Show OUR OCR TIME AND ITS TENDENCY what axe are the real tendencies of modern conditions of life this is an appropriate question at the end of this in ma many y respects the most remarkable cen century tury of the worlds history there is a restless rush in every direction As by magic one wonder atter after another is being conjured up on the stage occupied by scientific research and as a consequence our civilization has become as complex as the most intricate and delicate machinery ever invented are we building on more solid foundations than did the ancients or is it P probable that the structures of ayr our age will decay and go the way of their predecessors decess ors to many it appears as arf axiom that modern civilization is permanent they cannot doncel conceive ve of the possibility of a turning point in the forward and upward course we have advantages enjoyed at no previous time by the human race our ever growing knowledge of the worlds world they argue enables us to utilize its material and intellectual resources and prevent a recurrence of catastrophes that overtook ancient nations wholly unprepared unprepared for them there is no danger dan gerof of being overrun by wild animals or savage hordes and all the energy available can be applied towards the achievement of new results for civilization tor for progress this is the view quite generally held there is however another side to the question and this was recently pre dented by the london spectator this journal doubts that intellectual activity is as great or powerful among us as it was in great sections of the ancient world it asserts that the average private citizen of athens for instance was incomparably abler than the average member of the english parliament startling as this proposition may be to some it is held to be true and the spectator while arguing that there is no doubt the stress of modern life develops intellect insists that this is in the mass not in a profound form in the modern world there is a growing dearth of the rarer and deeper kind of intellect and the pressure brought to bear on the few that do exist is not favorable to their development we do not produce a kant or a only critics who write about these men and can give us all the latest katat views we have not the minds whose operations move in vast orbits but we have the eager minds which comet like dart into sight astonish by their luster and quickly disappear the article in the spectator concludes as follows the real truth seems to us that the world is so made that we have to pay a heavy price for everything the greeks paid a tremendous price for their ultra individualism and an d devotion to art and speculative intellect we are paying and shall pay more and more a very high price for our recognition of the supremacy of science which after all does not cover the whole of human life we have to do not only with that which is but with that which ought to be with art and religion with the twin ideals of right and beauty and life will never be rounded and whole civilization will never be secure until these are coordinated co with that keen desire to know which is at the root of our scientific conception of society in the discussion of the question of the merits of modern scientific progress as compared with ancient speculations it is 18 curious to notice that notwithstanding the admitted superiority of our age in this respect so called ancient follies seem actually to revive and gather new strength as knowledge increases alchemy chiromancy astrology tr theosophy and various occult sciences find probably more devotees now than ever people turn with apparent sincerity away from the practical doctrines of the scientists to find wisdom in the old mysteries of buddhism confucianism and other ancient cults crowds fill the halls where the alleged marvelous feats of occultism are exhibited societies axe are being formed in the civilized world claiming to hold the keys of the mysteries of ancient mythological deities and temples of learning are being erected de voted chiefly to the study of the unknowable the result Is apparent As scientific knowledge is increasing superstition is growing too and rather at an alarming rate the wheat and tares both find nourishment in modern conditions in view of this fact it is necessary to remember that knowledge alone is not a guaranty of the permanency of our civilization it is the intelligence that goes hand in hand with goodness that is elevating ever lifting the human race upwards where one of the two is crippled a fall is inevitable as is the case with the bird attempting flight when one of the wings is wounded and the fall will be all the more disastrous the loftier the altitude from which it is made the important question therefore is what is the status of the moral nature that to is developing the keenest observers are not free from misgivings on this point archbishop ireland Is reported to have said bald rev re bently that he believed that moral and social purity personal integrity the repression of passion and the posses possession slow of higher aims of life and an citizenship se are on the decline it is not pessimism sm to state this it is to point out 4 a fact which no amount of sophistry can conceal but after all there is hope in the fact that a question of this kind receives attention for it proves that the he world w is growing conscious of possible danger and this can be averted if it be pointed out clearly fearlessly and in time |