Article January 15, 1903 Issue

Toleration

Alfred Farlow

Boston Times

It is natural that there should be at least temporal objections to new things, since their adoption necessarily means a setting aside of old means and methods to the same end. One who has an accomplishment, invention, or discovery, which in its day has been highly acceptable, naturally is disturbed with the prospect of its being abandoned as a thing of the past; but when he learns that his neighbor's invention or discovery which is to take its place is of far greater value than his own, his interest in the general welfare of mankind restrains his wrath. He is glad because his neighbor has made possible an advancement beyond his own. It should be noted that the real duty of this life is to take as many steps as possible heavenward. We are not here to advocate eternal adherence to any temporal thing, but to "use the world as not abusing it," and diligently watch for and accept those things which lead onward and upward. Mortals should not be contented with anything short of perfection. They should keep before them that saying of David, "I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness." This not only applies to business affairs, to school life, to the general commodities, furnishings, and provisions of mankind, but to religion and medicine as well. When the authorities and the people were inclined to persecute Peter, Gamaliel said, "Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought: but if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God." This was wise, for an utterly unprofitable thing could not long find adherents. Even if a fraud should find acceptance, such could not be lasting; for if really a fraud, it could bring no profit to those who accepted it and would not be received a second time.

In this age of rapid transit the demerits as well as the merits of a new thing are quickly circulated. It is perfectly safe to present every new thing to the world in an honest light. The misrepresentation of a good thing cannot permanently keep it out of use; neither can the misrepresentation of a worthless thing keep it long in use. Experimentation is bound to prove the worth of a given product, invention, or discovery. It is always safer and better to allow a thing to stand upon its own merits. Such a method more quickly affords the proper test on the part of the public, for they have become so used to the misrepresentations as well as the exaggerated commendations of new things that they are usually determined to try or witness for themselves. The Scriptural injunction is, "Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." Mere opinions are of no lasting benefit, and positive knowledge in respect to an untried thing can only come through experimentation and observation. By experimentation, however, we do not mean that mortals must enter into a practice of all the vices of the world in order to learn what there is in them. A better experimentation is in the practising of righteousness, which is opposed by vice and which convinces one of the advantages of right doing. There is no such thing as standing still. We are either learning the efficacy of a good thing by right doing or the inefficacy of an evil thing by wrong doing.

The saying of Gamaliel was exceedingly wise and applies as forcibly to-day as when first uttered. It may seem strange, but it is, nevertheless, true that in this our day, nineteen hundred years after Gamaliel, the same spirit of intolerance exists among men, showing the tenacity of error in the human heart and the amount of time required to uplift the world and bring about the long-prayed-for spiritual condition.

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