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THE EGO AND HIS OWN

As if the dominion of morality were not a complete

dominion of the sacred, a " hierarchy."

So we may here mention by the way that rationalist

movement which, after theologians had long insisted
that only faith was capable of grasping religious
truths, that only to believers did God reveal himself,
etc., and that therefore only the heart, the feelings, the
believing fancy was religious, broke out with the asser-
tion that the " natural understanding," human reason,
was also capable of discerning God. What does that
mean but that the reason laid claim to be the same
visionary as the fancy ? * In this sense Reimarus
wrote his " Most Notable Truths of Natural Religion."
It had to come to this,--that the whole man with all
his faculties was found to be religious ; heart and
affections, understanding and reason, feeling, know-
ledge, and will,--in short, everything in man,--
appeared religious. Hegel has shown that even phi-
losophy is religious. And what is not called religion
to-day ? The " religion of love," the " religion of
freedom," " political religion,"--in short, every enthu-
siasm. So it is, too, in fact.

To this day we use the Romance word " religion,"

which expresses the concept of a condition of being
bound. To be sure, we remain bound, so far as reli-
gion takes possession of our inward parts; but is the
mind also bound ? On the contrary, that is free, is
sole lord, is not our mind, but absolute. Therefore
the correct affirmative translation of the word religion
would be "freedom of mind "! In whomsoever the

* [dieselbe Phantastin wie die Phantasie]

MEN OF THE OLD TIME AND THE NEW 63

mind is free, he is religious in just the same way as he
in whom the senses have free course is called a sensual
man. The mind binds the former, the desires the lat-
ter. Religion, therefore, is boundness or religio with
reference to me,--I am bound; it is freedom with re-
ference to the mind,--the mind is free, or has freedom
of mind. Many know from experience how hard it
is on us when the desires run away with us, free and
unbridled; but that the free mind, splendid intellect-
uality, enthusiasm for intellectual interests, or however
this jewel may in the most various phrase be named,
brings us into yet more grievous straits than even the
wildest impropriety, people will not perceive; nor can
they perceive it without being consciously egoists.

Reimarus, and all who have shown that our reason,

our heart, etc., also lead to God, have therewithal
shown that we are possessed through and through.
To be sure, they vexed the theologians, from whom
they took away the prerogative of religious exaltation ;
but for religion, for freedom of mind, they thereby
only conquered yet more ground. For, when the
mind is no longer limited to feeling or faith, but also,
as understanding, reason, and thought in general, be-
longs to itself the mind,--when, therefore, it may take
part in the spiritual* and heavenly truths in the form
of understanding, etc., as well as in its other forms,--
then the whole mind is occupied only with spiritual
things, i. e. with itself, and is therefore free. Now we
are so through-and-through religious that "jurors,"
i. e. " sworn men," condemn us to death, and every

* [The same word as " intellectual," us "mind" and "spirit" are the
same.]