As he descends
from such lofty regions to those whose whole endeavor and pursuit
are limited to earth, he easily believes--and you must pardon him the
feeling--that he has passed from intercourse with Gods and Muses to a
race of coarse barbarians. He feels like a steward of religion among
the unbelieving, a herald of piety among the savages; he hopes, like
an Orpheus or an Amphion, to charm the multitude with his heavenly
tones; he presents himself among them, like a priestly form, clearly
and brightly exhibiting the lofty, spiritual sense which fills his
soul, in all his actions and in the whole compass of his Being. If the
contemplation of the Holy and the Godlike awakens a kindred emotion in
them, how joyfully does he cherish the first presages of religion in
a new heart, as a delightful pledge of its growth even in a harsh and
foreign clime! With what triumph does he bear the neophyte with him to
the exalted assembly! This activity for the promotion of religion is
only the pious yearning of the stranger after his home, the endeavor
to carry his Fatherland with him in all his wanderings, and everywhere
to find again its laws and customs as the highest and most beautiful
elements of his life; but the Fatherland itself, happy in its own
resources, perfectly sufficient for its own wants, knows no such
endeavor.
_JOHANN GOTTLIEB FICHTE_
* * * * *
THE DESTINY OF MAN (1800)
ADAPTED FROM THE TRANSLATION BY FREDERIC H.
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