ht and did feel the existence of a
Personal God in the world, yet could not demonstrate this existence, and
made mistakes in their endeavour [sic] to persuade themselves that they
understood thoroughly a truth which they had as yet perceived only from
a long distance. Hence all the dogmatism and theology of many centuries.
It was impossible for them to form a clear or definite conception
concerning God until they had studied His works more deeply, so as to
grasp the idea of many animals of different kinds and with no apparent
connection between them, being yet truly parts of one and the same
animal which comprised them in the same way as a tree comprises all its
buds. They might speak of this by a figure of speech, but they could
not see it as a fact. Before this could be intended literally, Evolution
must be grasped, and not Evolution as taught in what is now commonly
called Darwinism, but the old teleological Darwinism of eighty years
ago. Nor is this again sufficient, for it must be supplemented by a
perception of the oneness of personality between parents and offspring,
the persistence of memory through all generations, the latency of this
memory until rekindled by the recurrence of the associated ideas, and
the unconsciousness with which repeated acts come to be performed.
These are modern ideas which might be caught sight of now and again by
prophets in time past, but which are even now mastered and held firmly
only by the few.

When once, however, these ideas have been accepted, the chief difference
between the orthodox God and the God who can be seen of all men is, that
the first is supposed to have existed from all time, while the second
has only lived for more millions of years than our minds can reckon
intelligently; the first is omnipresent in all space, while the second
is only present in the living forms upon this earth-that is to say, is
only more widely present than our minds can intelligently embrace. The
first is omnipotent and all-wise; the second is only quasi-omnipotent
and quasi all-wise. It is true, then, that we deprive God of that
infinity which orthodox Theologians have ascribed to Him, but the
bounds we leave Him are of such incalculable extent that nothing can be
imagined more glorious or vaster; and in return for the limitations we
have assigned to Him, we render it possible for men to believe in Him,
and love Him, not with their lips only, but with their hearts and lives.

Which, I may now