2. The Spirit of unity needs to be cultivated. The unity of brotherly love will never become general, still less perfect, until we have all come to love God our Father supremely, with all our hearts, never until we see that the next great law which He wishes us to keep is to love one another as brethren, as all children of the same family as ourselves, until we see that only by loving one another can we possibly prove our love to Him. So that the more we love God the more we shall love one another, because that is the only way in which we can possibly please Him or be worthy of our high calling as His sons and daughters ; moreover, this is the only way by which to know Him truly. And in the cultivation of sympathy with others we develop our own higher selves.
Personality has no existence except in and through fellowship. So we who believe that there is a vital distinction between persons
^ 4- Maclaren.
134 UNITY
and things, and that persons are made in the image of God, and are redeemed by Him in order that they may be restored to His likeness, cannot acquiesce in any permanent separation from the innermost law of God's own life, which unveils to us — as far as we can discern it — personality perfected in and through fellow- ship. Each time that we proclaim our belief in the doctrine of the Trinity we bind ourselves afresh to try to learn the Divine secret which must be true, not only within the Godhead, but of all human personalities called into being by Him. It may well be that we are placed on earth on purpose to learn this lesson of communion and fellowship one with the other, with the laws which govern it, and with the hope for our race bound up in it.
^ The recently published journals of Scott's Last Expedi- tion supply precisely the illustration that we need. That expedition consisted of sixty-five members, thirty-two of whom were connected with the ship's crew and thirty-two formed that party, who, with him as leader, landed and lived together in that ice-bound region, five of them fighting their way over the 800 miles which separated them from the goal of their ambition. It is worth noting that this intrepid body were representative of many interests. If capitalists had contributed large sums of money for the privilege of taking part in it, no less had labour its representatives in those whose chief recommendation consisted in their capacity for hard work. Art, as well as science in several branches, was ably represented among them ; some were of the learned professions, while others could be described as unlearned and ignorant men. Both the great services, the Navy and the Army, made characteristic contributions in the men of grit and character who represented them. Only those who have read the journals can realize the abundant excuses which might have been put forward had dissension and diversity of opinion broken out among them. But what do we read in Captain Scott's own words ? — " Never could there have been a greater freedom from quarrels or troubles of all sorts. I have never heard a harsh word or seen a black look. It is glorious to realize that men can live together under conditions of hardship, monotony, and danger, in such bountiful good-comradeship and harmony." While on board, we read, " Not a word of complaint or of danger has been heard, and the inner life of our small community is very pleasant to think upon, and also very wonderful considering the small space in which we are confined." In the hut during the weary months from January to November, 1911, Captain Scott's many refer-
PSALM cxxxiii. I 135
ences to their unity may be summed up in the following striking witness of it : "I am very much impressed with the extraordinary and genuine cordiality of the relations which exist among our people. I do not suppose that a statement of real truth — that is, there is no friction at all — will be believed. It is so generally thought that the many rubs of such a life as this are quietly and purposely sunk into oblivion. With me there is no need to draw a veil — there is nothing to cover up. There are no strained rela- tions existing here and nothing is more emphatically evident than the universal amicable spirit that is shown on all occasions." Here, then, it will be granted that men found it a good thing for brethren to dwell together in unity ; but the question arises how was it done ? The answer may give us at least an indication of the remedy to meet our own need. It was their unbounded belief in their leader. Each and all found their unity in sub- ordinating their will to his. They were not of the same mind, still less were they of the same opinion, but they were all " hke- minded " in this respect, to quote the distinction which Bishop Creighton made in commenting on St. Peter's analysis, " Be ye all like-minded, sympathetic." Although there were moments when the Commander's decision caused terrible disappointment to indi- viduals and groups of individuals, yet we read that they took it very well and behaved like men. Secondly, " enduring hardness " was common to them all, leader and followers alike. They found themselves bound together in an inhospitable region, bent on achieving a difl&cult enterprise, each needing help, each rendering it in turn. Under these conditions they learnt how to live in an atmosphere of constant self-sacrifice, and the division and disunion which so often arises from unconscious self-assertion, rooted in self-will, must have been, as it were, " frost-bitten " at its very beginning and allowed to perish. Even greater proof of their possession of the virtue of self-repression was given by the magnanimity with which they met their disappointment at dis- covering that rival explorers had outstripped them. There was no little-mindedness, though natural disappointment, at realizing that, while the victory had been won, yet the pre-eminence and priority of being first belonged to their competitors, not to them- selves. This most difficult lesson of learning to rate the triumph of a cause higher than the triumph of personally achieving it was not the least of the hardships by which they were tried and tested and not found wanting. Again, they had, and realized that they had, the eyes of the nation upon them, and not of one nation only, but of the whole civilized world. The interest taken by the whole world in the news of the fate of the five heroic men