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Vol. 50. No. 10. OCTOBER. 1945. Threepence

PRINC !PAL t ON I

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A NEW CHURCH DILEMMA. By S. K. Ran& ..

THE FAILURE OF THE TWENTIEIH CENTURY. By J. McCabe .. 4

POST-WAR PROSPECTS. By W. B. Curry .. 6

CHURCH AND CHURCHMAN. By F. G. Gould

CORRESPONDENCE : SCIENTIFIC PROGRESS AND FL IURE CONWORI By Rupert Humphris 9

LITERARY STUDIES : FIELDING'S Tom Jones. By Humanist . . . 10

NarEs 12

REVIEWS : THE ART OF THOUGHI . By Archibald Robertson. THE

HUMANIST. ANGLICAN SHIPWRECK .. 13

THE SOCIETY'S NOUICES 15 & 16 A NEW CHURCH DILEMMA - If Victory and Demobilization. had not swamped everything of late, more public attention would have been given to a Church of England document which was published at midsummer and dedicated to the memory of Archbishop Temple. "Towards the Conversion of England " is a shilling volume produced by a committee •if the Church Assembly, with a member- ship of 50, including five bishops and twelve women. This group was formed to consider " the modern problem of ," and their findings are certainly as revealing as anything that has come out of the C. of E. for a good many years past. Members of the Church Assembly cannot find it cheerful reading. For outsiders who may be concerned with present-day England, in relation to morals and institutional , it should have an exCeptional interest. " Seen from a distance. Britain is the country which seems most nearly to approach the ideal of a Christian community." This, surely, is rather a jolt to start with. " Distance "' here is ambiguous, but at any rate the authors of the report are candid enough as to the nearer facts. There can be no doubt, they say, that "there is a wide and deep gulf between the Church and the people." Regular churchgoers arc a small percentage only of the nation; yet " it is open to question which is the more alarming feature, the failure of the Church to attract or its failure to repel:" That is so, for the Church has to take account of a vast popular indifference. The great majority of men and women, are now untouched by orthodoxy, for the simple reason that they are ignorant of the doctrines and frequently do not know what is meant when they happen to hear of them. Religious instruction has " steadily receded." The Bible has passed out of common knowledge. " The ignorance of the Bible today," we read, " not only in the ranks of the laity but also amongst many of the (and particularly the younger clergy) is really horrifying." The authors of the report put preaching " high among the teaching agencies of the Church." while noting that the standard of preaching throughout the Church is " deplorably low." As to this, however, we arc admonished that " no one has earned the right to criticize the sermon who has not first prayed for the preacher "! Obviously, a Church setting out upon a wholly untrodden path of evangelism may not rely mainly upon sermons, since " you cannot convert people who are not there:' Preaching, that is to say, is valuable, but eood preachers arc very rare, and no one would look hopefully for them among the men who in these perplexihg days are obtaining the privilege of . " Adequate training in " is underlined as necessary, but " great numbers of priests neither know how to pray themselves " nor how to " teach the art of true prayer "—largely because thcy depend altogether upon a liturgy which not many of them learn how to read. The authors of the report suggest that, in the ambitious enterprise they are discussing, a singularly ill-prepared clergy will need to enlist the active co-operation of the laity. Can we imagine their atternpting a venture so unusual'? Hardly, for— it must be remembered that the Church is itself a field for evangelism." Churchgoers themselves, we are told, have first to be converted. That is to say, a Church having a membership described as largely unconverted, and a clergy ignorant of evangelism, and opposed to it, is called upon to undertake a campaign. Where are the recruits, and whcre the officers, for this imagined crusade? The report, indeed, is quite wholesome at times in its candour; but the authors have not faced the central facts, namely, that a Church Establishment is interested not in evangelism but in public support, and that episcopal authority is an unchanging obstacle for the missionary 1 minority to combat. It !may be remembered that, after the Edward abdication nine years ago, Archbishop Lang tried to sound the note of a " recall to relinion." There was no response from his own Church, and the Fifty cannot brut be aware that the situation of today is not different. They urge, for instance, the organization of parochial missions. Some readers will have read a recent desolating article by Sidney Dark, formerly editor of the Church Times, on the C. of E. in the villages. The suggestion of parochial Missions at a time when such pictures can be drawn is playing with the topic. So far I have touched only upon a few points which illustrate thY special difficulties of the problem within the Church. The authors. one could argue, have managed to define a new and serious dilemma for the C. of E.; but doubtless that " dear funny old thing," as Canon Scott Holland used to call it, will make its own.evasive way out. There are other things in the report of more decided interest for readers of The Monthly Record. The Fifty, for instance, are convinced of the'need for " adverani the Gospel." They believe in saying " dyer and over again what it is desired the public should grasp." They recommend that all the agencies of publicity should be turned to account; and !what a prospect that unfolds! What kind of material would the ndvertisers make use of? Not, we may suppose. the Apostolical Succession (which the late Diek Sheppard beaged the bishops to discard) or the intoned Litany which the B.B.C. introduced into the afternoon pro- gramme of war-time. I conclude with a word upon two special topics. • The first is . Evangelism, the Fifty affirm, is the teaching of Christian dogma. They hold that a grasp of theology is essential for all teachers and gospellers, and they offer a re-statement of Christian . This is done entirely in the old verbal forms. In view Of the frank admissions with which they begin, one cannot help wondering whether they !have persuaded themselves that a revival of abstract divinity is possible in England, or that our folk will ever again be moved by its language.. One particular point in their credal exposition I find rather surprising. The Fifty commit Themselves to the theory of conditional immortality. They say: " The idea of the inherent indestructibility of the human . (or consciousness) owes its origin to Greek, not Bible, sources.- This would seem to be plain enough. The torments of Hell are dismissed. " Eternal life," is the destiny of the accepted, the redeemed, a chosen few. But surely, in the classification of Dogma this belief goes into the section made up of cardinal heresies? It was, as we know, favoured by not a few of the great, wise, and eminent of the last century—including Archbishop Whately and ir! Gladstone. Carlyle and Matthew Arnold, in their several ways. But what will the main body of Anglicans have to say about this endorsement? This tenet has at least the merit of humaneness and present-day congregations, of course will not hear of hell-fire. Yet the Christian dogmas, from which, it is assumed, an •evangelizing clergy must preach, are understood to be immutable? The second point is fundamental to us all.. There is little fault to be found with the committee's summary of reasons for the decline of the Church and its influence: but this is followed by a sharp indictment of Humanism which, strangely, is spoken of as - the exaltation of self into the place which is 's." As to man the measure of all things, " it is hard to understand why men Still persist in being deluded by its threadbate creed," and, " seen in retrospect, the record of Humanism is not inspiring." But would the authors of the report contend that the opposite could be said of the Church's record,as displayed in any one of its major historic divisions? And how, incidentally, do they find it necessary to concede that the, most hurnane of all ages was the 19th century, and that, following the vast

