Chapter XXIII: The Ultimate Problem of the Reformation (1)

IT was indicated in the Introduction that we must look to the human mind itself for the origin of society and of civilisation; and in like manner, we must look to it as the prime source of religion. Although the origin of religion cannot be reached by historic research, still, from what has been ascertained by psychological analysis and the results obtained through prehistoric and scientific investigation, it appears that religion arose at a very early stage of man’s career.

Probably the very earliest impulse of religious feeling sprang from the primitive instinct of self-preservation. The sentiment evolved from this instinct and the emotions associated with it run through the lower and the higher religions of the world, in more or less developed forms. Religion in the earlier stage of society seems to have been limited to the family. Every father of a family acted as a priest, just as he acted as a labourer in the field, and a soldier in war. Thought must have preceded language, and the notion of an object mentally exists in the mind, before it can be intelligibly expressed. Thus the idea of power has to be realised, before applying it even to a natural phenomenon; and therefore men must first have conceived their gods, before they gave them names. When the gods were once conceived, descriptive names were usually applied to them, which seem gradually to have undergone modifications of form and meaning.

The elements of the human mind are connected with the great external system of natural phenomena, and the external senses of the human organism are the media through which the processes of sensation and perception operate. The prime and distinctive characteristic of mind is consciousness, that is, to be conscious of its own phenomena, both in the perception of external objects, and its own inner mental operations――thoughts, feelings, and emotions. The nature of an act of consciousness may be indicated thus:――I am conscious that I know, I am conscious that I feel, I am conscious that I desire; so on the one hand, consciousness is the recognition by the mind of its own acts and affections, which is the simple self-affirmation that certain mental modifications are known by me; while on the other hand, consciousness may be viewed as the primary datum of intelligence itself. Thus consciousness in its simplicity involves three points: 1, a recognising subject, an Ego or self; 2, a modification, state, affection or operation; 3, a recognition by the Ego of the modification, or operation. Every mental phenomenon may be called a fact of consciousness. Although it is usual and useful to distinguish consciousness from the special faculties of mind, for purposes of analysis and exposition, yet these special faculties are fundamentally modifications of consciousness itself. In short, philosophy is simply a systematic evolution of the contents of consciousness.

But viewed historically, the human mind in the early stages of the race was in some measure influenced by the great cosmic forces of the solar system. Such changes as day and night, summer and winter, the varying phases of the moon, and the mystery of the vast cosmic movements, had an influence on the mind of the human race for a long period. This influence, however, was only relative, and it slowly diminished with the advance of definite knowledge and experience. The influences of a terrestrial character were considered in the second section of the Introduction. Such influences viewed as bearing on man, are usually called the environment, and their effects on the history of the human mind have sometimes been grossly exaggerated. Environment has had an influence on the thoughts and feelings of men, and in some quarters of the globe it has been more felt than in others; yet, after all, the power of environment on man is only relative in its action. For it is the pre-eminent characteristic and function of man to rise above his environment by the energy of his mind, and the application of his knowledge and experience; and, in so far as the higher mental operations of his mind are concerned, he can discard the influence of external environment.

In the early stages of the race, the most striking phenomena of nature, as the sun, fire, the moon, the loud crack of thunder, the tempest, and many other objects, which caused amazement or fear in the human breast, were deified, and, for a time, worshipped. The conception of gods seems to have been primarily individual, and the conceived standards of the gods harmonised with the very limited range of ideas and knowledge then attained. But the continuance of a religion was not dependent on the character of its gods in early ages. The relation between men and their gods was then very simple, and the moral element scarcely appeared. In the Vedic hymns of India, such phrases were addressed to the gods, as: “If you give me this, I shall give you that,” or, “As you have given me this, I shall give you that.” Sometimes a strain of expostulation with the gods occurs, in which the sacred writer tells them that, “if he was as rich as they are, he would not allow his worshippers to go begging.” When sacrificial offerings began, they consisted of some kinds of food which men themselves relished, such as milk, butter, and berries, cooked in various ways; and of sacrificial animals, such as sheep, goats, oxen, and horses. The brief indications of cosmic notions in the Veda are extremely crude, for instance, the following:――“The right and true was born from kindled heat, then the night was born and the surging sea. From the surging sea the annual sun was born, He who orders day and night, the Lord of all that sees. The Creator made sun and moon in turn, the sky, the earth, and the air, and then the heaven.”

Another source of early religion sprang out of kinship, and ♦is usually called ancestor-worship. This worship often co-existed in the same communities with other religions; yet this co-existence――and even association with other forms of religion――does not prove that ancestor-worship was the earliest, or the original religion; ♠as it seems to have been preceded by nature-worship. But the worship of ancestors, or the spirits of the departed, arose at a comparatively early stage of human progress, and became widely prevalent. It explicitly implied a belief in the future existence of the human soul, which gave it an elevation over many of the other early forms of religion.

♦ duplicate word “is” removed

♠ duplicate word “as” removed

Brahmanism never reached a high ethical standard, and socially it issued in the institution of caste. The pantheistic conception which finds God in all things, at a certain stage of its development when applied to social life, leads to the conclusion that whatever exists, simply because it exists, is therefore right. Hence, on this principle, as class distinctions already existed in India, Brahmanism fixed and consecrated them into the system of castes, which thenceforth settled the status and the vocation of every individual in society. The Brahmans were by origin and birth invested with sacred functions, they were hereditary priests and lords over all the other castes, and separated from them by an impassable barrier. They had the exclusive right of reading and expounding the sacred books, and of performing sacrificial rites; and any interference with their sacred functions was prohibited under the severest penalties. This order of priesthood, as determined by descent and birth alone, inevitably tended to the substitution of mere rites and ceremonies for spiritual worship; and ultimately issued in a fixed and dead level of debased ceremonialism and superstition; while its system of caste resulted in a social organisation of stereotyped inequalities, which completely stifled all hope and chance of progress; and thus morally and socially perpetuated injustice. As the Brahman by birth was nearer to God than other men, whatever his character or moral worth might be, he stood in a special relation to God such as no man of any other caste could aspire to, however great his gifts and abilities; no other man could by any possibility become his equal. On the other hand, there were amongst the people those with whom the Brahman dare not associate, or help, eat with, or visit in sickness, or even come into accidental contact with, without undergoing a ceremonial pollution which could only be atoned for by severe penalties. In short, the system of caste involved the sanction of some of the worst and most cruel wrongs which could be inflicted on human society. A reaction gradually arose in the consciousness of the people against a religion, which so grossly outraged the deepest instincts of man’s being.

