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magic; fetishism; and the lower superstitions may just as well be



called primitive science as called primitive religion。 The



question thus becomes a verbal one again; and our knowledge of



all these early stages of thought and feeling is in any case so



conjectural and imperfect that farther discussion would not be



worth while。







Religion; therefore; as I now ask you arbitrarily to take it;



shall mean for us THE FEELINGS; ACTS; AND EXPERIENCES OF



INDIVIDUAL MEN IN THEIR SOLITUDE; SO FAR AS THEY APPREHEND



THEMSELVES TO STAND IN RELATION TO WHATEVER THEY MAY CONSIDER THE



DIVINE。  Since the relation may be either moral; physical; or



ritual; it is evident that out of religion in the sense in which



we take it; theologies; philosophies; and ecclesiastical



organizations may secondarily grow。  In these lectures; however;



as I have already said; the immediate personal experiences will



amply fill our time; and we shall hardly consider theology or



ecclesiasticism at all。







We escape much controversial matter by this arbitrary definition



of our field。  But; still; a chance of controversy comes up over



the word 〃divine;〃 if we take the definition in too narrow a



sense。  There are systems of thought which the world usually



calls religious; and yet which do not positively assume a God。 



Buddhism is in this case。  Popularly; of course; the Buddha



himself stands in place of a God; but in strictness the



Buddhistic system is atheistic。  Modern transcendental idealism;



Emersonianism; for instance; also seems to let God evaporate into



abstract Ideality。  Not a deity in concreto; not a superhuman



person; but the immanent divinity in things; the essentially



spiritual structure of the universe; is the object of the



transcendentalist cult。  In that address to the graduating class



at Divinity College in 1838 which made Emerson famous; the frank



expression of this worship of mere abstract laws was what made



the scandal of the performance。







〃These laws;〃 said the speaker; 〃execute themselves。  They are



out of time; out of space; and not subject to circumstance: 



Thus; in the soul of man there is a justice whose retributions



are instant and entire。  He who does a good deed is instantly



ennobled。  He who does a mean deed is by the action itself



contracted。  He who puts off impurity thereby puts on purity。  If



a man is at heart just; then in so far is he God; the safety of



God; the immortality of God; the majesty of God; do enter into



that man with justice。  If a man dissemble; deceive; he deceives



himself; and goes out of acquaintance with his own being。 



Character is always known。  Thefts never enrich; alms never



impoverish; murder will speak out of stone walls。  The least



admixture of a liefor example; the taint of vanity; any attempt



to make a good impression; a favorable appearancewill instantly



vitiate the effect。  But speak the truth; and all things alive or



brute are vouchers; and the very roots of the grass underground



there do seem to stir and move to bear your witness。  For all



things proceed out of the same spirit; which is differently named



love; justice; temperance; in its different applications; just as



the ocean receives different names on the several shores which it



washes。  In so far as he roves from these ends; a man bereaves



himself of power; of auxiliaries。  His being shrinks 。  。 。 he



becomes less and less; a mote; a point; until absolute badness is



absolute death。  The perception of this law awakens in the mind a



sentiment which we call the religious sentiment; and which makes



our highest happiness。  Wonderful is its power to charm and to



command。  It is a mountain air。  It is the embalmer of the world。







It makes the sky and the hills sublime; and the silent song of



the stars is it。  It is the beatitude of man。  It makes him



illimitable。  When he says 'I ought'; when love warns him; when



he chooses; warned from on high; the good and great deed; then;



deep melodies wander through his soul from supreme wisdom。  Then



he can worship; and be enlarged by his worship; for he can never



go behind this sentiment。  All the expressions of this sentiment



are sacred and permanent in proportion to their purity。  'They'



affect us more than all other compositions。 The sentences of the



olden time; which ejaculate this piety; are still fresh and



fragrant。  And the unique impression of Jesus upon mankind; whose



name is not so much written as ploughed into the history of this



world; is proof of the subtle virtue of this infusion。〃'10'