3 upheaval of the greatest war:" the fundamental virtues are still manifested by the men. women, and young people of our generation "? This singular document will provoke in many readers a query as to one striking contradiction. For many years past the Church Congresses and church pronouncementS on social questions have displayed a liberal and forward-looking tendency, and yet a committee dealing :with methods in the Church's proper field cannot discard the lumber of the Middle Ages. The not-unsympathetic outsider may be inclined to as : Is there, then, no way by which the Church of England could regain its position in the material life as the chief moralizing agency? The answer could be, yes, there is. The C. of E., after all, holds a unique historical position. The parish church might be the community centre, co-operating generously with all the vital movements of social renewal, health, education, recreation, and calmly refusing to recognize the outworn barriers of class, , and opinion. But one has only to put this notion into words in order to exhibit it as a grotesque fantasy. S. K. RATCLIFFE.

SUNDAY MORNING LECTURES

Mr. Joseph McCabe on 1 .1 The Failure of the Twentieth Century,"- July 29, 1945. Readings from: (I) Ruskin's "Unto this Last." (2) Howard Moore's "Better-World Philosophy." Professor Bury showed that until two or three centuries ago nd large body of men had any idea of progress as we understand it. The French philosophers of the eighteenth century insisted that man and his institutions were perfectible, and in every age since of free thinking and striving, men have called for progress. But the question has repeatedly been raised whether wc are clear as to what goal we want to make progress and therefore how we can measure progress or retrogression. It is not necessary to set up a distant goal. We emerge from a world that was foul with physical, mental and moral evil, and we can exactly measure our progress away from it any given time. Thus we can say that from 1850 to 1900 the.race made more progress than in any preceding 500 years of history. The old century ended on a note of triumph and a confident hope that the new century would build on the foundations it had laid. Have we done so? Life was bleak and poor for the great majority of men a hundred years ago. The average wage of dhe worker was little more than 10s. a week, and what are now thought to be vital necessaries like tea, sugar, milk and beef were almost, or in most cases entirely, beyond his reach. The national income was pitifully inadequate to permit such large public services as we have today even if the ruling class had been minded to provide them. Science here rendered magnificent service. It so fertilized production that the created every year was increased tenfold, the weekly real wage was trebled, what had been luxuries were brought within the reach of all but the very poorest, and the national revenue rose until the most generous public services—education, sanitation, pensions, etc.—could be provided. The same progress of science facilitated the victory over disease so that the average duration of life was doubled and some of the most dreaded diseases were almost abolished. Crime was reduced to less 'than half what it was a century ago. Despotism was, we thought, shaken for ever from its throne, and after a mighty and self-sacrificing struggle in every country of Europe, freedom and democracy were .established. So we entered upon the new century with high hopes: and resolves. We 4 would eradicate the remaining evils, raise thc general character still higher, banisb war and militarism, take up the White Man's burden and share our good things with the whole race. We have not done it. Science has continued to make progress—far more progress than ever—and would again double or treble the wealth upon which the great crusade essentially depends. But in the wastage of war and the long periods during which we compel millions of men and machines to be idle we have lamentably failed to grasp its splendid offer. We have used it to make war more burdensome than ever and we retain so unscientific an economy that during ten years (1929-39) we let our machines rust and millions hunger. In 1930 a careful calculation showed that in thirty years we had, in this double wastage, sacrificed £100.000 millions worth of wealth. The official estimate is that to the end of 1944 this war had cost Britain and the about £80,000 millions. Add the cost this year. Add the cost to Russia, France, Italy, Germany, Japan, add the negative cost of the great depression 1929-39, and it is seen that the wealth we have wasted or failed to produce when we might have done since 1900 is something over £250,000 millions. Figures mean little, but that is more than the entire wealth of all the civilized nations put together. So we have not been able to carry out half our promises. We have not taken up the White Man's burden. A recent report on India shows it is as miserably poor and suffering as England was in 1830. and we flatter the men who keep mighty China in the same lowly condition. We have hardly raised our own average character any higher. We have, on the contrary, witnessed a growth of frivolity, an affective denial of the responsibilities of democracy, that nearly let an organized corruption, without precedent in history, capture the planet.

