3
OPTIMISM OF JESUS OF NAZARETH IS, DECLARED TO BE AMAZING
. . i ' - '- " " - - 1 -' " " 1 ' - " t " 1 1 - - 1 1 . . - - ....... ., i , ' , . - - ' T
Dr. S. J. Reid Takes "Be of Good Cheer, I Have Overcome the World" as Text for Sermon in East Side Baptist Church.
THE SUNDAY OREGONIAN, PORTLAND, DECEMBER 5, 1020
"The Supreme Optimist of the Are."
eraon preached by Dr. S. J. Reld, taper
lntendent of evangelism for the Baptist
state convention of Oregon. In East Side
.Baptist church.
Betof good cheer. I have overcome the
woriu. John lvl:33.
WHEN we consider the principles,
and methods of Jesus, together
with the results that he ex
pected should develop from their
propagation, we are filled with a new
amazement at his optimism. Unceas
ingly, unfalteringly, unflinchingly
hope burned and slowed in the heart
of Jesus Christ. And as they said of
Christ, and said truly, "never man
spake as this roan," so we might with
eq-ual truth say never man hoped as
this man. There is not one of us who
is not the Infinite debtor to the love
of Christ. Tou may deny it or you
may disregard It, but your indebted
ness is incalculable. But not alone to
his love are you Indebted, that love
that led him to the garden grave, you
are indebted to his hopefulness.
Indeed, one might say without ex
aggeration that hope is the charac
teristic of the gospeL For the gospel
a it thril! everywhere with life so
does it thrill everywhere with hope.
A pa iran writer speaking of the a?e
in which the gospel was given to the
world, describes it in words that
would be hard to match for pathos
and poignancy. Moritur et ridet is his
sentence. It laughs with a death
rattle in Its throat. Then on that
world, strangely and unexpectedly
there was breathed the hopefulness of
Jesus Christ.
A light stole back again Into a
thousand eyes, and life leaped up
within a thousand hearts, till men
began to feel they were saved; not
only by the love that bore the cross;
but began to feel they were saved by
hope.
Radiant Hope Is Seen.
In its radiant quality of hope the
gospel of Jesus stands alone. No
christian is a-pe'slmist. and if a man
The Truce of God, by Mary Roberts
Klnehart. George H. Doran Co.. New
Tfork city.
Just in time for consideration and
then admiration, before the Christmas
gift season, comes this novel with a
fine spiritual message, and a human
touch that adds to its attractiveness.
Mrs. Rinehart has writtejj many
creditable novels, but not until now
in "The Truce of God" has she done
such fine literary work of satisfying
excellence. The novel, also, is pure
and clean in its portrayal and can be
taken with safety and mental bene
fit Into any home in America.
"The Truce of God" has the same
lasting charm as two other novels of
value: "The Cloister and the Hearth."
by Charles Reade. and "The White
Company," by Conan Doyle. In some
directions, and measurements, "The
Truce of God" reaches even a higher
sphere in the reader's affections.
"The Truce of God" is a novel that
lives in the middle ages of France,
when warriors wore suits of mail end
feared arrows as modern soldiers fear
machine-gun bullets. The hero is
Charles, evidently king or overlord of
France. He is brave, proud, obsti
nate, and his heart is ever eet on
worldly advancement. His principal
ambition is to perpetuate the glory of
his royal name. His queen had let
him, in tears, because Charles, in bad
and abusive temper, reproached her
because shehad not borne him a son
and heir. The queen took refuge with
her husband's cousin and kingly rival.
Fhilip he of the dark beard and
scheming brain.
If no son is born to Charles. Philip
Inherits Charles' kingdom. The queen
leaves behind their little daughter
Clotilde. who is wondering and tear
ful because she is not a boy so that
she might win her father's love.
The seen, is set early one Christ
mas morning during "a truce of God."
a period set aside by the cKurch
from Thursday evening of each week
to the morning of Moaday. During
this prohibited season, the church did
not allow any fighting or waft- oper
ations, under pain of dire ecclesiasti
cal displeasure.
.Charles sulks in his castle. His
men at arms sing this Christmas
hymn:
The light of light divine
True brightness .undefiled.
. . He bears for us the shame of sin.
A holy, spotless child.
The Bishop of Tours arrives to see
Charles, who. It has been rumored,
thinks of continuing the royal line of
his house, outside of his own marriage
vows. Charles defies the bishop.
After another unhappy time with
her father, the child Clotilde prays for
guidance and resolves to do a good
deed. -Unknown to her father, she
frees one prisoner in the castle, a
Jew, and then she and a retainer, a
half-witted fellow, set out to find
her mother.
When Charles learns that both Jew
and daughter have left his castle. Re
bursts into new furious anger. He sur
mises that the child had gone to her
mother. He and his armed men ride
in wrath to Philip's castle where a
great surprise awaits him in his dis
tracted family affairs.
More? It wouldn't be fair to the
author, and to the sale of her novel.
A Life of Arthur James Balfour, by E. T.
Raymond. Little, Brown & Co.. Boston
Arthur James Balfour is a cele
brated British statesman who has
won prominence not only in the de
partment of statecraft but also in
philosophy.
