COSMIC PHILOSOPHY 



out of their probable injurious consequences ; so 

 the religious sense takes cognizance of all ac- 

 tions whatsoever which come within the class of 

 maladjustments, whether they directly concern 

 the community or not, and the feeling of self- 

 condemnation arises irrespective of any direct 

 estimate of probable consequences. For the re- 

 ligious sense is primarily based upon the aspira- 

 tion — the noblest which any creature can enter- 

 tain — after complete fulness of life; and any 

 thought or act, any sin of omission or of commis- 

 sion, inconsistent with such aspiration, awakens 

 the painful consciousness of shortcoming, with- 

 out any reference to those lower considerations 

 of pleasure and pain of which alone hedonism 

 takes cognizance. 



Such, in brief outline, is the theory of religion 

 which seems to me most thoroughly consonant 

 with our present knowledge. Scanty justice can 

 be done, in one short chapter, to so great a sub- 

 ject. But a detailed exposition would not be in 

 keeping with the purpose of the present work. 

 It is not my aim to propound a complete theory 

 of religion, or to prepare the way for the inau- 

 guration of any new religious system — for I 

 should regard any undertaking of this kind as 

 ab initio self-convicted of absurdity — but sim- 

 ply to show that it is in the power of Science, 

 without proving recreant to its own methods, to 

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