COSMIC PHILOSOPHY 



deny Him ; and such being the case, what can 

 be more irrational than to insist upon thought 

 and voHtion, phenomena only known to exist 

 within quite narrow limitations, as the very na- 

 ture and essence of the infinite Deity ? What 

 theory of physical or moral phenomena, built 

 upon such an inadequate basis, can be other 

 than unsound and misleading ? What wonder 

 if it continually land us in awkward and con- 

 flicting conclusions, painful to us alike as in- 

 quiring and as religious beings ? As Goethe has 

 profoundly said, " Since the great Being whom 

 we name the Deity manifests himself not only in 

 man, but in a rich and powerful Nature, and in 

 mighty world events, a representation of him, 

 framed from human qualities, cannot of course be 

 adequate, and the thoughtful observer will soon 

 come to imperfections and contradictions, which 

 will drive him to doubt — nay, even to despair 

 — unless he be either little enough to let him- 

 self be soothed by an artful evasion, or great 

 enough to rise to a higher point of view." ^ To 

 those whom the habits of thought which sci- 

 ence nurtures have led to believe in the existence 

 of an all-pervading and all-sustaining Power, 

 eternally and everywhere manifested in the phe- 

 nomenal activity of the universe, alike the cause 



noza's correspondence (Van Vloten and Lands Edition, vol. 

 ii. p. 185).] 



* Eckermann, vol. ii. p. 357. 

 228 



