Indulging every instinct of the soulThere where law, life, joy, impulse, are one thing[592].
Indulging every instinct of the soulThere where law, life, joy, impulse, are one thing[592].
Indulging every instinct of the soul
There where law, life, joy, impulse, are one thing[592].
ii. Perfection further implies a state ofglory; a word which, whether used of Christ Himself or of His followers, seems in the New Testament to mean the outward manifestation of a holy character. The gradual assimilation to God, which is the law of true human development on earth, is the law of an unending progress. But in the perfect state, character will find due splendour of outward expression. Man's bodily frame will pass through successive stages 'from glory to glory,' to a semblance faithfully reflecting the inward supernatural life[593]. And in the marvellous union of outward with inward recreation consists the 'glory,' of which human nature is capable.
iii. Perfection is consummated by blessedness. The conception ofblissas transcendinghappiness(εὐδαιμονία) is peculiar to Christian Ethics. Happiness is a word of earth, and represents a good which may be attained independently of life in God. Bliss is inseparable from a living relation to God. It implies union with God.
But though it is true that 'man possesses the plenitude of his perfection in God,' the analogy of the present dispensation points to a further element in 'blessedness,' namely, that of fellowship in a moral community: the redeemed 'have fellowship one with another,' in an 'indissoluble life[594].' In fact the perfection of the individual, according to God's separate ideal for each, demands that of the moral community. Blessedness thus means that state wherein, by a society of renewed personal beings, 'the Highest Good is loved and enjoyed[595].'
This community of free and perfected beings, with God asits Centre, is the revealed ethical consummation of our race. And as the manifestation of God's kingdom is to Christians the supreme object of aspiration, and the highest matter of prayer, so the effort to advance and extend its sphere is the worthiest task that can be embraced by the will. The conception of such a kingdom, to be made actual through the exertion of human faculties co-operating with the invincible energy of the Divine will, is the greatest thought that ever enriched mankind. In the attempt to further the limits, or promote the welfare of this kingdom, man finds his truest happiness, and his noblest field of activity. For he is engaged in the same work as God Himself[596]: he has the same interest in its accomplishment. He has found the absolutely good sphere of effort and desire; all else in which men busy themselves can only be ethicallygoodin proportion as it bears on, or hastens the approach of, that 'one far off Divine event.'
It is our Lord's method to present to men an ideal, before He descends to the requirements of practical life. The Sermon on the Mount describes the life of 'blessedness' before it treats of duty; and from duty, passes to the means of holiness. Such an example suggests one or two concluding reflections.
First we may recall the true bearing of a methodical inquiry into Christian Ethics. The kingdom of God stands in contrast with, but in special relation to, all modes and products of social activity. It makes use of all the material which human life offers, or human faculties supply, so far as it is capable of serving a Divine purpose, or revealing any aspect of the Divine Life. For that Life having once for all intervened in history, continues ever to appropriate and hallow all that comes within the wide range of Its outflow; Education, Criticism, Science, Art; Industry, Wealth; Law, Polity—all these are capable of becoming ethical forces, of ministering to man's true end, of contributing something tothe highest life. Into the Holy City the kings of the earth bring their glory and honour: and to a Christian Church are addressed the far-reaching words, 'All things are yours[597].'
There is in fact a 'world-appropriating' element in Christianity, as the ethical religion; and it is essential that the significance of this fact should be grasped, if Christian morality is to be rightly apprehended, or fairly presented in systematic form.
Further, in advancing a claim to mould and regenerate human society, the Christian Church can only continue to rely on her traditional instrument,—the recreation of individual character. The social movements which an enlightened Christian judgment approves, are those gradual and irresistible changes which result from the slowly-reached apprehension of some neglected moral truth, as it gradually commends itself to individual consciences. And such movements are to be judged as they display, or bear upon character. If for example a Christian mistrusts the extravagant schemes of some forms of Socialism,—it is not because he is insensible to the wrongs and miseries which suggest a violent remedy, but because all such sweeping proposals would merge the individual life, would repress and mar the fulness of that organized social life which gains elements of richness and diversity from the free play of individuality.
The study of ideals will also have suggested the relation which the Church bears to modern life. The Church, we have seen, is the school of human character; the nurse, therefore, of such civil and social virtues as give stability to human institutions. In her midst, Divine forces are really and manifestly at work, tending to bring about the regeneration of mankind. And in connection with this view of the Church, we need to observe the power of character; the practical 'supremacy of goodness,' or at least its tendency to be supreme; its capacity to control and modify the pressure of circumstance. A condition of all true thinking about the social future will surely be a just estimate ofcharacteras a social and industrial force; it is a growing sense of thistruth that is doing much to revolutionize our economic theories. We are learning perhaps that manfulness, mercy, self-control, pity are among the forces which must be taken into account by social science.
