"A very poor, barbarous
gospel," thinks the philosopher who rests on his Marcus Antoninus and
Epictetus. I do not mean to say, that in the shape in which she
believed this doctrine, it was not poor and barbarous, but yet we all
of us, whatever our creed may be, must lay hold at times for
salvation upon something like it. Those who have been plunged up to
the very lips in affliction know its necessity. To such as these it
is idle work for the prosperous and the comfortable to preach
satisfaction with the life that now is. There are seasons when it is
our sole resource to recollect that in a few short years we shall be
at rest. While upon this subject I may say, too, that some injustice
has been done to the Christian creed of immortality as an influence
in determining men's conduct. Paul preached the imminent advent of
Christ and besought his disciples, therefore, to watch, and we ask
ourselves what is the moral value to us of such an admonition. But
surely if we are to have any reasons for being virtuous, this is as
good as any other. It is just as respectable to believe that we
ought to abstain from iniquity because Christ is at hand, and we
expect to meet Him, as to abstain from it because by our abstention
we shall be healthier or more prosperous.
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