If Dr. Adam Clarke had only been imbued with such an idea, he would not
have required to labor so hard as he has done in trying to make out a
hopeful prospect for Judas. With a truly charitable intent he summons
every possible argument in support of the idea that Judas was truly
penitent, and that he was saved in his last hour. He may have been; I do
not say. But the idea of Restoration opens a far wider door of hope. In
that case, there is no need for far-fetched argument. He will be
restored, as the worst criminal of mankind will be. The theory of
Restoration settles all difficulty.
Closely allied with this case of Judas is the case of all suicides. If
we were now holding an inquest on Judas, I suppose our verdict would be
that he committed suicide in a fit of temporary insanity. And perhaps he
did. At all events it is the most charitable verdict at which we can
arrive. Many suicides in all fairness deserve this mantle of charity.
And there is more than charity in reserve for all such. We believe there
is an opportunity of development which many of them could not have in
this life.
And so we may well believe it will be with lunatics. The reasonable view
is, that they will begin just where they left off. As they are, they are
not fit for the better world; and it would be unjust to send them to a
world of woe. Some were idiots from their birth, and so have acquired no
evil propensities of which to be divested. In other cases the idiocy was
simply due to a clot on the brain. They have left their bodies behind
them now, and the clot too. They simply begin at the point where their
reason deserted them; and it will come back in due time.
It is a very nice point to determine where insanity begins. I was
discussing this question lately with the Superintendent of a large
lunatic asylum. We agreed that, while putting no premium on crime, we
have to recognize that in many cases there is no real responsibility
where in general it would be expected. The whole study of lunacy
strongly indicates that there is a necessity for a process of
elimination and development under more favorable conditions than the
present life ordinarily supplies. And we may be sure that if there is
such a necessity, it is provided.
In this connection I think of Blind Tom. He was a very prodigy in music.
But apart from that he was a complete idiot, and had been so from his
birth. After his death a gentleman who knew him well wrote a sketch of
his life. In the noble, concluding words of that article I think we
would all heartily join, be our creed what it may. The writer says of
Tom: "Blind, deformed, and black, as black as Erebus--idiocy, the
idiocy of a mysterious, perpetual frenzy, the sole companion of his
waking visions and his dreams--whence came he, and was he, and
wherefore? That there was a soul there, be sure, imprisoned, chained, in
that little black bosom, released at last; gone to the angels, not to
imitate the seraph-songs of heaven, but to join the Choir Invisible for
ever and for ever."
Surely this abnormal gift of the poor idiot is a strong suggestion of
his immortality. We refuse to think of that divine spark being quenched
in everlasting night. And it is almost more impossible to imagine a
wholly irresponsible being like him, yet endowed with such a divine
gift, being consigned to endless torment. What remains, then, for him
but a part in the better world? Yet he was by no means fit for that
better world. Is there not then almost forced upon us the idea of a
preliminary stage of education? And if that is so in his case, is it
not more or less required in the case of every one of us? Think the
matter over seriously, and see where it will land you.