New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-02-29

etc M x 46f oxford. At the Clarendon f'eS'
New-York. Macmillan & Co
few months ago Mir. Gladstone published
%rans,a.ion Of the odes Of Horace. IT may seem
"a 4, he had taken a long leap 10 have allGhteo as
no NOW does upon the works OF Bishop bu'iei'
hut after ALL the interval - not so great "s o
might imagine Horace and Butler were iiiuo"
Alike In their coolness and lack OF ehtnus"'''
Mr. Gladstone has enough fervor for all tniee'
Na,ber Horpce nor Butler displayed an over
ween!ng confidence in human nature here ai'o
Mr. Gladstone finds IN each a foil 10 MS own ui'
position He can denounce wrongdolng WIFI d''
Tho heat Of that sat,ris who is frequently named
nv way OF contrast to Horace. But Bishop but
Ter is content to take men well as philosoph-
cal theories much as they come TO use MI
Cladstone's words he rarely optimizes IN MS
dealings with human nature" Horace himseH
could not have been more calmly certain OF
.buna n incapacitv for reform than Butler showed
himself 10 be in certain sermon that he
preached before the Corporation OF LONDON III
GLIDING the Lord Mayor. the Court OF Aldermen,
the sherifs and the governors OF the seNeieI
hospitals OF the city. If there was also crown
of all ranks in the parish church OF 81 br'osel
on that noteworthy occasion, then the text was
wonderfully aopropriate for II was that verse
IN Proverbs: The rich and poor meet toseI"e''
the Lord is the maker of them all" But the
weu-fed. sef-satsfed masters Of a great town
r,. nreachsr gave these magnates his theory
n, the origin of wealth and OF the Inequalities
An the possession Of riches. He traced in a SEN
tence the Increase Of the superfiuities OF NE as
compared with the necessares ana PLAINLY
showed his belief that luxury or the immoueia'e
use of riches is wholly within the power OF '"e
owners Of wealth TO restrain or not as they see
it, Opulent cities especially should be on 'hei'
guard against luxury since II brings poverty J"
its train Like a philosopher. Butler looked upon
poverty as far from the worst Of evils But
master IN finance who can. like Mr.. Gladstone,
give charm 10 the details Of budget Is naturally
sceptical of the Bishops economies He doubts
~ Rutler is quite clear in showing the relation
hs,ween luxury and poverty. The immoderate
,sa ~ wealth can produce "a sense OF poverty
from comparative inferority Of supply. mat
is n poor man Is not really poorer because rich
men are wasteful but he feels poorer from seeing
their exploits.
Mr.. Gladstone goes on to interpret Butler
argument In a way which the latter wouid
hardly have thought of for himself "he"
Butler said that luxury In every age hau pee"
1.-The dissipation of riches" he could hardy nave
Imagined that the greatest Of his commentators
would cav He may mean that luxury. increas-
ing the aggregate OF human wants. and max
ting No addition to the means Of supplying them,
reduces that surplus on which all wealth. de-
MINDS" Such things as aggregate end sur
Mus" were not much talked OF In Buffers daE'
Political economy was science still pracucaiiy
unknown. and the famous preacher, though ne
eeneralized did from the personal point OF
view He saw in the ruin of the speno'hr"u
and the m!seriness Of the covetous man Inc
most potent causes Of misery among the IN
austrious DOOR But he saw. too, how trade had
aAr1a
a class free from the vices OF the hghest anu
the lowest part Of mankind
Upon ALL In proportion to their wealth. Butler
showed that a trust was imposed, the neglect
OF which was worthy of the utmost censure
Thus he proceeded to his favorite line of ar
gument, reducing every question TO IT'S lowest
terms. and closing he went along every
Granny through which self-satisied soul might
expect to escape by merely doing nothing. Doubt
less the well-fed, wel-clad, comfortable Aldermen
listened with due attention. The preacher was
a man who had long been famous. He was re-
nowned for never overstepping the bounds OF
moderation in discourse Having assured his
auditors that neglect of the poor worthy Of
blame he tacitly agreed TO take those who wish
It at the very lowest estimate they could put
unon themselves The great majority of men, he
admitted would not part with their vices II
was to be wished then, that they might do what
good they could consistently with their vices
They could not get through life without doing
great deal Of harm: but the fewer the obligations
which they neglected the less would be their
guilt and punishment The sharpest satirist
could not give human nature closer valuation
than this; and few satirists have ever turned
the self-indulgence Of humanity to so good an
account
In an age and country where overturning
social theories abound Mr. Gladstone may well
have been attra ctsd by the steady conservatism
OF Butler. The althor Of THE Analogy" con-
ceded to human!J even the spirit or caste
The real reason i,r this seems 10 have been
his conviction that the affairs Of this world
were OF little moment. That each person should
remain in that social rank 70 which he was
born seemed the most natural thing In the
world and at any rate this was triHe TO one
who thought that all men. high and low. should
be- as he himself was. chiefly interested in finding
frm ground for religious faith. In his sermon
1or the yearly meeting Of children IN the
charity schools almost the only exceptions he
makes to a life Of servitude for these children
were based on bodily weakness or distinguished
mental capacity. exceptions that would take
care Of themselves. Here again he took ac-
count Of all the prejudces of his hearers. even
replying to those who imagined that 1t might
make the children of the very poor dscon-
tented II they were taught to read. II he had
foreboded the kind of literature that was TO
be 1.-The penny dreadfuls," and the indescrib-
able theories Of society that were TO be clrcu-
lated In later times. even he might have fall
tered What ne saw that the legislation
for the poor, from Queen Elzabeths time down
20 his own day had taken almost no account OF
+be children. He OWNED clearly that the de-
foot must be remedied. and Mr.. Gladstone points
ont that This anticipation OF the future ana
.onoart,,on Of the training of the poorer chill
Arar as q public care. seems a remarkable ex-
.,nn,e Of Buffers sagacious forethought IL