Page:Lectures on the Philosophy of Religion volume 1.djvu/362

 has essentially a meditating character. This stage is exemplified in the sect of Tâo.

It is, however, to be remarked that these persons who are absorbed in thought, in an inner life, and betake themselves to the abstraction of thought, at the same time have it as an aim to become immortal, pure beings in their own right, partly on account of their having been previously consecrated, and partly because, since they have reached the goal and attained mastership, they deem themselves higher beings, even as regards their existence here and their actual state.

This turning inwards, toward abstracting pure thought, is thus already to be found in ancient times among the Chinese. A revival or reform of the doctrine of Tâo took place at a later date; this is principally ascribed to Lâo-tsze, a wise man, who, although somewhat older, was contemporary with Confucius and Pythagoras.

Confucius is emphatically a moral, and not a speculative philosopher. T‘ien, this universal power over nature which attains to reality by the authority of the Emperor, is closely associated with morals generally, and it was this moral aspect especially which was developed by Confucius. With the sect of Tâo the initial act is the passing over into thought, into the pure element. It is remarkable in this connection that in Tâo—in Totality—the idea of the Trinity makes its appearance. The One has produced the Two, and the Two the Three: this is the Universum. Thus, as soon as ever man took up a thinking attitude, the idea of Trinity at once made its appearance as the result of this. The One or Unity is wholly characterless or devoid of determination, and is simply abstraction. If it is to have the principle of life and of spirituality, an advance must be made to determination. Unity is only real in so far as it contains two within itself, and with this Trinity is given. That this advance has been made to thought does not, however, imply that any higher spiritual religion has as yet