HUMAN FREEDOM 



attitude of the suppliant seems to be of more 

 consequence than the powers to which the prayer 

 is addressed. . . . The faith with which we 

 work, the faith, indeed, which is available to-day 

 in everyday life, has its limitations. . . . But in 

 spite of these nineteenth-century restrictions, 

 such as we find it, faith is a most precious com- 

 modity, without which we should be very badly 

 off." 



It is, therefore, possible to say that, in 

 a certain limited sense, the belief in free- 

 dom Is freedom. But It must be reiterated 

 that this belief is a natural result; It is 

 also a natural cause. 



So far as the evidence available at pres- 

 ent goes we must conclude that the lowest 

 animals act In response to present excita- 

 tions In ways that have been shaped by 

 their previous personal and racial experi- 

 ence. They live In a present and a past. 

 They know no future. Mankind lives In 

 the future also. By an exercise of imagi- 

 nation possible future events are pictured 

 as present and so participate In shaping 

 present conduct. This Implies no magical 

 powers. It Is a natural function of the 

 human type of nervous system. It has 

 doubtless grown up naturally In the course 

 of human evolution. 



[75] 



