,,the ,,essentials ,,of ,,spirituality  
by ,felix ,adler  ,the ,essentials of   
,spirituality  ,the first essential is  
an awakening1 a sense of the absence of 
spirituality1 the realized need of      
giving to our lives a new and higher    
quality2 first there must be the hunger 
before there can be the satisfaction4   
,similar effects are often produced by  
widely differing processes4 ,in the     
psychical world that quality which we   
call spirituality may be associated with
 and evoked by ,theism1 or the belief in
 a ,divine ,father2 by ,pantheism1 as in
 the case of ,spinoza1 whose face at the
 very first glance impresses you with   
its spiritual cast2 or even by the      
,buddhist belief in ,nirvana4 ,it may   
also be attained by following the       
precepts and striving after the ideals  
of ,ethical ,culture4 ,for spirituality 
is not indissolubly associated with any 
one type of religion or philosophy2 it  
is a quality of soul manifesting itself 
in a variety of activities and beliefs4 

,before we proceed further1 however1 we 
must hazard a definition of the word4   
,in the region of mental activity which 
is called the spiritual life vagueness  
is apt to prevail1 the outlines of      
thought are apt to be blurred1 the      
feelings aroused are apt to be          
indistinct and transitory4 ,the word    
'spiritual' becomes a synonym of muddy  
thought and misty emotionalism4 ,if     
there were another word in the language 
to take its place1 it would be well to  
use it4 ,but there is not4 ,we must use 
the word 'spiritual1' despite its       
associations and its abuse4 ,we shall   
endeavor1 however1 to attach a distinct 
and definite meaning to the word4 ,mere 
definition1 however1 is too abstract and
 nakedly intellectual4 ,perhaps a       
description of some types of character1 
combined with definition1 will be the   
better way4  ,savonarola is surely one  
of the commanding figures in history4   
,his fiery earnestness1 his passion for 
righteousness1 the boldness with which  

he censured the corruptions of the      
,roman ,court1 the personal qualities by
 which he--a foreigner and a mere       
monk--made himself for a short period   
the lawgiver1 the prophet1 and virtually
 the dictator of ,florence--that        
,florence which was at the time the very
 gemmary of the ,renaissance--his sudden
 fall and tragic death2 all combine to  
attract toward him our admiration1 pity1
 and love1 and to leave upon our minds  
the impression of his extraordinary     
moral genius4 ,and yet1 though a        
spiritual side was not wanting in       
,savonarola1 we should not quote him as 
an outstanding exemplar of spirituality4
 ,the spiritual life is unperturbed and 
serene4 ,his nature was too passionate1 
he was too vehement in his philippics1  
too deeply engrossed in the attainment  
of immediate results1 too stormy a soul 
to deserve the name of spiritual4       
,again1 our own ,washington is one of   
the commanding figures in history4 ,he  
achieved the great task which he set    

himself2 he secured the political       
independence of ,america4 ,he became the
 master builder of a nation2 he laid    
securely the foundations on which       
succeeding generations have built4 ,he  
was calm1 too1 with rare exceptions2 an 
expert in self-control4 ,but there was  
mingled with his calmness a certain     
coldness4 ,he was lofty and pure1 but we
 should hardly go to him for instruction
 in the interior secrets of the         
spiritual life4 ,his achievements were  
in another field4 ,his claim to our     
gratitude rests on other grounds4 ,the  
spiritual life is calm1 but serenely    
calm2 irradiated by a fervor and a depth
 of feeling that were to some extent    
lacking in our first president4         
,lincoln1 perhaps1 came nearer to       
possessing them4  ,again1 we have such  
types of men as ,john ,howard1 the      
prison reformer1 and ,george ,peabody1  
who devoted his great fortune to        
bettering the housing of the poor and to
 multiplying and improving schools4     

,these men--especially the latter--were 
practical and sane1 and were prompted in
 their endeavors by an active and tender
 benevolence4 ,yet we should scarcely   
think of them as conspicuous examples of
 the spiritual quality in human life and
 conduct4 ,benevolence1 be it never so  
tender and practical1 does not reach the
 high mark of spirituality4             
,spirituality is more than benevolence  
in the ordinary sense of the term4 ,the 
spiritual man is benevolent to a signal 
degree1 but his benevolence is of a     
peculiar kind4 ,it is characterized by a
 certain serene fervor which we may     
almost call saintliness4  ,but perhaps  
some one may object that a standard by  
which personalities like ,savonarola1   
,washington1 ,howard and ,peabody fall  
short is probably set too high1 and that
 in any case the erection of such a     
standard cannot be very helpful to the  
common run of human beings4 ,where these
 heroic natures fall short1 can you and 
,i hope to attain8 ,to such an objection

 the reply is that we cannot be too     
fastidious or exacting in respect to our
 standard1 however poor our performance 
may be4 ,nothing less than a kind of    
divine completeness should ever content 
us4 ,furthermore1 there have been some  
men who approached nearer to the        
spiritual ideal than the patriots and   
the philanthropists just mentioned--some
 few men among the ,greeks1 the ,hindus1
 and the ,hebrews4 ,and for the guidance
 of conduct1 these more excellent       
spirits avail us more than the examples 
of a ,savonarola1 a ,washington or a    
,howard4 ,to be a prophet or the        
lawgiver of a nation is not within your 
province and mine4 ,for such a task     
hardly one among millions has the       
opportunity or the gifts4 ,to be        
liberators of their country has been    
accorded in all the ages thus far       
covered by human history to so small a  
number of men that one might count them 
on the fingers of a single hand4 ,even  
to be philanthropists on a large scale  

is the restricted privilege of a very   
few4 ,but to lead the spiritual life is 
possible to you and me if we choose to  
do so4 ,the best is within the reach of 
all1 or it would not be the best4 ,every
 one is permitted to share life's       
highest good4  ,the spiritual life1     
then1 may be described by its           
characteristic marks of serenity1 a     
certain inwardness1 a measure of        
saintliness4 ,by the latter we are not  
to understand merely the aspiration     
after virtue or after a lofty ideal1    
still pursued and still eluding1 but to 
a certain extent the embodiment of this 
ideal in the life--virtue become a      
normal experience like the inhalation   
and exhalation of breath6 ,moreover1 the
 spiritually-minded seem always to be   
possessed of a great secret4 ,this air  
of interior knowledge1 of the perception
 of that which is hidden from the       
uninitiated1 is a common mark of all    
refinement1 aesthetic as well as moral4 
,in studying the face of ,leonardo da   

,vinci's ',mona ,lisa1' for instance1   
one will find that it is this interior  
insight that explains the so-called     
cryptic smile4 ,in the case of aesthetic
 refinement1 the secret discloses itself
 as at bottom delicacy1 the delicacy    
which prevents intrusion on the         
personality of others2 which abhors a   
prying curiosity2 which finds subtle    
ways of conveying esteem and delicate   
modes of rendering service4 ,but the    
secret of moral refinement is of a far  
higher order1 transcending aesthetic    
refinement by as much as goodness is    
superior to mere charm4 ,the secret in  
this case consists in the insight       
vouchsafed to the spiritually-minded of 
the true end of human existence4        
,constituted as we are1 there exist for 
us lower and higher ends4 ,this         
distinction is fundamental for ethics4  
,food is necessary2 without it we cannot
 live4 ,but the getting of food--however
 necessary--is a lower end4 ,knowledge  
is a necessary end1 and a higher one4   

,the practical moral ends1 such as the  
reformation of prisons1 the improvement 
of the dwellings of the poor1 are yet   
higher ends4 ,but above all these is the
 highest end1 that of moral             
completeness1 of perfection1 not in one 
particular but in every particular4     
,spirituality consists in always keeping
 in view this supreme end4 ,the         
spiritually-minded person is one who    
regards whatever he undertakes from the 
point of view of its hindering or       
furthering his attainment of the supreme
 end4 ,if a river had a consciousness   
like the human consciousness1 we might  
imagine that it hears the murmur of the 
distant sea from the very moment when it
 leaves its source1 and that the murmur 
grows clearer and clearer as the river  
flows on its way1 welcoming every       
tributary it receives as adding to the  
volume which it will contribute to the  
sea1 rejoicing at every turn and bend in
 its long course that brings it nearer  
to its goal4 ,such is the consciousness 

of a spiritually-minded human being4 ,or
 to take a simile from human experience4
 ,there are times when we go abroad to  
travel just for change of scenery and   
the refreshment which change brings with
 it4 ,when we go in this mood we are    
likely to be intent on wayside          
pleasures1 and at every stage of the    
journey1 at every town where we halt1 we
 shall suffer ourselves to be engrossed 
in the points of interest which that    
temporary abiding-place has to offer us1
 careless of what may await us farther  
on4 ,but there are other times when we  
go abroad on serious business4 ,some    
congress of scientists or fellow-workers
 is to meet in which we are to take our 
part2 or there is a conflict being waged
 in which we are to bear our share of   
wounds or death1 as in the case of the  
,japanese1 who are now setting out from 
their homes toward the battlefields of  
,manchuria2 or there is some loved one  
at a distance who needs us1 calls us1   
expects us4 ,then the stations on the   

way are unable to captivate our         
attention2 we are impatient to pass them
 by2 we welcome each one as we approach 
it as bringing us one step nearer to the
 desired goal4  ,some such analogy will 
help us understand the inner state of a 
spiritually-minded person4 ,he thinks   
always of the ultimate end4 ,in whatever
 he does or omits to do he asks himself1
 ,will it advance me or divert me from  
the ultimate goal8 ,since spirituality  
consists in keeping in mind the ultimate
 goal1 it follows1 in accordance with   
what was said in the beginning1 that    
there must be various types of          
spirituality1 corresponding to the      
various ways in which the ultimate goal 
is conceived4 ,for those to whom the    
final end of human life is union with   
,god1 the ,divine ,father1 the thought  
of this ,divine ,father gives color and 
complexion to their spiritual life4     
,they think of ,him when they lie down  
at night and when they rise up in the   
morning2 his praise is ever on their    

lips2 the desire to win his approbation 
is with them in all their undertakings4 
,to those who regard the attainment of  
,nirvana as the supreme end1 like the   
,buddhists1 the thought of ,nirvana is a
 perpetual admonition4 ,to those who    
view the supreme end of life as moral   
perfection1 the thought of that         
perfection is the constant inner        
companion4 ,the moral man1 commonly     
so-called2 the man who is honest1 pays  
his debts1 performs his duties to his   
family2 the man who works for specific  
objects1 such as political reform2 this 
man1 worthy of all respect though he be1
 is still intent on the stages of his   
journey4 ,the spiritual man1 as we must 
now define him from the point of view of
 ,ethical ,culture1 is the man who      
always thinks of the ultimate goal of   
his journey1 i4 e41 a moral character   
complete in every particular1 and who is
 influenced by that thought at all times
 and in all things4 ,spirituality1 in   
this conception of it1 is nothing but   

morality raised to its highest power4   
,and now1 let us ask what are some of   
the conditions on which the attainment  
of such a life depends4 ,the prime      
condition is to acquire the habit of    
ever and anon detaching one's self from 
one's accustomed interests and pursuits1
 becoming1 as it were1 a spectator of   
one's self and one's doings1 escaping   
from the sweeping current and standing  
on the shore4 ,for this purpose it is   
advisable to consecrate certain times1  
preferably a certain time each day1 to  
self-recollection2 to dedicate an       
hour--or a half-hour1 if no more can be 
spared--to seeing one's life in all its 
relations2 that is1 as the poet has put 
it1 to seeing life steadily and seeing  
it whole4 ,the sane view is to see      
things in their relation to other       
things2 the non-sane view is to see them
 isolated1 in such a way that they      
exercise a kind of hypnotic spell over  
us4 ,and it makes no difference what a  
man's habitual interests may be1 whether

