great danger; but whatever the issue is we must face it.  It is a step forward to bring men together on points of agreement, but men come thus together not without a certain amount of suspicion.  In a fight for freedom that latent suspicion would become a mastering fear to seize and destroy us.  We must allay it now.  We must lead men to discuss points of difference with respect, forbearance, and courage, to find a consistent way of life for all that will inspire confidence in all.  At present we inspire confidence in no one; it would be fatal to hide the fact.  This is a necessary step to bringing matters to a head.  We cannot hope to succeed all at once, but we must keep the great aim in view.  There will be objections on all sides; from the blase man of the world, concerned only for his comfort, the mean man of business concerned only for his profits, the man of policy always looking for a middle way, a certain type of religious pessimist who always spies danger in every proposal, and many others.  We need not consider the comfort of the first nor the selfishness of the second; but the third and fourth require a word.  The man of policy offers me his judgment instead of a clear consideration of the truth.  ’Tis he who says:  “You and I can discuss certain things privately.  We are educated; we understand.  Ignorant people can’t understand, and you only make mischief in supposing it.  It’s not wise.”  To him I reply:  “You are afraid to speak the whole truth; I am afraid to hide it.  You are filled with the danger to ignorant people of having out everything; I am filled with the danger to you of suppressing anything.  I do not propose to you that you can with the whole truth make ignorant people profound, but I say you must have the whole truth out for your own salvation.”  Here is the danger:  we see life within certain limitations, and cannot see the possibly infinite significance of something we would put by.  It is of grave importance that we see it rightly, and in the difficulties of the case our only safe course is to take the evidence life offers without prejudice and without fear, and write it down.  When the matter is grave, let it be taken with all the mature deliberation and care its gravity demands, but once the evidence is clearly seen, let us for our salvation write it down.  For any man to set his petty judgment above the need for setting down the truth is madness; and I refuse to do it.  There is our religious pessimist to consider.  To him I say I take religion more seriously.  I take it not to evade the problems of life, but to solve them.  When I tell him to have no fear, this is not my indifference to the issue, but a tribute to the faith that is in me.  Let us be careful to do the right thing; then fear is inconsistent with faith.  Nor can I understand the other attitude.  Two thousand years after the preaching of the Sermon on the Mount we are to go about whispering to one another what is wise.

VI