Nomentalrevolutioncanbeaccomplishedwithoutmoreorless
laceration。Beitachangeofhabitorachangeofconviction，itmust，if
thehabitorconvictionbestrong，doviolencetosomeofthefeelings;and
thesemustofcourseopposeit。Forlong—experienced，andthereforedefinite，
sourcesofsatisfaction，havetobesubstitutedsourcesofsatisfactionthat
havenotbeenexperienced，andarethereforeindefinite。Thatwhichisrelatively
wellknownandreal，hastobegivenupforthatwhichisrelativelyunknown
andideal。Andofcoursesuchanexchangecannotbemadewithoutaconflict
involvingpain。Especially，then，mustthereariseastrongantagonismto
anyalterationinsodeepandvitalaconceptionasthatwithwhichweare
heredealing。Underlying，asthisconceptiondoes，allideasconcedingthe
establishedorderofthings，amodificationofitthreatenstoreducethe
superstructuretoruins。Ortochangethemetaphor——beingtherootwith
whichareconnectedourideasofgoodness，rectitude，orduty，itappears
impossiblethatitshouldbetransformedwithoutcausingthesetowither
awayanddie。Thewholehigherpartofthenaturetakesuparmsagainstachangewhichseemstoeradicatemorality。Thisisbynomeansallthathastobesaidforsuchprotests。Thereis
adeepermeaninginthem。Theydonotsimplyexpressthenaturalrepugnance
toarevolutionofbelief，heremadespeciallyintensebythevitalimportance
ofthebelieftoberevolutionized;buttheyalsoexpressaninstinctive
adhesiontoabeliefthatisinonesensethebest——thebestforthose
whothusclingtoit，thoughnotabstractedlythebest。Forhereitisto
beremarkedthatwhatwereabovespokenofastheimperfectionsofReligion，
atfirstgreatbutgraduallydiminishing，havebeenimperfectionsasmeasured
byanabsolutestandard，andnotasmeasuredbyarelativeone。Speaking
generally，thereligioncurrentineachageandamongeachpeople，hasbeen
asnearanapproximationtothetruthasitwasthenandtherepossiblefor
mentoreceive。Theconcreteformsinwhichithasembodiedthetruth，have
beenthemeansofmakingthinkablewhatwouldotherwisehavebeenunthinkable;
andsohaveforthetimebeingservedtoincreaseitsimpressiveness。If
weconsidertheconditionsofthecase，weshallfindthistobeanunavoidable
conclusion。Duringeachstageofprogressmenmustthinkinsuchtermsof
thoughtastheypossess。Whilealltheconspicuouschangesofwhichthey
canobservetheorigins，havemenandanimalsasantecedents，theyareunable
tothinkofantecedentsingeneralunderanyothershapes;andhencecreative
agenciesarealmostofnecessityconceivedbythemintheseshapes。If，during
thisphase，theseconcreteconceptionsweretakenfromthem，andtheattempt
madetogivethemcomparativelyabstractconceptions，theresultwouldbe
toleavetheirmindswithnoneatall;sincethesubstitutedonescouldnot
bementallyrepresented。Similarlywitheverysuccessivestageofreligious
belief，downtothelast。Though，asaccumulatingexperiencesslowlymodify
theearliestideasofcausalpersonalities，theregrowupmoregeneraland
vagueideasofthem;yetthesecannotbeatoncereplacedbyothersstill
moregeneralandvague。Furtherexperiencesmustsupplytheneedfulfurther
abstractions，beforethementalvoidleftbythedestructionofsuchinferior
ideascanbefilledbyideasofasuperiororder。Andatthepresenttime，
therefusaltoabandonarelativelyconcreteconsciousnessforarelatively
abstractone，impliestheinabilitytoframetherelativelyabstractone;
andsoimpliesthatthechangewouldbeprematureandinjurious。Stillmore
clearlyshallweseetheinjuriousnessofanysuchprematurechange，onobserving
