The Philosophical Review/Volume 1/Review: Everett - Ethics for Young People
The number of books on Practical Ethics grows apace. In Review No. 1, Ex-President Seelye's Duty was noticed, and here we have a similar volume for young people by Professor Everett. Both are excellent manuals. Dr. Seelye frankly bases his morality on religion; Professor Everett's morality is purely human. What he appeals to in his youthful readers is not their love or fear of God, but their own self-respect and their contempt for what is coarse, selfish, and wrong. In reading his volume, one seems to move in the æsthetic atmosphere of Greek morals. "Grand," "noble," "self-respecting"; "mean," "disgusting," "loathsome": these and similar terms are the ultimate categories of his ethical thinking. Perhaps for this very reason, his book will be better liked by young persons, whom in any event it can scarcely fail to interest and to elevate. It is a fine example of strenuous thinking on high subjects, expressing itself in a style which is almost captivating. The language in general is simple; the arrangement is orderly; the illustrations are drawn fresh from life, mostly from youthful life; and the chapters (forty-six in number) are so short that the youngest reader would scarcely read less than one at a single sitting.
The work falls into four parts: (1) Morality in General (pp. 1-32); (2) Duties towards One's Self (pp. 33-83); (3) Duties to Others (pp. 84-105); (4) Helps and Hindrances (106-185).
While the book as a whole can be heartily recommended to both young and old as a healthful tonic for every-day life, there are certain chapters which deserve special commendation. Nothing could be happier than the author's account of the breaking up of the ethics of custom in the life of the youthful individual and nation, and his exposition and criticism of the Epicurean and Stoical principles, which the Greeks adopted as a substitute for customary morality. His account of Courage is thoroughly Aristotelian, and that of Fortitude at once Stoical and Christian. The short chapter on Contentment might be pondered with profit by the majority of grown-up men and women. The treatment of Self-respect, which he regards as the foundation of all true manliness and womanliness, is discerning and stimulating. I have space only to signalize besides the two chapters on Selfishness and the Home. As a whole, the work answers in a way at once intelligible and interesting to the young persons for whom it was intended, and to others too, the deepest question that can be asked, "What is the true life for individuals?" It will be strange indeed if readers are not made both wiser and better. In another edition the following corrections should be made: iii, l. 2, "XXIII" for "XX" and l. 4, "XXIV" for "XX"; p. 1, l. 6, "other" for "these"; p. 4, l. 9, "Politics" for "Political Economy"; p. 126, l. 22, "of" for "fo."
This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published in 1892, before the cutoff of January 1, 1929.
The longest-living author of this work died in 1924, so this work is in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 99 years or less. This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works.
Public domainPublic domainfalsefalse