The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1914-04-08
A Twentieth Century Mind

A Twentieth Century Mind
In the recent death of Jonathan Briefly, the
English Essayist, the world has lost a leader
who has been of inestimable benefit to the people
of this day who are trying to think for them
selves. Any subject of whatever nature, when
treated by him in one of his characteristic essays
acquired a surprising luminousness. But this is
especially true of religious questions and there
are few who have been of such great service
in leading the spiritually minded through the
fogs of doubt and disillusion.
In the religious world like Washington Glad
den, Charles Edward jefferson, George A. Cor
don and others, he has served as one of the me-
diators between the great thinkers and the
people, yourselves and the Universe" "Relig-
ion and Experience "The Common Life" and
other volumes of essays have come to many a
bankrupted soul as light in darkness Take him
whole, Briefly was one Of the finest exam
pies of the twentieth century mind we have had.
This means he was possessed of scientifical-
ly trained brain. The medieval method was to
start out with assumptions and theories and
attempt to make facts and experiences fit those
assumptions The scientific method is first to
get the facts and then to arrive at the conclu-
sons. This demands that one throw his preju-
rather than what he would like to believe.
Briefly also possessed the historical sense
another characteristic of the twentieth century
mind. We all recognize the Importance of the
past and would be quite helpless if it were not
possible for to make of it. But it is a
wide spread weakness to read back into the ut
terances of our fathers and forefathers the opin-
ions of today and to argue about past events as
if they had occurred in present conditions.
In some European galleries paintings made
by Italians during the time of Lorenzo the Mag
nlficent, which depict in the life of Christ
The figures in these canVases are clothed in the
costumes of the artists own day, thus showing
they had no appreciation of the changes in con-
ditions which fifteen centuries had wrought. A
great many of are like the artists. We clothe
the minds of those who lived thousand or two
thousand years ago with the mental equipment
of our own times and thus make them say the
things we want them to say. This is carefully
avoided by the twentieth century mind, which
tries to look upon each age as if it had lived dur
ing that age.
Tolerance is another hallmark of this mind
To know everything is privilege possessed by
stupidity alone. None are so conscious of their
ignorance as the learned and wise They know
how little anybody knows, how uncertain every
thing is, and are not willing to browbeat those
who disagree with them
To be guided by facts and reasons rather than
desires rejudices, to see events in broad
perspective, to be tolerant of a different view
and to believe the Spirit Of Truth has not been
monopolized by any age locality: this surely
is akin to the ideal and warrants one in believing
such man as Briefly to have been one of the
truly great men of his age.
CONFERENCE.-The was just admiring Mabel's
hair How pretty it is
Mabels Rival-"Oh, she has prettier than that
Boston Transcript
1t Was Easy-Before the passage O the present
strict banking laws in Wisconsin,, starting bank was
comparatively simple proposition. The surprisingly
small amount of capital needed is we'll illustrated by the
story of prosperous countrytown banker told him
SELF when asked how he happened the banking
business: "We," he said, didn't have much else to
do, 1 rented empty store and painted Bank
the window. The first day 1 open for business
in deposited hundred dollars with me;
the second day another dropped in deposited
two hundred and fifty; and by George, along about
the third day l got confidence enough the bank to
,re1Jf" yI~I.,.