And as for morality—­we shall be ready to teach that, as far as the prudential and paying virtues are concerned, as boldly and on the very same grounds as the merest Utilitarian.  For we shall teach honesty, courtesy, decency, self-restraint, patience, foresight, on the warrant of the Bible; which is, that Christ has made the world so well, that sooner or later every wise and just act rewards itself, every foolish and unjust act punishes itself, by the very constitution of nature and society, which again are laid down by Christ.  But what of the nobler, the non-prudential, and non-paying virtues?—­call them rather graces.—­Them we shall teach our children—­as I believe we can only teach them rationally and logically, either to children or to grown-up people—­by pointing them to Christ upon His cross, and saying to them, “Behold your God!”

For so we shall be able to train them in the orthodox doctrine of morals, which is—­

That there is nothing good in man which is not first in God.

We shall be able to make them comprehend what we mean when we tell them that they are members of Christ, and must live the Life of Christ; that they are children of God, and as such must imitate their Father, and become perfect, even as their Father in heaven is perfect.

For we shall say—­The pure and perfect graces, the disinterested virtues, the unselfish virtues—­obedience, mercy, chivalry, beneficence, magnanimity, heroism,—­in one word, self-sacrifice—­beautiful these are:  but are they necessary? are they mere ornaments? or are they sacred duties?  The duty which dares and suffers for the thing it ought to do; the love which dares and suffers for the thing it loves; the unselfish spirit which looks for no reward:—­why should these dwell in man?  To that we shall answer—­Because they dwell for ever in God.  If we are asked—­Why are they beautiful in man? we shall answer—­Because they are the very beauty and glory of God; the glory which the Incarnate Word of God manifested to men, when He hung on the cross of Calvary; and was more utterly then, if possible, than ever, The Word of God:  because He then declared most utterly to men the character and essence of God.  Love which is not content—­as what true love is?—­to be a passive sentiment, a self-contained possibility, but which must go out of itself, pitying, yearning, agonizing, to seek, to struggle, to suffer, and, if need be, to die for the creature which it loves, even if that creature love it not again.

We need not say this to children.  We need only point them to Christ upon His cross, and trust Christ to say it to them, in their heart of hearts, through instincts too deep for words.  All we need say to our children is—­“Behold your God!  He it is who inspires you with every dutiful, generous, and unselfish impulse you have ever felt; for they are the fruits of His Spirit.  By that Spirit He was once unselfish even to the death.  By that Spirit He will enable you to carry out in action, as He did, the unselfish instincts which He has given you; and to live the noble life, the heroic life, the life of self-sacrifice; the life of God; the life of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit; and therefore the only life fit for those who are baptized into that Holy Name.”