Page:Lectures on the Philosophy of Religion volume 2.djvu/106

 their principal moments, the two being not yet severed. Accordingly there is here merely what is mysterious and confused, and by means of the Notion alone can the clue be obtained which indicates to which side such heterogeneous elements tend to come together, and to which of the two sides the principal moments belong.

The God is still the inner nature here, implicit power, and for that reason the form this power may wear is accidental, is an arbitrary one. This merely implicitly existent power may be invested with this or the other human or animal form. The power is unconscious, active intelligence, which is not spiritual. It is mere Idea, not subjective Idea, however, but vitality void of consciousness—in fact, life. This is not subjectivity, is not self, in fact; but if life is to be presented as outward form at all, the form that lies nearest at hand for the purpose is that of some living creature. Within life in general the living, in fact, lies hidden; what particular living creature, what animal, what human being this may be is a matter of indifference. We thus find zoolatry present at this stage, and, indeed, in the greatest variety: in different localities different animals are held in reverence or worshipped.

From the point of view of the Notion it is of more importance that the subject is determined immanently within itself, is in its reflection into itself, and this determination is no longer the universal Good, though it certainly is the Good, and thus has Evil over against it. The next stage, however, is that actual subjectivity posits differences in its determination, that differentiated Good is posited here, an inner content; and this content is of a definite and not of a merely general or universal character. Not until differences can exist for me, not until possibility of choice is present, and only to the extent in which this is the case, is the subject an actual subject, or, in other words, does freedom begin. In this way the subject stands for the first time above particular ends, is