Thoughitspassagewascertain，hepreparedavetomessage。Hethenpermittedthecongressionalleaderstoknowwhatheintendedtodowhenthebillshouldreachhim。GallandwormwoodareweaktermsforthebitternessthatmaybetastedinthespeechesoftheVindictives。When，inordertosavethebill，aresolutionwasappendedpurgingitoftheinterpretationwhichLincolncondemned，TrumbullpassionatelydeclaredthatCongresswasbeing“coerced“bythePresident。
“Nooneatadistance，“isthedeliberateconclusionofJulianwhowaspresent，“couldhaveformedanyadequateconceptionofthehostilityoftheRepublicanmemberstowardLincolnatthefinaladjournment，whileitwasthebeliefofmanythatourlastsessionofCongresshadbeenheldinWashington。Mr。Wadesaidthecountrywasgoingtohell，andthatthesceneswitnessedintheFrenchRevolutionwerenothingincomparisonwithwhatweshouldseehere。“[16]
LincolnenduredtherageofCongressinunwaveringserenity。
Onthelastdayofthesession，CongresssurrenderedandsenttohimboththeConfiscationActandtheexplanatoryresolution。Thereupon，heindulgedinwhatmusthaveseemedtothosefiercehystericalenemiesofhisawantonstrokeofirony。Hesentthemalongwithhisapprovalofthebillthetextofthevetomessagehewouldhavesenthadtheyrefusedtodowhathewanted。[17]TherecouldbenoconcealingthefactthatthePresidenthadmatchedhiswillagainstthewillofCongress，andthatthePresidenthadhadhisway。
Outofthisstrangeperiodofintolerableconfusion，agiganticfigurehadatlastemerged。TheouterandtheinnerLincolnhadfused。Hewasnowacoherentpersonality，masterfulinspiteofhisgentleness，withhisownpeculiarfashionofself-reliance，havingapolicyofhisowndevising，hiscolorsnaileduponthemasthead。
Lincoln’sfinalemergencewasadeeperthingthanmerelytheconsolidationofacharacter，thetransformationofadreamerintoamanofaction。Thefusionoftheouterandtheinnerpersonwastheresultofaprofoundinteriorchange。Thoseelementsofmysticismwhichwereinhimfromthefirst，whichhadgleameddarklythroughsuchdeepovershadowing，wereatlastestablishedintheirpermanentform。Thepoliticaltensionhadbeenmatchedbyaspiritualtensionwithpersonalsorrowastheconnectinglink。Inaword，hehadfoundhisreligion。
Lincoln’sinstinctivereticencewasespeciallyguarded，asanyonemightexpect，inthematterofhisbelief。Consequently，theprecisenatureofithasbeenmuchdiscussed。Aswehaveseen，theearliestcurrentreportchargedhimwithdeism。ThedevotedHerndon，himselfanagnostic，eagerlyclaimshisheroasamemberofthenoblearmyofdoubters。Elaborateargumentshavebeendevisedinrebuttal。Thefaultonbothsidesisintheattempttobaseanimpressionondetachedremarksandinthefurthererroroftreatingallthesefragmentsasofonetime，ormoretruly，asofnotime，asifhissoulwereaphilosopheroftheabsolute，speakingoracularlyoutofavoid。
Itisliketheviciousreasoningthattorturessystemsoftheologyoutofdisconnectedtexts。
Lincoln’sreligiousliferevealsthesamegeneraldivisionsthataretobefoundinhisactivelife：fromthebeginningtoaboutthetimeofhiselection；fromthecloseof1860tothemiddleof1862；theremainder。
Ofhisreligiousexperienceinthefirstperiod，verylittleisdefinitelyknown。Whatglimpseswehaveofitbothfulfillandcontradicttheforestreligionthatwasabouthiminhisyouth。
Thesuperstition，thefaithindreams，thedimsenseofanotherworldsurroundingthis，thebeliefincommunionbetweenthetwo，thesearethepartsofhimthatarebasedunchangeablyintheforestshadows。Butthoseotherthings，thespiritualpassions，theecstacies，thevaguesensingoftheterriblenessofthecreativepowers，——tothemalwayshemadenoresponse。
