cal end, he is taking them on faith and
uses them in the further faith that the end he aims at can be realised,
and shall by him be realised, if not in one way, then in another. The
missionary, then, who uses the results of the science of religion, who
seeks to benefit by an applied science of religion, is but following in
the footsteps of the practical man, and using business methods toward
the end he is going to realise.

The end he is going to realise is to convert men to Christianity. The
faith in which he acts is that Christianity is the highest form which
religion can take, the final form it shall take. As works of art or
literature may be classed either according to order of history or order
of value, so the works of the {16} religious spirit may be classed, not
only in chronological order, but also in order of religious value. I
am not aware that any proof can be given to show that any given period
of art or literature is better than any other. The merits of
Shakespeare or of Homer may be pointed out; and they may, or they may
not, when pointed out, be felt. If they are felt, no proof is needed;
if they are not, no proof is possible. But they can be pointed out--by
one who feels them. And they can be contrasted with the work of other
poets in which they are less conspicuous. And the contrast may reveal
the truth in a way in which otherwise it could never have been made
plain.

I know no other way in which the relative values of different forms of
religion can become known or be made known. You may have been tempted
to reflect, whilst I have been speaking, that, on the principle I have
laid down, there is no reason why there should not be five hundred
applied sciences, or applications of the science, of religion, instead
of one; for every one of the many forms of religion may claim to apply
the science of religion to its own ends. To that I may reply first,
that _a priori_ you would expect that every nation would set up {17}
its own literature as the highest; but, as a matter of fact, you find
Shakespeare generally placed highest amongst dramatists, Homer amongst
epic poets. You do not find the conception of literary merit varying
from nation to nation in such a way that there are as many standards of
value as there are persons to apply them. You find that there tends to
be one standard. Next, since the different forms of religion must be
compared if their relative values are to be ascertained, the