Beulah - Page 297/348

"You will perhaps remember his saying explicitly that we can

comprehend the Absolute?"

"Yes; I recollect; and, moreover, he declares that 'we are conducted

to God by a ray of his own being.'"

"Can limited faculties comprehend the infinite and eternal creator?"

"We do not attain a knowledge of him through finite channels. Cousin

contends that it is by means of relation to the absolute that we

know God."

"Then, to know the absolute, or God, you must be the absolute; or,

in other words, God only can find God. This is the simple doctrine,

when you unwind the veil he has cleverly hung over it. True, he

denounces pantheism; but here is pantheism of the eclectic patent,

differing from that of other systems only in subtlety of expression,

wherein Cousin certainly excels. One of the most profound

philosophical writers of the age, [Footnote: J. D. Moreil.

"Speculative Philosophy of Europe."] and one whose opinion on this

point certainly merits careful consideration, has remarked, in an

analysis of Cousin's system, 'with regard to his notion of Deity, we

have already shown how closely this verges upon the principle of

Pantheism. Even if we admit that it is not a doctrine, like that of

Spinoza, which identifies God with the abstract idea of substance;

or even like that of Hegel, which regards Deity as synonymous with

the absolute law and process of the universe; if we admit, in fact,

that the Deity of Cousin possesses a conscious personality, yet

still it is one which contains in itself the infinite personality

and consciousness of every subordinate mind. God is the ocean--we

are but the waves; the ocean may be one individuality, and each wave

another; but still they are essentially one and the same. We see not

how Cousin's Theism can possibly be consistent with any idea of

moral evil; neither do we see how, starting from such a dogma, he

can ever vindicate and uphold his own theory of human liberty. On

such theistic principles all sin must be simply defect, and all

defect must be absolutely fatuitous.' Eclecticism was a beautiful

but frail levee, opposed to the swollen tide of skepticism, and, as

in every other crevasse when swept away, it only caused the stream

to rush on more madly."

He watched her closely as he spoke, and observed the quiver of her

long, curling lashes; he saw, too, that she was resolved not to

surrender, and waited for an explicit defense; but here Eugene

interrupted.

"All this tweedledum and tweedledee reminds me of Heidelberg days,

when a few of us roamed about the Odenwald, chopping off flowers

with our canes and discussing philosophy. Rare jargon we made of it;

talking of cosmothetie idealism or hypothetical dualism, of noetic

and dianoetic principles, of hylozoism and hypostasis, and

demonstrating the most undemonstrable propositions by appeals to the

law of contradiction or of excluded middle. I fancied then that I

was growing very learned--wondered whether Beulah here would be able

to keep up with me, and really thought I understood what I

discoursed about so logically."