The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1893-04-06
THE PERILOF FRANCE
REV. THOMAS DIXON TAKES A BOOK
FOR A TEXT. W

Decay--An Explosion Is Imminent--The
Air Needs Purifying.
New York, April 2.--Rev. Thomas
Dixon, Jr., devoted the sermon today to
The discussion of the subject of modern
society as set forth in the
French novel 'Cosmopolis." Ho chose
for the text:
Sin, when It Is full grown, bringeth forth
1. 10.
The book "Cosmopolisp is undoubtedly
the latest masterpiece of French fiction,
There is no doubt about its being
French book, 1t is very Frenchy. This
brings us face to face with the fact that
Err 90 today is flooding the world with
filth And this is a most important fact.
It is q most significant fact. France
Is doing this through the drama and
the press. It is peculiarly sig
nificant because of the role which France
plays in the history Of civilization.
The French character is unique for its
and French civilization
seems to be the atmosphere for an inter-
national propagation of ideas. France
has been the storm center OF Europe
through the past century. IL has been
the barometer that has indicated the APP
proach of political, social and economic
storms. France has done a service to the
world as an experimenter, as pioneer,
In q thousand wild theories. The reflex
influence on European society and upon
the worlds life has been great. The sta
bility of every government of Europe
has been affected for hundred years by
the theories of French madmen. And
some of them have been mad to good
purpose.
France is now leading the way for
great social upheaval. The future of
French society is exceedingly problem
atical. If French literature is an index
Of French life, and it cannot be doubted,
Matthew Arnold is right when he says
that the scepter Of empire is passing from
the France of today. No nation can
worship impurity and revel in lust and
not pay the penalty of a degenerate man.
hood and Of corruption in the governing
powers of civilization. The present
France, if her literature be true reflex
of life, is as certainly doomed to death as
that the universe is governed by law, not
chance. "Sin, when it is full grown,
bringeth forth death" The present So
cial regime of France cannot last. There
must be new France, and the world is
waiting in breathless expectancy for the
next revolution.
FRENCH SOCIETY DIssECTED.
The book "Cosmopolis" is merciless
analysis of modern cosmopolitan society
The groundwork of the book is the idea
of permanence in race. This is simply
the basis on which the characters are
built. The motive of the book is some
thing entirely beyond the mere founda-
tion work. In this book the author takes
the world boldly into the dissecting
room. But he cuts with n now purpose.
Zola and the school of so called realists
in France reveal disease and vice and
nakedness because of their morbid in
terest. They revel in filth because they
love it, and the result Of their books is to
instill the love for the vicious in those
who read them. Not SO with Bourget.
He enters the dissecting room and un-
covers the naked body, but with knife in
hand he lays bare nerve and artery and
diseased members. His analysis is thor
ough and searching, and his purpose is
more than the mere display of diseased
anatomy.
The impression one receives from this
certainly is not inspiring. 1t excites in
the soul Of honesty and purity infinite
Ioathing and disgust. 1t may be an open
question in some minds as to whether
this invasion OF the dissecting room can
result in any good. For my part, feel
If these things are facts it is time that
society knew the facts. 1t is time that
we made a diagnosis of the disease that
affects it if we are ever to effect cure.
And, after all, true morality may owe a
greater debt to France today than we
have hitherto been inclined to aclrnowl-
edge. | certainly would not ask the i'm
mature youth to read such book, and
yet the newsstands are flooded witt
French literature. The people to whom
speak are not children. With this
species of literature you come in con
tact The book under consideration is
more than an average specimen of such
literature. In one sense it marks the
turning point in this class of French pro-
ductions Its purpose is higher and
nobler than anything we have yet seen
from the modern school of French writ
ers.
What are some Of The lessons ,ohtch
this book presents to the Thoughtful minds
First-That modern cosmopolitan So
ciety is rotten to tbs core. The atmos.
phere of this book leaves nothing to the
imagination on this score. You feel in
stinctively the desire to hold your nose
as you proceed. Theft, intrigue, adul-
terry, bloodshed, are the elements of which
the atmosphere are composed And yet,
though this be true, the question is, Is
the book to the life-does such society
existp / do not think that any man will
seriously dispute for one moment that il
Is an accurate photograph Of the society
be seeks to portray. If it be true pic
ture, though it is terrible one, it is
worth your study. Facts are remorse-
less things, hideous, grim and horrible
though they may be. If they are facts,
we must face them. For my own part,
| do not believe that such book tells
the half that might be told of this soci-
ETY.. If its real life and real secrets were
unfolded, the common world could not
endure the revelation.
THE WHISPERED CONFESSION.
There is cathedral in Sicily where
the slightest whisper is borne with per-
feet distinctness from the great western
dome to the cornice behind the high al
tar. The fact that faint whisper could
TINS he carried $50 feet was discovered