis o f a philosophical reli

gio n Seei n g their fit n ess fo r his wa n t Fichte embraced the m with
.
,

ardour and inaugurated the era which Mr Emerson labours to m ake

,
.

permanent A s a middle positio n between the acceptan ce o f a perso n a l

.

God a n d the black vacuity of \ t h e i sm h e adopted the P a ntheistic .

doctrine Of one absolute e xi ste n ce i n all thi n gs—i n the Me — that "

is in m a n and i n the " o t Me —that is the universe at l a rge o n e

,
“ "

undefined a n d un d e fin a b le spiritual esse n ce pervading all thi n gs .

Man and the universe were thus alike conceded a spiritu a l reality .

O ur common idea of m atter Fichte however woul d not at a ll admit , , ,

B
 10

A pervading soul the same in the world around and in man himself
, , ,

was the one lonely and mysterious truth As the highest m a n ife s .

t a t i o n o f this all inhabiting force m a n is of course in F i ch t e s

’
-
, , ,

vie w as i n Kan t s above the n eed o f any revelation I ndeed a r e

,
’

,
.
,

velation is impossible for man is himself the purest revelatio n ,

o f the Divine It is an affro n t t o our nature to speak of it Thus

. .

another step was taken in the progress of error A fter Fichte c ame .

Schelling w h o pushed the Pantheistic doctrines of his predecessors

,
"
still further By a n intuitive glance he discovered that the mind
.

and e x ternal n ature are not o n ly mere modifications Of the one Univer
sal E xistence but that man as the highest manifestation of the Divine , ,

learns in the processes of his ow n thought the secret of the nature of

, ,

thi s e x iste n ce—that in short the processes o f thought are identical

, ,

with those of creation so that were we to construct the universe in

,

thought by logical deductio n we would do virtually the same thing

, ,

as Deity does in developing himself into the forms and regions of

creation Thus M a n becomes by this theory really G od The
.
, ,
.

baseless hypothesis from which such results are drawn is a striking

, ,

sample of what i n tui t i o n acco mplishes as the standard o f the truth ,

.

The in t ellectual i n tuition o f Schelling—wh ich is o n ly a fuller deve

"

lopm e n t of what others call simply intuition —

“
w a s supposed t o Open to
"

“
us the whole secrets of nature a n d t o e n able us without reasoni n g o r , ,
"

“
argument to lay bare the whole processes of its darkest mysteries
,
"
.

“
In ducti o n was thrown to the winds and the scien c e of all thi n gs ,
"

was created from the lawless dreams of hypothesis as Wordsworth s ,

’

grand city in the clouds shaped itself from the shifting vapours of
the air .

The mantle of Philosophy ne x t rested o n the shoulders of Hegel

whose expansions and corrections of former speculatio ns have seemed
to some of his followers so admirable that they have not scrupled to
apply to him the words o f the A postle When that which is perfect ,

is come that which is in part shall be done away

,
Determin e d to
, ,
.
’

a void the appear a nce of taking anything for granted as a first truth
,

he went back a step further than any of his most adventurous pre
d e ce ssor s " o t willing to yield even the solitary postulate of our
.
 11

ow n being he started from the g loomy premises that n either the e x

,

iste me s of the world nor o ur own can be certainly known T he , ,

.

mind itself and the Obj ects of our pe r ceptions are w ith Hegel , ,

alike beyond the reach of our proofs and o ur whole do m ai n of assu ,

rance lies in the relations between the mind seei n g a n d what is see n .

These alo n e according to him can be affirmed to be realities T o form

, ,
.

an idea there need to be two opposites T he conceptio n of a tree needs

,
.

bot h the min d and the tree before it can e x is t and from the mutual i n, ,

fl ue n ce of the t w o t h e idea of it springs ; a n d ideas thus derived are the

, ,

only realities in the u n iverse A s they could not e x ist but for their .

relations the relationship is the o n ly a b so lute r e a li ty to be fou n d the

, ,

o n e truth th a —
t is God This process of the evolution of Ideas is the
,
.

process of our Bei n g and likewise o f a ll Bei n g that is — i t is the Ab so

lut e J—
, ,

i t is God E very hu m a n thought is a thought o f the O n e great

.

Divine mind Being and thought are identical and thus God is a
.
,

process conti n ually goi n g on but never accomplished ; the Di vi n e ,

consciousness is absolutely o n e with the adva ncing co n scious n ess o f

man kind the conceptions of the human mind are alo n e in their con , ,

stant development—the Divine O ur thought, and God are identi c al .

,
.

Here then we have reached t he highest flight of Transcendentalism

, , ,

the sublimated perfection O f speculation and it gives as its pro ,

duct a Universe with nothing real but ideas and n o God through ,

all its dreary spaces but the pulsations Of human thought Thu s .

