Y Drafod

Is German Philosophy responsi- ble for German Militarism ? AN ADDRESS DELIVERED BEFORE TH CAMWY FYDD SOCIETY, TRELEW, ON OCT. 15, 1916. II. Let us now pass on to the third great name of German Critical or Idealist Philosophy— that of Hegel, who was born in 1770 and died in 1831. Of all German metaphysicians—with the doubtful exception of Kaiit-fleoel has done most to constitute a definite school of thought in England, and this in spite of the extremely abstract character of his leading works. These, in fact, were by no means incapable of a concrete application. And we find a recent writer of the School declaring: "It was in "Hegel that the Idealistic Philosophy reached "its fullest development, and its most decis- .4 ive political influence." It is on this politic- al side of his system that we may perhaps mid a point of contact with the imperial dreams of modern Germany, so far as these can be said to have had their origin in an excessive glorification of the Prussian State Upon the side of Metaphysics—that is to say, the systematic study of such abstract conceptions as Being and Knowing, Space and Time, Matter and Spli-it,-Ile--el attempted to sweep away the ambiguity and c ualism of Kant's Theory of Knowledge. He will not admit the gulf supposed to be fixed between Things-in-themselves, and Things-as-known- to-us. In all genuine knowledge, he says, we are in touch with actual reality. Ideal- ism, as he understood it, involved no denial of, nor disdain for, the existent and'the real. And he had a faith, extra-ordinarily strong for a non-scientific metaphysician of any land, not only in the essential rationality of the universe, but also in the power of the hu-, man mind to penetrate, by gradual degrees I the innermost recesses of world-wisdom, and to reach, one distant day, a Cosmic Philosophy that should be worthy of the name. The logical scheme of thought that led up to these conclusions—thought admittedly double-edged "did hot, Th the case of the originator, conduce to abandonment of the Lutheran creed in which he was brought up, and which he always strove, in a liberal spirit to defend. It would, in truth, be diffi- cult to name any man of any countrv who so well deserved the title of Supreme Christian Philosopher of the 19th Century. Within the last two years, and upon the ground ot Hegel's manifest leaning to the Prussian form of monarchy, there have been some attempts to make good against him the accusation of being the philosopher of the present militarist tradition. But the justifi- cation of this charge is small. He would have none of the doctrine that the State rests upon force. In his Philosophy of Right he insists: "The binding cord is not force, but the "deep seated feeling of order that is possess- ,4 ed by all of us." And he denounces Haller, the Treitschke of his time, for confusing the force of right with the right of force. War," said Clausewitz, a contemporary military writer, "is the continuation of politics." No. Hegel would have answered, it is the failure of politics The continuation of politics is art, science, philosophy, religion, for the full development of which he conceived a highly organised State to be essential. How little he sympathised with vast mili- tary glory, as such is proved in his saying that Napoleon "had brought the highest gen- "ius to victory only to shew how little victory "alone could achieve." With respect to Hegel's view of the des- tiny of his own people, we may note the fol- lowing words of his, uttered in the year atter Waterloo Now that the German nation, lie said, has redeemed itself by the sword from the worst of tyrannies [the Napoleonic jj one] and regained its nationality, the foun- 41 ditioi; of all Iii- dation of all higher life--we may hope that, H besides political and otherworldly interests, 41 science and philosophy, the free interests "of intelligence, may rise to newness of "life." We may fairly conclude that Hegel, no less ttaaa Fichte or than Kant, is entirely- iniiocelit of having in any sense presided at this rise r Wthat Prussian militarism which has, with- in. the last generation, dominated the inner and more active forces of German statesman- ship. Yet, with the influence of a quite other school of thought. And Dr. Muirhead-an Oxford Hegelian, who is now Professor of Philosophy at the University of Birmingham—declared last year that: "It is not in the Hegelianism but in the violent reaction against the whole Ideal- ist Philosophy, that set in shortly after his death, that we have to look for the philoso- (iphicnl foundations of present-day militar- ism." This view is also that of many religious works who have put, their opinions on record I since the starting of the war. And it de- serves our close attention. ELLIS THURTELL. f To be continued.)

