ary employments are,
in the accuratest sense, "Servile;" that is, they sink a man to the
condition of a serf, or unthinking worker, the proper state of an
animal, but more or less unworthy of men; nay, unholy in some sense,
so that a day is made "holy" by the fact of its being commanded, "Thou
shalt do no _servile_ work therein." And yet, if undertaken in a
certain spirit, such work might be the holiest of all. If there were
but a thread or two of sound fiber here and there left in our modern
religion, so that the stuff of it would bear a real strain, one might
address our two opposite groups of evangelicals and ritualists
somewhat after this fashion:--"Good friends, these differences of
opinion between you cannot but be painful to your Christian charity,
and they are unseemly to us, the profane; and prevent us from learning
from you what, perhaps, we ought. But, as we read your Book, we, for
our part, gather from it that you might, without danger to your own
souls, set an undivided example to us, for the benefit of ours. You,
both of you, as far as we understand, agree in the necessity of
humility to the perfection of your character. We often hear you, of
Calvinistic persuasion, speaking of yourselves as 'sinful dust and
ashes,'--would it then be inconsistent with your feelings to make
yourselves into 'serviceable' dust and ashes? We observe that of late
many of our roads have been hardened and mended with cinders; now, if,
in a higher sense, you could allow us to mend the roads of the world
with _you_ a little, it would be a great proof to us of your
sincerity. Suppose, only for a little while, in the present difficulty
and distress, you were to make it a test of conversion that a man
should regularly give Zaccheus's portion, half his goods, to the
poor, and at once adopt some disagreeable and despised, but thoroughly
useful, trade? You cannot think that this would finally be to your
disadvantage; you doubtless believe the texts, 'He that giveth to the
poor lendeth to the Lord,' and 'He that would be chief among you, let
him be your servant.' The more you parted with, and the lower you
stooped, the greater would be your final reward, and final exaltation.
You profess to despise human learning and worldly riches; leave both
of these to _us_; undertake for us the illiterate and ill-paid
employments which must deprive you of the privileges of society and
the pleasures of luxury. You cannot possibly preach your faith so
f