268 ESSAYS IN PHILOSOPHY 



the liberty, to limit ourselves to this very non-com- 

 mittal and little significant definition. We can better 

 accept the profound statement characteristic of the 

 Christian religion, and say that religion is the com- 

 munion of the soul with God, and the inspiration of 

 conduct by the spirit which animates God, by the 

 spirit of him who is perfect Wisdom because he is 

 perfect Love, who is the perfect Person because his 

 whole being concentrates its powers upon the recog- 

 nition of every member in the world of persons — 

 upon the preservation and promotion of every soul in 

 the integrity of its freedom as a rational nature. It 

 is this highest definition of religion that the Method 

 of Reason must meet, if we are to vindicate for our 

 human powers a commanding religious office ; so that 

 what we have to show is, that our rational powers do 

 affirm for us, and make known to us, the reality of 

 this World of Persons, benignly related, and of God 

 in it as its fulfilled and inspiring Type. 



This I believe we can show convincingly ; especially 

 in the light of the problems and theories most char- 

 acteristic of our times in their concern with the large 

 questions started by the progress of natural science, 

 — an aspect of the case the more natural for us to 

 consider, in view of what my eminent and venerated 

 colleague 1 has laid before you in iiis address. Yes, 



1 Professor Joseph Le Conte, — who had just spoken on the bearing 

 of the doctrine of evolution on religious belief, particularly with refer- 

 ence to the conception of an Immanent God. 



