chapter 14
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But the value ion is that it enables men, enables and make even the mass of mankind who have not force of intelleor force of character, to strictly follow and obey the rules of moral duct . But then how and by what means dion enable and make men do this? People imagihat religion enables and makes mehe rules of moral duct by teag men the belief in God. But that, as I have shown you, is a great mistake. The one and sole authority which makes men really obey moral laws or rules of moral duct is the moral sehe law of the gentleman in them. fucius said: "A moral law which is outside of man is not a moral law.Even Christ in teag His religion says: "The Kingdom of God is within you." I say, therefore, the idea which people have that religion makes mehe rules of moral duct by means of teag them the belief in God is a mistake. Martin Luther says admirably in his entary on the Book of Daniel: "A God is simply that where-on the huma rests with trust, faith, hope and love. If the resting is right, then the God, too, is right; if the resting is wrong, then the God, too, is illusory. " This belief in God taught by religion is, therefore, only a resting, or, as I call it, a refuge. But then Luther says: "The resting, i.e. the belief in God, must be true, otherwise the resting, the belief, is illusory. In other words, the belief in God must be a true knowledge of God, a real knowledge of the Divine Order of the Universe, which, as we know, only men of great intellect attain and which the mass of mankind ot attain. Thus you see the belief in God taught by religion<var></var>, which people imagine ehe mass of mankind to follow and obey the rules of moral duct, is illusory. Men rightly call this belief in God_in the Divine Order of the Universe taught by religion_a faith, a trust, or, as I called it, a refuge. heless, this refuge, the belief in God, taught by religion, although illusory, an illusion, helps towards enablio obey the rules of moral duct, for, as I said, the belief in God gives to men, to the mass of mankind, a sense of security and a sense of permanen their existence. Goethe says: "Piety, (From-migkeit) i.e., the belief in God, taught by religion, is not an end in itself but only a means by which, through the plete and perfect ess of mind and temper (Gemuethsruehe) which it gives, to attain the highest state of culture or human perfe." In other words, the belief in God taught by religion, by giving men a sense of security and a sense of permanen their existence, calms them, gives them the necessary ess of mind and temper to feel the law of the gentleman or moral sense in them, which, I say again, is the one and sole authority to make men really obey the rules of moral duoral laws.
But if the belief in God taught by religion only helps to make mehe rules of moral duct, what is it then upon which Religion depends principally to make men, to make the mass of mankind, obey the rules of moral duct? It is inspiration. Matthew Arnold truly says: "The souls of whatever creed, the pagan Empedocles as well as the Christian Paul, have insisted on the y of inspiration, a liviion to make moral as perfect." Now what is this inspiration or liviion in R></a>eligion, the paramount virtue ion upon which, as I said. Religion principally depends to make men, to enable and make even the mass of mankind obey the rules of moral duoral laws?
You will remem>.</a>ber I told you that the whole system of the teags of fucius may be summed up in one word; the Law of the Gentleman, the equivalent for whi the European languages, I said, is moral law. fucius calls this law of the gentleman a secret. * fucius says: "The law of the gentleman is to be found everywhere, a is a secret. " heless fucius says:
"The simple intelligence of ordinary men and women of the people even know something of this secret. The igure of ordinary men and women of the people, too, carry out this law of the gentleman. " For this reasohe, who also khis secret_the law of the gentleman of fucius, called it an "ope. "Now where and how did mankind e to discover this secret? fucuis said, you will remember, I told you that the reition of the law of the gentleman began with the reition of the relation of husband and wife_the true relatioween a man and woman in marriage. Thus the secret, the ope of Goethe, the law of the gentleman of fucius, was first discovered by a man and woman. But now, a-gain, how did the man and the woman discover this secret_the law of the gentleman of fucius?
I told you that the equivalent in the European languages for the law of the gentleman of fucius, is moral law. Now what is the differeween the law of the gentleman of fucius and moral law_I mean the moral law or law of morality of the philosopher and moralist as distinguished frion or law of morality taught by religious teachers. In order to und<mark>99lib?</mark>erstand this differeween the law of the gentleman of fucius and the moral law of the philosopher and moralist, let us first find out the differehat there is between religion and the moral law of the philosopher and moralist. fucius says: "The Ordinance of God is what we call the law of our being. To fulfil the law of our being is what we call the Moral Law. The Moral Law when refined and put into proper order is what we call Religion. " * Thus, acc to fucius, the differeween Religion and moral law_the moral law of the philosopher and moralist_is that Religion is a refined and well ordered moral law, a deeper her standard of moral law.
The moral law of the philosopher tells us we must obey the law of our being called Reason. But Reason, as it is generally uood, means our reasoning power, that slow process of mind or intellect whiables us to distinguish and reise the definable properties and qualities of the outward forms of _ things. Reason, our reasoning power, therefore, enables us to see in moral relations only the definable properties and qualities, the mores, the morality, as it is rightly called, the outward manner and dead form, the body, so to speak, ht and wrong, or justice. Reason, our reasoning power alone, ake us see the undefinable, living, absolute essence ht and wrong, or justice, the life or soul, so to speak, of justice. For this reason Laotzu says: "The moral law that be expressed in language is not the<big>..</big> absolute moral law. The moral idea that be defined with words is not the absolute moral idea. " * The moral law of the moralist again tells us we must obey the law of our being, called sce, i.e., our heart. But then, as the Wise Man in the Hebrew Bible says, there are many devices in a ma. Therefore, wheake sce, our heart, as the law of our being and obey it, we are liable and apt to obey, not the voice of what I have called the soul of justice, the indefinable absolute essence of justice, but the many devices in a man s heart.
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