About the sixth century B.C., the great religious teacher Buddha appeared in India, and entered on his remarkable career. There is no very authoritative account of his personal characteristics and life, as the writings in which such information is given were not written until long after his death. But it has been recorded that, Buddha, the Enlightened, was the son of a Rajah of the Sakyas, an Aryan tribe of central India, who in early life abandoned his position and prospects as heir to his father’s throne, and entered on a wandering life as a religious mendicant. Considering the influence which the corruption of the period――an age of degrading superstition and of cruel social inequality and fixed injustice――would be likely to exert on a mind of marked originality and great metaphysical power, as well as of deep moral and intense religious susceptibilities, the step which Buddha took is not difficult to understand. He seems to have been gifted with a reflective, introspective, and restless mind, for which the great problems of the moral and spiritual life have a significance transcending all external interests, and which is induced to seek the solution of these problems by an inner and irresistible aspiration. Whether the inquiry present itself as the search for truth, or as the search for the meaning and end of human life, the explanation of its inconsistencies and anomalies, or for salvation from sin, suffering, and death――for such a mind there is no resting-place till the inner perplexities of the soul are dispelled. They cannot passively accept the existing conditions of social life, so long as these conflict with pure morals, and the higher craving and aspiration of the human soul exists. Buddha’s life was a search for truth, a struggle for spiritual rest and the moral reform of the race.

Buddha first enrolled himself under the most famous Brahmanical teachers of the time, and listened earnestly to their expositions of the questions of metaphysics and ethics. But these studies under the Brahmans failed to give him any mental peace. His moral and religious sympathies were too keen, and his interest in humanity and its suffering too intense to admit of his being satisfied with any doctrines which the Brahmans could present. He then retired with five faithful friends to a solitary spot in the jungles of Uruvela, and there followed the ascetic discipline for the space of six years. At last he became convinced that in seeking mental and spiritual peace through the ascetic channel, he was on the wrong path. Accordingly he relinquished asceticism, and betook himself simply to meditation and prayer, wandering about from place to place, still longing and aspiring after the secret of spiritual rest. It seems highly probable that it was during these wanderings that Buddha made his profound and exhaustive analysis of the human mind――an analysis perhaps more accurate than has ever been made by any single man before or since. At length, (we are told) after a prolonged stretch of meditation, while resting under a tree, a new light seemed to break in upon his mind, his difficulties vanished, and the secret of his own spiritual freedom, and of the regeneration of the human race were within his grasp.

The new light or doctrine which Buddha found and proclaimed, was that salvation can not be obtained by external sacrifices and penances, but only through inner renunciation and self-devotion. This religion announced that human happiness, salvation, and blessedness, which is the goal of life, does not consist in external conditions, but essentially in the internal character of the mind itself. Thenceforth the life of Buddha was that of a preacher of the new doctrine. Filled with compassion for the wretchedness and ignorance of his fellow-men, and conscientiously believing that he possessed the only truth which could save them, he proceeded enthusiastically on his mission of love. The fame of the new teacher and his doctrine began to spread abroad. His intense earnestness, his self-renunciation, associated with unusual gentleness and great benignity, his stirring eloquence and wisdom, and his personal dignity, gave striking force to the doctrines which he taught, and everywhere moved men’s hearts and minds. Great crowds of people flocked to hear his teaching, and thousands of all castes soon became his adherents; the schools of the Brahmans began to be deserted, and some of the notable Brahmanical teachers joined Buddha. The bondage of caste was shaken by the power of the new doctrine of human brotherhood which Buddha preached; and a great moral Reformation bore witness to the influence of the doctrines which he taught. It is reported that he lived to the age of eighty years. He was a highly gifted man, of a very lofty nature, one of those rare and exceptional personalities, who wield a strange power over all men coming within the range of their influence, and become great moral and religious leaders of the human race.

Morality formed the prime part of Buddha’s teaching, and this was one of the chief causes of his remarkable success. The pre-existing Brahmanism might be characterised as a political and social institution――an organised system of castes――rather than as a religion in the usual meaning of the term. Brahmanism had driven the religious and moral instincts of the body of the people into a groove of an elaborate system of prayers, penances, purifications, authoritative precepts and prohibitions touching almost every action of daily life. But it was the special and distinctive characteristic of Buddhism, that the way in which it taught men to reach salvation, was simply through the inner purification of the mind and heart, and moral goodness. It rejected secret mysteries and ontological dogmas, which were attainable only to speculative minds; and instead of these, demanded a knowledge of morality which could be attained by clearing the soul from the darkening influence of impulse and passion. Buddha said: “The highest insight is not that which can be measured by an intellectual standard. Merely to know is of little use. What is of supreme importance, is a change of the heart and spirit.” As “anger, drunkenness, deception, and envy constitute uncleanness, and not the eating of flesh,” so “neither abstinence, nor going naked, nor shaving the head, nor a rough garment; neither offerings to the priests nor sacrifices to the gods, will cleanse a man, nor free him from the deluding influence of sensual pleasure.” The importance assigned to practical morality in the Buddhist religion, and its recognition of an appeal to the conscience and the inner spiritual sentiment of man, formed the main element of its strength, and placed it higher than any religion which had preceded it. In short, its morals founded on love, charity and virtue, are so humane, that it might perhaps be said to be the only religion that has brought no ideal element of hostility into the world.

