SofarMaurice’steachingwouldcommandthesympathyofallwhocalledthemselvesliberal。ButwhatbecomesofLogic？Canphilosophydispensewithitaltogether？Mauriceprofessedlyappealstotheheart。Theappealismadeoverandoveragaininagreatvarietyofforms：tothe’greathumanheart，’to’bedriddensufferers，’to’peasants，women，andchildren，’170*andwearetoldthatitisthe’officeofthetheologian’toappealnottohisownjudgmentorthatoftheages，buttothe’conscience，heart，reasonofmankind。’171*Nothingcanbemoretothepurposeifweareconsideringtheefficacyofareligiousbelief；
butwemustaskhowthisappealisrelatedtothequestionofitstruth。Theemotionsarenotreason，thoughtheyareboundtobereasonable。Thepositionisthatofallmysticism。Themysticisonewhovirtuallydethronesreasoninfavouroftheheart。
Thereforemysticismleadstoallthevaryingbeliefswhicharesuggestedbyourunguidedfeelings。WhenMauricewaschargedwithbeinghimselfamysticorneoplatonist，hisreplywasthattheerrorofthemysticisnotinrecognisingan’innerlight，’butinsupposingthathisintuitionissomethingpersonalandprivate，andnotauniversalfacultyofthehumanheart。172*Headmits，thatis，thatallreligionimpliesthedirectrecognitionofdivineinfluencesbythehumanheart，thoughitisterriblyapttoconfoundthetrueintuitionwithcertainerroneousdoctrines。Bywhattest，then，arewetoseparatethetruelightfromthemisleadinggleamsofhumanpassionandprejudices？HowcanweknowthatitisthedivineLogoswhichisspeakingtous，andnotsomesophistsubstitutingamerehumantheory？
ThisgivesMaurice’scharacteristicdoctrine，repeatedincountlessformswithmostgenuinefervour，andyetleavingthepainfulimpressionthatwecannevergetadistinctmeaning。Hetellsusagainandagainthatwerequirenotasystembutarevelation；thatwearetobelieveinGod，notinatheoryaboutGod；notin’notions’butinprinciples；thatatheologyisgroundlesswhich’acceptsasatenetwhatisrevealedasatruth，’173*andthatweshallbe’driventocreeds’by’wearinessoftenets。’174*These，andcountlessvariationsuponthesametheme，involveapuzzlingdistinction。How，precisely，doesthebeliefinGoddifferfromtheacceptanceofatheoryaboutGod？Maurice，Imayperhapssay，takesthebeliefinGodtobeanoperation，notamerebitoflogic；anactoftheman’swholenature，notapurelyintellectualprocesssuchasthedeductionoftheconclusionofasyllogism。Itistheapprehensionofthe’innerlight，’alwaysperceptibleiftheeyebeopened，andwhichisinthesameindissolublemomentnotmerelyenlighteningbutlife-giving。Thevisionisalso’dynamical’：thesubmissionofourselvestoaforceaswellastherecognitionoftheexistenceofcertainoutwardfacts。Itimpliesnotmerelytheadmissionofanewtheoryabouttheuniverse，butthebringingourselvesintoharmonywiththeonecentralforceoftheuniverse——thatiswiththeGodwhoisLoveaswellaspowerandwisdom。Thisisthetruemysticaldoctrine；
andthatdoctrine，ifnotthemostlogical，isthemostunanswerableformofreligiousbelief。Ifamanbelievesthathehasthe’innerlight，’heisinhisowncourtbeyondappeal。Butthedifficultyofmakinghisdecisionsvalidforotherscannotbeevaded，andimpliessomeuseoflogic。Iftheinnerlightimpliesknowledgeaswellasanemotion，itshouldbeexpressibleinformstrueforallmen。Themereformulabyitselfmaybebarren，ormerelysubordinate；butifanydefinitecreedistoemerge，itmustincludetenetscapableoflogicalexpression。Thisis，infact，theproblemroundwhichMauriceisalwaysturning。
TheresultisindicatedinhislittlebookupontheReligionsoftheWorld。175*Itembodiesoneofthemostmarkedtendenciesofmodernthought。Nodivinecannowspeakofstrangereligionsassimplydevil-worship，orlimitdivinetruthtohisownatofdogmas。Thesimpleorlogicalrationalisthadinferredthatthetruecreedmustbethatwhichiscommontoallreligions。Buttorejectallspecialdoctrineswastoleaveablankresiduumofmereabstractdeism，ifevendeismcouldsurvive。Itwasbutanotherroadtothe’religionofnature。’Yetthatwasthetendencyofmostliberaldivineswithinthechurch。The’broadchurch’party，asitwascalled，wasgettingridof’dogma’bydeprivingthecreedofallmeaning。Maurice’smethodisthereforedifferent。Theelementoftruthinallreligionsisnotanyseparabledoctrinecommontoall。ItistobefoundbyregardingallcreedsaspartialordistortedexpressionsofthefulltruthrevealedinChrist。OnthisshowingthereforeBuddhismtestifiestothetruthofChristianity，butChristianitydoesnottestifytothetruthofBuddhism。Or，totakeatriflingbutcharacteristicargument，176*WilberforceandtheUnitarian，W。
