The courier., 1902-03-01

especially of themselves who were born
below the lower half of mediocrity and
are doomed by the laws of heredity and
their own inertia To remain there for
life. Those who like To see fair play
and who want the black man to have
all he earns and no more but surely
that, can not help him because every
time we try there is a sound of bray
ing and that which makes the noise
and does the kicking makes us under
stand that we are trying to cram the
black man down his throat.
Il Il q
Pride
The Pharisee in the Bible who was
sincerely thankful that ne was not as
other men, was. i'm reality, a good man
He kept the law and gave the con-
ventional aims to the poor He thought
he was honest and he considered him
self u useful member of the commu-
nifty. To be sure he was fond of
standing on the street corner and pro-
claiming that on a certain day he dis
tributed unleavened bread to the poor
and on another day built u temple.
and that he had received signs from
heaven that justified his confidence
that he was a favorite up there and
when the time should come that all
men need a celestial pull, his was in
good order; there was no danger that
any of the strands would part and let
him down into the hopeless region.
On the other hand the sinner who
was appalled, by the consciousness of
his own sins and the holiness of the
altar was undoubtedly tough. He
stood afar off, because temptation
had conquered his scruples and he was
enslaved and the holiness of the place
threw his weakness into strong relief
But We like the sinner better than the
Pharisee who is a symbol to us of
type very disagreeable indeed, and to
be avoided whenever possible
The sinner may be generous and
humble and merciful because he
knows he needs mercy; but the Phari-
patronizing and cOnceited and exclus-
i've and all the other things that hu-
man beings hate more than straight
sin. Rigid obedience to physiological
and human law is good for man. The
selfish man knows it. He avoids dissi-
patton for the sake of health. What
he gives in aims, he expects to get
back in votes or consideration from
his fellows, if he is careful to pro-
claim his generosity from the house
top. His goodness is only incidentally
of benefit to the community. And his
insufferable pride and footing of his
own horn gets on the nerves of all
men. So that ''pharisee" is a more OBJ
noxious term than debauchee.
In Boston there are a number of very
well-intentiOned Christians.
But it is certain that phariseeism has a
stronger hold on the citizens of that
place than on the citizens of Chicago
or of st. Louis for instance. There are
few pious individuals who live in the
town, and who, happily. We're born
there, who do not thank God for that
privilege and for the history of Bos-
ton. They honestly believe that BOs-
tOnians have saved the country twice,
Dnce from England and once from the
-ebelliOus south. They regard them
selves with reverence as the curators
If liberty, the original source of cuI-
-ure, the bulwark which prevents this
:ountry from slipping back into the ig-
lorance from which their strenuous in
diligence his rescued u.s.
Professor Barret Wendelrs history of
AmerlCdn nterature expresses this