THE MEASURE OF VALUES
This is a very utilitarian age. Start almost any subject, propose almost
any scheme, adventure, or investment, and the question is asked, "Will it
pay?" The multitude are cautious; the lower stratum, the unsuccessful--the
poor and the oppressed--are envious and often bitter and resentful; the
successful are often reckless, dissipated, and proud.
I am not writing an essay on Economics, but on Ethics and Psychology; on
the character, value, and use of the resources _within_ ourselves; our
_real possessions_. Here only may be found _actual values_.
I am not considering the "hereafter," as to "rewards and punishments";
what gods, devils, angels, or men may do _to us_, here or hereafter; but
what we may (if we choose) do _for ourselves_.
This question is practical to the last degree. Put the question, "does it
pay?" and I answer: It pays like nothing else on earth; it is the only
thing that is independent of time, place, or circumstance.
It concerns man's _actual possessions_, of which nothing in "the three
worlds" can ever dispossess him. I know of nothing so beneficent, in any
concept of God or Nature, Providence or Destiny, as this birthright and
opportunity of man, to build character, and _be_ what he chooses to be.
He who knows his power, realizes his opportunity and utilizes his
resources, may build a Palace of the Soul, in which he may dwell,
literally, in a "kingdom of heaven." And because God is the Architect, and
Man the Contractor and Builder, working strictly to the "plans" and the
designs, "that house shall stand." It is founded on the "Rock of Ages."
Did anyone ever know or see a noble character that was not built by the
Individual himself, by personal effort, by self-control, by self-denial,
by justice and kindness to others; often in the face of Poverty; often in
spite of wealth; often in the face of sickness, pain and deformity;
perhaps deaf and dumb and blind; and yet, like Helen Keller, the soul
triumphant and glorified?
To-day, as I write, I went to the Crematory to see the dissolution of a
poor, twisted, deformed, and tortured body of a woman past fifty, in which
had dwelt a soul so serene, cheerful, and patient, that the beatitudes
clustered around her, like doves in a garden of roses. It required no
stretch of the imagination to determine what society she had entered.
"Like seeks like," and each "goes to his own place." Her motive, the
day-star of her life, was the Mother-Love for an only son. In spite of
poverty and pain, she must reward him for love and loyalty, by being
bright and cheerful and by belittling her own discomfort to save him
sorrow.
Her reward was the growth of the soul that has now risen to its great
reward, and dearer and sweeter than all this to the Mother-heart, was to
see and realize the growth, the tenderness, and the beautifying of the
soul of the Son.
Did it pay? I can almost hear her shouting for joy as she joins the anthem
of the Invisible Choir of Helpers that welcome her just over the border.
She prayed many times, even the last time I saw her, before the great
change, "If it be possible, let this cup pass from me." I could only say,
"Wait just a little longer," with the assurance that every shadow of
darkness shall be transformed into dazzling light, and every drop of
bitterness into the nectar of the Gods. She was almost deaf and blind, but
you should have heard the sweetness in her voice and seen the radiance in
her face. I did not know that the end was so near.
To the son, the sweetest sound on earth was that mother's voice, but,
though silent for a thousand years, he would not recall her to one moment
of the old torture. His sorrow for _himself_ is swallowed up and glorified
in his joy for her release.
And what is all this but a lesson in practical psychology, the growth of
the soul?
Does it pay? Ask that Mother; ask that Son now. "How do you know?" How do
you know anything, except as you see, or experience it?
Character reveals itself. It cannot long hide itself. When the check goes
to the bank the resources are there. The Bank of God, and of Nature, and
of Compensation, and Eternal Justice, cannot fail. Its resources are
infinite.
Independent of time, place, or circumstance, I said: Intrinsic,
Inalienable.
Take another illustration almost at random. A cultured soul, winning its
way alone, and at great disadvantage.
In the middle of the tenth century lived Farabi, or Alfarabi. He did not
confine himself to the Koran, but fathomed the most useful and interesting
sciences. He visited Sifah Doulet, the Sultan of Syria. The Sultan was
surrounded by the learned who were conversing with him on the sciences.