Smith，werecolleaguesinagreatbenevolentwork。DoesthatshowthatthedoctrineoftheTrinityisunimportant？No；SmithshouldhaveseenthatthezealofWilberforce’manifestlyflowedoutofthefaith’inthedivinityofChrist。Wilberforce，ontheotherhand，shouldseethatChristmightruleintheheartoftheUnitarianthoughtheUnitarianknewitnot。Thedivineinfluencemayoperateupontheheartwhichdoesnotrecogniseitstruenature。ThusWilberforce，insteadofbecoming’latitudinarian，’
couldescape’latitudinarianism。’Thismaybetrue，butitwouldclearlynotconvinceSmith。Ifyouappealtoyourheart，whymayInotappealtomine？Isnotyourconviction，afterall，’subjective’——asrepresentingyourownpersonalprejudices——
andwoulditnotbejustaseasy，withequalskill，toinverttheargument？Orisnottherealsourceofactioninbothcasesthebenevolencewhichhasnothingtodowitheithersetofdogmas？
TheunintentionalshiftingisimpliedintheprocessbywhichMauricemanagestoaccepttheThirty-nineArticles。Takenastruths，theyutterthevoiceoftheheart，orimplyanapprehensionofthedivinelight。Takenasmerelylogical，theyarebuttenetsor’notional’dogmas。ThedoctrineoftheAtonement，forexample，asmadeintoaquasi-legaltheorybyArchbishopMagee，issimplyhorrible：itdeservesallthatPainecouldhavesaidofit，andactually’confoundstheevilspiritwithGod。’Buttakeitinanothersense-notasproclaimingthesupremacyofaharshandunjustruler，butasdeclaringtheprocessbywhichtheloveofGodandofhissonreconcilesmentohimself——anditbecomesinfinitelycomforting，andexpressesthefeelingsof’tensofthousandsofsufferinghumanbeings。’177*Sothedoctrineof’endless’punishmentishorribleandrevolting。Buteternityhasproperlynothingtodowithtime。’EternalpunishmentisthepunishmentofbeingwithouttheknowledgeofGod。’178*Thatknowledgedoesnotprocurebutconstitutesthelife。Thisisnometaphysicaltheory，butgivesthenaturalmeaningwhichcommendsitselfto’peasants，women，andchildren。’179*Totheordinarymind，thenaturalinferencewouldbethatweshouldthrowasidedogmassocapableofmisinterpretation，andwhichadmittedlyhave，asahistoricalfact，coveredaconfusionbetweenGodandthedevil。TheAthanasianCreedappearstobeatleastanawkwardandambiguousmodeofexpressingauniversalbenevolenceandanaversiontometaphysicaldogma。Buttorejectitwouldbe，asMauricethinks，tofallintomererationalism。Theformulaewhicharesorevoltinginthemouthofthemeredogmatistareessentialwhenreadasutterancesofthedeepestfeelingsofthehumanheart。Wecanonlyholdtotheirtruemeaninganddenouncetheirmisapplication。
Afterallcomestherealdifficultyoffittinga’subjective’
religiontoahistoricalreligion。TheChristiancreeddoesassertfacts，andfactstowhichhistoricalevidenceisapplicable。Adogmacanbemadeintoanutteranceofsentiment。A
statementthattherewasadelugeintheyear4004B。C。mustbedecidedbyevidence。Mauricewaspainfullyshockedwhentheexcellentandsimple-mindedColensobroughtupthisplainissue。180*ThoughColensohadstoodbyhimgenerouslyintheking’sCollegetime，Maurice，whohadfullyrecognisedthegenerosity，felthimselfboundtoprotest。Thedilemmawas，infact，mosttrying。Todeclarethathistoricalevidenceisirrelevant，thatourfaithisindependentofthetruthoftheOldTestamentnarrative，isreallytogiveuphistoricalChristianity。Ontheotherhand，toarguethatthecriticismsaretriflingorcaptiousistostakethetruthofthereligionupontheissueoffacts。MauricecomplainsofColensoforbeginningatthewrongend。181*As，however，Colensohasmadecertainstatements，whateverhismethod，thetruthmustbeeitherdeniedoradmitted。Aretheytruebutirrelevant，orrelevantbutfalse？
Mauricecannotunequivocallytakeeitherside。Heappearstoholdthatwemayacceptthedelugebecauseitteachesusagoodlessonthatbadpeoplewillbedrowned，apparently，thatis，toacceptwhateverisedifying；ortothinkperhapsthedelugewasalittleone，thatis，toputhimselfonthegroundofhistoricalcriticism。Here，infact，wasthegrowingdifficulty。ManselcouldstillspeakscornfullyofthequibblingsofStrauss。Buthistoricalcriticismhadnowtobereckonedwith，andsubjectivereligionmustconsenttobemerelysubjective，orsubmittohaveitsresultstestedbythebroaddaylightofcommonsense。