When Buddha’s disciples met in council to form their primitive church, they did not propose to teach men a new metaphysics; their chief aim was to improve the bad customs of the people, to reform their morals, to purify their souls from all debasing passions, and to unite them in a universal sense of brotherhood and love. From this sprang the intense proselytising spirit of Buddhism, and the remarkable self-denial of its early teachers, who established centres of their religion in Tibet, in Samarcand, in Siam, in Ceylon, China, and other countries, to the reformation and the civilisation of which it largely contributed. Its conquests have been greater and more permanent than those of any other religion; and even now, two thousand and four hundred years after the birth of its founder, its adherents number upwards of two hundred millions of the human race. It appears that Buddhism easily and rapidly overcame those countries in which there was no organised priesthood or orthodox religion. A somewhat similar result occurred when Christianity arrived in the West, where it only met with a decaying and incoherent Polytheism.

In so far as Buddha’s teaching was in its essence opposed to the system of castes, Buddhism was a reaction against Brahmanism. From another point of view, it was a marked original advance, and a higher development of genuine religion. The vigour and spiritual power of Buddhism as a reforming influence, was manifested in the effect which it produced on the ancient religion itself; and in the reform which it partly succeeded in effecting in the social life of the people. For several centuries it was the dominant religion in India; although the Brahmans after a time became intensely alarmed at its success, and, at last, began to fight against it. When it is stated that the principles of Buddhism admitted and recognised a priesthood recruited from the lower castes, and from the pariahs or outcasts, the causes of the opposition and the enmity of the Brahmans against it, is easily understood. The Brahmans, as a hereditary priesthood, considered themselves a class of very superior beings, on account of their pure Aryan blood, and gloried in tracing their descent back to the early Vedic times of the invasion and conquest of India. A hereditary caste of priests, and a hereditary caste of legislators associated with political institutions, always and everywhere, have fought hard to maintain their status and special privileges. Buddhism dealt a severe blow to the system of caste, and almost effected a complete social revolution in India. But unhappily the usual and baneful consequence followed. The reform of morals and religion had to give way to state and political considerations. Hence on the revival of Brahmanism with its political institution of castes, Buddhism was driven out of India, the place of its birth, about the beginning of the sixth century, A.D. The Brahman priesthood has continued, owing to the institution of castes, which is its corner-stone.

It would be going beyond the scope and aim of this chapter to enter into the treatment of the ontology, metaphysics, or the highest conceptions of the Brahmans touching God and the universe; let it suffice to say that the highest conception of the Brahmans and of Hindu thought are fundamentally pantheistic. The highest form of this conception may be indicated thus:――The visible universe is nothing, God is all in all――the One Unity, the One Being; or in other words, God is the invisible substance, the only real existence――the One eternal and self-existent essence of the universe. Such is the highest conception of Brahmanic thought. Although metaphysics form one of the three parts of the collection of Buddhist writings, usually called the “Tripitaka,” yet it would be quite unhistoric and unjust to judge of Buddhism from its metaphysical side. As I said before, it was in psychology, ethics and religion, that Buddha was original, and really great, for in these branches he left all his Aryan predecessors far behind him. Touching Nirvana, which has been made a special Buddhist problem, and has elicited much discussion, the conception of it was expounded by the Brahmans long before Buddha’s time. It cannot therefore be specially assigned to Buddha as one of his original and primary doctrines. Nirvana means extinction, and applied to man it may be taken to mean his absorption into God at death.

Let me now direct attention briefly to the religion of the people of Europe prior to the introduction of Christianity. The ancient religion of Greece was elaborately polytheistic. There was no clear idea of the one God in Greek religion, or any worthy conception of the Divine attributes. The gods of the Greeks were mostly local, and bound to a particular family, city, or district. As observed in the fifth section of the Introduction, the Greeks had only a vague and feeble notion of the immortality of the soul. Heroes might sometimes be exalted to the skies, but for the common people there was no hope beyond the grave. There was nothing in their religion to satisfy the inner craving of the human soul, while its moral side was negative, if not positively baneful. It was the Greek philosophers who gave morals and rules of life to the people, not their religion. Thus Greek philosophy from the first tended to undermine the popular religion, and any cult which cannot embrace ethical ideas and truth, is doomed to decay.

The religion of the ancient Romans was also polytheistic, and associated with a strong element of ancestor worship. Apparently the Romans had no more difficulty in changing and modifying their gods, than in making new domestic and State arrangements. They had a great multitude of gods and also goddesses, as the formula used by the officiating priest on great occasions shows:――“Be thou god or goddess, man or woman; whoever thou art, or by whatever name it is right to call thee.” Ancestor worship held an important place among the Romans, and their funeral rites were elaborate. At Rome it was the custom, after the dead body had been washed, anointed, and clothed, to keep it seven days in the house: and on the eighth day it was carried out and burned; then the remains were collected, sprinkled with wine and milk, placed in an urn, and deposited in the family tomb. The relatives on returning home stepped over a fire, and were sprinkled with water. Then the departed was believed to be a kind of divine being, and eight days after the funeral, sacrifices were celebrated in his honour; and the offering consisted of sheep or swine, dedicated to Ceres. This was followed by a feast, during which speeches and songs were given in honour of the departed, libations were made for him and incense burned. After all the requisite rites had been performed, the soul of the departed was supposed to be at rest; as it had become one of the Manes. On the 19th of February every year, a commemorative festival was held, at which offerings were made to the Manes; and similar offerings had to be made on several other days; and again on other occasions connected with important events. The Manes were supposed to remain in the lower world; but the departed were also called gods. Cicero said “that the days kept sacred for the dead, would not, like the days kept sacred for the gods, have been called solemn holydays, had not our ancestors wished that the departed should be considered as gods.” From this it was an easy step to the deification of the Emperors.

