♦ ♦ fr -fc i> iGUILDi LIBRRRY •tt T t t* CHRISTIAN * ETHICS -I- B/: PROFESSOR W"? L DHyiDSON.MA.LLI). Wjjl— > will IMBMIWWi— IIM ' "i" -— u~~>'iiMI-wM €n + con sum BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME FROM THE SAGE ENDOWMENT FUND THE GIFT OF 189X fJ,.0.'Z.'z..o.o-j. f/ CHAPTER VII INWARDNESS THE TEST Character conditions service — Morality resides in the motive and intention — Jesus' teaching here — The results of it — (1) Struck at formalism and hypocrisy — The Decalogue — How to be interpreted — Jewish law of retaliation — Love to neighbours and enemies — (2) Kelation of inward life to conduct — Conduct comes after character — Two things condemned : (a) Legality ; (b) Ostentation — Exemplified in almsgiving, praying, and fasting — How the test becomes outward. It is a trite saying of the moralists, from Plato and tlie Stoics downwards, that a man's first concern is to be, and not to do, — that character conditions service. Morality attaches to the doer, not to the thing done ; and it resides in the agent's inward motive and intention, not in his mere outward deed or action. "He who silently meditates an evil deed," says the old Latin poet,^ "bears all the guilt of the deed, just as though he had done it." Hence, it follows that a man's chief endeavour, ^ The psychological aspect of the formation of character, dealing mainly with Habit and its laws, I have worked out in Theism as grounded in Human Mature (pp. 325-340). ' Juvenal, Satires xiii. 29, 30. INWAKDNESS THE TEST 51 if he would attain to righteousness, should be to purify his thoughts, to regulate his desires, and to elevate his affections. If rectitude is to be in very truth his aim, he must guard the citadel of his heart. This maxim Jesus put in the very forefront of His teaching : He made it the keynote of His ethical doctrine. " Not that which goeth into the mouth," He said, " defileth a man : but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man " (St. Matt. xv. 11). " A good man out of the good treasure of his heart, bringetb forth that which is good : and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart, bringeth forth that which is evil : for of the abundance of the heart, his mouth speaketh " (St. Luke vi. 45). " Blessed are the pure in heart : for they shall see God " (St. Matt. v. 8). This stress on the heart, as the seat of morality, effected various things. 1. In the first place, it necessitated a change in what had been the usual way of estimating and regarding duty : it removed the criterion from without to within, and thereby struck at mere formalism, conventionalism, and hypocrisy. The magnitude of this change is seen in the applica- tion of the principle made by Christ Himself to certain ethical practices and customs of His day. He takes, first, the Decalogue. To the Jew, the Ten Commandments were God's Words written on two tables of stone. No one could but reverence and respect them : they came with an august authority. But, for all that, they were in themselves merely outward : they did not necessarily touch the heart. Hence, it was very easy for men to pay them an external deference, and thereby to pass themselves off as righteous men. This was actually done ; and, in degenerate days, it was the thing usually 52 CHRISTIAN ETHICS done, — till high-minded prophets like Jeremiah, burning with a zeal for righteousness and indignant with their countrymen for their immoralities and hypocrisy, in- veighed in unmeasured terms against the powerlessness of the merely written Law, and looked forward to the time when the Old Covenant — with its ceremonies and formalism and its moral precepts engraved on stone tables — should pass away, and a new covenant should be made with Israel, when God's laws should be put into men's minds and written in their hearts, and people would accord them a willing and spontaneous obedience (see Jeremiah xxxi. 31-34). ^ With Christ's advent, such a time had come. And so the Saviour, in His Sermon on the Mount, strikes the same note as the prophet. Taking up the Ten Command- ments, He gives a fresh and deeper interpretation of them, in a few typical examples (St. Matt. v. 21-37). He selects the sixth, the seventh, and the ninth — "Thou shalt not kill," "Thou shalt not commit adultery," " Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neigh- bour " ; and, in each case, He shows that the sin lies, not merely, and not mainly, in the outward act, but, first and chiefly, in the inward thought, or passion, and what He counsels is, to check the thought, and kill the passion, and thus avoid the sin. In other words. He goes deep down to the root of evil, and, striking at the root, shows us the only effective means whereby the Law may be kept. In like manner, He takes certain of the leading Jewish maxims, and purifies and ennobles them by transferring them to the heart. At the beginning of the Mosaic dispensation, nothing higher could be laid down as a guiding principle than " an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth" (St. Matt. v. 38-42). But the inadequacy of this as a permanent rule for mankind is evident ^ See, also, Hebrews viii. 8-13. INWARDNESS THE TEST 53 immediately you apply the test of character. No perfect man is he who acts simply upon that principle, — although, during man's moral minority, or in times of lawlessness and barbarism, it may be the only perfection open to him. But he is the ideally perfect man who harbours no resentment or revenge in his bosom, and who meekly submits to oppression and injustice, if thereby he may win the evil-doer and the oppressor to a nobler spirit. So, the Hebrew Scriptures permitted, "Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy " ; but Jesus, with deepest insight, condemns hatred in every form, and commands the practice of goodwill and affection even towards rivals and bitter foes (St. Matt. v. 43-48). He knew that love alone can conquer, — love alone can win ; and He had the utmost confidence that love would ultimately conquer, and that bitter foes and rivals would be turned into friends through its power. Thus Jesus transformed the whole aspect of morality and religion by the one test of inwardness ; and, while founding His own kingdom upon the abiding principles of the old Jewish faith, breathed a new spirit into them, and thereby created His great spiritual revolution. 2. But another consequence follows. The heart does not stand alone in determining righteousness. The inward must become outward, if it is genuine principle, and if the individual is to fulfil his function as a social being. Character necessarily issues in conduct. Heaven doth with us as we with torches do, Not light them for themselves ; for if our virtues Did not go forth of us, 'twere all alike As if we had them not. Spirits are not finely touoh'd But to fine issues. ' But, let it be noted, conduct only comes after ' Shakespeare, Measure for Measwre, Act i. So. 1. 54 CHRISTIAN ETHICS character ; that is its true place. It is an effect that bespeaks a cause ; it is a result, from which you may legitimately draw an inference ; it is " works," issuing from faith ; it is " fruits," showing the kind of tree that bears them. Conduct, then, has ethical value only as a manifestation of the inner life. This condemns two things. (a) First, it condemns judging by mere outward conformity to righteousness. That in itself is but legality — sufficient to secure against civil punishment, but having nothing of morality about it. (b) Secondly, it condemns accepting ostentation as sincerity. Jesus illustrated by three examples, which may be taken as representative of the whole class. He took alms-giving, praying, and fasting (St. Matt. vi. 2-18) — religious offices, indeed, but to be judged on their ethical side. In the case of all three, it was the practice of the hypocritical of Jesus' time to perform them with the utmost ostentation for a pwrpose. The outward work of performance was unimpeachable, but the motive and the mode were reprehensible ; and these determined the merit. The mode was publicity ; and the object of the publicity was to attract the attention and to gain the admiration of men. To the deeply observant, the conduct still revealed the character of the doer, but the meaning was not on the surface. Men allowed themselves to be deceived by the mere parade of righteousness, and accorded the applause that was sought but not deserved. Thus, then, the seat of morality, according to Christianity, is the heart (the affections, thoughts, and will) ; and the test of righteousness is inwardness. Yet, a pure heart means pure speech and pure deeds as well ; while the contrary is also true (although there may be practical difficulties, sometimes, in applying it), that INWARDNESS THE TEST 55 impurity of heart taints a man's life and vitiates his conduct. Hence, there is no real inconsistency when it is maintained (as it frequently is) that from a man's speech, or from his outward behaviour, you may infer his character.^ Jesus sometimes lays the stress on words : " for, by thy words," He says, " thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned " (St. Matt. xii. 37). This is legitimate ; for, the out- ward (though the interpretation in some cases is not easy) is the index of the inward, and its significance is derived from its connexion with the thoughts. To the penetrative eye, action reveals, even while it conceals, the actor. 1 That character ultimately reveals itself, see St. Paul (1 Tim. V. 24, 25). CHAPTER VIII MORAL PEOGRESS I. The meaning of character — How character develops — Case of the lily of the field — Contrast of Solomon in all his glory. II. Selfishness is vice ; unselfishness is virtue — Selfishness defined — How reprehensible — Doctrine of the two selves — In what way character is formed. 1. Through life's tempta- tions — Our Lord's three temptations in the wilderness — These typical — Parables of the kingdom — Temptations to be met, but not to be sought — Example of Christ. 2. By a brave use of spiritual power — Case of the Seventy disciples — Character to be tested by the amount of resistance it can overcome. A man's character is only another name for the man himself. It is his true being, his inmost nature ; need- ing time to manifest and perfect it, requiring opportunities to draw it forth, and the operation of habit to strengthen and confirm it. It is not accidental but essential to him, and must be distinguished from all that merely wraps him round or envelops him. It needs to be formed ; but the moulding force comes from within. When it develops properly, it follows the example of the lily of the field and grows spontaneously ; conforming fully to the laws and conditions of spiritual life. There is no rebellion in the lily against the presence or the action of the light that bathes it, or of the air that permeates it, or of the soil that feeds it. It never spoils its growth by obtrud- MORAL PROGRESS 57 ing its own selfish wishes into the process, or by vainly imagining how much better it could do if it were left to follow out some plan of development of its own, or even by thinking of its own grace or beauty. If it became self-conscious in this way, — :if it allowed itself to be perpetually saying, "How very well I am doing! How very beautiful I look ! " — its excellence and beauty would instantly disappear. It is put there to grow, and it grows ; and thus it. becomes the exquisite thing that we know it to be. But human character, if it is to be genuine and to attain its highest form, must do something precisely similar. Between man and the lily there is, indeed, a vast difference ; arising from the possession by the former of consciousness and thought and will. But in this, looked at from the standpoint of the ideal, they are both alike — they should both grow spontaneously, according to the laws and principles of their own proper being. This, I take it, is what Jesus meant when He com- pared " Solomon in all his glory " to " the lilies of the field," and pointed the contrast to Solomon's disadvantage (St. Matt. vi. 28, 29). Very fine and highly imposing to the ordinary intelligence, no doubt, were the great state and pomp and circumstance with which the Wise King (I question if it were done altogether in his ivisdom) surrounded himself, and through which he cast a glamour over his contemporaries. His magnificent palace, next in grandeur to the Temple itself ; his splendid ivory throne, with its carved lions and its flights of steps and its golden footstool ; his prodigious household, with its multifarious wants, and his great retinue of servants ; the dainties and the rarities that he fetched for himself from the distant parts of the earth — apes and peacocks, no less than gold and precious 58 CHRISTIAN ETHICS stones, from Opliir, horses and chariots from Egypt, and so forth : all these, of which the Hebrew chronicler gives such a graphic account (1 Kings x. ; 2 Chronicles ix.), although they cost enormous labour — " toiling and spinning " incredible — and bespoke immense wealth, were not the man in his best form, but the shadow of the " self " thrust between real greatness and the effort to achieve it. There was no spontaneous development in all this, according to the laws of Solomon's higher nature. And so he showed himself to be far less glorious than the lily of the field ; for, it was glorious because of the free unfolding of its proper nature, and because it was exactly what it seemed to be, but he was glorious only through outward adornments and by a false display, and the beauty we remark in him was not his own inherent excellence, but something thrust upon him from without. II In order to moral progress, then, there must be spontaneous development — growth from within and living growth ; and the essence of righteous character is unselfishness. That selfishness is vice and unselfishness is virtue, is the very central teaching of Christianity; enforced, in the New Testament Scriptures, in every variety of form — the subject-matter, in especial, of many of the parables of our Lord, and very prominent in the Epistles of St. Paul and St. John. In selfishness, the individual makes himself the centre of everything, and his own interests the supreme end of existence. He uses other human beings, as well as things, therefore, merely as instruments for his own purposes or means to his own gratification. This is to overturn the very basis of morality and to supplant self- MORAL PROGRESS 59 respect, which is the indispensable condition of all virtue, by self-partiality, which is the root of all vice. That the individual is to count for one among others, is quite true. He has rights of his own, which must not be swamped in those of society in general, or be super- ciliously ignored by the majority. But, at the same time, he is nothing in himself, or when cut off from humanity : he is not an isolated, independent unit, self- complete and self-contained, but a member of a social organism, with relations to other individuals, and bound to respect their rights and to promote the good of the whole. Yea, his own highest good is realizable only in and through the good of the whole. The race is a unity, and the feeling of brotherhood is the breath of spiritual life. The health and welfare of the organism means the health and welfare of its parts, and each is bound to each by sympathy. This St. Paul frequently expresses in a very striking fashion by likening the Christian com- munity to the human body, and individual Christians to the members of the body (Romans xii. 4, 5 ; 1 Corinth, xii. 12-31), each efficient only by being part of the body, yet with its own special place and function. Christ has the equally significant figure of a kingdom and its citizens. But if the individual is essentially social, and his character can properly develop only through generous interest in, and unselfish devotion to, the wellbeing of others, his moral advance is conditioned also by self- restraint and, if need be, self-cruciflxion : he is to find his life by losing it. This means that self-discipline is a stern necessity, keeping well in hand the lower nature " with its affections and lusts," and taking care that liberty shall not degenerate into licence. This is the doctrine of the two selves, so strongly insisted on by St. Paul in Romans and elsewhere, but enunciated by Christ with great emphasis early in His ministry. 60 CHRISTIAN ETHICS Virtue means valour, and the formation of character demands struggle and ever-watchful resistance of evil. Thus only can hurtful desires be weakened and good resolutions strengthened. Sacrifice is needed, if ex- cellence is to be achieved. " If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it : but whosoever will lose his life for My sake, the same shall save it " (St. Luke ix. 23, 24). Entrance is by " tlie strait gate,'' and progress is along " the narrow way " ; and "not peace, but a sword " is the first result of devotion to high principle. Moral beauty virtue certainly has, but its inmost essence is to be heroic and sublime. This being so, it becomes a point of great importance to note the means by which unselfish character, or the command over oneself, develops. 1. First of all, it develops through life's temptations. These appeal to man's selfishness, and it is only by overcoming them that character grows stronger, and is more and more firmly established. The forms they assume are manifold, and temptations appeal differently to different temperaments. Three of them are universal, and are represented in the Wilderness temptations of our Lord (St. Matt. iv. 1-11 ; St. Luke iv. 1-13). First, the need for bread is pressing, and hunger and starva- tion are ill to bear. Consequently, there is danger lest labour for daily bread should engross too much of our energy and withdraw our attention from higher interests: the appetites, if uncontrolled, may ruin us. Again, vanity or vainglory lies very near us ; and, where self is prominent in our affections, nothing can be sweeter than the homage and applause of our fellow-men — even flattery becomes supremely acceptable. Yet, when the temptei MORAL PROGRESS 61 took our Lord to a pinnacle of the temple and showed Him (whether really or ideally makes no difference) the assembled multitudes thronging the courts below, ready to do Him homage, to accept Him as their Saviour and Deliverer, if only He would cast Himself down from that height without receiving hurt, — our Lord knew that this would be only to repeat the mistake of Solomon in all his glory and to spoil His act ; and so He replied, " Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God." Once again, thirst for power is one of the strongest passions in the human breast — love of supremacy or domination. It has a noble side, and may bespeak a lofty and honourable ambition ; but it often assumes an ignoble aspect, and comes in the shape of a very subtle spiritual temptation, — viz., when it tries to persuade a man who is governed by the lust of power that, in aiming at supremacy over his fellows, he is doing so with the purest intentions, only for the purpose that he may be able to further other's' interests or to promote the general good. It was an appeal to ambition that the third of the Wilderness temptations made, in the hope that our Lord's burning desire to benefit mankind might, after all, not prove wholly disinterested. But the temptations of life are as numerous as its trials ; and these, again, are as many as the countless diverse circumstances into which any of us may be put. They are particularly those of a man's occupa- tion. Wherever a human soul is, whether in the wilderness or in the busy world, there is a permanent possibility of temptation ; for, the root of seduction is within. How temptation works and with what diverse results, are brought out strikingly in the parables of the Kingdom (St. Matt. xiii.). Under temptations, then, and by means of them, character is to be formed and progress to be made. 62 CHRISTIAN ETHICS Yet, an important distinction has to be drawn. Though we cannot avoid temptations — such as life brings us, in the discharge of our daily duties, — we are not to make or seek temptations for ourselves. There are always awful possibilities attaching to them : we are in peril while they last. And so keenly did our Lord Himself feel this that, recollecting His own temptations in the wilderness — which were not self-sought, but into which He was "led" or "driven" by the Spirit, — with the impressions still strong and vivid, and the consciousness no doubt acute of all the momentous issues that depended on His steadfastness. He taught His disciples the petition, "Lead us not into temptation" (St. Matt. vi. 13). That was a refiexiou of His own experience ; and it is highly significant. 