On this page
-
Text (1)
-
258 ©Be 3Ltat*et+ [Saturday,
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
-
-
Transcript
-
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
Newman's Phases Of Faith. Phases Of Fait...
gospels abound in much that ( after we see the writers to be credulous ) must be judged legendary . ' And further : — " But , perhaps , I might say : — ' That the writers should make errors about the infancy of Jesus was natural ; they were distant from the time : but that will not justly impair the credit of events , to which they majr possibly have been contemporaries or even eyewitnesses . How , then , would this apply to the Temptation , at which certainly none of them were present ? Is it accident that the same three , who abound in the demoniacs , tell also the scene of the devil and Jesus on a pinnacle of the temple ; while the same John who omits the demoniacs , omits also this singular story ? It being granted that the writers are elsewhere mistaken , to criticise the tale
was to reject it . ' * In near connection with this followed the discovery , that many other miracles of the Bible are wholly deficient in that moral dignity , which is supposed to place so great a chasm between them and ecclesiastical writings . Why should I look with more respect on the napkins taken from Paul ' s body ( Acts xix . 12 ) than on pockethandkerchiefs dipt in the blood of martyrs ? How could I believe , on this same writer ' s hearsay , that the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip' ( viii 39 ) , transporting him through the air , or oriental genii are supposed to do ? Or what moral dignity was there in the curse on the barren figtree , —about which moreover we are so perplexingly told that it was not the time for figs ? What was to be said of a cure , wrought by touching the hem of Jesus'
garment , which drew physical virtue from him without his will ? And how could I distinguish the genius of the miracle of the tribute money in the fish ' s mouth , from those of the apocryphal gospels ? What was 1 to say of useless miracles , like that of Peter and Jesus walking on the water , —or that of many saints coming out of the graves to show themselves , or of a po tical sympathy of the elements , such as the earthquake and rending of the temple-veil when Jesus died ? Altogether , I began to feel that Christian advocates commit the flagrant sophism of treating every objection as an isolated ' cavil , ' and overrule each as obviously insufficient , with the same confidence as if it were only one . Yet in fact , the objections collectively are very powerful , and cannot be set aside by supercilious airs , and by calling unbelievers ' superficial . ' any more than by harsh
denunciations . " Pursuing the same thought to the Old Testament , I discerned there also no small sprinkling of grotesque or unmoral miracles . A dead man is raised to life , when his body by accident touches the bones of Elisha ; as though Elisha had been a Romish saint , and his bones a sacred relic . Uzzah , wht-n the ark is in danger of falling , puts out his hand to save it , and is struck dead for his impiety ! Was this the judgment of the Father of mercies and God of all comfort ? What was 1 to make of God ' s anger with Abimelech ( Gen . xx . ) , whose sole offence was , the having believed Abraham ' s lie ? for which a miraculous
barrenness was sent on all the females of Abimelech ' s tribe , and was bought off only by splendid presents to the favoured deceiver . —Or was it all credible that the lying and fraudulent Jacob should have been so specially lovtd by God , more ' chan the rude animal Esau ? Or could I any longer overlook the gross imagination of antiquity , which made Abraham and Jehovah dine on the same cainal food , like Tantalus with the gods;—which fed Elijah by ravens , and set angels to bake rakes for him ? Such is a specimen of the flood of difficulties which poured in , through the great breach which the demoniacs had made in the credit of Biblical marvels . "
The following is very notable , and must come home to every one ' s experience : — " Why had I not long ago seen that my conclusions ought to have been different from those of prpvalent orthodoxy ? I found that I had been cajoled by the primitive assumptions , which , though not clearly stated , are unceremoniously used . Dean Graves , for instance , always takes for granted that , until the contrary shall be demonstrated , it is to be firmly believed that the Pentateuch is from the pen of Moses . He proceeds to set aside , one by ono , ns not demonstrative , the indications that it is of later origin ; and when other means
fail , he says that the particular verses remarked on were added by " a later hand ! I . considered that if we were debating the antiquity of an Irish book , and in one page of it were found an allusion to the parliamentary union with England , we should at once , regard the whole book , until the contrary should be proved , as the work of this century ; atid not endure the reasoner , who , in order to uphold a theory that it is live centuries old , pronounced that sentence '• evidently to bo from a later hand . ' Yet in this arbitrary way Dean Graves and all his coadjutors set aside , one by one , the texts which point at the date of the Pentateuch , I was possessed with indignation . Oh sham science ! Oh false named theology !