God is an nihilated silence lifts its leaden sceptre over all thi n gs
, ,

and man a pha n tas m himself is left to look o ut o n an empty infinity

, ,

amidst whos e shadows there stirs n o motion of i n telligence What a .

result for so much philosophy l O n e is remi n ded i n voluntarily of a

Scriptur e te x t Professing themselves to be wise they became ,

fools .
"
It is hard to put such abstract speculatio n s in simple words ,

and I know not whether I have been able to do it altogether c o rre c tly
.

or clearly for even Germans have their sects in interpreting these

,

systems De Q uincy affirms indeed that fully a thousand books

.
, ,

have been writte n to clear up what K a nt is supposed to have meant ,

and his followers are no less misty than their apostle With the de .

ve lope m e n t s of Hegelianism I shall not trouble y o u but you will ,

 12

see the connection of t h e modern Continental philosophy a s a whole , ,

with my subj ect in the fact th a t Mr E merson fills his urn with light
,
.

at their central fire a n d is r a ther a pale reflection o f them than a n

,

originator for himself We have hence in Mr E merson s writings

.
,
.
’

alo n g with Kant s Idealism a ll the varying dreams of the Panthe

'

i sm of his successors He believes in no intelligent e x istence

.

e x cept m a n but hesitating to adopt t he conc lusio n that the

, ,

Universe is a fortuitous concourse of atoms disbelievi n g i n deed th a t , , ,

it is more th a n the refle c tion o f o ur ow n thought from so many sha

dows a n d appeara n ces he adopts the ultra Pantheistic theory of the
,

unity and identity of all things as only varying manifestations o f the

Divine Disbelieving in a Personal God he embodies such of Hi s
.
,

attributes as please H i m in the spirit of man and in a lower degree , , ,

in the phenomena o f the heavens and the earth around us But the .

adequate utterance o f a creed like this in the d ialects of the too pr ao ,

tic a l west is a di ffi c ult task Mr Emerson therefore following the

,
. .
, ,

e x ample of his German instructors betakes himself to the su fficiently ,

distant and venerable Brahminism of I n dia for a becoming statement .

Jesus Christ is with h i m a far more lightly esteemed authority than

Krish na and the Bible nothi n g alongside the Vedas and the Puranas
,

of Hindooism He lets Vishnu

.
— the mem b er of the Hindoo triad ,

S peak for him thus T he whole world is but a manifestation of

,

Vishnu who is identical with all things an d is to be regarded by

, ,

the wise as not di ffering from but as the same as themselve s I ,

.

neither am going nor coming ; nor is my dwelli n g in any one place ;

n or art thou thou ; nor are others others ; nor am I I
,
As if S ays , ,
.
,

he He had said A ll is for the soul and the soul is Vishnu ; and
,
“
, ,

animals and stars are transient paintings an d light is w hi t e w a sh fl ,

<

H
and heaven itself a de c oy Elsewhere he gives his estimate of him
.
,

self thus
,
I a m nothing ; I see all ; the c u rrents of the Univers a l
'

Being circulate through me ; I am part a n d pa r ce l of G o d A per .

s onal God is thus utterly rej ected the world is God and God is the ,

world w ith m a n as his highest manifestation Shooting far ahead

,
.

’
of Kant s assumed first truths of the e x istence of God man s free
’
,

w ill and immortality he st o ps onl y with the annihilat ion of them all
,
.
 14

the flow of human thought as it streams e have God dail y on —w

growi n g under our eyes "
I t may well startle us to hear a man i n this day of the world thus
see k to annihilate God and put man in his place but it is a central ,

“
doctrine o f Mr E merson that that which shews God out of me
.
, ,

makes me a wart and a wen S o that outside man there is no .

’

“
God . S o much o f nature says he as m a n is ignorant of so ,
"
, ,

much of his own mind does he no t yet possess B ut nature is only a .

"

phantasm shining round the one Reality —t h e Absol ute —the Divine ,

which shews itself through it So that as nature is only o ur own .

,

mind and God is nat ure—there is no God apart from Human

,

T hought O f what value is the talk about not wearing the cast off
.

garments of other men s faith when Mr E merson presents him s elf

’

,
.

thus in the precise b ost um e of Hegel .

B ut to serve only on e master wou l d be more than could be hoped ,

when the reins are thrown o n the nec k of spe c ulation It is the .

bane of all who turn their backs on the Presence of the Lord which ,

shines through the system o f The T ruth to find n o re st thenc eforth ,

for ever German speculation has gradually brought a c onfusion into

.

all the departments of moral truth it has invaded only to be equalled ,

by that of Hindooism the tangled sk ein of whose my thology no one

,
‘

w o ul d essay to unr a vel Mr E merson is n o ex c eption t o this law

. . .

Germ any will not do without the addition of India " With a cr e du
li t y which as Mr Monc k ton Milnes said of Harriet Martineau will
,
.
,

believe anything prov ided it be not in the Bible he sits at the feet of ,

pundits when he openly despises prophets and lauds the oracles of ,

B en ares when he sco ffs at those of Mount "ion The d o c trine of

,
.

transmigration seems to find favour with him As the B rahmin b e .

li e ve s that he has e x isted in other forms o n earth before the present

life and unless specially pleasing to Brahma will have still further
, , ,
“
migrations hereafter so Mr Emerson speaks of the Deity sending
,
.

each soul into nature to perform o n e more turn through the c ir

,

cle of beings — language which a Hindoo would thin k very orth o

"

“ “
d ox and pious
"
T he soul says he
. having been often born , or
, ,

as the Hindoo s s ay , travelling the p ath o f existen c e thr o ugh th o u

‘
 15

sa n ds of births having beheld the things which are here those whi c h
,
’

are in heaven and those which are beneath ther e is nothing of which
, ,

she has not gained the knowledge ; n o wonder that she is able t o r e
collect in regard to an ything what she formerly knew
,
This is the,
.
"

quintessence o f the Brahmin doctrine of Transmigration " the repe

tition in this late century of the world of the misty guess borrowed
from I ndia of Socrates gropi n g after the Truth amidst the gross
, , ,

darkn ess of his day —

years a go his long vanished doctrin e of
Reminiscence So much for getting a new religion at the han ds
.

of Mr Emerson
. .

