Page:The Green Bag (1889–1914), Volume 06.pdf/468



CURRENT TOPICS. Wisdom and Learning. — There is no fool like a learned fool. " Much learning hath made thee mad," said Festus to Paul. This may be more justly said in modern times of a great many men who have muddled their modicum of brains with too many books, and have not strengthened them by "the proper study of mankind." But when one is curious to behold a perfect and unadulterated fool he may frequently behold him in the form of a pedagogue and in the chair of a college professor. There is an insularity in these conditions that makes the man apparently the more in love with his own fantastic notions the more preposterous and opposed to the common sense of mankind they appear to be. It just now is reported that one Professor George D. Herron, who occupies a chair of Applied Christianity in an alleged college of Iowa, recently delivered an address at the Nebraska University Commencement, entitled "The New Political Vision," in which he declared that there is no justice in the courts because they are corrupt, and that Congress is venal. Fortu nately we are not called upon to quarrel with him in his denunciation of our national legislature, but we do feel called upon to resent — not too seriously — his double indictment of the courts. Unjust and corrupt! Pray what does Herron know about it? If he would take some of his attributed Christianity and apply it to his own spirit he would be rather more careful in his utterances, and if he would borrow a little common sense and consult some one who may be presumed to know something of the subject, he would never so stultify himself. Slight reflection would have taught almost any other man but Herron that our various communities would not go on electing judges to perpetuate corrupted justice. Men will stand a great deal of political corruption before they rebel, but they are much more indignant at and impatient with judicial corruption, because the courts of justice are their ultimate refuge. It so happens that this extraordinary clamor of Herron is uttered at a time when the courts all over the country have been showing their purity and their independence of politi cal party ties by a remarkable series of decisions in

election cases. No severer test could be imagined than this. Herron is one of that most dangerous class, the learned fools, and judging him by this doctrine he stands near the head of his class. It is gratifying to learn that Governor Crounse, of Ne braska, then and there vigorously combated his silly vaporing, and likened him to such anarchists as Johann Most. Let Mr. Herron fly back to his little college, climb up again into his little chair, and laying aside some of his mad learning, apply his heart unto Wisdom. He never will become famous, although he may grow notorious, by such intemperate and incredible charges.

Shakespeare's Writing Again, — Since our recent comments on the current attempts to prove that Shakespeare could not write, our attention has been called to some remarks on the subject by Dr. Rolfe, in his Shakespearian department in "The Critic." One of these recent attacks in question was based on the allegation that in two of his known signatures Shakespeare's name was not written con secutively, but with the given name above the sur name. Hence it was argued that he was so ignorant as not to know the ordinary form of personal signa tures. Now Dr. Rolfe assures us that in both these instances the signatures, which were appended to deeds, were upon the narrow slip of parchment on which the seal was affixed, according to custom, and necessarily the one name was above the other be cause the slip was not wide enough to contain both in" the ordinary form! This shows the want of candor or the ignorance of these defamers of Shakespeare. The truth is, this Bacon rivalry is almost monopolized by four classes of persons — credulous and wonderloving fanatics, faddists, jokers, and mercenary folk who boil their pot with every new form of fuel.

Detective Stories. — Detective stories have al ways been great favorites among the legal profession, probably because they are frequently amusing studies of evidence and keep the guessing faculty in exercise. 433