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- 9496
- text
- its ways to the instinctively known ways of Heaven. But it is not, and
can not be so; nor will he who regards this chronometrical conceit
aright, ever more be conscious of that horrible idea. For he will then
see, or seem to see, that this world's seeming incompatibility with God,
absolutely results from its meridianal correspondence with him.
* * * * *
"This chronometrical conceit does by no means involve the justification
of all the acts which wicked men may perform. For in their wickedness
downright wicked men sin as much against their own horologes, as against
the heavenly chronometer. That this is so, their spontaneous liability
to remorse does plainly evince. No, this conceit merely goes to show,
that for the mass of men, the highest abstract heavenly righteousness is
not only impossible, but would be entirely out of place, and positively
wrong in a world like this. To turn the left cheek if the right be
smitten, is chronometrical; hence, no average son of man ever did such a
thing. To give _all_ that thou hast to the poor, this too is
chronometrical; hence no average son of man ever did such a thing.
Nevertheless, if a man gives with a certain self-considerate generosity
to the poor; abstains from doing downright ill to any man; does his
convenient best in a general way to do good to his whole race; takes
watchful loving care of his wife and children, relatives, and friends;
is perfectly tolerant to all other men's opinions, whatever they may be;
is an honest dealer, an honest citizen, and all that; and more
especially if he believe that there is a God for infidels, as well as
for believers, and acts upon that belief; then, though such a man falls
infinitely short of the chronometrical standard, though all his actions
are entirely horologic;--yet such a man need never lastingly despond,
because he is sometimes guilty of some minor offense:--hasty words,
impulsively returning a blow, fits of domestic petulance, selfish
enjoyment of a glass of wine while he knows there are those around him
who lack a loaf of bread. I say he need never lastingly despond on
account of his perpetual liability to these things; because _not_ to do
them, and their like, would be to be an angel, a chronometer; whereas,
he is a man and a horologe.
"Yet does the horologe itself teach, that all liabilities to these
things should be checked as much as possible, though it is certain they
can never be utterly eradicated. They are only to be checked, then,
because, if entirely unrestrained, they would finally run into utter
selfishness and human demonism, which, as before hinted, are not by any
means justified by the horologe.
"In short, this Chronometrical and Horological conceit, in sum, seems to
teach this:--That in things terrestrial (horological) a man must not be
governed by ideas celestial (chronometrical); that certain minor
self-renunciations in this life his own mere instinct for his own
every-day general well-being will teach him to make, but he must by no
means make a complete unconditional sacrifice of himself in behalf of
any other being, or any cause, or any conceit. (For, does aught else
completely and unconditionally sacrifice itself for him? God's own sun
does not abate one tittle of its heat in July, however you swoon with
that heat in the sun. And if it _did_ abate its heat on your behalf,
then the wheat and the rye would not ripen; and so, for the incidental
benefit of one, a whole population would suffer.)
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