MORAL BIAS IN HUMAN NATUEE 71 



mal nature has in it a pull toward sin; but that 

 pull is not a state of sin or an act of sin. The 

 state of sin is that condition of personality in 

 which the fleshly impulse is enthroned. The de- 

 gree of sinfulness of the state is a balance between 

 the intensity of the fleshly impulse and the 

 strength of the guiding spirit ; just as the degree 

 of danger in a horse is the balance between the 

 animal spirits of the horse and the strength of the 

 driver who guides and restrains him. The 

 strength of the first, unmatched by the strength 

 of the other, produces a condition of lawlessness 

 and wreckage. The act of sin is the transgression 

 of the legitimate boundaries of fleshly action. 

 Neither state nor act is inevitable from the rela- 

 tion of flesh and spirit, the proffered aid of the 

 Spirit of God being always assumed. 



The question as it relates itself to the working 

 of the spirit is still more intricate. There are cer- 

 tain sins that are not the result of the operation 

 of the flesh, but are the result of the activities of 

 the spirit itself. They are such sins as pride, 

 haughtiness, selfishness, self-indulgence, etc. 



By close analysis we will discover that these 

 are but the exaggerated form of certain germinal, 

 fundamental, personal principles, that are virtues. 

 For example, self-respect is a fundamental virtue, 

 without which character-building is impossible; 

 but the exaggerated forms of this virtue are pride, 

 vanity, haughtiness, etc. Paul says : ' ' For I say 

 through grace that was given to me, to every man 