And if the Church is a gift of God to mankind, and there be but one end of all His gifts, namely, the restoration of His image in man, we must believe that the fairest fruits of Christianity, and the many-sided fulness of Christlike character, can appear only in those who live loyal to the moral discipline of the Church, who are ruled by her wisdom, chastened by awe of her beauty, penetrated by her spirit. The kingdom of God is more—infinitely more—than an ideal condition of human society; but we know that the kingdom, even in this limited sense of the word, will be the heritage only of a nation 'bringing forth the fruits thereof.'
[456]1 S. Pet. i. 21 ὥστε τὴν πίστιν ὑμῶν καὶ ἐλπίδα εἶναι εἰς θεόν.[457]Heb. i. 1.[458]See Dorner,Syst. of Christian Ethics, § 35.[459]Eph. i. 4.[460]Cp. Plato,Tim.xxix. E.[461]Athan.de Incarn.x.[462]Clem. Alex.Quis Dives, etc. vii. ἀρχὴ καὶ κρηπὶς ζωῆ, ἐπιστήμη θεοῦ, τοῦ ὄντως ὄντος ... ἡ μὲν γὰρ τούτου ἄγνοια θάνατός ἐστιν, ἡ δὲ ἐπίγνωσις αὐτοῦ καὶ οἰκείωσις, καὶ πρὸς αὐτὸν ἀγάπη καὶ ἐξομοίωσις, μόνη ζωή.[463]Aug.de moribus Eccl.xii.[464]Athan.cont. Gentes, iii. describes the aversion of man from God as beginning in 'self-contemplation' (ἑαυτοὺς κατανοεῖν ἤρξαντο).[465]Ath.c. Gent.ii.[466]Wace,Boyle Lectures, ser. 1, Lect. vii. Cp. Col. i. 28.[467]2 Cor. v. 4, 5 ὁ κατεργασάμενος ἡμᾶς εἰς αὐτὸ τοῦτο θεός.[468]Lactant.Div. Inst.iii. 12, 'Haec vita praesens et corporalis beata esse non potest, quia malis est subjecta per corpus.... Si caditbeatitudo, ergo etimmortalitascadit in hominem, quae beata est.'[469]Eph. v. 1. Ep.ad Diog.x.[470]Bp. Butler's sermons emphasize this side of the doctrine of conscience, esp. thePreface. Cp. Flint,Theism, lect. vii.[471]See Phil. i. 9, and Heb. v. 14 (the Greek).[472]Rom. i. 21. Athan.cont. Gentes, iii-xi.[473]Wace,Boyle Lect., ser. 1, Lect. II.[474]Anselm,Cur Deus Homo, I. xii. 'Libertas non est nisi ad hoc quod expedit aut quod decet.'[475]See Martineau,Types of Eth. Theory, vol. i. 93; ii. 39 [Ed. 2]. Holland,Creed and Character, Serm. X.[476]Aug.de mor. Eccl.xxi. '[Deo] solo dominante liberrimus.' Observe that as freedom grows, the choice becomes more restricted by the law πάντα ἔξεστιν, ἀλλ᾽ οὐ πάντα συμφέρει (1 Cor. x. 23). Cp. Pet. Lomb.Sent.ii. xxv. 7.[477]Cyp.de op. et eleem.i. 'Pater Filium misit utrepararenos posset.' Such language is usual with the Fathers.[478]The whole subject of sin, guilt, punishment is germane to our subject, but for present purposes must be left on one side.[479]Iren. iii. 18. 7 [Stieren] ἔδει γὰρ τὸν μεσίτην θεοῠ τε καὶ ἀνθρώπων διὰ τῆς ἰδίας πρὸς ἑκατέρους οἰκειότητος εἰς φιλίαν καὶ ὁμονοίαν τοὺς ἀμφοτέρους συναγαγεῑν, καὶ θεῷ μὲν παραστῆσαι τὸν ἄνθρωποω, ἀνθρώποις δὲ γνωρίσαι τὸν θεόν.[480]Heb. iii. 1. Cyp.de idol. van.xi. 'Quod homo est, esse Christus voluit, ut et homo possit esse quod Christus est.'[481]Bern,de consid.v. 1, 'Quid quod et inferioribus eges?... Nonne praeposterum hoc et indignum? Plane superiorum quaedam injuria est inferiorum operam desiderare: a qua injuria nemo hominum perfecte vindicabitur nisi cum quisque evaserit in libertatem filiorum Dei.'[482]S. Matt. vi. 33.[483]S. Luke xvii. 21; S. Matt. xiii. 45 foll. (Parable of the Pearl). Cp. Rom. xiv. 17 ἡ βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ ... ἐστιν ... δικαιοσύνη καὶ εἰρήνη καὶ χαρὰ ἐν πνεύματι ἁγίῳ.[484]Wace,ubi sup.Lect. VIII. Ambr.de off. min.ii. 3, 4.[485]Aug.de mor. Eccl.xiii. 'Bonorum summa Deus nobis est; Deus est nobis summum bonum.'Ib.xviii. 'Secutio Dei, beatitatis appetitus est; consecutio, ipsa beatitas.'[486]Thom. Aquin.Summa, i. iiae. Qu. i. 2, 'Illa quae rationem habent seipsa movent ad finem, quia habent dominium suorum actuum per liberum arbitrium.... Illa vero quae ratione carent tendunt in finem propter naturalem inclinationem quasi ab alio mota, non autem a seipsis, cum non cognoscant rationem finis; et ideo nihil in finem ordinare possunt, sed solum in finem ab alio ordinantur.'[487]See Godet,Comm. on 1 Corinthians[Clark], vol. i. p. 236.[488]S. Matt. xix. 28; S. Luke xxii. 30.[489]S. John iii. 16.[490]S. John iii. 33. See Dorner'sSystem of Ethics[Clark], § 47.[491]2 Cor. iv. 8; vi. 10. Cp. Rom. viii. 28.[492]S. Matt. v. 48. Butler,Serm.3 'Your obligation to obey this Law is its being the Law of your nature.... The correspondence of actions to the nature of the agent renders them natural.'[493]Cp. Bp. Ellicott,The Being of God, p. 120.[494]Rom. ii. 18 (γινώσκεις τὸ θέλημα) implies that when a man knows God'swill, he knows hisduty.[495]S. John ix. 4; iv. 34. Cp. vi. 40; S. Luke iv. 43. See also Rom. xii. 2; Eph. v. 17, etc.[496]The case of the young man (S. Matt. xix. 21) shews how obligation is extended by contact with Christ, i.e. by closer relation to God. The general principle is that each is bound to follow the law of his personal perfection as it unveils itself to him. See Bengelin loc.and cp. S. Luke xvii. 10.[497]Wace, Lect. II.[498]S. Matt. xvi. 25, 26. The discussion of 'Christian consolations,' by Mr. Cotter Morison,Service of Man, overlooks the fact that Christ's object was not to 'console' men, but to set before them the truth, and the law of their own perfection. The 'consolations' of Christianity can be won only if they are never made theobjectof life. They are areward, but never, in the higher forms of Christian consciousness, anaim. SeeChurch Quart. Rev., Jan. 1888, p. 268.[499]Witness the discussions onfearcommonly found in mediaeval theology. Bruce,Parabolic teaching of Christ, p. 359 foll., has some good remarks on this point. 'The parabolic form of instruction does not afford scope for the play of the highest class of motives. It is essentially popular wisdom, and it is the way of that which aims at teaching the million,to make action spring from homely motives.'[500]Butler,Analogy, i. 5.[501]See H. S. Holland,Creed and Character, Serm. XVIII. Cp. S. Matt. xxv. 21, Heb. xii. 2. Thom. Aquin.Summa, ii. iiae, xxviii.[502]Sidgwick,Outlines of the Hist. of Ethics, chap. 3.[503]Iren. iv. 16, § 3 [Stieren]. God appears in the decalogue 'praestruens hominem in suam amicitiam ... et ideo [verba] similiter permanent apud nos, extensionem et augmentum sed non dissolutionem accipientia per carnalem Eius adventum.' Thom. Aquin.Summa, i. iiae. Qu. c. Art. 3, 'Omnia praecepta [moralia] legis sunt quaedam partes praeceptorum decalogi.'[504]Rom. vii. 14.