Andthecrudephilosophizingoftheforesttheologians，theirfiercelysimpledualism——GodandSatan，thunderandlightning，theeternalwarintheheavens，theeternallakeoffire——itmeantnothingtohim。Likeallthefuriousthingsoflife，evilappearedtohimasmerenegation，amysteriousfoolishnesshecouldnotexplain。Hisaimwastoforgetit。Goodnessandpityweretheactiveelementsthatrousedhimtothinkoftheotherworld；especiallypity。Theburdenofmen’stears，fallingeverintheshadowsatthebacksofthings——thiswasthespiritualhorizonfromwhichhecouldnotescape。Outofthecircleofthathorizonhehadtorisebyspiritualapprehensioninordertobeconsoled。Andthereisnoreasontodoubtthatattimes，ifnotinvariably，inhisearlydays，hedidrise；hefoundconsolation。Butitwasallwithoutform。Itwasasentiment，amood，——philosophicallybodiless。Thisindefinitemysticismwastherealheartoftheforestworld，closerthanhandsorfeet，butelusive，incapableofformulation，apresence，notanidea。Beforethetaskofexpressingit，theforestmysticstoodhelpless。Justwhatitwasthathefeltimpinginguponhimfromeverysidehedidnotknow。Hewaslikeasensitiveman，neitherscientistnorpoet，inthemidstofanightofstars。Therealityofhisexperiencegavehimnopowereithertoexplainortostateit。
ThereislittlereasontosupposethatLincoln’sreligiousexperiencepreviousto1860wasmorethanarecurrentvisitorinhisdailylife。Hehassaidasmuchhimself。HetoldhisfriendNoahBrooks“hedidnotrememberanyprecisetimewhenhepassedthroughanyspecialchangeofpurpose，orofheart，buthewouldsaythathisownelectiontoofficeandthecrisisimmediatelyfollowing，influentiallydeterminedhiminwhathecalled’aprocessofcrystallization’thengoingoninhismind。“[1]
Itwastheterriblesenseofneed——thehumility，thefearthathemightnotbeequaltotheoccasion——thatsearchedhissoul，thatbredinhimthecravingforaspiritualup-holdingwhichshouldbeconstant。Andatthiscrucialmomentcamethedeathofhisfavoriteson。“InthelonelygraveofthelittleonelayburiedMr。Lincoln’sfondesthopes，andstrongashewasinthematterofself-control，hegavewaytoanovermasteringgriefwhichbecameatlengthaseriousmenacetohishealth。“[2]
Thoughfirsthandaccountsdifferastojusthowhestruggledforthoutofthisdarkness，allagreethattheordealwasverysevere。TraditionmakesthecrisisavisitfromtheReverendFrancisVinton，rectorofTrinityChurch，NewYork，andhiseloquentassertionofthefaithinimmortality，hisappealtoLincolntorememberthesorrowofJacoboverthelossofJoseph，andtorisebyfaithoutofhisownsorrowevenasthepatriarchrose。[3]
AlthoughLincolnsucceededinputtinghisgriefbehindhim，heneverforgotit。Longafterward，hecalledtheattentionofColonelCannontothelinesinKingJohn：
“AndFatherCardinal，IhaveheardyousayThatweshallseeandknowourfriendsinheaven；
Ifthatbetrue，Ishallseemyboyagain。“
“Colonel，“saidhe，“didyoueverdreamofalostfriend，andfeelthatyouwereholdingsweetcommunionwiththatfriend，andyethaveasadconsciousnessthatitwasnotareality？
Justso，Idreamofmyboy，Willie。“Andhebenthisheadandburstintotears。[4]
Asheroseinthesphereofstatecraftwithsuchapparentsuddennessoutofthedoubt，hesitation，self-distrustofthespringof1862andinthesummerfoundhimselfpolitically，soatthesametimehefoundhimselfreligiously。Duringhislaterlifethoughtheevidencesareslight，theyareconvincing。Andagain，asalways，itisnotaviolentchangethattakesplace，butmerelyabetterharmonizationoftheouterandlesssignificantpartofhimwiththeinnerandmoresignificant。Hisreligioncontinuestoresistintellectualformulation。Heneveracceptedanydefinitecreed。Totheproblemsoftheology，heappliedthesamesortofreasoningthatheappliedtotheproblemsofthelaw。Hemadeadistinction，satisfactorytohimselfatleast，betweentheessentialandtheincidental，andrejectedeverythingthatdidnotseemtohimaltogetheressential。
Inanothernegativewayhisbasalpartasserteditself。Justasinallhisofficialrelationshewascarelessofritual，soinreligionhewasnotdrawntoitsritualisticforms。Again，theforesttempersurviving，changed，intosuchdifferentconditions!Realandsubtleasistheritualisticelement，notonlyinreligionbutinlifegenerally，onemaydoubtwhetheritcountsformuchamongthosewhohavebeenformedmainlybytheinfluencesofnature。Itimpliesmoredistancebetweentheemotionanditssource，moreneedofstimulustoarouseandorganizeemotion，thanthechildrenoftheforestareapttobeawareof。Toinvokeaphilosophicaldistinction，illuminationratherthanritualism，thetensebutvariableconcentrationonaresult，nottheorderedmodeofanapproach，iswhatdistinguishessuchcharactersasLincoln。Itwasthisthatmadehimcareless&fforminallthedepartmentsoflife。
