lecture19-第1部分

按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页，按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页，按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部！
————未阅读完？加入书签已便下次继续阅读！











Lecture　XIX







OTHER　CHARACTERISTICS







We　have　wound　our　way　back；　after　our　excursion　through　mysticism



and　philosophy；　to　where　we　were　before：　　the　uses　of　religion；



its　uses　to　the　individual　who　has　it；　and　the　uses　of　the



individual　himself　to　the　world；　are　the　best　arguments　that



truth　is　in　it。　　We　return　to　the　empirical　philosophy：　　the　true



is　what　works　well；　even　though　the　qualification　〃on　the　whole〃



may　always　have　to　be　added。　　In　this　lecture　we　must　revert　to



description　again；　and　finish　our　picture　of　the　religious



consciousness　by　a　word　about　some　of　its　other　characteristic



elements。　　Then；　in　a　final　lecture；　we　shall　be　free　to　make　a



general　review　and　draw　our　independent　conclusions。







The　first　point　I　will　speak　of　is　the　part　which　the　aesthetic



life　plays　in　determining　one's　choice　of　a　religion。　　Men；　I



said　awhile　ago；　involuntarily　intellectualize　their　religious



experience。　　They　need　formulas；　just　as　they　need　fellowship　in



worship。　　I　spoke；　therefore；　too　contemptuously　of　the　pragmatic



uselessness　of　the　famous　scholastic　list　of　attributes　of　the



deity；　for　they　have　one　use　which　I　neglected　to　consider。　　The



eloquent　passage　in　which　Newman　enumerates　them＇301＇　puts　us　on



the　track　of　it。　　Intoning　them　as　he　would　intone　a　cathedral



service；　he　shows　how　high　is　their　aesthetic　value。　　It　enriches



our　bare　piety　to　carry　these　exalted　and　mysterious　verbal



additions　just　as　it　enriches　a　church　to　have　an　organ　and　old



brasses；　marbles　and　frescoes　and　stained　windows。　　Epithets　lend



an　atmosphere　and　overtones　to　our　devotion。　　They　are　like　a





hymn　of　praise　and　service　of　glory；　and　may　sound　the　more



sublime　for　being　incomprehensible。　　Minds　like　Newman's＇302＇



grow　as　jealous　of　their　credit　as　heathen　priests　are　of　that　of



the　jewelry　and　ornaments　that　blaze　upon　their　idols。







＇301＇　Idea　of　a　University；　Discourse　III。　　Section　7。







＇302＇　Newman's　imagination　so　innately　craved　an　ecclesiastical



system　that　he　can　write：　　〃From　the　age　of　fifteen；　dogma　has



been　the　fundamental　principle　of　my　religion：　　I　know　no　other



religion；　I　cannot　enter　into　the　idea　of　any　other　sort　of



religion。〃　　And　again　speaking　of　himself　about　the　age　of



thirty；　he　writes：　　〃I　loved　to　act　as　feeling　myself　in　my



Bishop's　sight；　as　if　it　were　the　sight　of　God。〃　　Apologia；　1897；



pp。　48；　50。















Among　the　buildings…out　of　religion　which　the　mind　spontaneously



indulges　in；　the　aesthetic　motive　must　never　be　forgotten。　　I



promised　to　say　nothing　of　ecclesiastical　systems　in　these



lectures。　　I　may　be　allowed；　however；　to　put　in　a　word　at　this



point　on　the　way　in　which　their　satisfaction　of　certain　aesthetic



needs　contributes　to　their　hold　on　human　nature。　　Although　some



persons　aim　most　at　intellectual　purity　and　simplification；　for



others　RICHNESS　is　the　supreme　imaginative　requirement。＇303＇　When



one's　mind　is　strongly　of　this　type；　an　individual　religion　will



hardly　serve　the　purpose。　The　inner　need　is　rather　of　something



institutional　and　complex；　majestic　in　the　hierarchic



interrelatedness　of　its　parts；　with　authority　descending　from



stage　to　stage；　and　at　every　stage　objects　for　adjectives　of



mystery　and　splendor；　derived　in　the　last　resort　from　the　Godhead



who　is　the　fountain　and　culmination　of　the　system。　　One　feels



then　as　if　in　presence　of　some　vast　incrusted　work　of　jewelry　or



architecture；　one　hears　the　multitudinous　liturgical　appeal；　one



gets　the　honorific　vibration　coming　from　every　quarter。　　Compared



with　such　a　noble　complexity；　in　which　ascending　and　descending



movements　seem　in　no　way　to　jar　upon　stability；　in　which　no



single　item；　however　humble；　is　insignificant；　because　so　many



august　institutions　hold　it　in　its　place；　how　flat　does



evangelical　Protestantism　appear；　how　bare　the　atmosphere　of



those　isolated　religious　lives　whose　boast　it　is　that　〃man　in　the



bush　with　God　may　meet。〃＇304＇　What　a　pulverization　and　leveling



of　what　a　gloriously　piled…up　structure！　　To　an　imagination　used



