152 THE LIGHT OF DAY 



How long it will serve depends upon how large, 

 how well, how conveniently it is built. 



Spiritual truths are spiritually discerned un- 

 doubtedly, but I should deny that the content of 

 the popular creeds belonged to the region of spirit- 

 ual truths. They contain definite propositions that 

 relate to historical events, — to the soul of man con- 

 sidered as an entity in and of itself, to its nature 

 and destiny. They make definite statements about 

 the actual world of events, about an historical per- 

 sonage, about a concrete book, about a past race of 

 men, about birth and generation, etc. Now these 

 are not spiritual truths and they are not spiritually 

 discerned. They are material truths, if truths at 

 all, and they are discerned by the reason and under- 

 standing. What, then, is spiritual truth ? That 

 which appeals to the soul as distinct from the rea- 

 son and the intellect, or to our higher and finer sense 

 of the beauty and mystery of the world. The Ser- 

 mon on the Mount contains spiritual truth : The 

 kingdom of heaven is within you ; except ye be- 

 come as little children ; unto the pure are all things 

 pure. The brotherhood of man is a spiritual truth. 

 St. Paul is full of spiritual truth. Emerson's es- 

 says are full of spiritual truth, as are all the great 

 poems of the world. 



We want the exact scientific truth in many things, 

 — in all that concerns our physical relation to the 

 world, in all the practical affairs of life, in agricul- 

 ture, in mechanics, in political economy, in all that 

 pertains to trade, to money, to banking, and cur- 



