ich is likely to be more and
more generally recognized, is that the life of man without the
inspiration of a faith of some sort, and the other inner feelings which
attach to it, rapidly tends to materialism, selfishness, demoralization,
corruption and decay.

That, in brief, is the situation which confronts us all collectively,
and upon the solution of which the future of our civilization, to a
large extent, undoubtedly depends.

Suggestions of one kind or another, tending toward an alleged solution,
will presumably keep making their appearance at intervals and a
perfectly reasonable question is whether a sufficiently inspiring and
sufficiently compelling solution will emerge in time to prevent the
threatened chaos.

For the moment, let us be content to defer consideration of the possible
solutions and turn our attention to the predicament which, in the
meantime, confronts the average individual.

Let us suppose that such an individual, whatever may be the status of
his religious belief, or unbelief, becomes convinced in his own mind
that the selfishness and immorality and lack of sentiment, which seem to
be spreading in all classes, is a bad thing. Suppose he is willing to
admit, after due consideration, that our diagnosis and explanation of
what is taking place is relatively correct. As most minds of the present
day have a practical turn, the thing which interests him most, the thing
he asks at once and really wants to know is what you have to propose as
a remedy. How are you going to make people less selfish and more
considerate of others? Less mercenary and more honorable? Less immoral,
or unmoral, and more virtuous?

That is the main thing which counts, from a practical, personal
point-of-view: "How am I to benefit by your conclusions and how are you
going to make others benefit by them? Unless you have something tangible
and useful to offer, your observations, though curious and instructive,
are not of much account."

Let us try, therefore, to reply, in this same spirit, and hazard some
suggestions which may prove helpful to those who want help.

In the first place, let us call attention to the fact that after an
individual has reached maturity, and his character and habits are
formed, it is extremely difficult to change them to any great extent.
The motives and point-of-view which determine most of his acts have
become, so to speak, a part of his second nature. This second nature is
something of slow gro