EVOLUTION THE MASTER-KEY 



But here we have reached a new stage in our 

 speculations. The ideas of unity, intelligibility, 

 eternity are entirely non - anthropomorphic ; but 

 the idea of intelligence is as plainly anthropomor- 

 phic i. e., based upon a human character. Now, 

 it has been argued by some, including Fiske, 1 that 

 all human thinking must be anthropomorphic ; but 

 I am unconvinced that there is not here some 

 confusion as to the meaning of this term. All 

 human thinking must certainly be human must 

 conform to the laws of the human mind; but by 

 anthropomorphism much more than this is meant. 

 Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human 

 characters to what is not human; and is as fairly 

 to be applied to the idea that, say, a worm suffers 

 pain as we do, as to the stupendous impertinence 

 that "God made man in his own image." And 

 there is surely a very sharp and real distinction, as 

 I have said, between the attribution to the un- 

 knowable of perdurableness, which is not a human 

 character, and of intelligence, which is. If, then, 

 we are bound to avoid anthropomorphism con- 

 sistently and without exception, are we to deny 

 that the Eternal is intelligent? In other words, 

 are we to regard reality as lower than one of its 

 manifestations? That would surely be absurd. 

 That there was a third possibility has been seen 

 by Herbert Spencer alone. May there not be, he 

 says, "a mode of being as much transcending in- 



See The Idea of God. 

 354 



