THE STRUGGLE FOR REALITIES, 377 
struggle of dogmatism to limit knowledge. But another 
phase of the same warfare is the desire of organized 
conservatism to limit action. Just as science goes over 
into action, so does dogmatism pass over into suppres- 
sion, The struggle for democracy, the rise of the com- 
mon man, is therefore part of the same great conflict 
for human freedom. 
The desire of dogmatism to control action is in its 
essence the desire to save men from their own folly. 
The great historic churches have ex- 
isted “for the benefit of the weak and 
the poor.” By their observances they 
have stimulated the spirit of devotion. By their com- 
mands they have protected men from unwise action. 
By their condemnations they have saved men from the 
grasp of vice and crime. 
But the control of action by an institution is irksome 
to the man who thinks for himself. Whoever thinks for 
himself must act for himself. He is no longer subject 
to “sealed orders,” even though their origin be divine. 
And the command “to work out his own salvation,” in 
such way as he may, is fatal to his salvation through the 
means provided by the Church. 
As it is natural that man should create the Church 
out of his own need for it, so is it natural that he should 
rebel against its control when he shall 
need it no longer. Individual freedom 
is the goal of intellectual progress. It 
is “that far-off divine event toward which the whole 
creation moves.” It is, therefore, in the highest degree 
natural, and to call it supernatural is to say the same 
thing, that man should cast off the fetters of traditional 
sanction as the sanction of higher wisdom arises to take 
its place. 
The effort to 
control action. 
The passing of 
institutions. 
