we regard
ourselves as morally little and yet as never lost, we shall regard no
one else as lost, however morally little he may seem to be.

Respect, then, for the indefeasible worth of every human being
must be based not on theological systems which are fast decaying,
nor on the fancied self-evidence of Jefferson's Declaration, but
solely on the moral law which commands us to ascribe such worth
to others whether we perceive it or not, nay, to create it in others
by ascribing it to them.

Such is the spiritual attitude toward our fellow-men. And though
our confidence may not always be demonstrably justified by the
result, though we not always succeed in uplifting others, yet by
pursuing this line of conduct we ourselves at all events shall be
uplifted, our own life will be touched to finer issues.

III. THE SPIRITUAL ATTITUDE TOWARD OPPRESSORS.

Sunday, Dec. 4, 1904.

The problem of our spiritual attitude toward positive badness,
social and individual wrongdoing, cruelty and oppression, is far
more difficult of solution than the problem of our attitude toward
worth really existent but concealed. The thorny question, how we
are to deal with wicked persons, whether we are to observe the
spiritual attitude toward them, and in what that attitude consists,
requires the most sincere and straightforward treatment.

Should we cultivate an attitude of indifference in such cases? A
ruffian cruelly beats his horse, the poor beast that has rendered him
faithful service for many a day, but is feeble now and sinks beneath
its load. With curses and the sharp persuasion of the lash, the
merciless driver seeks to force the animal to efforts of which it is
plainly incapable. Can we stand by and witness such a scene in
philosophic calm? Shall we say that the wretch is the product of
circumstances, and cannot be expected to act otherwise than he
does? Shall we liken evildoers generally, as at present is customary
in certain quarters, to the sick? Shall we say that such men are the
outcome of their heredity, their education, their environment? I
have known of a husband who in a state of intoxication brutally
struck and injured his wife, while she was holding in her arms a
babe not eight days old. Shall we say that that man was morally
sick, that he could not help becoming intoxicated, and therefore
was not responsible for the havoc he wrought when the demon of
drink had gained possession of him? Shall we say of the syndicate
of