,little   ,journeys   ,to the ,homes of 
,great ,teachers     ,elbert ,hubbard   
,memorial ,edition       ,printed and   
made into a ,book by   ,the             
,roycrofters1 who are in ,east   ,huron1
 ,erie ,county1 ,new ,york    ,wm4 ,h4  
,wise  ,co4   ,new ,york    ,copyright1 
#aiaf1   ,by ,the ,roycrofters          
,,contents     ,,moses                  
#i    ,,confucius                       
#da    ,,pythagoras                     
#fi    ,,plato                          
#ig    ,,king ,,alfred                  
#abc    ,,erasmus                       
#adi    ,,booker ,t4 ,,washington       
#ahc    ,,thomas ,,arnold               
#bag    ,,friedrich ,,froebel           
#bde    ,,hypatia                       
#bfi    ,,saint ,,benedict              
#bic    ,,mary ,,baker ,,eddy           
#cbg     ,illustration3 ,,moses  ,,moses
       ,and ,god said unto ,moses1 ,i   
,,am ,,that ,i ,,am3 and he said1 ,thus 
shalt     thou say unto the children of 
,israel1 ,i ,,am hath sent me unto you4 

,and ,god said1 moreover1 unto ,moses3  
,thus shalt thou say unto the           
children of ,israel1 ,the ,lord ,god of 
your ,fathers1 the ,god of     ,abraham1
 the ,god of ,isaac1 and the ,god of    
,jacob1 hath sent me unto     you3 this 
is my name forever1 and this is my      
memorial unto all     generations4      
--,exodus iii3 #ad1 #ae   ,,moses       
,moses was the world's first great      
teacher4 ,he is still one of the world's
 great teachers4 ,seven million people  
yet look to his laws for special daily  
guidance1 and more than two hundred     
millions read his books and regard them 
as ,holy ,writ4 ,and these people as a  
class are of the best and most          
enlightened who live now or who have    
ever lived4  ,moses did not teach of a  
life after this--he gives no hint of    
immortality--all of his rewards and     
punishments refer to the present4 ,if   
there is a heaven for the good and a    
hell for the bad1 he did not know of    
them4  ,the laws of ,moses were designed

 for the ,now and the ,here4 ,many of   
them ring true and correct even today1  
after all this interval of more than    
three thousand years4 ,moses had a good 
knowledge of physiology1 hygiene1       
sanitation4 ,he knew the advantages of  
cleanliness1 order1 harmony1 industry   
and good habits4 ,he also knew          
psychology1 or the science of the mind3 
he knew the things that influence       
humanity1 the limits of the average     
intellect1 the plans and methods of     
government that will work and those     
which will not4  ,he was practical4 ,he 
did what was expedient4 ,he considered  
the material with which he had to deal1 
and he did what he could and taught that
 which his people would and could       
believe4 ,the ,book of ,genesis was     
plainly written for the child-mind4     
,the problem that confronted ,moses was 
one of practical politics1 not a        
question of philosophy or of absolute or
 final truth4 ,the laws he put forth    
were for the guidance of the people to  

whom he gave them1 and his precepts were
 such as they could assimilate4  ,it    
were easy to take the writings of ,moses
 as they have come down to us1          
translated1 re-translated1 colored and  
tinted with the innocence1 ignorance and
 superstition of the nations who have   
kept them alive for thirty-three        
centuries1 and then compile a list of   
the mistakes of the original writer4    
,the writer of these records of dreams  
and hopes and guesses1 all cemented with
 stern commonsense1 has our profound    
reverence and regard4 ,the mistakes lie 
in the minds of the people who1 in the  
face of the accumulated knowledge of the
 centuries1 have persisted that things  
once written were eternally sufficient4 
,in point of time there is no teacher   
within many hundred years following him 
who can be compared with him in         
originality and insight4  ,moses lived  
fourteen hundred years before ,christ4  
,the next man after him to devise a     
complete code of conduct was ,solon1 who

 lived seven hundred years after4 ,a    
little later came ,zoroaster1 then      
,confucius1 ,buddha1 ,lao-tsze1         
,pericles1 ,socrates1 ,plato1           
,aristotle--contemporaries1 or closely  
following each other1 their philosophy  
woven and interwoven by all and each and
 each by all4  ,moses1 however1 stands  
out alone4 ,that he did not know natural
 history as did ,aristotle1 who lived a 
thousand years later1 is not to his     
discredit1 and to emphasize the fact    
were irrelevant4  ,back of it all lies  
the undisputed fact that ,moses led a   
barbaric people out of captivity and so 
impressed his ideals and personality    
upon them that they endure as a distinct
 and peculiar people1 even unto this    
day4 ,he founded a nation4 ,and         
chronologically he is the civilized     
world's first author4  ,moses was a     
soldier1 a diplomat1 an executive1 a    
writer1 a teacher1 a leader1 a prophet1 
a stonecutter4 ,beside all these he was 
a farmer--a workingman1 one who when    

forty years of age tended flocks and    
herds for a livelihood4 ,every phase of 
the outdoor life of the range was       
familiar to him4 ,and the greatness of  
the man is revealed in the fact that his
 plans and aspirations were so far      
beyond his achievements that at last he 
thought he had failed4 ,exultant success
 seems to go with that which is cheap   
and transient4 ,all great teachers have1
 in their own minds1 been failures--they
 saw so much further than they were able
 to travel4         99       99       99
       99       99  ,all ancient        
chronology falls easily into three      
general divisions3 the fabulous1 the    
legendary1 and the probable or natural4 
,in the understanding of history1       
psychology is quite as necessary as     
philology4  ,to reject anything that has
 a flaw in it is quite as bad as to have
 that excess of credulity which swallows
 everything presented4  ,it is not      
necessary to throw away the fabulous nor
 deny the legendary4 ,but it is         

certainly not wise to construe the      
fabulous as the actual and maintain the 
legendary as literally true4 ,things may
 be true allegorically and false        
literally1 and to be able to distinguish
 the one from the other1 and prize each 
in its proper place1 is the mark of     
wisdom4  ,if1 however1 we were asked to 
describe the man ,moses to a jury of    
sane1 sensible1 intelligent and         
unprejudiced men and women1 and show why
 he is worthy of the remembrance of     
mankind1 we would have to eliminate the 
fabulous1 carefully weigh the           
traditional1 and rest our argument upon 
records that are fair1 sensible and     
reasonably free from dispute4  ,the     
conclusions of professional retainers1  
committed before they begin their       
so-called investigations to a literal   
belief in the fabulous1 should be       
accepted with great caution4 ,for them  
to come to conclusions outside of that  
which they have been taught1 is not only
 to forfeit their social position1 but  

to lose their actual means of           
livelihood4 ,perhaps the truth in the   
final summing up can best be gotten from
 those who have made no vows that they  
will not change their opinions1 and have
 nothing to lose if they fail           
occasionally to gibe with the popular4  
,on a certain occasion after ,colonel   
,ingersoll had delivered his famous     
lecture entitled1 ,some ,mistakes of    
,moses1 he was entertained by a local   
club4 ,at the meeting1 which was of the 
usual informal kind known as ,a ,dutch  
,feed1 a young lawyer made bold to      
address the great orator thus3 ,colonel 
,ingersoll1 you are a lover of          
freedom--with you the word liberty looms
 large4 ,all great men love liberty1 and
 no man lives in history1 respected and 
revered1 save as he has sought to make  
men free4 ,moses was a lover of liberty4
 ,now1 wouldn't it be gracious and      
generous in you to give ,moses1 who in  
some ways was in the same business as   
yourself1 due credit as a liberator and 

law-giver and not emphasize his mistakes
 to the total exclusion of his virtues8 
,colonel ,ingersoll listened--he was    
impressed by the fairness of the        
question4 ,he listened1 paused and      
replied3 ,young man1 you have asked a   
reasonable question1 and all you suggest
 about the greatness of ,moses1 in spite
 of his mistakes1 is well taken4 ,the   
trouble in your logic lies in the fact  
that you do not understand my status in 
this case4 ,you seem to forget that ,i  
am not the attorney for ,moses4 ,he has 
more than two million men looking after 
his interests4 ,i am retained on the    
other side6  ,like unto ,colonel        
,ingersoll1 ,i am not an attorney for   
,moses4 ,i desire1 however1 to give a   
fair1 clear and judicial account of the 
man4 ,i will attempt to present a brief 
for the people1 and neither prosecute   
nor defend4 ,i will simply try to       
picture the man as he once existed1     
nothing extenuating1 nor setting down   
aught in malice4 ,as the original office

 of the ,state's ,attorney was rather to
 protect the person at the bar than to  
indict him1 so will ,i try to bring out 
the best in ,moses1 rather than hold up 
his mistakes and raise a laugh by       
revealing his ignorance4 ,modesty1 which
 is often egotism turned wrong side out1
 might here say1 ,oh1 ,moses requires no
 defense at this late day6 ,but ,moses1 
like all great men1 has suffered at the 
hands of his friends4 ,to this man has  
been attributed powers which no human   
being ever possessed4  ,moses lived     
thirty-three hundred years ago4 ,in one 
sense thirty-three centuries is a very  
long time4 ,all is comparative--children
 regard a man of fifty as awful old4 ,i 
have seen several persons who have lived
 a hundred years1 and they didn't       
consider a century long1 and thirty-five
 isn't anything1 said one of them to me4
  ,geologically1 thirty-three centuries 
is only an hour ago4 ,it does not nearly
 take us back to the time when men of   
the ,stone ,age hunted the hairy mammoth

 in what is now ,nebraska1 nor does     
thirty-three centuries give us any      
glimpse of the time when tropical       
animals1 plants and probably men lived  
and flourished at the ,north ,pole4     
,egyptian civilization1 at the time of  
,moses1 was more than three thousand    
years old4 ,egypt was then in the first 
stage of senility1 entering upon her    
decline1 for her best people had settled
 in the cities1 and this completes the  
cycle and spells deterioration4 ,she had
 passed through the savage1 barbaric1   
nomadic and agricultural stages and was 
living on her unearned increment1 a part
 of which was ,israelitish labor4 ,moses
 looked at the ,pyramids1 which were    
built more than a thousand years before 
his birth1 and asked in wonder about who
 built them1 very much as we do today4  
,he listened for the ,sphinx to answer1 
but she was silent1 then as now4 ,the   
date of the exodus has been fixed as    
having probably occurred during the     
reign of the ,great ,pharaoh1 ,mineptah1

 or the nineteenth ,egyptian ,dynasty4  
,the date is1 say1 fourteen hundred     
years before ,christ4 ,an inscription   
has recently been found which seems to  
show that ,joseph settled in ,egypt     
during the reign of ,mineptah1 but the  
best scholars now have gone back to the 
conclusions ,i have stated4  ,at the    
time of the ,pharaohs1 ,egypt was the   
highest civilized country on earth4 ,it 
had a vast system of canals1 an         
organized army1 a goodly degree of art1 
and there were engineers and builders of
 much ability4 ,philosophy1 poetry and  
ethics were recognized1 prized and      
discussed4  ,the storage of grain by the
 government to bank against famine had  
been practised for several hundred      
years4 ,there were also treasure-cities 
built to guard against fire1 thieves or 
destruction by the elements4 ,it will   
thus be seen that foresight1 thrift1    
caution1 wisdom1 played their parts4    
,the ,egyptians were not savages4       
99       99       99       99       99  

,about five hundred years before the    
birth of ,moses there lived in ,arabia a
 powerful ,sheik or ,chief1 known as    
,abraham4 ,this man had a familiar      
spirit1 or guide1 or guardian-angel     
known as ,yaveh or ,jehovah4 ,all of the
 desert tribes had such tutelary gods2  
and all of these gods were once men of  
power who lived on earth4 ,the belief in
 special gods has often been held by    
very great men3 ,socrates looked to his 
demon for guidance2 ,themistocles       
consulted his oracle2 a ,president of   
the ,united ,states visited a           
clairvoyant1 who consented to act as a  
medium and interpret the supernatural4  
,this idea1 which is a variant of       
ancestor worship1 still survives1 and   
very many good people do not take       
journeys or make investments until they 
believe they are being dictated to by   
,shakespeare1 ,emerson1 ,beecher or     
,phillips ,brooks4 ,these people also   
believe that there are bad spirits to   
which we must not harken4  ,abraham was 

led by ,jehovah2 what ,jehovah told him 
to do he did2 when ,jehovah told him to 
desist or change his plans1 he obeyed4  
,jehovah promised him many things1 and  
some of these promises were fulfilled4  
,whether these tutelary gods or         
controlling spirits had any actual      
existence outside of the imagination of 
the people who believed in them--whether
 they were merely pictures thrown upon  
the screen by a subconscious spiritual  
stereopticon--is not the question now   
under discussion4 ,something must be    
left for a later time3 the fact remains 
that special providences are yet relied 
upon by sincere and intelligent people4 
,abraham had a son named ,isaac4 ,and   
,isaac was the father of ,jacob1 or     
,israel1 the ,soldier of ,god1 so called
 on account of his successful wrestling 
with the angel4 ,and ,jacob was the     
father of twelve sons4 ,all of these    
people believed in ,jehovah1 the god of 
their tribe2 and while they did not     
disbelieve in the gods of the           

neighboring tribes1 they yet doubted    
their power and had grave misgivings as 
to their honesty4 ,therefore1 they had  
nothing to do with them1 praying to     
their own god only and looking to him   
for support4 ,they were the chosen      
people of ,jehovah1 just as the         
,babylonians were the chosen people of  
,baal2 the ,canaanites the chosen people
 of ,ishitar2 the ,moabites the chosen  
people of ,chemos2 the ,ammonites the   
chosen people of ,rimmon4  ,now ,joseph 
was the favorite son of ,jacob1 and his 
brethren were naturally jealous of him4 
,so one day out on the range they sold  
him into slavery to a passing caravan1  
and went home and told their father the 
boy was dead1 having been killed by a   
wild beast4 ,to make the matter         
plausible they took the coat of ,joseph 
and smeared it with the blood of a goat 
which they had killed4 ,nowadays1 the   
coat would have been sent to a chemist's
 laboratory and the blood-spots tested  
to see whether it was the blood of beast

 or human4 ,but ,jacob believed the     
story and mourned his son as dead4  ,now
 ,joseph was taken to ,egypt and there  
arose to a position of influence and    
power through his intelligence and      
diligence4 ,how eventually his brethren1
 starving1 came to him for food1 there  
being a famine in their own land1 is one
 of the most natural and beautiful      
stories in all literature4 ,it is a     
folklore legend1 free from the fabulous1
 and has all the corroborating marks of 
the actual4  ,for us it is history      
undisputed1 unrefuted1 because it is so 
natural4 ,it could all easily happen in 
various parts of the world even now4 ,it
 shows the identical traits of human    
nature that are alive and pulsing today4
  ,joseph having made himself known to  
his brethren induced some of them and   
their neighbors to come down into       
,egypt1 where the pasturage was better  
and the water more sure1 and settle     
there4 ,the ,bible tells us that there  
were seventy of these settlers and gives

 us their names4  ,these emigrants1     
called ,israelites1 or ,children of     
,israel1 account for the presence of the
 enslaved people whom ,moses led out of 
captivity three hundred years later4    
,one thing seems quite sure1 and that is
 that they were a peculiar people then1 
with the pride of the desert in their   
veins1 for they stood socially aloof and
 did not mix with the ,egyptians4 ,they 
still had their own god and clung to    
their own ways and customs4  ,that very 
naive account in the first chapter of   
,exodus of how they had two midwives1   
and the name of one was ,shiphrah and   
the other ,puah1 is as fine in its      
elusive exactitude as an ,uncle ,remus  
story4 ,children always want to know the
 names of people4 ,these two ,hebrew    
midwives were bribed by the ,king of    
,egypt--ruler over twenty million       
people--in person1 to kill all the      
,hebrew boy babies4 ,then the account   
states that ,jehovah was pleased with   
these ,hebrew women who proved false to 

their master1 and ,jehovah rewarded them
 by giving them houses4  ,this order to 
kill the ,hebrew children must have gone
 into execution1 if at all1 about the   
time of the birth of ,moses1 because    
,aaron1 the brother of ,moses1 and three
 years older1 certainly was not killed4 
,whether ,moses was the son of          
,pharaoh's daughter1 his father an      
,israelite1 or both of his parents were 
,israelites1 is problematic4 ,royal     
families are not apt to adopt an unknown
 waif into the royal household and bring
 him up as their royal own1 especially  
if this waif belongs to what is regarded
 as an inferior race4 ,the tie of       
motherhood is the only one that could   
over-rule caste and override prejudice4 
,if the daughter of ,pharaoh1 or more   
properly the ,pharaoh1 were the mother  
of ,moses1 she had a better reason for  
hiding him in the bulrushes than did the
 daughter of a ,levite1 for the order to
 kill these profitable workers is       
extremely doubtful4 ,the strength1 skill

 and ability of the ,israelites formed a
 valuable acquisition to the ,egyptians1
 and what they wanted was more          
,israelites1 not fewer4  ,judging from  
the statement that there were only two  
midwives1 there were only a few hundred 
,israelites--perhaps between one and two
 thousand1 at most4  ,so leaving the    
legend of the childhood of ,moses with  
just enough mystery mixed in it to give 
it a perpetual piquancy1 we learn that  
he was brought up an ,egyptian1 as the  
son of ,pharaoh's daughter1 and that it 
was she who gave him his name4  ,philo  
and ,josephus give various sidelights on
 the life and character of ,moses4 ,the 
,midrash or ,commentaries on the        
,history of the ,jews1 composed1 added  
to or modified by many men1 extending   
over a period of twenty centuries1 also 
add their weight1 even though the value 
of these ,commentaries is conjectural4  
,egyptian accounts of ,moses and the    
,israelites come to us through ,hellenic
 sources1 and very naturally are not    

complimentary4 ,these picture ,moses1 or
 ,osarsiph1 as they call him1 as an     
agitator1 an undesirable citizen1 who   
sought to overturn the government1 and  
failing in this1 fled to the desert with
 a few hundred outlaws4 ,they managed to
 hold out against the forces sent to    
capture them1 were gradually added to by
 other refugees1 and through the        
organizing genius of ,moses were rounded
 into a strong tribe4  ,that ,moses was 
their supreme ruler1 and that to better 
hold his people in check he devised a   
religious ritual for them1 and impressed
 his god1 ,jehovah1 upon them1 almost to
 the exclusion of all other gods1 and   
thus formed them into a religious whole1
 is beyond question4 ,no matter what the
 cause of the uprising1 or who was to   
blame for it1 the fact is undisputed    
that ,moses led a revolt in ,egypt1 and 
the people he carried with him in this  
exodus formed the nucleus of the ,hebrew
 ,nation4 ,and further1 the fact is     
beyond dispute that the personality of  

,moses was the prime cementing factor in
 the making of the nation4 ,the power1  
poise1 patience and unwavering          
self-reliance of the man1 through his   
faith in the god ,jehovah1 are all      
beyond dispute4 ,things happen because  
the man makes them happen4         99   
99       99       99       99  ,the     
position of the ,israelites in ,egypt   
was one of voluntary vassalage4 ,the    
government was a feudal monarchy4 ,the  
,israelites had come into ,egypt of     
their own accord1 but had never been    
admitted into the full rights of        
citizenship4 ,this exclusion by the     
,egyptians had no doubt tended to fix   
the ,children of ,israel in their       
religious beliefs1 and on the other     
hand1 their proud and exclusive nature  
had tended to keep them from a full     
fellowship with the actual owners of the
 land4  ,the ,egyptians never attempted 
to traffic in them as they did in slaves
 of war1 being quite content to use them
 as clerks1 laborers and servants1      

paying them a certain wage1 and also    
demanding an excess of labor in lieu of 
taxation4 ,in other words1 they worked  
out their road-tax1 which no doubt was  
excessive4 ,many years later1 ,athens   
and also ,rome had similar slaves1 some 
of whom were men of great intellect and 
worth4 ,if one reads the works of modern
 economic prophets1 it will be seen that
 wage-workers in ,america are often     
referred to as slaves or bondmen1 terms 
which will probably give rise to        
confusion among historians to come4     
,moses was brought up in the court of   
the king1 and became versed in all the  
lore of the ,egyptians4 ,we are led to  
suppose that he also looked like an     
,egyptian1 as we are told that people   
seeing him for the first time1 he being 
a stranger to them1 went away and       
referred to him as that ,egyptian4 ,he  
was handsome1 commanding1 silent by     
habit and slow of speech1 strong as a   
counselor1 a safe man4 ,that he was a   
most valuable man in the conduct of     

,egyptian official affairs1 there is no 
doubt4 ,and although he was nominally an
 ,egyptian1 living with the ,egyptians1 
adopting their manners and customs1 yet 
his heart was with his brethren1 the    
,israelites1 who he saw were sore       
oppressed through governmental          
exploitation4  ,moses knew that a       
government which does not exist for the 
purpose of adding to human happiness has
 no excuse for being4 ,and once when he 
was down among his own people he saw an 
,egyptian taskmaster or foreman striking
 an ,israelitish workman1 and in wrath  
he arose and killed the oppressor4 ,the 
only persons who were witnesses to this 
affair were two ,hebrews4 ,the second   
day after the fight1 when ,moses was    
attempting to separate two ,hebrews who 
had gotten into an altercation with each
 other1 they taunted him by saying1 ,who
 gavest thee to be a ruler over         
us8--wilt thou also kill us as thou     
didst the ,egyptian8  ,this gives us a  
little light upon the quality and       

character of the people with whom ,moses
 had to deal4 ,it also shows that the   
ways of the reformer and peacemaker are 
not flower-strewn4 ,the worst enemies of
 a reformer are not the ,egyptians--he  
has also to deal with the ,israelites4  
,i once heard ,terence ,v4 ,powderly1   
who organized the ,knights of           
,labor--the most successful labor       
organization ever formed--say1 ,any man 
who devotes his life to helping laboring
 men will be destroyed by them4 ,and    
then he added1 ,but this should not     
deter us from the effort to benefit4    
,as the ,hebrew account plainly states  
that the killing of all the male ,hebrew
 children was carried out with the      
connivance of ,hebrew women who         
pretended to be ministering to the      
,hebrew mothers1 so was the flight of   
,moses from ,egypt caused by the        
,hebrews1 who turned informants and     
brought him into disgrace with ,pharaoh1
 who sought his life4  ,very naturally1 
the ,egyptians deny and have always     

denied that the order to kill children  
was ever issued by a ,pharaoh4 ,they    
also point to the fact that the         
,israelites were a source of profit--a  
valuable asset to the ,egyptians4 ,and  
moreover1 the proposition that the      
,egyptians killed the children to avoid 
trouble is preposterous1 since no       
possible act that man can commit would  
so arouse sudden rebellion and fan into 
flame the embers of hate as the murder  
of the young4 ,if the ,egyptians had    
attempted to carry out any such savage  
cruelty1 they would not only have had to
 fight the ,israelitish men1 but the    
outraged mothers as well4 ,the          
,egyptians were far too wise to invite  
the fury of frenzied motherhood4 ,to    
have done this would have destroyed the 
efficiency of the entire ,hebrew        
population4 ,an outraged and heartbroken
 people do not work4  ,when one person  
becomes angry with another1 his mental  
processes work overtime making up a list
 of the other's faults and failings4    

,when a people arise in revolt they     
straightway prepare an indictment       
against the government against which    
they revolted1 giving a schedule of     
outrages1 insults1 plunderings and      
oppressions4 ,this is what is politely  
called partisan history4 ,uncle ,tom's  
,cabin was a literary indictment of the 
,south by featuring its supposed        
brutalities4 ,and the attitude of the   
,south is mirrored in a pretty parable  
concerning a ,southern girl who came    
,north on a visit1 and seeing in print  
the words damned ,yankee1 innocently    
remarked that she always thought they   
were one word4 ,a description of the    
enemy1 made by a person or a people1    
must be taken cum grano ,syracuse4      
99       99       99       99       99  
,when ,moses fled1 after killing the    
,egyptian1 he went northward and east   
into the land of the ,midianites1 who   
were also descendants of ,abraham4 ,at  
this time he was forty years of age1 and
 still unmarried1 his work in the       

,egyptian ,court having evidently fully 
absorbed his time4  ,it is a pretty     
little romance1 all too brief in its    
details1 of how the tired man stopped at
 a well1 and the seven daughters of     
,jethro came to draw water for their    
flocks4 ,certain shepherds came also and
 drove the girls away1 when ,moses1 true
 to his nature1 took the part of the    
young ladies1 to the chagrin and        
embarrassment of the male rustics who   
had left their manners at home4 ,the    
story forms a melodramatic stage-setting
 which the mummers have not been slow to
 use1 representing the seven daughters  
as a ballet1 the shepherds as a male    
chorus1 and ,moses as basso-profundo and
 hero4 ,we are told that the girls went 
home and told their father of the       
chivalrous stranger they had met1 and   
he1 with all the deference of the       
desert1 sent for him that he might eat  
bread4  ,very naturally ,moses married  
one of the girls4  ,and ,moses tended   
the flocks of ,jethro1 his              

father-in-law1 taking the herds a long  
distance1 living with them and sleeping 
out under the stars4  ,now ,jethro was  
the chief of his tribe4 ,moses calls him
 a priest1 but he was a priest only     
incidentally1 as all the ,arab chiefs   
were4  ,the clergy originated in ,egypt4
 ,before the ,israelites were in        
,goshen1 the sacra1 or sacred utensils1 
belonged to the family2 and the head of 
the tribe performed the religious rites1
 propitiating the family deity1 or else 
delegated some one else to do so4 ,this 
head of the tribe1 or chief1 was called 
a ,cohen2 and the man who assisted him1 
or whom he delegated1 was called a      
,levi4 ,the plan of making a business of
 being a ,levi was borrowed from the    
,egyptians1 who had men set apart1      
exclusively1 to deal in the mysterious4 
,moses calls himself a ,levi1 or        
,levite4  ,after the busy life he had   
led1 ,moses could not settle down to the
 monotonous existence of a shepherd4 ,it
 is probable that then he wrote the     

,book of ,job1 the world's first drama  
and the oldest book of the ,bible4      
,moses was full of plans4 ,very         
naturally he prayed to the ,israelitish 
god1 and the god harkened unto his      
prayer and talked to him4  ,the silence1
 the loneliness1 the majesty of the     
mountains1 the great stretches of       
shining sand1 the long peaceful nights1 
all tend to hallucinations4 ,sheepmen   
are in constant danger of mental        
aberration4 ,society is needed quite as 
much as solitude4  ,from talking with   
,god1 ,moses desired to see ,him4 ,one  
day1 from the burning red of an         
acacia-tree1 the ,lord called to him1   
,moses1 ,moses6  ,and ,moses answered1  
,here am ,i6  ,moses was a man born to  
rule--he was a leader of men--and here  
at middle life the habits of twenty-five
 years were suddenly snapped and his    
occupation gone4 ,he yearned for his    
people1 and knowing their unhappy lot1  
his desire was to lead them out of      
captivity4 ,he knew the wrongs the      

,egyptian government was visiting upon  
the ,israelites4 ,rameses the ,second   
was a ruler with the builder's eczema3  
always and forever he made gardens1 dug 
canals1 paved roadways1 constructed     
model tenements1 planned palaces1       
erected colossi4 ,he was a worker1 and  
he made everybody else work4 ,it was in 
this management of infinite detail that 
,moses had been engaged2 and while he   
entered into it with zest1 he knew that 
the hustling habit can be overdone and  
its votaries may become its victims--not
 only that1 but this strenuous life may 
turn freemen into serfs1 and serfs into 
slaves4  ,and now ,rameses was dead1 and
 the proud1 vain1 fretful and selfish   
,mineptah ruled in his place4 ,it was   
worse with the ,israelites than ever6   
,the more ,moses thought of it the more 
he was convinced that it was his duty to
 go back to ,egypt and lead his people  
out of bondage4 ,he himself1 having been
 driven out1 made the matter a burning  
one with him3 he had lost his place in  

the ,egyptian ,court1 but he would get  
it back and hold it under better        
conditions than ever before6  ,he heard 
the ,voice6 ,all strong people hear the 
,voice calling them4 ,and harkening to  
the ,inner ,voice is simply doing what  
you want to do4  ,moses1 ,moses6  ,and  
,moses answered1 ,lord1 here am ,i4     
,the laws of ,moses still influence the 
world1 but not even the orthodox ,jews  
follow them literally4 ,we bring our    
reason to bear upon the precepts of     
,moses1 and those which are not for us  
we gently pass over4 ,in fact1 the civil
 laws of most countries prohibit many of
 the things which ,moses commanded4 ,for
 instance1 the eighteenth verse of the  
twenty-second chapter of ,exodus says1  
,thou shalt not suffer a witch to live4 
,certainly no ,jewish lawyer nor ,rabbi1
 in any part of the world1 advocates the
 killing of persons supposed to be      
witches4 ,we explain that in this       
instance the inspired writer lapsed and 
merely mirrored the ignorance of his    

time4 ,or else we fall back upon the    
undoubted fact that various writers and 
translators have tampered with the      
original text--this must be so1 since   
the book written by ,moses makes record 
of his death4  ,but when we find        
passages in ,moses requiring us to      
benefit our enemies1 we say with truth  
that this was the first literature to   
express for us the brotherhood of man4  
,thou shalt take no gift3 for the gift  
blindeth the wise and perverteth the    
words of the righteous4 ,here we get    
,twentieth-,century ,wisdom4 ,and very  
many passages as fine and true can be   
found1 which prove for us beyond cavil  
that ,moses was right a part of the     
time1 and to say this of any man1 living
 or dead1 is a very great compliment4   
,in times of doubt the ,jewish people   
turn to the ,torah1 or ,book of the     
,law4 ,this book has been interpreted by
 the ,rabbis1 or the learned men1 and to
 meet the exigencies of living under    
many conditions1 it has been changed1   

enlarged and augmented4 ,in these       
changes the people were not consulted4  
,very naturally it was done secretly1   
for inspired men must be well dead      
before the many accept their edict4 ,to 
be alive is always more or less of an   
offense1 especially if you be a person  
and not a personage4  ,the murmurings   
against ,moses during his lifetime often
 broke into a rumble and a roar4 ,the   
mob accused him of taking them out into 
the wilderness to perish4 ,to get away  
from the constant bickering and         
criticisms of the little minds1 ,moses  
used to go up into the mountains alone  
to find rest1 and there he communicated 
with his god4 ,it was surely a great    
step in advance when all the ,elohims   
were combined into one ,supreme ,elohim 
that was everywhere present and ruled   
the world4 ,instead of dozens of little 
gods1 jealous1 jangling1 fearful1       
fretful1 fussy1 boastful1 changing      
walking-sticks to serpents1 or doing    
other things quite as useless1 it was a 

great advance to have one ,supreme      
,being1 dispassionate1 a ,god of ,love  
and ,justice1 with whom can be no       
variation1 neither shadow that is cast  
by turning4 ,this gradual ennobling of  
the conception of ,divinity reveals the 
extent to which man is ennobling his own
 nature4  ,up to within a very few years
 ,god had a rival in the ,devil1 but now
 the ,devil lives only as a pleasantry4 
,until the time of ,moses1 the ,god of  
,sinai was only the ,god of the ,hebrew 
people1 and this accounts for ,his      
violence1 wrath1 jealousy1 and all of   
those qualities which went to make up a 
barbaric chief1 including the tendency  
of ,his sons and servants to make love  
to the daughters of earth4  ,it is      
probable that the idea of ,god--in      
opposition to a god1 one of many        
gods--was a thought that grew up very   
gradually in the mind of ,moses4 ,the   
ideal grew1 and ,moses grew with the    
ideal4  ,then from ,god being a ,spirit1
 to being ,spirit1 is a natural1 easy   

and beautiful evolution4  ,the thought  
of angels1 devils1 heavenly messengers1 
like ,gabriel and the ,holy ,ghost1     
constantly surrounding the ,throne1 is a
 suggestion that comes from the court of
 the absolute monarch4 ,the ,trinity is 
the oligarchy refined1 and the one son  
who gives himself as a sacrifice for all
 the people who have offended the       
monarch is the retreating vision of that
 night of ignorance when all nations    
sought to appease the wrath of their god
 by the death of human beings4  ,god to 
us is ,spirit1 realized everywhere in   
unfolding ,nature4 ,we are a part of    
,nature--we1 too1 are ,spirit4 ,when    
,moses commands his people that they    
must return the stray animal of their   
enemy to its rightful owner1 we behold a
 great man struggling to benefit        
humanity by making them recognize the   
laws of ,spirit4 ,we are all one        
family--we can not afford to wrong or   
harm even an enemy4  ,instead of        
thousands of warring1 jarring families  

or tribes1 we have now a few strong     
federations of ,states1 or countries1   
which1 if they would make war on one    
another1 would today quickly face a     
larger foe4 ,already the idea of one    
government for all the world is taking  
form--there must be one ,supreme        
,arbiter1 and all this monstrous expense
 of money and flesh and blood and       
throbbing hearts for purposes of war1   
must go1 just as we have sent to limbo  
the jangling1 jarring1 jealous gods4    
,also1 the better sentiment of the world
 will send the czars1 emperors1 kings1  
grand dukes1 and the greedy grafters of 
so-called democracy1 into the dust-heap 
of oblivion1 with all the priestly      
phantoms that have obscured the sun and 
blackened the sky4 ,the gods have gone1 
but ,,man ,,is ,,here4         99       
99       99       99       99  ,the     
plagues that befell the ,egyptians were 
the natural ones to which ,egypt was    
liable3 drought1 flood1 flies1 lice1    
frogs1 disease4 ,the ,israelites very   

naturally declared that these things    
were sent as a punishment by the        
,israelitish god4 ,i remember a farmer1 
in my childhood days1 who was accounted 
by his neighbors as an infidel4 ,he was 
struck by lightning and instantly       
killed1 while standing in his doorway4  
,the ,sunday before1 this man had worked
 in the fields1 and just before he was  
killed he had said1 dammit1 or something
 quite as bad4 ,our preacher explained  
at length that this man's death was a   
judgment4 ,afterward1 when our church   
was struck by lightning1 it was regarded
 as an accident4  ,ignorant and         
superstitious people always attribute   
special things to special causes4 ,when 
the grasshoppers overran ,kansas in     
,eighteen ,hundred ,eighty-five1 ,i     
heard a good man from the ,south say it 
was a punishment on the ,kansans for    
encouraging ,old ,john ,brown4 ,the next
 year the boll-weevil ruined the cotton 
crop1 and certain preachers in the      
,north1 who thought they knew1 declared 

it was the lingering wrath of ,god on   
account of slavery4  ,three nations     
unite to form our present civilization4 
,these are the ,greek1 the ,roman and   
the ,judaic4 ,the lives of ,perseus1    
,romulus and ,moses all teem with the   
miraculous1 but if we accept the        
supernatural in one we must in all4     
,which of these three great nations has 
contributed most to our well-being is a 
question largely decided by temperament2
 but just now the star of ,greece seems 
to be in the ascendant4 ,we look to art 
for solace4 ,greece stands for art2     
,rome for conquest2 ,judea for religion4
  ,and yet ,moses was a lover of beauty1
 and the hold he had upon his people was
 quite as much through training them to 
work as through his moral teaching4     
,indeed1 his morality was               
expediency--which is reason enough      
according to modern science4 ,when he   
wants them to work1 he says1 ,thus saith
 the ,lord1 just the same as when he    
wishes to impress upon them a thought4  

,no one can read the twenty-sixth1      
twenty-seventh and twenty-eighth        
chapters of ,exodus without being       
impressed with the fact that the man who
 wrote them had in him the spirit of the
 ,master ,workman--a ,king's ,craftsman4
 ,his carving the ten commandments on   
tablets of stone also shows his skill   
with mallet and chisel1 a talent he had 
acquired in ,egypt1 where ,rameses the  
,second had thousands of men engaged in 
sculpture and in making inscriptions in 
stone4  ,several chapters in ,exodus    
might have been penned by ,albrecht     
,durer or ,william ,morris4 ,the        
commandment1 ,thou shalt not make unto  
thyself any graven image1 was           
unmistakably made merely to correct a   
local evil3 the tendency to worship the 
image instead of the thing it           
symbolized4 ,people who do not          
contribute to the creation of an object 
fall easy victims to this error4 ,with  
all the stern good sense that ,moses    
revealed1 it is but fair to assume that 

he did not mean the command to be       
perpetual4 ,it was only through so much 
moving about that the ,jews seemed to   
lose their art spirit4  ,and certainly  
the flame of art in the ,jewish heart   
has never died out1 even though at times
 it has smoldered1 for wherever there   
has been peace and security for the     
,jews1 they have not been slow to evolve
 the talent which creates4 ,history     
teems with the names of ,jews who1 in   
music1 painting1 poetry and sculpture1  
have devoted their days to beauty4 ,and 
the germ of genius is seen in many of   
the ,jewish children who attend the     
manual-training and art schools of      
,america4  ,art has its rise in the     
sense of sublimity4 ,it seems at times  
to be a fulfilment of the religious     
impulse4 ,the religion which balks at   
work1 stopping at prayer and            
contemplation1 is a form of arrested    
development4  ,the number of people in  
the exodus was probably two or three    
thousand4 ,renan says that one century  

only elapsed between the advent of      
,joseph into ,egypt and the revolt4     
,very certain it was not a great number 
that went forth into the desert4 ,a     
half-million women could not have       
borrowed jewelry of their neighbors--the
 secret could not have been kept4 ,and  
in the negotiations between ,moses and  
the ,king1 it will be remembered that   
,moses asked only for the privilege of  
going three days' journey into the      
wilderness to make sacrifices4 ,it was a
 kind of picnic or religious            
campmeeting4 ,a vast multitude could not
 have taken part in any such exercise4  
,we also hear of their singing their    
gratitude on account of reaching ,elim1 
where there were twelve springs and     
seventy palm-trees4 ,had there been     
several million people1 as we have been 
told1 the insignificant shade of seventy
 trees would have meant nothing to them4
  ,the distance from ,goshen in ,egypt  
to ,canaan in ,palestine was about one  
hundred seventy-five miles4 ,but by the 

circuitous route they traveled it was   
nearly a thousand miles4 ,it took forty 
years to make the passage1 for the way  
had to be fought through the country of 
foes who very naturally sought to block 
the way4 ,quick transportation was out  
of the question4 ,the rate of speed was 
about twenty-five miles a year4  ,here  
was a people without homes1 or fixed    
habitation1 beset on every side with the
 natural dangers of the desert1 and     
compelled to face the fury of the       
inhabitants whose lands they overran1   
fearful1 superstitious1 haunted by      
hunger1 danger and doubt4 ,by night a   
man sent ahead with a lantern on a pole 
led the way2 by day a cavalcade that    
raised a cloud of dust4 ,one was later  
sung by the poets as a pillar of fire1  
and the other a cloud4 ,chance flocks of
 quail blown by a storm into their midst
 were regarded as a miracle2 the white  
exuding wax of the manna-plant was told 
of as bread--or more literally food4    
,those who had taken part in the        

original exodus were nearly all         
dead--their children and grandchildren  
survived1 desert born and savage bred4  
,canaan was not the land flowing with   
milk and honey that had been described4 
,milk and honey are the results of labor
 applied to land4 ,moses knew this and  
tried to teach this great truth4 ,he was
 true to his divine trust4 ,through     
doubt1 hardship1 poverty1               
misunderstanding1 he held high the      
ideal--they were going to a better      
place4  ,at last1 worn by his constant  
struggle1 aged one hundred twenty1 his  
eye not dim nor his natural force       
abated--for only those live long who    
live well--,moses went up into the      
mountain to find solace in solitude as  
was his custom4 ,his people waited for  
him in vain--he did not return4 ,alone  
there with his ,god he slept and forgot 
to awaken4 ,his pilgrimage was done4    
,and no man knoweth his grave even unto 
this day4  ,history is very seldom      
recorded on the spot--certainly it was  

not then4 ,centuries followed before    
fact1 tradition1 song1 legend and       
folklore were fused into the form we    
call ,scripture4 ,but out of the fog and
 mist of that far-off past there looms  
in heroic outline the form and features 
of a man--a man of will1 untiring       
activity1 great hope1 deep love1 a faith
 which at times faltered1 but which     
never died4 ,moses was the first man in 
history who fought for human rights and 
sought to make men free1 even from their
 own limitations4 ,and there arose not a
 prophet since ,israel like unto ,moses1
 whom the ,lord knew face to face4      
,illustration3 ,,confucius  ,,confucius 
,the highest study of all is that which 
teaches us to develop those             
principles of purity and perfect virtue 
which ,heaven bestowed upon      us at  
our birth1 in order that we may acquire 
the power of      influencing for good  
those amongst whom we are placed1 by our
      precepts and example2 a study     
without an end--for our labors cease    

only when we have become perfect--an    
unattainable goal1 but one      that we 
must not the less set before us from the
 very first4 ,it is      true that we   
shall not be able to reach it1 but in   
our struggle      toward it we shall    
strengthen our characters and give      
stability to      our ideas1 so that1   
whilst ever advancing calmly in the same
      direction1 we shall be rendered   
capable of applying the faculties       
with which we have been gifted to the   
best possible account4       --,the     
,annals of ,confucius   ,,confucius     
,the ,chinese comprise one-fourth of the
 inhabitants of the earth4 ,there are   
four hundred millions of them4  ,they   
can do many things which we can not do1 
and we can do a few things which they   
have not yet been able to do2 but they  
are learning from us1 and possibly we   
would do well to learn from them4 ,in   
,china there are now trolley-cars1      
telephone-lines1 typewriters1           
cash-registers and ,american plumbing4  

,china is a giant awaking from sleep4   
,he who thinks that ,china is a country 
crumbling into ruins has failed to leave
 a call at the office and has overslept4
  ,the ,west can not longer afford to   
ignore ,china4 ,and not being able to   
waive her1 perhaps the next best thing  
is to try to understand her4  ,the one  
name that looms large above any other   
name in ,china is ,confucius4 ,he of all
 men has influenced ,china most4        
,one-third of the human race love and   
cherish his memory1 and repeat his words
 as sacred writ4  ,confucius was born at
 a time when one of those tidal waves of
 reason swept the world--when the       
nations were full of unrest1 and the    
mountains of thought were shaken with   
discontent4  ,it was just previous to   
the blossoming of ,greece4  ,pericles   
was seventeen years old when ,confucius 
died4 ,themistocles was preparing the   
way for ,pericles2 for then was being   
collected the treasure of ,delos1 which 
made ,phidias and the ,parthenon        

possible4 ,during the life of ,confucius
 lived ,leonidas1 ,miltiades1 ,cyrus the
 ,great1 ,cambyses1 ,darius1 ,xerxes4   
,and then quite naturally occurred the  
battles of ,marathon1 ,salamis and      
,thermopyl4 ,then lived                 
,buddha-,gautama1 ,lao-tsze1 ,ezekiel1  
,daniel1 ,haggai1 ,zechariah1           
,pythagoras1 ,pindar1 schylus and       
,anacreon4  ,the ,chinese are linked to 
the past by ties of language and custom 
beyond all other nations4 ,they are a   
peculiar people1 a chosen people1 a     
people set apart4 ,just when they       
withdrew from the rest of mankind and   
abandoned their nomadic habits1 making  
themselves secure against invasion by   
building a wall one hundred feet high1  
and settled down to lay the foundations 
of a vast empire1 we do not know4 ,some 
historians have fixed the date about ten
 thousand years before ,christ--let it  
go at that4 ,there is a reasonably      
well-authenticated history of ,china    
that runs back twenty-five hundred years

 before ,christ1 while our history      
merges into mist seven hundred fifty    
years before the ,christian era4  ,the  
,israelites wandered2 the ,chinese      
remained at home4 ,walls have this      
disadvantage3 they keep people in as    
well as shut the barbarians out4 ,but   
now there are vast breaches in the wall1
 through which the inhabitants ooze1    
causing men from thousands of miles away
 to cry in alarm1 the ,yellow ,peril6   
,and also through these breaches1       
,israelites1 ,englishmen and ,yankees   
enter fearlessly1 settle down in heathen
 ,china1 and do business4  ,it surely is
 an epoch1 and what the end will be few 
there are who dare forecast4         99 
99       99       99       99  ,this    
then is from the pen of ,edward         
,carpenter1 the ,church of ,england     
curate who was so great a friend and    
admirer of our own ,walt ,whitman that  
he made a trip across the sea to join   
hands with him in preaching the doctrine
 of democracy and the religion of       

humanity4       ,in the interior of     
,china1 along low-lying plains and great
      river-valleys1 and by lake-sides1 
and far away up into hilly and      even
 mountainous regions1       ,behold6 an 
immense population1 rooted in the land1 
rooted in the      clan and the family1 
,the most productive and stable on the  
whole ,earth4 ,a garden one      might  
say--a land of rich and recherche crops1
 of rice and tea and      silk and sugar
 and cotton and oranges2       ,do you  
see it8--stretching away endlessly over 
river-lines and      lakes1 and the     
gentle undulations of the low-lands1 and
 up the      escarpments of the higher  
hills2       ,the innumerable patchwork 
of civilization--the poignant verdure of
      the young rice2 the somber green  
of orange-groves2 the lines of          
tea-shrubs1 well hoed1 and showing the  
bare earth beneath2 the      pollard    
mulberries2 the plots of cotton and     
maize and wheat and yam      and clover2
 the little brown and green tiled       

cottages with      spreading recurbed   
eaves1 the clumps of feathery bamboo1 or
 of      sugar-canes2       ,the endless
 silver threads of irrigation canals and
 ditches1      skirting the hills for   
scores and hundreds of miles1 tier above
      tier1 and serpentining down to the
 lower slopes and plains--       ,the   
accumulated result1 these1 of centuries 
upon centuries of      ingenious        
industry1 and innumerable public and    
private      benefactions1 continued    
from age to age2       ,the grand canal 
of the ,delta plain extending1 a        
thronged waterway1      for seven       
hundred miles1 with sails of junks and  
bankside villages      innumerable2     
,the chain-pumps1 worked by buffaloes or
 men1 for throwing the water      up    
slopes and hillsides1 from tier to tier1
 from channel to      channel2          
,the endless rills and cascades flowing 
down again into pockets and      hollows
 of verdure1 and on fields of steep and 
plain2       ,the bits of rock and      

wildwood left here and there1 with the  
angles      of ,buddhist or ,jain       
temples projecting from among the trees2
       ,the azalea and rhododendron     
bushes1 and the wild deer and pheasants 
unharmed2       ,the sounds of music and
 the gong--the ,sin-fa sung at          
eventide--and      the air of           
contentment and peace pervading2        
,a garden you might call the land1 for  
its wealth of crops and      flowers1   
,a town almost for its population4      
,a population denser1 on a large scale1 
than anywhere else on      earth--      
,five or six acre holdings1 elbowing    
each other1 with lesser and      larger1
 continuously over immense tracts1 and  
running to plentiful      market        
centers2       ,a country of few roads1 
but of innumerable footpaths and        
waterways4       ,here1 rooted in the   
land1 and rooted in the family1 each    
family      clinging to its portion of  
ancestral earth1 each offshoot of the   
family desiring nothing so much as to   

secure its own patrimonial      field1  
,each member of the family answerable   
primarily to the family      assembly   
for his misdeeds or defalcations1       
,all bound together in the common       
worship of ancestors1 and in            
reverence for the past and its          
sanctioned beliefs and accumulated      
prejudices and superstitions2           
,with many ancient1 wise1 simple customs
 and ordinances1 coming down      from  
remote centuries1 and the time of       
,confucius1       ,this vast population 
abides--the most stable and the most    
productive in the world4              99
       99       99       99       99    
,and ,government touches it but         
lightly--can touch it but lightly4      
,with its few officials 7only some      
twenty-five thousand for the      whole 
of its four hundred millions71 and its  
scanty taxation 7about      one dollar  
per head71 and with the extensive       
administration of      justice and      
affairs by the clan and the             

family--little scope is      left for   
government4       ,the great equalized  
mass population pursues its even and    
accustomed      way1 nor pays attention 
to edicts and foreign treaties1 unless  
these commend themselves independently2 
,pays readier respect1 in such matters1 
to the edicts and utterances      of its
 literary men1 and the deliberations of 
the ,academy4              99       99  
99       99       99       ,and         
religious theorizing touches it but     
lightly--can touch it but      lightly4 
,established on the bedrock of actual   
life1 and on the living unity      and  
community of present1 past and future   
generations4       ,each man stands     
bound already1 and by the most powerful 
ties1 to      the social body--nor needs
 the dreams and promises of ,heaven to  
reassure him4       ,and all are bound  
to the ,earth4       ,rendering back to 
it as a sacred duty every atom that the 
,earth      supplies to them 7not       
insensately sending it in sewers to the 

sea71       ,by the way of abject       
commonsense they have sought the gates  
of      ,paradise--and to found on human
 soil their ,city ,celestial6   ,the    
first general knowledge of ,confucius   
came to the ,western world in the latter
 part of the ,sixteenth ,century from   
,jesuit missionaries4 ,indeed1 it was   
they who gave him the ,latinized name of
 ,confucius1 the ,chinese name being    
,kung-,fu-tsze4  ,so impressed were     
these missionaries by the greatness of  
,confucius that they urged upon the     
,vatican the expediency of placing his  
name upon the calendar of ,saints4 ,they
 began by combating his teachings1 but  
this they soon ceased to do1 and the    
modicum of success which they obtained  
was through beginning each ,christian   
service by the hymn which may properly  
be called the ,national ,anthem of      
,china4 ,its opening stanza is as       
follows3    ,confucius6 ,confucius6     
,great was our ,confucius6   ,before him
 there was no ,confucius1   ,since him  

there was no other4   ,confucius6       
,confucius6   ,great was our ,confucius6
  ,the praise given by these early      
,jesuits to ,confucius was at first     
regarded at ,rome as apology for the    
meager success of their ministrations4  
,but later scientific study of ,chinese 
literature corroborated all that the    
,jesuit ,fathers proclaimed for         
,confucius1 and he stands today in a    
class with ,socrates and the scant      
half-dozen whom we call the saviors of  
the world4  ,yet ,confucius claimed no  
divine revelation1 nor did he seek to   
found a religion4 ,he was simply a      
teacher1 and what he taught was the     
science of living--living in the        
present1 with the plain and simple men  
and women who make up the world1 and    
bettering our condition by bettering    
theirs4 ,of a future life he said he    
knew nothing1 and concerning the        
supernatural he was silent1 even        
rebuking his disciples for trying to pry
 into the secrets of ,heaven4 ,the word 

,god he does not use1 but his           
recognition of a ,supreme ,intelligence 
is limited to the use of a word which   
can best be translated ,heaven1 since it
 tokens a place more than it does a     
person4 ,constantly he speaks of doing  
the will of ,heaven4 ,and then he goes  
on to say that ,heaven is speaking      
through you1 ,duty lies in mirroring    
,heaven in our acts1 and many other such
 ,new-,thought aphorisms or epigrams4   
,that the man was a consummate literary 
stylist is beyond doubt4 ,he spoke in   
parables and maxims1 short1 brief and   
musical4 ,he wrote for his ear1 and     
always his desire1 it seems1 was to     
convey the greatest truth in the fewest 
words4 ,the ,chinese1 even the lowly and
 uneducated1 know hundreds of ,confucian
 epigrams1 and still repeat them in     
their daily conversation or in writing1 
just as educated ,englishmen use the    
,bible and ,shakespeare for symbol4     
,minister ,wu1 in a lecture delivered in
 various ,american cities1 compared     

,confucius with ,emerson1 showing how in
 many ways these two great prophets     
paralleled each other4 ,emerson1 of all 
,americans1 seems the only man worthy of
 being so compared4  ,the writer who    
lives is the man who supplies the world 
with portable wisdom--short1 sharp1     
pithy maxims which it can remember1 or1 
better still1 which it can not forget4  
,confucius said1 ,every truth has four  
corners3 as a teacher ,i give you one   
corner1 and it is for you to find the   
other three4  ,the true artist in words 
or things is always more or less        
impressionistic--he talks in parables1  
and it is for the hearer to discover the
 meaning for himself4  ,an epigram is   
truth in a capsule4 ,the disadvantage of
 the epigram is the temptation it       
affords to good people to explain it to 
the others who are assumed to be too    
obtuse to comprehend it alone4 ,and     
since explanations seldom explain1 the  
result is a mixture or compound that has
 to be spewed utterly or taken on faith4

 ,confucius is simple enough until he is
 explained4 ,then we evolve sects1      
denominations and men who make it their 
profession to render moral calculi      
opaque4 ,china1 being peopled by human  
beings1 has suffered from this tendency 
to make truth concrete1 just as all the 
rest of the world has suffered4 ,truth  
is fluid and should be allowed to flow4 
,ankylosis of a fact is superstition4   
,confucius was a free-trader4         99
       99       99       99       99    
,china has always been essentially      
feudal in her form of government4 ,china
 is made up of a large number of        
,states1 each presided over by a prince 
or governor1 and these ,states are held 
together by a rather loose federal      
government1 the ,emperor being the      
supreme ruler4 ,state rights prevail4   
,state may fight with ,state1 or ,states
 may secede--it isn't of much moment4   
,they are glad enough1 after a few      
years1 to get back1 like boys who run   
away from home1 or farmhands who quit   

work in a tantrum4 ,the ,chinese are    
very patient--they know that time cures 
all things1 a truth the ,west has not   
yet learned4 ,states that rebel1 like   
individuals who place themselves beyond 
the protection of all1 assume grave     
responsibilities4  ,the local prince    
usually realizes the bearing of the     
,social ,contract--that he holds his    
office only during good behavior1 and   
that his welfare and the welfare of his 
people are one4  ,heih1 the father of   
,confucius1 was governor of one of these
 little ,states1 and had impoverished   
himself in an effort to help his people4
 ,heih was a man of seventy1 wedded to a
 girl of seventeen1 when their gifted   
son was born4 ,when the boy was three   
years old the father died1 and the lad's
 care and education depended entirely on
 the mother4 ,this mother seems to have 
been a woman of rare mental and         
spiritual worth4 ,she deliberately chose
 a life of poverty and honest toil for  
herself and child1 rather than allow    

herself to be cared for by rich kinsmen4
 ,the boy was brought up in a village1  
and he was not allowed to think himself 
any better than the other village       
children1 save as he proved himself so4 
,he worked in the garden1 tended the    
cattle and goats1 mended the pathways1  
brought wood and water1 and waited on   
his elders4 ,every evening his mother   
used to tell him of the feats of        
strength of his father1 of his heroic   
qualities in friendship1 of deeds of    
valor1 of fidelity to trusts1 of his    
absolute truthfulness1 and his desire   
for knowledge in order that he might    
better serve his people4  ,the coarse1  
plain fare1 the long walks across the   
fields1 the climbing of trees1 the      
stooping to pull the weeds in the       
garden1 the daily bath in the brook1 all
 combined to develop the boy's body to a
 splendid degree4 ,he went to bed at    
sundown1 and at the first flush of dawn 
was up that he might see the sunrise4   
,there were devotional rites performed  

by the mother and son1 morning and      
evening1 which consisted in the playing 
upon a lute and singing or chanting the 
beauty and beneficence of creation4     
,confucius1 at fifteen1 was regarded as 
a phenomenal musician1 and the neighbors
 used to gather to hear him perform4 ,at
 nineteen he was larger1 stronger1      
comelier1 more skilled1 than any other  
youth of his age in all the country     
round4  ,the simple quality of his      
duties as a prince can be guessed when  
we are told that his work as keeper of  
the herds required him to ride long     
distances on horseback to settle        
difficulties between rival herders4 ,the
 range belonged to the ,state1 and the  
owners of goats1 sheep and cattle were  
in continual controversies4 ,montana and
 ,colorado will understand this matter4 
,confucius summoned the disputants and  
talked to them long about the absurdity 
of quarreling and the necessity of      
getting together in complete            
understanding4 ,then it was that he     

first put forth his best-known maxim3   
,you should not do to others that which 
you would not have others do to you4    
,this negative statement of the ,golden 
,rule is found expressed in various ways
 in the writings of ,confucius4 ,a      
literal interpretation of the ,chinese  
language is quite impossible1 as the    
,chinese have single signs or symbols   
that express a complete idea4 ,to state 
the same matter1 we often use a whole   
page4  ,confucius had a single word     
which expressed the ,golden ,rule in    
such a poetic way that it is almost     
useless to try to convey it to people of
 the ,west4 ,this word1 which has been  
written into ,english as ,shu1 means3   
,my heart responds to yours1 or my      
heart's desire is to meet your heart's  
desire1 or ,i wish to do to you even as 
,i would be done by4 ,this sign1 symbol 
or word ,confucius used to carve in the 
bark of trees by the roadside4 ,the     
,french were filled with a like impulse 
when they cut the words ,liberty1       

