1. PRELIMINARY Nowadays when several dozen social gospels are to be seen stalking about in dismayed bafflement before the general indifference of the society they offer to save; when eager and gratuitous guides to every sort of glittering goal have become abounding bores,— it behooves the intending spokesman of any new propaganda to find himself some justification of speaking out in the present face of things or feel himself peremptorily excused from spokesmanship. In fact, unless this latest gospel is considerably more than merely splendid prospectus of an earthly paradise, unless it has intrinsic drawing or driving power, its prophet may well spare himself and us both speech and gesture. For this same power to pull or push men into performance is just what, it must strike the meditative observer, the great majority of the aforesaid gospels do in very large degree lack; in consequence of which their gilded goals are for all probabilities of general journeying afloat far out And not only that. For meanwhile the talk keeps up about them: seas of cant encompass them; the depths of platitude slop over on all their original brightness; they are dimmed and almost at sea. 3 |