[505]S. Matt. xxii. 37. Cp. Aug.de mor. Eccl.xviii-xx;de doc. Christ.i. 29.[506]Aug. l.c. 'Maxime Ei propinquat [homo] subjectione ista qua similis fit.'[507]Thom. Aquin.Summa, i. iiae. c. 5, 'Principi communitatis tria debet homo, fidelitatem, reverentiam, famulatum.' Cp. Butler,Analogy, pt. ii. 1.[508]Aug.de disc. Christ.iii. 'Proximus est omni homini omnis homo,' etc.[509]R. W. Dale,The Ten Commandments, p. 241. Cp. Thom. Aquin.Summa, i. iiae. c. 6; Martineau,Types, etc., ii. 26.[510]Summa, i. iiae. c. 5, 'Dilectio sui ipsius includitur in dilectione Dei et proximi; in hoc enim homo vere se diligit quod se ordinat in Deum.'Ib.ii. iiae. xix. 6, 'Homo se propter Deum, et in Deo diligit.' Aug.Serm., ccxvi. 8, 'Amate quod eritis: eritis enim filii Dei.' Pascal,Pensées, Art. xviii. 15, 'Que l'hommes'aime, car il a en lui une nature capable de bien.' Cp. Butler,Serm.i. etc.[511]Sidgwick,Outlines etc., p. 108. Cp. Dorner,System, etc., p. 459 [Clark].[512]Aug.de Civ. Dei, xiv. 28.[513]See Ex. xxi. 33 foll.; Deut. xxii. 9 foll.; Levit. xix. etc.Summa, i. iiae. i. 2, 'Tota irrationalis natura comparatur ad Deum sicut instrumentum ad agens principale.'[514]Consider Gen. ix. 10. Cp. Gen. viii. 1; Prov. xii. 10, etc.[515]Martensen,Special Ethics (Indiv.), p. 278 [Clark].[516]See Trench,Mediaeval Church History, Lect. XXVII. Cp. Plato,Phileb.64 E foll.[517]Ecce Homo, c. x. Cp. S. John xxi. 25.[518]It is significant that Mr. Cotter Morison in hisService of Mandiscusses personal types of Christian saintliness.[519]Dorner,System, etc., p. 377.[520]See some remarks on this tendency in Liddon,Bampton Lectures, viii; and an Art. in theChurch Quart. Rev., July, 1883, on 'Our Lord's Human Example.' For what follows, cp. Martensen,Ethics (General), pp. 242, 256.[521]Dean Church, Serm. onChrist's Example[Gifts of Civilization, Serm. III].[522]R. H. Hutton, Essay onthe Incarnation and Principles of Evidence. Cp. the remarkable definition of Lactantius,Div. Inst.iii. 9, 'Pietas nihil aliud est quamDei parentis agnitio.'Ib.10, 'Efficitur ut is agnoscat Deum, qui unde ortus sit, quasi recordetur.'[523]See Trench,Syn. of the N.T.§ 42 (on ταπεινοφροσ). 'In His Human Nature [Christ] must be the pattern of all humility, of all creaturelydependence.... He evermore, as Man, took the place which beseemed the creature in the presence of its Creator.'[524]S. John xvi. 32.[525]Martensen,Ethics (General), p. 255. Cp. Job v. 23.[526]Christ's earthly life and work are described summarily as ὑπακόη, Rom. v. 19. Cp. Phil. ii. 8.[527]Aug.de Praed. Sanct.xxx. 'An ... in Illo non libera voluntas erat, ac non tanto magis erat, quanto magis peccare non poterat?' Quoted by Liddon,Bampt. Lect.[ed. 11], note c.[528]Aug.de mor. Eccl.xxiii. 'Fit ergo per caritatem ut conformemur Deo.'[529]Dorner, pp. 336, 388. Cp.Ecce Homo, p. 136.[530]Arist.Eth.vii. 14. 8 remarks that human nature is not simple (ἁπλῆ), adding ἐπεὶ, εἴ του ἡ φύσις ἁπλῆ εἴη ἀεὶ ἡ αὐτὴ πρᾶξις ἡδίστη ἐσται. Διὸ ὁ θεὸς ἀεὶ μίαν καὶ ἁπλῆν χαίρει ἡδονήν, κ.τ.λ. Cp. Bk. x. cc. 4. § 9, and 7. § 8.[531]Summa, i. iiae. Qu. lxii. Art. 1. Cp. S. Matt. xix. 17.[532]Abp. Trench.[533]Heb. xi. 6. Cp. 1 S. John iv. 16; Rom. xiv. 23.Summa, i. iiae. Qu. lxii. art. 3. 'Quantum adintellectumadduntur homini quaedam principia supernaturalia, quae divino lumine capiuntur; et haec sunt credibilia de quibus est fides.'Ib.art. 4, 'Per fidem apprehendit intellectus ea quae sperat et amat. Unde opportet quod ordine generationis fides praecedat spem et caritatem.'[534]S. John iv. 34; v. 36; xvii. 4. Cp. H. S. Holland,Serm.on 'The Energy of Unselfishness.' With regard to the relation ofPleasureto action, we may observe that pleasure is inseparable from the right and effective exercise of any faculty; and thereforeaccompaniesvirtuous activity, but can never be the moralendof action. Cp. Arist.Eth.vii. 12. § 3, etc.[535]SeeEcce Homo, c. xiii.[536]Aug.de mor. Eccl.xix. 'Id ipsum quo diligimus Deum mori non potest, nisi dum non diligit Deum: cum mors ipsa sit non diligere Deum.' Cp. Cyp.de Unit.xiv.[537]Such classification, corresponding to three cardinal virtues, seems to be implied in S. Paul's words, Tit. ii. 12 ἵνα ... σωφρόνως, καὶ δικαίως καὶ εὐσεβῶς ζήσωμεν.[538]J. Cotter Morison,The Service of Man, p. 194 [ed. 3]. See Eph. i. 4; Col. i. 22; S. Luke i. 75.[539]Rom. viii. 8; 1 Cor. vii. 32; 1 Thess. iv. 1. An instructive contrast might be drawn between the Pagan and Christian use of the word ἀρεσκεία.[540]Lacordaire, a biographical sketch, H. S. Lear, p. 34.[541]Wordsworth,The Excursion. Ep.ad Diog.v. πᾶσα ξένη πατρίς ἐστιν αὐτῶν, καὶ πᾶσα πατρὶς ξένη. This spirit does not exclude a truepatriotism, and other civil virtues. Martensen,Ethics (Social), § 82.[542]De mor. Eccl.xxxvii and xxv. Cp. Bern.de Consid.v. 1.[543]See the chap. with this title inEcce Homo.[544]S. Matt. v. 44 foll. Leo,Serm. in Quad.vii. 'Forma conversationis fidelium ab exemplo venit operum divinorum et merito Deus imitationem Sui ab eis exigit, quos ad imaginem et similitudinem suam fecit.' Cp. Iren. iv. 13. 3.[545]Ecce Homo, c. xxii. Cp. Butler,Serm.ix. etc.[546]Leo,Serm. in Quad., passim, esp. v, vi, ix.Ecce Homo, c. xxiii. For what follows, see Arist.Eth.v. 10. Cp. Eph. iv. 32.[547]Mozley,Univ. Serm.ix. 'Ancient philosophy never opened the mine of happiness which lay in this principle. It was a discovery, like that of a new scientific principle, when it was made; and Christianity made it.'[548]Rom. xiii. 10. Note the following words of S. Aug. (de doct. Christ.i. 29): 'Velle debemus, utomnes nobiscum diligant Deum, et totum quod vel eos adjuvamus vel adjuvamur eis, ad unum illum finem referendum est.... Hinc efficitur ut inimicos etiam nostros diligamus....Misereamur, quia tanto magis nos oderunt, quanto ab illo quem diligimus separati sunt.' Cp.de disc. Chr.v. 'Necesse est ut quem diligis tanquam te ipsum,illuc illum trahas ad quod et tu amas.'Ecce Homo, cc. xvii, xviii.[549]Tert.Apol.36.[550]De mor. Eccl.lxiii. [Clark]Obs.There are duties imposed by our relationship evento the dead,to posterity, and of courseto the impersonal creature. See Martensen,Ethics (Indiv.), §§ 116-118. On duties toposterity, see a beautiful passage in Ruskin,Seven Lamps of Architecture, vi. § 9.[551]Dean Church,Disc. of the Christian Character, p. 101. Cp.Ecce Homo[ed. 13], p. 178.