He  defined  it  as  a  mere  "  suppressio  veri."     His  promise,
that  he  would  study  the  writings  of  men  called  mystics,
was  soon  fulfilled;    and  the  result  was  seen  in  the  new
religious  tendency  of  his  speculative  philosophy.    At  the  same
time,  his  ethical  teaching  was  made  more  directly  contrary
to  the  commonplace  morality  of  deism  and  popular  philo-
sophy.    His  first  endeavour  now  was  to  claim  for  intuition,
instinct,  and  sentiment  on  one   side,  and  for  history  and
religion  on  the  other,  some  share  of  the  attention  that  had
long  been  too  exclusively  bestowed  on  subjective  reasoning
and  system-making.     It  was  chiefly  in  1809  that  his  teaching
assumed  a  distinctly  religious  character.     The  ideas  of  man's
fall  and  his  need   of   a  divine  revelation  were  afterwards
made  more  prominent ;  and  it  was  asserted  that  history  and
philosophy,    without   the    presence  of  religion,    could   say
nothing  to  shed  light   over  the  mysteries   of  human  life
(pp.  229,  245).     The  theory  of  religion  was  now  made  more
and  more   mystical.     Revelation   was    defined   as   a  light
dawning  slowly  and  gleaming  fitfully  through  many  reli-
gions ;  at  last  shining  out  clearly.     Critics  complained  that
Schilling  was  now  wandering  far  away  from  daylight.     On
the  other  hand  he  replied,  that  the  light  of  rationalism  was
artificial ;  and  that  its  doctrines,  though  often  called  clear,
were  in  fact  obscure.     In  order  to  come  forth  at  last  into  the
light  of  day,  said  he,  we  must  venture  at  first  to  descend  into
the  gloom  of  deep  research.     We  must  find  our  way  through
a  valley  where  shadows  are  interspersed  among  mysterious
lights.     These  and  similar  observations  now  lead  on  to  dark
questionings  respecting  man's  original  freedom ;  and  these
lead  us  on  farther  to  a  theory  of  evil— first  possible,  and
permitted;    then   made   real   by   wilful   transgression   and
rebellion.     Schelling  leads  us  down  into  abysses  of  mystic
speculation  while  he  is  describing  the  consequences  of  man's
fall.     His  spiritual  powers  have  been  perverted  by  an  original
sin,  but  feebly  indicated  by  our  word  "  pride/'  as  commonly
understood.     For  "  pride ;'  is  here  to  be  understood  in  an


408  GERMAN   CULTURE   AND   CHRISTIANITY.
