34 
JESUIT AND PEOTESTANT MISSIONAKIES. Chap. II. 
the traders, whom we introduced and rendered secure in the 
country, waxed rich, the missionaries have invariably remained 
poor, and have died so. The Jesuits, in Africa at least, were 
wiser in their generation than we; thehs were large mfluential 
communities, proceeding on the system of turning the abilities of 
every brother into that channel in which he was most likely to excel; 
one, fond of natural history, was allowed to follow his bent; another, 
fond of Kterature, found leisure to pursue his studies; and he who 
was great in barter was sent in search of ivory and gold-dust; 
so that while in the course of performing the religious acts of his 
mission to distant tribes he found the means of aiding effectually 
the brethren whom he had left at the central settlement.^ We 
Protestants, with the comfortable conviction of superiority, have 
sent out missionaries with a bare subsistence only, and are unsparmg 
in our laudations of some for not being worldly-minded whom our 
niggardliness made to live as did the prodigal son. I do not speak 
for myself, nor need I to do so, but for that very reason I feel at 
liberty to interpose a word in behalf of others. I have before 
my mind at tliis moment facts and instances which warrant my 
putting the case in this way:—The command to go into all 
the world and preach the gospel to every creature ” must be 
obeyed by Christians either personally or by substitute. Now 
it is quite possible to find men whose love for the heathen and 
devotion to the work will make them ready to go forth on the 
terms “ bare subsistence,” but what can be thought of the justice, 
to say notliing of the generosity, of Clnistians and churches 
who not only work their substitutes at the lowest terms, but 
regard what they give as charity! The matter is the more 
grave in respect to the Protestant missionary, who may have a 
wife and family. The fact is, there are many cases in which it 
is right, vfrtuous, and praiseworthy for a man to sacrifice every¬ 
thing for a great object, but in which it would be very wrong for 
* The Dutch clergy, too, are not wanting in worldly wisdom. A fountain 
is bought, and the lands which it can irrigate parcelled out and let to villagers. 
As they increase in numbers the rents rise and the church becomes rich. With 
200Z. per annum in addition from government, the salary amounts to 400Z. or 
500^. a-year. The clergymen then preach abstinence from politics as a Chris¬ 
tian duty. It is quite clear that, with 400Z. a-year, but little else except pure 
spirituality is required. 