,fraternity1 ,equality1 over the        
entrances to all public buildings4      
,confucius had his symbol of love and   
friendship painted on a board1 which he 
stuck into the ground before the tent   
where he lodged2 and finally it was     
worked upon a flag by some friends and  
presented to him1 and became his flag of
 peace4  ,his success in keeping down   
strife among the herders1 and making    
peace among his people1 soon gave him a 
fame beyond the borders of his own      
,state4 ,as a judge he had the power to 
show both parties where they were wrong1
 and arranged for them a common         
meeting-ground4  ,his qualifications as 
an arbiter were not1 however1 limited to
 his powers of persuasion--he could     
shoot an arrow farther and hurl a spear 
with more accuracy than any man he ever 
met4 ,very naturally there are a great  
number of folklore stories concerning   
his prowess1 some of which make him out 
a sort of combination ,saint ,george and
 ,william ,tell1 with the added kingly  

graces of ,alfred the ,great4 ,omitting 
the incredible1 we are willing to       
believe that this man had a giant's     
strength1 but was great enough not to   
use it like a giant4  ,we are willing to
 believe that when attacked by robbers1 
he engaged them in conversation and     
that1 seated on the grass1 he convinced 
them they were in a bad business4 ,also1
 he did not later hang them1 as did our 
old friend ,julius ,csar under like     
conditions4  ,when twenty-seven he      
ceased going abroad to hold court and   
settle quarrels1 but sending for the    
disputants1 they came1 and he gave them 
a course of lectures in ethics4 ,in a   
week1 by a daily lesson of an hour's    
length1 they were usually convinced that
 to quarrel is very foolish1 since it   
reduces bodily vigor1 scatters the mind1
 and disturbs the secretions1 so the man
 is the loser in many ways4  ,this seems
 to us like a very queer way to hold    
court1 but ,confucius maintained that   
men should learn to govern their        

tempers1 do equity1 and thus be able to 
settle their own disputes1 and this     
without violence4 ,to fight decides who 
is the stronger1 the younger and the    
more skilful in the use of arms1 but it 
does not decide who is right4 ,that is  
to be settled by the ,heaven in your own
 heart4  ,to let the ,heaven into your  
heart1 to cultivate a conscience so     
sensitive that it can conceive the      
rights of the other man1 is to know     
wisdom4  ,to decide specific cases for  
others he thought was to cause them to  
lose the power of deciding for          
themselves4 ,when asked what a just man 
should do when he was dealing with one  
absolutely unjust1 he said1 ,he who     
wrongs himself sows in his own heart    
nettles4  ,and when some of his         
disciples1 after the ,socratic method1  
asked him how this helped the injured   
man1 he replied1 ,to be robbed or       
wronged is nothing unless you continue  
to remember it4 ,when pushed still      
further1 he said1 ,a man should fight1  

only when he does so to protect himself 
or his family from bodily harm4  ,here a
 questioner asked1 ,if we are to protect
 our persons1 must we not learn to      
fight8  ,and the answer comes1 ,the just
 man1 he who partakes moderately of all 
good things1 is the only man to fear in 
a quarrel1 for he is without fear4      
,over and over is the injunction in     
varying phrase1 ,abolish fear--abolish  
fear6 ,when pressed to give in one word 
the secret of a happy life1 he gives a  
word which we translate1 ,equanimity4   
,the mother of ,confucius died during   
his early manhood4 ,for her he ever     
retained the most devout memories4      
,before going on a journey he always    
visited her grave1 and on returning1    
before he spoke to any one1 he did the  
same4 ,on each anniversary of her death 
he ate no food and was not to be seen by
 his pupils4 ,this filial piety1 which  
is sometimes crudely and coarsely called
 ancestor worship1 is something which   
for the ,western world is rather        

difficult to appreciate4 ,but in it     
there is a subtle1 spiritual            
significance1 suggesting that it is only
 through our parents that we are able to
 realize consciousness or personal      
contact with ,heaven4 ,these parents    
loved us into being1 cared for us with  
infinite patience in infancy1 taught us 
in youth1 watched with high hope our    
budding manhood2 and as reward and      
recognition for the service rendered us1
 the least we can do is to remember them
 in all our prayers and devotions4 ,the 
will of ,heaven used these parents for  
us1 therefore parenthood is divine4     
,that this ancestor worship is beautiful
 and beneficial is quite apparent1 and  
rightly understood no one could think of
 it as heathendom4 ,confucius used to   
chant the praises of his mother1 who    
brought him up in poverty1 thus giving a
 close and intimate knowledge of a      
thousand things from which princes1 used
 to ease and luxury1 are barred4  ,so   
close was he to nature and the plain    

people that he ordered that all skilful 
charioteers in his employ should belong 
to the nobility4 ,this giving a title or
 degree to men of skill--men who can do 
things--we regard as essentially a      
modern idea4  ,china1 ,i believe1 is the
 first country in the world to use the  
threads of a moth or worm for fabrics4  
,the patience and care and inventive    
skill required in first making silk were
 very great4 ,but it gives us an index  
to invention when we hear that          
,confucius regarded the making of linen1
 using the fiber of a plant1 as a       
greater feat than utilizing the strands 
made by the silkworm4 ,confucius had a  
sort of tender sentiment toward the     
moth1 similar to the sentiments which   
our vegetarian friends have toward      
killing animals for food4 ,confucius    
wore linen in preference to silk1 for   
sentimental reasons4 ,the silkworm dies 
at his task of making himself a cocoon1 
so to evolve in a winged joy1 but falls 
a victim of man's cupidity4 ,likewise1  

,confucius would not drink milk from a  
cow until her calf was weaned1 because  
to do so were taking an unfair advantage
 of the maternal instincts of the cow4  
,it will thus be seen that ,confucius   
had a very fair hold on the modern idea 
which we call ,monism1 or ,the ,one4    
,he1 too1 said1 ,all is one4 ,in his    
attitude toward all living things he was
 ever gentle and considerate4  ,no other
 prophet so much resembles ,confucius in
 doctrine as ,socrates4 ,but ,confucius 
does not suffer from the comparison4 ,he
 had a beauty1 dignity and grace of     
person which the great ,athenian did not
 possess4 ,socrates was more or less of 
a buffoon1 and to many in ,athens he was
 a huge joke--a town fool4 ,confucius   
combined the learning and graces of     
,plato with the sturdy1 practical       
commonsense of ,socrates4 ,no one ever  
affronted or insulted him2 many did not 
understand him1 but he met prince or    
pauper on terms of equality4  ,in his   
travels ,confucius used often to meet   

recluses or monks--men who had fled the 
world in order to become saints4 ,for   
these men ,confucius had more pity than 
respect4 ,the world's work is difficult1
 and to live in a world of living1      
striving and dying men and women        
requires great courage and great love4  
,now we can not all run away1 and for   
some to flee from humanity and to find  
solace in solitude is only another name 
for weakness4  ,this sounds singularly  
like our ,ralph ,waldo who says1 ,it is 
easy in the world to live after the     
world's opinions2 it is easy in solitude
 to live after our own2 but the ,great  
,man is he who in the midst of the crowd
 keeps with perfect sweetness the       
independence of solitude4  ,confucius is
 the first man in point of time to      
proclaim the divinity of service1 the   
brotherhood of man1 and the truth that  
in useful work there is no high nor low 
degree4 ,in talking to a group of young 
men he says3  ,when ,i was keeper of the
 herds ,i always saw to it that all of  

my cattle were strong1 healthy and      
growing1 that there was water in        
abundance and plenty of feed4 ,when ,i  
had charge of the public granaries ,i   
never slept until ,i knew that all was  
secure and cared for against the        
weather1 and my accounts as true and    
correct as if ,i were going on my long  
journey to return no more4 ,my advice is
 to slight nothing1 forget nothing1     
never leave things to chance1 nor say1  
',nobody will know--this is good        
enough4'  ,in all of his injunctions    
,confucius never has anything in mind   
beyond the present life4 ,of a future   
existence he knows nothing1 and he seems
 to regard it as a waste of energy and a
 sign of weakness to live in two worlds 
at a time4 ,heaven provides us means of 
knowing all about what is best here1 and
 supplies us in abundance every material
 thing for present happiness1 and it is 
our business to realize1 to know1 to    
enjoy4  ,he taught rhetoric1            
mathematics1 economics1 the science of  

government and natural history4 ,and    
always and forever running through the  
fabric of his teaching was the silken   
thread of ethics--man's duty to man1    
man's duty to ,heaven4 ,music was to him
 a necessity1 since it brings the mind  
in right accord with the will of        
,heaven4 ,before he began to speak he   
played softly on a stringed instrument  
which perhaps would compare best with   
our guitar1 but it was much smaller1 and
 this instrument he always carried with 
him1 suspended from his shoulder by a   
silken sash4 ,yet with all of his       
passion for music1 he cautioned his     
disciples against using it as an end4   
,it was merely valuable as an           
introduction to be used in attuning the 
mind and heart to an understanding of   
great truth4  ,confucius was seventy-two
 years old at his death4 ,during his    
life his popularity was not great4 ,when
 he passed away his followers numbered  
only about three thousand persons1 and  
his disciples1 or the teachers who      

taught his philosophy1 were seventy in  
number4  ,there is no reason to suppose 
that ,confucius assumed that a vast     
number of people would ever ponder his  
words or regard him as a prophet4  ,at  
the time that ,confucius lived1 also    
lived ,lao-tsze4 ,as a youth ,confucius 
visited ,lao-tsze1 who was then an old  
man4 ,confucius often quotes his great  
contemporary and calls himself a        
follower of ,lao-tsze4 ,the difference1 
however1 between the men is marked4     
,lao-tsze's teachings are full of       
metaphysics and strange and mystical    
curiosities1 while ,confucius is always 
simple1 lucid and practical4         99 
99       99       99       99           
,confucius has been revered for twenty  
centuries1 revered simply as a man1 not 
as a god or as a divinely appointed     
savior4 ,he offered no reward of heaven1
 nor did he threaten non-believers with 
hell4 ,he claimed no special influence  
nor relationship to the ,unseen4 ,in all
 his teachings he was singularly open1  

frank and free from all mystery or      
concealment4 ,in reference to the       
supernatural he was an agnostic4 ,he    
often said1 ,i do not know4 ,he was     
always an inquirer1 always a student1   
always open to conviction4 ,history     
affords no instance of another          
individual who has been so well and so  
long loved1 who still holds his place1  
and who1 so far as his reasoning went1  
is unassailed and unassailable4 ,even   
the two other great religions in ,china 
that rival ,confucianism--,buddhism and 
,taoism 7the religion of ,lao-tsze7--do 
not renounce ,confucius3 they merely    
seek to amend and augment him4  ,during 
his lifetime ,confucius made many       
enemies by his habit of frankly pointing
 out the foibles of society and the     
wrongs visited upon the people by       
officials who pretended to serve them4  
,of hypocrisy1 selfishness1 vanity1     
pretense1 he was severe in his          
denunciation4  ,politicians at that time
 had the very modern habit of securing  

the office and then leaving all the     
details of the work to menials1 they    
themselves pocketing the perquisites4   
,as ,minister of ,state1 ,confucius made
 himself both feared and detested on    
account of his habit of summoning the   
head of the office before him and       
questioning him concerning his duties4  
,in fact1 this insistence that those    
paid by the ,state should work for the  
,state caused a combination to be formed
 against him1 which finally brought     
about his deposition and exile1 two     
things which troubled him but little1   
since one gave him leisure and the other
 opportunity for travel4  ,the personal 
followers of ,confucius did not belong  
to the best society2 but immediately    
after his death1 many who during his    
life had scorned the man made haste to  
profess his philosophy and decorate     
their houses with his maxims4 ,humanity 
is about the same1 whether white or     
yellow1 the round world over1 and time  
modifies it but little4 ,it will be     

recalled how ,john ,p4 ,altgeld was     
feared and hated by both press and      
pulpit1 especially in the ,state and    
city he served4 ,but rigor mortis had   
scarcely seized upon that slight and    
tired body before the newspapers that   
had disparaged the man worst were vying 
with one another in glowing eulogies and
 warm testimonials to his honesty1      
sincerity1 purity of motive and deep    
insight4 ,a personality which can       
neither be bribed1 bought1 coerced1     
flattered nor cajoled is always regarded
 by the many--especially by the party in
 power--as dangerous4 ,vice1 masked as  
virtue1 breathes easier when the honest 
man is safely under the sod4  ,the plain
 and simple style of ,confucius'        
teaching can be gathered by the         
following sayings1 selected at random   
from the canonical books of             
,confucianism1 consisting of the        
teachings of the great master which were
 gathered together and grouped by his   
disciples and followers after his death3

       ,the men of old spoke little4 ,it
 would be well to imitate them1 for     
those who talk much are sure to say     
something it would be better to         
have left unsaid4       ,let a man's    
labor be proportioned to his needs4 ,for
 he who works      beyond his strength  
does but add to his cares and           
disappointments4      ,a man should be  
moderate even in his efforts4       ,be 
not over-anxious to obtain relaxation or
 repose4 ,for he who is      so1 will   
get neither4       ,beware of ever doing
 that which you are likely1 sooner or   
later1 to      repent of having done4   
,do not neglect to rectify an evil      
because it may seem small1 for1         
though small at first1 it may continue  
to grow until it overwhelms      you4   
,as riches adorn a house1 so does an    
expanded mind adorn and                 
tranquillize the body4 ,hence it is that
 the superior man will seek      to     
establish his motives on correct        
principles4       ,the cultivator of the

 soil may have his fill of good things1 
but      the cultivator of the mind will
 enjoy a continual feast4       ,it is  
because men are prone to be partial     
toward those they love1      unjust     
toward those they hate1 servile toward  
those above them1      arrogant to those
 below them1 and either harsh or        
over-indulgent to      those in poverty 
and distress1 that it is so difficult to
 find any      one capable of exercising
 a sound judgment with respect to the   
qualities of others4       ,he who is   
incapable of regulating his own family  
can not be capable      of ruling a     
nation4 ,the superior man will find     
within the limits of      his own home1 
a sufficient sphere for the exercise of 
all those      principles upon which    
good government depends4 ,how1 indeed1  
can it      be otherwise1 when filial   
piety is that which should regulate the 
conduct of a people toward their prince2
 fraternal affection1 that      which   
should regulate the relations which     

should exist between      equals1 and   
the conduct of inferiors toward those   
above them2 and      paternal kindness1 
that which should regulate the bearing  
of those      in authority toward those 
over whom they are placed8       ,be    
slow in speech1 but prompt in action4   
,he whose principles are thoroughly     
established will not be easily      led 
from the right path4       ,the cautious
 are generally to be found on the right 
side4       ,by speaking when we ought  
to keep silence1 we waste our words4    
,if you would escape vexation1 reprove  
yourself liberally and others           
sparingly4       ,there is no use       
attempting to help those who can not    
help      themselves4       ,make       
friends with the upright1 intelligent   
and wise2 avoid the      licentious1    
talkative and vain4       ,disputation  
often breeds hatred4       ,nourish good
 principles with the same care that a   
mother would      bestow on her newborn 
babe4 ,you may not be able to bring them

 to      maturity1 but you will         
nevertheless be not far from doing so4  
,the decrees of ,heaven are not         
immutable1 for though a throne may be   
gained by virtue1 it may be lost by     
vice4       ,there are five good        
principles of action to be adopted3 ,to 
benefit      others without being       
lavish2 to encourage labor without being
      harsh2 to add to your resources   
without being covetous2 to be           
dignified without being supercilious2   
and to inspire awe without      being   
austere4 ,also1 we should not search for
 love or demand it1      but so live    
that it will flow to us4       ,personal
 character can only be established on   
fixed principles1 for      if the mind  
be allowed to be agitated by violent    
emotions1 to be      excited by fear1 or
 unduly moved by the love of pleasure1  
it will      be impossible for it to be 
made perfect4 ,a man must reason calmly1
      for without reason he would look  
and not see1 listen and not hear4       

,when a man has been helped around one  
corner of a square1 and can      not    
manage by himself to get around the     
other three1 he is unworthy      of     
further assistance4     ,illustration3  
,,pythagoras  ,,pythagoras              
,consult and deliberate before you act1 
that thou mayest not commit      foolish
 actions4 ,for 't is the part of a      
miserable man to speak and      to act  
without reflection4 ,but do that which  
will not afflict thee      afterwards1  
nor oblige thee to repentance4          
--,pythagoras   ,,pythagoras  ,with no  
desire to deprive ,mr4 ,bok of his      
bread1 ,i wish to call attention to     
,pythagoras1 who lived a little more    
than five hundred years before ,christ4 
,even at that time the world was old4   
,memphis1 which was built four thousand 
years ago1 had begun to crumble into    
ruins4 ,troy was buried deep in the dust
 which an ,american citizen of ,german  
birth was to remove4 ,nineveh and       
,babylon were dying the death that      

success always brings1 and the star of  
empire was preparing to westward wend   
its way4  ,pythagoras ushered in the    
,golden ,age of ,greece4 ,all the great 
writers whom he immediately preceded1   
quote him and refer to him4 ,some admire
 him2 others are loftily critical2 most 
of them are a little jealous2 and a few 
use him as a horrible example1 calling  
him a poseur1 a pedant1 a learned       
sleight-of-hand man1 a bag of books4    
,trial by newspaper was not invented in 
the time of ,pythagoras2 but personal   
vilification has been popular since     
,balaam talked gossip with his          
vis-a-vis4  ,anaxagoras1 who gave up his
 wealth to the ,state that he might be  
free1 and who was the teacher of        
,pericles1 was a pupil of ,pythagoras1  
and used often to mention him4  ,in this
 way ,pericles was impressed by the     
,pythagorean philosophy1 and very often 
quotes it in his speeches4 ,socrates    
gave ,pythagoras as an authority on the 
simple life1 and stated that he was     

willing to follow him in anything save  
his injunction to keep silence4         
,socrates wanted silence optional2      
whereas ,pythagoras required each of his
 pupils to live for a year without once 
asking a question or making an          
explanation4 ,in aggravated cases he    
made the limit five years4  ,in many    
ways ,pythagoras reminds us of our      
friend ,muldoon1 both being beneficent  
autocrats1 and both proving their       
sincerity by taking their own medicine4 
,pythagoras said1 ,i will never ask     
another to do what ,i have not done1 and
 am not willing to do myself4  ,to this 
end he was once challenged by his three 
hundred pupils to remain silent for a   
year4 ,he accepted the defi1 not once   
defending himself from the criticisms   
and accusations that were rained upon   
him1 not once complaining1 nor issuing  
an order4 ,tradition has it1 however1   
that he made averages good later on1    
when the year of expiation was ended4   
,there are two reasonably complete lives

 of ,pythagoras1 one by ,diogenes       
,laertius1 and another by ,iamblichus4  
,personally1 ,i prefer the latter1 as   
,iamblichus1 as might be inferred from  
his name1 makes ,pythagoras a descendant
 of neas1 who was a son of ,neptune4    
,this is surely better than the abrupt  
and somewhat sensational statement to   
the effect that his father was ,apollo4 
99       99       99       99       99  
,the birthplace of ,pythagoras was      
,samos1 an isle of ,greece4 ,he was born
 of wealthy but honest parents1 who were
 much in love with each other--a        
requisite1 says ,pythagoras1 for        
parentage on its highest plane4 ,it is  
probable that ,pythagoras was absolutely
 correct in his hypothesis4  ,that he   
was a very noble specimen of            
manhood--physically and mentally--there 
is no doubt4 ,he was tall1 lithe1       
dignified1 commanding and silent by     
nature1 realizing fully that a handsome 
man can never talk as well as he looks4 
,he was quite aware of his physical     

graces1 and in following up the facts of
 his early life1 he makes the statement 
that his father was a sea-captain and   
trader4 ,he then incidentally adds that 
the best results are obtained for       
posterity where a man is absent from his
 family eleven months in the year4 ,this
 is an axiom agreed upon by many modern 
philosophers1 few of whom1 however1 live
 up to their ideals4 ,aristophanes1 who 
was on friendly terms with some of the  
disciples of ,pythagoras1 suggested in  
one of his plays that the ,pythagorean  
domestic time-limit should be increased 
at least a month for the good of all    
concerned4  ,plato1 ,xenophon and       
,aristotle make frequent references to  
,pythagoras4 ,in order to impress men   
like these1 the man must have taught a  
very exalted philosophy4 ,in truth1     
,pythagoras was a teacher of teachers4  
,and like all men who make a business of
 wisdom he sometimes came tardy off1 and
 indulged in a welter of words that     
wrecked the original idea--if there were

 one4  ,there are these three3          
,knowledge1 ,learning1 ,wisdom4 ,and the
 world has until very recent times      
assumed that they were practically one  
and the same thing4  ,knowledge consists
 of the things we know1 not the things  
we believe or the things we assume4     
,knowledge is a personal matter of      
intuition1 confirmed by experience4     
,learning consists largely of the things
 we memorize and are told by persons or 
books4 ,tomlinson of ,berkeley ,square  
was a learned man4 ,when we think of a  
learned man1 we picture him as one      
seated in a library surrounded by tomes 
that top the shelves4  ,wisdom is the   
distilled essence of what we have       
learned from experience4 ,it is that    
which helps us to live1 work1 love and  
make life worth living for all we meet4 
,men may be very learned1 and still be  
far from wise4  ,pythagoras was one of  
those strange beings who are born with a
 desire to know1 and who finally        
comprehending the secret of the ,sphinx1

 that there is really nothing to say1   
insist on saying it4 ,that is1 vast     
learning is augmented by a structure of 
words1 and on this is built a theogony4 
,practically he was a priest4  ,worked  
into all priestly philosophies are      
nuggets of wisdom that shine like stars 
in the darkness and lead men on and on4 
,all great religions have these periods 
of sanity1 otherwise they would have no 
followers at all4 ,the followers1       
understanding little bits of this and   
that1 hope finally to understand it all4
 ,inwardly the initiates at the shrine  
of their own conscience know that they  
know nothing4 ,when they teach others   
they are obliged to pretend that they1  
themselves1 fully comprehend the import 
of what they are saying4 ,the novitiate 
attributes his lack of perception to his
 own stupidity1 and many great teachers 
encourage this view4  ,be patient1 and  
you shall some day know1 they say1 and  
smile frigidly4  ,and when credulity    
threatens to balk and go no further1    

magic comes to the rescue and the domain
 of ,hermann and ,kellar is poached     
upon4  ,mystery and miracle were born in
 ,egypt4 ,it was there that a system was
 evolved1 backed up by the ruler1 of    
religious fraud so colossal that modern 
deception looks like the bungling       
efforts of an amateur4 ,the government1 
the army1 the taxing power of the       
,state1 were sworn to protect gigantic  
safes in which was hoarded--nothing4    
,that is to say1 nothing but the        
pretense upon which cupidity and        
self-hypnotized credulity battened and  
fattened4  ,all institutions which      
through mummery1 strange acts1 dress and
 ritual1 affect to know and impart the  
inmost secrets of creation and ultimate 
destiny1 had their rise in ,egypt4 ,in  
,egypt now are only graves1 tombs1      
necropolises and silence4 ,the priests  
there need no soldiery to keep their    
secrets safe4 ,ammon-,ra1 who once ruled
 the universe1 being finally exorcised  
by ,yaveh1 is now as dead as the mummies

 who once were men and upheld his       
undisputed sway4         99       99    
99       99       99  ,the ,egyptians   
guarded their mysteries with jealous    
dread4  ,we know their secret now4 ,it  
is this--there are no mysteries4  ,that 
is the only secret upon which any secret
 society holds a caveat4 ,wisdom can not
 be corraled with gibberish and fettered
 in jargon4 ,knowledge is one           
thing--palaver another4 ,the            
,greek-letter societies of our callow   
days still survive in bird's-eye1 and   
next to these come the ,elks1 who take  
theirs with seltzer and a smile1 as a   
rare good joke1 save that brotherhood   
and good-fellowship are actually a      
saving salt which excuses much that     
would otherwise be simply silly4  ,all  
this mystery and mysticism was once     
official1 and later1 on being discarded 
by the authorities1 was continued by the
 students as a kind of prank4           
,greek-letter societies are the         
rudimentary survivals of what was once  

an integral part of every college4      
,making dead languages optional was the 
last convulsive kick of the cadaver4    
,and now a good many colleges are       
placing the seal of their disapproval on
 secret societies among the students2   
and the day is near when the secret     
society will not be tolerated1 either   
directly or indirectly1 as a part of the
 education of youth4 ,all this because  
the sophomoric mind is prone to take its
 ,greek-letter mysteries seriously1 and 
regard the college curriculum as a joke 
of the faculty4  ,if knowledge were to  
be gained by riding a goat1 any petty   
crossroads1 with its lodge-room over the
 grocery1 would contain a ,herbert      
,spencer2 and the agrarian mossbacks    
would have wisdom by the scruff and     
detain knowledge with a tail-hold4      
,there can be no secrets in life and    
morals1 because ,nature has so provided 
that every beautiful thought you know   
and every precious sentiment you feel1  
shall shine out of your face so that all

 who are great enough may see1 know1    
understand1 appreciate and appropriate4 
,you can keep things only by giving them
 away4  ,when ,pythagoras was only four 
or five years old1 his mother taught him
 to take his morning bath in the cold   
stream1 and dry his baby skin by running
 in the wind4 ,as he ran1 she ran with  
him1 and together they sang a hymn to   
the rising sun1 that for them           
represented the god ,apollo4  ,this     
mother taught him to be indifferent to  
cold1 heat1 hunger1 to exult in         
endurance1 and to take a joy in the glow
 of the body4  ,so the boy grew strong  
and handsome1 and proud2 and perhaps it 
was in those early years1 from the      
mother herself1 that he gathered the    
idea1 afterward developed1 that ,apollo 
had appeared to his mother1 and so great
 was the beauty of the god that the     
woman was actually overcome1 it being   
the first god at which she had ever had 
a good look4  ,the ambition of a great  
mother centers on her son4 ,pythagoras  

was filled with the thought that he was 
different1 peculiar1 set apart to teach 
the human race4  ,having compassed all  
there was to learn in his native place1 
and1 as he thought1 being ill           
appreciated1 he started for ,egypt1 the 
land of learning4 ,the fallacy that     
knowledge was a secret to be gained by  
word of mouth and to be gotten from     
books existed then as now4 ,the mother  
of ,pythagoras wanted her son to        
comprehend the innermost secrets of the 
,egyptian mysteries4 ,he would then know
 all4 ,to this end she sold her jewels1 
in order that her son might have the    
advantages of an ,egyptian education4   
,women were not allowed to know the     
divine secrets--only just a few little  
ones4 ,this woman wanted to know1 and   
she said her son would learn1 and tell  
her4  ,the family had become fairly rich
 by this time1 and influential4 ,letters
 were gotten from the great ones of     
,samos to the ,secretary of ,state in   
,egypt4 ,and so ,pythagoras1 aged       

twenty1 the youth with the beautiful    
hair1 went on his journey to ,egypt and 
knocked boldly at the doors of the      
temples at ,memphis1 where knowledge was
 supposed to be in stock4 ,religion then
 monopolized all schools and continued  
to do so for quite some time after      
,pythagoras was dead4  ,he was turned   
away with the explanation that no       
foreigner could enter the sacred        
portals--that the initiates must be     
those born in the shadows of the temples
 and nurtured in the faith from infancy 
by holy virgins4  ,pythagoras still     
insisted1 and it was probably then that 
he found a sponsor who made for him the 
claim that he was a son of ,apollo4 ,and
 the holy men peeped out of their       
peep-holes in holy admiration for any   
one who could concoct as big a lie as   
they themselves had ever invented4  ,the
 boy surely looked the part4 ,perhaps1  
at last1 here was one who was what they 
pretended to be6 ,frauds believe in     
frauds1 and rogues are more easily      

captured by roguery than are honest men4
  ,his admittance to the university     
became a matter of international        
diplomacy4 ,at last1 being too          
hard-pressed1 the wise ones who ran the 
mystery monopoly gave in1 and           
,pythagoras was informed that at        
midnight of a certain night1 he should  
present himself1 naked1 at the door of a
 certain temple and he would be         
admitted4  ,on the stroke of the hour1  
at the appointed time1 ,pythagoras1 the 
youth with the beautiful hair1 was      
there1 clothed only in his beautiful    
hair4 ,he knocked on the great1 bronze  
doors1 but the only answer was a faint1 
hollow echo4  ,then he got a stone and  
pounded1 but still no answer4  ,the wind
 sprang up fresh and cold4 ,the young   
man was chilled to the bone1 but still  
he pounded and then called aloud        
demanding admittance4 ,his answer now   
was the growling and barking of dogs1   
within4 ,still he pounded6 ,after an    
interval a hoarse voice called out      

through a little slide1 ordering him to 
be gone or the dogs would be turned     
loose upon him4  ,he demanded           
admittance4  ,fool1 do you not know that
 the law says these doors shall admit no
 one except at sunrise8  ,i only know   
that ,i was told to be here at midnight 
and ,i would be admitted4  ,all that may
 be true1 but you were not told when you
 would be admitted--wait1 it is the will
 of the gods4 ,so ,pythagoras waited1   
numbed and nearly dead4  ,the dogs which
 he had heard had1 in some way1 gotten  
out1 and came tearing around the corner 
of the great stone building4 ,he fought 
them with desperate strength4 ,the      
effort seemed to warm his blood1 and    
whereas before he was about to retreat  
to his lodgings he now remained4  ,the  
day broke in the east1 and gangs of     
slaves went by to work4 ,they jeered at 
him and pelted him with pebbles4        
,suddenly across the desert sands he saw
 the faint pink rim of the rising sun4  
,on the instant the big bronze doors    

against which he was leaning swung      
suddenly in4 ,he fell with them1 and    
coarse1 rough hands seized his hair and 
pulled him into the hall4  ,the doors   
swung to and closed with a clang4       
,pythagoras was in dense darkness1 lying
 on the stone floor4  ,a voice1         
seemingly coming from afar1 demanded1   
,do you still wish to go on8  ,and his  
answer was1 ,i desire to go on4  ,a     
black-robed figure1 wearing a mask1 then
 appeared with a flickering light1 and  
,pythagoras was led into a stone cell4  
,his head was shaved1 and he was given a
 coarse robe and then left alone4       
,toward the end of the day he was given 
a piece of black bread and a bowl of    
water4 ,this he was told was to fortify 
him for the ordeal to come4  ,what that 
ordeal was we can only guess1 save that 
it consisted partially in running over  
hot sands where he sank to his waist4   
,at a point where he seemed about to    
perish a voice called loudly1 ,do you   
yet desire to go on8  ,and his answer   

was1 ,i desire to go on4  ,returning to 
the inmost temple he was told to enter a
 certain door and wait therein4 ,he was 
then blindfolded and when he opened the 
door to enter1 he walked off into space 
and fell into a pool of ice-cold water4 
,while floundering there the voice again
 called1 ,do you yet desire to go on8   
,and his answer was1 ,i desire to go on4
  ,at another time he was tied upon the 
back of a donkey and the donkey was led 
along a rocky precipice1 where lights   
danced and flickered a thousand feet    
below4  ,do you yet want to go on8      
called the voice4  ,and ,pythagoras     
answered1 ,i desire to go on4  ,the     
priests here pushed the donkey off the  
precipice1 which proved to be only about
 two feet high1 the gulf below being an 
illusion arranged with the aid of lights
 that shone through apertures in the    
wall4  ,these pleasing little diversions
 ,pythagoras afterward introduced into  
the college which he founded1 so to     
teach the merry freshmen that nothing1  

at the last1 was as bad as it seemed1   
and that most dangers are simply        
illusions4  ,the ,egyptians grew to have
 such regard for ,pythagoras that he was
 given every opportunity to know the    
inmost secrets of the mysteries4 ,he    
said he encompassed them all1 save those
 alone which were incomprehensible4     
,this was probably true4  ,the years    
spent in ,egypt were not wasted--he     
learned astronomy1 mathematics1 and     
psychology1 a thing then not named1 but 
pretty well understood--the management  
of men4  ,it was twenty years before    
,pythagoras returned to ,samos4 ,his    
mother was dead1 so she passed away in  
ignorance of the secrets of the         
gods--which perhaps was just as well4   
,samos now treated ,pythagoras with     
great honor4  ,crowds flocked to his    
lectures1 presents were given him1      
royalty paid him profound obeisance4    
,but ,samos soon tired of ,pythagoras4  
,he was too austere1 too severe2 and    
when he began to rebuke the officials   

for their sloth and indifference1 he was
 invited to go elsewhere and teach his  
science of life4 ,and so he journeyed   
into ,southern ,italy1 and at ,crotona  
built his ,temple to the ,muses and     
founded the ,pythagorean ,school4 ,he   
was the wisest as well as the most      
learned man of his time4         99     
99       99       99       99  ,some    
unkind person has said that ,pythagoras 
was the original charter member of the  
,jesuits ,society4 ,the maxim that the  
end justifies the means was the         
cornerstone of ,egyptian theology4 ,when
 ,pythagoras left ,egypt he took with   
him this cornerstone as a souvenir4     
,that the priests could hold their power
 over the masses only through magic and 
miracle was fully believed1 and as a    
good police system the value of         
organized religion was highly           
appreciated4 ,in fact1 no ruler could   
hold his place1 unsupported by the      
priest4 ,both were divine propositions4 
,one searches in vain for simple truth  

among the sages1 solons1 philosophers1  
poets and prophets that existed down to 
the time of ,socrates4 ,truth for       
truth's sake was absolutely unimagined2 
freethought was unguessed4  ,expediency 
was always placed before truth4  ,truth 
was furnished with frills--the people   
otherwise would not be impressed4       
,chants1 robes1 ritual1 processions1    
banging of bells1 burning of incense1   
strange sounds1 sights and smells3 these
 were considered necessary factors in   
teaching divine truth4  ,to worship with
 a noise seems to us a little like      
making love with a brass band4          
,pythagoras was a very great man1 but   
for him to eliminate theological chaff  
entirely was impossible4 ,so we find    
that when he was about to speak1 red    
fire filled the building as soon as he  
arose4 ,it was all a little like the    
alleged plan of the late ,reverend ,t4  
,de,witt ,talmage1 who used to have an  
,irishman let loose a white pigeon from 
the organ-loft at an opportune time4    

,when ,pythagoras burned the red fire1  
of course the audience thought a miracle
 was taking place1 unable to understand 
a simple stage-trick which all the boys 
in the gallery who delight in ,faust now
 understand4  ,however1 the ,pythagorean
 ,school had much virtue on its side1   
and made a sincere and earnest effort to
 solve certain problems that yet are    
vexing us4  ,the ,temple of the ,muses1 
built by ,pythagoras at ,crotona1 is    
described by ,iamblichus as a stone     
structure with walls twenty feet thick1 
the light being admitted only from the  
top4 ,it was evidently constructed after
 the ,egyptian pattern1 and the intent  
was to teach there the esoteric         
doctrine4 ,but ,pythagoras improved upon
 the ,egyptian methods and opened his   
temple on certain days to all and any   
who desired to come4 ,then at times he  
gave lectures to women only1 and then to
 men only1 and also to children1 thus   
showing that modern revival methods are 
not wholly modern4  ,these lectures     

contain the very essence of ,pythagorean
 philosophy1 and include so much        
practical commonsense that they are     
still quoted4 ,these are some of the    
sayings that impressed ,socrates1       
,pericles1 ,aristotle and ,pliny4 ,what 
the ,egyptians actually taught we really
 do not know--it was too gaseous to     
last4 ,only the good endures4 ,says     
,pythagoras3       ,cut not into the    
grape4 ,exaltation coming from wine is  
not good4      ,you hope too much in    
this condition1 so are afterwards       
depressed4      ,wise men are neither   
cast down in defeat nor exalted by      
success4      ,eat moderately1 bathe    
plentifully1 exercise much in the open  
air1      walk far1 and climb the hills 
alone4       ,above all things1 learn to
 keep silence--hear all and speak       
little4      ,if you are defamed1 answer
 not back4 ,talk convinces no one4 ,your
      life and character proclaim you   
more than any argument you can put      
forth4 ,lies return to plague those who 

repeat them4       ,the secret of power 
is to keep an even temper1 and remember 
that no      one thing that can happen  
is of much moment4 ,the course of       
justice1      industry1 courage1        
moderation1 silence1 means that you     
shall      receive your due of every    
good thing4 ,the gods may be slow1 but  
they never forget4       ,it is not for 
us to punish men nor avenge ourselves   
for slights1      wrongs and            
insults--wait1 and you will see that    
,nemesis unhorses      the man intent on
 calumny4       ,a woman's ornaments    
should be modesty1 simplicity1 truth1   
obedience4 ,if a woman would hold a man 
captive she can only do it      by      
obeying him4 ,violent women are even    
more displeasing to the gods      than  
violent men--both are destroying        
themselves4 ,strife is always           
defeat4       ,debauchery1 riot1        
splendor1 luxury1 are attempts to get a 
pleasure      out of life that is not   
our due1 and so ,nemesis provides her   

penalty for the idle and gluttonous4    
,fear and honor the gods4 ,they guide   
our ways and watch over us in      our  
sleep4 ,after the gods1 a man's first   
thought should be of his      father and
 mother4 ,next to these his wife1 then  
his children4  ,so great was this power 
of ,pythagoras over the people that many
 of the women who came1 hearing his     
discourse on the folly of pride and     
splendor1 threw off their cloaks1 and   
left them with their rings1 anklets and 
necklaces on the altar4  ,with these and
 other offerings ,pythagoras built      
another temple1 this time to ,apollo1   
and the ,temple to the ,muses was left  
open all the time for the people4  ,his 
power over the multitude alarmed the    
magistrates1 so they sent for him to    
examine him as to his influence and     
intents4 ,he explained to them that as  
the ,muses were never at variance among 
themselves1 always living in subjection 
to ,apollo1 so should magistrates agree 
among themselves and think only of being

 loyal to the king4 ,all royal edicts   
and laws are reflections of divine law1 
and therefore must be obeyed without    
question4 ,and as the ,muses never      
interrupt the harmony of ,heaven1 but in
 fact add to it1 so should men ever keep
 harmony among themselves4  ,all        
officers of the government should       
consider themselves as runners in the   
,olympian games1 and never seek to trip1
 jostle1 harass or annoy a rival1 but   
run the race squarely and fairly1       
satisfied to be beaten if the other is  
the stronger and better man4 ,an unfair 
victory gains only the anger of the     
gods4  ,all disorders in the ,state come
 from ill education of the young4       
,children not brought up to be patient1 
to endure1 to work1 to be considerate of
 their elders and respectful to all1    
grow diseased minds that find relief at 
last in anarchy and rebellion4 ,so to   
take great care of children in their    
infancy1 and then leave them at puberty 
to follow their own inclinations1 is to 

sow disorder4 ,children well loved and  
kept close to their parents grow up into
 men and women who are an ornament to   
the ,state and a joy to the gods4       
,lawless1 complaining1 restless1 idle   
children grieve the gods and bring      
trouble upon their parents and society4 
,the magistrates were here so pleased1  
and satisfied in their own minds that   
,pythagoras meant the ,state no harm1   
that they issued an order that all      
citizens should attend upon his lectures
 at least once a week1 and take their   
wives and children with them4  ,they    
also offered to pay ,pythagoras--that   
is1 put him on the payroll as a public  
teacher--but he declined to accept money
 for his services4 ,in this1 ,iamblichus
 says1 he was very wise1 since by       
declining a fixed fee1 ten times as much
 was laid upon the altar of the ,temple 
of the ,muses1 and not knowing to whom  
to return it1 ,pythagoras was obliged to
 keep it for himself and the poor4      
99       99       99       99       99  

,churchmen of the ,middle ,ages worked  
the memory of ,pythagoras great         
injustice by quoting him literally in   
order to prove how much they were beyond
 him4 ,symbols and epigrams require a   
sympathetic hearer1 otherwise they are  
as naught4  ,for instance1 ,pythagoras  
remarks1 ,sit thou not down upon a      
bushel measure4 ,what he probably meant 
was1 get busy and fill the measure with 
grain rather than use it for a seat4    
,eat not the heart--do not act so as to 
harrow the feelings of your friends1 and
 do not be morbid4  ,never stir the fire
 with a sword--do not inflame people who
 are wrathful4  ,wear not the image of  
,god upon your jewelry--do not make     
religion a proud or boastful thing4     
,help men to a burden1 but never        
unburden them4 ,this saying was used by 
,saint ,francis to prove that the pagan 
philosophers had no tenderness1 and that
 the humanities came at a later date4   
,we can now easily understand that to   
relieve men of responsibilities is no   

help2 rather do we grow strong by       
carrying burdens4  ,leave not the mark  
of the pot upon the ashes--wipe out the 
past1 forget it1 look to the future4    
,feed no animal that has crooked        
claws--do not encourage rogues by       
supplying them a living4  ,eat no fish  
whose fins are black--have nothing to do
 with men whose deeds are dark4  ,always
 have salt upon your table--this seems  
the original of cum grano salis of the  
,romans4  ,leave the vinegar at a       
distance--keep sweet4  ,speak not in the
 face of the sun--even ,erasmus thought 
this referred to magic4 ,to us it is    
quite reasonable to suppose that it     
meant1 do not talk too much in public   
places4  ,pick not up what falls from   
the table--,plutarch calls this         
superstition1 but we can just as easily 
suppose it was out of consideration for 
cats1 dogs or hungry men4 ,the ,bible   
has a command against gleaning too      
closely1 and leaving nothing for the    
traveler4  ,when making sacrifice1 never

 pare your nails--that is to say1 do one
 thing at a time3 wind not the clock at 
an inopportune time4  ,eat not in the   
chariot--when you travel1 travel4  ,feed
 not yourself with your left hand--get  
your living openly and avoid all        
left-handed dealings4  ,and so there are
 hundreds of these ,pythagorean sayings 
that have vexed our classic friends for 
over two thousand years4 ,all ,greek    
scholars who really pride themselves on 
their scholarship have taken a hand at  
them1 and agitated the ether just as the
 members of the ,kokomo ,woman's ,club  
discuss obscure passages in ,bliss      
,carman or ,ella ,wheeler ,wilcox4      
,learned people are apt to comprehend   
anything but the obvious4         99    
99       99       99       99  ,the     
,school of ,pythagoras grew until it    
became the chief attraction of ,crotona4
 ,the size of the town was doubled      
through the pilgrims who came to study  
music1 mathematics1 medicine1 ethics and
 the science of government4  ,the       

,pythagorean plan of treating the sick  
by music was long considered as mere    
incantation1 but there is a suspicion   
now that it was actual science4 ,once   
there was a man who rode a hobby all his
 life2 and long after he was dead1 folks
 discovered it was a real live horse and
 had carried the man long miles4        
,pythagoras reduced the musical scale to
 a mathematical science4 ,in astronomy  
he anticipated ,copernicus1 and indeed1 
it was cited as the chief offense of    
,copernicus that he had borrowed from a 
pagan4 ,copernicus1 it seems1 set the   
merry churchmen digging into ,greek     
literature to find out just how bad     
,pythagoras was4 ,this did the churchmen
 good1 but did not help the cause of    
,copernicus4  ,pythagoras for a time    
sought to popularize his work1 but he   
soon found to his dismay that he was    
attracting cheap and unworthy people1   
who came not so much out of a love of   
learning as to satisfy a morbid         
curiosity and gain a short cut to       

wisdom4 ,they wanted secrets1 and       
knowing that ,pythagoras had spent      
twenty years in ,egypt1 they came to    
him1 hoping to get them4  ,said         
,pythagoras1 ,he who digs1 always finds4
 ,at another time1 he put the same idea 
reversely1 thus1 ,he who digs not1 never
 finds4  ,pythagoras was well past forty
 when he married a daughter of one of   
the chief citizens of ,crotona4 ,it     
seems that1 inspired by his wife1 who   
was first one of his pupils and then a  
disciple1 he conceived a new mode of    
life1 which he thought would soon       
overthrow the old manner of living4     
,pythagoras himself wrote nothing1 but  
all his pupils kept tablets1 and ,athens
 in the century following ,pythagoras   
was full of these ,pythagorean          
notebooks1 and these supply us the      
scattered data from which his life was  
written4  ,pythagoras1 like so many     
other great men1 had his dream of       
,utopia3 it was a college or1 literally1
 a collection of people1 where all were 

on an equality4 ,everybody worked1      
everybody studied1 everybody helped     
everybody1 and all refrained from       
disturbing or distressing any one4 ,it  
was the ,oneida ,community taken over by
 ,brook ,farm and fused into a religious
 and scientific ,new ,harmony by the    
,shakers4  ,one smiles to see the minute
 rules that were made for the guidance  
of the members4 ,they look like a       
transcript from a sermon by ,john       
,alexander ,dowie1 revised by the shade 
of ,robert ,owen4  ,this ,pythagorean   
,community was organized out of a       
necessity in order to escape the        
blow-ins who sailed across from ,greece 
intent on some new thing1 but           
principally to get knowledge and a      
living without work4  ,and so           
,pythagoras and his wife formed a close 
corporation4 ,for each member there was 
an initiation1 strict and severe1 the   
intent of which was absolutely to bar   
the transient triflers4 ,each member was
 to turn over to the ,common ,treasury  

all the money and goods he had of every 
kind and quality4 ,they started naked1  
just as did ,pythagoras when he stood at
 the door of the temple in ,egypt4      
,simplicity1 truth1 honesty and mutual  
service were to govern4 ,it was an      
outcrop of the monastic impulse1 save   
that women were admitted1 also4 ,unlike 
the ,egyptians1 ,pythagoras believed now
 in the equality of the sexes1 and his  
wife daily led the women's chorus1 and  
she also gave lectures4 ,the children   
were especially cared for by women set  
apart as nurses and teachers4 ,by       
rearing perfect children1 it was hoped  
and expected to produce in turn a       
perfect race4  ,the whole idea was a    
phase of totemism and tabu4  ,that it   
flourished for about thirty years is    
very certain4 ,two sons and a daughter  
of ,pythagoras grew to maturity in the  
college1 and this daughter was tried by 
the ,order on the criminal charge of    
selling the secret doctrines of her     
father to outsiders4  ,one of the sons  

it seems made trouble1 also1 in an      
attempt to usurp his father's place and 
take charge of affairs1 as next friend4 
,one generation is about the limit of a 
,utopian ,community4 ,when those who    
have organized the community weaken and 
one by one pass away1 and the young     
assume authority1 the old ideas of      
austerity are forgotten and dissipation 
and disintegration enter4 ,so do we move
 in circles4  ,the final blow to the    
,pythagorean ,college came through      
jealousy and misunderstanding of the    
citizens outside4 ,it was the old       
question of ,town versus ,gown4 ,the    
,pythagoreans numbered nearly three     
hundred people4 ,they held themselves   
aloof1 and no doubt had an exasperating 
pride4 ,no strangers were ever allowed  
inside the walls--they were a law unto  
themselves4  ,internal strife and tales 
told by dissenters excited the          
curiosity1 and then the prejudice1 of   
the townspeople4  ,then the report got  
abroad that the ,pythagoreans were      

collecting arms and were about to       
overthrow the local government and      
enslave the officials4  ,on a certain   
night1 led by a band of drunken         
soldiers1 a mob made an assault upon the
 college4 ,the buildings were fired1 and
 the members were either destroyed in   
the flames or killed as they rushed     
forth to escape4 ,tradition has it that 
,pythagoras was later seen by a shepherd
 on the mountains1 but the probabilities
 are that he perished with his people4  
,but you can not dispose of a great man 
by killing him4 ,here we are reading1   
writing and talking yet of ,pythagoras4 
,illustration3 ,,plato  ,,plato         
,how well ,i remember the aged poet     
,sophocles1 when in answer to the       
question1 ,how does love suit with age1 
,sophocles--are you still      the man  
you were8       ,peace1 he replied2 most
 gladly have ,i escaped that1 and ,i    
feel      as if ,i had escaped from a   
mad and furious master4       ,that     
saying of his has often come into my    

mind since1 and seems to      me still  
as good as at the time when ,i heard    
him4 ,for certainly old      age has a  
great sense of calm and freedom2 when   
the passions relax      their hold1     
then1 as ,sophocles says1 you have      
escaped from the      control not of one
 master only1 but of many4 ,and of these
 regrets1      as well as of the        
complaint about relations1 ,socrates1   
the cause is      to be sought1 not in  
men's ages1 but in their characters and 
tempers2 for he who is of a calm and    
happy nature will hardly feel      the  
pressure of age1 but he who is of an    
opposite disposition will      find     
youth and age equally a burden4         
--,the ,republic   ,,plato  ,a thinking 
man is one of the most recent           
productions evolved from ,nature's      
laboratory4 ,the first man of brains to 
express himself about the world in an   
honest1 simple and natural way1 just as 
if nothing had been said about it       
before1 was ,socrates4  ,twenty-four    

centuries have passed since ,socrates   
was put to death on the charge of       
speaking disrespectfully of the gods and
 polluting the minds of the youths of   
,athens4 ,during ten of these centuries 
that have passed since then1 the race   
lost the capacity to think1 through the 
successful combination of the priest and
 the soldier4 ,these men blocked human  
evolution4 ,the penalty for making      
slaves is that you become one4  ,to     
suppress humanity is to suppress        
yourself4  ,the race is one4 ,so the    
priests and the soldiers who in the     
,third ,century had a modicum of worth  
themselves1 sank and were submerged in  
the general slough of superstition and  
ignorance4 ,it was a panic that         
continued for a thousand years1 all     
through the endeavor of faulty men to   
make people good by force4 ,at all      
times1 up to within our own decade1     
frank expression on religious1 economic 
and social topics has been fraught with 
great peril4 ,even yet any man who hopes

 for popularity as a writer1 orator1    
merchant or politician1 would do well to
 conceal studiously his inmost beliefs4 
,on such simple themes as the taxation  
of real estate1 regardless of the       
business of the owner1 and a payment of 
a like wage for a like service without  
consideration of sex1 the statesman who 
has the temerity to speak out will be   
quickly relegated to private life4      
,successful merchants depending on a    
local constituency find it expedient to 
cater to popular superstitions by       
heading subscription-lists for the      
support of things in which they do not  
believe4 ,no avowed independent thinker 
would be tolerated as chief ruler of any
 of the so-called civilized countries4  
,the fact1 however1 that the penalty for
 frank expression is limited now to     
social and commercial ostracism is very 
hopeful--a few years ago it meant the   
scaffold4  ,we have been heirs to a     
leaden legacy of fear that has well-nigh
 banished joy and made of life a long   

nightmare4  ,in very truth1 the race has
 been insane4  ,hallucinations1         
fallacies1 fears1 have gnawed at our    
hearts1 and men have fought men with    
deadly frenzy4 ,the people who          
interfered1 trying to save us1 we have  
killed4 ,truly did we say1 ,there is no 
health in us1 which repetition did not  
tend to mend the malady4  ,we are now   
getting convalescent4 ,we are hobbling  
out into the sunshine on crutches4 ,we  
have discharged most of our old         
advisers1 heaved the dulling and deadly 
bottles out of the windows1 and are     
intent on studying and understanding our
 own case4 ,our motto is twenty-four    
centuries old--it is simply this3 ,,know
 ,,thyself4         99       99       99
       99       99  ,socrates was a     
street preacher1 with a beautiful       
indifference as to whether people liked 
him or not4 ,to most ,athenians he was  
the town fool4 ,athens was a little city
 7only about one hundred fifty          
thousand71 and everybody knew ,socrates4

 ,the popular plays caricatured him2 the
 topical songs misquoted him2 the funny 
artists on the street-corners who       
modeled things in clay1 while you       
waited1 made figures of him4  ,everybody
 knew ,socrates--,i guess so6  ,plato1  
the handsome youth of nineteen1 wearing 
a purple robe1 which marked him as one  
of the nobility1 paused to listen to    
this uncouth man who gave everything and
 wanted nothing4  ,ye gods6 ,but it is  
no wonder they caricatured him--he was a
 temptation too great to resist4  ,plato
 smiled--he never laughed1 being too    
well-bred for that4 ,then he sighed1 and
 moved a little nearer in4  ,individuals
 are nothing4 ,the ,state is all4 ,to   
offend the ,state is to die4 ,the ,state
 is an organization and we are members  
of it4 ,the ,state is only as rich as   
its poorest citizen4 ,we are all given a
 little sample of divinity to study1    
model and marvel at4 ,to understand the 
,state you must ,,know ,,thyself4       
,plato lingered until the little crowd  

had dispersed1 and when the old man with
 the goggle-eyes and full-moon face went
 shuffling slowly down the street1 he   
approached and asked him a question4    
,this man ,socrates was no fool--the    
populace was wrong--he was a man so     
natural and free from cant that he      
appeared to the triflers and pretenders 
like a pretender1 and they asked1 ,is he
 sincere8  ,what ,plato was by birth1   
breeding and inheritance1 ,socrates was 
by nature--a noble man4  ,up to this    
time the ambition of ,plato had been for
 place and power--to make the right     
impression on the people in order to    
gain political preferment4 ,he had been 
educated in the school of the ,sophists1
 and his principal studies were poetry1 
rhetoric and deportment4  ,and now      
straightway he destroyed the manuscript 
of his poems1 for in their writing he   
had suddenly discovered that he had not 
written what he inwardly believed was   
true1 but simply that which he thought  
was proper and nice to say4 ,in other   

words1 his literature had been a form of
 pretense4  ,daily thereafter1 where    
went ,socrates there went ,plato4 ,side 
by side they sat on the curb--,socrates 
talking1 questioning the bystanders1    
accosting the passers-by2 ,plato talking
 little1 but listening much4  ,socrates 
was short1 stout and miles around4      
,plato was tall1 athletic and           
broad-shouldered4 ,in fact1 the word1   
plato1 or platon1 means broad1 and it   
was given him as a nickname by his      
comrades4 ,his correct name was         
,aristocles1 but ,plato suited him      
better1 since it symbols that he was not
 only broad of shoulder1 but likewise in
 mind4 ,he was not only noble by birth1 
but noble in appearance4  ,emerson calls
 him the universal man4 ,he absorbed all
 the science1 all the art1 all the      
philosophy of his day4 ,he was handsome1
 kindly1 graceful1 gracious1 generous1  
and lived and died a bachelor4 ,he never
 collided with either poverty or        
matrimony4         99       99       99 

