252 ANDREW J. SHIPMAN MEMORIAL 



the pages of the gospel, a pattern of civic integrity, which 

 every Socialist and every Catholic, — nay, every man and 

 woman who admires noble conduct — can take as their ideal in 

 their relations to the State and to their fellow-citizens. Her 

 example should be our standard and her civic virtue we can 

 imitate and develop amid the varying needs of our daily civic 

 life. 



It is not, however, mere obedience to civic law which the 

 Sodalist in a perfunctory fashion should cultivate. If he 

 wishes to imitate in spirit and in truth the high virtue of Our 

 Lady, he should go further and have regard for the end for 

 which such observance was intended. Merely living within the 

 narrow limits of statute and decision, so as to comply with 

 the bare precepts of the law, is not enough for the true fulfil- 

 ment of citizenship of to-day. It is much like paying the mere 

 minimum wage to the laborer, irrespective of the condition 

 and the needs of the worker. The law should be observed so 

 as to accomplish its full purport, and if the law in practice 

 falls short of its proper aim, then effort should be made to 

 improve or amend it so as to better achieve its legitimate 

 results. A true-hearted citizen should make every effort 

 to serve the best interests of the State and to promote to 

 the largest extent the comfort and welfare of his fellow-man. 

 Only by doing willing, cheerful and generous service will 

 the Sodalist approach the ideal set by Our Lady. 



Nor must he be content with merely performing such ob- 

 servance by himself. He should be an example and encourage- 

 ment to others, inducing them by example and by precept to 

 observe these things in as large a measure as possible. You 

 all know the cynical definition of altruism, that altruism con- 

 sisted in A and B getting together and deciding just what C 

 should do for D. That can never be the Sodalist's method ; he 

 must search his own heart and mind and set about doing 

 the work himself. If he can induce B to cooperate in the work, 

 so much the better. He can afford to wait until both himself 

 and B have done their full duty, before he may require what C 

 should do for D. Yet this cynical definition is not so far re- 

 moved from the actual state of affairs as we find them to-day. 

 There are many people who seriously believe in making the 

 world over by legislation. The cry on all sides is : Pass a law 

 to prevent this or that, whether it be a trivial or a serious 



