SOURCE: A review of The Moral Obligation to Be Intelligent, in The Nation, New York, Vol. 103, No. 2664, July 20, 1916, pp. 63-4.

In the following essay, a review of The Moral Obligation to Be Intelligent, Erskine's views on American intellectual life are examined in light of Matthew Arnold's observations on "Hebraism" and "Hellenism."

This [The Moral Obligation to Be Intelligent] is a collection of four academic discourses, of which three, inspired by Phi Beta Kappa Societies and graduating classes, quite consistently praise the life of reason. Professor Erskine's point of view differs little from that taken by Matthew Arnold when he talked to the English people about Hebraism and Hellenism. He would commend conduct if he were not engrossed in enlightening conduct. If he attends rather to thought than to action, it is not that he loves the Hebrews less, but that he loves the Greeks more.

It ought to...