New-York tribune., 1886-07-18

ened men simply take no rhich Mr., Morley
IT, ro,assas nas but in reality as have said, MS
sentiment toward Christianity rs, rs nUy n"Iemcal
temptaous indifference but msiiy poifnnIu faiInr.
anger To-day" he t decia"';S' He hardly lets
sIn an opportunity for side thrus,s vi ID ~
stfack upon "the gracious or telrip'c sGua s;ahJa "
antique or middle times" ,he Instr"rors hnetpr',
capIice of Makers who are aiso 'errncseless
the intrnsically meaningless ana IurIose;idtos ;doa
uoEt;oms" G +" which enter into the Christian iaea
oe D;vine Providence. "The religion whch
=, Errone accented" he declares, "in. the time OF
;ts dcepest corruption and dcprava'lon retained
the mark of its dismal origin nowhere 80 S.iOnS
" az in the distorted prominence which IL gave
in the minds of its votaries to the dlssoln.lon
of the BODY 1t was one OF the iirst cohuluohS
Of the Revival of Reason that the dreaIy me,
mento mori and its hatei4l enne,s % e,sem o,'T, h"
thinks, has discarded the notion OF lu'9ae
life. and we are happier as well as wiser Ior
bounding our outlook by the present woliu'
Chaumctte " showed the natural erect OF ao.H-
arrangements for improving the 10, OF aman ~
| this life" II surely needs but ltle arl..ui,.
ance with the "aIrangcmcnt9 Tor mp inp'"ha MIN anp
| the lot of man in this life > when NV s;i cvvh
effected under the impulse of Christian lu'l
to feel the enormous falSitv of this assumpuoh,
| of the natural effect OF infdellty. Inc ha'uial
effect of disbelief in future life Is not 10
make the unbelicver solicitous Tor lhe happ'',st'
Of other men, but SclislllN HhulC,"' =" =.
own passions Still more rnonstrous Is the ms
statcment--we cannot call it an eXaggelalioh
with which the following passage D,IlnS
"The Christianity Of the East was pronaoIy aS
| DEGRADED n form of belief. as lowering TO-
human character and as mischicvonS to s1ciai
| ll-hcinc as has ever been held by clNliiZeu
neoples. Yet the East. strangely enough wa
the g,eat home and nursery OF all thal Is moSa .
distinctive in the conS,i'mG1n, ",'oE mnsion " Of
degraded form of belief is undoubtedly dlier-
ent from ours. In sneaking OF me 4'SoruelS
of the Revolution he is continually "Iu,llng w.
'emember the crimes OF Cniin'n f 't""r atbc,'m
was attended by some of the eXccsScs' we
ro,lies. the cxtravagancc that stained the rroW,n
of Christianitv.n "Thc fault Of the athelStF
is that they knew no better 'n'n Nv po'r"" ouo
tho moyime of the churchmcn The scene
at the Cordclcrs for a time became as fIanhc
"a a Counci of the cq'lv Church scttnng 'hP
truc composition Of the Holy Trinity; NOW
in all this. though it mav nor ne Wr'ltt"'p w
the subject. there is good deal OF f1nth. hul
Mr.. Morley assures us. in the same breath tna'
ohi tolical rccrimnations are not very edl'N-
inc. and that the tn onooue argument ohlS
''brings us down to the Level "l lhe poor Soue
,ics whom it cIushe4." Quite night, yet
getting down to that level appear" to be a
dmlectical INDULGENCE which he is unable 10
lcnv himself Hccye perhaps we detect the IN, IN
political contentious; and II i, the partisan dr-
hoter rather than the philosopher who gives ~
thc following brutal passage. as needlr'>ly
offensive in tone as it is untrue III mlucr
d" As = reaction against religious theories when
make hnmanitv over-ahound in s'lf-conSc1nencc'
and fiji individuals with the St,uting importance
Of creatures with private souls 10 save or lose
! even such cynici.m as nyion'S was WiloI'Soi'''
and nearly fOrgvablc."