2. But, again, character is formed and spiritual force strengthened by a brave and noble use of it. It is only by venturing that fresh power is acquired. The Seventy disciples (see St. Luke x. 1-20), comjnis- sioned only " to heal the sick, and to say unto them, The Kingdom of God is come nigh unto you," went beyond the letter of their commission and boldly put into practice the spirit of it, essaying even "to oast out devils"; and the result was that "even the devils were subject" unto them. This evidence of moral valour and undoubting faith had its reward. For, when the seventy returned "rejoicing" at their success, Jesus, perceiving the worth that was in them, proceeded at once to entrust them with still higher powers. "Behold," He said, "I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy : and nothing shall by any means hurt you." The law according to which character is formed is always the same : " Whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance" (St. Matt. xiii. 12; xxv. 29). "Faithful MORAL PROGRESS 63 over a few things" is the condition for being "ruler over many things." Character determines fitness : "To sit on My right hand and on My left hand is not Mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared " (St Matt. xx. 23). Hence, we can see how character is to be tested. It is to be tested simply by the means whereby we test all power whatever — viz., by the amount of resistance it can overcome. We may test it by the force or by the suddenness of temptation ; we may test it by the almost continuous strain that is put upon it by the slowness of life's probation — by what one, speaking patlietically from his own experience, calls " the long years of patient wait- ing and silent labour, the struggle with listlessness and pain, the loss of time by illness, the hope deferred, the doubt that lays hold of delay " ; we may test it by the little worries and disappointments of life ; we may test it by tlie temptation of secrecy in sinning ; or, we may test it by the strength upon us of the premium that the world puts upon vice. By these and many similar tests we have a ready means of measuring our moral progress and of ascertaining our deficiencies and defects ; and by the same tests we are able also to gauge the character and progress of others. CHAPTER IX FAITH AKD HOPE Faith defined and exemplified — Hope defined and exemplified — These two as Christian forces — Motive power of Faith in the formation of Christian character — Motive power of Hope. Obviously, from what has just been said regarding the formation of character, two operative powers are im- plicated in the process, — viz., faith and hope. By Faith, speaking generally, is meant confidence or trust. It is belief, indeed, in so far as it presupposes intellectual knowledge of the object or person trusted ; but it is, further, unreserved committal of oneself to the trusted thing or person, in the conviction that such thing or person is trustworthy. Mere belief may not lead to trust — it may be simply perception of a truth, without effective acceptance of it : " the devils," St. James says (ii. 19), "believe, and trevible." But, whenever belief leads to unwavering reliance, it becomes faith. In this sense, faith is the necessary condition of all enterprise and progress whatsoever. Alike in commerce, in explora- tion, in scientific research, in philosophical speculation, in ethical effort, and in religion, faith is indispensable. In our daily intercourse one with another, we must trust each other, else we should soon be brought to a stand- still. In our reasonings and speculations, in our FAITH AND HOPE 65 arguments and inferences, we must trust reason, other- wise we could not proceed a single step. That Truth is, and that it may be reached by us, is a necessary presupposition of our intellectual life. It is a mis- taken notion, therefore, that faith is restricted to religion : it permeates the whole of human thought and action. Hope, on the other hand, is a species of desire, in which are implied at least three things : — (1) wish or longing, (2) a state of suspense and, so, of waiting, and (3) a conviction that, the state of suspense and waiting being over, the thing desired will be attained — this last is expectation. Hope, therefore, has necessarily to do with ideals. Whatever is realizable, or believed to be realizable, but is not yet realized, may become an object of hope ; and, as all ideals are of this nature, they plainly fall within its range. Hope is the motive power to continued effort in the face of adverse circumstances and delayed realization; and not only continued, but increased, effort. Without it, energy and enterprise would both be paralyzed : progress or improvement would become im- possible. Hope is comfort and encouragement and stimulus and support to us ; cheering us in the cloudy and dark day, upholding us in the hour of difficulty or sorrow or disappointment, emboldening us when we are confronted with dangers, and bracing us for facing man- fully the future, and meeting it without dismay. All great deeds, all worthy achievements, all that the world has seen of noble action and of heroic conduct, may in great measure be traced to hope. " Hope springs eternal in the human breast"^; and thereby civilization is advanced, victories are won, and failure is turned into ultimate success. Hope, like Faith, is far-reaching in its application, and is by no means confined to ' Pope, Essay on Man, Epistle i. 5 66 CHRISTIAN ETHICS religion : it is equally necessary in secular, as in sacred, affairs. If, then, Faith and Hope be thus of general applica- tion, what is their distinctive feature as Christian forces ? We find it simply in the sphere in which they are exercised, and in the objects on which-they are fixed. To the Christian, faith is the eye of the soul turned towards things spiritual and divine ; giving him percep- tion, and, therefore, assurance, of God's existence and of the eternal verities declared in the Scriptures, and leading him to trust them. The objects of faith are invisible or unseen, in so far as the eye of the body is concerned ; but they are as real and perceptible as objects of sight, — only, they are spiritually apprehended. Faith is, in the spiritual world of man's experience, what ordinary vision is in his connexion with external reality. Each is seeing ; and, in both cases, " seeing is believing." ^ Now, through this power of spiritual perception and assurance, this trust that the Christian has in the Supreme Being, making consciousness of the Divine Presence with him, and divine interest in him, constant or abiding, moral character progresses towards perfection on the basis of religion, and thereby reaches its greatest stability. "If God be for us, who can be against us 1 " And, as ethical union with God — " fellowship with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ " (1 John i. 3) — is, according to Christ's teaching, the highest good or the chief end of man, the believer, being brought through faith into a new relation with God, has fresh stimulus imparted to him, and he imitates God in his life, so that his nature contracts an ever-increasing beauty, inasmuch as imitation of God leads to reflexion of His glory in the imitator.^ In Old Testament phraseology, he " walks with ' See Hebrews xi. i. * See 2 Corinth, iii. 18. FAITH AND HOPE 67 God " J and this means that his face is directed towards the righteousness that He delights in, and his back is turned on the wickedness that He hates. He becomes a sharer in God's mind and character (for, " fellowship " means partnership), and holiness is his supreme concern. His ideal is, "Holy, for the Lord our God is holy"; "perfect, even as our Father which is in heaven is perfect " (St. Matt. v. 48). In this fashion does Christian faith work in tlie forming and building up of moral character. But what, now, of Christian Hope ? It is centred in the future, and reposes on the word and promises of God. It is concerned with the perfection that is to be, and enables us to feel as though the Second Coming of our Lord, and all that that implies, were already here. It is, as Scripture calls it, " the anchor of the soul " (Hebrews vi. 19), mooring us and keeping us steadfast amid the vicissitudes and storms of life, thereby pre- serving us both from presumption and from despair. If we ask how Christian Hope works in aiding moral progress and the formation of character, we find that it is precisely by urging on to renewed energy and higher attainment, through presenting to us and keeping steadily before us the vision of future recompense and glory; and, as it reposes on Faith and is inseparable from Love, it is powerful to great things. The hopeful man is the trustful man. He trusts God — trusts His un- bounded power and His unbounded mercy and the truthfulness of His promises ; and, as he is united to Him, by the deepest gratitude and love, he is "saved by hope " (Romans viii. 24). Thus does Hope become a quickening principle of the greatest moral value ; creating energy and stimulating to perseverance and continuance in well-doing. CHAPTER X HTTMILITY Prominence of tins quality in Christian teaching — Definition of it — 1. Aa the opposite of spiritual pride — Interpretation of "poor in spirit" — (a) With reference to knowledge — Case of the eariy disciples — (5) With reference to faith — The early disciples again — Humility means heroism — The blessing on it the same as that on suffering persecution — 2. As lowly service of others — Opposed to domination, or the desire of superiority — Contrast of non-Christian and Christian ethics here — The change effected by Christ's Incarnation — Exposition of humility by Christ Himself — ^Case of Salome and her sons — Place of humility In Christian ethics. One of the most prominent of the Christian graces is Humility — which, because of its very prominence, needs to be specially considered. How it should occupy a chief place in the Christian teaching, will be apparent as we proceed with the exposition. By Humility is usually imderstood the opposite of self-conceit, or of an overweening estimate of one's self- importance. And, no doubt, this is part of the mean- ing.i But Scripture gives it a deeper signification, when it (1) opposes it to self-sufficiency or spiritual pride, and (2) identifies it with lowly service of others and active sympathetic interest in their welfare. Spiritual pride ' See the parable of the Marriage Feast (St. Luke xiv. 7-11). HUMILITY 69 and contempt for others — the two opposites of humility always go together : so that the parable of the Pharisee and the Publican exposed a characteristic trait of human nature, when it was spoken, as a rebuke, to those who "trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and set all others at nought" (St. Luke xviii. 9-14). 1. In the first of the meanings — as opposed to spiritual pride, — Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount (St. Matt. v. 3), uses the significant phrase " poor in spirit," instead of humility. This really is an explanation of the term. What, then, is this " poverty " that is synonymous with humility 1 Some read it as though "poor in spirit" were but another name for "poor in purse." That is an entire mistake. A man poor in this world's goods — lacking money, pinched in circumstances — may, indeed, be a spiritually rich man ; but so, too, may a wealthy, pros- perous man. And, while a wealthy, prosperous man may be rich in the treasures of the soul, a poor and socially humble man may be altogether wanting in spirituality and noble-mindedness. The poverty that secures the blessing is poverty of spirit, not of purse. Blessedness, as we saw in a previous chapter (Chapter IV.), is a state of the soul, not the mere possession (or absence) of any- thing outward and material : it is neither money itself nor what money can buy, but an inward condition, in which a man sits loose to the changes and vicissitudes of mere external fortune, and finds himself in right rela- tionship with God, and with himself, and with his fellow men. But, before this inward condition can be attained, a man must strip himself of self-sufficiency. This our Lord calls "poverly" of spirit. It is emptying the soul of all high notions of itself, and laying it open unre- 70 CHRISTIAN ETHICS servedly to Divine influences, like the photographer's exposure of the plate in the camera to the passive im- pressions of external objects. This aspect of humility has a twofold reference : (a) to knowledge, (6) to faith. (a) It has reference to knowledge. The knowledge contemplated is of a particular kind. No doubt, humility is, in a sense, a condition of all kinds of knowledge ; and it is usually the man who knows most that is most humble and most ready to receive new light. On the other hand, it is, for the most part, the self - conceited and ignorant man that is the most opinionative and the least open to instruction. But what is here specially in view is religious knowledge — particularly, the distinctive claims and teaching of the Saviour. The Beatitudes were spoken to the early disciples. Now, the early disciples had, in the most open-minded way, submitted themselves to Jesus' influ- ence and enrolled themselves as scholars in His school. They might have done otherwise. They were Jews, not free from Jewish prejudices ; and so they might have taken up the position of the Pharisees and Scribes : they might have fallen back upon the Jewish Doctors and pleaded their authority against this new Teacher and His doctrines. But, being "poor in spirit,'' they put themselves, without reserve, into Jesus' hands. And the result was that they daily grew in religious knowledge, and daily increased in religious experiences ; until, by the time that Jesus came to depart, they themselves were ready to take their place as His ambassadors, and to go forth into the broad world teaching men with a power that no -Jewish Doctor ever acquired, and expounding and enforcing principles that were, before long, to turn the world upside down. This is the lowly submitting to be taught, which HUMILITY 71 Jesus elsewhere designates " becoming as little children " (St. Matt, xviii. 3, 4). It is through the hearing ear and the receptive mind that things which are " hidden from the wise and prudent " are " revealed unto babes " (St. Matt. xi. 25). (b) But, secondly, poverty of spirit has reference to faith. It required prodigious faith on the part of the early disciples to cast in their lot with Jesus — the humble Galilean, the obscure Carpenter of Nazareth. All their Jewish prejudices, all their national hopes and wishes and expectations, were against it. No one ever thought that the promised Messiah, when He came, would be of this stamp. On the contrary, people conceived Him as a glorious temporal sovereign, leading the armies victori- ously against the enemy, wresting the Holy Land from the grasp of the hated Romans, and reigning in greater pomp than Solomon or David, secure against every foe. Yet, these lowly-minded followers broke the fetters of prejudice, and recognized the Divine voice when they heard it. They did not even stumble at His doctrine ; but accepted His astounding claims. Faith bore them across the barrier; and attachment to Christ's person produced in them a living trust. Now, by the greatness and intensity of their faith, they showed themselves already heroes. No timid men could have done what they did. By their very adherence to the Saviour, through evil and through good report, they proved themselves worthy of their position, and gave pledge and promise of great things yet to come. But this is as much the character of Faith now as then. Faith is always the index of a noble and heroic nature. It takes you into the region of trust : it leads you to anticipate the future and to make a venture. But no base soul, no fearful soul, will do that — not, at any rate, when there are momentous interests at stake. The hero 72 CHRISTIAN ETHICS alone is, strictly speaking, the man of faith ; and, if you analyze it deeper, you will find that the hero is but another name for " the poor in spirit." Hence, the blessing that Jesus pronounces on the seemingly tame and mild class of the humble, or " the poor in spirit," is really a blessing on the noble, the cour- ageous, the heroic — those who are bold for righteousness and undaunted by difficulties and opposition ; and the promise that He makes them (namely, "for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven ") is the promise to the chivalrous and patient. Extremes here seem to meet ; but that only proves how much of a piece sanctified human nature is, and how significant is our Saviour's singling out humility as the subject of the first beatitude — a striking opening to the eight, and the fitting parallel to the last, " Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake : for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven" (St. Matt. v. 10). 2. Of Humility, in its first sense, then, it may be said, " God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble'' (St. James iv. 6). What, now, of the other meaning ? If, in the former case, humility looked towards faith, in this latter case, it shows itself as the handmaid of charity. It is here opposed to domination or the desire of superiority over our fellow-men — one of the strongest of human passions. Hence, it seems tame and soulless ; and, as such, was despised in olden times. In no pagan ethics, whether of the cultured Greek or Roman, or of the less civilized peoples, has humility been accounted a virtue. On the contrary, it has always been regarded as a mark of pusillanimity and weakness — a characteristic of the timid man and the coward. But the Incarnation of Christ has changed all that. From the moment that mankind began to realize that Christ, "being in the form of God, counted it not a prize to be on an equality with HUMILITY 73 God, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men ; and, being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, becoming obedient even unto death, yea, the death of the cross " (Philip, ii. 6-8), Humility leaped from its inferior position, and took its proper place in the forefront of the virtues. In the life of Christ on earth, its true nature became apparent for the first time : it was then seen that it is the indis- pensable condition of effective service of others. Only through stooping can Tve ourselves be exalted : only thus can we conquer men's wills and promote their higher welfare. The exposition was given by Christ Himself — partly, when, at the Last Supper, in the upper-room at Jerusalem, He washed His disciples' feet (St. John xiii.) ; but partly, also, in what He said to His disciples that time Salome requested (St. Matt. xx. 20-28), " Command that these my two sons may sit, one on Thy right hand, and one on Thy left hand, in Thy kingdom." What was it — to revert to this second case — that Jesus then said ? He rebuked the want of humility that dictated such a request, and the equal want of humility on the part of the other disciples who were jealously displeased with James and John because of the request, and set.one and all of them right on this fundamental point of Christian character. " What ! " He said, in effect, " are you imitating the heathen — eager to be mlers one over another, like heathen magistrates or heathen princes? There, among the heathen, domination, power, is the ruling passion ; and a man is accounted great according as he can. oppress his fellows and keep them in subjection. But Christian authority is of an entirely different sort. It is not the power of a tyrant over his helpless subjects ; it is not the power of superior force, which compels obedience when it is not willingly rendered : it is the 74 CHRISTIAN ETHICS sway that one heart exercises over another, gained by loving service of that other — it is dominion through humility, which is the only effective and lasting dominion, — for, 'whosoever would become great among you shall be your minister ; and whosoever would be first among you shall be your servant : even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many.' " With this exposition before us, there is no difficulty in perceiving the true place of Humility in Christian ethics. It is a fundamental virtue, conditioning all; and Christian character can be formed only on due appreciation of this. CHAPTEE XI CHARITY I. Universal brotherhood of mankind — The sentiment discoverable in Judaism — In Buddhism — In Stoicism. II. Distinctive features in Christian teaching here. 1. Love of man for man grounded in man's love for God — Hence the special width of Christian charity— Love for one's enemies — What this means — The place of anger and resentment — Jesus cleansing the Temple, and rebuking hypocrisy — Christian charity combines feeling with doing — Reasons for this combination. (1) The peculiar relation that subsists between emotion and activity exemplified — Butler's law. (2) Power of kindly ofiBoes in winning enemies — Contrasted with the power (a) of brute force, (J) of intellectual ability — Why the meek shall inherit the earth — Men willing to live in imity — What prevents it — The Christian's ethical qualities, according to the Beatitudes, gentle and attractive. 