Farabi entered the salon where they were assembled and remained standing
till the Emperor desired that he should be seated; at which the
philosopher, by a freedom rather astonishing, went and sat on the end of
the Sultan's sofa. The Prince, surprised at his boldness, called one of
his officers and commanded him, in a tongue not generally known, to put
out the intruder. The philosopher heard him, and replied in the same
tongue, "O Signor! he who acts so hastily is subject to repent." The
Prince was no less astonished by his reply than by his manner and
assurance.
Wishing to know more of him, he began a conference among his philosophers,
in which Farabi disputed with so much eloquence and energy that he reduced
all the doctors to silence. Then the Sultan ordered music, and when the
musicians entered, Farabi accompanied them upon the lute with so much
delicacy as to win the admiration of all present. He then drew out, at the
Sultan's request, a piece of his own composition, and sang it with his own
accompaniment, and had the audience first in laughter, and then in
tears--and to complete his Magic, changed to another piece and put them
all asleep.
The Sultan in vain urged Farabi to remain near his person, and offered him
a high position in his household.
Voluminous writings of Farabi are preserved in the library at Leyden.
"A tale of the Arabian Nights," you may say, and yet it is historic. It
reveals the fact that resources, character, and wisdom, in the end triumph
and surmount all obstacles. They are intrinsic and permanent values.
They may remain unknown or unappreciated by others, but they are none the
less riches to him who possesses them.
It was during this same tenth century in which Alfarabi lived, that there
existed at Baghdad a Society composed of Mohammedans, Jews, Christians,
and Atheists, for the purpose of Philosophical discussions and scientific
investigation; and it was doubtless under this influence that Alfarabi was
educated and enabled to cope with the philosophers of the world. Here in
Arabia was the highest culture known at the time, in Medicine and all the
Arts and Sciences, while the Ecclesiastics were inaugurating the dark ages
elsewhere, to eventually spread over the whole of Europe.
Here and there have always appeared individuals superior to their age and
time; men who dug to the foundations of knowledge, built character,
accumulated resources, and left their impress upon all subsequent time.
Nor has this accumulation of real knowledge been derived from books and
schools, though these resources have not been neglected.
Real culture of the Individual has always consisted in the realization of
the latent powers of man, in bringing these to light, in learning by
experience how to use them. Hence arise self-knowledge, self-control, and
a higher evolution.
It is not a mere technical, intellectual acquirement, the ability to
define principles and formulate propositions. It rather consists in
testing them out in actual experience; first by self-analysis to become
familiar with the real self, its capacities and powers, its motives and
aims in life; and having grasped and adjusted all these, then to start
consciously, deliberately, determinedly, and intelligently, on "the road
to the South," on the upward climb toward the Light.
"Possessions," with the great majority of individuals, mean something
outward, in space and time; what we have, and, for the time hold, rather
than what we are. The average idea of enjoyment is something altogether
superficial and transient. It is found, or supposed to be found, in
variety of sensations, emotions and feelings; in ringing the changes on
these, till vitality fails, disillusion or satiety supervenes, and old age
or death closes the play. Often the appetite remains, when vitality fails,
and Faust rejuvenated, would run the same gauntlet again. The pity of it
is that thousands of these victims of either satiety or Tantalus seem
never to dream that there are other values, or anything else, or better,
in life.
And yet there is not one of these faculties, capacities and powers that is
useless, or, in itself, evil or degrading. They are, one and all,
resources of the Individual Intelligence; tools for the day's work;
materials for the building of the Temple; whereas, they most frequently
are made the motive and the aim of life. They are means to a higher end,
and not the end itself.
Without the latent passions, emotions, and feelings, man would be a mere
mechanism. If all were mind, or mere intellect, there could be neither the
creation nor the appreciation of beauty. Every work of art would be
soulless; music might amuse the intellect by intricate chords and
variations, like a colorless kaleidoscope, but it could never touch the
heart nor elevate the soul.
Music and art, in the highest sense, through consonant vibrations in us,
open the doors and windows of the soul, put us in touch and tune with the
Infinite, and _then_, the real harmony begins. We live for the time in
another world and return with a sigh and recover the bated breath, as
though we had seen a vision beyond words. Music is an agent, a talisman, a
means to an end. It strikes in us chords that lie at the foundation, the
combinations that unlock the doors, and the "Imprisoned Splendor" wings in
and out like the doves of Hesperides.