In gathering material for a sociological history of theiwar I have been struck by the poverty of the few excuses that are made for us. It is clear that the ruling caste allowed itself to be persuaded by the Ribbentrops of Germany that they proposed only to destroy the Soviet system and check the world growth of socialism. For the mass of the people, who allowed a minority thus fatally to dupe and lead them to the pit, the excuse may be made that the public mind and motives today are made by about six men; the who own nine-tenths of the Press. But the historian of the future will hardly accept that as more than an extenuating feature. Only the very simple of heart .can imagine that rich men own and control news- papers just to convey the truth, without suppression or twist, to their readers. The world believed, or affected to believe, that our ffithers wrought better than they knew: that the dragon was dead, vigilance no longer needed, entertainment the one occupation for our leisure hours. Is that era at an end and a new era opening? Even after passing through what we call the furnace of the war we -carried our frivolity into the election itself. But most of us forgot that since 1935 some six or seven million young men and women have entered the political arena. With an emphaisis that has startled the world they have told us older folk that we have made a mess of life, and we richly deserve the rebuke. They have not simply voted for certain economic changes. They have declared a revolution of spirit, a new attitude to the problems of life and the nations that are still struggling for free expression. Will the flame burn on-clearand bright? There have been forty revolutions since I789—and forty- devolutions. This augurs better. But these seven million young folk would do well to form an army of true Vigilantes, for vigilance is the price of all welfare and progress as well as of peace, and for the lack of it we nearly perished. (Contributed b) Mr. McCabe) 5 Mr. W. B. Curry, M.A., B.Sc., on " Post-War Prospects," September 9, 1945 Readings from Madariaga's "The World'S Design" Events move quickly nowadays, and when I chose the title of this lecture two mbnths ago I had no idea of what was about to happen. I am therefore free to choose the topic of the Charter of the United Nations. The new organization, like the League of Nations, is an attempt at world government. .Politically and psychologically the world is divided into sixty Nation States, each trying to do what they like. Most of us feel we are citizens of a particular nation and not of the world. .Thus, this is a disunited world. Nevertheless, modern science has united as in many ways and we are, in fact, citizens of one world. The things which have bound us together have given man the choice between welfare and warfare. Science now makes it possible to remove the menace of want. Every child can be guaranteed all it requires. But the same powers enable us to blow our world to smithereens. There is no hope for the future unless we can decide to Work for effective world government, and thus for welfare. Our problems can be solved only by creating the necessary machinery and institutions. The League of Nations was (he first attempt to give practical effect to this need. It failed because it attempted to combine the creation of world- wide authority with the separate authority of each State. The legislative organization could only act when there was unanimity, for a majority vote would have overridden national sovereignty. The problems likely to cause war, however, are precisely those about which we are not unanimous, and it is then that effective action is most urgently needed. That is the root of the matter. What was wrong with the League was that it had no 'force at its disposal. People now say, at last we- have a League which has teeth in it. But the nations which composed the League of Nations always had ample force. The difficulty was in the impossibility of getting a single mind to enforce a point of view. It was not the absence of force, but of a method of arriving at a single decision as to how to use force that was wrong. Therefore the principal powers used the League for their own purposes: they never intended it to be a genuinely international body. The League came to an end because its primary purpose was not achieved. San Francisco is a new attempt. To what extent;are the defects of the old League remedied? The new structure has some resemblances. In the General Assembly of the United Nations each member has one vote. Then there is the Security Councii of eleven members. Its 'primary function is the preservation of peace. The five major powers have permanent seats on it. There is also an Economic and Social Council of 18 members elected by the Assembly to initiate the study of a wide range of problems and make recommendations. The Trusteeship Council will supervise those areas which are not self-governing. There is an International Cour( of Justice. and a Secretariat. All this is reminiScent of the old League. ' The Charter differs in that every Nation shall place at the disposal of the Security Council certain forces, and contingents of their Air Arm to be used aS required. To make decisions effective there is to be a Military Staff Committee of the Great Powers, and they will advise the Council of measures to be taken, in the Assembly. a majority of two-thirds is required for important questions, but a bare majority suffices for others. This is a step forward. As regards the Security Council there is tremendous debate on the question of the Great Power veto. Any one can prevent a decision being taken and thus one Great Power has a veto on the peace of the world. Aggression by other powers can be checked, but not that by one of the Great 6 Powers. It is as if one said in a school that only prefects may fight each other, small boys must not. - If each of the Great Powers has a veto it follows that any small nation which follows a policy other powers do not like must first get a supporter among the Great Powers. The risk is, in effect, one of dividing the world into groups of rival alliances. This discovery that the Great Powers are so great and powerful that they may not be coerced is a way of claiming that they are to be regarded as invincible. We British claim privileges because we are a strong people. I should like to see us taking the lead in amending this formula by saying we wish to be good citizens of the world and not stand outside because we are a great power. The chances of modifyina the Charter are very small. On the political plane it cannot be maintained that the United Nations is a system of world government. It rests entirely on the degree to which the Gitat Powers remain on good terms with each other. As regards preservation of the peace by political means the Great .Power veto means we have not made a practical advance As to the Economic and Social Council there is a movement of thought on international affairs which points out that those who advocate an effective political world government are barking up the wrong tree. Intensity of nationalism has been increased by the war, and any frontal attack on behalf of internationalism is bound to be defeated. There are a great many jobs to he done. We shall presently have an international body which will help world trade. A world aaricultural and food conference is to be set up, and there is to be a meeting to promote educational and cult ii ra I organization of the United Nations. For the Danube Valley something like the Tennessee Valley experiment is talked about. Something must be done for transport. If you first attempt to create a new political organization. and then erect subsidiary bodies to tackle these arrangements, you run your head against a brick wall. Let us get started on a number of international jobs. If carried out on the international plane people will become dependent on them. The International Postal Union is a good example. We accept its rules and regulations. International arranaements dependent on organizations for other matters, and a permanent international Civil Service may develop. The Economic and Social Council may play a large part. Germany is not the only country in which education requires attention. The Educational and Cultural Organization can publish lists of approved and disapproved books, and encourage the nead to bring up children in an atmosphere of world citizenship. - Then one unfortunately comes up against the atomic bomb. But for that wc might have time, while licking our wounds, to get our healing organiza- tions working before a Third World War is upon us. The atomic bomb makes me think that an unduly leisurely way of proceeding. The Americans have the plant. and we know the secret of manufacture. We have shown no desire to share it with.anyone else. The Security Council should have the monopoly. Unless the American and British Governments can be persuaded by public opinion that we are ready for an international armament, surely other governments will acquire the secret, and out of fear war will come. There is no time for leisure. We need a rapid approach to an effective world-wide control of armaments. That means a revolutionary change in every government on earth. The right to control your own armaments and do what you like with them is jealously guarded, and is an aspect of funda- mental national freedom. In terms 'of world citizenship this is out of date. If I mounted a machine-gun on my house I should be behaving exactly as the nations. Everyoneelse would have a gun and soon there would be a war. In practice my neighbours would not follow my example. They would 7 inform the Police, who would demand to see my licence and I should be prosecuted. One might say that was an infringement of my rights. That, however, would be a matter for public, not for private' decision. The analogy with nations is precisely,similar. The fact that the atomic bomb is possessed by us is a matter of universal public concern and there is no ground for the view that each nation is entitled to what armaments it likes. This is not a problem which can be worked out in terms of simple natural development. We have not time for that. We only have -lime for deliberate effort to force ourselves to create those world organizations which show that we really do prefer welfare to warfare. F. G. G.

