Page:Mind (New Series) Volume 6.djvu/216

 200 HENRY RUTGERS MARSHALL : other acts of devotion, these acts indeed being carried on with less emphasis during the pilgrim's journey and being looked forward to in their culmination from day to day. This value of action in common with others of our race in the enforcement of the ethical impulses is clear I think in the development of worship in community, of which we cannot stop to speak at length notwithstanding the very great importance of the subject : and I may add that the same value attaches to the development of religious societies, and to the conventions and councils, the conferences and congresses, of religious people which are so marked a feature of our later civilisation. 10. In looking back at the habits of religious people in the past as a whole I think we cannot fail to realise that the most important of all religious activities have been, as they still are, the customs which bring the common man to gain the attitude of prayer in companionship with his fellow-man ; and this because when men gather in great masses they unwittingly learn of their social dependence, this impression adding to the force of religious ceremonial in tending to repress the emphasis of individualistic impulses. Among the lower races some individual gains in one way or another the habit of restraint ; he sees a vision, notices a voice commanding him, or perhaps merely hears the "still small voice of conscience". He interprets this as an inspiration, as a revelation, as a message from his God. He tells this to his people, and if he be a man of force they, dimly feeling the impulse which he feels powerfully, obey his call, which answers to some extent to the vague impulses within themselves. They call him their prophet ; his God becomes their God and with their prophet they learn to pray. He teaches them to assume the attitudes of prayer which have been effective for himself and which in turn also become effective in enabling them, his followers, to hear the voice that is leading him. But there must be those who cannot hear the voice even thus, and to such we should expect to find teaching given by the ethical leaders ; as a matter of fact this habit of teaching is universal with all higher developments of religious custom. Having through fear or other means produced in his hearers the attitude of mind in which they are best able to hear the " voice," the prophet teaches them what this "voice" has said to himself, and if he be an ethical genius he blows into flame a fire that was ready to