NOTES

New Zealand Tablet, 13 November 1919, Page 26

NOTES

Christian Courtesy

-Newman's well-known description of 'a . gentleman may be summed 'up in saying that a*gentleman is one who never gives to another unnecessary pain. ~ And, of course, the same thing holds for a. lady. . There are times , when .to avoid giving another pain would be neither . gentlemanly . nor. Christian: Solomon was,-- we suppose,. the greatest gentleman •of his ; day, but he had wholesome views on the use of the rod in proper season. Few men who have become gentlemen have done so without suffering in the process, while their ' character was forming; and the children who have been disciplined' on the old-fashioned lines ’.are far ; more likely in after-life to regard their fathers as gentlemen than are. the curled darlings; who. grow up without reverence for, God or man and without anything, in themselves for. .anybody to reverence. - Apart, however, from pain that it is a duty or a charity to inflict, .the time gentleman will hurt no man, and will hurt ' him- ; self to avoid hurting others. He will bridle his tongue i and place a gate of prudence before his lips lest a . word, not. only an injurious word but even a word that i stings, cross them. 11 He will remember • at ' all 'times . the Christian view bf tale-bearers and scandal-mongers; ;■ he will have’ fine feeling enough to make him careful : never to hurt the,feelings of others; he will know that I the smart speech that stings and the joke that wounds ; are the weapons of. a, cad; . and i consciousness, of. his | own, shortcomings, will make him very- careful as to how | fie criticises other, people’s faults. Learning, position, \ wealth never . made gentleman or- a lady yet; true | charity and- an honest endeavor to follow Christ gave to

•-the-poor Irish peasants that Christian courtesy -and- self- ! restraint at • which men L: life-' Arthur 'Balfour. marvelled f soy:touch:'\ ''■•;'';.■ .""• '•".' ' ;r: ' v :'{';■'■;,■':';./''.V' ■■. : " I ''.'/ ,^.].-.,'. : • How-to Become a Brithun •'■ .i - : •: '•'"' ■'• If ! you prefer to . become a Brithun' there are a ! few simple rules that will assist you to.'.qualify' for a '* place among the ..Empire-builders, and the. Jingoes . and . .the. Supermen ,of the, age. - "Get it. well into your head that Our Empire is infallible' and ! impeccable, and that • the mission of a true Imperialist is to imprint the mark of the Jingo on the - other races of the' world. Never confess, much less' regret, the ' crimes and the perfidies on which, the Empire has been built. Take for granted the truth of every calumny about our enemies, .but never listen to a man who says that we have reason to be sorry for our own sins. Cultivate a lordly indifference" to the comfort and the welfare of others, and make it obvious from your conduct that so long 'as you-are ' happy nothing else matters'. Avoid such " elementary matters'as closing doors after you, interrupt others, monopolise the conversation, disturb people who want to have, peace, and who may reasonably object to the noise you make. about the house. If you come in late and others, are asleep make quite sure that you wake them up and then see that you keep them' awake •as long as possible.' They may be tired and they may ■ want sleep, but. of course if you want' to .benefit the world, by your wisdom there is no reason why their . comfort should make it necessary for you- to keep silent. Under no circumstances think of anybody but,yourself : • let your attitude be that you are a lord of the chosen race and that God made the world and the rest of mankind for your convenience. Do not hesitate to speak ' oracularly oil all sorts of topics, especially if you know nothing about. them. What right has any man to oppose the wisdom of the ages, to the startling, suggestions that emanate, from. your magnificent soul ? .Shun anything that, savors of humility and meekness, and on • no account- show the slightest- respect for your seniors:' Thus do and thou shalt live as the incarnation of a Brithun and an example and a warning in the ..eyes of the right-minded. The Unseen World .ourselves on the. side.of those old-fashioned people who believe in ghosts, and we still think it will be a sorry * day. when modern Progress, aided . by. eminent philosophers and scientists of candle-power equal to Mr. Hanan's, have educated the people downward into the "depths of true-blue materialism. The testimony in favor of ghosts is as strong' as that which leads us to believe that there is 'snow on Mount Everest or that there are seals in Alaska; and as a capacity for belief in ghosts means a capacity for having a real apprehension of the unseen world generally, it is far more important that a man should believe in unseen spirits I than '.' in unseen seals and snows. As there are no .greater .tyrants than Freethinkers, there are no more ■infallible people than sceptics, and there are no more • unreasonable people ■ than rationalists. A rationalist ■" will hot believe- (on rationalistic grounds) in a world of spirits, but he will believe nearly any story that a ~j\ scientific .charlatan will tell him. The united testi- ,'• monies of sane people who lived many years ago will -not weigh with him, but he will swallow the forgeries -of-a Haeckel or the fallacies of a McCabe with a thirst that knows no limits. . : The Angels Leaving the rationalists to themselves, let us re- .... fleet a moment on the vaster and nobler.', outlook on • creation enjoyed by the man who is conscious.that just as there are irrational animals beneath him so there "' are pure intelligencies above him in the' scale of the ".' universe. ' Hear Cardinal, Newman ,on the subject: v*'We are. then in a world of spirits, as /well as in a ..••world of sense, arid. r we hold communion with it, . and take part in it, though we are not conscious of doing

so.' . «•:;.'-"We ';■*■ have more real' knowledge* about^ Angels than ; about v the brhtes. They : have apparently passions; habits, . ; and a^certaiir''-' accountablene'ss,. but all is mystery ■ about / them. ; We s do not know whether. they can ; sin or'not,; whether they are to live after this life. : 'I We inflict very great sufferings !on a pbrtibu^of "i them, and they in turn, every now and then, seem .'to retaliate on us, as if by a wonderful" law. We depend on them in various ways; we use their labor, we eat their flesh. This, however, relates to "such, of them as come near us: cast your .thoughts abroad -on the whole number of them, large and small, in vast forests, or in ! the water, or in the air; .arid "_, then,/ say whether the presence of such countless multitudes, so various in their natures, so strange and .wild in their shapes, living on earth without ascertainable objects, is not as mysterious as anything which Scripture says about Angels? Is it not plain to our senses ' that there is a world inferior to 'us .in the scale of beings, with which we are /connected without understanding what it ,is ? and is it difficult to faith to admit the. word of Scripture concerning our connection with a world superior to u 5?.,., . Bright as is the sun, , and the; sky and .the clouds ; green as • are the leaves and the fields; sweet- as is the singing of birds ; we know that they are not all, and we will not take'up a' part for the whole. They proceed from a centre of love and goodness, which is God Himself: but they are not. : His fulness; they speak of Heaven, but they are riot Heaven ; .they are but as stray beams and dim reflections of His Image ; they are but crumbs from the table. ■' We are looking for the coming of the day of God-, when all this outward world, fair though it be, shall perish; when the Heavens shall be burnt, and the earth melt away. We can' bear the loss, for we know it will be but the removing of a veil. We know that to remove the world which is seen, will be. the manifestation of the world which is not seen. We know that what we see is as a screen hiding from us God and Christ, and His Saints and. Angels;"- ■■■• •' •..;■..•