lecture01-第3部分

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only　instances　of　the　parental　instinct　of　self…sacrifice　gone



astray。　　For　the　hysterical　nun；　starving　for　natural　life；



Christ　is　but　an　imaginary　substitute　for　a　more　earthly　object



of　affection。　And　the　like。＇1＇







＇1＇　　As　with　many　ideas　that　float　in　the　air　of　one's　time；　this



notion　shrinks　from　dogmatic　general　statement　and　expresses



itself　only　partially　and　by　innuendo。　　It　seems　to　me　that　few



conceptions　are　less　instructive　than　this　re…interpretation　of



religion　as　perverted　sexuality。　　It　reminds　one；　so　crudely　is



it　often　employed；　of　the　famous　Catholic　taunt；　that　the



Reformation　may　be　best　understood　by　remembering　that　its　fons



et　origo　was　Luther's　wish　to　marry　a　nun：the　effects　are



infinitely　wider　than　the　alleged　causes；　and　for　the　most　part



opposite　in　nature。　　It　is　true　that　in　the　vast　collection　of



religious　phenomena；　some　are　undisguisedly　amatorye。g。；



sex…deities　and　obscene　rites　in　polytheism；　and　ecstatic



feelings　of　union　with　the　Savior　in　a　few　Christian　mystics。　



But　then　why　not　equally　call　religion　an　aberration　of　the



digestive　function；　and　prove　one's　point　by　the　worship　of



Bacchus　and　Ceres；　or　by　the　ecstatic　feelings　of　some　other



saints　about　the　Eucharist？　　Religious　language　clothes　itself　in



such　poor　symbols　as　our　life　affords；　and　the　whole　organism



gives　overtones　of　comment　whenever　the　mind　is　strongly　stirred



to　expression。　　Language　drawn　from　eating　and　drinking　is



probably　as　common　in　religious　literature　as　is　language　drawn



from　the　sexual　life。　　We　〃hunger　and　thirst〃　after



righteousness；　we　〃find　the　Lord　a　sweet　savor；〃　we　〃taste　and



see　that　he　is　good。〃　　〃Spiritual　milk　for　American　babes；　drawn



from　the　breasts　of　both　testaments；〃　is　a　sub…title　of　the　once



famous　New　England　Primer；　and　Christian　devotional　literature



indeed　quite　floats　in　milk；　thought　of　from　the　point　of　view；



not　of　the　mother；　but　of　the　greedy　babe。







Saint　Francois　de　Sales；　for　instance；　thus　describes　the　〃orison



of　quietude〃：　　〃In　this　state　the　soul　is　like　a　little　child



still　at　the　breast；　whose　mother　to　caress　him　whilst　he　is



still　in　her　arms　makes　her　milk　distill　into　his　mouth　without



his　even　moving　his　lips。　　So　it　is　here。　。　。　。　Our　Lord　desires



that　our　will　should　be　satisfied　with　sucking　the　milk　which　His



Majesty　pours　into　our　mouth；　and　that　we　should　relish　the



sweetness　without　even　knowing　that　it　cometh　from　the　Lord。〃　　　



And　again：　　〃Consider　the　little　infants；　united　and　joined　to



the　breasts　of　their　nursing　mothers　you　will　see　that　from　time



to　time　they　press　themselves　closer　by　little　starts　to　which



the　pleasure　of　sucking　prompts　them。　　Even　so；　during　its



orison；　the　heart　united　to　its　God　oftentimes　makes　attempts　at



closer　union　by　movements　during　which　it　presses　closer　upon　the



divine　sweetness。〃　　Chemin　de　la　Perfection；　ch。　xxxi。；　Amour　de



Dieu；　vii。　ch。　i。















In　fact；　one　might　almost　as　well　interpret　religion　as　a



perversion　of　the　respiratory　function。　　The　Bible　is　full　of　the



language　of　respiratory　oppression：　　〃Hide　not　thine　ear　at　my



breathing；　my　groaning　is　not　hid　from　thee；　my　heart　panteth；　my



strength　faileth　me；　my　bones　are　hot　with　my　roaring　all　the



night　long；　as　the　hart　panteth　after　the　water…brooks；　so　my



soul　panteth　after　thee；　O　my　God：〃　　God's　Breath　in　Man　is　the



title　of　the　chief　work　of　our　best　known　American　mystic　（Thomas



Lake　Harris）；　and　in　certain　non…Christian　countries　the



foundation　of　all　religious　discipline　consists　in　regulation　of



the　inspiration　and　expiration。







These　arguments　are　as　good　as　much　of　the　reasoning　one　hears　in



favor　of　the　sexual　theory。　　But　the　champions　of　the　latter　will



then　say　that　their　chief　argument　has　no　analogue　elsewhere。　



The　two　main　phenomena　of　religion；　namely；　melancholy　and



conversion；　they　will　say；　are　essentially　phenomena　of



adolescence；　and　therefore　synchronous　with　the　development　of



sexual　life。　　To　which　the　retort　again　is　easy。　　Even　were　the



asserted　synchrony　unrestrictedly　true　as　a　fact　（which　it　is



not）；　it　is　not　only　the　sexual　life；　but　the　entire　higher



mental　life　which　awakens　during　adolescence。　　One　might　then　as



well　set　up　the　thesis　that　the　interest　in　mechanics；　physics；



chemistry；　logic；　philosophy；　and　sociology；　which　springs　up



during　adolescent　years　along　with　that　in　poetry　and　religion；



is　also　a　perversion　of　the　sexual　instinct：but　that　would　be



too　absurd。　　Moreover；　if　the　argument　from　synchrony　is　to



decide；　what　is　to　be　done　with　the　fact　that　the　religious　age