99       99  ,plato was twenty-eight    
years old when ,socrates died4 ,for     
eight years they had been together      
daily4 ,after the death of ,socrates1   
,plato lived for forty-six years1 just  
to keep alive the name and fame of the  
great philosopher4  ,socrates comes to  
us through ,plato4 ,various other       
contemporaries mention ,socrates and    
quote him1 some to his disadvantage1 but
 it was left for ,plato to give us the  
heart of his philosophy1 and limn his   
character for all time in unforgetable  
outline4  ,plato is called the ,pride of
 ,greece4 ,his contribution to the      
wealth of the world consists in the fact
 that he taught the joys of the         
intellect--the supreme satisfaction that
 comes through thinking4 ,this is the   
pure ,platonic philosophy3 to find our  
gratifications in exalted thought and   
not in bodily indulgence4 ,plato's      
theory that five years should be given  
in early manhood to abstract thought1   
abstaining from all practical affairs1  

so as to acquire a love for learning1   
has been grafted upon a theological     
stalk and comes down to our present     
time4 ,it has1 however1 now been        
discarded by the world's best thinkers  
as a fallacy4 ,the unit of man's life is
 the day1 not the month or year1 much   
less a period of five years4 ,each day  
we must exercise the mind1 just as each 
day we must exercise the body4 ,we can  
not store up health and draw upon it at 
will over long-deferred periods4 ,the   
account must be kept active4 ,to keep   
physical energy we must expend physical 
energy every day4 ,the opinion of       
,herbert ,spencer that thought is a     
physical function--a vibration set up in
 a certain area of brain-cells--is an   
idea never preached by ,plato4 ,the     
brain1 being an organ1 must be used1 not
 merely in one part for five years to   
the exclusion of all other parts1 but   
all parts should be used daily4 ,to this
 end the practical things of life should
 daily engage our attention1 no less    

than the contemplation of beauty as     
manifest in music1 poetry1 art or       
dialectics4 ,the thought that every day 
we should look upon a beautiful picture1
 read a beautiful poem1 or listen for a 
little while to beautiful music1 is     
highly scientific1 for this             
contemplation and appreciation of       
harmony is a physical exercise as well  
as a spiritual one1 and through it we   
grow1 develop1 evolve4  ,that we could  
not devote five years of our time to    
purely esthetic exercises1 to the       
exclusion of practical things1 without  
very great risk1 is now well known4 ,and
 when ,i refer to practical affairs1 ,i 
mean the effort which ,nature demands we
 should put forth to get a living4      
,every man should live like a poor man1 
regardless of the fact that he may have 
money4 ,nature knows nothing of         
bank-balances4 ,in order to have an     
appetite for dinner1 you must first earn
 your dinner4 ,if you would sleep at    
night1 you must first pay for sweet     

sleep by physical labor4         99     
99       99       99       99  ,plato   
was born on the ,island of gina1 where  
his father owned an estate4 ,his mother 
was a direct descendant of ,solon1 and  
his father1 not to be outdone1 traced to
 ,codrus4  ,the father of ,socrates was 
a stonecutter and his mother a midwife1 
so very naturally the son had a         
beautiful contempt for pedigree4        
,socrates once said to ,plato1 ,anybody 
can trace to ,codrus--by paying enough  
to the man who makes the family-tree4   
,this seems to show that genealogy was a
 matter of business then as now1 and    
that nothing is new under the sun4 ,yet 
with all his contempt for heredity1 we  
find ,socrates often expressing pride in
 the fact that he was a native son1     
whereas ,plato1 ,aspasia1 the mother of 
,themistocles1 and various other fairly 
good people1 were ,athenian             
importations4  ,socrates belonged to the
 leisure class and had plenty of time   
for extended conversazione1 so just how 

much seriousness we should mix in his   
dialogues is still a problem4 ,each     
palate has to season to suit4 ,also1 we 
can never know how much is ,socrates and
 how much essence of ,plato4 ,socrates  
wrote nothing1 and ,plato ascribes all  
of his wisdom to his master4 ,whether   
this was simple prudence or magnanimity 
is still a question4  ,the death of     
,socrates must have been a severe blow  
to ,plato4 ,he at once left ,athens4 ,it
 was his first intention never to       
return4 ,he traveled through the cities 
of ,greece1 ,southern ,italy and down to
 ,egypt1 and everywhere was treated with
 royal courtesies4  ,after many         
solicitations from ,dionysius1 ,tyrant  
of ,syracuse1 he went to visit that     
worthy1 who had a case of philosophic   
and literary scabies4 ,dionysius prided 
himself on being a ,beneficent          
,autocrat1 with a literary and artistic 
attachment4 ,he ruled his people1       
educated them1 cared for them1          
disciplined them4  ,some people call    

this slavery2 others term it applied    
socialism4 ,dionysius wanted ,syracuse  
to be the philosophic center of the     
world1 and to this end ,plato was       
importuned to make ,syracuse his home   
and dispense his specialty--truth4      
,this he consented to do4  ,it was all  
very much like the arrangement between  
,mcenas and ,horace1 or ,voltaire and   
,frederick the ,great4 ,the patron is a 
man who patronizes--he wants something1 
and the particular thing that ,dionysius
 wanted was to have ,plato hold a       
colored light upon the performances of  
,his ,altruistic1 ,beneficent1 ,royal   
,jackanapes4 ,but ,plato was a simple1  
honest and direct man3 he had caught the
 habit from ,socrates4  ,charles        
,ferguson says that the simple life does
 not consist in living in the woods and 
wearing overalls and sandals1 but in    
getting the cant out of one's cosmos and
 eliminating the hypocrisy from one's   
soul4  ,plato lived the simple life4    
,when he spoke he stated what he        

thought4 ,he discussed exploitation1    
war1 taxation1 and the ,divine ,right of
 ,kings4 ,kings are very                
unfortunate--they are shut off and      
shielded from truth on every side4 ,they
 get their facts at second hand and are 
lied to all day long4 ,consequently they
 become in time incapable of digesting  
truth4 ,a court1 being an artificial    
fabric1 requires constant bracing4 ,next
 to capital1 nothing is so timid as a   
king4 ,heine says that kings have to    
draw their nightcaps on over their      
crowns when they go to bed1 in order to 
keep them from being stolen1 and that   
they are subject to insomnia4  ,walt    
,whitman1 with nothing to lose--not even
 a reputation or a hat--was much more   
kingly walking bareheaded past the      
,white ,house than ,nicholas of ,russia 
or ,alfonso of ,spain can ever possibly 
be4  ,dionysius thought that he wanted a
 philosophic court1 but all he wanted   
was to make folks think he had a        
philosophic court4 ,plato supplied him  

the genuine article1 and very naturally 
,plato was soon invited to vacate4      
,after he had gone1 ,dionysius1 fearful 
that ,plato would give him a bad        
reputation in ,athens--somewhat after   
the manner and habit of the escaped     
nun--sent a fast-rowing galley after    
him4 ,plato was arrested and sold into  
slavery on his own isle of gina4  ,this 
all sounds very tragic1 but the real    
fact is it was a sort of comedy of      
errors--as a king's doings are when     
viewed from a safe and convenient       
distance4 ,de ,wolf ,hopper's kings are 
the real thing4 ,dionysius claimed that 
,plato owed him money1 and so he got out
 a body-attachment1 and sold the        
philosopher to the highest bidder4      
,this was a perfectly legal proceeding1 
being simply peonage1 a thing which     
exists in some parts of the ,united     
,states today4 ,i state the fact without
 prejudice1 merely to show how hard     
custom dies4  ,plato was too big a man  
conveniently either to secrete or kill4 

,certain people in ,athens plagiarized  
,doctor ,johnson who1 on hearing that   
,goldsmith had debts of several thousand
 pounds1 in admiration exclaimed1 ,was  
ever poet so trusted before6 ,other good
 friends ascertained the amount of the  
claim and paid it1 just as ,colonel ,h4 
,h4 ,rogers graciously cleared up the   
liabilities of ,mark ,twain1 after the  
author of ,huckleberry ,finn had landed 
his business craft on a sandbar4  ,and  
so ,plato went free1 arriving back in   
,athens1 aged forty1 a wiser and a      
better man than when he left4         99
       99       99       99       99    
,nothing absolves a reputation like     
silence and absence1 or what the village
 editors call the grim reaper4 ,to live 
is always more or less of an offense1   
especially if you have thoughts and     
express them4 ,athens exists1 in degree1
 because she killed ,socrates1 just as  
,jerusalem is unforgetable for a similar
 reason4 ,the ,south did not realize    
that ,lincoln was her best friend until 

the assassin's bullet had found his     
brain4 ,many good men in ,chicago did   
not cease to revile their chiefest      
citizen1 until the ears of ,altgeld were
 stopped and his hands stiffened by     
death4 ,the lips of the dead are        
eloquent4  ,plato's ten years of absence
 had given him prestige4 ,he was honored
 because he had been the near and dear  
friend of ,socrates1 a great and good   
man who was killed through mistake4     
,most murders and killings of men1      
judicial and otherwise1 are matters of  
misunderstandings4  ,plato had been     
driven out of ,syracuse for the very    
reasons that ,socrates had been killed  
at ,athens4 ,and now behold1 when       
,dionysius saw how ,athens was honoring 
,plato1 he discovered that it was all a 
mistake of his bookkeeper1 so he wrote  
to ,plato to come back and all would be 
forgiven4         99       99       99  
99       99  ,those who set out to live 
the ,ideal ,life have a hard trail to   
travel4 ,the road to ,jericho is a rocky

 one--especially if we are a little in  
doubt as to whether it really is the    
road to ,jericho or not4 ,perhaps if we 
ever find the man who lives the ,ideal  
,life he will be quite unaware of it1 so
 occupied will he be in his work--so    
forgetful of self4  ,time had taught    
,plato diplomacy4 ,he now saw that to   
teach people who did not want to be     
taught was an error in judgment for     
which one might forfeit his head4       
,socrates was the first ,democrat3 he   
stood for the demos--the people4 ,plato 
would have done the same1 but he saw    
that the business was extra hazardous1  
to use the phrase of our insurance      
friends4 ,he who works for the people   
will be destroyed by the people4        
,hemlock is such a rare and precious    
commodity that few can afford it2 the   
cross is a privilege so costly that few 
care to pay the price4  ,the genius is a
 man who first states truths2 and all   
truths are unpleasant on their first    
presentation4 ,that which is uncommon is

 offensive4 ,who ever heard anything    
like that before8 ask the literary and  
philosophic hill tribes in fierce       
indignation4 ,says ,james ,russell      
,lowell1 ,i blab unpleasant truths1 you 
see1 that none may need to state them   
after me4  ,plato was a teacher by      
nature3 this was his business1 his      
pastime1 and the only thing in life that
 gave him joy4 ,but he dropped back to  
the good old ways of making truth       
esoteric as did the priests of ,egypt1  
instead of exoteric as did ,socrates4   
,he founded his college in the grove of 
his old friend ,academus1 a mile out of 
,athens on the road to ,eleusis4 ,in    
honor of ,academus the school was called
 ,the ,academy4 ,it was secluded1 safe1 
beautiful for situation4 ,in time ,plato
 bought a tract of land adjoining that  
of ,academus1 and this was set apart as 
the permanent school4 ,all the teaching 
was done out of doors1 master and pupils
 seated on the marble benches1 by the   
fountain-side1 or strolling through the 

grounds1 rich with shrubs and flowers   
and enlivened by the song of birds4 ,the
 climate of ,athens was about like that 
of ,southern ,california1 where the sun 
shines three hundred days in the year4  
,plato emphasized the value of the      
spoken word over the written1 a thing he
 could well afford to do1 since he was a
 remarkably good writer4 ,this for the  
same reason that the only man who can   
afford to go ragged is the man with a   
goodly bank-balance4 ,the shibboleth of 
the modern schools of oratory is1 ,we   
grow through expression4 ,and ,plato was
 the man who first said it4 ,plato's    
teaching was all in the form of the     
quiz1 because he believed that truth was
 not a thing to be acquired from        
another--it is self-discovery4  ,indeed1
 we can imagine it was very             
delightful--this walking1 strolling1    
lying on the grass1 or seated in        
semicircles1 indulging in endless talk1 
easy banter1 with now and then a formal 
essay read to start the vibrations4     

,here it was that ,aristotle came from  
his wild home in the mountains of       
,macedonia1 to remain for twenty years  
and to evolve into a rival of the       
master4  ,we can well imagine how       
,aristotle1 the mountain-climber and    
horseman1 at times grew heartily tired  
of the faultily faultless garden with   
its high wall and graveled walks and    
delicate shrubbery1 and shouted aloud in
 protest1 ,the whole world of mountain1 
valley and plain should be our ,academy1
 not this pent-up ,utica that contracts 
our powers4  ,then followed an argument 
as to the relative value of talking     
about things or doing them1 or ,poetry  
versus ,science4  ,poetry1 philosophy   
and religion are very old themes1 and   
they were old even in ,plato's day2 but 
natural science came in with ,aristotle4
 ,and science is only the classification
 of the common knowledge of the common  
people4 ,it was ,aristotle who named    
things1 not ,adam4 ,he contended that   
the classification and naming of plants1

 rocks and animals was quite as         
important as to classify ideas about    
human happiness and make guesses at the 
state of the soul after death4  ,of     
course he got himself beautifully       
misunderstood1 because he was advocating
 something which had never been         
advocated before4 ,in this lay his      
virtue1 that he outran human sympathy1  
even the sympathy of the great ,plato4  
,yet for a while the unfolding genius of
 this young barbarian was a great joy to
 ,plato1 as the earnest1 eager intellect
 of an ambitious pupil always is to his 
teacher4 ,plato was great in            
speculation2 ,aristotle was great in    
observation4 ,well has it been said that
 it was ,aristotle who discovered the   
world4 ,and ,aristotle in his old age   
said1 ,my attempts to classify the      
objects of ,nature all came through     
,plato's teaching me first how to       
classify ideas4 ,and forty years before 
this ,plato had said1 ,it was ,socrates 
who taught me this game of the          

correlation and classification of       
thoughts4         99       99       99  
99       99  ,the writings of ,plato    
consist of thirty-five dialogues1 and   
one essay which is not cast in the      
dramatic form--,the ,apology4 ,these    
dialogues vary in length from twenty    
pages1 of1 say1 four hundred words each1
 to three hundred pages4 ,in addition to
 these books are many quotations from   
,plato and references to him by         
contemporary writers4 ,plato's work is  
as impersonal as that of ,shakespeare4  
,all human ideas1 shades of belief1     
emotions and desires pass through the   
colander of his mind4 ,he allows        
everybody to have his say4  ,what ,plato
 himself thought can only be inferred1  
and this each reader does for himself4  
,we construct our man ,plato in our own 
image4 ,a critic's highest conception of
 ,plato's philosophy is the highest     
conception of the critic's own4 ,we1    
however1 are reasonably safe in assuming
 that ,plato's own ideas were put into  

the mouth of ,socrates1 for the one     
intent of ,plato's life was to redeem   
,socrates from the charges that had been
 made against him4 ,the characters      
,shakespeare loved are the ones that    
represent the master1 not the hated and 
handmade rogues4  ,plato's position in  
life was that of a spectator rather than
 that of an actor4 ,he stood and saw the
 procession pass by1 and as it passed1  
commented on it4 ,he charged his pupils 
no tuition and accepted no fees1        
claiming that to sell one's influence or
 ideas was immoral4  ,it will be        
remembered that ,byron held a similar   
position at the beginning of his        
literary career1 and declared i' faith1 
he would not prostitute his genius for  
hire4 ,he gave his poems to the world4  
,later1 when his income was pinched1 he 
began to make bargains with ,barabbas   
and became an artist in per centum1     
collecting close1 refusing to rhyme     
without collateral4  ,byron's humanity  
is not seriously disputed4 ,plato also  

was human4 ,he had a fixed income and so
 knew the worthlessness of riches4 ,he  
issued no tariff1 but the goodly        
honorarium left mysteriously on a marble
 bench by a rich pupil he accepted1 and 
for it gave thanks to the gods4 ,he said
 many great things1 but he never said   
this3 ,i would have every man poor that 
he might know the value of money4  ,the 
,republic is the best known and best    
read of any of ,plato's dialogues4 ,it  
outlines an ideal form of government    
where everybody would be healthy1 happy 
and prosperous4 ,it has served as       
inspiration to ,sir ,thomas ,more1      
,erasmus1 ,jean ,jacques ,rousseau1     
,william ,morris1 ,edward ,bellamy1     
,brigham ,young1 ,john ,humphrey ,noyes 
and ,eugene ,debs4 ,the sub-division of 
labor1 by setting apart certain persons 
to do certain things--for instance1 to  
care for the children--has made its     
appeal to ,upton ,sinclair1 who jumped  
from his ,utopian woodshed into a       
rubber-plant and bounced off into       

oblivion4  ,plato's plan was intended to
 relieve marriage from the danger of    
becoming a form of slavery4 ,the rulers1
 teachers and artists especially were to
 be free1 and the ,state was to assume  
all responsibilities4 ,the reason is    
plain3 he wanted them to reproduce      
themselves4 ,but whether genius is an   
acquirement or a natural endowment he   
touches on but lightly4 ,also1 he       
seemingly did not realize that no hovel 
is safe from it4  ,if all marriage-laws 
were done away with1 ,plato thought that
 the men and women who were mated would 
still be true to each other1 and that   
the less the police interfered in       
love-relations1 the better4  ,in one    
respect at least1 ,plato was certainly  
right3 he advocated the equality of the 
sexes1 and declared that no woman should
 be owned by a man nor forced into a    
mode of life1 either by economic        
exigency or marriage1 that was repulsive
 to her4 ,also1 that her right to bear  
children or not should be strictly her  

own affair1 and to dictate to a mother  
as to who should father her children    
tended to the production of a slavish   
race4  ,the eugenics of ,the ,republic  
were tried for thirty years by the      
,oneida ,community with really good     
results1 but one generation of communal 
marriages was proved to be the limit1 a 
thing ,plato now knows from his heights 
in ,elysium1 but which he in his        
bachelor dreams on earth did not        
realize4  ,in his division of labor each
 was to do the thing he was best fitted 
to do1 and which he liked to do4 ,it was
 assumed that each person had a gift1   
and that to use this gift all that was  
necessary was to give him an            
opportunity4 ,that very modern cry of   
equality of opportunity harks back to   
,plato4  ,the monastic impulse was a    
very old thing1 even in the time of     
,plato4 ,the monastic impulse is simply 
cutting for sanctuary when the pressure 
of society gets intense--a getting rid  
of the world by running away from it4   

,this usually occurs when the novitiate 
has exhausted his capacity for sin1 and 
so tries saintship in the hope of       
getting a new thrill4  ,plato had been  
much impressed by the experiments of    
,pythagoras1 who had actually done the  
thing of which ,plato only talked4      
,plato now picked the weak points in the
 ,pythagorean philosophy and sought1 in 
imagination1 to construct a fabric that 
would stand the test of time4  ,however1
 all ,utopias1 like all monasteries and 
penitentiaries1 are made up of picked   
people4 ,the ,oneida ,community was not 
composed of average individuals1 but of 
people who were selected with great     
care1 and only admitted after severe    
tests4 ,and great as was ,plato1 he     
could not outline an ideal plan of life 
except for an ideal people4  ,to remain 
in the world of work and share the      
burdens of all--to ask for nothing which
 other people can not have on like      
terms--not to consider yourself         
peculiar1 unique and therefore immune   

and exempt--is now the ideal of the best
 minds4 ,we have small faith in         
monasticism or monotheism1 but we do    
have great faith in monism4 ,we believe 
in the ,solidarity of the ,race4 ,we    
must all progress together4 ,whether    
,pythagoras1 ,john ,humphrey ,noyes and 
,brigham ,young were ahead of the world 
or behind it is really not to the       
point--the many would not tolerate them4
 ,so their idealism was diluted with    
danger until it became as somber1 sober 
and slaty-gray as the average existence1
 and fades as well as shrinks in the    
wash4  ,a private good is no more       
possible for a community than it is for 
an individual4 ,we help ourselves only  
as we advance the race--we are happy    
only as we minister to the whole4 ,the  
race is one1 and this is monism4  ,and  
here ,socrates and ,plato seemingly     
separate1 for ,socrates in his life     
wanted nothing1 not even joy1 and       
,plato's desire was for peace and       
happiness4 ,yet the ideal of justice in 

,plato's philosophy is very exalted4    
,no writer in that flowering time of    
beauty and reason which we call ,the    
,age of ,pericles exerted so profound an
 influence as ,plato4 ,all the          
philosophers that follow him were       
largely inspired by him4 ,those who     
berated him most were1 very naturally1  
the ones he had most benefited4 ,teach a
 boy to write1 and the probabilities are
 that his first essay1 when he has cut  
loose from his teacher's apron-strings  
and starts a brownie bibliomag1 will be 
in denunciation of the man who taught   
him to push the pen and wield the       
,faber4  ,xenophon was more indebted1   
intellectually1 to ,plato than to any   
other living man1 yet he speaks         
scathingly of his master4 ,plutarch1    
,cicero1 ,iamblichus1 ,pliny1 ,horace   
and all the other ,roman writers read   
,plato religiously4 ,the ,christian     
,fathers kept his work alive1 and passed
 it on to ,dante1 ,petrarch and the     
early writers of the ,renaissance1 so   

all of their thought is well flavored   
with essence of ,plato4 ,well does      
,addison put into the mouth of ,cato    
those well-known words3    ,it must be  
so--,plato1 thou reasonest well6--      
,else whence this pleasing hope1 this   
fond desire1   ,this longing after      
immortality8   ,or whence this secret   
dread1 and inward horror1   ,of falling 
into nought8 ,why shrinks the soul      
,back on herself1 and startles at       
destruction8   ',t is the divinity that 
stirs within us2   ',t is heaven itself1
 that points out an hereafter1   ,and   
intimates eternity to man4  ,all of that
 ,english group of writers in ,addison's
 day knew their ,plato1 exactly as did  
,cato and the other great ,romans of    
near two thousand years before4 ,from   
,plato you can prove that there is a    
life after this for each individual     
soul1 as ,francis of ,assisi proved1 or 
you can take your ,plato1 as did ,hume1 
and show that man lives only in his     
influence1 his individual life returning

 to the mass and becoming a part of all 
the great pulsing existence that ebbs   
and flows through plant and tree and    
flower and flying bird4 ,and today we   
turn to ,plato and find the             
corroboration of our thought that to    
live now and here1 up to our highest and
 best1 is the acme of wisdom4 ,we       
prepare to live by living4 ,if there is 
another world we better be getting ready
 for it4 ,if heaven is an ,ideal        
,republic it is founded on              
unselfishness1 truth1 reciprocity1      
equanimity and co-operation1 and only   
those will be at home there who have    
practised these virtues here4 ,man was  
made for mutual service4 ,this way lies 
,elysium4  ,plato was a teacher of      
teachers1 and like every other great    
teacher who has ever lived1 his soul    
goes marching on1 for to teach is to    
influence1 and influence never dies4    
,hail1 ,plato6     ,illustration3 ,,king
 ,,alfred  ,,king ,,alfred        ,a    
saint without superstition1 a scholar   

without ostentation1 a      warrior who 
fought only in defense of his country1 a
 conqueror      whose laurels were never
 stained with cruelty1 a prince never   
cast      down by adversity1 nor lifted 
up to insolence in the hour of          
triumph--there is no other name in      
,english history to compare with        
his4       --,freeman   ,,king ,,alfred 
,julius ,csar1 the greatest man of      
initiative the world has ever seen1 had 
a nephew known as ,csar ,augustus4  ,the
 grandeur that was ,rome occurred in the
 reign of ,augustus4 ,it was ,augustus  
who said1 ,i found your city mud and ,i 
left it marble6 ,the impetus given to   
the times by ,julius ,csar was conserved
 by ,augustus4 ,he continued the work   
his uncle had planned1 but before he had
 completed it1 he grew very weary1 and  
the weariness he expressed was also the 
old age of the nation4 ,there was lime  
in the bones of the boss4  ,when ,csar  
,augustus said1 ,rome is great          
enough--here we rest1 he merely meant   

that he had reached his limit1 and had  
had enough of road-building4 ,at the    
boundaries of the ,empire and the end of
 each ,roman road he set up a statue of 
the god ,terminus4 ,this god gave his   
blessing to those going beyond1 and a   
welcome to those returning1 just as the 
,stars and ,stripes welcome the traveler
 coming to ,america from across the sea4
 ,this god ,terminus also supplied the  
world1 especially the railroad world1 a 
word4  ,julius ,csar reached his        
terminus and died1 aged fifty-six1 from 
compulsory vaccination4 ,augustus1 aged 
seventy-seven1 died peacefully in bed4  
,the reign of ,augustus marks the crest 
of the power of ,rome1 and a crest is a 
place where no man nor nation           
stays--when you reach it1 you go over   
and down on the other side4  ,when      
,augustus set up his ,termini1          
announcing to all mankind that this was 
the limit1 the enemies of ,rome took    
courage and became active4 ,the ,goths  
and ,vandals1 hanging on the skirts of  

,rome1 had learned many things1 and one 
of the things was that1 for getting rich
 quick1 conquest is better than         
production4 ,the barbarians1 some of    
whom evidently had a sense of humor1 had
 a way of picking up the ,termini and   
carrying them inward1 and finally they  
smashed them entirely1 somewhat as      
country boys1 out hunting1 shoot        
railroad-signs full of holes4         99
       99       99       99       99    
,in the ,middle ,ages the soldier was   
supreme1 and in the name of protecting  
the people he robbed the people1 a      
tradition much respected1 but not in the
 breach4  ,to escape the scourge of war1
 certain families and tribes moved      
northward4 ,it was fight and turmoil in 
,southern ,europe that settled ,norway1 
,sweden and ,denmark1 and produced the  
,norsemen4 ,and in making for themselves
 a home in the wilderness1 battling with
 the climate and unkind conditions1     
there was evolved a very strong and     
sturdy type of man4  ,on the north shore

 of the ,baltic dwelt the ,norsemen4    
,along the southern shore were scattered
 several small tribes or families who   
were not strong enough in numbers to    
fight the ,goths1 and so sought peace   
with them1 and were taxed--or           
pillaged--often to the point of         
starvation4 ,they were so poor and      
insignificant that the ,romans really   
never heard of them1 and they never     
heard of the ,romans1 save in myth and  
legend4 ,they lived in caves and rude   
stone huts4 ,they fished1 hunted1 raised
 goats and farmed1 and finally1 about   
the year ,three ,hundred1 they secured  
horses1 which they bought from the      
,goths1 who stole them from the ,romans4
  ,their ,government was the ,folkmoot1 
the germ of the ,new ,england ,town     
,meeting4 ,all the laws were passed by  
all the people1 and in the making of    
these laws1 the women had an equal voice
 with the men4  ,when important steps   
were to be taken where the interests of 
the whole tribe were at stake1 great    

deference was paid to the opinions of   
the mothers4 ,for the mother spoke not  
only for herself1 but for her children4 
,the mother was the home-maker4 ,the    
word wife means weaver2 and this        
deference to the one member of the      
family who invented1 created1 preparing 
both the food and the clothing1 is a    
marked ,teutonic instinct4 ,its survival
 is seen yet in the sturdy ,german of   
the middle class1 who takes his wife and
 children with him when he goes to the  
concert or to the beer-garden4 ,so has  
he always taken his family with him on  
his migrations2 whereas the ,greeks and 
the ,romans left their women behind4    
,south ,america was colonized by        
,spanish men4 ,and the ,indians and the 
,negroes absorbed the haughty grandee1  
yet preserved the faults and failings of
 both4  ,the ,german who moves to       
,america comes to stay--his family is a 
part of himself4 ,the ,italian comes    
alone1 and his intent is to make what he
 can and return4 ,this is a modified    

form of conquest4  ,the ,romans who came
 to ,brittany in ,csar's time were men4 
,those who remained took to themselves  
wives among the daughters of ,philistia1
 as strong men ever are wont to do when 
they seek to govern savage tribes4 ,and 
note this--instead of raising the       
savages or barbarians to their level1   
they sink to theirs4 ,the child takes   
the status of the mother4 ,the white man
 who marries an ,indian woman becomes an
 ,indian and their children are         
,indians4 ,with the ,negro race the same
 law holds4  ,the ,teutonic races have  
conquered the world because they took   
their women with them on their          
migrations1 mental and physical4 ,and   
the moral seems to be this1 that the men
 who progress financially1 morally and  
spiritually are those who do not leave  
their women-folk behind4         99     
99       99       99       99  ,when we 
think of the ,english1 we usually have  
in mind the ,british ,isles4 ,but the   
original ,england was situated along the

 southern shore of the ,baltic ,sea4    
,this was the true ,eng-,land1 the land 
of the ,engles or ,angles4 ,to one side 
lay ,jute-,land1 the home of the ,jutes4
 ,on the other was ,saxony1 where dwelt 
the ,saxons4  ,jute-,land still lives in
 ,jutland2 the land of the ,saxons is   
yet so indicated on the map2 but        
,eng-,land was transported bodily a     
thousand miles1 and her original        
territory became an abandoned farm where
 barbarians battled4  ,and now behold   
how ,england has diffused herself all   
over the world1 with the ,british ,isles
 as a base of supplies1 or a radiating  
center4 ,behind this twenty miles of    
water that separates ,calais and ,dover 
she found safety and security1 and there
 her brain and brawn evolved and        
expanded4 ,so there are now             
,anglo-,americans1 ,anglo-,africans1    
,anglo-,indians1 ,anglo-,australians1   
and ,anglo-,new-,zealanders4 ,as the    
native ,indians of ,america and the     
,maoris of ,new ,zealand have given way 

before the onward push and persistence  
of the ,english1 so likewise did the    
ancient ,britons give way and were      
absorbed by the ,anglo-,saxons2 and then
 the ,saxons1 being a little too fine   
for the stern competitor1 allowed the   
,engles to take charge4 ,and as ,dutch1 
,germans1 ,slavs and ,swedes are        
transformed with the second generation  
into ,english-,americans when they come 
to ,america1 so did the people from     
,eng-,land fuse ,saxons1 ,norsemen1     
,jutes1 ,celts and ,britons into one    
people and fix upon them the indelible  
stamp of ,eng-,land4  ,yet it is obvious
 that the characters of the people of   
,england have been strengthened1        
modified and refined by contact with the
 various races she has met1 mixed with  
and absorbed4 ,to influence others is to
 grow4 ,had ,england been satisfied to  
people and hold the ,british ,isles1 she
 would ere this have been outrun and    
absorbed by ,spain or ,france4 ,to stand
 still is to retreat4 ,it is the same   

with men as it is with races4 ,england's
 ,colonies have been her strength4 ,they
 have given her poise1 reserve1         
ballast--and enough trouble to prevent  
either revolution1 stagnation or        
introspection4  ,nations have their     
periods of youth1 manhood and old age4  
,whether ,england is now passing into   
decline1 living her life in her         
children1 the ,colonies1 might be       
indelicate to ask4 ,perhaps as ,briton1 
,celt1 ,jute and ,saxon were fused to   
make that hardy1 courageous1 restless   
and sinewy man known as the ,englishman1
 so are the ,english1 the ,dutch1 the   
,swede1 the ,german1 the ,slav1         
transplanted into ,america1 being fused 
into a composite man who shall surpass  
any type that the world has ever seen4  
,in the ,british ,isles1 just as in the 
great cities1 mankind gets pot-bound4   
,in the newer lands1 the roots strike   
deep into the soil1 and find the        
sustenance the human plant requires4    
,walls keep folks in as well as shut    

other folks out4 ,the ,british ,isles1  
rock-faced and sea-girted1 shut out the 
enemies of ,england without shutting the
 ,english in4 ,a country surrounded by  
the sea produces sailors1 and ,england's
 position bred a type of man that made  
her mistress of the seas4 ,as her       
drum-taps1 greeting the rising sun1     
girdle the world1 so do her lighthouses 
flash protection to the mariner wherever
 the hungry sea lies in wait along rocky
 coasts1 the round world over4 ,england 
has sounded the shallows1 marked the    
rocks and reefs1 and mapped the coasts4 
,the first settlement of ,saxons in     
,britain occurred in the year ,four     
,hundred ,forty-nine4 ,they did not come
 as invaders1 as did the ,romans five   
hundred years before2 their numbers were
 too few1 and their arms too crude to   
mean menace to the swarthy1 black-haired
 ,britons4 ,these fair stranger-folk    
were welcomed as curiosities and were   
allowed to settle and make themselves   
homes4 ,word was sent back to ,saxony   

and ,jute-,land and more settlers came4 
,in a few years came a shipload of      
,engles1 with their women and children1 
red-haired1 freckled1 tawny4 ,they      
tilled the soil with a faith and an     
intelligence such as the ,britons never 
brought to bear3 very much as the       
,german settlers follow the pioneers and
 grow rich where the ,mudsock fails4    
,naturally the fair-haired girls found  
favor in the sight of the swarthy       
,britons4 ,marriages occurred1 and a new
 type of man-child appeared as the      
months went by4 ,more ,engles came4 ,a  
century passed1 and the coast1 from     
,kent to the ,firth of ,forth1 was      
dotted with the farms and homes of the  
people from the ,baltic4 ,there were now
 occasional protests from the original  
holders1 and fights followed1 when the  
,britons retreated before the strangers1
 or else were very glad to make terms4  
,victory is a matter of staying-power4  
,the ,engles had come to stay4  ,but a  
new enemy had appeared--the ,norsemen or

 ,danes4 ,these were sea-nomads who     
acknowledged no man as master4 ,rough1  
bold1 laughing at disaster1 with no     
patience to build or dig or plow1 they  
landed but to ravish1 steal and lay     
waste1 and then boarded their craft1    
sailing away1 joying in the ruin they   
had wrought4  ,the next year they came  
back4 ,the industry and the thrift of   
the ,engles made ,britain a land of     
promise1 a storehouse where the good    
things of life could be secured much    
more easily than by creating or         
producing them4 ,and so now1 before this
 common foe1 the ,britons1 ,jutes1      
,celts1 ,saxons and ,engles united to   
punish and expel the invaders4  ,the    
calamity was a blessing--as most        
calamities are4 ,from being a dozen     
little kingdoms1 ,britain now became    
one4 ,a ,cyng1 or captain1 was          
chosen--an ,engle1 strong of arm1 clear 
of brain1 blue of eye1 with long yellow 
hair4 ,he was a man who commanded       
respect by his person and by his deeds4 

,his name was ,egbert4  ,king ,alfred1  
or ,elfred1 was born at ,wantage1       
,berkshire1 in the year ,eight ,hundred 
,forty-nine4 ,he was the grandson of    
,egbert1 a great man1 and the son of    
,ethelwulf1 a man of mediocre qualities4
 ,alfred was shrewd enough to inherit   
the courage and persistence of his      
grandfather4 ,our ,d4 ,a4 ,r4 friends   
are right and ,mark ,twain is wrong--it 
is really more necessary to have a      
grandfather than a father4  ,english    
civilization begins with ,alfred4 ,if   
you will refer to the dictionary you    
will find that the word civilization    
simply means to be civil4 ,that is1 if  
you are civilized you are gentle instead
 of violent--gaining your ends by kindly
 and persuasive means1 instead of       
through coercion1 intimidation and      
force4  ,alfred was the first ,english  
gentleman1 and let no joker add and the 
last4 ,yet it is needless and quite     
irrelevant to say that civilized people 
are not always civil2 nor are gentlemen 

always gentle--so little do words count4
 ,many gentlemen are only gents4        
,alfred was civil and gentle4 ,he had   
been sent to ,rome in his boyhood1 and  
this transplantation had done him a     
world of good4 ,superior men are always 
transplanted men3 people who do not     
travel have no perspective4 ,to stay at 
home means getting pot-bound4 ,you      
neither search down in the soil for     
color and perfume nor reach out strong  
toward the sunshine4  ,it was only a few
 years before the time of ,alfred that a
 ,christian monk appeared at            
,edin-,borough1 and told the astonished 
,engles and ,saxons of the gentle       
,jesus1 who had been sent to earth by   
the ,all-,father to tell men they should
 love their enemies and be gentle and   
civil and not violent1 and should do    
unto others as they would be done by4   
,the natural religion of the ,great     
,spirit which the ancient ,teutonic     
people held had much in it that was     
good1 but now they were prepared for    

something better--they had the hope of a
 heaven of rest and happiness after     
death4  ,christianity flourishes best   
among a downtrodden1 poor1 subdued and  
persecuted people4 ,renan says it is a  
religion of sorrow4 ,and primitive      
,christianity--the religion of          
conduct--is a beautiful and pure        
doctrine that no sane person ever       
flouted or scoffed4  ,the parents of    
,alfred1 filled with holy zeal1 allowed 
one of the missionary monks to take the 
boy to ,rome4 ,the idea was that he     
should become a bishop in the ,church4  
,ethelred1 the elder brother of ,alfred1
 had succeeded ,ethelwulf1 his father1  
as ,king4 ,the ,danes had overrun and   
ravished the country4 ,for many years   
these marauding usurpers had fed their  
armies on the products of the land4 ,and
 now they had more than two-thirds of   
the country under their control1 and the
 fear that they would absolutely        
subjugate the ,anglo-,saxons was        
imminent4 ,ethelwulf gave up the        

struggle in despair and died4 ,ethelred 
fell in battle4 ,and as the ,greeks of  
old in their terror cast around for the 
strongest man they could find to repel  
the ,persian invaders1 and picked on the
 boy ,alexander1 so did the             
,anglo-,saxons turn to ,alfred1 the     
gentle and silent4 ,he was only         
twenty-three years old4 ,in build he was
 slight and slender1 but he had given   
token of his courage for four years1    
fighting with his brother4 ,he had      
qualities that were closely akin to     
those of both ,alexander and ,csar4 ,he 
had a cool1 clear and vivid intellect   
and he had invincible courage4 ,but he  
surpassed both of the men just named in 
that he had a tender1 sympathetic heart4
  ,the ,danes were overconfident1 and   
had allowed their discipline to relax4  
,alfred had at first evidently          
encouraged them in their idea that they 
had won1 for he struck feebly and then  
withdrew his army to the marshes1 where 
the ,danish horsemen could not follow4  

,the ,danes went into winter quarters1  
fat and feasting4 ,alfred made a        
definite plan for a campaign1 drilled   
his men1 prayed with them1 and filled   
their hearts with the one idea that they
 were going forth to certain victory4   
,and to victory they went4 ,they fell   
upon the ,danes with an impetuosity as  
unexpected as it was invincible1 and    
before they could get into their armor1 
or secure their horses1 they were in a  
rout4 ,every timid ,engle and ,saxon now
 took heart--it was the ,lord's         
victory--they were fighting for         
home--the ,danes gave way4 ,this was not
 all accomplished quite as easily as ,i 
am writing it1 but difficulties1        
deprivations and disaster only brought  
out new resources in ,alfred4 ,he was as
 serenely hopeful as was ,washington at 
,valley ,forge1 and his soldiers were   
just as ragged4 ,he1 too1 like ,thomas  
,paine1 cried1 ,these are the times that
 try men's souls--be grateful for this  
crisis1 for it will give us opportunity 

to show that we are men4 ,he had aroused
 his people to a pitch where the ,danes 
would have had to kill them all1 or else
 give way4 ,as they could not kill them 
they gave way4 ,napoleon at twenty-six  
was master of ,france and had ,italy    
under his heel1 and so was ,alfred at   
the same age supreme in ,southern       
,britain--including ,wessex and ,mercia4
 ,he rounded up the enemy1 took away    
their weapons1 and then held a          
revival-meeting1 asking everybody to    
come forward to the mourners'-bench4    
,there is no proof that he coerced them 
into ,christianity4 ,they were glad to  
accept it4 ,alfred seemed to have the   
persuasive power of the ,reverend       
,doctor ,torrey4 ,guthrum1 the ,danish  
,king1 who had come over to take a      
personal hand in the looting1 was       
captured1 baptized1 and then ,alfred    
stood sponsor for him and gave him the  
name of ,ethelstan4 ,he was made a      
bishop4  ,this acceptance of            
,christianity by the leaders of the     

,danes broke their fierce spirit1 and   
peace followed4 ,alfred told the        
soldiers to use their horses to plow the
 fields4 ,the two armies that had fought
 each other now worked together at      
road-making and draining the marshes4   
,some of the ,danes fled in their ships1
 but very many remained and became      
citizens of the country4 ,the ,danish   
names are still recognizable4 ,names    
beginning with the aspirate1 say        
,herbert1 ,hulett1 ,hubbard1 ,hubbs1    
,harold1 ,hancock1 are ,danish1 and are 
the cause of that beautiful muddling of 
the ,h that still perplexes the ,british
 tongue1 the rule governing which is to 
put it on where it is not needed and    
leave it off where it is4 ,the ,danes   
called the ,engles1 ,hengles1 and the   
,engles called a man by the name of     
,henry1 ,enry4  ,in saving ,wessex1     
,alfred saved ,england for the ,english 
people2 for it was from ,wessex1 as a   
center1 that his successors began the   
task of reconquering ,england from the  

,danes4         99       99       99    
99       99  ,with the rule of ,alfred  
begins the ,england that we know4 ,as we
 call ,herodotus the father of history1 
so could we1 with equal propriety1 call 
,asser1 who wrote in the time of        
,alfred1 the father of ,english history4
 ,the oldest ,english book is the ,life 
of ,alfred by ,asser the monk4  ,that   
,asser was a dependent on his subject   
and very much in love with him1         
doubtless gave a very strong bias to the
 book4 ,that it is right in the main1   
although occasionally wrong as to       
details1 is proved by various           
corroborating records4  ,the king's word
 in ,alfred's time was law1 and ,alfred 
proved his modesty by publicly          
proclaiming that a king was not divine1 
but only a man1 and therefore a king's  
edicts should be endorsed by the people 
in ,folkmoot4 ,here we get the genesis  
of popular government1 and about the    
only instance that ,i can recall where a
 very strong man acting as chief ruler  

renounced a part of his power to the    
people1 of his own accord4 ,kings       
usually have to be trimmed1 and it is   
revolution that does the shearing4 ,it  
is the rule that men do not relinquish  
power of their own accord--they have to 
be disannexed from it4  ,alfred1        
however1 knew the popular heart--he was 
very close to the common people4 ,he had
 slept on the ground with his soldiers1 
fared at table with the swineherd's     
family1 tilled the soil with the farmer 
folk4 ,his heart went out to humanity4  
,he did not overrate the average mind1  
nor did he underrate it4 ,he had faith  
in mankind1 and knew that at the last   
power was with the people4 ,he did not  
say1 ,vox populi1 vox ,dei1 but he      
thought it4 ,therefore he set himself to
 educating the plain people4 ,he        
prophesied a day when all grown men     
would be able to read and write1 and    
when all would have an intelligent1     
personal interest in the government4    
,there have been periods in ,english    

history when ,britain lagged woefully   
behind1 for ,england has had kings who  
forgot the rights of mankind1 and       
instead of seeking to serve their       
people1 have battened and fattened upon 
them4 ,they governed4 ,george the ,third
 thought that ,alfred was a barbarian1  
and spoke of him with patronizing pity4 
,alfred introduced the system of trial  
by jury1 although the fact has been     
pointed out that he did not originate   
it4 ,it goes back to the hardy ,norseman
 who acknowledged no man as master1     
harking back to a time when there was no
 law1 and to a people whose collective  
desire was supreme4 ,in fact1 it has its
 origin in ,lynch ,law1 or the rule of  
the ,vigilantes4 ,from a village turning
 loose on an offender and pulling him   
limb from limb1 a degree of deliberation
 comes in and a committee of twelve are 
selected to investigate the deed and    
report their verdict4  ,the jury system 
began with pirates and robbers1 but it  
is no less excellent on that account1   

and we might add that freedom also began
 with pirates and robbers1 for they were
 the people who cried1 ,we acknowledge  
no man as master4  ,the early ,greeks   
had trials by jury--,socrates was tried 
by a jury of five hundred citizens4     
,but let the fact stand that ,alfred was
 the man who first introduced the jury  
system into ,england4 ,he had absolute  
power4 ,he was the sole judge and ruler1
 but on various occasions he abdicated  
the throne and said3 ,i do not feel able
 to try this man1 for as ,i look into my
 heart ,i see that ,i am prejudiced4    
,neither will ,i name men to try him1   
for in their selection ,i might also be 
prejudiced4 ,therefore let one hundred  
men be called1 and from these let twelve
 be selected by lot1 and they shall     
listen to the charges and weigh the     
defense1 and their verdict shall be     
mine4  ,we sometimes say that ,english  
,common ,law is built on the ,roman     
,law1 but ,i can not find that ,alfred  
ever studied the ,roman ,law1 or ever   

heard of the ,justinian ,code1 or       
thought it worth while to establish a   
system of jurisprudence4 ,his government
 was of the simplest sort4 ,he respected
 the habits1 ways and customs of the    
common people1 and these were the       
,common ,law4 ,if the people had a      
footpath that was used by their children
 and their parents and their            
grandparents1 then this path belonged to
 the people1 and ,alfred said that even 
the ,king could not take it from them4  
,this deference to the innocent ways1   
habits and natural rights of the people 
mark ,alfred as supremely great1 because
 a great man is one great in his        
sympathies4 ,alfred had the imagination 
to put himself in the place of the lowly
 and obscure4  ,the ,english love of    
law1 system and order dates from        
,alfred4 ,the patience1 kindliness1     
good-cheer and desire for fair play were
 his1 plus4 ,he had poise1 equanimity1  
unfaltering faith and a courage that    
never grew faint4 ,he was as religious  

as ,cromwell1 as firm as ,washington1 as
 stubborn as ,gladstone4 ,in him were   
combined the virtues of the scholar and 
patriot1 the efficiency of the man of   
affairs with the wisdom of the          
philosopher4 ,his character1 both public
 and private1 is stainless1 and his     
whole life was one of enlightened and   
magnanimous service to his country4     
99       99       99       99       99  
,in the age of ,augustus there was one  
study that was regarded as more         
important than all others1 and this was 
rhetoric1 or the art of the rhetor4 ,the
 rhetor was a man whose business it was 
to persuade or convince4  ,the public   
forum has its use in the very natural   
town-meeting1 or the powwow of savages4 
,but in ,rome it had developed and been 
refined to a point where the public had 
no voice1 although the boasted forum    
still existed4 ,the forum was           
monopolized by the professional orators 
hired by this political clique or that4 
,it was about like the political forum  

in ,america today4  ,the greatest man in
 ,rome was the man who could put up the 
greatest talk4 ,so all ,roman mammas and
 matrons had their boys study rhetoric4 
,the father of ,seneca had a school of  
oratory where rich ,roman youths were   
taught to mouth in orotund and          
gesticulate in curves4 ,he must have    
been a pretty good teacher1 for he had  
two extraordinary sons1 one of whom is  
mentioned in the ,bible1 and a most     
exemplary daughter4  ,oratory as an end 
we now regard as an unworthy art4 ,the  
first requisite is to feel deeply--to   
have a message--and then if you are a   
person of fair intelligence and in good 
health1 you'll impress your hearers4    
,but to hire out to impress people with 
another's theme is to be a pettifogger1 
and the genus pettifogger has nearly had
 his day4  ,history moves in circles4   
,the ,chicago ,common ,council1 weary of
 rhetoric1 has recently declined to     
listen to paid attorneys2 but any       
citizen who speaks for himself and his  

neighbors can come before the ,council  
and state his case4  ,chief ,justice    
,fuller has given it as his opinion that
 there will come a day in ,america when 
damage-cases will be taken care of by an
 automatic tribunal1 without the help of
 lawyers4 ,and as a man fills out a     
request for a money-order at the        
,post-,office1 so will he file his claim
 for damages1 and it will have          
attention4 ,the contingent fee will yet 
be a misdemeanor4 ,also1 it will be     
possible for plain citizens to be able  
to go before a ,court of ,equity and be 
heard without regard to law and         
precedent and attorney's quillets and   
quibbles1 which so often hamper justice4
 ,justice should be cheap and easy1     
instead of costly and complex4          
,evidently the ,chief ,justice had in   
mind the usages in the time of ,king    
,alfred1 when the barrister was an      
employee of the court1 and his business 
was to get the facts and then explain   
them to the ,king in the fewest possible

 words4  ,alfred considered a paid      
advocate1 or even a counselor1 as       
without the pale1 and such men were     
never allowed at court4 ,if the         
barrister accepted a fee from a man     
suing for justice1 he was disbarred4    
,finally1 however1 the practise of      
feeing in order to renew the zeal of a  
barrister grew so that it had to be     
tolerated1 because things we can't      
suppress we license1 and a pocket was   
placed on each barrister's back between 
his shoulders where he could not reach  
it without taking off his gown1 and into
 this pocket clients were allowed slyly 
to slip such gratuities as they could   
afford4  ,but the general practise of   
the client paying the barrister1 instead
 of the court1 was not adopted for      
several hundred years later1 and then it
 was regarded as an expeditious move to 
keep down litigation and punish the     
client for being fool enough not to     
settle his own troubles4  ,in ,england  
the rudimentary pocket still survives1  

like the buttons on the back of a coat1 
which were once used to support the     
sword-belt4  ,in ,america we have done  
away with wigs and gowns for attorneys1 
but attorneys are still regarded as     
attaches of the court1 even though      
one-half of them1 according to ,judge   
,de,courcy of ,boston1 are engaged most 
of the time in attempts to bamboozle and
 befog the judge and jury and defeat the
 ends of justice4 ,likewise1 we still   
use the word ,court1 signifying the     
place where lives royalty1 even for the 
dingy office of a country ,j4 ,p41 where
 sawdust spittoons are the bric-a-brac  
and patent-office reports loom large1   
and justice is dispensed with4 ,we now  
also commonly call the man the ,court4  
99       99       99       99       99  
,alfred was filled with a desire to     
educate1 and to this end organized a    
school at the ,ox ,ford1 where his      
friend ,asser taught4 ,this school was  
the germ of the ,university of ,oxford4 
,attached to this school was a farm1    

where the boys were taught how to sow   
and plant and reap to the best          
advantage4 ,here they also bred and     
raised horses and cattle1 and the care  
of livestock was a part of the          
curriculum4 ,it was the first ,college  
of ,agriculture4  ,it comes to us as    
somewhat of a surprise to see how we are
 now going back to simplicity1 and the  
agricultural college is being given the 
due and thoughtful consideration which  
it deserves4 ,twenty years ago our      
agricultural college was considered more
 or less of a joke1 but now that which  
adds greatly to the wealth of the       
nation1 and the happiness and well-being
 of the people1 is looked upon as worthy
 of our support and highest respect4    
,up to the time of ,alfred1 ,england had
 no navy4 ,for the government to own    
ships seemed quite preposterous1 since  
the people had come to ,england to stay1
 and were not marauders intent on       
exploitation and conquest1 like the     
,norsemen4  ,but after ,alfred had      

vanquished the ,danes and they had      
settled down as citizens1 he took their 
ships1 refitted them1 built more and    
said3 ,no more marauders shall land on  
these shores4 ,if we are threatened we  
will meet the enemy on the sea4  ,in a  
few years along came a fleet of         
marauding ,norse4 ,the ,english ships on
 the lookout gave the alarm1 and        
,england's navy put out to meet them4   
,the enemy were taken by surprise1 and  
the fate that five hundred years later  
was to overtake the ,spanish ,armada1   
was theirs4  ,from that time to this1   
,england has had a navy that has        
gradually grown in power4  ,let no one  
imagine that peace and rest came to     
,alfred4 ,his life was a battle1 for not
 only did he have to fight the ,danes1  
but he had to struggle with ignorance1  
stupidity and superstition at home4 ,to 
lead men out of captivity is a thankless
 task4 ,they always ask when you take   
away their superstition1 ,what are you  
going to give us in return8 ,they do not

 realize that superstition is a disease1
 and that to give another disease in    
return is not nice1 necessary or polite4
   ,alfred died1 at the age of          
fifty-two1 worn out with his ceaseless  
labors of teaching1 building1 planning1 
inventing and devising methods and means
 for the betterment and benefit of his  
people4  ,after his death1 the ,danes   
were successful1 and ,canute became     
,king of ,england4 ,but he was proud to 
be called an ,englishman1 and declared  
he was no longer a ,dane4  ,and so      
,england captured him4  ,then came the  
,norman ,william1 claiming the throne by
 right of succession1 and successfully  
battling for it2 but the ,english people
 reckoned the ,conqueror as of their own
 blood--their kith and kin--and so he   
was4 ,he issued an edict forbidding any 
one to call him or his followers        
,norman1 ,norse or ,norsemen1 and       
declared there was a ,united ,england4  
,and so he lived and died an            
,englishman2 and after him no ruler1    

these nine hundred years1 has ever sat  
on the throne of the ,engles by right of
 conquest4  ,both ,canute and ,william  
recognized and prized the worth of      
,alfred's rule4 ,the virtues of ,alfred 
are the virtues that have made it       
possible for the ,teutonic tribes to    
girdle the globe4 ,it was ,alfred who   
taught the nobility of industry1        
service1 education1 patience1 loyalty1  
persistence1 and the faith and hope that
 abide4 ,by pen1 tongue1 and best of all
 by his life1 ,alfred taught the truths 
which we yet hold dear4 ,and by this    
sign shall ye conquer6                  
,illustration3 ,,erasmus  ,,erasmus     
,we see not a few mortals who1 striving 
to emulate this divine      virtue with 
more zeal than success1 fall into a     
feeble and      disjointed loquacity1   
obscuring the subject and burdening the 
wretched ears of their hearers with a   
vacant mass of words and      sentences 
crowded together beyond all possibility 
of enjoyment4 ,and      writers who have

 tried to lay down the principles of    
this art have      gained no other      
result than to display their own poverty
 while      expounding abundance4       
--,erasmus on ,preaching   ,,erasmus    
,erasmus was born in ,fourteen ,hundred 
,sixty-six1 and died in ,fifteen        
,hundred ,thirty-six4 ,no thinker of his
 time influenced the world more4 ,he    
stood at a pivotal point1 and some say  
he himself was the intellectual pivot of
 the ,renaissance4  ,the critics of the 
times were unanimous in denouncing      
him--which fact recommends him to us4   
,several ,churchmen1 high in power1 live
 in letters for no other reason than    
because they coupled their names with   
that of ,erasmus by reviling him4 ,let  
the critics take courage--they may      
outwit oblivion yet1 even though they do
 nothing but carp4 ,only let them be    
wise1 and carp1 croak1 cough1 cat-call  
and sneeze at some one who is hitching  
his wagon to a star4 ,this way          
immortality lies4 ,erasmus was a monk   

who flocked by himself1 and found       
diversion in ridiculing monkery4 ,also1 
he was the wisest man of his day4       
,wisdom is the distilled essence of     
intuition1 corroborated by experience4  
,learning is something else4 ,usually1  
the learned man is he who has delved    
deep and soared high4 ,but few there be 
who dive1 that fish the murex up4 ,among
 those who soar1 the ones who come back 
and tell us of what they have seen1 are 
few4 ,like ,lazarus1 they say nothing4  
,erasmus had a sense of humor4 ,humor is
 a life-preserver and saves you from    
drowning when you jump off into a sea of
 sermons4 ,a theologian who can not     
laugh is apt to explode--he is very     
dangerous4 ,erasmus1 ,luther1 ,beecher1 
,theodore ,parker1 ,roger ,williams1    
,joseph ,parker--all could laugh4       
,calvin1 ,cotton ,mather and ,jonathan  
,edwards never gurgled in glee1 nor     
chortled softly at their own            
witticisms--or those of others4         
,erasmus smiled4 ,he has been called the

