Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1924-10-09
THE ABSALOM REVOLT, ANCIENT AND
MODERN
BY BISHOP w.

.
MODERN
BSALOM the handsome and ambitious
| u son of King David, is an ancient exam
n pie of what is now called "the revolt of
| youth"
The writer of the Second Book Of Samuel
records one of the utterances of this prince OF
| the house of David which reveals his spirit
most clearly: "Absalom said, Oh that | were
made judge in the land, that every that
hath any suit or might come unto me,
and l would do him Justice Oil Samuel
| Xy:4.)
That sounds like Absalom was signing to be
of service, but his real motive was one OF
| selfishness.
The historian points out the real source of
! his seeming signing for service when this
record is made: And AbsalOm rose uL early,
and stood beside the way of the gate; and it
| was 50, that when any man who had a con-
| troyersy came to the King for judgment, then
Absalom called unto him and said OF what
! city art thou? And he said, Thy servant is
! of one of the tribes of Israel And Absaom
| said unto him, See thy matters are good and
right; but there is no man deputed of the
| King TO hear thee"-or, as more correctly rem
! dered, "Dut no one liSteneth to thee the
part of the King" Oh Samuel xv:2-3)
If from these specious speeches of Absalom
every suspicion of his playing the part of the
demagogue could be eliminated, the remainder,
under the best construction, would show him
/ to have been an ungrateful and UNI
! worthy prince.
His words imply that David his father, was
| either incapable of doing justice, if he only
| had fair chance at it. All he is recorded
! as saying is mean Indictment of his royal
| father and conceted assertion Of his own
superior virtue and capacity.
Similar conceptions of ambitious conceit I'M
! derlie what is now in some quarters Wanted
as "the revolt of youth"
The best account of this so-called "reyolt of
| youth is found in a small book bearing that
| title, written by young man named Stanley
! High student in the Boston School Of The
| oogy. He evidently approves the revolt of
| youth" and bases his conclusions on the fact
| that younger composed the armies in the
I World War, and therefore they should bear
! leading part if not the chief part in what is
| repetitiously called "the reconstruction of the
| world
The general drift of the volume is seen in
the closing paragraph of his first chapter.
| After devotlng several pages to the "The
Young Republic" French youth Move
! ment' and some influences that interlace
! with it, he says: 1.-The youth of the world
are pointing the way to the new day which
| statesmen have failed to bring to pass a
! larger friendship, a new internatiOnalism is
! appearing with these assertions of the
! yOuth-spirit. Already to control the poten-
! tialties with which it is invested has be-
come the object of preying politicians. But
| the manifestation of the yodth-spirit, as we
| shall study them in succeeding chapters, fur
| nish constructive evidence that from the be-
| wilderng confusion which seems to have en-
! quilted the world new world structure may
! arise, built, perhaps, after the manner of the
! ideals which youth processes"
Then in eight chapters he proceeds to
| DIV in ICh nIltl lin C1Ii+ ,,rI,
accurately ''the Youth Movement in England,
! Germany, Czecho-SIovakia, Poland, Austria
Russia, Latin-Amerca, China and Japan,
In his tenth chapter-the last in his book
young Mr.. High proposes some sort of in
! ternational League of Youth to provide
"the mechanics for giving that spirit q. e.,
the youth-spirit) expression
1t seems never to have occurred to the
vivacious young author that all wars have
been fought by young men. This is so
because of physical necessity But because
young men only are physically qualified for
military service, it does not follow that they
are therefore wiser and better than all the
older people. In the war they were led by
quite mature men, and not by any of their
beardless comrades Marshal Foch was
qualified for leadership by many years of
patient study. General PershEg has been
retired recently account of his having
reached the age limit prescribed by law, and
Papa JOifre' was old when the World war
began
The young men of our army behaved well,
and they deserve unstnted honor for the
part they played; but there were some most
important parts that they were not prepared
! to sustain. Not few of them doubtless
| will yet render great service in civil life
| when years of growth have brought their
| powers to maturity.
Another mistake of this youthful author
is that in all lands there is a youth move
ment akin to every other youth-movement
! throughout the world, springing from the
| same impulses, and directed to the same
ends. This is not true at all.
scared Lionel a little He observed almost