New-York tribune., 1905-07-10
PRAISES ELIHU ROOT.
CONDEMNS Mr.. WALLACE.
DR.. abbott Says One lids 4ItruiSm,
Other Helps Greed.

DR.. Lyman Abbott yesterday referred to the
resignation of Mr.. Wallace as engineer Of the
Panama Canal and to the acceptance by Elihu
Root OF the Secretaryship of State in his sermon
before number OF teachers from the national
convention who visited Columbia University. Dr.
Abbott took his text John Y 10. and began by
pointing out that there many forms Of life
beginning with inorganic matter which gen.
orally hold TO be lifeless. and working up man.
who possesses in himself all the of nature
and in addition spiritual nature a higher reason.
an independent sense of right and wrong, and a
capacity for something wiser and better than all.
DR.. Abbott said:
Region is the life Of all this higher part Of man,
tons 1t is the life Of God in the soul Of man
Al Al men have some measure of it. It is not con-
more and greater than any one religion whether
Wherever seeking after God, IT, happily,
they may md Him. there is some manifestation Of
Religion is a universal fact Of human experience.
MAJ Nan Is lneurably religious II is not the ignorant
need of religion. but the developing man has the
greater is his sense Of the invisible and the ntang
| BILE In vain does agnostcsm tell him It is vain
learn beyond all power of learning and to divine
beyond the power of human divination For man
is Intellectually religious
He is ethicaily religious. 1t is no good to tell
child or man nothing more than Thou shalt not
steal" The only answer to his questonings is the
e S s r. 1t is or the divine Td dn IN hm wRs1
the religious reason and you only revert to despot-
Man is spiritually religious. Forms change and
religons pass away but there still SUI remains s ,E the
Man is inc1rably religious Religion is the life
of the spirit, the art of living. This truth all
prophets in all time have tried to teach. and no
The Hebrew lawgiver enjoined reverence for God
and respect for ones fellow men; the Psalmist
spoke of clean hands and a pure heart; Christ
bade us love one another. and ST. Paul told of
another. to have hope reaching out-that is true
delgiGn: religion II is as infinite as God as eternal as
fgy taIgie " Is not to be contained in theo0Eies or
Theology not religion. but truth about religion
and religion is life. Therefore religion-I venture
10 say ths for am speaking to teachers who are
home and ponder it-therefore religion cannot ha
Truths about it be taught You teach
can only inspire the love of flowers. So you can
teach truths about religion. but you can only in
may help 10 inspire religion. but the sermon is so
TO speak, only the wire OF religion. The dynamo
must be in the preacher; the is the wire,
and the people are TO be electrified. and think we
failed in their effect because there was no force in
& me dynaaIno ana the preacher could not transmit
rs ugeS are the mere instruments of religion not
This is a mere truism. but we sometimes forget
us truth 1t may seem shocking 10 say religion is
There many IN sng Sing fT Prison foa
me1s aPs tb Of the Ten Command
separated from life. You cannot add TO this uni
q biology The public schools teach the three T
X s; they cannot add fourth, righteousness Life
cannot De taught; II must be impaired, inspired.
THE FOUR AMERICAN VICES.
What. then. shall do with the boys and girls
shapp aed ih1enns as much as reiigon? We are
enough There are four ge Vce sFe Of not
There is materiaIism-the insane pushing to get
has has given our country so abundantly. There is
self-conceit-our pride in the fact that we have
est mountains, the greatest men, the greatest
There lawleSSneSS-the
theory that liberty consists in every mans having
ernment rests on the consent of the governed
that say the child should never be compelled, but
only induced to learn There is the spirit of caste
spiritual side Of man. Look on the unseen. rather
than the seen and this viii check the I desire to
ence for one greater than ourselves. and we shall
Of law in the soul; understand that the moral law
is law OF nature, and realize that it is much
mand, Thou shalt not steal as it is the nature
Of the dog TO keep watch The despotism OF a
seiousness that law is part OF mans nature VIII
lions between rich and poor, white and black. i'm
migrant and native. VIII disappear before the
and to discern Justice truth. honor and integrity
beyond all market values. This is religion the
true spirit of the clean hands and pure heart, OF
The churches do something to help. but we
not leave il all to them The newspapers DO some
thing to help and d 70 n6 es are r
iigious page and irregtous on the next.
Elections.
for the public, and magazines also do something:
When a great engineer lays down great national
undertaking and says he has no reason 10 give
any explanation, for he has been offered salary
three times great in another poSitions ne helps
the spirit OF greed When a great lawyer lays
down a magnificent practice for paltry salary, he
is doing much TO show that there is something
greater than material things
I do not wish to speak TO you pedaROg1cally-
do not wish to discuss the teaching of the
catechism or the use Of liturgy in the schools.
though / think might be able to come to
agreement these points if We tried. l will not
even discuss the question Of the of the Bible.
though for myself ] count educated who
grows up ignorant Of the laws and literature of
the people who have Influenced more than
other. But whether you wish II not. you must
carry religion and irrelgion into your schools.
You may the Bible and the liturgy. but
you cannot cut out religion. For boys and girls
incurablY religious and must go out from their
classes either better CT worse fitted 10 wrestle with
the problems OF life.
What is science? The thinking of the thoughts
of God after Him. What is history? The story
OF the progress Of the human toward the
summation OF the kingdom OF God What is ltera-
ture2 The understanding of life and the record of
great thoughts If you teach science, you
teach faith: If you teach history, you must teach
hone If you teach literature you must teach love
You need neither the Bible, the catechsm nor
prayer put the spirit Of religion in your schools
population. the too mechanical system the
large classes, the tendency to professionalism
have greater opportunities 10 mould the chill
dren than either the minister the parents For
your honesty dishonesty your purity or lack of
st. your partality or of fairness cannot help
but leave their impression them.
God says to you IT will let you make the man"
That is what I wish TO say to you