One is tempted to suspect that the essay on
{ Tnroot was comno ed nrinCipallv for the s"<'
! of the rcnlv to Turgof, youthful dlrSctHuIh
= mon "Thc Advantages that the ES'apil M ~
l..- ef..frI
Hnman Race" Such a Sn,plnon hoW'vrr.
E would he unfair. Nj Morley declares tha'
Q Tnrgot's rancr was not of hiah value M't
: it has at least 'arhc1l ln,n", ''hrt,
are chiefly interested in one Of w.. No'l' 80
, arounonts against Christianity which We pc
:, cont IN his own w0- d~:
= We have 20 draw distinction bo;wee' u CaFis'ia
dea and the ontward Cnrl,"n ,fI,r mo flowed
from The first the advantages when may ne el ~
l. he second. There was on the one mana ",','in'.
active snirItua needs the other m external nstitu
K ton r.reser Wing. Interpreting dew I"g aui "IItlHs
a tnc ioctiiue . II the idea Vas ihe direct u oI
mG"Ign M oi b i.' ireai eccesi steal stat II the
GoctrIu. Was Supernatural boon, at leas the iorns "a
ne eXnlnncI on rational and natural grounds Ana II
r historical investigation of these forms ana t"''I ~
roofs Of mos, OF tie benign crowths whit "fe va-ucl.
Is G srrjnnsly ,t,omuate the merits Of the Supernatural
: N is,ian doctrine IN favor oi tie human 'A''S'''
= | policy.
' That i TO say, lIc Nblu Nil> ''ii "a ~
ce c by the abstract idea OF Christianity but ~
Al tGe atulicition OF ii. We may adni mat VIII
= III easy mind. We may apply 'hc same M MHis
q inction to a great many oihcl Ideas. h'
,g Christian idea, which wa, NOT mrlriy lhcolos
H. ical doctrine but Il ru" of lite and ilsh new
or theory OF human relations was revealed K
e h the world for the Of men, not angels, ana II
nd ihat use of course men could only employ human
Is or as Mr.. Morley puts II, rational AM
p natural ''-agencicS. To credit the agency !
~ ,ulclv not to attenuate the merits Of I'm
he principle which sets it Ill mOllon. Mr. Morl,.
nd Is altogether too acute a rcasoner 10 lo-i>t -
lie olTions a conclusion. The trouble is that II
looks upon progress as an affair almost cnilrcl
II of social arrangements" beside which Tin
u spilitual advancement of the individual. or q
~ many thousands of individuals, counts 10
r. little; how should it count indeed, il there /
IT, no future lfe7 Hence, in tn" passage we have
?!gg cited after treating the Christian idea as
1" pmely emotional impulse, not "A code OF duucS
- and The Chli>tian organization as device fo
We applying the idea, he jumps 10 the >tatcmen
:, that " the policy was due 10 the sagarlty ant
ct ct mothcr-wit of the great eccc, astical states
=, men" This leap over centuries covers IN
i' pincipa fallacy. All that Christianity eic 'te4
or or in the region Of the individual soul all that
:, taught of charity, and brotherhood, an
NJ, m justice, and unsefshness I'll the hero
~ SIN of martyrs and the beautiful live
DC If saints, benefited civilization not at all
se lie reckoning does not begin until Christian
L ity becomes So strong that from the ordcIIn
"s Of gracious private lives it extends To tn
g. secular policy of shaping the political constr
wv TO; To understand Mr. Morley feeling towar
re Christianity or let us say toward every kin
in rn of supernatural religion, Judaism, plimIiiv
We Christianity, mediaeyal Christianity. molcr
td IltIamontani.n. "Sour Purianism' ollci;
III Anglcanism, liberal Professionalism. and Il
a. tlc rest. we must bear in mind that his theor
Is; rS Of moral is entirely independent OF eveIythm
:" like religious obligation. and we are sometime
in doubt how far it is sconnoctcd with pcIsons
ess ethics "The essence OF morality" he say
to "is the subjucHtion Of nature in Obcdicnc
ler hq to social needs" This imperfect view explain
ZEN how it is that he refers to Danton as "a 200
ed | man - albeit an imDerfcctly o OOd mau'
us cYnlains an extremely disagrccahle nassacc q