' O nuln tail ) lnii < r ; i > munrut pars ultima vit : i > , Spiritus ct , quantum sat erit tua dicurc i ' acta !' " Yet I waited some eight years longer , lest I should on so grave a subject write anything premature . " Ho relinquished the lteligion of the Letter , but ho did not relinquish Christianity . The Religion of the Spirit was still his refuge . Inournext , we shall see how Faith at second-hand fared in his inquiry . HOOKS ON OUR TABLE . ICin Tiiff in dar + < iulskinhe . /'»» Fried rich Jlarl . Leipzig . London : Fran / Thiinm . Now , th-it ( he deplorable f . iroe of the Frnnkfort Parliament is over , a little book of portraits and characteristic descriptions from the benches of the Paulskirchc has some piquancy and apropos . Our author introduces us into the Paul ' s Church as if it were a theatre , and we take our place in the gallery or
parterre of the Paulskirche , awaiting to see its stage and its actors . " Were one , " says Herr Hart , ' to introduce a stranger into this Assembly , and request him to choose a President from this collection of men , he would no doubt point at Gagern ; a tall , powerful figure , with a stern , almost gloomy , face ; Minos must look like him when he weighs the destiny of the shades in the subterraneous world . Gagern's words sound powerfully and commanding , his voice is ever heard when the storm of unfettered passions is raging . The glare of his eyes produces as much effect as the sound of his presidential bell ; indeed , Gagern ' s appearance in the Assembly is perfectly dramatic , almost studied for effect . " "Von Soiron , the vice-president , looks , on the other hand , the very prototype of a bourgeois ; with a shining , bald head ; a picture , in fact , of a good-natured , narrowminded man . Meanwhile , the gallery of the theatrical church has filled , even the reserved pit seats are taken ; on the left sit the ladies , on the right the gentlemen ; the benches reserved for the " Corps diplomatique" are still unoccupied , with the exception only of the Schleswig-Holstein Embassy . On my right stands a bourgeois , a merchant from Frankfort , a Jew of course ; on my left a " virtuose " from Vienna ; honest country folks throng behind me . The bell sounds , the sitting is opened . Biedermann , the dandified , handsome Professor of Leipzig reads the Protocol , groups of remarkable men stand everywhere around . Dahlmann in conversation with Heinrich Laube , the latter in a coffee-coloured coat . " Dahlmann ' s head carries my mind back to the sweet days of my youth , when an innocent and playful child I had ( says the author ) two things I most loved in this world ; my dog Peter , and an immense nutcracker—the latter had the perfect physiognomy of Dahlmann . " Vinoke , the thorough Prussian , is a different " Ma ? inlehi" ; his features say nothing , remind one of nothing ; but there is a twinkling of his eye , a refined smile , which denotes the superiority of the man . Not far from him , more towards the centre , sits B « "ckerath , the other Heros , of the Prussian Diet , both i « carnate " Schwarz-Weisse . " There is also the poet , Moritz Hartmann , a Bohemian ,
whom the Times , in one of its articles on the physiognomy of the Frankfort Assembly , styled " the handsomest man among them ; " his opponent , as far as beauty is concerned , is Robert Blum , the ugliest of all ; but under his misshapen form there is a clear , healthy mind—he is the leader of the Left , the leader of the Moderate Radicals . The author describes , with humour , the notabilities of the Frankfort Assembly : Arnold Ruge ; the fair Vemdey ; the dark Raveau ; Ludwig Simon , from Trier , the best speaker of the Left , a young and noble-looking fellow ; Schmerlins , a fashionable Lion , also Austrian Minister , nicknamed by the public , "Sperling "; Heckscher , Peuker , Lichnowsky , Vogt , Radowitz , Hemieh Simon , Jordan , and many others .
