Striking
at the principal existing evil, which was indifference, he aimed to show
the only method for the eradication of them all.
The late Mr. Vaughan, in speaking of the position of this work, says:
"In these essays Schleiermacher meets the Rationalist objector on his
own ground. In what aspect, he asks, have you considered religion that
you so despise it? Have you looked on its outward manifestations only?
These the peculiarities of an age or a nation may modify. You should
have looked deeper. That which constitutes the religious _life_ has
escaped you. Your criticism has dissected a dead creed. That scalpel
will never detect a soul. Or will you aver that you have indeed looked
upon religion in its inward reality? Then you must acknowledge that the
idea of religion is inherent in human nature, that it is a great
necessity of our kind. Your quarrel lies in this case, not with religion
itself, but with the corruptions of it. In the name of humanity you are
called on to examine closely, to appreciate duly what has been already
done towards the emancipation of the true and eternal which lies beneath
these forms,--to assist in what may yet remain.
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