By competent judges Mr., Balfour
was considered to have quite an im
portant influence as one of the Brit-
ish representatives at the recent peace
conference only second perhaps to that
of Lloyd George.
lir. Raymond has done able work
In these 289 pages in fashioning such
a fair, finished and complete portrait
of Mr. Balfour. The book will be
read with profit and pleasure by
American readers.
Bonds to Cbi'dhood, by Annie Carroll
Moore. George H. Doran Co., New York
city.
Annie Carroll Moore is supervisor
of work with children in the .New
Tork public library. In this volume
of 240 pages, with kindly purpose
and tactful skill, she presents a
series of easy-to-read views and re
views of children's books. There is
little in print so far about such a
subject, and what our author has -w
written is not only a printed treasure-house,
but it fulfills a long
sought for need.
Black Bartiemy's Treasure, by Jeffery
r'arnol. Little, Brown & Co., Boston.
Much of the great personal charm of
Kingsley's novel "Westward Ho!" lives
again in these glowing pages reflect
ing pirate days of the Spanish main.
Many brave adventures are related
in this, Mr. Farnol's first sea story.
and in the recital he wins new honors
of lasting value.
The hero Is Martin Conlsby, Lord
T"eadover, who escapes from slavery
be a pessimist he is no christian. It
was the wonderful optimism of Jesus
that filled the apostles. It waa that
which thrilled the world when they
Baw it.
Let us look at Jesus a we find him
in the gospels that we might appre
ciate a little better the wonder of
the -hopefulness of the Lord.
Christ dealt with people in -a faith
ful way, but also in a hopeful way.
How to be faithful and at the same
time hopeful is one of the most diffi
cult of problems how to be true to
our own eense of truth, and at the
same time keep alive hope. Under the
thrill and -music of his speech poor
sinful .creatures who had fallen, be
gan to hope again, they knew not
why. The thief on the cross, after a
lawless life, awoke to feel that he
might be remembered. In that very
hour. that they were self-exposed and
found themselves Judged as man had
never Judged them, in that very hour
they began to hope. This is always
the wonder of Christ's hopefulness. It
leans on the bosom of perfect knowl
edge. -It sees the vilest and does not
despair. It knows the worst and yet
it hopes the best.
That is why the .optimism of Jesus
is still moving and mighty in the
world, while other hopes that were
all golden once, have passed, broken,
into the valley of weeping.
Optimism Declared. Complete.
The optimism of Christ is complete
in every respect.
The Bible is Christ's textbook. It is
optimism in the highest, optimism
from the beginning, optimism to the
end. The creation of the world is set
in the full radiance of optimistic
creation. God saw everything be had
made, and behold it-was very good.
Pure and undiluted goodness had
poured itself into the fabric of crea
tion. We sometimes hear of the pessi
mistic books of the Bible. We must
not be misled by the phrase.
There is no fundamentally pessi
on the Spanish galleon Esmeralda and
makes his way to an English ship
which bears him to England.
Martin is actuated by feelings of
revenge against an enemy. How he
works against this enemy, falls in
love, sails to get buried treasure left
by a pirate on a far-away island, and
does other things, make up this rous
ing romance of the sea.
Birth Throngh Death, reported by Albert
Durrant Watson. The James A. McCann
- Co., New York.
This message of 374 pages is stated
to be "a revelation received through
the -psychic consciousness of Loui3
Benjamin and reported by Albert Dur
rant Watson, !kf. D." The belief Is
herein expressed that the dead do hold
communication with the living, and
many spiritualistic messages from the
other world are recorded. Several of
these messages are from persons who
in life were notable in music, philos
ophy and different other departments
of learning.
On Setbacks, by David Leslie Brown.
The
James A. McCann Co., .New York.
Written in condensed, bright style
and told in crisp sentences and short
paragraphs. Mr. Brown, who is man
ager of export advertising for a well-
known business concern of Akron, O.,
presents 93 pages of good-natured,
cheerful philosophy for the business
man or woman.
Mr. Brown's message has real men
tal value and if it could be put Into
daily practice the world would . be
happier.
Jim Tofton, American, by George Brydges
Kodney. The James A. McCann Co,
New York city.
A common-sense, rousing novel, de
picting the working out of the des
tiny of Jim Lofton, miner and mine-
m
fA
-1
if
f
Bain Photo.
Mary Roberta Rinehart, author
of "Tie Truce ol God," a
Christmas story.
guard, also knight-errant of other
activities. Labor and capital condi
tions, and I. W. W are touched on.
But the chief merit of the story is its
hearty exposition of the true princi
ples of true Americanism.
The Vanity Girl, by Compton Mackenzie
Harper & Brothers, New York city.
Norah Coffyn calls herself Dorothy
Lounsdale, and in defiance of her
family, she goes on the English stage,
makes good, and afterward marries
one of her many admirers, Tony, earl
of CTarehaven. Then her real, excit
ing adventures begin, and they are
related in this clever and restful
English novel.
Tony is a gambler and a sport. He
bets on horse races, and generally
loses. Things go to smash with him
generally and, then, along comes the
big world-war.