The author of " One Day in the Paulskirche " is an efficient gossiper , knows the histoire acandaleusc of every member , and ridicules their vanities . His wit is piquant , not unfrequently personal ; had he been more cautious to avoid the latter , he would have produced the right sort of imprr ssion on the reader . As it is , the two little volumes are readable . We anticipated a stale , dry book , and find it to be a light , witty , not unfrequently clever and ironical picture of those men who sat at Frankfort to frame the future political destiny of Germany—a thing , as every one of our readers knows , that was soon blown down , like a house erected of cards . The Present Age ; or Truth-Seeker in Physical , Moral , and Social Philosophy . No . 5 . June , 1850 . London : JHouIston and Stoneman .
This number contains a continuation of the letters on Carlyle , and several other interesting articles , among which we particularly notice a review of Archdeacon Hare ' s Life of Sterling , by W . Maccall , in which an adequate appreciation is manifested , as well of the character of that champion of free utterance as of the principle for which he so nobly and so successfully contended . The following extract will show the high value attached to free speaking of the reviewer , and his sense of the deadening influence of a want of it , upon the fairest and , in some respects , the most advanced intelligences ;—*• The biographical sketch prefixed to these volumes is meant to bf fair , and yet we are not sure that it gives an accurate impression of Sterling . Mr . Hare is a man of eminent abilities and acquirements , too honourable to misrepresent , and with views too comprehensive and spirit too chaiitablc to offend us by a bitter or a palvry bigotry But he has some strong An ^ ican prejudices which tinge , not so much his account of Sterling ' s outward life , us of his mental changes and growth . We are given to understand by a sort of delicate art ( not intended to be Jesuitical , but which has all the effect of Jesuitism ) , that Sterling ' s dissent from received opinions was in some measure made more lamentable and blarnablc by bein , < $ likewise a renunciation of the Church of England ' s authority ! We suspect it is thus , that nearly all the Anglican clergy , even those reputed the most liberal , would speak . In their eyes ( as in the eyes of other sects also ) the worst of heresies is that which lessens even in the smallest degree , the weight of the Sacerdotal Corporation of which they aro members . It would have been better , therefore , if Sterling ' s life had been written by some one who could have risen more completely above the associations of sect and profession than Mr . Hare seems able to do . In the meantime , we gratefully accept the narrative such as it is , and admit that it is very genial and generous , and possesses much literary merit . " Progressive Lessons in Social Science . By tho Author of" The Outlines of Social Economy . This is a very small volume , but at the same time one of those volumes whose value is by no means to be measured by their bulk . The most practical and interesting books on Political Economy whicti have been given to the public for some time past , have proceeded from the same pen .
The present volume is intended for the assistance of Teachers and the conductors of Discussion and Mutual Improvement Classes , and preceded by the short address with which these lessons were introduced to the Social Science Class , at the Finsbury Mechanics' Institution . A more healthy book for such a purpose has not been devised . Those who are familiar with class teaching are aware how inapt students are at self-interrogation . It is a rare art to dissect a subject and show to the young thinker the unconscious bearings of his knowledge . To say that this is done , and done in a searching , complete , and suggestive manner , is to express great praise . We make the following extract from the preliminary address : —
" The objects of our inquiries and examination will be the acts of man . We observe them day by day ; we hear of them , we read of them , and we perform them . Which , among all these acts are good ? which bad ? which indifferent ? or , what means the same , which conduce to well-being ? which are detrimental to well-being ? which neutral ? which ought to be performed ? which ought not to be performed ? which ought to be encouraged ? which simply tolerated ? which discouraged and prevented ? When we have satisfied ourselves thus far , we shall yet
have to ask how good acts are to be encouraged , and bad ones discouraged , prevented , and remedied . Prevention , we all know , is better than cure , and remedies for evils much to be valued ; but by knowledge alone can we be sure that the means suggested for prevention and remedy will not be worse than the disease . All these things would we know ; for , unless we acquire such knowledge , we cannot act aright . It is not always easy to do the right act when we know what it is ; but ignorance of what is right makes right action impossible .