The College of Pontiffs was instituted at an early period, and originally consisted of four persons of the patrician class, who continued members for life, and had the right of electing to all vacancies. In 300 B.C., four plebeians were added; and in 81 B.C. the number was increased to fifteen. At first the Supreme Pontiff of the College was elected by and from its own members, and subsequently by the voice of the people. He was perpetual president of the College, and invested with supreme power over the religion, worship, and the priesthood of the State. In all matters relating to religious rites, sacrifice and worship, sacred days and festivals, and the admission of foreign gods with their cultus, the ceremonies at birth, marriage, and funeral, and the conduct of the priesthood, their power was supreme. All official documents touching religion were in their custody; and of all the laws written and unwritten relating to it, they were the interpreters and guardians; they had also the sole powers of legislation in such matters. Dressed in purple-bordered robes and conical woollen caps, they attended all the great public ceremonies, and presided and read prayers at the opening of the Comitia, and other important assemblies. The great Cæsar was made Supreme Pontiff as well as Dictator; and all the Emperors to Theodosius assumed the same office. Cæsar in his lifetime was honoured as a god, and after his death, he was by the Senate formally enrolled amongst the deities. The Emperors were also deified; the Romans talked of their majesty and eternity; sacrifices were offered to them, and the sacred fire was carried before them. The worship of the Emperors, in short, constituted the religion of a corrupted and declining Empire.

The religion of the Teutonic nations――the Germans and the Scandinavians――was a rude and vigorous polytheism. Their chief gods were Odin and Thor, and their great goddess was Friga, one of Odin’s wives, though they had many minor gods, and elves and dwarfs were also numerous in their world. Odin, as the father of the gods, was called Allfather, and also Valfather, because he takes as his sons the heroes who fall in battle. He was represented as a very tall, one-eyed old man, with a long beard and flowing hair, and a rather broad brimmed hat, which was supposed to represent the vault of heaven, and a spear in his hand to signify his great conquering power. All the other gods were emanations from him, or renovations of him. He was the “father of time, the lord of gods and men, the god of heaven, the king of the year, and the god of war and giver of victory.” The other gods were generated through Odin’s relations to external objects. Thor was the son of Odin by his wife Jord, the uninhabited earth, and he was a great and physically powerful personage. He was the god of thunder, and ruled over clouds and rain. His home was in the region of cloudy gloom, and his great shining palace contained five hundred and forty floors, from which he sent forth lightnings. His grand chariot was drawn by two goats, whose hoofs and teeth flashed forth fire. He was girded with a wonderful belt which doubled his strength, and in his hand he carried his terrible hammer, which he hurled at his foes, and which, after dealing the fatal blow, returned to him. His great enemies were the frost and mountain giants, with whom he was constantly at war. He was represented as a powerful young man with a red beard, and when it thundered in some places, the people used to say that “Thor is blowing through his beard.” The worshippers of Odin and Thor were rude and ruthless, yet they were free, brave, vigorous, and enterprising. Their cult was extremely crude, and their stage of civilisation was still comparatively low.

Looking at the peoples of Europe from the moral and social stand-point at the period immediately preceding the general introduction of Christianity amongst them, it appears that they were in a very bad condition. In those parts of Europe which had been overrun and conquered by the Romans, the spirit of the inhabitants was broken and greatly enfeebled by complete subjection to a military power, which had obtained the empire by force and upheld it by the same means; while the Romans themselves had become corrupted by power, and their Empire was disorganised, and exhausted at its centre. When the day of retribution came, the Empire, raised by so many hands, by so much bloodshed, cruelty and oppression, was attacked in the north and in the south, in the west and in the east, and compelled to contract its lines till its power and existence ceased.

It has been ascertained that humane sentiment, a respect for justice, honesty, and an elevating and humanising morality, have been only very slowly developed, even amongst the most advanced branches of mankind. How is this? What were the causes and influences which retarded moral developments? Such questions are not easily answered, and can be only briefly touched on, in relation to the problem under consideration. For a long period mankind was so much engaged in war that the higher sentiments could not be developed, save in a very imperfect and limited degree. At later periods, when conquering races appeared, the rude and cruel natural propensities and passions were stimulated, fed, and developed to an extent which often engendered in the conquering race or nation an utter disregard for human life and human suffering. The conquering race or nation became intoxicated by power, and elated by the feelings and pride always associated with power, easily imagined that they were a superior class of people, and had a right to subject and enslave as many of the human race as they possibly could. Time rolled on and human intellect developed, and mankind multiplied; but the military passion and the inhuman propensities associated with it still reigned in the world.

In the short intervals of peace, which occurred here and there, moral feeling and humane sentiment had not time to develop, except on a very narrow and limited scale. For ages, the moral development of the race was retarded by the interest of power, empire, caste, and the supposed requisites of political institutions. Religion too was usually subordinated to State and political considerations, and this often vitiated its moral influence. Although Buddhism had effected a social revolution in India, the ruling power, for considerations connected with the immoral and degrading system of caste, expelled this great religion from India.

Viewed as a conception of an invisible Being, religion is distinct from morality. Yet it is only when religion exercises an influence on the moral character and life of man that it attains significance and real importance. If the god or object of worship be not conceived as benevolent, perfect, pure, and just, the religion to which it belongs can be neither elevating nor purifying. It is quite true that the attributes of God cannot be adequately conceived by finite minds; still, if in the Divine attributes there is no moral characteristic, the great difficulty of the relation between God and man becomes insurmountable. Christianity removed this difficulty.

Christianity in the person and life of Jesus, its founder, manifested the complete relation between God and man, the union of the Divine and human. This Christian communion with God should embrace the whole receptive life of man, filling him with the peace and love and joy of God, and pervade his whole active life.