Mr. Dlmock, by Mrs. Denis O'Sullivan.
John Lane Co., New Tork city.
Horace Dlmock Is an American busi
ness man. ignorant of the ways of
women until some of the latter begin
cautiously to educate him along the
street of matrimony.
The, story has International scenes
set in this country, England and in
Serbia and the hero's adventures
are told with skill, also with power
to entertain the reader.
Religion and Health, by James J. Walsh.
M. i. Little. Brown & Co.. Boston.
Dr. Walsh is medical director of
Fordham universitiy, school of soci
ology, and in calm, reassuring, in
forming style he writes words of
comfort as to the close relation of
mistic book or chapter' or word of the
Bible. One of the pessimistic books
of the Bible is Ecclesiastes. The
whole pessimism of that book con
sists in maintaining that the pursuit
of earthly ends is all vanity. And that
the sum of life's value consists in
fearing God and keeping his com
mandments. The book of Jo'b is called a pessl;
mletic book. Its pessimism consists
in maintaining that God does not deal
out ideal Justice to the righteous and
the wicked in the distribution of ma
terial wealth and benefits. And it
reveals the righteous man in the per
son of Job triumphing over change,
and death and time. That is the tri
umph of optimism. The optimism of
the Bible is all the more splendid, be
cause it fully appreciates all the
darkness and difficulty and mystery
of life. But it has eet in the sur
rounding clouds and darkness such a
clear shining of inextinguishable
light as cannot be found elsewhere.
Before its radiance the most optim
istic philosophies of sanguine minds
pale their Ineffectual fires. So Christ
drew on the stores of optimism in the
scriptures and thus pointed out for
us the way of hope.
Christ's Patience Cited.
From the Bible proceed to Christ's
attitude toward the twelve. He was
not only patient with the twelve he
was magnificently hopeful, loo. Had
he lost heart with them, no one would
have been surprised. They were eo
ignorant, those twelve disciples, they
were so slow to learn, eo unrespon
sive. Yet always trusting when things
were blackest, he was always hoping
when hearts were coldest. He fash
ioned them into that band of heroes
who carried forth the gospel to the
world. Everjr one of these men a
saved by hope. Had Christ not hoped
for them they ad tfeen lost. To the
very end he clung to them and trusted
them in the teeth of all the evidence,
and hoped them into a manhood that
religion to health. He discusses:
Prayer, sacrifice, purity, abstinence,
nervous disease, dreads, suffering, the
Bible and health, recreation, etc. -
NEW BOOM RECEIVED.
What Music Can Do For Tou. by Harriet
A. Seymour, head of the Seymour School
of Music Recreation, an educative, common-sense
treatise on the value of music
in every day life, not only culturally but
ethically, and from the viewpoint of thera
peutics a utde for the uninitiated; The
Behj,'lor of Crowds. iy Everett Dean Mar
tin, lecturer in social philosophy, and di
rector of the Cooper union forum of the
people's Institute of New York, an un
usually interesting treatise on the strange
mechanism of crowd-behavior: The Ped
dler, by Henry C. Rowland, an exciting,
rousing American novel, depicting how an
actor-peddler outwitted crooks and other
bad people, generally; and. The Making of
the Reparation and Economic sections of
the Treaty, by Bernard M. Baruch, one of
the economic advisors of the American
delegation in Paris, describing in graphic,
excellent style the story of America's part
in the making of the reparation and eco
nomic sections of the treaty of Versailles.
(Harper's, N. T.)
In Clay and Bronze, by Brlnsley Mac
Namara. a finely-written, biographical
novel, depicting the life of a young Irish
farmer, bound by ancestry to his farm,
but forced to change into another environ
ment, by dramatic aspirations; The Man of
Gold, by Rufino Blanco Fombona, a dra
matic and powerfully-written novel, being
an authorized translation of the noted Ven
ezuelan story "El Hombre De Oro," de
picting a hero who chanced all he had
for gain: To Woman From Meslom. writ
ten by Mary McEvilly, a bpok of psychic
importance, with a message stated to be
from the Ufa beyond, and describing the
sex from woman's standpoint; and. Cesare
Borgia, Iseult of Brittany, and The Toy
Cart, three plays by Arthur Symons; Re
pressed Emotions, by Isador H. Corlat, M.
D., an authoritative, helpful book, wititten
by an expert, describing concepts or re
pression of human emotion and uncon
scious thinking a wise message given by
one -of the pioneers of psycho analysis in
America. (Brentano s, N, x.)
The Seven Parsons and the Small
Iquanod'on, by Gerald H. Thayer, with il
lustrations by Norman Jacobson. dramatic,
clever verse; and A Study for the Times,
by W. Duncan McKim M. D., Ph. D a
series ot expert, philosophic essays on
changes -that have taken place In human
consciousness since the late world war, es
says on social influences, the individual
mind, the knowing function, the feeling
function, etc (Putnam's, N. T.)
The Truth About Christian Science, by
James H. Snowden D. D., I. L. D., pro
fessor of systematic theology in Western
Theological seminary. 305 pages, a pains
taking inquiry into this subject, with
many objections presented. Dr. Snowden
says that he has consulted many books on
this topic and has given it much careful
study. He is "anti." (The Westminster
Press. Phlla., Pa.)