 they be sordid or lofty1 he needs ever 
and anon to get away from them4 ,in     
reality1 nothing wherewith a man        
occupies himself need be sordid4 ,the   
spiritual attitude does not consist in  
turning one's back on things mundane and
 fixing one's gaze on some supernal     
blaze of glory1 but rather in seeing    
things mundane in their relation to     
things ultimate1 perfect4  ,the eating  
of bread is surely a sufficiently       
commonplace operation4 ,yet ,jesus brake
 bread with his disciples in such way   
that that simple act has become the     
symbol of sublimely spiritual relations1
 the centre of the most august rite of  
the ,christian ,church4 ,in like manner 
the act of sitting down to an ordinary  
meal with the members of our family may1
 if seen in its relations1 be for us a  
spiritual consecration4 ,the common meal
 may become for us the type of the      
common life we share1 the common love we
 bear4  ,on the other hand1 seemingly   
much more lofty pursuits may have a     

narrowing and deadening effect on us if 
we do not see them in their ultimate    
relations1 and so divest them of        
reference to life's highest end4 ,for   
instance1 the pursuit of science may    
have this effect1 if the sole object of 
the scientist be to perform some        
astonishing piece of work for the       
purpose of attracting attention or to   
secure a well-salaried position1 or even
 if he be so wedded to his specialty as 
to fail to be sensitive to the relations
 of it to the body of truth in general4 
,and the same holds good of the         
narrow-minded reformer1 of whom ,emerson
 has said that his virtue so painfully  
resembles vice2 the man who puts a moral
 idol in the place of the moral ideal1  
who erects into the object toward which 
all his enthusiasm goes some particular 
reform1 such as the single tax1 or      
socialism1 or public parks1 or a model  
school2 the man1 in short1 who strives  
for a good instead of striving for      
goodness4 ,whatever our pursuits may be1

 we should often mentally detach        
ourselves from them1 and1 standing aloof
 as impartial spectators1 consider the  
direction in which they are taking us4  
,this counsel is frequently urged on    
grounds of health1 since the wear and   
tear of too intense absorption in any   
pursuit is apt to wreck the nervous     
system4 ,i urge it on the ground of     
mental sanity1 since a man cannot       
maintain his mental poise if he follows 
the object of his devotion singly1      
without seeing it in relation to other  
objects4 ,and ,i urge it also on the    
ground of spirituality1 for a salient   
characteristic of spirituality is       
calmness1 and without the mental repose 
which comes of detachment we cannot     
import calmness into our lives4 ,there  
are some persons1 notably among those   
engaged in philanthropic activities1 who
 glory in being completely engrossed in 
their tasks1 and who hug a secret sense 
of martyrdom1 when late at night1       
perhaps worn out in mind and body1 they 

throw themselves upon their couch to    
snatch a few hours of insufficient      
sleep4 ,great occasions1 of course1 do  
occur when every thought of self should 
be effaced in service2 but as a rule1   
complete absorption in philanthropic    
activity is as little sane and as little
 moral as complete absorption in the    
race for gain4 ,the tired and worn-out  
worker cannot do justice to others1 nor 
can he do justice to that inner self    
whose demands are not satisfied even by 
philanthropic activity4 ,if1 then1      
self-recollection is essential1 let us  
make daily provision for it4 ,some      
interest we should have--even worldly   
prudence counsels this much--as far     
remote as possible from our leading     
interest2 and beyond that1 some book    
belonging to the world's great spiritual
 literature on which we may daily feed4 
,the ,bible used to be in the old days  
all-sufficient for this purpose1 and it 
is still1 in part at least1 an admirable
 aid to those who know how to use it4   

,but there are other books1 such as the 
legacy of the great ,stoics1 the        
writings of our latter-day prophets1 the
 essays of ,arnold and ,carlyle and     
,emerson1 the wisdom of ,goethe4 ,these 
noble works1 even if they do not wholly 
satisfy us1 serve to set our thoughts in
 motion about high concerns1 and give to
 the mind a spiritual direction4  ,a    
second condition of the spiritual life  
has been expressed in the precept1      
reiterated in many religions1 by many   
experts in things relating to the life  
of the soul3 ,live as if this hour were 
thy last4 ,you will recall1 as ,i       
pronounce these words1 the memento mori 
of the ,ancients1 their custom of       
exhibiting a skeleton at the feast1 in  
order to remind the banqueters of the   
fate that awaited them4 ,you will       
remember the other-worldliness of       
,christian monks and ascetics who       
decried this pleasant earth as a vale of
 tears1 and endeavored to fix the       
attention of their followers upon the   

pale joys of the ,christian heaven1 and 
you will wonder1 perhaps1 that ,i should
 be harking back to these conceptions of
 the past4 ,i have1 however1 no such    
intention4  ,the prevailing attitude    
toward the thought of death is that of  
studied neglect4 ,men wish to face it as
 little as possible4 ,we know1 of       
course1 what the fate is that awaits us4
 ,we know what are the terms of the     
compact4 ,now and again we are          
momentarily struck by the pathos of it  
all2 for instance1 when we walk through 
some crowded thoroughfare on a bright   
day and reflect that before many years  
this entire multitude will have         
disappeared4 ,the rosy-cheeked girl who 
has just passed2 the gay young fellow at
 her side1 full of his hopes1 confident 
of his achievements1 acting and speaking
 as if the lease of eternity were his2  
that grave and reverend seigneur1 clad  
with dignity and authority--all will    
have gone1 and others will have taken   
their places4 ,yet1 as a rule1 we are   

not much affected by such reflections4  
,when one of our friends has met with a 
painless death we are apt to solace     
ourselves with the hope that perhaps we 
shall be as lucky as he2 at all events1 
we know that when our time comes we must
 take our turn4 ,even those who look    
forward with apprehension to the last   
moment1 and who when it approaches1     
cling desperately to life1 are prudent  
enough to hold their peace4 ,there is a 
general understanding that those who go 
shall not mar the composure of those who
 stay1 and that public decorum shall not
 be disturbed by outcries4  ,this is the
 baldly secular view of the matter1 and 
this view1 though based on low          
considerations1 in some respects is     
sound enough4 ,and yet ,i reiterate the 
opinion that to live as if this hour    
were our last--in other words1 to       
frankly face the idea of death--is most 
conducive to the spiritual life4 ,it is 
for the sake of the reflex action upon  
life that the practice of coming to a   

right understanding with death is so    
valuable4 ,take the case of a man who   
calls on his physician1 and there       
unexpectedly discovers that he is       
afflicted with a fatal malady1 and is   
told that he may have only a few months 
longer to live4 ,this visit to the      
physician has changed the whole         
complexion of life for him4 ,what will  
be the effect upon him8 ,if he be a     
sane1 strong1 morally high-bred man1 the
 effect will be ennobling2 it will      
certainly not darken the face of nature 
for him4 ,matthew ,arnold wished that   
when he died he might be placed at the  
open window1 that he might see the sun  
shining on the landscape1 and catch at  
evening the gleam of the rising star4   
,everything that is beautiful in the    
world will still be beautiful2 he will  
thankfully accept the last draught of   
the joy which nature has poured into his
 goblet4 ,everything that is really     
uplifting in human life will have a more
 exquisite and tender message for him4  

,the gayety of children will thrill him 
as never before1 interpreted as a sign  
of the invincible buoyancy of the human 
race1 of that race which will go on     
battling its way after he has ceased to 
live4 ,if he be a man of large business 
connections1 he will still1 and more    
than ever1 be interested in planning how
 what he has begun may be safely        
continued4 ,if he be the father of a    
family1 he will provide with a wise     
solicitude1 as far as possible1 for     
every contingency4 ,he will dispose of  
matters now1 as if he could see what    
will happen after his departure4 ,on the
 other hand1 all that is vain or        
frivolous1 every vile pleasure1         
gambling1 cruelty1 harsh language to    
wife or child1 trickery in business1    
social snobbishness1 all the base traits
 that disfigure human conduct1 he will  
now recoil from with horror1 as being   
incongruous with the solemn realization 
of his condition4 ,the frank facing of  
death1 therefore1 has the effect of     

sifting out the true values of life from
 the false1 the things that are worth   
while from the things that are not worth
 while1 the things that are related to  
the highest end from those related to   
the lower partial ends4 ,the precept1   
,live as if this hour were thy last1 is 
enjoined as a touchstone2 not for the   
purpose of dampening the healthy relish 
of life1 but as a means of enhancing the
 relish for real living1 the kind of    
living that is devoted to things really 
worth while4 ,as such a test it is      
invaluable4 ,the question1 ,should ,i   
care to be surprised by death in what ,i
 am doing now8--put it to the dissipated
 young man in his cups1 put it to the   
respectable rogue--nay1 put it to each  
one of us1 and it will often bring the  
blush of shame to our cheeks4 ,when1    
therefore1 ,i commend the thought of    
death1 ,i think of death not as a grim1 
grisly skeleton1 a ,king of ,terrors1   
but rather as a mighty angel1 holding   
with averted face a wondrous lamp4 ,by  

that lamp--hold it still nearer1 ,o     
,death--,i would read the scripture of  
my life1 and what ,i read in that       
searching light1 that would ,i take to  
heart4  ,finally1 there is a third      
condition of the spiritual life which ,i
 would mention1 and which comes nearer  
to the heart of the matter than anything
 that has yet been said4 ,learn to look 
upon any pains and injuries which you   
may have to endure as you would upon the
 same pains and injuries endured by     
someone else4 ,if sick and suffering1   
remember what you would say to someone  
else who is sick and suffering1 remember
 how you would admonish him that he is  
not the first or the only one that has  
been in like case1 how you would expect 
of him fortitude in bearing pain as an  
evidence of human dignity4 ,exhort      
yourself in like manner2 expect the same
 fortitude of yourself4 ,if any one has 
done you a wrong1 remember what you     
would adduce in palliation of the       
offence if another were in the same     

situation2 remember how you would       
suggest that perhaps the one injured had
 given some provocation to the          
wrongdoer1 how you would perhaps have   
quoted the saying3 ,tout comprendre est 
tout pardonner--to understand is to     
pardon1 how you would in any case have  
condemned vindictive resentment4 ,in the
 moral world each one counts for one and
 not more than one4 ,the judgment that  
you pass on others1 pass on yourself1   
and the fact that you are able to do so1
 that you have the power to rise above  
your subjective self and take the public
 universal point of view with respect to
 yourself1 will give you a wonderful    
sense of enfranchisement and poise and  
spiritual dignity4 ,and1 on the other   
hand 7and this is but the obverse of the
 same rule71 look upon everyone else as 
being from the moral point of view just 
as important as you are2 nay1 realize   
that every human being is but another   
self1 a part of the same spiritual being
 that is in you1 a complement of        

yourself1 a part of your essential      
being4 ,realize the unity that subsists 
between you and your fellow-men1 and    
then your life will be spiritual indeed4
 ,for the highest end with which we must
 be ever in touch1 toward which we must 
be ever looking1 is to make actual that 
unity between ourselves and others of   
which our moral nature is the prophecy4 
,the realization of that unity is the   
goal toward which humanity tends4       
,spirituality depends upon our tutoring 
ourselves to regard the welfare of      
others--moral as well as external--as   
much our concern as our own4 ,what this 
practically means the following         
illustration will indicate4 ,a certain  
bank official1 a man of excellent       
education and of high social standing1  
committed a crime4 ,he allowed himself  
in a moment of lamentable weakness to   
use certain trust funds which had been  
committed to him to cover losses which  
he had sustained4 ,he intended to       
replace what he had taken1 of course1   

