The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-04-05

would discourage the social use Of ardent
spirits: AT the present moment he who
uses them, or introduces them into his
Inequalities, virtually arrays himself
against the cause Of temperance and hui
mainly" He would also discourage the
sale of alcoholic beverages. but he antici-
pated the difficulty Of enforcing any general
pry hibitory law. and the strength Of local
option: Law Is here the will OF the people,
and the Legislature can do little unless
sustained by the public voice."
It seems TO be certain that. as Claiming
drew on TO the end Of his career his hopes
for the imprt vemcnt Of society centred
more In the pee rer than In the richer Glasses.
AS Paul turned to the Gentiles. 80 he 70 the
wage earners, when he found the rich and
cultured unable CT unwilling to translate
his spiritual message into the terms OF
social justice. It was with him and these
as with the prophet of old time and those
TO whom he preached in vain: And 10, thou
art unto them as q very lovely song OF one
who hath q pleasant voice and can play
we'll on an instrument. for they hear thy
words and they do them not" He found
the multitude Oppressed with drudging
toll" that their -labcr was a badge OF In
fer:ority,- and that wealth forms caste.
On the other hand, Mr.. Chadwick notes that
Channings view of the distribution OF
property was optimistic: THE vast and
ever-erown property Of the country" he
declared to be. ''difYused like the atrnos-
phere." Again: the wealth Of the rich
b as a drop In the ocean. and 1t Is we'll
known fact that those men among US who
are noted for their opulence exert hardly
any political power
As our author shows. passages may De
quoted from Channings writings which,
taken by themselves, would class him among
the advocates Of social revolution. Inc
revolution which he would sanction, how
ever, would be bloodless one. Although
the word revolution did not impress Chan
ming as too large or portentous word 70
express the measure and the quality OF the
social change which he felt must surely
come TO pass, and although he coptem-
plated the certain revolution as silent or
bloody all the strength OF his peace-loving
nature and his peace-making principles
was arrayed on the side Of peaceful solu-
ton, il by any possibility that could be at
tained.' When in 1871 Orestes Brownson
seemed to recommend an immediate death
arapple OF the rich and poor. Claiming.
who had deeply sympathized with Brown
son'e interest in the masses, word which
he deemed odious, "as IL spiritual beings
could be Jumped together like heaps OF
matter" took grave offence and pronounced
Brownson's article at once shocking ana
absurd" There Is no doubt that Claiming
watched with lively sympathy such ex-
periments in association and cooperation
as Brook Farm, Hopedale and the Mendon
.Fraternal Community He foresaw the
difficulties, however, that they would
encounter: sThere is danger OF losing in
such establishments individuality. anima-
ton, force and enlargement OF mind.
One of his dearest hopes was the union
OF labor and culture, and he found Mr..
Alco,t hiring himself out for day labor
and at the same time living In region OF
high thought. the most interesting object
in our Commonwealth
.t.. ".
In a chapter entitled The Personal AS
p~ct- eeneralized conception OF Charming
is lessayed. What, asks Mr.. CHADWICK.
are the conspicuous physical, intellectual
and moral notes that constitute the I'M
nression received from q study OF Chan
ninR's life? He answers: First. an Ill
constituted body. Certainly that; and,
while we must concede some gracious
quality to his defects-the delicacy ana re-
fnement that are the pallid flowers OF sucn
an organization-he was condemned by IT
to a clustered virtue lacking the red blood
that would have carried him out into the
big world and have given color to his style,
concreteness to his illustrations. experience
TO his abstract morality and greater ehec-
tiveness to his social and public influence.
II in hard to strike the balance, but 1t Is
permitted us to believe that, without being
differently made. but just with his natural
health unspoiled, he would have been-l
NAV with Matthew Arnold's phrase-a
not less beautiful, but more ehectual angel,
bearing upon his luminous wings fuller
message to mankind
Although an appreciative and sympa-
thetic biography Is apt to exaggerate the
subjects merits, the book before us does
not fail to recognize that. from an intel
lectual viewpoint, Claiming enjoyed the
eminence which, like that Of an isolated
mountain, Is relative to the low-lying sur
rounding plain. His measure was taken
at a time when Boston was emerging from
an intellectual mediocrity to which Fisher
Ames bulked as another Burke or Cicero
or Demosthenes, while denominational
pride did much to aggravate the miscalcu-
iation and to pass it on Compared with
the great intellects Of the centuries his
IChanning'sl intellectual ability makes as
modest an appearance as do his intellectual
requirements compared with those OF the
great scholars. We have only to compare
him with Martineau to and him vastly
overtopped. He had moral. not intellectual,
ina gination, and his reputation for poetical
sensibilty and expression reflects the
meagreness Of American poetry in his
time. On the other hand. his was re-
markable sanity OF mind, incapable Of the
vagaries which disfgured the more power
full intellect Of Priestey with incidents
that were grotesque.
The conclusion In that Channing's pre-
eminence In his own generation rested
less on intellectual than on moral and
spiritual grounds. The most impressive
traits Of his mind were its moral temper
and its openness to fresh conviction. The
moral uses Of the intellect were to him
subjects Of continual interest. The an
tithesis of intellect and virtue had for him
no attraction. Mr.. Chadwick recalls az
I'D 49,