The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-01-18

fully reactionary and the matter o. N.
planes and the new life Seems TO ha,o
been well settled.
II is in his concluding lecture a
"The Present Status of Morality" ,h,,
Prof Eucken addresses most conmana.
ingly the intelligence Of his auditors.
and his objective criticism is uo,a
mordant than his attempt at construc.
tive suggestion. not because " anv
pessimism In his attitude, but because
arrajgnment is sharper of edge thar
apology. and exhortation, however,
earnest, IL cvanescent. The prcscr,
state of morality, he begins, is not salts.
factory: ut is the want OF union +,
moral ideals. never before so strongly
marked. which gives added power ,o
the enemies of morality" He d.plores
the decline of religious belief and urac.
ticc: Excessive as was the importance
attached to the Idea Of reward and MIN.
ishment, men yet recognized n InN,r
superior to all human action and nj,
arbitrary human decision" The niel.
lectual life of the day distrcssos tho
moralist by its lack of concentration
of uniformity in aim. by its par,isanshln
and factionalism.
Industrial conditions contribute 20 m.
forces of moral dlsintegration. While
under the narrower" conditions of q,
age of individualism, with social on.
vironment exercising stricter control
than 1t does now, correct behavior
was frequently mistaken for moral in.
tegrity," giving rise to much hypoc.
rsy, restraints were imposed that ON
the whole made for moral health. And
the lecturer finds IA loss to morality In
the change from personal to irnpersonsl
relations between the workman and his
employer.
But now the preacher puzzles his au.
dience by selecting for hopeful en-.
phasis aspects of modern life so little
distinguished in approach and pcrspec.
tive from those he has rcprehcnded
that 1t is not easy to recognize real cp-
position. The present age has sun
piled morality with new and valuable
impulses; and they occur in the yery
territory of labor and the commercial
life in which the disintegratlng forces
have been discerned operant. Now il
seems there is "a strong moral element
in the ever increasing formation and
organization Of great labor completes"
The individual is compelled to subor-
dinate his selfish interests to those Of
the mass in which he lives and moves
and has his being. There is moral dig
cipline in this requirement OF loyalty.
scf-control and sacrifice Of personal
taste and opinion" Here. it will he
noted, individuality appears the object
OF self-immolation, though before 1t
seemed to play a passive part in "A
tragedy Of ASSASSINATION. In Prof.
Eucken's carefully wrought judgment
the whole matter appears to resolve
into a conflict between forces of ma
terialisn and idealism. When "thc Wis
ible life" is overvalued morality Gibbs.
the corrective influences are spiritual
When man Identifies himself with tho
world of nature self-preservation Is his
highest aim and the ideals of person
allty and character are correspondent
enfeebcd.
Or. Eucken's moral philosophy -
brilliant: its popular success is not 'o
he wondered at. for 1t fits tho ago
snuGly. But Il great many readers.
acknowledging it's brilliance. will lay il
aside in favor Of the sturdy old moral
ties. whose unfitncss or inadeluacy f'r
the regulation Of life in any era has
never yet been Convinclngly demon
strated