,,towards ,,the ,,great ,,peace    ,,by 
,,ralph ,,adams ,,cram1 ,,litt4,d41     
,,ll4,d4        #aibb                   
,,introduction      ,for the course of  
lectures ,i am privileged to deliver at 
this time1 ,i  desire to take1 in some  
sense as a text1 a prayer that came to  
my  attention at the outset of my       
preparatory work4 ,it is adapted from a 
prayer by ,bishop ,hacket who flourished
 about the middle of the  seventeenth   
century1 and is as follows3             
,lord1 lift us out of                   
,private-mindedness and give us ,public 
souls to work for ,thy ,kingdom by daily
 creating that ,atmosphere      of a    
happy temper and generous heart which   
alone can bring the      ,great ,peace4 
,each thought in this noble aspiration  
is curiously applicable to each  one of 
us in the times in which we fall3 the   
supersession of narrow and  selfish and 
egotistical private-mindedness by a     
vital passion for the  winning of a     
,kingdom of righteousness consonant with

 the revealed will  of ,god2 the lifting
 of souls from nervous introspection to 
a height  where they become indeed      
public souls2 the accomplishing of the  
,kingdom not by great engines of        
mechanical power but by the daily       
offices of every individual2 the        
substitution in place of current        
hatred1 fear and jealous covetousness1  
of the unhappy temper and  generous     
heart which are the only fruitful       
agencies of accomplishment4  ,finally1  
the ,great ,peace as the supreme object 
of thought and act and  aspiration for  
us1 and for all the world1 at this time 
of crisis which  has culminated through 
the antithesis of great peace1 which is 
great  war4    ,i have tried to keep    
this prayer of ,bishop ,hacket's before 
me during the  preparation of these     
lectures4 ,i cannot claim that ,i have  
succeeded in  achieving a happy temper  
in all things1 but ,i honestly claim    
that ,i  have striven earnestly for the 
generous heart1 even when forced1 by    

what seem to me the necessities of the  
case1 to indulge in condemnation  or to 
bring forward subjects which can only be
 controversial4 ,if the  ,great ,war1   
and the greater war which preceded1     
comprehended1 and  followed it1 were the
 result of many and varied errors1 it   
matters  little whether these were the  
result of perversity1 bad judgment or   
the  most generous impulses4 ,as they   
resulted in the ,great ,war1 so they are
 a  detriment to the ,great ,peace that 
must follow1 and therefore they must  be
 cast away4 ,consciousness of sin1      
repentance1 and a will to do better1    
must precede the act of amendment1 and  
we must see where we have erred  if we  
are to forsake our ill ways and make an 
honest effort to strive  for something  
better4    ,for every failure ,i have   
made to achieve either a happy temper or
 a  generous heart1 ,i hereby express my
 regret1 and tender my apologies in     
advance4        ,,contents    ,,lecture 
,,introduction        ,i4    ,a ,,world 

,,at ,,the ,,crossroads       ,,ii4     
,a ,,working ,,philosophy      ,,iii4   
,,the ,,social ,,organism       ,,iv4   
,,the ,,industrial ,,problem        ,v4 
,,the ,,political ,,organization ,,of   
,,society       ,,vi4    ,,the          
,,function ,,of ,,education ,,and ,,art 
,,vii4    ,,the ,,problem ,,of ,,organic
 ,,religion     ,,viii4    ,,personal   
,,responsibility              ,,appendix
 ,a              ,,appendix ,b          
,,towards ,,the ,,great ,,peace         
,i      ,a ,,world ,,at ,,the           
,,crossroads    ,for two thousand years 
,christianity has been an operative     
force in the  world2 for more than a    
century democracy has been the          
controlling  influence in the public    
affairs of ,europe and the ,americas2   
for two  generations education1 free1   
general and comprehensive1 has been the 
rule in the ,west4 ,wealth incomparable1
 scientific achievements  unexampled in 
their number and magnitude1 facile means
 of swift  intercommunication between   

peoples1 have all worked together       
towards an  earthly realization of the  
early nineteenth-century dream of       
proximate  and unescapable millennium4  
,with the opening of the second decade  
of the  twentieth century it seemed that
 the stage was set for the last act in  
an unquestioned evolutionary drama4 ,man
 was master of all things1 and  the     
failures of the past were obliterated by
 the glory of the imminent  event4      
,the ,great ,war was a progressive      
revelation and disillusionment4         
,therein1  everything so carefully built
 up during the preceding four centuries 
was  tried as by fire1 and each         
failed--save the indestructible         
qualities of  personal honour1 courage  
and fortitude4 ,nothing corporate1      
whether  secular or ecclesiastical1     
endured the test1 nothing of government 
or  administration1 of science or       
industry1 of philosophy or religion4    
,the  victories were those of individual
 character1 the things that stood the   

test were not things but men4    ,the   
,war to end war1 the war to make the    
world safe for democracy  came to a     
formal ending1 and for a few hours the  
world gazed spellbound  on golden hopes4
 ,greater than the disillusionment of   
war was that of the  making of the      
peace4 ,there had never been a war1 not 
even the ,thirty  ,years' ,war in       
,germany1 the ,hundred ,years' ,war in  
,france or the wars  of ,napoleon1 that 
was fraught with more horror1           
devastation and  dishonour2 there had   
never been a ,peace1 not even those of  
,berlin1  ,vienna and ,westphalia1 more 
cynical or more deeply infected with the
  poison of ultimate disaster4 ,and here
 it was not things that failed1 but     
men4    ,what of the world since the    
,peace of ,versailles8 ,hatred1         
suspicion1  selfishness are the dominant
 notes4 ,the nations of ,europe are     
bankrupt  financially1 and the          
governments of the world are bankrupt   
politically4  ,society is dissolving    

into classes and factions1 either at    
open war or  manoeuvering for position1 
awaiting the favourable moment4 ,law and
 order  are mocked at1 philosophy and   
religion disregarded1 and of all the    
varied objects of human veneration so   
loudly acclaimed and loftily  exalted by
 the generation that preceded the war1  
not one remains to  command a wide      
allegiance4 ,one might put it in a      
sentence and say that  everyone is      
dissatisfied with everything1 and is    
showing his feelings  after varied but  
disquieting fashion4 ,it is a condition 
of unstable  equilibrium constantly     
tending by its very nature to a point   
where  dissolution is apparently        
inevitable4    ,it is no part of my task
 to elaborate this thesis1 and still    
less to  magnify its perils4 ,enough has
 been said and written on this subject  
during the last two years2 more than    
enough1 perhaps1 and in any case no     
thinking person is unaware of the       
conditions that exist1 whatever may be  

his estimate of their significance1 his 
interpenetration of their  tendency4 ,i 
have set myself the task of trying to   
suggest some  constructive measures that
 we may employ in laying the foundations
 for  the immediate future2 they may be 
wrong in whole or in part1 but at  least
 my object and motive are not           
recrimination or invective1 but         
regeneration4 ,nevertheless1 as a       
foundation the case must be stated1 and 
as a necessary preparation to any work  
that looks forward we must have  at     
least a working hypothesis as to how the
 conditions that need  redemption were  
brought about4 ,i state the case thus1  
therefore3 ,that  human society1 even   
humanity itself1 is now in a state of   
flux that at  any moment may change into
 a chaos comparable only with that which
 came  with the fall of classical       
civilization and from which five        
centuries  were necessary for the       
process of recovery4 ,christianity1     
democracy1  science1 education1 wealth1 

and the cumulative inheritance of a     
thousand  years1 have not preserved us  
from the vain repetition of history4    
,how  has this been possible1 what has  
been the sequence of events that has    
brought us to this pass8    ,it is of   
course the result of the interaction of 
certain physical1  material facts and   
certain spiritual forces4 ,out of these 
spiritual  energies come events1        
phenomena that manifest themselves in   
political1  social1 ecclesiastical      
transactions and institutions2 in wars1 
migrations and the reshaping of states2 
in codes of law1 the  organization of   
society1 the development of art1        
literature and science4  ,in their turn 
all these concrete products work on the 
minds and souls of  men1 modifying old  
spiritual impulses either by exaltation 
or  degradation1 bringing new ones into 
play2 and again these react on the      
material fabric of human life1 causing  
new combinations1 unloosing new  forces1
 that in their turn play their part in  

the eternal process of  building1       
unbuilding and rebuilding our unstable  
and fluctuant world4    ,underlying all 
the varied material forms of ancient    
society1 as this  developed around the  
shores of the ,mediterranean1 was the   
great fact of  slavery3 ,persia1        
,assyria1 ,babylonia1 ,egypt1 ,greece1  
,rome1 all were  small1 sometimes very  
small1 minorities of highly developed1  
highly  privileged individuals existing 
on a great sub-stratum of slaves4 ,all  
the vast contributions of antiquity in  
government and law1 in science1         
letters1 art and philosophy1 all the    
building of the culture and             
civilization that still remain the      
foundation stones of human society1  was
 the work of the few free subsisting on 
the many un-free4 ,but  freedom1        
liberty1 is an attribute of the soul and
 it may exist even when  the body is in 
bondage4 ,the slaves of antiquity were  
free neither in  body nor in soul1 but  
with the coming of ,christianity all    

this was  changed1 for it is one of the 
great glories of the ,christian religion
  that it gave freedom to the soul even 
before the ,church could give  freedom  
to the body of the slave4 ,after the    
fall of the ,roman ,empire1  and with   
the infiltration of the free races of   
the ,north1 slavery  gradually          
disappeared1 and between the years #ajjj
 and #aejj a very real  liberty existed 
as the product of ,christianity and     
under its protection4  ,society was     
hierarchical3 from the serf up through  
the peasant1 the  guildsman1 the        
burgher1 the knighthood1 the nobles1 to 
the ,king1 and so  to the ,emperor1     
there was a regular succession of       
graduations1 but the  lines of          
demarcation were fluid and easily       
passed1 and as through the  ,church1 the
 schools and the cloister there was an  
open road for the son  of a peasant to  
achieve the ,papacy1 so through the     
guilds1 chivalry1 war  and the court1   
the layman1 if he possessed ability1    

might from an humble  beginning travel  
far4 ,an epoch of real liberty1 of body1
 soul and mind1  and the more real in   
that limits1 differences and degrees    
were  recognized1 accepted and enforced4
    ,this condition existed roughly for 
five centuries in its swift rise1 its   
long dominion and its slow decline1 that
 is to say1 from #ajjj ,a4,d4 to  #aejj 
,a4,d4 ,there was still the traditional 
aristocracy1 now feudal rather  than    
patriarchal or military2 there was still
 a servile class1 now  reduced to a     
small minority4 ,in between was the     
great body of men of a  degree of       
character1 ability and intelligence1 and
 with a recognized  status1 the like of 
which had never been seen before4 ,it   
was not a  bourgeoisie1 for it was made 
up of producers1--agricultural1 artisan1
  craft1 art1 mechanic2 a great free    
society1 the proudest product of        
,christian civilization4    ,with the   
sixteenth century began a process of    
change that was to  overturn all this   

and bring in something radically        
different4 ,the  ,renaissance and the   
,reformation worked in a sense together 
to build up  their own expressive form  
of society1 and when this process had   
been  completed we find still an        
aristocracy1 though rapidly changing in 
the  quality of its personnel and in the
 sense of its relationship to the  rest 
of society2 a servile class1 the        
proletariat1 enormously increased  in   
proportion to the other social          
components2 and two new classes1 one    
the bourgeoisie1 essentially            
non-producers and subsisting largely    
either  on trade1 usury or management1  
and the pauper1 a phase of life hitherto
  little known under the ,christian     
regime4 ,the great body of free citizens
  that had made up the majority of      
society during the preceding epoch1 the 
small land-holders1 citizens1 craftsmen 
and artists of fifty different  sorts1  
has begun rapidly to dissolve1 has      
almost vanished by the middle  of the   

seventeenth century1 and in another     
hundred years has practically           
disappeared4    ,what had become of     
them1 of this great bulk of the         
population of western  ,europe that1    
with the feudal aristocracy1 the        
knighthood and the monks  had made      
,mediaevalism8 ,some had degenerated    
into bourgeois traders1  managers and   
financeers1 but the great majority had  
been crushed down  and down in the mass 
of submerged proletariat1 losing        
liberty1  degenerating in character1    
becoming more and more servile in status
 and  wretched in estate1 so forming a  
huge1 inarticulate1 dully ebullient     
mass1 cut off from society1 cut off     
almost from life itself4    ,i must     
insist on these three factors in the    
development of society and  its present 
catastrophe3 the great1 predominant1    
central body of free  men during the    
,middle ,ages1 their supersession during
 the sixteenth1  seventeenth and        
eighteenth centuries by a non-producing 

bourgeoisie1 and  the creation during   
the same period of a submerged          
proletariat4 ,they are  factors of great
 significance and potential force4      
,towards the end of the eighteenth      
century the industrial-financial        
revolution began4 ,within the space of  
an hundred years came all the           
revelations of the potential inherent in
 thermo-dynamics and  electricity1 and  
the invention of the machines that have 
changed the  world4 ,during the         
,renaissance and ,reformation the old   
social and  economic systems1 so        
laboriously built up on the ruins of    
,roman tyranny1  had been destroyed2    
autocracy had abolished liberty1        
licentiousness had  wrecked the moral   
stamina1 freedom of conscience had      
obliterated the  guiding and restraining
 power of the old religion4 ,the field  
was clear  for a new dispensation4      
,what happened was interesting and      
significant4 ,coal and iron1 and their  
derivatives--steam and                  

machinery--rapidly revealed their       
possibilities4  ,to take advantage of   
these1 it was necessary that labour     
should be  available in large quantities
 and freely subject to exploitation2    
that  unlimited capital should be       
forthcoming2 that adequate markets      
should be  discovered or created to     
absorb the surplus product1 so          
enormously  greater than the normal     
demand2 and finally1 it was necessary   
that  directors and organizers and      
administrators should be ready at the   
call4  ,the conditions of the time made 
all these possible4 ,the land-holding   
peasantry of ,england--and it is here   
that the revolution was                 
accomplished--had been largely          
dispossessed and pauperized under ,henry
  ,,viii1 ,edward ,,vi and ,elizabeth1  
while the development of the            
wool-growing  industry had restricted   
the arable land to a point where it no  
longer  gave employment to the mass of  
field labourers4 ,the first blast of    

factory production threw out of work the
 whole body of cottage weavers1  smiths1
 craftsmen2 and the result was a great  
mass of men1 women1 and  children       
without defense1 void of all rights1 and
 given the alternative  of submission to
 the dominance of the exploiters1 or    
starvation4    ,without capital the new 
industry could neither begin nor        
continue4 ,the  exploits of the         
joint-stock companies invented and      
perfected in the  eighteenth century1   
showed how this capital could easily be 
obtained1  while the paralyzing and     
dismemberment of the ,church during the 
,reformation had resulted in the        
abrogation of the old ecclesiastical    
inhibition against usury4 ,the necessary
 capital was forthcoming1 and the       
foundations were laid for the great     
system of finance which was one of  the 
triumphant achievements of the last     
century4    ,the question of markets was
 more difficult4 ,it was clear that1    
through  machinery1 the exploitation of 

labour1 and the manipulations of        
finance1  the product would be          
enormously greater than the local or    
national  demand4 ,until they themselves
 developed their own industrial system1 
the  other nations of ,europe were      
available1 but as this process proceeded
  other markets had to be found2 the    
result was achieved through             
advertising1 i4e41 the stimulating in   
the minds of the general public of  a   
covetousness for something they had not 
known of and did not need1 and  the     
exploiting of barbarous or undeveloped  
races in ,asia1 ,africa1  ,oceanica4    
,this last task was easily achieved     
through peaceful  penetration and the   
prempting of spheres of influence4 ,in  
the end  7i4e41 ,a4,d4 #aiad71 the whole
 world had so been divided1 the         
stimulated  markets showed signs of     
repletion1 and since exaggerated profits
 meant  increasing capital demanding    
investment1 and the improvement in      
labour-saving devices continued         

unchecked1 the contest for others'      
markets became acute1 and world-politic 
was concentrated on the vital  problem  
of markets1 lines of communication1 and 
tariffs4    ,as for the finding or      
development of competent organizers and 
directors1  the history of the world    
since the end of medievalism had        
curiously  provided for this after a    
fashion that seemed almost miraculous4  
,the  type required was different from  
anything that had been developed        
before4 ,whenever the qualitative       
standard had been operative1 it was     
necessary that the leaders in any form  
of creative action should be men  of    
highly developed intellect1 fine        
sensibility1 wide and penetrating       
vision1 nobility of instinct1 passion   
for righteousness1 and a  consciousness 
of the eternal force of charity1 honour1
 and service4  ,during the imperial or  
decadent stages1 courage1 dynamic force1
 the  passion for adventure1            
unscrupulousness in the matter of       

method1 took  the place of the qualities
 that marked the earlier periods4 ,in   
the first  instance the result was the  
great law-givers1 philosophers1         
prophets1  religious leaders1 and       
artists of every sort2 in the second1   
the great  conquerors4 ,something quite 
different was now demanded--men who     
possessed some of the qualities needed  
for the development of  imperialism1 but
 who were unhampered by the restrictive 
influences of  those who had sought     
perfection4 ,to organize and administer 
the new  industrial-financial-commercial
 rgime1 the leaders must be shrewd1     
ingenious1 quick-witted1 thick-skinned1 
unscrupulous1 hard-headed1 and          
avaricious2 yet daring1 dominating1 and 
gifted with keen prevision and  vivid   
imagination4 ,these qualities had not   
been bred under any of the              
,mediterranean civilizations1 or that of
 ,central ,europe in the ,middle  ,ages1
 which had inherited so much therefrom4 
,the pursuit of perfection  always      

implies a definite aristocracy1 which is
 as much a goal of effort  as a noble   
philosophy1 an august civil polity or a 
great art4 ,this  aristocracy was an    
accepted and indispensable part of      
society1 and it  was always more or less
 the same in principle1 and always the  
centre and  source of leadership1       
without which society cannot endure4 ,it
 is true  that at the hands of          
,christianity it acquired a new quality1
 that of  service as contingent on      
privilege--one might almost say of      
privilege as  contingent on service--and
 the ideals of honour1 chivalry1        
compassion  were established as its     
object and method of operation even     
though these  were not always achieved1 
but the result was not a new creation2  
it was  an institution as old as        
society1 regenerated and transformed and
  playing a greater and a nobler part   
than ever before4    ,between the years 
#adee and #agie this old aristocracy was
 largely  exterminated4 ,the ,wars of   

the ,roses1 the massacres of the        
,reformation1  and the ,civil ,wars in  
,england2 the ,thirty ,years' ,war in   
,germany2 the  ,hundred ,years' ,war1   
the ,wars of ,religion1 and the         
,revolution in ,france  had decimated   
the families old in honour1 preserving  
the tradition of  culture1 jealous of   
their alliances and their breeding--the 
natural and  actual leaders in thought  
and action4 ,england suffered badly     
enough as  the result of war1 with the  
persecutions of ,henry ,,viii1 ,edward  
,,vi and  ,elizabeth1 and the ,black    
,death1 included for full measure4      
,france  suffered also1 but ,germany    
fared worst of all4 ,by the end of the  
,thirty  ,years' ,war the older feudal  
nobility had largely disappeared1 while 
the  class of gentlemen had been almost 
exterminated4 ,in ,france1 until the    
fall of ,napoleon ,,iii1 and in ,germany
 and ,great ,britain up to the present  
moment1 the recruiting of the formal    
aristocracy has gone on steadily1  but  

on a different basis and from a         
different class from anything known     
before4 ,demonstrated personal ability  
to gain and maintain leadership2        
distinguished service to the nation in  
war or statecraft2 courage1  honour1    
fealty--these1 in general1 had been the 
ground for admission to  the ranks of   
the aristocracy4 ,in general1 also1     
advancement to the ranks  of the higher 
nobility was from the class of          
gentlemen1 though the  ,church1 the     
universities1 and chivalry gave1 during 
the ,middle ,ages1  wide opportunity for
 personal merit to achieve the highest  
honours4    ,through the wholesale      
destruction of the representatives of a 
class that  from the beginning of       
history had been the directing and      
creative force  in civilization1 a      
process began which was almost          
mechanical4 ,as the  upper strata of    
society were planed off by war1         
pestilence1 civil  slaughter1 and       
assassination1 the pressure on the great

 mass of men  7peasants1 serfs1         
unskilled labourers1 the so-called lower
 classes7  was increasingly relaxed1 and
 very soon the thin film of aristocracy1
  further weakened by dilution1 broke1  
and through the crumbling shell  burst  
to the surface those who had behind them
 no tradition but that of  servility1 no
 comprehension of the ideals of chivalry
 and honour of the  gentleman1 no       
stored-up results of education and      
culture1 but only an  age-long rage     
against the age-long dominating class1  
together with the  instincts of         
craftiness1 parsimony1 and almost savage
 self-interest4    ,as a class1 it was  
very far from being what it was under   
the ,roman  ,empire2 on the other hand1 
it was equally removed from what it was 
during the ,middle ,ages in ,england1   
,france and the ,rhineland4 ,under      
mediaevalism chattel slavery had        
disappeared1 and the lot of the peasant 
was a happier one than he had known     
before4 ,he had achieved definite       

status1 and the line that separated him 
from the gentry was very thin  and      
constantly traversed1 thanks to the     
accepted system of land tenure1  the    
guilds1 chivalry1 the schools and       
universities1 the priesthood and        
monasticism4 ,the ,renaissance had      
rapidly changed all this1 however2      
absolutism in government1 dispossession 
of land1 the abolition of the  guilds1  
and the collapse of the moral order and 
of the dominance of the  ,church1 were  
fast pushing the peasant back into the  
position he had held  under the ,roman  
,empire1 and from which ,christianity   
had lifted him4 ,by  #agij he had been  
for nearly three centuries under a      
progressive  oppression that had undone 
nearly all the beneficent work of the   
,middle  ,ages and made the peasant     
class practically outlaw1 while breaking
 down  its character1 degrading its     
morals1 increasing its ignorance1 and   
building up a sullen rage and an        
invincible hatred of all that stood     

visible as law and order in the persons 
of the ruling class4    ,filtering      
through the impoverished and diluted    
crust of a dissolving  aristocracy1 came
 this irruption from below4 ,in their   
own persons  certain of these people    
possessed the qualities and the will    
which were  imperative for the          
organization of the industry1 the trade1
 and the  finance that were to control  
the world for four generations1 and     
produce  that industrial civilization   
which is the basis and the energizing   
force  of modernism4 ,immediately1 and  
with conspicuous ability1 they took hold
  of the problem1 solved its            
difficulties1 developed its             
possibilities1  and by the end of the   
nineteenth century had made it master of
 the  world4    ,simultaneously an equal
 revolution and reversal was being      
effected in  government4 ,the free      
monarchies of the ,middle ,ages1 beneath
 which lay  the well recognized         
principle that no authority1 human or   

divine1 could  give any monarch the     
right to govern wrong1 and that there   
was such a  thing 7frequently exercised7
 as lawful rebellion1 gave place to the 
absolutism and autocracy of ,renaissance
 kingship and this1 which was  fostered 
both by ,renaissance and ,reformation1  
became at once the ally of  the new     
forces in society and so furthered the  
growth as well as the  misery and the   
degradation of the proletariat4 ,in     
revolt against this  new and very evil  
thing came the republicanism of the     
eighteenth  century1 inspired and       
directed in large measure by members of 
the fast  perishing aristocracy of race1
 character and tradition4 ,it was a     
splendid uprising against tyranny and   
oppression and is best expressed  in the
 personalities and the actions of the   
,constitutional ,convention of  the     
,united ,states in #aghg and the ,states
 ,general of ,france in #aghi4    ,the  
movement is not to be confounded with   
another that synchronizes with  it1 that

 is to say1 democracy1 for the two      
things are radically  different in their
 antecedents1 their protagonists1 their 
modes of  operation and their objects4  
,while the one was the aspiration and   
the  creation of the more enlightened   
and cultured1 the representatives of    
the old aristocracy1 the other issued   
out of the same milieu that was         
responsible for the new social organism4
 ,that is to say2 while certain  of the 
more shrewd and ingenious were          
organizing trade1 manufacture and       
finance and developing its autocratic   
and imperialistic possibilities at  the 
expense of the great mass of their      
blood-brothers1 others of the  same     
social antecedents were devising a new  
theory1 and experimenting in  new       
schemes1 of government1 which would take
 all power away from the  class that had
 hitherto exercised it and fix it firmly
 in the hands of  the emancipated       
proletariat4 ,this new model was called 
then1 and is  called now1 democracy4    

,elsewhere ,i have tried to distinguish 
between  democracy of theory and        
democracy of method4 ,perhaps ,i should 
have used  a more lucid nomenclature if 
,i had simply distinguished between     
republicanism and democracy1 for this is
 what it amounts to4 ,the former  is as 
old as man1 and is part of the passion  
for perfection that  characterizes all  
crescent society1 and is indeed the     
chief difference  between brute and     
human nature2 it means the guaranteeing 
of justice1  and may be described as    
consisting of abolition of privilege1   
equality  of opportunity1 and           
utilization of ability4 ,democracy of   
method consists  in a variable and      
uncertain sequence of devices which are 
supposed to  achieve the democracy of   
ideal1 but as a matter of fact have thus
 far  usually worked in the opposite    
direction4 ,the activity of this        
movement  synchronizes with the pressing
 upward of the the masses through the   
dissolving crust of the classes1 and    

represents their contribution to  the   
science of political philosophy1 as the 
contribution of the latter  is current  
political economy4    ,it will be       
perceived that the reaction of the new  
social force in the  case of industrial 
organization is fundamentally opposed to
 that which  occurred in the political  
sphere4 ,the one is working steadily    
towards an  autocratic imperialism and  
the servile state1 the other towards the
  fluctuating1 incoherent control of the
 making and administering of laws  by   
the untrained1 the uncultivated1 and the
 generally unfit1 the issue  of which is
 anarchy4 ,the                          
industrial-commercial-financial         
oligarchy that  dominated society for   
the century preceding the ,great ,war is
 the result  of the first2 ,russia1     
today1 is an exemplar of the second4    
,the working  out of these two great    
devices of the new force released by the
  destructive processes of the          
sixteenth1 seventeenth1 and eighteenth  

centuries1 simultaneously though in     
apparent opposition1 explains why1  when
 the war broke out1 imperialism and     
democracy synchronized so  exactly3 on  
the one hand1 imperial states1 industry1
 commerce1 and  finance2 on the other1 a
 swiftly accelerating democratic system 
that was  at the same time the effective
 means whereby the dominant imperialism 
worked1 and the omnipresent and         
increasing threat to its further        
continuance4    ,a full century elapsed 
before victory became secure1 or even   
proximate4  ,republicanism rapidly      
extended itself to all the governments  
of western  ,europe1 but it could not   
maintain itself in its primal integrity4
 ,sooner  here1 later there1 it         
surrendered to the financial1           
industrial1  commercial forces that were
 taking over the control and direction  
of  society1 becoming partners with them
 and following their aims1 conniving  at
 their schemes1 and sharing in their    
ever-increasing profits4 ,by the  end of

 the first decade of the twentieth      
century these supposedly free           
governments had become as identified    
with special privilege1 and as  widely  
severed from the people as a whole1 as  
the autocratic governments  of the      
seventeenth and eighteenth centuries1   
while they failed  consistently to match
 them in effectiveness1 energy and      
efficiency of  operation4    ,for this  
latter condition democracy was          
measurably responsible4 ,for  fifty     
years it had been slowly filtering into 
the moribund republican  system until at
 last1 during the same first decade of  
the present  century1 it had wholly     
transformed the governmental system1    
making it1  whatever its outward form1  
whether constitutional monarchy1 or     
republic1  essentially democratic4 ,so  
government became shifty1 opportunist1  
incapable1 and without the inherent     
energy to resist1 beyond a certain      
point1 the last great effort of the     
emergent proletariat to destroy1 not    

alone the industrial civilization it    
justly detested1 but the very           
government it had acquired by peaceful  
penetration and organized and           
administered along its chosen lines1 and
 indeed the very fabric of  society     
itself4    ,now these two remarkable    
products of the new mentality of a      
social force  were facts1 but they      
needed an intellectual or philosophical 
justification just as a low-born        
profiteer1 when he has acquired a       
certain amount of money1 needs an       
expensive club or a coat of arms to     
regularize his status4 ,protestantism   
and materialistic philosophy were  joint
 nursing-mothers to modernism1 but when1
 by the middle of the last  century1 it 
had reached man's estate1 they proved   
inadequate2 something  else was         
necessary1 and this was furnished to    
admiration by  evolutionism4 ,through   
its doctrine of the survival of the     
fittest1 it  appeared to justify in the 
fullest degree the gospel of force as   

the  final test1 and enlightened        
self-interest as the new moral law2     
through its lucid demonstration of the  
strictly physical basis of life1  the   
descent of man from primordial slime by 
way of the lemur or the  anthropoid ape1
 and the non-existence of any           
supernatural power that had  devised1 or
 could determine1 a code of morality in 
which certain things  were eternal by   
right1 and other than the variable      
reactions of very  highly developed     
animals to experience and environment1  
it had given  weighty support to the    
increasingly popular movement towards   
democracy  both in theory and in act4   
,its greatest contribution1 however1 was
 its argument that1 since the           
invariable law of life was one of       
progressive evolution1 therefore the    
acquired characteristics which formed   
the material of evolution1 and  were    
heritable1 could be mechanically        
increased in number by education2  hence
 the body of inheritance 7which         

unfortunately varied as between man  and
 man because of past discrepancies in   
environment1 opportunities1 and         
education7 could be equalized by a      
system of teaching that aimed to        
furnish that mental and physical        
training hitherto absent4    ,whether   
the case was ever so stated in set terms
 does not matter2 very  shortly this    
became the firm conviction of the great 
mass of men1 and  the modern democracy  
of method is based on the belief that   
all men are  equal because they are men1
 and that free1 compulsory1 secularized1
  state-controlled education can and    
does remove the last difference that    
made possible any discrimination in     
rights and privileges as between one    
man and another4    ,in another respect1
 however1 the superstition of mechanical
 evolution  played an important part1   
and with serious results4 ,neither the  
prophets  nor the camp-followers seemed 
to realize that evolution1 while        
undoubtedly a law of life within certain

 limits1 was inseparable from           
degradation which was its concomitant1  
that is to say1 that as the  rocket     
rises so must it fall2 as man is        
conceived1 born and matures1  even so   
must he die4 ,the wave rises1 but falls 
again2 the state waxes to  greatness1   
wanes1 and the map knows it no more2    
each epoch of human  history arises out 
of dim beginnings1 magnifies itself in  
glory1 and  then yields to internal     
corruption1 dilution and adulteration of
 blood1  or prodigal dissipation of     
spiritual force1 and takes its place in 
the  annals of ancient history4 ,without
 recognition of this implacable1        
unescapable fact of degradation sequent 
on evolution1 the later becomes  a      
delusion and an instrument of death1 for
 the eyes of man are blind to  incipient
 or crescent dangers2 content1          
self-secure1 lost in a vain  dream of   
manifest destiny they are deaf to       
warnings1 incapable even of  the primary
 gestures of self-defense4 ,such was one

 of the results of  nineteenth-century  
evolutionism1 and the generation that   
saw the last  years of the nineteenth   
century and the first part of the new1  
basking  in its day dreams of           
self-complacency1 made no move to avert 
the dangers  that threatened it then and
 now menace it with destruction4        
,when1 therefore1 modernism achieved its
 grand climacteric in ,july1 #aiad1  we 
had on the one hand an imperialism of   
force1 in industry1 commerce1  and      
finance1 expressing itself through      
highly developed specialists1 and       
dictating the policies and practices of 
government1 society1 and  education2 on 
the other1 a democracy of form which    
denied1 combated1 and  destroyed        
distinction in personality and authority
 in thought1 and  discouraged           
constructive leadership in the          
intellectual1 spiritual1 and  artistic  
spheres of activity4 ,the opposition was
 absolute1 the results  catastrophic4   
,the lack of competent leadership in    

every category of life  finds a         
sufficient explanation in the two       
opposed forces1 in their  origin and    
nature1 and in the fact of their        
opposition4    ,in the somewhat garish  
light of the ,war and the ,peace1 it    
would not be  difficult to feel a real  
and even poignant sympathy for two      
causes that  were prominent and popular 
in the first fourteen years of the      
present  century1 namely1 the philosophy
 that based itself on a mechanical      
system  of evolution which predicted    
unescapable1 irreversible human         
progress1  and that religion which      
denied the reality of evil in the world4
 ,the  plausibility of each was         
dissipated by the catastrophic events   
though  both still linger in stubborn   
unconsciousness of their demise4 ,the   
impulse towards sympathy is mitigated by
 realization of the unfortunate  effect 
they exerted on history4 ,this is       
particularly true of  evolutionary      
philosophy1 which was held as an article

 of faith1 either  consciously or       
sub-consciously1 by the greater part of 
,western society4  ,not only did it     
deter men from realizing the ominous    
tendency of events  but1 more unhappily1
 it minimized their power to            
discriminate between  what was good and 
bad in current society1 and even        
reversed their sense  of comparative    
values4 ,if man was indeed progressing  
steadily from bad  to good1 and so to   
better and best1 then the vivid and even
 splendid  life of the last quarter of  
the nineteenth century1 with its        
headlong  conquest of the powers of     
nature1 its enormous industrial         
development1  its vast and              
ever-increasing wealth in material      
things1 must be not only  an amazing    
advance beyond any former civilization  
but positively good in  itself1 while   
the future could only be a progressive  
magnifying of what  then was going on4  
,just as to quote ,mr4 ,chesterton's    
admirable ,dr4  ,pelkins1 just as when  

we see a pig in a litter larger than the
 other  pigs1 we know that by an        
unalterable law of the ,inscrutable1 it 
will  some day be larger than an        
elephant444so we know and reverently    
acknowledge that when any power in human
 politics has shown for any  period of  
time any considerable activity1 it will 
go on until it reaches  the sky4        
,nothing but a grave inability to       
estimate values1 based on a             
pseudo-scientific dogma1 can explain the
 lack of any just standard of           
comparative values that was the         
essential quality in pre-war society4   
,extraordinary as were the material     
achievements of the time1 beneficent  in
 certain ways1 and susceptible in part  
of sometime being used to the  advantage
 of humanity1 they were largely         
negatived1 and even reversed in  value1 
just because the sense of proportion had
 been lost4 ,the image  which might have
 stimulated reverence had become a      
fetish4 ,there were  voices crying in   

the wilderness against a worship that   
had poisoned into  idolatry1 but they   
were unheard4 ,progressively the real   
things of life  were blurred and        
forgotten and the things that were so   
obviously real  that they were unreal   
became the object and the measure of    
achievement4    ,it was an unhappy and  
almost fatal attitude of mind1 and it   
was  engendered not so much by the trend
 of civilization since the  ,renaissance
 and ,reformation1 nor by the compulsion
 and cumulative  influence of the things
 themselves1 as by the natural temper   
and  inclinations and the native        
standards of this emancipated mass of   
humanity that1 oppressed1 outraged and  
degraded for four hundred years  had at 
last burst out of its prison-house and  
had assumed control of  society through 
industrialism1 politics and social life4
 ,the saving  grace of the old          
aristocracies had disappeared with the  
institution  itself3 between #ahge and  
#aijj the great single leaders1 so fine 

in  character1 so brilliant in capacity1
 so surprising in their numbers1  that  
had given a deceptive glory to the      
so-called ,victorian ,age1 had  almost  
wholly died out1 and the new conditions 
neither fostered the  development of    
adequate successors1 nor gave audience  
to the few that1  anomalously1 appeared4
 ,it is not surprising therefore that   
the new  social element that had played 
so masterly a part in bringing to its   
perfection the                          
industrial-financial-democratic scheme  
of life should  have developed an       
apologetic therefor1 and imposed it1    
with all its  materialism1 its          
narrowness1 its pragmatism1 its1 at     
times1 grossness  and cynicism1 on the  
mind of a society where increasingly    
their own  followers were1 by sheer     
energy and efficiency1 acquiring a      
predominant  position4    ,i am not     
unconscious that these are hard sayings 
and that few indeed  will accept them4  
,they seem too much like attempting that

 which ,burke  said was impossible1     
viz41 to bring an indictment against a  
people4 ,i  intend nothing of the sort4 
,out of this same body of humanity which
 as  a whole has exerted this very      
unfavourable influence on modern        
society1  have come and will come       
personalities of sudden and startling   
nobility1  men who have done as great   
service as any of their contemporaries  
whatever their class or status4 ,out of 
the depths have come those who  have    
ascended to the supreme heights1 for    
since ,christianity came into  the world
 to free the souls of men1 this new     
liberty has worked without  limitations 
of caste or race4 ,indeed1 the very     
creations of the emergent  force1       
industrialism and democracy1 while they 
were the betrayal of the  many were the 
opportunity of the few1 taking the      
place1 as they did1 of  the older creeds
 of specifically ,christian society1 and
 inviting those  who would to work their
 full emancipation and so become the    

servants of  ,god and mankind4 ,by the  
very bitterness of their antecedents1   
the  cruelty of their inheritance1 they 
gained a deeper sense of the reality  of
 life1 a more just sense of right and   
wrong1 a clearer vision of  things as   
they were1 than happened in the case of 
those who had no such  experience of the
 deep brutality of the regime of        
post-,renaissance  society4    ,true as 
this is1 it is also true that for one   
who won through there were  many who    
gained nothing1 and it was1 and is1 the 
sheer weight of numbers  of those who   
failed of this that has made their      
influence on the modern  life as        
pervasive and controlling as it is4     
,what has happened is a certain         
degradation of character1 a weakening of
  the moral stamina of men1 and against 
this no mechanical device in            
government1 no philosophical or social  
theory1 can stand a chance of           
successful resistance1 while material   
progress in wealth and trade and        

scientific achievement becomes simply a 
contributory force in the  process of   
degeneration4 ,for this degradation of  
character we are bound  to hold this new
 social force in a measure responsible1 
even though it  has so operated because 
of its inherent qualities and in no     
material  respect through conscious     
cynicism or viciousness2 indeed it is   
safe to  say that in so far as it was   
acting consciously it was with good     
motives1 which adds an element of even  
greater tragedy to a situation  already 
sufficiently depressing4    ,if ,i am   
right in holding this to be the         
effective cause of the situation  we    
have now to meet1 it is true that it is 
by no means the only one4 ,the          
emancipation and deliverance of the     
downtrodden masses of men who owed      
their evil estate to the destruction of 
the ,christian society of the  ,middle  
,ages1 was a clamourous necessity2 it   
was a slavery as bad in some  ways as   
any that had existed in antiquity1 and  

the number of its victims  was greater4 
,the ill results of the accomplished    
fact was largely due to  the condition  
of religion which existed during the    
period of  emancipation4 ,no society can
 endure without vital religion1 and any 
revolution effected at a time when      
religion is moribund or dissipated in   
contentious fragments1 is destined to be
 evacuated of its ideals and its        
potential1 and to end in disaster4 ,now 
the freeing of the slaves of the        
,renaissance and the post-,reformation1 
and their absorption in the body        
politic1 was one of the greatest        
revolutions in history1 and it came at  
a time when religion1 which had been one
 and vital throughout ,western  ,europe 
for six centuries1 had been shattered   
and nullified1 and its  place taken1 in 
the lands that saw the great liberation1
 by ,calvinism1  ,lutheranism1          
,puritanism and atheism1 none of which  
could exert a guiding  and redemptive   
influence on the dazed hordes that had  

at last come up  into the light of day4 
,in point of fact1 therefore1 we are    
bound to trace back the  responsibility 
for the present crisis even to the      
,reformation itself1 as  well as to the 
tyranny and absolutism of government1   
and the sordid and  profligate ordering 
of society1 which followed on the end of
  ,mediaevalism4    ,so then we stand   
today confronting a situation that is   
ominous and  obscure1 since the very    
ideals and devices which we had held    
were the  last word in progressive      
evolution have failed at the crisis1 and
  because we who created them and have  
worked through them1 have failed in     
character1 and chiefly because we have  
accepted low ideals and inferior        
standards imposed upon us by social     
elements betrayed and abandoned by a    
world that could not aid them or        
assimilate them since itself had        
betrayed the only thing that could give 
them force1 unity and coherency1  that  
is1 a vital and pervasive religious     

faith4    ,there are those who hold our 
case to be desperate1 to whom the       
disillusionment of peace1 after the high
 optimism engendered by the vast        
heroism and the exalted ideals          
instigated by the war1 has brought      
nothing but a mood of deep pessimism4   
,the sentiment is perhaps natural1  but 
it is none the less both irrational and 
wicked4 ,if it is persisted  in1 if it  
becomes widespread1 it may perfectly    
well justify itself1 but  only so4 ,we  
no longer accept the ,calvinistic       
doctrine of predestination1  we believe1
 and must highly believe1 that our fate 
is of our own making1  for ,christianity
 has made us the heirs of free-will4    
,what we will that  shall we be1 or     
rather1 what we are that shall we will1 
and if we make  of ourselves what1 by   
the grace of ,god1 we may1 then the     
victory rests  with us4 ,it is true that
 we are in the last years of a definite 
period1  on that decline that precedes  
the opening of a new epoch4 ,never in   

history has any such period overpassed  
its limit of five hundred years1  and   
ours1 which came to birth in the last   
half of the fifteenth century1  cannot  
outlast the present4 ,but these         
declining years are preceding  those    
wherein all things are made new1 and the
 next two generations will  see1 not    
alone the passing of what we may call   
modernism1 since it is  our own age1 but
 the prologue of the epoch that is to   
come4 ,it is for us  to say what this   
shall be4 ,it is not foreordained2 true1
 if we will it1  it may be a reign of   
disaster1 a parallel to the             
well-recognized ,dark  ,ages of history1
 but also1 if we will1 it may be a new  
and a true  renaissance1 a rebirth of   
old ideals1 of old honour1 of old faith1
  only incarnate in new and noble forms4
    ,the vision of an old heaven and a  
new earth was vouchsafed us during the  
war1 when horror and dishonour and      
degradation were shot through and       
through with an epic heroism and        

chivalry and self-sacrifice4 ,what if   
this all did fade in the miasma of      
,versailles and the cynicism of trade   
fighting to get back to normalcy1 and   
the red anarchy out of the ,east8       
,there is no fiat of ,god that fixes    
these things as eternal4 ,even they     
also may be made the instruments of     
revelation and re-creation4 ,paris  and 
,london1 ,rome1 ,berlin and ,washington 
are meshed in the tangled web of  the   
superannuated who cannot escape the     
incubus of the old ways and the  old    
theories that were themselves the cause 
of the war and of the  failure of modern
 civilization1 but another generation is
 taking the  field and we must believe  
that this has been burned out of them4  
,they  may have achieved this great     
perfection in the field1 they may have  
experienced it through those susceptible
 years of life just preceding  military 
age4 ,it does not matter4 ,somehow they 
have it1 and those who  come much in    
contact in school or college with boys  

and men between the  ages of seventeen  
and twenty-five1 know1 and thankfully   
confess1 that if  they can control the  
event the future is secure4    ,in the  
harlequinade of fabulous material       
success the nations of modern           
civilization suffered a moral           
deterioration1 in themselves and in     
their  individual members2 by a moral   
regeneration they may be saved4 ,how is 
this to be accomplished8 ,how1 humanly  
speaking1 is the redemption of  society 
to be achieved8 ,not alone by change of 
heart in each individual1  though if    
this could be it would be enough4       
,humanly speaking there is  not time and
 we dare not hope for the divine miracle
 whereby in the  twinkling of an eye we 
shall all be changed4 ,still less by    
sole  reliance on some series of new    
political1 social1 economic and         
educational devices2 there is no plan1  
however wise and profound1 that  can    
work effectively under the dead weight  
of a society that is made up  of        

individuals whose moral sense is        
defective4 ,either of these two         
methods1 put into operation by itself1  
will fail4 ,acting together they  may   
succeed4    ,i repeat what ,i have said 
before4 ,the material thing and the     
spiritual  force work by inter-action   
and cordinately4 ,the abandonment or    
reform  of some device that has proved  
evil or inadequate1 and the substitution
  of something better1 changes to that  
extent the environment of the           
individual and so enables him more      
perfectly to develop his inherent       
possibilities in character and capacity1
 while every advance in this  direction 
reacts on the machinery of life and     
makes its improvement more  possible4   
,with a real sense of my own personal   
presumption1 but with an  equally real  
sense of the responsibility that rests  
on every man at the  present crisis1 ,i 
shall venture certain suggestions as to 
possible  changes that may well be      
effected in the material forms of       

contemporary  society as well as in its 
methods of thought1 in order that the   
spiritual energies of the individual may
 be raised to a higher level  through   
the amelioration of a hampering         
environment1 and1 with even  greater    
diffidence1 others that may bear more   
directly on the  character-development  
of the individual4 ,in following out    
this line of  thought ,i shall1 in the  
remaining seven lectures1 speak         
successively on3  ,a ,working           
,philosophy2 ,the ,social ,organism2    
,the ,industrial and ,economic          
,problem2 ,the ,political ,organization 
of ,society2 ,the ,function of          
,education and ,art2 ,the ,problem of   
,organic ,religion2 and ,personal       
,responsibility4    ,i am only too      
conscious of the fact that the division 
of my subject  under these categorical  
heads1 and the necessities of special   
argument1  if not indeed of special     
pleading1 have forced me to such        
particular  stress on each subject as   

may very likely give an impression of   
undue  emphasis4 ,if each lecture were  
to be taken by itself1 such an          
impression  would1 ,i fear1 be          
unescapable2 ,i ask therefore for the   
courtesy of a  suspension of judgment   
until the series is completed1 for it is
 only  when taken as a whole1 one paper 
reacting upon and modifying another1    
that whatever merit the course possesses
 can be made apparent4          ,,ii    
,a ,,working ,,philosophy99             
99,this lecture has been very           
considerably re-written      since it   
was delivered1 and much of the matter it
 then contained      has been cut out1  
and is now printed in the ,appendix4    
,these      excisions were purely       
speculative1 and while they have a      
certain      bearing on the arguments   
and conclusions in the other lectures1  
might very well be prejudicial to them1 
and for this reason it      has seemed  
better to remove them from the general  
sequence and      give them a           

supplementary place by themselves4      
,the first reaction of the ,world ,war  
was a great interrogation1 and the      
technical ,peace that has followed      
brings only reiteration4 ,why did  these
 things come1 and how8 ,the answers are 
as manifold as the  clamourous tongues  
that ask1 but none carries conviction   
and the problem  is still unsolved4     
,according to all rational probabilities
 we had no  right to expect the war that
 befell2 according to all the human     
indications as we saw them revealed     
amongst the ,allies we had a right to   
expect a better peace2 according to our 
abiding and abounding faith we  had a   
right to expect a great bettering of    
life after the war1 and even  in spite  
of the peace4 ,it is all a non sequitur1
 and still we ask the  reason and the   
meaning of it all4    ,it may be very   
long before the full answer is given1   
yet if we are  searching the way towards
 ,the ,great ,peace we must establish   
some  working theory1 if only that we   

may redeem our grave errors and avoid   
like perils in the future4 ,the         
explanation ,i assume for myself1 and on
  which ,i must work1 is that1 in spite 
of our intentions 7which were of  the   
best7 we were led into the development1 
acceptance and application  of a false  
philosophy of life which was not only   
untenable in itself but  was vitiated   
and made noxious through its severance  
from vital religion4  ,in close alliance
 with this declension of philosophy upon
 a basis that  had been abandoned by the
 ,christian world for a thousand years1 
perhaps  as the ultimate reason for its 
occurrence1 was the tendency to void    
religion of its vital power1 to cut it  
out of intimate contact with  life1 and1
 in the end1 to abandon it altogether as
 an energizing force  interpenetrating  
all existence and controlling it in     
certain definite  directions and after  
certain definite methods4    ,the rather
 complete failure of our many modern and
 ingenious  institutions1 the failure of

 institutionalism altogether1 is due far
  less to wrong theories underlying     
them1 or to radical defects in their    
technique1 than it is to this false     
philosophy and this progressive         
abandonment of religion4 ,the wrong     
theories were there1 and the  mechanical
 defects1 for the machines were         
conditioned by the principle  that lay  
behind them1 but effort at correction   
and betterment will make  small progress
 unless we first regain the right       
religion and a right  philosophy4 ,i    
said this to ,henri ,bergson last year  
in ,paris and his  reply was significant
 as coming from a philosopher4 ,yes1 he 
said1 you  are right2 and of the two1   
the religion is the more important4     
,if we had this back1 and in full       
measure2 if society were infused by it1 
through and through1 and men lived its  
life1 and in its life1 philosophy  would
 take care of itself and the nature of  
our institutions would not  matter4 ,on 
the other hand1 without it1 no          

institution can be counted  safe1 or    
will prove efficacious1 while no        
philosophy1 however lofty and           
magisterial1 can take its place1 or even
 play its own part in the life  of man  
or society4 ,i must in these lectures   
say much about institutions  themselves1
 but first ,i shall try to indicate what
 seem to me the more  serious errors in 
current philosophy1 leaving until after 
a study of the  material forms which are
 so largely conditioned by the          
philosophical  attitude1 the            
consideration of that religion1 both    
organic and personal1  which ,i believe 
can alone verify the philosophy1 give   
the institutions  life and render them  
reliable agencies for good4    ,for a   
working definition of philosophy1 in the
 sense in which ,i use it  here1 ,i will
 take two sayings1 one out of the       
thirteenth century1 one  from the       
twentieth4 ,they are called wise who put
 things in their right  order and       
control them well1 says ,st4 ,thomas    

