The record-union., 1895-08-03

an anti-ethical cosmos on the other. For
many and the most of US that doctrine is
discouraging. But Huxley did not find
it so. He expected the heroic energy of
mankind to make a good fight with the
anti-ethlcal cosmos, and in spite of it to
bring in the better times"
st is IRRATIONAL" says the New York
Outlook, ''for Reason to say, l cannot
find place for certain perceptions in the
scheme l have thought out, therefore L
will deny their existence. There are GER
tain facts OF the spiritual life which are a
least as clear as any facts testified to by
nse-perception. 1t is in these facts the
religious life is grounded, and out of
them Reason constructs Science. They
are such as these: The perception of
moral evil in others, and the resultant
Indignation called anger. The perception
OF moral evil In ourselves and the result
ant Indignation called remorse. The pro-
pltiatlon or satisfaction OF the first lndlg-
nation called forgiveness. The propitia-
ton or satisfaction of the second in
dignation called peace. Spiritual COM
munion with the great underlined and
yet not unknown Spirit, called prayer.
Courage, hope, peace, higher ideals, and
more strenuous resolve 10 realize them,
in one word, llte coming sometimes from
a living, present visible friend, as from
mother to her child; sometimes from the
voices and lives of the dead. as from the
Bible; sometimes from the Invisible Pres
ence. as from prayer-in all cases called
inspiration. Spiritual perception of splen-
dor in character, in human hero, and of
such SplendOr In the Christ, ecIlpslng
that of all human heroes. Reason may
make what it will or can out of these kim
dred experiences of the human soil. But
IL is unreasonable if it denies them. They
oft Tod # hn foo of
the external world. Reason may PLAIN
them, but it cannot explain them away.
1t may interpret varlously wrath, re-
morse, forgiveness, peace, prayer, lnspt-
ration, Christ-but if it denies them, it
denies world as truly perceived as any
the eye sees or the ear hears, and denies
them in VAIN"
NEVER, perhaps, in the whole range of
human history says the IVatchnlaH (Bapt.)
of Boston, 'were the ethical ideals OF
Christianity so generally and cordially
espoused by the masses of men. Tolstoi
in Russia bases his scheme Of social re-
form on the gospel as he lnterprets 1T.
Among the socialists of the Continent no
name is greeted with more generous APP
plause than that of Jesus Christ. Writers
like that of Matthew Arnold, John Stuart
Mills and the late Professor Huxley, are
in absolute agreement that the ethics OF
Jesus afford the best rule OF life. The
keen sympathy with human suffering
which is such q marked characteristic OF
modern society can be traced to Chris
tianity, tempered and colored, to be sure
by the surprising influence of Rousseau.
Our ideals OF social righteousness, of
Justice between employer and employed,
of honest and etficientmuniclpal admin
istration, of the duty of the whole body
of the people, as represented by the Gov
ernment, to its weaker members, are
quite directly the product of the inculca-
ton of the gospel. In our opinion, it car
be fairly charged that Christianity itself
is the cause OF very large part of the So
cial and political unrest which is to day
affecting every civilized country-an I'M
rest altogether out of proportion to that
which is found among Mohammedan,
Buddhist or Confucian populations"