Blunt the passions, the feelings and the emotions by over-indulgence, by
vice and dissipation, and the royal guests desert the banquet hall, the
doors of the soul creak on their hinges; and in place of the "music of the
spheres" you have a devil's dance, and the orgies of despair!
_Does it pay?_ It all depends on _use_. Here lie the resources, the real
possessions of man. Here lies the "Parable of the Talents."
Look at the profusion, the prodigality, the beneficence of Nature, Flowers
and Fruit, Beauty and Bloom and Fragrance everywhere. Where there is no
eye to see, no hand to pluck, Mother Nature delights in profusion,
seemingly because she is made that way and cannot help it. And yet, in
this little Rose-garden of ours--the Human Soul -we tramp down the
flowers, plant loathsome weeds and poisons that kill and degrade and besot
us, set up the tables of the money-changers, drive out the doves of
Hesperides, and turn the temple into a shambles for wild beasts. "Nothing
pays." "Let us curse God and--die!"
Is there not something after all in the _Measure of Values_, and in the
inexorable _Law of Use_?
And who _constrains_ us but _ourselves_?
Can God and Nature be so prodigal, noting even the sparrows fall, and yet
disregard the children of men?
What our resources are we can never imagine till we draw upon and begin to
utilize them as others have done throughout the ages.
The "average sinner," seemingly to justify or excuse his own failure, will
not believe that any have ever achieved. _But there they stand_ all down
the ages! Ecclesiastics help the deception and keep up the illusion by
calling it _Miracle_ or "Special Providence," and so prevent man from
entering his birthright, _to possess it_; and so we sell our birthright
for a mess of pottage. It is like the dissipated, poverty-stricken
spendthrift, who shuts his eyes and refuses to believe that any, by
industry, economy, integrity and hard work have secured a competency. And
so he cries, "Come on, boys! let's have another drink, and then rob this
bond-holder, who has more than his share."
The Measure of Values, and the Law of Use _hold everywhere_, in every
department of human life; and the question, "Does it pay?" is practical
and scientific to the last degree, and no one can answer but ourselves. As
we answer will be the results, and nothing but ourselves can change them.
We must realize that the human body, the organism of man, with all its
faculties, capacities and powers, is but an _instrument_ of the Individual
Intelligence; and that every experience in life, every episode in our
career, is like a day's work; perfecting the instrument for more and
better work, if used rightly; till we advance from height to height of
being; to larger and still larger and more glorious fields of work and
experience.
There would seem to be no limit to this evolution, this upward and onward
journey of the human soul. The more good work done, the larger the
capacity and the broader the field opening before us. "From height to
height the spirit walks."
The primary endowment of man is Life and conscious Intelligence, with the
power to use both.
This would seem to be the only gratuity, and whether we regard it as a
blessing or a curse, depends on how we regard and use them.
The great majority in all time, through ignorance or recklessness, seem to
have misused them.
Hence sickness, disease, deformity, and degradation.
It is a wonderful thing--this Law of Normal Use--from which health,
harmony, comfort, joy, growth, and development result, while misuse and
abuse degrade and destroy.
Divinity seems to have put within the grasp of man's Intelligence (if he
_chooses and wills_) an almost infinite range in power, variety and
application, of that subtle and basic Principle of affinity, balance and
equilibrium, that unites the atoms in a molecule, or a chemical substance;
that law of attraction and repulsion--the Parallelogram of Force--that
holds the planets in their orbits. Divinity seems to have taken man into
council and offered him, not only the Kingdom of Nature, but the royal
domain of his own soul, as a reward for co-operation and loyal service, on
condition that he shall use wisely, intelligently, loyally, and kindly,
and not misuse or abuse.
Is it _worth while_? Will it _pay_?
Nor is this all, beneficent as it seems. The whole journey of life on the
physical plane here below is so designed and planned as to make the
natural aging and decay of the physical body supplement, unfold and
develop the Spiritual Body, through the right use of the faculties,
capacities, and powers of the Human Soul--the Individual Intelligence.
These are aspects, uses and powers of that subtle _something_ we call
_Life_; that _Principle_ that
"Runs through all time, extends through all extent,
Lives undivided, operates unspent."
