lecture03-第6部分

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opposite　aspects　of　what　lies　before　their　eyes。







The　constitutionally　sombre　religious　person　makes　even　of　his



religious　peace　a　very　sober　thing。　　Danger　still　hovers　in　the



air　about　it。　　Flexion　and　contraction　are　not　wholly　checked。　



It　were　sparrowlike　and　childish　after　our　deliverance　to　explode



into　twittering　laughter　and　caper…cutting；　and　utterly　to　forget



the　imminent　hawk　on　bough。　　Lie　low；　rather；　lie　low；　for　you



are　in　the　hands　of　a　living　God。　　In　the　Book　of　Job；　for



example；　the　impotence　of　man　and　the　omnipotence　of　God　is　the



exclusive　burden　of　its　author's　mind。　　〃It　is　as　high　as　heaven；



what　canst　thou　do？deeper　than　hell；　what　canst　thou　know？〃　　　



There　is　an　astringent　relish　about　the　truth　of　this　conviction



which　some　men　can　feel；　and　which　for　them　is　as　near　an



approach　as　can　be　made　to　the　feeling　of　religious　joy。







〃In　Job；〃　says　that　coldly　truthful　writer；　the　author　of　Mark



Rutherford；　〃God　reminds　us　that　man　is　not　the　measure　of　his



creation。　　The　world　is　immense；　constructed　on　no　plan　or　theory



which　the　intellect　of　man　can　grasp。　It　is　TRANSCENDENT



everywhere。　　This　is　the　burden　of　every　verse；　and　is　the　secret



if　there　be　one；　of　the　poem。　　Sufficient　or　insufficient；　there



is　nothing　more。　。　。　。　　God　is　great；　we　know　not　his　ways。　　He



takes　from　us　all　we　have；　but　yet　if　we　possess　our　souls　in



patience；　we　MAY　pass　the　valley　of　the　shadow；　and　come　out　in



sunlight　again。　　We　may　or　we　may　not！　。　。　。　What　more　have　we　to



say　now　than　God　said　from　the　whirlwind　over　two　thousand　five



hundred　years　ago？〃＇29＇







＇29＇　Mark　Rutherford's　Deliverance；　London；　1885；　pp。　196；　198。















If　we　turn　to　the　sanguine　onlooker；　on　the　other　hand；　we　find



that　deliverance　is　felt　as　incomplete　unless　the　burden　be



altogether　overcome　and　the　danger　forgotten。　　Such　onlookers



give　us　definitions　that　seem　to　the　sombre　minds　of　whom　we　have



just　been　speaking　to　leave　out　all　the　solemnity　that　makes



religious　peace　so　different　from　merely　animal　joys。　　In　the



opinion　of　some　writers　an　attitude　might　be　called　religious；



though　no　touch　were　left　in　it　of　sacrifice　or　submission；　no



tendency　to　flexion；　no　bowing　of　the　head。　　Any　〃habitual　and



regulated　admiration；〃　says　Professor　J。　R。　Seeley；＇30＇　〃is



worthy　to　be　called　a　religion〃；　and　accordingly　he　thinks　that



our　Music；　our　Science；　and　our　so…called　〃Civilization；〃　as



these　things　are　now　organized　and　admiringly　believed　in；　form



the　more　genuine　religions　of　our　time。　　Certainly　the



unhesitating　and　unreasoning　way　in　which　we　feel　that　we　must



inflict　our　civilization　upon　〃lower〃　races；　by　means　of



Hotchkiss　guns；　etc。；　reminds　one　of　nothing　so　much　as　of　the



early　spirit　of　Islam　spreading　its　religion　by　the　sword。







＇30＇　In　his　book　（too　little　read；　I　fear）；　Natural　Religion；　3d



edition；　Boston；　1886；　pp。　91；　122。















In　my　last　lecture　I　quoted　to　you　the　ultra…radical　opinion　of



Mr。　Havelock　Ellis；　that　laughter　of　any　sort　may　be　considered　a



religious　exercise；　for　it　bears　witness　to　the　soul's



emancipation。　　I　quoted　this　opinion　in　order　to　deny　its



adequacy。　　But　we　must　now　settle　our　scores　more　carefully　with



this　whole　optimistic　way　of　thinking。　　It　is　far　too　complex　to



be　decided　off…hand。　　I　propose　accordingly　that　we　make　of



religious　optimism　the　theme　of　the　next　two　lectures。