Evening star., 1924-03-04
NEW BOOKS
AT RANDOM
SEVEN AGES. "A GentlenaH With q
Daster. G. p. Putnam's Sons.

Duster. G. p. Putnam's Sons.
He beckoned mo to 90 on jour
ney with him. Or. 70 construed the
Eesture-a shade too impetuously.
maybe. for the fine restraints of
quite finished department. But had I
hesitated might have been lost to
the chance. And. having already gone
adventuring with this man, knew
well the promise that lay In even
his most casual bid to "come along
with me-" A deeply serious gentle.
man. this. Of seemly and decorous be-
havior. Yet my first outfarings In
his company had been undertaken
from a plain curiosity over the gro
tesque character Of travelling gear
with which he was about to set out.
The usual clutter OF bag, box, bum
die. was wholly missing, conspicuous
thereby. Instead. over the shoulder
a taunty feather duster. In the hand
Of nothing else So much as of the
bobbing balloons with which the toy
man enlivens drab thorougfares. The
other equally remindful OF the little
vanity coptraptions that the women,
folk nowadays carry in order that,
walking along the streets. they may
renew their faces at will, so to speak.
Trumpery equipment. so It appeared,
instead of the tmpedimenta of serious
enterprises: suited rather to theatric
false appearance, the event proved
this to be. For It came out along
the way that certain OF the deepest
concerns Of life are hopelessly be-
clouded with the dust and cobwebs OF
tradition. misconception, prejudice.
hypocrisy. cowardice. unintelliEence.
indifference. and that many Of the
vital facts OF existence are renected
from distorung surfaces, the glass
flawed in itself, defective in its back
therefore. stand for the quest of
truth and acquire the dignity of ac-
tive agents in this pursuit-the dust
er clearing besom. the mirror
corrective view.
A long journey is laid out here-its
medium, In effect, still the combina-
ton Of duster and mirror. A pilgrim
age, this, along the far back reaches
Of the mind. Its purpose Is to gather
up such resources of inspiration. such
clusion, such currents OF influence.
as have clearly affected the Ideals
and the character of the English
speaking world.
* + X X
At the farther end of this pilgrim
hundred years
Socrates. At the nearer
iend-only q century and half dis
ltant-is John Wesley. Between the
two are Aristotle, Jesus. Augustine,
Erasmus, Cromwell. A distinct move
,ment toward emancipation runs
the period. Each man by the
Qualities Of his mind and heart, by the
force and persuasivness of his person
;ality, embodies one or another stage
;of this liberating movement, endow-
1 ing it as well with perennial renew
ais of power and appeal. Within this
reach of time paganism gives way to
christianity. Within 1t. too, seif-gov-
ernment Is about to take the place OF
one-man autocratic power. Upon
these men, more than upon any 9th.
iers, may the English and their racial
derivatives look as the true ances-
tors of their mental and spiritual
! to this pilgrim, as the sole warrant
Of high and worthy future.
+ X
/ When one makes a real pilgrimage
he goes. naturally, from the near
lpoint to those of increasing distance.
When, however, he reports the ad-
venture he follows the opposite course,
with the most remote point.
He has a good scholastic reason for
this, or so he says. A rebel now and
then breaks away from this order or
logical sequence to follow the steps
OF experience rather than those OF
chronicle. In that case he takes up
ithe matter backward, so to speak.
Lets do that way here. John Wesley
| is a lot nearer than Socrates. One
isees him more clearly, understands
what he was trying to do with the
English people Of the eighteenth CEN
are rather familiar. The man on
horseback, John Wesley, who for
! forty years travelled England from
end to end. preaching God to the COM
mon people in mine and field, is a
nearby and vivid figure whose re-
lligious mission was Of tremendous
Importance, finally, in political sense
quite apart from its spiritual intent.
Wesley created a community of feel
ing among the. oppressed common
people, a unity of interest. combina-
ition of effort against religious perse-
cution. Wholly spiritual in purpose,
Wesley contributed powerfully to
such as English-speaking people all
lover the world today claim as an in
lalienable right. A great democratic
ling power was John Wesley, COM
moner and preacher.
4 X !.
| Only one step back to Cromwell,
! who in a sense prepared the way for
| Wesley. Fanatical, cruel. fierce, his
work was to rid England forever of
autocratic power. To be sure. a king
did come back-shorn Of any divine
! right" Granted, instead, legally
constituted powers beyond which he
might not go. This limitation of the
king was met by a corresponding lib
| Grafton of the people from the high
est to the lowest. Even the most un-
| fortunate had reached the place
| where they dared to listen to the
| message of Wesley, to feel the stir OF
| his deeply pious assurance. In the
| Erasmus shone over the world. To
catch the apt phrase Of James Harvey
| Robinson, the great work OF Erasmus
was that OF ''humanizing the knowl-
| edge" of his time. He contributed to
He promoted spirituality of outlook.
1 Assisting Dean Colet with the st.
! Paurs school, he meanwhile preached
peace in words that are as current as
those of yesterday or today. In the
day of Augustine Jesus had come and
gone. A new light had shone out Of
1 the darkness The love Of man for
| man projected a new vision, a new
ideal to be realized. Augustine, as
strongly as he was able to do In the
! confusion between the old and the
! new, upheld this gospel, Of love and
peace and spiritual liberation, pass
I ing it on a shining light to the hand
of Erasmus.
x * * X
! Before the time Of Jesus two men
stand out here as clearly potential
in the chain of influences that came,
finally, to bear upon the quality OF
the English mind and character.
These men are Aristotle and Socrates.
| 1rhe one oririnating what Is known as