The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1870-08-27

number, is not known by any one, and will |
depend upon whether or not the money is forth
coming. 1t is called The Modern Thinker, and |
ie called IAN organ for the most advanced specu-
lations in philosophy, science, sociology, and
religion" The notices it bears upon its title
page are selected from st. Paul, Auguste Comte,
and Anonymous. The quotation from st. Paul
reads, Whom, therefore, ye ignorautly wor
ship, Him declare unto you" Auguste Comte
lie made to say, alive for Others" which may
be set down as good for Auguste Comte,
although he did lose his reason. Anonymous
says, "There is no death-only change. Mat
ter is indestructible; force imperishable. The
form of ersonality disappears; the substance
lives forever. We can demonstrate an objective
as well as a subjective Immortality, but not a
personal immortality" Anonymous is quoted
from twice, and winds up with, ETERNITY
should not be regarded as straight line, bat as
q circle without beginning or end"
Now there is a great deal that is curious In
this magazine-in its general appearance in the
recklessness with which its principle, or what
many would regard its want of principle, is
stated. and in the circumstances under which it
makes its appearance. It's editor is D. Good
man and the vehemence with which Mr.. Good
man states his opinions is, to say the least of it,
amusing. In accordance with some of his con-
yictions the magazine is printed upon paper of
various colors: green, pink, yellow, buff, and
slate-color He abhors the black and white of
ahe generality of printed matter. In his very first
article he says indeed, that he does. mot hesi-
tate to assert that white and black for reading
matter are simply infamous and dtmnabe,
They are murderous outrages upon the
sense of sight" This is very strong language;
but perhaps Mr.. Goodman makes up for it
by having very weak sight. He takes
very singular method of proving, however,
that his plan i: the best. / defy any one to get
mn from a perusal of this rainbow printed
pamphlet. and affirm, with truth, that his eyes
are in a better condition than they would be
had the printed page been plain black and
white. Take the contributed essay, for in-
stance. entitled ''Steam as Factor" 1t is
printed with red ink upon paper which ap-
proaches buff in color. Will Mr. Goodman
have the audacity to affirm that that comblna-
ton is more agreeable and healthful to the eye
than the ordinary black and white? think
in view of the general tone OF the publication
that he edits, that he would
Listen, however, to the names of SOM of the
eubiects upon which Mr.. Goodman invites
ESSAYS. One of these is "Is there beginning
and end, or should eternity be regarded az a
circle rather than straight line ?" Another is,
'Is there Language of man. common to the
whole race 2" third is, (Which should be the
head of the famy-the man or the woman ?"
A fourth reads, sis Stupiculture practicable ?"
And a fifth is ''What do the laws of heredity
teach us 2"
Understand me. ! do not want only to make
fun of the begin oing of an enterprise which it
certainly required good deal of moral courage
to start Of course it has its ridiculous side, and
Of course that side is very easily dlscoverable.
For instance, there are in New York any num-
ber of metaphysical smatterers who have
SKINNED through the writings of Auguste
Comte and think they understand all about
"Positivism," and who jump at the opportunity
for self-dispay which the starting of a maga-
zine like The Modern Thinker bestows upon
them. They are set Of half-talented people,
who seem to have few or none of the prudent
virtues of life and who manage to scrape along,
no one knows positively how, without ever
laying up anything for rainy day. This is the
sort of people who write stories for the weekly
and Sunday papers, make applications for the
positions of literary editors or dramatic critics,
endeavor to get up contracts for the contribution
OF didactic essays, addressed, under joyial and
familiar guise to the young, and spasmodically
iudite the dreariest and most incoherent
poetry that ever found its way into the waste
basket. They may have read great deal, but
they cannot be called students; they may talk
glibly and plausibly, but they succeed only in
giving YOU the impression that there is a screw
loose in them somewhere. They are never
quite understood by the class of people among
whom their lot is cast, but they suffer CON-
pensation in the belief that they are pioneers
and martyrs, and that their days of apprecia-
tion will come after they are laid in their
graves This class of people-among whom
are some of the best-hearted to be found any.
where in the world-will make dead set al
The Modern Thinker. They hold themselves
superior to the prejudices and sarcasms OF
society, and imagine that they are clarifying
their lives when they are simply exposing theiI
ignorance and intellectual lop-sidedness.
have spent more time than l could really
afford to spend in examining this first number
of The Modern Thinker. There is wonderful
essay, printed in bronco -colored ink on buff
colored paper, and entitled ''The Scientific Basi:
of Orthodoxy" To read it is to take the shortes
road to the question, "How L lost my senses p
The author winds up long argument of twenty
two pages by remarkiDg that History is the
struggle of the human in the direction of the
anthropy, eyentuating in incarnation, and having
for it's end the ultimate historical synthesis O
the human with the God-consciousness"
By all means.
Yes.
There is no question in the matter.
After admitting these simple premises, no on,
win be found to deny the consOling and luci,
conclusion that the problem is, "Given the OBJ
jective and subjective poles in matter to fin,
the of the grand unity"
Apv achOolhov oOuld SOLVE such a simDI