Church and Churchman Rationalist readers of The Times will have followed with interest and some amusement the recent correspondence between the Bishop of Gloucester and Sir Cyril Norwood, President of St. John's College, Oxford. The Bishop is annoyed by the attitude of superiority alleged to be:assumed by the people who, to use his own words, call themselves Modern Churchmen, to the Church of England and other religious bodies. He complains of their constant attack on " meaningless dogmas." Instead of varame attacks upon dogma he asks if they will say what beliefs must be given up and why. The reality of the dogmas of the incarnation, the atonement, everlasting life, divine judgment are, the Bishop states, the life of . Are they to give up teaching, them? In his reply of August 30. Sir Cyril Norwood keeps to the points of an earlier letter in which he charged the Bishop with misrepresenting what he had said in the course of an address. He does not answer the Bishop's question. The Editor of the Modem Churchman (Dr. H. D. A. Major), however, took up the Bishop's challenge in a letter published on September 4. He states that with thirty yehrs' experience he has no knowledge of Modern Churchmen who do not believe in the dogmas the Bishop specified, but he does know a great number of Modern Churchmen who do not believe in the Virgin birth, in the resurrection of the physical body of Christ, in the descent of Jesus Christ into Hades between his death and resurrection, in his return at the end of the world to judge the quick and the dead at a great assize, and in the raising of the bodies of the dead from their graves to be present on that occasion. These beliefs, Dr. Major points out, are all affirmed in the Apostles' Creed, and have been held by orthodox until recent times. In addition to these beliefs, a number of other beliefs taught in the areat Churches of Christendom are not believed by Modern Churchmen, e.g., the verbal inspiration of scripture and its infallibility: the everlasting torment of the wicked in hell: the necessity of the sacraments (baptism and the Lord's supper) for individual human salvation : the expiatory of Jesus Christ on the Cross: that, because of the fall of Adam and Eve, the whole human race is guilty of original sin and stands under the, judgment of God. If asked why Modern Churchmen do not believe these things, the-reply is. Dr.-Major. concludes, that modern biblical, historical and scientific studies have rendered them incredible. It is pleasing to read that a great number of Modern Churchmen have discarded so much, but the rationalist must be pardoned for asking why, for similar reasons, they have not also rejected the dogmas cited by the Bishop. Dr. Major'S letter was not allowed to remain unanswered, for on September 6 the Bishop of Derby took up the cudgels on behalf of his brother prelate. He says that the Christian creeds, criticized in 'so cavalier a fashion by Dr. Major are brief summaries of the undoubted teaching of the Holy 8 Scripture. Mark the arrogance of the word " undoubted when in fact so many do doubt. The Bishop goes on to state that the Scriptures are an oriental literature, Semitic in world-view, in phraseology and in modes of thought, non-modern and pre-scientific; and that those who, as educated modern men, accept and live by the Christian , must be continuously conscious of tension between the modern scientific world-outlook and the scriptural insights by which it is challenged. He admits the reality of the problem but rejects Dr. Major's process of picking and choosing between the various doctrines. In this Rationalists are disposed to agree with him: the dogmas stand or fall together. The Bishop finally observes that it is easier to be aware of the problem than to be ready with a solution of it. I suggest there is only one solution, and that is the abandonment of all this superstitious teaching and a concentration on the part of the Church on scientific truth, and the promotion of human well being in the best sense of the word. F. G. GOULD.