,aquinas4 ,philosophy is  the science of
 the totality of things1 says ,cardinal 
,mercier1 his  greatest contemporary    
commentator1 and he continues1          
,philosophy is the  sum-total of        
reality4 ,philosophy is the body of     
human wisdom1  verified and irradiated  
by divine wisdom4 ,the science of the   
totality  of things3 not the isolation  
of individual phenomena1 or even of     
groups  of phenomena1 as is the method  
of the natural sciences1 but the setting
  of all in their varied relationships  
and values1 the antithesis of that      
narrowness and concentration of vision  
that follow intensive  specialization   
and have issue in infinite delusions and
 unrealities1  ,philosophy regards the  
sum-total of reality and it achieves    
this  consciousness of reality1 first by
 establishing right relations between   
phenomena1 and then1 abandoning the     
explicit intellectual process1 by       
falling back on divine illumination     
which enables it to see through  those  

well-ordered phenomena the ,divine      
,actuality that lies behind1  informing 
them with its own finality and using    
them both as types and as  media of     
transmission and communication4 ,so men 
are enabled by  philosophy to put things
 in their right order and by religion to
  control them well1 thus becoming      
indeed worthy to be called wise4        
,now1 from the beginnings of conscious  
life1 man has found himself  surrounded 
and besieged by un-calculable phenomena4
 ,beaten upon by  forces he could not   
estimate or predict or control1 he has  
sought to  solve their sphynx-like      
riddle1 to establish some plausible     
relation  between them1 to erect a      
logical scheme of things4 ,primitive    
man1 as  ,worringer demonstrates in his 
,form ,problems of the ,gothic1 strove  
to  achieve something of certitude and  
fixity through the crude but definite   
lines and forms of neolithic art4       
,classical man brought into play the    
vigour and subtlety and ingenuity of    

intellect in its primal and most        
dynamic form1 expressed through static  
propositions of almost  mathematical    
exactness4 ,the peoples of the ,east    
rejected the  intellectual-mathematical 
method and solution and sought a way out
  through the mysterious operation of   
the inner sense that manifests  itself  
in the form of emotion4 ,with the       
revelation of ,christianity came  also1 
and of course1 enlightenment1 which was 
not definite and closed at  some given  
moment1 but progressive and cumulative4 
,at once1 speaking  philosophically1 the
 intellectual method of the ,west and   
the intuitive  method of the ,east came 
together and fused in a new thing1 each 
element  limiting1 and at the same time 
fortifying the other1 while the opposed 
obscurities of the past were irradiated 
by the revealing and creative  spirit of
 ,christ4 ,so came the beginnings of    
that definitive ,christian  philosophy  
which was to proceed from ,syria1       
,anatolia and ,constantinople1  through 

,alexandria to ,st4 ,augustine1 and was 
to find its fullest  expression during  
the ,middle ,ages and by means of ,duns 
,scotus1 ,albertus  ,magnus1 ,hugh of   
,st4 ,victor and ,st4 ,thomas ,aquinas4 
,it is an interesting fact1 though apart
 from my present consideration1  that   
this philosophical fusion was paralleled
 in the same places and at  the same    
time1 by an aesthetic fusion that       
brought into existence the  first great 
and consistent art of ,christianity4    
,this question is  admirably dealt with 
in ,lisle ,march ,phillipps' ,form and  
,colour4    ,this great ,christian      
philosophy which lay behind all the     
civilization of  the ,middle ,ages1 was 
positive1 comprehensive and new4 ,it    
demonstrated  divine purpose working    
consciously through all things with a   
result in  perfect coherency2 it gave   
history a new meaning as revealing      
reality  and as a thing forever present 
and never past1 and above all it        
elucidated the nature of both matter and

 spirit and made clear their  operation 
through the doctrine of sacramentalism4 
,in the century that saw the            
consummation of this great philosophical
  system--as well as that of the        
civilization which was its expositor in 
material form--there came a separation  
and a divergence4 ,the balanced  unity  
was broken1 and on the one hand the     
tendency was increasingly  towards the  
exaggerated mysticism that had          
characterized the ,eastern  moiety of   
the synthesis1 on the other towards an  
exaggerated  intellectualism the seeds  
of which are inherent even in ,st4      
,thomas  himself4 ,the new mysticism    
withdrew further and further from the   
common  life1 finding refuge in hidden  
sanctuaries in ,spain1 ,italy1 the      
,rhineland2 the old intellectualism     
became more and more dominant in the    
minds of man and the affairs of the     
world1 and with the ,renaissance it     
became supreme1 as did the other        
qualities of paganism in art as well as 

in every other field of human activity4 
,the first fruit of the new             
intellectualism was the philosophy of   
,dr4  ,john ,calvin--if we can call it  
such1--,augustinian philosophy1 misread1
  distorted and made noxious by its     
reliance on the intellectual process    
cut off from spiritual energy as the    
sufficient corrective of  philosophical 
thought4 ,it is this false philosophy1  
allied with an  equally false theology1 
that misled for so many centuries those 
who  accepted the new versions of       
,christianity that issued out of the    
,reformation4 ,the second was the       
mechanistic system1 or systems1 the     
protagonist of which was ,descartes4    
,if1 as ,i believe1 ,calvinism was      
un-,christian1 the materialistic        
philosophies that have gone on from the 
year #afcg1 were anti-,christian4 ,as   
the power of ,christianity declined     
through the centuries that have followed
 the ,reformation1 ,calvinism  played a 
less and less important part1 while the 

new philosophies of  mechanism and      
rationalism correspondingly increased4  
,during the  nineteenth century their   
control was absolute1 and what we are   
today we  have become through this      
dominance1 coupled with the general     
devitalizing or abandonment of religion4
    ,and yet are we not left            
comfortless4 ,even in the evolutionary  
philosophy  engendered by ,darwin and   
formulated by ,herbert ,spencer and the 
,germans1  with all its mistaken        
assumptions and dubious methods1 already
 there is  visible a tendency to get    
away from the old ,pagan static system  
reborn  with the ,renaissance4 ,we can  
never forget that ,bergson has avowed   
that  the mind of man1 by its very      
nature1 is incapable of apprehending    
reality4 ,after this the return towards 
the scholastic philosophy of the        
,middle ,ages is not so difficult1 nor  
even its recovery4 ,if we associate     
with this process on the part of formal 
philosophy the very evident1 if         

sometimes abnormal and exaggerated1     
progress towards a new mysticism1 we    
are far from finding ourselves abandoned
 to despair as to the whole  future of  
philosophy4    ,now this return and this
 recovery are1 ,i believe1 necessary as 
one of  the first steps towards         
establishing a sound basis for the      
building up  of a new and a better      
civilization1 and one that is in fact as
 well as  in name a ,christian          
civilization4 ,i do not mean that1 with 
this  restoration of ,christian         
philosophy1 there we should rest4 ,both 
revelation and enlightenment are        
progressive1 and once the nexus of our  
broken life were restored1 philosophical
 development would be  continuous1 and  
we should go on beyond the scholastics  
even as they  proceeded beyond          
,patristic theology and philosophy4 ,i  
think a break of  continuity was        
effected in the sixteenth century1 with 
disastrous  effects1 and until this     
break is healed we are cut off from what

 is in a  sense the ,apostolical        
succession of philosophical verity4     
,before going further ,i would guard    
against two possible misconceptions2  of
 one of them ,i have already spoken1    
that is1 the error so frequent in  the  
past as well as today1 that would make  
of philosophy1 however sound1  however  
consonant with the finalities of        
revealed religion1 a substitute  in any 
degree for religion itself4 ,philosophy 
is the reaction of the  intellect1 of   
man to the stimuli of life1 but religion
 is life and is  therefore in many ways 
a flat contradiction of the concepts of 
the  intellect1 which is only a small   
portion of life1 therefore limited1     
partial1 and 7because of this7 sometimes
 entirely wrong in its  conclusions     
independently arrived at along these    
necessarily  circumscribed lines4       
,the second possible error is that      
philosophy is the affair of a small     
group of students and specialists1 quite
 outside the purview of the  great mass 

of men1 and that it owes its existence  
to this same class of  delving scholars1
 few in number1 impractical in their    
aims1 and sharply  differentiated from  
their fellows4 ,on the contrary it is a 
vital  consideration for all those who  
desire to see life and see it whole in  
order that they may establish a true    
scale of comparative values and a  right
 relationship between those things that 
come from the outside and1  meeting     
those that come from within1 establish  
that plexus of  interacting force we    
call life4 ,as for the source of        
philosophic truth1  ,friar ,bacon put it
 well when he said ,all the wisdom of   
philosophy is  created by ,god and given
 to the philosophers1 and it is ,himself
 that  illumines the minds of men in all
 wisdom4 ,it is a whimsical             
juxtaposition1 but the first pastor of  
the ,puritans in ,america1 the ,rev4    
,john ,robinson1 testifies to the same  
effect4 ,all truth1 he says1 is  of ,god
 444 ,wherefore it followeth that       

nothing true in right reason and  sound 
philosophy can be false in divinity4444 
,i add1 though the truth be  uttered by 
the devil himself1 yet it is originally 
of ,god4 ,there are  not two sources of 
truth1 that of ,divine ,revelation on   
the one hand1  that of science and      
philosophy and all the intellectual     
works of man on  the other4 ,truth is   
one1 and the ,source is one2 the        
channels of  communication alone are    
different4 ,but truth in its finality1  
the  ,absolute1 the noumenon that is the
 substance of phenomena1 is in  itself  
not a thing that can be directly        
apprehended by man2 it lies  within the 
ultra-violet rays of his intellectual   
spectrum4 ,the  trammels of the body    
prevent man from knowing ,god in        
,himself says  ,philo1 ,he is known only
 in the ,divine forces in which ,he     
manifests  ,himself4 ,and ,st4 ,thomas3 
,in the present state of life in which  
the  soul is united to a passable body1 
it is impossible for the intellect to   

understand anything actually except by  
turning to the phantasm4  ,religion     
confesses this1 philosophy constantly   
tends to forget it1  therefore true     
religion speaks always through the      
symbol1 rejecting1  because it          
transcends1 the intellectual criterion1 
while philosophy is  on safe ground only
 when it unites itself with religion1   
testing its own  conclusions by a higher
 reality1 and existing not as a rival   
but as a  coadjutor4    ,it is ,st4     
,paul who declares that ,god has never  
left ,himself without a  witness and the
 witness was explicit1 however clouded1 
in the  philosophies of paganism4 ,plato
 and ,aristotle knew the limitations of 
man's mind1 and the corrective of       
over-weaning intellectuality in         
religion1 but thereafter the wisdom     
faded and pride ousted humility1  with  
the result that philosophy became not   
light but darkness4 ,let me  quote from 
the great twelfth century philosopher1  
,hugh of ,st4 ,victor1  who deserves a  

better fate than sepulture in the       
ponderous tomes of  ,migne3    ,there   
was a certain wisdom that seemed such to
 them that knew not the  true wisdom4   
,the world found it and began to be     
puffed up1 thinking  itself great in    
this4 ,confiding in its wisdom it became
 presumptuous and  boasted it would     
attain the highest wisdom4 ,and it made 
itself a ladder  of the face of         
creation4444 ,then those things which   
were seen were known  and there were    
other things which were not known2 and  
through those  which were manifest they 
expected to reach those that were       
hidden4 ,and  they stumbled and fell    
into the falsehoods of their own        
imagining4444 ,so  ,god made foolish the
 wisdom of this world2 and ,he pointed  
out another  wisdom1 which seemed       
foolishness and was not4 ,for it        
preached ,christ  crucified1 in order   
that truth might be sought in humility4 
,but the  world despised it1 wishing to 
contemplate the works of ,god1 which ,he

 had  made a source of wonder1 and it   
did not wish to venerate what ,he had   
set  for imitation1 neither did it look 
to its own disease1 seeking medicine  in
 piety2 but presuming on a false health1
 it gave itself over with vain          
curiosity to the study of alien things4 
,precisely3 and this is the destiny that
 has overtaken not only the pagan       
philosophy of which ,hugh of ,st4       
,victor was speaking1 but also that     
which  followed after ,st4 ,thomas      
,aquinas1 from ,descartes to ,hobbes and
 ,kant and  ,comte and ,herbert ,spencer
 and ,william ,james4 ,the jealously    
intellectual  philosophies of the       
nineteenth century1 the materialistic   
and  mechanistic substitutes that were  
offered and accepted with such          
enthusiasm after the great cleavage     
between religion and life1 are but  the 
falsehoods of their own imaginings of   
which ,hugh of ,st4 ,victor  speaks1 for
 they were cut off from the stream of   
spiritual verity1 and  are losing       

themselves in the desert they have made4
    ,meanwhile they have played their   
part in shaping the destinies of the    
world1 and it was an ill part1 if we may
 judge from the results that  showed    
themselves in the events that have been 
recorded between the year  #ahjj and the
 present moment4 ,just what this        
influence was in determining  the nature
 of society1 of industrial civilization 
and of the political  organism ,i shall 
try to indicate in some of the following
 lectures1 but  apart from these        
concrete happenings1 this influence was1
 ,i am  persuaded1 most disastrous in   
its bearing on human character4 ,neither
  wealth nor power1 neither education   
nor environment1 not even the  inherent 
tendencies of race--the most powerful of
 all--can avail against  the            
degenerative force of a life without    
religion1 or1 what is worse1  that      
maintains only a desiccated formula2 and
 the post-,renaissance  philosophies are
 one and all definitely anti-religious  

and  self-proclaimed substitutes for    
religion4 ,as such they were offered and
  accepted1 and as such they must take  
their share of the responsibility  for  
what has happened4    ,i believe we must
 and can retrace our steps to that point
 in time when a  right philosophy was   
abandoned1 and begin again4 ,there is no
  impossibility or even difficulty here4
 ,history is not a dead thing1 a  thing 
of the past2 it is eternally present to 
man1 and this is one of  the sharp      
differentiations between man and beast4 
,the material monuments  of man crumble 
and disappear1 but the spirit that built
 the ,parthenon or  ,reims ,cathedral1  
that inspired ,st4 ,paul on ,mars' hill 
or forged ,magna  ,charta or the        
,constitution of the ,united ,states is1
 because of our  quality as men1 just as
 present and operative with us today1 if
 we  will1 as that which sent the youth 
of ten nations into a righteous war     
five years ago1 or spoke yesterday      
through some noble action that you or   

,i may have witnessed4 ,it is as easy   
for us to accept and practice the       
philosophy of ,st4 ,thomas or the divine
 humanism of ,st4 ,francis as it is  to 
accept the philosophy of ,mr4 ,wells or 
the theories of ,sir ,oliver  ,lodge4   
,no spiritual thing dies1 or even grows 
old1 nor does it drift  backward in the 
dwindling perspective of ancient        
history1 and the  foolishest saying of  
man is that you cannot turn back the    
hands of the  clock4    ,it is simply a 
question of will1 and will is simply a  
question of desire  and of faith4       
,manifestly ,i cannot be expected to    
recreate in a few words this  philosophy
 to which ,i believe we must have       
recourse in our hour of need4  ,i have  
no ability to do this in any case4 ,it  
begins with ,st4 ,paul1 is  continued   
through ,st4 ,augustine1 and finds its  
culmination in the great  ,mediaeval    
group of ,duns ,scotus1 ,albertus       
,magnus1 ,hugh of ,st4 ,victor and  ,st4
 ,thomas ,aquinas4 ,i do not know of any

 single book that epitomizes it  all in 
vital form1 though ,cardinal ,mercier   
and ,dr4 ,de ,wulf have written  much   
that is stimulating and helpful4 ,i     
cannot help thinking that the  great    
demand today is for a compact volume    
that synthesizes the whole  magnificent 
system in terms not of history and      
scientific exegesis1 but  in terms of   
life4 ,plato and ,aristotle are so      
preserved to man1 and the  philosophers 
of modernism also2 it is only the       
magisterial and dynamic  philosophy of  
,christianity that is diffused through  
many works1 some of  them still         
untranslated and all quite without      
coordination1 save ,st4  ,thomas        
,aquinas alone1 the magnitude of whose  
product staggers the human  mind and in 
its profuseness defeats its own ends4   
,we need no more  histories of          
philosophy1 but we need an epitome of   
,christian philosophy1  not for students
 but for men4    ,such an epitome ,i am 
not fitted to offer1 but there are      

certain rather  fundamental conceptions 
and postulates that run counter both to 
pagan  and to modern philosophy1 the    
loss of which out of life has1 ,i       
maintain1  much to do with our present  
estate1 and that must be regained before
 we  can go forward with any reasonable 
hope of betterment4 ,these ,i will try  
to indicate as well as ,i can4          
,christian philosophy teaches1 in so far
 as it deals with the  relationship     
between man and these divine forces that
 are forever  building1 unbuilding and  
rebuilding the fabric of life1 somewhat 
as  follows3    ,the world as we know   
it1 man1 life itself as it works through
 all  creation1 is the union of matter  
and spirit2 and matter is not spirit1   
nor spirit matter1 nor is one a mode of 
the other1 but they are two  different  
creatures4 ,apart from this union of    
matter and spirit there is  no life1 in 
the sense in which we know it1 and      
severance is death4 ,the  body says ,st4
 ,thomas1 is not of the essence of the  

soul2 but the soul1  by the nature of   
its essence1 can be united to the body1 
so that1  properly speaking1 the soul   
alone is not the species1 but the       
composite1 and ,duns ,scotus makes clear
 the nature and origin of this  common  
essence when he says there is on the one
 hand ,god as ,infinite  ,actuality1 on 
the other spiritual and corporeal       
substances possessing an  homogeneous   
common element4 ,that is to say2 matter 
and spirit are both  the result of the  
divine creative act1 and though         
separate1 and in a  sense opposed1 find 
their point of origin in the ,divine    
,actuality4    ,the created world is the
 concrete manifestation of matter1      
through  which1 for its transformation  
and redemption1 spirit is active in a   
constant process of interpenetration    
whereby matter itself is being          
eternally redeemed4 ,what then is matter
 and what is spirit8 ,the question  is  
of sufficient magnitude to absorb all   
the time assigned to these  lectures1   

with the strong possibility that even   
then we should be  scarcely wiser than  
before4 ,for my own purposes1 however1  
,i am content  to accept the definition 
of matter formulated by ,duns ,scotus1  
which  takes over the earlier definition
 of ,plotinus1 purges it of its elements
  of pagan error1 and redeems it by     
,christian insight4    ,materia ,primo  
,prima says the great ,franciscan1 is   
the indeterminate  element of contingent
 things4 ,this does not exist in        
,nature1 but it has  reality in so far  
as it constitutes the term of ,god's    
creative activity4  ,by its union with a
 substantial form it becomes endowed    
with the  attributes of quantity1 and   
becomes ,secundo ,prima4 ,subject to the
  substantial changes of ,nature1 it    
becomes matter as we see it4    ,it is  
this ,materia ,primo ,prima1 the term of
 ,god's creative activity1  that is     
eternally subjected to the regenerative 
process of spiritual  interpenetration1 
and the result is organic life4    ,what

 is spirit8 ,the creative power of the  
,logos1 in the sense in which  ,st4     
,john interprets and corrects the early1
 partial1 and therefore  erroneous      
theories of the ,stoics and of ,philo4  
,god the ,son1 the ,eternal  ,word of   
the ,father1 the brightness of ,his     
glory and the figure of ,his            
,substance4 ,god of ,god1 ,light of     
,light1 very ,god of very ,god1         
begotten1  not made1 being of one       
substance with the ,father3 by ,whom all
 things  were made4 ,pure wisdom1 pure  
will1 pure energy1 unconditioned by     
matter1 but creating life out of the    
operation of the ,holy ,spirit on and   
through matter1 and in the fullness of  
time becoming ,incarnate for the        
purpose of the final redemption of man4 
,now since man is so compact of matter  
and spirit1 it must follow that he      
cannot lay hold of pure spirit1 the     
,absolute that lies beyond and above    
all material conditioning1 except       
through the medium of matter1 through   

its figures1 its symbols1 its phantasms4
 ,says ,st4 ,thomas3 ,from  material    
things we can rise to some kind of      
knowledge of immaterial  things1 but not
 to the perfect knowledge thereof4 ,the 
way of life  therefore1 is the incessant
 endeavour of man sacramentally to      
approach  the ,absolute through the     
leading of the ,holy ,spirit1 so running
 parallel  to the slow perfecting of    
matter which is being effected by the   
same  operation4 ,so matter itself takes
 on a certain sanctity1 not only as     
something susceptible1 and in process1  
of perfection1 but as the vehicle  of   
spirit and its tabernacle1 since in     
matter spirit is actually  incarnate4   
,from this process follows of necessity 
the whole sacramental system1 in        
theology1 philosophy and operation1 of  
,christianity4 ,it is of its  esse2 its 
great original1 revolutionary and final 
contribution to the  wisdom that man may
 have for his own1 and it follows       
inevitably from the  basic facts of the 

,incarnation and ,redemption1 which are 
also its  perfect showing forth4        
,philosophically this is the great      
contribution of ,christianity and for   
fifteen centuries it was held implicitly
 by ,christendom1 yet it was  rejected1 
either wholly or in part1 by the        
,protestant organizations that  came out
 of the ,reformation1 and it fell into  
such oblivion that outside  the         
,catholic ,church it was not so much    
ignored or rejected as totally          
forgotten4 ,recently a series of        
lectures were delivered at ,king's      
,college1 ,london1 by various carefully 
chosen authorities1 all  specialists in 
their own fields1 under the general     
title ,mediaeval  ,contributions to     
,modern ,civilization1 and neither the  
pious author of  the address on ,the    
,religious ,contribution of the ,middle 
,ages1 nor the  learned author of that  
on ,mediaeval ,philosophy1 gave evidence
 of ever  having heard of sacramental   
philosophy4 ,it may be that ,i do them  

an  injustice1 and that they would offer
 as excuse the incontestible fact  that 
,mediaevalism contributed nothing to    
modern civilization1 either  in religion
 or philosophy1 that it was willing to  
accept4    ,the peril of all            
philosophies1 outside that of           
,christianity as it was  developed under
 the ,catholic dispensation1 is dualism1
 and many have  fallen into this grave  
error4 ,now dualism is not only the     
reversal of  truth1 it is also the      
destroyer of righteousness4             
,sacramentalism is the anthithesis of   
dualism4 ,the sanctity of matter as  the
 potential of spirit and its            
dwelling-place on earth2 the humanizing 
of spirit through its condescension to  
man through the making of his  body and 
all created things its earthly          
tabernacle1 give1 when carried  out into
 logical development1 a meaning to life1
 a glory to the world1  an elucidation  
of otherwise unsolvable mysteries1 and  
an impulse toward  noble living no other

 system can afford4 ,it is a real       
philosophy of  life1 a standard of      
values1 a criterion of all possible     
postulates1 and  as its loss meant the  
world's peril1 so its recovery may mean 
its  salvation4    ,now as the          
philosophy of ,christianity is purely   
and essentially  sacramental1 so must be
 the operation of ,god through the      
,church4 ,this  ,body of ,christ on     
earth is indeed a fellowship1 a         
veritable communion  of the faithful1   
whether living or dead1 but it is also a
 divine  organism which lives1 and in   
which each member lives1 not by the     
preaching of the ,word1 not even by and 
through the fellowship in living  and   
worship1 but through the ordained       
channels of grace known as the          
,sacraments4 ,in accordance with the    
sacramental system1 every material      
thing is proclaimed as possessing in    
varying degree sacramental              
potentiality1 while seven great         
,sacraments were instituted to be1 each 

after its own fashion1 a special channel
 for the inflowing of the power  of the 
,divine ,actuality4 ,each is a symbol1  
just as so many other created  things   
are1 or may become1 symbols1 but they   
are also realities1  veritable media for
 the veritable communications of        
veritable divine  grace4 ,here is the   
best definition ,i know1 that of ,hugh  
of ,st4 ,victor4  ,a sacrament is the   
corporeal or material element set out   
sensibly1  representing from its        
similitude1 signifying from its         
institution1 and  containing from its   
sanctification1 some invisible and      
spiritual grace4  ,this is the unvarying
 and invariable doctrine of historic    
,christianity1  and the reason for the  
existence of the ,church as a living and
  functioning organism4 ,the whole      
sacramental system is in a sense an     
extension1 in time1 of the ,redemption1 
just as one particular ,sacrament1  the 
,holy ,eucharist1 is also in a sense an 
extension of the ,incarnation1  as it is

 also an extension1 in time1 of the     
,atonement1 the ,sacrifice of  ,calvary4
    ,the ,incarnation and the           
,redemption are not accomplished facts1 
completed  nineteen centuries ago2 they 
are processes that still continue1 and  
their term is fixed only by the total   
regeneration and perfecting of  matter1 
while the ,seven ,sacraments are the    
chiefest amongst an infinity  of        
sacramental processes which are the     
agencies of this eternal                
transfiguration4    ,god the ,son became
 ,incarnate1 not only to accomplish the 
redemption of  men as yet unborn1 for   
endless ages1 through the ,sacrifice of 
,calvary1  but also to initiate and     
forever maintain a new method whereby   
this  result was to be more perfectly   
attained2 that is to say1 the ,church1  
working through the specific sacramental
 agencies ,he had ordained1 or  was from
 time to time to ordain1 through ,his   
everlasting presence in the  ,church ,he
 had brought into being at ,pentecost4  

,he did not come to  establish in       
material form a ,kingdom of ,heaven on  
,earth1 or to provide  for its ultimate 
coming4 ,he indeed established a        
,spiritual ,kingdom1 ,his  ,church1 in  
the world1 not of it1 which is a very   
different matter  indeed1 as the        
centuries have proved4 ,his ,kingdom is 
not of this world1  nor will it be      
established here4 ,there has been no    
absolute advance in  human development  
since the ,incarnation4 ,nations rise   
and fall1 epochs  wax and wane1         
civilizations grow out of savagery1     
crest and sink back  into savagery and  
oblivion4 ,redemption is for the        
individual1 not for  the race1 nor yet  
for society as a whole4 ,then1 and only 
then1 and under  that form1 it is sure1 
however long may be the period of its   
accomplishment4 ,time is the ratio of   
the resistance of matter to the         
interpenetration of spirit1 and by this 
resistance is the duration of  time     
determined4 ,when it shall have been    

wholly overcome then time  shall be no  
more4    ,see therefore how perfect is  
the correspondence between the          
,sacraments  and the method of life     
where they are the agents1 and which    
they  symbolically set forth4 ,there is 
in each case the material form and the  
spiritual substance1 or energy4 ,water1 
chrism1 oil1 the spoken word1 the  touch
 of hands1 the sign of the cross1 and   
finally and supremely the  bread and    
wine of the ,holy ,eucharist4 ,each a   
material thing1 but each  representing1 
signifying and containing some gift of  
the ,holy ,spirit1  real1 absolute and  
potent4 ,so matter and spirit are linked
 together in  every operation of the    
,church1 from the cradle to the grave1  
and man has  ever before him the eternal
 revelation of this linked union of     
matter  and spirit in his life1 the     
eternal teaching of the honour of the   
material thing through its agency and   
through its existence as the  subject   
for redemption4 ,so also1 through the   

material association1 and  the divine   
condescension to his earthly and        
fallible estate 7limited by  association
 with matter only to inadequate         
presentation7 he makes the  ,spirit of  
,god his own1 to dwell therewith after  
the fashion of man4    ,and how much    
this explains and justifies3 ,man       
approaches1 and must  always approach1  
spiritual things not only through       
material forms but by  means of material
 agencies4 ,the highest and most        
beautiful things1 those  where the      
spirit seems to achieve its loftiest    
reaches1 are frequently  associated with
 the grossest and most unspiritual      
forms1 yet the very  splendour of the   
spiritual verity redeems and glorifies  
the material  agency1 while on the other
 hand the homeliness1 and even animal   
quality1  of the material thing1 brings 
to man1 with a poignancy and an appeal  
that are incalculable1 the spiritual    
thing that1 in its absolute  essence1   
would be so far beyond his ken and his  

experience and his  powers of           
assimilation that it would be           
inoperative4    ,this is the true       
,humanism2 not the fictitious and hollow
 thing that was  the offspring of       
neo-paganism and took to itself a title 
to which it had  no claim4 ,held tacitly
 or consciously by the men of the       
,middle ,ages1  from the immortal       
philosopher to the immortal but nameless
 craftsman1 it  was the force that built
 up the noble social structure of the   
time and  poised man himself in a sure  
equilibrium4 ,already it had of         
necessity  developed the whole scheme of
 religious ceremonial and given art a   
new  content and direction through its  
new service4 ,by analogy and            
association all material things that    
could be so used were employed as       
figures and symbols1 as well as         
agencies1 through the ,sacraments1 and  
after a fashion that struck home to the 
soul through the organs of  sense4      
,music1 vestments1 incense1 flowers1    

poetry1 dramatic action1 were  linked   
with the major arts of architecture1    
painting and sculpture1 and  all became 
not only ministers to the emotional     
faculties but direct  appeals to the    
intellect through their function as     
poignant symbols4 ,so  art received its 
soul1 and was almost a living creature  
until matter and  spirit were again     
divorced in the death that severed them 
during the  ,reformation4 ,thereafter   
religion had entered upon a period of   
slow  desiccation and sterilization     
wherever the symbol was cast away with  
the  ,sacraments and the faith and the  
philosophy that had made it live4 ,the  
bitter hostility to the art and the     
liturgies and the ceremonial of the     
,catholic faith is due far less to      
ignorance of the meaning and function   
of art and to an inherited jealousy of  
its quality and its power1 than  it is  
to the conscious and determined         
rejection of the essential  philosophy  
of ,christianity1 which is              

sacramentalism4    ,the whole system was
 of an almost sublime perfection and    
simplicity1 and  the formal ,sacraments 
were both its goal and its type4 ,if    
they had been  of the same value and    
identical in nature they would have     
failed of  perfect exposition1 in the   
sense in which they were types and      
symbols4  ,they were not this1 for while
 six of the explicit seven were         
substantially of one mode1 there was one
 where the conditions that held         
elsewhere were transcended1 and where1  
in addition to the two functions  it was
 instituted to perform it gave1 through 
its similitude1 the clear  revelation of
 the most significant and poignant fact 
in the vast mystery  of life4 ,i mean1  
of course1 the ,holy ,eucharist1        
commonly called the  ,mass4    ,if      
matter is per se forever inert1         
unchangeable1 indestructible1 then  we  
fall into the dilemma of a materialistic
 monism on the one hand1  ,manichaean   
dualism on the other4 ,even under the   

most spiritual  interpretation we could 
offer--that1 shall we say1 of those     
today who  try to run with the hare of  
religion and hunt with the hounds of    
rationalistic materialism--matter and   
spirit unite in man as body and  soul1  
and in the ,sacraments as the vehicle   
and the essence1 but  temporally and    
temporarily2 doomed always to ultimate  
severance by death  in the one case1 by 
the completion of the sacramental       
process in the  other4 ,if1 on the other
 hand1 the object of the universe and of
 time is  the constant redemption and   
transformation of matter through its    
interpenetration by spirit in the power 
of ,god the ,holy ,ghost1 then we       
escape the falsities of dualism1 while  
in the miracle of the ,mass we  find the
 type and the showing forth of the      
constant process of life  whereby every 
instant1 matter itself is being changed 
and glorified and  transferred from the 
plane of matter to the plane of spirit4 
,if this is so3 if the ,incarnation and 

the ,redemption are not only            
fundamental facts but also types and    
symbols of the divine process  forever  
going on here on earth1 then1 while the 
other ,sacraments are in  themselves not
 only instruments of grace but          
manifestations of that  process whereby 
in all things matter is used as the     
vehicle of spirit1  the ,mass1          
transcending them all1 is not only      
,communion1 not only a  ,sacrifice      
acceptable before ,god1 it is also the  
unique symbol of the  redemption and    
transformation of matter2 since1 of all 
the ,sacraments1  it is the only one    
where the very physical qualities of the
 material  vehicle are transformed1 and 
while the accidents alone remain1 the   
substance1 finite and perishable1       
becomes1 in an instant of time and by   
the operation of ,god1 infinite and     
immortal4    ,it is to sacramentalism   
then that we must return1 not only in   
religion  and its practice1 but in      
philosophy1 if we are to establish a    

firm  foundation for that newer society 
and civilization that are to help us  to
 achieve the ,great ,peace4 ,antecedent 
systems failed1 and subsequent  systems 
have failed2 in this alone1 the         
philosophy of ,christianity1 is  there  
safety1 for it alone is consonant with  
the revealed will of ,god4              
,,iii      ,,the ,,social ,,organism    
,society1 that is to say1 the           
association in life of men1 women and   
children1 is the fundamental fact of    
life1 and this is so whether the        
association is of the family1 the       
school1 the community1 industry or      
government4 ,everything else is simply a
 series of forms1 arrangements  and     
devices by which society works1 either  
for good or ill4 ,man makes or  mars    
himself in and through society4 ,he is  
responsible for his own soul1  but if he
 sees only this and works directly for  
his soul's salvation1  disregarding the 
society of which he is a part1 he may   
lose it1 whereas1  if he is faithful to 

society and honourably plays his part as
 a social  animal with a soul1 he will  
very probably save it1 even though he   
may  for the time have quite ignored its
 existence4 ,man is a member of a       
family1 a pupil under education1 a      
worker and a citizen4 ,in all these     
relationships he is a part of a social  
group2 he is also a component  part of  
the human race and linked in some       
measure to every other member  thereof  
whether living or dead4 ,into every     
organization or institution  in which he
 is involved during his                 
lifetime--family1 school1 art or  craft1
 trade union1 state1 church--enters the 
social equation4 ,if  society is ill    
organized either in theory or in        
practice1 in any or all  of its         
manifestations1 then the engines or     
devices by which it operates  will be   
impotent for good4 ,defective society   
cannot produce either a  good           
fundamental law1 a good philosophy1 a   
good art1 or any other thing4           

,conversely1 these1 when brought forth  
under an wholesome society1 will  decay 
and perish when society degenerates4    
,in its large estate1 that is1          
comprehending all the minor groups1 as a
  nation1 a people or an era1 society is
 always in a state of unstable          
equilibrium1 tending either toward      
better or worse4 ,it may indeed be of   
the very essence of human life1 but it  
is a plant of tender growth and  needs  
delicate nurture and jealous care2 a    
small thing may work it  irreparable    
injury4 ,it may reach very great heights
 of perfection and  spread over a       
continent1 as during the ,european      
,middle ,ages2 it may sink  to low      
depths with an equal dominion1 as in the
 second dark ages of the  nineteenth    
century4 ,sometimes little enclaves of  
high value hide  themselves in the midst
 of degradation1 as ,venice and ,ireland
 in the  ,dark ,ages4 ,always1 by the   
grace of ,god1 the primary social unit1 
the  family may1 and frequently does1   

achieve and maintain both purity and    
beauty when the world without riots in  
ruin and profligacy4    ,i have taken   
the problem of the organization of      
society as the first to  be considered1 
for it is fundamental4 ,if society is of
 the wrong shape  it does not matter in 
the least how intelligent and admirable 
may be the  devices we construct for the
 operation of government or industry or 
education2 they may be masterly products
 of human intelligence but they  will   
not work1 whereas on the other hand a   
sane1 wholesome and decent  society can 
so interpret and administer clumsy and  
defective instruments  that they will   
function to admiration4 ,a perfect      
society would need no  such engines at  
all1 but a perfect society implies      
perfect individuals1  and ,i think we   
are now persuaded that a society of this
 nature is a  purely academic           
proposition both now and in the         
calculable future4 ,what  we have to do 
is to take mankind as it is2 made up of 

infinitely varied  personalities ranging
 from the idiot to the super-man2 cruel 
and  compassionate1 covetous and        
self-sacrificing1 silly and erudite1    
cynical  and emotional1 vulgar and      
cultured1 brutal and fastidious1        
shameful in  their degradation and      
splendid in their honour and chivalry1  
and by the  franchise of liberty and the
 binding of law1 facilitate in every way
 the  process whereby they themselves   
work out their own salvation4 ,you      
cannot  impose morality by statute or   
guarantee either character or           
intelligence  by the perfection of the  
machine4 ,every institution1 good or    
bad1 is the  result of growth from many 
human impulses1 not the creation of     
autocratic fiat4 ,but growth may be     
impeded1 hastened1 or suspended1 and    
the most that can be done is to offer   
incentives to action1 remove the        
obstacles to development1 and establish 
conditions and influences that  make    
more easy the finding of the right way4 

,now it seems to me that the two        
greatest obstacles to the development of
  a right society have been first1 the  
enormous scale in which everything  of  
late has been cast1 and second1 that    
element in modern democracy  which      
denies essential differences in human   
character1 capacity and  potential1 and 
so logically prohibits social           
distinctions1 and refuses  them formal  
sanction or their recognition through   
conferred honours4 ,in  questioning the 
validity and the value of these two     
factors1 imperialism  and social        
democracy1 and in suggesting            
substitutes1 ,i am1 ,i suppose1         
attacking precisely the two institutions
 which are today--or at all  events have
 been until very recently--held in most 
conspicuous honour by  the majority of  
people1 but the question is at least    
debateable1 and for  my own part ,i have
 no alternative but to assert their     
mistaken nature1  and to offer the best 
,i can in the way of substitutes4       

,the question of imperialism1 of a gross
 and unhuman and therefore  absolutely  
wrong scale1 is one that will enter into
 almost all of the  matters with which  
,i propose to deal1 certainly with      
industrialism1 with  politics1 with     
education1 with religion1 as well as    
with the immediate  problem of the      
social organism1 for not only has it    
destroyed the human  scale in human     
life1 and therefore brought it into the 
danger of  immediate destruction1 but it
 has also been a factor in establishing 
the  quantitative standard in all       
things1 in place of the qualitative     
standard1 and this1 in itself1 is simply
 the antecedent of well-merited         
catastrophe4 ,in considering the social 
organism1 therefore1 we must have  in   
mind that this is intimately affected by
 every organic institution  which man   
has developed and into which he enters  
in common with others  of his kind4     
,the situation as it confronts us today 
is one in which man by his very  energy 

and the stimulus of those cosmic        
energies he has so astonishingly        
mastered1 has got far beyond his depth4 
,i say man has mastered these  energies2
 yes1 but this was true only of a brief 
period in the immediate  past4 ,they now
 have mastered him4 ,it is the old story
 of the  ,frankenstein monster over     
again4 ,man is not omnipotent1 he is not
 ,god4  ,there are limits beyond which  
he cannot go without coming in peril of 
death4 ,an isolated individual here and 
there may become super-man1  perhaps1   
though at grievous peril to his own     
soul1 and it is conceivable  that to    
such an one it might be possible to live
 beyond the human scale1  though hardly4
 ,if one could envisage so awful a thing
 as a community  made up entirely of    
super-men1 one might concede that here  
also the  human scale might be exceeded 
without danger of catastrophe4 ,with    
society as it is1 and always will be1 a 
welter of defectives and  geniuses in   
small numbers and a vast majority of    

just plain men1 with  all that that     
implies1 the breaking through into the  
imperial scale is  simply a letting in  
the jungle2 walls and palings and       
stockades1 the  delicate fabrics of     
architecture1 the clever institutions of
 law1 the  thin red line of the army1   
all melt1 crumble1 are overcome by the  
onrush  of primordial things1 and where 
once was the white man's city is now the
  eternal jungle1 and the vines and     
thrusting roots and rank herbage blot   
out the very memory of a futile         
civilization1 while the monkey and the  
jackal and the python come again into   
their heritage4    ,alexander and       
,caesar1 ,charles ,v and ,louis ,,xiv   
and ,napoleon and ,disraeli  and        
,william ,,iii could function for a few 
brief years beyond the limits  of the   
human scale1 though even they had an    
end1 but you cannot link  imperialism   
and democracy without the certainty of  
an earlier and a more  ignominious fall4
    ,i have already spoken of the       

malignant and pathological quality of   
the  quantitative standard4 ,it is      
indeed not only the nemesis of culture  
but  even of civilization itself4 ,out  
of this same gross scale of things come 
many other evils2 great states          
subsisting on the subjugation and       
exploitation of small and alien peoples2
 great cities which when they  exceed   
more than #ajj1jjj in population are a  
menace1 when they exceed  #a1jjj1jjj are
 a crime2 division of labour and        
specialization which  degrade men to the
 level of machines2 concentration and   
segregation of  industries1 the factory 
system1 high finance and international  
finance1  capitalism1 trades-unionism   
and the ,international1 standardized    
education1 metropolitan newspapers1     
pragmatic philosophy1 and churches  run 
on business methods and recruited by    
advertising and publicity  agents4      
,greater than all1 however1 is the      
social poison that effects society  with
 pernicious anaemia through cutting man 

off from his natural social  group and  
making of him an undistinguishable      
particle in a sliding  stream of grain4 
,man belongs to his family1 his         
neighbourhood1 his local  trade or craft
 guild and to his parish church3 the    
essence of wholesome  association is    
that a man should work with1 through and
 by those whom he  knows personally--and
 preferably so well that he calls them  
all by their  first names4    ,as a     
matter of fact1 today he works with1    
through and by the individuals  whom he 
probably has never seen1 and frequently 
would1 as a matter of  personal taste1  
hesitate to recognize if he did see     
them4 ,he belongs to  the local of a    
union which is a part of a labour       
organization which  covers the entire   
,united ,states and is controlled in all
 essential  matters from a point from   
one hundred to two thousand miles away4 
,he  votes for mayor with a group of    
men1 less than one per cent of whom he  
knows personally 7unless he is a        

professional politician71 with another  
group for state officers1 and with the  
whole voting population of the  ,united 
,states1 for ,president4 ,if he goes to 
church in a city he finds  himself      
amongst people drawn from every ward and
 outlying district1 if  he mixes in     
society he associates with those from   
everywhere1 perhaps1  except his own    
neighbourhood4 ,only when he is in      
college1 in his club or  in his secret  
society lodge or the quarters of his    
ward boss does he  find himself in      
intimate social relations with human    
beings of like mind  and a similar      
social status4 ,he is a cog in a wheel1 
a thing1 a point of  potential1 a lonely
 and numerical unit1 instead of a       
gregarious human  animal rejoicing in   
his friends and companions1 and working1
 playing and  quarreling with them1 as  
,god made him and meant him to be and to
 do4    ,of course the result of this is
 that men are forced into unnatural     
associations1 many of which are purely  

artificial and all of which are         
unsound4 ,it is true that the trade     
union1 the professional society1 the    
club are natural and wholesome          
expressions of common and intimate      
interests1 but they acquire a false     
value when they are not balanced and    
regulated by a prior and more compelling
 association which cuts1 not  vertically
 but horizontally through society1 that 
is to say1 the  neighbourhood or        
community group4 ,the harsh and perilous
 division into  classes and castes which
 is now universal1 with its development 
of  class consciousness1 is the direct  
and inevitable result of this  imperial 
scale in life which has annihilated the 
social unit of human  scale and brought 
in the gigantic aggregations of peoples1
 money1  manufacture and labourers1     
where man can no longer function either 
as a  human unit or an essential factor 
in a workable society4    ,it is hard to
 see just how we are to re-fashion this 
impossible society  in terms even nearly

 approaching the normal and the human4  
,it is  universal1 and it is accepted by
 everyone as very splendid and quite the
  greatest achievement of man4 ,it is   
practically impossible for any one      
today to conceive of a world where great
 empires1 populous cities1 mills  and   
factories and iron-works in their       
thousands1 and employing their  millions
 through their billions of              
capitalization1 where the stock         
exchange and the great banking houses   
and the insurance companies and  the    
department stores1 the nation-wide trade
 unions and professional  associations  
and educational foundations and         
religious corporations1 do  not play    
their predominant part4 ,nevertheless   
they are an aggregation of  false       
values1 their influence is anti-social1 
and their inherent  weakness was so     
obviously revealed through the ,war and 
the ,peace that it  has generally       
escaped notice4    ,there seem but two  
ways in which the true scale of life can

 be restored2  either these institutions
 will continue1 growing greater and more
  unwieldy with increasing speed until  
they burst in anarchy and chaos1  and   
after ruin and long rest we begin all   
over again 7as once before  after the   
bursting of ,roman imperialism71 or we  
shall repeat history 7as  we always do7 
only after another fashion and1 learning
 as we always can  from the annals of   
monasticism1 build our small communities
 of the right  shape and scale in the   
very midst of the imperial states       
themselves1 so  becoming perhaps the    
leavening of the lump4 ,this of course  
is what the  monasteries of ,st4        
,benedict did in the sixth century and  
those of the  ,cluniacs and the         
,cistercians in the eleventh1 and it is 
what the  ,franciscans and ,dominicans  
tried to do in the fourteenth century1  
and  failed because the fall of the     
cultural and historic wave had already  
begun4    ,the trouble today with nearly
 all schemes of reform and regeneration 

is  that they are infected with the very
 imperialism in scale that has  produced
 the conditions they would redeem4      
,socialism is now as  completely        
materialistic as the old capitalism1 and
 as international in  its scope and     
methods4 ,anarchy is becoming imperial  
and magnificent in  its operations4     
,secular reformers must organize vast   
committees with  intricate ramifications
 and elaborate systems supported by     
drives for  money which must run into at
 least seven figures1 and by vast and   
efficient bureaus for propaganda1 before
 they can begin operations1 and  then   
the chief reliance for success is       
frequently placed on legislation        
enacted by the highest lawmaking bodies 
in the land4 ,even religion has  now    
surrendered to the same obsession of    
magnitude and efficiency1 and  nothing  
goes 7or tries to1 it doesn't always    
succeed7 unless it is  conceived in     
gigantic nation-wide terms and is put   
across by  efficiency experts1 highly   

paid organizers1 elaborate teams of     
propagandists and solicitors1 and plenty
 of impressive advertising4 ,a  good    
deal can be bought this way1 but it will
 not stay bought1 for no  reform of any 
sort can be established after any such  
fashion1 since  reform begins in and    
with the individual1 and if it succeeds 
at all it  will be by the cumulative    
process4    ,i shall speak of this      
element of scale in every succeeding    
lecture1 for  it vitiates every         
institution we have4 ,here1 where ,i am 
dealing with  society in itself1 ,i can 
only say that ,i believe the sane and   
wholesome  society of the future will   
eliminate great cities and great        
corporations  of every sort4 ,it will   
reverse the whole system of             
specialization and  the segregation and 
unification of industries and the       
division of  labour4 ,it will build     
upward from the primary unit of the     
family1  through the neighbourhood1 to  
the small1 and closely knit1 and        

self-supporting community1 and so to the
 state and the final unifying  force    
which links together a federation of    
states4 ,in general it will be  a return
 in principle1 though not in form1 to   
the social organization of  a ,mediaeval
 ,europe before the extinction of       
feudalism on the ,continent1  and the   
suppression of the monasteries and the  
enclosure of the common  lands in       
,england4    ,the grave perils of this  
false scale in human society have been  
recognized by many individuals ever     
since the thing itself became           
operative1 and every ,utopia conceived  
by man during the last two  centuries1  
whether it was theoretical or actually  
put into ephemeral  practice1 has been  
couched in terms of revolt away from    
imperialism and  towards the unit of    
human scale4 ,in every case however1 the
 introduction  of some form of communism
 has been the ruin of those projects    
actually  materialized1 for this in     
itself is imperialistic in its nature4  

