setting down the truth is madness; and I refuse to do it. There is our
religious pessimist to consider. To him I say I take religion more
seriously. I take it not to evade the problems of life, but to solve
them. When I tell him to have no fear, this is not my indifference to
the issue, but a tribute to the faith that is in me. Let us be careful
to do the right thing; then fear is inconsistent with faith. Nor can I
understand the other attitude. Two thousand years after the preaching of
the Sermon on the Mount we are to go about whispering to one another
what is wise.


VI


To conclude: Now, and in every phase of the coming struggle, the strong
mind is a greater need than the strong hand. We must be passionate, but
the mind must guide and govern our passion. In the aberrations of the
weak mind decrying resistance, let us not lose our balance and defy
brute strength. At a later stage we must consider the ethics of
resistance to the Civil Power; the significance of what is written now
will be more apparent then. Let the cultivation of a brave, high spirit
be our great task; it will make of each man's soul an unassailable
fortress. Armies may fail, but it resists for ever. The body it informs
may be crushed; the spirit in passing breathes on other souls, and other
hearts are fired to action, and the fight goes on to victory. To the man
whose mind is true and resolute ultimate victory is assured. No
sophistry can sap his resistance; no weakness can tempt him to savage
reprisals. He will neither abandon his heritage nor poison his nature.
And in every crisis he is steadfast, in every issue justified. Rejoice,
then good comrades; our souls are still our own. Through the coldness