OF THE GOOD. 



179 



Schleiermacher is enabled not only to interpret symbolic- 

 ally, as Kant and Hegel had done, but to adopt practically 

 the positive or historical as the fulfilment, the con- 

 summation of philosophical religion and ethics. 



Schleiermacher lived and taught at the same time 

 and at the same university as Hegel. With him 

 he never cultivated an intimate friendship. It was 

 impossible to bring into harmony these two entirely 

 different natures or the philosophies which sprang from 

 them. Hegel's system was the final, and for a time 29. 

 triumphant, consummation of a great philosophical 

 movement, of the attempt to make reason the supreme 

 arbiter, the ruling power in the whole domain of 

 human interests, to see in it the Divine spirit ; in fact, 

 to establish a completely reasoned creed. In it all other 

 human aspirations were to be absorbed. Philosophy 

 was the highest product of the human intellect, and 



but only in a development in the 

 exposition of them. So that it is 

 evident that the same Christian 

 morality can as little exist for 

 different organically co-ordinated 

 Christian communities as that it 

 could exist for all periods of the 

 Church. For the specially Protest- 

 ant view of the Christian Church 

 it is essential that we consider the 

 same as a movable totality, as one 

 capable of progress and develop- 

 ment, only with this restriction, 

 without which Christianity would 

 collapse, that we can never imagine 

 that in the Christian Church a 

 state of perfection could be aimed 

 at or realised which transcends 

 that given in Christ, but that all 

 progress can be nothing else than 

 a more correct understanding and 

 a more perfect assimilation of what 

 is laid down in Christ." And in an 



earlier passage (p. 70) he says : 

 " Progress in the community of 

 the faithful cannot be conceived 

 in any other way than that first 

 in single minds a purer conception 

 and realisation of the Christian 

 idea is formed which in the sequel 

 is communicated to others." It 

 must suffice in this connection to 

 give this distinctive utterance of 

 Schleiermacher, whose religious 

 philosophy will be more fully dealt 

 with in the next chapter. It 

 need only be mentioned here that 

 the difference between theoretical 

 (philosophical or abstract) and 

 practical (actually existing) ethics 

 has been variously dealt with by 

 thinkers of very different shades of 

 opinion in recent times ; compare, 

 e.g., Herbert Spencer's character- 

 istic view on this point. 