CORRESPONUENCE Scientific Progress and Future Comfort Sir,—Regarding what was said on this subject in the August Issue. by Mr. R. B. Kerr and Professor Keeton, 1 agree with Mr. Kerr. Professor Keeton has overlooked the real point of what Mr. Kerr means, that the world's food resources are not keeping pace, and never can keep pace, with the natural and •unlimited increase of world populations. Unless the world's populations are limited and stabilized to the world's food resources in perpetuity, there will always be poverty, want and war. The price of food has vastly increased and the value of money has very greatly declined ever since the squire gave treats to villagers. As for science, it never has and never will cause the hen to lay an egg every minute or effectively increase the breeding rate of animals, or double the milk yield of every cow, or effectively double vegetarian produce. As for the other developments, man does not live by coal, engine oil, or even food from wood pulp. If the present food resources of the earth can support three and four times the present world population, where is the surplus food? Why are sorne countries almost starving and ourselves severely rationed? It is not all the fault of lack of transport! We do not hear of surplus food being destroyed or going bad. We live solely on the earth, by and through the " kindly fruits of the earth.- If we increase, even slowly, at a faster rate than they do, there must come a time when they will become extinct and ourselves also! And that by starvation. What does Professor Keeton think would happen if every young woman in the world produced even onc baby every nine months? He would not have very long to wait to find out, and his life on the earth would be short. Neither Health, nor Prosperity can be obtained solely by science, and neither can we attain to the Unity of Man and the Fraternity of Nations thereby! RUPERT L. HUMPHRIS.

Professor Keeton writes:— 1 very clearly understand the point both of Mr. Kerr's letter and that of Mr. Humphris. In my opinion, both are based on a completely wrong premiss, i.e., that there is not enough food to g6 round. In fact, even without contemplating reclaiming the vast areas which have gone derelict in his- torical times, the existing resources of the earth, if properly distributed, can support a population of two and a half to three times the present total 9 population of the earth. It is of course common knowledge that in peace time it is necessary to let wide areas go out of cultivation in order to keep up the price of the remaining food stocks. This was practised very exten- sively in Canada and the United States before the war. Perhaps your correspondents will remember President Roosevelt's regulations for ploughing under every fourth acre in order to raise the price of wheat, lf, of course. the earth settled down to a period of uninterrupted peace, then increasing populations would become a problem; but that has never occurred yet, and if it did, then it would be necessary to consider long-term schemes for bringing new areas under cultivation. This is exactly where the scientist comes in. In recent years wheat and many other products have been grown much further north than ever before, simply as a result of experiment, whilst the whole purpose of food and nutrition research is to make two blades of grass grow where one did before, in the very widest sense of the term. The real position is that in the modern world many people are starving literally in the middle of plenty. This is due to many factors of which faulty distribu- tion of population and faulty distribution of resources are merely two. The last point was rather vividly illustrated a week or two ago, when even in the present condition of this country and Europe, record catches of herrings were dumped back in the sea for lack of transport to the London market, where they were badly needed. (Editor.)