 ,voltaire of his day4 ,what ,rousseau  
was to ,voltaire1 ,luther was to        
,erasmus4 ,well did ,diderot say that   
,erasmus laid the egg which ,luther     
hatched4 ,erasmus wrote for the         
educated1 the refined1 the              
learned--,luther made his appeal to the 
plain and common mind4  ,luther split   
the power of the ,pope4 ,erasmus thought
 it a calamity to do so1 because he     
believed that strife of sects tended to 
make men lose sight of the one essential
 in religion--harmony--and cause them   
simply to struggle for victory4 ,erasmus
 wanted to trim the wings of the papal  
office and file its claws--,luther would
 have destroyed it4 ,erasmus considered 
the ,church a very useful and needful   
organization--for social reasons4 ,it   
tended to regulate life and conduct and 
made men decentable4 ,it should be a    
school of ethics1 and take a leading    
part in every human betterment4 ,man    
being a gregarious animal1 the          
congregation is in the line of natural  

desire4 ,the excuse for gathering       
together is religion--let them gather4  
,the ,catholic ,church is not two       
thousand years old--it is ten thousand  
years old and goes back to ,egypt4 ,the 
birth of ,jesus formed merely a         
psychosis in the ,church's existence4   
,here he parted company with ,luther1   
who was a dogmatist and wanted to debate
 his ninety-five theses4 ,erasmus       
laughed at all religious disputations   
and called them mazes that led to       
cloudland4 ,very naturally1 people said 
he was not sincere1 since the mediocre  
mind never knows that only the paradox  
is true4 ,hence ,erasmus was hated by   
,catholics and denounced by             
,protestants4  ,the marvel is that the  
men with fetters and fagots did not     
follow him with a purpose4 ,fifty years 
later he would have been snuffed out4   
,but at that time ,rome was so          
astonished to think that any one should 
criticize her that she lost breath4     
,besides1 it was an age of laughter1 of 

revolt1 of contests of wit1 of          
love-bouts and love-scrapes1 and the    
monks who lapsed were too many to       
discipline4 ,everybody was busy with his
 own affairs4 ,happy time6  ,erasmus was
 part and parcel of the ,italian        
,renaissance4 ,over his head blazes1 in 
letters that burn1 the unforgetable     
date1 ,fourteen ,hundred ,ninety-two4   
,he was a part of the great unrest1 and 
he helped cause the great unrest4 ,every
 great awakening1 every renaissance1 is 
an age of doubt4 ,an age of conservatism
 is an age of moss1 of lichen1 of rest1 
rust and ruin4 ,we grow only as we      
question4 ,as long as we are sure that  
the present order is perfect1 we button 
our collars behind1 a thing which       
,columbus1 ,luther1 ,melanchthon1       
,erasmus1 ,michelangelo1 ,leonardo and  
,gutenberg1 who all lived at this one   
time1 never did4 ,the year of ,fourteen 
,hundred ,ninety-two1 like the year     
,seventeen ,hundred ,seventy-six1 was   
essentially infidelic1 just as the      

present age is constructively           
iconoclastic4 ,we are tearing down our  
barns to build greater4 ,the railroadman
 who said1 ,i throw an engine on the    
scrap-heap every morning before         
breakfast1 expressed a great truth4 ,we 
are discarding bad things for good ones1
 and good things for better ones4       
99       99       99       99       99  
,rotterdam has the honor of being the   
birthplace of ,erasmus4 ,a storm of     
calumny was directed at him during his  
life concerning the irregularity of his 
birth4 ,he had no business to be born at
 all1 said a proud prelate1 as he       
gathered his robes close around his     
prebendal form4 ,but souls knock at the 
gates of life for admittance1 and the   
fact that a man exists is proof of his  
right to live4 ,the word illegitimate is
 not in the vocabulary of ,god4 ,if you 
do not know that1 you have not read ,his
 instructive and amusing works4  ,the   
critics variously declared the mother of
 ,erasmus was a royal lady1 a           

physician's only daughter1 a            
kitchen-wench1 a ,mother ,superior--all 
according to the prejudices             
preconceived4 ,in one sense she was     
surely a ,mother ,superior--let the lies
 neutralize one another4  ,the fact is1 
we do not know who the mother of        
,erasmus was4 ,all we know is that she  
was the mother of ,erasmus4 ,here       
history halts4 ,her son once told ,sir  
,thomas ,more that she was married to a 
luckless nobody a few months after the  
birth of her first baby1 and amid the   
cares of raising a goodly brood of      
nobodies on a scant allowance of love   
and rye-bread1 she was glad to forget   
her early indiscretions4 ,not so the    
father4 ,the debated question of whether
 a man really has any parental love is  
answered here4  ,the father of ,erasmus 
was ,gerhard von ,praet1 and the child  
was called ,gerhard ,gerhards--or the   
son of ,gerhard4 ,the father was a man  
of property and held office under the   
,state4 ,at the time of the birth of the

 illustrious baby1 ,gerhard von ,praet  
was not married1 and it is reasonable to
 suppose that the reason he did not wed 
the mother of his child was because she 
belonged to a different social station4 
,in any event the baby was given the    
father's name1 and every care and       
attention was paid the tiny voyager4    
,this father was as foolish as most fond
 mothers1 for he dreamed out a great    
career for the motherless one1 and made 
sundry prophecies4  ,at six years of age
 the child was studying ,latin1 when he 
should have been digging in a sand-pile4
 ,at eight he spoke ,dutch and ,french1 
and argued with his nurse in ,greek as  
to the value of buttermilk4  ,in the    
meantime the father had married and     
settled down in honorable obscurity as a
 respectable squire4 ,another account   
has it that he became a priest4 ,anyway1
 the little maverick was now making head
 alone in a private school4  ,when the  
lad was thirteen the father died1       
leaving a will in which he provided well

 for the child4 ,the amount of property 
which by this will would have belonged  
to our hero when he became of age would 
have approximated forty thousand        
dollars4  ,happily1 the trustees of the 
fund were law-wolves4 ,they managed to  
break the will1 and then they showed the
 court that the child was a waif1 and   
absolutely devoid of legal rights of any
 and every kind4 ,he was then committed 
to an orphan asylum to be given a right 
religious education4 ,it's a queer old  
world1 ,terese1 and what would have     
become of ,gerhard ,gerhards had he     
fallen heir to his father's titles and  
estate1 no man can say4 ,he might have  
accumulated girth and become an honored 
burgomaster4 ,as it was he became       
powder-monkey to a monk1 and scrubbed   
stone floors and rushed the growler for 
cowled and pious prelates4  ,then he did
 copying for the ,abbe1 and proved      
himself a boy from ,missouri ,valley4   
,he was small1 blue-eyed1 fair-haired1  
slender1 slight1 with a long nose and   

sharp features4 ,with this nose1 said   
,albrecht ,durer1 many years later1 he  
successfully hunted down everything but 
heresy4  ,at eighteen he became a monk  
and proudly had his flaxen poll         
tonsured4 ,his superior was fond of him1
 and prophesied that he would become a  
bishop or something4  ,children do not  
suffer much1 nor long4 ,god is good to  
them4 ,they slide into an environment   
and accept it4 ,this child learned to   
dodge the big bare feet of the          
monks--got his lessons1 played a little1
 worked his wit against their stupidity1
 and actually won their admiration--or  
as much of it as men who are alternately
 ascetics and libertines can give4  ,it 
was about this time that the lad was    
taunted with having no name4 ,then ,i'll
 make one for myself1 was his proud     
answer4  ,having entered now upon his   
novitiate1 he was allowed to take a new 
name1 and being dead to the world1 the  
old one was forgotten4  ,they called him
 ,brother ,desiderius1 or the ,desired  

,one4 ,he then amended this ,latin name 
with its ,greek equivalent1 ,erasmus1   
which means literally the               
,well-,beloved4 ,as to his pedigree1 or 
lack of it1 he was needlessly proud4 ,it
 set him apart as different4 ,he had    
half-brothers and half-sisters1 and     
these he looked upon as strangers4 ,when
 they came to see him1 he said1 ,there  
is no relationship between souls save   
that of the spirit4  ,his sense of wit  
came in when he writes to a friend3 ,two
 parents are the rule2 no parents the   
exception2 a mother but no father is not
 uncommon2 but ,i had a father and never
 had a mother4 ,i was nursed by a man1  
and educated by monks1 all of which     
shows that women are more or less of a  
superfluity in creation4 ,god ,himself  
is a man4 ,he had one son1 but no       
daughters4 ,the cherubim are boys4 ,all 
of the angels are masculine1 and so far 
as ,holy ,writ informs us1 there are no 
women in heaven4  ,that it was a woman1 
however1 to whom ,erasmus wrote this1   

lets him out on the severity of the     
argument4 ,he was a joker4 ,and while   
women did not absorb much of his time1  
we find that on his travels he often    
turned aside to visit with intellectual 
women--no other kind interested him1 at 
all4         99       99       99       
99       99  ,to belong to a religious  
order is to be owned by it4 ,you trade  
freedom for protection4 ,the soul of    
,erasmus revolted at life in a          
monastery4 ,he hated the typical        
monks--their food1 their ways of life1  
their sophistry1 their stupidity4 ,to   
turn glutton and welcome folly as a     
relief from religion1 he said1 was the  
most natural thing in the world1 when   
men had once started in to lead an      
unnatural life4 ,good food1 daintily    
served1 only goes with a co-ed mental   
regimen4 ,men eat with their hands1 out 
of a pot1 unless women are present to   
enforce the decencies4 ,women alone are 
a little more to be pitied than men     
alone1 if 't were possible4  ,through   

emulation does the race grow4 ,sex puts 
men and women on their good behavior4   
,man's desire for power has caused him  
to enslave himself4 ,writes ,erasmus1   
,in a monastery1 no one is on his good  
behavior1 except when there are         
visitors1 but ,i am told that this is so
 in families4  ,the greasy1 coarse      
cooking brought on a nice case of       
dyspepsia for poor ,erasmus--a complaint
 from which he was never free as long as
 he lived4 ,his system was too fine for 
any monastic general trough1 but he     
found a compensation in having his say  
at odd times and sundry4 ,at one time we
 hear of his printing on a card this    
legend1 ,if ,i owned hell and a         
monastery1 ,i would sell the monastery  
and reside in hell4 ,thereby did        
,erasmus supply ,general ,tecumseh      
,sherman the germ of a famous orphic4   
,sherman was a professor in a college at
 ,baton ,rouge before the ,war1 and     
evidently had moused in the ,latin      
classics to a purpose4  ,connected with 

the monastery where ,erasmus lived was a
 printing-outfit4 ,our versatile young  
monk learned the case1 worked the       
ink-balls1 manipulated the lever1 and   
evidently dispelled1 in degree1 the     
monotony of the place by his ready pen  
and eloquent tongue4 ,when he wrote1 he 
wrote for his ear4 ,all was tested by   
reading the matter aloud4 ,at that time 
great authors were not so wise or so    
clever as printers1 and it fell to the  
lot of ,erasmus to improve upon the text
 of much of the copy that was presented4
  ,erasmus learned to write by writing2 
and among modern prose-writers he is the
 very first who had a distinct literary 
style4 ,his language is easy1 fluid1    
suggestive4 ,his paragraphs throw a     
shadow1 and are pregnant with meaning   
beyond what the lexicon supplies4 ,this 
is genius--to be bigger than your words4
  ,if ,erasmus had been possessed of a  
bit more patience and a jigger of       
diplomacy1 he would have been in line   
for a bishopric4 ,that thing which he   

praised so lavishly1 ,folly1 was his    
cause of failure and also his friend4   
,at twenty-six he was the best teacher  
and the most clever scholar in the      
place4 ,also1 he was regarded as a thorn
 in the side of the monkery1 since he   
refused to take it seriously4 ,he       
protested that no man ever became a monk
 of his own accord--he was either thrust
 into a religious order by unkind       
kinsmen or kicked into it by ,fate4     
,and then comes the ,bishop of ,cambray1
 with an attack of literary scabies1    
looking for a young religieux who could 
correct his manuscript4 ,the ,bishop was
 going to ,paris after important        
historical facts1 and must have a       
competent secretary4 ,only a proficient 
,latin and ,greek scholar would do4 ,the
 head of the monastery recommended      
,erasmus1 very much as ,artemus ,ward   
volunteered all of his wife's relatives 
for purposes of war4  ,andrew ,carnegie 
once1 when about to start for ,europe1  
said to his ironmaster1 ,bill ,jones1 ,i

 am never so happy or care-free1 ,bill1 
as when on board ship1 headed for       
,europe1 and the shores of ,sandy ,hook 
fade from sight4  ,and ,bill solemnly   
replied1 ,mr4 ,carnegie1 ,i can         
truthfully say for myself and           
fellow-workers1 that we are never so    
happy and care-free as when you are on  
board ship1 headed for ,europe4  ,very  
properly ,mr4 ,carnegie at once raised  
,bill's salary five thousand a year4    
,the ,carthusian ,brothers parted with  
,erasmus in pretended tears1 but the    
fact was they were more relieved than   
bereaved4  ,and then began the travels  
of ,erasmus4  ,the ,bishop was of middle
 age1 with a dash of the cavalier in his
 blood1 which made him prefer a saddle  
to the cushions of a carriage4 ,and so  
they started away on horseback1 the     
,bishop ahead1 followed at a discreet   
distance by ,erasmus1 his secretary2 and
 ten paces behind with well-loaded      
panniers1 rode a servant as rearguard4  
,to be free and face the world and on a 

horse6 ,erasmus lifted up his heart in a
 prayer of gratitude4 ,he said that it  
was the first feeling of thankfulness he
 had ever experienced1 and it was the   
first thing which had ever come to him  
worth gratitude4  ,and so they started  
for ,paris4  ,erasmus looked back and   
saw the monastery1 where he had spent   
ten arduous years1 fade from view4  ,it 
was the happiest moment he had ever     
known4 ,the world lay beyond4         99
       99       99       99       99    
,the ,bishop of ,cambray introduced     
,erasmus to a mode of life for which he 
was eminently fitted4 ,it consisted in  
traveling1 receiving honors1 hospitality
 and all good things in a material way1 
and giving his gracious society in      
return4 ,doors flew open on the approach
 of the good ,bishop4 ,everywhere he    
went a greeting was assured4 ,he was a  
,churchman--that was enough4 ,erasmus   
shared in the welcomes1 for he was      
handsome in face and figure1 had a ready
 tongue1 and could hold his own with the

 best4  ,europe was then dotted with    
monasteries1 nunneries and other church 
institutions4 ,their remains are seen   
there yet--one is really never out of   
sight of a steeple4 ,but the exclusive  
power of the ,church is gone1 and in    
many places there are only ruins where  
once were cloisters1 corridors1 chapels1
 halls and gardens teeming with life and
 industry4  ,the missions of ,california
 were founded on the general plan of the
 monasteries of ,europe4 ,they afforded 
a lodging for the night--a resting-place
 for travelers--and were a radiatory    
center of education--at least all of the
 education that then existed4  ,in      
,california these missions were forty   
miles apart--one day's journey4 ,in     
,france1 ,italy and ,germany they were1 
say1 ten miles apart4 ,between them1    
trudged or rode on horseback or in      
carriages1 a picturesque array of       
pilgrims1 young and old1 male and       
female4 ,to go anywhere and be at home  
everywhere1 this was the happy lot of a 

church dignitary4  ,the parts in church 
institutions were interchangeable2 and  
by a system of migration1 life was made 
agreeable1 and reasonable honesty was   
assured4 ,i have noticed that certain   
,continental banking institutions1 with 
branches in various cities1 keep their  
cashiers rotating4 ,the idea was gotten 
from ,rome4 ,rome was very wise--her    
policies were the crystallizations of   
the world-wisdom of centuries4 ,the     
church-militant battle-cry1 ,the world  
for ,christ1 simply means man's lust for
 ownership1 with ,christ as an excuse4  
,if ever there was a man-made           
institution1 it is the ,church4 ,to     
control mankind has been her desire1 and
 the miracle is that1 with a promise of 
heaven1 a threat of hell1 and a firm    
grip on temporal power--social and      
military--she was ever induced partially
 to loosen her grip4 ,to such men as    
,savonarola1 ,luther and ,erasmus1 do we
 owe our freedom4 ,these men cared more 
for truth than for power1 and their     

influence was to disintegrate the       
ankylosis of custom and make men think4 
,and a thought is mental dynamite4 ,no  
wonder the ,church has always feared and
 hated a thinker6  ,the ,bishop of      
,cambray was not a thinker4 ,fenelon1   
who was later to occupy his office1 was 
to make the bishopric of ,cambray       
immortal4 ,conformists die1 but heretics
 live on forever4 ,they are men who have
 redeemed the cross and rendered the    
gallows glorious4         99       99   
99       99       99  ,and so the       
,bishop of ,cambray and his little      
light-haired secretary fared forth to   
fame and fortune--the ,bishop to be     
remembered because he had a secretary1  
and the secretary to be remembered      
because he grew into a great teacher4   
,at each stopping-place the ,bishop said
 mass--the workers1 students and        
novitiates quitting their tasks to hear 
the words of encouragement from the lips
 of the great man4 ,occasionally        
,erasmus was pushed forward to say a few

 words1 by the ,bishop1 who had to look 
after his own personal devotions4 ,the  
assembled friends liked the young       
man--he was so bright and witty and free
 from cant4 ,they even laughed out loud1
 and so1 often two smiles were made to  
grow where there were no smiles before4 
,leisurely they rode--stopping at times 
for several days at places where the    
food and drink were at their best1 and  
the society sulphide4 ,at nunneries and 
monasteries were always guest-chambers  
for the great1 and they were usually    
occupied4  ,thus it was that every      
church-house was a sort of university1  
depending of course on the soul-size of 
the ,superior or ,abbe4 ,these constant 
journeyings and pilgrimages served in   
lieu of the daily paper1 the ,western   
,union ,telegraph1 and the telephone4   
,things have slipped back1 ,i fear me1  
for now ,mercury merely calls up his    
party on the long-distance1 instead of  
making a personal visit--the ,angel     
,gabriel as well4 ,we save time1 but we 

miss the personal contact4  ,the        
monastic impulse was founded on a human 
need4 ,like most good things1 it has    
been sadly perverted2 but the idea of a 
sanctuary for stricken souls--a place of
 refuge1 where simplicity1 service and  
useful endeavor rule--will never die    
from out the human heart4 ,the hospice  
stands for hospitality1 but we have now 
only a hotel and a hospital4  ,the      
latter stands for iodoform1 carbolic    
acid and formaldehyde2 the former often 
means gold1 glitter1 gluttony and       
concrete selfishness1 with gout on one  
end1 paresis at the other and ,bright's 
,disease between4  ,the hospice was a   
part of the monastery4 ,it was a home   
for the homeless4 ,there met men of     
learning--men of wit--men of brains and 
brawn4 ,you entered and were at home4   
,there was no charge--you merely left   
something for the poor4  ,any man who   
has the courage1 and sufficient faith in
 humanity to install the hospice system 
in ,america will reap a rich reward4 ,if

 he has the same faith in his guests    
that ,judge ,lindsey has in his bad     
boys1 he will succeed2 but if he        
hesitates1 defers1 doubts1 and begins to
 plot and plan1 the ,referee in         
,bankruptcy will beckon4  ,the early    
universities grew out of the monastic   
impulse4 ,students came and went1 and   
the teachers were a part of a great     
itinerancy4 ,man is a migratory animal4 
,his evolution has come about through   
change of environment4 ,transplantation 
changes weeds into roses1 and the       
forebears of all the products of our    
greenhouses and gardens once grew in    
hedgerows or open fields1 choked by     
unkind competition or trampled beneath  
the feet of the heedless4  ,the         
advantage of university life is in the  
transplantation4 ,get the boy out of his
 home environment2 sever the cord that  
holds him to his folks2 let him meet new
 faces1 see new sights1 hear new        
sermons1 meet new teachers1 and his     
efforts at adjustment will work for     

growth4 ,alexander ,humboldt was        
right--one year at college is safer than
 four4 ,one year inspires you--four may 
get you pot-bound with pedant prejudice4
  ,the university of the future will be 
industrial--all may come and go4 ,all   
men will be university men1 and thus the
 pride in an imaginary proficiency will 
be diluted to a healthful attenuation4  
,to work and to be useful--not merely to
 memorize and recite--will be the only  
initiation4  ,the professors will be    
interchangeable1 and the rotation of    
intellectual crops will work for health1
 harmony and effectiveness4  ,the group1
 or college1 will be the unit1 not the  
family4 ,the college was once a         
collection of men and women grouped for 
a mutual intellectual1 religious or     
economic good4  ,to this group or       
college idea will we return4  ,man is a 
gregarious animal1 and the              
,christ-thought of giving all1 and      
receiving all1 some day in the near     
future will be found practical4 ,the    

desire for exclusive ownership must be  
sloughed4  ,universities devoted to     
useful work--art in its highest sense3  
head1 hand and heart--will yet dot the  
civilized world4 ,the hospice will      
return higher up the scale1 and the     
present use of the word hospitality will
 be drowned in its pink tea1 choked with
 cheese-wafers1 rescued from the nervous
 clutch of the managing mama1 and the   
machinations of the chaperone4 ,a       
society built on the sands of silliness 
must give way to the universal          
university1 and the strong1 healthful1  
helpful1 honest companionship and       
comradeship of men and women prevail4   
99       99       99       99       99  
,the objective point of the ,bishop was 
the ,university of ,paris4  ,here in due
 time1 after their lingering ride from  
,holland1 the ,bishop and his secretary 
arrived4 ,they settled down to literary 
work2 and in odd hours the beauty and   
wonder of ,paris became familiar to     
,erasmus4 ,the immediate task completed1

 the ,bishop proposed going home1 and   
thought1 of course1 his secretary was a 
fixture and would go with him4 ,but     
,erasmus had evolved ideas concerning   
his own worth4 ,he had already collected
 quite a little circle of pupils about  
him1 and these he held by his glowing   
personality4 ,at this time the vow of   
poverty was looked upon lightly4 ,and   
anyway1 poverty is a comparative term4  
,there were monks who always trudged    
afoot with staff and bag1 but not so our
 ,erasmus4 ,he was ,bishop of the       
,exterior4  ,the ,bishop of ,cambray1 on
 parting with ,erasmus1 thought so much 
of him that he presented him with the   
horse he rode4  ,erasmus used to take   
short excursions about ,paris1 taking   
with him a student and often two1 as    
servants or attendants4 ,teaching then  
was mostly on an independent basis1 each
 pupil picking his tutors and paying    
them direct4  ,among other pupils whom  
,erasmus had at ,paris was a young      
,englishman by the name of ,lord        

,mountjoy4 ,a great affection arose     
between these two1 and when ,lord       
,mountjoy returned to ,england he was   
accompanied by ,erasmus4  ,at ,london1  
,erasmus met on absolute equality many  
of the learned men of ,england4 ,we hear
 of his dining at the house of the ,lord
 ,mayor of ,london1 and there meeting   
,sir ,thomas ,more and crossing swords  
with that worthy in wordy debate4       
,erasmus seems to have carried the ,new 
,humanism into ,england4 ,it has been   
said that the world was discovered in   
,fourteen ,hundred ,ninety-two1 but ,man
 was not discovered until ,seventeen    
,hundred ,seventy-six4 ,this is hardly  
literal truth1 since in ,fourteen       
,hundred ,ninety-two1 there was a       
theologico-scientific party of young men
 in all of the ,european ,universities  
who were reviving the ,greek culture1   
and with it arose the idea of the       
dignity and worth of ,man4 ,to this     
movement ,erasmus brought the enthusiasm
 of his nature4 ,perhaps he did as much 

as any other to fan the embers which    
grew into a flame called ,the           
,reformation4  ,he constantly ridiculed 
the austerities1 pedantry1 priggishness 
and sciolism of the old-time ,churchmen1
 and when a new question came up1 he    
asked1 ,what good is there in it8       
,everything was tested by him in the    
light of commonsense4 ,what end does it 
serve and how is humanity to be served  
or benefited by it8  ,thus the good of  
humanity1 not the glory of ,god1 was the
 shibboleth of this rising party4       
,erasmus gave lectures and taught at    
,cambridge1 ,oxford and ,london4  ,italy
 had been the objective point of his    
travels1 but ,england had1 for a time1  
turned him aside4 ,in the year ,fifteen 
,hundred1 ,erasmus landed at ,calais1   
saddled his horse1 and started          
southward1 visiting1 writing1 teaching1 
lecturing1 as he went4 ,the stimulus of 
meeting new people and seeing new       
scenes1 all tended toward intellectual  
growth4  ,the genius monk made          

mendicancy a fine art1 and ,erasmus was 
heir to most of the instincts of the    
order4 ,his associations with the laity 
were mostly with the nobility or those  
with money4 ,he was not slow in asking  
for what he wanted1 whether it was a    
fur-lined cloak1 a saddle1 top          
riding-boots1 a horse1 or a prayer-book4
 ,he made no apologies--but took as his 
divine right all that he needed4 ,and he
 justified himself in taking what he    
needed by the thought that he gave all  
he had4 ,he supplied ,sir ,thomas ,more 
the germ of ,utopia1 for ,erasmus       
pictured again and again an ideal       
society where all would have enough1 and
 none suffer from either want or        
surfeit--a society in which all would be
 at home wherever they went4  ,had      
,erasmus seen fit to make ,england his  
home1 his head1 too1 would have paid the
 forfeit1 as did the head that wrote    
,utopia4 ,what an absurd use to make of 
a head--to separate it from the man's   
body6  ,italy received ,erasmus with the

 same royal welcome that ,england had   
supplied4 ,scholars who knew the ,greek 
and ,roman classics were none too       
common4 ,most monks stopped with the    
writings of the saints1 as ,south       
,americans balk at long division4       
,erasmus could illumine an initial1 bind
 a book1 give advice to printers1       
lecture to teachers1 give lessons on    
rhetoric and oratory1 or entertain the  
ladies with recitations from the ,iliad 
and the ,odyssey4  ,so he went riding   
back and forth1 stopping at cities and  
towns1 nunneries and monasteries1 until 
his name became a familiar one to every 
scholar of ,england1 ,germany and       
,italy4 ,scholarly1 always a learner1   
always a teacher1 gracious1 direct1     
witty1 men began to divide on an        
,erasmus basis4 ,there were two parties3
 those for ,erasmus and those against   
him4  ,in ,fifteen ,hundred ,seventeen1 
came ,luther with his bombshells of     
defiance4 ,this fighting attitude was   
far from ,erasmus--his weapons were     

words4 ,between bouts with prelates1    
,luther sent a few thunderbolts at      
,erasmus1 accusing him of vacillation   
and cowardice4 ,erasmus replied with    
dignity1 and entered into a lengthy     
dispute with ,melanchthon1 ,luther's    
friend1 on the ,new ,humanism which was 
finding form in revolution4  ,erasmus   
prophesied that by an easy process of   
evolution1 through education1 the       
monasteries would all become schools and
 workshops4 ,he would not destroy them1 
but convert them into something         
different4 ,he fell into disfavor with  
the ,catholics1 and was invited by      
,henry the ,eighth to come to ,england  
and join the new religious regime4 ,but 
this ,english ,catholicism was not to   
the liking of ,erasmus4 ,what he desired
 was to reform the ,church1 not to      
destroy it or divide it4  ,his affairs  
were becoming critical3 monasteries     
where he had once been welcomed now     
feared to have him come near1 lest they 
should be contaminated and entangled4   

,it was rumored that warrants of arrest 
were out4 ,he was invited to go to ,rome
 and explain his position4  ,erasmus    
knew better than to acknowledge receipt 
of the letter4 ,he headed his horse for 
,switzerland1 the land of liberty4 ,at  
,basel he stopped at the house of       
,froben1 the great printer and          
publisher4 ,he put his horse in the     
barn1 unsaddled him1 and said1 ,froben1 
,i've come to stay4         99       99 
99       99       99  ,i was mousing    
around the other day in a book that is  
somewhat disjointed and disconnected1   
and yet interesting--,the ,standard     
,dictionary--when ,i came across the    
word scamp4 ,it is a handy word to      
fling1 and ,i am not sure but that it   
has been gently tossed once or twice in 
my direction4 ,condemnation is usually a
 sort of subtle flattery1 so ,i'm not   
sad4 ,to scamp means to cut short1 to be
 superficial1 slipshod1 careless1       
indifferent--to say1 ,let 'er go1 who   
cares--this is good enough6 ,if anybody 

ever was a stickler for honest work1 ,i 
am that bucolic party4 ,i often make    
things so fine that only one man out of 
ten thousand can buy them1 and ,i have  
to keep 'em myself4  ,you know that1    
when you get an idea in your head1 how  
everything you read contains allusions  
to the same thing4 ,knowledge is        
mucilaginous4 ,well1 next day after ,i  
was looking up that pleasant word scamp1
 ,i was reading in the ,amusing ,works  
of ,erasmus1 when ,i ran across the word
 again1 but spelled in ,dutch1 thus1    
schamp4 ,now ,erasmus was a successful  
author1 and he was also the best        
authority on paper1 inks1 bindings1 and 
general bookmaking in ,italy1 ,holland  
or ,germany4 ,being a lover of learning1
 and listening to the lure of words1 he 
never wallowed in wealth4 ,but in his   
hunt for ideas he had a lot of fun4     
,kipling says1 ,there is no hunt equal  
to a man hunt4 ,but ,kip is wrong--to   
chase a thought is twice the sport4     
,erasmus chased ideas1 and very         

naturally the preachers chased          
,erasmus--out of ,england1 through      
,france1 down to ,italy and then he     
found refuge at ,basel with ,froben1 the
 great ,printer and ,publisher4  ,up in 
,frankfort was a writer-printer1 who1   
not being able to answer the arguments  
of ,erasmus1 called him bad names4 ,but 
this gentle pen-pusher in ,frankfort1   
who passed his vocabulary at ,froben's  
proofreader1 ,erasmus in time calls a   
schamp1 because he used cheap paper1    
cheap ink and close margins4 ,soon      
after1 the word was carried to ,england 
and spelled scamp--a man who cheats in  
quality1 weight1 size and count4 ,but   
the first use merely meant a printer who
 scamps his margins and so cheats on    
paper4 ,i am sorry to see that ,erasmus 
imitated his enemies and at times was   
ambidextrous in the use of the literary 
stinkpot4 ,his vocabulary was equal to  
that of ,muldoon4 ,erasmus refers to one
 of his critics as a                    
scenophylax-stikken1 and another he     

calls a schnide                         
enchologion-schistosomus4 ,and perhaps  
they may have been--,i really do not    
know4  ,but as an authority on books    
,erasmus can still be read4 ,he it was  
who fixed the classic page margin--twice
 as wide at the top as on the inside2   
twice as wide at the outside as the top2
 twice as wide at the bottom as at the  
side4 ,and any printer who varies from  
this displays his ignorance of          
proportion4 ,erasmus says1 ,to use poor 
paper marks the decline of taste1 both  
in printer and in patron4 ,after the    
death of ,erasmus1 ,froben's firm failed
 because they got to making things      
cheap4 ,compete in quality1 not in      
price1 was the working motto of         
,erasmus4  ,all of the great bookmaking 
centers languished when they began to   
scamp4 ,that worthy wordissimus at      
,frankfort who called ,erasmus names    
gave up business and then the ghost1 and
 ,erasmus wrote his epitaph1 and thus   
supplied ,benjamin ,franklin an         

idea--,here lies an old book1 its cover 
gone1 its leaves torn1 the worms at work
 on its vitals4  ,the wisdom of doing   
good work still applies1 just as it did 
in the days of ,erasmus4  ,erasmus      
proved a very valuable acquisition to   
,froben4 ,he became general editor and  
literary adviser of this great          
publishing-house1 which was then the    
most important in the world4  ,besides  
his work as editor1 ,erasmus also stood 
sponsor for numerous volumes which we   
now know were written by literary       
nobodies1 his name being placed on the  
title-page for commercial reasons4  ,at 
that time and for two hundred years     
later1 the matter of attributing a book 
to this man or that was considered a    
trivial affair4 ,piracies were          
prevalent4 ,all printers revised the    
work of classic authors if they saw fit1
 and often they were specially rewarded 
for it by the ,church4 ,it was about    
this time that some one slipped that    
paragraph into the works of ,josephus   

about ,jesus4 ,the ,annals of ,tacitus  
were similarly doctored1 if in fact they
 were not written entire1 during the    
,sixteenth ,century4 ,it will be        
remembered that the only two references 
in contemporary literature to ,jesus are
 those in ,josephus and ,tacitus1 and   
these the ,church proudly points to yet4
  ,during the last few years of his life
 ,erasmus accumulated considerable      
property4 ,by his will he devised that  
this money should go to educate certain 
young men and women1 grandchildren and  
nephews and nieces of his old friend1   
,johann ,froben4 ,he left no money for  
masses1 after the usual custom of       
,churchmen1 and during his last illness 
was not attended by a priest4 ,for      
several years before his death he made  
no confessions and very seldom attended 
church service4 ,he said1 ,i am much    
more proud of being a printer than a    
priest4  ,a statue of ,erasmus in bronze
 adorns one of the public squares in    
,rotterdam1 and ,basel and ,freiburg    

have honored themselves1 and him also1  
in like manner4  ,as a sample of the    
subtle and keen literary style of       
,erasmus1 ,i append the following from  
,in ,praise of ,folly3       ,the       
happiest times of life are youth and old
 age1 and this for no      reason but   
that they are the times most completely 
under the rule      of folly1 and least 
controlled by wisdom4 ,it is the child's
 freedom      from wisdom that makes it 
so charming to us2 we hate a precocious 
child4 ,so women owe their charm1 and   
hence their power1 to their      folley1
 that is1 to their obedience to the     
impulse4 ,but if1      perchance1 a     
woman wants to be thought wise1 she only
 succeeds in      being doubly a fool1  
as if one should train a cow for the    
prize-ring1 a thing wholly against      
,nature4 ,a woman will be a woman1      
no matter what mask she wear1 and she   
ought to be proud of her      folly and 
make the most of it4       ,is not      
,cupid1 that first father of all        

religion1 is not he stark      blind1   
that he can not himself distinguish of  
colors1 so he would      make us as     
mope-eyed in judging falsely of all love
 concerns1 and      wheedle us into a   
thinking that we are always in the      
right8 ,thus      every ,jack sticks to 
his own ,jill2 every tinker esteems his 
own      trull2 and the hobnailed suitor
 prefers ,joan the milkmaid before      
any of milady's daughters4 ,these things
 are true1 and are      ordinarily      
laughed at1 and yet1 however ridiculous 
they seem1 it is      hence only that   
all societies receive their cement and  
consolidation4       ,fortune we still  
find favoring the blunt1 and flushing   
the forward2      strokes smooth up     
fools1 crowning all their undertakings  
with      success2 but wisdom makes her 
followers bashful1 sneaking and         
timorous1 and therefore you commonly see
 that they are reduced to      hard     
shifts2 must grapple with poverty1 cold 
and hunger2 must lie      recluse1      

despised1 and unregarded2 while fools   
roll in money1 are      advanced to     
dignities and offices1 and in a word    
have the whole      world at command4   
,if any one thinks it happy to be a     
favorite at      court1 and to manage   
the disposal of places and preferments1 
alas1      this happiness is so far from
 being attainable by wisdom1 that the   
very suspicion of it would put a stop to
 advancement4 ,has any man a      mind  
to raise himself a good estate8 ,alas1  
what dealer in the world      would ever
 get a farthing1 if he be so wise as to 
scruple at      perjury1 blush at a lie1
 or stick at a fraud and overreaching8  
,it is the public charter of all        
divines1 to mold and bend the           
sacred oracles till they comply with    
their own fancy1 spreading      them 7as
 ,heaven by its ,creator7 like a        
curtain1 closing together1      or      
drawing them back1 as they please4      
,thus1 indeed1 ,saint ,paul      himself
 minces and mangles some citations he   

makes use of1 and      seems to wrest   
them to a different sense from what they
 were first      intended for1 as is    
confessed by the great linguist1 ,saint 
,hieron4      ,thus when that apostle   
saw at ,athens the inscription of the   
altar1      he draws from it an argument
 for the proof of the ,christian        
religion2 but leaving out great parts of
 the sentence1 which      perhaps if    
fully recited might have prejudiced his 
cause1 he      mentions only the last   
two words1 namely1 ,to the ,unknown     
,god2 and      this1 too1 not without   
alteration1 for the whole inscription   
runs      thus3 ,to the ,gods of ,asia1 
,europe1 and ,africa1 to all ,foreign   
and      ,unknown ,gods4       ',t is an
 imitation of the same pattern1 ,i will 
warrant you1 that      our young        
divines1 by leaving out four or five    
words in a place and      putting a     
false construction on the rest1 can make
 any passage      serviceable to their  
own purpose2 though from the coherence  

of what      went before1 or follows    
after1 the genuine meaning appears to be
      either wide enough1 or perhaps    
quite contradictory to what they        
would thrust and impose upon it4 ,in    
which knack the divines are      grown  
now so expert that the lawyers          
themselves begin to be jealous      of  
an encroachment on what was formerly    
their sole privilege and      practise4 
,and indeed what can they despair of    
proving1 since the      forementioned   
commentator did upon a text of ,saint   
,luke put an      interpretation no more
 agreeable to the meaning or the place  
than      one contrary quality is to    
another4       ,but because it seemed   
expedient that man1 who was born for the
      transaction of business1 should   
have so much wisdom as should fit       
and capacitate him for the discharge of 
his duty herein1 and yet      lest such 
a measure as is requisite for this      
purpose might prove      too dangerous  
and fatal1 ,i was advised with for an   

antidote1 and      prescribed this      
infallible receipt of taking a wife1 a  
creature so      harmless and silly1 and
 yet so useful and convenient1 as might 
mollify and make pliable the stiffness  
and morose humor of man4 ,now      that 
which made ,plato doubt under what genus
 to rank woman1 whether      among      
brutes or rational creatures1 was only  
meant to denote the      extreme        
stupidness and ,folly of that sex1 a sex
 so unalterably      simple that for any
 one of them to thrust forward and reach
 at the      name of wise1 is but to    
make themselves the more remarkable     
fools1      such an endeavor being but a
 swimming against the stream1 nay1 the  
turning the course of ,nature1 the bare 
attempting whereof is as                
extravagant as the effecting of it is   
impossible3 for as it is a      trite   
proverb1 that an ape will be an ape1    
though clad in purple1      so a woman  
will be a woman1 that is1 a fool1       
whatever disguise she      takes up4    

,and yet there is no reason women should
 take it amiss to      be thus charged1 
for if they do but rightly consider1    
they will      find to ,folly they are  
beholden for those endowments wherein   
they      so far surpass and excel ,man2
 as first for their unparalleled        
beauty1 by the charm whereof they       
tyrannize over the greatest of          
tyrants2 for what is it but too great a 
smatch of wisdom that makes      men so 
tawny and thick-skinned1 so rough and   
prickly-bearded1 like      an emblem of 
winter or old age1 while women have such
 dainty1      smooth cheeks1 such a low1
 gentle voice1 and so pure a complexion1
      as if ,nature had drawn them for a
 standing pattern of all symmetry       
and comeliness8 ,besides1 what greater  
or juster aim and ambition      have    
they than to please their husbands8 ,in 
order whereunto they      garnish       
themselves with paint1 washes1 curls1   
perfumes1 and all      other mysteries  
of ornament2 yet1 after all1 they become

 acceptable      to them only for their 
,folly4 ,wives are always allowed their 
humor1      yet it is only in exchange  
for titillation and pleasure1 which     
indeed are but other names for ,folly2  
as none can deny1 who      consider how 
a man must dandle1 and kittle1 and play 
a hundred      little tricks for his    
helpmate4       ,but now some           
blood-chilled old men1 that are more for
 wine than      wenching1 will pretend  
that in their opinion the greatest      
happiness      consists in feasting and 
drinking4 ,grant it be so2 yet certainly
 in      the most luxurious             
entertainments it is ,folly must give   
the sauce      and relish to the        
daintiest delicacies2 so that if there  
be no one      of the guests naturally  
fool enough to be played upon by the    
rest1      they must procure some       
comical buffoon1 that by his jokes and  
flouts and blunders shall make the whole
 company split themselves      with     
laughing2 for to what purpose were it to

 be stuffed and      crammed with so    
many dainty bits1 savory dishes1 and    
toothsome      rarities1 if after all   
this epicurism1 the eyes1 the ears1 and 
the      whole mind of man1 were not so 
well foisted and relieved with          
laughing1 jesting1 and such like        
divertisements1 which1 like second      
courses1 serve for the promoting of     
digestion8 ,and as to all those         
shoeing-horns of drunkenness1 the       
keeping every one his man1 the          
throwing high jinks1 the filling of     
bumpers1 the drinking two in a          
hand1 the beginning of mistresses'      
healths2 and then the roaring      out  
of drunken catches1 the calling in a    
fiddler1 the leading out      every one 
his lady to dance1 and such like riotous
 pastimes--these      were not taught or
 dictated by any of the wise men of     
,greece1 but      of ,gotham rather1    
being my invention1 and by me prescribed
 as the      best preservative of       
health3 each of which1 the more         

ridiculous it      is1 the more welcome 
it finds4 ,and indeed1 to jog sleepingly
      through the world1 in a dumpish1  
melancholy posture1 can not             
properly be said to live4               
,illustration3 ,,booker ,t4 ,,washington
  ,,booker ,t4 ,,washington             
,there is something in human nature     
which always makes people reward        
merit1 no matter under what color of    
skin merit is found4 ,i have      found1
 too1 that it is the visible1 the       
tangible1 that goes a long      way in  
softening prejudices4 ,the actual sight 
of a good house that      a ,negro has  
built is ten times more potent than     
pages of discussion      about a house  
that he ought to build1 or perhaps could
 build4 ,the      individual who can do 
something that the world wants done     
will1 in      the end1 make his way     
regardless of his race4       --,booker 
,t4 ,washington   ,,booker ,t4          
,,washington  ,this is a story about a  
,negro4 ,the story has the peculiarity  

of being true4 ,the man was born a slave
 in ,virginia4 ,his mother was a slave1 
and was thrice sold in the market-place4
 ,this man is ,booker ,t4 ,washington4  
,the name ,booker was a fanciful one    
given to the lad by playmates on account
 of his love for a certain chance       
dog-eared spelling-book4 ,before this he
 was only ,mammy's ,pet4 ,the ,t4 stood 
for nothing1 but later a happy thought  
made it ,taliaferro4  ,most ,negroes1   
fresh from slavery1 stood sponsor to    
themselves1 and chose the name          
,washington2 if not this1 then ,lincoln1
 ,clay or ,webster4  ,this lad when but 
a child1 being suddenly asked for his   
name1 exclaimed1 ,washington1 and stuck 
to it4  ,the father of this boy was a   
white man2 but children always take the 
status of the mother1 so ,booker ,t4    
,washington is a ,negro1 and proud of   
it1 as he should be1 for he is standard 
by performance1 even if not by pedigree4
  ,this ,negro's father is represented  
by the sign x4 ,by remaining in         

obscurity the fond father threw away his
 one chance for immortality4 ,we do not 
even know his name1 his social position1
 or his previous condition of turpitude4
 ,we assume he was happily married and  
respectable4 ,concerning him legend is  
silent and fable dumb4 ,as for the      
child1 we are not certain whether he was
 born in ,eighteen ,hundred ,fifty-eight
 or ,eighteen ,hundred ,fifty-nine1 and 
we know not the day or the month4 ,there
 were no signs in the ,east4  ,the      
mother lived in a log cabin of one room1
 say ten by twelve4 ,this room was also 
a kitchen1 for the mother was cook to   
the farmhands of her owner4 ,there were 
no windows and no floor in the cabin    
save the hard-trodden clay4 ,there were 
a table1 a bench and a big fireplace4   
,there were no beds1 and the children at
 night simply huddled and cuddled in a  
pile of straw and rags in the corner4   
,doubtless they had enough food1 for    
they ate the crumbs that fell from the  
rich man's table--who1 by the way1      

wasn't so very rich4  ,one of the       
earliest recollections of ,black ,baby  
,booker was of being awakened in the    
middle of the night by his mother to eat
 fried chicken4 ,imagine the picture--it
 is past midnight4 ,no light in the room
 save the long1 flickering streaks that 
dance on the rafters4 ,outside the wind 
makes mournful1 sighing melody4 ,in the 
corner huddled the children1 creeping   
close together with intertwining arms to
 get the warmth of each little          
half-naked body4  ,the dusky mother     
moves swiftly1 deftly1 half-frightened  
at her task4  ,she has come in from the 
night with a chicken6 ,where did she get
 it8 ,hush6 ,where do you suppose       
oppressed colored people get chickens8  
,she picks the bird--prepares it for the
 skillet--fries it over the coals4 ,and 
then when it is done just right1        
,maryland style1 this mother full of    
mother-love1 an ingredient which ,god   
never omits1 shakes each little         
piccaninny into wakefulness1 and gives  

him the forbidden dainty--drumstick1    
wishbone1 gizzard1 white meat1 or the   
part that went through the fence        
last--anything but the neck4  ,feathers1
 bones1 waste are thrown into the       
fireplace1 and what the village editor  
calls the devouring element hides all   
trace of the crime4 ,then all lie down  
to sleep1 until the faint flush of pink 
comes into the ,east1 and jocund day    
stands tiptoe on the mountain-tops4     
99       99       99       99       99  
,this ex-slave remembers a strange and  
trying time1 when all of the colored    
folk on the plantation were notified to 
assemble at the big house4 ,they arrived
 and stood around in groups1 waiting and
 wondering1 talking in whispers4 ,the   
master came out1 and standing on the    
veranda read from a paper in a tremulous
 voice4 ,then he told them that they    
were all free1 and shook hands with     
each4 ,everybody cried4 ,however1 they  
were very happy in spite of the tears1  
for freedom to them meant heaven--a     

heaven of rest4 ,yet they bore only love
 towards their former owners4  ,most of 
them began to wander--they thought they 
had to leave their old quarters4 ,in a  
few days the wisest came back and went  
to work just as usual4 ,booker ,t4's    
mother quit work for just half a day4   
,but in a little while her husband      
arrived--a colored man to whom she had  
been married years before1 and who had  
been sold and sent away4 ,now he came   
and took her and the little monochrome  
brood1 and they all started away for    
,west ,virginia1 where they heard that  
colored men were hired to work in       
coalmines and were paid wages in real   
money4  ,it took months and months to   
make the journey4 ,they carried all     
their belongings in bundles4 ,they had  
no horses--no cows--no wagon--they      
walked4 ,if the weather was pleasant    
they slept out of doors2 if it rained   
they sought a tobacco-shed1 a barn1 or  
the friendly side of a straw-stack4 ,for
 food they depended on a little cornmeal

 they carried1 with which the mother    
made pone-cakes in the ashes of a       
campfire4 ,kind colored people on the   
way replenished the meal-bag1 for       
colored people are always generous to   
the hungry and needy if they have       
anything to be generous with4 ,then     
,providence sent stray1 ownerless       
chickens their way1 at times1 just as   
the ,children of ,israel were fed on    
quails in the wilderness4 ,once they    
caught a 'possum--and there was a       
genuine banquet1 where the children ate 
until they were as tight as drums4      
,finally they reached the promised land 
of ,west ,virginia1 and at the little   
village of ,maiden1 near ,charleston1   
they stopped1 for here were the coal    
mine and the salt-works where colored   
men were hired and paid in real money4  
,booker's stepfather found a job1 and he
 also found a job for little ,booker4   
,they had nothing to live on until      
pay-day1 so the kind man who owned the  
mine allowed them to get things at the  

store on credit4 ,this was a brand-new  
experience--and no doubt they bought a  
few things they did not need1 for prices
 and values were absolutely out of their
 realm4 ,besides1 they did not know how 
much wages they were to get1 neither    
could they figure the prices of the     
things they bought4 ,at any rate1 when  
pay-day came they were still in debt1 so
 they saw no real money--certainly      
little ,booker at this time of his life 
never did4         99       99       99 
99       99  ,general ,lewis ,ruffner   
owned the salt-works and the coalmine   
where little ,booker worked4 ,he was    
stern1 severe1 strict4 ,but he believed 
,negroes were human beings1 and there   
were those then who disputed the        
proposition4  ,ruffner organized a      
night-school for his helpers1 and let a 
couple of his bookkeepers teach it4 ,at 
this time there was not a colored person
 in the neighborhood who could spell    
cat1 much less write his name4 ,a few   
could count five4 ,booker must have been

 about ten years old when one day he    
boasted a bit of his skill in           
mathematics4 ,the foreman told him to   
count the loads of coal as they came out
 of the mine4 ,the boy started in       
bravely1 ,one--two--three--four--dere   
goes one1 dere goes anoder1 anoder1     
anoder1 anoder1 anoder6  ,the foreman   
laughed4  ,the boy was abashed1 then    
chagrined4 ,send me to the night-school 
and in a month ,i'll show you how to    
count6  ,the foreman wrote the lad an   
order which admitted him to the         
night-school4  ,but now there was       
another difficulty--the boy worked until
 nine o'clock at night1 the last hour's 
work being to sweep out the office4 ,the
 night-school began at nine o'clock and 
it was two miles away4  ,the lad        
scratched his head and thought and      
thought4 ,a great idea came to him--he  
would turn the office clock ahead half  
an hour4 ,he could then leave at nine   
o'clock1 and by running part of the way 
could get to school at exactly nine     

o'clock4  ,the scheme worked for two    
days1 when one of the clerks in the     
office said that a spook was monkeying  
with the clock4 ,they tried the plan of 
locking the case1 and all was well4     
,booker must have been about twelve     
years old1 goin' on thirteen1 when one  
day as he lay on his back in the        
coalmine1 pushing out the broken coal   
with his feet1 he overheard two men     
telling of a very wonderful school where
 colored people were taught to read1    
write and cipher--also1 how to speak in 
public4 ,the scholars were allowed to   
work part of the time to pay for their  
board4  ,the lad crawled close in the   
darkness and listened to the            
conversation4 ,he caught the names      
,hampton and ,armstrong4 ,whether       
,armstrong was the place and ,hampton   
was the name of the man1 he could not   
make out1 but he clung to the names4    
,here was a school for colored          
people--he would go there6 ,that night  
he told his mother about it4 ,she       

laughed1 patted his kinky head1 and     
indulged him in his dream4  ,she was    
only a poor black woman2 she could not  
spell ab1 nor count to ten1 but she had 
a plan for her boy--he would some day be
 a preacher4  ,this was the very height 
of her imagination--a preacher6 ,beyond 
this there was nothing in human         
achievement4 ,the night-school came     
after a day of fourteen hours' work4    
,little ,booker sat on a bench1 his feet
 dangling about a foot from the floor4  
,as he sat there one night trying hard  
to drink in knowledge1 he went to sleep4
 ,he nodded1 braced up1 nodded again1   
and then pitched over in a heap on the  
floor1 to the great amusement of the    
class1 and his own eternal shame4  ,the 
next day1 however1 as he was feeling    
very sorrowful over his sad experience1 
he heard that ,mrs4 ,ruffner wanted a   
boy for general work at the big house4  
,here was a chance4 ,mrs4 ,ruffner was a
 ,vermont ,yankee1 which meant that she 
had a great nose for dirt1 and would not

 stand for a sassy nigger4 ,her         
reputation had gone abroad1 and of how  
she pinched the ears of her help1 and   
got them up at exactly a certain hour1  
and made them use soap and water at     
least once a day1 and even compelled    
them to use a toothbrush2 all this was  
history1 well defined4  ,booker said he 
could please her1 even if she was a     
,yankee4 ,he applied for the job and got
 it1 with wages fixed at a dollar a     
week1 with a promise of twenty-five     
cents extra every week1 if he did his   
work without talking back and breaking a
 tray of dishes4         99       99    
99       99       99  ,genius6 ,no hovel
 is safe from it6 says ,whistler4       
,genius consists in doing the right     
thing without being told more than three
 times4  ,booker silently studied the   
awful ,yankee woman to see what she     
really wanted4 ,he finally decided that 
she desired her servants to have clean  
skins1 fairly neat clothing1 do things  
promptly1 finish the job and keep still 

when they had nothing to say4  ,he set  
himself to please her--and he did4  ,she
 loaned him books1 gave him a           
lead-pencil1 and showed him how to write
 with a pen without smearing his hands  
and face with ink4  ,he told her of his 
dream and asked about ,armstrong and    
,hampton4 ,she told him that ,armstrong 
was the man and ,hampton the place4  ,at
 last he got her consent to leave and go
 to ,hampton4  ,when he started she gave
 him a comb1 a toothbrush1 two          
handkerchiefs and a pair of shoes4 ,he  
had been working for her for a year1 and
 she thought1 of course1 he saved his   
wages4 ,he never told her that his money
 had gone to keep the family1 because   
his stepfather had been on a strike and 
therefore out of work4  ,so the boy     
started away for ,hampton4 ,it was five 
hundred miles away4 ,he didn't know how 
far five hundred miles is--nobody does  
unless he has walked it4  ,he had three 
dollars1 so he gaily paid for a seat in 
the stage4 ,at the end of the first day 

he was forty miles from home and out of 
money4 ,he slept in a barn1 and a       
colored woman handed him a ham-bone and 
a chunk of bread out of the             
kitchen-window1 and looked the other    
way4  ,he trudged on east--always and   
forever east--towards the rising sun4   
,he walked weeks--months--years1 he     
thought4 ,he kept no track of the days4 
,he carried his shoes as a matter of    
economy4  ,finally he sold the shoes for
 four dollars to a man who paid him ten 
cents cash down1 and promised to pay the
 rest when they should meet at ,hampton4
 ,nearly forty years have passed and    
they have never met4  ,on he walked--on 
and on--east1 and always forever east4  
,he reached the city of ,richmond1 the  
first big city he had ever seen4 ,the   
wide streets--the sidewalks--the        
street-lamps entranced him4 ,it was just
 like heaven4 ,but he was hungry and    
penniless1 and when he looked wistfully 
at a pile of cold fried chicken on a    
street-stand and asked the price of a   

drumstick1 at the same time telling he  
had no money1 he discovered he was not  
in heaven at all4 ,he was called a lazy 
nigger and told to move on4  ,later he  
made the discovery that a nigger is a   
colored person who has no money4  ,he   
pulled the piece of rope that served him
 for a belt a little tighter1 and when  
no one was looking1 crawled under a     
sidewalk and went to sleep1 disturbed   
only by the trampling overhead4  ,when  
he awoke he saw he was near the dock1   
where a big ship pushed its bowsprit out
 over the street4 ,men were unloading   
bags and boxes from the boat4 ,he ran   
down and asked the mate if he could     
help4 ,yes6 was the gruff answer4  ,he  
got in line and went staggering under   
the heavy loads4  ,he was little1 but   
strong1 and best of all1 willing1 yet he
 reeled at the work4  ,have you had any 
breakfast8 ,yes1 you liver-colored      
boy--you1 ,i say1 have you had your     
breakfast8  ,no1 sir1 said the boy2 and 
no supper last night nor dinner         

yesterday6  ,well1 ,i reckoned as much4 
,now you take this quarter and go over  
to that stand and buy you a drumstick1 a
 cup of coffee and two fried cakes6     
,the lad didn't need urging4 ,he took   
the money in his palm1 went over to the 
man who the night before had called him 
a lazy nigger1 and showing the silver1  
picked out his piece of chicken4  ,the  
man hastened to wait on him1 and said it
 was a fine day and hoped he was well4  
99       99       99       99       99  
,arriving at ,hampton1 this colored boy1
 who had tramped the long1 weary miles1 
stood abashed before the big brick      
building which he knew was ,hampton     
,institute4  ,he was so little--the     
place was so big--by what right could he
 ask to be admitted8  ,finally he boldly
 entered1 and in a voice meant to be    
firm1 but which was very shaky1 said1 ,i
 am here6 and pointed to the bosom of   
his hickory shirt4  ,the ,yankee woman  
motioned him to a chair4 ,negroes coming
 there were plentiful4 ,usually they    

wanted to live the ,ideal ,life4 ,they  
had a call to preach--and the girls     
wanted to be music-teachers4  ,the test 
was simple and severe3 would they and   
could they do one useful piece of work  
well8  ,booker sat and waited1 not      
knowing that his patience was being put 
to the test4  ,then ,miss ,priscilla1 in
 a hard1 ,neill ,burgess voice1 guessed 
that the adjoining recitation-room      
needed sweeping and dusting4 ,she handed
 ,booker a broom and dust-cloth1        
motioned to the room1 and went away4    
,oho6 ,little did she know her lad4 ,the
 colored boy smiled to himself--sweeping
 and dusting were his specialties--he   
had learned the trade from a ,yankee    
woman from ,vermont6 ,he smiled4  ,then 
he swept that room--moved every chair1  
the table1 the desk4 ,he dusted each    
piece of furniture four times4 ,he      
polished each rung and followed around  
the baseboard on hands and knees4  ,miss
 ,priscilla came back--pushed the table 
around and saw at once that the dirt had

 not been concealed beneath it4 ,she    
took out her handkerchief and wiped the 
table top1 then the desk4  ,she turned1 
looked at the boy1 and her smile met his
 half-suppressed triumphant grin4       
,you'll do1 she said4         99        
99       99       99       99  ,general 
,samuel ,c4 ,armstrong1 the founder of  
,hampton ,institute1 and the grandfather
 of ,tuskegee1 was a white man who      
fought the ,south valiantly and well4   
,he seems about the only man in the     
,north who1 at the close of the war1    
clearly realized that the war had just  
begun--that the real enemies were not   
subdued1 and that these enemies were    
ignorance1 superstition and             
incompetence4  ,the pitiable condition  
of four million human beings1 flung from
 slavery into freedom1 thrown upon their
 own resources1 with no thought of      
responsibility1 and with no preparation 
for the change1 meant for them only     
another kind of slavery4  ,general      
,armstrong's heart went out to them--he 

desired to show them how to be useful1  
helpful1 self-reliant1 healthy4 ,for the
 whites of the ,south he had only high  
regard and friendship4 ,he1 of all men1 
knew how they had suffered from the     
war--and he realized also that they had 
fought for what they believed was right4
 ,in his heart there was no hate4 ,he   
resolved to give himself--his life--his 
fortune--his intellect--his love--his   
all1 for the upbuilding of the ,south4  
,he saw with the vision of a prophet    
that indolence and pride were the actual
 enemies of white and black alike4 ,the 
blacks must be taught to work--to know  
the dignity of human labor--to serve    
society--to help themselves by helping  
others4 ,he realized that there are no  
menial tasks--that all which serves is  
sacred4  ,and this is the man who sowed 
the seeds of truth in the heart of the  
nameless black boy--,booker ,washington4
 ,armstrong's shibboleth1 too1 was1     
,with malice toward none1 but with      
charity for all1 let us finish the work 