I n the doctrine of immortality Mr E merson has n o steadfast b e .

lief Here and there we find a faint protest b y his better nature
.

against the mo n strous tenets of his creed but the gener a l tenor of
his writings holds out nothing better to us after death if we be not ,

sent into the world a gain in some other body than absorption into ,

Nature that is A nnihilatio n

,
.

There is something very sad in the followi n g confession of darkness

“
an d ignorance in which after all his Divine B a n k as part of God
, ,
"

leaves h i m on the great q uestion of our future fate I cannot tell

if these wo n derful qualities which house to day in this mortal frame -
,

shall ever r e assemble i n e qual activity in a si m ilar frame o r whether

-
,

they have b e fo r e h a d a n atural history like that of this body you see
before y ou ; b ut this o n e thi n g I know th at these qua li t i e s did not ,

now begin to e xist cannot be sick with m y sickness n or buried in

, ,

any grave but that they circulate through the Universe —that is ,
"

are absorbed into the great ocean o f Bei n g T hus in o n e page he .

,

doubts the senti m ents of the other and confesses himself in ign or ,

an c e on the question which in its various relatio n s is alone worth , ,

asking by us here Comp a red with this h ow grand is the dream of

.
,

Socr a tes when he saw a beautiful and maj estic woman clad i n white ,

garments approachi n g h i m as he lay in prison and about to die an d

, ,

“
calli n g to him and sayi n g Socrates three days hence you will reach
, ,

fertile Phthia But especially compared to this how unspeakably , ,

grand the serene composure with w hich Christianity teaches us to

,

anti c ipate the tomb and how touching and j oyous to our innermost
,
 16

h ear t of hearts t he t riumph with which it invests t he last p ass age s

,

—
of life a triu m ph embodied in the chaunt of St Paul when the .

radiance of the Etern a l Hills as his voya ge w a s closi n g glittered , ,

—
from afar a n d he bre a ks out i n con t r olla b ly 0 Death where is thy , ,

Sting ? O Grave where is t hy Victory ? the sti n g of death is sin an d ,

the stre n gth of sin is the law ; but thanks be to God who giveth u s , ,

the Victory thro ugh our Lord Jesus Christ

,
’
Mr E merson s general opinio n whe n for a time he shakes off his
.
,

misgivings seems to be that we will hereafter be absorbed into t he

,

one soul o f all things as the B rahmin hopes to be absorbed in B rahma

,
.

I t is involved in his devotion to Hegel that he should thi n k so .

The individual he tells us is a scendi n g out of his limits i n to a

“
, ,

Catholic existence We are it would seem but as waves which rise

.
, ,

from the deep for a moment to si n k and lose themselves in it the next ,
.

Death is but the return of the individual to the infinite and man ,
"

is annihilated though the Deity will eter n ally live

,
.

Mr E merson has no such doctrine in his creed as that of the free

.

dom of the Human will that gre a t truth of our n ature whi c h involves
, ,

our accountability an d dign ifie s us with the characteristics of i n t e lli

gent beings Since in his Opinion to use his ow n words
.
,
— “
the ,

human race is God in distribution there c an be no Power from ,

"

without to influence us either for good or evil and as we act , ,

according to the necessity of our constitution and its laws are fi x ed , ,

and since we have n o personality but are only waves o f the Universal ,

Light we move on without power of control and without responsi

,
'

“ “
b ili t y
. Let man learn says he that he is here not to work
,
"
, , ,

“ "
but to be worked upon The Spiritualist he tells us cannot
.
"

, ,

bring himself to believe either in divine Providence or in the

immortality of the soul Thus does this ghastly Gospel e x t i n
.
"

guish hope ‘

For immortality we are to have annihilation for

.
,

moral freedom as necessary to responsibility we are to have only

, ,

the irresponsible working of unintelligent machines ; and for Provi

“ "
dence we are t o have Fa t e which grows over us like grass ,
that ,
-

is as the gr a ss grows over the unresisti n g and helpless dead I s this

,
.

the new Evangel A world without immortality and crushe d under ,

 17

t he wheel s of inex o rable d estiny 1 I t remin d s us of the ag o nie s of

t h e old Roman epitaphs w h en broken h earts a n d crush e d hopes ,

c ried o ut into the dark n ess of the old Pagan sky in sa d helpless b e ,

wailings at cruel death and relentless doom Mr E merson must . .

ex c use us for preferring the revelation of a G o d who is also a Father ,

a n d a hope which bathes the future in glory .

With free will Mr Emerson necess a rily and n o less pointedly

,
.
, , ,

discards everything like the do c trine of the di ffere n t qualities of

ac tions T o do right or to do wrong makes no difference in the
.
, ,

result I n deed there is no such thi n g a s wrong in his opinion

.
’

,
.

“ “ "
Ethics he tells us degrade nature as does also religion
, , ,
.

“ "
The less we have to do with our si n s s a ys he the better ,
"
,
.

E vil is good in the making The Divi n e e fl or t is never r e ,

la x e d ; the carrion in the sun will convert itself to grass and flowers
and man though in brothels or gaols or o n gibbets is o n h i s way
, , , ,

to all that i s good and true We are told that Nature th a t is .

" -
,

God the Divine E x istence for Nature i n so far as it strikes the

, ,
-
,

eye is only an Apparition to Mr E merson

,
“
is n o S a i n t She .
-m .

comes eating and drinking a n d sinni n g Her darli n gs t h e great .

, ,

the strong the beautiful are n ot childre n of our law d o not c ome out
, , ,

of the Sunday School nor weigh their food n or punctually keep the , ,
"
commandments “
The entertainment ofthe propositi on of depravity
.
"
,

“
he tells us is the last pr ofl ig a cy and profa n atio n
,
Now whe n we .
"

strip all this of its high sou n di n g verbiage to what does it amount ,

“ “
E thics that is a system of m oral pr i n ciples degrade n ature
, , ,
.