Mademoiselle of Cambria, by David
Ekaats Foster, an entertaining, decidedly
attractive novel about the late war in
France, 840 pages. (Franklin -Book Co.,
Syracuse, N. Y.)
Bolshevism: Theory and Practice, by
Bertrand Russell, a thoughtful, informing
review of the present masters of soviet
Russia, and showing the errors of that
system of so-called government; The Ac
quisitive Society, by R. H. Tawney, late
member of the British coal industry com
mission, a thoughtful analysis of ..the
theory of individual rights In ICurope and
America, duly noting recent changes in
economic systems; and Adam of Dublin,
by ConaH O'RIordan, an Irish novel that
Is a skillful study of life in that island,
well written and with fine character con
struction. (Harcourt, Brace & Howe.
N. Y.)
Carranza and His Bolshevik Regime, by
Jorge Vera Bstanol. former secretary of
the interior and former secretary of public
education of the republc of Mexico, a well
written, educated book, arguing that the
Carranclsta constitution fastened on Mex
ico is bolshevik and illegal In character,
an important addition to recent Mexican
history. (Wayside Press, L,oa Angeles,
Cal.)
. Karl Marx, by Achille Lorla. professor
of political economy in the University of
Turin, a brilliant study of a great charac
ter, valuable to the student and general
reader, however much one may disagree
with Marx's economic and other ideas.
(Thos. Seltzer. N. T.)
Helping the Rich, by James Bay, a re-'
markabty clever play in four acts. (Bren
tano's, N. Y.)
Christmas Roses, by Anne W. Sedgwick,
nine short atories of English llfe,-tortes
that stand out for beauty of style and
subtlety of character analysts. (Hough
ton, Mifflin Co., Boston.)
Touchstones of Success, a book of
marked inspiration for young men, being
rousing, thoughtful, original articles, writ
ten by 160 present-day men, who are un
crowned kings in the industrial, financial,
amusement and business worlds, a book
that would be a wise Christmas gift to a
youth. (Vir rub. jo., Phlla.. Pa.)
The Trail 5oys or tno Plains, by Jay
Winthrop Allen, a rousing tale of the old
west, describing the hunt for the big
buffalo. (George Sully & Co., N. Y.)
The Parts Men Play, by A. Beverley
Baxter, an artistically written novel of
English life, splendid In character con
struction and about the recent war period.
(D. Appleton & Co., N. Y.T .
Thuvia, Maid of Mars, by Edgar Rice
Burroigns. anotner lanctlui, finely enter
taining novel of strange doings in the
planet Mars. (A. J. McClurg & Co., Chi
cago.)
Pegs Freshman, by Chrlatlna Catreyaa
and jean wick, a liKeaoie. human-interest
story of a girl's life in a small country
college in the east, written for girls be
tween 12 and 10 years; and The Mating of
the uiaaes, oy Acnmea Abdullah.
splendid, romantic novel, full of action, de
picting adventures in Enropeand Asia.
(The James A. McCann Co.. N. Y.)
- The Despollers, by J. Edmund Buttree,
stories of the -North Dakota grain fields,
with exposures of the non-partisan league.
(The cnristopner ruo. uouse, .Boston.)
Winsome Winnie, by Stephen Leacock,
eight short stories of a lively kind and
often filled with laughter, with scenes set
in this country and England; That Girl
March, by w. H. Hainsford, a pleasant.
lively novel oi E.ngusn uie; rne Borrow
dale Tragedy, by w. J. uawson, a puz
zling wen-written muraer mystery.
story of note: and Broken Color, by Harold
Ohlson. an English novel of our time, with
attractive character work that is a charxn.
(John Lane Co., N. Y.)
Joseph. Kergesbeimer. byj
Llewellyn
has made us the debtors until this
hour.
The same element of optimism Is
in the teaching of Jesus. I know no
words of any teacher that are so
hopeful as the words of Christ. The
old Jewish law began with cursing,
but the ministry of Christ began with
blessing. "Blessed are the poor in
spirit." That was the music that
heralded the message and that was
the music of the close. To the-very
end in spite of all that life had meant
for him and death had done to him.
he still taught in the resurrection
ministry the magnificent message of
optimism. In Christ's teaching I find
a story of a lost coin, hidden hope
lessly in the dust. I find a story of a
sheep that wandered and a story of
a prodigal who cast from him the ties
of home and who to every servant in
that house would seem hopelessly
lost forever. But the coin was found,
and the lost sheep was found, and the
son that Wad destroyed himself was
found. It is never a losing but al
ways a finding with the teaching of
Jesus. That is the trumpet note of
hope and the men who hear It are
saved by hope as you and I who also
have been lost are saved by hope this
very hour.
Leuoas Are Found.
Let me say in passing how vivid Is
this feature in' the lessons which
Christ drew from nature. Christ dwelt
on the hopeful side of nature in a
way to strike wonder to the mind.