[552]See Rom. xii. 3; 2 Cor. x. 5.[553]Wisdom vi. 17.[554]1 Cor. vi. 19.[555]Ep.ad Diog.vi. μισεῖ Χριστιάνους ὁ κόσμος μηδὲν ἀδικούμενοσς, ὅτι ταῖς ἡδόναις ἀντιτάσσονται.[556]See Westcott, Essay onThe Church and the World[in his ed. of S. John's Epp.].[557]Trench,Syn. of N.T.§ xxxvii. On 'Resentment' seeEcce Homo, c. xxi; Butler,Serm.viii. Cp. Arist.Eth.iv. 5. See also Dale.The Atonement, Lect. VIII.[558]Dean Church,Gifts of Civilization, p. 323. Cp. Martineau,Types of Eth. Theory, vol. ii, pp. 200-202.[559]SeeService of Man, cc. vii and ix. Those objections have been often met. See Dean Church,Serm.on 'Christ's Example.' Liddon,Bampt. Lect.[ed. 11] p. 130.[560]Aug.de mor. Eccl.lxiii. 'Tu [Ecclesia] pueriliter pueros, fortiter juvenes, quiete senes prout cuiusque non corporis tantum, sed et animi aetas est, exerces ac doces etc.' Cp. Amb.de Off. Min.i. 17.[561]Wace,Boyle Lect.(ser. 1) v. Cp.Ecce Homo, c. ix. We may consider how Christ gives apracticalturn to speculative inquiries. S. Luke xiii. 23, 24; S. John xxi. 21 foll.[562]E.g. Clem. of Alexandria. See Bigg,The Christian Platonists of Alexandria, p. 80.[563]S. Luke xiii. 32; Heb. ii. 10, v. 9. Cp. 1 Cor. xv. 45; and see Gal. ii. 20, iv. 19. Also an Art. inCh. Qu. Rev.No. xxxii, on 'Our Lord's Human Example.'[564]1 Cor. i. 30. Cp. Rom. viii. 29. For the thought that follows, see Prof. Bruce on Heb. ii. 11-18 inExpositor, No. 50.[565]Service of Man, pp. 84, 85.[566]Chrys.in Joh. hom.x. 2 ἄμα δὲ καὶ ἐνδείξασθαι βούλεται ὅτι οὐχ ἁπλῶς οὔδε ἡ χάρις ἔπεισιν, ἀλλὰ τοῖς βουλομένοισ καὶ ἐσπουδακόσι, κ.τ.λ.[567]See Tit. ii. 11, 12 ἡ χάρις ... παιδεύουσα ἡμᾶς S. Matt, xxviii. 19, 20. Aug.de disc. Chr.i. 'Disciplinae domusest Ecclesia Christi.' Butler,Analogy, pt. ii. c. 1.[568]Consider Col. i. 28; Eph. ii. 10.[569]Lyra Apostolica, No. xxxvii [signed δ].[570]Consider Phil. ii. 2, where the description of the Christian example and character is prefaced by an impressive appeal for Unity. The moral guilt ofheresypartly lies in its being a principle of disunion. Cyp.de Unit.xxvi. complains of particular ways in which disunion injures Christian character.[571]Bruce (Expositor, No. 50, p. 84). 'God's paternal discipline, our own self-effort, Christ's example, priestly influence and sympathy, all contribute to the same end, persistency and progress in the Christian life.' It is specially instructive to contrast the Christian with the Pagan estimation ofLabour, as a factor in the formation of character. See Martensen,Ethics (Social), p. 129.[572]For what follows, see especially the Lenten sermons of S. Leo. Also a very useful book by Canon Furse,Helps to Holiness.[573]1 Cor. vi. 13. See Cyp.de orat. Dom.iv, on the part of thebodyin prayer.[574]The particular shape which Almsgiving will assume is obviously to be 'suggested by the special conditions' of the age. See a noble passage inEcce Homo[ed. 13], p. 184, pointing out the way in which the Christian spirit is likely to regard social problems. Cp. Martensen,Ethics (Social), p. 132. This point seems completely overlooked in theService of Man, c. vii.[575]Aug.Enchir.lxxii. 'Multa sunt genera eleemosynarum, quae cum facimusadjuvamur.' See also Cyp.de op. et eleem.xxv. Leo,in Quad.v. 4;de Res.i. 1;de Pent.i. 6, etc. Bruce,Parabolic Teaching, etc., pp. 371-375, has some striking remarks.[576]S. Luke xi. 41.[577]Leo,in Quad.xii. 2, 'In caelestibus Ecclesiae disciplinis, multum utilitatis adferuntdivinitus institutajejunia.' Cp. Hooker, Bk. v. § 72.[578]Ep.ad Diogn.vi. κακουργουμένθ σιτίοις καὶ πότοις ἡ ψυχὴ βελτιοῦται.[579]Serm.de Pass.xix. 5. Cp. Martensen,Ethics (Indiv.), p. 160; Martineau,Types, etc., vol. ii. 381.[580]S. Matt. xxiv. 8 ἀρχὴ ὠδίνων.[581]Rom. viii. 19.[582]1 Cor. vii. 31; 1 S. John ii. 17, etc.[583]Cp.The Ethics of Socialism, by E. Belfort Bax, p. 19.[584]Cp. Bern,de consid.v. 11.[585]Ps. cxlix. 1.[586]See the Bp. of Exeter'sPrimary Chargeon this subject. On the principle involved in this 'dual classification' see an impressive passage in Martineau,Types, etc., ii. 65-69.[587]2 Cor. v. 5; Col. i. 28; Butler,Analogy, i. c. 5.[588]S. Luke xx. 36 ἰσάγγελοι ... καὶ υἱοί εἰσιν θεοῦ τῆς ἀναστάσεως υἱοὶ ὄντες. Cp. Leo Magn.Serm. in Res. Dom.i. c. 4.[589]Vinc. Lirin.Common.c. xiii. 'Unoquoque hominum sine fine victuro, in unoquoque hominum sine fine necessario utriusque substantiae differentia permanebit.'[590]Dorner,System, etc., § 2.[591]Aug.de Fid. et Symb.xiii. 'Spirituale corpus intelligitur quod ita spiritui subditum est, ut caelesti habitationi conveniat.' The Resurrection of the flesh is thus seen to have vital relation to the idea of moral perfection. Cp. Thom. Aquin.Summa, i. iiae. Qu. iv. Art. 6-8.[592]Iren. iv. 28. 2, 'Hi semper percipiunt regnum, et proficiunt.' Pet. Lomb.Sent.ii. xxv. 7, 'Post confirmationem vero ... nec vinci poterit nec premi [homo]: et tunc habebitnon posse peccare.'[593]S. Matt. xiii. 43; 2 Cor. iii. 18; 1 S. John iii. 2.[594]1 S. John i. 3-7; Heb. vii. 16; Westcott,Hist. Faith, p. 147.[595]Aug.de mor. Eccl.iv. ['Beata vita,] cum id quod est hominis optimum, amatur et habetur.'[596]ἔργα θεοῦ, S. John vi. 28. Cp. S. Matt. vi. 33.[597]1 Cor. iii. 22.
[456]1 S. Pet. i. 21 ὥστε τὴν πίστιν ὑμῶν καὶ ἐλπίδα εἶναι εἰς θεόν.
[457]Heb. i. 1.
[458]See Dorner,Syst. of Christian Ethics, § 35.
[459]Eph. i. 4.
[460]Cp. Plato,Tim.xxix. E.
[461]Athan.de Incarn.x.
[462]Clem. Alex.Quis Dives, etc. vii. ἀρχὴ καὶ κρηπὶς ζωῆ, ἐπιστήμη θεοῦ, τοῦ ὄντως ὄντος ... ἡ μὲν γὰρ τούτου ἄγνοια θάνατός ἐστιν, ἡ δὲ ἐπίγνωσις αὐτοῦ καὶ οἰκείωσις, καὶ πρὸς αὐτὸν ἀγάπη καὶ ἐξομοίωσις, μόνη ζωή.
[463]Aug.de moribus Eccl.xii.
[464]Athan.cont. Gentes, iii. describes the aversion of man from God as beginning in 'self-contemplation' (ἑαυτοὺς κατανοεῖν ἤρξαντο).
[465]Ath.c. Gent.ii.
[466]Wace,Boyle Lectures, ser. 1, Lect. vii. Cp. Col. i. 28.
[467]2 Cor. v. 4, 5 ὁ κατεργασάμενος ἡμᾶς εἰς αὐτὸ τοῦτο θεός.
[468]Lactant.Div. Inst.iii. 12, 'Haec vita praesens et corporalis beata esse non potest, quia malis est subjecta per corpus.... Si caditbeatitudo, ergo etimmortalitascadit in hominem, quae beata est.'
[469]Eph. v. 1. Ep.ad Diog.x.
[470]Bp. Butler's sermons emphasize this side of the doctrine of conscience, esp. thePreface. Cp. Flint,Theism, lect. vii.