ItwasonereasonwhyMcClellan，bornritualistofthepompofwar，couldneverovercomeacertaindislike，oratleastadoubt，ofhim。
Puttingtogetherhishabitofthinkingonlyinessentialsandhispredispositiontoneglectform，itisnotstrangethathesaid：“IhaveneverunitedmyselftoanychurchbecauseIhavefounddifficultyingivingmyassent，withoutmentalreservation，tothelong，complicatedstatementsofChristiandoctrinewhichcharacterizetheirArticlesofBeliefandConfessionsofFaith。Whenanychurchwillinscribeoveritsaltar，asitssolequalificationformembership，theSavior’scondensedstatementofthesubstanceofbothLawandGospel，’ThoushaltlovetheLordthyGod，withallthyheartandwithallthysoul，andwithallthymind，andthyneighborasthyself，’thatchurchwillIjoinwithallmyheartandwithallmysoul。“[5]
Butitmustnotbesupposedthathisreligionwasmereethics。
Ithadthreecardinalpossessions。ThesenseofGodisthroughallhislaterlife。Itappearsincidentallyinhisstatepapers，clothedwithlanguagewhich，insodeeplysincereaman，mustbetakenliterally。Hebelievedinprayer，intherealityofcommunionwiththeDivine。Histhirdarticlewasimmortality。
AtWashington，Lincolnwasaregularattendant，thoughnotacommunicant，oftheNewYorkAvenuePresbyterianChurch。WiththePastor，theReverendP。D。Gurley，heformedaclosefriendship。Manyhourstheypassedinintimatetalkuponreligioussubjects，especiallyuponthequestionofimmortality。[6]Toanotherpiousvisitorhesaidearnestly，“I
hopeIamaChristian。“[7]Couldanythingbutthemostsecurefaithhavewrittenthis“MeditationontheDivineWill“whichhesetdownintheautumnof1862fornoeyebuthisown：“ThewillofGodprevails。IngreatcontestseachpartyclaimstoactinaccordancewiththewillofGod。Bothmaybe，andonemustbe，wrong。Godcannotbeforandagainstthesamethingatthesametime。InthepresentcivilwaritisquitepossiblethatGod’spurposeissomethingdifferentfromthepurposeofeitherparty；andyetthehumaninstrumentalities，workingjustastheydo，areofthebestadaptationtoeffectHispurpose。Iamalmostreadytosaythatthisisprobablytrue；thatGodwillsthiscontest，andwillsthatitshallnotendyet。ByHismeregreatpoweronthemindsofthenowcontestants，HecouldhaveeithersavedordestroyedtheUnionwithoutahumancontest。Yetthecontestbegan。And，havingbegun，Hecouldgivethefinalvictorytoeithersideanyday。
Yetthecontestproceeds。“[8]
Hisreligionfloweredinhislatertemper。Itdidnot，tobesure，overcomehismelancholy。Thatwastoodeeplylaid。
Furthermore，wefailtodiscoverinthesurvivingevidencesanycertaintythatitwasagladphaseofreligion。Neithertheecstaticjoyofthewildwomen，whichhismotherhad；northeplacidjoyoftheritualist，whichhedidnotunderstand；northoseothervariantsofthejoyoffaith，wereincludedinhisportion。Itwasaloftybutgravereligionthatmaturedinhisfinalstage。Wasitduetofar-awayPuritanancestors？Hadaustere，reticentIron-sides，sureoftheLord，buttakingnolibertieswiththeirsouls，atlastfoundouttheirdescendant？
Itmaybe。Cromwell，insomeways，wasundeniablyhisspiritualkinsman。Inboth，thesamealoofnessofsoul，thesameindifferencetothejudgmentsoftheworld，thesamecourage，thesamefatalism，thesameencompassmentbytheshadowoftheMostHigh。Cromwell，inhisbestmood，hadhebeengiftedwithLincoln’sliterarypower，couldhavewrittentheFastDayProclamationof1863whichisLincoln’smostdistinctivereligiousfragment。
However，Lincoln’sgloomhadinitacorrectingelementwhichtheoldPuritangloomappearstohavelacked。Itplacednovetouponmirth。Rather，itvaluedmirthasitsonlyredeemer。
AndLincoln’sgrowthinthereligioussensewasnotthecauseofanydiminutionofhissurfacehilarity。Hesavedhimselffromwhatotherwisewouldhavebeenintolerablemelancholybyseizing，regardlessoftheconnection，anythingwhatsoeverthatsavoredofthecomic。
Hisreligioussecuritydidnotdestroyhissuperstition。HecontinuedtobelievethathewoulddieviolentlyattheendofhiscareerasPresident。Buthecarriedthatbeliefalmostwithgaiety。Herefusedtotakeprecautionsforhissafety。