LITERA RV STUDIES " Tom Jones " I wonder how many-people nowadays have time and patience to wade • through this most famous of the works of Henry Fielding who was referred to by Sir Walter Scott as the Father of the English Novel. In his A utobiography, Anthony Trollopc describes Tow Jones as one of the greatest novels in the English language. Fielding was born in 1707 and died in 1754 in his 48th year. He had aristocratic connections, was educated at Eton, and was later admitted to Leyden University. Literature and farcical drama engaged his energies during his earlier manhood. In 1736 he opened the Haymarket Theatre as Manager, produeing a farce " Pasquin,- which attacked the Prime Minister (Sir Robert Walpole). This led to the passing of the Act requiring a licence from the Lord Chamberlain for dramatic performances. Fielding was called to the Bar in 1740 and travelled. the western circuit. In 1748, by the interest of his school-fellow George Lyttleton (a Lord Commissioner of the Treasury) he became a Justice of the Peace for Westminster; and subsequently Chairman of Middlesex Quarter Sessions. His duties, which he is said to have performed - with rough-and-ready vigour, prevented him from giving much more time to literature. It was, however, in 1749 that Tom Jones appeared. It was obviously the labour of many years. During the period in which he was writing it there is a suggestion that he was helped financially by Lyttletop to whom the book is dedicated and whose benevolence seems to have been reflected in the character of the good Mr. Allworthy. I have referred to the time and patience required for a perusal of Tone Jones. The edition I was able to borrow contains 714 pages of rather small print. It is divided into 18 books, each containing about 12 short-chapters. It is thus easy to pick up and put down, and I found it excellent for reading in bed. Not that it has special sleep-promoting qualities, but it ambles on interestingly .in what seems an interminable manner, and that it should ultimately conie to an end is almost matter for surprise. The story of Tom Jones, the foundling, is told on the background of Social life in the West of England, and in London during the first half of the 10 18th century. It is the sort of book from which Professor Trevelyan may 'have gathered a little material for his great work on " English Social History." Fielding was born in Somersetshire and spent part of his life on the borders of that county and Dorsetshire. One of the principal characters was the wealthy Squire Western, hard drinking, foul-mouthed, devoted to the hunting of foxes and hares. No doubt the latter equestrian activity did much to counteract the effects of frequent bouts of drunkenness over many a bottle with boon companions. Nevertheless, he was on the bench of magistrates and on friendly terms with the yirtuous and also wealthy Squire Allworthy. The latter uentleman had accepted the task of bringing up Tom Jones who had, as an infant, been mysteriously deposited in his bed. The parentage of our hero was attributed to a certain Miss Jones who was subsequently required to disappear from the village, and to an unknown father popularly supposed to have been Mr. Partridge, the local Schoolmaster, although Mr. Allworthy himself was not unreasonably free .from suspicion. Partridge also had to leave the district. The lady re-emerges dramatically under another name during the course of the story. The identity of the quite superior persons actually responsible for the birth of Tom Jones is carefully hidden from the reader until the end. Toni Jones is a handsome and sprightly young man of generous, pleasure- loving disposition. Fle is attractive to women, and in the course of the narrative, he has several amorous adventures described with a frankness only equalled in modern novels. But in spite of these his heart remains faithful to Sophia, the beautiful daughter of Squire Western, whose character has been said to represent Fielding's own wife. She. returns his affection, although his behaviour sorely tries her devotion. His equivocal birth and status make their marriage impracticable. Mr. Allworthy. his affectionate guardian, has an orphan nephew, one Blifil, whose upbringing he has also undertaken, a slimy treacherous person who is, hoiever, considered a suitable match for Sophia in order that eventually two adjacent estates may be united. Squire Western jumps at the proposal, and when Sophia resists he locks her in her bedroom and declares his intention or getting her married to Blifil next. morning. Although he was supposed to love her dearly, he declares he is entitled to do what he likes with his own. Dr. Trevelyan states that this sort of treatment of recalcitrant young women was common up to the end of the 15th century. but Fielding gives the impression that it persisted well into the 18th. Sophia makes her escape to a relative (Lady Bellaston)• in Lqndon. About the same time Tom Jones falls victim to the machinations of Blifil who poisons Allworthy's mind against him, and he too eventually finds his way to London. In the course of the journey he encounters Sophia at an inn which is the scene of one of his unfortunate love-makine episodes, in this case certainly not of his seeking. This does not help his relations with the fair Sophia. , During his wanderines Tom Jones has met Partridge. unknown to him as his reputed father, and this worthy attaches himself to Tom as a companion servant. In this man Fielding has the opportunity of illustrating the superstitions current in the period. Partridge, albeit an ex-schoolmaster with remarkable ability for quoting Latin tags, is a firm believer in witchcraft and attributes the mis- fortunes of one stage of the journey to their failure to placate a witch. He said: " When they first set out he imagined some mischief or other would happen and did not you observe, sir, that old woman who stood at the door just as you was taking horse? 1 wish you had given her a small matter, with all my heart: for she said then you might repent it; and at that very initant it began to rain and the wind hath continued rising ever since. What- eYer some people may think, I am very certain it is in the power of witches to raise the wind whenever they please. I have seen it happen very often in my time; and if ever I saw a witch in all my life,• that old woman was certainly one. . . . Many a person hath lost his cattle by saving a half- penny " and much more in the same strain. Tom Jones and Partridge had intended to take part in the hostilities arising from the march of the Young Pretender to the Midlands in 1745 (actually, as it happened, to espouse opposite sides), but when Jones found he was on the track of Sophia he followed her to London. In the course of his efforts to discover her address he met Lady Bellaston, her chaperon, who develops an embarrassing passion for him and causes difficulties with his very virtuous but amiable landlady. His friend Nightingale, who knew Lady Bellaston's reputation, advised him to break with her by means of a written proposal of marriage which he was confident would damp her ardour and put an end to her attentions. The lady shows this letter to Sophia who is now of course convinced that Tom is no true lover of hers. Many awkward events follow, including a duel in which Tom nearly kills a suspicious husband, and by being thrown into gaol escapes service in His Majesty's Navy which his enemies had conspired to enforce by means of an obliging 'Press Gang. Meanwhile, Mr. Allworthy with his nephew and Squire Western, have come to London, and poor Sophia, declining marriage with ffilifil despite the apparent faithlessness of Jones. is again subjected by her angry father to imprisonment. All comes right in the end, however, and Sophia and Tom are happily married. The book is remarkable for its large number of interesting and amusing characters many of whose histories arc recounted. All walks of life are represented. The clergy arc not ignored, but the Rev. Mr. Thwackum who acted as tutor to Tom and Blffil hardly does credit to his cloth. The manners and customs of the age are probably depicted faithfully. The style of writing is a model of clarity and the book is enjoyable for this alone. There is a great deal of moralizing. Each of the 18 books opens with a chapter of philosophic and ethical reflection. Many readers will no doubt prefer to skip these, but if they do not they will get a further insight into Fielding's very considerable learning and knowledge of human nature. HUMANIST.

NOTES Possibly the most unusual of the Addresses issued by Parliamentary Candidates for the recent General Election was that of Mr. Alexander Hancock who, at the last moment, opposed the Prime Minister in the Woodford Division of Essex. One or two points in it will interest our readers. He told the electors that " The world is in a mess. Someone must do something about it." Well! we all know that. He asked what had brought us to this and went on to say: " It is a question of Philosophy. But the word Reason answers very well instead of Philosophy. If the man in the street is reasonable and reasoning, he is just as much a Philo- sopher as Joad thinks himself. Perhaps more so." Mr. Hancock told the electors how all the trouble began from the time when man first grouped into tribes and communities, of the entrance of , and of how Religion trotted in. " The old Chiefs ruled by witchcraft. By threats of unknown powers and revenge these lads were kept down. And so the world reached the stage of slavery such as we read of in the Bible.. The witchcraft of. today is Religion—Professional Religion . . . Wealth and Religion are the causes and means of War, and always have been." These statements are crude and sweeping, but their appearance in im Election Address is not without significance. Mr. Hancock has what he 12 calls a philosophic plan. He says: Separate the Necessities, communize the means of producing them, then make everyone do a share of Necessity Production. This probably appealed to few. Nevertheless, 10,000 people voted for him. What was the reason? We know of one person at any rate who, after listening to Mr..Winston Churchill's election broadcast, expressed his dissatisfaction by casting for " The Man with a Plan.-

In a letter too long to publish, Major G. Adcock comments on Mr. Ratcliffe's final sentence in the article in our last issue entitled Ethics and the Atomic Bomb.- This reads: War must be avoided if mankind is to survive.- MajorAdcock would prefer the word " progress " to " survive," for mankind is likely to survive somewhere on earth so long as there is air to breathe, food to eat and protection from the weather. Progress is quite a different matter, and he agrees that it must depend upon mankind's use of thc powers at his command. His further and principal point, with which there will be general agreement and which Mr. Curry emphasized in his lecture on September 9. is that the Atomic Bomb faces us with an opportunity and an incentive for World Government such as never before existed, and which may exist only for a •few years lotiger. He argues that more and better weapons can be regarded as a blessing to Humanity provided they are used as servants, harnessed and related to world community needs, the first of which is Peace, • for which weapons arc essential.