2. The great motive to brotherly affection is Christ's affection for mankind — Power of example here — Nothing mystical in this — Case of friendship — Christ, by His Death, has effected mankind's unity. III. The measure of Christian charity — Man's love for man — Man's love for God — The latter supreme, yet not impracticable — Christ's example — The power of a ruling affection — How the matter stands — Intensity of affection not incompatible with permanence. I The essence of virtue, as we have already seen, is unselfishness; and unselfishness, in one leading form, means devotion to the welfare and higher interests of others. Hence the characteristic teaching of Christianity, giving 76 CHEISTIAlSr ETHICS a chief place iu ethics to Universal Brotherhood, or enthusiasm of humanity. In summing up the duties of man, or summarizing the Ten Commandments, Jesus Himself placed first the necessity of love to God, and next the necessity of love to man ; and " on these two commandments," He declared, " hang all the law and the prophets" (St. Matt. xsii. 40). In like manner, in His last discourse to His disciples. He formulated the new commandment : " a new commandment I give unto you. That ye love one another ; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another " (St. John xiii. 34). St. John is equally explicit, when he says ; " If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar : for, he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen 1 And this command- ment have we from Him, That he who loveth God love his brother also " (1 John iv. 20, 21). So, too, St. Paul declares: "All the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this : Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself " (Gal. v. 14) ; and, not only are his writings throughout concerned with the inculcation of this precept, and the enforcing and exemplifying of it in every variety of way, but also one of the grandest sections (namely, 1 Corinthians xiii.) is devoted to brotherly affection, or the brotherhood of mankind, or, as it is most frequently denominated, Charity. Charity, indeed, is what St. James calls it, " the royal law " (ii. 8), and " the perfect law, the law of liberty " (i. 25) : it is the sum and kernel of the Christian gospel. No doubt, the sentiment of human brotherhood was not discovered for the fii"st time by Christianity. Comparatively narrow as the Jewish faith was — meant exclusively for the seed of Abraham and those who should become such by adoption or conversion, — it could not, as time wore on and the events of Providence threw CHARITY 77 light on the divine purposes, continue in one stay , and, not unfrequently, before the eye of Hebrew prophet or of psalmist there arose the vision of a universal kingdom of righteousness— of a time when God's way should be known upon earth and His saving health among all nations. So, in India, long before the advent of Christianity, Buddha had founded his ethical system upon the very doctrine of common brotherhood, and extolled Charity in terms almost as vivid as those of St. Paul. "Liberality, courtesy, kindliness, and un- selfishness," he said, " these are to the world what the linchpin is to the rolling chariot " — in other words, they keep the world in its course, as the linchpin docs the chariot-wheel, and prevent its inhabitants from being hurled headlong to destruction. While, once more, in pagan Greece and Rome, the Stoics owed their existence as a distinct philosophical sect to their deep appreciation of, and intense insistence upon, the doctrine that men are the oflfspring of God, that each man is a citizen of the world, and that " we are made for co-operation, like the feet, the hands, the eyelids, the upper and the lower rows of teeth," " for, what is not good for the swarm is not good for the bee " — a doctrine that succeeded, practically, in breaking down the distinctions of caste among the Stoics, putting Epictetus, the lame Phrygian slave, on a level with Mai'cus Aurelius, the Roman Emperor, and enabling Aurelius himself to work stead- fastly towards the realization of his own ideal, — "the conception of an equal commonwealth, based on equality of right and equality of speech, and of imperial rule respecting, first and foremost, the liberty of the subject" {Meditations, i. 14).i To the Stoic, as to St. Paul, 1 By far the most brilliant translation of the Meditations is that which was recently put out by Principal Gerald H. Kendall, under the title Marcus Aurelius Antoninus to Himself, and published by Macmillan and Co. Ltd. 78 CHRISTIAN ETHICS humanity was more thau a collection of human beings — it was an organism, like the body, whose parts are members in living union with the whole ; and humane offices of man to man were more than acts of emotionless duty — they were the promptings of sympathy and love.^ But, for all this, the Christian enthusiasm of humanity is unique, and it is characterized by these two par- ticulars : — (1) that it grounds man's love for man in his love for God, and (2) that the great motive for brotherly aifection is Jesus' affection for mankind. II Let us look at each of these two peculiarities in turn. 1. First, the love of man for man is grounded in the love of man for God : " This commandment have we from Him, That he who loveth God love his brother also " (1 John iv. 21). We begin at the wrong end, when we begin with our- selves. It is not " Love your brother, then love God " ; it is "Love God, then love your brother." The first impulse must come from above : the regenerating power must descend, not ascend. Before we can properly reverence the human soul we must learn to reverence that in it which is worthy of reverence ; and that in it which is worthy of reverence is " the image of God." If God were not Himself worthy of reverence, His image in man's soul could be no sacred thing to us. But just because God is the highest object of reverence, and demands all the homage that we can render Him, therefore man, "made after the similitude of God" (James iii. 19), claims respect at our hands, and is 1 Whether this dootriae was logically consistent with all the other parts of the Stoical teaching in EtMca, is not here the question. CHARITY 79 entitled to " courtesy." Here, according to Scripture, is the true and permanent bond of brotherly union, — viz., the Fatherhood of God. Hence the special width of Christian charity. It must not be confined (any more than the Father's goodness is confined) to a section of mankind, or to friends alone, but must extend to enemies as well, and to the whole human race. We are to imitate, to the utmost of our power, the generosity and beneficence of the Supreme, who " maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust" (St. Matt. v. 45). Jesus put it in the most striking form, when He said, " Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefuUy use you, and per- secute you " (St. Matt. v. 44). This demands of us more than what we should naturally be inclined to give. Love begets love, and every one by nature is disposed to love those that love him. The reciprocation here arises unbidden in our breasts — it is instinctive and spontane- ous. But no such instinctive and spontaneous love can there be towards an enemy : on the contrary, we in- stinctively and spontaneously hate enemies. Yet, Jesus requires us to suppress this instinctive and spontaneous hatred, and to replace it by love ; and this love, as I interpret it, can alone be gained by strenuous resistance of every prompting to retaliation and revenge, and by practising the opposing virtues — by forgiving injuries, by foregoing retribution, by surrendering opportunities of paying back offences, and by seizing opportunities of requiting evil with good. By "love your enemies,'' I understand, " Eesist every solicitation to hate them ; let not their unworthiness bring you down into a mean and narrow disposition ; expel from your soul every evil and uncharitable thought regarding them ; exercise towards 80 CHRISTIAN ETHICS them a forgiving spirit ; and never allow yourself to wish them or to do them ill." This does not, however, mean that there is no place for anger, or even for a certain resentment, in our con- stitution. The injunction forbids anger, when anger becomes in us a brooding over of injuries received, a cherishing and fanning of the desire for vengeance ; and it forbids resentment, when resentment is a settled and deliberate purpose to retaliate — a firm determination to pay back the offender whenever the occasion offers. But there is an anger that is just, and a resentment that is pure and lawful. There is such a thing as " righteous indignation " ; and St. Paul has said to us, "Be ye angry, and sin not" (Ephesiaus iv. 26). We are helped in understanding the situation by Jesus' own example ; for, Jesus' life is the best commentary on His teaching. We know what He once did in the Temple (St. John ii. 13-16) ; how, when He saw the worldly plying their busi- ness there. He " made a scourge of small cords and drove them all out," He " overthrew the tables of the money changers, and the seats of them that sold doves, and said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer ; but ye have made it a den of thieves.'' We know also Jesus' stem indignation against hypocrisy, and His fierce denunciation of the hypocrites (see, for example, St. Matt, xxiii.). There is a justifiable anger and a justifiable resentment ; for, it is right to abhor, and to give expression to our abhorrence of, injury and injustice, cruelty, impiety, and wrong. Wrong is wrong, by whomsoever done, and cries for punishment, whether the wrong be inflicted on others or on ourselves. AVe are not only allowed, but required, to set ourselves against iniquity, and sternly to condemn it. We must not pass by our enemy's sins, any more than we pass by CHARITY 81 our owu sins or the sins of our friends ; neither are Tve to deal with him more leniently than we should with ourselves or with our neighbours. What we are for- bidden is, to delight in seeing an enemy suffering, or to introduce into our judgment of his conduct any personal consideration or feeling — the feeling of offended dignity or of wounded pride, the consideration that we ourselves are the party injured. We are to avoid all malicious pleasure and selfish satisfaction in the matter, and to act here, as elsewhere, upon the principle. Do unto others as ye would that they should do unto you. This being so, we can easily see how Christian charity should be a combination of feeling and doing,— of emotion and action. We must both be well disposed towards others and ready to serve them. The grace of charity must be manifested in works : it naturally takes outward form, and embodies itself in kindly deeds and philan- thropic institutions. For this stiiking combination, there are deep reasons. (1) In the first place, the relation between feeling and activity is a very peculiar one. The more we give ourselves over to mere feeling, the less disposed to action do we become ; whereas, the more we accustom ourselves to act upon emotion, the more does our ability or tend ency to act increase. Take an example. On our first sight of a person in distress, we are, no doubt, deeply moved : our sensibility or feeling is then very strong. But just in proportion as we give way to this mere feeling ■^to the mere sentiment of compassion — is our inability and indisposition to render active help : we sit, as it were, paralyzed, being absorbed in emotion. But now let us habituate ourselves to sights of distress, let us (like the sick -nurse and the doctor) be brought into daily contact with suffering, while all the time we are 82 CHRISTIAN ETHICS called upon to render prompt assistance; and what happens ? Kepeated experience of suffering does, to some degree, blunt the acuteness of our sensibility ; but theu there comes, instead of it, the active habit of relieving — the instinctive rising up to help. It is a law, which the most philosophical of English divines (Bishop Butler) has turned to admirable account,^ that "passive impres- sions by being repeated grow weaker,'' whereas " prac- tical habits are formed and strengthened by repeated acts " ; and " active principles, at the very time that they are less lively in perception than they were, are somehow wrought more thoroughly into the temper and char- acter, and become more effectual in influencing our practice." Thus, Christian charity, in order to be effective, must be active as well as emotional : a bare sentiment, minis- tering to inactivity, would defeat the end in view. But (2), secondly, the combination of feeling and activity is here necessary for another reason, — viz., because of the power that kindly offices, combined with good feeUng, have in winning and cementing mankind, and, in especial, of gaining a hostile brother. The efficacy of a soft answer to turn away wrath is proverbial ; and re- quiting evil with good is equally potent. In the struggle for existence, indeed, physical force might be supposed to be the ruling factor.; 'find, if not that, then intellectual ingenuity, laying hold on opportunity and turning its resources to practical account. And there can be no question that there have been times when brute force has ruled in the earth, and other times when intellectual ability has exercised the supremacy. Brute force is power ; and knowledge, too, is power. But brute force is power only as against brute force. You may, by sheer superior muscle, seize hold of a man, and coerce him to ' gee The Analogy of Religion, Part I. chap. v. CHARITY 83 your will — you may load him with chains or confine him under bolt and bar. But though, for the moment, you have quieted him, you have not thereby subdued him. On the contrary, you have embittered him in his enmity ; and, at the earliest moment, he will assert his power against you, and procure your ruin, if he can. Force of arms or superior might may beat down or vanquish an opponent; but Love alone can subdue him. He may surrender under strong compulsion, when he cannot help himself, being overpowered ; but he will submit only when you reach his heart and gain his will. Neither does mental cleverness, or intellectual capacity, necessarily bring unity, or produce the highest permanent results. Strife and division, instead of concord and peace, often follow in its train. What alone has unity as its neces- sary consequence is meekness : it is the softer virtues, and these when they are joined to piety or are raised to divine graces. "Everything,'' says Epictetus, "has two handles, the one by which it may be carried, the other by which it may not. If your brother acts unjustly, do not lay hold of the act by that handle wherein he acts unjustly, for this is the handle which cannot be carried ; but lay hold of the other, — that he is your brother, that he was nurtured with you,— and you will lay hold of the thing by that handle by which it can be carried " {ETicheiridion, xliii.). Hence, we perceive the propriety of the promise that "the meek shall inherit the earth." Who else should? The amiable virtues, above all things, have attractive power in them; and the great force that binds men together is active benevolence. And men, as a rule, wish to be bound together, — they desire to live in unity. No doubt, some people are so constituted as to delight in quarrels for quarrels' sake ; but these are exceptional and abnormal. You have only to observe how glad former 84 CHRISTIAN ETHICS enemies are to be reconciled, if one can devise some method of doing it without too greatly humiliating either party, and to notice the readiness that people show to extend forgiveness to an offending brother when he is really penitent and asks forgiveness, — you have only to notice this, to be convinced that unity and goodwill are the true foundation of man's nature, and that love, not hate, lies at the root of his being. What creates the difficulty is the intervention of selfishness and self-conceit. It is not because I naturally hate my fellow-man, or really wish to quarrel with him, that I harbour ill-will and a grudge against him when he has offended me, but because my vanity is touched, — I am injured in my self-import- ance. Yet, this intervention of self-conceit or self-import- ance is a very obstinate fact, rendering it hard to get a reconciliation effected. I am not happy in being at feud with my neighbour, I am even anxious to find a means of regaining his affection ; but I cannot make advances, and wait till advances are made to me, because my vanity is hurt. He, in like manner, is unhappy in his aliena- tion, and would gladly welcome a way out of the diffi- culty, if only he could pocket his pride, or lay aside his overestimate of self, or over-sensitiveness on the side of personal dignity. It is the office of charity to remove this over-sensitiveness to self-importance from the oflfended parties, and thereby to allow the flow of mutual affec- tion to resume its proper channel. But, as charity is the possession of the meek man, of the generous man, of the humble man, of the long-suffering, patient, and for- bearing man, Ms is the type of character which best represents the Father, with His all-embracing Love and His generosity, even to the unthankful and the prodigal (St. Luke XV. 11-32). On this account, the distinctive ethical qualities of Christ's disciple, as laid down in the Beatitudes (St. Matt. v. 3-12), are all of the gentle and CHARITY 86 attractive kind — unaggressive, unassuming, -winning. Hence, many of them are passive. Humility, or poverty of spirit, sorrow, meekness, aspiration, mercifulness, purity of heart, — all these point to a state or condition of the soul, and suggest what the Christian in his inmost nature is, rather than what he habitually does. But after these comes peace-making, which shows him on his distinctively active or energetic side ; the spirit he has cultivated, the disposition he has acquired, now working itself out in practice : while, the last of the Beatitudes represents him as passively enduring, for righteousness sake. It is all on the line of permanent unity : meekness is power. And the highest claim that Jesus Himself made was grounded on this same cementing quality : "Come unto Me,'' He said, "all ye that labour, and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me ; for / am, 'meek and lowly in heart : and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light" (St. Matt. xi. 28-30). 2. But, next, the great motive to brotherly affection is Jesus' affection for mankind — an affection manifested in the highest self-denying service. "This is My com- mandment," He said, " that ye love one another, even as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends " (St. John XV. 12, 13). There is no doubt that the call to universal goodwill and to the bearing of one another's burdens, is a very high one ; demanding the sacrifice of much that is dear to us, and requiring us to develop a side of our nature that is only too apt to be subordinated. It is a call to the higher life ; and, before we can respond to it, we need to see the higher life lived, to have it set before us in con- 86 CHRISTIAN ETHICS Crete shape or form. In ethics, as elsewhere, the most effective teaching is by example ; and, in the case of Charity, in particular, — whether we take charity as liber- ality of view, or as breadth of compassion, or as never- failing beneficence, — precept can go but a short way. It is not the knowledge of what generosity means that is wanting to us, so much as the will to do what is gener- ous ; and this will can best be stimulated by touching the springs of emotion through the manifestation of generosity in another. Hence the power of Jesus' earthly life and work. The sight of goodness excites the spectator to goodness : the thought of Christ's disinterested affection for mankind — affection that led to the sublimest self-sacrifice, going the length even of dying on the Cross for sinners — quickens the dormant energies of our souls, and aroiises us, first, to admiration, next, to gratitude, and, then, to self-sur- render. That is how perception of the Saviour's love in man's redemption works in those who realize it. And there is notMng mystical or unintelligible about this : it is precisely similar to what happens, in a lower plane, every day. We know what ordinary friendship can do. Given a friend of stronger will, or of robuster intellect, or of purer character than our own, and inevitably we submit ourselves to his guidance. He becomes to us " a second self " ; so that we assimilate his thoughts, accept his ways, and identify ourselves with his purposes and ends. So with our devotion to Christ. Imitation, to the extent of our ability, is the necessary consequence of it. And, as the whole of Christ's work was directed to- wards promoting the welfare of mankind, this becomes the ruling object of our lives also. Our enthusiasm of humanity is elicited and fanned by His, and our lives are moulded on Him as our model. He becomes to us both stimulus and pattern ; so that His commandment is a CHARITY 85 living source of inspiration : " this is My commandment, that ye love one another, even as I have loved ycm," But there is something more than even this in Christ's affection for humanity. His Death — which is the out- come of His affection — has eSected mankind's unity. As it has united us to God as to our Father, so it has united us to one another by making us dependent on one and the same Lord and Saviour, and sharers in common promises and hopes and aspirations. As St. Paul puts it : " There is one body, and one Spirit, even as also ye were called in one hope of your calling ; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all, and through all, and in all " (Eph. iv. 4-6). Charity finds here its deepest ground : " for ye are all one in Christ Jesus" (Gal. iii. 28). Ill We have just seen the relation that