human
They were no Christians if they did not,
gpt
It was a savage age,
human
Still they were the representatives of the Christianity of their day, said Afra;
gpt
The Crusaders, said Toussaint,
human
I agree with you, said Pascal.
gpt
There are many ways of warring for the Cross. Theirs was one; ours is another.
human
You always speak as if you were a black, Monsieur Pascal,
gpt
I would fain be a negro in heart and temper, Denis, if what your father thinks of the vocation of negroes be true.
human
But about those ways of warring for the Cross!
gpt
I mean, and L'Ouverture, I think, means, said Pascal,
human
We find one trace of the Gospel here, and another there, said Toussaint;
gpt
Not in the earliest days? asked Euphrosyne.
human
Were not the first confessors and martyrs a Christian class?
gpt
They were so according to their intention, to their own idea, said Toussaint.
human
They were votaries of the one Christian principle most needed in their time. The noble men, the courageous women, who stood, calm and resolved, in the midst of the amphitheatre, with the heathen altar behind them, the hungry tiger before them, and a careless or scoffing multitude ranged all around--these were strong witnesses to the great principle of Faith--noble proofs of the power of living and dying for things unseen. This was their function. It was for others to show forth the humility and modesty in which, as a class, they failed.
gpt
The anchorites, said Pascal,
human
And then the nun,
gpt
What possible grace of religion did the nun exhibit?
human
The original nun, Euphrosyne, was inspired with the reverence of Purity. In an age of licence, those who were devoted to spiritual things were the salt of the earth. But in their worship of purity they outraged human love.
gpt
The friar, said Pascal,
human
The Crusaders worked hard enough, said Denis.
gpt
Thousands and thousands of them died of their toils, besides the slain.
human
They were the apostles of Zeal, said Monsieur Pascal.
gpt
For the honour of the Gospel they suffered and died. They overlooked all that it teaches of toleration and universal love;--of peace on earth and good-will to men.
human
None of these Christians, said Afra,
gpt
Just so, said her husband.
human
That part of our religion had not yet come into action. The first step taken towards this action was one which united with it the former devotion to God. The organisation of the great Church of Christ united, in the intentions of those who formed it, care for the glory of God and the salvation of men. It was a great step.
gpt
But still, said Euphrosyne,
human
That, Euphrosyne, was a later fruit; but it is ripening now. We have more Sisters of Charity than contemplative nuns, at this time. There are hospitals in every Christian land for the sick and the aged. It is remembered now, too, that Christ had compassion on the blind, and the deaf, and the insane: and charity to these is now the Christianity of a multitude.
gpt
And what is their defect? asked Denis.
human
What essential do they overlook, as the anchorite and the crusader overlooked this same charity?
gpt
It may be liberality--regard to the Christian liberty of others;--it may be--
human
Let us not look too closely into their failures, said Toussaint.
gpt
Let us not judge our brethren. These are too near our own time for us to be just judges. We see their charity--the brightest light yet in the constellation of Christian principles; let us be thankful that our eyes have seen it. It is brightening too; so that day telleth to-day of its increase, and night is witness of it unto night. It is now not only the sick and infirm in body that are cared for; but I am told there has been a man in England who has taken such pity on those who are sick and deformed in soul as to have explored the most loathsome of European prisons in their behalf. There has been a Briton who pitied the guilty above all other sufferers, and devoted to them his time, his fortune, his all. He will have followers, till Christendom itself follows him; and he will thus have carried forward the Gospel one step. The charity which grieves more for the deformity of the soul than the evils of the body is so far higher a charity, that it may almost be called a new principle.
human
What remains?
gpt
Do you see anything further to be done, father?