The August issue of The Monthly Record is exhausted. If any member or friend has a copy to spare, its return to the Society's Secretary at Conway Hall would be much appreciated.

We are asked to give notice that there will be a 'Memorial Service to Dr. Stanton Coit at the Ethical Church, Bayswater, on Saturday, November 4, at 3 p.m. REVIEWS THE ART OF THOUGHT. By Graham Wallas. Watts. 5s. Graham Wallas played a notable part in familiarizing the educated public of the last generation with the problems—not only economic, but political and cultural—created by modern industrialism. He was one of the seven Fabian Essayists, professor of political science in London University, sometime President of the Rationalist Press Association, and author, besides the present work, of Human Nature in Politics, The Great Society and Our Social Heritage. The Art of Thought was first published in 1926. The present edition, though abridged by the excision of four chapters and a number of notes, leaves the original text otherwise unaltered. Parts of the book inevitably date. Much has happened since 1926; no one, I think, would today describe the Soviet Government as holding " mechanist " conceptions or as " determined to stamp out all methods of inventive thought " in the U.S.S.R. That, however, is the sort of misinforma- tion most people, including myself, accepted in 1926: so we will not cavil overmuch. Taking it as a whole, it is surprising to find how freshly the book reads. Wallas cautions us against any merely mechanist conceptions of human behaviour. Man is not a mere machine, but a " combination of living elements (skin, hair, blood-corpuscles, nervous system, etc.) which co-operate for the good of the organism or the species, but never with mechanical perfection. lust as the art of government consists in co-ordinating 13 the actions of partially independent individuals so as to secure the maximum of collective efficiency, so the art of individual life consists in getting the maximum efficiency out of partially independent elements in ourselves. Very little of our activity is Cully conscious. Those metaphriicians who dogmatize about- the impossibility of consciousness arising out of the unconscious overlook the fact that this impossible process occurs in themselves every time they wake in the morning! " Body and mind are two aspects of one life." Solutions of problems are apt to dawn on us, not after exhausting work on them, but unexpectedly while we are thinking of something else. Or as Wallas puts it. in making a discovery we go through four stages— preparation, during which we investigate the problem thoroughly; incubation, during which we do not think about it at all; illumination, or the moment of discovery itself; and verification, during which we put it to the test. Hence the importance for efficient work of bodily and mental relaxation. Wallas has wise counsel to otTer as to methods of work. Regular hours have the advantage of inducing mental activity at a particular time of day. Work may be stimulated by re-reading what we wrote the day before. Passing thoughts bearing on our work should be noted down: even if they do not fit into the context before us, they will be useful later. He concludes. with a plea for the teaching of elementary psychology in schools and for more attention to the subject in universities. ARCHIBALD ROBERTSON.

TI1E HUMANIST Through the courtesy of Mr. J. Hutton Hynd, leader Of the St. Louis Ethical Society, we have had the privilege of reading the summer issue of The Humanist, published quarterly at 1201 Union Street, Schenectady 8, New York, by the American Humanist Association at one dollar a ycar. Mr. Hynd, is a Vice-President of this Association. The contributors are American ethicists, educationists, authors and journalists who unite in sharing a liberal view on ethical and religious subjects. All the articles are worth reading, but space prevents a detailed description or them. We must, however, refer to two by men well known in British ethical and rationalist circles. The first, by Mr. Hynd, deals faithfully with the Claim -to Infallibility which he describes as the greatest hoax in history. Naturally, the hoax of Papal and Biblical infallibility receives full attention. The second, by our old friend Dr. Pryns Hopkins, proposes a Humanist Programme as set by World Events. The headings are: (1) Health; or reverence for the body; (2) Security from the recurrent curse of war: (3) Sexual and Racial Problems: (4) Returning Veterans and Nervous maladjustment; (5) Post-War jobs and economic security: and (6) Religious liberty and progress. There are several excellent poems on which the Poetry Editor is to be congratulated. On going through this American magazine it comes as a surprise, albeit a very pleasant one, to find a review of The Rationalist Annual for 1945 by Cyrus Eaton, a. trustee of four American Universities. He states that " this British publication is a model of everything a liberal journal should be, and, as such, deserves wide circulation in America, where liberal journalism has not yet attained a position of the first influence. . . . The excellence and simplicity of the language in which The Rationalist Annual articles are written, moreover, set the scholarly jargon of our liberal writers in a sorry light." This is well-merited praise, but we do not think the strictures apply to The Humanist. Unfortunately there appear to be difficulties made by our Board of Trade to the enrolment of British subscribers. The copy sent to us by Mr. Hynd has been placed in the Library at Conway Hall. 14 Towards fhe Conversion of England

