The work of the Holy Spirit - pagina 421

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FAITH IN GENERAL

381

and person. People thus constrained conquer every obstacle however opposed, they come ever nearer to that unconscious purpose, and at last, owing to this irresistible impulse, they attain what they have been so long aiming at. And this is also frequently called _/(2/V//y but it has little more than the name in common with the faith of which we are about to speak. For while such faith excites human energy, and exalts and glorifies it, saving faith, on life

down

the contrary, casts

all

human

greatness.

The same is true of the so-called faith in one's ideas. One is young and enthusiastic; he dreams beautiful dreams of a golden age of happiness and sees delightful ideals of righteousness and glory. That beautiful world of his fancy seems to comfort him for the disappointments of this matter-of-fact world.

If that were were always to remain so, it would have broken his youthful heart and prematurely quenched its enthusiasm and, grown old when still young, he would have joined the pessi-

the real world, and

mists

who

if it

perish in despair, or the conservatives

who

find relief in

the silencing of the higher dictates of the conscience.

nately their

number

is

small.

discover a world of ideals, this sinful world, full

But

fortu-

In this painful experience

many

they have the courage to condemn of misery, and to prophesy of the coming of i.e.,

a better and happier world. Alas! youthful presumption, chasing after its ideals, often fancies " If my fathers had do now, our progress would have

that the cause of all evils lies in the fathers.

only seen and planned things as

I

been much greater." But those fathers did not see it so. They went wrong; hence our ideals are not yet real. But there is hope a young generation, clearly understanding these things, will soon be heard; then great changes will occur: much of the existing misery will disappear, and our ideal world will become real. And cruel is the answer of unvarnished experience. For the son acts as foolishly as the father did before him. Consequently the ideal world is not realized. He cries aloud, but men will not hear; they refuse to be delivered from their misery, and the old sadness goes on forever.

At this point the company of idealistic men is divided. Some abandon the effort call their dreams delusive, and, accepting the ;

inevitable, increase the broad stream of souls trampled

same

level.

But a few nobler souls refuse

to

down

to the

submit to this debased

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