The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1885-03-22
N..- tEvst.ss 90 us,,,sss


agn o. tha commencement - 'hs Elmirs
FsTn,~ CplInR" by Miss EL1.nrru CLHvg-
Lsvp. ,t~ sister - President CLEvrL,Sp snd
wh" 3. NV ~onspicuua 90 N" ia'ly ~ tho
heat - tho White ~ us~. T. vii. 'h"rrfor-
be Interesting to cxsmln. tho opinions sh-
th-rs suppressed. especially - they conc-rn-,i
questions ~ fundamental s"''ini impor'sncs.
Tho subj~c, ~ Mi4- CLHvELASD's address
was Altrulstic Futh. and II alon. affords
an Indication NJ the bent ~ her mind and
the direction her aympathiss take. ktruism
IL y word ~ recent coinage but u only gives
q new nam. o. what IL a. old ~ III. sermon
on the Mount. and older. r. means devotion
to tho good ~ others. the subordination Of
seIf to the general interests % society. tho
fulflmsnt OF the Golden Rule. obedience TO
tho precepts % Christianity touching our
duty q our neighbors. But Miss CLEvELASD's
definition. illustration. and treatment Of
altrustic faith wero peculiar, and not little
remarkable.
She chose as her embodiment Of altruis-
tic faith KHADIJAH. the wife VI MoHAMMED
IL should be remembered that when Mo-
HAMMED was young man Of wenty-four or
twenty-five he was employed by KHADIJAH.
WHO WuS u Tlcu WIuOW euHdR'I III W
conduct n caravan for her To Syria. and that
when he returned to Mecca after q prosper
Gus expedition. she was so greatly attracted
by his physical beauty and remarkable in
tellgence that she married him. though he
was poor. AMI her wealth had caused her
hand to be sought by mobiles. She was forty.
ut least fifteen years older than he. but Mo-
HAMMED eagerly seized the opportunity to
profit by such an alliance. Thereafter no
had the means which enabled him to indulge
his poetic tastes and his passion for religious
meditation, with the result that he founded
the system OF Mohammedanism. and became
the Supreme Prophet for millions OF men.
Although there was SO great disparity in
age between himself and his rich wife, they
seem to have lived together in rare conjugal
happiness, KHADIJAH not interfering with
his disposition to solitary musing. his fast
ing and prayer, and stormy religious exer-
cises, at the end OF which he would fall in
epileptic commissions. When MoHAMMEp
proclaimed himself as the prophet of a new
religion, KHADIJAH became his first con-
vert and disciple, contrary to the saying
that "a prophet is not without honor but
in his own country and among his own
kin and In his own house" She believed in
him thoroughly, and he returned the faith
by fidelity to her as IN only wife during the
twenty-five years OF their married life. IN
doubtedly, too. her influence over him was
good. for after her death there Was a plain
decline In his moral tendencies. Without the
love and the faith OF kHADIJAH, says
SPRINGER. his German biographer, MoHAM-
MED would never have become prophet.
But only two months after her death Mo-
HAMMED married another widow. and at the
same time the young girl AYEsHA, who be-
came his favorite; and when he died he left
nine widows.
kHADIJAH, said Miss CLEVELAND, kept her
hold on MoHAMMED because she believed in
him when all men despsed him. and hers
was an example Of "the fervent effectual
faith Of one soul in another"-of "altruistlc
faith" There is faith in GOD, in self, and in
humanity she proceeded. and she would
therefore have our creed enlarged so as to
add to 81 believe in GOD, the Father" be-
lieve in myself or in you;" and this three
fold faith she would have taught.
And yet. while accepting KHApIJAH as q
pattern OF what n wife should be- Miss
CLEVELAND warned wives against being
too much wrapped up in their lords, though
she expressed no objection to the disparity
In the ages of MoHAMMED and the rich
widow of Mecca. She would have woman
moderately married." she said, not but
tonhole bouquet to man, nor dead in love
with him" Exactly what she meant by this
rather peculiar view Of a wife's feelings and
relations to her husband we cannot make
out, but she seemed to imply that the
wife should be calm and fair critic OF her
husband. honoring him only for what seemed
to her deserving Of honor, and carefully
maintaining her own poise-the rule OF the
head rather than the rule OF heart. She
would not have the mana hero to the woman,
for she did not believe in hero worship, and
said that altruistic faith did not involve that,
but was only the " faculty OF tho mind by
which one discriminates what am good for
and best for" " 1t divines you, it appreciates
you" she added. That is. this faculty, If we
rightly understand Miss CLEVELAND, meas
to go on in the way it discerns to be flttest
for you, and allows itself to be distracted by
no illusions OF mere sentiment.
That is view OF the proper attitude for a
wife which is by no means attractive. 1t dis
penseS with the tender emotions and senti-
ments that make romance and throw poetic
glow over conjugal union which love
brought about and Of which love is the last
| ing support. 1t transforms so 1t seems to
US, marriage into partnership, each men,
Der Of which coolly weighs and estimates the
| other, "discerns the ordinary and the ex-
traordinary," and, without idealization, gives
only SO much respect and honor as are
| deemed requisite. 1t allows no full surrender
OF the feelings. but demands that the woman
shall be only moderately married." and
| cautions her not to be dead in love" with
| her husband, lest her faculty for discriminat-
ing as to his merits and abilities should be
| clouded and rendered partial.
But Miss CLEVELAND does not represent
her sex in thus speaking, and fortunately
We do not hesitate to say. Women want to
] bs dead In love" when they marry. and