Normal use that insures growth and development, range and power of action,
is also, from first to last, a _refining_ process; while misuse and abuse
of these powers degrade and brutalize _inevitably_.
It follows, therefore, as the bodily structure and functions fail _under
normal use_ those of the spiritual body open, develop and unfold. First
the seed, then the plant, then the flower and finally the fruit "of a
well-spent life."
There is no "theory" or "guess-work" about it. It becomes, step by step, a
matter of conscious, intelligent, individual experience. We know it just
as we know that fire will burn or that we are here now, living, breathing,
and acting.
If I thrust my finger into a flame, all the philosophers and
metaphysicians of the world could not "argue" me out of the experience of
the fact of "burn" and "pain"; nor could theologians succeed any better by
quotations from Scripture! Man is so constituted that the _facts_ of
_experience_ are stubborn things; and the more open to reason the
individual the more convincing the facts of experience. Ignorance,
superstition, and fear recede in the presence of these Lights of man's
intelligence, as do dogma and despotism, that seek to enslave the human
soul.
Theologians tell us that it is exceeding dangerous to take all this
responsibility upon ourselves, thus appealing to ignorance, superstition,
and fear.
I would answer: I refuse to take the responsibility of _disregarding_ or
_disobeying_ the Law which the Divine and Universal Intelligence has
placed at the _very foundation_ of man's being; and I am so _un_orthodox
as to imagine and believe that God knew what he was about, even better
than the theologians, or the "Infallible" Italian who misinterprets God,
Nature, and Man.
To-day, as I write, "God's Vicegerent" is instigating and promoting a
"Holy War" in Priest-ridden Spain, over the temporal power of the Vatican,
angered to the point of murder over the "posting of notices of places of
public worship," other than Catholic.
They would rather turn the world into one "City of the Dead," than yield
_one point_ of Freedom, Enlightenment, or Self-government to man.
And men still call this _Religion_, and cast aside the crucifix for the
sword, the gun and the firebrand. The _Inferno_ has never yet been
portrayed or even outlined. Its name is Priestcraft and Intolerance under
the name of "Religion."
And is this a "Study in Psychology"? Yea, verily! Scientific Psychology is
the only thing that goes to the very bottom of it, and defines and
classifies every element, every fact in human experience. Man cannot build
a _home_ on a piece of ground where a slaughter-house disputes every
square yard of ground with the tombstones of a graveyard. Clericalism is
ever the one or the other, and frequently both; denying to man the right
to build a _home_ for himself anywhere, except by its permission and
according to its plans and specifications, fixing the rent and the
revenues for all future time.
The Premier of Spain to-day is disputing this prerogative of Rome, and the
graveyard has been thrown open. The pity, the marvel of it all is, that
the people generally do not seem to care, and call any statement of facts
"sensational" or "panicky."
I am told by some very good people that these references to Popery seem
irrelevant, and by others, that they mar the symmetry of my essay.
They are reminded that we are dealing with real and permanent values, and
with what man may do and ought to do for himself.
Lying squarely across this upward pathway of man, to be pursued by free
choice and personal effort, is the dogma of the Vicarious Atonement and
the forgiveness of sin, of which "His Holiness" claims to hold the
_exclusive agency_.
Through appeal to superstition and fear this preposterous and sacrilegious
claim to-day, as in all the past, paralyzes the will and discourages the
personal efforts of millions of men and women. Between that blind
credulity which makes personal effort unnecessary, and the miracle and
dogma which make it seem useless, the upward and onward march of man is
hindered or annulled, notwithstanding the fact that many men and women
lead noble lives who are yet communicants of the Church, both Catholic and
Protestant. True, they may, with little thinking, reason and reflection
from early education and "lip-service," give intellectual assent to these
dogmas. But the lives they lead and the personal effort put forth prove
them "better than their creeds." They say with the lips, "Christ has
forgiven us," or "Jesus will save us," and while they are _saying_ these
things they _go to work saving themselves_ by "leading the life" through
personal effort and experience.
In other words, they "save themselves" in spite of their creeds and
superstitions.