,communism implies the standard of the  
gross aggregate1 the denial of  human   
differentiation and the quantitative    
standard1 as well as the  elimination of
 private property and the negation of   
sacred  individuality4 ,its institution 
implies an almost immediate descent into
  anarchy with a sequent dictatorship   
and autocracy1 for it is the  reversal  
of the foundation laws of life4 ,such   
reversals cannot last1  nothing can last
 that is inimical to flourishing life2  
it may triumph  for a day but life      
itself sloughs it off as a sound body   
rids itself of  some foreign substance  
through the sore that festers1 bursts   
and1 the  septic conditions done away   
with1 heals itself and returns to       
normal4    ,now the inhuman scale has   
produced one set of septic conditions in
  society while what is commonly called 
democratization has produced  another4  
,we have a bloated society1 but also we 
have one in which a  false theory has   
grown up and been put in practice1 in   

accordance with  which an uniformity of 
human kind has been assumed which never 
has  existed and does not now1 and in   
the effort to enforce this false theory 
the achievement of distinction has been 
impeded1 leadership discouraged  and    
leaders largely eliminated1 the process 
of leveling downward carried  to a very 
dangerous point1 the sane and vital     
organization of society  brought near to
 an end and a peculiarly vicious scale  
and standard of  social values          
established4 ,i have urged the return to
 human scale in  human associations1 but
 this does not imply any admixture of   
communism1  which is its very           
antithesis1 still less does it permit   
the retention of  the theoretical       
uniformity and the unescapable leveling 
process of  so-called democracy4        
,before the law all men are equal1 that 
is1 they are entitled to  even-handed   
justice4 ,before ,god all men are equal1
 that is1 they are  granted charity and 
mercy which transcends the law1 also    

they possess  immortal souls of equal   
value4 ,here their equality stops4 ,in  
every other  respect they vary in       
character1 capacity1 intelligence and   
potentiality  for development along any 
or all these lines1 almost beyond the   
limits  of computation4 ,a sane society 
will recognize this1 it will organize   
itself accordingly1 it will deny to one 
what it will concede to another1  it    
will foster emulation and reward        
accomplishment1 and it will add  another
 category to those in which all men are 
equal1 that is1 the  freest scope for   
advancement1 and the greatest facility  
for passing from  one social group into 
another1 the sole test being            
demonstrated merit4    ,i am prepared at
 this point to use the word aristocracy 
for we have  the thing even now1 only in
 its worst possible form4 ,the word     
itself  means two things3 a government  
by the best and most able citizens and1 
to quote a standard dictionary ,persons 
noted for superiority in any  character 

or quality1 taken collectively4 ,there  
is no harm here1 but  the harm comes1   
and the odium also1 and justly1 when an 
aristocratic  government degenerates    
into an oligarchy of privilege without  
responsibility1 and when socially it is 
not superiority in character or  quality
 but political cunning1 opulence and    
sycophancy that are the  touchstones to 
recognition and acceptance4 ,the latter 
are the antithesis  of ,christianity and
 common sense1 the former is consonant  
with both and1  paradoxical as it may   
seem1 it is also the fulfilling of the  
ideals of a  real democracy1 since its  
honours and distinctions imply service1 
its  relations with those in other      
estates are reciprocal1 it is not a     
closed  caste but the prize of          
meritorious achievement1 and it is      
therefore  equality of opportunity1     
utilization of ability and the abolition
 of  privilege without responsibility4  
,men are forever and gloriously         
struggling onward towards better things1

  but there is always the gravitational 
pull of original sin which  scientists  
denominate reversion to type4 ,the      
saving grace in the  individual is the  
divine gift of faith1 hope and charity  
implanted in  every soul4 ,these every  
man must guard and cherish for they are 
the way  of advancement in character4   
,but society is man in association with 
men1  in a sense a new and complex      
personality1 and the same qualities are 
as  necessary here as in the individual4
 ,society1 like man1 may be said to     
possess body1 soul and spirit1 and it   
must function vitally along all  these  
lines if it is to maintain a normal and 
wholesome existence4  ,somewhere there  
must be something that achieves high    
ideals of honour1  chivalry1 courtesy2  
that maintains right standards of       
comparative value1  and that guards the 
social organism as a whole from the     
danger of  surrender to false and       
debased standards1 to plausible         
demagogues1 and  to mob-psychology4     

,the greater the prevalence of          
democratic methods1 the greater is the  
danger of this surrender to propaganda  
of a thousand sorts and to the          
dominance of the demagogue1 and the     
existence of an estate fortified by  the
 inheritance of high tradition1         
measurably free from the necessity of   
engaging too strenuously in the struggle
 for life1 guaranteed security  of      
status so long as it does not betray the
 ideals of its order1 but  open to      
accessions from other estates on the    
basis of conspicuous merit  alone1 such 
a force operating in society has proved1
 and will prove1 the  best guardian of  
civilization as a whole and of the      
interests and  liberties of those who   
may rank in what are known as lower     
social  scales4    ,but1 it may be      
objected1 such an institution as this   
has never existed4  ,every political or 
social aristocracy in history has been  
mixed and  adulterated with bad         
characters and recreant representatives4

 ,there  never has been and never will  
be a perfect aristocracy4 ,quite true2  
neither has there ever been a perfect   
democracy1 or a perfect monarchy  for   
that matter4 ,as men we work with       
imperfections1 but we live by  faith1   
and our sole duty is to establish the   
highest ideals1 and to  compass them1 in
 so far as we may1 with unfailing       
courage1 patience and  steadfastness4   
,the ideal of democracy is a great      
ideal1 but the  working of democracy has
 been a failure because1 amongst other  
things1  it has tried to carry on       
without the aid of true aristocracy4 ,if
 the two  can be united1 first in ideal 
and in theory1 then in operation1 our   
present failure may be changed into     
victory4    ,what1 after all1 does this 
imply1 so far as the social organism is 
concerned8 ,it seems to me1 something   
like this4 ,first of all1  recognition  
of the fact that there are differences  
in individuals1 in  strains of blood1 in
 races1 that cannot be overcome by any  

power of  education and environment1 and
 can only be changed through very long  
periods of time1 and that these         
differences must work corresponding     
differences in position1 function and   
status in the social organism4  ,second1
 that since society automatically       
develops an aristocracy of some  sort or
 other1 and apparently cannot be stopped
 from doing this1 it must  be protected 
from the sort of thing it has produced  
of late1 which is  based on money1      
political expediency and the            
unscrupulous cleverness of  the         
demagogue1 and given a more rational    
substitute in the shape of a  permanent 
group representing high character and   
the traditions of  honour1 chivalry and 
courtesy4 ,third1 that character and    
service should  be fostered and rewarded
 by that formal and august recognition1 
that  secure and unquestioned status1   
and those added opportunities for       
service that will form a real and       
significant distinction4 ,finally1 that 

this order or estate must be able to    
purge itself of unworthy material1  and 
also must be freely open to constant    
accessions from without1  whatever the  
source1 and for proved character and    
service4    ,i fear ,i must argue this  
case of the inequality in individual    
potential1  that inequality that does   
not yield to complex education or       
favourable  environment1 for it is      
fundamental4 ,if it does not exist1 then
 my  argument for the organization of   
society along lines that recognize and  
regularize diversity of social status   
and functions1 falls to the  ground4 ,i 
affirm that1 the doctrine of evolution  
and modern democratic  theory to the    
contrary1 it does exist and that the    
mitigating influence  of education1     
environment and inherited acquired      
characters1 is small at  best4    ,let  
us take the most obvious concrete       
examples4 ,there are certain ethnic     
units or races which for periods ranging
 from five hundred to two  thousand     

years have produced character1 and      
through character the  great            
contributions that have been made to    
human culture and have been  expressed  
through men of distinction1 dynamic     
force1 and vivid  personality4 ,such1   
amongst many1 are the ,greeks1 the      
,jews1 the ,romans1  the ,normans1 the  
,franks1 the ,anglo-,saxons1 and the    
,celts4 ,there are  others that in all  
history have produced nothing4 ,there   
are certain  family names which are a   
guarantee of distinction1 dynamic force1
 and  vivid personality4 ,there are     
thousands of these names1 and they are  
to  be found amongst all the races that 
have contributed towards the            
development of culture and civilization4
 ,on the other hand1 there are  far more
 that have produced nothing distinctive1
 and possibly never  will4    ,what is  
the reason for this8 ,is it the result  
of blind chance1 of  accidents that have
 left certain races and families        
isolated in stagnant  eddies from which 

some sudden current of a whimsical tide 
might sweep  them out into the full     
flood of progress1 until they then      
overtook and  passed their hitherto     
successful rivals1 who1 in their turn1  
would drift  off into progressive       
incompetence and degeneracy8 ,biology   
does not look  with enthusiasm on the   
methods of chance and accident4 ,the    
choice and  transmission of the         
forty-eight chromosomes that give to    
each individual  his character-potential
 are probably in accordance with some   
obscure  biological law through which   
the unfathomable divine will operates4  
,now  these chromosomes may be selected 
and combined after a fashion1 and with  
a persistence of continuity1 that would 
guarantee character-potential1  for good
 or for ill1 through many generations1  
or they might be so  varied in their    
combinations that no distinct traits    
would be carried  over from one         
generation to another4 ,as a matter of  
experience all these  three processes   

take place and are recorded in families 
of distinct  quality1 good1 bad and     
indifferent4 ,if the character-potential
 is  predetermined1 then manifestly     
education and environment can play only 
the subordinate part of fostering its   
development or retarding it4    ,in the 
same way the character and career of the
 various races of men are  determined by
 the potential inherent in the          
individuals and families  that compose  
them1 and like them the races themselves
 are for long  periods marked by power  
and capacity or weakness and lack of    
distinction4 ,there are certain races1  
such as the ,hottentot1 the ,malay1  the
 ,american ,indian1 and mixed bloods1 as
 the ,mexican peons and  ,mongol-,slavs 
of a portion of the southeastern        
,europe1 that1 so far as  recorded      
history is concerned1 are either static 
or retrogressive4 ,there  are family    
units1 poverty-stricken and incompetent1
 in ,naples1 ,canton1  ,east ,side ,new 
,york2 or opulent and aggressive in     

,west ,side ,new ,york1 in  ,birmingham1
 ,westphalia1 ,pittsburgh1 that are no  
more subject to the  cultural and       
character-creating influences of        
education and  environment--beyond a    
certain definite point--than are the    
amphibians of  ,africa or the rampant   
weeds of my garden4    ,this is a hard  
saying and a provocative4 ,the entire   
course of democratic  theory1 of        
humanitarian thought and of the popular 
type of scientific  speculation stands  
against it1 and the ,christian religion 
as well1  unless the statement itself is
 guarded by exact definitions4 ,if the  
contention of the scientific materialist
 were correct1 and the thing  that makes
 man1 and that ,christians call the     
immortal soul1 were but the  result of  
physical processes of growth and        
differentiation1 then slavery  would be 
justifiable1 and exploitation a         
reasonable and inevitable  process4     
,since1 however1 this assumption of     
materialism is untenable1  and since all

 men are possessed of immortal souls    
between which is no  distinction in the 
sight of ,god1 the situation1           
regrettable if you like1  is one which  
at the same time calls for the exercise 
of a higher  humanitarianism than that  
so popular during the last generation1  
and as  well for a very drastic revision
 of contemporary political and social   
and educational methods4    ,the soul of
 the man is the localization of         
divinity2 in a sense each man  is a     
manifestation of the ,incarnation4      
,black or white1 conspicuous or         
obscure1 intelligent or stupid1         
offspring of a creative race or bound by
  the limitations of one that is static 
or in process of decay1 there is  no    
difference in the universal claim to    
justice1 charity1 and  opportunity4 ,the
 soul of a ,cantonese river-man1 of a   
,congo slave1 of an  ,east ,side ,jew1  
is in itself as essentially precious and
 worth saving as  the soul of a bishop1 
of a descendant of a ,norman viking or  

an ,irish  king1 or that of a volunteer 
soldier in the late armies of ,france or
  ,great ,britain or the ,united        
,states4    ,here lies absolute and     
final equality1 and the ,state1 the     
,law1 the  ,church are bound to guard   
this equality in the one case and the   
other  with equal force2 indeed1 those  
of the lower racial and family types    
claim even more faithful guardianship   
than those of the higher1 for they  can 
accomplish less for themselves and by   
themselves4 ,but the  fundamental and   
inescapable inequality1 in intellect1 in
 character1 and  in capacity1 which ,i  
insist is one of the conditioning       
factors in life1  is vociferously       
denied1 but ruthlessly enforced1 by the 
people that will  be the first to       
denounce any restatement of what is     
after all no more  than a patent fact4  
,a little less enthusiasm for           
shibboleths1 and a little more          
intelligent  regard for history and     
palpable conditions1 will show that the 

assumed  equality between men on the    
strength of their manhood alone1 the    
sufficiency of education for correcting 
the accidental differences that  show   
themselves1 and the scheme of life that 
is worked out along  democratic lines on
 the basis of this essential 7or        
potential7 equality1  are fond things   
vainly imagined which must be radically 
modified  before the world can begin a  
sane and wholesome building-up after the
  great purgation of war4    ,that      
equality between men which exists by    
virtue of the presence in each  of an   
immortal soul1 involves an even         
distribution of justice and the         
protection of law1 without distinction  
of persons1 and an even measure  of     
charity and compassion1 but it does not 
involve the admission of a  claim to    
equality of action or the denial of     
varied status1 since  race-values1 both 
of blood and of the gens enter in to    
establish  differences in character1 in 
intelligence and in capacity which      

cannot  be changed by education1        
environment or heredity within periods  
which  are practical considerations with
 society4 ,if we could still hold the   
old ,darwinian dogmas of the origin of  
species through the struggle for        
existence and the survival of the       
fittest1 and if the equally august and  
authoritative dogma of the transmission 
by inheritance of acquired              
characteristics were longer tenable1    
then perhaps we might invoke faith1     
hope and patience and continue our      
generous method of imperilling  present 
society while we fixed our eyes on the  
vision of that to come  when            
environment1 education and heredity had 
accomplished their perfect  work4       
,unfortunately--or perhaps              
fortunately--science is rapidly         
reconsidering its earlier and somewhat  
hasty conclusions1 and the  consensus of
 the most authoritative opinion seems to
 be that we must  believe these things  
no longer4 ,failing these premises1 on  

which we have  laboured so long and so  
honestly and so sincerely1 we are again 
thrown  back on the testimony of history
 and our own observation1 and with this 
reversal we also are bound to reconsider
 both our premises and the  constitution
 of those systems and institutions we   
have erected on them  as a foundation4  
,the existence of a general law does not
 exclude exceptions4 ,the fact  that in 
the case of human beings we have to take
 into consideration a  powerful factor  
that does not come into play in the     
domain of zology  and botany--the       
immortal soul--makes impossible the     
drawing of exact  deductions from       
precedents therein established4 ,this   
determining touch  of the divine1 which 
is no result of biological processes1   
but stands  outside the limitations of  
heredity and environment and education1 
may  manifest itself quite as well in   
one class as in another1 for ,god is no 
respecter of persons4 ,as has been said 
before1 there is no difference  in      

degree as between immortal souls4 ,the  
point is1 however1 that each is  linked 
to a specific congeries of tendencies1  
limitations1 effective or  defective    
agencies1 that are what they have been  
made by the parents of  the race4 ,these
 may be such as enable the soul to      
triumph in its earthly  experience and  
in its bodily housing2 they may be such 
as will bring  about failure and defeat4
 ,it is not that the soul builds itself 
more  stately mansions2 it is that these
 are provided for it by the physical    
processes of life1 and it is almost the 
first duty of man to see that  they are 
well built4    ,again1 the soul is      
single and personal2 as it is not a     
plexus of  inherited tendencies1 so it  
is not heritable1 and a great soul      
showing  suddenly in the dusk of a dull 
race contributes nothing of its         
essential  quality to the issue of the  
body it has made its house4 ,the stews  
of a  mill town may suddenly be         
illuminated by the radiance of a divine 

soul1  to the amazement of profligate   
parents and the confusion of eugenists2 
but unless the unsolvable mystery of    
life has determined on a new  species1  
and so by a sudden influx of the lan    
vital cuts off the line  of physical    
succession and establishes one that is  
wholly new1 then the  brightness dies   
away with the passing of the splendid   
soul1 and the  established tendencies   
resume their sway4    ,the bearing of   
this theory on the actions of society is
 immediate4  ,through the complete      
disregard of race-values that has       
obtained during  the last two or three  
centuries1 and the emergence and        
complete  supremacy in all categories of
 life of human groups of low potential1 
civilization has been brought down to a 
level where it is threatened  with      
disaster4 ,if recovery is to be effected
 and a second era of dark  ages avoided1
 there must be an entirely new          
evaluation of things1 a new  estimate of
 the principles and methods that        

obtained under ,modernism1  and a       
fearless adventure into fields that may 
prove not to be so  unfamiliar as might 
at first appear4    ,specifically1 we   
must revise our attitude as to          
immigration1 excluding  whole classes1  
and even races1 that we have hitherto   
welcomed with open  hands from the      
disinterested offices of steamship      
companies3 we must  control and in some 
cases prohibit1 the mating of various   
racial stocks2  finally we must         
altogether disallow the practice of     
changing1 by law1  one race-name for    
another4 ,this process is one for which 
no excuse  exists and unless it can be  
brought to an end then1 apart from      
certain  physical differentiations on   
which nature wisely insists1 we have no 
guaranty against the adulteration that  
has gone so far towards  substituting   
the mongrel for the pure racial type1   
while society is  bound to suffer still 
further deception and continued danger  
along the  lines that have recently been

 indicated by the transformation of     
,treibitsch into ,lincoln1 ,braunstein  
into ,trotsky and ,samuels into         
,montague4    ,for its fulfillment1     
then1 and its regeneration1 the real    
democracy  demands and must achieve the 
creation and cooperation of a real      
aristocracy1 not an aristocracy of      
material force either military or       
civil1 nor one of land owners or        
money-getters1 nor one of artificial    
caste4 ,all these substitutes have been 
tried from time to time1 in ,rome1      
,china1 ,great ,britain1 the ,united    
,states1 and all have failed in the end1
  for all have ignored the one essential
 point of character1 without  which we  
shall continue to reproduce what we have
 at present2 a thing as  insolent1      
offensive and tyrannical as the old     
aristocracies at their  worst1 with none
 of the constructive and beneficent     
qualities of the old  aristocracies at  
their best4    ,that race-values have   
much to do with this development of     

character ,i  believe to be true1 but of
 far greater efficiency1 indeed the     
actual  motive force1 is the ,christian 
religion1 working directly on and       
through  the individual and using race  
as only one of its material means of    
operation4 ,democracy has accomplished  
its present failure1 not only  because  
it could not function without the       
cooperation of aristocracy1  but chiefly
 because1 in its modernist form1 it has 
become in fact  isolated from           
,christianity4 ,all in it of good it    
derives from that  ,catholic            
,christianity of the ,middle ,ages which
 first put it into  practice1 all in it 
of evil it owes to a falling back on    
paganism and a  denial of its own       
parentage and rejection of its control4 
,i shall deal  with this later in more  
detail2 ,i speak of it now just for the 
purpose  of entering a caveat against   
any deduction from what ,i have said    
that  any natural force1 of race or     
evolution or anything else1 or any      

formal  institution devised by man1 ever
 has1 or ever can1 serve in itself as a 
way of social redemption4 ,i am anxious 
not to overemphasize these things  on   
which the development of my argument    
forces me to lay particular  stress4    
,for those who can go with me so far1   
the question will arise3 ,how then  are 
we so to reorganize society that we may 
gain the end in view8 ,it is  a question
 not easy of solution4 ,granted the fact
 of social  differentiation and the     
necessity of its recognition1 how are we
 to  break down the wholly wrong system 
that now obtains and substitute  another
 in its place8 ,it would be simple      
enough if within the period  allowed us 
by safety 7apparently not any too       
extended at the present  moment7 a      
working majority of men could achieve1  
in the old and exact  phraseology1 that 
change of heart1 that spiritual         
conversion1 that would  bring back into 
permanent authority the supernatural    
virtues of faith1  hope1 and charity1   

and that sense of right values in life1 
which  together make almost indifferent 
the nature of the formal devices man    
creates for the organization of society4
 ,certainly this is possible2  greater  
miracles have happened in history but1  
failing this1 what8    ,one turns of    
course by instinct to old models1 but in
 this is the danger  of an attempt at an
 archaeological restoration1 a futile   
effort at  reviving dead forms that have
 had their day4 ,in principle1 and in   
the  working as well1 the old orders of 
chivalry or knighthood strongly  commend
 themselves1 for here there was1 in     
principle1 both the  maintenance of high
 ideals of honour courtesy and noblesse 
oblige1 and  the rendering of chivalrous
 service4 ,chesterton has put it well in
 the  phrase the giving things which    
cannot be demanded1 the avoiding things 
which cannot be punished4 ,moreover1    
admission to the orders of  knighthood  
was free to all provided there were that
 cause which came  from personal        

character alone4 ,knighthood was the    
crown of knightly  service and it was   
forfeited for recreancy4 ,is there not  
in this some  suggestion of what may    
again be established as an incentive and
 a  reward1 and as well1 as a vital     
agency for the reorganization of        
society8    ,knighthood is personal1 and
 is for the lifetime of the recipient4  
,is  there any value in an estate where 
status is heritable8 ,if there is any   
validity in the theory of varying and   
persistent race-values1 it would  seem  
so1 yet the idea of recognizing this    
excellence of certain families  and the 
reasonable probability of their         
maintaining the established  standard   
unimpaired1 and so giving them a formal 
status1 would no doubt  be repugnant to 
the vast majority of men in the ,united 
,states4 ,i think  this aversion is     
based on prejudice1 natural but         
ill-founded4 ,we resent  the idea of    
privilege without responsibility1 as we 
should1 but this1  while it was the     

condition of those aristocracies which  
were operative  at the time of the      
founding of the ,republic1 was opposed  
to the  ,mediaeval1 or true idea1 which 
linked responsibility with privilege4   
,the  old privilege is gone and cannot  
be restored1 but already we have a new  
privilege which is being claimed and    
enforced by proletarian groups1 and  the
 legislative representatives of the     
whole people stand in such terror  of   
massed votes that they not only fail to 
check this astonishing and  topsy-turvy 
movement1 but actually further its      
pretensions4 ,the  dictatorship of the  
proletariat actually means the          
restoration of  privilege in a form far 
more tyrannical and monstrous than any  
ever  exercised by the old aristocracies
 of ,italy1 ,france1 ,germany and       
,england4 ,much recent legislation in   
,washington exempting certain           
industrial and agricultural classes from
 the operation of laws which  bear      
heavily on other classes1 and some of   

the claims and pretensions of  unionized
 labor1 tend in precisely the same      
direction4    ,it is not restoration of 
privilege ,i have in mind but rather in 
a sense  the prevention of this through 
the existence of a class or estate that 
has a fixed status dependent first on   
character and service and then on  an   
assured position that is not contingent 
on political favour1 the bulk  of votes1
 or the acquisition of an inordinate    
amount of money4 ,surety of  position   
works towards independence of thought   
and action and towards  strong          
leadership4 ,it establishes and         
maintains certain high ideals of        
honour1 chivalry1 and service as well as
 of courtesy and manners4 ,if the       
things for which the gentlemen1 the     
knighthood and the nobility of  ,europe 
during the ,christian dispensation were 
responsible were stricken  from the     
record there would be comparatively     
little left of the history  of ,european
 culture and civilization4    ,after    

all1 is it merely sentimentalism and a  
sense of the picturesque  that leads us 
to look backward with some wistfulness  
to the days of  which the record is     
still left us in legends and fairy-tales
 and old  romance1 when ignorance and   
vulgarity did not sit in high places    
even if  arrogance and pride and tyranny
 sometimes did1 and when the profiteer  
and the oriental financier and the      
successful politician did not  represent
 the distinction and the chivalry and   
the courtesy and the  honour of the     
social organism man builds for his own  
habitation8 ,the  idea of knighthood    
still stirs us and the deeds of chivalry
 and the  courtesy and the honour of the
 social ,knights of the ,round ,table1  
,crusaders and knights errant1 the quest
 of the ,holy ,grail1 rescue and        
adventure1 the fighting with paynims and
 powers of evil1 still stir our  blood  
and arouse in our minds strange         
contrasts and antinomies4 ,princes  and 
fair chatelaines in their wide domains  

with castle and chase and  delicate     
pleasaunce1 liege-men bound to them by  
more than the feudal  ties of service4  
,all the varied honours of nobility1    
vitalized by  significant ritual and    
symbolized by splendid and beautiful    
costumes4  ,courts of ,love and         
troubadours and trouvres1 kings who were
 kings  indeed1 with the splendour and  
courtesy and beneficence of their       
courts--,louis the ,saint and ,frederic 
,,ii1 ,edward ,,iii and ,king           
,charles--above all the simple rank and 
high honour of the gentleman1  the      
representative of a long line of        
honourable tradition1 no casual and     
purse-proud upstart1 but of proud race  
and unquestioned status1 proud  because 
it stood for certain high ideals of     
honour and chivalry and  loyalty1 of    
courtesy and breeding and compassion4   
,all these old things  of long ago still
 rouse in us answering humours1 and     
there are a few of  us who can hardly   
see just why they are inconsistent with 

liberty and  opportunity1 justice1      
righteousness and mercy4    ,somehow the
 last two generations1 and especially   
the last ten years1  have revealed many 
things hitherto hidden1 and as we       
envisage society as  it has come to be1 
estimating it by new-found standards and
 establishing  new comparisons through a
 recovery of a more just historical     
sense1 the  question comes whether it is
 indeed more wholesome1 more beautiful1 
more  normal to man as he is1 than the  
older society that in varying forms but 
always the same principle1 had held     
throughout all history until the new    
model came in1 now hardly a century ago4
    ,i do not think this wistful and    
bewildered looking backward is          
particularly due to a new desire for    
beauty1 that comeliness of  condition   
that existed then and has now given     
place to gross ugliness  and            
ill-conditioned manners and ways4       
,rather it seems to me it is due to  a  
sense of irrationality and fundamental  

injustice in the present order1  coupled
 with a new terror of the proximate     
issue as this already is  revealing     
itself amongst many peoples4 ,we resent 
the high estate1  purchasable and       
purchased1 of the cynical intriguer and 
the vulgar  profiteer1 of the tradesman 
in big business1 the cheap prophet and  
the  pathetic progeny of successful men 
fast reverting to type4 ,we know our    
city councils and our state legislatures
 and our houses of congress1 we  know   
our newspapers1 their standards and the 
motive powers behind them1  and what    
they record of the character and the    
doings of what they call  society men   
and women4 ,above all we know that under
 the ancient  regime1 in spite of       
manifold failures1 shortcomings and     
disloyalty1  there was such a thing as a
 standard of honour1 a principle of     
chivalry1  an impulse to unselfish      
service1 a criterion of courtesy and    
good  manners2 we look for these things 
now in vain1 except amongst those       

little enclaves of oblivion where the   
old character and old breeding  still   
maintain a fading existence1 and as we  
consider what we have  become we        
sometimes wonder if the price we have   
paid for democracy was  not too         
extortionate4    ,above all1 we are     
tempted to this query when we think of  
our vanishing  standards of right and   
wrong1 of our progressive reversal of   
values1 of  our diminishing stock of    
social character4 ,we tore down in      
indignant  revolt the rotten fabric of a
 bad social system when it had so far   
declined from its ideal and its former  
estate that it could no longer be       
endured1 and we made a new thing1 full  
as we were with the fire of  desire for 
a new righteousness and a new system    
that would compass it4  ,perhaps we did 
well1 at least we hardly could have done
 anything else2  but now we are again in
 the position of our forefathers who saw
 things  as they were and acted with    
force and decision4 ,there are as many  

counts  against our society of          
plutocrats1 politicians and             
proletarians1 mingled  in complete and  
ineffective confusion1 as there were    
against the  aristocracies1 so called1  
of the eighteenth century4 ,perhaps     
there are  more1 at least many of them  
are different1 but the indictment is no 
less  sweeping4    ,our plan1 so        
generous1 so liberal1 so high-minded in 
many ways1 has  failed to produce the   
results we desired1 while it has worked 
itself out  to the point of menace4 ,it 
is for us to see these facts clearly1   
and so  to act1 and so promptly1 that we
 may not have to await the destroying   
force of cataclysm for the correction of
 our errors4          ,,iv      ,,the   
,,industrial ,,problem    ,the solution 
of the industrial and economic problem  
that now confronts  the entire world    
with an insistence that is not to be    
denied1 is  contingent on the           
restoration1 first of all1 of the       
holiness and the joy  of work4 ,labour  

is not a curse1 it is rather one of the 
greatest of the  earthly blessings of   
man1 provided its sanctity is recognized
 and its  performance is accomplished   
with satisfaction to the labourer4 ,in  
work  man creates1 whether the product  
is a bushel of potatoes from a space of 
once arid ground1 or whether it is the  
,taj ,mahal1 ,westminster ,abbey or  the
 ,constitution of the ,united ,states1  
and so working he partakes  something of
 the divine power of creation4    ,when 
work is subject to slavery1 all sense of
 its holiness is lost1 both  by master  
and bondman2 when it is subject to the  
factory system all the  joy in labour is
 lost4 ,ingenuity may devise one clever 
panacea after  another for the salving  
work and for lifting the working classes
 from  the intolerable conditions that  
have prevailed for more than a century2 
they will be ephemeral in their         
existence and futile in their results   
unless sense of holiness is restored1   
and the joy in production and  creation 

given back to those who have been       
defrauded4    ,before ,christianity     
prevailed slavery was universal in      
civilized  communities1 labour1 as      
conducted under that regime1 was a      
curse1 and  this at length came home to 
roost on the gaunt wreckage of          
imperialism4  ,thereafter came slowly   
increasing liberty under the feudal     
system with  its small social units and 
its system of production for use not    
profits1  monasticism with its doctrine 
and practice of the sanctity of work1   
and  the ,church with its progressive   
emancipation of the spiritual part of   
man4 ,work was not easy1 on the contrary
 it was very hard throughout the  ,dark 
,ages and ,mediaevalism1 but there is no
 particular merit in easy  work4 ,it was
 virtually free except for the labour   
and contributions in  kind exacted by   
the over-lord 7less in proportion than  
taxes in money  have been at several    
times since7 from the workers on the    
soil1 and in  the crafts of every kind  

redeemed from undue arduousness by the  
joy that  comes from doing a thing well 
and producing something of beauty1      
originality and technical perfection4   
,the period during which work possessed 
the most honourable status and  the joy 
in work was the greatest1 extends from  
the beginnings of the  twelfth century  
well into the sixteenth4 ,in some       
centuries1 and along  certain lines of  
activity1 it continued much longer1     
notably in ,england  and the ,united    
,states1 but social and industrial      
conditions were rapidly  changing1 the  
old aristocracy was becoming perverted1 
,lutheranisms1  ,calvinism and          
,puritanism were breaking down the old  
communal sense of  brotherhood so       
arduously built up during the ,middle   
,ages1 capitalism was  ousting the trade
 and craft guilds of free labour and    
political  absolutism was crushing ever 
lower and lower a proletariat that was  
fast  losing the last vestiges of old   
liberty4 ,the fact of slavery without   

the  name was gradually imposed on the  
agricultural classes1 and after the     
suppression of the monasteries in       
,england work as work lost its sacred   
character and fell under contempt4 ,with
 the outbreak of industrialism in  the  
last quarter of the eighteenth century  
through the institution and             
introduction of labour-saving machinery 
and the consequent division of  labour1 
the factory system1 the joint-stock     
company and capitalism1 this  new       
slavery was extended to industrial      
workers1 and with its  establishment    
disappeared the element of joy in       
labour4    ,for fifty years1 about the  
blackest half-century civilization has  
had to  record1 this condition of       
industrial slavery continued with little
  amendment4 ,very slowly1 however1 the 
workers themselves1 championed by       
certain aristocrats like the seventh    
,earl of ,shaftsbury against            
professional ,liberals like ,cobden1    
,bright1 and ,gladstone in ,england1    

began to loosen the shackles that bound 
them to infamous conditions1 and  after 
the abrogation of laws that made any    
association of workingmen a  penal      
offense1 the labour unions began to     
ameliorate certain of the  servile      
conditions under which for two          
generations the workman had  suffered4  
,since then the process of abolishing   
wage-slavery went slowly  forward until 
at last the war came not only to        
threaten its destruction  altogether but
 also to place the emancipated workers  
in a position where  they could dictate 
terms and conditions to capital1 to     
employers1 to  government and to the    
general public2 while even now in many  
parts of  ,europe and ,america1 besides 
,russia1 overt attempts are being made  
to  bring back the old slavery1 only    
with the former bondsmen in supreme     
dictatorship1 the former employers and  
the bourgeoisie in the new  serfage4    
,the old slavery is gone1 but the joy in
 work has not been restored2  instead1  

those who have achieved triumphant      
emancipation turn from  labour itself   
with the same distaste1 yes1 with       
greater aversion than  that which       
obtained under the old rgime4 ,with     
every added liberty and  exemption1 with
 every shortening of hours and increase 
of pay1  production per hour falls off  
and the quality of the output declines4 
,what is the reason for this8 ,is it due
 to the viciousness of the worker1  to  
his natural selfishness1 greed and      
cruelty8 ,i do not think so1 but  rather
 that the explanation is to be found in 
the fact that the  industrial system of 
modernism has resulted in a condition   
where the joy  has been altogether cut  
out of labour1 and that until this state
 of  things has been reversed and the   
sense of the holiness of work and the   
joy of working have been restored1 it is
 useless to look for workable  solutions
 of the labour problem4 ,the fact of    
industrial slavery has  been done away  
with but the sense of the servile       

condition that attaches  to work has    
been retained1 therefore the idea of the
 dignity and  holiness of labour has not
 come back any more than the old joy and
  satisfaction4 ,failing this recovery1 
no reorganization of industrial         
relations1 neither profit-sharing nor   
shop committees1 neither                
nationalization nor state socialism1    
neither the abolition of capital1  nor  
,soviets nor syndicalism nor the        
dictatorship of the proletariat will    
get us anywhere4 ,it is all a waste of  
time1 and1 through its ultimate  failure
 and disappointments1 an intensification
 of an industrial  disease4    ,why is  
it that this is so8 ,for an answer ,i   
must probe deep and1 it may  seem1 cut  
wildly4 ,i believe it is because we have
 built up a system that  goes far       
outside the limits of human scale1      
transcends human capacity1  is forbidden
 by the laws and conditions of life1 and
 must be abrogated  if it is not to     
destroy itself and civilization in the  

process4    ,what1 precisely has taken  
place8 ,late in the eighteenth century  
two  things happened2 the discovery of  
the potential inherent in coal and its  
derivative1 steam1 with electricity yet 
unexploited but ready to hand1  and the 
application of this to industrial       
purposes1 together with the  initiating 
of a long and astounding series of      
discoveries and inventions  all         
applicable to industrial purposes4 ,with
 a sort of vertiginous  rapidity the    
whole industrial process was transformed
 from what it had  been during the      
period of recorded history2 steam and   
machinery took the  place of brain and  
hand power directly applied1 and a      
revolution greater  than any other was  
effected4    ,the new devices were      
hailed as labour-saving but they vastly 
increased  labour both in hours of work 
and in hands employed4 ,bulk production 
through the factory system was          
inevitable1 the result being an enormous
  surplus over the normal and local     

demand4 ,to organize and conduct these  
processes of bulk-production required   
money greater in amount than            
individuals could furnish2 so grew up   
capitalism1 the joint-stock  company1   
credit and cosmopolitan finance4 ,to    
produce profits and  dividends markets  
must be found for the huge surplus      
product4 ,this was  accomplished by     
stimulating the covetousness of people  
for things they  had not thought of1    
under normal conditions would not1 in   
many cases1  need1 and very likely would
 be happier without1 and in dumping on  
supposedly barbarous peoples in remote  
parts of the world1 articles  alien to  
their traditions and their mode of life 
and generally  pestiferous in their     
influence and results4 ,so came         
advertising in all  its branches1 direct
 and indirect1 from the newspaper and   
the bill-board  to the drummer1 the     
diplomatic representative and the       
commercial  missionary4    ,every year  
saw some new invention that increased   

the product per man1  the development of
 some new advertising device1 the       
conquest of some new  territory or the  
delimitation of some new sphere of      
influence1 and the  revelation of some  
new possibility in the covetousness of  
man4 ,profits  rose to new heights and  
accumulating dividends clamoured for new
  opportunities for investment4         
,competition tended to cut down returns1
  therefore labour was more and more    
sustained through diminished wages  and 
laws that savagely prevented any        
concerted effort towards  self-defense4 
,improvements in agricultural processes 
and the application  of machinery and   
steam power1 together with              
bulk-production and  scientific         
localization of crops1 threw great      
quantities of  farm-labourers out of    
work and drove them into the industrial 
towns1  while advances in medical       
science and in sanitation raised the    
proportion of births to deaths and soon 
provided a surplus of potential  labour 

so that the operation of the law of     
supply and demand1 extolled  by a new   
philosophy and enforced by the new      
representative or  democratic and       
parliamentary government1 resulted in an
 unfailing supply  of cheap labour paid 
wages just beyond the limit of          
starvation4    ,at last there came      
evidences that the limit had been       
reached2 the whole  world had been      
opened up and pre-empted1 labour was    
beginning to demand  and even get more  
adequate wages1 competition1 once hailed
 as the life  of trade was becoming so  
fierce that dividends were dwindling4   
,something had to be done and in        
self-defense industries began to        
coalesce in enormous trusts and combines
 and monopolies4  ,capitalization of    
millions now ran into billions1 finance 
became  international in its scope and  
gargantuan in its proportions and       
ominousness1 advertising grew from its  
original simplicity and navet  into a   
vast industry based on all that the most

 ingenious professors  could tell of    
applied psychology1 subsidizing artists1
 poets1 men of  letters1 employing      
armies of men along a hundred different 
lines1  expending millions annually in  
its operations1 making the modern       
newspaper possible1 and ultimately      
developing the whole system of          
propaganda which has now become the one 
great determining factor in the  making 
of public opinion4    ,when the         
twentieth century opened1 that          
industrialism which had begun  just a   
century before1 had1 with its various   
collateral developments1  financial1    
educational1 journalistic1 etc41 become 
not only the greatest  force in society1
 but as well a thing operating on the   
largest scale  that man had ever        
essayed3 beside it the ,roman ,empire   
was parochial4    ,the result of this   
institution1 conceived on such imperial 
lines1 was1  in the field we are now    
considering1 the total destruction of   
the sense  of the holiness of labour and

 of joy in work4 ,it extended far beyond
 the  limits of pure industrialism2 it  
moulded and controlled society in all   
its forms1 destroying ideals old as     
history1 reversing values1 confusing    
issues and wrecking man's powers of     
judgment4 ,until the war it seemed      
irresistible1 now its weakness and the  
fallacy of its assumptions are          
revealed1 but it has become so          
absolutely a part of our life1 indeed of
  our nature1 that we are unable to     
estimate it by any sound standards of   
judgment1 and even when we approximate  
this we cannot think in other  terms    
when we try to devise our schemes of    
redemption4 ,even the  socialist and the
 ,bolshevik think in imperial terms when
 they try to  compass the ending of     
imperialism4    ,under this supreme     
system1 as ,i see it1 the two essential 
things ,i have  spoken of cannot be     
restored1 nor could they maintain       
themselves if1 by  some miracle1 they   
were once re-established4 ,the          

indictment cannot be  closed here4 ,the 
actual condition that has developed from
 industrialism  presents certain factors
 that are not consonant with sane1      
wholesome and  ,christian living4 ,not  
only has the unit of human scale in     
human society  been done away with1 not 
only have the sense of the nobility of  
work and  joy in the doing been         
exterminated1 but1 as well1 certain     
absolutely  false principles and methods
 have been adopted which are not        
susceptible  of reform but only of      
abolition4    ,of some of these ,i have 
spoken already2 the alarming drift      
towards  cities1 until now in the       
,united ,states more than one-half the  
population  is urban2 the segregation of
 industries in certain cities and       
regions2  the minute division of labour 
and intensive specialization2 the       
abnormal  growth of a true proletariat  
or non-land-holding class2 the flooding 
of  the country by cheap labour drawn   
from the most backward communities and  

from peoples of low race-value4 ,out of 
this has arisen a bitter class  conflict
 and the ominous beginnings of a        
perilous class consciousness1  with     
actual warfare joined in several        
countries1 and threatened in all  others
 where industrial civilization is       
prevalent4 ,with this has grown  up an  
artificially stimulated covetousness for
 a thousand futile  luxuries1 and a     
standard of living that presupposes a   
thousand  non-essentials as basic       
necessities4 ,production for profit1 not
 use1  excess production due to         
machinery1 efficient organization1 and  
surplus  of labour1 together with the   
necessity for marketing the product at a
  profit1 have produced a state of      
things where at least one-half the      
available labour in the country is      
engaged in the production and sale of   
articles which are not necessary to     
physical1 intellectual or spiritual     
life1 while of the remainder1 hardly    
more than a half is employed in         

production1 the others are devoting     
themselves to distribution and to  the  
war of competition through advertising  
and the capturing of trade by  ingenious
 and capable salesmen4 ,it is a         
significant fact that two of the        
greatest industries in the ,united      
,states are the making of automobiles   
and moving pictures4    ,it is probably 
true to say that of the potential labour
 in the ,united  ,states1 about         
one-fourth is producing those things    
which are physically1  intellectually   
and spiritually necessary2 the remaining
 three-fourths  are essentially         
non-producers3 they must1 however1 be   
housed1 fed1  clothed1 and amused1 and  
the cost of this support is added to the
 cost  of the necessities of life4 ,the 
reason for the present high cost of     
living lies possibly here4    ,lest ,i  
be misunderstood1 let me say here that  
under the head of  necessities of life  
,i do not mean a new model automobile   
each year1  moving pictures1 mechanical 

substitutes for music or any other art1 
and  the thousand catch-trade devices   
that appear each year for the purpose   
of filching business from another or    
establishing a new desire in the        
already over-crowded imaginations of an 
over-stimulated populace4  ,particularly
 do ,i not mean advertising in any sense
 in which it is now  understood and     
practised4 ,if1 as ,i believe to be the 
case1 production  for profit1 rather    
than for use1 the reversal of the       
ancient doctrine  that the demand must  
produce the supply1 in favour of the    
doctrine that  the supply must foster   
the demand1 is the foundation of our    
economic  error and our industrial ills1
 then it follows that advertising as it 
is  now carried on by billboards1       
circulars and newspapers1 by drummers1  
solicitors and consular agents1 falls in
 the same condemnation1 for  except by  
its offices the system could not have   
succeeded or continue to  function4 ,it 
is bad in itself as the support and     

strength of a bad  institution1 but its 
guilt does not stop here4 ,so plausible 
is it1 so  essential to the very        
existence of the contemporary rgime1 so 
knit up  with all the commonest affairs 
of life1 so powerful in its organization
  and broad in its operations1 it has   
poisoned1 and continues to poison1  the 
minds of men so that the headlong       
process of losing all sense of          
comparative values is accelerated1 while
 every instinctive effort at  recovery  
and readjustment is nullified4 ,how far 
this process has gone  may be           
illustrated by two instances4 ,it is    
only a few months ago that a  most      
respected clergyman publicly declared   
that missionaries were the  greatest and
 most efficient asset to trade because  
they were unofficial  commercial agents 
who opened up new and savage countries  
to ,western  commerce through           
advertising commodities of which the    
natives had never  heard1 and arousing  
in them a sense of acquisitiveness that 

meant more  wealth and business for     
trade and manufacture1 which should     
support  foreign missions on this ground
 at least4 ,more recently the head of an
  advertising concern in ,new ,york is  
reported to have said3 ,it is           
principally through advertising that we 
have arrived at the high degree  of     
civilization which this age enjoys1 for 
advertising has taught us the  use of   
books and how to furnish our homes with 
the thousand and one  comforts that add 
so materially to our physical and       
intellectual  well-being4 ,the future of
 the world depends on advertising4      
,advertising  is the salvation of       
civilization1 for civilization cannot   
outlive  advertising a century4    ,it  
is tempting to linger over such a       
delectable morsel as this1 for even  if 
it is only the absurd and irresponsible 
output of one poor1 foolish  man1 it    
does express more or less what          
industrial civilization holds to  be    
true1 though few would avow their faith 

so whole-heartedly4 ,the  statement was 
made as propaganda1 and propaganda is   
merely advertising  in its most         
insidious and dangerous form4 ,the thing
 revealed its  possibilities during the 
war1 but the black discredit that was   
then very  justly attached to it could  
not prevail against its manifest        
potency1  and it is now universally used
 after the most comprehensive and       
frequently unscrupulous fashion1 with   
results that can only be perilous  in   
the extreme4 ,the type and calibre of   
mind that has now been released  from   
long bondage1 and by weight of numbers  
is now fast taking over the  direction  
of affairs1 is curiously subservient to 
the written word1 and  lacking a true   
sense of comparative values1 without    
effective leadership  either secular or 
religious1 is easily swayed by every    
wind of doctrine4  ,the forces of evil  
that are ever in conflict with the      
forces of right  are notoriously        
ingenious in making the worse appear the

 better cause1  and with every desire   
for illumination and for following the  
right way1  the multitude1 whether      
educated or illiterate1 fall into the   
falsehoods  of others' imaginings4      
,money1 efficiency1 an acquired         
knowledge of mob  psychology1 the       
printing press and the mail service     
acting in alliance1  and directed by    
fanatical or cynical energy1 form a     
force of enormous  potency that is now  
being used effectively throughout       
society4 ,it is  irresponsible1         
anonymous and pervasive4 ,through its   
operation the last  barriers are broken 
down between the leadership of character
 and the  leadership of craft1 while all
 formal distinctions between the        
valuable  and the valueless are swept   
away4    ,i have spoken at some length  
of this particular element in the       
present  condition of things1 because in
 both its aspects1 as the support of our
  present industrial and economic system
 and as the efficient moulder of a      

fluid and unstable public opinion1 it is
 perhaps the strongest and most  subtle 
force of which we must take account4    
,with a system so prevalent as imperial 
industry1 so knit up with every  phase  
of life and thought1 and so determining 
a factor in all our  concepts1 united as
 it is with two such invincible allies  
as advertising  and propaganda1 it is   
inconceivable that it should be         
overthrown by any  human force from     
without4 ,holding it to be essentially  
wrong1 it seems  to me providential that
 it is already showing signs of falling 
by its  own weight4 ,production of      
commodities has far exceeded production 
of the  means of payment1 and society is
 now running on promises to pay1 on     
paper obligations1 on anticipations of  
future production and sale1 on  credit1 
in a word4 ,the war has enormously      
magnified this condition until  an      
enforced liquidation would mean         
bankruptcy for all the nations of the   
earth1 while the production of utilities

 is decreasing in proportion to  the    
production of luxuries1 labour is       
exacting increasing pay for  decreasing 
hours of work and quality of output1 and
 the enormous  financial structure1     
elaborately and ingeniously built up    
through  several generations1 is in     
grave danger of immediate catastrophe4  
,the  whole world is in the position of 
an insolvent debtor who is so deeply    
involved that his creditors cannot      
afford to let him go into bankruptcy1   
and so keep him out of the ,poor        
,debtor's ,court by doling out support  
from day to day4 ,confidence is the only
 thing that keeps matters going2  what  
happens when this is lost is now being  
demonstrated in many parts  of ,europe4 
,the optimist claims that increased     
production1 coupled with  enforced      
economy1 will produce a satisfactory    
solution1 but there is no  evidence that
 labour1 now having the whip-hand1 will 
give up its present  advantage          
sufficiently to make this possible2 even

 if it did1 payment  must be in the form
 of exchange or else in further promises
 to pay1  while the capacity of the     
world for consumption is limited        
somewhere1  though thus far big business
 has failed to recognize this fact4 ,at 
present the interest charges on debts1  
both public and private1 have  reached a
 point where they come near to consuming
 all possible profits  even from a      
highly accelerated rate of production4  
,altogether it is  reasonable to assume 
that the present financial-industrial   
system is  near its term for reasons    
inherent in itself1 let alone the       
possibility  of a further extension of  
the drastic and completely effective    
measures  of destruction that are       
characteristics of ,bolshevism and its  
blood-brothers4    ,assuming that this  
is so1 two questions arise3 what is to  
take the place  of imperial industry1   
and how is this substitution to be      
brought about8    ,i think the answer to
 the first is3 a social and industrial  

system based  on small1 self-contained1 
largely self-sufficing units1 where     
supply  follows demand1 where production
 is primarily for use not profit1 and   
where in all industrial operations some 
system will obtain which is more  or    
less that of the guilds of the ,middle  
,ages4 ,i should like to go into  this a
 little more in detail before trying to 
answer the second  question4    ,the    
normal social unit is a group of        
families predominantly of the same      
race1 territorially compact1 of         
substantially the same ideals as        
expressed in religion and the philosophy
 of life1 and sufficiently  numerous to 
provide from within itself the major    
part of those things  which are         
necessary to physical1 intellectual and 
spiritual well-being4  ,it should       
consist of a central nucleus of houses1 
each with its garden1  the churches1    
schools and public buildings that are   
requisite1 the  manufactories and       
workshops that supply the needs of the  

community1 the  shops for sale of those 
things not produced at home1 and all    
necessary  places of amusement4 ,around 
this residential centre should be       
sufficient  agricultural land to furnish
 all the farm products that will be     
consumed  by the community itself4 ,the 
nucleus of habitation and industry1     
together with the surrounding farms1    
make up the social unit1 which is  to   
the fullest possible degree1            
self-contained1 self-sufficient and     
self-governing4    ,certain propositions
 are fundamental1 and they are as       
follows3 ,every  family should own      
enough land to support itself at need4  
,the farms  included in the unit must   
produce enough to meet the needs of the 
population4 ,industry must be so        
organized that it will normally serve   
the resident population along every     
feasible line4 ,only such things as     
cannot be produced at home on account of
 climatic or soil limitations  should be
 imported from outside4 ,all necessary  

professional services  should be        
obtainable within the community itself4 
,all financial  transactions such as    
loans1 credits1 banking and insurance   
should be  domestic4 ,surplus products1 
whether agricultural1 industrial or     
professional1 should be considered as   
by-products1 and in no case should  the 
producing agency acquire such magnitude 
that home-consumption  becomes a side   
issue and production for profit take the
 place of  production for use4    ,all  
this is absolutely opposed to our       
present system1 but our present  system 
is wasteful1 artificial1 illogical1     
unsocial1 and therefore  vicious4 ,i    
have said enough as to the falsities1   
the dangers and the  failures of        
bulk-production through the operations  
of capitalism1 the  factory system and  
advertising1 but its concomitant1 the   
segregation of  industries1 is equally  
objectionable4 ,to ship hogs #a1ejj     
miles to be  slaughtered and packed in  
food form1 and then ship this           

manufactured  product back to the source
 from which the raw material came2 to   
feed a  great city with grain1 potatoes 
and fruits coming from #a1jjj to #c1jjj 
miles away1 and vegetables from a       
distance of several hundred miles1      
while the farms within a radius of fifty
 miles are abandoned and barren2  to    
make all the shoes for the nation in one
 small area1 to spin the wool  and      
cotton and weave the cloth in two or    
three others2 to make the  greater part 
of the furniture in one state1 the      
automobiles in a second  and the        
breakfast food in a third1 is so        
preposterous a proposition that  it     
belongs in ,gulliver's ,travels1 not in 
the annals of a supposedly  intelligent 
people4 ,the only benefit is that which 
for a time accrued to  the railways1    
which carted raw materials and finished 
products back and  forth over thousands 
of miles of their lines1 the costs of   
shipment and  reshipment being naturally
 added to the price to the consumer4    

