The Newtown bee., 1906-04-06
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THE HOME CIRCLE.


THE THEOLOGY OF EMERSON.
BY REV G. L. FORTE.
A visitor In Concord during the last
years of Emerson's life asked him con-
corning his religious opiniOns-if they
had undergone any changes. Emerson
replied, as he placed his hand on q set
Of his own books, my views are to be
found in what I have written. To
know Emerson's theology necessitates
acquaintance with his philosophy, for
to . large extent, with Emerson, phil
osopby and theology were identical: 1t
may be said with much truth that
Emerson's theology was his philosophy,
or his philosophy his theology. We
are assured that the genesis of his rad.
ical positions lay In his conceptions
along metaphysical lines. His original
ity and his popularity In both philos-
ophy and theology attracted the criti-
cism and opposition of friend and foe
alike. At the very outset he was de-
serted by his Unitarian brothers; and
of course II too radical for the re.
actionists the conservatives had never
In the opinion of Matthew Arnold:
emerson 10 not one of the great poets,
the great writers. Emerson cannot be
classed with justice among the great
philosophic writer's" An American
critic who was prompted to attempt
to raise himself by lowering bis cOun-
trymen wrote that Emerson "had the
Juvenile pedantry of renascent New
England: limited by national inexperi-
ence." Martineau, the analytic. the
systematic, was opposed to lack OF
system In Emerson, yet he was In sym
pathy with him. He writes, 1.-THE
failure of coherent thought In Elmer
son leaves his fine material In an I'M
organized and fathomless condition.
Much as love the man, seek In vain
to learn from him. The fault is prob
ably In me-" The remark that Father
TAYLOR made to Governor Andrew is
somewhat trite yet voices the cOntem-
porary estimate of Emerson on the
part Of all Protestants better than any
thing else that may be written In SO
short length:
EMERSON Is ONE OF THE SWEETEST
CREATURES THAT GOD EVER MADE.
He must 60 to heaven when he dies,
for, II he went to hell, the devil would
not know what to do with him. But
he knows no more of the religion of
the New Testament than Balaam's ass
did Of the principles OF Hebrew gram
mar"
cisms of Emerson. We shall pass over
to the bitter controversy among con-
temporaries and partisans. Our aim
is not an extended delineation Of
special theological problems and dis
cussions Of Emerson's day. We seek
in Emerson's writings that which is
essential-essentially perverse or es-
sentially true.
Emerson was the eighth in line of q
generation of Puritan minister's: he
blossoms like rose on the bleak side
Of mountain fastness. 1t was time
that reaction set In against an extreme
which savored only of austerity. God
was awful to the early settlers of New
England but Emerson saw him to be,
still better, sublimely awful. Calvin
was like the rock Of Swiss mountain
peaks, exalted, stable, grand yet cold
and barren. As another well puts IT.,
Emerson was not the child Of Puri-
tanism; neither physically nor intel
lectualjy. ''Out of the strong come
forth sweetness" As Emerson's an
cestor rebelled against corruption in
the church of England and came to
America in 1884 to be q leader In
founding Oopgregationalism in New
England; 30 Emerson rebelled against
the ancestral letters which limited bis
intellect and his soul and he has come
to be In this age leader In philosophy
and an influence In religion.
1t Ia not for any man to say In hat
particular channels philosophy shall
run. Because Emerson was not d.
electrician Is no evidence that he did
not reason and reason we'll. Genius is
not subservient to precedent and rules.
PHILOSOPHY MAY BE FOUND IN POETRY
az we'll as in prose; in drama, in SER
mon as we'll as In works labeled "Phil-
osOphy." Does intuition or an exalta-
ton Of 1t prevent reasoning? II we
rule Emerson out from the ranks of
those who have added to our knowledge
of life and of God simply because he
fails to lit into the category of q So
called philosopher, we must needs also
debar from merited places our greatest
men: greatest by reason of that same
power or principle of which Emerson
Is the exponent.
Surely Emerson was master think.
er, q philosopher of indisputable ex'
cellence. He stands higher than any
American In the metaphysical realm
He was 9 great philosopher because be
was a great theologian. His poems
and his essays are permeated with re-
liQious truth. The breadth and the
profundity of Emerson's thought /,
markedly prominent where, under like
conditions, others reach superficial
conclusions. We often see the form
only,or the time and place, and methoe
OF activity; Emerson looked into anc
through to the cause, to the ultimate
One passage from his essay on INA
ture" Is evidence of this: 81 Man IL
conscious Of universal soul within Of
behind his individual life, whence a!
In q armament, the natures OF Justice
Truth, Love, Freedom arise and shine
This universal soul he calls reason. Il
is not mine or thine but we are It's
we are its property and men. And tn
of everlasting orbs Is the type O
Reason. That which intellectual!
considered we call reason, considered
In relation to nature we call spirit
Spirit is the creator. Spirit hath lifs
in itself. And man In all ages anC
countries embodies it in bis Language
a. Father"
Emerson was q Transcendentalist
He objected, however, to be called suct
because he thought most people die
not have q correct idea Of what thai
term means. In Emerson's day Tran
scendentalism was another word fol
Idealism. Emerson stated his own
position we'll: 1.-THE Idealism Of the
present day acquired the name OF
Transcendentalism from the use OF
that term by Emmanuel Kant who