Page:Psychology and preaching.djvu/375

 THE MODERN MIND 357

less, trembling awe as the expressions of the moods and voli- ti^ns of mysterious superhuman beings; and there is nd wonder that they should think of the human intelligence as already something more than a novice in the midst of the universal machinery of natural forces, rapidly acquiring the skill either to bend them to human service or to protect man against the dangers of their uncontrolled operation.

There are others whose philosophy is more spiritual and who think of nature as animated by a great soul whose life pulsates through it all, causing all change. But the univer sal life of this type of thought is in constant danger of losing the distinctive marks of personality. So in one way or another the modern trend is to depersonalize the entire universe wherein natural law is seen to obtain.

What is the explanation of this tendency? It is not safe to dogmatize as to the reason. But we offer the following tentative explanation. It is probably due to an inclination, almost irresistible, to regard the acts of personalities as variable or incalculable. Human personalities are so largely impulsive, so little controlled by rational considerations, that they seem incalculable. It is doubtless true that the more completely controlled by impulse a person is, the more cal culable his action would really be, if all the obscure and com plex conditions of the action could be seen and understood, But these are always hidden for the most part. Even the actor himself, especially if he is impulsive, is often just as ig norant of these conditions as his fellow-men, or more so. It is also true that action absolutely controlled by reason would always appear regular, orderly, calculable, if all the con siderations influencing it were clearly apparent. But such a person would be moving on a plane far above the level of the intelligence of men as now constituted; his reasons would often be hidden from their view; and he would al most certainly appear to them irregular and incalculable. Or if his action occurred with a regularity that was obvious, it would inevitably often appear arbitrary and unreasonable ; or mechanical and non-moral. We have, therefore, come to

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