,the  penalties for this uneconomic     
procedure were borne by society at      
large1  not only in the increased costs 
but through the abnormal communities1   
each with its tens of thousands of      
operatives all engaged in the same  work
 and generally drawn from foreign races 
7with the active  co-operation of the   
steamship lines71 and the permanent     
dislocation of  the labour supply1      
together with the complete disruption of
 the social  synthesis4    ,with        
production for profit and segregation of
 industries has come an  almost         
infinitesimal division and              
specialization of labour4 ,under a      
right industrial system this would be   
reduced1 not magnified4 ,the  dignity of
 labour and the joy of creation demand  
that in so far as  possible each man    
should carry through one entire         
operation4 ,this is of  course now1 and 
always has been under any highly        
developed civilization1  impossible in  
practice1 except along certain lines of 

art and  craftsmanship4 ,the evils of   
the existing system can in a measure be 
done  away with the moment production   
for use is the recognized law1 for it is
  only in bulk-production that this     
intensive specialization can be made  to
 pay4 ,bulk-production there will always
 be until1 and if1 the world is         
reorganized on the basis of an infinite 
number of self-contained social  units1 
but in the ideal community--and ,i am   
dealing now with ideals--it  would not  
exist4    ,allied with this is the whole
 question of the factory method and the 
use  and misuse of machinery4 ,it seems 
to me that the true principle is that   
machinery and the factory are admissible
 only when so employed they  actually do
 produce1 in bulk operations1 a better  
product1 and with less  labour1 than is 
possible through hand work4 ,weaving1   
forging and all  work where human action
 must be more or less mechanical1 offer 
a fair  field for the machine and the   
factory1 but wherever the human element 

can enter1 where personality and the    
skilled craft of the hand are given     
play1 the machine and the factory are   
inadmissible4 ,the great city1  creation
 of big business1 segregation of        
industries1 advertising1  salesmanship  
and a hundred other concomitants of     
modernism1 have built  up an abnormal   
and avaricious demand for               
bulk-production along lines  where the  
handicraft should function4 ,it becomes 
necessary--let us  say--to provide a    
million dollars worth of furniture for a
 ten million  dollar hotel 7itself to be
 superseded and scrapped in perhaps ten 
years7  and naturally only the most     
intensive and efficient factory system  
can  meet this demand4 ,rightly1        
however1 the furniture of a community   
should  be produced by the local cabinet
 makers1 and so it should be in many    
other industries now entirely taken over
 by the factory system4    ,for the     
future then we must consciously work for
 the building upward  from primary      

units1 so completely reversing our      
present practice of  creating the big   
thing and fighting hopelessly to        
preserve such small  and few doles of   
liberty and personality as may be       
permitted to filter  downward from      
above4 ,this is the only true democracy1
 and the thing we  call by the name is  
not this1 largely because we have bent  
our best  energies to the building up of
 vast and imperial aggregates which have
  inevitably assumed a complete unity in
 themselves and become dominating1      
tyrannical and ruthless forces that have
 operated regardless of the  sound laws 
and wholesome principles of a right     
society4 ,neither the  vital democracy  
of principle nor the artificial         
democracy of practice  can exist in     
conjunction with imperialism1 whether   
this is established  in government1 in  
industry1 in trade1 in society or in    
education4    ,if we can assume1 then1  
the gradual development of a new society
 in  which these principles will be     

carried out1 a society that is made up  
of  social units of human scale1        
self-contained1 self-supporting and     
self-governed1 where production is      
primarily for use not profit1 and  where
 bulk-production is practically         
non-existent1 the sub-division of       
labour reduced to the lowest practicable
 point1 machinery employed to a  much   
less extent than now1 and the factory   
system abolished1 what  organic form    
will labour take on in place of that    
which now obtains8 ,it  is possible to  
forecast this only in the most general  
terms1 for life  itself must operate to 
determine the lines of development and  
dictate  the consequent forms4 ,if we   
can acquire a better standard of        
comparative  values1 and with a clearer 
and more fearless vision estimate the   
rights  and wrongs of the contemporary  
system1 rejecting the ill thing and     
jealously preserving1 or passionately   
regaining1 the good1 we shall be  able  
to establish certain broad1 fundamental 

and governing principles1  and doing    
this we can await in confidence the     
evolution of the organic  forms that    
will be the working agencies of the new 
society4    ,i have tried to indicate   
some of the basic principles of a new   
society4  ,the operating forms1 so far  
as industry is concerned1 will1 ,i      
think1  follow in essential respects the
 craft-guilds of the ,middle ,ages4     
,they  will not be an archaeological    
restoration1 as some of the ,english    
protagonists of this great revolution   
seem to anticipate1 they will be        
variously adapted to the peculiar       
conditions of a new century1 but the    
basic principles will be preserved4     
,whatever happens1 ,i am sure it will   
not be either a continuation of the     
present system of capitalism and        
profit-hunting1 or nationalization of   
industries1 or state socialism in  any  
form1 or anything remotely resembling   
,bolshevism1 syndicalism or a           
dictatorship of the proletariat4 ,here1 

as in government1 education and  social 
relations1 the power and the authority  
of the state must decline1  government  
itself withdrawing more and more from   
interference with the  operation of     
life1 and liberty find its way back to  
the individual and  to the social and   
economic groups4 ,we live now under a   
more tyrannical  and inquisitorial      
regime1 in spite of 7partly perhaps     
because of7 its  democratic forms and   
dogmas1 than is common in historical    
records4  ,nationalization or state     
socialism would mean so great a         
magnifying of  this condition that      
existence would soon become both        
grotesque and  intolerable4 ,we must    
realize1 and soon1 that man may lose    
even the last  semblance of liberty1 as 
well under a nominal democracy as under 
a  nominal despotism or theocracy4      
,the guild system was the solution of   
the industrial problem offered and      
enforced by ,christianity working       
through secular life2 it presupposed    

the small social and industrial unit and
 becomes meaningless if  conceived in   
the gigantic and comprehensive scale of 
modern  institutions4 ,national guilds  
is a contradiction in terms3 it takes on
  the same element of error that inheres
 in the idea of one big union4  ,in     
certain respects the ,christian guild   
resembled the modern trade  union1 but  
it differed from it in more ways1 and it
 seems to be true  that wherever this   
difference exists the guild was right   
and the union  is wrong4 ,community of  
fellowship and action amongst men of    
each craft  trade or calling is         
essential under any social system1 good 
or bad1 and  it would be inseparable    
from the better society that must       
sometime grow  up on the basis of the   
unit of human scale1 for these          
autonomous groups1  in order to furnish 
substantially all that their component  
parts could  require1 would have to be  
of considerable size as compared with   
the  little farming villages of ,new    

,england1 though in contrast with the   
great cities of modernism they would be 
small indeed4 ,in these new  walled     
towns there would be enough men engaged 
in agriculture1 in the  necessary       
industrial occupations1 in trade and in 
the professions to  form many guilds of 
workable size1 and normally these guilds
 would  neither contain members of two  
or more professions or occupations1 nor 
those from outside the community itself4
 ,the guild cannot function under       
intensive methods of production or where
 production is primarily for  profit1 or
 where the factory system prevails1 or  
where capitalism is the  established    
system1 or under combinations1 trusts or
 other devices for  the establishing and
 maintenance of great aggregates tending
 always  towards monopoly4 ,however much
 we may admire the guild system and     
desire  its restoration1 we may as well 
recognize this fact at once4 ,the       
imperial scale must go and the human    
scale be restored before the guild  can 

come back in any general sense4    ,i am
 assuming that this will happen1 either 
through conscious action on  the part of
 the people or as the result of         
catastrophe that always  overtakes those
 who remain wedded to the illusions of  
falsity4 ,on this  assumption what are  
these enduring principles that will     
control the  guild system of industry in
 the new ,state1 however may be its     
form8    ,the answer is to be found in  
the old guilds1 altars1 shrines1        
vestments  and sacred vessels were given
 in incredible quantities for the       
furnishing and embellishment of the     
chapel or church2 funds also for the    
maintenance of priestly offices         
especially dedicated to the guild4      
,closely allied with the religious      
spirit was that of good-fellowship and  
merrymaking4 ,every sort of feast and   
game and pageant was a part of the      
guild system1 as it was indeed of life  
generally at this time when men  did not
 have to depend upon hired professional 

purveyors of amusement  for their       
edification4 ,what they wanted they did 
themselves1 and this  community in      
worship and community in merrymaking did
 more even than the  merging of common  
material interests1 to knit the whole   
body together  into a living organism4  
,in how far the old system can be       
revived and put into operation is a     
question4 ,certainly it cannot be       
adopted as a fad and imposed on an      
unwilling society as a clever           
archaeological restoration4 ,it will    
have  to grow naturally out of life     
itself and along lines at present hardly
  predicable4 ,there are many evidences 
that just this spontaneous  generation  
is taking place4 ,the guild system is   
being preached widely in  ,england where
 the defects of the present scheme are  
more obvious and the  resulting labour  
situation--or rather social             
situation--is more fraught  with danger 
than elsewhere1 and already the         
restoration seems to have  made         

considerable headway4 ,i am convinced1  
however1 that the vital  aspects of the 
case are primarily due to the interior  
working of a new  spirit born of        
disillusionment and the undying fire in 
man that flames  always towards         
regeneration2 what the ardent preaching 
of the  enthusiastic protagonists of the
 crusade best accomplishes is the       
creation in the minds of those not      
directly associated with the movement   
of a readiness to give sympathy and     
support to the actual accomplishment    
when it manifests itself4 ,recently ,i  
have come in contact here in  ,america  
with several cases where the workmen    
themselves have broken away  from the   
old ways and have actually established  
what are to all intents  and purposes   
craft-guilds1 without in the least      
realizing that they were  doing this4   
,i think the process is bound to        
continue1 for the old order has broken  
down and is so thoroughly discredited it
 can hardly be restored4 ,if time  is   

granted us1 great things must follow1   
but it is increasingly doubtful  if this
 necessary element of time can be       
counted on4 ,daily the situation  grows 
more menacing4 ,capital1 which so long  
exploited labour to its own  fabulous   
profit1 is not disposed to sit quiet    
while the fruits of its  labours and all
 prospects of future emoluments are     
being dissipated1 and  it is hard at    
work striving to effect a return to     
normalcy4 ,in this it  is being         
unconsciously aided by the bulk of union
 labour which1  encouraged by the       
paramount position it achieved during   
the war1  influenced by an avarice it   
may well have learned from its former   
masters1 as narrow in its vision as     
they1 and increasingly subservient  to a
 leadership which is frequently cynical 
and unscrupulous and always  of an order
 of character and intelligence which is 
tending to lower and  lower levels1 is  
alienating sympathy and bringing        
unionism into  disrepute4 ,in the       

,united ,states the tendency is steadily
 towards a very  dangerous reactionism1 
with a corresponding strengthening of   
the radical  element which aims at      
revolution1 and that impossible thing1 a
  proletarian dictatorship4 ,it is this 
latter which is rampant and at  present 
unchecked in ,europe1 and this also is a
 constant menace to the  success of     
those sane and righteous movements which
 take their lead from  the guild system 
of the ,middle ,ages4 ,a third danger1  
but one which is  constantly on the     
decline at present1 partly because of   
the general  disrepute of governments   
and partly because of the enormous      
accessions  of power now accruing both  
to reactionism and radical              
revolutionism1 or  ,bolshevism1 is state
 socialism or nationalization1 which    
leaves  untouched all the fatal elements
 in industrialism while it changes only 
the agents of administration4 ,the      
complete collapse of able and           
constructive and righteous leadership1  

which is one of the startling  phenomena
 of modernism1 has left uncontrolled the
 enormous energy that  has been released
 during the last three generations1 and 
this is working  blindly but effectively
 towards a cataclysm so precipitate and 
comprehensive that it is impossible not 
to fear that it may determine  long     
before the sober and informed elements  
in society have accomplished  very much 
in the recovery and establishment of    
sound and righteous  principles and     
methods4    ,of course we can compass   
whichever result we will4 ,we may shut  
our eyes  to the omens and let matters  
drift to disaster1 or we may take       
thought  and council and avert the      
penalty that threatens us2 the event is 
in our  own hands4 ,it is as criminal to
 foresee and predict only catastrophe as
  it is to compass this through         
lethargy1 selfishness and illusion4 ,we 
are  bound to believe that righteousness
 will prevail1 even in our own time1    
and believing this1 what1 in general    

terms will be the construction of  the  
new system that must take the place of  
industrialism8    ,i have already       
indicated what seem to me the           
fundamental ideas as3 the  small social 
unit that is self-sustaining2 production
 primarily for use1  coperation in place
 of competition2 a revived guild system 
with the  abolition of capitalism1      
exploitation and intensive              
specialization as we  now know these    
dominant factors in modern civilization4
 ,in the  application of these          
principles there are certain innovations
 that will1  ,i think1 take place1 and  
these may be listed somewhat as follows3
    ,land holding will become universal 
and the true proletariat or landless    
class will disappear4 ,it may be that   
the holding of land will become a       
prerequisite to active citizenship4     
,industrial production being for use    
not profit1 the great city becomes a    
thing of the past1 and life is  rendered
 simpler through the elimination of a   

thousand useless and  vicious luxuries2 
those employed in mechanical industries 
will be  incalculably fewer than now1   
while those that remain will give only a
  portion of their time to industrial   
production1 the remainder being         
available for productive work on their  
own gardens and farms4 ,the  handicrafts
 will be restored to their proper place 
and dignity1 taking  over into creative 
labour large numbers of those who       
otherwise would be  sacrificed to the   
factory system4 ,where bulk production1 
as in weaving  and the preparation and  
manufacturing of metals1 is economical  
and  unavoidable and carried on by      
factory methods1 these manufactories    
will  probably be taken over by the     
several communities 7not by the state as
 a  whole7 and administered as public   
institutions for the benefit of the     
community and under conditions and      
regulations which ensure justice and    
well-being to the employees4 ,all those 
in any community engaged in a  given    

occupation1 as for example1 building1   
will form one guild made up  of masters1
 journeymen and apprentices1 with the   
same principles and  much the same      
methods as prevailed under the ancient  
guild system4  ,fluctuating scales of   
prices determined by fluctuating        
conditions of  competition1 supply and  
demand1 and power of coercion1 will give
 place  to the fair price fixed by      
concerted community action and revised  
from  time to time in order to preserve 
a right balance with the general scale  
of cost of raw materials and cost of    
living4 ,a maximum of returns in the    
shape of profits or dividends will be   
fixed by law4 ,the community itself     
will undertake the furnishing of        
credits1 loans and necessary capital    
for the establishing of a new business1 
charging a small rate of  interest and  
maintaining a reserve fund to meet these
 operations4  ,private banking1         
insurance and the loaning of money on   
collateral will  cease to exist4    ,i  

dare say this will all sound chimerical 
and irrational in the extreme2  ,i do   
not see it in that light4 ,its avowed   
object is the supersession of  big      
business in all its phases by something 
that comes down to human  scale4 ,it    
aims to reduce labour and divide it more
 evenly by making the  great mass of    
non-producers--those engaged in         
distribution1  salesmanship1            
advertising1 propaganda1 and the        
furnishing of things  unnecessary to the
 bodily1 intellectual and spiritual     
needs of  man--actual producers and     
self-supporting to a very large extent4 
,it  aims at restoring to work some     
sense of the joy in creation through    
active mind and hand4 ,it aims at the   
elimination of the parasitic  element in
 society and of that dangerous factor   
which subsists on wealth  it acquires   
without earning1 and by sheer force of  
its own opulence  dominates and degrades
 society4 ,it does not strike at private
 ownership1  but rather exalts1 extends 

and defends this1 but it does cut into  
all  the theories and practices of      
communism and socialism by establishing 
the principle and practice of fellowship
 and coperation4 ,is this  chimerical   
and irrational8    ,meanwhile the walled
 towns do not exist and may not for     
generations4  ,big business is          
indisposed to abrogate itself4 ,trade   
unionism is  fighting for its life and  
thereafter for world conquest1 while the
  enmity between capital and labour     
increases1 with no evidence that a      
restored guild system is even           
approximately ready to take its place4  
,strikes and lockouts grow more and more
 numerous1 and wider and more  menacing 
in their scope4 ,the day of the general 
strike has only been  delayed at the    
eleventh hour in several countries1 and 
a general strike1  if it can hold for a 
sufficient period1 means1 where-ever it 
occurs and  whenever it succeeds1 the   
end of civilization and the loosing of  
the  floods of anarchy4 ,there is hardly

 time for us patiently to await the     
slow process of individual and corporate
 enlightenment or the  spontaneous      
development of the autonomous           
communities which1 if they  were        
sufficient in number1 would solve the   
problem through eliminating  the danger4
 ,what then1 in the premises1 can we do8
    ,there are of course certain        
concrete things which might help1 as for
  instance the further extension and    
honest trying out of the ,kansas  plan  
for regulating industrial relations2 the
 forming of consumers  leagues1 and all 
possible support and furtherance of     
coperative  efforts of every sort4      
,there are further possibilities        
7perhaps hardly  probabilities7 of      
controlling stock issues and stock      
holdings so that  dividends do not have 
to be paid on grossly inflated          
capitalization1 and  fixing the maximum 
of dividends payable to non-active      
stockholders4  ,equally desirable but   
equally improbable1 is the raising of   

the level of  leadership in the labour  
unions so that these valuable           
institutions may  no longer stultify    
themselves and wreck their own cause by 
their unjust  and anti-social           
regulations as to apprentices1 control  
of maximum output  and its standard of  
quality1 division of labour with        
ironclad  inhibitions against one man   
doing another's work and against one man
  doing what six men can do less well1  
and as to the obligation to strike  on  
order when no local or personal         
grievance exists4 ,most useful of all   
would be a voluntary renunciation1 on   
the part of the purchasing public1  of  
nine-tenths of the futile luxuries they 
now insanely demand1 coupled  with the  
production by themselves of some of the 
commodities which are  easily           
producable2 in other words1 establishing
 some measure of  self-support and so   
releasing many men and women from the   
curse of  existence under factory       
conditions and giving them an           

opportunity of  living a normal life    
under self-supporting circumstances4    
,this1 coupled  with a fostering of the 
back to the farm movement1 and the      
development  of conditions which would  
make this process more practicable and  
the  life more attractive1 would do     
much1 though in small ways1 towards     
producing a more wholesome and less     
threatening state of affairs4    ,back  
of the whole problem1 however1 lies a   
fallacy in our conception of  existence 
that must be eliminated before even the 
most constructive  panaceas can possibly
 work4 ,i mean the whole doctrine of    
natural rights  which has become the    
citadel of capitalism in all its most   
offensive  aspects1 and of labour in its
 most insolent assumptions4 ,the rights 
of  property1 the right to strike1 the  
right to collective bargaining1  the    
right to shut down an essential industry
 or to walk out and then  picket the    
place so that it may not be reopened1   
the right to vote and  hold office and  

do any fool thing you please so long as 
it is within the  law1 these are        
applications of what ,i mean when ,i    
speak of a gross  fallacy that has come 
into being and has stultified our       
intelligence  while bringing near the   
wrecking of our whole system4           
,neither man nor his community possesses
 any absolute rights2 they are  all     
conditioned on how they are exercised4  
,if they are not so  conditioned they   
become privilege1 which is a right not  
subject to  conditions1 and privilege is
 one of the things republicanism and    
democracy and every other effort towards
 human emancipation have set  themselves
 up to destroy4 ,even the right to life1
 liberty and the  pursuit of happiness  
is conditioned by the manner of use1 and
 the same  is true of every other and   
unspecified right4 ,i do not propose to 
speak  here of more than one aspect of  
this self-evident truth1 but the single 
instance ,i cite is one that bears      
closely on the question of our          

industrial and economic situation2 it is
 the responsibility to society  of      
property or capital on the one hand and 
of labour on the other1 when  both      
invoke their rights to justify them in  
oppressing the general  public in the   
pursuit of their own natural interests4 
,during the ,middle ,ages1 just as the  
political theory maintained that  while 
a king ruled by divine right1 this right
 gave him no authority to  govern wrong1
 so the social theory held that while a 
man had a right to  private property he 
had no right to use it against society1 
nor could  the labourer use his own     
rights to the injury of the same        
institution4  ,power1 property and      
labour must be used as a function1 i4e41
 an  activity which embodies and        
expresses the idea of social purpose4   
,unless ,i am mistaken1 this is at the  
basis of our common law4    ,as         
,mediaevalism gave place to the         
,renaissance this ,christian idea was   
abandoned1 and increasingly the         

obligation was severed from the right1  
which so became that odious thing1      
privilege4 ,intolerable in its          
injustice and oppression1 this          
privilege1 which by the middle of the   
eighteenth century had become the       
attribute of the aristocracy1 was       
completely overthrown1 in ,france first 
of all1 and a new doctrine of  rights   
was enunciated and put in operation4    
,unfortunately the result was  in       
essence simply a transforming of        
privilege from one body to another1  for
 the old conception of social purpose1  
as the necessary concomitant  of        
acknowledged rights1 did not emerge from
 the shadows of the ,middle  ,ages2 it  
had been too long forgotten4 ,the new   
rights were exclusively                 
individualistic1 in practice1 though in 
the minds of the idealists who          
formulated them1 they had their social  
aspect4 ,their promulgation             
synchronized with the sudden rise and   
violent expansion of  industrialism1 and

 as one country after another followed  
the lead of  ,england in accepting the  
new system1 they hardened into an       
iron-clad  scheme for the defence of    
property and the free action of the     
holders  and manipulators of property4  
,backed by the economic philosophy of   
,locke1 ,adam ,smith1 ,bentham and the  
,manchester ,school1 generally1 and the 
evolutionary theories of the exponents  
of ,darwinism1 and abetted by an        
endless series of statutes1 the idea of 
the exemption of property  holders from 
any responsibility to society for the   
use of their  property1 became a fixed  
part of the mental equipment of         
modernism4  ,precisely the same thing   
happened politically and socially4      
,rights were  personal and implied no   
necessary obligation to society as a    
whole2 they  were personal attributes   
and as such to be defended at all costs4
    ,now the result of this profound    
error as to the existence1 nature and   
limitation of these personal rights has 

meant simply the destruction of  a      
righteous and unified society which     
works by coperation and  fellowship1 and
 the substitution of individuals and    
corporate bodies who  work by           
competition1 strife and mutual          
aggression towards the attainment  of   
all they can get under the impulse of   
what was once praised as  enlightened   
self interest4 ,in other words--war4    
,the conflict that  began in #aiad was  
not a war hurled into the midst of a    
white peace1 it  was only a military war
 arising in the centre of a far greater 
social  war1 for there is no other word 
that is descriptive4 ,rights that are   
not  contingent on the due discharge of 
duties and obligations are but  hateful 
privilege2 privilege has issue in       
selfishness and egotism1 which  in turn 
work themselves out in warfare and in   
the hatred that both  precedes and      
follows conflict4    ,the net result of 
a century and a half of industrialism is
 avarice1  warfare and hate4 ,society   

can continue even when avariciousness is
  rampant--for a time--and warfare of   
one sort or another seems  inseparable  
from humanity1 at all events it has     
always been so1 but  hatred is another  
matter1 for it is the negation of social
 life and is  its solvent4 ,anger       
passes2 it is sometimes even righteous1 
but hatred is  synonymous with death in 
that it dissolves every unit1 reducing  
it to  its component parts and          
subjecting each of these to dissolution 
in its  turn4 ,righteous anger roused   
the nations into the war that hate had  
engendered1 but hate has followed after 
and for the moment is  victorious4      
,russia seethes with hatred and is      
perishing of its poison1  while there is
 not another country in ,europe1 of     
those that were  involved in the war1   
where the same is not true in varying   
degrees2  hatred of race for race1 of   
nation for nation1 of class for class1  
of  one social or industrial or economic
 or political institution for  another4 

,this1 above all else1 is the           
disintegrating influence1 and  against  
it no social organism1 no civilization  
can stand4 ,unless it is  abrogated it  
means an ending of another epoch of     
human life1 a period of  darkness and   
another beginning1 some time after the  
poison has been  worked out by misery1  
adversity and forced repentance4    ,it 
is this prevalence of hatred1 reinforced
 by avarice and perpetuated  by         
incessant warfare1 that negatives all   
the efforts that are made  towards      
effecting a correspondence between the  
divided interests that  are the         
concomitant of industrialism4 ,strikes  
and lockouts1 trades  unions and        
employers' associations as they are now 
constituted and as  they now operate1   
syndicalism and ,bolshevism and         
proletarian  dictatorships1 protective  
tariffs and commercial spheres of       
influence1  propaganda and subsidized   
newspapers are all energized by the     
principle  of hate1 and no good thing   

can come of any of them4 ,nor is it     
enough to  work for the re-establishment
 of justice even by those methods of    
righteousness1 and with the impulse     
towards righteousness1 which are so     
different from those which are          
functioning at present along the lines  
of  contemporary industrial reform4     
,justice is a natural virtue with a     
real place in society1 but the only     
saving force today is a supernatural    
virtue4 ,this1 amongst other things1    
,christ brought into the world and  left
 as the saving force amongst the race   
,he had redeemed and in the  society    
reconstituted in accordance with ,his   
will4 ,this supernatural  virtue is     
,charity1 sometimes expressed in the    
simpler form of ,love1 the  essence of  
the social code of ,christianity and the
 symbol of the ,new  ,dispensation as   
justice was the symbol of the ,old4     
,just in so far as a  man or a cult or  
an interest or a corporation or a state 
or a generation  or a race1 relinquishes

 charity as its controlling spirit1 in  
so far it  relinquishes its place in    
,christian society and its claim to the 
,christian name1 while it is voided of  
all power for good or possibility  of   
continuance4 ,where charity is gone1    
intellectual capacity1 effectual  power1
 and even justice itself become1 not    
energies of good1 but potent            
contributions to evil4 ,is this         
supernatural gift of charity a mark of  
contemporary civilization8 ,does it     
manifest itself with power today in  the
 dealings between class and class1      
between interest and interest1  between 
nation and nation8 ,if not1 then we have
 forfeited the name of  ,christian and  
betrayed ,christian civilization into   
the hands of its  enemies1 while our    
efforts towards saving what is left to  
us of a once  consistent and righteous  
society will be without result except as
 an  acceleration of the now headlong   
process of dissolution4    ,i am not    
charging any class or any interest or   

any people with exclusive  apostacy4 ,in
 the end there is little to choose      
between one or another4  ,labour is not 
more culpable than capital1 nor the     
proletarian than the  industrial magnate
 and the financier1 nor the nominal     
secularist than  the nominal            
religionist4 ,nor am ,i charging        
conscious and willful  acceptance of    
wrong in the place of right4 ,it is the 
institution itself1  industrialism as it
 has come to be1 with all its           
concomitants and  derivatives1 that has 
betrayed man to his disgrace and his    
society to  condemnation1 and so long as
 this system endures so long will       
recovery  be impossible and regeneration
 a vain thing vainly imagined4 ,charity1
  that is to say1 fellowship1           
generosity1 pity1 self-sacrifice1       
chivalry1  all that is comprehended in  
the thing that ,christ was1 and         
preached1 and  promulgated as the       
fundamental law of life1 cannot come    
back to the  world so long as avarice1  

warfare and hate continue to exist1 and 
through ,charity alone can we find the  
solution of the industrial and  economic
 problem that must be solved under      
penalty of social death4          ,v    
,,the ,,political ,,organization ,,of   
,,society    ,in these essays1 which    
look towards a new social synthesis1 ,i 
find  myself involved in somewhat       
artificial subdivisions4 ,industrial1   
social  and political forces all react  
one upon another1 and the complete      
social  product is the result of the    
interplay of these forces1 cordinated   
and  vitalized by philosophy1 education 
and religion4 ,to isolate each factor   
and consider it separately is apt to    
result in false values1 but there  seems
 no other way in which the subject1     
which is essentially one1 may  be       
divided into the definite parts which   
are consequent on the form of a  course 
of lectures4 ,in considering now the    
political estate of the human  social   
organism it will be evident that ,i hold

 that this must be  contingent on many  
elements that reveal themselves in a    
contributory  industrial system1 in the 
principles that are embodied in social  
relationships1 and in the general scheme
 of such a working philosophy of  life  
as may predominate amongst the component
 parts of the synthetic  society which  
is the product of all these varied      
energies and the  organic forms through 
which they operate4    ,political       
organization has always been a powerful 
preoccupation of  mankind1 and the      
earliest records testify to its         
antiquity4 ,the  regulation of human    
intercourse1 the delimiting of rights   
and  privileges1 protection of life and 
property1 the codifying of laws1  vague1
 various and conflicting1 the making of 
new laws and the enforcing  of those    
that have taken organic form2 all these 
and an hundred other  governmental      
functions1 appeal strongly to the mind  
and touch closely on  personal          
interests4 ,it is no wonder that the    

political history of human  society is  
the most varied1 voluminous and popular 
in its appeal4 ,at the  present moment  
this problem has1 in general1 an even   
more poignant  appeal1 and no rival     
except the industrial problem1 for in   
both cases  systems that1 up to ten     
years ago1 were questioned only by a    
minority  7large in the case of         
industry1 small and obscure in the case 
of  government7 have since completely   
broken down1 and it is probable that a  
political system which had existed      
throughout the greater part of ,europe  
and the ,americas for a century and a   
half1 almost without serious  criticism1
 has now as many assailants as          
industrialism itself4    ,the change is 
startling from the ,triumphant          
,democracy period1 a space  of time as  
clearly defined and as significant in   
its characteristics as  the ,victorian  
,era4 ,before the war1 during the war1  
and throughout the  earlier years of the
 even more devastating peace1 the system

 which  followed the ruin of the        
,renaissance autocracies1 the essential 
elements  in which were an ever-widening
 suffrage1 parliamentary government1 and
  the universal operation of the        
quantitative standard of values1 was    
never questioned or criticised1 except  
in matters of detail4 ,that it was  the 
most perfect governmental scheme ever   
devised and that it must  continue      
forever1 was held to be axiomatic1 and  
with few exceptions the  remedy proposed
 for such faults as could not possibly  
escape detection  was a still further   
extension of the democratic principle4  
,even the war  itself was held to be a  
war to make the world safe for          
democracy4 ,it  is significant that the 
form in which this saying now frequently
 appears  is one in which the word from 
is substituted in place of the word     
for4 ,it is useless to blink the fact   
that there is now a distrust of         
parliamentary and representative        
government which is almost universal    

and this distrust1 which is becoming    
widespread1 reaches from the            
,bolshevism of ,russia on the one hand1 
through many intermediate social  and   
intellectual stages1 to the conservative
 elements in ,england and the  ,united  
,states1 and the fast-strengthening     
royalist bloc in ,france4    ,in many   
unexpected places there is visible a    
profound sense that  something is so    
fundamentally wrong that palliatives are
 useless and  some drastic reform is    
necessary1 a reform that may almost     
amount to  revolution4 ,lord ,bryce     
still believes in democracy in spite of 
his keen  realizations of its grievous  
defects1 because1 as he says1 hope is an
  inextinguishable quality of the human 
soul4 ,mr4 ,chesterton preaches         
democracy in principle while condemning 
its mechanism and its workings  with his
 accustomed vigour2 the ,adamses        
renounce democracy and all its  works   
while offering no hint as to what could 
consistently take its  place with any   

better chance of success1 while the     
royalists excoriate  it in unmeasured   
terms and preach an explicit return to  
monarchy4  ,meanwhile international     
,bolshevism1 hating the thing as        
violently as do  kings in exile1        
substitutes a crude and venal autocracy1
 while organized  labour1 as a whole1   
works for the day when a class-conscious
  proletariat will have taken matters   
into its own hands and established  a   
new aristocracy of privilege in which   
the present working classes will  hold  
the whip-hand4 ,meanwhile the more      
educated element of the general  public 
withdraws itself more and more from     
political affairs1 going its  own way   
and making the best of a bad job it     
thinks itself taught by  experience it  
cannot mend4    ,it is useless to deny  
that government1 in the character of its
  personnel1 the quality of its output1 
the standard of its service and  the    
degree of its beneficence has been      
steadily deteriorating during the  last 

century and has now reached1 in nearly  
every civilized country1 a  deplorably  
low level4 ,popular representatives are 
less and less men of  character and     
ability2 legislation is absurd in       
quantity1 short-sighted1  frivolous1    
inquisitorial1 and in a large measure   
prompted by selfish  interests2         
administration is reckless1 wasteful and
 inefficient1 while  it is overloaded in
 numbers1 without any particular        
aptitude on the part  of its members1   
and in a measure controlled by personal 
or corporate  interests4 ,the whole     
system is in bad odour for it is shot   
through and  through with the greed for 
money and influence1 while the cynicism 
of  the professional politician and the 
low average of character1  intelligence 
and manners of the strata of society    
that increasingly are  usurping all     
power1 work towards producing that      
general contempt and  aversion that have
 become so evident of late and that are 
a menace to  society no less than that  

of the decaying institution itself4     
,confronted by a situation such as this1
 the natural tendency of those  who     
suffer under it1 either in their        
material interests or their ideals1  is 
to condemn the mechanism1 perhaps even  
the very principles for the  operation  
of which the various machines were      
devised4 ,some reject the  whole scheme 
of representative1 parliamentary        
government1 and1 failing  any plausible 
substitute1 are driven back on some form
 of the soviet1 or  even government by  
industrial groups4 ,those that go to the
 limit and  reject the whole scheme of  
democracy are in still worse plight for 
they  have no alternative to offer      
except a restored monarchy1 and this1   
the  terminus ad quem of their logic1   
their courage will not permit them to   
avow4    ,it is a dilemma1 but forced1  
,i believe1 by the fatal passion of the 
man  of modernism for the machine1 the  
mechanical device1 the material         
equivalent for a thing that has no      

equivalent1 and that is the personal    
character of the constituents of society
 and the working factors in a  political
 organism4 ,there was never a more      
foolish saying than that  which is so   
frequently and so boastfully used3 a    
government of laws and  not of men4     
,this is the exact reversal of what     
should be recognized as  a self-evident 
truth1 viz1 that the quality of the men1
 not the nature  of the laws or of the  
administrative machine1 is the          
determining factor  in government4 ,you 
may take any form of government ever    
devised by man1  monarchy1 aristocracy1 
republic1 democracy1 yes1 or soviet1 and
 if the  community in which this        
government operates has a working       
majority of  men of character1          
intelligence and spiritual energy1 it   
will be a good  government1 whereas if  
the working majority is deficient in    
these  characteristics1 or if it makes  
itself negligible by abstention from    
public affairs it will be a bad         

government4 ,there is no one political  
system which is right while all others  
are wrong4 ,the monarchy of ,st4  ,louis
 was better than the ,third ,republic1  
as this is better than was the  monarchy
 of ,louis ,,xv4 ,the aristocracy of    
,washington was better than the         
democracy of this year of grace1 as this
 in itself is better than the  late     
junker aristocracy of ,prussia4 ,you    
cannot substitute a machine in  place of
 character1 you cannot supersede life by
 a theory4    ,this does not mean that  
the form of government is of no moment1 
it is of  the utmost importance for ,i  
cannot too often insist that the organic
  life of society is the resultant of   
two forces2 spiritual energy working    
through and upon the material forms     
towards their improvement or--when  this
 energy is weak or distorted--their     
degeneration2 the material forms  acting
 as a stimulus towards the development  
of spiritual energy through  association
 and environment that are favourable1 or

 towards its  weakening and distortion  
when these are deterrents because of    
their own  degraded or degrading nature4
 ,if it is futile to look for salvation 
through the mechanism1 it is equally    
futile to try to act directly and       
exclusively on the character of the     
social constituents in the patient  hope
 that their defects may be remedied1 and
 the preponderance of  character of high
 value achieved1 before catastrophe     
overtakes the  experiment4 ,life is as  
sacramental as the ,christian religion  
and  ,christian philosophy2 neither the 
spiritual substance nor the material    
accidents can operate alone but only in 
a conjunction so intimate that  it is to
 all intents and purposes--that is1 for 
the interests and  purposes of ,god in  
human life--a perfect unity4 ,however   
completely and  even passionately we may
 realize the determining factor of      
spiritual  energy as this manifests     
itself through personal character1      
however  deeply we may distrust the     

machine1 we are bound to recognize the  
paramount necessity of the active       
interplay of both within the limits of  
life as we know it on the earth1 and    
therefore it is very much our  concern  
that the machine1 whether it is         
industrial1 political1  educational1    
ecclesiastical or social1 is as perfect 
in its nature and  stimulating in its   
operations as we are able to compass4   
,in the present liquidation of values1  
theories and institutions we are  bound 
therefore to scrutinize each operating  
agency of human society1 to  see wherein
 it has failed and how it can be        
bettered1 and the problem  before us now
 is the political organism4    ,now it  
appears that in the past there have been
 just two methods whereby  a civil      
polity has come into existence and      
established itself for a  short period  
or a long4 ,these two methods are1      
first1 unpremeditated and  sometimes    
unconscious growth2 second1 calculated  
and self-conscious  revolution4 ,the    

first method has produced communities1  
states and  empires that frequently     
worked well and lasted for long periods2
 the  second has had issue in nothing   
that has endured for any length of time 
or has left a record of beneficence4    
,evolution in government is in  accord  
with the processes of life1 even to the 
extent that it is always  after a time  
followed by degeneration2 revolution in 
government is the  throwing of a        
monkey-wrench into the machinery by a   
disaffected workman1  with the wrecking 
of the machine1 the violent stoppage of 
the works1 and  frequently the sudden   
death of the worker as a consequence4   
,the ,english  monarchy from ,duke      
,william to ,henry ,,viii1 is a case of 
normal growth by  minor changes and     
modifications1 but its subsequent       
history has been one  of revolutions1   
six or seven having occurred in the last
 four hundred  years2 the scheme which  
now holds1 though precariously1 is the  
result of  the great democratic         

revolution accomplished during the reign
 of ,queen  ,victoria4 ,the free        
monarchies of ,europe which began to    
take form during  the long period of the
 ,dark ,ages and pursued their admirable
 course well  through the ,middle ,ages1
 were also normal and slow growths2 but 
the  revolutions that have followed the 
,great ,war will meet a different fate1 
several of them1 indeed1 have counted   
their existence in months and have      
already passed into history4    ,if we  
are wise we shall discount revolutions  
for the future1 for nothing  but ill is 
accomplished by denying life and        
exalting the ingenious  substitutes of  
ambitious and presumptuous              
,frankensteins2 the result is  too often
 a monster that works cleverly at first1
 and with a semblance  of human         
intelligence1 but in the end shows      
itself as a destroyer4 ,our  task is to 
envisage1 as clearly as possible1 the   
political systems  established amongst  
us1 note their weaknesses either in     

themselves or in  their relationship to 
society as it is1 and then try to find  
those  remedies that can be applied     
without any violent methods of          
dislocation  or substitution2 always    
bearing in mind the fact that the       
energizing  force that will make them   
live1 preserve them from deterioration1 
and  adapt them to conditions which will
 ever change1 is the spiritual force  of
 human personality1 and that this force 
comes only through the  character       
qualities of the individual components  
of society4    ,now in considering our  
own case in this day and generation     
there are  first of all two matters to  
be borne in mind4 ,one is that we shall 
do  well to confine our inquiry to the  
,united ,states1 for while the defects  
we shall have to point out are common to
 practically all the  contemporary      
governments of ,europe and the          
,americas1 our own enginery is          
different in certain ways1 and our      
troubles are also different between  one

 example and another4 ,after all1 our   
immediate interest must lie with  our   
own national problems4 ,the other point 
is that in criticising the  workings of 
government in ,america we are not       
necessarily criticising its  founders or
 the creators of its original           
constitutions1 charters1 and  other     
mechanisms4 ,the ,constitution of the   
,united ,states1 for example1  was      
conceived to meet one series of         
perfectly definite conditions that  have
 now been superseded by others which are
 radically1 and even  diametrically     
different4 ,the original ,constitution  
was a most able  instrument of organic  
law1 but just because it did fit so     
perfectly  conditions as they were four 
generations ago1 it applies but         
indifferently to present circumstances1 
and even less well than the  ,founders  
hoped would be the case2 for the reason 
that the amendments  which were provided
 for have seldom taken cognizance of    
these changing  conditions1 and even    

when this was done the amendments       
themselves have  not been wisely drawn1 
while certain of them have been actually
  disastrous in their nature1 others    
frivolous1 and yet more the result of   
ephemeral and hysterical ebullitions of 
an engineered public opinion4  ,the same
 may be said of state constitutions and 
municipal charters1  which have suffered
 incessant changes1 mostly unfortunate  
and  ill-judged1 except during the last 
few years1 when a spirit of real  wisdom
 and constructiveness has shown itself1 
though sporadically and as  yet with    
some timidity4 ,the reforms1 such as    
they are1 are largely in  the line of   
palliatives2 the deep-lying factors1    
those that control both  success and    
failure1 are seldom touched upon4 ,the  
necessary courage--or  perhaps          
temerity--is lacking4 ,what is needed is
 such a clear seeing of  conditions1 and
 such an approach1 as manifested        
themselves in the  ,constitutional      
,convention of the ,united ,states1 for 

in spite of the many  compromises that  
were in the end necessary to placate a  
public opinion  not untouched by        
prejudice1 superstition and selfishness1
 the great  document--and even more the 
records of the debates--still           
brilliantly  set forth both the         
clear-seeing and the lofty attitude that
  characterized the ,convention4 ,had   
these men been gathered together  today1
 even the same men1 they would frame a  
very different document1  for they took 
conditions and men as they were1 and1   
with an  indestructible hope to glorify 
their common sense1 they produced a     
masterpiece4 ,it is in the same spirit  
that we must approach our problem  of   
today4    ,now in considering the       
situation that confronts us1 we find    
certain  respects in which either the   
methods are bad1 or the results1 or     
both4  ,there is no unanimity in this   
criticism1 indeed ,i doubt if any two of
 us  would agree on all the items in the
 indictment1 though we all might  unite 

on one or two4 ,i can only give my own  
list for what it is worth4  ,in the     
first place we1 in common with all the  
nations1 have drifted into  imperialism 
of a gross scale and illiberal1 even    
tyrannical working4 ,we  could hardly do
 otherwise for such has been the        
universal tendency for  more than an    
hundred years4 ,by constant progression 
municipal  governments have absorbed    
into themselves matters that in decency1
 and  with any regard for liberty1      
belong to the individual4               
,simultaneously  our state governments  
have followed the same course1          
infringing even on  the just            
prerogatives of the towns and cities1   
while1 more than all1 the  national     
government has robbed the states1 the   
cities and the citizens  of what should 
belong to them1 until at last we have an
 imperial1  autocratic1 inquisitorial1  
and largely irresponsible government at 
,washington that is the one supreme     
political fact2 we are no longer a      

