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glad to draw。  One disciple of the school; indeed; has striven to



impugn the value of works of genius in a wholesale way (such



works of contemporary art; namely; as he himself is unable to



enjoy; and they are many) by using medical arguments。'4'  But for



the most part the masterpieces are left unchallenged; and the



medical line of attack either confines itself to such secular



productions as everyone admits to be intrinsically eccentric; or



else addresses itself exclusively to religious manifestations。 



And then it is because the religious manifestations have been



already condemned because the critic dislikes them on internal or



spiritual grounds。







'4'  Max Nordau; in his bulky book entitled Degeneration。















In the natural sciences and industrial arts it never occurs to



anyone to try to refute opinions by showing up their author's



neurotic constitution。  Opinions here are invariably tested by



logic and by experiment; no matter what may be their author's



neurological type。  It should be no otherwise with religious



opinions。  Their value can only be ascertained by spiritual



judgments directly passed upon them; judgments based on our own



immediate feeling primarily; and secondarily on what we can



ascertain of their experiential relations to our moral needs and



to the rest of what we hold as true。







Immediate luminousness; in short; philosophical reasonableness;



and moral helpfulness are the only available criteria。 Saint



Teresa might have had the nervous system of the placidest cow;



and it would not now save her theology; if the trial of the



theology by these other tests should show it to be contemptible。 



And conversely if her theology can stand these other tests; it



will make no difference how hysterical or nervously off her



balance Saint Teresa may have been when she was with us here



below。







You see that at bottom we are thrown back upon the general



principles by which the empirical philosophy has always contended



that we must be guided in our search for truth。  Dogmatic



philosophies have sought for tests for truth which might dispense



us from appealing to the future。 Some direct mark; by noting



which we can be protected immediately and absolutely; now and



forever; against all mistakesuch has been the darling dream of



philosophic dogmatists。  It is clear that the ORIGIN of the truth



would be an admirable criterion of this sort; if only the various



origins could be discriminated from one another from this 



point of view; and the history of dogmatic opinion shows that



origin has always been a favorite test。  Origin in immediate



intuition; origin in pontifical authority; origin in supernatural



revelation; as by vision; hearing; or unaccountable impression;



origin in direct possession by a higher spirit; expressing itself



in prophecy and warning; origin in automatic utterance



generallythese origins have been stock warrants for the truth



of one opinion after another which we find represented in



religious history。  The medical materialists are therefore only



so many belated dogmatists; neatly turning the tables on their



predecessors by using the criterion of origin in a destructive



instead of an accreditive way。







They are effective with their talk of pathological origin only so



long as supernatural origin is pleaded by the other side; and



nothing but the argument from origin is under discussion。  But



the argument from origin has seldom been used alone; for it is



too obviously insufficient。  Dr。 Maudsley is perhaps the



cleverest of the rebutters of supernatural religion on grounds of



origin。  Yet he finds himself forced to write:







〃What right have we to believe Nature under any obligation to do



her work by means of complete minds only?  She may find an



incomplete mind a more suitable instrument for a particular



purpose。  It is the work that is done; and the quality in the



worker by which it was done; that is alone of moment; and it may



be no great matter from a cosmical standpoint; if in other



qualities of character he was singularly defectiveif indeed he



were hypocrite; adulterer; eccentric; or lunatic。 。 。 。  Home we



come again; then; to the old and last resort of certitudenamely



the common assent of mankind; or of the competent by instruction



and training among mankind。〃'5'







'5'  H。 Maudsley:  Natural Causes and Supernatural Seemings;



1886; pp。 256; 257。















In other words; not its origin; but THE WAY IN WHICH IT WORKS ON



THE WHOLE; is Dr。 Maudsley's final test of a belief。  This is our



own empiricist criterion; and this criterion the stoutest



insisters on supernatural origin have also been forced to use in



the end。  Among the visions and messages some have always been



too patently silly; among the trances and convulsive seizures



some have been too fruitless for conduct and character; to pass



themselves off as significant; still less as divine。  In the



history of Christian mysticism the problem how to discriminate



between such messages and experiences as were really divine



miracles; and such others as the demon in his malice was able to



counterfeit; thus making the religious person twofold more the



child of hell he was before; has always been a difficult one to



solve; needing all the sagacity and experience of the best



directors of conscience。  In the end it had to come to our



empiricist criterion:  By their fruits ye shall know them; not by



their roots。  Jonathan Edwards's Treatise on Religious Affections



is an elaborate working out of this thesis。  The ROOTS of a man's



virtue are inaccessible to us。  No appearances whatever are



infallible proofs of grace。  Our practice is the only sure



evidence; even to ourselves; that we are genuinely Christians。







〃In forming a judgment of ourselves now;〃 Edwards writes; we



should certainly adopt that evidence which our supreme Judge will



chiefly make use of when we come to stand before him at the last



day。 。 。 。  There is not one grace of the Spirit of God; of the



existence of which; in any professor of religion; Christian



practice is not the most decisive evidence。 。 。 。  The degree in



which our experience is productive of practice shows the degree



in which our experience is spiritual and divine。〃







Catholic writers are equally emphatic。  The good dispositions



which a vision; or voice; or other apparent heavenly favor leave



behind them are the only marks by which we  may be sure they



are not possible deceptions of the tempter。  Says Saint Teresa:







〃Like imperfect sleep which; instead of giving more strength to



the head; doth but leave it the more exhausted; the result of



mere operations of the imagination is but to weaken the soul。



Instead of nourishment and energy she reaps only lassitude and



disgust:  whereas a genuine heavenly vision yields to her a



harvest of ineffable spiritual riches; and an admirable renewal



of bodily strength。  I alleged these reasons to those who so



often accused my visions of being the work of the enemy of



mankind and the sport of my imagination。 。 。 。  I showed them the



jewels which the divine hand had left with me:they were my



actual dispositions。  All those who knew me saw that I was



changed; my confessor bore witness to the fact; this improvement;



palpable in all respects; far from being hidden; was brilliantly



evident to all men。  As for myself; it was impossible to believe



that if the demon were its author; he could have used; in order



to lose me and lead me to hell; an expedient so contrary to his



own interests as that of uprooting my vices; and filling me with



masculine courage and other virtues instead; for I saw clearly



that a single one of these visions was enough to enrich me with



all that wealth。〃'6'







'6'  Autobiography; ch。 xxviii。















I fear I may have made a longer excursus than was necessary; and



that fewer words would have dispelled the uneasiness which may



have arisen among some of you as I announced my pathological



programme。  At any rate you must all be ready now to judge the



religious life by its results exclusively; and I shall assume



that the bugaboo of morbid origin will scandalize your piety no



more。







Still; you may ask me; if its results are to be the ground of our



final spiritual estimate of a religious phenomenon; why threaten



us at all with so much existential study of its

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