par　excellence　would　seem　to　be　old　age；　when　the　uproar　of　the



sexual　life　is　past？







The　plain　truth　is　that　to　interpret　religion　one　must　in　the　end



look　at　the　immediate　content　of　the　religious　consciousness。　



The　moment　one　does　this；　one　sees　how　wholly　disconnected　it　is



in　the　main　from　the　content　of　the　sexual　consciousness。　



Everything　about　the　two　things　differs；　objects；　moods；



faculties　concerned；　and　acts　impelled　to。　　Any　GENERAL



assimilation　is　simply　impossible：　what　we　find　most　often　is



complete　hostility　and　contrast。　　If　now　the　defenders　of　the



sex…theory　say　that　this　makes　no　difference　to　their　thesis；



that　without　the　chemical　contributions　which　the　sex…organs　make



to　the　blood；　the　brain　would　not　be　nourished　so　as　to　carry　on



religious　activities；　this　final　proposition　may　be　true　or　not



true；　but　at　any　rate　it　has　become　profoundly　uninstructive：　we



can　deduce　no　consequences　from　it　which　help　us　to　interpret



religion's　meaning　or　value。　　In　this　sense　the　religious　life



depends　just　as　much　upon　the　spleen；　the　pancreas；　and　the



kidneys　as　on　the　sexual　apparatus；　and　the　whole　theory　has　lost



its　point　in　evaporating　into　a　vague　general　assertion　of　the



dependence；　SOMEHOW；　of　the　mind　upon　the　body。







We　are　surely　all　familiar　in　a　general　way　with　this　method　of



discrediting　states　of　mind　for　which　we　have　an　antipathy。　　We



all　use　it　to　some　degree　in　criticizing　persons　whose　states　of



mind　we　regard　as　overstrained。　　But　when　other　people　criticize



our　own　more　exalted　soul…flights　by　calling　them　'nothing　but'



expressions　of　our　organic　disposition；　we　feel　outraged　and



hurt；　for　we　know　that；　whatever　be　our　organism's　peculiarities；



our　mental　states　have　their　substantive　value　as　revelations　of



the　living　truth；　and　we　wish　that　all　this　medical　materialism



could　be　made　to　hold　its　tongue。







Medical　materialism　seems　indeed　a　good　appellation　for　the　too



simple…minded　system　of　thought　which　we　are　considering。　



Medical　materialism　finishes　up　Saint　Paul　by　calling　his　vision



on　the　road　to　Damascus　a　discharging　lesion　of　the　occipital



cortex；　he　being　an　epileptic。　　It　snuffs　out　Saint　Teresa　as　an



hysteric；　Saint　Francis　of　Assisi　as　an　hereditary　degenerate。　



George　Fox's　discontent　with　the　shams　of　his　age；　and　his　pining



for　spiritual　veracity；　it　treats　as　a　symptom　of　a　disordered



colon。　　Carlyle's　organ…tones　of　misery　it　accounts　for　by　a



gastro…duodenal　catarrh。　　All　such　mental　overtensions；　it　says；



are；　when　you　come　to　the　bottom　of　the　matter；　mere　affairs　of



diathesis　（auto…intoxications　most　probably）；　due　to　the



perverted　action　of　various　glands　which　physiology　will　yet



discover。　　And　medical　materialism　then　thinks　that　the　spiritual



authority　of　all　such　personages　is　successfully　undermined。＇2＇







＇2＇　　For　a　first…rate　example　of　medical…materialist　reasoning；



see　an　article　on　〃les　varietes　du　Type　devot；〃　by　Dr。　



Binet…Sangle；　in　the　Revue　de　l'Hypnotisme；　xiv。　161。















Let　us　ourselves　look　at　the　matter　in　the　largest　possible　way。　



Modern　psychology；　finding　definite　psycho…physical　connections



to　hold　good；　assumes　as　a　convenient　hypothesis　that　the



dependence　of　mental　states　upon　bodily　conditions　must　be



thoroughgoing　and　complete。　　If　we　adopt　the　assumption；　then　of



course　what　medical　materialism　insists　on　must　be　true　in　a



general　way；　if　not　in　every　detail：　　Saint　Paul　certainly　had



once　an　epileptoid；　if　not　an　epileptic　seizure；　George　Fox　was



an　hereditary　degenerate；　Carlyle　was　undoubtedly



auto…intoxicated　by　some　organ　or　other；　no　matter　whichand　the



rest。　　But　now；　I　ask　you；　how　can　such　an　existential　account　of



facts　of　mental　history　decide　in　one　way　or　another　upon　their



spiritual　significance？　　According　to　the　general　postulate　of



psychology　just　referred　to；　there　is　not　a　single　one　of　our



states　of　mind；　high　or　low；　healthy　or　morbid；　that　has　not　some



organic　process　as　its　condition。　　Scientific　theories　are



organically　conditioned　just　as　much　as　religious　emotions　are；



and　if　we　only　knew　the　facts　intimately　enough；　we　should



doubtless　see　〃the　liver〃　determining　the　dicta　of　the　sturdy



atheist　as　decisively　as　it　does　those　of　the　Methodist　under



conviction　anxious　about　his　soul。　　When　it　alters　in　one　way　the



blood　that　percolates　it；　we　get　the　methodist；　when　in　another



way；　we　get　the　atheist　form　of　mind。　　So　of　all　our　raptures　and



our　drynesses；　our　longings　and　pantings；　our　questions　and



beliefs。　　They　are　equally　organically　founded；　be　they　religious



or　of　non…religious　content。







To　plead　the　organic