The independent., 1903-11-26
independent School Of Political Economy
MONKS AND MONAsTERIEs. .

MONKS AND MONAsTERIES."
The Independent acknowledges with
thanks the receipt Of short history
OF Monks and Monasteries." by AL
fred Wesley Wishart, sometime fel-
low in church history in the Univer-
sity of Chicago. The publisher is Al
bert Brandt, Trenton, N. j., who ad-
vises The Independent that Monks
and Monasteries' Is for sale In Lin
coin by H. w. Brown Drug & Book
Co., 127 So. 18th st.
Monks and Monasteries," "a duo
decimo volume Of 462 pages, is gen.
uine treat for the lover OF correct
printing. The type is large and clear,
printed on laid antique, dull-s,lrfaced,
all rag paper; hand sewed; fully In
dexed; bound in cloth. Price. $1.50
net; postage, IL cents additional.
An exhaustive note on the Philip
pine frlars has been added to the ap-
pendix In this (the second) edition,
adding materially to It's value and
bringing the subject down to the pres
- 7 - ~ '1f1 1lfsl1 hi!ss
Story IN an unbidSed manner, AaS be
seems true student of history, and
The Independent agrees with him that
the attentive reader of this volume
will have little difficulty in UNDER
standing the essential features of the
Philippine friar problem. There is
really nothing new in the conflict be-
tween the Filipinos and the Spanish
monks, except the parties to the strife.
= ir hn nIJ v,1o
tors and different scenery"
The author, commenting upon the
fact that there has never been abso-
lutte unanimity of opinion respecting
the character and utility OF the monks,
calls attention to the fact that cor
ruption, more or less grievous and
widespread, has stained the annals of
every monastic order known to his
tory" but that 'indiscriminate abuse
and wholesale condemnation of the
monks has never been warranted in
any era of monastic history" because
of the immense amount of good they
have accomplished In the Philip
pines what progress has been made
is due almost wholly to the labors Of
the friars." Arriving at the islands in
the sixteenth century, the monks
found some of the people wholly saw
age; others semi-barbarous; all of
them pagans, idolaters, sunk in the
densest darkness of superstition, slav-
cry, and vice. To-day" says Mr.. Wis
hart, "barbarism has practically dis
appeared and slavery has been abol-
ished, except in Mindanao, Basilan,
Sulu, Palawan and the smaller ISL
ands adjacent to them, all of which
are inhabited chiefly by Mohammed-
ans and heather tribes" Six and a
half million adherents of the Catholic
church attest the monks good work
But the Catholic Filipinos them
selves object to the return of the land
holding friars (who fled when the re-
bellion against Spain began). The
| reasons for this are neatly summed
up by the author in his closing para
graph:
note, it is the same old story of the
mournful circle. The piety and sac
rifice of the early monks gave them {
strong grip upon the affections of the
people. Then came lavish gifts fol
the benefit of the 'givers' SOUL and tt
be used in the prosecution of the
monks noble work. But with wealth
and power came vice and tyranny
Human nature is much the same tn,
world over, and always has been. TIL,
friars could not stand where so man.
of their brethren In other lands hav
fallen. Prosperity corrupted thei
} morals and political power trans
formed them into agencies of oppres
sion."
INTRINSIC VALUE.
III INdiA.,r I,lonnndnni. L,