40 THE MOUNTAINS 



have what one of the more robust of 

 modern poets calls "the primal sanities." 



3. Religious Life 



Several times, in these studies, it has 

 been practically important to take a con- 

 nected thing and treat it with a solitary 

 emphasis. And now again it is wise to 

 use this somewhat arbitary method. Still, 

 while the religious appeal of the moun- 

 tains is connected with a number of moun- 

 tain-features and effects, the largest, 

 perhaps the culminating force of the 

 appeal is that powerful influence which 

 I have named "the mystic tonic of the 

 mountains." 



As with the moral life, so a word of 

 caution is needful here. Rigidly speak- 

 ing, there is no "religious message of the 

 mountains." Not even in the slightest 

 measure can they rightly take the place 

 of the New Testament, for they supply 

 no redemptional message whatsoever. As 



