190 



MISS ELEANOR H. HULL, ON THE 



Let me read you a couple of extracts from this tract, the 

 heading of whose chapters " On the Christian Life/' " On its 

 Dignity and Meaning," " On Sin and the Love of God," " On 

 Ahnsgiving," " On the True Christian," etc., give an idea of its 

 substance. 



" How can you say that you are a Christian, in whom no act of a 

 Christian is seen 1 For the Christian is he who is upright, good, 

 just, wise, patient, humble, benevolent and innocent ; how then 

 will you justify and claim for yourself that title in whom out of so 

 many things not even a few exist The Christian is he M'ho is 

 such not only in name, but in deed, he who imitates Christ in all 

 things and follows Him, he who is holy, innocent and perfect, in 

 whose breast evil hath no place, in whom piety alone exists with 

 goodness, who knows not how to hurt or injure any man, but brings 

 help to all. A Christian is he who by the example of Christ does 

 not know how to hate his enemies, but rather how to do good to 

 those who oppose him and how to pray for his persecutors and foes. 

 For whosoever prepares himself to hurt or injure his neighbour, he 

 denies that he is a Christian. The Christian is the man who can 

 say with truth, ' No man have I injured ; I have lived justly with 

 all men.'" — (From chap, vi.) 



"Be innocent, if you wish to live with God; be simple, if you 

 wish to reign with Christ. Of whafc service to thee is evil, which 

 drags thee down to death ; of what gain is wickedness, which hinders 

 thee from reigning with Christ 1 " — (From chap, x.) 



In dealing with the question of Almsgiving, this fifth-century 

 preacher is confronted with a difficulty ever present with us and 

 pressing upon us in modern life, the question of the morality of 

 receiving as a charitable gift, money unlawfully gained or earned 

 only by the misery and degradation of other human l)eings. 

 The o])inion of Fastidius is given without hesitation. Let us 

 hear what he says : — 



" Some think they will be justified because they of their substance 

 give a niggard alms to the poor, and of that which they have taken 

 from many they give a very small part to one. One man is fed off 

 that which hath made many hungry, and from the spoils of many, 

 scarce a few are clothed. This sort of almsgiving God asketh not ; 

 He desireth not that pity should l)c shown to one out of the cruelty 

 of another . . . That almsgiving doth God approve which is 

 ministered of lawful toil. For He a1)horreth and rejectoth that 

 almsgiving which is offered from other men's tears. For what doth 

 it ])Oot thee, if one man bless thee and many men curse thee ? Or 

 what doth almsgiving l)ring thee which is offered of the substance of 

 another man ? Is it verily to be feared that God hath not where- 



