the hour, to a ministry not
of mind but of spirit; his refined yet vigorous eloquence none who
listened to it but for once could forget; and, having in earliest
youth counted birth and fortune, and fashion but loss 'for Christ,'
in later age, at the bidding of the same conscience, he relinquished
even the church which was his living and the pulpit which was his
throne, because he saw danger to Evangelical truth in State alliance,
and would go forth at the call of duty, he knew not and he cared
not whither."

After these high examples of the Romance of Renunciation, it may
seem rather bathetic to cite the instance which has given rise to
this chapter. Yet I cannot help feeling that Mr. William Temple,
by resigning the Rectory of St. James's, Piccadilly, in order to
devote himself to the movement for "Life and Liberty," has established
a strong claim on the respect of those who differ from him. I state
on p. 198 my reason for dissenting from Mr. Temple's scheme. To my
thinking, it is just one more attempt to stave off Disestablishment.
The subjection of the Church to the State is felt by many to be an
intolerable burden. Mr. Temple and his friends imagine that, while
retaining the secular advantages of Establishment and endowment,
they can obtain from Parliament the self-governing powers of a
spiritual society. I doubt it, and I do not desire it. My own ideal
is Cavour's--the Free Church in the Free State; and all such schemes
as Mr. Temple's seem to me desperate attempts to make the best of
two incompatible worlds. By judicious manipulation our fetters
might be made to gall less painfully, but they would be more securely
riveted than ever. So in this new controversy Mr. Temple stands on
one side and I on the other; but this does not impair my respect
for a man who is ready to "lose the world for an idea"--even though
that idea be erroneous and Impracticable.

To "lose the world" may seem too strong a phrase for the occasion,
but it is not in substance inappropriate. Mr. Temple has all the
qualifications which in our Established Church lead on to fortune.
He has inherited the penetrating intelligence and the moral fervour
which in all vicissitudes of office and opinion made his father
one of the conspicuous figures of English life. Among dons he was
esteemed a philosopher, but his philosophy did not prevent him
from being an eminently practical Head Master. He is a vigorous
worker, a powerful preacher, and the diligent