Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-10-08
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And n 1t all preface" the entire
volume? Every bit Of it. Where, then,
Is the book upon which this long FORE
word fronts7 Why. myself make the
book. You yourself make 1t. That is,
II, after keeping steadfast and attentive
company with Walter Lppmann in the
preparatory investigation which "A
Preface to Morals" projects. find my
self identified with its lines Of fact and
problem, then It Is for me>to create the
book upon which this On opens and
points the way. For also to do
this.
Just a word. Outside the pulpit he
who approaches questions OF morality
becomes frequently an object of suspi-
|, cion, often Of curt dismissal. A Skeptic,
more than likely; an agnostic, maybe;
Just possibly clear atheist or other
of the dangerous tribe, trouble-makers
all, In the domain Of spiritual sanctities
and securities.
Is throughout Of deeply reverent spirit.
attitude. But not dogmattc. Never
that.
A safe book, therefore, as well as an
awakening one for those included
within its sphere Of research and dis
cussion. And what is this sphere? It
Is the immense field Of modern indie
cision and confusion pressing upon
human ideals and behaviors. Not so
much Of spiritual rebellion as 1t Is often
declared to be. Rather is 1t daze and
bewilderment. So many loyalties. So
Where am I going? I've missed the
road, lost my chart. I'm leaf hustled
by wanton and needless winds. I'm q
shred Of dotsam tossed by driven tides.
To be lost Is not to rush recklesSly
ahead into even deeper obscurities.
Rather Is It to turn backward In an
anxious search for the highway so care
lessly deserted for paths of increasing
impasse, for the faint trails Of many
vagrant feet.
spiritual experience reflected progress
Sively in the common life to which Mr..
Lippmann gives deep attention. Rocky
and difficult Of passage as the long road
so often is, nevertheless 1t marks the
course Of mans highest endeavor in the
past, Of his clearest promise for the
future. To simplify the seemingly COM
pick, to clarity confusions and obscur-
ities-such Is the purpose in bringing
To demonstrate through such union that
the old spiritual needs still exist, that
the tried ways Of serving these needs
are, in the main, the very ways upon
which q more ineligible future must
depend, broader future more useful
one.
A word about the author of this book
as the study itself presents him. A
student, patient and indefatigable. A
reader Of sources, many and diverse
who makes use Of history to light up the
present, to forecast a believable future.
A vigorous man, in his way with words,
making these pay their way abundantly
at every point. From his own stand
ing ground, convincing man. Ger
tainly . most readable writer.
In substance, the study summarizes
the spiritual inheritance Of Christianity,
chief agency Of western civilization, to-
gether with such changes in the spirit
ual outlook as the progress Of events
from time to time appears to have pro-
duced. Standing little away from
the discussion. one sees clearly the
the Middle Ages, the protest of Luther
and its sequences, the advent of science
and its immediate effects, the expansion
Of the economic life in new directions
and in novel applications. Such, 1t
seems to me, are the stepping stones
by way Of which modern man has
reached his present perplexities, his
present outlook upon what to many ap-
pears to be q future strangely. and
dangerously, unmindful Of the sanctities
and securities of the spiritual bequeath-
ment Of the past. Immediately we are
reminded by this writer that, stupendous
as the changes have been, man HIM
self has remained much the same. Man
without God is inconceivable. It Is from
this worldwide imperative that Mr..
Lippmann views the present, not as an
OF spiritual pioneering born of the sud-
den expansions and vast alterations of
modern life, an honest and earnest seek
ing Tor the true way. Comparable, in
sense, is this age of questing souls,
ardent and outfaring, to the great
periods of material discovery-the
Elizabethan age, the days of our own
Arctic and Antarctic explorations, of
laying hold upon the sky itself as mans
proper domain, to be mapped for USE
fulness. to be traversed as a common
highway. Astounding age! No wonder,
as this writer makes clear, that even
spiritual values are tried by way
OF these amazing achievements. For, to
be sure, these marvels Of material prog
ress affect the thinkings Of man, modify
his ideals, reconstruct his philosophy
OF travel from eternity to eternity
no, not irreligion, according to Walter
ippmann. Instead, it is the invincible
urge of the human to prove to all, and
to himself, that the values, religious
values OF the past, spring from a source
that Is tnexhaustible in its efficacy to
meet any age, any day.
To be sure, upon the surface there
are many seeming contradictions and
Commissions. These are in the churches,
in education, in industry, in the social
whole OF whatever pattern and purpose.
Yet, In q plain way and with the ac-
Qualities Of existence in hand, this
writer emphasizes the superficial char
acter OF these multiform disagreements.
Underneath all, the human Is I'M
quenchable In his ardor for spiritual
foundations and support. Among the
multitudinous divergences of the ex-
ternal life there must be-there is-the
common ideal of rightneSS by way Of
which civilizations endure and advance.
The ways to this ideal are many. No
longer does it serve to say, well, but
you must 60 my way" Each individual
chooses his own right way to fulfill
himself In the scheme Of which he Is
so clearly q part And finally toward
the end Of this deeply considerable
study-let US have Mr.. Lippmann him.
self speak. "The choice Is at last
personal one. The decision is rendered
not by argument, but by feeling.
If the argument in these papers is
sound" then denied prescribed ac-
ceptances by the circumstances Of his
own life, then one may turn to the
| ideals of human personality as guide
| upon which to shape his own life.
! 1.-THE ideal way Of life for men who
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