"For," the
unthinking say, "if the opinions of these men will lead them to labor on
this wise for the social elevation of our fellow-beings, they must needs
be correct, and if so, worthy of our reception." But if Neo-Platonism
can make Maurices, Kingsleys, and a whole school of "Muscular
Christians" and "Christian Socialists," nothing less than the pure
religion of Christ can raise up Howards, Wilberforces, and Budgetts.
* * * * *
The philosopher has always exerted a great power upon those who do not
philosophize. He is regarded by many as the inhabitant of a sphere which
few can enter, and his dictates are heard as fiats of a rightful ruler.
Those who cannot understand him fully often congratulate themselves that
the few unmistakable grains they have gathered from his opinions are
nuggets of pure gold, and entitled to the merit of becoming the world's
currency. The philosopher is not his own interpreter. There has seldom
been one who knew how to tell his thoughts to the masses. That is the
province of the popular writers who have adopted his opinions, and know
how to deal them out almost imperceptibly in the form of poetry and
fiction.
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