man's love to God bears to man's love to man — the second is founded on the first. What, now, is the measure of each of these two loves ? One's love to man is to be measured by one's affection for oneself. " Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself " — to that extent, no more, no less, not otherwise. That is intelligible enough, and needs no special comment: it follows from the fact of the solidarity of the race, and of men's sharing in a common salvation.. But one's love to God must go beyond this — it must be with the entire being and in unrestricted quantity: " Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength " (St. Mark xii. 30). Now, is not this visionary and impracticable ? la 88 CHRISTIAN ETHICS such intensity of love possible 1 and, if it were possible, could it last 1 That it is possible, is proved by the fact that it has been achieved. Christ achieved it ; and it has been achieved also by His disciples. Every one who really submits himself to it finds that it calls forth the energies of his whole being, that it will not rest till it has stretched to the utmost his capacities and powers, laying under contribution every- thing that is in him, so permeating and quickening him that all besides shall be subdued, and God shall be all in all. Nor is this, in any way, strange. Do we not see that any affection, when it gains the ascendency, will do some- thing precisely similar 1 Do we not find other affections actually doing it ? The man whose prevailing passion is the love of power, or the love of money, or the love of fame, never rests contented at any one stage, but finds his ruling passion " always putting him upon providing new gratifications for it." There is this great difference, however, that such a passion has illimitable graspingness about it, which oversteps its natural boundary, and so cannot secure final happiness ; whereas, the more insati- able we are in loving God (seeing there is no overstep- ping of boundary here), " the more amiable and blessed " do we become. The matter, then, stands thus : — We must be ruled by something ; there must be a prevailing love of some kind in our hearts. The question comes to be, Shall it be love of God, or love of men, or love of self? It must be one of these : it cannot be them all. For, although all three loves may exist in one and the same heart, they cannot all rule there. One alone can reign supreme ; and whichever reigns supreme gives the tone to the character and determines its state. But can intense affection last 1 Why should it not 1 CHARITY 89 Permanence and intensity are not opposites — they are not incompatible. On the contrary, the intenser an affection, the deeper it is ; and, therefore, it abides. What soon comes to an end is, not intensity of affection, but mere religious excitement ; and this vanishes, because it is only a play on the nerves. Love to God is no ex- citement — as we see in the calm and unimpassioned life of Jesus, — but a deep and strong emotion ; and, because deep and strong, it is durable, and, the more enduring, the deeper and stronger it is. SECTION" D PEACTICAL ETHICS CHAPTER XII BBSULTS OF CHARITY 1. Christian charity has abolished national and racial exclusiveness ■ — Meaning of this — Ancient Egypt — Greece and Rome— The Jews — 2. Has abolished slavery — ^The Greek idea of slavery — The Jewish idea — Pharaoh and the Egyptian taskmasters — Slavery defined — St. Paul's dealings with Philemon in relation to Onesimus — Christianity effecting its end by the fervour of Christian love, and not by political revolution — 3. Has abolished caste and class distinctions — The ground of it, the worth and dignity of the hiiman soul — Christ a King, and His subjects helpers in the propagation of righteousness — 4. Has elevated women — The status of women in ancient times and in modem heathen lands — Christianity's revolution exem- plified — 5. Has intensified sympathy with the weak and the oppressed — Power of Jesus' example— PhUanthropio movements and institutions — 6. Extends sympathy to the lower animals — Why no special injunction in New Testament regarding treatment of the brutes. The practical results of the realization of the brotherhood of mankind have been manifold, and are visible in all the Christian's relations in life — family relations, social rela- tions, etc. To go through them in any adequate fashion would require a large volume ; for, it would be to classify RESULTS OF CHARITY 91 and expound Christian duties in their whole range and application. The bearings of Christianity on modern problems alone — e.g., on the labour question — would do more than tax the space at our command. All that can here be done is to glance at several of the more con- spicuous of the results, so as to bring out features dis- tinctive of Christian ethics. 1. And, first of all, Christian charity abolishes national and racial exclusiveness : " there is not Jew and Greek " (Gal. iii. 28). By this, of course, is not meant that the natural acci- dents of birth and nationality are done away with, neither is it meant that patriotism or love of country is extin- guished ; but the meaning is, that these are now regarded as no obstacle to mankind's common brotherhood and fellowship, and no excuse for one nation or people tyrannizing over or oppressing another. Now, this idea of a universal brotherhood among races was scarcely even dreamt of in antiquity. We have already seen that its existence as a philosophical doctrine was long prior to the appearance of Christianity ; but it was unknown or unheeded by states and states- men : it had little or no practical effect on the world at large. Nay, the very highest and most civilized of ancient states were founded on the entirely opposite principle. Take ancient Egypt — one of the most ad- vanced and cultured of early monarchies. Its attitude towards foreigners was exactly that exhibited towards Israel ; and a perfect revelation is contained in the single sentence, " The Egyptians might not eat bread with the Hebrews, for that is an abomination vmto the Egyptians " (Genesis xliii. 32). Again, take ancient Greece and Eome. Foreigners were to both barbarians; and "barbarian'' was a term signiiicant of inferiority and contempt. 92 CHRISTIAN ETHICS Barbarian was every one, in a Eoman's eye, who was not Roman ; and whosoever was not Greek was, to the Greek, barbarian. To Egyptian, Greek, and Eoman alike, the fact of national and racial distinctions was an insuperable barrier to the practical' recognition of the universal brotherhood of mankind. Even to the Jew, the idea of a universal brotherhood was scarcely more than an idea. It was implicitly contained, indeed, in Judaism, and prophet and psalmist had occasional vision of it ; but it was never practically worked out, or explicitly developed. On the contrary, national exclusiveness was the very characteristic of the Hebrews ; and it was only by main- taining themselves as a separate people, altogether isolated from "the Gentiles," that they were able to preserve their identity. Now, what was thus impossible to the ancients — what was but a dream of the Greek philosophers or a vision of the Jewish prophets — that Christianity has so far embodied in fact. In the widest sense of all, it has broken down "the middle wall of partition,'' and, through infusing into men a feeling of common brotherhood and inspiring them with common sympathy, has rendered possible and is hastening on a " federation of the world." 2. But, secondly, through its teaching of charity, Christianity has abolished slavery : " there is not bond and free " (Gal. iii. 28). The universality of slavery in ancient times is a fact of history. Even among the most enlightened nations of antiquity, it was a regular institution ; and it is a highly significant and suggestive circumstance that the very wisest of the ancient Greeks defended it and re- garded it as a necessity ; and, when they set themselves, as Plato did, to form in imagination an Ideal Republic — to conceive a best possible state of things, — they uni- formly placed in this Ideal Commonwealth — in this RESULTS OF CHARITY 93 heaven upon earth (for, so it was)— their race of slaves, still toiling away and drudging for behoof of others, retaining their inferiority (wJbich was supposed to be fixed by an immutable law of nature), and unfit for the higher citizenship.i Even the Jews permitted and practised slavery, although the Mosaic code greatly mitigated the servile condition, and was specially humane towards the unfortunate Jew, who, because of poverty or for other reason, should sell himself as bondman to a brother Jew, instituting, for his sake, the Sabbatical year and the year of Jubilee, and laying down many ameliorating ordinances. The institution of the Sab- bath, too, as a day of weekly rest, had for one of its reasons, humanity to the servile class : " that thy man- servant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou. And thou shalt remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt" (Deuteronomy v. 14, 15). This was a marked improvement over anything to be found at the time among other peoples. Take Eastern lands. We see the character of the Oriental slave-driver and the nature of his exactions in the taskmasters of Pharaoh and the work of the Israelites in their Egyptian bondage. Take the West ; and the miserable lot of the western slave, in days of old, is familiar to us in the histories of Greece and Eome. But slavery itself : what does it really mean ? It means that there is a radical and insurmountable differ- ' In the Politics, Aristotle deliberately enunciates and elaborates the theory that there are men who are by nature slaves, so that slavery becomes a necessity and the institution of it is just. He even defends the undertaking of war with a view to the acquisition of slaves. In the Ethics, he refuses to admit that happiness, any more than virtue, can belong to a slave ; and, there too, as in the Politics, he excludes slaves from a share in the social life of a citizen. Some ancient Greek thinkers, however {e.g., Aloidamas ot Elea), were more liberal, and argued against slavery on the ground of man's natural rights. 94 CHRISTIAN ETHICS ence between the souls of men ; tbat there is a class of human beings incapable of intellectual and moral eleva- tion, made to serve, but unfit to govern — beings with duties to perform, but possessing no rights. A slave, as Aristotle defined him, is " a living implement " — a mere part of a man's possessions, like his cattle and his horses and his tools ; no friend or brother, but a " thing " included in the class of " goods and chattels," and to be treated and disposed of precisely as his owner pleased. This is a very unworthy and degrading view of man to take ; and the spirit of Christianity is entirely against it. St. Paul gives expression to the Christian conscious- ness in his dealings with Philemon. When he received Ouesimus, Philemon's runaway and worthless, if not also dishonest, slave, and, having won him to the Christian faith and clasped him to his bosom, sent him back to his master with words of warm commendation and the urgent request for forgiveness and generous treatment, he showed in deed the true mind of the Saviour, and preached by example to his own and to future generations. That was the death-knell of slavery, when he wrote (see the Epistle to Philemon) : " I beseech thee for my son [or child] Onesimus . . . that thou shouldest receive him for ever ; not now as a servant, but above a servant, a brother beloved, especially to me, but how much more unto thee, both in the flesh and in the Lord." No formal precept against slavery is there, indeed, in the Scriptures ; but (which is far better) the institution is condemned by the ground - principle of Christianity — the worth of the individual soul in the sight of God ; by the loving, gentle, and humane principles that the Gospel everywhere inculcates ; by the common participation — of high-born and slave alike — in baptism; by .the unrestricted fellowship of all at the same Holy Table ; and, above all, by " the sweet reason- RESULTS OF CHARITY 95 ableness" that was in Christ Himself, and which He requires of all His followers. Had Christianity set itself in open opposition to this institution, which, in Christ's days, was universally established, it would have assumed the function of a mere political system, and so would inevitably have failed of its design. But just because it avoided the political pitfall, refusing to call upon slaves in general to rise in armed rebellion against their masters, therefore, has it been powerful to the opening of the prison doors and the removal of the fetters. It melted the hearts of masters " by the fervour of Christian love, and so penetrated society with the principles of the Gospel that emancipation became a necessity." It was thus that it " brake the gates of brass, and cut the bars of iron in sunder" (Ps. cvii. 16). The effect was not long in showing itself; and, under the early Christian Emperors (beginning, at any rate, with Constantine), decrees were passed ameliorating the condition of the slave, recognizing his worth and dignity as a man, and facilitating his emancipation. ^ The result has been the same wherever Christianity has been accepted by a State. After its introduction into England, the kings forbade men to sell slaves out of the country " that those souls perish not that Christ bought with His own life.'' 3. But what Christianity has done in this way with slavery, it has done also, and is still doing, with reference to caste and class distinctions. I do not, of course, mean that it has abolished the differences between the rich and the poor, between the high-born and the low-born, between the peer and the peasant. That it has not done, and it never intended to do it. These are outward earthly differences that society demands; but they have in themselves no intrinsic ' For the history of the subject, see the article on " Slavery " in the Encyclopcedia Britannica, 96 CHRISTIAN ETHICS value. What I mean is, that these differences have been shown to count for nothing in the eye of God. A man is no nearer perfection for belonging to the caste of priest, for instance, than for being a layman ; noble birth is in itself no recommendation to the Divine favour, neither is there any merit in humble origin. When Jesus pronounced the blessing on the poor, it was on the poor "in spirit" ; and, when grieved at the choice of the rich young man " who made the great refusal," He did not condemn riches in themselves, He simply said, " How hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the Kingdom of God ! " (St. Mark x. 24). It is a pagan notion that God is a respecter of persons. He has His priests (so the heathen conceive) who, what- ever be their personal or private character, are holy and acceptable to Him because of their office. He has His favoured nations ; and these may transgress or obey His law : in neither case will He desert them. He has His favourite cities and His favourite families ; and to belong to these is special privilege and gain. Riches are the consequence of the Divine favour ; poverty is the sign of the Divine displeasure. Against all this, Christianity protests, and, locating worth only in the individual soul, sweeps away the false pretensions of those who claim merit for what is merely external and adventitious, and shows that men are in the truest sense equal — each is a human soul with the stamp of the Creator on him, and each is to be estimated onlyaccording to what he himself is. Most strikingly is this seen to hold when we remember that Christ came claiming to be a King and aimed at establishing a kingdom on the earth ; making His followers thereby subjects and also helpers in the propagation of righteousness. Thus is the whole of one's life ennobled, and workman and work alike swept within the circle of Jesus' influence and care. The pulse of the Christian RESULTS OF CHARITY 97 beats strong when it beats in unison with that of the whole Christian community; and our smallest friendly services one to another, if lovingly rendered, are sanctified by the thought, "Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of these my brethren, even these least, ye did it unto Me " (St. Matt. XXV. 40). 4. Again, Christianity is distinguished by its noble conception of women — by its insisting on the dignity of womanhood : " there is not male and female " (Gal. iii. 28). Under ancient pagan systems, philosophical and political alike, woman was invariably treated as man's inferior, and, frequently, as little better than a slave. It is the same at the present day in India and Africa and other heathen lands. What with the unrestrained control of parents over daughters and of husbands over wives, leading, in many cases, to harsh and inhuman treatment ; what with polygamy and all its attendant evils ; what with exclusion of women from the confidence of men, and the assigning to them of very menial duties, — woman's life in heathen countries is one of great inferiority and strict subordination — pitiable in many respects, enviable in few. Conspicuous among the characteristics of Christianity is the contrast it presents to this. , In the Christian code, for the first time, due place has been given to woman as man's helpmate. Whether as daughter, mother, wife, or widow, she is valued and esteemed ; her husband is commanded to give her honour as unto the weaker vessel, and to remember that she is the heir with him of the grace of life (1 Peter iii. 7) ; her influence in the family, in society, in the church, gets ample scope and is fully appreciated. To Christianity is owing the chivalry that ennobles modern civilization. To it, too, is due the recognition of the sanctity of marriage — based 7 98 CHRISTIAN ETHICS upon the fact of its divine institution (St. Matt. xix. 3-12), and of its serving as a symbol of the mystical union between Christ and the church, and carrying in its train female fidelity, the purity of home-relationships, and all the blessings of pure family life (Eph. v. 22-33). And to Christianity, directly or indirectly, are owing both the revelation of woman's distinctive capabilities and the opportunities for developing them. The true diguity and beauty of womanhood are shown in the piety and love of Martha and Mary in the home at Bethany (St. John xi.) ; in the picturesque band of women — " Mary called Magdalene, . . . and Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others " (St. Luke viii. 3) — who ministered to Jesus of their substance ; in the .daughters of Jerusalem following the Saviour to His crucifixion and weeping around the Cross of Calvary (St. Luke xxiii. 28 ; St. John xix. 25) ; in the Marys and Salome hastening to the sepulchre with their spices and their preparations, " that they might anoint Him " (St. Mark xvi. 1) : and in these we have examples of female worth that are only part of a vast series extend- ing in a line unbroken down to the present day. If Christianity has elevated woman, it has also rendered possible the full manifestation and unfolding of her excellences and graces. 5. But Christianity has, further, intensified men's sympathy with the weak, the poor, the down-trodden, and the oppressed. Jesus' great love and tenderness for children,^ His ' Not only did He take them up in His arms and bless them (St. Mark x. 13-16), not only did He set them forth, in their humility, as a type of the Christian (St. Matt, zviii. 3, 4) ; but He said, in words of deep solemnity, " See that ye despise not one of these little ones ; for I say unto you, that in heaven their angels do always behold the face of My Father which is in heaven " (St. Matt, xviii. 10). He said also, — " And whoso shall receive one such little child in My name receiveth Me : but whoso . shall cause one of these little ones which RESULTS OF CHARITY 99 sympathy with the fallen and the condemned, His condescension to a life of poverty and to the work of a carpenter at Nazareth — this alone was sufficient to revolutionize people's estimate of what has real value and their notions of duty one to another. It was now seen that there is a sacredness in the helplessness of infancy and childhood,^ and a call upon us for gentle treatment of all who are in need of help ; that poverty is not a sin, nor honest labour a disgrace ; and that even gross faults and failings render the delinquents objects of tender solicitude and should draw forth our com- passion, instead of repelling us. Hospitals, Lunatic Asylums, Homes for Orphans and the like, philanthropic institutions, ministering to human wants of every kind and form, abolition of savage punishments for crime, too, are but the necessary and inevitable outcome of living Christian charity. The moment that the sympa- thetic heart of Jesus went forth to the publican and the harlot, — hating sin but pitying the sinner, — a new era began for the downcast and the despised. 6. JSTor does Christian charity, with its practical beneficence, content itself with human beings : it extends its interests, also, to the sentient and suflfering brutes. It has often been objected to Christianity that, in the New Testament, there is no special injunction regarding the treatment of the lower animals ; and, in this respect, its ethics is declared to be inferior to that of many other religious systems. But the objection is misplaced. Certainly, the New Testament does not lay down any believe in me to stumble, it is profitable for him that a great millstone should be hanged about his neck, and that he should be sunk in the depth of the sea" (St. Matt, xviii. 