He speaks of the lily brightening, the
meadow; of the bird flying in the
summer heaven, of the field clad In
Its golden mantle and bowing deli
cately in the autumn breeze. He takes
the mustard seed, the most insignifi
cant and finds in that the image of
the kingdom. He feels the kiss of
the wind upon his cheek, and says
that resemhlea the TTnlv Snlrft
1 Everywhere in his nature teaching
you have the glorious spirit of op
timism. Tou have Christ drawing
from the book of nature lessons of
good cheer for mortal men. And this,
mark you, although he must have
Jones, literary editor of the Chicago Eve
ning Post, a sincerely-written. Informing
estimate n of a new American novelist,
whose books are. really worth while; and
San Cristobal de la Habana. by Joseph
Hergeshelmer, a brilliantly-written and
cleverly-presented series of word-pictures,
concerning people and manners In Havana,
Cuba. (Alfred A. Knopf, N. Y.)
Belgium, by 11. Vander Linden, trans
lated by Sybil Jane, an attractive history
of Belgium from the earliest times up to
now. being- one of the "Histories of the
Nations Series." (Oxford University Press.
N. Y.)
COLLEGE HELD HAMPERED
President Penrose Tells of Press
ing Xeeds of Whitman.
WHITMAN COLLEGE. Walla -spalla.
Wash., Dec. 4. (Special.) That the
growth of Whitman college Is seri
ously hampered by lack of accom
modations and equipment and that
Whitman must have additional build
ings before it can expand further
were declarations of President Pen
rose before the annual meeting- of
the Whitman board of overseers. The
construction of at least five new
buildings was urged by the Whitman
president a library, a new wBmen's
dormitory, a men's, dormitory, a new
gymnasium for men and a central
heating plant.
A library building is the chief need,
declared Dr. Penrose. The library
at present is quartered in Memorial
building and is "so cramped that its
growth is arrested, there being no
space to 'put new books, the reading
room crowded and the librarian's1
quarters contracted to the smallest
degree."
"Equally immediate are the needs
for dormitories," said President Pen
rose. "Whitman shall receive no more
students than we can house. On ac
count of lack of dormitory facilities,
students have turned away from
Whitman. A men's dormlto'ry accom
modating at least 75 men and a new
women's dormitory accommodating
1-100 are needed."
WESTERN VIEWS BROADER
Professor Finds Sew Ideas Are
Easily Grasped Here.
UNIVERSITY OP OREGON, Eugene.
Dec. 4. (Special.) The force and
vigor of western people attract the
admiration of Robert Perkins Bass.
ex-governor of New Hampshire, late
ly added to the professorial staff of
the economics department.
In the east, Mr. Bass said, "there
is direct opposition to anything new
just because it. is new. This tremen
dous inertia is hard to overcome and
the process of introducing any idea
entails considerable preparation. In
the west there Is open-mindedness,
which makes it easy to introduce new
things."
When the progressive party was
started the ex-governor was one of
the group of seven governors who
petitioned Theodore Roosevelt to take
the leadership.
The addition of Mr. Bass to the
university is of distinct advantage,
for he has spent much time In practi
cal research work in the field of la
bor. During the war he was director
of marine labor for the United States
shipping board.
GOVERNOR AGAIN MORMON
Utab Executive and Legislature to
Be Republican After January 1.
SALT LAKE CITY. Dec. 4. Governor-elect
Charles R. Mabey -of Utah,
republican and resident of Bountiful,
near Salt Lake, who will take office
January 1, succeeding Simon Barn
burger, democrat of Salt Lake, is a
member of the Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints (Mormon), served
during the Spanish-American war in
the Philippines and during the world
war in the United States army with a
rank of captain. When he takes over
state affairs he will have a republi
can majority in both state and senate
and house of representatives, while
Governor Barriburger had a democratic
majority.
Governor Bamburger, who goes out
of office with the beginning of the
new year, is the only non-Mormon
ever elected governor of the state of
Utah. He is a capitalist and owns
mines, electric railroads and other
business enterprises and Is reputed
to be many times a millionaire.
CHRISTMAS TREE PLANNED
Eugene Elks to Furnish Cand)
for Poor Children.
EUGENE. Or., Dec 4. (Special.)
The Eugene lodge of Elks is planning
a public tree Christmas eve. A tree
40 feet high will be erected in the
street in front of the temple and
candy and nuts for all of the poor
children of Lane county! present will
be distributed, according to announce
ment of J.. E. Turnbull, secretary of
the lodge. '
Carols and other music will be ren
dered from the balcony of the lodge
rooms above the tree and an address
' made 'by a prominent speaker.
known that somewhere in that world
a tree was growing on which ere
long he was to hang In agony, with
the nails piercing his hands and feet.
And then again .you find this op
timism in Jesus' attitude toward the
future.
In that regard the hopefulness of
Christ is most amazing. Think for a
moment of the kind of treatment
Jesus received from men. Some of
them thought he was beside himself
i. e., mad, and others of them thought
ha had a devil. And his own house
hold did not believe in him. and his
own disciples did not understand him,
and his own people, to crown all, gave
him a welcome on the cross.
' If there was ever treatment that
might have caused despair I think it
was the treatment that Jesus knew.
If there were ever ground for future
hopefulness these grounds were In
the life of Christ.
