We can act as if there were a God; feel as if we were free; consider Nature as if she were full of special designs; lay plans as if we were to be immortal; and we find then that these words do make a genuine difference in our moral life.

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

James, William. "The Reality of the Unseen." Gifford Lecture. c. 1902, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland. Lecture.

Current Citation

James, William. "The Reality of the Unseen." The Varieties of Religious Experience, edited by Martin E. Marty. Penguin Classics, 1982.