THE TORCH OF REASON, SILVERTON, OREGON, JULY 12, E. XL 300 (1900.) 5 The New Life in the New World. Logic; the divine reason, order, or 1 eke he would have no truth or ly these lines, which are literally Geometry that was then begun to comfort in his life. The thorough tran slated : be discovered in the Cosmos. This ' achievement of this purely object C ontin u ed from 3d page. For all-unfeeling Trihity or Godhead. We start with living word solution, taken from ive view of the changes in the Is N atu re ever. the Catechism and New Testament the Neo-Platonists, opens the last of world is now our great difficulty, Alike shines th e Sun definition of God: “God is a Spirit, Chrlstl'’n 8°epels that of Jo h n ., The avoidance of anthropomorph- O ’e r th e evil am i th e good ; Alike to th e evil-w orker indnite, eternal and unchangeable / e Wl,rd *P"'lt’ has many> i«m is a slow but necessary process. As to th e best, gleam scientific, ad- . Until that is is .tone, done, there no solid solid The Moon an d th e S ta rs. in hie being, wisdom, power, holi- K and “ ’ even , so-called 7 T " ? an- ttnt.t rnat there is ts no ness, justice, goodness and truth;’’ ‘° “ " e day: I u 8,de and bouou' ,0 human »" 6uch as See how it stands: The theologi ans C M hangeless ust we all YV^ri on,) n w , ■ r, 1 ¡ Force,” “Power,” etc., are very gave us the old Mythology of The O ur b ein g ’s YY orJ, and the YV ord was with God, ’ , , .. . .. : onj »k«. tv u ’ manJ» and its uses in spirits-cosmic ology; but our fanciful metaphy R ound com plete. ard the Word was God.” All x , ♦ kirtr,a - 1 . .. „ T . 1 Philosophy, like that of John Fnke, sicians are now giving us a sort of M an , an d he alone things were made by him.”—John ’ ,1 t. „ „, • . ... , ... TIT. , , and theo-cosmic poetry,like that of new Mythology of Science, with all May d are th e im possible [to N a tu re ]; 1:1. bo was it written..With what M ordsworth, ,1 .u is • very great. But « He d istin g u ish e s, sorts of moral and religious ends Chooses an d ju d g es; truth? what is it really worth? Goethe’s and objects. Instead of settling H e to th e m o m e n ts [tim ej C an c o n tin u an c e len d . The conception of God, Descartes “Faust” stands as the last chapter right down to the simple, continu and all the great thinkers agree to in the Bible of Humanity, and its e alone can ous fact that any change here is the H R ew ard th e good, be the fundamental concept which answer to this question is the one correlate and equivalent of so much R estrain th e bad, is the major premiss of life, deter that has well stood the crucible of H eal and sav e; mining everything. Science ap Science. It condenses the ages of change elsewhere, with no moral, All th e e rrin g , stra y in g teleological or ultimate object know U sefully com bine. proaches it with all reverence, but thought. Let us see what it says and able, we have constantly the words, because of its importance, the best what it means, remembering that N o b le , th e n , let m an lie Force, Power, Energy, Mind, Will, R ich in help, am i good; solution our age admits must be he uses the word “Spirit” or “Spir Object, etc., held up before us as V nw earedly m u st he weave had, or there can be no solid its” as a part of the poetic ma The Useful am i th e R ight. entities, or some pre-designed pur So for us th e fore-life lx* foundation to or for anything. chinery of his drama—a part of poses or results. This is simply Of o u r ideal ones. At the start it is evident that the himself. the return of the old Theology in But all are a part of the con- word “spirit” will not hold. It is a F aust opens a volume, applies its metaphysical form. It has no mere simile or personification—a himself, and says: evidence, warrant or justification tinuity of the Race, thus: figure of speech—derived from the except the wishes and imaginations A little link air currents (winds,Greek pneuma), I t sta n d s w r itte n : “ In th e b eginning of those who desire some kind of Is o u r life’s lim it, was th e YVord.” or the breath of animals (Latin, H ere a t once B ut m any g e n e ra tio n s I stu m b le . YYTho can help mental or emotional anodyue. The Jo in e n d u rin g ly spiritus), or the vaporings of sub m e on? In th e ir B ein g ’s Im possible for m e to ra te T he YY tord so popularity of books of this kind is stances, as for instance, of Alcohol. U n e n d in g c h ain . h ig h ! the most lamentable sign of our All other supposed “spirits” arose Q uite otherw ise m ust I tra n s la te , No excuse is needed for recalling If by th e S p irit I am e n lig h ten e d a rig h t. times. Those who persist in talk from these physical facts and pro Now sta n d s it w r itte n : “ In th e begin ing in various phrases about a these words of Goethe. They are cesses, and are simply personifica ning was T hought . ” Power, Energy, or other entity or classic, and have been thoroughly B eth in k well th is first of lines, tions and fanciful extensions of T h a t th y thee pen pass not too rash ly o n ! purpose outside of man, “that t indicated by Science, and are gen them by the imagination. AsGœthe Is it th e T hought th a t w orks an d weaves maketh for righteousness,” or wis erally approved by Liberals. The T he A ll ? says in the conclusion of his Faust, No! it should s t a n d : “ In th e beginning dom or goodness, or any moral or sentimentalists may listen safely to such fancies are the “spooks” which was th e P ower . ” Y et even th is w hile I ’m w riting it dow n, human end or purpose, are guilty our last great poet. Many of our are the cause