The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1897-02-15

ciples-Believes in Character World
What the Puritans Believed-A Large
Audience Listened to the Eminent Di-
vine.
1t was most fitting that a representa-
tive of the representative Puritan
church of Boston should come to the
United church to speak on the 'Princi-
pies of Puritanism." Appropriate, too,
were the eloquent words of Rev. George
Gordon, D. D., pastor of the New Old
South church of Boston, before the
large audience gathered there last eve
ming under the auspices of the Mems
Sunday Evening club of the United
church. Dr.. Gordon said in part:
Great lives are the best Introduction
to a great faith. The Pilgrims have
come to be the best representatives of
the faith of New England. The simple
grandeur lowering about their work
has made them great. We see them
waiting at Scrooby, fleeing to Leyden,
crossing the Atlantic, making a solemn
covenant on the MayfloWer, their first
terrible winter, struggling against the
storms and wild beasts, the civilization
that has resulted, their faith that has
gone around the would. We .lote all
this, and it gives us fresh sympathy
to study their principles and their
faith.
1t has been said that the Puritans
had no sense of beauty. II this be TAX
en- in the sense of creative beauty, the
evidence of which is seen in the great
buildings, statues and paintings, it is
true. But the Puritans had a keen
sense of beauty as seen in character.
The beauty of friendship, of intercourse
with men, they certainly did possess.
The sense of beauty of sunrise and sun
set, of the vast eXpanses of clouds and
sea-under such influences they began
their work and carried these with them
through their lives.
Milton is an exception to the state
ment that the Puritans had no sense
of creative beauty. No Greek, even in
Greece's palmiest days, ever surpassed
him in STYLE in beauty of unity, in per-
feet sonorous expression. There never
breathed an artist who ranked higher
is Jonathan Edwards. The most COM
mon word in his writings is the word
| beauty All his works except his dia-
lecetic writings have this surprising
sense of beauty. Could he have writ
ten his works under other circum-
stances than he did, they would have
as vital sense of beauty as they have
of strength.
"One thing the Puritans did not pos
sess, and that is any sense of humor.
Milton had none. ] have never been
able to find any in Jonathan Edwards.
Ifumor is a sense of perspective of put
| ting oneself outside of ones work and
then laughing at it. If Luther had not
been able to do this the terrible strain
he endured would have driven him
mad. Oliver Cromwell is the only Pu-
ritan who displayed any sense of hui
NOR, and then only once, when he ad-
dressed the Scotch as follows: In the
tender mercies of God believe it pos
sible that you may be mistaken
THE Puritan principles are, first, the
sovereignty of God According to the
Puritan, the ultimate thing in the world
| is divine conscience and character. The
last and supreme thing in the world is
moral order, absolute character. Ac-
cording to the materialist the ultimate
thing is an atom. An atom is like God
no man can see it or has seen it, but it
dWells in darkness and not in light
The last thing in the universe to the
materialiSt is mud. 1t is a mud uni
verse versus character universe. Go
on to the philosophy of it, and the logic
| is all with the Puritan. If we are tC
interpret nature it must be in terms OF
personality, of character. He is i'm.
measurably beyond his materiaIstic
brother.
''The second Puritan principle is g
doctrine of sin. The agnostic believes
in sin as an act done against society
but sin as state of broken relation.
ship to the eternal he denies. The Pu.
ritan admits the reality of crime. but
he also maintains his relation to the
divine, and upon this he bases his con.
ception of wrong. He is trans-substan.
tiated with the heart of all being
"The third principle is Judgment
This is the supreme truth in the world
This is the greatest motive to a mora
life This most invigorates men to dc
right. When you tell a man he car
Go as ne likes, tDdJ lie is 100 small 1Ol
God to notice or care for him, you par
alyze his sense of right; you make
goodness a terrestrial affair. The
greatest curse to human society would
be for it to believe that there is nc
character apprehending our life. Take
away any principle you like from me
but leave me this, that the divine con
science beholds me. I am not merely
answerable to the commonwealth, tC
my city, to my church, to public senti
ment, but also to the divine absolute
character Leave me the sense of dig
nifty that comes to me from knowing
that 1 am large enough to be noticed by
God.
THE fourth Puritan principle is re
demption. The Puritan did not live VI
to it very well. That is true of all his
theology But we are not after theil
theology: that has gone forever We
are all happy for this, and if the Puri
tan were here he would say amen. But
we are after his principles. He believ-
ed the world was badly smashed up
there were some broken spokes in the
wheel. But he also believed in tn.
principle of repair. He believed in E
primeval. universal harmony that an
tedated all worlds. He also believed
that there will be harmony some day
THAT will be greater than the song suns
en- fbe hepinOinS'