I am delighted to have this opportunity to participate in celebrating the contributions of Wilfred Cantwell Smith. For there is a sphere of faith and a cumulative tradition which we share: the academy and its work. It has brought us together for conversations, from time to time, which have been memorable for me in experiencing Smith's uncommon generosity and stubborn, unwavering commitment to discourse, punctuated by insights which always reveal new dimensions to familiar objects of thought. I am also delighted (and relieved) to have the advantage of refracting my appreciation in terms of the subject, Scriptures and Histories, in advance of Smith's long awaited book on the subject. At the very least, this leaves me a more open playing field. From one point of view, Smith and I have relatively little in common. Although I read him, with interest and respect, as each new book comes out, he has not played much of a role in my constructive work. We share last names, but not much else. However, from another vantage point, and one that I value more, Smith's work and general demeanor has been a constant challenge, a source of stimulation, and a model for emulation. I refer here to the teaching enterprise where, largely unknown to Smith, and to anyone else I suppose, he has been a major, imaginary conversation partner for almost 30 years. The Meaning and End of Religion was the first book of theory I ever taught in its entirety, with my other colleagues, at a senior seminar at Dartmouth College in 1964, the year it appeared in paperback. While much of my own theoretical work has been based on an affirmation of Smith's historical study of the word, 'religion,' it has been based, as well, on an affirmative answer to Smith's rhetorical question, Is the concept adequate? That is to say, as I tried to suggest in the opening paragraph