I Gwaith. "Yr unig hapusrwydd y mae dyn dewr vn trafferthu dim vn ei gylch, "meddai Thomas Carlyle, "ydyw digon o hapusrwydd i allu gwneud ei waith yn iawn." Nid oes dim tebyg i waith am gadw pethau mewn trefn. Nid oes dim cystal am gadw iechyd a digon o waith priodo!. Osbyddwch yn methu cysgu'r nos, gweithiwch fwy yn y dydd nes blino digon i ymawyddu am y gwelv. Os byadwch yn dioddef oddiwrth y diffyg treuliad, nid oes dim fel gwaith am dreulio bwyd. Y mae rhyw ysfa yn enaid dyn sy'n peri bod gwaith yn anhepgorol angenrheidiol iddo. Y mae llawer un yn sal yn ami am nad oes ganddo ddigon i'w wneud. Dywed- ir am Napoleon a San Martin eu bod yn colli eu hiechyd mewn adeg o heddwch, a bod rhyfel yii aiigeiii-lieidiol iddynt i gael digon o waith i'w wneud er mwyn cadw'n iach. Hoff o beth yw clywed swn gwaith yn clecian yn sodlau'r plant wrth redeg o awmpas y ty. Os am roddi'r help goreu a ellir i blant i gadw rhag rnyned oddi ar yr haearn yn eu hieuenctid, rhodder digon o waith iddynt. Nid oes dim tebyg iddo. Ar yr un pryd coficr hefyd "All work and no play Makes Jack a dull boy," neu os merch [veld hi, "All work and no play Makes Jane a dull girl." Oes chwareu yw ieuenctid, a dylid rhoi gwaith i blant yn y fath fodd fel y bydd cystal a chwareu ganddynt, neu'n well nag ef. Pan fu farw gvvr einvog yn Lloegr, gofyn- mvyd i'w frawd beth oedd achos ei farwol- aeth. "Bu farw," meddai hwnnw, "am nad oedd ganddo ddim i'w wneud." "Ie", moddai rhyvvun arall," y mae hynny'n ddigon'i ladd un dvn." A. H.

Betsi Cadwaladr. PENNOD IX. Hwyliodd yr "Iris" o borthladd Llundain o dau. reolaeth y Cadben Smith yr Swn oedd hefyd yn rhan berchenog 'o'r llestr a'i llwytb, ac nid oes ball ar gymeradwyaeth Betsi iddo fel rneistr caredig a boneddwr cristionogol yn ystyr fanylaf y gair. Yr oedd yn berthynas agos i'r Morlywydd euwog Syr Sydney Smith, a bu yn gwasanaethu o dan hwnw fel swyddog yn y llyuges Bry- deinig, yr hon oedd yr adeg lieiio-iiie-is heddyw eto, yn feistres moroedd y byd, ac vn ol pob arguel, hi a barha- felly yn y dy- fodol hefyd. Protestant selog oedd y cadben, tra'r wraig yn babyddes rone a choelgrefydd- 01 neullduol, a difyr odiaeth ywdarluniad merelv yr hen Ddafydd Cadwaladr o'i mheistres—Rhyw ddoli fechan, garedig ei natur, yn caet ei babnnu yn ormodol gan un o'r dyniou goreua wisgodd esgid erioed." Yr oedd iddynt ullplentyn tri neu 4 mis oed yr hwn a fedyddiwyd yn "Orlando Stanislaus Francescal Sydney Smith," ac un olr petliau cyritaf a wnaeth y Cadben, ei dad, oedd gofyn i Betsi ofalu na chollai ei golwg ar y bychau hwnw ar hyd y fordaith, gan (ebr hi) na feddai y tad ymddiried digonol yn et briod i ymddiried y plentyn iddi! Cyrhaedd- ydd yr "Iris" Barbadoes wedi mordaith ddy- munol o bum vvythnos; wedi dadlwytho rhan o'r llwyth yno, hwyliwyd am St. Vin- cent lie y tngianai tad y Cadben, Dr. Smith. Am drigolian Ynysoedd India'r Gorllewin dywed Betsi mai hwynt hwy oeddyut y ger- iach fwyaf salw adi-ddim a welodd yn ystod ei holl deithiau i gyd, yr oeddynt yn ddiog a thrythyll y tu hwnt i ddychymyg dyn—y dynion a'r merched fel pe'n dyfal geisio enill gwobr am ffieiddra hyllach na'r llall. Tra'ti aros yiio anfonodd y feistres Betsi i Martinique i brynu rhyw bethau iddi at