Solomon, in the fulness of his wisdom and the maturity of his moral
strength, wrote Proverbs. In the third chapter are many appeals
in behalf of ideal manhood, and in behalf of justice and mercy in
relations with one’s fellow men. He exhorts men to depart from evil
and hold fast to truth. He instructs them that intellectual and moral
wisdom is better than silver and gold and rubies; that it gives long
life, riches, power, and peace of mind. The wise shall find favor in
sight of God and man. Reverence for God contributes to worldly success
and the growth of character. With equal force he teaches regard for
the rights and the welfare of others. “Devise not evil against thy
neighbor.” “Strive not with a man without a cause.” “Choose not the
ways of the oppressor.” “Withhold not good from them to whom it is due,
when it is in the power of thine hand to do it.” And he sums up the
whole matter in the sentence: “God blesseth the habitation of the just.”
Men sometimes question whether ideals and Utopias have any practical
value. Note the words of Professor Jowett, penned after he had spent
years of his intense life in translating and commenting upon the
Dialogues of Plato—writings which, in broad outlines, represent the
best ideals of all philosophy for the individual and for society. He
says: “Human life and conduct are affected by ideals in the same way
that they are affected by the examples of eminent men. Neither the one
nor the other is immediately applicable to practice, but there is a
virtue flowing from them which tends to raise individuals above the
common routine of society or trade, and to elevate states above the
mere interests of commerce or the necessities of self-defense. Most
men live in a corner, and see but a little way beyond their own home
or place or occupation; they ‘do not lift up their eyes to the hills;’
they are not awake when the dawn appears. But in Plato, as from some
‘tower of speculation,’ we look into the distance and behold the future
of the world and of philosophy. The ideal of the state and of the
life of the philosopher; the ideal of an education continuing through
life and extending equally to both sexes; the ideal of the unity and
correlation of knowledge; the faith in good and immortality—are the
vacant forms of light on which Plato is seeking to fix the eye of
mankind.”
In Plato’s Ideal Republic the ruler is to be a man of wisdom and
probity, and is to consider only the good of his subjects. “Until
political greatness and wisdom meet in one, cities never will cease
from ill.” The citizen must perfect his calling, however humble, as an
artist perfects his art, and must form a harmonious and useful factor
in the state. States must be organized on the “heavenly,” that is, the
ideal, pattern. After developing the understanding of justice through
the ten books of the “Republic,” Socrates concludes: “Need we hire a
herald, or shall I proclaim the result—that the best and the justest
man is also the happiest, and that this is he who is the most royal
master of himself; and that the worst and most unjust man is also the
most miserable, and that this is he who is the greatest tyrant of
himself and of his state.”
The good citizen is described in Plato’s “Laws” as he who honors his
own soul, obeys the laws, meets the just demands of the state with
endurance; who holds virtue above all other good, teaches children
reverence, instead of bestowing upon them riches; who sets a good
example, holds a contract as sacred, aids the suffering; who is trusted
because of his truthfulness, does no injustice, exerts good influences,
is ambitious without envy; who is gentle, forgives the penitent, loves
not self unduly; who is cheerful and hopeful in misfortune; who is wise
and moderate, and courageous in spirit.
Thus the wisdom of the Greek confirms the wisdom of the Hebrew, and,
were we to trace the Christian teachings that constitute the true
spirit of our modern civilization, we should find these same maxims,
wrought out with fuller understanding, given a richer content and a
broader application. The good citizen is he who is true to his best
nature, and toward others is just, truthful, merciful, and helpful. It
requires no new philosophy to solve the problems of society, only a
better grasp and use of the old; for the germs of essential truths are
as old as man, and have their origin in the mind of the Creator, who
made this a moral world.
* * * * *
Each man, as a part of the universe, is subject to the universal will
of God revealed in him; he, though a free agent, is under universal
law, binding upon him as sharing in the common brotherhood. Did a
different universe walk under your hat and under mine, then there would
be no society, no brotherhood, no individual growth; so far as a man
isolates himself in selfishness and narrowness, he is detached from
the source and life of his being, and perishes by himself. He remains
undeveloped, because the soul comes to know itself only by reflection
in the mirror of kindred natures. The state is the organization that
brings men into the most favorable conditions for the interplay of mind
upon mind and heart upon heart.