but he could not do so1 for he became   
more and more deeply involved4 ,one     
night as he was alone in his office it  
became plain to him that the day of     
reckoning could no longer be put off4   
,he was at the end of his resources4    
,the morrow would bring exposure and    
ruin4 ,then the temptation seized him to
 make away with himself4 ,he had a      
charming wife and two lovely daughters4 
,he was the revered head of the         
household2 in the eyes of his family the
 paragon of honor4 ,he was universally  
esteemed by his friends1 who knew not   
his temptation and his fall4 ,on that   
night in the lonely office he could not 
bear to think of meeting the future1 of 
being exposed as a criminal in the eyes 
of his friends1 of bringing upon his    
family the infamy and the agony of his  
disgrace4 ,should a man in his situation
 be permitted to commit suicide8 ,if we 
were at his elbow should we allow him to
 do so8 ,this question was submitted to 
one of my ,ethics classes4 ,the students

 at first impulsively decided in the    
affirmative1 for they argued1 as many   
do1 that right conduct consists in      
bestowing happiness on others1 and wrong
 conduct in inflicting suffering on     
others2 and now that the man had        
committed the crime1 they maintained he 
could at least relieve those whom he    
loved of his presence by taking himself 
out of their way4 ,true1 someone said1  
the exposure was inevitable in any case1
 and the shock of discovery could not be
 averted2 but we were forced to concede 
that from the point of view of          
suffering1 the pain involved in the     
sudden shock could not be compared to   
the long-drawn-out anguish which would  
result if he continued to live4 ,for    
presently he would forfeit his liberty2 
he would sit as a prisoner in the dock4 
,his wife and daughters1 loyal to their 
duties even toward an unworthy husband  
and father1 would be found at his side4 
,they would hear the whispers1 they     
would see the significant nods1 they    

would endure all the shame4 ,later on1  
when the trial was at an end1 the       
prisoner would stand up to hear the     
verdict4 ,they would still be near him4 
,still later there would be the         
pilgrimage to the prison on the ,hudson4
 ,they would see their beloved husband  
and father in striped garb among the    
scum and refuse of society1 and these   
weary journeys would be repeated during 
long years until his term was over and  
he returned a broken and outcast man to 
what was once a home4 ,could not this   
lamentable issue at least be            
forestalled8 ,but then there came a new 
light into our discussion4 ,one of the  
students suggested that he must face the
 consequences of his wrongdoing1 and    
that one of the consequences is the very
 suffering which he inflicts upon the   
innocent4 ,he must see that day by day4 
,that would be a part of his expiation1 
the purifying fire that may consume the 
dross of his nature4 ,and1 on the other 
hand1 it would be right for the innocent

 to bear1 not the guilt1 but the        
consequences of the guilt of the        
wrongdoer whom they have loved1 whom    
they still love4 ,for this is the holy  
law3 that the other whom we love shall  
be taken into our self as a part of our 
very self1 that in his joy we shall     
rejoice as if his joy were ours1 that in
 his achievements we shall triumph1 that
 in his humiliations we shall be        
humbled1 and that we shall work out his 
redemption by traveling with him the    
hard road that leads out of the dark    
depths upward again to the levels of    
peace and reconciliation4  ,the         
spiritual life depends on               
self-recollection and detachment from   
the rush of life2 it depends on facing  
frankly the thought of death2 it is     
signalized1 especially1 by the          
identification of self with others1 even
 of the guiltless with the guilty4      
,spirituality is sometimes spoken of as 
if it were a kind of moral luxury1 a    
work of supererogation1 a token of      

fastidiousness and over-refinement4 ,it 
is nothing of the sort4 ,spirituality is
 simply morality carried to its farthest
 bounds2 it is not an airy bauble of the
 fancy1 it is of the tough fibre of the 
human heart4   ,,ii4 ,,the ,,spiritual  
,,attitude ,,toward ,,one',s ,,neighbor4
  ,sunday1 ,nov4 #bg1 #aijd4  ,those    
whom we call our neighbors1 our         
fellow-men1 may stand to us in a        
threefold relation4 ,some possess gifts 
far greater than our own1 and in point  
of development are our superiors2 some  
are on the same level2 and some are much
 inferior to us4 ,the spiritual attitude
 toward our neighbor--though always     
governed by the same principle1         
expresses itself in different ways1     
according as our neighbor is related to 
us in one or another of these three     
ways4  ,i recently read a biography of  
,matthew ,arnold1 the author of which   
constantly speaks of himself as         
,arnold's disciple4 ,it is not often    
nowadays that we hear men proclaim      

themselves disciples and glory in their 
discipleship4 ,at the present day the   
tendency is for every one to assert an  
equality with others2 and most persons  
would resent the imputation of          
subordination implied in such a word as 
disciple4 ,and yet the writer in        
question is a self-respecting man1 he is
 thoroughly alive to his dignity1 and he
 has keen and unsparing words for       
certain of the faults of the master whom
 he reveres4 ,he is not blind1 he is not
 wax in the hands of the master1 he does
 not look upon him with undiscerning    
admiration1 and yet he takes toward him 
the reverent attitude--what ,i should   
call the spiritual attitude--for he     
recognizes that this master of his is a 
casket in which nature has deposited a  
treasure of extraordinary value1 that he
 possesses a genius much superior to    
that of others4 ,the loyal disciple is  
concerned that this genius should appear
 in its full potency and in undiminished
 radiance4 ,to this end is the upward   

look1 the appreciation and reverence1   
and to this end also the misgiving and  
the remonstrance when the great man     
deviates from the course which he ought 
to follow4 ,the same attitude of loyalty
 we sometimes find among the disciples  
of great artists1 and the followers of  
great religious teachers4 ,loyalty is a 
virtue which is somewhat underrated at  
the present day4 ,loyalty is not        
debasing1 not unworthy of a             
self-respecting man2 it is but another  
name for the spiritual attitude toward  
those who have a superior genius1 to    
whose height we are lifted by our       
appreciation of them4  ,furthermore1 in 
our spiritual relation toward those who 
occupy about the same plane of          
development with ourselves1 the same    
principle of sympathy with the best     
possible attainment should be the rule4 
,to rejoice in the failure of others1 to
 accentuate in our thinking and in our  
conversation the faults of others1 to   
triumph at their expense1 is the utterly

 unspiritual attitude4 ,to desire that  
others may manifest the excellence that 
is latent in them--be it like to or     
different from our own1 to desire that  
they shall have credit for every        
excellence they possess1 and to         
sedulously aid them in developing such  
excellence as they can attain to1 that  
is the spiritual attitude4  ,i have     
spoken of superiors and equals1 of our  
attitude toward those who are more      
developed than we are1 and toward those 
who are about equally developed2 but my 
address to-day will be mainly occupied  
with our duty toward those who are or   
seem to be wholly undeveloped4 ,the     
fundamental principle of ,ethics is that
 every human being possesses            
indefeasible worth4 ,it is comparatively
 easy to apply the principle of         
anticipating our neighbor's latent      
talents to the highly gifted1 to the    
great authors1 scientists1 statesmen1   
artists1 and even to the moderately     
gifted1 for their worth is1 in part1    

already manifested in their lives4 ,but 
it is not so easy to apply or justify   
the principle in the case of the obscure
 masses1 whose lives are uneventful1    
unilluminated by talent1 charm1 or      
conspicuous service1 and who1 as        
individuals at least1 it might appear1  
could well be spared without impairing  
the progress of the human race4 ,and yet
 this doctrine of the worth of all is   
the cornerstone of our democracy4 ,upon 
it rests the principle of the equal     
rights of even the humblest before the  
law1 the equal right of all to          
participate in the government4 ,it is   
also the cornerstone of all private     
morality2 for unless we accept it1 we   
cannot take the spiritual attitude      
toward those who are undeveloped4  ,the 
doctrine1 then1 that every man possesses
 indefeasible worth is the basis of     
public morality1 and at the same time   
the moral principle by which our private
 relations to our fellow-men are        
regulated4 ,what does it mean to ascribe

 indefeasible worth to every man8 ,it   
means1 for instance1 that human beings  
may not be hunted and killed in sport as
 hunters kill birds or other game2 that 
human beings may not be devoured for    
food as they have been by cannibals or  
sometimes by men in starvation camps    
when hard pressed by hunger2 that human 
beings may not be forced to work without
 pay1 or in any way treated as mere     
tools or instruments for the            
satisfaction of the desires of others4  
,this1 and more to the same purpose1 is 
implied in the ascription of            
indefeasible worth to every man4        
,moreover1 on the same principle1 it    
follows that it is morally wrong to     
deprive another of the property which he
 needs for his livelihood or for the    
expression of his personality1 and to   
blast the reputation of another--thereby
 destroying what may be called his      
social existence4 ,and it also follows  
that a society is morally most          
imperfect1 the conditions of which are  

such that many lives are indirectly     
sacrificed because of the lack of       
sufficient food1 and that many persons  
are deprived of their property through  
cunning and fraud4 ,the life of animals 
we do take1 and whatever secret         
compunction we may have in the matter1  
the most confirmed vegetarian will not  
regard himself in the light of a        
cannibal when he partakes of animal     
food4 ,the liberty of animals we do     
abridge without scruple2 we harness     
horses to our carriages1 regardless of  
what may be their inclinations1 and we  
do not regard ourselves as slaveholders 
when we thus use them4 ,why is there    
this enormous distinction between       
animals and men8 ,are the ,hottentots so
 greatly elevated above the animal      
level2 are the lowest classes of negroes
 so much superior in intelligence to    
animals8 ,have the black race and the   
brown race any claim to be treated as   
the equals of the white8 ,among white   
men themselves is there not a similar   

difference between inferiors and        
superiors8 ,such questions naturally    
suggest themselves2 and they have been  
asked at all times4 ,it seems obvious   
that value should be ascribed to those  
who possess genius or even talent1 or at
 least average intelligence2 but why    
should value be ascribed to every human 
being just because he wears the human   
form8  ,the positive belief in human    
worth on which is based the belief in   
human equality1 so far as it has rooted 
itself in the world at all1 we owe to   
religion1 and more particularly to the  
,hebrew and ,christian religions4 ,the  
,hebrew ,bible says3 ,in the image of   
,god did ,he create man--it is this     
,god-likeness that to the ,hebrew mind  
attests the worth of man4 ,as some of   
the great masters on completing a       
painting have placed a miniature        
portrait of themselves by way of        
signature below their work1 so the great
 ,world-,artist when ,he had created the
 human soul stamped it with the likeness

 of ,himself to attest its divine       
origin4 ,and the greatest of the ,hebrew
 thinkers conceived of this dignity as  
belonging to all human beings alike1    
irrespective of race or creed4 ,in      
practice1 however1 the idea of equal    
human worth was more or less limited to 
the ,chosen ,people4 ,at least1 to keep 
within the bounds of the artistic       
simile1 the members of the ,hebrew      
people were regarded as first-proof     
copies1 and other men as somewhat dim   
and less perfect duplicates4  ,in the   
,christian religion a new idea was      
introduced4 ,the belief in the worth of 
man was founded on the doctrine of      
redemption4 ,the sacrifice of atonement 
had been offered up for the benefit of  
all persons who chose to avail          
themselves of it4 ,christ had come to   
save the ,gentile as well as the ,jew1  
the bond as well as the free1 men1 women
 and children of every race1 living     
under every sky1 of every color of skin 
and degree of intelligence4 ,the sacred 

respect which we owe to every human     
being is due from this point of view to 
the circumstance that every human being 
is a possible beneficiary of the        
,atonement4 ,for him too--as the        
theological phrase is--,christ died upon
 the cross4 ,but in ,christianity too we
 find that the idea of brotherhood1 of  
equal worth1 universal as it is in      
theory1 in practice came to be          
considerably restricted4 ,it did not    
really extend to all human beings as    
such2 it did not extend to those who    
refused to be the beneficiaries of the  
act of atonement4 ,in reality1 it       
applied only to ,christians or to those 
who were not averse to receiving the    
,christian faith4 ,the theological      
formulation of the fundamental idea     
which we are discussing1 therefore1 is  
beset by two difficulties3 it is limited
 in application1 and it is based on     
theological conceptions4 ,as soon as    
these theological conceptions are       
relinquished1 the doctrine of equality  

