But, on the other hand,
this temporary chaos is more pregnant with promise than the older blind
acquiescence in full light of criticism and experiment to bear upon
the laws and customs of the past.
"New occasions teach new duties, Time makes ancient good uncouth."
We should reverence the great seers and lawmakers of the past; but
their true disciples are not those who slavishly accept their dicta,
they are rather those who think for themselves, as they did, and
contribute, as they did, toward the slow progress of man.
What are the dangers of conventional morality?
The reasons why we cannot be content with our fathers' conservatism
in morals, and our fathers' custom-bound conscience, may be summarized
as follows:
(1) Conventional morality is almost necessarily too general; it is
not elastic enough to fit the infinite variations in specific cases,
not detailed enough to fit all needs. It therefore often causes needless
and cruel repression; the most sensitive and aspiring spirits have
often revolted from the morality of their times because of its
harshness. It is well for the marriage-tie to be binding; divorce has
generally been deemed unchristian. But if this judgment is rigidly
enforced, special cases arise, very piteous, very pathetic, crying
out for a more discriminating rule. Our forebears, with their grave
realization of the dangers of frivolousness, forbade by law and a stern
public opinion many innocent and wholesome diversions.
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