As a part of the whole, each man must have his vocation. Man is
conditioned by the needs of his physical being. He is compelled to make
requisition on the fruitfulness of the earth, the abundance of the sea,
and all the forces of nature. This demand upon his energies develops
his intelligence and creative power. By serving his own needs he also
serves others and contributes to a material civilization favorable to
soul growth. The most favorable material conditions, however, are only
the scene for the play of spiritual forces, and on this scene some
find their special vocation in arousing and guiding mental and moral
activities. He who, being able, does not contribute by his vocation to
the common good, is a drain upon the whole; he takes without giving,
and has no just share in the products of earth, the protection of
state, or the favor of the Universal Father.
* * * * *
The ideal scholar is a man of rich thought and feeling, one who
has realized much of his possibility, has come to a consciousness
of universal truths. He has variety, breadth, and definiteness
of knowledge, and, hence, is able more wisely to play his part in
the state. He is the conservator and transmitter of the thought of
the ages. From his acquaintance with the past he may interpret the
present. By his own activity and invention he may add to the store of
wisdom and the progress of civilization. He is able to view broadly
the field of knowledge. He should judge wisely of events, and be able
to sift useless details from essential truths. Upon him rests the
responsibility of having many talents committed to his charge; he must
gain other talents.
But this educated power is not to be merely self-centred. In these days
no man is privileged to live an unproductive life. The development of
his nature and the enjoyment of his powers is every man’s right; but
mere serene pleasure in exalted thought and feeling, as sought by the
mediæval recluse, in an age when ideals must be followed by action,
when utility is yoked to philosophy, is no longer tolerable in scholar
or saint. The world demands the best expression of every man’s best
ability. The educated man should be a man of action and influence. If
he chooses literature, he must give mankind the result of his deepest
insight. If he chooses science, he enters a vast field, and the world
expects of the trained specialist some fresh contribution to knowledge
or skillful application in using the forces of nature. If he chooses
teaching, he holds his only valid commission from the wise men of all
ages. He is a mediator between the whole world of intellectual and
moral wisdom and the needs of the plastic mind, and he is in large
degree responsible for the shape it assumes and its beauty and worth.
Young minds will reflect the richness or poverty of the thought,
feeling, and life of the teacher. College-trained educators have a
greater responsibility in proportion to their superior advantages. In
whatever field, the educated man must use his trained powers for the
honor of his calling.
The world has special claims upon the learned professions. The client
pays for the honest service of the advocate, and, to the full limit of
the justice involved, he may demand the best effort of his patron. The
graduate in medicine has a mission, not alone of drugs and instruments,
but of ministering to the mind diseased. His relations call for the
soul of honor and delicacy and secrecy. The nature of his profession
requires the most devoted service.
This demand for unselfish public service from the educated has not
merely an objective significance. A man’s full growth is, in a large
measure, dependent upon the effective outward expression of his better
self. Man finds his well-being in regard for the well-being of others.
There are times when the popular clamor of those who see only the
near event must be resisted by the steady courage of citizens of
far-reaching vision. One such man may see a truth more clearly than a
thousand of average judgment. Plato surpassed the race in discovery
of the foundations of truth. Copernicus penetrated to the centre of
the solar system, and, there taking his stand, all the orbs moved
before him in harmony. Such a standpoint, amid all the complexities of
affairs, is always to be sought by men of deep discernment.
* * * * *
He who is educated by society or by the state stands under a peculiar
obligation. The state says: I offer you as your right the best
opportunities for your development; I provide for the acquisition of
professional and mechanical skill. As a human being, for whom I am
responsible, you have a claim to these privileges; but I give them also
for the further welfare and progress of the whole, and I demand that
you use your opportunities appreciatively and wisely. I expect you to
conserve your physical being, to develop your powers, to train your
mind for service and your heart to regard the claims of society. I
expect no dwarfed and distorted growth, but a growth that has expanded
in normal beauty and strength. The state has trained you that you may
be an active factor for the welfare and glory of the state—a factor
that shall consider the state’s problems, shall take part in political
affairs, shall occupy honestly positions of responsibility, shall stand
for the right and raise its voice vigorously for every just cause,
shall impart of its knowledge and professional skill in proportion
to the full measure that has been received. Good to the state is the
state’s due; withhold not that good when it is in the power of your
hand to do it. If your power is used selfishly, if your cunning is
turned to the harm of your foster mother, if your influence leads men
aside from the path of moral progress, I disown you as unworthy and
ungrateful, and unconscious of your obligations as a man and a citizen.