Henceforth therefore no virtue sh ould be t a ught n o duty insisted

, , ,

on , no reasons for either should be a ssig n ed Man is sel f luminous .

-
,

like the fi x ed stars and gives but receives no light O ur duties t o

,
.
,

man or our neighbour are to be left hereafter to t h e i n fluen c e of o ur

,

“
individual moral sentiment C an nibals and philosophers alike a r e .
, ,

to look w ithin for their articles of belief and codes of m orals The ,
.

prospects of a millenium m ust be br ight indeed if m ankind adopt

“
such a doctrine That evil is good i n the m aking I w ho lly de n y
.
,
"
.

“
Thomson was right in speaki n g o f G o d a s from s e e m i n g evil still
edu c ing goo d a n d bet t er still i n i nfi n ite pr ogre ssio n
,
But t o sa y ,
.
’

tha t evil an d g oo d should be d i fferent n a m e s for t he sa m e t hi n g

0
 18

that wro n g c an turn right by growth—is simply to u t ter an outr age

“
on all our moral sensibilities Is it a truth that m a n though in .
,

brothels or gaols or on gibbets is on hi s way to all that is good and

, , ,

true ? Then morality is of n o account licentious n ess is as good as

"

vi rtue ; theft and all other crimes that fill gaols as good a s their oppo
, ,

sites a n d it is as well for a m a n to close a life of infamy by a crime

,

which sends him to die by the halter as to fa ll before the great Re a per ,

li ke a shock of corn full y ripe after a career adorned by every public ,

and private excellence But however this m a y shock the instinctive

sentiments of the mass of humanity Mr E merson n ot only preaches , .

it in his own words but e n for c es it by a q uotatio n from his fa vourite

I n dian divinity Vishnu I am the same to all mankind
, , There .

is not one who is worthy of my love or hatred T hey who serve me .

with adoration I am i n them and they i n me I f one whose ways

,
.

are altogether evil serve me alone he i s as respectable a s the j ust

, ,

man ; he is altogether well employed he soon becometh of a virtu

ous spirit and obtaineth eternal happiness
,
Simple minded people .
"

may fin d it hard to c onceive h o w the service of any Divi n e B eing

“
can be c ompatible with ways which are wholly evil In all a ges .

an d countries it has been thought that virtue was ple a si n g to the

gods and vi c e the reverse but what kind of servi c e can possibly r e
, ,

main where there is no virtue but where a man s ways are thus w ho lly ,
’

vi le T he affec t ions c a n have no part i n it for they are sold to ,

wickedness ; the mere outw a rd form rema i ns E ither then crime i s .

, ,
'

as much t h e servi c e of Mr E merson s G o d as virtue or he d ign ifl e s

.
’

mere ge n ufle xion s and postures by that name If the former he .

,

outra es the universal sentiment of humanity " if the latter he dig

g
,

n i fie s the s t ufl e d skin o f worship with living honours a n d his lofty

'

speech is an eulogy on mummery Such a co n fusion of right and .

WI O D
‘

such a premium on crime and disco uragement of virtue if

O'
g , ,

Mr E m erson were followed would dissolve society

. Where would . .

we be if the restraints of the world wide doctrine th at virtue is itself -

blessed and leads t o blessedness and that vice is accursed and leads ,

to ruin were abolished ? ,

That they are is the doctrine of ,
'

Mr Emerson ; th at they are the opposite poles o f moral bei n g

.
,

i s the t eac h ing of Christianity He has ma d e h i s c ho ic e I

'

.
,
 19

h ave mad e mine a n d am willing to abi d e by it here a n d here a fter ,

.

A s might be e x pected in one who pre a ch es the divini t y of man ,

and that there is no freedom of t h e h um a n will and n o immort a lity , ,

M r E merson is especially o ffended by the so called fa naticism of

.

those who rise to e n thusi a sm in the contemplation o f the truths o f

Christianity Like and unlike are howe ver often li n ked by subtle
.
, ,

ties He lays down rules for the elevatio n of the religious affections
.

which, I fear are fa r less sober than the frames h e so much dislikes
,
.

Hi s God is himself see n in the multiform sh a pes of nature from , ,

which by the way it is only o n e step to get to the fetish a n d the

, ,

idol O f course worship is required but what it is it would be hard

.
,

to gather from Mr E merson s books We are to let our hearts throb ,

’
.

—
with the throbbi n g heart of nature w e are to commu n e with the
spirit of the st ars a n d woods and fields but what th at means we are
, , ,

n o t precisely i n formed O n e p a ssage alone seems cle a r eno ugh to .

q uote T o lead a heavenly life o n e is t o listen with i n sati a ble

.
,

ears t o the voice which spe a ks to us from behind till he rises t o a n ,

‘
ecstatical state a n d becomes careless of his food a n d of h i s house
,
’

a n d is the fool of ideas O r he is to go an d be dumb and sit "

.
,

with his hands o n his m outh a lo n g austere Pyth a gorean lustrum , .

"

Christian ity tells us to do Christ s will if we would know his doc ’

trine but Mr E merson substitutes the dreami n g of the mystic for

,

this he a lthful medicine of a ction T o get so ecstatic it is not s a id .

with wh a t a s to become c a reless of our food and of o ur house that

, , ,

is of our duties a n d t o be the fool of ide a s and to sit dumb w ith

, , , ,

our hands on o ur mouths is surely little better th a n a rendering into ,

E n glish of the rule o f the B ha g a va d Gita—the favourite book of the

H i n d oos w hi ch Mr Emerson loftily eulog ises —
'

,
that the devotee .

who can sit for days looki n g at the point of his nose and thinking
of nothing has arrived at the pinnacle of religious perfection
,
"
.

