Christian Societies
"As a result of organization on the basis of Emancipation, and when it has become an accepted fact that anger and worry are only bad habits of the mind, no clergyman can show them and retain the respect of his congregation; no King's Daughter can entertain them and be worthy of her badge; no member of the Christian Endeavor Society can harbor within himself the arch enemies of Christianity which the Master commanded his disciples to cast out, and be loyal to his cause; and no individual in the pursuit of duty, or even of selfish pleasure, can afford to carry such weighty handicaps and hope to win the race."
PLYMOUTH CHURCH CLUB AND ARMOUR INSTITUTE
Frank W. Gunsaulus
A good example of a church club is that which forms a part of Plymouth Church in Chicago. Plymouth Club was founded by Dr. Scudder and is warmly encouraged by Dr. Frank W. Gunsaulus, the present pastor of the church. Dr. Gunsaulus is also president of Armour Institute, where manual training is taught side by side with letters and the sciences to men and women alike. In these two eminently practical organizations most of the conditions favorable to growth are already furnished. Add to these Emancipation as the motto of the club, and as the requisite mental accomplishment for admission to the school, and the conditions will be perfected to the highest degree.
The word Emancipation has a very formidable sound because it is associated with a great war; but its attainment through germ eradication is a simple and easy accomplishment.
College Presidents Responsible
The presidents of great mental and manual training institutions know that the depressing and dwarfing phantoms of the mind are merely bad habits – weeds that can be rooted out – and that anger and worry are the roots.
They have provided commodious buildings, learned professors, the most perfect chemical and mechanical appliances, and thousands of books, to aid mental and manual culture; and yet, they fail to apply the first principle of all their sciences to the preparation of the pupil. In horticulture they do not tolerate worms or weeds; in chemistry they first examine into the purity of the ingredients; and in mechanics the greatest care is taken to avoid friction. Anger and worry are conditions of extreme mental friction, which, during their presence, stop the progressive action of the mental machine.
It would impose no impossibility, neither would it entail any hardship, to require of students that they should subscribe to the following:
Science teaches, and experience corroborates the fact, that the depressing or evil passions are bad habits of the mind, and not necessary ingredients.
Anger and worry are the roots of the evil passions and can be pulled out.
In order to promote the best possible growth it is required that Emancipation should be the rule of life of the student.
A Rule of Life
Under the suggestion of the possibility of Emancipation from undesirable mental enemies, emanating from so respected a source as the faculty of a chosen college, the student would acquire the prerequisite condition of "faith"; while the absorbing work of college life, surrounded by fellows working in sympathy with him, would strengthen the faith into a belief; and the immediate recompense of harmony would be evidence of its value as a rule of life.
Emancipation will Spread
From the school the student would carry the rule back into the family, and into all walks in life; and with the aid of present means of communication the influence would spread the world over, disarm the prodigious preparations for struggle that are being made, and distribute the palm branch to take the place of the sword.
Will not the great educators whom the world respects so highly, and in whom it has so much faith, try the experiment? The promised fruit is worth the trial.
DIAGNOSIS AND REMEDY
Degeneration
It is believed by many, that Society and Politics, at the present time, are badly diseased. Mr. Max Nordau's diagnosis of them, which he entitled Degeneration, has met with general approval. Legislative (especially municipal) corruption, and the degradation of some of the courts, are open evidence of the fact. Statesmanship and Politics have been divorced, and are already strangers to each other. The marriage of Might and Right, has been sanctioned by popular consent. Power is no longer used as a lever with which to uplift the weak, but has been transformed into a social crushing machine. Caste, ostentation, dissipation, and insincerity, are the established idols that lure the present generation towards greedy ambition.
Ready to Break
It is also believed, and is perhaps true, that the social ulcers have been so irritated by ostentatious rivalry, and the commercial ulcers are so distended with the pus of ruinous competition and corruption, that they must soon come to a head, and that convalescence and cure may be possibilities of the future.
While these symptoms of disease are visible to all, and are tolerated as necessary evils, they fortunately do not cover the whole body politic; but yet, they seriously disfigure its face, and grievously affect the healthy action of its heart.
In the political world, many agents are actively at work to effect cure of the evils which flaunt unblushing in the face of the public. The Committee of Seventy in New York, The Civic Federation in Chicago, and the National Municipal Reform League of the United States, are all doing good temporary work, but they do not reach the root causes of the evils they aim to correct; and it is doubtful if the reforms they accomplish will be any more permanent than were those of their equally zealous predecessors.
Slow Repression Futile
In the moral and religious world, much the same futile methods of cure through repression are in use that obtained during the Dark Middle Ages.