thattheeffectsofabeliefuponconductmustbediminishedinproportion
asthevividnesswithwhichitisrealizedbecomesless。Evilsandbenefits
akintothosewhichthesavagehaspersonallyfelt，orlearnedfromthose
whohavefeltthem，aretheonlyevilsandbenefitshecanunderstand;and
thesemustbelookedforascominginwayslikethoseofwhichhehashad
experience。Hisdeitiesmustbeimaginedtohavelikemotivesandpassions
andmethodswiththebeingsaroundhim;formotivesandpassionsandmethods
ofahighercharacterbeingunknowntohim，andingreatmeasureunthinkable
byhim，cannotbesorepresentedinthoughtastoinfluencehisdeeds。During
everyphaseofcivilization，theactionsoftheUnseenReality，aswellas
theresultingrewardsandpunishments，beingconceivableonlyinsuchforms
asexperiencefurnishes，tosupplantthembyhigheronesbeforewiderexperiences
havemadehigheronesconceivable，istosetupvagueanduninfluentialmotives
fordefiniteandinfluentialones。Evennowforthegreatmassofmen，unable
totraceoutwithclearnessthosegoodandbadconsequenceswhichconduct
bringsroundthroughtheestablishedorderofthings，itiswellthatthere
shouldbedepictedfuturepunishmentsandfuturejoys——painsandpleasures
ofdefinitekinds，producedinwaysdirectandsimpleenoughtobeclearly
imagined。Naystillmoremustbeconceded。Fewareasyetwhollyfittedto
dispensewithsuchconceptionsasarecurrent。Thehighestabstractionstake
sogreatamentalpowertorealizewithanyvividness，andaresoinoperative
onconductunlesstheyarevividlyrealized，thattheirregulativeeffects
mustforalongperiodtocomebeappreciableonbutasmallminority。To
seeclearlyhowarightorwrongactgeneratesconsequences，internaland
external，thatgoonbranchingoutmorewidelyasyearsprogress，requires
ararepowerofanalysis。Andtoestimatetheseconsequencesintheirtotality
requiresagraspofthoughtpossessedbynone。Wereitnotthatthroughout
theprogressoftherace，men'sexperiencesoftheeffectsofconducthave
beenslowlygeneralizedintoprinciples——wereitnotthattheseprinciples
havebeenfromgenerationtogenerationinsistedonbyparents，upheldby
publicopinion，sanctifiedbyreligion，andenforcedbythreatsofeternal
damnationfordisobedience——wereitnotthatunderthesepotentinfluences
habitshavebeenmodified，andthefeelingspropertothemmadeinnate;disastrous
resultswouldfollowtheremovalofthosestronganddistinctmotiveswhich
thecurrentbeliefsupplies。Evenasitis，thosewhorelinquishthefaith
inwhichtheyhavebeenbroughtup，forthismostabstractfaithinwhich
ScienceandReligionunite，maynotuncommonlyfailtoactuptotheirconvictions。
Lefttotheirorganicmorality，enforcedonlybygeneralreasoningsdifficult
tokeepbeforethemind，theirdefectsofnaturewilloftencomeoutmore
stronglythantheywouldhavedoneundertheirpreviouscreed。Thesubstituted
creedcanbecomeadequatelyoperativeonlywhenitbecomes，likethepresent
one，anelementinearlyeducation，andhasthesupportofastrongsocial
sanction。Norwillmenbequitereadyforituntil，throughthecontinuance
ofadisciplinewhichhaspartiallymouldedthemtotheconditionsofsocialexistence，theyarecompletelymouldedtothoseconditions。Wemustthereforerecognizetheresistanceofachangeoftheological
opinion，asingreatmeasuresalutary。Formsofreligion，likeformsofgovernment，
mustbefitforthosewholiveunderthem;andintheonecaseasinthe
other，theformwhichisfittestisthatforwhichthereisaninstinctive
preference。Asabarbarousraceneedsaharshterrestrialrule，andshows