addurno eigwisg gofyfer a dawns fawreddog oedd i'w chynaIn Kingstown, a chawn ierch Pen Rhiw yn ol ei harfer yn wfftio y syniad o fod yn bosibl iddi hi—"na'r un ddynes gall arall" allu darostwng cymaint ami ei hunan nes haner addoli tipyn o sidan a pheth- au eyffelyb--tel y gwtipl ei meistres Gan mai pabyddes oedd Mrs. Smith, cdrydd Betsi y byddai yn galed ddigon ami ar ddyddiau nodedig pan waherddir i babydd iwyta cigfwyd, a'r ffordd a gymerai hi i ddod o'r anhawsdero foddioni ei chydwybod —a'i hystumog—ydoedd tynu darn o gig drwy ddvvfr a chyfrif fod y weithred wedi troi hwnw yn bysgodyn ac weithiau gofyn- ai Betsi a'i nid ydoedd yn gweled y cyf- newidiad ? a phan atebai yn nacaol, ysgyd- wai y feistres ei phen ac ediiw iddi nad oedd yn berchen ffydd. Undiwrnod i-lioclclodd y feistres lythyr agored yn lIaw Betsi ac ynddo ddeg doubloon (. £ 36.0.0) gan ei gorchymyn i fyned ar unwaith i sicrhau lie ar long oedd ar gychwyn am Ynys Trinidad a rhoddi y llythyr yn llaw yr esgob yno, a thalu ov- arian y swtn a ofynai ef gauddi; gan nad oedd wely arei'chvfer yn y llong fechan hono, difyrodd Betsi ei hunan drwy ddarllen cyuwys nodyn ei meistres at yr esgob—a beth oedd ynddo ond rhestr o'i phechodau yn ystod y saith wythnos ddiweddaf, am y rhai y dymunai ar y gwr duwiol hvvnw roddi maddeupnt iddi a chodi tal am y gwaith oddiar y forwyn ar ol gorphen. Noson ystormus ddigon y trodd hono allau, a dywedai Cadben y llong wrthi mai dyna'r tywydd gerwiuaf a gawsai ef yn ystod v deng mlyncdd o forio rlnvng yr ynysoedd hyny i geisio sirioli ychydig arno dywedodd Betsi wrtho "na fu ganddo crioed drymed llwyth a'r tro hwnw"—methai y Cadben a deall beth a feddyliai hi wrth hyny gan na feddai onid y nesaf peth i ddim yn ei long ar y fordaith hono, a gofynodd iddi egluro ei I dywediad—"Wei, yr wyf fi sy'n bechadures fawr iawn ar y bwrdd ac yr wyf yn carii) wythnosau o bechodan un arall yn fy mhoced hefyd," dywedai y Cadben wrthi mai nid nosvvaith i neb gellwair ynddi ydoedd un felly gofynodd iddo wedyn a ydoedd ef YB credu yn Nuw, creawdwr a chynhaluir pob peth ? dywedai ei fod yn credu, ond ych- wanegai Pe'n gwybod am y pechodnn y soniech am dauynt, ui chymeraswn Imvel" a gadael i chwi. ddod i'r bwrdd o gwbl" uNa hidiweh, ni ddaw niwaid i chwi na'ch llong o'm plegid i gewch chwi weled" ebai Betsi, ac felly y bu, gan y cyrhaeddasant y porth- iadd yn ddiogel foreu tranoeth ar ol brec- westa, aeth hi i'r lan, ac yn syth am balasdy'r esgob-er mwyn cael gwared o bechodau ei meistres—a chael golwg ar y ddinas. (I'M bar halt.) W. II. II.

Gwroldeb. Y mae dau fath o wroldeb, sef gwroldeb auianyddol a gwroldeb moesol, neu wroldeb yr anifail, a gwroldeb dyn. Tardd gwroldeb dyn o argyhoeddiad, o ffydd, ac o gydym- deimlad. Y gwroldeb uchaf yw y gallu i ddioddef, a d5-in,-ilr math sydd brinnaf Os gall dyn ddioddef, y mae'n frenin ar y cwbJ. "Savoir souffrir, c'est tout savoir," tnedd y Ffrancwr. Pan oedd Ffredrig ymerawdwr yr Alinaen yn graddol nychu i farwolaeth o'r cancr yo ei wddf, ei hotf arwyddnir oedd "Lerne zu leiden ohne Klagen"—dysg ddi- oddef heb gwynb. Dioddefaint corffordl yw'r prawf ljymaf ellir ei roddi ar gymeriad dyn. "Physical suffering is the sternest test of character." I A. 11..