of all of our trouble, SoDiething w arns th a t by it I can never of anthropomorphism and of mis “Liberal” authors seem to think and which we must now begin our s ta n d ; S p irit a id s: All a t once The leading good, but sentimental and that because the world (universe or intelligent lives by dropping utter Now th e T ru th I see, innocent, people. The sympathetic cosmos) has objectively taken the ly, and getting “out into the clear.” And, confidently, I w rite : “ In th e lie- ignorance which sustains the liter place of the old Deity, that it has ginning was th e A c t !” YY’enn G eister sp u k en , g e h ’er seinen ature o f this phase of the old illu in some way succeeded to the old G ang ! Thus after Spirit we have the sions is one of the greatest obstacles moral and anthropomorphic ideas When ghosts spook, let man go straight , ultimate concept, as (W ort ) Logos; to the realization of the New Life. and notions which were his sup i but back of that must be the (S inn ) It has no basis in truth. There is posed attributes. But in this change YVe should not waste time nor Thought, Mind, Intellect; but back no test, method or law by which its those human qualities have been patience on this word. God is not of that must be (K raft ) Power, assumed intent or purposes can be properly returned to Man and H u a spirit, ghost or spook, “holy” or Force, “Energy;” but back of that known. It is therefore simply a manity, from whence they origin other. Our spiritist friends must is (D ie T hat ) Fact, Action, doing, sentimental sanction, assumed at ally sprung. As Goethe puts it, the learn the simple facts and lessons going on, or process, change —from will, and put forward to sustain or objective world of matter and its of Science. Life, sense, mind, will, which was inferred the power, countenance any inclination of changes are rigorous, impartial, and all vital and mental processes thought or mind. The ultimate avarice, ambition, lust, selfishness changeless Law. The subjective are the properties of the protoplasm objective, or “Not I,” is, therefore or vanity that may become a world and memory of Man only found only on the surface of our the continuous act or FACTof action, motive to the weakness of human gives “endurance to time,” and f-arth and at the bottom of our air the eternal process of existence. nature. But even if there is no moral qualities to actions, motives ocean, which is about five to ten Faust’s other phrase for it is the such evil impulse, human efficiency and events. The world objective miles in depth. Until it is dis- “Action’s storm, the tide of life, the is paralyzed or weakened by doubt has under Science become the im 1 overed that protoplasm exists else- roaring loom of time,” weaving the and hesitation, as soon as it isaf- partial Father-God, the same, E ter w here, or that the processes or prop- “living dress” of the Godhead. Or, flicted with the belief that it may nal, All! rties of protoplasm can exist with- as Nature speak3 finally, in his either rely upon or become thwart- The Humanity has become “The out protoplasm, it is simply child- “Parabasis:” ed by some dubious divine or in ^ hrist that is to be,” of Tennyson, ish and idle to talk the old “spirit” scrutable influence or purpose; some o whom alone human, or moral, changing, yet fast holding, words, which can have no possible Always propitious or unlucky star, that or social qualities and designs can N ear and far, far and n e a r; reality nor meaning, except as So, ever form ing and re-form ing, dominates the wofld and human be truthfully or properly attrib To th y asto n ish m en t am I h ere. figures of speech. The pleasure of affairs. The one attribute for which uted. Idol-making and idol wor h‘ ing the victims of our own rhet- Notice,astonishment! nothing more! V J — — — — “ vv v been C IJ V V * J 1 C511 1 j 7 J vj I J j is JJ ship by head or heart is now worse God has i j not worshipped - oric is often very great, .............. but it is not This was Poetry when written in the one which would have been the than the old Fetich idols of the scientific, and is the reverse of use- 1820, but it clearly says that the best for mankind—the one which f L “s 09 <1r°I’ 11 thoroughly. objective, the “Not I,” is a contin- Science now discloses as the crown- hand. Personification of Nature, or of the “N ot I,” is ouly per God is not a “spirit,” or “spook” nous, eternal process of change, ¡ng glory of the Cosmos which m missible .s.m ie in in poetry. poetry T elsbis that T elesis , that ol any * kind. The old Greek r phi- upon which the Poet, in his latter takes his place, that r vuciv is, an ail utter, UUcI , en- vll is, the use and adjustment of means lO H O n h p rs h a d tir o lfw t r o ll m n n k n r) d n ra d m n n i « h pel h i«i { - W o r m o n t i d n r i r t n u n e l I ____ . i , losophers had pretty well reached days, admonished his Eckermann during and importable impartial - to effect preconceived ends, is a hu this conclusion, and about the first to rise to the “highest point of ity . Goethe has set this forth most man trick, the result of our limita »■■(I darkest, yet greatest, of them, view” and avoid all possible sub- gloriously ln his Pindaric Poems, none, The tions, want« wants and and weakness weakness. The Heracleitus, translated this word jective teleological considerations such a« “The Limit« of Humanity” God and Nature of Science' never »pm» into “word,” or Locos, i .e ,, in his contemplation of n a t u r e - t and “The Godlike.” Note especial-] condescend to indirection He and A llf i t 4™ -L 2 1 J . a . . . , .