,god has given us to do4         99     
99       99       99       99  ,i do not
 know very much about this subject of   
education1 yet ,i believe ,i know as    
much about what others know about it as 
most people4 ,i have visited the        
principal colleges of ,america and      
,europe1 and the methods of ,preparatory
 and ,high ,schools are to me familiar4 
,i know the night-schools of the cities1
 the ,ungraded ,rooms1 the ,schools for 
,defectives1 the educational schemes in 
prisons1 the ,manual-,training ,schools1
 the ,new ,education 7first suggested by
 ,socrates7 as carried out by ,g4       
,stanley ,hall1 ,john ,dewey1 and dozens
 of other good men and women in         
,america4 ,i am familiar with the       
,school for the ,deaf at ,malone1 ,new  
,york1 and the ,school for the ,blind at
 ,batavia1 where even the sorely        
stricken are taught to be               
self-sufficient1 self-supporting and    
happy4 ,i have tumbled down the circular
 fire-escape at ,lapeer with the inmates

 of the ,home of ,epileptics1 and heard 
the shouts of laughter from lips that   
never laughed before4 ,i have seen the  
,jewish ,manual ,training ,school of    
,chicago transform ,russian refugees    
into useful citizens--capable1 earnest  
and excellent4 ,i know a little about   
,swarthmore1 ,wellesley1 ,vassar1       
,radcliffe1 and have put my head into   
,west ,point and ,annapolis1 and had    
nobody cry1 ,genius6  ,of ,harvard1     
,yale and ,princeton ,i know something1 
having done time in each4 ,i have also  
given jobs to graduates of ,oxford1     
,cambridge and ,heidelberg1 to my sorrow
 and their chagrin4 ,this does not prove
 that graduates of the great            
universities are1 as a rule1 out of     
work1 or that they are incompetent4 ,it 
simply means that it is possible for a  
man to graduate at these institutions   
and secure his diploma and yet be a man 
who has nothing the world really wants1 
either in way of ideas or services4     
,the reason that my cum laude friends   

did not like me1 and the cause of my    
having to part with them--getting them a
 little free transportation from your   
,uncle ,george--was not because they    
lacked intelligence1 but because they   
wanted to secure a position1 while ,i   
simply offered them a job4  ,they were  
like ,cave-of-the-,winds of ,oshkosh1   
who is an ice-cutter in ,august1 and in 
winter is an out-of-door                
horticulturist--a hired man is something
 else4  ,as a general proposition1 ,i   
believe this will not now be disputed3  
the object of education is that a man   
may benefit himself by serving society4 
,to benefit others1 you must be         
reasonably happy3 there must be         
animation through useful activity1      
good-cheer1 kindness and health--health 
of mind and health of body4 ,and to     
benefit society you must also have      
patience1 persistency1 and a firm       
determination to do the right thing1 and
 to mind your own business so that      
others1 too1 may mind theirs4 ,then all 

should be tinctured with a dash of      
discontent with past achievements1 so   
you will constantly put forth an effort 
to do more and better work4  ,when what 
you have done in the past looks large to
 you1 you haven't done much today4  ,so 
there you get the formula of ,education3
 health and happiness through useful    
activity--animation1 kindness1          
good-cheer1 patience1 persistency1      
willingness to give and take1 seasoned  
with enough discontent to prevent       
smugness1 which is the scum that grows  
over every stagnant pond4  ,of course no
 college can fill this prescription--no 
institution can supply the              
ingredients--all that the college can do
 is to supply the conditions so that    
these things can spring into being4     
,plants need the sunlight--mushrooms are
 different4  ,the question is1 then1    
what teaching concern in ,america       
supplies the best quality of actinic    
ray8  ,and ,i answer1 ,tuskegee is the  
place1 and ,booker ,washington is the   

man4  ,what6 you exclaim4 ,the ,ideal   
,school a school for ,negroes1          
instituted by a ,negro1 where only      
,negroes teach1 and only ,negroes are   
allowed to enter as students8  ,and the 
answer is1 ,exactly so4  ,at ,tuskegee  
there are nearly two thousand students1 
and over one hundred fifty teachers4    
,there are two classes of               
students--day-school and night-school   
students4 ,the night-school students    
work all day at any kind of task they   
are called upon to do4 ,they receive    
their board1 clothing and a home--they  
pay no tuition1 but are paid for their  
labor1 the amount being placed to their 
credit1 so when fifty dollars is        
accumulated they can enter as day       
students4  ,the day students make up the
 bulk of the scholars4 ,each pays fifty 
dollars a year4 ,these all work every   
other day at manual labor or some useful
 trade4  ,tuskegee has fully twice as   
many applicants as it can accommodate2  
but there is one kind of applicant who  

never receives any favor4 ,this is the  
man who says he has the money to pay his
 way1 and wishes to take the academic   
course only4 ,the answer always is3     
,please go elsewhere--there are plenty  
of schools that want your money4 ,the   
fact that you have money will not exempt
 you here from useful labor4  ,this is  
exactly what every college in the world 
should say4  ,the ,tuskegee farm        
consists of about three thousand acres4 
,there are four hundred head of cattle1 
about five hundred hogs1 two hundred    
horses1 great flocks of chickens1 geese1
 ducks and turkeys1 and many swarms of  
bees4 ,it is the intention to raise all 
the food that is consumed on the place1 
and to manufacture all supplies4 ,there 
are wagon-shops1 a sawmill1 a           
harness-shop1 a shoe-shop1 a            
tailor-shop1 a printing-plant1 a model  
laundry1 a canning establishment4 ,finer
 fruit and vegetables ,i have never     
seen1 and the thousands of peach1 plum  
and apple trees1 and the vast acreage of

 berries that have been planted1 will   
surely some day be a goodly source of   
revenue4  ,the place is religious1 but  
not dogmatically so--the religion being 
merely the natural safety-valve for     
emotion4 ,at ,tuskegee there is no      
lacrimose appeal to confess your        
sins--they do better--they forget them4 
,i never heard more inspiring           
congregational singing1 and the use of  
the piano1 organ1 orchestra and brass   
band are important factors in the       
curriculum4 ,in the chapel ,i spoke to  
an audience so attentive1 so alert1 so  
receptive1 so filled with animation1    
that the whole place looked like a vast 
advertisement for ,sozodont4  ,no       
prohibitive signs are seen at ,tuskegee4
 ,all is affirmative1 yet it is         
understood that some things are         
tabu--tobacco1 for instance1 and strong 
drink1 of course4  ,we have all heard of
 ,harvard ,beer and ,yale ,mixture1 but 
be it said in sober justice1 ,harvard   
runs no brewery1 and ,yale has no       

official brand of tobacco4 ,yet ,harvard
 men consume much beer1 and many men at 
,yale smoke4 ,and if you want to see the
 cigarette-fiend on his native heath1   
you'll find him like the locust on the  
campus at ,cambridge and ,new ,haven4   
,but if you want to see the acme of all 
cigarette-bazaars1 just ride out of     
,boylston ,street1 ,boston1 any day at  
noon1 and watch the boys coming out of  
the ,institute of ,technology4  ,i once 
asked a ,tech ,professor if             
cigarette-smoking was compulsory in his 
institution4 ,yes1 he replied2 but the  
rule is not strictly enforced1 as ,i    
know three students who do not smoke4   
,tuskegee stands for order1 system1     
cleanliness1 industry1 courtesy and     
usefulness4 ,there are no sink-holes    
around the place1 no back yards4        
,everything is beautiful1 wholesome and 
sanitary4 ,all trades are represented4  
,the day is crammed so full of work from
 sunrise to sunset that there is no time
 for complaining1 misery or             

faultfinding--three things that are     
usually born of idleness4 ,at ,tuskegee 
there are no servants4 ,all of the work 
is done by the students and             
teachers--everybody works--everybody is 
a student1 and all are teachers4  ,we   
are all teachers1 whether we will it or 
not--we teach by example1 and all       
students who do good work are good      
teachers4  ,when the ,negro is able to  
do skilled work1 he ceases to be a      
problem--he is a man4 ,the fact that    
,alexandre ,dumas was a ,negro does not 
count against him in the world's assize4
  ,the old-time academic college1 that  
cultivated the cerebrum and gave a man  
his exercise in an indoor gymnasium1 or 
not at all1 has ruined its tens of      
thousands4 ,to have top--head and no    
lungs--is not wholly desirable4 ,the    
student was made exempt from every      
useful thing1 just as the freshly freed 
slave hoped and expected to be1 and     
after four years it was often impossible
 for him to take up the practical       

lessons of life4 ,he had gotten used to 
the idea of one set of men doing all the
 work and another set of men having the 
culture4 ,to a large degree he came to  
regard culture as the aim of life4 ,and 
when a man begins to pride himself upon 
his culture1 he hasn't any to speak of4 
,culture must be merely incidental1 and 
to clutch it is like capturing a        
butterfly3 you do not secure the        
butterfly at all--you get only a grub4  
,let us say right here that there is    
only one way in which a ,negro1 or a    
white man1 can ever make himself        
respected4 ,statute law will not do it2 
rights voted him by the ,state are of   
small avail2 making demands will not    
secure the desired sesame4 ,if we ever  
gain the paradise of freedom it will be 
because we have earned it--because we   
deserve it4 ,a make-believe education   
may suffice for a white man--especially 
if he has a rich father1 but a ,negro   
who has to carve out his own destiny    
must be taught order1 system1 and quiet1

 persistent1 useful effort4  ,a college 
that has its students devote one-half   
their time to actual1 useful work is so 
in line with commonsense that we are    
amazed that the idea had to be put into 
execution by the ex-slave as a          
life-saver for his disenfranchised race4
 ,our great discoveries are always      
accidents3 we work for one thing and get
 another4 ,i expect that the day will   
come1 and erelong1 when the great       
universities of the world will have to  
put the ,tuskegee ,idea into execution  
in order to save themselves from being  
distanced by the ,colored ,race4  ,if   
life were one thing and education       
another1 it might be all right to       
separate them4 ,culture of the head over
 a desk1 and indoor gymnastics for the  
body1 are not the ideal1 and that many  
succeed in spite of the handicap is no  
proof of the excellence of the plan4    
,ships that go around the world         
accumulate many barnacles1 but barnacles
 as a help to the navigator are an      

iridescent dream4  ,a little regular    
manual labor1 rightly mixed with the    
mental1 eliminates draw-poker1          
highballs1 brawls1 broils1 ,harvard     
,beer1 ,yale ,mixture1 ,princeton       
,pinochle1 ,chippee dances1 hazing1     
roistering1 rowdyism and the bulldog    
propensity4 ,the ,heidelberg article of 
cocked hat and insolent ways is not     
produced at ,tuskegee4 ,at ,tuskegee    
there is no place for those who lie in  
wait for insults and regard scrapping as
 a fine art4 ,as for college athletics  
at the ,orthodox ,universities1 only one
 man out of ten ever does anything at it
 anyway--the college man who needs the  
gymnasium most is practically debarred  
from everything in it and serves as a   
laughing-stock whenever he strips4      
,coffee1 cocaine1 bromide1 tobacco and  
strong drink often serve in lieu of     
exercise and ozone1 and ,princeton winks
 her woozy eye in innocency4  ,freedom  
can not be bestowed--it must be         
achieved4 ,education can not be         

given--it must be earned4 ,lincoln did  
not free the slaves--he only freed      
himself4 ,the ,negroes did not know they
 were slaves1 and so they had no idea of
 what freedom meant4 ,until a man wants 
to be free1 each kind of freedom is only
 another form of slavery4 ,booker       
,washington is showing the colored man  
how to secure a genuine freedom through 
useful activity4 ,to get freedom you    
must shoulder responsibility4  ,if      
college education were made compulsory  
by the ,state1 and one-half of the      
curriculum consisted of actual1 useful  
manual labor1 most of our social ills   
would be solved1 and we would be well   
out on the highway towards the ,ideal   
,city4  ,without animation1 man is      
naught--nothing is accomplished1 nothing
 done4 ,people who inspire other people 
have animation plus4  ,and animation    
plus is ecstasy4 ,in ecstasy the spirit 
rushes out1 runs over and saturates all4
 ,oratory is an ecstasy that inundates  
the hearer and makes him ride upon the  

crest of another's ideas4  ,art is born 
of ecstasy--art is ecstasy in the       
concrete4 ,beautiful music is ecstasy   
expressed in sound1 regulated into      
rhythm1 cadence and form4 ,statuary is  
frozen music1 said ,heine4  ,a man who  
is not moved into ecstasy by ecstasy is 
hopeless4 ,a people that has not the    
surging1 uplifting1 onward power that   
ecstasy gives1 is decadent--dead4  ,the 
,negro is easily moved to ecstasy4 ,very
 little musical training makes him a    
power in song4 ,at ,tuskegee the        
congregational singing is a feature     
that1 once heard1 is never to be        
forgotten4 ,fifteen hundred people      
lifting up their hearts in an outburst  
of emotion--song6 ,fifteen hundred      
people of one mind1 doing anything in   
unison--do you know what it means8      
,ecstasy is essentially a matter of sex4
 ,in art and religion sex can not be    
left out of the equation4 ,the simple   
fact that in forty years the ,negro race
 in ,america has increased from four    

million to ten million tells of their   
ecstasy as a people4 ,only happy beings 
reproduce themselves1 says ,darwin4     
,depress your animal and it ceases to   
breed2 so there are a whole round of    
animals that do not reproduce in        
captivity4 ,but in slavery or freedom   
the ,negro sings1 and reproduces--he is 
not doomed nor depressed--his soul      
arises superior to circumstance4        
,without animation1 education is        
impossible4 ,and the problem of the     
educator is to direct this singing1     
flowing1 moving spirit of the hive into 
useful channels4  ,education is simply  
the encouragement of right habits--the  
fixing of good habits until they become 
a part of one's nature1 and are         
exercised automatically4  ,the man who  
is industrious by habit is the only man 
who wins4 ,the man who is not           
industrious except when driven to it1 or
 when it occurs to him1 accomplishes    
little4  ,man gets his happiness by     
doing3 and work to a slave is always    

distasteful4 ,the power of mimicry and  
imitation is omitted--the owner does not
 work--the strong man does not work4    
,ergo--to grow strong means to cease    
work4 ,to be strong means to be free--to
 be free means no work6  ,it has been a 
frightfully bad education that the      
,negro has had--work distasteful1 and   
work disgraceful6 ,and the slave-owner  
suffered most of all1 for he came to    
regard work as debasing4  ,and now a    
,negro is teaching the ,negro that work 
is beautiful--that work is a            
privilege--that only through willing    
service can he ever win his freedom4    
,architecture is fixed ecstasy1 inspired
 always by a strong man who gives a     
feeling of security4 ,athens was an     
ecstasy in marble4  ,tuskegee is an     
ecstasy in brick and mortar4  ,don't    
talk about the education of the ,negro6 
,the experiment has really never been   
tried1 except spasmodically1 of         
educating either the whites or the      
blacks in the ,south--or elsewhere4  ,a 

,negro is laying hold upon the natural  
ecstasy of the ,negro1 and directing it 
into channels of usefulness and         
excellence4 ,can you foretell where this
 will end--this formation of habits of  
industry1 sobriety and continued1       
persistent effort towards the right8    
,booker ,washington1 child of a despised
 race1 has done and is doing what the   
combined pedagogic and priestly wisdom  
of ages has failed to do4 ,he is the    
,moses who by his example is leading the
 children of his former oppressors out  
into the light of social1 mental1 moral 
and economic freedom4  ,i am familiar in
 detail with every criticism brought    
against ,tuskegee4 ,on examination these
 criticisms all reduce themselves down  
to three3  #a4 ,a vast sum of money has 
been collected by ,booker ,washington   
for his own aggrandizement and benefit4 
#b4 ,tuskegee is a show-place where all 
the really good work is done by picked  
men from the ,north4  #c4 ,booker       
,washington is a tyrant1 a dictator and 

an egotist4  ,if ,i were counsel for    
,tuskegee--as ,i am not--,i would follow
 the example of the worthy accusers1 and
 submit the matter without argument4    
,booker ,washington can afford to plead 
guilty to every charge2 and he has never
 belittled himself by answering his     
accusers4  ,but let the facts be known1 
that this man has collected upward of   
six million dollars1 mostly from the    
people of the ,north1 and has built up  
the nearest perfect educational         
institution in the world4  ,it is       
probably true that many of his teachers 
and best workers are picked people--but 
they are ,negroes1 and were selected by 
a ,negro4 ,the great general reveals his
 greatness in the selection of his      
generals3 it was the marshals whom      
,napoleon appointed who won for him his 
victories2 but his spirit animated      
theirs1 and he chose them for this one  
reason--he could dominate them4 ,he     
infused into their souls a goodly dash  
of his own enthusiasm4  ,booker         

,washington is a greater general than   
,napoleon4 ,for the ,tuskegee idea no   
,waterloo awaits4 ,and as near as ,i can
 judge1 ,booker ,washington's most noisy
 critics are merely camp-followers4     
,that the man is a tyrant and a dictator
 there is no doubt4 ,he is a beneficent 
tyrant1 but a tyrant still1 for he      
always1 invariably1 has his own way in  
weighty matters--in trivialities others 
can have theirs4 ,and as for            
dictatorship1 the man who advances on   
chaos and transforms it into cosmos is  
perforce a dictator and an egotist4     
,booker ,washington believes he is in   
the right1 and he makes no effort to    
conceal the fact that he is on earth4   
,in him there is no disposition to run  
and peep about1 and find himself a      
dishonorable grave4 ,all live men are   
egotists1 and they are egotists just in 
proportion as they have life4 ,dead men 
are not egotists4 ,booker ,washington   
has life in abundance1 and through him  
,i truly believe runs the spirit of     

,divinity1 if ever a living man had it4 
,a man like this is the instrument of   
,deity4  ,tuskegee ,institute has       
applications ahead all the time1 from   
all over ,america1 for competent colored
 men and women who can take charge of   
important work and do it4 ,dressmakers1 
housekeepers1 cooks1 farmers1 stockmen1 
builders1 gardeners1 are in demand4 ,the
 world has never yet had enough people  
to bear its burdens4  ,recently we have 
heard much of the unemployed1 but a very
 little search will show that the people
 out of work are those of bad habits1   
which make them unreliable and          
untrustworthy4 ,the ,south1 especially1 
needs the willing worker and the        
practical man4 ,and best of all the     
,south knows it1 and stands ready to pay
 for the service4  ,a few years ago     
there was a fine storm of protest from  
,northern ,negroes to the effect that   
,booker ,washington was endeavoring to  
limit the ,negro to menial service--that
 is1 thrust him back into servility4    

,the first ambition of the ,negro was to
 get an education so that he might      
become a ,baptist preacher4 ,to him1    
education meant freedom from toil1 and  
of course we do not have to look far to 
see where he got the idea4 ,then when   
,tuskegee came forward and wanted to    
make blacksmiths1 carpenters and        
brick-masons out of black men1 there was
 a cry1 ,if this means education1 we    
will none of it--treason1 treason6 ,it  
was assumed that the ,negro who set     
other ,negroes to work was not their    
friend4 ,this phase of the matter       
requires neither denial nor apology4 ,we
 smile and pass on4  ,in ,eighteen      
,hundred ,seventy-seven1 the ,negro was 
practically disenfranchised throughout  
the ,south1 by being excluded from the  
primaries4 ,he had no recognized ticket 
in the field4 ,for both the blacks and  
the whites this has been well4 ,to most 
of the blacks freedom meant simply      
exemption from work4 ,so there quickly  
grew up a roistering1 turbulent1 idle   

and dangerous class of black men who    
were used by the most ambitious of their
 kind for political ends4 ,to preserve  
the peace of the community1 the whites  
were forced to adopt heroic measures1   
with the result that we now have the    
disenfranchised ,negro4  ,early in the  
,eighties1 ,booker ,washington realized 
that1 politically1 there was no hope for
 his race4 ,he saw1 however1 that       
commerce recognized no color line4 ,we  
would buy1 sell and trade with the black
 man on absolute equality4              
,life-insurance companies would insure  
him1 banks would receive his deposits1  
and if honest and competent1 would loan 
him money4 ,if he could shoe a horse1 we
 waived his complexion2 and in every    
sort and kind of craftsmanship he stood 
on absolute equality with the whites4   
,the only question ever asked was1 ,can 
you do the work8  ,and ,booker          
,washington set out to help the ,negro  
win success for himself by serving      
society through becoming skilled in     

doing useful things4 ,and so it became  
,head1 ,hand and ,heart4 ,the manual was
 played off against the intellectual4   
,but over and beyond the great          
achievement of ,booker ,washington in   
founding and carrying to a successful   
issue the most complete educational     
scheme of this age1 or any other1 stands
 the man himself4 ,he is one without    
hate1 heat or prejudice4 ,no one can    
write on the lintels of his doorpost the
 word1 ,whim4 ,he is half-white1 but    
calls himself a ,negro4 ,he sides with  
the disgraced and outcast black woman   
who gave him birth1 rather than with the
 respectable white man who was his sire4
  ,he rides in the ,jim ,crow cars1 and 
on long trips1 if it is deemed expedient
 to use a sleeping-car1 he hires the    
stateroom1 so that he may not trespass  
or presume upon those who would be      
troubled by the presence of a colored   
man4 ,often in traveling he goes for    
food and shelter to the humble home of  
one of his own people4 ,at hotels he    

receives and accepts1 without protest or
 resentment1 the occasional contumely of
 the inferior whites--whites too        
ignorant to appreciate that one of      
,god's noblemen stands before them4 ,for
 the whites of the ,south he has only   
words of kindness and respect2 the worst
 he says about them is that they do not 
understand4 ,his modesty1 his patience1 
his forbearance1 are sublime4 ,he is a  
true ,fabian--he does what he can1 like 
the royal ,roycroft opportunist that he 
is4 ,every petty annoyance is passed    
over2 the gibes and jeers and the       
ingratitude of his own race are         
forgotten4 ,they do not understand1 he  
calmly says4 ,he does his work4 ,he is  
respected by the best people of ,north  
and ,south4 ,he has the confidence of   
the men of affairs--he is a safe man4   
,illustration3 ,,thomas ,,arnold        
,,thomas ,,arnold        ,let me mind my
 own personal work2 keep myself pure and
 zealous and      believing2 laboring to
 do ,god's will in this fruitful        

vineyard of      young lives committed  
to my charge1 as my allotted field1     
until my      work be done4             
--,thomas ,arnold   ,,thomas ,,arnold   
,thomas ,arnold was born in ,seventeen  
,hundred ,ninety-five1 and died in      
,eighteen ,hundred ,forty-two4 ,his life
 was short1 as men count time1 but he   
lived long enough to make for himself a 
name and a fame that are both lasting   
and luminous4 ,though he was neither a  
great writer nor a great preacher1 yet  
there were times when he thought he was 
both4 ,he was only a schoolteacher4     
,however1 he was an artist in           
schoolteaching1 and art is not a        
thing--it is a way4 ,it is the beautiful
 way--the effective way4                
,schoolteachers have no means of proving
 their prowess by conspicuous waste1 and
 no time to convince the world of their 
excellence through conspicuous leisure2 
consequently1 for histrionic purposes1 a
 schoolteacher's cosmos is a plain1     
slaty gray4 ,schoolteachers do not      

wallow in wealth nor feed fat at the    
public trough4 ,no one ever accuses them
 of belonging to the class known as the 
predatory rich1 nor of being millionaire
 malefactors4 ,they have to do their    
work every day at certain hours and     
dedicate its results to time4  ,for many
 years ,thomas ,arnold has been known as
 the father of his son4 ,several great  
men have been thus overshadowed4 ,the   
father of ,disraeli1 for instance1 was  
favored by fame and fortune1 until his  
gifted son moved into the limelight1 and
 after that ,pater shone mostly in a    
reflected glory4 ,jacopo ,bellini was   
the greatest painter in ,venice until   
his two sons1 ,gian and ,gentile1       
surpassed him1 and history writes him   
down as the father of the ,bellinis4    
,lyman ,beecher was regarded as         
,america's greatest preacher until      
,henry ,ward moved the mark up a few    
notches4 ,the elder ,pitt was looked    
upon as a genuine statesman until his   
son graduated into the ,cabinet1 and    

then the terrible cornet of horse became
 known as the father of ,pitt4 ,now that
 both are dust1 and we are getting the  
proper perspective1 we see that the     
great commoner was indeed a great man1  
and so they move down the corridors of  
time together1 arm in arm1 this father  
and son4 ,that excellent person who     
carried the gripsacks of greatness so   
long that he thought the luggage was his
 own1 ,major ,james ,b4 ,pond1 launched 
at least one good thing4 ,it was this3  
,matthew ,arnold gave fifty lectures in 
,america1 and nobody ever heard one of  
them2 those in his audience who could no
 longer endure the silence slipped      
quietly out4  ,matthew ,arnold was a    
critic and writer who1 having secured a 
tuppence worth of success through being 
the son of his father1 and thus securing
 the speaker's eye1 finally got an      
oratorical bee in his bonnet and went   
a-barnstorming4 ,he cultivated reserve  
and indifference1 both of which he was  
told were necessary factors of success  

in a public speaker4  ,and this is true4
 ,but they will not make an orator1 any 
more than long hair1 a peculiar necktie1
 and a queer hat will float a poet on   
the tide of time safely into the ,hall  
of ,fame4  ,matthew ,arnold cultivated  
repose1 but instead of convincing the   
audience that he had power1 he only made
 them think he was sleepy4 ,major ,pond1
 having lived much with orators1 and    
thinking the trick easy1 tried oratory  
on his own account1 and succeeded as    
well as did ,matthew ,arnold4 ,no one   
ever heard ,major ,pond3 his voice fell 
over the footlights1 dead1 into the     
orchestra2 only those with opera-glasses
 knew he was talking4  ,but to be       
unintelligible is not a special         
recommendation4 ,men may be moderate for
 two reasons--through excess of feeling 
and because they are actually dull4     
,matthew ,arnold has slipped back into  
his true position--that of a man of     
letters4 ,the genius is a man of        
affairs4 ,humanity is the theme1 not    

books4 ,books are usually written about 
the thoughts of men who wrote books4    
,books die and disintegrate1 but        
humanity is an endless procession1 and  
the souls that go marching on are those 
who fought for freedom1 not those who   
speculate on abstrusities4  ,the        
credential of ,thomas ,arnold to        
immortality is not that he was the      
father of ,matthew and eight other      
little ,arnolds1 but it lies in the fact
 that he fought for a wider horizon in  
life through education4 ,he lifted his  
voice for liberty4 ,he believed in the  
divinity of the child1 not in its       
depravity4 ,arnold of ,rugby was a      
teacher of teachers1 as every great     
teacher is4 ,the pedagogic world is now 
going back to his philosophy1 just as in
 statesmanship we are reverting to      
,thomas ,jefferson4 ,these men who spoke
 classic truth1 not transient--truth    
that fits in spite of fashion1 time and 
place--are the true prophets of mankind4
 ,such was ,thomas ,arnold6         99  

99       99       99       99  ,if      
,thomas ,arnold had been just a little  
bigger1 the world probably would never  
have heard of him1 for an interdict     
would have been placed upon his work4   
,the miracle is that1 as it was1 the    
,church and the ,state did not snuff him
 out4  ,he stood for sweet              
reasonableness1 but unintentionally     
created much opposition4 ,his life was a
 warfare4 ,yet he managed to make       
himself acceptable to a few2 so for     
fourteen years this head master of a    
preparatory school for boys lived his   
life and did his work4 ,he sent out his 
radiating gleams1 and grew straight in  
the strength of his spirit1 and lived   
out his life in the light4  ,his sudden 
death sanctified and sealed his work    
before he was subdued and ironed out by 
the conventions4  ,happy ,arnold6 ,if he
 had lived1 he might have met the fate  
of ,arnold of ,brescia1 who was also a  
great teacher4 ,arnold of ,brescia was a
 pupil of ,abelard1 and was condemned by

 the ,church as a disturber of the peace
 for speaking in eulogy of his master4  
,later1 he attacked the profligacy of   
the idle prelates1 as did ,luther1      
,savonarola and all the other great     
church-reformers4 ,when ordered into    
exile and silence1 he still protested   
his right to speak4 ,he was strangled on
 order of the ,pope1 his body burned1   
and the ashes thrown into the ,tiber4   
,the ,baptists1 ,i believe1 claim       
,arnold of ,brescia as the forerunner of
 their sect1 and certain it is that he  
was of the true ,roger ,williams type4  
,thomas ,arnold1 too1 was filled with a 
passion for righteousness4 ,his zeal for
 the upright1 manly life constituted his
 strength4 ,of course he would not have 
been executed1 as was ,arnold of        
,brescia--the times had changed--he     
would simply have been shelved1         
pooh-poohed1 deprived of his living and 
socially ,crapseyized4 ,death saved     
him--aged forty-seven--and his soul goes
 marching on6         99       99       

99       99       99  ,the parents of   
,thomas ,arnold belonged to the great   
,middle ,class--that class which        
,disraeli said never did any thinking on
 its own account1 but to the best of its
 ability deferred to and imitated the   
idle rich in matters of religion1       
education and politics4  ,doctor        
,johnson maintained that if members of  
the ,middle ,class worked hard and      
economized1 it was in the hope that they
 might leave money and name for their   
children and make them exempt from all  
useful effort4  ,to indict a class1 said
 ,burke1 is neither reasonable nor      
right4 ,but certain it is that a vast   
number of fairly intelligent people in  
,england and elsewhere regard the life  
of the aristocracy as very desirable and
 beautiful4  ,to this end they want     
their boys to become clergymen1 lawyers1
 doctors or army officers4  ,only two   
avenues of honor are open to aspiring   
youth in ,england1 said ,gladstone--the 
,army and the ,church4  ,the father of  

,thomas ,arnold was ,collector of       
,customs at ,cowes1 ,isle of ,wight4    
,holding this petty office under the    
,government1 with a half-dozen men at   
his command1 we can easily guess his    
caliber1 habits1 belief and mode of     
life4 ,he was respectable2 and to be    
respectable1 a ,collector of ,customs   
must be punctilious in ,church matters1 
in order to be acceptable to ,church    
people1 for of such is the ,kingdom of  
,heaven4 ,the parents of ,thomas ,arnold
 very naturally centered their ambitions
 for him on the ,church1 as he was not  
very strong4  ,when the child was only  
six years old1 the father died from     
spasm of the heart4 ,at this time the   
boy had begun to take ,latin1 and his   
education was being looked after by a   
worthy governess1 who daily drilled his 
mental processes and took him walking1  
leading him by the hand4 ,on ,sundays he
 wore a wide1 white collar1 shiny boots 
and a stiff hat4 ,the governess         
cautioned him not to soil his collar1   

nor to get mud on his boots4  ,in later 
years he told how he looked covetously  
at the boys who wore neither hats nor   
boots1 and who did not have a governess4
  ,his mother had a fair income1 and so 
this prim1 precise1 exact and           
crystallized mode of education was      
continued4 ,out of her great love for   
her child1 the mother sent him away from
 home when he was eight years old4 ,of  
course there were tears on both sides2  
but now a male man must educate him1 and
 women were to be dropped out of the    
equation--this that the evil in the     
child should be curbed1 his spirit      
chastened1 and his mind disciplined4    
,the fact that a child rather liked to  
be fondled by his mother1 or that his   
mother cared to fondle him1 was proof of
 total depravity on the part of both4   
,the ,reverend ,doctor ,griffiths1 who  
took charge of the boy for two years1   
was certainly not cruel1 but at the same
 time he was not exactly human4 ,in     
,nature we never hear of a she-lion     

sending her cubs away to be looked after
 by a denatured lion4 ,it is really     
doubtful whether you could ever raise a 
lion to lionhood by this method4 ,some  
goat would come along and butt the life 
out of him1 even after he had evolved   
whiskers and a mane4  ,after two years  
with ,doctor ,griffiths1 young ,arnold  
was sent to ,manchester1 where he       
remained in a boys' boarding-house from 
his tenth to his fourteenth year4 ,to   
the teachers here--all men--he often    
paid tribute1 but uttered a few         
heretical doubts as to whether          
discipline as a substitute for          
mother-love was not an error of pious   
but overzealous educators4  ,at sixteen 
years of age he was transferred to      
,corpus ,christi ,college at ,oxford4   
,in ,eighteen ,hundred ,fifteen1 being  
then twenty years of age1 he was elected
 a ,fellow of ,oriel ,college1 and there
 he resided until he was twenty-four4   
,he was a prizeman in ,latin1 ,greek and
 ,english1 and was considered a star    

scholar--both by himself and by others4 
,ten years afterwards he took a backward
 glance1 and said3 ,at twenty-two ,i was
 proud1 precise1 stiff1 formal1         
uncomfortable1 unhappy1 and             
unintentionally made everybody else     
unhappy with whom ,i came in contact4   
,the only people ,i really mixed with   
were those whose lives were dedicated to
 the ablative4  ,when twenty-four he was
 made a deacon and used to read prayers 
at neighboring chapels1 for which       
service he was paid five shillings4     
,being now thrown on his own resources1 
he did the thing a prizeman always does3
 he showed others how4 ,as a tutor he   
was a success3 more scholars came to him
 than he could really take care of4 ,but
 he did not like the work1 since all the
 pupil desired1 and all the parents     
desired1 was that he should help the    
backward one get his marks1 and glide   
through the eye of a needle into        
pedagogic paradise4  ,at twenty-six he  
was preaching1 teaching and writing     

learned essays about things he did not  
understand4  ,from this brief sketch it 
will be seen that the early education of
 ,thomas ,arnold was of the kind and    
type that any fond parent of the        
well-to-do ,middle ,class would most    
desire4 ,he had been shielded from all  
temptations of the world2 he could do no
 useful thing with his hands2 his       
knowledge of economics--ways and        
means--was that of a child2 of the      
living present he knew little1 but of   
the dead past he assumed and believed he
 knew much4  ,it was purely priestly1   
institutional education4 ,it was the    
kind of education that every well-to-do 
,briton would like to have his sons     
receive4 ,it was1 in short1 ,england's  
,ideal4         99       99       99    
99       99  ,rugby ,grammar ,school was
 endowed in ,sixteen ,hundred           
,fifty-three by one ,laurence ,sherif1 a
 worthy grocer4 ,the original gift was  
comparatively small1 but the investment 
being in ,london real estate1 has       

increased in value until it yields now  
an income of about thirty-five thousand 
dollars a year4  ,in the time of ,arnold
 there were about three hundred pupils4 
,it is not a large school now2 there are
 high schools in a hundred cities of    
,america that surpass it in many ways4  
,rugby's claim to special notice lies in
 its traditions--the great men who were 
once ,rugby boys1 and the great men who 
were ,rugby teachers4 ,also1 in the fact
 that ,thomas ,hughes wrote a famous    
story called1 ,tom ,brown at ,rugby4    
,rugby ,grammar ,school was one hundred 
twenty-five years old when ,sir ,joshua 
,reynolds commissioned ,lord ,cornwallis
 to go to ,america and fetch ,george    
,washington to ,england1 that ,sir      
,joshua might paint his portrait4  ,for 
a hundred years prior to the time of    
,arnold1 there had not been a           
perceptible change in the methods of    
teaching4 ,the boys were herded         
together4 ,they fought1 quarreled1      
divided into cliques2 the big boys      

bullied the little ones4 ,fagging was   
the law2 so the upper forms enslaved the
 lower ones4 ,there was no home life1   
and the studies were made irksome and   
severe1 purposely1 as it was thought    
that pleasant things were sinful4  ,if  
any better plan could have been devised 
to make study absolutely repulsive1 so  
the student would shun it as soon as he 
was out of school1 we can not guess it4 
,the system was probably born of inertia
 on the part of the teachers4 ,the      
pastor who pushes through his prescribed
 services1 with mind on other things1   
and thus absolves his conscience for    
letting his congregation go drifting    
straight to ,gehenna1 was duplicated in 
the teacher4 ,he did his duty--and      
nothing more4  ,selfishness1            
heartlessness and brutality manipulated 
the birch4 ,head was all2 heart and hand
 nothing4 ,this was schoolteaching4 ,as 
a punishment for failure to memorize    
lessons1 there were various plans to    
disgrace and discourage the luckless    

ones4 ,standing in the corner with face 
to the wall1 and the dunce-cap1 had     
given place to a system of fines1       
whereby ten lines of ,vergil for failure
 to attend prayers1 and ten more for    
failure to get the first1 often placed  
the boy in hopeless bankruptcy4 ,if he  
was a fag1 or slave of a higher-form    
boy1 cleaning the other's boots1        
scrubbing stairs1 running on foolish and
 needless errands1 getting cuffs and    
kicks by way of encouragement1 he saw   
his fines piling up and no way ever to  
clear them off and gain freedom by      
promotion4  ,viewed from our standpoint1
 the thing has a ludicrous bouffe air   
that makes us smile4 ,but to the boy    
caught in the toils it was tragic4 ,to  
work and evolve in an environment of    
such brutality was impossible to certain
 temperaments4 ,success lay in becoming 
calloused and indifferent4 ,if the boy  
of gentle habits and slight physical    
force did not sink into mental          
nothingness1 he was in danger of being  

bowled over by disease and death4       
,indeed1 the physical condition of the  
pupils was very bad3 smallpox1 fevers1  
consumption1 and breaking out with sores
 and boils1 were common4  ,thomas       
,arnold was thirty-three years old when 
he was called as head master to ,rugby4 
,he was married1 and babies were coming 
along with astonishing regularity4 ,he  
had taken priestly orders and was       
passing rich on one hundred pounds a    
year4 ,poverty and responsibility had   
given him ballast1 and love for his own 
little brood had softened his heart and 
vitalized his soul4  ,as a writer and   
speaker he had made his presence felt at
 various college commencements and      
clergymen's meetings4 ,he had challenged
 the brutal1 indifferent1 lazy and      
so-called disciplinary methods of       
teaching4  ,and so far as we know1 he is
 the first man in ,england to declare   
that the teacher should be the          
foster-parent of the child1 and that all
 successful teaching must be born of    

love4  ,the well-upholstered            
conservatives twiddled their thumbs1    
coughed1 and asked3 ,how about the      
doctrine of total depravity8 ,do you    
mean to say that the child should not be
 disciplined8 ,what does ,solomon say   
about the use of the rod8 ,does the     
,bible say that the child is good by    
nature8  ,but ,thomas ,arnold could not 
explain all he knew4 ,moreover1 he did  
not wish to fight the ,church--he       
believed in the ,church--to him it was a
 divine institution4 ,but there were    
methods and practises in the ,church    
that he would have liked to forget4  ,my
 sympathies go out to inferiority1 he   
said4 ,the weakling often needed        
encouragement1 not discipline4 ,the bad 
boy must be won1 not suppressed4  ,in   
one of these conferences of clergymen1  
,arnold said3  ,i once chided a pupil1 a
 little1 pale1 stupid boy--undersized   
and seemingly half-sick--for not being  
able to recite his very simple lesson4  
,he looked up at me and said with a     

touch of spirit3 ',sir1 why do you get  
angry with me8 ,do you not know ,i am   
doing the best ,i can8'  ,one of the    
clergymen present asked ,arnold how he  
punished the boy for his impudence4     
,and ,arnold replied3 ,i did not punish 
him--he had properly punished me4 ,i    
begged his pardon4  ,the idea of a      
teacher begging the pardon of a pupil   
was a brand-new thing4  ,several        
clergymen present laughed--one          
scowled--two sneezed4 ,but a ,bishop1   
shortly after this1 urged the name of   
,thomas ,arnold as master of ,rugby1 and
 added to his recommendation this line3 
,if elected to the office he will change
 the methods of schoolteaching in every 
public school in ,england4  ,the ayes   
had it1 and ,arnold was called to       
,rugby4 ,the salary was so-so1 the      
pupils between two and three hundred in 
number--many were home on               
sick-leave--the ,sixth ,form was in     
charge4   ,the genius of ,arnold was    
made manifest1 almost as soon as he went

 to ,rugby1 by the way in which he      
managed the boys who bullied the whole  
school1 and what is worse1 did it       
legally4  ,fagging was official4  ,the  
,sixth ,form was composed of thirty boys
 who stood at the top1 and these boys   
ran the school4 ,they were boys who1 by 
reason of their size1 strength1         
aggressiveness and mental ability1 got  
the markings that gave them this        
autocratic power4 ,they were now immune 
from authority--they were free4 ,in a   
year they would gravitate to the        
,university4  ,we can hardly understand 
now how a bully could get markings      
through his bullying propensities2 but a
 rudimentary survival of the idea may   
yet be seen in big football-players1 who
 are given good marks1 and very gentle  
mental massage in class4 ,if the same   
scholars were small and skinny1 they    
would certainly be plucked4  ,the       
faculty found freedom in shifting       
responsibility for discipline to the    
,sixth ,form4  ,read the diary of       

,arnold1 and you will be amazed on      
seeing how he fought against taking from
 the ,sixth ,form the right to bodily   
chastise any scholar in the school that 
the king of the ,sixth ,form declared   
deserved it4  ,if a teacher thought a   
pupil needed punishment1 he turned the  
luckless one over to the ,sixth ,form4  
,can we now conceive of a system where  
the duty of certain scholars was to whip
 other scholars8 ,not only to whip them1
 but to beat them into insensibility if 
they fought back8  ,such was            
schoolteaching in the public schools of 
,england in ,eighteen ,hundred ,thirty4 
,against this brutality there was now a 
growing sentiment--a piping voice       
bidding the tide to stay6  ,but now that
 ,arnold was in charge of ,rugby1 he got
 the ill-will of his directors by       
declaring that he did not intend to     
curtail the powers of the ,sixth        
,form--he proposed to civilize it4 ,to  
try out the new master1 the ,sixth      
,form1 proud in their prowess1 sent him 

word that if he interfered with them in 
any way1 they would first bust up the   
school1 and then resign in a body4      
,moreover1 they gave it out that if any 
pupil complained to the master          
concerning the ,sixth ,form1 the one so 
complaining would be taken out by night 
and drowned in the classic ,avon4       
,there were legends among the younger   
boys of strange disappearances1 and     
these were attributed to the swift      
vengeance of ,the ,bloody ,sixth4       
,above the ,sixth ,form there was no    
law4  ,every scholar took off his hat to
 a ,sixth4 ,a ,sixth uncovered to       
nobody1 and touched his cap only to a   
teacher4  ,and custom had become so     
rooted that the ,sixth ,form was        
regarded as a sort of police            
necessity--a caste which served the     
school just as the ,army served the     
,church4 ,to reach the ,sixth ,form were
 paradise--it meant liberty and         
power--liberty to do as you pleased1 and
 power to punish all who questioned your

 authority4  ,to uproot the power of the
 ,sixth ,form was the intent of a few   
reformers in pedagogics4  ,there were   
two ways to deal with the boys of the   
,sixth--fight them or educate them4     
,arnold called the ,rugby ,sixth        
together and assured them that he could 
not do without their help4 ,he needed   
them3 he wanted to make ,rugby a model  
school1 a school that would influence   
all ,england--would they help him8  ,the
 dogged faces before him showed signs of
 interest4 ,he continued1 without       
waiting for their reply1 to set before  
them his ideal of an ,english           
,gentleman4 ,he persuaded them1 melted  
them by his glowing personality1 shook  
hands with each1 and sent them away4    
,the next day he again met them in the  
same intimate way1 and one of the boys  
made bold to assure him that if he      
wanted anybody licked--pupils or        
teachers--they stood ready to do his    
bidding4  ,he thanked the boy1 but      
assured him that he was of the opinion  

that it would not be necessary to do    
violence to any one2 he was going to    
unfold to them another way--a new way1  
which was very old1 but which as yet    
,england had not tried4         99      
99       99       99       99  ,the     
great teacher is not the one who imparts
 the most facts--he is the one who      
inspires by supplying a nobler ideal4   
,men are superior or inferior just in   
the ratio that they possess certain     
qualities4 ,truth1 honor1 frankness1    
health1 system1 industry1 kindliness1   
good-cheer and a spirit of helpfulness  
are so far beyond any mental acquisition
 that comparisons are not only odious1  
but absurd4  ,arnold inspired qualities1
 and in this respect his work at ,rugby 
forms a white milestone on the path of  
progress in pedagogy4  ,to an applicant 
for a position as teacher1 ,arnold      
wrote3       ,what ,i want is a man who 
is a ,christian and a gentleman1 an     
active      man1 and one who has        
commonsense1 and understands boys4 ,i do

 not so      much care about            
scholarship1 as he will have immediately
 under him      the lowest forms in the 
school1 but yet1 on second thought1 ,i  
do      care about it very much1 because
 his pupils may be in the highest       
forms2 and besides1 ,i think that even  
the elements are best taught      by a  
man who has a thorough knowledge of the 
matter4 ,however1 if      one must give 
way1 ,i prefer activity of mind and an  
interest in his      work to high       
scholarship2 for the one may be acquired
 far more      easily than the other4 ,i
 should wish it also to be understood   
that      the new master may be called  
upon to take boarders in his house1 it  
being my intention for the future to    
require this of all masters as      ,i  
see occasion1 that so in time the       
school-barracks may die a      natural  
death4 ,with this to offer1 ,i think ,i 
have a right to look      rather high   
for the man whom ,i fix upon1 and it is 
my great object      to get here a      

society of intelligent1 gentlemanly and 
active men1      who may permanently    
keep up the character of the school1 and
 if ,i      were to break my neck       
tomorrow1 carry it on4  ,ideas are in   
the air1 and great inventions are worked
 out in different parts of the world at 
the same time4 ,rousseau had written his
 ,emile1 but we are not aware that      
,arnold ever read it4  ,and if he had1  
he probably would have been shocked1 not
 inspired1 by its almost brutal         
frankness4 ,the ,french might read      
it--the ,english could not4  ,pestalozzi
 was working out his ideas in           
,switzerland1 and ,froebel1 an awkward  
farmer lad in ,germany1 was dreaming    
dreams that were to come true4 ,but     
,thomas ,arnold caught up the threads of
 feeling in ,england and expressed them 
in the fabric of his life4  ,his plans  
were scientific1 but his reasons1 unlike
 those of ,pestalozzi1 will not always  
stand the test of close analysis4       
,arnold was true to the ,church1 but he 

found it convenient to forget much for  
which the ,church stood4 ,he went back  
to a source nearer the fountainhead4    
,all reforms in organized religion lie  
in returning to the primitive type4 ,the
 religion of ,jesus was very simple2    
that of a modern church dignitary is    
very complex4 ,one can be understood2   
the other has to be explained and       
expounded1 and usually several languages
 are required4  ,arnold would have his  
boys evolve into ,christian gentlemen4  
,and his type of ,english gentleman he  
did not get out of books on theology--it
 was his own composite idea4 ,but having
 once evolved it1 he cast around to     
justify it by passages of ,scripture4   
,this was beautiful1 too1 but from our  
standpoint it wasn't necessary4  ,from  
his it was4  ,a gentleman to him was a  
man who looked for the best in other    
people1 and not for their faults2 who   
overlooked slights2 who forgot the good 
he had done2 who was courteous1 kind1   
cheerful1 industrious and clean inside  

and out2 who was slow to wrath1 fervent 
in spirit1 serving the ,lord4 ,and the  
,lord to ,arnold was embodied in ,church
 and ,state4  ,arnold used to say that  
schoolteaching should not be based upon 
religion1 but it should be religion4    
,and to him religion and conduct were   
one4  ,that he reformed ,rugby through  
the ,sixth ,form is a fact4 ,he infused 
into the big boys the thought that they 
must help the little ones2 that for a   
first offense a lad must never be       
punished2 that he should have the matter
 fully explained to him1 and be shown   
that he should do right because it is   
right1 and not for fear of punishment4  
,the ,sixth ,form was taught to unbend  
its dignity and enter into fellowship   
with its so-called inferiors4 ,to this  
end ,arnold set the example of playing  
cricket with the scrubs4  ,he never     
laughed at a poor player nor at a poor  
scholar4 ,he took dull pupils into his  
own house1 and insisted that his        
helpers1 the other teachers1 should do  

the same4 ,he showed the ,sixth ,form   
how much better it was to take the part 
of the weak1 and stop bullying the lower
 forms1 than to set the example of it in
 the highest4 ,before ,arnold had been  
at ,rugby a year1 the ,sixth ,form had  
resolved itself into a ,reception       
,committee that greeted all newcomers1  
got them located1 introduced them to the
 other boys1 showed them the sights1 and
 looked after their wants like big      
brothers or foster-fathers4             
,christianity to ,arnold was human      
service4 ,in his zeal to serve1 to      
benefit1 to bless1 to inspire1 he never 
tired4  ,such a disposition as this is  
contagious4 ,in every big business or   
school1 there is one man's mental       
attitude that animates the whole        
institution4 ,everybody partakes of it4 
,when the leader gets melancholia1 the  
shop has it--the whole place becomes    
tinted with ultra-marine4 ,the best     
helpers begin to get out1 and the       
honeycombing process of dissolution is  

on4  ,a school must have a soul1 just as
 surely as a shop1 a bank1 a hotel1 a   
store1 a home1 or a church has to have4 
,when an institution grows so great that
 it has no soul--simply a financial head
 and a board of directors--dry-rot sets 
in and disintegration in a loose wrapper
 is at the door4  ,this explains why the
 small colleges are the best1 when they 
are3 there is a personality about them1 
an animating spirit that is pervasive   
and preservative4  ,thomas ,arnold was  
not a man of vast learning1 nor could   
one truthfully say he had a surplus of  
intellect2 but he had soul1 plus4 ,he   
never sought to save himself4 ,he gave  
himself to the boys of ,rugby4 ,his     
heart went out to them1 he believed in  
them--and he believed them even when    
they lied1 and he knew they lied4 ,he   
knew that humanity was sound at heart2  
he believed in the divinity of mankind1 
and tried hard to forget the foolish    
theology that taught otherwise4  ,like  
,thomas ,jefferson1 who installed the   

honor system in the ,university of      
,virginia1 he trusted young men4 ,he    
made his appeal to that germ of goodness
 which is in every human soul4 ,in some 
ways he anticipated ,ben ,lindsey in his
 love for the boy1 and might have       
conjured forth from his teeming brain   
the ,juvenile ,court1 and thus stopped  
the creation of criminals1 had his life 
not been consumed in a struggle with    
stupidity and pedantry gone to seed that
 cried to him1 ,oh1 who ever heard of   
such a thing as that6  ,the             
,kindergarten utilizes the propensity to
 play2 and ,arnold utilizes the thirst  
for authority4 ,altruism is flavored    
with a desire for approbation4  ,the    
plan of self-government by means of     
utilizing the ,sixth ,form was quite on 
the order of our own ,george ,junior    
,republic4 ,a school1 he said1 should be
 self-governing and cleanse itself from 
that which is harmful4 ,and again he    
says3 ,if a pupil can gratify his       
natural desire for approbation by doing 

that which is right1 proper and best1 he
 will work to this end instead of being 
a hero by playing the rowdy4 ,it is for 
the scholars to set the seal of their   
approval on character1 and they will do 
so if we as teachers speak the word4 ,if
 ,i find a room in a tumult1 ,i blame   
myself1 not the scholars4 ,it is ,i who 
have failed1 not they4 ,were ,i what ,i 
should be1 every one of my pupils would 
reflect my worth4 ,i key the situation1 
,i set the pace1 and if my soul is in   
disorder1 the school will be in         
confusion4  ,nothing is done without    
enthusiasm4 ,it is heart that wins1 not 
head1 the round world over4 ,and yet    
head must systematize the promptings of 
the heart4 ,arnold had a way of putting 
soul into a hand-clasp4 ,his pupils     
never forgot him4 ,wherever they went1  
no matter how long they lived1 they     
proclaimed the praises of ,arnold of    
,rugby4 ,how much this earnest1         
enthusiastic1 loving and sincere teacher
 has influenced civilization1 no man can

 say4 ,but this we know1 that since his 
day there has come about a new science  
of teaching4 ,the birch has gone with   
the dunce-cap4 ,the particular          
cat-o'-nine-tails that was burned in the
 house of ,thomas ,arnold as a solemn   
ceremony1 when the declaration was made1
 ,henceforth ,i know my children will do
 right6 has found its example in every  
home of ,christendom4  ,we no longer    
whip children4 ,schools are no longer   
places of dread1 pain and suffering1 and
 we as teachers are repeating with      
,friedrich ,froebel the words of the    
,nazarene1 ,suffer little children to   
come unto me1 and forbid them not1 for  
of such is the ,kingdom of ,heaven4     
,also1 we say with ,thomas ,arnold3 ,the
 boy is father to the man4 ,a race of   
gentlemen can only be produced by       
fostering in the boy the qualities that 
make for health1 strength and a manly   
desire to bless1 benefit and serve the  
race4     ,illustration3 ,,friedrich    
,,froebel  ,,friedrich ,,froebel        