'10' Miscellanies; 1868; p。 120 (abridged)。















Such is the Emersonian religion。  The universe has a divine soul



of order; which soul is moral; being also the soul within the



soul of man。  But whether this soul of the universe be a mere



quality like the eye's brilliancy or the skin's softness; or



whether it be a self…conscious life like the eye's seeing or the



skin's feeling; is a decision that never unmistakably appears in



Emerson's pages。  It quivers on the boundary of these things;



sometimes leaning one way sometimes the other; to suit the



literary rather than the philosophic need。  Whatever it is;



though; it is active。  As much as if it were a God; we can trust



it to protect all ideal interests and keep the world's balance



straight。  The sentences in which Emerson; to the very end; gave



utterance to this faith are as fine as anything in literature: 



〃If you love and serve men; you cannot by any hiding or stratagem



escape the remuneration。  Secret retributions are always



restoring the level; when disturbed; of the divine justice。  It



is impossible to tilt the beam。  All the tyrants and proprietors



and monopolists of the world in vain set their shoulders to heave



the bar。  Settles forevermore the ponderous equator to its line;



and man and mote; and star and sun; must range to it; or be



pulverized by the recoil。〃'11'







'11' Lectures and Biographical Sketches; 1868; p。 186。















Now it would be too absurd to say that the inner experiences that



underlie such expressions of faith as this and impel the writer



to their utterance are quite unworthy to be called religious



experiences。  The sort of appeal that Emersonian optimism; on the



one hand; and Buddhistic pessimism; on the other; make to the



individual and the son of response which he makes to them in his



life are in fact indistinguishable from; and in many respects



identical with; the best Christian appeal and response。  We must



therefore; from the experiential point of view; call these



godless or quasi…godless creeds 〃religions〃; and accordingly when



in our definition of religion we speak of the individual's



relation to 〃what he considers the divine;〃 we must interpret the



term 〃divine〃 very broadly; as denoting any object that is god…



LIKE; whether it be a concrete deity or not。  But the term



〃godlike;〃 if thus treated as a floating general quality; becomes



exceedingly vague; for many gods have flourished in religious



history; and their attributes have been discrepant enough。  What



then is that essentially godlike qualitybe it embodied in a



concrete deity or notour relation to which determines our



character as religious men?  It will repay us to seek some answer



to this question before we proceed farther。







For one thing; gods are conceived to be first things in the way



of being and power。  They overarch and envelop; and from them



there is no escape。  What relates to them is the first and last



word in the way of truth。  Whatever then were most primal and



enveloping and deeply true might at this rate be treated as



godlike; and a man's religion might thus be identified with his



attitude; whatever it might be; toward what he felt to be the



primal truth。







Such a definition as this would in a way be defensible。 Religion;



whatever it is; is a man's total reaction upon life; so why not



say that any total reaction upon life is a religion? Total



reactions are different from casual reactions; and total



attitudes are different from usual or professional attitudes。  To



get at them you must go behind the foreground of existence and



reach down to that curious sense of the whole residual cosmos as



an everlasting presence; intimate or alien; terrible or amusing;



lovable or odious; which in some degree everyone possesses。  This



sense of the world's presence; appealing as it does to our



peculiar individual temperament; makes us either strenuous or



careless; devout or blasphemous; gloomy or exultant; about life



at large; and our reaction; involuntary and inarticulate and



often half unconscious as it is; is the completest of all our



answers to the question; 〃What is the character of this universe



in which we dwell?〃  It expresses our individual sense of it in



the most definite way。  Why then not call these reactions our



religion; no matter what specific character they may have? 



Non…religious as some of these reactions may be; in one sense of



the word 〃religious;〃 they yet belong to THE GENERAL SPHERE OF



THE RELIGIOUS LIFE; and so should generically be classed as



religious reactions。  〃He believes in No…God; and he worships



him;〃 said a colleague of mine of a student who was manifesting a



fine atheistic ardor; and the more fervent opponents of Christian



doctrine have often enough shown a te

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