FromMauriceIturntoCarlyle，thebeacon-lightoftheage，accordingtohisdisciples——themostdelusiveofwildfires，accordingtohisadversaries；butinanycasethemostinterestingliteraryfigureofhistime。Extraordinaryforceofmindandcharacteraremanifestedinthestruggleswithinwarddifficultiesandexternalcircumstances，whichmademuchofhislifetragicandhisteachingincoherent。Withtheimaginationofapoetheyetcannotriseabovethesolidgroundofprose：asenseofpervadingmysteryblendswithhisshrewdgraspofrealities；heisreligiousyetsceptical；aradicalandaworshipperofsheerforce；andadenouncerofcantandyetthedeviserofajargon。Suchcontrastsarereflectedinhiswork，andarenotreallyhardofsolution。AspiritualdescendantofJohnKnox，hehadthesternsenseofduty，thehatredofpriestcraft，andthecontemptfortheaestheticsideofthingswhichhadbeenbredinorburnedintothebreed。Hecameintotheouterworld，likehisheroTeufelsdr鯿kh，182*asa’Baptistlivingonlocustsandwildhoney，’andoccasionallypresentedhimselftoothersasadyspepticpolarbear。183*Hehadimbibedradicalisminahomeofsturdypeasants，pinchedbyallthesufferingsofthepoorerclassesinthewartime。Whentheyeomanrywascalledoutin1819hewasmoredisposedtojointhesufferersthantheguardiansoforder。184*Sofar，CarlylewasinsympathywithJamesMill，whosecareeralsoillustratedonemodeofpassagefromPuritanismtopoliticalradicalism。NorwouldCarlyledifferfromMillwidelyoncertainreligiouspoints。Theconventionaldogmatismofthekirkhadlostitssavourforboth，andmeantablindtradition，notalivingforce。
Carlyleonlywentwiththegeneralcurrentofyouthfulintellectinabandoningthedogmaticcreed。WhenIrvingmadeapainfulefforttoputlifeintothedeadbones，Carlylerecognisedthehopelessnessoftheenterprise。ButhewasnonearertoMill。
Carlyle’s’conversion’tookplaceinLeithWalkinJune1821。185*Itfollowedthreeyearsofspiritualmisery；anditisrecordedinthefamouschapterinSartorResartusonthe’EverlastingNo。’186*Thatpassageis，indeed，thekeynotetoCarlyle’shistory。Briefly，hehadfoundhimselffacetofacewithmaterialismandatheism。TheweaponsofdefenceaffordedbysuchteachersasBrownwerefutile。CarlylefeltthathetoowasdriftingtowardstheabysseswhithertheywerebeingdraggedbyHume。Thewordduty，soscepticswouldpersuadehim，hadnomeaning，orwasthenameforamerecalculationofpleasure；anexhortationtobuildnotonmoralitybutoncookery。Theuniverseseemedtobe’voidofLife，ofPurpose，ofVolition，evenofHostility：itwasonedead，unmeasurablesteam-engine，rollingoninitsdeadindifference，togrindmelimbfromlimb。OthevastsolitaryGolgothaandMillofDeath！’Thenightmarewasbrokenbyanactofwill。The’EverlastingNo’pealed’authoritativelythroughallrecessesofmyBeing，ofmyMe；andthenitwasthatmywholeMestoodupinnativeGod-createdmajestyandwithemphasisrecordeditsprotest。’Theresultisnoteworthy。’Evenfromthattimethetemperofmymiserywaschanged：notFearorwhiningsorrowatit，butIndignationandgrimfire-eyedDefiance。’Carlylehadwonnotpeacebuta’changeofmisery。’Hecouldlookattheenemywith’fire-eyeddefiance’butnotwiththecalmofsettledvictory。Hisemancipationwasnotwonbyareasonedanswertodoubt。IntheearlieressaysCarlyleshowsapparentsympathywithGermanphilosophy。187*Hespeakswithprofoundadmiration，thoughingeneralandpopularlanguage，ofthedoctrinesofKant，Novalis，andFichte，andseemstoacceptColeridge’stheoryofaReasonsuperiortotheUnderstanding。188*Carlyle，however，wasstilllessofametaphysicianproperthanofapoet。Heisamanofintuitions，scorningalllogicalapparatusinitself，andsoonafterwardsappearstoregardmetaphysicsingeneralasahopelessprocessofjugglingwhichtriestoeduceconvictionoutofnegationandnecessarilyendsinscepticism。189*TohimGoetheratherthananymetaphysicianpresentedthetruesolution。Notwomenofgenius，indeed，couldbemoreunlike。Therugged，stormyPuritancouldhardly，onewouldhavethought，breathethesereneatmosphereoftheprophetofculture。Buttheverycontrastfascinatedhim。Goethehadcastasidealltheeffetedogmas，andhadyetreachedthevictoriouspositioninwhichsymmetricaldevelopmentwaspossible。Carlyleremainedtotheenddesperatelystruggling，fullof’fire-eyeddefiance，’butnevergettingoutsidethechaoticelements。ThemetaphysicalsystemsofKant’ssuccessorsattractedhimasprotestsagainstmaterialism，buthepreferredashortercuttotheend，andhisScottishcommonsensewasalwayswhisperingthatphilosophywasapttobemere’transcendentalmoonshine。’