^ Olive Schreiner, in one of her weird " Dreams," tells the parable of an artist who painted a beautiful picture. On it there was a wonderful glow which won the admiration of all compeers, but which none could imitate. The other painters said, " Where does he get his colours from ? " They sought rare and rich pigments in far-off Eastern lands, but when these touched the canvas their richness died. So the secret of the great artist re- mained undiscovered. But one day they found him dead beside his picture, and when they came to strip him for his shroud they found a wound beneath his heart. It dawned upon them then that he had painted his picture with his heart's blood. If you would do your task of teaching the children, of helping the helpless, feeding the hungry — if you would have this work to live — then put your heart into it. Paint your picture with your heart's blood, for only such will find a place in heaven's Eternal Gallery. " What- Boever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might." ^
' G. H. Morgan, Modern Knights- Errant, 190.
ECCLESIASTES ix. lo 385
^ During the Crimean War, Stanley [who was then Canon of Canterbury] was walking in Hyde Park with Thomas Carlyle, who, in bitter mood, was railing against the institutions of the country. In answer to his twice-repeated question, " What is the advice which you would give to a Canon of Canterbury ? " came a reply that began in jest and ended in earnest : " Dearly beloved Eoger," said Carlyle, "whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with all thy might." And with all his might he strove to find and to do the right work. He knew that his gifts lay in other directions than that of business details. His special work con- sisted in using to the utmost his powers and opportunities as a preacher; in arousing his fellow-citizens to a keen appreciation of their privilege of living beneath the shadow of a great historic building ; in guarding, restoring, and preserving the monuments of the illustrious dead who lay buried within its precincts ; in impart- ing to its cold stones the living warmth of human interests ; in transforming its bare walls into glowing pages of national history. It was in these directions that he strove to realize to himself the thought which he so often expressed, that " Every position in life, great or small, can be made almost as great, or as little, as we desire to make it." ^
III. Is THIS THE End?
" For there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave whither thou goest."
The writer of the Book of Ecclesiastes — that wonderful book, which depicts to us the history of a soul groping in at least half darkness, without any clear light of God — speaks as one who knows only the present world and the present life, to whom beyond the grave all is dark, blank, lifeless. To him the business of every day is simply what our hands " find to do " — he asks not how — by chance, or choice, or overruling law.
1. The reason he gives for his present counsel is a double- edged one. If this short life be all that we know or can be sure to grasp, it may be, indeed, reasonably contended that we must make the most of it for ourselves and for others, throw all our
* R. E. Prothero, The Life and Correspondence of Arthur Penrhyn Stanley, i. 430. PS. CXIX.-SONG OF SOL. — 25
386 DO IT WELL AND DO IT NOW
energies into it, content if our work remains for good, when we ourselves are gone. But it may also (in a more ignoble spirit) be urged that a life so short and precarious is hardly worth living, and that we had better take it as easily as we may, and " eat and drink, for to-morrow we die." All the irreligious philosophies of the present day, as of the past, draw one or other of these two inferences. Each has plausible reasons to give for itself in those discussions of the two voices of which modern thought is full. But the deep, practical instinct of common sense and right feeling will always grasp the nobler alternative, the one suggested in the text.
^ The consciousness of living under a Divine authority and providence leads us to regard our life as a vocation, a call from God. We can no longer regard our abilities, our opportunities, our circumstances, as fortuitously concurrent, accidental things. Taken in their combination they indicate God's will for us ; they point out the particular work that God would have us to do. Our faculties and opportunities are gifts from God, to be used in His service, and for whose right use we are responsible, and must one day give account. No relative insignificance of the gift will be accepted as an excuse for its misuse. We are as accountable for one talent as for ten ; for the use of the eleventh hour, as much as for the burden and heat of the day.^
2. The motive set forth by the Old Testament thinker was frequently urged with great solemnity by our Lord Himself ; " No work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom in the grave, whither thou goest." This is a fact well fitted to take hold of us ; and, rightly grasped, so far from paralysing energy, it stimulates work. Death puts an end to all plans and work, and death for every one is inevitable. From none, indeed, it standeth very far off. We see that wise men die, likewise the fool and the brutish person perish, and leave their wealth to others. The wind passeth over them, and they are gone. Their place knows them no more. They were full of schemes and projects, hopes and fears, envies and rivalries — and they are gone. They have broken every tie. The silver cord has been loosed. They are no longer seen in the assembly of the congregation, in the concourse of the people. Their place at home is vacant, and the world, like the " grim