The Danes in Denmark. 
3 
in the Bible, coupled with a pietistic philosophy of life. But 
in the course of time his belief underwent some remarkable 
changes. He dropped the idea of the Bible being an infallible 
guide, asserting that a belief in the Apostles’ Creed and the 
words of the Communion service, coupled with a good Christian 
life, was all that was necessary for membership in the true 
Christian church. But in his opinion the living of a Christian 
life meant an active, sympathetic participation in all the affairs 
of life. He wished to substitute feeling and activity for doc¬ 
trinal discussions and formalism, and individual judgment for 
blind acceptance of a creed. Being intensely patriotic, his love 
of country became thoroughly identified with his religion. It is 
impossible, he said, to love G-od and not love one’s fatherland and 
mother-tongue. He advanced the idea that each nation had a 
special mission to perform in the world, and had been especially 
appointed and trained by God to perform that mission. From 
the traditions and history of the Banes, he inferred that to them 
was given the mission of reuniting all the Christian churches, 
to re-establish “peace on earth and good will toward men,’’ the 
highest and most sacred mission of all. But in order to fulfill 
their mission, they must be true to their language and traditions; 
and if they failed in this, God would punish them as he did the 
Israelites of old when they strayed from the path he had marked 
out for them. 1 
1 Grundtvig may be quoted on this subject so as to prove him to be either 
a broad-minded, liberal patriot and statesman, or a religious enthusiast 
who wishes to make the nation a mere tool in the hands of God, or a senti¬ 
mental, bigoted nation-worshipper. His speeches in the constitutional 
assembly of 18-19 on the subjects of suffrage, freedom of religion, title and 
rank, freedom of speech, police power of the state, provisions for the poor, 
and compulsory education are instances of the first kind. (See H. Brun’s 
Life of Grundtvig , Vol. 1, pp. 330-342.) 
“ Heligtrekongers-Lyset,” written in 1813, when the allied troops threat¬ 
ened an attack on Denmark, shows him as the religious enthusiast. His 
“TrOste-Brev til Danmark” written after the war of 1864, his speech 
at the meeting of his friends in 1885, (see pp. 7-13 of proceedings of this 
meeting), and also his sermon, “ Fredsfyrsten og Morderen,” show him the 
bigot and sentimentalist. His friends have made the mistake of accepting 
every word from him as a self-evident truth, while his enemies are making 
the still greater mistake of looking at and criticising his weaker and senti- 
