CIVILIZATION. 257 



civilization; for civilization is not, as some people imag- 

 ine, a question of morals or religion. Christianity is not 

 synonymous with civilization ; neither does its introduc- 

 tion civilize a nation. It deals with the individual man, not 

 with communities. Men call New York a Christian city, 

 England a Christian country, the people of the United 

 States a Christian people. This is pure nonsense. There 

 are not more than one in ten, perhaps not more than one 

 in a hundred, of the people who are in any proper sense 

 Christians ; whose morals, manners, or characters have 

 been directly touched by the refining influences of person- 

 al Christianity. Obviously the influence and example of 

 the Christian has its effect on his companions, but that 

 is no reason for calling a people Christian who have only 

 a small sprinkling of Christians among them. Nor can 

 we stand a comparison with some heathen nations. Chris- 

 tianity can not afford to be saddled with the absurd and 

 barbarous customs of our social life, or with the manners 

 and customs of so-called Christian peoples, especially 

 when it appears that the civilization of Japan is in many 

 respects in advance of that of England or America. We 

 have innumerable habits and manners which are barba- 

 rous. The dress of a gentleman or of a lady in New 

 York in this year 1873 is barbarous, whether regarded by 

 standards of taste, comfort, or usefulness. A dress-coat 

 was no more absurd a costume on the West Coast African, 

 who wore nothing else, than it is on the diner-out of New 

 York. A stove-pipe hat is so thoroughly ridiculous that 

 no barbarous nation has «ver invented any thing remote- 

 ly resembling it. 



Seek a standard where you will, and, after all, it will be 

 found that the manner and matter of feeding is a tolera- 

 bly safe one by which to measure comparative civilization. 



R 



