Such a system cannot
be patched. It is anti-Christian. It should be smashed.
He plunges into economics with a good deal of vigour, but I do not think
he has thought out to its logical conclusion his thesis of guild
socialism. Perhaps his tone is here more vehement than his knowledge of
a notoriously difficult science altogether justifies.
He opposes himself to the evolutionary philosophy of the nineteenth
century, and is ready to defend the idea of a Fall of Man. His
contribution to theology is a quibble. The old dogmas are to stand: only
the language is to be adjusted to the modern intelligence. You may
picture him with drawn sword--a sword tempered in inquisitorial
fires--standing guard over his quibble and ready to defend it with his
spiritual life.
His opinions are apt to place him among minorities. He was against the
War, and during that long-drawn agony attracted to himself the mild
attention of the authorities. I believe he likened the great struggle to
a battle between Sodom and Gomorrah. However, he was careful not to go
so far as Mr. Bertrand Russell. As he himself says, "I don't mind dying
for Jesus Christ, but not for making a silly ass of myself."
He occasionally writes reviews for _The Nation_, and has published a
number of uneventful books. His writing is not distinguished or
illuminating. With a pen in his hand he loses all his natural force.
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