the conduct inevitably follows. Indeed, in many cases the very reality of prayer will shorten the time allotted to prayer, so strong will be the impulse of love to act for the well-being of others. But let any man who finds it thus with him take heed. The life with God is the supreme concern, and the source of all power to serve. It is only the man who loves God with all his being who will be able to love his neighbour as himself. CHAPTER IV THE NATURE OF MAN "What a piece of work is a man! how noble in reason! how infinite in faculty! in form and moving how express and admirable! in action how like an angel! in apprehension how like a god! the beauty of the world! the paragon of animals!” -SHAKESPEARE. THE structure of Reality as outlined in our first chapter is most fully illustrated-within our experience-by Man. It is possible, or at least arguable, that Man does not represent the fullest development hitherto of one line of evolution, but is rather the representative of one among several lines. Thus it may be that Bergson is right in refusing to regard intelligence as in any way superior to instinct, and in maintaining that these two terms express different and largely incompatible lines of evolution. The higher animals should in that case not be regarded as of necessity "lower" than man; they may be, at least biologically, at an equally advanced stage on another line of development. Yet it still remains true that, within our experience, human nature is the fullest illustration. In our bodies we belong to the physical, chemical, vegetable, and animal worlds; these bodies are largely directed by our minds or intelligences; our minds are capable of being directed by spirit, or, in other words, of exerting themselves in the fulfilment of obligation. We shall therefore learn more about the true nature and meaning of Reality from the study of 1 L'Evolution créatrice, pp. 146 ff. man, in all his activities, than from any other study; and human nature will be more capable of expressing the Creative Will than any other created thing known to us. How far it may be capable of this, our study of man must help us to determine. As we ascend in the scale of complexity or richness of being, the most important transition is that from Thing to Person.1 The Thing has these three characteristics: (a) it has no significant individuality, (b) it acts only as it is impelled from without, (c) it has no sentience or point of view. It is easy to illustrate these points: (a) no doubt every brick in a heap has some real differentia, whereby it is distinguished from every other brick, but this is (so to speak) external and irrelevant-it is the third or the ninety-seventh to pass through its particular mould as compared with the sixth or the eighty-fifth. Its material or the fashion of its baking may have made it a bad brickporous or in some other way defective; but even then its badness is thought of as typical rather than individual. One brick does as well as another of the same pattern, unless it be faulty; and then it is only a bad brick. The individuality of the brick does not (b) Similarly it cannot direct its own motion. If the billiard-table is flat and the ball round, the ball will remain still until it is struck and will then follow the line imposed upon it by the impinging bodythe cue or another ball; and if the ball rolls without being struck, it must be either because the table is not flat or because the ball is not round, and its motion is a mere instance of the general law of gravitation. (c) Consequently, having neither individuality nor self-direction, the thing has no sentience or point of view. A cricketer feels no moral obligation to keep his bat out of the way of a fast ball for fear lest the violent impact may hurt the ball. He takes it for count. 1 Cf. my lectures on The Nature of Personality for a more detailed exposition of this point. |