The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1893-04-13
THE PERIL OFFRANCE
REV. THOMAS DIXON TAKES A se'oS
FOR A TEXT.

| France Pre.~nss TO the uartd the sal ~i'' e
,.<,~ Of Intellectual Aetistt, With Met
peeay-An Explosion Il Imminent |"
Air Need. Purifying.
Sgw YoRs. April Rev. Tho'ais
Dixon. Jr. devoted the sermon iodaT u
the discussion Of the subject Of mod"r'
COSMOPOLITAN society as set forth in tn
French novel ''Cosmopolis- He ch"S-
for the text:
Sin, when Il Is full grown, bringeth forti
deaih--Iafnes /. Ia
The book ''Cosmopo.is" is undoubtedl,
the latest masterpiece of French fiction
There is no doubt about its being
French book Ii is very Frenchy. Thii
brings Us face to face with the fact thai
France today is flooding the world Wal
filth And this Is Il most important fact
II Is u most significant fact. Francs
is doing this through the drama and
through the press. Ii is peculiarly sig
nificant because of the role which France
plays in the history of civilization.
The French character Is unique for it
universally. 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. Ii has been
the barometer that has indicated the APP
proach of political. social and economic
| storms France has done a service to the
world rs an experimenter. rs pioneer,
in thousand wild theories. The reflex
influence on European society and upon
the worlds life has been great. Thu STA
| bility of every government of Europe
| has been affected for u 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 q
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,
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 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 a new France, and the world is
waiting III 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-
ton work In this book the author takes
the world boldly into the dissecting
room. But he cuts with new purpose.
lola 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
loathing 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 diagnosis of the disease that
affects 1t II we are ever to effect a cure.
And, after all. true morality may owe a
greater debt to France today than we
have hitherto been inclined to acknowl-
edge certainly would not ask the i'm
mature youth to read such book, and
yet the newsstands are flooded with
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-
auctions. Its purpose is higher and
nobler than anything we have vet seen
from the modern school of French writ
BIS.
What are some of the lessons ,chich |
has book presents to the thoughtful mindS
tlrst-That modern cosmopolitan So
clety is rotten to the core. The atmos-
phere of this book leaves nothing TO the
on this score. You feel in
the desire to hold your nose
Is you proceed. Theft, intrigue, adul-
cry, bloodshed, are the elements of which
me atmosphere are composed. And vet.
tnough this be true. the question is. Is
me book to the life-does such a society
'1lsT l do not think that any man will
'erlously dispute for one moment that Il
an accurate photograph of the society
he seeks to portray. If it be true mic
ure, though it is terrible one. II ia
worth your study. Facts are remorse-
ess tmngs. hldeous, grim and horrible
hough they may be. If they are facts.
We must face them. For my own part.
DO not believe that such a book tells
ne half that might be told of this soci.
~: If its real life and real secrets were
Infolded, the common world could not
ndure the revelation.
THE WHISPERED CONFESSION.
There is cathedral in Sicily where
ne slightest whisper is borne with per.
ect dist1nctness from the great western
ONE TO the cornice behind the high al.
~. The fact that faint whisper could
gus oe carried $50 feet was discovered
ccioeneaiiy by a man who overheard
NC concession OF fair sinner. The &C.
ret was guarded by the discoverer and
lew ,htlmate friends to whom he con-
loed 1t, while escapades of the most nr1.
,a1e nature became public property in
ne most mysterious way. Finally
lseener had his curiosity more than sat.
sned by hearing his wife's confession I.