,federal ,republic but an ,imperialism1 
in which is centralized all the         
authority inherent in the one hundred   
and ten millions of our population  and 
from which a constantly diminishing     
stream of what is practically  devolved 
authority1 trickles down through state  
and city to the  individual in the last 
instance--if it gets there at all6 ,this
 ,i believe  to be absolutely and       
fatally wrong4 ,in the first place1     
human society  cannot function at this  
abnormal scale1 it is outside the human 
scale1  for in spite of our pride and   
insolence there are limits on every hand
  to what man can do4 ,in the second    
place1 ,i conceive it to be absolutely  
at variance with any principle of       
republicanism or democracy or even of   
free monarchy4 ,it is at one only with  
the imperialism of ,egypt1 ,babylon1    
,rome and the late ,empire of ,germany4 
,in a free monarchy1 a republic1 or  a  
democracy1 the pyramid of political     
organism stands1 not on its point  but  

broad-based and four-square1 tapering   
upward to its final apex4 ,a  sane and  
wholesome society begins with the       
family--natural or  artificial--which   
has original jurisdiction over a far    
greater series of  rights and privileges
 than it now commands4 ,from the family 
certain  powers are delegated to the    
next higher social unit1 the village or 
communal group1 which in its turn       
concedes certain of its inherent  rights
 to the organic group of communities1 or
 states1 and finally the  states commit 
to the last and general authority1 the  
national  government1 some of the       
elements of authority that have been    
delegated  to them4 ,the principle of   
this delegation from one organism to    
another1  is common interest and        
welfare2 only those functions which can 
be  performed with more even justice and
 with greater effectiveness1 by the     
community for example1 than by the      
family1 are so delegated4 ,in the same  
way the several groups commit to their  

common government only so much as  they 
cannot perform with due justice and     
equity to the others in the  same group4
 ,in the end the national government    
exists only that it may  provide for a  
limited number of national necessities1 
as for example1  defence against        
extra-national aggression1 the conduct  
of diplomatic  relations with foreign   
powers1 the maintaining of a national   
currency  and a national postal service1
 the provision of courts of last resort1
  and the raising of revenue for the    
support of these few and explicit       
functions4    ,the first step1 it seems 
to me1 towards governmental reform1 is  
decentralization1 with a return to the  
,states1 the civic communities and  the 
individual citizens of nine-tenths of   
the powers and the  prerogatives that   
have been taken from them in defiance of
 abstract  justice1 of the principles of
 free government and of the theory of   
the  workable unit of human scale4 ,in a
 word we must abandon imperialism and   

all its works and go back to the        
,federal ,republic4    ,the second cause
 of our troubles lies1 ,i believe1 in   
the institution of  universal suffrage  
founded on the theory 7or dogma7 that   
the electoral  franchise is an          
inalienable right4 ,this doctrine is of 
recent invention1  only coming into     
force during the reconstruction period  
following the  ,war between the ,states1
 when it was brought forward by certain 
leaders  of the ,republican party to    
justify their enfranchisement of the    
negroes  in the hope that by this act   
they could fix their party in power to  
perpetuity4 ,in any case1 the plan      
itself has worked badly1 both for the   
community and for many of the voters4   
,it is of course impossible for me  to  
argue the case in detail2 ,i can do     
hardly more than state my own  personal 
belief1 and this is that the question is
 wholly one of  expediency1 and that the
 question of abstract justice and the   
rights of  man does not enter into the  

consideration4 ,i submit that the       
electoral  franchise should again be    
accepted as a privilege involving a     
duty1 and  not as a right inherent in   
every adult person of twenty-one years  
or  over and not lunatic or in jail4    
,this privilege1 which in itself should 
confer honour1 should be granted to     
those who demonstrate their capacity  to
 use it honestly and intelligently1 and 
taken away for cause4    ,the acute     
critic will not be slow to remind me    
that this proposition is  somewhat      
beside the case and that it possesses   
but an academic interest1  since we are 
dealing with a fait accompli4 ,this is  
of course perfectly  true4 ,the         
electoral franchise could be so         
restricted only by the  suffrages of the
 present electorate1 and it is          
inconceivable that any  large number1   
and far less1 a majority1 of voters     
would even consider  the proposition for
 a moment4 ,for good or ill we have     
unrestricted adult  suffrage1 and there 

is not the faintest chance of any other 
basis being  established by             
constitutional means4 ,something however
 can be done1 and  this is a thing of   
great value and importance4 ,what ,i    
suggest is  concerted effort towards a  
measured purification of the electorate 
through the penalizing of law-breakers  
by temporary disfranchisement4 ,it  is  
hardly too much to assume that a man who
 deliberately breaks the law  is        
constructively unfit to vote or to hold 
office1 at all events1  conviction for  
any crime or misdemeanour gives a       
reasonable ground for  depriving the    
offender of these privileges1 at least  
for a time4 ,the  law-breaking element1 
whether it is millionaire or            
proletarian1 is one  of the dangerous   
factors in society1 which would lose    
nothing if from  time to time these     
gentry were removed from active         
participation in  public affairs4 ,if1  
for example1 any one convicted of minor 
offenses  punishable by fine or         

imprisonment were disfranchised for a   
year1 if of  major offenses1 for varying
 and increasing periods1 from five years
  upwards1 and if a second offense      
during the period of disfranchisement   
worked an automatic doubling of the time
 prescribed for a first offense1  ,i    
conceive that the electorate would be   
measurably purified and that  regard for
 the law would be stimulated4 ,in one   
instance ,i am persuaded  that          
disfranchisement should be for life1 and
 that is in the case of  giving or      
accepting a bribe or otherwise          
committing a crime against the  ballot2 
this1 together with treason against the 
state1 should be  sufficient cause for  
eliminating the offender from all       
further  participation in public        
affairs4 ,if the electorate could be    
purified  after this fashion1 and if    
more stringent laws could be passed in  
the  matter of naturalization of aliens1
 together with iron-clad requirements   
that every voter should be able to      

speak1 read and write the ,english      
language1 we should have achieved       
something towards the safeguarding of   
the suffrage4    ,the third weakness in 
our system1 and in some respect the most
  dangerous1 as it is in all respects   
the most pestiferous1 is the  insanity  
of law-making4 ,all parliamentary       
governments suffer from this  malady1   
but that of the ,united ,states most    
grievously1 and this is true  of the    
national government1 the states and the 
municipalities4 ,it has  become the     
conviction of legislative bodies that   
they must justify their  existence by   
making laws1 and the more laws they pass
 the better they  have discharged their 
duties4 ,the thing has become a scandal 
and an  oppression1 for the liberties of
 ,american citizens and the just        
prerogatives of the states and the      
cities1 as vital human groups1 have     
been more infringed upon1 reduced1 and  
degraded by free legislation than  ever 
happened in similar communities by the  

action of absolute monarchs4  ,it is a  
folly that works its insidious injury in
 two ways2 first by  confusing life by  
innumerable laws ill-advised1 ill-drawn1
 mutually  contradictory1 ephemeral in  
their nature1 inquisitorial in their    
workings2 second1 by creating a         
condition where any personal or factious
  interest can be served by due process 
of law1 until at last we have  reached a
 point where liberty itself has largely 
ceased to exist and we  find ourselves  
crushed under a tyranny of popular      
government no less  oppressive than the 
tyranny of absolutism4 ,nor is this all2
 the mania  for making laws has bred a  
complete and ingenious and singularly   
effective system of getting laws made by
 methods familiar to the members  of all
 legislative bodies whether they are    
city councils1 state  legislatures or   
the national congress1 and this means   
opportunities for  corruption1 and      
methods of corruption1 that are fast    
degrading  government in the ,united    

,states to a point where there is none  
so poor  as to do it reverence4 ,the    
whole system is preposterous and absurd1
  breeding not only bad laws1 but a     
widespread contempt of law1 while the   
personal freedom for which democracy    
once fought1 is fast becoming a  memory4
    ,the trouble began as a result of   
one of the elements in the ,american    
,constitution which was the product not 
of the sound common sense and the  lofty
 judgment of the framers1 but of a weak 
yielding to one of the  doctrinaire fads
 of the time that had no relationship to
 life but was  the invention of         
political theorists1 and that was the   
unnatural  separation of the executive1 
legislative and judicial functions of   
government4 ,the error has worked far   
and the superstition still holds4  ,what
 is needed is an initiative in          
legislation1 centred in one  responsible
 head or group1 that1 while functioning 
in all normal and  necessary legislative
 directions1 still allows individual    

initiative on  the part of the          
legislators1 as a supplementary1 or     
corrective1 or  protective agency4 ,no  
government functions well in fiscal     
matters  without a budget3 what we need 
in legislative matters is a legislative 
budget1 and by this phrase1 ,i mean that
 the primary agency for the  proposing  
of laws should be the chief executive of
 a city1 or state or  the nation1 with  
the advice and consent of his heads of  
departments who  would form his cabinet 
or council4    ,under this plan the     
,governor and ,council1 for example1    
would at the  opening of each           
legislative session present a programme 
or agenda of  such laws as they believed
 the conditions to demand1 and in the   
shape of  bills accurately drawn by the 
proper law officer of the government4   
,no  such government bill could be      
referred to committee but must be       
discussed in open session1 and until the
 bills so offered had been  passed or   
refused1 no private bill could be       

introduced4 ,a procedure such  as this  
would certainly reduce the flood of     
private bills to reasonable  dimensions 
while it would insure a degree of       
responsibility now utterly  lacking4    
,there is now no way in which the author
 of a foolish or  dangerous bill which  
has been enacted into law by a majority 
of the  legislature1 can be held to     
account and due responsibility imposed  
upon  him1 but the case would be very   
different if a mayor1 a governor or the 
,president of the ,united ,states made  
himself responsible for a law or a      
series of laws1 by offering them for    
action in his own name4 ,certainly  if  
this method were followed we should be  
preserved in great measure  from the    
hasty1 confused and frivolous           
legislation that at present makes  up   
the major part of the output of our     
various legislative bodies4 ,one  of the
 greatest gains would be the reduction  
of the annual grist to a  size where    
each act could be considered and debated

 at sufficient length  to guarantee as  
reasonable a conclusion as would be     
possible to the  members of the         
legislative body4 ,the deplorable device
 of instituting  committees1 to each of 
which certain bunches of bills are      
referred  before they are permitted to  
come before the house1 would be no      
longer  necessary4 ,this system1 which  
became necessary in order to deal with  
the  enormous mass of undigested matter 
which has overwhelmed every  legislature
 as a result of the present chaotic and 
irresponsible  procedure1 is perhaps    
both the most undemocratic device ever  
put in  practice by a democracy1 and the
 most fruitful of venality1 corruption  
and injustice4 ,it is unnecessary to    
labour this point for everyone knows    
its grave evils1 but there seems no way 
to get rid of it unless some  curb is   
placed on the number of bills introduced
 in any session4 ,the  ,british         
,parliament is not necessarily a model  
of intelligent or capable  procedure1   

but where in one session at ,westminster
 no more than four  hundred bills were  
introduced1 at ,washington1 for the same
 period1 the  count ran well over twelve
 thousand6 ,manifestly some committee   
system is  inevitable under conditions  
such as this1 but under the committee   
system  free government and honest      
legislation are difficult of attainment4
    ,one would not of course prevent the
 proposal of a bill by any member of    
the legislature1 indeed this free action
 would be absolutely necessary  as a    
measure of protection against executive 
oppression1 but this should  be         
prohibited until after the government   
programme had been disposed of4  ,after 
that task was accomplished the          
legislature might sit indefinitely1  or 
as long as the public would stand it1   
for the purpose of considering  private 
bills1 and these could be referred to   
committees as at present4  ,the chances 
are1 however1 that the government       
programme would cover the  most         

essential matters and what would remain 
would be the edifying  spectacle of     
,solons solemnly considering such       
questions as the minimum  length of     
sheets on hotel beds1 the limitation in 
inches and fractions1  of the heels of  
women's shoes1 the amount of flesh that 
could be legally  exposed by a bathing  
suit1 or the pensioning of a ,swedish   
,assistant  ,janitor1--all of which are 
the substance of actual bills introduced
 in  various ,state legislatures during 
the session last closed4    ,another    
grave weakness in our system is the     
election by popular vote of  many       
judicial and administrative officers1   
coupled with the vigorous  remnants of  
the old and degrading spoils system     
whereby many thousands  of strictly     
non-political offices are almost        
automatically vacated after  any        
partisan victory4 ,i cannot trust myself
 to speak of the infamy of an  elective 
judiciary2 fortunately ,i live in a     
state where this worst abuse  of        

democratic practice does not exist1 and 
so it touches me only in so  far as it  
offends the sense of decency and        
justice4 ,in the other cases  it is only
 a question of efficient and intelligent
 administration4 ,there  is an argument 
for electing the chief executive of a   
city1 a state or  the nation1 by popular
 vote1 and the same holds in the case of
 the lower  house of the legislature    
where a bi-cameral system exists1 but   
there is  no argument for the popular   
election of the administrative officers 
of a  state4 ,there is even less1--if   
there can be less than nothing--for the 
changes in personnel that take place    
after every election4 ,civil service    
reform has done a world of good1 but as 
yet it has not gone far enough  in some 
directions1 while its mechanism of      
examinations is defective in  principle 
in that it leaves out the personal      
equation and establishes  its tests only
 along a very few of the many lines that
 actually exist4 ,i  would offer it as a

 proposition that no election should in 
itself affect  the status of any man    
except the man elected1 and1 in the case
 of a  mayor or governor or the         
,president1 those who are directly      
responsible  to him and to his          
administration for carrying out his     
policies2 and  further1 that the voter1 
when he votes1 should vote once and for 
one man  in his city1 once and for one  
man in his state1 and once and for one  
man  in the nation1 and that man1 in    
each case1 should be his representative 
in the lower branch of the legislative  
body4 ,choosing administrative          
officials by majority vote1 and the     
election of judges for short terms  by  
the same method1 are absurdities of a   
system fast falling into chaos4  ,the   
maintenance of a bi-cameral legislative 
organization1 with the  choosing of the 
members of both houses by the same      
electorate is in the  same class1 a     
perfectly irrational anomaly which      
violates the first  principles of logic 

and leads only to legislative           
incompetence1 and  worse4 ,the          
referendum is of precisely the same     
nature1 but this already  has become a  
reductio ad absurdum1 and can hardly    
survive the  discredit into which it has
 fallen4 ,in any reorganization of      
government  looking towards better      
results1 these elements must disappear4 
,as a matter of fact1 government has    
come to occupy altogether too large  a  
place in our consciousness2 naturally1  
for it has come to a point  where it    
pursues us--and overtakes us--at every  
turn4 ,democracies always  govern too   
much1 that is one of their great        
weaknesses4 ,elections1  law-making1 and
 getting and holding office1 have become
 an obsession and  they shadow our days4
 ,so insistent and incessant are the    
demands1 so  artificial and unreal the  
issues1 so barren of vital results all  
this  pandemonium of partisanship and   
change1 the more intelligent and        
scrupulous are losing interest in the   

whole affair1 and while they            
increasingly withdraw to matters of a   
greater degree of reality those  who    
subsist on the proceeds gain the power1 
and hold it4 ,at the very  moment when  
the women of the ,united ,states have   
been given the vote1  there are many men
 7and women also7 who begin to think    
that the vote is  a very empty          
institution and in itself practically   
void of power to  effect anything of    
really vital moment4 ,i am not now      
defending this  position1 ,i only assert
 that it exists1 and ,i believe it is   
due to the  degradation of government   
through the very modifications and      
transformations that have been effected1
 since the time of ,andrew  ,jackson1 in
 a perfectly honest attempt at          
improvement4    ,the best government is 
that which does the least1 which leaves 
local  matters in the hands of          
localities1 and personal matters in the 
hands of  persons1 and which is modestly
 inconspicuous4 ,good government        

establishes1 or recognizes1 conditions  
which are stable1 reliable1 and  that   
may be counted on for more than two     
years1 or four years1 at a  time4 ,it   
has continuity1 it preserves tradition1 
and it follows custom  and common law4  
,such a government is neither hectic in 
its vicissitudes  nor inquisitorial in  
its enactments4 ,it is cautious in its  
expenditures1  efficient in its         
administration1 proud in maintaining its
 standards of  honour1 justice and      
noblesse oblige4 ,good government is    
august and  handsome2 it surrounds      
itself with dignity and ceremony1 even  
at times  with splendour and pageantry1 
for these things are signs of           
self-respect  and the outward showing of
 high ideals--or may be made so2 that is
 what  good manners and ceremony and    
beauty are for4 ,finally1 good          
government  is where the laws of        
,christian morals and courtesy and      
charity that are  supposed to hold      
between ,christian men hold equally1    

even more  forcefully1 in public        
relations both domestic and foreign4    
,where  government of this nature       
exists1 whether the form is monarchical1
  republican or democratic1 there is    
liberty2 where these conditions do  not 
obtain the form matters not at all1 for 
there is a servile state4    ,at the    
risk of being tedious ,i will try to    
sketch the rough outlines of  what1 in  
substance1 ,i believe to be that form of
 civil polity which1  based on what now 
exists1 changes only along lines that   
would perhaps  tend towards establishing
 and maintaining those ideals of        
liberty1 order  and justice which have  
always been the common aim of those who 
have  striven to reform a condition of  
things where they were attained         
indifferently or not at all4    ,the    
primary and effective social and        
political unit is the vill or  commune2 
that is to say1 a group of families and 
individuals living in  one              
neighbourhood1 and of a size that would 

permit all the members to  know one     
another if they wished to do so1 and    
also the coming together  of all those  
holding the electoral franchise1 for    
common discussion and  action4 ,the     
average ,american country town1         
uninvaded by industrialism1  is the     
natural type1 for here the town meeting 
of our forefathers is  practicable1 and 
this remains the everlasting frame and  
model of  self-government4 ,in the case 
of a city the primary unit would be of  
approximately the same size1 and the    
entire municipality would be  divided   
into wards each containing1 say1 about  
five hundred voters4  ,these primary    
units would possess a real unity and a  
very large measure  of autonomy1 but    
they would be federated for certain     
common purposes  which would vary in    
number and importance in proportion to  
the closeness  of their common          
interests1 from the county1 made up of a
 number of small  villages1 to the city 
which would comprise as many wards as   

might be  numerically necessary1 and    
whose central government would          
administer a  great many more affairs   
than would the county4 ,the city would  
be in  effect a federation of the wards 
or boroughs4    ,the individual voter   
would exercise his electoral franchise  
and perform  his political duties only  
within the primary unit 7the township or
 ward7  where he had legal residence4   
,at an annual town meeting he would vote
  for the selectmen or the ward council 
who would have in charge the  local     
interests of the primary unit1 which    
would be comprehensive in the  case of a
 township1 necessarily more limited in  
the case of a ward4  ,these local boards
 would elect their own chairmen who     
would also form  the legislative body of
 the county or the municipality4 ,at the
 same town  meeting the voter would cast
 his ballot for a representative in the 
lower legislative body of the state4 ,in
 the smaller commonwealths each         
township or ward would elect its own    

representative1 but in states of        
excessive population representation     
would have to be on the basis of        
counties and municipalities1 for no     
legislative body should contain more    
than a very few hundred members4        
,nominations in the town meeting should 
be viva voce1 elections by secret       
ballot4 ,legislation should be          
primarily on the initiative of the      
selectmen or ward council1 and voting   
should be viva voce4 ,with the exercise 
of his privilege of speaking  and voting
 at the meetings of his primary unit1   
the direct political  action of the     
citizen would cease4    ,the secondary  
unit would be the county or the city4   
,here the legislative  body would       
consist of the presiding officers of the
 township or ward  governments4 ,the    
sheriff of a county or the mayor of a   
city would be  chosen by these          
legislative bodies from their own number
 and should hold  office for a term of  
several years1 while the local          

governments1 and  therefore the         
legislative bodies of the county or the 
city1 would be  chosen annually4 ,the   
chief executive of a county or city     
would appoint  all heads of departments 
who would form his advisory council1 and
 he  would also frame and submit        
annually both a fiscal and a legislative
  budget4    ,the tertiary unit is the  
state1 which is a federation of the     
counties  and cities forming some one of
 the historic divisions of the ,united  
,states4 ,the legislature would as now  
be composed of two chambers1 one  made  
up of representatives of the primary    
units1 holding office for a  brief term1
 and a second representing the secondary
 units and chosen by  their governing   
bodies for a long term4 ,the logic of a 
bi-cameral system  demands that the     
lower house should represent the        
changing will of the  people1 the upper1
 in so far as possible1 its cumulative  
wisdom and the  continuity of tradition1
 while1 as already stated1 the whole    

principle  is vitiated if both houses   
are chosen by the same electorate4 ,the 
chief  executive should be chosen by the
 legislative chambers in joint session1 
from a panel made up of their own       
membership and the heads of the county  
and city governments4 ,he should hold   
office for a long term1 preferably  for 
an indeterminate period contingent on   
good behaviour4 ,in this case  his      
cabinet1 or council of the heads of     
departments1 would of course be         
responsible to the legislature and would
 resign on a formal vote of  censure or 
lack of confidence4 ,the ,governor would
 have the same power  of appointment1   
and the same authority to present fiscal
 and legislative  budgets as1 already   
specified in the case of a mayor of a   
city4 ,no  commissions1 unpaid or       
otherwise1 should be permitted1 all the 
administrative functions of government  
being performed by the various          
departments and their subordinate       
bureaux4    ,the national government is 

the final social and political unit1    
though  it is conceivable that with a   
territory and population as great and   
diversified as that of the ,united      
,states1 and bearing in mind the great  
discrepancy in size between the states1 
something might be gained by the        
institution of a system of provinces1   
some five or six in all1 made up  of    
states grouped in accordance with their 
general community of  interests1 as for 
example1 all ,new ,england1 ,new ,york1 
,pennsylvania1 ,new  ,jersey and        
,delaware2 the states of the old        
,confederacy1 those of the  ,pacific    
,coast1 and so on4 ,the point need not  
be pressed here1 but there  are         
considerations in its favour4 ,in any   
case the nation as a whole is  the final
 federal unit4 ,here the lower          
legislative house would consist  of not 
more than four hundred members1         
allocated on a basis of  population and 
elected by the representative bodies of 
the primary units  7the townships and   

city wards7 as already described4 ,the  
members of the  upper house would be    
elected by the legislative bodies of the
 several  states on nomination by the   
,governor4 ,the chief executive of the  
nation  would be chosen by the two      
legislative bodies1 in joint session1   
from  amongst the then governors of the 
several states4 ,he should certainly    
hold office for good behaviour1 and his 
cabinet would be responsible  to the    
legislature as provided for in the case 
of the state governments4    ,i do not  
offer this programme with any pride of  
paternity2 probably it  would not work  
very well1 but it could hardly prove    
less efficacious  than our present      
system under conditions as they have    
come to be4 ,this  cannot continue      
indefinitely1 for it is so hopelessly   
defective that it  is bound to bring    
about its own ruin1 with the probable   
substitution of  some doctrinaire device
 engendered by the natural revolt       
against an  intolerable abuse4 ,if only 

we could see conditions clearly and     
estimate  them at something approaching 
their real value1 we should rapidly     
develop a constructive public opinion   
that1 even though it represented a      
minority1 might by the very force behind
 it compel the majority to  acquiesce in
 a radical reformation4 ,unfortunately  
we do not do this1 we  are hypnotized by
 phrases and deluded by vain theories1  
as ,mr4  ,chesterton says3    ,so       
drugged and deadened is the public mind 
by the conventional public  utterances1 
so accustomed have we grown to public   
men talking this sort  of pompous       
nonsense and no other1 that we are      
sometimes quite shocked by  the         
revelation of what men really think1 or 
else of what they really  say4    ,we   
do1 now and then1 confess that          
legislation is as a whole foolish1      
frivolous and opportunist2 that         
administration is wasteful1 incompetent 
and frequently venal2 that the          
governmental personnel1 legislative1    

administrative and executive1 is of a   
low order in point of character1        
intelligence and culture--and tending   
lower each day4 ,we admit this1 for  the
 evidence is so conspicuous that to deny
 it would be hypocrisy1 but  something  
holds us back from recognizing the nexus
 between effect and  cause4             
,unrestricted immigration1 universal    
suffrage1 rotation in office1  the      
subjection of many offices and measures 
to popular vote1 the  parliamentary     
system1 government by political         
parties--all these customs  and habits  
into which we have fallen have arrived  
at failure which  presages disaster4    
,they have failed because the character 
of the people  that functioned through  
these various engines had failed1       
diluted by the  low mentality and       
character-content of millions of        
immigrants and their  offspring1        
degraded by the false values and vicious
 standards imposed by  industrial       
civilization1 foot-loose from all       

binding and control of a  vital and     
potent religious impulse or religious   
organism4    ,it is the old1 vicious    
circle2 spiritual energy declines or is 
diverted  into wrong channels2 thereupon
 the physical forms1 social1 industrial1
  political1 slip a degree or two lower 
out of sympathy with the failing        
energy1 and these in their turn exert a 
degrading influence on the  waning      
spiritual force1 which declines still   
further only to be pulled  lower still  
by the material agencies which continue 
their progressive  declension4          
,theories1 no matter how high-minded and
 altruistic1 cannot  stand before a     
condition such as this1 for             
self-protection decrees  otherwise even 
if the higher motive of doing right     
things and getting  right things just   
because they are right1 does not come   
into effective  operation4 ,the evil    
results of the institutions ,i have     
catalogued above  are not to be denied1 
and the institutions themselves must be 

reformed  or altogether abandoned1 in   
the face of the loud-mouthed            
exhortations of  those who now make them
 their means of livelihood1 and even at 
the  expense of the honest upholders of 
theories and doctrines that do credit   
to their humanitarianism but have been  
weighed and found wanting4    ,i am     
anxious not to put this plan for the    
reform1 in root and branch1 of  our     
political institutions1 on the low level
 of mere caution and  self-defense4 ,the
 motive power of this is fear1 and fear 
is only second  to hate in its present  
position as a controlling force in      
society4 ,we  should have good          
government not because it is economical 
and ensures  what are known as good     
business conditions1 and promises a     
peaceful  continuance of society1 but   
because it is as worthy an object of    
creative endeavour as noble art or a    
great literature or a just and  merciful
 economic system1 or a life that is full
 of joy and beauty and  wholesome       

labour4 ,the political organism is in a 
sense the microcosm of  life itself1 and
 it should be society lifted up to a    
level of dignity1  majesty and nobility4
 ,the doctrine that in a democracy the  
government  must exactly express the    
numerical preponderance in the social   
synthesis1 and that1 if this happens to 
be ignorant1 mannerless and  corrupt1   
then the government must be after the   
same fashion1 is a low  and a cowardly  
doctrine4 ,government should be better  
than the majority2  better than the     
minority if this has advantage over the 
other4 ,it should  be of the best that  
man can compass1 resting above him as in
 some sort  an ideal2 the visible       
expression of his better self1 and the  
better self  of the society of which he 
is a part4 ,if a political system1 any  
political system1 produces any other    
result2 if it has issue in a            
representation of the lowest and basest 
in society1 or even of the  general     
average1 then it is a bad system and it 

must be redeemed or it  will bring an   
end that is couched in terms of         
catastrophe4    ,reform is difficult1   
perhaps even impossible of attainment   
under the  existing system where        
universal1 unlimited suffrage and the   
party system  are firmly intrenched as  
opponents of vital reform1 and where    
representation and legislation take     
their indelible colour from these       
unfortunate institutions4 ,it must      
freely be admitted that there is no     
chance of eliminating or recasting      
either one or the other by the          
recognized methods of platform support  
and mass action through the  ballot4 ,it
 comes in the end to a change of        
viewpoint and of heart on the  part of  
the individual4 ,no party1 no political 
leader would for a moment  endorse any  
one of the principles or methods ,i have
 suggested1 for this  would be a        
suicidal act4 ,the newspaper1           
irresponsible1 anonymous1  directed by  
its advertizing interests or by those   

more sinister still1  yet for all that  
the factor that controls the opinions of
 those who hold  the balance of power in
 the community as it is now constituted1
 would  reject them with derision1 while
 in themselves they are radically       
opposed to the personal interests of the
 majority4 ,the only hope of  lifting   
government to the level of dignity and  
capacity it should hold1  lies in the   
individual4 ,it is necessary that we    
should see things  clearly1 estimate    
conditions as they are1 and think       
through to the end4  ,we do not do this4
 ,we admit1 in a dull sort of way1 that 
matters are not  as they should be1 that
 legislation is generally silly and     
oppressive1  that taxation is excessive1
 that administration is wasteful and    
reckless  and incompetent1 for we know  
these things by experience4 ,we accept  
them1  however1 with our national       
good-nature and easy tolerance1 assuming
 that  they are inseparable from        
democratic government--as indeed they   

are1 but  not for a moment does any     
large number think of questioning the   
principle1 or even the system1 that must
 take the responsibility4 ,when  disgust
 and indifference reach a certain point 
we stop voting1 that is  all4 ,at the   
last presidential election less than one
 half the qualified  voters took the    
trouble to cast their ballots1 while in 
,boston 7which is  no exception7 it     
generally happens that at a municipal   
elections the  ballots cast are less    
than one-third the total electorate4 ,i 
wonder how  many there are here today   
who have ever been to a ward meeting1 or
 have  sat through a legislative session
 of a city government1 as of ,boston for
  example1 or have listened to the      
debates in a state house of             
representatives1 or analyzed the annual 
grist of legislative bills1 or  have sat
 for an hour or two in the ,senate or   
,house at ,washington4 ,such  an        
experience is1 ,i assure you1           
illuminating1 for it shows exactly why  

popular government is what it is1 while 
it forms an admirable basis for  a      
constructive revision of judgment as to 
the soundness of accepted  principles   
and the validity of accepted methods4   
,our political attitude today is based  
on an inherited and automatic           
acceptance of certain perfectly         
automatic formulae4 ,we neither see     
things clearly1 estimate conditions as  
they are1 nor think a proposition       
through to the end3 we are obsessed by  
old formulae1 partisan slogans  and     
newspaper aphorisms2 the which is both  
unworthy and perilous4 ,let us  see     
things clearly for a moment2 if we do   
this anything is possible1 no  matter   
how idealistic and apparently           
impracticable it may be4 ,is there  any 
one who would confess that character and
 intelligence are now a  helpless       
minority in this nation8 ,such an       
admission would be almost  constructive 
treason4 ,the instinct of the majority  
is right1 but it is  defective in will  

and it is subservient to base           
leadership1 while its  power for good is
 negatived by the persistence of a mass 
of formulae  that1 under radically      
changed conditions1 have ceased to be   
beneficient1  or even true1 and have    
become a clog and a stumbling block4    
,i may not have indicated better ideals 
or sounder methods of operation1  but   
the true ideals exist and it is not     
beyond our ability to discover a  better
 working system4 ,partisanship cannot   
reveal either one or the  other1 nor are
 they the fruit of organization or the  
attribute of  political leadership4     
,they belong to the common citizen1 to  
you1 to the  individual1 and if once    
superstition is cast out and we fall    
back on  right reason and the eternal   
principles of the ,christian ethic and  
the  ,christian ideal1 we shall not find
 them difficult of attainment2 and  once
 attained they can be put in practice1  
for the ill thing exists only  on       
sufferance1 the right thing establishes 

itself by force of its very  quality of 
right4          ,,vi      ,,the         
,,function ,,of ,,education ,,and ,,art 
,when1 as on occasion happens1 some     
hostile criticism is leveled against    
the civilization of modernism1 or       
against some one of its many details1   
the reply is ready1 and the faultfinder 
is told that the defect1 if it  exists1 
will in the end be obviated by the      
processes of popular  education4        
,pressed for more explicit details as to
 just what may be the  nature of this   
omnipotent and sovereign education1 the 
many champions  give various answer1    
depending more or less on the point of  
view and the  peculiar predilections of 
each1 but the general principles are the
 same4  ,education1 they say1 consist of
 two things2 the formal practice and    
training of the schools1 and the        
experience that comes through the use   
of certain public rights and privileges1
 such as the ballot1 the holding  of    
office1 service on juries1 and through  

various experiences of the  practice of 
life1 as the reading of newspapers 7and 
perhaps books71 the  activities of work1
 business and the professions1 and      
personal  association with other men in 
social1 craft1 and professional clubs   
and  other organizations4    ,with the  
second category of education through    
experience we need not  deal at this    
time2 it is a question by itself and of 
no mean quality2  the matter ,i would   
consider is the more formal and narrow  
one of  scholastic training in so far as
 it bears on the ,great ,peace that1    
though perhaps after many days1 must    
follow the ,great ,war and the little   
peace4    ,answering along this line1   
the protagonists of salvation through   
education pretty well agree that the    
thing itself means the widest  possible 
extension of our public school system1  
with free state  universities and       
technical schools1 and the extension of 
the educational  period1 with laws so   
rigid1 and enforcement so pervasive and 

impartial1  that no child between the   
ages of six and sixteen can possibly    
escape4  ,this free1 compulsory and     
universal education is assumed to be    
scrupulously secular and hedged about   
with every safeguard against the        
insidious encroachments of religion2 it 
will aim to give a little  training in  
most of the sciences1 and much in the   
practical necessities  of business life1
 as for example1 stenography1           
book-keeping1 advertising  and business 
science2 it will cover a broad field of 
manual training  leading to graduate    
courses in special technical schools2   
the  laboratory method and field        
practice will be increasingly developed 
and applied2 ,latin1 ,greek1 logic and  
ancient history will be minimized  or   
done away with altogether1 and modern   
languages1 applied psychology  and      
contemporary history will be            
correspondingly emphasized4 ,as for the 
state university1 it will allow the     
widest range of free electives1 and  as 

an university it will aim to comprise   
within itself every possible  department
 of practical activity1 such as business
 administration1  journalism1 banking   
and finance1 foreign trade1 political   
science1  psycho-analysis1 mining1      
sanitary engineering1 veterinary        
surgery1 as  well as law1 medicine1     
agriculture1 and civil and mechanical   
engineering4 ,i am curious to inquire at
 this time if education such as  this   
does1 as a matter of fact1 educate1 and 
how far it my be relied  upon as a      
corrective for present defects in       
society2 or rather1 first of  all1      
whether education of this1 or of any    
sort1 may be looked on as a  sufficient 
saving force1 and whether general       
education1 instead of being  extended   
should not be curtailed1 or rather      
safeguarded and restricted4    ,i have  
already tried to indicate1 in my lecture
 on the ,social ,organism1  certain     
doubts that are now arising as to the   
prophylactic and  regenerative powers of

 education1 whether this is based on the
 old  foundation of the ,trivium and    
,quadrivium under the supreme dominion  
of  ,theology1 or on the new foundation 
of utilitarianism and applied science   
under the dominion of scientific        
pedagogy4 ,while the active-minded      
portion of society believed ardently in 
progressive evolution1 in the           
sufficiency of the intellect1 the       
inerrancy of the scientific method1  and
 the transmission by inheritance of     
acquired characteristics1 this  supreme 
confidence in free1 secular1 compulsory 
education as the  cure-all of the       
profuse and pervasive ills of society   
was not only  natural but inevitable4 ,i
 submit that experience has measurably  
modified  the situation1 and that we are
 bound therefore to reconsider our      
earlier  persuasions in the light of    
somewhat revealing events4    ,we may   
admit that the system of modern         
education works measurably well  so far 
as intellectual training is concerned2  

training as  distinguished from         
development4 ,it works measurably well  
also in  preparing youth for            
participation in the life of applied    
science and for  making money in        
business and finance4 ,conscientious    
hard labour has been  given1 and is     
being given1 to making it more effective
 along these  lines1 and almost every   
year some new scheme is brought forward 
enthusiastically1 tried out             
painstakingly1 and then cast aside      
ignominiously for some new and even more
 ingenious device4 ,the amount of       
education is enormous2 the total of     
money spent on new foundations1         
courses1 buildings1 equipment--on       
everything but the pay of the           
teachers--is princely2 the devotion of  
the teachers1 themselves1 in the  face  
of inadequate wages1 is exemplary1 and  
yet1 somehow the results are            
disappointing4 ,the truth is1 the       
development of character is not in      
proportion to the development of public 

and private education4 ,the moral       
standing of the nation1 taken as a      
whole1 has been degenerating2 in        
business1 in public affairs1 in private 
life1 until the standards of  value have
 been confused1 the line of demarcation 
between right and  wrong blurred to     
indistinctness1 and the old motives of  
honour1 duty1  service1 charity1        
chivalry and compassion are no longer   
the controlling  motive1 or at least the
 conscious aspiration1 of active men4   
,this is not to say that these do not   
exist2 the period that has seen the     
retrogression has recorded also a       
reaction1 and there are now perhaps     
more who are fired by the ardent passion
 for active righteousness1 than  for    
several generations1 but the average is 
lower1 for where1 many times  in the    
past1 there has been a broad1 general   
average of decency1 now the  disparity  
is great between the motives that drive 
society as a whole1  and its methods of 
operation1 and the remnant that finds   

itself an  unimportant minority4        
,newspapers are perhaps hardly a fair   
criterion of  the moral status of a     
people--or of anything else for that    
matter--but  what they record1 and the  
way they do it1 is at least an          
indication of a  condition1 and after   
every possible allowance has been made1 
what they  record is a very alarming    
standard of public and private morality1
 both  in the happenings themselves and 
in the fashion of their publicity4      
,no one would claim that the            
responsibility for this weakening of    
moral  standards rests predominantly on 
the shoulders of the educational system 
of today2 the causes lie far deeper than
 this1 but the point ,i wish to  make is
 that the process has not been arrested 
by education1 in spite of  its          
prevalence1 and that therefore it is    
unwise to continue our  exclusive faith 
in its remedial offices4 ,the faith was 
never well  founded4 ,education can do  
much1 but what it does1 or can do1 is to

  foster and develop inherent           
possibilities1 whether these are of     
character1 intelligence or aptitude3 it 
cannot put into a boy or man  what was  
not there1 in posse1 at birth1 and      
humanly speaking1 the  diversity of     
potential in any thousand units is      
limited only by the  number itself4     
,whether our present educational methods
 are those best  calculated to foster   
and develop these inherent              
possibilities1 so varied  in nature and 
degree1 is the question1 and it is a    
question the answer  to which depends   
largely on whether we look on           
intelligence1 capacity or  character as 
the thing of greatest moment4 ,for those
 who believe that  character is the     
thing of paramount importance--amongst  
whom ,i count  myself--the answer must  
be in the negative4    ,nor is an       
affirmative reply entirely assured when 
the question is asked  as to the results
 in the case of intellect and capacity4 
,there are few  who would claim that in 

either of these directions the general  
standard  is now as high as it was1 for 
example1 in the last half of the last   
century4 ,the ,great ,war brought to the
 front few personalities of the  first  
class1 and the peace that has followed  
has an even less  distinguished record  
to date4 ,we may say with truth1 ,i     
think1 that the  last ten years have    
provided greater issues1 and smaller men
 to meet  them in the capacity of       
leaders1 than any previous crisis of    
similar  moment4 ,the art of leadership1
 and the fact of leadership1 have been  
lost1 and without leadership any        
society1 particularly a democracy1 is   
in danger of extinction4    ,here again 
one cannot charge education with our    
lack of men of  character1 intelligence 
and capacity to lead2 as before1 the    
causes lie  far deeper1 but the almost  
fatal absence at this time of the       
personalities of such force and power   
that they can captain society in  its   
hours of danger from war or peace1 must 

give us some basis for  estimating the  
efficiency of our educational theory and
 practice1 and  again raise doubts as to
 whether here also we shall be well     
advised if  we rely exclusively upon it 
as the ultimate saviour of society1     
while we  are bound to ask whether its  
methods1 even of developing intelligence
  and capacity1 are the best that can be
 devised4    ,another point worth       
considering is this4 ,so long as we     
could lay the  flattering unction to our
 souls that acquired characteristics    
were  heritable1 and that therefore if  
an outcast from ,posen1 migrating to    
,america1 had taken advantage of his new
 opportunities and so had  developed his
 character-potential1 amassed money and 
acquired a measure  of education and    
culture1 he would automatically transmit
 something of  this to his offspring1   
who would start so much the further     
forward and  would tend normally to     
still greater advance1 and so on ad     
infinitum1  so long we were justified in

 enforcing the widest measure of        
education  on all and sundry1 and in    
waiting in hope for a future when the   
cumulative process should have          
accomplished its perfect work4 ,now1    
however1 we are told that this hope is  
vain1 that acquired  characteristics are
 not transmitted by heredity1 and that  
the old  folk-proverb it is only three  
generations between shirtsleeves and    
shirtsleeves1 is perhaps more           
scientifically exact than the           
evolutionary dictum of the nineteenth   
century4 ,which is what experience  and 
history have been teaching1 lo1 these   
many years4    ,the question then seems 
to divide itself into three parts2 7a7  
are we  justified in pinning our faith  
in ultimate social salvation to free1   
secular1 and compulsory education       
carried to the furthest possible        
limits2 7b7 if not1 then what precisely 
is the function of formal  education2   
and 7c7 this being determined1 is our   
present method  adequate1 and if not how

 should it be modified8    ,it is unwise
 to speak dogmatically along any of     
these lines1 they are  too blurred and  
uncertain4 ,i can only express an       
individual opinion4    ,it seems to me  
that life unvaryingly testifies to the  
extreme disparity  of potential in      
individuals and in families and in      
racial strains1  though in the two      
latter the difference is not necessarily
 absolute and  permanent1 but variable  
in point of both time and degree4 ,in   
individuals  the limit of this          
potentiality is inherent1 and it can    
neither be  completely inhibited by     
adverse education and environment nor   
measurably  extended by favourable      
education and environment4              
,characteristics  acquired outside      
inherent limitations are personal and   
non-heritable1  however intimately they 
may have become a part of the individual
  himself4    ,if this is true1 then the
 question of education becomes personal 
also2  that is to say1 we educate for   

the individual1 and with an eye to the  
part he himself is to play in society4  
,we do not look for cumulative  results 
but in a sense deal with each           
personality in regard to itself  alone4 
,i think this has a bearing both on the 
extent to which education  should be    
enforced and on the quality and method  
of education itself1  and though the    
contention will receive little but      
ridicule1 ,i am bound  to say that ,i   
hold that general education should be   
reduced in  quantity and considerably   
changed in nature4    ,if the limit of  
development is substantially determined 
in each  individual and cannot be       
extended by human agencies 7,i say human
  because ,god in ,his wisdom and by    
,his power can raise up a prophet or a  
saint out of the lowest depths1 and     
frequently does so71 then the  quantity 
and extent of general education should  
be determined not by a  period of years 
and the facilities offered by a         
government liberal in  its expenditures1

 but entirely by the demonstrated or    
indicated capacity  of the individual4  
,our educational system should1 so far  
as it is free  and compulsory1 normally 
end with the high school grade4 ,free   
college1  university and technical      
training should not be provided1 except 
for  those who had given unmistakable   
evidences that they could1 and probably 
would1 use it to advantage4 ,this would 
be provided for by  non-competitive     
scholarships1 limited in number only by 
the number of  capable candidates1 and  
determination of this capacity would be1
 not on  the basis of test examinations1
 but on an average record covering a    
considerable period of time4 ,it is     
doubtful if even these scholarships     
should be wholly free2 some             
responsibility should be recognized1 for
 a  good half of the value of a thing   
7perhaps all its value7 lies in  working
 for it4 ,a grant without service1 a    
favour accepted without  obligations1   
privilege without function1 both cheapen

 and degrade4    ,let us now turn to the
 second question1 i4e41 what precisely  
is the  function of formal education4   
,for my own part ,i can answer this in a
  sentence4 ,it is primarily the        
fostering and development of the        
character-potential inherent in each    
individual4 ,in this process            
intellectual training and expansion and 
the furthering of natural  aptitude have
 a part1 but this is secondary to the   
major object which is  the development  
of character4    ,this is not in        
accordance with the practice or the     
theory of recent  times1 and in this    
fact lies one of the prime causes of    
failure4 ,the one  thing man exists to  
accomplish is character2 not worldly    
success and  eminence in any line1 not  
the conquest of nature 7though some have
 held  otherwise71 not even adaptation  
to environment in the argot of last     
century science1 but character2 the     
assimilation and fixing in  personality 
of high and noble qualities of thought  

and deed1 the  furtherance1 in a word1  
of the eternal sacramental process of   
redemption  of matter through the       
operation of spiritual forces4 ,without 
this1  social and political systems1    
imperial dominion1 wealth and power1 a  
favourable balance of trade avail       
nothing2 with it1 forms and methods  and
 the enginery of living will look out   
for themselves4 ,and yet this  thing    
which comprises the whole duty of man   
has1 of late1 fallen into  a singular   
disregard1 while the constructive forces
 that count have  either been           
discredited and largely abandoned1 as in
 the case of  religion1 or1 like        
education1 turned into other channels or
 reversed  altogether1 as has happened  
with the idea and practice of obedience1
  discipline1 self-denial1 duty1 honour 
and unselfishness2 surely the most      
fantastic issue of the era of           
enlightenment1 of liberty and of freedom
  of conscience4    ,as a matter of fact
 character1 as the chief end of man and 

the sole  guaranty of a decent society1 
has been neglected2 it was not          
disregarded  by any conscious process1  
but the headlong events that have       
followed  since the fifteenth century   
have steadily distorted our judgment and
  confused our standards of value even  
to reversal4 ,by an imperceptible       
process other matters have come to      
engage our interest and control our     
action1 until at last we are confronted 
by the nemesis of our own  unwisdom1 and
 we entertain the threat of a dissolving
 civilization just  because the forces  
we have engendered or set loose have not
 been curbed  or directed by that       
vigorous and potent personal character  
informing a  people and a society1 that 
we had forgot in our haste and that     
alone  could give us safety4    ,formal 
education is but one of the factors that
 may be employed towards  the           
development of character2 you cannot so 
easily separate one force in  life from 
another1 assigning a specific duty here1

 a definite task  there4 ,that is one of
 the weaknesses of our time1 the        
water-tight  compartment plan of high   
specialization1 the cellular theory of  
efficiency4 ,life must be seen as a     
whole1 organized as a whole1 lived as  a
 whole4 ,every thought1 every emotion1  
every action1 works for the  building or
 the unbuilding of character1 and this  
synthesis of living  must be            
reestablished before we can hope for    
social regeneration4  ,nevertheless     
formal education may be made a powerful 
factor1 even now1  and not only in this 
one specific direction1 but through     
this1 for the  accomplishing of that    
unification of life that already is     
indicated as  the next great task that  
is set before us2 and this brings me to 
a  consideration of the last of the     
questions ,i have proposed for answer1  
viz43 is our present system of education
 adequate to the sufficient  development
 of character1 and if not1 how should it
 be modified8    ,i do not think it     

adequate1 and experience seems to me to 
prove the  point4 ,it has not maintained
 the sturdy if sometimes acutely        
unpleasant  character of the ,new       
,england stock1 or the strong and       
handsome character  of the race that    
dwelt in the thirteen original colonies 
as this  manifested itself well into the
 last century1 and it has1 in general1  
bred no new thing in the millions of    
immigrants and their descendants  who   
have flooded the country since #ahdj and
 from whom the public schools  and some 
of the colleges are largely recruited4  
,it is not a question of  expanded brain
 power or applied aptitude1 but of      
character1 and here  there is a larger  
measure of failure than we had a right  
to expect4 ,and  yet1 had we this right8
 ,the avowed object of formal education 
is mental  and vocational training1 and 
by no stretch of the imagination can we 
hold these to be synonymous with        
character4 ,we have dealt with and      
through one thing alone1 and that is the

 intellect1 whereas character is  rather
 the product of emotions judiciously    
stimulated1 balanced 7not  controlled7  
by intellect1 and applied through active
 and varied  experience4 ,deliberately  
have we cut out every emotional and     
spiritual  factor2 not only religion and
 the fine arts1 but also the studies1   
and  the methods of study1 and the type 
of text-books1 that might have helped   
in the process of spiritual and         
emotional development4 ,we have         
eliminated ,latin and ,greek1 or taught 
them as a branch of philology2 we  have 
made ,english a technical exercise in   
analysis and composition1  disregarding 
the moral and spiritual significance of 
the works of the  great masters of      
,english2 we minimize ancient history   
and concentrate on  ,european history   
since the ,french ,revolution1 and on   
the history of the  ,united ,states1 and
 because of the sensitiveness of our    
endless variety  of religionists 7pro   
forma7 text books are written which     

leave religion  out of history          
altogether--and frequently economics and
 politics as well  when these cannot be 
made to square with popular convictions2
 philosophy  and logic are already      
pretty well discarded1 except for       
special  electives and post-graduate    
courses1 and as for art in its          
multifarious  forms we know it not1     
unless it be in the rudimentary and     
devitalized  form of free-hand drawing  
and occasional concerted singing4 ,the  
only  thing that is left in the line of 
emotional stimulus is competitive       
athletics1 and for this reason ,i       
sometimes think it one of the most      
valuable factors in public education4   
,it has1 however1 another function1  and
 that is the coordination of training   
and life2 it is in a sense an  cole     
d'application1 and through it the       
student1 for once in a way1  tries out  
his acquired mental equipment and his   
expanding character--as  well as his    
physical prowess--against the           

circumstances of active  vitality4 ,it  
is just this sort of thing that for so  
long made the  public schools of        
,england1 however limited or defective  
may have been  the curriculum1 a vital  
force in the development of ,british    
character4    ,at best1 however1 this   
seems to me but an indifferent          
substitute1 an  inadequate extra1 doing 
limitedly the real work of education by 
indirection4 ,what we need 7granting my 
assumption of character as the  terminus
 ad quem7 is an educational system so   
recast that the formal  studies and the 
collateral influences and the school    
life shall be more  coordinated in      
themselves and with life1 and that the  
resulting stimulus  shall be equally    
operative along intellectual1 emotional 
and creative  lines4    ,it is          
sufficiently easy to make suggestions as
 to how this is to be  accomplished1 to 
lay out programmes and lay down         
curricula1 but here as  elsewhere this  
does not amount to much2 the change must

 come and the  institutions develop as  
the result of the operations of life4   
,if we can  change our view of the      
object of education1 the very force of  
life1  working through experience1 will 
adequately determine the forms4 ,it is  
not therefore as a meticulous and       
mechanical system that ,i make the      
following suggestions as to certain     
desirable changes1 but rather to        
indicate more exactly what ,i mean by a 
scheme of education that will  work     
primarily towards the development of    
character4    ,now in the first place1  
,i must hold that there can be no       
education which  works primarily for    
character building1 that is not         
interpenetrated at  every point by      
definite1 concrete religion and the     
practice of religion4  ,as ,i shall try 
to show in my last two lectures1        
religion is the force or  factor that   
links action with life4 ,it is the only 
power available to  man that makes      
possible a sound standard of comparative

 values1 and with  philosophy teaching  
man how to put things in their right    
order1 it  enters to show him how to    
control them well1 while it offers the  
great  constructive energy that makes   
the world an orderly unity rather than a
  type of chaos4 ,until the ,reformation
 there was no question as to this1  and 
even after1 in the nations that accepted
 the great revolution1 the  point was   
for a time maintained2 thereafter the   
centrifugal tendency in  ,protestantism 
resulted in such a wealth of mutually   
antagonistic sects  that the application
 of the principle became impracticable1 
and for  this1 as well as for more      
fundamental reasons1 it fell into       
desuetude4  ,the condition is as        
difficult today for the process of      
denominational  fission has gone        
steadily forward1 and as this energy of 
the religious  influence weakens the    
strenuosity of maintenance strengthens4 
,with our  #aeg varieties of            
,protestantism confronting ,catholicism1