It is, therefore, with this exact "measure of values," that we are
dealing; and the necessity and value of these considerations are nowhere
so plain to-day, or so imperative, as just here, in the face of these
demoralizing dogmas and pretensions of men, who contradict all natural law
and steal unblushingly the prerogatives of God, as his "Vicegerent." The
marvel of it is that it excites neither surprise nor protest, but is
treated with a smile of good-natured complacency outside its circle of
dupes.
He who treats it seriously, as a thing that, more than any other,
demoralizes, discourages and paralyzes _millions_, is regarded as
"sensational," "emotional," or an "alarmist."
In the face of all the facts, of which the daily papers are full, and the
record of the Vatican crowded, I prefer that my own arraignment _shall
stand_. No one who knows half these facts can dispute or gainsay them. We
are making history here to-day, as mankind has had to make it in all the
past, in the face of these "Lions in the path" of civilization and
progress.
If I must choose between being superficial, ignorant and insincere, or
being an "alarmist," I certainly and unhesitatingly choose to be an
_alarmist_! The strongest ally of Superstition to-day is credulity, or
indifference. The average man says, "I do not _believe_ there is any
danger"; and if he "spoke his heart" would add, "if there is, I do not
_care_."
I would only reply, "If you mean to be honest, read, observe, and see."
You may wait too long. Spain and Portugal are just awakening from the
priest-ridden lethargy of centuries, and are making history anew. May a
just God and all the angels help and protect them.
The great daily newspapers of the country are very conservative wherever
Rome is concerned. She is too powerful and her resources too well
organized and available to be disregarded.
It is therefore very significant that an editorial in one of the largest
and most influential of these papers to-day gives a clear, concise, and
impartial epitome of the "_Row in Spain_," clearly locating its cause and
animus in the Vatican, and showing how unbearable this tyranny and
exploitation had become to a large portion of the people of Spain.
I refer to this here for a special purpose, which involves and lies at the
foundation of all other issues and considerations. And that is the
statement in this editorial, that while the Church of Rome has held
practically _undisputed sway_ in Spain _for centuries_, with immense
tracts of land, houses and revenues, independent of civil authority, with
20,000 priests, 5,000 communities with 60,000 inmates in a population of
only 20,000,000 of people--_Seventy per cent. of the people are entirely
uneducated._ With every opportunity, plenty of time and almost boundless
resources, _Rome has kept the people in ignorance, the easier to rob
them_; determined to _own_ the land, the resources, and the people--body
and soul--as the _Autocrat_ of heaven and earth! A slavery in the name of
"Religion" found nowhere else on earth to-day.
So much for Spain and the Vatican to-day. For the sequel, watch the daily
papers.
And what has this to do with America? With Psychology? With the Measure of
Values?
Simply this: Is anyone so dense as to suppose that the _Seventy per cent._
of dense ignorance in Spain is an accident, or an oversight of the Vatican
and its servants? There lie the "policy" and the secret of the power of
Rome.
In America our foundations, our bulwarks, and our hope and security of
Freedom, Enlightenment, and Progress lie in our Free Public Schools. These
Rome hates, condemns as "Godless," and would destroy if she could, as
continually proved by the letters and edicts of the Popes.
Seeing, however, that she cannot do this, and fearful of losing her hold
on her thirteen or fourteen million of communicants in America, she rushes
the building of Parochial Schools, and threatens her people with dire
penalties who patronize any other. Since she cannot _prevent_ education
here, as in Spain, she must "educate" _in her own way_, in order to retain
her power over the rising generation. The basis of this education are
ignorance, superstition, and fear; its crown, the slavery of conscience
and the "Dogma of Obedience." The brutality of Ignorance in Spain is the
sophistry of Priestcraft under the name of "Religion," in America.
The Genius of the Vatican is "Infallibility." It not only never errs, but
it never changes. It dons another mask, adopts another slogan, and is now
engaged in a great crusade to _educate_!
Constructive Psychology, the building of Individual Character, means the
_precise opposite_ of every principle, proposition, and practice of
Popery. I desire to make this plain and unmistakable.
Nothing on earth transcends in importance this basic, universal, and
_eternal antithesis_. It marks and monuments, in all time, the _Parting of
the Ways_ between Good and Evil; between Liberty and Despotism; between
Light and Darkness; between Evolution and Devolution; between "Modernism"
and Paganism; between Civilization and the Dark Ages; between the "Sermon
on the Mount"--the Beatitudes, and the _Spanish Roman Vatican
Inquisition_!