When there is nothing definite in a creed but only vague g ene ,

r a li t i e s impalpable met a physics a n d or a cul a r bursts

,
emergi n g from , ,

darkness and sinki n g into it again before the close of a par a graph ,

it is like tryi n g to catch the flicker o n the wall to follow and grasp ,

its parts O ssian fighting in a cloud with ghosts had not a task
.
,

more hopeless T hat there is no system in Pantheism tha t there

.
,
 20

is n o relati o n of p arts no co nsistency that it is n ot foun d e d on fac ts,

, ,

th a t it is n ot s c ienc e bas e d on ind uc tion from fa c ts and that it c ann o t ,

b e pr o ved t o be a revelation is a su ffic ien t re futation o f its c laims,

.

I ts tenden c ies p ersonal and relative add their weight t o its c on

, ,

d e m n a t i on .

I t m i g ht be expe c ted that Mr E merson wholly rej e c ts a nyth i n g .

li k e the positive morals of the B ible He de c laims n o t onl y ag ainst .

C hristianity an d the B ible but C hurches and S abbath schools an d ,

-
,

benev o len t asso c iations are only food for a s neer Prayer is to him .
, ,

“
supre m ely ridiculous T he dull pray says he Geniuses th a t
"
.
, ,
"

is those espe c ially filled with the Divine Spirit

,
are light mo ck ers ,
.
"

Anything like an in c ulcation of the virtues whi ch the B ible im p oses

as the s t andar d of C hristian manhood is not to be foun d in his
’

writings Like the B rahmi n who holds that the devotee who n e g
.

le c ts all temples c reeds holy places oblations and o fferi n gs t o the

, , ,

Go ds and j ust lifts a thought to Brahma or meditates on 0 m is h o lier

, ’
, ,

than the labori ous pilgrim who t oils fr om afar to pay the duties o f
his faith Mr E merso n tells us that he leads a heavenly life who
,
.

falls into reveries i n the c ontemplation o f the lands c ape while n o ,

such estimate is accorde d where poeti c sensibility is defi c ient though ,

every day may be adorned by unostentatious acts o f prac tical

godliness .

Fro m the theory that all things are one and the same mere ,

phenomena o f the one thinking principle Mr E merson dedu c es t e ,

.

sult s in natural s c ience whi c h are startling enough and merit q uo ,

t a t i on as a means ofj udging h o w far one who is so grievously wrong

i n minor details is trustworthy in the higher regi o ns of truth We .

are gravel y informed that the reason wh y natural philosophers

k now about the substances o n whi c h they bestow their s t udy is that
they are i d e n t i ca l w i th t he m A nimated chlorine kn ows of .

chlorine and animated z inc knows of z i n c Their quality mak es

,
.

h i s career and he can variously publish their virtues b e c a use t he y

, ,

A man who can put i n print su c h j argon as this

’
co m o se hi m
p .

’
must surely ill us t rate Addison s theory that only a thin membrane
, ,

i n the brain sometimes well n igh invisible d e c i d es whether one be a

, ,

fo ol o r a phil osop her .

 22

an dfaintly as when one strains to distinguish an obj e c t in t he brown

,

twilight B ut assertion is potent and made thus recklessly and

.
, ,

authoritatively might pass unchallenged by most Is it consistent

,
.

with the philos0 phi c character to try to underrate a religion he dis

likes by affecting to believe that its revelations were anti c ipated
, ,

when to re a d the authority he quotes is to see the disproof of the ,

insinuation
O n e o f the most uniform characteristics of m inds of a high class ,

is their depth o f reverential feeling and a certai n sole m nity of thought

i n the presence of great T ruths T here is a subdued sadness run .

ning like slo w distant music through real genius Shakspere tells us .

that
All o ur "oy s m o st p ur e a n d h o l y ,

S p or t i n t h e s h a dow c a ug ht fr o m M e l a n c h o ly

Mr C arlyle though a P antheist like Mr E merson has that great

.
, ,
.
,

heartedness and the true poet s eye that sees into the depths of thi n gs ’

but his American copyist does n o t move a muscle where he ,

fetches a sigh I n the P antheis t ic confession of faith published by

.
,

John S t erli n g as that of Mr C arlyle an d a ccepted b y him there is

,
.
, ,

a deep and earnest sad n ess such as a loving soul could not fail to ,

“
shew in looki n g at a world where Evil Grief Horror S hame
, , , , ,

Follies E rrors and Frailties of all kinds press o n the eye and heart
, , , , ,
"

especially when no faith i n Pro vide n ce or Redemption o r I m , ,

m or t a lity r e l iev e s the shade B ut Mr E m erson d w ells so wholly

,
. .

on t h e sup e rficial as never to pierce to the real sad grandeur beneath .

