Eeligton 



There is no evidence to give us any ground to suppose 

 that complex individuality is anything but an epheme- 

 ral condition. Throughout the great scheme of 

 evolution we see of what small importance is the 

 individual. He is nothing, and may be, and is, 

 continually sacrificed in the interest of the prog- 

 ress of the community. Individual to race, race 

 to species, species to genus, genus perhaps to 

 families and orders and so on. 



This being the case, what justification have we 

 for exaggerating the importance of human indi- 

 viduality and arrogating to it a position so much 

 higher than the evidence appreciable to our 

 senses warrants ? For my own part I am content 

 to accept a much humbler position in the vast 

 design of the universe and to submissively ac- 

 knowledge that if the whole of the human race 

 were swept away to-morrow the boundless plan 

 would not be thereby in any way materially af- 

 fected. 



With these remarks I proceed to give my defi- 

 nitions of religion, in the construction of which 

 I have endeavored to follow the broad conditions 

 laid down for such a purpose. I give several defi- 



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