In the individual, phantoms of the imagination, whose presence impose stagnation and disease, are created and clothed with the authority of masters, under the belief that they are the curses which bind fallen men to earth; and this in contradiction of every assurance and promise of Christ; in opposition to all intelligent methods of culture used in connection with animals and plants; and contrary to common sense.
These are strong statements, but they are indisputable; and if they are true, what then, is the remedy?
As previously stated, the only cure is the germ cure; and, beginning with the individual.
Task not Difficult
The task is not a difficult one. Appreciation of the limitations of the power of the depressing passions, and one's strength to extirpate them, and to be superior to them, are the only necessary prerequisites to victory. There is no tedious discipline, as in the various methods of repression in vogue; and dividends are immediately and continuously collectable on the fair face of the investment. No rule of conduct is necessary; for, out of Emancipation, only good conduct, to fit environing circumstances, can be expected; and yet, every Christian, every Jew, every Buddhist, every Mohammetan, every Free Mason, and every Odd Fellow, can accept Emancipation as a rule of life, without renouncing his other faiths and affiliations, because it is the fundamental principle of them all, expressed in terms of present knowledge, and unclouded by the shadows of ignorance and superstition, which gave the name of Dark Ages to a period of our history.
Skeptics Interested
And outside of these devotees, there is the great mass of men, the so-called Skeptics, who claim to adhere to logic, and scientific sense, for their light on spiritual, as well as on material subjects. To these, Emancipation will be a haven of repose for their spiritual yearnings; and, unimpeded growth, under Divinely natural conditions, "will do the rest" for them all.
PRESCRIPTION
A Simple Remedy
One grain of the assurance of Christ that man is made in the image of God.
One grain of respect for the responsibility of the care and culture of the Divine Essence with which we have been entrusted.
One grain of the command of Christ (implying a possibility) "Be ye perfect, as your Father in Heaven is perfect."
One grain of the example of Buddha that man can grow to perfection through the elimination of anger and worry and their brood of dependent passions.
One grain of the wisdom of Aristotle which declared that the passions are habits of the mind, and can be gotten rid of as physical habits are gotten rid of.
One grain of the assurance of Omar Khayyam that Heaven and Hell are within ourselves.
One grain of the assurance of Christ that "the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand."
One grain of common sense applied to an analysis of mental handicaps and the discovery of their limitations.
One grain of the to-day experience of the author that anger and worry are the roots of all the passions which depress, and can be eliminated.
DIRECTIONS
Take: and then let
The Ever-full Never-full
The ever-full, never-full bounty of love,
Sing a song, tell a tale, strike a chord, from above,
Soften strife out of life, find a pleasure in giving,
Sound the key-note on earth, of the Art of True Living.
SCRAPS OF EVIDENCE
Evidence Sought
Early in life I was fortunate enough to acquire the belief that, what seemed to be the consensus of opinion of the learned in any art or science, ought to be true; and, accepting their dictum, I have tried to grow up to an appreciation of their intelligence or taste in the subjects of their study, without combatting it with my own callow impressions. In this way I have enjoyed an early appreciation of the classics in music and in art, much in advance of the ordinary experience derived from personal contact. In this spirit of investigation I have collected some scraps of evidence which all prove my theory. No one has denied the possibility of Emancipation, but every one has found a pleasure at once in the ray of hope it suggests.
Since my attention has been directed to the possible total emancipation from the depressing passions, I have taken occasion to interview every man who seemed to enjoy unclouded happiness, as to the secret of his happiness. In almost every instance I have learned that the emancipated condition has dated, not from infancy and inheritance, but from some incident in later life that exposed the passions to ridicule, or showed them to be a cause of danger; such as death as the result of worry, or crime as the result of anger; some object lesson which proved the danger of permitting the passions to absorb one. I enquired of
A PHYSICIAN
A Physician
who has recently been selected by vote of the members of his profession to a position of honor among them, and who is conspicuous for his enjoyment of such healthful recreation as only much younger men usually enjoy, whether he did not consider anger and worry habits of the mind, and not as necessary ingredients. "Certainly," said he, "and I know it to be true by the best possible evidence, the evidence of experience." After some further questioning I was able to get from him the following story: "When I was a boy I had an ungovernable temper which brought from my neighbors the prediction that I would come to some bad end.
