The San Francisco call., 1909-04-01
ETHICS, THEME OF
NOTED DIPLOMAT
Ambassador Bryce Delivers
Fourth Lecture Before
University Students

BERKELEY, March s1-The refor-
nation of the sixteenth century had
the effect of inducing certain moral
revival which developed into individ-
ualisn. declared James Bryce. British
ambassador, in~ his fourth lecture be-
fore the university students.
This revival he continued discuss
ing the subject from the standpoint of
Application of ethical and religious
standards to some modern social and
economic problems affected both the
Protestant and Roman Catholic
churches and had the tendency to bring
ethical and religious life closer.
Presently ethics, which Christianity
had sought to make a part of religion.
began to be studied also as branch
OF philosophy, said Doctor Bryce, just
as it had been studied In the ancient
world. And just as in the days of
academies, stoics and epicureans there
had been various theories regarding
the origin and nature of moral ideas,
so there were now, although as re-
spects the practical precepts of moral
ity there has been a general adherence
to those Christianity laid down.
NEW PROBLEMS ARISE
Recent events, certain tendencies, he
continued, had come into existence
which though they did not touch upon
principles involving ethics and the
leading ideas of Christianity, raised
new problems or raised old problems
and compelled US to inquire how re-
ligion and ethics were to deal with
them.
Among these problems raised was
the notion OF liberty in its fullest
sense as denoting the emancipation Of
the individual from control. whether the
control of another. of ruler or of
the class to which the individual be-
longed. or of public opinion and So
ciety generally. All these were more
Doctor Bryce added:
"Individualism, the right OF each
man to crafty himself and do what
he will with his life, has been pushed
further than ever before. In one form
It had been deemed TO affect the In
stitution OF the family. In many mod
ern countries the law of marriage and
divorce had been 80 modified as to
make the dissolution of wedlock very
much easier than formerly"
DISCUSSES MARRIAGE QUESTION
Ambassador Bryce dwelt at length
on the religious and ethical phases of
cussed the second phenomenon. the i'm
mensely enlarged opportunities for ao-
quiring wealth and the more intense
eagerness with which it was pursued.
Three questions, he declared. were in
volved: First, the teachings of Christ
about wealth and the passages in the
gospel which had been supposed to
extol poverty; secondly, the view that
Christians ought to have all their
goods in common, and the relation Of
that view to modern socialism, which
seeks by law to abolish private prop
erty; and, thirdly, the moral principles
to be applied to the conduct of COM
mercial business.
DISCUSSES COMBINATIONS
new difficulty has arisen in modern
times, he said, from the developments
OF the principle of combination, both
as regards corporations of employers
and workmen. The responsibility of
the members of a corporation or a
union of any kind seemed to him, he
declared, to be so much lessened that
the sense of moral duty was apt to
be blunted and the sense of direct
personal relation between man and
man, which Christianity had sought to
create. was obscured. This was a mat
ter which DR.. Bryce suggested needed
to be dealt with by the modern ethical
and Christian teachers.
The concluding lecture will be de-
hvered tomorrow night.