,the purpose of the ,kindergarten is to 
provide the necessary and      natural  
help which poor mothers require who have
 to be about their      work all day1   
and must leave their children to        
themselves4 ,the      occupations       
pursued in the ,kindergarten are the    
following3 free      play of a child by 
itself2 free play of several children by
      themselves2 associated play under 
the guidance of a teacher2              
gymnastic exercises2 several sorts of   
handiwork suited to little              
children2 going for walks2 learning     
music1 both instrumental and      vocal2
 learning the repetition of poetry2     
story-telling2 looking at      really   
good pictures2 aiding in domestic       
occupations2 gardening4       --,froebel
   ,,friedrich ,,froebel  ,friedrich    
,froebel was born in a ,thuringian      
village1 ,april ,twenty-first1          
,seventeen ,hundred ,eighty-two4 ,his   
father was pastor of the ,lutheran      
,church4 ,when scarcely a year old his  

mother died4 ,erelong a stepmother came 
to fill her place--but didn't4 ,this    
stepmother was the kind we read about in
 the ,six ,best ,sellers4  ,her         
severity1 lack of love1 and needlessly  
religious zeal served the future        
,kindergartner a dark background on     
which to paint a joyous picture4        
,froebel was educated by antithesis4    
,his home was the type etched so        
unforgetably by ,colonel ,ed4 ,howe in  
his ,story of a ,country ,town1 which   
isn't bad enough to be one of the ,six  
,best ,sellers4  ,at the age of ten1 out
 of pure pity1 young ,friedrich was     
rescued from the cuckoo's nest by an    
uncle who had a big family of his own   
and love without limit4 ,there was a    
goodly brood left1 so little ,friedrich1
 slim1 slender1 yellow1 pensive and sad1
 was really never missed4  ,the uncle   
brought the boy up to work1 but treated 
him like a human being1 answering his   
questions1 even allowing him to have    
stick horses and little log houses and a

 garden of his own4  ,at fifteen his    
nature had begun to awaken1 and the     
uncle1 harkening to the boy's wish1     
apprenticed him for two years to a      
forester4 ,the young man's first work   
was to make a list of the trees in a    
certain tract and approximate their     
respective ages4 ,the night before his  
work began he lay awake thinking of the 
fun he was going to have at the job4 ,in
 after-years he told of this incident in
 showing that it was absurd to try to   
divorce work from play4  ,the two years 
as forester's apprentice1 from fifteen  
to seventeen1 were really better for him
 than any university could have been4   
,his stepmother's instructions had      
mostly been in the line of prohibition4 
,from earliest babyhood he had been     
warned to look out4 ,when he went on the
 street it was with a prophecy that he  
would get run over by a cart1 or stolen 
by the gypsies1 or fall off the bridge  
and be drowned4 ,the idea of danger had 
been dinged into his ears so that fear  

had become a part of the fabric of his  
nature4 ,even at fifteen1 he took pains 
to get out of the woods before sundown  
to avoid the bears4 ,at the same time   
his intellect told him there were no    
bears there4 ,but the shudder habit was 
upon him4  ,yet by degrees the work in  
the woods built up his body and he grew 
to be at home in the forest1 both day   
and night4 ,his duties taught him to    
observe1 to describe1 to draw1 to       
investigate1 to decide4 ,then it was    
transplantation1 and perhaps the best of
 college life consists in taking the    
youth out of the home environment and   
supplying him new surroundings4         
,forestry in ,america is a brand-new    
science4 ,to clear the ground has been  
our desire1 and so to strip1 burn and   
destroy1 saving only such logs as       
appealed to us for lumber1 was the      
desideratum4 ,but now we are seriously  
considering the matter of tree-planting 
and tree-preservation1 and perhaps it   
would be well to ask ourselves if two   

years at forestry1 right out of doors1  
in contact with ,nature1 wrestling with 
the world of wood1 rock1 plant and      
living things1 wouldn't be better for   
the boy than double the time in stuffy  
dormitories and still more stuffy       
recitation-rooms--listening to stuffy   
lectures about things that are foreign  
to life4  ,i would say that a boy is a  
savage1 but ,i do not care to give      
offense to fond mammas4 ,to educate him 
in the line of his likes1 as the race   
has been educated1 seems sensible and   
right4 ,how would ,yellowstone ,park    
answer for a ,national ,university1 with
 ,captain ,jack ,crawford1 ,william     
,muldoon1 ,john ,burroughs1 ,john       
,dewey1 ,stanley ,hall and a mixture of 
men of these types1 for a faculty8      
,froebel thought his two years in the   
forest saved him from consumption1 and  
perhaps from insanity1 for it taught him
 to look out1 not in1 and to lend a     
hand4 ,at times he was a little too     
sentimental1 as it was1 and a trifle    

more of morbidity and sensitiveness     
would have ruined his life1 absolutely4 
,the woods and ,god's great out-of-doors
 gave him balance and ballast1 good     
digestion and sweet sleep o' nights4    
,the two years past1 he went to ,jena1  
where he had an elder brother4 ,this    
brother was a star scholar1 and         
,friedrich looked up to him as a pleiad 
of pedagogy4 ,he became a professor in a
 ,jena preparatory school and then      
practised medicine2 but he never had the
 misfortune to affront public opinion1  
and so oblivion lured and won him1 and  
took him as her own4  ,at ,jena poor    
,froebel did not make head4 ,his        
preparatory work hadn't prepared him4   
,he floundered in studies too deep for  
one of his age1 then followed some      
foolish advice and hired a tutor to help
 him along4 ,then he fell down1 was     
plucked1 got into debt1 and also into   
the carcer1 where he boarded for nine   
weeks at the expense of the ,state4  ,in
 the carcer he didn't catch up with his 

studies1 quite naturally1 and the       
imprisonment almost broke his health4   
,had he been in the carcer for dueling1 
he would have emerged a hero4 ,but debt 
meant that he had neither money nor     
friends4 ,when he was given his release1
 as an economic move1 he slipped away   
between two days and made his way to the
 ,forestry ,office1 where he applied for
 a job as laborer4 ,he got it4 ,in a few
 days he was promoted to chief of       
apprentices4  ,forestry meant a certain 
knowledge of surveying1 and this        
,froebel soon acquired4 ,then came      
map-making1 and that was only fun4 ,from
 map-making to architecture is but a    
step1 and ,froebel quit the woods to    
work as assistant to an architect at ten
 pounds a year and found1 it was        
confining work1 and a trifle more       
exacting than he had expected--it       
required a deal of mathematics1 and     
mathematics was ,froebel's short suit4  
,froebel was disappointed and so was his
 employer--when something happened4 ,it 

usually does in books1 and in life1     
always4         99       99       99    
99       99  ,genius has its prototype4 
,before ,froebel comes ,pestalozzi1 the 
,swiss1 who studied theology and law1   
and then abandoned them both as futile  
to human evolution1 and turned his      
attention to teaching4 ,pestalozzi was  
inspired by ,jean ,jacques ,rousseau1   
and read his ,emile religiously4 ,to    
teach by natural methods and mix work   
and study1 and make both play1 was his  
theme4 ,pestalozzi believed in teaching 
out of doors1 because children are both 
barbaric and nomadic--they want to go   
somewhere4 ,his was the ,aristotle      
method1 as opposed to those of the      
closet and the cloister4 ,but he made   
the mistake of saying that teaching     
should be taken out of the hands and    
homes of the clergy1 and then the clergy
 said a few things about him4           
,pestalozzi at first met with very      
meager encouragement4 ,only poor and    
ignorant people entrusted their children

 to his care1 and some of the parents   
were actually paid in money for the     
services of the children4 ,the thought  
that the children were getting an       
education and being useful at the same  
time was quite beyond their             
comprehension4  ,pestalozzi educated by 
stealth4 ,at first he took several boys 
and girls of eight1 ten or twelve years 
of age1 and had them work with him in   
his garden4 ,they cared for fowls1      
looked after the sheep1 milked the cows4
 ,the master worked with them1 and as   
they worked they talked4 ,going to and  
from their duties1 ,pestalozzi would    
call their attention to the wild birds1 
and to the flowers1 plants and weeds4   
,they would draw pictures of things1    
make collections of leaves and flowers1 
and keep a record of their observations 
and discoveries4 ,through keeping these 
records they learned to read and write  
and acquired the use of simple          
mathematics4 ,things they did not       
understand they would read about in the 

books found in the teacher's library4   
,but books were secondary and quite     
incidental in the scheme of study4 ,when
 work seemed to become irksome they     
would all stop and play games4 ,at other
 times they would sit and just talk     
about what their work happened to       
suggest4 ,if the weather was unpleasant1
 there was a shop where they made hoes  
and rakes and other tools they needed4  
,they also built bird-houses1 and made  
simple pieces of furniture1 so all the  
pupils1 girls and boys1 became more or  
less familiar with carpenter's and      
blacksmith's tools4 ,they patched their 
shoes1 mended their clothing1 and at    
times prepared their own food4          
,pestalozzi found that the number of    
pupils he could look after in this way  
was not more than ten4 ,but to his own  
satisfaction1 at least1 he proved that  
children taught by his method surpassed 
those who were given the regular set    
courses of instruction4 ,his chief      
difficulties lay in the fact that the   

home did not co-operate with the school1
 and that there was always a tendency to
 return to the blanket4  ,pestalozzi    
wrote accounts of his experiments and   
emphasized his belief that we should    
educate through the child's natural     
activities2 also that all growth should 
be pleasurable4 ,his shibboleth was1    
,from within1 out4 ,he thought education
 was a development and not an           
acquirement4  ,one of ,pestalozzi's     
little pamphlets fell into the hands of 
,friedrich ,froebel1 architect's        
assistant1 at ,frankfort4  ,froebel was 
twenty-two years old1 and ,fate had     
tossed him around from one thing to     
another since babyhood4 ,all of his     
experiences had been of a kind that     
prepared his mind for the theories that 
,pestalozzi expressed4  ,besides that1  
architecture had begun to pall upon him4
 ,those who can1 do2 those who can't1   
teach4 ,this was said in derision1 but  
it holds a grain of truth4  ,froebel had
 a great desire to teach4 ,now1 in      

,frankfort there was a ,model ,school or
 a school for teachers1 of which one    
,herr ,gruner was master4 ,this school  
was actually carrying out some of the   
practical methods suggested by          
,pestalozzi4 ,quite by accident ,gruner 
and ,froebel met4 ,gruner wanted a      
teacher who could teach by the          
,pestalozzi methods4 ,froebel           
straightway applied to ,herr ,gruner for
 the position4 ,he was accepted as a    
combination janitor and instructor and  
worked for his board and ten marks1 or  
two and a half dollars a week4  ,the    
good-cheer and enthusiasm of ,froebel   
won ,gruner's heart4 ,together they     
discussed ,pestalozzi and his works1    
read all that he had written1 and opened
 up a correspondence with the great man4
 ,this led to an invitation that        
,froebel should visit him at his        
farm-school1 near ,yverdon1 in          
,switzerland4  ,gruner supplied ,froebel
 the necessary money to replace his very
 seedy clothes for something better1 and

 the young man started away4 ,it was a  
walk of more than two hundred miles1 but
 youth and enthusiasm count such a tramp
 as an enjoyable trifle4 ,froebel wore  
his seedy clothes and carried his good  
ones1 and so he appeared before the     
master spick and span4  ,pestalozzi was 
sixty years old at this time1 and his   
hopes for the new method were still     
high4 ,he had met opposition1 ridicule  
and indifference1 and had spent most of 
his little fortune in the fight1 but he 
was still at it and resolved to die in  
the harness4  ,froebel was not          
disappointed in ,pestalozzi1 and        
certainly ,pestalozzi was delighted and 
a bit amused at the earnestness of the  
young man4 ,pestalozzi was working in a 
very economical way1 but all the place  
lacked ,froebel1 in his exuberant       
imagination1 made good4  ,froebel found 
much1 for he had brought much with him4 
99       99       99       99       99  
,froebel returned to ,frankfort from his
 visit to ,pestalozzi1 full of          

enthusiasm1 and that is the commodity   
without which no teacher succeeds4      
,gruner allowed him to gravitate4 ,and  
soon ,froebel's room was the central    
point of interest for the whole school4 
,but trouble was ahead for ,froebel4    
,he had no college degrees4 ,his        
pedagogic pedigree was very short4 ,he  
hoped to live down his university       
record1 but it followed him4 ,gruner's  
school was under government inspection1 
and the gentlemen with double chins1 who
 came from time to time to look the     
place over1 asked who this enthusiastic 
young person was1 and why had the worthy
 janitor and ex-forester been so honored
 by promotion4  ,in truth1 during his   
life1 ,froebel never quite escaped the  
taunt that he was not an educated man4  
,that is to say1 no college had ever    
supplied him an alphabetic appendage4   
,he had been a forester1 a farmer1 an   
architect1 a guardian for boys and a    
teacher of women1 but no institution had
 ever said officially he was fit to     

teach men4  ,gruner tried to explain    
that there are two kinds of teachers3   
people who are teachers by nature1 and  
those who have acquired the methods by  
long study4 ,the first1 having little to
 learn1 and a love for the child1 with a
 spontaneous quality of giving their    
all1 succeed best4  ,but poor ,gruner's 
explanation did not explain4  ,then the 
matter was gently explained to ,froebel1
 and he saw that in order to hold a     
place as teacher he must acquire a past4
 ,time will adjust it1 he said1 and     
started away on a second visit to       
,pestalozzi4 ,his plan was to remain    
with the master long enough so he could 
secure a certificate of proficiency4    
,again ,pestalozzi welcomed the young   
man1 and he slipped easily into the     
household and became both pupil and     
teacher4 ,his willingness to work--to do
 the task that lay nearest him--his     
good-nature1 his gratitude1 won all     
hearts4  ,at this time the plan of      
sending boys to college with a tutor who

 was both a companion and a teacher1 was
 in vogue with those who could afford   
it4 ,it will be remembered that ,william
 and ,alexander von ,humboldt received  
their early education in this way--going
 with their tutor from university to    
university1 teacher and pupils entering 
as special students1 getting into the   
atmosphere of the place1 soaking        
themselves full of it1 and then going   
on4  ,and now behold1 through ,gruner or
 ,pestalozzi or both1 a woman of wealth 
with three boys to educate applied to   
,froebel to come over into ,macedonia   
and help her4  ,it was in ,eighteen     
,hundred ,seven that ,froebel became    
tutor in the ,von ,holzhausen family4   
,he was twenty-five years old1 and this 
was his first interview with wealth and 
leisure4 ,that he was hungry enough to  
appreciate it need not be emphasized4   
,he got goodly glimpses of ,gottingen1  
,berlin1 and was long enough at ,jena to
 rub the blot off the 'scutcheon4 ,a    
stay at ,weimar1 in the ,goethe country1

 completed the four years' course4  ,the
 boys had grown to men1 and proved their
 worth in after-years2 but whether they 
had gotten as much from the migrations  
as their teacher is very doubtful4 ,he  
was ripe for opportunity--they had had a
 surfeit of it4  ,then came war4 ,the   
order to arms and the rush of students  
to obey their country's call caught     
,froebel in the patriotic vortex1 and he
 enlisted with his pupils4  ,his service
 was honorable1 even if not brilliant1  
and it had this advantage3 the making of
 two friends1 companions in arms1 who   
caught the ,pestalozzian fever1 and     
lived out their lives preaching and     
teaching the new method4  ,these men    
were ,william ,middendorf and ,henry    
,langenthal4 ,this trinity of brothers  
evolved a bond as beautiful as it is    
rare in the realm of friendship4 ,forty 
years after their first meeting1        
,middendorf gave an oration over the    
dead body of ,froebel that lives as a   
classic1 breathing the love and faith   

that endure4  ,and then ,middendorf     
turned to his work1 and dared prison and
 disgrace by upholding the ,kindergarten
 ,system and the life and example of his
 dear1 dead friend4 ,the ,kindergarten  
,idea would probably have been buried in
 the grave with ,froebel--interred with 
his bones--were it not for ,middendorf  
and ,langenthal4         99       99    
99       99       99  ,the first        
,kindergarten was established in        
,eighteen ,hundred ,thirty-six1 at      
,blankenburg1 a little village near     
,keilhau4 ,froebel was then fifty-four  
years old1 happily married to a worthy  
woman who certainly did not hamper his  
work1 even if she did not inspire it4   
,he was childless1 that all children    
might call him father4  ,the years had  
gone in struggles to found ,normal      
,schools in ,germany after the          
,pestalozzian and ,gruner methods4 ,but 
disappointment1 misunderstanding and    
stupidity had followed ,froebel4 ,the   
set methods of the clergy1 accusations  

of revolution and heresy1 tilts with    
pious pedants as to the value of dead   
languages1 all combined with his own    
lack of business shrewdness1 had wrecked
 his various ventures4  ,froebel's      
argument that women were better natural 
teachers than men on account of the     
mother-instinct1 brought forth a retort 
from a learned monk to the effect that  
it was indelicate if not sinful for an  
unmarried female1 who was not a nun1 to 
study the natures of children4  ,parents
 with children old enough to go to      
school would not entrust their darlings 
with the teaching experimenter--this on 
the advice of their pastors4            
,middendorf and ,langenthal were still  
with him1 partners in the disgrace or   
failure1 for none was willing to give up
 the fight for education by the natural 
methods4  ,a great thought and a great  
word came to them1 all at once--out on  
the mountain-side6  ,begin with the     
children before the school age1 and call
 it the ,kindergarten6  ,hurrah6 ,they  

shouted for joy1 and ran down the hill  
to tell ,frau ,froebel4  ,the schools   
they had started before had been called1
 ,the ,institution for ,teaching        
,according to the ,pestalozzi ,method   
and the ,natural ,activities of the     
,child1 ,institution for the            
,encouragement and ,development of the  
,spontaneous ,activities of the ,pupil1 
and ,friedrich ,froebel's ,school for   
the ,growth of the ,creative ,instinct  
,which ,makes for a ,useful ,character4 
,a school with such names1 of course1   
failed4 ,no one could remember it long  
enough to send his child there--it meant
 nothing to the mind not prepared for   
it4  ,what's in a name8 ,everything4    
,books sell or become dead stock on the 
name4 ,commodities the same4 ,railroads 
must have a name people are not afraid  
to pronounce4  ,the officers of the law 
came and asked to see ,froebel's license
 for manufacturing4 ,others asked as to 
the nature of his wares1 and one        
dignitary called and asked1 ,is ,herr   

,pestalozzi in8  ,the ,kindergarten6    
,the new name took4 ,the children       
remembered it4 ,overworked mothers liked
 the word and were glad to let the      
little other-mothers take the children  
to the ,kindergarten1 certainly4        
,froebel had grown used to              
disappointments--he was an optimist by  
nature4 ,he saw the good side of        
everything1 including failure4  ,he made
 the best of necessity4 ,and now it was 
very clear to him that education must   
begin a hundred years before the child  
is born4 ,he would reach the home and   
the mother through the children4 ,it    
will take three generations to prove the
 truth of the ,kindergarten ,idea1 he   
said4  ,and so the songs1 the gifts1 the
 games--all had to be invented1         
defended1 tried and tried again4        
,pestalozzi had a plan for teaching the 
youth2 now a plan had to be devised for 
teaching the child4 ,love was the       
keystone1 and joy1 unselfishness and    
unswerving faith in the ,natural or     

,divine impulses of humanity crowned the
 structure4         99       99       99
       99       99  ,froebel invented   
the schoolma'am4 ,that is1 he discovered
 the raw product and adapted it4 ,he    
even coined the word1 and it struck the 
world as being so very funny that we    
forthwith adopted it as a term of       
provincial pleasantry and               
quasi-reproach4 ,the original term used 
was school mother1 but when it reached  
these friendly shores we translated it  
schoolmarm4 ,then we tittered1 also     
sneezed4  ,froebel died in ,eighteen    
,hundred ,fifty-two4 ,his first         
,kindergarten was not a success until he
 was nearly sixty years old1 but the    
idea had been perfecting itself in his  
mind more or less unconsciously for over
 thirty years4  ,he had been thinking1  
writing1 working1 experimenting all     
these years on the subject of education1
 and he had become well-nigh            
discouraged4 ,he had observed that six  
was the school age4 ,that is1 no child  

could go to school until he was six     
years old--then his education began4    
,but ,froebel had been teaching in a    
country school and boarding 'round1 and 
he had discovered that long before this 
the child had been learning by observing
 and playing1 and that these were       
formative influences1 quite as potent as
 actual school4  ,in the big families   
where ,froebel boarded1 he noticed that 
the older girls took charge of the      
younger ones4 ,so1 often a girl of ten1 
with dresses to her knees1 carried one  
baby in her arms and two toddled behind 
her1 and this child of ten was really   
the other-mother4 ,the true mother      
worked in the fields or toiled at her   
housework1 and the little other-mother  
took the children out to play and thus  
amused them while the mother worked4    
,the desire of ,froebel was to educate  
the race1 but what are a few hours a day
 in a schoolroom with a totally         
unsympathetic home environment6  ,to    
reach and interest the mother in the    

problem of education was well-nigh      
impossible4 ,toil1 deprivation1 poverty1
 had killed all the romance and         
enthusiasm in her heart4 ,she was the   
victim of arrested development2 but the 
little other-mother was a child1        
impressionable1 immature1 and she could 
be taught4 ,the home must co-operate    
with the school1 otherwise all the      
school can teach will be forgotten in   
the home4 ,froebel saw1 too1 that often 
the little other-mother was so          
overworked in the care of her charges   
that she was taken from school4         
,besides1 the idea was abroad that      
education was mostly for boys1 anyway4  
,and here ,froebel stepped in and proved
 himself a law-breaker1 just as ,ben    
,lindsey was when he inaugurated the    
juvenile court and waived the entire    
established legal procedure1 even to the
 omission of swearing his witnesses1 and
 believed in the little truant even     
though he lied4 ,froebel told the little
 other-mothers to come to school anyway 

and bring the babies with them4  ,and   
then he set to work showing these girls 
how to amuse1 divert and teach the      
babies4 ,and he used to say the babies  
taught him4  ,some of these half-grown  
girls showed a rare adaptability as     
teachers4 ,they combined mother-love and
 the teaching instinct4  ,froebel       
utilized their services in teaching     
others in order that he might teach     
them4  ,he saw that the teacher is the  
one who gets the most out of the        
lessons1 and that the true teacher is a 
learner4 ,these girl teachers he called 
school-mothers1 and thus was evolved the
 word and the person4  ,froebel founded 
the first normal and model school for   
the education of women as teachers1 and 
this was less than a hundred years ago4 
,the years went by and the little       
mothers had children of their own1 and  
these children were the ones that formed
 the first actual1 genuine kindergarten4
  ,also1 these were the mothers who     
formed the first mothers' clubs4  ,and  

it was the success of these clubs that  
attracted the attention of the          
authorities1 who could not imagine any  
other purpose for a club than to hatch a
 plot against the government4  ,anyway1 
a system which taught that women were   
just as wise1 just as good and just as  
capable as men--just as well fitted by  
nature to teach--would upset the clergy4
 ,if women can break into the school1   
they will also break into the church4   
,moreover1 the encouragement of play was
 atrocious4 ,mein ,gott1 or words to    
that effect1 play in a schoolroom6 ,why1
 even a fool would know that that is the
 one thing that stood in the way of     
education1 the one fly in the pedagogic 
ointment4 ,if ,mynheer ,froebel would   
please invent a way to do away with play
 in schoolrooms1 he would be given a    
pension4  ,the idea that children were  
good by nature was rank heresy4 ,where  
does the doctrine of regeneration come  
in1 and how about being born again6 ,the
 natural man is at enmity toward ,god4  

,we are conceived in sin and born in    
iniquity4 ,the ,bible says it again and 
again4  ,and here comes a man who thinks
 he knows more than all the priests and 
scholars who have ever lived1 and fills 
the heads of fool women with the idea   
that they are born to teach instead of  
to work in the fields and keep house and
 wait on men4  ,mein ,gott in ,himmel1  
the women know too much1 already6 ,if   
this thing keeps on1 men will have to   
get off the earth1 and women and        
children will run the world1 and do it  
by means of play4 ,aha6 ,what does      
,solomon say8 ,spare the rod and spoil  
the child4 ,aber nicht1 say these girls4
  ,this thing has got to stop before    
,germany becomes the joke of            
mankind--the cat-o'-nine-tails for      
anybody who uses the word kindergarten6 
99       99       99       99       99  
,suffer little children to come unto me1
 and forbid them not1 for of such is the
 ,kingdom of ,heaven4 ,had the man who  
uttered these words been given a little 

encouragement1 he probably would have   
inaugurated a child-garden and provided 
a place and environment where little    
souls could have bloomed and blossomed4 
,he was by nature a teacher1 and his    
best pupils were women and children4    
,male men are apt to think they already 
know and so are immune from ideas4      
,jerusalem1 nineteen hundred years ago1 
was about where ,berlin was in ,eighteen
 ,hundred ,fifty4 ,in both instances the
 proud priest and the aristocrat-soldier
 were supreme4 ,and both were quite     
satisfied with their own mental         
attainments and educational methods4    
,they were sincere4 ,it was a very      
similar combination that crucified      
,jesus to that which placed an interdict
 on ,friedrich ,froebel1 making the     
,kindergarten a crime1 and causing the  
speedy death of one of the gentlest1    
noblest1 purest men who have ever       
blessed this earth4  ,froebel was just  
seventy when he passed out4 ,his eye was
 not dimmed nor his natural force       

abated--he was filled with enthusiasm   
and hope as never before4 ,his ideas    
were spreading--success1 at last1 was at
 the door1 he had interested the women  
and proved the fitness of women to      
teach--his mothers' clubs were          
numerous--love was the watchword4 ,and  
in the midst of this flowering time1 the
 official order came1 without warning1  
apology or explanation1 and from which  
there was no appeal4 ,the same savagery1
 chilled with fear1 that sent ,richard  
,wagner into exile1 crushed the life and
 broke the heart of ,friedrich ,froebel4
 ,but these names now are the pride and 
glory of the land that once scorned     
them4 ,men who govern should be those   
with a reasonable doubt concerning their
 own infallibility1 and an earnest faith
 in men1 women and children4 ,to teach  
is better than to rule4 ,we are all     
children in the ,kindergarten of ,god4  
,illustration3 ,,hypatia  ,,hypatia     
,neo-,platonism is a progressive        
philosophy1 and does not expect to      

state final conditions to men whose     
minds are finite4 ,life is an           
unfoldment1 and the further we travel   
the more truth we can      comprehend4  
,to understand the things that are at   
our door is the      best preparation   
for understanding those that lie beyond4
       --,hypatia   ,,hypatia  ,the     
father of ,hypatia was ,theon1 a noted  
mathematician and astronomer of         
,alexandria4 ,he would have been        
regarded as a very great man had he not 
been cast into the shadow by his        
daughter4 ,let male parents beware4  ,at
 that time1 astronomy and astrology were
 one4 ,mathematics was useful1 not for  
purposes of civil engineering1 but      
principally in figuring out where a     
certain soul1 born under a given planet1
 would be at a certain time in the      
future4  ,no information comes to us    
about the mother of ,hypatia--she was so
 busy with housework that her existence 
is a matter of assumption or a priori   
reasoning2 thus1 given a daughter1 we   

assume the existence of a mother4       
,hypatia was certainly the daughter of  
her father4 ,he was her tutor1 teacher1 
playmate4 ,all he knew he taught to her1
 and before she was twenty she had been 
informed by him of a fact which she had 
previously guessed--that considerable of
 his so-called knowledge was conjecture4
  ,theon taught his daughter that all   
systems of religion that pretend to     
teach the whole truth were to a great   
degree false and fraudulent4 ,he        
explained to her that his own profession
 of astronomy and astrology was only for
 other people4 ,by instructing her in   
all religions she grew to know them     
comparatively1 and so none took         
possession of her to the exclusion of   
new truth4 ,to have a religion thrust   
upon you1 and be compelled to believe in
 it or suffer social ostracism1 is to be
 cheated of the right to make your own4 
,in degree it is letting another live   
your life4 ,a child does not need a     
religion until he is old enough to      

evolve it1 and then he must not be      
robbed of the right of independent      
thinking by having a fully-prepared plan
 of salvation handed out to him4 ,the   
brain needs exercise as much as the     
body1 and vicarious thinking is as      
erroneous as vicarious exercise4        
,strength comes from personal effort4   
,to think is natural1 and if not        
intimidated or coerced the man will     
evolve a philosophy of life that is     
useful and beneficent4  ,religious mania
 is a result of dwelling on a borrowed  
religion4 ,if let alone no man would    
become insane on religious topics1 for  
the religion he would evolve would be   
one of joy1 laughter and love1 not one  
of misery or horror4 ,the religion that 
contemplates misery and woe is one      
devised by priestcraft for a purpose1   
and that purpose is to rule and rob4    
,from the blunt ways of the road we get 
a polite system of intimidation which   
makes the man pay4 ,it is robbery       
reduced to a system1 and finally piously

 believed in by the robbers1 who are    
hypnotized into the belief that they are
 doing ,god's service4  ,all formal     
dogmatic religions are fallacious and   
must never be accepted by               
self-respecting persons as final1 said  
,theon to ,hypatia4 ,reserve your right 
to think1 for even to think wrongly is  
better than not to think at all4  ,theon
 gave lectures1 and had private classes 
in esoterics1 wherein the innermost     
secrets of divinity were imparted4      
,also1 he had a plan for the            
transmutation of metals and a recipe for
 perpetual youth4 ,when he had nothing  
else to do1 he played games with his    
daughter4  ,at twenty-one ,hypatia had  
mastered the so-called art of ,rhetoric1
 or the art of expression by vocal      
speech4  ,it will be remembered that the
 ,romans considered rhetoric1 or the art
 of the rhetor1 or orator1 as first in  
importance4 ,to impress people by your  
personal presence they regarded as the  
gift of gifts4  ,this idea seems to have

 been held by the polite world up to the
 ,italian ,renaissance1 when the art of 
printing was invented and the written   
word came to be regarded as more        
important than the spoken4 ,one lives1  
and the other dies on the air1 existing 
only in memory1 growing attenuated and  
diluted as it is transferred4 ,the      
revival of sculpture and painting also  
helped oratory to take its proper place 
as one of the polite arts1 and not a    
thing to be centered upon to the        
exclusion of all else4  ,theon set out  
to produce a perfect human being2 and   
whether his charts1 theorems and        
formulas made up a complete law of      
eugenics1 or whether it was dumb luck1  
this we know3 he nearly succeeded4      
,hypatia was five feet nine1 and weighed
 one hundred thirty-five pounds4 ,this  
when she was twenty4 ,she could walk ten
 miles without fatigue2 swim1 row1 ride 
horseback and climb mountains4 ,through 
a series of gentle calisthenics invented
 by her father1 combined with breathing 

exercises1 she had developed a body of  
rarest grace4 ,her head had corners1 as 
once ,professor ,o4 ,s4 ,fowler told us 
that a woman's head must have1 if she is
 to think and act with purpose and      
precision4  ,so having evolved this rare
 beauty of face1 feature and bodily     
grace1 combined with superior strength  
and vitality1 ,hypatia took up her      
father's work and gave lectures on      
astronomy1 mathematics1 astrology and   
rhetoric1 while he completed his scheme 
for the transmutation of metals4        
,hypatia's voice was flute-like1 and    
used always well within its compass1 so 
as never to rasp or tire the organs4    
,theon knew the proper care of nose and 
throat1 a knowledge which with us       
moderns is all too rare4 ,hypatia told  
of and practised the vocal ellipse1 the 
pause1 the glide1 the slide and the     
gentle1 deliberate tones that please and
 impress4 ,that the law of suggestion   
was known to her was very evident1 and  
certain it is that she practised        

hypnotism in her classes1 and seemed to 
know as much about the origin of the    
mysterious agent as we do now1 even     
though she never tagged or labeled it4  
,one very vital thought she worked out  
was1 that the young mind is plastic1    
impressionable and accepts without      
question all that it is told4 ,the young
 receive their ideas from their elders1 
and ideas once impressed upon this      
plastic plate of the mind can not be    
removed4  ,said ,hypatia3 ,fables should
 be taught as fables1 myths as myths1   
and miracles as poetic fancies4 ,to     
teach superstitions as truths is a most 
terrible thing4 ,the child-mind accepts 
and believes them1 and only through     
great pain and perhaps tragedy can he be
 in after-years relieved of them4 ,in   
fact1 men will fight for a superstition 
quite as quickly as for a living        
truth--often more so1 since a           
superstition is so intangible you can   
not get at it to refute it1 but truth is
 a point of view1 and so is changeable4 

,gradually1 over the mind of the        
beautiful and gifted ,hypatia1 there    
came stealing a doubt concerning the    
value of her own acquirements1 since    
these were acquirements1 and not        
evolutions or convictions gathered from 
experience1 but things implanted upon   
her plastic mind by her father4  ,in    
this train of thought ,hypatia had taken
 a step in advance of her father1 for he
 seems to have had a dogmatic belief in 
a few things incapable of demonstration2
 but these things he taught to the      
plastic mind1 just the same as the      
things he knew4 ,theon was a dogmatic   
liberal4 ,possibly the difference       
between an illiberal ,unitarian and a   
liberal ,catholic is microscopic4       
,hypatia clearly saw that knowledge is  
the distilled essence of our intuitions1
 corroborated by experience4 ,but belief
 is the impress made upon our minds when
 we are under the spell of or in        
subjection to another4  ,these things   
caused the poor girl many unhappy hours1

 which fact1 in itself1 is proof of her 
greatness4 ,only superior people have a 
capacity for doubting4  ,probably not   
one person in a million ever gets away  
far enough from his mind to take a look 
at it1 and see the wheels go round4     
,opinions become ossified and the man   
goes through life hypnotizing others1   
never realizing for an instant that in  
youth he was hypnotized and that he has 
never been able to cast off the         
hypnosis4  ,this is what our pious      
friends mean when they say1 ,give me the
 child until he is ten years old and you
 may have him afterward4 ,that is1 they 
can take the child in his plastic age   
and make impressions on his mind that   
are indelible4 ,reared in an orthodox   
,jewish family a child will grow up a   
dogmatic ,jew1 and argue you on the     
,talmud six nights and days together4   
,catholic1 ,presbyterian1 ,baptist1 the 
same4 ,i once knew an ,arapahoe ,indian 
who was taken to ,massachusetts when    
four years old4 ,he grew up not only    

with ,new ,england prejudices1 but with 
a ,new ,england accent1 and saved his   
pennies to give to missionaries that    
they might convert the ,red ,men4  ,when
 the suspicion seized upon the soul of  
,hypatia that her mind was but a wax    
impression taken from her father's1 she 
began to make plans to get away from    
him4 ,her efforts at explanations were  
futile1 but when placed upon the general
 ground that she wished to travel1 see  
the world and meet people of learning   
and worth1 her father acquiesced and she
 started away on her journeyings4 ,he   
wanted to go1 too1 but this was the one 
thing she did not desire1 and he never  
knew nor could know why4  ,she spent    
several months at ,athens1 where her    
youth1 beauty and learning won her entry
 into the houses of the most eminent4   
,it was the same at ,rome and in various
 other cities of ,italy4 ,money may give
 you access to good society1 but talent 
is always an open sesame4 ,she traveled 
like a princess and was received as one1

 yet she had no title nor claim to      
nobility nor station4 ,beauty of itself 
is not a credential--rather it is an    
object of suspicion1 unless it goes with
 intellect4  ,hypatia gave lectures on  
mathematics2 and there was a fallacy    
abroad then as there is now that the    
feminine mind is not mathematical4 ,that
 the great men whom ,hypatia met in each
 city were first amazed and then abashed
 by her proficiency in mathematics is   
quite probable4 ,some few male          
professors being in that peculiar       
baldheaded hypnotic state when feminine 
charms dazzle and lure1 listened in     
rapture as ,hypatia dissolved logarithms
 and melted calculi1 and not            
understanding a word she said1 declared 
that she was the goddess ,minerva1      
reincarnated4 ,her coldness on near     
approach confirmed their suspicions4    
99       99       99       99       99  
,just how long a time ,hypatia spent    
upon her pilgrimage1 visiting all of the
 great living philosophers1 we do not   

know4 ,some accounts have it one year1  
others ten4  ,probably the pilgrimages  
were extended over a good many years1   
and were not continuous4 ,several       
philosophers proved their humanity by   
offering to marry her1 and a prince or  
two did likewise1 we are credibly       
informed4 ,to these persistent suitors1 
however1 ,hypatia gently broke the news 
that she was wedded to truth1 which is  
certainly a pretty speech1 even if it is
 poor logic4 ,the fact was1 however1    
that ,hypatia never met a man whose mind
 matched her own1 otherwise logic would 
have bolstered love1 instead of         
discarding it4  ,travel1 public speaking
 and meeting people of note form a      
strong trinity of good things4 ,the     
active mind is the young mind1 and it is
 more than the dream of a poet which    
declares that ,hypatia was always young 
and always beautiful1 and that even     
,father ,time was so in love with her   
that he refused to take toll from her1  
as he passed with his hourglass and     

scythe4  ,in degree she had followed the
 example of her great prototype1        
,plotinus1 and had made herself master  
of all religions4 ,she knew too much of 
all philosophies to believe implicitly  
in any4 ,alexandria was then the        
intellectual center of the world4       
,people who resided there called it the 
hub of the universe4 ,it was the        
meeting-place of the ,east and the      
,west4  ,and ,hypatia1 with her         
,thursday lectures1 was the chief       
intellectual factor of ,alexandria4     
,her philosophy she called              
,neo-,platonism4 ,it was ,plato         
distilled through the psychic alembic of
 ,hypatia4 ,just why the human mind     
harks back and likes to confirm itself  
by building on another1 it would be     
interesting to inquire4 ,to explain     
,moses2 to supply a key to the          
,scriptures2 to found a new ,school of  
,philosophy on the assumption that      
,plato was right1 but was not understood
 until the ,then and ,there1 is         

alluring4  ,and now the pilgrims came   
from ,athens1 and ,rome1 and the        
,islands of the ,sea to sit at the feet 
of ,hypatia4         99       99        
99       99       99  ,hypatia was born 
in the year ,three ,hundred ,seventy1   
and died in ,four ,hundred ,thirty4 ,she
 exerted an influence in ,alexandria not
 unlike that which ,mrs4 ,eddy exerted  
in ,boston4 ,she was a person who       
divided society into two parts3 those   
who regarded her as an oracle of light1 
and those who looked upon her as an     
emissary of darkness4  ,strong men paid 
her the compliment of using immoderate  
language concerning her teaching4 ,but  
whether they spoke ill or well of her   
matters little now4 ,the point is this3 
they screeched1 sneezed1 or smiled on   
those who refused to acknowledge the    
power of ,hypatia4 ,some professors of  
learning tried to waive her2 priests    
gently pooh-poohed her2 and some        
elevated an eyebrow and asked how the   
name was spelled4 ,others1 still1       

inquired1 ,is she sincere8  ,she was the
 ,ralph ,waldo ,emerson of her day4 ,her
 philosophy was ,transcendentalism4 ,in 
fact1 she might be spoken of as the     
original charter member of the ,concord 
,school of ,philosophy4 ,her theme was  
the ,new ,thought1 for ,new ,thought is 
the oldest form of thought of which we  
know4 ,its distinguishing feature is its
 antiquity4 ,socrates was really the    
first to express the ,new ,thought1 and 
he got his cue from ,pythagoras4  ,the  
ambition of ,hypatia was to revive the  
flowering-time of ,greece1 when         
,socrates and ,plato walked arm in arm  
through the streets of ,athens1 followed
 by the greatest group of intellectuals 
the world has ever seen4  ,it was       
charged against ,hypatia that ,aspasia  
was her ideal1 and that her ambition was
 to follow in the footsteps of the woman
 who was beloved by ,pericles4 ,if so1  
it was an ambition worthy of a very     
great soul4 ,hypatia1 however1 did not  
have her ,pericles1 and never married4  

,that she should have had love          
experiences was quite natural1 and that 
various imaginary romances should have  
been credited to her was also to be     
expected4  ,hypatia was nearly a        
thousand years removed from the time of 
,pericles and ,aspasia1 but to bridge   
the gulf of time with imagination was   
easy4 ,yet ,hypatia thought that the    
,new ,platonism should surpass the old1 
for the world had had the ,age of       
,augustus to build upon4  ,hypatia's    
immediate prototype was ,plotinus1 who  
was born two hundred four years after   
,christ1 and lived to be seventy4       
,plotinus was the first person to use   
the phrase ,neo-,platonism1 and so the  
philosophy of ,hypatia might be called  
,the ,new ,neo-,platonism4  ,to know but
 one religion is not to know that one4  
,in fact1 superstition consists in this 
one thing--faith in one religion1 to the
 exclusion of all others4  ,to know one 
philosophy is to know none4 ,they are   
all comparative1 and each serves as a   

small arc of the circle4 ,a man living  
in a certain environment1 with a certain
 outlook1 describes the things he sees2 
and out of these1 plus what he imagines1
 is shaped his philosophy of life4 ,if  
he is repressed1 suppressed1 frightened1
 he will not see very much1 and what he 
does see will be out of focus4          
,spiritual strabismus and mental myopia 
are the results of vicarious peeps at   
the universe4 ,all formal religions have
 taught that to look for yourself was   
bad4 ,the peephole through the roof of  
his garret cost ,copernicus his liberty1
 but it was worth the price4  ,plotinus 
made a study of all philosophies--all   
religions4 ,he traveled through ,egypt1 
,greece1 ,assyria1 ,india4 ,he became an
 adept1 and discovered how easily the   
priest drifts into priestcraft1 and     
fraud steps in with legerdemain and     
miracle to amend the truth4 ,as if to   
love humanity were not enough to        
recommend the man1 they have him turn   
water into wine and walk on the water4  

,out of the labyrinth of history and    
speculation ,plotinus returned to ,plato
 as a basis or starting-point for all of
 the truth which man can comprehend4    
,plotinus believed in all religions1 but
 had absolute faith in none4 ,it will be
 remembered that ,aristotle and ,plato  
parted as to the relative value of      
poetry and science--science being the   
systematized facts of ,nature4 ,plotinus
 comes in and says that both were right1
 and each was like every good man who   
exaggerates the importance of his own   
calling4 ,in his ability to see the good
 in all things1 ,hypatia placed         
,plotinus ahead of ,plato1 but even then
 she says3 ,had there been no ,plato1   
there would have been no ,plotinus2     
although ,plotinus surpassed ,plato1 yet
 it is plain that ,plato1 the inspirer  
of ,plotinus and so many more1 is the   
one man whom philosophy can not spare4  
,hail1 ,plato66         99       99     
99       99       99  ,the writings of  
,hypatia have all disappeared1 save as  

her words come to us1 quoted by her     
contemporaries4 ,if the ,essays of      
,emerson should all be swept away1 the  
man would still live in the quotations  
from his pen1 given to us by every      
writer of worth who has put pencil to   
paper during the last fifty years4 ,so  
lives ,sappho1 and thus did ,charles    
,kingsley secure the composite of the   
great woman who lives and throbs through
 his book4 ,legend pictures her as      
rarely beautiful1 with grace1 poise and 
power1 plus4  ,she was sixty when she   
died4 ,history kindly records it        
forty-five--and all picture her as a    
beautiful and attractive woman to the   
last4 ,the psychic effects of a         
gracefully-gowned first reader1 with    
sonorous voice1 using gesture with      
economy1 and packing the pauses with    
feeling1 have never been fully          
formulated1 analyzed and explained4     
,throngs came to hear ,hypatia          
lecture--came from long distances1 and  
listened hungrily1 and probably all they

 took away was what they brought1 except
 a great feeling of exhilaration and    
enthusiasm4 ,to send the hearer away    
stepping light1 and his heart beating   
fast--this is oratory--which isn't so   
much to bestow facts1 as it is to impart
 a feeling4 ,this ,hypatia surely did4  
,her theme was ,neo-,platonism4 ,neo    
means new1 and all ,new ,thought harks  
back to ,plato1 who was the mouthpiece  
of ,socrates4 ,say what you will1 you'll
 find it all in ,plato4 ,neo-,platonism 
is our ,new ,thought1 and ,new ,thought 
is ,neo-,platonism4  ,there are two     
kinds of thought3 ,new ,thought and     
,secondhand ,thought4 ,new ,thought is  
made up of thoughts you1 yourself1      
think4 ,the other kind is supplied to   
you by jobbers4 ,the distinguishing     
feature of ,new ,thought is its         
antiquity4 ,of necessity it is older    
than ,secondhand ,thought4 ,all genuine 
,new ,thought is true for the person who
 thinks it4 ,it only turns sour and     
becomes error when not used1 and when   

the owner forces another to accept it4  
,it then becomes a secondhand           
revelation4 ,all ,new ,thought is       
revelation1 and secondhand revelations  
are errors half-soled with stupidity and
 heeled with greed4  ,very often we are 
inspired to think by others1 but in our 
hearts we have the ,new ,thought2 and   
the person1 the book1 the incident1     
merely remind us that it is already     
ours4 ,new ,thought is always simple2   
,secondhand ,thought is abstruse1       
complex1 patched1 peculiar1 costly1 and 
is passed out to be accepted1 not       
understood4 ,that no one comprehends it 
is often regarded as a recommendation4  
,for instance1 ,thou shalt not make unto
 thyself any graven image1 is           
,secondhand ,thought4 ,the first man who
 said it may have known what it meant1  
but surely it is nothing to us4         
,however1 that does not keep us from    
piously repeating it1 and having our    
children memorize it4  ,we model in clay
 or wax1 and carve if we can1 and give  

honors to those who do1 and this is     
well4 ,this commandment is founded on   
the fallacy that graven images are gods1
 whatever that is4 ,the command adds    
nothing to our happiness1 nor does it   
shape our conduct1 nor influence our    
habits4 ,everybody knows and admits its 
futility1 yet we are unable to eliminate
 it from our theological system4 ,it is 
strictly secondhand--worse1 it is junk4 
,conversely1 the admonition1 ,be gentle 
and keep your voice low1 is ,new        
,thought1 since all but savages know its
 truth1 comprehend its import1 and      
appreciate its excellence4  ,dealers in 
,secondhand ,thought always declare that
 theirs is the only genuine1 and that   
all other is spurious and dangerous4    
,dealers in ,new ,thought say1 ,take    
this only as it appeals to you as your  
own--accept it all1 or in part1 or      
reject it all--and in any event1 do not 
believe it merely because ,i say so4    
,new ,thought is founded on the laws of 
your own nature1 and its shibboleth is1 