is in danger of being abandoned4  ,in   
#aggf1 the founders of the ,american    
,republic undertook to supply a new and 
a secular foundation for this doctrine4 
,in the ,declaration of ,independence1  
,jefferson wrote3 ,we hold these truths 
to be self-evident1 that all men are    
created free and equal4 ,in other words1
 he put forth the astonishing           
proposition that human equality is      
self-evident4 ,many of us would incline 
to the opinion that the opposite is     
self-evident1 that the inequalities     
which subsist between men are so        
palpable that we cannot overlook them4  
,if1 however1 we inquire what led       
,jefferson to this statement1 we shall  
find that1 at the time when the         
,declaration of ,independence was       
written1 there existed a basis of fact  
that gave color to his assumption4 ,the 
population of the ,united ,colonies was 
small--only about three millions--and on
 the whole homogeneous4 ,the great      
majority of the people were             

agriculturists1 pursuing the same       
occupations and on the whole exhibiting 
the same traits4 ,they were all1 or     
almost all1 of vigorous stock1 capable  
of self-government1 jealous of their    
rights1 independent in spirit4 ,at that 
particular time1 the points of          
similarity and equality among the       
members of the ,american ,colonies far  
outweighed the points of dissimilarity4 
,it was1 then1 to a certain extent on   
facts of experience1 and not entirely on
 the hypothesis of the eighteenth       
century philosophy1 that ,jefferson's   
famous proclamation rested4  ,since     
,jefferson's day the facts have markedly
 changed4 ,we have passed beyond the    
agricultural stage1 and have entered the
 stage of industrial development4 ,the  
occupations of our citizens have become 
greatly diversified4 ,large bodies of   
foreign immigrants have come to us4 ,if 
we survey the conditions of ,american   
life at present1 we are strongly        
impressed with the differences that     

exist between the various strata of our 
population3 differences in mental       
ability1 differences in vital energy1   
differences in the point of culture     
attained1 differences in capacity to    
rise4 ,as a consequence1 the            
,declaration of ,independence is treated
 by many as an obsolete document1 and   
its assertions as mere bombast and      
rhetoric2 unjustly so1 because the truth
 which it attempts to convey is valid1  
though the form in which the truth is   
expressed and the grounds on which it is
 put are no longer adequate4  ,we have  
arrived1 then1 at this pass3 the        
theological foundation for the doctrine 
of human equality has failed or is      
failing us2 the facts to which the      
,declaration of ,independence appealed  
have altered4 ,are we1 then1 to give up 
the belief in human equality--that      
priceless postulate of the moral law1   
the basis alike of democracy and of     
private morality8 ,at times it seems to 
us that the world is almost ready to do 

so4 ,nietzsche in ,germany puts it forth
 as a philosophic principle that        
humanity exists not for the democratic  
purpose of securing the highest         
development of all1 but for the         
aristocratic purpose of producing a race
 of supermen1 an elite of strong1       
forceful1 leonine beings4 ,and in his   
doctrine that the many exist as a kind  
of pedestal for the grandeur of the few1
 he finds support the world over4 ,men  
are but too ready in this age1 when the 
energies of the strong have been        
unfettered and moral restraints have    
become weakened1 to put ,nietzche's     
doctrine into practice too4 ,from the   
,congo we hear appalling accounts of the
 cruelty of civilized men in their      
dealings with the uncivilized4 ,rubber  
and ivory1 it appears1 must be obtained 
in large quantities to secure a handsome
 profit on investments that have been   
made in those regions4 ,railroads must  
be built to make the supply of rubber   
and of ivory accessible4 ,in            

consequence1 a system of forced labor1  
of virtual slavery1 has been imposed on 
the miserable natives in order to make  
the building of these railroads         
possible4 ,human life has not been      
spared1 for human life in the ,congo is 
as dust in the balance when weighed     
against the profits from rubber4        
,punitive expeditions have been         
organized 7in other words1 wholesale    
slaughter has been resorted to71 in     
order to coerce the reluctant natives to
 bring in their supplies more           
punctually4 ,the wives and daughters of 
the natives have been seized1 brutally  
chained1 and detained as hostages in    
order to influence their husbands and   
fathers to a more ready obedience4 ,the 
story of the ,congo reads like an       
incredible nightmare2 the civilized     
world is aghast at the partial          
revelations of it which have been       
published4 ,from ,armenia we hear       
similar stories of ruthless contempt for
 human life and merciless outrage4 ,with

 ,kishineff and ,siberia in mind1 we    
need not comment on the conditions that 
exist in ,russia4 ,in the ,united       
,states1 the heartrending circumstances 
that accompany negro lynchings1 the     
conditions in the sweated industries1   
and the widespread evil of child labor  
show us clearly enough how little the   
doctrine of the intrinsic and           
indefeasible worth of man has as yet    
become the property of even the most    
advanced nations4 ,in the face of all   
these odds on the other side1 in the    
face of these confederate forces working
 the world over for the abasement of    
man1 how urgent is the appeal to rescue 
and fortify the doctrine1 to make it    
effectual1 first in our own conduct and 
then in that of others6 ,and on what    
tenable foundations can we rest it1 that
 it may become operative8  ,first1 as to
 its meaning4 ,it does not mean equality
 of gifts1 or equality of mental energy1
 or equality in any of the traits that  
lead to successful careers4 ,it means   

equality in the sense that each is the  
vehicle of some talent1 however small1  
the bearer of some gift1 however        
seemingly inconsiderable1 which in the  
sum total of humanity's development is  
needed2 that each one in his place and  
with his gift1 however insignificant in 
appearance1 is in fact indispensable4   
,and what is the reason for ascribing   
such worth to human beings8 ,the sole   
reason is1 that the moral law enjoins us
 to do so4 ,before ever we have         
discovered whether a man has worth in   
him or not1 the moral law enjoins us to 
ascribe it to him1 to treat him as if he
 had it1 to see in him the light of the 
possibilities which he has never made   
good and which he never wholly will make
 good3 and thus1 and thus only1 shall we
 bring to light1 in part at least1 the  
precious things in his nature1 the      
existence of which we can only divine4  
,the moral law is wholly misunderstood  
if it be founded on the actual worth or 
value of men1 for none of us has great  

worth or value4 ,the moral law is a law 
for the eliciting of possibilities4     
,briefly put1 it enjoins that we shall  
invest others with a garment of light1  
that we shall ascribe worth to others   
and to ourselves1 in order that they and
 we may become worthy4 ,this is the     
spiritual basis of the doctrine of      
equality2 this is the spiritual         
conception which should regulate our    
attitude toward our neighbors4  ,and yet
 if there were no evidence at all to    
support our faith in human goodness1 our
 faith1 however vigorous at first1 would
 soon decline1 and hope and courage     
might utterly desert us4 ,if men on     
nearer acquaintance turned out to be1 as
 some pessimists have represented them  
to be1 hard egotists1 ingrates1         
slanderers1 backbiters1 envious1        
incapable of generous admirations1      
sodden in sensuality1 knaves devoid of  
scruple2 if experience indeed bore out  
this sweeping impeachment1 if especially
 the so-called masses of mankind were   

hopelessly delivered over to the sway of
 brutal instincts1 of superstition and  
folly2 the faith of which ,i speak might
 justly be termed mere fatuousness1 and 
the rule of acting on the assumption    
that men are better than they appear    
would turn out a blind delusion4 ,but   
the striking fact is1 that as soon as we
 act on the principle of looking for the
 latent good in others1 we are rewarded 
by finding far more than we had any     
reason to expect4  ,take as an instance 
the masses of the poor and ignorant1    
upon whom we are so apt to pass sweeping
 judgments1 as ,carlyle did when he said
 that the population of ,england was    
forty millions-- mostly fools4 ,the     
experience of those who have had to do  
with popular education does not         
corroborate this rash condemnation4     
,there is hardly a child in our public  
schools that is not found to possess    
mental power of some sort1 if only we   
possess the right method of calling it  
out4 ,the new education is new and      

significant just because it has         
succeeded in devising methods for       
gaining access to the latent mental     
power1 and thus reaching what had been  
supposed to be non-existent4 ,every     
so-called educational campaign in the   
field of politics brings out the same   
truth4 ,the capacity for hard thinking  
and sound judgment which resides in the 
working class is surprising to us1 only 
because in our preposterous pride we had
 supposed them to be baked of different 
clay than we are4 ,in the matter of     
artistic endowment1 too1 what wonderful 
discoveries do we constantly make among 
poor children1 even among children that 
come from the lowest dregs of society6  
,what fine fancy1 what prompt response  
to the appeal of the beautiful1 in spite
 of all the debasing inheritance6  ,but 
it is1 in the last analysis1 the moral  
qualities upon which our respect for    
human nature rests1 and in this respect 
how often are we astonished1 yes and    
abashed1 when we observe the extent to  

which the moral virtues express         
themselves in the life of those who1 in 
point of so-called culture1 are         
infinitely our inferiors6 ,what power of
 self-sacrifice is displayed by these   
poor people1 whom sometimes in our      
wicked moods we are disposed to despise2
 what readiness to share the last crust 
with those who are1 ,i will not say     
hungry1 but hungrier6 ,who of us would  
take into his own house1 his own        
bedchamber1 a dying consumptive1 a mere 
acquaintance1 in order that the last    
days of the sufferer might be soothed by
 friendly nursing8 ,who of us would make
 provision in our will to share our     
grave with a worthy stranger1 in order  
to avert from him the dreaded fate of   
being buried in the ,potter's ,field8   
,which of our young men would be willing
 to refuse the proffered opportunity of 
an education in one of the foremost     
colleges in the land1 in order to stay  
with the old folks at home and work at a
 menial occupation for their support8   

