, 1873-08-31
STRAUSS LAST WORK,
DER ALTs r1ND DER NEUE CLAUDE, Fin IN,
kcn'ntHs. Won DAvtu I'nEDn1oI s7u4uss.
Lri,ziR. 1879. "'

Otis hhiH t,D vND Drh NEvE CLAUDE. Fin Do
Tcnzie. 1B72. @4t'D'''oa s1nAuSs.
Rtra,,aa Inns within a vcnr .nolon II .,,-.,,
amin snokcn IN t1,o ror,1 IN oov, -. it,at -
too tnuol, to oa,m tnt whon strnn.a ~ ts oa-,
noor Ronan upook thc xvorfd bos r1,on. rnaa,.
Tnav not think NJ In tnouo wrItcra thoy ny,
coua,ler taor7 vary },ot, ant1 ycrv t,ancarons
mon: thoy NAV dinm,to their faote and ro,oct
thoIr concluslons-irnoro thom thov cannot /.
siuco. bad or daueoroua or noattontia1 M thev
n1ny nolhaps bo conn1aore1, lhev aro ornonev lin
1oalors Of mn oyor-incroas;np nru,v Of th;Ykers.
formidable by thor bofdnoge. If not tyv thofr or
gauization and diecipline. Strauss has lona
filled Il prominent nlaco in tlo publto ovo.
When only ~, now forty yoars ago, ho, although
at tho tlmc lecturer In Christfau theological
inntitution, composed md published his famous
" Iifo Of Jeaus," and threw It liho homhahol
into tho camp Of tho faithful. A boIdor blow
had neTor boon aimod at the august figure, tho
hoad and contro OF tho Christian religion, than
that by this young "Htormcr OF Zion." It
was tho work, however, OF young man
without experience, tolorab1y vol yassod in
booH-Iore, but ignorant Of man's ncedB, Of tho
moral wanta Of society; aud WHO, moro than
likely, did not liusalf understand the full
moaning Of iis destructive work. Some thought
ful witneBa of tho rashnoss OF tho half-acdgod
philosopher may havo reflected that tirno would
toach him bottor, and lifo's lessons load him
back to the waya OF Lin boyhood and to the faith
Of his fathers. We may imagine such QUO
saying: "Forty ycars hence should like to 500
whore young STRAUSS will bo." Tho forty yoars
are over, aud strausB cones, his written con-
fesaion In hla hand, to toll us whore ho Ia;
to g1so uH h'a rehgioua or troligioua expert
nco, htH owu physiological picture and tho
gospel OF tho new FAITH Ills book ia not worry
learned ono, nor FREQ from platitudcs. Little Of
7fhat ho has to BAY in tho way Of information
will be found now to those at all familiar with
the current scientific literature Of the day. Els
historical facts may, many OF thom, bo disputed
-1nany ct thom nro disputed BY moet respectable
authoritice. His scientific theories havo great
nRmos on tho othor side, oud one mny reject tho
conclusions ho draws from both. and not bo oou-
victod Of error. His Interpretation Of Christian
doctrines, non-Chratians ovon might ofton oon-
aider unfair, unwarrantcd. hay, entirely wrong.
But, spite OF all this, tho book ia q Significant
Que. It la significant because it ia tho pom
picture of tho mind, OF ono who las ronchotl
point whittier many in our generation arc moy-
ing, whittier modern culture" ia-whethor
necessarily Or not, this 10 not tho place to inquire
--mpelling many, towards which, consciously or
uncouacionsy, willingly Or ha1f reluctantly,
gladly or sadly, numbers are advancing. Do TINT
point tho s1nmit Of dolectable mount, or tho
depth Of all abyss, Strauss has reachod it, and
ho tolls uH in hH little work what ho has discov-
cred there.
no calls his book a tt confession" But it Ia
not his confession oplg that ho writea, He
apoaks not for himself alone, not in tho singular
but in tho MURAL number. Ho s,,eahs for ,nauy
like himself, men whose Number. ho BAYS, is no
longer rackonei by tho ougnnts.- ho
clniuas tho RIGHT to spcak for them,-
for alt who lead tAo MODERN life. Who aro filed
with modern idoas, WHO arc up to tho ago, and
Of the aeo, in fact AZ we'll as In word. True, ho
says TINT those wl1oso pokesuan lo ia do not
n,alo up an organized body, but that it thog do
not, they know why Indeed, Strauss does not
fuyor tho organization Of thoao wIlo ngree with
him, wAothor tlaoy agraa with him entirely or
only in general way. l1o docs not, in other
words, encourage tho organization of anti
Christian fo.cea for anti. Christian purposes, for
tho reason thai the body thus produced would
| be but another form of Church, Il Church founded
| to abolish Church, IN OWL created to romo1y
! III evil. Onr author is neitber m nggrcssor nor
makor Of proaolytes. Ho 80 e,ns to think that
! men will coma to linn when their mindB aro pro-
parod for tho change. The Church ho rccog-
Mica as indispensable to many, aud, with COM
merdabto toeration, is entirely willing it should
last rs long es any ono needs it,
To 10 moro dotlnito, Strauss speaks for all WHO
find no atilling for their intellectual cray
Jugs in tho orthodox reformed Churches,-
tho Roman Catholic he has little or
| nothing to say about,-w cnn ind no
! reconciliation between tho learning, tho social
and political requirements of the time, aud tie
profrerod religion of tho civilized world.
His book ho divides into four parts, each pnrt
devoted to groat qucstion,-tho fret to tho in
qriry, Arc no still Christians ?-tho second to
Hayo We any religion ?-tho third to How do
NO view tho world ?-the fourth to How do VIC
regulate our lives? His answer to each Of these
questions ia . conclusion from facts which by
no means neccssitate it. But not the method
even though that mothod DO the induotivo-not
| the road 4o travels over 80 much "a tho end lo