Norwich bulletin., 1917-01-26

soul QI1alityi In the measurements of human excellence the first question to be answered is: What is he as a man !? This had burned itself in upon Burns, for among the humble friends with whom he associated he had found many of such sterling qualities of manhood that his own loyal soul revolted against the artificial standards the church and society had set up. It was therefore with the vision of a prophet he looked into the future and hailed the day when a man should be judged by the worth of his manhood This made Burns sing of honest poverty" in which a man could still bb "a man for a that"
 Burns Surely Prophet.
 In this Burns was surely a prophet. A prophet is a man who so clearly in terprets the good and the bad in pres ent conditions, and at the same time so senses the eternal trend of things, that he is able to proclaim the new things that are about to dawn. This personal worth is not fully uor current standard of measurement even yet, but we are much nearer it because of this heart cry of Robert Burns. Manhood suffrage is indebted to Burns. Many a soul weary with it's struggle and lack of public appreciation has received renewed vigor by singing "A mans a man for a that" And were he with us today he would sing another song: "A woman's a woman for a. that.'
 See this again in his treatment of the religious conditions of his day. Burns was an intensely religious man. But every instinct of his being pro- tested against the caricatures of the most sacred teachings of Jesus as these were presented in the church and as he heard them on the lips of the so- called leaders of the church. There are two outstanding qualities in every true Scotsnan-his patriotism and his talks theology. Burns 1onged for the church to have the spirit of it's Master. It did not. The church had lost its vision; its ministers had lost their message And they had lost their message because they ceased to be in telligentlv human. They knew too much about God in comparison with their knowledge Of man. To call them back to this is the meaning of the b1rning, scathing satires Holy Willie" to ridicule religion bus to ridicule the mockeries- that were offered in the name Of religion. That Burns could rejoice in genuine religion is seen in Night That is what Burns saw was the true heart of Scotland; and to this he called every minister and every fa- ther. There he felt was the real strength of Scottish life and character.
 Burns vision for Scotland in genuine religious life is not yet realized. But the finer. kindlier, truer religious ideals in the churches, in the homes, in the lives of individual Scotsman today are largely due to the vision Burns had of what constituted religion In this sense he may be hailed as a religious re- former
 Sang Scotland Into Fame.
 But no one understands Burns who, does not allow large place for his intense patriotism. He sang Scotland into fame. That Journey he made through the north of Scotland stirred every fibre of his heart into a burning flame of patriotic fervor. Every hill and dale every mountain and stream every moor and fen. every spray of heather and field of grain, every farm and hamlet. every castle and battle