The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1873-02-16


would come into play as soon as the body of
is deep subject and one we recommend to
Congress and our divines.
Tho Spirit and Spice OF Our Clerical
Contemporaries.
If variety be the spice of life our religious
contemporaries this week may claim the dis
tinction of being the spiciest papers published.
Scarcely two of them agree upon the same
topic for editorial discussion, but they all
touch here and there as the spirit moveth
them.
The Evangelist gives US q chapter on ga
Gallery of French Caricatures,' showing the
grotesque and horrible and how nation on
the brink of ruin danced the dance of death.
These caricatures were made in Paris during
the late war, especially during the siege and
under the reign of the Commune. They ara
very numerous; but the most painful feature
of the collection is the entire absence which
they show Of reverence for anything. Many
of them are aimed against the priests, all of
whom, good and bad alike, are exposed to the
same mercless ridicule. Nor is it enough to
make fun of priests and Pope, but st. Peter
himself comes in for touch of the carica~
turists pencil The Evangelist says
st. Peter is represented standing at the
letters ''6osed ior Reparsi,' The eighteen years
| OF Napoe0ns reign are "Years OF Indulgence"
the o. s
il lie esntls o. snien y place q tn3 Py!ae Sss
rounded by group Of familiar faces. all Portraits
OF the leading statesmen OF France. Of whom she
Of God inspires no more awe than that of Jupiter.
| Here is a grotesque figure like Wandering Jew.
aW wSrs cc
lures there are too horrible and biasphemous to be
| described.
| The Evangelist proceeds thus to moralize
upon these evidences of total depravity:-
What CHASTITY light do these pictures cast on
What an abyss yawns under the feet of people
thus sunk in gross matertasm 1t Is this which
makes US despair Of the French nation. IL 10
nation without God; nation that has lost all
religious belief and reverence. Without this what
is there lett to build upon' While France is thus
sunk in total unbeief who shall reconstruct the
Temple Of Religion or OF Liberty
Fortunately for France all Frenchmen ara
not caricaturists. Hence there is no danger Of
the ''othef place" being filed with the funny
men OF tn OeHe 7UttOD.
The Observer declares bluntly that educated
dulness is not wanted in the pulpit, and sug-
gests that the surplusage of young men now
studying the uses of the scalpel and the ramifi-
cations of law be led to the contemplation Of
divinity with the view Of becoming preachers
of the Gospel We hardly think this plan
will work. 1t may sometimes happen that q
poor physician will make good preacher.
but how bad lawyer can be chiselled into an
exemplary divine is not SO clear However,
the main proposition of the Observer is sound.
The time has gone by for dull preachers. The
activities of the age, the diffusion of knowledge
by schools, books and periodicals, the spirit
of inquiry, the spread Of infdelity, the preva-
lence of doubt, the subtlety of false science,
demand live strong, earnest, capable men to
preach the Gospel It will not answer to edu.
cate dulness or mediocrity, and the Presbyte-
rian Board of Education will do WELL instead
of calling for money, which they do notget IA
call for men, who ought to be found in album.
Dance eager to jump into the harness of the
Lord.
The Golden Age is profound on the subject
Of war between England and Russia. In
view of the possibility of such war, which
will cost millions of lives, and all without q
cause, the solemn questions arise, els there no
remedy against such slaughter? Is there NO
check to such madness of nations? Is there
no tribunal to forbid such stupendous and
continental crime against civilization2" And
here is the way this continental crime" this
horrid game of war, can, according to the
Age, be blocked
In our view the hope of Europe Is an Interna-
t0nal Congress, called for the establishment Of .
code OF laws binding upon every nation, and
daining that all disputes between governments
shall be settled by arbitration instead OF the sword.
is at all Utopan. It executes itself. 1t simply
requires that any one nation, In seeking to make
war against another shall be confronted not only
by that other bat by all others. And therefore, as
no nation can fight all the rest OF Europe COM
bined, so no possibility OF war would longer exist.
This is all very pretty. But it seems to us
that the improvements in warlike material, in
the creation of monster ornaments, the in
vention of long rifles and brecch-loading
artillery especially, have far outstripped the
slow coach suggestions and small talk twaddle
of our venerable peace congresses. Govern
ments in the present day seem to realize the
fact that in battle victory is likely to be won
by the side that has the heaviest Cor longest
Il IL