(4) We need some one to go to for our ideals. There is a story that a certain eminent painter kept always in his studio a set of precious stones. They cost him the proceeds of many a canvas. But he said he needed them in order to refresh hie
1 Dr. Af^Laren of Manchester, 264.
ST. JOHN VI. 68 281
jaded sense of colour. Back to them he would often turn when he had lost the vivid sense of blue or crimson. And in their calm, unfading depths he never failed to find new tone and beauty. So we need some one to give us back the glory of lost ideals, to tone up our stale lives, to keep our hearts up to pitch. To whom can we turn for such things ? '
^ It was reserved for Christianity to present to the world an ideal character, which through all the changes of eighteen centuries has filled the hearts of men with an impassioned love ; has shown itself capable of acting on all ages, nations, tempera- ments, and conditions ; has been not only the highest pattern of virtue, but the strongest incentive to its practice ; and has exer- cised so deep an influence that it may be truly said that the simple record of three short years of active life has done more to regenerate and to soften mankind than all the disquisitions of philosophers, and all the exhortations of moralists.^
^ In the Sermon on the Mount Christ has expressed the eternal ideal toward which it is proper for men to tend, and that degree of its attainment which can be reached even in our time.
The ideal consists in having no ill-will against any one, in calling forth no ill-will, in loving all; but the commandment, below which, in the attainment of this ideal, it is absolutely possible not to descend, consists in not offending any one with a word. And this forms the first commandment.
The ideal is complete chastity, even in thought; the com- mandment which points out the degree of attainment, below which, in the attainment of this ideal, it is absolutely possible not to descend, is the purity of the marital life, the abstaining from fornication. And this forms the second commandment.
The ideal is not to care for the future, to live only in the present ; the commandment which points out the degree of the attainment, below which it is absolutely possible not to descend is not to swear, not to promise anything to men. And this is the third commandment.
The ideal is never, under any condition, to make use of violence; the commandment which points out the degree below which it is absolutely possible not to descend is not to repay evil with evil, but to suffer insult, to give up one's cloak. And this is the fourth commandment.
The ideal is to love our enemies, who hate us ; the command- ment which points out the degree of the attainment, below which it is possible not to descend, is to do no evil to our enemies, to
^ W. E. H. Lcclcy, TTlsfory of European Morals, ii. 8.
282 TO WHOM SHALL WE GO?
speak well of them, to make no distinction between them and our fellow-citizens.
All these commandments are indications of what we are fully able not to do on the path of striving after perfection, of what we ought to work over now, of what we must by degrees transfer into the sphere of habit, into the sphere of the unconscious. But these commandments fail to form a teaching, and do not exhaust it, and form only one of the endless steps in the approximation toward perfection.^
O well for him that loves the sun. That sees the heaven-race ridden or run, The splashing seas of sunset won, And shouts for victory.
God made the sun to crown his head. And when death's dart at last is sped, At least it will not find him dead, And pass the carrion by.
0 ill for him that loves the sun; Shall the sun stoop for anyone ? Shall the sun weep for hearts undone Or heavy souls that pray?
Not less for us and everyone Was that white web of splendour spun; O well for him who loves the sun Although the sun should slay.^
II.
To Whom shall We go?
' Virtually, the question is, What will you substitute for the gospel of the Son of God? This is the pith of it, and it is a standing challenge to all comers and to all centuries. It is not hard to destroy, to pluck up, to pull down, to undermine by ridicule, by satire, and by sceptical objections. But when the house is down and dismantled, what next ? What and how shall we build ? We want a shelter, a roof overhead, a doctrine, ja hope, a promise, a prospect, in view of the dark future that confronts us. Men obliterate creeds, cast miracle and prophecy
* Tolstoy, The Kingdom of God is Within You ( Works, xx. 104).
* G. K. Chesteitou, Ballad ofili^ Sun.
ST. JOHN VI. 68 283
out of the world, and declare that the young, lusty Samson of modern thought will not be bound by the tattered traditions of antiquity in an age of scientific experiment. They talk about intellectual emancipation ; the abolition of intellectual servitude to a set of ideas that originated with an insignificant Semitic tribe who once lived in a corner of the earth. It is easy to carp and criticize, to deal in shadowy negations ; men may demonstrate the absurdity of prayer, the impossibility of miracle, the antecedent unlikelihood of the Incarnation ; they may call the resurrection of Christ a myth ; they may account for Isaiah, Ezekiel, and the Apocalypse and all moral inspiration upon natural principles ; but meantime all this does not feed men. We need something positive, some great spiritual affirmation, a ray of hope, a word of promise, as we stand huddled, frightened, shivering on this sand- bank of finite existence. And where shall we get these ?