THE RELIGION OF NATUKK 



speaks about the " grossly and sentimentally ex- 

 aggerated mysteries of pain." 



I do not like to quote, as a rule, from the letters 

 of living correspondents to myself, but these brief 

 extracts from two letters may, perhaps, express 

 the truth better than I have been able to. Here 

 is one: 



" Dear Sir, I am afraid that many will never 

 be convinced by your arguments, simply because 

 they will not set aside for the moment their own 

 preconceived ideas on the subject and endeavor 

 to follow to their logical conclusion the arguments 

 you bring forward. The point is that no one has 

 ever before attempted to explain the apparent 

 cruelty in nature, which must prove a stumbling- 

 block to religious belief, and it is of vital im- 

 portance that theologians should be prepared to 

 deal with the subject, and the manner in which it 

 has been ignored and glossed over is not to the 

 best interests of our faith in a merciful Creator." 



The other letter runs: 



" Sir, May I venture to remark that perhaps 

 if the relation of the phenomenon of consciousness 

 to the nervous system were explained it might help 

 towards a better understanding of an animal's re- 



[162] 



