Christ
was a sublime actor on the stage of the world. He knew what he
was thinking of when he said, "Heaven and earth shall pass away,
but my words shall not pass away." I draw near to him at such a
time. Yet he taught mankind but imperfectly how to live; his
thoughts were all directed toward another world. There is
another kind of success than his. Even here we have a sort of
living to get, and must buffet it somewhat longer. There are
various tough problems yet to solve, and we must make shift to
live, betwixt spirit and matter, such a human life as we can.
A healthy man, with steady employment, as wood-chopping at fifty
cents a cord, and a camp in the woods, will not be a good subject
for Christianity. The New Testament may be a choice book to him
on some, but not on all or most of his days. He will rather go
a-fishing in his leisure hours. The Apostles, though they were
fishers too, were of the solemn race of sea-fishers, and never
trolled for pickerel on inland streams.
Men have a singular desire to be good without being good for
anything, because, perchance, they think vaguely that so it will
be good for them in the end.
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