tianity seemed gone. The world was asked to choose between superstition and infidelity. It is the glory of the Reformation period that-in spite of many blemishes, and of much that we would gladly have seen otherwise the reformers brought light, spiritual and intelligent, to thousands of simple folk, and broke for ever the bonds of old tradition.

And thenceforward the Divine Presence of our Lord has slowly grown more clear before the eyes of men. In our day there has been, in spite of the resistance of wealth and fashion, a marvellous outburst of spiritual life, and a newly revived belief in the higher mission of Christianity. It was a band of true Christian men that made slavery for ever impossible to England: it is the influence of Christ which stems the tide of drink and self-indulgence and immorality. He gives us the higher aim, and His Spirit enables us to strive towards it. Perhaps, before we have done, we shall find out that Christ was the friend of the poor, the foe of the rich, and may claim 'The Carpenter's Son' for the workingman's side.

We sadly need a 'Guild of the Carpenter' in our modern Christian world. Is it too much to say that He must become the true Arbitrator in our trade disputes? too much to declare that to Him the wel

fare of the cottager is as dear as the wealth of a palace? too much to say that His Spirit must soften, not aggravate, the asperities of life? must lessen, not increase, the miseries of competition? must some day teach men that Peace is better than War, and that the English are not the only people who have a right to the territories of the globe?

We may be, and are, infinitely below the true level of our possibilities. But under what other influences is any advance really taking place? We may be, and are, far below our own professions, but then our professions aim at the highest of which human nature is capable; and we may not hope to transform the world, save by the slow advance of ages.

But let it be advance—not standing still. And let it be an expression in Life, personal, social, national, of the influence for good of Him who was both God and Man. The belief in Christ has been overlaid by Christianity. Let us not be of those who prefer the Church to Christianity, and Christianity to Christ. Let us go to Him: let us be with Him; and we shall learn that down all the ringing grooves of change' His presence has ever saved the world.

III

CHRIST IN THE REALM OF PHILOSOPHY

'Christ, in whom are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge hidden.'-COL. ii. 2.

If we ask, What is Christianity? I suppose that most persons would reply, It is that system of belief and worship which has come down to us from Christ and his Apostles, and which is derived from the writings of the New Testament. And no doubt for practical purposes, for guidance and consolation, for spiritual strength, for building up Christ's disciples into an holy temple, the religion which we have received by tradition from our fathers is amply sufficient. But if we come to investigate it historically, we shall find that it is by no means identical either in substance or in form with the Christian faith as it appears the writings of Apostles and Evangelists, but that it bears distinct traces of the various ages through which it has come down to us, and of the different

in

races with which it has come in contact.

Just as the

crust of the earth is made up of various rocks representing the successive stages of the earth's development, so that in it we can trace, as it were, backwards the geological history of the globe, so the complex system which we call Christianity is the result not of a single creative act but of a gradual and continuous growth, and bears legible marks of its past history and environment. In this sense, as in others, the Church is Catholic; it is not of one age or of one race, but of all: it is not Jewish, it is not Greek, it is not Roman, it is not Teutonic; it is not the Church of the Fathers, it is not the Church of the Middle Ages, it is not the Church of the Reformation, it is not the Church of the Puritans, it is not the Church of the nineteenth century; it is simply the Church Universal, the Church of Christ.

The growth of the Church has been like the growth of the natural body. It has taken up and assimilated such elements as were suitable; it has rejected such as were not wholesome, or if it has received any such they have remained as foreign elements in the body, and have so far hindered its healthy growth. On one condition only could the Church have remained unchanged: if it had never outgrown its Judaic shell, if it had remained a mere Jewish sect, then it might

have dispensed with growth, but it must soon have died. The development of doctrine, which Cardinal Newman maintained in the interest of the Church of Rome, is now acknowledged to have been a factor in the Church's life from the beginning. Christ our Master gave us not a theology but a life: He taught by word of mouth and by healing act; He proclaimed the good tidings of the Kingdom of God. But when the leaven of the Christian faith came in contact with heathen thought and life, at once it began to ferment in a new direction; at once the question arose, What is the relation of the new faith to other systems of thought? With regard to Judaism, the question was simple: Abraham was the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised: the Law was a tutor to bring men to Christ. But what of the Greek philosophy? Was this to be treated as altogether hostile? was it to be denounced as profane? or did this too stand in any relation to Christ? It was a question of momentous importance. For if the Christian faith could not lay hold of and assimilate all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge which had been slowly accumulated in the ages before Christ; if all the past history of the race had been a dreary blank, unlightened by any gleams of the coming dawn; then men might reason