,who of us would give up the joys of    
youth to devote his whole life to the   
care of a bed-ridden1 half-demented     
parent8 ,yet all of these things and    
many others like them ,i have known to  
be done by people who live in the       
tenement houses of this great city4 ,it 
sometimes seems as if the angelic aspect
 of human nature displayed itself by    
preference in the house of poverty1 as  
if those who possessed no other         
treasure1 no other jewels with which to 
adorn themselves1 were compensated for  
their penury in other ways by these     
priceless gems of the most unselfish    
virtue4 ,such conduct1 of course1 is not
 universal4 ,there are abundant         
instances of the opposite4 ,but the     
truth remains that it is the worth which
 those who seem to lead the least       
desirable lives display toward others   
that assures us of their own worth4     
,this1 too1 is the lesson of the        
oft-quoted and oft-misunderstood parable
 of the ,good ,samaritan1 upon which    

here1 for the moment1 ,i should like to 
dwell4  ,the ,jewish ,state in the time 
of ,jesus was substantially an          
ecclesiastical aristocracy4 ,the highest
 rank was occupied by the priests and   
their assessors1 the ,levites2 after    
them1 sometimes disputing the first     
place1 came the doctors learned in the  
sacred law2 below them the commonalty2  
and still lower in the social scale were
 the people of ,samaria1 who accepted   
the current ,jewish religion only in    
part1 and who were regarded by the      
blue-blood ecclesiastical aristocrats   
with contempt1 indeed almost as         
outcasts4 ,this fact it is necessary to 
remember in order to understand the     
parable4 ,the designation ,good         
,samaritan has become so associated with
 the idea of mercifulness1 that ,i doubt
 not there are many persons who have the
 impression that ,samaritans in the     
ancient ,hebrew days were people        
specially noted for their benevolent    
disposition4 ,nothing of the kind1 of   

course1 is true4 ,the ,samaritans were a
 despised lower stratum of the          
population of ,palestine4 ,read the     
parable in this light1 and you will     
perceive that the moral of it is not as 
commonly stated--every one who has need 
of me is my neighbor2 but that there is 
a far deeper meaning in it4  ,there came
 to ,jesus one day a man versed in the  
sacred law1 and asked him what he must  
do to inherit eternal life4 ,and ,jesus 
replied3 ,the substance of right conduct
 is plain enough4 ,why do you ask as if 
it were a thing very recondite and      
difficult8 ,love thy ,god and thy       
neighbor4 ,but the doctor of the sacred 
law1 wishing to justify himself 7wishing
 to show that the way of the upright    
life is not so plain1 that it may be    
difficult to decide whom one should     
regard as one's equal1 to whom one      
should ascribe worth71 asked3 ,who is my
 neighbor8 ,and ,jesus replied in the   
words of the well-known parable         
concerning a certain man who had fallen 

among thieves1 and these stripped him of
 his raiment and left him for dead on   
the public road that runs between       
,jerusalem and ,jericho4 ,presently a   
member of the high aristocracy1 a       
priest1 passed by1 but paid no attention
 to the sufferer2 then another1 a       
,levite1 came that way1 looked at the   
man who was lying there helpless1 and   
turned and went on his journey4 ,then   
there came one of those low-caste       
despised ,samaritans2 and he acted like 
a tender human brother1 bound up the    
man's wounds1 poured oil and wine into  
them1 etc4 ,and ,jesus said3 ,which one 
of these three showed himself to be a   
neighbor to the man that had fallen     
among thieves8 ,in which of the social  
classes did there appear to be the      
truest understanding of the conduct     
which moral duty requires of us toward  
our fellow-men--in the upper classes or 
in the lowest8 ,and the answer evidently
 is--in the lowest4 ,the point of the   
parable is that the ,samaritan himself1 

whom priest and ,levite and doctor of   
the law refused to regard as a neighbor1
 was worthy to be treated as a neighbor1
 because he understood1 as they did not1
 how to treat others as neighbors4 ,the 
lesson of the parable is a twofold one3 
not only that the wounded man lying     
untended on the road was a neighbor     
because of his need1 but more especially
 that the ,samaritan was a neighbor     
because he responded to the need1 and   
set an example of truly human behavior  
to those who had doubted whether1       
because of his extreme social           
degradation1 he was himself to be       
regarded as human4  ,the moral qualities
 in men1 then1 constitute their most    
universal title to respect1 and these   
qualities we find in all social grades  
and among all races and nationalities4  
,we find them among the ,chinese1 as    
their devoted family life1 the honesty  
of their merchants1 and the ethics of   
,confucius indicate4 ,we find them among
 the negroes1 not only in the case of   

exceptional persons like ,booker        
,washington or ,dubois or ,atkinson1 but
 also in the undistinguished life of    
many an obscure man and woman1 whom to  
know more intimately is to learn to     
respect as a neighbor and a moral equal4
 ,what we need to build up our faith in 
human goodness is the clairvoyance that 
discerns the hidden treasures of        
character in others4 ,and one other     
quality is indispensable for the moral  
appreciation of our neighbors1 namely1  
the quality of humility4 ,strange as it 
may seem1 the less we plume ourselves on
 our own goodness1 the more we shall be 
ready to believe in the goodness of     
other people2 the more we realize the   
infinite nature of the moral ideal and  
our own distance from it1 the more we   
shall esteem as of relatively small     
importance the distance that separates  
us from others1 the slight extent to    
which we may morally surpass them4 ,the 
more we are aware of our own frequent   
and serious shortcomings1 the more1 when

 we perceive the moral delinquencies of 
others1 shall we recognize in their     
nature the same recuperative agency     
which we believe to be in ourselves1    
namely1 the power of divine regeneration
 that can make all things new4 ,if we   
regard ourselves as morally little and  
yet as never lost1 we shall regard no   
one else as lost1 however morally little
 he may seem to be4  ,respect1 then1 for
 the indefeasible worth of every human  
being must be based not on theological  
systems which are fast decaying1 nor on 
the fancied self-evidence of            
,jefferson's ,declaration1 but solely on
 the moral law which commands us to     
ascribe such worth to others whether we 
perceive it or not1 nay1 to create it in
 others by ascribing it to them4  ,such 
is the spiritual attitude toward our    
fellow-men4 ,and though our confidence  
may not always be demonstrably justified
 by the result1 though we not always    
succeed in uplifting others1 yet by     
pursuing this line of conduct we        

ourselves at all events shall be        
uplifted1 our own life will be touched  
to finer issues4   ,,iii4 ,,the         
,,spiritual ,,attitude ,,toward         
,,oppressors4  ,sunday1 ,dec4 #d1 #aijd4
  ,the problem of our spiritual attitude
 toward positive badness1 social and    
individual wrongdoing1 cruelty and      
oppression1 is far more difficult of    
solution than the problem of our        
attitude toward worth really existent   
but concealed4 ,the thorny question1 how
 we are to deal with wicked persons1    
whether we are to observe the spiritual 
attitude toward them1 and in what that  
attitude consists1 requires the most    
sincere and straightforward treatment4  
,should we cultivate an attitude of     
indifference in such cases8 ,a ruffian  
cruelly beats his horse1 the poor beast 
that has rendered him faithful service  
for many a day1 but is feeble now and   
sinks beneath its load4 ,with curses and
 the sharp persuasion of the lash1 the  
merciless driver seeks to force the     

animal to efforts of which it is plainly
 incapable4 ,can we stand by and witness
 such a scene in philosophic calm8      
,shall we say that the wretch is the    
product of circumstances1 and cannot be 
expected to act otherwise than he does8 
,shall we liken evildoers generally1 as 
at present is customary in certain      
quarters1 to the sick8 ,shall we say    
that such men are the outcome of their  
heredity1 their education1 their        
environment8 ,i have known of a husband 
who in a state of intoxication brutally 
struck and injured his wife1 while she  
was holding in her arms a babe not eight
 days old4 ,shall we say that that man  
was morally sick1 that he could not help
 becoming intoxicated1 and therefore was
 not responsible for the havoc he       
wrought when the demon of drink had     
gained possession of him8 ,shall we say 
of the syndicate of traders who hunt the
 natives on the ,congo like rabbits1    
massacre and mutilate them1 that they   
are sick8 ,a bad deed done with         

intention argues badness in the doer4   
,we impute to the man the act and its   
consequences4 ,we cannot separate the   
sin from the sinner1 and merely condemn 
sin in the abstract4 ,there is no such  
thing as sin in the abstract4 ,sin is   
sin only when it is incorporated in the 
will of a human individual4 ,we condemn 
the sinner because he has wedded himself
 to the sin4 ,if this were not the case1
 we might as well close our courts of   
justice4 ,we hold men accountable1 then1
 for their misdeeds1 whatever           
speculative philosophy may urge to the  
contrary4 ,how could we revere virtue if
 we did not stigmatize its opposite2 how
 could we believe in human worth if we  
did not condemn unworth where it        
appears8  ,but the ordinary judgment    
stops short right here4 ,it recognizes  
the particular badness of a particular  
act1 and desires that the agent be made 
to suffer for it4 ,it says1 this act is 
the expression of an evil disposition1  
and it identifies the whole man with the

 particular act of which he was guilty4 
,the spiritual attitude is characterized
 by discriminating between the          
particular act and the whole of the     
man's nature4 ,it recognizes that there 
is an evil strand2 but it also sees or  
divines the good that exists along with 
the evil1 even in the most seemingly    
hopeless cases4 ,it trusts to the good1 
and builds upon it with a view to making
 it paramount over evil4 ,upon the basis
 of this spiritual attitude1 what should
 be our mode of dealing with the bad8   
,there are a number of steps to be taken
 in order1 and much depends on our      
following the right order4  ,the first  
step is to arrest the course of evil1 to
 prevent its channel from being         
deepened1 its area from being enlarged4 
,pluck the whip from the hand of the    
ruffian who is lashing his beast2 stay  
the arm that is uplifted to strike the  
cowardly murderous blow4 ,much has been 
said of the need of considering the good
 of society1 of protecting the community

 at large from the depredations  of the 
violent and fraudulent2 and of          
subjecting the latter to exemplary      
punishment1 in order to deter others    
from following their example4 ,but the  
welfare of society and the welfare of   
the criminal are always identical4      
,nothing should be done to the worst    
criminal1 not a hair of his head should 
be touched merely for the sake of       
securing the public good1 if the thing  
done be not also for his private good4  
,and on the other hand1 nothing can be  
done to the criminal which is for his   
own lasting good that will not also     
profoundly react for the good of        
society1 assuring its security1 and     
deterring others from a like career of  
crime4 ,the very first claim which the  
criminal has upon the services of his   
fellow-men is that they stop him in his 
headlong course of wickedness4 ,arrest1 
whether by the agents of the law or in  
some other way1 is the first step4 ,the 
most spiritual concern for a degraded   

and demoralized fellow-being does not   
exclude the sharp intervention implied  
in arrest1 for the spiritual attitude is
 not mawkish or incompatible with the   
infliction of pain4  ,this1 ,i think1   
will be readily granted4 ,but the second
 step1 a step far more important than   
the arrest of the evildoer in order to  
arrest the evildoing1 is more likely to 
be contested and misunderstood4 ,the    
second step consists in fixing the mark 
of shame upon the offender and publicly 
humiliating him by means of the solemn  
sentence of the judge4 ,it may be asked1
 ,what human being is fit to exercise   
this awful office of acting as judge of 
another8 ,remember the words of         
,shakespeare in ,king ,lear3 4 4 4 4,see
 how yond justice rails upon yond simple
 thief4 ,hark in thine ear3 change      
places2 and 4 4 4 4 which is the        
justice1 which the thief8 ,or recall    
what the ,puritan preacher said when he 
saw from his window a culprit being led 
to the gallows3 ,there1 but for the     

grace of ,god1 go ,i4 ,in other words1  
had ,i been born as this man was1 had ,i
 been played upon by the influences to  
which he was subject1 had ,i been       
tempted as he was1 how dare ,i say that 
,i should not have fallen as he did8    
,had it not been for some grace extended
 to me through no desert of mine1 ,i    
might be traveling the road on which he 
travels now4  ,furthermore1 can we say  
that the sentence of the judge is       
proportioned to the heinousness of the  
deed8 ,is the murderer who in a fit of  
uncontrolled passion has taken a human  
life--it may have been his first and    
only crime--necessarily more depraved   
than the thief2 or is the thief in jail 
who has indeed broken the law1          
necessarily more depraved than numbers  
of others who have dexterously          
circumvented the law1 violating the     
spirit though keeping within the letter 
of it8 ,is even the abject creature who 
strikes his wife more abandoned than a  
man of the type of ,grandcourt in       

