The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1892-02-03
THE NERVOUS AGE.

THE NERVOUS AGE.
Evil That Ia Being Wrought In This World
BY the Domination of Nerves Rather
Than Character and Reason.
The age has been called nervous, and
evidences abound that the appellation
is correct. Men are controlled by the
state of their nerves; and the excite
ment of modern life, together with the
common use of stimulants, has had
tendency to make the nerves Pc
culiarly sensitive and even irritable.
That we are dependent on our environ
ment, and are the creatures which our
sensations and the worlds impressions
make us, has long been taught as phil
osophical theory, and is now reduced to
practice. Ideals are discarded as stand
ards of conduct and hard reality, the
tangible reality of the senses, has taken
their place. So faith has been obliter-
ated from many heart, leaving moth
ing but materialistic realism as the
basis of life. Reason with its principles
is questioned, and the noblest inspira-
tions of the heart are suspected of illu-
sions. Thus the vulgar philosophy of
the day dooms men to the sphere OF the
senses and the power Of the impressions
received through them.
1t is startling to what extent the
masses of Europe have lost the idea of
life as having grand mission. Hence
the immediate earthly concerns are the
dominant factors, not high purpose
that includes God as well as man,
Heaven as well as earth, and eternity
as we'll as time. Constantly yielding
to what is present and near, men not
only lose their self-control, but also
themselves. Qualification, pleasure, be
comes the aim of life. The temples of
Venus and Bacchus are the sanctuaries
of millions who never enter the
house of God. Pleasure cultivates
the love of pleasure until it be-
comes an irresistible passion. Men seek
excitement in society, in sport, from the
novel; and even art, especially music,
has been robbed of it's divinity, in order
to minister to the demand for the sensa-
tional. Instead of the grand thoughts
which are the soul of Shakespeare's
plays, the theater is devoted to the
spectacular, the exciting, to the inter-
est of the moment, and often panders to
lascivious desires and morbid tastes.
Even the children are affected by the
common trend. Suicides are becoming
more frequent among them, and for the
most trifiing causes, such as rebuke,
q threat of punishment fora mis-
demeanor, or the failure to pass an ex-
animation at school. On the continent
suicides occur with frightful fire.
quency, in all circles of society, from
youth to old age, because men are
disappointed in love or fortune, are
momentarily depressed, or are weary
of life. The evidence thus furnished
that men are controlled by their nerves
instead of character, reason, faith, and
high purpose in life, is abundantly
confirmed by the testimony of physi-
clans, especially by such as have charge
of insane asylums.
Nations no less than individuals are
proof that the ageis nervous. The most
frequent and most exaggerated illustra.
tons are seen in France until one won.
ders whether there is any character OF
stability left. But other nations are
also subject to frequent and great ex.
element This is true of Italy, of Bel.
GUM, of Bohemia, and in fact of the
whole of the Austrian empire, of Rus
STA, and even of Germany Much of Ibis
Is, Of course, due to the constant dan.
ger of war and the luminosity which
exists between different nations. Then
in each nation the partisan spirit has
been greatly developed and intensi.
fed, and this is the occasion of much
agitation. As the political parties de.
pend on popular favor they do their ut.
most to excite prejudice for their own
side and against their opponents. The
revolutionary movements among labor.
ers also cause much apprehension to the
government. to society at large and to
the church. To these various causes
must be added the press, with its eager.
ness to meet the public wishes, which
means an eagerness to emphasize what
ever interests and excites the people.
No pains are spared to accomplish this,
and often false reports, sensational de.
tails and wild exaggerations are used
for this purpose; but the tap-root lies
deeper. The age has lost its mornings.
Principles have been shaken, reason
has been set aside, sensational philos.
ophy dominates the Masses conscience
has been. robbed of its authority, and
God is Observation-Disclosures Review.