"Ignorant people will be led astray";
that's another cry. There is always some excuse ready for evasion. The
difficulty is, that every party likes some part of the truth; no party
likes it all; but we must have it all, every line of it. We want no
popular editions and no philosophic selections--the truth, the whole
truth, and nothing but the truth. This must be the rule for everything
concerning which a man has a public duty and ought to have a public
opinion. There is a dangerous tendency gaining ground of slurring over
vital things because the settlement of them involves great difficulty,
and may involve great danger; but whatever the issue is we must face it.
It is a step forward to bring men together on points of agreement, but
men come thus together not without a certain amount of suspicion. In a
fight for freedom that latent suspicion would become a mastering fear to
seize and destroy us. We must allay it now. We must lead men to discuss
points of difference with respect, forbearance, and courage, to find a
consistent way of life for all that will inspire confidence in all. At
present we inspire confidence in no one; it would be fatal to hide the
fact. This is a necessary step to bringing matters to a head. We cannot
hope to succeed all at once, but we must keep the great aim in view.
There will be objections on all sides; from the _blase_ man of the
world, concerned only for his comfort, the mean man of business
concerned only for his profits, the man of policy always looking for a
middle way, a certain type of religious pessimist who always spies
danger in every proposal, and many others.
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