PREFACE

This book would never have been written had I not been honored with an appointment as GiffordLecturer on Natural Religion at the University of Edinburgh. In casting about me for subjects ofthe two courses of ten lectures each for which I thus became responsible, it seemed to me that thefirst course might well be a descriptive one on "Man's Religious Appetites," and the second ametaphysical one on "Their Satisfaction through Philosophy." But the unexpected growth of thepsychological matter as I came to write it out has resulted in the second subject being postponedentirely, and the description of man's religious constitution now fills the twenty lectures. In LectureXX I have suggested rather than stated my own philosophic¹ conclusions, and the reader whodesires immediately to know them should turn to pages 501-509, and to the "Postscript²" of thebook. I hope to be able at some later day to express them in more explicit³ form.

In my belief that a large acquaintance with particulars often makes us wiser than the possessionof abstract formulas, however deep, I have loaded the lectures with concrete examples, and I havechosen these among the extremer expressions of the religious temperament⁴. To some readers I mayconsequently seem, before they get beyond the middle of the book, to offer a caricature of thesubject. Such convulsions of piety⁵, they will say, are not sane⁶. If, however, they will have thepatience to read to the end, I believe that this unfavorable impression will disappear; for I therecombine the religious impulses with other principles of common sense which serve as correctivesof exaggeration, and allow the individual reader to draw as moderate conclusions as he will.

My thanks for help in writing these lectures are due to Edwin D. Starbuck, of StanfordUniversity, who made over to me his large collection of manuscript material; to Henry W. Rankin,of East Northfield, a friend unseen but proved, to whom I owe precious information; to TheodoreFlournoy, of Geneva, to Canning Schiller of Oxford⁷, and to my colleague Benjamin Rand, fordocuments; to my colleague Dickinson S. Miller⁸, and to my friends, Thomas Wren⁹ Ward¹⁰, of New York, and Wincenty Lutoslawski, late of Cracow, for important suggestions and advice. Finally, toconversations with the lamented¹¹ Thomas Davidson and to the use of his books, at Glenmore, aboveKeene Valley, I owe more obligations than I can well express. Harvard University, March, 1902.

1 philosophic   

adj.哲学的，贤明的

参考例句：

• It was a most philosophic and jesuitical motorman.这是个十分善辩且狡猾的司机。
• The Irish are a philosophic as well as a practical race.爱尔兰人是既重实际又善于思想的民族。

2 postscript   

n.附言，又及；(正文后的)补充说明

参考例句：

• There was the usual romantic postscript at the end of his letter.他的信末又是一贯的浪漫附言。
• She mentioned in a postscript to her letter that the parcel had arrived.她在信末附笔中说包裹已寄到。

3 explicit   

adj.详述的，明确的；坦率的；显然的

参考例句：

• She was quite explicit about why she left.她对自己离去的原因直言不讳。
• He avoids the explicit answer to us.他避免给我们明确的回答。

4 temperament   

n.气质，性格，性情

参考例句：

• The analysis of what kind of temperament you possess is vital.分析一下你有什么样的气质是十分重要的。
• Success often depends on temperament.成功常常取决于一个人的性格。

5 piety   

n.虔诚，虔敬

参考例句：

• They were drawn to the church not by piety but by curiosity.他们去教堂不是出于虔诚而是出于好奇。
• Experience makes us see an enormous difference between piety and goodness.经验使我们看到虔诚与善意之间有着巨大的区别。

6 sane   

adj.心智健全的，神志清醒的，明智的，稳健的

参考例句：

• He was sane at the time of the murder.在凶杀案发生时他的神志是清醒的。
• He is a very sane person.他是一个很有头脑的人。

7 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。

8 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

9 wren   

n.鹪鹩；英国皇家海军女子服务队成员

参考例句：

• A wren is a kind of short-winged songbird.鹪鹩是一种短翼的鸣禽。
• My bird guide confirmed that a Carolina wren had discovered the thickets near my house.我掌握的鸟类知识使我确信，一只卡罗莱纳州鹪鹩已经发现了我家的这个灌木丛。

10 ward   

n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开

参考例句：

• The hospital has a medical ward and a surgical ward.这家医院有内科病房和外科病房。
• During the evening picnic,I'll carry a torch to ward off the bugs.傍晚野餐时，我要点根火把，抵挡蚊虫。

11 lamented   

adj.被哀悼的，令人遗憾的v.（为…）哀悼，痛哭，悲伤( lament的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• her late lamented husband 她那令人怀念的已故的丈夫
• We lamented over our bad luck. 我们为自己的不幸而悲伤。 来自《简明英汉词典》