attachmenttoadespotismcapableofthenecessaryrigour;sodoessucha
raceneedabeliefinacelestialrulethatissimilarlyharsh，andshows
attachmenttosuchabelief。Andasthesuddensubstitutionoffreeinstitutions
fordespoticones，issuretobefollowedbyareaction;so，ifacreedfull
ofdreadfulidealpenaltiesisallatoncereplacedbyonepresentingideal
penaltiesthatarecomparativelygentle，therewillinevitablybeareturn
tosomemodificationoftheoldbelief。Theparallelismholdsyetfurther。
Duringthoseearlystagesinwhichthereisextremeincongruitybetweenthe
relativelybestandtheabsolutelybest，bothpoliticalandreligiouschanges，
whenatrareintervalstheyoccur，areviolent;andtheyentailviolentretrogressions。
Butastheincongruitybetweenthatwhichisandthatwhichshouldbe，diminishes，
thechangesbecomemoremoderate，andaresucceededbymoremoderatecounter—movements;
until，asthesemovementsandcounter—movementsdecreaseinamountandincrease
infrequency，theymergeintoanalmostcontinuousgrowth。Thisholdstrue
ofreligiouscreedsandforms，asofcivilones。Andsowelearnthattheologicalconservatism，likepoliticalconservatism，hasanimportantfunction。§33。Thatspiritoftolerationwhichissomarkedatraitofmodern
times，hasthusadeepermeaningthanissupposed。Whatwecommonlyregard
simplyasaduerespectfortherightofprivatejudgment，isreallyanecessary
conditiontothebalancingoftheprogressiveandconservativetendencies
——isameansofmaintainingtheadaptationbetweenmen'sbeliefsandtheir
natures。Itisthereforeaspirittobefostered;andespeciallybythecatholic
thinker，whoperceivesthefunctionsoftheseconflictingcreeds。Doubtless
whoeverfeelsthegreatnessoftheerrorhisfellowsclingtoandthegreatness
ofthetruththeyreject，willfindithardtoshowaduepatience。Itis
hardtolistencalmlytothefutileargumentsusedinsupportofirrational
doctrines，andtothemisrepresentationsofantagonistdoctrines。Itishard
tobearthedisplayofthatprideofignorancewhichsofarexceedsthepride
ofscience。Naturallysuchaonewillbeindignantwhenchargedwithirreligion
becausehedeclinestoacceptthecarpenter—theoryofcreationasthemost
worthyone。Hemaythinkitneedless，asitisdifficult，toconcealhis
repugnancetoacreedwhichtacitlyascribestoTheUnknowablealoveof
adulationsuchaswouldbedespisedinahumanbeing。Convincedasheis
thatpain，asweseeitintheorderofnature，isanaidtotheaverage
welfare，therewillperhapsescapefromhimanangrycondemnationofthe
beliefthatpunishmentisadivinevengeance，andthatdivinevengeanceis
eternal。Hemaybetemptedtoshowhiscontemptwhenheistoldthatactions
instigatedbyanunselfishsympathyorbyapureloveofrectitude，areintrinsically
sinful;andthatconductistrulygoodonlywhenitisduetoafaithwhose
openly—professedmotiveisother—worldliness。Buthemustrestrainsuchfeelings。
Thoughhemaybeunabletodothisduringtheexcitementofcontroversy，
hemustyetqualifyhisantagonismincalmermoments;sothathismaturejudgmentandresultingconductmaybewithoutbias。Tothisendlethimbearinmindthreecardinalfacts——twoofthemalready
dwelton，andonestilltobepointedout。Thefirstisthatwithwhichwe
commenced;namely，theexistenceofafundamentalverityunderallforms
ofreligion，howeverdegraded。Ineachofthemthereisasouloftruth。
Thesecond，setforthatlengthintheforegoingsection，isthatwhilethose
concreteelementsinwhicheachcreedembodiesthissouloftruth，arebad
asmeasuredbyanabsolutestandard，theyaregoodasmeasuredbyarelative
