me
sufferer who _had_ a soul, to the distant and inoffensive felicities of
heaven.

184. But I believe my hearers will approve me in again declining to
disturb the serene confidence of daily action by these speculations in
extreme; the really useful conclusion which, it seems to me, cannot be
evaded, is that, without going so far as the exile of the inconveniently
wicked, and translation of the inconveniently sick, to their proper
spiritual mansions, we should at least be certain that we do not waste
care in protracting disease which might have been spent in preserving
health; that we do not appease in the splendour of our turreted
hospitals the feelings of compassion which, rightly directed, might
have prevented the need of them; nor pride ourselves on the peculiar
form of Christian benevolence which leaves the cottage roofless to model
the prison, and spends itself with zealous preference where, in the keen
words of Carlyle, if you desire the material on which maximum
expenditure of means and effort will produce the minimum result, "here
you accurately have it."

185. I cannot but, in conclusion, most respectfully but most earnestly,
express my hope that measures may be soon taken by the Lords Spiritual
of England to assure her doubting mind of the real existence of that
supernatural revelation of the basis of morals to which the Bishop of
Peterborough referred in the close of his paper; or at least to explain
to her bewildered populace the real meaning and force of the Ten
Commandments, whether written originally by the finger of God or Man. To
me personally, I own, as one of that bewildered populace, that the essay
by one of our most distinguished members on the Creed of Christendom
seems to stand in need of explicit answer from our Divines; but if not,
and the common application of the terms "Word of God" to the books of
Scripture be against all question tenable, it becomes yet more
imperative on the interpreters of that Scripture to see that they are
not made void by our traditions, and that the Mortal sins of
Covetousness, Fraud, Usury, and contention be not the essence of a
National life orally professing submission to the laws of Christ, and
satisfaction in His Love.

J. RUSKIN.

"Thou shalt not covet; but tradition
Approves all forms of Competition."

ARTHUR CLOUGH.

INDEX.

[Transcriber's note: entries here of page numbers followed by _n._
should indicate that references will be f