When Christianity was introduced into Europe, it had no difficulty in overcoming the decaying and disjointed polytheisms which then existed. Yet the Gospel of Jesus, as may be easily imagined, was too elevated to be received in all its purity; and the result was that some of the old notions were retained and transferred to it, for instance, ancestor worship was continued under the form of the worship of the Saints. In fact, at an early stage of the history of Christianity in the West, Rome became its chief centre, and the Popes of Rome with their immediate associates elaborated a great system of religious polity, framed partly on the principles of the Roman empire; but partly also on the principle of caste. Thus what is called Roman Catholicism is essentially a political, and not a religious institution. It is well known that the Popes claimed and exercised unlimited temporal power. The royal power of Kings was subordinated to the head of the Church; the authority of the Church assumed the right to dominate over civil law and every institution. The Pope suspended Kings by excommunication, and exercised despotic political power. Centuries passed, and the organisations of the Roman hierarchy multiplied and developed to an enormous extent in every country of Europe; while, as stated in the first section of this volume, the Gospel of Jesus was obscured and almost superseded by a vast number of legends, relics, traditions and ceremonies, which for a considerable length of time seems to have been pretty much in harmony with the ancient cultus of the people of Europe. Throughout the centuries of comparative darkness, however, there was a slow but continuous moral and intellectual progress, which, owing to various agencies and influences, at last assumed the form of a reaction, and issued in the Reformation.

It was already stated, that the diffusion of the Bible amongst the people of Europe in the vernacular language was one of the deepest and most powerful causes of the Reformation. Both Catholics and Protestants believed in the supernatural origin of the Scriptures. The latter especially maintained that the Bible contained a special revelation from God to man, and therefore to the Reformers the Word of God was the real and absolute authority in religion. The influence of this belief was great, and in conjunction with other influences contributed much to awaken the religious consciousness, and to intensify the feelings and emotions. Moreover, the Gospel――the Christian revelation as contained in the New Testament――presented in a simple and intelligible form, the precepts, the doctrines, and the promises of immortality, which satisfied the inmost craving of the soul, gave to faith and hope a clearer vision, and in relation with the will and active efforts, contributed much to sustain and cheer man in the daily struggle of life, and in the most trying and perplexing difficulties. As life’s sojourn approached its termination, and the years came when men are accustomed to say there is no pleasure in them, they experienced the Saviour to be as rivers of water in a dry place, and as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land. At last, when the Christian’s feet began to stumble upon the dark mountains of eternity, and one by one external objects began to vanish away, the faith in immortality became as an anchor of hope to the still conscious soul.

This faith in a future life has had a great and beneficial influence in stimulating and sustaining human effort. A belief in the immortality of the soul is not in the least inconsistent with the highest knowledge and the most accurate results as yet reached by science. While the universe still remains far above and beyond our finite power of comprehension, a belief in the immortality of the soul appears to be requisite, as a supreme act of faith in the reasonableness of God’s work. It seems to me, that only on such a view can the reasonableness of the universe maintain its ground.

Volition, feeling, emotion, and sentiment, have usually entered more into the heart of religion than cognition or formal thought. Religion in the highest reach of its ideal always involves something which cannot be known as a fact, or demonstrated as a scientific truth; in other words, there is a region of belief, and beyond it, a region of faith and hope. As some men manifest this emotional and volitional side of the mind more than others, or even the same man at different times under changed circumstances and influences may manifest it in higher or lower degrees; in like manner there have been periods in the history of the race, and in the history of nations, when this psychological phenomenon became unusually prominent, and culminated in social revolutions. Now, the Reformation era was of this character, as it was characterised by an awakening of the religious consciousness, which was manifested by an intense and prolonged excitement of the emotional and the volitional sides of the mind.

I. The evidence supplied by the history of Scotland touching the progress of social organisation and religion in relation to the Reformation, may be briefly summarised. In the first volume it was shown that the earliest inhabitants of the country were a people of short stature, living under the tribal organisation; and that their religion probably contained an element of animal worship, which was connected with a form of ancestor worship. Subsequently the Celts arrived and became the dominant people. The religion of the Celts was polytheistic, with a strong element of ancestor worship in it; and a vivid belief in the future existence of the soul. Christianity was introduced into Scotland under the monastic form; and the early saints who converted the people were venerated down to the eve of the Reformation. In the twelfth century the Church of Scotland was brought into conformity with the prevailing form of Christendom――Roman Catholicism. The national clergy, however, on many occasions gave evidence that their patriotism had risen above their allegiance to the Pope; and this was specially manifested in the great struggle for national Independence, as the bishops and the clergy gave effective aid to Wallace and Bruce, and to other national leaders.¹

¹ Volume I., pages 266, 271, 281, 288, _et seq._

It was shown that historic conditions had arisen after the arrival of the Celts, and that the nation was gradually developed out of a number of tribes. It was indicated how the social and moral characteristics of the nation had been developed, and the influences which Christianity had contributed to it were pointed out. At a certain stage of civilisation the customary law of the country appeared to be passing into crude written laws, which in turn were modified and improved by the current flow of influences and events, and the increasing command of appliances; and it was noted that the conception of public justice was gradually formed, and at last distinguished from the primitive feeling of revenge. The growing complexity of the internal organisation of the nation, as shown in the rise and the incorporation of the towns, and also in the incorporation of the various classes of craftsmen in these small centres of industry, was elucidated. Ample details were presented touching the religious ideas, feelings, and sentiments of the people from the prehistoric ages to the end of the fifteenth century.

