The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1882-09-30
What Herbert Spencer has done
for Mankind.

Among all the visitors who have come
here from the old lands, however, none is
likely to be more cordially welcomed than
the great social scientist and humane philes-
Opher. Herbert Spencer, who landed in New
York Yesterday. We say humane" be-
cause no other word so we'll describes his
system OF philosophy, and no other writer
has so strong a claim as he to write upon
banner the words Of Terence
Homo sum humani nihil aIIenum puto,
. | am man and everything that concerns
humanity is of the deepest interest to me"
For humanity. in our judgment, is far more
deeply and firmly the b Sc of Herbert Spen
GERS philosophy than that of Auguste Comte.
PoSitivism has many humane and beautiful
features but as a whole it does not take hold
Of the whole nature md satisfy the aspira-
tions and needs Of the whole man as Spen-
GERS calm aud bene6cent induction does
Take for instance, the snbject of religion,
which il certainly not to be passd over In
any Judgment OF analysis of human nature
or the needs of the human race. Herbert
Spencer is the only survivor Of the three
greatest authorities OH this instinct or neces-
sity-this true thing unreal dream of ouI
being. The two others we refer to were the
late Sir William Hamilton, who based the
claims and principles of religion upon the
severest metaphysical and logical postu.ates.
The other. hGud impair cOngreSSuS ActiLi,
and foeman worthy of his steel, was the
late John Stuart Mill 1t is true that in his
autobiography Mil takes back, or seems to
take ,ck some important conclusions of his
earlier works. For instance. calm survey
of humanity and the world, of good and
evil of pain nd pleasure. of unequal distri-
button. Of lite and death. of health and dis
ease. of accident and so called providence.
had led him to the conclusion. as they led
MS father James Mill before him, that ''there
Is no God IN the sense of a person or be-
irp exercising moral and benefcent attri-
butes however pretty the pictures which
amiabIe imaginatons have drawn of such
sustaining, saving and rectifying First Cause.
In MS last utterance he seems to allow that
although 1t is impossible to dogmatlse about
what we know nothing yet on the whole 1t
Is more probable than otherwise that there IS
a God doing the best He can for US. But
between the two extremes OF Sir William
H.milton's logical and metaphysical religion
and Mills earlier and most vigorous conten-
tion for no religion at all, the kindly and hu-
name philosophy Of Herbert Spencer steps
in and takes us by the hand and leads u
from the hard rocks Of the UnknSwable and
Unprovable into the green pastures and be-
side the still waters of religion as health
fuI and needfui condition of normal and tull
matured humanity lIkeair to the lungs, sound
10 the ear and food to the system. he does
not attempt to prove the Being OF a God ;
t,ugbt bv the failure Of others he feels the
incOnclusiveness in extent as we'll as PrecI-
sion Of all such reasoning. But he recog-
nises within US higher faculty than the
LOGICAL. and as It was said that Socrates brought
philosophy from the skies to dwell among
men. so has Herbert Spencer brought the
rsIigious sentiment and Its necessary cultH re
and expression from the dry regions of alb
str,ct metaphysics TO dwell with US and be
,Iu,avs near US ,ghen we wake IN the early
suns6ine or close our lids at night under the
stars The man who has thus vIndIcateC
the wavs of God to man, not by logIca
mood and figure. but by the eternal Praye
ond nraise that have assembled heavenwar'
s;nce the first human heart cried out Tor he'll
,d I;gbt 10 the Father of Lights, who's
1,rssence Is near us In our earthly home, al
thougb we neither see nor comprehend Him
49, lone more for humanity than those VIII
hove defined His essence and prescribed I'll
attributes. such as they wished them. Spen
cor yVoud no more make logical method an
nroof the test of the religious instinct tina
r. ,vouId abolish music because he cannc
defne it. 1t is a feeling. Joy, an asplra
t;on a hope, purpose. and these make up
49, snd have the force Of revelation