And you and I know how" with a
tieart as calm as a summer sea Ch'ist
seems to have looked down the ages
with a hope that was radiant and
unquenchable. "As often as ye eat
this bread, and drink this cup, ye do
show the Lord's death till he come."
He never doubted though Simon
might Insult him, he never doubted
on the verge of Calvary, that men and
women would gather to his feet and
adore him. Spat upon, he never
doubted that. Mocked at, he never
doubted. Disbelieved in, hung on a
cross,-he never doubted the glory yet
to be. And I say that when you think
of that, as a simple and authentic
fact in history, you feel that Christ
with his unquenchable hopefulness is
worth a million melancholy Chris
tians. Will of God Re-realetf.
Second, the foundation of this op
timism. It is in the revealed will of God.
Jesus knew, he would overcome the
world. Our faith likewise will over
come the world. The hopefulness of
faith, as to its quality is optimism
set to music The desert places break
forth Into Joy and singing. The rod
THE" LITERARY PERISCOPE
ETHEL R. SAWYER,
Director of Training Class, Library Asso
ciation of Portland.
THE Nobel prize for literature for
1920 has been awarded to Knut
Hamsun of Norway. Hamsun was
born August 4, 1860, in central Nor
way, tint his childhood was spent
largely much farther north in that
strange region where there Is only
one day and one night in a year. Dur
ing the '80s he twice visited America,
working largely In the north and in
Chicago. Speaking of work reminds
one of the miscellaneous nature of
h's, activities as coal heaver, road
mender, school teacher, surveyor,
farmhand, streetcar conductor (the
New York World says on the old
Halstead - street horse -car line in
Chicago from which he was dis
charged because he read books in
stead of conductoring), lecturer and
free lance Journalist. He has farmed
In North Dakota and held a Job In a
Newfoundland banks fishing boat. In
the 90s he returned to Norway and
in 1893 brought out his first volume
a collection of poems. Hamsun has
long been a favorite author in the
Scandinavian country, ranking with
Ibsen and Strindberg. Fiction, plays,
a volume on literature in America,
poetry his total editions number 65,
000.000 pages in 23 languages. .We
have in English translation his
"Hunger," "Shallow Soil," "Growth o
the Soil" and there Is promise of
others to follow.
Previous Nobel prize winners In
literature have been
1901 Sully-Prudhomme.
1902 Theodore Mommsen.
1903 BJornsterne Bjornson.
1904 Frederic Mistral and Jose Eche
garay. 1905 Henryk Slenklewlcz. "
1806 Giotfse Carducct.
1907 Rudyard Kipling.
1908 Rudolf Eucken.
190U Selma Lagerlof.
1910 Paul Heyse.
1911 Maurice Maeterlinck.
1912 Gerhart ,Hauptmann.
1913 Rablndranath Tagore.
1914 Not awarded.
1915 Romain Holland. "
1916 Werner von Heidenstam.
1917 Karl GJellerup and Henrik Pon
toppidan. 1918 Not awarded.
1919 Jacinto Benevente. .
The terms of the award assign the
prize to "the person who shall have
produced the greatest work in the
ideal sense, in the world of letters,"
and it is pretty generally agreed that
A
if
g . HE sense of pleasure which buying a goAd
' M book arouses comes from the' memory of past
delights. Often a man will smile as he turns
the pages of an Oxford book for past experi
ence tells him what to anticipate.
A selection oftthose recently issued,
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN EUROPEAN
THOUGHT -
Edited by F. S. Marvin 3fcf $633
Twelve essays by noted scholars summarizing the vjork of
the leading European thinkers in the last fifty year.
GREAT BRITAIN AND THE UNITED STJATES
. jr J. Travis Mills Tt $250
A critical review of their historical relations it lectures
delivered to men of the American Ann of Occupation
in Germany.
TUTORS UNTO CHRIST
- Sjr Alfred E. Gar vie , Mef 2-23
. An interesting introduction to Am study of rr&gions.
THE AMERICAN SUPREME COURT
"By Herbert A. Smith Nct 3.50
- A reasoned summary of the Supreme Cout-t's work in
in tar-state cases and its significance in the setting of inter
national disputes.
ROMAN-ESSAYS AND INTERPRETATIONS
'By W. Wards Fowler $5.65
A book for the folklorist and student (at comparative
religion as well as the classicist.
- STUDIES IN HISTORY AND POLITICS
2?jr H. A. L, Fisher 5.65
Delightful essays largely historical in charatter from the pen
'of the present British Minister of Education.
MEDALS OF THE RENAISSANCE,
"By G. F. Hill Vty 25.00
Covers the entire field of medaflic art in it the fifteenth and
and sixteenth centuries valuable alike asj a reference work
and for its fine illustrations which figure for the most part
pieces not previously illustrated.
cAt all booksellers or from the publishers.
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS a&meriem "Branch
35 WEST 32nd STREET, NEWYORK
WW
OXF
-Tie standard
of affliction becomes a harp of seven 1
trinTjk- Thla nntimtsm In of ituoh ft'
quality that it finds in all events a
new covenant link with God. When
God blesses a man it is a seal of a
covenant which he makes with that
man. The true God is revealed in the
believing heart. It Is the pure in
heart that shall see God. The believ
ing spirit is the only temple great
enough for the manifested glory of
him who Inhabits eternity. And the
vision is of the eternal beauty and of
infinite truth and love.