II. In this volume, the first section of the thirteenth chapter presented a brief outline of the general causes of the Reformation, and of the state of Roman Catholicism and its chief characteristics; while in the second section of the same chapter, and in the fourteenth chapter, and the first part of the twenty-first chapter, evidence of the awakening of the moral and religious consciousness was given, which was soon perceived by the Roman Catholic clergy, who exerted themselves to the utmost to extinguish it. Many of the heretics proved the sincerity of their conviction and the strength of their faith by suffering at the stake. Thus the religious feeling and aspiration was constant in its action and persistent in its manifestation, even in the face of the most appalling suffering and of death itself. On the other hand, it was pointed out that the political causes of the Reformation could not have originated, or produced, or sustained it; because when the selfish aims which stimulated these political causes were gained, then such causes fluctuated, and soon ceased to operate; nay, these political powers, as soon as their special ends were attained, frequently turned round and fought against the genuine outcome of this great religious and moral revolution of the sixteenth century.

III. In this chapter on psychological and historic ground, I have made a brief, and consequently a very incomplete effort, to indicate the probable origin of religion. It appears that religion at first was limited to the family, and to small communities, so that great orthodoxies, such as Brahmanism, Buddhism, and Roman Catholicism, are comparatively late developments. Fully developed ♦Brahmanism was more of a political institution than a religion, while Buddhism was a real and vigorous religious reaction against the frigid and rigid orthodox Brahmanism and its system of castes. After Buddhism had effected a social and moral revolution in India, mainly through the purity of its moral doctrines and the humane ideas which it inculcated, the ruling power, for political considerations connected with the degrading system of castes, deemed it necessary to expel Buddhism from India. Thus Brahmanism was revived and continued in India, because it was a political institution under the semblance of a religion, but utterly without the spirit and the characteristics of a real religion. In like manner, the Reformation was a reaction against the hierarchy and orthodoxy of Roman Catholicism; and, in so far as Catholicism was a political institution, it then suffered an irreparable shock.

♦ “Brahmanisms” replaced with “Brahmanism”

It was remarked on a preceding page that the moral development of the race has been greatly retarded by the absorbing interest always associated with political power, empire, caste, and the supposed necessities of State institutions. Thus the highest ideal of Christianity and its most elevating doctrines have often been perverted, and used for the accomplishment of the most pernicious ends; yet this will yield no ground for an argument against Christianity. On the contrary, it only shows how corrupting the love of power and its exercise by an individual, a class, a nation, or an empire, always is, when not limited and restrained by a sense of justice and feelings of humanity.

IV. In Scotland there were indications of widening sympathy and humane feeling in the earnest appeals of the Reformed preachers on behalf of the oppressed tenants and labourers of the land, and in the efforts to mitigate the suffering of the poor and helpless. The reformed clergy made the utmost efforts to procure the cessation of all manual labour on Sunday, and to devote that day to the moral and religious instruction of the people, and to the worship of God. The ministers in the daily exercise of their functions, and in their Sessions, and in other Church Courts, unceasingly struggled to reform the habits and to improve the morals of the people; they endeavoured to check all disorder and excess; to place the important institution of marriage on a proper footing, and manifested an earnest intention to protect the lives of infants. They fearlessly exposed the immorality of the Court, and of those in authority, and fought manfully against vice and crime in all its forms. When they were harassed by the Government and deserted by the nobles, they still continued steadfastly to contend for what they believed to be the truth. Finally, they made great and successful efforts to introduce and to extend the means of education to the humblest classes of the people in the Kingdom. Thus various influences were brought to bear upon the people which ultimately effected a marked improvement in their moral habits and character. The tentative deduction enunciated at the close of the eighteenth chapter may be re-stated:――“The prime sustaining causes of the Reformation throughout were the moral sentiments and ideas, associated with the religious aspiration and the belief in the Divine revelation of the Bible.” This deduction seems to be well founded, inasmuch, that, so far as has been ascertained, the social instincts of the race originated society; and that slowly in the roll of ages, the primitive social instincts developed into moral sentiments, humane feeling, and finally, the moral sense or conscience――from which in association with cognition and the special faculties of knowledge――all conceptions of Justice, of Law, of Truth, and of God, have been gradually developed. The social feelings were the original foundation of society, and the ethnic conceptions and ideals evolved from them in association with the cognitive faculties of the mind, ultimately gave forms to law and justice, and to all organisations and institutions. Thus the social feelings and the moral sentiments have always been an essential factor in the progress and civilisation of the human race. In so far as religion has tended to elevate the ethnic standard and ideal, it has contributed to the culture of the race. While viewed in its divine and spiritual characteristics, it has satisfied the inner craving and the highest aspiration of the soul, and thus Christianity has been an important factor in civilisation.

V. But the Reformation ultimately produced intellectual results not less remarkable than the moral and religious ones; as it was then that a real zeal for education was instilled into the Scottish mind, which ever since has been developing. The general intelligence of the people of Scotland, the scientific and literary eminence which many Scotsmen have attained, is partly traceable to the revolutionary movement of the sixteenth century.

Another important result of the Reformation was to weaken the claims and the chains of authority, and thus to give a new impetus to those habits of mind so necessary in all branches of scientific inquiry. Men began with greater freedom and boldness to interrogate nature; the human mind awoke from a long sleep, and with refreshed strength and glowing energy entered on the course of modern scientific progress. Improvements in the methods of investigation were made, and original discoveries and inventions soon followed; conquest after conquest succeeded each other in regular sequence, the varied and beneficial results of which we see around us at the present day. After a relatively advanced stage of scientific knowledge is reached, intellectual ideas begin to influence religious beliefs and doctrines, and in some directions moral conceptions. The diffusion of knowledge tends to purify religion; the conception of the Supreme Being gradually becomes more elevated; the horizon of the moral vision is widened; and more effective methods are devised and applied for the moral culture of the race.

INDEX.

Abercorn, i., 116;
castle of, 343, 390;
Earl of, iii., 19.

Abercromby, Dr. Patrick, iv., 143.