And this "antithesis," this issue, is as imminent, as active, as burning
in America to-day, as it is in Spain. It only faces different ways.
Spain is _compelled_ to redeem her _past_; America to guard and protect
her _future_.
It is, from first to last, a Psychological Problem.
It is an analysis by fire, in the crucible of fate and destiny, to
determine _accurately_ the measure of values to the Individual, to
Society, and to Civilization.
No man, woman or child, no society, no civilization ever has, or ever can,
escape this issue.
It is the design on the trestle-board of Time.
It is the Modulus of both God and Nature regarding Man.
It is the Theorem of Psychology.
It involves the Evolution and Destiny of the Human Soul.
As civilization in many places showed an advancing tendency from the
darkness, despotism and brutality of the Dark Ages, the "Robber Barons"
began to disappear. Their slogan was, "He may seize who hath the power and
he may hold who can." Serfdom also began slowly to recede. Popery and
Priestcraft assumed the rôle of these Barons, changed the slogan from
brute force (reserving that for emergencies) to "Divine Prerogative,"
"Infallibility" (later), and pagan mummeries in the name of "Religion."
_The result, to the common people, remained unchanged_ to the present
day--poverty, ignorance, and oppression.
Popery boasts that it never changes, never relents, nor forgives an enemy,
nor forgets an injury, nor fails to "get even," like any brute, whenever
she can. And this _Power_ is not only the assumed custodian of the
religion of Jesus, but stands in the place of it, as a substitute, and the
world tolerates it in the name of _Religion_!
As a problem in Psychology, we have been considering the nature, use, and
measure of values of the resources, faculties, capacities, and powers of
man as an Individual Intelligence.
Facing opportunities, we have seen that there is a Law of Use and
Responsibility which cannot be evaded.
Institutions and societies of men are, one and all, from first to last,
under the same law. It is simply an aggregate, into which not a new
principle enters, nor one principle is changed. The recognized and
scientifically determined value of man to himself, is the measure of his
value to the State.
The reverse proposition is equally true.
The value of any Institution to the individual, or to the State, must be
measured and determined in the same way and under the same law.
It may thus be seen that Institutions, like Popery, are deeply involved in
this Law of Use and Measure of Values. This is simply making use of, and
putting in practice, these basic principles.
_Of what use to man_, measured by these scientific standards of value, are
Popery and Priestcraft?
I answer unhesitatingly and unqualifiedly _An unmitigated Curse!_
This answer is justified by all history, and is as true and as exact
to-day, up to the latest act and message from Rome, as it was during the
horrors of the Inquisition; and there are evidence and specific statements
to show that Rome would re-establish the "Holy Inquisition" to-day, _if
she dared and had the power_.
It is this power, exercised through fear, on the basis of ignorance and
superstition so instilled by what Popery calls "Religious Education," that
prevents the majority of fourteen millions in America to-day, as
everywhere and in all time, from exercising their prerogative and doing
their duty as _Individuals_.
Is it not plain, therefore, how impossible it is to separate the
Individual and the Social status?
Psychology and Sociology are departments of one Science, viz.: the Science
of Man, Anthropology. Individuals and Institutions are under one law, one
law of use, one measure of values.
He who ignores, evades, or belittles these plain issues and scientific
principles, can settle with the law in his own time, though he cannot
evade them always.
Note.--During the last week of the year 1910, the daily papers announced
that before the beginning of 1911 _every Priest in the Diocese_ was
required to take an oath to oppose and resist _Modernism_ and to _obey_ in
all things the dictum and dogmas of His Holiness. As everyone knows that
under the term _Modernism_ is included all progress, investigation, and
civilization condemned by the Vatican, everything that even questions the
dogmas and despotism of Rome, the meaning of this required _oath_ is
plain.
It is doubtless renewed by reason of (among others) a book,--"Letters to
His Holiness by a Modernist," which, written seemingly by a Priest, makes
exceeding plain the meaning of Modernism and the relation of the Vatican
thereto. The book marks an epoch in the close of the old year and the
beginning of the new, and Rome has acted accordingly. She can delay the
stream of progress as she has always done, but she cannot turn it
backward. It will eventually overwhelm her.