20–9024
The autobiography is an incomplete record of Dr Mears’ life, written for his children. It is edited and supplemented with a memoir and notes by H. A. Davidson. The whole commemorates the career of a successful minister who was “preeminently a man of vision, of decision, of action.” (Editor’s note) The book falls into two parts: The autobiography, 1842–1893; and the Chapters by the editor. The appendix contains appreciations and resolutions and a list of publications written or edited by Dr Mears. There are five illustrations.
“As a piece of agreeable autobiography the pages by Dr Mears are unusually interesting.”
+ Bib World 54:651 N ’20 100w
“The biography has many interesting features.”
+ Boston Transcript p8 S 15 ’20 320w
MECKLIN, JOHN MOFFATT. Introduction to social ethics. *$3 (1½c) Harcourt
20–8267
In defining democracy the author holds that equity is more fundamental to it than popular sovereignty and that the insistence of equality must be limited to equality of opportunities. “Deeper than the notion of popular rule or of equality is that of fraternity, of spiritual and moral like-mindedness.” On this basis he looks upon the development of a social conscience as the task of democracy. Part 1 of the book which is Historical and introductory contains: The problem of democracy; The religious background; Calvinism; The triumph of individualism; The great society; Our uncertain morality. Part 2. Psychological, contains: The organization of the moral sentiments; The social conscience; Public opinion and the social conscience; Limitations of the social conscience; The problem of moral progress. Part 3, The social order, contains: The rôle of the institution in the moral economy; The individual, and the institution; The home; The ecclesiastical ethic; The school and the social conscience; The ethics of private property; Mechanism and morals; The worker and the machine process; The ethics of business enterprise; The problem of the city; Political obligation in American democracy. There is a bibliography at the end of each chapter, with a list of magazine articles and there is an index.