6). ^ A condemnation, therefore, of infanticide. Contrast Christianity in this respect with the ancient Greek and Roman practice of drowning or exposing weakly children. Even the humane Seneca can write : " Children, if they are born weakly and deformed, we drown. It is not anger but reason to separate the useless from the sound " {Delra,i. 15). 100 CHKISTIAN ETHICS formal rule regarding man's relation to the brute creation. But, then, Christianity (as we saw in Chap. II.) deals with principles, not with rules ; and the principles it enunciates regarding humane conduct are quite ample enough to cover the lower animals as well as men. The whole spirit of Christianity is utterly antagonistic to ill-treating the dumb creatures. This is answer sufficient. But, further, it must never be forgotten that Christianity was grafted upon Judaism, and took over from it, among other things, the doctrine that "the righteous man is merciful to his beast." In this respect, as in others, Jesus came " not to destroy, but to fulfil." While, still again, Jesus' teaching that the fowls of the air, specifically " the sparrows," are under the special care and providence of God (St. Matt. vi. 26 ; x. 29) almost necessitated kindly interest in the lower creatures, seeing that the God who cares for man is the same that cares for other living beings — His " tender mercies are over all His works." i ' For the humane and kindly treatment of the lower animals among the ancient Greeks, see Plutarch's Lives, under the heading " Cato the Censor." In Eastern lands, lundness to the brute creation has often heen stimulated hy the doctrine of Metempsychosis or Transmigration of souls. CHAPTEE XIII JODGING Difficulties of the task — Yet, the task necessary ; and why — Obstacles to correct moral judgment — I. Self-judgment^ Distorting causes — 1. Custom — Familiarity blunts perception — 2. Self-partiality — Nature and examples of — 3. Accepting a wrong standard of judgment — Inducements to — 4. Com- plexity and subtlety of sin— (a) Its complexity and depth — (S) Its power of transforming itself — (c) Its power of conceal- ment — II. Judging others — Object of — Spirit in which it should be done — Meaning of St. Matt. vii. 1 — Distorting causes — 1. Tendency to judge superficially — Whence it arises — Case of David — General maxim — 2. Want of sympathy — Difficulty of realizing the situation and temptations of another ; and whence it arises — ^Lamentable results — 3. Self- partiality — Malicious deKght in finding faults in others — Intervention of jealousy and envy, with the consequences — 4. Personal attachment — May lead to partiality — Necessity of chivalrous behaviour towards friends — 5. Prejudice — Its working exemplified — 6. Passion — Its operation. It is not an easy matter fairly and correctly to estimate human character. Character is such a very complex thing, it is such a mixture of subtle and apparently conflicting forces, that to see it on all sides and to place the various parts of it in just relation is a task of enormous difficulty. Yet, it is a task from which we dare not shrink. For, we are called upon to be judges — judges of ourselves, 102 CHRISTIAN ETHICS judges of others. By judging others is not, of course, meant censoriousness, or flippant criticism of others (such as the young and inexperienced frequently pass unabashed on their experienced elders), but enlightened moral judging — bringing the conduct of others, just as one brings one's own conduct, to the test of the law of righteousness, and approving or disapproving, praising or condemning, it accordingly. That kind of judging is laid upon us by the very fact that we are social beings ; it is laid upon us, in an especial manner, by Christianity, which regards its adherents as respon- sible in a certain measure for each other's conduct, and for the health and welfare of the general body : " for, we who are many, are one body in Christ, and severally members one of another" (Romans xii. 5). Self-judging is an ethical necessity, for one's own good ; judging of others is indispensable for their good and for the good of the whole. Only thus can a high and a vigorous moi-al tone be maintained, and apathy and disaster avoided ; " for," as St. Paul told the lethargic and degenerating Corinthians, " if we judged ourselves, we should not be judged " (1 Corinth, xi. 31). What, then, are the obstacles to correct moral judg- ment — of oneself and of others? That is a very important question for Christian ethics on its practical side. I. Self-judgment The causes that distort our moral judgments in reference to self are numerous — of which, the following are leading examples. 1. First, Custom. The spiritual or moral atmosphere in which men live is a tainted one. Sin is within us and around us ; and many reprehensible habits, through our being JUDGING 103 familiar with them, and finding them commonly prac- tised, fail to strike us in their true nature. What everybody does seems strange to nobody ; and what passes unreproved in general society is likely enough to pass unreproved altogether. Hence, even conscientious people run the risk of harbouring evil. What we are accustomed to, escapes our special notice ; and we can only judge ourselves aright, if we keep watch on custom, and " by reason of use have our senses [our moral sense] exercised to discern good and evil" (Hebrews V. 14). 2. A second obstacle is self-partiality. Naturally enough, a man's interest centres first in him- self, — if for no other reason, then for this, that self is nearer to him than anything besides can be. But, in the eye of reason, oneself is not of more importance than any other self. The mere fact that I am specially dear to myself is no just reason why I should be dealt with more tenderly or more leniently than others. Yet, who does not show partiality in dealing with himself 1 There is some sin dear to a man, which, if it occurred in any one else, he would be the first and the loudest to condemn ; but, seeing it is his own sin, it somehow or other changes its whole aspect — its ugliness and baseness disappear. On the weakness of some neigh- bour, I have been unsparing ; but let that weakness de- velop in myself, and immediately my mouth is stopped, or I begin to find excuses for it. So, too, all along the line. Whenever a sin becomes one's own sin, it under- goes a transformation ; and, without actually defending it outright, one has so many considerations to urge in extenuation of it, so many explanations to ofier, that one succeeds in hiding its true magnitude from oneself and in giving it an entirely diiferent complexion from what it really possesses. 104 CHRISTIAN ETHICS 3. So, thirdly, we fail to pass an honest judgment on self, if we accept a wrong standard of judgment. The temptation to such acceptance is very great ; and it may arise from one of several causes. There is, first, the fact that forbidden pleasures are sweet, and that we are by nature disinclined to act up to the highest ideal. There is, next, the fact that we do not, as a rule, receive in the world the strongest inducement to practise the highest morality. The tone of general society is not sufficiently high pitched ; and, unfortunately, the society that some choose for themselves is anything but elevating. Then, lastly, we are prone, not to measure ourselves by the impartial standard of righteousness, but to "compare ourselves with ourselves" (2 Corinth, x. 12), and, in doing so, not to set virtue against virtue and vice against vice, but to set our own virtues against our neighbour's vices, and thereby to sway the balance in our own favour. Thus we go away self-satisfied and well pleased. That was what the Pharisee in the parable did, when he com- pared himself with the Publican. Yet, it was the Publi- can, not the Pharisee, that went down to his house justi- fied (St. Luke xviii. 14). 4. The last obstacle I shall mention in this connexion is the complexity and subtle character of sin. This is an obstacle that much torments the conscien- tious man. Were sin a simple thing, with its nature always obvious and plain, lying, as it were, exposed on the surface of our being and not penetrating to the centre, then we might easily enough gain a full knowledge of it. But (a) its very nature is to be complex and to go down to the centre. It is a complicated web whose threads interlace and overlap ; not one of which can be readily followed out from its origin to its termination, and each of which has the most intricate connexion with all the others. No one sin ever stands alone ; and no one sin JUDGING 105 but has consequences remote as well as immediate. Then, (6) sin has a wonderful transforming power about it. The shapes it can assume are countless, and its disguises endless. There is not a vice that cannot, when need is, imitate some virtue; and Satan himseK comes trans- formed as an angel of light. Then, (c) sin can hide it- self, so that even a searching eye may have great difficulty in detecting it. Thus it is that a good man may remain for long in ignorance of its real hold over him. There are points in his character that have been fully tried, and that have stood the trial ; but there are other points, it may be, that have not been brought specially under temptation. But temptation comes — perhaps, suddenly or unexpectedly ; and he fails, quite to his own surprise. A depth of sin is revealed within him of which before he had no suspicion ; and at the revelation he stands aghast. So much for self-judgment. Pass, next, to II. Judging others Our object in judging others ought to be precisely the object we have in view when we judge ourselves, — viz., the good of the person judged, his amendment or reforma- tion. And the spirit in which we judge another should be the very same spirit in which we judge ourselves — a spirit of impartiality or fairness, not exaggerating, not excusing, putting nothing down in malice, passing noth- ing by through mistaken love or friendship ; remember- ing that "with what judgment ye judge ye shall be judged : and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again " (St. Matt. vii. 2). Hence the meaning of our Lord's strong injunction — "judge not that ye be not judged" (St. Matt. vii. 1). That does not forbid our ever judging others : it does not unconditionallv command us. at no time and under no 106 CHRISTIAN ETHICS circumstances, to condemn a brother's conduct when it is wrong, or commend it when it is right. On the con- trary, as explained by Christ Himself, it simply forbids harsh, unjust, uncharitable judging of others — eagerness to find faults in our brother's character, without any corresponding eagerness to discern the faults that may be in our own ; the tendency to mete out to him with a measure that we refuse to employ for ourselves; the malicious pleasure of beholding "motes" (splinters) in his eye, without first considering that "beams" — not " splinters " only, but whole " logs " of wood — may be in our own eyes. It is not the fact of judging that our Lord condemns, but a certain manner of judging, — viz., judging on the principle of doing unto others as we would not that they should do unto us. This being so, let us consider the obstacles to correct judging of others. 1. The first that may be mentioned is the temptation to judge superficially. This is a consequence of the necessity that, in dealing with others, we must approach them from without. View the window of a cathedral from the outside, and it ap- pears a mere daub — a confused and unintelligible blur, not even attractive. But enter the cathedral door, and look at the window from within, and it is seen to be a magnificent picture, richly coloured and beautifully de- signed. So, view a man's character simply from without, and, though it have in reality fine traits in it, it may seem only blurred and uninviting — all the more so, if there be indeed flaws and dark spots in it. Hence the dif&culty of properly judging — say, David, the king. A portion of his character was unmistakably fine and noble : grand and chivalrous qualities (as manifested, for example, in his conduct towards Saul) were his. That is uuivers- JUDGING 107 ally admitted. But a portion of it also — as shown, for instance, in the treatment of Uriah the Hittite (2 Samuel xi.) — was very far from perfect, so that people have often found it hard to understand how David should have been "a man after God's own heart." But see him in his moments of penitence and deep contrition, see him as he recovers from his falls, and then the real man is disclosed. What are the principles dearest to his heart ; and how does he feel towards himself when he has come short of them or disgraced them ? In the answer to that, we find the point that determines what kind of man he was. So, too, with others. If we are to judge any one cor- rectly, we must go beyond the inconsistencies and im- perfections of his practice to his principles : we must take him at Ms best, not at his worst — must try to appreciate his strength, and not confine ourselves to his weaknesses. The guiding maxim is " judge not according to appear- ance, but judge righteous judgment" (St. John vii. 24) — a maxim that comes home to us with all the greater force when we remember how ignorant we are, and necessarily must be, of the temptations withstood by another. The Scottish bard ^ has put it in well-known words : — What's done we partly may compute But know not what's resisted. "It- is no great thing to be easy -tempered, if God made us so. It is a great thing, by the grace of God, to subdue a quick, angry temper, if it be the trial which God appointed us. And what knowest thou of the hidden graces of others ? or with what toil, by God's grace, they gained what to thee seems so imperfect 1 " 2. A second obstacle is want of sympathy. It is never easy for us to place ourselves in the exact position of another, to take home to ourselves his ' Bums, " Address to the Unco Guid." 108 CHRISTIAN ETHICS circumstances, to realize the full force of the temptations to which he is exposed. Many things lie in the way of this, (a) In the first place, another's temperament may be quite different from ours ; and so, what proves a tempta- tion to him may be none to us. St. Peter, for example, with his fiery impulsive disposition, found occasions for falling where a disciple with a less impulsive, more un- impassioned, nature would have been entirely safe, (b) In the next place, the experiences of each of us, however numerous they may be, are yet limited. There are points in our own character that have not yet been tested. And so we do not know, with regard to them, the real power of a temptation on ourselves. How, then, can we duly estimate its power on others 1 (c) Once more, there are particular sins that are specially hateful to us — they shock or they disgust us ; but, when shocked or disgusted, we are scarcely in a fit position to deal fairly with him who succumbs to them. Hence, the results are often lamentable. From want of sympathy, we pass severer judgments on an offender than are really deserved : his sins are not ours — not those to which we feel any special inclination ; therefore, we deal unsparingly with them. Therein, we transgress the apostolic injunction, — " Even if a man be overtaken in any trespass, ye which are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of meekness ; looking to thyself, lest thou also be tempted " (Gal. vi. 1). From want of sympathy, we grow intolerant and impatient — ready to condemn an opponent simply because he is an opponent, and to accuse him of all kinds of misdeeds simply because we cannot occupy his standpoint and he does not see with our eyes. In order to be just in judging, a man must, above all things, be sympathetic; "bearing all things, believing all things, hoping all things, enduring all things" (1 Corinth, xiii. 7). JUDGING 109 3. Next may be noticed self-partiality. What a blinding power this may be in self-judgment, we have already seen — how it has a tendency to change the whole character of sin in one's eyes, to tone it down, to make it appear less base or less sinful than it really is. The mere fact that it is I myself that have fallen into it or that harbour it, sets me upon glossing it over and finding excuses for it. Now, exactly opposite is the result of this same self- partiality when, not oneself, but others are the object of our judgment, — provided, that is, that those others do not stand to us in some near relationship, such as that of kindred or friends (a case to be considered presently). There can be no question that people take a malicious delight in finding out the faults and shortcomings of others and in detracting from their virtues. Thus are they able to raise themselves somewhat in their own estimation. It is always consoling to us that others are fallible and erring as well as we ; and, when high-toned people are seen to have their weaknesses, they cease to be quite the rebuke to us that otherwise they might have been. But, be this as it may, another fact is unquestionable, — namely, that, when self-partiality intervenes, jealousy and envy are sure to intervene too ; and, when possessed- by jealousy or envy, people begin to look upon others as enemies or rivals — personal opponents, whose very existence is distasteful to them, whose merits are a standing offence to them, whose success interferes with their plans or humbles their self-conceit, so that it becomes very difficult to be either just or generous to- wards them. By the jealous man, the faults of a rival are all exaggerated, and his meritorious acts depreciated. With a jaundiced eye, it is impossible to judge correctly ; and the attempt is rarely made. 110 CHRISTIAN ETHICS 4. A fourth perverting influence is personal attach- ment. This refers only to a limited class of persons : it refers to the judgments that we are called upon to pass on the conduct of those specially dear to ourselves, or those whom we specially admire — relatives, for instance, fellow-citizens, friends. This is otherwise denominated " love for others.'' Now, " love for others " is certainly a very right and very noble thing ; but it is, unquestionably, accompanied with a special danger. It may very readily be turned from love for others into partiality for others ; and quite intelligibly so. For, relatives and friends, and, frequently, fellow-citizens and neighbours, are to us a second self; and so the partiality that I am prone to show towards myself I am willing also to extend to them. The very fact that they occupy a special place in my afiections is apt to blind me to their faults ; and, if it does not wholly prevent me from perceiving their failings, it prompts me to find excuses for them, or to make as little of them as possible, while, at the same time, it leads me to overestimate their virtues. The difiioulty is certainly not lessened by the fact that, towards our friends, we have to act the chivalrous, as well as the loving, part. A man is scarcely worthy of the name of a man, if he be not prepared to " stand by " his friend. Yet, " standing by " one's friend may some- times be only another name for defending his wrong- doing or glossing over his sins ; and mistaken friendship may mean a permanent injury, of an unintentiopal, yet deeply deplorable, kind. 5. An obstacle of an opposite kind is prejudice : by which is meant, unreasoning adherence to a conviction or an opinion hastily formed or accepted simply on the authority of others. JUDGING 111 The causes of prejudice are innumerable — early training, the likes or dislikes of those we love, family- preferences, party traditions, and so forth. But, from whatever cause it may arise, it is always an influence distorting our conception of right, and leading us to false and often very unjust judgments. It is, moreover, a great means of narrowing our sympathy; and so breeds bigotry and uncharitableness. Once prejudice me against a man, and I refuse to see in him much good, to allow him merit, or to accord him hearty praise. Once prejudice me in a man's favour, and I am prepared to find in him only what is good, and to estimate his merits far above their desert. So with a cause or with a party. How few people can be entirely just to those who are opposed to them in politics or in religion ! How few are fully alive to the shortcomings of the body or denomination to which themselves belong ! 