[471]See Phil. i. 9, and Heb. v. 14 (the Greek).
[472]Rom. i. 21. Athan.cont. Gentes, iii-xi.
[473]Wace,Boyle Lect., ser. 1, Lect. II.
[474]Anselm,Cur Deus Homo, I. xii. 'Libertas non est nisi ad hoc quod expedit aut quod decet.'
[475]See Martineau,Types of Eth. Theory, vol. i. 93; ii. 39 [Ed. 2]. Holland,Creed and Character, Serm. X.
[476]Aug.de mor. Eccl.xxi. '[Deo] solo dominante liberrimus.' Observe that as freedom grows, the choice becomes more restricted by the law πάντα ἔξεστιν, ἀλλ᾽ οὐ πάντα συμφέρει (1 Cor. x. 23). Cp. Pet. Lomb.Sent.ii. xxv. 7.
[477]Cyp.de op. et eleem.i. 'Pater Filium misit utrepararenos posset.' Such language is usual with the Fathers.
[478]The whole subject of sin, guilt, punishment is germane to our subject, but for present purposes must be left on one side.
[479]Iren. iii. 18. 7 [Stieren] ἔδει γὰρ τὸν μεσίτην θεοῠ τε καὶ ἀνθρώπων διὰ τῆς ἰδίας πρὸς ἑκατέρους οἰκειότητος εἰς φιλίαν καὶ ὁμονοίαν τοὺς ἀμφοτέρους συναγαγεῑν, καὶ θεῷ μὲν παραστῆσαι τὸν ἄνθρωποω, ἀνθρώποις δὲ γνωρίσαι τὸν θεόν.
[480]Heb. iii. 1. Cyp.de idol. van.xi. 'Quod homo est, esse Christus voluit, ut et homo possit esse quod Christus est.'
[481]Bern,de consid.v. 1, 'Quid quod et inferioribus eges?... Nonne praeposterum hoc et indignum? Plane superiorum quaedam injuria est inferiorum operam desiderare: a qua injuria nemo hominum perfecte vindicabitur nisi cum quisque evaserit in libertatem filiorum Dei.'
[482]S. Matt. vi. 33.
[483]S. Luke xvii. 21; S. Matt. xiii. 45 foll. (Parable of the Pearl). Cp. Rom. xiv. 17 ἡ βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ ... ἐστιν ... δικαιοσύνη καὶ εἰρήνη καὶ χαρὰ ἐν πνεύματι ἁγίῳ.
[484]Wace,ubi sup.Lect. VIII. Ambr.de off. min.ii. 3, 4.
[485]Aug.de mor. Eccl.xiii. 'Bonorum summa Deus nobis est; Deus est nobis summum bonum.'Ib.xviii. 'Secutio Dei, beatitatis appetitus est; consecutio, ipsa beatitas.'
[486]Thom. Aquin.Summa, i. iiae. Qu. i. 2, 'Illa quae rationem habent seipsa movent ad finem, quia habent dominium suorum actuum per liberum arbitrium.... Illa vero quae ratione carent tendunt in finem propter naturalem inclinationem quasi ab alio mota, non autem a seipsis, cum non cognoscant rationem finis; et ideo nihil in finem ordinare possunt, sed solum in finem ab alio ordinantur.'
[487]See Godet,Comm. on 1 Corinthians[Clark], vol. i. p. 236.
[488]S. Matt. xix. 28; S. Luke xxii. 30.
[489]S. John iii. 16.
[490]S. John iii. 33. See Dorner'sSystem of Ethics[Clark], § 47.
[491]2 Cor. iv. 8; vi. 10. Cp. Rom. viii. 28.
[492]S. Matt. v. 48. Butler,Serm.3 'Your obligation to obey this Law is its being the Law of your nature.... The correspondence of actions to the nature of the agent renders them natural.'
[493]Cp. Bp. Ellicott,The Being of God, p. 120.
[494]Rom. ii. 18 (γινώσκεις τὸ θέλημα) implies that when a man knows God'swill, he knows hisduty.
[495]S. John ix. 4; iv. 34. Cp. vi. 40; S. Luke iv. 43. See also Rom. xii. 2; Eph. v. 17, etc.
[496]The case of the young man (S. Matt. xix. 21) shews how obligation is extended by contact with Christ, i.e. by closer relation to God. The general principle is that each is bound to follow the law of his personal perfection as it unveils itself to him. See Bengelin loc.and cp. S. Luke xvii. 10.
[497]Wace, Lect. II.
[498]S. Matt. xvi. 25, 26. The discussion of 'Christian consolations,' by Mr. Cotter Morison,Service of Man, overlooks the fact that Christ's object was not to 'console' men, but to set before them the truth, and the law of their own perfection. The 'consolations' of Christianity can be won only if they are never made theobjectof life. They are areward, but never, in the higher forms of Christian consciousness, anaim. SeeChurch Quart. Rev., Jan. 1888, p. 268.
[499]Witness the discussions onfearcommonly found in mediaeval theology. Bruce,Parabolic teaching of Christ, p. 359 foll., has some good remarks on this point. 'The parabolic form of instruction does not afford scope for the play of the highest class of motives. It is essentially popular wisdom, and it is the way of that which aims at teaching the million,to make action spring from homely motives.'
[500]Butler,Analogy, i. 5.
[501]See H. S. Holland,Creed and Character, Serm. XVIII. Cp. S. Matt. xxv. 21, Heb. xii. 2. Thom. Aquin.Summa, ii. iiae, xxviii.
[502]Sidgwick,Outlines of the Hist. of Ethics, chap. 3.
[503]Iren. iv. 16, § 3 [Stieren]. God appears in the decalogue 'praestruens hominem in suam amicitiam ... et ideo [verba] similiter permanent apud nos, extensionem et augmentum sed non dissolutionem accipientia per carnalem Eius adventum.' Thom. Aquin.Summa, i. iiae. Qu. c. Art. 3, 'Omnia praecepta [moralia] legis sunt quaedam partes praeceptorum decalogi.'
[504]Rom. vii. 14.
[505]S. Matt. xxii. 37. Cp. Aug.de mor. Eccl.xviii-xx;de doc. Christ.i. 29.
[506]Aug. l.c. 'Maxime Ei propinquat [homo] subjectione ista qua similis fit.'
[507]Thom. Aquin.Summa, i. iiae. c. 5, 'Principi communitatis tria debet homo, fidelitatem, reverentiam, famulatum.' Cp. Butler,Analogy, pt. ii. 1.
[508]Aug.de disc. Christ.iii. 'Proximus est omni homini omnis homo,' etc.
[509]R. W. Dale,The Ten Commandments, p. 241. Cp. Thom. Aquin.Summa, i. iiae. c. 6; Martineau,Types, etc., ii. 26.
[510]Summa, i. iiae. c. 5, 'Dilectio sui ipsius includitur in dilectione Dei et proximi; in hoc enim homo vere se diligit quod se ordinat in Deum.'Ib.ii. iiae. xix. 6, 'Homo se propter Deum, et in Deo diligit.' Aug.Serm., ccxvi. 8, 'Amate quod eritis: eritis enim filii Dei.' Pascal,Pensées, Art. xviii. 15, 'Que l'hommes'aime, car il a en lui une nature capable de bien.' Cp. Butler,Serm.i. etc.
[511]Sidgwick,Outlines etc., p. 108. Cp. Dorner,System, etc., p. 459 [Clark].
[512]Aug.de Civ. Dei, xiv. 28.
[513]See Ex. xxi. 33 foll.; Deut. xxii. 9 foll.; Levit. xix. etc.Summa, i. iiae. i. 2, 'Tota irrationalis natura comparatur ad Deum sicut instrumentum ad agens principale.'
