As a good pragmatist, I myself ought to call the
Absolute true 'in so far forth,' then; and I unhesitatingly now do
so.
But what does TRUE IN SO FAR FORTH mean in this case? To answer, we
need only apply the pragmatic method. What do believers in the
Absolute mean by saying that their belief affords them comfort? They
mean that since in the Absolute finite evil is 'overruled' already,
we may, therefore, whenever we wish, treat the temporal as if it
were potentially the eternal, be sure that we can trust its outcome,
and, without sin, dismiss our fear and drop the worry of our finite
responsibility. In short, they mean that we have a right ever and
anon to take a moral holiday, to let the world wag in its own way,
feeling that its issues are in better hands than ours and are none
of our business.
The universe is a system of which the individual members may relax
their anxieties occasionally, in which the don't-care mood is also
right for men, and moral holidays in order--that, if I mistake not,
is part, at least, of what the Absolute is 'known-as,' that is the
great difference in our particular experiences which his being true
makes for us, that is part of his cash-value when he is
pragmatically interpreted.
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