Modern Laodicea
By
Norman Hapgood
MODERN LAODICEA
FOR centuries the word Laodicean was a reproach; to-day it is beginning to carry with it a suggestion of nobility. It was Saint John who, in making the unknown city famous, covered it with obloquy:
“And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write: ...
“‘I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
“‘So, then, because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth.’”
Among the moderns who have suggested that to be neither hot nor cold is to be well, Mr. Thomas Hardy is prominent, as he gave the title of “A Laodicean” to a novel of which the heroine is attractive. She is a girl who loves both the old and the new where they are most in conflict. She liked ruins and she liked restorations. She had half a mind to marry a picturesque noble, De Stancy, with no brains, no character, and an atmosphere of old-world romance, and she did marry a hard-headed modern. At the end of the book, she remarks: “‘We’ll build a new house beside the ruin, and show the modern spirit forevermore ... but, George, I wish—’ And Paula repressed a sigh.
“‘Well?’