BoletiÌn mercantil de Puerto Rico. (San Juan, P.R.) 18??-1918, 1902-04-19
The EIQ 0 A|DhDHIy.

danger point, and tolerance is the spirit |
|of modern times. It has somehow
come to be fashion mentally to play
with the "pros" and ICONS, to give ones
opinion in qualified form, to look on
all sides of every question. To-day a
churchgoer, in order to have the mod
ern spirit, must attend the congress of
religions and freetrader must see the
advantages in protection. Mr.. Morley
says: "A plain categorical proposition
is becoming less and less credible to
average minds. At least slovenly
willingness to hold two directly contra
dictory propositions at one and the
same time is becoming more and more
common"
It would be difficult to say which has
the more dangers-the old dogmatism
or modern amiability. Certainly there
was something refreshingly honest in
that old lady who said she was always
ready to be convinced but she would
ike to see the person who could CON !"
vince her Those ancient, infallible
dogmatists who prosecuted one another
with fire and the sword had the virtues
of their faults. They were at least
downright and upright in their severity.
Dear, old, unbearable DR.. Johnson
would be an anomaly today. He was
as positive as the moral law concerning
the spiritual efficiency of hot cross buns,
unmilked and unsweetened tea, the
pew in Saint Clement Danes on Good
Friday and the div ne authority of his
king. Carlyle says of him: "He wor-
shipped in the era of Voltaire." and Vol
taire, by the way. was with his sneer1ng
persiaage another example Of that po-
si.ive time.
To be sure, this dogmatic attitude of
mind is not entirely lacking in modern
times, but it does not represent the mo-
dern way of looking at things. M.
Brunetiere, for example, has been Sin
gled out as IAN autocrat of triumphant
convictions" and Sainte Beuve said OF
Taine that Taine was inclined to pull
all the blankets to his side of the bed.
Occasionally splendid example of
personality with convictions springs up
into prominence. Convictions in any
time make leadership, but the scientific
spirit and the social re6nements Of the
present age are all for amiability at
any price. The present time finds Its
expression in the words OF that modern
Greek" Goethe, who said : The true
attitude toward life is that of fine intel
Iligence with no moral partisanship."
Such mental and moral amiabihty
amounts to dishonesty, and, strangely
enough, is one of the evils in the train
of democracy. For the spirit of po-
litical tolerance has extended to an
easy complacence Of personal motives.
Because democratic country has well
coined all creeds, it is therefore con-
eluded that the mind Of every true
democrat must entertain all opinions.
however incompatible and contradictory,
To be democratic is to have "sympa-
thetic interpretations P" of all the be-
w.ldering and many .colored aspects
Of modern life. But to be exclusive,
positive, authoritative, is to be aristo-
era ic. "When was school girl"
writes an anonymous woman, with
many definite opinions, remember
having a talk with man of thirty who
happened to advance theory which
aroused in me ardent dissent. eager
| ly presented my view, which was the
exact reverse of his and then paused
for him to defend himself. He gave
me friendly look then leaned back
land gazed out of the window, with the
remark !: Well, there is something in
that, too ~" The effect of such a
remark to person Of convictions was
like coming against a curtain where
she had expected a stone wall. Prob
ably the climax of such theoretic amia-
|Di1ity in modern times was reached in
the complacent attitude Of Walt |
Whitman. He saw Brooklyn and cried :
" Bully for your He spoke Familiarity
of the human body as meat of the
earth as 9 old topknot," and with the
breadth of mind of book agent he
said: 81 cock my hat as / please
indoors and out His was the amiable Il
=