As shallo w streams run di m pling all the way he wears an unbroken ,

"

simper sees nothing but the holiday dress of the world a n d has a
, ,

Heave n n o higher than that of the Greeks who thought that O lym ,

pus al m ost to uched it E ven the id e a of G od so glorious and awful

.
,

to any reverential mind is n ot lofty enough with h i m to keep hi m

from gross fa m iliarity H e speaks of G od s grand politeness —as
,
’ "
.

if his G od were altoge t her o n a level with hi m self Contr a st this .

with Jonathan E d w ards w ith his a l m ost angeli c intellect risin g in

, , ,

S pite of his u n imagi native c a st into the sweetest poetry when he

‘
, ,

tells us i n his Book on the Afl e c t i o n s how he used to be so fill ed

, ,

with the sense of the D ivine M aj esty and G lory that he woul d sit an d ,
 23

i g them i n a low voice to himself i n the fields O r tak e Milton s

s n .
’

Hymn put i n to the mouth of our great parent A dam — which Burke s ,
’

—
son died in rep e ating or take a n y of all the uttera n ces o f loft y souls
when gazing on the M aj esty of the A l m ighty a n d the c ontrast is ,

c omplete Mr E m erson s creed que n ches his imagination and

. .
’

poisons his heart With nothing nobler tha n man and nothi n g
.

grander t han our checkered a n d mo m entary life he i s chained t o ,

the E ar t h and has only a ghastly smile where Faith glows like a
,

seraph The s a me bad taste a n d inability to conceive a n y grand

.

Ideal m arks his writings throughout

,
Jesus is a i n his .

“
vocabul a ry and we cloy of Him a s of all such ; if we get t o o much
,

of Him He b e co m e s a b o r e a t l a st
,
E ven the goodness and purity
, .
"

the infinite love and gentleness which w o n the eulogy of Rousseau , ,

w a ke n o mo m entary e n thusiasm i n slow speaking sto n y Mr Emer

'

, .

son Liste n to t h e respectful mentio n he makes o f what is most s a cred

.

to most of E nglish speaking m e n The U n iverse he tells us .

,
"

“
has three ch ildren , which r e — appear under di fferent names i n every
system o f hu m an thought whether they be called Cause O peration , ,

and E ffect ; or more poetically Jove N e pt hn e Pl uto ; or theologi , , , ,

"
cally the Father the Spirit and the Son
,
Another sprig of de a dly
,
.

n ight shade from his rhetorical bouquets is as follows

-
Meantime
—
there are not wan ti n g gleams of a better light o c casio n al exa m pl e s ,

o f the actio n of man upo n nature with his entire force with reason as ,

well as understan di n g S uch e x amples are the traditio n s o f miracles in

.

the earliest a ntiquity o f a ll n ations the history of Jesus Christ the ,

achieveme n ts of a pri n ciple as in political a n d religious revolutions

, ,

and i n the abolition o f the Slave Trade ; the miracles of Sweden

borg Hohenlohe an d the Shakers ; many obscure a n d yet co n tested
, ,

facts n ow arran ged u n der the n a me of A ni m al M a gnetism ; prayer

, ,

elo que n ce self healing and the wisdom o f Children ? How admirable
,
-
,
"

the c andour ho w delicate the propriety h ow modest h ow humble ,

, , ,

to cl a ss together Jesus Christ Prince Hohenlohe A nne Lee an d , , ,

the Spirit Rappers " T he perversion of intellect n ot to speak of ,

heart which could venture on such a farr a go is only e q ualled by the

, ,

unmean ing rant it is meant to sustain .

Having heard from the pen of its own Ap o st le the s e s t a tements of

 24

i ts doc t ri n e s wh a t sh al l we s ay of Pan t hei s m a s a sch em e of religi o us

,

philosophy Can we acc ept it as true when trie d at the bar of ,

philosophy its elf ? Most assure d ly we c annot The same pro c esse s .

o f thought by whi c h M r E m ers o n reaches the belief t hat He him

.

s elf exists c arry us on to what he rej e c ts the idea of a great First

, ,

Cause Pantheism is the first step in an argument with the rest

.
,

a— wanting an d stan d s useless as a bro k en ar c h Does it satisfy the

d emands of the ima ination in things ofreligion—
.
,

g those demands w h i c h
a r e pi c tures refle c te d fr o m the heart on the brain ? A ssuredl y n o t .

“
I t is a s t ream without a spring a tree without a root a shadow , ,

proj ected by n o substance a sound witho u t a v o ice a drama withou t

, ,

an author a pervadi n g thought without a thin k ing mind a Universe

, ,

"
without a G o d Do its d oc trines meet any better fate when trie d
.

“
by the standard to whi c h they a ppeal the moral sentiment of the ,

race ? The testi m ony in each of us t o the prevalen c e of law the ,

obligation of right the co nsequen c es of wr o n g the perpetual govern

, ,

ment of an invisible G od the need o f re d emption and the i n e xpr e s

, ,

sible grandeur and fitness of the r e ve a le d future frown down the ,

'

monstrous un t r ut hfuln e ss of the theology and morals Mr E merson ,

seeks to advance .

A s Mr E merson s views have been given in his own language if

.
’

they have failed to be unders t ood the fau lt must be with himsel f ,
.

Such as they are they are strewn over his writings where they lie
, ,

imbedded in a fair breadth of reading though une qual and frag ,

‘

,
—
mentary a fertility of expression often energetic an d s t ri k ing ,

ple as ing turns of fancy and a c old but fre quen t ad miration of the
,

beautiful i n nature and at the same time with platitudes often o ffered
, , ,

—
for wisdom the cuttle fish policy of ej ecti n g dark ness where th ere
i s d ifficult y hug e self compla c ency everywhere rad i ant—swelling
n -

sente n c es that need only t o be pri ck ed t o collapse—and a great d is

pl a y of what is sought to be passed off as phi losoph y but is simpl y s o
mu c h fustian Continu a lly speaking of what he calls mysteries it is
.
,

not to be supposed that he can himself very c learly c omprehen d or

s e t them in words His p a ges always remind me of a blotted wa t er
.

co lour sketch—a bit of the lands c ape here an d a fra ction of a ,

figure elsewhere b ut o nl y a parti co l o ure d blu r for t h e rest

,
-
.
 25

Is it desirable o r n o t that this philosophy be accepted as better

th a n Christian ity or should we still cleave to the old ? A t the risk
,

o f repetitio n let us recapitulate briefly the ch a r a cteristics of both

,
.

