The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1888-07-14
EDITORIAL BRIEFS.
BY REV, l, NJ. ATWOOD, D. D,
Canton, N. Y.

ed between the ethical principles enun-
ciated by Jesus, and those which had be-
come established III the usage of the Jews
and in the Greek and Roman systems of
philosophy. He finds that Jesus made
three great "departures" from other sys-
TENS; one from the Mosaic, one from the
Pharisaic, and one from the G1eco-Ro-
m2n. These departures are anRlyzed
and drawn out with Mr.. Bierbower's
usual keenness and love OF detail. No
where else, perhaps, will the student find
the determinations between the morals
of Christ and those Of competing systems
so sharply drawn and so vigorously in.
sisted on,
As one reads on, through the second
and third of Mr.. Bierbower's essays, he
seems to be listening to twice and thrice
told tale. The truth is, that in making
one departure Jesus made the three; or,
to state the whole case, he made as many
departures" as there are systems Of NOR
ality not in accord with his own. There
would have been less repetition and
keener interest if, instead of treating the
departure under three separate heads,
Mr.. Bierbower had shown how one af-
frmative principle Of the Morals OF Christ
sunders his systems from all the others.
"A similar remark may be made of
the authors method in each chapter.
Many Of the subdivisions either overlap
or are restatements of the same thing in
different language. Such successive
headings, as From the Rich to the Poor"
from "The Strong to the Weak" from
The Learned to the IlliteIate," from
The Bold to the Meek are not demand
ed by the necessities of analysis; they
are instances OF a habit of dissection
which has passed beyond the restraints
of good judgment. The author is not al
ways careful to distinguish between
bluntness and vigor of expression; but he
has made useful if not perfect book.
"A good sample of both the style and
the sentiment of "The Morals of Christi
Is this paragraph, which we except from
the chapter devoted to Christs depart
ures from Pharisaie Morality. "There
was never such poor churchman as
Christ. His prayers were short, his forms
were simple, his devotions were infre-
quent. He had no regularity or uniform
ity of religious conduct. He gave no
creed, no litany, no church polity. He
was simply natural and independent,
without anything ecclesiastical or ltur
'-gicat about him, and he taught otAess
to be SO, too"
An all.day's ride on the railroad re-
Gently gave us an opportunity to read
"Life's Problems" We found the book,
as We have usually found the author, in
teresting. Aside from the interest that is
inseparable from such problems" as he
discusses, the author has way of invest
ing trite subjects with certain fascing-
ton. Sometimes it is his curious infor-
NATION, sometimes it is hisnovel opinions,
sometimes it is the vigor with which he
asserts as "self-evident" what appears
to the dispGssionate reader more than
doubtful, sometimes it is the acuteness
of the reasoning, and sometimes it is the
airy flight of the authors imagination.
At all events, we have found the volume,
from first to last, work Of singular in
terest.
The solution of"Lifs's Problems" is,
in general, one that accords with the best
intuitions and fairest hopes of the en-
lightened human spirit. The tirmness
and assurance of the authors faith in
the reality of unseen things will impsrt
confidence TO many uncertain pilgrims,
and steady somewhat the course Of ev-
eryone inclined TO waver. To few Of
different type, the over-statement
sometimes INDUCED, and the occasional
extravaganza of view, will produce the
opposite effect. We could wish. for the
sake of the martyrs OF disgust, that less
use had been made Of Joseph Cooks
logical formulas.
w. j. Stillman's correction Of Rus
kin's account of the mountain peasantry
of Tuscony ana Ramagua, suggests what
an immense volume of mistake and mis-
conception goes under the name Of
knowledge. The error, of fact or of op-
pinion, Of one person who blundered
long ago, has been handed along and
passed down, until any attempt to cor
rect it is now likely to be resented as an
irreverent assault on established truth.
When we consider how few persons are
capable OF seeing straight, as Matthew
Arnold phrases it, and how many are
fully capable of hearing crooked, it is no
wonder that misapprehenslOus comprise
a large, if not the larger, part of what
n eu pride the mselyes on as trustworthy
information.
Temperance walks hand In hand with
liquor" remarks Col. lngert oil His con-
tention Is, that if liquor we're absolutely
free and as abundant as water, we should
have the best conditions for temperance.
If the Coloneps reasoning is sound it
would follow that the worst conditions
for temperance are where there Is no
liquor. This explains why the American
Indisn was such an iuebriated wretch be
fore he knew "fre-water, and has been
such stalwart teetotgler since. The in