itself, is to take up a paradoxical and novel position. Yet if this
position be really untenable, how is it possible to obey Christ's
commands?

The difficulty seems to admit of only one solution. We are not commanded
to create by an effort of will a feeling of love in ourselves which
otherwise would have had no existence; the feeling must arise naturally
or it cannot arise at all. But a number of causes which are removable
may interfere to prevent the feeling from arising or to stifle it as it
arises, and we are commanded to remove these hindrances. It is natural
to man to love his kind, and Christ commands us only to give nature
play. He does not expect us to procure for ourselves hearts of some new
supernatural texture, but merely the heart of flesh for the heart of
stone.

What, then, are the causes of this paralysis of the heart? The
experience of human life furnishes us readily with the answer. It
constantly happens that one whose affections were originally not less
lively than those of most men is thrown into the society of persons
destitute of sympathy or tenderness. In this society each person is
either totally indifferent to his neighbour or secretly endeavouring to
injure or overreach him. The new-comer is at first open-hearted and
cordial; he presumes every one he meets to be a friend, and is disposed
to serve and expects to be served by all alike. But his advances are met
by some with cautious reserve, by others with icy coldness, by others
with hypocritical warmth followed by treacherous injury, by others with
open hostility. The heart which naturally grew warm at the mere sight of
a human being, under the operation of this new experience slowly becomes
paralysed. There seats itself gradually in the man's mind a presumption
concerning every new face that it is the face of an enemy, and a habit
of gathering himself into an attitude of self-defence whenever he deals
with a fellow-creature. If when this new disposition has grown confirmed
and habitual, he be introduced into a society of an opposite kind and
meet with people as friendly and kind as he himself was originally, he
will not at first be able to believe in their sincerity, and the old
kindly affections from long disuse will be slow to rouse themselves
within him. Now to such a person the imperative mood of the verb to love
may fairly be used. He may properly be told to make an effort, to shake
off the distrust that oppresses him,--not to suffer un