[514]Consider Gen. ix. 10. Cp. Gen. viii. 1; Prov. xii. 10, etc.
[515]Martensen,Special Ethics (Indiv.), p. 278 [Clark].
[516]See Trench,Mediaeval Church History, Lect. XXVII. Cp. Plato,Phileb.64 E foll.
[517]Ecce Homo, c. x. Cp. S. John xxi. 25.
[518]It is significant that Mr. Cotter Morison in hisService of Mandiscusses personal types of Christian saintliness.
[519]Dorner,System, etc., p. 377.
[520]See some remarks on this tendency in Liddon,Bampton Lectures, viii; and an Art. in theChurch Quart. Rev., July, 1883, on 'Our Lord's Human Example.' For what follows, cp. Martensen,Ethics (General), pp. 242, 256.
[521]Dean Church, Serm. onChrist's Example[Gifts of Civilization, Serm. III].
[522]R. H. Hutton, Essay onthe Incarnation and Principles of Evidence. Cp. the remarkable definition of Lactantius,Div. Inst.iii. 9, 'Pietas nihil aliud est quamDei parentis agnitio.'Ib.10, 'Efficitur ut is agnoscat Deum, qui unde ortus sit, quasi recordetur.'
[523]See Trench,Syn. of the N.T.§ 42 (on ταπεινοφροσ). 'In His Human Nature [Christ] must be the pattern of all humility, of all creaturelydependence.... He evermore, as Man, took the place which beseemed the creature in the presence of its Creator.'
[524]S. John xvi. 32.
[525]Martensen,Ethics (General), p. 255. Cp. Job v. 23.
[526]Christ's earthly life and work are described summarily as ὑπακόη, Rom. v. 19. Cp. Phil. ii. 8.
[527]Aug.de Praed. Sanct.xxx. 'An ... in Illo non libera voluntas erat, ac non tanto magis erat, quanto magis peccare non poterat?' Quoted by Liddon,Bampt. Lect.[ed. 11], note c.
[528]Aug.de mor. Eccl.xxiii. 'Fit ergo per caritatem ut conformemur Deo.'
[529]Dorner, pp. 336, 388. Cp.Ecce Homo, p. 136.
[530]Arist.Eth.vii. 14. 8 remarks that human nature is not simple (ἁπλῆ), adding ἐπεὶ, εἴ του ἡ φύσις ἁπλῆ εἴη ἀεὶ ἡ αὐτὴ πρᾶξις ἡδίστη ἐσται. Διὸ ὁ θεὸς ἀεὶ μίαν καὶ ἁπλῆν χαίρει ἡδονήν, κ.τ.λ. Cp. Bk. x. cc. 4. § 9, and 7. § 8.
[531]Summa, i. iiae. Qu. lxii. Art. 1. Cp. S. Matt. xix. 17.
[532]Abp. Trench.
[533]Heb. xi. 6. Cp. 1 S. John iv. 16; Rom. xiv. 23.Summa, i. iiae. Qu. lxii. art. 3. 'Quantum adintellectumadduntur homini quaedam principia supernaturalia, quae divino lumine capiuntur; et haec sunt credibilia de quibus est fides.'Ib.art. 4, 'Per fidem apprehendit intellectus ea quae sperat et amat. Unde opportet quod ordine generationis fides praecedat spem et caritatem.'
[534]S. John iv. 34; v. 36; xvii. 4. Cp. H. S. Holland,Serm.on 'The Energy of Unselfishness.' With regard to the relation ofPleasureto action, we may observe that pleasure is inseparable from the right and effective exercise of any faculty; and thereforeaccompaniesvirtuous activity, but can never be the moralendof action. Cp. Arist.Eth.vii. 12. § 3, etc.
[535]SeeEcce Homo, c. xiii.
[536]Aug.de mor. Eccl.xix. 'Id ipsum quo diligimus Deum mori non potest, nisi dum non diligit Deum: cum mors ipsa sit non diligere Deum.' Cp. Cyp.de Unit.xiv.
[537]Such classification, corresponding to three cardinal virtues, seems to be implied in S. Paul's words, Tit. ii. 12 ἵνα ... σωφρόνως, καὶ δικαίως καὶ εὐσεβῶς ζήσωμεν.
[538]J. Cotter Morison,The Service of Man, p. 194 [ed. 3]. See Eph. i. 4; Col. i. 22; S. Luke i. 75.
[539]Rom. viii. 8; 1 Cor. vii. 32; 1 Thess. iv. 1. An instructive contrast might be drawn between the Pagan and Christian use of the word ἀρεσκεία.
[540]Lacordaire, a biographical sketch, H. S. Lear, p. 34.
[541]Wordsworth,The Excursion. Ep.ad Diog.v. πᾶσα ξένη πατρίς ἐστιν αὐτῶν, καὶ πᾶσα πατρὶς ξένη. This spirit does not exclude a truepatriotism, and other civil virtues. Martensen,Ethics (Social), § 82.
[542]De mor. Eccl.xxxvii and xxv. Cp. Bern.de Consid.v. 1.
[543]See the chap. with this title inEcce Homo.
[544]S. Matt. v. 44 foll. Leo,Serm. in Quad.vii. 'Forma conversationis fidelium ab exemplo venit operum divinorum et merito Deus imitationem Sui ab eis exigit, quos ad imaginem et similitudinem suam fecit.' Cp. Iren. iv. 13. 3.
[545]Ecce Homo, c. xxii. Cp. Butler,Serm.ix. etc.
[546]Leo,Serm. in Quad., passim, esp. v, vi, ix.Ecce Homo, c. xxiii. For what follows, see Arist.Eth.v. 10. Cp. Eph. iv. 32.
[547]Mozley,Univ. Serm.ix. 'Ancient philosophy never opened the mine of happiness which lay in this principle. It was a discovery, like that of a new scientific principle, when it was made; and Christianity made it.'
[548]Rom. xiii. 10. Note the following words of S. Aug. (de doct. Christ.i. 29): 'Velle debemus, utomnes nobiscum diligant Deum, et totum quod vel eos adjuvamus vel adjuvamur eis, ad unum illum finem referendum est.... Hinc efficitur ut inimicos etiam nostros diligamus....Misereamur, quia tanto magis nos oderunt, quanto ab illo quem diligimus separati sunt.' Cp.de disc. Chr.v. 'Necesse est ut quem diligis tanquam te ipsum,illuc illum trahas ad quod et tu amas.'Ecce Homo, cc. xvii, xviii.
[549]Tert.Apol.36.
[550]De mor. Eccl.lxiii. [Clark]Obs.There are duties imposed by our relationship evento the dead,to posterity, and of courseto the impersonal creature. See Martensen,Ethics (Indiv.), §§ 116-118. On duties toposterity, see a beautiful passage in Ruskin,Seven Lamps of Architecture, vi. § 9.
[551]Dean Church,Disc. of the Christian Character, p. 101. Cp.Ecce Homo[ed. 13], p. 178.
[552]See Rom. xii. 3; 2 Cor. x. 5.
[553]Wisdom vi. 17.
[554]1 Cor. vi. 19.
[555]Ep.ad Diog.vi. μισεῖ Χριστιάνους ὁ κόσμος μηδὲν ἀδικούμενοσς, ὅτι ταῖς ἡδόναις ἀντιτάσσονται.
[556]See Westcott, Essay onThe Church and the World[in his ed. of S. John's Epp.].
[557]Trench,Syn. of N.T.§ xxxvii. On 'Resentment' seeEcce Homo, c. xxi; Butler,Serm.viii. Cp. Arist.Eth.iv. 5. See also Dale.The Atonement, Lect. VIII.
