EVOLUTION AS RELATED TO RELIGIOUS 



THOUGHT.* 



I appreciatp: the kindness of the Ethical Association 

 in allowing me the lirst word and the last on the most seri- 

 ously interesting topic of the present course of lectures 

 and discussions. The embarrassment of riches it entails 

 has been considerably lessened by two preceding lectures — 

 ]\Ir. Sampson's on the Evolution of Theology and Dr. Janes's 

 on the Evolution of Ethics. From this precedence it will 

 appear that I am not expected to treat of the Evolution of 

 Religion but of Evolution and Religion, i. e., of Religion 

 as affected by the doctrine of Evolution. My talk would be 

 still further circumscribed, in fact my occupation would be 

 entirely gone, if Ethics were, as some insist, all there is 

 of Religion ; for Dr. Janes added to his treatment of the 

 Evolution of Ethics some treatment of the standing of Relig- 

 ion, ethically considered in the light of Evolution. But 

 the ethical exhaustion of religion I cannot by any means 

 allow. I believe that "Ethics thought out is religious 

 thought ; Ethics felt out is religious feeling ; Ethics lived 

 out is religious life " ; but so thought out, felt out, lived 

 out, it is not the only religious thought, feeling and life 

 that are possible for us. Ethics is part and parcel of Relig- 

 ion only by historical adoption, and the tendency of "all 

 thoughts, all passions, all delights " in the last analysis to 

 lose themselves in God. If we were of those who insist 

 upon the limitation of terms to their original significance, 

 we should insist upon the absolute difference and separate- 

 ness of Ethics and Religion, for the reason that in their 

 original characters they were different and separate. The 

 first Religion was not ethical; the first Ethics was not 

 religious. These streams of thought and feeling were like 

 two rivers, say the ]Mississippi and IVIissouri, rising in dif- 

 ferent upland tracts, but at last uniting into one rejoicing 

 flood. It is oftentimes about as difficult to distinguish 

 Ethics and Religion in the blended flood with which we 



* COPVKIGHT, 1889, by The New Ideal Publisliiug Co. 