,daniel ,deronda1 whose insults are     
dealt with a marble politeness1 and who 
crushes his wife's sensibilities1 not   
with a vulgar blow but with the cold and
 calculating cruelty of a cynic8 ,when  
it comes to passing moral judgments and 
fixing blame1 and especially to         
measuring the degree of another's guilt1
 who of us is good enough1 who of us is 
pure enough1 who of us is himself free  
enough from wrong to exercise so        
terrible an office8 ,is not ,lear right1
 after all3 4 4 4 4change places2 and4 4
 4 4which is the justice1 which is the  
thief8  ,it may be said in reply to     
these objections3 ,first1 that the judge
 does not speak in his private capacity1
 but that he delivers the judgment of   
mankind on the doer and the deed1       
serving as the mouthpiece of the moral  
law1 so far as it is incorporated in the
 human law4 ,we should select the       
highest characters available for so     
exalted a duty1 but freedom from even   
great human infirmity we cannot expect  

to find4 ,again1 it is not the judge's  
business to fix the degree of moral     
guilt2 that not even the best and wisest
 of men can do4 ,the inscrutable fact of
 the degree of moral guilt eludes all   
human insight4 ,only omniscience could  
decide who is more guilty relatively to 
opportunities1 advantages1              
circumstances2 who has made the braver  
effort to escape wrongdoing2 whether the
 admired preacher1 or the culprit on his
 way to the gallows2 whether the        
,president in the ,white ,house or the  
wretch behind the bars4 ,the office of  
the judge is to pronounce that crime has
 been committed1 irrespective of the    
subtle question of the degree of guilt4 
,murder has been done1 property has been
 stolen1 the sin and the sinner wedded  
together4 ,the office of the judge is to
 declare the fact of that infelicitous  
union1 and to pronounce the penalty     
according to the law4 ,and this1 in     
particular4 ,the object of the          
punishment which the law pronounces is  

not vindictive chastisement of the      
culprit4 ,the object of punishment is   
purely reformatory4 ,only it must not be
 forgotten that there can be no         
reformation without penitence1 and no   
penitence without self-abasement4 ,and  
this consists in confessing one's self  
guilty1 admitting that the guilt has    
become a part of one's being1 and       
humbling one's pride to the ground4 ,the
 public sentence pronounced by the      
judge1 the shame which he fixes upon the
 culprit1 has1 then1 for its object to  
pave the way toward reformation1 to     
break down the defenses which the       
sophistry of wickedness sets up1 to     
compel the man to see himself as others 
see him1 to force him to realize to the 
full the evil of his present state4 ,not
 to blast him utterly1 not to exclude   
him forever from the kindly society of  
men1 but to lead him into the way along 
which--if he travel it--he may          
eventually return1 though perhaps only  
after many years1 to human fellowship4  

,if the verdict is pronounced in any    
other spirit1 it is false and inhuman4  
,the methods to be employed to bring    
about reformation must often be severe  
and painful1 and one of these methods is
 shock1 shock sharp and sudden enough to
 loosen the incrustations of evil habit1
 and to shake a wicked nature down to   
its foundations4 ,the purpose of the    
trial of a criminal in a court of       
justice1 and of the verdict in which the
 trial culminates1 is to supply such a  
shock1 a searching and terrible         
experience1 yet salutary and            
indispensable in order that better      
things may ensue4  ,from what has been  
said1 it follows that the death penalty 
as a punishment even for the worst      
crimes is morally untenable2 for either 
the culprit is really irredeemable1 that
 is to say1 he is an irresponsible moral
 idiot1 in which case an asylum for the 
insane is the proper place for him2 or  
he is not irredeemable1 in which case   
the chance of reformation should not be 

taken from him by cutting off his life4 
,the death penalty is the last lingering
 vestige of the ,lex ,talionis1 of the  
law which attempts to equalize the      
penalty with the crime1 a conception of 
justice which in all other respects we  
have happily outgrown4 ,it does not     
necessarily follow that the immediate   
abolition of capital punishment is      
expedient4 ,it is not expedient in fact1
 because of the condition of our        
prisons1 and because of the abuses to   
which the pardoning power of the ,state 
is subjected2 because security is       
lacking that the worst offenders1 before
 ever they can be reclaimed1 may not be 
returned unrepentant into the bosom of  
society1 to prey upon it anew with      
impunity4 ,but1 then1 we must not defend
 the death penalty as such1 but rather  
deplore and do our utmost to change our 
political conditions1 which make it     
still unwise to abolish a form of       
punishment so barbarous and so repugnant
 to the moral sense4  ,the step which   

follows the arrest and condemnation of  
the evildoer is isolation1 with a view  
to the formation of new habits4 ,a      
change of heart is the necessary        
pre-requisite of any permanent change in
 conduct2 but the change of heart1 and  
the resolution to turn over a new leaf  
to which it gives birth1 must be        
gradually and slowly worked out into a  
corresponding practice4 ,the old body of
 sin cannot be stripped off in a moment2
 the old encumbrance of bad habits      
cannot be sloughed off like a serpent's 
coil4 ,the new spirit must incorporate  
itself slowly in new habits2 and to this
 end the delinquent must be aided in his
 efforts by a more or less prolonged    
absence from the scene of his former    
temptations4 ,he must be placed in an   
entirely new and suitable environment1  
and encouraging pressure must be exerted
 upon him to acquire new habits of      
order1 diligent application to work1    
obedience1 self-control4 ,it is upon    
this idea that the moral propriety of   

imprisonment and of prison discipline is
 based1 whether the actual treatment of 
prisoners be in accord with it or not4  
,and so we may pass on at once to the   
last and chief element in the process of
 the reclamation of the evildoer1       
namely1 forgiveness4 ,an angel's tongue1
 the wisdom and insight of the loftiest 
of the sages1 would be required to      
describe all the wealth of meaning      
contained in the sublime spiritual      
process which we designate by the word  
pardon4 ,it is a process which affects  
equally both parties to the act1 the one
 who forgives and the one who is        
forgiven4 ,it exalts both1 transfigures 
both1 indeed establishes a new tie of   
wonderful tenderness and sublimity      
between them4 ,the person who forgives  
is a benefactor4  ,is it a little thing1
 when a man is sunk in the slough of    
poverty1 denuded of all the decencies of
 life1 harassed day and night by        
grinding cares1 knows not whither to    
turn to find shelter and food1 for some 

fellow human being1 moved by pure human 
kindness1 or let us rather say moved by 
respect for the worth which he sees in  
his perishing fellow-man1 to come to the
 aid of the latter1 to lift him out of  
his distress1 to place him on sun-lit   
levels1 to put him on his feet and give 
him a new chance1 to open for him a new 
career in which effort may meet with its
 reward8 ,such an act of human          
helpfulness is not a little thing2 the  
man who does it is rightly esteemed a   
great benefactor4 ,or is it a little    
thing to save the imperiled sick1 to    
bring back from the brink of the grave a
 precious life1 already despaired of8   
,this1 too1 surely is not a little      
thing1 and the good physician who       
accomplishes such a miracle is rightly  
esteemed a benefactor to whom lifelong  
gratitude is due4  ,but there is a yet  
greater thing1 a benefit1 by the side of
 which even these--great as they        
are--appear almost insignificant4 ,to   
take a man who is sinking in the moral  

slough and has no courage left to rise  
out of it2 to give him back his lost    
self-esteem1 that jewel without which   
health and wealth are of little avail2  
to put him in a position once more to   
look his fellow-men straight in the eye2
 to place him morally on the sun-lit    
levels2 to put him morally on his       
feet--this assuredly is the supreme     
benefit1 and the man who accomplishes   
this for another is the supreme         
benefactor4 ,and a note of exquisite    
moral beauty is added if the benefactor 
be the same person whom the guilty man  
had injured4 ,this is what is meant by  
forgiveness4 ,this is why forgiveness is
 so divine a thing4 ,this is the reason 
why1 when an act of genuine forgiveness 
occurs1 the music of the spheres seems  
to become audible in our nether world4  
,and this is also the reason why we     
often see such a strange kind of tie    
springing up between a person who has   
been chastised and the one who has      
chastised him in the right spirit and   

then forgiven him--a tie into which     
there enters shame for the wrong done1  
gratitude for the unmerited good        
received1 and a reverence akin to       
idolatry toward the one upon whose faith
 in him the sinner rebuilt his faith in 
himself4  ,there should be some organ of
 the ,state to exercise this office of  
forgiveness toward criminals1 this      
pardoning power in the finer sense of   
the term4 ,the prison warden1 if he be a
 man of the right stamp1 sometimes      
exercises it4 ,the ,society for the     
,befriending of ,released ,prisoners has
 here an appropriate function open to   
it2 also the employer who after due     
inquiry has the courage to dismiss      
suspicion and to give work to the       
released prisoner4  ,the methods and    
principles which ,i have described in   
the case of the criminal are used for   
illustration1 not that ,i am interested 
today in discussing the special problem 
of the criminal1 but because principles 
can best be exemplified in extreme      

cases4 ,the same methods1 the same      
maxims should control punishment in     
general2 our dealings1 for instance1    
with the misdeeds of which our own      
children are guilty4 ,here1 too1 there  
should be by no means unvarying         
gentleness and pleading1 but when need  
arises the sharp check1 that evil may be
 instantaneously stopped4 ,here1 too1   
there should be the temporary disgrace1 
the clear presentation of the magnitude 
of the fault1 if it have magnitude1 the 
humiliation that calls forth penitence  
and good resolutions4 ,here1 too1 there 
should be sedulous care1 to work out the
 better habits4 ,and all these steps    
should be taken with a view to ultimate 
reconciliation1 forgiveness1 and the    
holier bond between parent and child4   
,but now can we take one step further8  
,can we dispose our minds and our hearts
 in the same fashion toward oppressors8 
,i have in mind1 for instance1 the hard 
proprietors of houses who pitilessly    
wring the last penny from their tenants2

 the cruel taskmasters who drive the    
workers1 sometimes only children not yet
 full-grown1 twelve and fifteen hours a 
day2 the unscrupulous exploiters on a   
large scale1 who raise the price of the 
people's food1 and in their eagerness   
for fabulous gain conspire by every     
corrupt means to crush their less crafty
 or less shameless competitors4 ,as we  
hate wrong1 must we not hate them8      
,shall we assail greed and exploitation 
merely in the abstract8 ,what effect    
will that have8 ,which one of the       
oppressors will not hypocritically      
assent to such abstract denunciation8   
,if we seek to produce a change1 must we
 not proceed to more specific           
allegations and point the finger of     
scorn at the offenders1 saying as the   
,prophet ,nathan said to ,king ,david3  
,thou art the man8 ,is it not necessary 
to arouse the popular anger against the 
oppressors and to encourage hatred      
against the hateful8  ,clearly the case 
is not the same as that of the criminal 

in the dock4 ,he stands there           
dishonored2 the evil he has done has    
been brought home to him2 he is covered 
with the garment of shame4 ,but those   
others are invested--despite the evil   
they have done and are still doing--with
 every outward symbol of success2 they  
triumph defiantly over the better moral 
sense of the community2 they inhabit1 as
 it were1 impregnable citadels2 they    
have harvested unholy gains which no one
 seems strong enough to take from them2 
and the influence they wield in         
consequence of their power to benefit or
 harm is immense4 ,is it a wonder1 then1
 that such oppressors are branded as    
monsters1 and that the hoarse note of   
some of the ,hebrew psalms is sometimes 
to be heard re-echoing in the cry of the
 social radicals of our time--,let      
vengeance be visited upon the wicked2   
let the oppressors be destroyed from the
 face of the earth6  ,but the logical   
and inevitable conclusion of the thought
 ,i have developed to-day is1 that we   

are bound to recognize the indefeasible 
worth latent even in the cruel exploiter
 and the merciless expropriator4 ,i have
 already sufficiently indicated that the
 spiritual view is consistent with      
severe and stringent treatment4 ,checks 
there should be by the heavy hand of    
legislation laid upon the arrogant      
evildoers4 ,they should be stopped if   
possible in mid-career4 ,the oppressed1 
also1 should oppose those who oppress   
them4 ,no one is worth his salt who is  
not willing to defend his rights against
 those who would trample on them4 ,so   
far from ruling out conflict1 ,i regard 
conflict as a weapon of progress--an    
ethical weapon1 if it be waged with the 
right intentions4 ,furthermore1 when    
speaking of oppression1 ,i have in mind 
not merely the cupidity of the few as it
 operates mercilessly upon the many1 but
 also the banded arrogance of the many  
as it sometimes displays  itself in     
contempt for the rights of the few4     
,from whichever side oppression         