standard。Theremainingoneisthatthesevariousbeliefsarepartsofthe
constitutedorderofthings，and，ifnotintheirspecialformsyetintheir
generalforms，necessaryparts。Seeinghowoneorotherofthemiseverywhere
present，isofperennialgrowth，andwhencutdownredevelopsinaformbut
slightlymodified，wecannotavoidtheinferencethattheyareneedfulaccompaniments
ofhumanlife，severallyfittedtothesocietiesinwhichtheyareindigenous。
Wemustrecognizethemaselementsinthatgreatevolutionofwhichthebeginning
andendarebeyondourknowledgeorconception——asmodesofmanifestationofTheUnknowable，andashavingthisfortheirwarrant。Ourtolerationthereforeshouldbethewidestpossible。Indealingwith
alienbeliefsourendeavourmustbe，notsimplytorefrainfrominjustice
ofwordordeed，butalsotodojusticebyanopenrecognitionofpositiveworth。Wemustqualifyourdisagreementwithasmuchasmaybeofsympathy。§34。Theseadmissionswillperhapsbeheldtoimplythatthecurrent
theologyshouldbepassivelyaccepted，or，atanyrate，shouldnotbeactively
opposed。"Why，"itmaybeasked，"ifcreedsareseverally
fitfortheirtimesandplaces，shouldwenotrestcontentwiththattowhich
weareborn？Iftheestablishedbeliefcontainsanessentialtruth——if
theformsunderwhichitpresentsthistruth，thoughintrinsicallybad，are
extrinsicallygood——iftheabolitionoftheseformswouldbeatpresent
detrimentaltothegreatmajority——nay，iftherearescarcelyanytowhom
theultimateandmostabstractbeliefcanfurnishanadequateruleoflife;
surelyitiswrong，forthepresentatleast，topropagatethisultimateandmostabstractbelief。"Thereplyisthatthoughexistingreligiousideasandinstitutionshave
anaverageadaptationtothecharactersofthepeoplewholiveunderthem，
yet，asthesecharactersareeverchanging，theadaptationiseverbecoming
imperfect。andtheideasandinstitutionsneedremodellingwithafrequency
proportionatetotherapidityofthechange。Hence，whileitisrequisite
thatfreeplayshouldbegiventoconservativethoughtandaction，progressive
thoughtandactionmustalsohavefreeplay。Withouttheagencyofboththerecannotbethosecontinualre—adaptationswhichorderlyprogressdemands。Whoeverhesitatestoutterthatwhichhethinksthehighesttruth，lest
itshouldbetoomuchinadvanceofthetime，mayreassurehimselfbylooking
athisactsfromanimpersonalpointofview。Lethimrememberthatopinion
istheagencythroughwhichcharacteradaptsexternalarrangementstoitself，
andthathisoptionrightlyformspartofthisagency——isaunitofforce
constitutingwithothersuchunits，thegeneralpowerwhichworksoutsocial
changes;andhewillperceivethathemayproperlygiveutterancetohis
innermostconviction:leavingittoproducewhateffectitmay。Itisnot
fornothingthathehasinhimthesesympathieswithsomeprinciplesand
repugnancetoothers。He，withallhiscapacities，andaspirations，andbeliefs，
isnotanaccidentbutaproductofthetime。Whileheisadescendantof
thepastheisaparentofthefuture;andhisthoughtsareaschildrenborn
tohim，whichhemaynotcarelesslyletdie。Likeeveryothermanhemay
properlyconsiderhimselfasoneofthemyriadagenciesthroughwhomworks
theUnknownCause;andwhentheUnknownCauseproducesinhimacertainbelief，
heistherebyauthorizedtoprofessandactoutthatbelief。For，torender
intheirhighestsensethewordsofthepoet——
Natureismadebetterbynomean，Butnaturemakesthatmean:overthatartWhichyousayaddstonature，isanartThatnaturemakes。
Notasadventitiousthereforewillthewisemanregardthefaithwhich
