(religio) is a word, derived, according to Cicero (De Natura Deorum, lib. ii. 23.), from relegere, to re-consider; but, according to Servius and most modern grammarians, from religare, to bind fast. The reason assigned by the Roman orator for deducing religio from relego is in these words:—"But those who are called religious (religiosi), from their habit of considering carefully (relegendo), should diligently weigh everything which pertains to the worship of the gods, and, as it were, re-consider (relegent) it." The reason given by Servius for his derivation of the word is, "that religion binds the mind fast." If the Ciceronian etymology be the true one, the word religion will denote the diligent study of whatever pertains to the worship of the gods; but, according to the other derivation, which we are inclined to prefer, it denotes that obligation which we feel on our minds from the relation in which we stand to some superior power. The import of the word religion is different from that of theology, since the former signifies a number of practical duties, and the latter a system of speculative truths. (See THEOLOGIST.)