Again the optlmislm of Christ was
bound up with his gullelessness
What, tell me, in your life and mine.
Is the most -deadly enemy of hope?
It is not calamity, for if we be men at
all there is something in us that rises
to calamity. The deadliest enemy of
optimism is sin, and every time you
and I yield to sin with all the miseries
It brings there is always a dimming
of the star of hope. Is not that true?
I never knew anyone who was a slave
to sin who did not live In the swamp
of despair.
And on the other hand I never met
a man who was living in a victorious
way in whose eyes there was not
glowing steadily the unmistakable
light of a fine hope. So the sinless
Jesus was the optimistic saviour of
the world.
Not only his sinlessless but hls-love
Created his optimism. Love hopeui all
things. Think of the father with his
rprodlg-al son, how he still hopes in
spite of all the evidence. Think of
the wife of an unworthy husband,
how she still hopes for him although
he be a beast. For love remembers as
nothing else remembers. And love can
see where other eyes are blind, and
love can cling with a divine tenacity,
when other hands are loosened in
despair. Surely Christ was wonder
fully and infinitely loving. And if our
poor finite love hopeth all things for
the beloved then in the love of Christ
we find another secret of his optim
ism. The optlmislm of Christ was his
utterance of the optimism of God. It
the awards prove that the names
chosen are those with a wide conti
nental reputation rather than neces
sarily those most esteemed by their
countrymen.
Do you know who are tno nest six
novelists in the United States today?
The Writers' club at a recent meeting
decided that they are: Theodore
Dreiser, Edith Wharton. James Branch
Cabell, Booth Tarkington. Gertrude
Atherton and Willa Cathei" with a
tremendous lead for the first three
names. That's a nice co-educational
list three of each.
Here is encouraging news for all
who really care for the future of the
moving pictures. There is to be an
attempt by the national board of re
view to aid those patrons of the silent
drama who. realise the potentialities
of the screen as a legitimate means
of entertainment and instruction and
yet regard with apprehension the
sheer sensationalism and utter va
pidity of much of this reel-ed off machine-made
brain drug. They are to
Issue a white list of "Exceptional
photoplays" in the form of a bulletin.
"The object of this bulletin will be
to establish a more serious critical
appraisal of motion pictures than it
has been within the policy of the trade
Or the press to bestow. By publishing
full information and a critical review
of these pictures, the board hopes to
encourage picture-makers In the pro-,
ductlon of fine and original photo
plays, to extend the acquaintance ooT
the vast screen audience with sig
nificant picture achievements and tfo
bring some influence to bear In cre
ating a vein of serious and stimul.'ti
lng criticism of photo-dramatic arej."
To all of which we say with the ld
Irishman "More strength to your el
bow" in proportion to the sincerity
and intelligence of the attempt.
"
John Galsworthy and his wife iare
to spend the winter in America. Khey
sailed for this country October? 20.
Galsworthy has recently published
his latest novel "In Chancery."
H. G. Wells Is coming over h8fre in
January, after he finishes that new
novel he began to write on thse, day
after he finished his "Outline Uistory
of the World."
Vachell Lindsay finds that tT.ne Eng
of 'textziafexceflence.
1
w.
.v-a.3 the revelation of tSie father's
aopefulness and in saying that there
is no more to say. Haue you ever
seriously thought out what is con
veyed by the hopefulness of God T In
the long story of the universe, in the
steady trend of every? year from
harvest to harvest, lu tbe upbuilding
of every human life, htive you dis
covered the hopefulness of God T It is
unconquerable. It is Unquenchable.
The universe is the expression of the'
God of hope. If he had no hope for it
why continue it? Whyssustaln it with
his almighty power?
Optimism Paaseai World.
Third The optimism of Jesus went
beyond this world. have overcome
the world. Well, arter the victory,
whatT The optimism of Jesus de
manded immortality for the expres
sion of its delight in God. So great is
the Joy, so divine Hhe rapture, that
the few years of fleeting time are
hopelessly outweighed by it. The
praise of God retutrns in mockery on
the soul, unless it (passes through the
gates of eternity, nd tunes its harp
to the exultant cry "For ever and
ever."
Each new day Us a covenant of life
with God. The more a soul hopes in
God the more its life becomes one
with God. It finds Its ideal in the life
eternal, and fouakes the things of
time for the visions of eternity. God
cannot break tjiese covenant bonds
without disappointing the divinest
desires of love and life. They are the
twining of hiss life round the believ
ing spirit. Hjre is endless life and
Joy. Here is the music that goes on
for ever and ewer.
The optimism of Jesus demanded
immortality Jor the expression of
Gods delight, in us. Our Joy in God is
based on Goofs joy In us. It is because
he rejoices wer us with singing that
we strike rsjr glad minstrelsy of
praise. We know that he loves us so
that he will work out his purpose in
us. And ihat a splendid purpose
that is towards those whom he has
admitted to his fellowship and love
and to whom he has given strains
lish audiences call first of all for
"The Dania?l Jass." A new volume of
his poema has Just been issued by
George Bell & Sons, called "The Dan
iel Jasa -end Other Poems."