[558]Dean Church,Gifts of Civilization, p. 323. Cp. Martineau,Types of Eth. Theory, vol. ii, pp. 200-202.
[559]SeeService of Man, cc. vii and ix. Those objections have been often met. See Dean Church,Serm.on 'Christ's Example.' Liddon,Bampt. Lect.[ed. 11] p. 130.
[560]Aug.de mor. Eccl.lxiii. 'Tu [Ecclesia] pueriliter pueros, fortiter juvenes, quiete senes prout cuiusque non corporis tantum, sed et animi aetas est, exerces ac doces etc.' Cp. Amb.de Off. Min.i. 17.
[561]Wace,Boyle Lect.(ser. 1) v. Cp.Ecce Homo, c. ix. We may consider how Christ gives apracticalturn to speculative inquiries. S. Luke xiii. 23, 24; S. John xxi. 21 foll.
[562]E.g. Clem. of Alexandria. See Bigg,The Christian Platonists of Alexandria, p. 80.
[563]S. Luke xiii. 32; Heb. ii. 10, v. 9. Cp. 1 Cor. xv. 45; and see Gal. ii. 20, iv. 19. Also an Art. inCh. Qu. Rev.No. xxxii, on 'Our Lord's Human Example.'
[564]1 Cor. i. 30. Cp. Rom. viii. 29. For the thought that follows, see Prof. Bruce on Heb. ii. 11-18 inExpositor, No. 50.
[565]Service of Man, pp. 84, 85.
[566]Chrys.in Joh. hom.x. 2 ἄμα δὲ καὶ ἐνδείξασθαι βούλεται ὅτι οὐχ ἁπλῶς οὔδε ἡ χάρις ἔπεισιν, ἀλλὰ τοῖς βουλομένοισ καὶ ἐσπουδακόσι, κ.τ.λ.
[567]See Tit. ii. 11, 12 ἡ χάρις ... παιδεύουσα ἡμᾶς S. Matt, xxviii. 19, 20. Aug.de disc. Chr.i. 'Disciplinae domusest Ecclesia Christi.' Butler,Analogy, pt. ii. c. 1.
[568]Consider Col. i. 28; Eph. ii. 10.
[569]Lyra Apostolica, No. xxxvii [signed δ].
[570]Consider Phil. ii. 2, where the description of the Christian example and character is prefaced by an impressive appeal for Unity. The moral guilt ofheresypartly lies in its being a principle of disunion. Cyp.de Unit.xxvi. complains of particular ways in which disunion injures Christian character.
[571]Bruce (Expositor, No. 50, p. 84). 'God's paternal discipline, our own self-effort, Christ's example, priestly influence and sympathy, all contribute to the same end, persistency and progress in the Christian life.' It is specially instructive to contrast the Christian with the Pagan estimation ofLabour, as a factor in the formation of character. See Martensen,Ethics (Social), p. 129.
[572]For what follows, see especially the Lenten sermons of S. Leo. Also a very useful book by Canon Furse,Helps to Holiness.
[573]1 Cor. vi. 13. See Cyp.de orat. Dom.iv, on the part of thebodyin prayer.
[574]The particular shape which Almsgiving will assume is obviously to be 'suggested by the special conditions' of the age. See a noble passage inEcce Homo[ed. 13], p. 184, pointing out the way in which the Christian spirit is likely to regard social problems. Cp. Martensen,Ethics (Social), p. 132. This point seems completely overlooked in theService of Man, c. vii.
[575]Aug.Enchir.lxxii. 'Multa sunt genera eleemosynarum, quae cum facimusadjuvamur.' See also Cyp.de op. et eleem.xxv. Leo,in Quad.v. 4;de Res.i. 1;de Pent.i. 6, etc. Bruce,Parabolic Teaching, etc., pp. 371-375, has some striking remarks.
[576]S. Luke xi. 41.
[577]Leo,in Quad.xii. 2, 'In caelestibus Ecclesiae disciplinis, multum utilitatis adferuntdivinitus institutajejunia.' Cp. Hooker, Bk. v. § 72.
[578]Ep.ad Diogn.vi. κακουργουμένθ σιτίοις καὶ πότοις ἡ ψυχὴ βελτιοῦται.
[579]Serm.de Pass.xix. 5. Cp. Martensen,Ethics (Indiv.), p. 160; Martineau,Types, etc., vol. ii. 381.
[580]S. Matt. xxiv. 8 ἀρχὴ ὠδίνων.
[581]Rom. viii. 19.
[582]1 Cor. vii. 31; 1 S. John ii. 17, etc.
[583]Cp.The Ethics of Socialism, by E. Belfort Bax, p. 19.
[584]Cp. Bern,de consid.v. 11.
[585]Ps. cxlix. 1.
[586]See the Bp. of Exeter'sPrimary Chargeon this subject. On the principle involved in this 'dual classification' see an impressive passage in Martineau,Types, etc., ii. 65-69.
[587]2 Cor. v. 5; Col. i. 28; Butler,Analogy, i. c. 5.
[588]S. Luke xx. 36 ἰσάγγελοι ... καὶ υἱοί εἰσιν θεοῦ τῆς ἀναστάσεως υἱοὶ ὄντες. Cp. Leo Magn.Serm. in Res. Dom.i. c. 4.
[589]Vinc. Lirin.Common.c. xiii. 'Unoquoque hominum sine fine victuro, in unoquoque hominum sine fine necessario utriusque substantiae differentia permanebit.'
[590]Dorner,System, etc., § 2.
[591]Aug.de Fid. et Symb.xiii. 'Spirituale corpus intelligitur quod ita spiritui subditum est, ut caelesti habitationi conveniat.' The Resurrection of the flesh is thus seen to have vital relation to the idea of moral perfection. Cp. Thom. Aquin.Summa, i. iiae. Qu. iv. Art. 6-8.
[592]Iren. iv. 28. 2, 'Hi semper percipiunt regnum, et proficiunt.' Pet. Lomb.Sent.ii. xxv. 7, 'Post confirmationem vero ... nec vinci poterit nec premi [homo]: et tunc habebitnon posse peccare.'
[593]S. Matt. xiii. 43; 2 Cor. iii. 18; 1 S. John iii. 2.
[594]1 S. John i. 3-7; Heb. vii. 16; Westcott,Hist. Faith, p. 147.
[595]Aug.de mor. Eccl.iv. ['Beata vita,] cum id quod est hominis optimum, amatur et habetur.'
[596]ἔργα θεοῦ, S. John vi. 28. Cp. S. Matt. vi. 33.
[597]1 Cor. iii. 22.
Theconception of morality as a system of positive Divine Law, and the 'juridical method' which is said to mark early Christian writers on ethics[598], is perhaps attributable to the growth of an imperial spirit in the Church when she found herself confronted with the task of reducing to order the social chaos into which the fall of the Empire plunged Europe. S. Leo may be said to embody this spirit in a majestic personal form. The mark of Roman authority rests on the ordinances of the Church of this period. It may be that her rules of duty wear something of the aspect of a fixed, unvarying code. The moral problems with which she has to deal are comparatively simple; they admit of clear, concise treatment, in accordance with a fixed system of discipline; sharp distinctions are possible: and the Gospel thus presents to the world the features of an external Law.
