The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-08-30
The Peril of Pity.

The Peril of Pity.
 The Literary Digest'' has a translation l from the French Critic, M. Gabriel Pro- .vost, on the peril to society of Modern Pity" The Digest quotes the rol- flowing from Provost-"Pity of the modern type would protect animals from cruelty and improve the lot of those in prtnson. ss we witness in our day the degeneration of a sentiment which, ex- cellent in Itself, becomes by it's abuse veritable social danger. It Is to be observed, moreover, that its alterations almost always denote a weakening of au- thority,' decline of character preceding great crises in the life of peoples"
 The last years of the reign of Louis XVI is referred to as characterized by "sickly sensibility that became a fad and Provost concludes that taught by the past, it would be the strangest self deception to see in pity the means of moderating the excesses or the cruelties of any social revolution which the future may have in store for us" The Digest quotes Provost still further on this line: Tn former generations pity vas kept within reasonable limit, without in- volving itself in the solution of great human problems with which 1t has noth- ing to do. The trend today is quite the opposite. Embracing everything at once and stretching pity to the utmost writers assign a social function to 1t, elevating 1t to the height of principle. It is new principle, at any rate, and rests upon a suspicious philosophy. Under the cloak of captious generosity in the guise of compassion for social miseries, may be seen ill-dissembled hatred of every kind of institution supporting the ancient ,edifce." - t 'tfrt III
 As is seen by the foregoing Provost at- tributes the blame for this state of things to writers" mentioning Tolstoy's follow CTS under the inspiration of Tolstoy him. self land Victor Hugo, who had no dif- ficulty in dlvinging the advantage his popularity would deprive from a manifes- tation of blind sentiment in favor of the self-styled victims of our civilization" and the Literary Digest adds, whose Miserables is based in that circumstance.
 The third writer to whom this influence is accredited is, Schopenhauer whose philosophy is tied to the religion of Bud dha." Of the doctrine of this author he has this to say: The foundation of his doctrine, as is known, consists in the erec- tion of human suffering into a universal and necessary rule by denying the realty of pleasure, a negative state pre-suppos- ing sterile although painful effort of the will. This doctrine, the true name of which is pessimism, naturally leaves the
 
 palliatives to the desolation which is its soul.'s The French critic sees in this the, birth of that remarkable phrase, Pity is the inspiration of Morality" He thinks Victor Hugo is outdone. Pity be- comes religion, divinity, and one knows what besides. Although the author con- sents to accord to justice a place in the second rank all his efforts tend to show that the man without pity is an immoral being"
 Tostoy's doctrine of pity is thus con sidered: Tt Is we'll known by what a strange alteration in the Interpretation of Christian doctrine, the end to be pur- sued, according to him. Is the progress i've extinction of the human species for the sake of wiping out the misery to which 1t is doomed. Tolstoy's pity much resembles those anaesthetics administered to the dying, to mitigate the last mo-
 1gts of their agony" Provost reveals Tolsto einfuence upon thS youth of considerable), in that he being pro foundly impressed by sense of hss eth icl surroundings; struck at sight O. the VI issitudes of a people in process of for- m tion among whom intelligence is ouI stripping progress; skilful in denOuncing by means of facile examples, all the evils springlng from baneful hierarchies; the printer in somber but bold colors of the hopeless efforts of the weak to es- cape the doom of their origin, he has found in fiction a means for the diffu- sion of his ideas of false piety." We are thus assured that with the writers of the dayling into the dilettantism of piety."