,know ,thyself4  ,secondhand ,thought is
 founded on authority1 and its war-cry  
is1 ,pay and ,obey4  ,new ,thought      
offers you no promise of paradise or    
eternal bliss if you accept it2 nor does
 it threaten you with everlasting hell1 
if you don't4 ,all it offers is unending
 work1 constant effort1 new             
difficulties2 beyond each success is a  
new trial4 ,its only satisfactions are  
that you are allowing your life to      
unfold itself according to the laws of  
its nature4 ,and these laws are divine1 
therefore you yourself are divine1 just 
as you allow the divine to possess your 
being4 ,new ,thought allows the currents
 of divinity to flow through you        
unobstructed4  ,secondhand ,thought     
affords no plan of elimination2 it tends
 to congestion1 inflammation1 disease   
and disintegration4  ,new ,thought holds
 all things lightly1 gently1            
easily--even thought4 ,it works for a   
healthy circulation1 and tends to       
health1 happiness and well-being now and

 hereafter4 ,it does not believe in     
violence1 force1 coercion or resentment1
 because all these things react on the  
doer4 ,it has faith that all men1 if not
 interfered with by other men1 will     
eventually evolve ,new ,thought1 and do 
for themselves what is best and right1  
beautiful and true4  ,secondhand        
,thought has always had first in its    
mind the welfare of the dealer4 ,the    
rights of the consumer1 beyond keeping  
him in subjection1 were not considered4 
,indeed1 its chief recommendation has   
been that it is a good police system4   
,new ,thought considers only the user4  
,to ,know ,thyself is all there is of   
it4  ,when a creator of ,new ,thought   
goes into the business of retailing his 
product1 he often forgets to live it1   
and soon is transformed into a dealer in
 ,secondhand ,thought4  ,that is the way
 all purveyors in secondhand revelation 
begin4 ,in their anxiety to succeed1    
they call in the police4 ,the blessing  
that is compulsory is not wholly good1  

and any system of morals which has to be
 forced on us is immoral4 ,new ,thought 
is free thought4 ,its penalty is        
responsibility4 ,you either have to live
 it1 or else lose it4 ,its reward is    
,freedom4         99       99       99  
99       99  ,it was only a little more 
than a hundred years before the time of 
,hypatia that the ,roman ,empire became 
,christian4 ,when ,constantine embraced 
,christianity1 all of his loyal subjects
 were from that moment                  
,christians--,christians by edict1 but  
,pagans by character1 for the natures of
 men can not be changed by the passing  
of a resolution4 ,from that time every  
,pagan temple became a ,christian       
church1 and every ,pagan priest a       
,christian preacher4  ,alexandria was   
under the rule of a ,roman ,prefect1 or 
,governor4 ,it had been the policy of   
,rome to exercise great tolerance in    
religious matters4 ,there was a ,state  
,religion1 to be sure1 but it was for   
the nobility or those who helped make   

the ,state possible4 ,to look after the 
thinking of the plain people was quite  
superfluous--they were allowed their    
vagaries4  ,the ,empire had been bold1  
brazen1 cruel1 coercive in its lust for 
power1 but people who paid were         
reasonably safe4 ,and now the ,church   
was coming into competition with the    
,state and endeavoring to reduce        
spoliation to a system4  ,to keep the   
people down and under by mental         
suppression--by the engine of           
superstition--were cheaper and more     
effective than to employ force or resort
 to the old-time methods of shows1      
spectacles1 pensions and costly         
diversions4 ,when the ,church took on   
the functions of the ,state1 and sought 
to substitute the gentle ,christ for    
,csar1 she had to recast the teachings  
of ,christ4 ,then for the first time    
coercion and love dwelt side by side4   
,depart from me1 ye cursed1 into        
everlasting fire prepared for the devil 
and his angels1 and like passages were  

slipped into the ,scriptures as matters 
of wise expediency4 ,this was continued 
for many hundred years1 and was         
considered quite proper and legitimate4 
,it was slavery under a more subtle     
form4  ,the ,bishop of ,alexandria      
clashed with ,orestes the ,prefect4 ,to 
hold the people under by psychologic    
methods was better than the old plans of
 alternate bribery and force--so argued 
the ,bishop4  ,orestes had come under   
the spell of ,hypatia1 and the ,republic
 of ,plato was saturating his mind4  ,to
 rule by fettering the mind through fear
 of punishment in another world is just 
as base as to use force1 said ,hypatia  
in one of her lectures4 ,orestes sat in 
the audience and as she spoke the words 
he clapped his hands4 ,the news was     
carried to the ,bishop1 who gently      
declared that he would excommunicate    
him4  ,orestes sent word back that the  
,emperor should be informed of how this 
,bishop was misusing his office by      
making threats of where he could land   

people he did not like1 in another      
world4 ,neither the ,bishop nor the     
,prefect could unseat each other--both  
derived their power from the ,emperor4  
,for ,orestes to grow interested in the 
teachings of ,hypatia1 instead of siding
 with the ,bishop1 was looked upon by   
the loyalists as little short of        
treason4  ,orestes tried to defend      
himself by declaring that the policy of 
the ,csars had always been one of great 
leniency toward all schools of          
philosophy4 ,then he quoted ,hypatia to 
the effect that a fixed1 formal and     
dogmatic religion would paralyze the    
minds of men and make the race1 in time1
 incapable of thought4  ,therefore1 the 
,bishop should keep his place1 and not  
try to usurp the functions of the       
police4 ,in fact1 it was better to think
 wrongly than not to think at all4 ,we  
learn to think by thinking1 and if the  
threats of the ,bishop were believed at 
all1 it would mean the death of science 
and philosophy4  ,the ,bishop made      

answer by declaring that ,hypatia was   
endeavoring to found a ,church of her   
own1 with ,pagan ,greece as a basis4 ,he
 intimated1 too1 that the relationship  
of ,orestes with ,hypatia was very much 
the same as that which once existed     
between ,cleopatra and ,mark ,antony4   
,he called her that daughter of         
,ptolemy1 and by hints and suggestions  
made it appear that she would1 if she   
could1 set up an ,egyptian ,empire in   
this same city of ,alexandria where     
,cleopatra once so proudly reigned4     
,the excitement increased4 ,the         
followers of ,hypatia were necessarily  
few in numbers4 ,they were thinkers--and
 to think is a task4 ,to believe is     
easy4 ,the ,bishop promised his         
followers a paradise of ease and rest4  
,he also threatened disbelievers with   
the pains of hell4 ,a promise on this   
side--a threat on that6 ,is it not a    
wonder that a man ever lived who put his
 honest thought against such teaching   
when launched by men clothed in almost  

absolute authority6  ,hypatia might have
 lived yesterday1 and her death at the  
hands of a mob was an accident that     
might have occurred in ,boston1 where a 
respectable company once threw a rope   
around the neck of a good man and ran   
him through streets supposed to be      
sacred to liberty and free speech4  ,a  
mob is made up of cotton waste1         
saturated with oil1 and a focused idea  
causes spontaneous combustion4 ,let a   
fire occur in almost any ,new ,york     
,state village1 and the town turns      
wrecker1 and loot looms large in the    
limited brain of the villager4          
,civilization is a veneer4  ,when one   
sees emotionalism run riot at an        
evangelistic revival1 and five thousand 
people are trooping through an          
undesirable district at midnight1 how   
long1 think you1 would a strong voice of
 opposition be tolerated8  ,hypatia was 
set upon by a religious mob as she was  
going in her carriage from her          
lecture-hall to her home4 ,she was      

dragged to a near-by church with the    
intent of making her publicly recant1   
but the embers became a blaze1 and the  
blaze became a conflagration1 and the   
leaders lost control4 ,the woman's      
clothes were torn from her back1 her    
hair torn from her head1 her body beaten
 to a pulp1 dismembered1 and then to    
hide all traces of the crime and        
distribute the guilt so no one person   
could be blamed1 a funeral-pyre quickly 
consumed the remains of what but an hour
 before had been a human being4         
,daylight came1 and the sun's rays could
 not locate the guilty ones4  ,orestes  
made a report of the affair1 resigned   
his office1 asked the ,government at    
,rome to investigate1 and fled from the 
city4 ,had ,orestes endeavored to use   
his soldiery against the ,bishop1 the   
men in the ranks would have revolted4   
,the investigation was postponed from   
time to time for lack of witnesses1 and 
finally it was given out by the ,bishop 
that ,hypatia had gone to ,athens1 and  

there had been no mob and no tragedy4   
,the ,bishop nominated a successor to   
,orestes1 and the new official was      
confirmed4  ,dogmatism as a police      
system was supreme4  ,it continued until
 the time of ,dante1 or the ,italian    
,renaissance4 ,the reign of ,religious  
,dogmatism was supreme for well-nigh a  
thousand years--we call it the ,dark    
,ages4     ,illustration3 ,,saint       
,,benedict  ,,saint ,,benedict          
,if any pilgrim monk come from distant  
parts1 if with wish as a      guest to  
dwell in the monastery1 and will be     
content with the      customs which he  
finds in the place1 and do not perchance
 by his      lavishness disturb the     
monastery1 but is simply content with   
what      he finds3 he shall be         
received1 for as long a time as he      
desires4      ,if1 indeed1 he find fault
 with anything1 or expose it1           
reasonably1      and with the humility  
of charity1 the ,abbot shall discuss it 
prudently1 lest perchance ,god had sent 

for this very thing4 ,but1 if      he   
have been found gossipy and contumacious
 in the time of his      sojourn as     
guest1 not only ought he not to be      
joined to the body of      the          
monastery1 but also it shall be said to 
him1 honestly1 that he      must depart4
 ,if he does not go1 let two stout      
monks1 in the name of      ,god1 explain
 the matter to him4       --,st4        
,benedict   ,,saint ,,benedict  ,as the 
traveler journeys through ,southern     
,italy1 ,sicily and certain parts of    
what was ,ancient ,greece1 he will see  
broken arches1 parts of viaducts1 and   
now and again a single1 beautiful column
 pointing to the sky4 ,all about is the 
desert or solitary pastures1 and only   
this white milestone1 marking the path  
of the centuries and telling in its own 
silent1 solemn and impressive way of a  
day that is dead4  ,in the ,fifth       
,century a monk called ,simeon the      
,syrian1 and known to us as ,simeon     
,stylites1 having taken the vow of      

chastity1 poverty and obedience1 began  
to fear greatly lest he might not be    
true to his pledge4 ,and that he might  
live absolutely beyond reproach1 always 
in public view1 free from temptation1   
and free from the tongue of scandal1 he 
decided to live in the world1 and still 
not be of it4 ,to this end he climbed to
 the top of a marble column1 sixty feet 
high1 and there on the capstone he lived
 a life beyond reproach4  ,simeon was   
then twenty-four years old4  ,the       
environment was circumscribed1 but there
 was outlook1 sunshine1                 
ventilation--three good things4 ,but    
beyond these the place had certain      
disadvantages4 ,the capstone was a      
little less than three feet square1 so  
,simeon could not lie down4 ,he slept   
sitting1 with his head bowed between his
 knees1 and indeed1 in this posture he  
passed most of his time4 ,any           
recklessness in movement1 and he would  
have slipped from his perilous position 
and been dashed to death upon the stones

 beneath4  ,as the sun arose he stood   
up1 just for a few moments1 and held his
 arms out in greeting1 blessing and     
prayer4 ,three times during the day did 
he thus stretch his cramped limbs1 and  
pray with his face to the ,east4 ,at    
such times those who stood near shared  
in his prayers1 and went away blessed   
and refreshed4  ,how did ,simeon get to 
the top of the column8  ,well1 his      
companions at the monastery1 a mile     
away1 said he was carried there in the  
night by a miraculous power2 that he    
went to sleep in his stone cell and     
awoke on the pillar4 ,other monks said  
that ,simeon had gone to pay his        
respects to a fair lady1 and in wrath   
,god had caught him and placed him on   
high4 ,the probabilities are1 however1  
,terese1 as viewed by an unbeliever1    
that he shot a line over the column with
 a bow and arrow and then drew up a rope
 ladder and ascended with ease4         
,however1 in the morning the simple     
people of the scattered village saw the 

man on the column4 ,all day he stayed   
there4 ,the next day he was still there4
  ,the days passed1 with the scorching  
heat of the midday sun1 and the cool    
winds of the night4  ,still ,simeon kept
 his place4  ,the rainy season came on4 
,when the nights were cold and dark1    
,simeon sat there with bowed head1 and  
drew the folds of his single garment1 a 
black robe1 over his face4  ,another    
season passed2 the sun again grew warm1 
then hot1 and the sand-storms raged and 
blew1 when the people below almost lost 
sight of the man on the column4 ,some   
prophesied he would be blown off1 but   
the morning light revealed his form1    
naked from the waist up1 standing with  
hands outstretched to greet the rising  
sun4  ,once each day1 as darkness       
gathered1 a monk came with a basket     
containing a bottle of goat's milk and a
 little loaf of black bread1 and ,simeon
 dropped down a rope and drew up the    
basket4  ,simeon never spoke1 for words 
are folly1 and to the calls of saint or 

sinner he made no reply4 ,he lived in a 
perpetual attitude of adoration4  ,did  
he suffer8 ,during those first weeks he 
must have suffered terribly and         
horribly4 ,there was no respite nor rest
 from the hard surface of the rock1 and 
aching muscles could find no change from
 the cramped and perilous position4 ,if 
he fell1 it was damnation for his       
soul--all were agreed as to this4  ,but 
man's body and mind accommodate         
themselves to almost any condition4 ,one
 thing at least1 ,simeon was free from  
economic responsibilities1 free from    
social cares and intrusion4 ,bores with 
sad stories of unappreciated lives and  
fond hopes unrealized1 never broke in   
upon his peace4 ,he was not pressed for 
time4 ,no frivolous dame of tarnished   
fame sought to share with him his       
perilous perch4 ,the people on a slow   
schedule1 ten minutes late1 never       
irritated his temper4 ,his              
correspondence never got in a heap4     
,simeon kept no track of the days1      

having no engagements to meet1 or       
offices to perform1 beyond the prayers  
at morn1 midday and night4  ,memory died
 in him1 the hurts became calluses1 the 
world-pain died out of his heart1 to    
cling became a habit4 ,language was lost
 in disuse4 ,the food he ate was minimum
 in quantity2 sensation ceased1 and the 
dry1 hot winds reduced bodily tissue to 
a dessicated something called a         
saint--loved1 feared and reverenced for 
his fortitude4  ,this pillar1 which had 
once graced the portal of a pagan       
temple1 again became a place of pious   
pilgrimage1 and people flocked to       
,simeon's rock1 so that they might be   
near when he stretched out his black1   
bony hands to the ,east1 and the spirit 
of ,almighty ,god1 for a space1 hovered 
close around4  ,so much attention did   
the abnegation of ,simeon attract that  
various other pillars1 marking the ruins
 of art and greatness gone1 in that     
vicinity1 were crowned by pious monks4  
,their thought was to show how          

,christianity had triumphed over        
heathenism4 ,imitators were numerous4   
,about that time the ,bishops in        
assembly asked1 ,is ,simeon sincere8 ,to
 test the matter of ,simeon's pride1 he 
was ordered to come down from his       
retreat4  ,as to his chastity1 there was
 little doubt1 and his poverty was      
beyond question2 but how about obedience
 to his superiors8  ,the order was      
shouted up to him in a ,bishop's        
voice--he must let down his rope1 draw  
up a ladder1 and descend4  ,straightway 
,simeon made preparation to obey4 ,and  
then the ,bishops relented and cried1   
,we have changed our minds1 and now     
order you to remain6  ,simeon lifted his
 hands in adoration and thankfulness and
 renewed his lease4  ,and so he lived on
 and on and on--he lived on the top of  
that pillar1 never once descending1 for 
thirty years4  ,all of his former       
companions grew a-weary2 one by one they
 died1 and the monastery-bells tolled   
their requiem as they were laid to rest4

 ,did ,simeon hear the bells and say1   
,soon it will be my turn8  ,probably    
not4 ,his senses had flown1 for what    
good were they6 ,the young monk who now 
at eventide brought the basket with the 
bottle of goat's milk and the loaf of   
dry bread was born since ,simeon had    
taken his place on the pillar4 ,he has  
always been there1 the people said1 and 
crossed themselves hurriedly4  ,but one 
evening when the young monk came with   
his basket1 no line was dropped from    
above4 ,he waited and then called aloud1
 but all in vain4  ,when sunrise came1  
there sat the monk1 his face between his
 knees1 the folds of his black robe     
drawn over his head4 ,but he did not    
rise and lift his hands in prayer4  ,all
 day he sat there1 motionless4  ,the    
people watched in whispered silence4    
,would he arise at sundown and pray1 and
 with outstretched hands bless the      
assembled pilgrims8  ,but as they       
watched a vulture came sailing slowly   
through the blue ether1 and circled     

nearer and nearer2 and off on the       
horizon was another--and still another1 
circling nearer and nearer4         99  
99       99       99       99  ,in      
humanity's march of progress there are a
 vanguard and a rearguard4 ,the         
rearguard dwindles away into a mob of   
camp-followers1 who follow for diversion
 and to escape starvation4 ,both the    
vanguard and the rearguard are out of   
step with the main body1 and therefore  
both are despised by the many who make  
up the rank and file4  ,and yet1 out of 
pity1 the main body supplies ambulances 
and slum-workers1 who aim to do         
good--but this good is always for the   
rearguard and the camp-followers1 never 
for those who lead the line of march1   
and take the risk of ambush and         
massacre4  ,but this scorn of the       
vanguard has its recompense--often      
delayed1 no doubt--but those who compose
 it are the only ones whom history      
honors and ,clio crowns4 ,if they get   
recognition in life1 it is wrung tardily

 from an ungrateful and ungracious      
world4 ,and this is the most natural    
thing in the world1 and it would be a   
miracle if it were otherwise1 for the   
very virtue of the vanguard consists in 
that their acts outrun human sympathy4  
,benedict was a scout of civilization4  
,in his day he led the vanguard4 ,he    
found the prosperous part of the world  
given over to greed and gluttony4 ,the  
so-called religious element was in      
partnership with fraud1 superstition1   
ignorance1 incompetence1 and an         
asceticism like that of ,simeon         
,stylites1 leading to nothing4  ,men    
know the good and grow through          
experience4 ,to realize the             
worthlessness of place and position and 
of riches1 you must have been at some   
time in possession of these4 ,benedict  
was born into a rich ,roman family1 in  
the year ,four ,hundred ,eighty4 ,his   
parents wished to educate him for the   
law1 so he would occupy a position of   
honor in the ,state4  ,but at sixteen   

years of age1 at that critical time when
 nerves are vibrating between manhood   
and youth1 ,benedict cut the umbilical  
domestic cord1 and leaving his robes of 
purple and silken finery1 suddenly      
disappeared1 leaving behind a note which
 was doubtless meant to be reassuring   
and which was quite the reverse1 for it 
failed to tell where his mail should be 
forwarded4 ,he had gone to live with a  
hermit in the fastnesses of the         
mountains4 ,he had desired to do        
something peculiar1 strange1 unusual1   
unique and individual1 and now he had   
done it4  ,back of it all was the       
,cosmic ,urge1 with a fair slip of a    
girl1 and meetings by stealth in the    
moonlight2 and then those orders from   
his father to give up the girl1 which he
 obeyed with a vengeance4  ,monasticism 
is a reversal or a misdirection of the  
,cosmic ,urge4 ,the will brought to bear
 in fighting temptation might be a power
 for good1 if used in co-operation with 
,nature4 ,but ,nature to the priestly   

mind has always been bad4 ,the worldly  
mind was one that led to ruin4 ,to be   
good by doing good was an idea the      
monkish mind had not grasped4 ,his way  
of being good was to be nothing1 do     
nothing--just resist4 ,successfully to  
fight temptation1 the ,oriental ,monk   
regarded as an achievement4  ,one day1  
out on that perilous and slippery rock  
on the mountain-side1 ,benedict ceased  
saluting the ,holy ,virgin long enough  
to conceive a thought4 ,it was this3 ,to
 be acceptable to ,god1 we must do      
something in the way of positive good   
for man4 ,to pray1 to adore1 to wander1 
to suffer1 is not enough4 ,we must      
lighten the burdens of the toilers and  
bring a little joy into their lives4    
,suffering has its place1 but too much  
suffering would destroy the race4  ,only
 one other man had ,benedict ever heard 
of1 who put forth this argument1 and    
that was ,saint ,jerome2 and many good  
men in the ,church regarded ,saint      
,jerome as little better than an        

infidel4 ,saint ,jerome was a student of
 the literature of ,greece and          
,rome--,pagan ,books1 they were called1 
rivals of the ,bible4 ,saint ,anthony   
had renounced and denounced these books 
and all of the learning of ,paganism4   
,saint ,anthony1 the father of          
,christian ,monasticism1 dwelt on the   
terrible evils of intellectual pride1   
and had declared that the joys of the   
mind were of a more subtle and devilish 
character than those of the flesh4      
,anthony1 assisted by inertia1 had won  
the ear of the ,church2 and dirt1 rags  
and idleness had come to be regarded as 
sacred things4  ,benedict took issue    
with ,anthony4         99       99      
99       99       99  ,the ,monastic    
,impulse is a protest against the       
,cosmic ,urge1 or reproductive desire4  
,necessarily1 the ,cosmic ,urge is older
 than the ,monastic ,impulse2 and beyond
 a doubt it will live to dance on the   
grave of its rival4  ,the ,cosmic ,urge 
is the creative instinct4 ,it includes  

all planning1 purpose1 desire1 hope1    
unrest1 lust and ambition4 ,in its      
general sense1 it is ,unfulfilled       
,desire4 ,it is the voice constantly    
crying in the ears of success1 ,arise   
and get thee hence1 for this is not thy 
rest4 ,it is the dissatisfaction with   
all things done--it is our ,noble       
,discontent4 ,in its first manifestation
 it is sex4 ,in its last refinement it  
means the love of man and woman1 with   
the love of children1 the home-making   
sense1 and an appreciation of art1 music
 and science--which is love with seeing 
eyes--as natural results4  ,deity       
creates through its creatures1 of which 
man is the highest type4 ,but man1      
evolving a small spark of intellect1    
sits in judgment on his ,creator1 and   
finds the work bad4 ,of all the animals1
 man is the only one so far known that  
criticizes his environment1 instead of  
accepting it4 ,and we do this because1  
in degree1 we have abandoned intuition  
before we have gotten control of        

intellect4  ,the ,monastic ,instinct is 
the disposition ever to look outside of 
ourselves for help4 ,we expect the      
,strong ,man to come and give us        
deliverance from our woes4 ,all nations 
have legends of saviors and heroes who  
came and set the captives free1 and who 
will come again in greater glory and    
mightier power and even release the dead
 from their graves4  ,the ,monastic     
,impulse is based on world-weariness1   
with disappointed love1 or sex surfeit1 
which is a phase of the same thing1 as a
 basis4 ,its simplest phase is a desire 
for solitude4  ,mon means one1 and      
monasticism is simply living alone1     
apart from the world4 ,gradually it came
 to mean living alone with others of a  
like mind or disposition4  ,the clan is 
an extension of the family1 and so is   
originally a monastic impulse4 ,the     
,group ,idea is a variant of            
monasticism1 but if it includes men and 
women1 it always disintegrates with the 
second generation1 if not before1       

because the ,cosmic ,urge catches the   
members1 and they mate1 marry and swing 
the circle4  ,ernst ,haeckel has        
recently intimated his belief that      
monogamy1 with its exclusive life1 is a 
diluted form of monasticism4 ,and his   
opinion seems to be that1 in order to   
produce the noblest race possible1 we   
must have a free society1 with a ,state 
that reverences and respects maternity  
and pensions any mother who personally  
cares for her child4  ,monasticism and  
enforced monogamy often carry a         
disrespect1 if not a positive contempt1 
for motherhood1 especially free         
motherhood4 ,we breed from the worst1   
under the worst conditions1 and as      
punishment ,god has made us a race of   
scrubs4 ,if we had deliberately set     
about to produce the worst1 we could not
 do better4  ,it will at once be seen   
that a penalized free motherhood is     
exactly like the ,monastic ,impulse--a  
protest and a revolt from the ,cosmic   
,urge4 ,hence ,ernst ,haeckel1 harking  

back to ,schopenhauer1 declares that we 
must place a premium upon parenthood1   
and the ,state must subsidize all       
mothers1 visiting them with tenderness1 
gentleness1 sanctity and respect1 before
 we shall be able to produce a race of  
demigods4  ,the ,church has aureoled and
 sainted the men and women who have     
successfully fought the ,cosmic ,urge4  
,emerson says1 ,we are strong as we ally
 ourselves with ,nature1 and weak as we 
fight against her or disregard her4     
,thus does ,emerson place himself       
squarely in opposition to the ,church1  
for the ,church has ever looked upon    
,nature as a lure and a menace to holy  
living4  ,now1 is it not possible that  
the prevalency of the ,monastic ,impulse
 is proof that it is in itself a        
movement in the direction of ,nature8   
,possibly its error lies in swinging out
 beyond the norm4 ,a few great          
,churchmen have thought so4 ,and the    
greatest and best of them1 so far as ,i 
know1 was ,benedict4 ,through his       

efforts1 monasticism was made a power   
for good1 and for a time1 at least1 it  
served society and helped humanity on   
its way4  ,that the flagellants1        
anchorites1 or monks with iron collars1 
and ,simeon ,stylites living his life   
perched on a pillar1 benefited the human
 race--no one would now argue4 ,simeon  
was simply trying to please ,god--to    
secure salvation for his soul4 ,his     
assumption was that the world was base  
and bad4 ,to be pure in heart you must  
live apart from it4 ,his persistence was
 the only commendable thing about him1  
and this was the persistence of a       
diseased mind4 ,it was beautiful just as
 the persistence of cancer is beautiful4
  ,benedict1 while agreeing that the    
world was bad1 yet said that our        
business was to make it better1 and that
 everything we did which was done merely
 to save our own souls1 was selfish and 
unworthy4 ,he advocated that1 in order  
to save our own souls1 we should make it
 our business to save others4 ,also1 to 

think too much about your own soul was  
to have a soul not worth saving4 ,if    
this life is a preparation for another1 
as ,simeon thought1 he was not preparing
 himself for a world where we would care
 to go4 ,the only heaven in which any   
sane man or woman1 be he saint or       
sinner1 would care to live1 would be one
 whose inhabitants would be at liberty  
to obey the ,cosmic ,urge just as freely
 as the ,monastic ,impulse1 and where   
one would be regarded as holy as the    
other4 ,so thought ,saint ,benedict4    
99       99       99       99       99  
,there is a natural law1 well recognized
 and defined by men who think1 called   
the ,law of ,diminishing ,returns1      
sometimes referred to as the ,law of    
,pivotal ,points4  ,a man starts in to  
take systematic exercise1 and he finds  
that his strength increases4 ,he takes  
more exercise and keeps on until he gets
 stale--that is1 he becomes sore and    
lame4 ,he has passed the ,pivotal ,point
 and is getting a ,diminishing ,return4 

,in running a railroad-engine a certain 
amount of coal is required to pull a    
train of given weight a mile1 say at the
 rate of fifty miles an hour4 ,you      
double the amount of your coal1 and     
simple folks might say you double your  
speed1 but railroad men know better4    
,the double amount of coal will give you
 only about sixty miles instead of      
fifty4 ,increase your coal and from this
 on you get a ,diminishing ,return4 ,if 
you insist on eighty miles an hour1 you 
get your speed at a terrific cost and a 
terrible risk4  ,another case3 ,your    
body requires a certain amount of       
food--the body is an engine2 food is    
fuel2 life is combustion4 ,better the   
quality and quantity of your food1 and  
up to a certain point you increase your 
strength4 ,go on increasing your food   
and you get death4 ,loan money at five  
per cent and your investment is         
reasonably secure and safe4 ,loan money 
at ten per cent and you do not double   
the returns2 on the contrary1 you have  

taken on so much risk4 ,loan money at   
twenty per cent and you will probably   
lose it2 for the man who borrows at     
twenty per cent does not intend to pay  
if he can help it4  ,the ,law of        
,diminishing ,returns was what ,oliver  
,wendell ,holmes had in mind when he    
said1 ,because ,i like a pinch of salt  
in my soup is no reason ,i wish to be   
immersed in brine4  ,churches1 preachers
 and religious denominations are good   
things in their time and place1 and up  
to a certain point4 ,whether for you the
 church has passed the ,pivotal ,point  
is for you yourself to decide4 ,but     
remember this1 because a thing is good  
up to a certain point1 or has been good1
 is no reason why it should be          
perpetuated4 ,the ,law of ,diminishing  
,returns is the natural refutation of   
the popular fallacy that because a thing
 is good you can not get too much of it4
  ,it is this law that ,abraham ,lincoln
 had in mind when he said1 ,i object to 
that logic which seeks to imply that    

because ,i wish to make the negro free1 
,i desire a black woman for a wife4     
,benedict had spent five years in       
resistance before it dawned upon him    
that ,monasticism carried to a certain  
point was excellent and fraught with    
good results1 but beyond that it rapidly
 degenerated4  ,to carry the plan of    
simplicity and asceticism to its summit 
and not go beyond was now his desire4   
,to withdraw from society he felt was a 
necessity1 for the petty and selfish    
ambitions of ,rome were revolting4 ,but 
the religious life did not for him      
preclude the joys of the intellect4 ,in 
his unshaven and unshorn condition1     
wearing a single garment of goatskin1 he
 dared not go back to his home4 ,so he  
proceeded to make himself acceptable to 
decent people4 ,he made a white robe1   
bathed1 shaved off his beard1 had his   
hair cut1 and putting on his garments1  
went back to his family4 ,the life in   
the wilderness had improved his health4 
,he had grown in size and strength and  

he now1 in his own person1 proved that a
 religious recluse was not necessarily  
unkempt and repulsive4  ,his people     
greeted him as one raised from the dead4
 ,crowds followed him wherever he went4 
,he began to preach to them and to      
explain his position4  ,some of his old 
school associates came to him4  ,as he  
explained his position1 it began more   
and more to justify itself in his mind4 
,things grow plain as we analyze them to
 others--by explaining to another the   
matter becomes luminous to ourselves4   
,to purify the monasteries and carry to 
them all that was good and beautiful in 
the classics1 was the desire of         
,benedict4 ,his wish was to reconcile   
the learning of the past with           
,christianity1 which up to that time had
 been simply ascetic4 ,it had consisted 
largely of repression1 suppression and a
 killing-out of all spontaneous1 happy1 
natural impulses4  ,very naturally1 he  
was harshly criticized1 and when he went
 back to the cave where he had dwelt and

 tried to teach some of his old         
companions how to read and write1 they  
flew first at him1 and then from him4   
,they declared that he was the devil in 
the guise of a monk2 that he wished to  
live both as a monk and as a man of the 
world--that he wanted to eat his cake   
and still keep it4 ,by a sort of divine 
right he took control of affairs1 and   
insisted that his companions should go  
to work with him1 and plant a garden and
 raise vegetables and fruits1 instead of
 depending upon charity or going        
without4  ,the man who insists that all 
folks shall work1 be they holy or       
secular1 learned or illiterate1 always  
has a hard road to travel4 ,benedict's  
companions declared that he was trying  
to enslave them1 and one of them brewed 
a poison and substituted it for the     
simple herb tea that ,benedict drank4   
,being discovered1 the man and his      
conspirators escaped1 although ,benedict
 offered to forgive and forget if they  
would go to work4  ,benedict adhered to 

his new inspiration with a persistency  
that never relaxed--the voice of ,god   
had called to him that he must clear the
 soil of the brambles and plant gardens4
  ,the thorn-bush through which he had  
once rolled his naked body1 he now cut  
down and burned4 ,he relaxed the vigils 
and limited the prayers and adorations  
to a few short exercises just before    
eating1 sleeping and going to work4 ,he 
divided the day into three parts--eight 
hours for work1 eight hours for study1  
eight hours for sleep4 ,then he took    
one-half hour from each of these        
divisions for silent prayer and         
adoration4 ,he argued that good work was
 a prayer1 and that one could pray with 
his heart and lips1 even as his hands   
swung the ax1 the sickle or the         
grub-hoe4 ,all that ,benedict required  
of others1 he did himself1 and through  
the daily work he evolved a very strong 
and sturdy physique4 ,from the accounts 
that have come to us he was rather small
 in stature1 but in strength he         

surpassed any man in his vicinity4      
,miraculous accounts of his physical    
strength were related1 and in the minds 
of his simple followers he was regarded 
as more than a man1 which shows us that 
the ideals of what a man should be1 or  
might be1 were not high4 ,we are told   
that near ,benedict's first monastery   
there was a very deep lake1 made in the 
time of ,nero by damming up a mountain  
stream4 ,along this lake the brambles   
and vines had grown in great confusion4 
,benedict set to work to clear the      
ground from this lake to his monastery1 
half a mile up the hillside4 ,one day a 
workman dropped an ax into the lake4    
,benedict smiled1 his lips moved in     
prayer and the ax came to the surface4  
,the story does not say that ,benedict  
dived to the bottom and brought up the  
ax1 which he probably did4 ,the next day
 the owner of the ax fell into the      
water1 and the story goes that ,benedict
 walked out on the water and brought the
 man in on his shoulders4 ,we who do not

 believe that the age of miracles has   
passed1 can well understand how         
,benedict was an active1 agile and      
strong swimmer1 and that through the    
natural powers which he evolved by      
living a sane and simple life1 he was   
able to perform many feats which        
peasants round about considered         
miraculous4 ,benedict had what has been 
called the ,builder's ,itch4 ,he found  
great joy in planning1 creating and     
constructing4 ,he had an eye for        
architecture and landscape-gardening4   
,he utilized the materials of old ,roman
 temples to construct ,christian        
churches1 and from the same quarry he   
took stone and built a monastery4 ,a    
,roman ruin had a lure for him4 ,it     
meant building possibilities4 ,he       
stocked the lake with fish1 and then    
made catches that rivaled the parable of
 the loaves and fishes4 ,only the loaves
 of ,benedict were made from the wheat  
he himself raised1 and the people he fed
 were the crowds who came to hear him   

preach the gospel he himself            
practised--the gospel of work1          
moderation and the commonsense exercise 
of head1 hand and heart4         99     
99       99       99       99  ,to      
,benedict came twelve disciples4 ,but   
further applications becoming numerous1 
to meet the pressure ,benedict kept     
organizing them into groups of twelve1  
appointing a superior over each group4  
,in order to prove his sense of         
equality1 he had but eleven besides     
himself in the monastery4 ,he recognized
 that leadership was a necessity2 but   
the clothes he wore were no better than1
 and the food he ate no different from1 
what the others had4 ,yet to enforce    
discipline1 rules were made and instant 
obedience was exacted4 ,benedict took   
his turn at waiting on the table and    
doing the coarsest tasks4  ,were it not 
for the commonsense methods of life1 and
 the element of human service1 the      
,christian monastery and probably       
,christianity itself would not have     

survived4 ,the dogma of religion was    
made acceptable by blending it with a   
service for humanity4 ,and even to this 
day the popular plan of proving the     
miracles of the ,old ,testament to have 
been actual occurrences is to point to  
the schools1 hospitals and orphan       
asylums that ,christian people have     
provided4  ,in the efforts of ,benedict 
to combine the life of unselfish service
 with intellectual appreciation of      
classic literature1 he naturally was    
misunderstood4 ,several times he came   
near having serious collisions with the 
authorities of the ,church at ,rome4    
,his preaching attracted the jealous    
attention of certain churchmen1 but as  
he was not a priest1 the ,pope refused  
to take notice of his supposed heresies4
  ,an effort was made to compel him to  
become a priest1 but ,benedict refused  
on the plea that he was not worthy4 ,the
 fact was1 however1 that he did not wish
 to be bound by the rules of the        
,church4  ,in one sense1 his was a      

religion inside a religion1 and a slight
 accident might have precipitated an    
opposition denomination1 just as the    
,protestant issue of ,luther was an     
accident1 and the ,methodism of the     
,wesleys1 another4  ,several times the  
opposition1 in the belief that ,benedict
 was an enemy of the ,church1 went so   
far as to try to kill him4 ,and once a  
few pious persons in ,rome induced a    
company of wanton women to go out to    
,benedict's monastery and disport       
themselves through his beautiful        
grounds4 ,this was done with two        
purposes in view2 one was to work the   
direct downfall of the ,benedictines1   
with the aid of the trulls1 and the     
other was to create a scandal among the 
visitors1 who would carry the unsavory  
news back to ,rome and supply the       
gossips raw stock4  ,benedict was so    
deeply grieved by the despicable trick  
that he retired to his former home1 the 
cave in the hillside1 and there remained
 without food for a month4  ,but during 

this time of solitude his mind was busy 
with new plans4 ,he now founded ,monte  
,cassino4 ,the site is halfway between  
,rome and ,naples1 and the white1       
classic lines of the buildings can be   
seen from the railroad4 ,there on the   
crags1 from out of a mass of green1 has 
been played out for more than a thousand
 years the drama of religious life4     
,death by fire and sword has been the   
fate of many of the occupants4 ,but the 
years went by1 new men came1 the ruins  
were repaired1 and again the cloisters  
were trodden by pious feet of holy men4 
,goths1 ,lombards1 ,saracens1 ,normans1 
,spaniards1 ,teutons1 and finally came  
,napoleon ,bonaparte1 who confiscated   
the property1 making the place his home 
for a brief space4 ,later he relented   
and took it from the favorite upon whom 
he had bestowed it and gave it back to  
the ,church4 ,it then remained a        
,benedictine monastery until the edict  
of ,eighteen ,hundred ,sixty-six1 which1
 with the help of ,massini and          

,garibaldi1 made the monastery in ,italy
 a thing of the past4 ,the place is now 
a school--a school with a co-ed proviso4
 ,thus passes away the glory of the     
world1 in order that a greater glory    
shall appear4  ,six hundred years before
 ,benedict's day1 on the site of the    
cloister of ,monte ,cassino stood a     
temple to ,apollo1 and just below was a 
grove sacred to ,venus4  ,two hundred   
years before ,benedict's time the ,goths
 had done their work so well that even  
the walls of the temple to ,apollo were 
razed1 and the sacred grove became the  
home of wild beasts4  ,to this deserted 
place came ,benedict and eleven men1    
filled with a holy zeal to erect on this
 very spot an edifice worthy of the     
living ,god4 ,here the practical builder
 and the religious dreamer combined4 ,if
 you are going to build a building1 why 
not build upon the walls already laid   
and with blocks ready hewn and          
fashioned6  ,the ,monte ,cassino        
monastery of ,benedict rivaled in       

artistic beauty the temple that it      
replaced4  ,man is a building animal1   
and the same ,creative ,energy that     
impelled the ,greeks and later the      
,romans to plan1 devise1 toil and build1
 now played through the good monk       
,benedict4 ,his desire to create was a  
form of the great ,cosmic ,urge1 that   
lives eternally and is building in      
,america a finer1 better and nobler     
religion than the world has ever seen--a
 ,religion of ,humanity--a religion of  
which at times ,benedict caught vivid   
passing glimpses1 as one sees at night  
the landscape brilliantly illumined by  
the lightning's flash4         99       
99       99       99       99  ,the     
motto of ,benedict was ,ecce ,labora4   
,these words were carved on the entrance
 to every ,benedictine ,monastery4  ,the
 monastic idea originated in the        
,orient1 where ,nature placed no special
 penalty on idleness4 ,indeed1 labor may
 have been a curse in ,asia4 ,morality  
is crystallized expediency1 and both1 as

 we are told1 are matters of geography1 
as well as time4  ,and truth it is1 that
 north of the ,mediterranean idleness is
 the curse1 not labor4  ,the rule of    
,benedict was not unlike that of the    
,shakers1 for near every monastery was a
 nunnery4 ,the association of men and   
women1 although quite limited1 was      
better for both than their absolute     
separation1 as with the ,trappists1 who 
regard it as a sin even to look upon the
 face of a woman4  ,the thrift and      
industry of the ,benedictines was worthy
 of ,ann ,lee and our friends at        
,lebanon4 ,a man who works eight hours1 
with fair intelligence1 and does not set
 out to make consumption and waste the  
business of his life1 grows rich4       
,thoreau was right--an hour a day will  
support you4 ,but ,thoreau was wrong in 
supposing men work only to get food1    
clothing and shelter4 ,to work only an  
hour a day is to evolve into a loafer4  
,we work not to acquire1 but to become4 
,the group idea1 cemented by able       

leadership and a religious concept1 is  
always successful4 ,the ,mormons1       
,quakers1 ,harmonyites1 ,economites1 and
 the ,oneida ,community1 all grew very  
rich1 and surpassed their neighbors not 
only in point of money1 but in health1  
happiness1 intelligence and general     
mental grasp4  ,brook ,farm failed for  
lack of a leader with business instinct2
 but as it was1 it divided up among its 
members a rich legacy of spiritual and  
mental assets4 ,in family life1 or what 
is called ,society1 there is a constant 
danger through rivalry1 not in          
well-doing or in human service1 but in  
conspicuous waste and conspicuous       
leisure4 ,the religious rite of         
feet-washing is absolutely lost1 both as
 a rite and as an idea4 ,in truth1 good 
society is essentially predatory in its 
instincts4 ,in communal life1 or the    
life of a group1 service and not waste  
is the watchword4 ,this must be so1     
since every group1 at its beginning1 is 
held together through the thought of    

service4 ,to meet and unite on a basis  
of jealous rivalry and sharp practise is
 unthinkable1 for these are the things  
that disintegrate the group4  ,it is an 
economic law that a group founded upon  
and practising the idea of each member  
giving all1 wins all4 ,benedict's idea  
of ,ecce labora made every ,benedictine 
monastery a center of wealth4 ,work     
stops bickering1 strife and undue waste4
 ,it makes for health and strength4 ,the
 reward of work is not immunity from    
toil1 but more work--an increased       
capacity for effort4  ,de ,tocqueville  
gave this recipe for success3 ,subdue   
yourself--,devote yourself4  ,that is to
 say1 subdue the ego to a point where it
 gets its gratification in concentrating
 on unselfish service4 ,he who does this
 always succeeds1 for not only is he    
engaged upon a plan of life in which    
there is little competition1 but he is  
working in line with a divine law1 the  
law of mutuality1 which provides that   
all the good you do to others1 you do   

for yourself4  ,benedictine monasticism 
leads straight to wealth and great      
power4 ,the ,abbot of the group became a
 ,baron4 ,i took the vow of poverty1 and
 it led to an income of twenty thousand 
pounds a year4 ,i took the vow of       
obedience and find myself ruler of fifty
 towns and villages4 ,these are the     
words which ,sir ,walter ,scott puts    
into the mouth of an ,abbot1 who became 
a ,baron through the simple law of which
 ,i have hinted4 ,and in his novel of   
,the ,abbot1 ,sir ,walter gives a tragic
 picture of how power and wealth can be 
lost as well as won4 ,feudalism began   
with the rule of the monastery4         
,benedict was one of the world's great  
,captains of ,industry4 ,and like all   
great entrepreneurs1 he won through     
utilizing the efforts of others4 ,in    
picking his ,abbots1 or the men to be   
father of each particular group1 he     
showed rare skill4 ,these men learned   
from him and he learned from them4 ,one 
of his best men was ,cassiodorus1 the   

man who evolved the scheme of the       
scriptorium4 ,to study eight hours a day
 was not enough1 said ,cassiodorus4 ,we 
should copy the great works of          
literature so that every monastery shall
 have a library as good as that which we
 have at ,monte ,cassino4 ,he himself   
was an expert penman1 and he set himself
 the task of teaching the monks how to  
write as well as how to read4 ,to write 
beautifully is a great joy to our ,god1 
he said4  ,benedict liked the idea1 and 
at once put it into execution4          
,cassiodorus is the patron saint of     
every maker of books who loves his      
craft4  ,the systematic work of the     
scriptorium originated in the brain of  
,cassiodorus1 and he was appointed by   
,benedict to go from one monastery to   
another and inform the ,abbot that a    
voice had come from ,god to ,benedict   
saying that these precious books must be
 copied1 and presented to those who     
would prize them4  ,cassiodorus had been
 a secretary of state under the ,emperor

 ,theodoric1 and he had also been a     
soldier4 ,he was seventy years of age   
when he came under the influence of     
,benedict1 through a chance visit to    
,monte ,cassino4 ,benedict at first     
ordered him to take an ax and work with 
the servants at grubbing out underbrush 
and preparing a field for planting4     
,cassiodorus obeyed1 and soon discovered
 that there was a joy in obedience he   
had before never guessed4 ,his name was 
,brebantus ,varus1 but on his declaring 
he was going to remain and work with    
,benedict1 he was complimented by being 
given the name of ,cassiodorus1         
suggested by the word ,cassinum or      
,cassino4 ,cassiodorus lived to be      
ninety-two1 and was one of the chief    
factors1 after ,benedict himself1 in    
introducing the love of art and beauty  
among the ,benedictines4  ,near ,monte  
,cassino was a nunnery presided over by 
,scholastica1 the twin sister of        
,benedict4  ,renan says that the kinship
 of ,scholastica and ,benedict was a    

spiritual tie1 not one of blood4 ,if so1
 we respect it none the less4 ,saint    
,gregory tells of the death of ,benedict
 thus3       ,benedict was at the end of
 his career4 ,his interview with ,totila
      took place in ,five ,hundred      
,forty-two1 in the year which preceded  
his death2 and from his earliest days of
 the following year1 ,god      prepared 
him for his last struggle1 by requiring 
from him the      sacrifice of the most 
tender affection he had retained on     
earth4      ,the beautiful and touching 
incident of the last meeting of         
,benedict      and his twin sister1     
,scholastica1 is a picture long to      
remember4 ,at      the window of his    
cell1 three days after her death1       
,benedict had a      vision of his dear 
sister's soul entering heaven in the    
form of a      snowy dove4 ,he          
immediately sent for the body and placed
 it in a      sepulcher which he had    
already prepared for himself1 that death
      might not separate those whose    

souls had always been united in ,god4   
,the death of his sister was the signal 
of departure for himself4 ,he           
survived her forty days4 ,he announced  
his death to several of his      monks1 
then far from ,monte ,cassino4 ,a       
violent fever having seized      him1 he
 caused himself on the sixth day of his 
sickness to be      carried to the      
chapel of ,saint ,john the ,baptist2 he 
had before      ordered the tomb in     
which his sister already slept to be    
opened4       ,there1 supported in the  
arms of his disciples1 he received the  
holy      ,viaticum1 then placing       
himself at the side of the open grave1  
but      at the foot of the altar1 and  
with his arms extended towards          
heaven1 he died1 standing1 muttering a  
last prayer4 ,such a      victorious    
death became that great soldier of ,god4
 ,he was buried by      the side of his 
beloved ,scholastica1 in a sepulcher    
made on the      spot where stood the   
altar of ,apollo1 which had been        

replaced by      another to our beloved 
,savior4   ,in the very year1 and at the
 same time1 that ,justinian and         
,theodora were preparing the ,justinian 
,code1 ,benedict was busy devising ,the 
,monastic ,rules4 ,benedict did not put 
his rules forth as final1 but explained 
that they were merely expedient for     
their time and place4 ,in this he was   
singularly modest4 ,if one can divest   
himself of the thought that there was   
anything holy or sacred about these     
communal groups called monasteries1 and 
then read these rules1 he will see that 
they were founded on a good knowledge of
 economics and a very stern commonsense4
  ,humanity was the same a thousand     
years ago that it is now4 ,benedict had 
to fight inertia1 selfishness and       
incipient paranoia1 just as does the man
 who tries to introduce practical       
socialism today4 ,a few extracts from   
this very remarkable ,book of ,rules    
will show the shrewd ,connecticut wisdom
 of ,benedict4 ,to hold the dowdy1      

indifferent1 slipshod and underdone in  
their proper places1 so they could not  
disturb or destroy the peace1 policy and
 prosperity of the efficient1 was the   
task of ,benedict4  ,benedict says3     
,written and formal rules are necessary 
only because we are all faulty men1 with
 a tendency towards selfishness and     
disorder4 ,when men become wise1 and    
also unselfish1 there will be no need of
 rules and laws4  ,the ,book of ,rules  
by ,benedict is a volume of more than   
twenty thousand words4 ,its scope       
reveals an insight that will appeal to  
all who have had to do with socialistic 
experiments1 not to mention the         
management of labor-unions4 ,benedict   
was one of the industrial leaders of the
 world4 ,his life was an epoch1 and his 
influence still abides4                 
,illustration3 ,,mary ,,baker ,,eddy    
,,mary ,,baker ,,eddy        ,the chief 
stones in the temple of ,christian      
,science are to be found      in the    
following postulates3 that ,life is     

,god1 good and not evil2      that ,soul
 is sinless1 not to be found in the     
body2 that ,spirit is      not and can  
not be materialized2 that ,life is not  
subject to death2      that the         
spiritual real man has no consciousness 
of material life      or death4         
--,mary ,baker ,eddy   ,,mary ,,baker   
,,eddy  ,let the fact be here stated    
that ,mary ,baker ,eddy was the founder 
of ,christian ,science4 ,this woman     
lived long and well4  ,she was alert1   
earnest1 highly intelligent1 receptive4 
,she was ever discovering4 ,we know this
 because she put out a new message every
 little while1 or modified an old one1  
having come in the meantime into a      
position to get a nearer and clearer    
view of the fact4 ,the last edition of  
,science and ,health is a different book
 from the first one4  ,christian        
,science is not a fixed1 formed1        
fossilized1 ossified structure4         
,possibly it may become so4 ,but the    
probabilities are it will grow1 expand1 

advance4 ,life and growth consist in    
eliminating dead matter and evolving new
 tissue4 ,the institution1 commercial1  
artistic1 social1 political1 religious1 
that has ceased to grow has begun to    
disintegrate4  ,christian ,scientists do
 not flee the world1 renouncing and     
denouncing it4 ,as a people they are    
well1 happy1 hopeful1 enthusiastic and  
successful4 ,i am fairly well informed  
on the history of all great religions4  
,in degree ,i know the character of     
intellect possessed by the folks who    
make or made up their membership4 ,and  
my opinion is1 that no religion that has
 ever existed contained so large a      
percentage of intelligent people1       
competent1 safe and sane1 as does       
,christian ,science4 ,there is an adage 
to the effect that a prophet is not     
without honor save in his own country4  
,in the case of ,mary ,baker ,eddy1 the 
adage just quoted goes awry4 ,mrs4 ,eddy
 as long as she lived1 retained the     
good-will of ,concord1 ,boston and      

,brookline1 where she chose to make her 
home4 ,very many of the leading men and 
women of each of these cities are       
,christian ,scientists4  ,the ,christian
 ,science ,church at ,concord cost      
upwards of two hundred thousand dollars1
 and was the gift of ,mrs4 ,eddy4 ,over 
the entrance1 cut deep in granite1 are  
the words1 ,presented by ,mary ,baker   
,eddy1 ,discoverer and ,founder of      
,christian ,science4 ,as to the argument
 that the truths of ,christian ,science 
have always been known and practised by 
a few1 ,mrs4 ,eddy issued her direct    
challenge4 ,in all of her literature she
 set out the unqualified statement that 
she was ,the ,discoverer and the        
,founder4 ,she was never apologetic2 she
 assumed no modesty she did not feel2   
she spoke as one having authority1 as   
did ,moses of old1 ,thus saith the      
,lord6  ,she entered into no joint      
debates2 she did not answer back4 ,this 
intense conviction which admits of no   
parley was one of the secrets of her    

power4 ,for many years the ,billingsgate
 ,calendar was directed at her upon     
every possible occasion4  ,but ,mrs4    
,eddy won out1 and legislation and      
courts were compelled to whistle in     
their hounds4 ,your right to keep well  
in your own way is now fully recognized4
 ,doctors are not liable when they give 
innocent sweetened water and call it    
medicine1 nor do we place ,christian    
,scientists on trial if their patients  
die1 any more than we do the ,m4 ,d4's4 
,in fact1 ,mrs4 ,eddy influenced both of
 the so-called sciences of medicine and 
theology4 ,even those who are perfectly 
willing to deny her1 and noisily discard
 her tenets1 are debtors to her4        
,homeopathy modified the dose of all the
 ,allopaths2 and ,christian ,science has
 attenuated the ,hahnemannian theory of 
attenuations1 it having been found that 
the blank tablet often cures quite as   
effectively as the one that is          
medicated4 ,christian ,science does not 
shout1 rant1 defy nor preach4 ,it is    

poised1 silent1 sure1 and the           
flagellants1 like the dervishes1 are    
noticeable by their absence4  ,the      
,reverend ,billy ,sunday is not a       
,christian ,scientist4 ,the ,christian  
,scientist does not cut into the grape2 
specialize on the elevated spheroid2    
devote his energies to bridge whist2    
cultivate the scandal microbe2 join the 
anvil chorus1 nor shake the red rag of  
wordy warfare4 ,he is diligent in       
business1 fervent in spirit1 and accepts
 what comes without protest1 finding it 
good4  ,mary ,baker ,eddy lived a human 
life4 ,through her manifold experiences 
she gathered gear--she was a very great 
and wise woman4 ,she was so great that  
she kept her own counsel1 received no   
visitors1 made no calls1 had no         
,thursday1 wrote no letters1 and even   
never went to the church that she       
presented to her native town4 ,mrs4     
,eddy's step was ever light1 her form   
erect--a slender1 handsome1 queenly     
woman4 ,when she passed on1 in          