 ,hebraism1 and a  mass of frank        
rationalism and infidelity as large in  
amount as all  others combined1 it would
 seem at first sight impossible to      
harmonize  free public education with   
concrete religion in any intimate way4  
,so it  is2 but if the principle is     
recognized and accepted1 ways and means 
will  offer themselves1 and ultimately  
the principle will be embodied in a     
workable scheme4    ,for example2 there 
is one thing that can be done anywhere1 
and whenever  enough votes can be       
assembled to carry through the necessary
  legislation4 ,at present the law      
regards with an austere disapproval that
  reflects a popular opinion 7now       
happily tending towards decay71 what are
  known as denominational schools and   
other institutions of learning4  ,those 
that maintain the necessity of an       
intimate union between religion  and    
education1 as for example the great     
majority of ,roman ,catholics and  an   
increasing number of ,episcopalians and 

,presbyterians1 are taxed for  the      
support of secular public schools which 
they do not use1 while they  must       
maintain at additional1 and very great1 
expense1 parochial and  other private   
schools where their children may be     
taught after a fashion  which they hold 
to be necessary from their own point of 
view4 ,again1  state support is refused 
to such schools or colleges as may be   
under  specific religious control1 while
 pension funds for the teachers1        
established by generous benefactions1   
are explicitly reserved for those  who  
are on the faculties of institutions    
which formally dissociate  themselves   
from any religious influence4 ,i        
maintain that this is both  unjust and  
against public policy4 ,under our       
present system of religious             
individualism and ecclesiastical        
multiplicity1 approximations only are   
possible1 but ,i believe the wise and   
just plan would be for the state to  fix
 certain standards which all schools    

receiving financial support from  the   
public funds must maintain1 and then1   
this condition being carried  out1      
distribute the funds received from      
general taxation to public and  private 
schools alike4 ,this would enable       
,episcopalians1 let us say1 or  ,roman  
,catholics1 or ,jews1 when in any       
community they are numerous enough  to  
provide a sufficiency of scholars for   
any primary1 grammar1 or high  school1  
to establish such a school in as close a
 relationship to their  own religion as 
they desired1 and have this school      
maintained out of the  funds of the     
city4 ,this is not a purely theoretical 
proposition2 after  an agitation lasting
 nearly half a century1 ,holland has    
this year put  such a law in force4     
,from every point of view we should do  
well to  recognize this plan as both    
just and expedient4 ,one virtue it would
  have1 apart from those already noted1 
is the variation it would permit  in    
curricula1 text books1 personnel and    

scholastic life as between one  school  
and another4 ,there is no more fatal    
error in education than that            
standardization which has recently      
become a fad and which finds its most   
mechanistic manifestation in ,france4   
,of course this need for the fortifying 
of education by religion is  recognized 
even now1 but the only plan devised for 
putting it into  effect is one whereby  
various ministers of religion are       
allowed a  certain brief period each    
week in which they may enter the public 
schools and give denominational         
instruction to those who desire their   
particular ministrations4 ,this is one  
of the compromises1 like the older      
method of ,bible reading without        
commentary or exposition1 which avails  
nothing and is apt to be worse than     
frank and avowed secularism4 ,it is     
putting religion on exactly the same    
plane as analytical chemistry1          
psychoanalysis or salesmanship1 7the    
latter ,i am told is about to be        

introduced in the ,massachusetts high   
schools7 or any other elective1  whereas
 if it is to have any value whatever it 
must be an ever-present  force          
permeating the curriculum1 the minds of 
the teachers1 and the  school life from 
end to end1 and there is no way in which
 this can be  accomplished except by a  
policy that will permit the maintenance 
of  schools under religious domination  
at the expense of the state1 provided   
they comply with certain purely         
educational requirements established and
  enforced by the state4    ,i have     
already pointed out what seems to me the
 desirability of a  considerable        
variation between the curriculum of one 
school and another4  ,this would be     
possible and probably certain under the 
scheme proposed1  but barring this1 it  
is surely an open question whether the  
pretty  thoroughly standardized         
curriculum now in operation would not be
  considerably modified to advantage if 
it is recognized that the prime  object 

of education is character rather than   
mental training and the  fitting of a   
pupil to obtain a paying job on         
graduation4 ,from my own  point of view 
the answer is in a vociferous           
affirmative4 ,i suggest the  drastic    
reduction of the very superficial       
science courses in all schools  up to   
and including the high school1 certainly
 in chemistry1 physics and  biology1 but
 perhaps with some added emphasis on    
astronomy1 geology and  botany4 ,history
 should become one of the fundamental   
subjects1 and  ,english1 both being     
taught for their humanistic value and   
not as  exercises in memory or for the  
purpose of making a student a sort of   
dictionary of dates4 ,this would require
 a considerable rewriting of  history   
text books1 as well as a corresponding  
change in the methods of  teaching1 but 
after all1 are not these both           
consummations devoutly to be  wished4   
,there are few histories like ,mr4      
,chesterton's ,short ,history of        

,england1 unfortunately4 ,one would1    
perhaps1 hardly commend this            
stimulating book as a sufficient        
statement of ,english history for       
general use in schools1 but its approach
 is wholly right and it  possesses the  
singular virtue of interest4 ,another   
thing that commends  it is the fact that
 while it runs from ,caesar to ,mr4     
,lloyd ,george1 it  contains1 ,i        
believe1 only seven specific dates1     
three of which are  possibly wrong4     
,this is as it should be--not the       
inaccuracies but the  commendable       
frugality in point of number4 ,dates1   
apart from a few key  years1 are of     
small historical importance2 so are the 
details of palace  intrigues and        
military campaigns4 ,history is1 or     
should be1 life  expressed in terms of  
romance1 and it is of little moment     
whether the  narrated incidents are     
established by documentary evidence or  
whether  they are contemporary legend   
quite unsubstantiated by what are known 

7and overestimated7 as facts4 ,there is 
more of the real ,middle ,ages in       
,mallory's ,mort d',arthur than there is
 in all ,hallam1 and the same           
antithesis can be established for nearly
 all other periods of history4    ,the  
history of man is one great dramatic    
romance1 and so used it may be  made    
perhaps the most stimulating agency in  
education as character  development4 ,i 
do not mean romance in the sense in     
which ,mr4 ,wells takes  it1 that is to 
say1 the dramatic assembling and clever 
cordination of  unsubstantiated         
theories1 personal preferences1         
prejudices and  aversions1 under the    
guise of solemn and irrefutable truth   
attested by  all the exact sciences     
known to man1 but romance which aims    
like any  other art at communicating    
from one person to another something of 
the  inner and essential quality of life
 as it has been lived1 even if the      
material used is textually doubtful or  
even probably apocryphal4 ,the  deadly  

enemy of good1 sound history is         
scientific historical criticism4  ,the  
true history is romantic tradition2 the 
stimulating thing1 the tale  that makes 
the blood leap1 the pictorial incident  
that raises up in an  instant the       
luminous vision of some great thing that
 once was4    ,i would not exchange ,kit
 ,marlowe's      ,is this the face that 
launched a thousand ships    ,and burnt 
the topless towers of ,ilium8    for all
 the critical commentaries of ,teutonic 
pedants on the character  and attributes
 of ,helen of ,troy as these have 7to   
them7 been revealed by  archaeological  
investigations4 ,i dare say that ,bishop
 ,st4 ,remi of ,reims  never said in so 
many words ,bow thy proud head1         
,sicambrian2 destroy  what thou hast    
worshipped1 worship what thou hast      
destroyed1 and that  the ,meroving      
monarch did not go thence to issue an   
order of the day  that the army should  
forthwith march down to the river and be
 baptized  by battalions2 but there is  

the clear1 unforgettable picture of the 
times and the men1 and it will remain   
after the world has forgotten that  some
 one has proved that ,st4 ,remi never   
met ,clovis1 and that he himself  was   
probably only a variant of the great and
 original sun-myth4    ,closely allied  
with the teaching of history and forming
 a link as it  were with the teaching of
 ,english1 is a branch of study at      
present  unformulated and unknown1 but1 
,i am convinced1 of great importance in 
education as a method of character      
development4 ,life has always focused   
in great personalities1 and formal      
history has recognized the fact while   
showing little discretion1 and sometimes
 very defective judgment1 in the        
choices it has made4 ,a past period     
becomes our own in so far as we         
translate it through its personalities  
and its art2 the original  documents    
matter little1 except when they become  
misleading1 as they  frequently do1 when
 read through contemporary spectacles4  

,now the great  figures of a time are   
not only princes and politicians1       
conquerors and  conspirators1 they are  
quite as apt to be the knights and      
heroes and  brave gentlemen who held no 
conspicuous position in ,church or      
state4 ,i  think we need what might be  
called ,the ,golden ,book of            
,knighthood--or a  series of text books 
adapted to elementary and advanced      
schools--made up  of the lives and deeds
 7whether attested by original          
documents1 or  legendary or even        
fabulous does not matter7 of those in   
all times1 and  amongst all peoples1 who
 were the glory of knighthood2 the      
parfait  gentyl ,knyghtes without fear  
and without reproach4 ,such for example1
  to go no farther back than the        
,christian ,era1 as ,st4 ,george and    
,st4  ,martin1 ,king ,arthur and        
,launcelot and ,galahad1 ,charles       
,martel and  ,roland1 ,st4 ,louis1      
,godfrey de ,bouillon and ,saladin1 the 
,earl of  ,strafford1 ,montrose and     

,claverhouse1 the ,chevalier ,bayard1   
,don ,john of  ,austria1 ,washington and
 ,robert ,lee and ,george ,wyndham4     
,these are but a  few names1 remembered 
at random2 there are scores besides1 and
 ,i think  that they should be held up  
to honour and emulation throughout the  
formative period of youth4 ,after all1  
they became1 during the years when      
these qualities were exalted1 the       
personification of the ideals of  honour
 and chivalry1 of compassion and        
generosity1 of service and              
self-sacrifice and courtesy1 and these1 
the qualifications of a  gentleman and a
 man or honour1 are1 with the religion  
that fostered  them1 and the practice of
 that religion1 the just objective of   
education4    ,much of all this can even
 now be taught through a judicious use  
of the  opportunities offered           
instructors in ,english1 whether this is
 through  the graded readers of         
elementary education1 or the more       
extended  courses in colleges and       

universities4 ,very frequently these    
opportunities are ignored1 and will be  
until we achieve something of a  new    
orientation in the matter of teaching   
,english4    ,now it may be ,i hold a   
vain and untenable view of this subject1
 but ,i am  willing to confess that ,i  
believe the object of teaching ,english 
is the  unlocking of the treasures of   
thought1 character and emotion preserved
  in the written records of the tongue1 
and the arousing of a desire to  know   
and assimilate these treasures on the   
part of the pupil4 ,i am very  sure that
 ,english should not be taught as a     
thing ending in ology1 not  as an       
intricate science with all sorts of laws
 and rules and exceptions2  not as a    
system whereby the little children of   
the ,ghetto1 and the  offspring of      
,pittsburgh millionaires1 and the       
spectacled infant elect of  ,beacon     
,hill may all be raised to the point    
where they can write with  acceptable   
fluency the chiseled phrases of ,matthew

 ,arnold1 the cadenced  ,latinity of    
,sir ,thomas ,browne1 the sonorous      
measures of ,bolingbroke or  the        
distinguished and resonant periods of   
the ,king ,james ,bible4 ,such an  aim  
as this will always result in failure4  
,the ,english language is the great     
storehouse of the rich thought and the  
burning emotion of the ,english race1   
and all this1 as it has issued out  of  
character1 works towards the development
 of character1 when it is  made         
operative in new generations4 ,there is 
no other language but ,latin  that has  
preserved so great a wealth of          
invaluable things1 and ,english  is     
taught in order that it all may be more 
available through that  appreciation    
that comes from familiarity4 ,there is  
no nobler record in  the world3 from    
,chaucer down to the moderns is one     
splendid sequence of                    
character-revelations through a perfect 
but varied art1 for literature  is also 
a fine art1 and one of the greatest of  

all4 ,is it not fair to  say that the   
chief duty of the teacher of ,english is
 to lead the student  to like great     
literature1 to find it and enjoy it for 
himself1 and  through it to come to the 
liking of great ideas8    ,in the old   
days there was an historical1 or rather 
archaeological1  method that was        
popular2 also an analytical and         
grammarian method4 ,there  was also the 
philological method which was quite the 
worst of all and  had almost as         
devastating results as in the case of   
,latin4 ,it almost  seems as though     
,english were being taught for the      
production of a  community of highly    
specialized teachers4 ,no one would now 
go back to  any of those quaint and     
archaic ways digged up out of the dim   
and remote  past of the ,x,i,xth        
century4 ,we should all agree1 ,i think1
 that for  general education1           
specialized technical knowledge is      
unimportant and  scientific intensive   
methods unjustifiable4 ,for one student 

who will  turn out a teacher there are  
five hundred that will be just simple   
voters1 wage-earners1 readers of the    
,saturday ,evening ,post and the ,new   
,republic1 members of the ,fourth       
,presbyterian ,church or the ,ethical   
,society1 and respectable heads of      
families4 ,the ,school of ,pedagogy has 
its own methods 7,i am given to         
understand71 but under correction ,i    
submit they are not those of general    
education4 ,shall ,i put the whole      
thing in a phrase and say that the      
object of teaching ,english is to get   
young people to like good things8       
,you may say this is ,english           
,literature1 not ,english4 ,are the two 
so very  far apart8 ,english as a       
language is taught to make literature   
available4  ,example is better than     
precept4 ,reading good literature for   
the love  of it will bring in the habit 
of grammatical speaking and writing far 
more effectively than what is known as a
 thorough grounding in the  principles  

of ,english grammar4 ,i doubt if the    
knowledge of1 and  facility in1 ,english
 can be built up on such a basis2 rather
 the laws  should be deduced from       
examples4 ,philology1 etymology1 syntax 
are  derivatives1 not foundations4      
,practice makes perfect is a saying that
  needs to be followed by the old       
scholastic defensive distinguo4         
,practice in reading1 rather than       
practice in writing1 makes good ,english
  composition possible4 ,the daily theme
 may be overdone2 it is of little  use  
unless thought keeps ahead of the pen4  
,i would plead then for the teaching of 
,english after a fashion that will      
reveal great thoughts and stimulate to  
greater life1 through the noble  art of 
,english literature and the perfectly   
illogical but altogether  admirable     
,english language4 ,the function of     
education is to make  students feel1    
think and act1 after a fashion that     
increasingly reveals  and utilizes the  
best that is in them1 and increasingly  

serves the uses  of society1 and both   
history and ,english can be so taught as
 to help  towards the accomplishment of 
these ends4    ,there is another factor 
that may be so used1 but ,i confess ,i  
shall speak  of it with some hesitation4
 ,it is at present1 and has been for    
ages1  entirely outside the possibility 
even of consideration1 and in a sense   
that goes beyond the general ignoring of
 religion1 for while ,catholics1  who   
form the great majority of ,christians1 
still hold to religion as a  prime      
element in education1 there are none--or
 only a minority so small  as to be     
negligible--who give a thought to art in
 this connection4 ,i  bring forward the 
word1 and the thing it represents1 with 
diffidence1  even apologetically3       
indeed1 it is perhaps better to renounce
 the word  altogether and substitute the
 term beauty1 for during the nineteenth 
century art got a bad name1 not         
altogether undeservedly1 and the        
disrepute lingers4 ,so long as beauty is

 an instinct native to men 7and  it was 
this1 except for very brief and periodic
 intervals1 until hardly  more than a   
century ago1 though latterly in a       
vanishing form71 it is  wholesome1      
stimulating and indispensable1 but when 
it becomes  self-conscious1 when it     
finds itself the possession of a few    
highly  differentiated individuals      
instead of the attribute of man as such1
 then  it tends to degenerate into      
something abnormal and1 in its last     
estate1  both futile and unclean4 ,in   
its good estate1 as for example in      
,greece1  ,byzantium1 the ,middle ,ages1
 and in ,oriental countries until the   
last few  decades1 beauty was so natural
 an object of endeavour and a mode of   
expression1 and its universality        
resulted in so characteristic an        
environment1 it was unnecessary to talk 
about it very much1 or to give  any     
particular thought to the educational   
value of the arts which were  its       
manifestation through and to man1 or how

 this was to be applied4 ,the  things   
were there1 everywhere at hand2 the     
temples and churches1 the  painting and 
the sculpture and the works of          
handicraft2 the music and  poetry and   
drama1 the ceremonial and costume of    
daily life1 both secular  and religious1
 the very cities in which men           
congregated and the villages  in which  
they were dispersed4 ,beauty1 in all its
 concrete forms of art1  was highly     
valued1 almost as highly as religion or 
liberty or bodily  health1 but then it  
was a part of normal life and therefore 
taken for  granted4    ,now all is      
changed4 ,for just an hundred years 7the
 process definitely  began here in      
,america between #ahbj and #ahbc7 we    
have been eliminating  beauty as an     
attribute of life and living until1     
during the last two  generations1 it is 
true to say that the instinctive impulse
 of the race  as a whole is towards     
ugliness in those categories of creation
 and  appreciation where formerly it had

 been towards beauty4 ,of course the    
corollary of this was the driving of the
 unhappy man in whom was born  some     
belated impulse towards the apprehending
 of beauty and its visible  expression  
in some art1 back upon himself1 until1  
conscious of his  isolation and         
confident of his own superiority1 he not
 only made his art  a form of purely    
personal expression 7or even of         
exposure71 but held  himself to be1 and 
so conducted himself1 as a being apart1 
for whom the  laws of the herd were not1
 and to whom all men should bow4    ,the
 separation of art from life is only    
less disastrous in its results  than the
 separation of religion from life1      
particularly since with the  former went
 the separation of art 7and therefore of
 beauty7 from its  immemorial alliance  
with religion4 ,it was bad for art1 it  
was bad for  religion1 and it was worst 
of all for life itself4 ,beyond a       
certain  point man cannot live in and   
with and through ugliness1 nor can      

society  endure under such conditions1  
and the fact is that1 however it came to
  pass1 modern civilization has         
functioned through explicit ugliness1   
and  the environment it has made for its
 votaries and its rebels  indifferently1
 is unique in its palpable hideousness2 
from the clothes  it wears and the      
motives it extols1 to the cities it     
builds1 and the  structures therein1 and
 the scheme of life that romps along in 
its  ruthless career within the sordid  
suburbs that take the place of the  once
 enclosing walls4 ,and the defiant and  
segregated artists1 mortuary  art       
museums1 the exposed statues and hidden 
pictures1 the opera  subsidized by high 
society1 and the arts and crafts        
societies and  the art magazines and art
 schools and clubs and city beautiful   
committees1 only seem to make the       
contrast more apparent and the          
desperate nature of the situation more  
profound4    ,it is a new situation     
altogether1 and nowhere in history is   

there any  recorded precedent to which  
we can return for council and example1  
for  nothing quite of the same sort ever
 happened before4 ,it is also a  problem
 of which formal education must take    
cognizance1 for the lack is  one which  
must somehow be supplied1 while it      
reveals an astonishing  lacuna in life  
that means a new deficiency in the      
unconscious  education of man that      
renders him ineffective in life2        
defective even1  it may be1 unless from 
some source he can acquire something of 
what in  the past life itself could     
afford4    ,indeed it is not merely a   
negative influence we deal with1 but a  
positive1 for1 to paraphrase a little1  
ugly associations corrupt good  morals4 
,youth is beaten upon at many points by 
things that not only  look ugly1 but    
are1 and as in compassion we are bound  
to offer some new  agency to fill a     
lack1 so in self-defence we must take   
thought as to how  the evil influence of
 contemporaneousness is to be nullified 

and its  results corrected4    ,i       
confess the method seems to me to lean  
more closely to the indirect  influence 
rather than the direct4 ,it is doubtful 
if art can really be  taught in any     
sense2 the inherent sense of beauty can 
be fostered and an  inherent aptitude   
developed1 but that is about all4 ,as   
for the building  up of a               
non-professional passion for art ,i am  
quite sure it cannot be  done1 and      
should hardly be attempted1 and very    
likely the same is true  of the         
application of beauty4    ,text books on
 ,how to ,understand this art or that   
are interesting  ventures into abstract 
theory1 but they are little more4 ,we   
must always  remember that art is a     
result1 not a product1 and that sense of
 beauty  is a natural gift and not an   
accomplishment4 ,on the other hand1 much
 can  be accomplished by indirection1   
and by this ,i mean the buildings and   
the  grounds and the cultural adjuncts  
that are offered by any school or       

college4 ,the ordinary type of          
school-house--primary1 grammar or high  
school--is1 in its barren ugliness and  
its barbarous efficiency1 a  very real  
outrage on decency1 and a few ,braun    
photographs and plaster  casts and      
potted plants avail nothing4 ,private   
schools and some  colleges--by no means 
all--are apt to be somewhat better1 and 
here the  improvement during the last   
ten years has been amazing1 one or two  
universities having acquired single     
buildings1 or groups1 of the most       
astonishing architectural beauty4 ,in no
 case1 however1 has as yet  complete    
unity been achieved1 while the arts of  
painting1 sculpture1  music and the     
drama1 as vital and operative and       
pervasive influences1  lag far behind1  
and formal religion with its liturgies  
and ceremonial1  its constant and varied
 services and its fine and appealing    
pageantry--religion which is the        
greatest vitalizing and stimulating     
force in beauty is hardly touched at    

all4    ,bad art of any kind is bad     
anywhere1 but in any type of educational
  institution1 from the kindergarten to 
the post graduate college1 it is  worse 
and less excusable than it is elsewhere1
 unless it be in  association with      
religion1 while the absence of beauty at
 the  instigation of parsimony or       
efficiency is just as bad4 ,i am firmly 
persuaded that we need1 not more courses
 of study but more beautiful            
environment for scholars under          
instruction4    ,i have touched         
cursorily on certain elements in        
education which need  either a new      
emphasis or an altogether new           
interpretation2 religion1  history1 art1
 but this does not mean that the same   
treatment should not  be accorded       
elsewhere4 ,there are certain studies   
that should be revived1  such as formal 
logic1 there are others that need       
immediate and complete  restoration1 as 
,latin for example1 there are many1     
chiefly along  scientific and vocational

 lines1 that could well be minimized1 or
 in  some cases dispensed with          
altogether3 one might go on indefinitely
 on  this line1 however1 weighing and   
testing studies in relation to their    
character-value1 but certainly enough   
has already been said to indicate  the  
point of view ,i would urge for         
consideration4 ,before ,i close1        
however1 ,i want to touch on two points 
that arise in connection with  college  
education1 if1 even for the sake of     
argument1 we admit that the  primary    
object of all formal education is the   
education of the  character-capacity in 
each individual4    ,of these two1 the  
first has to do with the college        
curriculum1 but ,i  need to devote      
little time to this for the principle   
has already been  developed and applied 
in a singularly stimulating and lucid   
book called  ,the ,liberal ,college1 by 
,president ,meiklejohn of ,amherst1 to  
which ,i  beg to refer you4 ,the scheme 
is a remarkable blending of the         

prescribed  and the elective systems1   
and provides for the freshman year five 
compulsory studies1 viz43 ,social and   
,economic ,institutions1 ,mathematics   
and ,formal ,logic1 ,science1 ,english  
and ,foreign ,languages2 for the        
sophomore year ,european ,history1      
,philosophy1 ,science1 ,literature1 and 
one elective2 for the junior year       
,american ,history1 ,history of ,thought
  and two electives1 and for the senior 
year one required study1  ,intellectual 
and ,moral ,problems1 and one elective1 
the latter1 which  takes two-thirds of  
the student's time1 must be a           
continuation of one of  the four        
subjects included in the junior year4   
,it seems to me that this  is a         
singularly wise programme1 since it not 
only determines the few  studies which  
are fundamental1 and imposes them on the
 student in  diminishing number as he   
advances in his work1 but it also       
provides for  that freedom of choice    
which permits any student to find out   

and  continue the particular line along 
which his inclinations lead him to      
travel1 until his senior year is chiefly
 given over to the fullest  possible    
development of the special subject4 ,the
 fad for free electives  all along the  
line was one of those curious phenomena1
 both humorous and  tragic1 that grew   
out of the evolutionary philosophy and  
the empirical  democracy of the         
nineteenth century1 and it wrought      
disaster1 while the  ironclad curriculum
 that preceded it was almost as bad     
along an opposite  line4 ,this project  
of ,dr4 ,meiklejohn's seems to me to    
recognize life as  a force and to base  
itself on this sure foundation instead  
of on the  shifting sands of doctrinaire
 theory1 and if this is so then it is   
right4    ,for after all there is such a
 thing as life1 and it is more potent   
than  theory as it also has a way of    
disregarding or even smashing the       
machine4 ,it is this force of life that 
should be more regarded in  education1  

and more relied upon4 ,it is the living 
in a school or a  college that counts   
more than a curriculum2 the association 
with others1  students and teachers1 the
 communal life1 the common adventures   
and  scrapes1 the common sports1 yes1   
and as it will be sometime1 the common  
worship4 ,it is through these that life 
works and character develops1 and  to   
this development and instigation of life
 the school and college  should work    
more assiduously1 minimizing for the    
moment the problems of  curricula and   
pedagogic methods4 ,if ,i am right in   
this there is no place  for the         
correspondence school1 while the college
 or university that  numbers its        
students by thousands becomes at least  
of doubtful value1  and perhaps         
impossible4 ,in any case it seems to me 
self-evident that a  college1 whatever  
its numbers1 must have1 as its primal   
and essential  units1 self-contained    
groups of not more than #aej students   
segregated in  their own residential    

quad1 with its common-room1 refectory   
and chapel1  and with a certain number  
of faculty members in residence1 the    
whole  being united under one head4     
,there may be perhaps no reason why1    
granting this unit system1 these should 
not be multiplied in number  until the  
whole student body is as great as that  
of a western state  university today1   
but to me the idea is abhorrent of an   
university  with five or ten thousand   
students all jostling together ,in one  
inchoate  mass1 eating in numerical     
mobs1 assembling in social unions as    
large  as a metropolitan hotel and      
almost as homelike1 or taking refuge for
  safety from mere numbers in clubs1    
fraternities and secret societies4 ,a   
college such as this is a mob1 not an   
organism1 and as a mob it ought to  be  
put down4    ,i said at the outset of   
this lecture that we could not lay the  
present  failure of civilization to the 
doors of education1 however great its   
shortcomings1 for the causes lay deeper 

than this4 ,i maintain that this  is    
true2 and yet formal education can not  
escape scatheless1 for it has  failed to
 admit this decline while acknowledging 
the claim set up for it  that it could  
and would achieve this end4 ,certainly  
it will incur a  heavy responsibility if
 it does not at once recognize the fact 
that  while it can not do the half that 
has been claimed for it1 it can do far  
more than it is doing now1 and that in a
 very large degree the future  does     
depend for its honour or its degradation
 on the part formal  education is to    
perform at the present crisis4 ,to do   
this it must  execute a volte face and  
confess that it can only develop        
inherent  potential1 not create         
capacity1 and that the primary object of
 its  activities must be not the        
stall-feeding of intellect and the      
practical  preparation for a business   
career1 but the fostering and the       
building up  of the personal character  
that denotes the ,christian gentleman4  

,i do not  think that ,i can do better  
for a conclusion than to quote from the 
,philosophy of ,education by the late   
,dr4 ,thomas ,edward ,shields4    ,the  
unchanging aim of ,christian education  
is1 and always has been1 to  put the    
pupil into possession of a body of truth
 derived from nature and  from ,divine  
,revelation1 from the concrete work of  
man's hand and from  the content of     
human speech1 in order to bring his     
conduct into  conformity with ,christian
 ideals and with the standards of the   
civilization of his day4    ,christian  
education1 therefore1 aims at           
transforming native instincts  while    
preserving and enlarging their powers4  
,it aims at bringing the  flesh under   
the control of the spirit4 ,it draws    
upon the experience and  the wisdom of  
the race1 upon ,divine ,revelation and  
upon the power of  ,divine grace1 in    
order that it may bring the conduct of  
the individual  into conformity with    
,christian ideals and with the standards

 of the  civilization of the day4 ,it   
aims at the development of the whole    
man1 at  the preservation of unity and  
continuity in his conscious life2 it    
aims  at transforming man's native      
egotism to altruism2 at developing the  
social side of his nature to such an    
extent that he may regard all men  as   
his brothers2 sharing with them the     
common ,fatherhood of ,god4 ,in one     
word1 it aims at transforming a child of
 the flesh into a child of ,god4        
,,vii      ,,the ,,problem ,,of         
,,organic ,,religion    ,if philosophy  
is the science of the totality of       
things1 and they are  called wise who   
put things in their right order and     
control them well1  then it is religion1
 above all other factors and potencies1 
that enters  in to reveal the right     
relationships and standards of value1   
and to  contribute the redemptive and   
energizing force that makes possible the
  adequate control which is the second  
factor in the conduct of the man  that  

is called wise4 ,philosophy and religion
 are not to be confounded2  religion is 
sufficient in itself and develops its   
own philosophy1 but  the latter is not  
sufficient in itself1 and when it       
assumes the  functions and prerogatives 
of religion1 it brings disaster4        
,religion is the force that relates     
action to life4 ,of course it has  other
 aspects1 higher in essence and more    
impalpable in quality1 but it  is this  
first aspect ,i shall deal with1 because
 ,i am not now speaking of  religion as 
a purely spiritual power but only of its
 quality as the  great coordinator of   
human action1 the power that establishes
 a right  ratio of values and gives the 
capacity for right control4 ,whether we 
accept the religion of the ,middle ,ages
 or not2 whether we look on the  period 
as one of high and edifying ,christian  
civilization1 or as a time  of ignorance
 and superstition1 we are bound to admit
 that society in its  physical1         
intellectual and spiritual aspects was  

highly organized1 and  coordinated after
 a most masterly fashion4 ,it was more  
nearly an unit1  functioning lucidly and
 consistently1 than anything the world  
has known  since the ,roman ,empire4    
,whatever its defects1 lack of coherency
 was not  one of them4 ,life was not    
divided into water-tight compartments1  
but  moved on as a consistent whole4    
,failures were constant1 for the world  
even then was made up of men1 but the   
ideal was perfectly clear-cut1 the      
principles exactly seen and explicitly  
formulated2 life was organic1           
consistent1 highly articulated1 and     
withal as full of the passion of        
aspiration towards an ultimate ideal as 
was the ,gothic cathedral which  is its 
perfect exemplar4    ,the reason for    
this coherency and consistency was the  
universal  recognition and acceptance of
 religion as the one energizing and     
standardizing force in life1 the        
particular kind of religion that then   
prevailed1 and the organic power which  

this religion had established2  that is 
to say1 the ,church as an operative     
institution4 ,so long as this  condition
 obtained1 which was1 roughly speaking1 
for three hundred  years1 from the      
,truce of ,god in #ajda to the beginning
 of the  ,babylonian ,captivity of the  
,papacy at ,avignon in #acji1 there was 
substantial unity in life1 but as soon  
as it was shaken1 this unity  began to  
break up into a diversity that          
accomplished a condition of  chaos1 at  
and around the opening of the sixteenth 
century1 which only  yielded to the     
absolutism of the ,renaissance1 destined
 in its turn to  break up into a second 
condition of chaos under the influence  
of  industrialism1 ,puritanism and      
revolution4    ,since the accomplishment
 of the ,reformation1 this function of  
religion  has never been restored to    
society in any degree comparable with   
that  which it maintained during the    
,middle ,ages4 ,the                     
,counter-,reformation  preserved the    

institution itself in the ,mediterranean
 lands1 but it did  not restore its old 
spiritual power in its entirety4        
,amongst the peoples  that accepted the 
,reformation the new religion assumed   
for a time the  authority of the old1   
but the centrifugal force inherent in   
its nature  soon split the reformed     
churches into myriad fragments1 so      
destroying  their power of action1 while
 the abandonment of the sacramental     
system  progressively weakened their    
dynamic force4 ,as it had from the first
  compounded1 under compulsion1 with    
absolutism and tyranny1 so in the end   
it compromised with the cruelty1        
selfishness1 injustice and avarice of   
industrialism1 and when finally this    
achieved world supremacy1 and  physical 
science1 materialistic philosophy and   
social revolution entered  the field as 
co-combatants1 it no longer possessed a 
sufficient original  power either of    
resistance or of re-creative energy4    
,religion is in itself not the reaction 

of the human mind1 under process  of    
evolution1 to certain physical stimuli  
of experience and phenomena1  it is     
supernatural in that its source is      
outside nature2 it is a  manifestation  
of the grace of ,god1 and as such it    
cannot be brought into  existence by any
 conscious action of man or by any of   
his works4 ,on the  other hand1 it can  
be fostered and preserved1 or           
debilitated and  dispersed1 by these    
human acts and institutions1 and in the 
same way man  himself may be made more  
receptive to this divine grace1 or      
turned  against it1 by the same         
agencies1 the teachings of ,dr4 ,john   
,calvin to  the contrary                
notwithstanding4 ,this is part of the   
,catholic doctrine of  free-will as     
opposed to the sixteenth-century dogma  
of predestination  which1 distorted and 
degraded from the doctrine of ,st4 ,paul
 and ,st4  ,augustine1 played so large a
 part in that transformation of the     
,christian religion from which we have  

suffered ever since4 ,god offers  the   
free gift of religion and of faith to   
every child of man1 but the  recipient  
must cooperate if the gift is to be     
accepted4 ,the ,church1 that  is to say1
 the supernatural organism that is given
 material form in time  and space and   
operates through human agencies1 is for 
this reason  subject to great           
vicissitudes1 now rising to the highest 
level of  righteousness and power1 now  
sinking into depths of unrighteousness  
and  impotence4 ,nothing1 however1 can  
affect the validity and the potency of  
its supernatural content and its        
supernatural channels of grace4 ,these  
remain unaffected1 whether the human    
organism is exalted or debased4 ,the    
sacraments and devotions and practices  
of worship1 are in themselves as  potent
 if a ,borgia sits in the chair of ,st4 
,peter as they are if a  ,hildebrand1   
and ,innocent ,,iii or a ,leo ,,xiii is 
the occupant2 nevertheless  every       
weakening or degradation of the visible 

organism affects1 and  inevitably1 the  
attitude of men towards the thing       
itself1 and when this  declension sets  
in and continues unchecked1 the result  
is1 first1 a  falling away and a        
discrediting of religion that sometimes 
results in  general abandonment1 and    
second--and after a time--a new         
outpouring of  spiritual power that     
results in complete regeneration4 ,the  
,church1 in  its human manifestation1 is
 as subject to the rhythmical rise and  
fall  of the currents of life as is the 
social organism or man himself1         
therefore it is not to be expected that 
it will pursue a course of even         
exaltation1 or maintain a status that is
 impeccable4    ,now the working out of 
this law had issue in a great decline   
that began  with the ,exile at ,avignon 
and was not terminated until the        
,council of  ,trent4 ,in the depth of   
this catastrophe came the natural and   
righteous  revolt against the manifold  
and intolerable abuses1 but1 like all   

reforming movements that take on a      
revolutionary character1 reform and     
regeneration were soon forgotten in the 
unleashed passion for  destruction and  
innovation1 while the new doctrines of  
emancipation from  authority1 and the   
right of private judgment in religious  
matters1 were  seized upon by sovereigns
 chafing under ecclesiastical control1  
as a  providential means of effecting   
and establishing their own independence1
  and so given an importance1 and an    
ultimate victory that1 in and by        
themselves1 they could hardly have      
achieved4 ,in the end it was the        
secular and autocratic state that reaped
 the victory1 not the reformed          
religion1 which was first used as a tool
 and then abandoned to its  inevitable  
break-up into numberless antagonistic   
sects1 some of them  retaining a measure
 of the old faith and polity1 others    
representing all  the illiteracy and    
uncouthness and fanaticism of the new   
racial and  social factors as these     

emerged at long last from the           
submergence and  the oppression that had
 been their fate with the dissolution of
  ,mediaevalism4    ,meanwhile the      
,roman ,church which stood rigidly for  
historic ,christianity  and had been    
preserved by the ,counter-,reformation  
to the ,mediterranean  states1 continued
 bound to the autocratic and highly     
centralized  administrative system that 
had become universal among secular      
powers  during the decadence of         
,mediaevalism1 and from which it had    
taken its  colour1 and it kept even pace
 for the future with the progressive    
intensification of this absolutism4     
,this was natural1 though in many       
respects deplorable1 and it can be      
safely said that adverse criticism of   
the ,catholic ,church today is based    
only on qualities it acquired during    
the period of ,renaissance autocracy and
 revived paganism2 qualities that  do   
not affect its essential integrity or   
authority but do misrepresent  it before

 men1 and work as a handicap in its     
adaptability and in its  work of winning
 souls to ,christianity and             
re-establishing the unity of            
,christendom4 ,fortunately this very    
immobility has saved it from a          
surrender to the new forces that were   
developed in secular society  during the
 last two centuries1 as it did yield to 
the compulsion of  those that were let  
loose in the two that preceded them4 ,it
 has never  subjected questions of faith
 and morals to popular vote nor has it  
determined discipline by parliamentary  
practice under a well developed  party  
system1 therefore it has preserved its  
unity1 its integrity and  its just      
standard of comparative values4 ,on the 
other hand1 it has held  so stubbornly  
to some of the ill ways of ,renaissance 
centralization1  which are in no sense  
consonant with its character1 that it   
has failed  to retard the constant      
movement of society away from a life    
wherein  religion was the dominating and

 coordinating force1 while at the       
present  crisis it is as yet hardly more
 able than a divisive ,protestantism to 
offer the regenerative energy that a    
desperate case demands4    ,i do not    
know whether secular society is         
responsible for the decadence  of       
religion1 or the decadence of religion  
is responsible for the failure  of      
secular society1 nor does it            
particularly matter4 ,what ,i am        
concerned  with is a condition amounting
 to almost complete severance between   
the  two1 and how we may knit up this   
ravelled sleeve of life so that once    
more we may have an wholesome unity in  
place of the present disunity2  for     
until this is accomplished1 until once  
more religion enters into the  very     
marrow of social being1 enters with all 
its powers of judgment and              
determination and co-ordination and     
creative energy1 just so long shall  we 
seek in vain for our way out into the   
,great ,peace of righteous and          

consistent living4    ,of course there  
is only one sure way1 one method by     
which this1 and all  our manifold       
difficulties1 can be resolved1 and that 
is through the  achieved enlightenment  
of the individual4 ,as ,i have insisted 
in each of  these lectures1 salvation is
 not through machinery but through the  
individual soul1 for it is life itself  
that is operating1 not the  instruments 
that man devises in his ingenuity4 ,yet 
the mechanism is of  great value for    
even itself may give aid and stimulus in
 the personal  regenerative process1 or1
 on the contrary1 it may deter this by  
the  confusing and misleading influences
 it creates4 ,therefore we are bound  to
 regard material reforms1 and of these1 
as they suggest themselves in  the field
 of organized religion1 ,i propose to   
speak4    ,no one will deny the         
progressive alienation of life from     
religion that  has developed since the  
,reformation and has now reached a point
 of  almost complete severance4         

,religion1 once a public preoccupation1 
has  now withdrawn to the fastnesses of 
the individual soul1 when it has not    
vanished altogether1 as it has in the   
case of the majority of citizens  of    
this ,republic in so far as definite    
faith1 explicit belief1  application1   
practice and action are concerned4 ,in  
the hermitage that  some still make     
within themselves1 religion still lives 
on as ardent and  as potent and as      
regenerative as before1 but in general1 
if we are to  judge from the conduct of 
recent life1 it is held1 when it is     
accepted  at all1 with a certain        
formality1 and is neither cherished with
  conviction nor allowed to interfere   
with the everyday life of the  practical
 man4 ,as a great ,english statesman    
remarked in the last  century1 ,no one  
has a higher regard for religion than   
,i1 but when it  comes to intruding it  
into public affairs1 well1 really--6    
,the situation is one not unnaturally to
 be anticipated1 for the whole  course  

of religious1 secular and sociological  
development during the  last few        
centuries has been such as to make any  
other result improbable4  ,i already    
have tried to show what seem to me the  
destructive factors1  secularly and     
sociologically4 ,as for the factors in  
religious  development that have worked 
towards the same end1 they are1 first1  
the  shattering of the unity of         
,christendom1 with the denial by those  
of the  reformed religions of the       
existence of a ,church1 one1 visible and
  ,catholic and infallible in matters of
 faith and morals2 second1 the  denial  
of sacramental philosophy and           
abandonment of the sacraments 7or  all  
but one1 or at most two of them7 as     
instruments of ,divine ,grace2  third1  
the surrender of the various religious  
organisms to the  compulsion of the     
materialistic1 worldly and opportunist  
factors in the  secular life of         
modernism4 ,the truths corresponding to 
these three  errors are1 ,unity1        

,sacramentalism and ,unworldliness4     
,until these three  things are won back1
 ,christianity will fail of its full    
mission1 society  will continue aimless1
 uncordinate and on the verge of        
disaster1 life  itself will lack the    
meaning and the reality that give both  
joy in the  living and victory in       
achievement1 while the individual man   
will be  gravely handicapped in the     
process of personal regeneration4    ,it
 is not my purpose to frame a general   
indictment against persons and          
movements1 but rather to suggest certain
 ways and means of possible  recovery1  
and in general ,i shall try to confine  
myself to that form of  organized       
religion to which ,i personally adhere1 
that is to say1 the  ,anglican or       
,episcopal ,church1 partly because of my
 better knowledge of  its conditions1   
and partly because whatever is said may 
in most cases be  equally well applied  
to the ,protestant denominations4       
,the unity of the ,church4 ,it is no    

longer necessary to demonstrate this    
fundamental necessity4 ,the old days of 
the nineteenth century are gone1  those 
days when honest men vociferously       
acclaimed as honourable and  glorious   
the dissidence of dissent and the       
protestantism of the  ,protestant       
religion4 ,everyone knows now1 everyone1
 that is1 that  accepts ,christianity1  
that disunion is disgrace if not a very 
palpable  sin4 ,the desire for a        
restored unity is almost universal1 but 
every  effort in this direction1        
whatever its source1 meets with failure1
 and  the reason would appear to be that
 the approach is made from the wrong    
direction4 ,in every case the individual
 is left alone1 his personal  beliefs   
and practices are1 he is assured1       
jealously guarded2 all that is  asked is
 that some mechanical amalgamation1 some
 official approximation  shall be       
effected4    ,free interchange of       
pulpits1 a system of reciprocal         
re-ordination1 a  merger of church      

property and parsons1 an irreducible    
minimum of  credal insistencies these1  
and others even more ingeniously        
compromising1 are the well-meaning      
schemes that are put forward1 and in    
the process one point after another is  
surrendered1 as a quid pro quo  for the 
formal and technical capitulation of    
some other religious group4    ,it is   
demonstrable that even if these         
well-meaning approximations were        
received with favour--and thus far      
nothing of the kind has appeared--the   
result1 so far as essential unity is    
concerned1 would be nil4 ,there is  a   
perfectly definite line of division     
between the ,catholic and the           
,protestant1 and until this line is     
erased there is no possible unity1  even
 if this were only official and         
administrative4 ,the ,catholic 7and in  
respect to this one particular point ,i 
include under this title members  of the
 ,roman1 ,anglican and ,eastern         
,communions7 maintains and practices    

the sacramental system2 the ,protestant 
does not4 ,there is no reason1  there is
 indeed grave danger of sacrilege1 in a 
joint reception of the  ,holy ,communion
 by those who look on it as a mere      
symbol and those who  accept it as the  
very ,body and ,blood of ,christ4       
,protestant clergy are  urged to accept 
ordination at the hands of ,anglican    
bishops1 but the  plea is made on the   
ground of order1 expediency1 and the    
preservation of  tradition2 whereas the 
,apostolical succession was established 
and  enforced not for these reasons but 
in order that the grace of ,god1        
originally imparted by ,christ ,himself1
 may be continued through the  lines ,he
 ordained1 for the making and           
commissioning of priests who have  power
 to serve as the channels for the       
accomplishing of the divine  miracle of 
the ,holy ,eucharist1 to offer the      
eternal ,sacrifice of the  ,body and    
,blood of ,christ for the quick and the 
dead1 and to remit the  penalty of sins 

through confession and absolution4 ,if  
the laying on of  hands by the bishop   
were solely a matter of tradition and   
discipline1  neither ,rome nor the      
,anglican ,communion would be justified 
in holding to  it as a condition of     
unity2 if it is for the transmission of 
the ,holy  ,ghost for the making of a   
,catholic priest1 with all that implies 
and has  always implied1 then it is     
wrong1 even in the interests of a formal
  unity1 to offer it to those who       
believe neither in the priesthood nor in
  the sacraments in the ,catholic and   
historic sense4    ,the conversion of   
the individual must take precedence of  
corporate  action of any sort4 ,when the
 secularist comes to believe in the     
,godhead  of ,christ he will unite      
himself with the rest of the faithful in
 a  ,church polity1 but he will not do  
this1 he has too much self-respect1     
simply because he is told by some ardent
 but minimizing parson that he  does not
 have to believe in the ,divinity of    

