Public Activity 99 the philosophy of life which has since been her own. With clear logic and dignified lan- guage she states her position in regard to the Christian doctrine, and the reasons which led her to a point of view in which every depart- ment of human life may be arranged under the laws of evolution. The seriousness of the struggle during the "decade of hard-won de- velopment," of which she speaks in her preface to Tankebilder, is here made clear to us. Ellen Key may be said to be an interpreter of the thoughts and experiences of a great many, especially of those who have wanted to take Christianity seriously, who, like her, have fought the battle of faith, and made fearful by a tender conscience, have sought in vain to hold intelligence in obedience to faith. And these can appreciate the worth of the clear, simple, and, at the same time, sublime argu- ment by which Ellen Key demonstrates the impossibility of a complete following of Jesus for society at large as well as for the individual, unless "compromise blunt the sword-point which Jesus thrust, sharp and naked, at every conscience." Those who remain sincere be- lievers, comfort themselves in this bitter struggle with the thought that this impossibil- ity belongs to the imperfection of earthly life.