The Detroit times., 1916-03-13
THE MELIORIST.
az DR.. ~RANk CRAM
Copyright l9l5. By Frank Crane,

thing is for the best. A pessimist be-
leves everything is for the worst.
A meliorist is one who believes that
the important thing for him to believe
is not some view about the purpose OF
destiny, but the truth about his own at
ttude toward things Hence he believes
that bad things may be bettered, and
that he ought to help along.
| The tendency of entire optimism or en-
tire pessimism is to paralyze effort.
What's the use? Such and such is the
plan of God or fate. What difference
does it make what | do?
No one can utterly commit himself
TO one certain theory OF the universe
without losing hold of common sense.
The well-balanced mind discovers by ex-
perience that this world is not for him
to understand. it is for him to adjust
himself to-
The thing is. not what God is going
to do about it, but what | am going to
do about fit.
The old clash between foreordination
and freewill. for instance, has never been
settled, simply because, from the human
standpoint. both creeds are true, and they
are irreconcilable.
They might be harmonized between
two Gods, but in mems minds they can
not be brought together We don't know
enough. Our scope is too small.
All we can see is that there must be
some disposing mind in the universe,
hence generalization must be true also
we are undoubtedly free agents, hence
freewill must be true.
Consequently the sensible man does
not give himself up unreservedly to this
doctrine or that, but believes in bal
ance of doctrine" that is, that the two
can be made TO fit by an infinite mind,
while the finite can only see the contra
diction.
The meliorist acknowledges that
perfect grasp of ''the sum of things en-
tire" is beyond him. And that is wis
dom, recognizing what one cannot know,
which is even more important than
knowing what we can know.
Realizing this the meiorist finds his
satisfaction in throwing himself IN
with the cosmic efforts toward progress,
as far as he can perceive them.
No mans creed is of practical value
except as it begins with himself, deter
mining his place in the world, his duties
and his program.
! our idea of God or of the devil is of
real use to us only in so far as 1T helps
us to get the right idea about our own
self.
The optimist takes the viewpoint OF
God. the pessimist that of the devil, the
meliorist that Of himself, as being for
God and against the devil as far as he
can see.
The faith which is unmixed optimism
benumbs ones efforts and leads nm 10
fold his hands, smile. and resolve his
trust in God into a mere laissez faire.
The only faith that is of any account
is meIorism. which induces one to OPP
pose wrong, to struggle for the right
and thus to become factor In the
worlds forward motion.
Thus we can understand how genuine
faith is progressive, not fixed 1t moves
forward as ones intelligence moves for
ward. 1t "widens with the process OF the
suns" IL never stultifies reason because
it keeps step with reason. 1t is never
eqotistic, prosecuting, fanatical, and tyr
annous, because it is essentially personal
and hence has due charity toward the
convictions of other persons.
II is the motorists of all ages VINO
have helped mankind for it is they VINO
have combined enthusiasm with common