The state herald., 1890-03-28
Editorial.
a. CRIME AGAINST LlsERALlsM

The decision of the Supreme Court
of Wisconsin against the reading of
the bible in public schools has created
grave surprise. This is an age dlstln-
gulshed by its liberalism; orthodox
people read Robert Elsmere;" natl
onallsts and socialists read and admire
The strong individuallsms Of Tolstoi;
everybody who pretcnds to general In
formation knows something of Oar
win or Huxley. That the school child
ren Of Wisconsin should be doomed by
II decree of the Supreme Court tS learn
nothing Of the most marvellous litera-
turc cxtant scenes incredible.
Jobs description of the war horse,
the story Of Solomon's Temple, the
description OF the New Jerusalem, as
given In the Apocalypse, the Bea titu-
des, the narratives Of Joseph in Egypt,
and Of the birth, life, and death of
Moses, certainly are not Religious
teachings" except us all that is Writ
uous or wonderful or sublime is relig.
ious-meaning, rs religious truly and
firstly does, "binding" upon the
thoughts and imaginations Of all
peoples in all lands, One and all,
they contain nothing that could
disturb the creed OF a Mohammctlan,
a Confuclan, Roman Catholic, OF an
agnostic. They ar eliterature, pure
and simple; and they are literature to
be ignorant OF which Is disgraceful to
the church or state ordaining such
ignorance upon its members. The
morality OF the Beatitudes is the
morality Of the highest order of created
ntclligcnces. 1t is morality the in
culcaton Of which seems to be pccul-
arly ncedful in these days of social
agitation.
The decision Of the Supreme Conrt
Of Wisconsin is too wide in its symp-
athy with ignorance and prejudice
and too narrow in its sympathy with
liberalism in education. The doctri-
nal epistles might perhaps be well left
ont OF school exercises, but there is
small chance Of their ever being
brought into them. 1t is not in the
doctrinal chapters that the highest
eloquencc OF Scripture is reached: it
Is not by them that the imagination
OF youth is kindlcd. 1t is not from
them that mankind Mt large derives
the most pleasure: they even are fal.
ling into desuetude in the pull pits of
most churches. II is in the historical
and morali.tic portions of the bible
that men take most delight; it is from
them that the secular orator derives his
most glowing imagery; it is by them
that the mind is most enlarged. II
seems as unjust and rs illiberal to ex-
clude the Grafton Of Paul upon Mars
Hill from the text books os the free
schools as to exclude u description of
the death Of Socrates or an extract
from Cicero against Catiline. Religion
apart, 1t is as needful that a child
should learn something about the origin
and philosophy of the ancient Jews as
that lie should learn something about
the history Of Rome or Greece. 1t is
needful that lie should know who
Christ was and what lie said as it is
that he should know who Columbus
was aud what he did. For II Christ
had not been Columbus never would
have sailed In quest of regions to coll
vert TO Christianity.
Nor does the act of teaching the his
tory Of Christ necessitate the teaching
of His divinity. We tell the scholar
what the motive Of Columbus was. we
live linn to judge of the wisdom of the
motive. We place an extract from the
lhGdo in the hands of II youth, we
lirect his attention to the elovuence of
It's tone; we leave him to judge in after
years as To the soundness of its philo-
'ophy. To exclude the Bible as whole
IN each and all of its parts; to prohibit
Alike The sublime poetry Of job, the
pastoral poetry Of the book of Ruth.
he elegant narrative of Esther, the
severe oratory of tho address to the
Afeopajites, the simple beauty of the
SERMON of the Mount to the youth of
his Republic seems TO us to be crime
'gainst the liberalism Of the nge.