Iowa state bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1894-1916, 1895-12-20

which the heavens themselves are
kept from wrong, the life of the
universe emerging in the sphere
Of spirit, the very voice Of the in
finite and eternal energy, and
who Loyalty obeys this ruler BY
right divine, or seeks, through his
human weakness, thus to obey,
he whatsoever his speculation
about the origin and development
of conscience and whatsoever his
attitude toward the church, the
organ Of conscience, is most gen-
ninely and profoundly religious.
But the man who, reading the
history of conscience most accur-
ately and rendering the most eff
tusive lip homage to the moral
law, does yet hold it lightly in the
moral affairs Of life, feeling him
self free to slip its leash whenever
the passions and appetites tug
against the chain, setting up in
business ever against the author
.ity Of the Sermon on the Mount.
the authority Of the market, man
aging his interests by the codes
and customs Of the street, and
relegating the golden rule to the
reals Of lunar theories, trusting his
ideals and following his principles
only in so far as they lead along
the highway to success, that man,
no matter what his Sunday creed,
is thoroughly irreligiou.
He who recognizes in all his
fellowmen one and the same hu-
man nature with that in which he
himself rejoices; who allows no
S - X
difference Of race or class to shut
off his sympathies and isolate him
in fancied superiority to dark
skins or humspun cloth; who
treats his workmen asthough they
were really brothers, having the
same needs and desires, prompted
by the same motives, and deserv-
ing the same consideration as his
own flesh and blood; who, in the
erring and sinful, looks through
the outer man to the spirit within,
and init sees the image Of Sod;
who uses his powers and advan-
tages to help his fellows into the
life of human fellowship by max
ing them capable of companion
ship with the wisest and the best
he who thus recognizes reyer-
emily the divine lie IN other men
and helps them to that divine life
he, whatever he calls himself,
or is called by the churches, is
most deeply religious.
On the base Of the statue OF
William Lloyd Garrison in Boston
stands the inscription: "The
world is my country, to do good
my religion. Since these noble
words ftly expresses the life of the
great abolitionist, it stamps him
as a truly religious man, even
though the churches branded him
with the harshest names. Since
that lofty word fell honestly from
the lips Of its author, Thomas
Paine, it bespeaks him, too, as re-
ligious, although the superstition
of his age led him into an attitude
G = e /. y - y . e
which still leaves him before our
minds the great American intidel.
But the man who treats other
men as creatures whom no real
bond unites with himself, with
whom he can have no genuine
sympathy, from whom he is free
to hold himself aloof, toward
whom he has no due or duty be-
yond that which the law ordains,
this man, having no care for his
fellows. no courtesy for the lowly,
no piety for the unfortunate, no
respect for the erring, because Of
his failing to recognize the divine
life in men; this man is essentially
irreligious though he be elder or
church warden.
Religion is to recognize rever-
emily the threefold mystic bond
of life and loyalty to render the
dues or duties thereof. cover all
belief is faithfulness.'