[330] Ought it to be assumed that in all men the
mixture of religion with other elements should be identical?
Ought it, indeed, to be assumed that the lives of all men should
show identical religious elements? In other words, is the
existence of so many religious types and sects and creeds
regrettable?
[330] For example, on pages 135, 160, 326 above.
To these questions I answer "No" emphatically. And my reason is
that I do not see how it is possible that creatures in such
different positions and with such different powers as human
individuals are, should have exactly the same functions and the
same duties. No two of us have identical difficulties, nor
should we be expected to work out identical solutions. Each,
from his peculiar angle of observation, takes in a certain sphere
of fact and trouble, which each must deal with in a unique
manner. One of us must soften himself, another must harden
himself; one must yield a point, another must stand firm--in
order the better to defend the position assigned him. If an
Emerson were forced to be a Wesley, or a Moody forced to be a
Whitman, the total human consciousness of the divine would
suffer.
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