Editing Alfred Deakin (section)

==Spirituality==
[[File:Deakin NLA 02.jpg|right|thumb|upright|Alfred Deakin and wife Pattie in 1907]]
He was active in the [[Theosophical Society]] until 1896, when he resigned on joining the [[Australian Church]] led by [[Charles Strong]].<ref>{{Cite book| title =Alfred Deakin | publisher=Australian Dictionary of Biography | chapter-url =http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/deakin-alfred-5927 | access-date =21 March 2013| chapter=Deakin, Alfred (1856–1919) }}</ref>

Though Deakin always took pains to obscure the spiritual dimensions of his character from the public gaze, he felt a strong sense of [[Divine Providence|providence]] and [[destiny]] working in his career.<ref>Al Gaby. ''The Mystic Life of Alfred Deakin''. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1992. p. 2.</ref> Like [[Dag Hammarskjöld]] much later, Deakin's sincere longing for spiritual fulfilment led him to express a sense of unworthiness in his private diaries, which mingled with his literary aspirations as a poet.<ref>Al Gaby. ''The Mystic Life of Alfred Deakin''. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1992. p. 37.</ref>

His private prayer diaries, like those of [[Samuel Johnson]], express a profound [[contemplative]] (though more [[ecumenical]]) Christian view of the importance of [[humility]] in seeking divine assistance with his career.<ref>Samuel Johnson. ''Doctor Johnson's Prayers'' Elton Trueblood (ed) SCM Press. London 1947.</ref> "A life, the life of Christ", Deakin wrote, "that is the one thing needful{{snd}}the only revelation required is there... We have but to live it."<ref>JA La Nauze. ''Alfred Deakin. A Biography''. Angus and Robertson. Melbourne. p. 79.</ref> In 1888, as an example relevant to his work for Federation, Deakin prayed: "Oh God, grant me that judgment & foresight which will enable me to serve my country{{snd}}guide me and strengthen me, so that I may follow & persuade others to follow the path which shall lead to the elevation of national life & thought & permanence of well-earned prosperity{{snd}}give me light & truth & influence for the highest & the highest only."<ref>Al Gaby. ''The Mystic Life of Alfred Deakin''. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1992. p. 76 citing Deakin's ''Boke of Praer and Prase'' Prayer XLVII 12 August 1888</ref> As Walter Murdoch pointed out, "[Deakin] believed himself to be inspired, and to have a divine message and mission."<ref>Walter Murdoch. ''Alfred Deakin: A sketch''. Constable &Co Ltd. London 1923 p. 137.</ref>

Historian [[Manning Clark]], whose ''History of Australia'' cites extensively from his studies of Deakin's private diaries in the [[National Library of Australia]], wrote: "By reading the world's scriptures and [[Mysticism|mystics]] a deep peace had settled far inside [Deakin]: now he felt a 'serenity at the core of my heart.' He wanted to know whether participation in the world's affairs would disturb that serenity... he was tormented by the thought that the emptiness of the man within corresponded with the emptiness of society at large where [[Mammon]] had found a new demesne to infest."<ref>CMH Clark. ''A History Of Australia''. Volume V. The People Make Laws 1888–1915. Melbourne University Press. Melbourne. 1981. pp. 275, 302.</ref>

Deakin processed a deep spiritual conviction and read widely on the subject. His daughter Vera Deakin (Lady White) said in a 1960 ABC radio interview "He had tremendously deep religious views, I'm sure of that. He read to us on Sundays from the Bible, from great preachers, and he was deeply, always deeply conscious of being, as he put it, a tool for providence to work through. Any powers he had he felt he owed to the divine one and it was not his doing."<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.alfreddeakin.com/alfred-s-daughter-vera | title=Alfreddeakin &#124; Alfred's daughter Vera}}</ref>