PUBLIC SPIRIT 



dom admonished that there are no hemi- 

 spheres to a good man's life, that it is all 

 one continent, solid and continuous, this is 

 not yet the general tone of religious speech, 

 and nowhere has it sufficiently taken effect. 

 The prayer is religious, the trade is what 

 it is. If I devoutly attend church, I advance 

 myself toward heaven ; if I plunge into busi- 

 ness, however legitimate, strange if I am 

 not reputed a worldling, spite of sincerest 

 piety on my part. 



Equally strenuous has been the doctrine 

 of the church to the effect that heaven is 

 the final cause of man's life on earth; that 

 this existence has meaning only for the 

 next. In vain do we reflect that time well 

 used here on earth in the active love of man 

 must be as beautiful as any equal measure 

 of eternity can be. In vain do we consider 

 the earthly life of Jesus Christ so rich that, 

 do our best, we cannot conceive the Master's 

 subsequent, or any existence, a whit richer 

 this doctrine has made it a second nature 

 with us to subordinate the present state in 

 importance to the world to come. 



321 