" In other places , and at other times , we may be told what we ought , and what we ought not , to do . Here we wish to learn why we ought to do some things and refrain from doing others ; and we wish besides , to familiarize ourselves with the reasons when once we have got sight of them . We wish , as far as in us lies , to know thoroughly , to think and feel justly and kindly , and then to act wisely . "The great book of nature lies open before us ; and what a different book it is to the eyes and understandings of our generation , compared with what it was to the eyes and understandings of our forefathers , through whose labours , and sufferings , and genius it stands revealed and interpreted to us as it is . Nevertheless ,
nature , as far back as man ' s intelligence can reach , was ever as it now is . The change is in man ' s progres-ively improving capacity to understand and obey the laws of nature . The mechanical , the chemical , the electric , the magnetic , the vegetative , the animal , and the moral forces cannot be shown to be different in our days to what they have ever been ; but it can be shown that , guided by the accumulated experience of by-gone ages , we know better how to wield them . The results of our improved sagacity in conducting our intercourse with nature are the agriculture , the manufactures , the means of communication , and the social institutions and arrangements of modprn times .
' Wonderful and gratifying as are the fruit 3 of man ' s researches into the unknown , our meeting here indicates a craving for more knowledge . Everything countenance ! the presumption that nature possesses secrets yet unrevealed to us , and that we have yet much to learn in the application of the secrets already revealed , for the purpose of diminishing human suffering , or of extending human well-being . " But nature yields not up her secrets to the torpid and the incurious . She requires to be pursued , to be courted , and to be interrogated ; and then the mysteries cleared up by her answers , and the floods of light poured forth upon those who can succeed in lifting her veil , will amply repay the fatigues of the chace , the delays of the courtship , and the perplexities of the examinations and cross-examinations . "
This is the language to popularize Political Economy ; and , in whatever does that , we take special interest ; for whoever acquires a refined sense of reciprocal justice , such as the truths of social sciencs inculcates , are set upon the desire for association , where alone that sense can find legitimate gratification . Labour and Us JVeeds . By Horace Greely . Melson , Liverpool . This is a Franklin birthday speech to the printers of New York , by the editor of the New York Tribune . It is conceived in a genial spirit , and has a very practical aim . It is worthy of remark , notwithstanding the extremes of sentiment prevalent in the United States , that American Socialism has always been social , never giving any shadow of cause for the imputations cast upon some forms of continental socialism . We take the following from the peroration of the speech :
" We have heard to night , of a Union of Printers and a Printer's Library , for which latter one generous donation has been proffered . I have little faith in giving as a remedy for the woes of Mankind , and not much in anyeffort for the elevation or improvement of any one section of producers of wealth in our city . What I would suggest would be the union and organization of all workers for their mutual improvement and benefit , leading to the erection of a spacious edifice at some central point in our city to form a Labourers' Exchange , just as Commerce now has its Exchange , very properly .
Let the new Exchange be erected and owned as a jointstock property , paying a fair dividend to those whose money erected it ; let it contain the best spacious hall for general meetings to be found in our city , with smaller lecture-rooms for the meetings of particular sections or callings—all to be leased or rented at fair prices to all who may choose to hire them , when not needed for the primary purpose of discussing and advancing the interests of labour . Let us have here books opened , wherein any one wanting work may inscribe his name , residence , capacities and terms , while any one wishing to hire may do likewise , as well as meet personally those seeking employment . These are but hints toward a few of the uses which such a labour exchange might subserve , \? nUe
258 ©Be 3ltat*Et+ [Saturday,
258 © Be 3 Ltat * et + [ Saturday ,
-
-
Citation
-
Leader (1850-1860), June 8, 1850, page 18, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_08061850/page/18/
-