ty. If you have _that_, you will be able to
do as much good as God requires of you in your station; and if you
have not that, you will not do what God requires of you, even though
you spoke with the tongues of men and of angels. Even though you
had the gift of prophecy, and understood all mysteries, and all
knowledge; even though you had all faith, so that you could remove
mountains; even though you had all good works, and gave all your
goods to feed the poor, and your body to be burned as a martyr for
the sake of religion, and had not charity, you would be nothing.
Nothing, says St. Paul, but sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal--an
empty vessel, which makes the more noise the less there is in it.
If you have charity, says St. Paul, you will be able to do your
share of good where God has put you, though you may be poor, and
ignorant, and stupid, and weak; but if you have not charity, all the
wisdom and learning, righteousness and eloquence in the world, will
only give you greater power of doing harm.

Yes, he says, I show you a more excellent way to be really great; a
way by which the poorest may be as great as the richest,--the simple
cottager's wife as great as the most accomplished lady; and that is
charity, which comes from the Spirit of God. Pray for that--try
after that; and if you want to know what sort of a spirit it is that
you are to pray for and try after, I will tell you. Charity is the
very opposite of the selfish, covetous, ambitious, proud, grudging
spirit of this world. Charity suffers long, and is kind: charity
does not envy: charity does not boast, is not puffed up: does not
behave itself unseemly; that is, is never rude, or overbearing, or
careless about hurting people's feelings by hard words or looks:
seeketh not its own; that is, is not always looking on its own
rights, and thinking about itself, and trying to help itself; is not
easily provoked: thinketh no evil, that is, is not suspicious,
ready to make out the worst case against every one; rejoiceth not in
iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; that is, is not glad, as too
many are, to see people do wrong, and to laugh and sneer over their
failings: but rejoiceth in the truth, tries to find out the truth
about every one, and judge them honestly, and make fair allowances
for them: covereth all things; that is, tries to hide a neighbour's
sins as far as is right, instead of gossiping over them, and
blazoning them up and down, as too ma