The Iondon Morning Post Is not
very cora plimentary to Mrs. Asquith's
reminisdences. It calls them "Malice
in Blumtlerlasd" and declares that it
would Tiave made "Pepys feel se
cretive and Rousseau reticent." and
goes on to say: " 'Tis all the mirage
of fallacies and falsities erected by
a biasing egotism." Thirteen thou
sand "pounds Is the price stated to
have been paid for these memoirs.
AnnoBncement of which fact is said
to h.Ttve drawn from Mr. Asquith the
ejacuflatlon, "Good heavens. Margot.
I hope they're not worth all that!"
M. John G. Neihart is placed In a
Ik
" Cfjrtstmas -
In the nature of every man is a longing
to see and know the strange places of
the world. The boyhood dreams of
romancp may be temporarily forgot
ten, but they never die.
Frederick O'Brien invites you, O reader
and gift giver, to set sail with him in "White
Shadows in South Seas" and visit the friendly
cannibals of Atuona valley on the enchanted
Marquesas where time stands still and life i3
colorful and gay.
Or go, if you will, with Harry Franck,
flelightf ul traveling companion that he is, "A
Vagabonding Through the West Indies."
Or "Through Central Borneo," the land
of the head hunters, with Carl Lumholtz is a
fascinating journey to take and is illustrated
with marvelous photographs from life.
. Coming closer home, kneel with Opal
Whitely at her flower-decked altar among
the great fir trees of Oregon and renew, if
you please, belief in the fairies that the dis
illusioning years cause one to doubt.
Or loiter a while in New England, seeing
with charming Helen Henderson the quaint
and curious in this richly historic section of
our own country.
Or tour "America's National Parks"
with Colonel Reik, over trail and automobile
road, by lake; forest and mountain.
Or if you prefer it, spend balmy "Tahiti
Days" with Hector MacQuarrie in that tropic
paradise.
Or with George Wharton Edwards as con
ductor, visit "The Vanished Towers and
Chimes of Flanders," "The Halls and Cathe
rals of France" or linger in picturesque "Hoi-.
land Today." ;
Or if you ship along with Tomlinson in
"The Sea and the Jungle," watch that your
pipe does not go out as you listen to this
marvelous raconteur of adventure on land
and sea.
But gentle reader O lover of the
strange, the curious, the original, forget not
that when we try to write of Books it is as
Chris Morley says somewhere in "The Haunt
ed Bookshop," like "putting a cat in a room
tapestried with catnip."
ihe J.-K. GUI Co.
Third and
See Society Section
from music of his own heart. Not
for time has he created such as we
but for the honor of his glory In the
eternities. When will the glowing
wonder end. the wonder of his grace?
Knowing his purpose of love in us.
we look up the ascending way of an
endless life and cry triumphantly,
"for evermore." Let this message be
used for an encouragement by all
those who work' fex the life of faith
in God. and the kingdom of right
eousness. For us it is always brighter
on before. Unrighteousness may
sometimes appear to have gleams of
triumph;:, but God's perspective re
mains certain. Upon all wrong the
night shall fall; but upon the children
of hope the sun shall not go down for
ever and ever.
Let this message be made a Joy for
the children of hope in the storms of
life and in the shadow of death. Let
faith keep her vwlon clear. We must
keep strong the power of pouring out
songs in the night, of singing praises
In the dungeon of disappointment and
pain, and of blessing him who maketh
the clouds his chariot, and rides upon
the wings of the wind.
This message is a holy allurement
to those who have refused the vision
and the music of hope in Christ.
There is no real joy for any man ex
cept in the triumph of the believing
souls.. Only in God's eternal love can
man be satisfied. Who can sing over
the hopes of these fleeting years,
which must soon be' laid in an end
less grave, the grave of death and
oblivion.
Believe In Jesus Christ, the mani
festation of the father's love and. the
poor things of time shall be trans
figured in the shining of eternity.
Tour fleeting pleasures shall be
changed into immortal raptures and
in earth's darkest days the Lord shall
be your strength and everlasting
song. God help you to enter fully
into a holy vision of hope and the God
of hope fill you .with all Joy and peace
in believing, that you may abound in
hope through the" power of the Holy
Ghost.
distinctly embarrassing- position by
the statement of Edgar Lee Masters
relative to the prize awards recently
made by the Poetry society of Amer
ica. Mr. Masters states that he has
been Informed on unimpeachable
authority, which he Is not at liberty
to divulge, that two members of the
committe were instructed beforehand
not to vote for his volume "Starved
Rock" on the alleged ground that
the book was not published in 1919.
Such grounds are utterly false, and
therefore vitiate the whole award
which divided the honor between the
late Gladys Cromwell and Mr. Nel
hardt. and gave the entire $500-to the
latter.
" It is reported by the London Times
that Bernard Shaw and Sir James
Barrie are' at work upon scenarios
for the motion pictures.
Alder Streets
for List of Gift Books.
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