confers not with flesh and blood,' with his _constitution_, whether he
shall give or forbear to give, when it is a clear duty, and the will of
God requires it. If we believe in the principles, we must adopt the
conclusions. Religion is not an unproductive theory, nor charity an
unnecessary, an incidental consequence, nor a contingent left to our own
choice. You are a classic, Mr. Tyrrel, and can not have forgotten that
in your mythological poets, the three Pagan graces were always knit
together hand in hand; the three Christian graces are equally
inseparable, and that the greatest of these is charity; that grand
principle of love, of which almsgiving is only one branch."

Mr. Tyrrel endeavored to evade the subject, and seemed to intimate that
true Christianity might be known without any such evidences as Mr.
Stanley thought necessary. This led the latter to insist warmly on the
vast stress which every part of Scripture laid on the duty of charity.
"Its doctrines," said he, "its precepts, its promises, and its examples
all inculcate it. 'The new commandment' of John; 'the pure and undefiled
religion' of James; 'ye shall be recompensed at the resurrection of the
just' of Luke; the daily and hourly practice of him, who not only taught
to do good, but who went about doing it; 'the store for a good
foundation against the time to come' of Paul--nay, in the only full,
solemn, and express representation of the last day, which the gospel
exhibits, charity is not only brought forward as a predominant, a
distinguishing feature of the righteous, but a specific recompense seems
to be assigned to it, when practiced on true Christian grounds. And it
is not a little observable, that the only posthumous quotation from the
sayings of our divine Saviour which the Scripture has recorded, is an
encouragement to charity: 'Remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he
said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.'"

CHAPTER XXXVIII.

The next afternoon, when we were all conversing together, I asked Mr.
Stanley what opinion he held on a subject which had lately been a good
deal canvassed; the propriety of young ladies learning the dead
languages; particularly Latin. He was silent. Mrs. Stanley smiled.
Ph[oe]be laughed outright. Lucilla, who had nearly finished making tea,
blushed excessively. Little Celia, who was sitting on my knee while I
was teaching her to draw a bird, put an end to the difficulty, by
looking up in my face and