isinhim。Thehighesttruthheseeshewillfearlesslyutter:knowingthat，
letwhatmaycomeofit，heisthusplayinghisrightpartintheworld——
knowingthatifhecaneffectthechangeheaimsat——well;ifnot——well
also;thoughnotsowell。
PostscripttoPartIOFmultitudinouscriticismsmadeontheprecedingfivechapterssince
thepublicationofFirstPrinciplesin1862，itispracticabletonotice
onlythoseofchiefimportance。Eventodothiswouldbeimpracticablewere
itnotthatmostofthemareessentiallythesameandmaybemetbythesameanswers。Severalopponentshavecontendedthatitisillegitimatetoassertof
theUltimateRealitylyingbehindAppearance，thatitisunknownandunknowable。
Thestatementthatitisunknowableissaidtoassumeknowledgegreaterthan
wecanhave:alikeasputtinganarbitrarylimittopossiblehumanfaculty
andasassertingsomethingconcerningthatofwhichwearesaidtoknownothing:acontradiction。Tothefirstoftheseobjections，thatanarbitrarylimitisputtopossible
humanfacultyananswerhasalreadybeengivenin§24，whereithas
beenshownthatknowledgeinvolvesthethreeelements，Relation，Difference，
Likeness;andthatunconditionedexistence，ofwhichnooneofthesecan
beaffirmedwithoutcontradiction，consequentlydoesnotpresentasubject—matter
forknowledge。Further，inthenextsectionitwaspointedoutthatinthe
processofknowingthereisthesameimplication。Thinkingbeingrelationing，
nothoughtcanexpressmorethanrelations。Fromwhichtruthitisinferable
thathumanfacultymustbecomefundamentallyunlikewhatitis，andknowledge
mustbecomesomethingotherthanwhatwecallknowledge，beforeanythingcanbeknownabouttheUnconditioned。Thesecondobjectionisnotthuseasilymet。Itisdoubtlesstruethat
sayingwhatathingisnot，is，insomemeasure，sayingwhatitis;since
if，ofallpossibleassertionsrespectingit，oneiscancelled，thecancelling，
bydiminishingthenumberofpossibleassertions，impliesanincipientdefinition。
Aseriesofstatementsofwhatitisnot，excludingonepossibilityafter
another，becomeseventuallyalineofexclusionsdrawnroundit——adefinition
ofit。ThegameofTwentyQuestionsillustratesthis。Henceitcannotbe
deniedthattoaffirmoftheUltimateRealitythatitisunknowableis，inaremoteway，toassertsomeknowledgeofit，andthereforeinvolvesacontradiction。Thisextremecase，however，doesbutservetobringoutthetruththat，
limitedasourintelligenceistotherelative，andobligedasweareto
usewordswhichhavebeenmouldedtoit，wecannotsayanythingconcerning
thenon—relativewithoutcarryingintoourpropositionsmeaningsconnoted
bythosewords——meaningsforeigntoasubject—matterwhichtranscendsrelations。
Intellectbeingframedsimplybyandforconversewithphenomena，involves
usinnonsensewhenwetrytouseitforanythingbeyondphenomena。This
inabilityofthethinkingfacultyinpresenceoftheUnconditioned，isshown
notonlybytheself—contradictorynatureofitsproduct，butalsobythe
arrestofitsprocessbeforecompletion。Inattemptingtopassthelimit
itbreaksdownbeforeithasfinisheditsfirststep。Forsinceeverythought
expressesarelation——sincethinkingisrelationing——thinkingceases
whenoneofthetwotermsofarelationremainsblank。Astherelationis
incompletethereisnothoughtproperlysocalled:thoughtfails。Sothat
wecannotrightlyconceiveevenaconnexionbetweennoumenonandphenomenon。
WeareunableinanyconsistentwaytoassertaRealitystandinginsomerelationtotheApparent。Sucharelationisnottrulyimaginable。Andyetbytheverynatureofourintelligencewearecompelledcontinually