proceeds1 there should be resistance to 
it2 the check imposed by resistance is  
one of the means of educating to new    
habits those who find themselves        
checked4 ,individuals1 and social       
classes1 too1 as history proves1 learn  
to respect the rights which they find in
 practice they cannot traverse4 ,first  
come the limits set to the aggression1  
and then the opening of the eyes to     
perceive the justice of the limitation4 
,but conflict is an ethical weapon only 
if it is wielded like the knife in the  
surgeon's hands4 ,the knife wounds and  
hurts2 the method is apparently cruel2  
but the purpose is benevolent4 ,so      
should the battle of social reform be   
animated by concern not only for the    
oppressed1 but also for the oppressor4  
,and such a motive does not exceed the  
capacity of human nature1 but1 on the   
contrary1 is the only motive which will 
permanently satisfy human nature4       
,certain of the ,socialists have made it
 their deliberate policy for years to   

stir up hatred between the poor and the 
rich1 on the ground that hatred alone   
can overcome the lethargy of the masses 
and arouse in them the intensity of     
feeling necessary for conflict4 ,on the 
contrary1 hatred engenders hatred on the
 opposite side1 action provokes         
reaction4 ,as the individual can be     
uplifted in his life only by accepting  
the spiritual motive1 by trying to act  
always so as to recognize in others and 
to make manifest the indefeasible worth 
of the human soul1 so the social classes
 can be uplifted only by acting on the  
same spiritual motive4 ,despite the     
efforts of a hundred years1 the real    
progress that has been achieved in      
ameliorating the relations between the  
social classes at the present day is    
slight1 and sometimes one is impelled to
 doubt whether there has been any       
progress at all4 ,the egotism of one    
side is met by the egotism of the other 
side4 ,but appeals to mass egotism will 
no more elevate mankind1 than appeals to

 individual egotism4 ,appeals to        
sympathy also will not permanently help4
 ,only the highest motive of all can    
furnish the power needed to accomplish  
the miracle of social transformation2   
only that conflict which is waged for   
the purpose not of striking down the    
oppressor and rescuing his victim1 but  
for the rescue of both the victim and   
the oppressor1 will attain its end4     
,the oppressor may be regarded as a man 
who has consented so to degrade himself 
as to become for the time being a       
heartless automaton1 ruthlessly working 
for gain1 a being like one of those     
terrible ogres of the popular mythology 
who feed on human flesh4 ,but he is not 
a mere automaton or ogre4 ,there is a   
better side to his nature1 as we often  
discover1 to our amazement1 when we     
learn about the facts of his private    
life4 ,these private virtues do not     
indeed condone his social sins--far from
 it--but they indicate that there exists
 a better side4 ,if that side could be  

made victorious1 if conditions could be 
shaped so as to starve out the worse    
nature and bring to the fore the better 
nature in the oppressor as well as in   
the oppressed1 the problem would be     
advanced toward a solution4  ,there is a
 story told of two brothers1 sons of the
 same father1 who grew up in the same   
home and were deeply attached to each   
other4 ,it happened that the older      
wandered away and fell into the power of
 an evil magician1 who changed him into 
a ravening wolf4 ,the younger mourned   
his loss1 and treasured in his heart the
 image of the brother as he had been in 
the days before the wicked spell fell   
upon him4 ,impelled by his longing1 he  
at last went out into the world to find 
his brother1 and if possible to redeem  
him4 ,one day as he passed through a    
lonely forest1 a hungry wolf set upon   
him4 ,the horrid1 brutal face was near  
to his1 the hot breath breathed upon    
him1 and the fierce eyes flamed into his
 own4 ,but by the might of his love1 the

 younger brother was able to detect     
beneath the wolfish disguise the faint  
outlines of the brother whom he had long
 ago lost1 and by the strength of his   
gaze1 which saw only the brother and    
refused to see the wolf1 he was able to 
give shape and substance to that faint  
outline4 ,the outer frame of brutishness
 gradually melted away1 and the human   
brother was restored to his senses and  
to his home4 ,this is a parable of the  
spiritual attitude toward oppressors1   
toward those who oppress the people in  
public1 as well as toward those who     
oppress us in our private lives4 ,we    
must liberate them from the brutal frame
 in which they are inclosed2 we must    
give them back their human shape6       
,,iv4 ,,the ,,two ,,souls ,,in ,,the    
,,human ,,breast4  ,sunday1 ,dec4 #aa1  
#aijd4  ,painful and revolting          
associations are called up by the       
phrase--leading the double life4 ,to the
 aversion provoked by the evil itself1  
is added in such cases the disgust      

excited by the hypocrisy with which it  
is cloaked4 ,he who leads a double life 
offends not only by the wrong he does1  
but by borrowing the plumes of virtue4  
,he lives a perpetual lie2 he is a      
whited sepulchre1 clean on the outside1 
full of filth and corruption within4    
,the ,beecher trial at the time so      
profoundly agitated the whole country1  
because the accusations brought forward 
associated the name of one of the most  
prominent characters of the nation1 a   
man of brilliant talent and meritorious 
service1 with secret impurity4 ,the more
 meritorious such a man's services1 the 
more damning the charges if they be     
established4 ,nor do we admit in such   
cases the sophistical argument1 that the
 interests of public morality require   
the facts to be hushed up in order to   
avoid a scandal4 ,nothing is so         
imperative where guilt really exists as 
that it be confessed and expiated4 ,the 
public conscience requires the truth4   
,let the sinner make a clean breast of  

it2 let the atmosphere be cleared by an 
act of public humiliation4 ,no injury to
 the cause of public morality is so     
great as the lurking suspicion that men 
who stand forth as exponents of morality
 are themselves corrupt4 ,lurking       
suspicion1 distrust of all the moral    
values1 is worse than recognition of    
human weakness1 however deplorable4     
,there are other examples of the double 
life1 with which all who have knowledge 
of the world's ways are familiar4 ,that 
of the merchant1 for instance1 who1     
though he has long been virtually a     
bankrupt1 conceals his position behind a
 screen of opulence1 emulating the      
sumptuous expenditure of the rich1      
living a life of glittering show2       
tortured inwardly by the fear of        
exposure1 yet not courageous enough to  
be honest2 sinking deeper himself and1  
what is worse1 dragging others down with
 him4 ,a young man at college sometimes 
leads a double life1 his letters home   
being filled with accounts of his       

legitimate employments1 while at the    
same time he is leading the life of the 
prodigal1 the spendthrift1 the          
dissipated sot4  ,the dual life has been
 depicted in powerful colors by poets   
and writers of fiction2 as1 for         
instance1 by ,hawthorne in his ,scarlet 
,letter1 by ,robert ,louis ,stevenson in
 his ,doctor ,jekyll and ,mr4 ,hyde4 ,i 
suppose if there be such a thing as hell
 on earth1 the double life is another   
name for it4 ,yet ,i know of no writer  
of fiction whose plummet has sounded the
 depths of this hell4 ,in ,stevenson's  
story one gets the impression of a too  
mechanical separation between the two   
sides4 ,the man is at one moment the    
benevolent doctor1 and at another the   
malignant fiend4 ,the device of the drug
 is introduced to explain the           
transition2 but the transformation is   
too sudden1 too abrupt4 ,jekyll and     
,hyde dwell side by side in the same    
body1 and the relations between them    
have not been wrought out with          

sufficient subtlety4 ,it is rather a    
broad moral parable than a subtle study 
of man's dual nature4  ,the initial     
point ,i desire to make is1 that in     
certain cases the inner torture and     
anguish of the dual life can only be    
ended by publishing the secret1 so long 
and jealously hidden4 ,just as the      
criminal must stand judgment in a court 
of law1 so must the double-minded man   
stand judgment in the court of public   
opinion4 ,it is not possible to         
determine by a hard and fast line1 when 
such exposure is obligatory2 but in     
general it may be said that it is       
required in those cases where publicity 
is necessary to set things right and to 
repair the wrong that has been done to  
others4  ,there are1 however1 cases in  
which others are not affected1 or only  
indirectly so2 in which the evil relates
 to the personal life and its           
consequences are private to the man     
himself4 ,the situation is such as is   
described by ,goethe1 when he speaks of 

the two souls dwelling within the human 
breast2 the soul itself in its own      
sphere being divided against itself4    
,the man is conscious of rectitude in   
one part of his conduct1 of magnanimous 
impulses1 of high and noble aspirations4
 ,he feels himself allied on one side to
 what is best and purest1 and at the    
same time is aware of another side which
 in his saner moments fills him with    
loathing1 and poisons for him life's cup
 of satisfaction4 ,it is of this class  
of cases that ,i propose to speak4 ,and 
here the terrible fact stares us in the 
face1 that if the dual life be          
interpreted in this sense1 there is     
hardly a man who is not leading it4     
,even the best of men have been aware of
 an abhorrent side of their nature4     
,what else can ,st4 ,paul mean when he  
speaks of the continual warfare between 
the two laws--the law of the flesh that 
is in his members1 and the law of ,god  
that is in his spirit8 ,what else do the
 confessions of ,st4 ,augustine reveal  

but the continual oscillations of a     
finely poised nature between the two    
extremes8 ,what else can we gather from 
certain passages in ,tennyson's         
writings1 but hints of a miserable and  
grievous struggle of the same sort8 ,and
 what an intolerable burden to any      
person of integrity1 to any one who     
would at least be honest1 to think that 
he passes for better than he is1 to     
think that if men only could see his    
heart as he sees it1 they would pass him
 by with scorn instead of admiration6   
,yet as a rule1 in such cases           
self-revelation is not only not         
demanded1 but not even allowable4 ,the  
opening of the secret chambers of one's 
life to the public1 confessions like    
those of ,rousseau1 are1 if anything1   
indecent and nauseating4 ,the case of a 
man in such situations is bad enough1   
but the remedy for it is perforce       
committed to his own hands4 ,let him put
 his hand to the plough and not turn    
back1 let him grapple with the evil in  

his nature and subdue and transform it1 
let him accomplish his inner redemption1
 let him make himself what he ought to  
be--what others perhaps think he is4    
,what aid can the spiritual view of life
 extend to him in this stupendous       
business8  ,the cardinal thought ,i have
 in mind1 which ,i believe will provide 
an escape from such intolerable moral   
dilemmas1 can best be set forth by      
contrasting it with its diametrical     
opposite4 ,this opposite is contained in
 the ,buddhistic doctrine of the ,karma4
 ,the doctrine of ,karma implies that we
 are what we are to-day1 good or bad1 or
 good and bad1 in consequence of good or
 bad deeds which we performed in        
previous states of existence4 ,our      
present life1 according to this view1 is
 but a link added to the chain of the   
innumerable lives which we have left    
behind us4 ,it is true1 we do not       
remember those past existences2 but all 
the same1 they have left their indelible
 mark upon us4 ,our fortunes1 too1 in   

this present existence1 are determined  
by our meritorious or unmeritorious     
behavior in the past4 ,if1 for example1 
a man acts as your enemy to-day1 it is  
because in a previous state you wantonly
 injured him or some one like him4 ,bear
 your disappointments1 then1 and the    
harm you receive from others without    
complaint2 you are but suffering the    
penalty you deserve4 ,not only our      
fortune but our character1 as has been  
said1 is thus predetermined2 we are what
 we are1 in virtue of what we have been4
 ,if a man is a mean miser1 it is       
because in a previous existence he was  
already unduly covetous of wealth4 ',tis
 but the seed he sowed in the past1 that
 blossoms out in the present4 ,if a man 
commit murder1 it is because he was     
already guilty of unchecked violence in 
previous lives4 ,the beginnings which he
 made in the past culminate in the awful
 present4  ,this is indeed a plausible  
theory1 and it would help us to read    
some dark riddles if it were true1 but  

