, 1877-10-14


There was alao aomethiny sundned IN the tone OF
the speaker. az il he had learned his limitations
little better lie has still much to learn III that
direction, and he will have many critics anIons to
teach hun. uslny hlA new voluEe rs TEXTBOOK
And here is another clever hit at one OF Mr.
Cooks peculiaritics:
1t il hard to consider Mr.. Cook and hla lecture |
Ehip with that Intense seriousness pecullarto hlm
self anu which Leads him 50 often down the = cay
slope of hypeEbole 10 the pool OF bAthos at the
bottom OF the hill. One would not, at ttst
thought, perceive anything grotesque in the |
urath nf Daniel Webster; but Mr. Cook has con.
tr1ved to make II seem 50. '-on the morning Of
Saturday, Oct :3 1852. Daniel Wooster said to
his physician, L shall die onight.' DR.. Je1ries.
r,shi . aiS The gorgeous and jexrlcd October day
rot.td on at tie edge OF the xrn. ETC., ETC. Now,
it might be hard to explain exact exactly why thus
nil the coqueuce and all the quotations OF M
Cook, he constantly exc'tes the rlslel.s. without
meaning in the least to make Us laugh: |
know it is q stn
For me to stt and grin |
n;tt hts iI1 red .nosed blop,azms
Anu his new atonement spasms
Are 50 queer
This funny parody will be recognized as re-
1errnr to Oliver Wendell Holmes verse in
1.-THE Last Leaf":
know it is sin
For nlc to sit and grin
At MIN here.
Eut the old ,hree-cornered hat
And the breeches-ant all that
Are SO queer.
Mr. Sanborn is quite right concerning both
the change iu the large audiences and the large
manner Of the lecturer There is lcsscning Of
both this year IN this second Of the new
series, the last Mondays lecture, there was the
usual prelude, which is getting much criticised
here, not i'll print hut i'll social conversation,
smeially since in the lecturers new volume all
this preludng, which seems to have little to 20
with tho lecture itself, is Incorporated III the
bound book,
TO THE AsTuS1sHMgST OF ALL wELLrBALANCED
MINDS.
This last MONDAYS prelude was all about Labor
anu Capital, and Mr.. Cooks views of these two
forces. and the strikes of last summer, which
was about the same subject that prcluded the
first Of the new series week ago; 8 After tnis
glyen, aud / would challenge anybody
to ind the connection between the pre-
iude aud the lecture. But perhaps
tile Rev Joseph did not intend any roniiec-
tion. Perhaps these preludes are only Intended
tn assist Mr.. Cook in throwing of some Of his
superabundant vitality to put him into proper
frame OF mind for ''thc boplaslns !. anu the
Is new atouement spasms:" He opened the leet-
ure proper on Solar $elf-Culturc by quoting the
roet Dante as describing the angels he met III
Paradise, who Enlightened outwardly" on 2P
nroachins, as one e 'sdelisntcd to do good" He
then spoke in this connection OF
EMERSON AND GEORGE ELIOT,
| of whom men have said that at times tleirtaces
| lacked like porcelain with q light behind it.
| After this and few more remarks of the same
! kind, we were told to put aside the mysticism
at these remarks aud all reference to the Bible,
and come down to tue sona sfa1.e Ok lug ei
thr method and see what could be proved.
| Now. here arc some OF the propositions whlcn
! Alr. Cook calls solid granite
| F;rs,-Tbcre is sometimes in the face solar
| look. ,,o. ~ o.x,h.
| IL
'sTI;sI-Tnc former arises. as we know by coll
scjousness from the activity OF the hiSuee naeore
/ when conscience il supreme
| E;ouyth-Thc Inter arises, ae we know on the
| samn authority. from the activity .! The lover
| nature where conscience IL not supreme.
| F,nh-1 And this il sIiencel-Thr earthly look
which. other things being equal, quatls before tue
'osa, Sr1"Tbc merely intellectual look IN the face
I ouails before the solar light, other thinss being
a%rrufh-a1crciy aesthetic light arising from the
| facn1t;as-what is commonly called culture. -
quails other things being equal bsfofc the sofae
| light. x,.;, taca
Viufh-l'he earthly. intellectual rsthet'e. esecu-
tive and all other lights, other things oeiue cauaA
ouaiI also before the solar light
Tsuth-lt follows necessarily that only such self
cuiure Is urings this light into the face Can give
its posse*sor all the power possible to man: .,.
lower forms OF culture to stand in awe before Il
| Txtl}KA-Thst thu only complete and Victorious
self CULTURE therefore, y seeAlA"e04'J "''"0 ~
| be solar self-culture.
1f the atl,nirine part OF tho audience who fol-
1ow Mr. Cook but to app1aud-that Is, tile bc-
levers III MIR. Cook and his way, or wavs: OF
thinking-had listened to this At some iad'eal
meeting, they would have smiled and snee'eo'
a." :: i can't understand such transcendental stuff
as that
But when
THIS NEW APOSTLE OF sPAsMs AND nrorfAsNs
1 Iii oil ff1H
Orthodoxy and pretends to know everything
that tue scientists know and every
thing that they don't know, and tc
have solved and settled all tue problem
in Garth and heaven,-wicn he propoennds th,;
astounding set Of hieh-aown propositions a'is
calls them solid granite, they clasp their hand and
over it md acctpt it without 4 protest. Foi
my part, l will can1idly say that "hen +
heard these curious propositions, 1eit as ~. ~
were listening to first-class trallscendenta!lst,
Aicott, Tor instance, who used to talk IN JUS
this strain, and whom not SIX people-a al.y
hMly-couid understand. I'm sure nege'
could, and I've never found the person W W..
could. put his words into any ofalIas5 ar;nn,
wnrre large or tine words seemed eniploleu 1o'
the purpose Of obscuring the simplest tMngs, i
OF course it is easy enough to nnaess.a"n 1,'
what Mr. Cook means by these psopos.t'ons sorc pu
efanseeo'''iah enc Of WITCH have spoken woult
: l,ays declared then thoroughly unlntell'glole
: ha.aute tIev have all the trausecndental
s'ScaIied, tricks Of expression. And for mar
,, who sneers At the transcendcntallst%S "a as l .Mr
; Col, does to employ their whole method ant
IN this wholesale fashion is. to say the least
NOT 4 LITTLE INCONSISTENT.
Rnt that long ago went without the saying in a
intelligent estimates OF the egentlcnan's methods
; But another thing which must strlkc any persol
; | ,rho likes tiirectness and simplicity and VIII
Knows that that is the only true art Of expires
sion, is the neellessness OF all this rhetoric t.
convey the simple facts that the face OF ever
| Individual changes With his emotions auo IN
cnI1urc OF lack Of it In his life with other grada
tions from high to low according to his tempera
: | ment and character.
; | rHr. IDEA OF MAN WHO FLIES AT TRANSCEND
, ESTAL13M TO SAY,
| uTha only complete and the only 7tctor1ou