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 242 CEITICAL NOTICES : say for certain that it was similar. We are in a region of hypothesis, imagination and conjecture. This is no doubt a fascinating region ; it offers a boundless field for the exercise of psychological divination. And it must be admitted that Mr. Spencer is a master in this department. But from such a region the most acute and highly trained intellect can only bring back "possibilities and probabilities". In so far as these con- jectures are a sort of satisfaction to our curiosity as to the probable origin of religious ideas and institutions they serve a useful pur- pose. But it is always to be remembered that they are only approximations at the best, and cannot be placed in the category of established facts. It is easier to trace the development of the religious consciousness than to divine its origin. The manner in which Mr. Spencer performs this task is coloured by his funda- mental assumption as to the origin of religious ideas. But his main contention is in accordance with historic fact when he points out that the evolution of the religious consciousness from lower to higher levels is to be seen in what he calls the " dean- thropomorphisation" of the supreme object of religious reverence. Mr. Spencer considers that this process will continue until what he describes as the " Ultimate Eeality transcending human thought " is no longer spoken of in terms which are only applicable to a transfigured man. The process of " deanthropomorphisation " if carried to the extent indicated by Mr. Spencer may give satis- faction to the intellect, but will a religion in which this process has been completed afford adequate satisfaction to the heart and will? Religion is much more a matter of emotion and volition than of intellect, and unless ecclesiastical institutions are able to provide satisfactory exercise for the emotional needs of man it is to be feared that they will ultimately cease to exist. In short, religion must present a conception of the universe which compels reverence, devotion and effort, as well as intellectual assent. From Ecclesiastical Institutions Mr. Spencer passes by a natural transition to Professional Institutions. This he does in accord- ance with the general principle which dominates his philosophy, that the process of development is a process of differentiation the rise of the heterogeneous from the homogeneous. The ecclesi- astic or priest used to combine in his own person almost all the functions which are now differentiated and distributed among the various professions. The ecclesiastical origin of the physician and surgeon is proved by Mr. Spencer by a reference to the fact that all over the world the priest in humbly developed societies is a medicine man as well as a ghostly counsellor. As social evolution advances it is seen that the cure of diseases is effected by natural means, and when this is observed the doctor becomes by degrees differentiated from the pi'iest and assumes the position of an independent professional man. The singer, musician and dancer, are specialised in accordance with the same principles as the doctor, but at a less early period