6. Similarly with the last obstacle to be mentioned, — namely, passion. A man carried away by a frenzy can see no merit, except in fanatics like himself. Being in an extreme, he has no patience with those who are not in the extreme too ; and he has only condemnation for the cool and calm and unimpassioned. Vehemence must needs be intolerant — even though it arise from the mere passion of anger. Anger agitates the mind and disturbs the nerves ; and, consequently, renders calm judgment impossible. CHAPTER XIV THE POWER OF THE CHRISTIAN IDEAL Nature of the Christian ideal — "Whence its regenerating and transforming power — 1. It is an idea — Examples of influence of ideas in producing great results in the world — 2. It is also an ideal — Meaning of this — Three characteristics — What all is implied in these three characteristics — Examples of ideals from non - Christian religions and also from non - religious sources — How these fail — Wherein Christianity is superior — The Christian raised by the ideal into the region of love and of spontaneous willing service — 3. It centres in the living Christ — Ideals as bare abstractions — The Christian ideal marks off Christianity from philosophical morality — Christ on the distinction between duty and loving personal obedience — Faith and the grain of mustard seed — Progress in character thus assured— 4. It is a social ideal — Christianity carried into every-day life — Example of Christ — Contrast with John the Baptist — Both the spirit of the Christian and his ideal difl'erent from the Baptist's — Hence, ' ' he that is but little in the Kingdom of God is greater than he." What the Christian Ideal itself is, needs hardly to be stated, after all that has been said in previous chapters. It is seen in the life and character of Jesus, as portrayed to us in the Gospels, and interpreted by the New Testa- ment writers — absolute purity realized under human conditions by Him who was the perfect man, filial inter- course and communion with the Father, intense and unremitting, never-failing, obedience, and unqualified sub- THE POWER OF THE CHRISTIAN IDEAL 113 mission to the Divine Will, ungrudging devotion to the highest interests of mankind. And this ideal, mani- fested to us by Him who is the Head of Humanity, works in those who accept it by transforming them into the likeness of Christ, their Master, and, therefore, into the likeness of God — for, Christ is " the image " ^ of God and the revealer of His character.^ The Christian Ideal, then, has power to regenerate and transform those who accept it. Whence comes this regenerative power? That is the question which we must now answer with some minuteness. 1. And, first of all, it is the power of an idea. Now, how great a power an idea is, one may see on all hands in the world. It is an idea, for example, laying hold of heaven - inspired men, that has produced our reformations, our missionary enterprises, our humane and charitable projects, our philanthropic movements, and the like. It is an idea that actuates and sways the statesman, supporting him in the midst of obstacles and thwartings, and enabling him to turn failure into victory. This explains to us his willingness to live laborious days and to spend his energies in the service of a cause or of a party. Through the influence of an idea, men have been known to give over comfort, wealth, position, and to court hardship, peril, toil ; and, through the influence of an idea, as through the influence of faith, kingdoms have been subdued, righteousness has been wrought, promises have been obtained, and strength has been perfected in weakness. Again, it is the power of an idea that begets in men that sympathy with the lower animals and with the weak and the oppressed of mankind which prevents cruelty and calls forth help. Yea, and ideas of ' See Coloasians i. 15 ; also, Hebrews i. 3. = See St. John i. 18 ; xiv. 9, 10. 114 CHRISTIAN ETHICS the grosser kind are sometimes no less powerful than those of the higher order. All ruling passion is of the nature of an idea : and, if men have been stimulated to great things by a noble pride or by a glorious ambition — by the desire, for instance, to benefit and bless the race, — others have been goaded on to enormous exertions in the pursuit of what is base and evil. Selfishness, aggrandisement, love of power, or love of money, — each of these has proved a motive influence productive of the worst results ; and who shall calculate the mischief that has been done in the attempt to gratify the lower nature ? In like manner, an idea actuates and rules the Christian. He is, in the truest sense of all, a man " possessed " — laid hold of by a grand conception ; and his main endeavour is to body forth this conception, to work up to it and reproduce it in his life : and, if he may not entirely achieve the feat here, he looks forward hopefully to the future, where full attainment awaits him. 2. Hence, secondly, the Christian Idea is also an idealj^and an ideal of the most fascinating kind. By this is meant — (1) first, that likeness to God (as Christ revealed it) is, on the side of character, the highest thing conceivable by us, and the highest thing desirable. There is nothing greater that the mind can picture, nothing better that the heart can wish. Then (2), next, is meant that the Christian Ideal is one that grows in richness of content, the more we guide our conduct by it and the nearer we attain to it. Both our hold of it and our knowledge of it increase with experience. Then (3), lastly, it is an ideal for which we have the highest evidence that it is actually attainable, and will one day be reached by us. Christ Himself reached it ; and He has given us the pledge and the assurance that, through His being in them, His followers shall reach it too. THE POWER OF THE CHKISTIAN IDEAL 115 Now, note what is implied in these three character- istics. Men in all ages and in every country have, according to their capacity, formed ideals, and by ideals have been moved. The Mohammedan's ideal is a never- ending future of intense pleasure — mixed, indeed, with higher elements, but with the voluptuous and the luxurious conspicuous. The highest aspiration of the Brahman is a coming time when he shall be absorbed into the Deity or Universal Spirit, part of whom, or (more properly) part of which, he conceives himself to be, and yet, when absorbed, shall lose all consciousness and indi- viduality — all that, according to Western notions, makes existence possible, or, at any rate, that makes it worth the having. Again, the highest hope of the Buddhist is absolute annihilation^to have done with life in all its forms and aspects, and to be as though he had not been. And many persons in Christendom, rejecting Christianity and all that is distinctive in it — rejecting, therefore, Christ's claims and the doctrine of immortality, — try to form ideals of a perfect state on earth with the super- natural eliminated : some regarding it as the reign of " Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity " ; others, conceiving it as the supremacy of science, the sovereignty of know- ledge measured by utility ; others still, looking forward to a golden age when mankind shall be ruled by contem- plation — to a coming era when philosophy shall hold the reins, and princes, kings, and subjects shall alike avow its sway.^ These are some of the world's ideals : of which it may at once be said that, whatever be their recommendations and whatever their virtue, there is no reason to believe that any one of them will ever be realized. On the contrary, there is strong reason to believe the opposite. They either err by transgressing fundamental laws of ^ Plato's vision also. 116 CHRISTIAN ETHICS righteousness and justice, or they proceed upon a partial view of human needs and a mistaken notion of human nature and of man's destiny and place in the universe And, although they do, no doubt, exercise an influence on those that entertain them, and lead to much activity in the endeavour to embody them in fact, they fail in not having the properties that are requisite for command- ing a general acceptance, or for ensuring ultimate and abiding success. In this respect, the Christian ideal has the superiority. Not only is it attainable, it is all on the lines of righteousness and of man's highest spiritual progress. And this fact, combined with the circumstance that it is wholly fitted to meet the natural aspirations and desires of the human heart, gives it a unique posi- tion ; making it an efiective inspiration, as well as an ideal. As it is not something alien to us or imposed upon us from without, it possesses power to move and mould the human will : it is human nature in its highest form appealing to imperfect human nature and drawing it to itself, and, in drawing, purifying it. Hence, it works by love, not by coercion or constraint. External law com- mands, and, in case of disobedience, enforces its commands by pains and penalties. The Christian ideal, on the other hand, inspires and touches the springs of obedience from within. Consequently, the Beatitudes that Jesus pronounced upon the willing subjects of the new kingdom, which He Himself came to found, are not, like the Ten Words of Moses, injunctions or commandments. It is not said, " Thou shalt not be of a self-sufficient spirit," " thou shalt not be high-minded," "thou shalt not be impure in heart," " thou shalt not be a peace-breaker " ; nor even (positively), "Thou shalt be poor in spirit," "thou shalt be meek," " thou shalt be pure in heart,'' " thou shalt be a peace-maker"; but "Blessed are the poor in spirit," "blessed are the meek," "blessed are the pure in heart," THE POWER OF THE OHEISTIAl>r IDEAL 117 "blessed are the peacemakers." We are moving here in the sphere of love, and, so, of blessedness — in the higher region of cheerful and spontaneous service, where is the liberty of the sons of God. 3. Hence the third feature of the Christian Ideal — it centres in the living Christ Himself: "the Word became flesh, and dwel^ among us (and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father), full of grace and truth " (St. John i. 14). Many ideals assume the form of dry, bare, abstractions — the reign of justice, for example, love of humanity, the rights of man, and so forth. But few people can grasp dry, bare, abstractions. Justice, humanity, rights of man are nothing unless we particularize them and embody them ; only thus do they fire the imagination and create a well-sustained enthusiasm. What people need, in the last resort, is some living being whom they can love. It is only to a person we can cling " with the heart, and with the soul, and with the mind, and with the strength." Now, here precisely it is where Christianity is marked off from philosophical morality. Those high concep- tions of duty and virtue that the moralist deals with are, in his hands, simply abstractions : hence their practical impotence. They fail because they are not, as the great apostle of culture reminds us, " touched with emotion." ^ They are not, and cannot be, touched with emotion, so long as they are kept, as the moralist keeps them, as abstractions. But the Christian right- eousness is not a mere abstraction : it is an ideal that has come to US embodied in the Saviour, shown us as lived in a great Example. Hence the efficacy of its inspir- ing power. Like the pillar of fire in the wilderness, it beckons onwards ; but, by its presence also, it arouses ' Matthew Arnold, lAteratwre and Dogma. 118 CHRISTIAN ETHICS courage and imparts strength. By its surpassing grandeur and sublimity, it captivates and stirs us; by its practicability, it cheers us. Unlike the moralist's duty, it is more than the mere fulfilment of a law : a law, as Kant says, " constrains us to something not voluntarily done." It transports us to a higher sphere, to the sphere of faith and love — a sphere where the notions "law," "command," "duty," are not so much inadequate as irrelevant, a sphere in which (as I have just said) we move with the liberty of the sons of God. Of bare morality, Christ Himself says, " So likewise ye, when ye shall have done those things which are com- manded you, say. We are unprofitable servants : we have done that which was our duty to do" (St. Luke xvii. 10). But, of faith and love He says (and says it in the very same passage, obviously pointing the contrast), "If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say to this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea ; and it should obey you " (St. Luke xvii. 6). As is the tiny mustard seed, with the principle of life wrapped up within it, so is the Christian enlivened by faith. It is through the principle of life wrapped up within it that the mustard seed, when buried in the earth, is able to push aside or circumvent all obstacles, — the soil that covers it, the stones that happen to stand in its way, the tree-roots that envelop it, the untoward circumstance of its being sown (as seeds so frequently are) with the budding-point down- wards, — and to reach the light and upper air, and there- after to grow continuously, until it becomes a great tree, and the fowls of the air come and lodge in the branches of it. It is through the principle of faith, small at first, it may be, as the tiny mustard seed, that the Christian is enabled to do great things. Yea, this is the power that enables him at last to remove from his soul the sycamine THE POWER OF THE CHRISTIAN IDEAL 119 tree of sin, even though its roots may have entwined themselves around his being and penetrated his heart. Little by little, yet steadily, like the mustard's growth, he advances in holiness, until at last he reaches "the perfect man, the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ" (Eph.iv. 13). It is all done through the power of the ideal, issuing from Christ, in accordance with the Scripture doctrine, " Now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be : but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him ; for, we shall see Him as Hei8"(l Johniii. 2). 4. Lastly, the Christian ideal is social : it is truly human, and has reference to men's actual lives in the world and to their deepest social needs. In endeavouring to realize the ideal in himself, the Christian does so in the world, in society, in the midst of and along with his fellow-men. The ancient Greek philosopher stood apart from his fellow-men. He was one of a select few ; but humanity in general went its own way, independent of, and uninfluenced by, him. But Christ lived in the world, and thereby carried the ideal into practice. He was the embodiment of perfect holiness and grace ; but these were exhibited in the very midst of men, in the heart of their busy everyday life — at Nazareth, at Capernaum, at Jericho, at Nain, in Jerusalem : there where human beings toiled and struggled, where sufiering prevailed, where sin abounded and hid the light, where feebleness and faults were more conspicuous than victory and strength. He companied with sinners. He taught the publicans and harlots. He shrank not from contact with the lapsed. He raised the Magdalene, He treated tenderly the woman taken in adultery ; He had a large and human heart, going out in sympathy to every one who was labouring and heavy- 120 CHRISTIAN ETHICS laden. The poor, the maimed, the halt, the blind — those were His special care ; and, as He journeyed from place to place, the outcast and the humble flocked around Him, the distressed and the oppressed cried aloud for help. The motto of. His life was, "I am not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance " (St. Luke V. 32). And, in the world, too, the life of His disciples is required to be led. Hence the difference between the very humblest Christian and the greatest pagan sage, or between the humblest Christian and such a saintly character as John the Baptist. When Jesus said of John, "Verily I say unto you, among them that are bom of women, there hath not arisen a greater than John the Baptist : yet he that is but little in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he" (St. Matt. xi. 11), He doubtless referred, (a) to the different tempers of the Chris- tian and the Baptist, and (6) to the different ideals whereby the two were guided. The temper of the Baptist was that of Elijah of old : it was stern and unsympathetic with erring humanity, ready to call down fire from heaven upon the rebellious and impenitent ; for, John came in the spirit of Elijah, and, like the Tishbite, was most at home in denouncing sin and in warning men " to flee from the wrath to come.'' Again, he came with the ideal of Elijah. The highest religious life according to both was that of the hermit — aloofness from mankind and from the ordinary business and duties of the world. Hence, John lived in the desert, and came forth in public only when he had a special message to deliver. Furthermore, he practised austeri- ties, and taught his disciples to do the same. His ideal of righteousness was self -mortification, quiet spiritual meditation, and solitary communing with God ; and he is the last man that we should expect to find at a THE POWER OF THE CHRISTIAN IDEAL 121 marriage feast turning water into wine, or even to meet at the dinner-table (say) of Matthew the publican or of Simon the leper. Locusts and wild honey were enough for him ; and his drink was water from the brook. 1 Now, Jesus' temper and Jesus' ideal were entirely different. On the one hand, the central teaching of the Saviour was, not the wrath of God, btit God's love ; and the spirit that He imparted to His followers was the spirit of meekness, of mutual forbearance and forgive- ness, and of brotherly affection. Not through harshness, but through kindness, did He win men from their sins ; and not otherwise did He enjoin His disciples. " Go your way and tell John,'' He said, " the things which ye do hear and see : the blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good tidings preached to them" (St. Matt. xi. 4, 5). On the other hand, the ideal life to Him was social, not ascetic. Instead of eschewing men, He delighted to mix with them; and His great endeavour was, to get them to bring religion into the world with them, and, through it, to hallow and sanctify their everyday duties. Not out of, but in, the world, He said, is man's proper place ; and the real power of godliness should be shown in battling with and overcoming the common temptations of life, and in producing joy in the heart, while a man is going about faithfully discharging his appointed task. He countenanced sociality in every innocent form, and thereby He drew men of all classes around Him. His enemies even said, " Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners" (Matt. xi. 19). ^ See St. Matthew lii., and the corresponding passages in St. Mark and St. Luke. See, also, St. Matt. xi. 2-19. 