The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1891-12-21
PASTORS AND PEOPLE.
Some Of the Things Which the
Former Said to the Latter.
DR.. MEAD'S TALK ON KANT.
A Sermon on the Salvation OF Children at
the Trinity M. E. Church and n Report
of the Work OF the McAn Mission.
A Discourse on Kant.

n DISCOURSE on hhht.
Mr.. Edwin ID. Mead of Boston lee
tured yesterday afternoon at the Bell
Street Chapel on Emmanuel Kant, the
leader of modern thought"
Mr.. Mead spoke substantially as fol-
lows: 1t is a question whether Plato
or Aristotle should have the preference
of the first place among philosophers.
The second place should be given to
Spinoza. AS to the third place all minds
are one. This place belongs to Imman-
uel Kant, who by far is 1he greatest
thinker of our age. Goethe thought
him the greatest philosopher of the age
and to-day Kant's influence is greater
than that of any other philosopher. DIR.
McCosh SAYS He has laid deep and
immovable foundation for ethics. {"
Il propose to think especially OF
Kant's religious thoughts. He was born
in 1874, five years before his contempor-
airy Lessing. The latter died in 1881,
the year of the publication of Kants
Critiaue of Pure Reason. Kant knew OF
no better name to his philosophy than
the critical philosophy. He was familiar
with Lessing's writings and priced them
highly. Lessing does not mention Kant
in his writings but there is passage in
one of his pieces from which inference
may be drawn that it referred to him."
Kant was first prepared for the min
istry. He completed the necessary the
illogical studies and even preached a few
times, His ambition, however, was to
become professor in the university. In
1855 he received the desired appoint
ment. Five years later he received 800
year for his services. From his
treatise on the theory OF the heavens he
gained reputation as lecturer. In
one of his university lectures Kant said
that he was not teaching men philoso-
ply, but to philosophize. An admirable
classical scholar, he knew the better
passages of the Latin poets by heart.
His political sympathies were Demo
cratic. His sympathies for us
in the struggle for independence
were intense, and he openly fa-
vored the French revolution. His
private life was singular in its simplicity.
In his youth he was sickly but in his old
age he said he had never hired doctor
or lost day. His medicine was his will
which he thought had dominant power
over his body. Kant's life was daily
routine of like events. His servants de-
clared that he arose at the same time to
q minute every morning.
Kant died in 1904 at the age of so.
On one of his last days he said {: My
friends do not fear death. If was to
be called away at this hour would say,
God be praised
Kant was nearly sixty years old before
any of that series of books appeared that
has made his name immortal. The
'Critique of Pure Reason appeared in
1871 after long time of preparation.
One of the subjects discussed in this
book was the question of sensational
philosophy, which he declared impossi-
Bile. The Critique of Practical Reason
deals with the virtue of the will and its
freedom by which the moral law is de-
termined."
1.-The whole basis of Kant's reasoning
is the constituencies of the obligation
to do right, which is universal. Con-
science has to do with only one thing,
believing thing to be right shall it be
done?
"Kant's essays on Religion in the
Bounds of Mere Reason were published
in 1893. Frederick the Great, a believer
in the freedom of thought, had been
dead seven years, but in the reign of his
successor, Frederick William H., re-
action set in and the censors of Berlin
came to ask what was to be done with
Kant. Kant was now an old man and a
controversy was repugnant. He there
upon gave promise not to give public ad-
dresses on religion in the reign of his
present majesty"
Religion is based on morality by
Kant and morality necessarily leads TO
religion. 1t is only through the coming
of sin into the world that morality and
virtue would also come. The humanity
which is pleasing to God is the Son of
God. The life which is rooted in virtue
shall be bathed in the everlasting sun
light of heaven.