INDUCTIVE REASON AND FAITH 267 



really inductive but nevertheless automatic reasoning, 

 tinged with the emotions and aspiration of love for 

 Jesus, evincing itself in perfect loyalty to Him. 



When the Apostles said," Lord increase our faith," ^ 

 this request, following our Lord's remarks upon forgive- 

 ness as often as a man repents, was an outburst of long- 

 ing to attain to that perfection, which they saw in their 

 Master, so far above their own powerlessness to forgive. 

 It was a proof, too, that they saw Jesus was right and 

 that the thing was possible. 



This is but a sample of what Jesus appeared to the 

 Apostles. They, as we say, instinctively felt, i.e., they 

 automatically reaso7ied, that His character was perfect, 

 and that it was their duty to imitate Him. Their faith 

 was reasonable confidence, based on experience in Him 

 and intensified by love. The basis of their induction as 

 to Christ's perfection was the innumerable points of 

 character and conduct, His manner of speech and teach- 

 ing. It was, adds Sir J. Seeley, especially "the tem- 

 perance in the use of supernatural power, the masterpiece 

 of Christ. . . ." It was " the inimitable unity" in His 

 Love and Power combined that made Him unique, 

 indicated by the word fiovo^evi')<i. It was, in fact, the 

 accumulation of coincidences all conspiring to this one 

 end, which constituted their inductive reasoning, which 

 we call " Faith in Jesus Christ ". To say, therefore, that 

 reason is not to be trusted, is to say that nine-tenths of 

 man's intelligence is useless. Of course, if the premises 

 be insufficient or false, then the reasoning based upon 

 them is false too ; and it is this which throws so much 

 discredit upon deductive reasoning. Thus Queen Mary 

 is reported to have said that she could not be doing 



^ Luke xvii. 3-5. 



