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 ASSEMBLIES 259

life and the consequent persistence of modes of life from generation to generation have wrought into the very struc ture of the human mind a regard for old things as old which probably can never be wholly eliminated, and which doubt less it would not be wise to eradicate entirely. But with most men it is so deeply ingrained and so thoroughly dom inating that an adroit appeal to it has always been able to evoke an emotion which paralyses reason, drowns the voice of conscience, obstructs human progress and makes martyrs of the beneficent innovators of the race. It has been power ful in all spheres of life, in one, perhaps, as much as in another; but in no sphere certainly has it been more freely utilized than in religion as a means of converting reasonable people into mobs and hurling them in furious masses against men who dared to question the truth and sacredness of tra ditional dogmas and practices. By it have all the prophets been slain and the cry which it has always inspired is &quot; the prophets are dead.&quot;

Now, the passion for the new as such is not sufficiently developed in a sufficiently large number of people to make it effective as a means of crowd-fusion, except under very ex traordinary circumstances, if ever. It may, indeed, become a passion and render one irrationally intolerant of the old; but the new always appeals to curiosity and awakens intel ligence, in some measure at least, and for that reason is not adapted to the development of the mob-mind= But as a pas sion it renders one irrational in his dislike of the old, and should never be appealed to by an orator whose motives are good. On the other hand, the passion for the old as such is so strong in such a large proportion of the people and is so violent when inflamed, that the conscientious orator and especially the preacher should never put the lighted torch of eloquence to that magazine of explosive emotion. Such an appeal is non-rational and should never be made. It is often easy enough to convert an audience into a mob by such an appeal skilfully made ; but the use of it at once raises the suspicion either of sinister design which is not

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