toascribetheeffectsweknowtosomecausewedonotknow——toregard
themanifestationsweareconsciousofasimplyingsomethingmanifested。
Wefinditimpossibletothinkoftheworldasconstitutedofappearances，
andtoexcludeallthoughtofarealityofwhichtheyareappearances。The
inconsistenciesintheviewssetforthareinfactorganic。Intellectual
actionbeingaperpetualformingofrelationsbetweenthestatesfrommoment
tomomentpassing，andbeingincapableofarrestingitself，tendsirresistibly
toformthemwhenitreachesthelimitofintelligence。Theinevitableeffect
ofourmentalconstitutionisthatonreachingthelimitthoughtrushesout
toformanewrelationandcannotformit。Aconflicthencearisesbetween
anefforttopassintotheUnknowableandaninabilitytopass——aconflict
whichinvolvestheinconsistencyoffeelingobligedtothinksomethingandbeingunabletothinkit。Andherewecomeasbeforetotheconclusionthatwhileitisimpossible
forustohaveaconception，thereyeteverremainsaconsciousness——a
consciousnessofwhichnologicalaccountcanbegiven，butwhichisthe
necessaryresultofourmentalaction;sincetheperpetually—foiledendeavour
tothinktherelationbetweenAppearanceandReality，everleavesbehind
afeelingthatthoughasecondtermcannotbeframedinthoughtyetthere
isasecondterm。Thisdistinction，hereemphasizedasitwasemphasized
in§26，mycriticshaveignored。Theirargumentsaredirectedagainst
oneorotherelementsinaconceptionwhichtheyascribetome:forgetting
that，equallywiththem，Idenythepossibilityofanyconception，andaffirm
onlythatafterallourfutileattemptstoconceive，thereremainstheundefinable
substanceofaconception——aconsciousnesswhichcannotbeputintoanyshape。Butnowletitbeunderstoodthatthereaderisnotcalledontojudge
respectinganyoftheargumentsorconclusionscontainedintheforegoing
fivechaptersandintheaboveparagraphs。Thesubjectsonwhichweareabout
toenterareindependentofthesubjectsthusfardiscussed;andhemayreject
anyorallofthatwhichhasgonebefore，whileleavinghimselffreetoacceptanyorallofthatwhichisnowtocome。WhendrawinguptheprogrammeoftheSyntheticPhilosophy，itappeared
tomethat，intheabsenceofanystatementoftheologico—metaphysicalbeliefs，
thegeneraldoctrinesetforthmightbemisconstrued;andPartI，"The
Unknowable，"waswrittenforthepurposeofexcludingthepossiblemisconstructions。
UnfortunatelyIdidnotforeseethatPartIwouldberegardedasabasis
forPartII;withtheresultthattheacceptanceorrejectionoftheconclusions
inPartI，wouldbesupposedtodetermineacceptanceorrejectionofthose
inPartII。Verymanyhaveinconsequencebeenpreventedfromreadingbeyondthispoint。ButanaccountoftheTransformationofThings，giveninthepageswhich
follow，issimplyanorderlypresentationoffacts;andtheinterpretation
ofthefactsisnothingmorethanastatementoftheultimateuniformities
theypresent——thelawstowhichtheyconform。Isthereaderanatheist？
theexpositionofthesefactsandtheselawswillneitheryieldsupportto
hisbeliefnordestroyit。Isheapantheist？Thephenomenaandtheinferences
asnowtobesetforthwillnotforceonhimanyincongruousimplication。
DoeshethinkthatGodisimmanentthroughoutallthings，fromconcentrating
nebulaetothethoughtsofpoets？Thenthetheorytobeputbeforehimcontains
nodisproofofthatview。DoeshebelieveinaDeitywhohasgivenunchanging
lawstotheUniverse？Thenhewillfindnothingatvariancewithhisbelief
inanexpositionofthoselawsandanaccountoftheresults。
March，1899。