The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1921-12-08
THE NEW RENAISSANCE

Durham, the president, presided, and a
large amount of business was considered,
including the extensive repairs on the
parsonage. The social service committee
through its chairman, Mrs. l. L. Perry,
urged all members who could devote two
hours to sewing for the Girls Home to
meet at the residence of Mrs. C. w. Wes-
colt this, Thursday, afternoon. Mrs. Giles
G. Abbott read a most entertaining and
encouraging summary of the recent ses-
sions of the National Unitarian c onfer-
ence in Detroit, MicE.
The unusually entertaining paper of the
afternoon was presented by Principal
Harry A. Foster of the B. H. S. on ''The
New Renaissance" 1t indicated concert
ed thought, access to the best of litera-
ture and happy faculty of imparting
truths to Others After referring to the
change in the habitable part Of the earth,
the physical factors, the climatic condi-
qualities and national characteristics of
the world in general he said of the time
spirit: "GTeat events can not be duplict-
ed. At one time The dogmatic spirit.
at another time the scholastic spirit, at
third time the spirit of classical antiquity,
aad then again the national or modern
spirit has stirred the minds of men. 1t is
/ possible to anaiyze the genius of the
Z e without taking into account the time
| cpirit, which creates that age. The world
Will never see the Crusades repeated. The
Europe and mark the ascent of mans
spiritual nature above the realities of his
worldly lot, cannot be duplicated. We
do not anticipate new migrations of ma
tIons ike those that broke up the Roman
Empire, and second age of maritime
discovery is also impossible This spirit
of the age is not creature of chance.
1t is observed that every great change
IN belief recorded in history has been pre-
ceded by great change in its intellectual
condition. The success of any opinion
has depended less upon the strength of
its arguments or the ability of its advo-
Gates than upon the predisposition of
society to receive it; predispostion that
results from the intellectual type of the
| age.
Men always do new things because they
want to do them and cease to do them
because they have more interest in some-
thing else. They change their opinions
not because they are convinced by formal
arguments of the unsoundness of the
old and the soundness of the new
as because they grow out of the old and
grow into the new. He then recounted
the deeds of the Individual genuises who
created the conditions aI.,4reforms of the
old Renaissance and in glowing terms
| gave credit to the present age leaders
who have moulded public opinion and led
in the new Renaissance of science and
| reform.
| The new Renaissance was simply
a new Interpretation of what they had
always known. There were two great
/ influences that of schoIasticism and hu-
manism. One worked in the region that
was then Germany, and the other in
Italy. One was realistic and the other
humanistic. 1t was simply two ways of
! Interpreting the classics borrowed from
the Greeks. The scholastic view preced-
Cd fl1
the two. The humanistic view even
wore itself out, because it was blinded
by the new light, and was facing back
ward. The spirit of the age was blind
ness from which they would not be
reused. Some will say that the Renais-
sance was due to the Crusades which
brought back from the East a knowledge
of literature and customs. Some thought
it was due to the fall of ConstantinopIe
The refugees fleeing before the Tukrs
took their most precious household fur.
throughout Europe the best works in lit
erature, the finest pictures in art, The
finest works in sculpture, but these woult
not have been received had not the peopl,
been ready for the accomplishment of tn,
great thing which was accomplished il
the Renaissance The Renaissance wa.
simply a spirit which filled the minds ane
hearts of the men of that time, and wa,
accomplished in all lines and among ever,
people in Europe. 1t began as early a.
the eleventh century, and I am of ths
opinion that it is still going on,-that tht
thing that we are facing today is but E
new branch of the old Renaissance.
We are having an intellectual awaken.
ing, the one thing that precedes every
great change in thought Our colleges
are far from adequate for those applying
for admission. For the last few years we
have been feeling a new idealism. UI
until very recently the world has been
coping the best of what has been pro.
duced, and doing what little they might
to it.
The two writer's who did much to cor
rect this were Emerson and Thoreau, who
would only write what was new. Thoreau
said: Il we 1T to the woods because
wished to live deliberately, to front My
the essential facts of life, and see if