Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-09-07

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061 government. but
J am more inter-
ested in religion than in government.
I enjoy making a political speech
have made a good many and shall make
ligion than on politics. I commenced
speaking on the stump when 1 was
only twenty, but commenced speak
ing in the church six years earlier
and / shall be in the church even after
I am out Of politics. I feel sure of my
ground when I make a political speech.
but i feel even more certain of my
ground when / make religious speech
While to me the science Of government
is intensely absorbing. recognize that
the most important things In life lie
outside Of the realm Of government,
and that more depends upon what the
individual does for himself than upon
what the government does or can do
fol him. Men can be miserable under
the best government and they can be
happy under the worst government.
Government affects but a part Of the
life which we live here. and does not
deal at all with the life beyond. while
religion touches the infinite circle Of
existence as well as the small arc Of
that circle which we spend on earth.
No greater theme. therefore. can en-
gage our attention.
X
Man Is a religious being; the heart
instinctively seeks for a God. Whether
he worships on the banks Of the Gan
ges. prays with his face upturned to
the sun. kneels toward Mecca or. re-
garding all space as a temple. COM
munes with the Heavenly Father ac-
cording to the Christian creed, man is
essentially devout.
Religion has been defined by Tolstoy
as the relation which man fixes be-
tween himself and his God. and mo-
rality as the outward manifestation Of
this inward relation. Every one. by
the time he reaches maturity. has fixed
some relation between himself and God.
and no material change in this relation
can take place without a revolution in
the man, for this relation is the most
potent influence that acts upon a hu-
man life.
Religion is the foundation of moral
it's in the individual and in the group
Of individuals. Materialists have at
tempted to build up a system Of mo-
rality upon the basis of enlightened
self-interest. They would have man
figure out by mathematics that it pays
him to abstain from wrongdoing; they
would even inject an element of self
ishness into altruism, but the moral
system elaborated by the materialists
has several defects. First, its virtues
arc borrowed from moral systems
based upon religion. All those who are
intelligent enough to discuss a system
OF morality are so saturated with the
morals derived from systems resting
upon religion that they cannot frame a
system resting upon reason alone.
Second. as it rests upon argument
rather than upon authority. the young
are not in a position to accept or re-
ject
Our laws do not permit a young man
to dispose. of real estate until he is
twenty-one Why this restraint: Be-
cause his reason is not mature: and
yet a mans life is largely nodded by
the environment Of his youth. Third.
one never knows just how much Of his
decision is due to reason and how much
is due TO passion or to selfish interest
Passion can dethrone the reason-we
recognize this in our criminal laws.
We also recognize the bias Of self-in-
terest when we exclude from the jury
every man. no matter how reasonable
or upright he may be- who has a pecun-
larry interest in the result Of the trial.
And. fourth one whose morality rests
upon a nice calculation of BENEFITS to
be secured spends time figuring that
he should spend in action. Those who
keep a book account of their good
deeds seldom do enough good to JUS
fifty keeping books. A noble life can
not be built upon an arithmetic: it
must be rather like the spring that
pours forth constantly Of that which
refreshes and invigorates.
Morality is the power Of endurance
IN man: and religion which teaches
personal responsibility to God gives
strength to morality. There is pow
erful restraining influence in the belief
that an all-seeing eye scrutinizes every
thought and word and act Of the in
dividual