[To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR.] SIR,—In spite of Miss
Gilbert-Lodge's frankness and readiness to admit herself in the wrong I believe she is still guilty of
inconsistency. It is not reasoning power but simply belief which underlies her philosophy of " love one another and
be of use to the world." There must be some beliefs before reason- has any material to work with, and the statement
that " a useless person might as well commit suicide " is merely an amplification of her philosophy quoted above.
The fact that practically everyone would agree with it makes no difference : the issue at stake is whether there is not some authority beyond the purely individual habits of mind formed by heredity and upbringing to which we can appeal as the source of the values we accept. If there is not, life is necessarily deprived of any purpose higher than that of the thorough-going hedonist (however 'enlightened "). If, as Miss Gilbert-Lodge is inclined to admit, there is, we must
be prepared to depend very largely on tradition for our knowledge of it, and its validity cannot be affected by whether
or not it concurs with such personal idiosyncrasies as we may happen to be born with.—Yours very truly,
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