it is entirely out of the question to imagine he will be convinced by reasons; there is nothing left for him but belief and authority.  Even if a really true philosophy took the place of religion, at least nine-tenths of mankind would only accept it on authority, so that it would be again a matter of belief; for Plato’s [Greek:  philosophon plaethos adynaton einai] will always hold good.  Authority, however, is only established by time and circumstances, so that we cannot bestow it on that which has only reason to commend it; accordingly, we must grant it only to that which has attained it in the course of history, even if it is only truth represented allegorically.  This kind of truth, supported by authority, appeals directly to the essentially metaphysical temperament of man—­that is, to his need of a theory concerning the riddle of existence, which thrusts itself upon him, and arises from the consciousness that behind the physical in the world there must be a metaphysical, an unchangeable something, which serves as the foundation of constant change.  It also appeals to the will, fears, and hopes of mortals living in constant need; religion provides them with gods, demons, to whom they call, appease, and conciliate.  Finally, it appeals to their moral consciousness, which is undeniably present, and lends to it that authenticity and support from without—­a support without which it would not easily maintain itself in the struggle against so many temptations.  It is exactly from this side that religion provides an inexhaustible source of consolation and comfort in the countless and great sorrows of life, a comfort which does not leave men in death, but rather then unfolds its full efficacy.  So that religion is like some one taking hold of the hand of a blind person and leading him, since he cannot see for himself; all that the blind person wants is to attain his end, not to see everything as he walks along.

Phil. This side is certainly the brilliant side of religion.  If it is a fraus it is indeed a pia fraus; that cannot be denied.  Then priests become something between deceivers and moralists.  For they dare not teach the real truth, as you yourself have quite correctly explained, even if it were known to them; which it is not.  There can, at any rate, be a true philosophy, but there can be no true religion:  I mean true in the real and proper understanding of the word, not merely in that flowery and allegorical sense which you have described, a sense in which every religion would be true only in different degrees.  It is certainly quite in harmony with the inextricable admixture of good and evil, honesty and dishonesty, goodness and wickedness, magnanimity and baseness, which the world presents everywhere, that the most important, the most lofty, and the most sacred truths can make their appearance only in combination with a lie, nay, can borrow strength from a lie as something that affects mankind more powerfully; and as revelation must be introduced by