198 IDEALISM AND POLITICS 



his able books, and up the Severn and Dee and Don. They 

 pollute the Bay of St. Andrews, there is a thin dilution of 

 them in the waters of the Cam, and they have somehow 

 crept overland into Birmingham. ' The stream of Ger- 

 man Idealism has been diffused over the academical world 

 of Great Britain." The disaster is universal. 



Nor is there any very clear evidence that the waters are 

 subsiding, so that the innocent dove may find rest for the 

 sole of her foot. Rumour has it that the dry land is 

 appearing in Germany. There, they say, Idealism is dead 

 even as Christianity is dead in Jerusalem. But whether 

 Mr. Hobhouse and the critics can take comfort from this 

 fact or not, I cannot say. It may possibly occur to them 

 that Germany and Palestine would be none the worse for 

 the presence of Idealism and Christianity, and that the 

 faiths instituted in their stead are not more satisfactory. 



One thing alone is quite certain : it is that up to the 

 present time and in this country we can ignore neither 

 Christianity nor Idealism their power is too real. And, 

 however different this theory may be in other respects from 

 the Christian faith, it is like it in the subtle character of its 

 influence. Philosophy, like religion, whispers its secrets 

 in the inner ear of mankind. These secrets creep along the 

 blood, find their way to the nation's heart, mingle in the 

 hidden recesses of the soul with the very springs of conduct, 

 and therefore pollute (or purify) the whole life. 



In the face of all these considerations it is evident that 

 Mr. Hobhouse in endeavouring to turn the public mind 

 against Idealism is trying to perform a plain public duty 

 provided always that his convictions about the character of 

 Idealism are valid. But he will pardon one who does not 

 share his convictions for reminding him of a picture seen by 