Aberdeen, i., 148, 151, 234, 238‒9, 264, 284, 288, 306, 325, 366,
370, 386‒7, 390;
ii., 116, 123, 192, 202, 212, 241, 247;
iii., 28, 90, 91, 219, 223, 228;
iv., 370, 375;
University of, i., 415, 467;
ii., 412, 413;
iii., 62, 392‒3;
iv., 60, 139, 317‒320.

Aberdeen, Earl of, iv., 482.

Aberdeenshire, i., 28, 49, 52, 68, 75, 90, 95, 140, 184, 271, 284,
287, 325;
ii., 154;
iii., 244;
iv., 370, 371.

Abernethy, i., 114, 165, 245.

Aboyne, i., 174;
Viscount of, iii., 93.

Ada, daughter of Earl David, i., 204, 256.

Adam,
Dr. Alexander, iv., 153;
William, Robert, James, 402.

Adamson, Archbishop of St. Andrews, ii., 182‒4, 189, 271, 380.

Aed, King, i., 136.

Agricola, General, i., 105, 109.

Agriculture, i., 100, 133, 150, 250‒254, 376‒381;
ii., 266, 289, 290;
iii., 303‒305;
iv., 332‒339.

Aidan, King of Dalriada, i., 117‒8.

Aikman, iv., ♦429.

♦ page number provided by transcriber

Airlie, Earl of, iii., 90;
castle of, 337.

Alan, Lord of Galloway, i., 211.

Albany,
Duke of, i., 319, 321‒2, 324‒6;
Murdoch, 326, 327, 328;
Alexander, 348‒351;
John, Regent, ii., 36‒37.

Ale, i., 251, 399, 400, 401, 402, 404;
ii., 291‒292;
iii., 217‒219;
iv., 395.

Alexander I., reign of, i., 200, 201.

Alexander II., reign of, i., 209‒212, 242.

Alexander, III.,
coronation of, i., 213;
reign of, 213‒217.

Alexander, William, iv., 209‒211.

Alison,
Rev. Archibald, iv., 86;
Sir Archibald, 155‒6;
Dr. William, 312.

Allan,
David, iv., 433;
Sir William, 443.

Alloa, iv., 433.

Alnwick castle, i., 143, 300.

Amberley, Viscount, ii., 43, 44.

Anderson,
Dr. Joseph, i., 52, 55, 57, 61, 65, 66, 168, 180;
William, ii., 68;
James, iv., 143, 144;
Robert, 173.

Angles, i., 113, 118, 119.

Angus,
Pictish King, i., 120;
Angus, Chief, 116, 202;
Angus Duff, 329;
Angus, Lord of the Isles, 218, 285, 292, 293;
Angus, Earl of, 342, 343, 350, 351;
ii., 36, 37, 38, 61, 63, 64, 65, 181, 195, 212.

Annandale, i., 26, 203, 223, 349.

Annandale, Earl of, iii., 179.

Anne, Queen, iii., 204, 205, 209, 211, 220, 222.

Anstruther, ii., 192.

Arbroath,
monastery of, i., 249, 296, 432, 433, 434;
town of, 238, 409;
iii., 93, 301;
iv., 375.

Arbuthnot,
Alexander, ii., 372, 373, 413;
Dr. John, iv., 228‒230.

Architecture, i., 157‒165, 247‒250, 428‒431;
ii., 396, 397;
iii., 396‒7;
iv., 401‒411.

Ardnamurchan, i., 24, 261, 356;
iii., 90.

Ardoch, i., 106.

Argyle,
Earl of, i., 356‒7, 364, 365;
ii., 63, 64, 89, 96, 97, 130, 134, 135, 145, 150, 181, 201,
202, 224, 226, 229;
iii., 90, 91, 92, 99, 104, 121, 123, 159, 167, 192;
Duke of, 206, 223, 241.

Argyleshire, i., 53, 116, ♦117, 121, 127, 210, 261, 369;
iii., 91; iv.

♦ “177” replaced with “117”

Arkinholm, battle of, i., 343.

Armada, ii., 191, 192.

Armstrong,
John, a marauder, ii., 224, 225;
Dr. John, iv., 169.

Arran, island of, i., 23, 95, 216, 286, 379, 380.

Arran,
Earl of, i., 346;
Regent, ii., 63, 65, 67, 70, 74, 78, 86, 87;
Stewart, Earl of Arran, 175, 177, 181, 184, 185, 187.

Arrowheads, i., 49, 50.

Art,
early, i., 52, 75‒79, 166‒174, 176‒180, 241‒243, 470, 471;
ii., 423‒425;
iii., 393‒396;
Progress of, in Scotland, iv., 428.

Aryan race, i., 38‒42;
language of, 43.

Arth, a friar, ii., 51‒53.

Asceticism, i., 131, 156, 157, 244;
ii., 43‒46, 261, 262.

Assembly, General,
ii., 115, 129, 149, 151, 160, 166, 167, 169, 188, 193, 211,
213;
iii., 28, 34, 36, 39, 69‒72, 77, 83, 84, 98, 104, 186;
iv., 465‒485.

Athole,
Earl of, i., 208, 209, 214, 217, 255, 263, 283, 285, 305, 306,
335, 337;
ii., 143, 148;
iii., 110;
Marquis of, 174;
Duke of, 207, 212.

Attwood, iv., 143, 144.

Auldearn, battle of, iii., 94.

Ayr,
Burgh of, i., 240, 356, 359, 386, 387;
ii., 69;
iii., 303;
iv., 369‒372;
Castle of, i., 215, 248, 274, 287.

Ayrshire, i., 29, 114, 286, 287, 379;
ii., 78;
iii., 134, 153;
iv., 341, 342.

Aytoun, William E., iv., 194.

Bacon, Lord, ii., 395;
iii., 434‒435.

Badenoch, i., 211, 276, 356;
iii., 181.

Badenoch, Lord of, i., 217, 256, 271, 274, 275, 277.

