The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1896-08-15
THE TENDENCY IN LITERATURE.

THE TENDENCY IN LITERATURE.
Mrs. LOUISE CHANDLER MoULToN,
in an interview in an English paper,
expresses the opinion that the ten
dency among literary people in
America is not toward Agnosticism,
but certainly toward more liberal
Interpretation of Christianity. cit is
true" says Mrs. Moulton, "that many
authors l have known have been
practically agnostics, but still the
imaginative mind inevitably reaches
out to something beyond this world,
1t is not content with earth as
finality. More light' is still the
cry that rises from every man and
woman who has a soul to look be-
yond material existence"
Mrs. Moulton is undoubtedly cor
rect in her estimate of the present
tendency of thought on religious
subjects among the writers of Ameri-
ca, and, indeed, among the cultured
and thinking class generally. There
is not, perhaps, as much thinking on
theological subjects as in the days of
Puritanism when every man was
more or less theologian, but the
thinking is far broader, and perme-
ated with kindness of sentiment
which makes persecution and intol
erance on religious matters in the
past seem like some dreadful vision
that comes to us from the region of
sleep and dreams. The world has
passed, and passed forever we trust,
this phase of religious thought and
experience, and before us lies path
of broadening light and knowledge
in which men clearly see beyond the
narrow bounds of creed and church
the human brotherhood and the love
and tenderness of the divine Father
hood. The following story of the
poet Whittier, related by Mrs. Moul
ton, in the interview referred to, very
beautifully illustrates the broader
conception of religious thought
which has come to be the marked
characteristic of the thought of the
best thinkers and writer's of today:
"When the poet was little boy of
seven. he was taken by his mother to
see girl who had lost her character,
and who was now dangerously ill. The
pious people of the village let her severe
ly alone, but the poets mother, who
was Quaker woman with very kind
heart, did not allow herself to be in
flueneed by common prejudice. Whittier
never forgot how his mother addressed
the sufferer as my dear GIRL gave her
food, and attended to her comfort.
after awhile he told me, Il went out
of doors, and looking up to the blue sky.
l thought that the God who lived up
there must be as good as my mother.
II she was so helpful to wicked people,
he could not be less kind. Since that
time he added, i have never doubted
the ultimate goodness of God and his
loving purpose for the world"
Winters Universalism has been
questioned, but beyond all contro-
versy he was devout believer in the
distinguishing belief of our church.
His own words are sometimes quoted
in which he objects to being classed as
a Universalist, as he would object to
his classification by any sectarian
name, but his faith in 1.-The ultimate
goodness of God and his loving pur-
pose for the world which is the es-
sence of Universalism-s shines wildly
in many of his poems, notably that
magnificent one, the Eternal Good
ness" Before this poem appeared in
the Atlantic Monthly, Whittier read
it to Lucy Larcom. She said to him,
"Why, Mr.. Whittier that is Universal
ISM" Without objecting to the
statement, his reply was, "Piease,
friend Lucy, omit the ISM"
1t did not occur to the dear Quaker
poet that the "ism" was necessary
concomitant of the doctrine, and
necessarily goes with it. To elimi
nate the "ism" would reduce the SEN
timent of "the Eternal Goodness" to
a vague philosophy of "universals,"
which stands for nothing in particu-
lar, in as much as it is made to stand
for everything, and hence loses its
force in the wide and nonsensical
generalization. which philosophy has
repudiated, to say nothing of its
inadmissibility as a matter of revela-
ton.
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