74 EEV. CHANCELLOE LIAS, M.A., ON 



This region is Vising slowly admitted to share in the honourable 

 name of science, but only slowly. Even Mr. Lias, while making 

 good use of psychological results, seems to have only the physical 

 region in view, when he writes the Avord " science," though in 

 reality he is thinking of much more. 



First. Mr. Lias has himself either made good use of psycho- 

 logical science, or else has by his own interpretative faculty 

 succeeded in setting himself in the main stream along which 

 modern psychology is flowing on a most important point. The 

 rank of intellect among the forces which produce our living beliefs 

 is not rated by modern psychology anything like so high as it was 

 in the eighteenth century and most of the nineteenth. A change 

 has come, and the function of intellect seems now rather to be 

 regarded as that of a servant of high character than that of master 

 of the house. This Mr. Lias sees, and expresses by referring ta 

 abstract ideas — the contribution of intellect at its highest — as 

 simply "convenient formulae of generalization" and terms of 

 similar purport. Whether this is correct or not I am not 

 here attempting to decide ; what I am concerned to do is to- 

 point out that Mr. Lias has found his way to the same general 

 attitude as that which now pi'evails in Britain, America, and 

 Germany. Whether he has heard of it from philosophical quarters 

 or has discovered it for himself, he has accomplished the change,, 

 just as of philosophy in Germany it is written, " Sie wendet sichvon 

 (lev intelleMuolistisclien zu einer vohmtarisfischen Auffassung.'' 



Second. Mr. Lias's position on this is at the same time con- 

 genial to the prevailing mood in theology, both general theology 

 and Christian. The position was claimed by Luther as against 

 many of his fellow-workers in the Reformation, who were scholastics 

 of the Intellectualist type at heart with a change of the seat of 

 authority from tradition to the canonical scriptures. Luther 

 always depreciated intellect, as a source of conviction, in favour of 

 moral and spiritual influences ; and Protestant theology at least is 

 returning to his side. Indeed, in the hands of the Ritschlians 

 there is a danger of intellect being mistreated as having no locus 

 standi in the tribunal where religious judgments are delivered. 

 Mr. Lias does not go this length, but he agrees in regarding 

 correspondence Avith truth as valued according to its power as "a 

 guide to action." Here, again, I am only pointing out that 

 Mr. Lias is with the stream. 