Baillie,
General, iii., 93, 94, 95;
Rev. Robert, 75, 76, 87, 88, 357, 358.

Bain, Dr. Alexander, ii., 420;
iv., 139, 140, 141, 155.

Balcanqhall, Walter, ii., 177, 184, 187, 206.

Balfour,
Sir James, ii., 75, 135, 144, 146;
John, of Burley, iii., 151, 153, 343;
Sir Andrew, 369.

Baliol, Bernard de, i., 203.

Baliol,
King John, i., 256, 258, 259, 260‒262, 263, 264, 366;
Edward, 304, 305, 306, 307.

Ballads,
early, i., 184‒5, 441‒450;
ii., 76, 77, 244, 245, 341‒345;
referring to the Civil War and persecution, iii., 237‒346;
Jacobite ballads, 346‒353.

Balmerino, Lord, iii., 18, 60.

Bancroft, Archbishop of Canterbury, iii., 32.

Bane, Donald, King, i., 144.

Banff, i., 148, 248, 307, 385, 390, 391;
iii., 301;
iv., 373.

Bank of Scotland established, iii., 327‒329.

Bannatyne, George, ii., 371, 372.

Bannockburn, battle of, i., 291‒295.

Barbour, John, i., 451‒454.

Barclay,
Robert, iii., 258;
Dr., iv., 308.

Barlow, Bishop, ii., 54, 56.

Barmekyn hill, fort on, i., 90.

Barony, i., 223, 225.

Barton, Captain, i., 359, 363.

Beaton,
James, Archbishop, ii., 38, 58;
David, Cardinal, 58, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70‒72, 79.

Beaumont, Henry, i., 301, 305, 306.

Beck, Bishop of Durham, i., 266, 270.

Bede, i., 116, 122, 126.

Bellhaven, Lord, iii., 197, 211‒12.

Bell Rock, i., 23.

Bell,
Dr. John, iv., 306, 307;
Sir Charles, 307, 308.

Bellenden,
John, ii., 317, 318;
Sir John, 158;
Sir Lewis, 274.

Berkeley, Bishop, iii., 470, 471.

Berwick-North, i., 387, 389.

Berwick, i., 206, 233, 234, 236, 238, 239, 248, 259, 260, 263,
264, 268, 279, 285, 295, 305, 350, 382;
Treaty of, ii., 100, 272.

Bible, translations of, ii., 25‒27, 49, 170.

Bisset, Thomas, i., 271.

Black,
David, ii., 204‒206;
Dr. Joseph iv., 260‒263, 273, 276, 278.

Blackadder, John, iii., 139.

Blackie, John S., iv., 247‒249.

Blakey, Robert, iv., 160.

Blacklock, Dr. Thomas, iv., 171, 172.

Blair,
Robert, iv., 169, 170;
Dr. Hugh, 215.

Blair Athole, iii., 90.

Blair Castle, iii., 181.

Bœce, Hector, ii., 316.

Bondmen, i., 252, 380‒382.

Book of Common Order, ii., 113, 114;
Book of Discipline, the first, 105‒113;
the second, 171‒173.

Book of Canons, iii., 45, 46.

Boot and shoe manufactures, iv., 392, 393.

Borders,
state of, i., 309, 315‒318, 322, 324, 342;
ii., 223‒225;
order established on the Borders, iii., 20‒28.

Borthwick Castle, ii., 143.

Bothwell,
Earl of, i., 353, 426;
ii., 69, 131, 133, 134, 135, 136, 138‒145;
Francis Stewart, Earl of, 198, 272, 273, 274‒276.

Bothwell Bridge, Battle of, iii., 153, 154.

Botriphnie, i., 378;
iv., 197.

Bower, Walter, i., 376, 463.

Boyd,
Robert, of Kilmarnock, i., 283;
Robert, Lord Boyd, 345, 346, 347;
Sir Thomas, created Earl of Arran, 146, 147.

Boyd, Zachary, iii., 358, 359.

Braemar, iii., 222.

Brahmanism, ii., 428, 429, 431, 433.

Braxfield, Lord, iv., 458.

Breadalbane, Earl of, iii., 190, 191.

Brechin, i., 138, 164, 183, 238, 249, 276, 409;
Castle of, 264, 276;
Battle of, 342.

Bridges, Early, i., 250.

Briggs, Henry, ii., 389, 390, 391.

Brigham, treaty of, i., 218.

Britons of Strathclyde, i., 113, 114, 117, 123‒125, 138.

Britons and Scots, early laws of, i., 151‒153.

Brochs, i., 157‒163.

Brodick Castle, i., 286.

Brodie,
Alexander, iii., 255;
William, iv., 454.

Bronze weapons and tools, i., 74‒79.

Brooches, i., 117‒119.

Brown,
Janet, ii., 231;
Dr. Thomas, iv., 87‒97;
John, 216;
Dr. John, 217;
Dr. William L., 218, 219.

Bruce,
Robert, of Annandale, i., 203, 218, 255, 256, 257, 258, 259,
260;
Robert, Earl of Carrick, 266, 267, 271, 276, 278, 281‒283.

Bruce,
Nigel, Thomas, Alexander, i., 285;
Edward, 287, 290, 291, 292;
Robert, ii., 201, 208, 216, 381, 382;
Michael, iv., 177.

Brude, King of the Picts, i., 127.

Bruno, Giordano, writings of, iii., 399‒401.

Brunston, Laird of, ii., 69.

Buchan, Earl of, i., 208, 209, 211, 213, 217, 262, 287, 288, 319,
325, 352, 353, 373.

Buchan, Peter, i., 446.

Buchanan,
George, ii., 58, 145;
writings of, 364‒369, 409;
Thomas, 260;
Dr. Robert, iv., 224.

Buddha, his life and work, ii., 429‒432.

Buddhism, ii., 233, 432.