If then we tur n t o the scope of their teachi n g they di ffer at o n ce

, , ,
.

Mr Emerso n and his school d o n o t preach to the mass but rather

.
,

affect t o despise their rude n ess and their blunt ignoran ce which r e
quires proof as a co n d ition of belief Culture with him is t o bri n g .
, ,

about the reign of the good and true It is t o quicken the sensibili .

ties a n d fit for that i n tuitive insight which perceives the highest

,

truths by a glance and by those who do n ot possess it he does n o t

, ,

h O pe t o be unde rstood Christianity a ddresses itself t o m a n a s

.

a whole and claims his a cceptan ce by the stre n gth of its proofs
,
.

Philosophy never raised either a n ation or a tribe " Chr i sti a nity
has clothed the naked savage given his lan guage form a n d system , ,

e x chan ged his war club for a spade set his child to school a n d led
-

, ,

himself from ferocity and degradation to a life of gentleness ho n our ,

a n d love Mr E merson s G o d is a vast dreamy abstr a ctio n un

’
. .
,

known incapable of d e fin i t i on —a mere apotheosis of collective m a n

-“
,

fo r he tells u s that
“
Man is G od i n distribution — with n o bo n d o f "

sy m pathy with His creatures so a s to direct their will or form th eir ,

character or attract their love Chri stian ity discloses a F a ther in

,
.

the Heavens the Great A rchetype of a ll Fatherhood —with open

,

han d and be n ig n an t eye a n d loving voice a n d a care which is over

, , ,

all o ur w a y s Mr E m erson never th i n ks of directi n g us to his c on

l
. .

for comfort o r hope o r c on fid e n ce i n trial " C

-

c e pt i on o f G o d ,
hris
, ,

t i a n i t y te lls us that Jehovah is the shadow of a g reat rock i n a weary

la n d the Father of mercies and the God of all consolation An d i n

, .
,

deed i n the craving of the soul in all cou n tries after a Personal G o d
,

—a craving soi n tense that even in I n dia the native home of Pan ,

theism Raj ah Rammohun R oy declared that Polytheism which gives

, ,

every man a Perso n al G od of his o w n was a d eep a n d sincere belief ,

a nd in the perfect counterpart to every want of the spirit presented in

t h e Revelation of Jehovah lie a su fficient refutation of Pantheism , ,

and vindication of the Scriptures Voltaire s sayi n g is ri g ht— S i .

’
“

D i e i l n e aci s t a i l p a s i l f a zt cl r a i l
’

, Pan theism tells us th a t

in sounding the depths of on e man s thoughts , we sound t h e dep th s ’
 26

of the Universe—that if we k now ourselves we know all the secrets ,

o f Being but o ur instincti ve s ense recoils from the assertion

,
Chris .

t i a n i t y on the other hand chords with our innate conviction in ask

, ,

ing instead who c an by searching find out God ; who can find out
, , , ,

the A lmighty to perfectio n Mr E m erson s theory is opposed .

’

throughout t o the moral sentime n t o f the r a ce T he o n e ceaseless .

hum of his theology is that man is all to himself Law Lord , , , ,

S a viour God the U n iverse a n d thus a t a sweep he destroys all the

, , , ,

rela t ions we would bear to a Personal G o d He preac hes Fate —Chris .

t i a n i t y whispers Providence He abolishes a ll moral government .

,

confounds the qualities of actions obliterates the phraseology o f right ,

—
and wrong obedience and sin from the vocabulary dismisses all r e
, ,

sponsibility from hum a n acts since they ar e i n evitable from the laws ,

o f our constitution and since man havi n g n o separate personality can

, , ,

be under no sanctions of i n dividual obligation The best and the worst .

in his eyes are o n e and the same T he deceived and the deceiver are .

alike divine We recoil from such a shocki n g thought Christianity

. .
,

o n the other hand speak s the co n victio n o f the heart ,

in its high ,

morality its demand for holiness as the condition of seeing God An d

,
.

it has the response of o ur bosoms in warn i ng the sinner from the evil
o f his ways and in hanging up a deathless crown before him who
,

seeks after righteousness Pantheism scoffs at the idea of mediation . .

Humanity by the fire o n ten thousand altars craves it a n d Chris

, , ,

t i a n i t y o ffers it Pantheism o ffers no code no rules for o ur guid

.
,

ance towards God and our neighbour condemns the practical honours , ,

rhapsodies vagaries and impulses or if it preac hes work inspires it

, , ,

with n o livi n g principle to direct it Christianity is sober and pr a c .

tical a n d turn s to whatever can alleviate our sorrows , or elevate and

,

bless us while her pre c epts embrace the whole circle of human rela
,

t i o n sh i p Mr E m erson has no future t o which to i n vite u

. . s o r by the , ,

prospect of which to cheer us Absorption as w h e n a r a i n drop falls

,
.
,

on the ocean —is the fa te of all alike Christianity speaks to the .

i n n ermost soul of the ra c e i n Opening the gates of immortality and

letti n g the light from beyond stream dow n o n our footsteps There .

is no be t te r test of a system than its fitness to our need when a S piri

tual power al o ne c an sus t ain us I n life we may dream our .
 27

theories b ut deat h i s the experiment that proves their worth If

, .

any one wish to see Mr Emerson s philosophy in the hour of trial

.
’

let him read the last letter of John Sterling to Mr Carlyle w h o had .
,

led him from his early faith to the dreams o f Pantheism Cer .