122 CHRISTIAN ETHICS Thus again does the Christian ideal prove its superior efficacy. It regenerates society, and it regenerates the individual as a social being ; for, as Christ Himself lived in the world, mingling with men and entering into all their experiences. He realized the social ideal in His own person and thereby stimulates and strengthens others to follow His example. There is certainly need, in the Christian's life, for times of solitary retirement and secret communing with the Father on the mountain apart or in the desert ; but it is only in order to brace him for facing the world and for discharging efficiently his social duties and functions. Ethical religion must be carried into the work-a-day world, if it is really to fulfil its object; and, if the beauty of holiness is, indeed, to attain its highest splendour, it must be displayed in active ministration and in the conscientious performance of humble offices among men. SECTION E THE MTSTEKY OE EVIL CHAPTEE XV CHEISTIAN OPTIMISM I. Two views of life : the optimistic and the pessimistic — Christian view optimistic — II. Problem of evil (physical, mental, and moral) stated — Certain portions of the facts of experience find their explanation in science ; others are dealt with bj philosophy — Pain and moral evil in connexion with man, ia what Christian ethics considers — III. The Christian inter- pretation of the phenomena — 1. Physical pain and mental pain strengthen and elaborate character, and are, therefore, blessings in disguise — Jesus' example — Job's difficulties — Pains of remorse salutary — 2. Nature of moral evil — Arises neither from ignorance nor from connexion of the soul with the body, but in man's free will : it is sin — 3. Sin is already conquered — God's overruling providence — All things tending to fulfil His end or purpose — What this end or purpose is, and what are the means of its accomplishment — Lines of proof that the means are adequate — (1) Christianity has been a great regenerative power in the earth — (2) Its dealing with specific kinds of sin, and with sin as a mass — (3) The moral trend or tendency of modern civilization — i. The present life must be taken in connexion with the future, if its true signifi- cance is to be seen — IV. Summary of the Christian position — Life is worth living. I Man is a being of moods. From varying physical health, from changing fortune, and from one or more of 124 CHRISTIAN ETHICS a thousand other causes, he may take to-day a view of the world widely different from what he took yesterday. Yet, he is also, in measure, a creature of circumstances. Inherited susceptibilities and dispositions, natural and social surroundings, acquired habits, all tell upon him and tend to shape his conception of life and to stereotype his attitude towards the world and existence. Neverthe- less, he is an active and progressive being, not plastic only but endowed with force of will and moved by his knowledge, his aspirations, and his beliefs. Not ex- perience alone— if by experience be meant actual attain- ment and possession — moulds his character and fixes his views, but all that he has it in him to become — the ideal no less than the real, the probable as well as the certain and assured. And, indeed, it is very much the propor- tion that these two — the real and the ideal, fact and aspiration — bear to each other that marks oflf one individual from another and determines whether a man shall be an optimist or a pessimist, — shall take a bright and encouraging view of life or a sombre and depressing one. Given experience and the bare facts of life, without much susceptibility to the ideality that is in them and the end that they tend to accomplish, and you . have given an incipient pessimist. Given a man of progressive nature, of aspiration and of hope, and you have given the incipient optimist. The optimistic temperament is essentially cheerful and sanguine, but it is also morally courageous : it faces boldly the sufferings and hardships that fall to one's lot, and thrives under them. The pessimistic temperament is not only un- genial but is also, in all likelihood, founded on a certain want of physical robustness, and is deficient in manly, if not also in intellectual, fibre. Hence, the pessimist is very much what the world has made him ; and his complaint is as to the way in which the world uses him : circum- ' CHRISTIAN OPTIMISM 125 stances and his lot determine his position. The optimist is not thus the creature of circumstances and his lot; nor is his concern so much with how the world uses him as with how he himself may be able to use the world. His reaction upon his environment is far more active, far more energetic, than the pessimist's : he is the master of circumstances, not their slave, and, even when he bows to them, he bends them. From this it follows that a man's conception of life is conditioned by his own efforts to achieve life ; and the position he ultimately assumes is determined more by his character than by his intellect. Nevertheless, intellectual considerations enter into the matter ; and it is the great endeavour of the intelli- gent optimist and of the intelligent pessimist alike to find a rational basis for his creed. By reason, the one undertakes to justify the ways of God to man ; and by that same reason, the other essays to prove that there are no ways of God to justify, while life itself is unmean- ing and irrational. Needless to say, of these two views of life — the optimistic and the pessimistic, — Christianity attaches itself to the former. This was, so far, a heritage from the Jewish religion. As the Jews were directly under the government of God — as they were "a peculiar people," a "royal priest- hood," selected from the nations of the earth for a definite purpose, — they conceived themselves as special objects of the Divine care. God was, in a distinctive sense, their God and Protector. Hence, they were hope- ful and brave, and could not, even in moments of the darkest national calamity, look upon life as a failure. Their government was, in its origin, a theocracy — i.e., God was its king and head, and, till the time of Saul, its 126 CHEISTIAN ETHICS sole king and head. But, even in the purest theocratic times, their view of God's sovereignty was confined to the present life : they had no definite revelation of a future state, and of all that that implies. And so their optim- ism was necessarily diiFerent from the Christian's. Chris- tianity, looking forward, as well as backward and around, is of necessity more luminous and more hopeful than Judaism. It differs, also, from ancient Greek philosophy — which, although it had visions of the future, of a coming golden age, was, nevertheless, narrow and unreal. Its visions were simply dreams, and, not having suffi- cient warrant in reality, could not prevent men from falling into hopelessness and despair. But Christianity, being, as it is, a gospel of good cheer, bringing hope and trust to man, is, in its very nature, opposed to every gospel of hopelessness and despair ; and, when confronted with the mentally and morally disturbing fact of the existence and prevalence of evil in the world — the one fact, above all others, that seems to lend itself to the pessimist, and to render his position impregnable, — it is ready with its explanation, and is not afraid of the II The prohlem of Evil is this — Pain is, and sin is .• the world is full of suffering and anguish, physical and mental, as well as moral. There are destructive forces around us on every side. Nature, with its earthquakes, its volcanoes, its hurricanes, and the like, is inexorable and relentless, and seems to work in utter disregard of the interests of sentient and rational beings. Herbs and plants are not all whole- some and harmless. While some are health-giving and nutritious, others are poisonous and deadly. Among the CHRISTIAN OPTIMISM 127 lower animals, a state of constant warfare is going on ; one creature preying upon another, ever ready to capture and destroy, and, in killing, oftentimes inflicting excru- ciating pain. When we reach man, a more appalling phenomenon appears. Moral corruption now comes in, and we have to face the fact of malignity and ill-will, of man's inhumanity to man, leading to cruelty, oppression, and deliberate injustice. Moreover, when righteousness occurs, it seems often unrewarded ; while vice, not only goes unpunished, but is frequently the condition of prosperity and fortune. "I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of under- standing, nor yet favour to men of skill ; but time and chance happeneth to them all" (Ecclesiastes ix. 11). Now, if all this be so (and who shall deny it ?), the problem is, How can we believe that God exists, or, if He exists, cares for and rules the world ? If He exists, either He has love for man and would save him if He could, but He cannot ; or else, He is regardless of man, and has left him to the play and cruel mercies of blind natural forces. That seems to be the unpleasant and startling alter- native. How does Christianity meet it ? So far as concerns certain portions of the facts, Chris- tianity has nothing special to say. Their bearing is not so much religious aS philosophical and scientific ; and, so, philosophy and science must deal with them. Thus, as to the destructive forces of Nature — volcanoes, earth- quakes, etc., — it is for physics to show that a material structure like the earth, part of a vast material system, subject to mechanical law, necessarily involves the exist- ence of such terrific phenomena. And this, physics does 128 CHRISTIAN ETHICS show. What breathing and the circulation of the blood are to man, that volcanoes and the like are to the earth (so says Natural Science) ; they are necessities, from the very nature of the case — the earth could not continue in being without them. Hence, the inference is easy that the destruction (say, to human and animal life) that frequently accompanies them is only a consequence of the existence of the earth as an eartli and as a fit habitation for man and other sentient creatures. We must not forget that, though the earth is a home suitable for man, it is not an isolated thing, serving this purpose only. It is part of a world-system, and so cannot be absolutely perfect in one sole respect, — viz., as a home for sentient beings. Enough if it is a suitable home — not to say the most perfect home that is possible, under the circumstances. Again, some plants are wholesome and others poison- ous ; but that is no argument against the Divine power and goodness. Even poisonous plants are medi- cinally valuable, and man has skill to use them. If poisonous plants have a necessary place in the economy of Nature, man, if he is to partake of Nature, must sub- mit to the conditions. It is unreasonable to require that everything on the earth shall exist for Ms pleasure and satisfaction. If he be a sharer in the good things of life, he can claim no more. Nor even does the existence of so-called pests, — the noxious animals (serpents, etc.),— and the cruelty and rapacity of the lower animals, and the tortures they inflict on each other, really impugn the Divine righteous- ness. The term " pests " is here wrongly applied. It has no meaning except as relative to us. Nothing can, strictly speaking, be denominated a pest that is dis- charging its legitimate function in nature, or occupying its own place in existence. So, too, " tortures " is a CHRISTIAN OPTIMISM 129 relative term. What would be tortures to self-conscious and reflective beings need not be such — at all events, to anything like the same extent — to the lower animals. But, even in the case of tortures — which are only pain in an extreme form, — there is nothing reprehensible in the infliction of pain, except it be done by conscious persons, with the mere malignant purpose of deriving pleasure from it. But malignity has no place in the case of the lower animals ; ^ personality being here wanting. Only spiritual beings can manifest malevolence, aud so can inflict torture that is reprehensible and abhorrent. Where the real pinch comes in, then, is when we reach man — man with his self-consciousness and his free will, with his exalted place in the Universe, and yet with his corrupted nature and his distorted Judgments. And it is here that Christianity has its special message. Ill What, then, does Christianity here say 1 It neither denies nor minimizes the hard and harsh facts of life — it fully admits them ; but it emphatically denies that they prove anything against the goodness and the power of God : on the contrary, when properly understood, they disclose both His goodness and His power, and reveal His wisdom. — For, 1. First, as to physical pain and mental suffering. This so far as human beings are concerned, is a blessing in disguise. It serves to strengthen and develop char- acter ; giving rise to patience, drawing forth heroism, demanding hope, and teaching submission. "And not only so," says St. Paul, "but let us also rejoice in our tribulations : knowing that tribulation worketh patience ; and patience, probation ; and probation, hope : and hope putteth not to shame " (Romans v. 3-5). ' The case of a oat playing with a mouse, is no real exception. 130 CHEISTIAN ETHICS See what sufferings did for Jesus Christ Himself. The Temptation in the wilderness, the fierce oppoeition and bitter persecution of the Scribes and Pharisees on many an occasion, the Garden of Gethsemane, with its agony and bloody sweat, the trials before Caiaphas and Pontius Pilate, the Passion on the Cross — all went to the perfecting of His life, as they all tested His spiritual strength. Suffering is the school of obedience, and it wrought obedience in Him, " Who, for the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising shame" (Hebrews xli. 2) ; and what was the result ? The writer of Hebrews expresses it in a single sentence : " Though He was a Son, yet learned He obedience by the things which He suffered ; and having been made perfect. He became unto all them that obey Him the author of eternal salvation " (v. 8, 9). It is the same with human souls in general. Suffering is designed to perfect character. Only through conflict and endurance can spiritual eminence and true nobility be gained. So that pain and hardships are not an evil, but' ministers of good : they are- tokens of the Father's love — "for, whom the Lord loveth He ohasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth" (Hebrews xii. 6). Hence, we see, prosperity is no sure sign of righteous- ness or proof of the divine favour, nor is adversity the inevitable reward of ill-doing and a proof of the divine displeasure. The problem that vexed Job, — viz., how the wicked should have peace and good fortune attending theminthislife, while the godly are in affliction and trouble, — so far finds its solution in the true purpose of pain. "And as He passed by, He saw a man blind from his birth. And His disciples asked Him, saying, Rabbi, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he should be ' born blind? Jesus answered. Neither did this man CHRISTIAN OPTIMISM 131 sin, nor his parents : but that the works of God should be made manifest in him " (St. John ix. l-3).i Pain is disciplinary : it has power to educate and train in righteousness, to confirm faith, to elicit meekness and submission, and to draw the sufferer nearer God. Hence the value of persecution. It establishes principle, and deepens love and devotion to God. Not least is this so when pain is vicarious, when one man suffers for, or through the fault of, another. The solidarity of mankind is hereby impressed upon us, disinterestedness is cherished, and the individual is strengthened by the consciousness that through his self-sacrifice others are blessed. But pain is also reformatory. When it is the consequence of sin, it leads (or is designed to lead) to repentance and amendment of life. Even the pangs and terrors of Eemorse are a minister of good ; checking, it may be, a sinful tendency at the beginning and pre- venting its leading to a disastrous result, or arousing the conscience to activity when it has grown lethargic and danger is at hand. So far, then, is it from proving a lack of power in God that pain and suffering should be allowed to continue in the world, that the existence of pain and suffering, under present circumstances, is the proof of His love and good- ness. Remove pain and suffering, and how could human character be formed ? 2. But, secondly, moral evil — what is it ? It is some- thing, says Christian ethics, that originates with man. It is more than ignorance — more than a mere lack of knowledge or insight ; and it does not, as many of the Greek philosophers maintained, arise from the soul's contact with the body — as if matter were, in its very nature, impure, and connexion with it a disaster.^ ' See, also, St. Luke xiii. 1-6. " This was Plato's view, in the Timaeus, although there alone of all 132 OHEISTIAN ETHICS There is no necessary relation of lack of knowledge to immorality : ignorance is merely the mark of a finite mind. And the body and matter, as much as the soul, are creatures of God, and so cannot be in themselves " vile." Christ's Incarnation has consecrated the body, and given us the proper view of it. Moral evil is deeper than either — deeper than ignorance, deeper than the soul's connexion with the body. It is a breach of the divine law by man, in the exercise of his free will — conscious and deliberate rebellion against light and against goodness. It lies in the human will, and so cannot be removed by any force apart from the will. External power can do nothing here. A human will, from the very nature of the case, cannot be coerced : it must be won by persuasion — by the gentle drawings of love, — or else, not at all. 3. Hence, thirdly, sin may be conquered : yea, when it first emerged in the world, it came as already con- quered. It is the very clear and consistent teaching of the New Testament that the world is under the Supreme Love and Wisdom — that the order of the universe is a his Dialogues ; but it was the common view of his successors, the Neo- Platouists. Indeed, so far did Plotiuus carry his contempt for the body that he refused to allow his picture to be talien, lest there should be handed down to posterity the semblance of that which he so mnch despised. He also refused to speak of his birthplace or of his birth ; regarding his sojourn in the body, with all its accompaniments, as a necessity to be deplored — a kind of disgrace, a curse, something to be ashamed of. Strict asceticism was the logical consequence of this doctrine ; and he practised it. Browning's view, in his Rabbi Ben Ezra, is much juster : — To man, propose this test— Thy body at its best, How far can that project thy soul on its lone way? Let us not always say " Spite of this flesh to-day, I strove, made head, gained ground upon the whole ! " As the bird wings and sings. Let us cry, " All good things Are ours, nor soul helps flesh more, now, than flesh helps soul." CHRISTIAN OPTIMISM 133 moral order, and that mundane events are working out a Divine plan. All that happens has been foreseen and provided for beforehand. There is no such thing as chance, nor any such thing as fatalism. What obtains is evolution of the Divine purpose in history, under the conditions of time. God is guiding all, slowly but surely, to an end — an end kept in view from the very beginning, and which nothing can eventually frustrate. With the advent of sin came also the remedy. Christ's redemptive work is, everywhere in Scripture, set forth as no second thought, or after-thought, but as planned " in the counsels of eternity." God is Providence — foreseeing the end and appointing the means for its accomplish- ment ; overruling all and guiding all, caring for the individual as well as for the race, for the part as for the whole, and making even " the wrath of man " praise Him (Ps. Ixxvi. 10). What, then, is the end, and what the means 1 and is the one adequate to the accomplishment of the other ! The end is the destruction of sin, and, with sin, death ; and the means is the redeeming work of Jesus, such as we know it in the New Testament and find it in our own experience. Details here are unnecessary : the Christian, familiar with his Bible, is familiar with them. But has the redemptive work succeeded ? That is a question eagerly put by many at the present day ; and it needs to be answered. The full answer would demand a vast amassing and sifting of facts, which cannot here and now be attempted. But a general indication of the lines on which tlie answer proceeds may, appropriately enough, be given. (1) First of all, then, it is a fact that Christianity has been a great regenerative power on the earth — quicken- ing men's spiritual natures, purifying their lives, and aiding in the march of civilization and light. History is 134 CHRISTIATSr ETHICS full of examples of individuals who own its transforming energy ; and, if we wish to see it working on the larger scale, we have only to compare Greek and Koman life as it was in the days of Christ and His apostles, as portrayed to us in profane history as well as in the writings of the New Testament, with modern life in Christendom, to see the enormous difference. Sin enough and vileness enough there still are in abundance ; and the advance that has been made is not all due to Christianity. We must not exaggerate what Christianity has done. But, when every deduction is made that may be made, it is a simple fact of history that Christianity, leavening the lump, has done great things. Its influence has been deep and far-reaching. (2) But is that enough ? Ought not Christianity, if it is the power that it claims to be, to have put an absolute end to sin 1 That does not follow. Its value may be inestimable, even though it has not yet dethroned evil ; and it may bear in itself the promise and the pledge of complete victory, even though opposing obstacles may not be summarily and at once removed. Israel of old were commanded, when they reached the land of Canaan, to utterly destroy the original inhabitants of the land ; and yet we read further, " I will not drive them out from before thee in one year. ... By little and little, I will drive them out" (Exodus xxiii. 30).^ It was a work requiring time, not because the Lord's hand was shortened or His power inadequate, but because a gradual conquest of the country was for Israel's good. So, too, with sin and the prevalence of evil. Underlying it, says Scripture, is a deep spiritual meaning, and it is conducive to the ultimate realization of the highest good. It is enough to justify the claims of Christianity, if we can show that its tendency is all in the direction of holi- ^ See also Deut. vii. 1, 2 and 22. CHRISTIAN OPTIMISM 135 ness and of the pulling down of Satan's strongholds, even though we may not be able to say that holiness is as yet absolutely supreme, or that Satan's strongholds are finally demolished. And it is pertinent to ask, Which kind of sin is it that Christianity has shown itself powerless to cope with? In the days of Christ Himself and of the early disciples, it was confronted with heathenism of the basest and most degrading form. There are no more revolting pictures of sinful and corrupt nature than those presented to us in the Epistles of St. Paul, — where we are shown men revel- ling in impurity at Corinth and Ephesus and Rome, and demonstrating, in an appalling fashion, what it is to be " without God " in the world. And yet the grossest heathen vices, Christianity by and by overmastered ; and, in the reformed lives of many converted heathen, as shown in those same epistles, we can obtain some idea of its real power — a force effectual and transforming, " not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts " (Zechariah iv. 6). Then, again, within the pages of the New Testament, we have examples of men given over to sins of the more subtle and refined kind — covetousness, ambition, and the like ; and there, too, we have examples of men so held, turned, through the power of Jesus' Gospel, to a nobler ambition and to higher pur- suits. Then, once more, ordinary experience shows us, in particular cases, the sanctifying virtue of Christian faith — how, when it lays hold of a man, it transforms his character and elevates his aims, and raises the lowest to a higher plane. And, from what has been already done, we may law- fully infer what is likely to happen in the future. It is not in the nature of a great spiritual force like Christianity to lose its power as time goes on ; but, on the contrary, it must, from the nature of the case, gain in intensity. The 136 CHRISTIAN ETHICS stone which smote the image, in the dream of Nebuchad- nezzar (see Daniel ii. 34, 35), had to grow before it became a mountain and filled the whole earth ; and if we are certain, from the fact that it has been actually found in experience, that there is no kind of sin — no species, form, sort, of it-^that Christianity is unable to cope with in individual cases, from the most unsavoury and repulsive to the most subtle and refined, then the pre- sumption is that mere mass or quantity of sin shall prove no insuperable barrier to its progress, but that that regener- ating power which has so far worked to the elevation and cleansing of mankind will continue its operation till righteousness cover the earth, " as the waters cover the sea " (Isaiah xi. 9). (3) Then, thirdly, the moral trend or tendency of modern civilization is certainly in the direction of what Christian ethics dictates. The enthusiasm of humanity is everywhere " in the air." However far men's practice may fall short of their profession, that profession is all on the side of mercy, generosity, humaneness, and the other amiable virtues, and against cruelty, injustice, and oppression. And we can only judge from tendencies and aspirations and from past experience. If the flow has been steadily, on the whole, in one direction, we must believe it will continue in that direction, till we find a reason to the contrary. Such is the line of answer to the question put ; and the result is, that we have good reason to believe that the means is amply adequate to effect the intended purpose. 