,december1 ,nineteen ,hundred ,ten1 in  
her ninetieth year1 she looked scarce   
more than sixty4 ,her face showed       
experience1 but not extreme age4 ,the   
day ,i saw her1 a few years before her  
death1 she was dressed all in white     
satin and looked like a girl going to a 
ball4  ,her eyes were not dimmed nor her
 face wrinkled4  ,her hat was a         
milliner's dream2 her gloves came to the
 elbow and were becomingly wrinkled2 her
 form was the form of ,bernhardt4 ,her  
secretary stood by the carriage-door1   
his head bared4 ,he did not offer his   
hand to the lady nor seek to assist her 
into the carriage4 ,he knew his         
business--a sober1 silent1 muscular1    
bronzed1 farmer-like man1 who evidently 
saw everything and nothing4  ,he closed 
the carriage-door and took his seat by  
the side of the driver1 who wore no     
livery4 ,the men looked like brothers4  
,the big1 brown horses started slowly   
away2 they wore no blinders nor         
check-reins--they1 too1 had banished    

fear4 ,the coachman drove with a loose  
rein4 ,the next day ,i waited in        
,concord to see ,mrs4 ,eddy again4 ,at  
exactly two-fifteen the big1 brown1     
slow-going horses turned into ,main     
,street4 ,drays pulled in to the curb1  
automobiles stopped1 people stood on the
 street corners1 and some--the          
pilgrims--uncovered4  ,mrs4 ,eddy sat   
back in the carriage1 holding in her    
white-gloved hands a big spray of       
apple-blossoms1 the same half-smile of  
satisfaction on her face--the smile of  
,pope ,leo the ,thirteenth4 ,the woman  
was a veritable queen1 and some of her  
devotees1 not without reason1 called her
 the ,queen of the ,world4  ,some       
doubtless prayed to her--and may yet1   
for that matter4 ,mrs4 ,eddy was married
 three times4 ,first1 to ,colonel       
,george ,w4 ,glover1 an excellent and   
worthy man1 who was the father of her   
only child1 a son4 ,on the death of     
,glover1 the child was taken by         
,glover's mother and secreted so        

effectually that his mother did not see 
him until he was thirty-four years old1 
and the father of a family4  ,her second
 husband was ,daniel ,patterson1 who was
 not only a rogue but also a fool--a    
flashy one1 who turned the head of a    
lone1 lorn young widow1 who certainly   
was not infallible in judgment4 ,in two 
years the wife got a divorce from him1  
on the grounds of cruelty and desertion1
 at ,salem1 ,massachusetts4 ,her third  
marital venture was ,doctor ,asa ,g4    
,eddy1 a practising physician--a man of 
much intelligence and worth4 ,from him  
,mrs4 ,eddy learned that the ,science of
 ,medicine was not much of a science    
after all4 ,mrs4 ,eddy used to say that 
her husband was her first convert2      
certain it is that ,dr4 ,eddy gave up   
his practise to assist his wife in      
putting before the world the unreality  
of disease4 ,that he did not fully grasp
 the idea is shown by the fact that he  
died of pneumonia4 ,this1 however1 did  
not shake the faith of ,mrs4 ,eddy in   

the doctrine that sickness was an error 
of mortal mind4 ,for a good many years  
,mrs4 ,eddy drove the memory of her two 
good husbands tandem1 hitched by a      
hyphen1 thus3 ,mary ,baker              
,glover-,eddy4 ,many a woman has joined 
her own name to that of her husband1 but
 what woman ever before so honored the  
two men she had loved by coupling their 
names6 ,getting married is a bad habit1 
,mrs4 ,eddy would probably have said1   
but you have to get married to find it  
out4  ,in ,eighteen ,hundred            
,seventy-nine1 ,mrs4 ,eddy organized the
 ,first ,church of ,christ1 ,scientist1 
in ,boston1 and became its pastor4 ,in  
,eighteen ,hundred ,eighty-one1 being   
then sixty years of age1 she founded the
 ,massachusetts ,metaphysical ,college1 
in ,boston4 ,for fifteen years she had  
been speaking in public1 affirming that 
health was our normal condition and that
 as a man thinketh in his heart1 so is  
he4 ,from her forty-fifth to her        
sixtieth year she was glad to speak for 

what was offered1 although ,i believe   
that even then she had discarded the    
good old priestly plan of taking up a   
collection4 ,the ,metaphysical ,college 
was started to prepare students for     
teaching ,mrs4 ,eddy's doctrines4  ,the 
business ability of the woman was shown 
in thus organizing and allowing no one  
to teach who was not duly prepared4     
,these students were obliged to pay a   
good stiff tuition1 which fact made them
 appreciative4 ,in turn they went out   
and taught2 all students paid the tidy  
sum of one hundred dollars for the      
lessons1 which fee was later cut to     
fifty4 ,salvation may be free1 but      
,christian ,science costs money4 ,the   
theological genus piker1 with his long1 
wrinkled1 black coat1 his collar        
buttoned behind1 and his high hat1 has  
been eliminated4  ,mrs4 ,eddy was       
manager of the best-methodized          
institution in the world1 save only the 
,roman ,catholic ,church and the        
,standard ,oil ,company4 ,how many      

million copies of ,science and ,health  
have been sold1 no man can say4 ,what   
percentage of the money from the lessons
 went to ,mrs4 ,eddy1 only an ,armstrong
 ,committee could ascertain1 and really 
it was nobody's business but hers4      
,that ,mrs4 ,eddy had some very skilful 
helpers goes without saying4 ,but here  
is the point--she selected them1 and    
reigned supreme4 ,that the student who  
paid fifty dollars got his money's      
worth1 ,i have no doubt4 ,not that he   
understood the lessons1 but he received 
a feeling of courage and a oneness with 
the whole which caused health to flow   
through his veins and his heart to beat 
with joy4 ,the lesson might have been to
 him a jumble of words1 but he lived in 
hopes that he would soon grow to a point
 where the lines were luminous4  ,in the
 meantime1 all he knew was that whereas 
he was once lame he could now walk4     
,even the most bigoted and prejudiced   
now agree that the cures of ,christian  
,science are genuine4 ,people who think 

they have trouble have it1 and it is the
 same with pain4 ,imagination is the    
only sure-enough thing in the world4    
,mrs4 ,eddy's doctrines abolish pain and
 therefore abolish poverty1 for poverty1
 in ,america at least1 is a disease4    
,mrs4 ,eddy's chief characteristics     
were3  ,first1 ,love of ,beauty as      
manifest in bodily form1 dress and      
surroundings4  ,second1 ,a zeal for     
system1 order and concentrated effort on
 the particular business she undertakes4
  ,third1 ,a dignity1 courage1          
self-sufficiency and self-respect that  
comes from a belief in her own divinity4
  ,fourth1 ,an economy of time1 money1  
materials1 energy and emotion that      
wastes nothing1 but which continually   
conserves and accumulates4  ,fifth1 ,a  
liberality1 when advisable1 which is    
only possible to those who also         
economize4  ,sixth1 ,yankee shrewdness1 
great commonsense1 all flavored with a  
dash of mysticism and indifference to   
physical scientific accuracy4  ,in other

 words1 ,christian ,science is a woman's
 science--she knows6 ,and it is good    
because it is good--this is a science   
sound enough for anybody--,i guess so6  
,christian ,science is scientific1 but  
not for the reasons that its promoters  
maintain4 ,male ,christian ,scientists  
do not growl and kick the cat4  ,women  
,christian ,scientists do not nag4      
,christian ,scientists do not have      
either the grouch or the meddler's itch4
 ,among them there are no dolorosos1    
grumperinos or beggars4 ,they respect   
all other denominations1 having a serene
 faith that all will yet see the        
light--that is to say1 adopt their      
doctrines4 ,the most radical among      
old-school doctors could not deny that  
,mrs4 ,eddy's own life was conducted on 
absolutely scientific lines4 ,she never 
answered the telephone1 never fussed nor
 fumed4  ,she hired big1 safe people and
 paid them a big wage4 ,she gave her    
coachman fifty dollars a week1 and her  
cook in proportion1 and thus secured    

people who gave her peace4 ,she went to 
bed with the birds and awoke with the   
dawn4 ,at seven o'clock she was at her  
desk1 dictating answers to the very few 
letters her secretary deemed it         
advisable she should see4 ,she had      
breakfast at nine o'clock--ate anything 
she liked1 taking her time and          
fletcherizing4 ,after breakfast she     
worked upon her manuscripts until it was
 time for the daily ride4  ,at four     
o'clock she dined--two meals a day being
 the rule4 ,if1 however1 she cared to   
dissipate a little and eat three meals a
 day1 she was not afraid to do so4  ,she
 knew her horses and cows and sheep by  
name1 and gave requests as to their     
care1 holding that the laws of mind     
obtain as to dumb animals the same as   
man4 ,dogs she did not care for1 and if 
she ever had an aversion it would have  
been cats4 ,her servants she called ,my 
helpers4 ,christian ,scientists very    
naturally believe in the equality of the
 sexes4 ,when girl babies are born to   

them they bless ,god1 just the same as  
when boy babies are born4 ,in truth they
 bless ,god for everything1 for to them 
all is beautiful and all is good4 ,paid 
preachers they do not have2 they do not 
believe in priests or certain men who   
are nearer to ,god than others4 ,all    
have access to ,eternal ,truth1 and thus
 is the ecclesiastic excluded4 ,to      
eliminate the theological middleman is  
well1 and as for the ,church itself1    
surely ,mrs4 ,eddy eliminated it also2  
for she never entered a church1 or at   
least not more than once a year1 and    
then it was only in deference to the    
architect4 ,a ,church6 ,is it necessary8
 ,for herself ,mrs4 ,eddy said1 ,no4    
,but as for others1 she said1 ,yes1 a   
church is good for those who need it4   
,mrs4 ,eddy was the most successful     
author in the world1 or1 indeed1 that   
the world has ever seen4 ,no other      
writer ever made so much money as she1  
none is more devoutly read4             
,shakespeare1 with his fortune of a     

quarter of a million dollars1 fades into
 comparative failure2 and ,arthur       
,brisbane1 with his salary of           
seventy-five thousand a year1 is an     
office-boy compared with this regal     
woman1 who gave fifty thousand dollars a
 year for good roads4         99        
99       99       99       99  ,the     
valuable truths and distinguishing      
features of ,christian ,science are not 
to be found in ,mrs4 ,eddy's books1 but 
in ,mrs4 ,eddy's life4 ,she was a much  
bigger woman than she was a writer4     
,emerson says that every great          
institution is the lengthened shadow of 
a single man4 ,every great business     
enterprise has a soul--one man's spirit 
animates1 pervades and tints the whole4 
,you can go into any hotel or store1 and
 behold6 the nature or character of the 
owner or manager is everywhere          
proclaimed4  ,you do not have to see the
 man1 and the bigger the institution the
 less need is there for the man to show 
himself4 ,his work proclaims him1 just  

as a farmer's livestock all moo1 whinny 
and squeal his virtues--or lack of them4
 ,as a boy of ten ,i learned to know all
 of our neighbors by their horses4 ,the 
horses of a drunkard1 blanketless1      
hungry1 shivering1 outside of the       
village tavern1 do they not proclaim the
 poor1 despised owner within8  ,you can 
walk through the passenger-coaches of a 
train made up at a terminal and read the
 character unmistakably of the general  
passenger-agent4 ,the soul of ,john     
,wesley ran through ,methodism and made 
it what it was4 ,the ,lutheranism of    
,luther yet lives2 ,calvinism the same2 
and the soul of ,john ,knox still goes  
marching on1 carrying the ,presbyterian 
banner4  ,every religion partakes of the
 nature of its founder1 until this      
religion is mixed with that of another  
and its character lost1 as happened to  
the religion of ,christ when it was     
launched by ,paul and was finally fused 
with ,paganism by the ,roman ,emperor1  
,constantine4  ,christian ,science is as

 yet the lengthened shadow of ,mary     
,baker ,eddy4 ,her own immediate1       
personal pupils are still teaching1 and 
her life and characteristics impressed  
upon them are given out to each and all4
 ,every phase of life is solved by      
answering the question1 ,what would     
,mrs4 ,eddy do8 ,mrs4 ,eddy's ideas     
about dress1 housekeeping1 business1    
food1 health1 the management of         
servants1 the care of children--all are 
blended into a composite1 and this      
composite is the ,christian ,scientist  
as we see and know him4  ,the fact that 
,mrs4 ,eddy was methodical1 industrious1
 economical1 persevering1 courageous1   
hopeful1 helpful1 neat in her attire and
 smiling1 makes all ,christian          
,scientists exactly so4 ,she did not    
play cards and indulge in the manifold  
silliness of so-called good society1 and
 neither do they4 ,indeed1 that one     
thing which has been referred to as the 
plaster-of-,paris smile1 the one feature
 in ,christian ,science to which many   

good people object1 is the direct legacy
 of ,mrs4 ,eddy to her pupils4 ,science 
and ,health says nothing about it2 no   
edict has been put forth recommending   
it2 but all good ,christian ,scientists 
take it on--the smile that refuses to   
vacate the premises4 ,and to some it is 
certainly very becoming4 ,mrs4 ,eddy's  
self-reliant1 silent1 smiling           
personality has given the key to conduct
 for the hundreds of thousands of people
 who love her and revere her memory4    
,mrs4 ,eddy was a rare good listener4   
,she did not argue4 ,once upon a time1  
indeed1 she was guilty of waving the red
 flag of wordy warfare2 but the passing 
of the years brought her wisdom1 and    
then her only answer to impatience was  
the quiet smile4 ,as for eating1 her    
table always had enough1 but it stopped 
short of surfeit2 the service was       
dainty1 and all these things are now    
seen in the homes of ,christian         
,scientists4 ,always in the home of a   
good ,christian ,scientist the bathroom 

is as complete as the library1 and both 
are models of good housekeeping1        
seemingly always in order for the       
inspection committee4  ,mrs4 ,eddy did  
not say much about hot water1 soap and  
clean towels2 but the idea1 regardless  
of the non-existence of matter1 is fixed
 in the consciousness of every          
,christian ,scientist that absolute     
bodily cleanliness1 fresh linen and     
fresh air are not only next to          
godliness1 but elements of it4 ,all of  
which you could never work out of       
,science and ,health with ,key to the   
,scriptures in a lifetime of study1 any 
more than you could mine and smelt the  
,westminster ,catechism out of the      
,bible4  ,the vital truths of right     
living come to us as a precious heritage
 from the character of this great woman4
 ,she1 herself1 perhaps may not have    
known this2 but before she wrote her    
book and formulated her religion1 she   
lived her life4 ,her book was an        
endeavor to explain her life1 and as her

 life grew better1 stronger and more    
refined1 she changed her book4 ,her book
 reacted on her life1 and the person who
 got the most good out of ,science and  
,health was ,mary ,baker ,eddy herself4 
,science and ,health is mystical and    
beautifully human4 ,the author's oar    
often fails to catch the water4 ,for    
instance1 she tries to show that animal 
magnetism1 spiritualism1 mental science1
 theosophy1 agnosticism1 pantheism and  
infidelity are all bad things and       
opposed to the science of true being4   
,this statement presupposes that animal 
magnetism1 infidelity1 theosophy and    
agnosticism are specific entities or    
things1 whereas they are only labels    
that are clapped quite indiscriminately 
on empty casks or full ones2 and the    
contents of the casks may be sea-water  
or wine1 and are really unknown to both 
mortal and divine mind1 whatever these  
things are4 ,theosophists like ,annie   
,besant1 ,spiritualists like ,alfred    
,russel ,wallace1 ,agnostics like       

,huxley and ,ingersoll1 are very noble  
and beautiful people4 ,they are good    
neighbors and useful citizens4  ,science
 and ,health is an attempt to catch and 
hold in words the secrets of an active1 
honest1 healthful1 seeking1 restless1   
earnest life1 and as such is more or    
less of a failure4  ,our actions are    
right1 but our reasons seldom are4      
,christian ,science as a plan of life1  
embodying the great yet simple virtues1 
is beautiful4 ,science and ,health with 
,key to the ,scriptures does not explain
 the ,scriptures4 ,the book1 as an      
attempt to explain and crystallize      
truth1 is a failure4 ,it ranks with that
 great mass of literature1 written and  
copied at such vast pains and expense1  
bearing the high-sounding title1        
,writings of the ,saints4         99    
99       99       99       99  ,all     
publishers are familiar with inspired   
manuscripts4 ,such work always has one  
thing in common--unintelligibility4     
,good literature is lucid to the average

 mind4 ,in fact1 that is its            
distinguishing feature4 ,we understand  
what the man means4 ,no able writer uses
 the same word over and over with       
varying sense4 ,alfred ,henry ,lewis and
 ,william ,marion ,reedy use the mortal 
mind1 and their work is understandable4 
,you can sit in judgment on their       
conclusions and weigh1 sift and decide  
for yourself4 ,they make an appeal to   
your intellect4  ,but you can not sit in
 judgment on ,science and ,health1      
because its language is not the language
 we use in our common1 every-day        
intercourse with one another4 ,it speaks
 of ,christ as a person1 a principle1 a 
spirit1 a motive2 as ,truth2 as one who 
was born of one parent or no parents2   
who lived1 died1 or never lived1 never  
was born1 and can not die4  ,metaphysics
 is an attempt to explain a thing and   
thereby evade the trouble of            
understanding it4 ,you throw the burden 
of proof on the other fellow--and make  
him believe he does not comprehend      

because he is too stupid4 ,this is not  
fair6  ,language is simply an agreement 
between people that certain vocal       
sounds1 or written symbols1 shall stand 
for certain ideas1 thoughts or things4  
,inspired writers string intelligent    
words together in an unintelligent      
manner1 and thereby give the reader an  
opportunity to read anything into them  
that his preconceived thoughts may      
dictate4 ,metaphysical gibberish is a   
rudimentary survival of the practise of 
reading to the people in a dead         
language4 ,the doctors continue the plan
 by writing prescriptions in ,latin4  ,i
 once worked in a studio where the boys 
scraped their palette-knives on a       
convenient board4 ,one day we took the  
board out and had it framed under glass1
 with a double1 deep-shadow box4 ,we    
gave it the best place in the studio and
 labeled it1 ,a ,sunset at ,sea--an     
,impression in ,monochrome4  ,the       
picture attracted much attention and    
great admiration from certain           

symbolists4 ,it also created so much    
controversy that we were obliged to take
 it down in the interests of amity4  ,to
 assume that ,god inspired the          
,scriptures1 and did the work so ill    
that1 after more than two thousand      
years1 it was necessary to inspire      
another person to make a ,key to them1  
is hardly worthy of our serious         
attention4 ,if ,god1 being all-wise1    
all-powerful and all-loving1 turns      
author1 why does ,he produce work so    
muddy that it requires a ,key8          
,individuals may use a code that        
requires a ,key1 because they wish to   
keep their matter secret from others4   
,there may be for them a penalty on     
truth1 but why ,deity should write in a 
secret language1 and then wait two      
thousand years before making the matter 
plain1 and then to one single woman in  
,boston1 is incomprehensible4 ,what the 
world wants now is a ,key to ,science   
and ,health4 ,in reading a book1 the    
question that interests us is not1 ,is  

it inspired8 but1 ,is it true8  ,mrs4   
,eddy's ranks are recruited almost      
entirely from ,orthodox ,christianity4  
,on page six hundred eight of ,science  
and ,health1 pocket edition of ,nineteen
 ,hundred ,six1 a lawyer gives testimony
 to the good he has gotten from         
,christian ,science1 and explains that  
he has long been a member of the        
,episcopal ,church4 ,he is delighted to 
know that he has not had to relinquish  
any of his old faith1 but has simply    
kept the old and added to it the new4   
,this explains1 in great degree1 the    
popularity of ,christian ,science4      
,people cling to the religious          
superstitions into which they were born4
 ,mrs4 ,eddy's recruits were not from   
theosophy1 spiritualism1 agnosticism1   
unitarianism1 universalism or           
infidelity4 ,you can't give a           
freethinker a book with a statement of  
what he must find in it4  ,he has       
acquired the habit of thinking for      
himself4  ,mrs4 ,eddy had no faith in   

,darwin1 ,spencer or ,haeckel4 ,she     
quoted ,moses1 ,jesus and ,paul to      
disprove the evolutionists1 sat back and
 smiled content1 innocently unaware that
 citations from ,scriptures are in no   
sense proof to free minds4 ,all of the  
,bible she wished to waive1 she did4    
,the cruelty and bestiality of ,jehovah 
were nothing to her4 ,her ,key does not 
unlock the secrets of ,deuteronomy and  
,leviticus1 nor does it shed light on   
the doctrines of eternal punishment1 the
 vicarious atonement1 or the efficacy of
 baptism as a saving ordinance4         
,explanations about mortal mind1 divine 
mind and human mind1 citing specific    
errors of the human mind1 with a calm   
codicil to the effect that the human    
mind has no existence1 are not what you 
might call illuminating literature4 ,the
 stuff is simply inspired4 ,mrs4 ,eddy  
was very wise in not allowing her       
readers or followers to sermonize or    
explain her writings4 ,these writings   
are simply to be read4 ,and so the      

hearers sit steeped in mist and wrapped 
in placidity1 returning to their work   
rested and refreshed1 without being     
influenced in any way1 save by the      
soothing calm of forceful fog and mental
 vacuity4  ,the rest and relief from all
 thought is good4 ,the related          
experiences of ,christian ,scientists   
are the things that convince and carry  
weight1 not ,science and ,health4       
,science and ,health was made to sell4  
,it was not given to you to be          
understood3 it was to be bought and     
believed4 ,if you doubt any portion of  
it1 at once you are told that this is   
the work of your mortal mind1 which is  
filled with error4 ,good ,christian     
,scientists do not try to understand    
,science and ,health--they just accept  
and believe it4 ,it is inspired1 they   
say1 so it must be true--you will know  
when you are worthy to know4  ,and so we
 see our old friend ,intellectual       
,tyranny come back in another form1 not 
with cowl and cape1 but tricked out with

 feminine finery and jewelry and gems   
that lure and dazzle4 ,there is one     
thing quite as valuable as health1 and  
that is intellectual integrity4 ,to say1
 ,oh1 ',science and ,health' is         
certainly inspired--just see how old    
,mrs4 ,johnson was cured of the         
rheumatism6 is not reasoning4  ,and it  
has given the scoffers excuse for       
calling it woman's logic4 ,such         
reasoning is on the plane of1 ,why1     
,jesus must have been the only begotten 
son of ,god1 born of a virgin1 for if   
you don't believe it1 just see the      
hospitals1 orphan asylums and homes for 
the aged that ,christianity has built6  
,mrs4 ,johnson was surely cured of the  
rheumatism all right1 but that does not 
prove that ,mrs4 ,eddy is correct in her
 claim that ,eve was made from ,adam's  
rib2 that agamogenesis is a fact in     
,nature2 that to till the soil will not 
always be necessary2 that human life in 
these bodies will have no end2 and that 
an absent person can poison your health 

and happiness through malicious animal  
magnetism2 or that a good person can    
give you absent treatment and cure your 
indigestion4  ,i agree with ,mrs4 ,eddy 
as to the necessity of eliminating a    
medical fetish1 but ,i disagree with her
 about religiously preserving a         
theological one4 ,i have read ,science  
and ,health with ,key to the ,scriptures
 for twenty years1 and ,i have also read
 the ,scriptures for a much longer      
period4 ,also1 ,i have lived in the same
 house for many months with very        
intelligent ,christian ,scientists4     
,and after mature consideration ,i      
regard both the ,scriptures and ,science
 and ,health as largely made up of the  
errors of mortal mind4 ,my intuitions   
are just as valuable to me as ,mrs4     
,eddy's were to her4  ,my conscience is 
quite as sacred to me as hers was to    
her4 ,and in being an agnostic ,i object
 to being classed as blind1 stubborn1   
wilful1 malicious and degenerate4  ,we  
should honor our ,creator by cleaving to

 the things that seem to us to be true1 
and not abandon the rudder of our minds 
to any man or any woman1 be they living 
or dead4 ,let us not be dishonest with  
ourselves1 even to rid us of our        
physical diseases4 ,as for health1 ,i   
have all of it that ,christian ,science 
ever gave or can give4 ,i have no       
testimony of healing to relate1 for ,i  
have never been sick an hour4 ,and ,i   
think ,i know how ,i have kept well4 ,i 
make no secret of it4 ,it is all very   
simple--nothing miraculous4  ,my        
knowledge of how to keep well is not    
inspired knowledge1 save as all men are 
inspired who study and know the ,laws of
 ,nature4 ,health1 after all1 is largely
 a matter of habit4         99       99 
99       99       99  ,back of the      
reading-desks1 in the ,mother ,church1  
at ,boston1 are quotations from ,paul   
and ,mrs4 ,eddy1 side by side4 ,but the 
quotation from ,paul1 which is behind   
the desk of the woman reader1 is not    
this3 ,let women keep silence in the    

churches4  ,mrs4 ,eddy believed the     
,scriptures are all true1 word for word4
 ,yet when she quoted ,paul she picked  
the thing she wanted and avoided all    
that did not apply to her case4         
,personally1 ,i like the plan4 ,i do it 
myself4 ,but ,i do not believe the      
,scriptures are inspired by an all-wise 
,deity4 ,so far as ,i know1 all books   
were written by men1 and very often by  
faulty1 human men at that4 ,mrs4 ,eddy's
 ,key does not unlock anything2 and she 
did not try to unlock any passages      
except the passages that seemingly had a
 bearing on her belief4 ,that is1 ,mrs4 
,eddy believed things first1 and then   
skirmished for proof4 ,this is a very   
old plan4 ,says ,shakespeare3 ,in       
religion what damned error but some     
somber brow will bless it and approve it
 with a text1 hiding the grossness      
thereof with fair ornament4 ,let no one 
read ,science and ,health in the hope of
 finding in it simple and sensible      
statements concerning life and its      

duties4 ,they are not there4  ,i append 
a few quotations1 and in mentioning the 
page ,i refer to the pocket or ,oxford  
edition of ,nineteen ,hundred ,six4 ,on 
page one hundred eighty-three of        
,science and ,health ,i find1 ,the      
,scriptures inform us that sin1 or      
error1 first caused the condemnation of 
man to till the ground1 and indicate    
that obedience to ,god will remove this 
necessity4  ,mrs4 ,eddy evidently       
believed that work is a punishment1 and 
that the day will come when ,god will   
remove the necessity of farming and     
making garden4 ,can a sane person reply 
to such lack of logic8  ,on page five   
hundred forty-seven is this3 ,if one of 
the statements in this book is true1    
every one must be true1 for not one     
departs from its system and rule4 ,you  
can prove for yourself1 dear reader1 the
 ,science of healing1 and so ascertain  
if the author has given you the correct 
interpretation of ,scripture4  ,this is 
evidently inspired by ,paul's quibble1  

,if the dead rise not from the grave1   
then is our religion vain4 ,lincoln once
 referred to this kind of reasoning by  
saying1 ,i object to the assumption that
 my ambition is to have my son marry a  
negress1 simply because ,i am struggling
 for emancipation4 ,mrs4 ,eddy may heal 
you1 but that does not prove that her   
interpretation of ,scripture is true4   
,because this happens1 that does not    
necessarily follow4 ,neither1 because a 
thing precedes a thing or goes with a   
thing1 is the thing the cause of the    
thing4 ,on page five hundred fifty-three
 is this3 ,adam was created before ,eve4
 ,herein it is seen that the maternal   
egg never brought forth ,adam4 ,eve was 
formed from ,adam's rib1 not from a     
fetal ovum4  ,in reading things like    
this in ,science and ,health1 let us not
 be too severe on ,mrs4 ,eddy1 but just 
bear in mind that such silly            
superstitions and barbaric folklore are 
yet officially believed by all orthodox 
clergymen and members of orthodox       

churches4 ,you can accept a belief in   
,adam's fall and the vicarious atonement
 and still make money and have good     
health4  ,page one hundred two3 ,the    
mild forms of animal magnetism are      
disappearing1 and its aggressive        
features are coming to the front4 ,the  
looms of crime1 hidden in the dark      
recesses of mortal thought1 are every   
hour weaving webs more complicated and  
subtle4 ,so secret are its present      
methods that they ensnare the age into  
indolence1 and produce the very apathy  
on this subject which the criminal      
desires4  ,this passage reveals the one 
actually dangerous thing in ,christian  
,science--the fallacy that one mind can 
weave a web that will work the undoing  
of another4 ,this is the basis of a     
belief in witchcraft1 and justifies the 
hangings at ,salem4 ,on page one hundred
 three ,i find this3 ,as used in        
,christian ,science1 animal magnetism or
 hypnotism is the specific term for     
error1 or mortal mind4  ,it is the false

 belief that mind is in matter1 and both
 evil and good2 that evil is as real as 
goodness1 and more powerful4 ,this      
belief has not one quality of truth or  
good4 ,it is either ignorant or         
malicious4 ,the malicious form of animal
 magnetism ultimates in moral idiocy4   
,the truths of immortal mind sustain    
man2 and they annihilate the fables and 
mortal mind1 whose flimsy and gaudy     
pretensions1 like silly moths1 singe    
their own wings and fall into dust4 ,in 
reality there is no mortal mind1 and    
consequently no transference of mortal  
thought and will-power4 ,page five      
hundred two3 ,spiritually followed1 the 
book of ,genesis is the history of the  
untrue image of ,god1 named a sinful    
mortal4 ,this deflection of being1      
rightly viewed1 serves the spiritual    
actuality of man1 as given in the first 
chapter of ,genesis4 ,when the crude    
forms of human thought take on higher   
symbols and significations1 the         
scientifically ,christian views of the  

universe will appear1 illuminating time 
with the glory of eternity4  ,i append  
these two passages simply as samples of 
inspired literature4  ,any one who tries
 to understand such printed matter is   
headed for ,bloomingdale4 ,you must     
leave it alone absolutely or else accept
 it and read it with your mental eyes   
closed1 mumbling it with your lips1 and 
let your mind roam like a priest reading
 his breviary in the smoking-apartment  
of a ,pullman car4 ,the question then   
arises1 ,was ,mrs4 ,eddy sincere in     
putting forth such writings8  ,and the  
answer is1 she was most certainly       
sincere1 and she was certainly sane4    
,she was an honest woman4 ,but she was  
not a clear or logical thinker1 except  
on matters of finance and business1 and 
consequently she did not give forth a   
clear expression when she essayed       
philosophy4 ,in order to write lucidly  
you must think lucidly4 ,mrs4 ,eddy had 
no sense of literary values4 ,she was   
absolutely devoid of humor1 and humor is

 only the ability to detect a little    
thing from a big one--to perceive a     
wrong adjustment from a right one4      
,style in literature is taste4 ,but the 
lack of style1 taste and humor is       
general in mankind4 ,the world has      
produced only a few great thinkers1 and 
one of them was ,darwin1 a name which   
,mrs4 ,eddy mentioned in ,science and   
,health with reproach4 ,great writers   
are even more rare than great thinkers1 
because to write one must have the      
ability not only to think clearly1 but  
the knack or technical skill to use the 
right word1 the luminous word1 and so   
arrange1 paragraph and punctuate them   
that your meaning will be clear to      
average minds4 ,to say that ,mrs4 ,eddy 
was not a thinker nor a writer1 is not  
an indictment of the woman1 although it 
may be a reflection on the mental       
processes of the people who think she   
was4  ,to say that there are two million
 people reading ,mrs4 ,eddy1 also proves
 nothing1 since numbers are no          

vindication4 ,over a hundred million    
people have kissed the big toe of ,saint
 ,peter in ,rome4  ,and surely the      
,roman ,catholic ,church contains a vast
 number of highly educated people4 ,the 
things you do not know1 you do not know4
 ,and ,mrs4 ,eddy1 knowing nothing of   
literary style1 knew nothing of literary
 art4 ,her prose and her poetry are     
worse than ordinary4 ,all inspirational 
poetry ,i ever read is rot1 and all     
inspired paintings ,i ever saw are      
daubs4 ,mrs4 ,eddy should not be blamed 
for her limitations4  ,many people who  
are great in certain lines labor under  
the hallucination that they are also    
great in others4 ,matthew ,arnold was a 
great writer1 and he also thought he was
 a great orator4  ,but when he spoke1   
his words simply fell over the          
footlights into the orchestra and died  
there4 ,he could not reach the front    
row4 ,most comedians want to play       
,hamlet1 and all of us have heard girls 
attempt to sing who thought they could  

sing1 and who were encouraged in the    
hallucination by their immediate        
kinsfolk4  ,mrs4 ,eddy thought she could
 write1 and unfortunately she was       
corroborated in her error by the        
applause of people who1 not being able  
to read her book1 kindly attributed the 
inability to their own limitations and  
not to hers1 being prompted in this by  
the suggestion oft repeated by ,mrs4    
,eddy1 herself4 ,the resemblance of     
,mrs4 ,eddy's thought to that of ,jesus 
was never noticed until ,mrs4 ,eddy     
first explained the matter4 ,mrs4 ,eddy 
was by no means insane4 ,swedenborg was 
a civil engineer and a mathematician4   
,he wrote forty books that are nearly as
 opaque as ,science and ,health4 ,if you
 write stupidly enough1 some one will   
surely throw up his cap and cry ,great6 
,and others will follow the example and 
take up the shout1 because it is much   
easier1 as ,doctor ,johnson affirmed1 to
 praise a book than to read and         
understand it4 ,the custom of reading to

 a congregation in a dead or foreign    
language1 which the listeners do not    
understand1 has never caused any general
 protest from the listeners4 ,the       
scoffers are the only ones who have ever
 noticed the incongruity1 and they do   
not count1 since they probably would not
 attend1 anyway4  ,next to reading from 
a book written in the dead language1 is 
to read from a book that is             
unintelligible4 ,to listen to such makes
 no tax upon the intellect1 and with the
 right accessories is soporific1        
restful1 pleasing and to be commended4  
,if it does not supply an idea1 it at   
least imparts a feeling4 ,mrs4 ,eddy's  
success in literature arose from the    
extreme muddiness of her thinking and   
her opacity in expression4  ,if she had 
written fairly well1 her mediocrity     
would have been apparent to every one2  
but writing absolutely without rhyme or 
reason1 we bow before her supreme       
assurance4 ,the strongest element in men
 is inertia--we agree rather than fight 

about it4 ,we want health--and health is
 what ,mrs4 ,eddy gives to              
us--therefore1 ,science and ,health with
 ,key to the ,scriptures is the greatest
 book in the whole world4 ,sancta       
simplicitas6 ,why not1 indeed6          
99       99       99       99       99  
,people turn to ,mrs4 ,eddy's book for  
relief just exactly as they formerly    
went to the doctor for the same reason4 
,in addition to bodily health1 ,mrs4    
,eddy gives joy1 hope1 worldly success2 
and even superior minds1 seeing these   
practical results of ,christian         
,science1 move in the line of least     
resistance and are quite willing to     
accept the book1 not troubled at all    
about its medieval reasoning4 ,in       
,ungania is a very great merchant who1  
not content with having the biggest     
store in the ,kingdom1 aspires to the   
biggest ,university4 ,the fact that the 
higher criticism is to him only a       
trivial matter1 and really unworthy of  
the serious attention of a busy man1    

simply reveals human limitation4  ,the  
specialist is created at a terrific     
cost1 and that a person will be         
practical1 shrewd1 diplomatic and wise  
in managing the buying public and an    
army of employees1 and yet know and love
 ,walt ,whitman1 is too much to expect4 
,this keen and successful merchant1 an  
absolute tyrant in certain ways1 has his
 soft side and many pleasant qualities4 
,why any one should ever question the   
literal truth of the ,bible is beyond   
his comprehension4  ,he is convinced    
that ,leaves of ,grass is an obscene    
book1 never having read it2 yet he knows
 nothing about the third1 eleventh and  
thirteenth chapters of ,second ,samuel1 
having read the ,book all his life4 ,he 
has a pitying1 patronizing smile for any
 one who suggests that ,david was a very
 faulty man1 and that possibly ,solomon 
was not the wisest person that ever     
lived4 ,what difference does it make1   
anyway8 he testily asks4 ,if you work   
for him you have to agree with him1 or  

else be very silent as to what you      
actually believe4 ,we often find an     
avowed and reiterated love for ,jesus1  
the non-resistant1 going hand in hand   
with a passion for war1 a miser's greed1
 a lust for power and a thirst for      
revenge4  ,there may be a prating about 
righteousness while the hand of the man 
is feeling for his sword-hilt1 and his  
eye is locating your jugular4 ,the ,ten 
,commandments are all rescinded in war  
time4 ,the ,new ,york ,evening ,post    
noted the peculiar fact that nine out of
 ten of the delegates at ,the ,hague    
,international ,peace ,conference were  
theological heretics4 ,as a rule1       
,orthodox ,christians stand for war1 and
 also for capital punishment4 ,how do we
 explain these inconsistencies8  ,we do 
not try to3 they are simply facts in the
 partial development of the race4 ,why  
millionaires should patronize the memory
 of ,jesus is something no one can      
understand1 save that things work by    
antithesis4 ,mrs4 ,eddy was of the same 

shrewd1 practical type as the merchant  
prince just mentioned4 ,she was the     
greatest woman-general of her day and   
generation4 ,she possessed all the      
qualities that go to make successful    
leadership4  ,she was self-reliant1     
proud1 arrogant1 implacable in temper1  
rapid in decision1 unbending1 shrewd1   
diplomatic--and a good hater4  ,at times
 she dismissed her critics with simply a
 look4 ,no man could dictate to her1 and
 few dared make suggestions in her      
presence4 ,to move her1 the matter had  
to be brought to her attention in a way 
that led her to believe that she had    
discovered it herself4 ,and of course   
all the credit went to her4 ,in all     
,christian ,science churches are various
 selections from her writings1 and      
beneath every one is her name4 ,thou    
shalt have no other gods before me6 is  
the one controlling edict breathed forth
 by her life and words4 ,one of her     
orders was that whenever one of her     
hymns was announced1 always and forever 

it must be stated that it was written by
 ,mrs4 ,mary ,baker ,eddy4 ,always and  
forever1 the student giving testimony   
refers1 in terms of lavish praise and   
fulsome adulation1 to ,our ,blessed     
,teacher1 ,guide and ,exemplar1 ,mary   
,baker ,eddy4 ,god ,almighty and ,jesus 
occupy secondary positions in all       
,christian ,science meetings4  ,mrs4    
,eddy is mentioned five times to where  
they are once4 ,and ,i would not        
criticize this if ,mrs4 ,eddy had but   
regarded ,jesus as simply a great man in
 history and ,god as an abstract term   
referring to the ,supreme ,intelligence 
in ,nature4 ,but to her1 ,god and ,jesus
 were persons who dictated books1 and   
very frequently she was careful to      
explain that her method of healing was  
exactly the same as that practised by   
,jesus4 ,side by side with ,his words   
are hers4 ,passages from the ,bible are 
read alternately with passages from     
,science and ,health4 ,if both were     
regarded as mere literature1 this would 

be pardonable1 but when we are told that
 both are sacred writ1 and damned be he 
who dares deny or doubt1 we are simply  
lost in admiration for the supreme      
egotism of the lady4 ,to get mad about  
it were vain--let us all smile4 ,surely 
the imagination that can trace points of
 resemblance between ,mrs4 ,mary ,baker 
,eddy and ,jesus1 the lowly peasant of  
,nazareth1 is admirable4 ,jesus was a   
communist in principle1 having nothing1 
giving everything4 ,he carried neither  
scrip nor purse4 ,he wrote nothing4 ,his
 indifference to place1 pelf and power  
is ,his distinguishing characteristic4  
,mrs4 ,eddy's love of power was the     
leading motive of her life2 her ability 
to bargain was beautiful2 her resorts to
 law and the subtleties of legal aid    
were all strictly modern2 and the way   
she tied up the title to her writings by
 lead-pipe-cinched copyrights reveals   
the true instincts of ,connecticut4     
,this jealousy of her rights and the    
safeguarding of her interests were among

 the emphatic features of her life1 and 
set her apart as the antithesis of      
,jesus4  ,there is one character in     
history1 however1 to whom ,mrs4 ,eddy   
bore a close resemblance--and that is   
,julius ,csar1 who was educated for the 
priesthood1 became a priest1 and was    
,pope of ,rome before he ventured into  
fighting and politics as a business4    
,mrs4 ,eddy's faith in herself1 her     
ability to decide1 her quick intuitions1
 the method and simplicity of her life1 
her passion for power1 her pleasure in  
authorship--all these were the traits   
which exalted the name and fame of      
,csar4  ,the inventor of the calendar   
ordered that it should be known as the  
,julian ,calendar1 and it is so called1 
even unto this day4 ,once ,carlyle sat  
smoking with ,milburn1 the blind        
preacher4 ,they had been discussing the 
historicity of ,jesus4 ,then they sat   
smoking in silence4 ,finally1 ,tammas   
the ,techy knocked the ashes out of his 
long clay t4 d4 and muttered1 half to   

himself and half to ,milburn1 ,ah1 a    
great mon1 a great mon--but he had his  
limitations6 ,the same remark can       
truthfully be applied to ,mrs4 ,eddy4   
,and about the only point that ,jesus   
and ,mrs4 ,eddy have in common is this  
matter mentioned by ,carlyle4  ,the     
superior shrewdness and the keen        
business instinct of ,mrs4 ,eddy are    
seen in the use of the words ,christian 
and ,science4 ,the sub-title1 ,with ,key
 to the ,scriptures1 is particularly    
alluring4 ,and the use of the ,oxford   
binding was the crowning stroke of      
commercial insight4 ,surely ,mrs4 ,eddy 
must command our profound respect4 ,she 
was undoubtedly a very great business   
genius1 to say the very least4          
99       99       99       99       99  
,when ,john ,henry ,newman became a     
,catholic1 he gave as a reason for his  
decision that he had found no place in  
literature or art to rest his head4 ,his
 reward for not finding a place in      
literature or art for his head was the  

red hat4  ,let the followers of ,mrs4   
,eddy take comfort in that their great  
teacher had plenty of high precedent for
 believing that ,adam was created by    
fiat1 and ,eve was made from his rib1   
all the fiat being used2 that ,joshua   
commanded the sun to stand still and it 
obeyed1 even when the order should have 
been given to the earth2 that ,lazarus  
was raised from the dead after his body 
had become putrid2 that witchcraft is a 
fact in ,nature2 and that children can  
be born with the aid of one parent a    
little better than in the old-fashioned 
way--parthenogenesis1 ,i think they call
 it4  ,these inconsistencies of absolute
 absurdity1 existing side by side with  
great competence and sanity1 are to be  
found everywhere in history4  ,mrs4     
,eddy excited the envy of the medical   
world in her demonstration that good    
health and happiness are the sure       
results of getting rid of the doctor    
habit2 but they got even with her when  
she said that virgin motherhood would   

yet become the rule1 and tilling of the 
soil would cease to be a necessity4     
,saint ,augustine thought1 as did most  
of the early ,churchmen1 that to do evil
 that good might follow was not only    
justifiable1 but highly meritorious4 ,so
 they preached hagiology to scare people
 into the narrow path of rectitude4     
,chapman1 ,alexander1 ,torrey1 ,billy   
,sunday and most other professional     
evangelists believe in and practise the 
same doctrine4  ,the literary conscience
 was a thing known in ,greece1 but only 
recently1 say within two hundred years1 
has it been again manifest1 and as yet  
it is rare4 ,it consists in the scorn   
and absolute refusal to write a line    
except that which stands for truth4     
,the artistic conscience that refuses to
 paint for hire or model on order is the
 same4 ,wagner1 ,millet1 ,rembrandt1    
,william ,morris and ,ruskin are        
examples of men who were incapable of   
anything but their highest and best     
creative work1 and refused to truckle to

 the mercenary horde4 ,such men may be  
without conscience in a business way4   
,and a person may be absolutely moral in
 all his acts of life1 except in writing
 and talking1 and here he may be        
slipshod and uncertain4  ,mrs4 ,eddy was
 beautifully lacking in the literary    
conscience1 just as much so as was      
,gladstone when he attempted to reply to
 ,ingersoll in ,the ,north ,american    
,review1 and resorted to sophistry and  
evasion in lieu of logic4 ,absolute     
truth to ,gladstone was a matter of     
indifference--expediency was his        
shibboleth4 ,truth to ,mrs4 ,eddy was   
also a secondary matter2 the only things
 that really mattered were ,health and  
,success4 ,health and ,success are      
undoubtedly great things and well worthy
 of possession1 but ,i wish to secure   
them only through the expression of     
truth4 ,if you gag my tongue1 chain my  
pen and cry1 ,believe and you will have 
,health1 ,i would say1 ,give me liberty 
or give me death6 ,christian ,scientists

 ask you to buy ,mrs4 ,eddy's book1     
,science and ,health4  ,when the volume 
is handed you1 you are promised health  
and success if you believe its every    
word2 and if you don't1 you are         
threatened with moral idiocy4  ,it is   
the old promise of ,paradise and the    
threat of ,hell in a new guise4 ,as for 
me1 ,i decline the book4         99     
99       99       99       99  ,stephen 
,girard was a great merchant who had a  
great love of truth2 but if he had been 
in a retail business1 his zeal for truth
 might have been slightly modified4  ,as
 a rule1 the world of humanity can be   
divided into two parts3 the practical   
men and the searchers for truth4        
,usually the latter have nothing to lose
 but their head4 ,spinoza1 ,galileo1    
,bruno1 ,thomas ,paine1 ,walt ,whitman1 
,henry ,thoreau1 ,bronson ,alcott1 are  
the pure type4 ,then come ,theodore     
,parker and ,ralph ,waldo ,emerson1     
crowded out of their pulpits1 scorned by
 their ,alma ,mater1 pitied by the      

public--yet holding true to their       
course4  ,and lo6 they grew rich2       
whereas1 if they had stuck close to the 
shore and safety1 they would have been  
drowned in the shallows of oblivion4    
,on the other hand1 we find in1 say1 the
 directorate of the ,standard ,oil      
,company1 many men who are zealous      
members of the orthodox churches1 giving
 large sums in support of the gospel1   
and taking an active interest in its    
promulgation4 ,all of them say1 with the
 late ,mr4 ,morgan1 ,my mother's        
religion is good enough for me4 ,so here
 we get practical shrewdness combined   
with minds that1 so far as abstract     
truth is concerned1 are simply          
prairie-dog towns4  ,these men belong to
 a type that will cling to error as long
 as it is soft1 easy and popular4 ,most 
certainly these men are not fools--they 
are highly competent and useful in their
 way4 ,but as for superstition1 they    
find it soothing2 it saves the trouble  
of thinking1 and all their energies are 

needed in business4  ,religion1 to them1
 is a social diversion1 with a chance of
 salvation on the side4 ,inertia does   
not grip them when it comes to          
commerce--but in religion it does4      
,lincoln once said that there was just  
one thing1 and only one thing1 that ,god
 ,almighty could not understand3 and    
that was the workings of the mind of an 
intelligent ,american juror4  ,herbert  
,spencer says that ,sir ,isaac ,newton  
was one of the six best educated men the
 world has seen4 ,he was the first man  
to resolve light into its constituent   
elements4 ,voltaire says that when      
,newton discovered the ,law of          
,gravitation he excited the envy of the 
scientific world4  ,but1 adds ,voltaire1
 when he wrote a book on the ,bible     
prophecies1 the men of science got even 
with him4 ,sir ,isaac ,newton defended  
the literal inspiration of the          
,scriptures and was a consistent member 
of the ,church of ,england4 ,doctor     
,johnson was unhappy all day if he      

didn't touch every tenth picket of the  
fence with his cane as he walked        
downtown4  ,blackstone1 the great legal 
commentator1 believed in witchcraft1 and
 bolstered his belief by citing the     
,scriptural text1 ,thou shalt not suffer
 a witch to live--thus proving ,moses a 
party to the superstition4 ,sir ,matthew
 ,hale1 ,chief ,justice of ,england1 did
 the same4  ,gladstone was a great      
statesman1 and yet he believed in the   
,mosaic account of ,creation1 just as   
did ,mary ,baker ,eddy4  ,john ,adams   
was a rebel from political slavery1 but 
lived and died a worthy ,churchman1     
subsisting on canned theology--and      
canned in ,england1 at that4  ,franklin 
and ,jefferson were rebels from both    
political and theological despotism1 but
 looked leniently on leeches and        
apothecaries4 ,herbert ,spencer had a   
free mind as regards religion1 politics1
 economics and sociology2 yet he was a  
bachelor1 lived in the city1 belonged to
 a club1 played billiards and smoked    

cigars4 ,physical health was out of his 
reach1 and with all his vast knowledge1 
he never knew why4 ,all through history 
we find violence and gentleness1        
ignorance and wisdom1 folly and         
shrewdness side by side in the same     
person4  ,the one common thing in       
humanity is inconsistency4 ,to account  
for it were vain4 ,we know only that it 
is4         99       99       99        
99       99  ,the very boldness of ,mrs4
 ,eddy's claims created an impetus that 
carried conviction4  ,the woman         
certainly believed in herself1 and she  
also believed in the ,power1 of which   
she was a necessary part1 that works for
 righteousness4 ,she repudiated the     
supernatural1 not by denying miracles1  
but by holding that the so-called       
miracles of the ,bible really occurred  
and were perfectly natural--all         
according to ,natural ,law1 which is the
 ,divine ,law4  ,and the explanation of 
this ,divine ,law was her particular    
business4 ,thus did she win to her side 

those who were too timid in constitution
 to forsake forms and ceremonies and    
stand alone on the broad ground of      
,rationalism4  ,christian ,science is   
not a religion of fight1 stress and     
struggle4 ,isn't it better to relax and 
rest and allow ,divinity to flow through
 us1 than to sit on a sharp rail and    
call the passer-by names in falsetto8   
,may ,irwin's motto1 ,don't ,argufy1    
isn't so bad as a working maxim1 after  
all4  ,all ,christian denominations are 
very much alike4 ,their differences are 
microscopic1 and recognized only by     
those who are immersed in them4 ,martin 
,luther only softened the expression of 
the ,roman ,catholic ,church--he did not
 change its essence4  ,benjamin         
,franklin declared that he could not    
tell the difference between a ,catholic 
and an ,episcopalian4 ,but ,christian   
,science is a complete departure from   
all other denominations1 and while      
professing to be ,christian1 is really  
something else1 or if it is ,christian1 

then orthodoxy is not4  ,christian      
,science strikes right at the root of   
orthodoxy1 since it divides the power of
 ,jesus with ,mary ,baker ,eddy and     
affirms that ,jesus was not ,the        
,savior1 but ,a ,savior4  ,this is the  
position of ,thomas ,paine1 and all     
other good radicals4 ,christian ,science
 places ,mrs4 ,eddy's work right        
alongside of the ,bible4 ,no            
denomination has ever put out a volume  
stating that the book was required in   
order to make the ,bible intelligible4  
,no denomination has ever put forth a   
person as the equal of ,jesus4 ,this has
 only been done by unbelievers1 atheists
 and free-thinkers4  ,christianity is at
 last attacked in its own house and by  
its own household4 ,it is thoroughly    
understood and admitted everywhere that 
there are two kinds of ,christianity4   
,one is the kind taught by the          
,nazarene2 and the other is the         
institutional variety1 made up of       
denominations which hold millions upon  

millions of dollars' worth of property  
without taxation1 and parade their      
ritual with rich and costly millinery4  
,the one was lived by a ,man who had not
 where to lay ,his head2 and the other  
is an acquirement taken over from pagan 
,rome1 and continued largely in its     
pagan form even unto this day4          
,christian ,science is neither one nor  
the other1 and the obvious pleasantry   
that it is neither ,christian nor       
scientific is a jest in earnest4        
,christian ,science is a modern         
adaptation of all that is best in the   
simplicity and asceticism of ,jesus1 the
 commonsense philosophy of ,benjamin    
,franklin1 the mysticism of ,swedenborg1
 and the bold pronunciamento of ,robert 
,ingersoll4 ,it is a religion of        
affirmation with a denial-of-matter     
attachment4  ,it is a religion of this  
world4 ,jesus was a ,man of ,sorrows but
 ,mary ,baker ,eddy was a ,daughter of  
,joy4  ,and as the universal good sense 
of mankind holds that the best          

preparation for a life to come1 if there
 is one1 is to make the best of this1   
,christian ,science is meeting with a   
fast-growing popular acceptance4  ,the  
decline of the old orthodoxy is owing to
 its clinging to the fallacy that the   
world's work is base1 and ,nature is a  
trickster luring us to our doom4 ,mrs4  
,eddy reconciled the old idea with the  
new and made it mentally palatable4 ,and
 this is the reason why ,christian      
,science is going to sweep the earth and
 in twenty years will have but one      
competitor1 the ,roman ,catholic faith4 
,orthodoxy1 blind1 blundering1 stubborn1
 senile1 is tottering--the undertaker is
 at the door4 ,indeed1 the old idea of  
our orthodox friends that they were     
preparing to die1 was literally true4   
,the undertaker's name and business     
address attached to the front of many a 
city church is a sign too subtle to     
overlook4 ,not only was the undertaker a
 partner of the priest1 but he is now   
foreclosing his claim4 ,christian       

,science is not final4 ,after it has    
lived its day1 another religion will    
follow1 and that is the ,religion of    
,commonsense1 the esoteric religion     
which ,mrs4 ,eddy herself lived and     
practised4  ,as for her believers1 she  
gave them the religion of a ,book--two  
,books1 the ,bible and ,science and     
,health4 ,they want form and ritual and 
temples4  ,she gave them these things1  
just as doctors give sweetened water to 
people who still demand medicine2 and as
 if to supply the zealous converts1 just
 out of orthodoxy1 their fill of        
ecclesiastic husks1 she built fine      
churches--churches rivaling the         
far-famed ,san ,salute of ,venice4 ,let 
them have their wish6 ,paganism is in   
their blood--they are even trying to    
worship her6  ,let them go on and       
eventually they will pray not in temples
 nor on this or that mountain1 but in   
spirit and in truth1 just as did ,mrs4  
,eddy1 one of the world's most          
successful women4         99       99   

99       99       99  ,christian        
,science is orthodox ,christianity1     
minus medical fetish and the fear that a
 belief in sin1 sickness1 death and     
eternal punishment naturally lends1 plus
 the joy of a natural1 healthy1 human   
life4 ,the so-called rational ,christian
 sects preserve their ,devil in the form
 of a ,doctor1 and ,hell in the shape of
 a ,hospital4  ,my hope and expectation 
is that ,christian ,science will become 
a ,rational ,religion instead of a      
one-man institution1 or a religion of   
authority1 such as it now is4 ,its      
superstitious features have doubtless   
been strong factors in its rapid        
growth--serving as stays or stocks to   
aid in the launching4  ,but now1 the    
sooner the ship floats free the better4 
,christian ,scientists1 being men and   
women1 can not continue to grow if      
fettered with an ,index ,expurgatorius  
and mandatory edicts and encyclicals4   
,that which binds and manacles must     
go--the good will remain4  ,christian   

,science brings good news1 and good news
 is always curative4 ,mrs4 ,eddy        
animated her patients with a new        
thought--the thought of harmony1 the    
denial of disease1 and the affirmation  
that ,god is good and life is beautiful4
 ,the animation thus produced is in     
itself the most powerful healing        
principle known to science4 ,life is    
born of love4 ,joy is a prophylactic4   
,christian ,science comes to the student
 as a great flood of light4 ,his        
circulation becomes normal1 his muscles 
relax1 the nerves rest1 digestion acts1 
elimination takes place--and the person 
is well4  ,fear has congested the       
organs--love1 hope and faith place them 
in an attitude so ,nature plays through 
them4 ,the patient is healed4 ,in it    
there is neither mystery nor miracle4   
,it is all very simple4  ,let us rid    
ourselves of a belief in the strange and
 occult6 ,the ,christian ,science       
organization is an expediency4 ,it is an
 intellectual crutch4 ,the book is a    

necessity4 ,it is a scaffolding4 ,yet he
 who mistakes the scaffolding for the   
edifice is a specialist in scaffolding4 
,truth can never be caught and          
crystallized in a formula4 ,also this3  
truth can never be monopolized by an ite
 or an ist4 ,eventually the label will  
be eliminated with the scaffolding1 and 
the lumber of ritual and rite will have 
to go4  ,we will live truth instead of  
talking about it4 ,among ,christian     
,scientists there are no drunkards1     
paupers or gamblers4 ,also1 there are no
 sick people4 ,to them sickness is a    
disgrace4  ,orthodox ,christians get    
sick and gratify their sense of         
approbation by receiving pastoral calls 
and visits from the doctor and          
neighbors4 ,the biblical injunction to  
visit the sick was never followed by    
,mrs4 ,eddy--she always decided for     
herself just what injunctions should be 
waived and what followed4  ,those which 
she did not like she interpreted        
spiritually or else glided over4 ,the   

biblical statement that man's days are  
few and full of trouble1 and also the   
assertion that man is prone to          
wickedness as the sparks fly upwards1   
are both very conveniently glossed4     
,christian ,scientists know the rules of
 health1 just as most people do2 but    
what is more1 they follow them1 thus    
avoiding the disgrace of being pointed  
out4 ,they have made sickness not only  
tabu1 but invalidism ridiculous4  ,when 
things become absurd and preposterous1  
we abandon them4 ,unpopularity can do   
what logic is helpless to bring about4  
,the reasoning of ,christian ,scientists
 is bad1 but their intuitions are right4
  ,while denying the existence of       
matter1 no people on earth are as canny1
 save possibly the ,quakers4 ,a         
bank-balance to a ,christian ,scientist 
is no barren ideality4 ,it is like      
falsehood to a ,jesuit--a very present  
help in time of trouble4 ,sin1 to them1 
consists in making too much fuss about  
life and talking about death4 ,do what  

you want and forget it4 ,quit talking   
about the weather1 night air1 miasma4   
,knowingly or unknowingly ,christian    
,scientists cultivate resiliency4 ,they 
are proof against drafts and microbes4  
,eat what you like1 but not too much of 
it4 ,be moderate4 ,christian ,scientists
 get their joy out of their work4 ,this 
is essentially hygienic4 ,they breathe  
deeply1 eat moderately1 bathe           
plentifully1 work industriously--and    
smile4 ,this is all sternly scientific4 
,it can never be argued down4  ,no      
school of medicine has ever offered a   
prophylactic equal to work and          
good-cheer1 and no system of religion   
has ever offered a working formula for  
health1 happiness and success equal to  
that launched by ,mrs4 ,eddy4 ,the      
science of medicine is a science of     
palliation4  ,christian ,scientists     
avoid the cause of sickness1 and thus   
keep well4  ,there is no vitality in    
drugs4 ,nature cures--obey her4 ,in this
 matter of bodily health just a few     

plain rules suffice4 ,and these rules1  
fairly followed1 soon grow into a       
pleasurable habit4 ,fortunately1 we do  
not have to oversee our digestion1 our  
circulation1 the work of the millions of
 pores that form the skin1 or the action
 of the nerves4 ,folks who get fussy    
about their digestion and assume        
personal charge of their nerves have    
nerves and are apt to have no digestion4
  ,i have a pain in my side1 said the   
woman who had no money to the busy      
doctor4 ,forget it1 was the curt advice4
 ,get the ,health ,habit1 and forget it4
  ,this is the quintessence of          
,christian ,science4 ,your mental       
attitude controls your body4 ,happiness 
is your health4 ,there is no devil but  
fear4 ,as a man thinketh in his heart1  
so is he4         99       99       99  
99       99  ,,so ,,here ,,endeth       
,,little ,,journeys ,,to ,,the ,,homes  
,,of ,,great ,,teachers1 ,,being        
,,volume ,,ten ,,of ,,the ,,series1 ,,as
 ,,written ,,by ,,elbert ,,hubbard2     

,,edited ,,and ,,arranged ,,by ,,fred   
,,bann2 ,,borders ,,and ,,initials ,,by 
,,roycroft ,,artists1 ,,and ,,produced  
,,by ,,the ,,roycrofters1 ,,at ,,their  
,,shops1 ,,which ,,are ,,in ,,east      
,,aurora1 ,,erie ,,county1 ,,new ,,york1
 ,,mcmxxii