Be this as it may, widely different conditions seem now to demand a definite system of Christian duty,—a study of 'special' or 'applied ethics.' The main feature of modern life is not social disorganization, but complexity of relationships; and although in the abstract no such thing is possible as a 'conflict of duties;' yet it is clear that duty is not always simple, or obvious. We need in fact something like a system of casuistry; of ethics applied to novel spheres, and special points of obligation. It is indeed reasonable to expect that as civilization advances, and new realms open up which the Christian spirit must appropriate, the Law of duty will be enriched; there will be expansion of its content: e.g. the development of Industry makes desirable the formulation of the 'Ethics of Labour;' the rise of a special class may raise the question whether 'class virtues' are to be recognised, and how they are to be estimated, by Ethics[599].
In this appendix some purpose may be served by noticing a few pressing moral problems of our time; some spheres of duty as to which guidance or development of principles seems called for.
i. In the sphere of self-regarding duty a point which needs attention is the truth ofpersonal responsibility. There are influences at work which threaten the sense of accountability, whether for conduct or belief. There are of course speculative difficulties surrounding the question of freedom; there is wide misconception of its true meaning; but it needs to be clearly taught, that granted all limitations of the power of choice, moral responsibility remains for the use of the character, as of the property, which a man inherits[600]. A man's moral constitution, rigidly defined though it be by heredity, is yet his 'heritage,' his natural endowment, for the right direction of which he is responsible. The weak sense of this plain fact is noticeable in the lax and indulgent tone often used respecting criminals. 'To some of us,' it has been justly said, 'the individual is always innocent and society always guilty[601].' The degree of guilt, however, may be minimized (e.g. by the plea of ignorance), while the fact of it remains.
In this connection statistics of crime have a value which needs to be estimated. Do they point to conditions of society which must be faced as unalterable? or do they not rather usefully indicate the proper channels into which the stream of social energy should be directed?
Again, in the matter of personalbelief, it is often assumed that there is no responsibility. The question, however, for each individual, if rightly stated, is simply this, 'What has been my attitude towards that which has presented itself to me as truth[602]?'
Another point of importance is the moral culture ofImagination, in relation chiefly to aesthetic recreation in its different forms, the Theatre, the pursuit of Art, the reading of Fiction. We are learning by serious experience the enormous power of fancy to kindle passion, and to colour human actions. In view of the spread of depraving literature, energetic assertion of duty towards this department of personality is needed. Such duty seems to be recognised in Phil. iv. 8.
ii. Passing to the sphere of family obligations, it is natural to remark on the break-up of family life which is so common a consequence of highly-developed industry. The employment of women in factories, etc., tends to make them unfit for domestic duties; while that of children encourages a spirit of independence which is not without social danger; thus not only the sense ofparental duty, but the respect for parental authority, is impaired. Christians are bound to discountenance, or at least to counteract, this state of things so far as it interferes with the rudiments of moral discipline.
The pressing need of our day, however, would appear to be some clear teaching on the subject of marriage. There are different aspects of the marriage contract recognised in Scripture. But Christianity can make no terms with those theories which have borne fruit in lax legislation on divorce, with all its mischievous results. Marriage, according to the Christian view, is a serious vocation, with its own sacred duties, and special consecration. Improvident marriage is as immoral from a Christian as from an anti-Christian point of view[603]. Ethical considerations ought to guide or restrict the intention to marry; and with regard to the question of population, Christianity condemns any theory which offers a substitute for rational self-restraint. The true end of marriage, again, is something higher than 'happiness'; it is appointed for the mutual enrichment of personality, mutual freedom to fulfil the true ideal of human life. The whole subject has indeed become involved in difficulties which cannot be encountered by any mere statement of principles. There is no doubt, however, of the end which the Christian treatment of this point must keep in view.
iii. As to the social sphere generally, we begin by remarking that, from the Christian standpoint,every transactionbetween man and man is to be regarded aspersonal, and thereforeethical. The most significant fact perhaps of our time is the process of transition from (so-called) political to ethical economics. To reason rightly on social problems we must ever have regard topersonality. For ethical purposes the abstract terms Capital, Labour, Production, Wealth, etc., must be replaced bypersonalterms, Employer, Employé, Producer, Man of Wealth, etc. Our problem is how to supersede the technical and legal relation by the personal[604].
This being our fundamental point of view, we find that ethics will treat equally of rights and duties. A Christian theory ofrightsis required. The prevailing view of them isindividualistic. It is forgotten that the rights of one man have their ground in theobligations of another; they are limited by the claims of other personalities on our own; 'right' is, in fact, a condition making possible the fulfilment of duty. It is thus a matter of Christian concern (to suggest mere examples) that workers should attain to the possibility of free self-development: healthy conditions of work, the enjoyment of domestic life, security of maintenance, perhaps permanence of contract, opportunities of recreation and culture,—everything, in fact, which will give them fair chance of healthful and worthy human life. Christianity can be content with nothing short of this.
On the other handdutiescall for notice. Modern capitalists form a class whose responsibilities it is difficult adequately to measure. The general principle, however, is easily repeated: that it is the duty of the wealthy, or those who employ workers, to respect the personality of their employés, to treat them not as machines, but as men. Thomas Carlyle well describes the aim that should guide this influential class: 'to be a noble master among noble workers, the first ambition: to be a rich master, only the second.'
Industrial development indeed brings into prominence many questions of duty and right, which can be solved only by deeper apprehension of the Christian standpoint: and of 'morality as an industrial force[605]:' for the ties which bind men in the relation of brotherhood and sonhood are the noblest and strongest.
The duties of a state are matters of controversy, and open a field not lightly to be entered. It is clear, however, that adequate pressure can only be brought to bear on governing classes by an educated public opinion, rather we should say an enlightened moral sense, in the community. It is impossible to foresee the results that might ensue from the growth of moral opinion on such points as the state regulation of vice, the just causes of war, the restriction of the hours of labour, the treatment of semi-civilized dependencies, the true lines to be followed by education. It is this tremendous potency of public opinion that points to the great need of modern democracy: the education, namely, of feeling and character; the cultivation of reverence and the faculty of admiration, of self-control and sobriety in judgment and thought. How far a merely intellectual training will produce this character can scarcely be a matter of controversy. A vast field of inquiry and study is thus evidently open to economic moralists: and ithas been opportunely suggested that the effort to study, 'in the light of the revealed will of God, the intricate problems of society,' might be a common bond between different sections of Christendom, and might promote that unity of God's Church, which is the true condition of effectual social reform[606].
iv. In the Church, or moral community which embraces and leavens the state, special points of duty arise: e.g. respecting the limits of the Church's self-adaptation to the tendencies of the age, and her relation to the anti-Christian principle in society. Hence arise difficult questions as to the true bases of Toleration, and of submission to the civil power. We may be sure that principles of action and thought can be reached only by closer study of Christ's words in relation to modern life[607], as the practical instinct of the Church has interpreted them. A similar problem is raised by the advance of Science and Criticism. Christians are charged with being behind scientific men in their apprehension of 'the morals of assent[608].' Whatever truth there is in such a reproach, it at least utters a note of warning.
v. Once more, if we consider the non-personal realm with which man is brought in contact, we must face the problem of duties towards the lower animals. We have seen that such duties have a ground in reason: but their nature and extent are not well defined. It is important to study our Lord's attitude towards nature, for which He uniformly exhibits, especially in His parables and miracles, such feeling and love. The practice of vivisection, for example, raises a question as to the limits of thedominium naturaecommitted to man; and his right to employ creaturely life as a means. There is of course a practice of vivisection which is utterly immoral: as when it is prompted by mere pleasure in experimenting, or by idle curiosity; or is carried on without strict intention and reasonable prospect of meeting a particular need.
Within the limits of an essay it would be presumptuous to do more than raise such questions as the foregoing; we perhaps best display a sense of their gravity by leaving them as suggestions for systematic discussion. For it has been justly observed with regard to ethical problems that 'the actual solution is itself an art, a gift which cannot be taught.'