56 BRIEF STATEMENT. 



mechanics in England in the eighteenth century and 

 hope to make of it a thoroughly complete object of 

 study. In natural science, for example, we make con- 

 ventional divisions simply with the object of saving 

 labor when dealing with the huge mass of material 

 that experience offers. But the narrowest specialist 

 knows that all workers in science, religion, and 

 philosophy seek the Truth; and that the Truth is 

 bounded neither by space nor by time nor by man- 

 made divisions. A man may rightly conclude that 

 he stands little chance of finding out very much of 

 the Truth, and so he may voluntarily limit his view 

 to a certain roughly defined domain of facts and 

 thoughts, and become, for example, what is called a 

 "biologist," a "physicist," a "higher critic," or, if he 

 thinks that he may discover rather more of the Truth, 

 a "philosopher." 



And let us carry a clear understanding of a lofty 

 aim into religion as well. It is our duty, as rational 

 beings, to be non-sectarian. It is not a merit to allow 

 ignorance to blind us to the glimpses of Truth that we 

 sometimes get from prophets, poets, and priests of 

 other religions and other philosophies than our own. 

 If we think that there is more truth or sacredness in 

 our own, let us use every means to make this sacred- 

 ness or this truth appear evident to others. But, in 

 justice, let us also fearlessly discuss other religions and 

 philosophies, and discover their greater merits, if any, 

 as compared with our own. If, after careful investiga- 

 tion, we arrive at the belief in the truth or falsehood 

 of anything in these religions or philosophies, let us 

 state our grounds for believing so in the fullest pos- 

 sible way. Only by so doing can we fulfil the duties 

 of being true to ourselves and helpful to others. 



Sometimes the work of a critic is said to be 

 "merely destructive." This idea rests on a most harm- 

 ful misunderstanding. Criticism consists not only in 

 the pointing out of error, but in the pointing out of 

 truth as well. Error is simply a psychological condi- 