Possessed of Devils
At school I was known as one of the four or five 'roosters.' There was scarcely a day that a ring was not formed, and some of us 'roosters' did not engage in a fight. I followed my studies pretty closely, however, in pursuance of a natural inclination to be 'on top,' but without any laudable ambition in connection with them, and finally graduated in medicine and began practice. I suffered great annoyance from horses and servants, and quarreled with them constantly, and got mad at my patients if they showed any unreasonable tendencies; until one day it came to me as a sudden revelation, that, what most hindered them from getting well, was the very thing that possessed me the greater part of the time, and made me disagreeable to myself and others; and I resolved to master myself as I had tried to master others. From that time I date my success in life, and certainly my happiness. I will not allow anything to worry me. If a driver or other servant does not please me, I do not quarrel with him, but pay him off, and let him go with the best of feeling. I have a collector who is very faithful, and very candid at the same time. When he fails to collect an account that is due, I sometimes ask him the reason, and he repeats to me what my patient has said. One day I questioned him about an account that had been long overdue, against a patient whom I met cordially every day at the club, but who was evidently 'short' at the time and suffered annoyance from collectors. 'What did he say?'said I. 'He said, sir, "Tell the doctor to go to hell," replied the honest collector.
Emancipation Assures Success
Most men would have taken offense at the message, and prosecuted his patient for the debt, or 'cut' him, or expressed anger in some way; but I simply didn't go where he had ordered, and never referred to the matter with him. We are the best of friends now, and he is one of my warmest advocates."
A MANUFACTURER
The president of one of the largest manufacturing corporations in the country, having properties in a dozen states, related to me the following story:
Unreasonable Railway Magnate
"Some years ago I journeyed south with a railroad magnate who stood very high at the time in the railway world. We came to a river crossed by his road. The bridge had been washed away, and, while it was rebuilding, trains were ferried to the further shores. Owing to some accident there was no boat on hand to transport the official's car across the stream. He became so angry that he flew into a wild passion, and cursed and discharged the subordinates in charge of the division without inquiry as to the cause of the delay.
Too Proud to Apologize
He learned afterward that the accident to the boat was unavoidable, and that none of the employes whom he had insulted so grossly and discharged so unfairly were responsible for it; but he was too proud to apologize.
Did not Dare to be Angry
"The incident made such an impression on me, that I resolved never to show anger again before my employes; and I have kept my resolve. It has led to my renouncing the habit altogether, and for many years anger has ceased to be a component part of my nature. I am sorry that I did not discharge worry at the same time, as results have proved that it has had no real cause to exist; and it has, as you say, stolen much precious time and energy out of my life."
A MADMAN
Another example of the possible control of the passions, and a most important one, is told by another friend. One of the chums of his youth had fits of anger during which he was possessed with an insatiable desire to kill the object of his wrath, if it happened to be a living being, or to break it if it were inanimate. During his seasons of calm he deplored his weakness, and resolved not to permit it to take possession of him. He stopped being angry because he was afraid of the consequences. He did not dare to be angry. As a result he has lived a life filled with charity and consideration for others, which has been a blessing to himself and those about him.
MR. DANA
Hard Work Never Kills
Mr. Charles A. Dana once sent a member of the staff of the New York Sun to learn, if possible, what was the probable cause of the death of some men of high standing in the financial world who were reported to have hastened their death by overwork. Mr. Dana did not believe that hard work could kill. The result of the inquiry in each instance was to the effect that these men were the victims of worry, which was as unnecessary, as it was unprofitable and fatal.
AN AUTHOR
One of the most prolific, observing, and interesting writers of stories and descriptive articles for the magazines, a war correspondent and one time journalist, has endorsed and practiced the theory presented in this paper, and has done me the honor to write approvingly as follows:
"I have succeeded in entirely ridding myself of the cancers, and am amazed at the ease with which it was done. You are certainly an apostle of sweetness and light, and I shall never be able to thank you enough for letting me into your noble secret."
An Author Feels Younger
He notes especially an improved digestion, and feels younger each day as he progresses in the new life.
A GENERAL MANAGER
The Southern General Manager of one of the largest British Insurance Companies is a tried convert, and finds health and happiness which had never been attained while under the thraldom of worry, which was his only former affliction.
AN AUTHORESS
The author of a novel which has just come before the public, and which is one of the purest and most ingenious stories ever published, is an ardent convert to the belief that she is superior to the depressing passions, and her naturally religious temperament finds great solace in it.
A LAWYER
A leading lawyer of New Orleans, of very old family, religious by nature, but not sectarian, found comfort in the idea of the possible elimination of the passions, and the unrestricted growth of the God-given faculties, in substance as follows:
Germ Cure Logical to All
"The germ theory of cure must appeal to all persons in a greater or less degree, especially to such as find it difficult to believe in a personal Deity who receives directly and directly answers prayer as a special dispensation. They can find logic in the cultivation of the Divine Spark which has been breathed in to them, and feel that in its growth toward perfection the Laws of Nature are being assisted and not violated; while to such as find faith in a personal God and comfort and help in prayer, the ability to be superior to sinful thoughts will give stimulation to their faith, and be a fulfilment of the Example, which taught: 'Get thee behind me, Satan'!"