there is not the slightest reason for   
supposing that it is4 ,if ever there was
 a theory in the air1 this is one4 ,we  
not only have no recollections of any   
past incarnations1 but we have no ground
 for inferring that there were any4 ,i  
have mentioned the theory merely in     
order to exhibit its opposite4 ,and the 
opposite is this3 that a man is not     
responsible for the attractive or       
repulsive qualities with which he is    
born2 that these are not to be accounted
 as his1 in the sense that he is        
accountable for them4 ,the son of the   
dipsomaniac1 for instance1 is not       
responsible for the morbid craving that 
stirs in him4 ,he begins life1 so far as
 responsibility is concerned1 so far as 
merit or demerit is concerned1 with a   
fresh start4 ,he is not responsible for 
the craving2 he is responsible only for 
assenting to it4 ,true1 the pull in his 
case is incomparably stronger than in   
others2 still he can resist4 ,he is     
responsible1 not for the hideous thing  

itself1 but for the degree in which he  
yields to it4 ,he is meritorious to the 
extent of the effort he puts forth not  
to yield to it4 ,the reason why this    
point is often obscured is that from the
 first awakening of consciousness1 from 
the time when first we have been capable
 of deliberate choice1 we have more or  
less often assented to these evil       
propulsions and have thus made them our 
own4 ,it has therefore become impossible
 to separate clearly between that       
element in our acts which is imposed    
upon us from without1 and that          
deliberate element in the act which is  
our own4 ,nevertheless1 no fair-minded  
person will dispute that there are      
qualities or predispositions1 for       
which--hideous as they may be--we are no
 more responsible than we are for being 
born with an unprepossessing face4 ,men 
are born with certain attractive        
qualities and certain atrocious         
qualities1 but moral goodness and       
badness consists not in having these    

predispositions1 but rather in          
consenting to them and adopting them    
into our will4  ,now this1 it seems to  
me1 throws an entirely new light upon   
the duality of our inner life4 ,the fact
 that we discover that there is baseness
 within us from which we recoil as we   
should from a venomous snake1 need not  
shake our throne of reason or overthrow 
our balance4 ,these base things are not 
we2 our true self does not reside in    
them1 until1 indeed1 we unite with them 
by assenting to them4 ,a man's natural  
propensities are motley1 but his soul is
 white4 ,one hears much nowadays of the 
white man's burden4 ,there is such a    
thing as the white soul's burden4 ,these
 dipsomaniac cravings with which some   
men are handicapped1 these explosive    
irascibilities with which some are      
accursed1 these tendencies to impurity  
with which others are defiled--these are
 the white soul's burden4 ,some men are 
more heavily burdened than others4 ,but 
it is not the nature of the burden that 

makes men good or bad2 it is the way    
they bear it1 or rather it is the extent
 to which they transform this initial   
nature of theirs into a better nature4  
,there is a distinction between the     
natural character and the moral         
character2 the moral character results  
from the changes produced in the natural
 character1 by the power of the moral   
will1 or by the energy of the soul      
striving to imprint its nobler pattern  
on this difficult1 oft intractable      
material4   ,but if we are not          
blameworthy for the repellant           
propensities1 neither are we            
praiseworthy on account of the          
attractive and gracious qualities we may
 possess4 ,the state of mind of one who 
is conscious of a divided inner life is 
torture4 ,nothing but an heroic         
treatment1 nothing but a radical cure   
will free him from that torture2 the    
cure is to realize that our seeming     
virtues are often not virtues at all4   
,we must sacrifice our fancied virtues1 

if we would escape from the horrid sense
 of utter depravity that arises from our
 vices4 ,a man puts to himself the      
question3 ,how is it possible that at   
one moment ,i should be sympathetic and 
kind1 should strive to compass the      
happiness of my fellow-beings1 should   
take a generous interest in public      
causes1 and try to act justly2 and that 
at another moment ,i am so selfish and  
base8 ,how can there be this oscillation
 from one pole to the other of human    
character8 ,it is the contradiction that
 makes the tragedy4 ,am ,i1 too1 not    
truly one but truly two2 am ,i1 too1 a  
,jekyll and a ,hyde1 both dwelling under
 the same skin8 ,the answer is3 ,you are
 neither the ,hyde nor the ,jekyll      
unless you elect to be4 ,the true self  
is a principle in you superior to both  
these natural characters1 a kind of     
oversoul1 as ,emerson puts it4          
,sympathy and kindness lend themselves  
to the building up of a virtuous        
character1 they are the psychological   

bases of virtue1 but they must not be   
confounded with virtue itself4 ,taken by
 themselves1 they represent merely a    
felicitous mixture of the elements of   
which we are compounded1 no more        
praiseworthy than their opposites are   
blameworthy4 ,sympathy and kindness must
 be governed and regulated by principle1
 if they are to be rated as moral       
qualities4 ,left uncultivated1 they     
often produce positively immoral        
results4 ,likewise1 what is called      
justice is often no more than a hard    
adherence to rules1 a love of order in  
our relations to others1 which must be  
tempered and softened by the quality of 
mercy1 before it can be accounted a     
moral virtue4 ,again1 a willingness to  
advance the interests of a class or of a
 people is often no more than an        
enlarged egotism1 with most of the      
defects of the narrower egotism1 and    
must be regulated by a moral principle1 
if it is to attain to the dignity of a  
moral attribute4 ,it is only by the     

conformity of our thoughts1 our         
feelings1 and our acts to principle1    
that morality is achieved4 ,it is only  
by such means that the genial and       
attractive tendencies of our nature are 
converted into genuine virtues1 and the 
way of escape from the double life is   
along the line of the moral             
transformation of our seeming virtues4  
,mend your virtues1 and your vices will 
take care of themselves4  ,but if the   
illusion is dispelled that the goodness 
or badness of an action as it appears to
 the eye is the measure of the          
virtuousness or viciousness of the      
agent2 if the principle that governs the
 act and the effort put forth to conform
 to the principle be recognized as the  
true standard by which we are to judge1 
then two consequences will follow with  
respect to the conduct of life4 ,the    
first is that the seemingly petty       
occasions of life are to be treated as  
grand occasions in so far as a moral    
principle is involved4 ,for instance1 a 

petty falsehood spoken for the purpose  
of securing business advantage or of    
avoiding business loss may seem to the  
average man a trivial affair2 and it is 
so1 so far as the results are concerned4
 ,and yet a morally high-bred man could 
no more condescend to such a falsehood  
than a man of cleanly habits would      
willingly steep himself in the mire4 ,it
 is not the consequences1 one way or the
 other1 that matter4 ,it is the eternal 
issue between the moral realities1 truth
 and untruth1 that is at stake4 ,and in 
the light of this issue1 in the light of
 the principle involved1 petty as the   
circumstances may be1 the occasion is   
not to be considered trivial4 ,the      
eternal forces that have been at war    
since mankind first existed are at war  
on this occasion also2 he must cast in  
his lot on the side of the good4        
,another instance of action seemingly   
trivial is that of simulating a personal
 interest in others1 of pretending      
agreement in the foibles of others or of

 affecting a personal homage which one  
does not feel1 in order to use others as
 instruments for the achievement of     
one's ends1 whether those ends be       
selfish pecuniary advantage or political
 preferment1 or even financial aid and  
support for some important philanthropic
 enterprise4 ,as if philanthropy--which 
is based on respect for the worth of    
man--did not defeat its own ends1 the   
moment it seeks to accomplish them by   
methods which degrade both him who gives
 and him who receives4 ,the occasion is 
small1 but the principle involved as to 
the choice of means is great4 ,another  
instance relates to the degree to which 
we may trench upon the personality of   
others1 or seek to enter into that part 
of their life which they keep secret    
from us4 ,we may suspect1 for instance1 
that a friend is oppressed by some      
secret trouble1 and we may believe that 
we could help him if only he would      
consent to reveal himself2 but the act  
of self-revelation must come from his   

side1 and the permission to help him    
must first be granted4 ,we may give him 
the opportunity to declare himself1 but 
we may not invade the sanctuary of his  
silence4 ,the principle involved is     
great2 it is that of respect for the    
precincts within which every soul has   
the right to live its own life4  ,and   
there are other illustrations in        
abundance that might be quoted4 ,for    
instance1 custom prescribes rules of    
behavior in respect to many things which
 are really indifferent2 in regard to   
the cut of the clothes we wear1 in      
regard to the accepted form of          
salutation1 in regard to the language of
 polite speech1 and much more of the    
same sort4 ,now1 the ethically-minded   
man is not a pedantic micrologist who   
wastes his time on the minutiae of      
conduct4 ,but where custom relates to   
things not indifferent1 where a         
principle is involved1 there is no      
detail of conduct so minute as not to   
challenge the most vigorous protest1 the

 utmost assertion of independence4 ,the 
ethically-minded man is one who         
endeavors to shake off the yoke of      
custom1 wherever it interferes with the 
affirmation of the great principles of  
life2 who disdains to follow the        
multitude in doing not only what is     
palpably wrong1 but what is morally     
unfine4 ,he seeks to be a free man1 an  
independent being1 and to assert without
 acrimony or invidious criticism of     
others1 yet firmly and unflinchingly1 a 
strong and self-poised manhood4 ,this1  
then1 is one consequence that flows from
 our point of view3 namely1 that in the 
moral sphere the small occasions are to 
be treated as if they were grand        
occasions4 ,as the poet puts it1        
,rightly to be great is not to stir     
without great argument1 but greatly to  
find quarrel in a straw when honor is at
 stake1 or1 as we should put it1 greatly
 to find quarrel in the straws of life  
when principle is at stake4  ,and the   
second consequence is the obverse of    

this3 ,to treat what seem to be great   
occasions because of their outward      
results1 as if they were small4 ,is it a
 fortune that smiles upon you1 that you 
can win by suppressing a moral scruple1 
by transgressing the eternal law8 ,put  
it aside as a thing not worth a second  
glance1 if the price exacted be the loss
 of self-respect1 if the bargain to     
which you must subscribe be the betrayal
 of principle4 ,is it life itself that  
is at stake2 the dear life to which we  
cling so fondly8 ,yes1 life is precious 
in its nobler uses2 but life itself     
shall not be esteemed as great in the   
hour in which we must choose between it 
and fidelity to principle4 ,and that it 
is really possible to take this high    
attitude the example of the world's     
great martyrs shows4                    
9999999999999999999999999999999999999999
999999999999999999999999  ,the leading  
thoughts ,i have endeavored to state in 
these addresses are the following3      
,spirituality is morality carried out to

 the finish4 ,it depends on always      
keeping the ultimate end of existence in
 view1 and on not resting in the partial
 ends4 ,intervals set aside for         
self-recollection and the facing of the 
thought of death are useful aids4 ,the  
ultimate end itself is to elicit worth  
in others1 and1 by so doing1 in one's   
self4 ,the indispensable condition of   
this attitude is to ascribe worth to    
every human being before even we observe
 it1 to cast as it were a mantle of     
glory over him1 to take toward every    
fellow human being the expectant        
attitude1 to seek the worth in him until
 we find it4 ,even toward oppressors we 
should take the same attitude4          
,furthermore1 our true self resides     
neither in our poorer nor in our better 
natural endowments1 but in the will that
 suppresses the one and alone gives     
moral significance to the other4        
,finally1 we must testify to our respect
 for principle by treating the small    
occasions of life as great if they      

involve a moral issue1 and the great    
prizes of life as small if they are     
offered at the price of moral integrity4
 ,these are thoughts which ,i have found
 helpful in my own experience2 ,i submit
 them to you1 in the hope that they may 
be of use to you also4