The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1894-05-25


good. He accepts the picture of pri-
mitive man as sketched in the old
Testament story, and says he asks no
better Paradise than that of Adam
and Eve. He thinks this account Is
good history, and cites a passage from
/ the narrative of an English traveller
who wrote a hundred years ago, aud
who describes the inhabitants of the
LadrOne Islands as living in complete
ignorance of all the world-living on
fruits like the birds; beautiful in
body and virtuous in soul, unvlslted
by disease, and fully happy. III we
should strip ourselves OF these eneum-
brances of a false civilization, these
blood heating meats and drinks, Mr..
Boeter thinks that evil and sorrow
would pass away. Moreover, our lives
would be enormously heightened, so
that even the 969 years of Methuselah
might be Outnumbered.
Mr.. Boeter recognizes the fact that
during the inclement winters of his
native land nice wooden shirt, and
| even an overcoat, come in very handy.
! He therefore sees the hand of nature
pointing all men to the tropics, and
thinks it mere folly to live anywhere
else. To the objection that all men
cannot live in the tropics, he quotes
triumphantly book of certain DR..
p Andries, astronomer and vegeta-
rian, who estimates that if Brazil were
as densely populated as Belgium-2O0
TO the square mile-it would support
the entire human race, and couple
of hundred millions more thrown in.
This would give each man about three
acres of ground, and on three acres
great deal more fruit would grow wild
than one man could ever eat. The
tropics would support with ease ten
billions of people.
Mr.. BOeter also objects TO the wear
ing Of clothes because the manufac-
ture Of cloth III factories is injurious
TO the health. If he compromises at
all it will be in favor of the tapas of
the South Sea islands, the making of
which is not injurious and the wear
ing of which would be more whole
some, owing TO their loOser texture.
However, he is not looking for any
compromise of any kind just now.
1t goes without saying that Mr.. BOe-
ter's attitude toward governments and
laws is similar to that of Paddy just
landing in New York: "Is there a
government here? Then Pm agin it."
The arts and sciences fall under the
same condemnation. They are artiti-
cial, they belong to an unnatural state
of society, and they "must CO." whe-
ther the Chinese do or not. Educa-
ton is Just as bad. 1t makes men
weaker, is false from the womb. ma
tural" music, the instructive uplifting
of the voice to express emotion, is all
right. But there must be no accom-
paniment. Mr.. BOeter does not WANT
any Steinway concert grand to insin-
uate itself into his paradise and inter-
fere with its primitive simplicity. The
poets are not wanted either, and he
follows Plato in showing them TO the
door. You cannot have poets without
printers, and printing is all tangled
up with civilization. Mr.. Boeter evil
IDENTIFY does not care much for music,
but he plainly has a weakness for
painting. When the whole population
of Deutschland gets up and moves to
Brazil, he could not quite bear the
thought of leaving the Dresden Gallery
behind. Painting is noble art, a step
up, because it shows the actual, the
naked human being. We cannot have
ances of civilization.
This seems like dilemma, but Mr..
Boeter eXtTicated himself with neat
ness and despatch. Art has transit
tional value. But the artists occupa-
ton is gone when life itself attains
the level of art; when we constantly
enjoy the spectacle of living, breath
ing, healthy and beautiful human
forms. When life itself is poem there
will be no need of poets.
Mr.. BoeteT was disposed to be reti-
cent about his views on religion, but |
they are in no way remarkable. al
like religion, but not churches. Ma !
ture is my church. God, Nature and |
the Universe (Gott, Natur und Welt |
all, cannot separate in thought. / |
wish to live as far as possible accord |
ing to the will of God"
Mr.. Boeter is firm believer in mo- |
nogamy which he considers natur-
al institution, as the numbers of the |
sexes are about equal. Of course he |
will have no laws to enforce it, as his |
ideal is perfect freedom and complete |
independence for every Individual. He |
believes, however, that marriage will |
flourish in the true state of nature. |
He also brushes Malthus aside with |
the proposition that the population |
will not grow so as to press upon the |
means of subsistence, and cites the |
ape, which he claims remains in a
comfortable state of numerical equi- |
librium.
Mr.. Boeter admits that there are |
some difficulties in the way of intro |
ducing the general reign of nature |
and happiness. One such barrier is |
the mosquito. Mr.. Boeter hesitates |
to sacrifice that useful product of |
false and wicked civilization, the mos |
quito net. He gazed at his feet upon |
which the pertinaciOus little insect |
had left his mark. The scheme of |
regenerating the world, however, is
not to be stung to death by miser- |
able insect. The skin will be tougher |
by and bye. Moreover, the mosquito |
itself is the product of art, and will |
disappear when the vicious cultivation |
of sugar and rice shall cease.
If fruit diet is not a good thing, |
there is nothing about Mr.. Boeter to |
show il. He has lived upon nothing |