Pagina 322 de 1391

Nor have we any difficulty in drawing a parallel between the

young Athenian in the fifth century before Christ who became

unsettled by new ideas, and the student of a modern University

who has been the subject of a similar 'aufklarung.' We too

observe that when young men begin to criticise customary beliefs,

or to analyse the constitution of human nature, they are apt to

lose hold of solid principle (ἅπαν τὸ βέβαιον αὐτῶν ἐξοίχεται).

They are like trees which have been frequently transplanted. The

earth about them is loose, and they have no roots reaching far

into the soil. They 'light upon every flower,' following their

own wayward wills, or because the wind blows them. They catch

opinions, as diseases are caught-when they are in the air. Borne

hither and thither, 'they speedily fall into beliefs' the

opposite of those in which they were brought up. They hardly

retain the distinction of right and wrong; they seem to think one

thing as good as another.