The S. Deiniol's Series THE INSPIRATION OF PROPHECY. An Essay in the Psychology of Revelation. By G. C. JOYCE, Warden of S. Deiniol's Library. 3s. 6d. net. DEATH AND THE HEREAFTER. Sermons preached by HARRY DREW, Rector of Hawarden, 1904-1910. With a Memorial Sermon by H. S. HOLLAND. Edited by G. C. JOYCE. 2s. 6d. net. ST. BASIL AND HIS RULE. A Study in Early Monasticism. By E. F. MORISON, B.D., Sub-Warden of S. Deiniol's Library. 3s. 6d. net. IN PREPARATION THE POLITICAL RELATIONS OF CHRIST'S MINISTRY; WITH A STUDY OF THE TEMPTATION. By STEPHEN LIBERTY, M.A. MR. GLADSTONE'S PLACE IN RELIGIOUS THOUGHT. BY STEPHEN LIBERTY, M.A. Πάντες γὰρ ἄνθρωποι περὶ θεῶν ἔχουσιν ὑπόληψιν, καὶ πάντες τὸν GN470 os PREFACE IN this little book there are presented some results of a study of religion in its most primitive and rudimentary forms. I was drawn to the subject by the curiosity to know whether religion could legitimately be called an instinct of human nature. Is it as much of the essence of man as, for example, the gift of speech? Or is it something that he acquired in the course of his history, as he learned the art of making a boat to carry him across a river? These questions may doubtless be answered best by an examination of the ideas and usages of people who live in a state of nature, and have not yet been subject ed to the modifying influences of civilization. If religion is universal among them, there are strong grounds for thinking that it has its roots deep down in the very constitution of mankind, and that it will remain their inalienable possession as certainly as the power of sight. For my own part, after spending some time on the study of early religion, I am more convinced than ever of the reality of the religious sense, and of the tenacity of its hold upon primitive folk. They all have 298522 |