ABSTRACT
Any discussion of symbolism in connexion with religion must make it plain that, whereas, on the one side, religion cannot dispense with symbols for its apprehension and expression, there is, on the other side, a constant liability for the mind to catch in the accidents of the symbol and so confuse, instead of furthering, its approach to reality. There is no kind of symbol in regard to which this lia bility may seem to be more signally exhibited than the pictorial or plastic images which have been so conspicuous an element in the worship of nearly all religions. These four lectures are devoted to the question of image-worship and idolatry.
