" Man must "walk by faith, not by
sight." "For the things which are seen are temporal, but the things
which are not seen are eternal."
CHAPTER VIII
MAN
In Kingsley's fascinating historical romance, Raphael Aben-Ezra says
to Hypatia, "Is it not possible that we have been so busy discussing
what the philosopher should be, that we have forgotten that he must
first of all be a man?" This truth we too often forget. No
statesman, philosopher, least of all teacher, can be truly great who
is not, first of all, and above all, a great man. And in our study
of man are we not prone to forget that he stands in certain very
definite and close relations with surrounding nature?
Man has been the object of so much special study, his position,
owing to his higher moral and mental power, is so unique that he has
often been regarded not only as a special creation, but as created
to occupy a position not only unique, but also exceptional, above
many of the very laws of nature, and not bound by them. Many speak
and write of him as if it were his chief glory and prerogative to be
as far removed as possible, not only from the animal, but even from
the whole realm of nature. The mistake of making him an exception
arises, after all, not so much from too high a conception of man, at
least of his possibilities, as from too low a view of nature.
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