PREFACE 



The thread connecting the following essays is 

 already indicated on the title-page. They all illus- 

 trate, each from the field of its own subject, the 

 metaphysical theory which I venture to call Personal 

 Idealism. Partly, they show how this theory draws 

 its arguments, as if unexpectedly, from the discus- 

 sion now of this topic taken up for its own philo- 

 sophical interest, and now of that ; partly, they in 

 turn reflect the light of the theory upon the dis- 

 cussion of the topic. To the running reader, the 

 several papers, with titles so widely divergent, would 

 hardly suggest any common trend of thought. They 

 all have it, however ; in fact, taken together, they 

 may be said to present the mentioned philosophic 

 theory in its bearings on all the chief human con- 

 cerns, — on knowledge, joy, and devotion; on Sci- 

 ence, Art, and Rehgion. Still, in view of the great 

 diversity of their subjects, one might easily fail of 

 a clear and firm seizure of the thought that unites 

 them, unless the clue were given by some words 

 of introduction. 



