The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1898-04-25
LIBERTY AND SYMPATHY.
President Hyde of Bowdoin College at
High st. Church.


President Hyde of Bowdoin College
filed b pulpit at High street church
yesterday morning and took for his text
Galatians VI, I'd and 9Th verses "Bear
ye one another's burdens and SO fulfil the
law of Christ" Each man shall bear
his own BURDEN
The idea OF the sermon was that SYM
pathy and liberty go together; either alone
is one sidef. They are as necessary to
each other as the centre and the circum.
ference of the circle. Neither egoisln nor
altruism, neither NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. So
cialism, neither Congregationalism nor
Catholicism contain the whole truth. 1t
is the happy blending of these compile
mentary truths which give the moral,
the economic, the political, the ecclesias-
teal order, just as it is the balance of the
centrifugal and centripetal forces that
maintains the courses of the stars. This
truth was applied to four spheres of every
day life, the homo, the school, state and
church.
There are two ways Of bringing up a
child which are equally wrong. One
parent does everything for q child another
nothing. The proper way is to give him
liberty and keep his confidence. That
would give him character. The ideal
family is not that in which one arhitr airy
will is imposed on others, nor yet where
each individual has mis- own way. One
of tt,oco i, trx-aDpx apd tho otbar .parohu
The union of liberty and sympathy is
necessary to make Heaven of home.
Secondly, tho school. There are two types
Of teaching equally bad; one teacher does
every thing for the scholar Learning him
nothing to do except to commit to
memory what the teacher gives him. This
is instruction. but not education. It is
almost as fatal simply to give out &c les
son or one cay and hear it reci5ed the
next. The teacher should give the scholar
something to lind out for himself and
then show him how to DO it. Tt is as
much the duty Of the Teacher tp prepare
che lessou rs for cook to prepare the
meal. Thirdly, the state and citizen.
There are two equally detective theories
OF the relations of state and citizen. One
lets each man look out for himself and
when the weak are driven to the wall
finds consolation in the fact that the
lleener the struggle and the moro cruel
the competition the stronger will survive.
Socialism on the other hand, Processes to
do everything for the Citizen, guarantee
employment, adjust demand and supply
by legislation and produce property and
happiness for every one ready made.
Neither theory aloha will work. Each
citizen must be strong and energetic
enough to bear his cwn burden and all
must be generous enough ana public
spirited enough to help their fellow men.
Fourth, church and the member. 1t is u
fearful mistake fer the church to regulate
the details of conduct and prescribe the
articles of belief for the individual
Christian by suppressing freedom Of
thought and action. Such churches de-
stroy the stuff of which strong and sturdy
Christianity is made. On the other hand
the individual who does not unite with
his fellows in Christian life and work is
only half Christian. There are conces-
sions to be made on both sides. Any
honest man who desires to live o Christian
life and seeks the help of Christ and bis
church in living that life, is lit member
Of the church, no matter what views he
holds on minor matters of doctrine,
criticism, science or philanthropy. And
it is the duty of the individual to be an
active member of the church even though
he does not assent to every article of the
creed of traditional Christianity. Life is
the main thing to which creed is subordi-
nate and the Christian life cannot be lived
alone. Each man needs to give and re-
ceiye help and support and encourage
ment Everywhere the bearing of one
another's burdens on the part of men each
of whom has the strength and determine
ton to bear his own is the ssolution of
the practical problem of family, school,
state and church.