The name of a country stands for more than its territory, people, and
government. It represents the principles and conditions that gave it
birth, the battles in defence of its integrity and honor, the civil
conflicts for the triumph of the best elements, the monuments to the
loyalty and sacrifice of its founders, defenders, and preservers. It
represents the glory of its heroes, statesmen, poets, and seers; it
stands for the peculiar genius and mission of the people. It is a
heritage whose glory is to be maintained by the character, wisdom, and
devotion of all its citizens.
* * * * *
I do not take the pessimistic view of political life. Men in places of
responsibility are more disposed toward the right than is allowed by
their political opponents. Respect is due to our rulers, and a man is
not to be charged with wrong motives merely because his judgment is not
in accord with ours, because the affairs of state or municipality are
not perfectly administered, nor because of the exigencies of party.
That there is much to condemn in political conduct is also true, and
corruption, whether in the primaries or the Presidency, is most potent
in weakening the integrity of ambitious young men. The best influences
of church and school hardly serve to offset the tendency of daily
contact with men who have no ideal standards of citizenship. The idea
of public gain without commensurate public service is a most insidious
tempter, to be resisted by every instinct of true manhood. This is not
a matter of abstract speculation, but a practical condition here and
now, and one that every educated man must face.
You recall the scene of Shakespeare, where Hotspur on the field
of battle, “breathless and weary” after the conflict, encountered
a certain lord, “perfumed like a milliner,” holding to his nose a
pouncet-box, and calling the soldiers, who bore the dead bodies by,
untaught knaves, “to bring a slovenly, unhandsome corse betwixt the
wind and his nobility.” Hotspur adds: “It made me mad to see him shine
so brisk, and smell so sweet, ... and tell me but for these vile guns,
he would himself have been a soldier.” I mean no undue disrespect to
educated and refined gentlemen who stand aloof from the political field
because it smells of “villainous saltpetre,” and is altogether too
dirty and dangerous for their respectability and ease. The intelligence
of the nation should guide the nation, and any educated man who stands
by and views with indifference or timidity the struggle for the triumph
of the best elements of society and the best principles, deserves
the objurgations of every valiant Hotspur in the land. A minister
recently said: “It is as much your duty to attend the primaries as the
prayer-meeting.” I would have educated young men take a hand in every
contest where order and justice and honesty are endangered; I would
have them independently take a stand with whatever party or faction, at
a given time, may represent the best cause. I would have them measure
public service and public reward by the strict standard of equity; I
would have them recognize the duty of active practical citizenship.
The people are keen to detect wrong aims in political life, and in
their minds they speedily relegate the politician who shows himself
unworthy to the plane of his motives. They as speedily recognize
probity and patriotism and devotion to the commonwealth, and the truly
royal men in public life are enshrined in their hearts and are made
an example to their children. The majority of citizens are right in
their feeling and purpose; their fault is in their apathy. Edgar W.
Nye, the genial humorist, quaintly expressed a deep thought when he
said: “To-day there is not a crowned head on the continent of Europe
that does not recognize this great truth—viz.: that God alone, speaking
through the united voices of the common people, declares the rulings of
the Supreme Court of the Universe.” In the long run the voice of all
the people is just.
In the sixteenth century literature we find a choice bit of truth and
eloquence: “Of Law there can be no less acknowledged than that her seat
is the Bosom of God; her voice the harmony of the world.” Moral order
is a part of the beneficent law of the world; only by conformity to it
can an individual or a nation prosper. If ideals of truth and right
are existent in the mind of the Creator, are implanted in human nature
and revealed through society, no one can escape from their authority.
One of the old Sophists declared honesty to be “sublime simplicity,”
and those are yet found who subscribe to the creed. The life that is
controlled by mere prudence is likely at some time to commit a fatal
error. That State is sound that lives under the law of God, that
regards principles of right and maintains healthy sentiment.