,christ in order to join the  church4   
,when a ,protestant comes to accept the 
sacramental system1 to  desire to       
participate in the ,holy ,sacrifice of  
the altar1 to make  confession of his   
sins and receive absolution1 and to     
nourish and  develop his spiritual      
nature by the use of the devotions that 
have grown  up during nineteen hundred  
years1 he will renounce his             
,protestantism1  when his self-respect  
would not permit him to do this just    
because he  had been assured that he    
need not really change any of his       
previous  beliefs in order to ally      
himself with a ,church that had better  
architecture and a more artistic        
ceremonial1 and locally a higher social 
standing4 ,when ,anglicans or the       
,eastern ,orthodox come to believe that 
a  vernacular liturgy and a married     
priesthood and provincial autonomy are  
of less importance than ,catholic unity1
 and when ,roman ,catholics can see     
that the same is of greater moment than 

a rigid preservation of  ,renaissance   
centralization and a cold non possumus  
in the matter of  ,orders1 then the way 
will be open for the reunion of the     
,west1 where  this operation cannot be  
affected by formal negotiations looking 
towards  some form of legalistic        
concordat4    ,the evil heritage of the 
sixteenth century is still heavy upon   
us1 and  this heritage is one of        
jealousy and hate1 not of charity and   
toleration4 ,it is an heritage of       
legalism and technicalities1 of         
self-will and individualism1 of         
shibboleths that have become a dead     
letter1 of prejudices that are fostered 
on distorted history and the  propaganda
 of the self-seeking and the vain4 ,the 
spirit of ,christ is not  in it1 but the
 malice of ,satan working upon the      
better natures of men  and justifying in
 the name of conscience and principle   
what are  frequently the workings of    
self-will and pride and intellectual    
obsession4 ,this is the tragedy of it   

all2 that ,protestants and ,anglicans   
and ,roman ,catholics are1 so far as the
 majority are concerned1 honestly       
convinced that they are right in        
maintaining their own divisiveness2 in  
perpetuating an hundred ,protestant     
sects on the basis of some variation  in
 the form of baptism or church          
government or the method of conversion2 
in splitting up the ,catholic ,church   
because of a thousand year old          
disagreement as to a clause in the      
,creed which has a technical and        
theological significance only1 or       
because one sector is alleged to have   
added unjustifiably to the ,faith while 
the other is alleged to have            
unjustifiably taken away4 ,self-will and
 lack of charity1 not love and  the     
common will as these are revealed to the
 world through the ,divine  ,will of    
,christ1 are working here4 ,the         
momentary triumph of evil over  good1   
the passing victory that yet means the  
banishment of religion from  the world1 

and the assurance of disaster still     
greater than that which  is now upon us 
unless every man bends all his energies 
to the task of  making the will of ,god 
prevail1 first in himself1 and so in the
 secular  and ecclesiastical societies  
in and through which he plays his part  
in  the life of the world--these are the
 fruits of a divided ,christendom4    ,i
 honestly believe that the first real   
step towards reunion would be a  prompt 
cessation of the whole process of       
criticism1 vilification and  abuse1 one 
of the other1 that now marks the        
attitude of what are known  as church   
periodicals4 ,roman1 ,anglican1         
,protestant1 are all alike1 for  all    
maintain a consistent slanging of each  
other4 ,i have in mind in  particular   
weekly religious papers in the ,united  
,states which maintain  departments     
almost wholly made up of attacks on     
,roman ,catholicism and  the derision of
 incidents of bad taste or illiteracy in
 the ,protestant  denominations1 and    

others which lose no opportunity to     
discredit or  abuse the ,episcopal      
,church and the ,protestant             
denominations1 and finally  a curiously 
malevolent newspaper representing the   
worst type of  ,protestant ignorance and
 prejudice1 which exists on its libelous
 and  indecent and dishonest assaults on
 ,catholicism wherever it may be found4 
,these are not alone1 for the condition 
of ascerbity and nagging is  practically
 universal4 ,it merely echoes the pulpit
 and a portion of the  general public4  
,we all know of the so called church in 
,boston that is  the forum of escaped   
nuns and unfrocked priests1 but in many 
places  of better repute the sermon that
 bitterly attacks ,christian ,science1  
or  ,high ,church ,episcopalianism1 or  
the errors of ,protestantism generally1 
or the usurpations of ,rome is by no    
means unknown1 while elsewhere  than in 
,ireland1 the public as a whole finds   
much pleasure in bating any  religion   
that happens to differ from its own1--or

 offends its sense of  the uselessness  
of all religion4 ,let us have a new     
,truce of ,god1 and  for the space of a 
year let all clergy1 lecturers1         
newspapers1 religious  journals1 and    
private individuals1 totally abstain    
from sneering and  ill-natured attacks  
on other religions and their followers4 
,could this  be accomplished a greater  
step would be taken towards the reunion 
of  ,christendom than could be achieved 
by any number of conferences1           
commissions1 councils and conventions4  
,it was the will and the intent of      
,christ that they all may be one1 that  
the world may believe that ,thou hast   
sent ,me1 and in disunity we deny       
,christ4 ,there is no consideration of  
inheritance1 of personal taste1 of      
interests1 of intellectual persuasion   
that can stand in the way of an         
affirmative answer to this prayer4      
,every man who calls himself a          
,christian and yet is not praying and   
working to break down the self-will  and

 the self-conceit that1 so often under  
the masquerade of conscience1  hold him 
back from a return1 even if it is only  
step by step1 to the  original unity of 
the ,catholic ,faith1 is guilty of sin1 
while it is sin  of an even graver      
degree that stands to the account of    
those who  consciously work to          
perpetuate the division that now exists4
    ,sacramentalism4 ,the stumbling     
block1 the apparently impassable        
barrier1 is that which was erected when 
belief was substituted for  faith2 it is
 the intellectualizing of religion that 
has brought about  the present failure  
of ,christianity as a vital and         
controlling force in  man and in        
society4 ,the danger revealed itself    
even in the ,middle ,ages1  and through 
perhaps the greatest ,christian         
philosopher1 and certainly  one of the  
most commanding intellects1 the world   
has known3 ,st4 ,thomas  ,aquinas4 ,in  
his case1 and that of the others of his 
time1 the intellect  was still directed 

by spiritual forces1 the chiefest of    
which was faith1  therefore the inherent
 danger in the intellectualizing process
 did not  clearly reveal itself or come 
into actual operation1 but with the     
,renaissance and the ,reformation it    
stood boldly forth1 and since then as   
mind increased in its dominion faith    
declined4 ,the ,reformation1 in all  its
 later phases1 that is to say1 after it 
ceased to be a protest  against moral   
defects and administrative abuses and   
became a  revolutionary invention of new
 dogmas and practices1 was the result of
  clever1 stupid or perverse minds      
working overtime on religious problems  
which could not be solved or even       
apprehended by the intellect1 whether   
it was that of an acute and highly      
trained master such as ,calvin1 or  that
 of any one of the hundred founders of  
less savage but more curious  and       
uncouth types of reformed religion4     
,what we need now for the recovery and  
re-establishment of ,christianity  is   

not so much increased belief as it is a 
renewed faith2 faith in  ,christ1 faith 
in ,his doctrine1 faith in ,his ,church4
 ,we lost this faith  when we abandoned 
the sacraments and sacramentalism as    
superstitions1 or  retained some of them
 in form and as symbols while denying to
 them all  supernatural power4 ,if we   
would aid the individual soul to regain 
this  lost faith we could do no better  
than to restore the seven sacraments of 
the historic ,christian faith1 and      
,christian ,church to the place they    
once held for all ,christians1 and still
 hold in the ,roman ,catholic  ,church1 
the ,eastern ,orthodox ,churches and    
7with limitations7 in the  ,anglican    
,church4 ,faith begets faith2 faith in  
,christ brings faith in the  sacraments1
 and faith in the sacraments brings     
faith in ,christ4    ,it is disbelief in
 the efficacy of the sacraments and in  
the sacramental  principle in life that 
is the essential barrier between        
,protestantism  and ,catholicism1 and   

until this barrier is dissolved there   
can be  neither formal unity nor unity  
by compromise4 ,this is already widely  
recognized1 and as well the actual loss 
that comes with the denial and          
abandonment of the sacraments4 ,there is
 in the ,presbyterian church of         
,scotland a strong tendency towards a   
reassertion of the full sacramental     
doctrine2 the ,free ,catholic movement  
throughout ,great ,britain is made  up  
of ,congregationalists1 ,methodists1    
,baptists1 and other  representatives of
 ,evangelical ,protestantism1 and it is 
working  unreservedly for the recovery  
and application of all the ,catholic    
sacraments1 with the devotions and      
ritual that go with them4 ,dr4          
,orchard1 the head1 and a               
,congregational minister1 maintains in  
,london a  church where1 as a ,methodist
 member of the ,free ,catholic          
organization  wrote me the other day1   
the ,blessed ,sacrament is perpetually  
reserved  and ',high ,mass' is          

celebrated on ,sundays with the full    
,catholic  ceremonial4 ,in my own       
practice of architecture ,i am          
constantly  providing ,presbyterian1    
,congregational1 and even ,unitarian    
churches1 by  request1 with chancels    
containing altars properly vested and   
ornamented  with crosses and candles1   
while the almost universal demand is for
  church edifices that shall approach as
 nearly as possible in appearance  to   
the typical ,catholic church of the     
,middle ,ages4 ,of course some of  this 
is due to a revived instinct for beauty1
 that almost sacramental  quality in    
life which was ruthlessly destroyed by  
,protestantism1 and  also to a renewed  
sense of the value of symbol and ritual2
 but back of  it all is the growing     
consciousness that1 as ,dr4 ,newman     
,smythe says1  ,protestantism has       
definitely failed1 or at least become   
superannuated2  that the essence of     
religion is spiritual not intellectual1 
affirmative  not negative1 and that the 

only measure of safety lies in a return 
towards1 if not actually to1 the        
,catholic faith and practice from which 
the old revolt was affected4 ,it is a   
movement both significant and full  of  
profound encouragement4    ,here then   
are two tendencies that surely show the 
way and demand  encouragement and       
furtherance2 recovery of the sense of   
,christian unity  in ,christ and through
 an united ,catholic ,church1 and the   
re-acceptance  of sacramentalism as the 
expression of that faith and as the     
method of  that ,church4 ,i feel very   
strongly that wherever these tendencies 
show  themselves they must be acclaimed 
and cherished4 ,the ,protestant         
denominations must be aided in every way
 in their process of recovery of  the   
good things once thrown away2           
,episcopalians must be persuaded that   
nothing can be wrong that leads souls to
 ,christ1 and that therefore they  must 
cease their opposition to ,reservation  
of the ,blessed ,sacrament  explicitly  

for adoration1 to such devotions as     
,benediction and the  ,rosary simply    
because they have not explicit          
,apostolic sanction1 or to  vestments1  
incense and holy water because certain  
prescriptive laws  passed four hundred  
years ago in ,england have never been   
repealed4 ,above  all is it necessary   
that the ,episcopal ,church should      
declare itself  formally for the        
reinstitution of the seven ,catholic    
sacraments1 with  the ,mass as the one  
supreme act of worship1 obligatory as   
the chief  service on ,sundays and ,holy
 ,days1 and both as communion and as    
sacrifice4 ,in this connection there is 
one reform that would ,i think be  more 
effective than any other1 7except the   
exaltation of the ,holy  ,eucharist     
itself7 and that is the complete        
cessation of the practice of            
commissioning lay readers and using them
 for mission work and clerical          
assistance4 ,a mission can be           
established and made fruitful only on   

the  basis of the sacraments1 and       
chiefly on those of the ,holy ,eucharist
 and  ,penance4 ,it is not enough to    
send a zealous and well intentioned     
layman  to a promising mission field in 
order that he may read ,morning and     
,evening ,prayer and some sermon already
 published4 ,what is needed is a  priest
 to say ,mass and hear confessions1 and 
nothing else will serve as  a           
substitute4 ,how this is to be          
accomplished1 now when the candidates   
for ,holy ,orders are constantly falling
 off in number1 with no immediate       
prospect of recovery1 is a question4    
,perhaps we may learn something from    
the old custom of ordaining ,mass       
priests1 without cure of souls and  with
 a commission to celebrate the ,holy    
,mysteries even while they  continue    
their own secular work in the world4    
,for my own part ,i am  persuaded that  
the best solution lies in the           
establishing of diocesan  monasteries   
where men may take vows for short terms1

 and1 during the  period of these vows1 
remain at the orders of the bishop to go
 out at  any time and anywhere in the   
diocese and to do such temporary or     
periodical mission work as he may       
direct4    ,unworldliness3 ,i have      
referred to the great falling off in the
 number  of candidates for the          
priesthood in the ,episcopal ,church2   
the same  phenomenon is apparent in all 
the ,protestant denominations1 so far as
 ,i  know1 but it has not shown itself  
in the ,roman ,catholic ,church4 ,this  
defection parallels the falling-off of  
membership in the various  churches     
7except again the ,roman ,catholic7 in  
proportion to the increase  in          
population4 ,we are told that the       
diminution of the ministry is due to    
the starvation wages that are paid in   
the vast majority of cases1 and of      
course it is true that where a married  
clergy is allowed1 men who  believe they
 have a calling both to ministerial and 
to domestic life  will think twice      

before they follow the call of the first
 when the  pecuniary returns are such as
 to make the second impossible1 which   
is1  generally speaking1 the situation  
today4 ,to obviate this difficulty many 
religious bodies have recently          
established pension funds1 but even this
  form of clerical insurance1 together  
with the increase that has been         
effected in clerical stipends1 has shown
 no results in an increase of  students 
in theological seminaries and in        
candidates for ,orders4 ,the man  who   
has enough of faith in ,god and a strong
 enough call to the ministry  of        
,christ1 will answer the call even if he
 does think twice before doing  so4 ,the
 trouble lies1 ,i believe1 in the very  
lack of faith and in a  failure of      
confidence in organized religion largely
 brought about by  organized religion   
itself through the methods it has       
pursued during the  last two or three   
generations4 ,there is a widespread     
belief that it is  compromising with the

 world2 that it is playing fast and     
loose with  faith and discipline in a   
vain opportunism that voids it of       
spiritual  power4 ,even where distrust  
does not reach this disastrous          
conclusion1  there is a growing feeling 
of repugnance to the methods now being  
adopted in high quarters to sell        
religion to the public1 as is the       
phrase which is sufficient in itself to 
explain the falling away that  now seems
 to be in process4 ,the attempt to win  
unwilling support by the  methods of the
 institutional church1 the rampant      
advertising1 so  frequently under the   
management of paid publicity agents2 the
 setting  apart of half the ,sundays in 
the year for some one or other special  
purpose1 usually the raising of money   
for a specific and frequently  worthy   
object2 the drives for millions1 the    
huge and impressive  organizations1     
scientifically conducted1 for rounding  
up lapsed  communicants1 or doubtful    
converts1 or cash and pledges for       

missions1 or  pensions1 or the raising  
of clergy stipends2 the ,nation-wide    
,campaign1  the ,inter-,church ,world   
,movement2 these--not to speak of the   
growing  policy of making it easy for   
the hesitant to come into the church by 
minimizing unpopular clauses in the     
,creeds or loosening-up on  discipline1 
and of attracting advanced elements by  
the advocacy and  exploiting of each new
 social or industrial or political fad  
as it  arises--are strong deterrents to 
those who honestly and ardently hunger  
for religion that is religion and       
neither social service nor big          
business4    ,christ said you cannot    
serve both ,god and mammon1 and this is 
one of  the few cases where ,he stated a
 moral condition as a fact instead of   
indicating the right or the wrong       
possibility in action4 ,organized       
,christianity has for some time been    
trying to render this dual service1  and
 the penalty thereof is now on the      
world4 ,this consideration seems to  me 

so important and so near the root of our
 troubles1 and not in the  field of     
organized religion alone1 that ,i am    
going to quote at length  from the ,rev4
 ,fr4 ,duffy of the ,american ,society  
of the ,divine  ,compassion4 ,what he   
has said came to me while ,i was        
preparing this  lecture1 and it is so   
much better than anything ,i could say  
that for my  present purpose ,i make it 
my own4    ,to the thoughtful person1   
and the need of reformation will appeal 
only  to the thoughtful person1 it must 
on reflection become abundantly  evident
 that the chief necessity of our times  
in the religious world is  the recovery 
of ,faith4 ,probably lack of the true   
measure of ,faith has  been the story of
 every generation1 with few exceptions1 
in the long  history of ,christianity1  
but there possibly never has been a time
 when  men talked more of it and        
possessed less than in our own day4 99  
99 99 99    ,christianity is a new thing
 of splendid vision for each and every  

generation of men1 unique in its promise
 and unapproached in its  attraction4   
,and yet how small a factor we have made
 it in the world's  moulding compared   
with what it might be4 ,we have not     
achieved a tiny  part of what we might  
have achieved1 because we lack the      
essentials of  achievement2 ,faith and  
,faith's vision4 ,obsessed1 after       
centuries of  discussion and            
persecution1 with the notion that faith 
is made up of  mere belief1 we have lost
 the secret of that victorious power    
that  overcomes the world1 and are      
weakly dependent upon the world's means 
for  what spiritual operation we        
undertake4 ,and so content have we grown
 with  things as they are1 that what    
they might be comes only as a dream that
  passes away quickly with the night2   
blind to our appalling  money-dependency
 in modern religion1 satisfied that the 
,kingdom of  ,heaven is as nigh to us as
 is possible under present conditions of
  society1 we practically have          

substituted for the theological virtues1
  ,faith1 ,hope and ,charity1 the       
ascending degrees of belief1            
resignation1  money4 ,this is partly due
 to our religious inheritance and partly
 to  mental and spiritual sloth which   
dislikes the effort of thinking1        
preferring easy acquiescence in         
conditions that are the resultants of   
blinded vision4 ,for dependency upon    
money is not something merely of the    
present1 but a condition in the         
spiritual sphere that is largely a      
product of a long past4 ,the really     
inexcusable thing is our willingness1   
in a day of greater light and knowledge1
 to close our eyes to the true  nature  
of the unattractive1 anaemic thing we   
call faith1 which would  be seen as     
powerless to achieve at all1 if taken   
out of the soil of  material means in   
which it has been planted4    ,he then  
gives various instances of methods      
actually put in practice  amongst the   
churches and denominations which        

indicate the renunciation  of faith and 
an exclusive reliance on worldy agencies
 and he then  continues3    ,the ,joint 
,commission on ,clergy ,pensions1       
appointed by the ,general  ,convention  
of #aiac1 made as the basis for         
apportionment1 not the  services of     
self-denial of1 but the amount of       
stipend received by1 the  clergy        
eligible for pension1 thus penalizing   
the priest who1 for the  love of ,god1  
sacrificed a larger income to accept    
work in the most  needed places where   
toil is abundant and money scarce4 ,it  
must be  evident1 of course1 that the   
motive of the ,commission is not an     
endorsement of the blasphemous gospel of
 ,success1 by adding penalty to  the    
self-denying clergy2 what is painfully  
obvious is their apparent  unbounded    
confidence that there are no clergy     
sufficiently foolish to  sacrifice      
stipend at the call of faith's venture6 
,and since the  ,armistice1 the only    
real activity in organized religion has 

been a  series of drives for vast sums  
of money1 in most cases professionally  
directed4    ,a consideration of a few  
facts such as the forgoing must readily 
convince even the most unimaginative    
person that whatever power faith  might 
have had in the past1 it counts for     
little today2 that its  secrets1 its    
very meaning have been forgotten4       
,otherwise there could not  be this     
extraordinary exaggeration of the place 
of money in spiritual  operation1 and   
the unblushing1 tacit admission that    
mammon1 which ,christ  so warned        
against1 had been recognized as the     
master of spiritual  situation1 instead 
of the willing servant and useful       
adjunct of faith it  was designed to be 
in the ,christian vision4 ,indeed they  
all speak of  that1 largely unconscious1
 atmosphere of distrust of ,god which is
 so  all-prevailing among ,christian    
people today4 ,if the great1 positive   
vice  of the age is covetousness1 the   
great negative one is distrust of ,god2 

the two invariably go together as parts 
of a whole--one is the reverse  side of 
the other--for1 it is not that we must  
not1 or ought not1  but that we cannot  
serve ,god and mammon4 ,and this        
atmosphere is one  in which faith cannot
 exist1 it is stifled1 crushed1 killed1 
except it  breathe the pure1 sweet air  
of ,god1 with which it can alone        
surround  itself when human hearts will4
    ,it is not surprising that out of   
such conditions should grow false       
values1 and that spirituality should be 
measured by the world's  standard4 ,thus
 we have fallen into the vicious habit  
of adjudging  qualifications for        
spiritual leadership among the clergy by
 the amount  of their stipends1 and     
measuring their potentialities for      
usefulness in  the ,kingdom of ,god by  
the amount of their yearly incomes2     
among the  laity1 the men of power are  
ever the men of material means1 whom we 
permit to play the part of ,providence  
in feeding and sustaining the  ,church  

from large purses1 the filling of which 
will not always bear  close             
investigation1 and the really successful
 parish is always the one  that1 no     
matter what its spiritual condition1    
rejoices in abundant  material means4   
,so evident is it that the means of     
spiritual life have  been so confused   
with the purely material1 that it       
occasions no surprise  when a           
neighbourhood having changed from the   
residence district of the  comparatively
 well-to-do to the very poor1 the vestry
 feels bound to  consider the moving of 
the church to a more 'desirable'        
quarter4    ,these1 of course1 are hard 
facts to face1 and it is not strange    
that we  should seek to evade them by a 
false optimism that thinks evil is      
eliminated by merely contemplating good4
 ,the point is1 they must be  faced1 and
 at a time when there is some evidence  
of a little awakening1  it must more and
 more force itself into the             
consciousness of the  thoughtful that   

the dead spiritual conditions of today  
are due to the  shifting of faith from  
,god to material things as the means of 
achieving4  ,the only hope lies in the  
apparent unconsciousness of the error4  
,this is  invariably the atmosphere that
 prevails when ecclesiastical history   
repeats itself in corruption2 it had    
been true of more than two or three     
generations1 though obviously unseen    
save by a few of those contemporary     
with the times1 that in ,jerusalem1 'the
 heads thereof judge for reward1  and   
the priests teach for hire1 and the     
prophets thereof divine for  money2 yet 
will they lean upon the ,lord1 and say3 
,is not the ,lord among  us8 ,none evil 
can come upon us4' ,corporate           
unconsciousness1 in greater  or less    
measure1 of these conditions1 may       
influence the degree of guilt1  but     
never can acquit of the sin4 ,and the   
cold1 naked truth is that today  we     
stand almost helpless before a world of 
peculiar problems4    ,what is there    

here to reflect the power and might of  
,christianity1  such as the early       
,church1 especially1 possessed1 and     
subsequent  generations1 in times of    
great faith1 really knew so much of--the
 power  to heal the sick1 to cast out   
devils1 to achieve wonders out of       
,christ's  poverty1 to experience the   
thrilling joy of religion in the        
ever-abiding  ,divine ,presence1 and    
witness the marvels of faith in the     
conquering of  the world8 ,how is it we 
are no longer able to communicate the   
secrets to  the suffering world which   
are able to transmute the people's want 
into  ,god's plenty1 and attract and    
hold the hearts of men with the joys of 
the ,vision ,splendid8 ,why is it that  
hope has given way to resignation1  that
 the preaching of forgiveness has been  
dwarfed by the insistence  upon penalty1
 that distinct evils in the physical    
sphere are attributed  to ,god and1     
because of that1 held up to religious   
estimation as good2  the day of miracles

 is regarded as belonging to a far      
distant past1 the  answering of prayer  
looked upon as the exception instead of 
the rule1  and the old melody of joy in 
religion exchanged for the wail of      
despair  in an interpretation of ',thy  
will be done' that is only associated   
with  human calamity8 ,the reply is as  
simple as1 to the thoughtful person1 it 
is obvious3 we have lost knowledge of a 
living1 vital1 conquering faith  that is
 rooted in ,god ,himself1 and have      
satisfied the hunger of human  sense by 
placing trust in the things of the earth
 which we see and  touch1 and in so     
doing lost the power spiritually to     
achieve4    ,now we can only approach1  
in the hope of a day of better things1  
the  great practical and intellectual   
problems of our times from the          
standpoint of faith's recovery1 for it  
is only in their relationship to  faith 
they can be viewed intelligently by the 
,christian4 ,and it will be  found that 
at the root of all our difficulties and 

all our  negligences--so many of them   
unconscious--and as the cause of our    
vain  expediencies and attempts to      
justify the corporate spiritual         
situation1  is the absence of vital     
faith and a whole obedience to which    
,god alone  has conditioned results4 ,we
 need sorely to reconsider what faith   
really  is1 and when we have recovered  
in some measure that knowledge of it in 
experience1 which declared its          
unspeakable worth in the early ,church  
and  in later periods of ecclesiastical 
history which stand out before all      
others1 we shall look back upon our past
 distrust of ,god and ,his  promises    
with shame and wonderment1 and proceed  
to revise our  cataloguing of spiritual 
values and degrees of sin4 ,for the     
really  destructive thing1 before all   
others1 is a weakened faith that        
compromises in a half obedience to      
,christ and a search for earthly  props4
 ,the work of ,satan has even been the  
prompting of distrust of ,god  in the   

human family1 just as the work of       
redemption means so largely the         
re-establishing of it in the ,person of 
,jesus ,christ4 ,from the first         
temptation of man to the present moment1
 all the forces of evil have            
concentrated upon breaking man's trust  
in ,god and ,his promises2 every  sin   
has had that as its ultimate end1 and   
every disaster1 ill and trial1  in the  
world and individual life1 is subtly    
presented by the enemy of  ,god and man 
7knowing our haziness of vision71 so as 
to place the  appearances against the   
,creator in a blind disregard for the   
created2  just as in the life of the    
,incarnate ,son all the great power of  
the  forces of darkness were brought to 
bear unsuccessfully upon the snapping   
of ,his faith in ,his ,father--from the 
time ,he was tempted to believe         
,himself forgotten1 when hungering and  
physically reduced in the  wilderness   
after ,his long fast1 until the dreadful
 cry of dereliction  from the ,cross at 

the very end4    ,the call for          
reformation today1 then1 is to the doing
 of things left  undone1 the search for 
and recovery of almost lost spiritual   
powers that  alone lastingly can achieve
 for ,god and hasten man's salvation4   
,and this  requires the venture and     
daring that breaks from the world1      
withdraws  from compromise1 and that1   
rightly estimating the character and    
attitude  of ,god1 refuses longer to    
believe ,him the author of evils we     
resignedly  accept today by calling them
 good2 and instead1 claims the powers of
 the  ,divine promises for the utter    
destruction of the world's ills by a    
strict dependence upon spiritual forces 
and weapons for the  accomplishment of  
results4 ,above all1 this means a change
 and reform in  corporate conduct as the
 end of repentance1 for the present     
almost total  disregard of the laws and 
principles of ,christian living as given
 in the  ,sermon on the ,mount4         
,these are hard sayings and strong      

doctrine1 but will any one say they  are
 not true8 ,the weakening of religion1  
with the consequent decline of          
civilization1 is ultimately to be traced
 back to organized religion1  not to    
religion itself1 and still less to any  
inherent defects in  ,christianity4     
,where organized religion has failed it 
deserved to fail1  because it           
countenanced disunion1 forsook the      
saving sacraments1 and  finally         
compromised with worldliness and        
materialism4 ,with each one of  these   
false ventures faith began to weaken    
amongst the mass of people  until at    
last this1 which can always save1 and   
alone can save1 ceased to  have either  
the power or the will to force the      
organism to conform to  the spirit4 ,if 
we have indeed accomplished the depth of
 our fall1 then  the time is at hand    
when we may hope and pray for a new     
outpouring of  divine grace that will   
bring recovery4    ,there are wide      
evidences that men earnestly desire     

this4 ,i have already  spoken of the    
great corporate movements towards unity1
 and these mean  much even though they  
may at present take on something of the 
quality of  mechanism instead of        
depending on the individual and the     
grace of ,god  working in him4 ,the     
,world ,conference on ,faith and ,order1
 the just  effected federation of the   
,presbyterians1 ,methodists and         
,congregationalists in ,canada1 above   
all the eirenic manifesto of the        
,bishops at the last ,lambeth           
,conference1 all indicate a new spirit  
working potently in the souls of men4   
,concrete results are not as yet        
conspicuous1 but the spirit is there and
 a beginning has been made4 ,even  more 
significant is the wide testimony to the
 need for definite1  concrete and       
pervasive religion that is daily given  
by men whose names  have hitherto been  
quite dissociated from matters of this  
kind2  scientists1 educators1 men of    
business and men of public life4 ,it may

 be  testimony in favour of some new    
invention1 some synthetic product of    
curious and abnormal ingredients2 as a  
matter of fact it frequently is1  and we
 confront such remarkable products as   
,mr4 ,wells has given us1 for  example4 
,the significant thing1 however1 is the 
fact of the desire and  the avowal2 if  
we have this ,i think we may leave it to
 ,god to see that  the desire is        
satisfied in the end by heavenly food   
and not by the  nostrums of ingenuity4  
,for the same reason we may look without
 dismay on  certain novel phenomena of  
the moment4 ,in their divergence from   
the  ,faith once delivered to the       
,saints and left in the keeping of the  
,church ,christ founded as a living and 
eternal organism through which ,his     
,spirit would work forever1 they are    
wrong and therefore they cannot  endure1
 but each testifies to the passionate   
desire in man for religion  as a        
reality1 and no one of them comes into  
existence except as the  result of      

desperate action by men to recover      
something that had been  taken from them
 and that their souls needed1 and would 
have at any cost4  ,each one of these   
strange manifestations is a reaction    
from some old  error that had become    
established belief or custom4 ,no one   
who holds to  historic ,christianity is 
interested in them1 but those who have  
found  religion intellectualized beyond 
endurance and transformed either by     
materialism or rationalism1 seek for the
 mysticism they know to be a  reality   
7to employ a paradox7 in the ultra      
mysticism of ,oriental cults2  those who
 revolt against the exaggeration of evil
 and its exaltation to  eminence that   
rivals that of ,god ,himself1 which is  
the legacy of one  powerful movement in 
the ,reformation1 rush to the other     
extreme and deny  the existence of evil 
and even the reality of matter1 while   
spiritism1  the most insidious1 perilous
 and fatal of all the spiritual         
temptations  that beset the world at    

this time1 gains as its adherents those 
who have  been deprived of the ,catholic
 belief in the ,communion of ,saints and
 have  been forbidden to pray for the   
dead or to ask for their prayers and    
intercessions4    ,however strange and  
erroneous the actual manifestation1     
there is no  question as to the reality 
and prevalence of the desire for the    
recovery  of spiritual power through the
 channels of religion4 ,it shows itself1
 as  it should1 first of all in the     
individual1 and it is only recently that
  organized religion1 ,catholic or      
,protestant1 has begun to show a        
sympathetic consciousness and to take   
the first hesitant steps towards        
meeting the demand4 ,because of this the
 seekers for reality have been  left    
unshepherded and have wandered off into 
strange wildernesses4 ,the  call is now 
to the churches1 to organized religion1 
and if the call is  heeded our troubles 
are well on the road to an end4 ,if the 
old way of  jealousy1 hatred and fear is

 maintained1 then humanly speaking1 our 
case  is hopeless4 ,if the older way of 
brotherhood1 charity and                
loving-kindness is followed the future  
is secure in the ,great ,peace4         
,nothing is wrong that leads men to     
,christ1 and this is true from the      
,salvation ,army at one end of the scale
 to the ,seven ,sacraments of           
,catholicity at the other4 ,the world   
demands now not denial but  affirmation1
 not protest and division but the       
ringing ,credo of  ,catholic unity4     
,,viii      ,,personal ,,responsibility 
,not by might1 nor by power1 but by ,my 
,spirit1 saith the ,lord of      ,hosts4
    ,we have tried to approach each     
subject in this course of lectures in   
the  spirit of peace1 and the greatest  
contributory factor in the achieving  of
 the ,great ,peace is the individual    
himself1 on whom1 humanly speaking1     
rests the final responsibility4 ,not by 
might1 nor by power1 but by ,my         
,spirit1 saith the ,lord of ,hosts4 ,not

 by majestical engines and curious      
devices and mass-action1 nor yet by an  
imposed human authority enforced  by    
arms and the law1 but by the ,holy      
,spirit of ,god working through the     
individual soul and compelling the      
individual will4 ,peace is one of the   
promised fruits of the ,holy ,spirit1   
and like the others is manifested       
through human lives2 therefore on us    
rests the preminent responsibility  of  
showing forth in ourselves1 first of    
all1 those things we desire for  others 
and for society4    ,we have experienced
 the ,great ,war1 we endure its         
aftermath1 and amidst  the perils and   
dangers that follow both there is none  
greater than that  which attaches to    
exterior war1 viz41 that the attention  
of both  combatants is focussed on the  
faults and the weaknesses and the crimes
  of the opponent1 with the result that 
both become destructive critics  rather 
than constructive examples4 ,chesterton 
rightly says1 ,what is  wrong with the  

critic is that he does not criticise    
himself 99 99 99 rather  he identifies  
himself with the ideal4 ,seeing evil in 
others and  flattering one's self is the
 antithesis of the spirit that would    
lead to  the ,great ,peace1 for in that 
spirit the field of warfare is          
transferred  from the external to the   
internal1 and the interior contest1     
which alone  establishes lasting        
results1 necessitates a recognition of  
our own error  and the need of amendment
 of our own life4    ,if our modern     
devices have failed2 if the things we   
invented with a high  heart and high    
hope1 in government1 industry1 society1 
education1  philosophy have in the end  
brought disappointment1 disillusionment1
 even  despair1 it is less because of   
their inherent defects than because the 
individual failed1 and himself ceased to
 act as the sufficient channel  for the 
divine power which alone energizes our  
weak little engines and  which acts     
through the individual alone4 ,there is 

no better  demonstration of this        
essential part played by the personal   
life of man  than the fact that ,god1   
for the redemption of the world1 took on
 human  form and became one ,man amongst
 many men4 ,there is no better          
demonstration of the fact that it is    
through the personal lives of           
individuals that the ,great ,peace is to
 be achieved1 both directly and         
indirectly1 than the fact that peace1   
the gift of the ,holy ,spirit1 was      
promised to the individual man1 by      
,christ ,himself1 as the legacy he left 
to his disciples after ,his             
,resurrection and ,ascension4 ,since    
then the  world has been under the      
dispensation of the ,holy ,spirit1 the  
,guide and  ,comforter that was         
promised1 even though it has blindly and
 from time  to time rejected the        
guidance and therefore known not the    
comfort4 ,the  ,old ,law of ,thou shalt 
not was followed by the ,new ,law of    
,thou shalt1  and this in turn by the   

law of the third ,person of the ,trinity
 which  does not supersede the          
dispensations of the ,father and of the 
,son1 but  fulfills them in that it     
affords the spiritual power1 if we will1
 to  abide by the inhibitions and to    
carry out the commands4    ,our search  
is for peace1 the ,great ,peace1 the    
,peace of ,god which  passeth all       
understanding1 and we shall achieve this
 for ourselves and  for the world only  
through ourselves as individuals1 and so
 for the  society of which we are a     
part1 and in so far as we bring         
ourselves into  contact with the ,spirit
 of ,god4 ,there is deep significance in
 the fact  that the first time ,christ  
used the salutation ,peace be unto you1 
was  after ,his resurrection4 ,it would 
seem that this special gift of the ,holy
  ,spirit had to be withheld from man   
until after the human life of ,god the  
,son had been brought to an end in      
accomplishment1 for ,he says ,peace ,i  
leave with you1 ,my peace ,i give unto  

you3 not as the world giveth give ,i    
unto you4 ,let not your heart be        
troubled1 neither let it be afraid4 ,it 
is expedient for you that ,i go away2   
for if ,i go not away1 the ,comforter   
will not come unto you3 but if ,i depart
 ,i will send ,him unto you4 ,when  ,he1
 the ,spirit of ,truth1 is come1 ,he    
will guide you into all truth4 ,ye      
shall receive power after that the ,holy
 ,ghost is come upon you4    ,it is the 
spirit that quickeneth4 ,after ,god had 
revealed the ,law and  given to us the  
great redeeming and atoning ,life1 ,he  
saw that we had  need of a further      
manifestation before we should be able  
to keep the law  and live the life4     
,therefore the ,holy ,spirit was sent to
 quicken us and  give us power to do    
what we had both heard and seen4 ,today 
we accept the  moral law1 we recognize  
the perfection of ,chirst's life1 but we
 need to  be reminded again that the    
power to be sons of ,god is present with
 us  if we will but use it4 ,as this    

power is a spirit it can only be        
apprehended spiritually2 when our minds 
and hearts are set on material  things1 
even on good material things1 the still 
small voice of the  spirit remains      
unheard3 but if we listen first to that 
inward voice and  then use the means of 
grace afforded us1 we are enabled to    
lift up our  hearts and minds to the    
,creator and then to use in ,his service
 all the  material universe which is    
also ,his creation4 ,we can not get a   
right  philosophy by working for right  
philosophy1 but only by living in the   
right relationship as individuals3 then 
as a by-product of religion a  right    
philosophy will come4 ,we can not get a 
right industrial system by  searching   
for a right industrial system1 but if we
 show forth in our  lives the ,christian
 virtues1 a right industrial system will
 come as one  of the by-products of     
religion4 ,so with each one of our      
so-called  problems4 ,life rightly lived
 has no problems4 ,this is a hard saying

  for an intellectual age whose         
temptation is to trust in its own power 
rather than in the power of ,god1 but   
except ye become as little  children and
 walk by faith and not by sight the     
,kingdom of ,god is  withheld4 ,a       
soldier who suffered in the late war1   
and out of his  suffering found peace1  
says1 ,christ's hardest work is to teach
 the  wise3 ,those who are entrusted    
with authority and responsibility will  
be  the least prepared to make the      
venture of the ,spirit1 however much    
they  may believe in it4 ,they are      
sacrificing least now3 they will have to
  sacrifice most when the ,spirit comes4
 ,they have so much to unlearn3         
children and working men have so little4
 ,the whole of our world today is       
rooted and grounded in intellect4 ,our  
machinery1 our institutions1 our  great 
systems1 the entire body of enterprise  
is governed by brains4 ,it  is this that
 will alter4 ,just behind intellect     
there is a vision that is  purer1       

keener1 more powerful than the vision of
 your eyes1 than the  hearing of your   
ears1 than the touch of your hands4     
,this world is being  transformed into  
another which comes into being at our   
spiritual touch4  ,the world needs      
something personal1 something from the  
heart4 ,it is sick  to death with the   
cold machinery of the intellect4 ,but   
before men see  this they must change   
their view of life1 they must be born   
again4 ,the  scientists1 the historians 
and theologians1 the philosophers1 have 
made  the universe too big4 ,it is not a
 big place3 it is very tiny4 ,life is so
  simple1 really4 ,our wise men have    
made it so difficult1 so ugly4 ,it is   
only children who can see the risen     
,christ2 children1 perhaps1 out of  whom
 seven devils have been cast4 ,the world
 needs not critics1 but  teachers1 and  
children are waiting everywhere to      
teach1 but men1  shutting the windows of
 their souls1 try rather to mould these 
little  ones to fit into the vacant     

spaces of their own stupid world4 ,are  
not  children the true artists8 ,they   
won't tolerate anything but ,beauty4    
,they  see ,beauty everywhere1 not      
because it is there1 but because they   
want it  there4 ,everything they touch  
turns into something far more precious  
than  gold3 every word they utter is a  
song of praise4 ,you are almost in      
heaven every time you look into the eyes
 of a child4 ,remember1 please1  these  
are the words of a man who has faced the
 horrible realities of  modern warfare1 
and so do not dismiss them as mere      
poetry1 or with  ,nicodemus' question1  
,how can a man be born again81 but      
listen to a  modern interpretation of   
the answer to that question3--7,the     
,life  ,indeed47 ,we must be born again 
even to see the spiritual kingdom1 must 
be born of water and the spirit to enter
 its gates at all4 ,so to his  little   
audience of disciples ,our ,lord says it
 is not an affair of  legislation1 of   
discovery1 of which men say1 ',lo here1 

lo there6 but the  kingdom of heaven is 
within you4 ,why a second birth8 ,this  
is a second  birth because it must needs
 supervene at a point where two elements
 can  work together1 the element of an  
appealing1 vitalizing spirit from the   
unseen and the element of free human    
choice4 ,being of the spirit1 it is  the
 birth into freedom3 it is the soul     
emerging from its prison into the  open 
air of liberty and light and life4 ,note
 the element of free  choice4 ,our first
 birth is outside our choice and the    
gifts are  unconditioned2 our second    
birth1 when again we become as little   
children1 demands our response to the   
,holy ,spirit and our persevering       
cooperation with ,him to make ,his      
influence effectual for ourselves and   
for the communion of saints and the     
corporate religion into which the       
,spirit also baptizes us4 ,in a recent  
sermon a bishop of the ,episcopal       
,church says1 ,this is the creed of the 
,church--the ,divine ,father and        

,forgiveness3 the ,divine ,son and      
,redemption3 the ,divine ,spirit and    
,abundant ,life4 ,therefore the ,church 
still insists upon the creation of      
moral rectitude and spiritual character 
as the end and purpose of  religion1    
aye1 as the basic problem underlying all
 questions relating to  human           
life--social1 industrial1 civic1 and    
political4 ,the ,church still  preaches 
the gospel of the ,grace of ,god1 the   
obligation and blessing of  worship1 the
 meaning and virtue of the ,christian   
,sacraments4 ,also ,my  brethren1 we    
shall not be content to criticize and   
find fault with our  own age and time1  
but rather we shall pray for the power  
to see within  its questionings1 unrest 
and discontent--aye1 its recklessness   
and  apparent failures--the strivings of
 the ,spirit of ,god4 ,but each man has 
to voice for himself the conviction of  
the reality of the spiritual  order and 
the spiritual life4 ,therefore1 let us  
believe in and practice  the worship of 