to　the　perspectives　of　dignity　and　glory；　the　naked　gospel　scheme



seems　to　offer　an　almshouse　for　a　palace。







＇303＇　The　intellectual　difference　is　quite　on　a　par　in　practical



importance　with　the　analogous　difference　in　character。　　We　saw；



under　the　head　of　Saintliness；　how　some　characters　resent



confusion　and　must　live　in　purity；　consistency；　simplicity



（above；　p。　275　ff。）。　　For　others；　on　the　contrary；



superabundance；　over…pressure；　stimulation；　lots　of　superficial



relations；　are　indispensable。　　There　are　men　who　would　suffer　a



very　syncope　if　you　should　pay　all　their　debts；　bring　it　about



that　their　engagements　had　been　kept；　their　letters　answered



their　perplexities　relieved；　and　their　duties　fulfilled；　down　to



one　which　lay　on　a　clean　table　under　their　eyes　with　nothing　to



interfere　with　its　immediate　performance。　　A　day　stripped　so



staringly　bare　would　be　for　them　appalling。　　So　with　ease；



elegance；　tributes　of　affection；　social　recognitionssome　of　us



require　amounts　of　these　things　which　to　others　would　appear　a



mass　of　lying　and　sophistication。







＇304＇　In　Newman's　Lectures　on　Justification　Lecture　VIII。　



Section　6；　there　is　a　splendid　passage　expressive　of　this



aesthetic　way　of　feeling　the　Christian　scheme。　　It　is



unfortunately　too　long　to　quote。















It　is　much　like　the　patriotic　sentiment　of　those　brought　up　in



ancient　empires。　　How　many　emotions　must　be　frustrated　of　their



object；　when　one　gives　up　the　titles　of　dignity；　the　crimson



lights　and　blare　of　brass；　the　gold　embroidery；　the　plumed



troops；　the　fear　and　trembling；　and　puts　up　with　a　president　in　a



black　coat　who　shakes　hands　with　you；　and　comes；　it　may　be；　from



a　〃home〃　upon　a　veldt　or　prairie　with　one　sitting…room　and　a



Bible　on　its　centre…table。　　It　pauperizes　the　monarchical



imagination！







The　strength　of　these　aesthetic　sentiments　makes　it　rigorously



impossible；　it　seems　to　me；　that　Protestantism；　however　superior



in　spiritual　profundity　it　may　be　to　Catholicism；　should　at　the



present　day　succeed　in　making　many　converts　from　the　more



venerable　ecclesiasticism。　　The　latter　offers　a　so　much　richer



pasturage　and　shade　to　the　fancy；　has　so　many　cells　with　so　many



different　kinds　of　honey；　is　so　indulgent　in　its　multiform



appeals　to　human　nature；　that　Protestantism　will　always　show　to



Catholic　eyes　the　almshouse　physiognomy。　　The　bitter　negativity



of　it　is　to　the　Catholic　mind　incomprehensible。　　To　intellectual



Catholics　many　of　the　antiquated　beliefs　and　practices　to　which



the　Church　gives　countenance　are；　if　taken　literally；　as　childish



as　they　are　to　Protestants。　　But　they　are　childish　in　the



pleasing　sense　of　〃childlike〃innocent　and　amiable；　and　worthy



to　be　smiled　on　in　consideration　of　the　undeveloped　condition　of



the　dear　people's　intellects。　　To　the　Protestant；　on　the



contrary；　they　are　childish　in　the　sense　of　being　idiotic



falsehoods。　　He　must　stamp　out　their　delicate　and　lovable



redundancy；　leaving　the　Catholic　to　shudder　at　his　literalness。　



He　appears　to　the　latter　as　morose　as　if　he　were　some　hard…eyed；



numb；　monotonous　kind　of　reptile。　　The　two　will　never　understand



each　othertheir　centres　of　emotional　energy　are　too　different。　



Rigorous　truth　and　human　nature's　intricacies　are　always　in　need



of　a　mutual　interpreter。＇305＇　So　much　for　the　aesthetic



diversities　in　the　religious　consciousness。







＇305＇　Compare　the　informality　of　Protestantism；　where　the　〃meek



lover　of　the　good；〃　alone　with　his　God；　visits　the　sick；　etc。；



for　their　own　sakes；　with　the　elaborate　〃business〃　that　goes　on



in　Catholic　devotion；　and　carries　with　it　the　social　excitement



of　all　more　complex　businesses。　　An　essentially　worldly…minded



Catholic　woman　can　become　a　visitor　of　the　sick　on　purely



coquettish　principles；　with　her　confessor　and　director；　her



〃merit〃　storing　up；　her　patron　saints；　her　privileged　relation　to



the　Almighty；　drawing　his　attention　as　a　professional　devote；　her



definite　〃exercises；〃　and　her　definitely　recognized　social　pose



in　the　organization。















In　most　books　on　religion；　three　things　are　represented　as　its



most　essential　elements。　　These　are　Sacrifice；　Confession；　and



Prayer。　　I　must　say　a　word　in　turn　of　each　of　these　elements；



though　briefly。　　First　of　Sacrifice。