line with its moving, not simply in a passive, but in an active, hopeful way; (2) to suggest one standard of appeal in all troublesome problems,— namely, that which harmonizes with the keenest insight of the higher self; (3) to show the need of discernment, of thought, reason, discrimination, that one may avoid the extreme, on the one hand, of confusing the intuitions of the higher self with mere finite thought, and the mystical conclusion, on the other, that just this finite experience is the great All; (4) the distinct understanding that this that we have considered as the higher self is related to eternity, above all causation, above all time and all limitation, as its necessary ground and basis. Reason may thus be satisfied, the objection to the concept of causation is removed, and all finite thought and evolution are accepted for what they are worth, not in any sense final, but as manifestations of that Being whose nature it is to put itself forth in love, in system, in the great and in the small, whose living presence is thus the necessary basis of every moment, of every thought, of every aspiration, and of every living soul.

In this way one may develop harmoniously, without reaching afar to that which the here and now alone can reveal. In this way one may be wisely true to the higher dictates of the spiritual sense. In this way at last all life shall become a

witness to the joy of mere existence, all thought a confession of divinity, and all the deeds of time reveal the eternal nearness of the living God, made individual and personal through the higher self, complete and perfect through the world of manifestation, and united with all his creatures through the love and life without which they could not be.

IV.

INDIVIDUALITY.

"Yet with all this abounding experience, this deity known, I shall dare to discover some province, some gift of my

AN acute philosophical observer has said that the problem for the thinker during the next halfcentury will be the choice between the impersonal tendency, which has reached its climax in Hindu speculation, and the doctrine of individuality so generally held in the West. The renewed interest in Oriental thought, due to the presence among us of many able exponents of Hindu mysticism, has brought very prominently forward the conception of the Absolute as an infinite ocean of wisdom and bliss, in which persons are, figuratively speaking, only waves or whirlpools. The tendency of modern science is also toward the vast, the great, and impersonal, in which the individual is easily sacrificed, since Nature creates with such a bountiful hand and is careful only of the generic type. Even the new thought doctrine in our Western world advises silence and meditation above all else,

anything and everything that will tend to put the personal self aside, that the real Being may be revealed. And there seems to be nothing left for the finite soul but to maintain a sort of quiet, hopeful attitude through recognition of the Absolute, surrendering to this mighty power the splendid possibilities of personal energy and achievement.

Yet the desire for permanent individuality is as great as the demand for unity, and this desire must be explained. We have no sooner affirmed all life or power to be one, eternal and limitless, than we must qualify our statement by defining it to be also many, changing and finite; and, unless we can solve the universal riddle of unity amidst variety, it is intellectually far more commendable to state the dual aspects separately. In the last analysis, only so much of this vastness is knowable by us as can be grasped by the finite mind: no part can speak for the Whole, as such. It is the personal revelations of the great seers of the past and present, the phenomena of nature and the affections of the human heart, which have differentiated this great Power, and made it a reality among us. The principle of individuation, reaching its culmination in man, is an essential factor in the entire evolution of the cosmos. To many the term Power, or Spirit, has no meaning apart from these manifestations in persons and things; and just as Creator and created, Love and loved, belong

together, so in practical life one must include the two sides, the times for silence and the periods of activity prove to be not hostile, but supplementary.

That such a unification of practical methods is necessary is evident from the experience of those who have made exclusive application of either one. In our hurrying Western world the method of silence is much needed, and one cannot too strongly emphasize the value of receptive listening and inward repose. Perhaps one may safely go even to the extreme in the inculcation of this method, in order to counteract the nervous tendency of our modern people. Yet some say, This is Quietism once more. How far shall it be carried? To what extent shall one be non-resistant ? Shall one go so far as to say,

Again, the need of development which shall counterbalance too great receptivity is illustrated in the instances of sacrifice of individuality with which every one is familiar. There are many cases

of hypnotism in real life. People are, as a rule, either positive or negative to the minds about them; and there are many unsuspected channels of interchange of mental and physical influence. One is both fortunate and to be pitied who has a receptive nature; for turned toward the Highest, it