“
tainty he tells us he has none and has nothing for it b ut to keep
,
"

, ,

shut the lid of those secrets with all the iron weights in his power
, .

But as Mr Carlyle s Pantheism is much milder than Mr E merson s

.
’
.
’

eve n this dreary letter would not be dar k enough for one of his disciples
in the hour of death Co n trast with this agonizing u n certa inty
.
,

with the poor human bravery that tries t o keep down the lid of the
future the triumph of having death swallowed up in victory and
, ,

all tears wiped off from all faces Compare its darkness and un .

speakable sadness with the Christian vision ofthe future to Bu n ya n ,

tinctured by no philosophy with his bad spelling his life i n j ail an d

, , ,

his homespun trust in the word of God Remember the legend he .

saw glittering over the gate of the Celestial City Blessed are they .

that do his c ommandments that they may have right to the Tree o f
,

Life and may enter in through the gates into the City
,
Liste n .

to his sight of its glories Now j ust as the gates were opened to
let in the men I looked in after them and behold the City shone
, , , ,

like the Sun the streets also were paved with gold ; and in them
,

walked m any men with c rowns on their heads palms in thei r hands
, ,

and golden harps to sing praises withal T o shoot out into I n fi

"
.

nite darkness and keep as brave a h e a r t as may be as its unknown

, ,

possibilit ies approach is all that Mr E merson s creed gives to soften

, .
’

a dying pillow Christianity sheds o n that of a dying saint the

.

splendours of an inheritan c e incorruptible un d e file d and that fadeth , ,

n o t away fills his soul with the fall of immortal musi c and
, ,

makes dissolution only a death like sleep a gentle wafting to i m-

,

mortal life Which of the t w o speaks most truly to our wants

.

and our lo n gings ? L et us pay our regards to that which adds

another world to this and weaves roses and amaranths for our brows
,

when we reach it .

It is a striking enforcement of humility t o find modern philosophy

fail so utterly in its efforts to make a Religion for itself I t would .

be well for Mr E m er so n co ul d he remember a n d rece ive t he co n c lu

.
,
"
 28

si on o f o n e whom he professes to resp ect above most and who ,

searched into T ruth with a n e a rnestness from which o ur moder n

Faith makers mi g ht t a ke a le s on— I mean Socrates w h o s ums up
- s
,

in his A pology the experience of his life in the declaration t h a t Apollo ,

‘

h a d t a ught h i m this o n e thi n g th a t hu m a n wisdo m was worth littl e ,

o r nothi n g Bet t er tha n t h e d r e a m of genius o r t he intuitio n s o f

.
,

p ure re a so n b e tte r th a n the wo rl d without a God without a c o n scien c e

, ,

wi t hout i m m ort a lity is the t r ust o f t h e verie s t babe or s uckling i n

, ,

who m G o d h a s perfe c ted pr a ise nobler tha n t h e lofties t d e i fic a t ion

o f m an ,
grander than that h e should be dignified with the most
sounding titles is the prayer of the publican God be merciful to me
, ,

a si n ner .I set up ag a inst all philosophers of Mr E mer son s schO ol

7?
.
’

the pi ct ur e o f Co w p e r s Cott a g e r a n d l e a ve y ou to say w hether she

’

o r they be t h e brighter mirror of the Highest T ruth

" o n Co t t a g e r , w h o w e a ve s a t h e r o w n door ,

" i ll o w s an d b o bbi n s a l l h e r li t t l e s t or e ,

Co n t e n t t h o ug h m ean ,
an d ch e e r ful , i f n o t g a y
S h ufl i n g h e r t h r e a d s a b o ut t h e li
ve l o n g d a y ,

r
J us t e a n s a s c a n t y p t t a n c e , i an d, i gh t
a t n
,

L ie s d ow n s e c ur e ,
he r h e a rt an d p o ck e t l i g h t ;
S h e , fo r h e r h um b l e s ph e r e b y n a t ur e fi t ,
Ha s l i t t l e un d e r st a n d i n g , a n d n o w i t ,
R e c e i v e s n o pr a i s e , b ut (t h o ug h h e r l o t b e s uc h,
'

T o i l s o m e a n d i n d i g e n t "s h e r e n d e r s m uc h
J us t k n o w s , an d kn o w s n o m o re ,
h e r Bi b l e t r ue ,

A t r ut h t h e b i ll i a n t F e c h m a n ne e k w
r r n v r n o ,

A d i t h a t c h a rt e r e d s w i t h S p kl i g e y s
n n r a ar n e ,

He r t i t l e t o a t r e a s ur e i n t h e s ki e s .

O h h a ppy p e a s n t " O h u h ppy b d " a n a ar

Hi s t h e m e r e t i s e l h e s t h e r i c h e w r d
n ,
r r a

He pr a i se d pe r h a p s fo r a g e s y e t t o c o m e
, , , ,

S h e n e v e r h e a d o f h l f m il e fr o m h o m e
,
r a a

He l o st i n e rr o r s h i s a i n h e t p fe s
,
v ar re r ,

S h e s a fe i n t h e s i m p li ci ty o f h e s
"
r .

F a ul kn e r
'
s Ci ty S te a m " r e s s , 96 " o n g e S t r e e t , T o r on t o .