ANGLICAN SHIPWRECK. By Archibald Robertson. The Thinker's Forum, No. 36. Waits. 6d. Mr. Robertson has written a characteristically trenchant reply to the recently published Report of the Archbishops Commission on Evangelism, entitled " Towards the Conversion of England." His pamphlet is divided into five bright chapters. The first entitled " The Church in Deep Waters," concludes by stating that " in spite of its position of social, political. economic, and educational privilege, the Church has lost its hold on the people. Attempts to save the credit of the Church by libelling the morals of the present day are as self-stultifying as they are impudent., and attempts to saddle huManism with the responsibility for our present difficulties are as unhistorical as they are cowardly. The Church is iry deep waters and knows it ? Mr. Robertson then shows how the Church has failed by wedding itself to immutable dogmas, and proceeds to examine the proposals of the Commissioners on salving the wreckage. As a last S.O.S. they recommend a five' years' campaign of advertising in various ways for " nothing will apparently convince the Church of the simple fact that the decay of religious belief is due to inability to.believe in the doctrines of religion." They also seem to look anxiously at the success of The Thinker's Library, and they call for an antidote. Mr. Robertson sees no hope for the Church unless it goes into the progressive movement and works for a world in which man in association with 'man will be the master of nature and of himself. Mr. S. K. Ratcliffe has discussed the same subject in our leading article for this month, but Mr. Robertson's pamphlet can nevertheless be read with much interest and advantage.

CONWAY DISCUSSION CIRCLE

Weekly Lectures in the Large Ilall on Tuesday evenings at 7 p.m dmission free 1collection):— October 2.—W. B. Curry, M.A., B.Sc.. HUMANISM AND EDUCA I ION. October 9.—Joseph McCabe. HAECKEL AND MODERN tumour. October 16.—Professor J. C. Hugel, B.A.. Q.Sc.. PSYCHOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS or A HUMANIST FAITH. October 23.—Archibald Robertson. MA., SCIENCE AND MAN. October 30.—Kingsley Martin, MA., THE CONVERSION OF ENGLAND. (Under the joint auspices of the Rationalist Press Association Ltd and the South Place Ethical Society.)

SOUTH PLACE SUNDAY CONCERT SOCIETY

Chamber Music. Fifty-tifth Season, 1,756th Concert. In the Large Hall at 6.30 p.m. Doors open 6.10 p.m. Admission 1/- (some free seats):— . October 7.—The Griller String Quartet—Mozart,,Brahms. Haydn. October lg.—The Kamaran Piano Trio—Schubert. Smetana. Vocalist Michael Head. October 21.-11he FEolian String Quartet—Haydn, 'radon. Beethoven. October 28.—The Philharmonic String Trio—Beethoven, Haydn, Dohnanyi.

15

SOUTH PLACE ETHICAL SOCIETY SUNDAY MORNING MEETINGS AT. ELEVEN O'CLOCK

October 7.—Professor G. W. KEETON, M.A., LL.O.—Cabinet Government in England. Piano Solo by ELLA Sonata in C major.. Mozart Hymns: Nos. 73 and 123

October 14.—S. K. RATCLIFFE. — The New Moral World. Bass Songs by G. C. DOWMAN: Myself when young .. Liza Lehmann My lone abode .. Schubert Hymns: Nos. 125 and 207

October 21. — ARCHIBALD ROBERTSON, M.A. — The Basis of Ethics. Contralto Songs _by JOYCE NEWSON: All Soul's Day .. Richard Strauss The Homeward Way .. DV/ins Spring Waters Raclin:al:thou Hymns: Nos. 214 and 38

— The Study of the Mind; 20th Century. - October 28. — Dr. J. C. FLUGEL. D.Sc. Bass Songs by 0. C. DOWMAN: That time of year.. .. G. C. Dawman Ombra mai fu Handel Hymns: Nos. 213 and 66

Admission is free. A collection is taken towards general expenses.

The Annual Reunion will be on Sunday. September 30. at 3.30 p.m. Members and friends of South Place, other Ethical Societies and the Rationalist Press Association are cordially invited to attend. The Chair will be taken by Mr. John Katz. Miss Millicent Ward, soprano, accompanied by Miss Ella Ivimey, will sing. Tea will be served.

At Home for Members and Friends.—In the Library on Sunday, October 21, at 3 p.m. Tea will be served at 3.45, for which there will be the usual charge of 6d. Violin solos (accompanied by Miss Ella Ivimey) by Mr. E. J. Fairhall.

Dance.—The first post-war Dance for Members and Friends will be in the Large Hall on Saturday, October 20, from 7.30 to 11.30 p.m. Dress as you please. Admission 4/-, including light refreshments—members of H.M. Forces in uniform 2/6. Hon. Secretary Dance Committee: C.E. HARRALEC, 34 Clarendon Way. Chisle- horst, Kent.

The Objects of the Society are the study and dissemination of ethical principles . - and the cultivation of a rational religious sentiment. Any person in sympathy with these objects is cordially invited to become a Member (minimum annual subscription 10s.), or Associate (minimum annual subscription 5s.). Associates are not eligible to vote or hold office. Enquiries should be made of the Registrar to whom subscriptions should be paid. Officers Hon. Treasurer: C. E. LISTER Hon. Registrar: Mrs. T. LINDSAY Conway Hall, Red Lion &it'tare, W.C.I. Secretary: C. J. TURNADGE The MontMy Record is posted free to Members and Associates. The annual charge to subscribers is 4s. Matter for publication in the November issue should reach the Editor. Mr. F. G. GOULD, 45 Traps Hill, Loughton, Essex, by Saturday, October 13. Inclusion cannot be guaranteed. The Society does not hold itself responsible for views expressed or reported herein.

New Members Mr. H. G. HUGHES, London, W.C.I. Dr. W. R. BERT, London, W.4. PARLEIGH PRESS LTD (T.U.), Beechwood Works, Becchwood Rise, Watford Herts.