The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1909-12-16
UNDERWOOD SPEAKS
TO. STUDENTS
"REltGtON OF THE CALM MIND
IS SUBJECT OF UNIVERSITY
PROFESSOR.

Underwood. professor of history and
economies. His theme was THE
Religion of the Calm Mind" DR.
Underwood's treatment of the subject
was original and exceptionally inter
esting. and with the new ideas he pre-
sented. the address was of unusual
excellence. He spoke in part as fol-
lows:
| FOR long time I have cherished
an old motto of my family Mems aeoua
III rebus arduis-'a mind calm in mis-
| fortunes. 1t is part of my creed I
nope that it shall some time be a part
OF my religion. This motto, together
with the kindred spirit, Wis vivida.-
life must be lived--is not bad
I philosophy for student. Yes we
understand the Wis vivida. That is
pluck, that is being game. that is
| spirit. But who wants a calm mind ?
| The joyous mind the excitement of
A life, the Jingle Of action. the air of the
wide world. that is the mind for us.
Not For Itself.
! Not for itself. indeed. is the mems
aequa to be sought in universe of
adventure and a world Of experiences.
put because 1t creates the Wis vivida
and the joyous spirit There is not
room IN the mind for great passions
ana little frets. and great love and
rational peace all at the same time
The mind full Of noises cannot at the
same time hear the voices of the world
oil suggestion, nor can the eye that is
full of sights at the same time see
beauty. The mind never reasons and
SHOUTS at once. And man is least god
IKE when he is making the greatest
russ. And from reason and peace
come joy and power
Now these graces the student
covets. But to cultivate them for him
self is pcrilous and disappointing. We
Know that the pursuit of happiness
means the achievement of light
mind and an empty heart and dead
ened sensibility. To make an idol of
work is to make yourself the tool of
wiser man. To love justice as a
supreme thing is to become irritating
TO become cocksurc fellow. who has
everything in the universe. including
you and your duty. formulated. We
shall learn by experience that supreme
devotion to reason and insight for
their own sakes ends I'm the tlullness
of pedantry. because we shall present.
~ lack the materials and the means
Of reason and insight. A man who
sets about being god-lise will have
rev worshippers save himself and his
"dor of sanctity is only bad smell.
But calm mind is a garden in which
implanted virtues will grow"
The speaker then told of the differ
ent sorts of calm minds which we think
we have at times. but turn out to he
mere fantasies. The kind of things
that make us happy in boyhood never
come TO realization in later life. But
inns calm which does come i'm after
me. the speaker attributed to religion.
To religion ! hold. To do other
wise is the conceit of a fool. The man |
VINO onposes the universally of the !
spirit, the laws of matter Is only the /
old Fashioned dogmatist In new dis |
curse. To cease to pray is to lnso
the humility that alone is worthy of /
a finite mind in an infinite universe, ,
and to part company with the
and the masters of science
ana to be only jonrneyman, at best
in the laboratories of truth. Mans
mind has neither made, its loftiast
conceptions of enternity, nor has i.
found them out"
The Highest.
Reverting to the fundamental cues
ton as to what is religion, the sneak
er, after stating that it cannot be fear.
worship. nor love. concludes by saying
that It Is the highest thing that man
does demonstrated by his actions.
heiatife to this highest belief he
states:
Let us apply to some one thing
'hat may be mans highest belief.
me three tests of truth that are usual
~ used. first by the philosopher. what
Is the use of the idea to MANI: second
.he test OF the scientist. can it be had?
third. the test of the socioloeist. il n
universal? suppose. then. tina, the
highest conception that rules man IL
work. FIRST. it is useful. 1t Gains n
dlsnifies. II eNobles. Second. IL is
available. but applying our third fest
II Is not universal. And suppose that
work stops. what then: The auaIit,
Of mans character and mind appear
only when he is not at work. but don't
make too long experiments with this
truth.
We know instinetively that tn,
sense of restraint by something that
[ransends sense, is the universal I'm
religion. There are only two possible
elements in this. belief in God and be-
lief in immortality. Shall we apply
our three tests: practicability In the
mind, availability for life. universally
N belief. The thought of God whether
is the personification of Eternal
Power. or as Eternal Power itself is
universal in all that man has called
'eligion. BY itself. however. it never
made calm mind. BY itself it would
hot restrain. Not every man, more
'ver, who has believed in God has
,rofessed to know Him. On the other
'and the sense of Immortality is not
Universal in religion. The Hebrews ,
AVE no such thought. Indeed you viii
lot find IL in the grandest writings ,
Il all time, the books of Job and E,-
lesiastes. It's attainableness is known
My 10 those who cannot testify To us, l
But If firmly held il must inevitably .
ollow that the spirit would be .slm {
nd patient and full of graces. So
eason that these two conceptions 4
must be taken together as one to inals.. !
universal understanding of re- I
lgion.' +,
The speaker then summed up his i