4. Lastly, Christianity is most emphatic in insisting that we shall not judge the present life by the present alone. Through Christ's Resurrection, death is van- quished, and the grave has been shown to be the gate- way to eternity. It is St. Paul's triumphant utterance that " Our Saviour Jesus Christ abolished death and CHRISTIAN OPTIMISM 137 brought life and incorruption to light through the Gospel " (2 Timothy i. 10). There is a hereafter for man, which is in closest connexion with his existence now — the prolongation of it, the completion of it, and, in some sense, the result of it. This has been secured through the Resurrection and the Ascension Life of Jesus. Life's hardships and injustices must be viewed in the light of a never-ending future — of a world to come, where present injustices shall be redressed and wrongs righted, and where character formed on earth, in weakness and amid vacillations, shall be perfected. Things are moving on to a great consummation, and we are here preparing for it. "Then oometh the end, when He shall deliver up the Kingdom to God, even the Father ; when He shall have abolished all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign, till He hath put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy that shall be abolished is death . . . And when all things have been subjected unto Him, then shall the Son also Himself be subjected to Him that did subject all things unto Him, that God may be all in all " (1 Corinth, xv. 24-26 and 28). IV If now, in the light of this teaching, we put the question, " Is life worth living 1 " we cannot hesitate as to the answer. To ask the question is to answer it. Life, according to Christianity, is the gift of God ; and the pains and sufferings that we have meanwhile to endure are blessings in disguise. Even sin itself, which so harasses and perplexes us, is under God's control : though prevalent, it is not predominant. God rules, and all shall be well : yea, all is well ; for, blessedness is a present possession, no less than a future. Life is worth living ; for, men have given to them the power to make it so. 138 CHRISTIAN ETHICS It has a serious purpose, whicli calls forth our highest energies ; and the grave is not the end of it. Its true meaning can be seen, and so its value duly appreciated, only in the light of the eternal future. Chastened optimism, therefore, is the reasonable and healthy atti- tude of the soul ; while pessimism is essentially morbid, diseased, unhealthy — a nightmare, begotten of melan- choly and fear. To the pessimist, Christianity says, " Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun " (Ecclesiastes xi. 7) : " If any man is in Christ, he is a new creature : the old things are passed away ; behold, they are become new " (2 Corinth. V. 17) : " For, ye received not the spirit of bondage again unto fear ; but ye received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father" (Eomans viii. 15); and then, going farther, it lifts the veil and discloses the final glory — the glory of God's accomplished end and purpose — in the vision of "the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of Heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband " (Eev. xxi. 2). It is the vision of victory completed, when all things are " made new " — of righteousness triumphant, and its dominion supreme : for, " The nations shall walk amidst the light thereof : and the kings of the earth do bring their glory into it" (Eev. xxi. 24). INDEX Activity, its connexion with feel- ing, 81 Adversity, 46 Alcidamas, referred to, 93 n. Ambition, 44, 61 Anger, place of, 80 ; as distort- ing our moral judgments, 111 Animals, the lower, Jewish treat- ment of, 19 ; Christian treat- ment of, 99 ; noxious, no argu- ment against Christian optim- ism, 128 Appetites, the, 60 Aristotle, quoted, 93 »., 94 Arnold, Matthew, quoted, 117 Asceticism, a consequence of ■» certain view of the body, 132 to. ; contrast of the Baptist and Christ, 120 Aspiration, 48 Attachment, personal, as distort- ing our moral judgments, 110 Aurelius, Marcus, quoted, 49, 77 Austerity, meaning of, 33 ; reasons for, in Christianity, 34 Bacon, quoted, 46 Baptist, the, his spirit and ideal, 120 Barbarian, meaning of, in an- tiquity, 91 Beatitudes, the, 15, 70, 72, 84, 116 Belief, not faith, 64 Beneficence, motive to, 9, 26, 81 ; of God, in connexion with re- ward, 48 ; of Christ, 20 Blessedness, meaning of, 29 ; its relation to pleasure and to virtue, 29-32 Body, the, 5 ; ancient Greek view of, 5 «., 131 n. ; Old Testament view of, 6 ; Christian view of, 5, 131 Brahman, the, his religious ideal, 115 Brav3ry, moral, 62, 72 Brotherhood, universal, 9 ; Jew- ish notion, 76, 92 ; Buddha's view, 77 ; the Stoical teach- ing, 77 ; Christian view, 75 ; grounds of it, 78 ; love for God, 78 ; Christ's love for man, 85 ; measure of, 87 ; practical re- sults, 90 Browning, quoted, 132 n. Brutes, Jewish treatment of, 19 ; Christian treatment of, 99 Buddha, on universal brotherhood, 77 ; his religious ideal, 115 Burns, quoted, 107 Butler, Bishop, on relation be- tween feeling and activity, 82 Caste, 95 Casuistry, 3 Catechism, Shorter, quoted, 3 n. Ceremonial, 4 Character and the future life, 10, 36 ; and reward, 43 ; and con- duct, 43, 53 ; and its develop- ment, 50-89 ; its nature, 56 ; its mode of growth, 57 ; selfish and unselfish, 58 ; its forma- 140 CHRISTIAN ETHICS tion, 60 ; through life's tempta- tions, 60 ; by practical venture, 62 ; how tested, 63 ; impli- cates faith and hope, 64 ; im- plicates humility, 72 ; requires charity, 72 ; its complexity, 101; diffloultiesin judging, 102; revealed by temptation, 105 Charity, nature of, 75 ; grounds of, 78 ; man's love to God, 78 ; Christ's love for man, 85 ; width of love, 79 ; love to enemies, 79 ; a combination of feeling and activity, 81 ; reasons for, 82 ; power of kindly offices, 82 ; its practical results, 83, 90 ; its relation to humility, 72 Children, little, Christ's apprecia- tion of, 98 Cbrist, the source of ethical inspiration, 10 ; His relation to earlier ethical teaching, pagan and Jewish, 12 ; His style or manner of teaching, 20 ; His redemptive work, 24, 31 ; power of His earthly life, 119 ; and suffering, 130 ; as king, 14, 44 Christianity, its object, 33 ; its conception of sin, and of the remedy, 35 ; a regenerating power on the earth, 133 ; its power to vanquish sin finally, 134 Civilization, modern, its trend towards the ethics of Chris- tianity, 136 Class-distinctions, 95 Cleanthes, quoted, 80 n. Compassion, Jewish conception of, 19 ; Christian conception of, 20 Conduct, 10, 53, 81 Conscience, 22, 23 Consequences, regard to, 41-49 Constantine, 95 Covetousness, 39 Custom, as distorting our moral judgments, 102 Death, nature of, 32 ; of Christ, 24 ; its ethical significance, 86 Debts, Jewish conception of, 14 ; Christian conception of, 17 Decalogue, the, 2, 3, 52 Doctrines, Christian, their prac- tical bearings, 24-26 Domination, 61, 72 Duties, classification of, 2 ; Jewish classification of, 2 n. ; Christ's summary of, 76 ; the cardinal virtues, 6 n. Duty, its relation to love, 7 Bcce Bomo, referred to, 9 n. Egypt, its attitude towards foreigners, 91 Eliot, George, quoted, 43 Emotion, its relation to activity, 81 Emotions, according to Cleanthes, 30 ». Eru:yclopmdia Britannica, referred to, 95 n. Enemies, love to, 79 Epictetus, quoted or referred to, 9, 77, 83 Epicureans, their view of happi- ness, 27 n., 28 n. Eschatology, Christian, 11, 47, 136 Ethics, in general, 1-3 ; ideality of, 2 ; Christian, 3-26 ; its relation to general ethics, 3 ; its relation to Jewish ethics, 3, 4, 12, 22 ; distinctive features of, 4-11 ; asserts emphatically the worth of the individual, 5 ; shows method of ethical pro- gress, 6 ; gives new power to old principles, 7 ; trans- forms ethical virtues, 7 ; ac- centuates the amiable virtues, 8, 83 ; emphasizes unselfishness and self - sacrifice, 9 ; creates enthusiasm of humanity, 9 ; makes ethical teaching centre in the Great Teacher, 9 ; its handling of problem of evil, 9, 131 ; originality of Christian INDEX 141 ethics, 12-21 ; relation to re- ligion, 21 ; to happiness, 27 ; inwardness of, 50 ; Christian ethics and Stoicism, 8, 29, 77 ; austerity of Christian ethics, 33 ; power of the ethical ideal, 112 Ethics, of Aristotle, 93 n. Evil, problem of, 10, 126 ; physi- cal and mental, 129 ; moral, how viewed by Christianity, 131 Example, power of, in Ethics, 86 Exclusiveness, national and racial abolished, 91 ; Egyptian, 91 ; Greek and Roman, 92 ; Jewish, 92 Faith, defined generally, 64 ; as a Christian principle, 66 ; its power in the formation of character, 66 ; the index of a heroic nature, 71 ; aa opposed to domination, 72 ; its relation to charity, 72 ; Christ's ex- ample, 73 Farrar, Dean, quoted, 9 n. Fatherhood of God, 8, 24 ; its ethical significance, 79 Feeling, its connexion with activity, 81 Forgiveness, 18 ; and penitence, 84 Formalism, 51, 54 ; and inward- ness, 51 Friendship, its power, 86 God, a postulate of Christianity, 23 ; as speaking through the conscience, 24 ; as Father, 24 ; ethical significance of His Fatherhood, 24, 66 ; love to, 87 ; His Love, 24 ; manifesta- tions of, in life's experiences, 130 ; pagan view of, 96 Good, the Highest, 27-49 Guilt, 43 Happiness, 27-32 Hatred, condemned, 53 Heroes, moral, 71 Hope, defined generally, 65 ; as a Christian principle, 67 ; its power in the formation of character, 67 Humanity, an organism, 10, 59, 78 ; enthusiasm of, 9 Humility, 68-74 ; defined gener- ally, 68 ; as a Christian grace, 68 ; as the opposite of spiritual pride or self-sufficiency, 69 ; in reference to knowledge, 70 ; in reference to faith, 71 ; its relation to charity, 72 Hypocrisy, scorn of, 10, 80 ; and inwardness, 51 Idea, an, 113 ; influence of, 114 Ideal, the Christian, 112 ; an idea, 113 ; an ideal, 114 ; signi- ficance of, 115 ; different ideals, 115 ; why most of them in- effective, 116 ; efficacy of Christian ideal, 116 ; centres in the person of Christ, 117 ; hence, differentiated from mere morality, 117 ; social, 119 ; contrasted with the Baptist's ideal, 120 Idolatry, 40 n. Imitation, the result of love, 86 Immortality, 11, 136 Incarnation, the, 5, 72, 132 Individual, his worth and dignity, 5 ; his dependence on others for ethical development, 59 Infanticide, forbidden, 99 n. Inwardness, the test of morality, 8, 50-55 Isocrates, quoted, 12 Jews, their longing for national independence, 15 ; their ex- clusiveness, 92 ; their con- ception of the Messianic kingdom, 71 ; their doctrine of meekness, 15 ; their doctrine of mercy, 16 ; their conception of brotherhood, 76 ; of slavery, 93 : their treatment of the 142 CHRISTIAN ETHICS lower animals, 19 ; their optim- ism, 15 Judging, 101 ; difflculties of, 101 ; necessity for, 102 ; ob- stacles to correct judging of oneself, 102 ; obstacles to correct judging of others, 105 ; in what spirit to judge others, 105 ; with what end, 105 ; what kind of judging is here condemned, 106 Judgment, day of, 11, 47 Juvenal, quoted, 60 Kant, quoted, 118 Kingdom, of heaven or of Christ or of God, 10, 14, 44, 96 Knowledge, and sin, 35 ; its rela- tion to faith, 66 ; to humility, 70 Legality, 54 Liberty, 29 Life, future, 11, 36, 136; life worth living, 11, 137 Love, to Christ, 10 ; of God, 8, 24, 78 ; its ethical signiiicance, 25, 79 ; towards enemies, 53, 79 ; for God, 78; ground of man's love for man, 78 ; power of love to win enemies, 82 ; measure of love to man, 87 ; measure of love to God, 87 ; not visionary, 88 ; in- tensity of love and perman- ence, 89 ; practical results of love to man, 83, 90 Man, ethical as being made in image of God, 22 ; his dignity and worth, 5 ; his destiny, 36, 136 Meekness, defined and expounded, 15, 16 ; in Old Testament, 16 ; as conceived by Christ, 16, 83 Mercy, defined and expounded, 16-20 ; in Old Testament, 16, 19 ; as conceived by Christ, 17, 20 Merit, and reward, 44 Messiah, Jewish view of, 71 Metaphysics, problems of, 2 Metempsychosis, and treatment of the lower amimals, 100 Mohammed, his religious ideal, 116 Morality, practical, transformed, 8 ; inwardness of, 8, 50 ; its seat, 51 ; differentiated from Christian ideal, 117 Moral progress, 6, 56-63, 66 Motives, Christian, power o^ 10, 25 Nature, in its terrific aspect, 126 ; no argument against Christian optimism, 127 Neo - Platonists, their view of matter and the body, 131 n. Oppressed, the, sympathy with, 98 Optimism, meaning of, 11, 124 ; Christian, continued from Judaism, 125 ; the difference, 126 ; reasonable, 137 Originality of Christ, in His ethical teaching, 12-21 Ostentation, 54 Pain, defined, 31 ; Stoical view of, 30 ; problem of, in con- nexion with Christian optim- ism, 10, 129; educative value of, 130 ; reformatory value of, 131 Parables, Christ's, 20 Paradoxes, Christ's, 21 Pardon, 18 ; and sin, 43 Passion, as distorting our moral judgments, 111 Peace, 23, 44 Penitence, 23 ; and forgiveness, 84 Persecution, its ethical value, 46 Pessimism, meaning of, 124 ; Christianity's answer to, 138 Pests, no argument against Christian optimism, 128 Phcedo, Plato's, quoted, 5 n. INDEX 143 Phcedrus, Plato's, quoted, S n. Pictures, Christ's teaching by, 20 Pity, Jewish conception of, 19 ; Christian conception of, 20 Plants, poisonous, no argument against Christian optimism, 128 Plato, his views regarding the body, 5 «., 131 n. ; quoted or referred to, 5 n., 35 »., 115 n. Pleasure, defined, 27 ; its rela- tion to virtue, 28 ; to blessed- ness, 31 ; not necessarily selfish, 32 Plotinus, referred to, 131 n. Plutarch, referred to, 100 n. Politics, of Aristotle, 93 ». Poor, the, Jewish sympathy with, 19 ; Christian conception of, 20, 98 Pope, quoted, 65 Poverty, in spirit, 69 Prejudice, as distorting our moral judgments, 110 Pride, spiritual, 69 Principles, as distinguished from rules, 21 Progress, ethical, 56-63, 66 Property, Christ's attitude towards, 37 Prosperity, 46 Protagoras, Plato's, quoted, 35 Providence, 133 Prudence, 41 Punishment, its relation to sin, 42 Recompense, 42 Redemption, 24 ; its ethical value, 25, 86 ; its adequacy to cope with sin, 133 Religion, and ethics, 22-26 Remorse, 23 ; reformatory value of, 131 Repentance, meaning of, 34 Republic, Plato's, quoted, 5, 115 Resentment, when legitimate, 80 Responsibility, 2 Resurrection, 5 ; of Christ, its value in meeting the question of moral evil, 136 Retaliation, Jewish law of, 52 Reward, and character, 42 ; pre- supposes fitness, 44 ; not the same as wages, 45 ; in the light of Christian Eschatology, 47 ; accorded to aspiration aud moral effort, 48 Riches, Christ's attitude towards, 37-40 Righteousness, new motives to, 25 Rules, as distinguished from principles, 21 Self, double, 6 ; doctrine of, in ethics, 59 Selfishness, 10, 58, 84 Self-conceit, its power to alienate, 84 Self-judgment, 102 ; obstacles in the way of, 102-105 Self-partiaKty, 59 ; as distorting our moral judgments, 103, 109 Self-renunciation, 6, 34, 59 Self-respect, 59 Self-sacrifice, 9, 85 Self-sufiloiency, 69 Seneca, quoted, 30, 99 n. Sermon on the Mount, 9, 12, 52 Shakespeare, quoted, 53 Sin, 23, 35 ; its efiTects on Nature, 35 n. ; results of submission to it eternal, 36 ; its relation to punishment, 42 ; aud pardon, 43 ; its complexity and subtle nature, 104 ; its peculiarities, 104 ; a conquered factor in the world, 37, 132 ; in the light of Christ's redemptive work, 24, 29 Slavery, 92 ; ancient Greek views of, 92 ; Jewish view of, 93 ; other views of, 93 ; meaning of, 93 ; Aristotle's definition of a slave, 94 ; Christian view of, 94 ; St. Paul and Onesimus, 94 ; why no explicit condem- nation of slavery in New Testa- ment, 95 Sociality, 41, 59, 119 144 CHRISTIAN ETHICS Socrates, his doctrine that vice is ignorance and virtue knowledge, 35 Solidarity, 10, 87 Spirit, Holy, indwelling of, 5, 26 Standard, wrong, of judgment, 104 Stoics, their doctrine of inward- ness, 8 ; of things within our own power, 9, 30 ; of happiness and virtue, 29 ; of pleasure, 30 ; of the Ideal sage, 31 ; of suicide, 31 ; of universal brotherhood, 77 Strictness, of Christian morality, 33-40 Suffering, problem of, in connexion with Christian optimism, 10, 129 ; value of, for character, 46, 131 Superficiality, in jadging, 106 Supremacy, or superiority, as a passion or emotion, 61, 72 Sympathy, want of, a cause of distorted moral judgment, 107 ; result of, 108 Teaching, Christ's, style of, 20 Temptation, its value in the formation of character, 60 ; not to be sought, 62 Tennyson, quoted, 7 Tests, of character, 63 Theism as grounded in Hitman Nature, referred to, 50 n. Theology, defined, 22 ; its bear- ings on practice, 24 Timceus, Plato's, referred to, 131 n. Unity, organic, 59 ; desire for, natural to man, 83 ; effected by Christ's death, 87 Unselfishness, 9, 58 Usury, 16 Vanity, or vainglory, 60, 84 Vice, 7, 23 Virtue, 7, 60 ; its relation to pleasure, 28 ; to blessedness, 30 ; to reward, 44 Virtues, the ethical, 7 ; trans- formed into divine graces, 7 ; the amiable, 8, 84 ; the cardinal, Will, free, 3 ; and character, 30 ; and sin, 35 Woniau, Christian conception of, 97 ; in pagan countries, in ancient and in modern times, 97 ; in Christendom, 98 Wordsworth, quoted, 24 World, the, iu what sense con- demned, 37 ; life in, a necessity for man, 119 Worth, its relation to reward 44 ; how measured, 45 SCKIPTUEE PASSAGES Old Testament Sxodus xxiii. 30, p. 134 Deuteronomy v. 14, 16, p. 93 „ xxiii. 19, 20, p. 17 2 Samuel xi., p. 107 1 Kings z., p. £8 2 Chronicles ix., p. 68 Psalms zxxvii. 9, p. 16 „ 3di. 1, p. 16 Proverbs xx. 27, p. 23 Eoolesiastes ix. 11, p. 127 Jeremiah xxxi 31-34, p. 52 Daniel ii. 34, 35, p. 135 Hosea xi. 4, p. 24 New Testament St. Matthew iv. 1-11, p. 60 V. 3-12, p. 84 V. 3, p. 69 V. 6, p. 16 V. 7, p. 16 V. 8, p. 61 7. 21-37, p. 52 V. 29, 30, p. 34 v. 38-42, p. 52 V. 43-48, p. 53 V. 44, p. 79 i. 48, p. 67 vi. 2-18, p. 54 vi. 13, p. 62 vi. 28, 29, p. 67 vii. 1, 2, p. 106 i. 29, p. 100 X. 34, p. 34 xi. 4, 5, p. 121 XL 11, p. 120 St. Matthew xi. 19, p. 121 xi. 25, p. 71 xi. 28-30, p. 85 xii. 37, p. 55 XV, 11, p. 61 xvi. 24, 25, p. 6 xviii. 3, 4, p. 71 xviii.5, 6, 10,p.98jt. xviii. 23-35, p. 18 xix. 27,28, p. 45 XX. 1-16, p. 45 XX. 20-28, pp. 44, 73 xxiii 16-24, p. 4 XXV. 40, p. 97 St. Mark vii. 9-16, p. 4 X. 24, p. 96 xii. 30, p. 87 St. Luke iv. 1-13, p. 60 V. 32, p. 120 vi. 45, p. 51 ix. 23, 24, p. 60 X. 1-20, p. 62 X. 30-37, p. 19 xii. 13-21, p. 38 xii. 49, p. 34 xiv. 26, p. 34 XV., p. 5 xvi. 19-31, p. 38 xvii. 6, p. 118 xvii. 10, p. 118 xviii. 9-14, pp. 69, 104 xviii. 18-30, p. 38 St. John i. 14, pp. 5, 117 ii. 13-16, p. 80 iii. 16, p. 24 vii. 24, p. 107 viii. 34, p. 29 U6 CHEISTUN ETHICS , St. John ix. 1-3, p. 130 „ xiii., pp. 73, 76 „ XV. 12, 13, p. 85 Acta xvii. 26, p. 10 Romans v. 3-5, p. 129 „ vi. 21-23, p. 37 viii. 15, pp. 29, 138 , viii. 17, p. 48 „ viii. 19-22, p. 35 n. viii. 24, p. 67 „ xii. 4, 5, p. 59 1 Corinthians vi. 19, 20, pp. 6, 25 xi. 31, p. 102 „ xii. 12-31, p. 59 „ xiii., p. 76 „ XV. 24-28, p. 137 „ XV. 41, p. 43 2 Corinthians v. 17, pp. 32, 138 X. 12, p. 104 Galatians iii. 28, pp.87, 91, 92, 97 V. 14, p. 76 Galatians vi. 1, p. 108 vi. 7, 8, p. 42 Bphesians iv. 4-6, p. 87 Philippians ii. 6-8, p. 72 iii. 12-14, p. 49 Colossians iii. 25, p. 42 2 Timothy i. 10, p. 136 Philemon, p. 94 Hebrews v. 8, 9, p. 130 ix. 13, 14, p. 26 „ X. 5, p. 24 „ xii. 2, p. 130 xii. 6, p. 130 St. James ii. 19, p. 64 1 John i. 3, p. 66 „ ii. 17, p. 28, 42 „ iii. 2, p. 119 „ iv. 20, 21, pp. 76, 78 Revelation xxi. 27, p. 47 „ xxii. 11, pp. 36, 48 „ xsji. 15, p. 48 THE END Printed by R. & R. 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