,god1 'praying always' as ,st4 ,paul    
says1 'with all prayer  and supplication
 in the ,spirit1' or as ,st4 ,jude says1
 'building up  yourselves on your most  
holy faith1 praying in the ,holy        
,spirit4'    ,let us accept this        
suggestion and try to find in the unrest
 of our own  time evidences of the      
strivings of the ,spirit of ,god1       
waiting our  perception and response4   
,the soldier of the ,great ,war1 having 
faced  death and imprisonment and       
suffering in many forms says1 compared  
with  the depth of good in the world the
 evil is shallow4 ,the first evidence   
of good in our own day is the almost    
universal discontent with evils and  the
 desire to find a better way4 ,the      
humility which recognizes that so       
widespread a condition cannot be the    
fault of any one nation or group  but is
 rather the responsibility of each one  
of us1 is cause for hope4  ,some of us  
believe that war can breed only war1    
hatred only hatred2 that  governments   

cannot make peace1 but can only cause   
cessation of open  hostilities1 and that
 the real peace1 the ,great ,peace1 must
 await the  action of the ,spirit4 ,this
 ,spirit1 of love and forgiveness1      
breeds love  and forgiveness1 indeed is 
far more potent than the spirit of hate4
  ,because of this very strength and    
potency its evidences are not so        
immediately apparent1 but they are      
deeper-rooted4 ,perhaps in this         
material sphere we human beings must    
see1 and to a certain extent            
experience1 hate1 before we can really  
know love1 and consciously and  freely  
choose it4 ,when that choice is made1   
when we1 knowing all that  hate and evil
 and malice can accomplish1 yet         
deliberately choose to love  our        
enemies1 we have slain the ,adversary   
and made hate and evil  powerless4 ,of  
course we have not power of ourselves to
 do this but only  through the grace of 
,god4 ,when we try ,god's way1 not      
waiting for the  other person to reform 

or to be generous or to speak gently or 
to  forgive1 then and only then do we   
deserve the name of ,christians2 then   
and only then are we walking in love2   
then and only then are we really        
praying effectually ,thy ,kingdom come1 
,thy will be done on earth as it  is in 
,heaven4 ,we have tried the way of the  
world1 the way of reprisals1  the way of
 distrust1 and1 thank ,god1 we are none 
of us satisfied with  the results4      
,perhaps now we may be ready to try the 
way of ,god by making  the great        
adventure of faith1 each one in his own 
person2 faith in  himself and faith in  
the future4 ,the way of the world has   
bred fear that  has issue in hate1 and  
hate that has issue in fear2 but the    
better way1  that of faith1 breeds trust
 that has issue in fellowship1 and      
fellowship  that has issue in trust4    
,there is no problem of labour1 of      
politics1 of  society that is insoluble 
if once it is approached in the spirit  
of  faith and fellowship and trust1 but 

none of these is susceptible of         
solution where the controlling motives  
are hate1 distrust and fear4 ,the       
modern policy of centralization and     
segregation has resulted in dealing     
with men as groups and not as           
individuals4 ,when1 for example1        
iron-bound  cults 7they are no less than
 this7 meet as capital and as labour1   
both merge the individuality of their   
members in a thing which has no  real or
 necessary existence but is an          
artificial creation of thought          
operating under the dominion of         
ephemeral1 almost accidental conditions4
  ,as a member of an interest or a cult1
 where humanity and personality  are1 so
 to speak1 in commission1 a man does not
 hesitate to do those  things he would  
never think of doing for himself1       
knowing them to be  selfish1 cruel1     
unjust and uncharitable4 ,a case in     
point--if we need  one1 which is hardly 
probable since they are of daily        
occurrence--is the  pending contest     

between the mine operators and mine     
workers in ,great  ,britain1 where both 
parties1 with ,government thrown in1 are
 guilty of  maintaining theories and    
perpetrating acts for which an          
individual would  be1 even now1         
excoriated and outlawed4 ,the ,irish    
imbroglio is another  instance of the   
same kind4    ,in a personal letter from
 a consulting engineer who has had      
unusual  opportunities1 by reason of his
 official position1 to come closely in  
contact with the conditions governing   
industry and finance both in  ,america  
and ,europe since the war1 ,i find this 
illuminating statement of  a matured    
judgment4 ,as a practical matter1 and   
facing the issue1 ,i  would preach the  
practice of de-centralization in        
government and  business which will in  
time develop the individual and         
accomplish the  desired end4 99 99 99   
,decentralization should be carried to  
such an extent  that the units of       
business would be of such size that the 

head could  again have a personal       
relation with each individual associated
 with him4  99 99 99 ,with the personal 
relation again established1 unionism as 
at  present practiced would again be    
unnecessary1 and the unions would       
become once more guilds for the         
development and advancement of the      
individual4 ,it is this nullification of
 the human element1 of the  person as   
such1 the introduction of the gross     
aggregate with its  artificial corporate
 quality1 and the attempt to establish a
  correspondence between these unnatural
 things1 the whole being  intensified by
 the emotions of fear1 distrust and     
hate1 which produces  the contemporary  
insistence on rights and the rank       
injustice1 cruelty  and disorder that   
follow the blind contest4 ,to quote     
again from the  soldier who achieved    
illumination through the recent war1 ,my
 friends1  there is no protection of    
rights in heaven4 ,when we speak of     
rights we  are blinded by the light of  

this world of rule and order and        
intellectual conceits4 ,it is not       
justice we need1 it is mercy4    ,if we 
honestly endeavour to bring about       
something more nearly  approaching the  
,kingdom of ,god on earth1 we should do 
well to achieve a  little more of the   
quality of child-like trust which knows 
that through  the petition to father or 
mother1 or to a guardian angel1 or      
directly to  ,god1 the result will      
surely follow4 ,we long passionately to 
see a good1  our good as we see it1     
accepted here and now1 but whatever we  
offer1  no mater how righteous or how   
salutary1 is but a small part of the    
great  good1 a limited and partial      
showing forth of only one element1 while
 the  final and comprehensive good is   
the result of many contributions1 and in
  the end is not ours1 but ,god's1 and  
by ,his overruling providence it may    
look very unlike what we had            
predetermined and anticipated4          
,moreover1  the condition even of our   

own small good becoming effective1 is   
faith1  and neither sight nor action4   
,there is a faith that can move         
mountains1  and it is faith in          
fellowship1 in the underlying1          
indestructible good in  man1 above all  
in the desire and the intent of ,god to 
deal mercifully  with us and beyond the 
dictates of justice and the claims of   
our own  deserts4 ,when we know and     
accept this power of faith1 placing it  
above  the efficiency of our own feeble 
works1 then indeed we may become the    
patient1 hopeful1 joyful and faithful   
,christians we were intended to be1  and
 therefore the creators of the spirit of
 peace4 ,nothing permanent can  be      
achieved except in coperation with ,god2
 any work of man alone 7or of  the      
devil7 has in it the seed of decay and  
must perish1 ,this knowledge  relieves  
us of the gloomy responsibility of      
destroying or trying to  destroy every  
evil thing we see or think we see4 ,if  
it is really evil it  is already dying  

unless nourished by evil within         
ourselves4 ,here is a  ,buddhist legend 
which has a lesson for each of us--,the 
watcher in the  shrine of ,buddha rushed
 in to the ,holy ,fathers one morning   
with tidings  of a horrible demon who   
had usurped the throne of our ,lord     
,buddha4 ,the  ,fathers ran to the      
throne room1 each one more infuriated   
than the other1  and declaimed against  
the insolence of the demon1 who grew    
huger and  more hideous at every angry  
word that hurtled through the air4 ,at  
last  arrived the oldest and most       
saintly of the monks and threw himself  
on  his knees before the demon and said1
 ,we thank thee1 ,o ,master1 for        
teaching us how much anger and wrath and
 jealousy was still hidden in  our      
hearts4 ,at every word he said1 the     
demon grew smaller and smaller  and at  
last vanished4 ,he was am ,anger-,eating
 ,demon1 and anger-rousing  words and   
even thoughts of ill-feeling nourished  
him4    ,the belief that in comparison  

with the depth of good in the world the 
evil is shallow may also be expressed in
 the statement that ,god is ,lord  of   
,eternity while the devil is prince only
 of this world4 ,as this evil  spirit   
has power1 and as a part of this power  
is the ability to appear  as an angel of
 light1 so to deceive us1 we are bound  
by  self-examination1 constantly        
indulged in1 to scrutinize those things1
 so  common in our own lives we do not  
notice them1 which may be but the       
illusions of this spirit of darkness    
showing as a fictitious spirit of       
light3 ,hurry and carelessness both in  
thought and in action2  snap-judgment at
 short range2 compromise with the spirit
 of the time in  the interest of good   
business1 practical considerations or   
sound  policy2 worship of the doctrine  
of get results1 acceptance of the       
horrible principle3 that it is every    
man's business to sell something  to    
another1 from a patent medicine or gilt 
edged bonds to a new  philosophy or an  

old religion2 the estimating of values  
by size1 number1  cost4 ,it is common   
parlance among ,christian people to     
speak of what a  man is worth meaning   
how much money he has4 ,we speak of a   
man's  making a living meaning only how 
much money he makes1 when by making     
only money he would be killing his      
living4 ,do we not speak of the call  of
 a missionary from an unshepherded flock
 to a large city parish as a  call to a 
wider sphere of usefulness8 ,when you or
 ,i conceive of any  piece of work as   
important is it not because it involves 
either great  numbers or great sums of  
money8 ,then we hear much today of the  
need for  leaders4 ,the need could not  
be exaggerated1 but does not this lack  
exist1 in part1 because we have forgot  
that the ,christian's first duty  is to 
be a follower1 and that only from       
amongst real followers can ,god  7not   
man1 least of all the man himself7 raise
 up a leader8 ,these are  small matters1
 you may say1 but straws show which way 

the wind blows1  and the spirit1 like   
the wind1 manifests itself first in     
small matters4  ,every life is made up  
largely of small things1 the little1    
nameless  unremembered acts of kindness 
and of love which some one has called   
the noblest portion of a good man's     
life4    ,with this brief glance at some
 of the possible manifestations of the  
spirit of evil which we believe to be   
temporary and therefore of  secondary   
importance only1 let us consider some of
 the requisites of the  ,christian life 
as exemplified in the life of ,christ1  
especially those of  which we need to be
 reminded today4 ,we have already spoken
 of that  child-likeness which takes the
 faith simply and applies it to the     
common  things of daily life--,christ's 
life of ministry1 of good works 7which  
was1 in proportion to the time given to 
preparation for activity and  preaching1
 of very short duration71 full of       
injunctions to those who  were with him 
to tell no man2 therefore the good works

 which are done  in ,his likeness must  
not be done in public4 ,if we are seen  
of men1  verily we have our reward4     
,christ's life ended in apparent        
failure1 in  ignominious death on the   
cross4 ,the world worships today's      
success and  immediate publicity1 the   
,christian1 to be worthy of his ,lord1  
must  accept apparent failure and must  
offer his best work in secret3 ,and my  
,father which seeth in secret1 shall    
reward thee openly4 ,a touching poem  of
 ,francis ,thompson's pictures the      
marveling of a soul on his rewards in   
,paradise which1 in his humility1 he    
thinks undeserved4 ,the man asks of     
,god3      ,o when did ,i give ,thee    
drink erewhile1       ,or when embrace  
,thine unseen feet8     ,what gifts     
,thee give for my ,lord ,christ's smile1
       ,who am a guest here most unmeet8
    and is answered      ,when thou     
kissedest thy wife and children sweet   
7,their eyes are fair in my sight as    
thine7     ,i felt the embraces on ,my  

feet4      7,lovely their locks in thy  
sight and ,mine47    ,a necessary       
reminder of the fact that for each of   
us1 charity1 which is  love1 begins at  
home1 and that we love and serve ,god   
best in ,his holy  human                
relationships--if we love not our       
brother whom we have seen how  can we   
love ,god whom we have not seen8        
,again1 the individual ,christian life  
must1 like its ,great ,original1  suffer
 for others4 ,when we suffer as a result
 of our own wrongdoing we  are but      
meeting our just reward2 but if         
patiently and humbly and  voluntarily we
 bear pain1 even unto death1 for others1
 we are  transcending justice1 the pagan
 law1 and exemplifying mercy1 the       
,christian virtue4 ,no sensitive soul in
 this generation1 conscious of the      
sacrifice of the millions of young lives
 who stormed ,heaven in their           
willingness to die that others might    
live1 can doubt this4 ,the essence  of  
love is sacrifice2 voluntary1 nay eager 

sacrifice4 ,before our ,blessed  ,lord  
died ,he was mocked and ridiculed1 ,he  
suffered physical hardship1  falling    
under the weight of the cross1 and ,he  
was lifted up1 crucified1  to suffer the
 ignominious death of a felon4 ,he was  
made a spectacle for  the jests and     
laughter of the multitude4 ,in our own  
time and amongst  ourselves1 except for 
periods of war1 there is little         
necessity for  physical suffering for   
our faith1 but the need to endure       
ridicule is as  great as ever1 perhaps  
even greater because of the absence of  
physical  suffering4 ,since we are      
trying to apply these things in small   
and simple  ways to the individual life 
let us each one consider how much moral 
courage it takes to defend ,christian   
virtues when they are sneered at  under 
the guise of jokes4 ,let us exercise    
charity by not quoting  instances1 but  
let us be watchful of our laughter and  
our fellowship1  which are both gifts of
 ,god1 and see that we do not confuse   

pagan  pleasure with ,christian joy1 the
 evil sneer with the tender recognition 
of the absurd in ourselves and in       
others4 ,it is ,mr4 ,chesterton again   
who  points out the fact that the pagan 
virtues of justice and the like which   
he calls the sad virtues were           
superseded1 when the great ,christian   
revelation came1 by the gay and         
exuberant virtues1 the virtues of       
grace1 faith1 hope and charity2 and who 
says1 the pagan virtues are the         
reasonable virtues1 and the ,christian  
virtues of faith1 hope and charity  are 
in their essence as unreasonable as they
 can be4 ,charity means  pardoning what 
is unpardonable or it is no virtue at   
all4 ,hope means  hoping when things are
 hopeless or it is no virtue at all4    
,and faith  means believing the         
incredible or it is no virtue at all4   
,if you say  this is a paradox ,i reply3
 it must be so1 since it requires faith 
to  accept a paradox4 ,the realm of     
reason is the one in which we walk by   

sight1 and of this fact our age in its  
pride of intellect has need to be       
reminded4 ,if ,christ be not the ,son of
 ,god1 and ,his revelation of the  faith
 once delivered be not the divine and   
final guide1 fulfilling1  completing and
 at the same time reversing every other 
ethic1 religion  and moral code1 then   
these things be indeed foolishness1 for 
there is no  explaining them on the     
ground of logic or philosophy4 ,but if1 
by the  gift of grace1 we have faith1 we
 remember ,i thank ,thee1 ,father1 that 
,thou hast hid these things from the    
wise and prudent1 and has revealed  them
 unto babes3 even so1 ,father1 for so it
 seemed good in ,thy sight4    ,again1  
and if as persons we are to grow in     
relationship to a personal  ,god1 we    
must both speak and listen to our       
,father2 in other words we must  use the
 great dynamic of prayer4 ,more things  
are wrought by prayer than  this world  
dreams of4 ,we are told that one of the 
requisites of the  really good talker is

 to be a good listener2 the apparently  
good talker  is in reality a            
monologuist4 ,in our prayer-life today  
do we recognize  sufficiently the need  
for listening to ,god8 ,we are perhaps  
ready  enough to ask for blessings and  
mercies1 but that is only a part of the 
full life of prayer which must include  
also thanksgiving1 lifting of the  heart
 and mind1 and quiet listening or       
interior prayer4 ,there was an age  in  
the world when this interior prayer was 
so much more joyful and  natural a thing
 than the world of matter that it had to
 be taught to  labour is to pray4       
,today1 when we accept the necessity of 
labour1 and  even worship activity for  
its own sake1 do we not need to be      
reminded  that to pray is to labour8 ,if
 you doubt this1 try to make that       
concentrated form of prayer known as    
meditation1 out of which springs a      
resolve and determination to do better2 
try to do this faithfully for  fifteen  
minutes a day and it may prove the      

hardest work you have ever  undertaken4 
,a great servant of ,god has said1 ,i   
believe no soul can be  lost which      
faithfully practices meditation for     
fifteen minutes a day4  ,nor must we    
forget that in this work of prayer we   
are companioned by the  ,holy ,spirit1  
the ,peace-maker1 ,who maketh           
intercession for us with  groanings     
which can not be uttered and ,who leads 
us ever gently but  surely into that    
closer communion with ,god whose result 
is life more  abundant4 ,after prayer it
 is easier to realize that to be        
spiritually  minded is life and peace2  
it is easier to obey the injunction ,and
  grieve not the ,holy ,spirit of ,god  
whereby ye are sealed unto the day of   
redemption4 ,let all bitterness1 and    
wrath1 and anger1 and clamour1 and  evil
 speaking be put away from you1 with all
 malice1 and be ye kind one  to another1
 tender-hearted1 forgiving one another1 
even as ,god1 for  ,christ's sake1 hath 
forgiven you4 ,and for those that seek  

after peace  it must be all wrath1 all  
anger and all evil speaking which are   
put away3 ,this leaves no room for what 
the world calls just wrath  righteous   
anger1 or speaking evil of evil doers4  
,let us call to mind  the incident in   
the early life of ,st4 ,john1 afterwards
 the great  disciple of love1 when he   
wanted to call down wrath on the wicked 
inhabitants of a city and was rebuked by
 ,our ,lord who said1 ,ye know not  in  
what spirit ye speak4 ,after love had   
supplanted wrath1 and the good  spirit  
had taken the place of the evil in ,st4 
,john's heart1 he was sent  to convert  
the people he would have destroyed4     
,yes1 it is the spirit  that matters1   
the wrath that is wrong and that must be
 put away before  we can love ,god or   
our neighbour as ourself1 for the fruit 
of the ,spirit  is love1 joy1 peace1    
long suffering1 gentleness1 goodness1   
faith1  meekness1 temperance4    ,when  
we understand that the object of life   
and of education is the  creation of a  

spirit and not the doing of things1 we  
are freed from the  tyranny of results  
in this world as a final test and come  
to realize  that judgment belongs only  
to ,god ,who as a ,spirit judges the    
effort4    ,of course this does not mean
 that we are freed from the moral law1  
that  certain evil things in ourselves  
and in others are not always the        
results of an evil spirit1 but rather   
that in addition to avoiding and        
shunning those things which are         
obviously evil1 we must with equal care 
avoid doing even good things in a bad   
spirit4 ,the commandments still  stand1 
the moral law is abated not one jot1 but
 in ,christianity and in  ,christianity 
alone are we given power to fulfill the 
law and to add the  new commandment1 the
 summing up of them all1 of love to ,god
 and man4 ,no  human soul comes into the
 world without some desire to be good1  
because  each human soul is a child of  
,god4 ,to each one1 not blinded by pride
  7and surely it should be easy in these

 days to be humble7 comes1 sooner  or   
later1 the realization of his own       
inability of himself to do what he      
would1 the need for a power outside     
himself1 the power which is  available  
and of which we have heard ,i am come   
that ye might have life  and more       
abundantly4 ,let us examine how the     
apostles set about living  this abundant
 life4 ,in ,dr4 ,genung's ,the ,life    
,indeed we read1 ,one and  all they made
 it a matter of the spirit that is the  
man1 but the spirit  they recognized was
 not an abstraction1 or a theory1 but a 
present  ,person and helper who was     
witnessing with their spirits4 ,st4     
,john makes  the matter equally         
definite3 ',the ,son of ,god1' he says1 
'was manifest  that he might destroy the
 works of the ,devil1' and ,st4 ,paul1  
mindful of  the inner subtleties of the 
conflict1 warns his readers that ,satan 
has  changed his tactics and has        
transformed himself into an angel of    
light4  ,i am not sure that we have     

gained greatly by letting our notions of
  spiritual life grow dim and abstract4 
,perhaps for this very reason the       
rebellious1 negative1 designing spirit  
that is so prone to invade the  hearts  
of us all is the more free to gain a    
foot-hold and go about  controlling the 
tone of our life4 ,there is real        
advantage in bringing  the large issues 
of life to a point where not only our   
mind but1 as it  were1 our senses1 can  
lay hold on them4 ,it is the impulse of 
simple-minded men like those early      
disciples1 and if we continue           
straight-seeing we do not outgrow it4   
,what makes these views of life so  deep
 is not that they are less simple than  
those of others1 but that  they are more
 simple4 ,to ,st4 ,john the reality that
 has come to win the  world is not the  
promise of salvation1 or prophecy of an 
eventual life  eternal1 but just life   
without modification or limitation1 life
  absolute1 full-orbed1 pulsating       
through worlds seen and unseen alike4   

',i  am the ,life1' he makes ,christ    
say1 not1 ',i am working to secure it4' 
,st4  ,john it is who preserves to us   
that conception of eating the ,flesh and
  drinking the ,blood of the ,son of    
,man4 ,no philosopher in the world1 we  
may roundly say1 would ever have put it 
so1 and yet how effectually is  thus    
revealed what it means to get the power 
of the new life thoroughly  incorporated
 with our blood and breath4 ,he it is   
who identifies the most  inner values of
 life with the simplest acts and        
experiences1 reducing it  to terms of   
eating bread and drinking water1 and    
walking in daylight1  and bearing fruit 
like the branches of a vine and         
following like sheep  the voice of a    
shepherd1 and entering a door and       
finding pasture4    ,let us cease trying
 materialistic and intellectual means   
for supplying  the power to live the    
spiritual life and let us each one      
establish the  needful relationship with
 the true source of power4 ,may our time

 not be  likened to the ,oriental       
traveler1 who1 appreciating the         
convenience and  force of electricity as
 seen in a room he occupied1 fitted his 
palace1  on his return1 with a set of   
elaborate fixtures and was surprised to 
find no illumination therefrom6 ,we are 
torches who can not shine in            
themselves1 but who1 when connected with
 the great central ,source of  ,power1  
the ,blessed ,trinity in its three      
glorious manifestations1 can  show forth
 the light of the world4 ,christians    
should be torch bearers1  and the true  
torch bearer lights not his own path so 
much as the path of  those who come     
after him4 ,and this brings us to the   
fundamental reason  for personal        
responsibility4 ,our motive in seeking  
personal  righteousness it not1 as might
 hastily be thought1 because of a       
selfish  desire to save our own souls1  
or to withdraw either here or hereafter 
from other souls1 but for their sakes to
 sanctify ourselves2 for the  lives we  

live today create the spiritual         
atmosphere of tomorrow4    ,from ,spain 
come the following suggestive thoughts  
in regard to the value  of the person4  
,the individual is the real purpose of  
the universe4 ,we  may seek the hero of 
our thought in no philosopher who lived 
in flesh  and blood1 but in a being of  
fiction and of action1 more real than   
all  the philosophers4 ,he is ,don      
,quixote4 ,one cannot say of ,don       
,quixote that  he was strictly          
idealistic4 ,he did not fight for ideas3
 he was of the  spirit and he fought for
 the spirit4 ,quixotism is a madness    
descended  from the madness of the      
cross2 therefore it is despised by      
reason2 ,don  ,quixote will not resign  
himself to either the world or its      
truth1 to  science or logic1 to art or  
aesthetics1 to morals or ethics4 ,and   
what  did he leave behind him8 one may  
ask4 ,i reply that he left himself1 and 
that a man1 a man living and immortal1  
is worth all theories and all           

philosophies4 ,other countries have left
 us institutions and books3 ,spain  has 
left soul4 ,st4 ,theresa is worth all   
institutions whatever1 or any           
',critique of ,pure ,reason4'    ,yes1  
this is ,i think the lesson we have to  
learn1 now at this turning  point in    
history with the epoch of intellect     
crumbling about our ears1  and the great
 ,world's ,fair of multiplied1 ingenious
 mechanisms we have  called modern      
civilization at a point of practical    
bankruptcy4 ,it is  the spirit that     
counts1 the soul of man living and      
immortal1 and only  through our own     
living1 and the spiritual force that we 
can command1 and  through ourselves     
apply1 shall we be able to compass that 
social  regeneration that is the only   
alternative to social degeneration and  
catastrophe4 ,the man who does not live 
his belief is powerless to redeem  or to
 create1 though he were a ,solon1 a     
,charlemagne1 a ,napoleon or a          
,washington2 the man who lives his      

belief1 even if he is a mill-hand in    
,fall ,river1 is contributing something 
of energizing force to the task of      
re-creation4 ,not by might1 nor by      
power1 but by my ,spirit1 saith the     
,lord of ,hosts4    ,fantastic and      
paradoxical as it may seem to link      
together ,don ,quixote  and ,st4        
,theresa1 ,i am not sure that we could  
do better than to accept  them as       
models4 ,the loud laughter of an age of 
intellectual ribaldry and  self-conceit 
dies away and the gaunt figure of the   
last of the ,crusaders  still stands    
before us heroic in his childlike       
refusal of compromise1  his burning     
compassion1 his deafness to ridicule4   
,in a sense we must all  be ready to    
accept the jeering and the scorn that   
were poured out on the  ,knight of ,la  
,mancha1 if like him we are to fight1   
even foolishly1 for  the things that are
 worth fighting for--either that they   
may be  destroyed1 or restored4 ,and    
with ,st4 ,theresa we must be willing to

  endure obloquy1 suspicion1 malice1 if 
like her we live in faith1  subjecting  
our will to the divine will1 and then   
sparing nothing of  ourselves in the    
labour of saving the world for ,god in  
the twentieth  century as ,st4 ,theresa 
laboured to save it in the sixteenth    
century4    ,the call today is for      
personal service through the right      
living that  follows the discovery of a 
right relationship to ,god4 ,not a      
campaign but  a crusade2 and the figures
 of ,st4 ,louis and ,st4 ,francis and   
,st4 ,theresa1  together with all the   
,knights and ,crusaders of ,christendom1
 rise up  before us to point the way4   
,we would find the ,great ,peace1 the   
world  would find the ,great ,peace     
also1 but      ,the way is all so very  
plain    ,that we may lose the way4     
,we have been told3 ,seek ye first the  
,kingdom of ,god and ,his               
righteousness1 and all these things     
shall be added unto you1 for your       
,heavenly ,father knoweth ye have need  

of these things4 ,if we go forth on     
this new and knightly quest--quest      
indeed in these latter days1 for the    
,holy ,grail1 lost long since and hidden
 away from men--we may1 by the  grace of
 ,god1 achieve4 ,then1 suddenly1 in the 
twinkling of an eye1 and  before we are 
aware1 for the ,kingdom of ,god cometh  
not with watching1  we and even the     
world1 shall find that we have compassed
 the ,great  ,peace1 and if we do not   
live to see it1 yet in our certain hope 
we  shall know that it will come1 if not
 in our time1 yet in ,god's good  time2 
if not in our way1 yet in ,his more     
perfect way4    ,in these lectures ,i   
have from time to time1 and perhaps     
beyond your  patience1 criticised and   
condemned many of those concrete        
institutions  which form the working    
mechanism of life1 even suggesting      
possible  substitutes4 ,in ending ,i    
would say as in beginning2 this is not  
because  salvation may be found through 
any device1 however perfect1 but because

  this itself1 by reason of its         
excellence on the one hand or its       
depravity on the other1 is1 under the   
law of life1 contributory to the        
operation of the divine spirit 7which is
 the sole effective energy7 or a        
deterrent4 ,i have tried at long last to
 gather up this diffuse argument  for   
the supremacy of spiritual force as it  
works through the individual1  and to   
place it before you in this concluding  
lecture4 ,perhaps ,i can  best emphasize
 my point thus4    ,the evil of the     
institutions which now hold back the    
progress that must  be made towards     
social recovery and the ,great ,peace1  
is far less the  quality of wrongness in
 themselves and the ill influence they  
put in  operation1 than it is the       
revelation they make of personal        
character4 ,it  is not so much that     
newspapers are what they are as that    
there should be  men who are pleased and
 content to make them this1 in          
apparently honest  ignorance of what    

they are doing1 and that there should be
 others in  sufficient number to make   
them profitable business propositions by
  giving them their appreciation and    
support4 ,it is not so much that        
government should be what it is as that 
character should have so far            
degenerated in the working majority of  
citizens that these qualities  should   
show themselves as a fixed condition1   
and that there should be no  body of men
 of numerical distinction1 who regard   
the situation with  sentiments much more
 active than those of indifference and  
amused  toleration4 ,it is not so much  
that the industrial situation should be 
what it is1 as that there should be on  
both sides moral wrong1 and that  this  
condition could not have come about1 nor
 could it still be  maintained1 except  
through character degeneration in the   
individual4 ,it  is not so much that    
many forms of religion are what they    
are1 as it is  that they should         
progressively have become this through  

their exponents  and adherents1 and that
 there should be so many who are still  
willing to  defend them in this case4   
,every ill thing reveals through its    
very quality the defects of the         
individual man1 and as upon him must    
rest the responsibilities for the       
fault1 so on him must be placed the     
responsibility for the recovery4 ,the   
failures we have recorded1 the false    
gods we have raised up in idolatry1     
even the ,great ,war itself1 are        
revelations of failure in personal and  
individual character4 ,we may recognize 
this1 but recognition is not  enough4   
,we may found societies and committees  
and write books and  deliver lectures1  
but corporate action is not enough1 nor 
intellectual  assent4 ,there is but one 
way that is right1 sufficient and       
effective1  and that is the right living
 of each individual1 which is the       
incarnation and operation of faith by   
the grace of ,god4    ,it is my desire  
to close this course of lectures not    

with my own words  but with those of one
 of the great personalities revealed by 
the war4  ,first1 however1 ,i wish to   
say this4 ,if there is any thought or   
word in  what ,i have said that seems to
 you true1 then ,i ask you to use it not
 as  a matter for discussion but as an  
impulse toward personal action4 ,if     
there is anything that is of the nature 
of explicit error1 then ,i pray  that   
the ,spirit of ,truth may make deaf your
 ears that you hear not1 and  blot out  
of your memory the record of what ,i    
have said4 ,if there is  anything that  
is not consonant with the ,christian    
religion1 as this has  been revealed to 
the world and as it is guarded and      
interpreted by the  ,church to which    
these powers were committed1 then ,i    
retract and disavow  it explicitly and  
ex animo4    ,there are two great       
spiritual figures that have been        
revealed to us  through the ,great ,war3
 ,cardinal ,mercier1 the great          
confessor1 who held  aloft the standard 

of spiritual glory through the war      
itself1 and ,bishop  ,nicholai of       
,serbia who has testified to eternal    
truth and righteousness  in the         
wilderness the war has brought to pass4 
,it is with his inspired  words that ,i 
will make an ending of the things ,i    
have been impelled to  say4    ,christ  
is merciful1 but at last ,he comes as   
the ,judge4 99 99 99 ,he comes  now not 
to preside in the churches only but to  
be in your homes1 in your  shops1 to be 
everywhere with you4 ,he wants to be    
first2 ,he has become  last in ,europe1 
99 99 99 ,civilization passes like the  
winds1 but the soul  remains4           
,christianization is the only good and  
constructive  civilization4             
,americanization without                
,christianization means ,bolshevism4    
,europe is suffering today for her sins4
 ,christ has forgiven seventy  times    
seven1 and now it seems that ,he is the 
,judge1 turning away1  rejected1 leaving
 ,europe and going through the gate of  

,serbia to ,asia4  ,pray for us4 99 99  
99 ,send us not your gold and silver for
 food so much as  send us converted men4
 ,convert your politicians1 your members
 of the  press1 your journalists1 to    
preach ,christ4    ,christ is choosing  
the perfect stones1 the marble of all   
the churches1  to complete ,his mystical
 body in ,heaven4 ,he thinks only of one
 ,church1  made from those true to ,him 
of all the churches here4 ,civilizations
 are  moving pictures1 made by man4     
,without ,god they perish4 ,the soul1   
the  spirit1 lives4 ,the war is not     
against externals2 the war is against   
ourselves4          ,,appendix ,a       
,from the point attained in the lecture 
on ,a ,working ,philosophy1 a  point ,i 
believe to be clearly indicated by      
,christian philosophy and  sharply      
differentiated from that of paganism or 
modernism1 ,i would  adventure further  
and even into a field of pure theory    
where ,i can  adduce no support or      
justification from any other source4    

,speculation  along this line may be    
dangerous1 even unjustifiable2 certainly
 it  introduces the peril of an attempt 
to intellectualize what cannot be       
apprehended by the intellectual faculty1
 an effort which has been the  obsession
 of modernism and has resulted in       
spiritual catastrophe4 ,on the  other   
hand we are confronted by a definite and
 plausible system worked  out by those  
who were without fear of these          
consequences1 and while this  already is
 losing something of its common         
acceptance1 it is still  operative1     
indeed is the only working system and   
consistent theory of  the majority of   
thinking men outside the limits of      
,catholicism4 ,i think  it wrong both in
 its assumptions and its inferences1 and
 it certainly  played a deplorable part 
in the building up of the latest phase  
of  modern civilization1 while its      
persistence is1 ,i am persuaded1 a      
barrier  to recovery or advance4 ,this  
theory1 which has gradually been deduced

  from the wonderful investigations1    
tabulations and inferences of ,darwin1  
,tyndall1 ,huxley1 ,spencer and others  
of the great group of ,british          
intellectuals and scientists of the     
nineteenth century1 is known under  the 
general title of ,evolution4    ,the    
following suggestions are offered with  
extreme diffidence1 and only  as        
uncertain and indeterminate             
approximations4 ,in some respects they  
seem not inconsistent with the most     
recent scientific research which        
already is casting so much doubt on many
 of the assumed factors behind          
evolution and on the accepted methods of
 its operation4 ,the true  solution1 if 
it is found1 will result from the       
cooperation of  scientists1 philosophers
 and theologians1 illuminated by the    
fire of the  ,divine ,wisdom--,hagia    
,sophia--for in such a problem as this1 
almost the  final secret of the ,cosmos1
 no single human agency acting alone can
 hope  to achieve the final revelation1 

while all acting together could hardly  
escape falling into the falsehoods of   
their own imaginings if they  relied    
solely on their unaided efforts in the  
intellectual sphere4    ,assuming then  
that life is an enduring process of the 
redemption of  matter through the       
interpenetration of spirit1 what is a   
possible method  of action8 ,to explain 
what ,i mean ,i must use a diagrammatic 
figure1 but  ,i admit this must be not  
only inadequate but misleading1 for     
instead of  the two dimensions of a     
diagram1 we must postulate three1 with  
time  added as a vital element1 and1 ,i 
dare say1 a fourth dimension as well4   
,confessing inadequacy in the symbol1   
let us conceive of a space divided  into
 four strata4 ,the lowest of these is   
the primary unknowable1 the  region of  
pure spirit1 pure spirit itself1 the    
creative energy of the  universe1 the   
unconditioned ,absolute1 in the terms of
 ,christian  theology1 ,almighty ,god4  
,the second is the plane of matter1 an  

area of  potential1 but in itself inert 
and indeterminate4 ,the third is the    
space  of what we call life in all its  
forms1 the area in which the            
transformation and redemption take      
place4 ,the fourth is the ultimate      
unknowable1 that is to say1 that which  
follows on after life and  receives the 
finished product of redemption4         
,illustration3 ,,diagram ,,no4 #a4 ,the 
interpenetration of ,matter by ,spirit4 
x1 ,the primary ,unknowable2 x'1 the    
ultimate ,unknowable2 ,greek3  alpha1   
the plane of ,matter2 ,greek3 beta1 the 
plane of ,life4    ,now there is        
eternally in process a penetration of   
the stratum of matter  by jets of the   
lan vital from the realm of pure spirit1
 each as it  were striving to detach    
from the plane of matter some small     
portion1  which is transformed in its   
passage through life and achieves       
entrance  into the ultimate unknowable1 
when the process of redemption is1 for  
this small particle1 completed4 ,always1

 however1 is exerted the  gravitational 
pull of matter1 and the energy that     
drove through1 instead  of pursuing a   
right line1 tends to bend in a parabolic
 curve1 like the  trajectory of a cannon
 ball4 ,in the completion of the process
 some  portion of redeemed matter gets  
by1 so to speak1 but other portions do  
not2 they return to their source of     
origin and are reabsorbed in matter1    
becoming subject to the operation of    
future interpenetrating jets of         
spiritual energy4 ,the upward drive of  
the lan vital constitutes what  may     
properly be known as evolution1 the     
declining fall the process of           
devolution or degeneration4 ,evolution  
then is only one part of the  cosmic    
process1 it is inseparable from         
degeneration4    ,this process holds in 
the case of individuals1 of families1 of
 races1 of  states and of eras1 or      
definite and completed periods of time4 
,as man is  begotten1 born1 developed to
 maturity and then is brought downward  

to  the grave1 so in the case of races  
and nations and the clearly defined     
epochs into which the history of man    
divides itself4 ,there is no  mechanical
 system of progress1 no cumulative      
wisdom and power that in  the end will  
inevitably lead to earthly perfection   
and triumph4 ,for  every individual     
there is the possibility of spiritual   
evolution within  the time allotted that
 will open for him the gates that bar   
the  frontiers of the world of reality  
and of redemption that lies beyond  that
 world of earthly life which is the     
field of contest between  unredeemed    
matter and redeeming spirit1 of contest 
and of victory--or of  failure4 ,in the 
case of races and nations and epochs    
there is the same  conflict between     
material factors and spiritual energy2  
the same  crescent youth with all its   
primal vitality1 maturity with its      
assurance  and competence1 and the dying
 fall of dissipating energies4 ,in each 
case  death is the concomitant of life  

but there is always something that      
lasts over1 and that is the spiritual   
achievement1 the precious residuum  that
 remains1 defying death and dissolution1
 that infuses the plane of  life with   
its redemptive ardour1 and is the       
heritage of lives that come  after1     
acting with the sacramental agencies of 
religion in coperation  with ,god ,who  
ordained and compassed them both1 in    
that great process of  redemption and   
salvation that is continually taking    
place and will  continue until matter1  
and time which is but the ratio of the  
resistance  of matter to the redeeming  
power of spirit1 shall be no more4    ,i
 confess the hopelessly mechanical      
quality in this vain attempt to put     
into words something that by its very   
nature must transcend all modes of      
expression that are intellectually      
apprehendable4 ,taken literally it      
would be entirely false and probably    
heretical from a theological point  of  
view1 as it certainly is more than      

inadequate as a philosophical           
proposition4 ,it is intended only as a  
symbol1 and a gross symbol at  that1 but
 as such ,i will let it stand4    ,now  
if there is indeed a possible truth     
hidden somewhere within somewhat  clumsy
 approximations1 it must modify some of 
our generally accepted  ideas4 ,the     
life-process will appear1 not a slow1   
interrupted1 but  substantially forward 
development from lower and simpler      
organisms to  higher and more complex1  
with the end 7if there be an end71      
beyond the  very limits of eternity1 but
 rather a swift creation of some of the 
highest forms through the first energy  
of the creative force1 with the         
throwing off of ever lower and lower    
forms as the curve of the  trajectory   
descends4 ,so through a mass of low and 
static vitality comes  the sudden and   
enormous power that produces at the very
 beginnings of  our own recorded history
 of man1 the almost superhuman          
intelligence and  capacity of the       

,greeks and the ,egyptians4 ,so each of 
the definite eras  of civilization opens
 with the releasing of great energies1  
the  revealing of great figures of      
paramount character and force4 ,so1     
conversely1 as the energy declines1 men 
appear less and less potent and  in a   
descending scale4 ,this is the case with
 the ,greek states1 with the  ,roman    
,republic and the ,empire1 with         
,byzantium1 with    ,mediaevalism1 and  
with our modern era4 ,i do not know of  
any other theory  that claims to explain
 the perpetual and rhythmical           
fluctuations of  history1 as violent in 
their degree as they are approximately  
regular in  their rhythm4    ,following 
the idea a little further1 it may even  
appear that many of the  lower1 and     
particularly the more distorted1 forms  
of animal life1  instead of being       
abortive or undeveloped stages in a     
continuous  evolutionary progress1 are  
actually the product of a diminishing   
energy1  stages in a process of         

degeneration1 and therefore leading not 
upward to  ever higher stages of        
development having issue at last in a   
completed  perfection1 but rather       
downward to ultimate extinction4        
,geology records  this process in       
sufficient quantity1 so far as many     
members of the  animal kingdom are      
concerned1 and we1 in our own day1 have 
seen the  extinction of the dodo as well
 as the threatened disappearance of     
other  species4 ,creeping and crawling  
creatures too1 that we could crush with 
the heel1 are but the last and puny     
descendants of mighty and terrible      
monsters that once rolled and crashed   
through the fetid forests of the        
carboniferous era4 ,so there are races  
of men today1 amongst others the        
pygmies of ,africa and the ,australian  
bushmen1 as well as some nearer in  a   
certain degree to the dominant races of 
the world1 whom large-hearted  optimists
 regard as stages of retarded           
development1 capable1 under  tutelage1  

of advance to a level with the          
,caucasian1 but who1 in this  view of   
the case1 would be but the weakening    
product of the dying fall  of the energy
 that produced the ,greek1 the ,semite  
and the ,nordic stocks4    ,so in the   
last instance1 the ape and the lemur and
 all their derivatives  may be1 not     
records of some of the many stages      
through which man has  passed in his    
process of evolution1 sidetracked by the
 upward rush of  one highly favoured or 
fortunate line1 nor yet an abortive     
branch from  the common trunk from which
 sprang both man and ape1 but rather the
 last  degradation of a primaeval       
energy1 producing in its declension     
these  strange caricatures of the ,man  
in whose production it found its        
achievement4 ,in other words1 the old   
evolutionary idea is exactly  reversed1 
and those phenomena once looked on as   
passed stages of growth1  become the    
memorials of a creative process that has
 already achieved1  and is now          

returning1 with its fantastic           
manifestations in terms of  declining   
life1 even to that primordial mystery   
whence it had emerged4    ,granting this
 theory1 the search for the missing     
link1 whether in the  geological strata 
below those that revealed the ,piltdown 
skull1 or in  the fastnesses of ,central
 ,asia1 is as vain a quest as it has    
always  been4 ,primaeval man1 as he is  
grudgingly revealed to us1 may have been
  the degenerate remainder of an earlier
 and fully developed race whose  records
 are buried in the sunken fastnesses of 
some vanished ,atlantis or  ,lemuria1 as
 the races of the ,south ,sea ,islands  
may be less metamorphosed  remnants of  
the same stock4 ,into this infinitely   
degraded residuum of a  vanished race   
entered the new energizing force when   
the divine creative  energy came once   
more into operation1 in the fullness of 
time1 and the  ,minoan1 the ,egyptian   
and the ,greek came almost in an hour to
 their  highest perfection4 ,so through 

the unnumbered ages of the world's      
history1 ,god has from time to time     
created man in ,his own image1 out of   
the dust of the earth1 and man so made a
 little lower than the angels  has1 also
 in time1 fallen and forfeited his      
inheritance4 ,yet the process  goes on  
without ceasing1 and in conformity with 
some law of divine  periodicity2 but it 
is ,man that is created in the          
beginning1 of his  full stature1 even as
 is symbolically recorded in the ,book  
of ,genesis2  not a hairy quadrumana    
that by the operation of the laws of    
natural  selection and the survival of  
the fittest1 ultimately and through     
endless ages1 and by the most           
infinitesimal changes1 becomes at last  
,plato and ,caesar1 ,leonardo and       
,dante1 ,st4 ,louis and ,shakespeare and
 ,st4  ,francis4    ,now in this process
 of the interpenetration of matter by   
spirit there  must be a certain         
periodicity1 if it is a constant process
 and not one  accomplished once and for 

all time in the very beginnings of the  
world4  ,this rhythmical action1 which  
is exemplified by every phenomenon of   
nature1 the vibratory process of light1 
sound1 heat1 electricity1 the  pulsation
 of the heart1 the motion of the tides1 
has never escaped the  observation even 
of primitive peoples1 and always        
attempts have been  made to determine   
its periodicity4 ,may it not be         
infinitely complex1 as  the ripple rises
 on the wave that lifts on the swell of 
the underlying  tide8 ,certainly we are 
now being forced back to a new          
consideration of  this periodical beat1 
in history at least1 for now that our   
own era1  which came in by the power of 
the ,renaissance and the ,reformation   
and  received its final energizing force
 through the revolutions of the         
eighteenth century and the industrial   
revolution of the nineteenth1 is  so    
manifestly coming to its end1 we look   
backward for precedents for  this       
unexpected debacle and lo1 they appear  

every five hundred years  back as far as
 history records4 #ejj ,b4,c41 ,anno    
,domini2 #ejj ,a4,d41 #ajjj  ,a4,d41 and
 #aejj ,a4,d4 are all1 to the point of  
very clear approximation1  nodal points1
 where the curve of the preceding five  
centuries1 having  achieved its crest1  
curves downward1 and in its fall meets  
the curve of  rising energy that is to  
condition the ensuing era4 ,the next    
nodal  point1 calculated on this basis1 
comes about the year #bjjj4 ,are we not 
justified1 in plotting our trajectory of
 modernism1 in placing the crest  in the
 year #aiad1 and in tracing the line of 
fall from that moment8    ,i have       
plotted this curve1 or series of curves1
 after a rough and ready  fashion       
7,diagram ,no4 #b7 and though the       
personal equation must1 in any          
subjective proposition such as this1    
enter largely into account1 ,i think    
the diagram will be accepted in         
principle if not in details1 and not    
wholly in its relationships4 ,i have    

made no effort to estimate or  indicate 
comparative heights and depths1 giving  
to each five-hundred  year epoch a      
similar level of rise and depth of fall4
 ,perhaps the actual  difference here   
would1 rightly estimated1 be less than  
we have been led  to believe1 though    
certainly few would lift the            
,carolingian crest to the  level of that
 of ,hellenism or of the ,middle ,ages1 
nor assign to the end  of this latter   
period as low a fall as that            
accomplished during the  tenth century  
in continental ,europe4                 
,illustration3 ,,diagram ,no4 #b4 ,the  
rise and fall of the line of            
civilization2 showing also the nodal    
points at the ,christian ,era and at    
the years #ejj1 #ajjj1 #aejj and #bjjj  
787    ,in a third cut 7,diagram ,no4   
#c7 ,i have roughly indicated in        
conventional  form a phenomenon which   
seems to me to show itself around the   
nodal  point when a descending curve of 
energy meets and crosses the descending 

line4 ,as the lan vital that has made   
and characterized any period  declines1 
it throws off reactions1 the object of  
which is if possible to  arrest1 or at  
least delay1 the fatal glissade4 ,these 
are1 in intent  and in fact1 reforms2   
conscious efforts at saving a desperate 
situation  by regenerative methods4     
,trace back their lines of procedure1   
and in  every case they will be found to
 issue out of the very force which is   
even then in process of degeneration1   
therefore they are poisoned at the      
source and no true or vital reforms1 for
 the sudden energy that urges  them is1 
after all1 in no respect different from 
that which is already a  failing force4 
,illustration3 ,,diagram ,no4 #c4 ,the  
reactions thrown off by 7a7 the         
descending line of vital force1 7b7 by  
the ascending line4    ,this1 ,i        
conceive1 is why today the multitudinous
 and specious reforms1  which beat upon 
us from all sides1 and find such ready  
acceptance in the  enactments of law1   

are really no reforms at all1 since each
 one of them  is but an exaggeration or 
distortion of the very principles and   
methods  that already are bending       
downward the curve of our progression   
until it  disappears in the nether-world
 of failure1 as did those of every      
preceding epoch of equal duration4 ,an  
example of what ,i mean is the  astute  
saying1 frequently heard nowadays3 ,the 
cure for democracy is  more democracy4  
,now while one curve descends and throws
 off its reformative reactions in  the  
process1 the other is ascending1        
preparatory to determining the  coming  
era for its allotted space of five      
centuries4 ,in this process it  also    
throws off its own reactions1 but these 
are for the purpose of  lifting the line
 more rapidly1 bringing its force into  
play before its  determined time4 ,these
 also are exaggerations1 over-emphasized
 qualities  that are inherent in the    
ascending force1 and they are no more to
 be  accepted as authoritative than are 

the others4 ,they have their value      
however1 for they are prophetic1 and    
even in their exaggeration there is  the
 clear forecast of things to be4 ,trace 
them in turn to the source4  ,what is   
their source8 ,the new power issues out 
of obscurity and its  character is      
veiled1 but we can estimate it from the 
very nature of the  exaggerated         
reactions we can see4 ,if something     
shows itself1 in  sociology1 economics1 
politics1 religion1 art1 what you will1 
that is  especially a denial of what has
 been a controlling agency during the   
past four or five hundred years3 if it  
is by common consent impractical  and   
outside the current of manifest         
evolutionary development1 then1  shorn  
of its exaggerations1 reduced to its    
essential quality1 it is very  probably 
a clear showing forth of what is about  
to come to birth and  condition human   
life for the next five hundred years4   
,this1 ,i suppose1  explains the        
comprehensive return to ,medievalism    

that1 to the scorn of  biologists1      
sociologists and professors of political
 economy1 is  flaunting itself before us
 today1 at the hands of a very small    
minority1  in all the categories ,i have
 named1 as well as in many others       
besides4    ,a glance at the diagram    
will show a curious pattern round about 
the  nodal point4 ,one may say that the 
reactions are somewhat mixed4 ,quite    
so4 ,at this moment we are beaten upon  
by numberless reforms1 both  radical and
 reactionary4 ,materialism1 democracy1  
rationalism1  anarchy contending against
 ,medievalism of twenty sorts1 and      
strange  mysticisms out of the ,east4   
,which shall we choose1 if we choose1   
and  do not content ourselves with an   
easier inertia that allows nature to    
take its course8 ,it is simply the      
question2 ,on which wave will you ride2 
that which is descending to oblivion or 
that which has within itself the  power 
and potency to control man's destiny for
 the next five hundred  years8          

,,appendix ,b      ,,certain ,,books    
,,suggested ,,for ,,collateral ,,reading
      ,,adams1 ,,henry ,mont            
,saint-,michel and ,chartres4           
,,adams1 ,,henry ,degradation of the    
,democratic ,dogma4    ,,baudrillart1   
,a4 ,catholic ,church1 ,renaissance and 
,protestantism4    ,,bell1 ,,bernard    
,,iddings ,right and ,wrong after the   
,war4    ,,belloc1 ,,hilaire ,the       
,servile ,state4    ,,bryce1 ,,viscount 
,modern ,democracies4    ,,bull1 ,,paul 
,b4 ,the ,sacramental ,principle4       
,,chesterton1 ,g4,k4 ,orthodoxy4        
,,chesterton1 ,g4,k4 ,what's ,wrong with
 the ,world4    ,,chesterton1 ,g4,k4    
,the ,napoleon of ,notting ,hill4       
,,conklin1 ,e4,g4 ,the ,direction of    
,human ,evolution4    ,,cram1 ,r4,a4    
,the ,nemesis of ,mediocrity4    ,,cram1
 ,r4,a4 ,walled ,towns4    ,,cram1      
,r4,a4 ,the ,ministry of ,art4          
,,cram1 ,r4,a4 ,the ,great ,thousand    
,years4    ,,faguet1 ,e4 ,the ,cult of  
,incompetence4    ,,ferrero1 ,g4        

,europe's ,fateful ,hour4    ,,figgis1  
,j4,n4 ,civilization at the ,cross      
,roads4    ,,figgis1 ,j4,n4 ,the ,will  
to ,freedom4    ,,figgis1 ,j4,n4        
,political ,aspects of ,st4 ,augustine's
 ,city of ,god4    ,,genung1 ,j4,f4 ,the
 ,life ,indeed4    ,,graham1 ,,stephen  
,priest of the ,ideal4    ,,harrison1   
,mc,v,e,i,g,h ,daily ,meditations4      
,,hubbard1 ,a4,j4 ,the ,fate of         
,empires4    ,,ireland1 ,,alleyne       
,democracy and the ,human ,equation4    
,le,b,o,n1 ,g4 ,the ,world in ,revolt4  
,,meiklejohn1 ,,alexander ,the ,liberal 
,college4    ,,morris1 ,,william ,the   
,dream of ,john ,ball4    ,,peck1 ,w4,g4
 ,from ,chaos to ,catholicism4          
,,penty1 ,a4,j4 ,old ,worlds for ,new4  
,,penty1 ,a4,j4 ,the ,restoration of the
 ,guild ,system4    ,,phillipps1 ,l4    
,,march ,form and ,colour4              
,,phillipps1 ,l4 ,,march ,europe        
,unbound4    ,,porter1 ,a4 ,,kingsley   
,beyond ,architecture4    ,,powell1     
,f4,c4 ,a ,person's ,religion4          

,,raupert1 ,g4 ,human ,destiny and the  
,new ,psychology4    ,,shields1 ,,thomas
 ,e4 ,the ,philosophy of ,education4    
,,tawney1 ,r4,h4 ,the ,acquisitive      
,society4    ,,walsh1 ,,james ,j4 ,the  
,thirteenth1 ,greatest of ,centuries4   
,,walsh1 ,,james ,j4 ,education1 ,how   
,old the ,new4    ,,worringer1 ,w4 ,form
 ,problems of the ,gothic4              
,de,w,u,l,f1 ,m4 ,history of ,mediaeval 
,philosophy4