New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-03-21
ACTION AND THOUGHT
Great Questions Ponderously
Treated.

| Green & Co.
Mr.. Ward is at his best in writing OF
men rather than Of matters: that Is, az
the work which he doubtless esteems
the least. His descriptions and analy-
ses of nom ecclesiastical personages-
Disraen, Tennyson. Mil, Wyndham.
Cromer and others-are generally de-
lightful reading, and II ever they fall
to be entertaining they at least remain
illuminative and instructive. His tudg-
ments OF men may not always be con-
vincing to the reader. but at least IT Is
apparent that they had their origin In
the authors own very positive conVlc-
| ton. For Mr. Ward is in earnest He
takes a serious view OF life, Of all his
! subjects, and, most Of all, OF his own
works. That is, no doubt, a COM
mendable attitude. But there Is some
times a possibility Of OVERRIDING seri-
BUSINESS. There is a distinction with
difference between that which is
weighty and that which is merely
heavy. And with all possible credit to
| him for his sincerity and his scholar
ship, there are times in his theological
and ecclesiastical studies when Mr..
Ward does approximate heaviness.
1t may be that this was inevitable, in
view of the task which he set FOR him
self in these essays, and In view or his
self-assumed functions as the apostle
! tla ohay nf
servatism. 1t is true that he depre-
Gates blind submission to ecclesiastical
authority as an allsufficient solution
of all problems. and defends the liberty
and the prontableness Of active thought.
Yet he holds that the exercise Of rea-
son must be performed with submits
sion, and he implies that the adaptation
OF the details Of Christian theology to
the exigencies Of the times is really to
be effected conversely, by adapting the
lcxigencies of the times to the details,
or at least to the principles, of Chris
tian theology as he conceives the latter
1t is in this respect that Mr.. Wards
most scholarly and intellectually at
|
of the matter. He processes to sym
pathize with the effort TO bring Cath
Ole thought abreast Of the time. In
that we must believe him to be sin
cere. Yet, perhaps unconsciously he
really seems to seek to push the time
back to an alignment with medi2va!
thought His theological distractions
are superb, considered. as theological
distractions. But what has the mod
ern multitude to do with them? When
a hungry man asks for bread, he is
equally unsatisf1ed with the Offering Of
common field stone or OF bit OF
Parian carved by a Phidias. Mr..
Wards philosophy is designed for an
olgarchy, not a democracy. The few
will greatly enjoy his essays. To the
many they are words, words, words.
1t may be that he is satisfied with
that. He argues eloQuently for 10y
atty and faith in the representatives of
the Church on earth, trustfulness that
they will realize the ideal Of their sta
ton" But with that the multitude
will not be satisfied.
The Synthetic Society unquestionably
comprised group Of fine and sincere
minds, and we may regard as COM
mendable an effort to find a philo-
sophie basis for religious belief-for
those who have the leisure and the in
clination for such an undertaking.
The quest Of such basis has engaged
the attention OF many men. from the
days OF Job and his friends down 10
those OF Mr.. Ward That Mr. Ward
and Mr.. Balfour and their gifted col
leagues have got perceptibly nearer to
the solution than their predecessors Of
centuries ago is not apparent. Nor do
they seem. In their abstract specula-